So Heinrich Brussouw is out of rugby till next year. While it is indeed bad news for Cheetahs and the Springboks, it is important to look at the factors that contributed to his injury rather than the superficial circumstances of it. I say this having read an article in Wednesday’s Business Day where the prophet […]
2010
Posted inNews/Politics
Winnie is mistaken about Mandela
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela speaks as if it was not the ANC collective that made the decisions that caused her to complain about Nelson Mandela, her ex-husband. She places all the blame squarely on his shoulders. She acts as if she was not part of the NEC that agreed to the principles that would lead to the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Did Nelson Mandela sell out?
It’s an uncomfortable question, but one that bears asking, because it has far reaching implications for the future of South Africa. The battle for Nelson Mandela’s legacy has begun, even before his death. In an interview published by the London Evening Standard, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela had no doubts as to where her ex-husband stood. “Mandela let […]
Posted inGeneral
Our complex, changing world
In his magisterial work, Modern European Thought, Franklin Baumer alludes to the “three blows” that humanity (one could also say “the human ego”) has suffered since the end of the European Middle Ages. First, Copernicus delivered the blow that dethroned humanity as the “crown of creation”, with his mathematical-astronomical claim that we are not at […]
Posted inNews/Politics
‘Soweto drag race was murder’
Soweto is still reeling from the news that four high school pupils were killed when an alleged race between two Mini Coopers went horrifically wrong. The incident occurred in Mdlalose Street, Protea North at around 4.00pm yesterday. Allegedly the two vehicles were racing along the two-way street which runs between Protea Glen and Protea North […]
Posted inNews/Politics
No porn please
There are many reasons why DSTV should not have a porn channel, none of which have to do with morals. The debate about morals lands up with sex being a sin or at least frowned upon, and the idea of watching other people having sex is almost outlandish if not only a bit rude. But […]
Posted inGeneral
ANC cannot mend rift with Cosatu by papering over the cracks
The news on Monday that the ANC and alliance partner Cosatu are set for urgent talks over disagreements that threaten the unity of the tripartite alliance are not surprising, given the developments over the last few months, but they remain a mystery if regard is had to the ideological chasm that remains between them. As […]
Posted inNews/Politics
African land grabs: New colonialism or African apathy?
Across Africa large tracts of land are being sold or leased to foreign countries and companies to grow food, flowers and biofuels. This land is handed over for a song and offers food and resource security to the richer parts of the world — Europe, the Middle East and Asia. But denies thousands of African […]
Posted inBusiness
Y the future …
My speech at the inauguration of the new Yfm building in Hyde Park on Friday, 19 February 2010 Friends, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen I was in Parliament last week sitting in the National Assembly for the State of the Nation address. Our president arrived, the national anthem began to play, and I stood up and […]
Posted inLifestyle
Did you achieve nothing today?
We’ve all had those days. You know the ones. Where after a full day’s work, after actually having tried to achieve something, we end up with nothing. Those days where we hold the rudder tight, pull the sails taut and struggle against the wind, only to realise our final port is in the opposite direction. […]
Posted inGeneral
Is Ugandan homophobia a sign of impending genocide?
By Roger Diamond When resources get tight, people go on the warpath to extirpate those who they are told do not deserve to share a slice of the pie. All countries have, to some degree, targeted people with an otherness and eradicated them so that those in favour can supposedly enjoy a greater share of […]
Posted inLifestyle
Take your filthy hands off our porn
Government, it seems, wants to control our access to porn on DSTV. Thank goodness we have them to look out for us. We are clearly not capable of making these complex moral decisions all by ourselves. We are the rabble, the electorate and all we understand are those empty campaign promises. We love those flashy […]