In Politics & Society, Hylton Taylor applies an engineer’s scepticism to global warming and the BP oil spill.

Our style columnist reports on London’s Fashion Week in her latest dispatch for What Kate Did, our regular roundup of fashion.

Akanyang Merementsi reviews the conman caper I Love You Phillip Morris in Life & Culture.

In our Creative Corner, check out Premilla Murcott’s poem, “What it Means to Look White?” as well as her self-portrait.

Our travel editor, Sarah Laurence, shares news about hippie tree planters from her base in Canada on her column The Globetrotter, and also gives the low-down on moving overseas. In the Creative Corner, also check out her photo essay on sun-kissed Cuba.

Share your comments on each post, or join the conversation in our Facebook group. You can email contributions to contribute(at)thesoapbox.fm.

Happy reading!

Read Tania Colyn’s take on the new Fugard Theatre’s latest play – The Train Driver — by the theatre’s namesake in Life & Culture.

Feel like some politics? Let Hlanganani Gumbi convince you why we should fight to preserve our democracy. Or, in our Creative Corner, allow Juanel Van Der Walt’s poster to “touch you on your studio“.

And when it’s time to escape, run away to New York with Sarah Laurence’s insider guide.

Lastly, keep fashion fabulous with your latest dose of fashion skinner.

Enjoy it!

It’s hard to believe how quickly it’s gone, but then time flies when you’re having fun. And what fun it’s been! The past 12 months has seen the launch of two new columns — What Kate Did and The Globetrotter. We’ve also introduced a whole new category — the Creative Corner — where Soapboxers are able to creatively express themselves. At the same time, we’ve continued to provide a platform for political debate in our Politics & Society category, as well as offer great cultural coverage in Life & Culture.

It’s time to celebrate! Let’s drink to a year of standing up and speaking out: please join us at 8pm on Monday 26 April at Neighbourhood in Cape Town’s Long Street.

RSVP on our birthday’s Facebook event page.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

We also have some very exciting news — we will soon be launching a new category on The Soapbox called “Creative Corner” which will showcase creative work, including poems and short stories (of less than 1000 words). Pictures and videos will also be considered. Pop through ideas and contributions to contributor [at] thesoapbox [dot] fm .

Don’t forget about our special birthday gift offer — every contributor featured between 15 February and the end of March will receive a box of Panda Global Protection antivirus worth R500!

Our contributing editor Lara Moses exposes Hermanus’s dark side with a shocking story of drunken brutality and police complicity. Jade Adami recalls her time in deepest darkest London, and discusses what lured her home. Alex Matthews, The Soapbox editor, writes about the DA’s Young Leaders’ Programme.

In a very exciting development, we launched our new fashion and lifestyle column written by our undercover columnist “Green Eyes”. It’s called What Kate Did and is a must-read.

Don’t forget our first Soapbox Session next Wednesday (7 October).

Rhoda Kadalie, the renowned human rights activist and controversial columnist, will be a guest for the first ever Soapbox Session Q&A at the Open Innovation Studio.

Rhoda, who has exposed corruption and scandals in her Business Day column, will be answering questions about politics, the elections, human rights, the ANC… and the questions she’ll be asked will be submitted from The Soapbox’s readers and contributors.

So, got a burning question to ask Rhoda? Send it to editor [at] thesopabox [dot] fm

Please join us on the 7th. It’s 5.30pm for 6; there’ll be a few snacks and drinks — and the cover charge is only R10 (to cover costs).

You can RSVP on Facebook by visiting our event page.

Place: Open Innovation Studio — 2nd floor, 27 Buitenkant Street, Cape Town

Time: 5.30 for 6. We will be finished at around 7.

Date: 7 October 2009

Cost: R10

See you there. In the meantime, happy reading!

Rhoda, who has exposed corruption and scandals in her Business Day column, will be answering questions about politics, the elections, human rights, the ANC… and the questions she’ll be asked will be submitted from The Soapbox’s readers and contributors.

So, got a burning question to ask Rhoda? Send it to editor [at] thesopabox [dot] fm

Please join us on the 7th. It’s 5.30pm for 6; there’ll be a few snacks and drinks — and the cover charge is only R10 (to cover costs).

You can RSVP on Facebook by visiting our event page.

Place: Open Innovation Studio — 2nd floor, 27 Buitenkant Street, Cape Town

Time: 5.30 for 6. We will be finished at around 7.

Date: 7 October 2009

Cost: R10

It’s going to be awesome!

In our Life & Culture section, Craig Prinsloo explored the moon’s impact on humans and our contributing editor, Lara Moses, reviewed the Grahamstown festival.

In The World View column, San Francisco-based blogger Charles Lemos looked at Nigeria’s growing Islamism while Khaya Dlanga waded into the  Caster Semenya controversy in The Guest Column.

We hope you enjoy this roundup of fresh views and voices. And we encourage you to speak out yourself: contributions can be submitted here.

Happy reading!

Lara Moses celebrates the freedom her forefathers fought for, recounting her celebration on Youth Day. She sees positivity in her future, with so many opportunities waiting to be grabbed.

Finally, The Soapbox’s editor, Alex Matthews, discusses the recent service delivery protests in an interview with Austrian radio.

Check out these stories  and more on the site, and don’t forget that this is YOUR Soapbox — so send in your rants/thoughts/musings to our contribution form or drop a mail to contribute [at] thesoapbox [dot] fm.

Enjoy!

After several months of fruitful collaborative development, we feel this will be the best way to maximise the impact, energy and creative potential of both brands.

We encourage you to also join the fashion label’s new Facebook page as well as our own.

See more details about the label in the welcome message below. Any fashion label-related queries can be sent to Dylan van Vuuren, Director of the SoapBox label — dylan.vanvuuren@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Alex Matthews – Editor, The Soapbox

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MESSAGE FROM THE SOAPBOX LABEL

Hey guys!

We’re über excited to tell you that we’ve launched a brand that provides the platform for self expression with clothing as the medium of communication.

We are launching with an iconic limited edition black t-shirt proclaiming your identity in a bold white print: “I Am An African.” The shirt is available in the form of a vest for the ladies (or the really buff Tin Roof guys), a crew-neck (the usual cut) for the guys, and a V-neck for both. These are stylish fitted shirts, so you’re gonna have to try them on for the right size.

Being students, we understand the financial situation, so we’re not going to exploit you or your resources. The vests go for just R80, and the t-shirts are only R100 big ones/one night out. This is a good deal for this whole recession deal. Btw, they’re also proudly South African, as are we.

Coolios, so go check them out here:

Website
Facebook

Interested? Sure you are. Send us a message, leave us a wall post or scream out loudly and we’ll get back to you. But please make sure your contact details are quite clear so that we can get back to you, otherwise we’ll just have to scream back.

Be part of the movement, join us. Wash your mouth out.

Big things happening, details to follow.

The SoapBox Label team.

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Jake turns to the situation in Iran asking why the gross violation of the rights of the Iranian people should be allowed to continue. Lastly, Alex Matthews, editor of The Soapbox, describes the massacres and forced labour that haunt Zimbabwe’s diamond fields.

We hope you enjoy these dispatches from young South Africans across the country. Don’t forget this is your Soapbox — so stand up, take a bow and submit an opinion piece on something you feel strongly about here.

Happy reading!