Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Happy New Year 2010 Mienfokers 2 !

AWESOME NEW YEAR PHOTOS FROM AROUND THE WORLD !!!
clicking on the photos will embiggen them to ginormous size(many pixels for you)




























THE NILES LESH PROJECT - All Rights Reserved 2009
Join the network of NILES LESH / MIENFOKS pseudo-friends !

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Knee jerks

By Carl

Well, it turns out that, in addition to jeopardizing our fighting men and women by playing loose and fast with torture rules, Dick Cheney put innocent American civilians at risk as well.

As part of the recent trial of
three would-be bombers held in England (convicted on all counts, no thanks to Dick Cheney), it was revealed that the Bush administration, at the direction of Dick Cheney's need to glorify his ego, nearly let the bombers off the hook:

Dick Cheney, the former US Vice President, nearly destroyed Britain's efforts to bring the airline bomb plotters to justice, police and intelligence experts said today.

By ordering the early arrest of Rashid Rauf, the bombers' link man in Pakistan, Washington forced British police to detain the suspects in the UK before all the evidence had been gathered, it was claimed.

Yesterday three British Muslims - Abdulla Ahmed Ali, Tanvir Hussain and Assad Sarwar - were finally convicted of plotting to blow up seven transatlantic airliners in mid-air in a co-ordinated attack intended to surpass the horror of 9/11. But the plotters were arrested before they had bought the airline tickets that would have been the ultimate proof of their intentions. Police fear that several key figures of the plot have remained free.

Andy Hayman, who was the Metropolitan Police's Assistant Commissioner Specialist Operations at the time of the plot, said he believed that the White House had grown jittery as the British updated them of the mounting evidence of a plot targeted at American cities.

Brave Sir Rob-- I mean, Dick Cheney! Not wanting to see American cities attacked once more on his watch, he decided to arrest one of the linchpins of the attacks, thus blowing the cover of an in-depth undercover investigation.

The anti-terror chief of Scotland Yard all but
calls Cheney a coward in an op-ed piece in today's London Times:

Fearful for the safety of American lives, the US authorities had been getting edgy, seeking reassurance that this was not going to slip through our hands. We moved from having congenial conversations to eyeball-to-eyeball confrontations.
We thought we had managed to persuade them to hold back so we could develop new opportunities and get more evidence to present to the courts. But I was never convinced that they were content with that position.
In the end, I strongly suspect that they lost their nerve and had a hand in triggering the arrest in Pakistan.

(emphasis added) As it was, it took two trials and one acquittal as well as one plotter receiving a reduced conviction and a "controlled release" (meaning he's under British surveillance constantly) before anyone was convicted of actually trying to bring down a plane headed for either Chicago, Toronto, New York, Washington, San Francisco, or Montreal.

Seven transatlantic airliners were targeted, according to Hayman. That calculates to something on the order of 3,500 people or more, exceeding the death toll on September 11, as well as the 7/7 bombings in London's Underground and buses.

You may remember the original alert...I sure do...because this was the plot that forced us starting in August 2006 to carry less than 3 oz of any liquid on board a plane, in a one-quart sealed bag.

Al Qaeda seems determined to use our airlines as weapons in their jihad. Of course, neither Cheney nor Bush will admit their fear created a dangerous situation.

But we will, and we will remember.


(crossposted to
Simply Left Behind)

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

McDonald's Interactive Piccadilly Sign ?

Well, this is both neat and sad, but I love clever advertising regardless of the product or the manufacturer !

THE NILES LESH PROJECT - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2009

Sunday, September 14, 2008

London Tries to Bite New York's Style ?


from the NY TIMES

First of all, its subway system, officially called the Underground but known as the Tube, as extensive and rivalry-worthy as it may be to New York City’s, shuts down at night (except for New Year’s and other special occasions). The trains generally stop running at 1:30 a.m. and start up at 4:30 a.m. (It has to do with maintenance.)

Next, London does not have late-night movies. Most of its “last showings” start at 9 p.m., or even 8. In Times Square alone this weekend, more than a dozen movies can be seen after midnight, including “Hamlet 2” and “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.”

New York has a 24-hour Apple Store. London’s Apple Stores close between 6 and 9 p.m.

Moreover, until 2005 London’s pubs closed at 11 p.m., when the party at many a New York bar is just getting started. The 11 p.m. closing, which was set by laws put into place during World War I, was loosened by ministers who hoped to end the nightly scramble to down as many drinks as possible before last call. The race at closing was thought to contribute to a binge-drinking culture, in contrast to that of neighboring countries like France or Spain, where alcohol is consumed in more moderation.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

THE DECAPITATOR STRIKES LONDON






An anonymous graffiti artist has been attacking London advertisements, with a signature graffiti style.
He or she has been gorily removing heads from well known advertisements such as this year’s blockbuster movie “Sex and the City” the movie.

Kissing couples, beautiful models and aspiring celebs have all come under ‘the East London decapitator’s’ knife; their beautiful heads replaced by bony, blood drenched stumps. His artworks are defined by the media as culture jamming or sub-vertising, which Wikipedia describes as, ‘the practice of making spoofs or parodies of corporate and political advertisements in order to make a statement,” thus their appearance has been predominantly on fashion and film posters such as the recently tagged Uniqlo t-shirt campaign.

Many believe that the works are a ‘head’ start on tackling the visual bombardment of adverts that Londoners recieve each day, Cities such as Sao Paolo, Brazil have already completely banned billboards in a campaign for a ‘New Clean City’ as a reaction against what many saw as outdoor advertising going too far.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

HOW TO GET BELGIANS TO COME TO LONDON


An advert depicting a tattooed skinhead urinating into a china teacup is being used to promote tourism to London.

The image is part of a new Eurostar campaign aimed solely at the Belgian market.

Posters have gone up on billboards in Antwerp, Brussels, Liege and Ghent to promote the new high-speed train connection to the English capital.

The company says the advert is great for British tourism.

"It's fun, it's supposed to show how cosmopolitan London is. Yes, I really think it says London is cosmopolitan," insisted a spokeswoman for Eurostar.

Lesley Retallack added: "You could walk down Camden market and you can see someone like that.

"It just captures your imagination, stops you, makes you think. People get it."
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The campaign, created by a Belgian ad agency, also features John Cleese and his Ministry of Silly Walks along with Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher and John Major apparently bursting Union Flag balloons.

Miss Retallack explained: "The whole idea is that London is just around the corner. Belgians absolutely love the British and follow them closely.

"The adverts are meant to show how cutting edge London is, the amazing mix.

"It's all meant to be very humourous, very funny and to get across the message that London is just around the corner."

She went on: "We wouldn't do something if it meant people were put off coming to London and they have been enormously effective."
Since the posters went up on November 14 only one member of the public has complained, said Ms Retallack.
Elliott Frisby of the British Tourist Authority, told Sky News: "Belgians think of themselves as closer to us than to France. They expect us to be quirky."
He said the adverts work well in Belgium and believes they are advertising Eurostar rather than Britain itself.
"We do not think the images are derogatory or give off the wrong message about the destination," he said.
"It is not what we would do but Eurostar is a commercial organisation."

The adverts have already prompted some Sky News Online viewers to react angrily.

Stressing that the campaign was intended to promote only London, Ms Retallack said: "Obviously a few British people may see it in the papers now but it's meant to appeal to the Belgian people."
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Friday, November 9, 2007

DAVE CHAPPELLE LIVE @KOJOS IN LONDON !

DAVE STILL HAS THE CHOPS FOR A SMALL CLUB !

"I USED TO BE RICH B*TCH, NOW I'M PLAYING IN A BASEMENT IN LONDON"

Thursday, June 7, 2007

The case for an Islamic London

By Michael J.W. Stickings

You want crazy? Here's crazy:

London's Time Out magazine has published a provocative article "argu[ing] that an Islamic London would be a better place" than, one presumes, the London of today. After quickly dispensing with "a hysterical, right-wing nightmare of a future Muslim London: where an cruel alien creed is forced on a liberal city," the article proceeds to explain that London is already heavily Islamic and why, issue by issue, Islam -- essentially Islamic theocracy -- would be so good for the city. Whether it's public health or social justice, race relations or the environment, education or the arts, all is right, Time Out declares, with Islam.

As McQ points out at QandO, this is quite likely an incredible parody. If so, forget crazy. This is brilliant, not least because one cannot help but read it without thinking of Islam's darker and often more prominent side. (You don't have to be some right-wing nut to worry about Islamic "justice".) The article makes such a strong and exaggerated case for Islam that it's obviously a big joke, and it compels us to think about Islam more seriously precisely by testing our sensibilities with such an extreme case. For non-Muslims who know London, and perhaps even for those who don't, the utopia presented here is a nightmare wrapped up in a pretty package. That's why it works. "The lady doth protest too much, methinks," as Gertrude puts it.

This is not to say, of course, that I find Islam to be a repugnant faith. It can be quite beautiful, whatever its problems, and there are more than a few. But let's say that Time Out had published an article arguing for an Evangelical Christian London. It should be obvious that such a utopian scheme could also be presented in a pretty package. But would that be any better? Or, rather -- as I prefer not to get into ranking organized religions -- would that be desirable? No more than the Islamic utopia, I would say, a utopia in which all darkness has been expunged.

As one who loves London a great deal and who has spent a lot of time there, what I prefer -- and what I suspect Time Out and its provocative parodists prefer -- is not an Islamic London or an Evangelical Christian London but a secular, liberal democratic London that is vibrant, dynamic, and open -- yes, very much the London of today. (Just like I prefer a secular, liberal democratic Toronto, my current home.) Warts and all, it is a great city, and this article reminds of that, and compels us to think about why, without saying anything about it at all, and in fact by compelling us to confront a radical alternative that is more nightmare than dream.

**********

I reserve the right to take all this back if Time Out has gone insane and was being serious.