sporty women

So. Ladies: Would you like to do synchronised swimming, or something fun, like wrestling? You can get whatever you want at Alice’s restaurant, ‘ceptin Alice, that is.

a bit more dog-wagging

The NY times has what I think is a well-crafted article on the coverage of the Iraq and Afganhistan wars. Of particular interest is the idea that news providers give the public material that the public wants, rather than following some noble pursuit of objectivity when deciding what to cover.

Americans are fat, obnoxious, loud, uncivilised and worst of all they like guns….

I really enjoyed reading this story. Not so much because it was about a car dealership that has a logo of a cowboy, and offers free guns with every car purchased, but rather: the story crystallises british public perception of americans. The subtext is a kind of rallying cry, “look how decadent and violent those nasty americans are. How ridiculous and materialistic they are.” Hmmn. I smell hubris here in this story.

South Africa crumbles

South Africans have always leaned towards the xenophobic side. I think people are forgetting that there is some deeply entrenched violence within South African society, that has persisted even through the onset of democracy in 1994. For example the dozens of alleged criminals that died at the hands of SA police in the late nineties. The recent attacks on foreigners in South Africa are absolutely inexcusable. What is even more horrifying is the BBC-quoted statement by the ANC secretary general, to the effect that the mobs are simply cross with foreigners because they are better qualified, and they are better qualified because they weren’t opressed by apartheid. And that what we really need to be doing is educating these nice people. And that really, its actually just because of apartheid. Absolutely mindless and dangerous hubris. That’s all I have to say to the ANC at this point. And as usual Thabo has been slllllooooooooooooow to react, and indecisive. Why am I surprised?

(this is from 10 years ago)

blockquote text

The Independent Complaints Authority (ICD), set up last April to investigate complaints against the police, says it is overwhelmed by allegations of killings carried out by law officers. The death of the man attacked by police in the Newsnight film is just one among many.

ICD statistics show that more than 530 people died at the hands of the police in the last nine months of 1997. The figures reveal that nearly 160 people died in custody or as a result of police action in Gauteng in the same period; 154 in Kwa-Zulu-Natal, with 20 deaths in that province in December alone. Another 58 died in the Eastern Cape and 48 in Western Cape over the same nine months. The death rate of two a day suggests the toll for the full year of around 730, more than triple the official police figure for 1995

langwage and then… the substitution of meaning, piggy-style.

wordage again: the definition of “frigging” is here. Whereas “frikking” doesn’t seem to have a simple definition anywhere. Interesting.

and… (thanks undead) here is one of the most delightful renditions of a popular ditty, as performed by the muppets.

warning

More risque content. Couldn’t resist. Mostly because 1)I know people who own cats, or work with cats and 2)just because.

Interestingly, the person who sent this to me commented on how “…oh, its fine because you have no ceilings there.” Wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that.

a healthy dollop of cynical introspection might be a good thing every now and then

An interesting take on media and political unrest in kenya, from a local freelance hack based in Nairobi (apologies for the moniker Nick).

of consequence and hubristic machinery

The domino effect… the butterfly’s wings that led N to meet A, the girl to pick up the poetry book. Call it what you will. Just for fun, Chaos in the print shop…

and for a far more literal translation of the concept, as it applies to beer:

And… a while ago I wrote of the gay chicken saviour from australia. Here is another interesting person. Unrelated to the above links but fascinating.