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South Africa

With autumn around the corner, Juju has awarded the tender for his new killer fashion line to an up and coming designer. Will that help him find money to pay his ANC membership? And other African countries feel we’re arrogant like Americans. Why, are they jealous? And... what’s that smell?


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US

On 3 February 1959, a single engine Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft, flown by 21-year-old Roger Peterson, and carrying rock and roll sensations Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and JP Richardson – 'The Big Bopper' – crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa at around 1:30 in the morning. The three young rock stars never made it to their next concert. But they became immortal. By J BROOKS SPECTOR.

Years later, in 1971, Don McLean released his own haunting song, American Pie, to pay homage to the three stars – and what could have been their futures – had they lived past their youth. Holly was 22 years old, Valens was just 17 (!), and JP Richardson was the grizzled old man of the group at 28 when their plane crashed in the wintery cornfield. Watch: Proof that the music died the day Buddy Holly left this earth. That was indeed the day:  This Winter Dance Party tour was set up to play concerts in 24 cities across the… More

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South Africa

What now for rugby now that PdeV has gone? What of our plans to lead the AU? And why does Julius want a street battle with President Zuma?


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South Africa

South Africa’s press landscape is untransformed. The Press Code needs work. The Ombudsman should be tougher, more independent, and pro-active. There’s a lot wrong with the local print news sector, but the public protector in her submission to the Press Freedom Commission reminded us all of that is right, and why a free, independent and self-regulating press is the only way forward. By MANDY DE WAAL.

The ANC’s Jesse Duarte and Jackson Mthembu entered the Braamfontein Recreation Centre for the Press Freedom Commission’s public hearings this week ready for the limelight. Duarte and Mthembu made their presence known as they accompanied their secretary general, Gwede Mantashe, to deliver the ANC’s submission on the regulation of the press. From the opposite side: South Africa’s corruption-busting crusader, Thuli Madonsela. Her entrance was understated and unassuming. But the minute the media saw her sitting in the front row of the hall, silently reading her submission, the cameras locked on her as they had for Mantashe, Duarte and Mthembu. Madonsela’s… More

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US

It’s official, Facebook has finally filed for a public stock offering. But does the company’s revenue-generating model justify its expected valuation of $100 billion? Will anybody aside from the investment bankers and industry insiders benefit from the listing? KEVIN BLOOM considers the question.

In April 2010, an episode of South Park aired in the US and UK that viewers rated as one of the funniest in years. The episode was titled “You have ‘0’ friends,” and it followed the quest of Stan, who said he didn’t “want to be like a third-grader who’s been on Facebook six months and has zero friends.” So Kyle, Kenny and Cartman set up a profile for him, which soon became a huge success—leading in turn to the awkward and inevitable moment where Stan refused to friend Kyle. There were of course other scenes in the episode that… More

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US

Ultimately the polls were right. Mitt Romney trounced Newt Gingrich in Florida. Now there are only 46 more states to contest in this grinding battle for the affections of the Republican Party. By J BROOKS SPECTOR.

With 95% of the votes counted in Florida by early Wednesday morning, Romney had achieved a 46% to 32% margin. Exit polls reported Romney won in nearly every demographic - ethnicity, age, moderates versus conservatives and the gender divide. Gingrich squeaked ahead among self-described fundamentalist/born-again voters – his only real winning margin among sub-categories of voters. The gap between the two candidates was especially wide among women where Newt Gingrich effectively “cratered” in the view of (admittedly partisan Democratic) congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Exit polls point to the economy as the key issue motivating most of the voters in this… More

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South Africa

Pigs, dogs, hyenas, vultures and crocodiles all come home to roost as Cosatu introduces its Corruption Watch. The president’s in the air. With several planes. And just what the heck is going on in the US, why is the Donald angry?


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world

Arguably, by Christopher Hitchens, Atlantic 2011. Review by KAVISH CHETTY.

Arguably completes the triptych: three volumes of pre-death nostalgia honouring the reportage and argument of Christopher Hitchens, the man Martin Amis called “the most terrifying rhetorician the world has ever known”. But after his death last month, the collection now has a touch of the funereal about it. The leftist obituaries have predictably veered between the irreverent and the venomous, perhaps withholding from him the same post-mortem decencies he denied Jerry Falwell (“give him an enema,” quoth Hitchens shortly after his death, “and you could bury him in a matchbox.”). The venom in these memorials centrifuge around a common criticism:… More

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South Africa

We all know the ANC and the Press (the capital is deliberate) have had a rough ride together over the years. And we know that there are parts of the ANC that seem to be hell-bent on using its power as the majority in Parliament to make sure the press is brought to heel. Some see it as a deliberate campaign to stop freedom of speech, and to get rid of those pesky front-page exclusives featuring the word "corruption". Others think the ANC has a point. On Tuesday, in front of the Press Freedom Commission's members, the ANC had its say. By STEPHEN GROOTES.

(Disclaimer: Grootes is a journalist. He is naturally biased towards his fellow journalists. Don't say we didn't warn you and inform you - Ed) Let's start at the beginning. Isn't it fascinating that the ANC decided to come and give a submission in the first place? Think about it. Already there's been one editor of a national newspaper (Peter Bruce of the Business Day) who's said publicly that he won't negotiate on this issue with the ANC. To enter into a process of negotiation means there's something you're willing to give up, and there's nothing he's willing to give up… More

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Johannesburg

A raging snowstorm, an isolated mansion, a collection of guests who may or may not be who they claim to be. The lights go out. Somebody screams. Ah, there’s nothing like classic Agatha Christie to chill the blood and stir the brain. By LESLEY STONES.

The Mousetrap has been playing in London’s West End for an amazing 60 years, and has been brought to South Africa for an official anniversary production with a local cast. It’s a whodunit in the traditional style, with lots of red herrings flapping around amid a smattering of clues. It’s an entertaining plot and beautifully constructed, with just the right amount of decoys to keep the audience puzzling over who the murderer is and what the motive up until the final moments. The scenes unfold in a guesthouse run by Mollie Ralston (Sarah Richard) and her husband Giles (Clyde Berning)… More

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Twittersphere

Sunday evening saw political analyst Eusebius McKaiser launch what he claims is a first for South Africa: a talk-show which takes place entirely on Twitter. REBECCA DAVIS took a look at the inaugural Twitterview.

Twitterview is one of the ghastly neologisms the micro-blogging site has unleashed on the world: combining Twitter with interview. It’s very simple – the interviewer and the subject arrange to be logged on to Twitter at a certain time, and the interviewer then types questions and the subject responds. The idea is that the Twitterverse gets involved, by commenting on the Q&A and contributing their own questions. It is not certain who conducted the world’s first Twitterview, but Wikipedia gives credit to a Spanish health journalist who used the forum to interview entrepreneur Bertalan Mesko on 10 December 2008. Now… More

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US

Americans will soon begin to groan under the weight and information overload of politically-charged advertising, broadcast media commercials, Internet-based messages and targeted, automated phone calling in favour of candidates and policies. The superPACs are taking the presidential campaign trail by storm. By J BROOKS SPECTOR.

In Florida, the most recent polls say Newt Gingrich is around 11% behind Mitt Romney in the upcoming Florida primary on 31 January. The two other remaining contestants – Rick Santorum and Ron Paul – are unable to turn this next primary into anything beyond a two-man race, and despite Newt Gingrich’s fighting words that he is in it to the convention, a convincing Romney win in Florida may just about bring the Republican’s competition to a close, as the next contests in Nevada and Maine should be Romney’s to win as well. Romney has close ties to Maine, and… More

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South Africa

From creative advertising to neurotic music videos, our eyes and ears are bombarded with lyrical, sugar-coated commercial sounds. Fuelled with performers’ egos and wrapped up in prodigal pictures and packaging, it’s all about production. But rejoice, purists, there may finally be a way back to the essence of things. It’s time to switch off the lights and listen to Ster. By EMILY GAMBADE.

Today standing out is less about one handling one’s craft than it is about being able to trigger as many audience's senses as possible. Spark up a holistic sensory experience and you may be a winner - strong visuals, atmospheric soundtracks, punchy slogans, an invasion of super productions, egotistic mixtures of sounds and pictures, and, as a bonus, the performer's private life thrown to the hungry-as-a-lion audience; it sometimes makes for good entertainment, but the essence of art... Is mostly lost. Mixing music with images and images with music is not always a disaster. David Lynch, known to be peculiar… More

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Your TV

The truth about reality television is that there’s nothing real about it, writes MANDY DE WAAL.

Deleese Williams is not exactly the most attractive woman in the world. She has crooked teeth. A partially deformed jaw. Ears that stick out of the side of her face. And a weak chin. But she was perfect for the ABC reality programme “Extreme Makeover” which – if you’re not a reality television acolyte – is a personal “improvement” show of sorts. Men and women who aren’t quite attractive enough enter a period of isolation where the only people they get to meet are plastic surgeons, hair stylists, beauticians, dentists, personal trainers and stylists. Then, when the ugly ducklings have… More

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South Africa

The team who a decade ago transformed South African online banking with 20Twenty are back, this time with an online financial services tool that’s “guaranteed” to save you money. By GREG NICOLSON.

Christo Davel called an assistant to the front and asked him how many people he thinks noticed his Barry Manilow t-shirt. Everyone glanced at it, said the young assistant. Davel then asked the audience, a suave group of about 40 sitting in the function space at Circa Gallery in Rosebank, Johannesburg. Only a few hands went up. That’s how “dofly” we respond to things, said Davel. “Most of the time people don’t give a damn. You do things according to how we think people will react.” Davel, a former dentist, hotelier and founder of the transformative 20Twenty online bank, was… More

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India

Last week Salman Rushdie cancelled a planned appearance at the Jaipur Literature Festival in the face of reported threats to his life – Indian police could not assure him of their protection. Then on Tuesday, organisers of the festival were forced to drop a video-linked interview with the Indian-born author after a crowd of protesters massed outside the venue. This most recent episode in L’affaire Rushdie dredges up the age-old debates about the limits of freedom of expression, but it also casts fresh scrutiny on the place of Muslims in political life in India. By KHADIJA PATEL.

A good many people believe there was no credible threat to Salman Rushdie’s life in Jaipur last week. The entire drama is said to have been concocted by the Indian government to keep Rushdie away from India, placating the local Muslim population and winning their vote ahead of state elections scheduled for the coming months. In a television interview this week, Rushdie said he believed the Indian government had circuited “fantastically fishy” intelligence reports of assassination plots to force his withdrawal from Asia’s largest literature festival. To those lucky enough to have thrilled in the experience, the Jaipur Literature Festival… More

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Davos, Switzerland

Yada yada yada yada yada. Talks about talks about talks about talks. So far, the World Economic Forum in Davos, which kicked off on 25 January, seems to be more of the same. Except this time, there really doesn’t seem to be much of a “forum” to speak of—mainly because the “world” part isn’t being bought by the 99%. By KEVIN BLOOM.

Occupy WEF—the three-letter acronym standing, of course, for the World Economic Forum—is exactly what you think it is. But just in case you’ve forgotten about Occupy Wall Street, here’s a little refresher…this movement is about grabbing the fate of humanity back from the evil profiteers who’ve gotten it (meaning, us) into this mess; it’s about telling the corporate CEOs and investment bankers, flush with the lovin’ from their annual bonuses, that we’re onto them; it’s about the fact that the universe doesn’t belong anymore to the fat-cats who make up the one percent. No, Occupy WEF bellows, the earth shall… More

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US

Do what you love. Do your best. Money won’t make you happy. Take risks. Use your time wisely. That’s the sage advice Dr Karl Pillemer has accrued after canvassing some 1,500 wise, elderly Americans for his book 30 Lessons for Living. Based on the Cornell Legacy Project he founded, this project flies in the face of the youth cult that’s permeated this century and celebrates the hard won lessons of age. By MANDY DE WAAL.

How do you live a life well lived? How can you be happy? How do you make love stay? Self-help authors have made a good load of dosh from “answering” these questions on television or with books that promise abundantly, but often deliver as much real substance as candy floss. Now if you were browsing the self-help section of Barnes&Noble, happened to bump into gerontologist Karl Pillemer and asked him which psychobabble book would give you the best life advice, it’s likely the Cornell Professor would tell you to turn around and walk out the door. Pillemer’s sage advice is… More

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South Africa

What was the idea behind the Daso poster showing a naked interracial couple that set the social media abuzz and, with the help of a few online news sites and radio stations, the public in general? It certainly got attention, but did it manage to make a meaningful contribution to race discourse? And what long term effect might this have on the DA, the parent body to Daso? By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

It all started when people connected to the DA Youth, like the leader Makashule Gana, sent out a message on Twitter, with a link to the poster, on 23 January. The poster depicted two naked people in an embrace: a white man and a black woman. The picture carried a tag saying, “In OUR future, you wouldn’t look twice”. To say that the picture caused controversy in the social media would be putting it lightly. It generated a huge amount of Twitter traffic, and even spawned a few spoof images. The picture was also posted onto Facebook, where it garnered… More

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South Africa

The media have had a field day with the Modimolle murder and rape story, which has eaten up headlines because of the violent and bizarre nature of the crimes. It’s big news but just how much gory detail is in the public interest and should the media be publishing photographs of minors motivated by “the public interest”? MANDY DE WAAL investigates.

Beeld’s photograph of Angelique Bonnette shows the 16-year-old sister of Conrad Bonnette standing next to his grave, her face grief stricken. In her hand a blue handkerchief. She’s using it to wipe the tears from her swollen, red eyes. On 4 January 2012 the small Limpopo town of Modimolle, formerly known as Nylstroom, was rocked when unspeakable horror was meted on Ina Bonnette and her son, Conrad. Ina Bonnette was allegedly gang-raped and mutilated in a cruel and unusual attack, allegedly orchestrated by her estranged lover, Johan Kotze. It is alleged that Kotze shot Bonnette’s son, Conrad, three times, eventually… More

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world

Kim Schmitz, aka Kim Dotcom, was until his arrest last week the kingpin of one of the largest piracy networks the Internet has yet seen. But the misdirected “libertarian” hacker group Anonymous supported him anyway. What does this have to do with the two pieces of anti-piracy legislation that have just been shelved by the United States Congress? And how can artists, writers and musicians make a living in the face of a populist call for online anarchy? By KEVIN BLOOM.

In an indictment brought on 5 January this year in the United States District Court, for the Eastern District of Virginia, the grand jury charged that the commercial website Megaupload and its co-defendants—men from Germany, the Netherlands and other countries—were members of a “mega conspiracy,” a worldwide criminal organisation that engaged in copyright infringement and money laundering on a massive scale. The harm to copyright holders, the court alleged, was well in excess of $500 million, and the reported income of the group in excess of $175 million. What made Megaupload “criminal” in the eyes of US authorities were a… More

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Cape Town

There were fears that the Press Freedom Commission hearings, dubbed the "Listening to South Africa Campaign" would result in nothing more than a rehash of the Press Council public hearings that took place in 2011. At the very least, a greater diversity of voices seem to have come to the party. By JULIE REID.

On Thursday 19 January the first of a series of hearings hosted by the Press Freedom Commission was held in Cape Town. First, a brief history of the PFC itself. In partial response to the ANC’s calls for a statutory body to regulate the print media, or a media appeals tribunal, the South African Press Council conducted a review of its processes over 2010 and 2011. South Africa’s press self-regulatory body released a full report of this review process in August 2011, and at around the same time the PFC was instituted by Print Media South Africa and the South… More

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South Africa

In literary-critical debate, it won’t do to make emphatic statements about uncovering political corruption. In the case of crime fiction, the hot new SA genre in which Roger Smith is writing, hot debates start running the moment anyone takes a stand for the new trend of crime writing – or against it. By LEON DE KOCK.

Dust Devils by Roger Smith, Serpent’s Tail, 2011. Roger Smith's third SA crime thriller, Dust Devils, is similar to his previous two, Wake Up Dead and Mixed Blood, in one important respect: there are no “good guys” left, anywhere.  There are almost good guys, but they are “good” only in a sense that is relative to the degrees of venality elsewhere. Everyone is rotten. The system is rotten. No one who works inside the system can escape it. And there’s no action outside the system. So the “good” guys are the slightly less-crazies who eventually take out the ultra-rotten cops,… More

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US

Here’s the good news: the worst movie of 2012 is now over and done with. Here’s the bad news: that it was ever made in the first place. By RICHARD POPLAK

Africa is a continent of almost a billion people, most of whom are waiting to be saved. This axiom fuels Machine Gun Preacher, a new film directed by a Hollywood-by-way-of-Basel hack named Marc Forster. Forster’s movies tend to coagulate into a mulch of overblown action and Euro pretension, and those are just the good parts. Unjustly praised for the Halle Berry Oscar-baiter Monster’s Ball (he fetishizes the American lower class once again in his latest), he was properly pilloried for the Kite Runner and the unwatchable Bond sequel Quantum of Solace. By comparison, his latest makes the rest of his… More

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Johannesburg

The damage parents’ bigotry can inflict upon their children is a subject that either raises intense debate or scarcely any thought at all. The weighty issue of what happens when parents dehumanise their children is the powerful dust of Yellowman. By LESLEY STONES.

Parents bring kids into the world and do everything they can to ensure they excel, right? But when a parent becomes the biggest critic, what then? This extraordinary tale soars through a bold and brilliant script and stunning acting. Rarely has simple storytelling been as mesmerising as it is in this two-hand drama. It’s set in Southern Carolina, a state where black-on-black racism is more pronounced than the white-on-black variety. The ebony blacks despise the lighter-skinned blacks, disparagingly calling them “yellowmen”. Kids can’t play across this colour bar, marrying a different skin tone sees you ostracised by both sides and… More

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South Africa

On Wednesday the National Council of Provinces ad hoc committee on the Protection of State Information Bill released its draft schedule for public hearings on the bill. With 40% of township residents blissfully unaware even of the existence of the bill, the committee has its work cut out to ensure hearings are factual and inclusive. By THERESA MALLINSON.

The roadshow will visit all nine provinces during February, to canvas as many opinions as possible. When the ANC used it Parliamentary majority to railroad the Bill through the national assembly in November, it was a globally recognised black day for freedom of access to information in South Africa. But it was far from the end of the road. Late last year the NCOP formed an ad hoc committee on the bill, chaired by the ANC's Raseriti Johannes Tau, to further engage with South Africans around the impending legislation. The 15-person committee comprises 10 ANC MPs, two DA MPs and… More

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Movie world

Okay, so it’s not only the 20th century we’re talking about, but this week sees a milestone many movie directors won’t be celebrating: it’s 100 years since the birth of film criticism. We take a look at a few of the most memorable reviews. By REBECCA DAVIS.

The first ever ‘kinema’ review was published on 17 January 1912 in the London Evening News. The writer was WG Faulkner, who justified the decision to introduce a weekly feature on film because the “picture theatre”, as he called it, “is no longer a matter of wonder; it has become an everyday part of the national life”. Since then, movie-goers have come to rely on film reviews from trusted critics to shape their decisions as to whether to fork out the cash to buy a cinema ticket. Naturally, sometimes bad reviews aren’t enough to stop a film killing it at… More

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Johannesburg

Boekehuis, a well-loved bookstore in Johannesburg, is set to shut its doors this month after Media24 Books, a subsidiary of Naspers, decided the store’s failure to turn a profit could not be sustained any longer.  KHADIJA PATEL spoke to manager, Corina van der Spoel, about the store’s legacy.

When the lease for Cape Town’s iconic Clarke’s bookshop at 211 Long Street was not renewed two years ago, a public outcry ensued that has since assured the store a continued presence on Long Street, albeit two doors away from the space it has occupied for 60 years. Clarke’s is a living tome of South African history but even history is not immune from the scourge of change. “It was devastating to lose the layers of history in this space,” owner Henrietta Dax said. Among the vexations change is set to wrought, futurologists (not the kind who rely on crystal… More

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Johannesburg

Many of the young men who served their military conscription were damaged by the experience. Physically and emotionally, they were scarred by the brutal way their superiors treated them, or from the moral abhorrence of killing an enemy because their skin was a different colour. By LESLEY STONES.

But I’ve never seen a play that so vividly captures the essence of those times and conditions as well as Somewhere on the Border does. It’s naturally not a comfortable play to watch, although it is engrossing, even 25 years later in this revival at The Market Theatre. Playwright Anthony Akerman hopes that in retelling the story of young white conscripts sent to the Angolan border might help them to reach some healing or closure. It’s a laudable goal, but I doubt it’ll be achieved. But at least the play will remind the survivors that they weren’t alone in questioning… More

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US

What would you say if we told you that a Michael Moore-style documentary, with Indiana heartlanders weeping over lost factories and foreclosed homes, made a villain of Mitt Romney and his former company, Bain? What if I told you the documentary was made by far-right Republicans? By RICHARD POPLAK.

“Let’s look deeper,” says an elderly lady with a quadruple chin and some form of palsy, “let’s look deeper in his life.” Mitt Romney’s life, if you’re a financial conservative, is business as usual. He got himself some investors, bought up some companies, fucked some people over and made a pile of money exploiting the vast regulatory loopholes that allow raiders like him to drive Brinks trucks into small towns and take the bumpkins for all they’re worth. But in the new 29-minute documentary, When Mitt Romney Came to Town, this is played as a bad thing. The movie is… More

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