Blog
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Explainer: Russia's Riches to Roubles story
28 February 2022 — When I moved from the United States to Italy in 1992 to start work as a senior research scientist at the Centre for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sar
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Dreams die in times of war
27 February 2022 — Around 2017, One of my closest friends and I planned a road trip.
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Functional illiteracy sucks...
26 February 2022 — I visited South Korea little over a decade ago to visit Samsung’s headquarters near Suwon.
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Five questions, five answers
25 February 2022 — This from a chat group today: Five questions I have been asking myself that I cannot seem to find addressed by the Media and its plethora of Investigative Journalists:
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The problem with y’all…
24 February 2022 — I got gently berated by a reader today: “Kanthan I love your tweets but please cut out this terrible y'all term.
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Sanctions will hurt the US more than Russia
23 February 2022 — Putin is in a far stronger position than Biden.
There are only two things we need to know to understand why, but I’m going to give you eight reasons.
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The Ukraine conflict explained in one minute
22 February 2022 — As a species, we’re programmed to take sides; even when we have no skin in the game.
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Don't wait! Eat that marshmallow!
21 February 2022 — 50 years ago, Stanford University psychology professor Walter Mischel ran an
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Have you seen a scaly anteater? Me neither...
20 February 2022 — Yesterday was World Pangolin Day and here’s what’s going
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India's millionaire class — average age 35
19 February 2022 — The Hurun India Wealth Report 2021 was released yesterday.
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Why doesn't Zimbabwe use South Africa's currency?
18 February 2022 — I’m sitting in a hotel room in Harare, Zimbabwe, and engaging in a bit of a gedankenexperiment.
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Some things just don't feel right...
17 February 2022 — An upsetting story from Reuters yesterday.
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A good news story out of Kenya
16 February 2022 — Here's a stat that Unicef trots out almost every year: Every two minutes, a child under five dies of malaria.
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Thoughts on the passing of P.J. O'Rourke
15 February 2022 — I'm wistfully saddened at the news that P.J.
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If Uriah the Hittite had lived, what would have happened next?
14 February 2022 — So here I am, after a fabulous dinner, trying to make coherent sense around the nature of the world (which, truth be told, is no different from most days).
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Most people know what's news; most journalists don't...
13 February 2022 — This from Elon Musk last week: "Why is the 'traditional' media such a relentl
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The price of doing business…
12 February 2022 — An acquaintance of mine has become the southern African partner for nice piece of European technology in the off-grid energy space.
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'Sources reveal sinister Russian plot to clone French President'
11 February 2022 — France’s president Emmanuel Macron and Russia’s president Vladimir Putin met in Moscow.
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A lesson in intellectual humility I cannot duck…
10 February 2022 — Duck l'Orange is a favoured dish at Chez Pillay which is generally reserved for those rare occasions when Dr B and I have the house to ou
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I thought Alibaba was a big company but...
9 February 2022 — All I knew about Maersk until today is that most of the shipping containers on trucks travelling Africa’s longest dual carriage freeway from Durban to Johannesburg bear their logo.
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The man who saved Kyle Rittenhouse
8 February 2022 — Yale Kamisar passed away 30 January 2022 aged 92.
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Matthew 7:3-5 (just because it resonates)
7 February 2022 — I made one of my occasional forays into Facebook earlier today and was prompted with a memory of a post I shared 5 years ago.
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Canadian trucker protest is a gamechanger for Crypto Crowdfunding
6 February 2022 — Before we get into the gist of what I'm talking about, here's an executive summary of what triggered this thought process:
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How to judge Biden?
5 February 2022 — United States president Joe Biden has been making a lot of noises about appointing an African-American woman to the country’s Supreme CourtHere's a
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Ignorant glee is a thing
4 February 2022 — There was much schadenfreude among financial journalists this week after Facebook’s holding company’s
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Why we all should support Aung San Suu Kyi: Part 3
2 February 2022 —
Pause for a moment with me and just imagine: One day, you’re at your ailing mother’s bedside; 24 hours later, you’re thrust with the burden of&nbs
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Why we all should support Aung San Suu Kyi: Part 2
1 February 2022 —
One year ago, today, 1 February 2021, the democratically elected government of Myanmar was deposed by the country's military.
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Why we all should support Aung San Suu Kyi: Part 1
31 January 2022 — After World War II, the British Empire confronted the law of diminishing returns with regard to their looting and pillaging of thei
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The BS detector: why you should not trust your local media
30 January 2022 — My commentary last week on how the Ukraine conflict is likely to play out evoked a
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China's not-so secret weapon against the US
29 January 2022 — Here's a question where the answer might seem obvious, but is not: If you were going to buy a Tesla in Japan, what's the best way to do that?
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Things to do before you turn 30: Lessons from Alexander the Great
28 January 2022 — A photorealistic representation of Alexander III of Macedonia (more familiarly known as Alexander the Great) depicting how he may have appeared in life, was
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Israel and South Africa: emotion versus realpolitik
27 January 2022 — A terse announcement on Twitter two days ago from my country’s president:
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Is it flirting or is it harassment?
26 January 2022 — I stumbled across a meme doing the rounds recently.
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The benefit of social conventions
25 January 2022 — I was stuck in a rush hour traffic jam in Harare, Zimbabwe. The reason? The busy intersection of Samora Machel Avenue and Enterprise Road had traffic lights out of action.
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There's a quiet revolution in nuclear energy: 10 recent signs
24 January 2022 — There's a quiet revolution going on in the quest for green energy. You won't see much of this as headline news, but check this out:
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Here's how the Ukraine conflict is likely to play out...
22 January 2022 — (If you missed my tirade yesterday, you should probably start there. Otherwise, read on:)
