Hoping for the prevalence of principle in politics is a bit like expecting the lion to lie down with the lamb: it’s a lovely idea, but lousy as a prediction. We on this newspaper, however, persist in the naive hope that principle will prevail; and we have not hesitated to make of it a demand. […]

BOOK REVIEW Peter Robinson JONTYINPICTURES(with text by Andy Capostagno) Viking This is, as the title suggests, Jonty Rhodes in pictures. Jonty with his shirt on, Jonty with his shirt off, Jonty batting, Jonty fielding and, a rare one this, Jonty fielding. In essence it’s a book for members of the Jonty Rhodes Fan Club (those […]

spirit level Cedric Mayson The telephone exchange in Heaven has been suffering from overload. Both United States President George W Bush and Osama bin Laden have been using their hot line to God on an hourly basis. Israelis and Palestinians both report direct contact on high. Christians and Muslims in Nigeria are fighting for fibre-optic […]

Khadija Magardie “It is said the measure of the quality of a democracy is the state of its prisons but I say it is through the diversity of its media,” says veteran journalist Anton Harber, the newly appointed head of the University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Journalism. Although in terms of diversity Harber gives […]

Jaspreet Kindra The New National Party’s fears of being outmanoeuvred by the Democratic Party in the Democratic Alliance were raised by NNP leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk in the party’s provincial structures as early as March this year. This emerges from the minutes of a meeting of the NNP provincial executive committee in the Northern Province […]

Mungo Soggot The family of African National Congress stalwart Thomas Nkobi has implicated ANC heavyweight Joe Modise in an allegedly fraudulent ploy by a businessman embroiled in the arms scandal to use Nkobi’s name in bids for defence contracts. Shabir Shaik, whose Nkobi Holdings company was raided last month by the Scorpions as part of […]

Marianne Merten The chance discovery of two hidden cameras and a listening device in the Cape High Court has again put the spotlight on the state’s conduct in prosecuting five high-profile members of People against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad) for the 1996 murder of Cape gang boss Rashaad Staggie. Only three months ago state prosecutor […]

The residents of one of the Cape’s most popular coastal towns are working together to find solutions to conflict Tracey Farren Muizenberg, the once-grand town near the point where two seas meet, is back from the dead. This time it has a blacker face and speaks a multitude of languages. Writers, artists, tradespeople and refugees […]

Charlene Smith Should women stop on isolated roads for unmarked vehicles occupied by men who may or may not be wearing police uniforms? In a country where police vehicles and cars are routinely stolen and women are often forced off the road and gang-raped, I think any woman who stops her car in a lonely […]

Staff fear that infighting and an ongoing financial crisis will soon lead to the TV station’s demise Glenda Daniels and David Macfarlane A “cowboy style” management dictates the running of e.tv, causing a massive staff turnover that threatens the survival of the free-to-air broadcaster, staff members say. The controversial three-year-old TV station is racked by […]