Forgive me for resorting to the following hackneyed, worn-out story. Shortly before I met my wife some six years ago, she was dragged screaming and gibbering down the driveway by a gang of strong young men so that they could have the pleasure of her and perhaps leave her for dead in the fields near […]
2008
Posted inGeneral
A crisis of opportunity: The state of education in SA
Submitted by Rachel Adams To be excluded from the opportunities that one’s society has to offer is possibly one of the most disenfranchising experiences that one can endure. But to be promised opportunity and then never see that promise come to fruition must ultimately arouse a restlessness and hopelessness that is no doubt destructive for […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Could Zuma be the architect of his ‘political conspiracy’?
History is beset with illustrious men whose ascendancy to power owe to the employment of manipulative schemes intended to provoke innate emotions of the general mass of desperate people. The presence of particular conditions is requisite for the purpose of aspirant leaders to capture the imagination of people and inspire hope. When society is torn […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Black people can be among the most racist
I was not surprised when ANC leaders, angered by cartoonist Zapiro, resorted to calling him a racist. After all, there is a tradition in South Africa where black people, unable to come up with a strong enough argument against a white protagonist, almost out of desperation calls the white person a racist. This, of course, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zuma decision: Something fishy?
Paragraph 195 of Judge Chris Nicholson’s judgement deals with the overall conspiracy allegations of Jacob Zuma in somewhat fishy terms. In essence, it’s the old sprat-to-catch-a-mackerel routine in that the conspirators, via the NPA, would use Thint (sprat) as bait to nail Shaik (mackerel) and once he was convicted they could bring down the big […]
Posted inGeneral
‘Man-di-LAH!’: Carefully explaining to the Chinese in Shanghai what it meant to grow up in the old SA (part four)
Following from the previous post in this series The entire English department at the Shanghai University of Engineering and Science knew of Nelson Mandela. Should I say “of course” they knew of him? No. People tend to see their country as the centre of everything and can be appalled, perhaps, to realise that in far-flung […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Judge Nicholson leaves President Mbeki with no clothes on
The pronouncements relating to President Mbeki as made by Judge Nicholson in his judgment in the matter pertaining to the president of the ANC, Jacob Zuma, are serious and troubling. Judge Nicholson inferred in his judgment that there had been political interference in the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) case against the president of the ANC. […]
Posted inGeneral
The state of the billion rand rugby nation — Part II: the big bang cometh
Butch James sounds alarm over endless grind. Big bang theory? Every rugby player knows all about it, particularly the fly-half taking on the world single-handedly. One minute Butch James is steering South Africa to Test victories, the next he is back sloshing through the West Country ooze with Bath. In theory James is the future: […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zuma decision vindicates SA judges and little else
Judge Chris Nicholson ruled in favour of Jacob Zuma in the application before the Pietermaritzburg High Court, in that the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision to prosecute the ANC president was held to be invalid. His judgment flowed from a procedural failure by the NPA as opposed to any decision on the merits of the case. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The relief of Zimbabwe
It was with no little relief that we are hearing that Zimbabweans have finally reached an agreement on power sharing. While the exact details shall be released on Monday and there are bound to be many who are still unhappy, it offers the people of that country a vehicle with which to begin the journey […]
Posted inLifestyle
Raise your hand if you love the Transkei
I do. What’s not to love? Stunning scenery with a splash of the unspoilt about it, fabulous swimming beaches, friendly people, cows, more cows, and a taste of South Africa that doesn’t taste like anywhere else in the country. What I don’t love about the Transkei is that it’s about to be ruined. Pretty conclusively […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Reverse sexism – a thought experiment gone bad
In my last offering entitled ‘The scourge of reverse sexism’ — thoughtleader.co.za/silwane/2008/09/07/the-scourge-of-reverse-sexism-in-south-african-society/ — I listed aspects of the gender relations in this country that I presumably disagreed with. I invited you, the reader, to come in and point out all the flaws in my rationale. What I didn’t share with you is that the post […]