As a performance, Pravin Gordhan’s maiden Budget speech deserved as much applause as he got for the content. Perhaps he deserved more spontaneous applause than his jokes achieved — he had to chide the MPs. And yet if the comments of intelligent and educated young people are anything to go by, I have some real […]
2010
Posted inNews/Politics
Invictus: Hollywood pretends to learn from Mandela
Since its release last December Invictus has caused quite a stir among American movie-goers, garnering relatively high reviews from critics, bagging third place among box-office openers, taking home a series of award nominations, and — perhaps most importantly — winning airtime on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show. But while director Clint Eastwood’s successes with this […]
Posted inGeneral
The politics of hypocrisy
Common consensus appears to exist that men (and women) in all circumstances are naturally disposed to duplicity, dishonesty, hypocrisy and corruption; that those with greater prominence almost always reflect the vices and virtues of society in which they exist. Their pursuit and preservation of power in all spheres of life is characterised by the shameful […]
Posted inGeneral
Loving differently
By Mncedisi Mashigoane “Liberated” men who subscribe to the feminist and Western notions of gender equality and women’s emancipation have been agonising about the tame reaction to old Jacob’s latest sexual scandal. They have lamented the insincerity of his apology moving for his resignation for sexual indiscretion. They have called for the nation to rise […]
Posted inBusiness
Say hello to the bad guy, your benefactor
“What you lookin’ at? You all a bunch of fuckin’ a**holes. You know why? You don’t have the guts to be what you wanna be? You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your f*ckin’ fingers and say, ‘That’s the bad guy’. So … what does that make you? […]
Posted inGeneral
Duminy’s career at a dangerous crossroad
I write this as South Africa do their damnedest to avoid defeat in Kolkatta, with Hashim Amla showing insane form and being backed up by Wayne Parnell, who we all suspected could bat a bit. Fingers crossed on that one … oh shit … nevermind. Parnell has just been dismissed. The Proteas are toast it […]
Posted inGeneral
Could the World Cup hasten Mugabe’s exit?
With less than four months remaining before the 2010 World Cup gets underway, South Africa’s neighbours are finalising their preparations to ensure they are part and parcel of the biggest event of any kind to occur on the continent. Sadly, Zimbabwe has, for the most part, been excluded from the party thanks to years of […]
Posted inGeneral
Afrophobes, go home!
I’ve been thinking recently about the British law which allows that government to deport foreigners it deems to be guilty of hate speech. It has been used to deport Islamist clerics it considers to be “preaching hatred” and also to refuse entry to a virulently anti-Muslim Dutch MP. The law has come in for a […]
Posted inGeneral
In defence of the ‘white liberal’
A recent column by the usually insightful and thought-provoking Verashni Pillay in the Mail & Guardian has caused something of an uproar. Her contention appears to be that white “liberals” (a term she uses to mean “people who don’t consider themselves racist”) are gross hypocrites who are merely in denial about their racism. According to […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Cope’s flirting with ‘imperialists’ and ‘white interest’
Recent utterances from Cope Youth Movement (CopeYM) leaders on a potential strategic cooperation with other opposition parties stand as a testament to a total lack of political education and complete ignorance about political strategy. Such unfortunate and lamentable actions will not only harm the prospects and interests of the broader organisation in the long run, […]
Posted inGeneral
Zuma remarks on FW are technically right but don’t tell the story
President Jacob Zuma’s assertion that South Africa’s last white president, FW de Klerk, was as much a conservative Afrikaner leader as his predecessor PW Botha is absolutely right. Both were born and raised by traditional Afrikaans families who believed in the approach of conservative, white South African politics. What distinguished the two from one another […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zapping the president and other dangerous activities
By now most of us have heard about Chumani Maxwele and his inability to keep that middle finger down. He was arrested and allegedly held for 24 hours because of swearing and making “rude” gestures at the presidential cavalcade last week. Basically he’s been arrested for something that many people want to do, talk about […]