General

Hold the phone! That’s not true. Or is it? I read today the Brits are trying to claim Johnny Clegg from us. The BBC had an article titled: “Ten famous Britons you’ve probably never heard of”. And there he was, number ten on the list. Ok, granted, he was born in the UK. But does […]

By Jennifer Thorpe Male circumcision has been linked to the decreased transmission and contraction of HIV for men. It is being celebrated by scientists as an almost too obvious answer in the struggle to decrease HIV transmission. In South Africa, a country steeped in cultural and traditional ties to circumcision while at the same time […]

In Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy Joseph Schumpeter makes an observation that may prove rather sobering for the pseudo-socialist peddlers of “vulgarised Marxism”. He says The Communist Manifesto is “an account nothing short of glowing of the achievements of capitalism”. Karl Marx noted that the bourgeoisie “accomplished wonders far surpassing Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts and Gothic […]

We had lunch the other day with a British soldier friend. A nice civilised Dim Sum before she shipped out to Basra. This was going to be her second tour, having already done a tour in Helmand. Of course we spent a lot of time talking about the war and what it was like out […]

The current Formula One season has been stagnant and boring. We’ve seen many boardroom squabbles between Formula One Teams Association and Max Mosley (president of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile sports governing body) that nearly erupted into a breakaway motorsport league over the rules and regulations. But Wednesday July 29 will arguably go down in […]

So what’s keeping the crowds away from Bok matches this year? Is it the coach? The selections, the decision to let the Bok reserves have their crack at run-out against the Lions at Ellis Park? Or is it, as I suspect, just much simpler than that? Let’s start with the (surely) obvious rugby reason. The […]

Mandy de Waal speaks to The Internet & Social Media Guy, Andy Hadfield about online banking trends. What’s the biggest challenge facing banks in this country and the world over? Simplicity. As the world and the internet become more complex, banks need to make life easier for consumers. They also need to understand social media […]

What SA needs is new breed of ethical entrepreneurs that will help rebuild our country. It’s a sad day when former struggle stalwarts say the new enemy is greed and corruption. Speaking at a recent memorial service for fallen Umkhonto weSizwe members, Desmond Tutu lambasted the ANC for their conspicuous consumption and spoke out against […]

One of the most powerful texts ever written, The Communist Manifesto, opens with a very instructive statement: “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”. This statement still holds and will probably hold for another century or so. Almost all the nations in the world have to contend with this […]

Looking down from the monument of George Washington towards the Benjamin Franklin Parkway (Philadelphia’s very own Champs Elysees) I always — in the course of one of my frequent visits — know that I am back in one of my favourite American cities. Before going down to this specific area, with the Philadelphia Museum of […]

Some clubs believe that having lots of money and buying players leads to success, this is the school of thought held by the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid and Chelsea (before Roman Abramovich closed his cheque book). But then if you look closely at the most successful teams around the world, their best players […]

When ANC Youth League president (ANCYL) Julius Malema declared that charges of hate speech and discrimination brought against him by South African NGO Sonke Gender Justice were motivated by a racist and imperialist desire to embarrass black leadership, I was more than a little surprised. Where the heck was this cheap accusation coming from I […]