Chris Roper

the intensity of my anger at those who would criminalize the homeless — a population literally created by the greed and callousness of the ruling class — is very hard to contain. it was you who dismantled the safety net. if you don’t like the results, put it back

If you wondered why the hype machine shrieks.

“Nearly 500 AI unicorn companies now exist worldwide with a combined value of $2.7 trillion, with 100 of these billion-dollar firms established after 2023 alone.”

On the post-colonial, but also perhaps about the post-democracy.

“The posts and palaces and public places have been filled with buffoons, fools and clowns at various levels, offering a variety of services. Their function is to preach before the fetish the fiction of its perfection.” - Achille Mbembe, De la postcolonie (2000)

CHRIS ROPER: The treasure behind a paywall There is a chasm between an argument in a news publication and how it lands on social media

This is a must-read by @chrisroper.bsky.social ... Well pleased that that paywall has been removed. I am a columnist and essayist for @businesslivesa.bsky.social but don't have access to the stable of publications. Strange how that works. www.businesslive.co.za/fm/features/...

To be fair, you had a head start.

That’s why the @andrewhickey.500songs.com is such a great podcast. It implicitly acknowledges, and explicitly demonstrates, how desire works. You can never satisfy it, and that’s what makes it so worthwhile, and so enlivening.
If you love music - any music - it’s absolutely worth a listen.

Oh, I love the length. It’s like reading a book. He could go longer.

It’s way longer than a section! I’d say a Beach Boys epoch.

My weekly dose of humility. Thanks.

I’m probably the 500th South African to point this out to the superlative @andrewhickey.500songs.com podcast, but Ricky Fataar/Blondie Chaplin’s group was The Flames, not The Flame. (Hope I didn’t mishear) Is it weird to be so happy that he’s mentioning SAfricans? Hugh Masakela has featured, too.

"People hardly ever make use of the freedom which they have, for example, freedom of thought; instead they demand freedom of speech as compensation."
Søren Kierkegaard, who could have been writing about the shrill demagogues of today.

I see Elon made the same Elongate joke. A rare plus for him.

Excellent.

Source unknown. Except in the sense of the pit of despair from whence it came.

More than 200 children, some as young as one, raped in Sudan, UNICEF says Report says rape is ‘being used as a tactic of war’ in violation of international law and and laws protecting children.

This is terrible. “UNICEF said at least 221 children, including boys, were raped by armed men” in Sudan.

aje.io/vswtia

I understand the feeling, but I don’t actually agree. I don’t think we can ship our problems out. It’s all part of a larger South African challenge. I dream of fixing it. (I know, I know. Foolishness.)

Trump orders U.S. to prioritize refugee resettlement of South Africans of European descent President Trump directed officials to prioritize the resettlement of Afrikaners in South Africa through the U.S. refugee program, which he suspended on his first day in office.

It’s all just a circus. “President Trump on Friday directed government officials to prioritize the resettlement of South Africans of European descent through the U.S. refugee program, which he suspended during his first day in office.” www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-o...

Zapiro always draws it starkly.

The Trump-Musk regime: State capture on steroids – The Mail & Guardian We have started out on a rocky road as the US president and his henchmen make Jacob Zuma look like an amateur

We’ve been there as South Africans. A thoughtful summation of US state capture. mg.co.za/thought-lead...

Trump vows to cut off aid to South Africa "South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY," Trump wrote.

If you look for oppressed whites, you’ll conjure them up. The orange panopticon sees all, albeit through a glass, crazily. And has now noticed South Africa. www.politico.com/news/2025/02...

Ha ha! Someone has done that.

Via LeoArt SZ on Facebook.

Double ugh: *its tech bros.
Clearly, the X edit function has affected my ability to copyedit my own posts. I forget there's no get-out-of-typo-jail edit card on Bluesky.

Ugh. *gets a shout out.

And happy to see that @codeforafrica.bsky.social gest a shout out: "Europe should cooperate with those who have resisted Russian efforts at elite capture. For example, the activities of organisations such as Code for Africa... include exposing Russian disinformation campaigns in Africa".

Russia’s global war, north and south – Riddle Russia Ivan U. Klyszcz maps out Russia’s use of international business ties, old Soviet links, covert operations, and disinformation to exert global pressure

While the US is burning, literally as well as figuratively, and it's tech-oligarchs are throwing truth onto the bonfire, we should probably remind ourselves of the threat posed by Russian disinformation in Africa. Here is a great overview by @klyszcz.bsky.social

ridl.io/russia-s-glo...

All the false gods that promised to be journalism's saviours. And who knows - they might have prolonged the death spiral, in some cases. But now we're reaching the age of merciful deaths, for some news organisations.

There is a perception that charity, donations and aid from the Global North is what is keeping African economies afloat. Yet the combined aid and development assistance to Africa in 2022 was $37-billion less than remittances from African diaspora. https://theoutlier.co.za/charts/chart/89546

Re:filtered #11: When we leave the Club The stories are outside.

“It may require a shift from a primary definition of journalism by format (print, podcast, social-first) or by activities (reporting, editing) or by content or topic to one of service: Help people navigate their lives better with information. That simple.” www.pboehler.net/11-not-the-e...