The word is not as incendiary as “kaffir”. It does not offend the ear as would “nigger” or “jewboy”. It is, in fact, a rather beautiful word. But in the United Kingdom, utter the word “gypsy” and rooms go quiet; looks are exchanged, brows furrowed and lips pursed. And arguments rage. A gypsy is to […]
2008
Posted inNews/Politics
Makoni, political fallacies and impressionable Zimbabweans
Submitted by Terence M Mashingaidze In Zimbabwe’s imagined Orwellian hierarchy of political consciousness and roles, the educated, those in the diaspora and the urbanites are more perceptive about politics and governance issues compared with their supposed uneducated compatriots and rural residents. I have heard on numerous occasions the exhortation by urbanites and those in the […]
Posted inMedia, Tech
The SA Blog Awards: Storm in a thimble
The “debate” about this year’s SA Blog Awards has gone from irrational to hilarious to just plain stupid. Fuelled by a tiny community of self-proclaimed experts who doubtlessly feel left out of the action, the war of words has labelled the awards as unrepresentative, elitist, exclusionist, ill-conceived and invalid. And all this over a completely […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The prize for achievement in African leadership: Juicy carrot or red herring?
Submitted by Olivier Jarda Joaquim Chissano was in the bush, mediating between a rebel group and a government in northern Uganda, when Kofi Annan announced to the world that Chissano would be the first winner of the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. On the day of the announcement of the inaugural prize […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Catholics modernise their mumbo-jumbo
In an honest and open effort to increase dwindling numbers in the confessional, the Vatican has released a new set of modern sins titled “The Seven Mortal Sins” to roundly complement and update the “Seven Deadly Sins” of old. The new list consists of the following: Environmental pollution Genetic manipulation Accumulating excessive wealth Inflicting poverty […]
Posted inGeneral
How much did your religion cost this month, and what did you get out of it?
This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online: How much did your religion cost this month, and what did you get out of it?
Posted inGeneral
Climate change: Are you a passenger or crew ?
At a public meeting, just after an eminent scientist had painted a very scary picture of the looming climate-change crisis, I heard a frightened person ask: “So it’s like we are on this steam-train trip to hell and even you scientists can’t stop climate change from destroying people and our planet — is that right?” […]
Posted inLifestyle
My un-favourite things
Most of the time I write about things I really, really like. Today feels like an opposite day. So here are a few of my un-favourite things: (Before anyone takes offence, these are a few of my un-favourites. Not speaking for all of South Africa here). People who read blogs only to pick out the […]
Posted inGeneral
Images, language, women and patriarchy
Late in the 1990s, a groundbreaking interdisciplinary study appeared that shed light on an age-old struggle, and did so in a novel way. In his book The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict between Word and Image (published by Penguin Arkana, New York, 1998), Leonard Shlain, neurologist and neurosurgeon turned philosopher, offers a novel argument […]
Posted inBusiness
Let there be light, and there was none in SA
Some years back in Kenya, a major catastrophe hit us. El Niño — the climate catastrophe that happens when the Pacific Ocean around the equator heats up by just a fraction of a degree — had just ravaged Kenya badly, with floods that destroyed crops, roads, homes and lives. When it was done with us, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Is Zuma weak or just being used? (Maybe)
I don’t know about you, but I prefer my leaders smart. I don’t want their intellectual capacity to be open for debate. Even if a leader is a jackass, I want to be able to say: “Sure, he’s a jackass, but he sure is smart,” like many people thought of good ol’ Mbeki. I don’t […]
Posted inNews/Politics
No, Mr Kamm, rendition is never justified
British writer Oliver Kamm, in a column that appeared in Monday’s Guardian, would suggest that rendition in certain circumstances, primarily to combat terrorism, is justified. Moreover, according to Kamm: “Rendition does not mean torture. It means moving someone from one country to another without reference to a formal extradition treaty.” In layman’s terms, “rendition” is […]