Duck Dynasty ’s Si Robertson unveils the award winning new Barnett BCX.
This year’s winner of Field and Streams best of the best shoots a lightning fast 365 feet/second.
The new Barnett BCX. Silent and Deadly.
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Si Robertson stars in hilarious Crossbow commercial
Si-cology 1: Tales and wisdom from Si Robertson in a new book
Duck Dynasty’s Si Robertson is to launch his new book Si-cology 1 on September 3.
“These hands are so fast, I can get your wallet before you know it. In a minute, you’ll be standing there buck naked and won’t know what hit you!”
“Look here – if it wasn’t for my tripped knee, I’d be playing in the NBA today.”
“Hey, Jack!”
This is America’s favorite, Uncle Si Robertson.
The brother of patriarch Phil Robertson, Uncle Si has a limitless supply of stories about his childhood, duck hunting adventures, his days in Vietnam, and everything in between. Now the best of those tales are gathered into this roaring book.
And as Uncle Si recounts his outlandish tales, he weaves in an up-close look into his personal life. You’ll learn about his childhood life as the youngest son in the Robertson family, his college days, and his time in Vietnam.
Si Robertson shares stories of the scores of marriage proposals he’s received in the mail (some with photos!), how he came to use a green Tupperware cup for his ever-present sweet tea, and how his cigarette smoke made a deer cough (he’s since quit smoking). And in many of these never-before-heard tales, Si Robertson openly talks about his wife Christine and two children, Scott and Trasa – who are never seen and rarely mentioned on the show.
Sure to please die-hard fans and curious newbies alike, Si Robertson’s one-liners are presented alongside fun, expressive photographs, as well as photos of his family. As you learn about his behind-the-scenes life, this smattering of zany stories will have you falling over with laughter and retelling them to all your friends.
Syria intervention: US ready to launch strike
The US forces are “ready” to launch strikes on Syria if President Barack Obama chooses to order an attack, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announces.
“We have moved assets in place to be able to fulfill and comply with whatever option the president wishes to take,” said Chuck Hagel.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has said there is “undeniable” proof that Syria had used chemical weapons.
The UK Parliament is to be recalled on Thursday to discuss possible responses.
Britain is considering military responses to the attack.
British PM David Cameron, who has cut short his holiday and returned to London, said MPs would vote on a “clear motion” on the crisis.
Syria’s allies, Russia and China, have stepped up their warnings against military intervention in Syria, with Moscow saying any such action would have “catastrophic consequences” for the region.
Meanwhile Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said he rejected “utterly and completely” claims that Syrian forces had used chemical weapons.
The Syrian government has blamed rebel fighters for the suspected chemical attack, which took place on August 21 near the Syrian capital Damascus, and reportedly killed more than 300 people.
On Monday, UN chemical weapons inspectors were fired on while investigating one of the five alleged attack sites around Damascus.
Chuck Hagel said the US Department of Defense had provided President Barack Obama with “all options for all contingencies”.
He said that intelligence currently being gathered by the UN inspectors would confirm that the Syrian government was responsible for the chemical attacks last week.
“I think it’s pretty clear that chemical weapons were used against people in Syria,” he said.
“I think the intelligence will conclude that it wasn’t the rebels who used it, and there’ll probably be pretty good intelligence to show is that the Syria government was responsible. But we’ll wait and determine what the facts and the intelligence bear out.”
Chuck Hagel’s remarks come a day after John Kerry accused the Syrian government of destroying evidence of its chemical weapons use in Damascus by shelling the area.
He said his administration had additional information about the attacks that it would make public in the days ahead. John Kerry described the assaults as a “moral obscenity”.
“What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. It defies any code of morality,” John Kerry said at a news conference on Monday.
“Make no mistake, President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world’s most heinous weapons against the world’s most vulnerable people.”
The UN Security Council is divided, with Russia and China opposing military intervention and the UK and France warning that the UN could be bypassed if there was “great humanitarian need”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said there was no evidence that an attack had taken place or who was responsible.
The UN says more than 100,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Assad began more than two years ago. The conflict has produced more than 1.7 million registered refugees.
Models for possible intervention
- Iraq 1991: US-led global military coalition, anchored in international law; explicit mandate from UN Security Council to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait
- Balkans 1990s: US arms supplied to anti-Serb resistance in Croatia and Bosnia in defiance of UN-mandated embargo; later US-led air campaign against Serb paramilitaries. In 1999, US jets provided bulk of 38,000 NATO sorties against Serbia to prevent massacres in Kosovo – legally controversial with UN Security Council resolutions linked to “enforcement measures”
- Somalia 1992-93: UN Security Council authorized creation of international force with aim of facilitating humanitarian supplies as Somali state failed. Gradual US military involvement without clear objective culminated in Black Hawk Down disaster in 1993. US troops pulled out
- Libya 2011: France and UK sought UN Security Council authorization for humanitarian operation in Benghazi in 2011. Russia and China abstained but did not veto resolution. Air offensive continued until fall of Gaddafi.
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Facebook pays $20 million to compensate users in Sponsored Stories case
Facebook will have to pay $15 for each of the nearly 614,000 users whose personal details appeared in ads on the site without their permission.
The names and pictures of an estimated 150 million Facebook members were used in Sponsored Stories, but only those who responded to an email from the site earlier this year will be compensated.
Privacy organizations will also receive some of the $20 million settlement.
The payout was approved by a US court on Monday following a class action filed against Facebook in 2011 by five of its users.
The group said their details had been used to promote products and services through the site’s Sponsored Stories programme, without paying them or giving them the choice to opt-out.
A Sponsored Story is a tailored advertisement that appears on members’ Facebook pages, highlighting products a user’s friends have endorsed or “liked” on the site.
US District Judge Richard Seeborg acknowledged that the $15 payments were relatively small, but said it had not been established that Facebook had “undisputedly violated the law”.
He added that the claimants could not prove they were “harmed in any meaningful way”.
The court estimated that Facebook had made about $73 million in profit from the Sponsored Stories featuring details of the 150 million members.
The settlement also requires Facebook to make changes to its “Statement of Rights” and to give users more information and control over how their details are used in the future.
This move was estimated by the plaintiff’s lawyers to cost Facebook $145 million in advertising revenue.
Approximately 7,000 Facebook users opted out of the settlement altogether, allowing them to bring their own legal action against the social network.
Duck Dynasty camouflage running shoes unveiled by Spira Footwear
El Paso-based company Spira Footwear has unveiled a camouflage running shoe based on the reality television show Duck Dynasty.
The new Spira running shoes are made with camouflage material.
The rollout of the shoes, made by Spira Footwear, will include a television commercial on A&E Network, which airs the Duck Dynasty show, and a website featuring the “officially licensed Duck Dynasty Camo shoe”.
The shoes are an eyeful. They come in pink, orange and brown.
Manufacturers say they feature something called WaveSpring technology – a compact spring is embedded in the heel and forefoot of each pair.
Spira Footwear also claims that people who wear the Duck Dynasty shoes run 20 seconds per mile faster with the same amount of effort.
For more information on new Duck Dynasty shoes, go to www.spira.com .
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Duck Dynasty Live in Detroit at Sound Board MotorCity Casino Hotel
Sound Board announces Duck Dynasty, Happy and Live in Detroit, with Willie, Jase and Si Robertson, on Sunday, September 22, 2013 at 3PM.
Willie, Jase and Si Robertson will be live inside Sound Board at MotorCity Casino Hotel for an afternoon of Duck Dynasty family fun.
The program will include Robertson family history, Duck Commander duck call demonstrations, hunting tips, personal anecdotes from the #1 cable Television Show A&E’s Duck Dynasty and a Q&A.
According to Sound Board website, tickets are $100, $50 and $45 and admission requirement is 21+ with a valid photo ID.
Porter Ridge: Jeff the Bear Man keeps eight brown bears in his back garden
Porter Ridge, Discovery’s new reality show, allows viewers to meet an eccentric band of misfits in an isolated community that lives by its own rules.
Set in rural Spencer, Indiana, 15 miles west of Bloomington, Porter Ridge is from the same creators of the Duck Dynasty show.
The characters include Jeff the bear-man who keeps eight truffle-hunting brown bears in his back garden, to Dirty Andy who is able to turn any old piece of scrap into cash.
There have been rumors for months about film crews in the area where Porter Ridge is set with some residents even being hired as extras.
“This is so real, so visceral, so authentic,” executive producer Joe Weinstock said.
“You can’t put a better group of characters together. It’s amazing how all these individuals just live by each other.”
“When people see the show, I believe they’re going to come away feeling pretty darn good,” said Joe Weinstock, an Oklahoma native.
“It has a lot of heart. In the end, these neighbors who all unite and live on Porter Ridge Road love each other.”
Over twelve episodes the characters, who frequent Terry Porter’s Country Auto Parts junk yard, will be appearing with all of their peculiarity on display.
The show focuses on a shirtless Terry Porter who is described as the “CEO of an auto junk yard” where the lives of locals and scrappers, who sell old metal and such, are detailed.
Their code of life is simple: respect the lord, love your family and watch each other’s backs.
The folks of Porter Ridge describe themselves as a “tight-knit community of colorful characters that are unlike any other”.
Those appearing in the series include Terry Porter, the owner of a junkyard upon which the show is based; Jeff “the Bear Man”, who treats brown bears as family; hustler Dirty Andy; Elvis Larry, the local garbage man and jack-of-all-trades; and more.
With Terry Porter being the focus of the show, he fancies himself as the true leader of the community but the show suggests he’s not suited to lead much more than a scrap yard negotiation.
For Terry Porter, it’s all about the next get rich quick idea and whatever it takes to beat his longtime rivals from the next town over.
Another character who is sure to win fans from the American viewing public is Jeff who has bears simply roaming around his back yard.
Although he loves them as if they were his own flesh and blood, other residents on the Ridge don’t always have the same love for these 1,500-pound beasts.
Danny Bob is a worker at the junkyard repair shop. He claims to be a whiz with a blowtorch and can fix just about anything with an engine.
He also has a handful of ex-wives in his past; including one he married twice – which he says is the definition of “stupid”.
Dirty Andy is the scrap merchant on the Ridge and always looking for a way to make a buck.
Whether it’s an old lawnmower or a rusty trampoline, there is nothing that Dirty Andy can’t turn to cash.
The show will air on 12 consecutive Tuesdays on the Discovery Channel at 10:30pm ET/PT.
Joe Weinstock said the likelihood for a second season of Porter Ridge will depend on how popular the show is. A decision should be made by the start of September.
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Honey Boo Boo enjoys drag queen bingo evening at Hamburger Mary’s
Honey Boo Boo shot to fame as a child beauty queen wannabe on TLC show Toddlers & Tiaras before the success of spin-off series Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.
But 7-year-old Alana Thompson, still widely known by her pageant moniker, experienced a rather different type of queenly experience on Wednesday night.
Honey Boo Boo enjoyed an evening of drag queen bingo at Hamburger Mary’s restaurant in Jacksonville Florida.
In a series of photographs posted on the chain’s Facebook page, Honey Boo Boo and her mother June Shannon look very excited to be posing alongside various drag queens including Sondra Todd in one picture.
Alana Thompson ensured she looked her best for the evening, with her blonde hair curled in ringlets and wearing a light blue T-shirt emblazoned with stars.
Mother and daughter were accompanied by Uncle Poodle, real name Lee Thompson, and the brother of Honey Boo Boo’s father Sugar Bear.
Sources at the restaurant said the group received a lot of attention from the restaurant’s patrons, with people clamoring for photographs and autographs, according to TMZ.
In fact, the reality stars were so popular that they decided to encourage fans to tip for autographs, promising to donate cash raised to a charity dedicated to fighting cyber-bullying.
The second series of Honey Boo Boo, which is currently airing on U.S. channel TLC, does not feature Alana Thompson taking part in any pageants, with Mama June last month announcing she has “retired”.
“We’re done,” June Shannon told In Touch magazine last month.
“We haven’t done a pageant for a while, because we’re so busy with our show and school and life in general.”
Honey Boo Boo apparently “misses the stage”, according to Mama June, but still keeps in touch with the beauty scene.
“We still have all our pageant friends,” June Shannon revealed.
“We go along and cheer on our other pageant friends.”
Brazil’s Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota resigns over Bolivia diplomatic scandal
Brazil’s Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota has quit in the wake of a diplomatic scandal with Bolivia.
Antonio Patriota resigned after a Bolivian opposition politician holed up in the Brazilian embassy in La Paz for more than a year fled the country in a diplomatic car.
A Brazilian official has admitted using his diplomatic immunity to drive the senator across the border without permission from either country.
Senator Roger Pinto was given asylum at the Brazilian embassy last year.
He had been accused of at least 14 crimes in Bolivia, including corruption. He denied the charges and asked for asylum saying he was being persecuted.
Antonio Patriota’s resignation was announced in a brief statement from the office of President Dilma Rousseff on Monday.
The same statement named Luiz Alberto Figueiredo, Brazil’s head of mission at the UN, as the new foreign minister. Anonio Patriota is to become Brazil’s new UN ambassador, officials said.
Brazilian diplomat Eduardo Saboia said he used his diplomatic immunity to get Roger Pinto out of Bolivia, leaving with him in an official vehicle on Friday, she says.
Eduardo Saboia said Roger Pinto had been suffering from depression and he had taken a personal decision to help him.
The senator had been living in a small room in the Brazilian embassy for the past 450 days.
After the escape was revealed, Bolivia accused Brazil of violating international agreements and demanded an explanation.
According to Brazilian media, President Dilma Rousseff’s government did not know of the operation and considered it a “disaster”.
Roger Pinto, who arrived in Brasilia on Sunday, says the charges against him are politically motivated and have been fabricated by the Bolivian government.
Forbes Top-Earning Celebrities 2013
Madonna was the world’s top-earning celebrity over the past year, trumping the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg.
Madonna, 55, made an estimated $125 million thanks to her MDNA tour, clothing and fragrance lines, according to Forbes Top-Earning Celebrities List 2013.
The magazine said it was the most money Madonna had made in a single year since it began tracking earnings in 1999.
Director Steven Spielberg was at number two with $100 million.
Most of his earnings came from his back catalogue of film hits such as ET and Jurassic Park – which has just been released in 3D to mark its 20th anniversary – as well as last year’s Oscar winning Lincoln.
Steven Spielberg also takes a cut of all ticket sales at Universal Studios theme parks.
Third place was a three-way tie between 50 Shades of Grey author EL James, Simon Cowell and shock jock Howard Stern, with earnings of $95 million.
Thriller writer James Patterson follows with $91 million, while TV and radio host Glenn Beck earned $90 million.
Others in the top 10 included Transformers director Michael Bay ($82 million) producer Jerry Bruckheimer ($80 million) and pop star Lady Gaga ($80 million).
Forbes compiles its annual list of celebrity earnings using input from agents, managers, producers and others to calculate its estimates for each celebrity’s entertainment-related earnings.
The figures do not reflect tax deductions, agent fees or “the other expenses of being a celebrity”.
India’s Food Security Bill passed by lower house
The controversial Indian Food Security Bill that aims to provide subsidized food to two-thirds of the population has been passed by the lower house.
Under the plan, which still needs to be approved by the upper house, 800 million poor people would receive 11 lbs of cheap grain every month.
Its backers argue it is a big step towards eradicating the widespread hunger and malnutrition plaguing India.
But critics say it is a profligate plan which will hurt India’s economy.
The ambitious legislation will cost 1.3 trillion rupees ($23.9 billion) a year.
The government launched the programme last week by executive decree, but requires parliamentary approval to make it permanent.
In a rare speech to parliament on Monday, Congress party President Sonia Gandhi urged lawmakers to clear her party’s flagship welfare scheme, which she said was part of an “empowerment revolution” worthy of unanimous support.
“Some people ask – do we have the resources for such a legislation? I would like to say, the question is not about resources; we will have to manage resources for this,” Sonia Gandhi said.
“The question is not if we can do this. We have to do this,” she told lawmakers in the lower house.
India accounts for a third of the world’s poor and supporters say such assistance will help reduce poverty and hunger.
But critics have dismissed the bill as a political gimmick ahead of next year’s general election.
“It’s not food security, but a vote securing bill,” opposition BJP MP Murli Manohar Joshi said in parliament before Sonia Gandhi spoke.
The bill proposes to provide a kilo of rice at three rupees, wheat at two rupees and millet at one rupee.
The measure will apply to 75% of Indians living in rural areas and 50% of the urban population.
The bill was an election promise made by the governing Congress party and its implementation is expected to help the party in general elections due next year.
But it has had a rocky journey through the legislative process. Last month, the cabinet passed the measure as an ordinance using special constitutional powers to enable President Pranab Mukherjee temporarily to sign it into law.
But parliamentary approval is needed before 6 September – when the current session of parliament ends – for it to remain lawful.
Opposition parties criticized the government for passing the measure as an ordinance, after initially failing to win parliamentary support.
Despite impressive economic growth in recent years, India still struggles to feed its population and has more malnourished children than any other country in the world.
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US to reach debt ceiling in October, warns Treasury Secretary Jack Lew
US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has warned that the government will reach its debt limit by mid-October unless Congress acts quickly.
The debt ceiling was last raised in January. The government can no longer borrow if it is reached.
Jack Lew said that in such a case it will be unable to meet obligations such as pensions, military salaries and Medicare payments.
The country’s borrowing limit is currently capped at $16.7 trillion.
“Extraordinary measures are projected to be exhausted in the middle of October,” Jack Lew said in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and other lawmakers.
“At that point, the US will have reached the limit of its borrowing authority, and Treasury would be left to fund the government with only the cash we have on hand on any given day,” he said.
The cash balance at that time is forecast to be about $50 billion, which Jack Lew said, would be “insufficient to cover net expenditures for an extended period”.
He said: “Operating the government with no borrowing authority, and with only the cash on had on a given day, would place the United States in an unacceptable position.”
There have been tense debates between the White House and congressional Republicans over the government’s debt ceiling, spending cuts, and other fiscal matters.
In August 2011, the Republicans and the Democrats took a hard line while debating raising the borrowing limits.
They only reached a compromise on the day the government’s ability to borrow money was due to run out.
The delay in reaching a deal at that time led ratings agency Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the US for the first time ever, which sparked volatility in the financial markets.
The compromise also included a series of automatic budget cuts known as the “sequester” which came into affect earlier this year.
However, in his letter Jack Lew argued that raising the debt limit does not increase government but “simply allows Treasury to pay for expenditures [the] Congress has previously approved”.
He warned that a delay in raising the limit “would cause irreparable harm to the American economy”.
Jack Lew explained that if investors become unwilling to loan to the US, the country could face an immediate cash shortfall.
”Such a scenario could undermine financial markets and result in significant disruptions to the economy,” he said.
Notting Hill Carnival 2013: London police join Europe’s largest street party
Notting Hill Carnival, Europe’s largest street party, erupted into a full blaze of color for a second day with hundreds of thousands lining the streets of London to watch the show yesterday.
Performers wearing a vivid array of stunning costumes paraded through the streets under glorious Bank Holiday sunshine.
Hundreds of thousands of people descended on the west London streets as they are turned into a Caribbean party of dance, music, floats and food.
The total number of visitors to the two day festival is estimated to reach one million by the end of the day.
Yesterday, known as family day, saw both young and old dancing to giant sound-systems set up on street corners, while procession performers wore multi-colored costumes, played steel drums and danced behind trucks which pumped out anything from reggae to dancehall, and calypso to dub.
Scotland Yard said police made 93 arrests – mainly for drugs offences – while London Ambulance Service and St John Ambulance treated more than 300 people for cuts and bruises to their feet and alcohol-related injuries. A spokesman said 45 were taken to hospital.
Other arrests were made for assaults on police, public order offences and possession of offensive weapons, Scotland Yard said.
Not to be left out of the fun, London’s police also got in on the celebration – by performing an impromptu dance off.
Dressed in full uniform, stab vests, florescent jackets and battons, the officers broke out their finest moves to impress the crowd.
The comic moment was caught on video by one of the hundreds of revellers who had cleared a circle too see if the policemen could outshine the carnival performers.
The carnival has been held in London’s Notting Hill since the 1960s and has since spread to other locations, such as Kingston and Leeds.
It was first organized by West London’s prominent Afro-Caribbean community and will celebrate its 50th anniversary on August Bank Holiday 2016.
Notting Hill Carnival is the largest street festival in Europe and over one million people has been expected to take part in the festivities this year.
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Monica Bellucci announces divorce from Vincent Cassel
Monica Bellucci has announced that her marriage to star actor Vincent Cassel was over.
The actress’ announcement follows weeks of speculation about the couple’s increasingly tempestuous relationship.
In April, Monica Bellucci, who shot to fame in films like The Matrix Reloaded and The Passion of the Christ, told Grazia magazine: “Marriage, we never know how long it will last…Today, it works, but in a year, I don’t know.”
On the same month, Vincent Cassel told Closer magazine: “My wife and me are very different animals. This is probably the key to our relationship after 18 years together…We don’t seek other people’s approval.”
Monica Bellucci, 48, met Vincent Cassel, 46, in 1996 on the set of Gilles Mimouni’s film L’Appartement.
They were together for three years before marrying in a quiet ceremony in Monaco, on the French Riviera.
Vincent Cassell is hugely popular in his home country of France, where he first leapt into the public imagination in La Haine (Hate), a film about delinquents on a troubled Paris housing estate.
Both actors said they had split by “mutual agreement” following 14 year of marriage which produced two daughters, 7-year-old Deva, and 3-year-old Leonie.
Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci, who was born in Italy, had been leading independent lives for a number years, keeping their own respective apartments in Paris and Rome.
Vincent Cassel also spent a great deal of time alone in Brazil.
The split marks the second marriage failure for Monica Bellucci, who was with Italian photographer Claudio Basso for four years, before divorcing him in 1994.
Monica Bellucci is currently away working in Serbia, while Vincent Cassel is thought to be in France.
Vincent Cassel’s spokesman told AFP: “Vincent Cassel confirms that he has agreed to separate from his wife Monica Bellucci.”
All Liberia students fail university admission exam
Liberia’s Education Minister Etmonia David-Tarpeh says she finds it hard to believe that not a single candidate passed this year’s university admission exam.
Nearly 25,000 school-leavers failed the test for admission to the University of Liberia, one of two state-run universities.
The students lacked enthusiasm and did not have a basic grasp of English, said an university official.
Liberia is recovering from a brutal civil war that ended a decade ago.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel peace laureate, recently acknowledged that the education system was still in a “in a mess”, and much needed to be done improve it.
Many schools lack basic education material and teachers are poorly qualified.
However, this is the first time that every single student who wrote the exam for a fee of $25 has failed.
It means that the overcrowded university will not have any new first-year students when it reopens next month for the academic year.
Students told him the result was unbelievable and their dreams had been shattered, our reporter says.
Education Minister Etmonia David-Tarpeh said during an interview with BBC Focus on Africa that she intended to meet university officials to discuss the failure rate.
“I know there are a lot of weaknesses in the schools but for a whole group of people to take exams and every single one of them to fail, I have my doubts about that,” Etmonia David-Tarpeh said.
“It’s like mass murder.”
Etmonia David-Tarpeh said she knew some of the students and the schools they attended.
“These are not just schools that will give people grades. I’d really like to see the results of the students,” she added.
University spokesman Momodu Getaweh told BBC Focus on Africa that the university stood by its decision, and it would not be swayed by “emotion”.
“In English, the mechanics of the language, they didn’t know anything about it. So the government has to do something,” he said.
“The war has ended 10 years ago now. We have to put that behind us and become realistic.”
Sean Connery Alzheimer’s fears denied after Michael Caine interview
A representative for Sean Connery has strongly denied reports that the actor is suffering from Alzheimer’s after German newspaper Bild, carrying quotes from best friend Michael Caine, said that the star was “no longer in control of his senses”.
In an interview with Bild am Sonntag, Michael Caine said: “One must have serious concerns for him.”
Bild said the loss of his memory is “noticeable” and that only a few close friends and confidantes, like Michael Caine, had access to him.
“Connery forgets his life,” was the headline in the paper, Europe’s biggest selling Sunday newspaper.
The newspaper said his wife Micheline Roquebrune, 77, was always frightened to pick up the phone when he was out on the streets of Manhattan in case of bad news, suggesting Sean Connery can sometimes not find his way home.
Sean Connery, 83, told a British newspaper two years ago that he had no interest in acting any longer.
The last time Sean Connery appeared before the cameras was in 2003 for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Sean Connery and Michael Caine became friends during the shooting of the 1975 epic The Man Who Would Be King.
A spokeswoman for Sean Connery denied the claims, saying that Michael Caine had been misquoted.
“The same article also have Sean living in Spain where you all know he does not live,” the spokeswoman said.
“This [article] is truly silly and nonsense. I do not wish to give credence to this ridiculous story.”
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John Kerry: Syrian chemical attack is undeniable
US Secretary of State John Kerry has condemned the fact that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its own people.
John Kerry said footage of the alleged chemical weapons attack near Damascus was “real and compelling” and “undeniable”.
He said President Barack Obama was considering a response.
It comes hours after UN chemical weapons inspectors were fired on near the Syrian capital.
The team was dispatched to one of the five sites around Damascus where hundreds of people were reported to have been killed on August 21.
The Syrian government has denied launching any chemical attacks.
Russia, a key Syrian ally, has strongly warned against Western military action in Syria.
“What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. It defies any code of morality,” John Kerry said in a briefing for journalists on Monday.
The US administration had additional information about the attack that it would make public in the days ahead, he added.
John Kerry said the delay in allowing UN inspectors to the sites of the alleged chemical weapons attack were signs the Syrian government had something to hide.
“Attacking the area, shelling and systematically destroying evidence is not the behavior of a government that has nothing to hide. The regime’s belated decision to allow access is too late… to be credible,” John Kerry said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier told reporters the West had not been able to come up with any proof of chemical weapons use.
Sergei Lavrov was responding to suggestions from some Western countries that military action against the Syria government could be taken without a UN mandate.
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Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom split amid claims of his drug abuse
New reports claim that Khloe Kardashian has “separated” from husband Lamar Odom.
According to TMZ, Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are living apart and have effectively “split” after the reality star threw him out of the house.
In the wake of the reports, Khloe Kardashian, 29, has vented on Twitter, saying: “Really hard to sit here and listen to people talk s*** about my family! F*** you and shame on you! I’m too protective for this s***!”
While it’s believed that neither of them has actually contacted a divorce lawyer, they are now allegedly “separated”, according to the website.
TMZ claims that people close to Lamar Odom, 33, have been unable to find or contact him for the last 72 hours, although a representative for the star has denied this.
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom have been subject to persistent rumors that their marriage is in trouble after Lamar allegedly cheated on Khloe with two different women.
But several sources have told TMZ the real reason behind their marriage crisis is that Khloe Kardashian reportedly believes that Lamar Odom has a drug problem.
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UN complains over Syria sniper fire
The UN is to complain to the Syrian government and rebels after a convoy of chemical weapons inspectors came under sniper fire.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said he would ask the inspection team in Damascus to register “a strong complaint” so it never happened again.
The team is looking at five sites near Damascus where hundreds are reported to have been killed last week.
Russia has warned strongly against Western military action against Syria.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said any intervention in Syria without a UN mandate would be a “grave violation of international law”.
The West, he told a news conference in Moscow, had not been able to come up with any proof of chemical weapons use while “saying at the same time that the red line has been crossed and there can be no delay”.
He was responding to suggestions from some Western countries that military action against Syria could be taken without a UN mandate over the suspected use of chemical weapons by government forces.
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The Butler tops North American box office for second week
The Butler has topped the North American box office for a second week, taking $17 million.
Officially titled Lee Daniel’s The Butler, because of a legal tussle, it tells the story of a long-serving servant in the home of the president.
Jennifer Aniston’s We’re The Millers remained second with $13.5 million, taking its total to $90 million.
The World’s End from British director Edgar Wright opened in fourth place.
The film, the final in the trilogy from Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, took $8.9 million, following an extensive promotional tour from the director and cast.
Its predecessor, Hot Fuzz, took $5.8 million when it open in 2007.
The producers of Mortal Instruments: City of Bones – which debuted in third spot with $9.3 million – are hoping to have hit upon the next big teen franchise in the mould of Twilight or The Hunger Games.
Based on young adult fantasy book series, Sony Screen Gems has already committed to a sequel.
The top five is completed by Disney’s Planes, a spin-off of Cars, which took $8.6 million.
The global box office chart, which excludes the US and Canada, was dominated by Jurassic Park, which has been re-released in 3D. Its strong showing, with $30 million, bodes well for the franchise restarting next year with Jurassic Park 4.
Second in the global chart was Matt Damon’s Elysium, followed by Monster’s University and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.
North American box office top five
1. Lee Daniel’s The Butler
2. We’re The Millers
3. Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
4. The World’s End
5. Planes
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Venice seeks safer navigation after gondola crash
Venice authorities have set out proposals to make navigation safer on the city’s main waterway after a German tourist died in a crash last week.
They aim to regulate traffic flow on the heavily congested Grand Canal, and include plans to carry out checks for drug use by gondoliers, the mayor says.
A 50-year-old German man died after his gondola collided with a “vaporetto”, or public water bus, on August 17.
Police say traces of cocaine were found in the bloodstream of the gondolier.
“We have to think of the Grand Canal as a street, a main street like that of all cities, with particular heavy traffic…we need some discipline,” said Venice Mayor Giorgio Orsoni on Monday.
To avoid future accidents, he said, “these measures will require some sacrifices for citizens”.
Gondolas may only be allowed to operate at certain times of the day after morning rush hour, he added.
He said the city council was assessing the possibility of widening narrow passageways – such as where the recent crash took place – by removing structures such as small docks.
They also hope to introduce a system of checking for drug and alcohol abuse by those in charge of boats and are looking into proposals to ban captains from using hand-held devices whilst navigating the canals.
Jaochim Vogel and his family were thrown into the water after their gondola collided with a water bus, which carries members of the public around the city’s canals.
His three-year-old daughter was treated in hospital for head injuries. Joachim Vogel, however, died after getting crushed between the two vehicles.
An association of gondoliers, which oversees training and issues limited licenses, is also engaged in discussions on safety and accident prevention.
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Farmers’ Almanac 2013 predicts winter colder than normal and big storm for Super Bowl
The Farmers’ Almanac that hits newsstands Monday predicts a winter storm will hit the Northeast around the time the Super Bowl is played at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands in New Jersey.
The 197-year-old publication also predicts a colder-than-normal winter for two-thirds of the country and heavy snowfall in the Midwest, Great Lakes and New England.
“We’re using a very strong four-letter word to describe this winter, which is C-O-L-D. It’s going to be very cold,” said Sondra Duncan, managing editor.
Based on planetary positions, sunspots and lunar cycles, the almanac’s secret formula is largely unchanged since founder David Young published the first almanac in 1818.
Modern scientists don’t put much stock in sunspots or tidal action, but the almanac says its forecasts used by readers to plan weddings and plant gardens are correct about 80% of the time.
Last year, the forecast called for cold weather for the eastern and central U.S. with milder temperatures west of the Great Lakes. It started just the opposite but ended up that way.
Caleb Weatherbee, the publication’s elusive prognosticator, said he was off by only a couple of days on two of the season’s biggest storms: a February blizzard that paralyzed the Northeast with 3 feet of snow in some places and a sloppy storm the day before spring’s arrival that buried parts of New England.
Readers who put stock in the almanac’s forecasts may do well to stock up on long johns, especially if they’re lucky enough to get tickets to the Super Bowl on Feb. 2. The first Super Bowl held outdoors in a cold-weather environment could be both super cold and super messy, with a big storm due February 1 to 3, the almanac says.
Sondra Duncan said: “It really looks like the Super Bowl may be the Storm Bowl.”
The Maine-based Farmers’ Almanac, not to be confused with the New Hampshire-based Old Farmer’s Almanac, which will be published next month, features a mix of corny jokes, gardening tips, nostalgia and home remedies, like feeding carrots to dogs to help with bad breath and using mashed bananas to soothe dry, cracked skin in the winter.
Also in this year’s edition, editor Peter Geiger is leading a campaign to get people to ditch the penny, like Canada is doing.
Past campaigns have focused on moving Thanksgiving to harvest time in October, reconsidering “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem and changing the color of money. This time, Peter Geiger thinks he has a winner.
He wants people to donate pennies to charity and then lobby Congress to stop making them.
“They don’t get used very much. They get tossed. The only real use of a penny is if you save tens of thousands of them, then you can use them to help someone,” Peter Geiger said.
Republicans more likely to tune in to Duck Dynasty than Democrats
According to a new study, Republicans were about 50 percent more likely to tune in to Duck Dynasty Season 4 premiere than Democrats.
The sudy also found that and “Republicans who always vote in statewide elections were almost twice as likely to tune in as were Democrats”.
The Washington Post reports the season premiere of the show “got ratings higher than a 30 percent share in 25 media markets,” which is “comparable to most Super Bowls.” And of the top 15 media markets “tuned in to the premiere, only three – Lima, Ohio, Charleston, West Vitgonia and Evansville, Indiana – are outside the South”.
Duck Dynasty is shattering cable television records – the season premiere two weeks ago was cable’s most-watched nonfiction telecast in history.
The study also found that “West Coasters and urbanites were least likely to watch. The show did worst in the San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles media market, where only 2.5 to 3 percent of households tuned in. New York, Boston, Las Vegas and Chicago were all near the bottom in media market performance”.
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Bo Xilai trial ends in China
Chinese prosecutors said no leniency should be shown as the trial of former top politician Bo Xilai ended.
Bo Xilai’s crimes were serious and he had not shown remorse, the prosecution said, so leniency was not called for.
The disgraced politician, meanwhile, continued to deny charges against him and said his police chief tried to defect because he was in love with his wife, Gu Kailai.
The five-day trial adjourned after closing statements, with the verdict expected “at a date to be decided”.
The former Communist Party chief in the mega-city of Chongqing denies bribery, corruption and abuse of power.
On Sunday, the former high-flier launched a scathing attack on Wang Lijun, his former police chief whose flight to the US consulate in February 2012 led to a fresh investigation into the death of British businessman Neil Heywood.
Bo Xilai’s wife, Gu Kailai, has since been convicted of the murder of Neil Heywood, and the abuse of power charge against the former politician relates to his role in attempting to conceal her crime, the court has heard.
Foreign media are not allowed into the trial, but the court in the eastern city of Jinan has been posting regular updates on China’s micro-blogging site Weibo (in Mandarin).
This is China’s most politically charged trial in decades. Bo Xilai had been seen as a candidate for the highest levels of office until his fall from grace. He is widely expected to be found guilty.
When court resumed at 08:30 on Monday, the prosecution made its closing statement.
“The defendant’s crimes are extremely grave, and he also refuses to admit guilt,” an official transcript read.
“As such, the circumstances do not call for a lenient punishment but a severe one, in accordance with the law.”
The prosecutors’ statement was posted on the court’s microblog and then taken down, before being reposted without a sentence that referred to Bo Xilai acting on the orders of “superiors” in obtaining a fake medical certificate for Wang Lijun.
Bo Xilai then gave a statement to the court in which, according to the official transcript, he blamed Wang’s flight to the US consulate on the fact that he had been in love with Gu Kailai and feared Bo’s reaction.
He also defended his right to deny charges in court, saying he wrote previous confessions under pressure because he hoped by doing so he could stay in the Communist Party and keep his political career alive.
On Sunday the 64-year-old characterized Wang Lijun’s testimony as “full of lies and fraud”.
Wang, who has been convicted of crimes related to the Neil Heywood murder cover-up, told the court on Saturday that Bo Xilai hit him when he told him his wife was a suspect in the killing.
“He suddenly struck me with his fist and hit my left ear. It was not merely a slap… I found the corner of my mouth was bleeding,” court reporting of Wang Lijun’s testimony said.
Bo Xilai has also denied receiving bribes from two Dalian-based businessmen and embezzling funds at his trial.
“On the matter of abuse of office, I made mistakes, this reflected badly on the image of the party and the state. I feel sorry for that,” Bo Xilai told the court on Saturday.
“However I do think the charges against me exaggerated my role in these incidents,” he added.
Two years ago Bo Xilai was seen as a candidate for promotion to the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s top decision-making body.
But in February 2012, as the country prepared for its once-in-a-decade leadership handover, questions emerged over the death of Neil Heywood. Gu Kailai is said to have killed him over a business deal gone wrong.
Bo Xilai’s downfall was seen as the biggest political shake-up to hit China’s ruling elite in decades.
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Jase and Missy Robertson reveal they chose to remain abstinent until marriage
Duck Dynasty’s Jase and Missy Robertson said in a recent interview that they chose to remain abstinent until marriage as per God’s desire, and also spoke about their family values and faith in God.
“We were both virgins when we got married until our wedding night,” Jase Robertson said in an interview, whose video recording has been posted on the website of the non-profit group Abstinence Clearinghouse.
“We decided to do it God’s way and basically had a godly agreement that we would help each other get to heaven,” he said.
The Duck Dynasty series revolves around the Robertson family-owned duck call business in Louisiana, Duck Commander, and their strong Christian faith. The company produces duck hunting products, including a duck call.
A staggering 11.8 million viewers tuned in to watch the premiere of the fourth season of the series earlier this month to make it the most watched reality show ever on cable television.
“What attracted us to each other was what we saw in each other in our faith,” Missy, Jase Robertson’s wife, said.
“We’ve been very happy for 22 years before the money started coming in,” she added.
Missy Robertson said they can now see the same commitment in their children.
“And what an influence we can have on our children with that testimony. Our oldest son has been dating a great girl for over a year and a half and they also have the same commitment,” she said.
“So it’s just such a wonderful joyous time as a parent to see that and the commitment they have as children wanting to do that also.”
Jase Robertson added the world will benefit if they followed God’s desire.
“A lot of people just think that that’s unreasonable or preposterous,” he said.
“But you know, if everybody chose to do it God’s way, the world would be a lot better off.”
Jase Robertson also shared why he believes fame and fortune are frivolous to him.
“…We were raised really poor, my brothers, we had one bed, one room. But nobody told us we were poor and I was just as happy,” he said.
“The reason is because we loved who we were with, with our family. That’s really the reason why we love to hunt. It’s not so much about what we get to eat or how many ducks we shoot, it’s about who we’re with.”
Jase Robertson stated that following God brings happiness in a family.
“It’s a great testimony because we’re like, ‘Look, we don’t do this because we’re representing some organization. We do it because we trust in God and we believe that His way is the better way, in all things in life,” he said.
“I’m going to use whatever God blesses me with as a platform to tell the world that God is for you. He proved it through sending Jesus down here to die for us and be resurrected. And for us that gives us second chances and it gives us hope, and so we spread that message everywhere.”
All the cast members of the series often display their Christian faith in the episodes and are seen at the end of each program engaging in prayer.
The men of the Robertson family, brothers Phil and Si, and Phil’s sons Jase, Willie, and Jep, have become popular for their signature beards. Phil Robertson started the business in a family shed and spent 25 years making duck calls from Louisiana cedar trees.
“Thanks to its authentic and engaging characters, Duck Dynasty has become more than just a reality show, it is a cultural phenomenon,” David McKillop, executive vice president, of A&E told Inside TV last week.
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