Go Mothers!

I am grateful for this experience of being a mother. As with other experiences in my life, it has provided a perspective for some enlightenment.

My 3 childrens births gave me a newfound insight and appreciation of the reality which my own mothers (yes, plural) faced. And as I participate in my children's upbringing, I find myself exposed to every possibility - that which is within my control and that which is not.

Parenting is definitely a challenging and demanding task. I think I am most grateful that I have not had to face a day when I could not meet my childrens basic needs. I am conscious that there are mothers who, today and every other day of the year, are forced to witness their children go hungry for lack of adequate food, be exploited for lack of opportunities and die for lack of medication. This day of gratitude must honour them too.

"A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child."

Sophia Loren

Shame on corporate thugs

"INTELLECTUAL THEFT OR PLAGIARISM is the use of others' published and unpublished ideas, words or other intellectual property without attribution or permission, and presenting them as new and original rather than derived from an existing source. The intent and effect of plagiarism is to mislead the reader as to the contributions of the plagiarizer. "

(http://www.wame.org/)

It is shameful to see the likes of lauded organisations like the International Marketing Council (a.k.a. Brand South Africa) passing off templates of ideas they have previously rejected, as their own. Paraphrasing cannot disguise the obvious copy and paste, but money and profile certainly can...

Think cable thieves are a threat to society? Yes, theirs is an offence - an offence most likely perpetrated in response to economic need.

The intellectual theft perpetrated by corporate thugs is a premeditated act of corporate greed.

You decide which is the greater denigrating force on the virtues of our society?

In Recovery

It's been said that there are as many opinions on a given topic as people. I believe it! Just remember the last time you were sitting with a group of people discussing a hot topic. My favourite this week - do we really know what's going on in Zim?

We've also come to an "in principle" agreement as people, that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. So I have mine, you yours, etc. etc.

I'm glad for that because opinions give shape to broader thought that can be shared and developed to bring about new choices for improving the world.

But there are those occasions when opinions, so many, can just give you a headache... I've had one for the past 2 weeks. I knew by Day 4 that what had become a continous dull ache was in fact a side effect of intense feeding on the overpowering information buffet.

There's just so much going on and I have this compulsive need to know. But I will "save myself" - working on a recovery plan that involves not devouring every published opinion on the latest headlines - wish me luck. And the same to you.

Bring me my Vuvuzela!

Bafana Bafana's resounding 3-0 victory over Paraguay on Wednesday has renewed my faith...

That's the kind of performance a fan longs to get used to.

Continued success!

No warm winter

Not long ago, Eskom promised us a warm winter.

A cold front over Gauteng and last night (the coldest night of 2008) we were blacked out for 8 hours. Of course, we're committed to saving electricity afterall we are the ones that suffer the power outages (which despite all promises, still happen without notice).

Even as we implement energy saving measures, Winter is coming...

The fact is that South African homes need additional heating during winter because our houses are not built to retain energy well. And we can expect extremely cold weather this winter if global weather patterns (and last winter's experience) are anything to go by.

Now ESKOM is warning that we'll be penalised even more, over and above the 14,2% increase and the 2c per kWh levy introduced by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel. If your supply area's total consumption isn't reduced by 10% (not sure if that's calculated per day/week/month) you will be penalised daily.

And the latest news... Eskom is appealing to the National Energy Regulator for a further double digit increase over and above the 14.2% already approved by the regulator.

Looks like it's going to be a chilly winter in our homes and for our disposable income (this on the back of rising interest rates, increases in prices of fuel, food, etc).

Still the insensitive heads of Eskom have the gall to defend their hefty "performance" bonuses and possible share options of R10 million. What rot!

How do we confront this?

I'm just wondering, by what authority (legally speaking), do Eskom (and government), have the right to impose the plethora of penalties on consumers, when electricity supply is monopolised by a state entity which has dictated demand?

Team 2010 rising

Seems soccer fans are not the only ones who've been grinding their teeth over Bafana Bafana's ability to make a good showing in 2010.

My own soccer-loving family is among many South Africans who have been praying that SAFA will hear our cries and take the drastic measures necessary to give us the best possible team for 2010. In fact a little while ago we were analysing the team's performance at the 2008 AFCON tournament (Ghana) when my hubby threw in his 2 cents, suggesting SAFA should sign up a dedicated core team of the top contenders to train and play together in preparation for 2010. His thinking was that it would help players focus on the 2010 objective, without the distraction of club football pressures. It could also help build a stronger playing unit, he suggested. Someone was listening hun...

Here, here to Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile who, according to news reports, is proposing the 'nationalisation' of our national soccer squad ahead of 2010. Apparently government wants to avoid the embarassment of a bad performance by the national (host) team in the 2010 soccer spectacular. The proposal still needs to be accepted by SAFA (the min-istrators). Don't expect too much enthusiasm from SAFA - they've never been known for their insight into the development needs of our team.

I say government (and my hubby) are onto something? We need to do something different than what we've been doing. At this point, we have nothing to lose.

Give us a team we can be proud of!

Beyond the rainbow nation effect

Is the 'rainbow nation' era coming to an end? Time will tell.

I can't say I ever fully embraced the cliched term accredited to our peace-loving Archbishop Tutu. Although it aptly describes SA's diversity, its often extended meaning carries the deceptive connotation of a nation reconciled and unified in spite of its diversity. But that prize has up to now mostly been a figment of our collective imagination. That's not to say that we can't one day claim it in truth.

Perhaps the SA Patriot agenda of responsible citizenship marks a new era in national consciousness that expresses more aptly our identity and aspirations as one nation. The steady stream of new registrations from the SA PATRIOT website are encouraging this point of view.