There’s a trim, two-storey house at the end of a cul-de-sac on the East Rand. The facade is ordinary: railway house meets Boere-baroque. If you could see it, that is. The property is surrounded by a 10-metre high wall and laced with razor wire. Behind the walls, in the out-building, the world’s most wanted man […]
News/Politics
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Ctrl+Alt+Delete — resetting this blog
I let this blog space go dormant for more than a year. I let it “rest” for two main reasons. First, because I felt increasingly uncomfortable engaging in discussions on what was happening in South Africa, least of all because I have not lived in the country since August 1997. Second, because I have been […]
Posted inNews/Politics
No world peace until premium placed on humanity
In June 2006, The Guardian carried an interesting story about young and radical British rapper Aki Nawaz, also known as Aki-Stani or Propa-Gandhi. The story was prompted by two record label executives threatening to resign if Nawaz went ahead to release his group’s album, All Is War (The Benefits of G-had). The album itself was […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Fear in Afghanistan
I had moved to a new guesthouse which looked and felt like a death trap. I had to travel even further to work and the first morning, just to complicate matters further, there was a demonstration at the University of Kabul. We took a circuitous route to the government compound: up and down narrow alleys […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Freedom
A man cannot belong to an organisation and remain free. In fact, to be free, man must not only cease to belong to any organisation but organisations must be dissolved. This is a very complicated matter because for most people, organisations are necessary for discipline and order in society. When you think about, this explains […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Bin Laden killing: Hate cannot drive out hate
Today, many a young American found a new spring in their step. It is the bouncy step of patriotism and sheer euphoria. Seventy-two hours before it was their president who strode with purpose on the White House red carpet to deliver a bombshell of an announcement — the death of Osama bin Laden. President Barack […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Freedom of the African internet
Ahead of May 3 World Press Freedom Day, a new study of 37 countries gives the state of play for internet freedom in six African states. Here’s the pecking order: South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Zimbabwe … and Ethiopia. (Yes, there’s a place even more restrictive than Zimbabwe.) Although South Africa’s internet freedom leads, our […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
SA needs more entrepreneurs
In South Africa, the phrase “no quick fix” is often associated with the black box phenomena we accept when mulling unemployment — labour market inflexibility, competitiveness and regulatory reform are but a few. Small business development is another such a cure for unemployment for which there is — you guessed it — no quick fix. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Season finale — United States of Gullible
We open on a triumphant Saturday night White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Our hero, Barack Obama, trumps a toupee sitting in the audience with a birth certificate all the way from Hawaii. The toupee accused Obama of being non-American so we start the dinner with clips from Karate Kid and Hulk Hogan’s Real American song playing […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Foreigners beware, SA doesn’t want you
South Africa doesn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat. The Rainbow Nation, for all its colours, does not have a pot of gold for those not born here. I have learned this the hard way. My husband and I decided to move to South Africa one year ago after I was hired for a position […]
Posted inNews/Politics
No value for money in local government
The nett pay of councillors in Tshwane is apparently R18 000 a month, while their counterparts in Johannesburg and eKurhuleni earn between R13 000 and R14 000. If you live in Pretoria, Centurion, Mamelodi, Hammanskraal or surrounds, you put R36 000 a month into your ward and PR councillor’s pockets. Whether ANC or DA, in […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Freedom Day and Andries Tatane: Four countries, a killing and a wedding
As Andries Tatane was laid to rest by his Cope and other comrades, his neighbours, friends and family, the ruling party sent the MEC whose poor track record Tatane was demonstrating against, to speak at his funeral. This thoughtless act was a sign of our times. Symbols, whether relayed in the former of pictures, icons […]