CHAPPiE ~ Sentient AI, Childlike Robot, Plus++

Prime cultural exports from South Africa involved in new AI robots SF futureflick CHAPPiE! Blomkamp directs, dialing up post-District 9 & Elysium, starring Sigorney, Jackman, Ninja and Yo-Landi Vi$$er too! This is not merely Die Antwoord, but Die AI! Check the trailer... FYI, here's Blomkamp's original Tetra Vaal short...

Soweto Gold ~ Brewing SA Economic Prosperity!

PBS Newshour's special correspondent Martin Seemungal spotlights South African entrepreneur Ndumiso Madlala, micro-brewer of Soweto Gold... South African columnist Barney Mthombothi comments...

"We are coming to realize that political freedom on its own is meaningless without economic freedom. Now, if you have people actually doing things for themselves, that is actually very good, actually because they also create jobs, rather than actually expecting things to fall in their lap simply because they are actually free. And I think people need to understand that freedom actually is the freedom to really do things on your own."

Slum Urbanism ~ UCT's Edgar Pieterse on Africa

Thanks to Emeka Okafor at Africa Unchained for spotting UCT Professor Edgar Pieterse, head of the African Centre for Cities, exploring the reality of Slum Urbanism and future of Africa's cities...

Miracle Rising ~ South Africa’s Political Reboot...

The History Channel's Miracle Rising documentary shares how...

"South Africa, against all odds, avoided a civil war, ended apartheid enabling the country to have its first free and fair democratic election. The word ‘Rising’ comes from a comment that Oprah Winfrey made during her interview which was to “rise and transcend to something higher” which is what happened to make this miracle possible. [...] “Also the idea of a “Miracle Rising” is something that is never finished or complete -- but always in process -- is a more accurate way of describing most political situations in that they are always evolving."

The 16th Man ~ Mandela and the Springboks

ESPN's 16th Man documentary... Plus, here's the actual 1995 match...

R.I.P. Madiba ~ Alas Nelson Mandela is Gone...

Sad to hear South Africa's Nelson Mandela has passed away.

Iyesa Express ~ Sizwe Nzima's Rx Cycle Delivery

The BBC spotlights Sizwe Nzima, South African entrepreneur building up Iyesa Express pharmaceuticals delivery venture in Cape Town...

"Collecting medicine from a hospital or clinic-based dispensary in some of South Africa's townships is no mean feat. There is the cost of transport to the facility, often hours spent queuing, the cost to have someone look after children left at home, or the loss of pay because of missing work. But for the elderly and infirm, it can be a nightmare because they physically find it impossible to travel. Now Sizwe Nzima, a young man from the township of Khayelitsha in Cape Town, has started a business which has seen him win a Forbes Magazine award as one of Africa's best young entrepreneurs."

Delivering Africa's Promise ~ WEF Cape Town '13

IBM Smarter Planet spots WEF on Africa...

Shark Food ~ Great Whites Sample SA's Seals!

Photographer Chris McClennan spots shark smorgasbord... And ITM Phantom camera captures these morsels in motion...

Mandela's Mogul ~ NYTimes on SA's Ramaphosa

Bill Keller asks in NYTimes Magazine Could Cyril Ramaphosa Be the Best Leader South Africa Has Not Yet Had?

"How do you know when something should be regarded as decided? Ramaphosa came up with the concept of “sufficient consensus.” It sounds absurdly vague, but it was a polite way of saying that when the white National Party and the A.N.C. came to terms, everyone else, as Ramaphosa explained later to a reporter, “can get stuffed.” When the deal was done, he was the obvious choice -- in fact, he was Mandela’s choice -- to be the first deputy, next in line for the presidency. But the party elders, especially the powerful faction that spent the struggle in exile, were wary of Ramaphosa. [So he went on to successful business career. But recently, he has been...] ...considering a return to politics. Sure enough, a week after our conversation, the governing African National Congress summoned him back to the national cause, voting him the party’s deputy president by a landslide. The election put Ramaphosa, now 60, back on the track Mandela had in mind for him 18 years ago. At last, we may find out whether he is, as many South Africans have long believed, the best president South Africa has not yet had."

Death of Apartheid ~ South Africa's Transition...

This Death of Apartheid documentary spotlights key aspects of South Africa's early 1990s transition and includes interesting comments from then leading ANC negotiator Cyril Ramaphosa who was just recently elected deputy president of the ANC... See also this One Team, One Country documentary about the 1995 Rugby World Cup later told in the Invictus movie!

More Cape Town ~ Multi-Faceted SA Supercity...

Here's some additional perspectives on Cape Town, South Africa... See also post on Mapping Cape Town and AlJaz Witness story on Township Cinderellas, which I'll re-post here since it's so provocative...

District 9 ~ Blomkamp's Wild South African SF!

District 9 is wild aliens vs humans SF from South African Blomkamp!

The Gods Must Be Crazy ~ SAfrican Humor Film

The Gods Must Be Crazy!

Mapping Cape Town ~ Spotlight on SA Supercity

Cape Town, South Africa in maps...

Resource Conflict 2.0? ~ Corporate Grab for Africa

AlJaz OpEd piece by OpenOil founder Johnny West spots The corporate scramble for Africa, arguing that...

"If it continues to be business as usual in Africa, it could set the stage for Resource Conflict 2.0. [...] the struggle we are witnessing -- workers and local communities against corporate giants and in some cases their own governments -- is not just unfolding in South Africa. There is a new corporate scramble for Africa's natural resources. [...] Conflict exists at two levels. Across the continent governments are stirring, feeling that now is the time to increase their take. [...] But it's the community level where the conflict is more explosive. [...] Local communities are more assertive and more connected -- mobile phone penetration is expected to top 70 per cent across the continent by the end of the year, and even casual visitors cannot but be struck by their ubiquity. The companies have noticed this too. Surveys consistently show resource nationalism is their biggest concern, and their literature now makes much of obtaining a "social license to operate" and the need to get the message of all their community activities out there. But the typical big extractive company's view of corporate citizenship is about as evolved as a Victorian gentlewoman's programme of good works. For many, corporate social responsibility departments are window dressing and, deeper in the bowels of the company, closer to its real power centres, the view persists that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and the more they can fly under the radar the better. [...] Three things are needed: levelling up the playing field when African governments negotiate with Big Oil or Big Mining so that agreements are fairer; commitment by the companies to radical growth of the local skills base; and by governments to radical transparency, of a kind not seen before."

Read the whole thing, please.

Surviving Jo'Burg ~ ReelAfrican on SA Unhinged

ReelAfrican hosts Surviving Jo'Burg documentary...

ANC Hypocrisy? ~ Bloody Rulers of Modern SA...

Al Jaz reveals the hypocrisy of today's ANC rulers of South Africa...

Kliptown Youth Program ~ CNN's Change Heroes

CNN's Kathleen Toner spotlights Thulani Madondo and his KYP colleagues Helping 'Kliptown' kids take control of their future. The story begins with Kliptown resident Brian Munyai...

"Munyai found basic necessities like food and clothing difficult to come by. But although his circumstances didn't make it easy, he was determined to get an education. "I spent a lot of time without a school uniform," he said, recalling the embarrassment he felt being different from classmates from middle-class neighborhoods. "Going to school with a hungry stomach... it was very tough." Munyai worked hard, however, and in high school, he heard about the Kliptown Youth Program. The after-school program, commonly known as KYP, provided him with intensive tutoring that helped him pass his senior exams and find funding to attend the University of Johannesburg. He recently earned a national diploma in banking. "This program actually changed my future," Munyai said. "(Without it), right now, I would not be standing here and saying that I went to university."

Healthcare Train ~ South Africa's Phelophepa!

Thanks to Railways Africa piece Second Healthcare Train Launched for describing the Phelophepa Healthcare Trains! It's so obvious and brilliant and great once you hear about it, but I had no idea that this exists till just now!

"On the introduction of Phelophepa II, public enterprises minister Gigaba says: “What started off 18 years ago as a modest three-coach eye clinic has become an internationally well-known beacon of hope, providing healthcare throughout South Africa, especially in rural areas. [...] Each train has 20 permanent staff, 16 contracted security officials and 40 students on board. They function as training institutions for South African and international final-year professional health students, not only providing practical experience for nursing, dental, optometry, psychology and pharmaceutical students, but also attracting catering students needing an opportunity to practise their skills."

I personally appreciate that global pharma giant Roche has made a major CSR commitment to the Phelophepa in partnership with South African infraco Transnet's Foundation! Here's a Journeyman Pictures piece on the original train...