When Jacob Zuma and his sidekicks departed for the United States (US) a week ago, we were told that the purpose of the visit was to further strengthen relations between South Africa and the US, and to discuss areas of further cooperation. What utter bollocks! Strengthening what relations? The ANC has no diplomatic relations with […]
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Posted inGeneral
The ebook scramble
Much of the buzz at Frankfurt Book Fair this year was about ebooks, and particularly the impact that the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader have had on that part of the industry over the last year. According to IDPF spokesperson Michael Smith, ebook sales this year are up 53% in the US, and for August […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
BBC’s Brand and Ross: ‘sfunny how low you can go
Two of the BBC’s superstars Jonathan Ross and Russel Brand have been suspended and their show taken off the air pursuant to a series of prank calls to Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs. This involved a number of messages left on Sachs answering machine, which suggested one of the presenters having had sex with Sachs’s […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Julius Malema and the philosopher’s stoned
With apologies to JK Rowling for borrowing part of the Harry Potter title I believe that the ANCYL president Julius Malema would be wasted doing law through Unisa when a degree in philosophy surely beckons. Philosophy is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as follows : “• noun (pl. philosophies) 1 the study of the fundamental […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Wolves in wolves’ clothing: SA security guards get police authority
I hugely welcome the decision to start giving security guards in Jo’burg the same status as police officers. If I was still living in South Africa I would be enormously relieved. The police force is hopelessly inadequate. This is not to say that many of the men in blue are not fine officers; they simply […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Would women really make better leaders?
All this publicity for Sarah Palin has got me thinking about one of the most endemic myths of contemporary (largely Western) political culture: the idea that if women were in charge, the world would be a kinder, gentler place. This is a load of bollocks. Look at Margaret Thatcher. The Iron Lady, famous for crushing […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mob justice: Desperation or anarchic lawlessness?
With The Honourable Nhlanhla Musa Nene’s struggles with gravity occupying much of the public consciousness late last week, (does that moment NOT justify this year’s licence fee all of its own?), you most likely missed the following story in the news on the same day: A man was killed by an angry mob in uMlazi’s […]
Posted inNews/Politics
On Cyril Ramaphosa condoning ANC despotism and defending Malema
It is deeply worrying when a person of Cyril Ramaphosa’s respectable standing appears to harbour personal grudges and allow them to impede his good judgement. Ramaphosa is held in the highest regard by a large majority of South Africans; to the extent that many were imploring him to avail himself for the presidency of the […]
Posted inGeneral
Motlanthe must use the carrot and the nuke on Mugabe
One of the issues I highlighted in my coverage of the xenophobia was the fact that lack of housing was considered a primary grievance among local township dwellers. They were of the view that local councils were taking kickbacks from exiles, mainly Zimbabweans, in order to obtain houses ahead of those who had been on […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle, Media
Black buying power, white business and the politics of Nelson Mandela Square
In 1988 South Africa saw the launch of one of its fashion boutiques — a man’s shop called Aca Joe. I started buying from it and was one of its countless African male customers. I don’t exactly know why. Maybe I was hungry for something indigenous, street wise, which was also classy and stylish. Not […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Who pays when the revolution comes?
Determining who is responsible for the most frightening financial meltdown since the Great Depression requires some clarification of the facts. The first is this: blaming America’s housing collapse for the crisis is simplistic and deceptive. The Economist reports that by 2006 the total value of sub-prime mortgages amounted to $600-billion. That total had probably increased […]
Posted inMedia
Memories
Today I’m leaving the Mail & Guardian Online. I’m moving to London, for the adventure and the work experience. Don’t worry — I’m by no means a disillusioned South African. I love it here and I will be back. For the last Between the Pages podcast, Tony Lankester asked me to sum up my 10 […]