It was many years ago now that one of the most bizarre and upsetting experiences of my life took place, so bizarre, in fact, that with the passage of time it is hard to imagine how it could have happened at all. It began with a phone call from a police investigator, “requesting” me to […]
2010
Posted inBusiness, Environment, General, Lifestyle
More tax, please!
If you ask me, the new carbon tax is a sloppy piece of green-wash. It’s a quick way for the government to raise an extra R450 million a year. At best it’s a token gesture that makes us look a little more green-minded when decisions are made about where to hold climate conferences and summits. And […]
Posted inGeneral
Our junior national teams are falling apart
After Amajita’s failure to qualify for the Under-20 African Youth Championships, South African football was dealt another blow last weekend when the Under-17s (Amajimbos) were booted out of the Under-17 qualifiers by Burkina Faso. This is a sad situation. Our football’s supposed to be progressing, especially after hosting a successful World Cup, but instead it’s […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Shadowboxing for jobs and economic growth
This entry marks the first of my revived, renamed blog. Yes, future missives of mine will henceforth be fired off under the title, “Chequered Reality”. Because I am a pessimist? No. Because I believe that advocacy on economics is something best rooted in reality, rather than the insular vacuums that the policy wonks love to […]
Posted inLifestyle
Get off our organic backs
If you live in the 702 reception area and were listening to the John Robbie Show on Monday, you might have been as irritated as I was when the topic of organic foods came up for discussion. People keep digging up nonsense research to make the absurd claim that organic food is no healthier than […]
Posted inLifestyle
My love-hate relationship with SA
I have returned to South Africa (again). She tends to get under one’s skin in strange ways that make her unforgettable, loveable and detestable in so many contradictory ways. I do have a viscous love-hate relationship with this strange land. I came back after eight months absence and was feeling all enthralled and loving despite […]
Posted inLifestyle
Do you stop to smell the roses?
The scent of jasmine in the air is intoxicating, isn’t it? I think I may be addicted to it. Every day I yank flowers from the bushes and keep them in my bedroom, my office and my car, where they grow brittle and scatter papery petals everywhere. I am breathing in a sprig of jasmine […]
Posted inGeneral
It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it
We’ve all heard that line from parents, grandparents and other elders, but what if it actually applies to everything we say? The way we talk about groups of people in some way constructs them in the world around us. It shapes our expectations of people, their abilities, their strengths, and weaknesses. Our understanding of good […]
Posted inNews/Politics
To leave or not to leave
Have you ever thought about leaving South Africa? Do you feel like spitting on someone who would even consider it? Or have you already left? At one point or another, I’ve been all three. So perhaps that’s why I’ve found that Should I Stay or Should I Go, a collection of writing about leaving South […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
Hey Trevor, I Noah better way
If Trevor Noah, the spinmeister of Cell C, wants to make himself the darling of (at least some of) the SA cellphone community, he might consider this: get Cell C to start a massive roll-out of Wi-Fi hotspots in major centres, saturating them with broadband access. It will allow the fast-growing smartphone customer base to […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The Constitution v the media tribunal
By Loammi Wolf The ANC’s mooted legislative initiative to create a Media Appeals Tribunal is undeniably causing a furore. That is understandable given the historic background of muzzling the media during the apartheid era. History has shown that authoritarian regimes often come about in a creeping way. Typical indicators are the following: First, the executive […]
Posted inGeneral
Oh, it’s Enreekay and T20 time again
The second edition of the T20 Champions League is on these shores as I type this. Enrique — or Enreekay — kicked the circus off with a concert at Emmarentia Dam in Johannesburg and did a few numbers before the Lions took on the Indians (referring to the teams without their region/sponsor is easier, unless […]