Africa is not a country: football and nationhood
I can understand why South Africans, and Africans in general, like the idea of one of “our” teams doing well. But it doesn’t quite make sense for me, as a football fan, to support teams simply because they represent an African nation, because there is much about Africa that is difficult to support.
Is Google making us stupid?
While it is certainly difficult to ignore the siren-song of the Internet, one of the possible reasons for this is something quite pedestrian: namely that we’re simply being lazy.
The vuvuzela discriminates against smokers
Arguments in favour of the vuvuzela seem to rely on little more than prejudice, as well as on a notable deficit in common sense. It isn’t at all obvious that the vuvuzela is part of our culture – and even if it was, it’s hardly clear that it should be.
2010 FIFA World Cup guide, part 1
The original text of this column in The Daily Maverick If you manage to steer clear of the earthquakes, festering animal corpses, and the hordes of disgruntled locals with machetes that the British tabloids warn of, welcome to South Africa. We hope that you will enjoy the FIFA World Cup, and that your favoured team [...]
The Internet and cell phone pornography bill
Difficult choices and their consequences are what we learn from, and removing choices can make children more difficult to protect – simply because part of what you are doing by limiting choice is turning adults into children, and thereby making your problem larger.
Recent comments