Long, long ago, animals from all corners of the earth gathered in one place for a big indaba. Conspicuous by their absence from the great gathering were chicken folk. As animals big and small made their way to the meeting place, chicken folk were seen making their way in the opposite direction to attend to […]
2011
Posted inNews/Politics
SA farmer loses Zim land-grab case
The Supreme Court of Appeal on Monday overturned certain parts of a North Gauteng High Court order granted against the South African government et al in favour of Crawford von Abo, a farmer whose land in Zimbabwe was the subject of invasions. “Von Abo is a South African citizen and businessman who held various properties […]
Posted inGeneral
When in doubt…reach for your phone
You sit down to enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend and at one point or another your friend needs to dart off to visit little girls’ room. You know they will only be gone for three mins but for some strange reason you think and feel as though those three mins are the […]
Posted inGeneral
The most romantic stories in the Bible
The first story is about Jacob. Now Jacob, son of Isaac wanted to get married. So he went to his uncle’s crib, who had two daughters. One hot. The other not so much. The oldest daughter was not so hot because the Bible says, “Leah had weak eyes”. I suspect she was squint. The younger […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Forgiveness in Afghanistan
Kabul airport was a run-down, high-security version of “Bloemfontein international”. It was dotted with military freight planes and helicopters, hidden behind concrete walls and sandbags. One’s baggage is scanned on the way into the country, the officials behind the counter eagerly confiscating the bottles of duty-free booze from Dubai. In the arrivals hall outside I […]
Posted inLifestyle
Dispatch from behind the Portajohn door
This morning I peered with trepidation from behind the Portajohn door. The signs were good, though I don’t think you want to know precisely what they were. For four days I had suffered the effects of some sordid little stomach bug, and on each day I had climbed on my bike hoping to finish another […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
SA woman found guilty of defensive homicide in Oz
Eileen Creamer, a 52-year-old former South African, has become the first woman in the state of Victoria, Australia, to be convicted of defensive homicide. Creamer had been charged in the Victoria Supreme Court of murdering her husband, David Creamer, and did not dispute that she had stabbed him in the stomach and beaten him over […]
Posted inGeneral
Diff’rent strokes for Muslim folks?
The Justice Department, when it comes to matters of the Bearded Folk, has the patience of Job. This, as the deadline for comments on the Muslim Marriages Bill has been extended — again. Not that this need to “allow for maximum participation” isn’t an admirable gesture. But the first draft was published 10 years ago. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
SADC’s Madagascar road map to hell
Geographically isolated and politically marginalised, the struggle of the Malagasy people against exploitation never manages to catch the world’s attention for quite long enough to make a difference.
Posted inGeneral
David Harvey on the recent financial crisis
In his recent book, The Enigma of Capital and the Crises of Capitalism (2010), David Harvey — Distinguished Professor at City University of New York and one of the world’s most cited thinkers — puts paid to any idea that anyone may have had, that the most recent global financial crisis, that started in 2008 […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Ballem needs all the support he can get
The decision by the Cape Bar Council — to request advocate Nehemiah Ballem to refrain from practising law pending the outcome of an investigation into his crude remarks to Western Cape High Court Judge Lee Bozalek — is hardly surprising. Ballem, while being questioned by the judge about his late arrival at court, replied in […]
Posted inGeneral
Lottery fund: Transparency, accountability essential
By Shelagh Gastrow The South African government has established two key agencies to support our civil society. They are the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund and the National Development Agency. However, their activities and decision-making lie in the mist of obscurity. Organisations are starting to call for greater transparency as it is unclear whether they […]