By Theo Mapheto No doubt, Julius Malema must be the most talked about politician in the country. In the northern suburbs, no dinner table chit-chat is ever complete without a blow-by-blow account of his latest exploits; his woodwork skills being the common butt of jokes and all. Adding fuel to water, President Zuma has issued […]
2009
Posted inGeneral
Fear is not freedom
By Sipho Mazibuko As a recent victim of crime, though indirectly, I initially denied the statistics. Some appeared as mere concoctions by those hell-bent on demoralising our society and undermining our hard-fought democracy. As with almost everything, we don’t believe … until it happens to you. Hoodlums, criminals, thugs, rapists — all brings feelings of […]
Posted inGeneral
The return of ‘European nights’
Tonight marks a defining moment in the return of “European nights”, also known as the Champions League — the best continental championship in the world right now. This season’s final is going to be held at Real Madrid’s homeground, the Santiago Bernabeu. As usual there will be more questions than answers which will be answered […]
Posted inSport
The Tri-Nations rugby win and bad losers
It was one of the most magnificent tries I have ever seen. With not too many minutes left in the game All Black Danny Carter hoofed the ball across the field near the touchline and Richie McCaw expertly caught it and snaked past — with a few minor collisions — about three Bokke in the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The Mugabe conundrum
No-one would disagree that Robert Mugabe has to go. Would a violent coup or a Nuremberg style witch-hunt be of any benefit to ordinary Zimbabweans? No one in their right mind would argue that removing Mugabe from Zim politics (some would say Zim itself) is the best way to handle the Zim situation. It certainly […]
Posted inGeneral
0800-president
The hotline to the presidency was launched yesterday. The toll-free number is manned by 43 officials (yes, that is about 1 person for a million South Africans) who will then be responsible for seeing that the complaints raised are addressed, or at least that the respondents are held up to date on how their issue […]
Posted inGeneral
A few random thoughts
1. Will Julius be present to welcome the Boks? 2. Does it really matter? Honestly, whose opinion of Julius (positive or negative) will be affected by anything he ever does? 3. Does the above not point to a greater fault in how politics is viewed, debated and understood in SA? 4. The Caster saga has […]
Posted inGeneral
Commies in Beemers
If I were to say to you, there is nothing worse than a hypocrite, I would be writing off 99% of the human race. What we say and what we do rarely match up. When Giovanni Boccaccio in 1350 first penned those much quoted words, do as we say, not as we do, he really […]
Posted inGeneral
SA strikers, where art thou?
It is frightening to see the gulf in class between the English Premiership and our own. While the like of City, Liverpool and even Sunderland plundered four goals apiece over the weekend, South Africa’s finest combined for a completely underwhelming barrage of just nine goals in eight matches. It is a shocking statistic, especially when […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Sex, Semenya, steel balls and femininity
What makes a 100% woman? Pierre Weiss of the International Association of Athletics Federations has said “it is clear that (Caster Semenya) is a woman, but maybe not 100%”. What is a woman? We know that genetically all women carry a certain level of male chromosomes and all men carry a percentage of female chromosomes. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
McCauley: Zuma’s camerlengo is a threat to liberal democracy
Ray McCauley and the Rhema Church exercise an inappropriate influence over President Jacob Zuma and seek to change South Africa’s liberal democratic Constitution. Though the relationship between Zuma and McCauley is not institutionally formalised, the Rhema founded National Interfaith Leadership Council, as Mandy Rossouw’s rigorous investigative reporting last week reveals, plans to challenge the Constitution: […]
Posted inLifestyle
So this is menopause (the male variety)
Age is often the determining factor when judging certain modes of behaviour. Take drunkenness, for example. A twenty-year-old who drinks too much and ends up spewing his lunch all over the road is quite funny (“Youth must have its fling” etc). A thirty-year-old who does it is reprehensible (“Time to grow up, don’t you think!?”). […]