NORTH KOREA! Japanese Tweet Missile Launch/South Korea on VITAL THREAT Alert WATCHCON 4

Emergency Service officials in the Japanese city of Yokohama have been left red-faced after mistakenly announcing the launch of a North Korean missile to 40,000 followers on Twitter. The city, south of Tokyo, prematurely fired its tweet just before noon (local time), announcing “North Korea has launched a missile” with blank spaces to indicate the exact time.

South Korean and US forces have raised their alert status to “vital threat” before an expected North Korean missile test, with tensions high in the run-up to a key anniversary. Any launch could coincide with visits by US secretary of state John Kerry and NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who will both be in South Korea this Friday.

South Korean foreign minister Yun Byung-Se told parliament the launch could take place “any time” and warned Pyongyang it risked triggering a fresh round of UN sanctions :: Read the full article »»»»

Australians Addicted to Smartphones, The World Addicted to Social Media

Blogger and ABC contributor Peter Ryan has a superneat post on a new report confirming what most of us  already knew: Australians are addicted to their smartphones. The survey of smartphone users by tech behemoth Cisco reveals that the daily ritual for Gen Y Aussies kicks off with a quick txt.

Many of the survey participants admitted that they checked for messages, emails and updates at least twice an hour, many becoming anxious when their phone goes astray.

Kevin Bloch isn’t alone, our favourite news agency – Reuters – has an ubercool post on our latest addiction, Social Media.

Social media is now apparently a recognised addiction, a study undertaken last year by the University of Chicago found that Liking and Tweeting can be even more addictive than cigarettes or alcohol. The research showed that social networking sites gave users a burst of the addictive neurotransmitter dopamine :: Read the full article »»»»

UPDATED! Has Our Julian Fallen For His Own Celebrity?

It’s been a while since – July 6: Wikileaks Latest Round of Releases, Syrian Emails! – we bought into the Assange story, his antics up until July this year seemed to follow a fairly righteous route. Is he simply trying to avoid facing Swedish questioning on charges that he’s pretty much admitted to?

Has Mr Assange now fallen for his own celebrity? Asking this question might seem a little odd, but consider US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland’s statement yesterday and the question becomes more than a little relevant.

Ms Nuland said that the US had nothing to do with the UK’s attempt to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden, that our Julian was simply avoiding facing possible charges for having sex without a condom, a crime in Sweden where two female WikiLeaks volunteers in Sweden have accused Assange of sexual misconduct.

“He is making all kinds of wild assertions about the US when in fact his issue with the government of the United Kingdom has to do with whether he’s going to face justice in Sweden for something that has nothing to do with WikiLeaks, it has to do with charges of sexual misconduct,” Ms Nuland said in a press conference. ”He is clearly trying to deflect attention away from the real issue, which is whether he’s going to face justice in Sweden. That case has nothing to do with us. It’s a matter between the United Kingdom, Sweden and now Ecuador has inserted itself.”

We realise that WikiLeaks – as an organisation – has an obligation to protect it’s protagonists, but is Julian Assange WikLeaks? or is the organisation larger than just one man? For a man who is prepared to spend – perhaps – the rest of his life in asylum, it’s odd that he simply doesn’t front the Swedish charges, surely there is someone within WikiLeaks that might keep the fight going in his absence?

In fairness to Mr Assange, Ms Nuland, as with previous US statements, declined to comment on the intentions of the US to prosecute WikiLeaks members :: Read the full article »»»»

Lamb of God Frontman Held In Custody Over Fans Death

Authorities in the Czech Republic say they have have arrested an American rock singer in connection with the death of a fan at a concert in Prague in 2010. Randy Blythe of the Grammy-nominated heavy metal band Lamb of God has reportedly been accused of pushing a fan off the stage.

The 19-year-old fan hit the concrete floor and died of his injuries two weeks later. According to reports, the fan had repeatedly tried to climb onto the stage before allegedly being pushed by Mr Blythe and hitting the concrete floor. A post-mortem examination reportedly found that he had not been drunk or under the influence of drugs. He died 14 days later of his injuries, said Czech TV station TV Nova.

Blythe, 44, will reportedly be released on bail on Monday :: Read the full article »»»»

News Limited Shakes It ALL Up

Australia’s media landscape has been through the ringer over the past few weeks and months, the ground is changing at a pace not seen since the eighties. The latest shake-up comes from the ever stoic News Limited – the Australian arm of News Corporation – the company has announced a massive restructuring of the way it delivers news.

The announcement on last week, which included job cuts and a reduction in east coast operations from 19 divisions to five, came days after Fairfax Media outlined plans to axe 1,900 staff, move jobs offshore, close two major printing presses and downsize its flagship newspapers to tabloids, as well as it’s ongoing boardroom battles with billionaire Gina Rinehart.

Despite the cuts, News Limited CEO Kim Williams has told staff that the organisation remains committed to print :: Read the full article »»»»

UPDATED: Our Julian Applies For Political Asylum to South American Republic

UPDATED! 30 June 2012: A spokesperson for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he has defied a British police order to turn himself in for extradition to Sweden and will remain holed up in Ecuador’s embassy in London.

Julian Assange is seeking asylum in Ecuador in a last-ditch bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of sexual assault. The Australian born founder of Wikileaks visited Ecuador’s embassy in London this morning to seek political asylum.

A statement on the embassy’s website said Ecuador was a signatory to the United Nations Universal Declaration for Human Rights and had an obligation to review all applications for asylum.

The decision to consider Mr Assange’s application for protective asylum should in no way be interpreted as the Government of Ecuador interfering in the judicial processes of either the United Kingdom or Sweden.

The statement from the Embassy of Ecuador in London said,  ”While the department assesses Mr Assange’s application, Mr Assange will remain at the embassy, under the protection of the Ecuadorian Government,” the statement said. ”The decision to consider Mr Assange’s application for protective asylum should in no way be interpreted as the Government of Ecuador interfering in the judicial processes of either the United Kingdom or Sweden.”

On June 15, 2012 Britain’s Supreme Court has dismissed a bid by Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to reopen his appeal against extradition to Sweden over alleged sex crimes :: Read the full article »»»»