The News Of …

Haute couture’s bad boy John Galliano will stand before a French judge Wednesday to answer to charges of anti-Semitic hate speech. Dropped by Dior, the British designer is expected to blame drug and alcohol addiction.
Around 100 French and foreign journalists, as well as hordes of fashionistas and celebrity news hounds, are expected to gather outside a Paris court on Wednesday, when British designer John Galliano will stand before a judge to answer to charges of launching an anti-semitic tirade in a trendy Parisian bar. Many will be searching the face of haute couture’s bad boy for signs of remorse and improved health after three months of detox, while others will be waiting to hear if he makes a public apology.
According to those close to the notoriously shy designer, Galliano is anxious about his day in court. But according to FRANCE 24’s fashion correspondent Jessica Michault: “He doesn’t really realise the gravity of the situation. He’s sort of in his little bubble.”
The incident in question occurred on Feb 24, when a couple, Géraldine Bloch and Philippe Virgité, were seated on the patio of La Perle, a café-bar in the upscale Marais district near Galliano’s residence. According to a report written by Yves Beddouk, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Galliano called Bloch an ‘ugly, disgusting whore’ with a ‘dirty Jew-face’. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs say, the bar staff refused to intervene, ‘because of Mr. Galliano’s fame and his friendly ties’ with the owner of the bar.
After having read about this altercation in the press, another woman came forward to file a complaint accusing Galliano of insulting her in the same bar several months earlier, in October 2010. According to the woman, Galliano mocked her physical appearance and hurled racially-charged insults at her in English. And on Feb 28, the British tabloid The Sun published on its website a video showing a visibly drunk Galliano insulting people seated at the next table and declaring his love for Hitler.

John Galliano.

Read the rest of this entry »

Film critic refuses to apologise for drink drive comments made on Twitter following the death of Jackass star Ryan Dunn in a car accident.
The eminent US film critic Roger Ebert has refused to apologise for anti drink drive comments made on Twitter following the death of Jackass star Ryan Dunn on Monday.
Dunn and another passenger died when the car they were travelling in (Dunn’s Porsche 911) hit a tree and burst into flames in West Goshen, Pennsylvania. The 34-year-old, who was driving the vehicle, had appeared in all three Jackass films, along with three seasons of the MTV TV show which spawned them.
A few hours before the accident, Dunn had tweeted pictures of himself drinking with friends to his followers.
Ebert later commented – “Friends don’t let Jackasses drink and drive” via Twitter, spawning an immediate backlash from some of his followers. The celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was one of the first to suggest that the film critic’s comments may have been made too soon after Dunn’s death, but Ebert later tweeted in response – “Perez Hilton’s readers agree with me and not with Perez about my tweet on Ryan Dunn. He drank, he drove, 2 people died.”
Dunn was identified by his tattoos, according to a witness who was on the scene when the bodies were pulled from the wreckage. The mother of Dunn’s Jackass co-star Bam Margera reportedly called a local radio station to confirm that he was killed in a car accident.
Dunn’s Jackass costar Johnny Knoxville tweeted – “Today I lost my brother Ryan Dunn. My heart goes out to his family and his beloved Angie. RIP Ryan, I love you buddy.”
A preliminary police report from the West Goshen police department cited speed as a possible contributory factor in the deaths of Dunn and his friend, but did not mention alcohol.

Ryan Dunn.

Read the rest of this entry »

Paris (Dow Jones) – Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd. (003490.SE) flew to Airbus’s rescue Monday, lending one of its A380 superjumbos for displays at this years Paris Air Show after the European commercial aircraft maker’s own plane collided with a building.
A spokesman for Airbus said the A380 would fly at Le Bourget Monday and Tuesday and that it was using one of Korean’s aircraft that had been on static display at the show.
Airbus Sunday was forced to pull its own aircraft out of planned displays as a result of the mishap. Its own double-decker aircraft sat idle with its right wing-tip covered, hiding the damage. “During ground maneuvers with the Airbus A380 flight test aircraft MSN 004, the aircraft’s right hand wing-tip touched a structure near the taxiway” – Airbus said in a statement Sunday.
A nearby building with the name ‘Embraer’ emblazoned on the side showed signs of the collision, with the corner ripped out one-third of the way down. Embraer is Brazil’s Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA (ERJ, EMVRA3). Airbus is a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. NV (EADSY).
Earlier this year, an A380 operated by Air France clipped a Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.T) CRJ-700 regional jet at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport, sending the smaller plan into a spin.
The start of the show has been marred with difficulties. Airbus was forced to pull its military transport carrier A400M out of displays because of an issue it identified during tests with its gearbox some 10 days ago.

A380.

Read the rest of this entry »

Los Angeles. Clarence Clemons, the burly saxophone player who played a crucial role in shaping Bruce Springsteen’s early sound, died on Saturday, six days after suffering a stroke at his Florida home. He was 69.
“It is with overwhelming sadness that we inform our friends and fans that at 7:00 tonight, Saturday, June 18, our beloved friend and bandmate, Clarence Clemons passed away” – Springsteen said on his website, adding the cause was complications from Clemons’ stroke last Sunday.
“His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years” – Springsteen added.
Clemons, dubbed the ‘Big Man,’ started working with Springsteen in 1971 and was a charter member of the backing group that came to be known as the E Street Band.
His gritty, evocative saxophone solos powered such notable Springsteen songs as ‘Born to Run,’ ‘Jungleland,’ ‘Prove It All Night,’ ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze Out,’ and ‘Badlands.’
On stage, Clemons proved a worthy foil for Springsteen and his bandmates. In a 1975 concert review, Rolling Stone said Clemons betrayed an ‘ominous cool’ in contrast to guitarist Steven Van Zandt’s ‘strange hipster frenzy.’
“Clarence was the big black saxophone player who completely represented the tradition of rock ‘n’ roll and R&B” – Van Zandt told Britain’s Mojo magazine in 2006.

Clarence Clemons.

Read the rest of this entry »

Actress Nia Long confirmed today that she’s got a bun in the oven.
She was spotted sporting a bikini with her baby bump in Cabo San Lucas and confirmed to People that she is pregnant with her second child.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star already has a 10-year-old child with ex-boyfriend Massai Z. Dorsey, but this is her first child with basketball player Ime Udoka.
“This is the most exciting time in our lives” – Long and Udoka told Us Weekly. “Words can’t explain how thrilled we are by the new addition to our family. We feel truly blessed and appreciate all the well wishes and prayers.”
Long and Udoka are expecting their child in the fall.
Long is most known for her roles in ‘Third Watch’ and ‘Are We There Yet?’

Nia Long.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s world-famous nuptials were only the beginning. The excitement is far from over – as summer 2011 is shaping up to be full of star-studded weddings.
Read on (and check back) to find out all the details; who’s marrying who, what they’ll wear, and who’ll be there.
Jesse’s romance with Kat came at a turbulent time in his life. In March 2010, he found himself at the centre of a media storm when it emerged he had repeatedly been unfaithful to America’s sweetheart Sandra Bullock during their five year marriage. The following month, Sandra filed for divorce (finalised on June 28) and Jesse’s status as the poster boy for celebrity infidelity was cemented.
In August, he found love again with TV tattoo artist Kat Von D. After speculation in the press, she confirmed reports that they were indeed dating on Twitter (later deleted) and it wasn’t long before their romance started to play out in public.
It has been a whirlwind relationship – in September, they made their debut as a couple, during which Kat declared Jesse to be “The One”. Numerous public declarations of love followed signalling a growing commitment, and then, in January 2011, the tattooed pair announced their engagement.
In a statement, Jesse said – “You know sometimes the public and the press get it wrong. This is one of those times. 2010 was actually the best year of my life because I fell in love with my best friend. An amazing woman who stood behind me when the world turned their backs.”

Kat Von D and Jesse James.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hugh Hefner‘s wedding to Crystal Harris is off, quite out of the blue. The wedding was supposed to be on Saturday but the 24 year-old ex playmate did a bunk after an apparent argument with her Playboy over the weekend. Hef tweeted a confirmation of the news writing: “The wedding is off. Crystal has had a change of heart.” But he’s also said that their supposed argument didn’t happen. Hefner tweeted an explanation that stated: “The TMZ report that Crystal & I “had a nasty argument,” prompting her to call off the wedding, is untrue. There were no arguments.”
This may be small consolation, but at least she walked out before the wedding and didn’t ditch him at the altar or something. The Hef agrees, tweeting: “The breakup is a heart breaker, but better now than after the marriage.” The good news is that he has heaps of support pouring in from everyone, especially from his ex-girlfriends, the Girls Next Door. Holly Madison re-tweeted Kendra Wilkinson‘s message and added her own bit with: “U r too sweet. Wish I was there to support, too! RT @KendraWilkinson :@hughhefner we r comin over w some jack n coke… oh n a pipe lol”. Also showing some love was Bridget Marquardt who also tweeted: “Just stopped by the mansion 2 give @hughhefner a hug. He seems to be handling this well. He even had a sense of humor about it! #LoveUHef”. He sure does, considering he tweeted: “Since we’re not getting married on Saturday, I’ve scheduled a movie: “Runaway Bride.” Seems appropriate.” If anyone can get over this, we believe it’s the Hef. He’s such a rockstar.

Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris Break Up.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Obama is a one-term president” – Michele Bachmann declared at CNN’s Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire, where she formally announced her candidacy.
It was no big surprise to hear Bachmann, a U.S. Representative from Minnesota, announce her presidential campaign at last night’s Republican debate. Everyone knew she planned to run for the White House, and it was only a matter of time before the Tea Party darling made it official.
Still, watching Bachmann on stage with other candidates (including Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Tim Pawlenty), the 55-year old appeared less inflammatory than she has in the past and resembled an actual candidate, rather than a side show. But she was by no means flawless, and readily deployed the dramatics that have made her most famous.
Discussing President Obama’s health care reform, for example, Bachmann insisted Obamacare would ‘kill’ 800,000 jobs, even though the Congressional Budget Office describes those ‘losses’ as people retiring earlier than anticipated.
And on the subject of the Tea Party, Bachmann repeated her frequent lie that the right wing movement is bipartisan.
“The media has tried to wrongly and grossly portray the Tea Party” – Bachmann insisted. “The Tea Party is really made up of disaffected Democrats, independents, people who’ve never been political a day in their life.”
“People who are libertarians, Republicans. It’s a wide swath of America coming together. I think that’s why the left fears it so much. Because they’re people who simply want to take the country back. They want the country to work again.”

Michele Bachmann.

Read the rest of this entry »

Parents have enough on their plate to have to worry about finding a super gift for the super dad in their life.
Thankfully, an easy way to celebrate is to order Dad some flowers. Hop flowers, that is. At least, that’s the reasoning behind why the Samuel Adams gift basket is available at FromYouFlowers.com. But the gift is more than just a simple jar of Bavarian Noble hops, which are one of the most important parts of the beer brewing process – and interesting to examine if you’ve never seen or smelled them before on their own.
Included in a masculine black box trimmed with white stitching and lined with felt (reusable perhaps as a catch-all for wallet, phone, keys, etc.) are a few grilling items: Northern White Cedar mini grilling planks from Afire and Beef and Burger Rub in red pepper and garlic from Urban Accents; tools to assist in noshing while grilling, including a sturdy Samuel Adams bottle opener, a Samuel Adams Boston Lager glass (‘designed to showcase the beer as brewers intended’) and a dried fruit and nut mix; and some sun protection in the form of a navy Samuel Adams baseball cap.
Pair the Hoppy Father’s Day gift basket, on sale for $33.99, with a six-pack of beer and it’s an easy and useful gift for a beer-loving dad. Also available is a Deluxe Hoppy Father’s Day gift basket, on sale for $55.24.

Father's Day.

Read the rest of this entry »

In April, people across the USA and the world celebrated the beauty of nature, our rivers and mountains, and wildlife. The original Earth Day was inspired by founder Gaylord Nelson (former U.S. Senator from Wisconsin) after witnessing the devastation of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. In that era of protests against war and social Injustice, millions rallied across the US to the first Earth Day to demand change. Rivers burning, mountains clear-cut and vanishing species enraged our citizens and they gathered en masse across the nation and demanded change. This public demonstration of love for nature led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.
Forty years later the rivers are cleaner, millions of acres have been established as national parks and wilderness areas and over all the air quality has improved. But what about the other 71%? Over half our oxygen comes from the ocean. Fish feed millions and the beauty and complexity of marine life leave us in awe. Yet today (a year after the ravages in the Gulf from the BP Oil spill) 90% of large pelagic shark species are going extinct from overfishing and for their fins. Whales and seals have been hunted to a genetic bottle neck and are hunted still. The wolves of the sea, the bluefin tuna, are being fished to the vanishing point. While a thousand other insults are being inflicted on Mother Ocean, where is our outrage?
New oil wells are being considered along our coast while nuclear power plants hum along our shorelines vulnerable to Tsunami and earthquakes. Recent die-offs of sardines in southern California; emaciated and sickly sea lions along the coast, vanishing salmon and stranded leopard sharks in the San Francisco Bay are bellwethers reminding us that the ocean is sick.
The ocean needs our help.

World Oceans Day.

Read the rest of this entry »