The African National Congress, as the current ruling party that provides the people who make up the government and the president of the country, are charged with running the country for all South Africans regardless of their political beliefs. Accordingly in responding to issues such as the murder of former AWB leader Eugene Terre’Blanche, polarisation […]
2010
Posted inGeneral
2010: The glue for a dangerously divided nation
It’s no secret that South Africa is once again at a crossroads. Racial tensions between black and white South Africans have reached their highest levels since the 1993 assassination of South African Communist Party leader Chris Hani which threatened to derail the country’s first democratic elections. This weekend’s murder of white far-right leader Eugene Terre’Blanche […]
Posted inGeneral
Yes, this is the definitive ET article
So like everyone in the whole country is writing articles about ET. A forest of opinion has been spewed forth. The internet is gigaflopping all over the pavement with blogs, vlogs, tweets, status updates and posts about Mr Terre’Blanche. Even Die Antwoord would be jealous. If you are trying to avoid this info-tsunami, this maelstrom […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The rise and fall of Saint Bob
For years Bob Geldof, former Boomtown Rat turned self-styled saviour of Africa, was celebrated as a secular saint. To the annoyance of some of us — including me — he was fawned over by the world media and world leaders, who loved the gruff, messy-haired, expletive-laden “authenticity” he apparently brought to the discussion about global […]
Posted inGeneral
Demise of Portsmouth: Warning to others
Portsmouth’s fall from grace might have come as a shock to the rest of the world, but a lot of people can’t really say they didn’t see it coming. How can a club with a stadium capacity of just over 20 000 and with no new plans expansion explain all those signings they made over four […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Was Terror’Blanche a Muslim?
As racial tensions continue to rise over the murder of Eugene Terre’Blanche, and renewed concerns about the ability of black people to host thousands of visiting white people for the WC in June flourish, the South African Muslim and Halaal Authority (SAMHA), report that they have been inundated by calls from foreigners asking “if it […]
Posted inNews/Politics
‘Black boers’ and other revolutionary songs
A hat tip to Mphutlane wa Bofelo for pointing out the subtext to the ANC’s claim to the “shoot the boer!” song: For is it not the case, as wa Bofelo points out, that the attempt to establish a heritage status for the song locates the struggle in the past? And what of the new […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Malema, Milosevic, Hitler and the ticking time bomb
In March of 1991 after months of nationalistic propaganda and other divisive rhetoric from Slobodan Milosevic and Franjo Tudjman, a small group of Serbs and Croats clashed in the Plitvice Lakes National Park on the border between these two countries. Serbs had moved into the park and expelled the park management. Zagreb viewed this as […]
Posted inNews/Politics
This is the last time I write about Julius
If I ever feel tempted to write about Julius Malema — aka Droolius, the Jelly Tsotsi, JuJu, Kiddie Amin etc — please remind me of this post. Remind me that I took a vow never to write about him again, because writing about him would make me complicit in fueling his continued rise to a […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Eulogy for a right-wing nutjob
As we gather here today to reflect on the passing of an unfortunate soul and tragic enigma of our collective South African history, very few words can adequately capture the impact of this his actions and ideas on countless South Africans throughout the span of his public and private life. Eugene was an anachronism, not […]
Posted inGeneral
Sorry to disappoint, but South Africa will succeed
I have news for you. Yes, you. South Africa is going to succeed. I’ve come across you several times on the interwebs. You like to brand yourself as the ultimate thinking person and a visionary. The amount of energy you invest in foretelling South Africa’s doom is simply astounding. You gleefully link every article or […]
Posted inGeneral
Mourning Eugene Terre Blanche
I was busy showing off my mean dance moves at a Jazz gig late on Saturday the 3rd of April 2010, when my phone started to vibrate intermittently in my back pocket. During the break, I then checked my phone messages to see that friends, colleagues and journalists – local and international – had been trying […]