Bayern Munich exhibits a master class against ten men Arsenal

 

David Alaba, Robben, Arturo Vidal and Xabi Alonso help Robert Lewandosiki to celebrate his goal against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium (Sky Sports)

It was Déjà vu at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal were handed a five goal thrashing in their second leg round of 16 clash against Bayern Munich to crash out of the UEFA Champions League. The odds were against Arsene Wenger’s men in this duel, to progress to the next stage of the competition, they had to overcome a four goal deficit; a feat that has never been achieved by any club in the history of the competition.

The fully packed Emirates stadium was given a glimmer of hope when Theo Walcott opened the scoring with an immaculate finish in the 20^th minute to make it 5-2 on aggregate on the break.

The tie slipped away from the Gunners when centre back Laurent koscielny got sent off after handling the ball inside the penalty area. Initially the match official had awarded the French international with a yellow card but changed his decision seconds later after a short consultation with his assistant, a decision which left Arsene Wenger furious. Robert Lewandonski made no mistake from the penalty spot to make it one all on the night and 6-2 on aggregate.

A demoralized looking Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after the 5-1 trashing they suffered in the hands of Bayern Munich at the Emerates Stadium in London 

That controversial spell was followed by a master class performance from Carlo Ancelotti’s men as they went on to score three goals in 12 minutes. The flying Dutch man, Arjen Robben scored the first followed by midfielder Arturo Vidal who begged himself a brace.

Arsenal was presented with a couple of opportunities to restore parity but poor finishing let them down. The tie was put to bed by Douglas Costa in the 81^st minute to make it 5-1 on the night and 10-2 on aggregate. This result came at the wrong time for Wenger as many are calling for his head.

In other results, 11 time champions Real Madrid came back from a goal down to beat Napoli 3-1 on the night and 6-2 on aggregate to progress to the quarter finals thanks to skipper Sergio Ramos who netted twice in six minutes.

https://soundcloud.com/davinci_sa/online-story-3

The SAHRC holds a national hearing on social media and racism 

Members of the public and  the ANC marching, condemning the spate of racism on social media (Backpage pix)

The South African Human Rights Commission just concluded a two day hearing on social media and racism on Thursday in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. This was after a series of racial social media rants that sent shock waves through the country and resuscitated race tensions between blacks and whites.

The recent rant was by a Limpopo man, Phillip Roodt, who posted about how black beachgoers crowded beaches like cockroaches and how he hoped they drown one by one.

The commission was listening to submissions from a number of players like implementers of the legislation regulating hate speech, non-government organisations and the various social media platforms. The public was part of the proceedings but they were barred from submitting recommendations.

The commission is chaired by advocate Bongani Majola, assisted by Justice Albie Sachs and Commissioner Angie Makwetla. The commission seek to find out the following: what constitutes racism in the context of social media, who should be liable and to what extent.

The commission maintains that it fully advocate for free speech which is vital in a democratic setting but it also recognises the responsibility it has to protect individuals and groups that feel vindicated in the process.

The narrative from platforms such as Facebook and Twitter is that they cannot screen users’ thoughts before publication as that constitute censorship. In their submission, Facebook said that they can’t screen people’s thoughts before publication but users must report sensitive material and then they can intervene by removing such posts.

The commission is expected to report back their findings and recommendations in two months’ time.

https://soundcloud.com/davinci_sa/audio-clip-1-sahrc-holds-national-hearing-on-social-media-and-racism

Rand reacts negatively amid cabinet reshuffle

President Jacob Zuma shakes hands with finance minister Pravin Gordhan after the budjet speech of 2017 in parliament, Cape Town (Shutterstock)

On the 22^nd of March 2017 the rand hit an 18 month high following poor performance of the dollar. Three days later the rand started to depreciate following an order by President Jacob Zuma telling the finance minister Pravin Gordhan to cancel his investor road show trip in Great Britain and the United States of America.
 

President Zuma and the newly appointed minister of finance Malusi Gigaba shake hands during a Home Affairs event
(VOCfm.co.za)

 

The rand reacted negatively to this stunt, since this announcement the rand has depreciated by 4% against the dollar. It is alleged that the president summoned the minister back into the country because he is planning to remove him from his position.
 

Financial indicators(Shutterstock)

 

On the early hours of Friday morning, the president announced 20 cabinet reshuffles. The finance minister and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas got the boot. 

                                                         Fact box

 

• 20 cabinet changes made by the president.

• 10 new ministers and 10 deputies ministers were appointed during the cabinet changes.

• The rand reacted negatively, it recorded a loss of 7% against the dollar.

• Cyril Ramaphosa and Gwede Mantashe claim they knew nothing about the cabinet reshuffles.
  
  

• As it was reported earlier this week, the presidency confirmed those speculations by firing minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas.

https://youtu.be/SOPIMjbCb-s


https://soundcloud.com/davinci_sa/cabinet-reshuffle-sir-da-vinci

The matured hunter

Deep in the heart of the Karoo
Serene breeze going about in the setting
Dry season - brown landscape; perfect for a hunt
Multiple specie of the Karoo
And he knows what his heart desires 
A stumped ensues...
The hunter has chosen 
Let the sharply pointed arrow go he did
Certainly, he follows
Slowly she succumbs to his passion and love
And down she lie
The arrow - shot with passion, has hit heart first
Try a sup he did - sweet it is
Matured now he is
His hunting days are over
He is never to hunt - ever.

For he has found his true love.

Dream

eye closed thine light,

and there she emerged,

enchanted on her grace I was,

gallantly spake to Thee I did,

Our ideas flowed sailing.

wake me up not,

Am not a yellow belly: for it is just better this way.

No objections on beauteous

“Objective beauty is,” they say,

Thy defied with all I had,

“It’s on the eyes of the beholder,” they stressed,

Thy defied rigorously, beauteous is…

“Objective beauty is,” they say,

They saw not the things Thee does,

Her kinesics; divine and graceful,

Thee is just excellent.

“Objective beauty is,” they say,

Yes! them yet saw Thee not,

Definition of winsome Thee is,

Indeed, God’s captivating creature yet.

I pray not deceived by my sight,

Eye declare Thee the most splendid being alive.

A ‘NO’ means that a ‘YES’ is possible

If an old man like Heath Ledger can get an Oscar for showing the world his crying abilities on screen then it is criminal when the best performance ever in life has not yet been honoured with the same accolade. Who can explain the snub? I don’t know, maybe the man’s life was not documented yet.

Surely in our lifetime we have heard the word ‘NO’ more than any word, but the NO’s we have encountered are just a drop in the ocean compared to the NO’s Gideon Maleka has faced.

He is one of a few select who triumph on making lemonade out of lemons. I felt the truth in his words accompanied by minor gestures. His mouth exhaled a fine voice with ponds of sense. I then stereotypically decided that is how Pedi people are-they possess passion.

The motto, “after every storm there will be sunshine” has been his biggest mantra. He developed resistance attributes during childhood-being the second born of five children taught him to become a strong young man and be the bigger person, a role which he still cherish.

Gideon Maleka, who experienced tough times during his childhood, had a dream. He wanted to be an attorney which he chose after poverty exercised power over him. In plain text he was after money which would in return enable him to change his family’s landscape. What a dream that was. After a thorough self-introspection he realised his interests and abilities-creativity, writing prowess and that unexplained media bug. Perfect match indeed.

In a perfect world there are critics and his decision of choosing an unpopular career path was severely scrutinized-“I even turned my family away, but if you’re correct they will realise that and share in your success”. This man followed what he believed in-he never even once defied his parents who imparted respect, humility and discipline in him.

Whoever came up with the saying, “a village brings up a child” was referring to this child (Gideon Maleka) and the village Mashite in Gamphahlele. The respect in him is from a profound setting. “Even against the big apple it would still be Mashite”, he said with a broad smile. It was vivid from his reaction that something special had been evoked, and why not, he has great mementos about that setting.

I couldn’t help but notice his grooming sense. One word - neat. His taste buds in music are exquisite, he’s into classical music. This conversation took place under the sensational sounds of Kenny G on the background which was really a nice soundtrack.

His dream momentarily shattered when the NSFAS declined his application in 2014. “Dreams delayed are not dream denied”. Gideon’s friend John Ngwati fully agreed. In 2013 he suffered the same faith. Both men thanked the High one for pulling them trough. Gideon even extended his hand by inviting me to come with him to the Z.C.C Sunday service. I obliged. I must say I had a blast.

If onions can make a grown man cry, who was Gideon not to cry after receiving a call from TUT confirming that he had been granted a place to pursue his dream of being a journalist?

A fighter - not in a literal sense but a person who is persistent, determined and philanthropic in nature. Gideon is not done; he would like to become an established journalist and take his philanthropic venture to a larger scale.

“Actually we never remember individuals.” Gideon is one in an elite group of people who would appreciate it if his works become appreciated more than him the individual. Let’s take the baton and continue running the race of life bravely even away from his presence.