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Active Measures by Thomas Rid

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The subtitle to this book is ‘The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare’, which deftly explains its contents. Rid spills out the guts of what the Russian spies were up to, as well as the Americans, although by Rid’s account, the Russians were fare more active in spreading disinformation against the West, and more dastardly.… Read more

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

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Expecting a child, Safran Foer investigates what is best for his family to eat. His calmly and insightfully narrated quest leads us to the horrors of the meat production chain. We encounter a brutally sick system in which pigs and chickens are bred stacked in factories which would kill you within half-an-hour if the ventilation system cut out.… Read more

House of Glass: A deep draught

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There are many books I have enjoyed immensely, yet they leave no lasting trace other than the memory of pleasure, possibly because I was in agreement with the philosophy and viewpoints they contained; they presented no particular challenge. 

Then there are books that insert themselves months afterwards, at odd, idle, or occasionally opportune moments. … Read more

DE|COMPOSITION: Life and death in process

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In DE|COMPOSITION, artist, political ecologist, geographer, and environmental scientist Linzi Lewis puts forward the notion that “Life is a fragile and uncertain celebration.” Death is certain and integral to life, rebirth is intangible yet constant. Somewhere in between the two is where she locates her performance.

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White Wine for Brighter Days Ahead

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The past month has been a tough one. Although our livers are probably thanking us for the reprieve, if you own a restaurant, winery, brewery, distillery, or anything in between, it has meant the dread of reduced income and lost jobs.

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Commuting crisis

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The path to Cape Town’s teetering public transport is long foretold.

Reeling from the shocking scenes of unrest in KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng, Cape Town experienced chaos of a different kind when the city’s teetering public transport system fell apart on the evening of 19 July.… Read more

Drugs in our seawater

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Pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, are accumulating in False Bay

False Bay receives so much persistent pollution from Cape Town that antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs are in the seawater, and accumulating up the food chain.

This has implications for antibiotic resistance, which the World Health Organisation states is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today.… Read more

Development of dodgy tricks at the River Club

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A defamatory letter to author MacKenzie Scott, whose ex-husband was Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, was attached to a complaint recently sent to the BackaBuddy crowdfunding platform the Observatory Civic Association is using to raise funds for its legal challenge to the R4.5bn River Club development.… Read more

City wins the irony award

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In what is either a well conceived counter-intuitive public relations manoeuvre, or the possibly embarrassing result of a democratic process, two of the people who have been leading the persistent and dedicated opposition to the River Club development have been presented with civic awards.… Read more