In my short time in South Africa, few elements of US foreign policy in Africa have raised as much ire or confusion among the people I talk to as the new US Africa Command (Africom). Officially launched at the beginning of October, despite lingering scepticism both across the continent and in the US, Africom consolidates […]
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Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
‘The Springbok emblem must go!’
South Africans in general, black and white, appear to have an allergic reaction to change. While we all recognise and acknowledge the need to transform public institutions in whatever form to be reflective of the society they represent, we are quick to oppose attempts to move towards that particular ideal. The ushering of democracy necessitated […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
On divisive symbols in the new South Africa
It seems that every other week we are confronted with the reality of an ever changing nation. Summer rolls around, housing developments go up, presidents change, ministers and premiers shuffle around. “We live in exciting times” is a refrain I’ve heard often over the course of the past two months. And every so often, in […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zuma and Lekota a catalyst for positive change?
The time has come for the ANC to abandon finally the mentality of the liberation movement and become the government of the people of South Africa. Accept that all this talk of divorce and dissention is a blessing in disguise rather than the straw that finally broke the camel’s back. The Zuma trial with all […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Thinking the unthinkable: Beyond the ANC
Submitted by Marius Redelinghuys For many, including myself, it is very difficult to imagine any other political home outside or beyond the African National Congress. This is particularly difficult to imagine as the ruling party has often been seen as the “natural party” of the people as it fought against the oppressive and exclusive apartheid […]
Posted inLifestyle
The Friendly City – wine, women and calm
I can’t get over seeing amaXhosa do manual labour; I just cannot get over it. To the Sumo, a boitjie born and bred in the lush bosom of the KwaZulu-Natal’s North Coast and exposure to amaXhosa strictly limited to what I saw on TV (Government officials and celebrity personalities) and heard (through the folklore which […]
Posted inGeneral
The Springbok emblem controversy
Submitted by Patric Tariq Mellet It seems that there is a poor understanding of the history of the anti-apartheid struggle when it comes to the Springbok brand. It is the one brand of which all national groups may well be proud. Butana Komphela has asked for any evidence that evidence exists in history for such […]
Posted inGeneral
SA Rugby ambushed with the culling of the Springbok
One sometimes has to wonder, open mouthed, at the myopia of people within rugby administration and their inability to recognise how to be relevant in modern day society in South Africa and the rest of the world, especially when the game of rugby exposes the raw nerves and synapses of the nation. The obsessive, compulsive […]
Posted inGeneral
Jesus at Tops. Sanity is way overrated
Regular readers of this space are not in any doubt that the source of my inspiration is a brain that does not function too effectively. A mad brain. Today you will get a glimpse of just how insane I really am. Part of the reason I am struggling to keep up with the demand for […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Great pre-election party political adverts we’d like to see
It is becoming apparent that political parties will be allowed to advertise on television in the lead up to next year’s general election. While the SABC is up in arms about the huge losses in revenue that this might occasion we as South Africans must stand up and be counted. Demand that parties be given […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media, News/Politics
They love foreign awards, money and fame more than showing the human face of the African continent
Art must show Africa’s human face or cease to be! The common objection to the work of many African artists is simple: they oversimplify reality and dehumanise the African experience. As a result, their content is predictable and monotonous. In fact, it is not just an insult but, to a large extent, also a lie. […]
Posted inGeneral
The evil genius of racism continues to haunt our collective conscience
“Between me and the other world there is ever an unasked question: unasked by some through feelings of delicacy; by others through the difficulty of rightly framing it. All, nevertheless, flutter round it … How does it feel to be a problem?” WEB Du Bois (1868-1963) asks this rather difficult question in his essay of […]