I know this isn’t the worst thing to happen to French civil liberties by a long shot, but still; the interpretation of a law prohibiting ‘commercial advertising’ – which, in effect, will mean that newsreaders may no longer mention Facebook or Twitter, unless the story is about Facebook or Twitter – makes total social media sense. Total.
I can’t help it. I have to write about this. It’s too good not to write about. Insanity is always funny. In this case the insanity comes once more from the king’s jester, Julius. He said yesterday that he didn’t drive white people away from voting for the ANC, because they never voted for the ANC in the first place.
For once, news that seems to be too good to be true, actually is true. The ANC has done a little back-peddle today and called for an extension to the June 24 deadline to complete the drafting of the Protection of Information Bill. Jimmy Manyi must be beside himself at the moment.
The Global Commission on Drug Policy has released a report stating that the ‘war on drugs’ has failed. Like Dame Judi Dench and Sting, the 19-member panel – which includes Sir Richard Branson, Kofi Annan and former leaders of Brazil and Mexico – is urging for the decriminalization of drugs. The USA is not amused.
That’s right, the ANC Youth League; that bastion of the people – that pillar of hope in a senseless world, that celestial body by which we set our lives – is selling access to Malema and friends at the first ever ANCYL Business Networking Lounge™, during the 24th national ANCYL congress.
Google announced on Tuesday that they’d been they target of a phishing scam originating in Jinan, China, aimed at the accounts of Chinese activists and senior officials in the U.S. Victims were sent fake emails with links to a fake Gmail site, which harvested the usernames and passwords of anyone trying to log in.
The illegal drug debate is terribly à la mode right now. More than 30 high profile UK figures and celebrities, including Dame Judi Dench and Sting, are urging Prime Minister David Cameron to decriminalise drugs. Co-incidently, this follows Holland’s decision to ban foreigners from its cannabis-selling coffee shops. It would solve the problem for Brits who can’t get their kicks in Amsterdam anymore.
Cisco have just come out with their annual Visual Networking Index, which is a pretty reliable source of internet traffic reporting. Global traffic will quadruple, by 2015, with Asia’s traffic generation overtaking North America. Which is cool, but less cool than the stuff they say about traffic in South Africa, which is after the jump.
It has been confirmed that the Hawks and the South African Revenue Services have raided the home of the controversial Durban tycoon Sbu Mpisane and his wife Shaun on Wednesday morning. You’ll know the guy that I’m speaking about. The dude who’s wife bought him a Maserati GranCabrio for his 40th recently.
In an exclusive interview with 2oceansvibe, the CEO of South Africa’s 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee, Danny Jordaan has revealed today that the SA World Cup’s financial statements support the tournament’s perceived success. Jordaan confirmed, “In today’s forthcoming AGM, the Operations Report and Financial Report will confirm that the SA World Cup shows a total revenue […]
The Pentagon is due to publically release it’s first formal cyber strategy next month, and the understanding is that it’s going to be classifying some kinds of computer sabotage as acts of war; apparently, a serious enough computer attack could be interpreted as a “use of force” that would warrant physical retaliation.
South African police commissioners have notably enjoyed the odd perk here and there when it comes to matters of their private lives. It has emerged that Gauteng police commissioner, Mzwandile Petros, is no exception to this common occurrence and has a new two year lease costing R30 000 a month.
Multiple news sources reported today that a senior Egyptian general has come forward to confirm that forced “virginity checks” had been performed on women arrested during demonstrations. This had previously been denied by military authorities, but general Amr Imam has not only confirmed but defended the practice as a protective measure for the women’s own good.
A European government official has claimed that Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is travelling between Tripoli’s hospitals at night to elude bombing raids by NATO jets. The official has said that he is doing this because he knows that the hospitals are something that the air raids will not target.
This raw video shows the court appearance of a distinctly frail Ratko Mladic, following his arrest yesterday in Serbia. Doctors are discussing whether the Bosnian Serb war crimes fugitive is fit for extradition. He sure isn’t a picture of health in this footage.
The family of slain photographer Anton Hammerl have published the letter that they have written to President Jacob Zuma ahead of his trip to Libya for “discussions” with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi next week. It’s hoped that this will put further pressure on Zuma to ensure the secure return of Hammerl’s remains to South Africa.
We are bringing this to your attention for a second time today because it’s really that awesome. “Ladies and gentlemen please stand with me and raise your glasses as I propose a toast,” the president said, putting down his note cards and grabbing his glass. “To her majesty the Queen.” I don’t want to spoil […]
Manal al-Sharif, organizer in the Saudi Right-to-Drive campaign, was arrested on Sunday after posting a video of herself driving, while urging women to take part in a “drive-in” protest on June the 17th. Since then, the event’s Facebook page has been deleted, and a fake Sharif Twitter account has claimed that the campaign was off.
Long gone are the days where the words you say about things mean the things you’re saying . No, we live in a much more nuanced society where “Shoot the Boer” means “Shoot the System” and “Burn The Herald” doesn’t mean do something, nor does it mean do nothing, but it certainly doesn’t mean, set fire to a newspaper.
Barack and Michelle Obama received the royal-est of welcomes today in London, when they visited Buckingham Palace to meet with Prince William and new wife, Duchess Catherine. The Obamas were greeted by the Queen and Prince Philip, then enjoyed a short display of pomp and ceremony by the palace guards. Here’s a little video of how that went down.
Zimbabwe’s privately owned NewsDay newspaper has said that a magistrate in Bulawayo has set a trial date for Vikas Mavhudzi, who faces a charge of posting offensive messages on Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Facebook wall, for June 10. Mavhudzi became the first person to be arrested in Zimbabwe for a Facebook post. Screenshot after the jump.
Why? Because Pope Benedict XVI can do what he wants, I guess. He spent about twenty minutes video chatting with the crew of the International Space Station and the U.S shuttle Endeavour, conveying well-wishes for Gabrielle Gifford’s husband, and generally just shooting the breeze.
What with IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn jailed on sex assault charges, there’s speculation about who’ll be replacing him. Calls from non-European countries to instate a non-European head have become increasingly vocal, especially after French Strauss-Kahn’s shenanigans – so it’s interesting that The Economist looked to Trevor Manuel, among others, as a potential succcessor.
ANC Nelson Mandela Bay chairperson Nceba Faku encouraged more than 100 party members to burn down Port Elizabeth’s The Herald newspaper as he celebrated the party’s election victory outside the Port Elizabeth City Hall on Thursday night. Faku said the party was celebrating an “important battle that is between the ANC and the media”.
Final results of the local government elections have been trickling in all day and the country’s free broadcaster has been doing a good job of keeping live feeds interesting. Just after lunchtime things got a little hectique though when ANCYL child Julius Malema refused a live debate with the DA’s Lindiwe Mazibuko, calling her “The madam’s tea lady.”
Both Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Arnold Schwarzenegger are the latest in a long line of high profile men who have allowed the smaller of their two heads to gain the upper hand when making crucial decisions. Their fall is especially tragic when one considers the elegance of a simple solution. [Click link for more]
I’ve had it up to here with bastard companies sending me text messages about crap I don’t want, have never wanted and will never want. I don’t know what has happened, but suddenly every company in the country has my number. Thankfully I can now go to the Wireless Application Service Providers’ Association’s (Waspa) website and sort this shit out.
Zimbabwean defence minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has told the Zimbabwean parliament that China will put up the money for the completion of the Robert Mugabe School of Intelligence. It’s not clear how and when the money will be repaid by the Zimbabwean government, who’s debt to China is now about US$1.65 billion.
The results of yesterday’s fourth democratic municipal elections started trickling in late last night, after a very long, but mostly quiet day of voting. There were long lines, some scanner problems and one or two questions raised here and there.
The White House Flickr feed has been updated with a series of candid shots of President Obama over the past couple of weeks. Click through for shots of Obama and the family at the annual Easter Egg Roll, surveying tornado damage in the South, and hanging at the Oval Office- among others.