| "Dot-Com" News - 25th December, 2009 | ||||
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An Australian family is turning heads with a rotating house that can guarantee a different view every time they wake up. The Everinghams have been in a spin since they moved into their dream home in the countryside north of Sydney three years ago. They can turn the house to follow the sun without having to leave the comfort of their armchairs. "When you wake up you do wonder where you'll be facing," said Luke Everingham, a sound-engineer who came up with the idea with his wife, Deb, after chatting with neighbors.The neighbors wished they had built their home 15 degrees further to the north to capture more sunlight. The octagonal-shaped house sits on a turntable powered by a small electric motor and controlled by a computer, which allows it move on demand. The house cost about A$700,000 ($641,000) to build and can complete a full rotation in about 30 minutes, according to the Everinghams' own Web site (www.everinghamrotatinghouse.com.au). Dead drunk policeman stripped of martyrdom - BEIJING Traffic officer Chen Lusheng of the southern city of Shenzhen was off-duty when he attended a banquet with officials from Mabu village in late October. After repeated toasts, he vomited and passed out on a couch, where he suffocated, state media said. His captain, Xie Feiyong, attempted to declare Chen a martyr, in order to get higher compensation for his family and possibly to avert any investigation into his death. He was suspended from duty on Tuesday, the Xinhua news agency said, citing the police. The Shenzhen government information office did not immediately answer a query on the matter. Shenzhen police told local media the policeman was a victim of China's infamous Chinese business banquet ganbei or "bottoms up" culture, where diners attempt to out-drink each other to gain concessions. They did not explain why Chen was attending the banquet in the first place. Forced drinking is so widespread that workplace injuries regulations in the southwestern city of Chongqing were recently amended to classify deaths caused by drinking as "workplace accidents" bosses send staff out drinking for business. Xie argued that Chen died in a work-related incident and that there was nothing wrong in wanting to leave behind a glorious legacy for his colleague. The application for the posthumous honor was denied by the District Brigade, on grounds that Chen died neither in the line of duty nor during work hours. Chen's family, who are demanding 4.8 million yuan ($703,200) in compensation, had camped out in the police station and set up a mourning hall there. There's something wrong with redheads? - LONDON Virgin Media's newspaper advert for the program "Dating in the Dark" included the text: "How do you spot a ginger in the dark?" Virgin said the premise of the show was to challenge people's perception of attractiveness and to encourage decisions based on personality as well as looks. However the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) agreed with three complainants that the ad was likely to cause serious offence and should not be used again. "We considered the text was likely to be interpreted ... as a statement that reflected a choice between looks and personality ... being a suggestion that people with ginger hair were unattractive," the ASA said in a statement. "We considered the ad was unlikely to be interpreted to be light-hearted in tone and was instead likely to be seen as prejudicial against people with ginger hair." Other adverts in the series used to promote the show had included the tagline: "When the lights come on I just hope I haven't been kissing Shrek." On Tuesday, Britain's biggest retailer Tesco apologized and said it had withdrawn a Christmas card which showed a child with red hair sitting on the lap of Santa Claus under the banner: "Santa loves all kids. Even ginger ones." |
| Last Updated ( Friday, 25 December 2009 13:58 ) |
