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News & Views by Terry Bell
A tangled web in the nascent underground
(Also available at: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-09-18-reflections-of-a-wayward-boy-a-tangled-web-in-the-nascent-underground/) Were it not for the seriousness of the matters on the ground, the situation among the ANC supporting opposition in Johannesburg in 1962 could have provided material for a slapstick comedy. There were police spies, SA Communist Party and secret Trotskyist cell members all belonging to the same organisation. Linked to […]
Posted in: Autobiographical
Shorthand, flyposting & a lesson learned
September 5, 2020
(Also available at: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-08-31-reflections-of-a-wayward-boy-shorthand-flyposting-and-a-lesson-learnt/) Being white and male in the South Africa of 1962, I was doubly privileged. And I also possessed a degree of cheek that got me onto an all-expenses paid journalism course in Cape Town, effectively to learn shorthand. There I met up with some people who would, over the years, become […]
Posted in: Autobiographical
The global deficit is democracy
September 5, 2020
The stark, frightening reality of the consequences of Covid-19 and the reactions to it are becoming increasingly obvious. And no more so than in the estimates for the rate of unemployment in a country already recognised the world’s worst in the jobless stakes. An official level of 50% – half the adult population between the […]
Posted in: Inside Labour Column
Echos of Hani & the Broederbond haunt ANC
August 31, 2020
By elevating the tactic of principled unity to the sole principle of unity at all costs, South Africa's governing ANC created the malaise that is destroying the party.
Posted in: Commentary
A slippery slope to fake news
August 23, 2020
However apparently small the publicly promoted distortion of history it makes for the start of a slippery slope in this era of widespread fake news. And it aids the growing distrust of the media.
Posted in: Commentary
‘Ye are many’ — the basic lesson for a better future
August 21, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic and the responses to it, have highlighted as perhaps never before, the gross injustice and inequality that has been regarded as 'normal' until now. Time perhaps for the many to say to the few: Enough. It is a normal to which we shall never return.
Posted in: Inside Labour Column
A time for real reflection
August 10, 2020
(Published on Fin24 platform, August 7, 2020) The annual Women’s Day anniversary is upon us. Like other anniversaries, it can serve a useful purpose in reminding us of past events and, in so doing, help us to have a better understanding of where we are now — and where we may be going. But that […]
Posted in: Uncategorized
A call to clear the road ahead
August 9, 2020
We should honour the pioneers who sacrificed so much by ensuring that the road ahead is cleared of the clutter of corruption, bureaucracy and prejudice.
Posted in: Inside Labour Column
Terry Bell Writes 
September 18, 2020
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