The Big Read: Expect only the unexpected
‘Present at the Creation’ was the title of US Secretary of State Dean Acheson’s autobiography.
As the US’s chief diplomat between 1949 and 1953, he inaugurated and witnessed key events that shaped our world after the […]
Restive voters pull rug from under the feet of complacent potentates
It’s the memes wot won it. This shorthand definition of an image, video or cartoon — usually humorous and shared rapidly by internet users — is one of many explanations for the extraordinary results posted […]
Two lessons from abroad on how to bring our rainbow back
Israel is one of the few countries available for the South African political establishment to burnish their human rights credentials.
For reasons of solidarity and expediency or simple inattention, such gross rights violators as Venezuela, Zimbabwe […]
A tale of two seriously damaged presidents. One of them is ours
‘The return of Molefe to Eskom and the ridiculous reasons offered for it makes even Trump’s explanation for firing James Comey seem plausible’
Here are two — of several — quotes plucked from the weekend which […]
Unravelling constitutional threads that keep fabric of nation intact
Small business minister is the latest recruit to the ranks of thread-pullers that put hard-won settlement at risk
From the balcony of my temporary accommodation on a marina outside Tel Aviv last Monday, I witnessed the […]
Lessons from the battle for an open public space
‘ The courts, despite some energetic rigging attempts by the majority party, still push back against a delinquent state; civil society, far from being muzzled, is fully throated in its denunciations of state capture and […]
Cometh the hour, cometh the man — in Pretoria as in Paris
Last Sunday heralded the promise of real political change in France and South Africa. Tony Leon analyses the parallels and differences
There’s a pessimistic French expression Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose, which translates […]
This doctor won’t cure SA
If you have liked the presidency of Jacob Zuma so far, you will love the possible future rule of his former wife, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
And while our Department of International Relations and Co-operation has been […]
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