At first glance, this might look like a shameless attempt to gain reads by listing the hottest topics in the South African blogosphere right now. And in some ways, it is: you have no idea how motivating it is to watch your name slipping down the rankings on the Thought Leader home page. I may […]
News/Politics
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
In defence of Zapiro
At their recent national convention in St Paul, Minnesota, the Republicans were quick to blame the “liberal media” for many of the ills of society. So too were their supporters in the conservative press. In response to questions regarding the suitability of John McCain’s running mate, for example, Jeffrey Kuhner of the Washington Times — […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Fear the wrath of Helen Zille scorned!
In the movie Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino, Samuel L. Jackson renders with great fervour one of the best-scripted lines in cinema history: “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mbeki’s negotiations a tragic farce
President Thabo Mbeki’s latest attempt to get Zimbabwe negotiations back on track smacks of self-serving desperation — an attempt to salvage a bloodstained legacy and ensure an easy exit for the murderous tyrant he seems quite happy to consider a friend. Mbeki as a mediator has no credibility anyway. His antipathy towards the MDC and […]
Posted inNews/Politics
A bird in the hand is better than another Bush in the White House
The best thing Americans can do right now is to take Sarah Palin by the hand, lead her back up to Alaska and leave her there to frighten the moose population and send hairy lumberjacks running to their mommies screaming: “It’s horrible, it’s horrible! Heeeelp meeeee!” What possessed Republican candidate John McCain to choose Palin […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
The scourge of reverse sexism in South African society
Let me state from the onset that I’m not sexist. In fact, some of my best friends are women. Both my mother and my wife are women whom I respect very much. Let me also state categorically that I find nothing more deplorable than Neanderthals who believe that men are superior to women. It is […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Would Zuma and Mbeki factions entertain a compromise candidate?
When the ANC held its 52nd national conference at Polokwane, concerns were expressed that should Jacob Zuma be elected as party president, it might well leave national President Thabo Mbeki as a lame duck for the balance of his term. As it turned out, the ANC became divided into two centres of power — the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Reasons for doing business with Hugo Chávez
South Africa has strengthened its political and economic ties with the United States (US)’s nemesis in Latin America, Venezuela, by signing bilateral trade and oil exploration agreements. The policy maintained by South Africa has always been that your enemies are not necessarily my enemies. Former President Nelson Mandela made it unequivocally clear that South Africa’s […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Reaching the summit? Aid ineffectiveness
Over the last week, all hotels in Accra have been booked out and streets closed to the chagrin of local taxi drivers, for the third time so far this year. The High Level Forum (HLF) on Aid Effectiveness – the third in its series – alongside the civil society Parallel Forum which aimed to prepare […]
Posted inNews/Politics
A paler shade of white
I agree with John McCain that “we can’t turn a blind eye to aggression and international lawlessness”. There. I’ve said it. Bite me. Unfortunately, however, the Republican candidate for president was talking about Russia’s exploits in Georgia and not George W Bush’s foray into Iraq. Plus ça change … It’s a Thursday night in a […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The Law of Escalation — knowing when the jig is up.
So I’m watching the news last night and I see that the case involving Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata is still dragging on. What I found even more intriguing is when the newsreader mentions, in passing, that this whole mess emanates from an accident that occurred in January of last year. Okay, let me […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Cosatu’s devious incitement of anarchy and carnage
“This very weekend, I received urgent warnings that the ANC has decided to abduct two of my children and to kill them … it was a serious warning, urgently given … I don’t know the truth of it … there are certain elements in the ANC quite capable of such a thing.” Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, […]