A colleague of mine remarked yesterday that if you turn off the sound of the television during the news and watch the “service delivery protests” it reminds one starkly of the apartheid protests in townships, complete with burning tyres and policemen gunning down civilians (granted, it is with rubber bullets). It might perhaps be an […]
2009
Posted inNews/Politics
What’s wrong with a Cope-DA marriage?
“Quite early on after the bomb I realised that if I was filled with hatred and desire for revenge I’d be a victim forever. If we have something done to us, we are victims. If we physically survive, we are survivors. Sadly, many people never travel any further than this. I did travel further, going […]
Posted inGeneral
The dream of 1994
Fifteen years into the post-apartheid new South African dispensation we’re hearing growing groans and murmurs lamenting the long-lost dream of 1994. This was a central theme of Cope parliamentary leader Dr Dandala’s campaign speeches as he criss-crossed the country and it prominently features in the Dinokeng Scenarios Report in the form of the “Promise of […]
Posted inGeneral
I beat up a cripple
Before you judge me let me explain myself. I’ve always believed in treating all equally. Even the people society has taught us not to treat equally. We have been told to treat certain people more gently than others, with kid gloves. Unfortunately this may be the primary reason I will never be nominated for, never […]
Posted inGeneral
Mitchells Plain is showing the way, Sakhile not so much
Two Mitchells Plain CPF members gunned down and the community vows to keep on fighting crime. Imagine, if you will, that communities all over followed this example. That being, instead of moaning and bitching about Malema, ministerial cars, police being given the green light for deadly force, construction of WIDER roads, people decided to take […]
Posted inGeneral
Who loves the abuser?
Could I abuse someone? This is a question I have repeatedly asked myself recently after reading the voluminous blogs on this site about abuse and its many grotesque manifestations: child abuse, rape and violence against women, to name a few. As someone who has been physically and mentally abused, it is not an easy question […]
Posted inLifestyle
India: Not for the faint-hearted
The irrepressible Winston Churchill once quipped: “India is no more a country than the equator is.” To try and define it, to try and understand it and to try and explain it as one homogeneous entity is impossible. This country’s unique diversity, rich heritage and cross-cultural mosaic have been well chronicled but the many layers […]
Posted inGeneral
At random
1. Glenn Agliotti — best exponent of the in-box own goal ever? 2. Am I the only who finds the thought of two grown men walking around Sandton City buying each other clothes and accessories just a tad erm … otherwise? 3. In light of the Hans van Dyk “Hannibal Lecter of Ellis Park” incident, […]
Posted inGeneral
Is there an ecological crisis?
As I said in my previous posting, there is a clear divide between those who deny the existence of an ecological crisis, on the one hand, and those who assert that the inhabitants of planet Earth face an ecological crisis of unprecedented proportions. On both sides there are scientists — at least people who claim […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Jackie Selebi, directed by Martin Scorsese
By Sipho Hlongwane Ever since the SABC started strangling itself through a series of monumental cock-ups, there has barely been anything worth watching on TV. I’m not too depressed about that. Who needs the SABC when we have our politicians? I don’t think we’ve had a dull moment in South African politics, at least not […]
Posted inLifestyle
What do you know about Cambodia?
I didn’t know much before I got here, to be honest. We’ve been in South-East Asia for six weeks now — a month in Thailand, and just two weeks in Cambodia, and the country has me totally flummoxed. We started off in Siem Reap, the town famous for the extraordinary temple ruins of Angkor Wat, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Would you change your bank account for Droolius?
So Julius Malema has upped the ante in his campaign against Nedbank, the unfortunate target of his ire after they withdrew their sponsorship of Athletics South Africa in the wake of the Caster Semenya debacle. “When we called for Nedbank senior managers to engage us on this matter, they sent junior black managers. We will […]