Forgive me for being so presumptuous, but I suspect that even the well informed are unaware of some of the most remarkable international news in recent weeks. Now if this supposition is correct then ask yourself, dear reader, for we will surely agree about the significance of the following — whether a corporate dominated media […]
2008
Posted inGeneral
Robert Mugabe: Catalyst to recolonise Africa or its reluctant true liberator?
Isn’t it ironic that Robert Mugabe, while claiming to protect Zimbabweans from colonialism and imperialism, is in fact the catalyst through which the recolonisation of Africa by gangster warlords might take place? And isn’t it even more ironic that in order to stop him and his maniacal party, Africa might finally realise that true liberation, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Morgan Tsvangirai is a man
If ever an African leader showed the wisdom of a King Solomon, then that man is Morgan Richard Tsvangirai. Like the biblical king before him, he adjudged that the party who would rather save the baby, in this case Zimbabwe, rather than win (power) at any cost, would demonstrate who has the true love for […]
Posted inLifestyle
The sounds of a city
We experience a city through sight, mostly. But what about other senses? The fishy smells of Cape Town, warm bagels in New York. In Jo’burg, jasmine in spring and the acrid fug of urine in the CBD. Chlorine in pools, wet dog, mown grass, fragrant steaming pavements after a summer storm. Sydney lacks a distinctive […]
Posted inGeneral
Things Twitter should have
A few things about Twitter have been irritating me recently and this has everything to do with its lack of versatility. Twitter’s alert function, which can syndicate “tweets” to any third party device or application (Mobile, Facebook, etc.), leaves much to be desired in terms of customising its functionality. For one thing, I would like […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Scrooge McDuck is fictional, you know
Free market advocates often hear the charge that they don’t care about the poor. That their belief in the power of markets driven by self-interest and the profit motive implies they’re selfish and egotistical. “Bah!” says the research data, “Humbug!”
Posted inLifestyle
Of parking metres and foreign languages…
I parked in the inner city of Durban the other day where there are parking meters installed everywhere — every 30 metres, I’ve been told by a local police officer. That makes it extremely expensive to park your car. Most of the time, I try to avoid them. But last Friday I couldn’t steer clear […]
Posted inGeneral
South Africans: A tale of contradictions?
In an attempt to illuminate a view that South Africa is a complex case, and not special per se, I said that “South Africans have been consistently giving most of us an impression that we are developing some form of national identity. Public opinion surveys have been showing a trend of improving ‘social cohesion’”. All […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Blood oil
At last! The five-year old predatory war of America and its coalition partners has finally been placed in its clearest possible perspective. Britain, France and the US finally have their hands on the oil reserves of Iraq. For the first time in 36 years the oil reserves are in the hands of people who have […]
Posted inGeneral
Commute to Bloem, Part 1
It was with much difficulty that I accepted a directive to pack my bags and haul my great self off to the land beyond the Lesotho Mountains for business purposes. Trust me, had I a choice, I would have never chosen to go to Bloemfontein, but alas, the man that pays my salary demanded it […]
Posted inGeneral
The education potential of mobile content
Again and again I’m struck by the massive uptake of mobile phones in the developing world. Exact figures are often hard to come by, but in South Africa it is estimated that 70% of the population has access to a mobile phone. Amongst the youth, that figure is easily 90%. The mobile phone is the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zimbabwe: Nursery Rhymes to celebrate a run-off victory
Robert Mugabe, underpinned by a South African government and a mediation team seemingly determined to keep him in power (come on guys don’t be bashful), is celebrating the MDC’s decision to withdraw from the run-off. This in essence means that both countries (now lepers of the world community) will be able to claim their rewards […]