With the rest of the nation, The Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) followed the Life Esidimeni arbitration hearings with great interest. Considering the death toll is now believed to be over 140 and some patients still unaccounted for, these are indeed sad days in our country. At the same time it is gratifying to […]
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Hey Bibi, Hey Bibi, Hey
Hey Bibi, Hey Bibi, Hey! What do they Say Bibi, Say Bibi, Say? Oh Bibi, Oh Bibi, Oh! So Bibi, So Bibi, So? That you’re crooked like a question mark That you’re dining on public like a lark That you’re turning greased wheels for greased ends That you’re taking gifts from well heeled friends That […]
Please release Ahed Tamimi and Ahed Tamimi’s family
Office of the Prime Minister Israel pmo.gov.il United Nations Amnesty International Re: Ahed Tamimi Dear Prime Minister, My correspondence of 26th January 2018, 4th February 2018, 11th February 2018 and 18th February 2018 refers. Please release Ahed Tamimi and Ahed Tamimi’s family. Yours sincerely, Avishkar Govender Durban, KZN, South Africa [email protected]
It is time
The time, in the brief recent history of our country, has come for our country to wade into a foreign conflict, choose a side and fight, using our military, for that side. The time has come for our foreign policy to match our constitutional values, rather than the conflicted and corrupt, reflexive “Friends With All” […]
Literature, art, space, and the secret of life
It never ceases to amaze me that the arts – foremost among them literature, sculpture, architecture, music, painting and cinema – are able to capture in their respective medium(s) virtually everything that makes life worth living; in a phrase, the ‘secret of life’. My recent re-reading of all my favourite John Fowles novels is what […]
Language: An emotive issue
Why is language such an emotive issue? Primarily because it goes to the heart of what we are as speaking beings, as Jacques Lacan would no doubt retort. Language is what differentiates between humans and other animals insofar as it is a symbolic system where every signifier (word, image, or gesture) corresponds with a signified […]
Mangrove Jungle (Tiger) Survival Expert
The world has gone crazy. So what if a black African parent allowed their child to be called “the coolest monkey in the jungle”, in exchange for money. It’s their prerogative as to what exactly constitutes an insult. It’s not like the child was illiterate, it’s not like his parents were illiterate. That’s not even […]
John Fowles’ beguiling literary art
Undoubtedly one of the great exponents of the novel in English, recently deceased John Fowles, wrote novels that, in addition to gripping narratives, integrated many insights and elements from disciplines such as natural science and psychoanalysis, sometimes in such a manner that these elements functioned as drivers for narrative action. A case in point is […]
Two centres of nonsense
Now the drums will sound for Radical Economic Transformation from the Zuma administration, loudly, boldly, unashamedly and without distraction. What that means is that further efforts must be made by the majority of the polity, to provide the majority of society with the majority of the economy. Simple. This differs from affirmative action, which is […]
Part 6 of 6: Speeches
Today is the final day, a day made available to the Top 8 and the NEC to speak. They will speak carefully, they will speak responsibly and they will talk courageously. Don’t believe any of it. The last day’s speeches is a notorious opportunity for the Top 8 and the NEC to get it out […]
Part 5 of 6: Plenary
Today the big wigs will be reporting what emerged from the caucusing, making it seem like they care. The big wigs are just winding you up with some touchy feely nonsense to keep you energised about your homework to help achieve policy goals. They will spend the entire day reminding you that it is only […]
Part 4 of 6: Caucus
Now having established the leadership for the next five years, there will be pronouncements from the Policy Conference held earlier this year. More blah-blah-blah while the children starve. Posturing by newly elected leaders taking responsibility for the implementation of policies, starts the promissory ball rolling, “these new leaders will deliver”. Nonetheless this is an opportunity […]