Gallery: 50 things you didn’t know about Marilyn Monroe

  In January 2011, Authentic Brand Groups bought the licensing rights to the Marilyn Monroe estate, for a price in the range of $30-million. “On the media and entertainment side,” said the company’s chief executive, Jamie Salter, “I think she’s got a career in front of her, just based on technology. Photograph by: Calgary Herald, Archive. Facts and photos here.

ELVIS - 'Early Morning Rain'

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Photos: Saskatchewan athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics

  Prince Albert’s Krista Phillips at the opening ceremony for the 2012 Summer Games in London on July 27. Phillips is competing in women’s basketball.  Photographs by: Krista Phillips, Twitter

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/sports/Photos+Saskatchewan+athletes+2012+Summer+Olympics/7012901/story.html#ixzz22BOz2hF0

Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) at the Olympics

Rowan Atkinson at the Olympics - Mod DB

Olympic opening ceremonies and the death throes of a civilization

Good read thoughtful and provocative.

Creepy NHS-worship at the openine ceremony, XXX Olympiad; Photo credit: J.C. Hong, AP (h/t: Thoughts from a Conservative Mom)

posted by J.E. Dyer

I don’t think I was the only American weirded out on Friday by the bizarre “dancing nurses” segment at the opening ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics.  There were lots of children wriggling in hospital beds, and seemingly hundreds of nurses prancing around dressed in the garments of yesteryear.  It wasn’t clear what the artist was trying to say – and then the letters “NHS” burst out in glittering lights on the field.

Oh.  This is about the National Health Service.

[Pause.]

????????????

That realization was paired in my mind with the International Olympic Committee’s refusal to commemorate the 11 Israeli athletes killed by Yasser Arafat’s terrorists in Munich in 1972.  The IOC’s position is that it doesn’t want to “politicize” the games.  bb...Keep reading...

Winston Churchill's Inspirational Speech

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"Never in the field of human conflict, was so much owed to so few."Winston Churchill

TREES by: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)

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TREES by: Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)

THINK that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

 

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

 

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

 

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

 

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

 

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

"Trees" was originally published in Trees and Other Poems. Joyce Kilmer. New York: George H. Doran Company, 1914.http://www.poetry-archive.com/k/trees.html
Portrait of Joyce Kilmer © 2000 Miriam A. Kilmer http://risingdove.com/Kilmer/Trees.asp

Into The Trees from Sam Needham on Vimeo.

Bat For Lashes - Laura

Natasha Khan

http://www.panalux.biz/news/batforlashes-laura.asp

London Olympics: Best Photos of July 29, 2012 (photo essay)

By Mike Zacchino, The Oregonian

. Some of the best photos of the London Olympics from July 29, 2012 .35 photos 

Emeli Sandé - Next To Me

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http://www.emelisande.com/

Scots pooch photographer grabs top gong for fifth year on the bounce

By James Tegerdine
The 40-year-old spends days with his doggy subjects in a bid to get the perfect picture. And his work has seen him encounter some of the most badly behaved dogs in the country.
It has led to him carving a name as a naughty pet specialist – and allowed him to capture hilarious doggy snaps.
Paul, of Ayr, said: “It’s become my speciality to capture those one hundredth-of-a-second moments and get that picture many find impossible.

 

“People come to me and say my dog’s badly behaved or doesn’t like people – but I see it as a challenge to get the best images of these lively animals.”...Read here...Visit http://www.pawspetphotography.co.uk/ for more photos, this is a great site.

Illegal marijuana farms killing wildlife

Photo: A fisher. U.S. National Park Service/Wikipedia

by: Blake Deppe.
Researchers have found that commercial anti-rodent chemicals present in illegal pot farms are poisoning and killing animals. Among the affected are fishers (animals similar to weasels), which are candidates for the Endangered Species List. Their carcasses have been found near Redwood National Park and Yosemite National Park; 79 percent of them were infected with rodenticides.
Pot farmers use those chemicals to protect their illicit crops, many of which are grown on public lands near the aforementioned parks. The hidden farms overlap with animal habitat, including that of fishers, who pay the price, along with other wildlife including martens, spotted owls, and red foxes.
The study was conducted by researchers from the nonprofit Ecology Research Center, UC Davis, UC Berkeley, the U.S. Forest Service, the Wildlife Conservation Study, and several other groups. It was funded by the California Department of Fish and Game...Continue reading...

Damaged Wild Birds Find Rescue, Rehab Clinic in New York. Bloomberg News

Wildlife rehabilitator Rita McMahon has a face-to-face with a kestrel at her Upper West Side apartment in New York City. For years, McMahon has used her apartment as a recovery ward for injured and sick wildlife. Photographer: Mike Di Paola/Bloomberg  Bloomberg News. By Mike Di Paola:

The second time I met Rita McMahon, she was in her new rescue center for injured wildlife on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

“It’s raining birds today. We’ve had about a dozen brought in,” McMahon said, bringing the clinic’s total to “at least 70 at the moment.”
She was feeding a tiny, mite-ridden starling with a plastic syringe. Volunteers learning how to handle injured birds looked over her shoulder.
When the Wild Bird Fund opened last month, it was the city’s first wildlife rehabilitation center. This was good news for McMahon, because when we initially met, she had been running the operation for 10 years out of her brownstone apartment, a space shared with husband, son and a few dozen injured or sick birds.
McMahon teamed up with Karen Heidgerd, administrator of the nearby Animal General, to start their own facility. McMahon herself is a retired television consultant, but she also is licensed to rehabilitate wild birds.
“We want to be the central facility for New York City for the care of injured wildlife,” Heidgerd said. “That includes animals that come into our space that don’t belong here, like foxes and deer.”
Injured and ill animals, especially birds, are brought in by people who find them on city sidewalks or upstate highways... Read here...

Anibal Landscapes and still life... Berlin 'Take my breath away'

http://pixelcurse.com

Landscapes and still life... Take my breath away from Anibal on Vimeo.

Hero Dog Awards: Vote for Daniel

by Naomi Seldin Ramirez

Jenna Dwyer of Nutley holds Daniel at Pets & Heroes in River Vale. The beagle, who was adopted by Jenna's family via Eleventh Hour Rescue, won the American Humane Association's Emerging Hero Award. (Photo by Chris Monroe/Special to the Record)
Daniel the beagle is one of the American Humane Association’s Hero Dog Award finalists.
The sweet-natured gas chamber survivor, who lives in Nutley, received the most votes in the Emerging Hero category. More than 2 million votes were cast across all eight categories — and while I don’t have a breakdown for Daniel’s, he likely received a good chunk of them to clinch victory.
He “did the unimaginable in 2011 when he survived the most inhumane form of euthanasia: the gas chamber,” AHA said in a news release announcing the finalists. “Since adopted by his loving guardian, Joe Dawyer, Daniel the ‘Miracle Beagle’ has used his second chance at life as an advocate for shelter adoptions and humane euthanasia legislation across the United States.”...Continue reading...

Live To Ride. Ride To Live.

July 26, 2012 By Crazy Pants

I used to climb trees.
Now I climb my Harley, let this lady human sit behind me and we ride these mean streets letting the wind blow freedom right into our faces.
This is the life I was meant to live. The Post and Courier says Suki Mixon’s pet squirrel, Zipper, has been riding motorcycles since she was a baby. cuteoverload.com

"Lucky Larry" Rescued From Restaurant

( Courtesy Don MacKenzie / July 25, 2012 ) Don MacKenzie of Niantic submitted this picture of the lobster, nicknamed "Lucky Larry."

Associated Press
A Connecticut man purchased a 17-pound lobster at a Waterford restaurant, then released the crustacean back into Long Island Sound.
Don MacKenzie of Niantic tells The Day of New London (http://bit.ly/MGvGHb ) he knew the lobster, nicknamed "Lucky Larry" by local children, would have to be about 80-years-old to reach his current size and felt it deserved to live.
MacKenzie won't say how much he paid The Dock restaurant to take Larry off the menu.
He took the lobster back to sea Tuesday, releasing it in a secret location.
MacKenzie received a send-off from a group of children chanting "Let Larry Live" and the lobster was given a salute from the Niantic River Bridge operator who sounded the lift bridge's siren as the boat carrying it headed back to sea.Read here, video..Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com

Christians Flee from Radical Rebels in Syria

Palayur and the story of Syrian christians
Ancient Church in Syria
By Ulrike Putz in Qa, Lebanon
There had been many warnings that the Khouri* family wouldn't talk. "They won't say a word -- they're too scared," predicted the mayor of Qa, a small market town in northeastern Lebanon where the Khouris are staying. "They won't even open their door for journalists," said another person, who had contacted the family on behalf of a non-governmental organization.

Somehow, though, the interview was arranged in the end. Reserved and halting, the women described what happened to their husbands, brothers and nephews back in their hometown of Qusayr in Syria. They were killed by Syrian rebel fighters, the women said -- murdered because they were Christians, people who in the eyes of radical Islamist freedom fighters have no place in the new Syria...Continue reading...

"I'm playing in the big leagues now", Michael Coren

Interesting read, caught the attention of Sally and Sam.

• 
  Michael Coren, literary biographer and broadcaster. Photo by Photo by Louie Palu .photo       Michael Coren is a well-known columnist, author and T.V. broadcaster. Coren’s web site is www.michaelcoren.com.

Written by  Michael Coren

So, I’ve made it. I’m in the big league, I’m a player. It’s like being awarded the Order of Canada, but important. I’ve got a major death threat. I’ve had a few in the past, but this one is serious. Here it is: “Islam doesn’t allow honour killings, but yeah, people like Pamela Gellar and Coren, oh yeah, totally allowed, aren’t there any Muslims in the U.S. and Canada who can kill these pigs? Any Muslim? Please for the sake of Allah, can someone plz kill these pigs.” And then, “Guns can be bought in sports shops in the U.S. and Canada, people get mugged and even killed in the cities, can’t any Muslim kill these pigs? Ayan Hirsi, Pamela Gellar and Coren?”
So, there it is. A member of the religion of peace calls for me and some much braver and bolder people to be killed. Why? Because I allow Islam to speak for itself, expose itself, explain itself. The police have been informed, the FBI alerted, but I’m not losing any sleep about it. Frankly, I’ve been threatened by better people than this. But it speaks of far more than its mere words. It’s self-evident, and almost redundant, that venomous and vile things are said about Christians, and in particular Roman Catholics, on a daily basis. In the past months alone, arsonists set fires at two Canadian Catholic churches and a convent was vandalized. These criminal acts were given hardly any publicity at all...Continue reading...

Video: ‘Tel Aviv is Cool but Jerusalem is the Capital’

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By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu: Tel Aviv’s mayor has dropped the city’s long-time rivalry with Jerusalem to remind Britain that the holy city is Israel’s capital – no matter what the BBC says...Continue reading...

New Tonto, familiar feelings for American Indians

 

An undated publicity photo from Disney/Bruckheimer Films, shows actors, Johnny Depp, left, as Tonto, a spirit warrior on a personal quest, who joins forces in a fight for justice with Armie Hammer, as John Reid, a lawman who has become a masked avenger.

Photo: , Disney
Star Tribune photo galleries.Article by: MANUEL VALDES , Associated Press:
SEATTLE - Gyasi Ross grew up decades after the "Lone Ranger" aired on TV, but his friends would still call him "Tonto" when they teased him.
"Everybody understands who Tonto is, even if we hadn't seen the show, and we understood it wasn't a good thing," said Ross, a member of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana who lives and has family in the Suquamish Tribe, outside Seattle. "Why else would you tease someone with that?"
The making of a new "Lone Ranger" Disney movie, and the announcement that Johnny Depp is playing sidekick Tonto, have reawakened feelings about a character that has drawn much criticism over the years as being a Hollywood creation guilty of spreading stereotypes.
The film is still in production, but Indian Country has been abuzz about it for months, with many sharing opinions online and a national Native publication running an occasional series on the topic.
Some Native Americans welcome the new movie, which is slated for release next summer. Parts were filmed on the Navajo Nation with the tribe's support, and an Oklahoma tribe recently made Depp an honorary member.
But for others, the "Lone Ranger" represents a lingering sore spot — one that goes back to the 1950s television version of Tonto, who spoke in broken English, wore buckskin and lacked any real cultural traits...Read complete article here...

Bobby Darin - 'Dream Lover'

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Bobby Darin

Pictures of the day - A selection of the best images from around the world, updated throughout the day. The Daily Mirror

Why the long face? Molinillo, the clown, poses for a picture during the inauguration of the fourth annual Latin American Clown Congress in Guatemala City. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/pictures-of-the-day-christian-bale-clown-1164028

'Gone Gone Gone' Alison Krauss & Robert Plant

An old tune sung  by the Everly Brothers in 1965. Those were the days, seems like yesterday.image

Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) sells booze to burka-clad teen

By Terry Davidson, QMI Agency: Sun News Network's David Menzies surreptitiously films a 14-year-old boy wearing a burka as he buys booze in an LCBO. (QMI Agency)
Three liquor stores in the Greater Toronto Area recently sold booze to a 14-year-old boy whose identity was hidden because he was wearing a full-length burka and face veil at the time.
The teenager, clad in an Islamic female's traditional garb of a burka, headscarf and facial covering, shopped in three different LCBO stores north of Toronto last Wednesday.
In each location, the Grade 8 student paid cash for a bottle of sambuca liqueur.
Ontario's Liquor Licence Act requires that before liquor is sold, government-issued photo I.D. -- a drivers licence, for example -- must be inspected if the buyer is suspected of being under the legal drinking age of 19.
Under the LCBO's Check 25 program, employees can ask for ID from people who appear under age 25 -- a policy implemented in 1997 to prevent young people who appear older than their actual age from purchasing alcohol...Continue reading...

Sherman Hemsley, ‘Jeffersons’ Star, Is Dead at 74

CBS, via Photofest Carroll O'Connor, left, as Archie Bunker and Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson on "All in the Family."

By MEL WATKINS: Sherman Hemsley, the bantamweight comic actor who portrayed the scrappy, nouveau riche George Jefferson on the hit CBS sitcom “The Jeffersons,” died on Tuesday at his home in El Paso. He was 74... Read here...

 Sherman Hemsley Visits Good Burger

The BEST military music videos ever!

Carly Rae Jepsen attends the 2012 Teen Choice Awards
Photo: Getty Images imageThe best military music videos

WND Exclusive: Iran leader: We must prep for 'end of times', 'We shall make the Islamic civilization proud on the world stage'

By Reza Kahlili: Iran’s supreme leader, for the first time, is telling his nation that it must prepare for war and “the end of times” as it continues to develop nuclear weapons.  State-owned media outlets, in a coordinated effort, all ran a similar story Friday highlighting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s message on the coming of the last Islamic messiah...Continue reading...

This Chinese Computer CEO Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity

Chinese money
By Vincent Trivett | Minyanville :
  Bonuses make up a huge part of executive pay in the United States, and though Chinese incentive structures are different, the same is true there. The CEO of Lenovo (LNGVY), a major Chinese computer parts maker, has found a pretty darn nice way to spend his.
Yang Yuanqing took in a $3 million bonus after the company reported a massive 73% jump in profits in the first three months of the year, ending Lenovo's best fiscal year to date.
The company thanked Yang for his performance with an extra $3 million, and he gave it all away to 10,000 lower-ranked employees in Lenovo's offices, call centers, and factories. Each worker received 2000 renminbi,or $314...Continue reading...

Billy Grammer - Gotta Travel On

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A woman in Alaska captured an interesting moment she found upon her return home. Her pet cats, 3 eagles and a fox were all hanging out together near her house.

http://screen.yahoo.com/woman-films-interesting-encounter-with-wild-animals-on-her-porch-30045742.html

One More Girl - 'When It Ain't Rainin'

One More Girl

Missing cat reunited with owner after 11 years

Metroland News Service: Eleven years ago, Dinah, the black cat went missing from the Lowden family home after they moved from Oakville to Hamilton.

 

To say the cat’s got their tongues on seeing Dinah return might be an understatement.
Dinah, then a four-year-old long-haired tabby, wandered away from the Lowden’s east Mountain home in the fall of 2001, a few weeks after the family had relocated from Oakville.
The family put up posters, scoured the neighbourhood and called Hamilton Animal Control, but eventually they accepted Dinah was gone and moved on. They had a cat named Bruce and he was soon joined by Alex.
Animal Control called the family Tuesday to tell them it had Dinah at its Dartnall Road headquarters and she had been found a block away from the family’s Wellwood Street home. They were able to trace her through a microchip the Oakville SPCA put under Dinah’s fur and first spoke to Steve Lowden, 55.
“Animal control called and told my husband, ‘We have one of your cats,’” said Wendy Lowden, 55, Wednesday when she came to retrieve Dinah, now going on 15.
“He turned around and counted our cats and said, ‘No, you don’t.’ When they explained it to him, he just about passed out.”
“At first, it’s kind of disbelief. How can it be? Our friends can’t believe it. It’s such a feel good story. If ever there was an advertisement for microchipping, this is it.”
It was a sweet reunion, although Dinah was a bit reticent. Lowden, a lay pastoral minister with the United Church, said she would be a bit emotional and, true enough, tears could be seen in her eyes.
“Where have you’ve been?” she asked Dinah as she held her in her arms. “Hi, sweetheart! Boy, do we have a lot to talk about.” Dinah answered with a few meows.
As near as anyone can figure, it’s thought Dinah was taken in by someone who found her wandering the neighbourhood. She’s in good health.
“I think this is absolutely fantastic,” said Sue O’Dwyer, manager of animal services. “Anytime we get a cat claimed in the shelter by the owner we celebrate because it’s so rare that an owner comes in and claims a cat.”
The 10-plus years sets a new record at animal control. The previous length an owner and their cat were apart was about seven years. It also involved a microchip.
While the Lowdens are happy to see Dinah again, they realize there maybe someone out there who misses her after having her in their home for almost 11 years. They’ll give her over if the owner steps forward and asks them to call Animal Control at 905-574-3433.Read here.

The latest and breaking news from Syria.

Latest Syria News

Allegory of the Cave by Plato

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   Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is, one of the philosophical writings in the form of allegory. An allegorical writing is the type of writing having two levels of meanings: literary and allegorical meanings. A literary meaning is the content or the subject matter and allegorical meaning is the symbolic or metaphorical suggestion. In allegorical writing characters, actions and setting are used as symbols and they should be interpreted to make the allegorical meaning. In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato has given a description of the cave of the cave world.                             The cave is very dark because there is little light inside it and hardly seen the objects. There are some chained people on their necks as well as feet, these chained people cannot move easily. Similarly, there is also another world out of the cave world, but between these two worlds, a wall is raised. On the wall, many other people move with different things on their hands and their shadows fall in the cave world. The people inside the cave cannot raise their head completely so that they can only see the shadows like illusion, which they believe, as real but it is just their illusion...Continue reading...

Study: People Who Are Constantly Online Can Develop Mental Disorders

File photo of man on computer. (credit: GUILLERMO LEGARIA/AFP/GettyImages)

CHARLOTTE (CBS Charlotte) — Get off that computer. A new study finds that constantly being online can affect your mental health.
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg  recently studied more than 4,100 Swedish men and women between the ages of 20 and 24 for a year and found that a majority of them who constantly use a computer and mobile phones can develop stress, sleeping disorders and depression...Continue reading...

The Shins - 'It's Only Life'

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The Shins

National Chief Shawn Atleo gets his second mandate

 Incumbent Shawn Atleo is flanked by great aunts Flossie Atleo (left) and Gertrude Frank in Toronto Monday during voting for the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Photograph by: Michelle Siu , CP

By Teresa Smith, Postmedia News:
TORONTO — Chiefs from across Canada have given National Chief Shawn Atleo a mandate to continue his advocacy at the Assembly of First Nations for another three-year term.
"I believe that this is our moment," said Atleo after he was sworn in for a second term as national chief. "We are part of movement, not only in this country we call Canada, but indigenous peoples around the world . . . we will take our rightful place in our respective territories."
His strongest opponents, Dr. Pam Palmater and Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus, each drew support from other candidates forced to drop off the first and second ballot in an "Anything but Atleo" approach.
But in the end Atleo earned 341 votes — surpassing the required 60 per cent of the 540 votes cast. Palmater finished with 141 votes and Erasmus had 30.
They characterized his leadership as "too cozy" with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government, however, Chief Byron Louis of Okanagan Indian Band in British Columbia — a stronghold province for Atleo — dismissed those claims.
"If you're supposed to be an advocate, how can you spend most of your time arguing?"...Continue reading...

Gaddafi’s daughter presses UN, ICC to try father’s murderers

Voice of Russia: Aisha Gaddafi, the daughter of Libya's late leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was murdered in October 2011, has called on the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court to probe into the killing of her father and try his murderers, Arab media reports.
Aisha’s attorneys filed her request to the ICC and the UN Security Council, calling the murder of Libya’s former strongman Muammar Gaddafi and his son Muatasema a “military crime” and pushing for the two international bodies to investigate their deaths.
Aisha Gaddafi together with Gaddafi’s wife Safia and his two sons - Hannibal and Mohammad – fled to Algeria after insurgents took over Tripoli in August 2011 and were granted political asylum...Read here...

Mandarin Ducks

Mandarin Ducks nest in tree holes. When the ducklings are only 24 hours old, they follow their mother and leave the nest. They can’t fly yet, but luckily the long drop doesn’t harm them. (Planet Earth - BBC)http://headlikeanorange.tumblr.com/post/24492043101.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_Duck

Black bear with white cub

Submitted by Sander: Origins: An albino black bear is a rarity, but as the photographs displayed above attest, an infant bear of that uncommon variety is what people started spotting near the Chemawawin Cree Nation in Manitoba (about 250 miles northwest of Winnipeg) around May 2004. Visitors to the area began reporting to conservation officials that they had seen the snow-white cub roaming the First Nations community with its mother amidst a pack of black bears, sending tourists flocking to Oscar's Point at the northern tip of Lake Winnipegosis to catch a glimpse of the unusual little bruin. photos here.

6 die in Bulgaria as bus carrying Israelis bombed

Smoke rises into the sky after an explosion at Burgas airport, outside the Black Sea city of Burgas, Bulgaria, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the capital, Sofia, Wednesday, July 18, 2012. A bus carrying young Israeli tourists in a Bulgarian resort exploded Wednesday, killing three people and wounding at least 20, police said. Witnesses told Israeli media that the huge blast occurred soon after someone boarded the vehicle. (AP Photo/ Burgasinfo) BULGARIA OUT

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) -- A bomb exploded on a bus carrying Israeli youth in a Bulgarian resort Wednesday, killing at least six people and wounding 32, officials said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it "an Iranian terror attack" and promised a tough response.

The explosion took place in the Black Sea city of Burgas, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the capital, Sofia. TV images showed smoke billowing from the scene - a parking lot at the local airport where the Israeli tourists had landed shortly before the blast. Several buses and cars were on fire near the shell of the exploded vehicle..."This is an Iranian terror attack that is spreading across the world," Netanyahu said. "Israel will react strongly to Iran's terror."...Read here...