February 2012
1 post
Waking the undead and other ghastly creatures
Phew! For a few days there we were in our sixes and sevens with this Mqgumeni story. First, we wondered, how were we to deal with a Zombie escapee in our mist. How far do his rights extend given our fears and suspicions. After all fear is our primary driving force; we pay insurance because we fear, we keep security guards because we fear, we stay in our lowsy jobs because we fear. And now a...
January 2012
3 posts
Andrew Mwenda: Whether it is in literature, philosophy, politics or art, there is very little output about Africa by Africans. Our freedom today is fought for by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, our press freedom is fought for by the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters without Borders, our civil wars are ended by UN peacekeepers, our refugees are fed by UNHCR, our economic policies are determined by the World Bank and IMF, our poverty is fought by Bono and Jeffery Sachs, our crimes are adjudicated upon by the ICC, our liberation is achieved through NATO war planes. I just wanted you to comment on that part of Africa that is happening today.
Thabo Mbeki: If I had the power, I would arrest you (loud laughter from audience). Of course you are quite correct. But I think part of what has happened is that the progressive movement on the continent is in retreat. That progressive voice which was trying to define where Africa should go died with the universities because of the manner in which the ruling groups in African countries acted against universities.
All sorts of people got into all sorts of problems and then came the end of the cold war, what this seminar is discussing now. First of all we had to deal with the reality of neo-colonialism on the continent. Remember the big debate leading up to the formation of the OAU, when the continent got split into two groups, the Monrovia Group and Casablanca group. That had to do with the same question you are raising. At least the Casablanca group was saying our independence must not only mean that we raise a new flag, we got to do something about our conditions and the nature of our relations with our former colonial powers.
Editorial responsibilities and manufactured...
In the scramble for stories leading up to the keynote centenary celebration of the African National Congress, a certain story appeared on the SAPA news wire and it was then published by different news organisations. When I saw a headline on News24 that read “Malema envisions white domestic workers” I took exception to it because I think it detracts attention from what was being communicated in the...
2 tags
“We must move past indecision to action. Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate...”
– Martin Luther King Jr
September 2011
1 post
Where German frugality meets Greek profligacy →
You know as a country these days that you are in some kind of financial crisis when Michael Lewis shows up.
June 2011
3 posts
Soul On Ice | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters →
Don’t expunge black identity →
Xolela Mangcu is on point here. The so called ‘transformation of the black electorate’ once again places the burden of society’s transformation on black people and absolving white people of the same responsibility, just as it happened in the reconciliation project.
“No nation ever achieved greatness on the basis of hedonism”
– Death of our Society - Prince Mashele
April 2011
3 posts
A Brief History of the Black Panther Party →
1 tag
Andries Tatane, a martyr for social justice
On Wednesday 13 April 2011, Andries Tatane, a 33 years old breadwinner and father for his family, was brutally murdered at the hands of the police while engaging in what is a constitutional right; to voice your opinion and to demand service delivery and accountability from our public representative in government.
Andries Tatane was a dedicated activist, he sought a better future for his...
“The same President Zuma who voted for the bombardment of Libya is now speaking...”
– Sunday Mail (Zimbabwe)
November 2010
1 post
2 tags
The face of white supremacy →
Andile on how Gareth is “normalising white supremacy”. A must read…
October 2010
1 post
September 2010
3 posts
South African, a watershed moment? →
Correct Link
South African, a watershed moment? →
An informative and thought provoking analysis of the strike by Leonard Gentle.
Mad Man on Fire
Apparently some deranged person in the US is planning to burn the Koran at some point this weekend. I am rather ignorant of the details of this sordid affair, and it is intentional on my part. I have avoided reading any piece written on this miscreant because I believe public platforms a reserved for the best in us.
Where I come from, his like (lunatics) are called maggots. We tolerate them...
June 2010
3 posts
Sepp says 'Collect that rubbish!' →
Why can we deliver on a multi-billion rand project called the World Cup and not on simple things like collecting people’s dirt on time?
1 tag
COPE President Lekota speaks
I have fielded so many questions from so many people saying that perhaps Shilowa and myself should step aside. I cannot speak for Shilowa, but let me speak for Lekota, and even perhaps for you, the ordinary’ South African.
People who feel this battle is about egos, do so at their peril. Those who urge me to “step aside”, need to ponder the following: COPE with all its woes and...
3 tags
It’s not Vavi but Mantashe they are after
The disciplinary charges that are purported to be brought against Zwelinzima Vavi are nothing more than a ploy to “smoke out” Gwede Mantashe and taint him as a “bloody agent” within ANC ranks. Allow me to elaborate on this and lay the basis for the above assertion. The ANC’s ‘prince in shining amour’, Julius Malema, was recently charged with bringing the party into disrepute. In the end, the...
April 2010
1 post
1 tag
On Terre'Blanche, fate and irony
Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. Words taken from one of my favorite flicks where Morpheus reflects on how the machines that humans were once so dependent on for survival are now on a war path to destroy humanity.
Everyone who knew the life Eugine Terre’Blanche (ET) lead and the beliefs he held, and the social dynamics is South Africa, would not have been far off in...
March 2010
2 posts
“The Commissioner went away, taking three or four of the soldiers with him. In...”
– Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
“In June 1993, [Peter Mokaba] was severely unbraided and publicly humiliated by...”
– Thabo Mbeki and the battle for the soul of the ANC? By William Mervin Gumede, page 43.
February 2010
1 post
January 2010
3 posts
1 tag
What I want to hear from President Zuma
The President of the republic is due to deliver the State of the Nation address on February 11. In his new year’s message to the nation, President Zuma talked at length about the importance of 2010 and highlighted the Soccer World Cup to be played out in June as the greatest milestone in our country’s evolution since our first democratic elections in 1994. I expect, therefore, that his Excellency...
The problem with celebrity activists
It has become a norm that any celebrity (actor, musician, athlete, etc) worth his/her salt should have a cause célèbre, and who can blame them, with the monumental failure of political leadership anyone who says something about what’s wrong with the world is alevated to saint hood by the long suffering populace.
Environment protection, global warming in particular, is the current discourse...
Darkie are lost (from White Wedding)
Elvis: use the map
Tumi: we're darkies, we don't need a map
Elvis: ya, and darkies are lost
December 2009
5 posts
Did South Africa abandon Africa in Copenhagen?
The news that South Africa was one of the ‘gang of five’ (US, China, Brazil and India) that ‘brokered’ a deal that resulted in the Copenhagen Accord could be triumph for South African diplomatic standing, or is it? For a very long time South Africa has positioned itself as a champion for African development. We have seen our presidents being invited to the G8 summits of the global economic...
“Comrade Tshabalala-Msimang was a revolutionary leader who immensely contributed...”
– International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane
“Let us use the death of Dr Tshabalala-Msimang as a milestone on our journey, a...”
– Thabo Makgoba - Anglican Archbishop. News24.
“You approve billions of dollars in defence budgets. Can’t you approve...”
– Lumumba Di-Aping, chief negotiator of the G77 group of nations at the climate conference in Copenhagen, putting a rhetorical question to the U.S. Congress.
Invictus: my foot!
The idea that a rugby match, watched by 50 000 priviledged indivuals, change our nation is nonsensical at the least. I reject this distorted narrative of our battle against oppression and continued transformation project.
November 2009
1 post
1 tag
Labour Brokers must go
Our constitution is based on, among other things; “Human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms”. These; human-dignity, equality, human rights and freedom are the rallying cry of the down-trodden, those who suffer indignity, inequality, violation of human rights and oppression at the hands of labour brokers. To that end, the labour laws were enacted...
October 2009
1 post
Going green to save costs
I received my electricity bill for consumption in September. I had a look at what was the monetary value last year and the energy consumed for the same period. Total energy consumed remained the same for the period, but charges have increased by 60%. With the proposed 45% increases over the next three years, my current R800 (which is excessive already) will increase to R2,240.
Now that’s...