Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts

Saturday, September 01, 2012

More Oppressive Nonsense from People of Faith

A view of the Upper Campus of the University o...
University of Cape Town (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Those ignorant Christians have been at it again, this time discovering a potential breakthrough in the battle against malaria.

As reported, Professor Kelly Chibale of the University of Cape Town leads an African research team which has discovered a compound which may block transmission of the parasite from person to person. 

Professor Chibale, who is also Director of the South African Medical Research Council, says of the breakthrough: 

'Our team is hopeful that the compound will emerge from rigorous testing as an extremely effective medicine for malaria - a disease that accounts for 24 per cent of total child deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.'

South Africa's Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, describes the discovery as 

"a significant victory in the battle to alleviate the burden of disease in the subcontinent."

Professor Chibale is a member of the multi-racial Jubilee Community Church in Cape Town.

Christians have long been at the forefront of similar de-humanising and oppressive developments, including:
  • the origins of modern nursing, originating in the churches of the Roman empire, and developed through the work of Christian philanthropists in the nineteenth century
  • the abolition of slavery in the C19 lead by British and American evangelical Christians
  • the leadership of the civil rights movement in the United States by, among others, the Rev Martin Luther King
  • the prominent role played by Christian NGOs in a range of development issues, including the abolition of debt among the world's poorest countries (The Jubilee Campaign)
 





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Saturday, September 18, 2010

Hugh Masekela BBC4

Hugh Masekela (1)Image by H.L.I.T. via Flickr
Enjoyed last night's Welcome to South Africa, profiling Jazz trumpeter and singer Hugh Masekela.

Having seen the silver-trumpeted one live a couple of times, I was both mesmerized by some of the songs featured, and a little unsure about the choice of the predominately white British choir accompanying him at the Barbican, where he played his 70th Birthday concert last December.

Only when I spotted choir-master Gareth Malone on stage for the final song did I put the pieces together and, with a bit of help from google, figure out that the choir was the London Symphony Orchestra's St Luke's Community Choir and that the concert featured on the programme was probably the last performance of the choir with Malone as musical director.

To me, the performances lacked something of the rawness and energy of Masekela's younger days, but the fusion of the orchestra, choir, jazz, mbaqanga, Hugh's gravelly voice and his silky smooth trumpet playing did, without a doubt, create a beautiful sound.

If you missed the programme, it's on iPlayer right here (but only for seven days, you know how it goes).












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Saturday, June 26, 2010