I am protesting...

Today is Black Tuesday. I am dressed in black to protest the proposed bill.
"The National Press Club (NPC) has asked people opposed to the bill to wear black clothing or a black ribbon or armband to express their opposition to the bill."

Censorship reflects society's lack of confidence in itself.  It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime.  ~Potter Stewart

99 Biker Friends

I always smile when I hear about bikers supporting the underdog...

Great to see then supporting a kid's right to fly his country's flag...
Reminds me of the Bowling for Soup song, 99 Biker Friends

99 Biker Friends by Bowling For Soup
Such a big man, such a little chick.
I think it all goes back to your tiny
Pick-up truck in the driveway,
With a sticker on the window
"Rest in Peace Number 3".
Tell all your friends
How you put her in her place.
7 pounds of makeup
Just to hide her beat up face.
Such a pretty face.

[Chorus:]
It takes a tough man to slap her around.
Such a bad guy to keep such a good girl down.
She's wearing shades
Behind the tinted glass.
And I've got 99 biker friends
That wanna kick your ass.

Tell her that you're sorry.
Blame it on the beer.
Your dad was mean to you.
Your friends think you're an asshole
And I do too.
Over compensating for your small shoes.
Taking her away, but you won't say when.
Hold her in your arms,
Tell her this won't happen again.
When will this end? Well

[Chorus]

I wish Bruce Lee was here right now
With his trusty nun-chucks
Chuck Norris is still alive,
So let's call up Walker, Texas Ranger,
All the dudes from "Danger, Danger".
Let's get the A-Team,
50 Cent with his bling-bling,
And a couple of prison guards.

[Chorus]

Start running now.
We're gonna kick your ass!

Yeah... I have 99 Biker Friends too! With me it makes 100! Give us a call any day...
"People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs." Author Unknown

For the Fallen

For The Fallen Laurence Binyon
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

Today we remember that freedom came by the sacrifice of those that fought for it. Never forget that!

"But if dying's asked of me,
I'll bear that cross with an honor,
'Cause freedom don't come free."
Toby Keith - American Soldier lyrics

The voice of many

Well done Gareth, I applaud your effort to put into writing what many South Africans feel.
At the same time I am glad to see that the Office of the President responded in such an open fashion... there is still hope for us! Time will tell of course...
"The people put you in power - they will take you out of it. Africa is tired of tin-pot dictators, one-party states and banana republics. We know who we are now, we care about our future - and so should you." Gareth Cliff 2010

D Day

We shall remember them.

1944 - World War II: Battle of Normandy begins. D-Day, code named Operation Overlord, commences with the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy in France. The allied soldiers quickly break through the Atlantic Wall and push inland in the largest amphibious military operation in history.
On this day the Internet was also born...
1969 - The first Internet connection was created when network control protocol packets were sent from the data port of one IMP to another.
Both events were milestones in Freedom.