THE selection process undertaken by Parliament’s trade and industry committee this week for the new members of the National Lotteries Board gave new meaning to applying one’s mind to a matter and led to the walkout by Democratic Alliance MPs.
With not enough African National Congress (ANC) committee members present to make up a quorum, additional ANC MPs from other committees had to be herded in for the vote, even though they had not been present for the interviews of candidates and did not know who they were voting for.
But, hey, what the hell? The party always knows best.
Will ye no come back again?
AFRIKAANS lobby group AfriForum is celebrating the achievements of two South Africans — Magdalena Schoeman and Arnold du Toit — who have just been crowned Miss World New Zealand and Mr World New Zealand.
The thing is, AfriForum’s highlighting of these achievements was done under the banner of its Come Home Campaign, aimed at getting South Africans living abroad to return home.
But there is no indication at all that either one wants to repatriate, so the Insider wonders whether she is missing something.
Chic sushi procession
STUDENTS are becoming a little more sophisticated in their antics these days. In a far cry from the beer-soaked Rag processions, hundreds of amateur sushi chefs at the University of California, Berkeley, got their hands fishy on Sunday as they assembled a 100m-long California roll.
A university spokeswoman said the rice-and-seaweed monstrosity was the largest of its kind yet rolled, surpassing a 91m-long California roll made in Hawaii in 2001.
Students used 90kg of rice, 36kg of avocado, 36kg of cucumber and 81kg of fish. And in a nod to the school’s scores of vegetarians, the final 5m contained tofu instead of seafood.
Members of the Japanese Graduate & Researchers Society dressed as ninjas started the giant project.
The stunt was part of a series of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the school’s Centre for Japanese Studies.
Hope springs eternal
AS HYPE around the United Nations climate change meeting in Copenhagen next month shows no sign of abating, a new campaign aims to keep the pressure on world leaders.
Sustainability marketing company Ogilvy Earth has come up with the “Hopenhagen” campaign to generate worldwide support for a climate deal to be reached in Copenhagen.
People around the world can send their messages of hope to the Hopenhagen website (www.hopenhagen.org).
There’s also a Hopenhagen passport application on Facebook, which lets you collect stamps for completing certain climate-friendly actions.
Wise words
“IT IS our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously.” British actor and author Peter Ustinov (1921-2004).
More wise words
“I AM certain there is too much certainty in the world.” US author, screenwriter, film director, producer and medical school graduate Michael Crichton (1942-2008).
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