General

Conservative rights group AfriForum has made a call for parents to insist on mother tongue instruction from their children’s schools. On the face of it, this is a good thing. It is good for children to be taught in a language they are comfortable in It may even, as Afriforum claims, help children perform better, […]

It was with great trepidation that I stepped upon the metro train at Malvern Station, destined for my first ever day of Ashes cricket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, known to us as the MCG, or to the locals as simply “the G”. I had been there once before for a big AFL game, but […]

Henry Ford once said, “You can have any colour as long as it is black”. Similarly, native inhabitants of Africa say, “You can be an African in any colour as long as he is black.” There has been a sudden demand for an African to come in a variety of colours. During days of slavery […]

While hacking into your wife’s email account might be thoroughly enjoyable it can also be confining … such as at President Jacob Zuma’s finest correctional facility. Yes, I know there are things that you absolutely must check, eg. is she bonking around? But that doesn’t alter the fact that it could land you in jail. […]

The world recently became even more complex. In days gone by, personal disgruntlement and consequent “disloyalty” on the part of diplomatic staff in possession of “sensitive” material (and therefore capable of, if not likely, to divulge this to adversaries), sometimes threatened relations between countries — that much has not changed. What has changed, however — […]

One of the major differences between the South African and British criminal justice systems is the absence of a jury. In South Africa there is no option, as accused are tried before either a magistrate or a judge. Sometimes, in matters such as murder they may sit with assessors, but that is part of the […]

2010 marks the 60th anniversary of the death of Jan Christiaan Smuts, the JC I was referring to in the title. So far this event seems to have passed by with little interest in the South African media and society. For me Jan Smuts represents a number of things, but if I were to sum […]

Just days after announcing that he had offered a 50/50 split to reigning WBO, IBF and IBO (Alphabet Soup) champion Wladimir Klitschko, WBA champion David Haye has backtracked once more. Klitschko, already incensed that Haye had “bitched out” on two fights with the Klitschko brothers (his older brother Vitali is WBC champion) he now has […]

2010 will in South Africa be known as the year of Ayoba! (The marketing person who latched on to that one should either be stoned or applauded.) The Soccer World Cup came to the shores of the Republic, and for once, the country didn’t descend into its usual cynicism to host a tournament that was […]

The e-business provider arena has grown into an enormous, complex industry with numerous specialist areas in the last 10 years. And yet providers continue to claim one-stop shop status and fail to carve out clear niches. As a result many top-flight projects stutter and fail as teams are forced to hire more help and members […]

By Steven Hussey If you think you’ve managed to stay clean of them GMOs (genetically modified organisms) by going “organic”, chances are you’ve unknowingly been eating them or wearing them. But don’t worry. After more than three decades of experimentation there’s still no convincing evidence that GMOs are harmful. It’s the paranoia of groups like […]

The first Test between South Africa and India has from Graeme Smith’s perspective gone rather nicely. His opening pair bowled like they were blood thirsty with even Morne Morkel, not usually the most aggressive of chaps, keen to play some chin music for the batsmen … at high pace. His batsmen then, himself included, went […]