(Fifth Column - A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group to which it is expected to be loyal... [source: Wikipedia]. The author of this article is a classic example of what a fifth column is and why I am ever vigilant and wary of them. This is further proof of exactly why I dislike some Coloured academics. This article was published on The Times website)

It was a long day at work and, as my car hit the home stretch, I longed for that cheap coffee for which I bear the brunt of jokes in our friendship circles.

I grew up on Frisco, and I see no reason to descend to the level of the new elites who can’t spell what they drink — things like skinny latte and foam cappuccino.

Negotiating the Brooklyn circle on the fancy side of Pretoria, I looked left and right and left again (just like we learnt in primary school), when a thud registered on the passenger side of the car.

(SAME, the newly formed lobby group recently sent this letter to the SABC. The organisation is first seeking consultation with the SABC board on this matter and pending the outcome...well, we'll just have to wait and see... - Ed)

The Chairperson
The Board: South African Broadcasting Corporation
SABC
Auckland Park

Dear Chairperson,

CONCERN OVER THE CONTINUED MARGINALISATION OF COLOURED SOUTH AFRICANS ON SABC INSTITUTIONS, FACILITIES AND PROGRAMMES

From the outset, let us state that we are well aware of the challenges faced by a national broadcaster such as the SABC, especially operating in a society as multicultural and heterogeneous as our South African society.

The concerns raised in this letter do not ignore the great strides which the SABC has made in delivering to the South African public a service which breathes new life into our constitutional objectives of equal representation, media equality and the use of media as a tool for social empowerment and change. It is the intentions of this letter to raise the concerns of the Coloured community as a collective as well as to seek an audience with the SABC Board and Management, and thus to begin a dialogue in order to find an amicable resolution to the issues raised herein.

(Hot on the heels of the launch of the Bruin Belange Inisiatief, it is with great pleasure that I announce the launch of a project which has been 1 year in the making, SAME. Read on for details - Ed)

It was almost 1 year ago exactly that I called a meeting in Coronationville, Johannesburg, to discuss a way forward for the Coloured community. Heck, I even wrote 2 lengthy articles (Where to from here (Part I); Where to from here (Part II) ) highlighting the need for a roadmap and a way forward for the community as we seemed to be in a dead-end and going nowhere very, very slowly. The meeting went ahead as planned and the outcome was the formation of a small, highly motivated action committee tasked with taking matters to the next level.

The team has been meeting fairly regularly over the past year and their (our) efforts have resulted in the formation of a new organisation. It gives me great pleasure to announce to you the name of this new lobby group, the South African Movement for Equality (SAME). Now, before you hurt yourself jumping to conclusions, take a few minutes to read what I have to say about this organisation, its origins and its goals.

(We've been hearing about the Bruin Belange Inisiatief for some weeks now. The organisation was formally launched at a flagship conference this weekend to much fanfare. Needless to say, this organisation has its work cut out for it and we at Bruin-ou.com are extremely heartened to know that there are others out there who feel just as we do about community self-empowerment. The article below is from News24. We'd love to hear your comments - Ed) 

Cape Town - A proposal by Dr Richard van der Ross that the Bruin Belange Inisiatief (BBI) (Coloured Interest Initiative) achieves bigger political clout by becoming a political party, was scrapped over the weekend.

Instead, it was decided that the organisation, the first of its kind in South Africa which aims at promoting coloured interests, will take on the role of a watchdog organisation. It will also attempt to make a significant impact on the policies affecting coloured people.

With Raiders Rugby already a very established name and rugby club in Johannesburg, it's heartening to know that management of Raiders have decided to extend their sporting success into other codes of sport, starting with baseball. Raiders Baseball Club was started in September 2007 with the aim of developing baseball in the communities with limited cost to children and their parents.

Currently we have approximately 100 children from surrounding areas in our team. The ages range from Under 12’, Under 14’s and Under 16’s and growing exponentially. There is a drive in progress of getting an Under 10 and a Youth Team together for the second half of the season.