We have all experienced this at one time or another. The moment of truth in a troublesome relationship. That pivotal point in time when you look into someone’s eyes or see someone do something in a certain way and you have a sudden, explosive intuitive insight into that person’s character. And, after months, possibly years, […]
2011
Posted inNews/Politics
What does Gwede’s Manuel-bashing mean for ANC members?
Dear Comrade Gwede Mantashe, In the current spirit of letter writing by members and supporters of the ANC I am writing having just read a statement attributed to you by the media, in inverted commas nogal, about the Jimmy Manyi-Trevor Manuel sparring match I’ve been pleased to witness over the past two weeks. I say […]
Posted inNews/Politics
A rainbow nation built on genocide
By Mario Olckers With the hype surrounding South Africa’s “rainbow nation” and the subsequent disillusionment with the blatant kleptocracy of a small, parasitic black elite, what has been conveniently forgotten and deliberately ignored is the slow genocide of the indigenous San peoples and their descendants in Southern Africa. Also referred to as Bushmen, after the […]
Posted inGeneral
Arsenal have only themselves to blame
Firstly, before Arsenal throw their toys out the cot blaming ref Massimo Busacca, they must remember they had 90 minutes in which all they needed to do was match Barca goal for goal on an aggregate basis. That is all. Teams often come to the Nou Camp with greater tasks than theirs. They must remember […]
Posted inNews/Politics
In defence of the youth fest
By Janet Jobson It’s a bugbear of mine that South Africans seem to have a very low opinion of our youth. We’re not alone in this. Young people worldwide, and especially in the developing world, seem to loom in the popular imagination as unruly forces that must be tamed: they are uneducated, violent, apathetic, materialistic, […]
Posted inLifestyle
Redefining the male species
Last weekend I attended a men’s conference at my local church, Rivers Church in Sandton. Every year, the church brings men of all kinds of background and basically tries to challenge them into becoming the best men they can be to their families, communities, cities and countries. The conference is called “Heroes” and this year’s […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Bigger isn’t always better
By Timothy Nast The argument that fewer, larger local municipalities is the best way to address service-delivery problems is just another way in which the ANC is trying to hide its inefficiency to govern and deliver services. Smaller municipalities are more in touch with their residents and can be held to account for their promises. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Notes on the revolution
It is intriguing that in the debates surrounding the ongoing revolutions in the Arab world, commentators have by and large ignored one of the most controversial post-war works on revolution: Hannah Arendt’s On Revolution published in 1963. Arendt opens the book stating that wars and revolutions determined the physiognomy of the twentieth century and constituted […]
Posted inMedia
How do we change a culture?
There’s been a significant culture shift in Joburg over the past year or so. Perhaps you’ve noticed it too. For the first time in my experience, Joburgers are taking drunk driving seriously. Suddenly, behaviour is changing and people who used to drive blotto without thinking twice are now signing up for taxi services. Why? This […]
Posted inLifestyle
Racism and other fluff obscure real issues
By Roger Diamond I find it fascinating that people are attracted to the bump and grind made about relatively inconsequential matters, while the real driving forces in our lives are largely ignored. The headlines are filled with nonsense about what some official in some arbitrary government post has to say about his own opinions. What […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Class and Jimmy Manyi
It’s, more often than not, a particular sort of person that says that kind of thing. I’m not referring to Jimmy Manyi’s comments about “coloureds” but to his use of the economic phrase “over-supply”. He could have been discoursing about barrels of oil, or bushels of wheat, or any other commodity but he was talking […]
Posted inGeneral
Why aren’t Lambie and Jantjies given space to grow?
Only South Africans would, faced with the prospect of having two genuine world-class pivot prospects, seek to align among provincial lines and do their utmost to tear them down week in week out. I am talking here of Pat Lambie of the Sharks and Elton Jantjies of the Lions. Ex-teammates at age group level, now […]