Alan Greenspan observed that, “… New technologies that evolved from the cumulative innovations of the past half-century have now begun to bring about dramatic changes in the way goods and services are produced and in the way they are distributed to final users. Those innovations, exemplified most recently by the multiplying uses of the Internet, […]
2008
Posted inBusiness
Of irrational apathy and exuberance!
In 1996 Alan Greenspan, then the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, when addressing the American Enterprise Institute enquired, “… But how do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values, which then become subject to unexpected and prolonged contractions as they have in Japan over the past decade?” Just over a month […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Radovan Karadzic: bonfire of the racist vanities
If there is one thing I am enjoying more than seeing Radovan Karadzic, former leader of the Bosnian Serbs, facing trial in the Hague for genocide and crimes against humanity, it’s reminding racists here and abroad that Europe, supposedly the centre of civilised humanity, is also the master of butchering its own. Dr Karadzic, indeed […]
Posted inLifestyle
The apostrophical catastrophe of being punctuationarily illiterate
Pity the poor apostrophe. Just when it thinks it can park off unnoticed in a quiet corner somewhere, along comes another berk who doesn’t know how to use one. And you know what apostrophical illiterates do for fun, don’t you? If they see an ‘s’, they fling one in. Before it, after it, it doesn’t […]
Posted inLifestyle
The sharpened outline of a South African
Thought Leader often becomes the platform for The Great Emigration Debate, probably because there is such a collision of minds reading, writing and commenting in one place: expats who have left and who are defensive about it, expats who are dying to come home, those in South Africa who are thinking of leaving, and those […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The wrangle over Africa
It is hard to fathom, but Zimbabwe is sandwiched between the ambitions of two super powers to extend their influence over the African continent. Both China and the United States see Africa as the strategic focus in an ever-tense game of vying for hegemony. The recent outrage by the Bush administration at South Africa’s refusal […]
Posted inGeneral
Rafiq Phillips: The wired wonder
Legend has it that Rafiq Phillips was born online. A self-styled search-engine and online marketing guru, Rafiq has been in the internet industry almost since it existed in South Africa. Known to his friends as Rafiki the web addict, he cannot survive daily life without Muti.co.za, Wikipedia, TED.com and an arsenal of Google products. When […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
Government has failed transformation of sports
In 1998, the ANC issued this statement: “The transformation of sports in our country is one such area where we have done very little.” “… there are still sporting codes which are not truly representative of the South African nation. Both the rugby and cricket national teams remain lily-white despite their much publicised development programmes […]
Posted inNews/Politics
We are true revolutionaries
We don’t care for your Constitutional Court with its pompous judges and overblown constitution. We are true revolutionaries. We say that the protection of human rights is yesterday’s idea and the Human Rights Commission is yesterday’s institution. We have to guard against the forces of darkness hiding in such places. We don’t care for bourgeois […]
Posted inGeneral
Kaka move unlikely
Chelsea have denied that they will be moving for Kaka despite claims from AC Milan. Seems a great pity really; can you imagine the field day English football fans would be having with that name? Sing – “You are my Kaka, my only Kaka, you make me happy when I drop a turd, you’ll never […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Carpe diem Zimbabwe
There can longer be any doubt that the future of South Africa and Zimbabwe are inextricably linked. The recovery and rebuilding of our northern neighbour is vital to our own progress and development. More importantly it affords an opportunity to rescue 5.1 million Zimbabweans from the brink, offer the exiles a stable home, relieves pressure […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
Ritalin: Tik for the middle classes
I received an email this week from a parent who had read an article I wrote a while back on Ritalin, asking whether we are poisoning our children with the stuff or paving a better future for them — though somewhat numbed! Ritalin is a metaphor for everything ugly about modern medicine — a form […]