Continue general discussion here. The other one reached over 1000 posts! Whoops!

-thryve

Hola seeven! or is it hola 1000? or hova 1000?

Good god I say the stupidest things when Im babalas, I must never come online when im like that

all I can say Enigma is a total fucker. he is posting the biggest pile of shit on the other forums and seems to be on a one man crusade against SA. South Africa is better off without twats like him.

Exactly... atleast he's not posting in our section. By his standards, we're all a lost cause here, 'cos we love South Africa...

all I can say Enigma is a total fucker. he is posting the biggest pile of shit on the other forums and seems to be on a one man crusade against SA. South Africa is better off without twats like him.
enigma isnt stupid...his perspective on south africa has changed quite drastically possibly due to a single incident or his bf who seems to be a large influence...i dont mind him having an opinion...but coming to these forums and filling it with neegative articles...that i dont agree with. he is free to post what he likes in the other forums.

true anyway I would rather not talk about him . Mo I wanted to ask you about your trip to langebaan. What are your impressions of the Langebaan/West Coast? Is it nice? Are the beaches good? And is it worth a trip?

true anyway I would rather not talk about him . Mo I wanted to ask you about your trip to langebaan. What are your impressions of the Langebaan/West Coast? Is it nice? Are the beaches good? And is it worth a trip?
i did post pics in the cape town gallery section...i think langebaan and the west coast is like this big secret thats developing really fast especially in the last ten years. the last time i was there was about 8 years ago..and the entire coast has suddenly sprung up...theres definitely a whole lot happening there...its very quiet and serene and its not noisy or anything like that..but theres definitely something special about the place...i considered buying this boat there even if i knew nothing about boats...if i had the cash id buy or build a home up on the hills overlooking the ocean...there are soo many holiday homes there..i definitely suggest you go there someday...if youre looking for a peaceful relaxing time its definitely the place to go...as for the beaches..the water is pretty cold as you would expect but i enjoyed stepping out from the place i was staying in onto the beach...and another place i stayed at in the pics those white apartments are also pretty cool with its own little beach as well...

Yeah, I lke the west coast. It has a kinda iberian feel to it, a gem in the rough. The lagoon is splendid, great for watersports. And the seafood is in abundance and cheap.
Property prices have also increased dramatically inline with that of Cape Town.

Screw the West Coast, the East Coast was kicking this past weekend, Vodacom Beach Africa was happening, I thought the July weekend was great! this weekend was better! the beach was awesome on Sat night, the vibe the woman, everything just perfect, one BIG joll, then Vacca had a club on the beach (i heard), then the Virginia Airshow was hectic, with a Lambo racing a jet & other stuff. So much to talk about.
I really feel like a dickhead for forgeting my camera on Sun. I couldnt get pics of the jets with my mobile cause they were flying so freeken fast.

Anyones been to Pav in the evening lately? Its like a crech there! Kids everywhere! I hooked up with this one chick last night, turns out she was 17! she looked 20 tho

I think the whole point of the west coast is that it is quiet and less crowded/overdeveloped than the east coast so people would view the fact that beach africa was not happening there as an advantage!!!

I think the whole point of the west coast is that it is quiet and less crowded/overdeveloped than the east coast so people would view the fact that beach africa was not happening there as an advantage!!!
true. its quite perfect the way it is.

Thank goodness, I've been advocating this for ages.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=105&art_id=vn20060712112543613C459663

By Candes Keating

Learning maths and science in a second or third language has resulted in a large number of black pupils failing or dropping these school subjects, said researchers at the Project For The Study of Alternative Education in South Africa on Tuesday.

The researchers have compiled the first Xhosa dictionaries to focus on chemistry, biology, mathematics and technology terms.

"Mathematics is difficult when you are not learning it in your mother tongue," said researcher Keith Welman. "Hexagon, pentagon are big words. Some of these terms are even difficult for English-speaking pupils.

"This is why black children drop maths and why others perform below par."

With the introduction of the dictionaries as a resource in maths and science classrooms, teachers will now also be able to explain terms in Xhosa.

Researcher Zola Wababa said that although there were some Xhosa maths and science terms used by teachers and pupils, they were never standardised.

Wababa said they had to coin most of the terms and standardised the ones being used.

Compiling the dictionaries took almost three years. The natural science dictionary, which focuses on chemistry, biology and technology, consists of more than 3 500 terms.

The researchers said English terms were broken down, carefully studied, translated into Xhosa and explained.

The dictionaries were trilingual, they said, with terms explained in Xhosa, English and Afrikaans.

Xhosa must be used as a language of teaching and assessment in order to improve maths and science results at black schools, said Wababa.

"Some teachers say language is not an issue because maths and science focus on symbols. But you need language to explain symbols," he said.

Wababa said they tested the dictionaries on a group of teachers, who used it as a teaching tool in their lessons, and "had a good response".

The natural science dictionary is currently being printed.

Wababa said the researchers hoped the dictionaries would be implemented at schools in 2006 but were still negotiating with the Western Cape education department.

"This project is complimentary for mother-tongue-based bilingual education," said Wababa.

Very true. Its not necessarily that blacks students are 'stupid' becuase the matric pass rate is so low. Its got much to do with the fact that they get their schooling in a different language, and thus not only have to learn the target material, but also have to master the language of instruction and or the textbook language.

Hopefully the pass rate picks up in KZN now, but isnt there more Zulu's in KZN than Xhosa's?

Guys, this is a highly explosive topic right now, but very important for the whole world. Oil prices for one will fly out of the window.

But do you think a fullscale war might break out in the MidEast? And could this turn into a WW3? It has all the potential for it. America will be dragged into it, should Syria and Iran join in. The Arab world & Turkey will be put in a very difficult position. Terror attacks will erupt across the world. Iraq & Afghanistan will explode as the rebels there will resurge and run amock. Kashmir on the border, is a boiling pot with India & Pakistan maintaining an uneasy peace.
Because of America being distracted on all sides in the MidEast & thus at its most vulnerable; the 2 Koreas & Japan might go at it. And China could take its chance at grabbing Taiwan.
These are indeed a very scary possibilities....shit, I should get outta here!

^^All possibilities, well if it does happen I hope SA dont jump on the band wagon & send troops to fight cos then that country will send troops to invade us, then we all dead, I think you being in Seoul are more vonerouble :D

HarkerB please could you remove that tag line from your post thing as some might be very offended and it is not really a suitable topic for our thread anyway.Cheers.

Man, some crazy shit going on in the Israeli and Lebanese forums. The people are really getting personal and political... some threads have been closed. I reckon we're all concerned, but I don't think we should get involved in political discussions of such volatile things.

hey i live here in the middle east and flew back from london last night to see that it seems pretty calm on this side

I have friends/relatives in tel aviv and they have had no problems. The whole thing is being blown out of proportion: I dont think all out war will happen. Besides it is not really a topic for this forum thank god!!!

I have friends/relatives in tel aviv and they have had no problems. The whole thing is being blown out of proportion: I dont think all out war will happen. Besides it is not really a topic for this forum thank god!!!

my friend is on holiday in israel ..he is fine.

SOUTH AFRICA TOPS THE HOTELS

Top 100 Hotels Overall
Rank Last Year Name 2006
Score
1 2 Singita Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa 97.56
2 1 Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan 96.11
3 n/a Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur, India 94.28
4 6 The Peninsula, Bangkok 94.03
5 8 Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay 93.59
6 3 Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur, India 93.50
7 53 Ritz-Carlton Bali Resort & Spa 93.18
8 46 Inverlochy Castle, Fort William, Scotland 92.86
9 11 The Oriental, Bangkok 92.40
10 n/a Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur, India 91.79

Top 25 Hotels in Africa and the Middle East
Rank Last Year Name 2006
Score
1 1 Singita Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa 97.56
2 n/a Chief’s Camp, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana 90.53
3 n/a Mombo Camp, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana 90.39
4 6 MalaMala Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa 90.00
5 2 Kichwa Tembo, Masai Mara, Kenya 89.83
6 n/a Kirawira Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania 89.74
7 n/a Phinda Private Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 89.25
8 3 Cape Grace, Cape Town 89.01
9 n/a Chobe Chilwero Lodge, Chobe National Park, Botswana 88.54
10 12 Royal Livingstone, Livingstone, Zambia 88.04
11 4 Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa 87.00
12 15 Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town 86.98
13 n/a Four Seasons Hotel, Amman, Jordan 86.87
14 9 Londolozi Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa 86.86
15 5 Mount Kenya Safari Club, Nanyuki, Kenya 86.74
16 n/a Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at the First Residence 86.58
17 8 Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, Tanzania 85.25
18 n/a Grace in Rosebank, Johannesburg 85.15
19 10 Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza 84.77
20 7 Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town 84.35
21 n/a Ritz-Carlton, Doha, Qatar 83.75
22 23 La Mamounia, Marrakesh 83.59
23 n/a Grand Hyatt, Dubai 83.25
24 19 Mara Serena Safari Lodge, Masai Mara, Kenya 82.73
25 n/a Michelangelo Hotel, Johannesburg 82.69

Cape Town hotels are taking a beating (only The Mount Nelson Hotel improved), proof that Eco-tourism is becoming more and more popular the world over. Once upon-a-time The Cape Grace was the best in the World. Jo'burg Hotels have made the list - well done.

I have been lucky enough to stay at -

Phinda Private Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Cape Grace, Cape Town
Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town
Londolozi Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa
Grace in Rosebank, Johannesburg
Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town
Michelangelo Hotel, Johannesburg

South African hotels are amongst the best in the World.

At R8000 a night per person at Singita Private Game Reserve, It has to be number 1.

That place is magic, we're the engineers for that place.

Regarding that whole Isreali-lebanon thing, its getting pretty serious, just had alook at the front page of the mercury, & USA is obviously going to step in soon, with there nuc's, I pray to god it doesnt get ugly.

Has anyone been to Jeffrey's Bay? I've never visited but I am interested in knowing more about that city. What is the weather/demographics/crime/nightlife like? And are any of the surfer dudes who hit the beaches there gay?

Dude, first of all, J-Bay ain't no city. It is a relatively small town about an hour's drive from the city of Port Elizabeth. It is stretched out quite long, with one main road, which can be very congested in summer when holidaymakers in their SUVs and 4x4s hit the town. For the rest of the year the place is quite sleepy, though there are a few good night spots. Naturally, surfing is very big here and the surfer dudes are hot hot hot. And in my experience, the only difference between a straight surfer dude and a gay surfer dude is about six pints of lager...

theres a new wait for it "eco" estate in jbay read it in a newspaper the other due to the booming property price but apart from that jbay is really small good for surfers or u could just head to kzn

Jbay......ya, cant remember much about the place, got drunk like hell there, met some lesbo surfer chicks tho, ..........good times :)

Dude, first of all, J-Bay ain't no city. It is a relatively small town about an hour's drive from the city of Port Elizabeth. It is stretched out quite long, with one main road, which can be very congested in summer when holidaymakers in their SUVs and 4x4s hit the town. For the rest of the year the place is quite sleepy, though there are a few good night spots. Naturally, surfing is very big here and the surfer dudes are hot hot hot. And in my experience, the only difference between a straight surfer dude and a gay surfer dude is about six pints of lager...
oh my word..i cudnt agree with you more...especially regarding the surfers..def good times durbsboi...

Jbay......ya, cant remember much about the place, got drunk like hell there, met some lesbo surfer chicks tho, ..........good times :)

Lesbians are the salt of the earth...

St fancis bay is far better than Jbay and only 20 odd mins away

What's all this I hear about surfer boys? Honestly... is it true what I hear? ;)

I think I need to give this six pints of lager a try... Wine might work too. One gets quite frisky after a few glasses. :kiss:

^^^do they... :)

interesting read guys!!!



One South African, one holiday home

David Carte

Posted: Mon, 03 Jul 2006 08:00 | © Moneyweb Holdings Limited, 1997-2006


"Call some place paradise, Kiss it goodbye"

The quotation is from "The Last Resort", the Eagles' moving lament of the despoilation of the American West by people who "raped the land" by building "ugly boxes".

It is highly applicable to South Africa today.

The sorriest example here might be Jeffreys Bay. In front of arguably the best surfing tubes in the world is a hideous town replete with some of the worst architecture in the world.

It's a jumble of large angular structures of concrete, glass and steel, unrelieved by vegetation, dreamed up by the successful panel beaters of Pretoria.

This process is going on from Saldanha Bay on the west coast, across the Cape winelands and even into the newly fashionable Karoo.

Thanks to moneyed Philistines from Joburg, Plettenberg Bay and Knysna are becoming carbuncles on lovely seaside settings. Their traffic jams during the season equal those of northern Johannesburg. Traffic on the N2 motorway howls incessantly, disturbing loeries in the few remaining yellowwoods nearby.

Umhlanga Rocks is quickly becoming a replica of Durban's high-rise "Golden Mile" 10km away. The latter, which destroyed some truly lovely tropical beaches in the 1950s and 1960s, is now tired and rundown. Soon Umhlanga will be over-shadowed by a 40-storey slab, the Pearls of Umhlanga.

Meanwhile mere kilometres away Tongaat subsidiary, Moreland, is bulldozing lush green cane fields to make way for more hotels, flats, shopping malls and golf estates.

Durban hopes its Point Waterfront development will attract millionaires to displace the scallywags who ripped my wife's diamond pendant off her neck near the derelict Wheel shopping centre in Point Rd last year.

I am told by people in private banking circles that the greater portion of all those in SA who personally have net assets of R100m are property developers.

In the five years since the SA property market really took off, the pickings have been rich. Thousands of townhouse complexes, cluster houses, walled villages, waterfronts, casinos and hotels have sprung up. Billions have been made. No wonder Tongaat and now AECI find property more interesting than, respectively, sugar and explosives.

So many really expensive leisure properties are up for sale; one wonders where the buyers will come from.

The images last Sunday on Carte Blanche, M-Net's programme named after this column, were startling. Illegal holiday cottages on the Wild Coast were being bulldozed.

The Eastern Cape conservation authorities have put their foot down on naughty people who, for a case of scotch, bought "authority" from local chiefs to build their dream palaces on pristine beaches.

Meantime, just inland, the N2 highway is being blasted through the rolling green hills of what was once called the Transkei. The great hope is that the road connecting Durban and East London will give Eastern Cape tourism a shot in the arm.

That implies hotels and perhaps holiday homes will yet be authorised, rendering the Wild Coast tame. Watch the rugby scrum for development rights, not to mention the slipped passes of large parcels of money to people in strategic places.

Government has already voiced its disquiet over some of these trends. It has placed a moratorium on golf course development.

Government's main objection, so far, seems to be that these developments perpetuate apartheid through economic means. It is less concerned about the environmental impact.

Do we need control? Those who already have holiday homes are probably most in favour of control. You build your little ugly box then advocate that others should not be able to do the same because they might spoil your view.

The Nat government saw that good farmland was being rendered useless by tax-dodging city-boy farmers and other dilettantes. Some provinces forbade the sub-division of farms to counter the threat. Others require developers to submit need and desirability and environmental impact studies.

These safeguards are being bypassed or rolled back, however, as property developers assure provincial authorities that golf estates and the like will generate employment.

The simplest solution would be to permit development not in, but near, pristine areas. In other words, we should stop people buying a mountain and perching their dream house on top. But we should permit them to build in a cluster of such homes five or 10km away, so that the pristine area is not destroyed and yet the holiday home owner can still walk, cycle or ride a horse (no quad-bikes!) there.

Consideration could be given to limiting the size and visual impact of holiday properties.

The market might yet be the great leveller. One day many people will discover that having a multi-million rand home for just four or five weeks a year is uneconomical. Given the huge impending supply of these properties, we are unlikely again to see four or five-fold appreciations in the next five years.

A holiday home obliges one to take one's holidays in the same place year after year. Given these pressures, many owners might place their homes into syndication or sectional title arrangements. If and when that happens, the market might soften and development slow.

If it doesn't happen, perhaps we can find another place to desecrate - how about Mozambique or Angola?

St fancis bay is far better than Jbay and only 20 odd mins away
my best friends dad owns the bakery there..or one of them..spent a few days there...was cool.

So who are these guys in Jeffrey's Bay? East Cape locals? Transplants from the Western Cape? Should I ever bother going man-hunting in Jeffrey's Bay sometime, or is it better to just go straight (no pun intended) to Cape Town? And are the people who live in Jeffrey's Bay wealthy?

U guys turning "Jbay" into "GayBay"

We certainly are, Durbsboi, we certainly are.

Guys,A while ago there was a website that you could go to to calculate how many countries you had been to and what % of the eath this constituted. Anyone remember where it was or what it was called?

We certainly are, Durbsboi, we certainly are.
its unintentional.

People, normally I would keep quiet about the content of other forumers' posts, but I'm afraid this time I'm gonna have to speak my mind. I think it is completely distasteful, inappropriate and offensive to have the words "Hitler Died Prematurely" at the bottom of a post, and to have this at the bottom of every post by this one forumer is reflecting very badly on us all.

What the fuck is the point in complaining about the BB painting the statue in Pretoria and about the racist ringtone that's been doing the rounds, when such a terrible statement is allowed to go unhindered time and again?

I'm not trying to make an enemy here, but I think it is out of order to post things like that, or calling for Hizbollah to destroy Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and I have to express my opinion here.

Sorry if my comment tarnishes the goodwill that we share in our forums, but I really am unhappy with this.

Sorry to change the serious mood here (but perhaps this is necessary to lighten things up), but just when I thought the Boks defeat against the Aussies was as low as you could go, I came across this....

---------------------

Cricket team all out for a duck

July 26 2006 at 09:16AM

A village cricket team came close to setting an unwanted record after ten batsmen were out - for a duck.

Not one of Goldsborough 2nds 11 players scored a single run - although they did clock up five extras.

Their opponents quickly rattled off the six runs needed for a win and the game was over, reports the Sun.

Table-topping Dishforth were expected to beat bottom-placed Goldsborough in the Nidderdale Amateur League, North Yorkshire.

So it was no surprise when they got the first wicket in the second over - but the wickets carried on falling until the last went in the 12th over.

Dishforth captain Steve Wilson, 29, said: “If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have thought it possible.”

Goldsborough captain Peter Horseman said: “It was surreal and embarrassing. We almost got a run, but the batsman turned it down because he’d just been hit on the foot.”

Dishforth sportingly started their innings with their lesser batsmen - and the first one also made nought.

Cricketing bible Wisden said: “It’s one of the lowest scores ever.” - Ananova.com

http://iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=29&art_id=iol1153897239636C623

i never noticed that in anyones posts...

Which poster is doing this? I didn't notice it.

Which poster is doing this? I didn't notice it.
same i didnt notice anything

I noticed it as well. all the more worrying as it is from a certain member who has changed their tag line to something anti isreali and on the africa thread stated that he wished a giant earthquake would kill all isrealis. I found it disgusting. I dont mind people who disagree with isreal but people who are disgustingly anti semitic should be banned.

I noticed it as well. all the more worrying as it is from a certain member who has changed their tag line to something anti isreali and on the africa thread stated that he wished a giant earthquake would kill all isrealis. I found it disgusting. I dont mind people who disagree with isreal but people who are disgustingly anti semitic should be banned.
true. there simply isnt room on these forums for those people. am i seeing our first tribunal to ban a member...how will it work? we create a poll? who intervenes? lol...does he just get a warning?

No, don't ban. He has made some very useful contributions to the forum. But let's find a way of persuading him to stop using signatures that offend. Apparently Hitler is the name of his dog, and he's now added that explanation to his tag. But that doesn't make it right or excuseable, not at this late stage, after the damage has been done.

I've noticed it too and find it immature and offensive. He's entitled to his views but this forum is not the place to express them.

Who are we talking about here? Sorry I'm abit lost

look at the tshwane statue thread durbsboi.

ok, now I know

gosh thryve is pretty quiet...where is a moderator when u need one.

SA's lowest total at a test match! 169 all out!

pathetic!

South Africa 1st Innings:

Herschelle Gibbs b Fernando 19
Andrew Hall b Fernando 17
Jacques Rudolph c P.Jayawardene b Maharoof 29
Hashim Amla st. P.Jayawardene b Muralitharan 19
Ashwell Prince c P.Jayawardene b Maharoof 1
AB de Villiers c Kapugedera b Muralitharan 65
Mark Boucher c Jayasuriya b Muralitharan 4
Nicky Boje lbw b Muralitharan 5
Andre Nel lbw b Fernando 0
Dale Steyn b Fernando 0
Makhaya Ntini not out 0

Extras (4b, 6lb) 10

TOTAL: 169 all out

Overs: 50.2

Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-45, 3-78, 4-80, 5-112, 6-128, 7-148, 8-151 9-151, 10-169.

Bowling: Lasith Malinga 10-2-38-0, Ferveez Maharoof 9-1-32-2, Dilhara Fernando 13-2-48-4, Muttiah Muralitharan 18.2-6-41-4.

City producer nominated for Emmy
A dash of South African culture will be added to this year's dazzling Emmy Awards after a Cape Town documentary film maker was nominated for a prestigious award. It was announced last Sunday that Francois Verster's documentary A Lion's Trail was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Cultural and Artistic Programming category by the US National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
The hour-long feature tells the story of Zulu musician Solomon Linda who composed Mbube but was exploited by the international recording industry.

The song became the inspiration for The Lion Sleeps Tonight, which raked in millions of dollars, but Verster said Linda reaped no benefits from its success.

"I wanted to make a film that went into the deeper story and touched on how Africa is exploited by the West. It's amazing how it directly made a difference and helped the cause significantly."

Verster said that the nomination was "great news" after battling to complete the project. He said it took three years to get funding.

A Lion's Trail has already won awards at the Portobello Film Festival, Stone Awards and Zanzibar Film Festival.

Durban's Rocky pop band set for big time

Love Jones to rock Cape Town
July 27, 2006

By Jane Mayne

Levi'sVintage Sundays have returned with another showcase of homegrown talent at the Green Dolphin this weekend. The intimate venue is currently offering personalised performances with both budding starlets and established names.

One of the upcoming highlights will be Durban's Love Jones, who team up with The Rudimentals on Sunday.

If Love Jones's energetic self-titled début album is anything to go by, this band is going to be one of the most exciting rock acts to appear on the South African music landscape this year. At the heart of the Love Jones machine is vocalist Esjay, a talented rock diva who collaborated with Tree63 drummer Darryl Swart a few years back.

The duo were due to snap up a record deal in the United States, but Esjay was refused a visa, and years later Love Jones is the lucky outfit to snap her up for their frontline.

Esjay sums up the band: "Love Jones is unique. A lot of bands in this country strive to be other international acts. We're not trying to be anything.

Our music can't be put in a box. It's very special because there isn't anything like us in the country - a female-fronted rocky pop band. Peter and I are guitarists and we carry the same weight on our shoulders. It's quite a nice element."

The group started recording unusually soon after first meeting.

"It was just Peter and me. After we met, so much creativity came out of it that by the time we found the other guys to form Love Jones, we had enough material for an album. So in June last year we started recording, which took a long seven months
."

The band recorded with David Birch, who also produced and
engineered the album.

With the prospect of full-time touring on the cards, drummer Antony bade farewell.

"We've got a new drummer, Mike Goddard (ex-Perez). The band has just become its own. You have to come see us live. It's fun, but there are still serious undertones. We're not a bunch of shallow people. We are concerned about what's going on around us. Since Mike joined the band, everyone has been writing. The process is so creative and the stuff is snowballing from there."

Love Jones has just been signed by Sheer Music, and they also signed an American management deal.

"The guys we signed with are extremely well connected. The lawyer has been involved with the likes of Iggy Pop and he's in the process of signing a Britney Spears deal. We want to get a major deal so that we're permanently based there."

Love Jones's Cape Town schedule includes an electric set at the
Independent Armchair on Friday and an acoustic gig at the Green Dolphin this Sunday.

Levi Strauss's Mike Leslie expands: "For us it's all about musical performances. We haven't boxed our artist selection into genre or style, but have rather gone for acts that create something original, and who have the charisma and personality to get a crowd rocking."

# To book for the free Levi's Vintage Sundays at The Green
Dolphin, call 021 421 7471.

oh god all our sportsmen are pissed this year!!!!!

oh god all our sportsmen are pissed this year!!!!!
amen to that

Not looking good, Sri Lanka moving along quickly......

Why oh why did they choose Ashwell Prince as Captain, thats the biggest mystery I'm trying to solve! they had Pollock, Boucher, Kallis, & some other guys as vice Cpt before, & no the guy who performs the worst becomes Captain? Whats up with that?

I give you one guess..............

I give you one guess..............
What's that? Because he's coloured? Well, dont start with that. Most white guys pretty much sucked, yet they were given ample opportunities, irrespective of their performances on the pitch. This guy stood in as captain on the SA A team before. Not only is about time he gets a shot at leading the national team, but the 'white should rule'-mentality must stop.

he has been in the runs and has A Team experience as captain. But I also have to ask, whats the point of having a Vice Captain if you never use him when the captain is not around. Surely VC means the second best person to lead a team ?

What's that? Because he's coloured? Well, dont start with that. Most white guys pretty much sucked, yet they were given ample opportunities, irrespective of their performances on the pitch. This guy stood in as captain on the SA A team before. Not only is about time he gets a shot at leading the national team, but the 'white should rule'-mentality must stop.
No its got nothing to do with colour! in sport as a person of colour I feel the player should be chosen or made captain by their previous performances or their qualitys, Prince is good on his day. its a pitty he hasnt had much good days while playing for SA, I watched in provincial level way before he got selected to play for SA, & he was flippin awesome, a real batsmen, he was made for test matches so to is Hashim Amla, but looks like his surffering from the same bug as Ashwell, on the day they dont seem to hit top form.

Last season Amla made an excess of 250 runs in the final of the supersport series match in 1 innings, his avg for the tournament was mind blowing, it was way over 50 runs per innings. I just hope they get it right in the 2nd test, last I heard gibbs got out, C'mon boys, just stand there & poke!

prince is a good player but making runs does not make you a captain. and he has not even made that many runs at internationals. I have been watching this test and prince has been TOTALLY out of his depth. .

like solly in the test against the ABs?

gosh thryve is pretty quiet...where is a moderator when u need one.

I work my ass off all over these forums.

^^Yeh right :eat:

depends what he means by "working my ass"! Her hormones have been running crazy lately.

So are you guys calling me a bad moderator now?

^^ I think you're a wicked cool moderator who keeps the forum more clean and spiffy than anyone else could. :)

And your signature is totally rad.

^^ I think you're a wicked cool moderator who keeps the forum more clean and spiffy than anyone else could. :)

And your signature is totally rad.
joburg:and i love sucking up to the mod.

Oh no Mo. I wanna be just like you, because you're like a little ball of sunshine.

:cheer:

lol... sucking up the mod? Mo... who would be low enough to do that?

Thanks with regards to the sig. The colours were inspired by the H&M clothing store on Yonge in Toronto, which I have a soft spot for. The teal and red are an unlikely combination but work so well on that store. The poetry is replaced time to time, but always represents something in my life.

Tom (Joburg) has always supported my work as moderator, and it sure feels good to have that. There isn't much to do but watch out for fights, trolls and spam, and keep a sense of organization.

I would say that we are among the most organized sections on SSC.

lol... sucking up the mod? Mo... who would be low enough to do that?

Thanks with regards to the sig. The colours were inspired by the H&M clothing store on Yonge in Toronto, which I have a soft spot for. The teal and red are an unlikely combination but work so well on that store. The poetry is replaced time to time, but always represents something in my life.

Tom (Joburg) has always supported my work as moderator, and it sure feels good to have that. There isn't much to do but watch out for fights, trolls and spam, and keep a sense of organization.

I would say that we are among the most organized sections on SSC.

and the nominess for best mod are...?

^^ What??

My H&M clothes always rip within a year. I have never had this problem with any other merchant. Now I know why H&M is so "affordable"!

I don't keep clothes for a full year, even, so it's not problem. With H&M you just have to be ready to pay a low price, and get new ones regularly. That works for me.

But yeah, the quality's crrrap.

YDE quality is crap too.

They have some excellent designs, but some of their clothes go crap after about six months.

and the nominess for best mod are...?
Can there be a best mod? :scouserd:

YDE quality is crap too.

They have some excellent designs, but some of their clothes go crap after about six months.
Thas y I stick to surf products bru, they xpensiv but they last, every looks funny @ me in the office, cos I'm the only guy wearing the "lost", "quicksilver" & "billabong" shirts :D. Oh i got the occasional pringle & jeep tho, but I save those for the meetings with the hot woman architect :naughty:

thryve seems to get a lot of stick from some but he does a thankless task well.

Boardie brands are not for the office dude!

Boardie brands are not for the office dude!
true...depends though what the office rules are..YDE has crap quality..abercrombie, guess and polo is what ive been buying..good quality..def not a labels person though..mr. price def makes awesome cheap shorts..not so sure about the rest of their clothes...

abercrombie quality is not good! the shirts fall apart after a few washes too. and guess...u pay for the name there only. polo does have good quality tho

I for one know not of the brands of which you guys speak. Chinos and a crisp cotton shirt is the extent of my style!!!!

......

and possibly a fleece in the winter!!!

Is it snowing in Sandton ?

From the lurker :lurker: everyone loves to hate ^^ (somehow the posts jumped)

---------------------------------------------

"...Love ENIGMA

I designed this for a product launch - a new drink called BITCH (and yes, it is me in the pic)"

http://i.pbase.com/o4/07/617107/1/64412490.SI7q4EW1.bitchtattooface2.jpg [/QUOTE]

---------------------------------------------

LoL..Enigma is not an enigma anymore. He has short fingers! Jeez dolla, if you were lesbian, you'd have had a hard time satisfying your gal with those little endowments!! :rofl: :banana2:

LoL..Enigma is not an enigma anymore. He has short fingers! Jeez dolla, if you were lesbian, you'd have had a hard time satisfying your gal with those little endowments!! :rofl: :banana2:

Oh come on Sweety - you can do better than that :) I am gay and I even know that a woman's G-Spot is her clitoris - not the deeper you go and besides, why use your finger when you have better equipment to do it with. Now if it was you in that position, I will be shoving my fist up your arse so don't fret :)

Aaaah gross, can we change the subject ;)

P.S my fingers do look like stubbies :eek2:

abercrombie quality is not good! the shirts fall apart after a few washes too. and guess...u pay for the name there only. polo does have good quality tho
abercrombie has always been a much higher quality for me than YDE. guess, well because their jeans and tops fit me well in comparison to others.

Boardie brands are not for the office dude!
HEY, I'm drawing office manager, I can wear what I want, my minions have to suffer, Moohahahaha, Moohahahaha :scouserd:

Ya my dad also shouts me for looking like an idoit, but hey I'm technically "still a kid", my boss gives a rats ass, as long as the works done.

Maybe I should get more sophisticated?, Start wearing a shirt &..... TIE! :bash:

Is it snowing in Sandton ?
Yes it is snowing in Sandton yesterday, reports of 20cm of snow falling!!!
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g160/amgosai/snOw.jpg

:hilarious

Now heres pics from Sutherland yesterday, I have to go to this place, In summer, its the hottest place u can be (besides Limpopo valley) & in Winter its the freeken coldest!
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g160/amgosai/snow_SA.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g160/amgosai/snow_SA2.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g160/amgosai/snow_SA3.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g160/amgosai/snow_SA4.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g160/amgosai/snow_SA5.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g160/amgosai/snow_SA6.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g160/amgosai/snow_SA7.jpg

We all in Durb's were boiling yesterday, whilst the whole country was freezing their arse out :D............but the cold fronts just reached us :(

Yep, it is cold all over almost. My mom tells me that the Lootsberg Pass between Middelburg and Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape has been closed to traffic due to heavy snowfalls and ice on the road.

we cant wait to get back and have a bit of fresh weather. Its 45today so a bit cooler than most days with humidity around 90%. Looking foward to some crisp cape wind and some fine durban winter days.
However I was skiing last week in the mall so even we have real atificial snow here.

Snow? What's that? Sorry, one of the reasons I left Toronto was so that I never ever have to see or hear about that fluffy white stuff.

LOL yes, winter in Toronto can be quite miserable.

There's also a really majestic side to it though, walking around... and I like winter fashions, and wearing cozy warm scarfs and hats...

But all the snow piled up at the side of the sidewalk, often really really dirty/muddy snow... ugh.

That's why springtime in Toronto is like... 'da best'!!!

Yahhhh it was snowing in Joburg yesterday. Very little snow, but it was defo snow cos it wasn't wet like sleet. Gave us all a fabulous excuse to dress up in scarves and woolies!

Check out this photo that Marco (msv) took yesterday... Hope you don't mind me posting it! It's fucking fabulous IMO.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f364/msv240586-2/JHB%20G2/ee5fca70.jpg

yup it was bloody cold. I nearly died getting between my bed and the shower yesterday morning!!!!

looks so new york/Toronto with the 60s inspired square boxes of the international architecture style

Was shocked to hear that one of my all time fav Aussie batsmen, Mr Dean Jones was fired yesterday from 10 sports for calling Hashim Amla a "terrorist".

What the hell was he thinking? & I personaly know Hashim, his a friend of a friend (indian thing) Quality player, quality batsmen, Dean Jones deserves to get fined.

Stupid Aussie

I love it, the aussies always banging on about how racist south africans are and then plank harrison last year getting banned from rugby for calling chomani booi a "black c&*t" and now jonesie also in on the act, a case of pot kettle black come to mind.
however he only got fired from Dubai based chamel 10 sports, he is still employed by Aussie radio and TV stations

I didn't know aussies ragged on South Africa for racism. In Japan, I've heard Aussies make some of the most racist comments (about aborigines) I've ever heard in my life.

very good article on this on SMH(sydney Moring herald)
http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/jones-has-dropped-us-down-the-order/2006/08/08/1154802888344.html
with the final paragraph being
"From Jones to Lehmann to Justin Harrison to Lleyton Hewitt - and the numerous controversies surrounding many Aboriginal athletes - our reputation as a fair and tolerant sporting nation has taken a battering in recent years. Yet the biggest problem is not how we are perceived outside our borders but rather how we perceive ourselves. If, after the Jones controversy, we tolerate the outburst and roll our collective eyes at the whistleblower, we have a problem far more serious than mere overseas perception."

A HISTORY OF HUMILIATION

- 2006: Former Australian batsman now commentator Dean Jones refers to South African batsman Hashim Amla as a "terrorist". Amla is a Muslim. Jones is axed by his employer, Ten Sports.
- The ICC deploys an investigator, Goolam Vahanvati, to look into allegations that Australian crowds called South African cricketers "kaffirs".

- 2005: Waratahs forward Justin Harrison was suspended for three Super 12 matches for calling Cats winger Chumani Booi a "black c---" during a match in Johannesburg.

- 2003: Australian batsman Darren Lehmann is suspended for five one-day matches for audibly uttering "black c----" after his dismissal by Sri Lanka in a limited-overs match at the Gabba.

- 2001: During a five-set match against American tennis player James Blake, Lleyton Hewitt attempted to have a black linesman removed by telling the chair umpire: "Look at him and you tell me what the similarity is." Hewitt later denied the comment was made on racial grounds

http://img146.imageshack.us/slideshow/player.php?id=img146/1233/1155122872b6x.smil[/URL]

Mo its not working???

Guys dotn forget the crowds that continually shouted racist comments at the south african players during the Protea's series in Aus last year...seems like they just keep on going...

<<< Sorry to go offtopic, just a small note, but the discussion threads are all WAY overdue for being replaced (SSC Rules) and I've waited far too long. That's what's happening now if you are wondering why. >>>

ok, its cool, go ahead & close them

Will be great to finally have Virgin Megastores here! The LLC sound like it may focus on regional routes rather than domestic so it could work.


Virgin may launch low-cost airline and Megastores in SA
August 10, 2006

By Rebecca Harrison

Johannesburg - British entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Group might launch a South Africa-based low-cost airline and hoped to open Virgin Megastores in the country, the head of Virgin Mobile South Africa said on Tuesday.

Chief executive Sajeed Sacranie said that the music-to-airlines group had only signed up 12 000 customers to its six-week-old South African cellular service, but it hoped to win 10 percent of the 30 million-strong market within three to five years.

"There are two areas I would say are looking interesting. One is a regional low-cost airline and the other is Virgin Megastores," said Sacranie.

"Africa is gradually coming out of the doldrums and there is huge growth potential."

Sacranie said the airline, which he described as still "a twinkle in my eye", would link South Africa with other countries in southern and central Africa, undercutting national carriers and competing with no-frills airline kulula.com. Virgin runs an airline in Nigeria.

The company already operates up-market gyms in the country and its cellular business secured a long-coveted foothold in the country when it launched a joint venture with the unlisted Cell C in June. It has also launched a credit card joint venture with Absa.

Sacranie hopes to bolster the famous brand in South Africa by launching four flagship music and entertainment Virgin Megastores in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban. He did not give a timescale for the project.

As South Africa's fourth cellphone operator, Virgin Mobile piggybacks on Cell C's network instead of building its own and aims to lure up-market customers from other networks with simple pricing structures and superior customer service. "We feel the market lends itself to the Virgin way, which is shaking the train up a bit with a much more customercentric approach," Sacranie said.

Virgin Mobile had signed up only a fraction of cellular subscribers, but this was in line with expectations, said Sacranie, who expected the company to break even in two years.

Virgin Mobile offers one flat rate for peak and off-peak times, one-month contracts, per-second billing and a pledge not to ratchet up call costs to subsidise free handsets - an accusation levelled at other operators by consumer groups.

Sacranie said that Vodacom, MTN and Cell C had already hit back with offers of their own, but he did not predict an all-out price war.

Virgin has no immediate plans to muscle in on new cellular markets in Africa after a failed attempt to buy Nigerian network Vmobile with Vodacom, but Sacranie said the company was keeping an eye out for other opportunities.

"Africa is an intriguing place but there are a lot of risks out there." - Reuters

I also saw this headline on Mercury boards in the morn

good news altho I personally hate virgin after one of their trains broke down between london and manchester a few years ago and we were stuck for 4 hours in mid summer and could not open the windows etc. It was horrible.

Yeh but all UK trains seem to break down often, cos of the lack of investment in the tracks

mate you wanna talk about a shit expoerience, 2 weeks ago I had the unfortunate experience of having to go to London twice in the same week during the euro heatwave and fuck me if heathrow is not the most disgusting falling down, un airconditioned shit hole af an airport. Its made my new shit list in Europe behind Frankfurt for a maze and CDG for very cold and too french.
I spent 7hr there trying to get from 1 terminal to another, no A/C, 35 degrees and about 200 000 people too many for the airport to handel. There were queues to join queus and at one state they wouldent let us into the terminal and we had to stand in the traffic.
What a joke the UK transport infrastructue is deffinatly falling apart

And can u imagine how it is today with the terrorist chaos at the airports?

Yeh but all UK trains seem to break down often, cos of the lack of investment in the tracks
yeah...some people travelling to london and within london for the first time have good and bad experiences...luckily havent had a bad experience myself...heathrow does have huge issues though...i think maybe its just the management or what do you guys think?..

management is one thing but the fucking place is falling apart. even terminal 4 is sooooo 80s in design and materials.

I don't think T4 at LHR is bad but the other terminals definitely need a revamp (pretty much like most BAA airports). Of the really major European airports the only one I really like is FCO (Rome). CDG (Paris) is a shocker and Frankfurt has the most boring interior imaginable.

the new munch is great and so is Madrid

the transport infastructure is indeedcrap. Trains are overcrowded and always delayed, the roads are sooo busy (m25 is the worlds biggest car park) and to use transport costs a bloody fortune (it used to cost me up to £20 just to go from oxford to london ( a journey of about an hour!!) On top of that there has been a 75% rise in knife crime (robbery/muggings/stabbings)in one year!!!! (yup you read that right : 75%!!!!!) If you think the ANC is bad try a Labour government!!. And last month I paid R50 for a pint of cider in london!!! URGGGGGGGG!!!

:scouserd: :scouserd:

I take it greg that you have had the unfortunate experience of flying lufthansa via frankfurt? It was the worst airline I have ever flown on!! I though they would be good being german and all but they were truly appalling. I have to say my fave airline is air namibia!! Dont laugh!! They are actually v v v good. When I fly for personal reasons (ie: I go economy) I always try to go either nationwide or air namibia.

the new munch is great and so is Madrid
havent actually seen the "newish" madrid airport except in pics...prob in december or june next year...its public transport is outstanding though...

The only good thing about Londons transport is the tubes, the cabs suck & to pay extra to use those black taxi's is dom (because they run on gas). The double decker buses are kak! Birmingham airport is a much better airport than Heathrow/Gathwic, its not so chaotic, not too big. I would suggest people to land there if going to the UK on holiday, but if you going on buisness you have to land in the arse of it all which is Heathrow

I take it greg that you have had the unfortunate experience of flying lufthansa via frankfurt? It was the worst airline I have ever flown on!! I though they would be good being german and all but they were truly appalling. I have to say my fave airline is air namibia!! Dont laugh!! They are actually v v v good. When I fly for personal reasons (ie: I go economy) I always try to go either nationwide or air namibia.

Yeah Lufthansa is really disappointing but after flying Ryanair now realise that things can get worse - even the "free" flights they offer are overpriced.
Haven't tried Air Namibia but love Nationwide. Kenya Airways is also good on JNB and intercontinental flights - they've come a long way in a short time.

I really liked Zurich (ZRH)... the interior is very calming and it has great views over the airport... and it has the easiest connection imaginable to the city centre. 10 minutes by uber efficient train, and you're there.

As for London transport, I thought it was truly amazing. Everything ran on time and to schedule, from the buses to the tube. And the cab drivers are the friendliest in the world. geee.. i just love London full stop (minus the cost of living of course). Think that Ken Livingstone has done fabulous things with the city.

I suspect most londoners would beg to differ about ken (ask any friends you have in london about their council tax bills for the last few years!!!!) Did you travel at rush hour? There is only one word to describe the tube/busses at rush hour and that is hell!! The only thing ken has achieved at great cost to the tax payer is to preside over the biggest one year rise in violent crime in londons history!! Well done ken!!

lol... ye well I suppose I don't live there so can't really judge. Just looked really spiffy to me. :)

I really liked Zurich (ZRH)... the interior is very calming and it has great views over the airport... and it has the easiest connection imaginable to the city centre. 10 minutes by uber efficient train, and you're there.

As for London transport, I thought it was truly amazing. Everything ran on time and to schedule, from the buses to the tube. And the cab drivers are the friendliest in the world. geee.. i just love London full stop (minus the cost of living of course). Think that Ken Livingstone has done fabulous things with the city.
ah...ken is so cool..very vocal...very very vocal..fook u all now i miss london..have two good friends there at the moment....:(

the centre is good but it is the suburbs that are often totally awfull and very dirty and often very dangerous. Its sort of an opposite to Johannesburg in that the centre is the good bit. But head east into whitechapel or south into lewisham or southwark or peckham or north into tottenham/finsbury park etc it is a very different story and 95% of londoners live in those places as a house/flat right in the centre can cost millions of pounds!!!!!

I still absolutely love London. :D It's my favourite city in the world.. after Joburg of course. lol

Ken is a s=little turd. Yes he is vocal in saying that cuba is a model for london or inviting hugo chavez to a official dinner (a week after he siezed several london based companies assets), or telling a jewsih newspaper editor that he should "fuck off to the camps", or stopping the police searching youths for knifes/guns etc. Or perhaps he is vocal for rising peoples council tax bills in london by about 40% in 3 years( and at the same time seeing a meltdown in service delivery in places like islington etc with library closures, community centre closures etc) Or presiding over a 75% rise in violent street crime this year? The man is a disgrace to one of the worlds greatest cities. London is awsome but Ken is doing it so much damage. The tories are holding an open primary to select their candidate for mayor next time around and judging by labours meltdown in the local elections in london this year the tories will kick ken out and hopefully restore some sanity to london in 2009.

BTW guys how do I change my tag line to say cape town not jozi cos am returning to cape town on tuesday.

I still absolutely love London. :D It's my favourite city in the world.. after Joburg of course. lol
paris?

^^ I read the best write-up about Paris recently, and it talked about how she's got this massive history and showcases it for us, constantly begging us "look what I did, look what I did" and it's not going anywhere really fantastic, the exciting years already happened and are now on display.

It was contrasting this with a beloved city of mine, but I don't want to sound like I'm advertising so it will remain unnamed for now.

Maybe I will type in the bit about Paris into here, because it was soooo true, and quite interesting. I loved it!

-thryve

london used to be like that before the germans decided to flatten the place! the City used to be full of lovely cobbled streets and amazing buildings. Luckily for paris she was never bombed on a large scale. My fave city in europe is florence. It is stunning. Totally unspoilt by modern buildings.

I see thryve is hard @ work re-organising the thread

Good job Thryve! Thanks!

My fave city in europe is florence. It is stunning. Totally unspoilt by modern buildings.

Pity about the MASSES of tourists though. IMO Italy has all of Europe's best cities. Florence was voted best city in the world for 2006 by one of the major travel mags, followed by Rome!

Italy is my least fav country in Europe!!

Thryve...thanx bud...good to see we finally allowed a sub thread...they heard the pleas!! Take it all the projects will eventually move across? thanx! :)

Italy is my least fav country in Europe!!

Thryve...thanx bud...good to see we finally allowed a sub thread...they heard the pleas!! Take it all the projects will eventually move across? thanx! :)
are u being serious regarding italy?!?!?!?

MY favourite headline this week!!!

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8190/2040/1600/8%208%202006%20guyana%20providence%20stadium%202209.jpg

Hardbeat News, Kingston Jamaica

New president of the ICC, Mr. Idiot Percy Sonn has affirmed that the west indies is further ahead in their preparations for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, than South Afric was for 2003.

Please do note the date on the image .!!http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8190/2040/1600/8%208%202006%20guyana%20providence%20stadium%202209.jpg

the chicks are hot in greece and italy! i was like :eek2: the entire time

london used to be like that before the germans decided to flatten the place! the City used to be full of lovely cobbled streets and amazing buildings. Luckily for paris she was never bombed on a large scale. My fave city in europe is florence. It is stunning. Totally unspoilt by modern buildings.
for god sake major dont mention the war- Basil Fawlty

Oooo Look they making some progress in Kingston! theres some "grass" on the pitch ;)

Athens is my least favourite city in Europe because I was almost abducted by Russian prostitutes who looked like Tatu.

And random fact which we should all enjoy because it shows how confident the population is in our economy and in the country as a whole..

Virgin Money annouced that they had issued 60,000 credit cards in 6 weeks.

Standard Bank was then... haha. We've issued 1,2 million new credit cards in the past year.

Athens is my least favourite city in Europe because I was almost abducted by Russian prostitutes who looked like Tatu.
athens is a shithole...should be visited by all aspiring olympic bid cities who not sure there city would be capable of hosting...

athens is a shithole...should be visited by all aspiring olympic bid cities who not sure there city would be capable of hosting...


I'm sure there are many people who love Athens, and there were things that I did enjoy in the 18 hours I was there...... but it just generally speaking wasn't my cup of tea.

I'm sure there are many people who love Athens, and there were things that I did enjoy in the 18 hours I was there...... but it just generally speaking wasn't my cup of tea.
well calling athens a shithole is not my description buta greek friend of mine who returned from athens..

are u being serious regarding italy?!?!?!?

YES. Nothing works (the phones, transport), the people are more corrupt than nigeria and most tourist places smell and are falling apart. To me it is a major shithole of europe

I agree with both of you Athens is a hole ( I was last there in 1995 pre olympics) and Rome/genoa is hell but Milan and northern italy is great upin lake como and belagio. Also look for a place called postino on the med fantastic place to chill. My inlaws are from calabria (mafia country in the South)so Im marired to a australian/italian.

Athens is my least favourite city in Europe because I was almost abducted by Russian prostitutes who looked like Tatu.
& you complaing? whats wrong with you :scouserd:

mate tatu are crap thats the problem

Italy is my least fav country in Europe!!


Mike surely you haven't experienced it properly!
Italy is by far the most beautiful country in Europe with the most amazing cities wordwide offering the best lifestyle anywhere on earth!!! Positano and the whole Amalfi coast are brilliant and Rome is magnificent!!! Just had to say my bit, absolutely love the place. IMO all the best european countries are on the mediterranean. So much better than the dull nothern european ones.

Mike surely you haven't experienced it properly!
Italy is by far the most beautiful country in Europe with the most amazing cities wordwide offering the best lifestyle anywhere on earth!!! Positano and the whole Amalfi coast are brilliant and Rome is magnificent!!! Just had to say my bit, absolutely love the place. IMO all the best european countries are on the mediterranean. So much better than the dull nothern european ones.
oh my word i thought i was the only one..going to europe si difficult when having to include italy because italy is like one trip in itself, florence, TUSCANY!!, milan rome etc. u really have to get the full idea of it..if i cud live in tuscany and open up a design studio for a while that would be awesome, a friend of mine spent his 3 year gap year in tuscany...ah..

& you complaing? whats wrong with you


Well.. you see.. like Athens, they just weren't my cup of tea. :)

I didn't mind Italy either.. thought it looked pretty. But a reallly pretty country.. is Austria. It looked like crystal.

well we can agree to disagree...i really dislike italy, have been twice and dont ever intend returning. Spent a month the first time starting in Milan and making my way to Rome. The second time i went to Venice and the north. It may be pretty, but that doesnt make up for all its faults in my book.

well we can agree to disagree...i really dislike italy, have been twice and dont ever intend returning. Spent a month the first time starting in Milan and making my way to Rome. The second time i went to Venice and the north. It may be pretty, but that doesnt make up for all its faults in my book.
must have been the people/friends u travelled with..just kidding

http://www.imc.org.za/content/view/58/26/

download the last video...its new i think

Italy is an African country that mysteriously made its way over to Europe.

mate tatu are crap thats the problem
The 1 chick aint bad, the freckles one is suspect

Well.. you see.. like Athens, they just weren't my cup of tea. :)

I didn't mind Italy either.. thought it looked pretty. But a reallly pretty country.. is Austria. It looked like crystal.
Sorry boet, but what are you talking about :?

Sorry boet, but what are you talking about


It's a homo thing.... :p

^^oH I see

Dreamworld Film City gets the green light

With the launch of Dreamworld Film City in Cape Town on Monday, 14 August 2006, construction at the site near Faure is now is set to begin as early as January 2007, bringing to a conclusion a process that started almost four years ago. The studios are anticipated to be operable by early 2008.

The launch follows the decision by Minister for Environmental, Planning and Economic Development Tasneem Essop earlier this year to uphold the Environmental Record of Decision (ROD) and sign off on the rezoning of the Dreamworld site.

Wesgro stake

At the launch it was also announced that a Heads of Agreement has been signed between Dreamworld Film City and Wesgro, the investment and trade promotion agency for the Western Cape. This R30 million investment secures Wesgro a 10% stake in Dreamworld and will ignite the first phase of the development which will see delivery of this flagship studio.

Says chairman of Dreamworld Film City, Anant Singh, "We are delighted that we have now finalised the participation of Wesgro. Its investment is a show of confidence in Dreamworld and our business model. We look forward to proceeding with the development of a world-class film studio complex that will increase our competitiveness in the international film industry."

Dreamworld is headed by a team consisting of filmmaker Anant Singh from Videovision Entertainment, Marcel Golding, CEO etv, and a strong local empowerment component with Phuti Tsukudu and the Helderberg African Chamber of Commerce.

The project, valued in excess of R400mhttp://www.dreamworld.co.za/userimages/01.jpg , will be completed over phases with the different phases being developed at intervals, in line with the Environmental ROD and to ensure optimal operational capacity.

Commenting on the way forward now that zoning has been approved, Marcel Golding says that Dreamworld is proceeding with the remaining statutory approvals, including subdivision, site development and building plan approvals, which will be concluded by the end of 2006.

In line with international requirements

"It is our intention to bring an operations manager on board as soon as possible to ensure that design specifications for the studios are in line with international operational requirements of studios already in operation and so that marketing of the studios can get under way."

Commenting on the market, Cape Film commissioner Laurence Mitchell says the Western Cape is well positioned for further growth, giving its strong relationships with production partners for all major studios in India, Canada, the UK, America and Western European markets.

"The Dreamworld infrastructure will enhance our position to market Cape Town and the Western Cape as one of the leading destinations for the film industry and will significantly re-position the region as a globally leading film production destination," he adds.

Last year the film industry in the Western Cape is estimated to have generated R2.5 billion and it is expected that this would increase significantly as the industry develops further capacity through this investment.

Economic benefits

Wesgro CEO Ismail Dockrat says, "The economic benefits of this development will include job creation opportunities and SMME development for the community of Faure and surrounding communities which have been traditionally economically underdeveloped areas of Cape Town."

It is estimated that the construction of the proposed Dreamworld Film City could result in excess of 8300 additional employment opportunities, which will be created and sustained during the construction period. Of these employment opportunities, over 5300 will be created directly as a result of the development. The capital investment during the construction period is estimated at R1.5 billion.

Significantly, says Singh, the areas that would primarily benefit most are areas of greatest need in and around the studios, including Khayelitsha, Blue Downs, Crossroads, Eersteriver, Gugulethu, Langa and Mitchell's Plain. During the operational phase it is estimated that unemployment in these areas will be reduced significantly, resulting in an increase in household income.

"One should also not underestimate the economic impact of having South Africa 'screened' in international markets on a regular basis. The 'sales penetration effect' of South Africa being seen more frequently in key developed markets will be a significant boost to promoting South Africa as a destination," Singh adds.

Concludes Singh, "Dreamworld will provide a right-sized, world-class one-stop film city in an appropriate location that will entice year-round growth in film production to cater for both the current, and indeed future needs of this dynamic and growing industry segment in Cape Town. We envisage that Dreamworld will become the hub of the film industry in the Western Cape."


http://www.dreamworld.co.za/userimages/04.jpg

http://www.dreamworld.co.za/userimages/05.jpg
http://www.dreamworld.co.za/userimages/10.jpg

http://www.dreamworld.co.za/userimages/09.jpg

http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/cm_pics/search/1464-3361-0-0_368852.jpg

looks small Mo, is this phase 1?

Transnet likely to scale up capex beyond budgeted R64,5bn
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

State-owned freight logistics group Transnet was considering project plans that could see it materially enlarging its already ambitious capital-expenditure programme, currently pegged at R64,5-billion for the next five years, CEO Maria Ramos has confirmed.

Speaking at an editor's briefing in Rosebank, on Thursday, CFO Chris Wells, who presented on behalf of a laryngitis-stricken Ramos, reported that 20-year-plus masterplans had been completed for both its railways and ports businesses and that the utility would seek to align its capex plans to those frameworks, part of which called for investment over and above that currently earmarked.

Wells indicated that the masterplans also called for Transnet to invest ahead of demand growth, so as to ensure that South Africa's logistics infrastructure did not constrain future economic growth - government's Accelerated and Share Growth Initiative for South Africa, Asgisa, has identified the current dearth in transport infrastructure as a key constraint to meeting the growth target of 6%.

The group had already confirmed a five-year plan that would see R34,1-billion invested into its rail business, R24,9-billion into ports, R4,9-billion into a new multipurpose fuel pipeline and R600-million for other investments. It appears, too, that Transnet would most likely enlarge the pipeline investment, as it was now considering a 20-inch pipeline instead of the 16-inch pipeline envisaged during budgeting. It would also most likely need to spend more than initially anticipated on the opening up of the rail-port interface at the Coega Industrial Development Zone - it was set to spend R3,9-billion on the first phase of the Port of Ngqura project itself, which was initially budgeted at R3,2-billion, with more to come.

Transnet had since also established a dedicated capital-investment team, supported by Hatch Mott MacDonald, to manage any Transnet project with a value of more than R300-million, so as to mitigate against budget and delivery overruns.

The group would nearly double its capex spend during the current financial year to R11-billion from R6-billion in 2006, and would spend over R14-billion in the 2008 and 2009 financial years.

In response to a question posed by Engineering News about possible new projects, Ramos confirmed that the plan would be “scaled up”, but also added that many of the additional projects would fall outside the current five-year budgetary time horizon.

“There is going to be a scale-up, but Vulindlela, our re-engineering programme, will, on the other hand, seek to optimise output and productivity to offset or delay the need for capital investment,” Ramos said, adding that the re-engineering of the coal line had led to increased tempos and efficiency ahead of the major capital roll-out. She added that, at present, the coal line had excess capacity and was running at an annualised rate of between 71 and 72-million tons a year. This was short of its 74-million ton target, but the shortfall was attributable to a lack of product availability form the mines, due to the inclement weather conditions off early 2006 “In this business we have to start planning for 20 to 30 years, which is an exercise we are busy with at the moment,” Ramos added.

Well and Ramos were also bullish on Transnet's ability to fund the current programme and even the enlarged programme.

It has estimated that it would have to raise a fresh R18-billion and refinance a further R10-billion, with the balance being funded from cash flows. However, this need for external capital, debt or asset finance, might be substantially moderated by inflows from a noncore asset disposal programme, currently under way. A key cash-generating sale would be that of the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, in which Trasnet had a 26% interest.

Wells reported that the sale was entering its second phase, which would involve the submission of firm offers. However, the company has a firm policy on not commenting on the disposal process. It has also kept open the option of listing the company, should there be a feeling that created value could be realised from such an action.

I think Didiza was referring to people like Giles.

---------------------

Good times roll on in building industry

August 22 2006 at 11:20AM

By Philda Essop

South Africa is likely to ride on the crest of a construction industry boom for about 10 years, Minister for Public Works Thoko Didiza has said.

Even without major construction developments like stadiums being built in preparation for the 2010 World Cup, the construction industry would have experienced an upswing, she said.

"For many years the sector has been in decline, but reconstruction and development has created opportunities in the industry. Using 2010 as a milestone, and even beyond, the South African construction sector would have grown anyway.

'Housing backlog'
"If you consider the energy sector, for example - we realised that we need to recommission some of the electricity plants that have been mothballed."

Another example was road infrastructure, Didiza said. "If you look at Cape Town and Johannesburg roads and challenges around ports and Durban airport... even if you look at the housing backlog in the Western Cape, there are opportunities for the construction sector.

Even in the rural road network in South Africa there is work that needs to happen. Growth in the industry was inevitable."

Taking this into account as well as growth in private sector construction, such as residential and retail development, the growth spurt in construction should last for years, Didiza said.

She was speaking at a press conference during a summit on women in the construction sector held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Monday.

Earmarked for women

Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool announced at the summit that the provincial government had set aside R112-million focused specifically on women in road construction.

Altogether 60 percent of the province's Expanded Public Works Programme had also been earmarked for women, he said.

Construction in the province had grown from 5,8 percent in 2004 to 8,3 percent in 2005. This represented a jump from 127 000 jobs to 144 000 jobs in the industry during that time.

"By 2010 we hope that the construction share of the Western Cape economy will have surpassed the 10 percent mark. By 2010 we want jobs in the industry to be around or beyond 200 000," Rasool said.

Transport and Public Works MEC Marius Fransman said that the R112-million represented 40 percent of the total infrastructure budget.

"Two years ago the budget for roads was R600-million. At the time the province had 145 companies in the industry. Out of those, 42 were partly or wholly owned by females. The monetary value was only 4 percent. That is why we are giving women an opportunity to enter the industry," he said.

Didiza said a lot of hard skills had been lost to the Middle East and South Africa did not want to make that mistake again.

Young people would be encouraged to become artisans and plumbers and no one should look down on those skills, she said.

"We have professional organisations in countries where South Africans with skills have gone. We are attracting those scarce skills," Didiza said.

The provincial government will invest R20-million over three years in bursaries for engineering, quantity surveying and architecture.

phildae@incape.co.za

This article was originally published on page 3 of Cape Argus on August 22, 2006

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=124&art_id=vn20060822103950147C226775

Interesting Comments made by Tutu on Zuma

'If he loves south africa, he will not run for president'

Forget top job, Tutu tells Zuma
August 24, 2006 Edition 2

DOMINIQUE HERMAN

IF Jacob Zuma loved South Africa, the best action he could take was not to participate in the presidential succession race, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said at a Harold Wolpe memorial lecture last night to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of the political intellectual, activist and social theorist.

"I think Jacob Zuma is a warm, very approachable person, but so far I can't make out that he did anything to stop his supporters," Tutu said, referring to the unruly behaviour demonstrated by hordes of Zuma supporters outside the Johannesburg High Court earlier this year during Zuma's rape trial.

"It is deeply distressing that as a presidential candidate, he didn't find the conduct of his supporters reprehensible," said Tutu.

Zuma's lack of a response to their behaviour, which sought to intimidate the plaintiff, was "conduct anathema to a head of state".

Tutu was speaking to a crowded audience in the Whale Well of the Iziko SA Museum, which included Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad, Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille and Education Minister Naledi Pandor.

Tutu said that he would find it difficult to have as his president someone who had not apologised or expressed contrition for having committed adultery with a woman young enough to be his daughter, while he led the country's moral regeneration campaign.

He would find it difficult to be led by someone who had such a cast of supporters, and someone who had made the sorts of irresponsible comments about HIV/Aids that Zuma had made during his trial (such as taking a shower after sex to counter contracting HIV) while his country was experiencing a pandemic of the same disease.

Embarrassed

"His behaviour pales in comparison (with that of) his supporters outside the court, and he didn't seem to be embarrassed by it," Tutu said.

It was behaviour that contravened the constitutional guarantee of each citizen to his or her point of view without threat of intimidation or death, he added.

"The best thing he could do is to elect not to take part in the succession race if he loves the country," Tutu said, adding that a leader cared about the wellbeing of the people, and not his or her "self-aggrandisement".



Source : www.themercury.co.za

Ouch! The man has guts and is principled. No wonder he won a Nobel. We need more of him in SA. He has equally attacked Mbeki in the past so no one can say he is in the pro-Mbeki camp.

I think Tutu...even tho so many right him off...speaks very clearly and makes sense. Zuma should have distanced himself form the dispicable behaviour of some of his supporters.

Hi guys, I hope you don't mind me posting the following in this thread.
I have a strange request from those of you who know Johannesburg. I don't, and haven't been there in many years.
I received a request from someone on another site which I visit and I am copying it to hear more or less just as he wrote it to me:

...Hi, my name is 'G' from Vegas....I would like to ask for some advise....I work for Delta Air Lines and they are transferring me to Johannesburg....We start serving Johannesburg / Atlanta from the 4Dec 2006....I will be in Johannesburg some time in October early November....I have 2 requests......

1/ DSL / Internet.....who would be the best company to join to supply this service and the price?

2/ Johannesburg.... Can you recommend apartments....I would like to be in a safe as possible area as well as gay friendly...been near gay bars etc would be an added advantage......

If you have time and if you do not mind, I would be really greatful for any information I can get...

I really would appreciate a few ideas as I would like to help this guy out.
cheers,
Mike.

1. I dunno. :)

2. He should go for either Killarney or Rosebank. Both areas relatively safe and close to all public amenities. If he wants close to bars, then he should think of a house in Melville. But maybe tell him that no one walks to bars in Joburg... we all jump in the car. So he should make sure he has a car.

Thanks joburg :)

So I decided to browse around the South Africa Crime Expo website that Neil Watson launched:
http://www.crimexposouthafrica.org/

The news stories are pretty scary, but what's scarier are the messages posted by the people who have registered on the site - the place is trolling with people reminiscing about the "good old times", people with conspiracy theories like "silent genocide of the boers, etc..", and other wackiness. Anyway, I recommend everyone visit the site. Those are the people who have left South Africa. One can only imagine what kind of trouble they'd be up to if they had stayed.

1. iBurst is the cheapest DSL internet around.........well ite wireless @ R600 a month for 3gigs, BUT it not in all area's. So he must check his zoning when he gets an apartment, other wise Telkom ADSL is the next best option

that site is a racist pit of trouble. Someone from durban has actually launched a civil claim against him for feeding racism in SA. They asked him to remove racist hate speech from the site and he said no, on the basis that he wants freedom of expression on his site and no one will tell him what he can and cannot do. So the guy is taking him to court.

jeez im disgusted. that site is a disgrace!!!

I hope he gets sacked from his job and he leaves this country of ours. He will prob go to london and then get stabbed in a mugging (75% rise in knife crime in london this year) people like him make me sooooooooooooo bloody angry. Yes we need to tackle crime but in a contructive way like the people who set up the improvement district in sea point have done. I bet that prick watson has never done anything constructive in his life!!!!!!

he is simply stoking the fire...i seriously would not be surprised if he has an inferiority complex.

i dont mind having the site if it was constructive. but it is a rant room for ex saffers and the level of racism and pig headedness there is astounding. i am hocked that people like that are alive

mike I agree with you 100%

oh did see Hri post, I was wondering what the hell your'll were on about, yeh its just another dumbass website, its not publised as the other one, they just trying to make the shit hit the fan

Same with http://deathofjohannesburg.blogspot.com

They seem to thrive on moaning. shame...

i also found one the other day that had title "Why do whites stay in south africa, get out while you can".

They all fucking twisted folks...

enigma on any of them... LOL :) joking

^^u awaking the devil there bro, becarful ;)

i also found one the other day that had title "Why do whites stay in south africa, get out while you can".

They all fucking twisted folks...

enigma on any of them... LOL :) joking

Well Neil Watson does have the right to say what he wants because the bill of rights protects freedom of speech. If the government were to close him down because he is a threat to national security then where would that stop. The best way to deal with people like him is to ignore them and deny them a negative audience. Certainly he is fostering stereotypes of whites that some people will make the association that all white South Africans are like him.

I think Neil is a racist bitterender and seeks to sabotage this country by telling whites to emigrate, foreign tourists not to visit and foreign investors to pull out of the country. However it is people like him that our minister of safety and security is talking about "whingeing blue in the face" and I have to agree that racist people like that, they can leave SA, as they are of no use to us. I do not care if they are white or black.

But SA does have a real crime problem that is getting worse and unfortunately many skilled whites as well as Indians are "heeding" the "advice" of Minister Charles Nqukhula and emigrating abroad to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK and USA because SA is a dangerous country to live in especially if one has a family. But I think that constructive means should be used to address the issue not the racist ranting of Neil Watson who is a disgrace that should get the hell out of SA.

Same with http://deathofjohannesburg.blogspot.com

They seem to thrive on moaning. shame...

I've seen that site too. It is grim but the pictures do tell a story that despite all the talk about reviving the CBD of Joburg, about 95% of it is still decaying and falling apart as the pictures suggest and the government needs to stop misleading with a stream of glowing news reports. Very little new investment is happening in the CBD apart from the Newtown/Fordsburg cultural precinct. The Carlton and the Johannesburg Sun remain closed as they probably will indefinately. I've heard that 30-story towers are being sold for $700,000, a smaller sum than for a small house in Sunninghill. I must say after "touring downtown" Joburg and Hillbrow it is still worse and more decrepit than Kinshasa or Luanda. This is a contrast to other SA cities like Cape Town and Durban that are in fact being transformed by new developments and renovations.

Dearest Mosi - when was the last time you took a trip through the Joburg CBD?

To say that 95% of the CBD is decrepid is just rather a bunch of crap. :)

I (and our lovely photographer, Marco) could SO easily disprove half the photos posted by this dude. He takes photos from ages ago and posts them as though they are today. And the ignorant drama queens of this world believe him. FOR SHAME.

And to say that Joburg City is more decrepid than Kinshasa or Luanda is not only incorrect, but an insult.

Dearest Mosi - when was the last time you took a trip through the Joburg CBD?

To say that 95% of the CBD is decrepid is just rather a bunch of crap. :)

I (and our lovely photographer, Marco) could SO easily disprove half the photos posted by this dude. He takes photos from ages ago and posts them as though they are today. And the ignorant drama queens of this world believe him. FOR SHAME.

And to say that Joburg City is more decrepid than Kinshasa or Luanda is not only incorrect, but an insult.

Do you believe everything you read in the newspaper. I don't. Yes I was in Joburg last month and it hadn't changed. The downtown looks like it did in the 1970's except for the visible signs of decay. Even the new Mandela suspension bridge is falling apart with broken glass and lights by vandals. It's sad tha none of the two big hotels have reopened and why is that? The ANC would have the rest of the country believing that downtown Joburg is being transformed. But to drive through it one can see that that is not true.

I will stand by what I said about Kinshasa and Luanda. At least those cities still have hotels in their downtowns. Johannesburg does not.

Folks, if you want to see a dreadful website where the apartheidists like to hang out go to Jan Lambrecht's African Crisis at www.africancrisis.org (http://www.africancrisis.org). He is crazy and twists thing's around.

So do all these people still reside in South Africa and whine to no end? Or have they moved abroad to spook foreigners and stir up racial animus. I must say, it continues to amaze to no end the anti-South African hysteria both in ZA and abroad. Replace "The New South Africa" with "The Great Satan" and you could easily confuse the anti-ANC/SouthAfrica haters for wild-eyed MidEast mad mullahs.

oh its all mad...i give up commenting.

Yes parts of joburg cbd looked ok when i went on a tour with tom, but i have to admit that for the most part it did look abandoned and in a bit of a sad state. i mean i wldnt have wanted to get out the car and walk.

I do however believe that the cbd's time will come and fortunes will change, it is part of societal resurgance and regeneration. I do believe that many reports are however often overglowing about its turnaround. Many things are planned, but the fruits of those plans are many years away still.

Sorry Tom if u dont like this, but that was may experience. i was impressed with the scale of the cbd, and the areas that have been rejuvenated, but life needs to be put back into the place.

We have a Shebeen section now, so this thread isn't to be used anymore.

Closed... seeyah all in the new section!