Azealia Banks launches Twitter tirade against the Stone Roses and Rita Ora

A weekend’s work … Azealia Banks turns touring festival in Australia into a mobile beef-manufacturing platform. Photograph: Duncan Bryceland/Rex Features

Azealia Banks is quickly becoming better-known for her beefs than for her raps: after picking fights with Angel Haze, Baauer and even gay advocacy groups, the 21-year-old has now decided to target Britain, picking fights with the Stone Roses and Rita Ora.

Banks and the Roses’ Ian Brown almost came to blows at Sydney’s Randwick racecourse, where both were performing at the Future Music festival. During Banks’s set, crew-members reportedly began soundchecking for the Roses, who were headlining, disrupting the rapper’s songs.

Banks claims her former tour manager – whom she had sacked – “made a pact with the stone roses [to] sabotage my set because I fired him”.

“Wow! I must really fucking be a superstar,” Banks tweeted after the gig. “You’ve got an established band trying to sabotage my lil rap bitch shine … A bunch of old white men trying to bully a young black girl … Fuck those old saggy white niggas stone roses. I wish them nothing but excrement and death.”

Websites began reposting these comments almost as soon as Banks had made them. But before the night was through, the Harlem rapper had another altercation with Madchester’s finest: as Banks was preparing to perform Firestarter with the Prodigy, she glimpsed Ian Brown backstage. “He charged at me,” she wrote on Twitter. “We LEGIT almost got into a fist fight. I’m more rock and roll than he is. I would’ve won. It was a pretty classic moment though. Legendary if you ask me. I was a little turned on. Just a little. Not a lot.”

While the Stone Roses have yet to comment on any of Banks’s allegations, she eventually declared that they had “apologised”. Thereafter, several of her more prurient tweets were removed.

Rita Ora, who was also appearing at the touring festival, then became a Twitter target after apparently taking photos of Banks’s dancers in the dressing room. “She’s been TRYING IT on this tour man. Ever since I arrived on this tour Rita’s been going out of her way to try and intimidate me,” Banks tweeted. “Taking all these candids of me when I wasn’t looking, then posting and deleting them like a weak bitch.” The rapper also branded Ora “Rihanna’s understudy”.

Banks also tweeted what appeared to be a text message to her from Ora, which read: “At the end of the day I don’t know who the fuk u think you are secondly u dont know me I’ve done nothin but try be nice to u 3rdly ur dancers were talkin to me further more ill see ur ass at the motherfuckin concert.”

Banks concluded her consideration of the weekend with a tweet published at 10.39am GMT on Monday: “This weekend was CRAZYYYY … Almost had a fist fight with Ian Brown, then hopped on stage with the Prodigy 15 minutes later.”

Still mostly famous for just one song, the 2011 single 212, Banks has been slowly finishing her debut LP, Broke With Expensive Taste. While she inches toward that release, the rapper has found lots of time to argue with people on Twitter, taking aim at artists including Shystie, Kreayshawn, Iggy Azalea, Nicki Minaj and many, many (many) more.

In January, her row with blogger Perez Hilton drew the ire of Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which called out her use of the word “faggot”. Although she apologised, she has continued to use the word. “Homosexuals, and the homosexual community, have bigger problems than the word ‘faggot,'” she wrote last month. “I don’t have time for this shit.”

Marvel releasing 700 comics free digitally

In comics, the first issue is where the story starts and the legend begins.

For readers, a print copy of issue one can be hard to find and expensive to buy. But those rules don’t apply to tablets, laptops and smartphones both for comics fans and those curious about characters they may have seen in film or on television.

Part of that fascination with superheroes and their growing cachet in popular culture is why Marvel Entertainment, home to the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and the Avengers, among others, is making more than 700 first issues available to digital readers starting today for free through the Marvel app and the company’s website.

After Wednesday, they’ll be sold for US$1.99 to US$3.99 per issue.

The titles go from the 1960s Silver Age to contemporary issues with characters including Wasp, Mr Fantastic, Power Man and Iron Fist, said David Gabriel, senior vice president of sales.

“This is aimed at attracting fans from all walks of life – those who know our characters from the big screen, those who were readers but fell out of the habit and our long-term fans too,” he said.

“We believe that if we get those fans in the door, they’ll stay and help grow this industry, with purchases both in comic stores and via digital comic outlets.”

The publisher went through its catalogue of more than 13,000 titles that are already available digitally and plucked out the No. 1 issues with historic ones like Amazing Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko or the Fantastic Four by Lee and Jack Kirby as well as modern titles like Civil War, Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men and characters and teams like the Uncanny Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, too.

“We never want fans to feel like they need to have read it all. Of course we want them to want to check out those stories, but the beauty of these No. 1 issues is that each is an entry point,” he said.

“So with a character like Iron Man, you can choose if you want to start with the recent Iron Man series from Kieron Gillen or go back a few years to when Matt Fraction launched ‘Invincible Iron Man’ or even before that.”

Eftpos prank unnoticed for weeks

Straying slightly from your regular “accepted” and “declined”, some Eftpos machines have been delivering an odd message.

Payment terminals started showing the internet meme phrase “Herp-Derp Eftpos” after a developer’s test update was accidentally distributed, reported ITnews.com.au.

Usually, the terminals list the name of the business or payments provider on the home screen.

IT News said the machines had displayed their new messages for several weeks, but New Zealand retailers were not concerned.

“When I saw the screen I laughed and drew the attention of the cashier to it,” one customer told IT News, who noticed the message at a cafe in Rotorua.

“She looked at it and said “oh yeah” in a casual manner that implied to me she didn’t think it unusual.”

Another shopper in Takapuna saw the new message.

“The cashier asked why I was laughing and said “Oh, is it still saying that weird thing?” She had no idea what it was. I told her it was just a geek joke and that it was probably their IT guy playing a prank,” the customer said.

Direct Payments Solutions, the technology supplier, told IT News a test message had been pushed to some terminals, but could not say when they went through.

Payment Express is used by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Diners.

The phrase Derp is usually associated with stupidity and is believed to have been coined by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, according to the website Knowyourmeme, and is normally accompanied by an amusing picture of a celebrity or other simple cartoon figure.

One buyer tweeted a picture of the screen, saying ” This just happened to me. Herp-Derp Eftpos. Respect, Mr Eftpos installation man.”

Timberlake mocks Chavez

Saturday Night Live didn’t lose any time to mock Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez who died last week.

Imitating Elton John, Justin Timberlake performed a very special version of the British singer’s Candle in the Wind as a tribute to Chavez.

“I have to confess I didn’t know Hugo Chavez very well,” Timberlake began, “but as the saying goes, ‘Hey, a gig is a gig!’ I did a bit of research, and it turns out President Chavez was quite a complex man.

“So, here it goes. Everything in this song is true.”

Timberlake then launched into a song going through a raft of the late leader’s infamous quotes.

“And it seems to me like you lived your life like a candle in the wind, if a candle could pull out two pistols at a press conference,” Timberlake sang.

Another hilarious line from the song was “You said the US causes earthquakes and you outlawed Coke Zero.

“And on your shoulder sat your parrot with a matching red beret.”

The singer also quipped that Chavez helped make Venezuela the kidnapping capital of the world, but added on positive note, Chavez “increased milk production by almost 50 percent”.

The episode featured also Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd and Andy Samberg.

But watch for yourself…

Source: stuff.co.nz

Youth boost for gay marriage

Youth wings of the major political parties have joined together in support of gay marriage – almost.

In a joint press conference outside Parliament today the youth wings of National, Labour, ACT, Mana, Maori, Greens, United Future and NZ First signed a banner in support of the bill which is expected to have its second reading on Wednesday.

Campaign for Marriage Equality spokesman Conrad Reyners said the united front from the youth political wings sent a clear message.

“It’s pretty clear the youth of New Zealand support fairness, they support love,” Reyners said.

Representatives for each party expressed their support for gay marriage, saying it was about equality and unity.

However, NZ First’s Curwen Rolinson said while he personally supported the move, his party’s policy was to call for a referendum.

“We support the principle of a referendum and we are very sad that this bill doesn’t presently do that,”  Rolinson said.

The two views were not contradictory, he said.

A majority within the party’s youth wing supported “a yes vote in a referendum”.

All six NZ First MPs voted against the first reading, saying a referendum should decide.

“We can’t ask our MPs to vote for something which doesn’t include a referendum, that is simply our principles,” Rolinson said.

Labour MP Louisa Wall’s members bill to legalise same-sex marriage is a conscience vote meaning MPs can make up their own minds about whether to support it. It passed its first reading in Parliament with 80 votes to 40.

Young Nats spokesman Shaun Wallis said his group had a bigger job to convince its MPs because there were more of them and about half were opposed.

“We’ve continued to talk to MPs, to put forward our reasons,” Topham said.

That was the beauty of a conscience vote, he said.

“I’m looking for a house,” reveals the R.I.P hitmaker…

It looks like Rita Ora is feeling the Aussie love, with the star reportedly revealing that she’s looking to get herself a pad of her own Down Under!

The ‘R.I.P’ singer has been touring the country as part of Future Music Festival for the past couple of weeks, and while she was struck down with a throat infection causing her to cancel the Perth leg of her tour, she admits that she’s still been having a blast!

According to The Sun, the singer dished, “I love playing any festival outside London.

“You get away with a lot of stuff. You can take your top off – and over here, no one cares.”

“I’m always saying to my label, ‘Please find me a reason to go to Australia.’ I love everything – the men, the women, the bars.”

And what’s more, it seems that the blonde bombshell could potentially be looking to make herself a more frequent visitor to our sunny shores.

“I’m looking for a house,” she revealed.

“I love the beach. Pink, Mark Ronson and Lily Allen told me it was amazing over here.”

Written by Lucy Slight

Source: mtv.com

Ed Sheeran gets inked in New Zealand

Ed Sheeran has celebrated touring New Zealand with some fresh new ink – with his record label even flying a tattoo artist from Hamilton to Wellington to give him what he has called his ‘first tattoo with real meaning.’

According to Stuff.co.nz, tattooist Russell Wilson was flown to the nation’s capital city to adorn the singer’s shoulder in a traditional Maori ta moko – which he says took roughly an hour to complete.

“Initially he just wanted a normal tattoo but then thought, because he was in New Zealand, that he would get something more significant to here, and to our culture, so he opted for a ta moko,” revealed Wilson.

“He wanted a design that represented family and love, and the love he has for his family. Being a superstar and a musical artist, he was always travelling and away from home, so I incorporated that into it as well.”

Being an old hat at the tattoo game, it comes as no surprise that Wilson said the ‘A-Team’ singer sat well through the session, describing him as a “down to earth guy.”

“He’s probably an artist that your assumption would be, because he shot to fame so fast, that he would be a bit disconnected from others, but he wasn’t he was really genuine and quite humorous,” he explained.

“He even mentioned that it was kind of his first tattoo that actually had real meaning. It’s just an honour…and to share our culture with someone like that, that will be displaying it to the world in a positive way.”

Written by Lucy Slight

Source: mtv.com

Boyfriend questioned over shooting death in Brisbane, Australia

A young woman is dead after being shot in the head at her Rochedale South home.

Rapper Lil Boosie receives his GED

Lil Boosie recently graduated from his Angola State Prison GED program. He’s currently serving an 8 year sentence for some drug charges but may be paroled in 2014.

For longtime yoga instructor, 90, only her age isn’t a stretch

Fran Miller was in her 50s when she became a yoga teacher.

That was four decades ago.

Miller, who turns 91 this week, is still at it — teaching three classes a week in the San Fernando Valley for the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks.

She is so lithe and energetic that her students say they hardly notice her age. “I didn’t even know she was that old,” said Maureen Hanrahan. For much of the 10 years she’s been taking Miller’s classes, Hanrahan thought the instructor was in her 70s, she said.

Miller moved from her native New York to the Los Angeles area in 1941 and eventually settled in Valley Village. Her husband passed away when she was 40, and the onetime secretary was left to raise her daughters: Robin Cosio, 64, and Wendy Nordstrom, 60.

She first tried yoga after spotting a newspaper ad for a class taught by a rabbi at the Van Nuys YMCA.

Yoga had always fascinated Miller. But it seemed “so far out,” she said.

A rabbi teacher was a different story, however. “How could I pass this up?” Miller recalled thinking. She is Jewish, and the class was close by, she said. She enrolled “and took to it like a duck to water.”

The rabbi asked Miller to be one of his demonstrators in exchange for free classes. She agreed, and soon he asked her to fill in teaching his classes when he was away.

The first time the anxious Miller arrived to teach, she was armed with a list of notes. She didn’t need them. She kept teaching, and when the rabbi announced he was retiring, he gave his position to Miller. Offers to lead private sessions followed, including a full-time summer job at the Highland Springs Resort in Cherry Valley, Calif.

“It just grew and grew,” Miller said.

Years passed, and she just kept going. Her age is not something she dwells on. “To me, it’s just a number,” she said.

Though experts say Miller’s staying power is rare, the prospect of “more and more 80- and 90-year-old participants” in yoga is likely as people live longer and the popularity of yoga grows, said George Salem, associate professor at USC’s Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, who has researched yoga and older practitioners.

The 5-foot-31/2 Miller, who weighs around 120 pounds, credits her overall well-being to yoga, along with weekly walks and a diet that includes nuts and yogurt and a mandatory cup of hot water with lemon each morning.

“It’s not only stretching,” Miller said. “It’s your mind, your body, your breathing. It gives you more awareness.”

Her classes at Balboa Sports Center and Studio City Recreation Center have built a faithful following. Students’ ages range from 12 to the 70s.

It took Charo Martinez months to persuade her husband, Rick Benzel, to accompany her to Miller’s yoga sessions.

“I’m not going to take yoga,” the 61-year-old writer and publishing consultant told her. “And what, the teacher is 90 years old? How can a 90-year-old be teaching yoga?”

Martinez coaxed her husband “just go watch her, just once.”

That’s all it took, Benzel recalled. “I fell in love with it and with Fran on Day One.” That was a year ago. Today, Benzel is a regular at Miller’s sessions, which he says have helped improve his balance and flexibility.

Hanrahan, 61, the veteran student, said she feels “more comfortable” with Miller as an instructor than, say, a 20-year-old.

At a recent session, Miller, dressed in black leggings and a blue-and-black-striped top, ambled between the 20 or so participants as they lay on mats preparing to commence with 90 minutes of Hatha yoga, which focuses on balancing mind and body.

“As you quiet your body, you quiet your mind,” Miller told the group as they lay in a restorative pose. Later she guided them through a salutation to the sun.

“Stand at the front of your mat … feet apart … inhale reaching upward,” Miller commanded.

Bending forward, she pushed her chest to her thighs and her hands to the floor. With hands at either side of her right foot, she lunged her left leg behind her while lifting her shoulders and lengthening her spine. She stepped her right leg back so her feet were side by side. Head down, arms extended, body straight, she held the pose for several seconds.

ann.simmons@latimes.com

India gang-rape suspect dies in apparent suicide

NEW DELHI — The alleged leader of a gang that brutally raped a woman in India three months ago, setting off massive protests, soul-searching and reforms, committed suicide in his cell early Monday by using fabric to fashion a noose, according to officials and local news media.

Ram Singh was one of five adults and a juvenile charged with picking up a 23-year-old physiotherapy student and her male friend in a commuter bus in mid-December. Singh was the driver and “mastermind,” police said.

After allegedly beating the young couple with metal rods and raping the woman in the moving bus, they reportedly dumped them naked along the road. She died two weeks later of internal injuries at a Singapore hospital. In a futile effort to save her life, surgeons removed most of her intestines when gangrene set in.

The assault sparked clashes between demonstrators and police amid calls to hire more female police officers, establish fast-track courts for sexual assault and increase gender sensitivity training in schools and government offices. A package of laws was introduced in February that includes the death penalty for extreme rape cases.

Singh’s lawyer, V.K. Anand, told local television networks Monday that his client was satisfied with the legal proceedings and had no reason to kill himself. “I doubt if this is a case of suicide,” Anand told the CNN-IBN television network.

The trial of the five adults began in February in a fast-track court. Otherwise, trials can take a decade in India’s creaky judicial system. If convicted, they could face the death penalty. The juvenile, who according to some police reports was the most violent attacker, faces a maximum of three years in detention, fueling calls for tougher sentences against minors.

“He knew he would be given death penalty, so he hanged himself,” the victim’s brother, whose name wasn’t revealed, told CNN-IBN off-camera on Monday. “We wanted him and others to be publicly hanged. He should have been punished.”

Media reports said Singh was in a cell with two others at the time and used part of a mat to hang himself. His body was taken to New Delhi’s Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where a postmortem was to be performed. Jail officials said Singh had been on suicide watch, and they would investigate how his death happened. Local news media, citing unidentified officials, said it took place around 5 a.m.

Singh’s neighbors in the south Delhi slum of R.K. Puram, where he and several other gang members lived, described him as a heavy drinker with a temper. One woman related to him by marriage said he beat up her husband.

Mother’s tears of relief after son dragged from surf

Julian Mantoan, from Germany, was the first to head into the water after realising something was wrong. Photo / Duncan Brown

An anxious mother cried tears of gratitude and relief after her 12-year-old son was dragged from the surf in a dramatic rescue at Napier’s Marine Parade yesterday.

Joshua McQuoid’s splash in the surf with a friend sparked a lifesaving rescue led by a tourist about 5pm – and left rescuers, who formed a chain to get him out of the big waves, tired but grateful for the outcome.

Joshua’s mother, Kathleen Kuru, arrived at the scene and she tears of happiness after being taken to the St John Ambulance where her son was being tended to before he was transported to Hawke’s Bay Hospital.

“He is okay, he’s going to be okay – that’s the most important thing,” she said, after hugging Joshua and saying there were so many people to catch up with and thank.

The drama unfolded just south of Sk8Zone and several people on the beach watched in disbelief as the boy and one of his mates were dragged into the heavy surf after splashing about on the edge of the waterline.

His mate got to shore but he was swept out.

Julian Mantoan from Germany was the first to head into the water after realising something was wrong.

“I saw this guy in the water and all his friends were shouting out – they were too young to help.”

Mr Mantoan, who has spent the last month-and-a-half living and working in Napier as part of his OE, swam out to Joshua and said the youngster, while losing strength, managed to grab hold of him.

“He was not too good and he held on to me. We got near the beach but then the waves came.”

As he was supporting Joshua the first police units were quickly on the scene and officers ditched their boots and vests and dashed into the water to help the pair in.

As did Fire and Rescue officer Mike Bond who had been at the Napier police station at the time he heard the distress calls come in.

“I had the defibrillator in the van and just got straight up there,” he said.

With police and other members of the public who saw what was happening, he formed a strong human chain which latched on to Mr Mantoan and the tiring Joshua.

“We got him ashore – he hadn’t taken in too much water – he’s a lucky boy,” Mr Bond said.

Police praised the rescuers’ “heroism” as Joshua was brought to shore “unresponsive and physically spent”.

After being comforted by people on the beach Joshua was able to get up and walk to the waiting ambulance.

Mr Mantoan said he had no hesitation in taking on the big surf.

“You don’t think about that – hey, it’s someone in trouble.”

One person at the scene said there were people wandering the foreshore but none were venturing near the waterline after heavy swells rolled in through the day.

He said the boys were just “splashing about” and playing at the water’s edge and got caught out by a wave.

Joshua was discharged from hospital last night.

– APNZ

Exclusive: Havana Brown shows how she works her ‘Big Banana’

Aussie singer and DJ Havana Brown takes us behind the scenes of her cheeky new dance hit, ‘Big Banana’! Watch Havana get kinky with … a big banana! Yum.

The video above also shows off Havana’s smokin’ hot body as the cast and crew get into the luxurious mansion lifestyle. Come get a peek behind the curtain (and glimpse Havana’s sexiest outfits in the process).

Havana Brown (not to be confused with the short-haired domestic cat breed) shot to the top of the charts in 2011 with her smash, ‘We Run The Night’.

Now the Melbournite is embracing global fame after a successful Australian leg of Pitbull‘s on the 2012 Planet Pit World Tour.

She’s also had 2 million sales worldwide and a number-one hit on Billboard Club Charts. What’s next for Havana? You’d better keep your eyes “peeled”! Boom-tish.

Check out Havana live on her Australian tour dates below:

March 8 | Love Nightclub Gold Coast

March 9 Eve Nightclub Melbourne

March 9 | Love Machine Melbourne

March 10| Breath of Life Music Festival Launceston

March 10 | GoodLife U18’s Music Festival Sydney

Source: http://music.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogentryid=1098234&showcomments=true

Police slam boy racers after crash puts woman in coma in New Zealand

A Hawke’s Bay woman has been left in a coma after a car travelling in a boy racer “chain” crashed on Saturday morning.

The 21-year-old woman is in a critical condition after the car she was a passenger in lost control on a bend and crashed into a power pole on Te Mata-Mangateretere Rd.

The crash happened on the outskirts of Havelock North at about 1.50am on Sunday.

There were four other people in the car, being driven by her 22-year-old brother.

The car was travelling as part of a boy racer “chain”, and was trying to pass another car when it crashed, police said.

Speed was a “major factor” and it appeared that only the driver was wearing a seatbelt.

The injured woman is in a coma Hawke’s Bay Hospital’s intensive care unit while one of the other passengers suffered moderate injuries.

Two other passengers and the driver received minor injuries.

 

The accident is the second boy racer crash in Hawkes Bay in the last two weeks.

Maree Shafer, 18, died on February 19 when the car she was in crashed on Sandy Rd in Meeanee during a high-speed race between boy racers.

Police have criticised boy racers, who meet up in Napier every Friday night and form “trains” or “chains” of up to 50 cars, which often race each other.

Sergeant Clint Adamson said the boy racers were putting their lives, and the lives of others, at risk.

“It’s time for these so-called car enthusiasts to take a long hard look at themselves and their driving behaviour. They are making extremely poor driving decisions that have a huge impact on everyone in their vehicle and on the roads.

“They need to take responsibility for their actions and realise that their version of having a good time is killing people,” Mr Adamson said.

Police are also concerned about the attitude towards wearing seatbelts.

“If you’re not wearing a seatbelt, you put your life at risk, especially in these types of situations. It’s a real concern that these young people are willing to risk their lives for a bit of fun and excitement.”

Mr Adamson said it was time boy racers took responsibility for their actions.

“This is the second serious crash involving boy racers in two weeks. One person is dead and another is fighting for her life. How many more people have to die for them to get the message?”

– nzherald.co.nz

Taylor Swift made more than Anne Hathaway & Brad Pitt combined last year

She may spend a lot of ca$h buying houses suspiciously close to her boyfriends, but it’s not hurting her bank account.

Taylor Swift reportedly made more money last year than Anne Hathaway and Brad Pitt combined!

The singer raked in $57 million, while Anne only got $10 million, despite being in two of the year’s biggest flicks.

Brad made $35.5 million, but we have a feeling he’s already pretty flush and not too concerned with making the most.

Still, it’s pretty impressive for the young starlet to beat out both of these superstars.

Source: perezhilton.com

Trinidad James has got him a blonde, takes her home with him after the club

The new superstar was spotted partying it up at The Mansion Elan nightclub in ATL over the weekend, but he wasn’t rolling solo. Trinidad had no shame about getting his swirl on for the cameras with this mystery blonde and her friends while bottle popping in VIP. The two were even spotted leaving the venue together after all was said and done.

Uprooted by Tsunami, church’s flock regroups

IWAKI, Japan — After the rumbling and the devastating waves had ceased, the members of a little church a stone’s throw away from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant discovered that a new set of troubles was just beginning.

For two years since an earthquake set off a tsunami that caused the disaster at the nuclear plant, the church’s 150 parishioners have had little respite, first fleeing radiation from the plant, then seeking a more permanent place to reassemble as prospects dimmed for a return home.

Many dislocated communities in Japan have been grappling with recovery efforts, and the uprooted draw strength and resilience from a variety of sources. But small victories nourish hopes and fortify flagging spirits on the road back to normality.

On Sunday, the Fukushima First Baptist Church took such a step with its first service in a new chapel it built from supporters’ donations in Iwaki, a wind-swept city about 30 miles south of the plant. Some elderly parishioners did not make it, though. And others remain scattered across Japan, unwilling to return because of their children or their jobs, or because they still need the support of distant relatives.

“There were times when we felt like we lost everything that we hold dear, and we asked: ‘God, why?’ ” Masashi Saito, the church’s junior pastor, said Sunday as about 50 members bowed their heads in prayer.

Two years since the destruction along Japan’s northeast coast, some communities in Fukushima are just starting to come to terms with a sobering realization: their old homes are probably lost forever, and they must start anew elsewhere.

In the wider Fukushima region, much of life is back to normal. But the return of former residents to the most heavily contaminated areas around the plant is likely to take decades, the government has acknowledged, as will the decommissioning of the ravaged plant itself.

In once-emptied areas where evacuations orders have now been lifted, re-population has been uneven. Cities, towns and even families remain divided between those who choose to return, and those who stay away. Over the past two years, Fukushima’s population has fallen by more than 60,000, according to local censuses, though the pace of the population decline has now slowed.

The Baptist church, in Okuma, its original location in Fukushima Prefecture, is also still missing many of its members. But the opening of its new chapel this month, at least, ends a two-year journey that members say tested the faith of even the most faithful.

Founded by American missionaries who arrived in Japan from Minnesota in the early years after World War II, the church predates the nuclear plants that transformed a poor village on Fukushima’s hardscrabble coast into one of the region’s most prosperous towns.

The church grew swiftly, parishioners say, and swifter still after the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, started work on the Daiichi plant, drawing young workers to the area. The congregation of 150 was a sizable number in a country dominated by Buddhist and native Shinto traditions. The Christian presence is tiny; just under 3 million in a country of 127 million, according to government estimates, or about 2.3 percent of the population. With dwindling congregations in Japan, many churches struggle to survive.

Keiji Nakada, now 60, was a worker who traveled from Tochigi to help Tepco build the plant. He joined the church at 20, married there and settled in Okuma. He and his wife had four children, and he became active in the Sunday school.

Mr. Nakada’s wife died years ago, and then less than a year after he retired from Tepco, the magnitude 9 quake jolted his home.

Early the next morning, all residents of Okuma were ordered to evacuate. He said he left home thinking he would be back in a matter of hours, but he has not returned since, except on short day trips to retrieve a few of his belongings.

“I had no words,” Mr. Nakada said. “I’d lost the plant I helped to build, the church I belonged to and my home.”

That same morning, Tomoko Sasaki, now 92, waited six hours in the cold for Japan’s Self-Defense Force to bus her out of Okuma to a nearby gymnasium. She had taken refuge in the church overnight, and for three chaotic weeks she traveled with about 60 parish members, including Mr. Nakada, to two other evacuation sites before a camp site west of Tokyo offered to take them all in.

Ms. Sasaki, who entered an elder care center in Tokyo this year, said she would not have survived the evacuation on her own.

When she was baptized 65 years ago — she was the Fukushima church’s first convert — she got funny looks from neighbors. Only a few years earlier, she said, she had pledged allegiance to the emperor as Japan’s deity. “There are still so few Christians in Japan, but I suppose that also means we look out for each other,” Ms. Sasaki said by telephone from Tokyo.

But morale often ran low. In May 2011, relief workers pulled the body of a missing parishioner from the mangled debris that still lined the coast. Two more elderly church members died in hospitals. The 60 evacuees from the church, now in west Tokyo, held three funerals in two weeks.

Still, the church also gained new members: a family of seven who decided to evacuate along with the church asked to be baptized the same month.

A year later, in June 2012, Mr. Nakada married a fellow church member, Keiko Mizoguchi, 51, whose husband had died a month after the disaster. Mr. Nakada and Ms. Mizoguchi, who both stayed in Fukushima, had been driving down every month to visit the temporary church in west Tokyo.

“It’s easy to lose your way in Japan,” said Mr. Saito, the pastor. “The disaster, in fact, has made us all stronger.”

Chairman of Sony announces retirement

 

TOKYO (AP) — Howard Stringer, who fought to bring a divided and struggling Sony Corporation together as the company’s first foreign president, is retiring as chairman in June.

He announced his departure on Friday in New York during a speech at the Japan Society, and Sony, in Tokyo, confirmed the news on Sunday. He will step down at an annual general shareholders meeting.

Mr. Stringer, a Welsh-born American and 15-year employee at Sony, became president and chief executive in 2005, when the once glorious maker of the Walkman music player was starting to get overwhelmed by the flashier Apple and the nimbler Samsung Electronics.

The company, which makes the PlayStation 3 game console as well as “Spider-Man” movies, is still struggling. It has lost money for the last four years and recorded the biggest loss in its 67-year history for the fiscal year ending in March 2012.

Mr. Stringer said he was ready to retire after turning over the helm last year to Kazuo Hirai. Mr. Stringer groomed Mr. Hirai, longtime head of Sony’s video-game unit, who led its relative success as a brand in the American market, to be his successor as chief and president.

“I was pleased to hand the reins to Kazuo Hirai last year because I saw in him the right mix of skills to lead Sony, and I knew it was the right time to bring about generational change,” Mr. Stringer said in the speech. “Over the course of the past year, he has come into his own and is leading Sony with vision and authority.”

Mr. Stringer said he would remain busy with charity work in education and medicine, and would continue as chairman of the American Film Institute.

Before joining Sony in 1997, Mr. Stringer had a 30-year career as a journalist, producer and executive at CBS. His main role was considered to be developing strategic links between the entertainment and electronics business, a plan Sony has pursued for years but is still not fully realized.

Sony has recently introduced smartphones and other products to good reviews. But it is still losing money in its core television-manufacturing unit.

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Rihanna yelled at by mother for racy Instagram photos

Rihanna may be 25 years old, but her mother, Monica, isn’t afraid to lecture the singer about her behavior.

According to Omg!, Rihanna shared with Elle UK what happened when her mom came across some rather racy Instagram photos.

“I’m not afraid of any person in this world but my mother, I’m terrified of her!” the singer said. “She called me two days ago and reeled me in about two naked pictures [my friend] Melissa put up on Instagram, a sneak peek from a photo book she’s making about me.”

Rihanna admitted that her mother’s comments left her feeling a bit humiliated.

“She went crazy on me, I was like, embarrassed,” she continued. “I felt like I got my a– whipped in front of my class at school! She humbled the f–k out of me.”

Earlier in the week, the star shared a photo on her Instagram account that showcased her naked butt, according to Gossip Cop .

Rihanna dons the cover of Elle UK’s April special subscriber.
image credit: Elle UK

When it comes to getting news on Twitter, you are who you follow?

Summary:

Is picking Twitter accounts to follow the same as picking which cable television host to trust? Journalists who’ve reported from the Middle East and relied on Twitter to receive their news say maybe.

As Nate Silver discussed earlier today at SXSW in Austin on Sunday, the polarization of cable news and politics means that if you’re a serious Rachel Maddow fan, there’s only a tiny chance that you also vote Republican, and the same is true of Sean Hannity listeners and chances they’ll go for Democrats.

But as we change where we get our news and turn to places like Twitter for information and verification of facts, it’s important to ask how that polarization will translate to social media – if it will at all. Several journalists discussing the future of news dissemination (something we’ll also be discussing at paidContent Live in April) tied these issues to those of crowdsourced news, particularly in the Middle East, when the tensions between accuracy and access are most apparent.

NBC correspondant Ayman Mohyeldin made an interesting argument about verification, arguing that people should be free to select the accounts they want to follow and personally decide whether to trust that information or not, just as they tune into particular cable shows in the United States and apply their own sense of skepticism to Maddow and Hannity.

“You ultimately choose which channels to watch,” he said. “There’s no reason that should be different in who you follow.”

The argument puts a good deal of trust in the user’s judgement and takes some pressure off journalists or random people on Twitter to present accurate information, but it’s an idea that fellow panelist Andy Carvin has popularized to much controversy recently. The idea came under fire during the spread of misinformation on Twitter during Hurricane Sandy, and certainly has its detractors:

But it’s a good reminder that even if we think of cable news as being particularly polarizing right now, news consumption and opinions on Twitter might not be all that different.

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DeAndre Jordan Monster Alley Oop Over Brandon Knight

Can’t wait? Here’s how to get Facebook’s new News Feed

 

FACEBOOK began rolling out its beautiful new News Feed over the weekend, but unfortunately not everyone has access to it.

Fear not, thebronzaiishow.com is here to ease your early adopting pain.

If you want to test out Facebook’s new look for yourself, simply head over to the sign up page and click “try the new look”.

You’re welcome.

Why you should stop using social media

 

WE’RE so busy using Twitter and Facebook that we’re forgetting to live our lives, according to a mobile phone sim company.

That is the rather surprising message from a mobile phone sim card company that says Australians are missing out on “the moment” because they’re so busy constantly sharing pictures and videos online.

At a restaurant? Point, click, share that roast chicken, baby!

Wedding? Oooh, Instagram the bride.

New baby? Facebook that cutie.

That’s what most of us do according to sim card provider Amaysim, which says we need to stop social networking every now and then – and just enjoy life as it happens.

The company surveyed 1000 people about their social media habits and found 56 per cent had forgotten how to “live in the now” because they’re always Facebooking, Instagramming or tweeting.

The answer? Well, rather incongruously for a company that makes money out of mobile data, it says we need to turn off our phones and tablets entirely.

“While Amaysim is in the business of keeping people in touch, we also reckon you sometimes need to turn off and enjoy life as it happens,” its social media manager Ged Mansour said.

Amaysim’s survey also found that one in three Australians thought mates shared too many pictures and videos online and the culprits should be de-friended or unfollowed.

But 38 per cent of all respondents thought that sharing plenty of videos and pictures online was fine.

Australia’s love affair with social networking is being driven in a big way by mobile devices.

Figures released by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) late last year showed that smartphone ownership increased by 104 per cent in 2012.

More than half of the nation’s adult population now own a smartphone.

There are about 11.36 million Facebook users in Australia and 9.67 million YouTube users, according to the ACMA figures.

Woman shot in the head in Brisbane, Australia

Police have found multiple weapons in the home where a 26-year-old woman was shot in the head last night.

Officers were called to the Rochedale South townhouse in Logan about 8.30pm where they found the woman barely alive with a gunshot wound to the head.

She was rushed to Princess Alexandra Hospital, but died while being treated.

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Superintendent David Hutchinson said police have since found multiple weapons in the house but would not specify the figure.

‘‘We have found a number of weapons at the house and those weapons will be tested to determine which was the weapon used,’’ he said.

‘‘A couple of firearms have been located, one of them is a shotgun.’’

Superintendent Hutchinson would not say whether the guns were legal or not and could not say how many people were in the house at the time of the shooting.

The woman’s 29-year-old flatmate is helping police with their inquiries and officers are doorknocking neighbours in the complex.

Superintendent Hutchinson said a number of neighbours had heard the gunshot but did not want to go into the specific details of what different people had told police.

‘‘We can’t speculate on the motive for why this occurred or how it occurred,” he said.

“All we know at this stage is the lady has received significant wounds to the head and she’s died as a result of those wounds.”

Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the killing or knows anything about it to come forward.

Superintendent Hutchinson said the victim’s family had been told of her death but police were wanting to talk to anyone associated with the woman.

‘‘Anyone who knows the victim, knows the victim’s movements, her associations and her relationships,’’ he said.

‘‘We would like them to come forward.’’

The Homicide Investigation Group and local detectives are investigating and an investigation centre has been established at Logan Central Police Station. 

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au

 

Cop gashed in brawl at party in Auckland New Zealand

A police officer was badly cut in the head by a bottle thrown from a Pt England party that turned violent after a man and a woman began arguing outside.

The gathering, in Taurima Ave on Saturday night, was a farewell for Alom Williams, 23, who is leaving for North Queensland. But it erupted into violence about 5am yesterday.

Mr Williams said a male relative and his partner were arguing outside and the man was attacked by several people.

A brawl started, and at least one person was stabbed with a broken beer bottle.

“We heard this girl screaming. These two girls were punching this dude [his relative] and he was standing back with his hands up. Then these other guys, brothers of one of the girls, jumped in and it went from there.”

Partygoers spilled on to the road and police, some in riot gear, turned up.

The officers were pelted with bottles, and one suffered a serious head gash.

 

They called in reinforcements, and five people were arrested for disorder offences, although the person who threw the bottle wasn’t identified.

Later in the day, when the Herald visited, blood stains were on the road where glass shards remained, even after some partygoers had returned to clean up.

Neighbours spent much of the morning picking up glass from their yards.

One woman who had called 111 said it was “absolute chaos”, with loud voices “cussing” and shouting.

Police said the injured officer needed medical treatment for the gash.

Source: http://www.newzealandherald.co.nz

Justin Timberlake SNL “Suit & Tie” performance: Taking shots at Kanye West

Fast forward to 2:17 J.T. switches the lyrics up and dissed Kanye West.

Veronica ft. 2 Chainz – What Happened To Us

Produced by Polow Da Don