If the west is to continue to assert that there should be African solutions to African problems - as is so often espoused - then it is the west that must change its security paradigm, writes Lieutenant Colonel Shannon D Beebe, who played an instrumental role in the development of the newly formed unified command for Africa, AFRICOM and is currently serving as the Senior Africa Analyst, Office of United States Army Deputy Chief of Staff, Intelligence.

“All systems have lives. When their processes move too far from equilibrium, they fluctuate chaotically and bifurcate. Our existing system, what I call a capitalist world-economy, has been in existence for some 500 years and has for at least a century encompassed the entire globe. It has functioned remarkably well. But like all systems, it has moved steadily farther and farther from equilibrium. For some while now, it has moved too far from equilibrium, such that it is today in structural crisis.”

Crime, corruption and trade mispricing has cost developing countries approximately $6.5 trillion between 2000 and 2008. South Africa is placed 21st amongsthe 125 countries reported on in terms of its total contribution to what is termed illicit financial flows (IFFs), but measured against its GDP the country is actually one of the better performers.

South Africa have successfully defended their proud home-record in One Day Internationals by beating India in the series-deciding fifth encounter at SuperSport Park in Centurion by 33 runs (according to the Duckworth/Lewis-method) in spite of the relentless onslaught by Yusuf Pathan, but India take a lot of positives into the World Cup next month.

When news of the recent deal between Wal-Mart Stores of the United Sates and South Africa’s MassMart Holdings first came to the surface late last year, Bloomberg Business Week interpreted it as a possible “signal (of) a shift towards Africa as another deal-making destination for multinationals” after Asia has for the last decade been the go-to continent for companies interested in tapping into fast-growing economies.

On November 8, 2010, the venerable Wall Street Journal declared the “Dumb Money” had returned to stocks. And,  unless you run a mutual or hedge fund or otherwise have access to the advantages of institutional buying... you are the Dumb Money, writes Nick Hodge of the online newsletter Energy and Capital.

The old world, being Europe, is attempting to claw its way out of the debt hole with austerity, consolidation and savings while the new world, being the United States is attempting to spend its way out of trouble via a Keynesian-type model fueled with hundreds of billions of government-borrowed dollars. In what Fortune magazine called the ultimate economic experiment just about every aspect of the global economic model as we got to know it since World War II, and earlier, is being severely tested.

To what extent the ANC-alliance government has become an administration at odds with itself, with an ideology fighting it out with pragmatism, is clearly highlighted by a statement last week from the FW de Klerk foundation.

Roger Federer, the world’s number-2 ranked tennis star and the record-holder for the most Grand Slam singles crowns won, has acknowledged that he is embarrassed by the fabulous riches he has amassed as the greatest Grand Slam winner in men’s tennis. He has earned a phenomenal $61 million in disclosed career prize money and is estimated to have a net worth of between $100 million and $160 million, and all before the age of 30, according to  www.supersport.co.za.

Much has already been written about the cataclysmic developments in Tunisia and the consequences it might have not only for the rest of the Arab world, but the rest of the world as well. For the millions of people in the Arab world straining under autocratic and corrupt regimes, this might be their Berlin Wall and the consequences might even equal what happened after the Iron Curtain was pulled down by the sheer weight of popular resistance.

Changing circumstances or new developments or trends can sometimes play havoc with the reputations of truisms or wise old sayings, turning them into meaningless or even negative cliché. If you today for instance should describe something as being as safe as houses, it is likely to be met by a contemptuous ghmf!

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