Topic: NEWS english - on December 5, 2011 at 2:32:00 PM CET
Angry Greeks to Sue German Magazine for Defamation
A German magazine cover showing the goddess Aphrodite flipping off the rest of the euro zone annoyed the Greeks when it was published back in February 2010. Now a group of Greeks are suing the journalists involved for defamation.
It was supposed to be a provocative piece of journalism and a tongue-in-cheek comment on German concerns about a European Union bailout for debt-ridden Greece. But the Feb. 22, 2010 cover of the weekly German newsmagazine Focus -- which showed the goddess Aphrodite making an obscene gesture -- caused outrage in Greece. At the time, the president of the Greek parliament even summoned the German ambassador to complain about German media coverage of his country.
Now six Greek citizens who felt particularly offended are taking legal action against the journalists involved, including Helmut Markwort, the magazine's founder who was also editor in chief of Focus at the time of publication.
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Topic: NEWS english - on March 14, 2011 at 8:20:00 AM CET
4chan hackers leak internal Bank of America emails
Anonymous, a group of online hackers that frequently take up politically charged causes such as bringing down the websites for Visa and other credit card companies, has released a massive batch of internal Bank of America emails.
It looks like the hacker group, which frequents online message board 4chan, made good on a promise Wikileaks founder Julian Assange made several months ago. Anonymous sided with Assange when several sites and services like PayPal cut ties with Wikileaks’ enigmatic founder amid concerns about the legality of the site. Assange and Wikileaks indicated that they planned to publish the documents in December.
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Topic: NEWS english - on March 27, 2010 at 2:00:00 PM CET
Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev acquires British newspaper
At a time when newspapers are having a hard time finding solutions to make up for dropping revenues, Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev has struck a long-awaited deal to buy The Independent newspaper after weeks of will-he-won’t-he. The former KGB agent, Lebedev has also acquired The Evening Standard of London last year. Mr. Lebedev’s company has agreed to contribute $13.7 million, to take on the future liabilities of the newspapers for over 10 months. While a many might be suspecting some hidden propaganda behind the deal, overall it’s such a relief as the industry looks ahead to reinvent the future.
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Topic: NEWS english - on August 20, 2009 at 3:17:00 PM CEST
Woman 'Pregnant' With 12 Babies Exposed as Fraud
Just a few days after a Tunisian woman claimed she was pregnant with a record-breaking 12 babies, the 34-year-old has been exposed as a fraud, the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.
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Topic: NEWS english - on August 19, 2009 at 10:42:00 AM CEST
Chilli bombs to be issued to security forces
The Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has finished trials for hand grenades that use chillies to choke the respiratory tract and cause the eyes to water.
"It gives out such pungent smoke that makes one come out of one’s hiding place," said R.B. Srivastava, chief of the Directorate of Life Sciences at DRDO. “The war scenario is changing. Low intensity conflict is the norm of the day.
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Topic: NEWS english - on June 11, 2009 at 12:09:00 PM CEST
Giant blue whale floats belly-up after being killed in a tragic collision with a ship
Floating belly up in the Pacific, this is the unbelievable sight of the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth - killed by a passing ship.
The body of the giant blue whale was found by researchers from Oregon State University in the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of California.
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Topic: NEWS english - on June 9, 2009 at 9:53:00 AM CEST
20th Anniversary of the Dawn of Dot-Com
It was 20 years ago today when I posted to USENET the public launch of ClariNet, my electronic newspaper service delivered over the Internet. By finding a way around the NSFNet acceptable use policy, ClariNet was the first business founded to use the Internet as its platform for business, and the era of the 'dot-com' had begun. For the anniversary I have written a history of the founding of ClariNet and early internet business, which outlines how it all came down. Readers may also enjoy the included anecdote about what I term 'M5' reliability, where the news system was so robust that, like the M5 computer on Star Trek, even those authorized to do so were unable to shut it off; and a story of the earliest large SF eBook effort
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Topic: NEWS english - on May 27, 2009 at 1:21:00 PM CEST
Jammin’ Johns Toilet Seats
Using the toilet doesn’t really require a whole lot, you need the toilet and some toilet paper. However, if you want to make using the toilet into a whole new experience, you might be forced to fork out some extra cash. These seats inspired by musical instruments will turn your bathroom usage into a musical experience. At least it’d better since you’re going to pay a whole $169 per seat. At that price it had better be the most comfortable seat ever created too.
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Topic: NEWS english - on April 12, 2009 at 3:11:00 PM CEST
Cable-cutting vandals disconnect Silicon Valley
Police are on the lookout for saboteurs believed to have gone on a fiber-optic cable slashing spree on Thursday, leaving hundreds of thousands of Silicon Valley residents without internet access, landline, and mobile phone service for much of the day.
California Bay Area officials say vandals cut four cables belonging to local carrier AT&T sometime before 1:30 AM in San Jose, south of San Francisco. Another four cables were snipped approximately two hours later at two nearby locations northward in San Carlos. An additional two lines were then severed in south San Jose.
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Topic: NEWS english - on March 23, 2009 at 11:34:00 AM CET
Ich bin ein friendly person
Berlin has launched a new "friendliness" campaign to keep tourists flocking to the German capital during a time of economic crisis.
With the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall looming in November and the World Championships in athletics due in August, police, street cleaners, airport staff and taxi drivers have begun wearing special red pins to signal to visitors that they are ready to lend a helping hand.
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Topic: NEWS english - on March 12, 2009 at 1:10:00 PM CET
Rocking chair designed to look like abdominal muscles
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Topic: NEWS english - on March 3, 2009 at 12:29:00 PM CET
Age and Californian cities
THE lawns are green and well-tended. The swimming pools are filled with water, not mosquitoes. Steve Cushman, head of the local chamber of commerce, counts just 27 empty storefronts out of 410 along the city’s main shopping street—a rate that many cities in California would envy. In the past year Santa Barbara County has seen a slight increase in employment. The secret to its health? Hostility to development and lack of youth.
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