Oliver Burkeman
Guest Author
No image available
/ 13 July 2007

Live Earth: Small impact, big footprint

The world’s carbon dioxide emissions did not plummet to zero after Live Earth and rock stars did not rise as one to trade their private jets for bicycles. Yet the scandalous possibility presented itself that Al Gore’s seven-continent, 24-hour concert series had been rather impressive and might yet prove important.

No image available
/ 4 June 2007

Paris all set to free her mind behind bars

All is emptiness, according to practitioners of Zen Buddhism, and you don’t need to read many news stories about the hotel heiress and inexplicable celebrity Paris Hilton before conceding that they’ve probably got a point. Now, though, as Hilton prepares for a 45-day jail sentence, she has been photographed holding a copy of the bestselling book The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

No image available
/ 11 August 2006

The branding of Brando

Brando jeans, Brando leather jackets, Brando Harleys … Alarmed that the actor’s name and image may be used for commercial gain without its say-so, the Brando estate has applied for trademark protection with a patent and trademark office, write Dan Glaister and Oliver Burkeman.

No image available
/ 4 August 2006

UN close to agreement

The United Nations appeared on the verge of breaking the deadlock over Lebanon recently, paving the way for a Security Council resolution in which major powers including the United States and Britain would demand an immediate end to fighting.
As violence escalated in Lebanon, diplomats insisted that disagreements on the council were now all but resolved, and that a resolution could be voted on by early next week.

No image available
/ 6 January 2006

Mbeki in surprise SA visit

In an unexpected move that caught political commentators on the back foot, President Thabo Mbeki made a surprise visit to South Africa last Wednesday. His unannounced arrival was leaked to <i>Not the Mail & Guardian</i> by a part-time hangar-sweeper at the South African Air Force base at Swartkops, outside Tshwane.