THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT !!!

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The END is Nigh...???

Mass bird and fish deaths stoke curiosity

AFP - Friday, January 7

WASHINGTON (AFP) - – Five thousand dead blackbirds rained from the sky on the first day of the New Year in Arkansas. Then more dead birds fell in other states. Then huge fish kills were discovered in multiple US waterways.

And suddenly it became a worldwide phenomenon, with reports of mass die-offs of birds and fish in Sweden, Britain, Japan, Thailand, Brazil and beyond.

Doves, jellyfish, snapper, jackdaws... it seemed no species was immune.

Conspiracy theorists, doomsdayers and religious extremists warned that the end was nigh.

Could it be astronauts testing a potent sound beam to ward off aliens? The US military experimenting with satellite-powered energy weapons?

What about chemical sprays, meteor showers, or earthquakes activating pollutants from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico?

"Birds" surged to the most searched term on The New York Times website.

Religious bloggers loaded their sites with Bible verse, Hosea 4:1-3: "The land dries up, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea are swept away."

But as speculation roiled the blogosphere, wildlife experts rolled their eyes.

"It is not that unusual," said Kristen Schuler, a scientist at the US Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center.

"There is nothing apocalyptic or anything that is necessarily out of the ordinary for what we would see in any given week."

Indeed, the USGS keeps a log on its website with reports of groups of birds dying each week, averaging from dozens to thousands.

Regarding the bird deaths in Arkansas, where the local custom is to set off fireworks to mark New Year's Eve, officials determined it was likely that the noise set off a deadly bird panic.

"It appears unusually loud noises, reported shortly before the birds began to fall, caused the birds to flush from a roost," the USGS National Wildlife Health Center said in a statement posted on the Arkansas Fish and Game Commission website.

"Additional fireworks in the area may have forced the birds to fly at a lower altitude than normal and hit houses, vehicles, trees and other objects. Blackbirds have poor night vision and typically do not fly at night."

In Louisiana, Schuler said it looked like cold weather might have killed off about 500 birds.

Meanwhile in Maryland, locals were spooked by reports of some two million dead fish in the Chesapeake Bay.

But officials were quick to assuage those concerns, saying the deaths were a result of an unusual cold snap, combined with an overpopulation of a species known as spot fish.

"Natural causes appear to be the reason for the deaths of the fish," said a statement by the Maryland Department of the Environment.

"Spot may have difficulty surviving in colder temperatures, and the species susceptibility to winter kills is well-documented," it said, noting that surface water temperatures last month were the coldest in 25 years.

As for the bird and fish deaths elsewhere in the world, many were still under investigation.

According to the National Wildlife Federation's Doug Inkley, the most frequent cause of mass death in birds is disease, though pollution and "just plain accidents" can also trigger large scale die-offs. Often, people just are not aware of them.

"Most of the time these areas are not near human habitation such as in forests or in the woods," he said on CNN.

But in today's Internet Age, when hardly anything remains secret, word of mass bird deaths has spread with unparalleled speed.

"In 1960 if a bunch of birds started falling from the sky it may have been noticed by some people. It may have gotten reported in the local paper, but it may never have gotten any further than that," said Robert Thompson, professor of pop culture at Syracuse University.

"Now some of these kinds of stories, because they get out there on the Internet, if they are compelling enough they can immediately make this jump to national news," he said.

"Let's face it, big quantities of birds falling from the sky or fish going belly up is a pretty compelling story."

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'GARANG' GAL !!!

Lawyer planned trap in bid to capture ‘Gary Ng’

By Faris – January 10th, 2011

His next ‘potential conquest’ had apparently set up a rendezvous in a hotel. But unknown to ‘Gary Ng’, it was a trap to get him arrested.

Ms Yeo Poh Tiang, a lawyer, decided to lure him into the open, first by chatting with him online for hours – he had posted his e-mail address on his blog.

Later, she gave him her mobile number and they set up a rendezvous at Amara Hotel. Unknown to him, she had tipped off the police.

However, when Ms Yeo, 30, was just about to leave her office in Tanjong Pagar for the appointment, the police had called the operation off. Chen was nabbed at home that night, after she had given the police some leads.

“I think it’s a waste that the ambush didn’t go through, but things turned out well in the end, so I have nothing to complain about,” she told The Sunday Times with a shrug.

She had devised the plan after several women whom Chen had cheated of their money approached her for help late last year.

“It’s not a creative tactic – I’m just doing something extra for my clients, trying to think of ways to help them,” said Ms Yeo, who studied law at Birmingham University in Britain and had just set up her law firm last year.

“Any lawyer can do it. An old male lawyer can also pretend to be a paedophile on the Internet.”

Her target, known to netizens as ‘Gary Ng’, who was infamous for the filmed sexual exploits that he posted online, is Chen Guilin in real life.

Chen pleaded guilty last Tuesday to possessing 507 obscene films, of which more than 480 were clips of him having sex with different women.

The former property agent also admitted in court to seven other offences, including breaking into the home of his client while she was away, forgery and criminal breach of trust.

Ms Yeo’s actions on the other hand have apparently brought her some fame. Some current and previous clients also called her. ‘They told me things like, I’m so proud of you!’ she said, with a laugh.

Her retired father, 60, used to run a business manufacturing fish maw, while her 55-year-old mother is a housewife.

The media attention on the case, however, has caused a few of her clients to reconsider pursuing a civil suit against Chen.

“A couple of them have decided not to proceed… they are thinking it over. I think it’s because of the media stress,” said Ms Yeo.

Chen was reportedly arrested in October last year after some women made police reports against him, saying he had cheated them of money.

In all, he committed 21 offences over a four-year period from 2006 to June last year, involving property worth S$171,770. He initially faced 21 charges but 13 were taken into consideration.

While Chen is currently out on a S$72,000 bail, he will be sentenced on Jan 19. For forgery, he faces a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine on each charge.

In addition, for housebreaking, he can be jailed up to 10 years while for possessing obscene films, Chen can be jailed up to six months.

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La Liga - Messi wins Ballon d'Or

Mon, 10 Jan 19:23:00 2011

Argentina's Lionel Messi won the World Player of the Year for the second time in a row on Monday and Jose Mourinho walked off with the coach's award, leaving Spain's World Cup winners disappointed.

Messi surprisingly held off his Barcelona team mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi to win the newly-created FIFA Ballon D'Or, a fusion of the previously separate annual awards handed out by FIFA and France Football magazine.

Mourinho, now with Real Madrid, won the inaugural Coach of the Year award after leading Internazionale to a Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup treble.

The honour went to the self-styled Special One, who described himself afterwards as "proudly Portuguese", at the expense of Spain's World Cup-winning coach Vicente del Bosque and Barcelona's Pep Guardiola.

"The most important trophies for me are the collective ones, not the individual ones but this is a historic trophy for me and Portuguese football," Mourinho said.

Iniesta and Xavi had been favourites after helping Spain win the World Cup last year while Messi had failed to score a goal or produce his best form at the tournament in South Afica.

"It was just good to be here with my team mates," said Messi, who looked as surprised as anyone by the result which was announced by Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.

"I'd like to share this with my team mates, without whom I would not be here, and...with all the Argentines."

It was the first time the award had been made since the decision to unite FIFA's World Player of the Year award with France Football magazine's older Ballon D'Or.

Messi won both awards last season. The only Spanish winner of either prize was Luis Suarez who won the Ballon D'Or in 1960.

Spain's only consolation was that they had six players in the world team of the year, Iniesta and Xavi joined by Iker Casillas, David Villa, Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique.

Brazilians Lucio and Maicon, Dutchman Wesley Sneijder, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi completed the line-up.

Votes were cast by the coaches and captains of national teams and by selected journalists.

Messi produced some scintillating performances for Barcelona last year, but failed to inspire Argentina who were knocked out in the quarter-finals in South Africa.

A host of other awards were handed out by FIFA with South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu and the Haitian women's U17 team among other winners.

The 79-year-old Tutu, who used his church pulpit as a platform to help bring down apartheid, took the FIFA Presidential Award.

The Haitian team were given the Fair Play award for taking part in the CONCACAF under-17 women's championship in Costa Rica two months after the huge earthquake which devastated their country at the start of last year.

FIFA's goal of the year award went to Turkey's Hamit Altintop for a spectacular volley against Kazahstan and Brazil's Martha was named women's Player of the Year for the fifth time in a row.

[kueytoc]

FACTBOX-Soccer-World Player of the Year Lionel Messi

Mon, 10 Jan 20:00:00 2011

Factbox on Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi who won the World Player of the Year award for the second time in a row on Monday.

Born June 24, 1987 in Rosario, Sante Fe, Argentina.

The 23-year-old is blessed with the same masterly ball control and burst of pace as the great Diego Maradona and his goal against Getafe in a King's Cup match in 2007 was almost a replica of the former Argentina captain's spectacular solo effort against England in the 1986 World Cup.

EARLY CAREER

* Joined Barcelona as a 13-year-old in 2000 and shone in the youth ranks before then-coach Frank Rijkaard gave him his senior debut at the age of 16 in a friendly against Porto in 2003.

* Led Argentina to glory at the 2005 World Youth Championship in the Netherlands, scoring two penalties in a 2-1 final victory over Nigeria. Like Maradona, ended the tournament with the best player and top scorer trophies.

* Became a Spanish citizen in 2005.

HITTING HEIGHTS

* Made his debut for Argentina in a friendly against Hungary in August 2005, the same opponents Maradona made his debut against as a 16-year-old. Messi was sent off less than a minute after going on as a substitute for elbowing a defender who had pulled his shirt.

* A bureaucratic argument over whether he could be classed as a European Union player meant he did not represent Barcelona in a competitive game until 2005. He went on to score six goals in 17 appearances as the club won La Liga for the second year in a row.

* Faced a race against time to make the 2006 World Cup and played only a bit-part role in the tournament. Coach Jose Pekerman was heavily criticised for leaving him on the bench as Argentina were knocked out in the quarter-finals by hosts Germany after a penalty shootout.

* Led Argentina to the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and came second in the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year vote behind Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo who was then with Manchester United but is now at Real Madrid.

* In the 2009-10 season, Messi played an influential role in Pep Guardiola's Barcelona side that won six trophies including the Champions League, La Liga and the World Club Cup.

* Part of the Argentina team coached by Diego Maradona which was dumped out of the 2010 World Cup, losing 4-0 to Germany in the quarter-finals. Messi failed to score and struggled to find his best form at the tournament in South Africa.

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PROFILE-Soccer-Argentina title is all that is missing for Messi

Mon, 10 Jan 20:45:00 2011

After being voted World Player of the Year for the second year in a row, all that is missing to complete Lionel Messi's career is a senior international trophy with Argentina.

The decision to crown Messi ahead of his Spanish Barcelona team mates Xavi and Andres Iniesta, following a year of European dominance, is a timely reminder of the riches that South America has given the game.

Many felt that Messi's failure to score at last year's World Cup or help Argentina to go beyond the quarter-finals would prevent him from winning the Player of the Year award again.

But the voters -- international coaches, team captains and selected journalists -- appeared to be swayed by the reasoning that Messi's disappointing tournament in South Africa was the result of his team's failings rather than his own.

Diego Maradona's team failed to provide him with the service he needed to thrive. He was forced to drop back, look for the ball and set up his team mates when, in truth, it should have been Argentina's midfield which was providing service for Messi.

There have been no such problems at Barcelona, where Messi has continued to mesmerise the opposition and the Nou Camp supporters.

His four-goal Champions League performance against Arsenal last April was arguably the highlight of a year in which Messi's talent has reached new heights.

At his best, he can leave several bemused opponents in his wake and the deft, unpredictable finishes he applies to his work only add to the overall effect.

Former Barcelona forward Hristo Stoichkov said there appeared to be only one way to stop a player known as the Atomic Flea.

"Once they said they can only stop me with a pistol but today you need a machine gun to stop him," said the Bulgarian.

Messi has won the Olympic gold medal with Argentina's under-23 team but a win at the Copa America this year, which his country will host, would be his first with the senior national team.

His ultimate goal must be to help Argentina win a third World Cup title in 2014 -- on the soil of their arch-enemies Brazil. It would transform his status in much the same way as Argentina's World Cup 1986 win did for Diego Maradona.

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La Liga - Mourinho named Coach of the Year

Mon, 10 Jan 19:06:00 2011

Jose Mourinho has added to his collection of titles by winning the first FIFA Coach of the Year award.

The Portuguese, now with Real Madrid, was given the accolade after leading Inter Milan to a treble of Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup last season.

He won the poll ahead of two Spaniards, Vicente del Bosque, who led Spain to last year's World Cup, and Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.

Former Chelsea coach Mourinho, 47, has won the Champions League with two different clubs having previously led Porto to the title.

The new award was organised by FIFA in conjunction with France Football magazine.

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Mourinho puts himself among Portuguese greats

Mon, 10 Jan 21:44:00 2011

Jose Mourinho put himself on the same pedestal as revered Portuguese compatriots Eusebio, Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo after becoming the first winner of the Coach of the Year award on Monday.

But Mourinho was not entirely satisfied with the evening, saying that the Inter Milan team he coached to a treble last season should have been represented among the three candidates for the Player of the Year award won by Lionel Messi.

"Obviously for me, the most important are the collective titles, not the individual ones... but it's an historic trophy, historic for me, historic for Portuguese football as well and obviously I feel great pride," he told reporters.

"I'm proudly Portuguese, the Portuguese don't have so many of these proud moments, and this is certainly good for Portuguese ego.

"After Eusebio, Figo, and Cristiano (Ronaldo), we are now four golden balls."

Mourinho's award was the result of a poll conducted jointly by FIFA and France Football magazine, who also joined forces to produce the first FIFA Ballon D'Or Player of the Year award.

Figo and Ronaldo each won both the old FIFA and France Football awards while Eusebio, who played long before the FIFA award existed, also won the latter.

Mourinho, now with Real Madrid, won a Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup treble with Inter last season.

That success only went on to enhance his reputation further as he was already one of the world's most sought after coaches having won the Serie A title with Inter in 2008/9, two Premier League and one FA Cup titles with Chelsea and Champions League, UEFA Cup and two league titles with Porto.

Barcelona trio Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi were contenders for the player's award but Mourinho said there should have been room for at least one member of his Inter team.

"Inter were a little hard done by in my opinion, European champions, world champions, champions of everything, to have not had anyone among the players sitting in these three chairs," he said.

"For me it was something of an injustice. It had special meaning that their trainer had won an historic trophy."

Mourinho was close to tears during the ceremony when Inter player Wesley Sneijder thanked him from the stage after being picked in the world XI.

"The most important is to hear words like the ones from Sneijder which affect you more than the trophies you can win," said Mourinho.

[kueytoc]

Premier League - Dalglish appoints Clarke at Reds

Mon, 10 Jan 09:37:00 2011

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has appointed Steve Clarke as first-team coach.

Clarke was assistant to Jose Mourinho among other managers at Chelsea and has also had spells as number two at Newcastle United, Chelsea and West Ham United.

Sammy Lee will remain as assistant manager of the Reds.

Dalglish said: "Steve is a great addition to our backroom team and I'm delighted we've been able to bring him into the club.

"I am looking forward to working with Steve alongside Sammy and our other technical staff."

Clark, who left West Ham in the summer soon after manager Gianfranco Zola, said he could not refuse the challenge at Anfield.

"I was sat at home doing nothing and now I've got the chance of working with a football great in Kenny Dalglish and also working for one of the world's leading football clubs," he said.

"This was something I couldn't turn down. I am grateful for everybody who has given me such a warm welcome, especially all those here at Melwood.

"I am really looking forward to working with Kenny and the rest of the staff to help bring good times back to the club."

Clarke, who played over 500 senior games for St Mirren and Chelsea, is the first addition to new manager Dalglish's backroom staff following the departure of Roy Hodgson on Saturday.

The Reds are struggling in 12th spot in the Premier League table, level on points with city rivals Everton and 19 behind North West rivals and leaders Manchester United, who dumped them out of the FA Cup on Sunday.

Eurosport

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From cruise to crisis for 'King Kenny'

Mon Jan 10 09:00AM

After 32 seconds of 'King' Kenny Dalglish's hotly-anticipated Liverpool return, the club legend had presided over what proved to be the death of another piece of potential silverware.

Dalglish left a seat at the bar quaffing champagne on a cruise ship to take the helm at Liverpool, and the 'Return of the King' could hardly have begun in more inauspicious fashion as the old platitudes were rolled out like a red carpet in front of his eyes.

"The enormity of his challenge is dawning on him now!" screamed Clive Tyldesley after Daniel Agger stood pretty close to Dimitar Berbatov inside the Liverpool box - but Dalglish is not one to sport the rose-tinted spectacles and was probably thinking referee Howard Webb should invest in a pair himself.

Ryan Giggs dispatched the penalty with aplomb and 'Kenny Mania' was effectively extinguished inside Old Trafford in what was the Scot's first match in charge of the Reds since a 4-4 FA Cup replay draw with Everton in February 1991.

The FA Cup has its critics and is treated with thinly veiled contempt by some - Ian Holloway fielded his youth team to unsurprisingly shoddy effect against Southampton on Saturday - but the ability of English football's premier cup competition to keep a big club's floundering campaign afloat is undoubted.

Roy Hodgson is a gentleman in the truest sense: not the type of man who would have been asking his chauffeur the score with a smirk at his local Rolls Royce dealership on Sunday afternoon.

But there must have been a tinge of £7 million pay-out assisted relief on Uncle Woy's part as he can now claim responsibility for only two of the three competitions Liverpool have seen their hopes extinguished in already this season.

Webb celebrated his newly-acquired New Year MBE by awarding a match-deciding penalty, and the referee has since had to endure a torrent of abuse.

King Kenny's misery was compounded tenfold when Steven Gerrard mistook Michael Carrick's ankle for an invasive balloon hurled on to the pitch from the Stretford End which required urgent popping with both sets of studs.

New in the job, Dalglish's immediate instinct to study a touchline TV replay of the incident and play the role of forthright pundit was understandable. "You've got to question the ref's positioning there!" he appeared to inform the fourth official earnestly.

Dalglish is not a man to stand on ceremony, and promptly hauled off the now consistently ineffectual Fernando Torres in the 78th minute. The only slight snag to this brave and uncompromising signal of intent was that the nimble-footed replacement was David N'Gog - a forward who makes kicking a football while in motion appear fraught with impending danger.

Equally, the exciting introduction of the effervescent bench-warmer Jonjo Shelvey looked set to provide an injection of effort and unbridled passion - only all that followed were two niggly fouls and a hapless crowd-warmer shot which wasted a 35-yard free-kick.

Does Kenny fancy a long-term stay at Anfield this time around? After branding the penalty 'a joke' and admitting that he 'cannot see that as a red card either', the Scot did not provide a clear indication, but should he be allowed to spend significant money in this transfer window if a new man is set to take over in the summer?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I would not have insulted the club by saying no. I have to say the cruise ship people were fantastic: they got us off at Bahrain and got us on to a plane and I was home last night." Dalglish provides a less than convincing claim to wanting the Liverpool job long term then reveals how his appointment ruined a five-star holiday for an entire ship-load of punters.

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No-SEX zone threatened after Philippines scandal

AFP - Thursday, January 6

MANILA (AFP) - – Philippine authorities may ban sex on the world-famous beaches of Boracay island after a television crew filmed two naked couples making out in public on New Year's Day, the local mayor said Thursday.

The clip showed one pair apparently having sex on the beach and the other locked in a passionate kiss in the water, with the woman's bare breasts clearly shown above the waterline.

The ABS-CBN television network said it filmed the apparently Western couples at 2:00 am on New Year's Day following a large beachside party on Boracay to usher in 2011.

"We're thinking of a 'no sex on the beach' (rule) so the other tourists would not be scandalised," John Yap, mayor of Malay town that has jurisdiction over Boracay, told ABS-CBN in an interview posted on its website this week.

Yap said authorities were aware of the sensitivities of the devoutly Roman Catholic nation.

"It's an isolated case and quite difficult to control but, if police had seen them, they would have been arrested for public scandal," he said.

In a brief phone call with AFP on Thursday, Yap confirmed the quotes.

Filipina film star and talk show television host Ruffa Gutierrez, who said she was vacationing with her two young children at Boracay over the New Year, expressed disgust at the holiday makers' over-exuberance.

"I don't want my children to be doing those things (public sex acts) one day," she told ABS-CBN.

"For me, it's just not right."

Boracay draws about 650,000 tourists every year, or about 22 percent of the country's total visitor traffic, according to tourist ministry data.

[kueytoc]

Are Ye Ready to ROCK ???

Janet Jackson bringing tour to U.S. and Canada

Reuters - Tuesday, January 11

By Monica Herrera

NEW YORK - Janet Jackson is bringing her Number Ones, Up Close and Personal tour to the U.S. and Canada this spring, the star announced Monday.

The trek kicks off March 7-8 with a two-night stand in Las Vegas and wraps with another pair of shows April 22-23 in Las Vegas.

The setlist will be culled exclusively from the hits that grace Jackson's 2009 compilation, "Number Ones."

"These concerts will be different from anything I have ever done. I will be as up close and personal as possible," Jackson said in a statement. "These concerts are not about special effects. This is a love affair between me and those of you who have supported me and my work for all these years. I'll be singing and dancing from my heart. The music will all be songs that you've made number ones for me. Let's go!

Jackson is also slated to release "True You," a book reflecting on her experience with diet and exercise, on February 8.

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S$760,000 scam uncovered from fake payslips

By Kai Fong – January 12th, 2011

A fake payslip submitted by a credit card applicant turned out be the tip of an iceberg for a S$760,000 scam, all thanks to a check by a sharp-eyed bank officer.

The applicant’s annual salary was discovered to have been inflated to meet the S$60,000 needed to get a Standard Chartered Bank (Stanchart) card, and it was not a sole case.

On Monday, a direct sales agent at telemarketing firm Touch & Tech and an applicant, both Filipinos, were jailed after pleading guilty to conspiring to use fake payslips and employment letters, reported The Straits Times (ST).

The whole team at Touch & Tech is said to have forged payslips and employment contracts to qualify applicants for cards and loans, a move that would earn extra commission and bank bonuses for the marketing firm.

As the firm’s direct sales agent, Charon Legaspi Dimpas, 26, would make cold calls to prospective applicants, but many failed to meet the bank’s criteria. Her team manager Abdul Karim Baba, a Singaporean, is alleged to have then encouraged her to inflate the monthly income of applicants.

In total, Dimpas submitted fake documents for 96 applicants from June to November last year, earning S$8,474 in commission. The agent also submitted false letters for extension of employment because applicants needed a minimum of one year remaining on their employment passes.

The second to be jailed is a 39-year-old applicant, Maria Theresa Arena Garcia, who was an administrative operations executive with an employment agency in 2009.

Besides inflating her payslip from its original S$2,600 to S$5,180, she also used fake documents to apply for a loan.

Another Filipino applicant, Mark Robert Fajilan Landicho, is alleged to have referred applicants to Dimpas after getting his own successful application by posting an advertisement on a Filipino website www.pinoysg.com. He promised readers that he could help them get Stanchart loans and credit cards even if they were “low wage earners”.

Most of the applicants worked as hospital or clinic staff, or in the administrative or accounting sectors.

The court heard that Stanchart, who engaged Touch & Tech to market its credit cards, had lent nearly S$760,000 to the 96 applicants.

Dimpas has been sentenced to three years and nine months imprisonment while Garcia was jailed for six months.

For providing false documents to the bank, both women could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to S$10,000. Cases involving seven accomplices who had been charged will be heard at a later date.

[kueytoc]

Parents queue overnight to get kids on school’s waiting list

By Kai Fong – January 11th, 2011

Armed with picnic mats and umbrellas — some even with maids and babies in tow, enthusiastic parents were seen queuing outside one of the most sought-after kindergartens in Singapore, with the hope of securing a place for their children.

The exercise was not even to guarantee them a spot for their tots in Nanyang Kindergarten’s pre-nursery programme for three-year-olds, but only to be put on its waiting list which now has more than 100 names, according to the school’s principal Magdalene Ang.

The queue began forming as early as 9pm on Sunday, a day before registration opened for a place in the popular Bukit Timah pre-school in 2013, reported The Straits Times (ST).

By the time registration started on Monday at 7.30am, more than 70 eager parents were filing past the school gates to pay a S$100 non-refundable administration fee.

Priority will be given to children who have siblings currently studying in the school or have siblings or parents as former pupils, before remaining parents on the list are considered on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Once the children are admitted into its pre-nursery programme, entry to kindergarten is guaranteed when they turn five. Its yearly intake for pre-nursery is about 96 pupils.

Nanyang Kindergarten, which is not affiliated to Nanyang Primary School, is well-known for being the alma mater of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his children. Past pupils also include prominent lawyers, scientists and architects.

Its emphasis on the teaching of the Chinese language is another plus point that seems appealing to many parents today –- the 74-year-old kindergarten conducts its pre-nursery and nursery lessons purely in Mandarin. Both English and Mandarin are used later in K1 and K2.

That is a big draw for parents such as 41-year-old retail firm director, Mr McCallum, who was first in the queue.

Having camped overnight in front of the school on Sunday, Mr McCallum told ST that he and his Chinese-Singaporean wife want to give their one-year-old son the best education in Mandarin as “the ability to read and write in Chinese will be a great asset in the global economy”.

Parents do not seem bothered by the spike in school fees following the opening of Nanyang’s S$5.5 million new extension in 2009 — while nursery and kindergarten fees used to be S$780 for a 10-week term and S$840 for pre-nursery, they have doubled to between S$1,669.20 and S$1,776.20 in mid-2009.

Ms Ang said that new facilities such as computers and air-conditioned classrooms allow the school to incorporate special activities like computer learning, and speech and drama into the normal curriculum.

Indeed, financial executive Jason Teng, 46, who started queuing at 5am, believes that Nanyang Kindergarten has a more rigorous curriculum than other private pre-schools. That will prevent his children from “a culture shock upon entering primary school”, he said.

Although his six-year-old elder son is already in Nanyang Kindergarten, which puts his one-year-old second son in the priority queue, the father is not taking any chances.

“Call us kiasu (afraid to lose out), but I don’t want to lose out. This concerns my child’s future.”

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Chilly weather in China aggravates blood shortage

AFP - Thursday, January 6

BEIJING (AFP) - – Zhao Libao sits in a nearly empty room at a Red Cross centre in Beijing, waiting to donate blood as he does every month. He is one of the few to heed government calls for more rolled-up sleeves.

Despite repeated official pleas for donations, cold weather across China has triggered a shortage of blood in the capital and other major cities as fewer people are willing to brave the chilly temperatures.

Along with the big chill, an increasing demand for surgical procedures has been blamed for the shortfall, which at one point forced hospitals across the country to postpone at least 50 percent of operations for the short term.

"People are very selfish and they feel their blood is very precious and they don't need to help other people," Zhao, 36, told AFP.

They think "if there is no benefit for me then I won't donate," he said.

Blood donation to strangers has not yet caught on in China, where only 84 out of every 10,000 people give blood -- a fraction of the 454 who do so in developed countries, the health ministry says on its website.

In a bid to boost supplies, Health Minister Chen Zhu recently rolled up his own sleeve to donate along with hundreds of other government officials -- a publicity stunt aimed at encouraging citizens to contribute to blood banks.

State media also joined the nationwide campaign, publishing stories urging people to brave the cold weather and go to their nearest blood centre to help replenish dwindling supplies.

While Liu Jiang, director of the Red Cross centre, insists the shortage has been resolved -- at least in the capital -- the centre continued to issue calls for more donors via the state-run media throughout December.

"I dare not guarantee that there won't be a shortage in the future because blood collection is easily affected by seasonal factors," Liu told AFP.

On cold, windy days, "the number of people on the street drops sharply and the amount of blood collected falls significantly," he said.

Haunted by the memory of a blood-selling scandal in central Henan province in the 1990s, when entire villages were devastated by HIV/AIDS after donors received tainted blood, many Chinese are still afraid to give, reports say.

But Liu said the main reasons for the shortage were severe traffic congestion in the capital as well as the cold weather and a lack of mobile donation centres around the city.

"Convenience is really important for blood donation. It is impossible to ask donors to take a day off work just to go to blood collecting centres," he said.

Beijing has just 27 mobile donation centres, which collect 90 percent of the city's blood, for a population of 19 million.

A middle-aged man waiting at the Red Cross centre to donate blood told AFP he had been sent by the restaurant where he worked as a chef. He said he was making his 30th donation -- something he considered to be his civic duty.

"I donate blood for free as a gesture of my love (for society)," said the man surnamed Ren as he puffed on a cigarette.

"I donated for the victims of the Sichuan and Yushu earthquakes ... wherever it is needed."

As blood stocks plunged in recent months, people with relatives in hospital waiting for operations were reportedly donating their own blood so their loved ones could have surgery.

According to Chinese law, each person can donate a maximum of 400 millilitres of blood every six months.

If a patient requires more than that, relatives would have to ask friends to donate on their behalf or pay so-called "blood agents" to find strangers to donate for them, the Global Times said.

During the latest shortage, the black market price for 400 millilitres of blood doubled to 3,000 yuan (450 dollars), it said.

More than half of the country's donors are university students and migrant workers, according to Xinhua.

For people like Zhao, donating blood is not a way to earn money but a more secure way to help other people.

"I don't want to give money. Society is very complicated and I don't know if the money will reach the people who need it," he said.

[kueytoc]

Blackpool pile on agony for Liverpool in Premier League

AFP - Thursday, January 13

BLACKPOOL (AFP) – Goals from Gary Taylor-Fletcher and DJ Campbell helped Blackpool to another sensational 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Bloomfield Road here on Wednesday.

Blackpool came from a goal down after Fernando Torres's early finish to prove their win by the same scoreline at Anfield in October was no fluke as they pulled off one of the most unexpected 'doubles' in the history of the Premier League - their first over Liverpool for 47 years.

The Tangerines are now ninth in the table, four places above Liverpool -- something that would have been regarded as all but inconceivable at the start of the season.

This was Kenny Dalglish's first league game in charge of Liverpool for almost 19 years, having seen the Reds lose 1-0 to arch-rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup last weekend, after replacing Roy Hodgson on an interim basis until the end of the season.

"We'll work away and try to get the confidence we need to produce more positive results," Dalglish told Sky Sports. "A lot of teams are going to come here and get a really tough game, they've done that already.

"It's a great credit to Ian Holloway they've got a team as good as that."

Holloway, the Blackpool manager, added: "It was a fantastic result, a fantastic game and I thought we more played than our part in it.

"It looked like the Kenny Dalglish effect was going to sweep us away but my boys just keep going."

Dalglish is looking to salvage something from a Liverpool season that has lurched from disaster to disaster.

One of those low points was the loss to Blackpool at Anfield as the 18-times English champions were humbled by the Premier League newboys.

In the period between that fixture and this, Liverpool have gained new owners but lost a manager in Hodgson and it is former Scotland striker Dalglish's responsibility to bring an element of calm to a club that has stagnated in recent times.

Despite being without Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole -- the former through suspension, the latter through injury -- Liverpool started as the better side and took the lead in the third minute through Torres.

Good interplay between Dirk Kuyt and Martin Kelly allowed the right-back to slot the ball through to Torres who charged in on Richard Kingson's goal and thrashed the ball into the roof of the net.

But Liverpool's early optimism was extinguished when Blackpool capitalised on some poor defending to equalise nine minutes later.

A Raul Meireles misjudgement and a poor piece of defending from Daniel Agger gave Taylor-Fletcher the space to sneak through Liverpool's back line and comfortably slide the ball past Pepe Reina.

That should have been the ignition for a thrilling opening encounter but Taylor-Fletcher's goal was the last real chance on goal during the first half.

Campbell should have nodded Blackpool in front from four yards but somehow missed the target while Liverpool offered very little at the other end in an opening period full of running but precious little quality.

After the interval, Reina had to make two quickfire saves from Charlie Adam and David Vaughan as Blackpool went on the attack while Torres also fired over at the other end.

And with the game firmly in the balance, Blackpool then took the lead in the 69th minute as Campbell made up for his earlier miss with a brilliant header.

A deep Neal Eardley cross was headed back across goal by Ian Evatt and Campbell did the rest to complete the turnaround.

The fraught finish, ensured the final whistle was greeted with sheer joy by the home fans and as Liverpool's supporters trudged away, they must have realised their club's current problems are far too large for Dalglish to solve on his own and overnight.

[kueytoc]

Honeymooner 'strangled over purse'

10 hours 45 mins ago

By Press Assoc

Murdered honeymooner Michaela McAreavey was strangled over a purse containing a small amount of cash, it has been claimed.

As the body of the 27-year-old newly-wed began its journey home to Northern Ireland, detectives on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius said the burglars-turned-killers she interrupted in her room at the luxury Legends Hotel were rummaging for a purse.

The price over which the teacher lost her life emerged after police said that one of the three hotel workers charged in connection with the murder had confessed.

It is understood that room attendant Avinash Treebhoowoon, 29, admitted the crime after one of his co-accused and fellow room attendant Raj Theekoy, 33, made a statement implicating him and the third accused, floor supervisor Sandip Moneea, 41. Treebhoowoon and Moneea, who are alleged to have carried out the killing, face murder charges.

Police sources believe they returned to rob the room after spotting the purse in the couple's room while cleaning the day before.

Theekoy, who is charged with conspiracy, is alleged to have passed along the corridor outside the room in the hotel while the struggle was taking place but, despite hearing screams, did nothing to stop it.

A spokesman for the Maritius Police Force said: "Avinash Treebhoowoon has confessed. Further investigations will continue."

Mrs McAreavey, who married husband John just 10 days before her death, was the daughter of one of Ireland's most celebrated sports figures, Tyrone gaelic football team manager Mickey Harte.

A flight carrying the body of the Irish language teacher was due to leave the island on Thursday en route to London. Her remains are expected to be back in the Harte family home near Ballygawley, Co Tyrone by Friday lunchtime.

It is expected her funeral will take place on Monday at St Malachy's chapel near the home - the same church where she was married only weeks ago.

[kueytoc]

Zsa Zsa Gabor has leg amputated to save life

AFP - Sunday, January 16

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - – Ailing actress Zsa Zsa Gabor had most of her right leg amputated due to an infection which would have killed her without surgery, her husband said.

Doctors said the 93-year-old remains in frail health and is being monitored closely after the operation in Los Angeles on Friday, the latest health woe for the ageing star.

"She would have died in a very short time because the infection was moving," her husband Prince Frederic von Anhalt told AFP shortly after his wife came round from surgery.

"She's doing fine. She's in the recovery room, She opened her eyes (and) looked at me, and there was a little smile. She's OK," he added.

The flamboyant star -- who was read the last rites during a health scare last year -- has been in hospital since just after New Year due to an infection, and had been treated with antibiotics.

But doctors decided they had no alternative but to remove her leg, as the infection had entered the bone.

"Ms. Gabor needed an amputation above her knee due to poor circulation and a large ulcerated area on her right leg," said David Rigberg, associate professor of vascular surgery at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

"After consulting with her husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, we felt this was the best medical course of action. The surgery today went well, however, she is in frail health so we will continue to monitor her closely."

Before Friday's operation her spokesman John Blanchette had said that she would die without the surgery.

The Hungarian-born actress's health has been deteriorating for a number of years. She was partly paralyzed in a car crash in 2002, and suffered a stroke in 2005.

Last July she was hospitalized last July after she fell and broke her hip. She underwent hip replacement surgery but suffered more complications, including a blood clot for which she had more surgery.

During another hospital stay in August, she called in a priest to administer last rites, then left the hospital a day later insisting that she wanted to be back home in her posh Bel Air neighborhood.

"This has been a long, tough road since 2002 when she had an accident that originally disabled her," he said. "She has never been able to walk and her health has spiraled down," said her spokesman.

Gabor's husband said his wife was not told about the amputation, and still doesn't know.

"We didn't want her to know, because the doctors didn't want the blood pressure to go up, you know when you tell somebody 'Hey, we take your leg off,' they get hysterical, the blood pressure goes up .. and they canot operate.

"The doctors told me the first three or four days she wouldn't even know she's lost her leg. And then slowly she will find out and then I have to talk to her," he said.

Gabor's long career includes spots in a dozen films and TV series, including John Huston's 1952 "Moulin Rouge" and the 1958 film noir "Touch of Evil" by Orson Welles. She also lent her voice to several animated films and TV series.

But the platinum blonde is especially known for her flamboyant lifestyle, legal troubles, nine marriages and a propensity to call just about everyone "darling" with her distinctive accent.

Anhalt said he was relieved that the surgery had been done, and was sure she will be, because she has been in so much pain from the infection.

"I feel actually good about it. She has no more infection now and she doesn't feel any pain any more," he said.

"The infection was terrible pain all over her body. You couldn't touch her hand or anything, she screamed with pain .. now it's gone, the infection's gone, she feels better all over her body now.

"When she finds out the leg is gone, that's a different story, but she won't have pain any more."

[kueytoc]

Premier League - Babel fined for Twitter outburst

Mon, 17 Jan 18:30:00 2011

Liverpool winger Ryan Babel has been fined £10,000 for comments about referee Howard Webb and the doctored picture he posted on Twitter after his side's FA Cup defeat by Manchester United this month.

Webb, who officiated at the World Cup final last July, awarded United a penalty in the opening minute which Ryan Giggs converted to give the home side a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

"Social network sites, like Twitter, must be regarded as being in the public domain," the Football Association's Roger Burden said in a statement on Monday.

"All participants need to be aware, in the same way as if making a public statement in other forms of media, that any comments would be transmitted to a wider audience. It is their responsibility to ensure only appropriate comments are used," Burden added.

Babel posted a mocked-up picture of Webb wearing a Manchester United shirt.

"And they call him one of the best referees? That's a joke," wrote the Dutch international, who did not play in the World Cup final that the Netherlands lost 1-0 to Spain, on the social network.

Babel later apologised and was warned by manager Kenny Dalglish to be more careful.

[kueytoc]

Premier League - Dalglish defends Babel after FA tweet charge

Tue, 11 Jan 08:56:00 2011

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has leapt to the defence of forward Ryan Babel after he was charged with improper behaviour by the Football Association.

The Netherlands international was hit with disciplinary action after posting a picture and comments about referee Howard Webb on Twitter after Sunday's FA Cup defeat at Manchester United.

He sent out a mocked-up picture of the World Cup final referee wearing a Manchester United shirt and also wrote: "And they call him one of the best referees? That's a joke. SMH (shaking my head)."

Dalglish felt Babel was just sharing a joke which quickly swept the internet after the game and it was not the player's deliberate intention to accuse Webb of bias.

"I think it is only a bit of fun," said the 59-year-old Scot, who is the only Premier League manager who currently has his own Twitter account.

"Maybe I've been out of the game too long but let's see if they can find a sense of humour," he said. "He apologised straight away."

Premier League - PFA blast 'precious' FA over Babel

Tue, 11 Jan 14:09:00 2011

PFA head Gordon Taylor has blasted the "precious" FA after the governing body charged Liverpool winger Ryan Babel over his Twitter posts.

Babel, who was angry that referee Howard Webb awarded Manchester United a match-deciding penalty in their FA Cup third round tie at the weekend, linked to a mocked-up picture of Webb wearing a Red Devils shirt.

He later removed the link and twittered an apology.

"(Webb) gives an early penalty and sends Stevie Gerrard off - the players aren't going to be pleased and, to some extent, it's just (Babel) giving his feelings," Taylor said on Radio Merseyside.

"Where's our sense of humour gone in our game? He's apologised - let's move on.

"From the FA's point of view, they may have got pressured by their own referees to say 'Look, we don't need these attacks on our referees'. But I would think Howard Webb is a big enough and good enough person for him to take it.

"I think they are looking to make an example, bearing in mind what's been said about referees.

"To my mind, and to most footballers' minds, it is the same sort of stuff that flies about every weekend via mobile phones, but they are obviously taking a stance on it. I thought a warning would have been sufficient."

He added that the stance taken was "very precious".

Babel was charged with improper conduct after initially writing: "And they call him one of the best referees? That's a joke. SMH (shaking my head)."

The Netherlands international, who has around 166,000 followers on the social networking tool, was also backed by new Reds manager Kenny Dalglish.

The Scot was furious that Webb awarded a spot-kick following Daniel Agger's minimal contact with Dimitar Berbatov in the first minute of Sunday's clash between the bitter rivals, branding the decision a "joke".

Ryan Giggs converted the chance and United went on to win 1-0 after Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard had been sent off.

Babel's later tweet read: "My apology if they take my posted picture seriously. This is just an emotional reaction after losing an important game.

"Sorry Howard Webb."

It is not the first time that the winger has come under fire for his Twitter comments. A year ago he slammed then Reds boss Rafael Benitez, which reportedly almost led to him departing Anfield.

[kueytoc]

Liverpool say Dalglish has qualities of long-term manager

Reuters, Mon, 10 Jan 19:02:00 2011

Interim appointment Kenny Dalglish has all the qualities Liverpool are looking for from their next permanent manager, director of football strategy Damien Comolli said on Monday.

Comolli sat next to the Scot at an Anfield news conference and, listing the attributes he was searching for in a long-term appointment, Dalglish may have been mentally ticking them off his CV.

"Competence will be the first one, someone who will fit into the club philosophy ... and is huge on man management," Frenchman Comolli told reporters.

"It's honestly open to people we think fit into what I just described and obviously Kenny will come into this category because he is exactly what I described. There will be a thorough search ... and we will see where that takes us."

Charged with turning around the fortunes of the club he played for and managed during their heyday, Dalglish was appointed on Saturday until the end of the season and the burning question has been whether he will be kept on beyond that.

The Scot left the Merseyside team 20 years ago and has been out of management for over a decade but the glistening trophy cabinets that surrounded him on Monday were a reminder of why the club had called on him.

With a rescue mission of propelling Liverpool up the table from 12th place following Roy Hodgson's departure, Dalglish said it was too early to think beyond this season.

"Let's not start running before we can walk," he said. "My understanding is it's until the end of the season.

"If I can get to the end of the season then I'll probably end up being the longest serving manager in the Premiership anyway," he joked.

"If I do really well and somebody better than me comes along, I have no problem whatsoever ... I'm here to give help to the club."

TOOLS FOR JOB

Dalglish will need to improve on a season in which nine league defeats have left Liverpool four points above the drop zone, starting with Wednesday's trip to Blackpool followed by Sunday's hotly anticipated derby with Everton.

Despite striker Fernando Torres's dip in form this season as well as others underperforming, Dalglish believes he has the tools for the job.

"The squad of players are a lot better than the form and the points total, they've got to start believing that and we've got to make them believe that and there is nothing better than results to do that," he said.

Dalglish was confident Spain striker Torres would soon rediscover his touch.

"In the games I've been in charge he's been brilliant," he smiled, referring to the 1-0 FA Cup defeat by Manchester United on Sunday, his first game back at the helm.

"He did everything and more than anyone could have asked for. Somebody asked me yesterday for a magic wand for Fernando, I said he doesn't need one, he's got one himself.

"He's still a top goal-scorer and he's still somebody that everybody fears. We'll do our best to get as much as we can from Fernando."

That may also involve persuading Torres to stay at Anfield as media reports have suggested he may be on his way out of a club unlikely to offer Champions League football again next season.

[kueytoc]

Dalglish cannot fix Liverpool

Mon Jan 10 03:41PM

Anyone with common sense would realise that Kenny Dalglish is only as good as the tools at his disposal, and those tools are not particularly good. Nothing has changed in that regard at Liverpool.

What is more, the best tool he has, Fernando Torres, does not wish to play for the club or to work particularly hard: the desire he showed at the weekend demonstrated that nothing has changed in his mind since Dalglish came on board.

All Torres seemed to care about was bickering with the referee, and the best thing 'King Kenny' could do would be to cash in on the Spaniard and bring in maybe two or three players who care about playing for the club.

The only trouble is that Liverpool have a vicious circle scenario: no top class players would be willing to join the club when the prospects of European football next season are minimal.

Everyone is talking about how much respect Dalglish commands for what he has done in the past and, while I agree that he is a legend of British football, it's fair to say that the foreign contingent will not care remotely about that.

Do the likes of Torres and Maxi Rodriguez believe that Dalglish is a legend, and would they have heard of him prior to joining the club? Possibly, but unlikely to be honest.

If I played abroad and heard stories and hype about a man who was apparently great 20-30 years ago, would I care? I would buy into it maybe, but it would not drive me on in the same way that Steven Gerrard is motivated by it.

There is no doubt that Dalglish will now know who the bad apples are within the squad, and it is his job to weed those players out and focus his attention on the ones who care deeply about the club and what it stands for.

The Liverpool players certainly showed more passion and desire than they have for most of this season, but there is absolutely no chance of them making it into Europe for the next campaign.

It has to be said that it was quite possibly the worst Manchester United-Liverpool clash for many years, and that was a real shame.

Gerrard's red card undoubtedly spoiled the encounter: he is one of my favourite players, but he definitely had to go as it was a horrendous challenge.

In regards to the penalty, it should never have been awarded in a million years. What Dimitar Berbatov said after the game about his refusal to ever dive was ridiculous and out of order.

The Bulgarian quite clearly dived and there was very little, if any, contact in the box as Daniel Agger came across to challenge him: it was a real shame to see the game decided in such fashion, and the forward should not be proud of that.

Liverpool have a huge amount of work to do if they are to get back on track, and surely no one now is delusional enough to think that Dalglish can fix all the problems at the club overnight.

[kueytoc]

Sure or Not ???

Xbox isnt a Games Console, says Microsoft boss

Mon Jan 17 05:49PM by Andy McV

The Xbox 360 that takes pride of place under your gorgeous flat screen television isnt a games console any more. Thats certainly news to us a few of you too, most likely. But if its not a console, what is it?

The answer comes from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who, its fair to say, is never at a loss when it comes to quotable soundbites. But his latest surely takes the biscuit:

"Xbox isn't a gaming console", he tells Maria Bartiromo of USAToday.com.

"Xbox is a family entertainment center. It's a place to socialise. It's a place to watch TV. We have (US-only video streaming service) 'Hulu' coming. It's the only system where you are the controller. Your voice, your gestures, your body".

We guess that the family claim isnt overly exaggerated either, with Xbox 360 now offering a range of games and services to attract users (wed better not call them gamers) of all ages and genders. Bring the motion-sensing Kinect peripheral to any family gathering for further proof of that. However, evidence of success in this arena comes from a lot closer to home for Ballmer:

My wife used to say, 'No, no, that's the machine the boys use,' and now she says, 'Yeah, I want to go watch movies. Let's go play the dance game'".

Spoken like a true corporate wife, you might think. That said, were yet to meet anyone who has been able to resist the infectious allure of Kinect games such as Dance Central. Kinect may make twinkle-toed Louis Spence wannabes of us all yet!

Moreover, the Xbox 360, perhaps more than any other home entertainment center (better not call them consoles), is the closest thing we have to the mythical do-it-all set-top box. Were fully expecting Microsoft to add a toast-making application in the not too distant future. Ballmer admits that theres still one corner of the market that is not fully tapped, though:

"You go to your average 15-year-old boy, and he will say, 'I'll take an Xbox', I want that average 15-year-old girl as excited about the Kinect, and we haven't done as good a job drawing in that broader set of demographics".

It can only be a matter of time before even that mission is accomplished. For all that, Ballmers claims are at least matched by Sony, whose PlayStation 3 has featured Blu-Ray functionality from the outset and has recently added TV on-demand services such as the BBCs iPlayer. Nintendos Wii looks positively old-fashioned by comparison. Then again we dont doubt that Sony or Microsoft would kill to match its sales.

Meanwhile, the humble DS which is a pure games machine, in our opinion outsells them all. Now what does that tell you...?

[kueytoc]

Next generation of Metal Gear underway – in 3D [X360]

Monday January 17, 11:14 AM

The planning stages have begun for a brand new entry into the ‘Metal Gear Solid’ canon, with Kojima Productions advertising for planners, programmers and CG designers.

It looks very likely that the next ‘Metal Gear Solid’ game will be for Xbox 360 and PC in addition to PlayStation 3, judging from the online recruitment ad placed by Kojima Productions this weekend. The new ‘consumer’ game (a term that confirms console versions) is demanding experience from network programmers and those with experience on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Could the new ‘Metal Gear Solid’ be for consoles after Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3? There’s a hint of this too, in that the graphics category of programmers are being tasked with research into the development for the next generation of CG. By the time this next generation of ‘Metal Gear’ sees the light of day, we’d like to think there’ll be at least a sniff of PS4 and Xbox Fandabidozy.

One thing for sure is that 3D will be a major component, with positions in 3D character modelling, 3D stage modelling, and 3D character motion design all being advertised.

Don’t expect to see anything more on this until late 2011.

Copyright © 2011 Unlikely Hero Limited

[kueytoc]

Hands-off Adam - Holloway

Sun, 16 Jan 06:55:39 2011

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway has repeated his verbal attack on Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier over making public his interest in signing midfielder Charlie Adam.

The Tangerines have already rejected bids for £2.5 and £3.5 million from Villa for Adam. But Holloway has the "raving hump" that Houllier has spoken about Adam, who has 18 months remaining of his current deal.

And following his side's 3-2 defeat at West Brom, Holloway said: "You've got every right to ask me the question, but Mr Houllier should not talk about someone else's player when he hasn't put up enough money to buy him. Will I honestly sell him (Adam) to Aston Villa? The answer is no because I am managing his career."

He added: "I've told him where I think he's good enough to go and again I think he's hit the best pass I've ever seen in my life.

"If there's anybody in the Premier League who can hit a pass like that, how much are they worth? So don't insult me by talking about my players. Don't talk about my player and I got the raving hump about it because it's not etiquette and it's wrong."

Holloway saw his side go under despite taking an early lead but was full of praise for Albion.

He said: "I felt we had a fantastic spell where they looked a bit nervous but I knew what they could do going forward. We had a couple of chances where DJ (Campbell) missed but you have to give them credit. They showed great belief in themselves."

Baggies boss Roberto Di Matteo was relieved to end a five-game losing sequence in the Premier League.

He said: "For the supporters and neutrals, I guess it was an exciting game. For the two managers, a little bit less!

"We had a lot of desire and you saw the commitment of the players. It was a great team effort. It was a fantastic team effort from everyone."

[kueytoc]

Elton John Introduces The World To His Son

2 hours 15 mins ago

©Sky News 2011

Sir Elton John and David Furnish have been pictured for the first time with their newborn son Zachary Jackson Levon.

The couple became parents to the baby boy, who was born on Christmas Day, through a surrogate mother.

In an interview with OK! Magazine, John and Furnish talk openly about the birth and their love for Zachary.

The music legend said: "There just aren't proper words to describe that feeling.

"It's indescribable. It was just...we have a son."

They also talked about their plans for Zachary's upbringing.

"I'm ready to have a child and lavish my love on our son and not spoil him," the singer said.

He had previously spoken of his desire to become a father, announcing last autumn that he wanted to adopt a boy from an orphange in the Ukraine.

But his plans to adopt a baby named Lev were thwarted because the country's laws deemed him too old and he was not married.

In the interview, the couple also said they will never give up on the 26-month-old orphan and his HIV-positive brother Artyom, four.

The couple is donating all fees received from the interview and pictures of Zachary to charity.