In 2005 I spent three weeks in China, attending conferences in Nanjing and Beijing, and travelling to several other cities. At one point I participated in a hike about 90 kilometres outside Beijing, in an area where the great wall of China is quite dilapidated, unlike in the more touristy areas. It was an enjoyable […]
animals
Posted inGeneral
Žižek and that strange animal, the human
A fascinating discussion of jealousy, fantasy, animals and utopia, by Slavoj Žižek — the “most dangerous philosopher in the West” (New Republic) — in Living in the End Times (Verso, London, 2010), helps one understand the reasons for our fascination with animals in their “natural” state. This fascination is well-known to most of us — […]
Posted inEnvironment, Equality, Tech
A ‘cyborg’ future?
When Donna Haraway published her famous (or notorious, some would say) “Cyborg Manifesto” in 1985, later included her book Simians, Cyborgs, and Women (1991), not to mention its many inclusions in various anthologies, she probably could not foresee its incredible history of influence. (For a condensed version of this, see David Bell’s Cyberculture Theorists: Manuel […]
Posted inEnvironment, Media
How the movie ‘Noah’ reflects our ecological failures
Most people who are familiar with the Old Testament of the Bible know the story of Noah, who was chosen by God, or “the Creator” as the deity is referred to in this remarkable film, to give humanity another chance. Except that, in Darren Aronofsky’s version of the story, Noah understands his task differently: not […]
Posted inGeneral
Saving puppies can help
The Ark Animal Centre in Fourways, Johannesburg, has made it its mission to rescue abandoned and abused dogs and then help find them suitable homes. The centre offers specialised rescue, rehabilitation, care and re-homing of puppies and pregnant dogs. On average Ark Animal Centre re-homes 50 to 60 dogs a month and takes in thousands […]
Posted inGeneral
SPCA paint can help
When Jody Yong went to select a dog from her local SPCA in March this year, she was shocked at the state of the facilities – both that of the staff and the animals who call the Springs SPCA their home. Even if it is only till adoption or premature death do them part. Although […]
Posted inGeneral, Health
The pet food multinationals that almost killed our cat
As a student in Moscow in the late 90’s, my wife Sonja decided it was time to own a cat. As a kid, her parents had always refused to allow a cat into their apartment. Now that she was 18, those rules dissolved and nothing could stop her. It was time. She hopped onto that […]
Posted inLifestyle
An inconvenient truth…animal cruelty is forever
By Steven Hussey There are few topics as emotive as animal abuse. The daily evidence I can see of this is no farther than on my Facebook wall, with people calling for the senseless nuclear obliteration of China in support of some powerless petition to stop animal cruelty in rural areas there, of dogs in […]
Posted inGeneral
Have rifle, will shoot
Visiting Konopiste Castle — situated about 40km outside Prague — is historically informative and interesting on one level and nauseating on another. Bought by Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1887 — yes, the same one whose assassination in Sarajevo in 1914 triggered World War I — the castle became far more than an occasional retreat for […]
Posted inGeneral
In praise of animals – our fellow creatures
Animals – and not just pets, all kinds of animals – do not enjoy the care and acknowledgement of being our veritable brothers and sisters, as living beings, that they should by right receive. This much is beyond debate. The obscene practice of killing rhino for the supposedly medicinal and/or aphrodisiac properties of their horns, […]
Posted inGeneral
Men, dogs, violence and fear
By Nadia Sanger The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) is a public hospital in Bridgetown in the Western Cape that provides services to sick animals. There are always queues at the PDSA; the staff are over-worked and the hospital is under-resourced. Most animal guardians who cannot afford private vet fees visit the PDSA or […]