In John Fowles’s novel, Daniel Martin (Triad Grafton, 1978), there is a wonderfully revealing passage as far as humourless politicians are concerned – the type that justifiably comprises the butt of comedians’ jokes. Dan and Jane (an old friend and one-time lover who accompanies him on a work-related trip to Egypt) are at a dinner-party […]
Hillary Clinton
Posted inGeneral
Trump’s America: No country for old women
I have managed a monosyllabic email and two cups of tea this morning. Typing this is agony. Now I know that the sun comes up and shines even on the day of the apocalypse. I didn’t know that yesterday. So this is a learning experience. Welcome to America’s 1948, where the sun is shining. With […]
Posted inEnvironment, General
Why one should NOT vote for Trump in America this Tuesday
There are many reasons why voters in the United States should not vote for the Republican candidate, Donald Trump, on Tuesday, November 8. These include the fact that he has, on several occasions, shown himself to have a questionable attitude towards women, and generally towards a variety of minority groups in America, at a time […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Is it time for a third party shake up in US politics?
By Caitlin Dean My husband got up on his soap box last week and now he won’t get down. He is angry, shocked and wants change. Why is he so rankled? Well of course, it’s this US election and more precisely, voting and what he sees as an unfair process. Dear husband’s frustrations with the […]
Posted inEquality, General, Lifestyle, Media, News/Politics
Was Helen Zille done in by her race obsession?
Helen Zille’s shock resignation as leader of South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA) has triggered intense speculation as to who will replace her. Given the party’s federal congress is less than a month away, palace intrigue dominates all discussion. However, most suggest that Mmusi Maimane, the party’s parliamentary leader, is the hot favourite to win. Zille’s […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Hillary Clinton: Lights, camera, no reaction
By Mphoentle Mageza In a recent controversy that played itself out in the media, NBC and CNN have backed away from projects about Hillary Rodham Clinton. Is it completely negative, rejecting her brand of feminism, as one may claim? Does it develop a positive tone, as Charles Ferguson, who was to have directed the CNN […]
Posted inNews/Politics
How the gogos got their groove back
It’s exciting enough to have me scrambling for the number of my old tailor in Oriental Plaza. Granted, those gigantic bib collars are a bit seventies, and the skirts are a bit mumsy. The hint of shoulder pad also needs to go. And that hat will never fit on my ‘fro. But the old green […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Licensed to kill: US soldiers in Afghanistan
My colleague Sokhu Sibiya recently said to me that American children are always taught from a young age in their living rooms that they are superior to any other nation in the world. She was responding to the discussion we were having about the recent killing of 16 civilians in Kandahar, Afghanistan. “They watch movies, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
But gay is a Western invention
By Matthew Beetar Wow, go Hillary Clinton! As a friend on Facebook said, “It’s about time that the world’s most powerful leaders started acting like leaders”. In her recent speech made before the UN, the US Secretary of State argues, in short, that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) rights are human rights, concluding that […]