Blogger on leaveI will be on leave this weekend until the first week of September. My travels take me to the US, where I’ll be getting a first hand look at the traditional Labour Day start of the 2008 Presidential electioneering. If you’d like me to notify you when I’m back posting, please send an [...]
Zuma’s BrinkmanshipMy latest Thought Leader post went up yesterday, outlining the pressure being exerted in the Zuma camp to force an amnesty outcome: The recent reports of Mbeki’s alleged misdemeanours in the Sunday Times, along with the elevated rhetoric from those in the Zuma camp over the last week, have surprised and rightly concerned many. [...]
Get ready to know a lot about this manIt was revealed yesterday that the Judge to preside over Zuma’s initial attempts to get his case thrown out, and ultimately, to preside over any criminal trial against Zuma in relation to his graft charges, is Judge Chris Nicholson. Nicholson seems a well-respected pick for this critical [...]
Our democracy’s in safe hands…Many people have been overtly concerned about the prospects of a Zuma presidency, most notably because he is “beholden to his Communist backers” in the SACP and COSATU who, apparently, have led him to power. However, perhaps they should take a second look at the SACP’s communist merits, if their most [...]
Is it time for early elections?It does seem like a bizarre proposal coming from me, but I’m beginning to see the logic of staging early elections given the paralysis that is rapidly engulfing our Presidency and Cabinet. With Mbeki’s last remaining powers being rapidly stripped of him, and both his international and domestic standing laying [...]
The Silent War on Africa?John Pilger writes an interesting op-ed piece in the Mail & Guardian arguing that Africa’s position is being actively kept down by Western powers, through agricultural policies, arms trades and convenient realpolitik. It’s a well worn path this, and one which has to be balanced with the accountability and responsibility of [...]
Thabo Mbeki: Down and OutMbeki really has fallen on his own sword. A man once so respected internationally for his global diplomacy has become, in the world view, a thorn in effective diplomacy’s side. Out of the recent G8 discussions, there have been calls for Mbeki to be replaced by a UN mediator, and a [...]
Contrarians unite!The one thing I’ve loved about all the doom and gloom negativity that seems to envelop us every day in the media and around the dinner tables is how certain sage and calm people have responded with positivity and realism in the face of often hysterical pessimism. One such opinion piece doing the rounds [...]
Who’s got suggestions?One of the most frustrating things about the current Zimbabwean situation is that there’s no clear path as to what to do to resolve it. It’s incredibly difficult to isolate Mugabe without pouring more suffering on Zimbabwe’s people, regime change is not on the table (if only there was oil…), and external pressure [...]
