What should we expect from the Rugby Championship?

The News at Ben

With the Rugby World Cup just around the corner, the All Blacks, Wallabies, Springboks and Pumas finalise their preparations at the Rugby Championship. 

1) Could one of the RWC’s finalists be playing? Well, as per the stats, the answer is yes. Out of the last seven World Cups, Southern Hemisphere teams have won six of them.

2) Is this the best thing to be doing with the RWC just around the corner? Well, there is no doubt that actually playing competitive matches against some of the best teams in the world is a fantastic way to prepare for the tournament. However, South Africa are already missing a number of their first team players, such as Duane Vermeulen. Can any of the teams really risk injuries to their key players?

3) Can any team topple the almighty All Blacks? They have been beaten on the occasion but they hold 13 southern hemisphere…

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Premier League Preseason Team Grades: Arsenal

Go Arsenal, go gunners !!!

AS Roma defeats Real Madrid on penalties

Friendly game between Real Madrid CF and AS Roma in Melbourne Cricket Ground. : 0-0 full time and 7-6 on penalties.

The 90 Minute Analysis

Italian heavyweights AS Roma have defeated Real Madrid 7-6 on penalties in the opening game of the International Champions Cup (ICC) after the game finished 0-0 in normal time.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JULY 18: Players from AS Roma celebrate after defeating Real Madrid in a penalty shootout during the International Champions Cup friendly match between Real Madrid and AS Roma at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 18, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Roma’s Seydou Keita scored the decisive seventh penalty after Madrid youngster Lucas Vazquez’s penalty was saved by goalkeeper Morgan de Sanctis.

A huge crowd of 80,746 fans turned up to the MCG on Saturday night to watch the two European giants and the fans were treated to a strong starting line up from both teams with Real Madrid featuring the likes of Christiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, while AS Roma showcased club legend…

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R.I.P Jules Bianchi

Rest in peace Jules Bianchi, you will be missed but never forgotten. Only 25 years old. Too young to die.

Wake Up Your Luck

Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He who can call today his own;
He who, secure within, can say,
Tomorrow, do thy worst, for I have lived today.

John Dryden, translating Horace, Odes, Book III, Ode 29

Last night, Jules Bianchi died after nine months in a coma. You might have heard of him for the first time today, through the news stories about him. Perhaps you haven’t heard of him at all. Yet Jules Bianchi was one of the best drivers in the world – a racer in Formula 1. He never woke up from the coma he fell into last October, following a horrific crash in a Grand Prix. He was the first driver to die racing in Formula 1 since arguably the best of all time, Ayrton Senna, back in 1994. Jules was 25 years old.

Formula 1 is a dangerous sport. The speeds, the reliance…

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Nuclear Deal Won’t Change Policy Toward ‘Arrogant’ U.S.

Crews recover bodies from 2 Washington state plane crashes

Seven companies admit making illegal donations to ex-MP Penashue

Global News

OTTAWA – Seven companies have acknowledged giving illegal donations to former federal cabinet minister Peter Penashue during the 2011 election campaign.

Executives with the seven have struck « compliance agreements » with the commissioner of elections, in which they publicly acknowledge having made illegal contributions and promise to abide by the ban on corporate donations in future.

The admission of responsibility does not constitute a criminal conviction by a court of law and does not create a criminal record.

READ MORE: Conservative minister Peter Penashue resigns over 2011 election donations

Penashue, elected as the Conservative MP for Labrador, resigned in 2013 amid allegations that his 2011 campaign had accepted illegal corporate donations and discounted airfares.

He put his reputation to the test in a byelection but was defeated.

Reg Bowers, Penashue’s official agent in the 2011 campaign, has since been charged with three counts of accepting illegal corporate contributions, an offence under…

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Queen’s Nazi salute footage is matter of historical significance, says Sun

Stop Making Sense

Jamie Grierson reports for The Guardian:

‘The managing editor of the Sun has defended his newspaper’s decision to release leaked footage, apparently shot in 1933 or 1934, showing the Queen perform a Nazi salute as a matter of “historical significance”.

The black-and-white footage shows the Queen, then aged six or seven, and her sister Margaret, around three, joining the Queen Mother and her uncle, Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, in raising an arm in the signature style of the German fascists.

Edward, who later became King Edward VIII and abdicated to marry the American socialite Wallis Simpson, faced numerous accusations of being a Nazi sympathiser. The couple were photographed meeting Hitler in Munich in October 1937, less than two years before the second world war broke out.’

READ MORE…

• The Sun Says: The images we had to publish
• Palace criticises Sun over film of Queen giving Nazi salute as…

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Montreux Jazz Festival 2015: Where the Magic Happens

bohemianstella

I am a big fan of Montreux. If you are in Switzerland during summertime you absolutely can’t miss this place. It’s the riviera of our little country, where the lake gets a deep turquoise colour and you feel vacation vibes from everywhere. And you can’t obviously miss the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival!

I came here for the very first time back in 2009. I travelled pretty rarely to the French part of Switzerland, since my French is quite bad and I wasn’t feeling, uhm, let’s say not very comfortable with that. Well, this changed when I was strolling along the lakeside and feeling the vibe that the Montreux Jazz Festival gives, year after year. It’s amazing how this event attracts such an international crowd every year and how majestic it is. Come on: the huge lake, the imperial Montreux Palace, the funky restaurants – you HAVE to love this!

The…

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Empire State Building Turns Green For Muslim Holiday

Jasper and Sardine

New York’s Empire State Building was lit in green late Friday to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.

The green light will shine until the famous skyscraper closes to the public at 2:00 am (0600 GMT), when the building traditionally turns out its lights.

The skyscraper has carried out the tradition “for several years now — it is an annual lighting,” a building spokeswoman told AFP.

The Empire State Building famously shines specific colors for a number of religious holidays — pastel shades for Easter, blue and white for Hanukkah, and red and green for Christmas.

It also has marked a number of events — red, white and blue for the US women’s World Cup victory, rainbow colors for gay Pride Week, and blue, white and purple for World Oceans Day on June 8.

The tower is otherwise illuminated in white each night.

The privately-owned…

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Attorney for Germanwings victims says compensation too low

Global News

BERLIN — A German attorney representing some 30 families of victims of the March Germanwings plane crash says his clients are rejecting the airline’s initial compensation offer as far too low.

In an email, lawyer Elmar Giemulla said Saturday he had written Lufthansa, Germanwings’ parent company, to say their offer of 25,000 euros ($27,200) compensation for each victim covered by German law and payments of 10,000 euros ($10,830) each to victims’ immediate relatives « must be significantly raised. »

READ MORE: Germanwings co-pilot’s estate declared bankrupt after no heirs come forward

He’s asking Lufthansa for a « lower six-figure sum » in each category and for the airline to broaden how it defines « immediate relative. »

Prosecutors believe co-pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally crashed the Airbus A320 into a French mountain on March 24, killing all 150 people on board the flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf.

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Take Her Look [For Less]

Take Her Lead

Apparently, the cure for the Monday blues is whiskey — on Monday, July 13, the product launch of Bonnie Rose White Whiskey took place in Nashville, Tennessee, attracting a crop of celebrities to launch party. And not only was the launch filled with alcohol and A-listers, it was also filled with tremendous fashion.

Among those in attendance was actress Nikki Reed, who graced the launch in a Sachin & Babi mesh paneled dress and white pointy-toe pumps.

Photo credit Getty, found on Cosmopolitan.com. Nikki Reed at the Bonnie Rose White Whiskey launch.

Reed’s gorgeous mesh frock, the Convergence dress from Sachin & Babi, is currently sold out on the Sachin & Babi website, but originally sold for $395. However, if you are in the market for a mesh paneled dress like Reed’s look, THL found three great dresses to recreate her look for a fraction of the cost…

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Nikki Reed Set As Regular For SLEEPY HOLLOW Season 3

Nikki Reed Joins The Cast Of “Sleepy Hollow” « Chicago’s B96 – 96.3 FM

Nikki Reed Joins The Cast Of “Sleepy Hollow” « Chicago’s B96 – 96.3 FM.

Peter Krause Is Coming to Shondaland as the Male Lead of ‘Catch’

U.S. officials flex their power over Ukrainian parliament

Aletho News

Nuland and Pyatt, lords of the Verkhovna Rada

By Dmitry Rodonov | SVPressa | July 17, 2015

(Excerpts)

Yesterday the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, introduced to the parliament constitutional amendments on the special status of Donbass. …

The amendments were introduced during the visit to Ukraine by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland, who along with U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt was present of the floor of the Verkhovna Rada.

Nuland said that the constitutional amendments made by Kiev suggest that Ukraine has fulfilled its obligations under the Minsk Agreement.

According to her, at a meeting with President Petro Poroshenko, they discussed the importance of Ukraine’s compliance with its obligations under the Minsk Agreement. She paid particular attention to the need for legislative recognition of the special status of Donbass. In her opinion, this is necessary for the restoration of peace and territorial integrity…

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UK to help Ukraine counter Russian propaganda

To Inform is to Influence

Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukrainian Prime Minister. (UNIAN Photo)

Ukrainian PM says Russian ‘Goebbels-style propaganda’ raises concern of ‘entire civilized world’

UNIAN: Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says he has reached an agreement during his working visit to the United Kingdom on bilateral cooperation in countering Russian propaganda, according to the Information and Communication Department of the Ukrainian Cabinet’s Secretariat.

« Apart from an offensive against Ukraine, there is another attack and another weaponry used – information. Goebbels-style propaganda is now being disseminated by the Russian Federation around the world, » Yatsenyuk said.

He also stressed that the problem of the hybrid war waged by Russia raises« concern of the European Union and the entire civilized world. »

« We are changing the system of communication, both in Ukraine and abroad, together with our British partners. Countering Russia’s information aggression is what we’re going to do with our British partners. We must spread…

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Saudi Arabia says it broke up planned ISIL strike and has arrested more than 400 suspects

19 Boko Haram militants killed in Chad

365crimetracker

N’DJAMENA, (Reuters) – At least 19 Boko Haram fighters and two Chadian soldiers were killed in combat on Friday after the insurgents attacked a Chadian village on the banks of Lake Chad, a military source said.

“The Islamists fighters attacked early this morning and we returned fire and they were forced to flee back into Nigeria,” the source told Reuters by telephone from Komguia, where the fighting took place.

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Iraq conflict leaves nearly 15,000 civilians dead over last 16 months

Isis truck bomb kills 115 people in Iraq market during Eid celebrations

Turkish PM promises to bring ‘Ottoman order, justice’

praying watchmen

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-pm-promises-to-bring-ottoman-order-justice.aspx?pageID=517&nID=85581&NewsCatID=338

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Untitled #12

marideetateyama

Untitled #12 by mtate001 featuring pendants & necklaces

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Get Her Look;; Courtney Kerr

Very nice

Danielle Mone Knight

If you’re reading this then I know you’re a fashion girl which means you HAVE to know who Courtney Kerr is! The corporate girl who quit her job to become a blogger, this woman is definitely a blogger to watch.  With many collaborations under her belt and a super cute style you know I HAD TO do a Courtney Kerr Get Her Look!!

The look I chose to recreate is the one below!

Some minor modifications were made but overall we are loving this look

Get Her Look Courtney Kerr by daniellemonee featuring a collar necklace

Uniqlo white tee, $15 / Jane Norman stripe jacket, $54 / River Island destroyed jean shorts / Christian Louboutin black high heel shoes / Kenzo cross body / Charlotte Russe collar necklace / Ray-Ban mirror sunglasses

Are we loving this look?!?

Tell me about your thoughts

XOXO

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Look for Less:Olivia Palermo

The fun of fashion

Look for Less:Olivia Palermo by monicalovespizza featuring a pocket jacket

Gray jumper
choies.com

Topshop pocket jacket
nordstrom.com

Gray pleated skirt
lucluc.com

Jessica Simpson cut out sandals
nordstrom.com

Yeswalker grey clutch
yesstyle.com

UNIQLO Boys Soft Touch Crewneck Long Sleeve T-Shirt
uniqlo.com

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A sex tape apparently shot in a Uniqlo fitting room has Chinese authorities in a tizzy

Judge rules California cab companies can sue Uber over ads

July 17th – 19th Update

theweatherzone

Be on the lookout for a few more clouds to stream into the region this evening, as low temperatures drop down into the upper 60s to mid 70s. While definitely not a widespread event, also don’t be surprised to see a stray rain shower or thunderstorm this evening as well.

An area of high pressure will dominate the region over the next couple of days, leading to some very warm temperatures during the daytime hours. Highs for our Saturday will soar upwards into the upper 80s to mid 90s by the end of the day. If you must be outdoors, please be sure to drink plenty of water and take numerous breaks indoors to beat the heat. A few pop-up showers and storms due to general daytime heating will also be a possibility, so keep that umbrella or rain jacket nearby just to be on the safe side. Low temperatures…

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Weekend Forecast: Will Marvel Box Office Shrink with « Ant-Man » this Weekend?

Bombs and Blockbusters

After several years of fairly consistent $80M+ debuts, the Marvel universe is set to come back down to earth this weekend with a noticeably lower debut for this weekends Ant-Man, which is set to open with around $50M-$60M this weekend.

So will Ant-Man « bomb » this weekend like so many doomsayers of the box office are already questioning? No, it won’t. It has a budget of just $130M (the lowest yet for the MCU) and the brand is strong enough that even just appealing to the fans pretty much guarantees $50M at the minimum. While some cite the surprise success of last years Guardians of the Galaxy  as an example of how Ant-Man could do, there’s a few reasons why it will likely fail to hit that level. For one, Guardians came out towards the end of a much quieter summer, and had marketing that sold it as a funny, exciting…

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60% Reduction in Solar Activity Means a 5C Drop by 2030 | Mini Ice Age 2015-2035

Forsooth's Weblog

This video is definitely worth watching.

“When the temperature drops like this, it has taken down dynasties, kingdoms, fiefdoms.” – David DuByne

“A majority of our wheat-growing productivity, corn and soy beans, is going to be affected in these areas,” says DuByne.

DuByne includes a chart showing temperature patterns during a Little Ice Age so you can see which areas are likely to get cooler.
Original source Ice Age Now

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