Sir David Attenborough is one of the world’s most well-known scientists and natural history film-makers. He has now thrown his weight behind a campaign in the UK to have the teaching of creationism and intelligent design banned outright from school curricula. He is joined by 30 other leading scientists and campaign groups, including the British Science Association.
Independent and Evening Standard owner, Alexander Lebedev showed up in an interview on Russian TV with fellow super-rich-Russian, Sergei Polonsky last night. Apparently Polonsky came off threatening, because midway through the interview, Lebedev’s KGB training kicked in, at which point he proceeded to beat the Russian oligarch.
A European Union trade pact that dictates that the name “port” may only apply to fortified wines from Portugal will mean that the word will disappear entirely from bottle labels in this country by the beginning of January next year. The move has been on the cards since 2000, when the South African government agreed to stop using it.
The first intimidating “Ka Mate” was preformed by the All Blacks in 1905, and has been considered an important part of international rugby ever since. But, because of recent flash hakas in shopping centres, streets and schools across New Zealand, De Villiers said that New Zealanders risked overexposing the dance as they host this year’s tournament.
Hollywood veteran Clint Eastwood is notoriously inscrutable about a lot of topics. This time however, Dirty Harry came out firing for gay marriage, or, to be specific, against those opposed to same-sex nuptials.
A probe into the SABC has revealed that the national broadcaster has been paying for its employees’ M-Net and DStv subscriptions. You can’t really blame the SABC’s employees for preferring non-SABC programming. But it does seem a little silly for the national broadcaster to be forking out for its own staff’s subscription television “privileges”. Especially when online TV is cheaper.
A tender awarded by the finance minister for a fresh supply of government condoms had to be set aside. The tender then went to the second-lowest bidder. The reason? They originals were made in China and were found to be too small for the African market. Awkward.
I’m not clear on where the time and money required to make these things is coming from. Following last month’s OK Go-themed video, a new The Muppets trailer has been released, this time playing off David Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which makes sense given how much common ground the two franchises share.
In the evening following England’s marginal victory over Argentina in their opening game of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, members of the English squad (including management) hit the town, to blow off the significant quantities of steam that are typically generated by a mediocre victory. Extra-marital boob-groping may or may not have ensued.
If you didn’t believe in gingers before my friends, here is proof. Proof that when not striking fear into the hearts of normal folk or hosting confidence boosting rallys, the gene is out jumping the species barrier on the Russian islands, in the Caspian Sea. Rescued by Photographer Anatoly Strakhov, this ‘rare’ seal pup was born with blue eyes and reddish brown fur.
Interscope is one of the biggest record labels globally, with artists such as 50 Cent, Dr Dre, Black Eyed Peas, and Die Antwoord. But it would seem they are peddling in more than just music. They have just been implicated in a drug-trafficking bust. Apparently their offices were used as “a transit point for cases filled with cocaine and cash.”
Because what every good recession needs is a plan to go to space. NASA today announced their new launch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS), which should be able to take astronauts past the moon to near-Earth asteroids, and eventually to Mars some time in the 2030s.
A limited-edition 18-carat gold phone aimed at Moscow’s fashion-forward elite has just been designed by Danish retailer, Aesir. It’s price tag? $57,400. The phone, which took three years to develop, doesn’t boast email, games, a camera or even GPS, it only boasts solid goldness. Or does that not satisfy you? The company founder, Thomas Jensen, subtly calls it ‘not a play thing’.
Zurich-based bank, UBS is in the toilet after a very, very naughty little boy or girl engaged in a spot of skullduggerous, unauthorised, and apparently not entirely skillful trading. The cost? A cool $2 billion, and an additional drop of 10% in its share price over the course of today’s early trading alone. UBS had better clench its buttocks. This is going to be a wild ride.
The magazine based it on, what it calls, the enormous influence that the ANCYL has on South African politics, including it’s hand in the election of Jacob Zuma. They also go on to say that Malema is one of the countries most ‘divisive’ and ‘polarising’ figures and that he frequently ‘stirs controversy with his racial slurs’. They couldn’t be more correct.
China’s time is now. We’ve all been saying it for ages, but their time really is now. A report from Bloomberg doesn’t beat around the bush: “China is willing to buy bonds from nations involved in the sovereign debt crisis.” They already own millions of hectares of land right here in Africa, but now they want to invest.
Just yesterday I introduced you to our latest addition to the Boss Hall of Fame – an Indian tea pourer. How it gladdens my heart to let you know that we’ve found three more fine examples less than 24 hours later! These are guys who excel at transforming everyday tasks into something spectacular. See how this trio pack playing cards in a Chinese toy factory…like bosses!
UK teacher, Mohamed Ibrahim, unexpectedly received an email from Somalia asking him to visit his former homeland over the UK summer holidays. When he returned to war-torn Mogadishu, he was unexpectedly appointed the Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country.
Hoo. So American Apparel wanted to inaugurate the introduction of an XL size into their clothing range by holding an online model search for plus-sized women to promote the new threads. Enter Nancy Upton, who, offended by the contest, sent in photos of herself gorging on ice-cream on her kitchen floor. And then won.
Here’s a plan to avoid prosecution – just use your dad’s ID every time the cops come looking for you. It almost worked for Siphiwe Tembe, from Soweto, who was finally arrested yesterday in connection with a murder which dates back to 1996.
The former Republican vice-presidential contender, Sarah Palin, is alleged to have taken cocaine and smoked weed in a new controversial and highly anticipated biography written by Joe McGinniss. Oh, it’s also alleged that she cheated on her husband (though she’s vehemently denied this before) and let the kids fend for themselves quite a bit.
Joshua and Jacob Spates are twins who were delivered by emergency caesarian in January this year, six weeks before they were due. They were also conjoined at the base of their spines. The two brothers have now been separated by life-saving surgery and introduced to each other – face to face – for the first time in their lives.
I’m not clear on why we would still need travel agents or anything, but if we do, Google Flights, launching today, is up to the task. Initially only available in a couple of US cities, Google Flights is the first result we’ve seen of Google’s acquisition of travel software company ITA back in April.
It ‘s going to be creativity and persistence that will get the world through the current financial crises it’s enduring. Our Dear Leader, KimJong-il, has finally come to the party too and ventured into the tourism business: North Korea’s first cruise ship is here. It’s old and a bit of a joke, but a start none-the-less.
We all have that one radio DJ that we hate. But this guy in the clip from the UK you are about to hear takes radio rants to newfound heights. In one fell swoop, he accuses the presenter for being responsible for the London riots, makes a reference to Orson Welles, and draws a comparison between Nazi’s and hippies. Stunning.
I have been a bit airy-faery of late, mouthing off about elegance, the nature of language, bonhomie, and the like. Which, I must say, I prefer talking about at dinner where there is plenty room to bang my fists on the table. And as the banging of digital fists becomes slightly tiresome, I thought I would veer off in a more practical direction. So here are a few tips to making your wine drinking life more pleasurable.
Time to ditch the Farmville, folks! Mini have just released a Facebook game powered by the mighty forces of Flash and Google Maps that allows you to motor a mini.. er Mini across the global destination of your choice.
23-year old Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac unveiled the Concept_One electric supercar at the Frankfurt Motor Show yesterday – a 1,099 horsepower machine that can go a little under 600 km per charge, and can get over 300 km/h on a stretch. Is that enough car numbers? I’m not great at car numbers. Take a look at the thing though, it’s sexy.
The dispute between Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg has still not been put out to pasture. The disgruntled Winklefaces are currently starring in a terribly clever TV ad during which they take a dig at Zuckerburg for stealing their social network idea. In other news, the ad is for pistachio nuts.
So they say this kind of thing is “new”, but I think what they really mean is that it’s “new” to public knowledge. It uses thermal imaging technology, something that’s been around for a while already, and it just seems impossible to believe that “scientists” wouldn’t have thought of it before.