"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 [1]]. 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 [2]].
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Fodder" offers another observation [3] on the Zuma trial. It's Almost Supernatural [4]; 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 [5].
“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 [6], 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