Every time I write about privacy and security on the internet I get a whole bunch of people who accuse me of paranoia. They maintain I am looking for conspiracy theories — if you have nothing to hide, then why worry who is following you on the internet? Besides which, I’ve been told, as consumers […]
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Posted inGeneral
Thought Leader and racial/gender representation
Before we launched Thought Leader, its management team got together to discuss the invitation process. All three of us would have been classified as “white” by the National Party government and, indeed, we have benefited from the fact our parents were white through our access to education during the transition phase from apartheid to our […]
Posted inGeneral
Much ado about … well, quite a lot actually
Spare a thought for the family of Andrew Olmsted. You may not know him, or even have heard of him, but you’re about to. This is what was posted on his blog site over the weekend: “This is an entry I would have preferred not to have published, but there are limits to what we […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
Writers and the fallacy of fame
Margaret Atwood wrote: “Wanting to meet an author because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like paté.” She continued by saying “that’s a light enough comment upon the disappointments of encountering the famous, or even the moderately well known — they are always shorter and older and more […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Jacob Zuma and the fair-trial conundrum
At about 4pm on May 8 2006, while Judge Willem van der Merwe was handing down a verdict of not guilty in the Jacob Zuma rape trial, I was waiting for a client outside the Carlton Centre in the Johannesburg city centre. The atmosphere in town was electric and even though I obviously knew who […]
Posted inGeneral
Another step into the 21st century
Towards the end of 1999, Time magazine published a special edition that looked ahead to the new millennium. Among others, it contained an article that summarised the projections of a variety of thinkers, writers and scientists approached by Time for their considered prognoses and expectations concerning the new millennium.
Posted inNews/Politics, Tech
Web 2.008
Here’s what I think 2008 holds. Because I’m an ignorant bastard who avoids newspapers and television and gets all my news from opinionated friends, my list can hardly be called well researched. Still, here it is. 1. Hillary Listen, whatever you may think of Hillary Clinton (South Africans, by and large, don’t seem to care […]
Posted inNews/Politics
South Africa — a worst-case scenario
Professor Steven Friedman, in his article on the potential direction of South African politics during 2008, looked at four possible scenarios pursuant to the charging of ANC president Jacob Zuma. Like his astute assessments at Polokwane, where his analysis alongside Justice Malala was most welcome, his knowledge on the mechanics of democracy and the South […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mbeki’s exit strategy allied to a tricky Zuma precedent
With more than 130 dead in the aftermath of the Kenyan elections and Pakistan going through a maelstrom post-Benazir Bhutto, it is in the interests of all South Africans that president Thabo Mbeki map out an exit strategy sooner rather than later. I am not suggesting early elections but rather a measure of certainty being […]
Posted inGeneral
2008: Nutcracker’s sweet or ballbreakers R Us? (Part I)
So don’t yield to the fortunes — You sometimes see as fate — It may have a new perspective — On a different date — And if you don’t give up, and don’t give in — You may just be OK. (Mike and the Mechanics, Living Years) 2008 may well prove to be pivotal in […]
Posted inGeneral
Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, al-Qaeda and a lesson for South Africa
Regular readers of my blog will be aware of my close affinity with the people of Pakistan, which initially arose from my contact with their cricket fans. What started as a fascination with their sporting prowess grew into an intense interest in all things concerning their country and the region.
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Zuma memes
In the US coverage of President Thabo Mbeki, you constantly bump into words such as “aloof”, “technocratic”, “professorial” and, with regard to Aids in particular, “eccentric”. These are strands of the DNA of the dominant memes about him over here. Jacob Zuma’s memes are still in flux, which means he still has some control over […]