When John Terry strode forward to take that penalty in last season’s dramatic Champion’s League final, he wasn’t just staring at two uprights and a crossbar. He was staring at greatness. I remember the thudding of a million heartbeats in the hushed silence. We were in the throes of uncertainty. Would Chelsea be the victors? […]
2008
Posted inGeneral
How bad, bad, bad the SA web can be
This past weekend I decided to buy a new couch for my home. Wearied of endless trips to Fourways, battling through the traffic, wasting petrol, dodging Metro Police roadblocks, I decided to check out online catalogues for the stores before traipsing off there. Genius. First port of call: Google. Search “couches johannesburg”, “furniture johannesburg”, “couches”, […]
Posted inGeneral
Welcome to the Benni McCarthy circus
THE love-hate relationship between perennial country snob Benni McCarthy and Bafana Bafana continued unabated at Nasrec this week. Benni, the lad many folks would love to loathe, is back in the Bafana Bafana squad. And already the bets are going around on whether or not the ‘Prodigal One’ will check-in at the London hotel on […]
Posted inSport
Still no Olympic medals for SA: What’s gone wrong?
This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online: Still no Olympic medals for SA: What’s gone wrong?
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
The African Global Village
Marshall McLuhan predicted a Global Village of interdependence based on new communication technology in the 1960s. Since then the concept has taken on new connotations with the advent of the internet and its assumed ubiquitous. However, the negative connotations of McLuhan’s Global Village have largely been forgotten. Moreover, from an African geographic perspective the Village […]
Posted inGeneral
In perfect harmony?
In 2000 when everybody started taking South Africa’s World Cup bidding process seriously, a high-level delegation of FIFA officials toured the country on a fact-finding mission. They left with images of thousands of wide-eyed children calling in unison for the right to host the showpiece of the beautiful game and Vicky Sampson’s My African Dream […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Why on earth is Georgia getting Western support?
While the world watched the opening of the Olympic Games, well prepared and armed Georgian troops invaded and shelled Tskhinvali, the capital of the tiny breakaway republic of South Ossetia, until there was little over 30% of the structures left standing. They executed what has to have been a premeditated attack to coincide with the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The greatest con
“We can copy everything except your mother.” So goes a saying in Shanghai — but soon they will not only copy your mother, but your mother-in-law too. With cloning, such a possibility may not be far-fetched. From top designer brands to car parts and even motorbikes, if there is demand, China can be relied on […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Of crooked lawyers and the disingenuous RAF
The Road Accident Fund Amendment Act was promulgated with effect from August 1 2008. The much-disputed legislative amendments are intended to provide a more “equitable, fair and transparent [resource] for the victims of road accidents,” over and above ensuring the sustainability of the fund. This all seem justified — or is it? These legislative amendments […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The demise and irrelevance of the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC)
To have some measure of understanding of the Pan-africanist Congress (PAC) as a political party with no relevance in the 21st Century, it is vital to gain some insight into the pan-africanism ideology upon which its formation was inspired. The ideology of Pan-Africanism predates the Pan African Congress of 1945 that was held in Manchester, […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
It’s the Komphela and Frolick show
And now ladies and gentleman in the category for the biggest embarrassment to South Africa in a sporting drama, the nominees are: Butana Komphela for his moving role as a misunderstood racist in “Whites and Indians don’t understand transformation”, Cedrick Frolick for his valiant attempt to upstage Komphela in “Why I’m mad about Percy” and […]
Posted inNews/Politics
What really happened at Cuito Cuinavale?
In late 1987, South African and UNITA forces clashed with their Cuban and FAPLA counterparts at Cuito Cuinavale in what would be the culminating battle of the so-called “Border War”. Indeed, it has been described as “Africa’s largest land battle since World War II”. But who actually won it? All sides claimed victory and shortly […]