General

By Ori Ben-zeev I remember hearing a story a couple of years ago about an Austrian prime minister who parked illegally and received a fine. Are you ready for the twist? He paid it and apologised. Definitely something unheard of in many, if not most, places in the world: a government official that does not […]

Judge Howard Riddle excused Shrien Dewani from attending Thursday’s preliminary extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, which was postponed to February 8 for the purpose of the formal proceedings. As reported earlier today British publicist Max Clifford said that Shrien did not need to attend court because it is a 20-minute formality to fix a […]

Many soccer fans don’t go to the stadiums these days to watch PSL games because the matches are simply boring. There is a lack of entertainment in the way our teams play. Strict tactical approaches have overshadowed creativity and individual brilliance. Coaches are more concerned with winning games, even in an ugly way, so that […]

By Steven Hussey If socially defined gender roles are a natural product of our biology, why are they so difficult to live up to? How much rebuking of “effeminate males” or scolding of breadwinning mothers by conservative culture does it take to reveal the weakness of the link between sex and behaviour? Biology is not […]

The Cricket World Cup (CWC) and South Africa have never had the best of relationships. Like two people who share a tempestuous love, they seem to be perfect for each other but invariably find some way to continually break up in an ugly manner, which makes conversations with your friends on that topic extremely awkward. […]

According to Clay Shirky, renowned digital media commentator, “communication tools don’t become socially interesting until they become technologically boring”. Now while I’ll never consider SMS boring, I’d argue that SMS has become so entrenched in our day-to-day lives that it meets this criterion, and has not only become socially interesting, but is impacting our society […]

Few topics generate as much buzz as sex. It also continues to be one of the greatest sources of division in society, and perhaps one of its most persistent. These divisions relate not only to positions, but also between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Despite major advances in our understanding of the human body, its […]

Paul Dolezar has a tough task ahead of him, which is to save the Mpumalanga Black Aces from dreaded relegation. Last season the team was in a similar situation. They signed more than 15 players to bolster their squad at the beginning of the Absa Premiership season. They had high hopes and dreams of seeing […]

Not too many years ago I used to call some black people, especially those of African descent, “coconuts”. And, of course, this got me into trouble with people who felt insulted by this label. It suggested that they were, essentially, white people inside who were cursed with black skins outside. In practical terms, it meant […]

Finally, all the paperwork and red tape has been cleared and Imran Tahir is set to be a Protea. This is big news. Why so, you may ask? Because why, as hulle se op die Oos Rand, his international career presents a challenge, not only to himself to justify the hype, but also to the […]

With this redrawing of the Sudanese map they are opening a colonial era Pandora’s box that until now they had sworn to keep shut at any cost.

“The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.” — Karl Marx Both the intelligence and the ethical integrity of the human race are sadly lacking, as far as I can tell. Sure, there are many exceptions — millions, probably — but their numbers are vastly outweighed by […]