I actually needed three sources (News24, the SABC and iafrica) to confirm that I hadn’t misread President Mbeki’s views on Zimbabwe, as given to al-Jazeera in Doha, Qatar. In essence it confirmed that the people of Zimbabwe were to solve their own problems and the rest of the world were simply there to assist. Staggering! […]
2008
Posted inTech
Social networking shows very high intellectual levels … or does it?
Should you ever wonder what the intellectual capacity of social-networking contributors and participants would be, then consider this. A picture of an anteater garnered 2 345 diggs, or votes, and 172 comments, within a matter of 23 hours and 24 minutes. In other words, the groundswell of opinion towards a picture of an anteater with a […]
Posted inNews/Politics
SA govt owes victims of Burma, Zim an apology
Jacob Zuma, president of the ANC, at the recent meeting of the Tripartite Alliance, praised the three members for unanimously condemning Mugabe and his destruction of democracy in Zimbabwe. They join the Pan African Parliament, African Union and even the Southern African Development Community who are now expressing the proper concerns at events in Zimbabwe: […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zimbabwe: Bob’s reigning, blood’s pouring, the “Old Man” is snoring
President Mbeki can go some way towards restoring his legacy if he finally reaches the conclussion that Africa and the rest of the world arrived at weeks ago -– namely that there is only one result that is generally acceptable and that is the replacement of the current Zimbabwean president and parliament with the one […]
Posted inLifestyle
Eco-logical values
To solve the environmental challenges that we face today will require more than simply applying a new set of rules and regulations, it will require nothing less than a shift in our understanding and the underlying values that motivate our current behaviour. Or as more eloquently expressed by Albert Einstein, “The world we have created […]
Posted inGeneral
God is a theory
A few weeks ago (April 25), in the “Courses” section, the Mail & Guardian carried two pieces in counterpoint to each other. The question was “Is religion a threat to rationality and sciences?” and replies were provided by the eminent philosopher Daniel Dennett (on the “yes” side) and someone called Robert Winston, a retired professor […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The white Madonna’s burden
In the May issue of Vanity Fair, there was a telling exchange between its cover star Madonna –- resplendent in leotard and black knee–length boots –- and her interviewer, Rich Cohen. They were talking about David Banda, the child adopted by Madonna in Malawi in 2006. Understandably, Madonna is gushing about her adopted son and […]
Posted inLifestyle
Putting money on hip relationships
Patrice Motsepe, South Africa’s football and mining oligarch, last week took time to chill, as they say, with visiting US Hip Hop star 50 Cent. Motsepe even attended 50’s show at The Dome, in Johannesburg. And to compensate for Motsepe nodding and humming along to rather strange music in the company of teenagers and 20–somethings, […]
Posted inGeneral
Treasuring our heritage will bring us together
Viewing the grave of the Xhosa chief Ngqika a few years ago affected me deeply, but not in the way I expected. Nestling in the foothills of the Amatolas on the site of Ngqika’s “Great Place”, it was once regarded as semi–sacred by the Xhosa, a shrine that became the focus of their national yearnings. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zuma-Bullard : We really don’t give Msholozi enough credit
One of the main accusations levelled against ANC president Jacob Zuma is that he has a tendency to tell people what they want to hear, flip–flopping his way through to whatever is expedient at the time of asking. In my book, his agreeing to meet former Sunday Times columnist David Bullard at his home and […]
Posted inGeneral
And the poor shall forevermore be downtrodden
Question: what is it about governments, big business, institutions, non–profits, charities etc that they want to keep the poor, poor? Alright, as generalisations go, this one is one of my better ones. Two articles that made me think this appeared in the media today. The first one was in the Independent and discussed the farming […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Burma, Tibet, Zimbabwe: What chance of meaningful intervention?
This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online: Burma, Tibet, Zimbabwe: What chance of meaningful intervention?