Alibaba Posts Strong Earnings in First Report Since I.P.O.

HONG KONG — Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce behemoth, reported on Tuesday a jump in profit in its first earnings announcement since its initial public offering in September.

Shrugging off a slowdown in the Chinese economy, Alibaba’s profit grew 16 percent from the same period a year earlier as the company’s sites benefited from the growing number of Chinese turning to the Internet to shop.

Shares in the company, China’s largest e-commerce retailer by transactions, have risen about 50 percent since it raised nearly $21.8 billion in the highly anticipated initial stock sale.

In a sign of the growing power of Chinese Internet companies, the listing surpassed the offering of Facebook, the American social media giant. Now with a market value of almost $250 billion, Alibaba is worth more than Facebook.

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Did Israel Just Start World War III?

23 Jun, 2014 by

israel attacks syria

Doug Hagmann and I have been very consistent in stating that World War III would begin in Syria. Further, my military sources have been telling me for 15 months that war in the Middle East, and possibly World War III, will commence in Syria for a variety of reasons. The world is beginning to witness the unfolding of this prediction. Historians may look back upon Israel’s recent attack upon nine military targets inside of Syria as the Archduke moment for World War III.

A Convenient Provocation

A total of nine Syrian military targets have been hit by Israeli jets and guided missiles, according to IDF officials. The IDF claims they were a part of a clear message being delivered to the Syrians in response to a series of cross-border shootings to protect the citizens of Israel. As many as 10 Syrian soldiers have been killed, but that is not the real story. The attacks, on the surface appear to be a retaliation to the threats posed by Syria against Israeli citizens, most notably, the killing of anIsraeli teen, Mohammed Karaka.

On the surface, the attacks appear to be measured and completely justified. However, when one examines the nature of the attacks, a very ominous picture begins to emerge. The bulk of the attacks were directed against targets on the Golan Heights. This is highly significant because any conventional military force incursion into Syria would have to be precipitated by eliminating the threat to Israel posed by forces on the Golan Heights.

As tragic as the killing of the Israeli teen, Mohammed Karaka is, his death is being exploited by Israel because the boy was an Arab who was also an Israeli citizen. To some degree, this gives Israel the moral high ground because Israel’s military actions are not just based upon retaliation for the killing of an Israeli teen, he is also an Arab. What a perfect poster child, pun intended, to justify Israel’s actions against Syria.

Israel is exploiting the situation for military gain and I am speaking directly about some of the military targets which were attacked by Israel that have nothing to do with retaliating against Syria for the death of the boy. Many of the targets included, anti-aircraft military installations. And what would be the one target that Israel would have to take out prior to having its tanks cross the board and attack Damascus?  Any prelude to invasion, whether it be by the U.S., NATO, Israel or ISIS, would consist of taking out the anti-aircraft capabilities of Syrian military bases.

In order to launch a successful invasion, either by proxy forces or through direct intervention, Israel would need to have an immediate and complete control of the skies. The “retaliation” for the death of the Israeli teen allowed Israel the pretext and ability to test the capabilities of the anti-aircraft facilities by striking at them under the guise of retaliating for the killing of a teen.

Why Syria?

It is no secret that Russia cannot match America/NATO airpower. Therefore, the Russians have built the best anti-aircraft facilities in the world and the Russian capabilities in this area are second to none. Since Russia is considered to be the architect of the Syrian military, it would make sense that Syria could be expected to have some of the same capabilities that Russia enjoys with regard to this type of defense. Therefore, it makes even more sense that Israel needs to test the Syrian defenses prior to attacking. Hence,  you have the real reason for yesterday’s attacks.

Israel wants to escalate the situation. They want the world to believe that it can expect Syria to have a provoking counter response. However, Assad is not ignorant enough to play into Israel’s hand and retaliate. Therefore, a reason must be invented and yes, I am speaking about a major false flag event which will be promoted by and carried out by the CIA and possibly the Mossad.

The ISIS Factor

ISIS will no doubt cross into Syria and its actions will lead to widespread destabilization of the Syrian government. The world would soon see a horrific carnage as ISIS’ actions in Iraq are merely the preliminary event.

Syria must be taken and fortified by the West. Holding Syria is the key to warding off a Russian invasion should the IDF and NATO invade Iran to stop its practice of selling its oil for gold to the BRICS.

If Syria is occupied, the United States will be able to employ airpower and utilize its small and medium missile batteries. These weapons would be able to repel a Russian counter-attack in Syria. With Russia being stopped at the gate, the door is open to invade Iran. Yet, another false flag will have to be unleashed to give the U.S. the justification to invade Iran.

In retaliation, Ukraine may be overrun by Russia, however, this might be an acceptable loss as the real threat to American hegemony and Western central banking dominance is more threatened by Iran’s rogue move of forsaking the dollar. The Petrodollar is gasping for breath and the U.S. must act now.

While appearing as a guest on my show on June 15, 2014, Doug Hagmann predicted that ISIS will not only consume Iraq but will blow by the border and go into Syria as well. Israeli air support would be needed to use these CIA funded proxy troops to stir up civil unrest, otherwise ISIS would be crushed by the Syrian military. This action against Syria will require either the Americans or the IDF to take out the Syrian command and control structures, such as its air defenses, thus leaving Damascus basically undefended. The CIA has attempted to destabilize Assad for three years by starting and supporting a bloody civil war. However, these actions have not resulted in the desired regime change. Therefore, intervention in Syria is being taken to a whole new level.

Conclusion

Israel’s controversial military actions were not motivated by the death of one teenager. The teen is the convenient excuse. Now that the IDF has its answers as to Syrian military air defenses, the path is paved for an invasion of Syria and the fall of Assad has begun. With regime change in sight, an occupied Syria will result as a new puppet Syrian regime will do exactly what they are told to do. The only remaining question is who will use nuclear weapons first. This will be the topic of a future article.

http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/06/23/did-israel-just-start-world-war-iii/

Bitcoins: What are they, and how do they work?

Bitcoin is one of the first attempts to create a real-world currency with no governments, no central banks, and no rules

It started, and ended, with a click. With one touch of a mouse, a hacker managed to transfer 25,000 credits of online currency – then worth almost $500,000 dollars – to his own account. The transfer is visible on a public register; the original owner has publicised his plight online, but to no avail – the money is gone.

This hack, which happened in June 2011, was the first major online heist for Bitcoins, one of the world’s newest currencies, and the subsequent panic left many casual users reeling.

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Munch’s ‘The Scream’ hits MOMA NYC

(CNN) — Art enthusiasts ranging from aficionados to the causal tourist queued up in New York on Wednesday to catch a glimpse of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” which went on display in Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art for a six-month exhibition.

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With Congress on break, SOPA fight continues

Members of Congress may be on vacation, but that hasn’t calmed critics who say an effort to stamp out online piracy would create an unprecedented threat to free speech on the Internet.

Far from fading from memory, the Stop Online Piracy Act (along with a related Senate bill) has become a rallying point for Web freedom advocates in a debate that has pitted Hollywood and other business interests against some of the biggest titans of the technology world.

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App Downloads Break The 1bn Download Barrier Over Christmas

More than 1 billion mobile apps have been downloaded in a week for the first time.

The gargantuan download marathon was noted in analysis by mobile research firm Flurry.

Flurry estimated that in the seven days after 25 December more than 20 million iOS and Android devices were activated, and 1.2 billion apps were downloaded.

The record-breaking haul was completed in the week when more mobile devices were activated than at any other time of the year – most thanks to gifts given over the holidays.

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Scott Thompson Named New Yahoo CEO

NEW YORK — Yahoo Inc. has named Scott Thompson, president of eBay Inc.’s PayPal division, as its new CEO, the fourth one in less than five years for the struggling Internet company.

Yahoo, which announced its choice Wednesday, has been without a permanent CEO since early September. It fired Carol

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OnPlug Eliminates Standby Power Drain

Call it standby power, phantom power or vampire power, but the current drawn by various household electrical devices when they are supposedly “off” can account for up to ten percent of a home’s energy use. Fortunately, there are gizmos availablethat act as “middle men” between wall outlets and devices, completely shutting off the power supply when the devices are not in use. One of the newest is the OnPlug, which manages to come in at quite a low price point by avoiding the bells and whistles of similar products.

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Stocks Extend Gains on Earnings, Merger News

‘The path of least resistance right now is up. … It’s momentum,’ says trader

NEW YORK — Several big acquisitions and a strong earnings report from Loews Corp. pushed stocks higher in afternoon trading Monday.

Pride International Inc. jumped 16 percent after Ensco PLC, a London-based oil rig operator, said it would buy the offshore driller for $7.3 billion.

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