If betting odds are any indication, then New Zealand will play England in the final of RWC 2011. The weekend’s results have caused a major shuffle at the New Zealand TAB. While Australia and South Africa remain as second and third favourites respectively to win the tournament, their odds of making the final are now […]
2011
SMS recruitment levels the playing field
SMS has shown its ability to act as a catalyst for social change time and time again. From farming, to healthcare, to education and banking, the ease with which information can be accessed and shared via SMS has levelled the playing fields for marginalised members of society around the world. Increasingly this applies to employment […]
A farewell and the human need for ritual
As you prepare to return to China you seek a farewell ritual. As always, you are drawn to amazing hikes through unspoilt forest regions right where you live in Auckland, New Zealand. It’s unbelievable that you live in the biggest city in New Zealand, and yet, in half an hour’s walk, you can be sitting […]
2012
Have you seen the movie 2012? It paints a scary, Armageddon type picture of the world in 2012. Just a reminder to you all it is now September 2011 … I thought I would look at such a picture in relation to South African rugby. As is common in world rugby teams, coaches and captains […]
There’s a breakdown
So we are one week into the RWC for 2011 and I must say I need to eat some words which I posted on my Twitter feed @GregHurvitz accusing the International Rugby Board (IRB) of not doing much for the “minnow” teams. I apologise to the IRB for this as I have been really impressed […]
State agency lines up against Zuma
The much criticised National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) wants to show that it is acting decisively on tackling youth unemployment — its latest scheme is a nationwide series of road shows targeting jobless graduates. So, what’s the plan? Hands-on extra training? Imparting interview skills? Job-hunting tips? Nah! Much less onerous than that. The NYDA will […]
Ubuntu — beyond the (ism)
By Nondumiso Hlophe When was the last time you really thought about how you choose your words? The words that you choose to use — or not to use — are often indicative of what you know and what you value. When I was younger, my mom told me never to use a word, unless […]
Data gaga
By Bright Simons A cynic with an attitude called Aldous Huxley once made some remarks to the effect that experts go on meandering excursions in search of understanding only to discover at the destination that non-experts had been at the same spot all along. One matter that unites development experts and non-experts alike is the […]
Arms deal inquiry could be the shortest in history
President Jacob Zuma on Thursday confirmed that a judicial commission of inquiry into South Africa’s arms deal will be appointed. According to reports the president agreed to appoint a commission of inquiry into allegations of corruption in the 1999 contract for ships, aircraft and submarines with the Dispatch Online confirming that an affidavit was sent […]
My consciousness is not up for discussion
It’s unofficially national Black Consciousness Month, the month when we commemorate the brutal and untimely death of Steve Biko on September 12 1977, and what an interesting month it has been thus far. Until Steve Biko’s “I write what I like” landed on my lap, I had been living in oblivion to how abnormal my […]
New! Improved! The nation, on sale now
In 30 seconds, an ad can tell you more about the South African psyche than an entire day spent wading through a dissertation. A contentious statement to make, I know, but with the Loerie Awards festival taking place this weekend (I’ll be blogging it all here), worth some reflection. The significance of advertising’s role in […]
Rugby, braaivleis and Peter Stuyvesant
It’ll be interesting to see which campaigns win big at this year’s Loerie Awards this weekend in Cape Town. What will their legacy be? As a member of the very first group of South Africans to grow up with TV, the ads I grew up with are etched into my memory. My childhood was Knight […]