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/ 24 January 2005

Sing, sweet birds, sing

In his letter (”Off-key sweet birds sing the same tune”, January 14), Thabo Mbeki criticised a certain so-called ”sweet bird”, whom he said was ”in favour of change but determined to prevent change”. Tony Leon responds, claiming that Mbeki has revived an old pastime: attacking ”white liberals” and political opposition in general.

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/ 24 January 2005

The US’s fairyland media

You can say what you like in the United States media, as long as it helps a Republican president. But slip up once and you will be torn to shreds. The role of the media corporations in the US is similar to that of repressive state regimes elsewhere: they decide what the public will and won’t hear, and either punish or recruit the social deviants who insist on telling a different story.

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/ 24 January 2005

England race to lead at tea time

England’s middle order took the attack to South Africa after lunch on the fourth day of the fifth Castle Lager/MTN cricket Test at Supersport Park on Monday. After the morning session, in which only 86 runs were scored in 39 overs, England raced to 329 for six, a lead of 82 at tea time.

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/ 23 January 2005

A prodigal hustler comes home

Among the Wasp community last week’s presidential exoneration of the Extremely Reverend Allan Boesak has been received with a mixture of dismay and its subsidiary affection, Inverse Schadenfreude — a pleasurable sensation, permeating you with the warmth that always comes with knowing that your scepticisms are being fortified.

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/ 23 January 2005

Tickle our tummies, hear us purr

The SABC’s newsreader purred like a pussycat when she announced last year that the government was giving itself a Christmas present: nine military transport Airbuses at a cost of R1-billion each. The tone of the report was celebratory. The soundbite was from the contracting minister, public enterprise’s Alec Erwin, who praised the deal.

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/ 23 January 2005

Four South Africans top SAA open

Four South Africans topped the leaderboard after the third round of the South African Airways Open golf championship at the Durban Country Club. Tim Clark, Titch Moore, Hendrik Buhrmann and Tjaart van der Walt will all go into Sunday’s final round on nine-under 207’s.

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/ 23 January 2005

SA’s top amateur turns pro

South Africa’s number one amateur Matthew Kent announced on Saturday that he would join the paid ranks with his professional debut in the Dimension Data Pro-Am at Sun City next week. Only hours after being named South Africa’s number one amateur for the second year running at the 2005 BMW Golf Digest Awards, the 17-year old from Cape Town confirmed his decision.

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/ 23 January 2005

Bush pledges to focus on Middle East

US President George W Bush has reinforced the message of his inaugural address by saying that he believed the American people had given him a mandate to spread freedom around the world. Though he called the act of swearing his inauguration oath on the Bible a ‘humbling experience’, Bush gave every sign that he is intent on a radical second term.