In Wry Eye this week, local environmentalists embroiled in a R14 million defamation case against an Australian heavy minerals miner and its South African subsidiaries could be forgiven a sly smile at news from Down Under that its controversial CEO, Mark Caruso, has some trouble of his own back home in Perth.
Caruso allegedly faces criminal charges of “assault, aggravated home burglary and trespassing”, serious enough to step down as executive chairman of the board of Mineral Commodities, or MRC, but not as its CEO.
Read also: Clarke: MRC pulls Pondoland investment. Beginning of end or end of beginning?
While MRC subsidiary Mineral Sand Resources churns up swathes of the West Coast, Transworld is coveting titanium deposits buried in the pristine beaches of the Pondoland Wild Coast. Neither of MRC’s plans sit well with the environmentalists and their lawyers who can’t wait to rub Caruso’s nose in the dirt he is so keen to mine.
Digital danger
This howler from a digital publication in the Knysna area speaks for itself.
Catching the hoax
With the countdown to the US presidential election hotting up, the anti-Trump lobby had a field day with the news that the POTUS and his FLOTUS were diagnosed with Covid-19. Social media platform Reddit was on fire as contributors laid into the president and reminded him gleefully of his cavalier dismissal of the pandemic and calling it a ‘democratic hoax’. As a Redditor pointed out drily, ‘the POTUS caught the hoax’.
Read also: Condom treats for Cape baboons and other yarns – Wry Eye
Rush to vote
Speaking of the US presidential election, more than 3.8 million Americans have already cast their ballots in 31 states ahead of the November vote. According to the early numbers compiled by the US Elections project, the surge in voting suggests that a record turnout was on the cards, as only 75 000 had voted at this time in 2016. The trend suggests the early-poll number will soar as more states open early voting.
Charmed silenceÂ
Magnus Heystek of Brenthurst Wealth Management is known for calling a spade what it is, and is seldom at a loss of words as a host of financial advisors would attest. But viewers watching last week’s Finance Friday webinar hosted by BizNews editor Jackie Cameron on passive investing would have been amused at Heystek being taken aback at the wit of fellow panellist Lisa Segall of Ginsglobal Index Funds. Flooring him with a quip about “beauty before age”, and inviting him to speak first, Heystek, for once, was left speechless. Priceless.
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