Andres Iniesta has joked about the popularity of Paul the ‘Psychic’ Octopus after helping Spain overcome the Netherlands in the World Cup final.

The midfielder’s late extra-time winner for Spain sunk a sorrowful Dutch team who had a few significant chances to win the match.

The Barcelona star struck with a fine volley deep into the additional half hour to crown Spain as World champions for the first time.

It’s currently unknown whether British-born Paul knew that the winner would not come in the regulation 90 minutes, but if he did he certainly kept quiet about it.

Nevertheless, the Octopus corrected his previous European Championship final mistake by predicting Spain to win this time around to complete a perfect eight out of eight record for the World Cup.

After the game, Iniesta commented on Foxsports: “The Octopus will now be very popular in Spain.”

Paul predicted the only losses of the tournament for both Holland and Germany. His most impressive prediction was arguably his correct call that Serbia would defeat the Germans in the group stages.

Paul’s growing fanbase will be hoping that he is still fed properly now the World Cup is over and could be starting to wonder whether he is any good when it comes to club football

A PAINTING depicting Nelson Mandela as a corpse undergoing dissection has provoked disgust and been compared to witchcraft by South Africa’s governing party.

The artwork is a parody of Rembrandt’s 17th-century masterpiece The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp.

It shows Mandela lying in a loincloth while Nkosi Johnson, an AIDS activist who died aged 12, points to his arm stripped of flesh.

The spectators include Archbishop Desmond Tutu and politicians F. W. de Klerk, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.

The artist, Yiull Damaso, argues South Africa must confront a subject that remains almost taboo: the future death of Mr Mandela. The country’s first black president turns 92 later this month.

The painting, which has been on display in Johannesburg, provoked a furious response from the ruling African National Congress.

”The ANC is appalled and strongly condemns in the strongest possible terms the dead Mandela painting,” said Jackson Mthembu, a party spokesman.

”It is in bad taste, disrespectful, and it is an insult and an affront to values of our society.

”In African society it is a foreign act of ubuthakathi [bewitch] to kill a living person and this so-called work of art … is also racist.”

But Damaso, 41, insists that he is using the image to convey a political argument. ”The idea just popped up in my head,” he said on Friday.

”We have Nelson Mandela, one of the great leaders of our time, and the politicians around him are trying to find out what makes him a great man.

”Nkosi Johnson, the only one in the painting who’s no longer alive, is trying to show them that Mandela is just a man.”

Ouch !!!!!

Date: Friday 16 July 2010
Time: Doors open 8pm. Show time 9pm
“ONE LOVE” “I SHOT THE SHERIFF” “BUFFALO SOLDIERS” “THREE LITTLE BIRDS” “REDEMPTION SONG”

Rootsriders will be back in Swaziland again for first time since performing at Bushfire’s 2007 & 2008 editions with their Tribute2BobMarley live-show. They will be one of the closing acts for the 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP and will be coming to House on Fire straight after that! On July 16 this AWESOME Reggae band will perform inside the House On Fire Amphitheatre with an all exclusive new show! The band will be in Swaziland for about a week to record songs for their new album, expected to be released February 2011

Phone: +27 11 459 8756

SPTC has suspended any further connections onto the fixed wireless network, popularly known as ‘ONE’ pending the resolution of issues in dispute. This was communicated through a joint notice by MTN and SPTC later on Friday. In fact, an order of the High Court issued by Justice Stanley Maphalala further compels SPTC not to market their new product until the matter has been settled by arbitration within a two-week period. “The boards of SPTC and Swazi MTN Limited wish to notify their stakeholders that the parties have reached an out of court settlement in respect of the interim relief court application lodged by the Swazi MTN and others have withdrawn the court action and SPTC temporarily suspended any further connections onto the fixed wireless network pending resolution of the issues in dispute,” read the joint public statement. Phanuel Vilakati, SPTC Acting Board Chairman, reiterated that the suspension would take a relatively short time because they agreed to return to the table to talk things over because that was where they should have started in the first place. He said when they agreed to settle the matter that way, certain conditions were put and one of these was the suspension of the connections onto the fixed wireless network until disputed issues were thrashed out. This follows a matter in which Swazi MTN Limited dropped its case against Swaziland Post and Telecommunications Limited (SPTC) at the High Court, where it was seeking a court interdict stopping the parastatal from providing communications networks. Both parties will now go for arbitration. This follows a deed of settlement signed by the parties, which was made an order of the High Court on Friday. The consent order was issued by Judge Bheki Maphalala. The deed settlement reads; * The Swazi MTN Limited (applicants) agrees to withdraw the proceedings against SPTC (respondent) on the terms and conditions. * Each party is to pay its own costs. * The parties will endeavour to resolve the dispute within a period of two weeks from the date of the agreement is made an order of court. * The respondent hereby undertakes that pending finalisation of arbitration proceedings to be submitted in terms of the joint venture agreement, it shall cease marketing and advertising the Fixed Wireless component of its NGN Network. * The respondent shall refrain from connecting new customers to its Fixed Wireless component of its NGN Network. * The respondent further undertakes to provide applicants an auditable system which will ensure that there are no additional connections from date of this agreement. * None of the parties shall be entitled to any public announcement or statement regarding the agreement, the dispute between them and any issue which is a subject of the court proceedings without the prior consent of the other party before making such public announcement or statement. * Should any party breach the provisions of the agreement, all of which are material, the aggrieved party shall in addition to any other rights it may have in law, be entitled to enforce the provisions of the Agreement as if it were a judgment of the court * The parties agree to make this an order of court, 4th June, 2010. Swazi MTN was represented by South Africa, Advocate Paul Kennedy, who is being instructed by attorney Mangaliso Magagula. Appearing for SPTC was Advocate Patrick Flynn, who was taking instructions from Mabandla Jacob Manzini. Swazi MTN Limited is the first applicant while MTN International (Proprietary) Limited is cited as a second applicant and Mobile Telephone Networks Holdings (Proprietary) Limited is the third applicant. Swazi Empowerment Limited is cited as a fourth applicant and SPTC is the respondent. In its opposing papers, SPTC says it has the exclusive privilege of providing telecommunication services. The corporation contends that in terms of the Section 59 (i) of the SPTC Act, it does not need a licence in providing such services. It claims to have the statutory power to issue a licence as the regulator of the communication services.

This May, Swaziland’s Bushfire Festival will play host to world-renowned US poet Coleman Barks for a performance of works written by 13th Century Sufi poet Rumi.

According to a press release, Rumi’s 800-year-old insights have not only influenced the festival venue’s House on Fire creatively, with his poems physically carved into the foundations, but also inform the festival’s ongoing mandate to encourage synergy and harmony in the region.

In his poem “One Song” – the chosen theme for this year’s Bushfire – Rumi reveals his relevance to Africa’s societal issues by what Barks describes as “pointing not to what divides us, but to what we share”:

“All religions, all this singing,
One song.
The differences are just illusion and vanity. Sunlight
Looks slightly different
On this wall than it does on that wall and a lot different
On this other one.”

Extract from “One Song” taken from “The Soul of Rumi”, translated by Coleman Barks.

The press release note that Barks’s international best-seller, The Essential Rumi, and numerous Rumi translations, have seen him become the foremost authority on the works of the mystic poet, reaching a devoted, inspired, and ever-widening international audience.

Now living in Athens, Georgia, Barks was born and raised in Tennessee and has taught poetry and creative writing for over 30 years at the University of Georgia. Through a new partnership and financial backing from the US Embassy, Bushfire has invited Barks to perform Rumi’s work at this year’s festival, which takes place from May 28 to 30 and also showcases a top line-up of live music, theatre, dance, film and interactive workshops.

“What we’re trying to do here at Bushfire Festival is create a melting pot for creativity -and Rumi’s broad appeal and spirituality speak across borders and boundaries, lifting one from a sense of worldliness,” says Bushfire festival director Jiggs Thorne speaking of the significance of bringing Barks to the festival.

“It really is a massive coup to have Coleman coming to Swaziland. Having one of the world’s top poets wanting to perform at Bushfire really shows the growth of the festival as a world-class event.”

Barks will perform a selection of pieces during the Sunday programme, accompanied by Ronan Skillen, a top percussionist from SA, who will also perform over the festival weekend with his band BABU.

“(Rumi’s poetry) has always been performed with music, which helps the words go deeper into the heart,” says Coleman of the new collaboration initiated by Thorne.

In a region where poetry and music are both plentiful in tradition, Bushfire hopes to open the door to more artists who share their enthusiasm for collaborational performances such as Barks’ partnership with Skillen, as well as inspiring their audience with world- class artists such as Rumi, whose relevance is timeless.

“It is so important in these potentially, dangerously, sectarian times that we appeal to what holds our fragile world together. Rumi’s poetry seems to be one of those things,” says Barks, who has never been to southern Africa. “I have heard about the beauty of the place and its people. I look forward to taking all that in.”

Swaziland bushfire

Swaziland’s Bushfire Festival is an annual explosion of entertainment hosted in the internationally acclaimed House on Fire – one of the most eclectic performance venues in the world! (www.house-on-fire.com) Bushfire 2010 will take place earlier this year in May to align beautifully with the FIFA World Cup hosted in South Africa. The festival will take full advantage of the increased media attention of the region to ensure widespread high profile exposure for the event. Bushfire seeks to create a platform not only for the growth and development of the arts but also highlights and raises funds for some of the more critical social needs that face our country. This unique philosophy, Bushfire’s “Call to Action”, establishes the Bushfire Festival as one of the ONLY events of it’s kind on the African Continent. Highlighting Swaziland as a top African Destination, this fabulous combination of achievable idealism hosted in a mind-blowing setting creates the unbeatable energy behind a truly inspired Festival. Situated in Swaziland’s Ezulwini Valley (Valley of Heaven), Bushfire offers 4 stages of World-class entertainment for 3 full days and nights…A fantastic event for the entire family.

This Year’s Line up is as follows:

• Babu (SA)
Babu fuses the complexity and vibrancy of jazz with the long-standing improvisational practices of Indian classical music. Nominated for two SAMA awards, Babu features Kesivan Naidoo on
drums, the Standard Bank Young Jazz Artist of the year 2009.

• Blk Jks (SA)
SAMA AWARD WINNERS 2010!! (BEST ALTERNATIVE ROCK)
Rolling Stone Magazine describes the Blk Jks as ‘Africa’s best new band’. With a wide array of influences, from Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, Blk Jks perform an electrifying blend of uniquely South African, afro alternative rock.

• Bholoja (SD)
Swaziland’s rising symbol of song, art and culture, Bholoja’s striking multi-colored voice and his native lyrical songs has won respect and expanded his following across national borders.

• Buskaid (SA)
The Buskaid Project from Soweto is an ensemble of young performers, widely acclaimed for their intuitive grasp of classical music blended with a unique African sound.
Clowns Without Borders (USA /SA / SD)
The collaboration between Clowns Without Borders and the People’s Educational Theatre (PET) explores the relationship of clown theatre and community intervention for HIV/AIDS in Swaziland. CWB will bring laughs to the Bushfire lawn throughout the festival weekend.

• Coleman Barks (USA)
World- renowned US poet Coleman Barks presents a poetry workshop and a performance of works written by 13th Century Sufi mystic poet Rumi- one of the creative influences of House on Fire and this year’s Festival theme ‘One Song’. As the foremost authority on the works of the celebrated poet Rumi, Barks will perform accompanied by top percussionist Ronan Skillen.

• Flame (MOZ, ZIM, SA)
African Synergy presents Flame, a pioneering Afro-jazz collaboration of three of Africa’s wondrous ladies of song (Mingus from Mozambique, Zimbabwe’s Dudu Manhenga and Mphumie Twala from South Africa) accompanied by the superb saxophone of Dhitini Mbali.

• Freshly Ground (SA, MOZ, ZIM)
Celebrating the launch of their new album in May, Bushfire will welcome back Freshly Ground to the super stage. Winners of multiple national and international music awards, Freshly Ground weaves a sound that is highly infectious and undeniably groovy.

• Gold Lion Film Festival (SD)
Bushfire showcases a series of short films selected from the prestigious Gold Lion International Film Festival throughout the weekend.

• Lira (SA)
SAMA AWARD WINNER 2010!! (BEST FEMALE)

Known her for eclectic sounds comprising elements of Afro-pop, R&B and jazz, Lira has become a major selling artist in South Africa and is set to explode onto the international circuit with her debut at Bushfire.

• ‘Man up a Tree’ (SA)
Performed by Ellis Pearson and Sdumo Mtshali, this powerfully visual and comically persuasive theatre uses the delights of circus performance to create a totally entertaining story that deals head on with the urgent theme of global climate change.

• The Moreira Project (MOZ)
Originally from Mozambique, multi-award winning Moreira Chonguica has created a new awakening in jazz lovers. Playing with a band of Cape Town’s hottest musicians, Moreira Project brings a contemporary African fusion of jazz for the ‘fresh ear’ onto the Bushfire Stage.

• The Parlotones (SA)
SAMA AWARD WINNER 2010!! (BEST ROCK
The Grammy Award winning Parlotones debut on the Bushfire Stage this year. Known for theirelectric and polished live performances, this award winning South African super-group fuse alternative rock with deftly crafted and darkly romantic lyrics.

• Ringo (SA)
No newcomer to the music scene, Ringo Madlingozi is a Multi-talented vocalist, drummer, percussionist, guitarist, songwriter and producer. Ringo is sure to set the Bushfire stage alight with awesome stage presence and Afro-pop beats.

• Risenga Makondo, Sotho Sounds & The Luvatsi ‘Recycled Orchestra’ (SA, LSO, SD)
Risenga Makondo plays a dazzling array of traditional African instruments and his music has featured on block-buster film The Matrix. Collaborating with Sotho Sounds, a group of young Shepherd musicians from Lesotho, Risenga will facilitate the ‘Recycled Orchestra’ with the Luvatsi community youth group, transforming junk into funk. This is Bush technology!

• The Silent Conductor (SA)
Steve Barnett, the Silent Conductor, returns to Bushfire 2010 bringing 300 drums and more for a spectacular interactive show-down. ‘When you’re in Africa, you cannot be an observer- you have to be part of the music’. Arrive early to book your drum!

• Temaswati Project (SD)
L’Alliance Française du Swaziland presents an a cappella project by ten female Swazi artists. Featuring Zaza, Flow D, Bongiwe Dlamini, Jazz P, Thobile Magagula, Fubu, Patchanga, Shanik, Lodanda and Nancy Gininza- Bushfire celebrates the launch of their debut album.

• Thobile ‘Makhoyane’ (SD)
Swaziland’s very own Thobile ‘Makhoyane’ keeps Swaziland’s indigenous instruments alive. Playing the makhoyane and the sitolotolo, she fuses traditional Southern African sounds with a contemporary flare.

• Winyo (Kenya)
Singing mainly in his native Dholuo and Swahili, Winyo’s passionate vocals and soulful acoustic guitar convey a powerful social message.

• International DJS
DJ Tira (Durban)
DJ Toby 2 Shoes (Cape Town)
DJ Ben (France)

• Local DJs
DJ Didang (SD)
DJ Crooks (SD)
+268 (SD)
DJ Mbo (SD)
DJ Mix Mash (SD)
DJ Tibza (SD)
Master P (SD)

Also featuring Bushfire’s Hip Hopsters: KRTC, MOZAIK and AKHONA

Yahoo Mail users can add their Facebook friends’ e-mail addresses to their Contacts list, Yahoo announced Thursday. The move reflects Yahoo’s desire to capitalize on the fast-growing social-networking market.

Yahoo Mail now includes a Facebook option in the e-mail program’s Import Contacts pane. After users input their Facebook user name and password to give Yahoo Mail access to their profile, the e-mail program will import all their Facebook friends’ e-mail addresses into their Contacts list.

The integration of Facebook friends into Yahoo Mail is part of Yahoo’s broader strategy to add Facebook Connect, a service from the social network that allows users to integrate elements of their Facebook profiles into third-party sites, to more of its Web properties.

But Yahoo isn’t stopping at Facebook. Last month, the company announced a partnership with Twitter that would allow the sites to share content. Users will be able to check their Twitter profiles from Yahoo sites later this year.

VIA

The story going rounds at the moment…

The product was launched in January and although a majority of the public had hoped that it would be on sale soon, the communications company Acting Managing Director Amon Dlamini said this could happen towards the end of March. The much hyped about “fixed wireless” is infact CDMA technology which the country’s sole fixed telecominication provider was hoping to launch this month.

How it works
What happens in when your mobile phone handset is a CDMA phone, the voice or data calls are spread out across the entire available wireless frequency bandwidth and use frequencies 1.25MHz wide, rather than being allocated channels either by time or frequency.

he cellular information of either voice or other data (like picture messaging for example) is split up into small packets and transmitted to the recipient in binary code of 1s and 0s (or it wouldn‘t be digital), and each packet has a spread code embedded within it. This cellular phone code is exclusive to each cell user and call, and every packet of data can therefore be assigned correctly when being reassembled at the receiving cell phone and all other data with different codes is ignored.

Also referred to as wide band spread spectrum, CDMA cellular encoding makes sure that all the cellular transmitted data is correctly recognized and duly assigned, without interference from all the other cell phone signals which all have their own individual codes to be recognized.

Interference from other cellular users within the system is not a problem unless the number of phone users reaches a saturation point which disrupts the voice coding system.

Another thing about CDMA cellular technology is that more than one (actually three) cell phone towers can be used at any one time, as the cell phone can choose which site is giving the best signal, or choose to blend the signal from two or more. This cell phone process is known as `soft handoff’ and is an ability unique to CDMA cell phones.