my Rosebank

Global Warming: A Growing Woe

2011-07-07T04:52:00.000-07:00

I am of the opinion that the whole so called global warming/climate change issue is too complex a subject to just apportion blame willy-nilly onto the veritable human being, especially as no real workable solutions are put forward by the activists and pundits of global warming/climate change theories.

We live in a self perpetuated and accepted way of life that puts much emphasis on finances and wealth. We mostly all work for a living because of that culture: Those that sponge of the system are looked upon as just that; spongers (why don’t you get a job, you lazy good-for-nothing so-and-so.)

The accepted capitalist system is devoid of emotion and empathy: two human qualities that make life liveable and mostly comfortable. We are becoming automaton of technology and convenience while overlooking the consequences of those actions (I have money, why should I care.) Anyway there are enough charities to contribute too to pacify that nagging conscience.

I am also of the opinion that the capitalist system as we know it is long overdue for a makeover. The fact that the living-wage gap (rich vs. poor) is getting larger by the moment, is enough of an indication that all is not well in the land of finances.

Add to the above equation an emotional subject such as global warming/climate change and a calamity is created at the forefront of the human perception and psyche. The situation is mostly aggravated by the fact that traditional means of incomes are threatened by the call for closure/minimalisation of factories, manufacturing plants and energy utilities – oil is bad, coal is bad, CO² is bad, methane is bad, flatulence is bad, meat is bad, mercury is bad, sugar is bad, cholesterol is bad, obesity is bad, paper is bad, planes are bad, motor vehicles are bad, smoking is bad, fertiliser is bad, et al.

The above-mentioned commodities supply a large percentage of workers with employment/wages on a global basis.

The call for cleaner and renewable energy utilities is adding to this woe for most of the proposed renewable energy generating theories require little human intervention and hands-on skills (not labour intensive); and are expensive to boot.
Developed countries are being asked to provide assistance (money) to developing countries so that they too can implement ‘earth saving’ initiatives. This in itself is seemingly the-proper-thing-to-do, but the underlying catch is that it’s the tax-payers living in the developed countries that will have to foot this noble expense. It must be said that altruism and charity, although seemingly noble, do not fix the underlying problem(s).

So yes, global warming and climate change is a reality of life on earth. It has been for countless of centuries and nothing we do will stave off that inevitably. And yes, our contribution to that ‘inevitably’ can also be counted and measured. And yes, many proposals have been put forward by pundits and activists alike – some more aggressively than others, to what needs and must be done to put off that ‘inevitably.’

What most do not want to take-in is that the problem is not that simple to solve. Those that are at the forefront of the war for change, are mostly gainfully employed or living of the welfare of others, or living on some plot of land (usually wrongly occupied or left behind as an inheritance) growing their own meagre crops feeding themselves and their offspring: close to nature, so to speak.

What most also do not take in is that there are factors outside the control of the veritable human being viz. Volcanic eruptions, solar flare-ups, earth’s passage through the galaxy/universe, moving tectonic plates, etc, that add to the ‘inevitably’ equation.

The ‘legacy’ issue also plays an emotive role in the whole cry for survival i.e. what of the future of my children, what about the poor animals, etc.

And then there is technology; another detractor.

Technology has provided a portion of the human race with tools that have made the acquisition of knowledge easier and cheaper. Technology has also provided a portion of the human race with powers that were previously not easily enacted i.e. freedom of expression (good and bad,) global empathy (good and bad,) power to circumvent despotism, cyber anarchy, etc.

Technology has also provided a portion of the human race with feelings on invincibility and immortality i.e. blogs will live long after one has expired, I can say what I like to whom I like without fear of physical consequence, the power of anonymity, governmental/corporate feel-good marketing campaigns, etc.
And not forgetting the power that technology has granted the giants of human-thought-manipulation i.e. the media, the swaying of public opinion, bending of outcomes to suit a given objective, popularising a certain way of life, sensationalising a happening for the sake of profit, etc.

I have over the past years made it my business to follow the reasoning behind the global warming malady by reading, watching, researching and pensively thinking about the issue at hand (from both sides of the spectrum.) I have also, in view of the few points mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, tried to formulate an opinion that encompasses the problem as a whole, without going off the activist deep-end.

My take on the problems facing the required ‘global warming’ mindset change always comes back to one glaring point: economics. What happens to the petrol industry workers when the petrol plants are done away with? What happens to the meat farmers when people minimalise eating meat? What happens to the livestock when people discontinue feeding on them? What happens to the pilots when people minimise flying? What happens to the motor vehicle industry workers when motor vehicle manufacture is minimised or done away with?

Thus in essence, solve the economics of living and the problem at hand is minimised!

Although the predicament of the human-inflicted global warming danger is a growing one, being self-centred and antagonistic in forcing people to change their sceptical fearful mindsets will not change the internal motivational drives of the human being.

The needs and wants of the people need to be addressed and pacified. Workable solutions have to be constructed in such a way that either alternative gainful employment is generally guaranteed or, that a new means of income generation is devised i.e. doing away with the traditional capitalist way of doing business.
Irrespective of what is said and done, my overriding opinion is that the inevitable will happen and that no amount of political posturing and or activist will and or new-age bluster will change that ‘inevitably.’

It is the now-or-later scenario that remains on the table.

Photography: A World of Possibilities.

2011-01-18T03:10:00.000-08:00

What an interesting hobby photography is. It is everything art is plus more, much more.

I was bitten by this rather ubiquitous art form while doing research for an online shop that is slowly getting itself of the ground. The range of camera paraphernalia that one has to choose from boggles the mind. Boggling the mind is actually putting it mildly. And that is even before one gets to take a photo of something that the minds eye see as emotionally attractive.

On the camera front, the choices are enormous but mostly controlled. Nikon or Cannon, Pentax or Lomo, Sony or Kodak. The variations are quite painful to the novice photographer, but it will mostly come down to quality, price and what effects one desires from the light capturing machine of choice. The most difficult part for me was deciding on the amount of Mega- pixels my prospective camera can capture images at. Lets just say that I am still flabbergasted.

The next catch comes when one needs to choose a lens to attach to the body of camera. Choice is part of life but wow, when it comes to choosing a lens, the possibilities are endless. What usually ends up happening is that one will settle for a middle of the road lens assembly and grow the arsenal from there.

Modern cameras are mostly equipped with various capturing settings of which one will be AUTO. This setting allows one to start shooting immediately - this is unlike the photographic machines of old where patience was a pre-requisite: Visualise the shot, prepare the settings, aim, shoot and hope that the settings were befitting the shot at hand; or that the roll-of-film was not defective. Then there was the developing processes to account for…

Once I settled on a camera with , the correct Mega-pixels and a lens, I needed to choose a camera case, a memory card (to extend the amount of photos I can take in one sitting,) a flash unit and a tripod; and not forgetting the blasted batteries (normal or rechargeable!?)

Finally I paid and left the shop full of apprehension and trepidations all rolled into one. Where to begin? What to Shoot? Did I buy the right camera? Must get the batteries charged…endless thoughts of doubts and misgivings.

But I learnt quickly. The best way to learn is to shoot, shoot and shoot some more. Having digital technology at one’s beck-and-call means that a photograph can be viewed immediately and settings adjusted on the spot, thus alleviating the patience paradox of old.

Now what do I do with my Kodak mik-and-druk?

Online Shopping: What do you think of it?

2011-01-12T04:29:00.000-08:00

During the past holiday season, my fancy took me to surfing online shopping sites. A form of consumerism that is becoming popular in leaps and bounds.

All at once I could view, compare and critique items across a wide spectrum of commodities and articles and suppliers; all from the security of my home PC. It was like entering a new world. One where fancies, likes and imagination could be satisfied on the spot. Of course, the money issue did put a damper on the googly eyed adventure. In essence, a reality very much like the traditional way of shopping; except for the armchair bit.

In between the hours spent online, I kept thinking as to the popularity of the medium at hand: Is the South African populace in tune with this medium? Which population demographic finds this electronic shopping experience attractive? What is popular? What about the legal paperwork? Probability of scam attacks and phishing expeditions?

To the first and second question, in speaking to friends and acquaintances, I derived that generally middle to high income households have shopped online: be it tickets to a movie, to a motor car. Most also tried their hand at grocery shopping. Thus the appeal is there.

What was fascinating is how members of the lower income demographic made use of internet cafes (the least of all secure sites) to carry out their order of business (The numbers in question were few but growing.)

The interesting bit came in the guise of some using the information at hand to do comparisons, then going to a physical shop to purchase the selected item in question. Fear of Credit Card information theft and of the faceless entity behind the online façade were the greatest deterrents to actually buying online; specially when substantial payment had to be made (I use one dedicated credit card with low limits to transact across the world wide web.)

Thus more questions came to mind: What would make the online experience more palatable and attractive? What would make the existing system more secure? What would quell the fears a consumer has about shopping online? What impact would the incoming consumer protection act have on the online shopping fraternity (would online service providers have to be RICA’ed or FICA’ed?) Would this action put to the inherent consumer fear of shopping online? Would a ‘comment box’ assist the consumer in voicing their opinions on the service, articles, etc?

The one avenue I found in my searches relates to the commonality of after-sales support more so than the offering of an online shopping portal. In the whole, retail companies offer online after-sales support structures: An operator will contact a consumer after a certain lapse in time to find out about the satisfaction perception. If positive, then all is well, if negative, then how can they assist!?

The above process tends to mostly placate and pacify consumers to the inferred ethos that the company cares.

As a whole, those that can, make use of online shopping to buy low to mid-priced items. The caution factor kicks in where huge payments have to be made. Here the consumer will go to the physical shop and pay there.

The lower income groups use the net more for comparison and availability purposes rather than outright online buying. The picture with the lower income groups is that the mindset is changing as the costs of internet hosting are dropping. The advent of intelligent mobile phones is also helping to change the mindset.

Personally I found the whole exercise insightful and calming: the threats are there, but with a small amount of internet savvy, threats can be managed and overcome.

Will I continue to buy online?

USA'

2010-07-24T15:36:00.001-07:00

The top 1 percent of U.S. households own nearly twice as much of America's corporate wealth as they did just 15 years ago.
In America today, the average time needed to find a job has risen to a record 35.2 weeks.

clipped from finance.yahoo.com

The 22 statistics detailed here prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the middle class is being systematically wiped out of existence in America.

The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer at a staggering rate. Once upon a time, the United States had the largest and most prosperous middle class in the history of the world, but now that is changing at a blinding pace.

61 percent of Americans "always or usually" live paycheck to paycheck,
which was up from 49 percent in 2008 and 43 percent in 2007

83 percent of all U.S. stocks are in the hands of 1 percent of the people

66 percent of the income growth between 2001 and 2007 went to the top 1% of all Americans

36 percent of Americans say that they don't contribute anything to retirement savings

A staggering 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved up for retirement

24 percent of American workers say that they have postponed their planned retirement age in the past year

South Africa's criminals wait World Cup out on the bench

2010-07-09T09:08:00.001-07:00

Only 172 cases have come to the World Cup courts, the noise of the gavels no match for the vuvuzelas. The scorecard, as tallied by the Justice Ministry through July 5, reads: 104 convictions, 7 acquittals, 28 withdrawn or dismissed, 33 pending.
The World Cup case that drew the most attention was hardly a sin that would startle the squeamish. Two Dutch women were accused of illegal advertising after they entered a stadium wearing orange mini-dresses and leading about 30 other young females clad exactly the same. At the hemline, visible at the upper thigh, was the small purple logo of the Bavaria Brewery.

SHOOT: So let's see this level of no nonsense policing all the time.

clipped from www.nytimes.com

JOHANNESBURG — It has been small stuff, mostly. A Swiss man threw a glass of whisky at a Dutch camera crew. A homeless South African stole a blanket from a tourist’s unlocked minivan. A friend of Paris Hilton’s was caught with a marijuana cigarette. A hotel’s cleaning crew helped themselves to underwear belonging to the English soccer team.

A cataclysmic wave of violent crime in South Africa, the fear of so many World Cup killjoys, has simply not occurred. No wave, barely a ripple. The criminals have put in a more indifferent showing than even the French players.

“With increased police activity everywhere, the criminals have been afraid to come out,” said a police spokesman, Col. Eugene Opperman, allowing that lawbreakers may simply have forgone their misdeeds to watch the games.

By “everywhere,” he meant places tourists were likely to go: the stadiums, the nightclubs, the upscale malls — the focus of 44,000 police officers.

Let's keep up the standards of service delivery, public transport - ZILLE

2010-06-20T12:35:00.001-07:00

Zille said "immutable deadlines" now needed to be set up in terms of addressing South Africa's social problems.

"If we can learn this lesson from the World Cup, and apply it in a way that does not erode democracy, it will have been more than worth it."

SHOOT: It shows you that we can up our game when it comes to policing and enforcing, and also, we must.

clipped from www.sport24.co.za

Johannesburg - The lessons of the FIFA Soccer World Cup can be used to improve the justice system and service delivery, Democratic Alliance Leader Helen Zille said on Sunday.

"The lessons of the World Cup extend far beyond sport," she said, citing the example of the 56 dedicated courts set up to deal with cases for the sporting spectacular.

"The results have, apparently, been astounding.

"Within four days of kick-off, 20 cases had been brought before the special courts and four finalised. At this rate, the special World Cup courts will finalise five times more cases per month than normal courts."

Zille said an equally "dramatic" example of rapid delivery was the less than four years it took to build the Cape Town stadium.

"In contrast, a proposed housing development, initiated at the same time as the stadium, is unlikely to be completed until 2013."

Zille said the difference lay with the fact that for these projects there was an "unchangeable deadline".

During SWC South Africa's infrastructure fails

2010-06-17T06:29:00.001-07:00

The government has urged fans to avoid road congestion by using public transport, which received a R40bn upgrade ahead of the tournament.

SHOOT: There's not much in the news about aggrieved fans stranded until 3am on trains with no electricity but you can bet it was a miserable experience. Yes we built stadiums, but we were really ready to host these games when we can't even keep the lights on?

clipped from www.sport24.co.za

Metrorail trains were forced to switch from electric to steam locomotives because of the power cut, delaying the last two trains by between two and three hours with the last fans only arriving at 03:30, said Tumisang Kgaboesele, head of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa.

"We are very concerned. We have already apologised to our customers," he told AFP.

Metrorail ferried 13 600 people to and from Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld stadium on Wednesday for the Group A match.

South Africa suffered national blackouts in January 2008 that raised alarms about the nation's ageing electricity system.

The 10 World Cup stadiums each have generators to ensure power supplies during matches.

Strong Earthquake Rocks Johannesburg

2010-06-14T08:10:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: Crazy!

clipped from www.news24.com

Johannesburg - An earthquake that measured 4.3 on the Richter scale was felt along the West Rand and parts of Johannesburg on Monday afternoon, the Council for Geosciences said.

The quake, recorded just before 14:00, was relatively stronger than those usually measured along the mining belt, seismologist Ian Saunders said.

Crime in South Africa during the #Fifa World Cup - so far

2010-06-12T11:03:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: The most shocking is that while Uruguay is playing their game, their stuff is being swiped in their hotel rooms. Disgusting. These hotels must also be reported and blacklisted after the game.

clipped from www.sport24.co.za

Cape Town - The Mother City's special World Cup Magistrate's Court dealt with its first three cases this week, including a theft from a Japanese tourist in a police station, police said on Thursday.

The theft took place at the Caledon Square station in the city centre on Tuesday, police head of 2010 operations in the Western Cape, Major-General Robbie Roberts, said.

"The tourist was in the CSC (community service centre) in Cape Town police station and he left his bag unattended.

"He went up to the third floor and when he returned, he found that his bag was gone."

clipped from www.news24.com

Journo robbers jailed for 15yrs

A Nigerian and a Zimbabwean man have been jailed for 15 years for robbing three foreign journalists in Magaliesburg.

Chinese journalists robbed

Uruguay team robbed at hotel

6 held for robbing soccer fan

Six people who allegedly robbed a hotel in Mpumalanga and held up a Chilean soccer fan have been arrested in White River, police say.

Warm-up match stampede a wake-up call

2010-06-07T14:47:00.001-07:00

"We have security plans that are there," said Col. Hangwani Mulaudzi, another police spokesman. "I think this is one of those isolated cases where we did not anticipate the large number of people who would be interested in this game."

SHOOT: I think SA will be caught napping in a bunch of areas, unfortunately. It's not really a 1st world country any more.

clipped from news.yahoo.com

JOHANNESBURG – No one was killed. Most of the injuries were minor. Yet a stampede at a supposedly low-key warm-up match set off alarms for World Cup organizers as they reassessed their plans for keeping fervent sellout crowds under control.

Hopes for a safe tournament remain high, officials said Monday. But the scary incident at a Nigeria-North Korea exhibition match was a stark reminder of past stadium disasters, in Africa and elsewhere, that have been one of soccer's recurring and deadly legacies.

"This is like an alarm clock," FIFA president Sepp Blatter said. "This will not happen in any match of the World Cup — you can be assured."

In Orkney, South Africa, 42 fans were killed in a melee and stampede at a 1991 match between the archrival Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. Ten years later, when those same teams met at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, 43 people were killed and 155 injured as fans — many arriving without tickets — tried to push into the overcrowded stadium.

41 prisoners escape South African prison - most ever

2010-06-01T11:00:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: I'm sure tourists will be very reassured by this. South Africa is an incredibly safe country with decent police and government officials - NOT!

clipped from www.buanews.gov.za

Pretoria - A mass escape by prisoners at the Harrismith Correctional Centre on Monday has led to the summarily dismissal of two Correctional Services officials who were linked to the escape.

The dismissals follow a prompt fact finding visit to the facility by Correctional Services Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula - following an escape last night of 41 awaiting trial detainees.

According to the department, Monday's escape was the biggest single escape from a correctional facility in many years.

Mapisa-Nqakula said breaching of security cannot be tolerated because South Africans and Parliament expect not just the reduction of escapes, but no escapes from Correctional Centres.

She said the President's directive is for all departments of the Criminal Justice System to ensure that "all people in South Africa are and feel safe.'

The minister praised the South African Police Services for making quick and good progress in recapturing eight of the 41 escapees within a few hours after their escape.

Teaching Work Values to Children of Wealth

2010-05-31T11:54:00.001-07:00

“Seriously middle-class families have said for a long time that the investment I’ve made in you is giving you a good education and then you’re on your own,” Ms. Godfrey said. “But now these families are realizing they have a great education, but yikes, it’s tough for them to be on their own. Now it’s not how much money you have, but how big is your network and how can you connect them.”

SHOOT: I think parents can learn a lot from this.

clipped from www.nytimes.com

GOOD HELP So what is the right way to help a child struggling to find a job or a career? Ms. Godfrey said it could be difficult to get children started, or what she calls “launched.”

“A year ago, when we started to do fairly serious work on the launch process, I thought we were dealing with families who had slackers,” she said. “The more we got into it, the more we realized that these were kids who are educated but are having a tough time getting into a purposeful path that will help them maintain their lifestyle.”

She urges families to set two goals: get children living without subsidies and put them on a career track. “Those families that treat their kids’ launch like any other endeavor are having the most success,” she said.

This means parents and children need to discuss expectations. If financial help is involved, it cannot be infinite and that must be explained. But most of all, parents have to realize there is more to be done than just educating their children.

Use #WC2010 when you tweet about the World Cup

2010-05-22T17:02:00.001-07:00

Bangs predicts there will be more mashups and parodies during the World Cup as well as videos examining the political implications of an African nation hosting the tournament for the first time.

SHOOT: CNN reckons South Africa's World Cup will drive record social media traffic levels. Sounds about right.

clipped from edition.cnn.com

[The World Cup] will eclipse everything we have seen so far including the U.S. elections and the Super Bowl
--Robin Sloan, Twitter

"Our notion is that [the World Cup] will eclipse everything we have seen so far [on Twitter] including the U.S. election, the Oscars or the Super Bowl, simply because it is so international," Robin Sloan, a Twitter employee that works on media partnerships, told CNN.

And during the last few days of the tournament, he expects World Cup discussion to "absolutely take over Twitter." So far, many fans have been using the Twitter hash tag#WC2010 when they tweet about the World Cup.

In 2006, after French player Zinedine Zidane head-butted Marco Materazzi of Italy, hundreds of videos parodying the play were posted on YouTube. Some videos placed Zidane in a video game while others showed him in well-known movie scenes.

14.5°C - April 2010 was the hottest ever recorded

2010-05-18T15:06:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: The hottest ever? I wonder if that has anything to do with that thing people talk about, what is it? That funny theory that was going around until a while back. Global warming or something? I wonder if the hottest ever April has anything to do with us, you know, driving around every day. *Shrugs shoulders and turns on the TV, nothing to do with me. What else is news?*

clipped from www.news24.com

Geneva - April 2010 was the hottest ever recorded, with an average temperature of 14.5°C, the UN weather agency said on Tuesday.

Citing data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the World Meteorological Organisation said that the average temperature on both land and ocean this April reached 0.76°C above that of the 20th century average of 13.7°C.

A statement from the US agency noted that warmer-than-normal conditions "dominated the globe, with the most prominent warmth in Canada, Alaska, the eastern United States, Australia, South Asia, northern Africa and northern Russia".

Weather records go as far back as 1880.

Should football fans fear for their lives at the World Cup?

2010-05-17T06:21:00.001-07:00

"While crime might be going down, it is [often] extremely violent, armed robberies, hijackings. It is very in your face, it is very gruesome. The robbers will come in and not only attack a couple, [but] rape the wife, and severely assault the husband.

"People are worried about what the government is trying to feed them. The violence associated with crime is increasing."

SHOOT: I'm a South African, this was my take on the same question > http://www.nickvanderleek.com/2009/03/just-how-dangerous-is-south-africa.html

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk

With a multitude of tourists heading to South Africa for the World Cup, a question hangs on many lips: how dangerous is the country?

South Africa is a place where a lot of violent crime happens.
That much is hard to dispute.
Each day an average of nearly 50 people are murdered.
In addition to these 18,000 murders each year, there are another 18,000 attempted murders.

Kwa Mashu, a township outside Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, has the unfortunate honour of being dubbed South Africa's murder capital by the media, with 300 last year. It took the unwanted honour from Nyanga, a township outside Cape Town.

"There are extremely high rates of unemployment in some areas. All of this leads to a large element of frustration. Often this is the thing that sparks violence.

Of the 18,438 house robberies in South Africa last year, 8,122 were in the province of Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg. The likelihood of being a victim is twice the national average there.

New York Times editor in chief: How I plan to charge for online content

2010-05-15T14:58:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: Intwisting. Well I'm sure all the bloggers out there welcome the news that media companies plan to charge for access to their exceptional journalism. But here's an idea. When these companies are charging for online content, what it stopping bloggers from going out, buying the newspapers, and summarising these stories on their own sites, for free, in their own words?

clipped from venturebeat.com

The New York Times’ slow-cooked plan to charge some readers for some of its online content will be put into place in January of next year, editor in chief Bill Keller told other journos at a dinner in New York on Thursday night.

The Times’ previous attempt to charge for content, TimesSelect, was canceled later that year because too few subscribers had signed up for what was basically a premium content package. Most TimesSelect content was what newspaper editors categorize as commentary or opinion, rather than news reporting. People were uninterested in paying an extra $50 per year to read the Times’ columnists.

Chances are Keller and company are still trying to calculate exactly how much to give away, and how much to charge for greater access. Without those numbers, the only safe prediction is that they won’t start with a high bar to access. Better to start with a lenient setting that blocks few readers, then ratchet it up to see what the market will bear.

KULULA SPECIAL OFFERS - starts and ends 6 May 2010

2010-05-05T09:42:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: Have a look at what it involves below, prices and destinations. If you want to take part in this visit:

https://www.kulula.com/default.aspx?utm_source=kulula-com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=branded-header&utm_campaign=take-off-sale-6-may

clipped from mail.google.com

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from

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one way incl. taxes

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Should you want
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Remember, book online before midnight on the 6th of May 2010.

Boer maak 'n plan - Vanderbijlpark oke decides to fix potholes himself

2010-03-11T12:46:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: I like this guy.

clipped from www.news24.com

Pierre Bouwer, 54, a businessman from Vanderbijlpark and a committee member of the Vanderbijlpark NTU, started fixing potholes on the Stokkiesdraai Road, just outside the town, along with some of his workers on Wednesday.

"I'm fixing the potholes myself, because my family and I drive to and from our smallholding on this road at least seven times a day, and each time our lives are in danger."

Mari Myburgh, chairperson of the local NTU, said she was threatened with arrest if they fix the potholes by themselves.

"Supposedly we don't have the expertise to do it alone, but Pierre has done his homework. He learned from the supplier of the material that one of the most important steps is to compact the base filler and tar," said Myburgh.

Bouwer said: "I'm not just filling the hole with soil to hide the problem.

"Rain water won't be flushing out these potholes so easily any more. I'll be giving lessons on Sunday afternoons," he joked.

Broome – with a view

2010-03-11T00:56:00.001-08:00

There’s still money to be made at the end of the world, if you have the courage to get there. And if you’re after magic rather than money, there’s plenty of it, scattered in the sun and the moon, the tides, the stillness and that rare abandonment that one finds in the most faraway places. - by Nick van der Leek

clipped from www.gotravel24.com

Broome, for starters, has a history worthy of an entirely new genre of cinema. Replace cowboys with Japanese pearl divers, horses with camels, and guns with that great killer of divers, ‘The Bends’ and you’re beginning to stir up the mythos - and those blood red sands of Roebuck Bay where Broome is situated.

Even the name of this place evokes ‘boom’ and ‘bust’.

Broome is a place filled with the memories of money and murder, a place where tides swell a massive 9 metres (nearby Derby has the world’s second highest tides, peaking at 11.8 metres) and storms so heavy and impregnated with rain that houses are built without gutters.

View the gallery here

Nick van der Leek was a guest of Tourism Australia Click here to find out more about holidaying in Australia.

Truck explodes on N1 in Pretoria destroying crane and bridge

2010-03-11T00:23:00.001-08:00

Police said one of the reasons for closing the highway was that one of the crane's support pillars had been destroyed sparking fears that it was unstable.

A woman whose car was flattened when the truck drove over it, sustained serious injuries, while three other motorists, whose cars were destroyed in the smash, walked away with slight injuries.

Information given to the Pretoria News last night indicated that the truck driver had jumped from his truck moments before the crash.

SHOOT: There needs to be more inspection of loads and whether vehicles are fit to carry them. Our potholed roads are a symptom of too heavy freights. One person commentated that they felt, during the heat of the explosion, that it was 'the end of the world'. Well, perhaps just the area around the Atterbury turn-off.

clipped from www.iol.co.za

Traffic in Pretoria east was chaotic on Wednesday evening when a truck transporting chemicals and industrial cables careered out of control, crashed into a construction crane and four cars before exploding underneath the Atterbury Road Bridge killing a motorist.

Panicked motorists abandoned their vehicles, hid behind their cars and fled for safety up embankments alongside the highway.

The crash and subsequent explosion saw the highway shut down during peak time, and caused significant jams on adjacent roads.

The accident, which was on the northbound side of the highway, is believed to have been caused by a mechanical fault on the flatbed horse-and-trailer truck which smashed into a cement truck before it went headlong into the crane and the four cars. The explosion, which led to the truck and sections of the bridge burning for nearly 15 minutes, could be heard nearly a kilometre away.

It is believed the person killed in the smash was the truck driver's co-driver.

Zille: If the constitution cannot, on its own, prevent us from becoming a failed state, what can?

2010-03-08T07:02:00.001-08:00

The only guarantee of success is citizens who understand that they are personally responsible for preventing power abuse. These citizens understand the power of their vote and use it to protect the constitution and hold their leaders to account. Their leaders know that if they abuse power they will lose power. For a democracy to work, the politicians must fear the voters, not the other way around.

Voters in a consolidated democracy would never have allowed the rape of their prosecutorial authority. Developments like this show us how far we still have to go.

SHOOT: Zille would make an excellent president...

clipped from www.politicsweb.co.za

Limpopo has been much in the news this week because of the endemic corruption that is the inevitable consequence of the power abuse inherent in the ANC's version of economic empowerment. It is legalised corruption. It enables the ANC in government to award tenders to the ANC in business to enrich the ANC's leaders. That is how companies, of which Julius Malema is a director or major shareholder, got tenders to the value of R140-million. Three bridges they constructed washed away in a matter of months.

According to Sello Moloto, the former Premier of Limpopo, Malema "got those tenders by intimidating mayors and municipal managers that they would lose their jobs if they did not approve the appointments of his companies". Malema did this with the help of his ally Cassel Mathale who, as the ANC's Provincial Chairperson in Limpopo, had the power to appoint mayors and deploy municipal managers. Mathale himself is now Premier of this Province.

In South Africa there are 950 AIDS-related deaths every day

2010-01-05T04:18:00.001-08:00

The South African Burden of Disease study has shown that HIV/AIDS is the cause of almost 40% of premature mortality, measured as years of life lost, in the year 2000 and, with no intervention strategies, will account for 75% of premature mortality by 2010.

SHOOT: Worse than all these statistics is that you have to hunt for them on the internet. And even worse, you have flags flying at half mast for the alcoholic health minister who advocated - essentially, denial and doing nothing.

clipped from www.mrc.ac.za

Figure 1. Estimated prevalence of HIV by sex and age in 2006, ASSA2003

Figure 2. Projected number of newly infected people by sex and age group, ASSA2003

Deaths from AIDS have been increasing from the late 1990s. It is estimated that in 2006 around 740 000 deaths occurred, of which 350 000 were due to AIDS (approximately 950 AIDS-related deaths per day). This mortality has resulted in an increasing number of children who are orphaned. The number of maternal orphans who are under 18 years of age is estimated to be over 1.5 million 2006 and two thirds are as a result of AIDS.

The demographic impact of HIV/AIDS on the South African population is apparent in statistics such as life expectancy, which has dropped from 63 in 1990 to 51 in 2006, and in the under-5 mortality rate, which has increased from 65 deaths per 1000 births in 1990 to 75 deaths per 1000 births in 2006.

mortality rates in 2006 suggest that 15-year olds have a 56% chance of dying before they reach 60.

Zuma, father of 18, already engaged to wife #6

2010-01-05T03:57:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: We live in a country with the world's highest HIV deaths. Let's state it even more simply: South Africa is the country with the world's largest number of people dying from a sexually transmitted disease. Thereare approximately 950 AIDS-realted deaths each day in South Africa [as opposed to 50 murders a day]. In TV advertising people are asked to stick to one partner. One of the ways AIDS is transmitted is by having multiple partners. Polygamy is institutionalised multiple partnering. Nice going Mr. President.

clipped from www.news24.com

Durban - The leader of the Christian Democratic Party has described President Jacob Zuma's traditional wedding on Monday as a "giant step back into the dark ages".

Zuma's wedding "to a woman he is reported to have already fathered three children with, and the alarming return to ancestral worship is a giant step back into the dark ages," said CDP leader Reverend Theunis Botha.

It was the same ancestral traditions that had plagued Africa in the past and that had kept it [Africa] in superstition and poverty, and not colonialism as some people believed, he claimed.

Zuma is the father of 18 children.

He is also engaged to Gloria Bongi Ngema from Durban. Her family presented umbondo (gifts) to the Zuma family at the end of December.

Umbondo is the last Zulu traditional ceremony before the wedding. It was done after ilobolo had been paid.

It was not known when Zuma would tie the knot with Ngema.

Mariska Buitendag, 27, a waitress, eaten by Olifants River croc

2010-01-04T01:20:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Being eaten to death by a predator must be one of the worst ways to die.

clipped from www.news24.com

Johannesburg - A group of friends' New Year celebration ended in tragedy when a crocodile grabbed and apparently devoured a young woman from Phalaborwa in Limpopo.

Friends said Mariska Buitendag, 27, a waitress, didn’t have time to scream or call for help. She didn’t even struggle.

All they saw was a ripple on the water where seconds before she had been swimming in the Olifants River.

Henning, who was standing on the bank, immediately jumped into the river to look for Buitendag.

In the course of the morning, Buitendag swam in the river twice, but the third time, as she swam on her back, the crocodile struck.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Malesela Makgapo said the group had evidently had a lot to drink.

“Swimming is strictly prohibited where they were swimming,” Makgapo said.

A long-time resident of Phalaborwa said locals know “you don’t even put a toe in the river, it’s teeming with crocodiles and hippos”.

Crime in Johannesburg: We have a huge problem with security guards being involved in business and house robberies in the Mamelodi area

2009-12-21T06:09:00.001-08:00

The guard and the suspect were expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Monday on charges of house robbery and the possession of suspected stolen property.

The guard was charged as an accomplice.

SHOOT: Treat your guards with respect, but also circumspection.

clipped from www.news24.com

Johannesburg - A security guard at a residential complex in Silverton was arrested for his involvement in a house robbery on Monday, Tshwane police said.

Captain Jan Shawane Sepato said the guard was arrested after confessing he knew a group of seven armed robbers who had robbed a house in the Savana residential complex in Silverton.

"The security guard opened the gate for a group of men driving a VW Kombi without searching them. They went into the complex, forced open a window and robbed the occupants with firearms," said Sepato.

The 35-year-old guard then let the group go without searching them when they exited the complex with the Kombi, followed by a stolen Corsa bakkie.

"The guard admitted that he knew the suspects and led us to the house of one of them in Mamelodi," said Sepato.

The 34-year-old suspect was arrested and some of the stolen electrical equipment was recovered.

Boobs flashed, car crashed

2009-12-20T12:18:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Moral of this story - don't drive under the influence of boobs.

clipped from news.iafrica.com

sxc.hu

A teenager flashing her breasts in the middle of a New Zealand road paid for her drunken revelry when a distracted driver ran into her.
Cherelle Dudfield (18) was dared to flash passing cars in the southern city of Invercargill after a night out drinking with friends.
She had exposed herself to a couple of cars from a strip in the middle of the road when the stunt went awry.
"I had seen a car coming towards me on the centrelane, so I decided to run and I got hit," Dudfield told commercial television news.
She was taken to hospital but suffered only a few cuts and bruises after rolling over the bonnet of the car and cracking the windscreen.

Dudfield said she had learned her lesson and had a message for anyone else considering a similar stunt.
"Don't be me, don't be stupid, don't get drunk
and stand in the middle of the road and flash anyone because it hurts when you get hit."

Sorry, we could have stopped catastrophic climate change. We didn't Sorry - isn't that enough?

2009-12-10T09:04:00.001-08:00

Climate change has an added aspect that is very important. The scientists who built nuclear bombs felt guilt about what they did. Now the guilt is real for the broader public.

SHOOT: We're in serious denial.

clipped from www.wired.com

Even as the science of global warming gets stronger, fewer Americans believe it’s real. In some ways, it’s nearly as jarring a disconnect as enduring disbelief in evolution or carbon dating. And according to Kari Marie Norgaard, a Whitman College sociologist who’s studied public attitudes towards climate science, we’re in denial.

Wired.com: Why don’t people seem to care?

Kari Norgaard: On the one hand, there have been extremely well-organized, well-funded climate-skeptic campaigns. Those are backed by Exxon Mobil in particular, and the same PR firms who helped the tobacco industry (.pdf) deny the link between cancer and smoking are involved with magnifying doubt around climate change.

Norgaard: Climate change is disturbing. It’s something we don’t want to think about. So what we do in our everyday lives is create a world where it’s not there, and keep it distant.

Wired.com: Is that what this comes down to — not wanting to confront our own roles?

Norgaard: I think so.

The Best Article you'll find on the Copehagen Climate Change Conference, published in 56 newspapers around the world: humanity faces a profound emergency

2009-12-06T19:06:00.001-08:00

If we, with such different national and political perspectives, can agree on what must be done then surely our leaders can too.

The politicians in Copenhagen have the power to shape history's judgment on this generation: one that saw a challenge and rose to it, or one so stupid that we saw calamity coming but did nothing to avert it. We implore them to make the right choice.

clipped from www.guardian.co.uk

'Fourteen days to seal history's judgment on this generation'

Today 56 newspapers in 45 countries take the unprecedented step of speaking with one voice through a common editorial. We do so because humanity faces a profound emergency.

Unless we combine to take decisive action, climate change will ravage our planet, and with it our prosperity and security. The dangers have been becoming apparent for a generation. Now the facts have started to speak: 11 of the past 14 years have been the warmest on record, the Arctic ice-cap is melting and last year's inflamed oil and food prices provide a foretaste of future havoc. In scientific journals the question is no longer whether humans are to blame, but how little time we have got left to limit the damage. Yet so far the world's response has been feeble and half-hearted.

Overcoming climate change will take a triumph of optimism over pessimism, of vision over short-sightedness, of what Abraham Lincoln called "the better angels of our nature".

Standard Bank in bomb threat

2009-11-30T06:41:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: We'll be seeing more and more of this as disgruntle3d workers take out their anger on companies they feel [rightly or wrongly] has victimised them. At AVUSA earlier this year there was also a bomb threat.

clipped from www.fin24.com

Johannesburg - The Johannesburg head office of South Africa's second largest bank was evacuated on Monday afternoon following a bomb threat.

Fin24.com has been told that the imposing Sauer Street head office was evacuated midday after an employee, who has been retrenched, allegedly placed a bomb on its premises.

Standard Bank spokesperson Erik Larsen confirmed the evacuation in a statement, saying an employee, "who showed visible signs of distress, created security concerns at Standard Bank Centre".

Larson said as a precaution all staff members were sent home and the buildings were evacuated. "Police and emergency personnel are still on site," said Larsen. "Business is not disrupted in any way."

"I think you guys should relax. Its Wikus Van der Merwe and his prawns"

2009-11-22T13:41:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Some people thought the falling, flaming rock above Johannesburg was a UFO. It's amazing to me that any time, rocks can fall to the Earth from space.

clipped from www.news24.com

Johannesburg - It was a meteor which lit up the skies over Johannesburg and Pretoria on Saturday night, an astronomer has confirmed.

"What people saw last night was almost certainly a meteor," Claire Flanagan an astronomer at the Johannesburg Planetarium said on Sunday.

People saw a bright "greenish, bluish" light heading towards Pretoria at about 23:00 on Saturday night.

"I saw a light flash the sky at about 20:00, at first I thought I was imagining it, but my friend also saw it," wrote someone who saw the meteor.

"... Maybe it's people getting abducted by aliens...I walked in the house looked out [and] the sky was lit. It looked how it normally [does] at 05:00."

Another wrote: "I [saw] it too in Hartbeespoort dam. Almost looked like daylight for a few seconds, not sure if it was a meteor or not... pretty cool..."

Others claimed to have heard and seen a "bright explosion".

"The speed which it was travelling at would have caused it to burn and then disintegrate," she said.

Recovery or Eskom

2009-11-19T01:44:00.001-08:00

"There are now over 12.3 million electricity accounts in South Africa. By comparison there are only 1.8 million mortgage accounts in South Africa.

"This means that the effect of an electricity price hike is felt by 6.7 times more by consumers," Schussler said.

SHOOT: South Africa needs to take energy issues seriously, not just electricity, and perhaps the Eskom debacle will initiate this process.

clipped from www.timeslive.co.za

SA could have most expensive power

South Africa could have the world's most expensive electricity if Eskom gets it tariff increases, an economist said today.

"We keep being told that we have the cheapest electricity in the world and this is not the case. Let's start calling Eskom's prices the most expensive in the world and change the public's mindset."

From 2005 up to the present, electricity prices had increased 91 percent, while inflation rose only 35 percent over the same period.

Schussler said electricity prices were set to increase around 200 percent over the next five years.

"This means that between 2005 and 2014 electricity prices on the current proposal would have increased 633 percent."

"Eskom had a revenue of over R53.6 billion in the year to March 2009 while municipalities' gross revenue from electricity was about R32.9 billion for the same period."

That, he said, was a total R86.5 billion or around 3.7 percent of gross domestic product.

#10 Things to Quit Tweeting About

2009-11-18T23:59:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Amen to these.

clipped from theoatmeal.com

Habana off the hook - not so fast

2009-11-17T06:42:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Habana faced a disciplinary for exactly the same sort of behaviour that he got so hysterical about in the last twenty minutes of the Currie Cup, when a Cheetah player gave him a small slap on the side of his head. So it's ironic that Habana does the same thing and is off the hook, on and off the field.
Watch it here: http://www.sport24.co.za/Content/Galleries/Video/Top%20Videos/Bryan%20Habana%20kicks%20Vincent%20Clerc/b20476ae9bbd4a88bdb6e0ebc798580e/Bryan_Habana_kicks_Vincent_Clerc

clipped from www.sport24.co.za

London - A charge of foul play for allegedly kicking an opponent has been dismissed against Springbok wing Bryan Habana.

Habana was cited under Law 10.4C, for allegedly kicking France wing Vincent Clerc during the Boks' 20-13 loss in Toulouse.

At a hearing at a Heathrow Airport hotel Habana pleaded not guilty to the charge, which carries a minimum one-week suspension according to the International Rugby Board (IRB) regulations.

Judicial officer Lorne Crerar from Scotland took just over an hour to dismiss the case. Local solicitor Owen Eastwood represented Habana.

Springbok media manager Anthony Mackaiser confirmed the outcome of the hearing.

Habana will now be able to take his place on the wing against Italy and also Ireland at Croke Park next week.

Photographers and journalists - stressful jobs that pay badly

2009-11-16T14:43:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: I can confirm. Why do we do it then? For the love of it.

clipped from finance.yahoo.com

Stressful Jobs That Pay Badly

4. News Reporter

Median pay: $32,900
% who say their job is stressful: 62%

Every minute is another deadline for those who report and write the news. While racing against the clock, reporters gather data, conduct interviews and analyze their findings all before writing about major events for a newspaper, magazine, radio show or television program.

8. Commercial Photographer

Median pay: $43,600
% who say their job is stressful: 100%

The job may sound glamorous, but commercial photographers, who capture models, merchandise and landscapes for books, advertisements and catalogs, have to contend with long days, picky personalities and demanding deadlines -- sometimes withstanding precarious positions just to get that perfect shot.

FIFA worried that African grass in Green Point will be yellow - so first world cup on African soil will be on European grass

2009-11-15T06:00:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, at the startling £400m Green Point stadium in Cape Town, perky shoots of pale green ryegrass were pushing through the soil three weeks after the seeds were sown. But local specialists say ryegrass – a cold season variety suited to Europe – will not stand the test of time and will have to be replaced after the World Cup.

SHOOT: As they say, come June Kikuyu turns parchment yellow in South Africa's inland stadiums.

clipped from www.guardian.co.uk

Millions of Africans have been saying it for years: the grass is greener in Europe. Now the world's football bosses have decided that Africa's indigenous grass is not bright enough for international television audiences.

In a major blow to South African pride in hosting next year's World Cup, stadiums used for top matches have been told to scrap their hardy African kikuyu pitches and switch instead to tender European ryegrass.

The decision comes amid mounting claims that the month-long tournament next June will be a "playground for Europeans'', providing scant long-term benefit to the largely poor country.

"Fifa decided that our pre-grown kikuyu pitch was not uniformly dark green enough for television so we have started again with ryegrass seed,'' said Pieter Cronjé, World Cup communication director for Cape Town where one of the semi-finals is due to be played.

Arran Brown wins 94.7 on beautiful day in Johannesburg

2009-11-15T01:46:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Only 24,000 riders turned out, but the elite men spoiled fans with a great show [see below]. Interesting to observe the winning margin between elite men and elite women - 33 minutes.

clipped from www.cyclingnews.co.za

Medscheme sprinter Arran Brown rewrote the history books this morning when he became the first cyclist to win the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge and Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour in the same year.

Brown made it look easy when he came off the wheel of his team captain, Malcolm Lange, to win the Cycle Challenge in front of a huge crowd at the Waterfall Country Estate in Midrand. Lange held on for second with MTN-Energade speedster Christoff van Heerden snatching a podium spot for his team in third place.

Kachelhoffer very nearly rode to victory when he shot out of the escape group on the final climb. He came to within 70 metres from the line before he was overtaken by his teammate.

Kachelhoffer went away after only 15km with Jacques Janse van Rensburg (DCM Chrome), Bradley Potgieter (MTN-Energade), Gawie Maree (Neotel) and Travis Allen (House of Paint). The built up a lead exceeding 2 minutes and 30 seconds with 30km to go.

Learning to quiet our anxieties and manage them on our own is an essential skill for negotiating the frightening world we are facing

2009-11-14T16:53:00.001-08:00

It is time to be understanding and connect with each other, our neighbors, through action, not words alone. When we do necessary work together, to heal and repair our neighborhoods, the emotional connections, the joy in companionship, the meaningful bonds we yearn for, appear.

SHOOT: Wise words here.

clipped from energybulletin.net

The question we have the luxury of answering now is no longer are we odd or damaged people. Most of us are. The issue is whether we can find ourselves embedded in a community of people, who say “I like you, despite how odd you are.”

Rather than learning to speak more honestly, (a skill I value, highly, by the way), I think that the true therapist encourages people to do more listening and do more real honest work with other people they live around. Meaningful work means local work that will heal and repair the world around you. I admit that having learned the skills of a clinical psychologist, and worked long and hard with the “King of Radical Honesty” Brad Blanton

But in my current opinion, it is way too late to ONLY keep talking, without accompanying it with appropriate action. It is way too late to embroil myself IN myself, and expect other people to be fascinated by my current self-revelations. Self-censoring isn’t the same as shame-filled lying

Santa Claus vs Godless Joe = Shop till you smile vs "Let's Spend Christmas Alone and Crying"

2009-11-14T11:10:00.001-08:00

Joe will spearhead our [atheists] efforts to bring children to the reality that there is nothing more to life than eating, sleeping, and defecating, and urge them to follow our dictates of societal norms and morality rather than the outdated and unfounded notions of the past or their personal consciences. We feel confident that by the end of the year, Godless Joe will be spreading our message in almost every shopping mall in America."
Godless Joe will not hand out presents to children in the traditional sense. Rather, he will distribute "Let's Spend Christmas Alone and Crying" coloring books, "The Preschoolers' Guide to Playground Sexual Harassment," and "Mom, Dad, Grandma, and You are All Going to Die and Be Gone Forever" pop up book.

SHOOT: Should be a big hit

clipped from www.thespoof.com

"Every year atheists are at a distinct disadvantage during the Solstice Season. The simple fact is Santa Clause is the best propaganda tool the Christians have to bribe their children into church once a year and extort at least a month and a half of relatively tolerable behavior out of them. The simple answer to this problem would simply be to abort all these useless eaters before they were born and replace them with more earth friendly beings such as dolphins and otters, or at lease implement a dedicated eugenics program to prevent those less enlightened than us from breeding. However, since the courts are just as dedicated to the illogical and unnatural concept of humans being better than other life forms for some unknown reason, as the unwashed religious masses are to cranking out kids, these solutions are still years away.

"Well, all that is changing today with the creation of Godless Joe, the Solstice Icon for the New Millennium.

"Osteen is often derided as Christianity Lite, but he is more like Positivity Extreme. "

2009-11-13T09:40:00.001-08:00

“Thinking of our bank account and my income at the time, it seemed impossible to me,” he writes. But this, of course, is an example of ungodly, negative thinking. With her unwavering faith, Victoria wouldn’t let it drop. Soon she convinced Joel and then he, too, started to believe that “God could bring it to pass.”

SHOOT: Greed is good, in fact so good it's godly. Now we'll take collection. Remember if you give you will receive tenfold [and so I will I, your pastor].

clipped from www.theatlantic.com

Osteen is often derided as Christianity Lite, but he is more like Positivity Extreme. “Cast down anything negative, any thought that brings fear, worry, doubt, or unbelief,” he urges. “Your attitude should be: ‘I refuse to go backward. I am going forward with God. I am going to be the person he wants me to be. I’m going to fulfill my destiny.’” Telling yourself you are poor, or broke, or stuck in a dead-end job is a form of sin and “invites more negativity into your life,” he writes. Instead, you have to “program your mind for success,” wake up every morning and tell yourself, “God is guiding and directing my steps.” The advice is exactly like the message of The Secret, or any number of American self-help blockbusters that edge toward magical thinking, except that the religious context adds another dimension.

1 million people, including dependents, would lose their jobs if Eskom hike is approved

2009-11-11T14:30:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Quite a sizable chunk of the population.

clipped from www.fin24.com

Up to 1 million people, including workers in the sector and dependents, would likely suffer if if a proposal was implemented by Eskom to hike tariffs by 45% a year over the next three years, he said.

"As a consequence I do not believe the Eskom 45-45-45 proposal will fly," Cutifani said.

"Certainly the indications we've had from within government is that they understand the problem."

Power rates would likely double over three years instead of triple as under the Eskom proposals, he added.

He said a doubling of rates would lead to a 10% hike in cash costs for AngloGold - the world's third biggest gold producer and Africa's largest.

Debt shackles new car sales

2009-11-11T12:27:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Credit has evaporated, and it isn't wise to bring it back when more and more people are losing their jobs. The reality is that things have changed, and we're facing economic contraction across the board.

clipped from www.fin24.com

Wesbank said that the single biggest obstacle to the recovery of the sector was high levels of indebtedness among South Africans. The country's household debt to disposable income ratio stands at around 76% this year.

Meanwhile, another key characteristic of the consumer vehicle market remained sustained demand for used cars. The used car market had experienced increased popularity in the downturn.

Wesbank's research found that 87.6% of respondents found the second-hand market more active than the market for new vehicles. This figure is up from 81.7% in July.

The used car market had helped numerous car dealerships pull through the recesson. However, De Kock has warned that the market was facing stock shortage problems.

This was because fewer repossessed vehicles were finding their way to showroom floors and consumers were choosing to hold on to their cars for longer.

"You can't lend freely when there is still relative uncertainty about the economic circumstances."

Would you lend R385 billion to a liar?

2009-11-11T07:32:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: AKA Eskom. See below.

clipped from moneyweb.co.za

CLIVE SIMPKINS: I would agree and to give the excuse - and again, it's Bobby Godsell - that he had to rush off to a meeting, as I understand it. That's incomprehensible - in the financial markets in which I'm not literate, but you are extremely so, uncertainty is something that nobody likes. In the world of communication, it is exactly the same. I was reading today, that Moody's for example, the ratings agency, are watching this with great interest. So if Eskom are looking at some incredible figure, is it R385billion that they're looking at for power stations over the next number of years...

ALEC HOGG: ...it depends who you talk to but it certainly is in that ballpark...

CLIVE SIMPKINS: A vast sum of money. This is certainly not the way to instil confidence in potential investors because this right now, is running around like a headless chicken and it follows on the heels of similar indecisive poorly communicated things like Siyabonga Gama at Transnet, for example.

Is your cell phone slowly killing you?

2009-11-10T13:57:00.001-08:00

CNN: Researchers found that cell phone users had a 10 percent to 30 percent higher risk than people who barely, if ever, used this technology.

SHOOT: I definitely notice I'm agitated and my head is warm the more I'm on the phone.

clipped from www.cnn.com

Last summer, Dr. Ronald Herberman, then director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, issued a warning to about 3,000 faculty and staff, listing steps to avoid harmful electromagnetic radiation from cell phones. This included keeping the phone away from the body as much as possible and not allowing children to use cell phones except in emergencies.

A much-anticipated but unreleased report from the World Health Organization on a decade-long investigation called Interphone will show a "significantly increased risk" of some brain tumors "related to use of mobile phones for a period of 10 years or more," the London Daily Telegraph reported in late October. The study will be published before the end of the year, the newspaper said.

Supporting that conclusion, a recent study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology that looked at 23 case-control studies found that the research with the more scientifically rigorous methodologies suggested cell phones and tumors are linked.

7537 have died of swine flu

2009-11-09T11:00:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: In the US 1702 have died of H1N1, followed by Brazil at 1405, Argenina at 600, India at 502 and Mexico at 411. Australia is at 187 and the United Kingdom at 155.

clipped from en.wikipedia.org

Confirmed cases followed by death Confirmed cases Unconfirmed or suspected cases See also: H1N1 live map, WHO updates

Kunstler: The avatar of hopefulness himself is Barack Obama

2009-11-09T09:06:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Reality is becoming an interesting concept. I use the word 'concept' because nobody seems to agree what reality is. Everyone has their own version of it. I like Kunstler's. I don't mean I like it in the sense that I like chocolate icecream, I mean he calls chocolate icecream chocolate icecream, where other people give it other names and colors. That's a dangerous game - you end up deceiving yourself.

clipped from kunstler.com

It is sure to get worse, and there are going to be a lot of disappointed people out there who will be suffering terrible losses and real pain in daily life. Societies don't do well when the public falls into the broad despair that is the opposite of hope. That's when the long knives and the tribal animosities come out and things get smashed.

The trouble with self-delusion, either in a person or a society, is that reality doesn't care what anybody believes, or what story they put out. Reality doesn't "spin." Reality does not have a self-image problem. Reality does not yield its workings to self-esteem management. These days, Americans don't like reality very much because it won't let them push it around. Reality is an implacable force and the only question for human beings in the face of it is: what will you do? In other words, it's not really possible to manage reality, but you can certainly choose to manage your affairs within reality.

We won't do that because it's too difficult.

Which colleague annoys you the most?

2009-11-09T02:50:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: The worst combination is a cracker and a whiffy wonder.

clipped from hotjobs.yahoo.com

The 6 Most Annoying Coworkers

The Psst-er: Gossipers were the number one pet peeve in the survey. While some people like to hear juicy tidbits about the boss or their colleagues, too much gossip can undermine the spirit of the workplace. Plus you're always wondering when the Psst-er will make you the topic du jour.

The Broken Clock: These coworkers stink at time management. They're routinely late for everything, including work. They tend to spend too much time on emails, take long lunches, and then scramble to get others to help them meet their deadlines, which, for some reason, they keep missing.

Mold Guy: Coworkers who mess up communal spaces were third on the list of workplace pet peeves. Their month-old leftovers sport a thick layer of fur in the company fridge. Every office seems to have at least one who stinks up shared spaces.

The Whiffy Wonder: You can smell these coworkers wafting about from the other end of the office.

The Cracker: Crackers are loud.

Single furnished room available in 2 storey cottage

2009-11-08T12:14:00.001-08:00

Johannesburg, Northern Suburbs Accomodation

Cottage available to share as from 1st December 2009.
If you're interested leave a comment [it gets emailed directly to me, and leave your email address.]

clipped from johannesburg.gumtree.co.za

Date Listed 22/10/2009
Price R 2,500
Location Johannesburg
Northern Suburbs
Houghton
Share Basis Flat or House Share
Bedrooms (#) 2 bedrooms
Dwelling Type Townhouse/villa
Bathrooms (#) 1 bathroom
Preferred Gender Female

Move in 1st December or sooner. Beautiful stone cottage in Mountain View, with beautiful view. Fire place, braai deck, use of swimming pool. Secure, gated complex. You will have a big room with a view. For smaller room downstairs, price is R2000 pm. Feel free to come and have a look.

Melrose Arch Bikini Parade

2009-11-07T02:05:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Sound too good to be true? Part of me says this is fun, but here's an interesting comment:

The awareness for breast cancer is a good idea. The bikini's in public?.... I don't think so, with all the rape and molestation going on in our country. Without a doubt there will be those with prying eyes but not out of respect but rather to get the "turn on". I love a beautiful body in a bikini and see nothing wrong with it but in the "right place". Maybe show a bit more respect and avoid the possibility of "setting off sick minds" or parading like cattle to the "slaughter house".

clipped from all4women.co.za

On Saturday 7 November at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, flocks of bikini-clad women will parade down the 1,600 meters of Melrose Arch Boulevard in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record™ for the World’s Largest Bikini Parade.

It is all about ‘Your Shape, and doing things Your Way’. What better way to celebrate this than by having the confidence to participate in a bikini parade?” remarks Sarah Mansfield, corporate spokesperson at the Kellogg Company of South Africa.

- Participants can register on 7November at the Piazza in Melrose Arch from 10h00 – 11h00.
- Participants must be 16 years or older and wear a bikini for the duration of the parade only – changing facilitates will be provided
- The parade will commence promptly at 11h00 on the 7th of November 2009 at the Piazza in Melrose Arch
- Please note that no sarongs or swim shorts are permitted.

Homepreneur

2009-11-07T01:28:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Way of the future.

clipped from www.businessweek.com

New research shows the economic importance of home-based businesses: They account for more than half of all U.S. businesses and employ more people than venture-backed companies

Ask Stephen Labuda, the 35-year-old president of Agency3, a Web development firm he runs from his home in Cambridge, Mass. A former programmer at Deutsche Bank (DB), Labuda started building Web sites as a side job in 2003 and took the venture full time three years later. Agency3's revenue is in the millions, and Labuda is about to hire his fifth employee, who will work remotely, like the rest of the staff and the slew of contractors he taps. "I'm not intending to go rent office space," he says.

Now, Labuda never feels that his working from home damages Agency3's credibility. Instead, it's a selling point. "It's reflected in our pricing that we don't have the same kind of infrastructure costs and fixed costs that some of our competitors do," he says.

Mostly Proudly South African South Africans would rather be somewhere else

2009-11-04T12:08:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: 60% of us either are already out, want to go or are thinking about it. I'm one of them.

clipped from www.news24.com

Voting Booth

Would you want to move permanently to another country?

Yes
No
Been there, done that, not worth it
I've done it, couldn't be happier!
I'm considering it

Yes 33 %
46.2'>
No 30 %
42'>
Been there, done that, not worth it 6 %
8.4'>
I've done it, couldn't be happier! 6 %
8.4'>
I'm considering it 24 %
33.6'>

Previous Results
·
Suggest a vote

South African households soon to be paying for some of the most expensive electricity in the world

2009-11-03T12:02:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Skande.

clipped from www.fin24.com

South African households would be paying for some of the most expensive electricity in the world. The bigger bill would have a direct effect on already depressed consumer spending.

"Consumers are more of a worry," said Badminton. "The big thing is for government to speak to Eskom. Understandably they need an increase but there must be a more palatable way of doing it, perhaps increases over 10 years."

What Badminton didn't say - but would happen if the 45% a year increases come through - was that part of the burden would be passed on to shoppers in the form of higher food inflation.

AVUSA advertising revenues shrink by - at least - a fifth

2009-11-03T11:43:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Can't imagine why. If you believe their circulation figures everything's still as right as rain.

clipped from www.fin24.com

Johannesburg - Media and entertainment group Avusa
(AVU) advised on Tuesday that headline earnings per share for the six months
ended 30 September 2009 are expected to be between 55% and 65% lower than
the comparative period.

Earnings per share are expected to be between 67% and 77% lower than
the comparative period.

"Apart from the impacts of the discontinued operations, the expected
decrease in earnings is primarily as a result of an approximately 20%
reduction in net advertising income," the group added.

Skip the soda and go for fresh water - here's why

2009-11-02T15:34:00.001-08:00

Water is a vital beverage for good health. Each and every cell needs water to perform its essential functions. Since studies show that tap water is filled with contaminants, antibiotics, and a number of other unhealthy substances, consider investing in a quality carbon-based filter for your tap water. To find out more about a high-performance filtration system, click here.

On the go? Try using a stainless steel thermos or glass bottle, filled with filtered water. Enhance the flavor of your water with a refreshing infusion of basil, mint leaves, and a drop of honey.

SHOOT: Good advice here.

clipped from health.yahoo.com

What Soft Drinks are Doing to Your Body

Just why is too much sugar so unhealthy? Well, to start, let's talk about what happens to you as sugar enters your body. When you drink sodas that are packed with simple sugars, the pancreas is called upon to produce and release insulin, a hormone that empties the sugar in your blood stream into all the tissues and cells for usage. The result of overindulging in simple sugar is raised insulin levels. Raised blood insulin levels beyond the norm can lead to depression of the immune system, which in turn weakens your ability to fight disease.

Something else to consider is that most of the excess sugar ends up being stored as fat in your body, which results in weight gain and elevates risk for heart disease and cancer. One study found that when subjects were given refined sugar, their white blood cell count decreased significantly for several hours afterwards.

Carbonation depletes calcium

Break these 5 bad habits - before they break you!

2009-11-01T13:22:00.001-08:00

SHOOT:Amazing how the most profound things that affect us remain the most basic. Living a balanced life, filled with common sense, is how to best take care of yourself, and others.

clipped from shine.yahoo.com

I have identified five critical areas, bad
habits that many people mindlessly follow. Do you realize that each
and every day of your life that you do not reverse these dangerous
trends, you get farther and farther from your ultimate goal of
living a fulfilling life?

1) Stealing from sleep:
Studies show that a minimum of seven to nine hours of uninterrupted
sleep (at night) are essential for health. Sleep is the time when

your body repairs and recovers from all of the metabolic
processes that your body performs every second. Sleep
supports healthy weight management, raises growth
hormone, and heals the adrenals.

2) Skipping
breakfast: How many times do you find yourself dashing
out the door to start your day, only to discover that you forgot to

eat?

3) Blowing off
exercise: If you think you can manage your health and
weight through dietary means alone, it won't work.
Period.

4) Noshing
at night:

5) Not counting your
beverages

Use the world economic crisis to help you realise what's really important in your life

2009-11-01T06:13:00.001-08:00

SHOOT: Here's a clue. It's not money.

The majority of respondents - 80% - believed their generation had a responsibility to leave their country better off for the younger generation, even if it involved dramatically altering their lifestyles.

The survey showed that one in five people had put off an overseas trip in the last six months, 6% had delayed having a baby and another 5% had even postponed surgery until things get better.

clipped from www.fin24.com

London - It seems the financial crisis isn't all doom and gloom: one in four people are glad the world's economy slumped as it did, because it helped them realise their priorities in life, according to a global survey.

Market research firm Synovate polled 11 400 people across the world, including South Africa, and found more than half had permanently changed their attitudes toward money over the last 12 months.

Another 47%, however, said they were looking forward to being able to spend freely again.

"The psychology of global recession has changed the way many people do things," said Jenny Chang, Synovate's managing director in Taiwan.

"They are making life-altering decisions based on the current global recession, be it postponing marriage, having children, moving house, changing jobs or pursuing higher education. Even in a reality impact-free economy like Taiwan's."

Ref got it wrong in Currie Cup

2009-11-01T01:05:00.001-07:00

The Bulls called on all their champion qualities to repel the Cheetahs, whose ill discipline was their undoing.

SHOOT: I'll remember this Currie Cup as a game about sending a player into the corner, and wrist slapping for the last 20 minutes. This is the Cheetahs against the Blue Bulls. There's supposed to be fierce rivalry. That's why the stadium is packed. So you get players pummeling each other during game time, and between plays hiking up someone's shorts of slapping someone on the head afterwards. To give the Bulls the game on a silver player denied the fans and the players a real chance to play the game. And that was the refs fault. Technically he may have been right, but he ruined a game everyone had come to watch. The Cheetahs could have been more disciplined, but if you want sterile rugby, maybe they should call it something else. Netball or something.

clipped from www.timeslive.co.za

The Blue Bulls won here last night but it was the rousing fightback from the Cheetahs that prevented this match from descending into a farce.

The Bulls conquered because of stellar performances from their game breakers in the first half but they were required to guts it out in the second.

As is his wont, Morne Steyn routinely raised the flag and contributed 21 points, while Bryan Habana scored two tries in his last game at Loftus in a blue jersey (he is moving to Western Province).

The Cheetahs deserve kudos for their indomitable spirit. They seem impervious to early setbacks and they proved it again yesterday when they were 24-0 down with little prospect of making a fist of it, let alone knocking the Bulls off their perch.

The Cheetahs, as they proved in their semifinal win over the Sharks, are at their best when the chase is on .

Du Preez’s pass to Habana looked forward, but it mattered little to the Loftus masses .

People in Guangzhou and other cities are ditching bikes for clean, new subway trains. And cars.

2009-10-31T15:12:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: It's amazing that this AP article reads exactly like someone's personal blog. It's also written in the first person. The news and blogs are now almost indistinguishable [I should say good blogs perhaps].

clipped from news.yahoo.com

GUANGZHOU, China – A friend sent me a YouTube link to a video called "Insane Cycling — New York City." I clicked on it, hoping to glean a few tips for my own cycling on the anarchic streets of China.

I came away feeling like someone who expects to see "Mad Max" and is shown "Sesame Street" instead. New York seemed like a wonderful place to ride. Pedestrians used the crosswalks. Buses lumbered along like gentle whales. Taxis used their turn signals. The streets looked so clean. No one honked.

If that's insanity, what can be said of cycling in Guangzhou, the muggy, traffic-clogged city once known as Canton? It's my constant dilemma — hit the road or stick to the treadmill at the gym?

Cycling always wins. Not only is it more fun being outdoors but it's a way of taking China's pulse.

Those throngs are an iconic image for China, but it's becoming outdated. Led by a swelling middle class, people in Guangzhou and other cities are ditching bikes for clean, new subway trains.

What mistakes to avoid when buying a second-hand car

2009-10-29T14:30:00.001-07:00

Criminals can create counterfeit or fraudulent titles and use them to legally register and then sell stolen cars. If you buy a car without a valid title, it's the worst-case scenario -- you don't legally own the car you just bought.

SHOOT: Be careful when buying a used car. If it seems too good to be true, it usually is.

clipped from autos.yahoo.com

5 Used-Car Red Flags

If only cars could talk. It would make the buying experience a lot easier, wouldn't it? Because
verbalized or not, every used car has a story to tell. And to avoid getting ripped off, it's up to you to
listen. You need to know about the skeletons in that car's closet, the dark secrets of its past.

Red Flag #1: No Service Records

One of the most important aspects of a used car is its maintenance history. You want to make sure you're
buying a vehicle that has had routine oil changes and major mileage services. Always ask the seller, even if
it's a car dealership, for all service records.

Red Flag #2: Vehicle and Accident History Issues

The report shows accident/damage
history as well as title problems, frame damage and an odometer rollback check -- any of which should be
deal breakers.

Red Flag #3: Mechanical Problems

Red Flag #4: A Problem Title

Red Flag #5: A Fraudulent Title

'Job losses to exceed a million'

2009-10-29T07:57:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: Not to worry, the economy is on track to 'recover' and companies will soon turn a profit again, as soon as they can dismiss enough employees to cut their overheads.

clipped from www.fin24.com

Johannesburg - Job losses could exceed the one million mark for 2009 by the
fourth quarter of the year, trade union Solidarity said on Thursday.

This followed the release of Statistics SA's quarterly Labour Force Survey which showed that the official jobless rate had increased from 23.6% to 24.5% in the third quarter of 2009.

"More than 770 000 employees in South Africa have lost their jobs in the past 12 months, since the start of the economic downswing in the third quarter of 2008," the trade union said in a statement.

He said although there were signs of economic revival, many retrenchment processes still needed to be finalised and would therefore only be reflected in the statistics of the coming months.

The survey showed that the manufacturing and retail sectors were
particularly hard hit in the third quarter.

"Nearly 150 000 job losses were recorded in the manufacturing
sector in the third quarter, while 194 000 job losses were recorded
in the past 12 months.

I've lost my job - how do I go about claiming UIF

2009-10-28T10:51:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: You'll need the following information from your previous employer
- last 6 payslips, a U119 form
-You will need to provide your ID book or Passport and complete a U12 form at your local Department of Labour of Office
-Proof that you are registered as a work-seeker with the Dept. of Labour

Find your local Labour Office here: http://www.labour.gov.za/contacts/contacts

Credits are given to the worker as they work and contribute to the Fund. For every six days you have worked you get one day’s credit up to a maximum of 238 days. To build up the maximum credits you have to work for four years. If you have worked for less than 238 days you can claim for the number of days credits you have built up. Benefits are calculated on a sliding scale dependent on your salary. The benefit rates range from 38% for the highly paid workers (earning more than R97 188 per annum, R8099 per month or R1869 per week) to 58% for the lowest paid workers.

clipped from www.labourprotect.co.za

5
types of benefits provided by the Fund:

– If you lose your job you must apply
within 6 months of becoming unemployed. You can claim benefits for up to 34 weeks (238 days).

Benefits can be claimed when:

Benefits may be claimed
for any period of unemployment lasting more than 14 days, if -

The reason for
the unemployment is the termination of a contract of employment,
dismissal of the contributor or insolvency;

Application is
made in accordance with the prescribed requirements;

The contributor
is registered as a work-seeker with a labour centre established
under the Skills Development Act;

The contributor
is capable of and available for work.

Amount
of payment by the Fund:

Documents
needed to apply for benefits:

Unemployment Benefits

13 digit bar-coded identity document or
passport

Last 6 payslips

Information supplied by employer (U119)

A fully completed application booklet
(U12)

Proof that you are registered as a
work-seeker with the Dept. of Labour

"It's easy to Spot a BAR-ONE Man” reality series

2009-10-27T16:46:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: Looks like fun.

clipped from www.bizcommunity.com

A new reality TV series, Bar-One Manhunt, will be broadcast on Wednesday nights SABC3 prime time early next year, Nestlé announced on Monday 26 October 2009. The series is an extension of the brand's latest creative integrated marketing campaign, "It's easy to Spot a BAR-ONE Man” .

It's easy to Spot the Bar-One Man, which is at the creative centre of Bar-One’s latest creative brand campaign, but now 14 South African contestants will have an opportunity to actually compete against each other for the ultimate title as South Africa’s alpha male in “Bar-One Manhunt” which will début on SABC3 in January 2010.
"The reality TV show concept is spot on with the brand architecture and DNA - the chocolate bar gives real men the energy to live a 25 hour day,” states Monique Koning, Bar-One brand manager.

Several challenges are planned for each episode offering brain and brawn showdowns on various sets in locations in South Africa and others across the world.

How do you market a country with the sort of disgusting statistics we have?

2009-10-27T16:43:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: Answer, just get marketers and figure it out. Forget the reality that it is a dangerous country, that crime and corruption is a chaotic levels. Just market it like mad because maybe you can earn some money. Great strategy there.

Marion Scher: The sad thing is what is being done to educate people overseas, especially with 2010 looming. I tell you what - virtually nothing or at least nothing I've seen in my travels.

On my recent flight back from Atlanta, the plane was full, mostly with Americans. But were they coming to stay in Johannesburg. Oh no - not Johannesburg. The ones I spoke to were either catching immediate connecting flights to Botswana or staying close to the airport 'til they could catch flights out the next day.

clipped from www.bizcommunity.com

In the last year I've visited the US and the UK and the one thing they have in common is their fear of South Africa as a destination. Unless they've already been here, you'll hear the same refrain - “South Africa, oh no, wouldn't consider going there - way too dangerous.”

So alright, no good kidding ourselves, we do have a crime problem. But hey, I've just come back from Dallas where the local TV news featured a story on restaurants closing down. Not from lack of customers but from repeated break-ins. And how come everyone there has an alarm on their house?

While in the US, I heard from numerous people that South Africans had told them:
That it wasn't safe to walk on the streets in SA
That there was no way we could hold a decent FIFA World Cup
SA was such a backward nation
ALL our politicians were corrupt - somehow they ignored what was on their own back yard here
There were very few real houses - mainly shacks
There are riots every day
You needed bodyguards to go out of your house

Ponzi masterminds to be arrested

2009-10-27T08:28:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: But they said they didn't do it.

clipped from www.fin24.com

Johannesburg - Warrants for the arrest of Barry Tannenbaum and Dean Rees, alleged to have been behind a multi-billion rand pyramid scheme, have been issued, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement in parliament.

Gordhan said one individual was thought to have benefited by up to R800m on which "he was not probably paying any tax."

The scheme crossed some eight jurisdictions, said Gordhan who was formerly head of the South African Revenue Service (Sars).

Tannenbaum, who currently lives in Australia, has denied being involved in such a scheme.

"Our efforts have to include better vigilance in both the public and private sectors against corruption and financial mismanagement," said Gordhan.

350 in pictures

2009-10-26T03:34:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: Good to see some activity but seems like it wasn't very well attended. I think instead of protesting there should be more of an attempt to do something or change something. Tree planting, a day on a farm, an attempt to live at home in the most sustainable way possible. The impact on the world turning off lightbulbs for an hour, for example, has an immediate effect.
I believe people are willing to ration themselves because one thing I think we're all clear on is this: massive consumption isn't good for us, or for this planet.
More here: http://www.350.org/

clipped from www.urbansprout.co.za

350 Noordhoek

350 Signal Hill

350 Kenya

350 Ethiopia

350 Mexico City

350 Chicago

UFS to re-open Reitz - following criticism of its decision to pardon

2009-10-26T03:07:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: What a sad story. You'd think a year before the 2010 World Cup that the government would want such a shameful headline grabber out of the newspapers. But it is the ANC who are pushing for the re-opening of the Reitz case hardest. Why? Because 'Cry Racism' is a rallying call to other Africans. It's political efficacy isn't in doubt. It's good for Malema and black solidarity. It's divisive and harmful to everyone else of course. It's certainly at odds with Madiba's spirit of reconciliation.
Which is better, to blame the Reitz four, or to punish and then forgive them?
The way to resolve this matter ought really to be to see how the 'victims' of this case feel. Not to have the Youth League take up/make up the cause of the 'victims' as appears to be the case.

clipped from www.news24.com

Bloemfontein - The University of the Free State will reopen discussions on the Reitz residence video following criticism of its decision to pardon the four students involved, it said on Sunday.

"All stakeholders inside and outside the UFS are invited to meet with the university management to table their concerns and to try to find consensus on a way forward," rector Jonathan Jansen said in a statement.

Anyone who wanted to be take part in these talks should contact Billyboy Ramahlele on 051-401-2822 to make an appointment. UFS management would be available for these consultations at any time.

At his inauguration last Friday, Jansen announced the university had pardoned four former Reitz students whom filmed an initiation of five black staff members into hostel activities in 2007.

Jansen's announcement had drawn criticism, notably from Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande, Cosatu and the ANC Youth League, and praise in the past week.

350 is the most important number in the world

2009-10-23T03:56:00.001-07:00

"Tomorrow will be the single most widespread day of citizens' action that the earth has ever seen."
In Cape Town a group of hikers will form a human 350 on top of Table Mountain which will be filmed from a helicopter "to send out the powerful message to the world that we need a fair, ambitious and binding agreement at Copenhagen towards promoting the safety of our ecosystems and the communities which depend on them".
Other events in South Africa include the Emmarentia Dam march (on Saturday from 10:00 to 16:00) in Johannesburg, where supporters can join a parade, enjoy a picnic afterwards and get the opportunity to write a postcard to President Jacob Zuma urging him to go to Copenhagen.
If you like building sand castles, Durban is the place to be. Between 11:00 to 13:00 Dairy beach will be transformed with sand art, music and inspiration. "As 350-Messenger, Archbishop Tutu says, 'I ask all people to support climate fairness tomorrow by starting or joining an awareness-raising action where you live. It's a chance for us to act as global citizens, not as isolated individuals and lonely consumers.'"

clipped from www.news24.com

Millions of people will be participating in over 4 000 events in 170 countries, including South Africa, in a call on leaders to take global action against the worst crisis humans have ever faced, by reducing carbon levels in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million.

"A year ago, our greatest climatologist - Nasa's James Hansen - and his team produced a landmark series of studies. They showed that if we let the amount of carbon in the atmosphere go above 350 parts per million, we can’t have a planet similar to the one on which civilisation developed and to which life on earth has adapted," says McKibben.

The bad news is that we're already past that number. "We're at 390 parts per million, which is why the Arctic is melting, why drought is spreading across the planet, why people are already dying from diseases like dengue fever and malaria occurring in places where they’ve never been seen before."

Buy property now, before the market worsens again

2009-10-22T15:57:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: Have you heard of a sucker's rally? If you buy property now, you're a sucker. It's still on it's way down. If you own property, consider subdividing and renting, because renting is going to be big from here on out.

clipped from www.fin24.com

"With massive electricity hikes looming, upward pressure on oil ahead of the northern hemisphere winter and a volatile rand, the SARB's MPC committee would have been deeply concerned about inflation getting out of control," he said.

Falconer said the property market could certainly have benefited from a further rate cut, "but we'll have to be content with a reduction of 500 basis points since December last year".

"But potential homeowners have held back, hoping for further rate cuts," he said.

"Property prices are as low as they're going to go; the market is well stocked with bargains; there are many eager sellers; banks are again advancing credit; there are clear indications the property market as a whole is starting to move again, and it's time for buyers to get back in."

"The Australian Reserve Bank has become the first central bank to hike its repo rate, and we may follow suit in the next few months," Falconer said.

Pick 'n Pay warns consumers: It's going to be tough

2009-10-21T15:35:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: How do they know? Because no name brands are selling like hot cakes.

It was also looking at expanding its footprint in Africa with stores already planned for Lesotho and Zambia in the next few months.

Badminton said Pick n Pay has also identified Angola and Mozambique as future investment areas.

clipped from www.fin24.com

"It's going to be tough. But there will be some opportunities. I think our LSM 8 to 10 customers, who usually go overseas for holidays, will stay this year," said Badminton.

He said the tough conditions were reflected in the 26% growth in sales of Pick n Pay's own "value for money" label brands.

The group increased its turnover by 12.3% to R26.6bn during the six months to end-August, compared with same period last year.

Headline earnings per share (100c) were 11.1% higher. Badminton said he would be happy if the group could report 11% growth in full year earnings.

He noted that a number of factors had a significant impact on the earnings growth.

"Importantly, electricity costs soared and look set to escalate further. These costs grew markedly from 3.1% of expenses for the six months ended August 08 to 3.8% of costs for this period. The impact of Eskom's increases is expected to result in a 40% increase in our electricity bill for the full year, with more to come in subsequent years.

Lose Weight at Work

2009-10-21T12:35:00.001-07:00

SHOOT: Some great advice, and it's not rocket-science.

clipped from health.yahoo.com

Just add water. In addition to being your source for scintillating office gossip and banter about last night's episode of Mad Men, the watercooler can help you lose weight. Keeping H20 at the ready will give you something to put in your mouth besides sweets from your neighbor's candy bowl.

Set an exercise meeting. A midday workout keeps your energy up and the pounds down. Protect your exercise time by putting sweat sessions in your calendar just as you would meetings with your most important client.

Bring your own snack. Slip a healthy bite into your tote as you leave the house in morning, and you won't be taunted by that Butterfinger in the vending machine when the afternoon munchies strike. To stay satiated—and sharp—until supper, aim for a bite that contains about 200 calories, some fiber and a smidge of protein, too.

Team-build. Recruit a few like-minded coworkers to get fit with you. You'll foster friendships at the office (always a good thing) while knocking off pounds.