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World
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The US Army Has A Laser-Guided Lightning Gun
29 Jun 2012 by liam kruger / No Comments
In more news to terrify you, the US Army has released photographs depicting their new laser-guided lightning gun blowing up a car. They’re calling it the Laser-Induced Plasma Channel (LIPC) because it’s important to make the ability to call down lightning with a laser pointer sound safe.
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“The Chrome Story” How Google’s Browser Became The Most Popular In The World [VIDEO]
29 Jun 2012 by Albi P / No Comments
According to a bold, but accurate claim made by vice president for Chrome and apps Sundar Pichai, chances are you’re using Google Chrome to view this page. This is what Pichai announced yesterday at Google’s I/O, and in celebration of launching the most popular browser in the world, Google created and posted a commemorative video tracking their rise. Click through for the fun, informative video.
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Could The Barclays Scandal Prompt Investors To Run To SA For Cover?
29 Jun 2012 by Bearded Wiseman / No Comments
On the back of news that Barclays bank was punished with a record fine of £290 million by UK authorities for interest rate manipulation, comes the speculation that the crisis, said to involve numerous banks around the world, could help push investors toward South African shores.
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China’s First Female Astronaut Does Tai Chi In Space [VIDEO]
29 Jun 2012 by liam kruger / No Comments
Liu Yang, China’s first-ever female astronaut, had a night shift on Shenzhou 9 a couple of days ago – which is apparently sort of dull in space too, because she entertained herself by going through some Tai Chi exercises. In space. And since the spacecraft returned to earth today, we get to see what that looks like.
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Former US President Crashes Wedding
29 Jun 2012 by Simon Gerber / 1 Comment
A certain former US president was in Ireland recently when he spotted a rather nice looking couple getting married nearby. The sweet scent of young love must have lured him closer, because before you know it, he was at the wedding. Which former president was it? That should be obvious.
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And Now There’s A Starship Troopers Remake
28 Jun 2012 by liam kruger / No Comments
Sony is in the process of rebooting the subervisve, anti-fascist 1997 film Starship Troopers – also known as the movie with a post-Doogie Howser, pre-Barney Stinson Neil Patrick Harris. The reboot follows the trend of such franchise remakes as RoboCop and Total Recall, where satire and irony get cut out and replaced with 3D and totally slick graphics.
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Barclays Fined £290 Million Over Libor Fixing
28 Jun 2012 by Bearded Wiseman / 1 Comment
Well this is terribly worrying. Yesterday, Barclays bank – one of the biggest banks in the world – was fined a record £290 million for attempting to manipulate the world’s benchmark borrowing rate – the Libor. This is a huge blow to the bank’s reputation and raises questions over the future of chief executive Bob Diamond. Up to 40 other global banks face being named and shamed too.
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Google’s I/O Keynote Pimps Nexus, Jelly Bean, & Project Glass [VIDEO]
28 Jun 2012 by liam kruger / No Comments
So hey, we’ve had a pretty cool look at the future thanks to Google’s I/O Keynote yesterday – where they covered the new Nexus 7 tablet, the Nexus Q media orb, and the awesome, skydiving-filled Project Glass demonstration that you’re really, really going to want to watch, after the jump.
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Religion Fail: Court In Germany Bans Circumcision Of Young Boys
28 Jun 2012 by Albi P / 4 Comments
In the first ruling of its kind in Germany, a local court ruled yesterday that circumcision performed for religious reasons on young boys be banned as it could cause long-lasting, irreparable damage. It went on to say that the act should be made illegal due to the serious bodily harm that it could cause.
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Have You Had An Unwanted Baby? There’s A Box For That
27 Jun 2012 by Simon Gerber / 2 Comments
We’ve all heard the harrowing stories about desperate mothers dumping their unwanted babies in bins or leaving them, simply unable to bear the burden of raising a child. A new trend in Germany is rising to help solve this problem, and provide a better alternative to a trashcan.
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Leap Second Scheduled for June 30, 2012
27 Jun 2012 by liam kruger / No Comments
Attention time geeks: a leap second has been scheduled for June 30, 2012. The month will be one second longer, to re-synchronize Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is based on an atomic clock, and Universal Time (UT) which is based on the earth’s rotation. Basically it’s a cool moment where your clock will legitimately read 23:59:60.
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Mars Landing In 40 Days. NASA’s 7 Minutes Of Terror [Video]
27 Jun 2012 by Harry Haddon / No Comments
In my opinion this is a far more exciting countdown than the Olympics; in 40 days, NASA’s nuclear powered Curiosity rover will enter the Martian atmosphere, and the landing is the most nerve-racking part for the engineers.
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The Future is Ours from Michael Marantz on Vimeo.
Daily Inspiration – The Future Is Ours [VIDEO]
27 Jun 2012 by Albi P / No Comments
This is awesome, a video made for no other reason than to inspire, motivate and give hope. Whether you’re stuck in a rut, having a bad day or just need a pick-me-up, this is the video that’ll get you back on track. Click through for a tear-jerking dose of inspiration.
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SA Government Receives R25 Million Donation For Wildlife Crime Fighting
27 Jun 2012 by Bearded Wiseman / No Comments
The Department of Environmental Affairs (read: the South African government) has welcomed (obviously?) the Council of the Global Environment Facility’s approval of R25 million worth of funding aimed at strengthening the current wildlife forensic capabilities in South Africa. The donation will help combat wildlife crimes like rhino poaching.
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Map Of World Weed Use – 2012
27 Jun 2012 by liam kruger / No Comments
The Economist has surprised everybody by doing something fun, using the United Nations’ World Drug Report 2012 (released yesterday) to generate a map of the world’s heaviest weed users. The Pacific island of Palau wins easily, with nearly a quarter of people aged 15 to 64 having smoked pot in the past year. South Africa does okay, too.
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Norah Ephron, Writer Of “When Harry Met Sally” Dies At 71
27 Jun 2012 by Harry Haddon / 2 Comments
Norah Ehpron basically created the mould for modern day romantic comedies, writing both “When Harry Met Sally” and “Sleepless In Seattle.’ She passed away yesterday in Manhattan of complications relating to acute myeloid leukaemia.
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SA Drops To 127th On Global Peace Index
27 Jun 2012 by Albi P / No Comments
Earlier this month Vision Of Humanity released its latest Global Peace Index of 158 countries, on it South Africa place 127th. SA dropped 29 places from when it sat at 98 in 2007. Conversely, the world has become more peaceful for the first time in three years.
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Cyprus Becomes The Next Card In The Euro Zone Pack To Fall
26 Jun 2012 by Bearded Wiseman / No Comments
Cyprus has become the fifth euro zone country to seek emergency funding from Brussels, and it may require a bailout amount worth up to half the size of its economy. We’re not talking the kind of numbers that Spain and Greece have been after, but when half of your economy is looking a bit worse for wear, it’s not ideal.
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Trailer For Sundance Hit ‘Robot And Frank’ [VIDEO]
26 Jun 2012 by liam kruger / No Comments
‘Robot and Frank’ stars Frank Langella as an old man forging an unlikely bond with his Peter Sarsgaard-voiced robot butler, which starts off as an odd-couple comedy and then turns into a heist film, because Langella used to be a jewel thief. It looks pretty great, and they loved it at Sundance. Take a look.
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UK Police Investigate Racist Abuse Of England Strikers On Twitter
26 Jun 2012 by Albi P / No Comments
On Sunday night, England dropped out of Euro 2012 in a quarterfinal against Italy. After 120 minutes of play, without any score, the teams went into a penalty shootout which saw Ashley Cole and Ashley Young both miss their attempts. The two players, who are both black, drew heavy racist abuse on Twitter which is now being investigated by British police.
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South Africa To Host Champions League T20
26 Jun 2012 by Bearded Wiseman / 2 Comments
It has just been announced that South Africa is set to be the host of this year’s Champions League T20 in October. Cape Town, Johannesburg, Centurion, and Durban, are the chosen venues for the most lucrative club-cricket tournament in the world, now into its fourth year.
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Thousands of Awesome Historic Aerial Photos Of Britain Go Online [PICS]
25 Jun 2012 by Harry Haddon / 1 Comment
These photographs of famous landmarks such as St Paul’s Cathedral and Blackpool Tower could have been lost forever, were it not for a major conservation project which has made them freely available on the internet for the first time.
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Olympics 2012: Saudis Will Allow Women To Compete For The First Time
25 Jun 2012 by Albi P / No Comments
Saudi Arabian officials have taken a huge, progressive step and will, for the first time ever, allow Saudi women to compete in the Olympic Games at this year’s event in London.
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Construction On The Kruger National Park’s First Luxury Hotel Set To Begin
25 Jun 2012 by Bearded Wiseman / No Comments
The issue of the construction of a luxury hotel development in the Kruger National Park was discussed at length on 2oceansVibe last year when the weighty issue of hotel development in the Kruger National Park became public knowledge. The first of these developments, to be built near the Malelane Gate, the most convenient entrance from Johannesburg and the airport in nearby Nelspruit, is finally about to get underway.
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