Explain this to me, Inter Milan and AC Milan, with their combined history of success and passion and pride, are more than happy to share a ground and stadium identity, but Liverpool and Everton cannot find an easy way to do this? Why? On its own, the argument about history and identity is a powerful […]
2011
Posted inGeneral
Our society of constant (self-) evaluation
If anyone ever wondered what Foucault’s description of modern, “disciplined” society as one structured by “hierarchical observation”, “normalising judgement” and the “examination” amounts to in contemporary terms, they should read Renata Salecl’s intriguing book, Choice (2010). Salecl provides a reconstruction of the social scene of today in which one can inscribe Foucault’s insights, in the […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Harm of a special kind
The worst evil in the world is not committed by the tyrant, the bigot or the thief; the gravest evil is that performed by those we should be able to trust, a person whose very title demands respect: daddy, mommy, priest, lover, teacher, boss, political leader, spouse. Hospital wards and institutions are filled with far […]
Posted inGeneral
Cell C Tour of South Africa: Stage 1
Stage 1 — 154km — Menlyn Park shopping centre to Montecasino Kristian House (Rapha Condor Sharp) enjoyed his time under the African sun when he rode solo to win the first stage of the new Cell C Tour of South Africa. The 2009 British Road Race Champion also took the leaders’ gold jersey. Returning this […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Dewani case: Torture claims misleading
The reports making headlines, both in South Africa and the United Kingdom, regarding the impact of the torture claims by two of the accused in the murder of Anni Dewani are misleading. Quite frankly, in Great Britain, South Africa, Europe and the rest of the world, police are frequently accused of torturing suspects into making […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The DA digs itself doggedly deeper
Despite a probably genuine belief in press freedom, the DA has an uneasy relationship with the media.
Posted inNews/Politics
Are we the ‘Germany’ of Southern Africa?
I have recently been doing some research on the concept of hegemony and the various theoretical models used in political science to analyse this concept. Without boring readers with the various academic arguments and their ideological underpinnings, I have been looking at the role of South Africa in the Southern African region and the foreign […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The revolt against the ANC
Much as the majority of those who bother to vote will vote for the ANC, there is an increasing number of members, supporters and sympathisers who are increasingly “gatvol” or fed up with how it does things. In fact, some people have threatened or chosen to refrain from participating in the forthcoming local elections. But […]
Posted inNews/Politics
A Protea Revolution?
President Jacob Zuma in an interview with Beeld newspaper published Thursday said that he is confident that South Africa would never become a Tunisia in reference to the ongoing service delivery protests. The president was quoted as saying : “I can tell you there will never be a Tunisia in South Africa. We have a […]
Posted inGeneral
What you can do about SMS spam
While email spam is very annoying, it has unfortunately become something that most of us live with. SMS spam on the other hand, while less pervasive than email spam, is often a very different matter, thanks to how attached we have become to our cellphones, many of us having them close by 24 hours a […]
Posted inLifestyle
Hofmeyr, Bloody Hofmeyr
Dear Steve You’ve been at it again. You’re saying that it’s hard not to be a racist because “the blacks” keep jumping over walls and killing whites and their children. You say that whites would never do such a thing. Then you used Bono to get yourself back into the press, even though you didn’t […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle, Media
21 activities missing from your timesheets
In the course of the jobs we do, a lot of us have to fill in timesheets. Billable hours are important, and HR needs to be able to track what you’re up to every day. Most timesheet systems require that eight hours be filled every day or they are considered incomplete, and, while it’s possible […]