Google calls the effort Project Loon and acknowledges it is “highly experimental” at this stage.

“This is the first time we’ve launched this many balloons (30 this week, in fact) and tried to connect to this many receivers on the ground, and we’re going to learn a lot that will help us improve our technology and balloon design,” Mike Cassidy, head of Project Loon, wrote in a blog post.

This week Google started this pilot program in the Canterbury area of New Zealand with 50 testers trying to connect their balloons.

It works by ground stations connecting to the local Internet infrastructure and beaming signals to the balloons, which are self-powered by solar panels.

“We imagine someday you’ll be able to use your cell phone with your existing service provider to connect to the balloons and get connectivity where there is none today”,Cassidy said.

Office Mobile for iPhone is available in the Apple App Store, and it’s free for Office 365 subscribers.It’s optimized for the iPhone, not Apple’s larger iPads.

“We don’t view this as a standalone app,” said Chris Schneider, a marketing manager in Microsoft’s Office division.

The iPhone app will come with Word, Excel and PowerPoint and will sync with Microsoft’s SkyDrive online storage service.

Files can be saved in the cloud on Microsoft’s SkyDrive or SkyDrive Pro. From the app you can send files off as attachments. Office content can be cached locally on the phone.

The service, dubbed #FollowMe, can “instantly set your Twitter timeline in motion,” according to Vizify.

You can create your own on Vizify’s website. Just link up your Twitter account to Vizify and the company will email you the final result.

You can share your “videos” on Twitter with one click once finished.

“#FollowMe looks and behaves like a video, but is actually built using HTML5 & animations; it plays on pretty much any modern Web or mobile device,” Vizify said.

#FollowMe is powered by automatic infographic-maker Vizify.

During his first blog post for LinkedIn, Bill Gates speaks about three skills he has learned from friend and fellow billionaire Warren Buffet.

Bill Gates writes on his LinkedIn blog:

“No matter how much money you have, you can’t buy more time. There are only 24 hours in everyone’s day. Warren has a keen sense of this. He doesn’t let his calendar get filled up with useless meetings. On the other hand, he’s very generous with his time for the people he trusts. He gives his close advisers at Berkshire his phone number, and they can just call him up and he’ll answer the phone”.

Gates also told that Buffet helped him with big decisions regarding both Microsoft and the Gates Foundation.

“The dialogue has been invaluable to me, and not only at Microsoft. When Melinda and I started our foundation, I turned to him for advice. We talked a lot about the idea that philanthropy could be just as impactful in its own way as software had been,” says Gates.

According to news.com.au, Cinton’s profile is a bit light on endorsements and summaries of his skills.

“For almost three weeks, we have detected and disrupted multiple email-based phishing campaigns”,Eric Grosse, the vice president for security engineering, wrote in a post.

“The timing and targeting of the campaigns suggest that the attacks are politically motivated,” he said.

Mr Grosse said victims targeted in the attacks had received an email containing a link to a web page purporting to perform account maintenance.

If they clicked the link, they were taken to a fake Google sign-in page, which would steal their username and password.

Google said it used its Chrome browser to detect phishing efforts from what appears to be the same Iranian group in 2011.

“Indian customers are passionate about books and reading, and we’re very excited to make the best-selling e-readers in the world—Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite—available to our Amazon.in customers,” said Amit Agarwal, vice president and country manager, Amazon India.

The prices of the devices are as follows:

Kindle Fire HD 7-inch – Rs. 15,999 (16GB), Rs. 18,999 (32GB)
Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch – Rs. 21,999 (16GB), Rs. 25,999 (32GB).
Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi only – Rs. 10,999
Kindle Paperwhite 3G model – Rs. 13,999
Kindle (5th generation model) – Rs. 5,999

The Kindle Fire HD comes with a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1280*800 display, powered by 1.2GHz dual-core processor and Imagination SGX540 GPU. A 4, 400mAh battery makes it lasts for 11 hours.

Kindle Fire HD 8.9 on the other hand, comes with a bigger 8.9 inch 1920×1200 pixels display. It is powered by a dual core 1.5GHz OMAP4470 processor and features 1GB RAM, front HD camera, 16/32GB internal storage and a 6,000 mAh battery.

Kindle Paperwhite models have a 6-inch front-lit display (212 ppi) and they display 16 level grey scale.

The tablets will be available online at Amazon.in and at over one hundred retail outlets across India including Croma, Reliance Digital, E-Zone and Vijay Sales stores starting June 27.

Last week amazon launches its website amazon.in for India.

Yahoo confirmed this acquisition via Twitter

Today we acquired @ghostbirdsoft for @flickr. Get ready to see your mobile photos in a whole new light! bit.ly/11zOvNY

— Yahoo! Inc.(@YahooInc) June 12, 2013

“We’ll integrate many of the mobile photography experiences from GhostBird into our Flickr apps,” a Yahoo spokesperson told to WebProNews.

People who have installed KitCam or PhotoForge2 apps on iPhones will still be able to use the mini-programmes, but Yahoo yanked them from Apple’s online App Store and planned no updates for the future.

GhostBird told about this acquisition in their site:

GhostBird Software is joining Yahoo!

Today we are thrilled to announce that Yahoo! has acquired GhostBird Software!

Over the last few years, mobile photography has really taken off, and we feel privileged to have been part of its growth. We are especially humbled to have introduced some of the most-loved photography apps to the App Store. We have been dedicated to bringing incredible photo-editing experiences to iOS since 2009; and the best part is that the journey has just begun.

As photography enthusiasts, we are long-time admirers of Flickr, and we’re thrilled to be able to bring our technology and passion for beautiful photos to the Flickr team. There has been so much exciting progress at Yahoo! as they re-imagine their most-loved products for mobile, including the awesome new Flickr apps for iOS and Android.

If you already have the KitCam or PhotoForge2 apps on your devices, you will be able to continue to use them in their current versions. However, we will not continue to update the apps as future versions of iOS are released. Anyone who previously purchased GhostBird Software’s apps, including KitCam and PhotoForge2, will be able to re-download those apps through iCloud. As of today, KitCam and PhotoForge2 are no longer available for download from the App Store.

Thank you for all of your support and feedback. We can’t wait to work with the Flickr team and help you capture even more beautiful moments for years to come.

Sincerely,
The GhostBird Software Team

Check out its front side, and you’ll see a device very similar to a Galaxy S4 Mini.On the back, it’s a full-fledged camera, with a 16-megapixel sensor and 10x optical zoom.

“The Samsung GALAXY S4 zoom represents yet another step forward in the way Samsung is working to enhance the lives of our customers around the world,” said JK Shin, President and CEO, Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics. “As communication continues to become increasingly visual in nature, people wish to capture and share their moments in the highest quality possible, but often do not have the space or inclination to carry a dedicated camera for this purpose. The GALAXY S4 zoom changes this forever, combining the industry leading functionality and connectivity of the GALAXY S4 with the high quality photographic experience you’d expect from a compact camera. The result is truly the best of both worlds, without compromise.”

The device includes a feature known as Zoom Ring. If you’re on a call, for example, and spot something you want to share, twist the Zoom Ring to activate an in-call photo share feature. Then just snap a photo and send it via text to the person with whom you are talking.

The Zoom Ring also revolutionizes conventional camera zoom controls. Optical zoom control replaces traditional dials and buttons with smooth, easy-to-operate digital controls.

The French edition will automatically appear to those connecting to pinterest.com with a French IP address.

“We’re so excited to offer a tailored experience for our French community and we definitely couldn’t have done it without help from native French pinners”,the company said.

Read below the Transcript of this speech of Martin Sheen.

“I’ve been an actor all of my life.

In fact I have no conscious memory of ever not being an actor, but while acting is what I do for a living, activism is what I do to stay alive.

And I am often asked how I manage to unite the two and the answer is quite simple; I don’t have a clue because it was far less a conscious effort than it was a natural progression. Of course if you grew up in a poor large immigrant family chances are you’re either Irish catholic or Hispanic and I was lucky enough to be both, so I had a head start when it came to social justice activism.

Both of my parents were immigrants, my father was Francisco Estevez or as they say in Spanish «Estévez», he was born in northern Spain on a little village called Vigo on July the second 1897 the very day The United States declared war on Spain.

My mother was Mary-Ann Fallon she was born May the 22nd, 1903 on a tiny village in the center of the Irish Republic. They emigrated separately of course but they met in Dayton, Ohio and were married in 1924. They had 12 pregnancies, 10 survived, 9 boys and one girl, I was their seventh son, my real name is Ramon.

I stayed in Dayton and then I finished high school and I decided to go to New York to pursue a career on the theater.

John Kennedy was on the white house and Pope John 23rd was in the Vatican.

We held our breath during the Cuban missiles crisis and we were lifted up by Martin Luther King’s dream as civil rights, Vietnam, all came into the national consciousness.

Then suddenly we lost John Kennedy and we still don’t know how or why but it seemed as the worst of the sixties were yet to come. 1968 started with the Tet offense of Vietnam and ended with the retired Richard Nixon. In between, we lost both; Martin Luther King Junior and Bobby Kennedy, and we lost them just eight weeks apart.

We backed out of the sixties, still broken but clutching the absolute certainty that lost causes were still the only causes worth fighting for, and that non-violence is the only weapon to use to fight with. ‘Each time someone stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve a lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, they stand for a tiny ripple of hope and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy endearing, those ripples build the current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and injustice’ those words were spoken at Cape town South Africa at the university there in 1966 by Robert Francis Kennedy. They are enshrined on his memorial at Arlington National Cemetery as well and they have been a powerful source of inspiration for my generation ever since.

The more the world changes, the more it remains the same, I believe, because the three most important needs of every human being on earth are not food clothing and shelter as much as as the need for freedom, justice and healing.

It is the gross inequality of food clothing and shelter that divides us and the absolute necessity of freedom, justice and healing that unites us.

Clearly we need a more realistic understanding of who we are and why we are here in order to have a honest relationship with each other.

Consider the following please, from ‘Earth as a Village’ by Phillips M. Harter, Stanford school of medicine.

‘If we could shrink the earth’s population of over six and a half billion people down to a single village consisting of one hundred people, with all the existing races the same, it would look something like this; there would be 57 Asians, 8 Europeans 21 Africans and 14 people from the western hemisphere. There would be 52 women and 48 man. There would be 70 non white and 30 white. There would be 70 non Christians and 30 Christians, there would be no doctor, no nurse, no dentist, no hospital or clinic and no school, there would be no safe drinking water, there would be no common language, there would be no electricity and no paved roads, there would be 70 people unable to read or write, there would be 50 people suffering from malnutrition, there would be one person near death and one person near birth. The entire food supply for the village would depend entirely on outside sources. Six people on that village would posses 59% of the entire world’s wealth and all 6 would be US citizens. There would be one collage graduate, one TV, one computer and the average person on that village would be a 13 year old Chinese girl.

Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not we are all responsible for each other and the world which is exactly the way it is because, consciously or unconsciously, we have made it so. And while none of us made the any of the rules that govern the universe, we do make all the rules that govern our own hearts, and we are all beneficiaries of those many heroic strangers who’ve gone before us over the centuries who assure us that the world is still a wonderful and safe place despite our fears and we’re not asked to do great things, we’re asked to do all things with great care.

Such an ideal is rare in a culture of so many compromised values and so much cynicism, a culture that all too often knows the price of everything and the value of nothing, and yet there remains a very real and mysterious yearning. deep within every human heart, that compels us to reach outside of ourselves and help others for our own sake. This yearning is a true manifestation of our true selves, and it can lead to the very first small conscious act of personal courage which can bring rejection from the crown and satisfaction from the heart. But this yearning can also be very causally as well if we’re not so we’d be left to question it’s value ,and this ,above all; one heart with courage, is a majority.

Over the entire history of the world, every truth started as a blasphemy and no one as ever made a contribution of any real work without self sacrifice, personal sufferings and sometimes, even death.

The Irish tell a story of a man who came to the gates of heaven and asked to be led in, Saint Peter said ’of course! Just show us your scars’ the man says ‘I have no scars’ Saint Peter says ‘what a pity, was there not something worth fighting for?’

My fondest wish for each and every one of the young people here today is that you will find something in your life worth fighting for, because when you do, you would have discovered a way to unite the will of the spirit to the work of the flesh and all of humanity would have discovered fire for the second time.

It is my profound wish that the light from that fire will illuminate your path to that place where the heart is without fear and the head is held high, where knowledge is free, where the world has not been broken into fragments by narrow domestic walls, where words come out from the depths of truth and tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection, where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sands of dead havoc. Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever widening thoughts and action into that heaven of freedom.”

In this speech Dr. Kalam explains about how to manage failure and Success.

Read below the details of this speech.

The year was 1979… SLV 3. I was the project director, the mission director. My mission was to put the satellite in the orbit. Thousands of people worked nearly 10 years. I have reached Sriharikota and it is in the launch pad. The countdown was going on… T minus 4 minutes, T minus 3 minutes, T minus 2 minutes, T minus 1 minute, T minus 40 seconds. And the computer put it on hold… don’t launch it. The computer was telling us not launch it now. I am the mission director, I have to take a decision,” says Dr. Kalam in the video.

“Everything is on. Behind me there were six experts. They saw the database on the computer and they see the pictures on the screen and say there is a problem. The problem is that there is some leakage in the system, in the control system,” says Dr. Kalam, adding how the scientists went into immediate calculations to assure him that there was adequate fuel for the control system to function. The control system is that which controls the rocket to the acquired altitude. So his experts told him that he could still go ahead and launch the vehicle.

“Even though the experts gave their view and I acted upon it, the decision was mine. I took the decision,” says Dr. Kalam, emphasising the fact that the onus of responsibility lay on his shoulders and he was the one who decided that moment to overrule the computer warning and go ahead.

“I bypassed the computer and launched the system. This fellow went. There are four stages before the satellite is launched. The first stage went off well, and in the second stage it got mad. It went into a spin. Instead of putting the satellite in orbit, it put it into the Bay of Bengal,” says Dr. Kalam dramatically. “1979… It was a failure.”

“First time I faced failure… And how to manage failure? Success I can manage, but how to manage failure?” asks the former President charmingly.

“At that time a great man, a great leader, professor Satish Dhawan, comes to me. I am very tired, having worked day and night for several months. He wakes me up and says, ‘Come, let us go to a press conference.’ The press is waiting there — many people, photographers, this and that.” Dr. Kalam goes on to describe the scene that created tension in the pit of his stomach. “I was highly frightened. I thought I would be the culprit for I had failed as the project director, the mission director,” he confesses.

“At that time, Satish Dhawan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation, said, ‘Dear friends, we have failed today. I want to support my technologists, my scientists, my staff, so that next year they succeed.’ So he took the whole blame on himself. They criticised him saying, ‘You have put so many crores into the Bay of Bengal.’ He took all the blame and assured them that next year we would succeed because his team was a very good one. Next year, and here only the interesting thing happened, next year on the 18th of July, 1980, when we succeeded, professor Dhawan said, ‘You go and conduct the press conference.’ Do you follow what this means? It means that in failure, the leader took it up. When success came he gives it to his team.”

Terms of the deal for Waze weren’t disclosed in the Google blog post. But many people expect that it will be more than 1 billion.

Started in Israel, Waze later moved its headquarters and some operations to the U.S.

Read below the official blog post from Google.

We’ve all been there: stuck in traffic, frustrated that you chose the wrong route on the drive to work. But imagine if you could see real-time traffic updates from friends and fellow travelers ahead of you, calling out “fender bender…totally stuck in left lane!” and showing faster routes that others are taking.

To help you outsmart traffic, today we’re excited to announce we’ve closed the acquisition of Waze. This fast-growing community of traffic-obsessed drivers is working together to find the best routes from home to work, every day.

The Waze product development team will remain in Israel and operate separately for now. We’re excited about the prospect of enhancing Google Maps with some of the traffic update features provided by Waze and enhancing Waze with Google’s search capabilities.

We’ll also work closely with the vibrant Waze community, who are the DNA of this app, to ensure they have what’s needed to grow and prosper.

The Waze community and its dedicated team have created a great source of timely road corrections and updates. We welcome them to Google and look forward to working with them in our ongoing effort to make a comprehensive, accurate and useful map of the world.

Source: motherteresa.org and www.thomasaquinas.edu

Read below the Transcript of her speech.

In this beautiful day that our young people are looking forward to becoming carriers of God’s love, let us ask Our Lady to give us her heart so beautiful, so pure, so immaculate, her heart so full of love and humility that we may be able to receive Jesus in the Bread of Life, love Him as she loved Him, and serve Him in the distressing disguise of the poor. (Mother makes the sign of the cross on her lips.)
You Go in Haste

We read in the Scripture that God loved the world so much that He gave His Son as a proof of His love. And Jesus, coming to Mary, the most beautiful of creatures, so pure, so holy. She, in accepting Him in her life, immediately, she went in haste to give Him to others.
And that haste today is very appropriate for you, for you, too, have received Jesus and have received of Jesus so many beautiful things from this college.
And now you go out. You also go in haste to give the joy of loving, the joy of sharing, for you have received not to keep, but to share.
Share the Joy of Christ’s Presence
And what is there to share? What did Our Lady do? When she came into Elizabeth’s house, that little unborn child — he was already six months in his mother’s womb — that little, innocent, small, helpless child was the first one to recognize the presence of Christ. And he leaped with joy. Even St. Joseph did not know that Mary had received Jesus. But this little one — so small, so innocent, so helpless — God used that little one to proclaim the greatness of His Son, the presence of His Son.
And this, the joy of the presence of Jesus, you must be able to give wherever you go. But you cannot give what you don’t have. That’s why you need a pure heart, a pure heart that you will receive as a fruit of your prayer, as a fruit of your oneness with Christ. And a pure heart can see God. And if you see God immediately — immediately — you begin to love one another. That’s all Jesus came on this earth to give us, that good news: “Love as I have loved you; love one another as I have loved you.”
How wonderful it is to think that we all — all — have been created for that purpose. We have not come into this world just to be a number. They say that we have many numbers in India. But we are not numbers. We are children of God. We have been created for a purpose, for greater things: to love and to be loved.
The Tenderness of God’s Love
And therefore that good news Jesus came to give us, and that good news you must carry out, you must bring into the world where you are going to move in now. What good news? Th at God loves you and that you want to love others as He loves you — tenderly, lovingly.
And how do we know that God loves us? There is a very beautiful word in the Scriptures in Isaias where He says: “I have called you by your name, you are Mine. Water will not drown you, fire will not burn you. I will give up nations for you. You are precious to Me. I love you. And if mother could forget her child, I will not forget you. I have carved you in the palm of My hand.” How wonderful it is, the tenderness of God’s love for us. And it is this that you have to carry out in the world of today.
The Joy of Loving
This expectation your parents, your relations, your friends, even the whole world, is expecting that you be that light, the light that Jesus said: “I am the light that you must lit. I am the truth you must speak. I am the joy that you must share. I am the life that you must lead. I am the love that you must love.” Go with that — the joy of loving.
You must experience the joy of loving. And how do you experience that freedom? You need to be free to love. That means have a clean heart. And this is my prayer for you: that you become real carriers of God’s love, in tenderness and love.
Do Not Be Afraid to Love
Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid to love. Even when suffering comes, humiliation comes, pain comes, success comes, joy comes. Remember, you are precious to Him. He loves you.
And this is something that today we are brought together to proclaim: the joy of being loved and the joy of loving.
We hear so many terrible things happening. But never lose heart. We always — thank God — I can smile. At least you can smile, if nothing else.
The Kiss of Jesus
I never forget one day I met a lady who was dying of cancer, and I could see the way she was struggling with that terrible pain. And I said to her, I said, “You know this is but the kiss of Jesus, a sign that you have come so close to Him on the cross that He can kiss you.” And she joined her hands together and said: “Mother Teresa, please tell Jesus to stop kissing me.”

This is the joy of suffering, the kiss of Jesus. Do not be afraid to share in that joy of suffering with Him because He will never give us more suffering than we are able to bear. I have seen that again and again with our poor people.
We deal with thousands of people, people who die of hunger, of disease, people who die of loneliness, of being unwanted, unloved. And I have never yet heard one of them complain or curse.
Once I picked up a man from the street — from an open drain — and I took him to our home. He did not shout; he did not blame anybody. [He] just said, “I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die like an angel, loved and cared [for].” Two or three hours after, he died with a big smile on his face. That was tenderness and love that came to him through the hands of those young sisters.
Now, in our congregation, we have about 70 young American sisters who have joined and who are completely so totally dedicated, and through that taking care of lepers, of the dying, of the crippled, of the unwanted, of the shut-ins and so on. And there is so much — that sharing and joy. Because Jesus wants us to be happy, He wants us to give that joy “that My joy be with you.” And we have no reason to be unhappy because we are loved by God Himself even in suffering. It is not a punishment, it is a gift of God.
Prayer Is Your Strength
And so I think these days when you are, after so many years — four full years you are prepared — I hope you have learned to pray. And if you have learned to pray, that is your strength, that is your joy. And through this life of prayer, make sure — the fruit of prayer is always the deepening of faith. And the fruit of faith is always love. And the fruit of love is action. We must put our love for Jesus in the living action.
How do we do that? If we do it with Jesus, if we do it for Jesus, and if we do it to Jesus, then we know that we are with Him because He has said so.
This is not an act of faith, to believe that I am doing it to Jesus. Jesus has said, “Whatever you do to the least of My brethren, you do to Me.”
And also the condition — in our last day when we come face to face with God, we are going to be judged by what we have been to Him, and He says, “I was hungry; and you gave Me to eat; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was homeless, and you did it to Me.” There is no imagination, no maybe.
Our Need for the Eucharist
Just as we believe that two and two make four — we don’t need to believe that; we know it is like that — so [it is the same] when Jesus has said, “You did it to me,” that presence. And to be able to do that, we need the Eucharist, we need Jesus in the Holy Communion, we need the Bread of Life. That is why Jesus made Himself Bread of Life to satisfy our hunger for His love. And then He makes Himself the Hungry One so that we can satisfy His hunger for our love.
A few months ago, I had to go to Delhi, and one of the ministers was the top man in social works, and he said, “Mother Teresa, you and we are doing [the] same social work. But there is a great difference between you and us. We do it for something, and you do it to somebody.”
This is for you young people: Remember, do it to somebody; that man, that woman, my brother, my sister — somebody. Jesus in distressing disguise.
Love Begins at Home
And how do we have to do that? Where does it begin, this love? At home. And how does this love begin? [The] family that prays together, stays together. And if you stay together, you will love one another as God loves each one of you, as Jesus wants us to love one another — not in sadness, but in joy. To think that I can love God in my brother, in my sister — it is a wonderful thing.
Only we must come to know. Do we know the poor of this beautiful country? Maybe the poor are in our own family. Maybe we have somebody sick, somebody old, somebody feeling very restless, somebody feeling very lonely. Do we know that?
Rejection and the Loss of Human Dignity
Nakedness is not only for a piece of cloth. Nakedness is also the loss of that dignity, human dignity — the loss for what is beautiful, what is pure, what is chaste, what is virgin. Loss. Homelessness is not only [for] a house made of brick. Homelessness is being that people are completely forgotten, rejected, left alone, as if they are nobody to nobody.

I never forget, one day I was walking down the streets of London, and there I saw a man. The way he was sitting, the way he was looking, he looked the most rejected man that I have ever seen. So, I went right near him, and I took his hand and shook his hand. And my hands are very warm — except here they are a little bit cold.
But I shook his hands, and then he said, “Oh, after so long a time, I feel the warmth of a human hand.” And his face was quite different. There was joy, there was sunshine in his eyes. I can’t tell you the change that came on that man’s life just with that simple shaking of the hand, the warmth of my hand. This is felt.
Abortion is the Greatest Poverty
Now, you young people must go out with that — with the searching eyes. Go in search and find. Maybe in your family; maybe next-door neighbor. Find. There are many people here in the States.
To me, the greatest poverty is that abortion: the fear of the child. The child must die; the child must be killed so that we don’t have to feed one more child, we don’t have to educate one more child. Terrible! Terrible! Mother could murder her own child! Terrible! It is the sign of great poverty. And so, open your eyes to come to know.
Learn from the Poor
One evening, a man came to our house and said, “There is a family with eight children that have not eaten for a long time. Do something for them.” And I took some rice, and the mother took [it]. I could see from the eyes of the children — God knows how long they had not eaten — their eyes were simply shining with hunger, and big black lines under their eyes. And the mother went out with the rice, and when she came back, I asked her, “Where did you go? And what did you do?” And she said, “They are hungry, also.”
Next-door neighbor. She knew they were hungry. I was not surprised that she gave, but I was very much surprised that she knew, because in sorrow like that, in a suffering like that, very often we have no time to think of others. And yet this tremendous woman had the courage to love like that. Great love.
This is something we have to learn from the poor people; they are very great people. You don’t know what is hunger. You have never experienced that. But one day, I picked up a child — six, seven years old — from the street, and I could see the pain of hunger in her face. So, I gave her a piece of bread. And then I saw the child eating the bread, crumb by crumb. I said, “Eat, eat the bread.” And then she looked at me and said, “I am afraid when the bread will be finished, I will be hungry again.”
See, that little one, so small, has already tasted the pain of suffering, the pain of hunger. And this is what I want you — you, who are going out into the world — [to do]: open your eyes.
Many young people come to Calcutta to share in the work — many from different universities, from different colleges. They come and spend two weeks, one month, according to what they are able to make. And there, each one of them, they come, they share the life of prayer with us in our congregation, and we have adoration every day, so for one in the evening.
“I Saw, but I Did Not Look”
So they come. Especially they want to work in the Home for the Dying. And they come with us, and they always say the same thing: “At home, I saw but I didn’t look. You have taught me to see and to look. Now I go home, and I am sure I will find the same. I must find people who need my tender love and care.” All of them.
A girl — a university girl who was in her final examination [for a] Ph.D. in Paris University — she came, also. Before examination, she wanted to spend one month working with Mother Teresa in the Home for the Dying. She was always very occupied, and so on. But then one week before, one day she came to our house, and she put her hands around me, and she said, “I found Jesus.” I said, “Yes, where did you find Him?” And she said, “I found Him in the Home for the Dying.” And I said to her, “What did you do with Jesus when you found Him?” And she said, “I went to confession and Holy Communion after 15 years.”
Then I said, “What else did you do with Jesus when you found Him?” And she said, “I sent a telegram to my parents and told them I found Jesus.” So beautiful.
See: She came, she saw, she looked, and she did. This is what you go out with that determination. Mary came into the room with Elisabeth, the little one leaped with joy. Your presence should bring that in your own family first. The joy of that presence of Christ, the joy of purity, the joy of that real sharing.
Love with a Virgin Heart
It is very beautiful that a young man loves a young woman, and a young woman loves a young man. That’s a beautiful creation of God. But make sure, make sure, that you love with a clean heart, with a pure heart, that you love with a virgin heart. And that on the day of your marriage — when God makes you one, as in the Scripture we read that they cleave together and they become one — on that day, that you can give to each other a virgin heart, a virgin body, a virgin soul. That is the greatest gift you can give to each other.
A few days before I came, I left Calcutta, a young man and a woman came to our house, and just two days before that they had got married. And they gave me a big amount of money to feed the people, because we cook for 7,000 people in Calcutta every day. So, these good young people gave me the money to feed the people.
And I said, “Where did you get so much money?” And they said to me, “Mother, before our marriage, we decided that out of love for each other, we will not buy wedding clothes, we will not have a wedding feast; we will give you the money.” And I said, “Why did you do that?” because that is unheard of in India, especially in a Hindu family. Marriage is something very important, a big part of their lives.
And they said they wanted to give something very special to each other. “We loved each other so tenderly, and we wanted to give something special to each other.” This is a love, a great love.
Light a New Light
So, my prayer for you is that you go in the world today with a virgin heart, with a virgin love, and give that love to all you meet. Your presence should light a new light in the lives of people.

When our sisters went to Yemen — a Muslim country, completely Muslim; there is no church, no nothing there — the governor of that place wrote and said, “The presence of the sisters has lit a new light in the lives of our people.”
This is something that you also — Go forward with the joy and keep the joy of loving Jesus in your hearts and share that joy with all you meet, especially with one another and with your family.
And through this love for each other, you will grow in holiness. Holiness is not the luxury of the few. It’s a simple duty for you and for me. So, let us grow in that holiness so that one day, we will be all one heart full of love in the Heart of Jesus.
Pray for Us
And you, also, pray for us, the sisters and the brothers. We have consecrated our lives to love Christ with undivided love and chastity through freedom of poverty, in total surrender and obedience.
And in our congregation, we take a fourth vow of giving wholehearted, free service to the poorest of the poor. By this vow, we are specially bound to the people who have nothing and nobody, and [we], also, fully depend on Divine Providence.
We accept no government grants, no salaries, no church [supplements]. We are just like the flowers of the field and the birds of the air. We depend on Him fully and He has been a wonderful father to us and to our poor people.
We deal with thousands and thousands and thousands of people, and we have never had to say, “I’m sorry, we don’t have.” It’s always been there. So, you pray that we don’t spoil God’s work, that it remains His work.
Religious Life Is a Great Gift
And you help your children when God calls them to join in giving their lives to God, to [the] priesthood or to religious life. Be grateful to God for this great gift, for this is something very special because God is asking your child to belong to Him totally and to give Him the all for Him.
So, let us pray together for our poor people that God’s love may be shown to them through each one of us:

Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our fellowmen throughout the
world who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give them through
our hands this day their daily bread, and by our understanding
love, give peace and joy.

In 1962, he was arrested by South African security police for his opposition to the white government and its apartheid (“separateness”) policies of racial, political, and economic discrimination against the nonwhite majority. In 1964, the government brought further charges including sabotage, high treason and conspiracy to overthrow the government. This is Mandela’s statement from the dock at the opening of his defense in the 1964 trial.

I am the First Accused.

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and practised as an attorney in Johannesburg for a number of years in partnership with Oliver Tambo. I am a convicted prisoner serving five years for leaving the country without a permit and for inciting people to go on strike at the end of May 1961.

At the outset, I want to say that the suggestion made by the State in its opening that the struggle in South Africa is under the influence of foreigners or communists is wholly incorrect. I have done whatever I did, both as an individual and as a leader of my people, because of my experience in South Africa and my own proudly felt African background, and not because of what any outsider might have said.

In my youth in the Transkei I listened to the elders of my tribe telling stories of the old days. Amongst the tales they related to me were those of wars fought by our ancestors in defence of the fatherland. The names of Dingane and Bambata, Hintsa and Makana, Squngthi and Dalasile, Moshoeshoe and Sekhukhuni, were praised as the glory of the entire African nation. I hoped then that life might offer me the opportunity to serve my people and make my own humble contribution to their freedom struggle. This is what has motivated me in all that I have done in relation to the charges made against me in this case.

Having said this, I must deal immediately and at some length with the question of violence. Some of the things so far told to the Court are true and some are untrue. I do not, however, deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness, nor because I have any love of violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation, and oppression of my people by the Whites.

I admit immediately that I was one of the persons who helped to form Umkhonto we Sizwe, and that I played a prominent role in its affairs until I was arrested in August 1962.

In the statement which I am about to make I shall correct certain false impressions which have been created by State witnesses. Amongst other things, I will demonstrate that certain of the acts referred to in the evidence were not and could not have been committed by Umkhonto. I will also deal with the relationship between the African National Congress and Umkhonto, and with the part which I personally have played in the affairs of both organizations. I shall deal also with the part played by the Communist Party. In order to explain these matters properly, I will have to explain what Umkhonto set out to achieve; what methods it prescribed for the achievement of these objects, and why these methods were chosen. I will also have to explain how I became involved in the activities of these organizations.

I deny that Umkhonto was responsible for a number of acts which clearly fell outside the policy of the organization, and which have been charged in the indictment against us. I do not know what justification there was for these acts, but to demonstrate that they could not have been authorized by Umkhonto, I want to refer briefly to the roots and policy of the organization.

I have already mentioned that I was one of the persons who helped to form Umkhonto. I, and the others who started the organization, did so for two reasons. Firstly, we believed that as a result of Government policy, violence by the African people had become inevitable, and that unless responsible leadership was given to canalize and control the feelings of our people, there would be outbreaks of terrorism which would produce an intensity of bitterness and hostility between the various races of this country which is not produced even by war. Secondly, we felt that without violence there would be no way open to the African people to succeed in their struggle against the principle of white supremacy. All lawful modes of expressing opposition to this principle had been closed by legislation, and we were placed in a position in which we had either to accept a permanent state of inferiority, or to defy the Government. We chose to defy the law. We first broke the law in a way which avoided any recourse to violence; when this form was legislated against, and then the Government resorted to a show of force to crush opposition to its policies, only then did we decide to answer violence with violence.

But the violence which we chose to adopt was not terrorism. We who formed Umkhonto were all members of the African National Congress, and had behind us the ANC tradition of non-violence and negotiation as a means of solving political disputes. We believe that South Africa belongs to all the people who live in it, and not to one group, be it black or white. We did not want an interracial war, and tried to avoid it to the last minute. If the Court is in doubt about this, it will be seen that the whole history of our organization bears out what I have said, and what I will subsequently say, when I describe the tactics which Umkhonto decided to adopt. I want, therefore, to say something about the African National Congress.

The African National Congress was formed in 1912 to defend the rights of the African people which had been seriously curtailed by the South Africa Act, and which were then being threatened by the Native Land Act. For thirty-seven years – that is until 1949 – it adhered strictly to a constitutional struggle. It put forward demands and resolutions; it sent delegations to the Government in the belief that African grievances could be settled through peaceful discussion and that Africans could advance gradually to full political rights. But White Governments remained unmoved, and the rights of Africans became less instead of becoming greater. In the words of my leader, Chief Lutuli, who became President of the ANC in 1952, and who was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize:

“Who will deny that thirty years of my life have been spent knocking in vain, patiently, moderately, and modestly at a closed and barred door? What have been the fruits of moderation? The past thirty years have seen the greatest number of laws restricting our rights and progress, until today we have reached a stage where we have almost no rights at all.”

Even after 1949, the ANC remained determined to avoid violence. At this time, however, there was a change from the strictly constitutional means of protest which had been employed in the past. The change was embodied in a decision which was taken to protest against apartheid legislation by peaceful, but unlawful, demonstrations against certain laws. Pursuant to this policy the ANC launched the Defiance Campaign, in which I was placed in charge of volunteers. This campaign was based on the principles of passive resistance. More than 8,500 people defied apartheid laws and went to jail. Yet there was not a single instance of violence in the course of this campaign on the part of any defier. I and nineteen colleagues were convicted for the role which we played in organizing the campaign, but our sentences were suspended mainly because the Judge found that discipline and non-violence had been stressed throughout. This was the time when the volunteer section of the ANC was established, and when the word ‘Amadelakufa’ was first used: this was the time when the volunteers were asked to take a pledge to uphold certain principles. Evidence dealing with volunteers and their pledges has been introduced into this case, but completely out of context. The volunteers were not, and are not, the soldiers of a black army pledged to fight a civil war against the whites. They were, and are, dedicated workers who are prepared to lead campaigns initiated by the ANC to distribute leaflets, to organize strikes, or do whatever the particular campaign required. They are called volunteers because they volunteer to face the penalties of imprisonment and whipping which are now prescribed by the legislature for such acts.

During the Defiance Campaign, the Public Safety Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act were passed. These Statutes provided harsher penalties for offences committed by way of protests against laws. Despite this, the protests continued and the ANC adhered to its policy of non-violence. In 1956, 156 leading members of the Congress Alliance, including myself, were arrested on a charge of high treason and charges under the Suppression of Communism Act. The non-violent policy of the ANC was put in issue by the State, but when the Court gave judgement some five years later, it found that the ANC did not have a policy of violence. We were acquitted on all counts, which included a count that the ANC sought to set up a communist state in place of the existing regime. The Government has always sought to label all its opponents as communists. This allegation has been repeated in the present case, but as I will show, the ANC is not, and never has been, a communist organization.

In 1960 there was the shooting at Sharpeville, which resulted in the proclamation of a state of emergency and the declaration of the ANC as an unlawful organization. My colleagues and I, after careful consideration, decided that we would not obey this decree. The African people were not part of the Government and did not make the laws by which they were governed. We believed in the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that ‘the will of the people shall be the basis of authority of the Government,’ and for us to accept the banning was equivalent to accepting the silencing of the Africans for all time. The ANC refused to dissolve, but instead went underground. We believed it was our duty to preserve this organization which had been built up with almost fifty years of unremitting toil. I have no doubt that no self-respecting White political organization would disband itself if declared illegal by a government in which it had no say.

In 1960 the Government held a referendum which led to the establishment of the Republic. Africans, who constituted approximately 70 per cent of the population of South Africa, were not entitled to vote, and were not even consulted about the proposed constitutional change. All of us were apprehensive of our future under the proposed White Republic, and a resolution was taken to hold an All-In African Conference to call for a National Convention, and to organize mass demonstrations on the eve of the unwanted Republic, if the Government failed to call the Convention. The conference was attended by Africans of various political persuasions. I was the Secretary of the conference and undertook to be responsible for organizing the national stay-at-home which was subsequently called to coincide with the declaration of the Republic. As all strikes by Africans are illegal, the person organizing such a strike must avoid arrest. I was chosen to be this person, and consequently I had to leave my home and family and my practice and go into hiding to avoid arrest.

The stay-at-home, in accordance with ANC policy, was to be a peaceful demonstration. Careful instructions were given to organizers and members to avoid any recourse to violence. The Government’s answer was to introduce new and harsher laws, to mobilize its armed forces, and to send Saracens, armed vehicles, and soldiers into the townships in a massive show of force designed to intimidate the people. This was an indication that the Government had decided to rule by force alone, and this decision was a milestone on the road to Umkhonto.

Some of this may appear irrelevant to this trial. In fact, I believe none of it is irrelevant because it will, I hope, enable the Court to appreciate the attitude eventually adopted by the various persons and bodies concerned in the National Liberation Movement. When I went to jail in 1962, the dominant idea was that loss of life should be avoided. I now know that this was still so in 1963.

I must return to June 1961. What were we, the leaders of our people, to do? Were we to give in to the show of force and the implied threat against future action, or were we to fight it and, if so, how?

We had no doubt that we had to continue the fight. Anything else would have been abject surrender. Our problem was not whether to fight, but was how to continue the fight. We of the ANC had always stood for a non-racial democracy, and we shrank from any action which might drive the races further apart than they already were. But the hard facts were that fifty years of non-violence had brought the African people nothing but more and more repressive legislation, and fewer and fewer rights. It may not be easy for this Court to understand, but it is a fact that for a long time the people had been talking of violence – of the day when they would fight the White man and win back their country – and we, the leaders of the ANC, had nevertheless always prevailed upon them to avoid violence and to pursue peaceful methods. When some of us discussed this in May and June of 1961, it could not be denied that our policy to achieve a non-racial State by non-violence had achieved nothing, and that our followers were beginning to lose confidence in this policy and were developing disturbing ideas of terrorism.

It must not be forgotten that by this time violence had, in fact, become a feature of the South African political scene. There had been violence in 1957 when the women of Zeerust were ordered to carry passes; there was violence in 1958 with the enforcement of cattle culling in Sekhukhuniland; there was violence in 1959 when the people of Cato Manor protested against pass raids; there was violence in 1960 when the Government attempted to impose Bantu Authorities in Pondoland. Thirty-nine Africans died in these disturbances. In 1961 there had been riots in Warmbaths, and all this time the Transkei had been a seething mass of unrest. Each disturbance pointed clearly to the inevitable growth among Africans of the belief that violence was the only way out – it showed that a Government which uses force to maintain its rule teaches the oppressed to use force to oppose it. Already small groups had arisen in the urban areas and were spontaneously making plans for violent forms of political struggle. There now arose a danger that these groups would adopt terrorism against Africans, as well as Whites, if not properly directed. Particularly disturbing was the type of violence engendered in places such as Zeerust, Sekhukhuniland, and Pondoland amongst Africans. It was increasingly taking the form, not of struggle against the Government – though this is what prompted it – but of civil strife amongst themselves, conducted in such a way that it could not hope to achieve anything other than a loss of life and bitterness.

At the beginning of June 1961, after a long and anxious assessment of the South African situation, I, and some colleagues, came to the conclusion that as violence in this country was inevitable, it would be unrealistic and wrong for African leaders to continue preaching peace and non-violence at a time when the Government met our peaceful demands with force.

This conclusion was not easily arrived at. It was only when all else had failed, when all channels of peaceful protest had been barred to us, that the decision was made to embark on violent forms of political struggle, and to form Umkhonto we Sizwe. We did so not because we desired such a course, but solely because the Government had left us with no other choice. In the Manifesto of Umkhonto published on 16 December 1961, which is Exhibit AD, we said:

“The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices – submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means in our power in defence of our people, our future, and our freedom.”

This was our feeling in June of 1961 when we decided to press for a change in the policy of the National Liberation Movement. I can only say that I felt morally obliged to do what I did.

We who had taken this decision started to consult leaders of various organizations, including the ANC. I will not say whom we spoke to, or what they said, but I wish to deal with the role of the African National Congress in this phase of the struggle, and with the policy and objectives of Umkhonto we Sizwe.

As far as the ANC was concerned, it formed a clear view which can be summarized as follows:

• It was a mass political organization with a political function to fulfil. Its members had joined on the express policy of non-violence.
• Because of all this, it could not and would not undertake violence. This must be stressed. One cannot turn such a body into the small, closely knit organization required for sabotage. Nor would this be politically correct, because it would result in members ceasing to carry out this essential activity: political propaganda and organization. Nor was it permissible to change the whole nature of the organization.
• On the other hand, in view of this situation I have described, the ANC was prepared to depart from its fifty-year-old policy of non-violence to this extent that it would no longer disapprove of properly controlled violence. Hence members who undertook such activity would not be subject to disciplinary action by the ANC.

I say ‘properly controlled violence’ because I made it clear that if I formed the organization I would at all times subject it to the political guidance of the ANC and would not undertake any different form of activity from that contemplated without the consent of the ANC. And I shall now tell the Court how that form of violence came to be determined.

As a result of this decision, Umkhonto was formed in November 1961. When we took this decision, and subsequently formulated our plans, the ANC heritage of non-violence and racial harmony was very much with us. We felt that the country was drifting towards a civil war in which Blacks and Whites would fight each other. We viewed the situation with alarm. Civil war could mean the destruction of what the ANC stood for; with civil war, racial peace would be more difficult than ever to achieve. We already have examples in South African history of the results of war. It has taken more than fifty years for the scars of the South African War to disappear. How much longer would it take to eradicate the scars of inter-racial civil war, which could not be fought without a great loss of life on both sides?

The avoidance of civil war had dominated our thinking for many years, but when we decided to adopt violence as part of our policy, we realized that we might one day have to face the prospect of such a war. This had to be taken into account in formulating our plans. We required a plan which was flexible and which permitted us to act in accordance with the needs of the times; above all, the plan had to be one which recognized civil war as the last resort, and left the decision on this question to the future. We did not want to be committed to civil war, but we wanted to be ready if it became inevitable.

Four forms of violence were possible. There is sabotage, there is guerrilla warfare, there is terrorism, and there is open revolution. We chose to adopt the first method and to exhaust it before taking any other decision.

In the light of our political background the choice was a logical one. Sabotage did not involve loss of life, and it offered the best hope for future race relations. Bitterness would be kept to a minimum and, if the policy bore fruit, democratic government could become a reality. This is what we felt at the time, and this is what we said in our Manifesto (Exhibit AD):

“We of Umkhonto we Sizwe have always sought to achieve liberation without bloodshed and civil clash. We hope, even at this late hour, that our first actions will awaken everyone to a realization of the disastrous situation to which the Nationalist policy is leading. We hope that we will bring the Government and its supporters to their senses before it is too late, so that both the Government and its policies can be changed before matters reach the desperate state of civil war.”

The initial plan was based on a careful analysis of the political and economic situation of our country. We believed that South Africa depended to a large extent on foreign capital and foreign trade. We felt that planned destruction of power plants, and interference with rail and telephone communications, would tend to scare away capital from the country, make it more difficult for goods from the industrial areas to reach the seaports on schedule, and would in the long run be a heavy drain on the economic life of the country, thus compelling the voters of the country to reconsider their position.

Attacks on the economic life-lines of the country were to be linked with sabotage on Government buildings and other symbols of apartheid. These attacks would serve as a source of inspiration to our people. In addition, they would provide an outlet for those people who were urging the adoption of violent methods and would enable us to give concrete proof to our followers that we had adopted a stronger line and were fighting back against Government violence.

In addition, if mass action were successfully organized, and mass reprisals taken, we felt that sympathy for our cause would be roused in other countries, and that greater pressure would be brought to bear on the South African Government.

This then was the plan. Umkhonto was to perform sabotage, and strict instructions were given to its members right from the start, that on no account were they to injure or kill people in planning or carrying out operations. These instructions have been referred to in the evidence of ‘Mr. X’ and ‘Mr. Z.’

The affairs of the Umkhonto were controlled and directed by a National High Command, which had powers of co-option and which could, and did, appoint Regional Commands. The High Command was the body which determined tactics and targets and was in charge of training and finance. Under the High Command there were Regional Commands which were responsible for the direction of the local sabotage groups. Within the framework of the policy laid down by the National High Command, the Regional Commands had authority to select the targets to be attacked. They had no authority to go beyond the prescribed framework and thus had no authority to embark upon acts which endangered life, or which did not fit into the overall plan of sabotage. For instance, Umkhonto members were forbidden ever to go armed into operation. Incidentally, the terms High Command and Regional Command were an importation from the Jewish national underground organization Irgun Zvai Leumi, which operated in Israel between 1944 and 1948.

Umkhonto had its first operation on 16 December 1961, when Government buildings in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Durban were attacked. The selection of targets is proof of the policy to which I have referred. Had we intended to attack life we would have selected targets where people congregated and not empty buildings and power stations. The sabotage which was committed before 16 December 1961 was the work of isolated groups and had no connection whatever with Umkhonto. In fact, some of these and a number of later acts were claimed by other organizations.

The Manifesto of Umkhonto was issued on the day that operations commenced. The response to our actions and Manifesto among the white population was characteristically violent. The Government threatened to take strong action, and called upon its supporters to stand firm and to ignore the demands of the Africans. The Whites failed to respond by suggesting change; they responded to our call by suggesting the laager.

In contrast, the response of the Africans was one of encouragement. Suddenly there was hope again. Things were happening. People in the townships became eager for political news. A great deal of enthusiasm was generated by the initial successes, and people began to speculate on how soon freedom would be obtained.

But we in Umkhonto weighed up the white response with anxiety. The lines were being drawn. The whites and blacks were moving into separate camps, and the prospects of avoiding a civil war were made less. The white newspapers carried reports that sabotage would be punished by death. If this was so, how could we continue to keep Africans away from terrorism?

Already scores of Africans had died as a result of racial friction. In 1920 when the famous leader, Masabala, was held in Port Elizabeth jail, twenty-four of a group of Africans who had gathered to demand his release were killed by the police and white civilians. In 1921 more than one hundred Africans died in the Bulhoek affair. In 1924 over two hundred Africans were killed when the Administrator of South-West Africa led a force against a group which had rebelled against the imposition of dog tax. On 1 May 1950, eighteen Africans died as a result of police shootings during the strike. On 21 March 1960, sixty-nine unarmed Africans died at Sharpeville.

How many more Sharpevilles would there be in the history of our country? And how many more Sharpevilles could the country stand without violence and terror becoming the order of the day? And what would happen to our people when that stage was reached? In the long run we felt certain we must succeed, but at what cost to ourselves and the rest of the country? And if this happened, how could black and white ever live together again in peace and harmony? These were the problems that faced us, and these were our decisions.

Experience convinced us that rebellion would offer the Government limitless opportunities for the indiscriminate slaughter of our people. But it was precisely because the soil of South Africa is already drenched with the blood of innocent Africans that we felt it our duty to make preparations as a long-term undertaking to use force in order to defend ourselves against force. If war were inevitable, we wanted the fight to be conducted on terms most favorable to our people. The fight which held out prospects best for us and the least risk of life to both sides was guerrilla warfare. We decided, therefore, in our preparations for the future, to make provision for the possibility of guerrilla warfare.

All whites undergo compulsory military training, but no such training was given to Africans. It was in our view essential to build up a nucleus of trained men who would be able to provide the leadership which would be required if guerrilla warfare started. We had to prepare for such a situation before it became too late to make proper preparations. It was also necessary to build up a nucleus of men trained in civil administration and other professions, so that Africans would be equipped to participate in the government of this country as soon as they were allowed to do so.

At this stage it was decided that I should attend the Conference of the Pan-African Freedom Movement for Central, East, and Southern Africa, which was to be held early in 1962 in Addis Ababa, and, because of our need for preparation, it was also decided that, after the conference, I would undertake a tour of the African States with a view to obtaining facilities for the training of soldiers, and that I would also solicit scholarships for the higher education of matriculated Africans. Training in both fields would be necessary, even if changes came about by peaceful means. Administrators would be necessary who would be willing and able to administer a non-racial State and so would men be necessary to control the army and police force of such a State.

It was on this note that I left South Africa to proceed to Addis Ababa as a delegate of the ANC. My tour was a success. Wherever I went I met sympathy for our cause and promises of help. All Africa was united against the stand of White South Africa, and even in London I was received with great sympathy by political leaders, such as Mr. Gaitskell and Mr. Grimond. In Africa I was promised support by such men as Julius Nyerere, now President of Tanganyika; Mr. Kawawa, then Prime Minister of Tanganyika; Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia; General Abboud, President of the Sudan; Habib Bourguiba, President of Tunisia; Ben Bella, now President of Algeria; Modibo Keita, President of Mali; Leopold Senghor, President of Senegal; Sekou Toure, President of Guinea; President Tubman of Liberia; and Milton Obote, Prime Minister of Uganda. It was Ben Bella who invited me to visit Oujda, the Headquarters of the Algerian Army of National Liberation, the visit which is described in my diary, one of the Exhibits.

I started to make a study of the art of war and revolution and, whilst abroad, underwent a course in military training. If there was to be guerrilla warfare, I wanted to be able to stand and fight with my people and to share the hazards of war with them. Notes of lectures which I received in Algeria are contained in Exhibit 16, produced in evidence. Summaries of books on guerrilla warfare and military strategy have also been produced. I have already admitted that these documents are in my writing, and I acknowledge that I made these studies to equip myself for the role which I might have to play if the struggle drifted into guerrilla warfare. I approached this question as every African Nationalist should do. I was completely objective. The Court will see that I attempted to examine all types of authority on the subject – from the East and from the West, going back to the classic work of Clausewitz, and covering such a variety as Mao Tse Tung and Che Guevara on the one hand, and the writings on the Anglo-Boer War on the other. Of course, these notes are merely summaries of the books I read and do not contain my personal views.

I also made arrangements for our recruits to undergo military training. But here it was impossible to organize any scheme without the co-operation of the ANC offices in Africa. I consequently obtained the permission of the ANC in South Africa to do this. To this extent then there was a departure from the original decision of the ANC, but it applied outside South Africa only. The first batch of recruits actually arrived in Tanganyika when I was passing through that country on my way back to South Africa.

I returned to South Africa and reported to my colleagues on the results of my trip. On my return I found that there had been little alteration in the political scene save that the threat of a death penalty for sabotage had now become a fact. The attitude of my colleagues in Umkhonto was much the same as it had been before I left. They were feeling their way cautiously and felt that it would be a long time before the possibilities of sabotage were exhausted. In fact, the view was expressed by some that the training of recruits was premature. This is recorded by me in the document which is Exhibit R.14. After a full discussion, however, it was decided to go ahead with the plans for military training because of the fact that it would take many years to build up a sufficient nucleus of trained soldiers to start a guerrilla campaign, and whatever happened, the training would be of value.

I wish to turn now to certain general allegations made in this case by the State. But before doing so, I wish to revert to certain occurrences said by witnesses to have happened in Port Elizabeth and East London. I am referring to the bombing of private houses of pro-Government persons during September, October and November 1962. I do not know what justification there was for these acts, nor what provocation had been given. But if what I have said already is accepted, then it is clear that these acts had nothing to do with the carrying out of the policy of Umkhonto.

One of the chief allegations in the indictment is that the ANC was a party to a general conspiracy to commit sabotage. I have already explained why this is incorrect but how, externally, there was a departure from the original principle laid down by the ANC. There has, of course, been overlapping of functions internally as well, because there is a difference between a resolution adopted in the atmosphere of a committee room and the concrete difficulties that arise in the field of practical activity. At a later stage the position was further affected by bannings and house arrests, and by persons leaving the country to take up political work abroad. This led to individuals having to do work in different capacities. But though this may have blurred the distinction between Umkhonto and the ANC, it by no means abolished that distinction. Great care was taken to keep the activities of the two organizations in South Africa distinct. The ANC remained a mass political body of Africans only carrying on the type of political work they had conducted prior to 1961. Umkhonto remained a small organization recruiting its members from different races and organizations and trying to achieve its own particular object. The fact that members of Umkhonto were recruited from the ANC, and the fact that persons served both organizations, like Solomon Mbanjwa, did not, in our view, change the nature of the ANC or give it a policy of violence. This overlapping of officers, however, was more the exception than the rule. This is why persons such as ‘Mr. X’ and ‘Mr. Z,’ who were on the Regional Command of their respective areas, did not participate in any of the ANC committees or activities, and why people such as Mr. Bennett Mashiyana and Mr. Reginald Ndubi did not hear of sabotage at their ANC meetings.

Another of the allegations in the indictment is that Rivonia was the headquarters of Umkhonto. This is not true of the time when I was there. I was told, of course, and knew that certain of the activities of the Communist Party were carried on there. But this is no reason (as I shall presently explain) why I should not use the place.

I came there in the following manner:

• As already indicated, early in April 1961 I went underground to organize the May general strike. My work entailed travelling throughout the country, living now in African townships, then in country villages and again in cities.
• During the second half of the year I started visiting the Parktown home of Arthur Goldreich, where I used to meet my family privately. Although I had no direct political association with him, I had known Arthur Goldreich socially since 1958.
• In October, Arthur Goldreich informed me that he was moving out of town and offered me a hiding place there. A few days thereafter, he arranged for Michael Harmel to take me to Rivonia. I naturally found Rivonia an ideal place for the man who lived the life of an outlaw. Up to that time I had been compelled to live indoors during the daytime and could only venture out under cover of darkness. But at Liliesleaf [farm, Rivonia,] I could live differently and work far more efficiently.
• For obvious reasons, I had to disguise myself and I assumed the fictitious name of David. In December, Arthur Goldreich and his family moved in. I stayed there until I went abroad on 11 January 1962. As already indicated, I returned in July 1962 and was arrested in Natal on 5 August.
• Up to the time of my arrest, Liliesleaf farm was the headquarters of neither the African National Congress nor Umkhonto. With the exception of myself, none of the officials or members of these bodies lived there, no meetings of the governing bodies were ever held there, and no activities connected with them were either organized or directed from there. On numerous occasions during my stay at Liliesleaf farm I met both the Executive Committee of the ANC, as well as the NHC, but such meetings were held elsewhere and not on the farm.
• Whilst staying at Liliesleaf farm, I frequently visited Arthur Goldreich in the main house and he also paid me visits in my room. We had numerous political discussions covering a variety of subjects. We discussed ideological and practical questions, the Congress Alliance, Umkhonto and its activities generally, and his experiences as a soldier in the Palmach, the military wing of the Haganah. Haganah was the political authority of the Jewish National Movement in Palestine.
• Because of what I had got to know of Goldreich, I recommended on my return to South Africa that he should be recruited to Umkhonto. I do not know of my personal knowledge whether this was done.

Another of the allegations made by the State is that the aims and objects of the ANC and the Communist Party are the same. I wish to deal with this and with my own political position, because I must assume that the State may try to argue from certain Exhibits that I tried to introduce Marxism into the ANC. The allegation as to the ANC is false. This is an old allegation which was disproved at the Treason Trial and which has again reared its head. But since the allegation has been made again, I shall deal with it as well as with the relationship between the ANC and the Communist Party and Umkhonto and that party.

The ideological creed of the ANC is, and always has been, the creed of African Nationalism. It is not the concept of African Nationalism expressed in the cry, ‘Drive the White man into the sea.’ The African Nationalism for which the ANC stands is the concept of freedom and fulfilment for the African people in their own land. The most important political document ever adopted by the ANC is the ‘Freedom Charter.’ It is by no means a blueprint for a socialist state. It calls for redistribution, but not nationalization, of land; it provides for nationalization of mines, banks, and monopoly industry, because big monopolies are owned by one race only, and without such nationalization racial domination would be perpetuated despite the spread of political power. It would be a hollow gesture to repeal the Gold Law prohibitions against Africans when all gold mines are owned by European companies. In this respect the ANC’s policy corresponds with the old policy of the present Nationalist Party which, for many years, had as part of its programme the nationalization of the gold mines which, at that time, were controlled by foreign capital. Under the Freedom Charter, nationalization would take place in an economy based on private enterprise. The realization of the Freedom Charter would open up fresh fields for a prosperous African population of all classes, including the middle class. The ANC has never at any period of its history advocated a revolutionary change in the economic structure of the country, nor has it, to the best of my recollection, ever condemned capitalist society.

As far as the Communist Party is concerned, and if I understand its policy correctly, it stands for the establishment of a State based on the principles of Marxism. Although it is prepared to work for the Freedom Charter, as a short term solution to the problems created by white supremacy, it regards the Freedom Charter as the beginning, and not the end, of its program.

The ANC, unlike the Communist Party, admitted Africans only as members. Its chief goal was, and is, for the African people to win unity and full political rights. The Communist Party’s main aim, on the other hand, was to remove the capitalists and to replace them with a working-class government. The Communist Party sought to emphasize class distinctions whilst the ANC seeks to harmonize them. This is a vital distinction.

It is true that there has often been close co-operation between the ANC and the Communist Party. But co-operation is merely proof of a common goal – in this case the removal of white supremacy – and is not proof of a complete community of interests.

The history of the world is full of similar examples. Perhaps the most striking illustration is to be found in the co-operation between Great Britain, the United States of America, and the Soviet Union in the fight against Hitler. Nobody but Hitler would have dared to suggest that such co-operation turned Churchill or Roosevelt into communists or communist tools, or that Britain and America were working to bring about a communist world.

Another instance of such co-operation is to be found precisely in Umkhonto. Shortly after Umkhonto was constituted, I was informed by some of its members that the Communist Party would support Umkhonto, and this then occurred. At a later stage the support was made openly.

I believe that communists have always played an active role in the fight by colonial countries for their freedom, because the short-term objects of communism would always correspond with the long-term objects of freedom movements. Thus communists have played an important role in the freedom struggles fought in countries such as Malaya, Algeria, and Indonesia, yet none of these States today are communist countries. Similarly in the underground resistance movements which sprung up in Europe during the last World War, communists played an important role. Even General Chiang Kai-Shek, today one of the bitterest enemies of communism, fought together with the communists against the ruling class in the struggle which led to his assumption of power in China in the 1930s.

This pattern of co-operation between communists and non-communists has been repeated in the National Liberation Movement of South Africa. Prior to the banning of the Communist Party, joint campaigns involving the Communist Party and the Congress movements were accepted practice. African communists could, and did, become members of the ANC, and some served on the National, Provincial, and local committees. Amongst those who served on the National Executive are Albert Nzula, a former Secretary of the Communist Party, Moses Kotane, another former Secretary, and J. B. Marks, a former member of the Central Committee.

I joined the ANC in 1944, and in my younger days I held the view that the policy of admitting communists to the ANC, and the close co-operation which existed at times on specific issues between the ANC and the Communist Party, would lead to a watering down of the concept of African Nationalism. At that stage I was a member of the African National Congress Youth League, and was one of a group which moved for the expulsion of communists from the ANC. This proposal was heavily defeated. Amongst those who voted against the proposal were some of the most conservative sections of African political opinion. They defended the policy on the ground that from its inception the ANC was formed and built up, not as a political party with one school of political thought, but as a Parliament of the African people, accommodating people of various political convictions, all united by the common goal of national liberation. I was eventually won over to this point of view and I have upheld it ever since.

It is perhaps difficult for white South Africans, with an ingrained prejudice against communism, to understand why experienced African politicians so readily accept communists as their friends. But to us the reason is obvious. Theoretical differences amongst those fighting against oppression is a luxury we cannot afford at this stage. What is more, for many decades communists were the only political group in South Africa who were prepared to treat Africans as human beings and their equals; who were prepared to eat with us; talk with us, live with us, and work with us. They were the only political group which was prepared to work with the Africans for the attainment of political rights and a stake in society. Because of this, there are many Africans who, today, tend to equate freedom with communism. They are supported in this belief by a legislature which brands all exponents of democratic government and African freedom as communists and bans many of them (who are not communists) under the Suppression of Communism Act. Although I have never been a member of the Communist Party, I myself have been named under that pernicious Act because of the role I played in the Defiance Campaign. I have also been banned and imprisoned under that Act.

It is not only in internal politics that we count communists as amongst those who support our cause. In the international field, communist countries have always come to our aid. In the United Nations and other Councils of the world the communist bloc has supported the Afro-Asian struggle against colonialism and often seems to be more sympathetic to our plight than some of the Western powers. Although there is a universal condemnation of apartheid, the communist bloc speaks out against it with a louder voice than most of the white world. In these circumstances, it would take a brash young politician, such as I was in 1949, to proclaim that the Communists are our enemies.

I turn now to my own position. I have denied that I am a communist, and I think that in the circumstances I am obliged to state exactly what my political beliefs are.

I have always regarded myself, in the first place, as an African patriot. After all, I was born in Umtata, forty-six years ago. My guardian was my cousin, who was the acting paramount chief of Tembuland, and I am related both to the present paramount chief of Tembuland, Sabata Dalindyebo, and to Kaizer Matanzima, the Chief Minister of the Transkei.

Today I am attracted by the idea of a classless society, an attraction which springs in part from Marxist reading and, in part, from my admiration of the structure and organization of early African societies in this country. The land, then the main means of production, belonged to the tribe. There were no rich or poor and there was no exploitation.

It is true, as I have already stated, that I have been influenced by Marxist thought. But this is also true of many of the leaders of the new independent States. Such widely different persons as Gandhi, Nehru, Nkrumah, and Nasser all acknowledge this fact. We all accept the need for some form of socialism to enable our people to catch up with the advanced countries of this world and to overcome their legacy of extreme poverty. But this does not mean we are Marxists.

Indeed, for my own part, I believe that it is open to debate whether the Communist Party has any specific role to play at this particular stage of our political struggle. The basic task at the present moment is the removal of race discrimination and the attainment of democratic rights on the basis of the Freedom Charter. In so far as that Party furthers this task, I welcome its assistance. I realize that it is one of the means by which people of all races can be drawn into our struggle.

From my reading of Marxist literature and from conversations with Marxists, I have gained the impression that communists regard the parliamentary system of the West as undemocratic and reactionary. But, on the contrary, I am an admirer of such a system.

The Magna Carta, the Petition of Rights, and the Bill of Rights are documents which are held in veneration by democrats throughout the world.

I have great respect for British political institutions, and for the country’s system of justice. I regard the British Parliament as the most democratic institution in the world, and the independence and impartiality of its judiciary never fails to arouse my admiration.

The American Congress, that country’s doctrine of separation of powers, as well as the independence of its judiciary, arouses in me similar sentiments.

I have been influenced in my thinking by both West and East. All this has led me to feel that in my search for a political formula, I should be absolutely impartial and objective. I should tie myself to no particular system of society other than of socialism. I must leave myself free to borrow the best from the West and from the East . . .

There are certain Exhibits which suggest that we received financial support from abroad, and I wish to deal with this question.

Our political struggle has always been financed from internal sources – from funds raised by our own people and by our own supporters. Whenever we had a special campaign or an important political case – for example, the Treason Trial – we received financial assistance from sympathetic individuals and organizations in the Western countries. We had never felt it necessary to go beyond these sources.

But when in 1961 the Umkhonto was formed, and a new phase of struggle introduced, we realized that these events would make a heavy call on our slender resources, and that the scale of our activities would be hampered by the lack of funds. One of my instructions, as I went abroad in January 1962, was to raise funds from the African states.

I must add that, whilst abroad, I had discussions with leaders of political movements in Africa and discovered that almost every single one of them, in areas which had still not attained independence, had received all forms of assistance from the socialist countries, as well as from the West, including that of financial support. I also discovered that some well-known African states, all of them non-communists, and even anti-communists, had received similar assistance.

On my return to the Republic, I made a strong recommendation to the ANC that we should not confine ourselves to Africa and the Western countries, but that we should also send a mission to the socialist countries to raise the funds which we so urgently needed.

I have been told that after I was convicted such a mission was sent, but I am not prepared to name any countries to which it went, nor am I at liberty to disclose the names of the organizations and countries which gave us support or promised to do so.

As I understand the State case, and in particular the evidence of ‘Mr. X,’ the suggestion is that Umkhonto was the inspiration of the Communist Party which sought by playing upon imaginary grievances to enroll the African people into an army which ostensibly was to fight for African freedom, but in reality was fighting for a communist state. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact the suggestion is preposterous. Umkhonto was formed by Africans to further their struggle for freedom in their own land. Communists and others supported the movement, and we only wish that more sections of the community would join us.

Our fight is against real, and not imaginary, hardships or, to use the language of the State Prosecutor, ‘so-called hardships.’ Basically, we fight against two features which are the hallmarks of African life in South Africa and which are entrenched by legislation which we seek to have repealed. These features are poverty and lack of human dignity, and we do not need communists or so-called ‘agitators’ to teach us about these things.

South Africa is the richest country in Africa, and could be one of the richest countries in the world. But it is a land of extremes and remarkable contrasts. The whites enjoy what may well be the highest standard of living in the world, whilst Africans live in poverty and misery. Forty per cent of the Africans live in hopelessly overcrowded and, in some cases, drought-stricken Reserves, where soil erosion and the overworking of the soil makes it impossible for them to live properly off the land. Thirty per cent are laborers, labor tenants, and squatters on white farms and work and live under conditions similar to those of the serfs of the Middle Ages. The other 30 per cent live in towns where they have developed economic and social habits which bring them closer in many respects to white standards. Yet most Africans, even in this group, are impoverished by low incomes and high cost of living.

The highest-paid and the most prosperous section of urban African life is in Johannesburg. Yet their actual position is desperate. The latest figures were given on 25 March 1964 by Mr. Carr, Manager of the Johannesburg Non-European Affairs Department. The poverty datum line for the average African family in Johannesburg (according to Mr. Carr’s department) is R42.84 per month. He showed that the average monthly wage is R32.24 and that 46 per cent of all African families in Johannesburg do not earn enough to keep them going.

Poverty goes hand in hand with malnutrition and disease. The incidence of malnutrition and deficiency diseases is very high amongst Africans. Tuberculosis, pellagra, kwashiorkor, gastro-enteritis, and scurvy bring death and destruction of health. The incidence of infant mortality is one of the highest in the world. According to the Medical Officer of Health for Pretoria, tuberculosis kills forty people a day (almost all Africans), and in 1961 there were 58,491 new cases reported. These diseases not only destroy the vital organs of the body, but they result in retarded mental conditions and lack of initiative, and reduce powers of concentration. The secondary results of such conditions affect the whole community and the standard of work performed by African laborers.

The complaint of Africans, however, is not only that they are poor and the whites are rich, but that the laws which are made by the whites are designed to preserve this situation. There are two ways to break out of poverty. The first is by formal education, and the second is by the worker acquiring a greater skill at his work and thus higher wages. As far as Africans are concerned, both these avenues of advancement are deliberately curtailed by legislation.

The present Government has always sought to hamper Africans in their search for education. One of their early acts, after coming into power, was to stop subsidies for African school feeding. Many African children who attended schools depended on this supplement to their diet. This was a cruel act.

There is compulsory education for all white children at virtually no cost to their parents, be they rich or poor. Similar facilities are not provided for the African children, though there are some who receive such assistance. African children, however, generally have to pay more for their schooling than whites. According to figures quoted by the South African Institute of Race Relations in its 1963 journal, approximately 40 per cent of African children in the age group between seven to fourteen do not attend school. For those who do attend school, the standards are vastly different from those afforded to white children. In 1960-61 the per capita Government spending on African students at State-aided schools was estimated at R12.46. In the same years, the per capita spending on white children in the Cape Province (which are the only figures available to me) was R144.57. Although there are no figures available to me, it can be stated, without doubt, that the white children on whom R144.57 per head was being spent all came from wealthier homes than African children on whom R12.46 per head was being spent.

The quality of education is also different. According to the Bantu Educational Journal, only 5,660 African children in the whole of South Africa passed their Junior Certificate in 1962, and in that year only 362 passed matric. This is presumably consistent with the policy of Bantu education about which the present Prime Minister said, during the debate on the Bantu Education Bill in 1953:

“When I have control of Native education I will reform it so that Natives will be taught from childhood to realize that equality with Europeans is not for them . . . People who believe in equality are not desirable teachers for Natives. When my Department controls Native education it will know for what class of higher education a Native is fitted, and whether he will have a chance in life to use his knowledge.”

The other main obstacle to the economic advancement of the African is the industrial color-bar under which all the better jobs of industry are reserved for Whites only. Moreover, Africans who do obtain employment in the unskilled and semi-skilled occupations which are open to them are not allowed to form trade unions which have recognition under the Industrial Conciliation Act. This means that strikes of African workers are illegal, and that they are denied the right of collective bargaining which is permitted to the better-paid White workers. The discrimination in the policy of successive South African Governments towards African workers is demonstrated by the so-called ‘civilized labor policy’ under which sheltered, unskilled Government jobs are found for those white workers who cannot make the grade in industry, at wages which far exceed the earnings of the average African employee in industry.

The Government often answers its critics by saying that Africans in South Africa are economically better off than the inhabitants of the other countries in Africa. I do not know whether this statement is true and doubt whether any comparison can be made without having regard to the cost-of-living index in such countries. But even if it is true, as far as the African people are concerned it is irrelevant. Our complaint is not that we are poor by comparison with people in other countries, but that we are poor by comparison with the white people in our own country, and that we are prevented by legislation from altering this imbalance.

The lack of human dignity experienced by Africans is the direct result of the policy of white supremacy. White supremacy implies black inferiority. Legislation designed to preserve white supremacy entrenches this notion. Menial tasks in South Africa are invariably performed by Africans. When anything has to be carried or cleaned the white man will look around for an African to do it for him, whether the African is employed by him or not. Because of this sort of attitude, whites tend to regard Africans as a separate breed. They do not look upon them as people with families of their own; they do not realize that they have emotions – that they fall in love like white people do; that they want to be with their wives and children like white people want to be with theirs; that they want to earn enough money to support their families properly, to feed and clothe them and send them to school. And what ‘house-boy’ or ‘garden-boy’ or laborer can ever hope to do this?

Pass laws, which to the Africans are among the most hated bits of legislation in South Africa, render any African liable to police surveillance at any time. I doubt whether there is a single African male in South Africa who has not at some stage had a brush with the police over his pass. Hundreds and thousands of Africans are thrown into jail each year under pass laws. Even worse than this is the fact that pass laws keep husband and wife apart and lead to the breakdown of family life.

Poverty and the breakdown of family life have secondary effects. Children wander about the streets of the townships because they have no schools to go to, or no money to enable them to go to school, or no parents at home to see that they go to school, because both parents (if there be two) have to work to keep the family alive. This leads to a breakdown in moral standards, to an alarming rise in illegitimacy, and to growing violence which erupts not only politically, but everywhere. Life in the townships is dangerous. There is not a day that goes by without somebody being stabbed or assaulted. And violence is carried out of the townships in the white living areas. People are afraid to walk alone in the streets after dark. Housebreakings and robberies are increasing, despite the fact that the death sentence can now be imposed for such offences. Death sentences cannot cure the festering sore.

Africans want to be paid a living wage. Africans want to perform work which they are capable of doing, and not work which the Government declares them to be capable of. Africans want to be allowed to live where they obtain work, and not be endorsed out of an area because they were not born there. Africans want to be allowed to own land in places where they work, and not to be obliged to live in rented houses which they can never call their own. Africans want to be part of the general population, and not confined to living in their own ghettoes. African men want to have their wives and children to live with them where they work, and not be forced into an unnatural existence in men’s hostels. African women want to be with their menfolk and not be left permanently widowed in the Reserves. Africans want to be allowed out after eleven o’clock at night and not to be confined to their rooms like little children. Africans want to be allowed to travel in their own country and to seek work where they want to and not where the Labor Bureau tells them to. Africans want a just share in the whole of South Africa; they want security and a stake in society.

Above all, we want equal political rights, because without them our disabilities will be permanent. I know this sounds revolutionary to the whites in this country, because the majority of voters will be Africans. This makes the white man fear democracy.

But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all. It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination. Political division, based on color, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one color group by another. The ANC has spent half a century fighting against racialism. When it triumphs it will not change that policy.

This then is what the ANC is fighting. Their struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by their own suffering and their own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live.

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

Nelson Mandela – April 20, 1964

On June 11, 1964, at the conclusion of the trial, Mandela was found guilty on four charges of sabotage and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He began his sentence in the notorious Robben Island Prison near Cape Town. A worldwide campaign to free Mandela began in the 1980s and resulted in his release on February 11, 1990, at age 71, after 27 years in prison. In 1993, Mandela shared the Nobel Peace Prize with South Africa’s President F.W. de Klerk for their peaceful efforts to bring a non-racial democracy to South Africa. Black South Africans voted for the first time in the 1994 election that brought Mandela the presidency of South Africa.

If you are NOT aware of the subconscious mind power, you need to read  this article first.

If you really believe the power of Subconscious mind  and if you are very eager to know the ways for using the Subconscious mind, you came to the right place.

Subconscious mind will work continuously and  it will accept whatever information it receives without validating whether it is true or false, and whether it is possible or not.  And then,  the subconscious mind  will start taking steps to achieve whatever thing you requested to do  it.

We need NOT spend our time/effort to know whether Subconscious mind will work  actually or  spend time on knowing about  how it works.  Instead, once you decide to use the power of Subconscious mind, just believe that subconscious mind will give whatever you request to it. For example, while practicing car driving, our conscious mind requires lot of attention to do the car driving so that we can not do any other thing while driving the car.  Once we are familiar with car driving, the subconscious mind will take care of car driving so that we will be able to do any other activities easily while driving the car.

Let us follow these three simple steps to use the power of Subconscious Mind for achieving your Goal Successfully.

STEP 1:  Decide  your Goal. Write it on a paper clearly by framing simple sentence without any ambiguity. (e.g Surely I will go for jogging every day to improve Health). Make sure that you are setting your Goal properly. Because Subconscious mind will accept it “as it is” without validating it.

STEP 2:Read the Goal Sentence written on the paper daily. Just before going to sleep at night and/or just after waking up in the morning, close your eyes, and see, in your imagination that you are achieving your Goal. For example, If  your Goal is about going for jogging daily,  imagine yourself getting up  early morning, putting on your exercise clothes and jogging shoes, and heading out into the crisp air. Then you start jogging, watching the sun rise over the buildings, the birds chirping, and you are feeling good. Apart from visualizing your Goal, repeat your Goal sentence multiple times daily with the emotion/feeling of achieving the Goal.  “Repetition” is the  key for programming the Subconscious mind.

STEP 3:Take a paper and start writing 100 things about achieving your Goal. It is very important to note that you should write all the 100 things at one stretch without getting interrupted by any other things. At first, it may look difficult to write 100 things about achieving your Goal, but once you start writing, you will be surprised to know that you were able to complete writing the list of 100 things easily. Note that second part of the list is written with the influence of subconscious mind while the  first part of the list is written by conscious mind. So, we can get more valuable ideas from the later part of the list. If you find some difficulty in continuously writing the list, don’t give up. Stick on to write the list continuously, this is where your subconscious mind is going to start influencing the list writing.

Apart from following above three steps, you should always keep your mind with  positive thoughts.  You may visit this website TheQuotes.net to always keep your thoughts positive. We are taking care of adding only the contents that are helpful to simulate positive thoughts in the reader’s mind.

And note that Nothing is Free in this world. You need to do lot of hard work to achieve your Goal, and importantly you should have passion for achieving your Goal.  Your subconscious mind will NOT do any magic for achieving your Goal. Only thing is, by following these 3 steps to program/request the subconscious mind to help achieving our Goal,  the subconscious mind works continuously to drive us for takings steps to achieve our Goal, and therefore we achieve our Goal Successfully.

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done.

He convinced his son Washington A. Roebling to involve in this project. Both father and son involved in this project.

Just before construction began in 1869, Roebling was fatally injured while taking a few final compass readings across the East River. A boat smashed the toes on one of his feet, and three weeks later he died of tetanus. His 32-year-old son, Washington A. Roebling, took over as chief engineer.

Washington Roebling also suffered a paralyzing injury as a result of decompression sickness shortly after the beginning of construction on January 3, 1870.

In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.

Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built.

After Roebling’s debilitating condition left him unable to physically supervise the construction firsthand, his wife Emily Warren Roebling stepped in and provided the critical written link between her husband and the engineers on site.Under her husband’s guidance, Emily had studied higher mathematics, the calculations of catenary curves, the strengths of materials, bridge specifications, and the intricacies of cable construction. She spent the next 11 years assisting Washington Roebling helping to supervise the bridge’s construction.

The Brooklyn Bridge was completed thirteen years later and was opened for use on May 24, 1883.

Brooklyn Bridge is a good example for not giving up. In our life also we should not give up while hurdles comes to our way.If we are determinant to our goal we can achieve our goal. Problems are very small while we stand against the problems and face it.

Try to achieve our goal with full heart. Never give up.

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
― Leo Tolstoy

If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content.
― Leo Tolstoy

If you want to be happy, be.
― Leo Tolstoy

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.
― Leo Tolstoy

The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.
― Leo Tolstoy

There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.
― Leo Tolstoy

Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them.
― Leo Tolstoy

To get rid of an enemy one must love him.
― Leo Tolstoy

You can love a person dear to you with a human love, but an enemy can only be loved with divine love.
― Leo Tolstoy

We lost because we told ourselves we lost.
― Leo Tolstoy

Obama is talking about the issues of race, inequality, and “breaking the cycle” of absent fathers in this commencement address.

Read below the Transcript of his speech.

I have to say that it is one of the great honors of my life to be able to address this gathering here today. I want to thank Dr. Wilson for his outstanding leadership, and the Board of Trustees. We have Congressman Cedric Richmond and Sanford Bishop — both proud alumni of this school, as well as Congressman Hank Johnson. And one of my dear friends and a great inspiration to us all — the great John Lewis is here. (Applause.) We have your outstanding Mayor, Mr. Kasim Reed, in the house. (Applause.)

To all the members of the Morehouse family. And most of all, congratulations to this distinguished group of Morehouse Men — the Class of 2013. (Applause.)

I have to say that it’s a little hard to follow — not Dr. Wilson, but a skinny guy with a funny name. (Laughter.) Betsegaw Tadele — he’s going to be doing something.

I also have to say that you all are going to get wet. (Laughter.) And I’d be out there with you if I could. (Laughter.) But Secret Service gets nervous. (Laughter.) So I’m going to have to stay here, dry. (Laughter.) But know that I’m there with you in spirit. (Laughter.)

Some of you are graduating summa cum laude. (Applause.) Some of you are graduating magna cum laude. (Applause.) I know some of you are just graduating, “thank you, Lordy.” (Laughter and applause.) That’s appropriate because it’s a Sunday. (Laughter.)

I see some moms and grandmas here, aunts, in their Sunday best — although they are upset about their hair getting messed up. (Laughter.) Michelle would not be sitting in the rain. (Laughter.) She has taught me about hair. (Laughter.)

I want to congratulate all of you — the parents, the grandparents, the brothers and sisters, the family and friends who supported these young men in so many ways. This is your day, as well. Just think about it — your sons, your brothers, your nephews — they spent the last four years far from home and close to Spelman, and yet they are still here today. (Applause.) So you’ve done something right. Graduates, give a big round of applause to your family for everything that they’ve done for you. (Applause.)

I know that some of you had to wait in long lines to get into today’s ceremony. And I would apologize, but it did not have anything to do with security. Those graduates just wanted you to know what it’s like to register for classes here. (Laughter and applause.) And this time of year brings a different kind of stress — every senior stopping by Gloster Hall over the past week making sure your name was actually on the list of students who met all the graduation requirements. (Applause.) If it wasn’t on the list, you had to figure out why. Was it that library book you lent to that trifling roommate who didn’t return it? (Laughter.) Was it Dr. Johnson’s policy class? (Applause.) Did you get enough Crown Forum credits? (Applause.)

On that last point, I’m going to exercise my power as President to declare this speech sufficient Crown Forum credits for any otherwise eligible student to graduate. That is my graduation gift to you. (Applause.) You have a special dispensation.

Now, graduates, I am humbled to stand here with all of you as an honorary Morehouse Man. (Applause.) I finally made it. (Laughter.) And as I do, I’m mindful of an old saying: “You can always tell a Morehouse Man — (applause) — but you can’t tell him much.” (Applause.) And that makes my task a little more difficult, I suppose. But I think it also reflects the sense of pride that’s always been part of this school’s tradition.

Benjamin Mays, who served as the president of Morehouse for almost 30 years, understood that tradition better than anybody. He said — and I quote — “It will not be sufficient for Morehouse College, for any college, for that matter, to produce clever graduates… but rather honest men, men who can be trusted in public and private life — men who are sensitive to the wrongs, the sufferings, and the injustices of society and who are willing to accept responsibility for correcting [those] ills.”

It was that mission — not just to educate men, but to cultivate good men, strong men, upright men — that brought community leaders together just two years after the end of the Civil War. They assembled a list of 37 men, free blacks and freed slaves, who would make up the first prospective class of what later became Morehouse College. Most of those first students had a desire to become teachers and preachers — to better themselves so they could help others do the same.

A century and a half later, times have changed. But the “Morehouse Mystique” still endures. Some of you probably came here from communities where everybody looked like you. Others may have come here in search of a community. And I suspect that some of you probably felt a little bit of culture shock the first time you came together as a class in King’s Chapel. All of a sudden, you weren’t the only high school sports captain, you weren’t the only student council president. You were suddenly in a group of high achievers, and that meant you were expected to do something more.

That’s the unique sense of purpose that this place has always infused — the conviction that this is a training ground not only for individual success, but for leadership that can change the world.

Dr. King was just 15 years old when he enrolled here at Morehouse. He was an unknown, undersized, unassuming young freshman who lived at home with his parents. And I think it’s fair to say he wasn’t the coolest kid on campus — for the suits he wore, his classmates called him “Tweed.” But his education at Morehouse helped to forge the intellect, the discipline, the compassion, the soul force that would transform America. It was here that he was introduced to the writings of Gandhi and Thoreau, and the theory of civil disobedience. It was here that professors encouraged him to look past the world as it was and fight for the world as it should be. And it was here, at Morehouse, as Dr. King later wrote, where “I realized that nobody…was afraid.”

Not even of some bad weather. I added on that part. (Laughter.) I know it’s wet out there. But Dr. Wilson told me you all had a choice and decided to do it out here anyway. (Applause.) That’s a Morehouse Man talking.

Now, think about it. For black men in the ‘40s and the ‘50s, the threat of violence, the constant humiliations, large and small, the uncertainty that you could support a family, the gnawing doubts born of the Jim Crow culture that told you every day that somehow you were inferior, the temptation to shrink from the world, to accept your place, to avoid risks, to be afraid — that temptation was necessarily strong.

And yet, here, under the tutelage of men like Dr. Mays, young Martin learned to be unafraid. And he, in turn, taught others to be unafraid. And over time, he taught a nation to be unafraid. And over the last 50 years, thanks to the moral force of Dr. King and a Moses generation that overcame their fear and their cynicism and their despair, barriers have come tumbling down, and new doors of opportunity have swung open, and laws and hearts and minds have been changed to the point where someone who looks just like you can somehow come to serve as President of these United States of America. (Applause.)

So the history we share should give you hope. The future we share should give you hope. You’re graduating into an improving job market. You’re living in a time when advances in technology and communication put the world at your fingertips. Your generation is uniquely poised for success unlike any generation of African Americans that came before it.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t have work — because if we’re honest with ourselves, we know that too few of our brothers have the opportunities that you’ve had here at Morehouse. In troubled neighborhoods all across this country — many of them heavily African American — too few of our citizens have role models to guide them. Communities just a couple miles from my house in Chicago, communities just a couple miles from here — they’re places where jobs are still too scarce and wages are still too low; where schools are underfunded and violence is pervasive; where too many of our men spend their youth not behind a desk in a classroom, but hanging out on the streets or brooding behind a jail cell.

My job, as President, is to advocate for policies that generate more opportunity for everybody — policies that strengthen the middle class and give more people the chance to climb their way into the middle class. Policies that create more good jobs and reduce poverty, and educate more children, and give more families the security of health care, and protect more of our children from the horrors of gun violence. That’s my job. Those are matters of public policy, and it is important for all of us — black, white and brown — to advocate for an America where everybody has got a fair shot in life. Not just some. Not just a few. (Applause.)

But along with collective responsibilities, we have individual responsibilities. There are some things, as black men, we can only do for ourselves. There are some things, as Morehouse Men, that you are obliged to do for those still left behind. As Morehouse Men, you now wield something even more powerful than the diploma you’re about to collect — and that’s the power of your example.

So what I ask of you today is the same thing I ask of every graduating class I address: Use that power for something larger than yourself. Live up to President Mays’s challenge. Be “sensitive to the wrongs, the sufferings, and the injustices of society.” And be “willing to accept responsibility for correcting [those] ills.”

I know that some of you came to Morehouse from communities where life was about keeping your head down and looking out for yourself. Maybe you feel like you escaped, and now you can take your degree and get that fancy job and the nice house and the nice car — and never look back. And don’t get me wrong — with all those student loans you’ve had to take out, I know you’ve got to earn some money. With doors open to you that your parents and grandparents could not even imagine, no one expects you to take a vow of poverty. But I will say it betrays a poverty of ambition if all you think about is what goods you can buy instead of what good you can do. (Applause.)

So, yes, go get that law degree. But if you do, ask yourself if the only option is to defend the rich and the powerful, or if you can also find some time to defend the powerless. Sure, go get your MBA, or start that business. We need black businesses out there. But ask yourselves what broader purpose your business might serve, in putting people to work, or transforming a neighborhood. The most successful CEOs I know didn’t start out intent just on making money — rather, they had a vision of how their product or service would change things, and the money followed. (Applause.)

Some of you may be headed to medical school to become doctors. But make sure you heal folks in underserved communities who really need it, too. For generations, certain groups in this country — especially African Americans — have been desperate in need of access to quality, affordable health care. And as a society, we’re finally beginning to change that. Those of you who are under the age of 26 already have the option to stay on your parent’s health care plan. But all of you are heading into an economy where many young people expect not only to have multiple jobs, but multiple careers.

So starting October 1st, because of the Affordable Care Act — otherwise known as Obamacare — (applause) — you’ll be able to shop for a quality, affordable plan that’s yours and travels with you — a plan that will insure not only your health, but your dreams if you are sick or get in an accident. But we’re going to need some doctors to make sure it works, too. We’ve got to make sure everybody has good health in this country. It’s not just good for you, it’s good for this country. So you’re going to have to spread the word to your fellow young people.

Which brings me to a second point: Just as Morehouse has taught you to expect more of yourselves, inspire those who look up to you to expect more of themselves. We know that too many young men in our community continue to make bad choices. And I have to say, growing up, I made quite a few myself. Sometimes I wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down. I had a tendency sometimes to make excuses for me not doing the right thing. But one of the things that all of you have learned over the last four years is there’s no longer any room for excuses. (Applause.)

I understand there’s a common fraternity creed here at Morehouse: “Excuses are tools of the incompetent used to build bridges to nowhere and monuments of nothingness.” Well, we’ve got no time for excuses. Not because the bitter legacy of slavery and segregation have vanished entirely; they have not. Not because racism and discrimination no longer exist; we know those are still out there. It’s just that in today’s hyperconnected, hypercompetitive world, with millions of young people from China and India and Brazil — many of whom started with a whole lot less than all of you did — all of them entering the global workforce alongside you, nobody is going to give you anything that you have not earned. (Applause.)

Nobody cares how tough your upbringing was. Nobody cares if you suffered some discrimination. And moreover, you have to remember that whatever you’ve gone through, it pales in comparison to the hardships previous generations endured — and they overcame them. And if they overcame them, you can overcome them, too. (Applause.)

You now hail from a lineage and legacy of immeasurably strong men — men who bore tremendous burdens and still laid the stones for the path on which we now walk. You wear the mantle of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, and Ralph Bunche and Langston Hughes, and George Washington Carver and Ralph Abernathy and Thurgood Marshall, and, yes, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These men were many things to many people. And they knew full well the role that racism played in their lives. But when it came to their own accomplishments and sense of purpose, they had no time for excuses.

Every one of you have a grandma or an uncle or a parent who’s told you that at some point in life, as an African American, you have to work twice as hard as anyone else if you want to get by. I think President Mays put it even better: He said, “Whatever you do, strive to do it so well that no man living and no man dead, and no man yet to be born can do it any better.” (Applause.)

And I promise you, what was needed in Dr. Mays’s time, that spirit of excellence, and hard work, and dedication, and no excuses is needed now more than ever. If you think you can just get over in this economy just because you have a Morehouse degree, you’re in for a rude awakening. But if you stay hungry, if you keep hustling, if you keep on your grind and get other folks to do the same — nobody can stop you. (Applause.)

And when I talk about pursuing excellence and setting an example, I’m not just talking about in your professional life. One of today’s graduates, Frederick Anderson — where’s Frederick? Frederick, right here. (Applause.) I know it’s raining, but I’m going to tell about Frederick. Frederick started his college career in Ohio, only to find out that his high school sweetheart back in Georgia was pregnant. So he came back and enrolled in Morehouse to be closer to her. Pretty soon, helping raise a newborn and working night shifts became too much, so he started taking business classes at a technical college instead — doing everything from delivering newspapers to buffing hospital floors to support his family.

And then he enrolled at Morehouse a second time. But even with a job, he couldn’t keep up with the cost of tuition. So after getting his degree from that technical school, this father of three decided to come back to Morehouse for a third time. (Applause.) As Frederick says, “God has a plan for my life, and He’s not done with me yet.”

And today, Frederick is a family man, and a working man, and a Morehouse Man. (Applause.) And that’s what I’m asking all of you to do: Keep setting an example for what it means to be a man. (Applause.) Be the best husband to your wife, or you’re your boyfriend, or your partner. Be the best father you can be to your children. Because nothing is more important.

I was raised by a heroic single mom, wonderful grandparents — made incredible sacrifices for me. And I know there are moms and grandparents here today who did the same thing for all of you. But I sure wish I had had a father who was not only present, but involved. Didn’t know my dad. And so my whole life, I’ve tried to be for Michelle and my girls what my father was not for my mother and me. I want to break that cycle where a father is not at home — (applause) — where a father is not helping to raise that son or daughter. I want to be a better father, a better husband, a better man.

It’s hard work that demands your constant attention and frequent sacrifice. And I promise you, Michelle will tell you I’m not perfect. She’s got a long list of my imperfections. (Laughter.) Even now, I’m still practicing, I’m still learning, still getting corrected in terms of how to be a fine husband and a good father. But I will tell you this: Everything else is unfulfilled if we fail at family, if we fail at that responsibility. (Applause.)

I know that when I am on my deathbed someday, I will not be thinking about any particular legislation I passed; I will not be thinking about a policy I promoted; I will not be thinking about the speech I gave, I will not be thinking the Nobel Prize I received. I will be thinking about that walk I took with my daughters. I’ll be thinking about a lazy afternoon with my wife. I’ll be thinking about sitting around the dinner table and seeing them happy and healthy and knowing that they were loved. And I’ll be thinking about whether I did right by all of them.

So be a good role model, set a good example for that young brother coming up. If you know somebody who’s not on point, go back and bring that brother along — those who’ve been left behind, who haven’t had the same opportunities we have — they need to hear from you. You’ve got to be engaged on the barbershops, on the basketball court, at church, spend time and energy and presence to give people opportunities and a chance. Pull them up, expose them, support their dreams. Don’t put them down.

We’ve got to teach them just like what we have to learn, what it means to be a man — to serve your city like Maynard Jackson; to shape the culture like Spike Lee; to be like Chester Davenport, one of the first people to integrate the University of Georgia Law School. When he got there, nobody would sit next to him in class. But Chester didn’t mind. Later on, he said, “It was the thing for me to do. Someone needed to be the first.” And today, Chester is here celebrating his 50th reunion. Where is Chester Davenport? He’s here. (Applause.)

So if you’ve had role models, fathers, brothers like that — thank them today. And if you haven’t, commit yourself to being that man to somebody else.

And finally, as you do these things, do them not just for yourself, but don’t even do them just for the African American community. I want you to set your sights higher. At the turn of the last century, W.E.B. DuBois spoke about the “talented tenth” — a class of highly educated, socially conscious leaders in the black community. But it’s not just the African American community that needs you. The country needs you. The world needs you.

As Morehouse Men, many of you know what it’s like to be an outsider; know what it’s like to be marginalized; know what it’s like to feel the sting of discrimination. And that’s an experience that a lot of Americans share. Hispanic Americans know that feeling when somebody asks them where they come from or tell them to go back. Gay and lesbian Americans feel it when a stranger passes judgment on their parenting skills or the love that they share. Muslim Americans feel it when they’re stared at with suspicion because of their faith. Any woman who knows the injustice of earning less pay for doing the same work — she knows what it’s like to be on the outside looking in.

So your experiences give you special insight that today’s leaders need. If you tap into that experience, it should endow you with empathy — the understanding of what it’s like to walk in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, to know what it’s like when you’re not born on 3rd base, thinking you hit a triple. It should give you the ability to connect. It should give you a sense of compassion and what it means to overcome barriers.

And I will tell you, Class of 2013, whatever success I have achieved, whatever positions of leadership I have held have depended less on Ivy League degrees or SAT scores or GPAs, and have instead been due to that sense of connection and empathy — the special obligation I felt, as a black man like you, to help those who need it most, people who didn’t have the opportunities that I had — because there but for the grace of God, go I — I might have been in their shoes. I might have been in prison. I might have been unemployed. I might not have been able to support a family. And that motivates me. (Applause.)

So it’s up to you to widen your circle of concern — to care about justice for everybody, white, black and brown. Everybody. Not just in your own community, but also across this country and around the world. To make sure everyone has a voice, and everybody gets a seat at the table; that everybody, no matter what you look like or where you come from, what your last name is — it doesn’t matter, everybody gets a chance to walk through those doors of opportunity if they are willing to work hard enough.

When Leland Shelton was four years old — where’s Leland? (Applause.) Stand up, Leland. When Leland Shelton was four years old, social services took him away from his mama, put him in the care of his grandparents. By age 14, he was in the foster care system. Three years after that, Leland enrolled in Morehouse. And today he is graduating Phi Beta Kappa on his way to Harvard Law School. (Applause.) But he’s not stopping there. As a member of the National Foster Care Youth and Alumni Policy Council, he plans to use his law degree to make sure kids like him don’t fall through the cracks. And it won’t matter whether they’re black kids or brown kids or white kids or Native American kids, because he’ll understand what they’re going through. And he’ll be fighting for them. He’ll be in their corner. That’s leadership. That’s a Morehouse Man right there. (Applause.)

That’s what we’ve come to expect from you, Morehouse — a legacy of leaders — not just in our black community, but for the entire American community. To recognize the burdens you carry with you, but to resist the temptation to use them as excuses. To transform the way we think about manhood, and set higher standards for ourselves and for others. To be successful, but also to understand that each of us has responsibilities not just to ourselves, but to one another and to future generations. Men who refuse to be afraid. Men who refuse to be afraid.

Members of the Class of 2013, you are heirs to a great legacy. You have within you that same courage and that same strength, the same resolve as the men who came before you. That’s what being a Morehouse Man is all about. That’s what being an American is all about.

Success may not come quickly or easily. But if you strive to do what’s right, if you work harder and dream bigger, if you set an example in your own lives and do your part to help meet the challenges of our time, then I’m confident that, together, we will continue the never-ending task of perfecting our union.

Congratulations, Class of 2013. God bless you. God bless Morehouse. And God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

Mental toughness can take you to the top, and mental weakness straight to the bottom.
- John Schiefer

An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.
- Emil Zatopek

Selecting the right person for the right job is the largest part of coaching.
- Philip

Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.
- Dan Gable

The winning team has a dedication. It will have a core of veteran players who set the standards. They will not accept defeat.
- Merlin Olsen

Perhaps the single most important element in mastering the techniques and tactics of racing is experience. But once you have the fundamentals, acquiring the experience is a matter of time.
- Greg LeMond

If you’re a champion, you have to have it in your heart.
- Chris Evert

Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown.
- Ross Perot

A winner is someone who recognizes his talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.
- Larry Bird

The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger

What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle, and giving 110 percent all the time.
- Don Zimmer, Major League Baseball Coach

One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.
Arnold Palmer

The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.
Pele

A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever.

Mary Lou Retton

The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital
- Joe Paterno, Penn State Football Coach

You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave–win or lose.
Gordie Howe

Ask not what your teammates can do for you; ask what you can do for your teammates.
- Magic Johnson

I never have been afraid to fail.
-Michael Jordan

A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works hard to develop them into skills, and uses those skills to accomplish his goals.
- Larry Bird

When building a team, I always search first for people who love to win. If I can’t find any of those, I look for people who hate to lose.
- Ross Perot

The man who has no imagination has no wings.
- Muhammad Ali

Make each day your masterpiece.
- John Wooden, Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach

Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.
Bo Jackson

If you’re going to win a game you’re going to have to come up with big hits. That’s the bottom line.
- Derek Jeter

One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it.
Knute Rockne

Football doesn’t build character, it reveals character.
Marv Levy

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
- Muhammad Ali

Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.
Matt Biondi

Sports is a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and achieving against great odds. Athletes, in times of difficulty can be important role models.
- Bill Bradley, Former Basketball player and United States Senator

Let me start with a small riddle which clearly shows the power of Subconscious mind.

A Son and his Father were traveling on a car. And, they met with an accident. The Father died on the spot. The Son was injured. He was taken into a famous hospital in the city. City’s Best surgeon arrived for treating the Boy. The surgeon looked at the boy and said, “I cannot operate on my son”.

Who was the surgeon?

Are you able to find the answer?

And, ask the same question to many of your friends after telling this riddle.

How many of them were able to tell the answer?

Before discussing further, let me tell the answer first.

The most famous surgeon of the town was the boy’s mother!

I am SURE that most of people didn’t find this answer, or they find difficulty in finding this answer.

Actually finding this answer is very simple. Everyone will know the simple fact “A Boy is ‘son’ for both Father and Mother“. And, once the Father was died, only Mother can call a boy as “Son”. So, any conscious mind can easily find the answer within few seconds.

But why we were not able to find the answer?

It is because of the pre-stored thoughts in our minds that the most successful surgeon can be only a man and not a woman. Our mind is conditioned in such a way that when we hear the word “surgeon”, we picture a male surgeon. In other words, our Subconsious mind is not allowing the conscious mind to find this simple answer.

Now, I hope everyone understands the power of subconsious mind. So, it is very important that we should always give positive thoughts to our mind.

I came up with this motivational website site TheQuotes.net to program the Subconscious mind of our web site visitors with positive thoughts so that they can succeed in their life.

If you are NOT able to visit TheQuotes.Net daily, you can get the Positive thoughts in your inbox itself by activating Quote of the Day, or you can buy this motivational Book.

Read here to know the three simple steps to program the subconscious mind.

What is  Test Case ?

Test case is “Documentation specifying inputs, predicted results, and a set of execution conditions for a test item.” The  purpose of Test Case  is to divide the software function into small units of function that is testable with input, and producing result that is measurable.

i-e  A test case is a feature/function description that should be executed with a range of input, given certain preconditions, and the outcome measured against expected result.

These are the  fields commonly present in the Test Cases :

• Test case id
• Test Case Description
• Procedure / Test Steps
• Test data
• Expected result
• Actual result
• Status ( Pass/ Fail)
• Comments

Test cases should be simple and easy to understand for Developers.

Test Case ID :

This ID should be Unique throughout the Testing Application and not to change at any moment.

Test Case Description:

Explain the function under test. Clearly state exactly what attribute is under test and under what condition.

Prerequisites- Every test needs to follow a sequence of actions, which lead to the function under test. It could be a certain page that a user needs to be on, or certain data that should be in the system . For example  registration step should be completed before start testing login.

Procedure/Steps:

Sequence of steps to execute the specific function.

Test data:

Specify the data used for a particular test or if it is a lot of data, mention the path of a file where this data is stored.

Expected Result:

Clearly specify the expected outcome in terms of the page/ screen that should appear after the test, changes that should happen to other pages, and if possible, changes that should happen to the database..

Actual Result :

State the actual result of the function execution. Especially in case the test case fails, the information under ‘actual result’ will be very useful to the developer to analyse the cause of the defect.

Comments:

In this section you can add your reviews, suggestions and ideas to developers for the bug how we fix that.  Especially this section made to communicate with developers.

Test case writing procedure

• Get as much information about the application as possible through available documentation (requirement specs, use cases, user guides) , tutorials, or by exercising the software itself (when available)
• Determine a list of features and different user roles.

Say for example, if you are writing Test Cases for testing  this Timesheet Application.

First you should understand the features available in this timesheet application by reading the help files and other available documents about this timesheet application.

You should know about different user roles (e.g user, admin) involved in this application.

Once you gather all the details about this application, you can start writing test cases. Find below one sample, and you can show/test your test case writing skills by adding more test cases thro’ the comments section.

• Test case id – LG01 (LG refer as Log In)
• Test Case Description -Check Case sensitivity in  Log In Functionality
• Procedure

1. Load login screen by visiting http://qualitypointtech.net/timesheetdemo/index.php
2. Enter valid username and password in Upper case.
3. Click “Login button”

• Test data – Username as user || Password as USER
• Expected result – Alert box like CAPS LOCK on to warn the user
• Actual result – But its not visible and accessing with uppercase letters.
• Status ( Pass/ Fail) – Fail
• Comments –  Password is an user’s choice so we can’t restrict so we have to give the warn or alert box or format that password should be like this.

At the time crunch of any project, the testers simply go with the Adhoc Testing and Exploratory testing.

Adhoc Testing is the type of testing to do a detailed testing with proper test plans and test cases. Advantage of  this testing is that it helps to save a lot of precious time.

Exploratory Testing means testing of software without any specific plans and schedules and exploring the application which is recommended.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The tools are divided into different categories as follows:

•  Test Management tools
•  Functional Testing Tools
•  Load Testing Tools or Performance Testing tools

Find below the list of Testing Tools  that are  Top and Best Tools in both Open Source (Free Tools) and Commercial Tools used by the Testers for testing software applications.

Open Source Tools:

a) Test Management Tools

•  Bugzilla Testopia
•  FitNesse
•  qaManager
•  RTH (open source)
•  Salome-tmf
•  Squash TM
•  Test Environment Toolkit
•  TestLink
•  Testitool
•  XQual Studio
•  Radi-testdir
•  Data Generator

b) Functional Testing Tools

•  Selenium
•  Soapui
•  Watir (Web Application Testing in Ruby)
•  WatiN (Web Application Testing in .Net)
•  Capedit
•  Canoo WebTest
•  Solex
•  Imprimatur
•  SAMIE
•  ITP
•  WET
•  WebInject

c) Load Testing Tools

•  FunkLoad
•  JMeter
•  FWPTT load testing
•  loadUI

Commercial Testing Tools:

a) Test Management Tools

• HP Quality Center/ALM 
• QA Complete 
• T-Plan Professional
• SMARTS 
• QAS.Test Case Studio 
• PractiTest 
• SpiraTest 
• TestLog
• ApTest Manager 
• Zephyr

b) Functional Testing Tools

• QuickTest Pro 
• Rational Robot 
• Sahi 
• SoapTest 
• Test Complete 
• QA Wizard 
• Squish 
• vTest 
• Internet Macros 

c) Load Testing Tools

• HP LoadRunner
• LoadStorm
• NeoLoad
• WebLOAD Professional
• Forecast
• ANTS – Advanced .NET Testing System
• Webserver Stress Tool
• Load Impact

All-in One  Testing Tools

• Test Studio – An advanced tool for performance, load, automated testing, test management, exploratory testing

Mobile Testing Tools

• Testdroid-Automated Testing Tool for Android.

If any of the important testing Tools is missing from this list, you can mention it thro’ the comments.

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In today’s technical world, most of the software engineering projects rely on manual testing only as it involves a demanding and accurate testing procedure.

Manual testing involves high-level test plan where we choose a methodology, and resources such as skilled people, computers, and software licenses are identified and acquired. Detailed test cases are written by the tester clearly and perfectly, with the expected Results.

The test cases were given to the testers should follow all the steps and record the results. At the end, the detailed test report is prepared to determine whether the software can be released or not. If not mean they asked to developers to fix the bug which impact the other main modules.

Advantages of Manual Testing :

•  Easy to learn for new people who are entered into testing field.
•  Running the test case is less cost than automation.
•  Allows the tester to perform more Ad-hoc testing .Using this more bugs are found than automation.
• Its very difficult to go for automation testing for Mobile applications
•  Manual testing cost is low but in automation it is expensive

Disadvantages of Manual Testing :

•  Regression Test cases are time consuming if it is manual testing.
•  Requires heavy investment of human resources.
•  For every build release you must re run the same set of tests which can be annoying.

Start with an Test Cases Writing:

What is a Test Case ?

Test Case is an Writing Statement which contains test data, outputs, expected and actual result of the application which is tested accord to the Client’s Requirements.

These are the fields present in the Test Cases :

Test case id
Test Case Description
Procedure
Test data
Priority
Expected result
Actual result
Status ( Pass/ Fail)
Comments

While writing test cases that all your test cases should be simple and easy to understand for Developers. Don’t give your explanations like essays.

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For any kind of project, the ultimate purpose will be delivering Quality Product on Time within Budget. It is applicable for any kind of project. Each project will be unique and therefore each project will require different approaches to achieve these things.

But, certain things will be common for any kind of project to deliver Quality Product. I am listing those common best practices in this video.

The quality of this video may not be good, as I am not having enough time to spend for creating Quality Video. But the things that I had mentioned in this video will be really useful as I came up with this list purely based on my many years of experience with various projects.

Feel free to suggest any other useful best practice thro’ the comments.

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There are many Test Management Tools available on the market, a few example of which include HP Quality Center and IBM Rational Quality Manager.

HP Quality Center is sold as a web based Tool, but in order to allow users to access it from the web browser, it needs to be installed in an in-house server. Quality Center also requires installing some ActiveX controls in the Client machines.

Setting up and using HP Quality Center requires some skill. I often get requests  asking for guidance to set up Quality Center. In fact there are a number of courses on offer aimed solely at teaching people how to use Quality Center.  Additionally, the price of Quality Center used to be high.

I used to ask myself why there is no efficient Test management Tool available at an affordable price so that small startups and companies can also use them?

Recently I got to know about a Cloud Based Software Test Management Tool  called “ReQtest“. ReQtest is be provided as a SaaS service (Software as a Service).

If you are not very familiar with Cloud computing or SaaS, you can read this post. In summary, using the Cloud you will avoid the burden of installing and setting up the software or Tool and it will make updates to the software very easy.

Though Cloud based systems have many advantages, there are few things that  need to be verified before you start using Cloud based system. The important thing is a low Downtime. The latest technologies help to have almost a full uptime. Anyway, we need to make sure that Cloud based systems are using those latest technologies to avoid any Downtime. Another important thing is taking Data Backups so that we can continue our business if something unexpected happens to the Server Data. Given that ReQtest is used by big companies such as Sony Ericsson and Thomas Cook, I believe they have an excellent Server Uptime and enough Data Backup facilities.

ReQtest is seamlessly integrated into three modules for writing the requirements, writing and sharing test cases and for bug reporting.

Requirements

ReQtest makes creating and managing requirements effortless. ReQtest supports both agile and traditional development methods and makes it easy to get an overview of all your requirements.

Using ReQtest, requirements, design documents and test documents are all stored in single place,  instead of  spreading  out over different servers, e-mail, document archives etc.  Since ReQtest is web-based, it allows various stakeholders to view the requirements.

Ranking and prioritizing requirements is  a simple task in ReQtest.  We  can prioritize requirements using any kind of scale: numeric, high/low/medium, or the MoSCoW scale (Must, Should, Could and Won’t).

Test Cases

ReQtest has a test case module in which test cases can be written and assigned to testers in a team. Test cases can be easily grouped so you can follow up on results,  for example to find test cases with status OK, failed or not run.

When you create a bug report from a test case, ReQtest automatically copies information from the test case to the bug report. This makes it easy to quickly create structured, high-quality bug reports.

You can Customize the contents of forms in ReQtest to make them fit your process even better. Some of the things you can change include the contents of lists as well as adding, reordering and removing fields.

The key features of the Test Case module of the ReQtest Tool -

• Checklists are a powerful complement to test cases, allowing you to quickly create lists of short test instructions.
• Traceability allows you to see which requirement a test case is based on, and which bug reports are linked to a particular test case.
• It is easy to attach files, for example design documents, use cases or screenshots.
• Test cases can easily be e-mailed to project members or other persons

Since ReQtest is web based, you can share test cases with both our customers and suppliers, with different access rights for each if required.

Bug Reporting

You can easily customize the contents of forms in ReQtest to make them fit your business. You can rename, add and remove fields as well as use your own scales to describe the priority and severity of bug, for example using numeric scales, letter scales, or descriptive texts. Bug reports can easily be e-mailed to project members or other persons

Starting to use ReQtest is NOT a difficult task. ReQtest is structured in a logical manner and can be easily understood by anyone who uses a computer regularly.

ReQtest has extensive statistical functions which are particularly useful when working with requirements and test cases, especially for decision-makers at various levels.

You can choose different chart types and export charts as an image or an Excel file. The traceability matrix gives a clear summary of all the links between requirements, test cases and bug reports.

ReQtest allows the users to save Frequently Used Searches so that they can be accessed easily later.

And, ReQtest give you Free support by phone, by e-mail and remote desktop.

ReQtest offers a 10 day free trial for the Tool with full access to all features. Starting your the Free Trial is easy.

You just fill this Simple Form for getting the Free Trial. Once you submit the form, you will receive the verification link to your email. The verification link will allow you to set a password for your account and you can start using the Free Trial right away.

It seems they are providing the User Interface in two languages (English and Swedish). You need to choose your preferred language when starting the Trial. I chose “English” and started exploring the various options available in ReQtest. So far it all looks good. You can share your experience of the ReQtest trial in the comments section.

Click here to get a free 10 day trial of ReQtest.

Watch below Video giving overview of ReQtest.

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i-e If a job seeker enters his Resume details in one place, the script will automatically create User Accounts in many U.S job sites for him, and it will automatically post his Resume details in all these Job Sites.

This Kind of Script development is NOT an easy task. It involves lot of complexities. And, we haven’t started doing it properly. Initially we did similar script for one particular customer as a custom development, and later we enhanced it further to bring this Automatic Resume posting script.

Since, we are a small Team with limited budget, right now we are doing some kind of AdHoc testing only.

I am writing this post to initiate a discussion about exploring various Testing Strategies suitable for improving quality of this Automatic Resume Posting Script without requiring more Resources and Time.

Before discussing Test Strategies, let me give some details about this script development.

The important Steps involved in this kind of script development are,

- Automatic resume posting can be done in two different ways. One is, using javascript for auto filling the Forms in the job sites by accessing the DOM of the web page in the Client Side (i-e User’s browser). The other way is, posting the job seeker resume details to the Job Site using php cURL at the http protocol level. (i-e From Server where the Script is Hosted)

The second way (i-e php cURL) is involving some risks. Since the data for all job seekers are getting posted to job sites from same IP Address (i-e same server), the job sites may block that IP address if they thought that it is a DDoS attack.

But I came to know that almost all job sites are encouraging to automatically receive genuine Resume details of Job seekers to increase their customer base. That’s why, they are allowing continuous posting from particular IP. So, I decided to go with the php curl approach.

- First we created set of Function libraries for posting data in various situations (e.g GET method, POST method, with SSL, etc). Unit Testing of these functions is done by hardcoding the resume details in php files.
- Then, we did mapping of various fields of various job sites in mysql tables. (e.g The Input Resume will say experience as 3 years, but one job site will be having option for specifying experience  as “2-4 Years”, and another one will be having the option as “more than 2 years”. We need to map them manually onetime in mysql tables)

- Once after completing Function library creation and Job sites Fields mapping, we started creating php files for each job sites for getting the resume details and mapping details from db and post them to the corresponding job site. Live HTTP header firefox Add-on helped much to do this job. Some job sites will he having Captcha entry. The php script is developed to show the captcha image while doing resume posting.

- Then, created few php files for integrating posting of all job sites and for updating the status of account creation (account creation may fail if the user name already exists in particular job site) and resume posting process.

- Then, created user interface for allowing the Job Seekers to make payment, use discount codes, see reports, do Auto login into job sites, etc. And, created Admin Interface for managing users and resume posting.

I think I have given enough details about the background of this script. Now, let us start discussing about Testing this script.

The important challenge of Testing this Resume submission Script is, we can NOT have any separate Testing Environment. For testing our Time Sheet application, first we setup timesheet script in our local machine, and we will move the code to server only after completing the testing in local machine. We can do whatever we want to do testing in the local machine. But the samething can not be done for testing the Resume submission script. Even if we setup the script in local machine the script need to post the details to the external job sites only.

So, we can not Test the script with junk data as it will spam the job sites.

The Next challenge for Testing the script is, the difficulty of choosing appropriate Test data. As I specified earlier, data Mapping plays important role in this script. So, if you decide to test the script with various test data to test the script including the quality of mapping, we will end with thousands of test data. So, it is NOT feasible to test the script completely by giving Test data. The only workaround is, we need to manually check the mapping in mysql table, by going thro’ the lot of mapping data. It is really difficult task and we will be missing to find some incorrect mappings.

Almost all job sites are updating their user interface frequently. Some job sites are getting closed and some of them are acquired by huge job sites. Some jobsites change their CMS completely. So, the script needs to be updated frequently.

As part of the regression testing, we need to find some way for testing the entire script whenever we update the script. (either the coding or mapping). I think just doing adHoc Testing is NOT enough.

Right Now, I am thinking one approach for testing the script with real data. Instead of testing the script with junk data, I plan to allow the Job seekers to use the Resume Posting Service at very cheap price, in return they need to inform us if they find any issue in the job postings. I am working on creating some Special Discount Codes for the Job Seekers who are interested in joining this plan.
This approach won’t do any harm to the Job seekers. Because during this phase, our Team will be manually checking the quality of resume postings by logining into the each and every job site once the script completed the automatic posting. We can easily update any data if our Team find any issue.

Similarly, I am Planning to sell few copies of this entire script at very low price to the people who are showing willingness to cooperate with us to increase the quality of the script and to maintain the quality of the script at long run even if the job sites are getting changed frequently.

Let me see whether this approach works or not. Anyway, I believe there should be some other ways to test the script properly. You can share your thoughts thro’ the comments.

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It seems small bugs are there in this kind of website too. Today I asked a question about QTP certification in LinkedIn and wanted to share this question to the Quality Assurance related LinkedIn Groups. While choosing the Group name I wrongly selected “SEO” group instead of “Software Testing” Group name.

So, I wanted to delete the SEO group name. But I couldn’t delete it as the icon for deleting the name is NOT visible because of the length of the SEO group name is more than the text box length.

I closed the “Share” pop-up window to remove the SEO group name. After doing this, I realized that I might have used keyboard “backspace” button to remove only the SEO Group name.

Anyway I was surprised to see this kind of error in a popular website. Initially I thought that it is happening only in Particular browser “Firefox”.  So, I tested it in Google Chrome also,  but samething happened in Google  Chrome also.

Similarly I had noticed few issues/bugs in the popular website marketplace site Flippa also.

Have you noticed this kind of issues in any other popular websites? If “Yes”, you can share the details thro’ the comments.

What do you think as the reason for this kind of bugs even if this companies can afford good budget for doing Software testing?

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If we talk about business, there is a risk of failure; but at the same time, by taking the risks, there are chances of great success as well. We can’t avoid any future uncertainty; but yes, the impact of loss can be minimized by analyzing and planning the strategy to handle it in advance. This is Risk Management – identify/analyze the risks and then handle those risks in the best possible way by mitigating them.

In the world of IT industry, one of the biggest risk factors is when a software program, without testing and software quality assurance, is released to end users, and in case the application is error prone, the denouement is disastrous. Therefore, a risk mitigation plan must be in place to avoid the consequences of such software failure in the market.

In a broader sense, software quality assurance and testing itself is a risk mitigation strategy. Even after sufficient qa and testing, all risks are not purged, but the risks that will exist will be of low priority with minimum impact.

Below are the key points that are considered while managing the risks:

• Identify the risks
• Determine Criticality of risk, i.e. how severe will be the impact of risk, if it occurs
• Take required actions on the risk, i.e. either mitigate the risk or accept it if it’s of low priority

After taking appropriate actions against critical risks, quality software is released to the customers with low priority risks called out as known issues.

Some of the typical strategies  to mitigate risks include:

• Adding more trained resources to help enhance test coverage in the limited amount of time
• Looking at automation strategies to created automated regression suites to catch bugs which might otherwise be missed in mundane manual testing
• Empowering the team with productivity tools and utilities to help them better focus on the areas that are not very stable

Thus, probability or encountering of risks is not an alert; however, we need to make sure we take appropriate actions for the encountered risks and handle the consequences if they do occur. It is important to focus and proactively work on the impact of risks.

Rajini Padmanaban is Director Engagement – Global Testing Services at QA InfoTech specializing in writing insightful articles on quality testing, providing technical consultation. Find her resourceful articles on quality assurance over the web.

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Most of the people ask me about QTP Certification. They want to know whether QTP Certification will help them to get good job, and they want to know how to get QTP Certification, how much money they need to spend for getting QTP certification, where to get mock tests and model question papers, what are the various certifications available for QTP certification, where to get syllabus for QTP certification, who is giving QTP certification? HP? Mercury? or any other thrid-party, whether it is easy to pass the QTP Certification, and whether they will be allowed to retake the exam if they didn’t pass the first attempt.

Even Today I got a query like whether qtp 9.2 v exams can be taken up or qtp 11 v alone can be taken up.

Personally, I am NOT a fan of QTP certification. Because, I was able to get good high paying automation jobs easily without getting QTP certification. Anyway, I understand that QTP certification may help the Job seekers in some way.

What is your opinion? Do you believe that QTP Certification will Give you any Benefit?

I would like to know whether anyone still searching for Automation job even after getting the QTP certification.

So, you can share your experience thro’ the comments. And, you may answer for the various QTP certifications related queries thro’ the comments. If you blindly add your advertisements without contributing any content, your comments will be deleted. I want to keep this post as single place to get everything about QTP certification.

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And, you can mention your favorite Software testing related website thro’ the comments section. We will rearrange the order of this list based on comments. i-e We will keep the the website which receives most number of positive comments.

1. SQA Forums – This is the very useful Forum for learning Software Testing and for learning Software Testing Tools especially QTP (Quick Test Professional). Mostly, you will get appropriate solution/answer for your problem/questions within few days if you post your questions in this Forum. Personally, I had used this Forum effectively to learn QTP many years back. I think this Forum is available for more than a decade. Previously it was known as qaforum.com
2. JAMES BACH’S BLOG This blog is having lot of interesting software testing related posts starting from year 2003. James Bach is one of the Authors of the book titled “Lessons Learned in Software Testing”
3. LinkedIn Discussions - LinkedIn is having lot of Software Testing Related Groups. We can join the desired Groups and we can participate in the Software Testing related Discussions and we can start our own discussion also. Apart from these Groups, LinkedIn is having Answers section which will allow us to ask our questions.
4. Google Testing Blog – This Google blog explains the Testing processes followed within Google.
5. QualityPoint Blog – This blog is written by myself. I had written an eBook about Software Testing and QTP automation. Mostly my articles will be telling more about practical approaches of Software Testing. Because, I work as Developer also apart from being a Tester. And, I am doing Business also now. So, my main focus will be doing Software Testing in a way to help Developers and Business (Obviously it should help the End Users)
6. Agile Testing – Thoughts on testing and systems infrastructure with an agile, mostly Pythonic, twist
7. Martinfowler This blogs speaks more about effective Software Developments and Agile methods to improve productivity.
8. Cem Kaner’s Blog – He is one of the authors of the book titled “Lessons Learned in Software Testing”
9. Misko Hevery – He writes about writing Testable Code
10. Develop Sense – Michael Bolton writes about how to do excellent software testing in a way that is very fast, inexpensive, credible, and accountable.
11. Sara Ford’s Weblog – Former Microsoft employee writes about combining agile methodologies with community management to provide the best user experience possible for websites
12. Association for Software Testing – AST is dedicated to advancing the understanding of the science and practice of software testing according to context-driven principles.
13. IT Knowledge Exchange
14. GOJKO ADZIC
15. Thinking Tester- This blog provides information about software testing.
16. Chris McMahon’sblog
17. JW on Test
18. Software Testing Help
19. Corey Goldberg
20. Testertested
21. Steve Rowe’s Blog
22. Exploration Through Example
23. Test this Blog
24. Expected Results
25. QA Intelligence- This is a Testing & QA Management blog.
26. Adam Goucher
27. Stevesouders.com
28. QA Hates You
29. Curioustester
30. Stefan Thelenius about Software Testing
31. Testledaren.se
32. Relevantcodes.com
33. I.M.TESTY
34. Automated Chaos
35. Software Testing Hotlist
36. Practical QA
37. ABAKAS
38. Tooth of the Weasel
39. Test Obsessed
40. Quality Frog
41. Testing Hotlist Update
42. Collaborative Software Testing
43. Eric Jarvi
44. Test Guide
45. Testy Redhead
46. Software testing zone
47. Marlena’s Blog
48. Software Testing and more
49. patrickwilsonwelsh.com
50. Quality Assurance and Software Testing
51. Testing Testing 1,2,3
52. Mike Kelly’s blog
53. Enjoy testing
54. Evil Tester
55. Charlie Audritsh’s blog
56. Maverick Tester
57. Paul Gerrard’s blog
58. shino.de
59. Cartoon Tester
60. cLabs Blogki
61. Jeff Fry on Testing
62. Venkat’s Blog
63. Agile Testing and Process Thoughts
64. Software Testing Stuff
65. selenadelesie.com
66. Software Sleuthing
67. The Software Quality Blog
68. One of the wolves
69. Musing about Software Testing
70. Jon Bach’s blog- Jon Bach’s blog, highlighting the humanity in software testing
71. Quardev
72. Software Testing Club Blog
73. TestToTester
74. Agile Testing with Lisa Crispin
75. Confessions of a Passionate Tester
76. I am filled with solutions
77. Software Testing
78. Rosie Land
79. Still Life- This blog is about testing, work, random thoughts, automation and scripting.
80. Brian Osman
81. Dhanasekar S’s Blog
82. The Social Tester
83. QA Insight
84. The Testing Blog
85. Testingminded
86. Swgetesting
87. Jeroen’s world of Software Testing
88. TestingPerspective
89. Adam White
90. Purple Box Testing-It gives some brief information to Testing terms like Bugs,Test Cases,Manual Testing,Automation,Tools and Test management.
91. Lessons Learned by a Software Tester
92. Pliant Alliance
93. Testjutsu
94. Illiteration
95. Tester Testifies
96. Santhosh Tuppad’s Blog
97. Teknologika
98. Creative Tester
99. Tester Troubles
100. Thoughts on QA and Engineering-This blog contains information of about Software Quality,Testing,Quality Assurance and Engineering in general.
101. Quick Testing Tips
102. Cruisin QA
103. Tester Lost Focus
104. James McCaffrey’s blog-This  blog explains the Software Research, Development, and Testing.James McCaffrey is an author of .NET Test Automation Recipes and Software Testing.

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