Hillary Clinton will become the 44th US president on November 4 2008 and if she is wise and the world is fortunate she will select Barack Obama as her vice-president or appoint him to a senior position dealing with internal US policies. The world will shift intense and expensive efforts focused on HIV and Aids […]
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Posted inLifestyle
The corners of her eyes
This weekend I had two windows broken in my house. The first was a braaiing accident when, after a couple of toots, I stumbled with a plastic chair in my hands and two of the chair legs went through a glass pane. The second breakage was an act of God when we had some strong […]
Posted inGeneral
Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, al-Qaeda and a lesson for South Africa
Regular readers of my blog will be aware of my close affinity with the people of Pakistan, which initially arose from my contact with their cricket fans. What started as a fascination with their sporting prowess grew into an intense interest in all things concerning their country and the region.
Posted inNews/Politics
Just a ‘good ol’ boy’ from Nkandla
In December 2000, I stayed up every night watching CNN as the challenges to George Bush’s election never quite achieved tidal-wave proportions. They ebbed away when Al Gore finally quit. In South Africa people shook their heads: “Do the Americans understand what they have done?” Now the shoe is on the other foot. In December […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mine’s bigger than yours
The ego of a politician, I’ve decided, rests less on the size of the manaconda (as my colleague Niren Tolsi so eloquently describes the penis) than on the size of the convoy. For a full week now, we’ve been bullied off roads by minor pols with big convoys. You should’ve seen the dickheads on the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Now we know what we aren’t — but what are we?
OK, so we know now that we are not Zimbabwe. It will take a whole lot longer before we know clearly what we are — or, rather, what we are becoming. The key implication of the Zuma victory is, surely, the point made by some grassroots delegates and a few commentators this week: that it […]
Posted inMedia
Polokwane viewed from Washington
What does Jacob Zuma’s election as president of the ANC do for South Africa’s overall image in the United States? At first blush the answer has to be: “Not a lot.” The things he said at his rape trial, the machine-gun song and the possibility of him still being tried for corruption all figured prominently […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Where have all the fun ones gone?
Of course, now that the RPs (reluctant punters) have made their bucks on the Zuma pot, the world is abuzz with predictions. I made a cool R250 on a Zuma win — c’mon, at 10:1 it was a straight gimme! Anyway, with my new wealth, I went shopping at Northgate. I was looking for Andrew […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Today is the first day of our democracy
Today is the first day of our democracy. Polokwane has been seminal. The African National Congress is no longer an idealised liberation movement, but is now just a political party and as such it has to pull finger and perform. Effective work must begin to balance the interests of the rich and the poor. It […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Alea iacta est …
Now that the die has been cast — a predictable roll of the dice, mind you — all South Africans who care about their and the country’s future no doubt have something on their minds. For some, this assumes the form, mainly, of misgivings; for others, especially the poor, of hope. And if the impression […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Smut, sheep and airplanes in Polokwane
So, the experiment continues. The mad blogger is still walking around, looking around into this whole ANC conference situation. A while ago I entered the media centre to look for a space so I could pollute the blogosphere with the sulphuric fumes of my ignorant, pseudo-political observations. All I can tell you is that being […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Networking
I am bourgeois. There it is. Admitted. Along with my other big B friends and acquaintances, I trekked to the Network Lounge for “proper” coffee. “Proper” coffee being ground coffee, not the Ricoffy on sale at the student canteen next to the media centre here at the Limpopo University. At least I didn’t mutter “civilisation” […]