From career guidance to substance abuse...bits and pieces to brighten up your LO classes brought to you courtesy of the Rondebosch Boys' High School Library (If you would like to receive a weekly newsletter of the latest items in this Scoop just mail me at library@rondebosch.com)
There is currently a television commercial on South African television that seeks to persuade South Africans to pay their taxes; it shows the story of a gogo in a village who’s been able to raise two children thanks to child support grants. Grants that the South African Revenue Services says would not be possible without South Africans filing their taxes. And as South Africa prepares to mark 20 years since the formal end of Apartheid rule next year, it is the social grant system that will be touted as one of government’s greatest achievements. Goldman Sachs agrees. By KHADIJA PATEL.
This report brings to light the discrepancies between the legal requirements around deportation of migrants and the anomalies in its practical application. It is clear from the findings that South Africa is falling short of its lofty legal standards in the manner that the various government agencies are dealing with this huge challenge. The overall picture of abuse, corruption, lack of capacity, and the neglect of the rule of law in this area is a cause of great concern.
Nearly 30 million people around the world are living as slaves, according to a new index ranking 162 countries.
The Global Slavery Index 2013 says India has the highest number of people living in conditions of slavery at 14 million. But Mauritania has the highest proportional figure with about 4% of its population enslaved. The report's authors hope it will help governments tackle what they call a "hidden crime".
A bizarre demographic chill has stolen over the Land of the Rising Sun. According to a fascinating and bewildering investigation in the Guardian by Abigail Haworth, Japanese young people are losing interest not just in marriage but in romantic relationships. Some have even given up on sex. The national press is calling it sekkusu shinai shokogun, or celibacy syndrome.
Campaigners are calling for restrictions on the way magazines airbrush photos. Seeing your face and body transformed is an unnerving experience.
My guilty pleasure is fashion and gossip magazines. I will check out those unflattering bikini shots of celebrities and be amazed at how their "fat-busting diet" did such a great job on their abs in just six weeks. Or swoon over the flawless skin of that A-lister advertising the latest £10,000 handbag in just her pants and wonder, "Why doesn't my skin/hair/teeth look like that?"
According to a new Amnesty International report, nearly a thousand prisoners died this year in just two prisons administered by Nigeria’s notoriously brutal armed forces. Regardless of what these prisoners may or may not have done, this is a horrific violation of human rights. That it comes as no surprise is a damning indictment of Nigeria’s leadership. South Africa, take note: this is what happens when the police and the army are allowed to take justice into their own hands. By SIMON ALLISON.
MEMBERS of the African Union will meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today to discuss recent calls by some African leaders to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. These calls must be resisted. The continent has suffered the consequences of unaccountable governance for too long to disown the protections offered by the I.C.C. Those leaders seeking to skirt the court are effectively looking for a license to kill, maim and oppress their own people without consequence. They believe the interests of the people should not stand in the way of their ambitions of wealth and power; that being held to account by the I.C.C. interferes with their ability to achieve these ambitions; and that those who get in their way — the victims: their own people — should remain faceless and voiceless.
You know what? I get it. I really do. The anger, the fear, the frustration. Murder and torture, the traces of unimaginable anguish left in photographs that have left me gasping for breath with the sheer horror of them. I will not post links to them. That is suffering that is real and terrible, and no matter our differences, we should never forget that.
Kevin Breel didn't look like a depressed kid: team captain, at every party, funny and confident. But he tells the story of the night he realized that -- to save his own life -- he needed to say four simple words.
Writer, comic and mental health activist Kevin Breel speaks up about depression.
If you are teaching Life Orientation you are probably having to deal with the subject of pornography on a regular basis. This video might be a fun way of introducing the topic...
Dave is a creative writer who lives inside the iconic Astor Place Cube in New York City. The cube's 8X8 panels add up to 64 square feet which adds up to 512 cubic feet. For Dave, who is 5'8", that is plenty of space to move around, write, cook, sleep, work out and even play guitar. Dave uses a bicycle generator to power up the lights and a handful of electronic gadgets.
Were you whistled at today? Made to feel self-conscious? Did you doubt your career decisions or feel tempted to wear a wedding ring even if you weren’t married? Anyone talk down to you? If you answered ‘no’, chances are you’re privileged, possibly because of your gender. Congratulations. Read on.
“I can be pretty sure that when I walk down the street, nobody will yell at me about my body or tell me what they want to do to me sexually.”
“I do not have to worry about the message my wardrobe sends about my sexual availability.”
“If I have children and a career, no one will think I’m selfish for not staying at home.’”
How can you love something you've never seen? If you don't have a personal connection with something, why would you ever go out of your way to protect, preserve and pass it on to future generations? But isn't that what 'heritage' is all about?
This film is a companion piece to the Solidarity Peace Trust report on Migration and Deportation in South Africa. Filmaker Sydelle Willow Smith has made a moving, angry film which allows migrants and refugees to speak honestly about the indignities and difficulties of trying to make a home in South Africa. While the report provides much detail, it is the film which I think will be most effective in provoking students to reflection and action.
A Saudi comedian, Alaa Wardi has re-written Bob Marley's classic song No Woman, No Cry to protest the ban on women driving in the kingdom. His satirical version of the 1974 hit includes lines such as 'ovaries all safe and well, so you can make lots and lots of babies,' which is a response to Sheik Salah al-Luhaydan, a cleric who said women who drive risk damaging their ovaries and birthing kids with defects.
The Talmud, the book of Jewish law, is one of the most challenging religious texts in the world. But it is being read in ever larger numbers, partly thanks to digital tools that make it easier to grasp, and growing interest from women - who see no reason why men should have it to themselves.
If the AU is serious about dispensing justice it will fast-track the long-mooted African Court of Justice.
"In calling a special summit to complain about how a few powerful men who stand accused of being criminals are being antagonised by the court, African leaders played into pre-existing stereotypes about the continent. Their attitude fuels the notion that Africa is a conflict-ridden mess in which presidents are warlords hell-bent on remaining in power to protect themselves from prosecution."
The 2013 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), released today, reveals that South Africa's governance ranking has fallen one place since 2000. Although South Africa's overall governance score has improved since 2000, its ranking has fallen one place. Foundation says country's overall governance score has improved, but its Participation & Human Rights score has declined
A slew of negative news reports about South Africa these past few months has resulted in a routine negative response from international rating agencies when it comes to investor confidence. But there are also reasons to be grateful.
Girls as young as 13, kidnapped and forced into marriages with older men. Boys as young as 14, dead as a result of botched circumcisions. These events make for attention-grabbing headlines and short-lived national outrage. But when it comes to putting those responsible behind bars, information released by SAPS this week reveals that it’s just not happening to any meaningful degree. The numbers of arrests for circumcision deaths and ‘ukuthwala’ abductions are negligible. Is this a case of SAPS inefficiency, or are there more complex cultural issues underlying an unwillingness to treat these matters as serious crimes? By REBECCA DAVIS.
The onus is on all of us to speak out in the days following the al-Shabaab terrorist act in Kenya. It was an act committed not in the name of a peace-loving God, but in the name of the god of Anarchy, whose only message is how to destroy, not to create.
"The terrorists who killed innocent people in the name of Islam at the Westgate Shopping Centre are an abomination. I am prepared to say with much conviction that they do not represent the precepts of my faith; their actions are a perversion of the spirit of peace and tolerance of which Islam is composed. I’d even go so far as to question their worthiness to call themselves Muslims at all."
Human rights know no borders. But Amnesty International's 2013 report shows governments are using the excuse of 'internal affairs' in shameful attempts to block concerted international action to resolve human rights emergencies.
We help stop human rights abuses by mobilizing our members and supporters to put pressure on governments, armed groups, companies and intergovernmental bodies
Next time you see something scandalous and are about to reshare it, think again.
"This is a pretty powerful finding. In the context of Facebook it means that, if you are tagged in defamatory content and you don’t do anything about being tagged (or perhaps even mentioned), you could be liable, too. This argument likely extends to other platforms such as LinkedIn, Google+ and perhaps even Twitter."
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