Issues of human origins and ancestry have more often than not been coupled with, and clouded by, a battle of identity. The history of our species is littered with examples and madmen who have attempted to carve out a distinct identity for a people, and usually for nefarious reasons. The notion of a separate, “chosen […]
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Posted inEquality, Lifestyle
The F word
It’s 2011 and it’s hard not to wonder what happened to feminism? People, and sadly women in particular, are scared to label themselves as feminists because it is seen as outdated, and irrelevant. Feminism has become the official dirty F word for women. The world of post-post-feminism tells women that we’ve arrived, we’re here, we’ve […]
Posted inGeneral
What is a liberal communist?
Like all oxymorons, the oxymoron (literally:”sharp-blunt”), “liberal communist”, seems to combine the impossible. And yet, as every lover knows, Shakespeare’s “sweet sorrow” of Romeo and Juliet’s parting is all too real. So, too, the fact that liberal communists, who ironically call themselves by that phrase, are an all too tangible part of our world. As […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Africans are humans too
We are not all humans, Africans are! Thought Leader has, among many other brilliant things, provided us with a new brand of virtual stand-up comedy. The claims, rants and musings of many here are often laughable or hilarious. It has also generated a new brand of pseudo-intellectuals who by virtue of contributing here dare to […]
Posted inGeneral
A the day at the Ashes, MCG style
It was with great trepidation that I stepped upon the metro train at Malvern Station, destined for my first ever day of Ashes cricket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, known to us as the MCG, or to the locals as simply “the G”. I had been there once before for a big AFL game, but […]
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We are not all Africans, black people are!
Henry Ford once said, “You can have any colour as long as it is black”. Similarly, native inhabitants of Africa say, “You can be an African in any colour as long as he is black.” There has been a sudden demand for an African to come in a variety of colours. During days of slavery […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Where cultivation meets conflict
Part I: Farming in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region Producing enough food to satisfy domestic markets is a challenge that countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa face. But for places in Africa where conflict and war prevail, the threat of hunger and malnutrition is particularly acute. For many, the biggest obstacle is accessibility, as internal conflict often limits […]
Posted inGeneral
If extradited, Dewani faces judge not jury
One of the major differences between the South African and British criminal justice systems is the absence of a jury. In South Africa there is no option, as accused are tried before either a magistrate or a judge. Sometimes, in matters such as murder they may sit with assessors, but that is part of the […]
Posted inGeneral
Let’s talk about JC…
2010 marks the 60th anniversary of the death of Jan Christiaan Smuts, the JC I was referring to in the title. So far this event seems to have passed by with little interest in the South African media and society. For me Jan Smuts represents a number of things, but if I were to sum […]
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The language of globalisation
Japan is … well, different. Which does not say much, if one considers that the minutiae of experience make every day (even in familiar places) different from one day to the next. But the differences in Japan are palpable, albeit reminiscent of China, which I visited last year, in some ways. But only up to […]
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English football: Everything, everyone, has a price
The “roaring” 1920s saw the US economy explode in a manner befitting an octopus encircling an unsuspecting prey. Driven by Europe’s bankruptcy after World War I, the Marshall Plan ensured that apart from propping up capitalist states in the Old World, it allowed American industrialists to conduct business wherever they wanted to without their now […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Assange’s just another Zulu on the stoop
Julian Assange may well be a real life James Bond. His hair certainly fits the part, and his swagger is telling of a man with a penchant for the virtuously shaken and virulently stirred could ever dare. But it’s his decidedly Jacob Zuma air that is most striking. Yes, you read right. Take away the […]