5The blogs desk boasted myriad blogs this week, covering some of the pressing issues that took centre stage in the country's news and politics spheres. And some contributors touched on concerns facing the aspirational generation, in the form of lifestyle pressures and general life hacks. Take some time out of your morning, grab a cuppa and dig into this hot serving of blogs:
1. SA Media Can Be A Pain In The Neck... And Rightly So!
German ambassador Martin Schaefer shares about his experiences in office, neck pain, journalists and ballerinas. He emphasises the great deal of work done by journalists to ensure that politicians and government are held to account and says that even though journos have proven to be a formidable pain in the neck sometimes, they have managed to ensure that democracy is upheld. Read more.
2. The Lifestyle Adjustment – A Trap To Avoid
One of the worst things you can do is get caught up in a lifestyle adjustment, in which your standard of living increases along with a rise in your income. It's the trap of earning more, only to pay others more. But promotions and raises in income have the tendency to bring about new spending habits and costs, as most people adjust their lifestyle for the better, writes Tshepo Kgapane.
3. Listeriosis: We've Been Slimed
Listeriosis is still something many people are worried about, particularly because many of us use cold meats when packing the kiddies' lunch boxes and for snacking. Trevor Sacks highlights how much South Africans depend on cold meats as a source of protein and how this outbreak, compounded with the water crisis in Cape Town, has given South Africans an opportunity to review both our water usage and what we put in our shopping baskets. Read more.
4. Sars Gutted: How Tom Moyane Was Left To Run Amok
In February 2015, Adrian Lackay, the long-serving spokesperson of the South African Revenue Service (Sars), resigned. A series of damning, albeit untrue, reports in the Sunday Times had soiled Sars' reputation and Moyane had refused any and all efforts by Lackay to attempt to set the record straight. Three years down the line and a once proud institution will have to be resurrected, all because elected officials and representatives did not act on something that was given to them on a platter, writes Pieter du Toit.
5. HuffPost Team Weighs In On Human Rights Day
On Human Rights Day, the HuffPost Team reflected on the meaning of Sharpeville and the series of events that occurred on that fateful day in 1960. These events led to many of the privileges we are afforded today. The brave fight put up by those who were injured or lost their lives allowed South Africans to charter a path towards the dawning of a new day. Read more.
6. Drop The Banana-Republic Convoy, President Ramaphosa
Besides being a bully pulpit, convoys suggest something far more pernicious: that leaders are above the law and do not have to keep to the dictates of being punctual and timeous, or drive at the speed limit. It also means those who drive in convoys begin to live in an echo chamber, never exposed to the inefficiencies imposed on the rest of us by poor transport planning and policies, writes Ferial Haffajee.
7. Social Media In Financial Services: The Good, The Bad And The Litigious
When it comes to social media, it is always advisable to take note of what you share or write. It may be your personal page, but we are all ambassadors for the companies we work for and, as such, we represent them in the everyday. Company's reputations may be affected as an indirect effect of the content you engage in on the internet, so it is important to know the dos and don'ts of social media etiquette. Read more.