General

Let’s face it: more than three months since its inception, Zimbabwe’s so-called government of national unity is a failure. This is a unity government in all but name. Oppression and coercion is embedded within its architecture, with the impotent opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) serving as little more than a legitimising mechanism for ruling […]

Since the launch of the iPhone, the application development scene for mobile handsets has gone ballistic. My history is most likely wrong, so don’t be pedantic, but Symbian and Windows Mobile drove the mobile application market with its Java and Win32-driven applications way way back in the day when phones first added cameras in the […]

“If you’re a university student and you’re not a communist, start worrying. And if you’ve left university and you’re still a communist, start worrying,” someone once told me. In my case, there was no cause for anxiety. At university, I initially drifted into a lukewarm flirtation — including a bizarre and mercifully brief championing of […]

Professor Pierre de Vos is an expert on constitutional law at the University of the Western Cape while Dave Bullard is a professor of street smarts from the university of life. As a huge fan of both I was intrigued to see the professor respond to David’s column on “The new media racists” with one […]

This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online: Was the M&G right to post the Special Assignment documentary on political satire after the SABC twice declined to screen it?

Early summer is starting to brew up a green foliage broth in Shanghai. I often stop and gape at the sea-storm green hues in the plane and bamboo trees now soaring up like Moses’ parted sea on the street-sides. Soon, many streets in Shanghai will be luminous, green tunnels. In a wet wind licking at […]

Gaming has a reputation as an activity confined to lazy teenagers and students who are not too fond of studying. This image is, however, changing with the average age of gamers being far closer to 30 than 13. A recent report by the US trade organisation in conjunction with the Entertainment Software Association suggests that […]

The British & Irish Lions landed in Johannesburg a few days ago and have been the most gracious, complimentary visitors. They have visited under-privileged schools, some by helicopter, to which they will donate funds and resources, hold press conferences and laud the South African players and coaches, like they were a travelling social side. Their […]

In the dead of night, the centre of Durban is not for the faint-hearted. Like many CBDs around the globe, criminals use the cover of darkness to operate. And yet, on the night of November 25 2007, Durban was one the safest cities on the plant. The occasion was the 2010 preliminary draw — Fifa’s […]

By Roger Diamond I woke up this morning and quietly got dressed in the darkness of the bedroom, with the still, cool, winter pre-dawn lurking outside. I walked through to the kitchen and effortlessly flicked on the light switch. Then, in the bathroom, with another easy twist, pressurised and purified water came flowing out of […]

Well, according to some, if I still have to ask the question of myself in an uncertain manner, then I am a racist. Or rather (notice how he hastily adds) I have racist tendencies I need to deal with. I could have just said I am not a racist as I abhor that character trait […]

Monday was Africa Day. It’s a bit like Mother’s Day — once a year we remember somebody or something that is always part of our life, but far too often neglected. Kaya FM played more African music than usual (apart from what Nicky Blumenfeld plays over the weekend) and a number of newspapers ran leaders […]