KEY POINTS:
Half hams: Peter Fitzgibbon won a Goulds Festival Ham in a raffle and was pleased until he realised his piece of pig was only 56 per cent pork. The ingredients list reads: pork (56 per cent), water, salt, soy protein, thickener, stabiliser, antioxidant, sodium nitrate, processed meat.
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Hot hams: Tis not the season to rob banks when there is a haul of pork products to be had. Thieves knocked over a freezer with 16 tonnes of ham and bacon - worth A$80,000 to A$100,000 - from a Sydney warehouse. Zammit Ham and Bacon curers have few leads to the identity of the ham burglars who scrawled a "Thanks. Merry Christmas" message on an internal wall. The company is offering a A$5000 reward for information. (Source: the Telegraph)
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Chris and Grant from Whakatane, of English and South African origins respectively, are delighted to learn that the future of New Zealand's most significant, iconic pastime has been decided. "For weeks we deliberated over who should steer the rudderless ship of shame; we avidly followed the TV news coverage, front page press reports and other media soul-searching about the would-be saviour of the nation's sporting soul. And finally it's announced, yes, the guy who already had the job. We feel a national holiday should at least be declared to allow the populace to start their build-up to the next World Cup victory."
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Global media baron Rupert Murdoch is often believed to be omnipresent, but when reporters at a rival newspaper inspected their new Sydney newsroom, there was an uncomfortable feeling that Murdoch was watching them. Reporters at the Sydney Morning Herald, which Murdoch has long coveted because of its lucrative classifieds but has been unable to buy thanks to media laws, were greeted on Wednesday with glass pillars, etched with a face. At first no one could put a name to the face, until someone realised it was arch-rival Murdoch, his face resting on his hand and smiling. It seems the interior designer, looking for a news image, chose a photo of Murdoch to etch on the pillars, not realising he was the Herald's nemesis. A spokesman for the Herald's owner, Fairfax, said the corporate mistake was an unfortunate but amusing design error. (Source: Reuters)
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Elaine Byrne noticed this unusual activity when making a booking at Rockfield Motel in Auckland: "Trampling available for children". The question is, is it something the kids do or is it done to them? she asks.
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Several boys at a London school were flicking wads of paper at one another with elastic bands when one 12-year-old was hit in the eye. He received no permanent damage but his parents complained to the police, who arrested the culprit and held him for four hours until his parents could come up with bail. They charged him with causing grievous bodily harm. The boy endured three months of legal wrangling before prosecutors dropped the charges. (Source: Reason.com)
