Jewish people around the world must, for the first time in the face of a global crisis, be smiling. For once they are not to blame and not even the nuttiest conspiracy theorist can draw a pretty little line between the Jews, China, bats and a global pandemic. But then, nutty doesn’t even begin to […]
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Posted inGeneral
A doctor who thinks holistically about Covid-19
We humans are all too inclined to think of effects as being the result of simple, linear causal chains
Posted inGeneral
Insulted by salt
On my daily brisk autumnal walk to the shops this morning with This Charming Man bouncing around the insides of my head, creating a sense of pleasure and introspection, two things struck me. Firstly, Morrisey’s poignant, intelligent and exposing lyrics on gay culture in the 80s are sublime: “Punctured bicycle, On a hillside desolate, Will […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Coronovirus, meaningless numbers, disaster capitalism: Oligarchy’s dream come true
Some corporates, some philanthropists, and some governments, the United States in particular, have a vested interest in a global pandemic — and the stats of infection rates and deaths are useful to them.
Posted inGeneral, Media, News/Politics
The power of words to show how South Africa is fighting Covid-19
News headlines point to the ‘facts’ that citizens feel in charge of the virus
Posted inGeneral
Elon Musk’s tirade against ‘fascist’ stay-at-home order is boring, childish and lazy
Elon Musk has made me angry. You know, anger, the prerequisite emotion of a fascist. And fascism seems to be all the rage at the moment. But let’s put my anger aside. After all, what is anger but simply a vehicle for expressing a more complex emotion or discontent. In this instance, the discontent is […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, General
Gender-based violence: The epidemic that will take more lives than Covid-19
The relationship between gender-based violence and the home in South Africa means that lockdown leaves women particularly vulnerable, yet the government has been largely silent on this issue
Posted inEquality, Health
Too little too late for schools facing multiple deprivation during lockdown
By Lehlohonolo Mofokeng When President Ramaphosa proactively announced a country-wide lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus and to allow hospitals to gear up for the inevitable onslaught, vulnerabilities that exist in our schools facing multiple deprivation (rural and township schools) were exposed. As the rest of the world has been brought to a […]
Posted inEnvironment, Equality, Gender violence, Health
Intersecting gender and resiliency – especially during Covid-19
By Amori Marais The grip of calamities is tightening across the world: Covid-19 is causing a global pandemic; parts of Australia are (still) burning; and war continues its reign. Additionally, there are individuals who, on a daily basis, are confronted with famine; drought; minimal access to running water; and other natural disasters, such as floods, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
What Ramaphosa announced, and what he admitted
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address contained all the usual announcements of new government initiatives, but was marked for what he admitted about the country’s huge challenges. This comes out clearly in a look at how this tough SONA was reported on in the media. The name “Ramaphosa” was mentioned 80 times in […]
Posted inGeneral, Health
Does homeopathic medicine work (at least for some people)?
There is a huge, and unjustified, prejudice towards homeopathic medicine in contemporary societies, and I suspect that it is driven by the financial interests of what is colloquially known as Big Pharma, of which medical doctors are the involuntary, if not unwitting agents every time they prescribe some or other mainstream medication. Don’t get me […]
Posted inEquality, General, Lifestyle, Media, Tech
‘Aquaman’ and American superheroes
On the way back from a conference in Berlin just before Christmas 2019, I was catching up on movies on Qatar Airlines — a carrier with exceptional leg-space in economy class, so I could sit comfortably, at least — and I managed to select a number of excellent recent films, including Marc Webb’s Gifted (2017) […]