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/ 4 February 2008
Though it may be difficult to believe, the principle of accentuating the positive remains an important aspect of journalism. Yes, even the Mail & Guardian is sometimes guided by it. I accept that it is easier to apply to the sports pages (Buffoona Buffoona’s recent woes not withstanding) than to other beats such as crime and politics (I admit that the difference between these two often confuses me).
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/ 25 January 2008
Thabo Mbeki’s people will probably say they told us so. A Jacob just simply cannot be trusted with power. But I have a feeling that we have all been worried about the wrong Jacob having his hands on the levers of power, actual and imagined. And the power is slightly different to what the Mbekites might have had in mind as they made their way to and from Polokwane.
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/ 22 January 2008
Some of my colleagues have thought me rather odd because I do not buy into absolute right to freedom of expression. Apparently there is some code that requires that those who make a living by making views and events known in the media should believe they occupy a special place in the hierarchy of rights.
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/ 18 January 2008
Deferring to the wisdom of the native Americans, who counsel that before you criticise anyone, you had better walk a mile in his moccasins, the Mail & Guardian attempted to do just that with Jackie Selebi. We went shopping for the soft leather shoes and other goodies convicted gangster and drug dealer Glenn Agliotti said he bought for the police national commissioner (and his wife and mistress).
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/ 18 January 2008
President Thabo Mbeki arrived in Zimbabwe to push President Robert Mugabe and his opponents to sign a document guaranteeing free elections. Mbeki was upbeat on his arrival in Harare, repeating that he was certain a deal was within sight, but he found the two sides further apart.
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/ 24 December 2007
It was a casual chat with a colleague ahead of the start of a long weekend. I told her I would be spending some time at a drinking hole somewhere in Soweto. She pointed out that she did not like Soweto pubs much because they seemed too "nice". She preferred those of the rural Eastern Cape, crowded little places where people sit on crates and drink from 750ml bottles.
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/ 10 December 2007
Is it just me, or has it become fashionable for people who hold official positions to speak or write in their personal capacities, even when they are expressing views about the things that are in their line of work? This is completely disingenuous. On the one hand it allows the beneficiaries of such talk to make whatever capital they can of the pronouncements, but disassociate themselves from them if they find infertile soil.
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/ 30 November 2007
This time last year Muhsin Ertugral was calm and affable. He was clocking success after success with Ajax Cape Town, whose players he called his chickens — mostly because of their youth. It was around this time that he was preparing for the Telkom Cup final, the first of two finals to which he led his chickens last season.
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/ 30 November 2007
The CD Msholozi, by various Kon-shias artists, is not only a musical tribute to the life and times of Jacob Zuma but a competent artistic venture. Zuma is a complex man and the CD certainly speaks to the multidimensional nature of the African National Congress deputy president.
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/ 26 November 2007
The bigots never tire. For many years they have sought to justify colonialism and slavery in their noble quest to bring civilisation to the heart of darkness. Last week they were at it again. This time their target was Jimmy Manyi, the employment equity commission chairperson. The bigots accuse him of double standards because he works for a company accused of colluding in bread price-fixing.