Yesterday evening I had the privilege of attending a lecture via satellite video link at the US Embassy in Pretoria, presented by Dr David Holian, associate Professor of Politics from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. The presentation’s topic, The US Media and Political Coverage, sparked a number of fascinating questions and avenues of discussion, [...]
As anyone who is anywhere near an International Relations-related field can tell you, right now China is the hottest thing since Burberry Plaid. These are exciting times for African IR students in particular, and China’s growing interest – and influence – in Africa is a pretty fascinating topic with some heavy implications for Africa’s relations [...]
Keeping in tune with my week’s theme of religious tomfoolery, the Taliban have agreed to set free some 19 hostages, all of which are Christian missionaries, in a deal cut with South Korean officials. Aside from the idiocy of these folks spreading the good word in a country still battling hard-line fundamentalist Muslim groups, a [...]
You heard that right – less than a week ago, the Mauritanian Senate passed a law criminalizing slavery. Having just finished the second season of HBO’s Rome, this news report gave me an eerie sense that any moment I’d see a banner on Google news announcing Octavian Ceasar’s victory at Mutina, but after a while [...]
Some of Commentary’s readers may know me as the inevitable hanger-on and official Head of the Unofficial Commentary Fanclub, but in light of Laurence, Darren and Wayne’s overwhelming busyness, I’ve been asked to step into the breach and pick up some of the slack. Corporate nanas aside, it’s a pleasure to be writing for what [...]
There is a minor religious war bubbling within the confines of the alarmingly fast-growing Facebook social networking site/programme. It would appear, as a surprise for many it seems, that several Facebook groups are springing up in response to a particularly idiotic original directed specifically towards anti-Islamic rhetoric and generally tasteless commentary (login is required to [...]
A withdrawal from Iraq is a selfish political gambit at best, and a deliberate genocide at worst, yet more blame is now being thrown outside of US circles. It would appear Iraqi President Nouri Maliki is not immune to criticism:
Reinforcing the message, the US ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, said the Baghdad government’s efforts to [...]
If the turmoil on global financial markets is anything to go by this long running financial Bull market might end up being slaughtered and its meat used as an offering to the sub-prime mortgage gods.
It’s admittedly more complicated than that and the metaphorical Bull’s fate not entirely certain but regardless, on several levels almost every [...]
Jonathan Schanzer wrote an enlightening article for the National Review about the measures Hamas have taken since their violent ascension to power. Now, before anyone decries NRO as the bastion of neo-con Zionist prejudice, please do bear in mind that similar reports have said as much from other less-conservative sources, such as Al Jazeera, [...]
So, twenty three hours on a plane later, I had arrived in Tokyo and was immediately immersed in the throngs of Americans, Canadians and other weird and odd-looking people attending our orientation before being sent to our respective prefectures. Not quite the smiling geisha in kimonos that I’d expected, but hey! It’s all new to [...]
Naval aficionados take note, as there’s an opportunity to view a historic moment at the end of August when NATO’s Standing Naval Maritime Group 1 visits Cape Town in the first ever visit of a NATO force to our shores. What’s more, it’s quite a substantial force – consisting of a cruiser, three frigates, a [...]
After months of diplomatic wrangling, the United Nations Security Council and Sudan have finally approved a 26 000-strong UN peacekeeping force for Darfur. It has been a long time coming; over 200 000 people are reported to have died and 2.5 million displaced in the past four years, victims of brutal attacks by government-backed Janjaweed [...]
Darren on SumbandilaSat Launches
mandla on Punish the SANDF Strikers
Morne on Time to Consider Property?
bfly on Housekeeping and Blog-Pimping
RvdW on Some Michael-Related Perspective
[L]ocal viewpoints on local/international affairs. That they aren't brain-dead like most local self-confessed 'intellectuals' is a bonus.
- Fifteen Minutes
[I'm] glad to report the arrival of a new blog written by a couple of 'conservative-libertarian' South Africans. Commentary is both well written and prolific and very much worth a visit.
- Southern Cross
[A] great new South African blog. Commentary.co.za brings us libertarian views on South Africa...
- Way South
Probably the busiest (in terms of number of postings) blog is Commentary... They write on everything from politics, sport, time travel and more.
- Fodder
Commentary.co.za is a fantastically well-written site with an indepth insight into South African politics. If you want the lowdown on what's happening in the corridors of power, this is the place to read it. These guys know their stuff.
- Cherryflava
Pompous, geeky and holier-than-thou.
- Gabbahead
