New career... but at what cost?

The Bellend of the Month for July 2014 is Shanesha Taylor, a woman who generated nationwide attention after leaving her two young sons in a hot car while she went on a job interview. What makes it worse is that Arizona prosecutors will drop child abuse charges against her, with county attorney Bill Montgomery quoted as saying the charges against Taylor will be dismissed once she successfully completes parenting and substance abuse treatment programs and sets up child care and education trust funds for her children. At least she realises there are consequences for her actions, but seriously, you should never leave your kids in a car just because you're attending a job interview. Police discovered the two children in this particular case in the backseat of her car, still buckled in their seat belts with temperatures registering more than 100˚F (38˚C). Officers said the boys were sweating profusely and in obvious distress when they arrived on the scene. There have been cases where the child/children died as a result of this rubbish. Seriously, people, there's no excuse for that crap. Use the services of a babysitter or child-minder instead of leaving them to bake to death.

Batkid Begins

Miles Scott, the 5-year-old leukemia survivor better known as "Batkid," won over the hearts of San Francisco (and pretty much the entire Internet) when his Make-a-Wish request was to be Batman for a day. Last November, the city of San Francisco came together to make that happen, with thousands of people lining the streets to simulate Gotham City. Now, filmmaker Dana Nachman is bringing Miles' story to the big screen. Well, she's trying to. Nachman has started an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for the film, titled "Batkid Begins," which now has its first official trailer, featuring Miles' parents, Hans Zimmer, and more. Watch the official trailer here.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: Air travel... or is it?

In Ukraine, the shootdown of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on July 17 killed all 298 aboard. Last Wednesday's crash of TransAsia Airways Flight 222 killed 48 in Taiwan, and the day after, Air Algerie Flight 5017 crashed in Mali, leaving 119 dead. Then there's the unexplained loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, with 239 aboard, in March. Different circumstances surround the crashes, but when as many as 704 airline passengers and flight crew lose their lives in the span of 138 days, some travelers might be concerned about the global aviation safety net. They may wonder if, statistically, the skies are getting more dangerous. They may ask themselves - is 2014 trending toward one of the deadliest years in aviation history? Experts say no, don't be nervous. Just look carefully at the chart below:

As you can see, the world has actually been enjoying the safest ever overall period in aviation history. The number of yearly aviation deaths and major plane crashes worldwide has been dropping for decades. Last year, 265 people were killed in flight incidents - the safest year in aviation since 1945. This year to date, the worldwide number of aviation deaths has more than doubled, but it's still relatively low. There have been 764 deaths in 12 commercial aviation accidents in 2014, according to late news reports and the Aviation Safety Network, one of several organizations that tracks these statistics. The data — spanning 1946 to the present — includes hijackings, sabotage, and shoot-downs. Just remember that while air travel's going through a bad patch right now, it's nowhere near as bad as it was in 1972 and 1985.

1600 POSTS!

A diaper-clad toddler crashed a Jeep Wrangler into a neighbor's house in Oregon, then he scampered home, sat on the couch, and watched cartoons. The 3-year-old boy was under his mother's watch in Myrtle Creek when the incident happened last week. She was not paying attention to him and he found the keys, got inside the car, and knocked it out of gear. A witness called 911 after seeing the child rolling by in the Jeep before hitting the house. Sensing he was in trouble, the toddler jumped out of the car and dashed home. An officer went to the boy's home and the boy was sitting on the couch watching cartoons like nothing ever happened. Before the accident, an officer saw the boy sitting in the car and warned a relative to keep an eye on him. This is why parents need to be very vigilant and remember that children are very crafty in finding ways to get in trouble. It could be more than just a car being crashed into a house if left unchecked.

NSA's job just got harder

You can run from NSA surveillance, but you can't hide. One way or another, they will be able to snoop on your personal conversations. But there's one tool that could make it much more difficult for the NSA to spy on you. Meet Dark Mail, your personal black box for email. Like Google's Gmail and other email services with robust security tools, Dark Mail encrypts email content, shielding it from government spies. But Dark Mail takes the extra step of cloaking your email's metadata, which includes the subject line and the 'To' and 'From' fields. That way, spies can't easily identify who's sending emails. But why is that important, I hear you ask? Because even if the NSA can't read the body of your message, knowing who you email can trigger extra government scrutiny. The NSA uses email metadata collected on millions of Americans to select specific people for closer surveillance of emails and phone calls. To appreciate how quickly this can balloon, consider that for every one target, nine of their connections get spied on too. This bulk collection of metadata reminds Dark Mail co-creator Ladar Levison of the guilt-by-association of the 1950's commie-hunting McCarthy era. Even though it has now been made harder for the feds to spy on their subjects, Dark Mail is not entirely NSA-proof. The government can still target a person and follow each email's trail. But to do that, the government would have to trace every stop along an email's path - device, server, and everything in between. Using Dark Mail is like mailing an envelope that, on the outside, is only addressed to and from post offices. Finding the actual sender and recipient is not an unsolvable mystery, but Dark Mail does put the drag in dragnet. Used right, this should make it technologically impossible to conduct mass surveillance.

The virus among us

Scientists have discovered a previously unknown virus living in the human gut, according to a study in Nature Communications. Exploring genetic material found in intestinal samples, the international team uncovered the CrAssphage virus. They say the virus could influence the behaviour of some of the most common bacteria in our gut. Experts say these types of viruses, called bacteriophages, have been shown to play a role in chronic diseases. Led by a team at San Diego State University in the USA, scientists scoured genetic information stored in three large international databases. They stumbled upon a piece of DNA, some 100,000 letters long, present in more than half of all samples from the gut, and while cross-checking its identity in global directories, they realised it had never been described before. It is not unusual to go looking for a novel virus and find one, but it's very unusual to find one that so many people have in common. The fact it has flown under the radar for so long is very strange. This begs the obvious question: what other bugs could we be hiding inside our bodies?

FRIDAY FILM BEAT: Sex Tape

They did everything but delete this one. And I'm glad they didn't because it was one of the best comedies to hit theatres in 2014, even though reviews have been generally negative so far with a 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 36 out of 100 rating on Metacritic. Despite such bad press, this is one you need to see. You'll thank me later.

Sam & Cat is Sam & Canned

Nickelodeon has canceled "Sam & Cat," with last Saturday's episode serving as its series finale. The show lasted one season. "Sam & Cat," a spinoff starring "iCarly's" Jennette McCurdy and "Victorious'" Ariana Grande, followed two best friends who had an after-school babysitting business. Created by Dan Schneider, the man behind such other Nickelodeon programming as "All That" and "Drake & Josh," the show seemed like a sure thing. But after a successful series premiere, a 40-episode order, a production hiatus in April, rumors of co-star feuds, and more, Nickelodeon has pulled the plug. But the plug won't be pulled on future Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The last we saw of Captain Jack Sparrow, he was on a beach with ol' scallywag Gibbs, reflecting on his decision to deny himself the Fountain of Youth. "Who's to say I won't live forever [anyway], eh?," he says. Despite some delays — and a Lone Ranger-sized hiccup — the long-awaited next chapter in the "Pirates" franchise, following 2011′s "On Stranger Tides," has a new official release date: July 7, 2017 (7/7/17). Common sense dictated that there needed to be another film, even though the fourth film was hardly the best-regarded of Capt. Jack's adventures. Still, it grossed more than $1 billion around the world. A fifth film, at one point titled "Dead Men Tell No Tales," was initially targeted for a 2015 release, with Kon-Tiki directors Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg taking over for Rob Marshall, who in turn had taken over for Gore Verbinski. But last summer, shortly after "The Lone Ranger" had put a $190 million dent in Disney's bottom line, the project was delayed, due to budgetary concerns and an unfinished script. Now, Disney is recalibrating Sparrow's course for 2017, by which point there should be 28 seasons' worth of The Simpsons online. That's right, people, FXX is launching "Simpsons World," a new way of getting on demand "Simpsons" content, in October. For the first time, viewers can access every episode of the series via their computer or other networked devices. Authenticated FX viewers will have instant access on iPhone, iPad, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Android phones and tablets, Smart TVs, and additional set-top devices. Viewers will also be able to search for specific quotes, curate their own own personalized playlists, and share their favorite show clips and quotes. "I don't want to over-promise, but this website can provide you with affordable health care," joked longtime "Simpsons" executive producer Al Jean.

Societal cancer found to cause cancer

That's right, people. Children who are frequently abused by a parent have a higher risk of cancer in adulthood. The new study from researchers at Purdue University, published online in the Journal of Aging and Health, reveals that the effects are particularly significant when mothers abuse their daughters and fathers abuse their sons. Kenneth Ferraro, distinguished professor of sociology and director of Purdue's Center on Aging and the Life Course, commented: "People often say that children are resilient and they'll bounce back, but we found that there are events that can have long-term consequences on adult health. In this case, people who were frequently emotionally or physically abused by their parents were more likely to have cancer in adulthood, and the link was greater when fathers abused sons and mothers abused daughters. Overall, the more frequent and intense the abuse, the more it elevated the cancer risk. We would like to see child abuse noted as an environmental factor that can increase cancer occurrence in adulthood. More research on this topic also could help mediate the effects or improve interventions to help abused children." So all child-abusers need to stop and think - not only do you run the risk of criminal prosecution for your actions now, you could be harming and scarring your victims in more ways than one.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: The iPhone 6 display

The sapphire display set to feature on Apple's iPhone 6 might not be as scratch-proof as first thought. A display panel allegedly belonging to the iPhone 6 got put through its paces on video this month, with the screen's supposed sapphire crystal coating proving "impossible to scratch" - withstanding keys, a knife, and a foot. However, it now seems that the screen might not be as scratch-proof as first thought, as Marques Brownlee - the same chap who treated us to the last video - has gone at the screen once again and this time around he was armed with sandpaper. Brownlee has once again attacked the 4.7in panel - with the iPhone 6 also expected to launch in a 5.5in version - and uses the Mohs scale to try to guage how much sapphire the panel actually contains. First, Brownlee tests the sapphire panel with garnett sandpaper, which ranks about 7.0 on the Mohs scale, meaning it should be able to scratch Gorilla Glass but not the sapphire display. However, the screen manages to pick up a few scratches - which means that the screen on the iPhone 6 is unlikely to be 100 percent sapphire. This is further proven by the handset's TouchID sensor, which being made from 100 percent sapphire, didn't pick up any marks whatsoever. Next, Brownlee tests the screen with emery sandpaper, which ranks around the 8.0 mark on the Mohs scale, and while it holds up much better than the Gorilla Glass panel of the iPhone 5S, it picks up a fair few scuffs. This likely means that, while the screen on the iPhone 6 will contain sapphire, it will likely be a sapphire/glass blend. Let's hope Apple get it right before next year's release.

Airline about to take a dive

James Garner, the US star of hit TV series The Rockford Files and Maverick and films including The Great Escape, has died aged 86, but an airline could soon join him. That's right, shares in Malaysia Airlines closed down 11% in Malaysia following the crash of flight MH17 in Ukraine en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Some Asian stock markets also ended the day lower on fears the crash may intensify political tensions between the West, Ukraine, and Russia. This is the second catastrophe to hit Malaysia Airlines this year after flight MH370 disappeared in March. Even if this is pure coincidence, it's never happened in history that a flag carrier has seen two wide-body aircraft disappearing in a few months, and questions are now being asked about whether the carrier can survive. It's made it this far, but the company has been losing money for many years and its market value has fallen by more than 40% in the past nine months. Without significant funding, the airline may not survive beyond a year, and even if the airline was to secure financing, questions about its longer-term viability remain.

RJ get smoked out by 11-digit fine

A US court has ordered the country's second largest cigarette company to pay US$23.6 billion (yes, billion) to the wife of a smoker who died of lung cancer. RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company was hit with the punitive fine in addition to a tiny-by-comparison US$16.8 million in compensatory damages. Cynthia Robinson first took action against the firm in 2008, seeking compensation for her husband's death in 1996. During the four-week trial, lawyers for Ms Robinson argued that RJ Reynolds was negligent in informing consumers of the dangers of consuming tobacco. This negligence, her lawyers said, led to her husband Michael Johnson Sr contracting lung cancer from smoking after becoming "addicted" and failing multiple attempts to quit. RJ Reynolds plans to appeal against the court's decision, vice president and assistant general counsel Jeffery Raborn said in a statement, adding "this verdict goes far beyond the realm of reasonableness and fairness, and is completely inconsistent with the evidence presented." Tough. RJ Reynolds took a calculated risk by manufacturing cigarettes and selling them to consumers without properly informing them of the hazards. The fine, which is said to be the largest of any individual case stemming from a class action lawsuit filed in Florida, will send a message to RJ Reynolds and other big tobacco companies that will force them to stop putting the lives of innocent people in jeopardy.

We're 200 days into 2014

And here's ten other numbers that have been in the news so far this year:

• 60 - years between Germany's first and fourth World Cup victories
• 5,484 - days between Pam Dawber's last two acting roles (I'll Remember April which according to Wikipedia was released on 5 April 1999, and the third-to-last episode of The Crazy Ones which premiered in the USA and Canada on 10 April 2014 and will air on FOUR in New Zealand exactly seven months later)
• 2 - Malaysian Airlines flights that went wrong (MH370 in March and MH17 a few days ago)
• 3 - Commonwealth Games will have been held in Scotland as of the end of the upcoming edition
• 295 - medals won all up at Sochi
• 51 - points were scored all up in Super Bowl XLVIII
• 25 - months Julian Assange has spent in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London just to avoid extradition to Sweden then possibly to America
• 29 - Indian states now exist with the creation of Telangana early last month
• 4 - American TV shows I can't stand will thankfully be ending after the upcoming season (those are Glee, Two and a Half Men, Parenthood, and Parks and Recreation); maybe The Crazy Ones could come back in fall of 2015 and fill one of those voids
• 97 - more days until Richard Dean Anderson (aka MacGyver) comes to New Zealand

FRIDAY FILM BEAT: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

That was one of the best movies I've ever seen, as were the 3D effects. But don't just take my word for it - upon its release, the film was met with critical acclaim from critics. It currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 91% based on 181 reviews with an average rating of 8 out of 10. The website's consensus reads, "With intelligence and emotional resonance to match its stunning special effects, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes expands on its predecessor with an exciting and ambitious burst of sci-fi achievement." On Metacritic, the film has a "generally favorable" rating score of 79 out of 100, based on 45 reviews. This is one you need to see.

Airbnb logo looks like Airtna

Airbnb released a new logo yesterday, and it looks like a... well, judge for yourself. The online rentals site said the new logo, dubbed "Bélo," is supposed to convey a sense of "belonging." Plenty of people on social media aren't seeing that. They're looking at two bulbs dangling and the circle-within-a-triangle design, and saying what your middle schooler and your psychotherapist were both thinking: That looks like genitalia. The Internet seems split on whether it's male or female genitalia - or both. Breasts and a rear end have also been discussed. But reaction on Twitter has been fairly unequivocal - something's amiss about Airbnb's new logo. Here's what the Twittersphere think:

• "looks majorly obscene," @LouiseMensch tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.
• @TadCarpenter cracked that the "Airbnb's new logo is probably my favorite testicle based logo for sure."
• "I think the new airbnb mark is thoughtful and well done, and anyone who says it looks like genitals is just a big weiner," wrote @zohf.

That about sums it up, doesn't it? Airbnb explained in post on its website that new logo incorporates symbols like an upside-down heart, a mobile map-app pin (in the center), and a letter A for Airbnb. They wanted the logo to be simple to draw so that users can post the logo as a welcoming gesture.

WaterSaver acting like WatersTester

Spend more than 6 minutes a day in the bathroom at Chicago's WaterSaver Faucet company and you'll face disciplinary measures. That's what a union contends the manufacturer is pulling: timing bathroom breaks and warning employees when they can't beat the clock. The union, Teamsters local 743, filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board claiming WaterSaver unfairly disciplined 19 workers in June for "excessive use" of washrooms. The company's human resources department described "excessive use of the bathroom as... 60 minutes or more over the last 10 working days," according to the affidavit. Do the math and it works out to 6 minutes a day. The company has spreadsheets on every union employee on how long they were in the bathroom, and there have even been meetings with workers and HR where the workers had to explain what they were doing in the bathroom. It's not only an invasion of privacy, but also unreasonable given that the human body can't always perform on cue. Also, the company's 140 workers don't have paid sick days. Workers who can't afford to lose a day's pay come into work sick, and may end up using bathrooms more, so paid sick days are also something WaterSaver might want to look into.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: The 25 months Julian Assange has been stuck inside the Ecuadorean Embassy

And of course the 6.8 million pounds the round-the-clock police presence has cost the British taxpayer at time of posting. According to this site, that would've paid for over 5.5 million meals for the needy, 34,000 kids fully vaccinated, nearly 27,000 hospital beds for one night, 12,000 children sent to school for a year, or 300 teachers' salaries for one year. Thanks a lot, Sweden. That's almost eighty million kronor your stubborn refusal to just go to the Embassy and question him about his alleged sexual misconduct there has cost the British taxpayer.

Deutschland, Deutschland, they're the champions

But Singapore scored an own goal with its anti-gambling advert during the World Cup. An ad campaign warning of the perils of gambling that began as just another bland public service announcement by Singapore’s government has turned into fodder for international mockery, and left authorities scrambling after Germany’s World Cup victory. In the TV version of the ad, which debuted last month when the World Cup kicked off, a sullen young boy named Andy tells his friends in the playground that his father had used all of Andy’s savings to bet on Germany to win the tournament. Sad piano music is cued and a message is displayed: "Often, the people who suffer from problem gambling aren’t the gamblers." The PSA wasn’t lampooned until Germany won its first match against Portugal, 4-0. As the World Cup progressed and the Germans looked more and more like favourites to win the title, the mocking of the ad intensified, with many wondering if little Andy and his dad were going to make a killing on the bet, which they did. After Germany’s stunning 7-1 semifinal drubbing of Brazil, the ad prompted ridiculing on The Tonight Show. "Cheer up, kid, your dad bet on Germany," host Jimmy Fallon said. "He’s so rich you don’t even need to go to college anymore." Is he? Not yet, for the council rushed to post a new ad on its website. It features Andy’s friend asking him: "Your dad’s team won. Did you get your savings back?" Andy replies: "No, Dad never stops - he wants to bet one more time." Andy's father, if you're reading this, you need help. That "one more time" will turn into tens, hundreds, maybe even thousands more bets. You could lose more than just Andy's savings by this time next year. It's not too late.

Hey ho, they're gone

Tom Erdelyi hadn’t planned to become Tommy Ramone, but circumstances forced him into a new identity as the drummer and driving force behind one of the most influential and unforgettable rock-and-roll bands of the 1970s. He was the last surviving member of the Ramones, the seminal New York punk group whose buzzsaw music and don’t-give-a-rip attitude have been a lasting influence for more than a generation. Mr. Erdelyi (or Ramone, as he was better known), who was 62, died Friday at his home in Queens. The official Facebook and Twitter accounts of the Ramones confirmed his death. The cause was bile-duct cancer. All four band members were unrelated and had different last names, but as a show of brotherly solidarity, each band member adopted the last name Ramone. The band had read that Paul McCartney had checked into hotels as Paul Ramone, derived from the name of pop-music producer Phil Ramone. The other original Ramones included Joey (Jeffrey Hyman, died in 2001 of lymphatic cancer) on vocals; Johnny (John Cummings, died in 2004 of prostate cancer) on guitar; and Dee Dee (Douglas Colvin, died in 2002 of a drug overdose) on bass. One person that didn't die, however, is Cassidy Stay. Just a day after being released from the hospital, she took center stage at a memorial ceremony yesterday morning to grieve with hundreds of friends and neighbors and to search for light in the horrifying murder of her parents and four siblings. Fifteen-year-old Cassidy thanked first responders, doctors, and well-wishers for their tremendous support as she stood at a podium outside a Spring elementary school in sweltering mid-morning heat. "I'm really thankful for all of the people who have been praying for me and keeping me and my family in their thoughts these past few days," Cassidy said. "I'm feeling a lot better, and I'm on a straightforward path to recovery." That's good to hear, and so is this: Ronald Lee Haskell, a 33-year-old Utah man who was married to Cassidy's maternal aunt before their divorce earlier this year, is charged with capital murder in the deaths of Cassidy's family, and is being held without bail. Authorities say that on Wednesday evening, he arrived at the home of Katie and Stephen Stay, dressed as a FedEx delivery driver. He had worked for the company until January of this year, according to company officials. Haskell asked to see Cassidy's parents, but left after she told him they weren't there. He returned a short time later, and entered the home again, allegedly tying up Cassidy and her siblings and waiting for her parents to return home from the bank. When they arrived, he apparently also tied them up and made them lie facedown, asking for the whereabouts of Melannie Lyon, his ex-wife, before shooting them in the back of the head. Cassidy's parents Stephen and Katie, and her siblings Bryan, Emily, Rebecca, and Zach all died. Cassidy was injured in the head and hand in the shooting, but survived by playing dead and waiting until Haskell fled in the family's Honda sedan, then called authorities. Police intercepted him as he was driving to the nearby home of Cassidy's grandparents, where Lyon and her children were also living.

Tragedy stikes Glee again in lead-up to final season

Almost a year after Cory Monteith died of a heroin and alcohol overdose, the boyfriend of cast member Becca Tobin was found dead in a Philadelphia hotel room. The body of 35-year-old nightclub owner Matt Bendik was discovered a little after 1 p.m. Thursday (Eastern Daylight Time) by a maid at the Hotel Monaco. It’s unclear where the 28-year-old Tobin — who found fame in 2012 by playing cheerleader Kitty Wilde on the Fox series — was at the time. There were conflicting reports about whether she accompanied Bendik on the business trip. No drugs or paraphernalia were found in the room. Just four weeks ago, Tobin posted a black-and-white Instagram picture of herself kissing Bendik on the cheek. As word of Bendik’s death spread, Tobin’s fans posted messages of support beneath the sweet photo. “Stay strong Becca!” wrote one, Brittany Heath. “We love you!” Bendik, who ran Hollywood hot spots DBA and AV, was a go-getter who was just 15 when he got into the club business. He worked as a promoter for the famed Whiskey a Go Go on the Sunset Strip before heading off to study business at Cornell University. When Bendik returned to L.A., it was back to the night life and a career that allowed him to rub elbows with celebrities. Now he can rub elbows with such other dead celebrities as Michael Jackson, Kurt Cobain, and Cory Monteith.

FRIDAY FILM BEAT: Begin Again

This movie was just brilliant. Not quite as good as some of my previous Friday Film Beat selections, but Adam Levine really pulled it together in his acting debut. This is one you need to see if you haven't already done so.

Parliament takes on CJEU

An emergency law to ensure police and security services in Britain can continue to access people's phone and internet records is expected to be approved at a special cabinet meeting later. David Cameron says the Data Retention and Investigation Powers Bill is needed to fight "criminals and terrorists". But civil liberties groups say it infringes the right to privacy and sets a dangerous precedent. It comes after the European Court of Justice struck down existing powers. An EU directive requiring phone and internet companies to retain communications data - when and who their customers called, texted, and emailed but not what was said - for a 12 month period was ruled unlawful in April by the European Court. I'm on the fence - on the one hand, without a new law being passed in the UK to retain the powers, that information could be destroyed within weeks by companies fearing legal challenges, meaning police and the security services will not be able to access it. The ability to access information about communications and intercept the communications of dangerous individuals is essential to fight the threat from criminals and terrorists targeting the UK, or any country for that matter. But on the other hand, not only could the proposed legislation infringe Britons' right to privacy, it may also set a dangerous precedent where the government of the day simply re-legislates every time it disagrees with a decision by the CJEU. The ruling still stands and these new plans may actually increase the amount of personal data that is retained by ISPs, further infringing on the right to privacy. So who's in the right there? A US pilot, of course. More specifically, one who ordered pizzas for a plane full of passengers as they were stuck on the tarmac for two hours in Wyoming. Gerhard Bradner ordered 50 pizzas (25 cheese and 25 pepperoni) after his plane was diverted to Cheyenne and they waited for thunder and lightning to clear in Denver. Passengers said the entire cabin burst into applause after the pilot announced the delivery on the loudspeaker. The Washington DC to Denver Frontier Airlines flight, with 160 people on board, finally flew on to Colorado. The captain paid for the pizza party out of his own pocket, but he has now been telephoned by the airline's president who has said that he will reimburse him for the cost. That just goes to show that not all airlines are run by complete bellends.

Isis nixes name

Isis is more than just an Ancient Egyptian goddess whose tears were believed to cause the annual flooding of the Nile. Isis is also the abbreviation of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a terrorist group that wishes to establish a pan-Islamic caliphate. Isis is also the mobile wallet service founded by AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, and it has a branding problem. Isis CEO Michael Abbott said Monday that the firm is changing its name to avoid association with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, adding "however coincidental, we have no interest in sharing a name with a group whose name has become synonymous with violence and our hearts go out to those who are suffering." It might mean having to come up with then announce a new name, but then again, a forced rebranding might not be such a bad thing. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile founded it in 2010 with the goal of developing a smartphone-based service to store payment cards, loyalty programs, and merchant offers. Despite gaining powerful backers like American Express and JPMorgan, the service has failed to catch on, and it faces competition from the likes of Google Wallet, PayPal, Square, Venmo, and many others. Maybe a merger with one or more of the above could be in order? Whichever route they take, it won't be the only "Isis" that isn't enjoying the name confusion. One of the world's leading centers for physics and life sciences research is located in the UK and it's also called Isis. It hasn't announced a rebranding yet, but it has made the British press.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: Being a racist prick

A middle-aged woman unloads a racist tirade at fellow passengers on a train in Sydney, and again Australia's attitude to racial diversity comes under scrutiny. The woman was arrested on the New South Wales Central Coast on Thursday, one day after a commuter captured her racist tirade on camera on the train between Central and Strathfield stations. She has been charged with using offensive language and will be forced to explain her actions in court later this month, and I don't think she'll be able to come up with one good enough to justify her stupid outburst. Investigators are appealing to any passengers who witnessed the incident to come forward. In the video, the woman taunts a man and an Asian woman sitting together. The invective is caught on camera and posted online. "Can't you get an Aussie girlfriend? You had to get a gook, you sad, poor pathetic man... Is it really that small you can't get an Aussie girl?" she said. "What's wrong with Hong Kong? Why'd you come to this country? This is our country." The woman also mocked the passenger's accent and pulled at her eyes in a racist gesture. That ain't cool. One needs to remember that more than a quarter of Australians were born overseas. Theirs is a land that considers itself a multicultural success story, but it is one tainted by an indelible stain of bigotry. When you see someone really out of control letting fly with all those prejudices and hatreds, it definitely is depressing. So if you're also acting like such a racist bellend, STOP IT. It's not nice.

You can run, you can hide, and you can escape BH

Sixty-three women and girls kidnapped by Boko Haram last month in Nigeria have escaped from their captors and returned to their burnt village. The hostages were seized from the Kummabza village in northern Borno state on June 18 after a four-day invasion of the village by Boko Haram insurgents. The militants killed 30 men and burned the entire village. 63 hostages escaping is a start, but the group is still believed to be holding over 200 schoolgirls abducted April 14 from their hostels in the town of Chibok. Boko Haram, if you're reading this, you'd better return the rest of them soon otherwise you could soon lose more hostages.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It's SUPER THUMB!

Workers at a BMW plant in Germany have been given 3D-printed "super-thumbs" to reduce stress on their joints when they are assembling car parts. Each bespoke thermoplastic polyurethane thumb protector is created individually by measuring the worker's hand in a mobile scanner. It fits like a second skin over the worker's thumb, letting it move freely. But it becomes rigid when straightened, allowing the thumb to press down firmly but with less strain put on the joint. BMW said the use of the technology was part of its efforts to offer the "best possible support" to workers. I would welcome anything that is worker-focused, but this one tiny step, while by all accounts better than nothing, is probably only addressing one part of a complex problem. There are many things that can cause stress like this, including posture and the number of times you do a task. The obvious solution? More 3D printing. It's the only thing for it.

In the heat of the car

Surprising claims came to light during a hearing on Thursday for a Georgia man whose toddler son died after being left in a hot car, a man prosecutors sought to portray as an unfaithful husband who wanted a child-free life. Among the most shocking allegations: Justin Ross Harris messaged six women, sending and receiving explicit texts - some including nude images - from work while his 22-month-old was dying, a detective testified at the hearing. Harris' attorney repeatedly objected to Cobb County, Georgia, police Detective Phil Stoddard's testimony claiming that Harris sexted the women - one of whom was underage at the time - but the judge allowed it. Police say Harris left his toddler, Cooper, strapped into a car seat under a baking sun for seven hours while he went to work June 18. Records show that the mercury topped 92˚F (33˚C) that day, and police say the temperature was 88˚F (31˚C) when the boy was pronounced dead in a parking lot not far from his father's workplace. That is more than just irresponsible. Even that tiger mother Amy Chua or the judge that was covertly filmed beating his daughter in 2004 would be a refreshing step up from Justin Ross Harris. You just don't do that to children.

FRIDAY FILM BEAT: The Face of Love

I will start off the first Film Beat for the month by saying I liked this movie, even though Robin Williams wasn't as funny in it as he was in the likes of Mork and Mindy or The Crazy Ones. I think what really killed it is casting Annette Bening as the widowed Nikki. They cast Robin Williams, so they could've cast Pam Dawber in it as well, then Nikki wouldn't have looked so ugly (no offence, Annette, but it's true - same goes for any film with Meryl Streep in it). Critical reception is on the fence, so go see it and make up your own minds as to whether Annette Bening was right for her role.

Corneas to Grow

Two people have had stem cells transplanted into their eyes as part of a clinical trial to restore their sight. The technique has been developed by Scottish specialists to reverse corneal blindness, and it is believed to be the first treatment of its kind in the UK. Both have corneal blindness, and until now the only treatment was a transplant of cornea tissue from an organ donor. Sylvia Paton from Edinburgh was the first person to have the transplant. It will be several months before doctors will know to what extent the procedure has worked. But why stop at corneas? They could try cloning a whole new eye next. And airlines could ground some or all their planes for maintenance after Qantas Airlines Flight 94 to Melbourne had to turn back to Los Angeles about an hour into its trip yesterday morning when a water pipe started leaking on the upper deck of the plane. The jet is an Airbus A380, the world's only complete double-decker airplane. Water was running down the aisle of the plane, and had made its way through the floor and showered economy-class passengers below. Qantas said the passengers were never in any danger, and they're being put up in hotels while the airline talks to the plane's manufacturer, Airbus, about what might have caused the situation.

Google grows yet another arm

Google has announced that it's acquiring streaming radio service Songza, which creates free playlists tailored for various activities and times of day. The companies declined to reveal the purchase price. Songza, launched in 2010, will complement Google Play Music All Access, the subscription streaming service Google unveiled last year. Google said Songza will continue to function independently for the time being while it "explore[s] ways to bring what you love about Songza to Google Play Music." Let's just hope it doesn't make a huge mess of it like it did with Orkut, which nobody uses anymore, so the service will shut down at the end of September.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: Destroying churches

A Sudanese government force destroyed a church yesterday, ignoring the wails of nearby residents in an attack which came a day after authorities sent a letter saying they would demolish the church. The 70-strong force arrived at the Alizba slums near the capital, Khartoum, around 10am local time. Some were dressed in plain clothes. This is not on. The threat of violence has caused Sudan's churches to empty, and complaints about the predominantly Muslim country's lack of religious freedom are already under the international spotlight after Mariam Yehya Ibrahim, a Christian mother of two, refused to renounce her faith and was sentenced to death. After an international outcry, she was freed and reunited with her American husband, but the church is still contaminated with terror. This sort of nonsense is why the predominately Christian regions in the south became their own country.

One Angry Man, Canadian Style

The Bellend of the Month for June 2014 is Daniel Evens, who left Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper a threatening voice mail which included a return name and number. Doing so has landed the Calgarian (resident of Calgary) the equivalent of a six-month jail term. Evans was also placed on probation for a year, after pleading guilty to a March 12 charge of uttering threats. Crown prosecutor Steve Johnston told provincial court Judge Joanne Durant that Evans left the threatening message on Harper’s constituency office phone. In it, a drunken Evans asks — in often vulgar language — to have Harper call him back. “If you can get the d--- weed to phone me I’d like to tell him I’ll straighten our government out,” Johnston quoted from a transcript of Evans’ call. “You guys suck,” Evans said. “I’m not a voting P.C. no more.” But after expressing his political displeasure, Evans became threatening, Johnston told Durant. “Phone me back otherwise somebody needs to shoot the mother f----- in the head and I mean Harper and I’m willin’ to do it,” he said. “I’ll buy a silencer and blow (his) head off myself. Nobody in Canada wants to try and do it well, do you remember J.F. Kennedy in the States, well that can happen to Harper,” he said, of the assassinated U.S. president. Evans then reiterated his wish to speak to Harper directly. “If he doesn’t answer me and straighten up his act I’m gonna put a bullet through the prime minister’s head,” he said. And he concluded with a message that at least someone should call him back. “If you want the Prime Minister safe, you phone me,” Evans said. “Otherwise if you don’t I’m gonna eliminate him. Bye.” With enhanced credit for time in remand, Johnston said the offender had served the equivalent of a six-month sentence, which is the term he would have sought. A condition of Evans’ probation is that he have no contact with the prime minister, or anyone in Harper’s family. If you're going to make those kinds of threats, at the very least don't leave contact details in your message. Even then, it will eventually be traced back to you, so it's best not to do it.

Bridge of Death to become Bridge of Net

After decades of delays, San Francisco's historic Golden Gate Bridge - the second-most popular bridge for suicide in the world - is set to receive mesh barriers. “It has been an uphill fight," said state assemblyman Tom Ammiano, who has fought for over a decade to secure funding for the barrier. “But here we are, almost shovel ready.” The project will cost US$76 million to complete. Of that amount, $7 million will come from a state tax enacted by voters on those who make more than $1 million a year, and is earmarked for mental-health services. The rest will be paid for with federal funds that recently became available and local money from the bridge district. The plan to create suicide barriers on the bridge, where 1,600 people have leapt to their deaths since the span opened in 1937, was a subject of controversy for decades, with opponents arguing the mesh would mar the structure's beauty. In 2008, the bridge's board voted to install a stainless steel net, rejecting other options, including raising the 4-foot-high railings and leaving the world-renown span unchanged. Two years later, they certified the final environmental impact report for the net, which would stretch about 20 feet wide on each side of the span. Officials said it would not mar the landmark bridge's appearance. But funding for the project remained a major obstacle until two years ago when President Barack Obama signed into law a bill making safety barriers and nets eligible for federal funds. Some of the money still requires additional approval, but the bridge's board has now taken its final step in adopting the net. They'd better install the net soon, because last year, 48 people jumped to their deaths from the bridge, which hovers high above San Francisco Bay and connects the city of San Francisco with suburban Marin County. The Golden Gate is the second-most popular bridge for suicide in the world, after China's Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, which should also look at installing a net of its own.

Out goes the nanny

Ralph and Marcella Bracamonte's California home has become their personal hell. They fired their live-in nanny this month, but the woman - Diane Stretton - has refused to move out, and the couple has little legal recourse to evict her. "I fired her June 6 and she refused to leave, saying she had rights and I needed to evict her," Marcella Bracamonte told CNN. "She quit working about a month before I ever fired her - she would just stay in her room." How bad did it get? "She threatened to sue me after I didn't turn the air conditioner on," Bracamonte said, adding that Stretton "wrote me this long letter with all her terms and what she wanted - she wanted my family out of our home for certain hours everyday - it was crazy." It's more than just "crazy". What if the nanny was doing something rather unethical during those "certain hours" like running up the phone bill or pleasuring herself to photos of the Bracamontes' children? All that will soon be over because the family is working its way through the legal eviction process and while their case moves through the courts, the family has turned to social media for help. But why not change the locks and refuse to allow Stretton in the home in the meantime, or better yet get a gun and put her out of her misery? Because their social media campaign appears to be working, as Marcella said Stretton hasn't come back to the home since Thursday morning around 5am (Pacific Daylight Time).

FRIDAY FILM BEAT: Words and Pictures

This movie, featuring a war between two teachers as to which of words or pictures was more important, was just brilliant. However, there was one wasted opportunity for a comedic moment: in a scene early on where the art teacher was trying to silence her class, she could've picked up a nearby stool and thrown it at the wall while shouting "SHUT THE F*** UP" just like the Mr Joseph character did in an episode of Jonah from Tonga. But overall, the movie served an entertaining New York steak (borrowing from an analogy used in the film when the English teacher was criticising a student's choice of words). So go see it.

Suarez Pac-Man Style!

Just like after Zinedine Zidane headbutted Marco Materazzi in extra time during the final of the 2006 tournament in Germany, someone made a game starring Luis Suarez, who bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during the second half of Wednesday’s Group D game. The internet has been in fine form since, with the latest bite-related creation being a Pac-Man game starring Luis Suarez chomping down on Chiellini heads while referees holding red cards chase him around. If you grab the sunglasses, the refs also become edible, just like when the ghosts turn blue in regular Pac-Man. To play it, click here. To play the Zidane headbutt game, click here.

Bite causes striker to strike out

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez faces a lengthy ban that would force him to miss the rest of the World Cup if found guilty of biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. Fifa, football's governing body, has opened disciplinary proceedings against the striker following Uruguay's 1-0 group win. Chiellini claimed Suarez, who was suspended for biting in 2010 while at Ajax and in 2013 during Sir Alex's last match against Chelsea, bit him on the left shoulder, but Suarez said the defender "bumped" into him. Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez took no action following the incident, but Fifa can still punish Suarez, who and could be banned for up to 24 matches or two years. Seriously, guys. Biting is for pre-school, not a soccer field. Fifa will want to deal with this quickly so attention can once again return to matters on the pitch. Given that spitting at an opponent carries a minimum tariff of six games, you would expect biting to carry a longer ban for Suarez (if found guilty, of course). That gives you the benchmark many people are working on, and would mean his World Cup would be over. And it would serve him right too.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: Not ordaining women

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has excommunicated a prominent backer of ordination of women priests. Kate Kelly, founder of Ordain Women, was notified of the ruling yesterday, a day after a trial by an all-male panel of judges in the Mormon Church. The group said the Mormon Church hierarchy deemed her an apostate for her contravention of Church doctrine. The Utah-based Mormon religion boasts more than 15 million members worldwide. According to a letter informing her of her excommunication obtained by the Deseret News, a leading Utah newspaper, Ms Kelly will be barred from some acts of church worship for at least a year. "You are entitled to your views, but you are not entitled to promote them and proselyte others to them while remaining in full fellowship in the Church," wrote Bishop Mark Harrison of Virginia, adding that she can be readmitted to the fold if she shows "true repentance", including ceasing "teachings and actions that undermine the Church, its leaders, and the doctrine of the priesthood", the last-named of which holds that only men can be ordained into the priesthood. This is wrong and chauvinistic. Having a vagina instead of a penis does not make you any less capable of doing the job. And besides, other Christian denominations are ordaining women to their priesthoods or equivalent. Mormon Church, if you're reading this, you should re-admit Kate Kelly to the fold and join us sensible people in the 21st century. We have donuts. Wrapped in bacon.

Parent trapped on the Hindes legs of society

A Michigan judge has issued an impossible order to a deployed sailor: appear in court today or face arrest and the possibility of losing custody of his six-year-old daughter. The sailor, Matthew Hindes, is currently serving on the USS Michigan under the Pacific Ocean, so there is no way he can appear in court. And before you suggest services like Skype, Hindes is not even allowed to attend by Skype or phone, only in person. “He’s protecting the rights of others, but who is protecting his rights?” Hindes’ wife Benita-Lynn told media. Hindes was awarded custody in 2010, after his daughter Kaylee was removed from the home of his ex-wife, Angela, by child protective services. While the sailor is deployed, Kaylee has been under the care of the daughter’s step-mother Benita-Lynn. Because Hindes left his daughter in the care of his wife instead of leaving her with the mother, the judge has refused to issue a stay under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which allows courts to “grant a stay of proceedings for a minimum period of 90 days to defendants serving their country.” Circuit Court Judge Margaret Noe disagreed with Hindes’ lawyers request for relief, saying, “If the child is not in the care and custody of the father, the child should be in the care and custody of the mother.” That doesn't make sense. If child services removed the child from the mother's custody, I'm sure there was a good reason for doing so, and that they were acting in the best interests of the child. Just because the father is deployed overseas and possibly fighting in a war the child didn't start is no excuse for demanding she stay with a potentially unfit mother, especially when there's a step-parent who can look after her.

Three faiths to a building

Berlin thinks it is making religious history as Muslims, Jews, and Christians join hands to build a place where they can all worship. The House of One, as it is being called, will be a synagogue, a church, and a mosque under one roof. An architecture competition was held and a winner chosen - the striking design being a brick building with a tall, square central tower. Off the courtyard will be the houses of worship for the three faiths - a synagogue, a church, and a mosque - and each of the three areas in the House will be the same size, but of a different shape designed according to the religious needs and particularities of each faith. There are for instance two levels in the mosque and the synagogue but only one in the church. There will be an organ in the church and places to wash feet in the mosque. The complex is to occupy a prominent site - Petriplatz - in the heart of Berlin. The location is highly significant, according to one of the three religious leaders involved, for the city where Jewish suffering was planned is now the city where a centre is being built by the three monotheistic religions which shaped European culture. But enough about that because speaking of culture, a weakness in the defences of "superbug" bacteria has been uncovered by British scientists, raising the prospect of new treatments to tackle infections that are resistant to antibiotics. The researchers have identified a weakness affecting the membrane barrier that surrounds some of the most drug-resistant bacterial cells. The discovery, reported in the journal Nature, may pave the way to a new generation of drugs that work by bringing down the defensive wall. At the heart of their findings is the way "gram negative" bacterial cells transport the barrier's molecular "bricks". Professor Changjiang Dong, from the University of East Anglia's (UEA) Norwich Medical School, said: "We have identified the path and gate used by the bacteria to transport the barrier building blocks to the outer surface. Importantly we have demonstrated that the bacteria would die if the gate is locked. This is really important because drug-resistant bacteria is a global health problem. Many current antibiotics are becoming useless, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. The number of superbugs are increasing at an unexpected rate. This research provides the platform for urgently needed new-generation drugs." There will be an obvious risk with this new development: the bacteria will in time realise what's going on and from there adapt to survive, requiring us to go further just to stay on top of the bacteria, which is already important as the rise of resistant bacteria around the world poses a global threat greater than that of climate change. Bugs such as MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) are becoming increasingly immune even to antibiotics that are the last resort in treatment, adding risk to operations and procedures that should be routine.

Yo it's the iWatch!

Yo, the messaging app so simple it just says “Yo”, has soared past Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat to become the fifth most popular app in the US Apple app store in the last week, grabbing the attention of venture capitalists, hackers, and comedians. The app – where users press on a contact’s name to send a “yo!” - has become the talk of Silicon Valley as it takes mobile messaging to its logical, minimalist extreme. Almost 4m of the messages were sent in one day on Thursday. The recipient gets a notification that says “yo!” and who it is from. One Yo! account promises to notify a user whenever a goal is scored in the World Cup. Some say this is the stupidest app ever made, and many in the technology industry have echoed that sentiment with people taking to Twitter to deride the app, and in particular share their worries that it was able to raise so much money. The app even made it on to The Colbert Report (pronounced col-BEAR re-POR as if it were French), a popular nightly US comedy programme, where it was mocked for “boiling down all of communication to two letters” with host Stephen Colbert asking, “Y?” But there is a fascinating aspect lots of people are missing: Yo is an instance of ‘one-bit communication’ – a message with no content other than the fact that it exists. Yes or no. Yo or no yo. And watch or no watch, as after years of speculation, Apple looks set to finally enter the world of wearable tech as production is rumoured to begin on its iWatch next month. Numerous sources close to the matter have said the Californian company's much-rumoured first smartwatch, dubbed the iWatch by fans, will sport a 2.5-inch arched rectangular display supplied by LG. The device is said to contain more than 10 sensors for purposes including monitoring the user's pulse, and will need to be paired with an iPhone in order to send messages and voice chat with others. The iOS-compatible-only smartwatch is currently in trial production at Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta Computer Inc ahead of mass production starting next month and a potential October launch date, it has been alleged. While Quanta is expected be the main manufacturer, Singaporean sensor maker Heptagon is also said to appear on a list of suppliers.

FRIDAY FILM BEAT: Blended

This is clearly Adam Sandler's best work. He and Drew Barrymore really pulled it together. Critical reception hasn't been good, though - on Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 14% rating based on 120 critics, with the consensus: "Lurching between slapstick and schmaltz without showing much of a commitment to either, Blended commits the rare Sandler sin of provoking little more than boredom", and on Metacritic, the film has a score of 31 out of 100, based on 32 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Go see it and form your own opinion about it.

Amazon on Fire

Amazon entered the smartphone business yesterday, and made a big splash doing it. At an event in Seattle, the retail giant unveiled the Fire Phone, a high-end, 3-D smartphone. It is the first smartphone Amazon has produced on its own. "Can we build a better phone for our most engaged customers?" asked Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos at the event. "Can we build a better phone for Amazon Prime members? Well, I'm excited to tell you that the answer is yes." Here's what all the hype is about:

• Display: The Fire Phone has a 3-D, 4.7-inch high-definition display. It uses infrared lights and cameras mounted on the phone's surface to track a user's head movements and render images accordingly.
• Camera: The Fire Phone has a lightning-fast quad-core 2.2 GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM, and a 13 Megapixel camera. The camera comes with an optical image-stabilization feature, letting the shutter stay open four-times longer than most cameras to counteract hand tremors when taking photos. A special button on the side launches the camera and takes photos - rather than having to go into the phone to open the camera feature.
• Firefly: Amazon's "Firefly" feature uses the camera to recognize physical objects - books, video games, food, household products, and other items - and gives you the option to buy all that stuff instantly on Amazon. Firefly can also listen to songs a la Shazam. Like with the camera, there's also a dedicated Firefly button on the side of the Fire Phone.
• Media: Media consumption, unsurprisingly for an Amazon devce, is the Fire Phone's focal point. The second screen feature can fling videos to Amazon's Fire TV or any Mirrorcast-enabled device. An "X-ray" feature provides details about what you're watching, and Amazon's "ASAP" tool uses predictive software to caching videos it thinks you will watch - and make them immediately available for streaming. Amazon said competitors will be included in those tools as well, including Netflix, HBOGo, and ESPN.
• Other stuff: Amazon's Mayday customer service feature, already in use on tablets, will also be available on the Fire Phone. It includes 24/7 access to tech support in 15 seconds or less. Amazon's smartphone also features dual stereo speakers, with premium earbuds included. It includes aluminum buttons and steel connectors. The Fire Phone will cost $199 with a two-year contract, available exclusively on AT&T's network for the time being. It is currently available for pre-order on Amazon's website, and it will begin shipping on July 25. The phone will also come with a year of Amazon Prime included for both new and existing members, as a limited time offer.

Beat that, iOS and Android-based phones.

Straight Outta Coma

Former F1 driver Michael Schumacher is no longer in a coma and has been transferred from a hospital in Grenoble (host of the 1968 Winter Olympics), where he had been admitted after a skiing accident last year, his management has said in a statement. He will continue his recovery at the University hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland. Officials there confirmed that Schumacher was admitted, but gave no further details about his treatment. The seven-time world champion suffered severe head trauma in a skiing accident at the French Alps resort of Meribel on December 29, and has been treated in Grenoble since his accident. The five and a half months he spent in a coma should serve as a warning to anyone who still thinks it's a good idea to ski off-piste. Just don't do it otherwise you're going to have a bad time.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: Xbox One's ad campaign

Xbox One owners are complaining that a new TV advert is switching their consoles on without their permission. The ad - featuring Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul - has the actor say "Xbox On" near its start. The instruction appears to trigger the machine's Kinect voice/motion sensor, activating the console. A spokesman for the firm said it had no comment at this time, but noted that previous ads had also featured voice commands - for instance, in November Xbox One owner Tim Kimberl posted a video to YouTube showing that an internet ad that featured the command "Xbox go to Dead Rising 3" launched the game on his system. Many people have posted comments about the problem on social media sites. "Aaron Paul just turned my Xbox One via the Xbox advert. (Which triggered the IR [infrared] blaster to switch my TV off..)" tweeted Qassim Farid, a UK-based tech blogger. Chesterfield-based Tom Neal wrote: "@Xbox your new TV advert is annoying the hell outta me. Aaron Paul keeps turning my console on… #stooooop". The effect has also been noted on news discussion site Reddit's Xbox section, with one commentator writing: "Damn commercial keeps turning on my xbox! Lol". Affected users do have the ability to turn off the Kinect sensor, which prevents the console responding to voice commands, but Microsoft, if you're reading this, STOP IT. It's bad enough your computer operating system is nowhere near as good as Apple's, but your Xbox One ad campaigns are making life difficult for Xbox One owners. Remember the episode of 30 Rock where a voice-controlled television went haywire when on-screen characters mentioned its trigger words?

Kentucky Fried Turnaway

The outrage came hard and fast after a 3-year-old girl badly scarred and wearing an eye patch because of a pit bull attack was apparently asked to leave a KFC restaurant because her appearance upset other customers. The girl, Victoria Wilcher (picture 1), was mauled by three pit bulls a few months ago, causing her to need regular medical treatment. After a doctor's visit last week, grandmother Kelly Mullins took the child to a KFC in Jackson, Mississippi. "I ordered a large sweet tea and her some mashed potatoes and gravy because she was hungry," Mullins told CNN affiliate WAPT. "She was on a feeding tube at the time, but I figured she could just swallow (the potatoes). They just told us, they said, 'We have to ask you to leave because her face is disrupting our customers.' (Victoria) understood exactly what they said." Victoria cried all the way home. "She's got a lot of surgeries to go through and she won't even look in the mirror anymore," Mullins told WAPT. "When we go to a store, she doesn't even want to get out (of the car). She's 3 years old and she's embarrassed about what she looks like. She's embarrassed and I hate it because she shouldn't be. It ain't her fault." Not cool, KFC. You should be lucky that wasn't my niece (picture 2) you turned away on such a lame excuse otherwise you would have me to deal with.

Miley Bieber Style

She's at it again. After earlier posting sexy photos of herself half-naked (picture 1), Miley Cyrus has now posted snaps looking like Justin Bieber (picture 2). The controversial singer is pictured sitting on a balcony with her head slightly stooped - Bieber-style - and sporting his former floppy hairstyle. She also shows of the tattoos on her forearms in the snaps, perhaps mimicking his growing tattoo collection? She captioned one of the snaps: "lookinlikebieber." That's just stupid. Nobody should want to look like Justin Bieber. He is a douche and so is anyone that likes his horrible music. His songs should only be used at Guantanamo as a humane alternative to waterboarding. If you want real music, Gangnam Style is where it's at - it has twice as many views on YouTube, and was able to get its first billion in the space of just over five months. And as for wanting to look like Bieber, Miley should just stick to twerking.

The spray shall keep them away

Now you see it, now you don't - that's the logic behind a vanishing spray being used at this year's World Cup in Brazil. The spray is called 9:15 Fairplay, 9:15 being the metric equivalent of 10 yards (9.15 meters). It's already been used in games the past several years by Major League Soccer, and if you watched Thursday's (Friday depending on which time zone you're in) opening Brazil-Croatia match, you may have seen it: before a free kick in the first half, a referee pulled a spray can out of a holster and squirted a white line on the field. No, the World Cup refs aren't wannabe graffiti artists. For the first time, FIFA referees are using 9:15 Fairplay to paint a temporary white line 10 yards from the free kick spot, marking the safe area into which opposing players cannot encroach. The spray disappears after one minute. This, although somewhat awkward to watch, addresses a problem for referees and players alike: although they're supposed to remain 10 yards away, opposing players have frequently crept closer to the free-kick taker in an effort to disrupt the kick, starting countless arguments about fairness. The vanishing spray, which was an immediate hit Thursday on Twitter, is the brainchild of Argentinian journalist and entrepreneur Pablo Silva. "It started seven or eight years ago when I was playing in a championship played amongst former school members," Silva told Reuters. "In the 88th minute, we were losing 1-0 and won a free kick on the edge of the area. When I took the kick, the wall (of opposing players) was three meters away. The referee didn't book anyone and didn't do anything. We lost the game and driving home later, with a mixture of anger and bitterness, I thought that we must invent something to stop this." Hence, 9:15 Fairplay. If all goes well, we could be seeing this in domestic club competitions as soon as the beginning of the coming season, then it could become universal like yellow and red cards did in the years after they were introduced in the 1970 World Cup. Speaking of red cards, one of Germany's most famous footballers has been banned by soccer's ruling body for failing to cooperate with an investigation into corruption within the game. Franz Beckenbauer, the only man to win the World Cup as captain and coach, has been provisionally suspended from any football-related activity for 90 days. FIFA said in a statement that the 68-year-old had been asked to help with its Ethics Committee's probe into allegations against Qatar 2022 and the World Cup bidding process. "The apparent breach relates to Mr. Beckenbauer's failure to cooperate despite repeated requests for his assistance, including requests that he provide information during an in-person interview or in response to written questions provided in both English and German," FIFA said. The chairman of the committee's investigatory body, New York lawyer Michael Garcia, is expected to announce his findings by the end of July after a long-running examination of the circumstances that saw Russia and Qatar awarded the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively. The December 2010 vote by FIFA's executive committee members to take the sport's showpiece tournament to the Middle East for the first time has been mired in controversy.

FRIDAY FILM BEAT: The Fault in Our Stars

Despite the name, I found no faults with this particular movie. Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort (who played a brother and sister in Divergent) did just as good a job on this as they had on Divergent, but the best bit was the unlit cigarette metaphor used in several scenes - you have the means of causing more cancer right there in front of you, but you choose not to activate it, therefore denying it the satisfaction and developing a sense of having control over at least that one area of your life. But there's more to it than just Ansel Elgort's character holding an unlit cigarette in his mouth - so go see it before Edge of Tomorrow starts to outgross it.

A week today, it will have been two years

Don't be a heroin

A 6-year-old student got at least 10 packs of heroin into a classroom on Tuesday at Commodore John Barry Elementary School in Philadelphia. A first-grade teacher saw one of her students playing with the packets — two had been opened and one had been chewed open. “We do have one student saying that the young lady who brought the substance to school did have that packet in her mouth,” Police Lieutenant John Walker told reporters. Since heroin can be deadly, even if absorbed in small amounts, all 20 first-graders were rushed to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in a yellow school bus. Where would a child that young find heroin? Not necessarily on school grounds, of course. Though police said a school-wide search found no other narcotics, they also searched the child’s home and expect to file charges against the child’s mother and her boyfriend. Why would one have narcotics in the same house as a little kid? And why would gay conversion therapy still be considered acceptable in 2014? Short answer: it ain't. Therefore, New York's Democratic-led Assembly is set to take up a bill today banning licensed health officials from administering therapy to minors attempting to change their sexual orientation. Mathew Shurka, of Long Island, describes himself as emotionally scarred from five years of therapy to "cure" his homosexuality. The 26-year-old began the therapy at age 16. The American Psychological Association says that there is no evidence that the so-called gay conversion therapy can change someone's sexual orientation. Shurka was told to avoid women and surround himself with male friends in the hopes of learning to act like a heterosexual man. A therapist even advised he watch heterosexual pornography to curb his homosexual thoughts. Bans against gay conversion therapy have already gone into law in New Jersey and California. That's still 47 states too few, and I daresay Texas won't be jumping the bandwagon any time soon.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: Phone tapping

Law enforcement agencies in six countries have direct access to Vodafone's network, allowing them to monitor phone calls and messages without the carrier's knowledge, the company said Friday. The British telecom firm said it couldn't name the countries for legal reasons, and for fear of retaliation against its business and staff. A year after Edward Snowden first leaked details about the U.S. National Security Agency's far-reaching surveillance programs, Vodafone's revelations are likely to fuel concern about the growing use of mobile networks and the Internet by governments to snoop on citizens. In most countries, a warrant would be required for Vodafone to provide information or access to its data. But in a small number of countries, local law dictates that certain authorities must have "direct access to an operator's network, bypassing any form of operational control over lawful interception on the part of the operator." Direct access is established via permanent secret wires into the company's data network. That gives state authorities the ability to listen into and record private conversations without a warrant, and without Vodafone's knowledge. The company said it believed the practice should end. They're right. Governments should amend legislation which enables agencies and authorities to access an operator's communications infrastructure without the knowledge and direct control of the operator, and take steps to discourage agencies and authorities from seeking direct access to an operator's communications infrastructure without a lawful mandate. This is most needed in the US, where even if you power off your cell phone, the government can turn it back on. That's what ex-spy Edward Snowden revealed in last week's interview with NBC's Brian Williams. It sounds like sorcery. Can someone truly bring your phone back to life without touching it? No. But government spies can get your phone to play dead. It's a crafty hack. You press the button. The device buzzes. You see the usual power-off animation. The screen goes black. But it'll secretly stay on - microphone listening and camera recording. So how did they get into your phone in the first place? Here's how: government spies set up their own miniature cell network tower. Your phone automatically connects to it. Now, that tower's radio waves send a command to your phone's antennae: the baseband chip. That tells your phone to fake any shutdown and stay on. A smart hack won't keep your phone running at 100%, though. Spies could keep your phone on standby and just use the microphone - or send pings announcing your location. John Pirc, who did cybersecurity research at the CIA, said these methods - and others, like physically bugging devices - let the US hijack and reawaken terrorists' phones. The only way you can tell is if your phone feels warm when it's turned off. That means the baseband processor is still running. This isn't easy to accomplish, but if you are really concerned about the government's ability to reawaken your phone, here are some things you could do:

• Put your phone on what's known as recovery or Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) mode. This bypasses the phone's operating system. It's fairly easy (albeit cumbersome) for iPhone users. Plug it into a computer with iTunes open. Hold down the Power and Home buttons for 10 seconds (no less) then let go of the Power button. Wait for an iTunes pop-up. That's it. But if you have an Android, click here.
• Use a signal-blocking phone case. You can buy them from Off Pocket or HideCell, or even make your own - assuming you have the patience to do so.
• Pull out the battery. Without a power source, the phone can't come back on. This is the best, most surefire option. It's also, annoyingly, no longer a choice on most top-of-the-line smartphones. The iPhone, HTC One, and Nokia Lumia don't have removable batteries. Luckily, the Samsung Galaxy and LG G3 still do. Silent Circle, a company that enables top-end private communication, kept these issues in mind when it co-created the Blackphone. It has a removable battery. It uses PrivatOS, a stripped-down version of Android that reduces tracking. And because spoofed cell towers can target its antennae too, Blackphone's makers are working with chipmaker Nvidia to develop their own custom, more secure baseband chip.

Or, you could always just wrap your phone in tinfoil when it's not being used.

J-Law to become Mopniss Everclean

Jennifer Lawrence is putting down Katniss Everdeen's famous bow and picking up - a mop? That's right, people - the Oscar winner will reportedly play Miracle Mop inventor Joy Mangano in her third collaboration with Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle director, David O Russell. Fox has set next Christmas as the release date for the film. The rags-to-riches tale will follow the Long Island single mother as she becomes one of America's most successful entrepreneurs. Speaking of rags to riches, Kim Dotcom is offering NZ$5 million to anyone who can help him with his extradition case. The US is seeking to extradite Dotcom from New Zealand to face charges of copyright conspiracy, racketeering, and money-laundering allegedly carried out by his file-sharing company, Megaupload. Earlier this year, Dotcom lost his final bid in the Supreme Court to gain access to evidence the US government had against him in his case. The matter of disclosure had already been ruled on in three courts. Two judges - one each in the District Court and one in the High Court - ruled that Dotcom should be allowed to see all the information, but this year the Court of Appeal ruled against him. So now, the German internet mogul and founder of the Internet Party is offering NZ$5 million to anyone who can prove government corruption over the handling of his case. "We are asking for information that proves unlawful or corrupt conduct by the US government, the New Zealand government, spy agencies, law enforcement, and Hollywood", Dotcom told website Torrentfreak.com. "It is the opinion of my legal team that disclosure of such information would be lawful. I would also guarantee that any whistleblower coming forward would have the best legal representation at zero cost." That's right, people, you have some serious money to make off this if you have information that could be of use to him and potentially keep him on our side of the Equator.

Dog Treat Afternoon

Halloween isn't until October, but a Pennsylvania school district said an aide played a trick with treats by giving students pet snacks. About 75 fourth-graders at New Hanover-Upper Frederick Elementary School received the pet treats during recess Thursday. No injuries were reported. Student Gabriel Moore told WFMZ-TV the aide first joked they were dog treats, then told students they were actually cookies. Gabriel ate three. Boyertown Area School District officials notified parents on Friday. They didn't disclose the type of pet treat, but said the ingredients would only be harmful to people with certain food allergies. That's beside the point. Giving children pet food is just wrong. The distinction between human food and pet food exists for a reason, that reason having nothing to do with a huge water source which has been discovered in the arid Turkana region of northern Kenya and could supply the country for 70 years. The aquifers i question were found in the Turkana Basin and Lotikipi Basin using satellites and radar. Last year, scientists released a map detailing the vast reservoirs which lie under much of Africa. Another aquifer was found in Namibia - sub-Saharan Africa's driest country. This newly found wealth of water opens a door to a more prosperous future for the people of Turkana and the nation as a whole, which must now work to further explore these resources responsibly and safeguard them for future generations, and I don't mean accepting huge pay-offs from greedy corporations which want all the water for themselves.

Tetris turns 30

That's right, everyone - Tetris turns 30 years old today. Thirty years! Where did the time go? In fact, here's a better question: is the groundbreaking video game a cultural necessity? No. But is it art? Definitely. It ushered in a new age of mobile gaming, and gave us an escape during an era of unusual pressures. Tetris was the greatest and most influential time suck of its era. The game was invented in 1984 by Soviet scientist Alexey Pajitnov. It was introduced on the IBM and Commodore 64 a year later, then ported to handheld devices in 1989, when it exploded in popularity. It was notorious for its capacity for work stoppage from the beginning. Days after Pajitnov invented it, his boss at the Soviet Academy of Science in Moscow outlawed the game at all computer workstations, and for good reason because if the collective time and mental energy the world has spent on Tetris was instead used to cure disease, our life expectancy would have jumped to 126. But what were we going to do with those twilight years anyway? That's right, play Tetris.

FRIDAY FILM BEAT: Maleficent

I don't know what aspect I liked better - whether it was the 3D (which seemed lacking in parts), the special effects, Angelina Jolie's portrayal of the main antagonist, or the plot - but this is one you guys need to see. Critical reception seems to be on the fence, but this is clearly one of the better movies to have come out so far this summer blockbuster season. Go see it if you can afford a ticket, which could be a problem if you're the Auckland cafe owner who has to stump up NZ$14,120, after illegally docking a worker's wages. Bin Zhang, the director of Viz Cafe, told his employee Fei Teng the business located on Fort Street wasn't turning a profit, so she had to hand back NZ$200 of her wages each week, in order to keep her work visa. She was forced to make 17 such payments over six months, taking her income well below minimum wage. I hope that bellend's little money-making scheme was worth it because now he has to pay NZ$6120 in wage arrears, as well as a NZ$5000 penalty for breaching the Wages Protection Act 1983, of which NZ$2000 is to be paid to the employee, rather than the Crown. Mr Zhang also has to pay an additional NZ$3000 penalty for failing to comply with an Improvement Notice issued by the Labour Inspectorate. This will serve as a clear warning to other employers who breach minimum labour standards.

Passport doodle style

A four-year-old’s artistic expression has left his Chinese dad stuck in South Korea after the child decided his dad’s passport needed bit of flare - the young boy decided to add bit of facial hair to his father’s passport photo. He also coloured in his dad's eyes and gave him a few friends as well to finish off his artwork. When the family tried to leave South Korea, customs officials would not let him board the plane, therefore the father and son are now stuck in South Korea. But why go back to China? Why go back to an oppressive communist dictatorship? Why not stay in South Korea? That kid was doing his dad a favour, and I think they should make the best of this and start a new life there.

Samsung nixes Android

Samsung Electronics, the world's No.1 smartphone maker, on Monday unveiled its first smartphone powered by Tizen, an open-source alternative to Android. The Samsung Z will be on show at the Tizen Developer Conference to be held this week in San Francisco, the South Korean company said in a statement. The tech behemoth said that the phone is optimized with the Tizen software, which will offer a faster startup time and immediate multi-tasking capabilities. The smartphone comes with a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display and a 2.3 GHz Quad-core processor. It features a distinctive home and application layout for easy access to favourite apps. But enough about that because the group 2 Million Bikers will form a wall of motorcycles between Maya Angelou's funeral procession and any potential protests by the Westboro Baptist Church. Angelou was considered one of America's great poets, performers, speakers, activists, and writers, and will be interred after two services this week - one for the public, and a second private service according to Jezebel. Her tribute to the late Nelson Mandela was featured on the US State Department's youtube channel after his death. The WBC meanwhile proclaimed that the Mandela was burning in hell, and that it was going to picket Angelou's funeral, tweeting "No RIP Maya Angelou. She was a staunch devil child who esteemed the love of the world more than the honour of God," according to Gay Star News. They also claimed that she was a "fag enabler." 2 Million Bikers wasn't willing to take this lying down, and while they claim not to endorse Angelou's views, they have decided to protect her funeral. A spokesman for the bikers said, "If we allow WBC to protest at her funeral what will stop them from protesting at one of our funerals?" Seriously, people, those idiots should not be preaching their gospel of hate at anybody's funeral. Let the mourners grieve instead of listen to those fanatics and their hateful messages.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: Not using Apple products

And it is set to become an even worse idea. Whether you like Apple or not, you can't deny that it hit the ball out of the park with its keynote address at its World Wide Developers Conference. Apple's iOS8 was arguably the star of the show however, with a ton of features in tow. Some of these additions were blatantly lifted from other platforms, while others are genuinely new and fascinating features. But which ones were the most notable then?

• Apple's fingerprint scanner on the iPhone 5s is easily the best tech of its kind on a smartphone, beating the Galaxy S5's effort into fine dust. It's not perfect though, owing to the fact that it was locked down for third-party use - so that meant that you could only use it to authenticate iTunes purchases and to unlock your device. However, Apple has confirmed that iOS8 will open up the Touch ID system to third parties.
• Apple's virtual keyboard has been one of the best efforts around, but recent years haven't been kind to it, as other efforts quickly caught up and then surpassed it. The first order of business was to allow third-party keyboard support, much like Android - allowing users to swap out an old keyboard for a new one. For those wanting to stick with Apple's default keyboard, the company swiped a big feature from Swype (heh), by introducing swiping gestures for the keyboard. It also cribbed a bit from Windows Phone, by bringing in multiple word suggestions instead of one autocorrected suggestion.
• Apple will be offering app previews for users, allowing them to try an application before committing to spending cash on it.
• Google Now marked a big step for smartphones, delivering contextual information throughout the day - such as traffic, directions, and recommendations. Cortana, coming to Windows Phone 8.1, handles things in a similar fashion too. Apple's Spotlight search tool handles this in a similar manner too, dishing out recommendations for nearby places, trending news, and iTunes recommendations.
• Apple has taken the mobile/desktop interactions even further, with two great features in tow. The first one is called Handoff, which essentially allows you to start a task on one device and complete it on another. The second is the ability to send and receive text messages on your Mac, via your iPhone. And you can even make and receive phone calls on your Mac as well, via your iPhone again.
• A new health gadget called Healthkit collects health-related information from supported sensors and gadgets - but it also has the option to contact a doctor in an emergency.
• Apple has also revealed what it calls Homekit, essentially a platform for creating smart home products. So for instance, this means that you can unlock your garage door, turn off the lights, and change the thermostat using your iPhone.
• Apple has stepped up to deliver fantastic sharing functionality in the form of its Family Sharing feature. In other words, up to six people can share music, videos, apps, and ebooks - with one person in control of everything. Aside from purchased media and apps, it's also possible to share a photo stream and calendar entries. But the best Family Sharing feature has to be the ability for kids to request purchases - being up to the parent to grant permission. That's right, no more surprise credit card transactions.
• It's now possible for users to utilise the specific functionality of one app in another - for instance, you can directly pin an image in your web browser to Pinterest. Or use a third-party photo filter in the camera app. It's not quite as comprehensive as Android's ability to open a file with any app, but it could be a much easier way to handle things if third parties take to it in a big way.
• Apple has also taken to creating interactive notifications - for instance, allowing you to respond to a Facebook message within the notification centre. It's nothing new, with BlackBerry 10 sporting this already, but it's definitely welcomed.
• iOS8 is also getting third-party widget support, but this will only be seen in the notification centre.

That's right, people, Apple really have it in for iPhone users later this year. There has been some great stuff going down over the past five months (including but not limited to the binge weekend of Jonah from Tonga last month and Pam Dawber's brief return to acting in the form of a guest role on the now-cancelled The Crazy Ones - if any of you losers at CBS are reading this, may you die a slow and painful death for what you did to that show) and I'm sure the good times will continue with the World Cup then the Commonwealth Games soon after.

Never say n*****

Pop star Justin Bieber has apologised for telling a racist joke that was caught on video. The clip, obtained by editors at Britain's The Sun on Sunday newspaper, was shot during the production of his 2011 documentary Never Say Never. In the short video, Bieber appears to ask pals, "Why are black people afraid of chainsaws?" Grinning, Bieber then adds, "Run, n*****, n*****, n*****, n*****, run." Bieber has since apologised, blaming the comments on his age. "As a kid, I didn't understand the power of certain words and how they can hurt. I thought it was ok to repeat hurtful words and jokes, but didn't realise at the time that it wasn't funny and that in fact my actions were continuing the ignorance," Bieber has told TMZ.com. Bieber goes on, "Thanks to friends and family I learned from my mistakes and grew up and apologised for those wrongs. Now that these mistakes from the past have become public I need to apologise again to all those I have offended. I'm very sorry. I take my friendships with people of all cultures very seriously and I apologise for offending or hurting anyone with my childish and inexcusable mistake. I was a kid then and I am a man now who knows my responsibility to the world and to not make that mistake again. Ignorance has no place in our society and I hope the sharing of my faults can prevent others from making the same mistake in the future. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to say but telling the truth is always what's right." So he finally realises what was so wrong about that word. But that doesn't change my opinion on his crappy music, which should only ever be used at Guantanamo as a humane substitute for waterboarding.

Two billion style

Frappuccinos - now bigger than Texas

The Bellend of the Month for May 2014 is Andrew Chifari. The Texan man entered a Starbucks in Dallas on the 24th with a 128-ounce glass and asked baristas to create the most expensive frappuccino that would fit in his container, but still taste good. The drink cost US$54.75, but Chifari walked away without paying a cent after racking up enough points under a loyalty plan for a free drink of his choice. Starbucks does not want others to follow suit, which is quite understandable because Chifari consumed several thousand calories and 4500 mg of caffeine, more than 10 times above what the US Food and Drug Administration considers to be a maximum safe amount for a healthy person to drink on a daily basis. If he wanted to stay awake during the upcoming World Cup, he could've just asked a friend to blow a vuvuzela into his ear whenever he started to fall asleep during a game (which hopefully won't be necessary because Texas is three hours behind Rio and many of the games this time round will be taking place during his daytime).

FRIDAY FILM BEAT: A Million Ways to Die in the West

Better name for it: A Million Ways to Die of Laughter in the West. Seriously, people, you need to go see this. It will be the funniest two hours of your life (sorry, Ted).

Goodbye Kill, hello Hill

Encouraging news for New Zealand’s newly launched Civilian Party: a parody party in Germany has won a seat in the European parliament. While some might regard the “earthquake” of extreme-right gains across Europe as absurd, the proudly absurd German Party party (Die Partei) have their own small foothold, thanks to the removal of a 3% threshold. Final results confirm that Germany’s The Party, a satirical outfit that ran a campaign with nonsense slogans like ‘Yes to Europe, No to Europe’, will be able to send its first MEP to Brussels. The organisation run by Martin Sonneborn, a former editor of the satirical magazine Titanic, got about 180,000 votes, roughly 0.6%. Sonneborn last night announced that he would resign as delegate within a month, and that his successors would follow his lead, so that The Party would have a total of 60 delegates sit in the European parliament between now and 2019. ‘We are going to milk the EU like a southern European state,’ he said. ’I don’t think we are the maddest ones in the European parliament.’ It's good to see some non-conventional blood in the European Parliament, however, overall turnout across Europe was low, but not so in the Spanish village of Castrillo Matajudíos, where just about every eligible voter took part in the European election. They had a particular reason to show up: they were also voting on a change to their village name, because "mata judíos" literally translates as “kill Jews”. It was close, but by a margin of 29 to 19, residents opted for Mota de Judios (Hill of the Jews). “When the change is approved I think it will be a turning point,” said the town's mayor, Lorenzo Rodriguez, who led the movement to change names and had threatened to resign if residents disagreed. The decision should bring an end to the embarrassment of locals, who frequently found themselves trapped into giving awkward explanations to outraged outsiders. “When you travel elsewhere, you always have to explain, because people say, ‘You kill Jews in Castrillo’,” Rodriguez, told AFP. “It makes no sense because we are descended from a Jewish community. We have a star of David on our coat of arms.” He said the town, which lies near the city of Burgos, was born in 1035 as a safe haven to a persecuted Jewish community, which settled on a hill, or Mota, in the area. But as far as killing is concerned, Castrillo Matajudíos is certainly not alone, and a number of other places can thrust their sword into the body of contention. La Matanza, near Alicante, means ‘the slaughter’, originating from ancient battles that were fought in the area. There are also the villages of Matamorosa and Matarrepudio, both south of Santander. Regardless of origins, morosa can mean ‘in arrears or slow to pay’, whilst repudio means ‘repudiation’ – the refusal to acknowledge or pay a debt. Should you wish to visit, avoiding any financial difficulties may be a good idea. Matalobos del Páramo, in Castilla y León, basically means ‘kill the wolves of the plain’, whilst Asturias veers from killing to death with the villages of La Degollada and El Pozo de las Mujeres Muertas. The first translates as ‘a woman with her throat cut’, although it actually refers to a cut or pass in the landscape, whilst the second means ‘the well of the dead women’. The good news is that Mujeres Muertas seems to have originated due to terrain and linguistic changes, so don’t worry too much about the local water supply.

Legging it

For those of you wondering whether it’s acceptable to wear leggings without tunic tops over them, Qatar has an answer: “leggings are not pants”. The Arab emirate has launched a social media campaign to educate Western tourists on appropriate clothing ahead of the 2022 World Cup, which is likely to bring an influx of badly-dressed visitors to the state. Campaign group “Reflect your Respect” has created a graphic (pictured) to share on Instagram and Twitter showing what sort of outfits are considered immodest in the Islamic country. The advert, also being handed out in leaflet form at Qatari airports, reads: “If you are in Qatar, you are one of us. Help us preserve Qatar’s culture and values, please dress modestly in public places.” The words are printed alongside pictures of four stick figures wearing unsuitable outfits, each with a cross underneath. Three are women — one in a sundress, another in shorts and a singlet, and a third wearing leggings and a T-shirt, with a muffin-top of bare midriff clearly visible. The fourth figure is a man in shorts and a singlet. The Arab state also forbids residents and visitors from uttering “indecent phrases”, displaying affection in public, drinking alcohol, and taking photos of people they do not know. Any behaviour considered obscene under Sharia law — including homosexuality — is punishable with a fine and up to six months in prison. It's good to get the relevant information eight years before you'll need it, but a) the differing cultural standards are already common knowledge in much of the world and b) they should be careful how far they're taking that crap because the campaign could be misused in Western countries to discriminate against Muslims and justify a ban on traditional niqabs and hijabs.

BAD IDEA OF THE WEEK: Geo-blocking

It's stupid as. But there are ways around it. Sadly, it appears Hollywood interests have responded to that. New Zealand internet users say they have been cut off from United States television streaming service Netflix. Slingshot spokesman Quentin Reade said the internet provider believed Netflix had made some changes to its systems, preventing access by some New Zealanders. "Something upstream from our network was changed, that's all I can confirm," he said. Netflix does not offer its service in New Zealand as it does not have rights to stream its programming here. It has always attempted to block access using a technique called "geo-blocking", but an unknown number of Kiwis had found ways around the block and subscribed. Slingshot provides one such option. It introduced a Global Mode service last June that disguises customers' internet protocol addresses so it can appear as though they are in the US. Slingshot has marketed Global Mode as a free tool that lets overseas visitors continue to access popular online services that are blocked in New Zealand, such as Netflix, but does not police who uses the service. Reade said Slingshot did not know whether Netflix was trying to enforce geo-blocking restrictions and prevent its service being accessed outside North America or whether the issues were unrelated to that possible goal. But I'm not on Slingshot and I don't use Netflix, however, I've got a better way around those stupid geo-blocks. It's a Chrome and Firefox plug-in called Hola. It lets you choose which country to fool the servers into thinking you're accessing a particular site from. I installed it on Chrome specifically for the Jonah from Tonga "binge weekend" early this month, when the entire series was available on ABC iView in Australia and BBC iPlayer in the UK. I am currently halfway through re-watching the entire series as it goes back up episode by episode each weekend.