Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV

Shear English - Finally, there's a worthy Italian alternative to some of the default hot-hatch choices, writes Bruce Newton. Alfa Romeo has been living on its past glories for some time now. The driving experience promised by some sublime shapes has failed to materialise. The Giulietta QV is Alfa's latest attempt at Italian soul-stirring. Thankfully, it is neither a rehashed Fiat like the MiTo city car, nor a compromised production version of an exquisite concept such as the Brera coupe.   Price and equipment The curvaceous five-door Giulietta replaces the aged 147. The base model is priced from $36,990 (plus on-road and dealer...

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Online Broking Booming

Shear English - Price is one factor that attracts investors but websites are also offering goodies to help pull in even more punters, writes Bina Brown. Online brokers are now the preferred trading method for almost half of the country's shareholders. Whether it is a transaction over the internet or via a phone, about 46 per cent of investors use online brokers as their main method of trading, according to the Australian Securities Exchange 2010 Australian share ownership study. The head of retail distribution at CommSec, Brian Phelps, attributes rising trading volumes online to the growing disenchantment with the advice investors received...

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Bali's Hidden Magic (Eight New Fish and One New Coral Species)

Shear English - Scientists from Conservation International have discovered eight new fish and one new coral species off Indonesia’s Bali island. The new species include eels and damsels, the colourful little fish that dart among coral branches and help give reefs their dazzling appearance while playing a key role in reef ecology. “We have carried out a marine survey in 33 sites around Bali island. We have identified 952 reef fish, and among them we discovered eight new species,” team senior adviser Mark Van Nydeck Erdmann said. The surveys were carried out off the popular tourist island’s northeast coast at Tulamben, a well-known recreational...

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HOT, Fully Naked, IMF Chief to Rape A Maid in Hotel

Shear Blog - IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, widely expected to run for the French presidency next year, was charged Sunday with the sexual assault and attempted rape of a chambermaid at a New York hotel, police said. The charges included “criminal sexual act, unlawful emprisonment, attempted rape” and “assaulting a 32-year-old girl in a hotel room,” Ryan Sesa, a police deputy spokesman, told reporters. Strauss-Kahn, a 62-year-old Socialist who had been leading French opinion polls for the 2012 elections, was escorted off an Air France flight Saturday just minutes before it was to leave John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials...

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3,000 Female Fetuses Aborted in Taiwan in 2010

Shear Blog - Up to 3,000 female babies were presumed “missing” from Taiwan’s population last year due to illegal sex-selective abortion, an official was cited by media as estimating Sunday. Abortion practices caused the gap, Chiu Shu-ti, director-general of the Bureau of Health Promotion, was cited by the United Daily News as estimating. The Bureau last month launched an investigation after it found that 10 out of every 11 babies delivered in a clinic in New Taipei City last year were boys. Nine out of every 10 babies delivered in a Taipei City hospital during the same period of time were also male. Government officials suspected that...

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To Celebrate 35 Years of Golf GTIs, Volkswagen, Have Released the Golf GTI Edition 35

Shear English - Volkswagen says happy 35th birthday to its ever-popular hot-hatch with a more powerful special edition. Volkswagen has marked 35 years since the debut of its Golf GTI by releasing a more powerful edition of the popular hot-hatch. The Edition 35 produces 173kW from the same 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, giving the anniversary model a small power advantage over the regular, 155kW GTI. The German car maker hasn't revealed whether the GTI 35’s performance and fuel economy figures are affected. (The standard model flaunts a 6.9 second 0-100km/h time and economy numbers of 7.7L/100km for the manual model and 7.6L for...

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Indonesia Drops Death Sentence for Australian Drug Smuggler

Shear English - Indonesia’s Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence for convicted Australian heroin smuggler Scott Anthony Rush, giving him life imprisonment instead, a defence lawyer said on Wednesday. The decision on 25-year-old Rush, after a final legal appeal to Indonesia’s courts, was a rare one as drug smugglers normally get capital punishment under Indonesian law. “Our next move is to seek ways so that (Rush) can serve the rest of his sentence in Australia,” lawyer Frans Hendra Winata said. Rush was caught in his teens in 2005 with heroin draped around his body in an airport on the resort island of Bali. Rush was one of the...

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SingTel's Mobile Customer Base Tops 400 Million

Shear English - Asian telecommunications giant Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said Wednesday it had more than 400 million customers by the end of March, a figure lifted by its Indian associate. SingTel said its mobile customer base of 403 million was up 37 percent from a year ago. Indian associate Bharti registered the largest rise in customers, up 66 percent on the year, or 84.3 million new clients, to 212 million in March. Increases were also reported in SingTel’s wholly-owned subsidiary in Australia and its associates in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Pakistan but a decline was reported in Bangladesh. In the Singapore...

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Spray Drying is a Method of Producing a Dry Powder From a Liquid or Slurry by Rapidly Drying with a Hot Gas

Shear English - Spray drying is a method of producing a dry powder from a liquid or slurry by rapidly drying with a hot gas. This is the preferred method of drying of many thermally-sensitive materials such as foods and pharmaceuticals. A consistent particle size distribution is a reason for spray drying some industrial products such as catalysts. Air is the heated drying media; however, if the liquid is a flammable solvent such as ethanol or the product is oxygen-sensitive then nitrogen is used. All spray dryers use some type of atomizer or spray nozzle to disperse the liquid or slurry into a controlled drop size spray. The most common...

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Outrage at Screening of Dying Princess Diana Photo

Shear English - A shocking paparazzi photograph of a dying Princess Diana is to be screened for the first time in a documentary about her fatal crash. Unlawful Killing, which will be shown at Cannes this week, is backed by the actor Keith Allen and Mohammed Al Fayed, whose son Dodi died with Diana. The 90-minute film will include a graphic black and white close-up of Diana taken moments after the Mercedes carrying the couple crashed in a Paris underpass. The distressing image, Diana’s blonde hair and features clearly visible, has never been publicly seen in this country. It will be shown around the world but not in the UK, prompting...

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Jaguar C-X75 Hybrid Supercar (Jet-powered Jaguar Gets Green Light)

Shear English - Stunning C-X75 hybrid supercar concept confirmed for production. 322km/h. 0-100km/h in 3 seconds. Emissions below 100g/km. Jaguar will build one of the fastest cars in the world after announcing its stunning C-X75 hybrid supercar concept will become a new halo model for the brand. The British brand will make the star of the 2010 Paris motor show an exclusive proposition with just 250 C-X75s to be produced between 2013 and 2015, with a price tag for Australian buyers set to be as high as $2 million. Jaguar is partnering with Formula One team Williams to create the supercar, which it says will be capable of speeds in excess...

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Storm of Protest, A Coffee Shop with Topless Waitresses

Shear English - A coffee shop with topless waitresses, which has caused a storm of protest in a small town, has been forced to close after it put up a 'boobies wanted' sign. Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in Vassalboro, Maine, hit the headlines when it opened in 2009, offering to serve customers semi-nude. And despite a wave of protest from local campaigners in its home town of fewer than 5,000 people - and one high profile arson attack - the shop had until now, managed to keep business going. But the controversial store's topless waitresses will finally have to get dressed and leave after town officials ruled that it has been putting...

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How Osama bin Laden Got Killed

Shear English - Osama bin Laden was killed in a helicopter raid on a mansion in an area north of the Pakistani capital, U.S. and Pakistani officials said Monday. Four helicopters launched the attack in the Bilal area of Abbottabad, about 100 kilometers north of Islamabad, said a Pakistani intelligence official. One of the helicopters crashed after it apparently was hit by fire from the ground, the official said. He gave no word on casualties. He said the helicopters took off from a Pakistani air base in the north of the country. Women and children were taken into custody during the raid, he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information. U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the raid was on a mansion close...

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Obama: Osama bin Laden Killed by U.S. Forces

Shear English - Osama Bin Laden has been killed by the U.S. military after a decade-long hunt to avenge the 9/11 attacks. The leader of Al Qaeda was killed in a gun battle with some members of his family in an attack on a mansion outside Islamabad in Pakistan. The U.S. military has recovered the body and intelligence sources have confirmed his identity. Within minutes of the news breaking Americans began gathering outside the White House to wave American flags, sing the national anthem and chant: ‘USA! USA!’ Sources said that Bin Laden was not killed by a drone but by ground forces attacking a home in Islamabad. President Obama said that the attack had been in the planning for months but that he gave the authorisation for the action today. Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed...

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Zagato's V10 Alfa Supercar

Shear English - Built by famed Italian coachbuilder Zagato, the TZ3 Stradale is an Alfa Romeo-bodied sports car with the mechanical hardware of a Dodge Viper SRT-10 ACR - including its tyre-frying 450kW/760Nm 8.4-litre V10 engine. The Stradale is the second TZ3 model from the design and engineering house following the one-off TZ3 Corsa, revealed last year as a tribute to the Alfa Romeo TZ (Tubolare Zagato) sports cars of the 1960s. The latest incarnation also continues the celebration of Alfa Romeo's 100th anniversary and the two companies’ long-term links. Just nine examples will be built with the first going to US Alfa Romeo and Zagato collector Eric King, while cars number two and three are destined for wealthy collectors in Japan and Europe, respectively. Zagato says its latest...

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UFO Fan Hails Clearest Video yet : UFOs Get Closer Every Year

Shear English - It seems to be world centre for UFO videos, but this the image is extraordinarily clear. UFO enthusiast Michael Lee Hill, of Eastlake, has recorded many images of something mysterious over Lake Erie, Ohio. He has just released new footage filmed along the lakefront that he says is his best so far. Mr Hill said: 'It was probably one of the craziest nights of activity I've ever experienced.' The images show several sets of coloured lights flashing over Lake Erie, while appearing to remain still. Mr Hill said: 'I've been filming these for a long time and it's just grown to the point where they've let me know, they know I'm sittin' there filming them. 'You know, they come in - every year they've come in closer and closer.' Several people in the area believe the lake is...

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US Readies Probe on Google's Search Dominance

Shear English - The US Federal Trade Commission is alerting high-tech companies to gather data in preparation for a probe of Google Inc.’s dominance of the Internet search industry, three people familiar with the matter said. The agency told the companies that it plans to issue so- called civil investigative demands for the information, said the people, who requested anonymity because the FTC hasn’t made the matter public. The demands are similar to subpoenas. The FTC, which has been considering a broad investigation, waited until the Justice Department concluded its own review of Mountain View, California-based Google’s acquisition of ITA Software Inc., two people familiar with the matter said earlier this month. The Justice Department on April 9 approved Google’s $US700 million...

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Somali Pirates Finally Free Indonesian Cargo Ship

Shear English - Somali pirates have freed an Indonesian bulk carrier after the ship’s owner paid a ransom, pirates and a maritime source said on Saturday.  The Sinar Kindus was captured by pirates on March 16 approximately 320 miles north of east Socotra in the Somali basin, with its crew of 20. Pirates said they released the ship after a ransom payment was airdropped to them. “We received the cash of $4.5 million early this morning. We have abandoned the ship and it is preparing to sail away,” a pirate who gave his name as Geney told Reuters from El-Dhanane coastal village. Andrew Mwangura, a Kenya-based former maritime official and now the maritime editor of The Somalia Report confirmed the ship had been freed, adding it had not started to sail away yet. Pirate gangs are making...

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Parasitism is ...

Shear English - Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that went beyond one host (e.g. Taenia solium), which are now called macroparasites (typically protozoa and helminths). Parasites can now also refer to microparasites, which are typically smaller, such as viruses and bacteria and can be directly transmitted between hosts of one species. Unlike predators, parasites are generally much smaller than their host, although both are special cases of consumer-resource interactions. Parasite show a high degree of specialization for their mode of life, and reproduce at a faster rate than their hosts. Classic...

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Why Justin Bieber Was Not Deterred by RI Bomb Scares

Shear English - World pop star Justin Bieber performed last week in Bogor, West Java, while the media rap continuing stories on the recent bomb scares. The Canadian teenager presented his big hits including "Baby," on Saturday evening, April 24 at the Sentul International Convention Center, Bogor, with great success in front of at least 12,000 fans. Less than a week later, on Wednesday evening (27/4), the American rock band from Los Angeles, also performed in Jakarta when the media was still busy reporting stories on terrorism and discoveries of planted bombs in several places in town. Why those world-class artists seemed to be undeterred by the bomb scares and anyway decided to remain on their show schedules here? Bomb scares have been foiled just within the weeks those artists...

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Kate Moss Poses Nude for Mario Testino in the May Issue of Brazilian Vogue magazine

Shear English - She may be 37-years-old, but Kate Moss can clearly still do a smouldering magazine cover as well as a model half her age. And she's got the body to prove it. The British model looks stunning as she poses nude for the May issue of Brazilian Vogue, wearing nothing but a pair of gold cuff bracelets, and showing off a pair of tiny tattoos above her derrière. With her hair a shade of honey blonde and her eyes rimmed with black eyeliner, the sizzling [picture was taken by renowned photographer Mario Testino. The photograph, along with inside images, were taken in the city of Sao Paolo to mark the magazine's 36th anniversary. Kate recently told Vogue U.K that she shot 60 pages for the magazine while in the South American country with her eight-year-old daughter Lila. 'It...

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Porsche's Racer for the Road : Biggest Engine Yet for 911 Sports Car

Shear English - Porsche's current 911 is going out with a bang - now packing its biggest ever engine for a new GT3 road-racer variant. The new GT3 RS 4.0, as its name suggests, is fitted with a unique 4.0-litre version of the company's iconic flat-six engine, up from the usual 3.8 litres. Less than 10 examples of the limited edition (only 600 will be made) will make it to Australia later this year. But Porsche has already "serious expressions of interest" for customers willing to fork up the $409,100 (plus costs) asking price. That's whopping $68,000 premium over the stripped-out, track-focused GT3 RS and a staggering $132,900 on top of the already-rapid GT3. And for that price you get a plastic rear window. That's because any area that could save weight has been trimmed. The bonnet...

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HOT !!! Kim Kardashian Strips down to Her Underwear

Shear English - She has never been particularly shy about showing off her enviable curves. And Kim Kardashian clearly had no qualms about stripping down for a new sizzling photoshoot for UK Cosmopolitan magazine. The 30-year-old reality star poses in a series of revealing outfits for the publication's May 'body' issue. With her hair teased into a big tumbling 1960s style, the star looks stunning in a bikini and platform heels. Another photograph shows Kim lying on a white couch, wearing a black top and a pair of knickers, while other shots show her pouting in a series of low-cut tops. And Kim certainly seems pleased with the results, writing on her website today: 'This was such a fun and sexy shoot and I love the way the photos turned out.' The shoot is accompanied by some of Kim's...

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Is YOUR Child Watching Porn?

Shear English - On a bed emblazoned with Hello Kitty images, 13-year-old Natasha poses for her best friend’s mobile phone camera. With one knee on the bed, and the other off, she raises her bottom in the air and looks around at the camera with a pout, set off by the red feather boa around her neck. Natasha likes what she sees. You can’t see her spots and her face looks thinner when she twists around. So she posts it as her profile picture on Facebook, where more than a dozen of her 400 friends rush to post comments like ‘Ooh, nice a***’ and ‘Sexeee!’. And why should she see this as inappropriate when millions of adults project an ideal image of themselves on Facebook. It’s a statement of what we think is most important about us. You have only to comb through the Facebook or Bebo...

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"Inside Her Head and Making Her Do Things", Stripper Stalker Broke into Google

Shear English - A woman who claims Google is "inside her head and making her do things" quietly gained entry to the company's Silicon Valley headquarters last month, leaving behind a book and angry letter for the company's co-founders, police said. The same woman is alleged to have stalked the creator of FarmVille, Mark Pincus, who has taken out a restraining order against her. Vera Svechina, a self-described filmmaker and former stripper, walked undetected into Google's main offices on March 14 and spent several minutes there, Mountain View police spokeswoman Liz Wylie said. "An administrative staff member returned to her desk and found a book in Russian as well as a letter addressed to the two founders," Wylie told Reuters, referring to Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry...

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Playstation Network suspended 'for day or two'

Shear English - Millions of gamers are unable to play online as the Playstation Network remains unavailable. Users are seeing error messages stating the network is "undergoing maintenance" or is "suspended". In a blog post, makers Sony thanked users for their patience but warned the downtime - which has so far lasted more than 20 hours - could continue for "a day or two". In recent weeks, Playstation has been targeted by hackers group Anonymous. The group appeared to deny being responsible for the attack, releasing a message stating "for once we didn't do it". The network has more than 70 million users worldwide, but Sony were unable to clarify how many players had been affected. However, Twitter messages and blog posts have been posted...

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UK : Young Men Watch TWO HOURS of Porn Online Each Week

Shear English - Young men spend an average of two hours a week viewing pornography on the internet, a survey found. One in four men fear that they are watching too much X-rated content online. In contrast young women, aged between 18 and 24 watched an average of just 15 minutes of adult material each week. One in three light users, who spent less than an hour a week viewing porn, said they had missed a deadline or appointment as a result. But this figure rose to four out of five among the 4 per cent who were heavy users watching more than 10 hours a week - which is regarded as 'problematic and potentially compulsive' by doctors. The poll of more than 1,000 people aged 18 to 24 by BBC Radio One Newsbeat found that one in four men feared they were watching too much. It also showed...

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SBY Thanks Brunei Sultan for Patrol Vessels

Shear English - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has expressed gratitude to Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam who has provided the Indonesian navy with two fast patrol vessels. At a meeting with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah at the Presidential Palace here on Thursday, President Yudhoyono said the Indonesian Navy would use the two light warships to help ensure maritime security. "The President expressed gratitude (to Sultan Bolkiah) for the Waspada class patrol vessels. He believes Brunei has granted them with the aim of enhancing bilateral cooperation," presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said. The two light warships renamed KRI Salawaku 642 and KRI Badau 643 have arrived in Indonesia. The warships are currently stationed at the navy port in Pontianak, West Kalimantan....

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Canada : School Secretary Outed as Porn Star Strips off Again

Shear English - A porn star school secretary who promised to give up her seedy secret double life has stripped off again after being sacked from her day job. Julie Gagnon, who goes by the stage name Samantha Ardente, made headlines around the world after being outed by a 14-year-old pupil from her school who recognised her in a porn film. The young mother was finally sacked from her job at Etchemins High School near Quebec City last week after news of her starring role in the film Serial Abusers 2 reached school management. Miss Gagnon, who has starred in five adult movies, had agreed to stop making them in a desperate bid to keep her job, but the school board claimed her film career 'was not compatible' with her position. Despite being hopeful of regaining her school job after launching...

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