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/ 15 February 2006

Ruining your day, and an introduction to Planet X

Stepping back from the big media-fed "Holy jihad, Batman!" wankfest that’s erupted recently over some arbitrary doodles that appear to infringe on some people’s "religious" ideas of reality, I can do no better than to point you towards a United Kingdom <i>Daily Telegraph</i> article looking at the whole highly suspicious charade.

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/ 15 February 2006

Burning bridges

There is no meaningful response to climate change without massive social change. A cap on this and a quota on the other will not do it. Tinker at the edges as we may, we cannot sustain Earth’s life-support systems within the present economic system. Capitalism is not sustainable by its very nature.

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/ 15 February 2006

Collective castration

In her song, Soweto Blues, Miriam Makeba laments the absence of men when the police killed schoolchildren in Soweto in June 1976. In her view, men ought to take up their traditional and historic role of protecting their kith. It is moot whether throughout history men have always exercised such responsibility with distinction.

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/ 15 February 2006

Budget favours ordinary South Africans

Ordinary South Africans — except those who are heavy smokers and drinkers — will be walking with a spring in their step after Wednesday’s Budget. Following the pattern set in previous budgets, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel has again wooed individual taxpayers with tax relief that will this year allow them to hang on to R13,1-billion.

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/ 15 February 2006

Agonising shortage of dentists affects Britain

In Lerwick, in Scotland’s windswept Shetland Islands, just waiting to see the dentist can be as agonising as getting your tooth pulled. Just ask Alec Smales. ”My wife had to wait a year-and-a-half to see a dentist,” he recalled the other day, ”and then she had to wait for another year for her next appointment.”

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/ 15 February 2006

‘Budget favours consumer side’

South African economists and interest groups have reacted to Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel’s 10th Budget speech delivered on Wednesday. Economist Mike Schussler said: ”I think it’s a good Budget, but not a great Budget, because I believe Manuel had a lot more room to cut individual and company taxes even further.”