Terror, terror and more terror

The word ‘terrorist’ came up a lot this week. A week without seeing that word in any newsfeeds would be a blessing at this point. Our hearts go out to the victims of yet another senseless attack by another crazed fanatic. This time, it struck France on a day of national celebration, Bastille Day, giving the date a new, very sad significance. With 84 dead, it’s difficult to resist expressing our sentiments in a torrent of unsavoury French.

On our shores earlier this week, four of our very own home-grown terrorist suspects were arrested. Seems that there was something to that #TerrorAlert issued by the US in June that so many pooh-poohed. Well done to our Hawks for those #TerrorArrests – some faith has been restored in our security agencies. Let’s just hope that they can secure a conviction, if these two sets of siblings are indeed guilty. One thing is for sure, the twin’s claim of wanting to emigrate to war-torn Syria for a better life sounds more than a little suspicious.

On Monday, the passengers of an SA Airlink plane thought the unimaginable was actually happening when they were trapped on the runway for hours after the hijack alert signal was triggered. It must have been super tense in that little aircraft, but, in the end, it turned out to be just a technical glitch – phew.

Chasing Pokémons

Is the plural Pokémon or Pokémons? We have to admit that we’re not experts on this topic, but we can’t ignore the fact that these things are everywhere all of a sudden, and only visible through smartphones apparently. People have been getting outdoors to hunt for them, which is great – fresh air and exercise and all that.

The only problem is they are so distracted that many have been endangering themselves by wondering into unsavoury areas, falling off rooftops or chasing little anime creatures into traffic. One Pokémon Go player even discovered a dead body, apparently. Maybe this is a game best played in a safe neighbourhood with quiet streets, so if you have one of those nearby, by all means...

Mabulu’s latest shocker (definitely NSFW)

While most of us tend to hide from controversy, some thrive on it. South African artist Ayanda Mabulu strives to be as controversial a painter as any painter can be. Brett Murray’s The Spear looks like something out of a child’s colouring book compared to Mabulu’s latest work (well not really but you know what we mean) – it’s hectic.

So hectic that it’s difficult to scrub the image from one’s mind after it has been seen. We won’t describe it in any detail, but we will say it expresses the artist’s strong feelings over Jacob Zuma’s relationship with the Guptas in the context of an aeroplane cockpit. Some have called it a betrayal of art and whether it is or isn’t, it’s difficult to imagine who might want to hang it in their house and look at it every day. But his point was made, and made loudly.

Pastor Evan freed

And now for some news to inspire hope – yes we do have some this week. Pastor Evan, the man behind the #ThisFlag movement in Zimbabwe, has been released after a court dismissed the state’s silly case against him. It was inspiring to see the people of Zimbabwe making a stand and rallying at the court for his appearance, draped in Zimbabwean flags.

It was peaceful and purposeful and, hopefully, we can see this movement continuing to press for much-needed reforms. The pastor has already called for more protests which means the state will likely try again to have him locked up again. The charge of inciting violence held no water, and there was something about a missing police helmet and button-stick (seriously), but next time the charges could be more difficult to dismiss. He’s got a lot of people behind him, though, and the momentum is still building.

@SueNyathi : It is a long walk towards freedom. Today was a triumphant step for #ThisFlag

@Stig_T_: If one guy #PastorEvan can rock the entire establishment, imagine what we could do as a united public. Think about it.

SABC gives Icasa the middle finger

A different brand of defiance on display here, but from the wrong side of an issue. What would any trend report be without a mention of Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s latest antics? Icasa’s ruling that the SABC must withdraw its decision to ban footage of violent protests is not going to be headed anytime soon because someone thinks censorship is just the remedy to stop those protests and Icasa’s ruling isn’t binding.

Hlaudi is sticking his neck out for censorship with this stance, no doubt confident in someone’s protection. Looks like the battle is moving to the next level, the Constitutional Court. How will it end? Stay tuned for the next episode of this dramatic comedy.

Until next time, keep your chin up.

*Image via Twitter