31 May 2014

Deluded and Deadly

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It's been a week of deadly attacks starting with another mass shooting in the US and ending with a so called honor killing and brutal gang rapes in India and beyond.

Disturbed Individuals


On Sunday, 25 May 2014 Elliot Rodger, son of Hunger games director Peter Rodger, went on a killing rampage which began with him stabbing to death 2 housemates and a visiting friend and continued onto the street where he shot and killed 3 people and injured 13 before turning the gun on himself. A manifest of his anger and delusions was sent to his parents blaming others for his actions.

A man has attacked 2 members of the Pop Group AKB48 and an assistant at a fan event in Northern Japan using a 20 inch saw blade.

Murderous Masses


A women was stoned to death in Pakistan in broad daylight outside a court with her husband claiming the police were present but did nothing to stop the attack. The stoning was carried out by the women's own family for marrying the man she loved with her father stating he didn't regret the attack.

30 people were killed in a church in the Central African Republic when gunmen attacked a sanctuary for both Muslims and Christians.

Two Indian sisters were raped and killed by attackers and had their bodies hung in a tree to be discovered by villagers the following day. Arrests have been made with 5 men in custody, 2 of whom are police officers.

23 May 2014

Celebrity Awards & Revelations

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Awards and celebrity revelations start this weeks Entertainment breakdown. From the musically talented to magical movie moments, Hollywood's been busy this week.

Hitting all the Notes


We start this week with the Billboard Music Awards which featured everyone from Ricky Martin had everyone moving to "Vida" and Katy Perry performing "Birthday" to One Republic rocking to "Counting Stars". There was even a performance by a Hologram of Michael Jackson. The awards were given out with Justin Timberlake taking multiple awards and Jennifer Lopez receiving the Icon Award.

Outside of award ceremonies Paul McCartney had to cancel his tour of Japan due to illness. Paul is expected to make a full recovery and back on his feet in days. Macklemore battled Anti-Semitism rumours after he dressed in a "Jewish" stereotype costume while Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley was hospitalized after years of alcohol abuse took it's toll on his liver and kidneys. Lastly Tony Braxton believes God gave her son Autism because she had an abortion years ago.

The Beautiful People


Sometimes things work out beautifully like when Will Ferrell and his double, Red Hot Chilli Peppers drummer, Chad Smith battled in a "Drum-off" on the The Tonight Show. We even had Brad Pitt and Matthew McConaughey acting very neighbourly while in New Orleans with Brad tossing a beer to Matthew from his balcony. And finally because some celebrities aren't full of themselves an Australian journalist managed to create a short video of various celebrities wishing his bride to be luck for the wedding.

But sometimes it's not all fun and games. After last weeks video footage of Solange attacking Jay Z in an elevator, Beyonce and her sister Solange made up with a smiling photo on Instagram, however, there was no love lost when Charlie Sheen had a mini melt down going on a rampage when Rhianna declined to meet Charlie and his fiancee.

Child Protective Services have started an investigation on Will Smith's 13-year-old daughter, Willow, after a photo of her and 20-year-old man lying in bed together appeared online. In a shocking revelation Pamela Anderson has revealed that she was molested at age 6 and raped at 12.


Big Screen News


Along with the usual screenings and parties at the Cannes Film Festival America Ferrera had an unfortunate incident when a prankster crawled under her dress and had to be pulled out by security.

Thanks to a massive opening weekend of $93 million the sequel to Godzilla has been given the green light. Director of The Hunger Games has confirmed that the movie will go on without Seymour Hoffman while a spin-off of Harry Potter will be directed by Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron.

And finally an Omen sequel is in the works with former The Walking Dead showrunner but won't have anything to do with the original sequel from 1978.

16 May 2014

Need to Know - #BringBackOurGirls

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On April 15 a group of Boko Haram members, a Nigerian Terrorist Group, kidnapped 273 school girls, aged 12 - 15, from a Government Girls Secondary School in northern Nigerian town of Chibok and marched them into the jungle and have not been seen since.

Kidnapping


Even though the abductions took place on April 15 it took weeks from the Nigerian government to respond. Instead a hash tag was created on Twitter alerting the international public to the abduction sparking immediate outrage.

During the initial abduction some girls managed to escape running for their lives. Those that escaped described the ordeal as "too terrifying for words," After the first abduction another 8 girls were kidnapped just hours after U.S. President Barack Obama had promised to send officials to assist in the search.

At one point the Boko Haram leader threatened to sell the girls as bride slaves saying 'I Kidnapped Your Girls, I Will Sell Them'. Later the leader of Boko Haram claimed the girls had been converted to Islam and demanded the release of prisoners. Boko Harem then tried to negotiate a swap, the kidnapped girls for prisoners, but was rejected by the Nigerian government.

Weeks after the abduction a video was released by Boko Haram of the girls praying and wearing full length hijabs. A mother of one of the kidnapped girls managed to identify her daughter in the video footage.

International Response


The initial reports brought waves of support from celebrities like Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson and more all the way up to First Lady Michelle Obama who pleaded for the return of the girls in her Mothers Day address. Various public protests have appeared including activists in Chicago who rallied calling for the return of the girls.

Pressure followed when U.S. President Barack Obama sent a team to search for the missing girls. Australia has since implemented bans on Boko Haram based on Australian terrorist laws.

A report by Amnesty International claims that the Nigerian army had 4 hours warning prior to the abduction but failed to act.


9 May 2014

Technology Breaking Records & Banks Breaking Rules

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This week saw Alibaba file it's long awaited IPO bringing China to the technology forefront. Along with that we have the usual banks behaving badly and technology start-ups shaking things up.

Technology Titans


Alibaba filled it's IPO with a $1 billion fundraising target with more to come later. Alibaba's IPO could be the largest technology IPO in history topping Facebook's debut and has been making ripples across Silicon Valley due to Alibaba's immense reach and scale.

Yahoo, which holds 24% of Alibaba, traded 1% higher after Alibaba's began trading. Yahoo managed to amend it's deal to keep more shares with the original deal requiring Yahoo to sell a specified amount of shares when the IPO was launched.

In other technology stock news Apple's shares topped $600 for the first time in 18 months. Apple is now also the second largest online retailer after Amazon.

Banks behaving badly, again


US Attorney General Eric Holder has warned that no bank is "above the law" amid investigations into tax evasion and money laundering. Credit Suisse Group AG is in talks with the US Justice Department to resolve a tax probe which could cost as much as $1.6 billion.

Banks are also being sued on allegations of fixing the gold price. The suits, filed by hedge funds, private citizens and public investors claim the banks used their position to rig the price of gold to the banks benefit.

Start-ups shaking things up


Airbnb has been under governments scrutiny lately with regulators questioning whether Airbnb hosts paid the relevant taxes and in some cases claim they may be violating New York housing laws.

Ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft have hit a snag with insurers insisting drivers pay commercial insurance to ensure passengers are protected.

Public Relations 101


When teenagers are the voice of reason you know you have to rethink your approach. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have removed a controversial ingredient from their products after a teenager started a petition online.

Target CEO has resigned after continued fallout from when hackers stole credit cards from 70 million accounts over 5 months ago.

3 May 2014

Who's in the news? Donald Sterling

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Billionaire Donald Sterling has made the news headlines after being secretly caught by his girlfriend complaining about black people.

Tapes Released


Tapes of a conversation between Donald Sterling and his girlfriend Vanessa Stiviano were released where Donald tells Miss Stiviano not to bring black people to his games including NBA legend Magic Johnson. He went on to say he doesn't want her to be seen in pictures with black people on Instagram. it has since been revealed that Donald has made other racist "missteps" in the past according to Miss Stiviano.

Outrage and Condemnation


Outrage soon followed with Magic Johnson blasting Donald Sterling and refusing to attend any more Clippers games and stating "Something has to be done". But that was just the beginning with condemnation coming from all corners with Kevin Hart, Rhianna, Snoop Dogg, LeBron James and more speaking out.

Clippers players staged a protest and hoped to make an even "stronger statement". Kareem Abdul-Jabbar weighed in on the Donald Sterling scandal referring to Sterling as a "villain".

Not only was backlash swift from celebrities and players alike but even Donald's own wife Rochelle Sterling has told reporters that the "family is devastated by the racist comments made by my estranged husband."


Repercussions


Donald's comments not only cost him his reputation but big sponsors too who pulled out with Sprint, Samsung and 12 other sponsors dumping the L.A. Clippers.

With calls for action from celebrities and the NAACP the NBA was forced to step in with NBA commissioner Adam Silver banning Donald Sterling for life from both Clippers games and the NBA as a whole. Donald Sterling was also fined $2.5 million. The banning was met with resounding agreement from all corners. After the ruling Samsung resumed adverting with the L.A. Clippers. Boycotts by players were also avoided thanks to the decision.

Not only was Donald Sterling banned but steps were taken to have him forcibly sell the L.A. Clippers which requires the other owners to back the NBA. However this will most likely result in a massive legal battle with other owners questioning if the forced sale was a good idea. With the future of the L.A. Clippers up in the air there has been talks of future owners including Oprah Winfrey and more. With the L.A. Clippers up for sale it's reported Donald Sterling could make as much as $780 million if forced to sell.

The repercussions over the debacle have had wider reaching consequences with NAACP chapter head resigning after he had decided to award Donald Sterling for promoting Civil Rights.

Since the ban Miss Stiviano claims Donald is confused and traumatized. It has also been revealed that Donald Sterling has been battling cancer.

1 May 2014

Who's in the news? Rob Ford (Follow Up)

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It looks like reality has finally set in with Rob Ford heading to rehab after new video and audio appear to show Toronto Major Rob Ford smoking crack bringing his very public battle with addiction front and center once again.

Another video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack is making the rounds less than a year after the first video threatened to end his political career.

With the new video out Rob Ford has stated he will be entering rehab saying "I know I am going to die."

Along with the new video are new audio recordings of Rob Ford making vulgar statements about Toronto city councillor Karen Stintz.