Unrest in Port Elizabeth

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Other Galleries 1 Comment

Port Elizabeth is still close to my heart as I was raised there. I only relocated to Joburg after completing my articles as there were no work opportunities there. Due to the numerous protest actions nationally mainly as a result of service delivery – poor, non-existent or shoddy – it is a daily occurrence throughout South Africa. Due to the number of these riots, they receive little publicity. For me this one did. My paternal grandmother Daisy Elizabeth McCleland, the family matriarch, lived at 99 Albert Street which judging by the photographs is slightly off the epicentre of some of these riots.
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Hlaudi Motsoeneng awarded a Permanent Number as a Mampara

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, SA Heroes and Mamparas 0 Comment

In the running fraternity in South Africa, one is awarded a Permanent Number for completing a certain number of a specific race. In the case of the Comrades, it is 10 finishes within the cut-off time. For the runner it is regarded as a prestigious award and an honour which is conferred on one. It is indicative of one’s dedication and hard work in obtaining this exalted award. Similarly with Hlaudi. He has gone beyond the call of duty in his management and leadership of the SABC. Thus he is a worthy recipient of this illustrious award for 2015. It requires a particular breed of ignoramus and imbecile to be awarded this noteworthy prize.

Firstly a brief look at Hlaudi’s stellar academic achievements. As far as can be ascertained, Hlaudi distinguished himself by obtaining a Standard 3 pass. It is still unclear whether this was a first class pass with distinctions or whether he obtained an F for Woodworking like another eminent colleague, Juju aka Julius Malema.

Main picture: The teflon coated man in his armour plated suit escapes yet again

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What is the Cost of a Life?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Health 0 Comment

To use an overused word, human life is priceless but on the obverse side, there is the small matter of cost. Simply put:  With the whole slew of new & innovative medical treatments and medicines coming onto the market where does one draw the line in providing all these potentially life-saving treatments?

Lest anyone is under the misapprehension that this conundrum is not pervasive today let us consider the dilemmas that doctors and medical aid schemes face today when confronted by such quandaries.

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Health Care: What can we expect in the near future?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Health 0 Comment

Amongst the most promising lines of research currently generating all the hype relates to stem cells. Stem cell research and therapies are undoubtedly at the cutting edge of science, with regular breakthroughs being announced in the field but the subject provokes fear and anticipation in equal measure. Whilst in the long term, this line of research will result in spectacular progress, what can we expect in the short term which will have an equally profound impact?

Alzheimer’s or similar senile dementias

The one area which is, in my opinion, not receiving sufficient funding – I have no bias in this viewpoint – is that relating to dementia especially those experienced in one’s dotage such as Alzheimer’s.

Main picture: Olive oil – does it prevent heart disease?
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What is the Appeal of a Donald Trump?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Opinion Pieces 0 Comment

Donald Trump is not one’s stereotypical version of a politician. He does not fit the mould but not in an iconoclastic manner. He abhors the existing rules of the game. His public persona is the very antithesis of a polished politician – brash, bombastic, rude, disingenuous to the point of absurdity and with no sartorial sense at all. Whereas other politicians will appease all potential voter groups from the greenie-beanies, the homosexuals, the working mothers, the bleeding heart liberals, the war weary, the gung-ho militarists, the Black Americans, the Asian Americans. The list is endless. If even one vote can be gained for any of the 1000s of groups, the candidate will promise them some gravy as well.

What is the inevitable result: a plethora of innocuous platitudes, polished inoffensive sound bites and generous financial benefits. If the potential costs of meeting all these promises were rigorously costed, the nation would be bankrupted in short order. Would it even be possible to achieve even a fraction of the goals set and promises made?

Main picture: Donald Trump will his signature hair style misbehaving

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In the Name of God

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Religion 0 Comment

The past week or two has witnessed a number of revolting episodes which belie the various religions’ credentials as loving humane institutions. Instead they erode confidence in religion’s ethics and cast further doubt on the role of religion as a moral ethical institution. What lamentable actions have again brought religions in disrepute?

The incident that first raised my ire occurred in Dubai last week when the father of a 20-year-old daughter watched as she drowned to death at a beach in Dubai.

What he did was to prevent the rescuers from doing their job to save his daughter’s life. When they attempted to go against his wishes, he became violent and restrained them physically. His actions kept them from getting to the young woman in time.

Main picture: (1). Rescue boats retrieving the body of drown 20 year old female in Dubai after father prevented rescuers from saving her. (2) Ahmed Burqibah, the Deputy Director of Dubai Police’s Search and Rescue Department

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Noakes Vindicated: BMJ Endorses LCHF Diets

By Dean McCleland in Health, Other Opinion Pieces 1 Comment

Change to deeply ingrained ideas is never like a switch. It meanders through the societal consciousness igniting controversy at it proceeds and gathers momentum. The Banting or LCHF diet is no different. From the mid-1970s when the eminent Dr Ancel Keyes convinced the US Department of Health that fats were injurious to one’s health, as fat correlated with cholesterol, the received wisdom has been that fats except in extreme moderation were to be avoided. Now scientific evidence is inexorably negating this flawed thinking.

The case of the elusive cure for ulcers is illustrative of all the prevailing forces that hobble the forces of change: these are the existing dogma, entrenched industries and supposed scientific evidence buttressing the existing ingrained ideas. This requires the abandonment of a set of well entrenched beliefs that conflict with the new ideas.

Main picture: The British Medical Journal now condones the consumption of fatty food except that the sales assistant must be sternly informed to hold the chips and the bun but to put a few dollops of cream on it.

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A Notice From The Queen to the Citizens of The USA

By Dean McCleland in Jokes, Opinion Pieces 0 Comment

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In light of your failure to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up ‘revocation’ in the Oxford English Dictionary.)


Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except North Dakota, which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, Theresa May will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded.

A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

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Consequence of Showmanship

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Other Galleries 0 Comment

Of course the real reasons for this fatal crash will probably never be known but all the evidence points to the fact that an act of showmanship was the probable cause of this gruesome accident.

The proud owner of a new car was killed with three of his neighbours’ children when his car was sliced in half when he crashed while taking them for a drive to show off his new wheels.

The 39-year-old man’s 10-year-old son was also in hospital fighting for his life after the accident on a curve near the Dros restaurant in the Mpumalanga city of Middelburg.

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Investing for Retirement: A Personal Odyssey

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Financial Matters 2 Comments

For most of us in full time employment, the major source of pension income will be derived from one’s Employer’s Pension Fund. Together with some additional investments in one’s personal capacity this would previously have been sufficient to derive an adequate pension. This assumption is no longer valid for a number of reasons.

The genesis of this disconnect was the introduction of Defined Contribution Pension Funds some 20 years ago. Previously most employees contributed to what was known as a Defined Benefit Pension Fund. In terms of this arrangement, the retiree would be paid a pension calculated on the basis of 2% per every year employed times by the average salary over one’s last x years of employment. For most employees, this would equate to approximately 70% of their final salary. Combined with their private savings, this would ensure a pension of at least 80 to 90%, a fairly comfortable retirement without having to agonise over one’s financial situation.
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