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Politics
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Breaking News: JZ’s Appointment Of Simelane Ruled Invalid
01 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
In positive news for our democracy, the Supreme Court of Appeal has decided that Menzi Simelane’s role as National Director of Public Prosecutions is invalid. This is in response to an application by the DA, contesting President Jacob Zuma’s appointment of Simelane to the position in 2009.
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US Court Orders Hundreds Of Sites “De-indexed” From Google
01 Dec 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
In a worrying move for people who like their internet uncensored, a federal judge in Nevada has ruled that Chanel has the right seize 700 domain names that have been peddling fake Chanel products – and that search engines and social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Bing, and Google, are to “de-index” the domains.
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Nelson Mandela Car Air Freshener
30 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Nelson Mandela is awesome. The whole world knows that. Upon pushing through the Protection of Information Bill in Parliament just over a week ago, a number of South African MP’s seemed to momentarily forget that.
Here’s something they should put in their cars, to remind them of how good Nelson Mandela smells.
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Secret Software Is Probably Tracking Everything You Do On Your Phone
30 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 4 Comments
The Carrier IQ software, installed on most modern Android, Blackberry and Nokia phones, is supposed to record some of the things phones do so manufacturers can do quality control. Except it’s also been logging everybody’s text messages, web searches, and phone calls. Which is pretty bad.
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Riot Police Clearing LA Occupy Protesters [LIVE VIDEO]
30 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Police in riot gear are moving in on anti-Wall Street activists in Los Angeles right now. They’re enforcing the mayor’s order to evict protesters who have camped outside City Hall for the past eight weeks. Supporters are streaming into the area in a show of solidarity as the protesters seek to defy the order and risk arrest.
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Franschhoek Exhibition Pulled After Student Poses Nude And Tears Pages From Bible
29 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Celeste Coetzee gave The Gallery at Grande Provence in Franschhoek a little more than they’d agreed on last week. Her Unisa Final Year Student Exhibition was axed from The Gallery after she went a bit too far by posing nude and tearing pages from a Bible.
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Creative Combat Gear Worn By Egyptian Protesters [PICS]
28 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
The saying goes that you shouldn’t bring a knife to a gunfight. But in Egypt, where violence is once again reaching a crescendo, protesters are protecting themselves with whatever they can find as they fight fierce street battles with the military. Check out their home-made armour consisting of garden buckets, gas masks and…egg boxes.
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Hate Speech Hearing On The Cards For Juju
28 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Despite the fact that Julius Malema has now decided to be a beef farmer, the Afrikanerbond definitely wants him to come before the South African Commission of Human Rights on three allegations of hate speech, which the group has lodged against him since March 2010.
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Google Doodle Supports Egyptian Elections
28 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Egyptians began voting today in the first election since toppling former President, Hosni Mubarak in February. These elections are the first of a programme of elections that will last until March 2012, and although only a tiny proportion of the population has internet access, Google is continuing to do its bit for democracy and hoping to inspire Egyptians to vote.
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Judge Motata Wantsch Hish Old Job Backsh (hic)
25 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Disgraced High Court Judge, Nkola Motata, has filed papers at the Pretoria High Court demanding his job back. Given his indiscretions, however, he might be about to hit a brick wall… again.
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Polish Far Right Group Registers “No Gay Sex” Sign As Official Logo
25 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
A far right political group, the National Rebirth of Poland party, came under fire from gay rights activists in Poland on Wednesday. They’d gotten word about a little-known judgement that had been passed allowing the political group the use of a ridiculous logo.
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Photographer David Goldblatt Turns Down Award To Protest Info Bill
25 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
The ramifications for forcing through the Protection of Information Bill as it stands have been far and wide. International media sniggered, and local media took their grievances to new levels. Now, world-renowned Apartheid photographer, David Goldblatt, has decided to denounce a top South African award in protest against the bill in an open letter to President Zuma.
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Mandla Mandela: “Sexual Age Of Consent Is A White, Western Notion”
25 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Three prominent gender rights organisations met with Mandla Mandela yesterday. This, after he made statements regarding South Africa’s sexual age of consent last year, saying that when it comes to culture, the sexual age of consent is a “white, Western notion.” He was specifically referring to the ukuthwala practice, where girls as young as 14-years-old are abducted and forcefully married to older men.
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The Brothers Streep On The Protection of Information Bill [VIDEO]
24 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
The Brothers Streep were recently seen on Idols, where they poked a bit of fun at some of the show’s more controversial moments and characters. And before that they performed live for Anna Paquin on the Graham Norton show. This time they tackle the ANC’s steamrolling of the Protection of Information Bill in parliament this week. Check out “The Secrecy Bill” after the jump.
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ANC Threatens Secrecy Bill Dissidents
24 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Yesterday, the ANC decided it would threaten its members who voted with their consciences against the passing of the Protection of State Information Bill in Parliament on Tuesday. Luckily and unluckily, the minutes of proceedings for the vote have to be released into the public domain showing exactly who voted for what.
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ANC WikiPedia Page Suffers Sustained Hacks
23 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 4 Comments
In the wake of Parliament’s majority vote to send the controversial Protection of Information Bill to the National Council of Provinces for consideration, the ANC’s Wikipedia has suffered numerous mischievious revisions, or hacks.The information under the heading “Controversy over corrupt members” appears to have been censored, or redacted, in a style similar to a government-censored document. You need to see what these guys did.
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MP Throws Tear Gas At Speaker In Parliament
23 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
It seems we aren’t the only ones who had some action in parliament yesterday. South Korea’s ruling party has ratified a controversial free trade deal with the United States. But just before they did that an opposition MP set off and threw a teargas device at the speaker, briefly clearing the chamber.
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Secrecy Bill – Where Do We Stand Now?
22 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 4 Comments
Members of Parliament have voted in favour of the Protection of State Information Bill. The bill still needs to be passed by the National Council of Provinces next year, but it has effectively been adopted by the National Assembly today based on majority vote. It has NOT yet been enacted. Editors staged a walkout as the announcement was made in Parliament.
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Keep This A Secret
22 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Protestors wearing black gather outside Parliament in Cape Town on Tuesday, to voice their dissent against the proposed Protection Of Information Bill. Inside Parliament, MP’s gathered to vote on the matter. Coverage of opposition to the POIB was trending on Twitter under the hashtag, #BlackTuesday. Nothing was trending on Facebook. Because nothing trends on Facebook. […]
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Spain’s New Presidency Poses Threat To Gay Marriage
22 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
The landslide victory of the opposition conservative Popular Party in Spain is widely viewed as a threat to same-sex marriage in that country. But the gays won’t go down without a fight. Or without a make-out session, for that matter. Watch as a live Al Jazeera news report on the election gets photobombed by two guys furiously sucking face.
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Pretoria To Be Tshwane By End 2012, No Arguments: Mayor
22 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Pretoria mayor, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, has reportedly declared that South Africa’s capital city will be re-named Tshwane by the end of 2012, no matter the cost to the city, nor the opposition to the move.
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News Reader Gives Obama The Middle Finger [VIDEO]
22 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Those sneaky Russians! News anchor Tatiana Limanova gave Barack Obama the middle finger during a recent TV bulletin. After mentioning that her president is soon to be taking over the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leadership responsibilities (that were previously held by Obama), she flashes a zap nonchalantly, before continuing her bulletin.
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Pakistan Bans Hundreds Of Phrases Like “Monkey Crotch” And “Love Pistol” From Text Messages
21 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Pakistan’s telecoms watchdog, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, has decided that mobile phone operators in that country must block all text messages using offensive words. The list contains over 1 600 words and phrases including, “flogging the dolphin”. Some linguistic purists are expected to be delighted by the move that comes into force today, while George Orwell turns in his grave.
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The USA Is On “The Brink Of Armed Police Drones”
21 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
A county north of Houston has set the trend in American drone policing by taking delivery of a set of squat, remote-controlled helicopters called ShadowHawks. These can be weaponized to fire Tasers or beanbags at people – although the manufacturer, Van Guard Industries, claims that they’re strong enough to carry a shotgun. Which is comforting.
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Man Claims Obama Is The Antichrist, Tries To Kill Him
18 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Last week Friday a man in a black sedan drove up to the White House and opened fire on the President’s residence in an attempt to kill him.
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Egyptian Activist Posts Nude Photos To Protest Repression, Everybody Flips Out
18 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
20-year-old Egyptian activist Aliaa Mahdy has caused uproar by posting nude self-portraiture on her blog, to protest “a society of violence, racism, sexism, sexual harassment and hypocrisy,” which isn’t the usual motivation for uploading naked pics, but whatever. Worried about losing the moderate vote, liberal politicians are making a point of criticizing Mahdy’s apparent impropriety.
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84-Year-Old Woman Pepper Sprayed At Occupy Seattle
17 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
I don’t know that there are such things as iconic photographs anymore, what with the proliferation of media and all, but if there are, this is one – of Seattle activist Dorli Rainey, 84, reacting to being hit with pepper spray by cops during an Occupy Seattle protest on Tuesday, November 15, 2011.
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Constitutional Court Arms Deal Case Withdrawn, Zuma To Pay Costs
17 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
The application to compel a Constitutional Court inquiry into the arms deal was withdrawn today. The application, made by Terry Crawford-Browne, was to force an independent investigation of the arms deal controversy. The call for an independent inquiry was made before the September announcement that Jacob Zuma would appoint a commission of inquiry into the deal.
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“The Situation” Is Sueing Abercrombie For $4 Million
17 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, the abdominal muscle infatuated Jersey Shore actor, is suing Abercrombie and Fitch for making and selling t-shirts with phrases like “The Fitchuation” on them. He is also still distressed about the fake press release Abercrombie put out asking him not to wear their clothes anymore.
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The Stop Online Piracy Act – What You Need To Know [VIDEO]
17 Nov 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
The American Senate has officially begun holding hearings on the the ‘Internet Blacklist Bill,’ also known as the “PROTECT IP Act” or the “Stop Online Piracy Act.” It is potentially the most harmful bit of Internet censorship legislation to date, and you should know what’s going to happen if it passes.
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