Sideswipe

Instead of bothering with 111, this truck-driver took the initiative and made haste to the nearest fire station with his flaming rubbish collection vehicle.

Bird-brained: Bird flu paranoia? Animal cruelty? Or stress relief? You decide. The Choke-A-Chicken flaps and waddles round doing the Chicken Dance. But wait, there's more. According to the blurb from Australian retailers Jaycar Electronics, "grab him by the neck and he will squawk and cluck like mad, flapping his wings and feet wildly as if he is really being choked".

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The Marc Ellis effect: Sir Richard Branson wants to make fallen waif Kate Moss the face of Virgin Mobile. Even though Moss was quickly dumped by other big-brand companies after evidence of her recreational drug binge became public, the savvy Branson figured the publicity generated by this victimless crime can add a certain je ne sais quoi to a high-profiler's image, and hence up their post-snort popularity. The same could be said of Ellis, who only a few months after his conviction for having five tabs of Ecstasy in his pocket, was named New Zealand's favourite male personality at the Qantas Television Awards with a public vote and looks set to be welcomed back to the Charlie's juice company board.

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When the Olympics come to London in 2012, members of the "Olympic family", including athletes, Government officials and corporate sponsors, will have special traffic lanes set aside for their use, which will be monitored by police and traffic cameras. The commoners will be herded into the remaining lanes and face 5000 ($12,400) fines if caught in the Olympic lanes. That's 33 times the fine for driving in a bus lane, according to the Sunday Times of London. (Source: Reason.com)

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Two weeks ago, Marion Roberts of Rotorua travelled with friends from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe. "En route I inquired at a fast-food outlet as to what town we were in, just to make sure we weren't lost. The girl serving told us that she didn't know and would have to ask someone out the back, which she so kindly did!"