Reviews Category
We don’t just report off-beat news, breaking news and digest the best and worst of the news media analysis and commentary. We give an original take on what happened and why. We add lols, satire, news photos and original content.
Pregnant women warned drinking wine makes your baby develop into a Daily Mail reader
PHEW! Cancel the opiates and Prozac. The Daily Mail has news on pregnant women and stress relief:
Mums-to-be ‘CAN have a glass of wine a day without harming their child’s development’
Who gave them permission?
Having a glass of wine a day during pregnancy may not harm the child’s development, claim researchers. A large new study says the children of mothers who drank ‘moderately’ in pregnancy actually grew up to have better balance than those who abstained.
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Posted: 28th, June 2013 | In: Reviews, The Consumer | Comment
Car crash leaves man and dog coated in gallons of paint (photos)
THIS was the scene in Belfair, Washington, after a man lost control of his car and went off the road just after 3pm.
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Reporter drops double F bomb, which is nice
NEWS reporters dread the phrase “Kent countryside” for fear of getting their tongue tied. Sometimes, reporters just turn the air blue because their brains switch off.
And so to the Fox staffer who went potty mouthed over some strawberries.
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Posted: 28th, June 2013 | In: Reviews, TV & Radio | Comment
Queen’s representative urinates of expectant mother’s doorstep
EYEWITNESS news of the day is found in the Exeter Express & Echo. News is that an Exeter postman has been caught urinating freely urinating outside a young couple’s front door. It went on for months.
Luke Osborne, 27, says:
“For months now my partner and I have been having to walk through urine on our front steps. I had to wash the steps down constantly as the smell was horrendous. Keyleigh is expecting our baby tomorrow (mon) and it is just so unhealthy. The entrance to our flat is secluded with steps up to the front door. When I went out there he was, full frontal, relieving himself. I couldn’t believe it. This is the Royal Mail, they deliver in the Queen’s name and there he was relieving himself on my front step.”
Anyone asked Her Majesty is she approves?
Photo: Prince William makes a special delivery.
Spotter: Karen
Google’s Tameside Hospital web search page censors an image of the Grim Reaper
A SEARCH for Manchester’s Tameside General Hospital on Google delivers a picture of The Grim Reaper lurking outside the building.
The image was created for the website Tameside Citizen, a blog about the area which has focused on the hospital’s death rates. The accompanying story tells readers:
Tameside is one of five hospitals to be subject to a probe in light of today’s Francis Report – which found that there were hundreds of avoidable deaths at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust between 2005-9.
Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director at the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) will launch an immediate investigation into Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – as well as Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust – immediately.
The hospitals were chosen because they had the worst mortality rates according to the so-called Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator (SHMI) for two successive years to 2012.
This ends with a link the a full story at the Manchester Evening News. All fair and proper, then. It’s a worthwhile story:
Between October 2011 and September 2012, 18 per cent more patients at Tameside died than would be expected at a similar hospital, according to statistics.
But no. The MEN says the image rose to the top on Google’s for searches for the hospital. It does not name the blog that published it. It offers no link to it. It reports:
Google has now stepped in to take down the image – which was revealed to anyone typing the name of the hospital into the search engine – after being alerted by the M.E.N
A Google spokeswoman admitted the automatically-generated image had been ‘inappropriate’ and confirmed it had now been removed from its image database.
Why admitted? Is it a crime? And who decides what is and what is not appropriate? The Google worker, whose name is not given, says to the MEN:
“In this particular case, we have now updated the panel with a more appropriate image. All of our panels include a link so you can tell us when we may have an inaccuracy in our information.”
So. The natural search on Google – all those keywords and links – is a fix.
Tameside Citizen follows up:
M.E.N. attempt to censor Tameside Citizen.
The Image “THEY” want to ban!
The Manchester Evening News has claimed that they have succeeded in having the above image removed by Google after it was used by “a BlogSpot”.
“A Blog Spot”. Don’t they mean TAMESIDE CITIZEN, the blog that brought you the news that “The Advertiser” had meetings with local politicians with a view to “Suppressing sensationalist reporting” The same Advertiser which is owned by the Manchester Evening News!
Yet again it is the small independent Blog which shows the big business newspaper the meaning of the phrase “Free Press”
What’s so bad about the image? A fee commentators write back:
* The hoody pictured near the hospital does not look well.
* I have an interest in this issue. My father died in Tameside Hospital last year. My mother died six months ago in Willow wood hospice, 4 days after transfer from Tameside Hospital. The patients were clearly not getting the best treatment they deserved. The staff were giving the best they could. The big problem I could see was that there were not enough nursing staff. Even the best most dedicated nurse can not be at two bedsides at the same time.
* My own mother died in TH and there was one nurse running the ward. She told me she also served the patients meals as well.
Not exactly a death cult, is it? But because Google and the MEN don’t like the image or the messenger, they want to make it harder for readers to find the story. Local news is vital. It’s where the big stories start. You’d think the MEN and Google, which takes you content for free, would know that…
Spotter: Karen
Posted: 28th, June 2013 | In: Reviews, Technology | Comment
Nelson Mandela death watch: photos of the ‘racist’ media ‘vultures’
THE Nelson Mandela Death Watch story is pretty unedifying. LIVE! TV news reports from outside the Pretoria hospital where the 94-year-old is resting are nightly. The BBC’s man on the scene calls it a “waiting game“. The world’s media is camped by the South African hospital. He’s 94. What are they waiting for? Do they expect Mandela to emerge from the roof on a golden charriot pulled by ethereal horses? This news story is about an elderly man being severely ill. Three reporters working shifts could cover the entire story for everyone. But this is competitive mourn porn. They all want to be there to shout ‘FIRST!’.
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Eyewitness Grandmother: local news hero reports from Tesco Bournemouth
EYEWITNESS of the Day is found in the Bournemouth Echo. A motorcyclist crashed through the glass doors at Bournemouth’s biggest Tesco store.
“Shocked eyewitness grandmother Margaret Howe was shopping with her husband David when she heard the commotion”
Eyewitness Grandmother sounds like a title of a new Marvel Comic. Says she:
“There was an almighty bang and we thought a display shelf had fallen… It was shocking; we’d just gone in to buy a couple of things as my grandsons are coming over this evening. It all happened in the section where crisps and peanuts are on display.”
The walnuts attract a smarter crowd…
Posted: 27th, June 2013 | In: Reviews | Comment (1)
Face of the day: Cat glowers at fireman who rescued it from burning building
FACE of the day: one of three cats saved from a house fire by firefighters in Boulder, Colorado.
Any idea who or what started the fire?
Kim Kardashian uses baby North West to see which way the money blows
KIM Kardashian sent her pals two fake pictures of her and Kanye West’s son North West to see which of them would sell to the lowest bidder.
The Mail claims Kim wanted to find out which of her friends would sell the pictures to the Press. This was not to test the market rate for the photos and work out which of her friends is most useful. This was to protect her son.
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The K-tel Bigfoot commercial
K-TEL didn’t just make K-Tel Record Selector, non-stick frying pans and fight with Ronco for your hard-earned pennies. It made the “Bigfoot”, as seen in this Bigfoot commercial. How many children were shot by Big Game hunters hoping they’d caught the Sasquatch can only be guessed at. But let’s not rush to judgement. It was a different era back then, when children went outdoors and big feet meant big fun…
Posted: 25th, June 2013 | In: Flashback, The Consumer | Comment
In this 1968 video Mickey Mouse gets killed in Vietnam
It’s 1968. Mickey Mouse is in Vietnam.
The film was made by Milton Glaser Shows as an anti-war statement. But for those of us who can’t abide the chipper rodent, having him bumped off in a dark jungle makes the Vietnam War appear as a casus belli:
We’re with the duck:
Anti-gay Christianist apologises for his bigotry in trying to turn gay sinners into saved straights
ALAN Chambers, of Christianist gay-curing service Exodus International:
2008:
“The land of the free and the home of the brave is morphing into a homosexual haven… Just look at the top programmes on television or listen to the most popular actors and musicians. They are celebrating all things gay: gay marriage, gay adoptions, gay cruises, gay politics…and, of course, gay churches… Pro-homosexual leaders realised the same truth employed by Hitler and Marx: To advance their agenda they must radically influence the hearts and minds of young people.”
2013:
To Members of the LGBTQ Community:
In 1993 I caused a four-car pileup. In a hurry to get to a friend’s house, I was driving when a bee started buzzing around the inside of my windshield. I hit the bee and it fell on the dashboard. A minute later it started buzzing again with a fury. Trying to swat it again I completely missed the fact that a city bus had stopped three cars in front of me. I also missed that those three cars were stopping, as well. Going 40 miles an hour I slammed into the car in front of me causing a chain reaction. I was injured and so were several others. I never intended for the accident to happen. I would never have knowingly hurt anyone. But I did. And it was my fault. In my rush to get to my destination, fear of being stung by a silly bee, and selfish distraction, I injured others.
I have no idea if any of the people injured in that accident have suffered long term effects. While I did not mean to hurt them, I did. The fact that my heart wasn’t malicious did not lessen their pain or their suffering. I am very sorry that I chose to be distracted that fall afternoon, and that I caused so much damage to people and property. If I could take it all back I absolutely would. But I cannot. I pray that everyone involved in the crash has been restored to health.Recently, I have begun thinking again about how to apologize to the people that have been hurt by Exodus International through an experience or by a message. I have heard many firsthand stories from people called ex-gay survivors. Stories of people who went to Exodus affiliated ministries or ministers for help only to experience more trauma. I have heard stories of shame, sexual misconduct, and false hope. In every case that has been brought to my attention, there has been swift action resulting in the removal of these leaders and/or their organizations. But rarely was there an apology or a public acknowledgement by me.
And then there is the trauma that I have caused. There were several years that I conveniently omitted my ongoing same-sex attractions. I was afraid to share them as readily and easily as I do today. They brought me tremendous shame and I hid them in the hopes they would go away. Looking back, it seems so odd that I thought I could do something to make them stop. Today, however, I accept these feelings as parts of my life that will likely always be there. The days of feeling shame over being human in that way are long over, and I feel free simply accepting myself as my wife and family does. As my friends do. As God does.
Never in a million years would I intentionally hurt another person. Yet, here I sit having hurt so many by failing to acknowledge the pain some affiliated with Exodus International caused, and by failing to share the whole truth about my own story. My good intentions matter very little and fail to diminish the pain and hurt others have experienced on my watch. The good that we have done at Exodus is overshadowed by all of this.
Friends and critics alike have said it’s not enough to simply change our message or website. I agree. I cannot simply move on and pretend that I have always been the friend that I long to be today. I understand why I am distrusted and why Exodus is hated.
Please know that I am deeply sorry. I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced. I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents. I am sorry that there were times I didn’t stand up to people publicly “on my side” who called you names like sodomite—or worse. I am sorry that I, knowing some of you so well, failed to share publicly that the gay and lesbian people I know were every bit as capable of being amazing parents as the straight people that I know. I am sorry that when I celebrated a person coming to Christ and surrendering their sexuality to Him that I callously celebrated the end of relationships that broke your heart. I am sorry that I have communicated that you and your families are less than me and mine.
More than anything, I am sorry that so many have interpreted this religious rejection by Christians as God’s rejection. I am profoundly sorry that many have walked away from their faith and that some have chosen to end their lives. For the rest of my life I will proclaim nothing but the whole truth of the Gospel, one of grace, mercy and open invitation to all to enter into an inseverable relationship with almighty God.
I cannot apologize for my deeply held biblical beliefs about the boundaries I see in scripture surrounding sex, but I will exercise my beliefs with great care and respect for those who do not share them. I cannot apologize for my beliefs about marriage. But I do not have any desire to fight you on your beliefs or the rights that you seek. My beliefs about these things will never again interfere with God’s command to love my neighbor as I love myself.You have never been my enemy. I am very sorry that I have been yours. I hope the changes in my own life, as well as the ones we announce tonight regarding Exodus International, will bring resolution, and show that I am serious in both my regret and my offer of friendship. I pledge that future endeavors will be focused on peace and common good.
Moving forward, we will serve in our pluralistic culture by hosting thoughtful and safe conversations about gender and sexuality, while partnering with others to reduce fear, inspire hope, and cultivate human flourishing.
Religion. It’s not all about telling other people what to do.
Posted: 25th, June 2013 | In: Reviews | Comments (2)
Dog poo hero faces up to 20 years in prison for tossing dog turd at man who failed to clean up after his pet
FREE Rebecca Trammell! The 46-year-old has been charged with the second degree felony of aggravated assault. Her alleged crime? Losing control in a Austin, Texas, dog park. What she did? Trammell was so upset with a man at Canyon Creek Apartments’ dog park whom she claims was not cleaning up his dog’s faeces, she picked up his doggy’s turds and tossed at the rabid owner.
She then picked up a big jagged rock and tossed that at the man’s body. The rock missed.
She then spat in the man’s face.
But the poo, right? The dog owner left a big steaming pile of poo on the ground. That’s got to be worse than spitting? Has Bristol council produced a billboard posters warning of the peril of throwing large jagged rocks and gobbing? No. But it has produced this poster of a child chowing down on a stray dog poo.
Sure, Trammell reportedly attacked another person. But the trigger was that the dog owner did not have his animal on a leash and never cleared up its poo. Yes, yes, she did grab the owner’s leash, cutting his hand and seriously injuring him, according to police, but big wet globs of dog poo are revolting.
But this being America, Trammell is facing two to 20 years in prison and a possible $10,000 fine. The dog owner remains free to walk his poo dropper. That can’t be right.
She should be freed. And, if possible, given a job as dog warden in London’s poo-infested parks…
Posted: 25th, June 2013 | In: Reviews | Comments (3)
Lake Annecy murders: Zaid al-Hilli arrested
THE Lake Annecy Murders of September 5 2012 haven’t been in the news much of late. But now Saad al-Hilli’s brother, Zaid al-Hilli, has been arrested in Surrey on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder. Saad and Ikbal Al-Hilli, Mrs Al-Hilli’s mother Suhaila al-Allaf, and Sylvain Mollier, were murdered on a remote mountain road near Annecy.
Julian Assange wants to keep Edward Snowden a secret
WHEN stood in Westminster Magistrates’ court Julian Assange was not keen to give his address. “PO Box 4080,” he stated.
When asked again,.he replied: “Do you want it for correspondence or for some other reason?”
After a brief conversation with his lawyer Mr Assange gave a Melbourne address in writing, saying that he wanted it to remain private, but the judge then directed a court clerk to read it out.
Now Julian Assange says he won’t tell us where NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is hiding out.
“We are aware of where Mr. Snowden is. He is in a safe place and his spirits are high. Due to the bellicose threats coming from the U.S. administration, we cannot go into further detail at this time.”
Let’s hope no-one leaks the details…
Posted: 24th, June 2013 | In: Reviews | Comments (5)
Interesting talks in London and Oxford – where to get free education
INTERESTING Talks is a web service that let’s you know what free talks are being held in London and Oxford.
More here.
Spurs: Gareth Bale grabs the tissues and heads for the Tottenham departure gate
TRANSFER Balls with The Daily Bale – a looks at Tottenham Hotspur in the news:
Is Andre Villas-Boas heading off to Paris Saint-Germain, after all?
The French club made a bid for the Spurs manager but it was rejected. The GiveMeSport site says AVB is freindly with the PSG President Nasser Al Khelaifi:
I have had a friendship for some time with the president of PSG,” Villas-Boas told A Bola. “He is a friend and we speak regularly, but my commitment is with Tottenham. It was the club that allowed me to return to the Premier League and I feel good there.”
All good, then. But what of Gareth Bale? Marca says the Welshman is on his way to Real Madrid:
Bale is confident of move to Real
Gareth Bale is convinced Real Madrid will be making a move to try and sign him at some stage this summer and although he is not losing his patience he is currently awaiting further instructions.
That scoop contains not a single word from Bale. Marca knows he’s convinced becuse Marca can read Bale’s mind.
But the Metro says Bale wants out.
Gareth Bale to use ‘nice guy’ approach to convince Spurs of Real Madrid transfer
Gareth Bale will tug on the heart strings of Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy in order to clinch his dream move to Real Madrid, according to reports.
Reports in..?
Spanish newspaper Marca claim the Welshman will not put any pressure on Spurs, and will instead rely on the two clubs reaching an amicable agreement after he makes his sporting case to chairman Levy.
Is Marca the Real Madrid in-house journal?
The Daily Star believes what it reads, announcing:
GARETH BALE WILL TELL SPURS: I WANT TO GO
GARETH BALE will hold a meeting with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and tell him he wants to join Real Madrid.
Says…
According to Spanish newspaper Marca – the number one sportnewspaper in the country – Bale is set to express to Levy his desire to leave when the pair meet for talks.
After so much bilge, other reports are that “Tottenham are set to open talks with Aston Villa over a possible £20 million deal for Christian Benteke” and signing the Brazilian Paulinho.
But wait! The Mail has breaking news on Bale:
Gareth Bale’s future at Tottenham is, as yet, still undecided and apparently the Welsh wizard is not certain about his favourite holiday destination either. In a short video for SpursTV Online, Bale and a number of his Tottenham team-mates were quizzed about their favourite place for a holiday. Unlike Clint Dempsey, Michael Dawson and Jan Vertonghen, though, Bale was keeping his cards close to his chest as he refused to name a place.
Call it a hunch but maybe Bale didn’t want the press following him to the holiday haunch and ruining his break? But to the Mail it is sing that Bale likes the spend the summer in the unbearable heat of the Spanish capital:
With Real Madrid’s very public interest in Tottenham’s talisman, the tight-lipped Bale was wise not to answer with ‘Spain’.
Such are the facts.
More Talking Balls every day….
Incredible image of a baby born but still inside the amniotic sac
SOME images are just incredible. Thanks to a Greek doctor and his camera, we get to see this memorable image taken dyring a caesarian section. Oddly, the amniotic sac remained intact as the birth progressed. The baby is no longer in the womb but continues to take oxygen and sustenance from the placenta.
The baby is doing well.
Posted: 24th, June 2013 | In: Key Posts, Reviews, Technology | Comment
Bakery puts cat on student’s head
GRADUATION should be one of the proudest days of your life, but one student found it to be one of the most surreal after a baker got all mixed up when making a celebratory cake.
Instead of the usual cap, the young woman found a picture of her with a cat on her head!
When Laura Gambrel graduated from Indiana University last month, her beamingly proud mother – Carol – decided to order a nice well-done cake.
She instructed the baker to include a congratulatory message and a graduation cap. However, when she went to collect the cake, she was greeted by her daughter wearing a crude feline on her bonce.
“My mom ordered a graduation cake with a cap drawn on,’ the graduate posted on Reddit along with a picture of the cake. ‘I guess they misheard.”
“When my mom got to the store and started laughing they tried to wipe off the cat and put on a plastic cap, but she told them to keep it.”
Her mother added: “It was one of those young kids behind the counter and he seemed a little distracted with someone else ordering a cake a foot away from us.”
“I can only image them doing it and thinking I was going to vet school or something.”
Posted: 24th, June 2013 | In: Reviews, The Consumer | Comment
Amazing moment as toddler hears for the first time
SHALL we all have a lovely moment? How about a really great video of a young boy called Grayson Clamp, and the exact moment he heard his father’s voice for the first time?
Grayson Clamp is three years old and until now, he’s never been able to hear.
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Posted: 24th, June 2013 | In: Reviews, Technology | Comment
Girl Guides are now all Godless maniacs
IF you were a Brownie, Cub, Scout or Girl Guide, you will know that God and Jesus loomed large in proceedings. Not to mention those horrible badges for sewing and surviving the ordeal of camping with flatulent peers in some windswept hole.
That’s all about to change. There’ll still be crafts and activities, however, God has been asked to leave the Girl Guides as they no longer have to swear allegiance to It. Now, Girl Guides will say: “I promise to be true to myself”, like they’re singing a mid-90s R&B ballad.
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Posted: 24th, June 2013 | In: Reviews | Comments (2)
Edward Snowden: hunting the source in Moscow (photos of the NSA whistleblower arriving in Russia)
WHEN Edward Snowden landed in Moscow on a flight from Hong, the media was massed.
Some journalists went about showing passengers photos of the wanted man. Have you seen him? What did he drink on the flight? Was he nervous? Did he play Fruit Ninja or Angry Birds? No snippet of information is to trite to relay about the NSA worker who told us all that big US Government co-opts big Internet companies to spy on American and British citizens.
Ben Smith puts the case:
But Snowden’s personal story is interesting only because the new details he revealed are so much more interesting. We know substantially more about domestic surveillance than we did, thanks largely to stories and documents printed by The Guardian. They would have been just as revelatory without Snowden’s name on them. The shakeout has produced more revelatory reporting, notably this new McClatchy piece on the way in which President Obama’s obsession with leaks has manifested itself in the bureaucracy with a new “Insider Threat Program.”
Snowden’s flight and its surrounding geopolitics are a good story; what he made public is a better one. I’m not sure why reporters should care all that much about his personal moral status, the meaning of the phrase “civil disobedience,” or the fate of his eternal soul. And the public who used to be known as “readers” are going to have to get used to making that distinction.
What do you call an extreme and violent Buddhist like Burma’s Ashin Wirathu – Buddhistists?
MORE lunacy in Burma. A racist lunatic monk called Ashin Wirathu – aka ”the Buddhist Bin Laden” – has been appealing to and for like-minded bigots:
After a ritual prayer atoning for past sins, Ashin Wirathu, a Buddhist monk with a rock-star following in Myanmar, sat before an overflowing crowd of thousands of devotees and launched into a rant against what he called “the enemy” — the country’s Muslim minority.
“You can be full of kindness and love, but you cannot sleep next to a mad dog,” Ashin Wirathu said, referring to Muslims.
“I call them troublemakers, because they are troublemakers,” Ashin Wirathu told a reporter after his two-hour sermon. “I am proud to be called a radical Buddhist.”
Is he a Buddhistist, as militant Muslims are called Islamists?
Photo: A man holds a DVD with sermons of Buddhist monks promoting the 969 movement at a DVD shop in the Kyimyindaing market in Yangon, Myanmar on April 4, 2013. Buddhist monk Wirathu says, “969 doesn’t accept terrorism.” But human rights groups have documented a pattern to the anti-Muslim violence of the past year. Human Rights Watch says that before the October violence in Rakhine, monks distributed anti-Muslim pamphlets with rhetoric similar to 969’s and political parties advocated ethnic cleansing. The Burma Campaign U.K. found anti-Muslim leaflets, without the 969 logo, that were circulated in Meikhtila before the March attacks, and some monks and journalists say 969 graffiti, stickers and speeches accompanied them.
Man gets head stuck in Hemel Hempstead traffic island bollard (video)
PERHAPS inspired by the man who got his head stuck in a bin in Aberdeen, a man in Hemel Hempstead got stuck in a street Bollard.
Previously: Andy Flintoff: