News: Chaz Bono proud to have 'blazed' transgender trail

1. Chaz Bono bows out of TV show, says he’s glad he blazed trail

The transgender son of pop star Cher, Chaz Bono, has said he’s proud to have blazed the trail for transgender people on prime time American television. “I came on this show because I wanted to show America a different kind of man. I know that if there was somebody like me on TV when I was growing up, my whole life would have been different.” Chaz faced harsh criticism for appearing on the show and ‘corrupting’ the youth of America.

2. Man asks for all his Facebook data, gets 1222 pages of it sent back

Well it’s not really a surprise that Facebook has this kind of information – especially if you’ve been updating Facebook for three years like Austrian man Max Schrems – but it’s interesting to see what they give back when asked. Max wanted all the data Facebook kept on him so they sent  CD with more than 1200 pages containing chat conversations he’d deleted, information on who he had poked and been poked by (of course) and more. Europeans are more sensitive about data privacy than many other countries and Facebook has recently been answering to questions about the kind of data it keeps at a German parliamentary committee inquiry.

3. Revealed: Channel Nine letter directed commentary team to spruik anti-poker machine reform line

A letter from Channel Nine’s Managing Director to the head of the St George Illawarra Rugby League Club revealed Nine’s intention to broadcast – through it’s commentary team during a preliminary grand final – the ‘key messages’ about the Federal Government’s proposed poker machine mandatory pre-commitment technology to help problem gamblers. Channel Nine had initially denied it had directed the commentary team to take a political line and that it was simply their ‘opinion’.

4. Amy Winehouse was 5 times the legal drink drive limit when she died

A coroner in Britain has ruled her passing as ‘death by misadventure’. There were no traces of illegal drugs in her system and the prescription drugs she was taking – to treat the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal – played no part in her death. She was 27.

5. Fallout from refugee suicide at Villawood

The 27-year-old Tamil refugee Jayasaker Jayrathana, known as Shooty Vikadan, was pronounced dead yesterday after consuming poison. He had been refused permission to attend a friend’s daughter’s engagement party. This despite being granted refugee status in August but waiting since then in detention for ASIO security clearance. The death has put pressure on the Federal Government to come up with a better solution to mandatory detention.

6. Gaddafi’s family to file war crime complaint

A lawyer representing the family of the killed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said he will file a war crimes case against NATO for its role in the attack on the dictator’s convoy which led to his capture and death at the hands of Libyan rebels. Graphic footage of Gaddafi’s end caused international disquiet as it revealed how he was dispatched: beaten, bloodied and eventually shot.

7. Three drug charges filed against Bali teenager

The Australian 14-year-old boy arrested after he was allegedly caught with marijuana in Bali has had three drug charges filed against him with the hope of a trial commencing shortly. The most serious charge carries a maximum 12-year jail term which can be halved for juveniles. The court will be held in closed session. The boy is being held in an immigration centre which means he has so far avoided being sent to the notorious Kerobokan prison, where Schapelle Corby and members of the Bali 9 are imprisoned.

8. Jennifer Aniston corrects some rumours.

Number one, she says: “I am not planning to get married any time soon.” Excellent. “I’ve been married once and I don’t know if I’ll get married again. But I can tell you that as of this very moment I have no plan to get married. Got that?” She went on: “And rumour number two: No, we’re not pregnant. It’s just I quit smoking, so I’ve

gained a couple of pounds.”

9. And WTF news today, France and the penis size study

The respected French National Academy of Surgery – set up in the 1700s by King Louis XV – has taken to releasing the national average of the French penis in order to dissuade some men who might think their manhood ‘insufficiently large’ and opt for sometimes dangerous and risky enlargement surgeries. For those playing along at home, the average length is 12.8 to 14.5cm when erect. Phew, glad we sorted that out.

10. James Franco poses for bizarre magazine cover

Yes, that’s his bum. Let’s just clear that bit right up. The actor posed for Flaunt magazine with his pants down and proceeded to wax lyrical about his craft. “I don’t think what I’m doing is confusing … What is confusing is that I’m an actor in mainstream film and the people that usually comment on mainstream film are idiots, and they don’t try to think outside of their pop-culture commentaries.” Interesting.