Pop Buzz UK

Borat Sagdiyev aka British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen is a victim of human rights abuse! And that’s official, coming as it does from the US State Department. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice released the Department’s annual report of human rights violations around the world and in it, Borat was cited as having been victimised by the government of Kazakhstan. They pulled his site www.borat.kz off the web in late 2005 because it was poking fun at the made up character’s country of origin. The site was just moved to www.borat.tv and continued to poke fun at the glorious nation of Kazakhstan. (more…)

It started with the revelation that Richard And Judy’s Phone in Quiz every day was not being entirely truthful with viewers and potential contestants. It leaked out that even after a viewer was chosen at random to be the on air contestant for that particular day, the phonelines were kept open and the number repeatedly plugged on air. Not good, and it brought a doorstepping for the famous married presenter couple before they denied having any knowledge of the alleged scam. (more…)

It looks as though Prince Harry, member of the British royal family and 3rd in line to the throne is going to Iraq to fight. The Ministry of Defence confirmed today that Prince Harry and his unit, A Squadron The Blues and Royals, part of the Household Cavalry Regiment, would be serving in Iraq from May or June.

Over the past few days there has been intense speculation as to whether his unit would be one of those chosen to take over from already serving regiments in the gulf, and of course whether even if they did, Harry would be allowed to join them or kept back in this country as a matter of national security. It was claimed that Prince Harry had threatened to resign his commission if he was not deployed with his men. (more…)

This morning, Tony Blair announced a part withdrawal of troops from Iraq over the comeing months. Unfortunately the rumours from late last night of a full withdrawal being announced by No.10 Downing Street were unfounded. Britain will withdraw about 1,600 soldiers from the Southern part of the country, handing control of it over to Iraqi forces. This will bring the UK’s forces in Iraq to under 5,000 by the summer, down from nearly 40,000 at the time of the conflict. (more…)

Manchester has beaten tough competition and the bookies odds to become the first city in Britain to be granted a ’super casino’ license. Seaside Resort Blackpool and London’s Millenium Dome were the front runners and favourites for the honour of a regional Las Vegas style casino resort but lost out to the North West city.

Up until now only small casinos have been allowed to exist in Britain, for fear of the effect that open gambling would have on society, especially youngsters who may be drawn in. Until a couple of years ago, bookmakers even had to have blacked out or covered windows so the activities could not be seen from outside. Now that has been lifted and the government has given the go ahead for 17 officially licensed casinos around the UK. (more…)

This story is huge, it’s all over the UK, in the newspapers (both tabloid and broadsheet), Internet forums, Workplaces and watercoolers… It’s even made it into parliament. It’s the Celebrity Big Brother race row! Dun dun duuuuuuun.

For those of you not in the know, basically anyone not living in the UK or India, here’s a rundown of what’s been going on over the last week… (more…)

Debating: Whether David Beckham is worth $1,000,000 a week wages?

Reading: ‘Second Honeymoon’ By Joanna Trollope

Listening To: Kylie Minogue - Showgirl, Homecoming Live

Playing: Still Bloody ‘Fifa 07′

Watching On TV: Celebrity Big Brother’s First Week

Watching At The Cinema: Mel Gibson’s Spectacular ‘Apocalypto’

Searching For: Los Angeles Galaxy

Remembering: Leo Sayer being a 70s pop midget

Looking Forward To: Leo Sayer never having another hit record in this country

Learning: A king’s ransom is worth approximately £685m in today’s money, loosely based on the sum paid by Eleanor of Aquitaine to secure the release of Richard the Lionheart in 1194.

David Beckham, Joanna Trollope, Kylie Minogue, Homecoming, Fifa 07, Celebrity Big Brother, Apocalypto, Los Angeles Galaxy, Leo Sayer

It’s a traditional and accepted way to spend all or at least part of Christmas. When the kids (and us childish adults) have opened all their presents, the turkey has been eaten, sprouts thrown in the bin, Gran has had a drink of sherry and is now fast asleep in the armchair, what do we all do? Yes, turn the TV on, the simple way to wind down after an eventful and stressful Christmas day. Unfortunately this year looks like being a bad one for any British television viewers hoping for a bumper new film and programme fest. According to research by the Liberal Democrats, the 3rd political party here in the UK, this year’s schedule is packed to the rafters with repeats. The party claim that the number of re-runs will be up by 42% this year from last, with a third of all shows on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, a repeat. (more…)

After finding the Ok Go Spoof that I posted last week I went on a bit of a hunt for other spoofs. And here is the first I’ll be showcasing, which is Electric Six with ‘Gay Bar’. First here’s the original in all it’s glory, it’s a great video in it’s own right and I loved it when it first came out a few years back. The innuendo and smut is crude but still clever. Enjoy… (more…)

This happened a couple of weeks ago but I chose not to blog about it as so many others were and I wanted more details. But now I think the time is ripe to tell her story.

A blogger called Jackie Danicki, a 29-year-old American who lives in London for most of the time, was allegedly assaulted on the London Underground on November 24th. A bad thing to happen obviously, and she took the normal route of reporting the incident to the police. The difference in this case is, as soon as she got home, she also put details of the incident and a picture of one the men she claims physically and verbally assaulted her on her personal blog. She doesn’t detail what the nature of the physical abuse was but claims the verbal abuse comprised of being called a “slutâ€? and a “hoareâ€?. The remainder of her accusations are that no one helped at the scene, that instead all her fellow passengers ignored the incident until it was over. (more…)

No I’m not taking the mickey with that title, this is the true story of an album that has been produced called ‘A Very Merry Muslim Christmas Album’. It’s been made by a group of Muslim listeners to Talk radio host Nick Ferrari’s show on London radio station LBC. It’s in response to previous years Christmas seasons where Muslims in the UK have been left out of the holiday and also political correctness has gone too far and non-Christians have been blamed for the banning of various things to do with Christmas. (more…)

Green Day and U2 have collaborated on a single in aid of “Music Rising�, a charity set up by The Edge to help New Orleans Musicians in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. “The Saints Are Coming� is a rousing anthemic song produced by Rick Rubin, best known for his work with the Beastie Boys and R.H.C.P.

The song’s lyrics are about storms, drowning and waiting for rescue, and so fit the situation perfectly. One line is “Drowning sorrow floods the deepest griefâ€? which to me is a perfect poetic eulogy on Hurricane Katrina and the resulting chaos. Even though not written in response to the crisis, U2 and Green Day’s choice of song to fit the bill is pretty much spot on. Watch the video and see what you think… (more…)