After reading all about Triumph’s gargantuan Rocket III we’ve finally had a chance to ride the monster. it’s just as big and <i>badass</i> as the overseas media have led us to believe. The Rocket III is beautifully built and remarkably easy to live with for such an extreme machine. In this case, nothing succeeds like excess.
"Starting off with some interesting reading: to get a good overview of the frightening future that is opening up before all of us, do your mind a favour and take the time to read <i>The Ghost of Orwell is upon Us</i>. Or if you don’t want to face up to reality, you could always go watch a short film clip of a cute little dog with sleeping sickness." Ian Fraser has more where this came from this week.
All economies today are reliant on science and technology to various degrees to sustain economic growth and meet their development needs. Today many countries continue to remain poor because they have not addressed the technological gap. But the Third World is capable of tackling the technology gap without looking North, reckons Saliem Fakir.
"Car prices will not come down in the short to medium term, whatever the findings of the car price probe by the Competition Commission. No magic wand can be waved to enable everyone to rush out and buy new vehicles," reckons <i>Autonews</i> editor Colin Windell. In the first of a two-part feature, we looks at the issues surrounding new vehicle pricing in South Africa.
"Villages die by night. Quietly. Towns die by day, shrieking as they go. Since independence Big Dams have displaced more than 35-million people in India alone. What is it about our understanding of nationhood that allows governments and "national interest", that allows — applauds — the violation of peoples’ rights on a scale so vast that it takes on the texture of everyday life and is rendered virtually invisible," asks Arundhati Roy.
The term "blood money" has come to have new meaning in Cameroon, where certain patients and their families complain that a brisk trade in trafficked blood has led to shortages in hospitals. "Getting hold of a pouch of blood for a patient who has urgent need of it can be an experience akin to Calvary," said Martin Djomo, the husband of someone who is dependent on blood transfusions.
United States President George W Bush’s re-election prospects received a severe setback last week when government figures from Washington showed the United States economy was producing far fewer jobs than Wall Street had been expecting.
The 32 000 July increase in non-farm payrolls was almost 200 000 down on market predictions and led to a sharp sell-off in shares and the dollar.
After 40 years working for the Soviet Union’s Interior Ministry, Ina Ilyina was naturally suspicious of what democracy would bring. But, like most people, she held on through the turmoil and trusted that better times were ahead. Now, more than 10 years later, with Russia poised to dismantle one of the signature schemes of the communist era, she speaks bitterly about her country’s leaders.
The return of abrasive flanker AJ Venter to the Springbok starting line-up for the winner-takes-all Vodacom Tri-Nations clash against the Wallabies on Saturday is a clear indication that coach Jake White is prepared to fight fire with fire. The robust loose-forward is the only change to the Springbok starting line-up for the match.
Host nation Greece won their first gold medal of the Athens Olympics when Nikolaos Siranidis and Thomas Bimis triumphed in the men’s synchronised diving 3m springboard event on Monday. ”We hope that this will open the way for more medals for Greece,” said Bimis. Chinese favourites Peng Bo and Wang Kenan finished last.
Special Report: Olympics 2004