Good day! [Director’s note: friendly smile] Welcome to Insignificant News International, where all the news that should make news, becomes the other news (unlike the furor news of the other woman would make (*wink wink* nudge nudge*) Yes, we know we’ve been away and you’ve missed us, but we’re confident that you’d understand that ever […]
2009
Posted inGeneral
What is reality?
In the entry, “Was ist Realität?” (“What is reality?”) in Zeit Wissen — which I referred to in my last post — Ulrich Schnabel begins with a sentence consisting of scrambled words, which, when unscrambled (something one does intuitively, automatically), makes sense, even if in their scrambled state they do (or should) not. For instance: […]
Posted inGeneral
Let’s boo Luke Watson
Yeah. Let’s jump on the bandwagon folks. Boo Luke. Show the doos what for! Jeer him like he stole overexcitement from Noeleen. After all, nothing else can achieve the desired effect. Which, if I think things through correctly, must be for the Stormers to play their Super 14 matches to a season-long chorus of boos. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Of course the House of Lords is corrupt
Britain’s political and media elites are still reeling from the revelation this weekend that the House of Lords might be corrupt, after four lords allegedly offered to amend legislation in return for cold, hard cash. In other news it has been reported that, on the outskirts of Alaska a bear defecated in the woods, while […]
Posted inLifestyle
I like Oprah again
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that Oprah often gets a bad rap. Sometimes from me. It’s all that advice-giving. It gets to me sometimes. That said, I am now a born-again Oprah fan. Why? Well, no doubt you’re aware of her infamous book club selections — once Oprah chooses a book for her […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Of Bosluisbasters and other hybrids
“My father and them trekked with a donkey cart”, Floors explained. “It was a long distance to cover in that way and some families had it very hard. Somebody’s wife went into labour and they stopped at a farm. But the farmer wanted to know nothing and chased them away.” One of the government officials […]
Posted inLifestyle, Sport
The cost of scoring in 2010
When millions of football fans descend on South Africa in mid-2010, it’s not just the country’s tourism industry that will be welcoming them with open arms. Never slow to miss a trick, practitioners of the world’s oldest profession will be bracing themselves for the inevitable flurry of scoring that goes with an event like the […]
Posted inGeneral
This is SA: the humane and the not so humane
What I expected to be an ordinary interview as a volunteer for SA’s FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 turned into a mouthwatering drink from a cultural melting pot – yes, the one that makes South Africans the unique bunch they are. Our anticipated visitor will experience a new level of humanity (or lack thereof) and interesting […]
Posted inGeneral
Noel Robb: One of the good ones
I met Noel Robb at a momentous time, for the country and myself. I had just decided to give up practice as a lawyer, and become what was known as the National Legislation Monitor at the Black Sash. I was not entirely sure what the job entailed, but reposed great confidence in a small group […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Cope, ANC policy differences is not the key issue
When Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States of America it suddenly dawned on a lot of people that something wonderful had happened that would transcend the outcome of his term of office. Good, bad or indifferent, Obama’s arrival signalled a quantum leap in race relations and a smashing of […]
Posted inBusiness, Tech
I phone, you phone, we all foam at the mouth for an iPhone
Ok, the familiar jingle doesn’t quite translate, but there’s every indication that Apple’s iPhone is just as popular as ice-cream. In just a little over a year and half from its launch, the iPhone has achieved a 32% market share and holds an unassailable lead as the world’s trendiest and most sought after device. No […]
Posted inGeneral
The Jew as Nazi — A new form of blood libel?
Jew-baiters have long invoked Nazism and the Holocaust as a way of getting up Jewish noses. This usually takes such trite and puerile forms as “Hitler should have finished the job” taunts or making mock “Heil Hitler!” salutes, but it generally hits the target. Indeed, Jewish sensitivities in this area are so pronounced as to […]