This article first appeared last month in Alliance Magazine (Volume 13, No.3, 2008). Since its publication, I have received many requests to reprint it. The article has since appeared in other media houses. In order to get more feedback, I am reproducing it here in its original form. This article attempts to answer three related […]
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Posted inBusiness
On absurd predictions of a recession of the SA economy
The ailing US economy and collapse of leading financial institutions have driven global markets into a collective panic. The ills of globalisation are manifesting themselves in a most spectacular fashion. The interconnectedness of world economies is delivering not the promises of sustainable prosperity, but rather reversing the gains of protracted periods of imprudence. The price […]
Posted inLifestyle
A response to Ismail Lagardien’s “We do not have to apologise for not speaking ‘proper English’ “
I loved Ismail Lagardien’s article which was inspired by my innocuous – or so I thought — comment on another blog. I thought it was a compliment that he took to task my remark on using correct English. I laughed at the nickname he gave me in the commentary box when he replied to commentators […]
Posted inGeneral
Perestroika, SA style
After eight years of the theatre of the absurd ordinary South Africans generally welcomed Kgalema Motlanthe’s address to the nation as a breath of sanity. After the denialism, delusions and paranoia of the Mbeki era, simple commonsense and goodwill has rarely sounded so good. But while we count our blessings, a note of caution should […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
African artists glorify poverty for white tourist appeal
If you arrived at the Johannesburg Art Gallery today hoping to see the celebration of national progress and African achievement, you would truly be very disappointed. One of South Africa’s renowned visual artists, Kay Hassan, has mounted his latest exhibition titled Urbanation. This makes it hold the promise of a rebirth, a renaissance, a new […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Is Gwede Mantashe fit to hold office of Secretary General of the ANC?
The office of the Secretary General of the ANC has previously been occupied by illustrious men of unquestionable intellect and character such as Sol Plaatjie (1876-1932), James Calata (1895-1983), Oliver Tambo (1917-1993), Duma Nokwe (1927-1978) and Walter Sisulu (1912-2003); men who upheld their duty to serve with determined purpose of unifying the membership of the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
‘Die rooi gevaar’: the very antithesis of democracy
Following the first phase of the Russian Revolution, Josef Stalin (1878-1953) engaged in a systematic propaganda campaign for the consolidation of power and assertion of authority, as well as establishing a heroic image of himself through expression of most dissolute flattery and unquestioning praise. Stalin was presented to the unsuspecting masses as “man of the […]
Posted inLifestyle
Jewish reflections at an Afrikaner shrine
I had never been all that enthusiastic about adding Blood River (Ncome) to my tally of battlefield rambles, and certainly never envisaged being there on December 16, once the Day of the Vow and today the Day of Reconciliation. The famous Voortrekker victory over the Zulus on that date became invested with profound meaning by […]
Posted inLifestyle
We do not have to apologise for not speaking “proper English”…
Rod MacKenzie’s comments about the standard of English on Thought Leader (see the box, below) are well taken. It is, sometimes, difficult to follow contributions by bloggers and commentators, not all of which can be explained by actual language skills, or lack thereof. Some of it may have to do with a lack of reading […]
Posted inGeneral
Our time is coming …
The latest Human Science Research Council survey reveals that white South Africans are worried about the success of the 2010 World Cup. However, the survey also indicates “this by no means implies that they care less about hosting the mega event”. Furthermore, “at least 95% of white South Africans have consistently perceived there to be […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media, News/Politics
The threat of Indian globalisation
The last 30 years have seen a particular type of culture permeate the world. Driven by the microchip, fast food chains and David Hasselhof, this process has conceived an entity named globalisation. The economic and cultural mast of globalisation, (the naughty Americanised democracy-for-McDonalds version we all love to hate) has sown popular uprisings, iconic protests […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Liberal capitalists and the Wall Street bail-out: they’re quite clever, these people.
There are several questions about the proposed bail-out of the once most powerful capitalist institutions on Wall Street that have been quite bothersome. These questions are quite basic; they are shaped less by scholarly work or influence, than by a most basic perception of inconsistency, contradiction, double-standards and ideological bias on the part of the […]