There’s one very good reason why we could never reinstate the death penalty in South Africa, and it has little to do with the Constitution as far as I’m concerned. It’s simply that we couldn’t properly trust or control a state killing machine capable of churning its way through the tens of thousands of brutal, […]
2010
Posted inGeneral
Then there were two
Like a Parktown prawn that laughs in the face of doom, the Currie Cup continues to show a resilience that belies the crowded environment of its scheduling every season. Players keep going, or get injured and in most cases come back a few weeks later. Coaches exhaust the Standard Advised Media Etiquette protocol as the […]
Posted inBusiness, Media, News/Politics
What was Woolies thinking?
At 16:29, a News24 Breaking News Alert came through to my inbox. I was intrigued, even a little excited. Had Uncle Bob announced his imminent retirement? Was the petrol price going down by half? No, apparently it was neither of these things. Instead, the headline read: “Woolies caves in on Christian magazines.” Years from now, […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Lifestyle, News/Politics
Is your lifestyle really worth it?
Last week I watched a documentary type film called Oceans. The whole film was spectacular, but for me one piece was particularly striking. Shot underwater, looking up towards the surface, we slowly panned over what looked like a bright red satin sari. It was gliding through the water, soft yellow lines rippling across the red […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Once upon a time there was a gay American soldier…
The United States of America is one helluva weird country. On the one hand, the land of the free and home of the brave claims to be the world’s biggest, bestest democracy. Indeed, it has a crispy clean Bill of Rights and on paper everyone is equal. In practice, however, things are a wee different. […]
Posted inBusiness
The 7% economic growth question
South Africa is poised to achieve an estimated 3.5% growth for 2010, which is below the 7% that the government has set itself. Instead of focussing its attention on projects that will “take away” from the economy (like NHI or bullet trains or (God-forbid) the ANCYL’s mine nationalisation agenda), the government needs to reposition the […]
Posted inGeneral
The algebra has a devil for a sidekick
By Gary Mathews When I finished primary school, I was sent to boarding school in the hope I might complete my education. It’s possible the primary reason I was shipped out was that my mother tired of my shenanigans and wanted to get rid of me. Either way, I ended up in the last year […]
Posted inGeneral
How will history judge Mbeki?
The launch of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation and the Thabo Mbeki Africa Leadership Institute was met with unusual excitement by the media considering their belligerent attitude towards the former president in the past. As the Holy Scripture says: “A Prophet is not without honour except in his own hometown and his own house.” After ridiculing […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The Swazis who dare to demand democracy
You know a monarchy is feeling the heat when errant subjects face a beating with spikes. Last month, the prime minister of Swaziland, Barnabas Dlamini, threatened to use “sipakatane” — the beating of the feet with of metal or wooden spikes — to cow pro-democracy activists into submission. His comments came after a protest march […]
Posted inLifestyle
Willy Nilly
Summer crashes over us. Reassuring odours of hobo remind me that decay is life just above room temperature. Now, we are all funky. Humidity holds air in bunched fists, in the shade, waiting to be drunk. The car guard has lost an eye and fingers in some great unfairness. I’m outside the Sexpo, marvelling at […]
Posted inGeneral
Embrace online channels to ride out the recession’s aftermath
By Wesley Lynch As the after-effects of the global recession continue to suppress demand, many businesses are discovering the benefits of an online strategy. A great example is British retailer Marks & Spencer. Hard hit throughout the recession, M&S reported mildly resurgent figures for the first quarter of 2011 in July 2010, mainly on the […]
Posted inGeneral
E-business outgrows ‘one-stop shops’
By Wesley Lynch The e-business provider arena has grown into an enormous, complex industry with numerous specialist areas in the last 10 years. And yet providers continue to claim one-stop shop status and fail to carve out clear niches. As a result many top-flight projects stutter and fail as teams are forced to hire more […]