What you see may not be what you get
13 July 2011
Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right…
Aakash Bramdeo is a former colleague from e.tv news who moved on to the SABC before being offered the editorship of Post in Durban — which was the newspaper which published my first story back in 1980. Before accepting the job, Aakash picked my brain as to what he could do to make the paper relevant to a wider readership. "Get a columnist who reflects the audience you're trying to attract," I said.
Shortly after accepting the position of editor, Aakash called me and asked, "when can you start?"
"View from the Top" ran in Post every week from 1 May 2011 to 9 April 2014 (which coincided with Aakash's departure from Post to edit the Sunday Tribune).
Uplift the poor — with a free economy
20 July 2011
“WHEREAS it is the right of every person to be protected from fear, intimidation and physical harm caused by the criminal activities of violent gangs and individuals; …
So who is looking after the cars?
27 July 2011
Game! Makro! Dion Wired! Builders! Jumbo! Shield! Chances are that you, like me, have shopped in at least one of these branded stores over the past month.
Toss out the adjectives. Here's why...
3 August 2011
I have a particular sense of contempt for most of my colleagues in the media who by their sheer laziness and incompetence continually undermine the integrity of the fourth estate…
Pie in the sky? It's the price you pay
10 August 2011
In every economy, there’s a finite amount of revenue — the national pie. There are only so many slices to go around, and almost every politician in the world is concerned with how can one get a bigger slice of that pie for one’s own constituency.
You don't need a faster horse!
17 August 2011
My first car was a Peugeot 504. As a student with almost no income, I had to do much of the maintenance myself, including changing the oil. The drain plug
It's a blatant distortion of the facts!
24 August 2011
I am against the death penalty. I strongly support gay rights. I’m firmly in the pro-choice camp around reproductive rights. I’m an atheist. And I don’t particularly like Mac Maharaj. (We have clashed in the past, but that’s a story for another day.)
Ever wonder why Chrysler dumped Valiants?
31 August 2011
In about 276 BC, there was born in the town of Cyrene a man named Eratosthenes who made a surprisingly accurate measurement of the circumference of the Earth.
Hard to give away a dollar effectively
7 September 2011
I’ve always had a soft spot for Mpilo Desmond Tutu. I first met him in December 1981 as a young reporter at the funeral of murdered Durban lawyer Mlungisi
The most engaging raconteur I have ever met
14 September 2011
I first met Deon du Plessis at the Sunday Tribune offices in Field Street during the early 1980s where he was deputy editor. He was a giant of a man — I stand close to 6 feet tall, but he towered over me and was almost twice as broad as I am.