I always get angry during the 16 Days campaign, it’s comfortable to be angry, to structure my protest and join with thousands of others in writing, meeting and talking about the problem. People just like me, who are passionate, concerned and vocal. This year my anger is turning inward and outward. Inward because I recognise […]
News/Politics
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Will the real celebrities please stand up?
I have heard people who watch too much TV and listen to the radio ask: What is a celebrity? What makes Pearl Thusi, Kuli Roberts, DJ Sbu, Khanyi Mbau, Kenny Kunene or Phat Joe, for example, a celebrity? I do not have answers to these questions but it would be helpful to look back to […]
Posted inBusiness, General, Lifestyle, News/Politics, Tech
Is the motor industry killing the goose that lays the golden eggs?
So there you are, an ordinary guy with an ordinary job who wants to buy the best car that you can afford. It has to be reliable and economical rather than have a “WOW” factor, so you’ve pretty well set your mind on a boring new 1.3-litre hatch for R160 000 when up pops a pristine […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
US journalists are self-censoring their work
By Brendon Bosworth This year, in the wake of Edward Snowden’s leaking of classified documents about digital spying, we’ve come to learn that big brother is definitely watching. As revelations about the National Security Agency and the US’s massive digital spying regime continue to surface it’s become increasingly clear that the majority of digital communications […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Time to put a cork in Australian hypocrisy
For centuries, white South Africans blissfully mythologised their history and the effects that their arrival on the southern tip of the continent had on the indigenous people. White Australians engaged in a similarly elaborate myth-making concerning conquest. However, unlike here, whites are a majority in Australia – the white Aussie extermination of the indigenes was […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Sanco must leave the ANC-led alliance
My mother introduced me to civil-society politics at a very young age. Throughout my childhood, she worked for progressive NGOs that tackled social-justice issues. It was when my mother worked as the communications support officer of the South African NGO Coalition (Sangoco) that my passion for civil-society politics was born. My first taste of the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Should Germany protect Edward Snowden?
By Christoph Tometten Asylum for Edward Snowden in Germany? The federal minister of the interior has ruled it out. But is it really impossible to grant protection to Snowden? A thorough reading of the law calls for a more differentiated answer. The asylum procedure is an assessment of whether an asylum seeker is entitled to […]
Posted inBusiness, General, Lifestyle, News/Politics, Tech
Goodness gracious! This Dacia is a Nissan!
So poor old Sydney Gordon (65) of Johannesburg is suing Nissan South Africa because he bought a Nissan NP 200 from them for R131 342 on February 22 2012 and a year later discovered that it had “Renault” stamped all over it. He must have gone to a lot of trouble stripping the bakkie to identify […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Dear President Zuma…
I hope this letter finds you in the best of health and spirits, after a restful evening, sleeping in your heavily guarded homes and state of the art security systems. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for my neighbours and I who were left reeling after a burglar scaled my property’s fence last night. On […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Hillary Clinton: Lights, camera, no reaction
By Mphoentle Mageza In a recent controversy that played itself out in the media, NBC and CNN have backed away from projects about Hillary Rodham Clinton. Is it completely negative, rejecting her brand of feminism, as one may claim? Does it develop a positive tone, as Charles Ferguson, who was to have directed the CNN […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Equality, General, Lifestyle, Media, News/Politics
Ms Joburg 2013’s most ardent wish
I claim I love Johannesburg more than anyone else on the planet. I was born here. I eat these streets. I declare myself Ms Joburg 2013 — for today (you can have it tomorrow) — and here, for my inaugural address, is my ardent wish for our town: On orders from the executive mayor of […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Face to face with democracy
Being South African forces one to reflect and re-evaluate, sometimes daily, how to identify, in some general and particular ways with who we are. Sum of parts, or a sore thumb, the nearly two decade’s span of freedom is a precarious space for identity. Too black, too white, not quite right, we continue to grapple […]