Colonialism has rightly been blamed for many of Africa’s prevalent ills and a few beyond its shores. Now it is also being blamed for the spread of HIV in Africa and to the rest of the world. Enough to make a few descendants of colonists and some expats choke on their gin and tonics or their bratwurst and gasp indignantly: “What next!”

“The past does not repeat itself, but it rhymes,” American author and humorist Mark Twain once wrote. Looking back 44 years to what became known as the May 1968 protests in France and other parts of Europe and comparing it to present-day global developements, Twain’s words ring true. They also seem to indicate that things could get a lot worse than the trade union-led nation-wide protest of 8 March in South Africa.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is in step with the international labour movement in declaring war on labour brokers, as we reported last week. Cosatu seeks an outright ban on them. This, with the rejection of Gauteng’s new e-toll highways, formed the basis of Cosatu’s successful protest marches during a one-day national strike. Yet government resists both demands, despite threats of more labour protests.

A 30-minute video, Kony 2012, covering the more than twenty years of terror and fear inflicted on thousands of innocent civilians by a lunatic by the name of Joseph Kony and his Lord Resistance Army (LRA) in Central Africa had more than 80 million viewers on You Tube. Equally amazing, was the avalanche of reaction that followed.

When we think about the term revolution in the context of socio-politics, what comes to mind is the tumultuous overthrow of an existing order and its replacement with one that is different. But the term, when it first appeared on the stage during the early days of modern astronomy and renaissance astrology, represented something of a revolution in its own right.

Globally, water management needs urgent reform if the world is to stave off the serious deterioration in the quality and quantity of water available by the middle of this century. Water demand is projected to increase by 55% by 2050. There is bound to be increased competition for water and by that stage, a projected 3.9 billion people (more than 40% of the globe’s population), are likely to be living in river basins facing severe water stress.

The past week will be more than a mere footnote in the history books on cricket. On the international front it was the week in which the iconic Sachin Tendulkar managed his hundredth international century, while Mark Boucher claimed his 550^th victim behind the stumps. On the domestic cricket administration front there’s the suspension of chief executive officer of Cricket South Africa (CSA), Gerald Majola. Results are still pending from a disciplinary enquiry signalling the end of an era for Majola.

When a rampant England pack, once in a test match, had the Springboks in retreat and dominated the collisions, Jake White, the South African coach, remarked afterwards: “It was like men against boys.” Last Friday evening, the Stormers proved at Newlands, Cape Town, in a match against the Blues, that the boys do not always come second.