Now that a decade has ended, it is tempting to go back to the beginning. The beginning goes back to when the first president of the democratic South Africa, Nelson Mandela stepped down. It is not exactly the beginning but it is always useful to focus on some aspect of our history that has a […]
2011
Posted inLifestyle
Introducing the Koos Kombuis fitness plan!
I never thought that I would have anything in common with Springbok rugby captain John Smit — apart from our crappy hairstyles, that is — until I read in this morning’s paper that, over the Christmas season, John has lost seven kilograms. Surprise, surprise! I did even better than that! Over the last nine and […]
Posted inGeneral
Raising the black bar
I did not applaud the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) when they called for the lowering of marking standards for black students especially in matric. A strong regional branch in KwaZulu-Natal asked that examination markers understand that black students are not only taught in a foreign language but come from poor backgrounds. Why? That […]
Posted inGeneral
PSL barometer rises
Mamelodi Sundowns had it all going for them, a healthy lead at the top of the log table and they were playing some good football. Even in matches where they didn’t play well they managed to get the desired results. It is said that champions are made of such qualities. But as things stand at […]
Posted inLifestyle
Is your car a handbag on wheels?
Are you one of those people with a messy car? I will confess that I must count myself a member of that renegade tribe, but in my defence I am trying very hard to reform myself. I have resolved that my vehicle will be a model of minimalist motoring, devoid of all extraneous bits and […]
Posted inGeneral
The language of God
By Steven Hussey Francis Collins, the lead scientist of the Human Genome Project, has in a recommendable book The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief argued for rational harmony between science and faith. The “language” that he refers to is of course the human DNA sequence. But if you were expecting (as […]
Posted inGeneral
No woman deserves to be beaten
By Cynthia Ayeza Mutabaazi The world of physical abuse is one of the most annoying I have ever encountered, mostly because it is protected by both the accused and abused. Imagine having to tell your girlfriends that your boyfriend assaulted you? For many girls and women, the shame that comes with knowing you were so […]
Posted inGeneral
We’re not all Africans, we’re Jews!
When Sentletse threatened to respond to my post (“Africans are humans too“) I packed my bags in a state of panic and headed into the mountains, Cathedral Peak in the Central Drakensberg to be precise, to escape this particular “swart gevaar“. I had naturally revised my entire first week of 2011 because of my typical […]
Posted inEquality
The feminist mistake
When I say I’m a feminist, I bet you have a clear idea in your head about who I am. If I said I was a liberal, environmentalist, socialist, or activist, you’d probably also tick off a few boxes and have me neatly labelled. Is this realistic in a world where communities are no longer […]
Posted inGeneral
Back to the daily grind…even for dumb criminals
It would seem even the dumb criminal fraternity is geared towards starting off the new year on a productive note. Just this week there have been two incidents of crime which have made a strong bid for the 2011 Dumbest Crime/Criminal of the Year Award — award to be presented by M Trapido at a […]
Posted inGeneral
The deceptive God
By Steven Hussey Perhaps the most breathtaking scientific revelation is that of our origins: the dawn of the universe 13.7 billion years ago, the first single-celled organisms 3.5 billion years ago, and the kaleidoscope of multicellular life (and their demise) over the last 550 million years. Darwin’s On the Origin of Species has inconvenienced religious fundamentalists since 1859, […]
Posted inGeneral
From customer channel fragmentation to integration
The functional evolution of social network platforms has allowed the most successful among them (notably Facebook and Twitter) to become channels for integrated customer engagement via the web. Social both integrates multiple previously separate channels (web, mobile, email etc) and boasts increasingly advanced integrated functionality, thanks to its success in attracting developer and user interest. […]