Those who are least keen on our new democracy, it seems, make most use of it. Take the current mobilisation against the Property Rates Bill, which offers further evidence that neat theories often fail to explain political life here. Logic suggests that majority rule should relegate whites to the outer margins of public debate. Race […]
convention Bowled over by his talent and chutzpah, Microsoft sponsored 15-year-old Greg Cohen’s attendance at its first Tech-Ed 2000 Africa being held at Sun City in mid- August Lauren Shantall Headlines heralding computer whizzkids are as outdated as Windows 95. Which means that 15-year-old Greg Cohen’s case, no matter how much of a programming prodigy […]
‘cure’ gay men Howard Barrell Being called a nutter by the defence force that serviced apartheid might, in the eyes of many, be an endorsement of one’s sanity. But, for those conscripts who were victims of the form of psychiatry practised in the former South African Defence Force (SADF), it could be a horrifying experience. […]
Why is a oe500 lump of titanium shaking the genteel world of golf to its foundations? Richard Williams It’s lunchtime in Nevada Bob’s, and the boys are discussing length. Karl, thirtyish, has just emerged from the storeroom holding a golf club. It’s a driver, the type of club that sends the ball furthest whether you’re […]
Ebrahim Harvey left field The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has a proud and militant history in the trade union movement. It was organisationally and politically arguably the strongest affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) with an unwavering commitment to socialism. It also produced some of the best […]
Peter Robinson CRICKET Of all the mistakes made by Shaun Pollock in his first Test match as captain (and, let’s be honest, he made a few), the worst by some distance was his failure to call the toss correctly on the first morning in Galle. A lot went wrong for South Africa in the first […]
Andrew Worsdale TELEVISION I was there. At Granny Lee’s funeral in the Anglican Cathedral in downtown Johannesburg in 1989. As someone remarks in the upcoming documentary Metamorphosis: The Remarkable Journey of Granny Lee, “It was a de luxe state funeral.” I’d met him some years earlier when I used to hang out with friends at […]
Merryman Kunene SOCCER Nastasia Tsichlas started at Sundowns as club secretary. Some might think it was a ploy by club vice-chair Angelo Tsichlas to keep his wife busy while he took care of big business at the club – but her skills were soon recognised. The small job led to bigger things and when her […]
Jaspreet Kindra The Department of Public Enterprises is showing extraordinary sensitivity about possible leaks of its latest policy document on privatisation – the cause of tension between the government and its union allies. The department this week threatened to search the bags of people, when two copies of the still- confidential document circulated at a […]
Out of chaos come international biosafety rules, signed but still to be ratified John Vidal When Professor Howard Atkinson and colleagues at Leeds University genetically modified a potato to be pest- resistant without the use of chemicals, it was decided to test it in Bolivia, one of the world’s poorest and most malnourished countries and […]