All Scrubbed Up

When all else fails, turn to the wisdom of the G-Man. It's Ali. On Medicine. HAR. HAR!

Thanks to Champs for this info. Reuters, UK 17/12/2006 The Canadian-South African co-production follows the same format as primetime U.S. dramas like "ER,'' with breakneck editing, punchy dialogue and overlapping story lines that play out over several episodes. But it also deals with South Africa's specific problems. The country has some of the world's highest levels of violent crime, a crushing AIDS epidemic as well as millions of people suffering diseases associated with poverty and need: its busy emergency rooms bear witness to these scourges. "Jozi-H'' draws inspiration from two of Johannesburg's most pressured trauma wards -- Johannesburg General and Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in the sprawling Soweto township. Finally, someone's going to talk about it. Yes! I just hope it really is a CO-production - or would get some otherworldy views creeping in. Funny, but I seem to remember SA Doc getting consulted in varsity over some kind of pot...

Vindicated! Yes! I wasn't as much of a zealot as I thought I was . The DSTV Streetpole ad series that featured pouty-lips Rihanna with a subheading 'Be Unfaithful' - of couse referring to decoders at a special special low price... has been changed. It now says Visit Paris . That's clever, while not encouraging promiscuity. Win win. PS. Buhle Dlamini wrote a piece for Business Day on the same subject. Published 5 December. Self-congratulatory pat on the Scrubbed Up back for scooping the story by 15 days !

A DSTV StreetPole ad recently caught my attention. In true DSTV style, it offered out some big words, some sexy pictures and a great special on decoders. It was the words that got me thinking. Score Big. Go Wild. Be Unfaithful. DSTV R599. The Be Unfaithful portion of that ad came complete with smacker lips Rihanna looking seductive (pretty sure it was her). You can't really fault the ad (can you?) - because then you'd have to fault every magazine cover and E! Entertainment programme this side of 1989. But it does get you thinking though. In public media, where do you draw the line between sexy, suggestive tease and promoting unsafe behaviour? We live in a country that is more uneducated regarding sexual issues than we care to admit. Just where and when, I wonder, should the public start asking questions? Or am I just turning into an HIV zealot?