Switzerland's national tourism board has issued an apology on behalf of the country saying, "We are very sorry for what happened to her." Asking for Oprah Winfrey's forgiveness after a racist shop assistant in Zurich refused to show her a handbag because it was "too expensive" for Oprah.
The board also begged for Oprah's forgiveness on Twitter ... saying the shop assistant "acted terribly wrong."
The incident occurred last month, when Oprah was in Zurich to attend Tina Turner's wedding and walked into the upscale Trois Pomme boutique where she noticed a $40,000 handbag. When Oprah asked to see it, the shop assistant refused... insisting it was out of O's price range. RACIST!!!!
Oprah described the exchange:
"One more time, I tried. I said, 'But I really do just want to see that one,' and the shopkeeper said, 'Oh, I don't want to hurt your feelings,' and I said, 'Okay, thank you so much. You're probably right, I can't afford it.' And I walked out of the store."
FYI, Oprah reportedly made $77 million dollars last year ...
Ten mnths ago, researchers at Toshiba’s Akimu Robotic Research Institute were thrilled when they successfully programmed Kenji, a third generation humanoid robot made to convincingly emulate certain human emotions.
At the time, they even claimed that Kenji was capable of the robot equivalent of love, but now they fear that the robot is going too far and his programming has taken an extreme turn for the worst.
Kenji was part of an experiment involving several robots loaded with custom software designed to let them react emotionally to external stimuli. After some limited environmental conditioning, Kenji first demonstrated love by bonding with a a stuffed doll in his enclosure, which he would embrace for hours at a time. He would then make simple, but insistent, inquiries about the doll if it were out of sight. Researchers attributed this behavior to his programmed qualities of devotion and empathy and called the experiment a success.
What they didn’t count on were the effects of several months of self-iteration within the complex machine-learning code which gave Kenji his initial tenderness. As of last week, Kenji’s love for the doll, and indeed anybody he sets his ‘eyes’ on, is so intense that Dr. Takahashi and his team now fear to show him to outsiders.
The trouble all started when a young female intern began to spend several hours each day with Kenji, testing his systems and loading new software routines. When it came time to leave one evening, however, Kenji refused to let her out of his lab enclosure and used his bulky mechanical body to block her exit and hug her repeatedly. The intern was only able to escape after she had frantically phoned two senior staff members to come and temporarily de-activate Kenji.
“Despite our initial enthusiasm, it has become clear that Kenji’s impulses and behavior are not entirely rational or genuine,” conceded Dr. Takahashi.
After that incident, each time Kenji is re-activated, he instantaneously bonds with the first technician to meet his gaze and rushes to embrace them with his two 100kg hydraulic arms. It doesn’t help that Kenji uses only pre-recorded dog and cat noises to communicate and is able to vocalize his love through a 20 watt speaker in his chest.
Dr. Takahashi admits that they will more than likely have to decommission Kenji permanently, but he’s optimistic about one day succeeding where Kenji failed.
“This is only a minor setback. I have full faith that we will one day live side by side with, and eventually love and be loved by, robots,” he said.
US talk show host Oprah Winfrey says she was the victim of racism during a recent visit to Switzerland.
She said an assistant refused to serve her in an upmarket handbag shop in Zurich.
Winfrey, one of the world's richest women, was apparently told the bags on display were "too expensive" for her.
Her claims, made to a US television programme, come amid a political row over plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum-seekers from some public places.
The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Berne says human rights groups have likened the plans - which include banning asylum-seekers from swimming pools, playing fields and libraries - to apartheid.
The star made an estimated $77m last year
Winfrey, who stars in Lee Daniels' new film The Butler, visited Zurich last month to attend singer Tina Turner's wedding. The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Switzerland.
Winfrey said she left the shop calmly without arguing, but that the experience was proof that racism continues to be a problem.
"There's two different ways to handle it," she said.
"I could've had the whole blow-up thing... but it still exists, of course it does."
Shop owner Trudy Gotz told the BBC that an assistant had shown Winfrey several other items before the "misunderstanding" over a $35,000 (£22,500) bag, which was kept behind a screen.
Winfrey's claims are a public relations disaster for Switzerland, BBC correspondent says.
About 48,000 people are currently seeking asylum in Switzerland. It has twice as many asylum seekers as the European average.
Officials say the curbs, which will also see asylum-seekers housed in special centres, are aimed at preventing tensions with residents.
the Dublin Zoo tapir involved in an attack on a two-year-old girl yesterday, with her new calf
Rio,
A TWO-year old girl is in serious condition in hospital after being attacked by an animal in Dublin Zoo.
The young girl received serious abdominal and arm injuries after she was attacked by a female tapir in the zoo.
The toddler's mother was also hurt when she tried to intervene and stop the usually docile animal from savaging her young daughter.
The horrific incident happened yesterday afternoon during a supervised encounter visit to the Brazilian tapir enclosure.
It is understood to have left the child unconscious and with deep lacerations on her stomach and arm caused by the animal's powerful jaws.
The child was last night continuing to receive treatment from surgeons at Temple Street Children's Hospital while the toddler's mother was treated in the Mater Hospital.
The incident happened after the family were allowed to view the animals from a closer vantage point than most visitors.
Despite being closely monitored by expert workers, it is understood the female tapir called Rio, who just gave birth to a calf last month, was panicked.
The attack followed, resulting in the child receiving serious injuries.
A Dublin Zoo spokesperson said "there was an unfortunate accident involving a mother and her child in the Brazilian tapir area" during one of the facility's "regular supervised animal visits".
She said zoo managers have launched an investigation into what exactly happened. As a result of the incident they are reviewing all procedures, especially in relation to supervised animal visits.
"Dublin Zoo would like to underline this was very much an isolated incident. We would also like to emphasise that our immediate concern is the health and well-being of the visitors involved in this accident."
"The staff of Dublin Zoo are deeply upset by this incident and their utmost concern lies with the visitors and their speedy recovery," she added.
A tapir is a Brazilian animal that looks similar to an anteater. The usually docile animal is fast and powerful.
Rio gave birth to a baby tapir in the zoo recently. The calf was the second to be born to the tapir at the zoo.
In 1998 a zookeeper lost her arm after being attacked by a tapir at the Oklahoma City Zoo.
Zoo officials were not certain why the tapir, a female from Malaysia, attacked the keeper, who was feeding the animal before the zoo opened to visitors. The tapir's two-month-old calf was also in the cage at the time.
A horrifying crime scene in South Miami hit Facebook Thursday when a man posted a photo of his dead wife -- and a confession that he had killed her.
Derek Medina posted the photo some time around noon Thursday, with the words "Rip Jennifer Alfonso." The image shows his wife's leggings-clad body slumped backwards on the floor in what appears to be the couple's kitchen. Her face and left arm are covered in blood.
"You will see me in the news," reads a confessional status update posted minutes before the photo: "Im going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife love you guys miss you guys takecare Facebook people you will see me in the news" my wife was punching me and I am not going to stand anymore with the abuse so I did what I did I hope u understand me "
According to an arrest affidavit by Miami-Dade Police, Medina told investigators he and Alfonso had a verbal dispute around 10:00 a.m., during which he grabbed a gun from a closet and pointed it at his wife. She reportedly told Medina she was leaving him before the dispute moved downstairs.
There, Medina told police, Alfonso began punching him. He retrieved the gun from upstairs and again confronted his wife, prompting her to pick up a knife. He told detectives that when he took the knife away, his wife began hitting him again, at which point he shot her several times.
After first changing his clothes and making contact with relatives, according to investigators, Medina drove to the South Miami Police Department and turned himself in.
When officers responded to the home, they found Alfonso dead from apparent gunshot wounds.
They also found her 10-year-old daughter upstairs, physically unharmed. She was removed from the house covered in a blanket, according to WSVN.
Miami New Times reports Medina has authored a number of self-help e-books, including one titled "How I Saved Someone's Life and Marriage and Family Problems Thru Communication."
A neighbor told NBC6 that Medina "walks around with a concealed gun, so he tries to be the neighborhood watchguy."
"He's always there late night and he's weird to me," said Yoshi Dade. "He's always kind of looking around and trying to be a hero."
Medina's father told WSVN that the couple had a troubled relationship, and had remarried last year after previously getting a divorce.
Incredibly, Medina's grisly posts remained published on Facebook until just before 5 p.m. Thursday, when they appeared to have been removed.
"The content was reported to us," a Facebook spokeswoman told The Associated Press. "We took action on the profile -- removing the content and disabling the profile, and we reached out to law enforcement. We take action on all content that violates our terms, which are clearly laid out on our site."
*This is horrible! So sickening for him to brag about it! He could have just walked away from the marriage...there is absolutely no excuse for such!
