Déjà vu — again. And of a particularly nasty variety too. After refusing to apologise for inciting violence by saying he’d “kill” for ANC president Jacob Zuma, ANCYL president Julius Malema promised not to use the word “kill” in public again. So, now he’s gone and used the word “eliminate”. The last time we were […]
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Posted inGeneral
Terror and cosmopolitanism
The work of social theorist Ulrich Beck (famous for his book Risk Society) on cosmopolitanism is a valuable source of reflection on the question, whether there can ever be an answer to the ‘threat’ of terror and ‘terrorism’. In A new cosmopolitanism is in the air (2007), Beck sets out to answer the question: ‘How […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Spare South African sport the Stofiles
Regular readers will know that I am a strong supporter of transformation in South African sport and vehemently opposed to tokenism. I have not only written numerous articles on the subject but also pledged the entire proceeds of my forthcoming book to transformation in rugby. The children of South Africa, primarily those in our underprivileged […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Reply to comments on human trafficking post
There have been several comments to the two pieces I posted on this space in the past week or so. I will attempt to address only two in this submission. Let me start by providing some information on our investigation into human trafficking, or a slave trade between South Africa and Mozambique in the late […]
Posted inGeneral
Who is responsible for our misery?
Submitted by Sizwe Nyenyiso There is no doubt in my mind that someone should take responsibility for all the misery experienced by Africans. Ancient history reveals that Africa was a harmonised and peaceful continent in the world, whose inhabitants hunted with bows and even wooden clubs. Many Africans sustained their living primarily through hunting and […]
Posted inGeneral
Can Western civilisation survive without religion?
When the churches were the primary disseminators of anti-Jewish sentiment, Jews presumably would have felt that the disappearance of the Christian religion would be a good thing. It is therefore a remarkable irony that today, many religiously observant Jews are viewing the disintegration of traditional Christian society with something approaching dismay. There are no absolute […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Traffickers in human labour: Slavery redux?
Almost 20 years ago I, along with colleagues from the Weekly Mail, Eddie Koch and Phil Molefe, investigated a case of human trafficking between South Africa and Mozambique. We found that African teenagers, some as young as 14, desperate to flee the carnage of civil war in Mozambique, were rounded up and “sold” to white […]
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The root of most corruption in Africa
Africa’s history has been history of suffering and the struggle for liberation and independence. The overarching problem with Africa’s struggle for liberation and independence from colonial and imperialist rule and exploitation has been centered on political liberation, without any emphasis on economic liberation. African countries gained their independence from colonial rule many moons ago; but […]
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Lords of the pace
I’d like to wish Kevin Pietersen all the best and a strong showing in the opening npower Test between England and South Africa at Lords tomorrow. As I say I’d like to, but unfortunately I’d be bullshitting the turncoat. For me an ideal return would be two ducks with lashings of dropped catches. He’d better […]
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My top 10 open source and free software picks for Windows Vista
Since this is my first post on Tech Leader, I thought I couldn’t go wrong with a top ten list. Don’t worry, I’ll try not to do it too often. This list of software consists of tools I use almost every day. Some of them are better than their proprietary counterparts, and others are just […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
Should South Africa be hosting World Cup 2010?
I read with interest Jon Qwelane’s article “Roll out Plan B, Mr Blatter” which is to be found on the News24 website. In it he calls upon FIFA president Sepp Blatter to use the alternative venue they have set aside for the 2010 World Cup, currently to be held in South Africa. Qwelane sets out […]
Posted inNews/Politics
South Africa: A developmental state?
Referring to South Africa and/or South Africans, Pusch Commey (in the July 2008 issue of NewAfrican) argues that ‘the trouble is with a massive psychologically-scarred population left behind by a psychologically-devastating system – apartheid’. This is probably one of the few very direct appraisals of the challenges that face us as a country and the […]