As the bank with “green answers” – according to their marketing campaign – I have a few questions for Nedbank. Nedbank has put a lot of effort into creating the impression of being a ‘green’ bank. They have an entire website devoted to the environment, and a range of account options with a green ‘flavour’. […]
General
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Business Intelligence’s social evolution
In this information age, the businesses that have the best relationship with their data are the businesses most likely to succeed. And over a very short space of time, as the amount of data has grown exponentially and the ability to access information becomes more urgent, this relationship between businesses and data has shifted from […]
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Looking beyond venture capital to fund overseas expansion for software companies
Software companies that want to expand their businesses overseas need to look beyond the venture capital (VC) model. A lot of companies focus on getting VC funding so they can move overseas and open an office in London or New York or San Francisco. But it’s extremely expensive, you surrender a large stake in your […]
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A Zambian’s response to “You Lazy (Intellectual) African Scum!”
By Jacqueline Muna Musiitwa I read the “transcript” of your conversation with my compatriot with much intrigue. Your view of the “third world” is not only dated in nomenclature, it is also dated in reality. When was the last time you were in Zambia? The Zambia of the 1980s is not the Zambia of 2012! […]
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State of emergency 2.0
By Christopher McMichael Last week, a fully armed contingent of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers were enrolled to perform guard duties at the new Khayelitsha district hospital. The reason for the deployment of combat-ready troops in a civilian environment? To patrol a silent protest by 50 members of the Khayelitsha Development Forum. As […]
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Cavendish vs Kittel
When asked this week if Marcel Kittel is a faster sprinter than he is, Mark Cavendish quickly replied, “No!” Kittel has been dubbed the most successful neo-pro ever because last year in his debut season he won 17 recognised UCI races. Rumour has it he pushes out 1890 watts during a sprint. A doctor asked […]
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All SMS direct marketing contravenes the Consumer Protection Act
By Dr Pieter Streicher, MD of BulkSMS.com The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) allows sending unsolicited direct marketing communications (which is commonly seen as spam by many consumers) under certain conditions. However, if one looks more closely, it turns out that it is simply not possible to comply with these conditions with SMS communications. Before sending […]
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Stuff it: Titles and their place in the 21st century
The allure of adulthood includes being allowed to drink alcohol, enter a club or bar, browse any website and other pleasures. The period of abstinence is designed for us to later abhor these things or love them in moderation. Growing up really is a journey towards the light because childhood is a sort of tyranny […]
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CSI Limpopo
The African National Congress’s elective conference to be held in Mangaung in December is throwing up a whole host of interesting collateral “debates”, as the appeal against ANCYL president Julius Malema’s sentence handed down by the ANC disciplinary committee and the administration of Limpopo’s finances clearly demonstrate. As you may recall, just prior to the […]
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The problem is not black and white
It was 1994 and a Canadian comic at a South African festival thought that given our apartheid history, he’d be edgy by poking fun at race. He got mere titters and derisory silences from the audience. He didn’t realise: we got race. We South Africans had been through race, come back and turned it inside […]
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A sudden, suspect French antipathy to denialism
In 1915 Turkish authorities killed half a million Armenians in what most scholars — but unsurprisingly, not the Turks — agree was a genocide. Next week, the French senate is poised to pass a law that makes it a criminal offence to deny that this was genocide, to be punished with a maximum fine of […]
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Dear god-complex
Dear god-complex That’s right, I’m talking to you — not big G — that’s different. I wouldn’t talk to God in words, because I don’t believe that God needs words, or worship, for that matter. I also don’t believe a real God would ask any man to take his son up on a mountain and […]