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| Contents |
Issue No. 322 -- 21 March 2005 |
Editor's Message
Quote/s of the Week
Ad Hoc Article/s of the Week
Bits and Bobs
The Legal Beagle
Help Desk
Where are they now?
Club and Other News
Humour
Recipes
Sports News
Credits and Contact Info
Subscribing and Unsubscribing
| Send this Issue to a Friend! |
TOP |
How many of you are going away for the Easter break? It is easier to go if the country you are currently living in has Good Friday and Easter Monday as public holidays. When we were living in the US the only day that was a holiday was Easter Sunday. Captain Ken is quite interested to see how long a holiday weekend Easter is here in South Africa.
Another first for Captain Ken was the Rand Easter Show. We used to go to the local fairs close to New Hampshire and so he wanted to see what the Rand Show was like. I hadn’t been for about fifteen years so on Sunday we had our usual exercise... we power walk for just over 6kms around where we stay in Douglasdale so lots of up hills! Then we went to the show. Traffic was fine... no queues... and prices were reasonable I think. R40 for adults and if you are over 60 then you get in for free.
We walked around for seven hours checking out all the various halls. Found some good bargains... listened to some great South African music at the SABC stand.
There is a hall for government departments and I think it should have been included in the commercial show halls. It was obvious that many people had put a lot of effort into getting the stands looking great – but there were hardly any people strolling around. At least if these stands were in with the commercial stands they would get passing trade so to speak and the residents of Gauteng would see what is being done for them.
All in all a good time was had – with very tired legs yesterday for skiing!
Seems like great minds think alike... check out Guy Lundy’s article about the Rand Show further down in the newsletter!
Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. Warren Buffett
Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress. Alfred A. Montapert
You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love. Henry Drummond
This from Daniel Jan le Roux daniel@thelerouxs.com
"The truth is not for all men, but only for those who seek it". - Ayn Rand
Quote feedback from last week...
Here is a quote I used last week:
To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking. Johann von Goethe
... and here is feedback received from Merle gijima@lgcy.com
Sorry, off the mark! Most people have trouble thinking, not acting! The hardest thing is to alter one's thinking! Most pepole are dysfunctional in their thinking, and therefore in their acting! If one thinks, one acts accordingly, if one thinks poorly one acts poorly!
Send in any quotes you love... that have some special meaning for you... and I will use at least one every week. Usual address! editor@saw.co.za
| Ad Hoc Article/s of the Week |
TOP |
Suzman: Where's the 'better life for all'?
By David Yutar
Veteran opponent of the former apartheid regime Helen Suzman has lashed out at the African National Congress government for "failing to deliver on its promise of a better life for all South Africans".
Suzman was replying to tributes paid to her by the long-time leader of the former Progressive Party, Colin Eglin, and political scientist and researcher David Welsh at the official opening of an exhibition entitled "Helen Suzman, Fighter For Human Rights" in Cape Town.
The exhibition, mounted by the Isaac and Jessie Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Cape Town and the South African Jewish Museum, opened on Monday.
Suzman, who spent 13 years as the sole opposition member of parliament and whose forceful resistance to five successive NP prime ministers earned her an international reputation, was not shy in her criticism of the ANC government and President Thabo Mbeki.
Throughout her talk she referred to the fact that, ironically, she now enjoyed even less "access" to power than in the days when she waged a lonely battle against apartheid.
She also slammed the present government for its "attempt to airbrush the role of white liberals out of the country's history" as evidenced by the fact that their role was given "little or no acknowledgement" in places like the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg.
Suzman attacked the ANC government for "its failure to deliver a comprehensive anti-Aids programme" and its "continued backing of the tyrant Mugabe in Zimbabwe".
She also referred to the "disturbing attacks" made on the judiciary for "a racial mindset which ignores the masses", saying such comments were "a bit rich".
"South Africa is undoubtedly a better country than it was before, but it is still essential that one ensures there are checks and balances against the abuse of power," she said.
"We have to have a strong opposition to prevent a return to a one-party state."
Paying eloquent tribute to Suzman, Welsh referred to efforts by Mbeki to "denigrate Helen's achievements by dredging up comments supposedly made by Oliver Tambo in 1971" and rehashed in his weekly letter in the online ANC publication ANC Today of January 7 to 13.
In the comments, Tambo had lumped Suzman with former apartheid prime minister BJ Vorster and "lesser agents of colonialism" as someone who paid lip service to change during the apartheid years but at the end of the day resisted real change.
This article was originally published on page 3 of The Cape Argus on March 22, 2005
http://www.iol.co.za/index...
Coming Home
Each week we will feature a question and answer sent in to the Company for Immigration. We hope these will help answer any questions you might have regarding any part of the coming home process. If you would like to send in your own question, please feel very free to do so.
We will also be featuring a great amount of information on the SAW Website (www.saw.co.za) under the Coming Home section. You can also find out info by visiting our newly relaunched site, South Africa Online (www.southafrica.co.za) and checking out the Coming to SA section.
Here is a bit more info...
Whenever and wherever South Africans meet, the surest way to start a lively discussion, is to ask someone for an opinion about emigration from or remigration back to South Africa. In 2002 we (i.e. the non-profit immigration service, Company for Immigration, and the trade-union, Solidarity) realized that the return of South African expats had become a fact and that their inputs are essential for the growth and development of the country. We are neither interested in a debate about the reasons why people leave or come back, nor about the merit of their decisions. We prefer to provide a practical service instead:
offering advice and assistance to prospective remigrants;
addressing the problems which cause people to emigrate; and informing people about the pros and cons of emigration, to help them make an informed decision before leaving.
Interested? Want to receive our monthly newsletter by email? Have questions or suggestions? If so, please visit our mirror sites www.comehome.co.za or www.komhuistoe.co.za and leave your details on the visitor's page, or contact us at admin@cfi.org.za. We are looking forward to hearing from you!
Alana & Annatjie
COME HOME CAMPAIGN
South African Films Struggle at Home
This from a reader...
By CLARE NULLIS, Associated Press Writer
CAPE TOWN, South Africa - South Africa's film industry has exploded onto the world stage with a spate of award winning movies in the space of a few weeks. The domestic audience, though, remains in Hollywood's thrall.
"Yesterday," the poignant tale of a woman infected with the AIDS virus, narrowly missed out on an Oscar for best foreign language film. It was the first South African film to be nominated for an Oscar.
"U-Carmen e-Khayelitsha," an exuberant adaptation of Georges Bizet's opera set in the gritty Cape Town township of Khayelitsha and sung in Xhosa, was a surprise winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin festival. And "Drum," evoking the struggle against racist rule in 1950s Johannesburg, carried off the Golden Talon, the top prize at Africa's premier film festival in Burkina Faso.
"South Africa's golden age of film appears to be dawning," exclaimed a jubilant President Thabo Mbeki after "Drum's" win.
However, at the South African box office, Hollywood rules.
"Million Dollar Baby," "Finding Neverland" and "Aviator" are among the top films currently showing at mainstream movie theaters.
There are a few Bollywood offerings. But the only African film is a locally produced comedy, "Max and Mona," which opened to critical acclaim but disappointing audiences early in March.
"South African cinemas cater for 11 percent of the population — the whites," complained Zola Maseko, director of "Drum," in an interview with The Associated Press. "The trick for us is to develop local talent and take cinema to black townships and the people."
Movie complexes are typically situated in gleaming shopping malls, and ticket prices are prohibitive for many blacks.
Plans to use community centers to screen films in poor areas haven't gotten off the ground. Mamaramba Cinema — a converted tavern in Khayelitsha — had to close its doors this month without even screening "Carmen" because of insufficient funds, according to its organizer, Ryan Thwaits. This despite a rapturous welcome from the 1,000 people who crammed into the small room every month to watch low budget films.
Director Maseko hopes that NuMetro, one of South Africa's biggest movie distribution companies, will find a way of screening "Drum" to poor blacks after its big screen debut in April.
The film — named after a now legendary magazine and set in Sophiatown, the cultural heart of Johannesburg before it was demolished under apartheid — received standing ovations at festivals around the world. But Maseko is less sure about the reaction at home.
"Many white South Africans are in denial about the past because they played such a horrendous part in it," he said. "But it is not a film saying how bad and wicked they were. It's about a great time in our people's history. It is a human story."
"Yesterday" ran for about three months last year — not bad for a film in Zulu language, according to its producer Anant Singh. It grossed just $435,000 at the box office, compared to an anticipated $3.5 million for "Shall We Dance?" with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez, Singh told AP.
The film is named after a woman who discovers she has HIV and struggles to bring up her young daughter. It is set in breathtakingly beautiful but impoverished KwaZulu-Natal — the province most ravaged by the pandemic that has infected 5 million South Africans, more than in any other country. HBO Films has the distribution rights for the United States.
"'Yesterday,' 'Carmen' and 'Drum' show the world that we do have a creative base that is talented and compares in the rest of the world," said Singh.
One of South Africa's most prolific producers, Singh is now working on a movie based on the life of former President Nelson Mandela, whose foundation helped fund "Yesterday." The older Mandela will be played by Morgan Freeman, who picked up an Oscar for his role in "Million Dollar Baby."
Singh hopes the blossoming film industry will be further strengthened by a new $70 million studio that his consortium is building near Cape Town — a first for the city which has become a favorite location for international film productions because of its white sandy beaches, mountainous backdrop, gentle climate and top class tourist infrastructure.
The film industry brings in an estimated $350 million a year to the local economy. But the once thriving fashion and advertising shoots are being squeezed by the strength of the rand against the dollar and euro, and the emergence of cheaper alternatives like Argentina, according to Martin Cuff, head of the Cape Film Commission.
He is encouraged that big budget productions such as Paramount's "Ask the Dust," with Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek, and "Lord of War" with Nicholas Cage were filmed in Cape Town. "Hotel Rwanda" — which won two Oscar nominations — was filmed in Johannesburg.
Cuff is confident that more will follow thanks to new tax incentives and the growing reputation of the South African film industry.
"South Africa is not just a nice service provider for foreign productions," said Cuff. "We have now also proved that South African films are making their mark, and it is fantastic that they are making their mark simultaneously."
http://www.entertainment-news.org/breaking/22322/south-african-films-struggle-at-home.html
The Good News – The Rand Show celebrates 110 years
This from Guy Lundy...
In a country and a world where it seems nothing stays the same, some things can be counted on as constant. One of those is that the Rand Show will happen around Easter every year, as it has done since 1895.
This year’s show takes place from Friday 18 March to Sunday 3 April at the Expo Centre at Nasrec in Johannesburg, the same venue that it has occupied since 1985. The show is being billed as “one helluva jol”, and the line-up of entertainment ensures that it is likely to be an even bigger “jol” than ever before.
The showground, covering 51 hectares of space, consists of four halls including the Branding and Communication Hall, Tomorrow’s Home, the Global Traders Hall and the Soccer Hall, as well as an enormous outdoor exhibition area and craft market. More than 550 local and international exhibitors are offering special deals on thousands of items such as kids’ stuff, home décor, perfumes, computers, CDs, pools, boats and holidays.
The outdoor area will host events such as three music concerts, an amusement park, a sky train around the grounds, a 4x4 off-road track, an animal park, show jumping, extreme sports, helicopter rides and much more.
The music concerts will feature some of the top local talent, as it has done in the past, providing many with a springboard from which to launch their careers. Some of the artists have come fresh from the 46664 concert at Fancourt Golf Estate in George, where they joined international stars such as Annie Lennox, Will Smith, Katie Melua and Queen to raise money for the Nelson Mandela Foundation to fight HIV/AIDS.
The Rand Show is ranked as the 24th most important show of its kind in the world, in terms of size and status. It is the second largest consumer show in the world outside of the USA, and it is Africa’s largest annual consumer exhibition and entertainment forum by a long way. Since its humble beginnings in 1895 as an agricultural show aimed at the farming community, the only times since then that the Rand Show has been shut have been during the first and second world wars. All entertainment, other than the amusement park, adrenaline thrill rides and helicopter flips, are included in the ticket price of R40 per adult and R20 per child.
Since 2002 the show has been a Proudly South African endorsed event. It is run by Kagiso Exhibitions, which is South Africa’s only exhibitions company fully owned by South African shareholders. The company has also been involved in organizing many of the other events in South Africa’s rapidly growing conferences and exhibitions industry, including the World Summit on Sustainable Development. For more information about the Rand Show, visit www.randshow.co.za.
For more interesting and exciting news about developments in South Africa, subscribe to the International Marketing Council's regular BrandSA newsletter by visiting www.imc.org.za/goodstuff.htm or www.imc.org.za/subscribe.asp.
Mind Massage
Ah, spring.
It's a time of renewal, fresh pastel colors, short sleeves...and cleaning.
Here's a fun--I'm not kidding!--way to use vacuuming as a trigger for mindfulness.
Freshly yours,
Maya ;-)
Mindfulness and Housework: Vacuum This
As a guest on a local television show recently, I decided to bring along my vacuum cleaner.
No, it wasn't for a segment on household hints. I wasn't there to share secrets for deep-cleaning a carpet. Instead, I was using my vacuum cleaner as a memorable visual (aural?) aid to talk about mindfulness.
My host, Roland, gamely turned it on during my bit, and we attempted to shout over the roar of the machine. After a few seconds, we gave up, and as he turned it off, the ensuing silence was a welcome relief.
I used the vacuum cleaner to talk about how we have this noise in our heads all the time. Our thoughts are creating a swirl of sound, and it can be exhausting to try to concentrate, relax or get creative with all that racket going on.
This mental vacuum sucks our energy and makes it difficult to gain clarity, let alone peace of mind. We need to turn it off in order to have the quiet space we need to truly pay attention.
The surprising part of this is that turning on a REAL vacuum cleaner and running it across your floor provides an excellent opportunity to quiet the noise in your head. You can use your power switch to make an intentional shift toward mindfulness, and let this housecleaning task become your chance to watch your thoughts.
Any repetitive physical task lends itself beautifully to mindfulness practice, and the back-and-forth motion of your vacuuming can give a soothing rhythm to your thought-watching. Set your body on auto- pilot and focus on the thought parade in your head.
Or, you can choose to use your dust-sucking time to focus on the physical activity required. Feel the muscles as you move. Focus on your shoulders and arms as you stretch and retract, stretch and retract. Switch arms and watch how it feels to relax that one side while flexing the other.
The point here is to make use of the task as a trigger for mindfulness, but remember this: fun is a huge motivator in all things. So, if you can't get too excited about vacuuming in general or thought/body-watching in particular, I heartily recommend Option #3--the "Mrs. Doubtfire" approach to mindfulness.
You remember the scene in the movie, Mrs. Doubtfire, when Robin Williams, dressed as the matronly nanny, rocks out while vacuuming to Aerosmith's "(Dude) Looks Like A Lady," right? This must be the greatest housework scene ever. It makes me want to go to my cleaning closet and dance with the vacuum wand myself.
That's what I'm talking about.
If you've ever been stressed about something and gone on a cleaning binge, you know how good it feels to scrub the floor and wipe away your frustration at the same time. You might as well get something done while you've got that adrenaline pumping, right?
So, if a meditative vacuuming session doesn't inspire you, you can still use this time to be mindful by focusing on your air guitar moves. Pay attention to your sense of fun as well as your sense of perspective. Exercise your concentration. Focus on what it feels like to cut a rug while cleaning it.
Mindfulness doesn't require stillness, and it certainly doesn't have to be serious. Turn on your vacuum, and let the focusing begin.
Suck it up.
Did You Know?
**In 1903 wealthy society ladies threw "vacuum cleaner parties." Guests sipped their tea and lifted their feet for uniformed attendants to vacuum the carpet.
**William Hoover did not invent the upright vacuum cleaner. He bought the patent from his wife's cousin, James Murray Spangler. So, rightfully we should be "spanglering" the carpet rather than "hoovering" it.
**The first "portable" electric vacuum was invented in 1905 by Chapman and Skinner in San Francisco. It weighed 92 pounds and used a fan 18 inches in diameter to produce the suction. Because of its size, it did not sell well.
**In many countries, vacuum cleaners are sold by door-to-door salesmen. In Australia in 1993, a salesman, attempting to illustrate the quality of his machine, confidently tipped a pile of dirt on to a family's brand-new carpet. When the cleaner failed to remove the sooty mound, the salesman was attacked by the irate couple and ended up in the hospital.
An Extra Kick
Did you know that vacuuming burns an average of 525 calories per hour? (assuming a body weight of 150 pounds)
This means that one hour of mindful vacuuming could burn enough calories to make up for TWO Grande Starbucks Caffe Lattes made with whole milk.
And that's WITHOUT the Mrs. Doubtfire moves.
Where's The Plug?
You're waiting for me to plug something, right? A teleseminar? My phone series?
Well, I've come unplugged. ;-)
You see, I PAID ATTENTION to the hundreds of comments I received from all of you in my last survey.
No plugs. No teleseminars. I'm even phasing out my phone trainings for now.
Instead, I'm hard at work on special reports and ebooks that are packed with information and available as downloads on my new website, www.Real-WorldMindfulness.com.
But don't go there yet. I will tell you when it's ready.
Thanks for your continued support and great suggestions. I am so glad you love the idea of keeping the ezine light and sharing more detailed info via the site. It opens up so many possibilities for everyone!
More thoughts to share? Send them to
maya@mindmasseuse.com
This Is Not A Plug--Just A Brag
My family was featured in an article on the front page of the Oregonian this week. The article was about the trend toward larger homes. We are the counterpoint to the story, choosing to go smaller.
Because we like it. It's cozy. It makes us closer as a family. It means we don't have to worry so much or work so hard to pay for it. And it is a LOT easier to take care of.
Less vacuuming required. :-)
You can see the photos and the link to the article at our family website at
www.fotolog.net/frostee
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Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse offering specialized mindfulness training to individuals and groups in Portland, Oregon. Her work has inspired thinkers in over 100 countries. To subscribe to her free ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, please visit http://www.massageyourmind.com.
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©Copyright 2004, Maya Talisman Frost
52 Best Stories – The Dam Permit
Good Morning Maureen,
I am the editor of 52Best and just acquired the former Texas Steel Foundry in South Fort Worth to be redeveloped into a Hispanic community shopping and cultural center. Having been a steel mill since 1907 the 27 acre site has substantial environmental concerns and it will be necessary to work closely with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to resolve these issues. It was pleasing to see how the landowner below so artfully addressed his environmental problems, but unfortunately I will not have the Spring Pond Beavers to assist me.
With Kind Regards, Sandy
The first letter below was sent by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality threatening a landowner with a fine that could reach $10,000.00 a day. The second letter is this man's articulate and humorous response.
State Of Michigan
Department Of Environmental Quality
350 Ottawa Nw Grand Rapids Mi 49503-2341
December 17, 1997 Certified
Dear Mr. DeVries:
It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity:
Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond. A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity. A review of the Department's files show that no permits have been issued.
Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Michigan Compiled Laws annotated.
The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris dams and flooding at downstream locations. We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted.
The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all unauthorized activities at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the strewn channel. All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31, 1998.
Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff. Failure to comply with this request, or any further unauthorized activity on the site, may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement action. We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
David L. Price District Representative Land and Water Management Division
** This is the actual response he sent back: **
Dear Mr. Price:
First of all Mr. Ryan DeVries is not the contractor - I am the legal owner and a couple of beavers are in the process of constructing and maintaining two wood "debris" dams across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for, nor authorize, their dam project, I think they would be highly offended you call their skillful use of natural building materials "debris."
I would like to challenge you to attempt to emulate their dam project any dam time and/or any dam place you choose. I believe I can safely state there is no dam way you could ever match their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic.
As to your dam request the beavers first must fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity, my first dam question to you is: are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers or do you require all dam beavers throughout this State to conform to said dam request?
If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, please send me completed copies of all those other applicable beaver dam permits. Perhaps we will see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Michigan Compiled Laws annotated.
My first concern is - aren't the dam beavers entitled to dam legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are financially destitute and are unable to pay for said dam representation - so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer. The Department's dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed during a recent rain event causing dam flooding is proof we should leave the dam Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling them dam names.
As for me, I am not going to cause more dam flooding or dam debris jams by interfering with these dam builders. If you want to hurt these dam beavers - be aware I am sending a copy of your dam letter and this response to PETA. If your dam Department seriously finds all dams of this nature inherently hazardous and truly will not permit their existence in this dam State - I seriously hope you are not selectively enforcing this dam policy.
In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build their dam unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green, and water flows downstream. They have more dam right than I to live and enjoy Spring Pond. So, as far as I and the beavers are concerned, this dam case can be referred for more dam elevated enforcement action now. Why wait until 1/31/98? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice then, and there will be no dam way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them then.
In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention a real environmental quality problem: bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the dam beavers alone.
Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to your dam office.
Sincerely,
Stephen L. Tvedten and the Spring Pond Beavers
http://www.52best.com/dam.asp
One Man’s Australia – Macmanagement in Australia - or The Herd Moves West
I have been taken to task by a reader, who grew up under the hail of bombs in UK during WW2, for betraying Australian troops to the enemy by revealing confidential military information in my column Déjà vu.
I had an easier time of it, having started school in South Africa before the end of WW2. The biggest Home Front problem that I became aware of was the Ossewa Brandwag dynamiting synagogues and infrastructure. The most serious offence we could commit in the family was to eat white bread.
The seriousness of this heinous crime was drummed into me so thoroughly that to this day I eat only wholemeal bread.
I grew up in a fatherless generation caused by General Erwin Rommel who captured swathes of the South African army at places like Sidi Rezegh and Tobruk. On the family front a result was a house that bulged increasingly with my mother's sisters (she was one of 10 siblings) and their children as their husbands were sent to sit the war out in POW camps.
A consequence of the acute loss of schoolteachers to the POW camps was that I matriculated at 15 - and was not the youngest in the class to do so. This presented a problem as in those days Wits University - bulging with returned ex-servicemen - was not inclined to admit me on grounds of age.
So I became in turn an apprentice aircraft mechanic, a university engineering student, a pilot and an engineer with a PhD. This took me until I was 29.
And this brings me round to Australia.
There is a great deal of hand wringing going on about the prospects for the economy at the moment. All over the country there are major projects being held up, postponed or cancelled for lack of skilled labour. Interest rates are on the rise and consumer confidence has taken its biggest dive since 2000.
To add to the national woe the Institution of Engineers Australia today released data showing that 30,000 engineers will retire in the next 10 years, with only half that number graduating from the universities.
When it comes to the technical trades the situation is even worse.
As a long time Chartered Professional Engineer and having been listed on the National Professional Engineers Register since its inception I have watched - and been part of the cause of - the development of this serious situation.
When I was taught Management at university managers were held to have four areas of responsibility of equal priority:
" To provide returns to shareholders commensurate with the risks that they were taking with the money that they had invested
" To provide secure, adequately remunerated, rewarding and safe employment for all employees without fear of favour and with career enhancement opportunities in the form, among others, of sound technical training
" To provide the creation of wealth for society, conforming with the letter of and - where discernable - the spirit of the laws of the country
" To produce sound, properly engineered and manufactured products for customers in all ways suited to the purpose for which they had been sold.
In the decades since three of those responsibilities appear to have become attenuated until they are shadows of themselves and one appears to have been turned into a monster by the steady application of mono-cultural grad school steroids.
One of the attenuated responsibilities has been training.
For 10 of the 14 years my training took I was earning a steady wage or salary. For the remaining 4, while I was an engineering student at Wits I turned my hand to any part-time employment that was around, flying, driving trucks, whatever.
When I arrived at the Port Kembla steelworks I went into shock. The Engineering Department was over 6,000 strong. There was literally nothing Port Kembla engineering could not undertake. After all at Pelindaba we had had only 700 people - and had still managed to enrich uranium.
My job description as Chief Process Engineer included the selection of apprentices for the training of Electrical Instrument Technicians - for the maintenance of the automatic process control systems - and the selection and university training of graduate Chemical Engineers for the design and optimisation of processes and the design and implementation of their automatic control systems.
When I put up my first training budget I was summoned by senior management who queried my numbers as being too low. When I explained that they satisfied all discernable Port Kembla plant needs for the year that they were expected to graduate they pointed out that it was Group policy to train more than were needed. It was tax-deductible, enabled the Group to select only the best at the end of their training for appointment to staff and the remainder, who would go out into other industries, would in large measure become customers for what the Group produced.
Using this approach BHP had become the biggest company in Australia - and by far the most profitable.
Then in the mid 1980s the picture began to change. The mantra emerging from the Management schools was:
" Concentrate on Core Business only
" Outsource everything else
" Downsize
" Employ Professional Top Management on company value based remuneration
Australian companies did so with a will - with dramatic improvements in costs and profits and zooming share prices (and hence company values). CEOs were appointed on contracts that were shorter than the time it took to train skilled staff - so training disappeared off their radars.
The numbers of apprenticeships and traineeships on offer collapsed. But this had no adverse effect at first because the labour force was at full strength when the collapse started.
About a decade later assorted alarm bells began ringing in industry as skilled people commenced to retire in greater numbers.
The Federal Government brought out a much-heralded traineeship funding scheme. Another decade later a national audit in response to the panic that is setting in has revealed that some 80% of the funds have gone to the hospitality and retail sectors.
In the computing field the bulk of the funds have gone to the IT sector which is based on time-shared batch processing. Automatic control of stochastic processes is sensor-based real-time multi-priority processing with Boolean logic and distributed control governed by Nyqvist criteria.
The Federal Government's reactive response is now one that commenced in the 1950s. Reach for the Immigration button.
It started by benefitting southern Europeans to the extent that Greek, Italian and Yugoslav family names are now Australian mainstream. My son came to Australia as a baby and cannot speak Afrikaans. But he speaks fluent conversational Greek and Serbian. That's who his school friends were in an industrial city.
I was recruited in the 1970s wave, in South Africa, by BHP and given a letter of appointment to staff conditional on achieving a permanent residence visa from the Australian Government. With the BHP endorsement the visas, under the Skilled Independent category, came through in a couple of months - Lynette was also in demand as an RN, registered in South Africa, the UK and France.
Recent recruitment has been focussing on Eastern Europe where there is an available pool of highly technically skilled people.
Now the Australian Government's intake target for Skilled Independent immigrants for 2006 has just been doubled.
For those who may be interested I suggest that you keep an eye on
http://www.immi.gov.au/
Northern Lighties
So now I am a resident of Milton. How strange indeed that I, a poet, should reside in a town named after such an esteemed poet as well.
Ironically the same poet who wrote Paradise Lost.
A fitting summation of the last few months. Or few years depending on how jaundiced your viewpoint maybe. I however have always had a bosom big enough to allow hope eternal to spring thereupon. So I think I am looking forward to the sequel, which if I remember correctly was named Paradise Regained. Or should be. Or will be.
So lets take a quick look at my new home for a while and see what, if anything, Milton has to offer the local inhabitant.
Milton is located in southern Ontario just 43 km west of central Toronto and is part of Halton Regional Municipality. Halton being the Municipality that controls Oakville and Burlington as well. So I haven't really moved far away. Merely up the road so to speak.
Oddly enough to get here from Oakville or Burlington takes longer than getting to Toronto as the major 401 highway runs slap bang through the northern part of the town while you have to take mostly back roads to get South to Oakville for instance.
For some reason, and I think it may have to do with the sort of pass through the Niagara Escarpment just to the west of us, Milton has numerous transportation links, including several major highways and the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways, which serve the town's commercial and industrial needs. As a result of this the manufacturing sector of town include auto parts, steel recycling, and aerospace and telecommunications equipment.
And a biscuit factory.
Oddly enough I have never smelt that freshly baked cookie smell once since coming here and I drive past the factory every day. Whenever I go past the Christie factory in Etobicoke there is always that enticing smell emanating. I think I will have to talk to the Dare Company and suggest that they vent a few fumes once in a while in order to attract customers.
Milton's economy was traditionally based on agriculture, which you can see by the types of shops and co-ops that dot the towns edges. Unfortunately while evidence of these farms still remain all around, the actual farms themselves are now being divided into lots and sub-lots for the influx of people currently turning this once sleepy little town into Toronto's new dormitory area.
Mind you because of the escarpment there are many attractions that make people trek out to Milton for sport and pleasure as well. Its vast forestland and spectacular cliffs attract nature lovers, hikers, rock climbers, and skiers.
Eden Glen has 12 ski, snowboard and tubing slopes and is great fun as a place to learn to ski. Or at least learn to watch your legs go off in opposite directions. Mind you they do have training courses there so that in the end the only cross eyes you will get are from the wind chill.
Several of Milton's attractions offer access to, or views of, the escarpment, including Rattlesnake Point and Crawford Lake. Crawford Lake being the site of the reconstructed Long House I once wrote about and a marvel on its own. Rattlesnake point is a lookout on the top of the escarpment that offers brilliant views across the whole of the Golden Horseshoe. During fall the view out on to the autumn leaves is magnificent. Assuming of course that you have a good changing of the colours that is.
Milton also features many historical sites, including the Ontario Agricultural Museum; and the Halton County Radial Railway, Canada's first operating electric railway museum. Which I always thought was up near Campbellville but apparently is actually in Milton.
They have a "Steam-Era" fair at the show grounds in the middle of Milton every year as well. The feature of this show being tractors from way back when. Mind you judging by the many farmers who come into my store looking for batteries for r1930 era tractors this is an event for people to show off their current equipment rather than an antiques show. It takes place every Labour Day weekend. Which will give me enough time to take a day off to make some observations.
There is also an Automobile museum just outside town, which must be Milton's best kept secret. At least I haven't seen much mention of it in all the Towns information packages. Online or off. In fact since there is no mention of it anywhere except on a signpost outside work even I am starting to doubt that it exists. I guess I will have to track this one down.
Then there is the Ontario Renaissance Festival, which features a re-creation of a 16th-century Tudor village and a good fun outing for every family member during the summer months. Or at least it did! I learnt yesterday that the backers of this event had pulled the plug on the show after nine years. Without apparently informing anyone of their decision. Thus putting hundreds of people out of business for the coming summer months. In North America greed is endemic. Even, or should I say especially, in a good socialist state like Canada.
I tried to find out if Milton had any famous persons who lived or were born here and could only come up with two.
Colonel Chris Hadfield who was, I think, the first Canadian in Space. Or at the very least was in space.
David James Elliot who many of you will know as Lt. Harmon Rabb in the TV series JAG.
Other than that, and me, there aren't that many famous persons to have had their start in Milton, or who will admit to it anyway.
So that is my new town for a while.
It should be fun to venture forth from my basement apartment and discover new areas to regale you with tales.
Mind you now that I am further out from civilization there are many other places in or near Milton that I can take the odd day drive out to see.
Acton for instance. Which is "worth the drive" apparently, but we will make up our mind on that one.
Ramblings Of A Francophobe
If I were paranoid, and of course I'm not, a sign I saw yesterday in Antibes would have drawn me to the conclusion that the French really do dislike English speakers.
At the entrance to the main car parking area near the port and the picturesque old town of Antibes, a large sign in four languages warns people not to leave anything of value in their cars, due to the very high incidence of theft of, and from, cars.
In French, German, and Italian, the signs say the equivalent of: "Tourist friends, please lock your cars and do not leave anything of value in them." The English version omits the first two rather important words! So clearly English speakers are less welcome than the others! (Or am I paranoid?)
To some degree I can understand this as there is a certain type of English speaking (mainly British) presence in the area whose behaviour is an embarrassment to all of us. These are the foul mouthed drunken yobs, and 'yobesses' if that is the female equivalent, who go into the bars early in the morning and drink continuously throughout the day, pausing only to vomit in order to free up space for more booze. Fortunately, they are a minority, but thanks to them, anyone under the age of 40 who opens their mouth and speaks English is tarred with the same brush.
It is a shame that the charm of Antibes is spoilt by such people, as well as by the noise and stench of small motor scooters ridden by teenagers, shattering the peace of the small streets and endangering the life and limb of pedestrians.
Thankfully, there are still places inland which have not lost their charm, and we were fortunate enough to enjoy Sunday lunch today in just such a place, a tiny hilltop village about 40 minutes drive from the grime and noise of Nice. We sat on a sunny terrace, overlooking a valley with another castellated village on the opposite side, and enjoyed a simple but delicious lunch for about 20 euros a head. The proprietor, who served us and explained each item on the short but varied menu, was charm personified.
I'd love to tell you the name of the place but that would spoil it for others who enjoy the peaceful charm of such spots, but if you ever visit this part of the world, my advice is drive inland and head for the hills. The further you go from the squalid and overpriced coastal region, and the greed of its people, the more you will see the real charm of Southern France.
MIKE
No queries received this week.
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If you are looking for a lost friend... if you would like old friends to contact you... If you want to find old school friends... if you just want people who used to know you to find you again for a chat...
Send in your info, the info of anyone you are looking for and let’s see if we can find them for you!
Greetings, Maureen,
The person I’m trying to locate is Raymond F. Quinn.... a very close friend in East London... time frame 1935 on... we attended Selborne together.
Last meeting would have been in Durban... about 1948, prior to my going overseas.
Thanks,
Shep Adkins
gnu356@charter.net
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A Nun
This from Errol Errolimpala@wmconnect.com
A young nun who worked for a local home health care agency was out making her rounds when she ran out of gas. As luck would have it there was a gas station just one block away. She walked to the station to borrow a can with enough gas to start the car and drive to the station for a fill up.
The attendant regretfully told her that the only gas can he owned had just been loaned out, but if she would care to wait he was sure it would be back shortly. Since the nun was on the way to see a patient she decided not to wait and walked back to her car.
After looking through her car for something to carry to the station to fill with gas, she spotted a bedpan she was taking to the patient.
Always resourceful, she carried it to the station, filled it with gasoline, and carried it back to her car.
As she was pouring the gas into the tank of her car two men watched her from across the street. One of them turned to the other and said: "I know that it is said that Jesus turned water into wine, but if that car starts, I'll become a Catholic for the rest of my life!"
Friday of Lent
More from Errol...
John Smith was the only Protestant to move into a large Catholic neighborhood. On the first Friday of Lent, John was outside grilling a big juicy steak on his grill.
Meanwhile, all of his neighbors were eating cold tuna fish for supper. This went on each Friday of Lent. On the last Friday of Lent, the neighborhood men got together and decided that something had to be done about John, he was tempting them to eat meat each Friday of Lent, and they couldn't take it anymore.
They decided to try and convert John to be a Catholic. They went over and talked to him and were so happy that he decided to join all of his neighbors and become a Catholic. They took him to Church, and the Priest sprinkled some water over him, and said, "You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, and now you are a Catholic."
The men were so relieved, now their biggest Lenten temptation was resolved. The next year's Lenten season rolled around. The first Friday of Lent came, and just at supper time, when the neighborhood was setting down to their tuna fish dinner, came the wafting smell of steak cooking on a grill.
The neighborhood men could not believe their noses! WHAT WAS GOING ON? They called each other up and decided to meet over in John's yard to see if he had forgotten it was the first Friday of Lent?
The group arrived just in time to see John standing over his grill with a small pitcher of water. He was sprinkling some water over his steak on the grill, saying, "You were born a cow, you were raised a cow, and now you are a fish."
The Blond and The Chimpanzees
Even more from Errol...
A blonde lady motorist was two hours from San Diego when she was flagged down by a man whose truck had broken down.
The man walked up to the car and asked, "Are you going to San Diego?" "Sure," answered the blonde, "do you need a lift?"
"Not for me. I'll be spending the next three hours fixing my truck. My problem is I've got two chimpanzees in the back who have to be delivered to the San Diego Zoo. They're a bit stressed already so I don't want to keep them on the road all day. Could you possibly take them to the zoo for me? I'll give you fifty dollars for your trouble."
"I'd be happy to," said the blonde.
So the two chimpanzees were ushered into the back seat of the blonde's car and carefully strapped into their seat belts. Off they went.
Several hours later, the truck driver was driving through the heart of San Diego when suddenly he was horrified!! There was the blonde, walking down the street and holding hands with the two chimps, much to the amusement of the crowd.
With a screech of brakes, he pulled off the road and ran over to the blonde.
"What the heck are you doing here?" he demanded, "I gave you fifty dollars to take these chimpanzees to the zoo."
"Yes, I know, and I did take them to the zoo," said the blonde, "but we had money left over---so we went to the movies!!!"
This sounds yummy... another recipe from the Dr Weil.com site
Stuffed Mushroom Caps with Couscous
6 Servings
Couscous is a mildly nutty-tasting grain that comes from North Africa. It makes a great stuffing, especially for a small cavity like a mushroom, because it's so moist. When the stuffed mushrooms are baked, the full flavor of the couscous and the mushrooms really come through. These will go fast!
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 shallots, chopped
1-1/2 tablespoons natural soy sauce (such as tamari)
1 cup white wine
12 medium small-capped mushrooms, washed and stems removed
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock or purified water
1/4 cup couscous
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and roast for 5 minutes, just until they turn slightly more brown. Pour them into a small bowl.
Set a large sauce pan with the olive oil over low heat for less than 1 minute. Drop in the garlic and the shallots. Add the soy sauce, wine, and mushrooms and simmer covered until the mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to shake the mushrooms so that the cooking liquid falls back into the pan, then transfer the drained mushrooms to a baking dish, arranging them hollow side up. Reserve the liquid in the pan.
Cook the couscous by bringing the vegetable stock or water to a boil in a separate pot. Pour in the couscous, lower the heat, and simmer covered for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. All the liquid should be absorbed. Now, dump the couscous into the sauce pan with the reserved liquid, cover, and cook over low heat until all the liquid is absorbed.
Lightly salt and pepper the mushroom caps. Finish the stuffing by mixing the nuts, herbs, Parmesan cheese into the cooked couscous. Using a tablespoon, pile a small mound of filling inside the cap of each mushroom. Bake for 10 minutes or until the stuffing is lightly browned on top.
Singh's top spot up for grabs [iafrica.com]
Fiji's Vijay Singh reclaimed the world number one golf ranking from Tiger Woods last week, but either of them or South Africa's Ernie Els could be on top a week from now.
http://sport.iafrica.com/golf/news/426510.htm
ASA confirms resolution [News 24]
A resolution adopted by Athletics South Africa (ASA) over the weekend, which forces the organisers of the Comrades and Two Oceans ultra-marathons to hold half-marathons in the future with exactly the same prize money,
http://www.news24.com/News24/Sport/More_Sp...
Brumbies look for 'SA grand slam' [IOL]
The Brumbies are expected to field their strongest team for Saturday's encounter with the Sharks at the Absa Rugby Stadium when they will attempt to complete the "Japie grand slam".
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&cli...
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