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Lessons in the paradoxes of race and capital
Andile Nkuhlu, the politically connected businessman who died on December 1, seems to have slipped out of life with the same grace with which he lived it. His life offers valuable lessons in understanding South Africa's so-called transition from apartheid to neo-apartheid, which has not changed the fundamentals of the racist nature of our country, and an opportunity for us to meditate collectively on how hopes for change are repeatedly sacrificed by those seeking inclusion in a system that excludes the majority.
Nkuhlu was a political animal who managed to morph into a businessman without losing his connection to politics. He was a survivor, who almost went down with the "Shikota train", otherwise known as the Congress of the People. A master of timing, he foresaw that Cope wouldn't cope, so he jumped ship before the post-Polokwane Titanic hit the political iceberg and irreversibly sunk its political fortunes.
Nkuhlu can be described as part of the post-1994 generation of the patriotic bourgeoisie – economically empowered black men and women. He died at a time when black economic empowerment (BEE) is under attack by a strange alliance of BEE-beneficiaries-turned-firebrands-for-"economic freedom", who decry the racist stereotypes about BEE, but are the favourites of the white capital they claim to be at war with.
If you had had the opportunity to meet Nkuhlu, you would have been struck by his demeanour, which was contrary to the usual image of a politician. He was thoughtful and considerate, didn't hog speaking time and greatly enjoyed struggling with ideas. One got the sense that he was an astute strategist and background operator rather than a person who led from the front with struggle songs and toyi-toyiing.
There was also a subtlety about his wealth. He didn't come across as a vulgar "eatist" beholden to shiny, expensive things. All these attributes made his company pleasant, even if one didn't agree with his views.
Nkuhlu came into the public eye as part of the generation of the ANC Youth League that institutionalised bling and glamour as the new mantle of political leadership. That generation competed with celebrities and often outdid them in outrageous public antics to demonstrate that they were living the high life. Things became so bad that corporations endorsed them as they do sportspeople and celebrities. They presented themselves as warriors for economic freedom, but they were beholden to white capital.
Correctly seen, this group, which was led by Fikile Mbalula, embellished what their predecessor Peter Mokaba had invented. It was Mokaba, the youth league firebrand, who normalised the idea of bling as mandatory for radical young blacks. He knew how to turn political popularity into a cash cow for his personal benefit. He mounted stages and sang "Kill the boer, kill the farmer" to the delirium of the angry and hungry masses, who identified him as their saviour – but after the rallies Mokaba went back to the same boere (his apartheid spymasters) to collect a pay cheque.
It may have been Smuts Ngonyama who said: "I didn't struggle to be poor", but it was the youth league's leaders who lived bling lives, sponsored by white monopoly capital, their ostensible archenemy, who really gave meaning to the phrase. At night they indulged in expensive whiskies with the enemy and went home with bags full of money.
Mokaba was sponsored by the apartheid regime as their trusted agent in the revolution. The youth league was sponsored by mining magnate and fraudster Brett Kebble for the same reason.
Although Nkuhlu tangoed with Kebble, he was certainly not one of those who indulged publicly in vulgar acts of consumption. At the height of the Kebble-sponsored gluttony it is said that South Africa was the biggest importer of an outrageously expensive French cognac. It was around this time that another prominent French company, known for its signature monogrammed handbags and luggage, plus chic apparel, also became part of the political identity of youth leadership. The owners of the two French companies must have been surprised by the veneration their ancestors enjoyed from the Dark Continent.
Mokaba's political practice cemented the idea of politicians doing the opposite of what they proclaimed. Then we had aspirant capitalists who claimed to fight capitalism – now we have agents of imperialism who claim to fight imperialism.
One of the main points of disagreement between Nkuhlu and me was his insistence that, without a solid black bourgeoisie, decolonisation and racism would not be defeated. This argument is correct if you accept the assumption that capitalism is here to stay and controls every facet of life. Why wouldn't you prefer black controllers to whites? Of course, I rejected this notion on the basis that all capitalism is bad.
Nkuhlu's retort, which needs careful consideration, was that if all capitalism is the same, why is the black bourgeoisie treated differently from its white counterpart? Here we can see that race trumps economics. It is in this context that we have to understand why the renewed attack on BEE is actually not about the weaknesses of BEE, which are many and deep, but rather a racist imperialist agenda against all things black.
It's instructive that the new salvo against BEE was delivered by Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, from the United Kingdom, the high seat of imperialism. The irony is that not a word was said about the largest cash-in-transit heist executed through the delisting of the "big five" from the JSE and the repatriation of a staggering amount of wealth to the London Stock Exchange. It is said that, in 2007 under Thabo Mbeki's presidency, South Africa lost 20% of its gross domestic product to capital flight.
Malema's attack on BEE affirms the racist notion that white capital is good and aspirant black capital is bad. BEE is corruption, but white business is to be engaged. This colonial thinking happens within the paradigm that the UK is "civilised" and Africa is "backward".
What Nkuhlu would have noticed, which has not been highlighted in these new controversies about BEE and economic transformation, is that there is no call to end white capital, only a call to include black workers in profit-sharing while excluding black business, which has now been equated with corruption.
What this means is that white capitalists are guaranteed their position as individual owners and blacks join in the stake as a group. Let's take a crude example: if Absa were ever to give 51% of its shares to its workers, it would mean thousands of blacks would own this stake and a few whites would still have controlling power over the institution.
White capital is correct to celebrate the new bashing of BEE in favour of the proposed share-ownership schemes. They prescribe collective ownership for blacks but ensure individual ownership for whites, thereby maintaining the status quo. Blacks join in as self-exploiting junior partners in schemes that have already been tried and failed dismally as is evidenced by what happened with "share equity schemes" in the agricultural sector.
But there is no call to end capitalist exploitation itself, no questioning of where the profits come from. A study of Marxism would reveal the horror of the foundations of all profit, and banks would be seen for what they are – robbers of the masses for profit. Add to this the absence of awareness of the stolen billions now sitting in London and you have the perfect Mokaba political practice – shouting at imperialists in public, but serving their agenda in private.
Part of the practice of pickpocketing white capital is to make threats about its expropriation without any intention of doing so. The first post-1994 generation of black mining magnates got their break through threats of nationalisation and mass mobilisation. After their inclusion in the racist structure of the economy, they did not deliver economic freedom but gave us the Marikana massacre in service of white capital.
As we remember Nkuhlu, we would do well to concentrate our minds and understand the connection between politics, economics and race. But, even more importantly, we would do well to understand the paradox of a political culture inaugurated by Mokoba, perfected by the Kebble brigade and now gripping the mass imagination again.
Nkuhlu's warning about how racism ensures double standards when evaluating capitalism is worth noting, more so when empirical evidence shows that actually it's whites who have benefited most in the past 20 years from the government's economic policies. The canard that BEE has benefited blacks, whether a minority or not, needs to be laid to rest. If in doubt, just look at the Sunday Times's annual "Rich List".
Andile Mngxitama is national convenor of the Black First Land First Movement
Andile Nkuhlu


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Sunflower Seed Spat
2 sunflower seed competitors in spitting match over slogans
The Associated Press - December 8, 2017
FARGO, N.D. (AP) - Two sunflower seed competitors in the Dakotas are accusing each other of false advertising.
Wahpeton, North Dakota-based Giant Snacks, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Mound City, South Dakota-based Wild Dutchman Products, Inc. last month. It alleges that Wild Dutchman is misleading consumers about the amount of salt in its products. Wild Dutchman's packaging has a statement that reads "Half the salt. All the flavor."
Wild Dutchman says it's not the company that's making bogus claims. It has filed a countersuit criticizing Giant Snacks for saying it's the "only U.S. company to work directly with our own farmers and fields to ensure you are receiving GREAT GIANTS seeds in every bag."
Each company wants the other to drop packaging claims and pay the other damages to be determined by the court.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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8 ways festivals are becoming more environmentally friendly
This year's Unify Gathering not only brought together the very best in heavy music from Australia and worldwide, it was also a hub for environmental innovation.
From its promotion of reusable refillable water bottles, to its biodegradable and recyclable cardboard tents, to its organic and vegan locally-sourced food options, Unify Gathering is set to raise the bar again in 2019. The massive live event featuring Underoath, Taking Back Sunday and WAAX pays as much attention to the strong lineup as it does to its ecological footprint.
Thankfully, Unify isn't the only music festival promoting environmentally friendly practices. As fossil fuels become more expensive and less accessible, and as unchecked emissions threaten the climate system, more events are remodelling their infrastructure and ethos to reduce, reuse and recycle.
From making their own biomass energy to encouraging punter involvement, there are a carbon tonne of ways festivals are doing their bit for the environment, with Australia's Unify Gathering and Island Vibe Festival, Norway's Øya Festival and Wood Festival in the UK leading the charge and making a real commitment to energy reduction.
To celebrate the festivals that are doing their bit – and to offer a few insights into how it's done – below are a few ways music festivals are becoming more environmentally friendly.
Monitor greenhouse gas emissions
Unify Gathering's ethos is to influence and educate. While the festival is largely a celebration of the heavy music scene each January at Tarwin Meadows in Gippsland, it's also an opportunity to educate the Unify Community.
Though transparent messaging, it aims to educate its punters on unnecessary environmental impact, tackle waste, reduce festival emissions and increase recycling rates.
Unify is currently reducing emissions in three ways: the way it's powering the festival, festival related travel, and waste and recycling.
"We actively seek suppliers who can provide services to the festival using renewable and energy efficient products," said Unify's Operations Manager Kat Coppins and Event Director Rhett McLaren.
"Where possible, we use local services and contractors to get the Gathering up and running."
At the end of every Unify Gathering, the festival organisers carry out a festival assessment of vehicle emissions, landfill volumes, recycling percentages, water use, and emissions. It's all part of the festival's strategic plan and is incorporated into its Event Management Plan.
"As festival organisers, we share the responsibility to take every measure possible to reduce the amount of unnecessary environmental impact," says Unify.
Unify's Operations Manager Kat Coppins
Øya Festival in Oslo, Norway monitors emissions from runner transport and artist transport transfers, and makes reports of how much it uses. One report resulted in the idea to use electric golf carts for the 'build and break' of the festival.
"Our goal is to keep on challenging what we have done and find ways to improve a little bit," said Magnus.
Wood Festival in the UK is 100% powered by renewable energy, with energy sources ranging from biodiesel, solar power, Ecotricity, and wood-burning stoves.
Connecting power of the festival site to the nearest city's main grid
Power is generally one of the five largest single production costs for a festival. In fact, Power can represent up to 70% of a festival's 'core' carbon footprint, if you don't count audience travel and transport.
It shouldn't come as a surprise then to know that Grid connection, where the festival site is connected to the main sites for electricity, are becoming a major focus for music festivals. For some, a grid connection can reduce transportation involved in delivery and collection of equipment and save promoters thousands.
Unify Gathering places a huge focus on improving its 'green' initiatives through the way it powers the festival.
"We at UNIFY are committed to continuously improving our festival green practices and we are upping the anti in 2019 to continually improve our part in caring for the planet we live on," said the festival's Operations Manager Kat Coppins and Event Director Rhett McLaren.
Øya Festival in Norway is one of the largest festivals in the world to be powered by renewable energy from a grid connection. The power comes directly from a large hydro-electric plant through underground cables.
"We invested in infrastructure to connect to the main grid so we have no diesel aggregates," says Caroline Magnus, Øya Festival's environmental coordinator. "That saves a lot of C02 and emissions and diesel and fossil fuels."
Magnus plays a crucial role in the festival's all-year focus on green initiatives. Having worked in the environmental and sustainable sector for many years, Magnus assures the environmental voice is part of all decision-making for Øya, continuing the focus and ensuring it's not seasonal.
"A lot of implemented things have become an integrated part of the festival and are now in systems and logistics," said Magnus. "But we're still looking for ways to improve and advance."
Located close to public transport
The release of carbon gases into the atmosphere is not only one of the biggest dangers to the Earth's radiative balance, it's the reference gas against which other greenhouse gases are measured.
It's also big business. Emissions saved from a carbon offset project are certified as carbon reduction and 'offset credits' can be sold and bought through the carbon market as tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Unify's Operations Manager Kat Coppins and Event Director Rhett McLaren said the festival's car-pass program encourages and rewards carpooling.
"Travelling with mates is a major help for our festival's travel-related footprint and we appreciate it! This year, if you rock up with two or more passengers in your car, we will plant a tree within the festival's Penfold State Forest.
"Another travel option is to get the party started early by catching a Banana Bus. One full bus eliminates up to 25 cars on the road. You can catch a Banana Bus from both Melbourne and Sydney."
Meanwhile, Oslo's Øya Festival relocated in 2017 to be closer to public transport; hugely offsetting its greenhouse gas emissions and becoming more accessible for its punters.
"Around 90% of our audience commute by bike or local transportation which is also a very environmentally conscious, clean thing," said Øya's environmental coordinator Caroline Magnus.
Sløtface at Øya Festival, August 2018
Wood Festival in the UK is well on its way to becoming a zero-waste festival. It was awarded the full 4 star Outstanding rating from UK organisation A Greener Festival, which placed festivals from 12 countries under the microscope for a rigorous assessment, site visit and post event analysis of their event's sustainability actions. Events were assessed on 11 main areas including transport, waste, power, water and local area impacts.
Wood Festival actively promotes the use of public transport schemes like cycling and car sharing, for people travelling to the event. In fact, the festival knocks a few bucks off the ticket price if you get a bus or bike ticket along with it.
Gone plastic-free
It's an often confronting sight to see festival locations littered with rubbish and scraps of environmentally harmful plastic. That's just one of the reasons behind a global push from festivals to go plastic-free on site.
Over in Norway, Øya Festival's organisers have changed out all beverage cups from plastic to PLA, the decomposable material made from plants. The best part? The festival's punters are incentivised to pick up the PLA cups throughout the four-day festival.
Øya has partnered with Norwegian environmentalist organisation Nature and Youth to host cup return booths, with all all money going toward the organisation and their initiatives.
"Every time our audience buys a cup you pay 1 Kroner for it to be refunded. And anyone who picks up the cup and returns it gets this 1 Kroner, in cash," explains Magnus. "If you really want to collect cups you can fund your whole festival ticket in a day, a lot of students do that. It's also a good way for our audience to collect their waste and it's an opportunity for kids to collect the cups and earn money."
Nature and Youth volunteers also pick up debris and waste and recycle it at the festival's temporary recycling station which includes cardboard, metal and glass compressors.
Unify has a 'leave no trace' policy onsite, its attendees are encouraged to pick up after themselves and do away with unnecessary packaging – that includes the tents in its camping area.
"We see the biggest opportunity to influence fans to avoid unnecessary environmental impact by removing packaging and to buy, borrow and bring reusable camping gear," says Unify's Kat Coppins and Rhett McLaren.
"Each year tens of thousands of tents end up in landfill which is simply not good enough. Part of this year's strategy is a continued focus on minimising waste from cheap tents being brought into and left at our festival site. After the success of housing over 300 punters in recyclable cardboard tents, we have once again partnered with KarTent as our sustainable camping option."
Unify 2019 punters can even choose from pre-pitched camping options which are decked out in four options: a scout tent, bell tents, canvas lodge or the ultimate festival tent.
Island Vibe Festival took out a Commended Award in the 2017 A Greener Festival Awards, the British organisation dedicated to improving festivals' environmental efficiency.
It sells zero plastic at all on-site, including backstage. Punters are even encouraged to bring their own reusable bottles and cups. The move was made long before Queensland laws were introduced this year to ban single-use plastic bags in the state.
Island Vibe Marketing Manager Margaux Cappe told Scenstr: "We won't be distributing plastic bottles to any of our artists or guests and none of our distributors will be selling bottled water in plastic, or [using] plastic bags. We will have water refill stations; there will not be water sold on-site but instead we'll be selling Island Vibe steel bottles that are reusable."
Making sure food waste doesn't go waste
Unify is committed to minimising its impact on the environment. It ensures most of the items onsite are recyclable or bio-degradable. Its organisers have even developed waste management plans with waste contractors with increased its recycling targets.
Minimising the volume of waste to landfill is a priority for the festival. Unify Gathering supports and promotes charities and organisations that encourage reuse of materials, and makes it easy to recycle and compost on-the-go. It encourages everyone traveling to only bring what's needed and leave the rest behind.
Unify regulates what contractors, particularly food vendors can bring onsite, and has smart and easy to use waste systems in place.
The site of Island Vibe Festival on QLD's North Stradbroke Island is home to rare and endangered species as well as a few heritage-listed sites. That's why no waste is ever left on the island except for the compost, which goes to locals gardens.
In the UK, Wood Festival's MainStage is entirely solar-powered. Its second stage (the Tree Tent) runs on bio-diesel and the festival offers a bicycle-powered disco too.
It's hard to top an initiative out of Norway though, a city with an ambitious target of being carbon neutral by 2050. Øya festival's food waste is taken to a treatment plant where it becomes biogas and helps to run the public buses in Oslo. That's right, the city's two sewage plants have enough biomethane to provide fuel to run all of its 400 public buses on biogas.
Making eating utensils edible
An estimated 24 million tonnes of plastic will end up in the world's waterways each year. In fact. the past seven decades of plastic waste have resulted in pollution so wide-spread, scientists have given it its own geological epoch, the manmade Anthropocene.
Thankfully, a few festivals are not only wary of plastic pollution, are leading the charge for agricultural science in the live music sector. And they're asking the question: Why use disposable cutlery when you can make it edible?
Øya Festival cups are made from corn and potato and are compostable. Its forks, knives and even bowls are made from entirely edible grains. "If you take a bowls and make them into pieces and soak them in milk, you have a cereal there," laughed Magnus.
Edible bowl at Øya Festival
Swapping cow's milk for eco-friendly alternatives
Got milk alternatives? Environmental concerns about the dairy industry have been raised since long before the 'Got Milk?' communication campaign saw a global resurgence in dairy consumption, but now festivals are doing their bit.
In an effort to lessen the carbon footprint of the dairy industry, not to mention the unethical treatment of animals at dairy farms the world over, some festivals are stamping out milk onsite completely.
Unify is often described as some people's first experience with alternatives like almond and soy milk.
"We really just want to ensure there is something for everyone, whether that's information or simply a variety of options. If you're into cow's milk, that's cool and if not – there will 100% be alternative for you."
Øya exclusively offers oat milk, while 90% of the ingredients in all food offerings is organic – a contractual agreement with every food vendor that is monitored by controllers.
"I think we effect our audience a little bit," says Magnus. "I think we make people a little bit more conscious of environmental food, local produce, organic produce, recycling, waste management and all these things that we do. We even get to showcase vegan and vegetarian food to people that might not have even tried anything like that before.
"It's a sort of mindset of that's how it's done, and I hope people bring that home."
Ensuring toilet waste is compostable
While Øya Festival is preparing to implement a compostable system for the toilet waste and is currently looking at logistics, the toilets at its Tøyen Park site are emptied every day with the sewerage used to generate heat for the houses in the city. It's a widely-reported fact that a significant share of Oslo's district heating comes from waste incineration, biofuel facilities and heat pumps that extract heat from sewage.
Wood Festival has achieved 85% recycling in the past, and there are no portaloos, all toilets at the Oxfordshire site are composting.
Back on home soil Island Vibe Festival puts a major focus on its sustainability initiatives. With over 80 acts performing across four stages over four days, it's important to preserve the Stradbroke Island site. Its compost toilets come from Fernvale in the Brisbane Valley.
"I know some people are not aware of all of the ways that we're trying to reduce our carbon emissions," Island Vibe Marketing Manager Margaux Cappe told Scenestr. "Some people don't even know that we'll have a stage that is powered by solar power, or how all of our waste is hand sorted right at the festival so that we make sure as much as possible is recycled."
Unify Gathering takes place at Tarwin Meadows, Gippsland, VIC on Friday, January 11th – Monday, January 13th, 2019. The massive lineup features the likes of emo legends Taking Back Sunday, metalcore monoliths Underoath and Aussie faves In Hearts Wake as well as a slew of seasoned scene legends and exciting up and comers.
UNIFY Gathering 2019 Lineup
2019 UNIFY Gathering Lineup
UNDERØATH
[Exclusive Australian Performance]
[First East Coast Show since 2016]
[Very special return set]
HAND OF MERCY
[Exclusive Reunion Show]
DROWN THIS CITY
OCEAN SLEEPER
[Playing Tell All Your Friends in full]
WAAX
ENDLESS HEIGHTS
STAND ATLANTIC
AFTER TOUCH
FALCIFER
Friday, January 11th – Monday, January 13th, 2019
Tarwin Meadows, Gippsland, VIC
Tickets: UNIFY Gathering


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Civil Liberties Committee joins the opposition against automated censorship machines
Good news in the latest chapter of the fight over whether the EU should mandate the installation of "censorship machines" on internet platforms as part of the upcoming copyright reform:
The Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament today threw its weight behind a more sensible way forward than the one demanded by media conglomerates and proposed by the European Commission.
The Committee voted to remove the obligation for internet platforms to employ technologies like automated content recognition to surveil all user uploads and try to pre-empt copyright infringement. It also proposes strengthening people's ability to contest the takedown of works they've uploaded. This is the same balanced approach previously taken by the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee.
It also called for a clarification that purely linking to content that is already publicly available can not be a copyright infringement.
A threat to civil liberties
The Civil Liberties Committee decided to make this issue the only point of the copyright reform plans to comment on, determining it the greatest threat to civil liberties in the proposal, and with good reason:
Last month, 56 professors and scholars of copyright and internet law had warned that automated filtering systems "would deprive users of the room for freedom of expression", and an alliance of 50 human rights organisations concluded that they would "limit the freedom to impart information on the one hand, and the freedom to receive information on the other."
Up next: The most important vote
Now only the most important committee has yet to vote: The Legal Affairs Committee. Here's the overview of the other committees' opinions on the 3 most contentious issues:
Committee Extra © for news sites Censorship machines Text and data mining
IMCO no consensus found no automation required restricted to research and cultural heritage institutions
LIBE – no automation required –
CULT in favour in favour restricted to research institutions & 'acquired' access
ITRE extend to academic publishing in favour restricted to research institutions, non-profits, startups & 'acquired' access
JURI Negotiations in progress, vote scheduled for January 24/25
The vote on January 24/25 is our best chance to stop these harmful proposals that threaten your right to participate online – to share news, upload media and do research.
Next, on December 7th, the committee holds a hearing on the extra copyright for news sites, where a damning study will be presented.
If you are a creator, you could get paid to help stop these plans: The Create • Refresh project is offering grants to create media that helps raise awareness.
For everyone else, the ChangeCopyright, SaveTheLink and SaveTheMeme campaigns make it easy to make your voice heard.
Date: 20.11.17	Category: General	Comments: closed	Author: Julia Reda


This entry was posted on 01/01/2014 at 12:16 and is filed under Lart & Poshtë, Pikturë.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


The engine, reactor, shields, and armor on the Command Craft can be upgraded. The upgrade path will vary depending on the ship. For example, upgrades for a carrier may not be available for a transport.
An upgraded system results in better performance and in the case of shields and armor, higher protection.
Most upgrades can be performed on-board by your own on-board engineers or engineers at starstations or starbases.
If your upgraded system is damaged or destroyed, depending on its damaged components, you may only be able to replace it by first downgrading to a lesser component and then trying to upgrade it.
Note: Artifacts cannot be repaired.


The Aviationist, David Cenciotti's weblog, today confirmed eyewitness accounts and reports received by UOI, that an Iranian F-4E Phantom crashed on Bushehr air base's runway on Monday, killing its pilot and injuring WSO.
This is the third crash of an Iranian F-4 Phantom in the last three years, which includes the 2010 crash in Bushehr and 2012 crash in Bandar Abbas.
The F-4 remains the workhorse of IRIAF. The Iranian air force has recently mounted Qader anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) on its F-4Es (see the report here). The move gives Iran ALCM capabilities, in addition to its ASCMs that can be fired from land or the sea.
The Shah of Iran purchased more than 260 F-4s in late 1960s and 1970s. The first combat use of an F-4 by Iranian air force was in 1975 when the Shah supported Oman government against the separatist rebels in the country's Dhofar province. It is estimated that some 30 F-4s were lost during the conflict. The F-4s played key role in the 8-year war with Iraq, and an estimated 80 Phantoms were lost during that war. To this day, the F-4s are responsible for majority of alert duties for the IRIAF.
Currently, the F-4Es are based in Bushehr, Bandar Abbas and Hamadan air force bases. It is estimated that some 60 F-4E and RF-4Es are still kept fly-worthy and operational, and few aging F-4Ds that are based in Chahbahar.
Note: Winston of The Spirit of Man first posted about the IRIAF F-4 accident on 25 September. To see his post, please click here. Our apologies to Winston and to our readers for not crediting the author and the blog. It was unintentional.
best wishes for the families of the fallen Major Rezaie.
Thnx. I have the KIA crew's photo on my blog. I filed that report on The Aviationist blog per Mr. Cencioti's request.


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Mobility/Interview/
SoundCloud founders exchange music for mobility with new e-bike startup
Onlookers of Europe's mobility space may roll their eyes at news of yet another e-bike startup. But could Berlin-based company Dance bring something new to the table?
By Miriam Partington in Berlin 4 August 2020
Dance founder team
Health in stealth, a decacorn downround and bootstrapping: Nordic tech's highlights in 2022
By Mimi Billing 22 December 2022
The global e-bike movement has been steadily gathering momentum in the last five years — and now the market has stepped up several gears in the space of just a few months.
Last month Belgian e-bike maker Cowboy raised a $26m Series B funding round to accelerate its expansion in Europe amid tough competition from its main rival, the Dutch company VanMoof.
And now Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss and Alexander Ljung, former SoundCloud cofounders and Berlin startup celebrities, have teamed up with Christian Springub of website building platform Jimdo to launch a new e-bike subscription service.
Going by the name of Dance, the invite-only programme — which just launched in Berlin — is charging €59-a-month for use of an e-bike, including services such as delivery, maintenance and theft protection.
Subscribers selected from the waitlist will receive the fully-assembled bike on their doorstep, which they can unlock with the Dance app and ride straightaway.
Speaking to Sifted, the founders said that Berlin, and Germany more widely, is the best place for them to launch the service, especially as there has been "tremendous adoption" of e-bikes nationally.
"Bike-commuting in Berlin has been on the rise for the last ten years, and now, with the coronavirus, the trend has accelerated even more," says CEO Quidenus-Wahlforss.
Recent statistics reflect this growing trend: according to GlobeNewswire, 45% of Germans are interested in owning an e-bike, and the European e-bike market is expected to double by 2025.
Government attitudes have also been "shifting worldwide in favour of bikes," adds Quidenus-Wahlforss.
In Berlin, 22km of pop-up bike lanes have been introduced since Germany's lockdown in mid-March, and another 30–50km are expected to follow by the end of the year.
Other bike companies are spotting an opportunity as well: UK folding bike company Brompton, which builds 55,000 bikes a year in the London suburb of Greenford, is preparing for a big push into Germany hoping to capitalise on this same German biking trend.
From music-streaming to mobility
The SoundCloud founders' shift from music-streaming to e-bikes wasn't entirely random.
Quidenus-Wahlforss says that he's been engaged in the climate change debate for the last five years, and was an "early adopter" of mobility solutions such as bike-sharing, electric skateboards and scooters.
Stepping down from his operational role at SoundCloud also provided a window of opportunity for him to start something new. "I wanted to focus on what was next, and to launch a venture that could make a real impact in the mobility space," adds Quidenus-Wahlforss.
A long walk with an old friend in his hometown of Stockholm was the turning point for the CEO.
After discussing society's shift from owning to renting — something the SoundCloud founders witnessed first-hand in the music industry in the 2000s, and capitalised on with their subscription service — Quidenus-Wahlforss started thinking about creating a similar model for e-bikes. After that, Ljung — who is now Dance's chairman — came on board.
"I then, by chance, met Christian Springub who had the same idea as us, but had arrived at it from a different angle," says Quidenus-Wahlforss. "He'd been looking at developing a bike repair service, and he was also very passionate about getting cars out of cities." So, the three got together and began focusing on something that could pull all of these threads together.
Sweating the competition?
Berlin has become a playground for new mobility solutions in recent years and Quidenus-Wahlforss says that some verticals, such as bike-sharing and e-scooters, "are quite noisy."
This doesn't mean that these current solutions are effective, however. Vehicles offered by bike-sharing services are poorly maintained, expensive to run, and hard to track down in busy city centres, explains Quidenus-Wahlforss.
"Then you're just left with buying a bike of your own, but electric bikes in particular are pretty expensive," he continues.
Dance thinks that its all-inclusive subscription service could form a "meaningful third option" for consumers in the mobility space — especially as there are "few other players" with a similar offering.
The company could still be facing competition, however. Berlin-based startup Grover has just launched its own e-scooter subscription service, and Dutch company Swapfiets entered the Berlin market in July with a new range of subscription e-bikes.
Meanwhile, Pony in Paris has been trying out a so-called 'decentralised ownership' model, where users can buy a bike or scooter that can be rented out to other people via its app. The company claims that the model allows users to feel a sense of belonging over the vehicles. As a result, people generally treat them better.
So, how will Dance stand out from the crowd?
"[Our USP] is the all-inclusive package: the software, hardware and service aspects," explains Quidenus-Wahlforss. "We're designing this experience with a holistic view based on what we think e-bikers need and will enjoy."
Community at its core
Being part of a community of e-bikers is one of the major benefits of Dance's service, according to the founders.
Ljung and Quidenus-Wahlforss have been working on subscription services since SoundCloud launched in 2007 and they think that "building a movement" around shared passions is what they do best.
"There are many people who want their cities to be more liveable, and who really believe in reducing car-usage," says Quidenus-Wahlforss, referring to people in cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen, where over 60% of the population use bikes to commute to work or school.
"We think we have an opportunity to create a connected community with a strong stance on climate-related issues. It could be extremely powerful, if we nail it," he adds.
Creating a community within the company itself is also a priority for the founders. Dance is currently hiring for positions in software, hardware, finance and marketing. They're also in the throes of deciding whether they'll create a centralised team in Berlin, or continue with a fully remote workforce.
"I don't think [the latter] really works for us right now," explains Quidenus-Wahlforss. "Having flexible-work practices is essential, but we'd also love our team to congregate together in a physical office at least now and then."
That's if things go well for the company. Critics in Berlin's startup scene say the mobility market is extremely competitive with razor-thin margins. As a result, many companies struggle to achieve profitability, and those that are making ends meet are floating on VC money.
In fact, one anonymous user on Reddit, who responded to a thread advertising Dance's new e-bike offering, wrote: "All I see is a website with just a few renders of a bike, a whole lot of marketing talk, no technical details at all and some "famous" founders. Peak Berlin startup scene."
Harsh words, perhaps, for a service that has only just launched, but Quidenus-Wahlforss is unphased by the naysayers.
"There's a lot of things that determine whether an e-bike company will survive or not, so it's hard to make a sweeping statement. What I will say is that I'm extremely positive about Dance's future. We aspire to launch in other countries eventually, and make a real dent in the mobility space."
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