Tag: carte blanche

“How far is too far? That’s the question we ask in our “fly-on-the-wall” look at one of the many community crime-fighting units patrolling Joburg’s lawless streets. Their shakedowns and house searches would likely encounter strong resistance in societies not racked by crime and violence. In places like Vosloorus, though – where policing is hardly stellar… Continue reading Coming Up On Carte Blanche – 4 June 2023

“Is there a more appropriate – or more sinister – metaphor for the state of the country right now than a deadly cholera outbreak just spitting distance from the Union Buildings? Unless something more complex (climate change-related, perhaps) is at play, it would appear the dead and sick are victims not only of waterborne bacteria… Continue reading Coming Up On Carte Blanche – 28 May 2023

“In the early 2000s, I travelled to Baghdad accompanying a charitable foundation as it delivered much-needed medical supplies to a country in the grip of international sanctions. The group was led by an energetic and affable doctor called Imtiaz Sooliman, a devout, bespectacled man who spoke so quickly his words overlapped. More than 20 years… Continue reading Coming Up On Carte Blanche – 21 May 2023

“Hands up if you’d heard of Al Jama-ah before this year. I confess, prior to them becoming a type of mayoral conveyor belt in Johannesburg, I hadn’t heard of them either. Enormous credit, then, to the ANC, EFF, and Patriotic Alliance for recognising in this previously obscure political movement, with its dozens of supporters, a… Continue reading Coming Up On Carte Blanche – 14 May 2023

“A few years ago, I worked with a gifted ‘fixer’ while on assignment in Ukraine.  He’d expertly arranged three days of filming in Chernobyl, including an interview with a remarkable Babushka living in the nuclear exclusion zone. A decade or so younger than me with a wife and little daughter, he spoke glowingly of South… Continue reading Coming Up On Carte Blanche – 7 May 2023

“Like our viewers, the rogue lawyer fleecing the families of children with special needs filled me with rage. That level of depravity is difficult to fathom. Then, not a day later, the story’s producer is contacted by people wanting to help. And I’m reminded of why we tell the difficult stories and why we dare… Continue reading Coming Up On Carte Blanche – 23 April 2023