Submitted by Carl Wesselink Dear Mr Zuma As an ANC voter and with the elections around the corner, there are a number of issues that are perplexing to me and to those of us who still think about political affairs and try to follow the facts. For the record, most of our friends, colleagues and […]
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Posted inGeneral
Nerves of steel, and a lack thereof …
Before the main event, just a quick mention on last night’s epic struggle for the last golf Major of the year. Sergio Garcia, in Spain’s golden year of sport, looked set to claim his first big prize, but that nerveless Dubliner that is Padraig Harrington obviously didn’t read the script. Thrice, he drenched in long […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Africa Addio: images of Africa are a contested terrain
Africa Addio was an Italian documentary shot in the 1960s that showed Africa as a land filled with savagery and ruination as colonial powers withdrew (by Jacopetti and Prosperi, 1966). The book that accompanied the film was somewhat sympathetic to the plight of Africans with an appraisal of the burdens and damage wrought by unchecked […]
Posted inGeneral
South Africa: Immense and imminent possibilities
Clearly, the weakening value system — manifesting itself in many appalling ways and propelled by various intricate factors — in our society is straining our social fabric and could end up reversing gains made thus far. It is in times like these that some readily invoke WB Yeats’s most quoted line: “Things fall apart, the […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
Would you miss TV?
This weekend, I moved from my zhoozh fully furnished apartment with jaw-droppingly amazing view of the Sydney harbour (to go with discounted R4 500 weekly rent) to a slightly less expensive, less zhoozh apartment with a slightly less spectacular view of Mosman Bay marina. It was a painful experience, largely because I moved my worldly goods […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Arms deal: Is there something more important than the truth?
The controversial arms deal has come back to life again over the past few weeks like those trick birthday candles your parents repeatedly used to humiliate you as a kid. Thanks to the latest Sunday Times exposé, and the refrain in this week’s M&G, it is again top-of-mind, crawling around the Talk Radio 702 phone-in […]
Posted inGeneral
The revolution must come full circle
Submitted by Garikai Nyaruwata revolution noun [C] a deep-seated change in method of thinking often designed to effect fundamental changes in the political and socioeconomic situation. Earlier this year the University of Cape Town ANC Youth League distributed a number of posters on campus containing a treatise in commemoration of Chris Hani. A substantive portion […]
Posted inBusiness
Arts can help business training get a standing ovation
The creative arts and power of today’s multimedia technology are emerging as new tools for achieving business success, particularly in the realm of skills development where it is being applied in inventive and fresh ways to help enhance teamwork, improve decision-making and boost productivity. Using the input of artists, graphic designers, movie makers, cartoonists, theatre […]
Posted inGeneral
A dialogue of chameleons?
My view is that politicians are like chameleons: they change their skin colour depending on the environment that they want to adapt to. This is the case today as it was yesterday, with Zimbabwean politicians from all political formations. Suddenly Zanu-PF and the MDC are bed-fellows; they can together mislead the media, agree to media […]
Posted inGeneral
A slice for everyone?
Throughout this land and much of the sub-continent, ordinary people are hoping to cash in on the world’s biggest single-code sporting event. But four years after South Africa was granted the rights to host the 2010 World Cup, it is still unclear how a tournament that promises to generate billions of rands will help the […]
Posted inGeneral
Preparing to be awe-inspired at the Olympics
If watching the Olympics means enjoying events that blow you away because of the sheer athleticism, immense control, strength and amazing agility exhibited by the participants, then don’t miss the synchronised swimming, particularly the team competition. I’ve heard the arguments that synchro shouldn’t be at the Olympics because it isn’t a true “sport”. I counter […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Election 2009: Free-speech tonic or Kill Bill II?
In his address to students at the University of the Witwatersrand, the South African Human Rights Commission’s Jody Kollapen said that South Africans must prepare themselves for speech that will shock, disturb and offend them. “We’re going to find robust contestation around ideas,” Kollapen said. Cautioning the public against merely calling for this speech to […]