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Confessions of a Couch Kitten: My pets, Marcus and Marcel

Khanyiswa Mogotsi I recently got two new pets, a kitten and a bunny, and I already know what you are thinking. “What a random pair of animals” and four weeks in, I am starting to realise that I might have made a mistake. My kitten, Marcus, is just a little over eight weeks and Marcel, the bunny, is around two and a half months and before I got both of them, I might have romanticised how fun it would be to have both a kitten and a bunny. I would daydream about how cute it would be if they cuddled…
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Namibians urged to stay alert of cybercrime

Namibians urged to stay alert of cybercrime

Staff Writer Cyber criminals aren’t easy to detect and present a real risk to their victims. The best way to avoid becoming a victim is to be aware of the threats they pose and take every precaution you can to keep yourself safe. According to Desery van Wyk, FNB Head of Digital Product House, the remote living and working requirements of lockdown have meant that most people are communicating digitally – and criminals often use this to their advantage to gain people’s trust in order to steal sensitive information, money or both. “Fraudsters are constantly looking for new ways to…
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Small savings can go a long way

Small savings can go a long way

Staff Writer You don’t have to put away thousands to see the benefit of savings. In fact, starting small will not only give you the confidence that saving is possible, but will also help with your finances in the long run. “Starting a new savings habit will probably be the best financial decision you can make,” says Elzita Beukes, FNB Communications Manager. Here are a few tips to get started: Find a suitable account Now that you have decided to save, you need an account that is best suited to your new savings habit. This needs to be separate to…
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Titles every book fiend should read

Titles every book fiend should read

Jackie Wilson Asheeke I read Carmen Coetsee’s list of five books that reading junkies need to read at least once. Check out www.msn.com/en-za for her choices. I beg to differ on a few points, but a couple of her ideas inspired me. Of course, any book list is subjective. Most of the ‘best books’ lists reflect the white, male, European or USA-centred perspective. There are books from the Asian, Hispanic and African cultures or in non-English languages, which would be equally great if they had the attention given to the others. Nevertheless, the books I note below tell wonderful stories…
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Agriculture and the ecosystems

Agriculture and the ecosystems

Erastus Ngaruka Agriculture is concerned with rearing animals and the cultivation of crops whilst an ecosystem simply refers to a community of living organisms such as plants and animals together with the non-living components such as the air and soils, interacting with each other in their environment. The functions of this natural co-existence or ecosystem include the provision of essential services such as habitat, food, water, nutrient cycling, as well as cultural and recreational benefits to the land users. The ecosystem functioning is influenced by biodiversity, and this is managed by natural processes that maintain species abundance and distribution, and…
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NWR gets N$40m boost

NWR gets N$40m boost

Staff Writer Government has availed N$40 million in financial support to Namibia Wildlife Resorts Limited (NWR). The funds were allocated to the company in the FY2020/21 Mid-Year Budget Review and Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement. This comes as the tourism company’s board and management had engaged the Ministry of Public Enterprises) to find ways of mitigating the effects of COVID-19 on the business, ensuring the sustainability of the company. “The past six months have been the most challenging for most Namibian companies in Namibia. The Covid-19 pandemic has and is still having, an enormous impact on the tourism and aviation-dependent organisations…
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Advice to men – manage your anger

The Time Traveler: Hugh Ellis In the wake of the anti-femicide protests in the last few weeks, many of us men might, I think, be feeling troubled. Many of us are overwhelmed by the stories we heard of rape, murder, assault and harassment. Many of us are ourselves victims of the same violent tendencies in our fellow men. And many of us have been complicit in gender-based violence. We may not be the B1 Butcher, but we know we could have done better in our dealings with our significant others, one-night stands, or female relatives. If this is you, I’m…
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Mixed economy antithesis of command economy

Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro Constitutionally Namibia is a mixed economy. Looks like this has been taken on face value and for granted without pausing to interrogate what this means. Those who are socialist-oriented may take this to mean a mixture of socialism and capitalism. But is this feasible if this is what is meant by mixed economy? For the capitalist oriented mixed economy cannot mean anything at best other than a social welfare system one akin to that in social welfare states in many European states like Sweden and Norway. Could this be what the founders of the Namibian constitution envisaged? “The…
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US debates are a complete waste of time

Jackie Wilson Asheeke If I had my way, I’d ban debates between US presidential candidates. In my years on this planet, I’ve never watched a single one and I never will. They are canned theatre, not a realistic, unrehearsed presentation of what the person running for office actually believes. The presidential debates between honest Joe Biden and the strutting Il Duce Trump prove nothing, sway no one, reveal nothing, and are a complete waste of time. The candidates rehearse their answers to all issues. They have mock sessions where actors ‘play’ the other side. They memorize the ‘right’ answers. They…
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Couch Cat – ancient music is spirit medicine

Jackie Wilson Asheeke I have been cleaning out cupboards and store rooms with a vengeance lately. I had completely forgotten about an old suitcase full of the ancient music cassettes that used to be critically important to my music listening joy about 25-30 years ago. I also found a huge box full of CDs. And I found a small zip bag with two old MP3 players. It is amazing that these tapes, CDs and old time digital devices used to be the center of my entertainment life in their time. But now, they are spider web magnets as digital music…
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