www.xhosadictionary.com
Best online Xhosa - English dictionary. Translates individual words from/to English/Xhosa.

From their "Links" page:

Xhosa Translator
For translating whole sentences. Doesn't work well with individual words.

English/Xhosa/English Dictionary
Large database and easy to use search engine. No grammatical explanations, and some entries are inaccurate. Better suited for Xhosa speakers learning English, as many entries contain one English word with long Xhosa descriptions.

Webster's Online Dictionary
A list of Xhosa words (and some random phrases) that have been translated from English. Not very extensive.

And these resources:

Daily Dispatch

2009/02/10

WHAT has to be one of the most beautiful settings of any ultra-marathon this country has to offer, can be seen right here on the Wild Coast.

With the rise in popularity of extreme endurance sports, the Wild Coast Ultra over 270km which started yesterday is set to become one of the most popular extreme marathons on the running calendar. East London is growing in popularity with all forms of sports and is home to many extreme athletes.

Among them are Kate and Bill Godfrey (of Atlantic Rowing and the Trans 555km Sahara Run), Donovan Sims (multi-day adventure racer), John Woods (PE to East London surf-ski hero) and the list goes on.

The Wild Coast Ultra-marathon starts at beautiful Cremorne Estate on the eastern bank of the Mzimvubu River, winds its way through to Port St Johns, Ben Dekker’s Second Beach and Silaka Nature Reserve.

January 29, 2009 press statement by SWC. For immediate release.

Flood of Objections to Wild Coast Toll Road

An unprecedented flood of thousands of objections has poured in to the consultants tasked with writing the final Report on the Wild Coast Toll Road EIA, despite holiday season timing for public comment.

The submissions have come from individuals, communities, businesses,
environmental organisations and civil society groups, while in Durban, where road users are protesting extra toll booths, local government have joined the chorus.

Many of the comments have described the EIAR as ‘fatally flawed” in many ways, but particularly in its lack of compliance with required legal standards and adherence to public participation norms.

It also

The deadline for public comments on the new N2 Wild Coast Toll road EIA is 22 January.

Please send your comments to:

Theo Hansford
NMA Effective Social Strategists (Pty) Ltd.
Box 32097
Braamfontein, 2017.
Fax: 086 601 0381
Email: theoh@nma.org.za

A number of requests were received from people who wished to send in comments against the N2 toll road proposal and in support of SWC (Sustaining the Wild Coast - www.swc.org.za) principles. Val Payn compiled the following (below) for general use. Please feel free to adapt or adjust it however you see fit. You can delete anything you don't personally agree with, or feel free to add any of your own comments that you feel it does not cover, or are more suitable for your own circumstances. You're also welcome to 'personalize' the wording in whatever way you like. However, if you would like to send it exactly as it is, then it is recommended that you include a 'provisio' along the lines of:-

August 2008 a vaccine against Biliary of dogs was introduced in South Africa.

More info here: http://www.proteaanimalclinic.co.za/bosluisenteng.htm

The vaccine is not to be used in animals younger than six months or in pregnant bitches. Sick animals or dogs with lots of ticks should also not be vaccinated. At least two weeks must be allowed for between this vaccine and other vaccines such as the Distemper/Parvo combinations.

The first vaccination is followed a month later by a booster and then twice yearly booster vaccinations are recommended at present.

"Fish" has had biliary 3 times in the past year and a half, so this vaccination is definitely recommended to anyone coming to the Wild Coast with their pet. Especially in summer when there are so many ticks around.

By Judi Davis
South Coast Herald
17 October 2008

Conservationists believe an eco-tourism partnership between the South Coast and the Wild Coast could sound the death knell for dune mining.

Sustaining the Wild Coast anti-dune mining campaigners have described the postponement of the Xolobeni mining license as a "stay of execution".

"However, to ensure that the Xolobeni death sentence is permanently abolished we have to ensure sustainable development for the Wild Coast." said a spokesperson for the organisation, John Clarke.

He was referring to the about-turn the minister of Minerals and Energy, Buyelwa Sonjica, has made regarding the Xolobeni mining project.

Earlier this year the minister gave Transworld Energy and Minerals, the SA subsidiary of Australian company, Mineral Resource Commodities (ASX:MRC), the go-ahead to mine a section of the dunes in the Xolobeni area of the Wild Coast.

www.mthatha.co.za

List of facilities provided.

Planned Hluleka tar road

To register as an IAP, kindly contact:
Roxana Le Roux
Senior Environmental Consultant
Coastal & Environmental Services
Postnet Suite 95
Private Bag X 504
Northway
4065
Tel: + 27 31 312 4800
Fax: + 27 31 312 5005
Email: r.leroux@cesnet.co.za

Project Description

The project is approximately 47 km long and 9.8m wide. The road is currently unpaved with a gravel wearing course.

The project will involve the upgrading of the road, where required, to a Class 3 (9.8m wide) bitumen surfaced cross section. All the envisaged roadworks will generally be contained within the limits of the existing road reserve however minor realignments will be required most notably near the Hlulekha Game Reserve.

Background

http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=248817

Strong words: King Mpondomini Sigcau’s lawyer, Votani Majola, makes a point while addressing Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica. Picture: LUBABALO NGCUKANA

2008/09/16
MINERALS and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica has for the first time admitted that the consultation process into the planned multi-billion rand titanium mining project at Xolobeni on the Wild Coast was “flawed”.

Sonjica’s comment came after a heated meeting at Xolobeni on Friday, where AmaMpondo king Mpondomini Sigcau threw his weight behind the drive to stop the mining of pristine dunes in the area.

Speaking through his lawyer, Votani Majola, Sigcau said he chose tourism over mining, and demanded that the licence to mine the dunes be withdrawn. He also demanded that Sonjica institute an investigation into the planned mining project.

50/50 will be broadcasting a report on the Beach Protest March/Walk, and the story of ‘Scorpion’ Dimane - one of the leaders of the Crisis Committee, - (who unfortunately wasn’t able to be there), tonight Monday 11 August at 7.30pm on SABC TV 2. It includes damning footage shot last year when the EIA process commenced, testifying to allegations of bribery... and worse... to force the local residents to support the mining scheme.

Apparently DME have agreed to join a studio debate on the matter, to be filmed on Wednesday next week, and broadcast the following week.

The Democratic Alliance says it is disappointed by the decision of the Department of Minerals and Energy Affairs to grant a mining right to Mineral Resource Commodities (MRC) to mine a portion of the Xolobeni Mineral Sands Project.

"The site of this mining right is along the Wild Coast, one of the world's most important biodiversity hotspots," said Gareth Morgan, the party's environment spokesperson, on Tuesday

Morgan said while it was true the area in which the right to mining had been granted was one of the most impoverished places in South Africa, at best, only a few hundred jobs will be created from the mining. He said the potential to create new jobs in the eco-tourism sector -- which, along an unspoiled coastline would have far exceeded the opportunities created by mining -- might now be diminished.

Morgan said he feared that additional rights could be granted in the near future to increase the area that was to be mined.

Community leadersHundreds of people walked from Wild Coast Sun to meet the people of Xolobeni.

Despite the pro-mining lobby tricking many members into not attending (by announcing a food-basket handout for the same day) it is apparent that the community, as represented by hundreds of people present, sangomas and the headman, are totally opposed to the strip mining of 22km of their pristine grassland and dunes.

In fact they have threatened to revolt, like the Pondo Uprising of 1960, if the government grants the mining license.

These pictures do very little to convey the beauty and incredible historic / archeological value of this portion of the irreplaceable Pondoland Center of Endemism.

Benny the Tour Guide can be contacted on 079-1985 975 / or through Sonya on 074-336 7862 - for a guided day-trip.

See for yourself why we must protect our children's ecological heritage.

Wild beautyBy NICOLETTE SCROOBY
www.dispatch.co.za

ONE of the country’s most pristine areas – the Wild Coast – will receive a cash boost of close to R50 million over the next five years in a bid to conserve the area.
The Wild Coast project, with funding through the United Nations, seeks to establish an effective network of protected areas along one of South Africa’s most scenic routes.

Facilitated by Eastern Cape Parks (ECP) the project plans to:

"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence- it is a force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."

"Occupants of public offices love power and are prone to abuse it."

~George Washington

SPECIAL ALERT!

Comments due by today !!!

Public Hearings: National Environmental Management Amendment Bill (36-2007)

The Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism will be conducting public hearings on the National Environmental Management Amendment Bill (36-2007).

Deadline for written submissions: November 2nd, 2007
Public Hearings: November 6th, 2007

Attention:
Ms. Albertina Kakaza
Email: akakaza@parliament.gov.za
Fax: 021 403 2808

Click here to obtain a copy of the Bill.

Contact:
Ms. Albertina Kakaza 021 403 3765

(Note: basically the amendment appears to remove the mining industry from the NEMA (National Environment Management Act) and places overriding authority at the discretion of the minister of minerals and energy. Further, it vitiates environmental controls in favor of the commercial consequences - and allows decisions to be made by any minister or MEC .

From the Daily Dispatch (12 Oct 2007)

By PIET VAN NIEKERK

THE local subsidiary of an Australian company which plans to mine dunes along the pristine Wild Coast, has asked for an urgent meeting with Environmental Affairs Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk to discuss his perceived “negative stance” regarding the project.

The request for the meeting comes after Van Schalkwyk told Parliament the proposed mining could affect current eco-tourism activities in the area, as well as conservation initiatives.

The minister, answering questions in Parliament last month, said that mining the 22-kilometre strip at Xolobeni, south of Port Edward, could transform the area which is a significantly threatened asset.

He further said this is an area “which is globally recognised but had a rapidly degrading biodiversity”.

Environmental Affairs and Tourism: Minister Valli Moosa's 2002 Budget Vote Speech

It's not really news, nor yet history, but I hope the sentiments expressed in this speech (full speech link above... excerpted below) are carried through by the SA government.

Even this doesn't scare me too much... yet...:

Chicago Developing 'Suspicious Behavior' Monitoring System

"Over the past few years, Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) has been blanketing the city with a network of thousands of video cameras in an effort to remotely keep track of emergencies in real time. Now, with the help of IBM, the network is getting some smarts. IBM software will analyze the video and ultimately 'recognize suspicious behavior,' says OEMC spokesman Kevin Smith. 'The challenge is going to be teaching computers to recognize the suspicious behavior,' said Smith. 'Once this is done this will be a very impressive city in terms of public safety.'"

"Sony and the University of Alabama are working on a gigapixel resolution camera for improved satellite surveillance. It can see 10-km-square from an altitude of 7.5 kilometres with a resolution better than 50 centimetres per pixel. As well as removing annoying artefacts created by tiling images in Google Earth and similar, it should allow CCTV surveillance of entire cities with one camera. 'The trick is to build an array of light sensitive chips that each record small parts of a larger image and place them at the focal plane of a large multiple-lens system. The camera would have gigapixel resolution, and able to record images at a rate of 4 frames per second. The team suggests that such a camera mounted on an aircraft could provide images of a large city by itself. This would even allow individual vehicles to be monitored without any danger of losing them as they move from one ground level CCTV system to another.'"

Letter to Xolobeni IAPs re Revised Scoping - September 2007 Final

The most significant change in the Revised Environmental Scoping Report is therefore the exclusion of the smelter from the Xolobeni Heavy Mineral Sands Project. This implies that the smelter will no longer be considered as part of the project and will also not be assessed in the Environmental Impact Assessment.

The Xolobeni Mineral Sands project is situated approximately 250 km south west of Durban and approximately 60 km south east of Mbizana and 30 km south of Port Edward in the Eastern Cape Province. The prospecting activities undertaken by TEM have indicated the feasibility of mining heavy minerals in the area. In accordance with the requirements of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) and the regulations promulgated under Section 24 of the National Environmental Management Act (Act 107 of 1998) (NEMA), an Environmental Scoping Report was compiled and submitted to the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) on 
25 May 2007.