South African fruit picker faces British retail Giant

Tesco, Britain's largest retailer of grocery and general merchandising is far removed from the world that Ms. Gertruida Baartman lives in South Africa. Baartman as a friut picker in South Africa is at the bottom of Tesco's lengthy supply chain.

At the annual general meeting this year, while those at the top of the business are trying to persuade shareholders that Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy should receive an extra £11m if its venture into the US succeeds, the 39-year-old single mother of three often does not have enough money to feed her children, let alone afford the prices that Tesco charges UK consumers for the fruit she picks.

Ms Baartman came to the company's annual meeting, thanks to ActionAid, an international anti-poverty agency, to plead with the board to pay her and her co-workers a living wage.

"Tesco should ensure that we have enough to live on. We are not asking for luxuries, just to be able to live without borrowing, and to respect the rights of women because we really work hard, they must give us what we deserve," she said yesterday.

The farm where she works supplies one of South Africa's largest fruit exporters, Capespan, which last year saw a 122% increase in profits after tax.

At Tesco's AGM this year, shareholders have been asked to support a resolution demanding that Tesco takes measures - to be independently audited - to ensure that workers "are guaranteed decent working conditions, a living wage, job security, freedom of association and of collective bargaining including ... the right to join a trade union of their choice".

This is a case of ethical trade in action. “Ethical trade” is an umbrella term for all types of business practices that promote more socially and/or environmentally responsible trade.

Tesco is a member of the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative). Founded in 1998, the ETI aims to improve working conditions within a retailer's suppliers, through guidelines which members must incorporate into their codes of conduct. But the code is voluntary and members can be suspended or expelled only for non-compliance.

Blackstone buys Hilton

In recent years the private equity giant Blackstone Group has made significant investments in the hotel and commercial real estate industries by buying and taking private several large publicly-traded corporations.

Blackstone's latest purchase is the Hilton Hotels Corp for about $US26 billion .

Under the terms of the agreement, Blackstone will acquire all the outstanding common stock of Hilton for $US47.50 dollars a share.

The price represents a premium of 40 per cent over Monday's closing stock price.

Hilton Hotels stock closed up 6.44 per cent yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange at $US36.05.

Hilton's board of directors approved the transaction. It would be completed sometime during the fourth quarter of 2007, subject to the approval of Hilton's shareholders, the corporation said in a statement.

The proposed transaction "will deliver substantial value creation for our shareholders. In addition, a majority of the equity will be owned by Canadians", Blackstone chairman Richard Currie said.

Hilton is a company that took 40 years to be reunited as a single entity, following the $6bn merger of Hilton Hotels Corporation with its UK sister, Hilton Inter- national in 2005.

For the family of Conrad Hilton, the deal represents the culmination of a hotel empire growth story that has lasted nearly 90 years.

Blackstone's step into the public limelight marked a sea change for an industry that had closely guarded its secrecy. Blackstone was previously a wholly private partnership and as such under US laws not subject to the same scrutiny as public corporations.

Blackstone's IPO launch and the deal with Hilton Hotels mark a heady year for Blackstone.

Revisiting the Asian financial crisis

It is January 15 1998. The photo on the right of Indonesia's president Suharto signing away his power to an IMF bail out package of $ 33 billion is a powerful image; one that was witnessed by a stern-faced Michel Camdessus, the IMF managing director and a anxious nation watching on national television.

This July marks the 10th anniversary of East Asia's financial crisis. In July 1997, the Thai baht plummeted. Soon after, financial panic spread to Indonesia and South Korea, then to Malaysia. In a little more than a year, the Asian financial crisis became a global financial crisis, with the crash of Russia's ruble and Brazil's real.

Mr Suharto of Indonesia had no choice but to agree to severe austerity measures. In the space of less than a year, annual per-capita income has fallen from $1,200 to $300 and stock market values from $118 billion to $17 billion. Only 22 of Indonesia's 286 publicly listed companies are considered solvent.

According to official estimates, nearly two million Indonesians lost their jobs, including about 500,000 workers in the textile industry. The state-run labor union has estimated that the unemployment rate could reach 11 percent of the country's estimated work force of more than 90 million. Many more will be underemployed.

Public anger and frustration that followed, soon saw a violent end to Suharto's iron-fisted regin of 31 years.

Then, the IMF and the US Treasury blamed the crisis on a lack of transparency in financial markets.

But when developing countries pointed their fingers at secret bank accounts and hedge funds, IMF and US enthusiasm for greater transparency diminished. Since then, hedge funds have grown in importance, and secret bank accounts have flourished.

Some similarities exist between the situation then and today. Before the 1997 crisis, there had been rapid increases in capital flows from developed to developing countries -- a six-fold increase in six years. Afterward, capital flows to developing countries stagnated.

Before the crisis, some thought risk premia for developing countries were irrationally low. These observers proved right: The crisis was marked by soaring risk premia. Today, the global surfeit of liquidity has once again resulted in comparably low risk premia and a resurgence of capital flows, despite a broad consensus that the world faces enormous risks (including the risks posed by a return of risk premia to more normal levels.)

It seems in the very nature of capitalism there will be ups and downs in the markets; therefore some crises is bound to lurk around the corner. The ability to always anticipate change, religiously follow market trends and be ever ready to react would be the order of success in this financial game.

Americans worry about outsourcing of jobs

Top United States Democratic Presidential contenders, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, have acknowledged that outsourcing was an issue for Americans and favoured measures to retain jobs, including ending tax breaks for outsourcing.

They took questions from anxious voters who faced the party contenders for the Presidential ticket in 2008 at a debate at Howard University in Washington.

Even if this is considered as political protectionist rhetoric, it also underlines growing unease of the middle class workers who are losing their jobs to more cheaper destinations.

This is the reality of the globalised economy of free trade where nations and corporations trade without barriers and tariffs. This is a fundamental shift in thinking from the old concept of providing jobs to communities on the basis of locations.

Voters are angry today that in the past decades US manufacturing jobs left America for cheaper shores.

Blue-collar workers, long wary of outsourcing, have now been joined by programmers, engineers and office workers — a group with much greater political clout. And the media is covering the story more than ever before. The media also has begun campaigning against companies that it accuses of ‘exporting America’ by ‘either sending American jobs overseas, or choosing to employ cheap overseas labour, instead of American workers.’

During the campaign season the voices of the dissatisfied workers who lost their jobs to destinations with cheaper cost advantages are growing louder.

The quiet changing of power in Britain

Former Treasury chief Gordon Brown became British prime minister Wednesday, promising "a new government with new priorities," after Tony Blair left office with a legacy of economic prosperity overshadowed by the deeply divisive Iraq war.

Yesterday was a historical day when power changed hands traditionally and quietly behind closed doors in Buckingham Palace. The constitutional monarch discharged one the most important responsibility of the traditions of the parliamentary form of government.

First Tony Blair first called on Queen Elizabeth II to submit his resignation to end a decade in power, and Gordon Brown arrived soon after to be invited to form the next government as the new prime minister.

Tony Blair's last day as the prime minister of the United Kingdom was an emotional one. In his last sitting in the revered chamber as prime minister, Tony Blair was cheered out of the Commons with a standing ovation that broke all the rules.

Earlier, his double bed, running machine and exercise bike were removed from the front door of No 10 in the full glare of the television cameras.

When Gordon Brown returned to Downing Street confirmed as prime minister, his greeting was a low-key affair, a deliberate contrast with the flag-waving crowds of "ordinary people" who lined Downing Street when Mr Blair took office 10 years ago. (It turned out that most were hand-picked Labour Party members - a metaphor for the PR of the Blair era.)

Brown set to work immediately, addressing the troops. "I don't want to be called anything other than Gordon," Britain's new Prime Minister said, going further than his predecessor's "call me Tony" edict to his Cabinet in 1997, which did not apply to staff.

Blair and Brown are friends-turned-rivals and on this day their paths took a diversion when Blair carried his own overnight bag at King's Cross as he boarded a train for Darlington.

Malaysia rebukes EU envoy comments

Europe's top diplomat in Malaysia, Mr.Thierry Rommel has been summoned by the Malaysian foreign ministry to discuss criticisms he made about policies favouring ethnic Malays.

Malaysia has accused the European Union envoy of meddling in its affairs after he said on Thursday Malaysia should roll back its 37-year-old New Economic Policy (NEP), which gives privileges in businesses, jobs and education to Malays.

Rommel said it was discriminatory and amounted to protectionism. Malays form just over half of Malaysia's 26 million people, with ethnic Chinese and Indians forming sizeable minorities.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak hit back at Rommel, saying he had overstepped diplomatic boundaries.

A veteran leader of Malaysia's parliamentary opposition, Lim Kit Siang, said that the government should justify giving state aid according to race, rather than accusing Mr Rommel of not having the facts right.

Innovate in order to compete

The Singapore government is now focused into high-tech research in areas like the biomedical sciences. It has also ensured that intellectual property is protected while managing political and economic risks as well as maintaining top quality living standards.

Speaking to about 300 delegates from 26 countries at the World Economic Forum(WEF) meeting held in Singapore, Mr. Lim Siong Guanin, Chairman of the Economic Development Board said competition was a "reality of life, so we have to watch out as to what things are happening and what advantage to take".

With the cost of labour and land more expensive compared with its neighbours, the natural resources-starved nation had to think of ways to be competitive in attracting foreign investment, he told the forum.

Mr. Lim urged the Asian countries, particularly those in Southeast Asia, to focus on collaborating in areas where they are weak and to remain competitive in innovation.

Singapore wants to be at the top end of the market, but the costs of doing business are going up. Businesses will want to be in markets where they can innovate and make money, Lim said.

"We take that as a reality of life. Some of the biggest projects we've lost are to developed countries such as Germany and the United States. So we try to link up with (countries such as) Vietnam and Indonesia so investors can do their high-end work in Singapore and low-end work in Vietnam or Indonesia," he said.

Private equity is spreading wings

Private equity companies are causing quite a stir in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Big money shares are hitting the stock markets.

Shares of Blackstone Group, private equity that is the second-largest buyout fund in the United States, soared Friday in its trading debut in the biggest U.S. initial public offering in five years.

The stock jumped 16 per cent on the New York Stock Exchange to $35.91 (U.S.), after being priced yesterday at $31 a share. More than 97 million shares changed hands, with the stock rising as high as 45 per cent earlier in the day.

New York-based Blackstone is making the $4.13-billion initial public offering amid unexpectedly heavy demand from overseas investors. Demand for the 133 million shares ran at seven times the number available, analysts said yesterday.

"We like it short term, certainly," Peter Hodson, senior portfolio manager at Sprott Asset Management told Business News Network Friday. "They've got the direct access to privatizations in China ... and the connections are everything in that country."

Trade unions protecting labour rights have been at odds with the private equity companies who have been criticised for running in, axing jobs, creaming off the profit and then leaving.

The private equity companies get the very best tax breaks that they can and are always seen to put profit before people. This is what happens in the real world of private equity.

Private equity is in the business not to make products or service people, but they are out there only to make money.

Regulators are taking notice of deep public disquiet about the impact they have on the stock market.

Success and greater media attention are generating a rising tide of criticism, skepticism, and plain old sour grapes. These include both overpaying (and underpaying) in taking companies private, over-leveraging target companies, pulling out capital from investments too early, and doing nothing more than what can be replicated by public company managers.

Pop-culture woos voters

It's the campaign season for the next presidential election of the United States of America. Candidates vying for the top post from both the Republican and Democratic party are getting in to the swing of establishing their positions to connect with the voters.

Increasingly, both parties are infusing pop-culture into politics to attract the voters especially the younger generation.

In the past, a galaxy of celebrities — from Bruce Springsteen to P. Diddy, Leonardo diCaprio to Ashton Kutcher, Whoopi Goldberg to Martin Sheen, Jon Bon Jovi to Michael Moore — tried to communicate the idea that it was ultracool for young Americans to be politically engaged.

In the current campaign Hilary Clinton is using Celine Dion's song 'You and I', to drum up her audience.

There are other candidates who have appeared on YouTube.

What is emerging is a trend that glorifies style over substance of the issues. The messenger is seen more important than the message.

One of the contentious debates that divides the nation is on how to deal with illegal aliens in America; by some estimates 12 million, a staggering figure that has continued to grow over the years.

These are serious issues, requires tough choices to be made; perhaps with far reaching consequences than the pop-cultre that is dominating the campaign trail.

France's first Socialist couple breakup

The French tolerate presidential infidelity more than Americans probably because of the trickle-down effect of centuries of adulterous monarchs and most of their past presidents.

When the French do cheat, they handle it differently from Americans. The French are apt to think of infidelity as one of the predictable pitfalls of marriage. The French are far less troubled by a few discreet lies to protect a spouse from unpleasant information.

American public life can be dominated by tales of soiled dresses or leaked text messages (eg. the impeachment of President Clinton over a sex scandal) for weeks on end, while the French seem to be pretty casual about the sexual adventures of their elected leaders.

Defeated French Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal said on Sunday she has split from her partner, party leader Francois Hollande, after having denied of such rumours during her campaign. She has now accused him infidelity.

"I have asked Francois Hollande to leave our home, to pursue his love interest which is now laid out in books and newspapers and I wish him happiness," Royal said in an interview for the book to be published on Wednesday.

Ms Royal, 53, and Mr Hollande, 52, had been together (but not married) for more than 25 years and have four children: Thomas, Clemence, Julien and Flora, aged 14 to 22.

Royal has set her eyes to challenge for the party top-seat, and the two are likely to clash then, or even earlier if the Socialists decide to call an early congress.

This breakup it may be evidence of a bigger trend of openness in the internet age.

Ian Botham, the charity walker knighted

England's legendary cricket all rounder has been knighted by the Queen in her Birthday Honours.

Congratulations Sir Botham.

Botham has joined another cricketing great, Sir Viv Richards of West Indies; both close friends and they dominated the golden era of cricket.

After he retired from playing cricket, Botham has also been a prominent fundraiser for charity undertaking a total of 11 long-distance charity walks. His first, in 1985, was a 900-mile trek from John O'Groats to Land's End.

His efforts ere inspired after a visit to a Taunton hospital for treatment on a broken toe. He stumbled into a children's ward and was shocked to learn that some of the children had only weeks to live. He has since raised more than ten million pounds.

The perils of success

Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart hit the billion dollar mark behind bars but lost a fortune soon after when her shares plunged 40 per cent / Photo AFP

Martha Stewart born on August 3, 1941 is an American business icon, author, and rose to fame after she started a catering business. She is also a former stockbroker and fashion model.

Over the last two decades Stewart has held a prominent position in the American publishing industry; as the author of several books, hundreds of articles on the domestic arts, editor of a national homekeeping magazine, host for two popular daytime television programs, and commercial spokeswoman for K-Mart.

In 2001 she was named the third most powerful woman in America by Ladies Home Journal.

In 2004, a panel of eight women and four men found Martha Stewart guilty on all four counts of obstructing justice and lying to investigators about a well-timed stock sale, and she was sentenced to jail. She was barred from serving on a public company Board of Directors and from serving in certain executive capacities for five years.

The damning verdict was reflected in the words of David Kelley, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, who spoke outside the courthouse.

"The word is -- beware -- and don't engage in this type of conduct because it will not be tolerated."

One of the jurors said, "This is a victory for the little guys. No one is above the law."

Martha Stewart was already in prison when she became a billionaire. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia soared 90% during her five-month stint for obstruction of justice, and she hit the $US1 billion mark behind bars. Soon after she left, her shares dropped 40%. Today she is worth only about $US550 million.

Breaking the law doesn’t always leave you richer. Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay lost more than $US400 million in 2001 as Enron collapsed in one of the greatest corporate falls in history. But he wasn’t even the biggest loser in the Enron debacle.

The rising super-rich class---private equity kings

Blackstone Group is a prominent private equity and investment management firm founded in 1985 by Peter G. Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman.

Blackstone started with $400,000 and now manages funds of $88billion. These funds are used to buy companies, take them away from the glare of the stock market and restructure them. The firms are often returned to the public markets by being sold several years later

The company is based in New York City, in River House on Park Avenue at Fifty-first Street, with offices in Atlanta, Boston, London, Hamburg, Paris, Mumbai, and Hong Kong.

Under pressure to reveal the compensation of CEO, Blackstone has declared its chief executive, Stephen Schwarzman, enjoyed personal earnings of $398m last year. When Blackstone goes public, he will receive a windfall of at least $449m and he will retain a stake in the business worth $7.7bn.

Mr Peterson, Blackstone co-founder, took home $212m last year and will get $1.88bn by selling shares on Blackstone's flotation. A third senior executive, Hamilton James, enjoyed annual income of a $97m and stands to receive $147m.

The sheer scale of the wealth amassed by private equity has alarmed the trade unions in Britain. Britain's Trade Union Congress' general secretary, Brendan Barber, last month warned that the rise of a super-rich class in the industry threatened to "fundamentally change" the nature of British and European capitalism.

In the US, the Service Employees' International Union has hit out at the "extraordinary riches" for a handful of individuals at the top of the industry. It says the money should be shared with workers in businesses acquired by private equity who contribute to the industry's huge returns.

Paris has found God in jail

In a celebrity obssessed world, we can't go too far without hitting this topic. But this time Paris Hilton is appearing in my post because she claims to have found God in jail.

The girl who was screaming and calling for her mum when a judge ordered her to serve jail term, has become a changed person almost overnight.

For atheists, Paris has shown a route to salvation.

In her own words, 'she is going to stop acting dumb.'

In a phone interview with the famed Barbara Walters, Paris said that God has given her a new chance and she wants to do charity work, maybe even open a Paris Hilton playhouse for sick children, when she gets out of jail.

"I know now that I can make a difference, that I have the power to do that. I have been thinking that I want to do different things when I am out of here. I have become much more spiritual. God has given me this new chance."

Paris Hilton made a very revealing confession which I thought is very interesting.

"I used to act dumb, it was an act and that act is no longer cute. It is not who I am, nor do I want to be that person for the young girls who looked up to me."

For anyone who looked upto her as a role model, please take note of this point.

Paris Hilton attributed her transformation to a spiritual adviser who told her: "My spirit or soul did not like the way I was being seen and that is why I was sent to jail." But redemption was at hand. "God has released me. I feel that the purpose of my life is to be where I am."

What's the worry about 'private equity'

Private equity is a broad term that commonly refers to any type of equity investment in an asset in which the equity is not freely tradeable on a public stock market. More accurately, private equity refers to the manner in which the funds have been raised, namely on the private markets, as opposed to the public markets.

Private equity is medium to long-term finance provided in return for an equity stake in potentially high growth unquoted companies.

An article on Economist.com paints a dark side to private equity.

"Aware that in Asia small, entrepreneurial companies often lack the access to debt and equity markets enjoyed by their Western counterparts, they resolved to play the part of matchmaker.

The result is a growing market in which hedge funds, buy-out groups and investment banks, club together to finance private deals for firms that are too small for initial public offerings, or are growing so fast that they would rather wait."

I get the feeling that if private equity firms are not required to comply with disclosure requirements in the public interest, then it is a case of Murphy's law waiting to happen.

America's fascination of Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton, in photo made available by the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, was sent home under house arrest Thursday by a sympathetic County Sheriff, a move that has sparked a furor. The judge ordered her back to the court and sent her back to jail on Friday to serve out her time.
(Photo :Los Angeles County Sheriff/Associated Press)

A tearful Paris Hilton sent back to jail is not a gleeful story. I do not enjoy the misfortune of Paris Hilton or anyone else but I'm curious to know why this story is headline news on the front page of all mainstream media in the United States as well the tabloids in the United Kingdom.

Paris Hilton, is sent to jail for violating her parole following a 2006 drunk driving incident. She claimed that she didn't know of her driving suspension. Now she has the opportunity to learn the hard way, that she should never be a danger to herself or anyone else by reckless drunk-driving.

She is an attractive woman. She is an heiress to a share of the Hilton Hotel fortune, as well as to the real estate fortune of her father Richard Hilton. At 26, she is the party girl who rose to fame when a home-made sex video of her surfaced onto the Internet in late 2003.

In a celebrity-driven culture, her court saga and jail term is a closely watched spectacle. To many people it is equal justice that she does her time in jail, without any preferential treatment on account of her wealth and fame. Her supporters feel that she been handed a disproportionate sentence to the crime she committed. They claim the court is sending a strong statement on her back to the public: Don't drink and drive, there will be no second chance as Paris Hilton has painfully learned in jail.

Brian Lara's greatness on display

Brian Lara who has retired from international cricket is not missed during the tour of his country to England this summer.

A fascinating new exhibition shows off the memorabilia that contributed to his unforgettable career. Click here to see more pictures showcased at a Museum at Lord's hosting a special exhibition celebrating the life and career of the great West Indies batsman Brian Lara.

Talking to a distinguished English cricketer Angus Fraser about his favourite collections, Lara said one of his prized possessions is a jacket signed by Nelson Mandela.

He said, " I was lucky enough to go and see him and I could not leave without getting something signed. I did not have anything so I took off the suit jacket I was wearing and asked him if he would sign it. I did not mind not being able to wear my Hugo Boss suit again."

A court ruling that sends a wrong signal

According to Associated Press, a United States federal appeals court said a new federal policy against accidentally aired profanities on TV and radio was invalid, noting that vulgar language had become so common that even President Bush has been heard using expletives.

The court tossed out an indecency ruling against Rupert Murdoch's Fox television network yesterday and broadly questioned whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the right to police the airwaves for offensive language.

The ruling is a rebuke to the FCC and a victory for television networks, which in recent years have pushed back against the FCC's crackdown on indecency.

The court agreed with the networks' defense, in part, that if George Bush and Dick Cheney can get away with saying no-no words, then why shouldn't Cher, Nicole Richie, and the rest of us?

Said the court: Similarly, as NBC illustrates in its brief, in recent times even the top leaders of our government have used variants of these expletives in a manner that no reasonable person would believe referenced "sexual or excretory organs or activities." . . . (citing President Bush's remark to British Prime Minister Tony Blair that the United Nations needed to "get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit" and Vice President Cheney's widely-reported "Fuck yourself" comment to Senator Patrick Leahy on the floor of the U.S. Senate).

The court ruling is a win for the American First Amendment to the United States Constitution that prohibits any laws by the federal legislature from infringing on the freedom of speech and freedom of press. So this is a clear win for freedom.

It, however, sets a bad example to fringe groups within society who think that it is OK to use vulgar language. It also makes it more difficult for the FCC to impose fines for the use of indecent language.

A user interface that will change our computing

Several recent developments point to a coming revolution in computer interfaces, from performing simple operations to working with large amounts of information.

Jeff Han gives an intriguing demonstration below.

Silicon Valley and bubble spotting

The name Silicon Valley brings to memory afresh the dot-com bubble which started in the mid-1990s. That was the time when the entrepreneurial spirit of the Valley made instant young millionaires and many went broke went the bubble burst.

Silicon Valley is the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States.

The valley has transformed from silicon chip innovators and manufacturers to a geekdom that is gaining momentum like the old days again.

Once bitten, twice shy and now every entrepreneur is on the lookout for the bubble.

“There’s such a heightened sense of bubble awareness in Silicon Valley that people confuse any expression of enthusiasm for a bubble,” said Paul Kedrosky, the executive director of the William J. von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement at the University of California, San Diego.

Silicon Valley's dynamism is generally attributed to entrepreneurial spinoffs due the use of innovation and new technologies. Companies that seize such opportunities reap handsome rewards while those that do not keep with a rapidly changing market pay a revenue penalty.

Apple launching revolutionary iphone

Apple has finally said that it will start selling its iPhone on June 29.

The Internet-ready iPhone will use the Apple OS X operating system and allow users to watch movies, download songs and store photos, as well as offering email, calendar and contacts software found in rival products such as the Blackberry.

The iPhone will cost $500 or $600, depending on the amount of memory included.

Outsourcing to work a 4-hour workweek

Here an interesting book by Join Tim Ferriss, popular guest lecturer in entrepreneurship at Princeton University.

Here is what his book promises to give. The book is available on Amazon.

1)How to outsource your life and do whatever you want for a year, only to return to a bank account 50% larger than before you left

2)How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs

3)How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of little-known European economists

4)How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it's beyond repair

5)How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and frequent “mini-retirements”

6)What automated cash-flow "muses" are and how to create one in 2-4 weeks

7)How to cultivate selective ignorance—and create time—with a low-information diet

8)Management secrets of Remote Control CEOs

9)The crucial difference between absolute and relative income

10)How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50-80% off

11)How to fill the void and creating meaning after removing work and the office


Here's an interview with Timothy Ferriss.

Listen now (15 Meg MP3, 42:28 minutes)

The ethics of killing a monster pig

Jamison Stone, 11, (in the AP photo above) shot the huge hog during what he and his father described as a three-hour chase. They said it was more than 1,000 pounds and 9 feet long; if anything, it looked even bigger in a now-famous photo of the hunter and the hunted. See the photos on monsterpig.com.

Now it turns out the huge hog that became known as "Monster Pig" had another name: Fred. The not-so-wild pig had been raised on an Alabama farm and was sold to the Lost Creek Plantation just four days before it was shot there in a 150-acre fenced area, the animal's former owner said.

Phil Blissitt told The Anniston Star in a story Friday that he bought the 6-week-old pig in December 2004 as a Christmas gift for his wife, Rhonda, and that they sold it after deciding to get rid of all the pigs at their farm.

"I just wanted the truth to be told. That wasn't a wild pig," Rhonda Blissitt said.

Mike Stone, Jamison's father, says that he was unaware of the origin of the pig.

The American citizens have a right to bear arms and hunting is legal business. But what does a 11-year-old boy get out of chasing a giant hog for three hours, killing it and publishing the photos with immense pride; other than fame or a film in Hollywood?

US economy heading towards a recession?

The American economic growth skidded to a standstill in the first three months of the year as a healthy rise in consumer spending was wiped out by an unexpected cut in the amount of stocks held by business.

The U.S. economy grew at its weakest pace in more than four years during the first quarter, a 0.6 percent growth rate the government reported Thursday, as a cooling housing market, slower consumer spending and a gaping trade deficit eroded economic activity.

The final quarter of last year reported a 2.5 percent growth rate.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says he doesn't believe the economy will slide into recession this year, nor do Bush administration officials and many economists. But ex-Fed chief Alan Greenspan has put the odds at one in three.

Gates and Jobs - Strange bedfellows come together

Having Microsoft chairman Bill gates and Apple CEO Steve Jobs in the same place for a public conversation is like a solar eclipse, it is a very rare event.

The two tech originals came together at The Wall Street Journal's "D: All Things Digital" conference this year and spoke about the future of the digital evolution.

Apple and Microsoft have worked together for years, but that has never stopped the Mac vs PC debates. Microsoft Office has always been available for the Mac, and several years ago Microsoft pumped US $150m into Apple to help it stay in business.

Bill Gates became a billionaire at the age of 31, making him the youngest self-made billionaire in history. His personal fortune now exceeds US$46 billion.

The philosophy of these two geeks sharing the stage could be: keep your friends close but keep your enemies even closer.

Who needs a life coach?

Coaching has become a big business in the world. Whether a person wants to succeed in sports, in business or in life, one can find any number of coaches, some of them giving band-aid solutions while others give professional counselling and training.

Coaching can be of great help because it provides the clarity and the focus of our actions. It helps us to stay on the right track to reach a desired goal.

Life coaches are are the new kids on the block, who are finding plenty of work in business, personal development and entertainment.

The entertainment profession with a high propensity for coaching — the acting coach, the voice coach, the writing coach — there appears to be room for one more coach, the one in charge of happiness, not to be confused with the old-school therapist.

"The difference between life coaching and therapy is that psychotherapy is about helping people heal their wounds," said Phil Towle, a psychotherapist and life coach, "and coaching is about helping people achieve the highest level of their fulfillment or happiness or success, whether they're wounded or not.

A great achievement by Kelly Lim

LA Times is reporting that a Michigan native Kelly Lim, 26 a triple amputee is graduating from medical school.

Struck with a ravaging bacterial infection that destroys limbs, she became a triple amputee at age 8 and soon faced a life of prosthetics, wheelchairs and often-painful rehabilitation.

Lim does not use a prosthetic arm and manages to perform most medical procedures - including giving injections and taking blood -with one arm. She walks on a pair of prosthetic legs.

Lim has defied all odds to achieve her dream. She always had the support of a strong family. Adding to her disability woes, her mother turned blind when she was twenty.

A higher minimum wage for US workers

After ten years of wrangling in the Congress, the American workers surviving on minimum wages are going to get a raise. Democrats who promised to boost the minimum wage when they won control of Congress in elections in 2006 have delivered on that promise.

The US Congress has voted in favour of the rise, which was attached to a bill funding the Iraq war. The White House approves of the increase which will be phased in over a two-year period and will accompanied by tax breaks for small businesses to help employers pay the increase in wages.

The minimum wage in the US is to rise by $2.10 per hour, to $7.25 from its current level of $5.15.

Debates over raising the minimum wage usually pitch the proponents of the free market against those who want to lift up the poor.

In a free market economy, prices allocate land, information, capital goods, and labor to their highest use. Markets are truly free only if prices are free.

Wages are good indicators that direct people to employment and show businesses how to expand. Freely floating prices allocate resources efficiently to places where they will take root and boost economic productivity.

Currently, a person working 40 hours per week at the current minimum wage of $5.15 makes about $10,700 a year. An increase to $7.25 would boost that to just over $15,000 a year.

Never too late to graduate

This is an incredible achievement in learning. At the age of 95, Kansas resident Nola Ochs is now the world's oldest college graduate.

Nola Ochs also has broken a Guinness World Record, although she never intended to do so. The previous Guinness Record belongs to Mozelle Richardson, who at age 90 in 2004 received a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma.

Ochs received her bachelor's degree in general studies and history during Saturday's graduation ceremony at Fort Hays State University.

Ochs is the proud matriarch of a family that includes three sons — a fourth died in 1995 — along with 13 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.

Nola Ochs who majored in history brought an interesting perspective to her Soviet Union course. She recalls when the Berlin Wall was torn down. She also remembers the days before the Soviet Union was formed in 1917.

She started taking classes occasionally at Dodge City Community College after the 1972 death of her husband of 39 years. She wanted to complete her studies and be productive.

Apperaring in NBC's the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, she came in as the second guest of the show after Simon Cowell, the blunt-talking American Idol judge. She said she has never heard about Simon and never watched the Idol.

She said she grew up on a farm where raising children was the most imortant duty.

After graduation, she has applied for a job and has received two responses. She is looking forward to serve on a cruise ship and go around the world as a storyteller.

Liverpool chasing the elites

As the Liverpool fans peer through the tears of defeat to AC Milan in Athens, Rafa Benitez- the Liverpool manager has started the post-mortem examination.

Benitez had already asked the club's new owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to match the kind of transfer fees routinely made available at Old Trafford for Manchester United and Stamford Bridge for Chelsea.

Benitez has never been afraid to challenge a club's hierarchy. Benitez maintains a ruthless attitude to win. Looking back on his career, it is not surprising that he has called on his owners to put up the money even before the dust settled at the Olympic Stadium.

"If we don't change things now and understand how crucial this moment is, we will waste one month, maybe three months and then we will only be in a position to sign third-choice players," Benitez said. "Then, we will only be contenders for the top four."

Benitez drives a hard bargain with his players who are expected to deliver the results on the field. He showed no sentiment when breaking up the team that overcame AC Milan two years ago and he will show none now. The difference is that this time Benitez wants the reform to be fundamental and to affect every area of the club.

After three years of hard work Benitez is deeply disappointed that his team did not catch up with EPL champions Manchester United and failed to defend the European Championship.

Milan dazzle over Liverpool in sweet revenge

AC Milan celebrate a 2-1 win over the English flag holders Liverpool. AC Milan's revenge mission was in sight of being averted making another Greek tragedy come true between these two teams when the referee's watch ran out of time some 20 seconds earlier.

Two years after losing a 3-0 lead, AC Milan lost on penalties to Liverpool in what is considered as the most gut-wrenching final of the European Champions league.

There was no rude shock for AC Milan this time and there was no miracle for Liverpool to claim the the biggest prize in European club soccer in the Olympic stadium of Athens.

In a tightly contested match, it was spurts of sheer brilliance from Kaka and Inzaghi that made the difference for Milan.

On the night that belonged to Italy, Liverpool's captain Steven Gerrad did everything right except find the opponent's net.

Paolo Maldini, wearing the captain's armband for AC Milan set an important milestone last night.

The AC Milan captain appeared in his eighth European Cup final, matching the record of Francisco Gento - Real Madrid's legendary winger of the Fifties and Sixties.

This win proves that Kaka is the best player in the world.

Private equity is forcing capitalism to reinvent

Until recently, private equity seemed to have shed its bad-boy image of 20 years ago, summed up in "Barbarians at the Gate", a bestselling business book, a DVD and a film about the takeover battle by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) to buy RJR Nabisco.

The old arguments and criticism have surfaced again. Some commentators have begun to write about the death of capitalism. Strangely, the threat has come, not from some radical far-left group, nor from a major ideological opposite such as Communism or Fascism, but from capitalism itself.

In a recently concluded meeting of the 36 countries of the European Union Trade Confederation (ETUC), European trade unionists proposed a global fightback to counter the rapidly growing role of private equity in taking over established companies.

The call came as the ETUC demanded that British ministers end the favourable tax treatment for private equity, introduce new disclosure rules and protect the conditions of workers in takeover targets.

According to the Financial Times, "With the volume of buy-out activity across the world running at $667bn (£334bn) last year, large chunks of the global corporate sector are becoming less transparent. In jurisdictions such as the US, where there is no requirement for private companies to make accounts publicly available, much information about business activity is disappearing into a black hole."

Critics of private equity takeovers argue that the new breed of very large, highly leveraged deals manipulate rules to avoid paying tax.

Equity privateers thus stand accused of wielding power without responsibility.

Private equity is facing a backlash from trade unions and politicians who have to protect workers rights and their lay-offs. Therefore, private equity firms are coming under increasing pressure to improve disclosure and come closer to listed public company reporting standards.

In today's complex financial markets, the central banks acting as watch dogs will find more difficult to determine the economic risks of the highly leveraged buy-outs.

Private equity firms buy struggling companies, fix them up, and sell them off, generating huge returns for their stakeholders. They do it away from public scrutiny.

The majority of investment into private equity funds comes from institutional investors.

The most prolific investors into private equity funds in 2006 were public pension funds and banks and financial institutions, which together provided 40% of all commitments made globally according to data from London-based Private Equity Intelligence Ltd.

Other prominent groups investing in private equity include corporate pension plans, insurance companies, endowments, family offices and foundations.

Capitalism will have turn on its head to get the private equity to become more transparent.

Warring Words

Former US President Jimmy Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize winner has lambasted George W. Bush's presidency as "the worst in history" in international relations, taking aim at the White House’s policy of pre-emptive war and its Middle East diplomacy.

In an interview with the BBC Radio, He also denounced British Prime Minister Tony Blair's blind loyalty to Mr Bush.

Carter's stinging rebuke to President Bush which some presidential historians have described as unprecedented, was given in an interview to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

In some equally strong words and blunt language, Carter accused the outgoing prime minister of Great Britain as being subservient to the United States president.

Carter also blasted the White House's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which helps religious charities receive billions in federal grants.

"As a traditional Baptist, I've always believed in separation of church and state and honored that premise when I was president, and so have all other presidents, I might say, except this one," he said.

Dubai ventures to eradicate illiteracy

Speaking at the World Economic Forum being held in Jordon, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has declared that he is giving $10bn to set up an educational foundation in the Middle East.

The money is meant to improve the standard of education and research in the region, and aims to stimulate job creation, Sheikh Mohammed said.

It is thought to be one of the largest charitable donations in history.

He said the illiteracy rate in the Middle East is 18 percent for those under the age of 15, while for women in the region it is 43 percent. He also said the Arab world lags behind developed countries on scientific research spending.

Sheikh Mohammed who is also a successful racehorse owner is aiming to create "a knowledge-based society" in the Middle East.

Dubai is seen as the booming economic capital of the Middle East. This charitable gift will go a long way towards improving education.

Sheik Mohammed who is the oil-rich United Arab Emirates’ prime minister said, "Our region needs at this moment 15 million job opportunities, and our Arab world will need in the next 20 years between 74 to 85 million job opportunities."

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation will be based in Emirates and plans to begin handing out scholarships to students next year.

For walking or running

New Balance 825. Photo credit: Wendy Bumgardner © 2007

Shoe manufacturers are putting the best design and technology into running shoe styles, while walking shoe styles are being designed primarily for market appeal rather than performance. More details here.

PCB plays the blame game

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has recently faced a barrage of scandals involving their international cricket team, starting with the infamous row with umpire Darrell Hair at England's Oval cricket ground in August 2006.

Pakistan's shock elimination from the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the mysterious death of the Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, and a ferocious public backlash has forced the PCB to look for answers.

A commission set up by the PCB has blamed their legendary batsman and former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, for their first-round exit from the World Cup.

"Inzamam's attitude was haughty and that of a dictator and more than one incident proved that," Ijaz Butt, head of the committee, told AFP. "Inzamam should have been removed from the captaincy. As a player he was world-class but his attitude was haughty during and before the tournament."

PCB's commission demonstrates a defeatist attitude. PCB's woeful management is at the heart of the problems faced by their team. Pakistan cricket has reeled from one controversy to another during the last eight months. The alleged ball tampering furore at Oval resulted in the only Test match forfeiture in cricket history.

From a doping saga involving key players, to captaincy issues, an overhaul of the cricket board, player-breakdowns and, of course, the age-old spectre of infighting, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.

Inzamam was captain of the Pakistani cricket team from 2003 and blaming only him sounds like a cheap shot. It is a farcical gesture by an inapt PCB.

Following an absurd system of "hierarchal" leadership - where the most senior man, irrespective of the leadership ability is made captain, Inzamam was made the captain.

He was never a strong leader. His careful style of captaincy, which has submerged his batting brilliance, has been catastrophic for him and the team.

To singly blame Inzamam for Pakistan's apalling world cup defeat is an unfair assault on the integrity of a person who has brought much joy to fans all around the world.

The incompetence lies with the PCB for failing to put the house into order.


Post script: Inzamam repudiates the commission report, as being biased since two of the three-panel judges that condemned him are paid members of the PCB. It appears they only managed to find a scapegoat.

Sarkozy vows to reverse economic decline

Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, a conservative and former Interior minister known for his divisive rhetoric has won the French presidency in a tight race. He has pledged to remake France by a new style of leadership.

He has promised among other things, reducing unemployment, cutting taxes, keeping trains running during strikes, and moving away from an antiquated social welfare system. He wants to shrink the government bureaucracy and create new businesses opportunities.

An article in the Guardian draws a comparison between France and Germany. Both France and Germany have suffered economic stagnation and high unemployment.

In Germany, the conservative leader Angela Merkel, who promised sweeping reforms, has managed to control wage growth. This has helped to gain international competitiveness for German exports.

France is mired in a system of labour laws that work on fixed working hours, guaranteed benefits or lifetime employment. As a result productivity is down and French exporters have lost out in some of the international markets.

The British Guardian refers to a debate between "Anglo-Saxon" versus "European social model."

Anglo-Saxon economy or Anglo-Saxon capitalism (so called because it is largely practiced in English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia) is a capitalist macroeconomic model in which levels of regulation and taxes are low, and government provides relatively fewer services.

In addition, Anglo-Saxon economies generally are more 'liberal' and free-market oriented than other capitalist economies in the world.

Countries in mainland Europe (such as France, Italy and Germany) possess a macroeconomic model called continental capitalism (also called Rhenan capitalism).

The debate amongst economists as to which economic model is better, circles around perspectives involving poverty, job insecurity, social services, and inequality.

Generally speaking, more liberal economies produce greater overall prosperity, while the continental models have lower growth, and a lower average standard of living, but lesser poverty at the lowest margins.

France has one of the world's largest economies and is a member of G8, the world's major industrialised democracies.

Mr Sarkozy is a an efficient administrator and the French will look up to him to bring them out of the economic quagmire.

Mining online opportunities

The Internet has changed our life in several ways. Education is now a vital part of our life and our career. Education is now a continuous process throughout our entire life.

The e-learning has emerged, making learning the lifeblood of the knowledge economy.

You can pick among many roles in the e-learning economy. You can specialize in teaching businesses large or small computer basics, management techniques, or high-end programming skills.

You might create guides that help employees in the workplace. You can create Web sites that help learning process with young people, or training that helps seniors tune their Internet skills.

You can provide content or marketing help or technical services to other online learning firms. You can resell products. You can broker classes on behalf of other businesses, recruit students, resell CD-based courses, or engage in other middleman activities in the online learning economy.

There are endless variations in audience demographics, delivery methods, content and learning styles. Online learning is new and wide open.

Your ability to seize these opportunities depends only upon how well your skill set and delivery abilities match with these opportunities. The market opportunities are really only limited by your imagination.

Microsoft takes on free software

Microsoft, one of the world's leading technology giants is no stranger to business controversy. Microsoft claims that free software like Linux, which runs a big chunk of corporate America, violates 235 of its patents. It wants users and distributors to pay royalties.

Patent licensing is a mega business in the United States. Patent licensing could earn companies hundreds of millions of dollars a year. It seems over half a billion dollars a year is spent on patent applications, and licensing revenues are in the tens of billions of dollars.

No wonder then Microsoft must have assembled hordes of lawyers to engage in patent litigation.

Since the US software patent system is a fervently contested idea, and patents are granted questionably, these lawyers make it their business to engage in court processes that are sometimes ridiculous.

Caught in the middle of this court argument are big corporate Linux users like Wal-Mart, AIG, and Goldman Sachs. Free-worlders say that if Microsoft prevails, the whole quirky ecosystem that produced Linux and other free and open-source software (FOSS) will be undermined.

Microsoft counters that it is a matter of principle. "We live in a world where we honor, and support the honoring of, intellectual property," says Ballmer in an interview. FOSS patrons are going to have to "play by the same rules as the rest of the business," he insists. "What's fair is fair."

Facing sharks to create winning mind-set

An aquarium in Rimini, Italy is offering business executives the chance to swim with sharks to help them combat boardroom stress.

With 11 bull sharks around, people will have to face up to their fears. They will have to be assertive and attentive at all the times.


This isn't a game for sheer thrill. It is a course in personal development, rising above personal inhibitions.

After suitable training, daring executives were lowered, one by one, into a tank filled with 11 bull sharks in order to "overcome their personal limits".

The participants were instructed to "look into the sharks' eyes" from behind the safety of their steel cage.

This is not the kind of situation where a person can allow the mind to wander into fantasy land. He has to maintain focus and the right attitude, in order to overcome innate fears.

Howard obstructs Australian cricket tour

This is politics clashing in the businsess of international sports.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has ordered Australia's cricket team to pull out of their proposed tour of Zimbabwe, protesting the human rights record of Robert Mugabe's dictatorship.

The Australian Prime Minister said it was not fair to leave the decision up to Cricket Australia and the Australian players.

Cricket Australia is a member of the International Cricket Council, the ICC which is the governing body for international cricket.

The primary property of the ICC and its members is international cricket. The game is played for commercial purposes and does not have any political agenda.

Sponsorship and television rights of the World Cup brought in over US$1.6 billion between 2007 and 2015, by far the ICC’s main source of income.

Whether Zimbabwe is a country suitable to play international cricket is a matter that should be decided by the ICC.

Australian Prime Minister's intervention in this matter defeats the purpose of the ICC.

Cold War between Manchester United and Chelsea

An interesting article in the BBC carries the title, "The Glazer family v Roman Abramovich."

Manchester United have won over Chelsea in the English Premier League, an event being referred to as the English football's own version of the Cold War.

American-owned Manchester United has fought with Russian-backed Chelsea in a conflict full ideological differences and tension reminiscent of the superpower rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union.

The United States has the capitalist economy and a free and open society while the Soviet Union was the one-party communist state with a controlled economy.

These differences are apparent in the style of management between American Glazers who own the Manchester United and the the tighter control imposed by the Russian Roman Abramovich over Chelsea.

Both owners are out to make money using the EPL as a robust product. The American approach of supporting one of the best football manager's with the financial resources and trusting him to do the job has won the day.

Chelsea's uninspiring football played with ruthless efficiency has lost out in the battle of winning the hearts and minds of passionate supporters.

Greenspan warns of gloom for US economy

According to the former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, the world's largest economy, the United States could be heading for recession.

New figures released showed retail sales in the U.S. unexpectedly tumbled last month, hit by a double whammy of higher petrol prices and a slowing housing market.

American consumers spent $372bn last month, a figure that is less than had been expected, giving rise to speculation that the Fed, under new chairman Ben Bernanke, may start cutting interest rates later this year.

The higher gasoline prices, combined with a weakening housing market and a softer job market, are weighing on consumers.

A Quote on Personal Development

Promise Yourself:

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words but great deeds.

To live in faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

-Christian D. Larson

What's going wrong with Paris Hilton?

Socialite Paris Hilton, right, arrives for her probation-violation hearing at the Metropolitan courthouse last Friday with her parents Kathy Hilton, left and Rick Hilton, right. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)

Paris Hilton has been sentenced a 45-day jail term. Paris was given the jail sentence on Friday after being found to have violated her probation for drink-driving by twice taking to the wheel and speeding while her license was suspended.

This is an apalling situation. The 26-year-old US celebrity and party girl is seen as a role model by many younger women. She has been living a roller coaster life as an adult, at times insanely out of control.

Her mother Kathy Hilton was 19 when she gave birth to Paris in 1981, just two years after marrying Rick Hilton, a real estate developer and an heir to the Hilton Hotel fortune.

When a homemade sex tape called "One Night in Paris" surfaced on the Internet, Kathy Hilton who is active in various charities characterized her daughter as a victim.

Kathy Hilton has publicly defended Paris before, calling her "vulnerable."

"She's eccentric, she's herself and she never hurts anybody," she told the London newspaper The Guardian in December 2005. "It upsets me that she gets taken advantage of, but I think we've all learned to deal with it."

It appears that Paris Hilton does not understand the meaning of responsibility. She also has to learn to accept the consequences of her actions.

Her misbehaviour is being perpetuated by the actions of her mother whose support is sending the wrong signal.

Paris Hilton has used her MySpace site to post a blog urging visitors to sign an online petition that asks California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for leniency regarding her drink driving conviction. It seems the petition has received almost 12,000 signatures so far.

Manchester United stumble against AFC's ego

The FA of Malaysia (FAM) have caved in to pressure from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the governing body of football in Asia.

FAM has ruled out Manchester United who enjoy huge support in Malaysia from playing in the country in July, during which time the Asian Cup will be played.

This decision comes as FIFA president Sepp Blatter called for the newly-crowned Premier League champions show some respect for Asian soccer .

The fear is that a tour by a big club as big as United will divert attention from the Asian Cup. In other words the fans will go to watch only Man United and not the Asian Cup matches.

Manchester United plan to kick off their tour against J-League champions Urawa Red Diamonds on July 17 in Saitama in Japan before travelling to the South Korean capital for a showdown with FC Seoul on July 20.

Alex Ferguson's team are then due to head to Macau for a match against Shenzhen on July 23.

They are due to end the tour agaionst a Malaysian XI in Kuala Lumpur on July 27, few days before the Asian Cup final will take place in Indonesia.

FA Malaysia had arranged the the United game, as part of the “Visit Malaysia 2007” campaign.

The high-handed approach taken by AFC towards the visit of one of the biggest clubs and the opportunity to play with the world's top players cannot be good for the game in Asia.

According to reports, when asked what message he had for United fans disappointed by any cancellation or rescheduling, AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam said: “I would say Asia for Asians.”

That sounds like a xenophobic statement.

Kim Clijsters hangs up her racket

The former U.S. Open champion and former world no:1 player, Kim Clijsters announced her retirement from international tennis last Sunday.

At the age of 23, Clijsters is one of the youngest tennis players to retire in an era when records, money or the cult of celebrity have driven many athletes to prolong their careers.

With the daily grind of keeping her body match-fit becoming more and more unbearable, she earmarked 2007 as her final season on the tour more than 20 months ago.

Her announcement did not come as a surprise especially since she did not want another injury to ruin her wedding to American basketball player Brian Lynch in July.

Clijsters earned nearly $15 million in prize money, during a ten year career.

Explaining why she decided to quit, the popular player said, "Money is important, but not the most important thing in my life," she added. "Health and a private life are so much more important."

Her glowing smile and friendliness has always drawn her admirers, but it has also led many to say she lacked the killer instinct and the mean attitude needed to win more slams.

She goes into retirement at the top of her game as she is currently ranked fourth in the world. She also has left the 10,000,000 plus inhabitants of Belgium with a lasting legacy after helping the country to win their first Fed Cup title in 2001.

Looking back on her career, commentators say that she believed in a fair go for everybody. She fought hard in every match but would still applaud with her racquet when an opponent hit a great shot.

While she will be remembered for her tennis, it is her courtesy and dignity that place her above many athletes.

Build Sound Character

SOUND CHARACTER IS OUR GREATEST ASSET BECAUSE IT PROVIDES THE POWER WITH WHICH WE MAY RIDE THE EMERGENCIES OF LIFE INSTEAD OF GOING DOWN UNDER THEM.

Without Positive Mental Attitude or PMA, life might be described as long periods of uncertainty punctuated by occasional emergencies that shake you to the very core of your being.

The emergencies may be financial, personal, or health related, but each must be dealt with separately and swiftly.

The surest way to deal with any crisis is to focus on solutions, not on the probable cause of the problem or who should be blamed for it.

Conduct a quick damage assessment, take the time to think through the alternatives and their consequences, and then act to implement the best solution.

If you deal with life’s emergencies as they occur-on your own terms-you will be a stronger, better person for having looked them in the eye and conquered them.

This positive message is from the Napoleon Hill Foundation. http://www.naphill.org/.

Humanizing a chimpanzee

Early this year, a group of animal rights activists in Austria took up an unusual case to the court to get a 26-year-old male chimpanzee legally declared a "person."

A chimpanzee named Hiasl was kidnapped from Sierra Leone in the jungle and illegally brought to Austria in 1982 as an infant after his mother was killed by poachers.

He was sold to a vivisection lab, forced to live alone in a cage, and experimented on for many years before finally being released to a sanctuary.

However, the sanctuary has recently declared bankruptcy and Hiasl now faces the possibility of being sold back into the vivisection industry.

Hiasl's supporters argue that he needs the status to of a legal entity who can receive donations and get a guardian to look out for his interests.

They argue that the chimpanzee has the right to life, the right to not be tortured, the right to freedom under certain conditions.

According to reports on this groundbreaking trial, the judge has handed down a verdict rejecting the chimp's right to a legal guardian and its status of person hood.

The judge stated her concern that if she was to appoint a legal guardian for Hiasl, she feared that this would set a precedent, putting humans with legal guardians on the same level as animals.

Chimps share 99.4 percent of their DNA with humans but they are not homo sapiens. That does not mean they don't have rights. They do have rights that need to be protected.

Human beings can protect the rights of other species and provide stewardship where necessary even without going through a court procedure. Man is an ingenious creature and must stand up for the rights of others.

120 Million for losing job

Controversial American shock jock Don Imus, 66, was dismissed April 12 after describing the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos" on his nationally syndicated radio program.

He was barely three months into a five-year, $40 million contract with CBS, and his attorney has said Imus would sue for the contract's unpaid portion.

Reports suggest Imus will seek $120 million in unpaid salary and damages from CBS.

This case would involve 'free speech' which is a sacred right in the United States. If Imus engaged in racial abuse or hate speech in which criminal intent is alleged, a court should decide whether action is warranted against Imus.

A source told Fortune.com that Don Imus’ lawsuit highlights language in his contract which encouraged him to be confrontational and irreverent on the air. The contract also supposedly stipulates that Imus receive a warning prior to being fired.

CBS Radio has a delay button and if the host makes a racist remark that is unacceptable, the dump-button guy has to bleep out the remark before the content hits the airwaves. Apparently CBS failed to do this with the Imus incident.

Therefore in dismissing Imus, it appears that CBS caved into the emotions of some public pressure rather than go by contractual obligations.

It will be interesting to see how this case gets played out in the court.

Mixed singles- a new brand of tennis

Claycourt king Rafael Nadal wins in the battle of the surfaces. Photos: Reuters, AP

The organisers of this novel event experienced no problems save the worms that attacked the grass side of the court.

The only other difficulty- both players were allowed extra time during change overs to change shoes to suit each surface.

This is a nice try to put some fun back into the game apart from the brutal competitive spirit to win.

AC Milan crush some dreams

Football is a magical game. It arouses passions like no other game does.

Milan, which has never lost to Manchester United over two legs, knocked the English team out of the European Championship as it did in the semifinals in 1958 and 1969, only with a superb performance.

The result ended United's hopes of repeating its 1999 treble of the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup titles.

With history on its side, Milan has also crushed Manchester United's hopes of creating the first ever English final, were they to advance to the final and face familiar rivals Liverpool who beat Chelsea to book their berth in the final.

Greek authorities who have allotted to deploy 20,000 police officers from Athens and other Greek cities to control any violence at the final, would have a sigh of relief now that two English sides would not face each other.

Going up to defend a 3-2 lead from the first leg, United was acutely aware that they would have to play at their best to prevail over Milan .

As United manager Alex Ferguson ruefully said, "We never came out of the blocks.''

An Italian commentator wrote that it was an evening to remember both for Milan and Italian football as a whole for Milan's exhibition was majestic. He couldn't have been more true for this performance.

So the two most famous clubs in English football will not meet on the pitch of the Olympic Stadium in Athens, and neither will their followers have a chance to add to the existing ruins in that ancient city.

To the United manager's enduring credit, he acknowledged that his side was outclassed this time. There is no finger pointing at a refereeing conspiracy or an injury crisis.

Chelsea's stars woes

Chelsea's manager Jose Mourinho is putting up a brave face. With Chelsea's loss to Liverpool last night at Anfield, Chelsea has been eliminated from the European Championship.

Liverpool have vanquished Jose Mourinho again and have booked a place in their seventh European Cup fnal. This is a soaring triumph for Liverpool and the Anfield faithful exploded with joy.

Chelsea's grasp on the English Premier League also looks out of their reach when they were held to a draw by Bolton last Saturday, on a day when rivals Manchester United won emphatically over Everton extending their lead at the top.

There has been talk of tension between the Russian billionaire Abramovich and his Portugese manager Mourinho all season. Losing the European Championship that the Chelsea owner craves most doesn't make Mourinho's job easier who already has enough problems of player injuries .

Chelsea's high-profile players have not delivered the results yet.

There were reports that Ukraine striker Shevchenko had refused to travel to Anfield after being told by manager Jose Mourinho he would not start the game, but Chelsea insisted the player was injured and played down rumours of a rift with the manager.

Another star player midfielder Michael Ballack, has reacted furiously at suggestions that he was putting Germany's international matches in June ahead of his club's end-of-season games.

Chelsea has star power, but as a team they haven't got the best out of the rich talent available. Under pressure Chelsea has crumbled to Liverpool, dashing their hopes of glory in Europe.

Cleaning up dirty Rap

Every generation has had groups of people who were off beat and who set radical and exciting trends that gained momentum against the established norms.

The baby boomer generation will remember the 1960s as the decade that brought the world the famous music group 'The Beatles' from England. A hippie counter culture started as a dissenting youth movement that opposed the Vietnam War and the corrupting influence of the institutional monolithic power.

In the 1980s, to young people the world over – from kids in the American ghettoes where Hip Hop started, to the white suburban middle class – gangsta rap is a way of rejecting their parents’ values, in the age-old tradition of Rock and Roll, and Punk.

At its worst, G-rap is itself racist, sexist, and glorifies violence. To people who promote this form of music, it describes real life, real problems of the underprivileged black community. Their music bring in to focus differences between black and white, rich and poor, male and female. They say that rap brings to white audiences the uncomfortable awareness of black suffering, anger and violence.

Of all the issues around Hip Hop, gangsta rap has the most power to ignite heated debate. There is even dispute over whether, as a sub-genre of Hip Hop, gangsta rap still exists in its original form. But to many young people today, this historic debate means nothing - gangsta rap is their music of choice.

While highlighting the plight of the underprivileged black community, the gangsta rap has sunk deep into the loathsome rut of the ghetto life. Some of them rap on poetry that incite racial hatred and use expletives glorifying mistreatment of women.

The problem is compounded as big businesses have jumped on the G-rap bandwagon, taking it across the airwaves into a huge money spinner.

Recently, CBS abruptly fired the controversial shock jock Don Imus from the radio show that he has hosted for nearly 30 years. His exit came a day after MSNBC said it would no longer televise it when it became clear that major sponsors pulled out from the show. CBS did not act on any moral conviction, but it was a business decision. Thus big business influenced this dramatic result.

Imus' description of the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos" set off a national debate about taste and tolerance.

Hopefully some good can come out of this incident.