Alec Hogg: Pressure builds on Naspers CEO

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been told a lot of "necessary" untruths because they were supposedly in society's best interests. For instance, defenders of Dr Anthony Fauci (80), say he should not be criticised as his views on the coronavirus "evolved". They say where he consciously lied it was in the public interest (ie at first, about masks being ineffective because demand from the public would prevent them getting to health workers). Similarly, for over a year officialdom ridiculed any suggestion the virus was engineered in a Wuhan Lab (click here). Among respected scientists whose research on the topic was shunned, is Filippa Lentzos (44). The independent-minded Swiss was interviewed by our partners at The Wall Street Journal..Those powerful voices which dismissed the leak theory as "outrageous" are being excused on the grounds that this was too much for society to digest. Especially when deaths were mounting. There's some logic in that. Writing in Bloomberg Opinion, Yale Law professor Stephen Carter warns if the lab leak theory is confirmed, best to "brace yourself – the world's anger will be terrible to behold." Click here..With a little over a fortnight before the 12J tax incentive window closes forever, a range of creative options are being floated. There's lots of information in a dedicated 12J section on BizNews (click here) and the BizNews team also produced a special 12J PDF that's worth reading (click here). PSG co-founder Jaap du Toit is one of my guests at today's webinar at midday, one of the last in 12J's final season. Du Toit is a partner in 12Cape, which is in the spotlight today. Click here to register..PLEASE READ – FOR YOUR WSJ.COM ACCESS….As a Premium subscriber you are entitled to full membership of wsj.com (normal price $29 a month). Be sure to action your access through the Premium link on the BizNews website. Because of The Wall Street Journal's credential requirements, be sure to create a password which has at least 8 characters and includes at least one letter and one number – NB it MAY NOT contain any special characters (ie #, !, @ etc). To maintain access to WSJ.com, you MUST enter our partner's website via BizNews Premium at least once a month. A final PS, if you had previously signed up for WSJ you'll need to clear the cookies from your device. Our help desk can assist – support@biznews.com.

Alec Hogg: Pressure builds on Naspers CEO

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