Barbara Ellen BODY LANGUAGE It seems to be the fate of some women to become relationship universities. What usually happens in these cases is that the woman in question is involved with a man for many, many years. They grow and learn together. Often they will cohabit, and buy lots of “stuff” to cement their […]

Donna Block TAKING STOCK I love New York. It’s the city that never sleeps – I’ve been doing very little of that myself – and has a vibe that can’t be matched anywhere else in the world. Springtime here is wonderful. Everything has a clean, fresh feel to it. Birds are singing, if you can […]

Chris Roper REVIEW OFTHEWEEK Damn, that Brett Murray is a funny guy! The unveiling of his Africa sculpture in Cape Town last Friday was a delicious occasion, marked in equal parts by mirth and blank incomprehension. The 3-m high statue, an Ivorian curio figure with Bart Simpson heads growing out of it, occupies a space […]

Barry Streek David Barnard, who pioneered the Human Science Research Council’s Programme for Development Research (Prodder) development information service, has been appointed as the executive director of the Southern African Non-Governmental Organisation Network. Barnard, who has been Prodder’s co- ordinator for eight years, said the Prodder programme had grown from a development information initiative with […]

Jubie Matlou and Evidence wa ka Ngobeni A showdown is looming between the government and the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) over the role of the student organisation in the disruption of education in schools. The government is considering a relook at the role of Cosas in the proper running and governance of schools […]

Zanu-PF land-grab policy Jaspreet Kindra African National Congress secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe this week endorsed Zanu-PF’s stand on land appropriation, denying the ruling Zimbabwean party was manipulating the issue for electoral purposes. Motlanthe said in an interview the situation in Zimbabwe had suffered from “misrepresentation of facts” by the media, claiming press reports had inflated […]

Jaspreet Kindra The African National Congress has spoken out against the building of a “black bourgeoisie” – contradicting the stance taken by President Thabo Mbeki on the issue. The shift in the party’s stance is spelled out in one of its discussion documents for the ANC general council in Port Elizabeth next month. The party […]

The major world city of Amsterdam offers visitors more than just its renowned red- light district, it also the home of jenever and the tulip Angus Begg St Annen Straat, Amsterdam. A moment’s eye contact with the dark, flabby and scantily-clad woman in the window makes me feel like the small boy who was caught […]

Glenda Daniels The Johannesburg Bar, one of the city’s oldest institutions, is on the verge of moving its permanent headquarters to Sandton following a steady exodus of advocates from the city centre. A circular drafted by the Bar council is doing the rounds asking advocates to indicate whether they’re staying or leaving, with most lawyers […]

Glenda Daniels A FIGHTING UNION: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN RAILWAY AND HARBOURS WORKERS’ UNION by Margaret Kiloh and Archie Sibeko, (Ravan Press) This book is the only historical record of the South African Railway and Harbour Workers’ Union’s (Sarhwu) battles since it was formed in 1936. It provides a factual account, detailing […]