Sad news to find out that yet another star has fallen. Maya Angelou will always be remembered for being a  vivacious, loving, cheerful women who through her poems taught us courage, love and how to just be nobody but ourselves.

May her lovely  soul rest in peace.

Below is the first ever poem I  read written by her and from then I was hooked.



You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Maya Angelou

Hi Divas and Divos

It will be a very interesting four years for South African parliament with the Malema's EFF on board to fight for the rights of  the less fortunate...

I thought Malem was joking when he told the newspapers that EFF was to attend

Image: dispatch

Local award-winning singer Zahara's brother has been murdered, Eastern Cape police Reported on Tuesday.

"The brother and a man he was with were found dead with multiple gunshot wounds on the banks of a river in Next Camp, outside of East London on Sunday," said spokesman Lt-Col Mtati Tana.

The deceased are Zahara's brother Mbuyiseli Mkutukana, 25, and Thanduxolo Zumani, 35.

Lt-Col Mtati Tana said only their cell phones were missing.

"The motive for the killings has not been established yet" he said.

The Eastern Cape police are investigating the case...

No arrests have been made.

Last week the Pistorius trial was more like a savage boxing match as State prosecutor Gerrie Nel went in for a knockout, with Judge Masipa acting the part of a ring referee, who cautioned Gerrie for hitting a few inches below the belt.

The first low blow came on Wednesday when Gerrie flashed a photo of the dead Reeva with her brain exposed – and asked Oscar if he was prepared to take responsibility for her death. This caused a spectacular emotional meltdown by the
accused. On Friday, Judge Masipa told Gerrie he should not call Oscar a liar while he was in the witness box. She also reminded everyone present that the case was no laughing matter, after one of Gerrie’s remarks caused a ripple of laughter in court.
But the wily prosecutor kept up the pressure on Oscar, picking holes in his story.

He succeeded in getting Oscar to contradict his own testimony at the bail hearing last year. When Oscar denied knowing the term “zombie stopper” Gerrie produced a video of him using those very words about a bullet. Oscar did not come across as credible when he said witnesses Samantha Taylor and Darren Fresco were lying about his other two firearm charges. And when Gerrie’s repeated jabbing questions had him on the ropes, Oscar blamed the cops for disturbing crime scene

evidence. He continued to duck and dive under Gerrie’s relentless attack and rarely gave a straight yes or no answer. Oscar said he didn’t mean to shoot anyone, claiming the murder was accidental. When Gerrie put it to him that he shot Reeva during a quarrel, Oscar sobbed: “Not true, My Lady.” He said the same when Gerrie suggested Reeva was talking to him from inside the toilet before he shot her.
The prosecutor has not yet asked Oscar why Reeva locked the toilet door.

Source:dailysun

Basson, a sub-contractor for the company Ericsson had her contract ended after the racist remarks she made on Facebook went viral.

After being involved in an accident with a taxi, Basson decided to display her frustrations on Facebook.

 “kaff*r” and a “savage” “Effing "K" taxi. And once again I vote for the death penalty. These savages don't deserve to live. But more importantly Daniel is alive and I am alive. They can rot in hell,” she wrote.

The comment went viral on the social and Basson soon found herself without a job.

Ericsson South Africa M.D Magnus Mchunguzi told SABC news that Basson had ‘breached their business ethics’.

“I do apologise for my unnecessary and hurtful remarks I have made on this public forum. My intention was not to be insensitive nor derogatory,” Basson later wrote.

And so we ask is racism completely over in South Africa?

Families of the passengers and crew on missing Flight MH370 received a text with the crushing news there was no hope left for their loved ones.

Image: The Mirror

New satellite data analysis showed the Malaysia Airlines jet crashed in a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean, with 239 people on board.

But questions were last night raised about the sensitivity of airline bosses after they broke the tragic news with a group message to the mobile phones of victims’ families.

The text read: “We have to assume beyond all reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and none of those on board survived.”

Beijing-bound MH370 vanished from civilian radar less than an hour after it took off from Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on March 8.

There has since been no sighting of the Boeing 777 except for debris spotted on satellite images in remote waters west of Australia.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said last night that new analysis by the UK Air Accidents Investigation branch and tracking firm Inmarsat showed the plane’s location was “far from any possible landing sites”.

Read more here: The Mirror

Polo South Africa

Polo Ralph Lauren

But what happens when the iconic brand you are buying is not actually what you think it is? Like finding out that Polo in South Africa has no link to the multi-billion-dollar Polo Ralph Lauren brand in the US.

Like the Cape Town businessman who first alerted me, my colleagues were peeved when I broke the news to them. They had all either bought Polo products - or wanted to - and had assumed that the items sold locally were part of Ralph Lauren's classic international range.
It is an easy mistake to make. The two brands share a name and a similar range of premium goods. But, more significantly, they use an almost identical motif: a polo player on a horse.
The key difference between the two motifs is that on the local Polo products the horse runs to the right. The Ralph Lauren horse runs to the left.

It turns out that Polo South Africa - which was founded in 1976 - owns the local trademark rights to the word "Polo" and the horse motif.
Ralph Lauren, who launched the famous Polo brand in 1967 and boasts stores in the world's major cities, is barred from selling any of its own Polo goods, except perfume, in this country.
Does this blurred distinction not have the potential, at best, to confuse consumers or, at worst, mislead them?

Cape Town businessman Rob Laurie learned that Polo South Africa was not linked to the US brand only last year when taking a visiting French businessman to a local Polo store.
The associate "lost his luggage and I had to take him to buy some Polo clothing, which is virtually all he wears", said Laurie.

When the visitor told Laurie the Polo garments in South Africa were "not genuine [not Polo Ralph Lauren]" , Laurie dismissed him as being "a typical French snob" and didn't give it another thought. But when two business associates later backed up the Frenchman's claims, he contacted Polo South Africa, which confirmed the two brands were unrelated.

"Of concern to me is the price of the products, which are pitched at international levels, but the consumer is not aware of the situation," said Laurie. "This should be brought to the attention of consumers, who can then make their own choice as to whether they want to buy the product."
Polo South Africa sells its classic golf shirt in its stand-alone stores for R700. A long-sleeve men's shirt at its Rosebank, Johannesburg, shop was selling for R899 this week, a pair of men's leather shoes for R1790, and women's jeans ranged from R499 to R899. All the labels say "Made in China".
Ralph Lauren's classic Polo golf shirt costs $85 (about R905). On the US company's website, jeans are listed as starting at $98 , flip- flops go for $20, men's dress shoes for $1350 and suits start at $1495 (about R16000).

I asked the LA Group, which owns Polo South Africa, why it would choose to produce a brand so similar to the US version? If the name and motif were not "borrowed" from Polo Ralph Lauren, was it just an incredible coincidence?

I got nowhere with group legal adviser Rae James, who refused to answer such questions either by e-mail or on the telephone, saying they had "no relevance". Instead, she reiterated her e-mailed statement that Polo South Africa has a "use agreement" with Ralph Lauren that entitles the company to use the Polo trademark in Africa and prevents Ralph Lauren from trading in the same territories.
"To differentiate the product, it was agreed that the polo pony would face differently," the statement read. The trademarks were registered and owned by the company throughout Africa, she said, and had been used for more than 35 years.

"There's nothing more to it," said James when I asked for more details. When I suggested there was, asking whether she did not think Polo South Africa was misleading consumers, she said the company was unaware of any market confusion.

A simple query on where the local garments were made went unanswered.
While ducking my questions, which she described as "aggressive", James warned that if I published anything untrue there would be "repercussions".

The threat was repeated in an e-mail from an attorney representing the company, who described certain words used by me and Laurie as defamatory.
Ralph Lauren, which is rumoured to be interested in opening stores in this country, declined to comment.

Polo South Africa sells its products through at least six stand-alone stores as well as in selected Stuttafords, Edgars and John Craig branches countrywide. On the Edgars website, the local Polo logo is listed under "international" brands, alongside the likes of Levi's, Billabong and Jeep.

Stuttafords, which sells Polo Ralph Lauren perfume and Polo South Africa garments, lists Polo Ralph Lauren's logo alongside top names such as Prada, Gucci and Guess in its "brands" listing.

Then there is the Branded website. The independent retailer of premier brands in Gauteng dedicates a page to the Polo South Africa brand with a link that takes users to Ralph Lauren's website.
When I called two Branded stores asking whether the Polo products it sold were the US Ralph Lauren products, one admitted it was a local brand. The other said it was Polo Ralph Lauren. Ditto for three John Craig stores phoned: one said the product was local, another suggested it came from Poland and another said it was Polo Ralph Lauren. And Polo South Africa thinks there is no confusion.

Source: timeslive

Kids and grown-ups love it so, but the happy world of Haribo has been turned upside down recently after being forced to withdraw sweets considered ‘racist’.

Image:  Twitter/Saam Kapadia

The sweet manufacture has removed liquorice in the shape of distorted black faces or traditional African masks after internet outrage from customers.

A spokesman said the sweets were themed around items ‘a sailor who travelled the world’ might have brought home.

Despite being on sale for years, Haribo has stopped selling some parts of its bagged Skipper Mix in Denmark and Sweden as a result of a social media backlash.

sweets bag.jpg Haribo has pulled a line of liquorice sweets shaped like faces after a social media outcry from customers who consider them racist. The sweet manufacturer has stopped selling some parts of its bagged Skipper Mix in Denmark and Sweden.  The product features black gummy sweets shaped like distorted faces or traditional African masks.Skipper Mix is sold in Denmark and Sweden (Picture: Haribo)
Head of Hairbo Sweden, Ola Dagliden, said the image was not something the company saw as having ‘negative connotations’.

However, this vision was not shared by a number of angry customers. Dane Saam Kapadia, tweeted that the sweets reminded him of a ‘colonial legacy’.

Translated into English his tweet read: ‘Multiculturalism, colonial legacy or the slave trade? #haribo skipper mix makes me think about Denmark and my Danish heritage’.

Mr Dagliden said: ‘We decided that we could keep the product while removing the parts that certain consumers found offensive.’

Source: Metro