Rational Standard

31/01/2025

🎙️ US foreign aid FREEZE: A big F-You to Africa?

Join David Ansara, Martin van Staden, Dr Morné Malan, and Zakhele Mthembu as they discuss the US freezing aid, and the tensions between Rwanda and South Africa.

Join David Ansara, Martin van Staden, Dr Morné Malan, and Zakhele Mthembu as they dive into some of the most pressing issues of the week. In this episode, we...

31/01/2025

Rational Standard | 2025-01-31

24/01/2025

🎙️ The Zimbabwefication of SA?

Join Martin van Staden, Dr Morné Malan, and Zakhele Mthembu as they dive into the most pressing issues this week: the Expropriation Bill now signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa, its impact on the GNU, and Trump's Executive Orders.

Join Martin van Staden, Dr Morné Malan and Zakhele Mthembu as they explore some of the most pressing issues of the week. In this episode, we discuss:The Expr...

17/01/2025

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08/07/2024

The NHI is being touted as a solution for universal healthcare, but is it really? Or will it be just another strain on taxpayers' pockets?

08/07/2024

"Israel should not be a pariah state. Before or after October 7th. They are not practicing apartheid. They are not committing genocide. Rather, they are setting a precedent that the entire world will enjoy. That terrorism cannot be practiced without repercussions. That freedom and life is worth protecting. And that the values of freedom and reason need to be protected."

Israel should not be a pariah state. Before or after October 7th. They are not practicing apartheid. They are not committing genocide.

18/06/2024

"Iqbal Jassat’s condemnation of International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan’s arrest warrants against Hamas leaders is steeped in misinformation, conspiracy theory and hateful ideology."

Jassat’s view of Israel, its history and the current conflict are incredibly skewed and biased. I urge readers to seek balanced information, and to look at their own genuine sense of morality and justice before taking his blatant misinformation and hate of Israel as anything substantial.

10/06/2024

"In reality, individualism and collectivism are simply two basic aspects of human nature. There is a very good biological reason for this seeming conflict."

In reality, individualism and collectivism are simply two basic aspects of human nature.

08/06/2024

"Mohamed Saeed is spreading blatant fallacies and misinformation. Israel is not an apartheid state, and its operations in Gaza are not illegal in the slightest."

Mohammed Saeed is spreading lies and misinformation about Israel, claiming that it is an apartheid state. This is untrue.

06/06/2024

https://rationalstandard.com/ignorant-youth-wont-stop-israel/

Ignorant youth protesters won't stop Israel in its effort to defend itself from terrorism.

30/05/2024

There are five very clear reasons why the problem of racism remains unresolved, and until they are understood and addressed, there is no chance of eliminating, or even ameliorating it.

There are five reasons why the problem of racism remains unresolved, and until they are addressed, there is no chance of eliminating it.

22/05/2024

"Our illusion that we are significantly empathetic and altruistic as a species presumably rests upon the fact that some people are indeed both very empathetic and altruistic. By casual extrapolation, this rare human anomaly allows us falsely to ascribe the same virtues to our species as a whole."

Empathy and altruism are two qualities that humans believe our species to possess to a significant degree. While both qualities certainly play a vital role in the socialisation of our species, neither is actually evident in normal human behaviour to anything like the extent that human moralising imp...

26/03/2024

'This is terrorism writ large, terrorism which the ANC adamantly refuses to condemn but, within Russia, revulsion is growing.' - Ed Herbst

Russia is utilising fake news to drive its war against Ukraine, and the ANC is playing right into its hands.

24/03/2024

'As humanists, we should not misconceive ourselves as angels, but we should certainly not believe ourselves to be devils either.' - Mihan C van Zyl

The easier it becomes to dehumanise our opponents or even our peers, the easier it becomes to treat them inhumanely.

22/03/2024

'Regrettably, Africa’s declining economic freedom is not a trend that is simply a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent policies of lockdown.' - Alexander Jelloian

Africa's economic freedom is suffering, but there is still hope for the developing continent if we embrace sound policy.

21/03/2024

'The easier it becomes to dehumanise our opponents or even our peers, the easier it becomes to treat them inhumanely.' - Mihan C van Zyl

The easier it becomes to dehumanise our opponents or even our peers, the easier it becomes to treat them inhumanely.

20/03/2024

'If a white boer has no grounds to be offended by "Shoot the Boer", how then could one take offense from a mere advert for a cute monkey hoodie that even a white boy would not mind asking his parents to buy him?' - Dumisani Kili

If a white boer has no grounds to be offended by "Shoot the Boer", how then could one take offense from a mere advert for a cute monkey hoodie that even a white boy would not mind asking his parents to buy him?

19/03/2024

'I am certainly unwilling to destroy humanity’s heart merely because of its potential for evil. We should not hate our fellow man because we know the darkness of our own hearts, but rather love him because of the knowledge of our shared heart. A heart which also holds a profound capacity for good.' - Mihan C van Zyl

The easier it becomes to dehumanise our opponents or even our peers, the easier it becomes to treat them inhumanely.