I invite all readers to look at Christi van der Westhuizen’s photo on her blog on Thought Leader. Please note — hopefully without my prior interpretation — that she has chosen a photo where she is looking “down” on you, suggesting she, as a woman, is not looking “up” at you, in other words she […]
2008
Posted inNews/Politics
The dawn of a new era of hope for desperate Zimbabweans
The reaching of an agreement between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai is a momentous occasion. After months of the egos and selfishness of these two leaders’ overwhelming reason and deep concern for the people of Zimbabwe, the people of Zimbabwe can now finally sigh in relief as there appears to be hope on the horizon. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Africans, Afrikaners and their determination of purpose
Paul Kruger (1825-1904), a symbol of Afrikaner resistance against the British, said, “One who wants to create the future must not forget the past.” If we, as South Africans, are determined to sweep away the perverse vestiges of racialism that afflict our society, we ought to appreciate the past in order that we do not […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Anti-imperialism reduced to an emotional spasm
Do you have to brown skin, a Muslim moniker, a beard, and a passing or preferably detailed knowledge of the Koran in order to be angry about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the denial of statehood to Palestinians? Here in Britain, you could be forgiven for thinking so. Many argue, or at least […]
Posted inGeneral
Sharks to choke again? Never!
The Cheetahs are fresh out of wings (and ideas it seems), just last week we dispensed of the milk dispensers formerly known as Die Bulle with a brilliant Union interpretation of “Dutch Total Football”, the Lions are battling to keep their players from the twin lures of the euro/pound and the easy-come gains of the […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
Can internet nutballs be neutralised?
“A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on” Mark Twain once said. And that was before the internet. Today, blatant falsehoods can circle the entire global numerous times at a speed even Twain would never have believed possible. What is worse, they continue to circle and […]
Posted inGeneral
‘Muslim Massacre’ a parody on US foreign policy?
A computer game entitled Muslim Massacre is the latest in a long line of ‘how low can you go” nominees to be found on the internet and, in fairness to the moron who designed this, it would take something sensational to beat it. The aim of the “game” is to be parachuted into the Middle […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Cartoons speak the truth in our society
From the time the drawings of the Prophet Muhammad set the world alight, it’s been clear that cartooning — the right to draw — will be at the epicentre of media freedom debates. South Africa’s been a tinder-box too since ANC president Jacob Zuma sued Zapiro for defamation for attaching a shower to the head […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Zapiro is spot on with his Zuma cartoon
South Africans do love to get their knickers in a twist, don’t we? The Sunday Times‘s Zapiro cartoon this past weekend had Jacob Zuma unbuttoning his knickers while Justice was being held down. I’m trying to finish a book, I’m late with three chapters and I keep getting asked — no doubt as someone who […]
Posted inNews/Politics
What if Zuma wins?
This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online: What if Zuma wins?
Posted inNews/Politics
Aussie political scandals: at least as entertaining as South African ones
In the annals of memorable quotations uttered by politicians, “Look at this, I’m tittie-f..king your mother!” must rank up there with “Read my lips, no new taxes” and “I did not have sexual relations with that woman”. This was the statement uttered by New South Wales politician Matt Brown, according to a witness quoted in […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media, News/Politics
“Go for it, Li”: Zapiro in China
On the Zapiro cartoon uproar: I thought the portrayal of Zuma was brilliant but it did not elicit more from me than a grim, black chuckle. Sure, the cartoon is not meant to amuse; it is meant to deliver a heavyweight, jaw-breaking blow to hypocrisy and corruption and the complete disregard for the justice system. […]