Ivo Vegter

The best laid schemes... or, how Iran could go awry - Daily Friend There are many ways in which the Israeli-US war on Iran could end in disaster, and very few in which all goes well.

The best laid schemes… or, how Iran could go awry
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/03/06/t...
(My latest. There are many ways in which the Israeli-US war on Iran could end in disaster, and very few in which all goes well.)

Wanted: a plan for Iran - Daily Friend While the left sheds a tear for the Ayatollah, let’s forgo premature celebration to look ahead to what needs to happen in Iran.

Wanted: a plan for Iran
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/03/03/w...
(My latest column. While the left sheds a tear for the Ayatollah, let’s forgo premature celebration to look ahead to what needs to happen in Iran.)

A reading on political foolishness - Daily Friend What is it that turns intelligent people into slogan-chanting devotees of anti-political, anti-scientific, anti-factual populism?

A reading on political foolishness
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/03/02/a...
(My latest column. What is it that turns intelligent people into slogan-chanting devotees of anti-political, anti-scientific, anti-factual populism?)

Don’t kick kids off social media - Daily Friend Everyone seems to be convinced that in principle, age-gating access to social media and other platforms is a good idea. They’re wrong.

Don’t kick kids off social media
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/02/27/d...
(My latest column. Everyone seems to be convinced that in principle, age-gating access to social media and other platforms is a good idea. I'm not. The kids will be okay.)

Trump lies like a rug - Daily Friend He spoke for a long, long time, but let’s fact check some of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address. Because facts matter.

Trump lies like a rug
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/02/26/t...
(My latest column, in which I start to fisk the Don's nearly two-hour State of the Union address, and quit only ten minutes in because almost all of it was false and I ran out of puff.)

This has “Powell at the UN describing Iraq’s WMDs” vibes

Defending your online privacy
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/02/25/d...
(A follow-up to yesterday's column about online age verification, detailing some of my own online privacy habits.)

Lawyers and lawmakers will destroy both privacy and fun - Daily Friend Online privacy is important. So is fun. Lawyers and legislators will destroy both, and the companies they target secretly won’t mind.

Lawyers and lawmakers will destroy both privacy and fun
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/02/24/l...
(My latest column. Lawyers and legislators, on false pretences, will ruin the internet, and the companies they target secretly won’t mind.)

Hmmm. What do you expect to hear when you ask people whether they get paid enough?

Why is racism bad? - Daily Friend Allow me to butt into the conversation on whether racism is bad by offering a reason why it is always bad.

Why is racism bad?
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/02/20/w...
(My latest column: Allow me to butt into the conversation on whether racism is bad by offering a reason why it is always bad, and not only for the victim.)

There’s always one, isn’t there? - Daily Friend The project to return the famous steam train between George and Knysna to service has begun, but one lot are trying to put a stick

There’s always one, isn’t there?
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/02/13/t...
(My latest column. The project to restore the famous steam train between George and Knysna has finally begun, but a bunch of cyclists are trying to put a stick in the spokes.)

Dion George’s new “non-partisan” conservation lobby is explicitly partisan - Daily Friend Fired environment minister Dion George launched a new conservation initiative to advance his activist agenda. Not three months since being booted out of government, Dion

Dion George’s new “non-partisan” conservation lobby is explicitly partisan
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/02/12/d...
(My latest column. Fired environment minister Dion George launched a new conservation initiative to advance his activist agenda. A deep dive into why he's wrong.)

Why did libertarians join the anti-globalisation movement? - Daily Friend Some of the arguments of the modern right echo those of the far left of not so long ago. I can understand right-wingers. I can

Why did libertarians join the anti-globalisation movement?
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/02/10/w...
(My latest column. Some of the arguments of the modern right echo those of the far left of not so long ago.)

The space scam industry is booming - Daily Friend Need some ready cash? Prepared to embellish creative lies? Then grab your 3D renderer and your generative AI, and join the space business! Eventually, many

The space scam industry is booming
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/01/30/t...
(My latest column. Need some ready cash? Prepared to embellish creative lies? Then grab your 3D renderer and your generative AI, and join the space business!)

SA’s real hunting, conservation story - Daily Friend Adam Cruise does not like trophy hunting. Neither do I. But unlike him, I don’t conceal important statistics to try to denounce it.

SA’s real hunting, conservation story
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/01/27/s...
(My latest column: Adam Cruise does not like trophy hunting. Neither do I. But unlike him, I don’t conceal important statistics to try to denounce it.)

A tale of two speeches - Daily Friend The fractures in world politics were on full display at the World Economic Forum this week, as two very different leaders took the podium.

A tale of two speeches
dailyfriend.co.za?p=53946
(My latest column. The fractures in world politics were on full display at the World Economic Forum this week, as two very different leaders took the podium. Let's analyse Carney vs Trump.)

America's own goal: Americans pay almost entirely for Trump’s tariffs Contrary to US government rhetoric, the cost of US import tariffs are not borne by foreign exporters. Instead, they hit the American economy itself. Importers and consumers in the US bear 96 percent o...

America's own goal: Americans pay almost entirely for Trump’s tariffs
www.kielinstitut.de/publications...
(New study of 25m shipment records worth almost $4 trillion. I've been saying this all along.)

“Hard realism” versus liberal principles - Daily Friend In an article for The Common Sense, Frans Cronjé argues that America’s foreign policy is a strategic necessity to “restore America”.

“Hard realism” versus liberal principles
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/01/20/h...
(My latest column. Frans Cronjé argues that America’s foreign policy is a strategic necessity to “restore America”. I have some bones to pick with that argument.)

A liberal case for foreign intervention - Daily Friend Martin van Staden made a persuasive case for premising the legitimacy of foreign intervention on “freedom credentials”. In his excellent article Against the moral equivalence

A liberal case for foreign intervention
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/01/16/a...
(My latest column: @Martin_ASFL made a persuasive case for premising the legitimacy of foreign intervention on “freedom credentials”, but will that sway a world marching towards war?)

Thanks. I agree SA deserves better. Unfortunately, old liberation-era loyalties die hard.

The case for abandoning BRICS - Daily Friend South Africa, as a member of BRICS, is a tiny fish in a small pond. And the pondwater is toxic. It should get out.

The case for abandoning BRICS
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/01/13/t...
(My latest column. South Africa, as a member of BRICS, is a tiny fish in a small pond. And the pondwater is toxic. It should get out.)

A new age of empires - Daily Friend The recent decapitation of Venezuela’s regime and America’s withdrawal from 66 supra-national organisations signals a new era in global politics. Donald Trump does not want

A new age of empires
dailyfriend.co.za?p=53771
(My latest column. The recent decapitation of Venezuela’s regime and America’s withdrawal from 66 supra-national organisations signals a new era in global politics.)

What causes good things to happen?
dailyfriend.co.za/2026/01/06/wha…
(Happy New Year, everyone. As is my wont, I start the year with a good news piece, as a reminder of progress and prosperity and their causes.)

Denouncing Israel as an “apartheid state” is neither correct nor constructive - Daily Friend Peace in the Middle East will not come through slogans or indictments. It will come through the hard, patient work of diplomacy, institution-building, and trust.

Denouncing Israel as an “apartheid state” is neither correct nor constructive
dailyfriend.co.za/2025/12/05/d...
(As South Africa's Parliament prepares to mull criminalising support for "apartheid", here's my 7,500-word essay questioning the use of that term to describe Israel.)

Climate mitigation runs out of steam - Daily Friend Construction projects prepare the tropical city of Belém, Brazil for more than 50,000 delegates to this year’s big Climate Conference. Photo: Rafael Medelima for COP30.

Climate mitigation runs out of steam
dailyfriend.co.za/2025/12/03/c...
(My latest column. The annual climate change jamboree, COP30, produced little of any significance, but signalled a shift from mitigation to adaptation.)

Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.

A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to/investigatin...
(Great story, if awfully depressing.)

Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump prove that there are two paths toward socialism As fans of horseshoe theory point out, the political extremes might differ on details, but they have a lot in common.

Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump Prove That There Are Two Paths Toward Socialism
reason.com/2025/11/26/z...
"The shared collectivism of socialism and nationalism... is why 'we frequently find the conservatives joining hands with the socialists against the liberals.'"

UAE unveils $1 billion plan to supercharge AI development across Africa The UAE has announced a $1 billion investment to enhance AI infrastructure and services across Africa

UAE unveils $1 billion plan to supercharge AI development across Africa
africa.businessinsider.com/local/market...
(A: $1bn will not "supercharge" AI. It's hardly a blip on the throttle. OpenAI burns that in a month. B: Africa needs basic infrastructure and good governance, not homegrown AI slop.)

Groenewald stands firm on reviving corporal punishment - Daily Friend A lone voice, the minister of correctional services, Pieter Groenewald, again expressed support for reintroducting corporal punishment.

Groenewald stands firm on reviving corporal punishment
dailyfriend.co.za/2025/11/28/g...
(This was going to be an easy column to write: call Groenewald a brute. Then a well-argued essay on the ethics of judicial corporal punishment by @olemmoen.bsky.social challenged all my long-held beliefs.)

Unicorns may exist, according to RFK Jr. - Daily Friend The statement “unicorns do not exist” is not “evidence-based”. Neither is the statement “broccoli does not cause cancer”. Let’s get sciency, RFK-style!

Unicorns may exist, according to RFK Jr.
dailyfriend.co.za/2025/11/25/u...
(My latest column. The statement “unicorns do not exist” is not “evidence-based”. Neither is the statement “broccoli does not cause cancer”. Let’s get sciency, RFK-style!)