Shuff's General Chat Thread ... #73 - Talk about anything and everything...  

New ‘Jihadi John’ in ISIS Video May Be British Radical, Officials Say
By BRIAN ROSS ALEX HOSENBALLBRIAN EPSTEIN Jan 4, 2016, 8:33 PM ET

ISIS’ new “Jihadi John” may be a well-known British radical, authorities tell ABC News.

Authorities are investigating whether it is British radical Siddhartha Dhar -- also known as Abu Rumaysah -- who fled to Syria a year and a half ago after he and his mentor, radical London cleric Anjem Choudary, were arrested by Scotland Yard on charges of supporting terrorism.

In the video, released through ISIS channels on Jan. 3, a group of ISIS militants led by a masked man with a British accent execute five supposed British spies. The leader of the group, wearing camouflage and a balaclava, calls British Prime Minister David Cameron “an imbecile” and promises retribution against the United Kingdom’s campaign in Syria.

Officials are trying to make a final determination as to who the masked man is, but believe it may be Dhar.

ABC News correspondent Lama Hasan interviewed Dhar in 2014, as his group took part in a patrol to encourage and enforce Islamic Sharia law in London.

“We are here to call for a complete and utter regime change in Britain,” he told ABC News at the time.

In the interview, Dhar continued to urge young Muslim men to push for Sharia law, calling jihad “a noble aim” and emphasizing the Muslim identity over occupation or nationality.

“We’re Muslim first, Muslim second, Muslim last,” he proclaimed.

Dhar was a Hindu living in Walthamstow, a suburb of East London. He later converted to Islam and joined the radical group Al Muhajiroun, at which point he began using the name Abu Rumaysah.

A former associate from Al Muhajiroun told the BBC today he “has no doubt” that the masked executioner is his former associate Dhar, saying “the voice is unmistakable.”

Dhar’s sister initially told the BBC she thought she recognized her brother’s voice but could not be certain.

“I was just in a bit of, sort of state of shock, because… I believe the audio to resemble from what I remember the voice of my brother, but I think sort of having viewed the short clip in detail, I wasn't entirely convinced, which sort of put me at ease,” she said.

New STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Featurette Focuses on The Film's Coolest Location

Spoilers ahead for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but considering how the movie is close to passing Avatar's financial record, there's a good chance you've already seen it (multiple times) by now.

Much of the film hinges on one question: where is Luke Skywalker? I initially thought the marketing department was just being coy by not including images of Mark Hamill in the film, but when you see the film and realize he's only in it for a single minute or less, it's clear they couldn't have tipped their hand in any early trailers.

When Rey (Daisy Ridley) does eventually find the Jedi master, he's on an ancient-looking island in the middle of the ocean. That real location is an island called Skellig Michael, which is off the coast of Ireland. Here's a cool featurette about how that location was found, and it includes some footage of J.J. Abrams and the crew filming the crucial end of the movie. If I ever make it out to Ireland, this looks like it would be an awesome place to visit:

Avengers Director Joss Whedon to Make a "Clean Break" from the Marvel Universe

Of all the directors involved with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Joss Whedon is by far the most successful. The Avengers and its sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron are the most successful films in the universe to date, and his role overseeing the other movies in its Phase Two have helped create a hugely popular series of superhero movies. However, Whedon has now confirmed that he will not be involved with any further Marvel films.


During an Q&A at the Oxford University Union, Whedon was asked about whether he would continue to play a creative role in the development of the MCU. "I sort of had my finger in all of the films in the second phase, but then I just had to concentrate only on Ultron, and sort of knew when it was done I was just going to stop," he said, via Uproxx. "So I made a completely clean break, not because we had a falling out, just because I was like, 'I can't.'

"If I was still there going, 'Well, here are my thoughts on this film,' I'd be there every day. I wouldn't do anything else because there are a lot of films, and it is a lot of fun. It's very seductive. When you can put your little fairy dust on things and just improve them slightly, and they actually listen to you."

Whedon has previously spoken about the difficulties he experienced while making Age of Ultron, and the creative battles he had with Marvel executives over certain sequences in the film. "The dreams, the farmhouse, these were not the things [the executives liked]," he told the Empire podcast last year. "These are things I fought to keep.

"With the cave, they pointed a gun at the farm's head and said, 'Give us the cave or we'll take out the farm'. You know, in a civilized way. And I respect these guys, they're artists, but that's when it got really, really unpleasant. I was so beaten down at that point I was like, 'Sure, okay. What movie is this?'"

Nevertheless, last year's Avengers: Age of Ultron went on to make $459 million at the worldwide box office. The first Avengers made $623 million in 2012, and currently stands as the fourth most successful film of all time.

This weather system has been going on since Christmas Day.Started up in the Gulf of Carpentaria,pretty much broken the drought in Queensland (which is bloody fantastic!),and now it looks like it has enough left to drown the east coast of NSW.

Dick Smith enters voluntary administration due to bad sales, banking woes


Dick Smith appoints administrator McGrathNicol, lenders appoint Ferrier Hodgson as receivers

Listed on the share market in December 2013 at $2.20 and stopped trading yesterday at 36 cents

Receivers say Dick Smith will not honour outstanding gift vouchers or deposits

Electronics retailer Dick Smith has gone into receivership, with Ferrier Hodgson appointed to run the firm following a failure to secure adequate funding to support the business.

Dick Smith employs around 3,300 people across 393 stores in Australia and New Zealand, leaving those jobs at risk if a buyer for the business cannot be found.

The firm's management said sales and cash generation were below expectations in the key December trading period, continuing a poor run in the later part of 2015.

Dick Smith said that, while confident in the long-term viability of the company, the directors were unable to secure support from the company's bankers to provide finance for restocking to see it through the next month to six weeks.

That caused them to appoint McGrathNicol as administrators to run the firm while restructuring or sale options are explored.

However, after the appointment of administrators, Dick Smith's lenders appointed receivers to run the firm and protect their financial interests.

The receivers - James Stewart, Jim Sarantinos and Ryan Eagle from Ferrier Hodgson - say that Dick Smith stores will continue to operate as usual while they evaluate restructuring or selling the group, or parts of it.

"Dick Smith is one of the best known brands associated with consumer electronics in Australia and New Zealand," Mr Stewart said in a statement.

"We are immediately calling for expressions of interest for a sale of the business as a going concern."

However, he also said that any outstanding gift vouchers held by customers will not be honoured and deposits will not be refunded.

Instead, consumers in those situations will have to stand in line with other unsecured creditors of the company and may only get a small fraction of their money back.

The first creditors' meeting will be held next Thursday, January 14, at the Wesley Centre in Sydney.

The company had halted trade in its shares on Monday as the company sought to refinance its debt.

They last traded on December 31, 2015 at 35.5 cents.

'Do you want see something funny?': Accused Brisbane one-punch attacker's 'callous' words

The man accused of fatally striking Brisbane teenager Cole Miller on Sunday morning allegedly asked his mates if they wanted to "see something funny" before landing his killer blow.

Police will allege the "callous" Daniel Jermaine Lee Maxwell and his friend Armstrong Renata, both 21, were stalking the streets of Fortitude Valley with two other friends, looking for people to bash, the Courier-Mail reports.

Already charged with grievous bodily harm, prosecutors said the pair would face a new charge of unlawful striking causing death, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Cole Miller died Monday after being hit in the head in Brisbane on Sunday morning.

/snip

They accused already attacked three people and tried to assault another when they came upon 18-year-old Cole and his friend Nick Pace and struck again, police claim.

Published on Jan 4, 2016

Not a street car? You might think - but this beautiful Valiant Charger owned by John Faraone has DEFINITELY proven itself. Traveling all the way from Australia for his FOURTH Drag Week, John definitely went through hell and back this year. First, his car was held in US Customs for SIX weeks..until luckily it was released 3 days before Drag Week Started. Then, a crank trigger broke during his first pass, only to have a throttle body go bad on the road after day 2 - causing him to miss Wednesday completely, and spend 6 hours in a car park trying to fix the issue. Despite the troubles, John was able to break his own personal record TWICE, and set the new record for the FASTEST mph 1/4 mile street car in Australia at 192.17 mph!

Toshiro Mifune to get a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-1997) will be honoured with a star bearing his name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star will be added by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in 2016, together with new stars in the motion picture category for Quentin Tarantino, Michael Keaton, Steve Carell, Bradley Cooper, Ashley Judd and Kurt Russell.

A veteran of sixteen films directed by Akira Kurosawa as well as many other Japanese and international classics, Mifune is probably the best known Japanese actor of all time and should therefore need no introductions on this website.

Exactly 95 years ago, on April 1, 1920, the Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-1997) was born in Qingdao, China. His parents were Christian missionaries working on the continent, and as a result Mifune spent his childhood in Japanese controlled China, growing up in Dalian and spending his formative years in Manchuria.

Today, Mifune is remembered as Japan’s most famous actor and his name and face are fundamentally associated with Akira Kurosawa. The two men worked together for two decades, producing a body a work which is typically considered among the greatest actor-director pairings in the history of cinema.

Yet, Mifune was not supposed to be an actor. His father owned a photography shop and the son was in fact looking to follow in his footsteps. Mifune served as an aerial photographer in World War II and later applied for a cameraman’s position at Toho Studios after the war. No such positions were available however, so in June 1946 Mifune ended up trying for the studio’s new faces programme, which was set up to attract new acting talent. Without any background in acting, Mifune’s audition didn’t go that well, but by chance he attracted Kurosawa’s interest. The young director spoke passionately on Mifune’s behalf and he was ultimately taken in. The rest, as they say, is history.

Mifune’s first appearance for Kurosawa was in Drunken Angel (1948), a film where he was supposed to play a supporting role next to Takashi Shimura but ended up hoarding much of the focus with his energetic performance. It was not the first time, however, that Mifune and Kurosawa were credited on the same film, for Mifune’s screen debut took place in the 1947 film Snow Trail that Kurosawa had written for Senkichi Taniguchi. During his career, Mifune appeared in seven other films that Kurosawa penned for other directors, in addition to starring in 16 films which Kurosawa directed. The two men also worked together on The Legacy of the 500,000 (1963), the only film directed by Mifune himself and for which Kurosawa agreed to do the editing.

The paths of the two men so suddenly and irrevocably diverged after Red Beard (1965). Why this happened has been subject to much speculation. Some have suggested that Mifune had grown unhappy with Red Beard‘s long shooting period which prevented him from taking other work and put his own production company into debt, while others have pointed to some parties having been unsatisfied with Mifune’s performance in the film and planted that seed of doubt also in Kurosawa. Kurosawa’s attempt to work with Hollywood after Red Beard must also have distanced the two men, and certain things were definitely said during Kurosawa’s failed Tora! Tora! Tora! production in the late 1960s which could have caused a rift, as Mifune was vocally unhappy that Kurosawa had decided to cast primarily amateur actors on such an important American financed film. Although the two men never worked together again and reportedly largely avoided each other’s company, towards the end of their careers each talked about their creative relationship in highly positive terms. In the end, Mifune and Kurosawa did reportedly reconcile their personal relationship in the early 1990s.

Although Kurosawa was instrumental in launching and nurturing Mifune’s career, the actor had a very successful career also outside of the director’s films, appearing in altogether close to 200 films. Early on in his career Mifune was typically cast in gangster roles, while later he crafted a successful and influential approach to samurai roles, highly influencing the genre in the process. Mifune was also in demand outside of Japan, appearing in numerous Hollywood films, including Steven Spielberg‘s 1941 (1979), John Frankenheimer‘s Grand Prix (1966), John Boorman‘s Hell in the Pacific (1968) and, perhaps most famously, the Shogun television series in 1980.

Mifune’s health began to deteriorate in the early 1990s, the cause of which has remained unknown to public. His condition worsened further when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1995, and the by now already reclusive former actor disappeared from the public eye. Mifune died of multiple organ failure on Christmas eve, December 24, 1997, less than a year before Kurosawa passed away.

Today, Mifune would be 95 years old. How are you celebrating the great actor’s birthday?

the funny thing.....the news predicted that we'd be returning to 30 degree's tomorrow.

can't see it happening with how set in this rain has been today.

i guess the 'funny' is still yet to occur, pucker up boys, jails coming, followed by your deportation back to NZ.

i'm reminded of a similar incident that occurred down in Sydney a few years back where the person in question had assaulted a number of people before the incident where the young man died as a result of the unprovoked attack perpetrated upon him......

https://au.news.yahoo.com/qld/a/30488087/do...-callous-words/

Have you seen photos of them?They looked exactly as I imagined they would,and apparently,one of them stated on their Facebook page,that his dream job would be a prison guard,so they could beat the fcuk out of all of the Junkies.Guess they're going to be on the wrong side of the bars now

haven't seen any photo's of them, everything gets blurred out up here, though i haven't been looking for them or have had the leisure/inclination to do so

Question. does anyone know definitively if an unregistered vehicle permit issued in QLD allows a person to drive a vehicle from interstate. ie back from Tasmania etc etc

tia

If you move a vehicle from another state or territory to Queensland, you will need to get a permit from the relevant transport department of the state or territory in which your journey begins.

DONE!!


https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/buying/unr...ling/index.html

Think you might have to get the permit from the state that it was last registered in.Slow day,I shall do some investigating:hsdance:

DONE!!
https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/buying/unr...ling/index.html

Correct.

You get the permit from the state the you're picking the car up from and it covers you to your destination.
Eg for the shitbox rally when we picked our car up from Canberra

(ACT) we got a permit which covered us in nsw.

You just put your start point and destination on the form

What are you buying Alpha?. We're looking at acquiring a 2010 SP25 in the coming weeks as the latest car we've owned has been my 1997 Barina[Solid car btw,made 4 trips to lismore and ran beautifully].

NCIS shocker: Michael Weatherly is leaving the CBS drama

Say it ain’t so, Tony!

CBS has confirmed that Michael Weatherly, who created the role of Special Agent Tony DiNozzo on NCIS in 2003, is leaving the CBS drama at the end of the season.

“He is a valued part of the CBS family, and the immense charm and talent he brings to the screen as ‘very’ Special Agent Tony DiNozzo has helped make NCIS what it is today … the No. 1 drama in the world,” representatives for CBS said in a statement. “We thank Michael for all of his contributions to this successful franchise and look forward to continuing to develop projects with him as part of our ongoing development deal.”

Weatherly also tweeted several goodbye messages on Tuesday. “DiNozzo is a wonderful, quixotic character & I couldn’t have had more fun playing him over the past 13 seasons,” he wrote. He also tweeted that “Les Moonves & CBS gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Free Oculus Rifts and Sony Apologizes for Yesterday's PSN Outage - GS Daily News
GameSpot

Published on Jan 5, 2016
Rise of the Tomb Raider PC release Date and minimum specs have been revealed, and Kickstarter backers of the original Oculus will get a free Oculus Rift.

What are you buying Alpha?. We're looking at acquiring a 2010 SP25 in the coming weeks as the latest car we've owned has been my 1997 Barina[Solid car btw,made 4 trips to lismore and ran beautifully].

fcuk, it's sold. god damn it. was just going to link the add here for you to see.........
oh well. there will be another one

Published on Dec 19, 2015
My dad works at a 1 man police station in the remote north west Queensland town of Mckinlay, Australia (population 20).

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fcuk Yeah!!!
This was on a news feed this morning,fcuk Yeah!
I've seen a few different videos of creeks flowing for the first time in a long time recently,and I can understand his enthusiasm

'He who hesitates is lost',I'm sure you would have bookmarked it,so nothing stopping you putting the link up,so we all can see what might have been!