Submitted by Michael Tsingo To think that I used to respect cops here! Is it that South African police have been informed to be ruthless and unreasonable when dealing with Zimbabwean offenders? Watching SABC3’s Special Assignment on Tuesday March 11 2008, I was surprised at how cops peacefully rounded up Vaal University of Technology students. […]
2008
Posted inMedia
The ‘I’m not a journalist’ excuse
Recently on Thought Leader a blogger defended his inflammatory and inaccurate post with the words “I do not profess to be a journalist. I never have. I only analyse journalism and give you my perspective.” But that’s no excuse. If you want to engage in analysis — which most Thought Leader bloggers do — you […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Going, going, gone — a whole generation lost
The recent South African Human Rights Commission report on school-based violence should have us all worried. It shows that some Western Cape schools pose higher safety and security risks than the townships themselves. The public hearing also noted (with extreme concern) the upsurge in violence on educators by learners. I know someone is going to […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Of machine-gun summoners and rugby-playing ‘killers’
I would normally give you a glimpse of my working-class-like life, and paint you a picture of my bus ride this morning and the catalyst for my tirade that is about to follow. I would tell you about some DJ called Majota Khambule (aka Phat Joe) who, after hearing a story about a young man […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Teetering on the brink of collapse: Why Africa must prioritise food security
I do hope that in two decades’ time we will look back at scientist James Lovelock’s prediction that “it’s going to be 20 years before [climate change] hits the fan” as merely another example of bogus prophecy. Right now, we’d be fools to ignore it. For whether it’s talk of global recession, peak oil, runaway […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle, Media, Tech
How to make millions online (part one)
You know you are behind in your financial achievements when Entrepreneur magazine starts running articles on how to make your first billion. Or when you see a property exhibition for apartments in Brooklyn, Pretoria, that cost up to R24-million. Each. Or when you read that there are more than 5 000 South Africans who became new […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Sex, school and why it’s all pear-shaped
Well, call me Mother Grundy, but I disapprove of sex at school. The report of the South African Human Rights Commission on school-based violence has me very worried. And well done to the commission, by the way, for keeping an eye on this particular issue. The idea of school being a hotbed of violent sexual […]
Posted inLifestyle
Do you want a pair of rose-tinted glasses?
I’m considering starting a business and selling them. While I’m often told I wear rose-tinted glasses (in a somewhat scornful manner, usually), it never bothers me. Why? Because I’m doing it on purpose. Here, then, a few of my favourite things about seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses: The world looks better than if you’re […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Dangerous experiments
Submitted by Dylan Edwards In 1971, Stanford University Professor Philip Zimbardo enlisted a number of university students as subjects of what became known as the Stanford prison experiments. The purpose of the experiments was to determine the behavioural and psychological effects of imprisonment on ordinary people. At the beginning of the experiment, students were randomly […]
Posted inGeneral
Immigrants: A threat or an opportunity?
North America, specifically the United States, has been a land peopled by descendants of Europe. At least, that’s how I perceived it to be. If you are ever in New York on St Patrick’s Day, check out the parade. It’s an endless procession of Irish descendants. The numbers could, of course, be attributed in part […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Death penalty at birth? Gay Iranian teenager faces gallows after asylum rejected
Mehdi Kazemi (19) is facing the Iranian gallows after a Dutch court refused to entertain his application for asylum. Kazemi will now have to return to Britain where his application for the same relief was rejected last year. As a result, he will be deported to Iran where his boyfriend was hanged for sodomy two […]
Posted inLifestyle
Consequences indeed
Submitted by Gina de Villiers Last week, the mixed-race Margaret B Jones, who was raised in poverty and suffered an abusive childhood while running drugs for local gangs to survive, confessed to being white, to attending a private school and to enjoying a privileged upbringing in a suburb far from her fictitious home. As a […]