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Posted: 18-07-2013 18:23 Post subject:

Me, I'd have spent it. Er...somehow...

Edit: For a brief moment, he would have been the richest person ever born. Shocked

Posted: 25-07-2013 22:21 Post subject:

'To celebrate the birth of the Royal PRINCESS': Firm left with 5,000 unsold plates after wrongly assuming Kate would have a girl
By Hugo Gye
PUBLISHED: 15:22, 25 July 2013 | UPDATED: 15:22, 25 July 2013

The birth of Prince George has been a massive boon for many manufacturers, but one company lost out after it produced 5,000 commemorative plates celebrating the arrival of a 'Royal Princess'.

Other objects produced to mark the historic birth this week include Lego, dolls and an official porcelain collection - but most had the wisdom to wait and find out the baby's sex before launching their memorabilia.

However, one unnamed firm supposedly had a tip-off from a royal insider that the Duchess of Cambridge was set to give birth to a girl, and designed plates with the message: 'To celebrate the birth of the Royal Princess'.
The family-owned company is said to have had 'complete confidence in their inside man' - but on Monday evening, it was announced that Kate and William's new baby was in fact a prince.

When the future monarch turned out to be a boy rather than a girl, the company was left with a vast amount of unsellable merchandise.
The plates, which feature a stock photo of a baby alongside garish pink squiggles, are unlikely to be particularly popular now that the firm's prediction has been proven wrong.

The useless memorabilia was snapped up by online retailer Wholesale Clearance UK, which is selling the plates in lots of 50, with each set costing £149 - or £2.98 per item.
On the website, the crockery is described as 'a piece of (inaccurate) history' which will allow the buyer to 'give your colleagues the worst Secret Santa gift ever' or 'have a dangerous game of frisbee'.

The listing, which is placed in the 'Novelty' section of Wholesale Clearance's site, praises the 'obvious gimmick factor' of the kitsch merchandise - although £149 seems like a lot to pay for an ironic purchase.

Suggestions for how to make use of a box of 50 plates include 'Have a plate smashing contest' and 'Take up plate spinning as a hobby'.

However, most people who buy the erroneous products will presumably be doing so as an investment - hoping that their relative rarity will ensure they are a good investment for the future.
Wholesale Clearance appears to have taken account of this possibility, suggesting: 'Wait for baby number two and hope it is a girl and sell them for considerable profit'. Twisted Evil

The company which made the plates was not alone in assuming that Kate would give birth to a girl - shortly before she went into labour, bookmakers were offering odds of 8/15 on a princess, compared to 11/8 for a prince.
The assumption that the baby was more likely to be a girl is probably due to an apparent slip of the tongue from the Duchess, who referred to 'our d-' in a meeting with the public in March.

In addition, many people were particularly excited about the possibility of a princess because of the recent law change ensuring that females can inherit the British throne on the same terms as males.

Royal fanatics looking for more accurate crockery can purchase an official plate from the Royal Collection Trust, for the price of £45.
The official range of porcelain, which was announced yesterday, goes up to £195 for a limited edition loving cup.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2377833/To-celebrate-birth-Royal-PRINCESS-Firm-left-5-000-unsold-plates-wrongly-assuming-Kate-girl.html#ixzz2a5tyfu00

Posted: 06-08-2013 13:22 Post subject:

Posted: 10-08-2013 07:14 Post subject:

Islam gaffe candidate Banister quits Australia election

An Australian election candidate who was widely mocked after she mistook Islam for a country in a TV interview has withdrawn her candidacy.
Stephanie Banister, 27, was contesting a seat in Queensland for the anti-immigration One Nation Party. She had only been in politics for 48 hours. Shocked

Ms Banister also confused the term "haram" (forbidden) with the Koran and suggested Jews worshipped Jesus Christ.

The interview, which aired early this week, went viral on social media.
''I don't oppose Islam as a country, umm, but I do feel that their laws should not be welcome here in Australia,'' Ms Banister told Seven News reporter Erin Edwards.

She announced her withdrawal from the election on Saturday.
"With the way Channel Seven edited my interview, I was left quite the fool," Ms Banister said in a brief statement.
"I'd like to apologise to One Nation, to my friends and family, for any embarrassment this has brought to them."

One newspaper headline said Ms Banister had managed to put Islam literally on the map.
The leader of One Nation, Jim Savage, said Ms Banister continued to have the "full support" of the party executive.
He said she had been under "enormous pressure", including threats to her and her family.

Commentators compared Ms Banister to Sarah Palin, the gaffe-prone Republican vice-presidential candidate in the 2008 US election.
Even before this interview, Ms Banister was regarded as a rank outsider to win her seat, says the BBC's Jon Donnison, in Sydney.

The mother-of-two rose to prominence when she was arrested for going into a supermarket and putting stickers saying "halal food funds terrorism" on Nestle products.
She is facing charges of "contaminating or interfering with goods". If convicted before polling day, she would have been barred from standing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23644422

Posted: 10-08-2013 11:10 Post subject:

What an airhead! Laughing