Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Thanks Sean!
CLICK ON THIS or COPY IT TO YOUR DESKTOP!!!
PRINT IT! KEEP IT! IT IS AMAZING!!!
SERIOUSLY CHECK IT OUT NOW PLEASE!!!!
PRINT IT! KEEP IT! IT IS AMAZING!!!
SERIOUSLY CHECK IT OUT NOW PLEASE!!!!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
by tony
So here is the original article and below is what Tony wrote and which got printed ☺:
Ignorance a blow to African mojo
24 February 2009 - 4:44am
Conal Pierse, Managing Editor
Just over a month ago, Nigerian police took a male into custody over an attempted car robbery. He was dragged in by a group of local vigilantes who spotted him in the midst of his crime, chased him down, and brought him, bleating for mercy, to the local police department. While this in and of itself isn’t unusual, the fact that the alleged robber was a goat is.
Yes, according to his captors, the man transformed himself into a goat using dark magic in order to escape arrest. Of course, they were too smart for such wily tricks, and have since brought the hoofed hooligan to justice, never once questioning why a man with such powers wouldn’t transform himself into something useful like a bird or cheetah—after all, a goat is essentially the unicycle of escape vehicles. And now, a goat guiltily sits in a cell within a Nigerian police station, waiting to be either sentenced or claimed by its owner.
In a similar vein, this past September, a goalkeeper who used witchcraft to turn the tide of a soccer game—not unlike praying for victory as is common elsewhere—incited a riot that killed eleven people. Mozambique is also facing problems in regards to vigilante mobs who are hunting down witches—the criteria for which is having a stronger harvest than your neighbour on account of your hard work, diligence, and your obvious dark pact with unholy forces.
But while we may laugh at these stories, they aren’t isolated tales of a few misguided country bumpkins in who-knows-where Africa. Ignorance such as this is rampant across the continent and is found even amongst government leaders.
In 2006, the Zimbabwean government repealed a ban on practicing witchcraft, acknowledging the existence of supernatural powers but forbidding their being used for harm. Now, individuals can face up to five years in jail if found guilty of witchcraft—which amounts to an equivalent life sentence for magic goats. Of course, Mugabe is, admittedly, fucking insane, but he’s not alone.
AIDS denialists are still rampant, with former President of South Africa—the country with the highest rate of infection—Thabo Mbeki being amongst them. Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, Mbeki still denies the link between HIV and AIDS, and members of his government are likewise ill-informed.
Former health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang boldly recommended a healthy diet of garlic, olive oil, and lemons to treat the disease in favour of anti-retroviral medications. And while such a mixture certainly has a zesty kick, its practical ability to prevent or slow the advancement of an AIDS infection is about as effective as furiously scrubbing your dick under running water after knowingly having sex with an infected individual—something that ex-Deputy President Jacob Zuma actually thought would reduce his risk of contracting the disease.
Such beliefs in regards to AIDS are shameful, but condoning practices such as witchcraft are no better. It may seem like harmless tradition, but openly acknowledging such ignorance can only do harm. A nation shouldn’t encourage its people to accept lunacy over logic, regardless of cultural heritage. Witchcraft is a remnant of a time when magic was the only readily available explanation. But just as a child learns that a light switch isn’t a manifestation of supernatural forces, governments like Zimbabwe’s need to accept reason over mysticism.
Giving a supportive nod to magic only allows charlatans to take advantage of a culturally bred naivety, convincing the poor and uneducated to turn to poultices and straw figures for healing over the medication that can actually help them. There’s no denying the strong placebo effect that the activities of such “witch doctors” can have, for good or ill, but when governments endorse a mass hysteria, they aren’t preserving tradition—they’re standing in the way of the progress that their people so desperately need.
Here's what Tony’s response which got printed:
Having spent four months living in a town in Malawi, Africa, I can attest to the types of stories mentioned in Conal Pierse's opinion article on the 24th of February. I often found myself baffled at unexplained events being attributed to witchcraft, and the reactions it generated, sometimes at official levels. That being said, I wanted to point out that referring to "culturally bred naivety" indicates a bias which assumes our society is free of this type of ignorance. Attributing riots to witchcraft when soccer fans the world over are notorious for violent behavior and isolating elected officials for their failure to adopt responsible health policies when some 'western' figureheads have issued recommendations as negligent as Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's garlic recipe (Google Pope Benedict XVI's visit to South Africa, and his rejection of the use of condoms in that nation,) fails to fully address the problem. Having witnessed the non-secular overtones of the recent American election, I can't help but feel that our society is no better at accepting "reason over mysticism". I agree with your opinion that government policy concerning magic and health in some African countries is in need of reform, I just want to add that the problem isn't exclusive to that continent .
Tony Hancock
U of A Alumni 2008
Ignorance a blow to African mojo
24 February 2009 - 4:44am
Conal Pierse, Managing Editor
Just over a month ago, Nigerian police took a male into custody over an attempted car robbery. He was dragged in by a group of local vigilantes who spotted him in the midst of his crime, chased him down, and brought him, bleating for mercy, to the local police department. While this in and of itself isn’t unusual, the fact that the alleged robber was a goat is.
Yes, according to his captors, the man transformed himself into a goat using dark magic in order to escape arrest. Of course, they were too smart for such wily tricks, and have since brought the hoofed hooligan to justice, never once questioning why a man with such powers wouldn’t transform himself into something useful like a bird or cheetah—after all, a goat is essentially the unicycle of escape vehicles. And now, a goat guiltily sits in a cell within a Nigerian police station, waiting to be either sentenced or claimed by its owner.
In a similar vein, this past September, a goalkeeper who used witchcraft to turn the tide of a soccer game—not unlike praying for victory as is common elsewhere—incited a riot that killed eleven people. Mozambique is also facing problems in regards to vigilante mobs who are hunting down witches—the criteria for which is having a stronger harvest than your neighbour on account of your hard work, diligence, and your obvious dark pact with unholy forces.
But while we may laugh at these stories, they aren’t isolated tales of a few misguided country bumpkins in who-knows-where Africa. Ignorance such as this is rampant across the continent and is found even amongst government leaders.
In 2006, the Zimbabwean government repealed a ban on practicing witchcraft, acknowledging the existence of supernatural powers but forbidding their being used for harm. Now, individuals can face up to five years in jail if found guilty of witchcraft—which amounts to an equivalent life sentence for magic goats. Of course, Mugabe is, admittedly, fucking insane, but he’s not alone.
AIDS denialists are still rampant, with former President of South Africa—the country with the highest rate of infection—Thabo Mbeki being amongst them. Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, Mbeki still denies the link between HIV and AIDS, and members of his government are likewise ill-informed.
Former health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang boldly recommended a healthy diet of garlic, olive oil, and lemons to treat the disease in favour of anti-retroviral medications. And while such a mixture certainly has a zesty kick, its practical ability to prevent or slow the advancement of an AIDS infection is about as effective as furiously scrubbing your dick under running water after knowingly having sex with an infected individual—something that ex-Deputy President Jacob Zuma actually thought would reduce his risk of contracting the disease.
Such beliefs in regards to AIDS are shameful, but condoning practices such as witchcraft are no better. It may seem like harmless tradition, but openly acknowledging such ignorance can only do harm. A nation shouldn’t encourage its people to accept lunacy over logic, regardless of cultural heritage. Witchcraft is a remnant of a time when magic was the only readily available explanation. But just as a child learns that a light switch isn’t a manifestation of supernatural forces, governments like Zimbabwe’s need to accept reason over mysticism.
Giving a supportive nod to magic only allows charlatans to take advantage of a culturally bred naivety, convincing the poor and uneducated to turn to poultices and straw figures for healing over the medication that can actually help them. There’s no denying the strong placebo effect that the activities of such “witch doctors” can have, for good or ill, but when governments endorse a mass hysteria, they aren’t preserving tradition—they’re standing in the way of the progress that their people so desperately need.
Here's what Tony’s response which got printed:
Having spent four months living in a town in Malawi, Africa, I can attest to the types of stories mentioned in Conal Pierse's opinion article on the 24th of February. I often found myself baffled at unexplained events being attributed to witchcraft, and the reactions it generated, sometimes at official levels. That being said, I wanted to point out that referring to "culturally bred naivety" indicates a bias which assumes our society is free of this type of ignorance. Attributing riots to witchcraft when soccer fans the world over are notorious for violent behavior and isolating elected officials for their failure to adopt responsible health policies when some 'western' figureheads have issued recommendations as negligent as Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's garlic recipe (Google Pope Benedict XVI's visit to South Africa, and his rejection of the use of condoms in that nation,) fails to fully address the problem. Having witnessed the non-secular overtones of the recent American election, I can't help but feel that our society is no better at accepting "reason over mysticism". I agree with your opinion that government policy concerning magic and health in some African countries is in need of reform, I just want to add that the problem isn't exclusive to that continent .
Tony Hancock
U of A Alumni 2008
Friday, March 13, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Important Bill to Save Seals
Please do this!!! It is a very big step forward to save seals!!! :) Thank you.
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