Features & Columns

Undercover Geek: (Hyper) text in the city

Written by Charles Ash
Wednesday, 08 February 2012 16:46

So many things that we take for granted today might still have been stuck on the periphery of future-minded tech-writers’ most lurid technological wet dreams (certainly nowhere near as mainstream as they are now) had it not been for that entrenched facet of online entertainment... porn.
 

That’s right, baby, those (some would say) “sordid”, imagination-negating images of stylised carnal “depravity” have been clogging up the interwebs since the very beginning. In fact, I’d wager that it was quite possibly because of porn that we have the internet today. My suspicion is that a bunch of super-geeks who were separated by vast distances and who’d grown tired of their worn-out pile of pornographic magazines collectively said, “Stuff this! Let’s build a globe-spanning, redundant, reliable, digital delivery mechanism for our porn!” and, hey presto, the internet was born and porn of increasing depravity/quality/quantity/sophistication was unleashed on an unwitting humankind.
 

Sex scandals

Written by Brendah Nyakudya
Wednesday, 08 February 2012 16:32

If we are honest with each other and ourselves, the majority of humankind is guilty in one way or the other of sexual indiscretions and misdemeanours. For most who are not in the public eye these acts of foolishness often only draw the wrath of the wronged party and few others. However, this is not to be for those we have been placed in positions of authority. Here are a few scandals that caught our attention in the past few years.

One man's child, another man's slave

Written by Eli Nyakudya
Wednesday, 08 February 2012 16:13

Every so often but not nearly enough the ugly side of sex is brought to the surface, yet human and sex trafficking is a crime that shames us all. While many of us see sex as an activity that should be enjoyed between two consenting adults, an amazing journey where two people express their love for each other and are brought closer together, there are, unfortunately, those who are neither concerned about consenting nor adult. For these rogue elements an industry has boomed where unsuspecting individuals are kidnapped or “recruited” to be sex slaves in Africa and beyond.

The other side of sex

Written by Dr Sindi Van Zyl
Wednesday, 08 February 2012 14:41

A lot of progress has been made in South Africa regarding public awareness around the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic. The HIV counselling and testing campaign launched by the National Department of Health in April 2010 was a great success. According to President Jacob Zuma’s 2011 World AIDS Day speech, more than 13 million people had been tested for HIV. Furthermore, he stated that from January 2010 to September 2011, the number of public health facilities initiating patients on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment had increased from 495 to 2 948. In addition, the number of nurses accredited to initiate and provide treatment went up from 290 to 10 542. This makes me especially proud because of my involvement with the training of these nurses.

CULTURE - Even the Philistines had one

Written by Alyn Adams
Wednesday, 08 February 2012 09:23

Beware when someone tries to excuse bigotry with “It’s traditional!” or tries to ban something with no better reason than “It’s not part of our culture.” It means they have no real arguments based on facts and evidence; they’re just repeating what their parents told them, and their parents before that.

Cultures, traditions, religions – all evolve. They must or become moribund and die. Some of my ancestors used to sacrifice animals – and quite probably humans at some point – at midwinter, to please the gods and make them bring back the sun. We don’t do that anymore, not just because it would cripple property values in Blairgowrie but because there’s absolutely no evidence to suggest that a lack of bloodletting will somehow stop the planet in its yearly journey around our star. Spring comes back, whether you kill something or not.