In 1992, in the face of pro-apartheid political dissent, FW de Klerk boldly threw down the glove and asked for a yes or no referendum, made available only to white people. He asked the white people of South Africa if they wanted to move towards true democracy and abolish apartheid. South African whites responded with […]
2008
Posted inGeneral
Zimbabwe: the moral freedom to take a stand
In his first masterwork, Being and Nothingness, Jean-Paul Sartre – the father of Existentialist philosophy — argues in neo-Kantian fashion that human beings don’t have a choice about being “free”. We are “doomed to be free”, according to him. In other words, even when someone ostensibly chooses NOT to be free – blaming his or […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zimbabwe: ‘Hitler was the perfect boss’; maybe Mugabe is too
Rosa Mitterer, a former maid in the employ of the mass murderer and Nazi Fuehrer Adolf Hitler (1931 to 1935) has finally decided to break her silence and share some of her wonderful memories with us. The fact that it has taken this 91-year-old woman a mere 63 years after World War II to reach […]
Posted inGeneral
How to Win Enemies & Alienate People
The man Eddie Jones is either a marvel or a Tasmanian Devil. Born January 30, 1960 in Burnie, Tasmania, of a Japanese mother and an Australian father, Eddie Jones is a rugby union coach and former player. He left the Queensland Reds after their worst position since the inception of the Super 12, was the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Cockroaches and ‘killing for Zuma’: Why do our political leaders invoke violent language?
This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online: Cockroaches and ‘killing for Zuma’: Why do our political leaders invoke violent language?
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Zimbabwe cholera: Mugabe will decimate South Africa as well as Zimbabwe
Just over a week ago with sewage flowing in the streets, rubbish piled up in mounds, a broken water supply and the United Nations warning of a cholera catastrophe in Zimbabwe the moron who passes himself off as the country’s Deputy Health Minister Edwin Muguti told the world’s media that there was no need to […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The creation of a welfare state by the ANC
The path towards the establishment of a socialist state appears to have been cleared of all impediments. If the draft ANC election manifesto is anything to go by, the influence the SA Communist Party (SACP) on ANC policy is no longer a matter of ambiguity. The ANC under Jacob Zuma has modelled itself as the […]
Posted inGeneral
2010 security concerns highlighted by Mumbai
The hideous attack on the Indian city of Mumbai has once again demonstrated that terrorism has no boundaries. And with the spotlight now shifting to South Africa as the hosts of the next mega global sporting event, concerns over this country’s security have been raised. The Sunday Times warns that we must be vigilant: “The […]
Posted inLifestyle, Tech
When music meets Microsoft ….
Some time back I heard of a group of people on the internet who were spending their time creating graphs of songs titles and lyrics and posting them online – in fact there was a whole song chart pool on Flickr that was collecting them all. As a closet geek with a passion for music, […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Yelling ‘fuck off’ for feminism
Yesterday I was walking in Cape Town’s city centre with a good friend of mine. As we crossed the road, a few construction workers in a truck began to verbally harass her, calling her a string of disgusting things. So I yelled to them, “Fuck off!” They seemed rather indignant but obliged. Indignant, because they […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media, News/Politics
Mbeki said African journalists are paid for counter-revolutionary sellouts
It is almost two months now since former president Thabo Mbeki accused some African journalists, “experts” and “analysts” of being paid for sellouts. Of course, this he did in a much-publicised letter in October in which he distanced himself from Terror Lekota’s Cope (sic.) His speaking truth to media has been greeted by resounding silence, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Uses for renegade pirates
#345: Ad-hoc SWAT Team Last Wednesday I sent a mate of mine a sms enquiring as to just what the bleeding blazes was going on in Mumbai. I had for a while thought it was an elaborate ploy by the E.C.B. to divert attention from Kevin Pietersens teams apparent relish for a solid on-field rogering […]