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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦

@marycalexander.bsky.social
534 followers 492 following 909 posts

South African writer, editor, web publisher, factchecker, mosaicer (?) and slow-blinker at cats. southafrica-info.com

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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
The apartheid government wanted cheap labour, but it also wanted to end the threat posed by bright African minds. Mission schools were closed, and universities such as Fort Hare had their high academic standards chopped to a stump.
southafrica-info.com
The 16 June 1976 Soweto students' uprising – as it happened | South Africa Gateway
It took one day for young South Africans to change the course of the country’s history: 16 June 1976, now half a century ago. Here's an hour-by-hour account of the 1976 Soweto students’ uprising.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
The National Lotteries Commission used ProEthics to circumvent procurement processes. The NLC paid ProEthics. ProEthics then paid a large portion of this money to NLC suppliers, who were therefore shielded from competitive processes to get the NLC’s business.
groundup.org.za
Ethics company told to pay back Lottery money
ProEthics and its director Dr Janette Minnaar tried to stop us publishing this article
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Trump is making China – not America – great again, global survey suggests. In South Africa, 19% consider the US an ally ... and 15% think it's an adversary. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
A snapshot of each country on a continent you need to know more about ... Carbon emissions, gender inequality, history, human development, income inequality, internet access, languages, LGBT+ equality, trade partners, population density, size, urbanisation, women in parliament and much more.
southafrica-info.com
Africa from A to Z: Fast facts on the 55 states | South Africa Gateway
Africa is home to 55 countries, an ancient and complex history, modern cities, some 3,000 languages and over a billion people. From Algeria to Zimbabwe, here’s a snapshot of each country on a continen...
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
South Africa has the 10th-largest disparity between legal protections (77%) and public opinion (58%) in Africa, giving us an Equaldex LGBT equality score of 67%.
equaldex.com
LGBT Equality Index in Africa | Equaldex
Equaldex is a collaborative knowledge base for the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) movement, visualizing LGBTQ+ rights through maps, timelines, and data.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
From the UNDP Human Development Report 2025 hdr.undp.org/system/files...
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
The improvement is substantial. Viral suppression in kids on treatment aged one to four increased from 58% in June 2023 to 76% in June 2025, based on a cut-off of around 1 000 copies/ml. Using the much stricter cut-off of 50 copies/ml, viral suppression was 34% in June 2023 and 54% in June 2025.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
"Nerd Reich". Hilarious if it weren't so floccing scary. Wilfully, gleefully, boastfully ignorant men. Jissis.
theguardian.com
The ‘Nerd Reich’: how tech billionaires infiltrated the White House – podcast
This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the journalist Gil Duran about his upcoming book The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Global Democracy
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Reposted by Mary Alexander 🇿🇦
John @johngoodman.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
realistic Star Trek
A comic on the bridge from Star Trek the Next Generation.
Picard: COMMANDER DATA, PLEASE IDENTIFY THAT ROMULAN VESSEL.
Data: THAT'S A GREAT IDEA CAPTAIN!
IDENTIFYING A VESSEL IS A GREAT PLACE TO START - IN ANY TACTICAL OR STRATEGIC OUTER SPACE SITUATION.
THIS VESSEL APPEARS TO BE A 23rd CENTURY KLINGON BIRD OF
PREY! 🚀🦅✨
Picard: ARE YOU SURE?
LIKE I SAID WE'RE... PRETTY SURE IT'S ROMULAN.
Data: ...
Data: OF COURSE! SO SORRY ABOUT THAT, YOU'RE RIGHT!
ON CLOSER EXAMINATION IT'S A ROMULAN VESSEL! CAN I RECOMMEND SOME SOONG™ BRAND PRODUCTS THAT CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT?
Picard cradles his face in his hand in a gesture of frustration.
Data: DID I MENTION THE PLIGHT OF OPRESSED WHITES IN SOUTH AFRICA?
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
The 400 years of slavery had a huge effect. Africans were being invaded both from the Islamic world and, of course, the Western world. Up to that point, communities had settled in comfortable places, such as plains and valleys. But then, suddenly, they all disappeared ...
smithsonianmag.com
Understanding the Gaps in Africa's Archaeological Record
Sites and artifacts are revealing clues to the continent’s recent history. An archaeologist explains the findings and threats to this heritage
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
The problem is, 320,158 tonnes is more than all the gold produced since we started mining the stuff about 6,000 years ago. The best estimates suggest that around 216,265 tonnes of gold have been mined throughout history. That’s only two-thirds of what’s promised in Uganda.
southafrica-info.com
No evidence Uganda has discovered 320,000 tonnes of gold worth $12 trillion – and evidence against it - South Africa Gateway
The claim that the small African country of Uganda has discovered 31 million tonnes of gold ore with a yield of 320,000 tonnes of refined gold is going viral. But its numbers are, simply, impossible.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
If this isn't genocide, then what is? "Figures from a classified Israeli military intelligence database indicate five out of six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza have been civilians, an extreme rate of slaughter rarely matched in recent decades of warfare."
theguardian.com
Revealed: Israeli military’s own data indicates civilian death rate of 83% in Gaza war
Figures from classified IDF database listed 8,900 named fighters as dead or probably dead in May, as overall death toll reached 53,000
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Reposted by Mary Alexander 🇿🇦
tante @tante.cc · 19/08/2025
"This strange brew of shock, confusion, and ambivalence, I’ve realized, is the defining emotion of the generative-AI era. Three years into the hype, it seems that one of AI’s enduring cultural impacts is to make people feel like they’re losing it."
theatlantic.com
AI Is a Mass-Delusion Event - The Atlantic
Three years in, one of AI’s enduring impacts is to make people feel like they’re losing it.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
“The current size of the map of Africa is wrong,” said Moky Makura, the executive director of Africa No Filter. “It’s the world’s longest misinformation and disinformation campaign, and it just simply has to stop.”
theguardian.com
African Union joins calls to end use of Mercator map that shrinks continent’s size
Member states back Correct the Map campaign that urges governments and organisations to use more accurate map
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
The graphic? So cool. The data? Not cool.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Finally! I worked there when I was 18. A magical, irreplaceable resource. "The central library was closed in May 2021 ... Residents were not able to access the library which holds over 1.5-million books as well as a vast collection of archived material not available anywhere else."
groundup.org.za
Iconic Joburg library reopens after years
But the City still has a list of public libraries that remain closed
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
A headline that sums it all up.
theguardian.com
Trump orders homeless he passed en route to golf course to leave Washington DC
President demands unhoused residents leave US capital or face eviction and vowed to use officers to make arrests
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Reposted by Mary Alexander 🇿🇦
Nash @radiodeadair.com · 09/08/2025
The crux of their argument is that if they're found liable, then the consequences of their own actions that no one forced them to take could ruin them and the rest of their industry that undertakes similar practices. To which I say motherfucker did you never hear about Napster
arstechnica.com
AI industry horrified to face largest copyright class action ever certified
Copyright class actions could financially ruin AI industry, trade groups say.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
Out of the R114 million in Google's new fund to help small, local and independent news publishers, Tshikululu Social Investments will get a R16 million management fee. That's 14%. A local publisher has described sum as “obscene”.
groundup.org.za
Small news companies pin their hopes on new Google fund. But already there’s controversy
Large chunk of R114-million fund to go to administrators
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
In its entirety, Jones’s claim is false. The clip is from a moment four years ago, when the country faced the unprecedented crisis of the arrest of a former president. And it could be said that the July 2021 riots were ultimately caused by the “White Oppression” of apartheid, not by its removal.
southafrica-info.com
Trump ally uses four-year-old footage of South Africa’s Zuma riots to justify ‘white oppression’ - South Africa Gateway
Alex Jones posted an old video of a historic crisis with the suggestion it was a typical day in South Africa – and “the future of ALL Western countries if changes are not made fast”.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
The destruction is beyond imagining, but there it is. "From the skies, it is striking just how small Gaza is – a sliver of land that has become the stage for one of the world’s bloodiest conflicts ... more than 60,000 people have been killed ... Thousands more ... remain buried under the rubble."
theguardian.com
A wasteland of rubble, dust and graves: how Gaza looks from the sky
The Guardian joins a Jordanian military airdrop for a rare chance to observe a landscape devastated by Israel’s offensive
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
The 1996 census recorded a population of 40.6 million. Black people made up 76.7% of the total, coloured people 8.9%, Indian/Asian people 2.6% and white people 10.9%. In about 2013 the coloured population overtook the white population as South Africa’s second-largest group.
southafrica-info.com
South Africa's population | South Africa Gateway
South Africa is home to 63 million people. About 81.7% of them are black, 8.5% coloured, 2.6% Indian/Asian and 7.2% white. Find out more about birth, death, age, HIV, migration and other population tr...
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Moeketsi was no unschooled, mad, untameable “natural” genius sprung from squalor. He came from a home filled with music books. He studied and practiced devotedly to master his craft. His irresponsible youth had been no different from many of his peers’.
southafrica-info.com
Kippie Moeketsi at 100: the soul-stirring story of a South African jazz legend - South Africa Gateway
Dismissed as the “sad man” of South African jazz, Kippie Moeketsi was in reality as a brilliant player and stern mentor, fiercely defiant of his racist world.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
Do you really know your rights? Our no-nonsense guide will help you understand your rights, and the rights of everyone else. You can also read the full text of the Bill of Rights in 11 of South Africa’s official languages.
southafrica-info.com
The plain language guide to South Africa’s Bill of Rights - South Africa Gateway
It protects everyone in the country – not just citizens. The Bill of Rights safeguards dignity, equality and freedom, and demands that basic needs are met.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
The idea of wellbeing often carries a Eurocentric emphasis on the individual – personal satisfaction, autonomy, achievement. Flourishing accounts for how whole a person is in relation to their environment, such as their values within their community.
southafrica-info.com
High scores for African countries in new ‘flourishing’ index - South Africa Gateway
Several African nations rank higher than the US and Europe in a new scientific measure of wellbeing, thanks to strong community ties, purpose and resilience.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Their important contributions have been relegated to the footnotes of the pages that document their findings. “These guys might not have degrees, but they actually know everything. In fact, a number of them have actually taught the professors and researchers who come to the site."
southafrica-info.com
The workers who hunt for fossils in South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind - South Africa Gateway
They have found important fossils in the human family. They have no degrees but instruct visiting researchers. Now the fossil technicians of the Sterkfontein Caves may get the recognition they deserve...
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Reposted by Mary Alexander 🇿🇦
Adam Welz @adamwelz.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Fair point www.johnhawks.net/p/there-are-...
johnhawks.net
There are no “anatomically modern” elephants. Why do we treat humans differently?
A quote from Phillip Tobias illustrates the strange way that we talk about human variation compared to other species.
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Reposted by Mary Alexander 🇿🇦
Mathilde Tahar @drmathildetahar.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
I am very happy to share this piece with you, exploring the link between inventiveness and play in nonhuman animals. It was written with care and a sincere desire to convey what science and philosophy can teach us about this fascinating topic. I hope you enjoy reading it! aeon.co/essays/how-e...
aeon.co
How evolution favoured costly and frivolous animal play | Aeon Essays
Here’s a puzzle: how could evolution favour such a costly, frivolous and fun activity as animal play?
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Elon Musk's fascism is American fascism.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
South Africa has been a progressive democracy for 30 years. Get over your poor choices, Americans.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Finch-Davies was rather a sad character, with a family committed to colonialism. His father was a big deal in the Raj. The only passion CG seemed to have was painting birds. The good or bad of colonialism probably didn't enter his mind.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Finch-Davies died in 1920. That means all of his work is copyright-free, and in the public domain.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
1 Purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinica), 1907 2 Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres), 1911 3 Wahlberg's eagle (Aquila wahlbergi), 1911 4 White pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), 1919
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
All his work was original, and beautiful. (Despite the, y'know, killing birds bit.) It was said his obsession with bird painting led to the theft of the plates. The Cape Town museum seized his paintings until he could repay the damage. He was publicly shamed and died soon after.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Finch-Davies died in August 1920, aged 45. In January 1920 he was found to have stolen 230 plates of bird illustrations from the Transvaal Museum. In May, another 130 plates were found missing from the South African Museum in Cape Town.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
1 Hadeda ibis (Bostrychia hagedash), 1910 2 Purple heron (Ardea purpurea), 1911 3 Common squacco heron (Ardeola ralloides), 1912 4 Lesser flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor), 1919
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
CG Finch-Davies, a British colonial soldier stationed in South Africa - and what was then South West Africa (today's Namibia) - before, during and after the first world war. He is most famous for his bird paintings. Unhappily, most of the birds he painted, he first shot. Some of his paintings:
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
It may be life, Jim. But not as we know it.
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Meant to say dumb as ... doorknobs? Apologies to rocks. 🇿🇦 And doorknobs. 🙃
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Did I say dumb as rocks? Yep, dumb as rocks.
theatlantic.com
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.
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Reposted by Mary Alexander 🇿🇦
Pierre de Vos @pierredevos.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
The SA government should ignore the cries of pro-Western critics (which, in some quarters also includes the offensive suggestion that it appoint a white man as ambassador to the US) that discount South Africa’s real global potential. www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/...
dailymaverick.co.za
Compliance with and kowtowing to Trump merely leads to further abuse
The SA government should ignore the cries of pro-Western critics (which, in some quarters also includes the offensive suggestion that it appoint a white man as ambassador to the US) that discount Sout...
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
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Anne-Maree Gray @mtramg.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
ANOTHER journalist... ffs Israel
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Is this my "race to ire"?
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
By "serve", do you mean in the apartheid army?
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Mary Alexander 🇿🇦 @marycalexander.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
USA ignorance often blames other countries for Americans' shitty choices. Own up to your country's ignorance. You elected Donald Trump. Right? Right? And Elon Musk was appointed by Donald Trump. Right? We may be African. But we are not stupid.
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