YOU MUST KNOW: 5 Health Reasons To Eat More Onions

Onion is a member of the Allium family and is rich in sulfur containing compounds that are responsible for its pungent odor and for many of onion’s health promoting effects.

1. Cardiovascular benefits
There is evidence that sulfur compounds found in onion work in an anti clotting capacity and help prevent the unwanted clumping together of blood platelet cells. There is also evidence showing that onion’s sulfur compounds can lower blood levels of cholesterol and improve cell membrane function in red blood cells as well. The benefits of onion in the overall dietary context extend to prevention of heart attack.
2. Bone and connective tissue benefits
Human studies have shown that onion can help increase your bone density and may have special benefit on women ofmenopausal age who are experiencing loss of bone density. Plus, there is evidence that women who have passed the age of menopause may be able to lower their risk of hip fracture through daily eating of onions. Daily consumption of onion boosts benefits for bone density. So do not skimp on onions when you are incorporating them into your diet plan.
3. Anti-inflammatory benefits
This allium vegetable has nevertheless been shown to provide important anti inflammatory response. A unique sulfur molecule found in the bulb portion of the onion has been shown to inhibit the activity of macrophages-specific white blood cells that play a major role in your immune system and one of their defense activities is the triggering of large scale inflammatory responses. Onion’s antioxidants provide you with anti inflammatory sources.
4. Cancer protection
Onion has been shown to lower the risk of several cancers, even when you consume it in only moderate amounts. Colorectal, laryngeal and ovarian cancers are the types for which risk is reduced along with moderate amounts of dietary onion. Do not err on the side of small onion servings or infrequent onion intake if you want to obtain the full cancer related benefits of this veggie. Try to include at least one whole onion in the recipe. In terms of individual portion sizes when you sit down to eat, try to consume the equivalent of half onion.

5. Other health benefits
Onions have shown potential for improvement of blood sugar balance, help prevent bacterial infection. Some studies suggest that length of storage for onion that has been chopped but not cooked and duration of heat exposure in this case involving exposure to steam for ten minutes can affect some of onion’s health benefits. For these reasons, special care is needed in the storage, handling and cooking of this vegetable.
RELATED ARTICLE: Onions: A Remedy For Many Ailments- Dietician

PRICELESS: A 12 Year-Old Boy Wrote The Perfect Advice To Understand Women

While millions of dollars are being earned and spent every year in the relationship advice industry, a 12-year-old boy discovered the way to understand women.

Really, just like that. And the little prodigy immediately decided to share this secret with the world.
Well he cracked the code and he knows the key to understanding women. Find his book below:

TEARS OF JOY As Osaze Odemwingie Donates Wheelchair To Physically Challenged Friend (PHOTOS)

Nigerian International Footballer, Osaze Peter Odemwingie has recently surprised a physically challenged friend of his with a motor wheelchair gift.

Osaze Odemwingie Osaze sent the gift which was presented to his friend and team supporter ‘New Yorker’ (as he is fondly called) by Former National team coach, Austine Eguavoen.
Receiving the wheel chair on January 29, ‘New Yorker’ couldn’t help but smile and shed tears of joy. He further prayed for Peter. Peter recently celebrated his son’s first birthday and is expecting another baby boy with wife Sarah, later in June.
See the photos below:

RELATED ARTICLE: PHOTOS: Osaze Odemwingie Celebrates Son’s Birthday, Expecting Another Baby In June

Transfer News

Man Utd prepare Townsend bid

Manchester United a preparing a bid for Tottenham winger Andros Townsend.
Source: The Sun

Man City in €56m double swoop for Porto pair

Manchester City are lining up a €56 million double swoop for Porto duo Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando

Norwich in late Holtby bid

Norwich City have made a late attempt to sign Tottenham's Lewis Holtby. The midfielder is on the verge of joining Fulham.

Osvaldo set for Juventus switch

Southampton striker Pablo Osvaldo is set to complete his move to Juventus

Tottenham in Nani loan move

Tottenham have reportedly opened talks with Manchester United over a loan move for Nani, who is also wanted by Inter and has previously been a target for PSG.

Chelsea agree €15m Zouma fee

According to reports in France, Chelsea have agreed a €15 million (£12.4m) fee with Saint Etienne for the transfer of 19-year-old sensation Kurt Zouma.

Nootbooks For

A visit to Best Buy sometimes brings insights about where manufacturers are placing their bets. One example is a Hewlett-Packard Chromebook that recently appeared in the store’s computer section.Get all new Computers From HP,SAMSUMG,ACER,DEL, from Amazon

How to make money blogging

So you have created a blog for yourself. You have selected a niche and have started posting about it. You may be doing this as a pastime or just because you have information you would like to share. But did you know that you can actually turn blogging into a money making opportunity? In this article we are going to learn how to make money while blogging. But before we get into that, there are certain prerequisites for your blog. Let’s take a look at some of them:
1. Get a reliable host for your blog.
2. Ensure you only post high quality articles which are interesting and support them with proper images.
3. You need to regularly update your blog.
4. Get enough backlinks to your blog. Directory submissions should be a good start.
If you have these four things in place, you are already half way to earning money through your blog.
Now let’s take a look at 3 ways in which you can earn money through your blog:

1. Google Adsense

This is by far the most preferred method of earning money on the internet today. When you sign up with Adsense, you agree to allow Google to post ads on your website and you get compensated each time someone clicks on them. A single click might not be worth much, but in the long run, you can earn some serious money through Adsense. But don’t think that Google is the one paying you. It’s actually the advertisers. They are charged per click. When a visitor clicks on a Google ad on your blog, Google charges the advertiser, deducts their fees and pay you.

2. Affiliate Programs

Affiliate programs can really help bloggers earn lots of money. Many websites have easy processes for becoming affiliate members. These programs help you get better reach and also understand products better. Depending on the program you sign up with and the product you are promoting, your commission will vary as well. But, if you are able to promote the product well through your blog, you will be able to make this into a profitable venture in no time.

3. Amazon

Amazon has an associate program through which you can make money as well. This program allows bloggers to promote products from their inventory by simply adding predefined code on to their blogs. When visitors click on this code, they are taken to Amazon’s page for that product. If the visitor purchases the product, the blogger gets a commission.<script type="text/javascript">
  var vglnk = { api_url: '//api.viglink.com/api',
                key: 'f6c72d0fb2e0cd36a3fd04f32783d80b' };

  (function(d, t) {
    var s = d.createElement(t); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.async = true;
    s.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? vglnk.api_url :
             '//cdn.viglink.com/api') + '/vglnk.js';
    var r = d.getElementsByTagName(t)[0]; r.parentNode.insertBefore(s, r);
  }(document, 'script'));
</script>

How to make money with Google

One of the best ways to make money on the internet is through Google Adsense. There are many ways in which you can earn extra income using Adsense, and it’s all a bit more different than making money with paid surveys. The way this works is you take a predefined HTML code & place it somewhere on your website. This HTML code then turns into ads by advertisers through Google Adwords & every time a person clicks on the ad on your website, you earn money.
Doesn’t sound too difficult does it? Well, it isn’t. It’s a simple equation. The more people that visit your website, the more the amount of money you can earn through Adsense. And given below are a few tips that will help you maximize your income through Google Adsense. These tips are easy to understand and you should quickly make the necessary changes on your website in order to make money right away.
1. It is very important for you to choose a particular niche and create quality content in that niche regularly. If you want visitors to consistently visit your page, you need to ensure the content is relevant. Google Adsense automatically determines the topic of the content on a page while placing ads. If you have too many different niches on your website, it will confuse Google and the ads placed might not be as relevant. This is quite important when it comes to working with Adsense. If the ads are not relevant, you won’t really get many clicks and they will be low-cost.
Remember never to click on ads yourself. This in itself is cause for termination from Google Adsense. So how do you attract visitors to your site? The next tip deals with just that.
2. Nobody likes to read a 3 line post. Many people like creating short posts thinking that they can fill up their website with posts which will attract more visitors. But the truth is if you don’t have enough content in each of your posts, it will do more harm to your website than good. Also, readers might quickly lose interest in your site and once your sites rating starts falling, it is very tough to get it back up. Always ensure that your content has enough data in it to bring people back for more. Ensure each post is a minimum of 500 words.
If you can keep these two tips in mind, you will find yourself making money through Google in no time. It really is that easy.

The childhood trauma that haunts Oscar golden girl Cate Blanchett: Hollywood star on losing father at 10, at work aged 14 - and why her son calls himself 'The Experiment' The childhood trauma that haunts Oscar golden girl Cate Blanchett She is the red-hot favourite to win an Oscar for her moving portrayal of a Manhattan socialite whose riches have turned to rags. Yet Cate Blanchett’s stunning performance in Blue Jasmine owes far more to her real life than the Hollywood star has previously admitted. The actress tributes her success to her family's money struggles when she was a child and the tragic death of her father. Now a mother of three boys – Dashiell, 12, Roman, nine, and five-year-old Ignatius – with her playwright husband Andrew Upton, Ms Blanchett said Dashiell calls himself The Experiment because of the parenting mistakes the couple made when he was growing up. The actress will star in The Monuments Man alongside Matt Damon (pictured), released next month

Diana was 'uneducated' and the older royals are 'boring': Astonishing outburst by 'pushy' Princess Michael

The astonishing outburst happened during an interview with Conrad Black to promote her new book on Canadian TV. The interview began with the Princess saying she could not talk about Britain's Royal Family. However, she described Princess Diana (inset) as 'uneducated' and who did not have a strict mother. Princess Michael (far left), a divorcee from Bohemia, married the Queen's cousin Prince Michael in 1978. Her comments have sparked outrage however among royal circles

Gaddafi's sex chamber where he raped girls and boys uncovered

Two years after the death of Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, a chamber where he raped girls and boys as young as 14 years old has been discovered. Read the incredibly sad story below...

The full horror of his brutality has been slow to emerge, with many Libyans still fearing retaliation by those who continue to be loyal to their late leader. But it can now be revealed that the most heartbreaking of Gaddafi’s victims include hundreds, possibly thousands of teenage girls who, throughout his 42-year reign, were beaten, raped and forced to become his sex slaves.

Many were virgins kidnapped from schools and universities and kept prisoner for years in a specially designed secret sex lair hidden within Tripoli University or his many palaces. In the 26 months since he was deposed, Gaddafi’s den – where he regularly raped girls as young as 14 – has remained locked. But today its gaudy interior, where the colonel brutalised his victims, can be seen for the first time in photographs from a hard-hitting BBC4 documentary.

Inside the small, nondescript single-storey complex, the girls were forced to watch pornography to ‘educate’ them for their degrading treatment at the hands of Gaddafi. And even those who did manage to escape were often shunned by their deeply religious Muslim families who believed their family honour had been tainted. 

When the dictator’s body was dragged through the streets by a baying mob, just hours after he was beaten and shot in the head, the hastily convened transitional government moved swiftly to seal off the sex dungeon. They feared the full extent of Gaddafi’s debased and lewd lifestyle would horrify the Western world and cause deep embarrassment to Libya. 

One of the rooms holds little more than a double bed, lit by an orange lamp. Its 1970s decor and grimy Jacuzzi – all left exactly as they were when Gaddafi last used it – give it a seedy and gloomy air. But even more chilling is the clinical gynaecological suite in an adjoining room. It was here, on two beds fitted with stirrups behind a table laden with surgical instruments, that Gaddafi’s young victims were examined to ensure they had no sexually transmittable diseases. And here they were forced to undergo abortions if they became pregnant.

This is the fully-fitted gynecological suite where young girls would be placed in one of the two beds and checked for STDs before they were sent in to the waiting dictator

They, however, were the lucky ones. Other young victims were so badly abused that they were dumped in car parks and on waste ground, and left to die.Gaddafi’s modus operandi was to tour schools and universities where female students were invited to his lectures.

As he spoke before his hushed audience, he would silently scan the room seeking out attractive girls. Before leaving he would pat those he had ‘selected’ on the head.
Within hours his private bodyguards would round up those chosen and kidnap them. If their families tried to keep them from Gaddafi’s clutches, they were gunned down.

One teacher at a Tripoli school recalled how the girls were all very young. ‘Some were only 14,’ she said. ‘They would simply take the girl they wanted. They had no conscience, no morals, not an iota of mercy even though she was a mere child.’ 

One mother, whose daughter was a student, said the community around Tripoli University lived in fear when a visit from the colonel was announced. ‘The girls he wanted would be rounded up and sent to him,’ she said.
‘One just disappeared and they never found her again, despite her father and brothers searching for her. Another was found three months later, cut, raped and lying in the middle of a park. She had been left for dead.’

Even today, the Libyan people are afraid to speak openly about Gaddafi’s depravity, fearing reprisals from his former henchmen. 

But one woman – who was repeatedly raped by the despot over seven years from the age of 15 – has anonymously spoken of how he terrorised and abused her. She had been chosen to present the colonel with a bouquet when he toured her school in his home town of Sirte on the Mediterranean coast, 350 miles east of Tripoli. 

When he patted her head afterwards, in an apparently paternal gesture,  she thought she had pleased the man she and her fellow Libyans were forced to call ‘the Guide’. 

The next day three woman dressed in military uniform arrived telling  her parents she was needed to present more flowers. Instead, she was driven at high speed to Gaddafi’s lair. Once there, he barked at his women soldiers: ‘Get her ready.’ 

The girl was stripped, given a blood test and shaved of all  but her pubic hair. She was dressed in a G-string, forced into a low-cut gown and had thick make-up plastered on her face. When she was shoved into Gaddafi’s room, to her horror he was lying naked on the bed. When she tried to run out, the women soldiers grabbed her and flung her back on the bed.

She was raped repeatedly during the seven years she was held captive, eventually escaping when a door was accidentally left unlocked. 

Fuelled by cocaine and alcohol – and often Viagra – Gaddafi abused her horribly. ‘I will never forget that first time, that moment,’ she says. ‘He  violated my body and pierced my  soul with a dagger. That blade will never come out.’

It took the documentary-makers months of negotiations to be allowed access to information on Gaddafi as Libya remains secretive and hide-bound by bureaucracy. 

But they also established that Gaddafi set up a ‘murder for hire’ team run from Havana to rid him of enemies around the world. In a secret interview from Cuba, former CIA agent Frank Terpil said: ‘I would say [it was] Murder Incorporated .  .  . murder for hire. Gaddafi thought that anybody who was a dissident, they [should be] eliminated, he had contracts out on a bunch of people in London.’
He often stored the bodies of those killed in Libya in freezers so that he could regularly view them. 

If Gaddafi was power-crazed, he was also paranoid. A Brazilian plastic surgeon found himself escorted deep inside a bunker in Tripoli in the middle of the night in order to remove  fat from Gaddafi’s belly and inject it into his increasingly wrinkled face. 

Despite the pain, Gaddafi refused a general anaesthetic, fearing he might be poisoned – and because he wished to remain alert. 

Halfway through the operation, he stopped to have a hamburger.
He also created an elite squad of bodyguards – all female – whom he used for sex and forced to watch multiple barbaric executions.

For decades Gaddafi surrounded himself with these beautiful young women. Dressed in close-fitting military uniforms, with manicured nails and perfectly coiffed hair, they exuded glamour while toting guns.
But they were little more than disposable prostitutes used and abused by Gaddafi and his family. 

Known as ‘the Haris al-Has’ – the private female guards – almost  all were coerced into joining his cadre. One of them, who admits she had ‘once adored him’, recalled the horrific treatment they had to endure. ‘Early one morning, at 2am, we were taken to a closed hall,’ she said. ‘We were to witness the murder of 17 students. We were not allowed to scream. We were made to cheer and shout. To act as though delighted by this display. Inside I was crying. They shot them all, one by one.’

According to Benghazi-based psychologist Seham Sergewa, who interviewed scores of the girls for the International Criminal Court, there were about 400 members of the elite squad over the years. 

‘A pattern emerged in their stories,’ she explains. ‘The women would first be raped by the dictator then passed on, like used objects, to one of his sons and eventually to high- ranking officials for more abuse. 

‘In one case a girl of 18 said she was raped in front of her father. She kept begging her distraught father to look away. Many of the victims say they contemplated suicide many times. Doubtless there were some who took their own lives.’ 

It has also emerged that teams of boys were sent to Gaddafi’s sex den, where they too were abused. Former chief of protocol Nuri Al Mismari, who was at Gaddafi’s side for 40 years, adds: ‘He was terribly sexually deviant. Young boys and so on. He had his own boys. They used to be called the “services group”. All of them were boys and bodyguards .  .  . a harem for his pleasure.’ One of the few Libyans who was prepared to be named and talk about the horrors Gaddafi inflicted on his people was Baha Kikhia, the widow of Libya’s former foreign minister with whom Gaddafi had a frosty relationship. 

When her husband vanished one evening, she confronted Gaddafi about his whereabouts. The colonel insisted he was being kept alive but, to Baha’s horror, his body was one of many found in freezers after the regime fell. 

‘He liked to keep his victims in the refrigerators to look at them now and again,’ she says haltingly. ‘He would visit his victims.
‘It was as though they were some sort of macabre souvenirs. Something that he could look at and touch to remind himself of his omnipotence. Some had been there as long as 25 years.’

Source: Daily Mail UK

Real Madrid 2-0 Granada: Ronaldo & Benzema break Blancos record

The capital-based club had never won seven consecutive competitive matches without conceding until Saturday, as the attackers' goals sent them top of the table

Getty Images

Real Madrid won seven consecutive competitive matches without conceding for the first time in their history thanks to their 2-0 win over Granada on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo struck his 14th league goal in his last 10 appearances just before the hour and Karim Benzema made sure with 15 minutes remaining.
Thed victory opens up a two point-gap over rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who have a game in hand, at the top of La Liga.
The hosts struggled to find a way past Ricardo in the Granada goal in the first half with Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Benzema all wasting good openings.
Ronaldo's 22nd league goal of the season broke the deadlock after the break, much to the relief of the crowd, with Benzema converting from a Marcelo pass to seal the points, although the victory was overshadowed by an injury to Gareth Bale that saw him substituted at half-time.
Granada failed to force a save out of Diego Lopez and their two-game unbeaten run comes to an end, with Lucas Alcaraz's side remaining in 10th place.
Carlo Ancelotti named the same side for a third consecutive league fixture, with Angel Di Maria starting ahead of Isco, while the visitors made a single change as Mohammed Fatau replaced Fran Rico in midfield.
Ronaldo had the first opportunity for Madrid in the sixth minute, the Portugal international making something out of nothing as he cut in from the left but skewed his shot wide after beating two defenders.
Ramos went even closer five minutes later as the defender rose to meet a Bale delivery, but the centre-back headed over from close range.
Granada were doing a good job of restricting their opponents and Madrid had to rely on set pieces to threaten.
The hosts had the ball in the back of the next just before the half-hour mark as Benzema turned in a knock-down from Ramos, but the French striker was flagged offside and the goal was ruled out.
Ronaldo was denied on the stroke of half-time as his overhead kick from seven yards was brilliantly kept out by Ricardo.
Luka Modric and Benzema both wasted chances early in the second half, but in the 56th minute Ronaldo finally broke the deadlock.
The forward receiving a pass from Modric inside the penalty area, he was allowed to turn and fired low beyond Ricardo to relieve the pressure inside the Santiago Bernabeu.
And, after Ronaldo had seen a free kick hit the crossbar, Madrid doubled their lead in the 75th minute, Marcelo squaring a pass to Benzema to turn home from close range.

Billboard's Power 100 List: Beyoncé, Jay Z #1

 

One of the leading music magazines in the world, Billboard, has named Jay Z and Bayouncé as the most powerful couple in the global music industry.

Read the abstract from their article below, and SEE the cover of the latest edition, containing the mentioned rating.

“Leveraging their star power to release new albums in unprecedented ways – Jay Z through Samsung and Beyoncé through iTunes – they instantly changed how the industry and fans thought about interacting with music.

He gave his album away; she charged a premium price for hers. But they both used the element of surprise to restore the excitement that used to accompany a new release, before that impact was dulled by the endless thunder of carefully plotted promotion.

In short, they proved that content truly is king. Or, in this case, king and queen”. 

Guess Who The Most Disciplined Nigeria Nollywood Actress Of The Year 2013 Is?

Nollywood Actress, Chika Ike took to her instagram page to announce to her fans that she has just been awarded the “Most Disciplined Actress” by the Actors Guild of Nigeria.

The controversial actress who recently separated from her husband, broke the news on her insatgram page hours ago with a photo of her award.
Her colleagues in the industry have stormed her page to congratulate her.

Manchester United Agree Fee With Chelsea For Mata

Manchester United have agreed a club-record £37 million fee with Chelsea for Juan Mata.

The Premier League champions confirmed on Friday evening that the deal is now subject to the midfielder completing a medical and agreeing personal terms.
The Spaniard was expected to arrive at Carrington by helicopter on Thursday in order to complete his medical but Chelsea's negotiations with Basel over Mohamed Salah held up United's plans.
Jose Mourinho revealed on Friday afternoon that Mata was close to a move to Old Trafford and claimed the midfielder was keen to leave Stamford Bridge.
"I asked him when the offer came: 'Are you really happy to go?' He said 'I'm really happy to go'," said the Chelsea manager.
"He is a fantastic player. In spite of not playing much for us, I still think he could be important for us. It's a good move for Juan, it's good for the Premier League and the offer is the right offer."

Man Claiming To Be Prophet Mohammed Gets Sentenced To Death For Blasphemy

Human rights campaigners are calling for the immediate release of a British man sentenced to death under Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

Mr Mohammad Asghar was arrested in 2010 after he claimed to be Prophet Mohammed in letters sent to various officials. A judge convicted and sentenced him last Thursday following a trial.

But a lawyer who defended Mr Asghar said he suffers from mental illness and the case was really a property dispute.
Amnesty International's deputy Asia Pacific director Polly Truscott said:

'Mohammad Asghar is now facing the gallows simply for writing a series of letters. He does not deserve punishment. No one should be charged on the basis of this sort of conduct. The blasphemy laws undermine the rule of law, and people facing charges risk death and other harm in detention. 

Pakistan must immediately release Mohammad Ashgar and reform its blasphemy laws to ensure that this will not happen again.'

Reports say people in the country, accused of blasphemy have been attacked and killed by angry vigilante mobs.
Two prominent politicians who criticised the blasphemy law were murdered in recent years. One of the politicians was shot by his own bodyguard, who then attracted adoring crowds.

IBADAN MIRACLE: Mysterious Islamic Writing Appears On A Tree

On Saturday, many residents of Ona Ara Local Government area of Ibadan, Oyo State, gathered at the Community Grammar School, Amuloko, to see a mysterious phenomenon.
Apparently, at about 1 p.m on Friday, a JS 1 student, Abdulsalam Selimot noticed a pattern on a tree in the premises of the school that resembled the name of Allah in Arabic lettering.
Speaking  with the press, the girl narrated:

"My Dad said he was coming to see me, so I stood under the tree in front of our school. Suddenly, a leaf fell on my head and when I picked it, I saw a certain writing on it. I looked up to see where it came from and discovered it fell from the tree. There and then I saw an Arabic lettering appearing, being written on the tree.

"I could not read it well but I noticed that it was a Quranic Language similar to the spellings we were being taught at our Quranic centre. I then went to inform some Alfas who came for GNLD training close by. They saw it and asked for my name. They asked me to go and call my parents, and I went to call my mother."

"Some people said they would send me to Saudi Arabia because of what I discovered," the girl added.

Following the discovery, scores of people have already witnessed the phenomenon. They took pictures of the inscription, plucked the leaves of the tree, cut its branches, some were rubbing their palms on it, some were even rubbing sachets of pure water on the bark of the tree.
Mr. Atanda Abdulrauf Olayiwola, a Muslim Agriculture teacher in the school,  interpreted the signs to mean 'Mohammadu Ra Sululah' first appeared faintly before it got bolder few hours later to the consternation of many people.

"It was 'Mohammadu Ra Sulu' that I was able to read with my pair of reading glasses when I first saw it, but after about an hour when I had returned from Jumat Service, 'lah' had appeared and I could read everything clearly without my glasses. It has even appeared bolder today [Saturday]," he said.

A Christian and Social Studies/Christian Religious Education teacher in the same school, Mr Korede Johnson, said:

"God has again used this to alert us that He actually exists and we should be worshipping Him. It shows that He is capable of manifesting Himself in many ways to His creatures, and we should be closer to Him."

Super Eagles 4 - 3 Atlas Lions

Nigeria's Super Eagles will go head-to-head with the Atlas Lions of Morocco in a quarterfinal match of the ongoing African Nations Championship (Chan) in South Africa.

Rapper/Record Label Exec Birdman Shows Off His Solid Gold Toilet

What some people are doing with money! Cash Money Records co-founder & Hip Hop tycoon Bryan Williams, aka Birdman showed off his solid gold toilet on his instagram page yesterday.















According to reports, the toilet is gold-plated, but the seat and the cover is solid gold and it cost $1m.

Kendrick Lamar Discusses His 'Control' Verse, Touring With Kanye, New Music

Hollywood Reporter Writer Jeff Weiss sat down with Kendrick Lamar in Las Vegas for a particularly illuminating profile of the seven-time, Grammy-nominated "Stoic King" of hip-hop. Weiss weaves through Lamar's rehearsal with Imagine Dragons in preparation for their Grammys performance, the uncompromising introspection of "Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City" and dips into the details of the influence of Lamar's family. At the end, Lamar answers -- at least as much of an answer as he is willing to divulge -- the three questions on everyone's mind:
What was on your mind when writing your "Control" verse?

“It wasn’t pre-meditated, it just came to me when I was writing that bar," says Lamar. "The crazy part is, I didn’t think it would ever go to where diss records were coming at me. I thought people would be like … he threw some challenges out there … that was dope.”

What was it like touring with Kanye?

“Kanye taught me to never to downplay your ideas,” adds Lamar. “I learned to always stay as creative as possible and never have any boundaries. Those things that people called ‘rants’ on-stage are real conversations that we had behind closed doors -- about business and how when you get to a certain level people won’t want to see you break through because they only see you as a rapper.”

When can we expect a new album?

There are ideas for his next record, but he mostly demurs when asked about it. “I’m still seeing what I feel like,” says Lamar. “When I really catch it, I’ll be out there with it.” He doesn’t acknowledge anticipation, but he knows it exists.

Google to offer FREE taxis to restaurants, casinos and more (so long as you promise to spend money when you arrive)

Next time you fancy a romantic meal for two, or a trip to the cinema, you could be taken there in a free taxi, courtesy of Google. According to a recently-awarded patent, the journeys would be paid for by advertisers hoping to encourage more people to use their businesses. 
The system would run on Google’s existing AdWords software, and in the future, these journeys could even be carried out by Google's self-driving cars.

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According to a Google patent, journeys would be paid for by advertisers hoping to encourage more people to use their businesses. The system would run on Google's existing AdWords software, and in the future, these journeys could even be carried out by Google's self-driving cars, pictured

GOOGLE'S AD-POWERED TAXIS

Local businesses would compete for adverts, in the same way firms currently compete for Google adverts online.
Google would use location data, and other relevant personalised information including browsing history, to show relevant ads on a smartphone.
Additionally, these adverts could be shown at bus stops and train stations on a kiosk.
To get more personalised options, users would be able to sign in using their Google+ details and tell Google how many people they’re with and what they’re looking for.
The final choice of adverts would be chosen using an algorithm that works out how much the journey will cost the business, and how much money the business is likely to make from any sales that take place.

The ad-powered taxi service was detailed in a patent originally filed in 2011 called ‘Transportation-aware physical advertising conversions’.
It explains that local businesses would compete for the adverts in the same way firms currently compete for Google adverts on webpages.
Google would then use location data, and other relevant personalised information including browsing history, to show relevant ads on a smartphone.
Additionally, these adverts could be shown at bus stops and train stations on a kiosk.
To get more personalised options, users would sign in using their Google+ details and tell Google how many people they’re with and what they’re looking for.
The final choice of adverts would be chosen using an algorithm that works out how much the journey will cost the business, and how much money the business is likely to make from any sales that take place.
For example, if a group of friends are on a night out and want to go somewhere for dinner, they could sign into Google+ and select how many people are in the group, and even what kind of food they want.

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Google would use location data, and other relevant personalised information including browsing history, to show relevant ads on a smartphone, left. Additionally, these adverts could be shown at bus stops and train stations on a kiosk, right. To get more personalised options, users would sign in using their Google+ details

Google will scan for local businesses, find out which ones best suit the requirements and provide a free, or discounted, ride coupon.
Any journeys placed, and subsequent transactions made, would be traced and stored on a person’s phone or Google+ account.
Advertisers could then choose not to offer certain people free rides if the financial benefit from doing so isn’t significant enough.

And once Google's self-driving cars are approved, businesses could dispatch the autonomous vehicles to collect their customers.
Explaining the reasoning behind the patent, Google said: ‘Getting a potential customer to a business location in order to conduct a sale may be one of the most difficult tasks for a business or advertiser.
'An advertiser may have to offer various inducements, such as coupons, discounts, parking validations, in order to entice customers to the location.
'In some examples, ‘brick and mortar’ businesses may even be forced to invest in more costly real estate near high-traffic areas as opposed to lower-cost real estate in more isolated locations.
'These factors may create a significant financial burden to a business.' 

Forgive me Father for I have sinned (more than once): Cheating President Hollande meets the Pope as Valerie Trierweiler prepares to make her 'last stand' as French First Lady with charity trip to India

French President Francois Hollande met Friday with Pope Francis amid tensions in his private life over a gossip magazine's report about an alleged affair with an actress.
The visit came as Valerie Trierweiler prepared to make what may be her ‘last stand’ as French First Lady after announcing that she will honour a charity commitment in India this weekend.
Vatican Television covered Hollande's arrival in Rome on Friday live, showing the stately arrival of his motorcade in the Apostolic Palace courtyard, Holland's slow walk in the frescoed palace halls accompanied by Swiss Guards and finally his greeting with a solemn-faced Francis in the pope's private study. 

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French President Francois Hollande, left, is welcomed by Pope Francis on the occasion of their private audience at the Vatican on Friday

TV images showed a smiling Hollande presenting the pope with a book about St. Francis of Assisi, and the pope, in turn, gave him a medal for visitors.
Hours before the arrival, a small homemade bomb exploded in front of a French foundation that manages French architectural treasures in Rome, including five churches, and is headed by the French Embassy to the Holy See.

The Carabinieri military police said no one was injured, but that a few windows of the palazzo were shattered and that three cars parked on the street outside were damaged.

Police said it wasn't clear if the bomb, which contained metal bits as well as explosive powder, was related to Hollande's visit or the foundation, which is located in the heart of Rome's historic center.

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Tabling talks: Pope Francis talks with French President Francois Hollande

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Hollande is received by Prefect of the Pontifical House and former personal secretary of Pope Benedict XVI Georg Ganswein as he arrives at the Cortile di San Damaso for a visit with Pope Francis

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Heading out: Hollande arrives for his papal audience

Swiss guards walk to the Cortile di San Damaso at the Apostolic Palace for the audience of Pope Francis to Hollande

Hollande has acknowledged ‘painful moments’ in his relationship with his partner, Valerie Trierweiler.
He said he would clarify his domestic situation before a Febuary 11 state visit to Washington, when Trierweiler would normally accompany him.

Trierweiler, 48, who was not married to Hollande, was hospitalized January 10, a day after Closer magazine reported that Hollande was seeing actress Julie Gayet.

The magazine published photos showing a man it said was the president, wearing a helmet and seated on the back of a scooter, allegedly being taken to a rendezvous with Gayet.
The President is considering ending his two-year affair with her and 'giving in' to Miss Trierweiler's appeals to save their relationship, a close friend told France's VSD magazine.
He said: ‘Until now he has been thinking about going ahead with a separation, but he realises it's not quite that simple.
‘Valerie is determined to hang onto him. I know him. He is giving in to her.’

Hollande has acknowledged 'painful moments' in his relationship with his partner, Valerie Trierweiler (left), while Closer magazine has alleged that he's seeing Julie Gayet (right)

Hollande and Pope Francis exchange gifts

The presidential escort, meanwhile, said that Miss Trierweiler would maintain a diary arrangement to fly to Mumbai this weekend for Action Contre La Faim, a French aid organisation.
During the two day trip, she will visit a slum in the city to call attention to malnutrition, but will also be a guest of honour at a gala dinner, in her capacity as official escort to the French leader.
A friend of Miss Trierweiler told a French newspaper: ‘It’s a visit that was planned a long time ago. It’s a way of showing that she is attached to humanitarian causes and that she will continue to take an interest in them whatever happens in the days to come.’
While Parisians are terming the visit the First Lady’s ‘last stand’, Miss Trierweiler, nicknamed the Rottweiler, clearly has no intention of leaving her role at the Elysee palace quietly