Die Beeld het weer iets wat hulle vir baie lank gaan besig hou.
Het hulle al ooit swart moordenaars oë daar ten toon gestel en daarop
gewys dat dit die "oë van 'n moordenaar" is?
Natuurlik is Johann Nel, die Skierlik skieter, op presies dieselfde
vlak as die swart moordenaars wat ook vrouens en kinders vermoor.
Maar die Beeld noem hulle nie 'moordenaars' nie. Let op wanneer julle
berigte lees. Hulle word 'rowers' genoem. Jy lees dat 'rowers' mense
doodskiet. En ook nie sommer net 'rowers' nie, maar hulle is 'meneer
rowers'. Gaan kyk bietjie of die moordenaar wie se oë uitgestal word
op Beeld, 'meneer' genoem word.
En aan enig iemand wat hier lees dink dat ek enigsins simpatie of
versagting vir die wit moordenaar bepeit, jy is siek. Dan is jy nie
net eenvoudig nie, maar het jy 'n sielkundige nodig.
Die brief het ek dmv epos ontvang.
Vir die egtheid daarvan kan ek nie instaan nie
maar vir mense wat wil seker maak is dit maklik.
Ek bevraagteken dit dat 'n mediese dokter in Afrikaans
van HIV sal praat, maar miskien weet hy net nie van beter nie.
Ek het al 'n Afrikaanse koerant gesien skryf van HIV en toe die
lesers die redaksie daaroor uittrap het hull hulself verontskuldig
met die dom verskoning dat hulle nie seker was of die lesers almal
weet wat MIV is nie. Ooglopend was dit deur 'n dom joernalis geskryf.
Hier is dit wat ek vanaf 'n bekende (niggie) korrespondent
ontvang het. As iemand lus voel om dit te bevestig
en oor te dra hierheen, doen dit gerus.
WAARSKUWING TEEN EETPLEKKE!!!
Briewe deur Wimpy is by skole ontvang waarin hul waarsku dat 'n mens
GEEN tamatiesous of ander souse, wat nie in sakkies verseël is, by
eetplekke moet gebruik nie. 'n Eetplek, hul wil nie die naam bekend
maak nie, het 'n man betrap terwyl hy besig was om bloed in hul
tamatiesous te gooi. Daar word vermoed dat hy HIV positief is en op
hierdie manier ander mense wil besmet! Die mensdom is SIEK!!!!
Wees maar asseblief versigtig, die insident mag dalk net in een geval
plaasgevind het, maar 'n mens weet nooit. Liewer versigtig as jammer!
Stuur ASSEBLIEF DIE E-POS AAN VIR SOVEEL MENSE AS MOONTLIK.
Special report: Economics blind spot is a disaster for the planet
15 October 2008 by Herman Daly
Magazine issue 2678.
HERE is a salutary tale about the World Bank. The first draft of its
1992 World Development Report, dedicated to sustainable development,
contained a diagram labelled "the relation of the economy to the
environment". It showed a rectangle labelled "economy", with an arrow
entering it labelled "inputs" and an arrow exiting it labelled
"outputs". That was it.
It was my job, as senior economist in the bank's environment
department, to review the draft and offer suggestions. I said drawing
such a picture was a great idea, but it really had to include the
environment. As drawn, the economy was receiving inputs from nowhere
and expelling outputs back to nowhere.
I suggested we draw a big circle around the economy and label it
"ecosystem". Then it would be clear that the inputs represented
resources taken from the ecosystem, and the outputs represented waste
returned to it as pollution. This would allow us to raise fundamental
questions, such as how big the economy can get before it overwhelms
the total system.
When the second draft came back, a large unlabelled rectangle had been
drawn around the original figure, like a picture frame. I complained
that it changed nothing. In the third draft, the diagram was gone. The
idea that economic growth should be constrained by the environment was
too much for the World Bank in 1992, and still is today. The bank
recognised that something must be wrong with that diagram - but better
to omit it than deal with the inconvenient questions it raised.
That was when I realised that economists have not grasped a simple
fact that to scientists is obvious: the size of the Earth as a whole
is fixed. Neither the surface nor the mass of the planet is growing or
shrinking. The same is true for energy budgets: the amount absorbed by
the Earth is equal to the amount it radiates. The overall size of the
system - the amount of water, land, air, minerals and other resources
present on the planet we live on - is fixed.
The most important change on Earth in recent times has been the
enormous growth of the economy, which has taken over an ever greater
share of the planet's resources. In my lifetime, world population has
tripled, while the numbers of livestock, cars, houses and
refrigerators have increased by vastly more. In fact, our economy is
now reaching the point where it is outstripping Earth's ability to
sustain it. Resources are running out and waste sinks are becoming
full. The remaining natural world can no longer support the existing
economy, much less one that continues to expand.
The economy is like a hungry, growing organism. It consumes
low-entropy natural resources such as trees, fish and coal, produces
energy and useful goods from them, and spits out high-entropy waste
such as carbon dioxide, mine slag and dirty water. Mainstream
economists are mostly concerned with the organism's circulatory
system, how the energy and resources can be efficiently allocated,
while tending to ignore its digestive system. As my experience with
the diagram showed, the sources of the resources that the organism
consumes and the sinks into which it deposits waste are ignored.
Effectively, economists are assuming they are infinite.
Because of this, they recognise no limits on the capacity for economic
growth. In a report published earlier this year, the Commission on
Growth and Development reviewed the experience and policies of 13
countries, including Botswana, Brazil, China and Japan, which since
the 1950s have grown at an average annual rate of 7 per cent or more
for 25 years or longer. The commission suggests that this is an
example the rest of the world should follow. If the global economy
were to grow this fast, however, then in 25 years it would have
increased to five times its present size. They don't say what would
happen after that; presumably we should simply aim to do the same
again.
Generally, when the cost of an activity starts to outweigh any
benefits, we stop doing it. Buying one ice cream makes sense if it
brings us pleasure and satisfies our hunger. Once we have eaten two or
three, however, we do not buy more because, despite the pleasant
taste, we start feeling sick. This "off switch" is not working for the
economy as a whole, though, because our national accounts do not
separate the costs of economic activity from the benefits. Instead,
both are counted towards a country's GDP. We count as desirable growth
both the beneficial activity that causes pollution and the costly
activity of cleaning up the pollution, for example. And when cutting
down trees and selling the lumber boosts GDP, we subtract nothing for
the loss of forests.
When the cost of an activity outweighs the benefit, we should stop
The scale of the global economy is approaching the limits of what our
planet can cope with. As the oceans are emptied of fish, forests
shrink from logging and levels of pollutants and greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere rise, the environmental and social costs of further
growth are likely to intensify until we reach a point at which the
price we pay for each unit of extra growth becomes greater than the
benefits we gain.
In fact, there is evidence that we have passed this point, at least in
well-off countries such as the US and UK. Since our GDP accounts
cannot reveal whether this has happened or not, scholars have devised
ways to track other potential indicators such as health, well-being
and the state of our environment. These include the Index of
Sustainable Economic Welfare, the Genuine Progress Indicator, the
Ecological Footprint, and the Happy Planet Index. They have found that
as GDP goes up, these other measures are levelling off and even
declining. Economic growth may already be making us poorer rather than
richer.
As long as our economic system is based on chasing economic growth
above all else, we are heading for environmental, and economic,
disaster. To avoid this fate, we must switch our focus from
quantitative growth to qualitative development, and set strict limits
on the rate at which we consume the Earth's resources. In such a
"steady-state" economy, the value of goods produced can still
increase, for example through technological innovation or better
distribution, but the physical scale of our economy must be kept at a
level the planet is able to sustain. Can we transform our economy from
a forward-moving aeroplane to a hovering helicopter without crashing?
After 200 years in a growth economy, it is hard to imagine what a
steady-state economy might look like, but it does not have to mean
freezing in the dark under a communist tyranny (see "Life in a land
without growth"). Most of the changes could be applied gradually, in
mid-air.
The idea of moving to a steady-state economy will appear radical to
many, perhaps politically impossible. But the alternative, a
macro-economy that is structurally required to grow in scale beyond
the biophysical limits of the Earth, is an absurdity, and heading for
the ultimate crash. Before we reach that radical physical limit, we
are already encountering the economic limit at which benefits of extra
growth are increasingly outweighed by the costs.
Profile
Herman Daly is one of the founders of the field of ecological
economics, which argues that the scale of the economy must be kept
within sustainable limits. He was senior economist in the World Bank's
environment department from 1988 to 1994, and is now professor of
ecological economics at the University of Maryland.
On Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:34:06 +0200, Dave wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:06:06 +0200, Dave wrote:
>
>> http://www.dailynews.co.za/?fSectionId=3532&fArticleId=n w20081115122147467C912062
>
>
> Cop held for blue-light shooting
> 16 November 2008, 08:34
> Related ArticlesBlue-light shooting seen as attempted murder
> Blue light menace
> VIP driver punched in blue-light crash
> Durban - A policeman has been arrested for shooting at a tyre of a
> motorist who failed to move into the slower lane of the N3 near
> Pietermaritzburg on Saturday, causing an accident that left eight
> people injured.
>
Ek het gedink niks kan my meer skok wat die fokken gemors doen nie,
maar steeds was dit naar maar verstaanbaar, omdat ons die Jottieïte
ken, om te lees in die Rapport:
........Na verneem word het verskeie ANC-politici gistermiddag glo
........probeer keer dat Khumalo vasgetrek word.
Tipies, is dit nie:-(
Polisielid vas ná skietery uit kar op N3
Gerhard de Bruin
Durban
'n Konstabel verbonde aan die polisie se BBP-eenheid is gister in
hegtenis geneem nadat hy glo vanuit 'n bewegende BBP-voertuig met sy
vuurwapen op 'n onskuldige motoris op die N3 naby Pietermaritzburg
losgebrand het.
Dit was glo nadat die motoris nie vinnig genoeg uit sy baan kon padgee
nie.
Die motoris se een motorband is in die voorval stukkend geskiet en hy
het daarna beheer oor sy voertuig verloor en reg van voor met 'n
bakkie in die aankomende baan gebots.
Volgens supt. Henry Budhram, woordvoerder van die polisie in
KwaZulu-Natal, was die bestuurder van 'n Mazda3 op pad na
Pietermaritzburg toe die voorval gebeur het.
"'n Vangwa van die polisie se ongelukeenheid het agter die Mazda gery
toe 'n swart Volkswagen Golf met 'n flitsende blou lig en swart
vensters hulle van agter af ingery het.
"Die polisievoertuig kon daarin slaag om vir die Golf pad te gee, maar
die bestuurder van die Mazda was in daardie stadium nog besig om 'n
groot vragmotor teen 'n hoogte verby te steek."
Budhram sê polisiemanne in die vangwa het gesien hoe die Golf, nadat
die Mazda uiteindelik by die lorrie verby is en uit die baan kon
beweeg, tot langs laasgenoemde gery het.
'n Passasier van die Golf het toe 'n venster afgedraai en met 'n
vuurwapen op die Mazda begin skiet.
'n Agterband van die Mazda is papgeskiet.
Die Mazda se bestuurder het daarna beheer oor sy voertuig verloor, oor
die middelmannetjie van die besige N3 snelweg beweeg en reg van voor
met 'n bakkie wat op pad was Durban toe gebots.
Die Golf het daarna aangery en glo weggejaag toe die polisie in die
vangwa dit wou aftrek.
Volgens Budhram is verskeie patroondoppies op die toneel opgetel.
'n Bron na aan die ondersoek sê 'n konstabel Khumalo verbonde aan die
polisie se BBP-eenheid is kort daarna by Camperdown in hegtenis
geneem.
Khumalo het glo ná sy inhegtenisnemings vir die polisie gesê hy was
laat vir 'n afspraak met mnr. Meshack Radebe, LUR vir maatskaplike
dienste.
Na verneem word het verskeie ANC-politici gistermiddag glo probeer
keer dat Khumalo vasgetrek word.
Budhram het by navraag egter bevestig dat komm. Hamilton Ngidi,
polisiehoof van KwaZulu-Natal, persoonlik beveel het dat Khumalo in
hegtenis geneem word.
Drie mans in die Mazda en vyf in die bakkie is ernstig in die ongeluk
beseer en na hospitale in die omgewing geneem.
"Sedert verlede jaar was BBP-voertuie en -konvooie in talle
soortgelyke omstrede voorvalle in KwaZulu-Natal betrokke.
Die hele wêreld is geaffekteer deur die finansieële katastrofes wat
basies veroorsaak is deur die gierigheid en onverantwoordelikheid
van die verband-markte in die VSA. Alhoewel ons in Kanada bietjie
beskerm is omdat ons konserwatiewe huisverband-aankoop reëls
het, is daar nogtans reperkussies. Byvoorbeeld, pensioenfondse
hier in Kanada het ook letterlike biljoene dollars verloor en is nog
besig om te verloor in die aandelemarkte se meltdown. Ons koerante
is vol daarvan. Maar ek kan nie in die Beeld enige tekens vind dat
dieselfde in SA gebeur nie. Miskien lees ek nie op die regte plek
nie. Kan enigiemand vir my bietjie inlig?
"Saturday Night Live " beleef 'n opbloeiing wat dit seker nie sedert
die vroeë negentigerjare gehad het nie. Een van die aanvanklike redes
is omdat Tina Fey, wat nie meer 'n gereelde SNL lid is nie, so 'n
dead ringer vertoning gee as Sarah Palin. Die real genius is natuurlik
Lorne Michaels ('n Kanadees) wat vir Tina Fey teruggelok het vir die
eleksie-seisoen. Vanaand kom Will Ferrell as George Bush ook op.
Ek is seker helfte van die VSA se bevolking sal of vanaand kyk,
of stukkies daarvan more op CNN sien. Ek dink Saturday Night Live
word nou 'n speler in die VSA se eleksie.
Nog net tien dae, en dan gaan ons die grootste landslide
sien in 'n baie lang tyd. Jammer dat ek nie dieselfde kan rapporteer
van Kanada se verkiesing nie. Ons het maar weer 'n minority
Conservative regering ingestuur.
Ek lees gereeld elke oggend die Beeld se Internet-edisie. Ek sien
egter
baie min nuus van die finasiële gedoentes wat nou reg om die wêreld
aangaan. Ek neem aan dis omdat daar nie dramatiese verskuiwings
in die land se finansiële sektor plaasvind nie. Ek neem wel kennis
van die feit dat die rand skerp teen die Amerikaanse dollar daal. Maar
so daal die Kanadese dollar ook dramaties teenoor die Amerikaanse
dollar. Wat 'n ironie. Ons dollar daal, ons wat in 'n land bly waar
ons
nie die stupid eksesse toelaat wat die VSA banke so in die slag laat
bly
het nie. Ons sal getref word deur die resessie in die VSA, maar geen
bank hier is in die moeilikheid nie. En ons dollar daal. Seker omdat
spekuleerders die Amerikaanse dollar opkoop terwyl dit goedkoop
was.
State hospitals 'in crisis'
21 October 2008, 11:55
Related ArticlesOver expenditure cripples hospitals
Minister pledges to fight for better health
By Vivian Attwood
State hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal are on the verge of collapse and it
is only a matter of time before more patients die as a result.
This is the fear of senior doctors who say they are at the end of
their tether, and have revealed that staff at hospitals are working
under intolerable conditions, and have patients who are dying when
they should not.
The KwaZulu-Natal department of health has disputed claims that a
moratorium on vacancies at provincial hospitals is in place. But the
doctors refute this, saying that hospitals are effectively prevented
from filling open posts.
Six doctors, who requested anonymity, say that staff shortages and a
lack of equipment were damaging health care, and were caused by the
KZN department's attempt to recoup a budgetary overspend of
R1,2-billion in the past financial year by freezing posts and not
ordering much-needed equipment.
On Monday the Daily News carried an open letter to the new national
Minister of Health, Barbara Hogan, which set out paediatricians'
despair at the sagging standard of medicine.
According to a paediatrician at Addington Hospital, premature babies
are already dying because vital machinery that was ordered years ago
has not been sanctioned by the department of health.
A doctor who formerly worked at Port Shepstone General Hospital
revealed that a woman with an ectopic pregnancy had to be rushed to
Prince Mshiyeni Hospital in Durban because there was no anaesthetist
available at Port Shepstone. The ICU there was staffed by interns,
rather than qualified doctors. The woman narrowly escaped death.
At Addington Hospital a woman died in a waiting room without seeing a
doctor as her unsuspecting husband waited nearby - a death reported by
the Daily News on October 10.
KZN Department of Health spokesperson Leon Mbangwa denied that posts
had been frozen.
"We definitely don't have a moratorium on clinical staff," he said.
"That would include critical posts like paediatric and anaesthetic
doctors. We have, however, embarked on a process of trying to control
over-expenditure. Hospital managers must motivate for critical posts
to be filled, and fill out the necessary documentation. Some civil
servants are too lazy to follow the right channels."
A specialist at Addington Hospital claimed the Department of Health
was all too aware of the shortage of staff around the province. He
said the moratorium was no figment of their imaginations, but a
pressing reality.
"Come January, when interns leave, we will have just four doctors to
deal with the 3 000 paediatric patients we treat each month. Our goose
will be well and truly cooked.
"We keep inundating the human resources department to ask whether the
moratorium has been lifted. Each week they have to say no.
"Management has also sent letters to the department of health, but
it's like appealing to a rock."
A source close to the Port Shepstone Hospital said morale was at an
all-time low. "Doctors are at the end of their tether. The hospital
has been losing people for all the usual reasons, but since April they
haven't been able to hire replacements. By the end of the year only
two specialists will be left in anaesthesia.
"Incidents like that of the pregnant woman who nearly died are common.
There have been a number of near disasters."
At Addington, staff said they were "running on empty". Along with
staff shortages they have to contend with a lack of potentially
life-saving equipment, and the frequent absence of basic hygiene tools
like antiseptic soap, towels, scrubs and even cotton wool.
"The Department of Health justifies the moratorium by claiming a lack
of funds, but what is money if babies are dying at this hospital?"
said a paediatrician.
"We don't have a fully functional ventilator for premature babies.
Inevitably, there are infants who don't make it as a result. You can't
apply business principles to medicine."
The crisis is every bit as acute at Grey's Hospital in
Pietermaritzburg. A source revealed that the hospital had not received
new equipment for several years.
"We are faced with repeated failure of essential equipment like
anaesthetic machines and ventilators," she said.
"There is talk of shutting down the paediatric department because of
staff shortages. Most of the specialists I have spoken to are planning
to leave the country.
"Matters have simply gone too far. We can't condone what's happening
any longer."
Mbangwa said he was completely unaware of a critical shortage of staff
in the anaesthetic department at Port Shepstone Hospital.
"It is the first time I have heard about this."
ÂThis article was originally published on page 1 of The Daily News on
October 21, 2008
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