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/ 9 June 2006

Eurocentricity in easy steps

Most of the material constituting this column is plagiarised. The difference between my plagiarism and that of the industry trendsetters, Bristow-Bovey/Pamela Jooste/St Antjie Krog et al, is that I am revealing where I stole the material from and not publishing it in the wild hope that no one notices.

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/ 9 June 2006

Maree, governance on trial

Sydney Maree, the former 1 500m world-record holder, is running the race of his life. The former champion athlete and one-time head of the state-owned National Empowerment Fund (NEF) appeared in court recently in an effort to clear his name of charges that he stole R1-million from the NEF.

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/ 9 June 2006

Somalia’s new threat

Somalia’s deadly 16-year game of no-hands government has taken an ominous turn, with warning signs that it might become the new Afghanistan. American interest in the chaotic Horn of Africa waned after the 1993 withdrawal of the United States-United Nations peacekeeping force following the death of 18 troops, but appears to have revived, with portentous results.

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/ 9 June 2006

From brain drain to brain circulation

In the 1960s and 1970s, the flow of scientists, engineers and medical personnel from developing to industrialised nations was thought to have almost entirely negative consequences for the source countries. Recently, there has been growing emphasis on reverse flows of knowledge, skills and money the migrants send home.

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/ 9 June 2006

Mzi, the BEE pimpernel

The tale of Mzi Khumalo’s quick profit from investing in construction firm Basil Read raises many interesting questions about black economic empowerment (BEE) deals — not the least being what makes a BEE investor a BEE investor.That corporate raider Khumalo has successfully struck again will not surprise anyone who has followed the career of this one-time associate of the late Brett Kebble.

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/ 9 June 2006

A perverse fixation with the Nazi past

The soccer World Cup fills me with dread. I want to look, but also to look away. Not because I don’t like football. I do. Not because I’m fussed about the St George flag. I’m all for it. Nor am I in any liberal confusion about wanting England to win. I want that too. Not even because I can’t stand the hysteria: Why can’t we have a commentary-free channel that just shows the games?

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/ 9 June 2006

Healing Liberia’s pain

Citizens of the first republic to be established on the continent, in 1847, visited the most recently established democratic African republic to seek guidance and insight for their fledgling Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Members of Liberia’s TRC were on a week-long study tour of the country to learn how South Africa’s transition and healing process was managed.

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/ 9 June 2006

Steps along the road to 2010

The 2010 Fifa World Cup is a prestigious and much anticipated international sporting event. South Africa has been granted the opportunity to host this event in nine cities and 10 stadia across the country. This has generated much speculation among the South African public, writes CEO of the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa, Danny Jordaan.