VW and Porsche

 

who will emerge the winner in the reverse takeover?

 

A war of wills between Volkswagen and Porsche escalated on Monday as the stricken luxury sportscar maker spurned an offer from VW for a stake in its auto business.

“There is an offer by Volkswagen. For us it is not a practical solution,” a Porsche spokesman told AFP.

Only a few months ago, it was the other way round as Porsche, having audaciously built up a 51-percent stake in VW, sought full control of the much larger firm.

Buying up the interest in VW, which is Europe’s biggest carmaker, partly through risky stock market instruments, left Porsche crushed under some nine billion euros (12.7 billion dollars) in debt.

Porsche threw in the towel in its attempt to take over VW in late May as the two firms announced instead that they would seek a merger.

But relations have since deteriorated between the Porsche and the Piech clans who control the two companies, and in particular between the cousins who head the firms’ respective boards, Ferdinand Piech and Wolfgang Porsche.

In a humiliating turnaround for formerly high-flying Porsche, once the biggest success story of the German car industry, the firm has even gone cap-in-hand to the government seeking a 1.75-billion-euro emergency loan.

The request looks set to be rejected because Porsche’s woes are not the result of the financial crisis, meaning it fails to qualify for government help to firms hit by the global recession and through no fault of their own.

Porsche has also turned to Qatar for help — talks which are now “in the final stretch,” the Porsche spokesman said on Monday, although it was unclear what form an investment by the Gulf state might take.

Piech and Wolfgang Porsche disagree on how to get Porsche out of its current predicament.

Piech would like to merge the two companies, while Wolfgang Porsche backs Wendelin Wiedeking, the flamboyant head of Porsche who rescued the company from oblivion and turned it into one of the world’s most profitable firms.

Wiedeking, one of the key architects of the attempted VW takeover, wants to keep his company independent — and save his job.

The latest twist came at the weekend with Spiegel magazine reporting that VW had presented a merger proposition that involved VW taking a stake of 49.9 percent in Porsche’s car business for three to four billion euros.

Wolfgang Porsche issued a statement describing an ultimatum reportedly set by VW to accept its offer on Monday as “blackmail.”

“We will not give in to such pressure or blackmail…. The 21st century is not the time for ultimatums. We wonder what the whole matter is really about and whether the focus is still on our common cause at all,” he said.

VW denied setting any ultimatum and declined to comment further.

Porsche, meanwhile, said that the offer had been put to Wolfgang Porsche but not to the firm’s board, according to the spokesman.

He added that a loan for 10.75 billion euros negotiated with a group of banks would have to be renegotiated “immediately” if it had accepted VW’s offer.

Tim Urquhart, auto analyst at IHS Global Insight, said that the power struggle had “plumbed new depths” and that the infighting “is starting to look somewhat ridiculous.”

“At the very least it appears that developments over the weekend suggest that relations and communication between the respective management teams of VW and Porsche have hit an all-time low,” Urquhart said.

“What was already a difficult negotiation is rapidly descending into farce and serious harm is being done to the reputations of Porsche and VW as a result.”

Christian Wulff, premier of the state of Lower Saxony, which owns a 20 percent stake in VW, said he was “a bit annoyed” and called on firms to “stop playing ‘Dynasty’ and ‘Dallas’,” referring to the 1980s soap operas.

Michael Jackson’s lyrics tell a hard story

In the brief, electric prime of Michael Jackson, millions danced to “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and other songs so propulsive it almost didn’t matter what they actually said.

But the lyrics _ whether Jackson’s or others’ _ could be as disturbing as the music was liberating. Sealed in the grooves were tales of deceit, paranoia, violence and victimization. Even before his life broke apart and the tabloids bore down, Jackson sang like a boy-man under attack.

“You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it,” he warns on “Thriller,” the title track to his all-time selling album and written by Rod Temperton. “You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes/You’re paralyzed.”

Jackson was almost 21 when his first “adult” record, “Off the Wall,” came out in 1979. He had survived the childhood beatings and insults by his father and had already lived at least one life in show business, as the smiling, spinning prodigy fronting his brothers in the Jackson Five.

“Off the Wall” sold millions and shed the catchy, but impersonal persona of his child star youth. The title track, written by Temperton, was a lighthearted introduction to what would become Jackson’s truest subjects: his strange life and the stolen innocence he wanted back. “The world is on your shoulder,” the song advises, but “life ain’t so bad it all/If you live it off the wall.”

He would soon fire his father as his manager and vow that his next record, “Thriller,” would make him the biggest star in the business _ a promise met like few others. “Thriller” sold more than 20 million copies initially and sales now top 50 million. It earned him the title he bestowed on himself, “The King of Pop,” and offered the first full take from the throne.

“Michael Jackson wrote songs for one great artist _ which was himself,” says Diane Warren, the Grammy-winning songwriter who has written for Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson and Mary J. Blige.

Warren says Jackson also picked great songs by other writers _ see “Thriller” _ and “was an amazing interpreter” of them. Among his songbook, she spots a theme of defiance and toughness that perhaps acted as protective armor.

Music producer Glen Ballard was in the studio with Jackson and Quincy Jones for the making of “Thriller,” and worked on the later “Bad” and “Dangerous” albums, co-writing the songs “Man in the Mirror” and “Keep the Faith.”

“As he grew up and matured as an artist, his lyric writing had this sort of air of mystery about it,” Ballard says. “He still knew how to write hooks _ he just knew how to communicate that way _ but he sort of created this vocabulary” that was darker, surreal and futuristic.

The bouncy duet with Paul McCartney, “The Girl Is Mine,” is an interracial love triangle. The hard rock “Beat It,” set to the switchblade guitar runs of Eddie Van Halen, is an anthem of pacifism, or passivity, with Jackson pleading to stop a gang war _ and perhaps all wars _ because “It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right.”

The singer in “Billie Jean” has been taken by a girl he meets on the dance floor and later claims has borne him a child. “Billie Jean is not my lover,” he chants, teeth clenched. “She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one/But the kid is not my son.”

Jackson’s “Billie Jean” lyrics are paranoid, defiant and “cool,” Warren says.

“Maybe in a way he wanted to be left alone,” she suggests, noting the trauma of his missing childhood.

If so, Jackson did not give that impression in the recording studio, according to Ballard. He remembers Jackson as “very shy” around people he’d just met, but when he felt comfortable, he was funny and fun to be around. He was collaborative yet focused on his larger musical vision. He moved and grooved, feeling the music. When Ballard and others hosed him with water guns on his birthday, Jackson grabbed a water gun and joined in.

Ballard had no idea about Jackson’s life outside the studio. As for “Billie Jean,” he can’t point to any real-life experience or demons within the pop legend’s psyche.

“It’s just this incomplete portrait that you can fill in however you want and you can see it as this huge, mysterious, sort of tragic story or something,” he says of the 1983 chart topper.

The same woman, or at least another named “Billie Jean,” turns up in the equally besieged “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” in which Billie Jean is another exploiter “always talkin’/when nobody else is talkin’/tellin’ lies and rubbin’ shoulders.” Again, there’s a child and Jackson, the alleged Peter Pan of popular music, doesn’t want to know:

___

If you can’t feed your baby

Then don’t have a baby

And don’t think maybe

If you can’t feed your baby

___

Jackson was a cultural radical who broke the color line on MTV and shattered the old rock clique of white men with guitars. But his politics were more personal than collective, avoiding confrontation as surely as the guy in “Beat It.” In “Man in the Mirror,” from the 1987 “Bad” album, he worries about “the kids in the street/with not enough to eat,” and concludes that the answer is to “take a look at yourself and then make a change.” He would later call to “Heal the World,” although doesn’t say how beyond making sure that “you care enough.”

Scandal and chaos only made him look harder, at himself, and at others: The boasts of “Invincible” and “Untouchable,” the rage of “Tabloid Junkie” and the taunts of “Threatened.” In the self-evident “Privacy,” the world is a trespasser peeking through his window: “Ain’t the pictures enough, why do you go through so much,” he asks. “To get the story you need, so you can bury me.”

Ballard, who has written for Alanis Morissette and George Strait, among others, says the passionate performer was a “remarkable songwriter” who “absolutely” felt his songs’ lyrics.

“I don’t think there’s any question that that was just falling out of his creative, unpremeditated self. … He tapped into his `whatever’ and he was using it like an artist should and sort of creating these characters _ maybe they’re him, maybe they’re not,” he says. “You get distance from it. (The lyrics) just really have this kind of compelling, mysterious, very cool air about them, in addition to being really hot at the center with these grooves.”

You could heat a country on all the energy spent wondering what happened to Jackson in the second half of his life and what eventually killed him. But he explained himself well in the trembling “Childhood,” set to Hollywood strings and to a melody lost and forlorn as an orphaned boy.

That song “was probably the most autobiographical of all his amazing lyrics,” says Grammy-winning songwriter Carole Bayer Sager, who co-wrote “That’s What Friends Are For” with Burt Bacharach.

“Have you seen my Childhood?” Jackson wonders, his voice light and high. “Before you judge me, try hard to love me/The painful youth I’ve had.”

我不是你想象的那么勇敢

 

i luv the lyrics.  anyone got the mp3？

梁文音 – 我不是你想像的那么勇敢

有时候太坚强 笑容却填不满眼眶
越是想要隐藏 歌声就唱的更响亮
直到入到心底最深处 OH~
你不要追问我 还缺了些什麽
每个人都有梦 幸福总站在最远方
心中越是渴望 越是不敢伸手拥抱
谁的心是我最後一站
我强问我自己 现在还没有个答案
我不是你想像那麽勇敢
多想让你保护能流泪一场
让我放下武装 像个孩子一样
单纯的把爱情放在你心上

to be contd

sunny sunday

 

 

tat’s how the day started out but by the time we went out in early afternoon, we saw some dark clouds

luckily the brief downpour didn’t affect our plans at all

i luv sunny sundays

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,”

 

 

juz watched yest.  longer than 2 hrs but totally caught up in the show from start to finish, esp when it’s so late in the show and the odds seem to b all against humans and autobots.

though the show is good on its own, it helps if u watched part 1 (who hasn’t) coz u will recall the desert fighting and the brave soldiers from Qatar Captain William Lennox and Sergeant Robert Epps though i wish their parts were bigger.

and simmons aka robot warrior from sector 7 is as funny as before !

and shia labeouf’s true professionalism to contd filming despite his hand surgery is admirable !

 

The “Transformers” sequel was well on its way to becoming the biggest hit of the year so far after selling a better-than-expected $126 million in tickets during its first three days at the North American box office, distributor Paramount Pictures said on Saturday.

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” a follow-up to the smash robot hit of 2007, is on course to challenge the seemingly impregnable five-day opening record of $203.8 million set last year by Batman sequel, “The Dark Knight.”

The biggest movie of the year so far is “Star Trek,” which has grossed $244 million in seven weeks of release across the United States and Canada.

A clearer picture of “Transformers”‘ trajectory will emerge on Sunday, when the Viacom Inc-owned studio issues sales estimates for the weekend. Earlier in the week, Paramount had conservatively forecast a five-day haul in the $130 million to $150 million range. But industry pundits countered that a tally of at least $175 million was more likely. The film reportedly cost about $200 million to make.

The $126 million figure covers sales for Wednesday through Friday. The film earned $60.6 million on its first day, breaking the old record for a Wednesday release of $44 million set by “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” in 2007. It fell just short of the all-time single-day record of $67 million, set last year on a Friday by “The Dark Knight.”

The “Transformers” sequel earned $36.7 million on Friday. Nine movies have made more than that on a Friday, but that was their first day of release.

The film also opened worldwide on Wednesday, but got an early start last weekend with a No. 1 bow in Britain and No. 2 in Japan behind a local release.

The first “Transformers” was the third-biggest film of 2007 in North America, ending up with $319 million. It opened on the Monday before the July 4 holiday, so comparisons are difficult. They have plenty in common though: director Michael Bay reunites with young stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. Robots rampage across the landscape, and things explode.

Critics were mildly favorable toward the first film, but mostly appalled by the sequel, according to Rotten Tomatoes , a Web site that analyzes reviews.

89 new cases of H1N1

Jun 28, 209

Singapore has confirmed 89 new cases of H1N1, bringing the total tally to 454 confirmed cases.

The Health Ministry said in addition to these 89 new cases, 53 other cases were pending investigation on Friday.

Of these 142 cases, 65 have been investigated. They comprise 34 local cases, 31 imported cases, while the remaining 77 cases are still being investigated.

The 34 new local cases include 10 new cases in the Republic Polytechnic cluster and seven new cases in the Maju Camp cluster.

There are also two new cases in the Tekong cluster and both are full—time national servicemen.

In addition, there is a new cluster from an NUS Orientation Camp comprising three new cases and one previously unlinked case.

Jackson family order new autopsy, anger mounts

The family of Michael Jackson is to hold an independent autopsy, it has emerged, as associates told of mounting anger over “unanswered questions” surrounding the tragic pop icon’s death.

Jackson’s family members were huddled at their compound in the northern Los Angeles suburb of Encino, where they have been based since the most famous member of their clan died suddenly on Thursday at age 50.

The Los Angeles Coroner’s office said Friday a preliminary autopsy on Jackson was inconclusive and a final cause of death would not be known until exhaustive toxicology tests are completed in “six to eight weeks.”

Jackson’s body was released to his family under cover of darkness late Friday, and was being kept at an undisclosed location, officials said.

Coroner’s investigator Steve Elias confirmed Saturday the family had informed officials they would hold a second autopsy. The TMZ.com celebrity news website said the examination was already underway.

“We don’t like what’s going on,” family patriarch Joe Jackson told People magazine. The Jacksons later issued a statement to fans describing the death as “one of the darkest moments of our lives.”

Earlier veteran US politician and activist Reverend Jesse Jackson — who is not related to the family — told ABC television’s Good Morning America that he had spent Friday counseling the family at their estate.

And he revealed that family members were angered by questions surrounding Jackson’s death, and were focusing their attention on the role of the singer’s doctor identified as Conrad Murray.

The doctor is reported to have injected Jackson with the painkiller Demerol shortly before his death.

Reports said Los Angeles police were due to interview Murray on Saturday in the presence of a lawyer but detectives have said they do not view the physician as a criminal suspect.

A lawyer representing Murray, Matt Alford, said he had no knowledge of any treatments given to Jackson by the physician.

“It’s a human tragedy and he’s (Murray’s) upset about the death of Mr Jackson,” Alford told CNN. “He’s not a suspect in the death of Mr Jackson.”

However Jesse Jackson said the family had questions of their own.

“They (the family) are suspicious of this doctor and they have real reason to be because any other doctor would say ‘Here’s what happened in the last hour of his life and I was there. I gave him some medicine.’

“He owes it to the family and to the public to say, ‘These were the last hours of Michael’s life and here’s what happened.’ That’s a reasonable expectation.”

Friends and associates of Jackson took to the airwaves to voice anger over the role of advisers and physicians that surrounded the star.

New age guru and Jackson confidante Deepak Chopra — a qualified cardiologist — told CNN bluntly: “I think drugs killed him.”

Anger was also beginning to be seen amongst fans who have gathered around the globe in their thousands to pay tribute to Jackson.

On the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, fans queued again on Saturday for the right to file past Jackson’s star set in the sidewalk.

Deborah Canton, 46, sobbed inconsolably as she slammed the “evil people” who she accused of driving Jackson to his death.

“The guy would never hurt a fly but all of these evil people would do everything to destroy him just to get his money,” she said. “I don’t think he wanted to live anymore.”

In New York large crowds formed outside the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, where Jackson launched his career in 1969.

Meanwhile revelers at Britain’s Glastonbury music festival sported T-shirts with slogans like “Michael Jackson RIP” and “I was at Glasto when Jacko died”, while graffiti paying tribute to “The King of Pop” adorned tents.

Jackson’s death has sent fans scrambling to stock up on his music, and British chart officials said a compilation album was likely to go to the top of the charts on Sunday.

While Jackson ruled the charts and dazzled audiences with dance moves like the “moonwalk” in the 1980s, his once-stellar career was overshadowed by his startling physical transformation and multiple allegations of child abuse.

He lived as a virtual recluse following his 2005 acquittal on charges of child molestation and plotting to kidnap his young accuser.

detox

is good for the soul, i call this emotional detox

it is not fine

as wat u declare

a truce or ceasefire is pointless when not accepted by the other party

u take the stabbing and bleeding v lightly coz it’s not u who hurts

u like to shift the blame onto mi

u say goodnite BECOZ i dun wana tok
u dun get enuff sleep BECOZ i tok to u
u said something tat hurt mi BECOZ i said something tat hurt u too, the 2 matters r related
your exact words were ‘dun TINK tat u r the only one who hurts’
u said ‘Nobody but my grp of frens’ but u did not say it’s me.
u can’t help mi if i want to tink negative

WTF !

be a man! and accept your fair share of responsibility for the so-called frenship. dun b a wimp!

it doesn’t pay to be kind

when u deal with a creep

你不了解我 才教我最难过

 

 

不要— 陈洁仪
作词：许常德 作曲：郭峰
我知道你不想伤害我 你只是在寻找
完全不同我另一种温柔
我知道你还是爱著我 不然你不会难过
在我发现你和他的时候
为何你总觉得寂寞 我的爱难道还不够
想不透你能同时爱两个人
情到深处我全接受 爱上你我别无所求
当你带著愧疚 带著笑容又再回头
不要 让我幸福让我满足又让我痛苦
泪已不想流 爱要怎么说
不要 给我孤独给我无助再给我安抚
你不了解我 才教我最难过
我知道你不想伤害我 你只是在寻找
完全不同我另一种温柔
我知道你还是爱著我 不然你不会难过
在我发现你和他的时候
为何你总觉得寂寞 我的爱难道还不够
想不透你能同时爱两个人
当你带著愧疚 带著笑容又在回头
情到深处我全接受 爱上你我别无所求
不要 让我幸福让我满足又让我痛苦
泪已不想流 爱要怎么说
不要 给我孤独给我无助再给我安抚
你不了解我 才教我最难过
不要 让我幸福让我满足又让我痛苦
泪已不想流 爱要怎么说
不要 给我孤独给我无助再给我安抚
你不了解我 才教我最难过

不值得

i WAS such a fool

wasting my time, energy and tears on such an ungrateful creep whom i regarded as a fren

if i tell u tat a knife will cut mi and make me bleed, will u keep taking stabs at me and tell mi tat i should not doubt whether or not ur attacks were intentional

i m finally seeing u for the lowdown creep tat u r

u assume too much and accuse too much. yet tries to turn the tables on mi tat i m the one assuming and accusing. hard as i tried to keep emotions in check and b as nice as possible to the unconscious u, my patience for u has completely and utterly run out

it’s not too late to realise and remove such a tumour

and u try to brush it off at the end of the day tat we haf mutual understanding? under the guise tat u value our frenship. omg! u r a creep!

i m not going to go anywhere near enuff to u to b stabbed again

mutual intent

 

 

tat was the feeling i got as the wk progresses

my reason for doing this is v different from his

and i muz say i m v disappointed in the person

is tis how u see mi?   do i give u tis feeling?

at the end of the day, if a person doesn’t treasure wat he has, everything is futile

过去式

 

 

juz let it go

Sat !

 

 

yea !   looking forward to pampering myself and having an exciting day out !   finally !!

反客为主

 

 

cool !  tis is reli a good way of taking ctrl

by gifing up my ’superior’  stance, i haf turned the tables in my flavour

haha…we shall play by MY rules

平常心

 

i can do it !

i juz need to do it my way, in a manner tat i m comfortable wif, wifout having to try too hard

Your body is 28 years old

 

 

Livia took the quiz How old is your body? and the result is Your body is 28 years old

If your body is younger than it should be. Congratulations!
You’re taking good care of yourself, and it’s definitely paying off.
Whether it’s by accident or by choice, you’re living a very healthy lifestyle.
Keep it up, and you’re likely to live a long, vibrant life.

If your body is older than it should be.
This means you’re not taking great care of yourself, and it shows.
To get younger, you’re going to need to give up some bad habits.
Eat better, exercise more, and try to relax. You can turn back time!

And if your body is exactly as old as it should be.
You’re taking fairly good care of yourself, but you could be doing a better job.
Keep eating well and exercising. And if you’re not doing this already, it’s time get started.
Minimize your bad habits. They may be fun, but they eat years off your life!

95 new H1N1 cases raise total infected in S’pore to 315

The H1N1 virus continues its spread in Singapore.

The Health Ministry confirmed 95 new cases on Thursday, raising the total infected to 315.

About half of the new cases have been investigated and they comprise 25 local infections and 22 imported ones.

Of the 25 new local infections, 10 are Butter Factory nightspot patrons and staff, four are from the Maju Camp cluster and two caught the virus from close contact with imported cases.

Nine are linked to a new Republic Polytechnic cluster, which had three previous cases.

The remaining 48 new cases are still being investigated.

Meanwhile, a trainee working in MediaCorp who contracted the H1N1 virus has been cleared and discharged from hospital.

The Health Ministry says those who develop flu symptoms and have a recent travel history to affect countries should call 993 for an ambulance and should avoid taking public transport.

Those who have symptoms but no travel history should put on a mask, visit a general practitioner and avoid crowded areas.

Donde Esta Santa Claus

Duno why but I suddenly started humming and singing this carol non-stop since after lunch. And I only repeat the same clause tat I rem which is ‘Mamacita, oh, where is Santa Claus? I look for him because it’s a Christmas Eve.’

Donde Esta Santa Claus

Mamacita, donde esta Santa Claus?
Donde esta Santa Claus?
And the toys that he will leave.
Mamacita, oh, where is Santa Claus?
I look for him because it’s a Christmas Eve.

I know that I should be sleeping,
But maybe he’s not far away,
Out of the window I’m peeping,
Hoping to see him in his sleigh.

I hope he won’t forget to clack his castinet,
And to his reindeer, say,
"Oh Pancho, Oh! Vixen, Oh! Pedro, Oh! Blitzen,"
Ole! Ole! Ole! cha cha cha.

Mamacita, donde esta Santa Claus?
Oh! Where is Santa Claus?
It’s Christmas Eve.

Mamacita, donde esta Santa Claus?
I look for him because it’s Christmas Eve.

I know that I should be sleeping,
But maybe he’s not far away,
Out of the window I’m peeping,
Hoping to see him in sleigh.

I hope he won’t forget to crack his castinet,
And to his reindeer, say,
"Oh Pancho, Oh! Vixen, Oh! Pedro, Oh! Blitzen,"
Ole! Ole! Ole! cha cha cha.

Mamacita, donde esta Santa Claus?
Oh! Where is Santa Claus?
It’s Christmas Eve.

It’s Christmas Eve.
It’s Christmas Eve.
It’s Christmas Eve.
Alright, Mamacita. I’ll go to sleep now.
It’s Christmas Eve……

King of Pop is no more

Got the news via sms at 7+ this morn

What a loss! I feel, for the music world. I like his music even if he has been surrounded by all sorts of adverse news these recent yrs.

No more world concert too

The world definitely lost someone special

Happy Friday

Friday cheer from karen

What is Marketing?

1. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: ‘ I am

very rich. Marry me! ‘ – That’s Direct Marketing’

2. You’re at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl.
One
of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says: ‘ He’s very
rich.
‘Marry him.’ -That’s Advertising’

3. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her
telephone number. The next day, you call and say: ‘ Hi,I’m very rich.
‘Marry
me -That’s Telemarketing’

4. You’re at a party and see a gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten

your tie, you walk up to her and pour her

a drink, you open the door (of the car)for her, pick up her bag after
she
drops it, offer her ride and then say:’By the way, I’m rich. Will you
‘Marry
Me?’ – That’s Public Relations‘

5. You’re at a party and see gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and
says:’You are very rich! ‘Can you marry Me?’ – That’s Brand Recognition’

6. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: ‘I am
very
rich. Marry me!’She gives you a nice hard slap on your face. – ‘That’s
Customer Feedback ‘

7. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: ‘I am
very
rich. Marry me!’ And she introduces you to her husband. – ‘That’s demand
and
supply gap’

8. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you
say
anything, another person come and tell her: ‘I’m rich. Will you marry
me?’
and she goes with him- ‘That’s competition eating into your market
share’

9. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you
say:
‘I’m rich, Marry me!’ your wife arrives. – ‘ That’s restriction for
entering
new markets’

walking away

 

 

is harder den staying on yet remaining cool

always do the harder thing

Day IV – coming to terms

 

 

should i gif up halfway?

surely i m stronger and bigger den tis

even if i can’t execute to perfection, at least i m coming to terms wif the real situation

so i get abit more irritated and less tolerant

anyway, juz  1 day more before sat excitement !  so much to do/see/eat/ enjoy !!

Cops question Brit star about robbery of paparazzi

 

oh robbie williams !  yummy !

 

Police in the Bahamas are investigating the robbery of two paparazzi a few hours after they snapped shots of British pop idol Robbie Williams lounging on an exclusive beach in Exuma and argued with his entourage.

Superintendent Ellsworth Moss, who heads the detective unit of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, said Wednesday that investigators had questioned Williams about the early Sunday robbery of the two celebrity photographers who traveled to Staniel Cay to sneak photos of the vacationing singer.

Moss stressed that Williams was not a suspect.

“We don’t think he was the one who actually committed the robbery, but it may have been a spinoff or may have been triggered by what reportedly happened with his party on the beach,” he said.

A phone call to Williams’ representative in London was not answered.

The paparazzi _ Matt Sanchez of Splash News & Picture Agency and freelancer Carlos Mendez _ told police they got into a shouting match with Williams’ entourage while they photographed the star with zoom lenses. Hours later, they alleged, four armed men broke into their rented room and stole $20,000 worth of cameras and other equipment.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Raymond Gibson said two men were in custody in connection with the case. He did not disclose further details, saying the investigation was continuing.

Williams has long been a singing star in Britain and is popular in other countries. But he hasn’t generated much appeal in the United States, receiving more publicity for entering rehab for dependency on prescription drug than for his music.

BP appoints Ericsson chief as new chairman

 

British energy giant BP has appointed Carl-Henric Svanberg, current chief executive of Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson, as the group’s new chairman from 2010.

“BP today announced that it has appointed Carl-Henric Svanberg, currently chief executive officer of the Swedish telecommunications company, Ericsson, to replace Peter Sutherland as chairman of BP,” the group said in a statement.

Svanberg, 57, will step down at the end of 2009 after a seven-year stint as Ericsson chief executive and chairman of joint venture Sony Ericsson. He will become BP chairman on January 1, 2010.

“BP is a recognised world leader in the energy sector and it’s a great privilege to be invited to lead its board,” Svanberg said in the release.

“Following such a distinguished predecessor is quite a challenge but I’m hugely excited about joining the energy industry which is so much at the heart of the global economy. I look forward to it with relish.”

BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward paid tribute to the outgoing Sutherland, adding that Svanberg was picked because of his character and good track record.

“Peter Sutherland has been an outstanding chairman, guiding the company through one of the most successful periods in its history. He will be a hard act to follow,” Hayward said.

“But I am sure Carl-Henric will be a worthy successor. He is a businessman of international stature who is recognised for his transformation of Ericsson.

“Our shared views on many aspects of global business give me great confidence that we will work very effectively together on the next phase of BP’s progress.”

Nigerian rebels say they attacked Shell pipeline

Nigeria’s main militant group said its fighters sabotaged a Royal Dutch Shell oil pipeline in the southern Niger Delta on Thursday, the latest in a string of attacks against Africa’s biggest energy producer.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said in an e-mailed statement it had attacked the Billie/Krakama pipeline in Rivers state in the Niger Delta.

Attacks from MEND have forced foreign oil companies, including U.S. oil major Chevron and Italy’s Agip, to shut at least 133,000 barrels per day of oil production in the last month.

MEND said the damaged pipeline it attacked on Thursday fed into pumping stations connected to the Bonny crude oil terminal, one of Nigeria’s main export terminals.

“Cawthorne Channel 1, 2 and 3 flow stations feeding the Bonny export terminal have been effectively put out of service,” the group said.

Shell officials were not immediately available for comment. Independent verification of MEND’s statement was not possible.

On Sunday, MEND claimed responsibility for attacks on three Shell installations, including the Afremo offshore oilfields.

Shell has said it was investigating reports of attacks against its installations and was carrying out aerial inspections to try to assess any impact on output or the extent of any environmental damage from potential spillage.

Industry and security experts say it is virtually impossible to prevent opportunistic attacks on hundreds of kilometres of pipeline and equipment in the remote mangrove creeks of the Niger Delta, one of the world’s biggest wetlands.

The military last month launched its biggest offensive against Niger Delta gunmen in years, bombarding rebel camps from the air and sea and sending three battalions of troops to hunt them down.

CLEMENCY OFFER

But security forces have toned down their campaign in recent days ahead of a federal amnesty programme that is expected to be unveiled later on Thursday.

President Umaru Yar’Adua will offer clemency to militants over a 60-day period, starting on August 6, if they agree to lay down their weapons, a senior official said.

The government estimates as many as 20,000 militants could participate in the programme, but sceptics question whether an amnesty alone will be enough to halt widespread oil theft, pipeline bombings and kidnappings for ransom.

One militant leader, Ateke Tom, has indicated he would consider taking part in the amnesty programme if the military halts its offensive and withdraws its troops from the region, one of his lawyers said this month.

But MEND has criticised government efforts to provide an amnesty to gunmen, saying it has not been involved in any of the negotiations.

惯性背叛

Song recommended by Karen

惯性背叛

享受被爱的风光
嘘寒问暖 稀松平常
你喝水 你吃饭
你拥有的早已习惯
活在被爱的天堂
以为幸福都很像
被哄着入睡 吻着起床
换一个人是否一样
惯性背叛 还天真的希望我应该体谅
像孩子找着新玩伴 很快乐 受了伤
拼命回头却不敢让我看到你的慌
惯性背叛 才发现你是如此害怕黑暗
原来什么都被锁上
我慢慢 觉得亮 越接近夕阳影子越长
你在被爱的门窗
总是盼望总是张望
人挤人的街上 再多解释 伤心失望
你在被爱的围墙
那个温暖的手掌
以为的捆绑 却是力量
被你冷战 陪你张狂
惯性背叛 还天真的希望我应该体谅
像孩子找着新玩伴 很快乐 受了伤
明明回头却不敢让我看到你的慌
惯性背叛 才发现你是如此害怕黑暗
原来什么都被锁上
我慢慢 觉得亮 越接近夕阳影子越长
惯性背叛 还天真的希望我应该体谅
像孩子找着新玩伴 很快乐 受了伤
拼命回头却不敢让我看到你的慌
惯性背叛才发现你是如此害怕黑暗
原来什么都被锁上
我慢慢 觉得亮 越接近夕阳影子越长
惯性背叛 还天真的希望我应该体谅
像孩子找着新玩伴 很快乐 受了伤
拼命回头却不敢让我看到你的慌
惯性背叛才发现你是如此害怕黑暗
原来什么都被锁上
我慢慢 觉得亮 越接近夕阳影子越长

game plan aborted

Sorry andie, I can’t contd as planned

I lost my cool

I’ve had enuff

I know I should try to overcome the adverse effects of this character

But I can’t do it nw

So the next best thing will be for me to run as far away as possible

I dun haf to b a sitting duck

Ur plan was brilliant

I juz can’t execute it to perfection

get a grip

I hate it when I lose it

Yesh I over-react but the ‘wronged’ feeling is too overwhelming for me to take lying dwn

test

if u dun care and is not there for mi when I need u, den u dun need to b ard anymore

dark chocolate loaf

From cedele is so…. Nice!

I luv the chocolate chips and the bread is slightly more moist den the other loaves

My new fav bread now

nearly died

From acute abdominal pain tis morn tat woke mi up at 5am

Slight improvement after hot shower and oil rubbing

Suspected it’s due to the vinegar chilli I ate last nite

My gastric is brought on more by acidic food den skipping meals

Wat a painful experience! The pain shifted downwards and I had a second hot shower and rubbed more oil

IQ question

What is the first surname?

negative ppl

Are not for me. I like spontaneous types, juz like me !

muz be full of zest for life. Even if they don’t like the same thing, muz be more encouraging and supportive.

Not as if I’m asking them to do. Siao !

My clouded vision is clearing fast

Shift of power balance

Didn’t expect this outcome but it feels great to b in ctrl.

i m not for playing games but I was too affected by external factors.

nw, juz by changing some of the things I do and re-prioritising some things in my life, I m in better ctrl of how I feel abt things.

NTSB: Crash train was recommended for phaseout

The subway train that plowed into another, causing a crash that killed seven and injured scores of others in the nation’s capital, was part of an aging fleet that federal officials had sought to phase out due to safety concerns, an investigator said Tuesday. But the Metrorail transit system “was not able to do what we asked them to do,” and the old trains kept running despite the 2006 warnings, said Debbie Hersman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

The rush-hour crashed sent more than 70 people to area hospitals and killed at least seven people. The three-decades-old Metro system, a pride of the District of Colombia tourism industry, shuttles tourists and local commuters from Washington to Maryland and Virginia suburbs.

Mayor Adrian Fenty announced Tuesday that seven had died in the crash. Earlier, the District of Columbia Fire Department Web site announced that three bodies had been found in addition to the six fatalities reported Monday.

Fenty said two victims were hospitalized in critical condition.

Hersman said investigators expect to recover recorders from the train was struck, providing valuable information that might help determine why the crash occurred. But the train triggered the collision was part of an old “thousand-series” fleet that was not equipped with the devices, she said at a news conference.

Earlier, Hersman told The Associated Press that the NTSB had warned in 2006 that there were safety problems related to trains rolling back on their tracks.

“When the train rolled back, the operator was not able to stop it,” she said. Hersman said the NTSB recommended that the thousand-series fleet be phased out or retrofitted to make them more crashworthy.

Neither was done, she said, adding that the NTSB considered the lack of action “unacceptable.”

Monday’s crash was the worst in the history of Metrorail, which has shuttled tourists and federal workers to and from the nation’s capital for more than three decades.

Maya Maroto recalls hearing the sound of “metal on metal” as the train she was riding rear-ended the other one.

“We were going full speed _ I didn’t hear any breaking. Everything was just going normally. Then there was a very loud impact. We all fell out of our seats. Then the train filled up with smoke. I was coughing,” the 31-year-old said. “It sounded like metal on metal. It felt like we hit a car. I couldn’t imagine it was another train.”

Maroto, of Burtonsville, Md., said there was confusion after the impact because no announcements were made immediately. She said some passengers wanted to climb out, but others were afraid of the electrified third rail.

Tijuana Cox, 21, was in the train that was hit. She had her arm in a sling Tuesday, saying she sprained it in the accident.

“Everybody just went forward and came back,” with people’s knees hitting the backs of the seats in front of them, said Cox, of Lanham, Md.

The only other fatal crash in the Metro subway system occurred on Jan. 13, 1982, when three people died as a result of a derailment beneath downtown. That was a day of disaster in the capital: Shortly before the subway crash, an Air Florida plane slammed into the 14th Street Bridge immediately after takeoff from Washington National Airport across the Potomac River. The plane crash, during a severe snowstorm, killed 78 people.

In January 2007, a subway train derailed in downtown Washington, sending 20 people to the hospital and prompting the rescue of 60 others from the tunnel. In November 2006, two Metro track workers were struck and killed by an out-of-service train. An investigation found that the train operator failed to follow safety procedures. Another Metro worker was struck and killed in May 2006.

denial no more

 

 

glad i made the rite decision to let go and let’s go

i was in denial tat i m heading somewhere

but once the direction is wrong, i need to take drastic action to change my course else i will nbr get to where i wana go

i m in denial no more.  i wish u all the best, my fren, tat u find the same peace as mi when u come to terms with ur denial.  my point has already been proven

Miner Anglo American rejects Xstrata merger bid

London-based mining group Anglo American rejected a merger bid by its Swiss rival Xstrata on Monday, snubbing a move that could have forged the two into one of the world’s biggest miners.

“The strategic case for the combination is unattractive for Anglo American shareholders,” Anglo American said in a statement. “Irrespective of this lack of strategic merit, the terms proposed by Xstrata were totally unacceptable.”

The potential tie-up between Xstrata and British-South African firm Anglo American was the latest sign of consolidation pressure in the sector after the collapse of a deal by Rio Tinto with China.

The price of Anglo American shares had soared to close 4.62 percent higher in London trading on Monday after Xstrata said at the weekend that it had approached its rival about a merger.

Anglo American is worth 35 billion US dollars (25 billion euros) and Xstrata 33 billion dollars.

A merger could have created a company worth more than Rio Tinto, which earlier this month cancelled a controversial tie-up with China’s Chinalco in favour of a joint venture with the world’s biggest miner BHP Billiton.

On Sunday, Xstrata had said it was seeking a possible “merger of equals,” adding that such a move would be “highly compelling” and “significantly enhance shareholder returns.”

The activities of the two companies overlap in many areas. Both own coal assets in Australia and South Africa and there had been potential for savings across their copper mining operations.

But Anglo American said in its statement that “a combination with Xstrata would profoundly impact the nature of the Group’s portfolio.”

A merger risked “significantly diluting Anglo American’s unique exposure to the structurally attractive platinum, iron ore and diamond markets while increasing exposure to nickel and zinc,” the company said.

Anglo American is cutting 19,000 jobs this year after posting a 29-percent fall in 2008 net earnings because of sliding demand for raw materials amid the world’s worst economic downturn since the 1930s.

The group has also come in for much criticism from shareholders after chief executive Cynthia Carroll decided against paying a dividend for 2008.

Carroll, who has headed the Anglo-South African firm since March 2007, has also reduced Anglo American’s 2009 investment programme by half to 4.5 billion US dollars because of global economic uncertainty.

Earlier this month, Rio Tinto decided against allowing Chinese state-owned aluminium giant Chinalco to invest 19.5 billion dollars in the Anglo-Australian firm.

Rio has been searching for extra funds after its purchase last year of Canadian aluminium group Alcan, which saddled the company with some 38 billion dollars of debt.

But Chinalco’s emergence as a suitor sparked a political firestorm over ownership of Australian assets, leaving the Australian government with a difficult choice — to risk angering either its electorate or China, a key market.

Instead, Rio unveiled an iron ore joint venture with BHP Billiton and a rights issue worth 15.2 billion US dollars. BHP meanwhile abandoned a hostile takeover bid for Rio last November.

Day II

 

 

of the wk…things are going smoothly, juz as andie expected  : P

MyPoints member since June 23, 2001

 

 

wow!   it’s been so long liao.   i luv redeeming the vouchers though i do get lazi from clicking the mails from time to time which explains my 500+ unread mails. 

 

 

 

Day #1

 

 

andie, i did as we planned

good start, i’ll keep it up !

Boeing readies Dreamliner for first flight

US aerospace giant Boeing is readying its 787 Dreamliner for first test flight in the coming days, banking on the new fuel-efficient plane to sail above stiff market headwinds.

Boeing expects the much-delayed Dreamliner to have its maiden flight by June 30 on a schedule that puts delivery of the plane to first customer, All Nippon Airways (ANA), in the first quarter of 2010.

“We’re very much looking forward to seeing our airplane take to the skies,” Marc Birtel, a Boeing spokesman, said in a phone interview with AFP Friday.

No specific date has been announced for the flight.

Nearly two years behind the initial schedule, the company has delayed the Dreamliner’s first flight four times since launching the program in 2004 because of production problems.

The Chicago-based company announced Wednesday final assembly had begun on the first aircraft destined for ANA, which has ordered 50 Dreamliners.

“This is a great day for the 787 team,” Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the Dreamliner program, said in a statement.

“In 2004, ANA demonstrated great faith in Boeing and the 787 by placing the largest launch order for any new airplane in Boeing history.”

Boeing has built six Dreamliners that will be used in the flight-test program to assure the plane’s safety for the company and for regulators, including the Federal Aviation Administration and foreign authorities, Birtel said.

“The main mantra is safety,” he said.

Boeing says it has 865 orders from 56 airlines for the cutting-edge plane, claiming it is the “fastest-selling all-new jetliner in aviation history.”

The 787 Dreamliner is the company’s first new model in more than a decade and features 50 percent plastic composites, compared with 12 percent on its 777s, helping lower fuel consumption.

According to Boeing, the 787 will use 20 percent less fuel than similarly sized airplanes, reducing emissions by a similar amount.

Plagued by problems from a complex international production system and a two-month machinists strike last year, the Dreamliner’s delays have irked customers and resulted in order cancellations.

The latest delay, announced last December, postponed first flight into the second quarter of 2009, from the fourth quarter of 2008. Launch customer ANA complained about the new delay for first delivery of the plane which initially was set for the third quarter of 2009.

In January, Russian carrier S7 Airlines announced the cancellation of an order for 15 Dreamliners. The next month Boeing said that Dubai-based aircraft leasing company LCAL had cancelled 16 of the 21 planes ordered.

The launch of the new plane comes amid turbulence in the aviation industry as the global economy slumps in the worst economic crisis in decades.

A plunge in passenger air travel has led to massive cancellations and deferrals of aircraft orders.

The International Air Transport Association projects that passenger traffic will fall eight percent this year and airlines could lose nine billion dollars, almost double the estimate three months ago.

That would be on top of 10.4 billion dollars lost in 2008, according to IATA.

Boeing earlier this month lowered its outlook for the world commercial airplane market over the next two decades because of the global economic downturn, slumping air traffic and volatile fuel prices.

But it forecast the growing Asia Pacific region will lead the commercial airplane market in both units and value.

Japanese carriers buy almost exclusively from the US aerospace giant, which is keeping a close eye on arch rival Airbus.

The France-based manufacturer, a unit of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, has begun working on a new long-range A350 plane aimed at competing with the Dreamliner, expected to fly in mid-2013.

Boeing’s financial losses have shaken investor confidence and the company has announced 10,000 job cuts for 2009, including 4,500 in the commercial aircraft division.

Brazil identifies 11 bodies from Air France jet

Medical examiners have identified the first 11 of 50 bodies recovered from the Air France flight that plunged into the Atlantic three weeks ago, officials said Sunday. Five bodies were identified as Brazilian men, five as Brazilian women and one as a “foreigner of the male sex,” the Public Safety Department of the northeastern state of Pernambuco said in a statement. The department did not reveal the nationality of the non-Brazilian victim.

Dental records, fingerprints and DNA samples were used to identify the bodies, the statement said. Investigators are reviewing all remains, debris and baggage at a base set up in Recife, capital of Pernambuco.

The families of the Brazilian victims and the embassy in Brazil representing the foreigner’s home country have been notified, but the identities will not be publicized in keeping with the families’ wishes, the statement said.

Air France Flight 447 fell into the ocean off the northeast coast of Brazil on the night of May 31, killing all 228 people aboard.

Thus far, 50 bodies have been retrieved from the ocean.

Searchers from Brazil, France, the United States and other countries are methodically scanning the surface and depths of the Atlantic for signs of the Airbus A330, which crashed after running into thunderstorms en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

Still missing are the plane’s flight data and voice recorders, thought to be deep under water. French-chartered ships are trolling a search area with a radius of 50 miles (80 kilometers), pulling U.S. Navy underwater listening devices attached to 19,700 feet (6,000 meters) of cable. The black boxes send out an electronic tapping sound that can be heard up to 1.25 miles (2 kilometers) away.

Brazilian and American officials said that as of Sunday evening no signals from the black boxes had been picked up.

Without the black boxes to help explain what went wrong, the investigation has focused on a flurry of automated messages sent by the plane minutes before it lost contact. One of the messages suggests external speed sensors had iced over, destabilizing the plane’s control systems.

phone sales

I haf nothing against ppl doing cold calls or phone sales. In fact I make it a point to b v nice to them and thank them for the call coz I feel tat tis is reli hard work

But I do tink tat some ppl r reli not suitable for this job when their voice r so monotonous and she sounds so uninterested

And I’m an existing customer but I had problems catching details of wat I haf coz she sounded so flat

I feel tat she has reli wasted my time

Waitrose

Peppermint tea bags is v nice !

I use my teaholic cup and my nescafé tumbler to make tea. I usually put the new teabag into the cup for half a min or so den pick up the teabag by the corner and drop it into the tumbler. Thereafter I juz add hot water into the tumbler and more teabags by the same process.

Teabags are usually only good for single use anyway.

The paper used for waitrose teabag is very porous coz when I glanced at my cup after a few seconds of dropping in the teabag, it was sinking so rapidly into the cup tat I haf to grab it quickly. No, I don’t usually dip my fingers into the hot tea to retrieve my teabag. Kinda gross rite, as if I’m washing my fingers in my tea first.

Monday Humour

1. There are 3 Male and 1 Female pencil in a box.

The Female pencil got pregnant!! Which Male pencil is responsible?

THE ONE WITHOUT THE RUBBER!!!

2. Woman in bed with husband’s best friend, phone rings!

"YES"… OK, BYE".

She turns to her lover and says, THAT’S MY HUBBY,

SAYS HE’S NOW GOLFING WITH YOU.

3. 3 Roosters: normal, retarded and a gay.

Normal: cock-a-doodle-dooo!!!

Retarded: doodle-cock-a-dooo!!!

Gay: any-cock-will dooo!!!

4. 3 Guys were introduced to a girl.

Hi, I’m Peter, not a saint.

I’m Paul not a POPE.

I’m John not a Baptist…

The girl replied. Hi! I’m Mary, not a VIRGIN.

5. Girlfriends are appetizers. Tastes good at any time.

Mistresses are Tomyams…Hot and spicy. Eaten frequently.

WIVES are Maggie. Eaten when there’s

nothing to eat!

6. Income Tax office asked a Prostitute why she puts her occupation as

CHICKEN FARMER.

She replied: I RAISED 5,000 COCKS LAST YEAR.!!

7. Why do Indians talk non stop?

Guess…. Still dun no? OK lah…..

Answer : Becoz they left their full stop on their forehead

white gold

Cured my ear. I was wearing the rodium ones from minibits but my ear was swollen for wks !

Den karen gave mi a silver earring so I did some switching and moved my white gold piece to the swollen hole. Wow, it was cured in a day !

Mediterranean Breeze

smells nice and I always prefer edp better den edt

not overly sweet nor overpowering

Records

I use a diary to record most appts

I luv the audit trail and being able to reference back

I dun trust my memory and the record keeping is easy enuff

Started since 10th Jan and ended on 22nd Jun

heel and feet

 

are incredibly dry lor !

somemore i’ve nbr had probs wif heel coz i usually wear covered shoes

when i do wear shoes tat expose my feet, i feel tat the exposed areas look so weathered at the end of the day

tink to slap on more more more moisturiser

i tink it’s signs of old age

sian

 

 

decided to stop playing liao

as andie puts it, waste time onli

it’s a matter of measuring pain vs gain

when pain outweighs gain, no point at all

he can go after his dreamcar, i dun need to noe how he feels anymore

apple cider vinegar drink

 

 

bought the apple cider vinegar for ages but nbr figured out how to consume it

tried drinking it diluted but still taste so sour

finally made a pleasant concoction tonite

2 teaspoons of honey, 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and 200 ml water and ice

viola!  a cool and refreshing drink

feels healthy too !  as if i’m detoxing

爱屋及乌

 

thanks gal, i noe u do it becoz of mi

only girlfriends will do tis

97% Girly

 

Livia took the How GIRLY Are You? quiz and got the result: 97% Girly..

97% Girly: Tee hee hee! You are the ultimate girly girl!

love mi

 

 

for wat i m

i can onli expect tis from girlfrens

i mean i do appreciate ppl 苦口婆心 telling mi where i can improve

yet at the same time, i do wish tat despite everything, u can still love mi and accept mi for who i m

surely when u luv someone, u can accept the person without her changing

mayb i m being too naive

everyone changes, all the time

i m not the same as i was 5 mths ago, as a result of experiences and dear frens sharing wif mi and giving mi invaluable advice

but y do i get the feeling i m always falling short in ur eyes and u r always asking mi to change my ways

yesh, it’s for my own good

yet i do wonder if my current ways irk u so much as a fren

if it is so hard for u, i would rather we NOT b close frens

YY at runway blading

 

12 km ! omg !!

i’m fire element

totally true, esp the part abt good books.  i was so totally engrossed in yishu’s book abt dream machine tat i took the train to simei from pasir ris on the way home…duh

i where got moody, onli mood swing swing swing very very fast but definitely happy most of the time !

 

Livia took the What element is your personality? quiz and the result is Fire!

You are fire: The artistic socialite, fire elemental personalities seek recognition, happiness, and fun. Fire elements tend to be students of emotion, enjoying the pulls of sentimentality and the twangs that a good show or book gives them. They are known to be moody, but that’s just their trait of constantly changing emotional states. What does all this mean? You are in it for the joys of life, and you have plenty of energy to pursue it. Be careful of running into the habit of being over-talkative or short-tempered.

Livia took the What kind of heel are you? quiz and the result is Kitten!

sounds like me in terms of keeping myself occupied with activities most of the time

 

 

Livia took the What kind of heel are you? quiz and the result is Kitten!

You’re the fun one. When your friends ask you to come out with them after work, your answer is almost always a “SURE!”. Always willing to do any activity, you’re the Kitten Heel and you drive boys crazy in the brain.

谢谢你没纵容我

 

 

i m too wilful most of the time

Telecoms firm Nortel to sell assets to Nokia

Canadian telecommunications firm Nortel, in bankruptcy protection since January, will sell most of its wireless business to Nokia Siemens Networks for 650 million dollars.

Nortel also announced Friday it was making headway in discussions with other parties to sell its other businesses.

Nortel will apply to delist its common shares from trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the company said in a statement.

The agreement with Nokia also specifies that at least 2,500 Nortel employees can continue working with the new owner.

Nortel head Mike Zafirovski said the value of Nortel’s wireless business was recognized worldwide and the agreement with Nokia represented the best path forward.

“We have determined the best way to do this is to find buyers for our businesses who can carry Nortel innovation forward, while preserving employment to the greatest extent possible,” he said.

“This will ensure Nortel’s strong assets — technologies, customer relationships, and employees — continue to play an important role in driving the future of communications.

But the announcement foreshadows the liquidation of the struggling Canadian company that was once a pillar of the country’s telecoms industry.

The Nortel wireless business is the second largest supplier of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) infrastructure in the world.

CDMA is a channel access method utilized by various radio communication technologies that allow several transmitters to send information simultaneously over a single communication channel.

Nortel wireless does business with three of the five top CDMA operators globally, including Verizon Wireless, which operates the largest wireless voice and data network in the United States, company officials said.

Nortel said it will file the asset sale agreement with the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. A similar motion for the bidding procedures will be filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the company said.

Once Canada’s largest company, Nortel has been struggling since the dot.com collapse.

When it filed for bankruptcy protection in both the United States and Canada in January, Nortel faced some 107 million dollars in interest on its debt alone.

The company lost 3.4 billion US dollars in the third quarter of 2008 as revenues fell 14 percent.

Last year, Nortel said it was slashing 2,100 jobs mostly in North America and would transfer another 1,000 jobs to lower-cost countries, following deep losses.

Nortel, which did business in 150 countries and had about 26,000 employees around the world in February, traces its history back to 1882 as the mechanical department of Bell Telephone Canada.

It was later known as Northern Electric and Northern Telecom before changing its name in 1999 to Nortel Networks Corporation.

mentally unstable?

Livia completed the quiz “Who is your lifetime match?” with the result They are born between 21st January – 19th Febuary.

You frequently change your mind and you like playing with fire. After a few coy glances, you can get people to take a bite from your hook but when a more beautiful fish comes along, you smile in his direction and jump in the water after them. This pairing brings together free thinkers that need a lot of space in relationships. A whirl of stimulating activities gets the ball rolling, since you two are curiosity seekers. Nothing is taboo for this kind of person, and you are flexible enough to try new things. This leads to lots of experimentation, on dates and in the bedroom. They are drawn to the unconventional, and accept the restless and inconsistancy in youri nature. And you will be charmed by the original ideas coming forth from them. Both of you like to go your own way a lot, so neither will take it personally. They understand the need for intellectual independence, and will have lots of separate friends. This relationship has longterm potential, since there’s always more to learn and talk about. As this person will know how to calm the mentally unstable you down, they can be soothing to your nerves. .

SQ CEO takes 20% paycut

June 20 – The CEO of Singapore Airlines <SIAL.SI>, the world’s biggest by market value, will take a 20 percent pay cut as the carrier looks to cut costs after seeing profits battered by weak travel demand and volatile oil prices. CEO Chew Choon Seng’s management will also see cuts of between 10 and 20 percent from July, while the directors have volunteered for a cut in fees of 20 percent.

The airline said in a statement it had also agreed with its more than 2,300 pilots to take one day of unpaid leave a month. The airline has cut capacity this year on a slump in business class passenger travel and cargo demand.

It said these measures would save S$21 million ($14.4 million) this financial year. Other Singapore firms have also cut pay instead of laying off workers, while government ministers have seen reduced performance-related pay in the city-state’s worst ever recession.

The global aviation industry is expected to lose $9 billion this year, the International Air Transport Association forecast this month. The CEO of British Airways <BA.L>, Willie Walsh, is working for no pay next month.

Chubby people live longest

 

Health experts have long warned of the risk of obesity, but a new Japanese study warns that being very skinny is even more dangerous, and that slightly chubby people live longer.

People who are a little overweight at age 40 live six to seven years longer than very thin people, whose average life expectancy was shorter by some five years than that of obese people, the study found.

“We found skinny people run the highest risk,” said Shinichi Kuriyama, an associate professor at Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Medicine who worked on the long-term study of middle-aged and elderly people.

“We had expected thin people would show the shortest life expectancy but didn’t expect the difference to be this large,” he told AFP by telephone.

The study was conducted by a health ministry team led by Tohoku University professor Ichiro Tsuji and covered 50,000 people between the ages of 40 and 79 over 12 years in the northern Japanese prefecture of Miyagi.

“There had been an argument that thin people’s lives are short because many of them are sick or smoke. But the difference was almost unchanged even when we eliminated these factors,” Kuriyama said.

Main reasons for the shorter lifespans of skinny people were believed to include their heightened vulnerability to diseases such as pneumonia and the fragility of their blood vessels, he said.

But Kuriyama warned he was not recommending people eat as much as they want.

“It’s better that thin people try to gain normal weight, but we doubt it’s good for people of normal physique to put on more fat,” he said.

The study divided people into four weight classes at age 40 according to their body mass index, or BMI, calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by their squared height in metres.

The normal range is 18.5 to 25, with thinness defined as under 18.5. A BMI of 25 to 30 was classed as slightly overweight and an index above 30 as obese.

why did u

 

u didn’t have to, i totally did not expect u to

amazing use of botox

An Australian stroke victim paralysed for more than 20 years has walked again thanks to anti-wrinkle drug botox, in a case hailed as extraordinary by his medical team.

Russell McPhee, 49, was confined to a wheelchair after suffering a severe stroke 23 years ago that left him so disabled that doctors initially told him he would never leave hospital.

But after being injected with botox, the anti-ageing treatment popular among Hollywood celebrities, McPhee can walk around his home unaided and travel up to 100 metres (330 feet) using a walking stick.

“I thought I was going to die in a wheelchair,” McPhee told AFP.

The former meatworker admitted he and girlfriend Kerry Crossley were initially sceptical when told about the treatment.

“(Kerry) chipped in and said ‘what, don’t you think he’s pretty enough?’” McPhee said.

Botox, or botulinum toxin, blocks the nerve signals which tell muscles to contract, flattening wrinkles when used on the face. But it can also help patients left immobile by brain injuries, multiple sclerosis, spinal problems or strokes.

Valentina Maric, physiotherapist at the St. John of God Hospital in Victoria state, explained that McPhee was unable to walk because the stroke had left his muscles in permanent spasm.

“The muscles were turned on all the time because of the messages coming from his brain,” she said.

The botox stopped the spasms, Maric said, allowing the McPhee to stretch out the affected leg muscles for the first time in decades and strengthen other muscles needed for walking.

She said muscles that had not been used for so long would normally have withered away, but McPhee’s were remarkably intact, leading to rapid progress after he started the treatment 18 months ago.

“You usually see results in someone who has recently had a stroke but we’ve never has such a good response from someone so far down the track (decades after a stroke),” Maric said.

“The botox provided the kickstart needed to start the treatment.”

However, doctor Nathan Johns stressed that McPhee’s muscle strength and determination were a key element in his remarkable progress.

“Not every case is so successful,” he said. “Mr McPhee had unusually good muscle power and great determination, despite the fact that he had been confined to a wheelchair for so long.”

McPhee said he had been forced to push through the pain barrier to become mobile again.

“It’s not just a matter of getting your botox injection then going to bed and being able to walk in the morning, it takes a lot of hard work,” he said.

He says inspiration came from girlfriend Kerry, a childhood sweetheart who rescued him from a spiral of depression and talked him into rehabilitation when they were reunited two-and-a-half years ago.

“I was in a pretty bad way with depression,” said McPhee, who played football, cricket, basketball and tennis — “any sport you like” — before his stroke.

“I felt like my life was over.”

With the help of Kerry and the team from St. John of God, McPhee hopes that one day he will no longer need the three-monthly botox shots in his legs and arm.

McPhee said he was working on making his non-spastic muscles strong enough to compensate for the ones that contract, creating a long-term solution to his condition.

“That’s the aim,” said McPhee, adding that he also plans to marry Kerry.

self imposing

I still feel a pang of unease when i break news tat I deem as –ve to him. I need to condition myself that as someone puts it, he is happier this way.

I cannot impose how I feel abt situations on ppl and assume they r like mi. dun wana feel left out and appreciative of the concern showered.

In fact, I oredi noe tat he is very unlike mi. esp when I hear tat all the things tat I was going out of the way for him are exactly wat irks him.

Abit like unrequitted luv. Cannot blame the other party coz they didn’t ASK for the affection. Juz a matter of mismatching.

It’s the same as some mummies being self imposed slaves to kiddos and making self proclaimed ‘sacrifices’. It’s all abt perception.

And of coz when something u do is sought after in the first place, the benefits are far greater.

Staying true

 

to oneself

not interested in so-called frenship where someone hide their true feelings and is pissed but puts on an act upfront.

nope, i m oblivious to a lot of stuff so it’s reli too bad for u if u dun tell me.

not interested in how someone perceive each individual and independant behaviour and action of mine and try to relate it to an agenda and subsequent events.

if i’m nice to u, it’s becoz i care for u as my fren, not becoz i need a flavour from u.

if u read everyone’s actions this way, i can only say i look dwn on u coz u r undermining everyone’s intentions.

don’t u tink tat u r worthy of ppl’s concern without u having to do something for them?

i will remain true coz i only need to answer to myself

in case anyone is wondering, tis is abt someone i haf not wrote abt. totally unexpected on my part coz i always thot we get on grandly. shows how oblivious i m and how good his acting is.

i m not as deep as this person and i m foolishier and happier den him…hahaha

i will still be nice to u as i will remain true to me and to u. no, i’m not cutting ties as our rship entails a certain level of interaction.

disappointed

No, his ans is juz not good enuff

Dun mind / since u haf booked : these are both too lame

so, no, I’m not going to do this

it’s nbr too late to change my mind

if I put myself out on a limb, the least u can do is show some enthusiasm and not succumb under pressure

if the opinions of others matter so much to u, I’ll walk away

but honestly I m disappointed

tis is as marie puts it, with expectation comes disappointment and hurt

weekly trends

I m beginning to see the weekly trends

As the week goes by, I haf less and less patience for him

No, it’s not him, it’s me

Mayb I’m too caught up with everything tat’s happening

Anyway, I will outgrow tis phase, tat’s him, in time

PM awakening

PM in mi is awakening. I can feel it acutely

It has taken a while and I m disgusted with myself for slipping even though it’s not work related

Skills are sharpened from practice and I m suffering from lack of practice

I need to PM my life but I will start with this first

chicken or egg first?

I want a new fone

I want a new fone with Wifi

I want a twitter acct

I want to twitt using my new fone

i’ll be strong

 

i promise so dun worrie, my frens

thanks so much for all the concern and love showered on mi, all the while

these few mths has been tough and i noe i caused many of u worry

but i’ll b strong !  i promise !

Chilled Out Mummy

Your child is always happiest when you give them what they want, it saves you ear ache & everyone smiles But dont let yourself relax your rules too much or your child will question whos in charge & it’ll all back fire when the terrible teens hit! But then again, your happy enough now, maybe you could show some of the ‘Firm but Fair’ mummys how to relax a little more???

Lessons in life

I like this one : No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up

Yes, it sounds abit like we are getting on with life doggedly but it’s this persistence that will see us thru

Don’t be a quitter, as long as u keep going, u will get there. Every little step brings u closer to ur goals and dreams. Even when ur dreams seem a little fuzzy, trust ur gut to lead u in the rite direction

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio:

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:"

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry..
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18.. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ”In five years, will this matter?".
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

Paris bailiffs chase Saudi princess for unpaid bills

A Saudi princess alleged to have run up unpaid bills worth millions of euros in a Paris shopping spree has agreed to settle a 125,000-dollar tab after bailiffs turned up at her hotel, a lawyer said.

Upmarket clothes store Key Largo filed suit in a Paris court this week against Maha al-Sudairi, wife of Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, over an outstanding bill of 89,000 euros (125,000 dollars).

Bailiffs turned up on Friday at the luxury George V hotel, which is owned by Sudairi’s nephew Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, after a court order authorised the seizure of her belongings, the store’s lawyer Jacky Benazerah said late Friday.

“The Saudi Arabian consul was called out in person,” he said.

French media reported the princess was holed up in her room at the four-star hotel just off the Champs Elysees while her staff wrangled with the bailiffs, although the George V would not confirm she was on the premises.

After three hours of talks, the princess’ aides had handed over a guaranteed cheque of 89,000 euros, with a pledge the money would be transferred by Wednesday, said the lawyer.

Benazareh said he was told the bills went unpaid due to an oversight by her staff.

But the Saudi princess is alleged to have left a trail of unpaid bills at top Parisian locations including one for 10 million euros at the Crillon hotel, according to French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

Benazareh said Paris jewellers Chaumet has also taken legal action against the princess. The Journal du Dimanche says the store is owed more than 600,000 euros.

The manager of luxury lingerie store “Aux caprices de Lili,” which is just opposite the George V, told AFP the princess had run up a slate of 70,000 euros’ worth of designer underwear, silk bathrobes and swimwear.

Anderson favourite for BP post

 

British energy giant BP could finally have a new chairman in place by July, with US executive Paul Anderson the leading candidate, said The Sunday Telegraph newspaper, citing sources.

Directors were understood to have identified Anderson, an American mining and energy chief, as the favourite, “although no appointment has yet been agreed and at least one other person remains in the frame,” the weekly said.

Peter Sutherland has served as chairman since 1997. He was expected to leave last year but his departure has been delayed by the search for a successor, which began in late 2007.

“At a BP board meeting last Thursday, directors are understood to have discussed the process, and it is thought that an announcement about Mr Sutherland’s successor will be made before the end of the month,” said the broadsheet.

Anderson, 64, has extensive background in natural resources and energy, having worked for more than 20 years at Duke Energy, a Fortune 500 group, and its predecessors.

He is currently on the board of mining giant BHP Billiton, where he served as chief executive and managing director in the year following the company’s creation from the merger of BHP and Billiton in June 2001.

Swine flu vaccine ready for tests after pandemic declared

 

Saturday, June 13

A Swiss pharmaceutical giant said Friday it has a swine flu vaccine ready for trial as governments stepped up precautions to counter the newly-declared influenza pandemic.

While millions could catch the flu, governments and health experts around the world have sought to play down fears that the A(H1N1) virus could become a major killer.

Swine flu has so far infected almost 30,000 people in 74 countries and claimed 145 lives since it was first detected in Mexico in April, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) figures.

Novartis stole a march on competitors by announcing it has completed a first batch of vaccine for pre-clinical trials. A spokesman told AFP it hoped to have a vaccine in production by September or October.

“Novartis has successfully completed the production of the first batch of influenza A(H1N1) vaccine, weeks ahead of expectations,” the company said in a statement.

Novartis said it hopes to start trials on patients in July and to gain a licence soon after. It said more than 30 governments had already asked for A(H1N1) virus “vaccine ingredients”.

The US government gave Novartis 289 million dollars to help develop a vaccine. It also made an order with Sanofi-Pasteur of France which said it hopes to have doses ready for clinical trials in coming weeks.

British-controlled GlaxoSmithKline said Friday that it could produce a vaccine in four to six months and that it was ready to convert a donation of 50 million doses of vaccine against H5N1 bird flu for the WHO to swine flu doses.

The UN health agency raised its global alert to a maximum six on Thursday saying it had reached pandemic status because of its geographical spread.

WHO Director General Margaret Chan said the declaration of a “moderate” pandemic should not spark panic and did not mean the A(H1N1) death toll would rise sharply.

She said raising the alert “means that the world is moving into the early days of its first influenza pandemic in the 21st century.”

The WHO said it would ask drug-makers to quickly prepare to produce swine flu vaccines once the production of seasonal flu vaccine ends.

The Southern Hemisphere is currently heading into winter and the height of its flu season. Northern Hemisphere countries expect to see a swine flu surge when their winter starts later.

Mexico has been worst hit. Its government on Thursday increased the country’s death toll to 109 with 6,294 A(H1N1) infections. The United States comes next. Its health authorities have reported 27 deaths and 13,217 cases.

Australia, the worst hit in the Asia-Pacific region, was mulling raising its national flu alert and adopting powers to cancel sports events, restrict travel and even shut national borders. There are currently 1,307 confirmed cases including four in intensive care.

In Hong Kong, which was hit hard by the 2003 SARS outbreak, authorities closed all primary schools after a group of children became the Chinese city’s first “cluster” of cases.

Israel’s health ministry raised its alert to the highest level following the WHO decision, ordering the stocking of vaccines to inoculate up to 25 percent of the country’s 7.2 million population.

Canada is investigating possible swine flu outbreaks in aboriginal communities after the WHO raised concerns over “a disproportionate number of serious cases” among Inuits and other native Americans.

Morocco reported its first swine flu case Friday while Egypt and Saudi Arabia each announced three new confirmed infections.

Britain is Europe’s worst hit country with 909 recorded cases, but the total has risen significantly in recent days.

In Spain, where there are 488 confirmed cases, Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez called for calm after WHO raised its alert, saying that the symptoms were “slight” and the flu could be easily treated.

“It is true we must remain attentive because you never know what will happen in the future,” she said. “We must be calm and get on with our lives as normal.”

France, where there are 80 cases, and Germany (95) said they are not changing their alert levels.

Sparkle Magic Powder

 

another one of my fav products !

it’s a roll-on sparkle tube so it’s reli convenient !

available in 4 colours : blue, green, silver and gold

i m a silver fan

Miracle White Multiplex BB Cream (SPF 45 PA+++ )

juz started using tis BB cream from elianto, reli very very good

not as oily as foundation, smells great and SPF45 !

would highly recommend tis !

对我好

 

 

i duno who started it first but we haf tis consesus to treat each other very very well, as frens

ok, it sounds kinda contradicting but tat is the truth of the matter

treat each other as well as possible, in the capacity of frens always

还好没选择我

 

 

life is complicated enuff as it is

if things r as good as it gets nw, y complicate matters

esp when i suspect the end will not b wat i desire

友情的定义

 

is ever changing as we move to each level of frenship

marie says sweetness is for keeps

i say kindness is for keeps

i duno when kindness crept into my scale and start topping the chart as the #1 quality i admire in a person

there r plenty of nice ppl ard but true kindness radiates from within and touches all around them

it’s not tangible but it can be sensed very strongly

it gets better

 

unexpectedly

we both put in a lot of effort

i thot it would die a natural death after my preset timeline but it’s still very much alive

and even got better, tis is something i still find incredible esp since tat devastating phonecall full of accusations and unhappiness.  felt very lousy and the whole thing seems very pointless and a complete waste of time

yet we persist on and brings it to the next level of understanding

为什么不选择我？

 

tat was my question till last nite

denial ?   or still in pursuit of dreamcar?   haha

of coz it’s also partly due to the constant reminder from andie…thanks!

US ship helps search for MIAs in Vietnam

13 June 2009 A U.S. Navy ship is participating in the search for the remains of more than 1,000 U.S. servicemen missing from the Vietnam War, the first time an American vessel has taken part, embassy officials said Friday. The USNS Bruce C. Heezen, an oceanographic survey ship, is conducting a search mission off the coast of Vietnam, part of an ongoing effort between the two countries to recover the remains of more than 1,300 U.S. servicemen still unaccounted for in Vietnam. Joint teams from the two countries have searched underwater sites off the Vietnamese coast before, but previously they used Vietnamese boats, according to an embassy statement released Friday. The U.S. ship has equipment that makes it ideally suited for detecting aircraft crash sites on the ocean floor, the embassy statement said. “The use of a U.S. Navy oceanographic survey ship … could significantly expedite the discovery of underwater crash sites,” the statement quoted Lt. Col. Todd Emoto as saying. Emoto is the commander of the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command detachment in Hanoi. The United States and Vietnam have been working together to account for missing U.S. servicemen since the 1980s. The current search is their 95th mission. It began on May 25 and is scheduled to end on June 24. Nearly 1,800 U.S. servicemen are still unaccounted for throughout Southeast Asia following the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975. Some 1,336 are unaccounted for in Vietnam alone.

BlackRock to buy Barclays BGI for 13.5 bln dlrs

US asset manager BlackRock announced it is buying Barclays Global Investors, the investment arm of British bank Barclays, for 13.5 billion dollars. The purchase — which is still subject to approval by Barclays shareholders — would double BlackRock’s size and create a firm managing assets worth some 2.7 trillion dollars, employing over 9,000 people in 24 countries, according to the New York-based investment group. In the deal, including BGI’s market-leading iShares trading platform, BlackRock would acquire BGI for 6.6 billion dollars cash and 37.8 million dollars in shares. “The shares will represent a 4.9-percent voting interest and an aggregate 19.9-percent economic interest in the combined firm, which will be renamed BlackRock Global Investors,” the statement read. “The combination of BlackRock and BGI would bring together market leaders in active and index strategies to create the preeminent asset management firm,” the company said. The transaction “would create an independent and fully integrated asset management firm with combined assets under management of over 2.7 trillion dollars.” BGI, one of Barclays’ most valuable branches with some 1.5 trillion dollars in assets under management, has attracted interest from several buyers since April, but in recent days BlackRock was reportedly the favorite to swoop in for the deal. If finalized the transaction will provide a valuable influx of cash for Barclays, which has hoped to strengthen its capital without resorting to assistance from the British government — something the bank has avoided so far during the world economic crisis. “We are incredibly excited about the potential to significantly expand the scale and scope of our work with investors throughout the world,” BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink said in a statement. “The combination of active and passive investment products will be unsurpassed.” He added that the expanded firm “will remain at the forefront of addressing key investment issues and trends that have emerged over the past decade and are now accelerating dramatically.” These include “globalization of capital markets, a greater focus on asset allocation” plus “fiduciary management, risk management and advisory services.” Blake Grossman, the current BGI chief executive, will stay on to serve as a vice chairman of the combined firm, said Fink. “The two firms mesh well, and I have every confidence we will smoothly integrate into one organization,” Grossman said in the statement. Barclays in April agreed to sell iShares to private equity group CVC Capital Partners for 4.4 billion dollars to help the bank avoid having to join a government insurance scheme for risky assets. However Barclays has the right to break the deal and sell to a third party up until late June.

Love is for the Lucky and Brave

according to the fortune telling thingy on fb i m brave but do i haf the luck? tat remains to be seen

Chrysler, Fiat merge into new world auto giant

Chrysler and Fiat sealed their deal to create a new global auto giant on Wednesday in a milestone for the world industry after the Italian champion stepped in to salvage the bankrupt US firm.

“This is a very significant day, not only for Chrysler… but for the global automotive industry as a whole,” Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne, who stepped to the helm of the new Chrysler after engineering the merger, said in a statement.

The two companies said in a separate communique that they had “finalised their previously announced global strategic alliance…. The new Chrysler will begin operations immediately.”

The announcement came after the US Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted the last legal obstacles to the deal despite opposition from disgruntled investors.

In a letter to Chrysler employees Marchionne said that the two companies combined ranked as the world’s sixth largest automaker.

“Chrysler will be back — strong and competitive and a rewarding place to work,” he wrote. It “is now a more focused and nimble company” with “a healthy balance sheet,” he added.

The move completes a quick restructuring of the number three US automaker in a plan orchestrated and backed financially by the US and Canadian governments after the world economic crisis sped up a decline in the US auto industry.

Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with IHS Global Insight, said it remained to be seen however whether the alliance would be a success.

“On paper it looks great, but when you put them in front of the consumer it’s going to be the real test,” she said. “We won’t know the success of this merger until we see the level of consumer acceptance.”

Canada’s Industry Minister Tony Clement said in a statement that Chrysler “can now focus on producing top quality vehicles that consumers want.”

Fiat will at first hold 20 percent of Chrysler Group, with its equity stake rising to 35 percent and eventually to a majority stake as long as targets mandated by the deal are achieved and taxpayer funds are repaid.

“We intend to build on Chrysler’s culture of innovation and Fiat’s complementary technology and expertise to expand Chrysler’s product portfolio both in North America and overseas,” Marchionne said.

“Those Chrysler operations assumed by the new company that were idled during this process will soon be back up and running, and work is already underway on developing new environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient, high-quality vehicles.”

Fiat, which has not provided any cash for the alliance, will bring new technology to help Chrysler develop more fuel-efficient vehicles needed in the US and other markets, and will use Chrysler’s sales network in exchange.

Robert Kidder, a veteran of US industry, is expected to be named chairman of the new Chrysler.

In his letter to the employees, Marchionne said the firm would continue to produce its Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands as well as developing a new electric car project with Italian technology.

“This award-winning technology will… give the company a strategic advantage in many markets around the world,” he said.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to extend a stay on the plan, imposed following complaints from Chrysler investors who argued they would be short-changed by the Fiat deal.

The case was watched closely as a possible precedent for bankruptcy proceedings against General Motors, which the US government has also bailed out and ushered toward bankruptcy to allow a quick restructuring.

The new Chrysler will initially be majority-owned by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, with small stakes held by the US and Canadian governments, which would contribute some 10.5 billion dollars to the venture.

Chrysler’s dealership network will be cut by a quarter to 2,400 under the plan approved Tuesday allowing for the immediate elimination of 789 dealers.

“The past few years have offered several painful lessons on what it will take to survive in the modern-day automotive industry,” said Marchionne, who was credited with rescuing Fiat from bankruptcy when he took over in 2004.

“The alliance is a bold first step to implement those lessons we’ve learned, but it is only a first step,” he wrote. “Now we must prove we can make it work.”

Thousands march in Dublin for child abuse victims

Thousands marched through central Dublin Wednesday to protest the decades-long abuse of children in Catholic church-run institutions, as Irish bishops apologised anew for the “heinous crimes.”

The silent marchers wore white ribbons and many carried children’s shoes which the organisers asked them to leave outside parliament “to symbolise the lives shattered in these institutions”.

Ireland’s Catholic bishops, meeting for their summer conference, later expressed their shame at the abuse perpetrated by religious orders, which was revealed in an official report last month.

They asked for forgiveness, saying: “We are ashamed, humbled and repentant that our people strayed so far from their Christian ideals.”

Four survivors leading the rally in Dublin laid wreaths — two white and two black — outside the Leinster House parliament building “in memory of the living and dead” in the state-funded institutions.

Police said some 7,000 people joined the march, while the Irish Times reported up to 15,000.

Last month an official inquiry led by Judge Sean Ryan reported that sexual, physical and emotional abuse was “endemic” in industrial and reformatory schools, orphanages and other childcare institutions dating back to the 1930s.

The findings of the report, which followed a nine-year investigation, have caused widespread shock in mainly Catholic Ireland.

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said he was unable to attend the march, organised by the Survivors of Institutional Abuse Ireland (SOIAI), because he was attending the Catholic bishops’ general meeting. He sent a representative.

After the meeting, the bishops said they had discussed the report and in a statement said it “represents the most recent disturbing indictment of a culture that was prevalent in the Catholic Church in Ireland for far too long”.

“Heinous crimes were perpetrated against the most innocent and vulnerable, and vile acts with life-lasting effects were carried out under the guise of the mission of Jesus Christ,” they said.

“This abuse represents a serious betrayal of the trust which was placed in the church. For this we ask forgiveness.”

Earlier this week Martin and Ireland’s top cleric, Cardinal Sean Brady, briefed Pope Benedict XVI on the findings. Martin said the pontiff had been “visibly upset”.

A judicial commission is also probing abuse allegations involving priests working in parishes in the archdiocese of Dublin — the country’s biggest — and the diocese of Cloyne in the south. A report is due later this year.

Real swoop for Ronaldo in world record bid

Manchester United have agreed to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for a world record 80 million pounds (130 million dollars, 94 million euros), the club said Thursday.

“Manchester United have received a world-record, unconditional offer of 80 million pounds for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid,” said a statement on its website, under the headline “Reds accept �80m Ronaldo bid.”

The statement continued: “At Cristiano’s request – who has again expressed his desire to leave – and after discussion with the player’s representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player.

“Matters are expected to be concluded by 30 June. The club will not comment until further notice.”

Ronaldo has long been a target for the Spanish giants, whose recently-returned president Florentino Perez vowed earlier this week to do “everything possible” to take the 24-year-old to the Bernabeu.

The news comes just days after Real clinched the 56 million pounds transfer of Brazilian playmaker Kaka from Italian side AC Milan as they look to compete with arch-rivals Barcelona on the domestic front and such as Manchester United and Chelsea in the Champions League.

United fans have repeatedly been told no deal had been agreed for the sale of FIFA’s world player of the year in the face of regular statements from Spain the former Sporting Lisbon star was bound for the Bernabeu.

There was no immediate statement from Real Madrid, but it has been reported in England that Ronaldo, who is currently in holiday in Los Angeles, earlier this year had agreed a pre-contract with the Spanish club worth 8.3 million pounds a year over the next five years.

He has been keen to join Real for 18 months and it took a last-ditch plea from United boss Sir Alex Ferguson to persuade him to stay at Old Trafford last year.

Ronaldo, who joined United for 12 million pounds in 2003, had made it clear he wanted a new challenge after winning the Champions League in 2008. But Ferguson flew to Lisbon and talked him into one more year with United before reporting Real to FIFA for an illegal approach.

However, Ronaldo, who is contracted to United until 2012, was never fully embraced by fans or team-mates after his flirtation with Real.

His name was sung less at Old Trafford and there was a noticable drop-off in his performances. Although he scored 18 league goals and helped United to the Premier League title, Ronaldo was often an uninterested bystander for long periods in matches.

Cracks in his relationship with Ferguson began to show when Ronaldo reacted angrily to being substituted against Manchester City and then criticised the United manager’s tactics after the Champions League final defeat to Barcelona.

He clearly feels he is in danger of growing stale and the chance to be part of Real’s new galaticos project will appeal to a player never shy of playing on his star quality.

Ferguson had previously insisted he “wouldn’t sell that mob a virus” when asked about the possibility of allowing Ronaldo to join Real.

But the Scot has run out of patience with Ronaldo’s hankering to move to Spain and has finally decided to cash in on his prize asset. United’s debts of 700 million pounds must also have played a role in the club’s decision to accept the offer.

Ronaldo scored 118 goals for United, including 42 in 2007-08 alone, and it will hard for Ferguson to replace the star.

Moves for one or more of Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery, Wigan’s Antonio Valencia and Lyon forward Karim Benzema would go someway to filling the void.

Real’s cash could allow Ferguson to keep Carlos Tevez, who had appeared close to leaving after United refused to meet the 32 million pounds price tag set by his economic rights holders, although the two parties remain apart on the Argentine’s wage demands.

quota

He has used up his

I deleted my reply to him

I m curt in my replies

I know I m being mean

But there is no such thing as infinite tolerance

Unless a miracle happens, the end is upon us

wearing thin

My patience that is

Dun feel like entertaining u anymore

i hung up

But u didn’t call back

Indonesia model’s medical exam confirms abuse

German retail giant goes bust, 43,000 jobs at risk

bring mi

 

i dun even feel like asking when i dread the ans

i’m working hard

 

to help u fulfill ur dreams

glad u realise it

tue

 

a bit scared of tue nw.   seems to b working late on tue

and still got shadow from last tue’s devastating phonecall

all the accusation, assumptions and misunderstanding were so, so, so hurting to mi

how we ever patched it up is beyond mi too