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Sunday, November 16, 2008
Bob Geldof paid $100,000 for poverty speech
Anti-poverty campaigner Bob Geldof charged $100,000 to go to Melbourne and give a speech about world suffering.
Geldof, 54, spoke about the tragedy of Third World poverty and the failure of governments to combat the crisis, at a Crown casino function on Thursday night.
But the outspoken human rights activist charged about $100,000 for his trouble - a speaker's fee that included the cost of luxury hotel rooms and first-class airfares. Fellow activist the Rev Tim Costello, World Vision's CEO, spoke for free. An event insider said the Geldof payments included the costs of a minder.
"It was an inspiring speech. But when you think he got paid $100,000 to talk about poverty, it seems like a bit of a contradiction," the insider said. "That's $100,000 that could have made a difference to poverty right there. Everyone in the audience would have walked away in awe. If only they knew the full story."
Geldof, 54, spoke about the tragedy of Third World poverty and the failure of governments to combat the crisis, at a Crown casino function on Thursday night.
But the outspoken human rights activist charged about $100,000 for his trouble - a speaker's fee that included the cost of luxury hotel rooms and first-class airfares. Fellow activist the Rev Tim Costello, World Vision's CEO, spoke for free. An event insider said the Geldof payments included the costs of a minder.
"It was an inspiring speech. But when you think he got paid $100,000 to talk about poverty, it seems like a bit of a contradiction," the insider said. "That's $100,000 that could have made a difference to poverty right there. Everyone in the audience would have walked away in awe. If only they knew the full story."
'Amélie' antidote shocks cat lovers
French cat-lovers are hissing with rage about a new film poster for an "anti-Amélie" film which shows an actress dumping a cat in a dustbin. Vilaine (Villain), released this week, documents the life of Mélanie Lupin, a sentimental singleton who tries too hard to be nice to everyone until she realises this approach is getting her nowhere in the world of romance and sets about being unhelpful and rude.
The producers of the film describe Mélanie as the opposite of Amélie, the heroine of the popular 2001 film with Audrey Tautou as an charming Parisian do-gooder. In the advert for Vilaine, Mélanie, played by Marilou Berry, is seen with a wry smile, holding a live cat by the scruff of its neck above a bin. The cat looks rather bored, a reaction not shared by the Society for the Protection of Animals in France (SPA). The organisation has received so many complaints about the ad that it has released a statement describing its shock at such an image.
"While the SPA does not doubt the integrity of Marilou Berry and the production team who have clearly not mistreated any animals, we feel it is clear the producers of Vilaine are not aware of the impact this image may have on a fragile general public." The statement also pointed out the "nightmarish" effect the image may have on children who have cats of their own and that the public may find it amusing to imitate the actress.
For Marilou Berry, the row is far from nightmarish. "Thanks SPA," she said. "The poster was put on their website, which created a buzz. The trailer has had 250,000 hits. As for the cat in the advert, there were two of them and they are both fine – I know because I adopted them."
The producers of the film describe Mélanie as the opposite of Amélie, the heroine of the popular 2001 film with Audrey Tautou as an charming Parisian do-gooder. In the advert for Vilaine, Mélanie, played by Marilou Berry, is seen with a wry smile, holding a live cat by the scruff of its neck above a bin. The cat looks rather bored, a reaction not shared by the Society for the Protection of Animals in France (SPA). The organisation has received so many complaints about the ad that it has released a statement describing its shock at such an image.
"While the SPA does not doubt the integrity of Marilou Berry and the production team who have clearly not mistreated any animals, we feel it is clear the producers of Vilaine are not aware of the impact this image may have on a fragile general public." The statement also pointed out the "nightmarish" effect the image may have on children who have cats of their own and that the public may find it amusing to imitate the actress.
For Marilou Berry, the row is far from nightmarish. "Thanks SPA," she said. "The poster was put on their website, which created a buzz. The trailer has had 250,000 hits. As for the cat in the advert, there were two of them and they are both fine – I know because I adopted them."
And for dessert: camel chocolate
Coming to a sweet shop near you – camel milk chocolate. The makers of Al-Nassma, the Arabic for a cool desert breeze, are planning to break into the European chocolate market with their own special recipe.
Although camel milk is a traditional staple among Beduin tribes, it has never before been used in chocolate. Al-Nassma, which is available only by special order within the UAE, tastes slightly sweeter and richer than traditional chocolate, but also costs more, selling for about £4.50 a bar. It is billed as “a true innovation . . . deemed to conquer the world as the sweet ambassador of Arabia”.
Martin van Almsick, the general manager of Al-Nassma’s makers, also called Al-Nassma, said: “Nobody thought about using camel milk before, then people from the camel world met people from the chocolate world and it occurred to everybody that it was obvious.”
He said that it took nearly three years to get the recipe right. “There was a huge amount of trial and error.”
Although camel milk is a traditional staple among Beduin tribes, it has never before been used in chocolate. Al-Nassma, which is available only by special order within the UAE, tastes slightly sweeter and richer than traditional chocolate, but also costs more, selling for about £4.50 a bar. It is billed as “a true innovation . . . deemed to conquer the world as the sweet ambassador of Arabia”.
Martin van Almsick, the general manager of Al-Nassma’s makers, also called Al-Nassma, said: “Nobody thought about using camel milk before, then people from the camel world met people from the chocolate world and it occurred to everybody that it was obvious.”
He said that it took nearly three years to get the recipe right. “There was a huge amount of trial and error.”
Slot machine game features mug-shots of Japan's most wanted
A Japanese company has launched an online slot machine game featuring mug-shots of wanted fugitives.
Slot Detective works like a traditional slot machine but with human faces instead of lemons and cherries.
Software manufacturer Famista Inc says it hopes the free game will help catch Japan's most-wanted suspects.
However, police say the use of the photos is inappropriate, although they have stopped short of calling for the game to be banned.
Does anyone have a link to the site? I tried for ages, but could't find it.
Slot Detective works like a traditional slot machine but with human faces instead of lemons and cherries.
Software manufacturer Famista Inc says it hopes the free game will help catch Japan's most-wanted suspects.
However, police say the use of the photos is inappropriate, although they have stopped short of calling for the game to be banned.
Does anyone have a link to the site? I tried for ages, but could't find it.
German soldiers in Afghanistan find it is thirsty work
If the German defence ministry's figures are anything to go by, being a soldier in Afghanistan is clearly thirsty work.
According to military sources, around 1m litres (1.8m pints) of beer were shipped to German troops stationed in Afghanistan last year, as well as almost 70,000 litres of wine and sekt, a German sparkling wine.
The admission has shocked a country that has never had much time for the Afghan mission. Newspaper reports under headlines such as Drink for the Fatherland and Bundeswehr Boozers have suggested that alcohol is the only way of keeping soldiers onside at a time when it is becoming ever harder to recruit them.
The figures suggest that the 3,600 German soldiers based in Afghanistan as part of Nato's ISAF reconstruction mission, are each consuming around 278 litres of beer a year each, about 490 pints, as well as 128 standard measures of wine. The figures are set to rise by around 10% this year as troop numbers also increase.
Critics of the mission who have long-argued that Germany should extend its mandate to the dangerous areas in the south of Afghanistan from the relatively safe north, say the admission harms German claims that it is taking a professional approach to the job.
US troops face an alcohol ban when on mission while British and other armies are allowed to drink moderately when not on duty. This discrepancy led to the claim made at a Nato conference on Afghanistan that "some drink beer while others risk their lives."
According to military sources, around 1m litres (1.8m pints) of beer were shipped to German troops stationed in Afghanistan last year, as well as almost 70,000 litres of wine and sekt, a German sparkling wine.
The admission has shocked a country that has never had much time for the Afghan mission. Newspaper reports under headlines such as Drink for the Fatherland and Bundeswehr Boozers have suggested that alcohol is the only way of keeping soldiers onside at a time when it is becoming ever harder to recruit them.
The figures suggest that the 3,600 German soldiers based in Afghanistan as part of Nato's ISAF reconstruction mission, are each consuming around 278 litres of beer a year each, about 490 pints, as well as 128 standard measures of wine. The figures are set to rise by around 10% this year as troop numbers also increase.
Critics of the mission who have long-argued that Germany should extend its mandate to the dangerous areas in the south of Afghanistan from the relatively safe north, say the admission harms German claims that it is taking a professional approach to the job.
US troops face an alcohol ban when on mission while British and other armies are allowed to drink moderately when not on duty. This discrepancy led to the claim made at a Nato conference on Afghanistan that "some drink beer while others risk their lives."
Inmate escapes German jail by mailing himself out in a box
A manhunt is under way in western Germany for a convicted drug dealer who escaped by mailing himself out of jail.
The 42-year-old Turkish citizen - who was serving a seven-year sentence - had been making stationery with other prisoners destined for the shops.
At the end of his shift, the inmate climbed into a cardboard box and was taken out of prison by express courier.
When the weekly express courier arrived to pick up several boxes of merchandise, the one containing the prisoner was also loaded into the back of the lorry.
Shortly after it had passed through the prison gates, the inmate made his dash for freedom by cutting a big hole in the tarpaulin of the lorry and jumping off. His whereabouts are still unknown.
The prison authorities in Willich, near Duesseldorf, said the man, who was tall and broad-shouldered, had hidden in a box that was about 150cm by 120cm. The chief warden of the jail said this was an embarrassing incident.
The 42-year-old Turkish citizen - who was serving a seven-year sentence - had been making stationery with other prisoners destined for the shops.
At the end of his shift, the inmate climbed into a cardboard box and was taken out of prison by express courier.
When the weekly express courier arrived to pick up several boxes of merchandise, the one containing the prisoner was also loaded into the back of the lorry.
Shortly after it had passed through the prison gates, the inmate made his dash for freedom by cutting a big hole in the tarpaulin of the lorry and jumping off. His whereabouts are still unknown.
The prison authorities in Willich, near Duesseldorf, said the man, who was tall and broad-shouldered, had hidden in a box that was about 150cm by 120cm. The chief warden of the jail said this was an embarrassing incident.
Deceased man becomes celebrity in Holland after ashes wash up there
After John Lea's cremation, one of his sons put his ashes in a bottle with photographs of Mr Lea and a few details about his life, such as the fact that he had been in the army and travelled a lot.
Kevin Lea, 48, then dropped the bottle from a ferry half way across the Channel while on a trip to France after deciding his father needed "one last big adventure". It has since twice come ashore in Holland, leading to his father appearing in national papers and on TV.
Mr Lea senior, from Weymouth, Dorset, died last summer aged 78, leaving behind wife Pat and eight of his nine children. His ashes were split into three parts; one buried at his favourite tree, another by his daughter's grave and the third part thrown into the sea.
Just a few weeks later Kevin received a letter from a couple in Holland, Peter and Rita de Man, who had found the bottle washed up on one of the country's islands. They had returned it to the sea as requested, and days later it came ashore again on the same island, Texel. This time it was found by Maarten Brugge who alerted the local paper and from there dead John's fame grew.
Kevin, who runs a launderette, said: "When I was contacted by Maarten he said he'd told the local paper and then it was picked up by the big national paper De Telegraaf. "I lived in Holland for ten years and I can speak Dutch, which surprised them, and then I was contacted by the national TV channel Hart Van Nederland. I spoke to them and they showed all the pictures of dad and the feedback has been incredible.
"He's turned into a bit of a celebrity over there - I think he would have really liked that. I thought that it would be nice for dad to go on one last big adventure, and hopefully it is continuing."
Photos from here.
Kevin Lea, 48, then dropped the bottle from a ferry half way across the Channel while on a trip to France after deciding his father needed "one last big adventure". It has since twice come ashore in Holland, leading to his father appearing in national papers and on TV.
Mr Lea senior, from Weymouth, Dorset, died last summer aged 78, leaving behind wife Pat and eight of his nine children. His ashes were split into three parts; one buried at his favourite tree, another by his daughter's grave and the third part thrown into the sea.
Just a few weeks later Kevin received a letter from a couple in Holland, Peter and Rita de Man, who had found the bottle washed up on one of the country's islands. They had returned it to the sea as requested, and days later it came ashore again on the same island, Texel. This time it was found by Maarten Brugge who alerted the local paper and from there dead John's fame grew.
Kevin, who runs a launderette, said: "When I was contacted by Maarten he said he'd told the local paper and then it was picked up by the big national paper De Telegraaf. "I lived in Holland for ten years and I can speak Dutch, which surprised them, and then I was contacted by the national TV channel Hart Van Nederland. I spoke to them and they showed all the pictures of dad and the feedback has been incredible.
"He's turned into a bit of a celebrity over there - I think he would have really liked that. I thought that it would be nice for dad to go on one last big adventure, and hopefully it is continuing."
Photos from here.
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