Category: Fire (Social)

Ethiopia is a country which for many is synonymous with drought, and preceded by the word starving. This is a tragedy, as Ethiopia has such a rich cultural heritage, and, surprisingly to many, is remarkably lush. Unfortunately, its government has proved its greatest obstacle in recent times, and is largely to blame for the devastating… Continue reading Censorship in Ethiopia

There are two strongly differing strands running through arguments presented by those opposing GM foods. People can support both, one or neither, but confusing the two undermines coherent argument, and in particular damages those opposing. One is that GM foods are harmful. The evidence for this is thin, so in essence it becomes a conservative… Continue reading Genetically modified foods – examining the arguments

I was pleased to read an article about Australians embracing solar power. Australia remains is one of the two countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol, but have no intention of ratifying it (the other being the US). However, Australia, like the US, does have a reasonable developed market in renewable energy certificates It’s frustrating that… Continue reading Localised green power

I was interested to come across a slogan from an American politician, Robert Bowman. It read Take Back America!. It reminded me of the DA’s slogan in Cape Town, Take Back Your City!. I’m ambivalent to negative about the slogan. The slogan implies that there’s an us and a them, and the them have taken… Continue reading Taking back

The topic of this post is not some great conspiracy about the invasion of Iraq, Jacob Zuma, or probably anything else you may have been considering when reading the headline. It’s this line that caught my attention. They will not be able to stay overnight because the islands are infested with mosquitoes. In the 1960’s… Continue reading The lies governments tell

With the local government election only two days away, I’ve been quite impressed with the coverage by local blogs. The SA Blog Awards site lists 10 nominations for best SA site about politics (and for some reason I’ve been nominated, albeit under the wrong name). Looking at the local government election coverage by each of… Continue reading Local election blogs

It’s sad, but not surprising, that the recent power outages in Cape Town have led to short-sighted calls for more nuclear energy. There’s a better way to solve it. It requires stepping out of the box a little bit. The tyranny of the few is coming to an end. I don’t mean this flippantly (well… Continue reading Solving the Energy Crisis, without yesterday’s solutions

Thanks to Politics.za I have seen the light. Now I know who to vote for. It’s easy to mock, but it’s quite sad that people can think (if that’s the right word) like this. One of the flaws of the way Christianity is usually practised is that it encourages uncritical acceptance. The first premise is… Continue reading Who to vote for made easy

After this morning’s A Libertarian/Anarchist Experiment post, I’ve been thinking about another sort of anarchist experiment. Cape Town city. The power cuts have been ravaging the city, are out of control, and are having a huge impact on people’s lives. Those of an apocalyptic bent may be interested in seeing how Cape Town is coping,… Continue reading Eskom – the ANC’s nemesis

Thanks again to Muti I found an interesting article by Yumi Kim, entitled Stateless in Somalia, and Loving It. It’s great to get a different perspective from the usual surface skim, such as Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. Fighting between rival warlords and an… Continue reading A Libertarian/Anarchist Experiment