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/ 9 December 2004

Iraqi deaths: How the toll adds up

General Tommy Franks, the United States commander in the Iraq war last year, spelled it out before the invasion began. ”We don’t do body counts,” he said, referring to the Iraqis that might be killed in the forthcoming conflict. His deputies were left to explain why a careful toll of the US dead was kept but Iraqi deaths went unrecorded.

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/ 9 December 2004

Fine line between fact and comment

The <i>M&G</i> has always taken strong positions. Readers pay for a paper with attitude — sometimes they agree with it, sometimes they don’t. There are always some who are outraged, but the editorial philosophy is that debate, even intense disagreement, is better than lukewarm silence. So can the <i>M&G</i> be accused of anti-Americanism? Our ombud, Franz Krüger, takes a closer look.

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/ 9 December 2004

Fraser’s guide to Christmas gifts

At a loss as to what to get the guy who has everything? Ian Fraser has unearthed the items that your recipient is guaranteed to not have already. Try … the children’s knitted gimp suit, nipple guards, "pull my finger Santa dolls", road rage signs — and a range of other goodies Verimark won’t be trying to sell you — all available at a www near you.

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/ 9 December 2004

Talking to Me?

"I take a perverse delight in getting up people’s noses. I’ve been doing it very successfully since school days and can’t see any reason to break an enjoyable habit". David Bullard is spoiling for another verbal fight, but he doubts whether there are any worthy opponents left.

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/ 9 December 2004

True death toll in Iraq unclear

The scale of killings has been obscured by the United States military’s refusal to collect data. According to Brigadier General Vince Brooks, the deputy director of operations at US central command, ”…If we are going to be honourable about our warfare, we are not out there trying to count up bodies. This is not the appropriate way for us to go”.

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/ 9 December 2004

Gone Fishin’

Adult contemporary may be the most lucrative licence a radio broadcaster can get, but this market looks decidedly overfished. The problem, of course, is that there are a limited number of licences available — and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) is extremely conscious of overfishing depleting the stock.

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/ 9 December 2004

Bowled over by the board

The United Cricket Board (UCB) went to amazing lengths this week to prove it is different from its counterpart in Zimbabwe. Instead of barring certain journalists from the country, the UCB embraced the media by giving them a behind-the-scenes look at its disciplinary procedures.

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/ 9 December 2004

Leverkusen rout Dynamo Kiev

Bayer Leverkusen beat Dynamo Kiev 3-0 on Wednesday to reach the second round of the Champions League. Defender Juan opened the scoring for Leverkusen in the 51st minute and Andrei Voronin, a striker who tormented the visitors from his native country all evening, notched the second in the 77th. Mirko Babic secured the victory in 86th.

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/ 9 December 2004

Dolphins smash Eagles’ winning streak

The Dolphins brought the Eagles down to earth with a bump on Wednesday, when they beat them by 10 runs in their Standard Bank Cup match at Goodyear Park. The Dolphins won the toss and batted first, scoring 218 for seven in their 45 overs. Doug Watson made 74, Dale Benkenstein 34 and Lance Klusener 32 not out.