Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Arnold Schwarzenegger to star as Terminator in new film

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Hasta la vista, baby: Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2002 film Terminator 3. He's going to reprise the role in a fifth film. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
ARNOLD Schwarzenegger will make his movie comeback by reprising his title role in the Terminator series.
After nearly 30 years since the original James Cameron flick, the former California governor and action movie hero promised his fans that he will return with as much violent action as ever.
"I can step very comfortably into the entertainment world and do an action movie with the same violence that I've always done," he told the LA Times.
The film, at this stage being referred to as Terminator 5, is in a very early pre-production stage but is apparently to be directed by Fast & Furious 5 director, Justin Lin.

The direction of the storyline is unknown, leading to speculation that the fifth film of the series will lead on from the ending to the third film, Terminator: Rise of the Machines, and not the fourth film, Terminator Salvation, which starred Aussie Sam Worthington as the new hero.

Pot smoker steals Krispy Kreme truck, says he was tired

A FLORIDA man caught with plastic bag of marijuana in a stolen Krispy Kreme truck told police he took the vehicle because he was tired and needed somewhere to sleep. 
 
The Ocala Star-Banner reported Randall Travis Roberts, 20, is accused of stealing a GMC box truck, full of the sweet treats, from a Walmart parking lot in Haines City 64 kilometres south of Orlando, Florida.
He was then involved in a small accident in Ocala, nearly 160 kilometres away.

When Ocala police arrived at the scene they discovered 10 grams of marijuana in a plastic bag on the floor of the vehicle - with 338 boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the back.

Roberts told police he had stolen the truck because he was tired of walking and "needed somewhere to sleep."
He then denied the marijuana belonged to him.
He was arrested Thursday and charged with grand theft auto and possession of marijuana less than 20 grams.

WEDDING COUNTDOWN: 1 day, 20 hours, 28 minutes, 43 seconds Palace bans controversial Aussie comedy team The Chaser from royal wedding

THE Chaser, known for their controversial stunts, have been banned from Friday's royal wedding broadcast under direct orders from Britain's Clarence House.
Members of The Chaser, known for their controversial stunts and who drew worldwide attention by breaching security at the 2007 APEC summit in Sydney, were planning on providing alternate commentary for Australian public broadcaster, the ABC, on its second channel ABC2.
But Clarence House, which serves as an office for Prince Charles and Prince William, put a stop to the plans.
It said the agreement under which the ABC takes the wedding telecast forbids its use in "any drama, comedy, satirical or similar entertainment program or content."
The ABC was told if it proceeded as planned with the satirical take from The Chaser team it would be in breach of the agreement.


The Chaser's
The wedding telecast forbids the ABC from using in "any drama, comedy, satirical or similar entertainment
"And who knows - if it goes well, hopefully they ask us back next year to cover the divorce."
In a last ditch attempt, the Chaser team sent Buckingham Palace the following letter today:
ATT: The Queen
Dear Australian Head of State,
We would like to place ourselves at your mercy and request a stay of execution for our television program, The Chaser’s Royal Wedding Commentary.
We, like Kate, are commoners, and were looking forward to celebrating her wedding to your exalted grandson with a few affectionate observations.
To ensure that our coverage was respectful, we were only planning to use jokes that Prince Phillip has previously made in public, or at least the ones that don’t violate racial vilification laws. We've also filmed a joke about hunting grouse which we think you might enjoy.
We Australians are a simple people who don’t often get to watch that kind of pomp. The last big wedding we had here was Scott and Charlene on Neighbours. We’ve asked around, and there are at least six people in this outpost of your empire who would quite like to watch our commentary.
Please consider our plea.
We have the honour to be, Madam, Your Majesty’s humble and obedient servants,
Cheers,
The Chaser

Read more about palace bans Chasers from Royal Wedding at the ABC.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/royal-wedding/palace-bans-controversial-aussie-comedy-team-from-royal-wedding-coverage/story-fn885hn2-1226045791728#ixzz1KjKa3KPK

Up to 77m PlayStation accounts hacked

 IF you're one of the 77 million people signed up to the PlayStation Network, criminals could already know your name, your address and perhaps even your credit card number.
That's what electronics giant Sony is telling users of its online gaming service today.
The PlayStation Network, or PSN, has been offline since last week. In recent days Sony said the outage was the result of an "external intrusion".

Now the company has revealed just how much trouble it’s in.
Overnight Sony began sending an alert to "all of our registered account holders" telling them that their personal information had been stolen.
"We believe that an unauthorised person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID," the alert said.

"It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained.
"While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility.
"If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained."

The company said the PSN was still offline and it had hired a security firm to "conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened".
In the meantime, it has asked PSN users to be "vigilant" about the possibility of identity theft and to review their credit card statements.
Sony warned customers not to fall for any scam messages including those that appeared to be from the company itself.

"Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking," it said.
You can read the full security alert here.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

WTF Australia - Smoking police may soon be knocking at front door if home ban comes into force

HOME smoking bans could soon be a genuine possibility across the country as the backlash to second-hand smoke grows, according to the Cancer Council of South Australia.
The possibility of a ban follows the controversy earlier this month after apartment owners in a building in Sydney’s inner west Unit introduced a bylaw to stop anyone smoking anywhere within the building and on its balconies.
Writing in today’s The Punch, Rex Jory says the ban could soon become nationwide as more people object to second-hand smoke is seeping into their apartments and homes.

The trend also follows moves in New York where smoking bans are gradually being imposed in residential buildings with ten or more apartments.
Both tenants and apartment owners argue that second-hand smoke is seeping into their apartments and say it isn’t confined just to one apartment.
If a ban does go ahead, it would mean and soon smokers may not even be allowed to light up in their own homes or anywhere in public.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/smoking-police-may-soon-be-knocking-at-front-door-if-home-ban-comes-into-force/story-e6frfkvr-1226040771372#ixzz1K8W5z6Bu

Friday, April 15, 2011

Woolworths will own more pokies than Casino

The Woolworths machines alone are set to rake in $60 million this year.
An Advertiser investigation has revealed major corporate organisations, including Woolworths and Coles, have led a consolidation of the state's pokie sector and own an increasingly large slice of the machines.
The Australian Hotels Association, leading a $20 million mass advertising campaign against reforms to limit problem gambling, counts the supermarket giants as members and includes Woolworths representatives on its executive.
The revelations have led to calls for the supermarkets to reveal how much they are spending on the "it's un-Australian" campaign to stop the introduction of technology forcing punters to declare how much they are prepared to lose.
Woolworths' Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group yesterday refused to reveal how much it paid the hotel lobby annually but said no additional money had been provided to fund the current campaign.
Office of the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner records also show the Hurley family, which controls pubs including the Alma Tavern and Arkaba, has overtaken the Saturno "Booze Brothers" as SA's biggest non-corporate pokie baron.
Woolworths has interests in 990 SA machines, worth $60 million per year, and operates 32 pubs including Henley Beach's Ramsgate and Brighton's Esplanade Hotel.
It has almost doubled its share of SA machines from 603 in 2007, due to the acquisition of the Taverner Group and several independent hotels. SA has 12,900 poker machines, which raised $742 million in 2010.
Coles has interests in 235 machines worth $14.4 million per year, through its Liquorland and LHG3 chains, including the Brighton Metro Hotel.
Together, the supermarket chains control 1225 pokies in SA worth $74.4 million per year, well above the 985 machines held

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/the-pokie-barons-who-press-our-buttons/story-e6frfkvr-1226040008910#ixzz1JceSdLai

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Rare 12 Million dollar sailing ship for sale... pirates anyone?

This classic sailing vessel, first launched in 1989, was custom designed and built in Brazil out of the finest tropical hardwoods. The hull and decks are of Ipe, milled from virgin timber hand-picked by the original owner from his own forest in Paraquay. The ship has a full-length, external ballast keel made of carbon steel, weighing nearly 60 tons, adding both incredible strength and stability to an already massive structure. The entire hull is clad in copper from just above to waterline to the keel.



 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Classic-150-Tall-Ship-/290553010623?pt=Sailboats&hash=item43a64f19bf#v4-32

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Japan rescuers find dog adrift at sea

A JAPAN Coast Guard elite rescue unit has picked up a dog that was adrift at sea on a house roof off the nation's tsunami-battered northeast coast, an official said today.
A helicopter crew on Friday spotted the floppy-eared dark brown animal adrift 2km from Kesennuma, a port town severely hit in the March 11 disaster, according to the coastguard official.
A member of a highly trained rescue unit nicknamed the "sea monkeys" by the Japanese public was lowered from the helicopter to catch the dog, but the engine roar scared it and it jumped to another piece of flotsam, he said.
"These rescuers are very specialised," he said. "They found the dog again from a boat and finally managed to rescue it."
The mid-sized dog, whose sex was not released, wore a collar and seemed to have been a house pet, the official said.
"But it has nothing else to indicate who the owner is. He is very friendly and looks fine. He eats biscuits and sausages," he said.
It was not known whether the animal had been adrift for the entire three weeks since the disaster struck.
The Japan Coast Guard is still searching for thousands of people missing after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck, and deployed 54 ships and 19 helicopters on Friday alone.
A massive US-Japanese military search for bodies - with 25,000 personnel on aircraft, ships and on the ground - recovered just 32 bodies on Friday, the first day of the three-day operation.