7 March 2008: Green Beer

How would you like to drink green beer? A brewery in Australia is betting that its customers will.

The beer isn't coloured green, and the production process and taste are exactly as they were before. But all the greenhouse gases generated in the production of the beer, from the picking of the hops to the empty bottle landing in the recycling bin, have been offset by planting trees. Trees absorb the major greenhouse gas, CO2, and produce oxygen, thus improving the environment.

The beer is called Cascade Green, and the company's marketing manager said all of the tree-planting costs of the new beer will be absorbed by the company and will not be passed on to consumers.

SaintFM wonders if CO2 producing companies on St. Helena could be persuaded to make a similar investment in the Millennium Forest.

6 March 2008: The Drinks Are On Us

A Japanese company has announced plans to get its staff drinking at the company's expense.

Managers at Japan General Estate Co who supervise 20 or more people will have a budget of around 1,500 pounds a month to take them out drinking. Managers with fewer than 20 workers will have 1,000 pounds a month.

The company says the move is intended to help with staff communication.

Japan General Estate is renown for its other unorthodox work policies, such as paying extra to employees who do not smoke.

SaintFM asked SHG’s Social Development Planner Ann Muir if drinks on the company will be part of the new employment legislation proposed for St. Helena . She said it wouldn't be required but that wouldn't stop employers from introducing it on a voluntary basis.

5 March 2008: Busted, so not busted

A Japanese pin-up model has walked free from court because of the size of her breasts.

The bikini model was accused by a man of kicking a hole in the wooden door of his room and crawling inside, apparently because he was with another woman.

In court her defence counsel held up a plate showing the size of the hole, and showed that she could not have squeezed through it with her 44-inch bust.

As a result the Tokyo High Court threw out the case, saying there was reasonable doubt over the man's account.

4 March 2008: Trouble at the top

So who works harder; you or your boss?

The vast majority of American workers say they do.

77 percent of respondents to a poll by an employment website argued they toiled longer and harder than the occupants of the manager's office.

The survey company highlighted the rising gap between boardroom pay and that of ordinary staff in America as a key reason for the survey's results.

3 March 2008: The wheels come off the bus

If, like me, you feel that if you hear songs by Barney or the Teletubbies one more time you will go mad, there may be light at the end of the tunnel.

Former rock musician Ray Andersen, who played with the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Meat Loaf, has turned his attention to music for pre-school children.

Recently in south London the newly-styled "Mr Ray" performed to an audience who stood on their seats strumming wildly on copycat rock guitars, or jumped around like punk rockers. There were even bouncers do deter potential crowd surfers and stage divers. The audience were mostly between three and four years old.

The new music is called "Kindie" -- a combination of kids' and "indie" or independent music, and aims to oust the grinding of "The Wheels on the Bus" from the family car CD player.

And Mr Ray is not alone. The emerging set of Kindie musicians, including bands like They Might Be Giants and Green Means Go, want their own children to enjoy real music that engages both them and their parents.

For clips and more details go to http://www.mrray.com