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News & Views by Terry Bell
Browsing All Posts filed under »Commentary«
Discussing The Spear and satire
June 3, 2012
Her is a contribution to a better understanding of the row over the satirical artwork, The Spear, that has dominated discourse in South Africa over recent weeks.
Fact, fiction, subsidies & jobless youth
May 20, 2012
Facts, fictions and often emotional assumptions pepper the current intense debate in South Africa about a youth wage subsidy. But there is one fact about which all parties agree: there is a massive problem of youth unemployment. Millions of young men and women between the ages of 18 and 25 simply do not have jobs; they also happen to constitute a potentially crucial voting bloc in any future election.
Holistic change that is needed — globally
January 10, 2012
This was first posted in January 2012, and has been edited slightly to bring some references up to date. Attention is being drawn to it again because the arguments raised seem even more pertinent now, especially in South Africa, a country that possesses a Bill of Rights that provides a potential — truly democratic — […]
ANC concern follows Zambian poll victory
December 2, 2011
The victory of the Patriotic Front in Zambia’s recent election has sent more than a frisson of concern through South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC). It has heightened an awareness among ANC politicians that they may not be in power forever.
A call to resist the secrecy law
November 21, 2011
November 22, 2011, has been dubbed “Black Tuesday” in South Africa. This is the day the Protection of State Information Bill went before parliament on its way to being rubber stamped into a law that all principled journalists worth their salt will do everything to circumvent. And, courtesy of the nature of the internet, they will be able to do so.
A tangled web of race classification
October 30, 2011
South Africa’s 2011 census, bar the tallying, the number crunching and a few follow-ups, is over. And there were remarkably few difficulties encountered although, being South Africa, the question of race was once again raised — and it highlighted some peculiarly South African problems.
Secrecy: a poison to democracy
September 22, 2011
Secrets often leak into the public domain. In the process they can become distorted and those in the know can also use them to gain favours or protection — to blackmail and manipulate. However, there are two kinds of secret: one that should be eradicated as vigorously as possible and the other which perhaps cannot — and certainly should not — be tampered with.
Terry Bell Writes 
The Spear a Dick — and understanding satire
July 7, 2012
6
First we had the Spear, a painting by Brett Murray. Now we have the Dick, a cartoon by Jonathan — Zapiro — Shapiro. And this satire of a genital nature has, in both cases, caused the same polarised reaction: support or amused indifference on one side; expressions of outrage on the other.