Thought Leader is a Mail & Guardian-hosted blogging forum. Because of the content of the newspaper, an unsuspecting reader should be forgiven for going into Thought Leader expecting to read mostly political content. It therefore seems reasonable that if our hypothetical reader came upon a blog entitled The Silwane Files, Ndumiso Ngcobo with a picture […]
2008
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
My one’s better than yours — on politicians and potholes
Durban, I think, leads the way with load-shedding, and I’m not speaking of the power failures foisted upon us by those corrupt, inept, travel-voucher peddlers who deign to rule us. I’m talking here about bakkies losing their cargoes and even passengers when they run into the thousands — literally — of enormous potholes littering the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Tribalism is the word that must now be spoken — to avoid its perils
Tribalism is the word that must now be spoken. It is being used across Africa to gain political power, to pillage wealth, and it ultimately results in genocide. The politically correct resist use of the word — though they are least likely to rush to pick up the bodies and heal the wounded when conflict […]
Posted inSport
A night with the African stars
Tuesday January 22 — Lawson Naidoo Arriving in Sekondi after a fascinating yet arduous road trip from the capital, Accra, I am bewildered by the sight of the brand-spanking-new Sekondi Sports Stadium. It is an oasis in the desert that is Sekondi. The stadium resembles a space ship dropped in the middle of nowhere. Built […]
Posted inLifestyle
Do you know what a nectacot is?
It’s a cross between an apricot and a nectarine. And it’s delicious. The texture of a nectarine, the size of an apricot, and the flavour of both at the same time. Now, I’m not the biggest fan of doctoring nature, but I can almost convince myself that the nectacot was the result of an illicit […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Has Oprah chosen race over gender or are Hillary’s supporters being sexist?
The Times of London headlines with “Women turn on ‘traitor’ Oprah Winfrey for backing Barack Obama“. Oprah.com retorts with “Calling Oprah racist = SEXIST“. Whatever your read on this, America’s biggest talk-show host is paying a huge price to support Obama’s campaign. Her website has been flooded with personal attacks that may have led to […]
Posted inLifestyle
On polygamy
It has only been two generations of Zulu men that have toiled with the idea of monogamy as the only marital-institution option. Before that, Zulu men were quite openly polygamous. This was the norm rather than the shunned upon exception that is the case in our anglicised society today. If you had not noticed, ladies […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Song for Ashley — Barack Obama shows us how it’s done
If Barack Obama can live up to the promise of this speech, then the United States has a great new president in the wings or, like Adlai Stevenson, a great potential leader that voters lack the wisdom to elevate. These words speak of the singular importance of working together. What divides us is about serving […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
The Budget Game
Trevor Manuel once remarked that “to budget is to choose”. The Budget Game puts participants in the position of being a decision maker, and making choices with a defined set of possible programmes and a defined budget. The intention of the game is for participants to make choices and then motivate them. In addition, it […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
The first time I met Mandela
The first time I met Nelson Mandela I learnt some important things. The second time I met him those things were confirmed. Like all journalists I’ve met presidents, prime ministers, legends and numerous real celebrities, but I didn’t meet Madiba as a journalist. I’ve met Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, John Vorster and PW Botha […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Planet Huckabee
It’s a slippery slope. First, you change the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples. Then, before you know it, you’re seeing marriages between “a man and three women, a man and a child, a man and animal”. Welcome to Planet Huckabee, the perfect antidote to Eskom-induced depression, where one does not even need to […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Eskom, Zuma and some people’s nightmares
What do the election of Jacob Zuma and Eskom’s power cuts have in common? Both bring out the racial demons buried just beneath the surface of the minds of many white South Africans. It was only a matter of time before the power cuts brought the racial creepy-crawlies out of the woodwork. And so, on […]