Southern Africa Blogosphere

Rethabile — Fri, 12 May 2006 20:31:40 +0000

"Commentary South Africa" report on the opportunity Jacob Zuma failed to take to clear up, "once and for all, the ridiculous notion that showering can ‘purify' someone of recently-transmitted HIV” [commentary.co.za]. The view is that Zuma is trying to revive his political clout, and must therefore appear unbending. "Commentary" links to a Guardian article that talks about the gap between what should have been, a rape trial, and what it turned out to be, a political meeting, and points out that "the government is not living up to its end of the basic Hobbesian bargain between ruler and ruled: freedom for security. There is far, far too much tolerance of public violence in South Africa " [commentary.co.za].
"
Fodder" offers another observation on the Zuma trial. It's Almost Supernatural; points to a letter that appeared in South Africa's the Eastern Cape Herald. The letter reportedly shows a hitherto unknown African anti-semitism, coupled with a dislike of America. Symptoms of a new strain of African Anti-Semitism have been spotted amongst Black Left-wing intellectuals in South Africa. The letter published in the Eastern Cape Herald this week encapsulates many of its features;

Rethabile on Mzansi Afrika; discusses racism, discrimination, and what could be done.

“As long as we're physically different, racism and discrimination will never leave our world. Unless something enormous happens. Something more threatening than an ominous cold war or a murderous hot one, something bigger than a natural catastrophe, something deadlier than any killer virus or monstrous organisms

"This is Zimbabwe" writes about the shortage of sanitary products in Zimbabwe, and how it is affecting women:

Shortages of sanitary ware go to the heart of women’s rights: it’s an issue which raises questions of whether a woman is forced to stay away from work or school; whether she is putting her health at risk by picking up infections or, if she is HIV positive, whether those infections will literally shorten her life span

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