Category: Blogging

President Obama Actually Appears on Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis

Turns out, Michelle Obama is not the only member of the First Family who can make us crack up.

Perhaps in response to his wife appearing on The Tonight Show, President Barack Obama is actually the guest on the latest edition of Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis.

In a hilarious back and forth with the actor, Obama mocks Galifianakis for The Hangover III; jokes about the host’s weight; and then spends awhile plugging The Affordable Care Act.

This is the latest pop culture appearance by the President, who introduced Cosmos on Fox Sunday night and who recently slow-jammed with Jimmy Fallon.

Obama joins a Between Two Ferns guest list that includes Justin Bieber, Tobey Maguire, Jennifer Aniston and James Franco – and the segment is clearly very funny…

… but is appropriate for a sitting President to stop by a show that once also welcomed Tila Tequila?

You tell us: What do you think of Barack Obama being a guest on Between Two Ferns?

Oscar Pistorius Vomits in Court; Reeva Steenkamp Injury Description Makes Killer Sick

Oscar Pistorius threw up in court Monday, often, as a pathologist detailed the injuries Reeva Steenkamp sustained when Oscar shot her through a locked door.

The Olympic track star, currently on trial for murder, was given a bucket to vomit into during testimony in South Africa, and he used it quite frequently.

When he wasn’t booting, Oscar Pistorius was seen rocking back and forth in his seat, crying and covering his ears with his hands throughout the testimony.

The graphic testimony was pretty gruesome stuff by any measure.

Professor Gert Saayman detailed the bullet wounds he found on Reeva Steenkamp, Pistorius’ girlfriend who he killed on Valentine’s Day 2013, following her death.

The prosecution witness testified in detail about how the 29-year-old model was shot on the top of the head, in the right elbow, in the right hip and left hand.

The judge asked Pistorius’ lawyer if he was going to be able to compose himself and stay in court. Oscar said he wanted to continue … and was allowed to stay.

Saayman said the head wound incapacitated Steenkamp immediately, which isn’t surprising, given the hardcore ammo used by the man who gunned her down.

He also said the bullets used by Pistorius, who claims he mistook her for an intruder, were Black Talons, the kind that “expand and mushroom” on impact.

The 27-year-old Olympian faces life in prison if convicted.

Mean Girls Reunion: Coming in 2014!

Those who saw Lindsay Lohan on the Tonight Show the other night may have heard her talk of a Mean Girls reunion, and amazingly, she wasn’t full of crap.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the film’s release, and writer Tina Fey (maybe you’ve heard of her) has been pushing for a reunion event of some kind.

To commemorate the occasion, she’s been wrangling the entire Mean Girls cast over the last month to put something together, and LiLo was the last to know.

She told Jimmy Fallon that she’d just run into Tina recently, and that the reunion idea came up. Lohan, whose career apex was probably that film, is up for it!

It’s not at all clear what the Mean Girls reunion will consist of, but an awards show sketch seems like a likely option – perhaps April’s MTV Movie Awards?

Also, October 3 is National Mean Girls day – basically an occasion invented to link to Mean Girls quotes all over the web – so that’s another good possibility.

Besides LiLo and Tina, Amy Poehler, Jonathan Bennett Rajiv Surendra and Daniel Franzese are also in, according to a TMZ report late last week.

Pretty great. Now go watch Mean Girls online and tell us when and how you’d like to see the whole gang get back together on this 10-year anniversary. Are you looking for business translation services? Contact Translation Services UK

Millions get pay boost as living wage goes live

 

Millions of workers will receive a pay rise today when the new national living wage comes into force.

Unions welcomed the £7.20 hourly rate for adults – increasing by 50p from £6.70 – but said it was not fair that younger workers were missing out, while business groups warned that firms’ paybills will “ratchet up”.

The Government’s aim is to increase the rate to £9 an hour by 2020, which would affect an estimated nine million workers.

Research by the Resolution Foundation found that more than one in four employees in the Midlands, Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber will benefit, compared to one in seven in London.

Owen Smith, shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “It’s a typically cruel sleight of hand from the Tories to introduce their version of the living wage with one hand, while taking five times as much in cuts to Universal Credit and Tax Credits with the other.

“While this higher minimum wage for the over-25s is welcome, it will feel like an act of deception for the two million families set to lose £1,600 a year through cuts to in-work support.”

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Britain desperately needs a pay rise, and this increase is good news for those aged 25 or older.

“But the Government must ensure that younger workers are not left behind. 21-24-year-olds will not be seeing an increase tomorrow. This is not fair. Future wage increases must narrow the pay gap between old and young.

Helen Barnard, head of analysis at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “The national living wage is an important step towards a high-wage, low-welfare economy.

“Investing in the skills of low-paid workers and encouraging the creation of more productive jobs would help us to reach this goal faster.

“However, on its own it won’t do a great deal for poverty. That’s partly because many workers with low hourly pay live in households with quite high overall incomes.

Dr Adam Marshall, acting director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “T he Government’s new living wage will apply a ratchet effect to all companies’ pay bills, and sits alongside a raft of other high employment-related costs.

If you are looking forward to translate this content, contact Translation Agencies UK

“While many companies have the ability to increase pay, others will struggle to do so alongside pensions auto-enrolment, the apprenticeship levy, employer National Insurance contributions, and other up-front costs.

“Some will have to divert money from training and investment to increase pay, which could hurt their productivity. Others may stop hiring altogether.”

Josh Hardie of the Confederation of British Industry said: ” Companies are committed to raising prosperity and living standards, but for wage increases to be sustainable they must go hand-in-hand with productivity growth.

“If the living wage doesn’t get this balance right it will risk being unaffordable for many firms. Smaller businesses and those in key sectors like hospitality, retail and care are likely to be particularly affected.”

Around 2,300 employers have already signed up to the higher voluntary living wage of £9.40 an hour in London and £8.25 for the rest of the UK.

Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation said: “Today’s new legal minimum is an important step forward in tackling low pay in the UK. The landscape on low pay has shifted. This is down to the employers we work with who have over the past 10 years voluntarily chosen to pay beyond the minimum wage rates set by Government.

“However the job is not done when it comes to tackling low pay. Around six million people earn below the voluntary living wage with women, young people and part time workers most affected by low pay.”

The Government said the new rate will mean a £900 cash increase for a full-time worker on the current national minimum wage.

Chancellor George Osborne said: “The national living wage will play a central role in moving Britain to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare economy.

“It will also mark the end of the gender pay gap for some of our lowest paid and hardest working people.”

Eurosceptic Culture Secretary John Whittingdale poured cold water on the initiative, warning that having a higher minimum wage for British workers while in the EU would fuel immigration.

“The living wage was a great idea to give British families a pay rise, but because we have no control of our borders the main people that benefit could be from other EU countries,” he told The Times, adding that the influx would place public services under “great strain”.

Labour MP Chuka Umunna, from the Stronger In campaign, accused Mr Whittingdale of attacking the living wage and having “inherent antipathy to using the clout of government to raise wages for the very lowest paid”.

Mr Osborne, speaking at the Asda superstore at Trafford Park in Manchester, sai d: “We said that Britain deserved a pay rise and today Britain is getting a pay rise.”

The Chancellor added: “It’s going to be a pay rise for millions of people, it’s all part of a Government that is delivering for working people.

“So often when the economy recovers and starts to grow it’s the better off who see the benefit of that but I wanted to make sure, we were determined to make sure, that everyone saw the benefits. That’s why we are introducing this national living wage.”

Mr Osborne said: “For people under 25 there is the national minimal wage and we have just announced that it is going to go up to £6.95 an hour and we want to make sure that we are not putting people out of work as we increase the wages, so we thought the NLW is best for people over the age of 25, although companies like Asda, they have decided to pay everyone including the people under 25 that wage.”