Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by robertngo

Stunning Home in Bel Air, fit for a fresh prince

robertngo — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 23:48:20 +0800

http://www.homedsgn.com/2014/08/02/stunning-home-in-bel-air/

This stunning home is located in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, USA.

The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, and covers an area of 9,300 square feet.

It is currently for sale for $12.5 million.

Arab supercar season again in London

robertngo — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 23:24:46 +0800

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-27...mber-plate.html

The supercars parading through London's streets reached a whole new level of extravagance this week when a wealthy Arab rolled his gold Range Rover into town.

The 'Mystere' is a £150,000 version of the famous British vehicle which has been given an overhaul by German tuning house Hamann.

The car's normal design has been replaced with a customised body-kit which includes oversized bumpers and a bonnet vent.

Its Saudi owner has also opted for the luxury off-roader, which is fitted with 23-inch alloy wheels, to be kitted out with a black and gold wrap.

The car, with the registration plate '666', has been flown over to the UK by its Saudi owner and is parked outside the expensive Wellesley Hotel in Knightsbridge.

A top-spec Range Rover costs £100,000 - with Hamann charging around £50,000 for the 'Mystere' conversion.

It is one of a number of flamboyant cars which have arrived in London for the summer season, when Middle-Eastern millionaires escape the desert temperatures for a holiday in the UK.

Many Russians stranded as tour firm Labirint fails

robertngo — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 22:58:06 +0800

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28637794

As many as 27,000 Russian tourists are stranded abroad after a Russian tour firm, Labirint, suspended operations.

A company statement (in Russian) blamed the move on a deterioration in the rouble exchange rate and the "negative political and economic situation".

There are signs that EU-US sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis are hurting the wider economy, including Western investment in Russia.

A Russian tycoon says his executive jet is grounded because of US sanctions.

Billionaire businessman Gennady Timchenko - close to President Vladimir Putin - told Russia's Itar-Tass news agency (in Russian) that Gulfstream was no longer servicing his jet and the pilots were not allowed to use its navigation equipment.

He is reckoned to have a fortune of $14.4bn (£11.4bn), owning big stakes in gas and infrastructure firms. He is among dozens of Russians hit by sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.

An agency assisting Russian tourists, Turpomoshch (Tour Help), said in a statement (in Russian) it is now trying to book Russians onto return flights in various countries, including Bulgaria, Egypt and Tunisia.

Labirint's sudden failure on Saturday left some 27,000 Russian tourists without return tickets, Turpomoshch said.

Anxious Labirint customers are bombarding Turpomoshch with calls at a rate of five per minute, the agency says, adding that "our managers are working flat-out" to help them.

Another reason Labirint gave for its move was the Russian state's advice that military or security service officials should not go abroad.

Last month another Russian tour operator, Neva, also went bust.

In other sanctions-related developments:

The German government halts a contract - worth 100m euros ($134m; £80m) to the Rheinmetall firm - that would have delivered a military training camp to Russia, housing 30,000 soldiers annually

Dobrolet, a Russian budget airline, grounds its planes. A subsidiary of Aeroflot, it had been flying from Moscow to Crimea after Russia's annexation of the peninsula, but was named on an EU sanctions list last week

Russia's food hygiene service Rospotrebnadzor bans imports of "Kentucky Gentleman", a brand of American whiskey, citing traces of phthalates - organic chemicals - in the drink

The chairman of UK firm JCB, which exports tractors, diggers and other heavy equipment, says that "if sanctions restrict sales of machines and spare parts there will be obviously be a major impact on JCB, which could put hundreds of British jobs at risk".

The EU and US have blacklisted dozens of Russian individuals and firms considered to be undermining Ukrainian sovereignty. The first round of sanctions was imposed in March after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. Top pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine are also blacklisted, hit by Western visa bans and asset freezes.

Mr Timchenko said he was used to flying worldwide to do business and had lived abroad for long periods in the past 25 years, but "now in effect I've stopped travelling abroad".

He was a founder of Gunvor, a global commodities trading firm, but sold his 43% stake just before he was hit by sanctions in March.

Mr Timchenko has a 23.5% stake in Novatek, Russia's second biggest gas producer, as well as controlling stakes in Volga Group and Stroytransgaz Group, which carry out major infrastructure projects.

EU-US financial sanctions are also affecting his business, he said, explaining that he no longer uses Visa or Mastercard credit cards.

"I'm left with my Swiss medical insurance card, international driver's licence and Finnish ID card, which is like a passport. Also now I've got a Chinese Union card. As soon as the sanctions came in I got myself that card... and it works brilliantly!" he said.

Saudi seek Pakistan and Egypt troop to fight ISIS

robertngo — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 19:59:37 +0800

http://www.ibtimes.co.in/saudi-arabia-urge...der-isis-605980

With the ISIS militant forces inching closer to Baghdad, Saudi Arabia has urged allies Pakistan and Egypt to send in troops to secure its border near Iraq.

Saudi Arabia shares a 500 mile-long border with Iraq and Syria.

"The kingdom is calling in favors from Egypt and Pakistan," an adviser to the Saudi government told The Times. "No one is certain what ISIS has planned, but it's clear a group like this will target Mecca if it can. We expect them to run out of steam, but no one is taking any chances."

The ISIS has a strong control on Iraq's western borders near Syria and Jordan.

And with the militants taking one town after the other in Iraq, the Southern border with Saudi Arabia could be the next possible target.

The Saudi Arabia border near Iraq frontier is vulnerable as it lies near the Anbar province, which is largely held either by ISIS forces or by tribes which have sworn loyalty to the Caliphate under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Last month, The Telegraph had reported that the Saudi government sent in an additional troop of over 30,000 soldiers to the desert border to stop any advance from the ISIS.

Interestingly, the ISIS has often been seen as a group that flourished under the patronage of the Saudis. There have been allegations in the international community that Saudi Arabia covertly supplied weapons to the ISIS to fight Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"ISIS has been a Saudi project," The Atlantic had quoted a senior Qatari official back in June.

However, Saudi Arabia has rubbished all such accusations.

An ISIS invasion of Saudi Arabia is still a far-fetched idea, however, the Saudi government faces the threat inside the country.

As per a report in Al Monitor, the Saudi home ministry had discovered an ISIS splinter cell in the country back in May. The government had arrested 62 men, most of whom were Saudi nationals.

police detain giant tortoise after brief chase

robertngo — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 16:19:35 +0800

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28635902

The giant tortoise failed to outrun the police

Police in Alhambra in greater Los Angeles have recaptured a giant tortoise called Clark after a brief chase along the city's streets.

"The tortoise did try to make a run for it, but our officers are pretty fast," said the Alhambra Police Department on its Facebook page.

It took two officers to manoeuvre the 150lb (70kg) reptile into a police car.

Clark was taken to an animal rescue centre, from where he was later claimed by his owners.

Keeping giant desert tortoises is illegal without a permit, but police will not be prosecuting Clark's owners.

"We enjoy keeping families together, so an exception was made in this case," Alhambra police said.

A local expert identified Clark as a sulcata tortoise, or African spurred tortoise, native to the southern fringes of the Sahara desert.

Gary Wilfong of the California Turtle and Tortoise Club told the Los Angeles Times that Clark looked like an 18- to-20-year-old male.

Tortoises can run as fast as 1mph (1.6km/h) "if they really want to," Mr Wilfong said.

Italians enraged at rise of Facebook mafia

robertngo — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 14:39:11 +0800

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...book-mafia.html

Just when police thought they had finally loosened the Mafia's historical stranglehold over Sicily, a new generation of brash mobsters is reclaiming the streets of Palermo - and bragging about it on Facebook.

After years when Cosa Nostra luminaries communicated only by hand written notes in code, their youthful successors are making increasingly unabashed online boasts about their wealth, power and contempt for the magistrates hunting them down.

One Palermo mobster, Domenico Palazzotto, 28, who created a Facebook page under a false name, posted photos of himself cruising on motorboats, sitting down to sumptuous
lobster and champagne dinners and riding in a limousine.

The rising boss, who called the shots in the Arenella neighbourhood of Palermo, where he allegedly helped run extortion rackets, listed his liking for Neapolitan music and the US
singer Kenny Loggins and name-checked an Italian TV series about the Mafia.

Amid crude insults apparently aimed at the police, Mr Palazzotto also swapped messages with an aspiring mobster who asked to be enrolled in his clan.

"Do I need to send a CV?" asked the applicant.

"Yes, brother," replied Mr Palazzotto jokingly. "We need to consider your criminal record. We do not take on people with clean records."

he boss then adds, "Join my team.. We are the strongest, ha ha ha."

In a brief video also posted online, one of Palazzotto's loyal mobsters yells "I am the Godfather," to which Palazzotto adds the comment, "Well, I am the original."

However, while the online postings, which were revealed by Italian magazine L'Espresso, are thought to be partly intended to spread fear among the Mafia's host communities,
such flagrant disregard for mafia's traditional penchant for discretion could also be the mobsters' undoing.

An investigative source in Palermo told The Telegraph that officers were spending time checking through Facebook to seek out the bosses lurking behind false names.

Salvatore D'Alessandro, a rising mob henchman loyal to Mr Palazzotto, also posted on Facebook under a pseudonym, uploading photos of dinners and boat rides with his boss and described his ambition to move up the organisation's ranks.

"For the time being I am one of the small sharks hunting in the deep," he wrote. "But the moment will come when I rise to the surface and will have no pity for anyone."

The investigative source, who declined to be named, said the mob was "pushing to make a comeback in Palermo", following years when the ranks of Mafiosi were decimated by arrests. But the new generation, the source added, could not be more different to its predecessors.

"Going online would have been unthinkable for the old guard," the source said. "They lived in farm houses and existed on bread, cheese and vegetables grown there, without using phones and relying on 'pizzini' (handwritten notes) to get their orders out.

"The new generation are using Facebook, texts and WhatsApp to show that they are going to the best discos, beaches and restaurants, because they believe that is key to earning respect. The problem is that makes you traceable and they are getting arrested."

"There is a new generation of Mafiosi in Palermo," said a Sicily-based magistrate who also declined to be named, "but they have yet to prove they have the quality of their predecessors."

Mr Palazzotto was among 95 mobsters rounded up in June in Palermo in an operation dubbed 'Operation Apocalypse' aimed at decapitating the city's new Mafia leadership. Police said they had put a temporary stop to vote rigging, extortion and drug trafficking operations as well as the laundering of ill gotten cash through betting shops. More importantly, officers said they had halted a bid to pull together scrapping clans across the city into a more compact criminal empire, harking back to the leadership of Toto Riina, the "boss of
bosses" jailed in 1993.

Investigators alleged a key figure in the rebirth was Mr Palazzotto's cousin Gregorio Palazzotto, 37, who was issuing orders despite being in jail.

A keen user of Facebook, Gregorio used the site to insult Mafia turncoats who gave evidence to get out of jail, writing "I have no fear of handcuffs, but I am afraid of those who
start singing to get out of them." In other messages he demanded an amnesty for prisoners to end prison overcrowding.

He also posted loving messages to his wife, pasted onto a background of an image of jail cells, writing in one: "If my heart was a jail, you would be condemned to a life sentence."

His wife wrote back: "My love, I am here to support you," and "When this nightmare is over, you will start to live again."

In another message, in which she superimposed the image of a wedding behind bars, Pallazzotto's wife wrote, "These bars will not divide us and will make our love stronger."

As police get wind of Facebook bragging by Mafiosi, a more time honoured means for the mobsters to show off their power, involving Cosa Nostra's venerable links to the Catholic
Church, resurfaced in Palermo last week.

During one of the religious processions that frequently wind their way through the city, volunteers carrying a statue of a Madonna briefly set it down outside a funeral parlour owned by the family of Alessandro D'Ambrogioin, a jailed Mafia boss, what was viewed as a sign of respect.

During the pause outside the shopfront, where D'Ambrogio held mob summits, local children were lifted up to kiss the statue.

The incident recalled a similar, suspicious pause in a procession in Calabria last month near the home of jailed Calabrian boss Peppe Mazzagatti, which prompted outrage in the wake of Pope Francis' call for mobsters to be excommunicated.

Russian bunker busting rocket arrive in Iraq

robertngo — Sun, 03 Aug 2014 22:29:03 +0800

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/russias-bu...raq-5672b754870

Photos have appears on Iraqi social media depicting Russian-made rocket artillery arriving in Baghdad. The snapshots, published on July 25, show TOS-1A systems unloading from giant An-124 cargo planes.

The rockets could help Baghdad battle Islamic militants.

TOS-1 was the Soviet army’s secret hammer during the last decade of the Cold War. It fires powerful rockets to smash enemy trenches, fortifications and buildings, cracking defensive lines to allow tanks and infantry to punch through.

The Soviets deployed TOS-1 for the first time in Afghanistan in 1989, a full decade before publicly unveiling the rocket launcher. In 2009, the Russian rolled out TOS-1s for counterinsurgency drills and officially offered to export the rocket launcher as a means of defeating rebels and militants.

TOS-1A is the upgraded version—and arguably the most destructive artillery piece in the world. TOS-1A includes a T-72 tank chassis, allowing it roll right through enemy gunfire in order to get close enough to attack. The launchers fires 24 220-millimeter rockets, each with a 100-kilogram thermobaric warhead.

A single TOS-1 rocket is more powerful than a conventional 1,000-pound explosive munition.

The system has limited range compared to other heavy artillery systems—just six kilometers. But that’s far enough to keep the rocket battery safe from enemy tank-hunters.

Striking from short range also increases accuracy and reduces rocket dispersion in the target area. TOS-1A has a ballistic computer that can calculate firing angles with just 90 seconds of prep time.

The presence of TOS-1A in Iraq is in line with the Iranian approach to defeating Sunni rebels in Syria. Iran has been helping Iraq battle the militant Islamic State of Iraq and Syria after ISIS captured northwestern Iraq in June and subsequently attacked an Iranian border post.

In Syria, Iranian-backed fighters have fired Barakan and Falagh heavy rockets in order to smash rebel front-lines before major ground assaults.

But the Russian TOS-1 is a step beyond what the Iranians have deployed in Syria. TOS-1 is more powerful and more accurate. It could signal Baghdad’s intention to launch counterattacks against ISIS.

Each time militants dig in, TOS-1 could root them out. The huge rockets could wipe out entire stretches of ISIS’ defensive lines and open up paths for Iraqi ground troops.

Boko Haram may have turn kidnapped girls into

robertngo — Sun, 03 Aug 2014 22:21:09 +0800

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/chibok-...uicide-bombers/

The delay in freeing the over 200 girls seized from Government Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State, may have exposed them to radicalisation by their captors, who are now using them for suicide bombings, a source told Sunday Vanguard at the weekend.

The source spoke about the possibility that the girls had been indoctrinated by the terrorists in the last three months of their captivity, hynotised and sent into various parts of Nigeria and beyond with a view to carrying out deadly missions.

Serial attacks carried out by female bombers in Kano, last week, lent credence to the claim.

The source, who has contacts with the Boko Haram leadership, pointed out that it may be difficult to change radical orientation of the girls, who may now see their malevolent disposition as an act of righteousness.

“It may shock you to know that some of the girls being used for suicide bombings in parts of the North are among those taken from Chibok in April this year,” the source said.

Continuing, the source insisted that “it is rather unfortunate that government wasted precious time in rescuing the girls either through negotiation with Boko Haram or other means possible.

“It was clear from the outset that the girls would not come out the same, after being kept with their unwanted hosts for a long time”.

Although the Federal Government said, last Wednesday, that the Chibok girls were not among the female bombers, its spokesman did not provide any evidence to prove his claim.

At a media briefing in Abuja, Coordinator

of the National Information Centre, Mr. Mike Omeri, tried to ward off the suggestion that the 219 school girls currently in the captivity of Boko Haram insurgents could have
turned suicide bombers.

It will be recalled that few days after the abduction of the girls, a human rights activist, who had taken part in failed bids to broker a truce between the Federal
Government and Boko Haram leadership, Shehu Sani, had raised the alarm that the girls could be indoctrinated if not urgently freed.

Sani told Sunday Vanguard, in an exclusive interview in May, that the prolonged detention of the girls by the terrorists could dramatically alter their fate and orientation.

According to Sani, the longer the girls were being kept by their captors, the higher the potential of their being brainwashed to accept radicalism and terrorism.

He said:”But the danger of keeping these girls, without either using negotiation or force to free them is that, everyday these girls are being brainwashed by the
insurgents.

” If we are not careful, the Chibok girls that would come out of captivity would not be the same girls that went into captivity. They would be indoctrinated, they would be
hypnotised and brainwashed to the point that they would be transformed into insurgents themselves. And of what use would they be?

“These are very young girls in their teens with very open and vulnerable minds but open to dangerous ideas. You can see how a man would abduct a girl whose parents
don’t like him and, by the time the girl comes back she is ready to fight her parents.

“So, the danger is that as the clocks ticks, it is ticking for us , for the girls and for our reputation and integrity as a country”.

Huge Butter Spill Creates Jam on Highway

robertngo — Sun, 03 Aug 2014 15:40:49 +0800

http://abcnews.go.com/US/huge-butter-spill...ory?id=24805164

Butter and jam usually conjures up images of warm toast, but on an Indianapolis highway today it meant a huge slippery mess that closed part of busy highway during the morning rush hour.

A dairy truck crashed overnight on Interstate 465 and spilled over 45,000 pounds of butter, margarine and whipped cream.

"Our preliminary conclusion is that the truck driver fell asleep while driving, hit a barrier, and crashed at around 3:30 a.m.," Capt. David Dursten, spokesman for the Indiana State Police told ABC News.

The semi split in half, spilling tubes of butter and tins of whipped cream.

"Our crew is using a sand truck and a front-end loader to absorb and scoop up the sticky coat on the road into trash bins," Dursten said.

The right two lands of the interstate highway are expected to be closed until about noon while the crew removes the mess,the officer said.
There was a passenger in the truck. No one was injured.

"I was joking with my colleagues, wonder if anyone called IHOP and ordered 2,000 pounds of pancakes," Dursten said.

APOCALYPSE NOW: Why the 4 Blood Moons Could Herald

robertngo — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 23:19:51 +0800

[YOUTUBE]20WZH2HY4rE[/YOUTUBE]

Illuminati symbolism on Katy Perry’s Rolling Stone

robertngo — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 23:16:06 +0800

http://illuminatiwatcher.com/illuminati-sy...ng-stone-cover/

Katy Perry is on the cover of the July 30th, 2014 issue of Rolling Stone, making it two issues in a row with Illuminati symbolism on the cover (Lana Del Rey had the All Seeing Eye on the previous issue). On this one, Katy Perry is wearing an earring with an evil eye; or the All Seeing Eye:

I cover the All Seeing Eye and its importance to the industry in Decoding Illuminati Symbolism: The All Seeing Eye and 666 Hand Gesture:

Theorists such as David Icke hint that the Watchers and/or Nephilim are part of the Illuminati shape shifting reptilian bloodline (and I can’t forget to mention L.A. Marzulli; arguably the most ‘expert’ theorist on the Nephilim). The symbol of the eye is actually satanic in nature since the reptilian bloodline is evil in nature (reptilians are also known as the Archons in Gnosticism). Many cultures believed in a malevolent ‘evil eye’ that was able to place a curse on another person. This evil eye is the antithesis of the ‘third eye’ (which is discussed later). The Greek Medusa mythological character was known for turning people into stone upon seeing her, and this was because she was the physical incarnation of the evil eye.

You can find jewelry to this day that has an eye on it, which actually represents the talisman to ward off the curse of the ‘evil eye.’

On RollingStone’s website you’ll see a small preview of the interview and there are some choice words and topics in it…

“I’m not, like, a crazy ‘I’m gonna die for my fans’ type,” Katy Perry says

“As far as the mummy thing, I based it on plastic surgery,” she says. “Look at someone like Kim Kardashian or Ice-T’s wife, Coco. Those girls aren’t African-American. But it’s actually a representation of our culture wanting to be plastic, and that’s why there’s bandages and it’s mummies.

That quote actually goes further to explain what she meant; that if everything is so taboo it’d be a boring place to live:

“I guess I’ll just stick to baseball and hot dogs, and that’s it,” she says. “I know that’s a quote that’s gonna come to f*** me in the ass, but can’t you appreciate a culture?

I guess, like, everybody has to stay in their lane? I don’t know.”

Oh my, quite the language from the pop princess! It’s the classic bait and switch of the entertainment industry presenting a teen idol and then having them go hardcore and push the envelope. Right on the cover it says “Conquering the world, one small sin at a time” so we shouldn’t be shocked. Not to mention we’ve seen some risque S&M with Madonna of all people recently:

She goes on to have a transhumanism type stance when talking about having a baby without a man (well, maybe I’m reading too deep into it):

“I don’t need a dude. I mean, Neil and David, their twins are beautiful. It’s 2014! We are living in the future; we don’t need anything. I don’t think I’ll have to, but we’ll see. I’m not anti-men. I love men. But there is an option if someone doesn’t present himself.”

Why does this matter? Read the post on the Illuminati Vow of Silence to find out:

The master occultist Aleister Crowley had an Illuminati vow of silence, as mentioned in this very in-depth article by HenryMakow:

According to the Beast, a small elite must rule over the masses: “You will observe that I am advocating an aristocratic revolution. And so I am!” Most of Crowley’s evil doctrines have been kept secret in the past through initiation requirements in satanic lodges. Crowley emphasized the doctrine of silence, as seen below in full magical garb making the stance and gesture of silence.

Also check out the Moloch/Illuminati symbolism of Katy Perry’s newest fragrance campaign for Royal Revolution, and the Illuminati symbolism of her PRISM world tour:

In the magazine there is also a shot of her with an alien earring, so make of that what you will (see the Freeman Fly article on the occult meaning of E.T. for more):

Apple iPhone 5S conspiracy theories

robertngo — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 23:11:58 +0800

http://illuminatiwatcher.com/apple-iphone-...iracy-theories/

The release of Apple’s newest iPhone has conspiracy theories around the use of its fingerprint scanner. Apple’s official response is that the fingerprint scan is store locally inside of the iPhone’s chip; and never uploaded to a central database. Hmm… iPhone could be spelled out Eye-Phone, and Siri in reverse is Iris (similar to the Illuminati chip-mark of the beast payment system ISIS):

There have always been rumors of our technology tracking us through the apps, but I personally think most of these are slightly unfounded because they are tracking only to tailor advertising towards our preferences. That doesn’t mean I like this invasion of privacy, but it might just be part of the package of all of this technology. So you can either go along for the ride which may lead to our inevitable downfall, or live like the Amish.

However, what is odd is the logo for Apple with the bit apple, which is a reference to the godfather of computers, Alan Turing who ate an apple filled with cyanide, after being ‘bullied’ and harassed for being homosexual. Don’t you find that a bit odd and morbid??…

Jon Snow goes to war

robertngo — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 22:20:37 +0800

[YOUTUBE]e3e2nNNJ7-4[/YOUTUBE]

Poles #EatApples to annoy Putin

robertngo — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 22:13:03 +0800

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-28590589

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. And over the past day there's been a surge of people eating apples in Poland - but not for medical reasons. Poles have been posting images of apples on social media of as a way of protesting against Russia.

On Wednesday, Russia announced a ban on some fruit and vegetable imports - including apples - from Poland "for sanitary reasons". Polish food producers say the ban is politically motivated as a response to EU sanctions, a claim Russia denies. In response, Poles have been showing their support for local farmers by campaigning on social media. It started on Twitter when the journalist Grzegorz Nawacki shared an image of himself eating an apple and used the hashtag #jedzjabłka, which means "eat apples".

"It's the most hurtful thing that could happen to Polish farmers. Over half of apples produced in Poland annually are exported to Russia." says Nawacki. "I thought the best way to help them would be to start eating more apples and drinking more cider. That way some of the apples will get consumed and people will show solidarity with farmers." The hashtags #jedzjabłka and #EatApples began trending on Twitter and within hours the humble Polish apple had become an internet meme. A Facebook page called Eat Apples to Annoy Putin is gathering some of the most popular parody pictures and has so far been liked almost 17,000 times.

The campaign has made national news headlines in Poland and the country's agriculture minister is among a number of politicians who've joined the campaign. One of the country's largest supermarket chains, POLOmarket, has also been actively endorsing the hashtag on its Facebook and Twitter pages. A special promotion on its website says, "POLOmarket joins the nationwide #jedzjabłka campaign to popularise the consumption of this great national fruit" and it features recipes where apples are a key ingredient. "I didn't expect it to become so big," Nawacki told BBC Trending. "Perhaps consumers realise they can shape and influence the reality."

Anger is growing in Europe over Russia's alleged relationship with Ukrainian rebels. The latest round of EU sanctions on Russia have been described as the toughest since the Cold War. Polish food producers have interpreted Russia's measures on Polish exports as the Kremlin hitting back. There are also reports that Russia may extend restrictions on food imports to the rest of the EU.

Woman call polis to complaint about meth quality

robertngo — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 21:41:58 +0800

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...ystal-meth.html

An Oklahoma woman is regretting her decision to exercise her rights as a consumer.

Lynette Rae Sampson was unhappy about the quality of the methamphetamine she had bought and called the police to complain.

It was a scene that could almost have come from Breaking Bad, the award-winning television series in which Walter White, a chemistry teacher, makes a fortune in producing the purest version of the drug.

The “ice” she said had been laced and was not up to the standard she expected.

According to a police affidavit an officer, Aaron Barber was sent to Ms Sampon’s home and was warmly greeted.

“I’m glad you came,” she is said to have told the officer before showing him a tin container on the kitchen counter.

The woman was arrested following a field test of the substance.

She now faces up to 10 years in jail for possession of the methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

“Once you think you’ve seen it all, something new will surprise you,” said Captain Jack Morris of Enid Police.

“It’s sad people who utilise these drugs don’t realise how it affects them, and what they can do to you.”

Bin Ladens buy legendary Carrara marble quarries

robertngo — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 21:19:07 +0800

http://www.scotsman.com/news/world/bin-lad...rries-1-3495763

CENTURIES after becoming the favourite white stone of Roman emperors and sculptors down the ages – including Michelangelo and later Antonio Canova – the marble from Tuscany’s fabled Carrara quarries has become an investment target for the Saudi family of Osama Bin Laden.

This week, the Binladin construction group became the largest shareholder in an Italian firm quarrying Carrara’s precious marble, used by Michelangelo to sculpt his David and by Canova for his Three Graces.

The group is already a big fan of the marble, buying €40 million worth last year, about 20 per cent of the quarries’ output, said Antonio Menchini, a lawyer who represented the group during the purchase.

Osama Bin Laden was one of 53 children of Mohammed Bin Laden, the founder of the Saudi Binladin Group – one of Saudi Arabia’s largest companies.

In 1994 the family disowned Osama, seven years before he organised the 9/11 attacks in the US. In 2011 he was killed by US special forces in Pakistan. Today the group’s chairman is Bakr Bin Laden, a half-brother of Osama.

A €45m (£36m) deal to invest in Tuscan marble was sealed this week when a subsidiary of the Bin Laden empire took a 50 per cent stake in Marmi Carrara, buying out four local families.

Marmi Carrara in turn holds a 50 per cent of four quarrying firms which hold the right to quarry one third of the marble, about 400,000 tonnes annually.

Carrara marble was used by the Romans to build the Pantheon and Trajan’s Column. It was used at the turn of the 19th century by Canova to sculpt his Three Graces, a version of which is now owned jointly by the National Galleries of Scotland and the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the statue of Robert Burns in Dumfries, carved in Carrara by Italian sculptors and unveiled in 1882.

Today the marble is more prized than ever among wealthy customers in emerging economies such as China and India, while rapper Kanye West reportedly ordered a table built from the marble with his guests’ names inlaid in gold for his Florence wedding this year.

Giulio Andreani, a lawyer for the Tuscan vendors, said prices of the marble had risen by 30 per cent in five years, reaching €3,000 a tonne.

The new deal, struck this week, valued the four quarrying firms at €180m, up from just €27m in 1999, said Mr Andreani.

The deal adds to the 26 marble quarries the Bin Laden family already controls worldwide.

But Mr Andreani shrugged off concerns that a marble associated with religious art would now be controlled by a Muslim group.

“This marble must be used for beautiful things, it doesn’t matter if they are Catholic or Muslim,” he said.

“Politicians were worried about losing control of the marble, but the producers already know the group and everyone is fine now,” he added.

“It is important to have people who invest and who know how to run the business. Race and religion don’t count.”

Mr Menchini said the Bin ladin Group had plans to start working the marble in Carrara instead of just quarrying it. “They may have been seen at the start as just taking away the marble, but the group has a real desire to increase work here,” he said. “There have been no obstacles because the group is linked to the Bin Laden family, but is nothing to do with Osama Bin Laden.”

Mourinha laughing all the way to the bank

robertngo — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 16:15:47 +0800

Seinfeld may cost Netflix $350 mil a year

robertngo — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 16:09:39 +0800

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/07/30/se..._n_5635532.html

"The show is about nothing," said George.
"Well, it's not about nothing," said Jerry.
"No, it's about nothing," replied George.
"Well, maybe in philosophy," said Jerry. "But even nothing is something."

This now-infamous scripted conversation from "Seinfeld" — a self-professed show about nothing — is now truer than ever. All nine seasons and 180 episodes of "nothing" could be worth a whole lot of extra "something" if Jerry Seinfeld's eponymous series ever makes its way to Netflix.

The New York Post reports licensing "Seinfeld" for Netflix, a subscription-based, on-demand Internet streaming platform, could cost the entertainment provider up to $350 million per year, according to Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities.

But, the series sure is "sponge-worthy."

“There are only a handful of what we tend to refer to as A-level sitcoms in our business,” syndication television consultant Chuck Larsen said, to Bloomberg Businessweek. “Seinfeld is certainly one of them."

Since going off the air in 1998, "Seinfeld" has netted over $2.7 billion in syndication revenue, DVD sales and more, as per a 2007 Time Warner news release. In 2013, New York Magazine estimated the show's syndication worth had a value of $3.1 billion.

Seinfeld himself initiated speculation about a Netflix deal, with an answer he gave in a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" earlier this week while promoting his web series, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee."

Answering a fan's query about whether "Seinfeld" would ever be available on Netflix, the 60-year-old actor wrote: "You are a very smart and progressive person. These conversations are presently taking place."

There's little doubt Netflix could afford this purchase. The service boasts 50 million subscribers worldwide, including 36.2 million in the U.S.. With a projected 3.7 million more users coming next quarter, its tally continues to grow. This year, Netflix's original programming ("House of Cards," "Orange is the New Black") earned 31 primetime Emmy nominations — one more honour than the FOX network.

No official confirmation of negotiations has been released by either party. Lucrative in syndication and viewership, the show's series finale was watched by more than 76 million people in 1998, and yada yada yada, its acquisition could only be Netflix's gain —especially if it comes to Canadian Netflix.

Terrible news for Palestinian as ISIS pledge help

robertngo — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 09:45:41 +0800

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/gaza-crisis-isis-...ic-jews-1459190

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) has told the Palestinian people that it is "only a matter of time" before they reach Palestine to join the fight against "barbaric Jews".

The Islamic militant group, who last month announced a "Caliphate" straddling the Iraqi-Syrian border and renamed themselves the Islamic State, released the provocative statement on an Isis-affiliated Twitter account.

"It is only matter of time and patience before it [Islamic State] reaches Palestine to fight the barbaric Jews and kill those of them hiding behind the gharqad trees - the trees of the Jews," the statement read.

The group said it would do "everything within its means" to continue the fight against any obstacle on the way to "Palestine", alluding to the Middle Eastern territory before the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

"As for the massacres taking place in Gaza against the Muslim men, women and children, then the Islamic State will do everything within its means to continue striking down every apostate who stands as an obstacle on its paths towards Palestine," the group said.

The group and its "Caliph", Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, have faced criticism from some quarters for not coming to the aid of Palestinian civilians being killed in the Israeli Defense Forces' Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.

The comments issued was not to be taken lightly as the group do not offer "empty" words like other Arab nations who speak and do not act, the statement said.

"It is not the manner of the Islamic State to throw empty, dry and hypocritical words of condemnation and condolences like the Arab tawaghit do in the UN and Arab League."

The group stormed across Iraq, capturing key Sunni cities such as Mosul and forcing more than a million people to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.

The UN claims 225,178 Palestinians are now taking refuge in 86 shelters while the Gaza health ministry said 1,364 Palestinians have been killed, 315 of those children.

The Israeli military has confirmed the deaths of 56 soldiers while two Israeli civilians and one Thai national have also been killed in the conflict.

The Peninsula Paris hotel open today

robertngo — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 09:19:06 +0800

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-27...restaurant.html

After four years of refurbishment work costing 430 million euros ($575.67 million dollars), the Peninsula Paris hotel opens its doors on Friday, promising prince-like treatment to well-heeled visitors to the French capital.

It is part of a battle to attract Asia's new class of super-rich that not only pits the world's top hotel groups against each other but also cities such as Paris, New York and London.

For the Peninsula team, it is a long-term investment, piggybacking on Paris's efforts to woo the Chinese in particular over the past decade - yet it comes as the luxury industry in France is feeling the pinch from a drop in traffic from Russian, Indonesian and Japanese tourists.

Even spending by the Chinese, the world's No. 1 shoppers, only rose 14 percent in France in the first six months of the year, after rising by more than 20 percent and higher in the past few years, according to VAT-refund company Global Blue.

Such projects are important for the government too.

France is seeking to exploit its position as the world's most visited country to boost the trade balance and stimulate the euro zone's flatlining second economy by convincing tourists to spend more.

Located in a 1908 building a stone's throw from the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees, the hotel will offer rooms starting at just over 1,000 euros a night and rising to 25,000 euros for a penthouse suite with its own roof-top garden.