Helen Zille – not impressed..

Helen Zille Phone-Tap Spy Scandal – Western Cape Premier Helen Zille insisted on Wednesday (her 60th birthday) that her telephone calls were once being monitored by the National Intelligence Agency. “On January 8 2008 at 6.20 am, my husband Johann answered the phone on the desk in my study,” Zille said. “He heard the sound of tapes re-winding and clicking. He then heard a tape recording of conversations that I had had in the room.” [mail&guardian]

Gaddafi London Home Occupied – A London house belonging to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam has been occupied by campaigners, police said on Wednesday. Members of a campaign group called “Topple the Tyrants” said they had taken over the eight-bedroomed neo-Georgian house in the plush Hampstead Garden Suburb district of north London. They demanded it be transferred to the people of Libya. [news24]

Julius Malema’s Face Printed On Toilet Roll In Die Antwoord Music Video – Die Antwoord’s latest music video, “Rich Bitch,” which features Julius Malema printed on toilet paper, is currently banned for viewing in South Africa. We managed to get a copy of the video for you, which also features a few other well-known South African names, including Woolworths and Pick n Pay. Follow the link for the video and lyrics. [2oceansvibe]

Apple TV To Offer Live Sports – Apple TV customers will be able to watch Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association games after the tech group signed deals with the sports leagues, in a sign that cable companies will face more online competition. The deal could signal a shift in thinking for sports leagues about how they make their content available online. Please do the same for Supersport – then I can drop-kick my DSTV out the window. [ftimes]

Urge To Own Clapton Guitar Is Contagious – Why would someone pay a million Dollar for a used guitar? That was a difficult enough question in 2004 when Eric Clapton sold his beloved Fender Stratocaster named Blackie. But now, as collectors around the world prepare to bid Wednesday at another charity auction of Mr. Clapton’s guitars, the questions are even tougher. Why would someone create a replica of Blackie? [nytimes]

Christchurch Exhausts World Chemical Toilet Supply – Christchurch has exhausted the world’s supply of chemical toilets after the devastating February 22 earthquake wreaked havoc on the city’s eastern suburbs. In silt-ridden Richmond Park, Civil Defence spokesman John Lovell told the crowd portaloos and chemical toilets were being distributed as quickly as possible. “We’ve exhausted the world’s supply of chemical toilets.” [stuff]

Breast Milk Ice-Cream Back On Sale: Lady Gaga May Sue – Nearly two weeks after seizing two samples of Baby Gaga ice cream for testing over health concerns, a British council has given its approval to the dessert made from mothers’ breast milk. The flavor was created by The Icecreamists, a London store with a flair for the dramatic. As we reported earlier, the store charges around $22 for a serving of the ice cream, which is flavored with vanilla and lemon zest. [npr]

Tobacco Displays To Be Banned In England – Tobacco displays in shops will be banned in England as part of a package of measures to discourage smoking. Instead, cigarettes and other products will have to be kept under-the-counter from 2012 for large stores and 2015 for small shops, ministers have announced. A consultation will also be launched on whether manufacturers should be forced to put cigarettes into plain packets. [bbc]

Gems From 2008 Paris Jewelry Heist Found In Drain Pipe – More than two years after men dressed in wigs and scarves struck the Harry Winston jewelry store in Paris’s golden triangle of upscale shops, the police this week discovered a cache of sparkling diamonds from the theft in a far less glamorous place: a drainpipe in the northern suburbs of the city. They found one diamond ring the size of a child’s marble, along with 18 other rings at a total value of $20.6 million. [nytimes]

Mel Gibson Strikes Plea Deal – Mel Gibson has struck an agreement with prosecutors and has made a plea deal in his looming criminal case, resulting in no jail time. Mel’s lawyer, Blair Berk said, “Mel’s priority throughout all of this has been that the best interests of his young daughter Lucia and the rest of his children be put first in any decisions made. A proposal was made to bring all of this to an immediate end.” [tmz]

Kinect Breaks Guinness Record To Become Fastest Selling Device – It looks like Kinect’s officially a record-setter, grabbing Guinness’ attention long enough to snag the title ‘fastest selling consumer electronics device’. According to Microsoft, their controller-free Xbox 360 motion-sensing camera has sold a whopping 10 million units since it launched in early November last year. [pcworld]

Julianne Moore To Play Sarah Palin – Sarah Palin is getting the movie treatment with HBO Films’ Game Change. Oscar-nominated actress Julianne Moore will portray the former Alaska governor in the project, which will chronicle Palin’s burst into the national scene as a surprise vice presidential candidate in 2008. Directing Game Change is Jay Roach, director of the Meet the Parents movies. [deadline]

Thursday Is “Vote For Table Mountain” Day – Table Mountain is at the bottom of the final 28, in the running to be one of the new seven wonders of nature. Table Mountain needs YOU to vote at least every Thursday. We need 30 million votes to make the final 7.  You can vote on the website or by SMSing the word ‘table’ to 34874 (SMS cost R2). You can vote once on the website and as many times as you want on SMS. come on, gang, let’s do this thing!  [votefortablemountain.com]

He’s Charlie Sheen And You’re Not – Say what you will about Charlie Sheen — that he is a raving lunatic, an egomaniac, a train wreck, an anti-Semite, a drug-addled cautionary tale — he has also actually made some sense this past week by offering up a reasonably astute analysis of the relationship between the public and its celebrities. In fact, Sheen seems to have decided to liberate himself by liberating us from the illusions we harbor about the stars. [latimes]

The Epic Battle Behind The Apollo Spacesuit – Neil Armstrong’s first footfall on the moon was one small step for man, but it was one giant leap for a maker of ladies’ girdles. He wouldn’t have had such a snazzy spacesuit were it not for an epic struggle between a by-the-book defense contractor and a lingerie company run by a car mechanic and a TV repairman. [wired]

Tony Curtis Cut His Kids Out Of His Will – In the last will and testament of Hollywood legend Tony Curtis, it is revealed that in his final days he disinherited daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis and his other four children. His children are listed by name, including jamie Lee. The will states, “I acknowledge the existence of my children and have intentionally and with full knowledge chosen not to provide for them.” Curtis left his estate to his widow, Jill. [insideedition]

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