Merck CEO resigns from Trump council after Charlottesville. Trump lashed out for quitting

(Reuters) – Merck & Co Inc Chief Executive Kenneth Frazier resigned from U.S. President Donald Trump’s American Manufacturing Council on Monday, saying he was taking a stand against intolerance and extremism.

A gathering of hundreds of white nationalists in Virginia took a deadly turn on Saturday when a car plowed into a group of counter-protesters and killed at least one person.

Trump had said “many sides” were involved, drawing fire from across the political spectrum for not specifically denouncing the far right.

“America’s leaders must honor our fundamental views by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal,” Frazier, who is African-American, said in a statement announcing his resignation. (bit.ly/2fFnITM)

Breaking News: President Trump lashed out at Kenneth Frazier, Merck's chief executive, for quitting a federal panel https://t.co/PVZUhQc2UL

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 14, 2017

Source: Merck CEO resigns from Trump council after Charlottesville

Trump Tweets About Everything Except Denouncing Neo-Nazis

 

The silence is deafening.

Trump had a lot to say on Twitter Monday morning ― but none of his posts addressed the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, where a car rammed into a group of pedestrians protesting a white supremacist rally, killing one woman.

Over the weekend, Trump condemned the “violence” and “hate” in general terms but stopped short of explicitly naming any of the white supremacist groups responsible for the event. He also blamed “many sides” for the unrest, which took place in a protest over the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

In his tweets Monday, the president called out “obstructionist Democrats” as well as Ken Frazier, the CEO of pharmaceutical company Merck, who resigned from Trump’s manufacturing council over the president’s tepid response to the terror attack.

According to the White House, Trump is scheduled to meet with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Chris Wray on Monday to discuss the Charlottesville violence. It’s unclear whether he will offer any public remarks after the meeting.

Republican leaders and Democratic lawmakers alike have called on Trump to explicitly condemn the white nationalist groups in the wake of the violence.

Source: Trump Tweets About Everything Except Denouncing Neo-Nazis

BREAKING: More than 200 bodies at Sierra Leone morgue after floods, mudslides, says coroner

UPDATE: BREAKING: More than 200 bodies at Sierra Leone morgue after floods, mudslides, says coroner official.

Others may be trapped in their homes after a big landslide near Freetown, Sierra Leone.

A hillside in the Regent area collapsed early on Monday following heavy rains, leaving many houses covered in mud.

A BBC reporter at the scene says many people may have been asleep when the mudslide occurred.

The number of casualties is not yet known but Sierra Leone’s Vice-President Victor Bockarie Foh said it was “likely that hundreds are lying dead”.

Mr Foh told Reuters news agency that the disaster was “so serious that I myself feel broken”, adding that the area was being cordoned off as people were being evacuated.

The AFP news agency is reporting that at least 180 people have been killed. Dozens of bodies have so far been retrieved.

Emergency services are at the scene trying to rescue people trapped in their homes after a section of a hill collapsed, the Sierra Leone Telegraph reports.

Images posted on Twitter show people wading through streets, waist-deep in muddy water following the downpour in and around Freetown.

Source: Sierra Leone mudslide buries houses with scores feared dead – BBC News

David Lynch dedicates Twin Peaks episode to David Bowie + CLIP

The late singer was to have filmed new scenes for the TV series, but instead appears in archive footage in a dream sequence

Bowie briefly appeared in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, the 1992 film prequel to the cult TV series, as the dapper-suited, mentally fraught FBI agent Phillip Jeffries. According to Harry Goaz, who plays Andy Brennan, Bowie was due to appear in the current series of the show, but didn’t film his scenes before his death. Lynch nevertheless included him in the latest episode, using Fire Walk With Me footage in a dream sequence.

The appearance puts Bowie in the company of numerous other musical guest stars in the current series, including Moby, Nine Inch Nails, Sky Ferreira and Hudson Mohawke.

 

Source: David Lynch dedicates Twin Peaks episode to David Bowie | Music | The Guardian

Tom Cruise Possibly Injured in ‘Mission: Impossible 6’ Stunt

The actor was filming a scene where he jumps between two buildings

Tom Cruise is known for performing his own stunts in movies, but the danger is completely real.

The 55-year-old actor appeared to injure himself while filming a scene for Mission: Impossible 6 in London on Sunday where he jumps between two buildings.

In video obtained by TMZ, Cruise is attached to a harness while making the leap. However, he landed short and crashed hard into the side of the building. He is able to hoist himself up, but walks with a visible limp before collapsing next to crew members.

The extent of Cruise’s injuries are not known. Reps for Cruise and Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Playing protagonist Ethan Hunt, the legendary actor was previously filmed on top of a roof in Paris for a stunt that appeared to involve helicopters and riding a motorcycle.

Simon Pegg, who has costarred with Cruise in three Mission: Impossible movies, including Rogue Nation, said the actor’s stunts add to his mystique.

“He’s one of the last movie stars, if not the last movie star of his kind,” Pegg observed of his Oscar-nominated colleague at CinemaCon in 2015. “And that’s partly because we don’t really know Tom Cruise. Nobody really knows Tom Cruise.”

Source: Tom Cruise Possibly Injured in ‘Mission: Impossible 6’ Stunt | Time.com

Game of Thrones recap: season seven, episode five – Eastwatch

Spoiler alert:

Jon Snow assembled his fur-trimmed crack team for a death-or-glory mission in this action light but chat heavy instalment

‘We’re all on the same side … We’re all breathing.’

If last week’s Game of Thrones toyed with the iconography of the wild west, Eastwatch switched to a different genre entirely: the men-on-a-mission movie. Jon’s assignment couldn’t have been more straightforward: sneak under the Wall, snatch an undead soldier and present him to Queen Cersei – and by extension the realm – as proof that the Night King’s army presents a real and present danger to the people of Westeros. But where was he going to find a bunch of guys brave or crazy enough to pull off this crackpot scheme?

The rest of the episode played like the first half of any great behind-enemy-lines war movie, from The Dirty Dozen to Inglourious Basterds, chucking in a touch of Ocean’s Eleven heist flick for good measure. And it was an absolute joy to watch the gang come together: there was Jorah Mormont, springing from his sickbed and right into the fray. And here – joy of joys – was Gendry, ruddy-faced as ever, swinging a brand new warhammer that might as well have “this machine kills wights” stencilled on the handle. It was damn near impossible to suppress a cheer when Tormund Giantsbane joined the crew, mad-bearded, wild-eyed and still lusting after “the big woman”.

Every role in this fur-trimmed A-team was neatly filled, one by one: Thoros of Myr makes the perfect wisecracking Murdock, with The Hound as his scowling, taciturn BA Baracus. Beric Dondarrion is the war-scarred old-timer, the wise old dog who knows this will be his final fight. And Jon is their charismatic frontman, leading this ragged band out into no man’s land, knowing full well that not all of them will make it back…

MORE: Game of Thrones recap: season seven, episode five – Eastwatch | Television & radio | The Guardian

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Did Danish entrepreneur sink his homemade submarine with a journalist aboard? CLIP

Danish inventor Peter Madsen is facing a manslaughter charge after a Swedish journalist went missing after joining him for a trip on a submarine he built himself.

Peter Madsen, 46, was rescued after his DIY submarine, the UC3 Nautilus, sank off Copenhagen at about midnight last Thursday.

Swedish journalist Kim Wall, 30, was on the submarine just before it sank and has not been seen since. Madsen said he dropped her off before the sinking, but he’s facing a manslaughter charge as investigators search for her body.

The story is a big deal in both affected countries: It has been the lead story, or featured prominently, on news websites including Denmark’s main English-language newspaper the Copenhagen Post, and Sweden’s largest newspaper, Helsingborgs Dagblad — not to mention the international coverage…

Source: Peter Madsen: Did a Danish entrepreneur sink his homemade submarine with a journalist aboard? – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Solar thermal power plant announced for Port Augusta ‘biggest of its kind in the world’

A 150-megawatt solar thermal power plant described as the biggest of its kind in the world will be built just over 130 kilometres from the world’s largest lithium ion battery.

Construction of the $650 million plant will start in 2018.

Aurora facts:

• 150-megawatt solar thermal power with eight hours of storage
• Plant will deliver 495 gigawatt hours of power annually, or 5 per cent of SA’s energy needs
• Equivalent to powering more than 90,000 homes
• Located 30 kilometres north of Port Augusta
• Company says it is “completely emission free”

Mr Weatherill said the Aurora Solar Energy Project would be ready to go in 2020 and would supply 100 per cent of the State Government’s needs.

The Government will pay a maximum of $78 per megawatt hour.

Mr Weatherill said the solar thermal plant was “the biggest of its kind in the world”.

“Importantly, this project will deliver more than 700 jobs, with requirements for local workers,” he said.

In September 2016, the Government launched a tender process to procure 75 per cent of its long-term power supply.

It said it wanted to attract a new competitor onto the market and put downward pressure on electricity prices.

Source: Solar thermal power plant announced for Port Augusta ‘biggest of its kind in the world’ – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Flying Jetstar? You’re in for an expensive shock. What you need to know about changes …without pre-booking would cost $515!

FROM August 15, discount carrier Jetstar is jacking up its checked baggage fees for domestic passengers.

If you show up at the airport for a domestic flight and want to check in luggage that hasn’t been pre-booked, you’ll be charged $60 for the privilege, up from $50 currently. If your checked bag weighs more than 15kg, you’ll also have to pay $15 for each extra kilo.

That means for a 32kg suitcase, the biggest single item allowed, you’d potentially end up paying a massive $315 simply to check it in.

Jetstar’s move, while annoying, is typical of a budget carrier sector, where much of the profit comes from extra charges for services like baggage, seat selection and in-flight meals.

Tigerair has an even more aggressive fee scale, and lifted its prices in December last year. Checked baggage that isn’t pre-booked costs $75 for short domestic flights (under 2 hours) and $90 for longer flights. Its excess weight charges are also higher, at $20 per kilo for short flights and $25 per kilo for longer flights.

HOW JETSTAR IS INFURIATING CUSTOMERS NOW

DO THIS BEFORE YOU BOOK WITH JETSTAR

THE TRUTH ABOUT FLYING JETSTAR BUSINESS

That means a Sydney-Perth flight with a 32kg bag checked at the airport without pre-booking would cost $515. At that price, you would likely have been better off booking with Qantas or Virgin, which as full-service airlines offer free checked baggage.

Analysis by finder.com.au shows that the rates are much more affordable if you book your checked baggage when you buy your ticket. Prices for checked baggage booked with your flight start at $15 for Jetstar and $15.50 for Tigerair. That’s a quarter of what you’ll pay at the airport for Jetstar.

If you book separately from your ticket but before you reach the airport, prices kick off at $32 for Jetstar and $24.50 for Tigerair, depending on the route. That’s higher, but still well below the at-airport charges.

So the lesson is a simple one: if you know you’ll need checked baggage, book it with your flight.

Final tip: Don’t assume you’ll be able to get away with overloading your carry-on luggage. Both Jetstar and Tigerair have a strict policy of no more than two items with a combined weight of 7kg, and staff regularly check and weigh bags at the gate.

Source: Jetstar checked bags: What you need to know about changes

NBN BROAD-BAND problems: It took seven technicians + 3 MONTHS to install my NBN

WHEN I started working from home, the promise of a lightning-fast NBN connection was irresistible. But seven technicians and three months later, I’m not sure whether it was actually worth it.

This is my frustrating NBN journey.

STAGE ONE: SHOCK AND DENIAL

As my fiancee hangs up the phone, I know before he says anything that today is not our day. Again.

STAGE THREE: ANGER AND BARGAINING

STAGE FOUR: THE UPWARD TURN

This stage is a lie.

STAGE FIVE: RECONSTRUCTION AND WORKING THROUGH

By the time the seventh technician, Mohammed, arrives, my faith in humanity has reached the lowest point since my failure to win Dolly Magazine’s Model Search as a chubby, bespectacled 14-year-old.

I explain this to Mohammed, but he hasn’t heard of Dolly Magazine. He has, however, heard of the Telstra Room, and procured a key for it.

STAGE SIX: ACCEPTANCE AND HOPE

Even when Mohammed leaves, with our new NBN connection working, I can’t summon any good feelings about it. Perhaps it will just take time.

I call my friend with the mantras and tell her that the mantras aren’t working anymore and I’ve run out of vodka. She suggests that I Google a good psychologist. I decide to use the library’s connection for this.

MORE: NBN installation problems: Why it took seven technicians to install my NBN

Ex Top Gear Jeremy Clarkson revealed he nearly died from pneumonia

JEREMY Clarkson, of Top Gear fame, has announced in a newspaper column over the weekend that he could have died from a recent bout of pneumonia.

The TV presenter suddenly became ill while on holiday in Mallorca, Spain earlier this month, and says he spent “three nights spasming” in his bed before being sent to hospital for tests. Clarkson, who writes in his Sunday Times column that he has “never been ill” in his entire adult life, was told he would need to be admitted for at least a week. When he insisted that it would be “impossible” for him to stay in bed that long, a doctor reportedly told him, “If you don’t do as I say, you will die”.

“And when they get out, as I have, and there is nothing to do for two whole months apart from get better, things are even worse, because all I can talk about is my illness.”

With a long recovery ahead of him, Clarkson has told readers on Drivetribe (a “digital home of all the motoring tribes under the sun”) he will be “out of action for quite some time”.

“It’s really, really annoying because I’ve never had one day off work since I started in 1978,” he wrote.

Source: Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has revealed he nearly died from pneumonia | Perth Now

Remember UK Radio Caroline et al? Broadcasting illegally for more than 50 years

.@SkyKatieSpencer gives us a tour of the ship that's been broadcasting illegally for more than 50 years http://pic.twitter.com/nbOeEDnMpg

— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 14, 2017

GoDaddy tells white supremacist site Daily Stormer to find a new domain provider

White supremacist site the Daily Stormer needs to find another domain provider after getting the boot from GoDaddy. In a tweet, the company said “We informed The Daily Stormer that they have 24 hours to move the domain to another provider, as they have violated our terms of service.”

The tweet was made in response to one by The New Agenda founder Amy Suskind calling on GoDaddy to ban Daily Stormer for posting a obscene article about Heather Heyer, who was killed in Charlottesville after being hit by a car allegedly driven by James Alex Fields Jr. Fields has been charged with second-degree murder.

Heyer was among a group of people gathered to protest the Unite the Right white supremacist rally this weekend, which the Daily Stormer helped organize and promote.

In an email to TechCrunch, a GoDaddy spokesperson said “We have informed The Daily Stormer that they have 24 hours to move the domain to another provider, as they have violated our terms of service. If no action is taken after 24 hours, we will cancel the service. Given this latest article comes on the immediate heels of a violent act, we believe this type of article could incite additional violence, which violates our terms of service.”

GoDaddy only provides the domain for Daily Stormer and does not host the site, which calls itself “The World’s Most Genocidal Republican Website.” While GoDaddy’s action is laudable, it’s also important to note that activists, including the Southern Poverty Law Center, began calling on GoDaddy to stop providing Daily Stormer’s domain several months ago.

Source: GoDaddy tells white supremacist site Daily Stormer to find a new domain provider | TechCrunch

Barnaby Joyce: Email that could bring down the deputy PM was sent on August 7 at 12.31pm

Barnaby Joyce’s troubles started one week ago when Fairfax Media contacted his office with a series of detailed questions.

‘Last Monday I got a phone call from a normally reliable source. With the section 44 wrecking ball still swinging through Parliament, the source suggested I might want to take a closer look at Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce’s citizenship.

My first reaction was to laugh. Joyce had been in Parliament since 2004, serving in both chambers. He’d risen to the second most powerful office in the land. Surely he’d done his due diligence? Plus, Joyce was a guy who prided himself in being authentically Aussie. The thought he might secretly be a Kiwi was almost too outlandish to contemplate.

Almost.

The fear of getting scooped is a powerful motivator in journalism. So I quickly started digging, establishing that Joyce’s father – James Joyce – had been born in the South Island city of Dunedin in 1924. He was born a British subject but New Zealand citizenship laws made him a New Zealand citizen. The same laws – the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948 – said: “A person born after the commencement of this Act shall be a New Zealand citizen by descent if his father was a New Zealand citizen.”

Source: Barnaby Joyce citizenship: Email that could bring down the deputy PM was sent on August 7 at 12.31pm

Ratings boost for TV show ‘Suits’ since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle started dating

WHEN it comes to the cut-throat world of television ratings, it pays to be associated with a royal.

Confidential can reveal that television show Suits, which stars Prince Harry’s girlfriend Meghan Markle, has ­enjoyed boosted ­Australian ratings ever since the couple have been linked.

Fifteen per cent more people tuned in to watch the premiere episode last month, compared to the previous season.

Since the premiere of Suits, which airs on Foxtel’s Universal channel the same day in Australia as it does in the US, it has constantly remained one of Foxtel’s ­highest-rating drama programs…

Source: Ratings boost for TV show Suits since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle started dating