After three years of delays, controversy and a disruptive change in launch platforms, SumbandilaSat, South Africa’s second locally-built micro-satellite was launched into space this afternoon from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The 81 kg earth observation satellite is equipped with a 6-band spectral imager capable of sampling data from a 45km x 45km swathe at an impressive resolution of 6.25 m, enough to fill up its 24Gb internal storage with up to 10 highly-detailed images (using all 6 bands) before it has to download its data to the CSIR’s Satellite Applications Centre at Hartebeesthoek, which will be responsible for operating the satellite. Having this level of dedicated earth observation capability available to the South African government and other institutions should vastly increase our understanding of vegetation, deforestation, land use, water quality and agriculture in this country. And with sufficient propellant onboard to remain operational for 3 to 4 years I think it’s fair to say that the R26 million the government invested in the satellite’s development and launching was quite a bargain.

This is also excellent news for SunSpace, the satellite’s manufacturer. The company was spun off from Stellenbosch University, following the successful creation and launch of a smaller and lighter micro-satellite, SunSat, in 1999. and has swiftly proven itself as a competent and innovative manufacturer of affordable micro-satellites. I hope they’ll be able to use this launch to get some exposure and begin making serious inroads into what is looking like it may become quite a lucrative market.

So congratulations to the SumbandilaSat team.

I haven’t blogged in a considerable while but nevertheless I’m still alive.

And luckily so too. I was in a car accident several weeks ago. I’m fully recovered and was informed I was lucky to not have any spinal, bone or nerve damage although the concussion and whiplash wasn’t any fun in itself. Alas I’m still waiting for my car to be repaired and am highly disappointed with the poor service of a Sandton panelbeater used by a prominent insurance company. I also have to rather wearily admit that Honda’s local spare parts dealer network is extremely poor. Their cars are great, and I think their new Accord is especially awesome but I won’t be buying another one after the poor local support I’ve received. Nor will I allow a relative to buy a Honda Jazz as a result. Sorry Honda, but you need more forward thinking staff members locally and less empty promises in future.

I can’t admit to feeling much love for BMW drivers now either and especially after their SUV Hummer rip off aka X5 rammed me while I was stationery, and more so given how the woman driver responsible for the accident has been, shall we say, somewhat less than willing to engage and help after sending me to hospital for two spinal examinations and CT scans among others. It’s also made worse by the fact that she bizarrely also works for the same company as I do, and sadly wields a lot of influence with powerful figures I gather from co-workers. So much for any potential for a fair outcome there.

So I can’t help but feel a degree of irritation when looking at BMW’s and SUV’s alike and just the sight of X5’s and X6’s really encourages me to drive slowly in front of them now. Hey! I’m just trying to prevent being in another accident with the brutes y’know! After all, their drivers are much more likely to be in motor accidents than normal vehicles per a Top Gear study in the UK. Given too how an impatient Porsche SUV driver on the wrong side of the road nearly ploughed head-on into my parents car when I was being driven home from the hospital from the first accident and all I could do was think ‘Not again!’ at the time just reinforced the notion in my own, perhaps rather concussed, head at the time.

Yesterday’s illegal violent protest at the Union Buildings by around 3 000 1 500 SANDF soldiers was a deeply embarrassing and disgraceful moment for South Africa. The sight of soldiers, men and women who are supposed to protect us from harm and the forces of chaos, gleefully trying to attack police officers, attempting to break into the Union Buildings complex and destroying military and civilian property is something I hope we aren’t exposed to again soon. We should be ashamed that things have reached this point.

The SANDF’s response should be swift, harsh and unmerciful, and it should be made very clear that this sort of severe breach of discipline will not be tolerated within the ranks of the defence force. The SANDF needs to do more than just suspend the soldiers without pay, as it has done so far; it needs to arrest each and every soldier who was AWOL from barracks or photographed in the mob yesterday and subject them all to a disciplinary review or court martial process. Most, if not all, should receive a dishonourable discharge at minimum and be expelled from the military, while the organisers should be imprisoned. Soldiers like these are a poison in the ranks of the SANDF and the entire force will be much better without them.

There is, quite simply, no possible excuse for the behaviour we saw yesterday. It’s true that, on some level, these soldiers have a legitimate grievance — the pay for lower-level personnel in the SANDF is atrocious — but resorting to violent protest is unacceptable. They should not even have a right to protest peacefully. For defence force personnel, the only routes that should be taken for the addressing of grievances should be through the normal chain of command or, if that fails to produce results, through Parliament and the defence committees tasked with the SANDF’s oversight and finally the media. If none of these routes produce results, then the answer is simple: Quit. Nobody has any right to a well-paying job for life in the military.

Looking to the long term, there is an urgent need for serious debate in both the SANDF and civil society about the role of labour unions in the defence force and whether they should continue to be permitted. From my perspective, the answer to that question is an emphatic no, because defence force unions create an inevitable breakdown in discipline, encourage the bypassing of the chain of command, contribute to a fragmentation of loyalty and generally serve to destroy the bounds, traditions and institutions which keep modern militaries not only effective but subservient to their senior command and the civilian government. As yesterday’s events showed us all too clearly, unions like SANDU are a threat to law and order and our country’s still fragile democracy. We cannot afford to have massive sections of the defence force believing they have the right to do as they please and threaten the rest of us the way SANDU has.

I only hope Defence Minister Sisulu has the foresight to see this problem for what it is and take the steps necessary to prevent it from re-occurring, rather than just sweeping it under the rug the way it has been in the past. Judging by her past actions, I don’t have much faith that she will do the right thing, but I’ll be overjoyed to be proven wrong.

An amusing typo from iol.co.za:

I guess the editor was asleep on the job for this one.

Update: It was fixed fairly quickly though.

I think that it’s quite important to note that both myself and old Laurence managed to get to the semi-finals for the National University Debating Championships (“Jozispeak 2009“), in separate teams nogal, with Laurence representing Tuks with his partner and I Wits. Let it not be said that Commentary folks are incapable of eloquence!

The tournament itself was a fantastic success, hosted by Wits and sponsored by Standard Bank. It proved to be – by a long stretch – the single largest, grandest and most successful debating tournament I’ve ever attended, and I suspect Laurence would concur.

One of the primary benchmarks for the legitimacy of a state in political philosophy rests in the ability of the government to ensure peace and stability within the borders of their country. With the withdrawal of US forces from some 150 bases around Iraq this benchmark is about to be put to the test. I suspect that Maliki and his government will withstand this, given the relatively moderate pace at which the withdrawal is occurring.

But it’s not exactly Mission Complete for US forces. The Council on Foreign Relations highlights that the muted tones with which this event has been passed hint as much. The number of US troops on the ground will remain unchanged, and stand prepped on the borders of Iraq’s cities; ready to intervene with a metric ton of whoopass – I assume – should the ISF prove incapable of enforcing security. Indeed, Michael Yon – my usual source of all things Iraq/Afghanistan – expects the levels of violence to increase, but that AQI post-surge is incapable of actually overthrowing the government. This could mean that Iraq’s democracy is at least insured against security challenges, if not internal political squabbles, and if so I’ll be gladdened to see neither occur. However, Sadr’s militia still lurks, AQI still exists, and President Maliki has displayed relatively strong overture of power consolidation. None of these variables are constant or inevitable, however, but must be kept in the back of one’s mind.

Ultimately it’s an important step, and a necessary one for Iraq and, to a degree, Obama’s determination to get troops out as soon as possible. For both governments this phase in Iraq’s history will see the country either walk proudly into modernity, liberty and all that good stuff which most fob off as rhetoric, or stumble under the haste of the White House and the savagery of their enemy.

Goodnight sweet prince. Michael Jackson died of a heart attack and the resultant shockwave across the internet literally slowed it down. Now, I get that MJ was a great singer and wonderful performer, but holy cow! This kind of reaction is totally going to dampen the gravity of Farah Fawcett’s death. Bastard…

What’s been truly annoying me today, however, has been the radio world’s reaction to this. On 5FM the entire day has seen DJ’s paying solemn respect to music-Jesus with tributes, ernest commentary on the man’s achievement, and disgust at the mass of MJ death jokes. But the truly disturbing thing is how blithely ignorant they appear to be of the man they demand the utmost respect for. I mean, for crying out loud, the man molested little children! He does not deserve to be placed on the altar of godlike benevolence. He was an accomplished musician, sure. But he fiddled kiddies and was a perpetual freakshow. That’s not something we should be praising.

But then, perhaps I’m just old-fashioned. The most profound effect MJ had on me was some old 8-bit nintendo game where you threw a hat and grabbed your groin a lot. For others, the impact Jackson had on their lives seems to outweigh the grossly-inappropriate lifestyle the man had. We don’t praise R.Kelly for being a hero, nor Joseph Fritzl. But perhaps if they became slightly more popular 5FM would see fit to prostrate themselves on air before them too.

And the media fellates the White House with implied admiration. It’s this lack of priorities by the media which truly gets my goat. Let’s glaze over the many things he’s doing politically and watch the man swat a fly, or his adoption of a Spanish labradoodle or whatever the hell breed it is. The most depressing part of all this, of course, is the simple truth that the media tend to publish what the public want to read. Yep, we’ve advanced as a people so far that we now prefer to watch the world’s most powerful man swat a goddamned fly rather than his (mis)handling of the worst recession of our time. Well, at least PETA isn’t happy…

And yes, here’s the bloody video, because we all want to see it of course:

Conor Friedersdorf has professed confusion at the outrage of sending ex-Guantanamo detainees to Bermuda. Personally, I find the whole thing quite laughable. Given that these folks were suspected of, or were never adequately prosecuted for, terrorist attacks, supporting terrorist organisations or suchlike, the notion that in re-compensation they’re effectively given a life of sun and beach barbeques in Bermuda is rather ludicrous.

Innocent or not, one has to think about the consequences of what is effectively incentivising Jihad against the evil infidel America. Send them to Kazakhstan, Turkey or anywhere but a tropical paradise for crying out loud! How many down and out jihadists will consider being sent to Bermuda as punishment a bad thing? This is not, as Conor puts it, a “win-win” situation. Innocent or not (which as never really being established in any sufficient clarity), sending non-Americans off to a luxurious exile with all the civilian rights afforded to actual citizens, and then some, is very much a foolish, short-sighted policy. Sure, it might ‘rehabilitate’ a small minority, but what signals does this send to the thousands of Jihadis who aren’t in Bermuda… yet?

Once again, Day by Day hits the nail right on the head:

Fighting piracy in the Gulf of Aden is difficult, this much is obvious. The pirates look and operate for the most part exactly the same as the many fishermen in the area, deploying naval vessels into the area itself is costly and often unproductive, and the pirates are almost never disincentivised from their activities. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? You die on the water instead of Somalia? Get arrested and put in a comfy jail where you’re fed and clothed in more opulence than you could ever hope for back home?

Whinge that the opposition team’s defense was too good. Seriously… since when did adapting your team’s strategy to an aggressive opposition offense become a bad thing? Maybe it’s because I don’t understand the nitty gritty nuances of football that I don’t quite understand how Santana can be bleating about having to actually think about how to break Iraq’s defense. I don’t follow European football and I have a phobic resistance to zealous South African’s cheering on Manchester United as if they’re Jesus with soccer boots, but I was under the impression that yesterday’s game was, if anything, a bit of a letdown thanks to South Africa’s failure to win, not Iraq’s ability to not lose.

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory! I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory! Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

SIGNED: Dwight D. Eisenhower

It’s the 65th Anniversary of D-Day this year. Remember their sacrifice, so that we might have a better, non-German way of life!

I often have difficulty trying to explain to South Africans why we should remember the fallen in D-Day. After all, how do you explain that, were it not for their sacrifice, there’s every chance the world we lived in would be drastically different, including Africa? That we have democracy, that we enjoy such a good life free from war here in South Africa is in no small part thanks to the great crusade back on the beaches and hedgerows of Normandy. This is not to detract at all from the struggle and other uniquely South African progressions to freedom. But the crux of the matter is that ridding the world of tyranny and oppression in Germany enabled so much of what we take for granted for today. And that, in my humble opinion, is worth remembering.

I have to admit, the latest escalation in the unfortunate series of events surrounding the initiation that occurred at Parktown Boys’ in February caught me by surprise. I had assumed that, after the raft of disciplinary hearings, counselling sessions, rehabilitation programs and the intervention and subsequent satisfaction of the Department of Education, that the story was finally over. So I really did not expect what happened yesterday, when 11 Matric students from the school were arrested and formally charged with assault.

Frankly, I think this is insane. What the boys did was wrong, I don’t think anybody disputes that, but I don’t believe it was sufficiently wrong to warrant being criminally charged with assault, nor do I believe this is fair after they have already been through a disciplinary process that satisfied the Department of Education.

As I’m sure most of you have noticed, Commentary has slowed down considerably in terms of writing frequency, with Laurence disappearing off the map. This is no more! For Laurence, that is… He’s now situated at his new blog LaurenceCaromba.com writing the stuff you all love and hate him for here.

On the home front, Darren, Wayne and myself are still around, and while I’ve slowed my writing down considerably due to studies taking most of my academic juices, we have some potentially awesome things lined up for this site later on this year. So keep that bookmark for us! We’re coming back!