The true meaning of life

/0 Comments/in /by

Today is a good day because you will learn all about the true meaning of life. Something that so many humans yearn to know and understand. The real secret is that life is actually what you make of it. You’re in charge. You are in control. When you notice people who have a lot of financial wealth or perhaps they are an incredible musician. When you look at them, there is very little difference between them and you.

 

You are both human, generally, you both have arms and legs and all the same body parts, apart from possibly gender. So, if there are no physical differences, why would you not be able to be in the same position as them. It’s because you have not allowed yourself to create that sort of life for yourself. If you just allow yourself to have what your heart desires (what will make you happy and joyful), then you would have the same as these people that you seem to look up to. Every one of us has a genius inside us, we just need to be willing to take the time to find it and nourish it and live it. We all have a gift to offer the world and with that, comes other rewards in terms of abundance in many different forms.

 

Of course, it is important to realise that financial wealth is not the be all and end all, far from it. It is more important to be grounded and healthy and have a mind that does not torment you. It is important that you chase after what you would love rather than try and validate yourself by chasing after as much money as possible. There may be other forms of validation that you chase, sleeping around is another example. It is also important to do not try and escape from your mind by drinking obsessively or indeed doing anything obsessively. If enough is never enough then you will understand that whatever you are chasing is not pure. It is not what your heart desires. It is either escapism or validation that you are seeking and it is a finish line that simply does not exist.

 

You can never be validated if you have missed your opportunity as a young child. You have to be comfortable with what’s done is done and move forward. Always move forward with love. Seek out what your gift is, slow down, take time out, relax, breathe and feel what comes to you in these moments of silence and quiet. You can be the richest person in the world and be completely uncontented and unfulfilled. So the meaning of life is whatever you want it to be. You can either unconsciously create drama, misery, sadness, powerlessness or you can consciously create the life you would love to live. Create your big vision from your subconscious and then put all your focus into making it happen.

 

Be aware of what distractions are about you that pull you away from that life you would love to create for yourself and let them go. Ask yourself, is this really important in my life, will this help me have that life I want to create myself or is it simply a distraction pulling me in the wrong direction. Do not be a passenger on a runaway train, be the conductor driving the train exactly where you want it to go.

How do we find out true nature & purpose

/0 Comments/in /by

The first step to finding out about our true nature and purpose is to get in touch with our intuition and subconscious. Our subconscious has all the answers. Once we are open minded enough to accept this and go exploring, we will find out so much more about ourselves.

 

We can listen out to nudges as to how to live our life. What we need to do next to truly fulfil our highest potential. We need a quiet mind in order to hear our subconscious. We need less noise by doing a meditation that stills our mind. We can then hear what comes up for us. We then do another meditation called land of plenty. In this land of plenty is everything our heart truly desires for ourselves. It’s what we really want. It could be that you will be amazing at writing books or writing songs. You may have a heart’s desire to run a huge global charity that helps people displaced by war or perhaps an animal sanctuary. The truth is that it is different for every individual.

 

Everyone has a different experience because we all have a different purpose. Once we have written down everything that comes to us in this state of mind where we are exploiting our land of plenty, we then break it down and see what themes are recurring. We pull out and build choices that are true for us. Only eight or nine. With these choices, we choose to focus on them. We choose these choices to be the life we create for ourselves. We choose to follow our intuition and listen to guidance as to what the next steps are. Without our choices, we are lost and ambling through life and hoping something amazing is going to happen. With choices, we have a hard plan to move forward. We have a destination in mind, we now need to get there. When we create what we love, there are no conditions, there is no seeking validation. We don’t have to get engagement from millions of people around the world. We just create and see what happens for us next. The choices we go for make us authentic, they are our truth. They are the real you.

 

Don’t get me wrong, it will not be easy as we all hate the unknown and we hate change. Our choices are probably going to be way out our comfort zone but that’s the whole point. We either stay where we are and play a small game or we put ourselves out there and really go after our best life with intense purpose. We think that playing small that we are safe but the reality is that we are not because we are not living our truth. We are pretending everything is fine when it is not. We pretend we are happy and fulfilled when we are not or perhaps we just accept that life is supposed to be full of suffering with splattering’s of happiness here and there.

 

Perhaps we believe that we are nothing special, life sucks and that’s just the way it is. But I challenge you to dare to believe that there is more in this world for you than simply surviving. I was a survivor for over forty years until I suddenly realised that I was responsible for everything that I had created so far in my life. And because I had created hardship and suffering, I was therefore able to create what I would love. An incredible partner who I have a deep connection with and we create together. A beautiful home in a beautiful location close to nature, a self-published novel and many other things that I am working on. Countless revelations of why you have been a certain way your whole life and how to be different and better from right now.

 

If you are anything like me then these things won’t happen overnight but I have a clear direction that I am going. I have a clear vision that I have seen and felt and touched as to where I am heading. The battle with our ego is ever lasting but with tools to deal with your resistance and an ego that doesn’t want anything to change and is scared of the unknown, the world is your oyster as they say. You can do anything and have anything you heart wants because it is your truth. The universe wants you to be happy and full of love. The universe did not put you on this earth to suffer, your purpose on this earth is not to suffer and struggle your way through. It is to thrive and be joyful and loving, to fully experience unconditional love. To have deeps connections with other beings. It is to be excited about what tomorrow will bring. It wants a big smile on your face as you embrace your vision of living your true nature and purpose.

Rules of the Universe

/0 Comments/in /by

The universe has rules that apply to all planets and those that dwell upon them. The earth is a very tiny spec in the whole universe but the rules still apply to everyone and everything that lives here. What that means is that firstly, there limitlessness. The universes size and expansion is limitless. You can’t get to the edge of the universe because it simply continues forever and where every there is darkness, It is filled with new birth of stars and planets and galaxy’s and suns. They form new solar system constantly with massive bursts of energy. Stars die and stars get reborn, this is the way of the universe.

In the same way, humans, animals and all other organisms are born and they die and are reborn. Mostly, if they have had a good life then they are reborn on a different planet for there are many worlds within the universe. Indeed, because it is limitless. Another rule of the universe is that expansion and contraction. You are either expanding your consciousness, your imagination and your reality or you are contracting within yourself. Almost forming your very own black hole which always results in death of the body.

Once again, expansion and your imagination are limitless. You barely touch your ability to use your imagination. You think you are but the reality is, you’re at 1% if you’re lucky. You can imagine whatever you wish to imagine and create whatever you would love to create. If God created us just like him then by definition we are all Gods, capable of creating anything and everything.

If God is creating solar systems then so can we. We simply have to expand our imagination to the point that we can imagine ourselves creating our very own solar system and another earth just like the one we live on. We can create beauty and love and tranquility all around us. We can create unlimited resources and energy all around us. We can create money and wealth but that’s not actually the point because it does not come from a pure place. When enough is never enough as in the case with most humans when it comes to money then it is not pure, it is greed and therefore it cannot be created. However, when you create from a place of love and service then you will get all you can imagine.


Another rule of the universe is abundance. We have limitless abundance when we come from a clear and sustainable place. When we are greedy and want it all for ourselves then the rules have been broken and darkness will follow to make way for rebirth. You can cut down all the trees until there comes a time where it is time for a rebirth and then there will be harsh destruction followed by a beautiful spring and fresh growth once more.


The universe works in a way that is create ecosystems that look after themselves. It creates a solar system that functions all by itself. It creates an earth than functions and sustains itself. Again, when the rules are broken then the universe needs to take back control, it will destroy the organism that has taken over and then there will a rebirth of the ecosystem and it will be in balance once more.


Time is limitless. A second in the universe is many human lifetimes. Time is endless, whatever dies is reborn. Energy does not die, it simply transfers to another body and continues on, endlessly.


Another rule of the universe is that everything it creates is designed to thrive. Nothing it creates is meant to suffer. When it notices a human suffering, it will make life more difficult to make that human change their ways for the better. When this doesn’t work, it makes something a little worse happen, again, to make the human change its ways and do something different because it currently not thriving. For a third time, it will make something even worse and often the human will now change. This is why humans often say that bad things comes in threes. They don’t actually come in threes but it takes three messages until the human understands the message and makes the desired change.

Do you use one of these passwords?

/0 Comments/in /by

Is your password listed below?

On average, 80% of consumers have had their emails leaked onto the dark web. You could easily be among that majority without even knowing it.

Those leaked emails often lead hackers directly to your passwords for other online accounts and identity theft. Here’s a list of the 20 passwords most commonly found on the dark web, due to data breaches:

  1. 123456
  2. 123456789
  3. Qwerty
  4. Password
  5. 12345
  6. 12345678
  7. 111111
  8. 1234567
  9. 123123
  10. Qwerty123
  11. 1q2w3e
  12. 1234567890
  13. DEFAULT
  14. 0
  15. Abc123
  16. 654321
  17. 123321
  18. Qwertyuiop
  19. Iloveyou
  20. 666666

If you use any of the above passwords for any of your online accounts, you’d be wise to swap them out for something more secure. Cybersecurity experts often recommend picking something longer than the minimum number of recommended characters, and using uncommon characters – like punctuation marks or other symbols – in place of letters and numbers, to make your password harder to guess.

The majority of people reuse passwords for multiple accounts, which is a practice you should avoid whenever possible. If hackers can get into one of your accounts, you can at least make it harder for them to get into the rest of them.

You should also figure out which pieces of information about you and your family are publicly available, and avoid using passwords that include that information – including birthdays, anniversaries, names of loved ones and even your hometown.

U.S. President Joe Biden participates in a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at Al Salam Royal Palace, in Jeddah

Collaboration between the US and Saudi Arabia – Cybersecurity and 5G infrastructure.

/0 Comments/in /by
U.S. President Joe Biden participates in a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at Al Salam Royal Palace, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia July 15, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Cybersecurity

The Saudi National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Cybersecurity Cooperation with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The MoU was signed on the sidelines of US President Joe Biden’s visit to the Saudi Kingdom.

 

It aims to promote bilateral cooperation in cybersecurity to safeguard the cyberspace and vital interests in the Kingdom and the United States. It focuses on several areas such as sharing cyber threats information between both countries, and exchanging best practices and expertise in this field.

 

The new cyber agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia could boost Western goals of protecting telecom networks from Beijing’s hackers. They plan to collaborate on best practices, technologies, tools, and approaches to cybersecurity training and education.

5G infrastructure

Saudi Arabia will invest in new U.S.-led technology to develop and secure reliable 5G and 6G networks. This technology, known as Open Radio Access Network or Open RAN, emphasizes interoperable, rather than proprietary, technologies, making it easier to combine pieces of different vendors’ infrastructure.

 

Saudi Arabia’s support is a badly needed win for the U.S. in its efforts to promote Western 5G technology in a region where the Chinese vendor Huawei is dominant. It is widely deployed in the Middle East due to Chinese government subsidies so it’s difficult for other companies to compete.

 

Cloud-based Open RAN technologies carry significant cost advantages that should make them attractive in markets where Chinese subsidies would otherwise win the day.

 

Putting man back on the moon

Saudi Arabia signed the Artemis Accords with NASA to join the international alliance in civil exploration and the use of the moon, Mars, meteorites, and comets for peace and the beneficial use of space for all of humanity, and to bring Man back on the moon.

 

The Artemis Accords align national priorities for innovation that the Saudi Kingdom announced end of June 2022. This includes future economies, in which space is the next trillion opportunity for the world by 2040 and can aid in the growth of a multitude of sectors and create thousands of jobs.

 

In total, 18 agreements were signed between the two nations however, it is early days and so far it is just words.

Sports who have banned Russia following their invasion of Ukraine

/0 Comments/in /by

Following the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a lot of sporting bodies have made the move to exclude Russian and Belarus athletes from their competitions as well as cancelling any competitions based in Russia. The International Olympic Committee has called on sports federations to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes, officials and teams from international events wherever possible.

Ukraine Profile: History, culture, geography, and more

FIFA and UEFA have banned Russian national and clubs teams from their competitions “until further notice”.

UEFA also announced that it is ending its partnership with Russian state energy giant Gazprom, which was believed to have been paying about 40 million euros ($45m) a year in a deal due to run until 2024.

Saint Petersburg, meanwhile, was stripped as host of UEFA’s Champions League final set for May 28. The game has been switched to the Stade de France in Paris.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) barred Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Winter Paralympics in Beijing.

The ITF suspended the Russian Tennis Federation and Belarus Tennis Federation membership and withdrew their entries from all ITF international team competitions until further notice.

The Russian Grand Prix, scheduled for September 25, has been cancelled along with any future events.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) suspended all Russian and Belarusian national teams and clubs from its competitions until further notice. It also stripped Russia of the hosting rights for the 2023 junior world championships.

The International Judo Federation (IJF) suspended Russian President Vladimir Putin as its honourary president. The IJF also said it cancelled the 2022 Gran Slam in the Russian city of Kazan, planned to be held from May 20 to 22.

Ukrainian fencers withdrew from the world championships in Cairo to avoid a match with Russia.

Rugby’s world governing body banned Russia and Belarus from all international rugby “until further notice”. Russia’s membership in World Rugby was also suspended indefinitely, meaning its slim hopes of qualifying for next year’s World Cup in France are over.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) cancelled all sanctioned tournaments in Russia and Belarus, banning them from hosting future tournaments “until further notice” and ordering their flags and anthems banned from all BWF tournaments.

World Taekwondo said they were stripping Putin of an honourary black belt, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine goes against the sport’s motto: “Peace is more precious than triumph”.

The body also said no Russian or Belarusian national flags or anthems would be displayed and played at events, nor will any future events be organised in the two countries.

Swimming’s global governing body FINA called off the World Junior Swimming Championships that were to take place in Kazan (23 to 28 August). FINA also withdrew the order it awarded Putin in 2014.

The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) executive board called for all international events to be removed from Russia and Belarus.

The World Curling Federation began the process of removing the Russian Federation’s entries from the World Championships.

World Athletics had already suspended the Russian Athletics Federation because of doping violations, although some Russian athletes were allowed to compete as ‘authorised neutral athletes’ in track and field at the Tokyo Olympics.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, athletics’ governing body has now banned “all athletes, support personnel and officials from Russia and Belarus” from participation in “all World Athletics Series events for the foreseeable future, with immediate effect”.

Cycling’s governing body (UCI) has banned Russian or Belarusian national teams from taking part in any event on the UCI calendar and stripped UCI status from six teams from those countries, including the Pro Tour Gazprom-RusVelo team.

The UCI said it would not consider any team applications or requests to host events from the two countries.

World Rowing has banned Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from its international competitions with immediate effect.

Volleyball’s world governing body (FIVB) has cancelled the men’s World Championships which were due to be held in Russia in August and September.

World Archery has voted to remove the Russian and Belarusian national flags and anthems from international tournaments. It says no future events will be awarded to either country and chose not to invite its Russian board member Vladimir Esheev to the vote.

The International Basketball Federation (Fiba) has confirmed that Russian teams and officials will not be allowed to participate in Fiba basketball and 3×3 basketball competitions.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) has cancelled its remaining events in Russia and, in response to the IOC’s recommendation, ruled that “no Russian or Belarusian athlete shall participate in any FIS competition at any level” for the rest of 2021-22 season.

Norway’s Skiing Association had already moved to ban Russian and Belarusian skiers from competitions in the country “regardless of what conclusion FIS should come to”.

The International Skating Union (ISU) has, with immediate effect, banned skaters from Russia and Belarus from participating in international ice skating competitions.

The International Biathlon Union (IBU) has ruled that while Russia and Belarus must not be represented at its remaining World Cup and IBU Cup events – including in the form of flags, symbols and national anthems – individual athletes from those nations will be invited to compete as neutral athletes.

World Triathlon, the international governing body for triathlon, has announced a ban stopping Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from participating in the sport for the foreseeable future.

Infamous Ransomware gang, REvil taken down by Russia

/0 Comments/in /by

Image rights – https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/

In what suspiciously looks like a political statement, Vladimir Putin has ordered the arrest of 14 members of the infamous gang, REvil. With tension and talks not currently being fruitful between Russia, NATO and the US about Ukraine, it seems this was a bit of a gift from Putin to the US Government. Tensions between Ukraine and Russia are at their highest in years, with a Russian troop build-up near the border with Ukraine, indicating, come kind of military invasion could be imminent. US intelligence findings have estimated that Russia could begin a military offensive in Ukraine “as soon as early 2022.”

On Friday the 14th of January 2022, officials from FSB and the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs seized computer equipment, 20 luxury cars, and more than $5.5 million in rubles and cryptocurrency. They also seized control of cryptocurrency wallets used by the REvil gang and recouped nearly $1.2 million in foreign cash.

The arrests took place in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Lipetsk region south of the Russian capital.

For many years, the infamous REvil criminal gang has attacked numerous high profile targets ruthlessly. In May 2021, the criminals, along with its affiliates, disrupted production at meat supplier JBS. In the process, they managed to secure a $11 million ransom payment. Then in July, it incapacitated thousands of businesses as it exploited a vulnerability in the update mechanism of IT software services company Kaseya. With REvil being based in the seemingly safe haven of Russia, their attacks have largely gone unpunished. It would appear that Ukraine conflict is a bigger issue than ransomware so they gang have been sacrificed by Russia as a bargaining chip in negotiations.

Reports from Russia, claim the FSB took action following requests from the United States. Back in August president Joe Biden told Vladimir Putin that he must take action against cybercriminals operating in Russia. Considering the many pleas from countries all over the world which have been made to Russia to stop their numerous hacking gangs, it seems unlikely that Putin suddenly decided to comply without an ulterior motive being in play.

Law enforcement agencies around the world, including in Ukraine, have increasingly been working together in efforts to tackle ransomware hackers. Since February 2021, Europol has arrested five hackers linked to REvil and says 17 countries have been working on its investigations. These include the US, UK, France, Germany, and Australia. This includes 22-year-old Ukrainian national Yaroslav Vasinskyi who was arrested in Poland and accused of conducting the Kaseya attack. Yevgeniy Polyanin, a 28-year-old Russian national, was also charged with deploying REvil’s ransomware. Polyanin is accused of conducting some 3,000 ransomware attacks and had $6.1 million of his assets seized in the process.

For now, several ransomware groups operating out of Russia remain highly active. The REvil takedown is a significant mark of progress, but it will be interesting to see if Vladimir Putin decides to pursue the other gangs as well, like the notorious DarkSide gang and its successor BlackMatter.

WHO IS REVIL?

REvil (aka Sodinokibi) is a ransomware variant first detected in April 2019. Initial attacks focused on users in Asia, but REvil’s attacks have expanded to target entities globally, with increasingly more significant extortion demands with one of the most recent being $70M for Kaseya. Since then, the variant has been actively used in ransomware attacks targeting organizations worldwide across various sectors, including healthcare, legal services, technology, government, retail, and financial services.

Timeline of some REvil attacks:

Aug 2019: Vendor breached to spread ransomware to 22 Texas cities
Jan 2020: REvil release stolen victim data on forum threads, later replaced by the “Happy Blog” website, if the ransom was not paid.
April 2020: Widespread exploitation of COVID-19 pandemic to spread ransomware
May 2020: Purported breach and sale of Trump-related information, as well as multiple celebrities over the following months, likely resulting from breach of the GSMS law firm
Jun 2020: Researchers discovered the variant scanning for point-of-sale (PoS) software and leveraging Cobalt Strike to deliver the ransomware. REvil adds an auction page to “Happy Blog.”
Mar 2021: Harris Federation breach, which leads to shutdown of the network for weeks, breach of hardware and electronics manufacturer Acer
Apr 2021: Offered Apple schematics and other company data for sale after breaching hardware vendor Quanta
May 2021: Attack on JBS, which forced a shutdown of US beef plant operations and disrupted operations at poultry and pork plants
Jun 2021: Attack on Invenergy
Jul 2021: Attacks on US DoD contractor HX5 and Kaseya MSP

Further reading

Cyber Attack on US Pipeline

/0 Comments/in /by
Colonial Pipeline says corporate website back online | Reuters

Holding tanks are seen in an aerial photograph at Colonial Pipeline’s Charlotte Tank Farm in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Drone Base

A cyber-attack was conducted against the Alpharetta-based Colonial Pipeline on the Friday the 7th of May 2021, which spans 5,500 miles from Houston to the Port of New York and New Jersey and meets 45% of the East Coast’s fuel needs. This was a ransomware attack and is believed to have been carried out by ‘Darkside’, a criminal hacker syndicate. The attack targeted the business side rather than the actual operational computer systems that directly run the pipelines themselves., however, the company has halted all pipeline operations as a caution.

 

The Colonial Pipeline, provides nearly half the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel used on the East Coast.  The Georgia-based company said it shut down the pipelines as a precaution and has engaged a third-party cybersecurity firm to investigate the incident, which it confirmed was a ransomware attack. It first disclosed the shutdown late Friday and said it has also contacted law enforcement and other federal agencies.

 

With this major artery shut down, a shortage of heating oil, jet fuel, gasoline and diesel will soon hit the North East. Gas prices are already trending upward, and that’s with a temporary freeze. If the systems that run the pipeline do become compromised, the pipeline may be shut for weeks or even months.

 

The Department of Transportation has issued an emergency waiver for vehicular transport of fuels, but that’s no long-term solution, particularly when the administration has made clear such hacks are “here to stay.” The United States and its infrastructure will face more cyber-attacks, whether by rival nations or opportunistic criminals.

 

The attack is just the latest episode in which hackers have gone after critical systems such as water plants, oil refineries, chemical plants or the electric grid — including a notorious incident in which Russia shut off part of Ukraine’s power supply. It’s also part of a growing plague involving ransomware, in which hackers demanding payments have crippled targets such as hospitals, police stations or municipal governments.

 

Darkside does have unconfirmed Russian ties, and if Russia is directly or indirectly involved in the attack, it means that sanctions have been pointless at this kind of hostile activity.

 

Cyberwarfare is the warfare of right now. Some critics have pointed to the lack of cybersecurity funding in President Biden’s infrastructure plan. This problem is not one which can be solved solely through spending, but a separate and bipartisan bill is necessary to ensure America does not face worse attacks or lose its ability to retaliate.

 

National infrastructure projects should be developed with security in mind, and aging hardware and software should be replaced. All government agencies and government adjacent corporations must put each employee through training exercises, with serious penalties for noncompliance. America must not allow Chinese or Russian hackers to jeopardize our critical national infrastructure. All of this will cost money. Some spending is indisputably necessary.

 

Previous Attacks

 

Last year, a crack in Colonial’s pipeline that went undetected for days or weeks leaked 1.2 million gallons of gasoline in a nature preserve near Charlotte, N.C. And in February, hackers gained access to a water treatment facility’s computer system near Tampa, Fla., essentially attempting to poison the water supply with a huge influx lye. Russian military hackers also targeted computer systems belonging to banks, energy firms, senior government officials and airports in Ukraine in June 2017 as a part of the so-called “NotPetya” cyberattack. Federal prosecutors have accused Iranian hackers of trying to infiltrate the controls for a dam in upstate New York.

 

The Darkside group is a relatively new player in the ransomware space, but it has quickly gained a reputation for patience, competence, sophistication and large ransoms. “The Darkside ransomware attack campaigns stood out for their use of stealthy techniques, especially in the early stages,” according to the security firm Varonis, which investigated several Darkside breaches. “The group performed careful reconnaissance and took steps to ensure that their attack tools and techniques would evade detection on monitored devices and endpoints.

 

Sources:
‘Jugular’ of the U.S. fuel pipeline system shuts down after cyberattack – POLITICO
Pipeline Cyber Attack Demands Reevaluation Of U.S. Infrastructure Security (forbes.com)

Today in History: 1883 The last quagga dies in captivity at the Natura Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam

/0 Comments/in /by

On the 12th of August 1883, the last Quagga died. It was not immediately recognized, as the mare expired, that she was the last of her kind. Although the name quagga refers specifically to an animal that looked like a common zebra that had run out of stripes on its hindquarter, it was often used, especially by Afrikaans speakers, to refer to any zebra.

As a result of this generalization, no one realized the significance of her death. It was as simple as that.

Like other animal species that disappeared in Africa during the 19th century, the quagga was hunted to extinction. It was the age of the great white hunter, when privileged Europeans with too much time on their hands and too much firepower at their disposal roamed Africa, killing indiscriminately.

Settlers in the new continent also hunted them. The colonials considered the quagga a pest, because it vied with their cattle for grazing land. Additionally, the meat was edible, and the hides were exported to the leather industry, making the quagga commercially viable.

While some accounts maintain that the quagga was deliberately exterminated, this does not appear to have been the case.

The hide of the last quagga, the one that had lived at the Amsterdam Zoo since 1867, is among 23 still extant. Her skull is also preserved. With the exception of one specimen in Cape Town and another in Kazan, the hides are scattered throughout Europe in museums.

Extinction means forever, but in the quagga’s case there is hope for resurrecting a close approximation to the original, if not the original itself. Since 1987, a breeding project has been under way in South Africa to produce an animal with the physical characteristics of the quagga, particularly its yellowish-brown color and the unusual striping pattern.

This is only possible because of DNA testing, which showed that the quagga was not a distinct zebra species as once believed, but one of several subspecies of Plains zebra. Through selective breeding of these close relatives, the project has succeeded in producing animals that closely resemble the original quagga.

Source: Quaggaproject.org

*Image: The Quahkah, by Samuel Dani

The next step for Zimbabwe

/1 Comment/in /by

I am curious as to how bad things need to get in Zimbabwe before something changes. The answer to this question is probably infinite. Nothing is going to change. Everyone is sitting around complaining and waiting. Everyone still in Zimbabwe and those on the outside message each other on WhatsApp about how bad things are, how terrible things are, the latest disaster and the latest exchange rate.

I am sure that everyone who either lives in Zimbabwe or has family still there is aware of what is going on but I will paint a brief picture. I saw a message the other day from Cathy Buckle. Civil servants are earning less than US$1 a day in an economy where a loaf of bread is around US$1.14 and a litre of milk is US$2.  Police officers are collapsing at work from hunger. They are being evicted because they don’t earn enough money to pay their rent.

Health Care

Zimbabwean nurses are being evicted from their hospital accommodation. This is in response to attempts by Parirenyatwa Hospital management to intimidate them through eviction notices. The health professionals are being victimised for joining a strike which began last week.

And while this is happening, the Minister of Health has been fired for being involved in a scam of US$60 million.  “Zimbabwean Health Minister Dr. Obadiah Moyo has been fired over alleged involvement in the $60 million COVID-19 scandal that also roped in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s family.”

I briefly mentioned Covid but quite frankly, this is an impending disaster on a mass scale. I spoke to a friend of mine who lives in India a few months ago before Covid19 took hold. He was confident that it would not be an issue. The lock-down was being enforced by police beating people in the street who where in groups or had no reason to not be at home. And yet, look at India now. They have jumped to the third highest number of cases in the world. South Africa’s cases are rapidly increasing and is currently 10th in the world with the number of infections.

From a common sense perspective, how do you think a country with zero health care, no money, underpaid medical staff and an incompetent Government is going to fair in such a crisis?

CIMAS, the primary medical aid organisation in Zimbabwe, basically has a licence to print money. The Government banned the use of the US dollar and yet you can only pay CIMAS in US dollars. Prices change every month. There are huge shortfalls that need to be paid if you need an operation that CIMAS doesn’t fully cover. To the tune of over US$1000 depending on the operation required. So CIMAS pays for the operation but then you have to pay the doctor, anaesthetist, nurse all in US dollars.

If I am honest, I can’t actually blame them because they don’t get paid by our illustrious Government so how else will they survive? I literally have an invoice from a doctor in Zimbabwe with the amount in ZWL. And then in pencil, at the bottom of the invoice, is written + 100USD.

The problem I find in Zimbabwe where it is the survival of the fittest and wealthiest is that the people do not bond together. They fight against each other to survive. The people of Zimbabwe do not unite to fight the common threat which is Zanu PF.

CIMAS Offices in Borrowdale Park

Zimbabwe Economy

Things have got progressively worse in Zimbabwe until it reached it’s zenith in 2008. In June 2008 the annual rate of price growth was 11.2 million percent. The worst of the inflation occurred in later in 2008, leading to the abandonment of the Zimbabwe dollar. The peak month of hyperinflation occurred in mid-November 2008 with a rate estimated at 79,600,000,000% per month. This resulted is US$1 becoming equivalent to the staggering sum of Z$2,621,984,228. You really can’t comprehend these kind of figures. Prices in the shop changing multiple times during the day. Accounts software could not handle staff being paid over a trillion Zimbabwe dollars a month.

And right now, Zimbabwe is heading back down this road. The Zimbabwe dollar was rebooted not so long ago and started its new life with an apparent 4 ZWD to 1 US Dollar. It now sits at ZWD$361 to US$1 and is rapidly declining. While it is not at 2008 figures, the signs are there that this will be it’s destination if there is no decisive action.

I do believe that the catalyst for eventual 2008 implosion was the taking of the white owned farms. The reason for taking the farms was not the actual reason they were taken. They were simply taken and given to Government ministers. Had the farms been taken and black farmers empowered to farm them, there would have been a different outcome. However, this didn’t happen. It was simply used an excuse for those in power to grab land.

The black farm workers became instantly unemployed, over two hundred workers per farm, plus all their families. The farms stopped operating which meant no food or tobacco was being produced. No food to feed the people. No tobacco to export to generate revenue for the Country. The bread basket of Africa is now a black hole.

Elections

The elections in Zimbabwe have been a lesson to the rest of the world in how to rig elections. It got to the point that Zanu PF didn’t even bother to rig the elections anymore because it doesn’t actually matter who wins on paper, Zanu PF remain in power. And you know why? Simply because no one will do anything about it. No one within Zimbabwe and nor the rest of the world. Mugabe simply did as he pleased and now so does his replacement, President Mnangagwa. The sanctions imposed by other countries really only hurt the people and not the Government. This is the only action that seems to be taken.

The facts are that Zanu PF has ruled with corruption and brutality since 1980.  It is in it’s culture. They don’t know any other way to try and run a country. They certainly have no skills, morals or ethics. They care only for themselves and building immense wealth while starving and abusing their people.  Being in power is about wielding that power and making money. The buying of vehicles ahead of food and medicine confirms that Zimbabwe is being run by clueless people.  But we should not be surprised at all. Remember, Zanu PF has at its leadership core three people accused of having a hand in the 1983-87 Gukurahundi massacres.

Recent reports reveal that at least 50 human rights activists and opposition politicians have been abducted and tortured since President Emmerson Mnangagwa won a controversial election in July 2018, but to date, no one has been arrested for the offences.  Apparently, the Foreign Affairs minister said that government was committed to upholding human rights as seen by the recent arrest of six police officers in Bulawayo accused of assaulting Cowdray Park sisters Nokuthula and Ntombizodwa Mpofu.

Three MDC Alliance activists claimed that they were arrested at a roadblock before being abducted at Harare Central Police Station by State security agents, who went on to dump them in Bindura after subjecting them to torture and sexual abuse. Zimbabwe is not a good place to speak out. Zanu PF said the incident was made up.

Anyone who does stand up and protest suddenly dies in a car accident because a black dog jumped out onto the road in the middle of the night. The driver obviously had no injuries. Henry Olongo, the Zimbabwe cricketer has to flee in 2003 for fear of being murdered by Mugabe’s death squad.

 

What’s next?

I have often told the story that when I was 12 years old living in Zimbabwe that I knew then that things where never going to change. My dad constantly said things would suddenly change and countries where lined up to send in aid into Zimbabwe once Mugabe had been disposed. However, I saw no one taking action and I knew it would only change if I did something personally. I would have to somehow get rid of Mugabe and free the Zimbabwe people.

And here we are, 32 years later and the only thing that has changed is things have become worse beyond comprehension and we have a clueless replacement for Robert Mugabe. I believe that people need to earn respect and be rewarded for their achievements. The only respect Zanu PF get is out of fear of being killed for speaking up.

If a dog had to live in this kind of society, you would put it down as it would be too cruel. And yet the Zimbabwe people have had to live like this for over 20 years now. In fact, back in 1998 I worked at CF Tulley in the configuration department. We would configure new computers before they were sent out to customers. There were about four of us I think, including a black guy. Apart from being a great guy, I will never forget that even back then and even though he had a good job, he could only afford to eat once a day. As I said, things have become incomprehensibly worse since then.

My hesitation for standing up apart from the obvious has always been the safety of my parents. However, I genuinely don’t how they will survive in such an environment for another twenty years. How long do I wait before I stand up and say enough is enough. How long do you wait before you stand up and say enough is enough. We fear death but we should really fear life in such a hell hole under an oppressive Government while the rest of the world pretends everything is fine and basically doesn’t care. There are no human rights in Zimbabwe, there is no law.

We talk about BLACK LIVES MATTER! What an absolute joke. There is an entire country of black people suffering beyond measure, no food, no jobs, living in fear. Why don’t all these famous black people look at Africa and take some action rather than complaining that not enough black people hold board positions. If you think you have it tough or you are suffering, try live a day in the life of a black Zimbabwean.

So here I am. I am willing to stand up. I will be the next Zimbabwe president if that’s what it takes. If I get enough support then I will do this. I don’t do this out of ego, I don’t do this to make money, I do this because someone needs to. I am not saying I am the best person for the job but I do know that my Jack Russell could do a better job of running the Zimbabwe Government that it’s current inhabitants. Who will join me? How do we achieve this? I don’t know if Zimbabwe will accept a white president but I do know that we can’t do nothing.

Now is the time to we save the lives of millions of people and do some real good in this world. The Zimbabwe people deserve better, they have suffered for long enough. They are hungry and need to be fed, the need to feel safe, they need to earn a living, they need education and they need health care.

Finally

And just in case you think this is all a little over dramatic, imagine the little girl in the picture below is your child. This is in Zimbabwe, this is the daily life of poor and deprived kids in 2020.‬ ‪These are the direct consequences of ZANU PF LOOTING of public funds that are meant for social welfare!‬ ‪Little kids are robbed of their childhood, and have to work for survival at 3 years of age!‬

‪Over US$100million was LOOTED at NSSA by ZANU PF heavyweights who bought houses in South Africa, Dubai and London. Meanwhile back home the correct beneficiaries of those looted funds are crashing stones for a living at the age of 3.