“When this life tries to keep us apart, You keep callin me back to your heart.
Let me hear you say, I'm so glad you found me, Wrap your world around me.
Never find a love like this” – Natasha Bennnigfield

It totally slipped my mind when I was writing last week’s email that this is the month of love. I hope you were all well loved last week J

It looks like we are developing a trend of consistency, 3 from 3, but I guess that’s cos a brother has some sha ite to say J nowadays. Quick welcome to Miss Makgaretsa, I hope this little community adds some value in whatever way to your life. Should you have any comments please go to www.mondaymail.blogspot.com, alternatively please drop me a mail. If its weighing too much on your inbox, drop me a line and I will remove you.

So where do I begin? The end of an era in Cuba, Fidel steps down… more on that another time I guess. We have moved into our own little office space in Rivonia,, office moves are such a pain in the @@@# between finding space, getting the layout, coordinating Telkom…blah ITS DONE!! I R HAPPY!! We even have a boardroom iYo!

Anyway, for Lent I decided to do 2 things, the first being to stop swearing, something I am failing miserably, but at least I am making a conscious effort to watch my words, but trust you me its hard when you are surrounded by buffoons!! Really it is. The other one, the one that I particularly enjoy is doing something, ok ok, giving something… to someone who I in my mind is less fortunate than I.

Anyway so last week…and I am not writing this cos I want to tell you how great I am blah blah cos damnit you should know it by now J, ok so last week Wednesday I got home from work a long day cos I spent a lot of the last few weeks trying to co-ordinate an office move, so I got home from a wild goose chase and I was knackered so I decided to befriend my couch and it dawned on me, darn it, I haven’t done my Lent deed yet, I thought to myself dust I will do 2 drops tomorrow. Then I was like no you don’t so I got up and went to gym and then to the shops to buy some bread. Then I drove around the neighborhood looking for someone to give the bread to, eish sorree for me.

So I drove into Rivonia and parked my car, ordered some take away and set off down Rivonia Road, it started drizzling at that time, but there was not a soul to be seen, then appeared this old dude on the other side of the road pushing his trolley of goods. But he was struggling. So I ran to go and give him a hand to cross the road. As I got there I said hi and tried to help him cross the road, I think he though t I was trying to steal his trolley cos I was met with a rather disapproving HEEEEEY!!! So I explained myself and then helped him over the island and across the road. It was then that I gave him the loaf of bread, the smile on his face, and it was a single toothed smile if memory serves me correctly, the dude was like the happiest guy for that moment. Boys and girls its such a small thing but for me it was like one of the best feelings I have had this year. Just thought I’d share that with you all. On the flip side to that though is the fact that there are those that you give stuff to and still ask you for some money.

Next story, you guys know me right, generally an eternal optimist about this country and still remain optimistic, but I cant lie to you guys after that documentary flighted on Carte Blanche this Sunday, my optimism was brought into question momentarily. They had a little section where the interviewer is speaking to JZ…’is that so’ indeed it is so, and to be honest he didn’t say much and the documentary could well have been edited in a way so as to paint a picture depicting the kind of story about this country he wanted to portray so on that part the words I discount somewhat but what frightens me is his manner of speech. His combatitive manner and what I thought to be a lack of charisma and that edge, eish people it’s a problem, but ey give the dude a chance.

Then there was this part about those gangsters, my question though is if this reporter can find these dudes, he has on tape what they say they can and will do and not even give a hoot, what are the police doing about it?

Speaking of the police here is a response I received from a very knowledgeable person regarding the dismantling of the Scorpions, so its not all doom and gloom just yet, but we must raise objections and not just watch life pass us by as we tend to and then complain…”eish mara why??!!”

The Scorpions are created by legislation. (Rather than there being legislation that allows for them to be created, but leaving the actual establishment to the President or the National Prosecuting Authority, or whatever).

This means that they can only be gotten rid of by more legislation being passed by Parliament that revokes or amends the section setting them up.
For legislation that is of high public interest to be passed, Parliament must hold consultation with the public, and take into account the public's views. If they don't and pass the legislation in any event - where the public has made attempts to be heard or consulted - then the legislation may be invalid.

The bottom line is that there are two things that people can do to stop the Scorpions being dissolved -
1. write letters, articles etc now in public fora and to their representatives stating their belief that the future of the Scorpions is a matter of public importance on which the public should be heard. This is obviously less crucial than (2), because its already pretty clear that the public considers it a matter of public importance.

2. If and when the draft legislation dissolving the Scorpions is published for comment, people must write to the relevant authorities and attend the public hearings that are held, to call for the Scorpions to be maintained. This can be as individuals, coalitions, etc. I'm presuming that a signed petition would also be effective - provided it was properly administered with signatures and addresses/ID numbers to confirm that the people signing are real.

Once again i have another forwarded email to lift the spirits of those amongst us that may be feeling a tad dispondent at the moment, regarding the current state of affairs in SA.

This is the letter Alan Knott-Craig (MD of iBurst) sent to his team:
Hi guys,
2008 has certainly started with a bang! The future was rosy on 31 December 2007, but suddenly everyone is buying candles and researching property in Perth!
A combination of recession in the USA, global equity market negativity, high interest rates, the National Credit Act and power outages have combined to create the perfect storm.
But don’t panic!
This is not the first time there’s been doom and gloom. Every few years the same thing happens. We experience massive economic growth, everyone is optimistic and buying Nescafe Gold, and holiday homes, and Merc’s. The positivity gets ahead of itself and the economy overheats, and then panic sets in because the economy seems to be collapsing when in actual fact it’s simply making an adjustment back to a reasonable level.
It happened in 1989, when SA defaulted on its international loans and the stock market and Rand crashed, it happened in 1994 when the ANC took power and everyone thought war would break out, it happened in 1998 when interest rates hit 25% and you couldn’t give away your house, and it happened in 2001 when a fairly unstable guy by the name of Osama arranged for 2 Boeings to fly into the tallest buildings in New York!
On each of those occasions everyone thought it was the end of the world and that there was no light in sight. And on each occasion, believe it or not, the world did not actually end, it recovered and in fact things continued to get better.
I think 2008 will be a tough year, but I also see it as a great opportunity to seize the day whilst everyone else is whinging and get a front-seat on the inevitable boom that we’ll experience in 2009, 2010 and beyond.
Make sure you make a mental note of everything that is happening now, because it will happen again and again, and if you don’t recognize the symptoms you’ll be suckered into the same negativity, and forget to look for the opportunities.
It’s easy to be negative. Subconsciously, you WANT to be negative! Whenever you open the papers they tell you about the goriest hi-jacking and the most corrupt politicians. Why don’t they dedicate more pages to the fact that Joburg is the world’s biggest man-made forest, or to the corruption-free achievements of the vast majority of public officials? Because bad news sells. Good news is boring.
SA still has the best weather in world! We’re lucky enough to possess a huge chunk of the world’s resources, i.e.: gold, platinum, coal, iron. The growth in India and China will continue to accelerate (India and China sign 10mil new mobile customers every month), and so will their demand for our resources. The government has already embarked on massive infrastructure projects (some of them a tad late, i.e.: electricity), and this will pump money into the economy.
We are all lucky enough to be a part of the birth of a massive and all-encompassing industry. The Internet has and will continue to change the world. The enormity of its impact is up there with the wheel, electricity, TV, telephones, and possibly man’s greatest ever invention, coffee. Not only does it open up an entirely untapped world of commerce, but it is also the ultimate disseminator of information and news. Apartheid would not have lasted 40 years if the Internet had existed! And you’re part of it!
I’m looking forward to another year of ASA complaints, IR issues, Plug & Wireless parties, BTS roll-outs, billing runs, irate customers, happy customers, orange bubbles, faulty elevators, etc, etc. The nice stuff makes me feel good, and the challenges remind me why we can beat the competition. Most importantly I’m looking forward to having fun and making memories.
So ignore the doomsayers, install a timer on your geyser, and buy Ricoffee for a couple of months.
Cheers, 
Alan



Birthdays
16th Jane, Luntu
18th Lourie, Susan, SB
22nd Lindsay, Anja, Victoria and Kimmy K

Ok that’s me for another week, its almost over but in the words of DJ Fresh have a great week inspite of yourselves

Beeg love and the respect is huge!!

Y

‘Carpe Diem’