South African Men's Liberation from Colonial Naming Values

South African husbands are now legally entitled to adopt their wives’ surnames – a right previously denied under civil registration laws – the country’s Constitutional Court have found, in a ruling described as "historic" in local media. 

In the decision issued on Thursday, Justice Leona Theron (left) found that the prevailing legal framework imposed outdated colonial values and reinforced patriarchal assumptions. 

According the Citizen outlet, Justice Theron stated that the tradition of women taking their husbands’ surnames stems from a “a colonial import rooted in patriarchal norms where women were seen as legally inferior to their husbands and expected to assume their identity”. 

In her decision, Theron noted that the law’s failure to offer men the same right constituted unfair gender-based discrimination. The court suspended the declaration for 24 months, granting Parliament time to amend the legislation or introduce a new framework. 

The court’s judgment followed a legal challenge brought earlier this year by two South African couples: Jana Jordaan and Henry Van Der Merwe, and Jess Donnelly-Bornman and Andreas Nicolas Bornman. 

According to reporting by News24, applicant Henry Van Der Merwe had been entirely blocked from assuming the surname of his wife, Jana Jordaan, despite the couple mutually agreeing on the change prior to their marriage. In a similar case, Andreas Bornman was denied permission by the Department of Home Affairs to hyphenate his surname to include that of his wife, Jess Donnelly. 

There are generally no prohibitions preventing husbands from taking their wives’ surnames across Africa. For example, in Kenya, the law allows any adult to change their name for any reason through a gender-neutral process involving a deed poll. In Nigeria, name changes are also done via deed poll. In Zimbabwe, a notarial deed of change of name and gazette publication is required. 

The exception is North Africa, where countries like Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt do not provide for surname changes through marriage at all, spouses must retain their birth names, and any alteration requires a separate judicial or administrative procedure.

At the $366,000 Egyptian Open in Giza on Saturday, world No. 8 Sivasangari Subramaniam, who received a first-round bye, opened her campaign in the second round against Egypt's world No. 45.   

She beat Nour Heikal 13-11, 11-9, 11-5 in 29 minutes. 

In fact, she's Malaysia’s sole representative to advance to the third round, following the elimination of three other Malaysian players including Rachel Arnold, Aira Azman, and national men’s number one Ng Eain Yow.

Donald Trump’s New Tariffs

We're seeing another TACO moment! 

United States President Donald Trump on Monday extended a pause on his sweeping reciprocal tariffs to August 01, while also sending “tariff letters” to fourteen countries, warning they would be subject to the new tariff rates if they failed to reach a trade deal with the US by the new deadline. 

As he spelt out in the letters, the rates could be modified "upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your country". I'm not even sure anymore what he actually means. 

[Note: The term TACO – Trump Always Chickens Out – was coined by Financial Times commentator Robert Armstrong to describe what he says is the president's tiresome pattern of announcing heavy tariffs on countries causing economic shock, panic and stock market hits and then later reversing course with pauses or reductions that create a market rebound]. 

For South Africa, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia, these tariff rates are identical to what Trump had announced on April 02. Malaysia and Japan saw a 1 percent increase and the other eight countries – Kazakhstan, Laos, Myanmar, Tunisia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bangladesh, Serbia and Cambodia – will now encounter lower tariffs than they did on "Liberation Day". 

FYI, during the 90-day pause, the US only managed to broker two "deals" (if you can call them deals!) with the United Kingdom and Vietnam. 

The first deal was secured on May 08, between the US and the UK, setting a 10 percent tariff on UK exports to the US. The deal states that the first 100,000 vehicles imported into the US from the UK each year will face a 10 percent tariff, down from the 27.5 percent imposed earlier. Additional vehicles imported each year will face a 25 percent tariff. 

On July 02, Trump announced that he had secured a deal with Vietnam, which now faces a minimum 20 percent tariff in exchange for opening its market up to the US. Transshipments from third countries through Vietnam will face a 40 percent levy, while US products will not face any tariff in Vietnam. Specific details for this deal are unclear. On April 02, Trump had announced a 46 percent tariff on Vietnam. 

Meanwhile, US stocks, based on the three major indices, fell on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.94 percent; S&P 500, which tracks the stock performance of 500 leading US companies, fell by 0.79 percent; and the Nasdaq Composite saw a 0.92 percent drop.

WHO Worry Over Africa

The World Health Organization worry over Africa. 

On Friday they said that the total number of intensive-care unit beds across 43 of the continent's 54 countries is lower than 5,000. This translates to around five ICU beds per million in these nations – as compared to 4,000 per million in Europe. 

What’s more, the WHO said that 41 African countries have reported having fewer than 2,000 functional ventilators available to their public health services. 

You may or may not know it but February 14, 2020 saw the first coronavirus case confirmed in the continent – in Egypt. 

On March 19, thirty-three countries have already reported more than 600 cases and 17 deaths. 

Yesterday, according to figures compiled by the agency EFE, fifty-two countries have been infected – yielding 11,703 cases and 609 deaths.

The numbers are building up, slowly and surely. That's becoming a big worry. 

Africa’s Top Seven Covid-19 countries:

From imposing travel bans to prohibiting mass gatherings and shutting down schools, governments across Africa are increasingly adopting sweeping measures in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19. 

The emergency moves come amid a worrying increase in the number of infections registered across the continent. 

Still, health experts expressed confidence that the lessons learned from previous health emergencies, including the devastating Ebola outbreak in 2014-2016 that killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa, will help in the fight against the coronavirus. 

I pray Covid-19 won’t inflict a heavy blow on Africa.

Extreme Lockdown Responses

Worldwide, there are now more than 1.5 million confirmed Covid-19 infections.

In Africa, it has already passed 10,000 cases.

Therefore, there are legitimate reasons to be apprehensive about the disease since many countries have poor healthcare systems that could be easily overwhelmed, resulting in an unprecedented health disaster. 

Some measures being used to fight Covid-19 border on over-zealousness that is a cause for worry and alarm. It appears that in a couple of countries, the police and military have been harassing, beating and, in some cases, killing people as they vigorously enforce measures aimed at preventing the spread of the pathogen.

Ugandan police hit vendors who refused to clear the streets 

A South African police officer forcing people to disperse and observe the safety distance as they queue outside a supermarket in Yeoville, Johannesburg, on March 28, 2020

Their actions are at the sharp end of a debate over the balance between personal freedoms and human rights on the one hand, and the need to protect society as a whole from coronavirus on the other. 

In Nairobi, Kenya, a 13-year-old boy playing on a balcony in a high rise residential building in the capital, Nairobi, was shot dead after being hit by what police described as a "stray bullet". 

Three other deaths, including that of a motorcycle taxi rider who succumbed to injuries after being beaten by police, have been reported in the local press. 

On Wednesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta has apologized "to all Kenyans… for some excesses which were conducted" by the security forces, while urging the public to abide by measures the government had put in place to contain the spread of the virus. 

In neighboring Uganda, Human Rights Watch have accused police of using "excessive force" – including beating fruit and vegetable sellers and motorcycle taxi riders.

Moreover, police arrested 23 people during a raid on a shelter for homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, accusing them of disobeying orders by remaining in the shelter and charging them with "a negligent act likely to spread infection of disease", HRW said. 

In the face of mounting criticism, 10 officers were charged with torture on Tuesday after being accused of caning 38 women and forcing them to swim in mud in the northern town of Elegu. The officers have not yet been asked to plead. 

While in South Africa, which has recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases on the continent, at least eight people have been killed by police since a nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 26, the country's Independent Police Investigative Directorate said. 

During these anxious times, some governments are adopting a “Better Safe Than Sorry” approach but even so, violence is inexcusable.

In case anybody is interested to know on the coronavirus situations in the above-mentioned countries:

French Doctors Suggest Vaccine Test in Africa

It is altogether appalling and outrageously offensive that two French doctors had seriously suggested that Africans be used to test a potential vaccine for Covid-19. 

The comments were made on the French television channel, LCI, during a discussion on Wednesday about coronavirus trials set to be launched in Europe and Australia to see if the BCG tuberculosis vaccine could be used to treat the virus. 

Jean-Paul Mira, head of the intensive care unit at the Cochin Hospital in Paris had said: "It may be provocative. Should we not do this study in Africa where there are no masks, no treatment or intensive care, a little bit like it's been done for certain AIDS studies, where among prostitutes, we try things, because we know that they are highly exposed and don't protect themselves?" 

Camille Locht, research director at France's national health institute, INSERM, nodded his head in agreement: "You are right. We are in the process of thinking about a study in parallel in Africa". 

Dr Mira had earlier questioned whether the study would work as planned on healthcare workers in Australia and Europe because they had access to personal protective equipment while working. 

The show sparked widespread anger and furious indignation. 

When asked about the doctors' suggestion, WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (left) became visibly angry, condemning it as “racist” and calling it a hangover from the "colonial mentality". 

He declared emphatically: "Africa can't and won't be a testing ground for any vaccine". 

The doctors' comments have fueled existing fears in Africa that African people will be the guinea pigs for a new coronavirus vaccine. 

Coronavirus centers have been targeted in African countries – most recently, a facility that was under construction in Abidjan, Ivory Coast was attacked and destroyed by protesters. Footage posted on social media showed people tearing the center apart with their bare hands, and smashing construction materials on the ground. 

We may be in the twenty-first century but racial bigotry is alive and well.

FYI, Africa is also not spared from Covid-19. The top 7 countries with the biggest number of infections and deaths are:

The Courageous Crayfish

I have been mulling over this Swiss law about boiling lobsters alive – kindly read my post "Lobsters Sense Pain" published June 01, 2018 – and I am beginning to acknowledge it is a good law. 

The case of a crayfish (Phylum: Arthropoda; Subphylum: Crustacea; Class: Malacostraca) that decided it didn’t want to be somebody’s dinner supports my view.

The crustacean had crawled out of a steaming Chinese hotpot (火锅 huǒguō /hwor-gwor/ 'fire-pot') in a restaurant in China – as can be seen from the 11-second video posted by a user named Jiuke on the Chinese social media site Weibo.

It wasn't ready to be cooked and eaten. I'm supposing it sensed pain and that triggered it to make an exit. It found courage to clamber out of a receptacle of piping hot spicy soup and in the process, amputated one of its claws.

A dramatic escape that makes the courageous crayfish an online hero. And the video has since gone viral. 

Many Weibo users had called for the never-say-die crayfish to be shown mercy. 

Not to worry because Jiuke had already decided to let the crustacean live. 

"I let him live, I already took him home and am raising him in an aquarium", he declared. 

And the escape artist will not have to live with only one claw for the rest of its life. Marine experts say crayfish are able to grow back limbs. 

In fact, UK’s The Mail reported in 2014 that a pregnant lobster which lost both claws and four legs had managed to grow all her limbs and even claws. 

In case you don't know, crayfish are freshwater cousins to the lobster, although smaller.

(Cooked) Crayfish in Tomato Sauce. Image credit: Webpage https://www.thespruceeats.com/spanish-crayfish-recipe-crayfish-in-tomato-sauce-3083697

Updates on the World Cup so far: 

On Thursday, in Group C, Denmark played to a 1-1 draw against Australia and France vanquished Peru 1-0. 

I was right not to consider Argentina as one of sixteen countries to progress to the next knockout stage – I reckon they are just not good enough, even with Lionel Messi in the team. I was right because they were squashed 0-3 by Croatia. 

On Friday, in Group E, Brazil managed to score two late goals against Costa Rica. 

(In fact, Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino and former Liverpool player Philippe Coutinho were instrumental in giving Brazil their first goal). 

In Group D, Nigeria whipped Iceland 2-0 and which of these two countries will join Croatia – already guaranteed a place in the last 16 after winning their first two games – will depend on the remaining two games. 

Nigeria qualify if they beat Argentina but a draw would be enough if Iceland do not beat Croatia. On the other hand, Iceland must beat Croatia and hope Nigeria don't beat Argentina. 

In Group E, Switzerland overcame Serbia 2-1. That victory is the first game at the 2018 World Cup to see a side win from a losing position. 

And on Saturday, in Group G, Tunisia were walloped 2-5 by Belgium. And in Group F, Mexico triumphed 2-1 over South Korea and Germany did the same to Sweden by the same margin.

Germany sure love to live dangerously. This is the ninth consecutive occasion that the country had followed a defeat at the World Cup with a victory.

Raya and the World Cup

Image credit: http://www.projektravel.com/2017/06/koleksi-ucapan-dan-pantun-hari-raya.html

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all Muslims everywhere! Maaf zahir dan batin kepada semua! 

The number of Brazilians who claim they have no interest in football has grown considerably in the last eight years. 

A Datafolha poll conducted in January 29 and 30, 2018, shows that 41% of respondents said they had no interest in football. The rate is ten percentage points higher than the survey carried out in April 2010, the last to address this topic. 

The drop in the number of those who claim to have no interest in the sport was also followed by a decrease in the percentage of people who say they have great interest (from 32% to 26%) and little interest (from 16% to 9%) in the sport. 

The variation in the number of people who say they have average interest in football was within the poll's margin of error of two percentage points (from 22% to 23%). 

Even more interesting is that the research revealed that football, at least nowadays, is not the sport of the masses. People with lower purchasing power – the largest population in Brazil – were the least interested in the sport. 

Not even the World Cup (June 14–July 15, 2018) in Russia seems to be doing the trick. 

In line with results from the general football poll, the number of people interested in the World Cup has dropped, and the rate of those not interested at all has gone upward from 18% to 42%. 

I’m not too keen on the World Cup too. It’s pretty much predictable. 

In the current round of fixtures, there will be the obvious moments of A-list gold. Matches involving Uruguay and Russia from Group A; Spain and Portugal from Group B; France and Denmark from Group C; Iceland and Nigeria from Group D; Brazil and Switzerland from Group E; Germany and Sweden from Group F; England and Tunisia from Group G; and Colombia and Japan from Group H should keep us all glued to the TV screen. 

Those are my predictions anyway. I believe they should make it to the Round of 16 – but don't discount Mexico and Peru because they might just spring a surprise. 

Presently, thirty-two teams compete in the World Cup – although FIFA plans to expand to 48 teams for the 2026 tournament. 

Oh my, that sounds like a placid World Cup format that is bound to make me jump with rapturous disinterest.

As in previous World Cups, I'm keeping faith with Germany. And France.

Wonder Woman Wows Audiences Except

Image credit: http://screenrant.com/wonder-woman-movie-posters-gal-gadot/

“Wonder Woman” starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot, is wowing audiences everywhere and shattering box office records in the US of A and elsewhere.

But the film isn’t getting as warm a reception from some countries due to Gadot’s Israeli heritage. Lebanon was not the only country to ban the film last week.

Wonder Woman had been dumped from the Nuits du Cinéma film festival in Algeria.

Jordan banned a screening of Wonder Woman, warning domestic theaters not to show the film until and unless an official government decision is made to permit its screening.

And according to The Jerusalem Post, the Tunisian Association of Young Lawyers had filed a lawsuit, labeling Gadot a “champion Zionist". The suit reportedly led to the suspension of the summer blockbuster, which was set to hit theaters on Thursday.

While these countries referenced the reasoning being that Gadot is from Israel, they haven't been successful in banning any of her past films, including "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "The Fast and Furious" franchise.

Movies that starred Israeli-born actress Natalie Portman also have had no problem screening in Arab nations, according to The Atlantic.

The 1959 original version of "Ben-Hur" was banned by all Arab League states because lead actress Haya Harareet was an Israeli. "Exodus" (1960) was banned in Syria and Egypt, along with all of Paul Newman's other films, because of the actor's support of Zionism and Israel. Jordan banned the films of Danny Kaye and Elizabeth Taylor in the 1950s and early 1960s because Kaye contributed money to Zionism and Taylor was labeled a "Zionist agent" – the same term similarly used to describe Gadot.

[Note: Zionism is defined as a Jewish nationalist movement, which goal is to form a Jewish National state in the ancient homeland of the Jews, Palestine].

These countries won’t know what they’re missing. Oh well, we will just keep Gal Gadot to ourselves.

The $150 million-budgeted superhero epic earned $205 million in the US and its overseas cume amounted to $230.2 million – that’s $435.2 million worldwide in just under two weeks of play. So yeah, it's officially a super hit!

Reuters pic

The annual Pride Parade was replaced with a Resist March as tens of thousands of people marched in Washington, Los Angeles and other US cities yesterday for LGBT rights.

Many of those attending said they felt their community was under threat from the Donald Trump administration.

They should know they're not the only ones.

Protests in Tunisia, Egypt and Elsewhere

Change will not be stopped at the door. Change demanded entry. And so one Tunisian’s self-immolation on December 28, 2010 and fueled by social media, cell phones and young people sparked a violent uprising of angry fellow citizens. After 23 years of iron-fisted rule, Tunisia’s president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was driven from power on January 14.

Image credit: http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/self-immolation-leads-to-massive-protests-in-tunisia-1.334934 Image credit: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/01/14/2583344/ap-topics-hindu-festival-makar.html. Image credit: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/12/tunisia-riots-photos-unem_n_808059.html#s222875&title=Politics_ Image credit: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/01/14/2583344/ap-topics-hindu-festival-makar.html Image credit: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/africa/110114/tunisia-tunis-riots-protest-africa-egypt-arab Image credit: http://newshopper.sulekha.com/aptopix-tunisia-riots_photo_1669068.htm Image credit: http://blogs.sacbee.com/photos/ .

Then change knocked on Egypt’s door. When an electronic message first came out that a revolution was being planned for January 25, the Egyptians were skeptical. But people did gather in their thousands and the protests grew so big, so raucous, so unrelenting. What started as a peaceful day with only chants for change, unfolded, into a day, and subsequent ones, with unprecedented widespread brutality at the hands of police and their thugs – until the Army stepped in and took control. As a result of continued popular protest and pressure, Mubarak finally resigned from office, quietly leaving Cairo on February 11.

Image credit: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Anti-government-protests-Egypt/ss/events/wl/012511egyptprotest;_ylt=AhyFQsUzfFhRdt4OAHNHwOgUewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTE3OW44Nm4xBHBvcwMyMwRzZWMDeW5fZmVhdHVyZWQEc2xrA3NsaWRlc2hvd19saQ--#photoViewer=/110204/ids_photos_wl/r206466483.jpg Image credit: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Anti-government-protests-Egypt/ss/events/wl/012511egyptprotest;_ylt=AhyFQsUzfFhRdt4OAHNHwOgUewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTE3OW44Nm4xBHBvcwMyMwRzZWMDeW5fZmVhdHVyZWQEc2xrA3NsaWRlc2hvd19saQ--#photoViewer=/110204/481/urn_publicid_ap_org62ffa6d348a24f62a111d1ba16d23d0a Image credit: http://blogs.sacbee.com/photos/ Image credit: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/26/egypt-protest-mubarak_n_814423.html#230285 Image credit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1350459/Egypt-Lebanon-protests-Thousands-clash-police-streets.html Image credit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12306373, January 28, 2011 Image credit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1350459/Egypt-Lebanon-protests-Thousands-clash-police-streets.html

And citizens in other countries have become emboldened too and similarly took to the streets. Algeria. Bahrain. Jordan. Libya. Morocco. Yemen. The media writes that there is genuine anger on the streets. 

I wonder if this is really the unleashing of people power for democracy. Or if there is a sinister motive. Suddenly, in quick succession, we're seeing protests flare up in so many Arab countries!