As I style myself from time to time as a former “war correspondent”, the horror film hit, the Blair Witch Project, was a bit of an embarrassment to me. To be frank, I’ve never been so terrified in my life. This was not the case with the winsome film producer who volunteered to accompany me […]
A team of researchers is close to developing a drug that might help people with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Anthea Garman Human beings will live longer in the 21st century. But the bad news is that they will suffer more from brain denegeration diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. But, says Oxford University neuro- pharmacologist Susan […]
Belinda Beresford A LEADING UNITED STATES UNIVERSITY HAS BEEN USING HUMAN GUINEA PIGS IN UGANDA TO TEST THE RATE AT WHICH HIV CAN BE TRANSFERRED FROM INFECTED TO UNINFECTED PARTNERS – WITHOUT APPRAISING THE UNINFECTED PARTNERS OF THE RISKS INVOLVED. The trial, which was conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, has triggered a furore […]
A Sandton City salons opens its doors once a week to streetgirls for a free hair style – and a dose of self-esteem Boetie Damane The salon Hair Images attracts a celebrity clientele – stars like Yvonne Chaka-Chaka, Dennis “Chesa Mpama” Lota of Orlando Pirates, and Boom Shaka’s Lebo. On Tuesdays, sitting alongside such clients […]
WHAT’S NEW Old Mutual has launched the world’s first service for buying, selling and switching unit trusts via your cellphone. The system, which requires you to have a WAP-enabled phone such as the Nokia 7110 or Ericsson R230s, allows Old Mutual’s existing clients to check out prices and buy and sell any of Old Mutual’s […]
Cameron Duodu LETTER FROM THE NORTH I have absolutely nothing against people sitting down and talking together. But if I had my way, the sort of talkfest that has just taken place in Cairo between European and African leaders would not take place. I mean, if all the fuel costs of the presidential jets, the […]
Iden Wetherell Zimbabwe’s headlong descent in to anarchy was given a further shove this week by President Robert Mugabe’s renewed support for land invasions and the refusal of police to rescue farmers from violent mobs of ruling Zanu-PF party supporters. The police said they didn’t have sufficient vehicles or fuel to intervene but, in reality, […]
NET WATCH The Salon free software book project is an innovative open-source publishing project about free software. Author Andrew Leonard is writing the as-yet-untitled book and posting bits online as soon as he can, while calling on the collective wisdom of the Net to keep him honest. “We’re publishing the book as a work in […]
Steven Friedman WORM’S EYE VIEW The “meaningless” may mean more than we think. One example may be parliamentary questions. The African National Congress wants to re-engineer them by allocating them to parties according to their strength. And it has scrapped “interpellations” in which MPs can initiate debates with ministers. This has drawn predictable reaction from […]
Fiona Macleod Ronnie Kasrils, former Umkhonto weSizwe head of military intelligence and democratic South Africa’s first deputy defence minister, gets to be the demolition man again when he blows a giant concrete overflow tower to smithereens. In his present role as Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, Kasrils is planning to push the button that […]
Firstly, the brain functions by non- algorithmic processes. As physicist Niels Bohr said to a student, “You’re not thinking, you’re just being logical.” l The brain has chemically based events. “Unless we could give Prozac to a computer the machine won’t be anything like the brain.” l The brain has emotions. “Even a baby has […]
With our property prices among the world’s lowest, bricks and mortar could be a very solid investment Ian Fife ‘I been down so long it looks like up to me,” says the old blues song. That’s how property people feel too. Everyone else is getting instant gratification in shares and the money market, so real […]
working Connie Selebogo and Nadine Hutton Past grimy braziers belching gray smoke, a gust of wind reveals a group of women in the technicolor splendor of their swibelana, or traditional Shangaan dress. Cocooned in smoke, they are still vabombile – dressed to kill. This is no fashion show. It’s Johannesburg at 7am, and nestled between […]
David Moore A SECOND LOOK One of the things that makes the tragic events to South Africa’s north almost farcical is the historical amnesia of many of the commentators. How could the promoters of an “African renaissance” (is Andrew Young, former mayor of Atlanta, really one of them?) have ever held Robert Mugabe up as […]
Malcolm X (Spike Lee, 1992): Denzel Washington gives a magnetic performance as the controversial black leader (right) in Lee’s epic biopic, equally compelling as the young dissolute and the forceful orator of later years. Philadelphia (Jonathan Demme, 1993): Although Tom Hanks won the Oscar, Washington was lauded for his sensitive performance as the homophobic lawyer […]
The longer you wait before you buy life insurance, the more it’s likely to cost you Judy Barnes One of the most important things you will ever undertake before shuffling off this mortal coil is purchasing life assurance. It’s a process likely to be complicated as everyone you know attempts to advise. Because our date […]
Azhar Cachalia A SECOND LOOK The Human Rights Commission’s (HRC) hearings into racism in the media is over. The dust has settled and most members of the media seem to agree that the process was a productive one. The hearing provoked vibrant discussion both inside and outside the media industry. The industry must tackle those […]
Denzel Washington’s latest role, in The Hurricane, adds to a body of work that bears elegant testament to the black American experience Elvis Mitchell For a long time, Denzel Washington made a career out of suffusing old-school white liberal movies with a dizzying rush of flesh and blood. Take the well-meaning Cry Freedom in 1987 […]
Donna Block SHAREWORLD Once upon a time, there were two markets. One presided over the shares of what is now known as the old economy – value stocks, blue chips – those that actually have earnings. The other was home to the new economy – those high-flying technology stocks that someday may earn a little […]
Charlene Smith In 1995 (when 35 000 rapes were reported) the Human Sciences Research Council reported that South Africa had 149,5 rapes per 100E000 population, compared to 34,4 rapes per 100E000 in the United States. The danger of being raped is five times higher in South Africa than in the US. According to rape homicide […]
Barry Streek Wilmot James, once the hot favourite to become the new principal of the University of Cape Town (UCT), has resigned from the powerful position of dean of humanities at the university. After barely a year in office, he quit after he failed to be placed on the two- person shortlist for the position […]
The SABC’s African Language Radio stations are probably an anomaly peculiar to the South African radio industry. Between them, they use nine of the country’s 11 languages. Last November, the stations enjoyed roughly 70% of radio’s 23,8-million adult listeners, with the largest of these belonging to the Zulu-language Ukhozi fm (5,5-million), followed by the Xhosa- […]
John Matshikiza WITH THE LID OFF It was a bit disconcerting. It was my first visit to the city of Kampala, capital of the East African state of Uganda. It was an important moment. Uganda, which the national tourist board is pleased to promote as “the pearl of Africa”, is a lush, verdant para-dise, very […]
Barry Streek Production of maize in the former homelands last year fell to its lowest level in six years. Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Thoko Didiza told Parliament this week that during the 1999/2000 financial year, more hectares of maize were planted than in previous years, but only 415 729 tonnes were produced, and […]
David le Page The deaths of five women in HIV/Aids drug trials were more likely the result of flaws in the handling of the trials than problems with the drugs themselves, researchers working on related trials said this week. The researchers were responding to the controversial decision by the government this week to suspend recruitment […]
Ebrahim Harvey CROSSFIRE The Civil Society Initiative launched recently by Roelf Meyer and Ray McCauley, head of the Rhema Church, is significant, if only because it highlights, more than anything else, the decline of South African civil society over the past few years. Vital to building a vibrant democracy is an active and involved civil […]
THE ACT Brumbies on Thursday named an unchanged side for Friday’s Super 12 match with the Otago Highlanders in Canberra. ACT coach Eddie Jones unsurprisingly stuck with the same starting 15 that trampled the Cats 64-0 a week ago to lift the Brumbies into third place on the standings, just a point behind the Highlanders. […]
Anglo-American has driven a hard bargain for the mines it acquired in the Zambian Copperbelt last week Gregory Mthembu-Salter In a historic ceremony last Friday in Lusaka, Anglo- American regained the major mines of Zambia’s Copperbelt, including Konkola Deep. A consortium led by First Quantum Minerals (FQM) acquired the Mufulira and Nkana mines on the […]
Robert Kirby LOOSE CANNON Last week yielded another of his feared public tantrums from Mr Mbeki’s chief soothsayer, Mr Mankahlana – or as he’s affectionately known these days, “South Parks”. In his newest ragings Mr Mankahlana described those who disagree with the president on the HIV/Aids issue as his “assailants”. I have to agree. With […]
Andy Capostagno RUGBY It was only a matter of time, really. South African rugby is in crisis, let’s find a scapegoat and ask Louis Luyt, if he’s not doing anything important, whether he would like to ride to the rescue. Things have been entirely too stable in the corridors of power, it’s time for the […]
Khadija Magardie BODY LANGUAGE To be honest, I’ve always wondered how she manages to do it. Barbie, that is. With her impressive, nipple-free bosom more than twice the size of her waist, equally impressive legs more than twice as long as her torso, and feet so femininely tiny that she can neither balance nor stand […]
Connie Selebogo MOTOR RACING For Batshobonke Sibuka (22), who grew up in a rural area in the Transkei where donkey tracks are the only fast lanes, a career in motor racing was something beyond imagination. Rising star Sibuka took his opponents by surprise when he beat experienced drivers in his motor racing debut at Killarney, […]