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Continue reading →: Massive voter fright
I contrast voting experiences in South Africa and the U.S., critiquing political apathy and celebrity worship while emphasizing the need for accountability in democracy. Fear should burden public officials, not citizens.
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Continue reading →: The electoral cycle: a massive piece of poo…
I share my journey of voting after years of disillusionment, expressing skepticism toward politics while advocating for accountability rather than passive participation, highlighting the universal challenges within electoral systems.
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Continue reading →: Anemone
Like a sea anemone’s tentacles, the song draws you in, dominating your senses. It’s both depressing and exhilarating at the same time; the psychedelic beat is hypnotic.
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Continue reading →: Western Cringe Media Part 2: MediacideThe report highlights the term mediacide (the systematic destruction of the media’s public function). I’m certain it will become an important word in future legal proceedings to uncover “the abandonment of fundamental journalistic ethics” and the “assault on truth and suppression of freedom of speech.”
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Continue reading →: Western Cringe Media
Western media perpetuates narratives favoring corporate and other vested interests. The decline of reputable journalism is illustrated through an LBC interview.
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Continue reading →: Will they come back?Weeping is an anti-apartheid anthem written by Dan Heymann towards the end of the apartheid era in 1987. It was a moving response to the oppressive state of emergency declared by then-South African Prime Minister P.W. Botha.
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Continue reading →: What a time to live in?
A critique of societal ignorance and political incompetence, emphasizing our complicity in leadership choices and highlighting biases that hinder critical thinking and personal responsibility in shaping our future.
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Continue reading →: The writing’s on the wall…Which book’s world would be the absolute worst to live in? View all responses I could pick any number of dystopian novels, such as 1984, The Handmaid’s Tale, or The Hunger Games, that depict oppressive governments, societal or environmental collapse, or technological subjugation through media control and widespread surveillance. I…
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Continue reading →: The bonkers engineering behind South Africa’s new world recordHow a boat cruise in South Africa led to learning about the record-setting Sishen-Saldanha railway, where Transnet Freight Rail recently achieved a new freight train record.
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Continue reading →: Who would wanna be him?If you could switch lives with a famous person for a week, who would it be and why? View all responses What if I switched lives with an infamous person, if it’s all the same to y’all? Yes, you’ve probably already guessed: Donald Trump! It’s not because I covet the…
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Continue reading →: Nothing surprises me anymore
Imperialism takes insidious forms, but I haven’t come across a more subtle yet subversive denouncement of it in popular culture than the song Plus rien ne m’étonne [Nothing surprises me (anymore)].
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Continue reading →: Last day at the office
Katie, Katie, Katie… I’m so sorry. You got hired by a bad crowd. You had five days. You tried. It happens! However, it seems the press corp prefers a good liar, not a praise singer. Bye!
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Continue reading →: First day at the officeFor most people in ordinary jobs, that first day at work can be awkward and nerve-racking as hell. The U.S. president’s press secretary, however, is no ordinary job. The appointee is expected to hit the ground running, and professionalism is mandatory. In Trump’s case, that meant starting the lie count…
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Continue reading →: Bucket shmucket!What’s a country that’s at the top of your bucket list? I used to have a travel bucket list. Once upon a time! Türkiye was at the top. Then there was Japan…China…Peru…Iceland… Those countries I’d already ticked off are proving to be such huge disapointments- politically and humanitarianly. Except Spain.…
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Continue reading →: Today, on Meet the Press Secretary…Katie Zacharia must have passed the fabrication detector test with flying colours, or she wouldn’t be in the press pound seat at the White House. All that’s left now is for her to fill those big granny panties of Karoline Leavitt and make Papa Trump proud.
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Continue reading →: Enemy ITrump recently went on yet another mind-numbing Truth Social rant to designate anyone who still uses the term Artificial Intelligence as an enemy of the state.
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Continue reading →: Calling occupants of interplanetary craft…If aliens arrived tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d ask them? This one’s so easy, it’s laughable. “Take our leaders with you, please. Every last one of them. Do with them as you please because that’s what they’re doing to us.” “Oh! And… if you’ve got some space, take our…
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Continue reading →: Africa
As an audiophile, I’m accustomed to listening to cover versions of famous songs, mostly in an alternate style, reproduced with superior recording techniques and audio quality. I can’t explain the attraction, but let’s just say it’s a thing with us melomaniacs.
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Continue reading →: America’s renaming revolutionAmerica, on the other hand, as a prosperous nation, has the latitude to change names at will. Not that the country doesn’t have more urgent problems, but it does have money to burn, given how much it squanders on its military. When an egotistical man-child wields that will, however, it’s…
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Continue reading →: Bloody cockroaches!The genie grants you a wish. What is it? I’d love world peace and the eradication of all politicians. But I know that’s not possible. Politicians are like cockroaches; they seem to have a knack for survival, genies notwithstanding. And where there are politicians, there will be wars. It’s our…
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Continue reading →: Getting your rocks off by killing people
If it’s natural to kill, how come men have to go into training to learn how?
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Continue reading →: Failure to launchI just can’t help feeling pity for a nation that elected a monumental idiot as its President and is evidently completely and utterly paralysed to do anything to correct its humongous blunder. They appear to be transfixed in the grin-and-bear-it phase of FAFO.
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Continue reading →: My left earWith apologies to Daniel Day-Lewis, an absolute legend… I contracted some kind of bacterial infection during my Kruger National Park trip the previous week. I came back with a nasty cough which was generating a lot of phlegm. I also had a sore throat and it seemed like my ears…
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Continue reading →: Coming up…
I’ve been working on a very important essay since I got back from the Kruger National Park the previous weekend. I have unearthed such an abundance of material that it feels like a book would do it more justice than an essay. It’s about a certain country that has been…
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Continue reading →: Impeach the leech!Personally, I think impeachment is a complete waste of time… mine specifically. I get that Americans seem to love it for the entertainment value, because in truth, that’s all it is. The whole impeachment process is performative. Neither Democrats nor Republicans seriously want to impeach anyone. They just go through…
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Continue reading →: On a rock hurtling through space…What’s the longest trip you’ve ever taken? My longest trip ever has lasted 60 years and four months, and it looks set to last a bit longer; fingers crossed. That’s 60.33 revolutions around the Sun and counting. To put that in perspective, I have travelled approximately 56.71 billion kilometres on…
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Continue reading →: I was promised a fairytale rise to power…Have you ever regretted reading a book — which one and why? … instead I had a political awakening halfway through reading Barack Obama’s 2020 presidential memoir A Promised Land. The awakening did not come from reading the book. It came from elsewhere – many corroborating sources. I was devastatingly…
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Continue reading →: Amazing appsWhat are your favorite 5 apps on your phone? I remember a time when I regarded my cellphone as a hugely infuriating tool. In retirement I’ve learned to tolerate and use it more often. I find the following apps which I use regularly quite handy. Tidal – my music streaming…
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Continue reading →: The intersection of vanity, hate, and greedFacebook had real potential to develop into something very meaningful and beneficial to humanity. However, it degenerated into a commercial monster that has become an alarmingly divisive force in our everyday life, particularly in politics. Facebook’s main objective now seems to be spreading fake news, inciting hatred, and making Zuckerberg…
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Continue reading →: Pearl Diver: A wake-up callWealthy industrialised nations are the biggest contributors to global warming and climate change. While most of these nations have routinely pledged to reduce emissions, among other measures to tackle the man-made problem, one nation stands out depressingly in denial and shame.
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Continue reading →: Who’s in charge?
Do Americans really know who is running the country? Considering the wild and erratic shifts, especially in foreign policy, from one week to the next, I’m sure many Americans are left wondering who is making the decisions and what is guiding them. Is it Donald Trump? Is it shady advisors?…
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Continue reading →: Slinging inkIf you had to get a tattoo right now, what would it be and why? If I had to get a tattoo right now, it would have to be at gunpoint. And even then, I think I might choose the bullet.
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Continue reading →: Why does Germany have to perpetually remind us of its brutal past?Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. – Martin Luther King Jr. A few days ago, I watched a short video on social media of German police officers brutally assaulting a pro-Palestinian protester. Their atrocious conduct was immediately reminiscent of the Gestapo, who routinely hounded political enemies, resistance fighters…
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Continue reading →: A misty eye is as good as a cryWhat’s the last movie that made you cry? They say boys don’t cry. Right? Wrong! I’m not a little boy any more; I’m rarely overly emotional, and I may not bawl my eyes out, but some movies do indeed make them go all watery. I don’t exactly remember when it…
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Continue reading →: It’s a trick question, right?If you could erase one event from history, what would it be? Being able to erase events from history seems quite handy until you question why it’s necessary and who benefits. Imagine if Nazis could erase the holocaust from history? That would sanitise the movement which is still very much…
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Continue reading →: Dubito, cogito, ergo sumHow do you deal with uncertainty? Absolute certainty is an illusion. Hence, I am almost always dealing with uncertainty, whether I’m aware of it or not. French philosopher René Descartes is often quoted as claiming, “Cogito, ergo sum.” It is translated as “I think, therefore I am.” It is meant…
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Continue reading →: The Final CutWhile Pink Floyd produced highly-rated classics such as The Wall, The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Animals, The Final Cut is still my favourite album – even as you will later learn, one band member tried to disown it.
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Continue reading →: Hold my beer!If you had a time machine and could send just one message to your past self, what would it say? Apart from the many reckless and arguably stupid things I’ve done in my lifetime, one stands out. It has probably contributed the most to some of the medical conditions I…
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Continue reading →: Thank you for your serviceMen never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.
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Continue reading →: WTF, Mark?I was wondering, Mark, if you know about this latest award of the prize? I know you’re long dead, but seriously, does the awarding of a coveted prize honouring your legacy sit well with you? Are you turning in your grave, as is compulsory when a dead person’s name is…
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Continue reading →: Favorite quote?What is your favorite quote? Ooh! That’s a tough one. There are so many… However, if I were pressed, I would have to go with these, which cover the major institutions that shape society. Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in proportion to their…
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Continue reading →: Bullshit detection!What’s a skill you consider basic, that most people don’t actually know how to do? Critical thinking skills are sorely needed now, as a credulous world increasingly embraces carefully manufactured lies and alternate realities that are routinely pushed by deceptive individuals, particularly politicians and those controlling obscene wealth. It must…
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Continue reading →: On the same spectrum
I’ve noticed that those obsessed with the gender binary are almost always the same people who believe you’re either white or wrong.
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Continue reading →: Intentionally misinterpreted lyricsWhat’s a song lyric that has stuck with you forever? Songwriters are poetic geniuses. They’re really good at creating ambiguous lyrics that appear to have multiple meanings. Unless they explicitly tell you what their lyrics mean, we just have to guess or make up our own understanding. Over the years,…
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Continue reading →: How dare you?If you could rewrite any book’s ending, which one would you choose? I would never be so presumptuous as to rewrite any book ending, no matter how much I dislike or disagree with it. That kind of disrespect for an author, any author, is unconscionable. I am still aggrieved that…
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Lenny, here
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