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Last Update: July 23, 2001 |
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Mandela has prostrate cancer Former South African President Nelson Mandela, 83, has prostate cancer and will receive radio therapy for seven weeks, but his life span is unlikely to be reduced, his office said on Tuesday. "The cancer is not of a high grade and should not decrease Mandela's life span," his spokesperson said. Mandela celebrated his 83rd birthday and the third anniversary of his marriage to former Mozambican first lady Graca Machel on July 18. His spokesperson, Zelda la Grange, said Mandela had been monitored regularly for the prostate specific antigen (PSA) that indicates cancer. "Although the clinical picture revealed no alteration in his status, there has been a slight rise in the blood level of the PSA. "In view of this a decision was made to biopsy the prostate gland, which confirmed the presence of microscopic cancer within the prostate. "Based on current knowledge about this tumour and how it should best be treated, a decision has been made by Mandela's team of doctors to commence treatment on the former president. "Mandela will undergo a seven-week course of radio therapy with curative intent. This treatment will be localised to the prostate gland and he will not require any surgery or chemotherapy," the spokesperson said. Most of Mandela's prostate gland was removed in an operation in 1990. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnKytie Koekblik Washington D.C. - Disclaimer: No offense to anyone with diabetes or anyone who could be considered as obese. This Kytie is meant to be the lighter side literally - of the Big Cheese story. Toe my Baas iewers in die 80s van Suid-Afrika na Amerika toe ge-immigreer het, het hy langs ‘n vreeslike vet Amerikaner op die vliegtuig gesit. Die Amerikaner het besonder chlostrofobies in die klein spasietjie gelyk, en die Baas het ingedruk in die hoekie van die vliegtuig langs die man gesit. Die Amerikaners se seatbelt wou nie om sy lyf gaan nie, en hy moes vra vir ‘n “extention seatbelt.” Pleks die Baas maar teruggegaan het na SA. Die Big Cheese het te lank in Amerika gebly en toe veramerikaanse hy. Hy is laas maand gediagnoseer met diabetes. Diabetes is Big Time onder die Big People wat Amerika populate. Veertig miljoen mense het diabetes, en ongelukkig is dit nie so maklik preventable soos met ‘n sinnetjie “Safe sex” nie. Ja, jy kan seker dit prevent as jy jou rug draai op Big Macs, Chinese take-outs, lunch specials by die Thai restaurant, Cookies and Cream roomys en sodas by die liters. In Mei het die Big Cheese sy aptyt begin verloor, hy dag dis omdat dit so warm was . Eers het die Big Cheese gedog hy is ‘n star performer omdat hy skielik so dors was en soveel water gedrink het. Toe hy naderhand niks meer honger raak nie wat raar is vir ‘n man wat lief is vir eet en net heeltyd wil drink en heeltyd toilet toe moet hardloop, toe weet die Big Cheese iets is groot fout. Toe is dit die Groot D, nie Dieet nie, maar Diabetes. Te veel van als wat lekker is, rusks, pies, biltong included. Soos die Big Cheese se dokter in die post-mortem na sy diagnose se, If it tastes good its bad for you. Sy leuse was altyd, “I don’t smoke,” nou deesdae se die Big Cheese, “I don’t smoke, I don’t drink and I don’t eat.” As die Big Cheese teruggegaan het Suid-Afrika toe, sou sy suburban huisdokter sou lankal preventative measures aanbeveel het. Die huisdok sou nie bang gewees het vir potensiele hofsake nie soos hulle ewekniee in amerika nie. Die Baas se file sou nie net een van miljoene in ‘n reusagtige kabinet gewees het nie. In SA, ken die huisdokter jou by jou naam. In die States is die Big Cheese al vir vyf jaar by dieselfde dokter en elke keer as vir sy afspraak gaan vra die dokter: Have you ever been here before? Die local chemist op ‘n hoek in Suid-Afrika, Mini-Kem of Disa-Kem of Sonkem of so iets, sou die Big Cheese gewaarsku het, doen iets omtrent jou dieet. Hier in die States weet jy mos nie wie is pleb en wie is chemist en wie is cashier nie. Hier gaan jy sommer na die Safeway of die Giant toe of na ‘n Drug Store wat nie verniet ‘n store genoem word nie, jy kan alles en nog wat daar koop. Maar toe waarsku niemand die Big Cheese dat non-fat op ‘n label nie noodwendig in hierdie land beteken dis gesond nie en toe die Big Cheese sy bearings kon kry toe is hy ongesond en spekvet. En die dokter se, jy is nou een van die hoeveel miljoen amerikaners met diabetes wat nie insulien dependent is nie. Die arme Big Cheese nibbel nou deesdae aan slaaibare en hy en sy seuntjie Nathan se troetel Guinea Pig het baie meer in gemeen. Voorheen het die Baas altyd visioene gesien van guinea pig wat hy in Peru geeet het. Die Baas het ook in ander vreemde lande vreemde soorte kosse geeet saam met sy talle travelling buddies. Ek en die baas is mos Kuba toe laasjaar, en hy was nie ‘n maklike travel buddie nie. Almal weet altyd na die eerste oogopslag dat hy ‘n amerikaner is, want hy lyk soos ‘n amerikaner. En ek wou net klein ou take-out goetertjies eet nie dat dit volop is in kuba nie maar die baas wou elke aand in ‘n restaurant loop sit. Ons gaan toe eendag op ‘n hike meer soos ‘n wandeling teen ‘n berg op in rural Kuba, en die Big Cheese blaas en steun teen die berg uit. “n Boer bied toe uit die goedheid van sy hart aan om die Big Cheese op ‘n slee agter osse aan teen die berg uit te sleep. Die Big Cheese het skaars op die slee geklim, toe val die hele ding uit mekaar uit - hy’t ‘n Kubaanse arme boer se lewe geruineer met sy gewig. Sy een travelling buddie het op ‘n ekspedisie na Ethiopia gegaan, en toe die Baas aanbied om saam te kom het hy hom of en af gekyk en gese, “I don’t know, we won’t be able to sustain you.” Die Big Cheese bied talle verskonings aan vir sy heftige kondisie. In Amerika hoef jy niks te doen nie, se die Big Cheese. Selfs deure maak sommer vanself oop, en jy hoef meestal nie eers uit jou kar te klim en in die line by die bank te gaan staan nie. Daar is mos allerhande soorte drive-thrus en drive-by banking en bru-thrus waar jy kan bier bestel en die Shrinking Cheese weier om na ‘n laundry toe te gaan as dit nie ‘n drive thru laundry is nie. As hy in Suid-Afrika gebly het, se die Big Cheese, sou hy oefening gekry het. Hy sou gereeld gaan perlemoen en kreef uitduik het. Hy kon nog nooit regtig vatkry aan die amerikaanse health club kultuur nie, se die baas. “no ways I’m going to gym here” se die baas nog altyd. Sy enigste memories van gym is sy ou gym onderwyser, meneer oosthuizen, wat jou met ‘n fluitjie aan ‘n tou sou strap. Nou kyk, as jy nie wil gewig optel in die verskriklike koudste winters hier in die States nie, moet jy ‘n wintersport doen en al wat jy regtig kan doen is ysskaats of ski of gym. Amerikaners weet om met hulle klimate te deal, ons weet nie. Die baas dink ons immigrante wat van warmer klimate afkom is at risk diabetes cases wat gaan deel te word van die veertig miljoen amerikaner outthere wat oorgewig, oor veertig en onder stres is. Suid-Afrikaanse suburban mans kry darem soms oefening wanneer hulle hulle groot grasperke se gras sny. In Washington se suburbs sny die mans nie gras nie. Die Big Cheese, Suid-Afrikaner wat hy is, het gedink hy sal maar self die gras sny omdat jy in elk geval net grassny vir vyf maande voor dit doodgaan in die vrieskas klimaat. Daarom koop hy toe vir hom ‘n liggewig steerable self-propelled mower, nie die soort wat jy rondstoot nie. Toe kom daar Pakistanis by die huis klop en vra vir werk. Die baas gee toe in en die Pakistanis het werk. “Americans would never do that work” se die Big Cheese, “its un-pc to do your own lawn.” Die enigste ander oefening wat die Baas sou kry, is om sy SUV te was. Maar natuurlik doen Amerikaners dit ook nie, jy’t mos ‘n carwash. Toe hou hy daarmee ook op. Op ‘n stadium het die Baas die ATKINS dieet oorweeg, ‘n dieet gewild onder Suid-Afrikaners omdat jy net vleis hoef te eet. “Its good for the beef industries” het die baas gedink Toe hy ‘n boykie van Suid-Afrika was, het die baas ‘n koei in die veld gesien en gewonder hoe die koei sou lyk op ‘n braaivuur. Daar was nie ‘n voël in die hele suidelike voorstede van kaapstad wat veilig was van die kleinbasie windbuks nie. Maar Amerika het ook sy denke ietwat verander. Hy het meer PC geword, en selfs begin jammer voel vir die koeie. Hy laat ook mossies toe om in sy dak te broei. Dus, ATKINS dieet vlieg by die vensters uit en die baas bly eet. In fact, sy hele sosiale lewe het om kos gewentel. Hy het in die restaurante geboer en boggerol gedoen. Toe die diabetes bom bars, was die baas vir ‘n ruk gebroke. “My entire social life has collapsed. “ het die Baas gese. Geen niks meer Tara Thai of Deli Daba restaurante in Bethesda, die restaurant capital van Washington nie. Ek dink die baas moet maar in ‘n klein dorpie gaan bly waar daar minder versoekinge is. In Bethesda kry ‘n mens mos double sized portions, want hulle wil seker maak jy kom terug. Onthou die golden rule: As dit tasty is, is daar waarskynlik te veel sout of suiker in. Food was nooit functional in die baas se lewe nie. Food WAS sy lewe in die pre-diabetes fase. “That is what gives me a life” het die Baas gekla na hy op ‘n streng dieet geplaas is. Hy mag g’n niks meer suiker inkry nie. Niks lekker goed nie, Chinese food en carbohydrates is uit, souse is uit. “I go into a restaurant and I can’t have anything” kla die Baas. Hy word toegelaat om 3 ounces of meat te eet, wat so goed is soos ‘n halwe frikadel of ‘n pinkie kaas. Geen niks meer van sy SA favourites soos Turkish Delight; Caravans en niks meer kalahari rusks of Cape Dutch Bakery pies nie. Hy eet nou meer gereeld sushi, die arme Big Cheese. So hy order vier stukkies rou tuna, en miskien shredded radish. Tog het sy gestel begin gewoond raak aan die min(der) kos Die Big Cheese is nou nie meer so ‘n Big Cheese nie, hy het oor die laaste maand gekrimp tot die helfte van wat hy was. Hy is nou ‘n middelmatige cheese. Hy kan nou weer “Kleinbaas” genoem word, dit was immers sy naam in die Suid-Afrika wat hy agtergelaat het 14 jaar terug.…(Sy air force naam was Stompie op lugmag basis Valhalla) Die baas se reuse walk-in closet van 15 jaar in Amerika is ‘n revelation. Die klere vertel hulle eie storie, netjies gerangskik van links na regs, van klein nommers na groter nommers. Die klein nommers was aanvanklik bedoel vir die needy en disadvantaged in Suid-Afrika “once it was clear that the small sizes were gone forever,” se die Baas. However, diabetes het sy groei gekelder. Nou is die nuwe klere te groot en hy gaan nou weer aan die oues dra. Ons beplan om die klere na SA te ship, maar ons is nie seker of daar enige customers is vir sy large sizes nie. Dalk kan dit maar gebruik word in die squattercamps vir shack curtains. Deesdae het die baas selfs weer hoop vir die toekoms. Die Shrinking Cheese is nou ‘n soort low key campaigner vir die voorkoming van diabetes. Hy stuur honderde bulk mailings uit aan niksvermoedende mense, en elke koevertjie het ‘n Diabetes stamp daarop… “Without the weight, I’m actually quite cute” het die baas vanogged gese. Hy meen sy eie vrou sal nou moet oppas, want die vrouens op die rak gaan nou begin propositions maak. “There is a good side to it” se die Baas en skud sy kop. Die baas se universiteitsvriend wat hy 17 jaar laas gesien het, het laas maand kom kuier. Op universiteits was Stompie kort en dun, in 17 jaar kan baie dinge gebeur. “I was worried they’d get a big shock, luckily I quickly lost 20 pounds, diabetes is a just in time diet” se die baas met ‘n grinnik. Dis mos een ding van ons suid-afrikaners, ons is grootgemaak met hou die blink kant bo, check vir die silver randjie rondom die donker wolke. Die Baas meen ook dat hy nou gereed is om terug te keer na Suid-Afrika. Hy wou voorheen nie he sy former pals en cousins moes sien hoe large hy geword het nie, maar nou is hy gereed daarvoor. Hy het toe ook, soos die spasie in die vliegtuig rondom hom kleiner geword het en hy groter, chlostrophobia ontwikkel. Miskien sal sy chlostrophobia nou verdwyn soos sy gewig krimp, hy gaan mos nie meer so boxed-in wees nie. Hy het al gedink hy moet sy homeland afskryf, en nou sal hy dalk weer kan terugkeer! Op daai noot wil ek gaan eet. Burgers, Mexican, Chinese, wat sal ek eet vanmiddag? Youth is mos invincible. Vir die Big Cheese sonder die Big - ‘n take-out green salad sonder dressing. Kytie K. Kytie Koekblik would like you to respond to her tongue-in-cheek running commentary on suburban life in America in this editorial. Fresh off the boat, she is ready to explore and experiment with American bath plugs and to drive on the other side of the road. You can contact her here. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] Two men found guilty in Tempe murder trial Bloemfontein - Two men were found guilty in the Bloemfontein High Court on Tuesday of the murder of two soldiers in an ammunition theft in June 1998. Marius Swanepoel and Hendrik Du Preez were found guilty by Judge Faan Hanke and Du Preez's brother, Petrus, was acquitted of the murders. Soldiers Michael Leisanyane and Gilmore van Wyk were transporting a load of ammunition in an army truck to Ladybrand from De Brug outside Bloemfontein when they were ambushed, thrown into the boot of a car, then thrown into the Modder River to drown. A fourth man, Nicholas Kristen, was found not guilty on all charges. Kirsten, a resident of the Northern Cape Afrikaner "homeland" Orania, faced a charge of conspiracy for the ammunition theft. During the court case, Swanepoel told the court that he had played a limited role in the crimes he, and that he had done so in his capacity of a police informer. He pinned the murders on the Du Preez brothers, but they blamed him. Regarding their roles in the other crimes, the brothers said they were indoctrinated by rightwing leaders, including Swanepoel, into taking action against ongoing murders on white farmers. Swanepoel was found guilty on a total of 11 crimes including two counts of murder and abduction, housebreaking and theft, possession of arms and ammunition, and escape from lawful custody. Hendrik Du Preez was found guilty on 10 charges including arson, housebreaking and theft, possession of firearms, two counts of murder and abduction. The men were supporters of a rightwing grouping known as "Die Volk" and the weapons were stolen from Bloemfontein's Tempe military base in May that year. During the course of the one-month trial, which started on May 3, the court heard evidence that Die Volk had ambitions of taking over the country "once black-on-black violence escalates into full-scale anarchy". Swanepoel was described as the group's Free State leader. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] Cape unicity mayor run out of town! Cape Town unicity mayor Peter Marais had to head for the hills on Monday when hundreds of furious KTC informal settlement residents chased him from the township. Marais was forced to flee when residents, chanting "Marais get out", pursued him to his metallic green BMW outside a local community hall. He had been in the area to assess damage caused by the recent heavy rains. The mayor was accompanied by executive committee members Gawa Samuels, Frank Gutuza and Ian Nielsen, as well as new city manager Robert Maydon. He was also forced to cut short his visit to areas surrounding the community hall that had been devastated by the floods and freezing temperatures for the past week. About 1 300 people in KTC were left temporarily homeless. Marais's address, through a Xhosa interpreter, to about 300 KTC residents lasted for about 30 minutes on Monday before the agitated crowd swept towards the stage and demanded that he leave. Marais's bodyguards formed a human shield between him and the crowd as the residents followed the mayor to his luxury car parked outside. Although some young men picked up stones, nobody manhandled the mayor or pelted his vehicle as it sped away. Afterwards, residents, including Shirley Kaba, who has lived in KTC since 1984, accused the mayor of being arrogant and "wanting to score political points by making empty promises to the people". African National Congress councillors said Marais had snubbed them by not informing them that he was coming to their area. Earlier Marais told the agitated crowd that he was in the area to find an "answer for the housing problem". "You have lived in squalor for a long time. It is unacceptable that black people must live in such conditions. When I became mayor in December last year I realised that something must be done to house people, before winter if that is possible. "You must remember I've only been mayor for six months and I could not do everything you expected of me. We are busy building 26 900 houses that will be completed by 2003, but that is not enough. We need to build 25 000 a year to wipe out the backlog of 220 000 houses. The money I get from national government works out to about 10 000 housing subsidies a year, so that adds 15 000 to the backlog every year," Marais explained. His plan, he said, was to give people a plot of land with water, streets and toilet facilities until subsidies became available to build houses for them. He called on KTC residents to elect 20 representatives to negotiate with him and council officials about vacant land. "There is land available. Some of it belongs to the province, some of it to national government and some of it to the municipality. I can't give you a house, but I can give you a plot that is serviced. You can put up a structure until I can build you a house," he said. However, when Marais said he would do more in a year for black communities than the former ANC council had done in the past five years, ANC supporters in the crowd became agitated. Then Marais said: "You can't wait for the government to build houses, you need shelter now. I'm here to look you straight in the face and tell you I'm not the enemy." A few seconds later, as the crowd became more incensed, local ANC councillor Gladstone Ntamo got up and said: "Marais is here to create conflict. We have stayed here for 20 years and only one party has kept us here. First they were known as the National Party, then the New National Party and now they are the Democratic Alliance." Ntamo said that since the heaviest rains fell last Tuesday and Wednesday the community had endured intense suffering with over a thousand left homeless. Yet Marais had said he only heard about the community's suffering at the weekend. He accused Marais of political opportunism and snubbing community leaders by telling the people they had to elect a representative committee. Before Marais could take the microphone again to put his side of the story, shouts of "Get out Marais" resounded in the community hall and the mayor's bodyguards had to intervene, forming a shield around him as he hastened wide-eyed to his BMW. The Cape Times was informed by Marais's spokesperson, Johan Smit, that he would not be continuing his visit to the township and that he was on his way back to Cape Town. Later on Monday evening the mayor released a statement saying: "The ANC fears the advances made by the DA in black areas and would do everything in its power to jeopardise the chances of destitute people to get decent housing if it is offered by a DA council. "I believe negotiation and community participation is the solution to land and housing problems, and invite members of the KTC informal settlement to come and have discussions in my office, so we can find a workable solution to their housing problems." Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Nel's KitchenRagel Nel Ragel Nel Washington D.C. - I'm trying to initiate a newly arrived, single friend from South Africa into the American Dating Game. Not that I have so much experience or expertise on the matter (hardly!). Of course, because this is my column, I can always make myself out to be popular, witty, beautiful and clever, but believe it or not, there is such a thing as journalistic integrity, and I actually possess some. But I digress... So on one sultry summer evening we start our foray into the ever-exciting nightlife of Washington D.C. To her it’s uncharted territory, therefore I have no choice but to navigate and soon we end up in a dimly lit (flattering for all involved), smoke-filled establishment. As we lean across the bar to shout out our drink orders, we are suddenly surrounded by men who had, above the din, managed to make out our accents. I can almost see those non-xenophobic magic words, "foreign chicks", written all over their faces. "Line up, cowboys," I mutter, nudging my friend to get her attention. "Amazing!" She giggles. "There’s hope after all!" Hope turns out to have many faces. I stand back and keep a watchful eye as all the hopefuls start vying for her attention in that age old ritual of "boys-meet-girl". All of them turn out to be American, which is quite a rarity in cosmopolitan D.C. where foreigners could easily outnumber the natives. During my early days in the States, I was amazed that Americans could be so scarce in America! From my position as responsible friend, I get a whole new perspective on the situation. In a matter of minutes, the amount of suitors starts to dwindle until only the more persistent ones remain. "Don’t call us, we’ll call them," I remind her when two of the guys produce pens. "The one is really nice, but he doesn’t have a phone. Can’t we make an exception?" She pleads. "Give him your e-mail address," I bend the rules, figuring that even if it leads to cyber stalking, it still won’t be as bad as desperate phone calls in the middle of the night. The evening is young and so are we, thus it is onward to the next hole in the wall. The scenario that plays out there is very similar to the above, only this time the line of hopefuls isn’t quite as long. Truer to D.C. tradition, it also includes an assortment of fellow foreigners. Once again I stand back to assess the candidates. Soon it is clear that none of them are going to bow out to any of the others, so we allow them to properly introduce themselves. (Note: All names have been changed to protect myself against libel suits.) First up: Sven, the surprisingly shy Swede with the Northern Lights sparkling in his eyes. Then Bill the beefy Texan packs the bull by the horns with a robust: "Howdy!" Next Don Juan, an ex-pat Cuban with shiny slicked back hair and full lips wrapped around a cigar, puffs some smoke in our direction. And before Edward the Brit wit has a chance to say: "How do you do?", Koos from the Karoo storms past with a "Hey man! Am I glad to see some more South Africans in this place!", bringing an abrupt end to the chances of any of the other guys. Koos grabs my friend by the hand, and I excuse myself, realizing that my efforts into schooling her in the art of American dating weren’t all in vain, and that it may just as well be applied anywhere in the world. © RSA-Overseas [ Top ] Wits alarmed at idea of merger with Rau A group of senior management staff at the University of the Witwatersrand were understood to have been surprised this week when they were told by members of a restructuring task team, accountable to the government, to consider how a merger between Wits, Rand Afrikaans University and Wits technikon would work - although the three institutions signed an initial "collaboration agreement" about a month ago. Leila Patel, the Wits deputy vice-chancellor, said Wits wasn't "specifically told to look at a merger" with Rau and the technikon, but was asked to make a submission by the end of August, putting forward a case for regional collaboration - "and if we feel there should be mergers, we should say so, and make our case". Academics - who did not want to be named - say the "secretive"approach taken by the group so far has got education institutions "in a tizzy", and left them unsure of their future. "The criteria the working group is using to make decisions need to be clarified," said one source. "It (the group) is asking various questions, without divulging how it will be reaching decisions." Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] |
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