November 2011

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The National Development Plan: A Low Carbon Vision Steeped in Contradiction

Saliem Fakir - The much-vaunted National Development Plan (NDP) emanating from Minister in the Presidency, Trevor Manuel’s planning commission is an interesting and wide-ranging document that hopes to set the tone for government thinking over the next two decades. Not everybody will agree or is already agreeable to everything it contains. How the NDP is received is dependent on whether the National Planning Commission is just viewed as a high-level policy think tank embedded in government or if it...

Sarkozy's Head Next to Roll after Berlusconi

Video Though France currently boasts an AAA rating and has its debts under reasonable control, domestic issues could knock it off its perch sooner rather than later, argues Hamish McRae, chief economic correspondent of The Independent newspaper. McRae told Russia Today that a French economic collapse could mean that the next head to roll after Silvio Berlusconi's might well be that of Nicholas Sarkozy. © Russia Today

Italian Financial Crisis Prompts Berlusconi's Exit, Escalates Fears of Europe's Next Massive Bailout

Video The European financial crisis continues to worsen as fears grow that Italy may become the latest nation in need of a massive bailout. The European Commission admitted today that the entire eurozone could be plunged into a recession in 2012. While Greece, Ireland and Portugal have already received international bailouts, the debt situation in Italy is considered far more dangerous. It is the eighth largest economy in the world — larger than Greece, Ireland and Portugal combined. On the...

The Zombie Zeitgeist

Picture: Sodahead Glenn Ashton - If you have not noticed that zombies are emerging everywhere, perhaps you are one of the undead. Many parts of the world are clearly in the throes of a zombie invasion.  While it may be easy to reject this as not being a hard, serious news story, zombies have been subjects on council meetings and have even been the subject of a warning by the respected US Centre for Disease Control.  Zombies regularly go on walkabouts and even hold conventions. Zombies are everywhere from protests...

Russia Warns Israel against Military Strike on Iran

Video Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said that any possible Israeli military strike against Iran would be a very serious mistake, adding that such action would have unpredictable consequences.  Lavrov's comments followed an Israeli threat by President, Shimon Peres, that an attack on Iran is becoming more likely. It also comes after Western diplomats were briefed on a report by the IAEA detailing Iran's nuclear capabilities. The report alleges that Iranian engineers have had...

The Politics of Sex

Picture: www.ukmedix.com Jane Duncan - Recent revelations that Sports Minister Filike Mbalula had sex with a women, Joyce Molamu, while he was separated from his wife, have prompted public debate about how public the private lives of politicians should be. Mbalula has called on young people to be faithful to their partners in the context of the fight against HIV/ Aids. Media commentators have justified publication of the story on the basis that it was in the public interest to know about his hypocrisy, as it raises questions...