Everybody knows the story of the emperor’s new clothes — where a vain emperor contracted two so-called ‘tailors’ to make him a new set of clothes, not knowing that they were con artists. By flattering the emperor about his handsome appearance in the supposedly new clothes, when in fact there was nothing, and assuring him […]
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Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle, Media, Tech
Modern architecture in Berlin
When one finds oneself on a busy street in modern Berlin — capital of a reunified Germany since June 20 1991 — it is difficult to believe that it has grown into this city in the course of seven centuries, at least as far as its written history goes. The latter records that in the […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, General, Health, Media, Tech
Walls and razor wire, or acceptance of different others?
Two days ago, November 9 2019, marked 30 years since the fall of the Berlin wall, and the irony has not escaped some people, that today one witnesses walls going up again everywhere. Nick Miller, in the Sydney Morning Herald (November 2 2019), for example, writes: Thirty years ago the Berlin Wall fell, pulling the […]
Posted inEnvironment, Lifestyle
Tasty, very tasty, indeed
Many years ago, while still involved with student politics, I tasted Lipton Ice Tea, the lemon flavour, for the first time. I immediately asked, “Is this available in peach flavour, and is this available in mango flavour?”. I was told that the peach flavour would be released soon. Immediately thereafter, I was asked what I […]
Posted inEquality, General, Health, News/Politics
South Africans should stop thinking in terms of race
It was with a heavy heart that I read the news, first, of Herman Mashaba’s resignation from the position of mayor of Johannesburg and from the Democratic Alliance (DA), and soon afterwards of that of both Mmusi Maimane (leader) and Athol Trollip (chairman) from their respective leadership positions in the DA, and from the party […]
Posted inGeneral
Inflaming emotions is art’s job
There has been serious outrage which has greeted an art exhibition which appears to mock Christianity at a KwaZulu-Natal school. A pastor in a video circulated on social media labelled the exhibition “demonic”, arguing that the paintings, some of which show cartoon paintings of Jesus Christ alongside a McDonald’s mascot, degraded Christianity. Other pieces of […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Equality, Gender violence, General, Health, Lifestyle, Media, News/Politics, Sport, Tech
An Invitation
Recently, I decided that I wanted to hold a conference to define a new vision for South Africa. The premise being that the old vision for South Africa, which was defined between 1987 and 1996, has in fact failed. I intended to invite every political party registered with the Independent Electoral Commission (and you can […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, General, Health, Media
Criminality of the brutal variety
By the term, ‘criminality’, I don’t simply mean the perpetration of crime, or criminal acts; I have in mind something far more fundamental, even primal, in the sense of that which remains behind when criminologists, sociologists, psychologists and psychiatrists have exhausted all avenues of causal explanation when it comes to the ‘grounds’ or causal antecedents […]
Posted inGender violence, General, Health, Lifestyle
Modern neuroscience-based therapies can help resolve trauma faster than ever
By Terence Watts Contact crime continues to increase in SA, up by 2.6% in 2019. Debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often the aftermath and it can be difficult to understand what’s going on, in order to help the affected person, despite this having to do with the way an ancient part of the brain […]
Posted inEnvironment, Gender violence, General, Health
I am an individual
I am an individual. I am a unique person. I am not like anyone else and I do not behave like anyone else. I am myself a singular being, and I behave like myself. My individuality is confirmed through the existence of my name and my date of birth. Theoretically there could be someone else […]
Posted inGeneral, Media, News/Politics, Tech
New walls in cyberspace: Internet shutdowns and authoritarianism in Africa
Cutting off communication has become a favourite ploy of some of the continent’s Big Men. Ironically, this harms their standing in the long term Although the Berlin Wall was toppled 30 years ago, new walls have continued to crop up around the world — virtual ones that block or limit internet access to avert political […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Health, Lifestyle
An open letter to my students: Cat-calling women is not okay
By Kerry Frizelle While I was lecturing, a female student arrived late*. As she made her way to a seat, another student cat-called her (a whistle). The female student was already conspicuous because she was late and the cat-call drew the entire class’s attention to her. It took me a while to process what was […]