By Lawrence Mashimbye The so-called “strike season” in South Africa is no longer funny. Day in and day out we hear one union after the other calling workers to riot. I know the complaints around conditions of employment and salary increases are pertinent and imperative, particularly in a country that survived apartheid and its bad […]
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Posted inNews/Politics
Libya: SA foreign policy has seen better days
By Francis Kornegay South Africa and the African Union (AU) have ended up internationally isolated on the issue of a post-Gaddafi Libya. This predicament was accentuated by Russia’s recognition of the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) on the eve of the Paris “Friends of Libya” summit at the beginning of September. China as well as […]
Posted inGeneral
The alpha male shouldn’t have to ask permission for sex
“Sue, may I slide my fingers over your crotch? May I squeeze your bum? Rip off your panties?” These are questions men do not ask, and should not ask, as women prefer the alpha male who displays confidence, authority, boldness to go where no one has gone before without asking direct permission … or rather […]
Posted inGeneral
The hysterical rape debate
By Justin Mackie In May this year Kenneth Clark, the UK justice secretary, while defending a government proposal to half the sentences of offenders who plead guilty from the outset, was drawn unwittingly into the rape debate. The proposal he was defending did not specifically relate to sexual offences but the emotive allure of linking […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The world needs a better moral compass
At the occasion of the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony of 1960 at Oslo University in Norway, in his acceptance speech, Chief Albert Luthuli highlighted a fundamental challenge that still confronts Africa that “our continent has been carved up by the great powers. Alien governments have been forced upon the African people by military conquest […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The media witchhunt of Justice Mogoeng cannot be justified
By Fiona Snyckers Some recent attempts by the media to condemn Constitutional Court Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng on the basis of certain carefully excerpted snippets from his judgments have placed me in the parlous position of seeming to side with those who would go easy on the perpetrators of violence against women and children. As a […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Does South Africa need Julius Malema?
By Jan Radley I was amused by the humour and irony in a recent Madam and Eve cartoon. The contention was that Malema is responsible for much of what is wrong in South Africa, a notion which was tested without success in the particular cartoon. One can only hope that the amount of publicity bestowed […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Goodbye Malema. Farewell Zuma
The 30th of August – 30 BC – is the day on which Cleopatra the famous seventh queen of Egypt committed suicide. Apparently, she deliberately poked an Egyptian cobra until it was so angry it bit her. In Shakespeare’s version of the story – Anthony and Cleopatra – Cleopatra died holding the snake that bit […]
Posted inGeneral
Mukwevho decision can bring some relief to gun owners
One of the most emotional issues in South Africa today is that of the licensing, ownership and disposal of firearms. The introduction of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 (Act) has brought with it controversy and resentment from the gun owners of South Africa who are struggling to come to terms with its onerous […]
Posted inMedia
Why does everyone hate Crocs?
Over the weekend, I did something completely out of character. I bought a pair of Crocs. Yes, really. I don’t care if you unfollow me or stop reading this blog. It’s best you know the truth: I spotted them in the shoe shop near my gym, and my mother has a pair and swears by […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Identifying the struggle for our generation
By Nobukhosi Ngwenya I had the pleasure of being in the company of a number of the country’s unsung heroes this women’s day. The Robben Island’s Public Heritage Education department organised a woman’s day celebration with a difference. They brought together the nation’s unsung heroes of the apartheid era — women. Their contribution to the […]
Posted inGeneral
The death of opted-in communications in South Africa?
The Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Bill is at serious risk of being watered down to such an extent that it is rendered ineffective and meaningless when it comes to preventing consumers from receiving email and SMS spam. The Bill, which has been under discussion since 2009, sets out to establish the minimum requirements for […]