2005 - An Overview of South Africa
By Daniel Silke
Every year in South Africa is like a lifetime. In a country that changes by the minute, the old adage that a day is a long time in politics is no truer than at the southern tip of Africa. 2005 was certainly no exception.


This was the year, not of President Mbeki, as he had hoped, but...


FROM THE SOUTHERN DESK By Daniel Silke



SOUTH AFRICANS GRANTED ILLEGAL VISAS FEAR DEPORTATIONT
Compiled by Melanie Herschorn
South Africans who acquired visas to the United States through Stanley Fur, an accountant who ran Empire International Inc., a Marietta immigration services office, are facing a severe dilemma: should they come forward and risk being deported although they were ignorant to the illegalities of their visas?


ASK A LAWYER: PERM - We need to Breathe "LIFE" back into Immigration Law
By Lara Allem-Romanello
When it comes to immigration matters, don’t assume anything. Just because some of your family members are citizens or otherwise legally present in the United States, do not suppose that you are too! Many times this fatal presumption is made, and then people are dumbfounded to discover that they are in fact out of legal status, faced with deportation or a bar to reentry after travel abroad.


10 TAX TIPS FOR INVESTORS
By Selwyn Gerber
Because it's not what you earn, it's what you keep that counts. While taxes should not drive your investment strategy, understanding how they affect your earnings will help maximize return.


A USEFUL GUIDE WHEN TEACHING NON-SOUTH AFRICANS TO SPEAK "SOUTH AFRICAN"




RECIPIES: HEARTY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION RECIPES
By Fiona Soukup



WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Esta TerBlanche
By Drienie Hattingh

Esta TerBlanche...or is it Bienkie or rather, Gillian Andrassy, the Hungarian Princess?
Bienkie steps forward and hugs her mother, Nora, fiercely. Then she picks up her suitcases and with tears in her brown eyes she walks out the door.


South Africans are overwhelmed and...



CALENDER OF EVENTS
By Kimberley Crowe
FAMILY CORNER: Name this well-known South African coastal landmark.
25 STAGGERING STATS OF THE NEW YORK MARATHON
By Charlene Avis



HOT HAPPENINGS: Were you There?

• San Francisco, CA - SA BUSINESS CLUB WELCOMES NEW PRESIDENT By Jacqui Buchanan
  
  
  
• Atlanta, GA - THE 7TH ANNIVERSARY OF 10 DEGREES SOUTH By Kim Lichtenstein
  
  
  
• Milwaukee, IL - CELEBRATING SOUTH AFRICA IN MILWAUKEE By Judith Tietyen
  
  
  
• Morrisville, NC - TARHEELS GET-TOGETHER IN SA STYLE By Deborah Blackman

PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN:
By Paul Shippey

JACQUI BUCHANAN: The Sky’s the limit for Media Mogul turned Business Development Diva
another South African export of which we can be proud. The former Durbanite, now based in San Francisco, has spent the past decade producing and reporting for some of the world’s leading television news organizations.



RICHARD AND STEVEN SIMENHOFF: PE boys go big and not home in LA
"I think part of the reason for our success is that we came to America from a foreign country and feared failure." Fear is a big motivator, say brothers Richard and Steven Simenhoff, two highly successful stockbrokers in Los Angeles.


SPORT:
By Blou Willem

Looking back at the South African sporting year, it was a year of many triumphs and one disaster (if sporting failure can be regarded as a disaster!). With South Africa hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the biggest disappointment was the failure of Bafana Bafana to qualify for Germany 2006. The only bright light ...

FINANCE: What Economic World can we expect in SA in 2006?
By Colin Donian

The key to any supplyside economic dynamics is the necessary minimum 6% GDP growth (with employment growth). The achievement and or management of all other economic, financial, social and political dynamics will be held to ransom by the level of growth achieved, not just in 2006, but for the next three to five years. Growth rates over the past eleven years...
CULTURE SHOCK: One can Smile without an Accent
By Drienie Hattingh
TRAVEL: Golf and Safari holidays are the Big Thing in SA
by Charlene Avis
When distinguished skipper and yacht connoisseur Dr. Willem Coetzee realized the need for yacht owners to have access to a community created for their lifestyle, the concept of Port Ballito was borne. This one-of-a-kind residential development located on the water’s edge in...

MAHALA SERENADES WITH LOVE
By Melanie Herschorn
Uthando is in the air. Uthando, which means "love" in Zulu, is the name of the new album and first single from the Washington, DC-based band, Mahala. Renowned for its virtuosity in Township Jive, Mahala’s newest CD contains easy-listening, smooth jazz that will entertain and delight audiences all over the world.



And more...

• Letter From the Editor
• Mail bag - Letters from Readers.
• Calendar - Details of National South African Events.
• Did you Know? - interesting facts about SA
• Brief Vannie Hys Af - Deur Blou Willem.