Top 10 Jackie Chan Stunts

These are absolutely amazing! The amount of excruciating pain he has put his body through is amazing… all for the sake of entertainment, and we love him! There’s other stunts he’s done though… some even better, this is just one guy’s tribute – but it’s pretty cool. Check it out.

Cellphones can cause Cancer: Expert Says

Dr. Vini Khuruna says that there is increasing evidence that cell phone radiation does cause certain types of brain tumers. He states that although the evidence is not as strong as it should be right now, in about a decade’s time it will be since it can take cancer around 10yrs to develope. He also claims that it can claim more lives than smoking [5million people die globally from smoking]. He then warns that people should use mobile phones as little as possible.

The World Health Organisation and other medical organisations claim that these claims are false. I don’t think it would be particularly wise to disregard this claim. One could site a few cases where the voice of the minority has proven to be right in the long run. Either way…I guess it remains to be seen. 

Ford’s “Struggle” continues

I must say that I am attached to the Ford brand, simply because I grew up riding in one. It’s the car we went to the shops with, the car we went to school in, the car we travelled in when we were going on holidays. It’s the car that held up for 21yrs, and although she’s struggling here and there, she’s still the “good ol’ faithful” she sure as hell lasted longer than our Fiat.

But the brand’s been struggling – that’s no major breaking news or anything, but news are that Ford is selling their Jaguar and Land Rover assets at a loss to the Indian company Tata. It’s in line with their new strategy, where they’ll be focusing on the Ford brand and it’s products so it can increase it’s revenue.

Henry Ford is one of my favourite businessmen and I can’t help but wonder how he’d be handling his company in these tough times. I wonder if the leadership that it’s under is still holding on to the values and standards that he held, the very ones that helped him to be successful….

Well, we’ll just have to wonder…

South Africa – a possitive outlook!

The headmaster of St Stithians, Dave Knowles delivered the following speech to the boys recently:

 I wanted to spend some time  with you today reflecting on the last  two or three months we have  experienced as a nation.  Some  commentators have called this the “post-Polokwane  Syndrome”, after  the events at the ANC National Conference in December,  the outcome of  which many have seen as negative.  Added to this  negative feeling, has been the electricity crisis, now  seen as a result of  poor planning by the state and acknowledged as  such by President Mbeki in  his State of the Nation address in  Parliament, where he apologised to the  nation.

 Also knocking us have been higher world oil prices; higher  interest  rates in SA and the start of a world wide recession, particularly  in  the UK and the   US with their major housing  crisis.  Added to these  have been the on-going crime situation and  negative press articles.

 So, it is quite easy to fall into the trap  of feeling and thinking  negatively about our country.  In 1948, Alan  Paton wrote his famous book “Cry the Beloved Country”  and that title is  perhaps still appropriate today, 60 years on, for  obviously different  reasons.  How do we as passionate South Africans,  react to this mood  of despondency?

 Well I cannot speak for you or tell you what to  think but I can give  you my perspective.  First of all, I make no  apologies for being passionately South African.  Let me share this  with you – I was not born in South  Africa, I was  born in East  Africa (I moved here at the age of seven), so becoming a  naturalised South African was a choice for me. It was a choice I made  in  the mid 1980s – a terrible time for South  Africa – the country  was in turmoil; we  had sanctions; very low economic growth; the  country was bankrupt; civil  war was looming; there were bombs in  schools; riots in the townships;  young men, many of them my peers,  fighting and dying on our borders.  During that time, I gave up a  British passport for a South African  one. Some might call that foolish. So be it.

 I have never  regretted that decision.  Why not? Not just because   South  Africa is such a beautiful country  – it  was because I believed in the people of this country and I  believed that  God had a plan for us. This was proved right for me
 when the miracle of  1994 happened. And it was a miracle.

 All of you sitting here,  matrics and younger, were born either in the  year Madiba was released, in  1990, or afterwards. And most of our  Grade 8s are “born-frees” – born in  1994 or afterwards and what a  privilege that is!

 As a passionate  South African, here’s what gets me mad:

 The levels of  violence and crime that have touched many of us – and  many of you  sitting here.  As an adult,  on behalf of all adults, I believe that we need to  apologise to our  youth for not doing more to protect you.  I get mad  when I visit black schools and see how little they have and  how poor  some of the teaching is.  I get mad  that there is still massive poverty in our country and an  Aids pandemic.  I get mad  that there are some instances of incompetence when it comes  to areas of  social and service delivery.

But being mad about these issues doesn’t make me  any less passionate  about South  Africa.

 I especially  get mad that some of our leaders lack moral standing –  whether they be a  judge, the top policeman or the top politicians.  To me the issue is  not whether they are guilty in a court of law. For  me, leaders should not  be tainted by even a hint of corruption. Even  that hint undermines a  leader’s moral standing – and one should do  the honourable thing and  resign, in my opinion.

 You see, to be a leader means to be a  dealer, a purveyor and a  deliverer of hope.

 And it is our job –  yours and mine – to be deliverers of hope.  Because we believe in this  school that all can and will lead and  because I believe in the talent and  potential of the young men  sitting before me – I believe in that  hope.

 So am I optimistic?  Yes.

 I cannot believe that,  after all we have been through as a nation,  that a future   Zimbabwe scenario is God’s plan  for us.  Yes, I am optimistic because I believe that we have the  people here  in South  Africa to overcome these  challenges.

 Stuart Pennington, author of the book and website  ” South  Africa:  The Good News” wrote last week:   “I am in  awe of the thousands of  South Africans who toil to help the less  fortunate.”  I would include in that  statement honest policemen, hardworking  nurses and teachers and all who  work in community service projects,  including all of you.

 Yes, I am  optimistic because I refuse to believe that we can continue  to be held to  ransom by a criminal minority.
 Yes, I am optimistic because we are  resilient and tough, as a people  and a nation.  Yes, I am optimistic  because I believe that the challenges ahead are  surmountable, as we wage  war against poverty and crime and  corruption.  Let’s look at some of the  facts not always highlighted by the media.

 As we know, the media  often focuses on the bad news because bad news sells.  So, when it  comes to the economy, let’s remember that economies work  in cycles –  expansion; higher expenditure, the economy overheats and  there is a  readjustment (recession) which is normal.

 It has happened before in   South  Africa – and has been worse – and  will  happen again. In 1989, the SA Government defaulted on its loan  payments  (i.e. was unable to pay its debts); the stock market crashed  and the rand  collapsed.  In 1998, interest rates hit 25%. 

 Are we better  off now? – in a lot of ways we are.

 1980s – 1%  growth
 Early 1990s –  SA was technically bankrupt – defined as when national
 debt is more than  3% of GDP – in 1994, it was 9%.
 During the  Mandela years, we had 2% economic growth
 For the last  seven years – 5%!
 Next year –  4% – despite world wide recession, oil prices,
 electricity crisis.
 JSE      – 2001 – 8000 points and everyone was pleased;   2007 – 30
 000 points (although it has lost some growth now)
 Platinum – up  R5000/ounce since January
 Here’s a  thought – with cuts of electricity, less platinum comes out
 of ground  but what’s left is not going anywhere and while it stays in
 the ground,  the price goes up!

 What else is up?

 Business  confidence (until January)
 Employment is  up
 Number of  houses built – up
 Tourists  visiting – up
 Car sales:
 20 000 per month in 2001 –  everyone was pleased!
 30 000 per month in  2007
 Look at our budget,  announced by Trevor Manuel on Wednesday. Tax
 income has gone from R188bn  in 2000, to R660bn in 2007!

 At the same time, he has cut personal  tax and has not borrowed any
 money. The Americans are so envious of  us.

 Individual tax cuts  – i.e. money given back to tax  payers
 2006 R12bn given back to individuals
 2007 R8.4bn given back  to individuals
 2008 R7.2bn – in a supposed-to-be recession
 This is a  major achievement, particularly as in 2000, there was a
 R25bn deficit on  the budget and for the last three years we have not
 had a deficit on the  budget.

 Money for housing for the poor has gone  up
 2000    R9bn
 2007    R51bn
 And  we have built 2.6 million houses since 1996.

 Yes, we have  challenges:

 Eskom is one of them and there is now a 2c levy on  every kilowatt
 hour. But think about this

 Electricity  was cheap, now we are paying more
 We had  electricity cuts before. In 1981, there was no power in the
 whole  country for 18 hours
 We are not  the only country to have power cuts – New  York; China –
 over Chinese New Year  this year – 12 million people were left
 stranded.

 There are other  challenges

 The world oil  price has gone from $60 per barrel in 2007 to $90 now
 and it is not  coming down.
 We may be  heading for a situation like the UK where  they pay R15 per litre.
 HIV/Aids is  another major concern, as we see fit to spend R17bn on
 the World Cup but  less on handling this pandemic.

 So what am I  saying?

 Yes there are concerns and challenges BUT there are also  many positives.
 There are no easy answers or solutions and 2008 will be  tough.
 However, we have had it tough before and we handled it and boom  years
 will come again – such as in 2010.

 So what do we  do?

 Emigrate? An option for some I suppose and I am always sad when  I  hear about people leaving.  But where to? Is it guaranteed that it  will be all cherries and rose  blossoms on the other side of the  fence?  Or do we toughen up, get creative and get active, as the  “new” South Africans?  By “getting creative,” I mean this – there  are massive opportunities
 here and we will be more aware of issues,  especially financially and  environmentally.

 Two thoughts by way of  example:

 Next time  there is a power cut and you can’t read e-mails, play  computer games or  watch TV – celebrate – you can instead talk to  people – your family or  colleagues.  With regard  to the environment, here is an example of being creative:
 water  availability is always an issue in SA – did you know that the  average  house has 120 000 litres of water running off its roof every  year in the  form of rain water?

 By “getting active,” I  mean thinking about what we can do  – like  Trinity House holding their march on Tuesday; or writing  letters; or  petitions; or getting involved to help fix it.  Here is  an excerpt from “African Wisdom” by Lanette Hattingh and  Heinrich Claassen  entitled The Ostrich Wisdom: Where is  your head?  When  confronted with a setback you have two choices of action: you  can bury  your head in the sand like the ostrich and hope the problem  will pass by,  or you can stand tall and face the problem head on.
 ”We have one freedom  inside us that nobody can take away, the freedom  of reaction/attitude in  any given  circumstance.” (Viktor Frankl, the  psychologist &  concentration camp survivor.) Our  reaction to a  setback will determine if we are going to stay with our  heads buried  in the sand or look up and do something about  it.

 When storms of life pour down on you, it’s what  happens within you  that will determine what happens to  you.

 You have Mr  Positive and Mr Negative doing constant battle in your  head. Guess who  wins? The one you feed the most! If your head is in  the sand you can only  see the dark and Mr Negative will thrive. To  see the light, you must look  up.
 ”When you are knocked  down, be sure to land on your back, because if  you can look up, you can  get up.” (Nelson Mandela)

 If  you are an ostrich and have never faced a setback, you need to  learn these  facts about solving problems first:

 Face  it! Confront the problem and get the picture  clear.  Rake  it! Work through your denial, aggression or depression around  the  problem.  Make  it! Look up, stand up and take action.

 This is important  because just as the sun hardens mud and softens  wax, trials can either  break us or make us.

 Finally, here is my resolve and my truth:-

 To be  positive
 To stop  whingeing
 To stop  blaming
 To ignore the  doomsday jokes sent out by people who want you to feel
 as bad as they  do.
 To read the  Good News website regularly
 To join the  “stop crime, say hello” campaign
 To find  goodness in people
 To commit,  regularly, to this beautiful country of ours
 To believe in  God’s plan for us

 I know this – that if I  do not work to create the life I want, I will  have to endure the life I  get.

 One final thought:

 Matthew Lester writes a column in  the Sunday Times Business Times  Money. He is Professor of Tax Education at   Rhodes   University and  an  advisor to Trevor Manuel. Yesterday he had this to  say: ” South  Africa is my life, it always has been and  it always will be.”  Amen to that.

 A  Prayer for the Country (taken off the www.sagoodnews.co.za  website)

 Our Father in  Heaven  You know exactly how much we need You right now  Please let  the Leaders of our country act under your influence  We ask that You  will hold your hand over us and our country  And bring relief from the  crime and other difficulties we are experiencing.  We are proud and  privileged to live in this beautiful country  Look after us and bring  us peace and prosperity.
 Credits:

 Stuart  Pennington:  ” South Africa: The Good  News”
 Matthew Lester: talk at Sandton Convention Centre, 21 February  2008
 Dr Lanette Hattingh and Heinrich Claasen: “African Wisdom: 21
 Inspirational Lessons for excellent living.”

 By Dave Knowles,  Headmaster of St Stithians in Johannesburg

Obama Race Speech

Look, it’s no secret that I digg Obama, but this speech has just made me gain more respect for the man. It’s not only the media wagging their tongues, but it’s the way he has handled himself and the way that he is tackling the issue of race. He is diplomatic in his approach, yet honest. He’s not skittish about things.

If anyone is going to deal with racial issues in the US, in a fair and honest way, it’ll be Obama. He does not deny the anger that still hangs in the air, and at the same time, he does not overlook the progress that his country has gone through.

He is the man who will “Change the Conversation”…. and if I may be so bold to say – I think that he’ll be America’s Mandela in my opinion.

I strongly recommend you read the article and watch the speech - Chicago Tribune

On the Cafferty File – Jack Cafferty poses the question “Does Obama’s race matter?”. Many interesting comments have come through. While many say that his race doesn’t actually matter, others (obviously) say it does. One commenter said that he has heard people saying “I am not voting for a black guy.” That’s no shocker to me. While Obama’s race matters in terms of the racial history and the racist rut the the world (and the US) finds itself in,  it definitely  shouldn’t be the focus, his merits and ability to lead is what the focus should be on, and I see that coming through from the people who are joining the conversation on blogs and other news articles.

Someone else also said that they won’t vote for Obama because of the people he associates with. This comment is linked to the statements made be Reverend Wright – the key person who actually pushed Obama to address the issue. They likened it to associating with a Nazi.

For me this is taken out of perspective. There are many people who have a streak of racism that I associate with – both black and white and I’m sure that this person associates with them also. Just about everyone does. If you say this is a lie, you’re a liar. Now if you’re going to paint Obama in the way this person does, you are being unfair.

We work for organisations and belong to groups or organisations where people have in some way or another been influenced by racism. Again, this is a rut that the world is stuck in and to deny it is to run away form reality. I’m not saying everyone is racist – heck no, but there are a lot of ordinary, well meaning, generally good people who are unfortunately influenced by the stereotypes propagated in their communities. This you cannot deny. Now we do not necessarily disassociate ourselves from them, although we do correct them when they do throw out off colour and unfair comments. Just like Obama does. He does not excuse Rev. Wright, instead he calls for all Americans to heal.

To view more comments on this issue, visit The Cafferty File on CNN’s Political Ticker

Death by Prescripton – much like Ledger

I’m talking about one of my favourite actors who died earlier this year – something that’s still saddening and it’s in relation to his cause of death – a problem that is facing many people the world over – and is said to be on the rise due to stressful modern living.

Now the death of Heath Ledger was an accidental overdose of a combination of prescription drugs namely; narcotic painkillers, anxiety pills and sleep medication – Prof. Daya from Rhodes University calls it  a Pharmacological panel beating.

Sadly many individuals become addicted to this medication – and may do “doctor and pharmacy hopping” so they can get a hold of the drugs in unsafe proportions.

Highly stressed business professionals are named amongst the most susceptiable people to get trapped in this addiction. The drugs are meant to  be used in  small proportions and for a short duration. Addicts will eventually gain a tolerance to them but this only increases the danger of an overdose that leads to fatality.

Now I’ve got insomnia and I never take sleeping pills for fear of getting addicted to them. Obviously one can excersise self control – but that is pretty much waht’ you’d say for many of the people who are addicted to these substances, whether they be family, friends, associates and colleagues.

Arthur Clarke, Dies at 90

A phenomenal visionary of the 20th century died today…. If you’re not a science fiction fan the name may have no meaning to you, but here are a few things he envisioned and inspired people to develop. Things that influence your daily life:

- In 1945,  he first proposed the idea of communications satellites that could be based in geostationary orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position relative to the ground  – the idea was ridiculed and a generation later there was the lunch of Early Bird, the first of the commercial satellites that provide global communications networks for telephone, television and high-speed digital communication. The orbit is now named Clarke Orbit by the International Astronomical Union.

- Oneof his short stories, “Dial F for Frankenstein” (1964), inspired British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee to invent the World Wide Web in 1989.

The man wrote 100 novels – and over 1000 short stories and essays. His work has been internationally recognized and won him many prestigious awards, and he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

If you’re a movie junkie – you may know his work from the 2001 movie “A Space Odyssey” – regarded one of the most important Sci-Fi movies made. – WASHINGTONPOST.COM

So here’s one more name to add to your list of favourite people – depending on whether technology scares you or not. Even so  – our technophobes would die if they were faced with the life of even the 19th century. 

South African Politics – Property Bill

So I guess our old buddies sitin the cabinet and think “…Oh no! Investors have their eyes on South Africa – they say there’s lots of opportunity here!!!! AAARGHH!!! …Mhhhhh, what can we do to scare them away???”

Well, we know that our first and major tool is HIS LOWNESS, Jacob Zuma – especially with the Polokwane stint. 2nd move… the scorpions saga [now obviously these are just the major factors, we know there's a whole lot more].

Now we know that the State of the Nation Address and the Budget Speech didn’t do much to soothe foreign investors – so we’re watching the Rand plummet.

Now there’s a new one, for both local and foreign investors, the new property bill. Oh joy, this one will make me want to buy a place and rent it out,  -the Bill will see the rights of legal property owners further eroded and may make it almost impossible to evict illegal squatters in South Africa  – SUMMIT TV

Oh boy….

CHINA: Execution for taking bribes

China’s former head of food and drug safety, Zheng Xiaoyu, was put to death recently. His crime? Taking $850,000 in bribes from pharmaceutical companies, some of which resulted in approval of fake drugs. One of these “approved” antibiotics accounted for at least 10 deaths in China. His execution followed heightened worldwide concerns over the general safety of Chinese food, medicines and consumer products - THE BLAYLOCK WELLNESS REPORT

The rest of the world takes these things quite seriously meanwhile in South Africa…

One of our guys was fired for approving condoms that were faulty – not sure what else happened to him. I wonder how many people contracted HIV due to his actions and how many have lost their lives or are in real danger of losing their lives because of it. He must thank his lucky stars he’s not Chinese!

New York’s 1st Black Governer – Winds of Change in US

David Paterson on Monday will become the third black governor since Reconstruction, and the first in New York.   – What’s more is that he is partially blind – where he lost most of his vision as a child.

I say “big up!” Now we need Obama in the “White” House…. ; )

Now it’s not my thing to get people made fun of especially in situations like this. But it is John Steward, and Leno, and the rest of the crew…. and this is what they had to say about the whole scandal… “oh deary” – view video