By Sibonginkosi Hlabangana Some months back I took a trip to my home country, Zimbabwe. I had last been there a few years prior to this visit. As we neared landing, I couldn’t help but remember watching a documentary about some country where there was war, people dying, some eating tree bark and all the […]
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Posted inLifestyle
Hosting aliens
By Hansie Smit What a relief it was to see the UN appointed an official ambassador to take that first call from outer space. Mazlan Othman, a Malaysian astrophysicist, promised to keep her cell phone on 24/7 to make sure we don’t miss the opportunity to host an interstellar kuier. OK, so let’s assume the […]
Posted inGeneral
Waiting for the rains
By Isobel Frye Johannesburg is dry and parched, the red earth waits for rejuvenation and our memories turn to the brilliance of purple jacaranda flowers to lift our souls and fill us with wonder and quiet moments of joy. In the meantime, we continue to plod on in our daily lives. We open our papers […]
Posted inGeneral
What if Saru had fired De Villiers?
By Langa Sigodi From the moment that Pieter de Villiers was announced as Springbok coach in 2008, it was evident that win or lose, his tenure would be remembered for one thing, his race. After a dismal Tri-Nations, the calls have been loud for him to get the axe. After his performance review, he has […]
Posted inLifestyle
Happy Pride my fellow lesbians
By Mbali Toyana The Oxford dictionary defines penchant (n) as a strong inclination, taste or liking for something. My “something” happens to be women. I adore women. Passionately and indiscriminately. I love different sorts of women and I love different things about them. I love powerful women. I love sensitive women. I love them young […]
Posted inLifestyle
Ready, aim, make fire!
By Hansie Smit Heritage Day is around the corner and it’s time again to braai like our lives depend on it. That means buying wood, buying dop — some meat if you want — and making a fire convicted arsonists would envy. I bet some pyro-crazy angel in heaven lights a match every time a […]
Posted inGeneral
Disabled in an able society
By Michael Watermeyer To be alive and among other people means that we are subject to regulation. There are important rules which govern our interactions with others. These are social, administrative and economic rules of engagement in the home; in the workplace; on the street or in the shops; whether interacting with government, or institutions […]
Posted inGeneral
Journos too lazy to cover black opinion
By Cedrick Ngalande It’s difficult to get correct news about South Africa by simply reading the Western press. I have lived in the US for nearly a decade. Every morning I look through the press to get news on Africa. In those 10 years I have never seen a single news article that correctly and […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Not just SA’s media that’s under fire
By Levi Kabwato From a distance, the ongoing debate about the ANC’s Media Appeals Tribunal proposal seems unrelated to the discomforting comments made by Malawi’s president, Professor Bingu wa Mutharika, that he will close down all newspapers (read media) that report and continue to report that at least one million Malawians are facing hunger in […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The Constitution v the media tribunal
By Loammi Wolf The ANC’s mooted legislative initiative to create a Media Appeals Tribunal is undeniably causing a furore. That is understandable given the historic background of muzzling the media during the apartheid era. History has shown that authoritarian regimes often come about in a creeping way. Typical indicators are the following: First, the executive […]
Posted inNews/Politics
How I broke into Helen Joseph Hospital to see my patients
Never had I imagined having to break in and out of work. To understand the nature of this strike, you need to realise that a hospital has both clinical and non-clinical staff. The clinical staff are far more reliant on the non-clinical staff in order for the hospital to function in any capacity and to […]
Posted inBusiness
Are CEOs overpaid?
By Monde Nkosi Winston Churchill once claimed that all men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes. It would appear that we, as a country, are not wise. As far back as 2005 during a strike by the SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union, a placard read: “Sean Summers you earn […]