Monday, January 14, 2008

Ethical Issues

Abortion

The abortion debate asks whether it can be morally right to terminate a pregnancy before normal childbirth.

Some people think that abortion is always wrong. Some think that abortion is right when the mother's life is at risk. Others think that there is a range of circumstances in which abortion is morally acceptable.

Animal ethics

Rational argument about the right and wrong way to treat animals is made more difficult by the deep love that many of us feel for animals.

For philosophers it raises fundamental questions about the basis of moral rights.

An electric chair with headpiece and straps on the arms and legs

Capital punishment

The question as to whether or not it is morally acceptable for the state to execute people, and if so under what circumstances, has been debated for centuries.

The ethical problems involved include the general moral issues of punishment with the added problem of whether it is ever morally right to deprive a human being of life.

Contraception

What do philosophy and religions say about contraception? Is it an issue of human rights?

Is there ever a duty to use contraception?

Euthanasia

Euthanasia is the deliberate killing of a person for the benefit of that person.

In most cases euthanasia is carried out because the person who dies asks for it, but there are cases called euthanasia where a person can't make such a request.

Female Circumcision

Female circumcision usually involves the cutting or removal of the clitoris. This area of the genitals is very sensitive because it contains the most nerve endings.

Genital cutting is a painful practice that is often poorly carried out, and endangers the health and lives of millions of girls, particularly in Africa.

Forced Marriage

The issue of forced marriages has been traditionally treated with hesitation by the government, for fear of offending cultural sensitivities.

But more information about the nature of forced marriages and a clearer understanding of cultural values has brought the subject under scrutiny.

Honour Crimes

Honour killing is the murder of a woman accused of bringing shame upon her family.

Honour killing is an ancient tribal custom and an allegation against a woman can be enough to defile a family's honour and justify her murder.

The United Nations Population Fund estimates that the annual worldwide total of killings might be as high as 5,000 women.

Person in a suit with fingers crossed behind their back

Lying

Lying is probably one of the most common wrong acts that we carry out.

Most people would condemn lying except when there's a good reason for it.

Male Circumcision

Male circumcision is the surgical removal of the foreskin. It usually involves cutting some or all of the fold of the skin that covers the glans (head) of the penis.

Circumcision is primarily carried out for religious or cultural reasons. It is sometimes done for health, hygiene and aesthetic reasons or to treat disease.

Same-sex marriage

Marriage has been one of the fundamental organising principles of human society since history began.

But since the nature of marriage is changing in modern times anyway, with people marrying for love and companionship rather than social need, should the traditionally man-and-woman only club admit new members?

Antique, rusted iron ball and chain with shackle

Slavery

Slavery can broadly be described as the ownership, buying and selling of human beings for the purpose of forced and unpaid labour.

Slavery is one of the things that everyone agrees is unethical.

Sport

Competition is not unethical. It is reasonable that winners be rewarded, even if their victories have an element of chance; this is the essence of a game, and games are fundamental to humanity.

But the allure of winning can drive some competitors to unethical behaviour.

Torture

Torture involves deliberately inflicting physical or mental pain on a person without legal cause.

This includes threats to family members and loved ones.

Ethics of War

Human beings have been fighting each other since prehistoric times, and people have been discussing the rights and wrongs of it for almost as long.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Various Religions

A religion is a set of common beliefs and practices generally held by a group of people, often codified as prayer, ritual, and religious law. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and mystic experience. The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.

Athiesm

Atheism

Atheists are people who do not believe in a god or gods (or other immaterial beings), or who believe that these concepts are not meaningful.

Some atheists put it more firmly and believe that god or gods do not exist.

Bahá'í

The Bahá'í faith is one of the youngest of the world's major religions.

It was founded by Baha'u'llah in Iran in the 19th century.

Buddhism

Buddhism is a tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development. Buddhists strive for a deep insight into the true nature of life and do not worship gods or deities.

Candomblé

Candomblé is a religion based on African beliefs which is particularly popular in Brazil. It is also practised in other countries, and has as many as two million followers.

Christianity

Christianity is the world's biggest religion, with about 2.1 billion followers worldwide. It is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago.

For ease of navigation, we include as Christian any group that sincerely regards itself as Christian, and whose beliefs are based on the teaching of Jesus.

Hinduism

Hinduism originated over 3000 years ago. Hinduism claims to have many founders, teachers and prophets who claim first hand experience of God.

When Hindus promote the idea of spirituality as a principle rather than a personality, they call this Brahman.

Islam

Islam began in Arabia and was revealed to humanity by the Prophet Muhammad. Those who follow Islam are called Muslims.

Muslims believe that there is only one God. The Arabic word for God is Allah.

Jainism

Jainism is an ancient religion from India that teaches that the way to liberation and bliss is to live a life of harmlessness and renunciation.

The aim of Jain life is to achieve liberation of the soul.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses are members of a Christian-based religious movement probably best known for their door-to-door evangelistic work.

There are about 6.5 million active Witnesses in 235 countries in the world (2005), including 1 million in the USA and 125,000 in the UK.

Judaism

Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions and was founded over 3500 years ago in the Middle East.

Jews believe that God appointed the Jews to be his chosen people in order to set an example of holiness and ethical behaviour to the world.

Mormonism

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded in 19th Century America and has over 12 million members world-wide, including 190,000 in the UK.

The Church is centred on Christ, but has substantial differences in belief to the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christian Churches.

Paganism

Paganism encompasses a diverse community with some groups concentrating on specific traditions, practices or elements such as ecology, witchcraft, Celtic traditions or certain gods.

Wiccans, Druids, Shamans, Sacred Ecologists, Odinists and Heathens all make up parts of the Pagan community.

Rastafari

Rastafari is a young, Africa-centred religion which developed in Jamaica in the 1930s, following the coronation of Haile Selassie I as King of Ethiopia in 1930.

Rastafarians believe Haile Selassie is God, and that he will return to Africa members of the black community who are living in exile as the result of colonisation and the slave trade.

Santeria

Santeria (Way of the Saints) is an Afro-Caribbean religion based on Yoruba beliefs and traditions, with some Roman Catholic elements added. The religion is also known as La Regla Lucumi and the Rule of Osha.

Santeria is a syncretic religion that grew out of the slave trade in Cuba.

Shinto

Shinto has no known founder or single sacred scripture.

Shinto is wholly devoted to life in this world and emphasises man's essential goodness.

Sikhism

Sikhism was founded in the Punjab by Guru Nanak in the 15th Century CE and is a monotheistic religion.

Sikhs think religion should be practiced by living in the world and coping with life's everyday problems.

Taoism

Taoism is an ancient tradition of philosophy and religious belief that is deeply rooted in Chinese customs and worldview.

Taoist ideas have become popular throughout the world through Tai Chi Chuan, Qigong, and various martial arts.

Unitarianism

Unitarianism is an open-minded and individualistic approach to religion that gives scope for a very wide range of beliefs and doubts.

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions.

It was founded by the prophet Zoroaster in ancient Iran approximately 3500 years ago.

January Facts, Customs and Traditions

The beginning of the new year and the time to make New Year resolutions.

January was established as the first the first month of the year by the Roman Calendar. It was named after the god Janus (Latin word for door). Janus has two faces which allowed him to look both backwards into the old year and forwards into the new one at the same time. He was the 'spirit of the opening'.

In the very earliest Roman calendars there were no months of January or February at all. The ancient Roman calendar had only ten months and the new year started the year on 1 March. To the Romans, ten was a very important number. Even when January (or Januarius as the Romans called it) was added, the New Year continued to start in March. It remained so in England and her colonies until about 200 years ago.

The Anglo-Saxons called the first month Wolf monath because wolves came into the villages in winter in search of food.

New Year's Day

New Year's Day is the first day of the year, in the Gregorian calendar. In modern times, it is January 1. It is a time for looking forward and wishing for a good year ahead. Big Ben It is also a holiday.

People welcome in the New Year on the night before. This is called New Year's Eve. In Scotland, people celebrate with a lively festival called Hogmanay. All over the world there are parties, fireworks, singing and dancing, to ring out the old year and ring in the new. As the clock strikes midnight, people link arms and sing a song called Auld Lang Syne. It reminds them of old and new friends.

The Door Custom

In the old days, the New Year started with a custom called 'first footing', which was suppose to bring good luck to people for the coming year. As soon as midnight had passed and January 1st had started, people used to wait behind their doors for a dark haired person to arrive. The visitor carried a piece of coal, some bread, some money and some greenery. These were all for good luck - the coal to make sure that the house would always be warm, the bread to make sure everyone in the house would have enough food to eat, money so that they would have enough money, and the greenery to make sure that they had a long life.

The visitor would then take a pan of dust or ashes out of the house with him, thus signifying the departure of the old year.

New Year Superstition

The 1st of January was a highly significant day in medieval superstitions regarding prosperity, or lack of it, in the year ahead. A flat cake was put on one of the horns of a cow in every farmyard. The farmer and his workers would then sing a song and dance around the cow until the cake was thrown to the ground. If it fell in front of the cow that signified good luck; to fall behind indicated the opposite.

Unluckiest Day of the Year

It was an old Saxon belief that 2nd January was one of the unluckiest days of the whole year. Those unfortunate enough to be born on this day could expect to dies an unpleasant death.

St Agnes's Eve 20 January

This was the day on which girls and unmarried women who wished to dream of their future husbands would perform certain rituals before going to bed. These included transferring pins one by one from a pincushion to their sleeve whilst reciting the Lord's Prayer, or abstaining from food and drink all day, walking backwards up the stairs to bed, and eating a portion of dumb cake ( previously prepared with a group of friends in total silence and often containing an unpleasantly large portion of salt) before lying down to sleep.

Customs of the Year's First New Moon

It is said that if you look through a silk handkerchief at the new moon, which has never been washed, the number of moons you see will be the number of years which will pass until you're married. But it is unlucky to see the new moon through a window.

To dream of your future husband, it is said that at the first appearance of the first new moon of the year you should go out and stand over the spars of a gate or stile and look at the moon saying:

All hail to thee moon, all hail to thee,
I prythee, good moon, reveal to me,
This night who my husband shall be.

Festivals and Traditions

Wassailing has been associated with Christmas and New Year as far back as the 1400s. It was a way of passing on good wishes among family and friends.

5th -Twelfth Night

Evening before Epiphany. Twelfth Night marks the end of the medieval Christmas festivities and the end of Twelfthtide (the 12-day season after Christmas ending with Epiphany). Also called Twelfth Day Eve. Twelfth Night is when all Christmas Decorations should be removed so as not to bring bad luck upon the home. If decorations are not removed on Twelfth Night, they should stay up all year.

6th - Epiphany or Twelfth Day

Also known as Old Christmas Day and Twelfthtide. On the twelfth day after Christmas, Christians celebrate the visit of the Magi or wise men to the baby Jesus.

7th St Distaff's Day

This was the day on which women had to return to work with the distaff (another name for a spindle) after the Christmas holiday.

Plough Monday

The day on which work started again after Twelfth Night was known to countryfolk as Plough Monday: the day on which labourers had to return to the fields. The day was also nicknamed St Distaff's Day: the day on which women had to return to work with the distaff (another name for a spindle) after the Christmas holiday.

Wassailing - People went from door to door, rather like carol singers at Christmas times, but at New Year they were called 'wassailers'.

25th - Burns Night

The people of Scotland honour their greatest poet, Robert Burns. He was born on January 25th nearly 245 years ago (1759) and wrote his first song when he was sixteen. A traditional Scottish meal is neaps (swede), tatties (potato) and haggis washed down with whisky.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Castle of Good Hope

The Castle of Good Hope was built between 1666 and 1679, replacing an earlier mud and timber fort built in 1652 by Commander Jan van Riebeeck, the Dutch merchant who landed in Table Bay in 1652, together with 72 men and 8 women. On instruction by the Dutch-East India Trading Company or VOC (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie), the pioneers set up a port of call for their ships to stock up on provisions.In 1664 there were renewed rumours of war between Britain and the Netherlands and they feared a British attack on the Cape. During that same year Commander Zacharius Wagenaer was instructed to build a five-pointed stone castle.

The castle was built for the protection of the early settlers against marauding Hottentots and as the residence of the Governor. The castle is a pentagonal fortification with a moat and five bastions.

This is the oldest remaining building in South Africa. The walls are made of stones from a quarry near Lion's head. The clinkers are directly imported from the Netherlands. The five Bastions are named after the five titles of the Prince of Orania or after the names of the five provinces of the Dutch motherland (Buuren, Catzenellenbogen, Nassau, Oranje and Leerdam).

Situated adjacent to a parking lot and bus station in Buitenkant Street, its walls mark the original boundary of the seashore where the waves washed up against the fortifications.

Its outside aspect is somewhat foreboding, but inside are some interesting features and collections that have been restored, offering a good insight into the early days of the Cape when it was the centre of social and economic life.

The entrance is a good example of 17th century Dutch Classicism. In 1682 the gateway replaced the old entrance, which faced the sea. The bell tower, situated above the main entrance was built in 1684. The original bell - the oldest in South Africa - was cast in Amsterdam in 1697 by Claude Frémy and weighs 670 lbs. It still hangs from the original wood beams in the tower above the entrance. It was used to tell the hours and warn citizens of danger and it could be heard about 10 km away. It was also rung to call residents and soldiers to the Castle for important announcements.

Inside the walls of the Castle there was a church, bakery, workshops, living quarters, offices, cells and numerous other facilities. The yellow paint on the walls was chosen because of its ability to reduce heat and glare from sunlight.

A wall divides the inner courtyard of the Castle. The division was initially intended to provide protection to the inhabitants of the Castle in the event of an attack. The well-known Kat Balcony is an outstanding feature of the dividing wall. The original balcony was built in 1695, then rebuilt in its present form by the VOC between 1786 and 1790. From this balcony proclamations and announcements were made to the soldiers, slaves and civilians at the Cape.

The Kat balcony leads to the famous William Fehr Collection of historical paintings and period furniture, which have a special relevance to the Cape of Good Hope.

The Castle of Good Hope was the regional headquarters of the South African Army in the Western Cape and also contains a Military Museum which houses the ceremonial facilities for the traditional Cape Regiments. The museum depicts the conflicts that arose during the Cape's early settlement. Of interest are the dungeons, which bear the graffiti carved by prisoners incarcerated here centuries ago.

In 1936 the Castle of Good Hope was declared a national monument. As a result of an extensive, ongoing restoration programme launched in the 1980s, the Castle of Good Hope remains the best preserved fortification of its kind built by the VOC in regions where it had interests.

The Castle of Good Hope was not built in consecutive order, so you will jump around from one time in history to another as you explore the Castle, but this adds to its charm.

Traditional ceremonies take place during weekdays.

The Key Ceremony was performed in the Castle from its earliest days and depicts the unlocking of the Castle of Good Hope. This ceremony takes place at 10:00 and 12:00 during weekdays.

The firing of the signal cannon directly after the Key Ceremony is symbolic to indicate the significance of cannons at the Castle of Good Hope.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Music of the Cape Flats

The Cape Flats is probably best known for having given birth to 'Goema' and the lively rhythms and raucous, irregular beats of the Kaapse Klopse (Cape Minstrels). The klopse tradition is deeply entrenched in Cape Flats communities, and troupes practice for many months every year to compete in the annual Cape Minstrel Carnival and the competitions held during the festive season. For interest's sake, the term "klopse" is derived from the word "klop" knock - and seems to refer to the beating of the gummie (a kind of drum) and other percussion which dominates the sound of the minstrel music.

Although nag troepe (Malay choirs) march through the City centre and surrounding areas on New Year's Eve into the early hours of New Year's Day, it is the Tweede Nuwe Jaar (on January 2) that is the highlight of the Minstrel Carnival.The most widely-known theory around the origin of the Tweede Nuwe Jaar celebrations and the significance of having the carnival in January is that is was the only time slaves were given time off. So they painted their faces on the day after New Year's Day and entertained their masters. The other theory is that the minstrels, who come largely from the coloured community, use the carnival as a time to celebrate the birth of the coloured nation. The reasoning is this... According to the history books, Dutch coloniser, Jan van Riebeeck arrived in the Cape in April. Without his wife to tame his desires, he took advantage of the black local women. Nine months later the first child of mixed origin, the first coloured child, was born. This is not a popular theory, but its plausible, we think...

Either way, it is safe to say that New Year's in Cape Town goes hand in hand with the Klopse carnival.

And while the Goema is largely recognised to as being distinctly Cape Town, it's roots lie mainly in Latin-American and Brazilian music. Because Cape Town is a port city, and was a popular stopover on the slave route, it is believed that the music of the Cape Flats drew influence from the various types of music that was "imported" through the slave trade which brought people from Brazil.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Our garden makeover

Renovating our garden was a huge challenge, especially for me a first-timer. But with a little research and a healthy dose of patience, flexibility, and elbow grease, I turned what was once a monstrous bare backyard made up of a huge pool and lots of grass into a garden we love — and had fun in the process.

With four children already out the house, I found that the pool maintenance was just not worth it as we rarely swan and wanted to change it from a kids’ hangout into a dream garden.

I poured through magazines and started making a scrapbook of all the gardens that I liked. Once I had settled on a design, I started sourcing contractors to do the major work. I draw up a scaled picture of what I thought the garden should look like and gave this to the various contractors.

I wanted a more appealing view and a more practical swimming pool and lots of greenery.

Before: Huge pool with grass on each side and nothing else Picture taken - 11/01/2004 Under my watchful eye, and combined with all the ideas into a master plan. I engaged t services of a pool builder to break in the old pool and create a rock pool in the deep end of the old pool. They came there with jackhammers and dumpsters and broke down the old pool on the 01/06/2006.

After: now the garden is an oasis. I designed the pool

The whole garden makeover took three months from start to complete and I will show you some of the steps in the process. It is always a work in progress but it is now at the stage (1 year later) that it is exactly as I envisaged it from the first scratchy drawings.

Breaking down the old pool. No going back now
01/06/2006

Building the retaining wall inside the old pool’s deep end
02/06/2006

Putting in the steel re-enforcing
05/06/2006

Cement sprayed into the shell
06/06/2006

Pool taking shape and had to dry for a couple of weeks. Winter is our rainy season so the cement took a long while to dry.
20/06/2006

Rock features finished and first paint applied.
04/07/2006

Laying out the garden.
23/07/2006

Pool filled
23/07/2006

Some of the plants going in. A lot of the plants were indigenous to South Africa. I also put it an irrigation system which is fed from a borehole.
24/07/2006