I attended a TV talk show recently where they debated the morality of polygamy. I was on the panel because I had written a piece on polygamy in January last year. The blog got tongues wagging. It was subsequently, and maybe more eloquently, covered by respected social commentators like the irrepressible Ndumiso Ngcobo, among others. […]
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Posted inNews/Politics
Bye-bye Balfour?
MM died in August 2006. Four months before his death, as an inmate at Westville Correctional Centre (WCC), he joined 15 others in taking Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour to court. That case resulted in Balfour and others being compelled to take reasonable steps to ensure access to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment at WCC. MM only […]
Posted inMedia, Sport
Here’s to a great champion who deserves more fans
He doesn’t get a lot of publicity. When he wins, again and again, it often doesn’t make the papers. As an athlete, he ranks right up there with the best in the world. He’s earned over R7,7-million, but chances are that many of you can’t recall his name. “Let’s hope,” Charl Pretorius wrote recently, “there […]
Posted inGeneral
Joost a bit ticked off
When I got back to the office from court this morning I bumped into Joost van der Westhuizen, the former Blue Bulls and Springbok scrumhalf who was recently inducted into the Rugby Hall of Fame. Winner of everything the game has to offer, including the World Cup 1995, I was surprised to see that this […]
Posted inLifestyle
Why do we avoid South Africans?
I have just done a survey among fellow ex-pats of other countries, via email or on the phone, including those who are not in China. The question was: Do you feel, as an ex-pat of sorts from your country, that your countrymen feel you have “deserted” or “betrayed” your country? On the whole, to boil […]
Posted inGeneral
Ebook distribution and the problems of aggregation
The internet, and particularly the ebook industry, is littered with debates about aggregation and monopoly, and in many of those debates the two concepts are confused. Let’s be clear: aggregation is good, monopoly is bad. For instance, a serious discussion is finally emerging over the Google Books settlement, a discussion that recognises the value of […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Woes facing SA pensioners, the State and our responsibility
“Please, Rod, make sure you and Marion stick away enough money for when you are older. Promise your old mother. Believe you me, no matter how much you save, it just isn’t enough for when you are older.” In Shanghai I listen to my mother’s youthful, imploring voice on the phone half a world away […]
Posted inNews/Politics
President Motlanthe’s right to privacy versus freedom of expression
“Freedom of expression as safeguarded in various constitutional and international law instruments has been developed and expanded by the case-law and the doctrine of western countries and by the struggles of journalists in a dynamic and progressive manner in line with the liberal trends and ideas of democracy that have emerged during the years following […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Some thoughts on African representations in the media (foreign and local)
This might not be a topical area today given the global excitement around Obama and other developments in the continent. However, I have been hoping to put my thoughts on paper on African representations and interpretations in the media for some time now. The following are just thoughts and must be treated as such. The […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Should Mbeki publicly endorse Cope but remain an ANC member?
Imagine a scenario where former president Thabo Mbeki decides to announce his endorsement and intentions to vote for Cope but decides to remain a member of the ANC. I cannot imagine a situation that could rattle the feathers of some of the over inflated egos at Luthuli House more. Some of those egos are “too […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Black Zimbabweans cracking Shanghai
“Hey Rod … how you doing, man?” comes the affectionate voice at People’s Square metro. I turn in surprise to see Cleto standing there, that familiar, huge grin on his face with all the perfectly white teeth, a pretty black woman next to him. It is amazing how in Shanghai, a city of ostensibly 20-million […]
Posted inGeneral
On the brink of a 2010-induced revolution?
The international focus on South Africa’s preparations for the 2010 World Cup usually intensifies with major events – like the 2010 Preliminary Draw and the Olympic Games – or with key dates. And so it is with January 26, which marks the 500-day countdown to the start of the quadrennial showpiece of international football. It […]