As my regular readers will know, I am a big fan of President Thabo Mbeki and supported his bid to reclaim the ANC leadership at Polokwane. That does not detract from the fact that the delegates at Polokwane chose Jacob Zuma as ANC president, and members and supporters of the ANC have to accept that. […]
2008
Posted inNews/Politics
Kenya’s woes have warnings for South Africa
Kenyans have been frightened by the extent and scale of post-election violence and displacement, but what has shocked them most is how fast the economy has faltered. Tourists exited in droves when violence broke out after Kibaki assumed power. On an Airbus to Nairobi from Johannesburg that can hold 300, there were 30 passengers; all […]
Posted inLifestyle
Dear Charlene Smith: Please stop it already
Charlene Smith wrote an honest, truthful and soul-baring piece on the lot of the 21st-century writer. But more than anything else, it was really intelligent, well thought out, credible and well researched with references to literary icons such as Margaret Atwood. I had never heard of her until yesterday. God bless Wikipedia. It was a […]
Posted inMedia
Dishing up the sloppy seconds
Everybody makes mistakes. I know that only too well. How the hell I am alive today I have no idea. I am a Monarch of Mistakes, Emperor of Errors, Pharaoh of Fuck-Ups. Some I have walked away from unscathed. Some I barely stood up from. Others I have survived by nothing short of God’s interference. […]
Posted inBusiness, Media, Tech
Two emerging trends we need to foster
I’ve done my fair share of predicting trends and telling people which trends to watch for their business and marketing goals. However, these trends are all for the benefit of certain individuals or companies. What about the average man? I feel we need to foster “trends” that are really important to the sustainability and growth […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
For heaven’s sake, it’s a blog
Like Ebrahim Harvey, who could not be further removed from me on the ideological scale, I too “feel compelled” to take a broader view on the Vincent Maher/Dominic Tweedie; black/white; male/female; Thought Leader/Mail & Guardian; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young/Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich brouhaha. Ebrahim argues a good case, until his bias […]
Posted inGeneral
White man’s blues
Mr Vincent Maher: Sir, this letter is my response to your blog entitled “Thought Leader and racial/ gender representation“. The first trick in the book (as far as I understand) is that you’ve got to have something to say, and that I personally believe is what you’ve been overlooking when you ask: “Do you perceive […]
Posted inGeneral
Foreign flags on rear-view mirrors: more messed-up-identities
Someone please tell me what is “so cool” about having an American or British flag in your car dangling from your rear-view mirror day in, day out? No, I have nothing against those two former great powers. I think some people need help knowing who they are. Why are you wearing another country’s flag as […]
Posted inLifestyle
Who are you? Changing identities and un-belonging
There is a disturbing “crisis of identity”, especially among young South Afrikans today, and it cuts across ethnic groups, racial categories, social and economic classes. Questions of belonging abound among a generally disconnected people, right around and possibly within you. People ask: Who am I? Where do I fit in? What do my clothes, car, […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Ubuntu: Myth or antidote to today’s socio-political and leadership challenges?
South Africa’s current conditions of misunderstanding and intolerance of difference, of leadership disconnection with the people and of business misalignment with holistic human development are screaming for something fresh. The manner in which we relate to each other as people sharing the same space (in all its manifestations!) is unsustainable and demands change. Here’s an […]
Posted inLifestyle
Come rain or shine
Waking up to pouring, violent rain — so hard that it seems impossible to get out of bed (but only if this happens on a weekend or other holiday day, so that getting out of bed isn’t immediately necessary!). Summer afternoon thunderstorms in Durban, when the whole world turns dark. Violent windstorms in Cape Town […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
We can’t run away from race
It was with great interest that I read Vincent Maher’s justification on the demographics of Thought Leader contributors. Unlike Maher, I am not white but like him I also voted for the first time in 1994. By that time I was already 34 years old and should have had a tradition of voting, but unfortunately, […]