At his Loftvus Versfeld birthday celebrations on Saturday, Nelson Mandela called upon members of the ANC not to celebrate the life of an individual but rather the organisation itself and its achievements after a prolonged struggle. Madiba went on to make further heartfelt pleas for party unity and a strengthening of our democracy in the […]
2008
Posted inNews/Politics
Puppy buried alive? I’ll bury the bastards
The Pietermaritzburg story about a seven-week-old puppy with two spears driven into it and then buried alive made my blood boil. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s animal cruelty. Imagine the mentality of the human filth that did this. Taking a defenceless animal and inflicting the cruelty of which only our disgusting species […]
Posted inNews/Politics
In praise of an ex-dictator
I have been listening to Bantu Holomisa speak for the past 21 years. On Thursday night I heard him again at the University of Johannesburg. Attendees were told that the Major General would deliver a lecture on his initiative to include a question about citizens’ views on constituency representation in the election manifestos of political […]
Posted inGeneral
From Euro 2008 to the new PSL season
The SuperSport TV channels showed us the entire European Championship soccer tournament in Austria/Switzerland — many great matches with excellent soccer, providing an excellent learning opportunity for all PSL teams and Bafana Bafana. We saw how to play the latest top-level soccer. If a team (PSL and Bafana Bafana) really want good results in the […]
Posted inGeneral
Charity Cup: Laying down markers
So what should we expect from the Charity Cup this weekend? Sundowns are the hands-down favourites to win, with good reason too — they have way too much quality in their ranks and the boys know that they need to start the season off on a strong note in order not to put pressure on […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The affirmative-action Kevin Bacon game
Back in the 1990s, the internet phenomenon du jour, the lolcat or Rickrolling of its day, was the Kevin Bacon game. Invented by a pair of college students, it was based on the premise of six degrees of separation: Kevin Bacon could be linked to anyone in Hollywood on the basis of films in which […]
Posted inNews/Politics
White is the new black; free the new black oppressed. Viva!
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m starting to like Allan Boesak again. I went off him around about the time that Elna went on him. Thing is, people like me need somebody to stand up for us, just as some of us (yes, whites!) spoke up for the oppressed back in the darkest […]
Posted inLifestyle
301 ways to blow your mind
A record 301 new medicines are being developed for mental illnesses in the United States, according to a report released a few days ago. Wow. A record. Neat, especially as the Olympics are around the corner and records are metaphors for human excellence. According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) who issued […]
Posted inLifestyle
Three beauty-full sites
So I’ve been doing some online exploration over the past little while, and happened to stumble across three artists’ websites that I think are just lovely. Care for some relaxing Friday web surfing? Yeondoo Jung (www.yeondoojung.com) is a Korean artist who did an amazing project in 2005, where he took children’s drawings and made them […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zim talks see-saw once again: Will we ever see the end of it?
This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online: Zimbabwe talks see-saw once again: Will we ever see the end of it?
Posted inNews/Politics
The rehabilitation of Allan Boesak
If you closed your eyes or, even with open eyes, let your imagination travel a bit, it could have been a scene from a political rally in the 1980s. Dr Allan Boesak, former United Democratic Front patron, stood triumphantly in front of a crowd in excess of 2 000, holding his hands aloft à la Rocky […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mbeki/Zuma amnesty: it’s not always about principles.
The Zimbabwe debacle was brought about by an elite who, upon learning that the policies that they propounded were no longer popular to the majority, utilised the constitution, legislative machinery and existing structures of government to decimate their country in order to retain power. In fact if you were to ask members of their government, […]