current affairs

Finland’s government is toying with the idea of joining NATO. And the decision will be made in weeks, not months, according to Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

I had a flashback earlier this week to the killing of Trayvon Martin. It was at the point at which the United States could potentially have degenerated into the type of chaos that followed the murder of George Floyd.

We are not seeing much of this in western media, but this is the most important story in the world right now. Here's why:

1.     Riots broke out following removal of price controls on fuel which saw prices of petrol, diesel, and LNG double.

Just a brief, philosophical note today on Jean-Jacques Rousseau (28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778), Genevan philosopher, writer and composer.

Rousseau was famously against property rights. I quote:

As pictures roll in from around the country of our urban masses crammed into peri-urban slums (which we sanctimoniously refer to as informal settlements), many of us have taken to sharing sentiments about how privileged we are to be relatively safe within our middle-class and upper-class dwellings.

Privileged? No. At best, we are lucky.

Day 1 of lockdown in South Africa greeted with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement today that he had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

Seth Goddin earlier this month wrote about the notion of "objective reality". I quote:

Objective reality is measured. It’s not based on talking points. It’s repeatable and verifiable. When humans share an understanding of how things are objectively, we’re able to make enormous progress, because this objective reality is consistent.

There are some things in life that help me sleep easier, and one of those things is that we have a singularly incompetent South African National Defence Force.

South Africa's budget deficit for this year is R370 billion.

(That's the difference between the money government receives in taxes and the amount government spends by borrowing.)

This triggered a thought as to what we could have spent that money on as a nation, and as I started by taking a look at companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.