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South Africa
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Snapshot of State of Public Education in South Africa - what needs to be done & what is being done
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Take the example of Zimbabweans. When they arrive here they simply outperform their South African counterparts on many fronts. This reflects the superior education they receive.
(Vavi. Z. COSATU. 2009)
Can it really be that bad? Can the South African education system not compete with the education system of the failed state that is Zimbabwe? This post is meant to provide a status quo on our public education system. The numbers and research referenced in this post a widely available in the public domain.
The link between education, skills and economic growth (including job creation) is well established. We also know that the country has been hard hit by “skills shortages”. This skills shortage in turn affects the ability of the country to undertake developmental and labour-absorbing projects. High skill jobs and low skill jobs are complementary – you need high skills to manage large projects that then create low-skilled work opportunities. Further the relative shortage of high skills in South Africa widens the wage gap between high and low skilled jobs.
The new ANC led government has realized that despite the fact that previous governments have spent nearly R120 billion on our education system it has not performed at the levels required. The education system as a a whole has major gaps in it. The skills development effort as instructed by the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) has been a let down. Mainly because there has been poor alignment between what is actually taking place in the real world and what was conceived in the workshops that led to the drafting of the NSDS and the fact that the implementation agencies; the Sectoral Education Training Authorities (SETA’s), in the main have been very weak institutions.
Despite the ±R120 billion that we spend on education the following horrific conditions still remain:
- 7 591 (or 30.9%) schools depend for their water supply on boreholes or rainwater.
- 15 428 (or 61.36%) schools with bucket or pit latrine systems have no sewerage disposal systems in place.
- 4 046 (or 16.9%) schools have no access to electricity.
- 19 940 (or 79.30%) schools have no library facilities.
- 3 387 (or 60.22%) of secondary schools have no laboratory facilities.
- 17 081 (or 67.93%) schools have no computers.
The new government has set about engaging with the failings in the education system in a proactive manner. The education crisis that our country is sitting with is a result of decades of limited investment and exclusionary policies i.e. it is self serving and naive to presume that since 1994 we could easily do away with the results of those exclusionary policies
Where there have been successes, such as in the case of the Dinaledi schools government is keen to build on these. Government is now also more than ready to partner around innovative approaches to improving our education system, some of these approaches include:
- Incentivizing the private sector to see education as a real investment area
- Looking at Public Private Partnerships as a model for investment
- Strengthening School Governing Bodies and School administrations to run better as organizations
- Realigning focus on Early Childhood Development
- Strengthening and making relevant the SETA system
- Looking at how private school quality can be open to more people (there are international case studies that show the economic and social benefits of this)
Of course government is also going to need to focus on the basics. What has been identified as additional areas of focus are:
- The lack of sufficient numbers of qualified teachers is a binding constraint on the ability of the education system to produce quality education. Increased numbers of qualified teachers are needed, including through increased throughputs from training institutions and importation of foreign teachers in critical subject areas with severe shortages such as mathematics, science and IT.
- Teachers in the system need support, praise, training, encouragement, and discipline. An important start would be The Polokwane resolutions correctly put teachers at the heart of education recovery, with a compact that teachers will in return be “in class, on time, teaching.”
- The reality of poor children inheriting the education disadvantage of their parents requires the State to prioritise adequate financial resourcing and teacher training for full implementation of a comprehensive strategy on early childhood development. Poor children need massive readiness programmes to ‘catch up’ with their wealthier peers.
- Government must be coordinated and accountable, from districts to province to national. This requires strong political leadership as well as strong community involvement to raise issues and partner delivery. An important feature of this will be to ensure that decentralization of service delivery management occurs in practice (i.e. school principals are empowered and accountable).
- There needs to be commitment to allocating resources to ensure that all schools have at least the minimum infrastructure we expect for adequate learning, such as electricity and toilets. Poor schools with more potential, such as Dinaliedi schools, could be prioritised for any available resources for libraries, labs, sportsfields, and staffrooms.
I want to end this post with the last paragraph from a report which was commissioned by Government and which informs its new thinking.
Effecting systemic change in the education sector is a vast enterprise, bedeviled by the size of each sub-sector, a long history of gross under-resourcing of large parts of the system, the heavy dependence of further and higher education on primary schooling, and a flaccid bureaucracy. Systemic change in education is a slow, process measured in decades. If the first dozen years of democratic government were preoccupied with equity issues, then in the next period greater attention must be given to improving efficiency. It is clear that the DoE is lining up the network of levers required to gear the system to higher levels of production – from legislation aimed at making schools more accountable for their outputs, and HR policies directed towards professionalizing the civil service; through targeted programmes to improve the teaching and learning of reading, writing and mathematics; to reorganizing key financial, curriculum and institutional arrangements in high schools, colleges and universities. Success will depend on navigating a path between the political courage required to institute greater levels of differentiation and autonomy at the top end of the system, on one hand, and on the other hand, overcoming the natural aversion in the education sector to basing new programmes on research of what has worked elsewhere, piloting these under local conditions, and monitoring their large scale rollout in a deliberate manner.
This post also published on Erasibo.com
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Music for pleasure possibly liquidated
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Johannesburg - South Africa’s largest music distributor, MFP (Music for Pleasure) has reportedly been liquidated temporarily.
However, Volksblad was not able to confirm this with MFP directly on Tuesday, since no-one was answering any phone numbers for the company.
MFP, which was established in 1970, distributes CDs and DVDs to, amongst others, chains such as Game, Makro, Shoprite and Checkers, CNA, Edgars and Pick ‘n Pay.
The news of MFP’s apparent downfall was received from the veteran announcer and TV presenter Edwill van Aarde.
“I heard from a young clerk on Tuesday that MFP is bankrupt,” said Van Aarde.
“This is shocking news. MFP is not only the largest distributor of Afrikaans music in the country, but of all CDs. Due to the recession, people would rather spend R100 on food than on a CD,” said Van Aarde.
Monopoly
An employee of the record company EMI who doesn’t want his name mentioned, on Tuesday also confirmed that he had heard about MFP’s liquidation.
MFP buys CDs from the record companies, and distributes them to shops.
Angie Kleinsmith, who is Pink ‘n Pay’s CD buyer, says MFP told everyone “to keep quiet”.
Ronnie Geselowitz, Universal Music’s sales manager, says it’s still too soon to determine how the alleged liquidation will influence their sales.
Kobie Koen, managing director of Vonk Musiek, says he heard the news when he phoned MFP on Tuesday morning to confirm a meeting he had scheduled with them.
“They told me the place is closed due to liquidation.”
Koen feels the record companies are the worst hit. “It was always a kind of monopoly. Nobody else besides MFP is allowed to distribute CDs to places like Pick ‘n Pay. Now we have to pay the price.”
It was confidentially discovered that MFP’s employees had to clear out their offices on Tuesday.
- Volksblad
http://www.news24.com/Content/Entertainment/SouthAfrica/1043/57c15ecf2da1409c93140ba7c555a129/01-07-200910-07/Music_distributor_bankrupt

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Justice Minister Jeff Radebe just shot all stalkers in the foot.
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In an article published in The Times, I was heartbroken to read all about how a member of our government has changed the by-law’s about pay-as-you-go sim cards across all networks in our country.
No longer will we be free to buy R5 start up packs at the nearest PEP stores without producing ID and proof of residential address. I personally think this is a load of bull kak.
Yeah, that’s right, I said it. Look over here, so you know I’m not bluffing you. Now I’ll list for you my reasons.
Firstly, its admin.
Not only will we lose our freedom in buying cheap sim cards to use willy nilly to prank call our mates anonymously, but the Networks will be losing a lot of their pay-as-you-go appeal. We’re going to have to produce all this paperwork just to allow ourselves the opportunity to drunk dial an ex and tell them how far wrong they were in letting us go. We’re one of a kind, dont you know? *slur slur slur* .
Secondly, lets be honest here – who actually carries their ID and proof of residence around with them?
I know I sure as hell don’t.
Thirdly, it’s going to cost the network’s millions.
Which in turn, will make them up the rates (again) so we will have to fork out more airtime than usual just to keep in contact with that dude on the other end of the country, in case you happen to be flying there sometime in the near future and you’d like to keep the Horizontal Fandango lines open. Because you never know what might happen.
Fourthly, just like with the smoking legislation, I feel that our Ministers need to lighten the fuck up.
Who in the hell wants to smoke in a goldfish tank while producing their ID in order to purchase a sim card and henceforth drunk-diallage the ex and then prank a friend anyway?
Psssh. Not me. So gather your pitch forks with me and lets all shout together now:
ViVa La Resistance!
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You’re only as popular as your last tweet.
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Sometimes you wonder why, then you wonder why the fuck not, though not when it concerns Bono because everyone knows that Bono is a douche. He’s so ‘I want to save the world, one song at a time’. How’s that working for him? Maybe if he changed his avatar to a greenish hue, he’d really make a difference.
*cough*
When I tell people that I’m on twitter, I’m met with a look of “Oh, she’s one of those” and a flippant twist of the twitter-terminology: ‘So you’re a twit then’. Haha. Genius. I applaud you on your mind-numbing originality. Up until recently, I ignored it, but then I started thinking… Am I? I know fuck-all about SEO or SME or iPhone apps, my tweets aren’t related to trending topics or anything of importance. Twitter is another medium my huge ego can exploit, therefore, I must be a twit. Right?
In psychology, one of the first things a patient needs to do is recognise that they have a problem. I am cognizant of my said twit-ness (though you’ll be hard pressed to get that out of me). In the interests of science, I will share my thesis (cleverly broken up into 10 simple questions) to help you determine your twit-ness.
What kind of twit are you? (and be honest)
1. I retweet everything: Even random conversations between or with arbitrary people. Everyone MUST know that @randomgirlcladinhersweetnothings and @pervyguywithareallycoolkeyboard want to have babies.
2. I lol at everyone’s comments: Seriously, everyone on twitter is funnier than I am.
3. I use multiple exclamation marks. I find it hard to convey my enthusiasm on a certain topic in 160 characters or less, but enough of this boring stuff, I just love the Jonas brothers!!!!
4. I use hashtags that appear on the trending topics so the world knows how relevant I am: I’m ‘with-it’ even though #iranelection and Micheal Jackson have nothing in common. (Yes, I spelt that wrong on purpose)
5. I tweet ways in which the puny twitter users can gain more followers: Yes! In 6 simple steps, you too can have +1000 completely unique followers. I need your credit card number. No, I’m not using this as a legitimate front to fund my booming internet porn business.
6. I correct spelling mistakes made by other tweeps because I’m hardcore like that. Fear me and my Oxford dictionary punks! You’ve just been ameliorated!
7. I tweet everything, EVERYTHING. Even my affinity for skipping showers and loathing of my job/boss/mother-in-law/Bono because really, he/she doesn’t know that I’m on twitter.
This would be a perfect time to apologise to Bono…
…
8. I’m comfortable with my sexuality, so comfortable in fact, I’ve posted a link directing all of you to view my voyeuristic exploits via webcam. I’m a nice person, I like to share, unless its tips on how to increase the number of followers because I mean… just look at me. Pfft.
9. I retweet people that have retweeted me, just so I can show my followers that I am as awesome as I say I am.
10. I’m @aplusk
The first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem.
Please direct any comments/queries to @twit_anon. No, this is not a legitimate cover for my booming internet porn business, but feel free to view my webcam.

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Foto Na Dans interview
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Foto Na Dans are a band breaking the boundaries of Afrikaans music with their sound; their signature style is that of “indie rock with a hint of electronic sounds”. The band were all in school together at DF Malan in Bellville and all the band except LeRoi were in a band called Trompie is Dood at an early age – winning the Jip! Rockspaaider competition, but “that was 5 years ago. That was a different band from Foto Na Dans. The name Foto Na Dans is “a neutral term, one that can be bound to music and visual elements “Dans” points to the music, and “Foto” to the visual aspects of the media….”
Their opinion of the music the music industry has also changed since their Rockspaaider days and Alex says “The whole industry has changed a lot. There is a lot more structure & support. There are more bands and there is more happening. It’s exciting.”

Their most heavy influences musically “names are endless…Air, Radiohead, Muse, Mew, Hot Chip, Sigur Ros…everyone has many of their own influences…so between us the list is probably 100 artists long.”
Their first self titled EP had a very raw sound to it compared to the ‘futuristic’ heavenly sound on their latest album (Pantomime op Herwinbare Klanke). Alex says “with our first EP we had no clue what we were doing. We just went into studio and laid down raw tracks as we rehearsed them in the band room…On our later recordings we had more of a clue and started experimenting with electronic sounds.”

The band is “currently busy working on a new album and they have “about 8 songs written already and it is sounding really hot. With all the previous albums we had deadlines to keep as to when the album had to be finished. We are trying a different approach this time by letting the music and the songs determine the deadlines instead of other way around..”
Their planning to work on their new album then head overseas in July. They have collaboration with Flash Republic is on the cards, “which should be quite cool and the tunes are sounding kiff…so maybe people will be dancing to our songs in clubs…that’ll be awesome.”
The band has “dreams of making it internationally” and say “our short term goal is to make our new album our best ever and believe “the potential is there as the songs are sounding better than ever…also there has been quite a bit of international interest in the band and a few people are watching our new album to see what it does…and then we’ll just have to see from there…”

Their favourite thing about performing is “the energy. And being able to see that you manage to move people’s emotions with your songs…that’s a beautiful thing.”
The latest album is very innovative and got lots of praise by the media for this. The change in sound over all three albums shows lost of progression and innovativeness; Alex says “the sound on the new album will be less experimental than our previous EP. Our song writing style has also changed and most of the songs are based around the vocal melodies. The songs are big…epic even…”
Le Roi happens to take about an hour to get ready before a gig and he was born with his afro. As for working on side projects, musically all of them pretty committed to Foto Na Dans. Dirkie always talks the most rubbish. AIex lets loose on tour and therefore the messiest of the lot. One of the craziest thing that happen at shows are hidious wipeouts…Theuns is renowned for getting his ass bruised.
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Why Doctors feel the need to strike.
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The current strike happening by government employed doctors gained momentum yesterday when doctors in the Western Cape decided to join the strike action following a meeting at Groote Schuur Hospital. As a doctor at the above institution I had mixed feelings about striking and abandoning our patients in what is seen by the general public as just a dispute over salaries. The protest action is in fact a culmination of years of abuse that medical professionals have endured at the hands of the government.
Let’s start with working conditions. The hospitals are over-capacity, and the doctors are overworked. In my ward, we officially have place for 65 patients. We had more than 85 for the best part of last week. Doctors work 30 hour shifts when they do overtime, working a minimum of 60 hours a week in my hospital, but it’s not like this everywhere. Usually it’s worse. Although, this certainly is an improvement since 2002 when as an intern, I worked 100 hours a week and 30 hour shifts every third day. We are expected to do procedures with needles potentially putting ourselves and others at risk of contracting HIV by needlestick injuries, this even after having been awake and on our feet for 24 hours and more. Yes, just call us Jack Bauer.
If that was all there was to contend with, then it would be bad. But add to that, unsafe working conditions. Doctors and nurses literally put their lives at risk to save others in busy casualties by working late nights, trying to save gunshot victims of gang warfare, knowing full well that someone might just overpower the lone security guard at the door and come in to finish the job. I kid you not. Many of my colleagues have had to dodge a flying bullet.
Supplies. You’d think hospitals wouldn’t run of supplies right? Nope. Gloves. Needles. Syringes. IV fluids. Linen. Antibiotics. Incubators. Two nights ago, on call, I had to place two babies into one incubator, because we just did not have enough. As an Intern and a Community Service doctor, I had to treat patients on the floor. They had to sleep on the floor, because we didn’t have enough beds! Not that there was anymore place to put any beds in the ward. It’s frustrating having to work in a SA hospital. You have nothing to work with, yet are asked to perform miracles. Often the doctor on call, has to decide whether to refuse one patient life-saving treatment, in the hope of saving another with a slightly better chance of survival. This is Africa after all.
All this, in the face of dwindling staff. Nobody wants to work for the state. It’s too difficult. Too stressful. Dying patients you can do nothing for, in overcrowded hospitals, with nothing to help them with.
It’s no wonder so many of my colleagues have decided to jump ship. Go to any hospital in the UK, Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, and you’ll be sure to find at least one South African. This brain drain is going to continue, unless the government starts making amends. It’s a one-way ticket out of South African Medical Schools and into European hospitals. And it’s spiraling out of control. The less doctors in government service, the rosier it looks overseas, the more doctors will leave the government service. And if you think it’s just whites, think again. Blacks, whites, indian, coloured doctors….all leaving in droves. Ironically, I know of many European and Canadian doctors wanting to work in South Africa, in SA hospitals, for experience not money, and the government and HPCSA have them jumping beaurocratic hurdles for years.
Add to that, the government recently doubled the internship time from 1 year to 2 years, and are now looking to increase mandatory community service from 1 year to 2 years. Effectively, if you’re 18 when you enter Medical School, you’ll be 28 when you’d be free to make independent choices about your career. Until then, you’ll be told where you must work and live. This is going to force medical graduates to do internship overseas, never to come back.
Now coming to the salaries…after having spent 6 years studying, and at least R30 000 on tuition alone yearly , one can look forward to taking home around R9000 (after tax) a month as an intern. If you ask me, I think this was an incentive for doubling the internship time and community service time. Where do you get skilled workers to perform life-saving procedures locked into a 4 year contract to earn R9000 a month?
To do the job I do in the hospital I have three degrees in the medical field, but earn less than a gym personal trainer. If you compare my job requirements and qualification to any other professional in the government sector, I am being underpaid by at least 50%. In private practice I would be earning at least 300% of my current salary.
So why do I work in government and not private practice? For most people in my position, it’s a lot more about the job than the money. It’s about the patients. It’s about advancing healthcare in this country, and advancing the field of medicine as a whole, by academic work and delivery of professional service. Medical professionals are amongst the most skilled people in society, as it is almost a process of natural selection that produces these individuals. But they’re being walked all over.
When the Minister held that press conference on Wednesday, it was a sneaky political move. When has any employer presented a wage offer to the public without first taking it the bargaining chamber? It was a move that they knew would be highly publicized and designed to remove public support for the strike action. In it they announced massive increases for Interns and Principle and Chief Specialist. But it was the grades in the middle that basically got nothing. To use an Army analogy, it would be giving the new recruits and the Generals something to keep them happy but everyone in between got shit. The generals were happy, so they didn’t support the action, and the New recruits were happy so they, who are usually the youngest, most militant, out the group, would go back to work.
But they left out the people that really count. The one’s doing the real work. Medical Officers, Junior and Senior Specialists. The Interns, registrars aren’t going to be around forever, they have finite contracts. But the Medical officers and specialists working in the government have made it long-term career choices. This is not the first time that we are being duped either. We were promised that this OSD would come into effect July 2008. It’s now one year later, and we’re still waiting. We want what we were promised.
And those that ask is it worth it? Is it worth patients dying for higher salaries? That’s a difficult one for us, but in the end, it comes down to what’ll happen if we don’t do anything. And the simple answer is this: Our health system is at breakpoint. It’s close to crumbling, and the government has chosen to ignore and put band-aids on it. It’s as if they don’t care. When Manto got her new liver, she didn’t lie in a government hospital.
So, since most of us don’t have the heart or inclination to abandon our sickest patients, doctors in the Western Cape have decided to continue running emergency services, critical care and theatres only. All outpatients and elective surgery will have to close. We’re not doing medical teaching either. Sorry students, we’re fighting for your future too.
If we don’t do something now…it’s going to cost much more lives in the future.
We humbly ask that the public support us in our endeavors. In the end it affects all of us.
Dr Y.J.

If we don’t take action now, we’ll settle for nothing later!
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Ashtray Electric-Bonjour album review
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Ashtray Electric are a band that are being hailed as the next big thing and their second offering Bonjour, is sure to get them noticed. It contains both a 10 track album and a DVD which includes the fifteen minute documentary Lead Me to Sea and the music video for “Quite Overstared,” both put together by Cape Town production company The African Attachment. The documentary delves into the background and showcases another side to the band.
Ashtray Electric is combines a mixture of delicate beats, heartfelt lyrics and catchy melodies that all lead to a rather unconventional sound albeit one that gets your feet tapping.

The lyrics are incredibly genuine and honest with; songs like ‘When Sex Becomes A Sport’ and ‘Pedgio’ are standout tracks as they have an undeniable catchiness yet stay true to bands sound. The song “Quite Overstared’ has garnered airplay and pushed the band into the forefront of the indie scene. They also have the ability make “woohoo” work as a chorus on the song ‘Gallop’ a feat not many can attest to.
Overall the artwork, presentation and the album as a whole is faultless, with each track showcasing the bands ability, leaving are no song that isn’t worth listening to.
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Ashtray Electric - Bonjour album review (Album Giveaway!)
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Ashtray Electric are a band that are being hailed as the next big thing and their second offering Bonjour, is sure to get them noticed. It contains both a 10 track album and a DVD which includes the fifteen minute documentary Lead Me to Sea and the music video for “Quite Overstared,” both put together by Cape Town production company The African Attachment. The documentary delves into the background and showcases another side to the band.
Ashtray Electric combines a mixture of delicate beats, heartfelt lyrics and catchy melodies that all lead to a rather unconventional sound albeit one that gets your feet tapping.

The lyrics are incredibly genuine and honest with; songs like ‘When Sex Becomes A Sport’ and ‘Pedgio’ are standout tracks as they have an undeniable catchiness yet stay true to bands sound. The song “Quite Overstared’ has garnered airplay and pushed the band into the forefront of the indie scene. They also have the ability make “woohoo” work as a chorus on the song ‘Gallop’ a feat not many can attest to.
Overall the artwork, presentation and the album as a whole is faultless, with each track showcasing the bands ability, leaving are no song that isn’t worth listening to.
Stand a chance to win Ashtray Electric’s album and a Moral Fibre tshirt (guys tshirt, so girls you’ll have to make do with a “boyfriend Tshirt”) - All you have to do to win the prize is tell me which two tracks are your favourite on the album and post ‘em in the comment form below.
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In South African Soil anything is possible…
Related to country: South Africa
available in: (original) | | | | | | | | |
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An ex-prisoner became the first democratic president of the republic in 1994; little did we know that concurrently according to his credential he was the most honored man in the World, Nelson “Rholihlahla” Mandela, as if that was not enough.
We went further and won Rugby World Cup in 1995 just at dawn of our democracy. Last night we experience a semi final match USA the underdogs VS SPAIN, the number one ranked in terms of FIFA statistics. Wala!!! the under-dogs emerged victorious. Therefore it’s all systems go for BAFANA BAFANA to be on the contrary to the status quo, cause victory is inevitable regardless if you against Brazil.
“The power of positive thinking what ever your mind can conceive your body can achieve it”
If non-does contest that assertion! I affirm, in South Africa we alive with possibilities. AND IT IS GOOD TO BE A SOUTH AFRICAN!
Dans le sol sud-africain quelque chose est possible…
Automatically translated into French thanks to WorldLingo
Un ex-prisonnier est devenu le premier président démocratique de la république en 1994 ; peu nous avons su que concurremment selon ses lettres de créance il était l'homme le plus honoré au monde, Nelson « Rholihlahla » Mandela, comme si ce n'était pas assez.
Nous sommes allés plus loin et avons gagné la tasse du monde de rugby dans 1995 juste à l'aube de notre démocratie. La nuit passée que nous éprouvons un match final Etats-Unis de semi-finale les opprimés CONTRE L'ESPAGNE, le numéro un s'est rangée en termes de statistiques de FIFA. Wala ! ! ! les opprimés ont émergé victorieux. Par conséquent c'est tous les systèmes vont pour BAFANA BAFANA être au contraire au statu quo, victoire de cause est inévitable sans se soucier si vous contre le Brésil.
« La puissance de la pensée de positif ce qui jamais votre esprit peut concevoir votre corps peut le réaliser »
si non-conteste cette affirmation ! J'affirme, en Afrique du Sud nous vivants avec des possibilités. ET IL EST BON D'ÊTRE UN SUD-AFRICAIN !
En africano del sur el suelo cualquier cosa es posible…
Automatically translated into Spanish thanks to WorldLingo
Un ex-preso hizo el primer presidente democrático de la república en 1994; poco sabíamos que según su credencial él era concurrentemente el hombre honrado del mundo, Nelson “Rholihlahla” Mandela, como si ése no fuera bastante.
Fuimos más lejos y ganamos la taza del mundo del rugbi en 1995 apenas en el amanecer de nuestra democracia. El ayer por la noche que experimentamos un fósforo semi final los E.E.U.U. los oprimidos CONTRA ESPAÑA, el número uno alineó en términos de estadística de FIFA. ¡Wala!!! los oprimidos emergieron victorioso. Por lo tanto es todos los sistemas va para BAFANA BAFANA a estar en el contrario al status quo, victoria de la causa es inevitable cueste lo que cueste si usted contra el Brasil.
¡“La energía del pensamiento del positivo qué siempre su mente puede concebir su cuerpo puede alcanzarlo”
si no-disputa esa aserción! Afirmo, en Suráfrica nosotros vivos con posibilidades. ¡Y ES BUENO SER UN AFRICANO DEL SUR!
In Africano del sud il terreno qualche cosa è possibile…
Automatically translated into Italian thanks to WorldLingo
Un ex-prigioniero è diventato il primo presidente democratico della repubblica in 1994; piccolo abbiamo saputo che secondo le sue credenziali era simultaneamente l'uomo honored nel mondo, il Nelson “Rholihlahla„ Mandela, come se quello non fosse abbastanza.
Siamo andato più avanti ed abbiamo vinto la tazza del mondo di Rugby in 1995 appena all'alba della nostra democrazia. La notte scorsa che avvertiamo un fiammifero semi finale S.U.A. i diseredati CONTRO LA SPAGNA, il numero uno si è allineata in termini di statistiche di FIFA. Wala!!! i diseredati sono emerso victorious. Di conseguenza è tutti i sistemi va per BAFANA BAFANA essere al contrario allo status quo, vittoria di causa è inevitabile con noncuranza se voi contro il Brasile.
“L'alimentazione di pensare del positive che cosa mai la vostra mente può concepire il vostro corpo può realizzarla„
se non-contesta quell'asserzione! Affermo, in Sudafrica noi vivi con le possibilità. ED È BUONO DA ESSERE UN AFRICANO DEL SUD!
Auf Südafrikaner ist Boden aller möglich…
Automatically translated into German thanks to WorldLingo
Ein Exgefangener wurde der erste demokratische Präsident der Republik 1994; wenig wußten wir, daß gleichzeitig entsprechend seiner Bescheinigung er der geehrte Mann in der Welt war, Nelson „Rholihlahla“ Mandela, als ob das nicht genug war.
Wir gingen weiter und gewannen Rugby-Weltschale in 1995 gerade an der Dämmerung unserer Demokratie. Gestern Abend, das wir ein halb abschließendes Gleiches USA die Underdogs GEGEN SPANIEN, die Nr. man erfahren, ordnete in FIFA Statistiken ausgedrückt. Wala!!! die Under-dogs tauchten siegreich auf. Folglich ist es alle Systeme geht für BAFANA BAFANA, auf dem Gegenteil zum Status Quo, Ursache Sieg zu sein ist unvermeidlich gedankenlos wenn Sie gegen Brasilien.
„Die Energie des Positivdenkens was überhaupt Ihr Verstand Ihren Körper begreifen kann, kann ihn erzielen“,
wenn nicht-diese Behauptung wetteifert! Ich bestätige, in Südafrika wir lebendig mit Möglichkeiten. UND ES IST GUT, EIN SÜDafrikaner ZU SEIN!
No africano sul o solo qualquer coisa é possível…
Automatically translated into Portuguese thanks to WorldLingo
Um ex-prisioneiro transformou-se o primeiro presidente democrático da república em 1994; pouco nós soubemos que simultaneamente de acordo com sua credencial era o homem o mais honrado no mundo, Nelson “Rholihlahla” Mandela, como se aquele não era bastante.
Nós fomos mais mais e ganhamos o copo do mundo do Rugby em 1995 apenas no alvorecer de nossa democracia. A última noite onde nós experimentamos um fósforo semi final EUA os underdogs CONTRA SPAIN, o número um espesso nos termos de statistics de FIFA. Wala!!! os under-dogs emergiram victorious. Conseqüentemente é todos os sistemas vai para BAFANA BAFANA estar no contrário ao quo do status, vitória da causa é inevitável de qualquer maneira se você de encontro a Brasil.
“O poder de pensar do positivo o que sempre sua mente pode conceive seu corpo pode consegui-lo”
se non-contestar essa afirmação! Eu afirmo, em África do Sul nós vivos com possibilidades. E É BOM SER UM AFRICANO SUL!
I sydafrikanskt smutsa något är möjligheten…,
Automatically translated into Swedish thanks to WorldLingo
Ettfång blev den första demokratiska presidenten av republiken i 1994; lite visste vi, att enligt hans vitsord han var samtidigt den mest hedrade manen i världen, Nelson ”Rholihlahla” Mandela, som, om det inte var nog.
Vi gick vidare och segrade Rugbyvärldscupen i 1995 precis på gryning av vår demokrati. Den sist natten som vi erfar en halv finalmatch USA den som är i underläge VS SPANIEN, numrera en som in rangordnas, benämner av FIFA-statistik. Wala!!! underna-dogs dök upp segerrikt. Därför är det alla system går för BAFANA BAFANA att vara tvärtom till status quo, orsakar seger är ofrånkomligt utan hänsyn om dig mot Brasilien.
”Kan den tänkande driva av realiteten vad som är din någonsin vara besvärad, tänka ut ditt förkroppsligar kan uppnå det”,
om non-bekämpar det påstående! Jag intygar, i Sydafrika oss som är vid liv med möjligheter. OCH DET ÄR BRA ATT VARA ETT SYDAFRIKANSKT!
В южной африканской почве что-нибыдь по возможности…
Automatically translated into Russian thanks to WorldLingo
Ex-пленник стал первым демократическим президентом республики в 1994; маленько мы знали что одновременно согласно его credential он был удостоить человеком в мире, Нельсон «Rholihlahla» Mandela, если то не было достаточно.
Мы пошли более далее и выиграли кубок мира Rugby в 1995 как раз на рассвете нашего народовластия. Вчера, котор мы испытываем semi окончательную спичку США underdogs ПРОТИВ ИСПАНИИ, одно выстроило в ряд in terms of статистик FIFA. Wala!!! under-dogs вытекли победоносно. Поэтому будет всеми системами идет для BAFANA BAFANA находиться на противоположности к статус-кво, победе причины неизбежно независимо если вы против Бразилии.
«Сила позитва думая всегда ваш разум может понимать ваше тело может достигнуть его»
если non-оспаривает то заверение! Я подтверждаю, в Южной Африке мы живые с возможностями. И ХОРОШО БЫТЬ ЮЖНЫМ АФРИКАНЦЕМ!
In Zuidafrikaanse Grond is om het even wat mogelijk…
Automatically translated into Dutch thanks to WorldLingo
Een ex-gevangene werd de eerste democratische president van de republiek in 1994; weinig wisten wij dat gelijktijdig volgens zijn geloofsbrieven hij de meest geëerdea man in de Wereld, Nelson „Rholihlahla“ Mandela was, alsof dat niet genoeg was.
Wij gingen verder en wonnen de Kop van de Wereld van het Rugby in 1995 enkel bij dageraad van onze democratie. Vorge nacht ervaren wij een semi definitieve gelijke de V.S. de verdrukten VERSUS SPANJE, aantal één dat in termen van de statistieken van FIFA wordt gerangschikt. Wala!!! de verdrukten kwamen victorious te voorschijn. Daarom is het alle systemen gaat voor BAFANA BAFANA in tegendeel aan de status-quo zijn, is de oorzakenoverwinning onvermijdelijk hoe dan ook als u tegen Brazilië.
De „macht van positief dat wat denkt ooit uw mening uw lichaam kan opvatten kan het“ bereiken
als niet-die bewering betwist! Ik bevestig, in Zuid-Afrika wij levend met mogelijkheden. EN HET IS GOED OM EEN ZUID-AFRIKAAN TE ZIJN!
في تربة افريقي جنوبي أيّ شيء يمكن…
Automatically translated into Arabic thanks to WorldLingo
[إإكس-بريسنر] أصبح الرئيس أولى ديموقراطيّة من الجمهورية في 1994; بعض عرف نحن أنّ بتزامن وفقا ل ورقت اعتماده هو كان ال أكثر يشرّف رجل في العالم, [نلسن] "[رهوليهلهلا]" [مندلا], [أس يف] أنّ [ب] لم كافي.
نحن ذهبنا أبعد وربح [روغبي] عالم فنجان في 1995 فقط في فجر من ديموقراطيّتنا. رتّب ليل متأخّرة نحن نختبر نظير نهائيّة [أوسا] [سمي] الخاسرات [فس] إسبانيا, الرقم واحدة بخصوص [فيفا] إحصائيّة. [ولا]!!! ظهر ال [أوندر-دوغس] منتصرة. لذلك هو كلّ نظامات يذهب ل [بفنا] [بفنا] أن يكون على العكس إلى ال [ستتثس قوو], سبب نصرة يتحتّم دون اعتبار إن أنت ضدّ برازيل.
"القوة من [بوستيف] يفكّر ماذا في أيّ وقت عقلك يستطيع تصوّرت جسمك يستطيع حقّقت هو"
إن [نون-دوس] يعترض أنّ تأكيد! أنا أؤكّد, في جنوب افريقيا نحن حيّة مع إمكانيات. وهو جيّدة أن يكون افريقي جنوبي!
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Racism is the issue of the day as the Confederation cup sites closure.
Related to country: South Africa
available in: (original) | | | | | | | | |
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It was no more that two decades pasts, when we declare South Africa as a classless non-racial society. However with out proper manufacturing to fight class and race struggle we shortfall. Going forward we have observed with sorry eyes, as racism took its tall in our society, a supposing liberated country …
We welcome the anti-racism campaign that is driven by FIFA campaign in conjunction with the confederation cup stakeholders.
Long Live FIFA Long Live
By Reng’s perspective’s
Le racisme est la question du jour car la tasse de confédération situe la fermeture.
Automatically translated into French thanks to WorldLingo
Il n'était pas plus qui deux pasts de décennies, quand nous déclarons l'Afrique du Sud en tant que société non-raciale sans classes. Cependant avec la fabrication dehors appropriée pour combattre la classe et la course luttez nous déficit. Allant en avant nous avons observé avec les yeux désolés, comme le racisme a pris son grand dans notre société, un pays libéré supposant… que
nous faisons bon accueil à la campagne d'anti-racisme qui est conduite par campagne de FIFA en même temps que les dépositaires de tasse de confédération.
Désirent ardemment FIFA de phase longtemps de phase
à côté de la perspective de Reng's
El racismo es la aplicación el día pues la taza de la confederación localiza el encierro.
Automatically translated into Spanish thanks to WorldLingo
No era no más que dos pasts de las décadas, cuando declaramos Suráfrica como sociedad no-racial sin clase. Sin embargo con la fabricación hacia fuera apropiada para luchar la clase y la raza luche nosotros déficit. Yendo adelante hemos observado con los ojos apesadumbrados, como el racismo tomó su alto en nuestra sociedad, un país liberado que suponía… que
damos la bienvenida a la campaña del contra-racismo que es conducida por campaña de FIFA conjuntamente con los tenedores de apuestas de la taza de la confederación.
Desean FIFA vivos de largo vivos
por la perspectiva de Reng
Il razzismo è l'emissione del giorno poichè la tazza di confederazione situa la chiusura.
Automatically translated into Italian thanks to WorldLingo
Era nient'altro che due pasts di decadi, quando dichiariamo la Sudafrica come società non-razziale classless. Tuttavia con manufacturing fuori adeguato per combattere il codice categoria e la corsa lotti noi deficit. Andando in avanti abbiamo osservato con gli occhi spiacenti, come il razzismo ha preso il relativo alto nella nostra società, un paese liberato supponente… che
accogliamo favorevolmente la campagna di anti-razzismo che è guidata dalla campagna di FIFA insieme con i consegnatari della tazza di confederazione.
Desiderano lungamente FIFA in tensione in tensione
dalla prospettiva del Reng
Rassismus ist die Ausgabe des Tages, da die Bündnisschale Schliessen stationiert.
Automatically translated into German thanks to WorldLingo
Es war no more, das zwei Dekaden pasts, wenn wir Südafrika als classless nicht-rassische Gesellschaft erklären. Jedoch mit der heraus korrekten Herstellung, zum der Kategorie und des Rennens zu kämpfen kämpfen Sie wir Defizit. Vorwärts gehend haben wir mit traurigen Augen, wie Rassismus sein hohes in unserer Gesellschaft nahm, ein annehmendes befreites Land beobachtet,…, das
wir die Anti-rassismus Kampagne begrüßen, die durch FIFA Kampagne in Verbindung mit den Bündnisschale Verwahrern gefahren wird.
Sehnen sich Phasen-FIFA lang, die durch
Perspektive Rengs Phasen sind
O Racism é a introdução do dia porque o copo do Confederation situa o fechamento.
Automatically translated into Portuguese thanks to WorldLingo
Não era não mais que dois pasts das décadas, quando nós declaramos África do Sul como uma sociedade non-racial classless. Entretanto com o manufacturing para fora apropriado para lutar a classe e a raça esforce-se nós shortfall. Indo para a frente nós observamos com olhos pesarosos, como o racism fêz exame do seu alto em nossa sociedade, um país liberated supondo… que
nós damos boas-vindas à campanha do anti-racism que é dirigida pela campanha de FIFA conjuntamente com as partes interessadas do copo do confederation.
Long FIFA vivos por muito tempo vivos
pelo perspective de Reng
Rasism är utfärda av dagen, som confederationen kuper platsstängning.
Automatically translated into Swedish thanks to WorldLingo
Det var inte mer som två årtiondeförflutnor, när vi förklarar Sydafrika som ett classless non-ras- samhälle. Emellertid med ut riktigt fabriks- till slagsmål klassificera och race ansträngning oss bristen. Gå framåtriktat har vi observerat med ledset synar, som rasism tog dess högväxt i vårt samhälle, ett antagande befriat land,… som
vi välkomnar denrasism aktionen, som är drivande vid FIFA-aktion i samverkan med confederationen kuper stakeholders.
Long levande FIFA Long direkt
vid Rengs perspektiv
Расизмом будет событие дня по мере того как чашка конфедерации распологает закрытие.
Automatically translated into Russian thanks to WorldLingo
Оно было no more 2 pasts декад, когда мы объявим Южную Африку как неклассовое non-расовое общество. Однако с вне правильным изготавливанием для того чтобы воевать тип и гонку боритесь мы shortfall. Идущ вперед мы наблюдали с огорченными глазами, по мере того как расизм принял свое высокорослое в нашем обществе, полагая освобожденная страна…, котор
мы приветствуем кампанию anti-расизма которая управляется кампанией FIFA совместно с stakeholders чашки конфедерации.
Длиной FIFA в реальном маштабе времени длиной живут
перспективой Reng's
Het racisme is de kwestie van de dag als sluiting van de kopplaatsen van de Federatie.
Automatically translated into Dutch thanks to WorldLingo
Het was niet meer dat twee decennia pasts, wanneer wij Zuid-Afrika als klasseloze nietrassenmaatschappij verklaren. Nochtans met uit juiste productie om klasse en rasstrijd te bestrijden wij tekort. Het doorgaan hebben wij met droevige ogen waargenomen, aangezien het racisme nam zijn lang in onze maatschappij, een veronderstellend bevrijd land…
Wij stemmen in met de anti-racism campagne die door de campagne van FIFA samen met de bewaarders van de federatiekop wordt gedreven.
Lang Levende Lange Levend van FIFA
door het perspectief van Reng
عنصرية الإصدار من اليوم بما أنّ الكونفدراليّة فنجان يعيّن إغلاق.
Automatically translated into Arabic thanks to WorldLingo
هو كان [نو مور] أنّ اثنان عقود مواض, عندما يفيد نحن جنوب افريقيا كمجتمعة [كلسّلسّ] [نون-رسل]. كافحت مهما مع صناعة مناسبة خارجا أن يتنازع صنف وجنس نحن عجز. يذهب إلى الأمام قد لاحظ نحن مع أعين آسفة, بما أنّ عنصرية أخذ ه طويلة في مجتمعتنا, يفترض يحرّر بلد…
نحن نرحّب ال [أنتي-رسسم] حملة أنّ يكون قدت ب [فيفا] حملة [إين كنجونكأيشن ويث] الكونفدراليّة فنجان [ستكهولدر].
يتوق [فيفا] حيّة طويلا حيّة
ب [رنغ] منظورة
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Giveaway : Tickets to The Comedy Heavies Event
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“We are a limping democracy, wrestling with a credit crunch and facing a world cup with intermittent electricity - if you don’t laugh, you die…” says John Vlismas and I’m inclined to agree. Never mind what I have to say about Vlismas’ profundity, why don’t you go and hear what he has to say in the flesh and blood.
Better yet, why don’t you see Vlismas, Barry Hilton, Mark Banks, Loyiso Gola, Mark Banks, Joey Rasdien and Krijay Govender? They’re all performing at Carnival City in what’s been entitled The Comedy Heavies. The Comedy Heavies is being held on the 3rd and 4th of July and for a small fee you could go watch them all in one night. Or …
If you’re one the first four to comment on this blog we’ll give you two tickets to the The Comedy Heavies. It’ll save you dollar, make you look good in front of your lady or man friend and entitle to you one fucking good time. Just thank us when you’re at the event because we’ll be there too.
The Comedy Heavies isn’t just going to be a stand up feast from the cream of comedy, but the comics have been chosen to represent the wide spectrum of comedy styles, from the legendary deadpan of Barry Hilton, to the barking mad characters of Mark Banks and the righteous anger of recently-circumcised Loyiso Gola and the ever popular Joey Rasdien. Even Krijay Govender has taken time for her crazy television schedule to appear in this remarkable production.

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First thoughts on my Cerebra Experience
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Wow what a fascinating first two days at work at Cerebra. To fill you in I’ve moved from Submarine Depth Research, an amazing qualitative market research firm which pioneered South African digital qualitative research to Cerebra. Cerebra focuses on creating interactive marketing and social media campaigns which allow brands to meet their consumer’s minds head on in comfortable nooks online. At least that’s how I see it.
Nevertheless let’s get onto the good stuff, the people. I was rather anxious on my first day, albeit for the fact that I knew some of the Cerebrans, I still felt nervous. The feeling faded fast. Previously I’ve worked in academic, corporate and creative environments but I’ve been treated to very different first days - all of them with their own inherent structure, even in the most creative of environments. Cerebra’s greeting was a great mix of both structured and unstructured, the greetings were warm and friendly, there was a genuine sense of trying to help me find out who does what and how I can help them do it but importantly for me there was a spirit of getting stuck in which one ought to embrace.
An important part of working in a creative team, in my opinion, is to ensure that the lines of communication are open from the get-go. Added to that in a tech/creative environment it is also necessary to understand that most tech-creatives are individualistic, have a strong sense of agency and an even stronger will and thus one has to ask loads of questions in order to truly get to grips with how teams operate as units and as individual members of the team. I certainly asked a lot of questions and have so many still in store for the kick ass Cerebra team who will no doubt continue to accommodate them patiently as they seem to have a genuinely positive attitude toward knowledge sharing and idea generation.
If you know Cerebra, then you know that the development and design teams are Drupal advocates. I’ve bookmarked learning Druapal properly as an initial goal and have already been provided with learning material from Chris Dawson and Andre Ellis. I’ve made my way through some Drupal basics and will be setting up my own Drupal test server soon, the details of which I might document on this blog via weekly video posts.
Mike Stopforth and Melody Maker who I sit beside and opposite from respectively entertain me with their witty dialogue, and have an incredible method of communicating work related information in packets alongside data on twitter updates, friend requests and when I left the office, who was the lucky 500th follower on Melody’s twitter account. It’s almost a lesson on how our brains are beginning to systematise information on the fly; shelving and storing the business and social information in their own storage compartments for retrieval as an when needed. You’ll just have to trust me on this as it might sound nigh on impossible if you’re used to corporate banter which goes no further than the timid “so what are you making for dinner”conversation and hits near boiling point when confrontation arises.
I think my views on the Cerebra content team, Brandsh crew and the Mobmedia (mob ?) are going to have to appear in another blog because I’ve already taken this journey far past the 500 word mark and no doubt you’re already frowning waiting for me to round this little diatribe up with a concluding remark. For now you’ll have to make do with my last thought on this icy Tuesday night; I will be challenged at Cerebra, forced to learn new skills and most importantly encouraged to innovate and contribute to the future of Cerebra.

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Prostitutes and Prostitution!
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With the Egyptian soccer team under a cloud of speculation as to whether their rooms were burgled by prostitutes I thought I would take a look at the topic. With an event such as the World Cup approaching rapidly it seems like now is the best time to legalise the worlds oldest trade in the world. I can only assume that the reason prostitution is not allowed is a throwback to our god fearing Calvinist National Party leaders that ruled South Africa for forty odd years but we live in a new, more progressive society.
Let’s face the simple reality that prostitution happens and is something we cannot stop. However, in South Africa where we have the worlds strongest constitution protecting human rights, it seems odd that we’re doing nothing to protect the sex workers of our country.
The argument for allowing sex workers to be legalised is compelling. Not only does it offer a greater level of protection for the sex workers themselves but is also bound to lead to a whole new group of previously untaxed individuals contributing to GDP. Quite simply if a prostitute is attacked or robbed while working she has no legal recourse with the police as she was effectively committing an illegal act during the incident. From an economic point of view it makes sense to register sex workers as it leads to a new group being taxed as well as other pleasant oddities such as sex tourists. Not only is it good for the worker but potentially good for the client who can identify “quality” workers through a referral system.
It’s beyond the scope of my blog to debate the moralities of the sex worker industry. Personally I feel it’s perfectly fine but then again I’m not sure I’d feel quite as comfortable if a member of my family were in the trade. Either way, it’s safer and more economically productive to keep the sex trade above board.
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Dolce & Gabbana Launches an Online Store
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Famous designer duo Dolce & Gabbana is launching their new online D&G store on June 23.
The new D&G online store will sell the brand’s men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, beachwear, eyewear, timepieces, and costume jewelry. The store will be ‘open’ in 31 countries.
Dolce & Gabbana truly are savvy businessmen as well as talented designers. Not only have they jumped into the millennium with this online store, but they have also decided to lower prices through supply chain management. In these tough times, being cutting edge is key rather than holding on to the past.
“The online boutique is like a game, a fun and immediate way to shop, without space or time limitations. We are confident it will get people even closer to D&G’s dynamic universe,” said Stefano Gabbana. (wwd)
The first D&G online store will open its virtual doors on June 23. Designed to mirror the edgy spirit of the D&G stores, dandgstore.com will sell men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, beachwear, eyewear, timepieces and costume jewelry. It is powered by Yoox Group and its offerings will be available in 31 countries worldwide. “The online boutique is like a game, a fun and immediate way to shop, without space or time limitations. We are confident it will get people even closer to D&G’s dynamic universe,” said Stefano Gabbana.

Source :
http://www.wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/on-specs-kira-redux-dg-will-open-virtual-doors-2174624?full=true
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First Impressions of the Nokia N97
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After about a day of using the Nokia N97 I won in the “Nokia Search for N” competition I thought I would give some of my thoughts on the phone. Bearing in mind that my last phone was a Nokia E71 and before that a first gen iPhone so as such I’m quite a phone buff. I was also given a week with the Nokia 5800 so I’ve fiddled with the new Nokia touchscreen version of the Symbian operating system.
First up in the box you get the phone, a 1500mAh battery (it’s the same one as the E71 so you’re assured of a long battery life), stylus (which isn’t actually critical), headphones, remote for the headphones, a USB cable and a charger. What’s interesting to notice is that Nokia has finally realised how useful charging a phone via USB can be and as such there’s only one input (micro USB) for both charging and connecting to a PC. While I’m used to Nokia phone’s coming with a tiny power charger this one comes with a slightly larger adaptor that has a micro USB connector at the end as opposed to the normal Nokia plug. Included in the box is also an adaptor that plugs into the micro USB and allows you to connect either the original Nokia charger or the newer, smaller Nokia charger. This is fairly useful as I have a Nokia car charger so I will be able to still use that with the N97.
Physically the device has a 3.5-inch touchscreen with a keyboard that slides out of the side. The downside of the screen is that it’s a resistive rather than capacitive touchscreen meaning it’s not as sensitive and precise. Frankly this hasn’t bothered me yet and all seems very tolerable with regards to the touch. My one initial gripe is that the keyboard is awkwarly layed out with the spacebar on the right hand side of the keyboard. I’m used to it being in the middle as it is on my E71 and this seems like a really silly layout choice. Initially I was extremely slow at typing but this seems to be getting faster with practice. Another issue that might bug some people is that you cannot use this keyboard with one hand and while this not an issue it might be something to keep in mind when chosing this phone over a traditional candybar QWERTY phone.
Unfortunately there is no iSync plugin as yet for the N97 so I had to use a PC to transfer all my contacts. This for me is something Nokia really should look at. I know in a few weeks there will be an iSync plugin but Nokia really should release the plugin before the phone comes out. Possibly this is a symptomn of early adoption but an annoyance if you’re on a Mac. Using a PC however it’s particularly simple to sync your contacts, appointments and even emails if you desire. If you’ve used the Symbian operating system on most new Nokia’s then you’ll be comfortable with the device and how to use it. Since I’ve had two Symbian phone’s this isn’t really an issue. The system is cleverly modified for a touchscreen but I tend to use the directional pad located next to the keyboard as I’m not the biggest touch fan. In terms of build quality it’s quite plastic in comparison to my E71 with a big of chrome around the screen but it’s generally plastic. This isn’t a bad thing but the back of the phone where you insert the simcard tends to squeak a bit when you push on it. Hardly an issue but if this is the Porsche of phone’s then I wouldn’t expect issues like this. I suppose this is the difference between the E-Series and the N-Series Nokia’s.
 Image Taken With Nokia N97
Feature wise the phone has a 5 megapixel camera that takes some extremely clear photo’s thanks to the autofocus. There is also 32-gigs of memory built in meaning you can take tens of thousands of photo’s and have a fairly substantial music collection as well. On the topic of music the phone has a built in FM tuner so you don’t need any cables or attachments to play music in your car. Something that is slightly bothering me is the lack of the Ovi store in South Africa so I cannot seem to download more widgets or applications. Speaking of widgets, you get up to five on the home screen which can be your contacts and various other widgets such as Facebook. Personally I’d find a Twitter widget really useful and I eagerly await. There’s also a GPS which I haven’t had time to use yet but I’m hoping that it takes quicker to find a GPS satellite than my E71 although this might be more to do with my network when it comes to A-GPS.
A lot of people have said that the phone is underpowered but I’ve noticed no slowdown when running multiple programs or swapping between portrait or landscape. Speaking of programs the phone comes with a nice array of extra software such as a Guiter Hero style game, Joikuspot (turns your phone into a wi-fi hotspot), Qik (allows you to create streaming video from your phone), Facebook, Amazon and both normal and finacial news software.
So far, after a day I’m quite enjoying this phone with its mix of great new features and multimedia slant as opposed to my E71 which is very business focused. I think however that the N97 provides a mix of business and multimedia with it’s great camera and 32 gig file space while at the same time offering email via Exchange. Once I get used to the keyboard I’m sure this will be a great device that despite some minor flaws makes an excellent flagship for the Nokia range.
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