Defective Julia Gilliard Post Stamp Recall

Australia Post have created and marketed a new stamp displaying a picture

of the current Prime Minister of Australia, Ms Gillard.
 The prime minister had requested a recall of the stamps following concerns that they weren't sticking. Australia Post recently suspended a recall of the stamps after the findings of a special Senate Committee were released.

 

 

 

The Prime Minister was told that the stamp was not sticking to envelopes and the enraged Prime Minister demanded a full investigation. After a month of testing and spending of $1.85 million, a special Senate Committee led by the leader of the Greens, Bob Brown, presented the following findings -
 1)  The stamp is in perfect order.
2)  There is nothing wrong with the adhesive. 
3)  People are spitting on the wrong side of the stamp.

Rabbit born without ears near Fukushima nuclear plant

FRESH fears over a nuclear leak at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima plant have re-ignited after a rabbit born close to the facility was found to have no ears. 
 
Locals have been left wondering whether this earless bunny - found near the facility at the end of last month - was the first sign of side-effects from the nuclear catastrophe.

Residents evacuated from around the Fukushima nuclear plant are checked for radiation contamination. Picture: AP

The Fukushima plant suffered terrible damage when a tsunami, triggered by an earthquake, swept through the facility in March, destroying reactors.

Following a blast at the plant that caused initial leaks, officials warned people living near Fukushima to stay indoors, turn off airconditioning and stop drinking tap water.

Since then experts have been nervously watching radiation levels around the plant.
The Japanese government has already more than doubled the estimate for the amount of radiation released by the plant.

The government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency also said during a briefing in Tokyo that it was now believed that reactor cores in some of the units melted more quickly than previously thought.

Meanwhile, more than 90,000 people are still living in shelters three months after the tsunami and only a fraction of the debris has been removed. The confirmed death toll from the disaster yesterday reached 15,413 while another 8069 people remain missing.

China's red threat: Exploding watermelons

About 20 farmers around Danyang city in Jiangsu province have been affected, losing up to 45 hectares of melon, China Central Television said in an investigative report.

The broadcaster described the watermelons as "land mines" and said they were exploding by the hectare in the Danyang area.

Farmers clear out watermelons which have been exploding as a result of chemical and pesticide overuse. Picture: AP

Prices during the past year have prompted many farmers to jump into the watermelon market.
All of those with exploding melons apparently were first-time users of the growth accelerator forchlorfenuron, though it has been widely available for some time.


Watch the video here:

Farmer Liu Mingsuo ended up with three hectares of ruined fruit and told CCTV that seeing his crop splitting open was like a knife cutting his heart.
"On May 7, I came out and counted 80 (burst watermelons) but by the afternoon it was 100," Mr Liu said. "Two days later I didn't bother to count anymore."
Intact watermelons were being sold at a wholesale market in nearby Shanghai, the report said, but even those ones showed telltale signs of forchlorfenuron use: fibrous, misshapen fruit with mostly white instead of black seeds.
Chinese regulations don't forbid forchlorfenuron, and it is allowed in the US on kiwi fruit and grapes.
But the report underscores how farmers in China are abusing both legal and illegal chemicals, with many farms misusing pesticides and fertilisers.

Wang Liangju, a professor with College of Horticulture at Nanjing Agricultural University who has been to Danyang since the problems began to occur, said that forchlorfenuron is safe and effective when used properly.

He told The Associated Press that the drug had been used too late into the season, and that recent heavy rain also raised the risk of the fruit cracking open. But he said the variety of melon also played a role.
"If it had been used on very young fruit, it wouldn't be a problem," Mr Wang said.

"Another reason is that the melon they were planting is a thin-rind variety and these kind are actually nicknamed the 'exploding melon' because they tend to split."
In March last year, Chinese authorities found that "yard-long" beans from the southern city of Sanya had been treated with the banned pesticide isocarbophos.

The tainted beans turned up in several provinces, and the central city of Wuhan announced it destroyed three tonnes of the vegetable.

The government also has voiced alarm over the widespread overuse of food additives like dyes and sweeteners that retailers hope will make food more attractive and boost sales.
Though Chinese media remain under strict government control, domestic coverage of food safety scandals has become more aggressive in recent months, an apparent sign that the government has realised it needs help policing the troubled food industry.
The CCTV report on watermelons quoted Feng Shuangqing, a professor at the China Agricultural University, as saying the problem showed that China needs to clarify its farm chemical standards and supervision to protect consumer health.

 

Herobuilders.com's latest toy is a BlackBerry-toting, anatomically-correct Anthony Weiner action figure

A TOY company known for producing action figures of US political figures has started advertising its latest addition, the Anthony Weiner doll.
Herobuilders.com is offering two versions of the doll modelled after the New York Democrat who shot to fame around the world last week after admitting to having sent a lewd photo of his crotch to a Seattle college student on Twitter.

"Anatomically correct" Anthony Weiner action figure for sale on Herobuilders.com. Picture: Screenshot

The Weiner doll comes as a standard doll for $US39.95 ($37.85) and an adults-only "anatomically correct" version for $US49.95 ($47.35).

Both figures are dressed in a T-shirt and gym shorts — with the words "tweet this" printed on the shorts.
For an extra $US18.00 ($17) customers can add a toy BlackBerry for the doll to hold.
The action figure goes on sale Monday.

Weiner is not the first political figure to be turned into an action figure by Herobuilders.com.
The company has also produced popular figures like President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Channel 9's The Block struggles to make the cut

The production company behind TV's The Block paid around $950,000 per house before the renovations began, leading some real estate experts to cast doubt on whether or not a profit can be made from the properties. Source: Supplied

The production company behind the block may struggle to recoup the cost of a row of terraces to be renovated in the show as the property market cools

THE production company behind Channel 9's hit, The Block, may have bitten off more than it can chew after paying $3.6 million for a row of rundown terraces in Richmond.

As the property market cools, Watercress Productions might struggle to cover the cost of sales and renovations to the houses, which are in the shadow of the troubled Housing Ministry estate.

Watercress bought four Victorian and Edwardian terraces in a row after they passed in at auction in November for $2.85 million.

It also paid $198,000 stamp duty, taking the cost of each house to just under $950,000 before a porcelain tile or glass splashback had been put in place.

JPP Buyers Advocates' Catherine Cashmore said Watercress would be "very, very lucky to break even" on the deal on sales price alone.
"They are starting high and it's a very big ask," Ms Cashmore said.

"The houses are situated across the street from the entrance to a supermarket carpark and under the shadow of Housing Ministry flats, which is a price-killer as far as real estate in Richmond goes."

The Block executive producer Julian Cress said the attention to detail paid to the properties made them stand-out buys and tipped high demand for them.

"The finishes, the fixtures, the fittings will make them the best product that is available at the time in Richmond by a long way," he said.

Devastating floods sweep across Norway

TORRENTIAL rains combined with melting snow have caused devastating floods across central Norway, washing away several houses and roads and causing landslides.
One person has been injured in the floods, but it was unclear whether their condition was serious.
Spokesman Morten Harangen at the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning says the northern part of the country has also been affected, but is more due to high temperatures that have sped up the snow-melting in the mountains.
Mr Harangen says between 100 and 200 people have been evacuated so far.
Late on Friday, Norway's Justice and Transport Minister Knut Storberget met with rescue work representatives to discuss the flood situation.

Be careful with heaters in winter

This morning i woke up with my bed on fire. Yes im one of these idiots that sleep with a heat on full crank next to me. Done it for years always been careful, never had a prob...

My old heater had a thermo that cut it out... The heater i have now is a open type halogen thing, there no theremo and big open hot face,  Somehow part of my quilt/doona  fell onto it whilst asleep  - it is a good 2 feet from the bed - I woke up with a corner of it on fire, black smoke everywhere an it dripping metly plastic stuff all over the floor. Luckily cos im such a cheapskate and i live in granny flat - and my bedroom is actually half a kitchen, so there a tap about 2 metres from my bed, In the whole doona went into the sink, made a mess, but no one died.

Kinda strange is  that the g/f and i were only joking/talking about it the other day. I actually mentioned what i would do if it happened, so i guess in a way. i was sorta prepared - Fire plans dont hurt. 

I always thought it would happen to someone else.

Food for thought

Tracy Morgan Booed at Concert, People Walked Out

Tracy Morgan's homophobic act in Nashville was met with a smattering of boos -- and several people also walked out of the show -- this according to a person who was at the show

TMZ spoke with someone in attendance at the Ryman Auditorium ... who tells us Morgan's entire act was filled with offensive gay jokes ... explaining, "It was the worst thing I've ever heard ... so not funny."

As we previously reported, Morgan's June 3rd performance ignited a firestorm of controversy -- after he "joked" that he would "stab" his son for acting gay. 

Opposition says asylum seekers are 'out of control' after Christmas Island riot

Federal Police officers at the detention centre

THE second major riot on Christmas Island in less than three months has sparked another promise of a detention centre review. 
 
A guard suffered a leg injury when poles and concrete were used as weapons to attack authorities during a violent uprising that began on Thursday night.

Police used capsicum spray and bean-bag bullets to quash the unrest involving 80 to 100 asylum seekers.
The Opposition said it was a clear sign the Gillard Government had "lost control" of the immigration detention system, which now costs about $1 billion to run.
Officials are bracing for further protests over the weekend after some detainees took to the roof of the centre to continue action.

An inquiry is already being held into the March violence at Christmas Island that left buildings torched and cost millions of dollars.

Seyed Majid Rabet, 42-years-old asylum seeker suffering Leprosy at Villawood, detention centre. Picture: Supplied

In a further blow for the Government, a case of leprosy was yesterday confirmed at the Villawood Detention Centre in Sydney.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said the health scare was "concerning" but the illness was contained.
He said the situation at Christmas Island would be reviewed, but that the centre had returned to calm.
"I believe that in the majority of cases the security level at the centre and the physical infrastructure is appropriate," he said.

Sources told the Herald Sun the riot began after at least one asylum seeker had a refugee application rejected.
An Australian Federal Police spokesman said officers were called to the centre about 11pm and used "less than lethal munitions, including chemical munitions, a bean-bag round and distraction devices" to regain order.
Mr Morrison said the Government had "lost control".
"The reason we have such unrest in our detention centres principally is because of the failure of their border protection

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/asylum-seekers-out-of-control/story-e6frfkvr-1226073339441#ixzz1Ot73Zv3K

Stephen Hawking: 'heaven is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark' MORE

Prof Stephen Hawking, the eminent Cambridge scientist and cosmologist, has dismissed heaven as a “fairy story for people afraid of the dark”. 

The 69 year-old physicist, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 21, insisted that he is “not afraid of death”.

Shortly after being diagnosed with the incurable illnes many expected the author of A Brief History of Time to die.

But he said it has instead led him to enjoy life more.

In an interview with The Guardian, ahead of key note speech on Tuesday, Prof Hawking discusses his thoughts on death.

He rejected the idea of life beyond death and emphasised, what he described as the need to fulfil our potential on Earth by making good use of our lives.

“I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first.
"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail.”
He added: “There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”
Asked how we should live he replied: "We should seek the greatest value of our action."
He is due to speak at the Google Zeitgeist meeting in London, in which he will address the question: "Why are we here?"
He will argue that tiny “quantum fluctuations” in the very early universe became the seeds from which galaxies, stars, and ultimately, human life began.
He will join other speakers including George Osborne, the Chancellor and Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel prize-winning economist.

In A Brief History of Time, Prof Hawking's most famous work, he did not dismiss the possibility that God had a hand in the creation of the world.

He wrote in the 1988 book: "If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason — for then we should know the mind of God.”

In his new book he rejects Sir Isaac Newton's theory that the Universe did not spontaneously begin to form but was set in motion by God.

In June last year Prof Hawking told a Channel 4 series that he didn't believe that a "personal" God existed.
He told Genius of Britain: "The question is: is the way the universe began chosen by God for reasons we can't understand, or was it determined by a law of science? I believe the second.

“If you like, you can call the laws of science 'God', but it wouldn't be a personal God that you could meet, and ask questions."

In his latest book, The Grand Design, Prof Hawking claimed that no divine force was needed to explain why the Universe was formed.
It led to a backlash from Religious leaders.

Prof Hawking was previously Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, a post previously held by Newton.

He fell seriously ill after a lecture tour in the US in 2009, sparking grave fears about his health.
He has since returned to his Cambridge department as director of research.

Moose attacks old swedish people

The slightly injured moose on its way out in to freedom after his visit to a geriatric care home in Sweden. Picture: AP

A MOOSE burst through the dining room window of a retirement home in southwestern Sweden, knocking over furniture and flower pots before taking off into the wild again.


Police say aside from the moose, who was scratched by the broken window, no one was injured in the overnight surprise visit at the Brunnsgarden retirement home in the small town of Alingsas.
Helen Gillquist, head of the home, said residents had just finished lunch and left the ground-floor dining room when the moose jumped through the three-panelled glass window
.
She says it "jumped over a sofa and knocked over chairs and flowers" before getting stuck in a set of doors.
The moose eventually escaped into a nearby park after police managed to open the home's doors.

A glazier examines the damage after a moose burst into a geriatric care home in Alingsas east of Goteborg, Sweden. Picture: AP

German insurer organised orgy for salesmen

A GERMAN insurance company rewarded its best salesmen by organising an orgy with prostitutes in a renowned Hungarian spa, the company said. 
 
About 100 top salesmen had been invited to the orgy, which featured numerous scantily clad hostesses and about 20 prostitutes, Ergo insurance spokesman Alexander Becker said.
The event organised by one of its divisions in Budapest's art nouveau Gellert Baths represented a clear violation of the company's values, he stressed.

"All measures have been taken to prevent a repeat of such an event," Mr Becker said.
Those responsible for the June 2007 event - dubbed an "incentive trip" - have left the company, he added.
Prostitution is legal in Hungary and Germany.

Ergo insurance belongs to Munich Re, one of the world's biggest reinsurance companies, in which US billionaire Warren Buffet's investment firm Berkshire Hathaway holds a 10 per cent stake.

Ergo's board of directors only learned about the orgy when those responsible for it had already left the company, Mr Becker said. He could not specify since when the board was briefed on the orgy.
Budapest is known for its thermal baths. Some of the spas are used for film screenings or parties.