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Richard Roman's Blog – December 2011 Archive (9)

Café de Paris in Rome to reopen, casting off mafia ties

The iconic Cafe de Paris in Rome – the inspiration behind Federico Fellini's classic La Dolce Vita – is set to reopen after it was discovered two years it had been used as a front for money-laundering by the notorious 'Ndrangheta mafia of Calabria.

It was a legendary emblem of the "Dolce Vita" high life of Rome in the 1960s, enticing stars such as Sophia Loren, Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra.…

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Added by Richard Roman on December 21, 2011 at 23:07 — No Comments

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il dies aged 69 after heart attack

Kim's death was announced on Monday by the state television from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008 but he had appeared relatively vigorous in photos and video from recent trips to China and Russia and in numerous trips around the country carefully documented by state media. The communist country's "Dear Leader" - reputed to have had a taste for cigars, cognac and gourmet cuisine -…

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Added by Richard Roman on December 19, 2011 at 12:44 — 28 Comments

A great European dies

Václav Havel, the dissident playwright who led the Czechoslovakian "velvet revolution" and was one of the fathers of the east European pro-democracy movement that led to the fall of the Berlin wall, has died aged 75.

To read more....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/18/vaclav-havel-dies

'''''and he was a writer! ... a man of dignity

Added by Richard Roman on December 19, 2011 at 0:26 — 1 Comment

Maharishi Jack is in Changchun!

Maharishi Jack is here in Changchun!

His many followers from around the world are bewitched by his down to earth stories, pithy humour which always contain the essence of a deeper more meaningful truth. Currently, only a few of his closest followers know of his existence here in Changchun but he will be revealing an important message for the sake of humanity soon.

Full details will be available when appropriate on Changchun Live - this is just to let everyone…

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Added by Richard Roman on December 14, 2011 at 21:02 — 7 Comments

The five worst Christmas songs of all time

1 - John Denver: Please Daddy (Don't Get Drunk This Christmas)

The Colorado Laureate sings the tale of a seven-year-old boy pleading with his father not to pass out under the Christmas Tree. Denver, famous for Annie's Song, recorded Please Daddy in 1975 on his album Rocky Mountain Christmas and it featrures the lyrics:

You came home at a quarter past…

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Added by Richard Roman on December 14, 2011 at 16:42 — 1 Comment

How the hell did they get up there and how will they get down?

Why don't they use dynamite? Labourers use excavators on top of a residential building being demolished in Yuhuan County of Taizhou City, Zhejiang province

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2071438/How-did-Excavators-dismantle-Chinese-highrise-down.html#ixzz1gOOS4p9U…

Why don't they use dynamite? Labourers use excavators on top of a residential building being demolished in Yuhuan County of Taizhou City, Zhejiang province

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Added by Richard Roman on December 13, 2011 at 14:11 — 9 Comments

American author David Guterson wins Literary Review's Bad Sex award for his novel Ed King

Guterson, the American novelist most famous for his best selling Snow Falling on Cedars, was given the accolade for his fifth book Ed King, a modern reworking of the Greek legend.

Judges were said to be impressed by his over-reliance on terms such as "family jewels", "back door" and "front parlour" during a sex scene between mother and son.

They said the terms made him the "clear winner".…

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Added by Richard Roman on December 7, 2011 at 18:41 — No Comments

Head, Heart or Guts?

There is a management and philosophical concept that these three things are part of our make-up

One view - that I agree with is that we are good in two areas but tend to be weak in the third.

Now - this is difficult but I would guess that I am a Head and Heart guy - but not so good on the Guts

Head - good at thinking, rationalising. reasoning etc

Heart - good at feeling, empathy, understanding

Guts - good at doing, making things happen, being…

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Added by Richard Roman on December 6, 2011 at 0:48 — 4 Comments

Coca-Cola Works With China Authorities to Investigate Poisoning

Just to let you all know.....

Coca-Cola Co. (KO), the world’s largest soft-drink maker, said it’s cooperating with Chinese authorities investigating the death of a child who China News Service said died after consuming a Minute Maid milk beverage.

The child and an adult in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun, became…

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Added by Richard Roman on December 1, 2011 at 21:45 — 7 Comments