Opinion Pieces Archives - Page 18 of 43

Jesus: Separating the Man from the Myths

By Dean McCleland in History, Religion 3 February 2016 0 Comment

In the annals of history Jesus is undoubtedly the most revered and well-known man. In spite of having four biographies written about him in the form of the first four Gospels of the New Testament, he remains an enigma. The cause of this consternation is that the four Gospels do not form a seamless whole. For the pious these inconsistencies must be overlooked but in this blog I will produce a reality check on the facts and list what could be myth. Were the Gospels in fact the gospel truth about the life and times of Jesus?

Main picture: The Dead Scrolls provided an evocative insight into one the sects contemporaneous with Jesus’ life. Whether as Barbara Thiering contends Jesus was an Essene is a moot point. Nevertheless these scrolls do throw a new light on the times when Jesus was alive.

Is my Dog Racist?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs 30 January 2016 1 Comment

Am I being paranoid but in the wake of the recent spate of accusations of racism being levelled at various individuals even for the non-racist actions in some instances, I decided to apply the principle of risk control and mitigation. To do so, I closely monitored the members of my household. Then it dawned on me. One of the closely knit McCleland clan was a closet racist, albeit subliminally. I was aghast. After assiduously training my children to treat all humans as equals and never to despise them, I had forgotten about my dogs. What am I to do? Surely I will bear the burden of responsibility for this omission?

Main picture: The possible miscreant – Dog L – enjoying herself not on the beach but in a pond at Delta Park. No littering was allowed during the making of these photographs. In addition the litter was placed in the appropriate recycling bins

Why is there an Epidemic of Heroin Overdoses amongst the American Middle Class?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Health 22 January 2016 0 Comment

Outside of America, the mindless stupidity of heroin addiction, that is currently ravaging the white Middle Class, is a relatively unknown phenomenon. Even the Presidential hopefuls are being intensively interrogated about their plans to remedy the situation. Teenager-dom is a turbulent period in youngsters lives and experimentation is the norm, but why is there is sudden spike in heroin addiction in the United States?

Main picture: The final humiliation

What happened to the Hippie Culture and their Social Revolution?

By Dean McCleland in History 20 January 2016 3 Comments

Perhaps two concepts more than any other encapsulate this revolution – free sex and drugs use. Intriguingly why did a rabidly anti-establishment cultural revolution arise when America was flourishing? Foremost it was due to the fact that during the 1960s and 1970s there was deep-rooted social discontent amongst the youth of America. Perhaps there are four reasons germane to this discussion. Did the experiences of all hippies conform to the expectation that all hippie communes operated on the same modus vivendi or were their members’ experiences unique to each commune? What happened to the offspring of these commune members? Did the revolution have an impact on society in general or did it metastasize and influence it in a myriad of ways which now form part of the establishment’s soul.

Main picture: A vivid evocation of the quintessential hippie lifestyle

Will the Latest Proposals to Reduce the Carnage on the Roads Work?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs 18 January 2016 0 Comment

After the shocking increase of 14% in the number of road fatalities this Christmas season to 1755, the Department of Transport is proposing to re-classify all road traffic offences to Schedule 5 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the same as murder and rape, thus making it more difficult for people to get bail. In effect by delaying the granting of bail by up to a week, the alleged guilty parties are de facto being punished. Firstly is this constitutional and secondly will this amendment actually improve driving behaviour? What unintended consequences will ensue?

Personal experiences: Why South Africa is failing?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs 8 January 2016 0 Comment

I could dwell on all South Africa’s major ills such as an incompetent ANC or Zuma’s single-handed attempt to detail the South African economy. Alternatively I could lament about other ailments such as Zuma’s friend Dudu Myeni’s bid to insert some crony into the Airbus deal at a cost of R1.6 billion to SAA. No. Let me rather rail against my everyday experiences which indicate that all is not well in sunny South Africa.

Main picture: This surreal walkway recently installed in Cape Town, South Africa, creates a meandering, aerial path that allows visitors to stroll through the treetops. The steel-and-pinewood Kirstenbosch Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway begins on the forest floor, gradually sloping upward and eventually elevating guests to a spectacular vantage point above the canopy.

Rating General Montgomery: A Further Rebuttal

By Dean McCleland in History 3 January 2016 0 Comment

The blog “Rating the Generals of WW2” has certainly stirred a hornet’s nest. Firstly Luigi admonished me for neglecting General Slim of Burma. This unintended omission confirms that both the 14^th Army and its Commanding Officer are now forgotten, true to their namesake, The Forgotten [14^th] Army. In this case, a peremptory mea culpa and honour was satisfied. Not so in the case of Montgomery. After publishing Blaine’s rebuttal on my rating, I then used the right of reply to question the speed of Montgomery’s advance from El-Alamein after crushing the Axis Powers. Blaine has taken umbrage with my interpretation of Montgomery’s “ponderous” advance across Cyrenaica & Tripolitania in Libya. The essence of the dispute is whether Montgomery was rightly cautious and considered or whether he was ponderous and unimaginative. Whereas Blaine favours the former interpretation, I favour the latter.

Main picture: Montgomery and his adversary Erwin Rommel, both vainglorious and publicity seeking

Breakthroughs and Innovations during 2016-Non-polluting energy

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs 1 January 2016 1 Comment

Many magazines including Time and Popular Science list their choices of the best innovations for the year. Time Magazine has just released theirs. Whilst many of them may be classified as innovative none will significantly improve the lives of the majority on earth. None are particularly earth-shattering nor do many inspire my imagination. My list of breakthroughs and innovations for 2016 is not a prophesy but rather a wish-list. Instead they should be transformative second order changes. This blog deals with the intractable problem of non-polluting power.

Main picture: 1000 years temperature versus CO2 readings Continue reading

Hitler: The Formative Years

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 30 December 2015 1 Comment

From around fourteen years of age – no precise age can be determined – Hitler started experiencing delusions of grandeur. He wanted to become a world famous painter. More insightful into Hitler’s character than this fantasy, was the fact that he scorned the notion of having to earn one’s daily living. Being a loner he seldom had friends. To use an expressive modern term, Hitler was an odd-ball, the archetypal non-entity, the little grey man who blended into the background. As such, detailed records and acounts of Hitler’s youth are sparse at best but whatever is extant all points to an eccentric misanthropic youth. What was Hitler like as a child and why did he develop these surreal notions about life?

Main picture: One of Hitler’s water colours

Should We Confront Taxi Drivers when they Err?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs 22 December 2015 0 Comment

Anecdotal evidence suggests that most taxi drivers must commit at least a 100 traffic violations per day. It is their egregious behaviour of failing to adhere to any traffic ordinances that incenses the other road users. After a Facebook video went viral showed a motorist taking on a taxi driver in Durban, the general consensus was that the ordinary motorist should confront the errant taxi drivers more often. But is that the correct method of preventing them disobeying of the traffic regulations?

Main picture: In these scenes from a Facebook video, a motorist can be seen refusing to give way to a taxi driving on the wrong side of the road in Glenwood. In frame 1 the taxi pulls into oncoming traffic, in 2 he tries to push in but in 3 he is stopped, in 4 and 5 he reverses and in 6 he makes his escape.

The Opinion Pieces are an eclectic bunch on current affairs & history often with a human interest aspect. The Movie/DVDs reviews are mainly on documentaries with a smattering of movie reviews.

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