11 March 2008: No Time for Golf

The president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, says that if government staff have time to play golf they are not working hard enough.

Lee, a former construction boss, is widely known to start work at 7:30 am, and expects his staff to do the same. He says Government workers, including himself, are the people's servants, so should work harder than their masters, the people.

For the presidential staff there is no actual ban on playing golf, but the threat is clear. "When you're working hard there's never enough time, so it would be a feat to be playing golf," he says.

10 March 2008: Isenhour and the Birdie

Professional golfer Tripp Isenhour has hit a Birdie. Indeed, it was almost an Eagle. And he's in big trouble over it.

The golfer is facing possible jail after his golf ball hit and killed a hawk that is protected by conservation laws.

Isenhour has admitted hitting the ball at the hawk, but has denied trying to harm it. "I was trying to simply scare it into flying away", he said.

If convicted of cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird, Isenhour could face a fine and up to a year in jail.

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.