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Opinionations: 09/01/2014 - 10/01/2014
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Philip Machanick’s views on the world. Monday, 22 September 2014. On the nature of liberty: people versus things. Through much of the twentieth century, there were two competing theories of liberty. One, the socialist view, is that capital is fundamentally evil and the state should run society at all levels. The other, the libertarian view, is that state power is fundamentally evil and private enterprise should run society at all levels. Niger Delta pollution (source: EnviroNews Nigeria. If we therefore ...
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Opinionations: 03/01/2014 - 04/01/2014
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Philip Machanick’s views on the world. Friday, 14 March 2014. We have a saying in these parts:. A person is a person through other people. 8211; kind of the opposite to each one for himself. With this sort of profound philosophy in our culture, how have we allowed a culture of personal gain to take root so firmly throughout society? Why has Africa as a whole gone so badly wrong if this is a core belief – and I have no reason to believe it is not? A phrase originating out of corruption in Kenya. Another p...
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Opinionations: 05/01/2014 - 06/01/2014
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Philip Machanick’s views on the world. Tuesday, 27 May 2014. The South African Opposition Challenge. Split of the vote since 1994. ANC is essentially at its. 1994 level after increases in 1999 and 2004; the DA. Has about the same share as the NP DP in 1994. When the dust has settled on the elections and the DA and EFF are over their triumph at a big swing in their direction (5.6% to the DA taking them to 22.2%, 6.4% from nothing to the EFF), we have to sit back and look at the big picture. While the DA h...
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Opinionations: 12/01/2013 - 01/01/2014
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Philip Machanick’s views on the world. Tuesday, 10 December 2013. One of the great myths of politics is the value of heroic leaders. Everyone does it. Police states build up the Great Leader (various variants on fascism and the like each had their own label: Der Füher, El Caudillo, Il Duce). Liberation movements have their icons – Che Guevara and the like, larger than life figures who take on impossible odds. There are two key problems we need to face up to:. 8211; our people need to understand that the ...
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Opinionations: 02/01/2015 - 03/01/2015
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Philip Machanick’s views on the world. Friday, 27 February 2015. Back in the 1970s, when a high-end supercomputer had about the performance of today’s entry-level cell phones and networks were expensive proprietary technology, ATM transactions were … wait for it … free. And you earned interest on a cheque account. Banks made almost all their money on the difference between the deposit and lending interest rates. Core computer technology, based on Moore’s Law, is about on billionth. Banks have fallen into...
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Opinionations: 03/01/2015 - 04/01/2015
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Philip Machanick’s views on the world. Tuesday, 10 March 2015. Only Agang aficionados will get it. If you do, sign the no confidence and recall petition. Posted by Philip Machanick. Links to this post. Subscribe to: Posts (Atom). Tweet to share this. By my textbook MIPS2C. Also available as a free PDF). And many other options. Including a free PDF. Buy The Day it Rained Forever. Including Kindle) and CreateSpace. And many other options. Including Kindle) and CreateSpace. Or get a free PDF of the original.
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Opinionations: 04/01/2014 - 05/01/2014
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Philip Machanick’s views on the world. Monday, 14 April 2014. Facebook blocking Daily Dispatch. Despite repeated complaints, Facebook is not lifting a ban on posting articles from Daily Dispatch. A major newspaper in South Africa. Since Facebook mostly provides free services in huge bulk, they do not have easily-accessed contact information like phone numbers where you can reach a human. How can this happen? That someone doesn’t want us to see. Zuma knows ANC can be used as vehicle to loot. ANC missing i...
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Opinionations: 08/01/2014 - 09/01/2014
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Philip Machanick’s views on the world. Tuesday, 12 August 2014. Agang One Last Time (I hope). Those following the Agang saga will know that the two MPs were trying to gain control of the party through the courts. What follows is my personal position, rather than that of all involved. Even so, when I talk about fundraising, I mean for all concerned, not just for myself. Let’s briefly review the timeline that leads to here:. 7 May election – despite doing badly, Agang wins two seats. 19 June – Agang ...
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Opinionations: Not Hitler Again
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Philip Machanick’s views on the world. Friday, 8 May 2015. According to Godwin’s Law. If an Internet discussion goes on long enough, someone will eventually mention Hitler. And, at that point, the discussion is closed, because no one has anything interesting to contribute. Ousted University of the Witwatersrand SRC president Mcebo Dlamini apparently has attempted to go one better, by mentioning Hitler before discussion reached the Internet. Hitler’s “ability to organise a nation and get the p...None of t...
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Opinionations: 11/01/2014 - 12/01/2014
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Philip Machanick’s views on the world. Sunday, 16 November 2014. Time for a National Imbizo? In the wake of the expulsion of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) from Cosatu there is growing talk of launching a new political party. Before Numsa rushes into creating yet another party, is it not time for us as a nation to sit back and take stock of where we are as a nation, and what our national programme should be? Anyway, haven’t we been there before? If the main unifying force of a new party...
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