General

There is unanimous agreement that South Africa’s education is in crisis. What we can’t agree on is how to fix it. It seems that everyone has their two cents’ worth of wisdom: “What we need is …”, “It’s time to …”, “The thing is …”, “You see, if only they had …” — we’ve become […]

Thought Leader has been a mess of racial attacks and counter-attacks lately. As Friedman said, between Eskom and Zuma some of the South African citizens of European descent have been granted a platform, or what they perceive as moral high ground, from which to launch their attacks on all African people and on those who […]

My fellow Americans … I know you may be wondering why I call you fellow Americans since I am not one of you.

The armed forces always believed that subordination of the troops to the command was essential. If there were strictly enforced rules of behaviour maintained, then the soldier next to you would be able to rely on you performing according to drill during the times when the battle made everything else unpredictable. At what stage does […]

In an earlier piece — The changing face of identity — I reflected on the implications and possible influence, if not “effects”, of the social networking site, Facebook, on people’s sense of identity. At the time, Vincent Maher made an interesting comment on my piece, questioning what he saw as the implication that I was […]

There is an unholy uproar in the United Kingdom right now regarding comments made by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. Dr Williams unleashed hell on earth by daring to suggest that parts of Sharia or Islamic Law be adopted into Britain. For my part I believe that if a community does express a desire […]

When I was at senior school I chose to take maths and physical science as my main subjects. I only did this because this made me appear intelligent and gave me a certain status. It also gave me four years of total hell and agony. Science was not for me. My option otherwise would have […]

Submitted by Paul Colditz The newly elected ANC president kicked off the new year with a seemingly sensitive and important issue, namely to institute free school education by 2009 for learners in 60% of South Africa’s public schools for the full duration of their school career. This declared objective requires extensive comment. On the face […]

Submitted by Conrad Booysen A normal, run-of-the-mill Monday was turned on its head in one act of senseless violence that ruined the lives not only of innocent victims, but their families too. I was horrified to read of the cold-blooded murder of the Skielik residents shot like worthless animals, an act for which Johan Nel, […]

Is it possible that my blog “God save us from the racists” was racist? I don’t think so. If there are those who think so, let them convince me of that fact before I can retract. I stand firmly with my views. Interpretation of any aggressive act by a person of another race as racist […]

It is unbelievable that there are those that still view us blacks as kaffirs 14 years since the collapse of the apartheid regime; after what we thought was freedom. So optimistic about our non-racial future were we that Fikile-Ntsikelelo Moya even wrote a piece in the Mail & Guardian saying he wished for his child […]

On June 1 2002, Hansie Cronje, the former South African cricket captain and the man whose life had been destroyed by the King commission into match-fixing, was killed in a plane crash in the Outeniqua Mountains. My brother kneels, so saith Kabir, To stone and brass in heathen wise, But in my brother’s voice I […]