In a large pot, bring 3 cups water to a boil with vinegar, agave, bay leaf, celery seeds, fennel seeds and salt.
Step 2
Once brine is boiling, add vegetables and return to a boil. Remove from heat and allow vegetables and brine to cool to room temperature.
Step 3
Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, collecting liquid in a container below. Discard bay leaf and transfer pickled vegetables to 3 pint-size (500ml) sterilized glass jars with tightly fitting lids. Pour reserved vinegar mixture over vegetables. If liquid doesn’t reach top of jars, add a little extra water or vinegar. The pickled vegetables will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Adapted with permission from Eating in Color, by Frances Largeman-Roth. Stewart, Tabori & Chang; January 2014.
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Cape Town – Plenty of collective firepower on paper … but an acid test for a significantly reworked loose trio.
Those are key hallmarks of the Springbok team named by head coach Rassie Erasmus on Thursday for Saturday’s Rugby Championship opener against Argentina at Kings Park (17:05 kick-off).
The substantial sacrifice for this tournament of Duane Vermeulen, the powerhouse No 8 who was so influential in June’s 2-1 series triumph over England, is comfortingly offset by the return to the starting line-up of physical, enforcer-type figures like Malcolm Marx and Eben Etzebeth from injury.
Similarly, in being deprived of the 42-cap Vermeulen, there is ample compensation in experience terms through Bath-based Francois Louw (57 Test appearances), albeit in a different berth to him, returning to the loosie alliance.
That is the area where the Boks will be under special scrutiny against the Pumas, given the widespread way in which Erasmus – remember, once a world-class loose forward himself, so not acting without great acumen or confidence – has remoulded his plans, now sans Vermeulen’s grunt.
No single player stays in his same role from the trio who did duty, and to admirable standards, in the last two Tests of the England series (Bloemfontein and Cape Town): captain Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, at seven, and Vermeulen.
Kolisi, of course, is the only one keeping his place in the latest loose trio but there is a notable shift for the Stormers man: back from the open-side role to the No 7 duty.
It may not have been an easy step for coach Erasmus to take, mindful that there was a period in his Test career, now stretching back to 2013, when Kolisi operated at blind-side but, while always being a firm tackler and willing ball-carrier, didn’t always give quite as much broad “go-forward” as you would wish of the player in that position.
A spot sometimes occupied by forwards who have the tonnage to double as imposing locks, the Zwide-born competitor tips the scales at a relatively modest 103kg and isn’t the tallest No 7 in the world, either.
A personal view is that Kolisi’s gradual education in the fetcher berth should have been allowed to continue, even as it remains apparent he is not the most natural of pilferers.
Truth be told, if there was a role somewhere directly between six and seven for flankers – say a six-and-a-half jersey? – then Kolisi would tick the box wonderfully.
Instead there is renewed pressure on him to readjust swiftly to the blind-side responsibility, and knowing full well that his No 8, the skilful, roaming former national skipper Warren Whiteley, is also no Vermeulen in the pure bulldozing stakes.
That is where Louw, now to play his first Test since the 35-6 victory over Italy at Padova in November last year, will come in useful for his own, not inconsiderable tale of the tape – 114kg and 1.90m, making him the most physically imposing of the Bok starting loosies this weekend.
Although officially stationed at six and expected to be a significant nuisance over the ball against the Pumas, he is not unlike Kolisi in being adaptable between the two flank roles (not to mention increasingly comfortable at No 8 if required, too).
Louw is a rugged ball-carrier when the opportunity arises, and bear in mind that he was playing full-time on the blindside toward the climax of his final season with the Stormers in 2010 before his switch to the English Premiership.
In the Super Rugby final that year, which Louw started in, Schalk Burger was the No 6 and Vermeulen wearing the eighth-man jersey in the defeat to compatriots the Bulls in Soweto.
So perhaps the cross-over abilities of both Bok flankers will come in useful this Saturday, the sum of their parts adding up to one satisfying “whole” rather than the Boks looking disjointed or unbalanced in the loose-forward scrap.
Nevertheless, there is a case for saying that Du Toit is unfortunate to lose his blindside flank place – the loose combo sacrifices his 120kg ballast and 2m lineout attributes – after operating there in six of his last seven starts for South Africa and getting more and more accomplished.
But you also won’t hear too many complaints from the blond dynamo, as he stays in the team by restoring his second-row partnership (lock is probably still his preferred position) with franchise-mate Etzebeth.
The Boks will miss Vermeulen’s substantial lineout prowess at the back, but Whiteley is a spring-heeled factor in that area so they should not be caught too literally “short” against the Argentineans there …
Pay the right amount of money to the right students at the right time.
This was the task that the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, Connie September, gave to the floundering National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) on Thursday.
In the meeting, it was revealed that NSFAS still hasn’t finalised all payments for 2017 and that payments for 2018 were also lagging behind, although most students benefiting from the scheme had been paid.
The genesis of their problems, said executive officer Steven Zwane, was the decision to adopt a new system, taken at the Higher Education Summit in December 2016.
No ‘adequate solutions’
Dr Diane Parker, the deputy director general for universities at the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), pointed out that funding was not the root of the NSFAS’ failings.
“The major area of concern is the unknown number of students who haven’t received funding,” she said.
She added that they had concerns about the quality of NSFAS data.
“Despite the daily support of departmental officials and DHET support teams, the NSFAS was not able to put in place adequate solutions to address the problems coherently and quickly.
In July, Minister of Higher Education and Training Naledi Pandor directed the board to not open 2019 applications, and to first complete the funding cycles for 2017 and 2018. The 2019 applications were supposed to open on August 1.
In the first week of August, two NSFAS board members and its chairperson, Sizwe Nxasana, resigned.
Pandor called an emergency board meeting, where the board decided to ask the minister to put the NSFAS under administration, which would effectively bring their term to an end.
Pandor agreed. Nonetheless, Neil Garrod was appointed board chairperson.
He told the committee that they would continue their work while they wait on the appointment of an administrator and that they did not take the decision to commit “hara-kiri” – effectively disbanding themselves by requesting to be put under administration – lightly.
“The immediate task of the administrator is to ensure the effective close-out of the 2017 and 2018 funding decisions and disbursements, [and to] put in place plans for the 2019 funding cycle,” Parker said.
“The 2019 applications will be opened in early September 2018 and an effective plan for delivering student financial aid, which will involve the support and collaboration of universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges will be developed in the next month. Work has already begun on this,” she said.
‘Our anxiety is not gone’
The committee welcomed Pandor’s and the department’s interventions but wasn’t happy that things escalated to this point.
National Freedom Party MP Moses Khubisa said: “Why are the heads not rolling if the job was not done well?”
ANC MP Juli Killian added that she would be guilty of dereliction of her duties if she didn’t express her “very, very serious reservations” about the NSFAS’ management.
“They have really done South Africa a very serious disfavour. Some of the sufferings of students could have been averted,” she said.
“We can’t let those who let South Africa, let the young people down get away scot-free,” she said.
September said: “We’re not walking away from this meeting saying that everything is fine, that all students will get their money.”
“I don’t think the anxiety is gone,” she said.
“Our anxiety is not gone,” Parker agreed. “We know we are not out of the woods.”
Zwane said the department should also shoulder some of the blame for the decision to change the system.
Itching, blisters, sores and inflammation are a continuous and debilitating source of pain, shame and misery for many people who struggle with the allergic skin disease known as eczema, researchers say.
And a new study published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, suggests that many of those battling moderate-to-severe eczema suffer from an inability or reluctance to engage in activities and socialising, which leads to a considerably diminished quality of life.
Life dissatisfaction
For some eczema patients, their quality of life is poorer than those who have a wide range of other chronic health issues, including heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, the researchers added.
“The more severe the atopic dermatitis [eczema], the worse the overall health, quality of life and life dissatisfaction,” said study author Dr Jonathan Silverberg.
“I see some of the toughest cases of atopic dermatitis around, so I can’t say I was terribly surprised by this,” Dr Silverberg explained. “But I think most people who don’t live with atopic dermatitis are surprised to hear just how debilitating it can be.”
Dr Silverberg serves as director of the Northwestern Medicine Multidisciplinary Eczema Center and the Contact Dermatitis Clinic at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, in Chicago.
Cause remains elusive
According to the National Eczema Association, roughly 30 million Americans, ranging from infants to seniors, suffer from one of several different forms of the skin disease.
The exact cause remains elusive, and there is no known cure. And though topical drugs and immunotherapy can help manage the condition, treatment is complicated by the fact that “no two eczema patients are exactly alike,” Dr Silverberg said.
“For most patients, flares can come for no apparent reason at all,” he noted. “Many patients are looking for that one (environmental) trigger they can avoid to cure their atopic dermatitis. For most, it doesn’t exist.”
And that means that patients with different triggers and different degrees of severity and symptoms will require a different “tailored treatment approach” for what will likely end up being a long-term chronic disorder, said Silverberg.
Dissatisfied with life
The survey of just over 600 eczema patients (with mild, moderate, or severe disease) revealed one all-too-common thread: a broad dissatisfaction with one’s life.
Nearly three-quarters of those polled were white. Just over half had mild eczema, nearly four in 10 had a moderate condition, and just over 8% described their condition as severe.
Pooled together, about one-quarter said they were in fair health, while nearly 16% described their overall health as poor, the findings showed.
Among those with severe disease, about 35% said they were either in fair or poor health, while almost one-third said they were somewhat or very dissatisfied with life.
But even among those with mild eczema, nearly 18% said they avoided socialising because of their appearance, while 23% limited their daily activities. Those figures shot up to 40% and 43%, respectively, when moderate and severe patients were included.
The most effective way patients can limit eczema’s impact on quality of life is to “seek care earlier and aim for tighter control of their symptoms,” Dr Silverberg advised.
Good news for eczema patients
“Some patients may say to themselves ‘it’s not so bad’, and not seek care,” he said. “Then they end up suffering in silence as things worsen and they eventually get to a point of desperation, and at that point have a much harder time treating their disease.”
The impact that eczema can have on life satisfaction is not lost on Dr Richard Gallo, chairman of dermatology at the University of California, San Diego.
“We have long known that eczema has an enormous impact on the quality of life, not only for the patient but also on parents of children with eczema,” he said.
Still, “there is good news for eczema patients because of new scientific understanding of the cause and treatment,” Dr Gallo added. On that front, he highlighted work currently underway exploring the potential benefits of using probiotics applied to the skin.
But, Dr Gallo said, “eczema is complex and patients really need to talk carefully to their doctor to understand the type and causes of their eczema.”
The office of the Minister of Police has again capitulated in what was a three-pronged legal attack by a Durban businessman, who was harassed and thrown into jail several times because of a”civil dispute” he had with racehorse owner Roy Moodley.
Earlier this year, the minister conceded liability for the actions of Durban North cluster commander Reuben Govender – allegedly acting at the behest of Moodley – for two of Vinesh Juglall’s claims for damages.
Last week, when the third incident was to be ventilated in a trial in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban, the matter again settled with an order that Juglall be paid R500 000 in compensation for all of his claims and that the minister pay his legal costs.
Juglall sued both the minister and Govender, but the order taken by consent was only against the minister.
In his court papers, Juglall said he had been involved in a business deal with Moodley over the proposed R12m sale of a property in Durban’s city centre.
The deal also involved an option to purchase the shares in the Durban Computer College and DCC Campus Computer FET Institution.
When the deal soured, Moodley summoned Juglall to a meeting at an attorney’s office in March 2012, ostensibly to resolve the dispute.
But when Juglall arrived there, Moodley was absent and he was arrested by Govender on a charge of fraud, alternatively theft, without a warrant.
He was detained at the Phoenix police station until the following morning.
‘Pay up or stay jailed’
He said Govender told him that he would stay behind bars until he settled the matter or paid back the R12m.
He was only released after his attorney brought an urgent application in the High Court in Durban.
Juglall also obtained an interdict against Govender, preventing any further intimidation or harassment.
Juglall’s attorney Zane Haneef, then made representations to the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions, asking for a determination of whether or not there was any merit in the allegations of criminal conduct which justified his arrest.
While this investigation was being done – and notwithstanding an agreement that, should there be any need to arrest Juglall it would be done by arrangement – Govender arrested him again without a warrant.
He was detained at the Phoenix police station and only released after another urgent High Court application.
The third claim – which settled last week – involved Juglall’s arrest in February 2013.
It was alleged that Govender, or other police officers “acted maliciously” by taking the docket to a prosecutor to sign off on a warrant for the same charges without informing her about the history of the matter and that it was still being investigated by the NDPP’s office. The criminal charges were later withdrawn.
This was after it was revealed that Govender had sought and obtained a warrant of arrest against journalists and authors Jacques Pauw and Pieter-Louis Myburgh.
The complainant was Roy Moodley, who had been named in their books as being one of former president Jacob Zuma’s benefactors.
The warrant was later cancelled after the intervention of senior police officer Brigadier Andre Holby. He also laid a criminal charge against Govender.
IPID spokesperson Moses Dlamini said there were currently three cases under investigation against Govender.
“Two of them are complete. Once all three are completed, we will refer them to the NPA for a decision.”
Retail floor staff required with large/small appliance and/or furniture sales experience to temp for WCP at R35 per hour for four-six weeks. Reliability, SA ID and a clear criminal record are a must.
To be based in Parklands.
Please send your CV to
az.oc.pcw@bojesiuol
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Posted on 16 Aug 15:12
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