MERRIMAN WINS NSW ENDURO SERIES

WR450F mounted Stefan Merriman certainly didn’t have it all his own way though after his team-mate, Jarrod Bewley took over the lead of Saturdays round in the final moto special tests at Dungog showgrounds, late that afternoon. Merriman led early on after taking the outright wins in the first 5 special tests, but 2 bad starts in the stadium cross type races, was all it took for the hard charging WR450F mounted Jarrod Bewley to jump into the lead for day.

Although Stefan praised the whole event that was run by the Dungog club, it was the “fun, but hard to pass all in Pro motos, that had me a bit behind the leaders. I was hoping for a better 2nd race start, I tried to anticipate the gate and it all went wrong, and again I found myself at the back trying to push forward. Anyway it was a great event and I know there’s a bit of history in this area, and this club with them running one of the biggest enduro’s in the early days from around the mid 70’s; the ‘Forrest 300’. It was a good enduro out there in the bush and the tests where excellent. The final round and Sunday went better for me, and I was pleased to take that win.” ‘That win’ ended up giving Merriman his 3rd overall for each of the 2 Day series, and the overall NSW title.

Josh Ballard also rode this weekend finishing well, but just off the podium. He had 2 strong moto’s in the showgrounds running up front and even challenging Bewley for the lead on one occasion, plus also had fast times in all the grass track tests, which is definitely his strong point.

From here the whole Ballards Wellard Yamaha team will be on board for the final 2 rounds of the AORC series in Young NSW, 2 weekends from now. With the team leading outright in the Pro class (Merriman),the Juniors (Burrell) and the seniors ‘Masters’ (Ballard), plus other ‘in class’ hi-placings for all other team riders, it should be a very exciting final two rounds.

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BRIDGESTONE AND KAWASAKI UNITE

31 August 2009

Bridgestone and Kawasaki Unite

Bridgestone is proud to announce the addition of Kawasaki’s FLY Team Green to the Bridgestone Off-road Motor sport Family. Both the Junior and Senior teams will be running Bridgestone tyres for the upcoming New Zealand Moto-cross and Super-cross Championships, as well as all the major 2 day events in New Zealand. A leading tyre producer Bridgestone is excited about the partnership, FLY Team Green promotes the sort of image Bridgestone wants to be associated with. They area tight knit team with a good work ethic and strong team values, similar to the team here at Eurotred. They have the same core values as we do, and we see this being a long lasting and successful partnership.

As an official tyre sponsor of FLY Team Green, Bridgestone will be supporting senior riders Nick Saunders, Mason Phillips, and Mike Cotter. At the recent FIM Junior World MX Championships held in Taupo, Kawasaki Junior riders Haki Waller, John Phillips and now World Junior No.3 Hamish Dobbyn were all using Bridgestone tyres.

John Phillips had this to say “This is my first proper tyre deal and I couldn’t think of anyone better than to get it from. They come standard on my Kawasaki, and
Bridgestone’s definitely hook up sweet”.

Senior rider, Nick Saunders reaction to the new deal was “Dude, that’s awesome, Bridgestone tyres are sooooo good. They last ages and work awesome in the mud”.

The team will not only be using Bridgestone tyres but also Bridgestone’s quality 4mm Heavy Duty tubes to ensure that no punctures happen while racing on the track.

Look for the senior FLY Team Green and their Bridgestone tyres at the front of the pack come the NZ MX Nationals starting 11th October.


About Bridgestone

Bridgestone is a world wide leader in the manufacturing of motorcycles tyres and motorcycle tubes. With the best materials and latest technologies used in their production, only the best tyres come with the Bridgestone logo on them. With a full compliment of tyres for both road and off road motorcycles, Bridgestone is the only motorcycle tyre you will ever need.

About Eurotred

Eurotred is the Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Importer for New Zealand. With a full range of tyres and containers arriving monthly, good stocks are at hand all the time. Eurotred also imports Putoline Oils, Gold Fren Brake Pads, Power Volt batteries, Viper tires and quality quad tires. For more information on these products, contact the sales department on 09 4433111 or sales@eurotred.co.nz

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Is Twitter account owner lying to media over Bradford death threats?

update: apparently so - Henk van Helmond responds in comments
The man who owns the Twitter account that had this threat addressed to Sue Bradfords twitter account said he had no knowledge of the threat until TV3 appeared on his doorstep. He claimed his Twitter account had been hacked. He said that after TV3 turned up he looked at his Twitter account and saw the tweet.

Now TV3 could not have known that Henk van Helmond owned the Twitter site that made the threat before I blogged this yesterday. Neither did Sue Bradford.

But van Helmond knew about the threat on his Twitter site. He knew before TV3 turned up. Because he wrote this on the CYFSWatch site at 12:04pm yesterday, commenting on the Sunday News report of the tweet. And as far as I am aware, Sue Bradford knew about that post on the CYFSWatch site before the media was told of the name of the owner of the Twitter account the threat came from.

Van Helmond’s story does not stack up. Either that or his CYFSWatch site was hacked, or someone is writing very similar words to him. Here's what he wrote on CYFSwatch when it was on Blogger in 2007 ( now deleted)

If ever someone needed a beating, it is this sociopathic witch.She is projecting her own allergy to correction or any form of discipline onto the families of New Zealand, so that our kids can end up as sick as she is.Bradford is a worthy candidate for NZ's first political assassination - I only wish I had the resources to do it.

And from his Twitter account in 2009

@suebr is STILL a good candidate for NZ's first political assassination. (watch sue run to the Police because of a death threat, stupid cow).

Go figure.

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Sue Bradford a candidate for assassination

On Twitter, someone recently wrote this

@suebr is STILL a good candidate for NZ's first political assassination. (watch sue run to the Police because of a death threat, stupid cow).

The person who wrote this goes under the name Kiwi1960.

I thought that sounded familiar. A person underthe name of Kiwi1960 has said stuff like this before. He has a You Tube site. In the intro he says that he is Kiwi1960, has MS. He says that "CYFS created me, and payback is gunna be a bitch". I blogged about Kiwi 1960 and his mates some time ago after Helen Clark got a brick chucked through her electorate office window.

Kiwi1960 is Henk van Helmond, and on this site he called Sue Bradford a communist.But here he even comments on the Twitter post in light of an article written by the Sunday News today.

Sue Bradford, you have my Email address, please provide me proof of these death threats, because even if you said the world was round, I’d still think it was a lie because of the mouth it came out of.

Nasty piece of work, isn't he?

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Not much from me in the next week

Off to Auckland in the weekend, back Thursday. Things to do in the real world.

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2 x STUNT RIDERS NEEDED

WILDCARD ENTERTAINMENT - HIRING NOW



Newly formed with two Holden utes fully worked to perform drift stunts Wildcard Entertainment are looking for Motorcycle stunt riders to join the stunt team riding supplied stunt machines alongside their drift utes. The job will vary across New Zealand with an aim to attend all major motorsport events and logged promotional gigs. It will not disappoint.

If you think you have or know of someone that has what it takes to confidently pull a range of stunts on a motorcycle in front of large crowds you should get in contact with James Urquhart at Wildcard Entertainment on 021 795 691. James is keen to hear from anyone that has the experience and skills necessary.








Note: The ute driver positions have been filled.

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New Zealand Week

Every Friday I wake up and read The New Zealand week . It's a good wrap up of the news and events of the preceding week and the URL gets delivered straight to my inbox as a reminder. There's always something in there that I have missed.

I recommend it.

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Priyanka Chopra not allowed to wear jeans

Mumbai, Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, who made a style statement with her hot pants and halter tops in “Dostana”, wasn’t allowed to wear a pair of jeans at home.

The 27-year-old actress, who was brought up in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, faced these restrictions at home after returning from the US, where she had gone to do her high school.

“I wasn’t allowed to wear short skirts and then my jeans
were also confiscated. And my mother got 12 salwar kameez sets made for me so that I wore only those because when I used to go to school, guys used to follow me,” Priyanka revealed on Farah Khan’s chat show “Tere Mere Beach Mein”.

But that phase is over for Priyanka who is counted among the most glamorous actresses in Bollywood today.

She will be seen with boxing champion Vijender Singh on the show on STAR Plus

More about → Priyanka Chopra not allowed to wear jeans

Ken Ghosh’s next is finally titled ‘Chance Pe Dance’

Mumbai, After a musical chair of titles that ranged from “Star” to “Yahoo”, director Ken Ghosh’s next film, which has Shahid Kapoor in the lead, has finally been titled “Chance Pe Dance”.

“Yes, my film would be called ‘Chance Pe Dance’. It’s final and in fact the first ever title for which I am giving a confirmation. Everything else before this, whether it was ‘Star’ or ‘Yahoo’, was merely speculation and, as you would have noticed, no one attached to the cast or the crew ever gave an official statement,” Ghosh told IANS.

“Now hopefully all rumours would die as the film would hereby be known as
‘Chance Pe Dance’,” he added.

Since information about the title being “Chance Pe Dance” was leaked earlier, why didn’t he confirm the news then itself?

“Because we hadn’t got it on paper yet. Someone else was holding the title and we couldn’t have announced it as ours till all the formalities were carried out.

“We also had to be careful since the entire bargaining thing comes into the picture when the party that holds the title gets to know that it has been leaked out. However, all is well that ends well since on the Saturday gone by, we finally had ‘Chance Pe Dance’ as our title,” said Ghosh.

Considering the fact that the film, which also stars Genelia D’Souza, is a musical, a title like “Chance Pe Dance” does make sense.

“You can’t ignore the relevance of the word ‘chance’ here though. Life just gives you one chance and you have to grab it with both hands. This is what happens to my protagonist in the film too who makes best use of the chance available to him. He dances on it…pun intended, and what happens to him from thereon is to be seen in the film,” the director explained.

Ghosh had launched Shahid with his “Ishq Vishk” and the director is happy that his protege’s “Kaminey” has not only done well at the box office but sky-rocketed him into the top league.

“Well, such things do work in favour of your film for sure. But eventually it’s the product that matters. His ‘Dil Bole Hadippa’ is looking good as well and it would be nice to have two successful films behind Shahid when ‘Chance Pe Dance’ releases”, said Ghosh.

So when is the movie set to release?

“Well, it could be in November or December but, yes, the movie is releasing this year for sure,” he said.

More about → Ken Ghosh’s next is finally titled ‘Chance Pe Dance’

No Hrithik or Abhishek yet for ‘Agneepath’ remake: Karan Johar

Mumbai, There have been speculations about who will play the male lead in the remake of the 1990 hit “Agneepath”. While the names of Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan popped up, filmmaker Karan Johar clarifies that no one has been finalised to play the part Amitabh Bachchan immortalised in the original.

“I haven’t made any statement whatsoever around the man who would eventually be playing the role of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan that was made
iconic by Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. All I have said is that, yes, we are going ahead with a remake of ‘Agneepath’ and that’s about it,” Johar told IANS.

Whether it is Hrithik, Abhishek or someone else, Johar must be having a wish list?

“Well, the wish list is to get the screenplay right. For the moment nothing else is more important than that,” he said.

Even though the film is being produced under the banner of Dharma Productions, Johar won’t be going behind the camera for the movie.

“True, I would be stepping aside and the film would be directed by Karan Malhotra, who has assisted me on ‘My Name Is Khan’. That’s the only thing which has been finalised… everything else you hear is mere speculation. We will finalise the cast once the script is locked. Currently, it is still in the process of being written,” he added.

Malhotra is not really a novice when it comes to filmmaking. He has earlier worked as an assistant director with Ashutosh Gowariker on “Jodhaa Akbar”, Farah Khan on “Main Hoon Na”, Farhan Akhtar on “Lakshya” and Raj Kumar Santoshi “Lajja and Pukar” amongst others.

Since it is close to two decades since the release of “Agneepath”, would the remake have a different milieu to it?

“Certainly! We are adapting the film from the original, but ours would be a new age version that would fit in well with today’s time. We really hope that we are able to do justice to the original and make the remake exciting for today’s generation,” Johar said.

Dharma Productions, meanwhile, has as many as seven films that are in different stages of production. These are “My Name Is Khan”, “Wake Up Sid”, “Kurbaan”, “Koochie Koochie Hota Hai”, remakes of Hollywood flick “Stepmom” and “Agneepath” and “I Hate Love Stories”.

How is he managing it all?

“Believe me, it’s not difficult at all. All you have to do is to follow a three-point mantra – delegation, outsourcing and trust. Along with that, if you have the right vision and infrastructure in place, which we do have in Dharma Productions, it isn’t difficult to crack it all.

“That’s the way you manage things and I have been fortunate enough to have a team with which it has become possible to helm a number of projects at the same time,” said Johar.

Among the seven films, three are ready to hit the screens.

“‘Wake Up Sid’ is all set to arrive on Oct 2. ‘Kurbaan’ will come in late November. Other than that, we are looking at an early 2010 release for ‘My Name Is Khan’. Yes, these have been busy and really exciting times,” the filmmaker said.

More about → No Hrithik or Abhishek yet for ‘Agneepath’ remake: Karan Johar

Bollywood on self-healing path with four hits

New Delhi, Energetic openings to Bollywood’s four recent releases, “New York”, “Kambakkht Ishq”, “Love Aaj Kal” and “Kaminey”, have succeeded in getting the business perk up. Wounded by a long strike earlier this year, the film industry is perhaps on a self-healing path now, say trade pundits.

The two-month-long stand-off between the producers-distributors and multiplex owners over revenue sharing, which was resolved June 5, led to a whopping Rs.300 crore (Rs.3 billion) loss to the Hindi film industry.

The dry spell was broken by Kabir Khan’s “New York” that released June 26 followed by the other three films — “Kambakkht Ishq” that came July 3, “Love Aaj Kal” July 31 and
“Kaminey” Aug 14 — raking in a net profit close to almost half the losses so far this year.

“These four films will do a net business of Rs.150 crore (Rs.1.5 billion) put together,” revealed an industry insider.

Said trade analyst Taran Adarsh: “The industry is definitely on a recovery path… it is getting better now, but we do need a big number of hits to follow as even an A-list movie like ‘Luck’ bombed.

“Every movie has a luck of its own. For example, a small-budget film like ‘A Wednesday’ had a moderate release last year but proved to be a dark horse. At the end of the day it’s the content that will win.”

Film critic Omar Qureshi had something similar to say.

“The industry is healing. Everyone was deprived of movies. There was a desperation to watch films and the audiences couldn’t handle it. So they took multiplexes by storm once good movies hit the screens and the result is worth watching,” said Qureshi.

“But that doesn’t mean mediocre movies will win the race too… it’ll only take big-budget and big-banner movies with a good story to make up for the losses and bring in footfalls,” he added.

The stand-off between producers-distributors and multiplex owners started in February over revenue-sharing. While the producers demanded a flat 50 percent share of all film revenues irrespective of the stars, budget and box-office collection, the exhibitors stressed on sharing profits based on the movie’s earnings.

As a result the producers declared a strike from April 4 onwards, which saw no big Bollywood releases in multiplexes across the country.

Now all eyes are set on an array of big releases after the lull.

The line-up includes Shahid Kapoor-Rani Mukerji starrer “Dil Bole Hadippa”, three movies of Salman Khan — “Wanted”, “Main Aur Mrs Khanna” and “London Dreams” — two Ranbir Kapoor-starrers “Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani” and “Rocket Singh – Salesman of The Year”, and Aamir Khan’s “3 Idiots”.

Apart from these, there are also Hrithik Roshan’s much-talked-about action thriller “Kites”, Priyanka Chopra’s “What’s Your Raashee?”, two movies starring Amitabh Bachchan — “Aladdin” and “Pa” — Akshay Kumar’s “De Dana Dan”, Govinda’s “Hook Ya Crook” and Neil Nitin Mukesh’s “Jail”.

More about → Bollywood on self-healing path with four hits

John Key to be interviewed on Big News

Prime Minister John Key is going to sell New Zealand to the blogosphere when he is interviewed by top political blog Big News next month.

Mr Key is booked for a mid-September blog post while he is in Auckland to speak at the Family First conference .

He is a key speaker at the forum.

"It's an opportunity to promote to the blogosphere what I really think, it's gold when it comes to New Zealand from a political point of view," Mr Key said today.

"This is a blog that hundreds of people visit worldwide, it really is a Big News opportunity."

Since the election Mr Key has focused on being all things to all people, every day in every way in all areas of New Zealand all the time.

"The blogger at Big News is very keen on New Zealand politics," he said. " He was last time we met".

"I understand he spent a fair bit of time ribbing Sue Bradford about how great New Zealand parents were, so I'm sure I'll be able to reinforce her comments."

Radio New Zealand incorrectly reported Key's interview on Big News was arranged by a National Party supporter who left a comment on Key's Facebook page.

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Political question of the day

Who was the first Maori woman to become a minister in the New Zealand parliament?

Too easy? Answer this, then.

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Dictator dicatates to the dictated

Well, by now you`ll all know that Herr Key has decreed that National will not support Acts smacking bill, which was drawn out of the ballot today. John Boscawen should postpone the debate on the bill's first reading until just before the election (because National would have been written off by then and is likely to vote for it), then Labour can get back in for one term with an increase in support for NZ First, reject the legislation and get booted out at the following election for rejecting the bill.

Meanwhile, the Treaty of Waitangi and democracy should be taught in all schools and a petition should be creatively drawn up relating to the Boscawen bill - and have it presented just before the bill is due for a vote in the house.

National ignores referenda,ignores select committee deliberations, now it opposes a bill its supporters want to be able to submit to a select committee on. Can we have our democracy back? Hope you are looking forward to the next few polls as well as I am.

Finally, if you voted for National at the election, you should ask yourself why. And watch NZ First rise in the polls soon if it gets its act together.

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Telecom injustice

Telecom boss Paul Reynolds is getting paid $5 million salary, after Telecom profit dropped 43.9%, while Telecom workers - the people who actually work for their living for Telecom - are facing a terrible choice between lay-offs with no redundancy pay or buying their own jobs to work for up to 50% less pay.

The company's other top six executives pulled in another $11m between them. Labour Party president Andrew Little, in his role as EPMU spokesperson, said while hundreds of frontline Telecom workers were having their livelihoods and work rights stripped from them, Telecom was being driven by shameless greed and a disregard for the network they were entrusted with.

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Another child dies

When is it going to end? Story here TV clip here. Sue Bradford too busy posting pics of protests on Facebook to comment.

An interview of the neighbour will be on TV3 news tonight.
Update Looks like it may be a premature newborn. The cause of death has not been disclosed. It is as tragic as an abortion.

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Kareena Kapoor yet again on ‘Filmfare’ covers

Size zero girl Kareena Kapoor is the reigning fashion diva of Bollywood. So, it does not come as a surprise when we find glossy magazine covers repeating the pretty lass over and over again. This is the third time Kareena Kapoor is on the covers of ‘Filmfare’ magazine. She sizzles in
a bright yellow dress on the September issue of the magazine and looks extremely confident exposing her hot long legs without any footwear. Not to mention here that the girl has as much of right attitude as her acting skills!

More about → Kareena Kapoor yet again on ‘Filmfare’ covers

Rani & Shahid promote ‘Dil Bole Hadippa’ on TV

Rani Mukherjee will be back on silver screen with ‘Dil Bole Hadippa’ after a long time, her last being ‘Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic’. She has taken special efforts in getting a toned body and flaunting it in a bikini. Nevertheless, she is taking keen interest in promoting the film along with her co-star Shahid Kapoor who is on a high these days post his success of
‘Kaminey’.

The duo was seen as special guests on the grand finale of the reality show ‘India’s Got Talent’ on 22nd August on Colors. Shahid awarded the trophy to The Prince Dance group who was declared the winner of this reality show after several relatives and friends of the group, apart from state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, corporate houses and social activists joined hands to vote en masse for them. They got a staggering Rs.50 lakhs (Rs.5 million) in cash and a swish newly-launched Maruti Suzuki Ritz car as the reward. The group, comprising 26 artistes, all below 22 years of age, spellbound everyone with their act, which was based on episodes from the Mahabharata.

The episode saw Shahid and Rani enjoying the performances and bonding well with the judges Sonali Bendre, Kirron Kher and filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor.

More about → Rani & Shahid promote ‘Dil Bole Hadippa’ on TV

Ajay Devgan’s unique proposal to Bipasha Basu

After the underwater proposal made by Akshay Kumar to Kareena Kapoor in ‘Kambakkht Ishq’, Ajay Devgan is all set to propose Bipasha Basu from mid-air in director Rohit Shetty’s upcoming comedy ‘All The Best’. The scene has Ajay seated in a sports car dangling 8 feet above the ground and giving out a rose to Bipasha standing on the
road.

The scene being risky and difficult took two days planning and an entire day for shoot. The car, being suspended from mid air and Ajay’s need to balance his weight, there was extra precaution needed as Bipasha was standing below the car and nothing could go wrong. To add to it, it had to look completely romantic. The scene has been successfully shot.
Thankfully, everything went fine and the scene was shot during the course of a day.

Besides Ajay and Bipasha, ‘All The Best’ also features Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan and Mugdha Godse. The film is set for Diwali release.

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Elesh shouldn’t be known as my husband: Rakhi Sawant

Mumbai, They got engaged amid much fanfare on national television but item girl Rakhi Sawant is worried about her Toronto-based fiance Elesh Parujanwala.

She is worried about him accepting her sexy image, his financial independence and, above all, she doesn’t want him to be just known as “Rakhi Sawant’s husband”.

“Will Elesh be able to support me financially? I don’t want
him to be known as Rakhi Sawant’s husband. I need time.

“I agree Elesh is educated and he comes from a wealthy family. But all of it belongs to his father. He has nothing of his own in Mumbai, not even a home. He needs time to settle down,” Rakhi, who selected Elesh through NDTV Imagine’s reality show “Rakhi Ka Swayamvar”, told IANS in an exclusive interview.

She is also concerned about Elesh being comfortable with her sexy image.

“People are spreading dirty rumours about me. On the Internet they’ve morphed my face on naked bodies. Would Elesh be able to tolerate it?” asked Rakhi.

She is also disgusted by singer Mika’s attempts to gain mileage out of her name.

“I’m really tired of people using my name. I don’t want to give such people importance. I’ve learnt the hard way how to be dignified. Jesus has taught me to be calm. My good days are just beginning.”

Rakhi says she’ll marry Elesh only when he becomes economically self-sufficient.

“I don’t want him to be another Abhishek Awasthi (her ex-boyfriend) in my life. Yes, we’re engaged. I like him a lot. But how can I hand over my life to someone who isn’t earning a proper living?

“That’s why we’re going on another reality show to see whether we’re really as compatible as we seemed on ‘Rakhi Ka Swayamvar’. I didn’t get enough time with him on that show. You and I saw his best face. Now I want to see the real Elesh.”

Her new show “Pati Patni Aur Woh”, which is likely to be aired next month on NDTV Imagine, is about parenting.

“I want to marry a man who can support me. In India, wives are supposed to be looked after by husbands, not vice versa. I don’t want him to come and stay in my house. I want to live in his house. I will wait for him to afford a house.

“I know Elesh is a decent guy. But is that enough? He has to be financially independent. He needed a place and a face to latch on to; that’s why he came on the show. Abhishek was so decent. But he was known as Rakhi’s boyfriend.”

Rakhi’s new show is about parenting, but kids give her a headache.

“I’ve a migraine problem. When a child cries, I get a severe headache. I don’t know how I’ll manage for a month with a stranger’s child.

“On top of that I’ve to cook on the show. I can’t cook to save my life. I don’t know how I’ll manage. I can’t even use make-up. Can you imagine Rakhi Sawant without makeup?” she said.

Asked how she’ll cope when she has her own kids, Rakhi replied: “Apna bachcha to har koi paal leta hai…jaanwar bhi. I don’t know how I’ll cope. I think I’m going to lose my cool completely. So far people have only seen the good Rakhi Sawant. Now they’ll see the real me.”

Speaking about ex-boyfriend Abhishek, she said: “I still consider him my good friend. I hope and pray he finds a good girl. If ever in life he needs me, I’ll always be there.

“If he needs me to be a dance partner in a reality show I’ll gladly do the needful. He has supported me a lot. I’ll always be thankful to him for getting my mother out of my life. That’s one good deed he did. If Abhishek hadn’t been there, I’d have not had the courage to break away from my family. I’d have been wallowing in mud.”

More about → Elesh shouldn’t be known as my husband: Rakhi Sawant

Toronto girl is crowned new Miss India-Canada

Toronto, In the biggest South Asian beauty pageant in North America, 25-year-old Aanchal Dogra was crowned Miss India-Canada 2009 here Sunday night.

Hailing from Mississauga on the outskirts of Toronto, Dogra was also the oldest contestant among 16 Indian-Canadian girls who vied for the title. “I cannot believe that I will be the winner of this beauty pageant,” said Dogra who holds an MD in alternative medicines.

The beauty crown puts Dogra in the league of Lisa Ray, Komal Sidhu and Ruby Bhatia who went on to become big names in the entertainment world.

Komal Sharma, 20, from Montreal, and Guneet Marwah, 21, from Richmond Hill near here were the two runners-up at the 19th edition of the Indian beauty contest.

Hollywood actor and singer Karen David, who was on hand to crown the winners of the pageant, treated the audience to one of her favourite number. Born in Shillong, raised in Toronto and trained in London, actor-singer David has played the lead role in Hollywood film ‘Scorpion King 2′ and ‘Provoked’. She has also lent her voice to compositions by A.R. Rehman and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Crowning Dogra as the new Miss India-Canada, David lavished praise on Indian culture and lauded the expatriate girls for keeping Indian native traditions alive in the West.

The three-hour-long evening show opened with all the girls strutting their desi stuff.

In fact, they opened their performances with the hit Bollywood song ‘Main Desi Girl’ from the film “Dostana”. And the desi fare was on display in abundance as the 16 contestants regaled the huge audience with their individual musical and dance skills – from bhangra to hit Bollywood numbers to bhajans.

Finally, they were put through quizzes by the judges who settled on Aanchal Dogra as the winner and Komal Sharma and Guneet Marwah as the two runners-up.

Apart from winning the Miss India-Canada crown and lavish beauty, monetary and electronic gifts, Dogra will also get free passage to India and five-star accommodation to spend time in the Bollywood town.

More about → Toronto girl is crowned new Miss India-Canada

Shahid Kapoor: superstar on the ascendant

New Delhi, It’s all about Shahid Kapoor these days. His portrayal of the morally-incompatible twins – the ruffian with the endearing lisp and the simpleton who stammers – in “Kaminey” has catapulted the chocolate hero into an A-lister and audiences can’t stop raving.

And just so we don’t forget the romantic hero, promos of his forthcoming “Dil Bole Hadippa” are all over the place.

Six years after his debut in “Ishq Vishk”, Shahid has finally got his due.

“Shahid is one of the most promising actors on the block. With ‘Vivaah’ and ‘Jab We Met’ he established himself as a very good actor and a star. Now with ‘Kaminey’, he is in the A-league; he is definitely someone who will compete for the number one throne at a later date,” Meena Iyer, national Bollywood editor, The Times of India, told IANS.

“This is the most exciting phase of Shahid’s career. He has good work coming in ‘Dil Bole Hadippa’, Ken Ghosh’s tentatively titled ‘Yahoo’ and the new Parmeet Sethi film. If he chooses his future assignments with care, he will always be in a comfortable position,” she said.

“He has age on his side and the fact that he is a super-duper dancer and competent actor makes him a good bet for a reigning Hindi film hero,” she added.

Shahid wowed critics and fans alike with his portrayal of the shy groom in “Vivaah” and as the intense business tycoon in “Jab We Met”. But nothing has worked for him quite like Vishal Bharadwaj’s “Kaminey”, the dark thriller about gangsters, rebel soldiers, rogue politicians and crooked cops.

The Charlie-Guddu roles have shattered the conception that he was just the romantic. And critics believe the 28-year-old son of seasoned actor Pankaj Kapoor has made it to the big league.

“Shahid is going to be the next big thing…he has arrived. From a good-looking boy and a romantic hero, he has graduated to a star,” said film critic Omar Quereshi.

Added another noted film critic, Anupama Chopra: “This is the role – or roles – of a lifetime and Shahid Kapoor, best known for innocuous chocolate-boy romances, sinks his teeth into it. ‘Kaminey’ does for him what ‘Omkara’ did for Saif Ali Khan. A star has evolved into an actor.”

The star is taking the accolades in his stride.

“Yes, various tags have been given to me since the success of ‘Kaminey’. And I am very happy to hear them, but the most important thing is to keep doing good work and surprising the audience every now and then. That to me is the biggest reward,” Shahid told IANS.

“I can never be like my father (in terms of acting)…he is way beyond anyone to be like him. I don’t even have any aspirations to be like him because I know that’s not happening. I just hope whenever my father sees my films, he likes my work,” Shahid said.

More about → Shahid Kapoor: superstar on the ascendant

iphone

Meet the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet. iPhone 3GS features video recording, Voice Control, up to 32GB of storage, and more.

The Fastest iPhone Ever

The first thing you’ll notice about iPhone 3GS is how quickly you can launch applications. Web pages render in a fraction of the time, and you can view email attachments faster. Improved performance and updated 3D graphics deliver an incredible gaming experience, too. In fact, everything you do on iPhone 3GS is up to 2x faster and more responsive than iPhone 3G.


Video

Now you can shoot video, edit it, and share it — all on your iPhone 3GS. Shoot high-quality VGA video in portrait or landscape. Trim your footage by adjusting start and end points. Then share your video in an email, post it to your MobileMe gallery, publish it on YouTube, or sync it back to your Mac or PC using iTunes.

3-Megapixel Camera

The new 3-megapixel camera takes great still photos, too, thanks to built-in autofocus and a handy new feature that lets you tap the display to focus on anything (or anyone) you want.

Voice Control

Voice Control recognizes the names in your Contacts and knows the music on your iPod. So if you want to place a call or play a song, all you have to do is ask.

More about → iphone

I find it quite ironic that quite a few two-faced Act supporters are annoyed at John Key's undemocratic stance in ignoring the smacking referendum, but are quite happy for Rodney Hide to run roughshod over the select committee process - and treat a Royal Commission report like it didnt exist - with regards to Maori seats on the Auckland City Council.

On 26 May, Rodney Hide said

I have faith in parliamentary democracy and the select committee process. I have made it plain what my views are, but ultimately the decision will be made by Parliament.

He had faith in Parliamentary democracy because he knew that Parliament would not be making the decision on the seats: Cabinet had already made it on 6 April 2009 as noted in Cabinet minute 0912/7, [PDF] that Māori representation should not be provided for within the new Auckland governance structure. At that stage the select committee hadn't even looked at submissions. A week later Hide told John Key that he would resign if Cabinet changed its mind and Maori seats were introduced in the Auckland City Council.

The select committee has not even reported back, yet Cabinet has already made its decision not to include the seats and Key knew for more than two months that he would lose a Minister if the seats were included. I believe that Key and Hide had always intended not to include the seats even before the select committee process started, and that is simply disgraceful.

Rodney Hide is a two-faced hypocrite. Tau Henare has called him a jerk-off. Hide urged National to listen to the public after Key told the country he'll ignore the referendum results. But Hide had effectively just told the public he would be ignoring their submissions on Maori seats in Auckland before they even submitted to the select committee.

It's a shame that Act supporters are not outraged about Hide's blatant unwillingness to agree to anyone that disagrees with him on one issue, while at the same time being outraged that people don't agree with him on another. For Act supporters, democracy is only under attack if their views are attacked.

There is absolutely no way Act can be taken seriously in this government.

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Cabinet has agreed to ask police not to uphold the law

Cabinet has agreed to ask police and Child Youth and Family to review their procedures to ensure good parents were treated as Parliament intended with regards to smacking legislation.

But if the law is working as parliament intended, as claimed by Key, why this move? Obvious, really, the law is not working as Parliament intended so instead of changing the law, the Government will change the administration of it. As Parliaments' intentions don't match the written law, that is the easier option rather than aligning intention and legislation.

So Parliament intended for a law to be passed but not enforced. Because enforcers were enforcing the law the enforcers have been explicitly told not to enforce it because Key doesn't want to relitigate the "explosive" smacking debate , preferring to put in "additional safeguards"

An independent person would assist in the review which would be completed by December.

In the media conference today Key said

If the law shows that through its application that New Zealand parents are criminalised or their chldren are taken off them for what can only be described as... minor or inconsequential smacking then the law has to be changed

I wonder what Erik and Lisa, whose kids were taken off them for what can only be described as minor or inconsequential smacking, think of that.

A report on the effects of the law would be brought forward from the end of the year to late September/early October and the police would continue with their ongoing reviews of the law.

Not good enough.

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REED WINS CHAMPIONSHIP - CODY COOPER CURRENTLY 8th

22 becomes 1 - Chad Reed AMA Motocross Champion

Australia’s Chad Reed delivered another dominant performance at Saturday’s Budd’s Creek round to wrap up the 2009 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship with four motos still to run.
The 27-year-old from Kurri Kurri in New South Wales entered round 10 of 12 with an 82-point lead and needed to leave with over 100 points in the bag to secure the 450cc crown.
He overcame a slow start to the opening moto to claw his way back to second place, missing the win by a matter of metres.
The Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider left nothing to chance in moto two, battling for the lead into the first corner and emerging with the advantage which would rarely be challenged.
The 2-1 result saw him take his fourth overall win in a row and more importantly, stretch his lead to an unbeatable 104 points.
An emphatic Reed proudly gestured towards the #22 plate as he greeted the chequered flag, wrapping up his first ever professional motocross championship after years of Supercross success.
"I feel like (my career) is complete," said Reed.
"I also feel like I got a lot more fight in me, but it's a step in the right direction. This is what hard work is all about.
“I want to thank everyone at Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki for putting this together.
“It was a last minute deal and just like in all racing, we had our ups and downs but came out on top in the end."
The title win adds another trophy to the mantle for Reed, who has won two AMA/World Supercross championships amongst many others.
The round victory also saw Reed wrap up the Monster Energy Triple Crown, an additional reward for wins at High Point Raceway, Red Bud and Budds Creek.
A full recap of the Budds Creek event can be view at allisports.com: http://www.allisports.com/videos/450-racer-x-post-show-budds-creek

450 Class (Moto Finish)

Chad Reed, Australia, Suzuki (2-1) 

Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda (1-6)

Ivan Tedesco, Tallahassee, Fla., Honda (5-3)

Kyle Regal, Kemp, Texas, Yamaha (4-4) 

Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Kawasaki (12-2) 

Michael Byrne, Australia, Suzuki (6-5) 

Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki (9-8) 

Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda (7-10) 

Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., Yamaha (3-27) 

Jimmy Albertson, Ozark, Mo., Yamaha (11-12)

450 Class Championship Standings
Chad Reed, Australia, Suzuki, 434
Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 330
Ivan Tedesco, Tallahassee, Fla., Honda, 322
Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, 280
Michael Byrne, Australia, Suzuki, 276
Thomas Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Kawasaki, 229
Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 201
Cody Cooper, New Zealand, Yamaha, 176
Nick Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Yamaha, 176
Jimmy Albertson, Ozark, Mo., Yamaha, 150

More about → REED WINS CHAMPIONSHIP - CODY COOPER CURRENTLY 8th

Visit John Keys Facebook page

John Key has a public Facebook site here. In the past day or so nearly 80 people have left messages urging him to reconsider his position on smacking. Not one supports his stance.

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Katrina Kaif floored by young fan

Mumbai, Bollywood beauty Katrina Kaif got a little more attention than she bargained for while interacting with fans at the Indian Independence Day parade in Houston. A boy actually knocked her down while trying to reach out to her.

“Yes I was knocked off my feet. And I did fall. And considering it was a 12-year-old boy half my size, it did kinda take me by surprise. But I didn’t mind at all. I guess it showed the force of his love for me,” said Katrina.

The actress is quite sporting and doesn’t mind fans getting close…as long as they don’t get personal.

“When you go for these fan interactions you can’t be finicky about people getting too close and not giving you space, etc etc. They do want to shake hands, get themselves clicked, sign papers. I love to mingle with them. And I did so to my heart’s content in Houston and Chicago. So what if some of them got over-excited? Shows how much they love me,” she said.

Katrina, who has given hits like “Singh is Kinng” and “New York”, loves the interactive spirit at NRI gatherings and thinks a direct one-on-one with fans is a truly exhilarating experience.

“There were kids and there were old people. They all reached out,” the star said.

More about → Katrina Kaif floored by young fan

If you break the law we`ll make sure you don't get prosecuted

This is what I think John Key will tell Cabinet tomorrow.

He will advise that the law surrounding smacking should not be changed. Instead he will instruct police and CYFS not to prosecute or investigate cases of light smacking. [Update: well, not before they report every case of smacking to the Government]. This will not reassure parents because he has said this before and one parent got convicted for smacking, with others getting prosecuted.

Our panty-waisted Prime Minister just hasn't got the balls to change the law. We expect Parliament to pass laws in line with democratic interests, not pass policy. The referendum asked whether smacking should be a criminal offence, not whether parents should be prosecuted or investigated by police or CYFS.

Parents want to live within the law, not to break the law in the knowledge that they wont be hassled.What John Key is effectively doing is putting a used condom over the law to provide added protection. It won't work. It is also undemocratic as the public don't want that. They want to parent within the law and smack their children in the knowledge that such as smack is not a criminal offence.

If we can break a criminal law passed by Parliament with the explicit intention, after an overwhelming referendum ,that it will not be upheld, I guess we can break other laws too - perhaps small amounts of shoplifting will be fine, especially in a recession. After all shoplifting laws are working well, aren't they? And shoplifting, like smacking, can also happen in the supermarket.

Any other suggestions welcome.

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Who said this. And when

The way to send a strong message on child abuse is to make the law clear and precise and then to police it strongly and vigilantly. This bill as it stands does the opposite. For me, a result that sees the criminalisation of parents for a light smack is simply not on the table.

Anyway, its not the "criminalisation" of parents that is the issue here. Parents don’t want to have to be looking over their shoulders or glancing sideways if they should smack their kid in the supermarket or the mall or wherever, wondering who has ratted on them to the police or to the CYFS. Nor do they want fear investigation or prosecution for an act that they dont consider criminal.

That’s what the law has done. The law needs to be changed. As David Farrar says, Parliament should not insist that a smack is a criminal offence if it lacks majority support for being a criminal act - or in this case one that has massive and sustained opposition. Criminal laws that that have opposition by so many people should be changed.

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Rani, Priyanka join Playboy founder as Toronto film fest guests

Toronto, Bollywood directors Ashutosh Gowariker and Anurag Singh and stars Rani Mukherjee, Priyanka Chopra, Lisa Ray and Harman Baweja will rub shoulders with George Clooney, Demi Moore, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and talk show queen Oprah Winfrey at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) next month.

The 34th annual mega-film show will run here from Sep 10-19.

Anurag Singh’s “Dil Bole Hadippa” and Ashutosh Gowariker’s “What’s Your Rashee?” will make their world premiere at the festival.

Announcing the names of 500 guests, including directors, producers, and actors, the organizers also included daytime TV talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson in the final list.

Other big names are Nicolas Cage, Sir Ridley Scott, Drew Barrymore, Kevin Spacey, Michael Douglas, Penelope Cruz and Keanu Reeves.

Apart from Gowariker, Anurag Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Baweja, Rani Mukherjee, and Lisa Ray, the guest list also includes actor Abhay Deol, filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Deepa Mehta’s brother Dilip Mehta, and documentary maker Vikram Jayanti.

Set for release September 18 in India, “Dil Bole Hadippa” is a hilarious drama-comedy with Shahid Kapoor (Rohan) and Rani Mukherjee (Veera Kaur) in lead roles. It also features Anupam Kher, Dalip Tahil, Rakhee Sawant and Sherlyn Chopra.

“What’s Your Rashee?”, based on Gujarati novel Kimball Ravenswood by Madhu Arya, is a romantic comedy starring Priyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja.

These two Bollywood films are among 335 from 64 countries to be screened at the festival. These include 271 feature-length films.

About 72 per cent of the films to be screened here will make their world or North American premieres.

According to the organizers, 71 directors will make their debut at the film festival, including Drew Barrymore with her comedy film “Whip It!”

Deepa Mehta’s “Heaven on Earth” had its world premiere at the festival last year. Anees Bazmee’s hit “Singh is Kingg” and Nandita Das’s directorial debut “Firaaq” also had their gala premiere last year.

More about → Rani, Priyanka join Playboy founder as Toronto film fest guests

My show starts with Salman, ends with Shah Rukh: Farah Khan

New Delhi, Bollywood choreographer-director Farah Khan says it was a conscious decision to start her new television chat show with actor Salman Khan and his mother Salma, who has never given an interview before. And interestingly, the “Tere Mere Beach Mein” series ends with none other than Shah Rukh Khan.

“It was a joint decision taken by the channel and me. They felt that the episode turned out to be very candid and since Salman has never come on a chat show before, it could be a nice way to hook on the audience to the show. So we start with Salman and end it with Shah Rukh,” Farah told IANS.

She said it wasn’t difficult at all to convince Salman and his mother to be her first guests on the show that starts Sunday on STAR Plus.

“Salman has never come on a chat show – neither ‘Koffee With Karan’ nor ‘Oye! It’s Friday’ and not even ‘Rendezvous with Simi Garewal’. It’s for the first time he’s come on a chat show. His mother has never in her life come on a TV show or even given a print interview. And I just had to tell them once. It was very easy to convince them to come,” said Farah.

The filmmaker managed to get several celebrities on her debut chat show but couldn’t get her dream guests – former railway minister Lalu Prasad and singer-actor Himesh Reshammiya.

“I really wanted to get Lalu-ji and Himesh together for my show. But he (Lalu) had a cataract operation and so things couldn’t work out. But I really hope these two people come to my show, if I have a second season,” said Farah.

To give her chat show a twist, Farah has a separate theme for each episode. She brought Salman to talk about being a ‘Mamma’s boy’ and Shah Rukh Khan as a henpecked husband. She had Priyanka Chopra talk about her struggle as an actor.

Asked what the theme for the Lalu-Himesh episode would have been, she said: “I wanted to get them in a category of ‘I don’t care people’. And these two people are such that no matter how much people imitate them, ridicule them or mimic them, they just don’t care. They only do their work.”

Other guests on her show will include Hrithik Roshan, Asin Thottumkal, Deepika Padukone, Abhay Deol, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Kareena Kapoor and cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan.

More about → My show starts with Salman, ends with Shah Rukh: Farah Khan

A half-year of hell in New Zealand - Sue Bradford's legacy

Its all outlined here.. Go read it.

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Maori are not listening to Maori Party over smacking

Those in the Maori electorates are more opposed to smacking being a criminal offence in New Zealand , on average, than those in the general electorates, despite the Maori Party's stance on the issue

The Maori Party has been encouraging a Yes vote. Yet in one of their electorates it holds, 90.74% of those who took part in the referendum voted no. The lowest was 85.13%. Overall Maori are more opposed to the current law than those in the general electorates.

Wonder what the Maori Party thinks of that.

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A lot of people voted NO

post has been updated
A lot of people voted NO in the referendum this month. In fact more people 1,420,959 - voted No than those who party voted all parliamentary parties other than Labour in the 2008 election, and for all parliamentary parties other than the main governing party every other election since 1996.

The Yes Vote has their collective tails between their legs:

The Yes Vote ran a positive, constructive campaign that attracted the support of hundreds of organisations that deal daily with children and families, and thousands of individuals who reject physical punishment as effective parenting,” said the coalition’s spokesperson, Deborah Morris-Travers.

Trouble is, not a great proportion of the people in those organisations voted Yes, so they didn't even influence their own "supporters". Sue Bradford said she believed that the number of spoiled ballot papers returned may be "comparatively high".

As of today there were 802 invalid votes and 9696 informal votes. Perhaps the 803 invalid votes were spoiled - 0.04%. That's not "comparatively high" and Bradford is nuts to claim that it would be. Its not spin, that's stupidity. Even if you you include the informal votes, that's a little over half a percent, with more votes to be counted.

To further put the vote into perspective, in 1993 55 percent of electors voted in 1993 in the first of a two-part poll, and 85% decided that the electoral system should be changed. In 2009, a higher percentage - 87% decided to vote NO.

More people voted no than supported MMP. More people voted NO than those who didnt vote at all.

John Key said he had listened to the result of the referendum and plans to take some proposals to Cabinet on Monday. But he won't be changing the law.

I think they will give New Zealand parents added comfort that the law is working and that the law will be administered in a way they have resoundingly demonstrated through the referendum that it should be administered.

Oh and another statistic.. The 2008 election turnout was 79.46%, or from 2,386,181 eligible votes, 1,420,959 NO votes out of 2,386,181 people that would bother to vote even in a general election is a 59.55% NO result.

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Legal opinion on pay equity tells us nothing we don't already know

The Human Rights Commission has released legal opinion [PDF] on pay equity and EEO ( equal employment opportunities) reviews All the reviews except one found gender pay gaps that varied in size from 3 per cent to 35 per cent. The opinion states that even though the Government has scrapped the pay equity review, chief executives must take reasonable steps, based on current information, to implement those duties.

In other words CE's just need to report that they are doing something, without actually bothering to find out or say what they are doing or saying, if anything. All based on "current information".

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Boo-hoo Sue

Sue Bradford is already commenting on the results of the smacking referendum before results are even announced.

Feedback I've received from the public over the last few weeks tells me a lot of people feel pretty angry at the confused nature of the referendum question and the waste of $9 million of taxpayers' money this represents

Feedback I've been getting is that a lot of people are pretty angry that Bradfords bangs on about the law provides children from the same legal protection from violence as adults.

Now if she'd only replaced the word violence with correction, she`d be more accurate. But the word "correction" doesn't have the same violent audible soundbite on TV as the word violence does. Sue Bradford is about to get violently riding cropped by the NO voters and she doesn't like it.

Because the rights of the children should come first - except in Green policies like abortion and gay adoption.

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BAYLISS TO V8s

Troy Bayliss confirmed to co-drive with Dean Fiore at Phillip Island and Bathurst

For Immediate Release: Thursday August 20, 2009.

Fluid PR is pleased to announce that current and three-time World Superbike Champion, Troy Bayliss will join Dean Fiore in a Paul Morris Motorsports prepared Triple F Racing Commodore at this year’s L& H 500 and Super Cheap Auto Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercar events.

Since securing his third world title less than 12 months ago Bayliss has made the successful transition from the premier two wheel class to securing a main game drive in what are arguably, two of the toughest touring car races in the world.

The multiple World Champion, had his first taste of V8 Supercars back in June when he tested Craig Lowndes’ TeamVodafone V8 Supercar at Queensland Raceway. Incredibly, he set a time that was just three tenths of a second off Lowndes’ fastest lap of the day.

Since then Bayliss has explored his options with a number of V8 Supercar teams including Paul Morris Motorsports and Kelly Racing before accepting an invitation to race alongside Fiore.

Bayliss, who will take part in tomorrow’s 35 minute opening practice session at Queensland Raceway, said he was looking forward to the challenge of switching from two to four wheels.

“It has been a long time coming and now the deal has been put together,” Bayliss said. “I am really excited to be making my debut in the V8 Supercar Series.”

“It’s going to be a huge challenge but it is something that I’ve longed to do for some time. It’s going to be a massive test for me, especially at Bathurst, where my first priority will be to finish and then we’ll see where it may lead to for next year.

“I know the Phillip Island track quite well, I have had a lot of success there on a bike but it’s going to be different when I go there next month in a V8 Supercar. I have watched Bathurst on the couch since I was a kid, I can’t believe I am actually going to be there driving the mountain.”

Fiore, who is also contesting his first full season behind the wheel of a V8 Supercar, said he was looking forward to racing with Bayliss.

“To race alongside Troy [Bayliss] is an absolute honour,” Fiore said, “While he is fairly green to the world of V8 Supercar Racing, the way conducts himself with such professionalism is certainly something which I draw on and learn from.”

“Troy [Bayliss] has achieved so much throughout his career and in a short time he is showing signs that he will be a great co-driver.”

CRC Industries Australia will also support Bayliss’ debut into V8 Supercars through their Kitten Car Care brand with the company’s National Marketing Manager, Ian Maidens saying it is a privilege to be associated with the multiple World Champion.

“We are happy to have Troy Bayliss on board for Phillip Island and Bathurst,” Maidens said, “He is an Australian motor racing icon and it will be great to see him behind the wheel of a V8 Supercar at both Phillip Island and Bathurst.”:

The #12 Commodore will carry the livery of Kitten Car Care Products this weekend at Queensland Raceway before receiving a striking new design for Phillip Island and Bathurst.

The L&H 500 at Phillip Island will take place on September 11 – 13 ahead of the Super Cheap Auto Bathurst 100 at the hallowed Mount Panorama circuit on October 8 – 11.

More about → BAYLISS TO V8s

Rodney Hide to resign over Maori seats

post has been updated
Rodney Hide says he will have to resign as minister if Auckland gets Maori seats on the super council, as it is fundamentally against the culture of New Zealand. He even said it won't threaten the stability of government as Act will still provide confidence and supply.

He's wrong about the seats. He's partially right about the stability; as the Maori Party also provides confidence and supply, stability wont be threatened even if Act withdraws its support.

My take is simply this: Auckland should get the seats.If Hide wants to resign it is up to him, but he`d be a hypocrite not to if Auckland get the seats. Audrey Young said this in October last year

Act's Rodney Hide put his weight behind the Maori Party last night, supporting any move to entrench the Maori seats on the basis that what was good for the general seats should apply to the Maori seats too.

Whereas here he says the Maori seats are " just wrong". If they are just wrong, why support entrenchment and stand ACT candidates in the Maori electorate at the 2008 election?

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BIRCH ROMANIACS RUNNER UP

Words: Todd Sutherland

The final day proved brutal with Kiwi Chris Birch unable to beat BMW hotshot Andreas Lettenbithler. The German a surprise winner.
Birch did well to recover from having to remove a wheel and disc earlier in the event. The KTM300 performed well but Birch, it is understoond had to remove the front wheel and disc, to get out a cable that had become entangled in the machines workings.He also suffered with a few GPS problems.
Birch pushed on to overpower french legend Cybril Despres (also on a KTM) on the final day.
Results
The event winner Andreas Lettenbithler, rode in Auckland's inaugral City Scramble eariler this year. Lettenbithler is a full time professional racer, riding for BMW.

More about → BIRCH ROMANIACS RUNNER UP

Is he a jolly Goodfellow?

Stuff reports that National Party president Peter Goodfellow will not be resigning. Does that mean that National considers their president a jolly Goodfellow?

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TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE BAGS NET AWARD

Motorcycle.com awards.

Motorcycle.com has just announced their 'Bikes of the year' awards: Triumphs Street Triple 'R' took out the overall 'Bike of the Year' award.

"Triumphs Street Triple R is a fantastically versatile sporting package with one of our favourite engines of all time. It's an elemental motorcycle but with major league performance built in, and it's fun-to-ride quotient is sky high, earning our MoBo Motorcycle of the year award for 2009". (motorcycle.com).

And the new Thunderbird took out the 'Best Cruiser award.

"Triumphs Thunderbird twists the cruiser mold by eschewing a V-twin powerplant in favour of a character-rich power-twin that retains a link to Triumphs of yore. Clean lines that were penned by an American designer are attractive without being too derivative and a stout chassis that encourages riding on twisty roads instead of avoiding them". (motorcycle.com).

Follow the link below to see what else they had to say about these awesome bikes.

Click Here

Bikedeadline.

More about → TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE BAGS NET AWARD

BIRCH DROPS TO 3RD ON 3RD DAY

Words: Todd S
KTM's Chris Birch has dropped to 3rd place in the Red Bull Romaniacs extreme enduro. Birch suffered after having to dismantle his bikes wheel assembley when a cable is understood to have become entangled.

Frenchman Cyril Despres now leads,with Chris hoping to close in on the final day.

http://www.redbullromaniacs.com/results/results-2009/day-3-overall/

More about → BIRCH DROPS TO 3RD ON 3RD DAY

AORC: NOT GOOD FOR MERRIMAN

Words & Pics - Yamaha.
AORC Series Rounds 7 and 8 in Qld were not good for Yamaha’s Stefan Merriman, but he still holds the outright lead, with just the final 2 rounds to go!

After blitzing rounds 5 and 6 in South Australia, Merriman was stuck for an answer from his off the pace ride this weekend. “I just didn’t come to grips with the course, and Toby was the opposite and everything clicked just right for him. Sometimes it goes that way!” A 6th and 5th outright and 3rd both days in the E2 class has left Merriman with a 13 point lead in the E2 championship class, but just 5 points clear in the outright title chase ahead of Kawasaki’s Toby Price. Sitting just 4 points behind him is Ballards Wellard Yamaha’s other E2 class hard charger Jarrod Bewley. Jarrod pushed his WR450F into 2nd both days in the tough E2 battle and maintained his podium spot in the outright hunt with 158 points to Toby’s 164 and Merriman on 169.

In the Pro E1 class, Kirk Hutton came out flying, with consistently strong runs over both days for his best outright performance aboard his WR250F, with a 4th and 3rd outright, and 2nd and 1st in E1. He felt at home in the tough and dry conditions and was thrilled to gain some valuable points in the championship chase, saying “I’m still in the hunt “with now182 points to Kearney on 189.

Pro E3 class contender Josh Ballard pushed his WR480F into 8th and 7th after a ‘hard day at the office’. ‘’I’m not too sure what it was with the course, but I struggled a lot in the dry and dusty conditions and something just wasn’t gelling for me”
Josh now sits in equal 5th place on 117 points with Lloyd in 4th on 134.

Wellard support rider and E1 Expert hard charger Liam Robertson came back from a severe dose of the flu to push his WR250F into 8th and 5th for the weekend, but still maintains 3rd and is on the podium for the E1 championship on 98 series points.

Junior sensation Ben Burrell was back to his usual form with 2 flawless days of racing heading him towards another outright Junior title with 50 more points from 2 wins, and is heading both the junior lites and outright honors with 175 points.

Geoff Ballard again ‘did his thing’ on his WR450F in the Masters class with 2 more wins to make it 8 out of 8 for a maximum of 200 points.

The final 2 rounds of the AORC are just a month off in Young NSW and its certainly shaping up to be a battle for the outright title with Ballard’s Wellard Yamaha E2 big guns in 1st and 3rd overall. Stay Tuned!

More about → AORC: NOT GOOD FOR MERRIMAN

Shah Rukh’s questioning talk of India Day parade in US

New York, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s questioning at Newark Liberty International Airport by immigration officials was the talk of the annual India Day parade here. The parade is held to celebrate India’s independence.

Even before the 29th parade started at Madison Avenue and 41st Street Sunday, Mehal Kadakia, 26, a business analyst, and two friends had spent the drive to the city discussing whether Khan should have been singled out, New York Times reported Monday.

“In my opinion, they were doing their job,” Kadakia was quoted as saying at a festival next to Madison Square Park after the parade.

“I’m sure as an actor travelling, he has a lot of luggage, and if that seemed suspicious, I’d rather have them check and make sure he’s OK.”

Kadakia observed it’s not as if being stopped at the airport in the post-Sep 11 world is new to anyone.

“I’ve been stopped many times,” he said.

Santripti Vellody, 30, a business development manager for a South Asian satellite television channel, said she was disappointed that one of India’s biggest stars had been subjected to such blatant profiling.

“It’s absolutely disrespectful to him,” she said, “and it’s only based on his religion and last name — he has a Muslim name — and I don’t think that’s right.”

Vellody said that her husband, Mohamed Roshman Manoli, also has a Muslim name and that each of the last four times that they had flown out of John F. Kennedy International Airport, he had been stopped for questioning.

“I never get stopped but I have to wait for him for two hours every single time,” she said. “It’s not random.”

Shah Rukh Khan’s latest film “My Name is Khan” — produced by Shah Rukh and director Karan Johar — is set against the Sep 11, 2001 terror attacks and examines their impact on an Indian Muslim living in the US.

Miki Patel, chairwoman of the culture committee of the Federation of Indian Association that held the parade, said that she learned about Khan’s questioning during a meeting of parade organisers Saturday.

“I personally feel that the rules should apply to each and every one who enters this country — the law is the law,” said Patel, 53, a dance instructor from Edison, New Jersey.

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What was the first legislative action that aimed to provide Maori with the franchise?

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KIWI BIRCH LEADS RED BULL ROMANIACS

words: Todd S
Chris Birch is leading after the first day at the Red Bull Romaniacs with off road legend Cyril Despres in second. Follow Birch's progress on his KTM300 via the attached link.

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