The big story of the moment is undoubtedly the resignation of Tony Leon. The press reaction has been mostly negative, with newspapers veering between shocked surprise and nonsensical sky-is-falling predictions about the “end of opposition politics in South Africa”.
This sort of silliness is symptomatic of the immaturity of South African democracy. Due to our inexperience [...]

I know I’ve been letting the side down in terms of blogging lately and I apologise for that, but I’m afraid it’s going to get worse before it gets better. A lot worse. In fact, I’m going to have to take a two-month leave of absence from blogging altogether as from tomorrow.
And no, it’s not [...]

The phrase ‘market failure’ is often bandied about when part of the private sector market fails to address an area it normally would under rational circumstances, or even crashes. However, less often noted, is when the state itself fails in the provision of services that traditionally justify its own existence.
The latter is particularly apparent when [...]

A while back I was quite negative as to the quality of some Wikipedia contributions, however my viewpoint has shifted to some degree and I’m willing to admit it publicly. That comes after I found it had an explicit and positive impact on my Masters studies in Computer Auditing.
Granted, Project Management does not exactly sound [...]

Don’t sanctimonious NGOs and “human rights groups” have, I don’t know, more important stuff to do than this?:

A judge began hearing a closed-door legal challenge on Monday to pop star Madonna’s bid to adopt a baby boy from Malawi, brought by a coalition of local human rights groups. The Human Rights Consultative Committee, an alliance [...]

I’ll leave a proper assessment of Rumsfeld’s legacy for the historians. In practice, it was often difficult to judge his performance as SecDef precisely because the Pentagon bureaucracy is one of the most insular and reactionary organs in the entire US government. A “transformation”-minded secretary like Rumsfeld (who rightly wanted a lighter, more mobile military [...]

I just caught local libertarian Jim Harris being interviewed on the radio. He was arguing, hilariously, the “anti-seatbelt” position against some road safety bureaucrat-type. I think Jim is half-right on the issue: personally, I believe that driving with a seatbelt increases my personal safety, so I do. But I certainly don’t see why the government [...]

For the record, I’m neither surprised nor particularly saddened by the Republican rout in yesterday’s US mid-terms. The result was a defeat for the Republican Party (obviously) but at worst an even break for US conservatives – who, as local commentators are wont to forget, are not necessarily the same people. The congressional GOP in [...]

Someday, perhaps only a few months from now, Saddam Hussein is going to be hanged for the crimes he committed against the people of Iraq. Unlike some prominent hand-wringers (our own government included), I feel nothing but satisfaction at the verdict.
While it’s true that the trial was less than perfect, I don’t think anybody can [...]

My studies for the year are entering a final sprint as I frantically prepare for my Masters exam this coming saturday. As result I will be unable to supply any substantial blog entries or comments at earliest until that phase has passed. Work demands may however extend that absence.
But with the US mid-term elections looming, [...]

Rather than repeat what Wayne has said, I’m just going to add a few comments about my thoughts on this.
I have admittedly been pleasantly surprised by the magnanimous response by President Mbeki, Nelson Mandela and others. In offering condolences and recognising at least PW Botha’s halting attempts at change they have demonstrated a level of [...]