-
Politics
-
Putin Wants To Put Together An Eurasian Union
05 Oct 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Russian Prime Minister and, let’s face it, soon-to-be-President-again, Vladimir Putin has made calls for a “Eurasian Union” as part of his presidential campaign platform. A Eurasian Union made of entirely of former Soviet Union states. Because it worked so well the last time that happened.
-
First Lady Of Iceland Joins Debt Crisis Protestors [VIDEO]
04 Oct 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Dorrit Moussaieff – wife of Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Iceland’s president – made a dramatic gesture over the weekend by hopping a security fence to join in with a group of protesters hurling eggs and yoghurt at politicians, demanding that the government do more to help the lower-income bracket.
-
Foreign Affairs FAIL: Dalai Lama Cancels SA Trip
04 Oct 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
China-fearing bureaucrats at the Department of International Relations and Co-operation breathed a sigh of relief this morning when the Office of the Dalai Lama in Delhi, India announced that the Tibetan spiritual leader had cancelled his trip to South Africa due to not receiving a visa in time.
-
AlphaDog: The Latest In Terrifying, Military-Grade Robotics [VIDEO]
03 Oct 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Boston Dynamics, a tech company working under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has released the latest in its BigDog project line – Alpha Dog, an SUV-sized, four-legged robot equipped to carry a little under 200kg in gear over a range of 32km, in harsh conditions. It’s a giant, terrifying, military robot dog. Take a look.
-
Two SABC Officials Allegedly Arrested After Not Paying Prostitutes
30 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Please notice the “allegedly” up there. Reports claim that two senior officials at the SABC have been arrested in London after refusing to pay two prostitutes for their services; the two men were in the UK for a business school initiative set up between South African and British academic boards.
-
China Agrees R19 Billion SA Investment, Dalai Lama Probably Not Coming
29 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe has today told a small news conference that China has agreed to invest approximately R19 billion in investment projects around South Africa. He’s been on a three-day visit to China, and has avoided all mention of the constant South African headache that is deciding whether the Dalai Lama should get a visa or not.
-
The Mandela Grandkids Are Getting A Reality Show
29 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Producer, Rick Leed announced at a press release today the production of a reality show centered on the lives of three of Nelson Mandela’s grandchildren – Dorothy Adjoa Amuah, Zaziwe Dlamini-Manaway, and Swati Dlamini. Leed is known for his work on the American reality series, Dr. 90210. The three stars are known for being related to somebody important.
-
Saudi King Pardons Female From Lashing For Driving A Vehicle
29 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Sheima Jastaniah is a Saudi woman who just doesn’t know her place. She actually had the audacity to drive a car the other day! For this cheeky act she was sentenced to 10 lashes on Monday. But King Abdullah showed tremendous generosity yesterday, when he revoked her sentence. I just hope she learned her lesson.
-
China Space Shuttle Prepped For Launch For Tonight
29 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
The unmanned spacecraft, Tiangong-1, which translates awesomely to Heavenly Palace, is set to blast off tonight from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gansu province, marking the start of China’s first rendezvous and docking mission. That guy is set to take off between 13h16 and 13h31 GMT.
-
L-Word Star Thrown Off Flight For Kissing Girlfriend
28 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Wonderful. Leisha Hailey, former The L-Word castmember, was thrown off of a Southwest Airlines flight yesterday for kissing her girlfriend – the flight attendant citing the apparent fact that Southwest is a “family airline.” This is the same airline that booted Kevin Smith for being fat, and Green Day’s Billy Joel Armstrong for wearing baggy pants.
-
Texas Turns Down Author’s Offer To Cook Free Death Row Meals
28 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Last week, news broke that the state of Texas had decided to move away from the practice of offering prisoners condemned to execution any special last meal. Ironically, Brian Price, a former Texas inmate who cooked the final meals for inmates, and author of “Meals to Die For”, had his offer of free meals turned down.
-
UK Labour Party Wants To Introduce “Journalism Licenses”
27 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Well hey, that sounds at least a little familiar. Ivan Lewis, shadow culture secretary is presently proposing a licensing scheme for journalists at the Labour party conference in Liverpool, which would have the power to prohibit people from doing any sort of journalism – which would have to include tweeting, blogging, and uploading pictures of stuff.
-
Hitler Tried To Pin A Speeding Fine On His Chauffeur
27 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
So hey, it turns out that on top of everything else, Hitler got slapped with a speeding fine south of Ingolstadt for going twice the speed limit in his Mercedes limousine. This was about two years before becoming Fuhrer, though, so Adolf got his chauffeur to take the heat to keep from spoiling his image.
-
Government Blocks Dalai Lama’s Visit To South Africa…Again
27 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Here we go again. Last month we told you that the Dalai Lama had applied for a South African visa to visit Desmond Tutu on the Arch Bishop’s 80th birthday. This is happening next week, yet our government has not issued the Lama with a visa – something he applied for months ago. You do the math.
-
Catalonia’s Last Bullfight [PICS]
26 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
On Sunday, 20 000 bullfighting fans packed Barcelona’s La Monumental bullring to watch the last corrida that Catalonia will hold; the event was headlined by Spain’s premier matador, José Tomás. The regional ban on bullfighting, which was approved at the end of last year, goes into effect in January.
-
Proposed Dangerous Weapons Bill Being Publicly Shot Down
26 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
The Draft Dangerous Weapons Bill, published recently in the government gazette, has been taking heavy criticism this morning. With a bit of luck, the badly worded document, which seeks to ban things like toy guns, will have statements like this removed: “…any object that can cause injury or have the ability to take a person temporarily ‘out of action.'”
-
NYPD Increasingly Violent Towards “Occupy Wall Street” Protesters [VIDEO]
26 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 2 Comments
As the “Occupy Wall Street” protests enter their ninth day, an increasing number of videos and photos have begun surfacing, showing near-indiscriminate use of tasers, mace and kenneling by the NYPD on demonstrators, who are protesting a financial system that apparently favours the wealthy and powerful over ordinary citizens.
-
Hypocrisy And Political Posturing – Starring The SA National Taxi Council
23 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Raise your hand if a taxi has ever put your life in danger. At the recent launch of Transport Month in Richard’s Bay, Santaco president Jabulani Mthembu made it clear that he is fully behind Transport Minister S’bu Ndebele’s call for a speed limit reduction. He’s also urging motorists to stop “rushing” on our roads. Rich.
-
Praying In The Streets Of Paris Is Now Illegal
23 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Starting today, praying in the streets of Paris is against the law. The French interior minister warned that police will use force if anybody disobeys the new rule to keep the French capital’s public spaces secular. However, people have been defying the law all morning.
-
Burqa-Wearing Woman Announces She’s Running For French Presidency
23 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
As of April this year, it is illegal to wear a face-covering veil or other maskings in public places in France. Things are about to get even more interesting, as Kenza Drider declared her candidacy for the French presidency yesterday. And she did it wearing a burqa. She also showed off a campaign poster of a veiled woman standing in front of a line of police.
-
Nelson Mandela Is The World’s Most Visible Leader
21 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Nelson Mandela is a more visible world leader than Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama and the Pope. This is according to the Reputation Institute, which has done a perception assessment of 54 individuals currently considered to be global leaders. Not bad for a man who retired from presidency in the 1990s.
-
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Set To Become Next AU Chief
21 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 2 Comments
All 15 countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have agreed back Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to replace Jean Ping as chief of the African Union. You go, girl! Apparently the backing of a candidate from southern Africa “did not amount to geographical jostling for power within the bloc.”
-
Germany’s ‘Pirate Party’ Takes 9% Of The Vote
20 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
The upstart German Pirate Party took just under 9% of the electoral vote in Sunday’s Berlin elections, winning 15 seats in the 149-seat state parliament. For the most part, they’ve been campaigning on a platform of free Wi-Fi, free public transportation, and a lower voting age. Just like real pirates.
-
President Jacob Zuma Gets A Salary Increase
20 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Earlier today, Members of Parliament gave a thumbs up to a five percent increase on President Jacob Zuma’s salary. He will now earn close to R2.5 million per year. Zuma was also kind enough to give Members of Parliament the same 5% increase in the National Assembly.
-
Women’s “Sex Strike” Ends Fighting In Philippine Villages
19 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Awesome. Women on the Philippine island of Mindanao, growing tired of the continuing separatist warfare interfering in their everyday goings-on, decided to take matters into their own hands. And by hands, I mean pants. They organized a “sex strike”, which brought a quick end to fighting between the two villages.
-
Secrecy Bill Opponents Claim Small Victory
19 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 6 Comments
The ratifying of the Protection of Information bill may be delayed. Opponents of the so-called Secrecy Bill – 3 000 of whom took to the streets of Cape Town on Saturday in support of the Right2Know campaign – may have claimed a minor victory in their battle against the controversial Bill. Further vigils will take place across the country tonight.
-
South African Fortified Wines Will No Longer Be Called “Port”
19 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
A European Union trade pact that dictates that the name “port” may only apply to fortified wines from Portugal will mean that the word will disappear entirely from bottle labels in this country by the beginning of January next year. The move has been on the cards since 2000, when the South African government agreed to stop using it.
-
NASA Unveils Launch Vehicle To Take Astronauts To Mars
16 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Because what every good recession needs is a plan to go to space. NASA today announced their new launch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS), which should be able to take astronauts past the moon to near-Earth asteroids, and eventually to Mars some time in the 2030s.
-
Forbes Lists Malema As One Of Africa’s Top Ten Most Powerful Men – Lovely
15 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
The magazine based it on, what it calls, the enormous influence that the ANCYL has on South African politics, including it’s hand in the election of Jacob Zuma. They also go on to say that Malema is one of the countries most ‘divisive’ and ‘polarising’ figures and that he frequently ‘stirs controversy with his racial slurs’. They couldn’t be more correct.
-
China Is Amped To Buy Debt
15 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
China’s time is now. We’ve all been saying it for ages, but their time really is now. A report from Bloomberg doesn’t beat around the bush: “China is willing to buy bonds from nations involved in the sovereign debt crisis.” They already own millions of hectares of land right here in Africa, but now they want to invest.
-
-
-
2oceansvibe Partners
-
-
