“Manto is dead. Good. A selfish and wicked bungler of the lowest order. Rotten attitude and rancid livers — all 3 of them … ” These were the words written by Gareth Cliff on Twitter yesterday upon finding out that the former and much vilified South African minister of health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang had passed away. […]
2009
Posted inGeneral
Ditch the guilt
Christmas traps us. It holds us tightly between layers of expensive non-recyclable wrapping paper smothering our creativity, freedom and genuine feelings. The Christmas season seems to bring our lack of freedom sharply into focus. We are tied by cute ribbons and tassels to the consumerist lifestyle, buying up the shops and making sure that we […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Manto’s gone, so what?
So Gareth Cliff is insensitive for speaking ill of the dead. We should obviously now accept the word of the ANC that Manto Tshabalala-Msimang didn’t use her influence to hijack a donor liver from somebody who’d been waiting much longer than she had, and the stories about her kleptomania were surely contrived by her political […]
Posted inGeneral
The history of our private parts
In China the expression “That’s yellow!” means the movie, or what you said, was “naughty” or had an off-colour connotation. The thirteen-year-olds I teach know the expression well and I have had some hilarious incidents. One day in class we did some sentence patterns to teach superlatives and the book required sentence patterns based on […]
Posted inNews/Politics
How Twitter broke the news about Manto
Was news of Manto’s death the Hudson plane crash of South Africa? Did the passing of the controversial former minister of health mark a coming of age of Twitter in this country? While comparisons aren’t entirely neat — the landing of the plane in the river was first reported by eye witnesses, which was not […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Rejoicing over Manto’s death is grotesque
The news of the death of former health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang broke on Twitter soon after lunch, and it was fun watching the back-and-forth between the editors and the public as the media frantically searched for someone to confirm the rumours. There was even a moment of drama as some claimed that Manto wasn’t in […]
Posted inGeneral
The first ANCYL-SACP war
Anyone who fails to see the humour in the ANCYL versus SACP “war” either hasn’t lived in South Africa long enough or just doesn’t see the funny side of the things that go on around us every day. It really is hysterical in every sense of the word. In fact I have to admit that […]
Posted inLifestyle
Open letter to Santa Claus
Dear Santa It is that time of year. When we all write you letters telling you what we want to find under the Christmas tree. Crafted in our finest handwriting and our smartest prose, we detail all those things that will make us happy. All those things that will magically make our lives a better […]
Posted inGeneral
Cope: Time to stand up and stand tall
By Siyanda Mhlongo The ANC was elected on April 22 2009 on the promise that it would be pro-poor and anti-corruption. The triumvirate of Jacob Zuma, Blade Nzimande and Zwelinzima Vavi accused Cope of being elitist. It is the ANC of Nxamalala that has proved beyond reasonable doubt that is elitist, parasitic and wasteful. It […]
Posted inGeneral
I’m glad I visited the Voortrekker Monument
“Well, this is what is at the heart of European and African conflict in our society today,” says the guide, Thuli K, who is in charge of a historical tour. We are at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria. Richard P and I have undertaken this strange journey together to get closer to the soul of […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Traversing Cope’s ideological wilderness
Approximately a year ago the Congress of the People (Cope) burst onto the South African political scene with much fanfare promising a “New Agenda for Hope and Change for All!“. This agenda was to be informed by a commitment to being a modern political party underpinned by an ideology of “progressivism”. An impression of the […]
Posted inMedia
Does Miss South Africa still matter?
So someone called Nicole Flint is our new Miss South Africa. Do you care? Does anyone? I remember the halcyon days of a pageant that enjoyed real cultural power. Anneline Kriel was a bit before my time (she was in the process of divorcing Sol when she starred on page 3 of the Sunday Times […]