Trouble Ahead? The G7/G20 in the Age of Trump
Sometimes a picture says it all. This June 2018 photo shows then German chancellor Angela Merkel beseeching an unmoved President Donald Trump to be reasonable
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Ramaphosa will talk this country to death
President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a National Dialogue, starting with a National Convention in August. Talk is not what this country needs. If there’s one person who is all talk an no action, it’s Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa. That was a
Getting better politicians
Nicholas Lorimer and Hermann Pretorius discuss an article about the rigorous new standards the ANC is setting for its candidate selection. They use this to get into a broader discussion of how South Africa can get better politicians. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZA7WvzidxQ
Jo’burg: the DA’s Operation Market Garden?
In the closing months of the Second World War in Europe, the Allies were advancing towards Germany, but faced the formidable Siegfried Line of fortifications. British commander, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, proposed a daring plan to capture bridges over the
The totality of race law in South Africa’s economy
The following are edited remarks I delivered at the launch of the joint Free Market Foundation-Solidarity Research Institute report on the cost of so-called “broad-based black economic empowerment” policies at Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, on 12 June. Thank you to everyone
Really? A national dialogue?
Makone Maja and Nicholas Lorimer discuss the planned "National Dialogue", pull back on BEE in mining, and score cards for ministers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDVqwTsm2VA
Privatise the SABC Entirely!
In politics, the phrase “too big to fail” often just means “too interconnected to be allowed to fail”. The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is one such beast deemed to be too big to fail. Since 2009, the SABC has
Trump/Musk – what if you were forced to choose?
I had many things I wanted to write about this week − stuff happening all over the place: AI, crypto, tech, energy, Ukraine, the Middle East, China, media, entertainment. I had already published a piece on the Musk/Trump skirmish, but
The BEE scam: Where are the jobs?
Marius Roodt and Nicholas Lorimer discuss the op-eds by Adriaan Basson and Mat Cuthbert on BEE. They also chat about a fire in Jo'burg and the ATM changing leaders. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6Qjoz0t9s8