Gramsci shrugged. "Powerhouse Pat's call for censorship of Mxit and blogs was a bit over the top," he conceded. "There have been many recent discussions about ethics for bloggers, but to have a formerly progressive politician arguing for censorship is stretching it a bit far!"
"Perhaps," shrugged the Cow, "but that's a sideshow, really. What's of far greater concern is the substance of the allegations! 50 'prominent South Africans', we were promised! But reading through the list of alleged clients on the blog is like reading through a Who's Who from some small backwater! If the likes of Barry Ronge and Simon Grindrod are the best he can do, fame-wise, that's pretty pathetic!"
"It wasn't Barry Ronge!" insisted Gramsci, "It was 'Richard'. And don't forget Small James. He used to be famous once upon a time, if only for allegedly beating up his model girlfriend."
The Cow rolled her eyes dramatically. "Exactly! Once upon a time, in a land far far away. Next on his list will be some 70s NP cabinet minister and the Rosenkowitz sextuplets, with Glenda Kemp as an accessory, no doubt. Does he not get the point?"
Gramsci was starting to wonder if he did. While they might all be yesterday's men, surely they were still cultural icons? A dominee? A dubious cabaret performer or two? Some cultural figures no one had ever heard of?
The Cow sighed impatiently. "If you're going to do character assassination, surely it makes sense to go after someone that people might care remotely about? But I suppose by blogging in Afrikaans it was always going to be a niche market anyway."
Gramsci found the use of the term "niche" disturbing, given the content of the discussion. He changed the focus. "Do they have any idea who the perpetrator is?" he asked.
"Speculation has that it's Juan Uys again," the Cow revealed. "That guy seems to have more of an attention-seeking disorder than some of the first year bloggers!"
Gramsci paused. He was sure that Shathley was mightily relieved not to have to deal with this one.