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How lawlessness breeds more lawlessness
Mary Tomlinson
Mail & Guardian
A dangerous new predator is stalking South Africa, said Mary Tomlinson in the Johannesburg Mail & Guardian. We can call him feral man. The usual terms— hoodlums, hooligans, gangsters, gunmen, thugs —are too tame for these criminals, who ruthlessly murder those they steal from without hesitation. Many South African criminals are so brutal, so devoid of decency, that they seem beyond civilization. The danger for us all is that we, too, will abandon civilization in order to protect ourselves. Among developed countries, South Africa often ranks No. 1 in murders, rapes, and assaults per capita. In such a hellish situation, many of us have lost faith in the government’s ability to keep us safe. The temptation to resort to vigilantism is strong. For now, we are content to form community watches and join policing forums. But as more people see their neighbors senselessly killed, more will take the law into their own hands. Can anything prevent South Africa from descending into a feral state?
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5 thin-skinned cartoons about shooting the messengerCartoons Artists take on unfavorable weather, a look in the mirror, and more
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Is Trump's new peacemaking model working in DR Congo?Talking Point Truce brokered by the US president in June is holding, but foundations of a long-term peace have let to be laid
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South Africa: Pistorius on trial for murderfeature The trial of Oscar Pistorius has sparked a national conversation about “transparency and equality before the law.”
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Israel: Who are you calling a Nazi?
feature The Knesset has taken the first step toward approving a law that would ban the use of the word “Nazi” as an epithet.
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Egypt: Approving a flawed constitution
feature The hastily written constitution all but guarantees that the Muslim Brotherhood will dominate Egypt for decades to come.
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Middle East: Lawlessness in Sinai
feature An incident in the Sinai peninsula at the border between Israel and Egypt reveals the uneasy peace between the two countries.
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Saudi Arabia: Driving in a burqa
feature Last week, at least 29 women defied Saudi Arabia’s unwritten law against women driving.
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Pakistan: Where gang rapists walk free
feature All but one of 14 men accused of arranging and executing the rape of a village woman were acquitted by Pakistan's Supreme Court.