‘Bring Back Clarkson’: Petition for ‘Top Gear’ presenter hits 1 million |
- ‘Bring Back Clarkson’: Petition for ‘Top Gear’ presenter hits 1 million
- Bobbi Kristina moved to rehab centre, no change in condition, says NBC
- Judge in Herbalife case did not ‘exonerate’ company, claims hedge fund firm
- Tunisia museum bombing: Gunmen trained in Libya, authorities say
- Cowabunga! Ninja turtles sequel is on, dude
- 5 new genre gems for your horror fix
| ‘Bring Back Clarkson’: Petition for ‘Top Gear’ presenter hits 1 million Posted: 20 Mar 2015 06:00 PM PDT
In a stunt organised by the Guido Fawkes political blog, the petition was delivered to BBC headquarters in central London on a tank hired for the occasion with a banner reading "Bring Back Clarkson". Clarkson was suspended by the BBC this month over a "fracas" with one of the show's producers, which was later reported to be a spat over not being provided with a hot meal after a day's filming. The BBC has pulled the last three episodes of the series, which has more than 350 million viewers across the globe and earns around £50 million (RM278 million) each year for the broadcaster's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide. "Punish Jeremy Clarkson all you want but don't pull 'Top Gear' off the air," said Harry Cole, a journalist for Guido Fawkes, adding: "We are representing the silent majority of 'Top Gear' viewers." A boorish bigot to some and a straight-talking maverick to others, the presenter was already on a final warning from the broadcaster due to frequent scandals over apparently racist remarks. The petition for Clarkson on the website change.org reads: "We the undersigned petition the BBC to reinstate Jeremy Clarkson. Freedom to fracas." One signatory, Charlie Houghton, wrote: "Jeremy is a bastion of light in a dark PC world." A petition to sack Clarkson, calling him "a deplorable man" who used offensive language, had around 7,300 signatures yesterday. The results of an investigation by the BBC are expected next week, although Clarkson himself appeared to say it would be a foregone conclusion in an expletive-laden tirade reported by British media. In footage obtained by the Daily Mirror newspaper, Clarkson was seen speaking on stage at a charity gala, saying he wanted to do one last lap of the "Top Gear" track in Surrey near London before the "bastards sack me". He later thanked his supporters, saying that the outcome of the investigation would come clear soon. "Many many thanks to all of the people who have called for my reinstatement. I'm very touched," he wrote on Twitter. "We shall all learn next week what will happen." — AFP  |
| Bobbi Kristina moved to rehab centre, no change in condition, says NBC Posted: 20 Mar 2015 05:53 PM PDT
Citing an unnamed source close to the family, the news network said that Brown's condition had not changed. The source did not say when she had been moved or where she would be, the network reported. Brown, 21, the only child of singers Bobby Brown and Houston, has been treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. She was discovered on January 31 face down and unresponsive in a bathtub in her suburban home. Family members have said little about the aspiring singer's treatment or medical prognosis. Bobby Brown has asked for privacy. Brown's famous mother, a six-time Grammy Award winner and actress who battled substance abuse, drowned in a hotel bathtub in Beverly Hills, California, on February 11, 2012. Authorities said cocaine use and heart disease contributed to Houston's death at age 48. — Reuters |
| Judge in Herbalife case did not ‘exonerate’ company, claims hedge fund firm Posted: 20 Mar 2015 05:51 PM PDT
Pershing Square Capital Management LP, which in December 2012 revealed a US$1 billion (RM3.71 billion) bet against the weight loss and nutritional products company, said recent press reports that it was behind the lawsuit, or had sued Herbalife itself, were false. It also said that despite what it called Herbalife's "misleading public suggestions," US District Judge Dale Fischer in Los Angeles did not address whether Herbalife was an illegal pyramid scheme, as Ackman has contended. Herbalife shares had closed at US$34.43 on March 17, before reports of Fischer's decision began to surface, but rose 12.6 per cent the next day and have continued to move higher. In yesterday's afternoon trading, they were up US$3.52, or 9.28 per cent, at US$41.46, on market speculation that Ackman had begun to cover his short position. Ackman has said many times that he expects Herbalife's share price to fall to zero. Fischer had written that shareholders led by two pension funds did not show that questions raised about Herbalife by Ackman and various federal and state investigators showed that the company had fraudulently inflated its stock price. Herbalife said on Wednesday it welcomed the dismissal, and added: "We are confident in the strong fundamentals of our business model and remain committed to helping people and communities improve their nutrition." In its statement yesterday, Pershing Square said it believed the result of the various probes "will be that Herbalife will be shut down or will be required to modify its deceptive practices so substantially that the company will not be able to survive." Fischer's decision is dated March 16. Herbalife did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pershing Square's statement. — Reuters |
| Tunisia museum bombing: Gunmen trained in Libya, authorities say Posted: 20 Mar 2015 05:50 PM PDT
The Islamic State group claimed Wednesday's attack on foreign tourists in Tunis, the deadliest since the 2011 revolution which sparked the Arab Spring regional uprisings. The assailants "left the country illegally last December for Libya and they were able to train with weapons there," Secretary of State for Security Rafik Chelly said. IS claimed the massacre at the National Bardo Museum and threatened more attacks. Authorities say as many as 3,000 Tunisians have gone to Iraq, Syria and Libya to join IS and other jihadist groups, raising fears of returning battle-hardened militants plotting attacks. Chelly named locations of several suspected training camps for Tunisians in violence-wracked Libya, including second city Benghazi and the jihadist stronghold of Derna. President Beji Caid Essebsi's office said security forces arrested nine suspects—"four people directly linked to the (terrorist) operation and five suspected of having ties to the cell". Amid international outrage over the attack on Tunisia—hailed as a rare Arab Spring success story—Essebsi was defiant. "The process of implementing a democratic system is underway, well anchored," he told French television. "We will never move backwards." In a speech marking the anniversary of independence from France in 1956, he stressed that Tunisia's "first challenge is security" and urged "national unity". Essebsi also met French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, who expressed solidarity with Tunisia, visited wounded French tourists and placed a wreath at the Bardo.
The dead tourists were four Italians, three Japanese, three French, two Spaniards, a Colombian, an Australian-Colombian, a British woman, a Belgian woman, three Poles and a Russian. A Tunisian policeman killed in the attack was buried on Thursday. Two Spaniards, a honeymooning couple, hid in a storeroom as the massacre took place, the husband told Spanish national television. "We hid in a storeroom and stayed there, listening to everything that was happening and waiting for it to be over," Juan Carlos Sanchez said. The attack was a massive blow to Tunisia's economy, which is heavily dependent on tourism. At least two major cruise ship operators suspended Tunis calls after the attack. In Barcelona, hundreds disembarked from the MSC Splendida after their holiday was cut short. Twelve of its passengers were killed in Tunis. Victoria Bronskaya, a tour guide from Belarus, recalled seeing two panic-stricken tourists gunned down as they tried to board the tour bus where she was cowering on the floor. Their bodies blocked the way, perhaps saving her life because the "terrorist could not get on board". Another passenger, Josefa Ramirez, said that after this experience "I don't want anything more to do with Arab countries". Prime Minister Habib Essid named the two gunmen killed by security forces at the museum as Yassine Abidi and Hatem Khachnaoui, whose first name was later given as Jabeur by police in his home town. Chelly said Abidi had been arrested before going to Libya, and that the pair had been "from sleeper cells". Khachnaoui was described by a relative as a pious loner who never gave his parents a hard time.
He was said to have abruptly dropped out of high school months before graduation and gone to Libya, and there are suspicions he also visited Iraq. Khachnaoui's father, two brothers and a sister have been arrested, the family and police said. Essebsi said the gunmen also had explosives and praised the security forces for preventing further bloodshed. Abdelfattah Mourou, deputy speaker of parliament, told AFP that guards supposed to be protecting parliament and the museum were having coffee as the assault happened. "I found out there were only four policemen on security duty around the parliament (compound), two of whom were at the cafe. The third was having a snack and the fourth hadn't turned up," Mourou said. A retired Colombian general whose wife and son were killed lamented the "irony" of losing them on holiday after spending his life "fighting terrorism" at home. Tunisia has seen an upsurge in Islamist extremism since the 2011 revolution that ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring. EU president Donald Tusk and foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini will visit Tunis on March 31 to boost security cooperation, Mogherini said yesterday. Tunisia has taken pride in forming a democratic government and achieving stability since the Arab Spring—in marked contrast to countries such as Egypt and Libya. But dozens of police and military personnel have been killed in attacks blamed on Islamist militants. — AFP |
| Cowabunga! Ninja turtles sequel is on, dude Posted: 20 Mar 2015 05:43 PM PDT
The famous pizza-munching turtles, back for another mission to save New York from a dangerous threat, will return for their next cinema release on June 3, 2016. The film is being directed by David Green and is being produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures. De Blasio, who was elected on a progressive platform last year, said the film would bring US$70 million (RM260 million) to the state of New York and create "may jobs." "New York City knows how to host blockbuster films," he boasted. The mayor's office quoted an independent study as saying that the entertainment industry generates US$7.1 billion in New York, US$400 million in tax revenue and employs 130,000 residents. The last Ninja Turtles film, released in 2014, grossed more than US$190 million at the US box office. — AFP |
| 5 new genre gems for your horror fix Posted: 20 Mar 2015 05:41 PM PDT MARCH 21 ― The great Rob Zombie once said in an interview, "Unless [movies are] mass-marketed, [most] people think there's something wrong with it." He then added the killer punch, "McDonald's is not where you get the best meal, but so many people go there because it's mass-marketed." When it comes to horror films, very few people venture beyond the mainstream and therefore mass-marketed ones, which means that James Wan is the beginning and the end of good horror for them. Oh, and The Exorcist too. I'm definitely not knocking The Exorcist or The Conjuring because I do love them (like I love the Prosperity Burger too!), but there's way more good stuff to horror than the McDonald's equivalent out there. This week sees the opening of the James Wan-presented Demonic in local cinemas, and in the spirit of sharing I'd like to point out to you a few non-McDonald's and recent-ish genre gems for you to seek out to satisfy the horror junkie in you. Wyrmwood A wonderful, wonderful zombie movie that came out of nowhere (Australia, actually) that will surprise you. Reportedly shot during weekends over a couple of years, it's simply remarkable how professional everything looks here. A mixture of action film and the by now ubiquitous zombie survival film, director Kiah Roache-Turner shows not only an excellent facility with staging and cutting action scenes, but also a crowd-pleasing sense of humour, mostly thanks to the performance of Leon Burchill as Benny, lead character Barry's fellow survivor. And how about this, the movie even manages to introduce a few concepts that are totally new to the zombie movie genre! Hollywood is sure to come calling for Roache-Turner soon. Digging Up The Marrow A few weeks back, I wrote about the emergence of the faux-documentary as the possible new horror trend in 2015. It's only been a few weeks and already there's a new film that bests all the ones I mentioned in that piece, and that film is director Adam Green's latest effort Digging Up The Marrow. Not only does Green play himself here, the film even goes as far as having his wife, producer, business partners, and even other horror directors play themselves to ramp up the illusion that this is a real documentary that we're watching. What begins as a documentary exploring genre-based monster art takes a fascinating turn when Green is contacted by a man who claims that he can prove that monsters are real. And by "monsters", he means the physically deformed human babies that we only see in old pictures, and the question of why do we never see them as grown-ups? Where do they disappear to? Really fascinating stuff, if you ask me. Cub (aka Welp) Belgium's horror answer to Lord Of The Flies, this movie tells the story of a group of scouts going on a camping trip in the woods near the French border. What they don't know is that there's a very feral looking child-beast or creature lurking around the woods, setting up all sorts of deadly traps and not having the slightest hesitation to kill. It's a violent and bloody descent into a child's heart of darkness, and while I wasn't really convinced by the lead character Sam's psychological transformation towards the end, I'm definitely convinced that this is an enjoyably tense and violent little shocker. Starry Eyes How much would you give up for a shot at movie stardom? That is the question that this movie asks and answers. A barely disguised allegory about the film industry (complete with casting couch sessions, with the Devil!), this movie horrifically follows what happens to aspiring actress Sarah Walker (Alexandra Essoe giving an astonishing and star-making performance) when she finally gets her big break auditioning to play the lead in a horror film produced by a waning but reputable movie company, provided of course, that she agrees to their terms. She may think that she's just selling her soul to Hollywood, but the viewer knows it's a lot more evil than that. Literally to die for then! Mother's Milk More of a psychological horror story than your standard horror flick, this movie's more or less a two-hander between kidnap victim Kim and kidnapper Claude. The movie's title probably already gives away why Claude kidnaps young women, but in case you're the innocent type, he does it so that the women can breastfeed him. Now that's what I'd call some serious mother issues! The card up the sleeve for this little film is that a sort of reverse Stockholm syndrome begins to develop between them, and the power play between the kidnapper and the kidnapped starts to become more blurry and complicated. The abrupt ending is a disappointment, but it doesn't take away the fascinating things that occur before it. *This is the personal opinion of the columnist. |
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