Something in me dies, a piece of me dies every time I attend the memorial service of a greatly misunderstood artist. It would seem that the event, which should place the life of the dearly departed into perspective, is an excuse to deny the role he played as an agent of change in this country. […]
2009
Posted inGeneral
An open letter to the Medicines Control Council
According to the meetings schedule published on the Medicines Control Council’s (MCC) website, the council’s next meeting is to be held on Friday, April 17. A request was made to have the following open letter placed on the meeting’s agenda for its consideration. Although some aspects are technical, the gist of the letter should be […]
Posted inLifestyle
The man who made miracles
Convention is the way in which ingenuity is corralled. Doing what others expect is too often not doing what we need to do to succeed. We conform, we try to be good people, we’re nice and wonder why our spirit battles to breathe. It’s only when we do what we need to do and bugger […]
Posted inLifestyle
Just when you thought it was safe to go out at night
Well, there I was, back at the theatre with an open mind and two open eyes, scanning the crowd from the highest vantage point at the Baxter Theatre, when I stopped myself. “Tony,” I said, “You’re counting black people, for God’s sake”. Had it really come to this? People like my fellow Thought Leader blogger […]
Posted inGeneral
The DA’s ‘Stop Zuma’ and ‘Size Matters’ campaign
Submitted by Marius Redelinghuys “Stop Zuma!” two weeks before election day has become the epitome of the Democratic Alliance’s 2009 election campaign. However, the DA’s advertising campaign in various print media last week went further and loudly – in addition to the centrality of the anti-Zuma platform – dared to present to South Africans the […]
Posted inGeneral
Zumaphobia vs Zumamania: The schism continues
As if the electorate could be any more bewildered by current South African politics, the decision to drop all corruption charges against Jacob Zuma has turned ordinary South Africans into believers, converted sceptics into philosophers and motored immigration turnstiles into action. Just a week before the “most important election” and the electorate couldn’t be more […]
Posted inMedia
Jobs now more popular than sex
I recently had a look at Google Trends and noticed that jobs have now finally overtaken sex as the most searched term in South Africa. Google trends monitor what people search for on Google in South Africa. This information is displayed over time and provides an insight into current affairs. In the graph below, the […]
Posted inGeneral
The role of religion: Why take aim at the atheists?
I am a great believer in interfaith dialogue, including “born-again atheists” and “mystical atheists”, and for coming to realise that all sacred scripture is a spiritual metaphor. If for example, we look at the scripture in the Christian gospel, where Jesus says: “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door […]
Posted inNews/Politics
ANC can give you a heart attack
In the late evening of the 31st March 2009 I suffered a major heart attack and was admitted early the following morning to the intensive care unit of the Linksfield Clinic in Johannesburg. At 48 years of age and despite my lifestyle it took me by surprise I can tell you. While I thought it […]
Posted inTech
The Presence Builder: Be careful how you present yourself online
This is the first of a few articles that will provide some advice on how to go about building your presence online. This Presence Builder will advise on such things as why your avatar choice is important, why your online name must be picked with caution to what you vote for on social networking sites, […]
Posted inGeneral
Easter, Fujimori, Vlok and Van der Merwe
A bench of three Peruvian judges has convicted former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, of gross human rights violations. These were torture, kidnapping and enforced disappearances committed during the early 1990s. The Special Criminal Division of Peru’s Supreme Court concluded that Fujimori as president bore individual criminal responsibility in all three cases because he had […]
Posted inBusiness
Labour brokers face the axe
Government has threatened to ban labour brokers after the next election. The claim is made that the system lowers the wages of workers and encourages casual work. Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana first made the call when he was campaigning in Langa in December last year. Mdladlana told residents that the ANC plans to ban labour […]