A different view on current affairs & history
A Personal View – April 2014
Six decades ago Japan surrendered after an atomic bomb obliterated Nagasaki. It convinced Emperor Hirohito that fighting to the last man, woman & child would be calamitous for the Japanese.
A new war commenced; economic growth with industrialists such as Marita Akio of Sony at the forefront. Her economy was export driven with vehicle manufacturers such as Toyota together with the electronics producers comprising the battering ram.
A Personal View – April 2014
Imagine what the response would there be if the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel co-wrote a book with a well-known German author who recently had written extensively on the fact that the existence of the Holocaust was fictitious.
Vociferous condemnation would have arisen not only externally but also more importantly from within Germany itself. It would be unthinkable that it could possibly happen.
Short heading: Hugely informative & very topical
Rating: 5 out of 5
Rudyard Kipling, the great British poet & novelist, introduced this extant term into mainstream consciousness. It referred to the strategic rivalry & conflict between the British & the Russian Empires for supremacy in Central Asia.
In comparing three “invasions” of Afghanistan viz the British in mid-19th century, the Russians in the 1978 & the Americans in 2001, Rory Stewart, the producer is guilty of disambiguation. Strictly speaking only the initial British forays into Afghanistan fall within the accepted definition of the Great Game.
A Personal View – April 2014
This affliction pervades all political parties contesting this crunch election, but the ANC more than most.
Firstly the ANC. What message is the ANC campaigning on? Its glorious past. By providing South Africa with an inclusive future not comprising disparate races, it has undoubtedly done South Africa a huge service. One can never detract from this momentous achievement but what does South Africa now have: crony capitalism, moral turpitude on a grand scale & ineffective government in most spheres?
A Personal View – April 2014
South Africa has not experienced a strike of this intensity & magnitude since Cyril Ramaphosa led NUM [The National Union of Mineworkers] to strike on the mines in the mid-eighties.
However this strike will be a seminal event for many reasons. This comes hard on the heels of the Marikana Massacre in 2013. If for no other reason, this factor will make the mine workers less amenable to a mediocre wages increase. But more importantly, given Joseph Mathunjwa’s loathing of NUM, his former Union, he would like to settle scores with them after his less than amicable departure from his former Union. He is determined to prove a point against NUM as well as the mine bosses.
Tammy was a loveable placid Alsatian with smooth pitch black fur ever eager to please one. Her affectionate nature required one to pat her unlike her “sibling” who was more standoffish & aloof.
Her nemesis was an older Alsatian but instead of being of the German variety, Kohla was a Belgian Shepherd. Similar to their German brethren but with curly black fur, they displayed most of the characteristics of their GSD neighbours.
A Personal View – April 2014
This article represents a way of thinking which applies equally to one’s personal as well as business’ finances. I call these the traps for the unwary & the uninitiated.
Firstly it must be understood that whatever one decides to do, comes at a cost; not just the initial capital outlay but ongoing costs.
Let us consider two items from our private lives; pools & animals. In deciding to have both the McCleland household has burdened itself with incremental monthly costs & at some later stage some huge repair / upgrade bill.