Ferial Haffajee As former law and order minister Adriaan Vlok came clean before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission this week, a smaller act of absolution was happening in Potchefstroom. Willem Boshoff, a destitute 58-year- old, has apologised to journalists Laurence Gandar and Benjamin Pogrund for his role in a trial which chalked up a dark […]
Douglas Rushkoff Online So far, only my Melbourne sponsors have let me keep the original title of the talk I’ve been giving around the world this month: Why Futurists Suck. I shouldn’t have been so surprised that 500 concerned Australians would fill the cavernous Malthouse Theatre to participate in a free exchange about our collective […]
Consider comfort as well as cost when you choose an airline, writes Belinda Beresford Legs all the way up to heaven may be considered desirable in some quarters, but they are a definite problem when it comes to flying. Cramped legroom ranks up there with the lousy food and disgusting toilets in economy class. Given […]
Tangeni Amupadhi Armed robbers have gone cerebral. Second-hand bookshops are the latest targets for an enterprising criminal duo who have hit at least six outlets in the past six weeks. The smartly dressed men, armed with their own “closed for business” sign, have made off with an undisclosed amount of money and left behind few […]
Mungo Soggot About a year ago at the Land Bank it took 13 signatures to authorise a cheque for R1 500. Non-menial staff at its Pretoria head office were all white, women had to wear uniforms and there were several married couples. The men in these couples were never managers, because of a rule which […]
Phillip Kakaza and Alex Dodd preview the Gift to the Nation Concert celebrating Nelson Mandela’s 80th birthday Gift to the nation indeed! And the nation is duly looking forward to tonight -Friday July 24 -at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban and Saturday night at the Johannesburg Stadium, like good children look forward to Christmas. Set to […]
Advocates rarely make sensational statements out of court, the Bar being a profession which prides itself on discretion and aloofness. So it was not an impulsive decision on the part of the General Council of the Bar to hit out last week at the appointment of South Africa’s first “super attorney general”, Bulelani Ngcuka. Ngcuka’s […]
Iain Banks writes books about sex and drugs. Iain M Banks is a sci-fi nerd. Are they related? Phil Daoust investigates on the eve of the author’s visit to South Africa What the hell are you doing in a place like this? It’s a question you have to wrestle back down your throat when you […]
Neil Manthorp in Nottingham Cricket Napoleon may have been a great general but it doesn’t mean to say he would have been as successful today as he was then. Nonetheless, the study of Napoleon remains as intrinsic to the modern soldier as it is to the student of European history. The same applies in sport […]
Andrew Worsdale Russell Thompson says he’s not a shy person. “Hell, I’ve been known to take off my clothes and scream loudly from the tops of tall buildings,” he tells me over a demure coffee in Melville. It was a pleasure meeting the man – should I say director – who at 39 has the […]