Gene change in cannibals shows human evolution in action

It's a snapshot of human evolution in progress. A genetic mutation protecting against kuru – a brain disease passed on by eating human brains – only emerged and spread in the last 200 years. (from New Scientist)

When members of the Fore people in Papua New Guinea died, others would eat the dead person's brain during funeral rituals as a mark of respect. Kuru passed on in this way killed at least 2500 Fore in the 20th century until the cause was identified in the late 1950s and the practice halted.

Identification of kuru and how it was spread helped researchers identify how BSE – mad cow disease – spread through the feeding of infected cattle brains to other animals, and how this eventually led to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), which has killed 166 people so far in the UK.

Zim Zim the cannibal...

Residents of Phoenix and Mt Moriah, north of Durban, have been terrified about rumours of a cannibal on the loose in the area. (from IOL)

However, Durban police spokesman Superintendant Muzi Mngomezulu said they had investigated the claims and had found no proof.

"There is no clarity. It appears these are rumours or superstitions of some sort because there are no people reported to be lost," he said.

He said the police would not disregard the matter, but would have to treat it with suspicion until someone came forward with new information that could give them some positive leads.

Another police spokesman, Captain Khephu Ndlovu, said there had been a story circulating in communities in the area about a cannibal named Zim Zim.

Fat cats raid agriculture of R100million for the high life

A R100-million taxpayer-financed empowerment fund meant for poor farmers has been used to bankroll the lavish lifestyles of politically connected fat cats - and no one seems interested in recovering the money. (from the Sunday Times)

Despite the fact that the limit for a grant per person is R430000, a Sunday Times investigation can reveal that:

• Dan Mofokeng, former Gauteng housing MEC and husband of ANC provincial legislature member Jacqueline Mofokeng, bought a Mercedes Benz CLS55 AMG for cash, and a R2-million luxury home in Six Fountains, near Pretoria, with money from the fund;
• Apart from this financing of his flashy lifestyle, Mofokeng is also the majority shareholder in a working farm project in Limpopo that received R6.5-million from the AgriBEE fund;
• Phil Mohlahlane, who was both head of the Agriculture Department section that approved AgriBEE project funding and acting CEO of the Land Bank when the disbursements were made, used money from the fund to pay cash for a R2.7-million home in Kyalami;
• The fund also paid for another R6.4-million farm in Limpopo, which was transferred to Mohlahlane's sister-in-law, Jessica Mojanaga;
• A Hazyview doctor received a R6-million grant to buy a 70% stake in a dairy farm that was worth only R660000, near Springs in Gauteng, and an employee of a consultancy that did work for the Land Bank received R3.5-million for a stake in an agricultural enterprise.

These people belong six feet under... prison will do for now... six feet under later....

and so it came to pass the people were hungry once more

'Govt bungling land reform'

Cape Town - The clumsy manner in which the government is currently attempting to push through land reform will cost it dearly, said Theo de Jager, deputy president of Agri SA and its spokesperson on land affairs.

Government was now guilty of the very injustice towards white landowners that was perpetrated against black people when they were dispossessed of their land without proper compensation, he said...

De Jager said the restitution process began to go awry from the start because activists incited people to institute claims that involved almost all the agricultural land in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West.

"The activists insinuated themselves into the public service and became senior officials, but never hung up their activist jackets to became administrators," said De Jager.

"This has led to corruption, nepotism and self-enrichment while the officials hiked the prices of land for personal gain while placing the blame squarely on the landowners."

The problem was exacerbated as the original deadline for land claims, March 2005, approached and little had been done to finalise the process.

This led to thousands of farms hurriedly being listed in the Government Gazette without the validity of the claims being investigated.

The department began paying out billions of rands and quickly ran out of money, while the local economies of towns like Utrecht, Levubu, Barberton, Malelane and Tzaneen, where large-scale land claims had been awarded, collapsed.

De Jager said government was now acknowledging that half of the farms that changed ownership owing to land reform were already no longer productive while the rest were following close on their heels.

The problem had been worsened because the Land Reform department has been unable to explain to the auditor-general where R1.15bn of its funds has gone.

Consequently there is no money left to proceed with land reform...

- Fin24

Land reform farms "in trouble"

The government has spent more than R6bn buying land for emerging farmers and more than half the farms purchased have either failed or are "declining", says Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti. (from News24)

In a written reply to a parliamentary question, tabled on Monday, he said his department had acquired 2 864 farms across all nine provinces for emerging farmers.

"[A total of] 29% of the 1 250 LRAD (Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development] projects reviewed have failed, and a further 22% are declining.

"Thus, 362 of the 1 250 farms are unproductive and a further 275 could possibly become unproductive if no agricultural support is received," he said.

In addition, the department had recently completed asset verification on its Pro-Active Land Acquisition Strategy farms.

"Approximately 127 farms need immediate agricultural intervention... to ensure that the land in question does not become unproductive," Nkwinti said.

Among reasons identified for the farm failures were insufficient agricultural support, conflict among beneficiary groups, and limited LRAD grants.

The department - which spent R6.25bn acquiring the farms - was developing a programme to give the necessary support to struggling farmers, he said.

General Butt Naked - Cannibal of the year 2009

General Butt Naked was a rebel commander from Liberia's civil war and is hereby awarded the prestigious Nongqawuse Cannibal of the Year 2009.

General Butt Naked told reporters that at the age of 11 he had a telephone call from the Devil who demanded nudity on the battlefield, acts of indecency and regular human sacrifices to ensure his protection. (Buzzle)

"So, before leading my troops into battle, we would get drunk and drugged up, sacrifice a local teenager, drink their blood, then strip down to our shoes and go into battle wearing colourful wigs and carrying dainty purses we'd looted from civilians. We'd slaughter anyone we saw, chop their heads off and use them as soccer balls. We were nude, fearless, drunk and homicidal. We killed hundreds of people — so many I lost count." (Wiki)

"Sometimes I would enter under the water where children were playing. I would dive under the water, grab one, carry him under and break his neck. Sometimes I'd cause accidents. Sometimes I'd just slaughter them."

"But in June last year God telephoned me and told me that I was not the hero I considered myself to be, so I stopped and became a preacher." (Coming Anarchy)

Only those who can blandly admit to killing and eating many are in line for the award. I understand the nudity demanded by the Devil, but what of MOTIVE?

"I agreed, because at that time they offered me a lot of money. Everything I did, I did on a commercial basis." (FSU)

Well there you go.. The love of money.. The root of all evil...

Kevin Wustefeld Janssens - A whole other kind of stupid

According to the farm's project co-ordinator, Kevin Wustefeld Janssens, "As a result of the assessments, we were able to establish the actual potential, understanding and therefore evoke our capability as managers by managing people correctly, therefore creating a spirit of motivation and increased productivity." He added that by doing this, they were able to restructure the business, and appoint and place people with the correct behaviour profiles to the various positions of leadership. (Business Services Industry)

The power of understanding

The process has been an amazing revelation, said Wustefeld, and the fact that real capacity exists in current staff eliminates the need to recruit or rely on outsiders. This debunks the myth of scarcity or inadequate capacity within empowerment projects that enable people to manage their own destiny through the ability to understand themselves and understand how to adapt their own behaviour to motivate another person's behaviour, he said.

As the saying goes, a "born leader" constantly modifies behaviour to draw out the best from others. However, most managers find it difficult initially to act in different ways with different people. With constant practice and awareness, not only will it become second nature; leaders can increase their own awareness and sensitivity to others, and as a consequence, influence others to become more productive and focused in their own self-development.

"By gaining clarity of your own behavioural style and that of others' and modifying your own behaviour, you will then be able to effectively manage and lead a team of individuals with variant personalities."

Constantly modifying your behaviour is not the hallmark of a great leader. It is the hallmark of a lying cheating stealing piece of shit. Your own behavioural style cost the failed farm project R3000 a day!