Not quite the same as the Jacobite uprisings, and probably unlikely to make an historical footnote, but still news for the day, an Englishman is facing trial over his plot to make Prince Harry king. Arrested back in 3 June 2014, Mark Colborne, 37, of Southampton, has been described as a right-wing extremist and a fanatic. He stands trial accused of planned terrorist attacks related to assassinating Prince Charles, in an attempt to put Prince Harry on the throne. Today, Prince Harry is fifth in line to rule Great Britain. Prince Charles is first, followed by Prince William and his two children Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Then, thanks to the succession rules of the British Monarchy, it’s Prince Harry’s time to shine. If Prince Harry appears a bit marginalised here, it seems that was part of the very sentiment shared by Mark Colborne and a key point in his ...

Australia is now to implement its 10 percent GST on digital downloads for items purchased by Australians from international sellers. Dubbed the “Netflix Tax” it will apply to digital goods sold by those such as Amazon, Google, and Netflix. The now inclusive 10 percent Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be charged on all digital products and services bought online, including books, games, movies, and music. Treasurer Joe Hockey has stated that the current GST exemption for online purchases of items under A$1,000 will continue to apply for physical goods. (Note that the A$1,000 amount includes the full cost, including shipping to bring it to Australia.) In some ways, adding the GST to digital goods Australians purchase will bring things in line with the business and tax practices already faced by Australian businesses and those doing business in Australia. Which could be regarded as a levelling of the playing field. For example, ...

In a move borne of both comic idolatry and borderline comedic obsession, but for the consequences, in a bid to look like his idol, the Hulk, bodybuilder Romario Dos Santos Alves injected his muscles with synthol. Over the course of three years he did this in order to make his himself appear more muscular. The 25-year-old did manage to achieve biceps of 25 inches. However, while not quite turning green, his arms did begin to harden like rock and at one stage doctors thought his arms would need to be amputated. Just as well he wasn’t obsessed with the characters such as the Thing and Jax as well. Luckily for Alves, amputating his arms was avoided, and he has reportedly been clean of synthol for two years now. His tale is one of caution and also of dealing with the addiction and depression related to his pursuit of bodybuilding and injecting synthol ...

McDonald’s the once mighty, how it has fallen. For a long time McDonald’s was iconic, and while it still enjoys brand recognition, with the Golden Arches becoming more recognised than the cross of Christianity, its relevance is again being questioned. With this, so too are revenue and profits falling. Whereas profits vary from quarter to quarter, within a business, especially a giant corporation such as McDonald’s, revenue tends to be more stable. However, revenue itself fell near 7 percent to US$6.57 billion in the December 2014 quarter. Granted it is still profitable, but consider that’s a difference of near US$415 million less revenue for the quarter. It faced a challenging 2014, including food safety scandals and supplier issues in Asia, closures of restaurants in Russia and Ukraine, and declining sales in its US heartland attributed largely to increased competition. When it comes to the McDonald’s of today, people are increasingly ...

Monetary policy as it currently stands, is more mess and mysticism than most would like to believe. Yet it is also this belief, the elusive notion of confidence through words aimed at shaping expectations, that give it much of its power. Phrases such as “jawboning” and “paring” and “animal spirits” have all become part of the modern-day central banker toolkit. Along with the other main lever of monetary policy, the ability to raise or lower interest rates at the short end of the yield curve. Beyond the phraseology, the longer end of the yield curve has seen elements of intervention with quantitative easing and bond buying programs. However, the short end, with the official cash rate (with a name that varies between countries) remains the primary element of conventional monetary policy. Macroeconomics recognises that monetary to policy is a blunt instrument. It’s often likened more to being a cudgel than ...

Following in the news that an application is in the making to block the Kardashians from the internet for users, the KardBlock makers also have the following to say on their official website: “We are also working on customization to block content related to Justin Bieber.” Offering the ability to directly filter out internet content based upon the dislike of a particular celebrity could be pretty big news. Coupled with the point James Shamsi makes: That there is real news out there, however, much of it gets subordinated in favour of more trivial things regarding celebrities. Which is not without truth and merit, even if people are likely to always be interested in celebrities. Yet the future ability to filter out internet content related to particular celebrities could be of real benefit. For example, parents may not have a problem with their young children liking the fictional character Hannah Montana, ...

It’s here. At last. KardBlock. What is it? KardBlock is klaimed claimed to be a way to block the Kardashians from the internet. Think like AdBlock, but specific for any internet content related to the Kardashians. All could be wiped clean. From Kim, to Khloe, to Kourtney, to Kris, to Kylie, to Kendall, and beyond. With all the talk of someone’s name beginning with K, people began looking for a Men in Black memory-wiper. Unfortunately, none was found (that can be recalled). Leaving people with but the option of washing their eyes as the next best alternative. Until now that is. If KardBlock works as claimed, there’s no need to keep up with any of the Kardashians anymore. Nor worry about one of them breaking the internet, because KardBlock can fix it. According to James Shamsi of KardBlock, it will make all mention of the K_____s “disappear”. Hopefully it also includes ...

Stars Wars, the space opera film saga which has spilled over into pop culture phenomena, again both strikes back and returns with another May the 4th. After the prequel trilogy, wiping the droids’ memories seemed like the best course of action. If only the rest of the world could’ve done the same. Now details of the sequel trilogy are doing not trying, and are breaking through with The Force Awakens. If only that cross-guard on the lightsaber made more sense. Probably none of the following is canon, but in this way, a trilogy of trilogies, or nine reasons if preferred, are offered up as to why Star Wars should be celebrated on May 4th 2015: Attack of the Clones gave the world dialogue wooden enough to make even Pinocchio seem like a real boy. Now that Disney owns Lucasfilm, the circle is now complete. George Lucas showed that flannelette shirts ...

Quite apart from the debate of whether the eggplant is a fruit or vegetable, a common pastime between scientific types and laypeople in between watching the grass grow, it seems the mysterious eggplant has struck again. But in emoji form. Or rather, the eggplant emoji has been struck off the usage list by Instagram. The reason, it appears, is some say eggplant, some say aubergine and others say brinjal. But when it comes to Instagram and the eggplant emoji, some say it’s vulgar. It’s not like it’s that unobvious why… Which has called things to attention, and in the interests of uprightness, the eggplant emoji has been deflated and put away for now. The party is over. Turns out even sprinkling a little salt on it changes nothing of the bitter taste. Don’t even speak about brinjal pickle, that may just be a phallic overload. Putting aside the best and ...

Iggy Azalea. She’s so fancy. But what you may not already know, is she’s now also the new face, body, and probably booty, of Bonds underwear. As one of the new celebrities posing for the underwear company, the comments have already begun to fly about Iggy. One commentator, Eleanor Robinson for The Guardian, finds Iggy Azalea at odds with Bonds’ supposed image of the Australian girl next door. Nothing particularly wrong with that. Opinions are what they are. However, the notion that former Bonds girl, Miranda Kerr was ever somehow the girl next door is sure to bring a wistful smile to the faces of many. Along with memories of her initial Bonds campaign back over a decade ago. For that matter, Bonds has helped to launch, or at least play a role in launching, the careers of models such as Sarah Murdoch, Shanina Shaik, and Kelly Gale. So of ...