Submitted by Troy Thiel The recent homophobic writings of Jon Qwelane and the subsequent LGBT community reaction have highlighted many questions about where the borders of free speech lie and journalists’ responsibility regarding the effect of their words. With visible examples of hate crimes, this is an emotionally charged subject. Respectfully, I would, however, like […]
2008
Posted inMedia
Will Mondli fire Zapiro?
Zapiro’s cartoon in the Sunday Times, depicting a woman symbolising the justice system being held down by the ANC, SACP, ANCYL and Cosatu, with Julius Malema telling Jacob Zuma, who is unbuttoning his pants, to “go for it”, may well have crossed the line of what constitutes fair comment. The cartoon seems to suggest that […]
Posted inGeneral
I don’t care if De Villiers did the entire cheerleader squad
If it turns out that Springbok coach Peter de Villiers did get involved with a lady in a car park, which is being vehemently denied, then that is his own business, as far as I am concerned. Whatever sanctions need to be applied, if there is any merit in it, must come from his wife […]
Posted inGeneral
Final chapter under way for Jews of Zimbabwe
Hylton Solomon remains a patriotic Zimbabwean, despite his experience of being jailed for “over-pricing” spaghetti in his Bulawayo grocery store. He also remains committed to helping keep Bulawayo’s 114-year-old Jewish community going, although today it is less than one-20th the size it was at its height. Solomon is an exception. Most Zimbabwean Jews have left […]
Posted inLifestyle
A seriously beautiful country
That’s South Africa, our country. Seriously beautiful. I had the strange pleasure of driving through it pretty much nonstop this weekend, and I was floored by how much natural beauty there is, in abundance, almost at every turn. We drove from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth and back in three days — including visits to […]
Posted inGeneral
Mao Tse-tung/Christ comparisons: Explaining what it meant to grow up in the old SA (part 3)
I switched to a picture of a crucifix with the anguished, dying Christ nailed to it in my PowerPoint presentation to my erudite audience at the University of Engineering and Science in Shanghai. “I also grew up in that boarding school with this image firmly planted in my subconscious.” I recited to my listeners the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mbeki’s negotiations a tragic farce
President Thabo Mbeki’s latest attempt to get Zimbabwe negotiations back on track smacks of self-serving desperation — an attempt to salvage a bloodstained legacy and ensure an easy exit for the murderous tyrant he seems quite happy to consider a friend. Mbeki as a mediator has no credibility anyway. His antipathy towards the MDC and […]
Posted inLifestyle
The majesty and grandeur of Roman engineering and architecture
A dear friend of mine, whose mortal remains were confined to the common mother of all, was a promising and talented architect (RIP). Through him I developed a deep fascination with and appreciation of ancient architecture and engineering. From the Great Wall of China, built by Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, to the Pantheon built during […]
Posted inMedia
The Sunday Times has lost all its credibility
On Sunday August 24, the Sunday Times ran a headline story titled “Transnet sold our sea to foreigners”, which reported as fact that Transnet had sold “our sea to foreigners”, referring to the 90 square kilometres of sea and the 22km of coastline stretching from Table bay to Robben Island. Transnet refuted these claims as […]
Posted inNews/Politics
A bird in the hand is better than another Bush in the White House
The best thing Americans can do right now is to take Sarah Palin by the hand, lead her back up to Alaska and leave her there to frighten the moose population and send hairy lumberjacks running to their mommies screaming: “It’s horrible, it’s horrible! Heeeelp meeeee!” What possessed Republican candidate John McCain to choose Palin […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
The scourge of reverse sexism in South African society
Let me state from the onset that I’m not sexist. In fact, some of my best friends are women. Both my mother and my wife are women whom I respect very much. Let me also state categorically that I find nothing more deplorable than Neanderthals who believe that men are superior to women. It is […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Would Zuma and Mbeki factions entertain a compromise candidate?
When the ANC held its 52nd national conference at Polokwane, concerns were expressed that should Jacob Zuma be elected as party president, it might well leave national President Thabo Mbeki as a lame duck for the balance of his term. As it turned out, the ANC became divided into two centres of power — the […]