We have all amused ourselves by looking at articles and graphics imagining social media as a country, but what about the correlation between social media and political support? With South Africa’s next general election scheduled for a date between April and July next year, it may be an interesting exercise to see which South African political parties could be considered Twitterati and which ones come across as twits in the social media arena.
An epic revenge drama based on the true story of Phoolan Devi, the Bandit Queen, this film highlights the dire circumstances of young girls in India, who are forced into, often abusive, arranged marriages with older men. It also touches on the problematic issue of caste, where power is usually in the hands of the upper castes, with little or no recourse to legal protection for the lowest castes.
This is a long article, a very long article. It needs to be long because it addresses a critical issue that affects us all, be it as concerned environmentalist, tax payer, business owner or civic minded individual. The earth is heating up, polar bears are falling through the pack ice and Cape Town may soon be under water. On the other hand, energy generation is critical to a country’s development and the creation of employment. How we balance those two priorities will determine our quality of living for generations to come. In this article we try to understand the issues at stake, with special reference to the burgeoning wind farm industry in South Africa.
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Turkish director, Ceylan’s almost ethereal meander through the Anatolian steppe draws you into an existential dream world, simultaneously mysterious and ancient. Although beautifully filmed, it is telling that a movie with no special effects, and on the surface a very simple story line, can reverberate with universal themes long after the final credits have rolled across the screen.
Ah, Brazil. When you think about the country, you imagine hot bodies on the Copacabana, picturesque views of Christ the Redeemer and partying it up at carnival time. You do not think about launching yourself into a swirling mass of water surging up one of the Amazon jungle’s rivers, dodging floating debris, whilst on the lookout out for piranhas, caimans and stingrays. (Apparently, the urban legend of the spiny Candiru, a small catfish that can swim up the urethra and lodge itself permanently, has been largely debunked.) Despite the aforementioned fear factors, there are a few adventurous souls who relish a distinctly out of the norm activity when they visit Brazil – surfing the pororoca.
While basic illiteracy covers people who cannot read or write at all, functionally illiterate people can read and write simple sentences with a limited vocabulary, but cannot read or write well enough to deal with the everyday requirements of life. More than 21% of adult Americans have been found to be functionally illiterate.
Gandhi spent 21 years in South Africa fighting for justice for the Indian population. His struggles and victories in South Africa are analogous to the history of Indian South Africans as a whole. The modern Indian South African community is a vibrant and crucial part of the diverse South African social fabric, though its early history was filled with hardship and disenfranchisement.
Type ‘self-help book’ into Google search and 640,000,000 results pop up. Compare that to that timeless classic, the Bible, which garners 407,000,000 results, or the Quran at 206,000,000 results. With the major difference that you pay for the ‘wisdoms’ espoused in self-help books as opposed to Bibles and other religious tomes which are often distributed free of charge.
