Imagine an International Competition of Blind Hockey Players at the Olympic Games. That is the goal of Mark John DeMontis, a twenty-one year old third year student of the University of Western Ontario, in St. Cathrines, Canada. Mark has lost his central sight and relies on peripheral vision, because of Leber’s Optical Neuropathy, a disease […]
2008
Posted inGeneral
Plurk, the new Twitter?
Another new micro-blogging platform called Plurk has stirred the social scene the last couple of days. Basically, they are doing exactly the same thing as Twitter, only they’re looking, uhm, cooler. That, and their IM updates seem to work. My initial reaction was “Oh wow! Bye, bye Twitter! Hello, Plurk!”. Then sensibility kicked in big […]
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Can Microsoft survive the Apple onslaught?
Apple has established itself on a very premium platform — all style, design and brilliant functionality. After the iPod, the brand image has hardly seen even the slightest decline in its brand equity. The launch of the iPhone and the Macbook Air, with all the flair of Steve Jobs as he cleverly launched them during […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Racism, Rock and ruling
“You know how hard it is to make racism just plain fun? Rock does it. Racism to Chris Rock is just a Hacky Sack on his foot. He kicks it up over here, over there, behind the back and then right over to you. The tension release he offers is available nowhere else, from no one else.” Jerry Seinfeld on Chris Rock, currently touring South Africa.
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Bafana Bafana – bankrupt in all regards
If Bafana Bafana was a business, it would have long filed for bankruptcy. In fact, Bafana is indeed bankrupt as we speak. There’s associational bankruptcy, managerial bankruptcy, coaching bankruptcy, skills bankruptcy, goal scoring bankruptcy, defending bankruptcy… need I go on? But, and this is a big but, unlike any other badly performing business, Bafana’s leadership […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle, News/Politics
Black Armani suits and the lack of leadership
I have recently made a very startling discovery: most men who wear black Armani suits are tame. Of course, their dress sense makes them look like very important people who are making it in the world, whatever that means. But on closer scrutiny, their black Giorgio Armani suits soon reveal people who are not only […]
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I left my liberal heart in San Francisco
I live in a bubble of liberalism. Not just within the US, but even within the state of California, which is in itself almost a different country to the rest of the States. In San Francisco, I am in a place where freedom of speech is a point of pride, and rightfully so (within the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
What does the ANCYL have in common with Young Labor?
Who would have thought it? Australia’s Labor Party, the Ruddites, and the ANC Youth League have something in common. Both of them campaign against youth binge drinking and both of them are given to enjoying a drink or two. Or three. The Daily Telegraph, Australia’s equivalent of the Citizen, is featuring this story on members […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Love in the time of unipolarity
I’ve heard it said that relations between the U.S. and South Africa are a lot like relations between the U.S. and France. Having lived in all three countries, I must admit that similarities in the two bilateral relationships are unmistakable.
Posted inNews/Politics
Power lodged in narrow hearts part 3: The Leon Phenomenon
Lack of vision is in, clarity of perspective is out. Sound understanding is out, ecclecticism is in. Not all the fog in Cape Town is as a result of changing weather patterns. Mostly, it is the cause of Tony Leon opening his office window. It envelops everything for kilometres on end across the country and […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Where goes the continent?
Submitted by Rachel Adams In February of this year, Jody Kollapen, Chairman of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) stated that Nelson Mandela had taken reconciliation too far and that there had been an “undue focus on reconciliation rather than transformation“. Of course in all the god-like worship that surrounded the presidency of Nelson […]
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2010: Lower your expectations!
Watching Bafana Bafana lose to Nigeria for the umpteenth time over the weekend was debilitating. In all fairness, any team in the world can lose to Nigeria in Abuja. But the meek surrender by our boys is treasonous. Who can argue with Nigerians now that the only reason we won in 1996 was because they […]