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Blonde, tattooed girl becomes ISIS pin-up

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 05 Oktober 2014 | 14.41

Jennifer Williams. Source: Twitter

LAST Monday, Jennifer Williams had 60 followers on Twitter. Today, she has 6700 and counting.

Sounds great but here's the problem: A healthy number of them are Islamic extremists, and supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

In blog post for Lawfarethe Texas beauty describes how an innocent tweet she sent out as part of a humorous campaign against Islamic extremists has resulted in her earning the attention of many undesirable male admirers.

It all started when the hashtag "#MuslimApologies" began trending on Twitter. The hashtag was a tongue-in-cheek response to people in the media in the US who, in the wake of the beheadings of Westerners by ISIS, questioned why Muslims such as Ms Williams have not been more vocal about denouncing terrorism.

Tired of being held responsible for the actions of a few extremists, Ms Williams and others decided to take a humorous stand by apologising for everything that is wrong with the world, from the Twilight saga to Pluto's declassification as a planet.

But when Ms Williams sent her tweet out, she never expected people would take it seriously.

"Sorry I read the Quran to learn abt terrorist beliefs but ended up converting to Islam b/c of what it said. #MuslimApologies #sorrynotsorry", she wrote.

It was meant to be a joke but as we all know, subtly doesn't always translate to social media. Soon Ms Williams, with her platinum blonde hair and penchant for red lipstick and tattoos, was being retweeted by a disturbing number of people who had the black flag of ISIS as their Twitter profile photo.

"Men whose profile pictures showed them in traditional Saudi dress (sometimes behind the wheel of a swanky SUV or insanely expensive sports car) started replying to my tweet and asking to speak to me in private," she writes. "One guy told me how beautiful I would look in hijab (in other words, how beautiful I would look once I covered myself up and stopped looking like an infidel). Another just straight up asked me to marry him."

Ms Williams also noticed her tweet being used in ISIS propoganda to support the very cause she was trying to denounce.

"I, for one, do not appreciate having my conversion story used to attract more people to a repugnant ideology that spawns suicide bombings and beheadings," she wrote.

Ms Williams is hoping all the hype will die down and she can get back to her day job as Deputy Foreign Policy Editor at Lawfare but for now she believes it is a scary reminder of the role social media can play in terrorism.


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Are Dogs playing a dirty trick?

As NRL Grand Final days go, the 2014 edition appears to be as good as it gets - fine and sunny in Sydney and barely an empty seat in the house at ANZ Stadium for the decider.

Greg Inglis is a key man for the Rabbitohs. Source: News Corp Australia

FOLLOW our live coverage of the 2014 NRL grand final between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canterbury Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium.

Scroll to the bottom of the page for blow-by-blow game coverage. Kick-off is 7.20pm EDT.

6pm — WILL ENNIS PLAY OR WON'T HE?

THE conspiracy theorists are out in force as the countdown continues towards tonight's NRL grand final, with rumours circling that influential hooker Mick Ennis will indeed take the field.

Ennis, who was yesterday ruled out with a foot injury, was seen at ANZ Stadium in a moon boot today.

But AAP reported that people with inside knowledge of Bulldogs coach Des Hasler's workings have said Ennis could yet make a "miracle recovery".

The rumours were also fuelled by a tweet from the official Bulldogs account, which read: "The locker for injured skipper Michael Ennis is all set and ready #unleash #NRLGF."

Channel 9 personality and former NRL star Beau Ryan also fuelled the rumours, tweeting yesterday: "I just walked past Belmore and saw Michael Ennis doing sprints. He spotted me and started limping #WhoLetTheDogsOut."

Just before 6pm this evening — little over an hour before kick-off — Channel 9 showed footage of Ennis in the locker rooms still on crutches, suggesting he will not play.

Will Mick Ennis play or won't he? Source: News Corp Australia

4.55pm — JOEY JOHNS: 'I CAN'T SEE SOUTHS GETTING BEATEN'

SOUTHS are hot favourites to finally end their 43-year premiership drought against an injury-hit Canterbury side.

As well as the probable absence of Mick Ennis, halfback Trent Hodkinson will take a knee injury into the game. Rabbitohs back-up rake Apisai Koroisau will take the place of suspended hooker Issac Luke.

Most pundits don't give the Dogs much of a chance to beat the rampant Rabbitohs.

"I just can't see Souths getting beaten," rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns told the Channel Nine Footy Show.

Andrew Johns is tipping the Bunnies. Source: News Limited

4.45pm — YANKEE TIPS DOGS TO 'WIN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP'

AMERICAN Bulldogs fan Bill Mullin flew in from New York on Friday — just for the weekend — to attend his first ever rugby league match, watching the Bulldogs taking on South Sydney in the grand final.

While Bill's knowledge of the Dog's history might not be up to scratch, his commitment can't be faulted.

He has never seen an rugby league match live but Bill Mullin of New York has made his first trip to Australia to see his beloved Bulldogs in the flesh for Sunday's Grand Final, all in the name of charity.

4.30pm — HOTTEST GRAND FINAL DAY ON RECORD

THE players will be thankful this is a night grand final.

The mercury has soared to 33.9 degrees in Sydney ahead of tonight's Rabbitohs vs Bulldogs decider, setting a record for the highest temperature on grand final day in rugby league history, according to Fairfax.

But by the time the match kicks off at 7.20pm EDT, the temperature is tipped to drop to a more tolerable 24 degrees.

The hottest temperature recorded during actual game time in the past 50 years is believed to be 32 degrees in the 1987 grand final between the Manly Sea Eagles and Canberra Raiders.

The previous record for highest temperature on grand final day was 33.4 degrees, set last year.

Rabbitohs fans get in the spirit. Source: News Corp Australia

4.15pm — WHAT IS THE GREATEST GRAND FINAL PERFORMANCE IN HISTORY?

TO GET you in the mood for tonight's big dance, check out the list of the top eight grand final performances in NRL history, courtesy of Big League magazine.

How will tonight's Clive Churchill Medal-winner match up against the greats?

FULL STORY: Greatest NRL grand final performances

Andrew Johns features prominently in the list of greatest NRL Grand Final performances. Source: News Corp Australia

4pm — WARRIORS WIN UNDER-20s GRAND FINAL

THE Warriors repelled a dramatic Brisbane fightback to win the Holden Cup under-20s rugby league grand final 34-32 at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.

On the back of three first-half tries to Solomone Kata, the Warriors raced to a 34-6 lead after 53 minutes before the Broncos scored 26 unanswered points in draining Sydney heat.

Jayden Nikorima scored for the Broncos with two minutes to go but pushed the conversion wide to give the Warriors the win.

The Warriors scored two tries in two minutes last weekend against Parramatta to qualify for the decider. — AAP

The Warriors repelled a dramatic Brisbane fightback to win the Holden Cup under-20s rugby league grand final 34-32 at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.

The Warriors celebrate winning the 2014 under-20s Holden Cup grand final against the Brisbane Broncos. Source: Getty Images

Follow the blow-by-blow match coverage in the blog below


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Can you find love on TV?

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 04 Oktober 2014 | 14.41

Blake the Bachie asks winner Sam for her hand in marriage. Courtesy Channel TEN

The big proposal scene on Ten's The Bachelor. Source: Supplied

THURSDAY night was a big night of romance on reality television.

Channel 10 saw us in the deepest depths of South Africa for the finale of the second season of The Bachelor while over on Channel 9, Big Brother housemate Cat was confessing her forbidden love to Lawson, the magician with a girlfriend.

MORE: Sam says 'Blake's calling the shots'

MORE: Tully's take on this season's housemates

First and foremost, it would be amiss not to mention my very own reality television romance.

Watching first Sam and Sandra and then Cat and Lawson's awkward fumbling through the initial stages of a full-blown Big Brother romance — I cringed and hid behind a pillow.

Did my friends and family really have to watch me do this? Is that what Drew and I looked like? Were we that obvious? That ostentatiously flirtatious? And perhaps more importantly, that blatantly disrespectful?

Big Brother 2013 - Big Brother contestants Tully Smyth and Anthony `Drew' Drew. Pic supplied/Channel 9 Source: Supplied

Tuning in to see Cat tearily confessing her attraction to Lawson in what us old housemates called the 'circle of love' (a.k.a. THE place for all big deep and meaningful conversations in the Big Brother house) I found myself yelling to the television screen, probably similar sentiments to the rest of the Australian public: "Do you REALLY have real feelings for him? It's only been a few weeks!"

"Oh god Lawson what do you mean 'she's not alone in this'? Does that mean you also like her, or that you feel similarly awkward about the situation?"

"Poor Lawson's girlfriend having to watch this!"

And then I realised I was a total hypocrite. The truth of the matter is I could relate to a lot of what Cat and Lawson were saying.

Cat, who was feeling attracted to someone who was very much off-limits, and was so worried and acutely aware of said attraction that she had begun to avoid Lawson in the Big Brother house, which is not an easy feat.

Cat told Lawson how she really felt in the BB house this week. Source: Supplied

Something that felt especially true to me was when Cat said she "missed Lawson" and felt like she hadn't seen him in ages. To the general public- that might sound ridiculous. You're trapped in a house together 24 hours, 7 days a week, how could you possibly miss someone?

But I used to feel similar about Drew. I would get so anxious and worried that we were spending too much time together, so would try hanging out with different housemates, or avoid areas of the house he was in. Come dinner time, it would feel like it had been a week since

I'd seen him and all I would want to do is hang out and play frisbee.

Lawson is probably feeling equally confused and wary. He clearly loves his partner on the outside world, as I did mine. But the mentality and situation he is now in is so bizarre and foreign, he's probably loving spending time with Cat as much as she is. And isn't quite sure if it's real or if it's the house making him feel that way.

That mentality is something I've struggled to explain to people since leaving the house- my poor ex especially- and something I've since decided no one else will ever fully understand, unless of course you were also in the Big Brother house.

The drama is already through the roof in the Big Brother house. Source: News Corp Australia

The Big Brother experience puts everything under a microscope and I mean this in more ways than one. Firstly, every single thing you do is filmed, noted and then put on national television for the whole of Australia to watch, judge and scrutinise. It also however, makes every little thing seem 10 times bigger/better/worse.

For example, you wake up to discover that your real life housemate has decided to use the last bit of Vegemite on their toast in the morning. No biggy. You'll grab some on the way home from work. Your Big Brother housemate commits the same crime? All hell breaks loose! You worked HARD for that shopping budget. You danced for 24 hours straight!

You sacrificed some Face Time with your husband/completed some sort of task! You, as a group, chipped in and voted to splurge and add the jar of Vegemite to the shopping list, sacrificing the second block of cheese.

You'd all discussed using it sparingly, agreeing to only having one piece of toast a day. You have to wait a whole week to do the next grocery shop and what if you lose the task and can't afford luxuries such as Vegemite?

Now imagine this kind of amplification on a crush.

Feelings and emotions on reality TV are always amplified. Source: Supplied

In the real world, Cat would probably never have met Lawson. There is a an eight-year age gap between the two of them, so I doubt they'd be hanging out at the same pubs on the weekend.

She also probably doesn't normally make a habit of going after taken men. But it's the Big Brother house. And she's starving for affection and what feels like a real, genuine human connection. Not a surface 'frenemy' friendship with somebody she's pretty sure nominated her that very morning.

She's missing friends and family. And he's a nice guy, sweet, funny, saved her the last bit of potato salad at dinner last night.

I don't blame Cat and neither should you. It's a crazy, messed up minefield in that house and these things happen. You really have no right to judge unless you've been in that very same situation and I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you haven't.

That being said, never have I felt more horrible for making my ex watch the #Drully saga unfold then after watching the conversation between Cat and Lawson last night.

Lawson's girlfriend will now be replaying that conversation, pulling apart Lawson's facial expression and the specific words he used over and over again in her head, trying to decipher what he meant. Is he serious? Is this real?

Lawson had no idea what he was in for when he entered the Big Brother house. Source: News Corp Australia

The time it takes a Big Brother housemate to forget the whole of Australia is watching their every move — including loved ones — is scarily short. In their heads, they were having a private conversation away from the rest of the housemates.

Except they were both wearing microphones. And sitting in front of a one-way mirror which had a camera guy pressed up against the glass mere centimetres away from their heads.

Is the romance between Cat and Lawson genuine? I don't know. Will Lawson stay faithful to his girlfriend? I can't tell you. Are Cat's feeling's real or a result of her situation? Not for me to say.

And what's the go with the other love triangle, Sam and Sandra? Who bloody knows!

What I can tell you is that it IS possible to fall in love with someone on reality TV.

It's possible for it to be real, and not a 'showmance'. It's possible to make it work on the outside, away from the cameras. And it's possible, and very probable, for humans to make mistakes.

I know, because I've done all of the above.

Still great mates: Tully and Drew. Source: News Limited

You can follow Tully on Twitter, or check out her blog, Young Blood Travel.


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Cracking down on after-hours email

Mental health is far more important than one last email. Source: Getty Images

Checking emails after work hours is so bad for your psychological state that Germany is considering banning it altogether.

Andrea Nahles, the country's labour minister, has been reviewing the results of a study that examined the pressures of work life.

As it turns out, the long hours and constant access to work aren't good for your health.

She says, "There is an undeniable relationship between constant availability and the increase of mental illness … We have commissioned the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to work out whether it is possible to set load thresholds."

Nahles says that in her high-pressure job in the German government, she's often tempted to work on the weekends. She avoids it for the sake of mental health, however, and thinks others should be able to do the same.

While a law limiting work hours most likely won't be proposed until 2016, Germany would be following in the footsteps of France, which bans work past 6pm.

Until then, Nahles told press that there are standards already set in place to guarantee workers a little peace of mind.

The European Occupational Safety and Health Administration has already identified the connection between too much work and health hazards. A 2009 Risk Observatory report indicates that stress at work may lead to disease, depression and anxiety.

As lawmakers plan their strategy to limit workdays, companies like Volkswagen have taken it upon themselves to free employees. The car manufacturer made waves in 2011 by announcing that its servers would cease to send emails 30 minutes after the end of each shift.

In the meantime, workers can use a self-control app to block access to work-related projects. Mental health is far more important than one last email.

This article originally appeared on Elite Daily and was republished with permission.


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Sam: ‘He is calling all the shots’

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 03 Oktober 2014 | 14.41

Blake the Bachie asks winner Sam for her hand in marriage. Courtesy Channel TEN

Blake Garvey and Lisa Hyde on The Bachelor. Source: Supplied

THE romance is officially over between The Bachelor and his chosen one, Sam.

Network Ten has just released an official statement to the media confirming the pair have called it quits.

"Network Ten can confirm that Blake and Sam have sadly ended their engagement. When Blake proposed to Sam in South Africa, he did so because he had genuinely fallen in love with her. He was excited to start a life with Sam and was very much looking forward to their future together," the statement reads.

"Unfortunately, not all relationships are meant to be, and feelings invariably change. Once Blake returned to his everyday life, he realised that they both wanted different things from a relationship and had different priorities. Blake has the greatest love and respect for Sam, but has made the difficult decision to end the relationship."

MORE: Sam's mate spills on what went wrong

A heartbroken Sam has now taken to social media to shed some light on the split, revealing that it was Blake himself who pulled the pin on their short-lived engagement.

"People need to stop asking why we broke up. Trust me, I'm just as in the dark as you all are. Blake is the one calling all the shots here," she tweeted her followers.

Blake Garvey and Sam Frost ... sadly it wasn't meant to be. Source: Channel 10

A source close to the blonde beauty confirmed it was Blake who did the dumping, saying Sam is devastated over the breakup.

The seemingly loved-up pair ended things last Friday, less than a week before the show's finale, adding that Blake is "in love with another one of the contestants."

The pair spent little time together after their engagement was filmed, with Blake living in Perth and Sam living in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, Sam's social life seems to be on track. She was snapped partying at Melbourne hotspot Eve nightclub in Southbank with fellow bachelorette Zoe and Big Brother's Tully Smyth over the weekend.

Smyth shared the below photo on Instagram, posting: "Best night with these two beauties at @evebarsouthbank."

Zoe, Tully and Sam let of some steam at Melbourne nightclub Eve. Source: Instagram

The reason for the lack of interviews has now been answered: Woman's Day has revealed that it has secured the only interview with the ill-fated pair.

"In next week's Woman's Day, out Monday, we have the couple's ONLY interview detailing what REALLY went down after the final rose straight from the horse's mouth," their website reads.

It's over ... Poor Sam has been dumped by Blake already. Source: Channel 10

EARLIER:

The rumour has been swirling all morning that Blake and Sam had ended their relationship after Ten mysteriously cancelled all scheduled media appearances today and in the lead-up to the finale.

MORE: Blake finally makes his choice

In what would have been a more shocking twist, speculation was rife that one of the Bachelorettes (not Sam) might be pregnant with Blake's baby.

Runner-up Lisa Hyde, who was left devastated after Blake told her he was "in love with someone else" at the end of the final episode, took to social media this morning to clear up the pregnancy rumours.

Lisa has taken to social media to declare that she is not pregnant. Source: Supplied

The 27-year-old fashion designer posted a photo of herself during her time on the show, along with the caption: "Wow what an incredible journey that was! Thank you everyone for all your love and support. I can confirm the rumour and I am definitely not pregnant with Blakes baby ... Lol I wish Sam and Blake all the best in the next chapter of their lives."

Plenty of Bachelor fans were shocked with Blake's final choice during Wednesday's finale, convinced it was Lisa the hunk was planning to propose to.

Proving that everyone loves a scandal, the final episode soared in the ratings for Ten, raking in an impressive 1.374 million viewers and making it the most-watched program of the night. A first for the dating show.

Well ... this didn't last long. Source: Channel 10

Blake Garvey, a 31-year-old real estate agent from Perth, became engaged to 25-year-old Sam Frost at the culmination of last night's nailbiting final episode. Presenting his chosen beauty with an engagement ring in stunning South Africa, she said, "100 per cent, yes."

The cancelled media appearances for Garvey, Frost and Hyde sent fans — and the internet — into a spin.

This morning entertainment reporter Peter Ford weighed in on the speculation, saying: "It's unclear why they would cancel the interviews today as the show is over and so it wouldn't affect the ratings since the show is finished.

"That lends itself to something more serious or sinister that has taken place," said Ford on 3AW.

Ford also spoke to 2Day FM, revealing: "What we do know is this, that they have split up and that Channel 10 have cancelled all interviews for today. They are the definite things.

"Announcing that it's over would be very damaging to the brand ... if suddenly the word is out that it didn't last," Ford said, adding that there are "all sorts of legal complications" involved.

Lisa was in tears when Blake told her his heart was leading him elsewhere. Source: Supplied

The showbiz commentator shared another possible scenario, saying: "There are also suggestions that he's been caught texting Lisa, the runner-up."

Kiis FM breakfast host Jackie O said on air this morning that she had a received a text from one of The Bachelor producers who admitted that Sam and Blake split a few weeks ago, hence why they cancelled the interviews.

Jackie O even shared the text from her anonymous source on Twitter this morning.

In a dramatic finale, Blake proposed to Sam with a $58,000 engagement ring. Source: Channel 10

Sam hasn't posted on her Instagram account since October 1, when she shared the below picture of herself and Lisa.

"We spent the days running a muck around the house, rolling on the ground laughing until we cried, filming ourselves doing stupid shit on the iPad ... Oh man, I couldn't be happier to be here in this moment with you @lisa_m_hyde", the caption reads.

Lisa and Sam became good friends on the dating show. Source: Instagram

One of last year's unlucky bachelorettes, Penny Palman, went on Sea FM Hobart Breakfast radio this morning and said she believes Blake and Sam's relationship "only lasted weeks".

"From what I can gather they're not together anymore. Belle, who was on season one with me, went out with the guys on Grand Final day the other day, and Sam was there flirting up a storm with a heap of guys. She [Belle] thought maybe it was because Lisa had won," Palman told radio hosts Paul Hogan and Esther 'Woody' Woodhams.

Palman, who says she knows the girls from this season of The Bachelor, added: "We were all convinced that Lisa had won because the amount of times everyone had gone out with Sam and she was hitting on all these other dudes, because trust me, when you're a bachelorette you get hit on by everybody ... they were convinced that she would never be with him because she's been hooking up with everyone else."

2013 Bachelor ladies Penny Palman, Belle Davie and Bianca Martin. Source: News Corp Australia

Palman wasn't exactly full of praise for this season's Bachelor either. She told the Hobart radio duo: "All the information I've heard is that he's a real dog. Off-camera telling them all that 'I love you, you're the one, this is going to happen, you're it.' And there are opportunities when you're filming the show for this to happen and full credit to Tim on our season, none of that went down."

Bachelor fans want answers as to why Blake broke it off with Sam. Source: Channel 10

Various other media outlets, who undoubtedly had their interviews pulled as well, have been adding fuel to the fire, weighing in on the speculation on social media this morning.

Blake hasn't spoken publicly about why he called things off with Sam. Source: Supplied

Yesterday a spokesperson for Ten would neither confirm nor deny to news.com.au why the couple would not be conducting interviews and refused to comment on the speculation, hinting that it was a storm in a teacup.

Another rumour doing the rounds is that a devastated Sam called it quits with Blake last week, after seeing how intimate he was with the other ladies during the final few episodes of the show.

Then there's talk that Blake is now pursuing one of the other women, possibly Louise, after ending things with his bride-to-be.

Lisa and Sam remain good friends, even though neither ended up with Blake. Source: Channel 10

What do you make of the outcome? Share your thoughts with us below.

Blake chose Sam, but not for long. Source: Channel 10


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Bachelor Blake’s raunchy past life

Wearing far more clothes these days, Blake picked Sam as his lady love ... for a while. Source: Channel 10

STEAMY photos have unearthed the racy past of Aussie Bachelor Blake Garvey, who used to moonlight as a topless waiter.

The racy pictures show Blake stripped to his Calvin Klein undies and a red bow tie, gyrating on women and scorching the dancefloor at a hen's night.

The photos were snapped in his hometown of Perth in September 2012, two years before he came to the public eye as the country's second Bachelor.

Blake says he was too modest to ever go full monty, and isn't ashamed of anything he did as a topless waiter.

"There's certainly nothing that would see the light of day that I would be concerned about," he told Perth Confidential.

"I represented myself well. I was never sleazy in that endeavor."

Workin' like the rent's due tomorrow ... Blake Garvey in his former life as a topless waiter. Source: Supplied

A Blake sandwich. Source: Supplied

This party guest would be forgiven for not bringing Blake home to meet the parents. Source: Supplied

'We've all had adventurous pasts,' Blake told the Herald Sun in July. Source: Supplied

Blake's history of shirtlessness is no secret. He spilt to the Herald Sun in July that he worked for a couple of years as a topless waiter.

The West Australian reckons he fell into the profession as a favour to a mate.

"A high school friend had someone pull out at the last minute for her hen's night and needed a fill in. She begged me," he said at the time.

"I gave it a whirl, it was pretty funny. We've all had adventurous pasts."

And he told Perth Confidential there's an important distinction between strippers and waiters.

"I mean stripping means you come out, you're maybe wearing a costume, you're grinding up on people, you're doing all these things that I wouldn't do. That's not me."

Love rat? Speculation is rampant about why Blake dumped Sam last week. Source: Supplied

Now aged 31 and enjoying a more conservatively dressed career in real estate, Blake was in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons today after the hit reality series ended in a scandalous bust-up.

The towering tenor apparently dumped fiance Sam Frost last Friday, less than a week before the final episode aired.

In it, he popped the question to the blonde beauty surrounded by the serene South African wilderness ... and about 1.374 million home viewers.

IT'S OFFICIAL: Channel Ten confirms Bachelor breakup

SHE'S SHATTERED: Mate spills on devastated Sam

Blake mysteriously went to ground overnight, cancelling post-finale media interviews and triggering rumours of a split with Sam.

Those whispers were confirmed earlier today when Channel Ten said the pair had broken up.

But the cause of the split is still the subject of speculation. Sam took to Twitter to say she is "in the dark" over Blake's decision to dump.

Sources tell us the red bow tie is in his jacket pocket. Source: Channel 10

But if the Melbourne stunner is shattered by the breakup, as friends suggest, she's not showing it.

Sam has been spotted on the town with some of the other Bachelor beauties left in Blake's trail of heartbreak.


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Sport’s best sledger strikes again

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 02 Oktober 2014 | 14.41

Catch the top ten touchdowns from week four of the NFL.

Steve Smith is enjoying an impressive start to the NFL season. Source: AFP

BALTIMORE Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith is about as good as it gets when it comes to trash talking.

Think Anthony Mundine, but a fair bit funnier and with way better delivery.

Everyone in the NFL was waiting to hear what Smith would come up with on the weekend when he played against the Carolina Panthers — the team he played 13 seasons for before being cut last year — for the first time.

And Smith didn't disappoint — with his mouth or his play.

He torched the Panthers for 139 yards and two touchdowns in the Ravens' 38-10 win, telling reporters afterwards: "I'm 35 years old and I ran around them boys like they was schoolyard children."

Steve Smith celebrates after scoring a second quarter touchdown against the Carolina Panthers. Source: AFP

But his best line wasn't revealed until a few days after the game, when audio from the sidelines was released.

Smith, who still owns a house in Carolina, let his teammates know where to go and what to do when they got home.

It's just one of a host of memorable lines delivered by the oldest player in NFL history to have more than 400 yards receiving in the first games of a season.

After arriving in Baltimore, he described why he immediately felt at home.

"When I look in the defensive meeting room and I see 'Play like a Raven,' Baltimore Ravens, 'We build bullies,'" Smith told CSN's Brian Mitchell.

"That's what I'm talking about ... We take your lunch box. We take your sandwich. We take your juice box. We take your apple sauce. And we take your spork and we break it. And we leave you with an empty lunch. That's the Baltimore Raven way. That's the bully way. And that's football."

Steve Smith was unstoppable against the Panthers. Source: AFP

He was just as prolific during his time with the Panthers, saying this about former New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez: "He sucks. I wouldn't let Mark Sanchez throw me a paper bag sandwich."

And this about Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow: "Everybody wants to say Tim Tebow is that difference maker. He wouldn't be on my son's flag football team."

But our favourite was in a post-game interview after the Panthers defeated the New England Patriots last season.


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Surfer has arm, hand torn off by shark

A man has been seriously injured after being attacked by a shark off WA's Great Southern region.

A 23-year-old man is being flown to Perth to be treated for horrific injuries he suffered in a shark attack near Esperance in southern Western Australia.

The attack happened at Wylie Bay this morning and the victim, a surfer from Bunbury, lost part of both his arms.

A spokesman for WA St John Ambulance told news.com.au a witness said the man had lost part of his arm at the elbow and the other at the wrist. He also suffered serious lacerations to his legs.

A man has been seriously injured in a WA shark attack

Esperance Shire President Malcolm Heasman told Perth Now the man was from Bunbury and had been surfing with his girlfriend when he was attacked.

"I don't know if he was a holiday-maker or if he has been living in Esperance for some time," he said.

Mr Heasman said the man's family had been notified of the attack and authorities were trying to retrieve his surfboard.

"There has been some increased (shark) activity out in Wylie Bay over several weeks."

"I got a phone call from someone a fortnight ago … that there had been some increased shark activity.

The beach at Wylie Bay is closed after a 23-year-old surfer was attacked this morning. Source: Supplied

Two workers from the shire of Esperance stand guard at the entrance to Wylie Bay Source: Supplied

The scene outside the Esperance District Hospital showing the 4WD ambulance that transferred the shark attack victim. Source: Supplied

"There has been something ongoing there for a while, we don't know what it is.

In a statement, WA Fisheries said they were about to start hunting the shark. It isn't known what species it was.

Permission needs to be obtained from the Federal Government to kill the shark.

In the past few weeks fisheries officers have been investigating several reports of sharks off Esperence, including a reported sighting 50m off the coast off Wylie Bay, the West Australian reported.

Surf Life Saving WA tweeted on September 21 that Fisheries had advised it of a 4m shark sighted at West Beach Dalyup near Esperance.

WA has had seven fatal shark attack in three years. Wylie Bay is a popular surf break which has 4-wheel-drive only access, about 15km east of Esperance on WA's south coast.

The beach has been closed indefinitely.


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Why you should forget the gym

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 01 Oktober 2014 | 14.41

Walking is the best form of exercise. Picture: Evan Morgan Source: News Corp Australia

As we wait for Sony's Core to come to market, three wearable health trackers are ready for your wrist right now: the Nike FuelBand, Jawbone Up and Fitbit Force. Digits puts them through their paces to see which may work best for you.

KATY Bowman has a new idea on how to stay fit, one that's easier and more effective than any CrossFit or Insanity DVD out there.

It's called walking, and the scientist says we should consider it just as important as any healthy food we eat.

"Walking is a superfood. It's the defining movement of a human," says Bowman.

In the her new book, Move Your DNA: Restore Your Health Through Natural Movement, the biochemist reveals that no activity does a body better than regular walking.

Her claim revolves around the fact that even the most active people still spend a lot of time sitting. According to Reuters, a study at the University of Texas School of Public Health last year found that the average recreational long-distance runner spends six-and-a-half hours a week exercising but up to over 10 hours a day sitting.

Bowman says that"Actively sedentary is a new category of people who are fit for one hour but sitting around the rest of the day. You can't offset 10 hours of stillness with one hour of exercise."

Get out there and walk! Source: Supplied

Constant motion is what the body needs to make movement nutrients just as beneficial as those contained in a healthy meal - hence Bowman's superfood reference. But the best part is, this movement doesn't have to be strenuous exercise.

Fitness guru Leslie Sansone told Reuters that TV has led many of us to believe that we should only feel fit after a heavily debilitating workout session. She said that while "there's this Biggest Loser idea out there that if you're not throwing up and crying you're not getting fit," making a habit out of taking three five-minute walks at about 6.5km/h is a great first step in becoming fit.

In terms of how many steps should be done a day, Dr. Carol Ewing Garber of Columbia University says 7,500 will suffice, as the original recommendation of 10,000 is now being considered too much for the average person.

Age is no barrier when it comes to walking. Source: Supplied

The professor of movement sciences and president of the American College of Sports Medicine notes that running and weightlifting may be better for certain goals, but they don't have a broad enough effect on the body.

"If you're going to pick one thing, research says it should be walking," she said.

Bowman's book is among the vast amount of current research suggesting that a good relationship between inactivity and activity is more essential in preventing disease than physical activity alone.

This article was written by Sean Levinson from Elite Daily and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.


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The massive dilemma facing a superpower

Pro-democracy protesters throng the streets of Hong Kong as China begins National Day celebrations, showing little sign of flagging momentum in their campaign. Rough Cut (no reporter narration)

Chinese President Xi Jinping gives a toast during Golden Week celebrations. Source: Getty Images

IT'S shaping up to be a great political dilemma for China.

How did student protests — started five days ago by a skinny 17-year-old with a mobile phone — morph into one of the greatest mass demonstration the megacity has ever seen?

After deploying riot police, tear gas and branding the protests "illegal" earlier this week, Beijing's leaders are mulling over how to control the tens of thousands of people that have blocked streets and closed public transport — demanding the right to free and fair elections in 2017.

MORE: Inside the Umbrella Revolution

To make things worse, the city is paralysed during Golden Week, the busiest time of the year for mainland Chinese to travel to Hong Kong to shop while almost everyone is on holiday.

So how does a one-party state obsessed with control and secrecy deal with very public protests that have captured the world's attention?

Pro-democracy protesters hold up their mobile phones after heavy rain in Hong Kong on September 30, 2014. Source: AFP

Police in a cloud of teargas. Pic: AFP. Source: AFP

Monash University's emeritus professor of Asian languages and studies Bruce Jacobs said there's a range of possibilities for how the situation could play out, with a Tiananmen Square style massacre certainly not beyond the realms of possibility.

"What I would like and what I fear are different things. I'm afraid the Chinese will use a very hard line response. It could involve a lot of arrests or killings and it would be a disaster for Hong Kong."

"On the other hand if the Chinese back away and agree with commitments for more open elections, for more franchise [for people in Hong Kong], then things might be solved more peacefully."

He said the main difference between Hong Kong's current situation and the 1989 massacre — where the government ordered a brutal crackdown on thousands of pro-democracy protesters — is that Hong Kong is run as a special administrative district, rather than under direct control of Beijing.

"For the military forces to be called out would be a bigger step than it was in Beijing but it could happen. It could definitely happen. That's one of the things that I would personally fear … Hopefully it won't come to that but it could."

Protestors sleep out on the streets. Source: Getty Images

Beijing has slammed the protests as 'illegal' Pic: AFP. Source: AFP

So far, protesters have ignored calls from Hong Kong's chief executive Leung Chun-ying to go home and the atmosphere has swung from violent to festive with people singing and playing Cantonese pop in the streets.

Student leader Joshua Wong, who was detained by police but released, said Hong Kong's leader was the "only one" who could end the protest and they would hold out "for the bargaining chip with Beijing."

Human rights monitor Law Yuk Kai described the past few days as "the best and the worst that I've seen."

"The younger generation has a very critical mind which is reflected in these protests. Unlike the previous generation who were mostly refugees, the youth are really Hong Kongers," he said.

The city has come to a standstill. Source: AFP

Thousands raise their mobile phones. Source: Supplied

17 year-old student protest leader Joshua Wong speaks to fellow students on the street outside the Hong Kong Government Complex on October 1. Pic Getty. Source: Getty Images

Overnight, Britain's deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg summoned China's ambassador to express "dismay and alarm" about Beijing's plans to pre-approve pro-Beijing candidates in the upcoming election. US Secretary of State John Kerry is also set to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss the growing movement.

However Prof Jacobs said the arrogance of China's leadership means it's unlikely to give much credence to what other countries say about what they see as their internal affairs.

"The Chinese leadership today and Xi Jinping is quite arrogant and it is over confident and it's over confident of its own strength and directions and this could lead to all sorts of miscalculations, not only domestically but overseas," he said.

"They lack a free press so they don't have any feedback, if people oppose a regime they're often imprisoned. There's no feedback mechanisms so this further enhances their arrogance."

It's occured during Golden Week - a major annual holiday where Chinese travel to Hong Kong. Source: AFP

Murdoch University's Asia research centre director Professor Kevin Hewison said the timing during Golden Week means the Chinese government's response is particularly significant as plenty of mainland Chinese will visit Hong Kong and see the protests first hand.

"What they're seeing is eye opening for them, and if people are taking back this kind of information to other cities in China. Some people might react against it … but even so there's this notion that you can try to defy the Chinese government.

He said while the government's natural inclination has been to crack down, they are likely rethinking this approach in light of the reaction this week.

"The Chinese government worries about everyone on it's edge … They worry this could get out of control. They've looked at the Arab spring, what's happening in other places and it's worried them."

A protestor covers himself in gladwrap to avoid tear gas. Source: Supplied

But not everyone agrees it will end badly. Earlier this week the Lowy Institute's director of East Asia program Dr Merriden Varrall wrote there's unlikely to be another Tiananmen Square type event as China is not the same place it was in 1989.

"Xi Jinping and the current Chinese leadership will be all too aware of the damage Tiananmen caused to China's international status, and, more importantly, the implications for China's domestic development," she wrote.

"Given the current circumstances of the Chinese economy, and China's growing role in international affairs, I believe that the Communist Party is very unlikely to choose to use more violence on these protesters in Hong Kong to the extent of that used in Tiananmen."

What do you think will happen with the protests in Hong Kong? Continue the conversation on Twitter @Victoria_Craw | @NewscomauHQ


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