I was thinking about Vampirism recently, which naturally led to Telkom, how they spend fortunes of our money on TV adverts telling us how good they are, how they’re protected by law from competition and how wonderful it will be when a real communications company comes into South Africa and kickstarts the beginning of the Internet for everyone at a cheap price.
The Internet exists for three reasons. Information, news and of course, good old pornography. (Not that anyone really knows what pornography is). So let’s look at a range of fake and satirical porn sites, set up to play with the fairly obsessive human compulsion and interest in fornication.
So you think you know what’s really going on in Iraq, having read all the breaking news features in your morning paper and tuned in to the 8 o’clock news every night, like a good democracy-supporting citizen? You like to consider yourself politically aware and uptodate on current affairs then? I think you might find the following interesting then…
As the regime in America spreads its tentacles further and has clearly begun eyeing the oil reserves in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa, we’ll be seeing more and more of the CIA-construct known as Al Qieda (sp) popping up and doing things, to justify a US and UN presence.
People arent always aware locally of just how much history is available online. The truth is that history explains why you sit frustrated, riddled with debt, ruled by morons and politically powerless. Welcome to the Matrix, in other words.
More than 3 000 internet banking customers a day are downloading Standard Bank’s free McAfee anti-virus and firewall software. In addition, the bank has detected and eliminated over 85 000 viruses on customers’ personal computers, it said on Tuesday.
The City of Cape Town has approved a R300-million first phase development for the Khayelitsha Business District (KBD).
Hunger is responsible for the re-emergence of a custom which sees families forcing young daughters into relationships with older men in order to pay off debts or secure loans, the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has found.
South African London-listed brewer SABMiller announced on Tuesday that it had closed the deal to acquire a strategic investment in Harbin Brewery Group Limited in China.
South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Monday that the World Bank report on the impact of Aids in South Africa was unhelpful.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the Steel, Engineering Industry Federation of South Africa (Seifsa) will once again meet on Wednesday in last chance in-depth talks to avert a strike in the metal industry.
Convergence cometh, like it or not. Should we care? You bet. And here is why. The Bill will shape entire industries for decades, and affect your internet speed, cost and devices. There will be mega-impact on our economics, politics and daily interaction and on our standing within the global system.
South African Labour Department Director General Rams Ramashia on Monday congratulated the National Union of Mineworkers and the mining houses for their last-minute deal, which averted what could have been the biggest strike in the mining industry in 16 years.
Food aid is needed for 659 000 people in Mozambique or 3,8% of the country’s population until the next harvest, beginning in January in the southern region and February-March in the central region.
The panacea for Japan’s long-standing economic woes is more vigorous engagement in regional free trade agreements. South Africa’s third-largest trading partner has been stricken by deflation and slow growth for more than ten years.
The night tends to go awry when you hang out with Staceyann Chin. The night or the day — take your pick. She prefers the day. She told me so. Going public about her private life, this hip-hop poet pushes queer boundaries.
Gold’s glitter depends on rand’s fortunes. The waxing and waning fortunes of the rand have South Africa’s gold mines in a fix, even overshadowing the NUM’s recent wage demands.
Ayanda Ntsaluba, director general of health, will take a new post as director general of foreign affairs in September, senior sources in the department confirmed this week.
South Africa is facing the first nationwide mine strike since 1987 after pay talks broke down this week. The National Union of Mineworkers stands fast on its demand for a minimum wage of R2 000.
The total value offered by a loyalty programme remains obscure according to the Value in Loyalty Programmes 2003 survey, the second annual study of this rapidly growing South African marketing tool, carried out by World Wide Worx and Razor’s Edge Business Intelligence.
McCarthy CEO Brand Pretorius has welcomed the recent strength in the rand, which has increased consumer purchasing power and thus boosted the company’s sales.
South African banking group Standard Bank on Friday announced that it has purchased and will supply its new and existing Internet banking customers with McAfee personal firewall and anti-virus software.
The outstanding wage demand by the National Union of Mineworkers (Num) will increase the wage bill for South Africa’s major gold miners, AngloGold, Gold Fields and Harmony , the Chamber of Mines (CoM) said in a statement on Friday.
What do the prosecutions of Tony Yengeni and the wayward Winnie Madikizela-Mandela say? What about the pending corruption investigations into Deputy President Jacob Zuma, Mac Maharaj and ANC hanger-on Schabir Shaik?
I have received the most elegant letter from Dr Vincent Maphai, chairperson of the SABC board of governors. That Dr Maphai didn’t like what I had to say in a recent column in which I likened the SABC to a whore, was plain to see.
<b>Peter Kirsten writes for the M&G:</b> Like lamb to the slaughter? Hopefully not — even without the mighty Jacques Kallis in the game. Sacrifice would seem to be a key element in our boys’ quest to be brilliant and victorious at this stage of the England Test series.
An 18-year old rapper who was repeatedly stabbed two weeks ago has emerged as a favourite on this year’s Mercury music prize shortlist, featuring an unprecedented number of black artists.
Transitional government officials designated by the two principal former rebel movements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) took their oath of office on Thursday in the capital, Kinshasa, after a modification was made in the pledge of allegiance.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=17716">Our R270 000 response to DRC ‘SOS'</a>
Telkom has urged its basic rate Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) customers to check the configuration of their modems, to ensure that these to not automatically dial up to their Internet Service Providers (ISPs) on the second ISDN channel and ring up short duration calls on their phone accounts.
With the backing of New Africa Investments Limited’s (Nail) major institutional shareholders, an empowerment consortium comprising Safika Holdings, Tiso Private Equity Fund, the Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC) and Investec Bank Limited has made a firm offer to acquire 100% of the issued share capital in Nail.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Thursday stated that it fully supported its affiliates, the National Union of Mineworkers and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, in their wage disputes with employers in the mining, steel and engineering sectors.
In what is believed to be a world first — and a significant breakthrough for the healthcare industry, The Global Competitiveness Centre at the University of Stellenbosch has designed special blood packs which can be used by patients waiting for heart transplants.