Haban-a-killer, Haban-a-killer, Haban-a-killer … where is me glass? Sounds like a Jewish wedding … While Kobus Wiese was chatting to Corne Krige and Jeremy Guscott before the game, the butterflies were having a full go. Despite all the bravado I have to admit I was worried. That Argentinian scrum is lethal and so it proved […]
Michael Trapido
Mike Trapido is a criminal attorney and publicist having also worked as an editor and journalist.
He was born in Johannesburg and attended HA Jack and Highlands North High Schools.
He married Robyn in 1984 (Mrs Traps, aka "the government") and has three sons (who all look suspiciously like her ex-boss).
He was a counsellor on the JCCI for a year around 1992.
His passions include Derby County, Blue Bulls, Orlando Pirates, Proteas and Springboks.
He takes Valium in order to cope with Bafana Bafana's results.
Practice Michael Trapido Attorney (civil and criminal) 011 022 7332
Posted inGeneral
Apartheid impact: ‘Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious’
Oscar Wilde’s quote, which I like to qualify with Mark Twain’s “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” Expedience, however, usually dictates that we follow that which we perceive to be in our own self-interest. The masses are swept along, being driven by the few, unwilling to […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
O Eskom! My Eskom!
I’ve cribbed the heading off Walt Whitman, the famous American poet who lived in the 19th century, because he probably didn’t have much electricity either. In “O Captain! My Captain”, a tribute to Abraham Lincoln after his assassination in 1865, Whitman captures the mood of the American people — grief at the loss of their […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mikey Schultz and the section-204 indemnity
While much has been written about the sacking of the National Prosecuting Authority’s Vusi Pikoli and the indemnities handed out to, inter alia, Mikey Schultz, Nigel McGurk and Faizel Smith, one important issue still has be clarified. Regardless of whether you feel the Scorpions were right or wrong in handing out these indemnities in terms […]
Posted inSport
All Blacks suffering from IRB myopia
I was absolutely devastated by the All Blacks’ shock defeat against France on Saturday. I remember going to the bar for my fifth glass of champagne and thinking, “Isn’t this really all down to the IRB’s refusal to deal with reality?” Surely someone on the IRB board should stand up and be counted: Firstly, recognise […]
Posted inGeneral
Abyss
As a specialised criminal attorney, nobody appreciates more the incredible job performed by not only the police, but also by other members of our criminal justice system. Theirs, in the main, is a thankless task performed by, primarily, professional people under very trying circumstances. The citizens of South Africa are deeply indebted to them — […]
Posted inGeneral
The Bobby bounce
Bob Mugabe had a farm, then anudder and anudder, his fleece was white as snow — then he didn’t have an agricultural sector. So he called all his wise men together and requesteth (request — past tense, which is appropriate on account of Zimbabwe being very tense) how they could feed the population while keeping […]
Posted inLifestyle
Eskom II — This time with solar water heaters
From the makers of “Colour-coded power-shedding warnings R Us” in conjunction with Disney Channel and MGM we bring you the moving story (which you will be if this goes wrong), of a power company’s attempt to get everyone into hot water … or something like that. The technicians were shot on location. It all begins […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Jacob’s ladder
Regular readers will know that I believe the president will be regarded by history as one of our finest leaders. I’ve dealt with this in a number of previous articles that you can source elsewhere on this blog. While I disagree with many of Mbeki’s (ANC) policies and his approach to certain issues (as set […]
Posted inLifestyle
Is Craig Ferreira South Africa’s Steve Irwin?
Every family has its black sheep — in ours it’s my brother Darryl. While I was studying, getting degrees and following a healthy lifestyle, this lunatic went out and became the family success story! I mean, what is the point of killing yourself following traditional Western recipes for success if your own brother turns on […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mbeki: Constitutional crisis or leadership crisis?
Before I begin, may I just say that over my bank manager’s dead body will I be fielding questions on this one. Good luck to you, sir. With the president’s return from the UN, the issue of the director of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Vusi Pikoli’s departure — allegedly for obtaining a warrant against […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Saddam offer of going into exile in return for $1bn was rejected by Bush
The London Evening Standard is reporting claims that a month before the invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein offered to go into exile in return for a billion US dollars. The details emerge from the transcript of a meeting between President George Bush and then Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Anzar, held at the president’s Texas […]