I found the fake DA pamphlet some members of the ANC allegedly distributed to make a mockery of the DA somewhat funny, especially the caveat at the end, “Warning: do not show this pamphlet to your maids and garden boy … . We need their votes”. We see this kind of humour in Madam & […]
2009
Posted inMedia
Is it wrong to mock Indians?
So The Rude Awakening has offended the Indians, and people who are offended on their behalf. Hardly surprising, really; in the past, Jeremy Mansfield and Co have incensed the whole of Boksburg and Brakpan combined, so nothing scares them. It seems that there have been a number of complaints about a show that broadcast last […]
Posted inGeneral
Is there a world formula?
The big dream of physicists, Stefanie Schramm writes in Zeit Wissen, is to capture the universe in its totality in a formula that would fit on a T-shirt. This entails the attempt to unify theories in physics in such a manner that only one would remain: the “theory of everything”. More recently, however, researchers in […]
Posted inGeneral
Is RSS dead?
I’ve been catching up on my RSS feeds lately. A new thing for me. It has actually been a fairly disappointing experience. Well over half my RSS feeds are truncated, forcing you to click through to a site. I tend to browse most of my feeds using Google Reader mobile on the Nokia E71. This […]
Posted inGeneral
Who is black?
In the late nineties I participated in the drafting of government policies including the policy: The White Paper on Affirmative Action for the Public Service. Part of the challenge in developing this work was the definition of the term “black”. As the White Paper now stands, the term black embraces Africans, coloureds and Indians. I […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Neglecting the law and failing the poor
One of the guarantees of our celebrated Constitution is that every child has the right to education. In order to secure this right in practice the law stipulates that fees should not be charged for any child who is an orphan or in foster care, for any child whose guardians receive a state grant or […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Is Cope merely the anti-Zuma?
Two highly respected analysts have now asked roughly the same question in quick succession. Justice Malala in The Times and Professor Sipho Seepe in an article found in the Jewish Report (page 3 “Seepe sees short lifespan for Cope”) are querying whether there is any substance to Cope or is it really just a manifestation […]
Posted inLifestyle
Geek like me
Despite the fact that I devoted a large portion of my studies to the creation of fantasy worlds and made-up stories, be it in art, film or theatre, looking at the processes and analysing the results, I am a total junkie when it comes to films and books that are firmly rooted in reality. I […]
Posted inGeneral
SA media in a good place
I have been away from South Africa in the belly of the beast so to speak. I have spent five weeks in the US and must admit I was relieved to go, not because I never enjoyed myself or that I missed my dog, I hated the media. I would yell curses at the TV […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Proof of life, that’s what Tsvangirai needs
Recent events in Zimbabwe have reminded me of the 2000 Taylor Hackford film Proof of Life. The basic plot has a contractor kidnapped by rebels in a fictional Latin American setting. A negotiator is tasked with ensuring the contractor’s release. During the protracted negotiations, one of the things that the negotiator demands, before any payment […]
Posted inGeneral
Racial stereotyping: Cartoons of SA leaders, Obama, the Chinese
There is one striking thing about Chinese cartoons of Chinese people here in China. The characters don’t have the slant-eyed slits Western cartoonists often love, sometimes looking like twin Concordes taking off in opposite directions. The eyes are, well, normal. It would be interesting to find out if that is in scornful reaction to the […]
Posted inGeneral
Debt on tap: Is this the way to go?
Though I have never been one to believe the banking industry exists purely for altruistic social empowerment motives, I have always thought they would be leading the charge in educating on the basic principle that a fiscally prudent society tends to be more prosperous in the long run. Sustained economic prosperity would, of course, only […]