Posted inNews/Politics

Marching left but walking (and talking) right

“History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce” is Karl Marx’s famous quote in his 1852 book titled The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon. In the preface to the book, Marx said it was his specific intention to demonstrate how the class struggle in France created circumstances and relationships which made it possible for […]

Posted inNews/Politics

Governing by deferment

South Africa recently celebrated its 18th year as a nascent democracy, and it undoubtedly has much cause for celebration. Then again, it has equally much to be concerned about. With one party governing in eight out of nine provinces, and another party governing a single province – the Western Cape – since 2009, one would […]

Posted inNews/Politics

Why I love e-tolls (and you should too)

CEOs are not the sort of people we usually pay much attention to. Unless you’re Steve Jobs, excitement about corporate reshuffling doesn’t extend much beyond the business community. Except when you’re CEO of the most hated organisation in South Africa right now. Then you become the top trending topic on Twitter and everybody is happy […]

Posted inGeneral

The politics of confusion

It seems politics has become nothing but a crusade in confusion, confusing the very same people who voted politicians into office. Politicians get caught up in the fruitless and wasteful game of politicking while bravely maintaining the lie that they are working for our interests. I must start by saying we need to understand that […]

Posted inNews/Politics

Crush Occupy Rondebosch Common

It’s been a glorious summer in Cape Town. The heatwave had one and all at swimming pools and beaches all over the Cape. Long Street was packed with clubbers and tourists from all over the world. Drinks flowed freely: Hennessy, Bacardi, Hunters, Carling, you name it. Sadly, it was spoiled by talk of our beloved […]

Posted inMediaNews/Politics

Does THAT poster get under your skin?

Let me state right upfront that I really do have better things to do than write about THAT poster. Four strategies (one of them for a campaign to celebrate our Constitution, which I’m excited about because it’s the closest yet I’ll get to putting the theory I explored in my thesis into practice). Various commissioned […]

Posted inNews/Politics

Zille’s war on the poor

By Christopher McMichael Helen Zille’s recent proposal that unsafe sex should be criminalised has made her look like a crank, a rare reversal for a political leader who has assiduously courted a glowing public image in the media, both for herself and her party. The DA is eagerly hoping that the civil war within the […]

Posted inLifestyle

No politics as usual

Here’s a question for you. When was the last time you heard a political hip-hop track done by a South African artist? I can’t speak for other genres here — try as I might, I cannot bring myself to listen to the entire ouevre of Locnville — but when it comes to hip-hop, I can […]