New York used to be my favourite city, until I discovered Istanbul. Along the way I visited Prague (in 1999), and was fleetingly charmed by this Bohemian city on the Vltava, but my experience was vitiated by the stifling rationalism of the social theory conference I was attending at the time, where the Rawls and […]
General
Posted inBusiness, General, News/Politics
Can South Sudan learn from the Alaska Model?
South Sudan will be celebrating the first anniversary of its independence on July 9. But the day’s revelry will be marred by the fact that the past year has brought none of the peace and prosperity that people hoped it would. With a poverty incidence of 90 percent, literacy rates as low as 24 percent, […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
The trouble with international justice
This month marks 10 years since the International Criminal Court first opened its doors at The Hague in Netherlands. The court was created under the Rome Statute to prosecute serious international crimes like war crimes and crimes against humanity. It has 121 member nations, with Guatemala being the latest. With a decade gone since the […]
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For the love of church architecture
Visiting a city as old and history-rich as Prague is indescribably rewarding for an architecture lover because the history of western architecture from the early Middle Ages until the 20th century is graphically inscribed in its urban texture. Romanesque architecture stands side by side with Gothic, baroque and even — incongruously, when it comes to […]
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White males, naked capitalism and ending economic apartheid
The country watches transfixed as the ANC creaks and groans like a wooden ship trapped in Antarctic ice. The ANC has long kept the lid on things, like some benevolent dictator might have done. But now the ship threatens to break apart. There goes the life boat. People cling to its splintered timbers hoping these […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
My journey from Sydney to Joburg
I’m asking for your patience in advance, because I’m going to be spending much of this week reflecting on my journey over the past four years. The exhibition of my Joburg cityscapes opens at Velo in Braamfontein this week, so this is an obvious opportunity to reflect on my tale of two cities. In many […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
ANC spaza xenophobia
I took a taxi a few days ago and listened to a conversation between two women and the taxi driver. They were talking about the mushrooming of foreign business owners in the township. The taxi was driving into Alexandra, which has seen an increase in Pakistani and Somali businesses recently. Almost every corner house has […]
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Have rifle, will shoot
Visiting Konopiste Castle — situated about 40km outside Prague — is historically informative and interesting on one level and nauseating on another. Bought by Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1887 — yes, the same one whose assassination in Sarajevo in 1914 triggered World War I — the castle became far more than an occasional retreat for […]
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Spain seal greatness in Kiev masterclass
No other team has ever won a European Championship final 4-0. No other team has ever won three major tournaments in a row. And they did it all without a recognised striker on the pitch. Spain, in defeating Italy in the Euro 2012 final in Kiev, sealed their greatness in style as they shook off […]
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Skeate shooting to France for something different
I had the chance to interview Ross Skeate before he headed off to France to continue his rugby career. This was published elsewhere last week, and I’m now repeating it here. —————————————————————————————— Player movement has become common in professional rugby, and Ross Skeate, the former Western Province and Stormers lock who has spent the past […]
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Wage subsidy: Cosatu doesn’t care about the youth
A drive on a weekday morning around the township of Alexandra in Johannesburg will reveal to you the real face of unemployment in South Africa. On the corners of the many avenues in this sprawling township where I grew up, young men and women roam the streets. Some play dice and morabaraba and some are […]
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All Blacks set to dominate new Four Nations
Super rugby was back in action following the June Tests, but many rugby fans will be looking towards the new Four Nations (i.e. the Rugby Championship) between New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and new comers Argentina. While the tournament may be new in format and participants, following the June Tests some old trends appear set […]