Thursday, August 21, 2008

King Bhumibol of Thailand...


NEW YORK (AFP) - With a fortune estimated at 35 billion dollars, Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the world's richest royal sovereign, and oil-rich Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi is far back at No. 2, Forbes magazine reported Thursday.
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King Bhumibol, 80 and, at 62 years on the throne the world's longest-serving head of state, pushed to the top of the richest royals list by virtue a greater transparency surrounding his fortune, Forbes said.
It said that the Crown Property Bureau, which manages most of his family's wealth, "granted unprecedented access this year, revealing vast landholdings, including 3,493 acres in Bangkok."
Forbes called it a good year for monarchies, investment-wise. "As a group, the world's 15 richest royals have increased their total wealth to 131 billion dollars, up from 95 billion last year," Forbes said on its website.
With oil prices soaring, the monarchs of the petro-kingdoms of the Middle East and Asia dominate the list.
Sheik Khalifa, 60, the current president of the United Arab Emirates, was estimated to be worth 23 billion dollars, on the back of Abu Dhabi's huge petroleum reserves.
In third was the sovereign of the world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, 84, who inherited the Al-Saud family throne in 2005, came in with a fortune of 21 billion dollars.
The previous king of kings, wealth-wise, 62 year old Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of tiny, oil-endowed Brunei on the Southeast Asia island of Borneo, fell to fourth place with 20 billion dollars.
"The sultan, who inherited the riches of an unbroken 600-year-old Muslim dynasty, has had to cut back on his country's oil production because of depleting reserves," Forbes explained of his dwindling fortune.
Fifth was Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, 58, of another Emirate, Dubai, with a net worth of 18 billion dollars.
One of two Europeans on the list, Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, 63, ranked six on the list with 5 billion dollars in wealth. However the bank that is a key source of his family's wealth, LGT, is under investigation by the United States for helping wealthy people evade taxes.
Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, 56, came in at seventh, worth two billion dollar; eighth was King Mohammed VI of Morocco, 46, his 1.5 billion dollar fortune based on phosphate mining, agriculture and other investments.
Number nine was Prince Albert II of Monaco, 50, his diverse fortune in the southern European principality put at 1.4 billion dollars.
Tenth on the list was Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman, 67, worth 1.1 billion dollars.
Rounding out the top 15 were: The Aga Khan Prince Karim Al Hussein, 71 (1.0 billion); Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, 82, 650 million dollars; Kuwait's Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 79, 500 million dollars; Queen Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands, 70, 300 million dollars; and King Mswati III of Swaziland, 40, with 200 million dollars.
Forbes noted that because many of the royals inherited their wealth, share it with extended families, and often control it "in trust for their nation or territory," none of those on its list would qualify for the magazine's famous annual world billionaires ranking.
"Because of technical and idiosyncratic oddities in the exact relationship between individual and state wealth, these estimates are perforce a blend of art and science," it added.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Taekwondo Hunk
















Steven Lopez (born November 9, 1978) is a 2000 and 2004 Olympic gold medalist in Taekwondo at the Olympics. Lopez became the first official Olympic gold medalist in the sport of Taekwondo at the 2000 Olympic Games. In 2003, he earned the rank of Taekwondo world champion in his weight class.
Born November 9, 1978, Lopez's parents moved to New York City in 1972 from Nicaragua, where his father, Julio, worked for the government of the then-President Anastasio Somoza who was overthrown in 1979 after the Sandinista Revolution. His father took odd jobs to support his family but later relocated to Texas.[2] Lopez first learned the sport of Taekwondo in his garage at the age of five from his father and Jean, his older brother.[1] He is a 1997 graduate of Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas where he was voted "most likely to succeed" and was member of the National Honor Society.
Steven's siblings,
Mark, Diana, and Jean Lopez (coach) are all USA National Team Members in the sport of Taekwondo. His younger siblings, Mark and Diana, will also be representing the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This is the first time since 1904 that three siblings have been on the same Olympic team. Steven and his siblings, Mark (men's featherweight) and sister Diana (women's featherweight) made sports history in April 2005 when they all claimed a world championship title at the same event (2005 World Taekwondo Championships) with their oldest brother, Jean, participating in the feat as their coach.[3]
On January 2006, Lopez tested positive for a banned substance (L-methamphetamine) which he said came from an over-the-counter vapor inhaler he used. Lopez promptly accepted a three-month suspension and participated in an educational anti-doping program.[3]
Lopez has appeared in People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People.[3]

Septuplets babies


CAIRO, Egypt - A 27-year-old Egyptian woman gave birth to septuplets early Saturday in the coastal city of Alexandria, family members and the hospital director said.
Ghazala Khamis was in good condition after having a blood transfusion during her Caesarean section due to bleeding, said Emad Darwish, director of the El-Shatbi Hospital where she gave birth.
The newborns, four boys and three girls, weigh between 3.2 pounds and 6.17 pounds and are in stable condition, Darwish said. They have been placed in incubators in four different hospitals that have special premature baby units, he said.
"This is a very rare pregnancy — something I have never witnessed over my past 33 years in this profession," Darwish told The Associated Press by phone from the hospital.
Darwish decided to carry out the Caesarean section at the end of Khamis' eighth month of pregnancy due to the pressure on her kidneys. He said Khamis, who already has three daughters, took fertility drugs in an effort to have a son.
Khamis, the wife of a farmer in the northern Egyptian province of Beheira, was admitted to the hospital two months earlier, Darwish said.
"From the initial checkup, I say that none of the babies have any sort of deformities or incomplete organs," Darwish said.
The woman's brother, Khamis Khamis, said even though his sister was trying to conceive more children so she could have a son, the family was astonished when they found out she would give birth to multiple babies.
"We thought about an abortion, but then we felt it's religiously forbidden. So we said 'Let God's will prevail,'" he told the AP by phone.
Egypt's health minister announced that the seven babies will receive free milk and diapers for two years, the brother added.

Hamed Ehadadi 7' 2'' from Iran




BEIJING – As interest has grown in the NBA over signing 7-foot-2 Iranian Olympian Hamed Ehadadi, the league office has sent a letter to its 30 teams instructing that they are forbidden to even discuss a contract with Ehadadi, Yahoo! Sports has learned.
In the letter, which was sent Friday, NBA legal counsel wrote: “It has come to our attention that representatives of Hamed Ehadadi, an Iranian basketball player, may be contacting NBA teams to discuss the possibility of signing Mr. Ehadadi to an NBA player contract.
“We have been advised that a federal statue prohibits a person or organization in the
United States from engaging in business dealings with Iranian nationals.”
The NBA is applying to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control for a license that, “if granted,” the league said, would allow teams to negotiate with the 23-year-old Ehadadi. Until then, no franchise is allowed to do so.
Commissioner David Stern invited the Iranian national team to compete in July’s NBA summer league in Utah, allowing the team a pre-Olympics tune-up. When NBA teams started to show an interest in signing Ehadadi, Stern had league counsel begin the process of clearing a path through this complicated circumstance with the U.S. State Department.
After his most impressive game of these Olympics – 21 points and 16 rebounds in a 97-82 loss to
Argentina on Saturday – Ehadadi, a center, said through an assistant coach, Mehran Hatami, “It is my dream to play in the NBA.”
When asked if he had been in contact with NBA teams, Ehadadi said, “two or three,” including the
Memphis Grizzlies.
“It’s our pleasure for one player from
Iran to one day play in the NBA,” Hatami said. “I am sure he will play there this season because he has played great (at the Olympics). He is a talented player. He is OK for beginning in the NBA. After practicing a few years, you will see that he will be one of the great players.”
League executives don’t exactly share Iran’s grand vision for Ehadadi. He’s considered a project – “Pretty limited,” one league executive said Saturday – but there has been intrigue with his developing offensive game and an ability to block shots. In Iran’s four losses in Pool B thus far, Ehadadi has averaged 16.5 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.
“He’s huge,” one NBA scouting director said. “You have to give him that.”
After going unselected in the 2004 NBA draft, Ehadadi became a free agent eligible to sign with any team. He has played with several clubs in the Iranian professional league, including Peyakan and Sanam. Ehadadi gathered some favorable reviews among several NBA scouts for his play with Iran in the summer league.
“The Iranian basketball federation supports him to play in the best situation for his basketball career,” Hatami said. “We would like for him to go to a place where he will play, not sit on the bench. That’s very important for our basketball – and also for him.”
If that’s the case, Iranian officials are likely to be disappointed if Ehadadi ever does get to the NBA. For now, politics make him wait to get that opportunity.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Chad Michael Murray










Birth Name: Chad Michael Murray



NicknameThe Chad CMM Mayhem The Good Son



Height6' (1.83 m)



Mini Biography:
Born in Buffalo, New York, Chad found a ready audience early on. When he was four or five years old, the young ham performed skits and sang made-up songs for his large family which includes three brothers, a half-brother and a sister. At age fifteen, an injury landed him in a hospital where a nurse encouraged him to pursue a modeling career.Two years later, Chad won a scholarship from a modeling agency in Buffalo to attend a modeling convention in Orlando. There he met his destiny when an agent from Los Angeles spotted him and persuaded the seventeen-year-old to pursue his dream of acting upon graduation from high school.In 1999, the aspiring actor headed for Hollywood where he supported himself modeling for such clients as Sketchers,
Tommy Hilfiger and Gucci while looking for a break. Soon after he arrived, Chad appeared in several guest-starring television roles including an episode of "Diagnosis Murder" (1993). Then he got the call he'd been hoping for. The WB's "Gilmore Girls" (2000) was casting for the role of Tristan DuGrey. They were looking for someone who was likable and charismatic but with an edgy side, and someone who had that certain "IT" quality. Chad was all that plus he had the perfect physical characteristics that the show's writers had in mind. The teenager won the role and has since made the character his own.He admires the talents of actors Edward Norton, Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Pacino Robert De Niro and Sean Penn and uses their influences in his work. Always a firm believer in clean living, Chad is a natural athlete. He played his favorite sport, football, in high school and keeps fit by working out at the gym, in-line skating, playing soccer, volleyball and basketball as well as football pick-up games. He is an anti-drug role model for kids and is active in charities for children and teens during his spare time. Before he married Sophia Bush on April 16th, 2005, Chad had set up house with a pug named Gus and a unique boisterous cat named Jack, who kept him from missing his large family too much.IMDb Mini



had Michael Murray was born on the 24th of August 1981 in Buffalo, New York. The 6-foot tall star who resides in Wilmington, North Carolina is more known to audiences of "One Tree Hill" (2003) where he plays the good son, Lucas Scott.Growing up, his mother left his family at a young age and since then he had to help take care of his younger siblings together with his dad and brother. While working his way through adolescence, he learned a lot about work ethic which eventually builds his character. Because he only grew up with a father, his biggest idol is his father. Chad once said in an interview that he could call his father anytime of the day whenever he needs help as his father is his rock.The "One Tree Hill" (2003) star started his life as a paper boy where he would deliver newspapers around the neighborhood before working as a janitor at Donut World. Chad was only working there for a few days when he lost his job because he was shooting Skittles into the deep-fryer. Sure enough, one of the Skittles got caught in the machine and Chad got fired. Chad has also worked as a receptionist at a limousine company.When he was 15, he had a resection of his small intestines. His intestines were so twisted they had to be cut out, but there were some complications causing him to not be able to eat for three months. Chad had also broken his nose when he was jumped at a Burger King outlet which then got him into the hospital. It was there where he met the person who inspired him, his nurse. His nurse was a model and she told Chad to start modeling, but Chad only wanted to act. Chad then took a chance and went to a convention in Buffalo and they wanted him to go to another convention in Biloxi, Mississipi. Chad then met a man named Eddie Winkler who offered Chad a place to stay in Los Angeles to kick-start his career.Not long afterward, Chad got a Tommy Hilfiger campaign which paid his bills and that was when he thought he could really focus on acting. He started out on "Dawson's Creek" (1998) with his two "One Tree Hill" (2003) co-stars, Hilarie Burton and Lee Norris. After that, he got a role as rich brat Tristian DuGrey on "Gilmore Girls" (2000) before turning into Lucas Scott as one half of the brothers in popular teen drama "One Tree Hill" (2003) where he met best friends James Lafferty and Tyler Hilton. Chad also starred in a B-grade horror flick called House of Wax (2005).The blonde-haired, blue-eyed star finally decided to get married when he was 23 years old to his "One Tree Hill" (2003) co-star, Sophia Bush. Chad actually cried on his wedding day, the 16th of April, 2005. In less than a year of marriage the couple signed for an annulment. Chad is engaged to another "One Tree Hill" (2003) co-star, Kenzie Dalton. The couple got engaged on April 4th, 2006.Chad played football growing up and the love of that sport was re-directed into a charity game where he would help underprivileged kids with the money he gains from the audience. A fan of philosophy himself, Chad's favorite book is "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. He enjoys listening to music from Incubus, Frank Sinatra, James Brown and watching shows like "The Simpsons" (1989) and "Fear Factor" (2001). As for movies, Chad has given credit to Gladiator (2000), Fight Club (1999), Varsity Blues (1999) & Any Given Sunday (1999) as his favorites.This model turned actor has serenaded Jamie Lee Curtis with Britney Spears' 'Baby One More Time' on _"Freaky Friday" (2000)_, became Hilary Duff's Prince Charming and even watched Paris Hilton die in a violent on-screen death. With all these acting roles given to him, we're sure that this talented anti-drug star will be one of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Friday, August 8, 2008

A Corporate Prayer

Almighty God
we humbly entrust our company
into your caring and saving hands
We implore your constant guidance
in our daily endeavors.
We need your divine presence
And providential assistance as we
perform our individual functions.

O God, we sincerely ask you in prayer
Bless and protect us so that
no accident may happen,
no harm may befall us,
no misfortune may come.
Deliver us from anything
that will decrease our productivity
and from anyone who will reduce
our efficiency by keeping us
from doing our work well.

O God we sincerely ask you in prayer
to watch over us and give us the grace
to work together I peace and harmony.
Grant that the management
and the rank-and-file may trust
each other and function as one;
that the management may look after
the well being of the workers;
that the employees
may concern themselves
with the company’s future;
that we may all reap a fruitful harvest.

O God we sincerely ask you in prayer
to bless us and intercede for us.
Help us to meet our deadlines
as well as the clients demand
for our products.
Help us to settle all conflicts,
solve all problems,
cope with crises
and enjoy the lasting benefits
of our efforts.

Look with kindness at
those who work with us;
those who supply our raw materials;
those who patronize our products.

You know our hearts’ desires,
but you also know what is best for us
We humbly ask you to help us
achieve our corporate goals
To you who have given us all,
we offer the fruits of our labor.

O God, help us set our priorities.
Keep us from focusing solely
on material rewards.
Remind us of our commitment
to serve humankind

All this we ask of you
through Jesus Christ,
your obedient Son,
our loving Lord.

Amen.


I remember this prayer always in times of my struggles, pains, heartaches, bitterness, happy and everytime i need encouragements from our creator...


LEARNING CHIST


Teach me, my Lord, to be sweet and gentle in all the events of life-

in dissappointment

in the thoughtlessness of others,

in the insincerity of those I trusted,

in the unfaithfulness of those on whom I relied.


Let me put myself aside,

to think of the happiness of others,

to hide my little pains and heartaches,

so that I may be the only one to suffer from them.


Teach me to be profit by the suffering that comes across my path.

Let me so use it that it may mellow me,

not harden nor embitter me;

that it may make me patient not irritable

that it may make me broad in my forgiveness,

not narrow, haughty and overbearing.


May no one be less good for having come within my influence. No one less pure, less true, less kind, less noble for having been a fellow traveler in our journey toward ETERNAL LIFE. As i go my rounds from one dsitraction to another, let me whisper from time to time a word of love to Thee. May my life be lived in the supernatural, full of power for good, and strong in its purpose of sanctity.