This story is just too good to pass up:

Debates at the ANC policy conference in Midrand were on Thursday being held in the dark after a power failure. A security guard at Gallagher Estate said that generators were powering electricity in one area of the venue. However on the other side delegates discussed policy [...]

Truth be told, I don’t have a lot to say about Tony Blair. He was an easy man to admire from a distance, with his brilliant words, his eloquent defence of liberty, and his tough stance against international terrorism.
However, I suspect I would like Blair a lot less had I actually been living under him. [...]

I’m not a huge fan of Arthur Goldstuck, the guy who seems to have cornered the market on providing “expertise” whenever the MSM runs an internet-related story. (This is particularly vexing when the story concerns a topic like blogging, wherein which the public would be surely be better served by talking to an actual blogger.) [...]

Anybody with more experience in law want to opine on whether this is really as bad as it sounds?

[A]ny blog or other Internet or mobile content that contains visual presentations, descriptions or representations of sexual conduct, advocacy of hatred, incitement to violence or propaganda promoting war must be submitted for classification before publication. Failure to [...]

The German government has banned Tom Cruise from filming scenes for his new movie on German military sites, in response to his outspoken devotion to the Church of Scientology. And why not? Freedom of religion aside, the German government owns the property in question and they have every right to restrict access to it. Cruise [...]

I came across an interesting news report that details some of Nicholas Sarkozy’s plans to reform the French economy. Perhaps the most surprising thing is just how mild and inoffensive many of his proposals really are. Apart from encouraging Frenchmen to work more than 35 hours a week, highlights include:

cutting the top rate of income [...]

Brace yourselves, because we’re about to be hit by yet another severe cold front. Cape Town’s already experiencing rough weather, and it is expected to hit Gauteng by tomorrow. As for me, I’m off to buy a new heater, as mine was pretty useless during the last frigid spell and I’m not going to be [...]

The recent knighthood of Salman Rushdie has ignited the usual tired responses from the world’s Muslims. Flag burnings, calls for Salman’s head a pike and so on. Now the outrage I can understand. Salman wrote a book that was offensive to many Muslims, some reproach is necessary to express aforementioned outrage. What I don’t get [...]

The public servants’ strike is set to enter its fourth week tomorrow, limping lamely on after most of the initial excitement and drama has fizzled out. It’s now clear that nobody’s really going to come out on top: the teachers and nurses will get a small increase that won’t make up for lost wages, the [...]

Among unreconstructed leftists who believe “the USSR was not real socialism”, Hugo Chávez has long held a certain appeal as a different kind of socialist: one who will place the welfare of the people above the security of his own regime. This appeal continues despite despite numerous warning signals that Chávez intends to practice “actually [...]

Prospect – Why the Middle-East Doesn’t Matter
A fascinating piece, arguing that the West’s best response to the Middle-East would be benign non-involvement. Without endorsing every aspect of this analysis, it certainly succeeds in pointing out several fundamental problems with the views of Middle-East “experts” on both the left and the right.