Copenhagen is around the corner. Unfortunately it is unlikely that there will be any final treaty coming out of the Danish capital. Two weeks ago Barack Obama already warned that there is not enough time to secure a legally binding deal at the conference and hopes are set instead on making it a first-stage series […]
2009
Posted inLifestyle
Thoughts on making an arse of oneself
In a popular Sandton watering hole the other night I walked up to a table of complete strangers because I thought they were friends of my date. “Hi,” I smiled. They looked at me, faces blank. As it verrrrrry gradually dawned on me that they knew neither of us from Adam, I yearned for the […]
Posted inMedia
So I bought a man this weekend
This is not something I’ve done before, mind you. I bought him on Saturday afternoon, for R550, and what an interesting experience it was. I felt like, all empowered and stuff, expressing the power my corporate salary confers upon me and using it to turn stereotypes on their head, yadda yadda, and all in the […]
Posted inGender violence, Lifestyle
How do we help children exposed to criminal violence?
How do you help children forced to watch while their mom is gangraped? Or a shy, teenage boy whose mother remains silent when a gang threatens to rape him unless she reveals the safe? (*see below for help organisations) Perhaps the more important question is why are there not massive campaigns in schools to help […]
Posted inGeneral
Irish should just let it go
We all saw the handball. Thierry Henry, a fantastic footballer, decided to use his hand as a guide to set up William Gallas to score the goal that ended Ireland’s hopes of playing in 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Henry should be ashamed of himself for what he did. Though no angel on the […]
Posted inLifestyle
How happy are you?
Isn’t it high time the South African government understood how to enhance our gross national happiness? South Africa is one of the unhappiest nations on this earth. We’re not as miserable as Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia or Angola, but we come in at a lowly 118 out of 143 nations measured in the Happy Planet […]
Posted inGeneral
Why does self determination have to be bought with blood?
By Niki Moore The campaign for self-determination for the minority Tamils in Sri Lanka should hold lessons for governments the whole world over. The question must be asked: Why self determination always have to be bought with blood? The three-decade-long civil war in Sri Lanka is over. For most of the world it was a […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Tiger’s statement invites further speculation
The incident which took place at Tiger Wood’s home in the early hours of Friday morning could have happened to any married couple. Heated arguments followed by physical violence is so commonplace that most lower courts the world over hardly blink when these matters come before them. As a specialised criminal attorney I’m speaking from […]
Posted inGeneral
Black writers, white readers
The last ten years have been marked by a strange phenomenon in black writing: a visible and negative literary portrayal of the black experience and critical assault on black identity and achievement. This is quite ironic. But black writers have, unwittingly, become enemies of everything that their people fought for. Instead, their allegiance overlooks the […]
Posted inLifestyle
World would be a better place if women took charge
The “condition” of women and girl children remains repulsive. This is an indictment to humanity as a whole, given that the overall human condition itself is precarious. In her incomparable novel, Changes, Ama Ata Aidoo brilliantly captures the critical challenges confronting females in particular — the conversations of the two main characters, Esi and Opokuya, […]
Posted inGeneral
An open letter to the minister of stealth, I mean health
On the eve of World Aids Day I write to you about the unfulfilled promises for which we can’t possibly only blame you … Dear Bra Aaron, One of the most appealing things about your appointment as minister is your general approachability — hence I know that this letter to you from citizen nobody will […]
Posted inGender violence, Lifestyle
Cows, Makarovs and the dangers of charming men
In Namibia the sentence for stealing a cow is higher than that for raping a woman. For the first offence both rape and theft of a cow carries a 10 year sentence but for second offenders rape carries a 15 years sentence while a person who steals a cow will go to jail for 30 […]