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Politics
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Google Blacked Out For SOPA Too
18 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Google has joined Wikipedia, BoingBoing and a number of other popular websites in the SOPA protest – not just by ‘blacking out’ their logo, which is cute but largely ineffective, but by putting together a comprehensive and informative infographic on the SOPA bill and piracy, along with access lines for voters to contact members of Congress through.
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Wikipedia Still Accessible, Just Hit ‘Esc’ Key
18 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Wikipedia joined a number of other websites by going offline for 24 hours in an attempt to protest against proposed anti-piracy laws in the US. Users see a black screen and a political statement: “Imagine a world without free knowledge,” but if you really need to access the website, just hit the ‘Esc’ key when you land on your desired Wikipedia page.
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Israeli Hackers Take Down Saudi Stock Exchange
18 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
In retaliation against Saudi Arabian hacker 0xOmar, who leaked the credit card details of 15 000 Israeli nationals and took down a secondary Tel Aviv stock exchange site last week, Israeli hackers calling themselves the #IDF-team have targeted stock exchanges in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates yesterday.
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State Owned Enterprises Battle To Be Profitable
17 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
The South African Institute of Race Relations is reporting that only five of the nine state owned enterprises reporting to the Department of Public Enterprises were profitable in the 2009 – 2010 financial year. The taxpayer makes up for the shortfalls.
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Mbeki Questions Twitter’s Social Usefulness, Twitter Flips Out A Little
17 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Following his opening address for the International Knowledge Conference at the University of Stellenbosch Business School, former president, Thabo Mbeki voiced some concerns about Twitter as “a great conveyor of reliable knowledge,” pointing to Gaddafi’s overthrow as a consequence of “false knowledge,” rather than the social media. Mbeki immediately started trending on Twitter.
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Zuma’s Office Not Complying With Regulations
16 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
President Jacob Zuma’s office has not been very good recently at complying with all the laws and regulations imposed upon it, according to Auditor General Terence Nombembe. And the problem of non-compliance is prevalent across national government departments.
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North Korea To Punish Mourners Who Were “Insincere”
16 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 2 Comments
Last month, we saw footage of North Koreans weeping hysterically over the death of Kim Jong Il. Shockingly, it now turns out some of those people were just faking it! As punishment, authorities are handing down six months in a labor-training camp to all those who participated, but “didn’t cry and didn’t seem genuine.”
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DA Lashes Out Against ‘Draconian’ New Weather Bill
12 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 2 Comments
There’s a storm rapidly brewing over a very contentious amendment to the South African Weather Service Bill. The Democratic Alliance has slammed the “undesirable” and “draconian” sections on the grounds that they are a threat to the safety of all South Africans and would create an unfair monopoly over weather forecasting.
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Dictator Forced To Eat Nando’s At ANC’s Centenary Celebrations
12 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Not everything went according to plan at the ANC’s centenary celebrations over the weekend. Dictator, and Ugandan President, Yuweri Museveni, had to get his security guards to buy him some grilled chicken from Nando’s because there was no food at his accommodation.
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Barack Obama Sings Born This Way [VIDEO]
12 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Once again, YouTube user barackdubs has come up with a winner! This time he places super cut video clip-grabs, featuring Barack Obama, over the backtrack of Lady Gaga’s Born this Way. In other words, it looks and sounds like Obama is actually singing the song. Video after the jump.
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Guests Tortured At Sun City – Not The First Time
11 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 3 Comments
Video footage allegedly showing contracted security guards beating up guests at Sun City has recently been handed over to Cosatu, who plan to march in protest.
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Should We Farm Rhino?
11 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 12 Comments
On the back of the dreadful news that eight rhino carcasses were found in the Kruger National Park within the space of 24 hours the day before yesterday, a South African columnist and well respected journalist has asked whether we should be farming rhino.
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‘Doomsday Clock’ Moved Closer To Midnight
11 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
I’d forgotten that this was something people still did! That metaphorical ‘Doomsday Clock,’ that the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists uses to represent the threat of nuclear war, was moved to five minutes to midnight, the closest to doomsday it’s been since North Korea’s 2007 nuclear weapons test.
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Eric Cantona Wants To Be The French President
10 Jan 2012 by Seth Rotherham / 1 Comment
Just when you thought Eric Cantona couldn’t reinvent himself any more, he hits us with a bender from deep left-field. According to DailyMail, “Manchester United legend Eric Cantona is plotting a stunning bid for the French presidency. The Old Trafford favourite, who also enjoyed a spell with Leeds, needs to secure the backing of 500 elected […]
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Uproar Over Chapman’s Peak Office Development
10 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Hout Bay residents are furious about a R54 million office development along Chapman’s Peak that will be used by Entilini, the company that operates the Chapman’s Peak toll road. It goes without saying that the development would be one of the most exclusive offices to work at in the country, but is it legal?
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Juju Gears Up To Fight ANC Suspension
10 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Julius Malema is raring to go with his appeal against the five year ANC suspension he received a few weeks ago. He has been quoted today saying he’s prepared to accept any outcome. How diplomatic. (But please note, if you still think Juju is really going to retire to the country to be a farmer, you may have to reconsider.)
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Greece Classes Pedophilia, Exhibitionism, And Kleptomania As Disabilities
10 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Greek disability groups expressed anger yesterday at a government decision to expand a list of state-recognized disability categories to include pedophiles, exhibitionists and kleptomaniacs. No news yet as to whether or not these people will also qualify for special parking close to schools, playgrounds, and shopping malls.
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Nelson Mandela TV Series On The Horizon
09 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Nelson Mandela’s life story is to be turned into a television mini-series, entitled “Madiba”. Mandela has given his personal approval for a series that will follow six decades of his life, but there’s been no word yet as to whether or not Matt Damon or Morgan Freeman will be involved.
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Concerns Over 2011 Matric Results Despite 70% Pass Rate
05 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
South Africa’s much awaited IEB Matric results are in, and while there is a noticeable increase in the overall pass rate, commentators have aired concerns over some of the trends emerging. Here’s the Sparks Notes version. Pay attention, there may be a test later.
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Mitt Romney Wins Iowa Caucuses By Eight Votes
04 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
In one of the closest candidate-selection ballots in US history, former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney won out over Rick Santorum at the Iowa caucuses, the nation’s first major electoral event of the year. Santorum and Romney switched between first and second frequently during the night, but a last-minute eight-vote tie margin put Romney ahead.
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Salma Hayek Knighted In France
03 Jan 2012 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy announced today that Mexican-born actress Salma Hayek will become a Chevalier – or Knight – of the Legion of Honour for her services to the French Republic. The news was not too well received by all, with some labeling the country’s honours system “a laughing stock.”
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Happy New Year, Love President Zuma
30 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 2 Comments
The Presidency in Pretoria has released our own Dear Leader’s message to the nation on the (almost) eve of the new year. It appears we can give ourselves a collective pat on the back. Read the whole thing after the jump.
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DJ Starts Mandela Hospital Rumour After Watching E-TV Year In Review Special
30 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Social media feeds, especially Twitter feeds, started buzzing with a rumour that Nelson Mandela had been admitted to hospital a few hours ago. It appears a DJ just happened to watch a programme airing on E-TV about the year that’s passed, and saw old visuals that prompted him to think Madiba had in fact been hospitalised.
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Give Yourself A Dictator Funeral
29 Dec 2011 by Seth Rotherham / No Comments
I found this Photoshop template (here) on Gawker.com and I couldn’t resist the chance the replace Kim Jong Il’s face with my own, as I imagined my very own dictator funeral. You can do the same if you download the Photoshop Template and replace Kim’s photo with your (or a friend’s) image. Kim Jong Il […]
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Samoa Cancels Friday
29 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
At the moment, Samoa is the last country to see the sun go down every day, but a change in the international dateline will now make it the first to see the sun rise. Samoa is getting ready to skip a day and shift its time zone forward by 24 hours.
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China’s New Eye In The Sky, Bye Bye GPS
28 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Yesterday morning China launched its own satellite navigation service, The Beidou Navigation Satellite System, an alternative to the America Global Positioning System (GPS). The system could have serious implications both in terms of civilian and, more importantly, military application.
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LIVE: Kim Jong-Il Funeral [VIDEO]
28 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
North Korea has begun two days of funeral services for its late leader, Kim Jong-il, with hundreds of thousands expected to attend in Pyongyang. Mourners can be seen bowing in the snow, and reporters can barely contain their tears, as the procession makes it way through the streets.
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The ANCYL Pays Homage To Comrade Kim Jong-Il
27 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
As North Korea lays to rest their Dear Leader, we should not forget that the ANC Youth League wished to show Kim Jong-il their appreciation for all that he has done for the struggle of the North Korean people, as well as his many achievements. The Youth League will miss their other Dear Leader.
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The “Occucopter”: Occupy Wall Street’s 99% Get Their Own Drone
22 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Yes, you read that correctly, the “occucopter” is a drone that is being used by protestors to monitor the police. As the 99 per cent continue their protests around the world, they’ve acquired their own surveillance drone. Tim Pool, an Occupy Wall Street protester, has acquired a Parrot AR drone he amusingly calls the “occucopter”.
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Rick Perry Comes Out Of Nowhere With New Campaign Ad
22 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
I just can’t get enough of Rick Perry. After the monumental failure of his last campaign video, which condemned gays in the military, he’s taken the smart approach this time around, leaving the video to his wife. That is, right until the very end, where he literally appears out of nowhere…
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