OVERSEAS NEWS: FOSTERS SUED FOR BEING “UN-AUSTRALIAN” & MACAU RATED PRIME TERRORIST TARGET

FOSTER’S SUED IN U.S. FOR BEING ‘UN-AUSTRALIAN’

Article from Clyde Mooney, Managing Editor PUBTIC

Foster’s in the USA is being sued for being ‘un-Australian’ after a fan of the beer discovered his drink was made in Texas.

New Yorker Leif Nelson was reportedly ‘devastated’ to learn that his favourite lager, marketed in the States as “Australian for beer” was in fact being brewed in Fort Worth.

In classic American litigious style, he is leading a class action against SAB Miller, citing its marketing is misleading.

The New York Post reported Nelson’s litigation stated that “Consumers believe they are purchasing beer imported from Australia brewed with Australian ingredients, when, in fact, they are purchasing beer brewed in Fort Worth, Texas, with ingredients from the United States.”

The suit also references paying imported beer prices for beer that is not in fact imported.

Like many beers, Foster’s is brewed under licence throughout the world, largely as the logistics of transporting beer across the equator make it cost-prohibitive to maintain production in the place of origin for large-scale overseas distribution. The same is true in Australia for many imported labels, such as Corona.

A spokesperson for the big brewer stated that the company “employs an Australian brew master so that the beer tastes as true to its origin as possible”. But Foster’s-lovers Nelson and his cohorts stand a good chance of winning, with a very similar case being fought and won in 2013.

Francisco Rene Marty sued AB InBev – which is currently trying to execute a takeover of SAB Miller – for implying that Beck’s was still brewed in Germany, although production had moved to the American State of Missouri in 2012.  Despite the world’s largest brewer branding the action a “frivolous lawsuit with no basis” it was settled for $US20 million, and consumers could claim up to $US50 from retail outlets where they purchased Beck’s.

 

 

 

MACAU A TEMPTING TARGET FOR “SPECTACULAR” TERRORIST ATTACK, SAYS NEW REPORT

Article by Steven Stradbrooke, calvinayre.com

Last weeks ISIS-inspired terrorist attacks in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta have added extra urgency to a new report stressing Macau’s desirability as a terrorist target.

Hong Kong-based risk consultancy Steve Vickers and Associates Ltd released its 2016 Asia Risk Assessment report on Wednesday, which includes the possibility of a “spectacular attack on a soft target such as a mall in Australia or a casino in Macau.”

The report cites the “nexus of Chinese, American and Jewish interests in [Macau’s] gaming sector” as presenting the terrorist equivalent of hitting a trifecta.

China’s Xinjiang autonomous region, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, is home to a large population of Muslim Uighurs. Extremists in their ranks have increasingly clashed with non-Muslims in recent years, including an attack on a coalmine in September 2015 in which at least 50 people died, prompting Beijing to clamp down even harder on dissent.

The American and Jewish components of Vickers’ nexus are most prominently embodied in Sheldon Adelson, the Sands China boss who is an outspoken supporter of Israel and who publicly suggested dropping a nuclear bomb in the Iranian desert as a warning. American companies also control Wynn Macau and MGM China.

Steve Vickers is the former head of the Hong Kong police criminal intelligence bureau and is no stranger to Macau. A few years ago, Sands China hired Vickers to compile background reports on some Macau junket operators and public officials. These reports have become the subject of great interest in the wrongful termination suit brought by former Sands China CEO Steve Jacobs.

The Vickers report was issued just two days after ISIS fanatics targeted a casino in the Iraqi town of Mugdadiya, just northeast of Baghdad, leaving 23 people dead. A suicide bomber is believed to have triggered an explosive vest inside the venue, then a car bomb detonated outside after a crowd gathered to help those hurt by the first blast.