Let me say upfront that I know that I am treading on dangerous ground. But by leaving things unsaid, we are saying something about those things. How many of you reading this know Oliver Tambo’s birthday? My guess is that not many. My anecdotal research has shown me that many of us know the birthday […]
2008
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Blaspheming against liberals
On July 8, Britain finally abolished its archaic blasphemy laws. It is no longer a criminal offence for we Brits to speak or publish any contemptuous, reviling, scurrilous or ludicrous words relating to God, Jesus Christ or the Bible. Yet already a new system of blasphemy is filling the gap. Now, anybody who blasphemes against […]
Posted inGeneral
This piece of text is on an alternative medium
Although difficult to define accurately, alternative media can be seen as the use of tactile and non-mainstream media options in an effort to reach the increasingly elusive and all-important consumer. On hearing the word “alternative”, the first question that springs to mind — and rightfully so — is alternative to what? The answer to this […]
Posted inBusiness, Media
Starbucks, immigration and national identity
The news last week that Starbucks was to close 61 of its Australian stores with immediate effect — leaving just 23 stores in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane — was greeted with considerable interest beyond the business pages. The American interloper taught a lesson about what it takes to succeed in the land down under: this […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
A scenario for the SABC
The SABC’s board of directors is on its way out, but later rather than sooner. And what happens then? Those wanting them out don’t seem to have given enough thought to this. This conclusion emerges from current discussions in Parliament about a legal amendment that would force President Thabo Mbeki to fire the board. To […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Malema, yours is the cowardice, not the power or the glory
In death, Alexander Isayevich Solzhenitsyn’s life and works have once again taken centre stage. Arguably Russia’s greatest writer yet and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, he achieved enormous acclaim for exposing the flaws in the Soviet system at a time when it was not only unpopular but, in most cases, fatal to do […]
Posted inGeneral
Kevin Pietersen: To love or hate him?
Kevin Pietersen, the South African-born cricketer who will convince you that he is more English than South African, has ascended to the highest throne in English cricket. How ironic that this happens few weeks after I had bought a copy of his uninspiring book, Crossing the Boundary. Kevin takes the England captaincy at a time […]
Posted inSport
China looks forward to making its mark
As the date of the Beijing Olympics draws nearer, the buzz around the Games is increasing. Events of such magnitude will have some problems. As is the custom nowadays the media seems to be focusing predominantly on the controversial bits during the lead up to the sports festival. The IOC is meeting trying to address […]
Posted inLifestyle
Living like a tortoise
I’ve been living like a tortoise for the last week, carrying everything I need on my back. No, I haven’t suddenly been evicted. I’ve been going through the agony of moving house (if you can call it that, when the moving is from a cottage to a flat). And although I absolutely love my new […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
Death of newspapers nigh?
Quality newspapers are in trouble. The local daily printed newspapers are in even bigger trouble. I know this because I am a news junkie, and I haven’t bough a daily paper in ages. I even cancelled my subscription, and I am sucker for convenience. My interaction with newspapers goes something like this: on the morning […]
Posted inNews/Politics
ANC passes sell-by date — what will voters do?
The flip side of the adage that new brooms sweep clean is that old ones just can’t do the job right any more. The same is true of governments; they have a shelf life. There comes a time when an administration simply runs out of ideas and no longer has the will or cohesion to […]
Posted inLifestyle
Where the bloody hell is my credit card?
These bloody Australians won’t give me a credit card. I am most aggrieved. Last week, I applied again, online, on the off chance, and got an automated rejection with the reassurance that the bank would explain all in a letter to follow. Last week the promised letter arrived (it cast no light on the reason […]