|
| Contents |
Issue No. 333 -- 13 June 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 |
Just over a week until we leave for our holiday! Making my usual lists... and looking forward to seeing family and friends again. Hopefully when we get back we will feel like we had a holiday. Our trip last September was so hectic we needed a break to recover!
This time it will be warm in all places we are visiting... Warm might be an understatement! I think hot is a better word... mid summer in the south of the US... Better that than six feet of snow!
What all this means is that next Monday will be the last edition of SAWmail for a few weeks. Hope you can all survive without it and will miss it while I am gone!
Should be back on July 25th.
Does anyone know Marlene in New Zealand’s updated e-mail address? The one I have been using for years has come back. If anyone knows it please contact me at the usual address editor@saw.co.za. Thanks!
In honour of Fathers Day and in honour of my dad and all those other dads that are no longer with us, we have some special quotes for you. I published these a couple of years ago and think they are worth publishing again for you all. SAW Advertisement
Time to celebrate Dad!
Fathers Day will be here soon - June 19th - and of course Cards.co.za is here to help you yet again. As usual, we have a huge selection of cards for all dads... new ones, old ones, soon to be dads, grandfathers... we have cards for all categories of dads. No waiting in queues, no delays at the Post Office... a few clicks and you’re done!
All our cards are always free - more money to spend on Dad’s present! And talking of presents... once you have chosen your free cards, why not add a gift? Cards has partnered with the number one gifting experience company in South Africa... EGOS so you can send your Dad a unique gift this year without having to spend time rushing off to crowded shopping malls.
Simply click here to see the interesting and novel Fathers Day experiences they have on offer!
SAW Advertisement |
|
These from me for Fathers Day...
“It is a wise father that knows his own child” - William Shakespeare
"The place of the father in the modern suburban family is a very small one, particularly if he plays golf." - Bertrand Russell
"I am determined that my children shall be brought up in their father's religion, if they can find out what it is." - Charles Lamb
"You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was." - Irish Proverb
"My father used to say, 'Let them see you and not the suit. That should be secondary.'" - Cary Grant
"I've always followed my father's advice: he told me, first to always keep my word and, second, to never insult anybody unintentionally. If I insult you, you can be goddamn sure I intend to. And, third, he told me not to go around looking for trouble." - John Wayne
"All we have of freedom -- all we use or know -- This our fathers bought for us, long and long ago." - Kipling
"You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence." - Charles Austin Beard, historian
"The important thing to recognise is that it takes a team, and the team ought to get credit for the wins and the losses. Successes have many fathers, failures have none." - Philip Caldwell
"I don't know who my grandfather was; I'm much more concerned to know what his grandson will be." - Abraham Lincoln
"No one would be foolish enough to choose war over peace--in peace sons bury their fathers, but in war fathers bury their sons." - Croesus of Lydia
"My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there." - Indira Gandhi
"My father taught me to work; he did not teach me to love it." Abraham Lincoln
"My father built a quicksand box in our back yard. I was an only child, eventually." - Steven Wright
"My father was an amazing man. The older I got, the smarter he got." - Mark Twain
"My grandfather always said that living is like licking honey off a thorn." - Louis Adamic
"I once complained to my father that I didn't seem to be able to do things the same way other people did. Dad's advice? 'Margo, don't be a sheep. People hate sheep. They eat sheep.'" - Margo Kaufman
"Life is all one piece. Men err when they think they can be inhuman exploiters in their business life, and loving husbands and fathers at home. For achievement without love is a cold and tight-lipped murderer of human happiness everywhere." - Smiley Blanton
"Not a tenth of us who are in business are doing as well as we could if we merely followed the principles that were known to our grandfathers." - William Feather
"The lack of emotional security of our American young people is due, I believe, to their isolation from the larger family unit. No two people - no mere father and mother - as I have often said, are enough to provide emotional security for a child. He needs to feel himself one in a world of kinfolk, persons of variety in age and temperament, and yet allied to himself by an indissoluble bond which he cannot break if he could, for nature has welded him into it before he was born." - Pearl S. Buck
"The words that a father speaks to his children in the privacy of home are not heard by the world, but, as in whispering galleries, they are clearly heard at the end, and by posterity." - Ricther
"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." - Author Unknown
"Most American children suffer too much mother and too little father." - Gloria Steinem
"In history as in life it is success that counts. Start a political upheaval and let yourself be caught, and you will hang as a traitor. But place yourself at the head of a rebellion and gain your point, and all future generations will worship you as the Father of their Country." - Hendrik W. Van Loon
"The more people have studied different methods of bringing up children the more they have come to the conclusion that what good mother and fathers instinctively feel like doing for their babies is the best after all." - Benjamin Spock
"When I was little, my grandfather used to make me stand in a closet for five minutes without moving. He said it was elevator practice. " - Steven Wright
"Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope." - Bill Cosby
"By the time a man realises that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong." - Charles Wadsworth
"The sins of the fathers are often visited upon the sons-in-law." - Joan Kiser
"No man is responsible for his father. That was entirely his mother's affair." - Margaret Turnbull
"Mothers are a biological necessity; fathers are a social invention." - Margaret Mead
"My father was often angry when I was most like him." - Lillian Hellman
and these non-Dad quotes are also from me...
The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but reveal to them their own. - Benjamin Disraeli
In life you can never be too kind or too fair; everyone you meet is carrying a heavy load. When you go through your day expressing kindness and courtesy to all you meet, you leave behind a feeling of warmth and good cheer, and you help alleviate the burdens everyone is struggling with. - Brian Tracy
Forget the resolutions. Forget control and discipline... too much work. Instead try experimenting. Go in search of something to fall in love with... something about yourself, your career, your spouse. - Dale Dauten
These from Des Cowie
Humility, that low, sweet root, from which all heavenly virtues shoot. - Thomas Moore
This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it, or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind... let it be something good. - Author unknown
These from Daniel Jan le Roux...
Not what we have, but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance. - Epicurus
Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better. - Jim Rohn
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 |
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!
This week’s question...
Hi there,
I notice from one of the features on requirements for permanent residence that a medical examination is required. I would be grateful if you can tell me what medical conditions would disqualify a person from being eligible for permanent residence. Many thanks, Paul
Dear Paul
Thank you for the question sent to South Africa Online. Only contagious diseases (such as tuberculosis and scarlet fever) disqualify an applicant. HIV/Aids does not. Any other chronic or untreatable conditions will require a medical report on the prognosis and proof that the applicant has adequate funds and medical insurance to cover all future medical expenses. The certificates have to be issued on forms BI 806 and BI 811 which can be obtained from www.home-affairs.gov.za.
Kind regards
Alana & Annatjie
COME HOME CAMPAIGN
Migrasie / Migration
Solidariteit Alliansie / Solidarity Alliance
P O Box 8766, Centurion, 0046, RSA
Tel: 0027-(0)12-6438532
Fax: 0027-(0)12-6438587
admin@cfi.org.za
Oprah Winfrey tells South Africans how they inspire her
Oprah Winfrey, the first female, African-American billionaire, who grew up as a poor girl raised by her grandmother in Kosciusko, Mississippi, has told South Africans how inspired she is by the spirit and hope she sees in South Africa, especially amongst the children of this country.
Oprah, watched on television by millions around the world, was in South Africa to hold her "Live your Best Life" seminar at the Sandton Convention Centre. It is the first time that she has held this seminar outside of the United States, and Oprah fans from all over Southern Africa bought out the tickets, at R480 each, within 48 hours.
She recently told the Sunday Times Magazine, "I have such a deep affection for South Africa because of the spirit of the people. I connect with the strength of their spirit. I feel bonded to the land. It is the land that most stimulates and inspires me. It's like no place I've ever been." Oprah believes that growing up poor and being brought up by her grandmother is one reason why she can empathise so much with South African children, who are so often in the same position.
Enjoying a close friendship with former president and South African icon, Nelson Mandela, Oprah has had close ties with South Africa over the past ten years. She has been to the country several times, amongst other things to help host Mandela's annual children's Christmas party at his traditional home in Qunu in the Eastern Cape. This was her second visit to the country in the past six months.
As a result of her strong feelings for the country she has donated large sums of money towards charities and other organisations that are focused on making a difference in South Africa, especially in relation to its children. She is currently involved in establishing a R175 million school, The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, on 9 hectares of land in Henley-on-Klip, Gauteng. It is the single biggest project that her foundation is currently working on, and it will start operating in 2007.
Oprah's six day trip to South Africa included visiting school children in Soweto, where she donated $1 million (R6,8 million) to the Ithuteng Trust, a school for reformed delinquents, and Pietermaritzburg, where she took a group of 20 children that she is sponsoring from the Heritage Academy out for dinner at the Spur restaurant. Before leaving she told her seminar audience that she believes poverty can be eradicated in our lifetime; it exists only because the world is not outraged by it.
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.
If you would like to contact Guy, visit his web site here.
What can we do?
Feedback from Mike’s article about Zimbabwe last week.
This from Paul Antunes Paul.Antunes@bhpbilliton.com
Maureen
Attached is a link to the United Nations Office Coordination of Human Affairs website where we can all send in emails requesting help for our Zim friends.
I sent off a copy of Mike's letter.
http://ochaonline.un.org
Regards
Paul
---------------
This from John Bell jimbo@pofadder.freeserve.co.uk
What can we do Mike...
God, alone, knows.
I wept at your e-mail. Yes, a 69 year old man in tears at its simplicity yet frightening accuracy.
Why, oh why was that devil incarnate not assassinated in London when the opportunity arose?
And yes, I am a Christian but want to see him dead. Saddam Hussein is a benevolent but misguided man compared to Robert Mugabe.
What can we do, Mike?
Fresh from their rigged election "victory" the Brown-Blair team want to write off Africa's debt. What will be the response? "Dankie baas"? And where will the new stash be held?
And who will benefit from the planned G8 concert? Publicity for hasbeens and a chance for anarchists to trash Edinburgh.
I have one - hopefully helpful - suggestion.
Every day I clear anything up to 50-60 SPAM messages completely unread. They are all offering one of about half a dozen 'items'.
I was curious enough, though, to open three, all of which were identical in format, (though from differing and untraceable addresses) offering a 600 page report on the Assassination of Princess Diana. The cost was £9.99 - 50% of which would allegedly go to her memorial fund.
Now I might be a sentimental old man, who can be reduced to tears by what is happening in what I prefer to remember as Rhodesia, also very cynical but I risked my £10 and the report, which was sent in Adobe format ,is breathtaking in its format, readability and credibility.
What can we do, Mike?
Could you not summarise what the bastard Mugabe has done to your country and then use one of the e-mail Spammers to send out a few million copies?
I believe it would cost next to nothing and if only one or two were taken seriously.....who knows?
Just a suggestion - I have no axe to grind - just despair at the jewel of Africa being ground down.
Jimbo
Mind Massage
Everyone's a poet.
Of course, everyone's a critic, too! This means that there are plenty of opportunities to heighten our awareness of words and how we use them.
Words create pictures, and just as a painter uses a combination of colors and strokes to express a concept, we offer an artistic rendering of thoughts through carefully chosen words.
Our linguistic intelligence is what allows us to both recognize and generate vivid word vignettes. Whether you enjoy novels, biographies, mysteries, sonnets, haiku, song lyrics, conversations, soliloquies, or newspaper stories, you can develop greater word awareness by focusing on descriptive phrases.
In our everyday speech, we tend to speak in phrases and punctuate these with expressions, pauses, gestures, or laughter. Although the words themselves convey meaning, the total picture we create is a combination of inflection, context, juxtaposition, and even eye contact.
Don't think you have your own personal poetry style? Think again. You use words in your own way, and it's likely that, given an assignment to express a particular concept, your version would have recognizable elements.
Try this test: describe a birthday cake.
There's a good chance that you would use words to express the shape, flavor, color, decoration, ingredients, size, and presentation of a cake, and that the precise way you do that would be unique when compared to others' descriptions. In addition, you're likely to come up with a different description if asked to do so a month from now.
You can easily and enjoyably boost your word awareness by:
1) selecting a particular cue word as a trigger for mindfulness, or
2) focusing on phrases used in specific settings. Better yet, try both!
By using a particular word as a mindfulness trigger, you can watch how others create poetic representations of the same element.
Ready for your secret food awareness word?
Here it is: morsel.
Listening for a specific word will develop your ability to make distinctions in the way it is used and allow you to watch for subtle variations. Does 'morsel' refer to something creamy or chewy? Is it savory or sweet?
To play with poetry and mindfulness at the same time, notice phrases used to describe food. Listen to them with an ear for rhythm, and picture them as lines of a poem.
Read menu descriptions, food articles or cookbooks and be aware of the adjectives most likely to get your mouth watering. Sensual words like 'succulent' and 'luscious' elicit physiological responses. Pay attention to those, and listen for the phrases you hear that create especially vivid sense experiences.
Linking word pictures with taste helps us anchor our linguistic intelligence with our bodily intelligence, and this makes our mouths very happy indeed.
Delectable words,
Delicious poetry. Mmmm--
True taste sensation.
Looking For More Ways To Play With Words? One of the best ways to develop greater mindfulness of language is to read--or write--descriptive words in a different format.
You can see how this works for yourself by reading my ebook, Purple Round M: A Haiku Guide to Real-World Mindfulness.
I had a great time writing this ebook in haiku format (three lines, five/seven/five syllables) because it allowed me to play with phrases instead of paragraphs. You don't need to follow any rules here--the point is to discover phrases and create greater awareness of how YOU use them to convey meaning.
If you're looking for a fun way to learn more about mindfulness, boost your word creativity, and enhance your own linguistic intelligence, you will love this ebook!
Only $19.
You can be stimulating that wordy brain of yours in seconds!
Just visit: Real-WorldMindfulness.com/products.htm
Tasty Tidbits: We can develop word awareness by reading, writing, or listening and by focusing on phrases in print, conversation or song lyrics.
Where do YOU find delicious phrases? I'd love to hear from you! Send your
word morsels to me at maya@MassageYourMind.com and I will include the tastiest ones in
next week's issue!
**********************************
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.
**************************************
©Copyright 2004, Maya Talisman Frost
One Man’s Australia – Hope for Iraq?
The official handover of an Australian Defence Force base in East Timor has marked the end of armed peacekeeping forces in the country which started with the invasion of 1999 to restore the UN presence and end the Indonesian militia genocide.
For three years the Australian forces have operated from the Moleana base near the border with West Timor.
The deeds to the base, which the Australian troops have transformed into a school, have now officially been signed over to the East Timorese Government.
Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and other dignitaries were present as armed forces from both countries paraded together and the Australian flag was lowered.
Australia was the first to send forces to the country and it is now the last to withdraw.
The Defence Force says its personnel will be back in Australia within a fortnight.
Australia's land commander, Major-General Ken Gillespie, first served in East Timor five years ago.
Finishing up his second tour of duty there, an 11-month stint as the commander of the United Nations brigade, he says the area has changed greatly.
"First of all just the utter destruction and devastation that I saw as I arrived," he said.
"I think then watching people slowly at first but then in larger numbers start to return to their homes and villages and get on with the job of reconstruction."
Maj Gen Gillespie says the turning point for the mission came the day he realised the local people had put their weapons away.
"I remember observing populations and thinking that something was a little strange but I couldn't put my finger on it initially," he said.
"Then it dawned on me that what I was seeing was people who had normally walked around armed with machetes and spears and homemade weapons etc had left them behind.
"That was the stage where I realised that we in the peacekeeping force had been accepted; people felt safe, and that the future started to look bright from that time on."
Australia's presence in East Timor will continue through the country's UN office and a defence cooperation program.
But some are questioning the wisdom of East Timor maintaining a defence force.
Former Australian Army lieutenant-colonel Bob Lowry, who was seconded as a security advisor to the East Timorese Government in 2002, says it was initially thought that the country would not require a defence force.
"The pressure from [former guerilla fighters] and the general community forced the East Timorese Government to actually form a defence force - initially it was thought that all they needed was a police force," he said.
Mr Lowry says the Government is still working out what the responsibilities of the fledging force are.
"There's no comprehensive defence policy to define what their role is, apart from the obvious one of protection of the country against foreign invasion," Mr Lowry said.
"But with there being no prospect of that and a country of East Timor's size - half of a tiny island and 900,000 citizens - not really being able to defend itself in any real sense, there's still a question mark about what it is they want the armed forces to do."
But Maj Gen Gillespie says the Timorese Defence Force is "growing nicely".
"It's well-focused on producing capabilities that are good for the future of the country, focusing very much on a nation-building and a mature Defence Force that's about protection of its people," he said.
"[It's] not getting carried away with wanting capabilities that aren't realistic at the present time."
But the spectre of yet another potential failed state remains. East Timor is not viable economically and will be dependent on Australian aid for the foreseeable future.
Northern Lighties
So after Mr. Martins dismissal of the first no confidence vote as merely a procedural motion we waited for a week or two for what the Liberals judged to be an auspicious moment and had another vote.
Some very cynical observers of the process felt that this was because the Liberals were waiting for two Conservative MP's, who had cancer, to die so that the vote would at least be even. While we realise that the Liberals are that bloody minded and heartless some of the less cynical felt that they were engaged in the time honoured Liberal tradition of buying off potential votes.
Which ultimately proved to be the more accurate observation even though I wouldn't be at all surprised if the deaths of Opposition MP'S didn't feature highly in the plans as well.
Just before we had the next round of Ayes versus No's there was a defection from within the ranks of the Conservative Party.
Belinda Stronach the little-rich-girl-with-ambition moved over to the Lieberals when she was offered a Ministerial position within the Martin Government.
Stronach was the woman who ran for the Leadership of the Conservative party earlier and was resoundingly defeated. Her main claim to fame before that being the CEO of Magna motor parts Co. which was a company founded by her daddy and where she really had no other excuse except nepotism for being in the position she was. Even failing University apparently only made daddy more determined to have her running his empire into the ground. Mind you as a good little rich girl she managed to have a string of lovers and husbands and apparently was even the beloved of the Deputy Leader of the Conservatives Peter McKay.
Which incidentally led to one of the more puke inducing moments of the whole fiasco. This being the photo shoot taken the day after Stronach's defection where he was photographed, with his trusty dog, gazing pensively out to sea. Trusty dog was of course gazing sadly up at him.
Oh Woe is him. So much heartache. So many sad thoughts. Be STRONG Peter. For the sake of Canada and all jilted Canadian men. And their dogs.
No one seemed to remember that in the last few weeks Stronach had been reported on numerous occasions as Wild Bill Clintons inamorata.
Which if the reports were true would mean that McKay was already aware of the treacherous side to this woman anyway.
Ah but the photo-op. Never forget the photo-op.
Anyway while sowing his oats Billy must have left the odd thought in the vacuous head of Miss Stronach who suddenly saw the light and crossed the floor just in time to miraculously find there was a vacant seat waiting for her with her new title painted on it.
In all the hullabaloo this caused I seem to remember that none of the bipartisan press asked the most pertinent question of all which is as follows and should have been addressed to the 80 or so Lieberal MP's still warming seats on the backbench:
"How do you feel about all those years of service to the Lieberal Party seeing a rank amateur being offered a Ministerial Position over you in exchange for her treachery?"
Mind you I will admit that the Lieberals do admire dishonesty, deceit and treachery as the cornerstones of their political manifesto, so I suppose that they were happy to see someone who at the least had the guts to sell out her colleagues being rewarded in this fashion.
As it was they still had to rely on an independent for the final vote needed to gain a tied vote. Caroline Parrish the Great American Hater finally sided with the Government and voted for the status quo. It must have stuck in her throat to have to support Martin who effectively sacked her for her unrepentant, outspoken hatred of the USA. And him. Nearly forgot that vital point. Ms Parrish seemingly believing that only God had the right to address her, and even that was in a subservient role, was to put it politely, "not quite on speaking terms" with the prime Minister.
So with all the shenanigans we had a tied vote. This left it up to the Speaker of the house to cast his vote. Appointed by the Government and a Liberal MP as well there was never going to be any question as to which way his vote was going, despite the wonderful explanation that he was doing it to "keep the status quo".
SO we had the Government squeaking in with the barest of majorities.
Now the never-ending bull starts in earnest.
Within days an East Indian MP from the Conservatives produced a tape recording, which purported to show that he too was offered a seat in the Cabinet if he would defect as well.
Then there were the reports of the Liberals dancing up a storm and partying hard on the night of the vote with a fervour that belied the fact that they had narrowly squeaked through. A little bit of contrition may have been a bit more necessary but then the Liberals had managed to pull it off again so given their arrogance I suppose one could expect such a display.
In the weeks following the vote we have had the full spin-doctor actions of the Lieberal Party faithfull. Most notably in the media, who seem to think that the new order of the day is "The poll". Polls with carefully selected questions now being trotted out on a regular basis to "prove" that Harper is the wrong leader of the Conservatives; that the people of Canada support the Lieberals; that Canada is traded to Patagonia in exchange for a Tim Horton's Double Double and an Apple Dutchie.
Well no I made the last one up obviously which is more or less what I suspect the Media does when it comes to pushing the party line via massively flawed polls.
What it does mean though is that we have a Government that has promised billions in taxpayers money to pet NDP projects of the feel good, socially wishy-washy variety, still abuses the taxpayers money while pretending that they haven't really stolen it despite the Gomery enquiries findings so far and now has a bubble headed bimbo in a ministerial position along with the others that act as eye candy to the nation and hopefully distract the average male voter from too many pointed questions.
As the months of summer slip by and the Gomery Inquiry receded from the public mind (and you can bet every effort will now be made by the Liberal Media to do that) Prime Minister Martin is probably fervently hoping that when it finally presents all the evidence collected so far the Canadian Electorate will have forgotten how explosive it is and he will be able to pretend he didn't say we will have an election.
Mind you Parliament is still in a position where the independents hold power and I wonder what will happen when they all disagree with the Government together.
Should be interesting.
OK. The way the Lieberals weasel their way out of the next No Confidence vote will be interesting.
In Canada liars, cheats and thieves rule the roost and the electorate is to damn lazy or indoctrinated to do anything about it anyway.
And they think Africa is corrupt!
Ramblings Of A Francophobe
Recently we sold one of our cars to a delightful elderly North African couple.
The whole process of selling the car was somewhat surreal as the old toppie had decided he wanted the car just from seeing the advert in the window of one of our other cars and would have taken it ‘sight unseen’. He didn’t even want to see it, he just kept asking when we wanted the money ... I insisted that he saw it and drove it before going ahead, and he asked absolutely no questions at all, I had to tell him everything that buyers normally ask! He really didn't seem to have much of a clue, something which became painfully obvious when he drove the car. All a bit bizarre as normally people are so suspicious when buying and selling cars, but they seem perfectly genuine, paid in cash, and were so pleased when I gave them 100 Euros back after they’d paid (as I’d stuck to the asking price) that the lady gave my other half a beautiful blue Moroccan dress and invited us for a 'couscous' lunch at their home. We then had to speak to the rest of the family on the phone, because they’d all been involved, and we were hugged and embraced like long lost family. A lovely change from the usual way people do business here, in an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust.
We came back from the lunch with not just our stomachs full, but our hands too. We took them a bowl of cherries from our garden, and a decorative candle from South Africa. In return they gave my son a stereo player, and insisted we left with the remains of the meal - enough to feed a family for a week! The whole thing was embarassing, but left us feeling humbled at the warmth and generosity of such people. I might add that these are, by no stretch of the imagination, wealthy people, but then, as is so often the case, wealth and generosity are usually uneasy partners.
A few days later, I heard from our local garage man, who is a personal friend, that the old gentleman had been in to complain that the car 'didn't go properly'. Although I'd explained to him several times how to operate and release the parking brake, which is not the same on a Mercedes as on most other cars, it seems he'd driven a good few miles with the brake on!
We had also advertised the car on a local website, and one of the enquiries was from a Nigerian cheque fraudster who was stupid enough to respond, even though I'd placed a warning to these vermin not to bother, and even stupider in that he sent a stolen bank draft, by courier, from Lagos, leaving an audit trail. This in itself is an unbelievable act of stupidity, compounded by his having sent it to : Mr. P. Leesmann, c/o The Copper Shop, at our local UK police station, who were notified in advance.
He then got greedier and gave me details of his bank account when I refused to send his 'change' from the transaction via Western Union, after I told him the draft had cleared. The bank are now investigating his accounts on the basis that they are being used to harbour illegally obtained funds.
Mr. P. Leesmann and his good buddy, Mr. D. Tectiv, are investigating and hopefully the failed fraudster will be dealt with. If not, at least I've wasted his time and money and taught him a lesson.
You can read about this and see copies of this cretin's emails here:
http://www.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45261
Earlier this week I took a day off work and spent it quietly at home. We fetched our son from school and enjoyed a two hour lunch on the terrace at a favourite restaurant just outside our nearby village. It’s a place where they know us and we are treated as friends (OK we get a bill at the end!) rather than as a nuisance, which is the norm in this part of France.
In the evening we enjoyed a bottle of excellent wine (a 1997 Alto Cabernet Sauvignon) kindly given to me by friends in Cape Town, and accompanied by a couple of pounds of really top quality fillet steak on the braai, which I brought back with me from South Africa last Saturday. A friend who shared it with us said it was the tenderest and tastiest fillet he’d ever had (Woolworths butchery in Cavendish Square, Claremont, is to thank for that). The meat, beef in particular, in France, is so tasteless, tough, and full of sinew that we rarely eat it so this was a real treat.
Tot siens
MIKE
No queries received this week.
These requests are from subscribers to SAWmail and or members of the SAW Web site. I print them in good faith.
Hi
I am hoping my fellow generous South Africans living in Montreal might be able to support me, could you please pass this along.... Incidentally I moved from South Africa, Sunny Durban in 1988, Montreal has been my home ever since.
On August 26-28, 2005 I'll be participating in a very special event called The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. The event takes place in Montreal. I'll walk 60 kilometres over the course of one weekend with thousands of other women and men. The net proceeds will support breast cancer research, treatment, and services through The Jewish General Hospital.
I've agreed to raise at least $2,000 as my personal goal so I need your help. Would you please consider making a donation? Use the internet address www.endcancer.ca. You can type in my name in the sponsor a participant section and go visit my site to make a donation. Please keep in mind how far I'm walking - and how hard I'll have to train.
According to the National Cancer Institute of Canada, approximately 20,500 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and about 5,400 will die from the disease. That's why I'm walking so far. To do something bold about breast cancer. I hope that you'll share this incredible adventure with me - by supporting me in my fundraising efforts.
Your support and donation is a great way to honour those we have lost and the many survivors among us. Please forward this email to as many friends, co-workers, family and people who care. My personal journey includes both my aunt and my Mom who are both cancer survivors.
Sincerely,
Nilanie Fletcher
fletchernilanie@hotmail.
---------------
Guava season?
Dear South Africans worldwide - Can anyone please advise? I am planning to bring my mother over to the city of her birth, Cape Town, next year. She hasn't seen her native country for more than 60 years. One of her fond memories is of ripe fresh guavas. This may be the only chance I have to bring her over and I would very much want to try to time our visit for the guava season but I cannot find out when that is...
Can anyone tell me the best time to come when the guavas will be freshly picked and ripe?
Thank you
Debbie Wilson
deborah@lincolnshire.eclipse.co.uk
-------------------
Robben Island singers film & concert project
Hi,
Just found your website.
I am looking for film and concert partners for an international project that is currently in production in South Africa. There is a substantial Chicago linkage for this project. Attached is a news story about the concert side of the multi-media project.
“Prison Songs That Inspire - Stan Simpson, Hartford Courant
South African police interrogators tied a wet sack over Muntu Nxumalo's head. Every breath felt like his last.
As the blackened scars on his wrist attest, the former freedom fighter won't soon forget hanging from a prison ceiling in handcuffs in 1978. The stubborn rabble-rouser was taunted, punched in the ears and stomped in the belly. Pliers were used to pry fingernails from cuticles. Electric shock was applied to his inner thighs, ears and eyes.
The torture was designed to turn suspects into songbirds. And it did, although it wasn't quite what police had anticipated.
"You feel pain I've never felt in my life," Nxumalo, 45, said during a visit to Connecticut last week. "They wanted to know the numbers [of soldiers], where they trained. ... I told them that I won't die on my knees. If I must die, I will not die begging anything from them. I told them, if you're going to kill me, kill me."
The police, after failing to break his will, sent Nxumalo to Robben Island in Cape Town to complete his 22-year sentence for treason and attempted murder.
What sustained most of the political prisoners there - including one named Mandela, who was kept in special isolation - were old-time folk songs. The music is an evolution about a revolution, the insurrection against a vicious and racist apartheid government. During hunger strikes, the freedom songs proved particularly inspirational and nourishing. Now, they serve as a historical reminder of what can be. A collection of the prison songs are on CD - "Prison Songs, Cell Stories" - telling the story of a country's liberation.
"Sugar Lump" was inspired by prisoners who survived mostly on sugar water during their hunger protests. Some songs are somber, some called for violence and others added a splash of humor.
There was this remake done to the tune of "Oh My Darling, Clementine": "What a system. What a system. What a system, what a crime. We can mend it. We can end it. We can end it for all times."
"Tshelani U Tambo No Lithuli" (Tired of Talking Politics) is self-explanatory.
Insurgents from the then-rebel African National Congress plotted to overthrow an oppressive regime. At stake was a future generation of black South Africans who wouldn't have to live in a subjugated world ruled by a white minority.
Among the freedom fighters were those from Cuba, Zimbabwe and Namibia. While in prison, their indigenous freedom songs lifted spirits, strengthened resolve and reinforced the notion that their lives still had meaning.
The political prisoners were released in 1991. Apartheid was abolished in 1994. Robben Island, where the captives would spend days breaking limestone in the blinding sun, is now a tourist attraction. Go figure.
In 1997, exhibit organizers were looking to tell more about Robben Island, through the eyes of those jailed. They asked Nxumalo and fellow inmates Grant Shezi and Thembinkosi Sithole - all three are from Durban and in their 40s - to record a CD in their Zulu language. The Robben Island Singers was formed.
While touring South Africa last year, Jeff Spitz, an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker based in Chicago, purchased the CD. After listening to the 20 or so songs, he thought that The Robben Island Singers' journey was worth capturing on film. Spitz brought them to the United States this month to talk more about their lives and play their songs. The men performed in Chicago two weeks ago. On Tuesday, I watched them perform to a packed house in Willimantic at Eastern Connecticut State University's Shafer Auditorium. They returned to South Africa on Wednesday.
"It's the songs of a liberation struggle," Spitz said of the performances. "Those songs are connected to the voices and the lives of three men who've known each other a long time. They represent the spirit of thousands of people, all of whom lost loved ones. And every one [of these songs] expresses the spirit of a new country."
I talked to Nxumalo, Sithole and Shezi during rehearsal breaks Tuesday. Their soft-spoken nature belies the passionate and commanding presence they show on stage. While singing, the men were dressed in their prison fatigues - green pullover, with a white chest stripe, and matching hat. As they sang, you could almost see their minds and bodies visiting a time gone by.
Now, of course, there is a new fight in a new South Africa. Political power has been secured by the black majority, but economic power is still controlled by the white minority.
South Africa was heralded for its bloodless transition from apartheid to democracy in 1994. I visited the country two years ago and don't believe that bloodshed can be avoided in the future if the country's wealth is not redistributed.
The Robben Island Singers, older now, darkened faces weathered by war, poverty and oppression, talk about the other message resonating in their songs and ordeal.
"If we are able to sit down with our enemy to negotiate a settlement," Nxumalo said through a Zulu accent. "If we did it. [If we] had these negotiations with a very, very stubborn enemy, and made peace, why can not other people make peace?"
That's a song you'd like to hear again ... and again.”
Are any members of your group interested in financing a film and concert project? I would be glad to make a presentation and show the work in progress. To learn more visit our website.
www.groundswellfilms.org
Please feel free to circulate this query letter.
Looking forward to your reaction...
Jeff Spitz (jeff@groundswellfilms.org)
2026 W. Giddings Street
Chicago, Illinois 60625
P. 773-771-7697
F. 773-975-0699
www.groundswellfilms.org
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!
I am trying to trace my biological father's family from East London, South Africa. I am interested in any Van Heerdens or Halls who might have some information regarding a baby girl born in 1951 and given up for adoption. My e-mail address is rdschroeder@hotmail.com.
Thanks.
Rita Schroeder
USA – New York
South African Author Deon L de Jongh and September Bliss hereby cordially invite you to attend a fundraiser & motivational session called...
“The Motivational Truth on Life, Love & Living.”
Date: June 20, 2005
7:00pm South African finger snacks and conversation
Session Begins: 7:30 pm - 9 p.m.
Tickets On-Line: $20, at the door $25
To purchase on-line tickets go to www.septemberbliss.org/fundraising.html
Venue: The Roger Smith Hotel, The Winthrop Room
501 Lexington Avenue (bet. 47th & 48th Streets)
www.therogersmith.com
Limited Seating!!!
RSVP: info@septemberbliss.org or call 347.531.9557
This fundraiser is in aid of September Bliss for the Ethembeni project….
Established in 1984, Ethembeni School serves 300 physically disabled and visually impaired children from all over Kwazulu-Natal, Kingdom of the Zulu, South Africa, educating them to reach their highest potential and to become independent and responsible citizens of the community. The name Ethembeni means "Place of Hope" and the motto Phila Ufunde - Live and Learn.
To learn more about this project visit: www.septemberbliss.org/projects.html or www.deondejongh.com
Grateful and sincere thanks to all for supporting this much needed incentive.
Greece - Athens
Hi Maureen
I finally decided to write in and introduce the South African contingent in Greece.
South Africans have started to leave their mark in Greece as well.
Here in athens we have established an association/organization SAIG - South Africans in Greece. We are legal having had our constitution approved in the Greek courts and have also been registered as the newest members of the PanAfrican organisation whose members include most of the North African countries who have Greek residents.
Our association tries to keep the South African Ethos alive in Europe. I think we are doing a good job. We have close to 200 family members. We have close links with the Ambassador and his wife Mr and Mrs Momberg who welcome us regularly into their home for our coffee meetings. The Ambassador started an African Food and Craft Festival in 2001. This annual event attracts close to 12 african countries who come and display their wares, their cullinary delicacies and music. The event is held in the beautiful residence of the ambassadorial couple in the heart of a huge green garden. All proceeds go to UNICEF. The SAIG is hugely involved in the festivals coordination together with the tireless efforts of the embassy staff.
YOU CAN TAKE THE SOUTH AFRICAN OUT OF AFRICA, BUT YOU CANNOT TAKE AFRICA
OUT OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN.
If you decide to include this in the next Newsletter I would like to say hi to all my friends whom I left behind over 6 years ago...
Perhaps I can fill you in on our news here from the Post Olympic city - Athens, from time to time.
Regards
Chrissoula Gavalakis-Voulgaris
naf4547@ath.forthnet.gr
Australia – Perth
.jpg) Hi Maureen
Could you advertise Steve Hofmeyr who is in Perth, Australia on 27 July 2005, for us please. I have attached a poster which you could place if possible please
Thanks
JJ Meyer
CONCERT COORDINATOR
3/148 Cambridge Street
Leederville
Perth , WA 6007
Tel: +27 8 93816881 Mb +422223453
(details are in the image)
Thanks to everyone!
This from gaspinler@juno.com
I want to thank all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me your chain letters over the past two years. Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy.
Because of your concern...
I no longer can drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.
I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.
I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.
I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.
I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our troops.
I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a stupid number for which I will get the phone bill from hell with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.
I no longer eat prepackaged foods because the estrogens they contain will turn me gay.
I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.
I no longer go to bars because someone will drug me and take my kidneys and leave me taking a nap in a bathtub full of ice.
Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an email to 7 of my friends and make a wish within 5 minutes.
I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl who has been dying for the past seven years.
I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.
I will now return the favour.
If you don't send this e-mail to at least 1200 people in the next 60 seconds, a large bird with diarrhoea will fly over your head at 5:00 pm and the fleas of a thousand camels will infest your armpits. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of a friend of a friend's neighbour’s cousin, and he's a lawyer.
George Carlin as his best
This from Des Cowie
George Carlin's Views on Aging
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half; You're four and a half, going on five!
That's the key.
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13; but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life... you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony... YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40.
Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE IT to 60. You didn't think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE IT to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you REACH 4:30; you MAKE IT to bedtime.
And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92!"
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
Chairman Mao
More from Des
• Sex is like air. It's not important unless you aren't getting any.
• No one is listening until you fart.
• Good judgment comes from bad experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
• A closed mouth gathers no foot.
• Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving.
• No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.
• Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
A priest...
This from Mike Preston
A priest was seated next to a South African on a flight to Cape Town. After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken. The South African asked for a rum and Coke, which was brought and placed before him.
The flight attendant then asked the priest if he would like a drink.
He replied in disgust,
"I'd rather be savagely raped by a dozen brazen and naked whores than let liquor touch my lips."
The South African then handed his drink back to the attendant and said "Me too. I didn't know we had a choice."
Here is a recipe from my files for those of you who either like making their own chutney or can’t get to buy Mrs Balls!
Apricot and Raisin Chutney
1 ½ lb dried apricots
1 qt hot water
juice of 1 lemon and the cut up lemon peel
10 large garlic cloves
1 large onion - chopped fine
1 3" piece of fresh ginger
1 ¼ c vinegar - (see note at bottom)
1 lb sugar - (see note at bottom)
¼ - 1 tsp salt
¼ tsp cayenne
1 c raisins
Makes 5 lbs. Rinse and put the apricots in a bowl with the hot water, lemon juice and peel. Leave to soak for 4 hours. Chop the garlic. Peel and chop the ginger. Blend the garlic and ginger with a little of the vinegar until smooth.
Put the apricots with their soakings water, the onions, the ginger and garlic mixture into a preserving saucepan with the rest of the vinegar. Add the sugar, salt and cayenne. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add the raisins and continue cooking until the chutney thickens and begins to turn shiny.
Pack into hot clean jars, cover, process and cool.
Note: I use brown sugar and regular raisins for a dark chutney - I use white sugar and golden raisins for a golden chutney. I don't blend the garlic and ginger mixture - I simply mince very small or put through a garlic press. You can substitute dried ginger for fresh ginger. You can use apple cider vinegar in this recipe. I use a gas cooktop - and I cook the simmer the mixture with a simmer plate between the pot and the burners. Be sure you use a heavy bottomed pan - to prevent scorching or burning. PS: I always refrigerate the chutney after opening the jar.
Chavhanga remains humble [iafrica.com]
Springbok wing Tonderai Chavhanga was keeping his feet firmly on the ground following his record-breaking effort against the unfortunate Uruguayans in East London on Saturday.
http://sport.iafrica.com/news/449745.htm
Scheckter surges to Texas IRL win [BBC]
South Africa's Tomas Scheckter won the Indy Racing League Bombardier Learjet 500 at Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/4084930.stm
D'Oliveira 'proud' to get honour [BBC]
Former England Test cricketer Basil D'Oliveira has been awarded the CBE in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/4078158.stm
New hope for F1 in South Africa? [PitPass]
Between 1962 and 1985, South Africa hosted a round of the Formula One World Championship, then, other than two further Grands Prix (1992 and 1993), F1 appeared to turn its back on the country that not only gave it (1979) World Champion, Jody Scheckter, but also witnessed the first ever appearance of an F1 car running with tobacco signage.
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=24688
| Credits and Contact Info |
TOP |
South Africans Worldwide - SAWmail Copyright © 1998 - 2005 Maesti
Editor: Maureen Cram
Copy Manager: Maureen Cram
Contributors: Everyone!
Web Development:Wizard
Post Master: Grokker
Bandwidth: All You Can Eat
SAWmail - An Internet service brought to you by Maesti. Web development by THOS:
Web: http://www.saw.co.za
E-mail: editor@saw.co.za
Tel: +27 11 708-2632
Fax: +27 11 708-2632
| Subscribing and Unsubscribing |
TOP |
SAWmail is only sent to subscribers and is never sent unsolicited
Please forward this message onto a friend!
Visit the link below to join up to SAWmail (subscribe):
http://thos.mojo.jtm.co.za/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi?f=list&l=sawmailhtml
You're receiving this newsletter because you signed up to get it.
If you prefer, alas, not to receive email from us, you can unsubscribe
from SAWmail by visiting the link below: (un-subscribe):
http://thos.mojo.jtm.co.za/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi?f=list&l=sawmailhtml
If you are having any technical problems with SAWmail, please send a message to: editor@saw.co.za
For advertising enquiries please contact us via e-mail: editor@saw.co.za
|
