Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Regulators close banks in Colo, NM, Okla, Wis; makes 11 failures so far this year
Regulators shut banks in Colo, NM, Okla, Wis
.
Marcy Gordon, AP Business Writer, On Friday January 28, 2011, 9:12 pm EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Regulators on Friday closed banks in Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, lifting to 11 the number of bank failures in 2011 following last year's toll of 157 taken down by the weak economy and piles of soured loans.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the banks: First Community Bank, based in Taos, N.M, with $2.3 billion in assets; FirsTier Bank, based in Louisville, Colo., with $781.5 million in assets; First State Bank of Camargo, Okla., with $43.5 million in assets; and Evergreen State Bank, based in Stoughton, Wis., with $246.5 million in assets.
Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank agreed to assume the assets and deposits of First Community Bank. Bank 7, based in Oklahoma City, is acquiring the assets and deposits of First State Bank. McFarland State Bank of McFarland, Wis., is acquiring those of Evergreen State Bank. The FDIC was unable to find a buyer for FirsTier Bank, and it approved the payout of the bank's insured deposits.
The failure of First Community Bank is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund $260 million. The failure of FirsTier Bank is expected to cost $242.6 million; that of First State Bank, $20.1 million; and Evergreen State Bank, $22.8 million.
The 157 bank closures nationwide last year topped the 140 shuttered in 2009. It was the most in a year since the savings-and-loan crisis two decades ago.
The FDIC has said that 2010 likely will be the peak for bank failures. Already this year the pace of closures has slowed: By this time last year, regulators had closed 15 banks.
The 2009 failures cost the insurance fund about $36 billion. The failures last year cost around $21 billion, a lower price tag because the banks that failed in 2010 were on average smaller. Twenty-five banks failed in 2008, the year the financial crisis struck with force; only three succumbed in 2007.
The growing number of bank failures has sapped billions of dollars out of the deposit insurance fund. It fell into the red in 2009, and its deficit stood at $8 billion as of Sept. 30.
The number of banks on the FDIC's confidential "problem" list rose to 860 in the third quarter of last year from 829 three months earlier. The 860 troubled banks is the highest number since 1993, during the savings-and-loan crisis.
The FDIC expects the cost of resolving failed banks to total around $52 billion from 2010 through 2014.
Depositors' money -- insured up to $250,000 per account -- is not at risk, with the FDIC backed by the government. That insurance cap was made permanent in the financial overhaul law enacted in July.
.
Marcy Gordon, AP Business Writer, On Friday January 28, 2011, 9:12 pm EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Regulators on Friday closed banks in Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, lifting to 11 the number of bank failures in 2011 following last year's toll of 157 taken down by the weak economy and piles of soured loans.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the banks: First Community Bank, based in Taos, N.M, with $2.3 billion in assets; FirsTier Bank, based in Louisville, Colo., with $781.5 million in assets; First State Bank of Camargo, Okla., with $43.5 million in assets; and Evergreen State Bank, based in Stoughton, Wis., with $246.5 million in assets.
Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank agreed to assume the assets and deposits of First Community Bank. Bank 7, based in Oklahoma City, is acquiring the assets and deposits of First State Bank. McFarland State Bank of McFarland, Wis., is acquiring those of Evergreen State Bank. The FDIC was unable to find a buyer for FirsTier Bank, and it approved the payout of the bank's insured deposits.
The failure of First Community Bank is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund $260 million. The failure of FirsTier Bank is expected to cost $242.6 million; that of First State Bank, $20.1 million; and Evergreen State Bank, $22.8 million.
The 157 bank closures nationwide last year topped the 140 shuttered in 2009. It was the most in a year since the savings-and-loan crisis two decades ago.
The FDIC has said that 2010 likely will be the peak for bank failures. Already this year the pace of closures has slowed: By this time last year, regulators had closed 15 banks.
The 2009 failures cost the insurance fund about $36 billion. The failures last year cost around $21 billion, a lower price tag because the banks that failed in 2010 were on average smaller. Twenty-five banks failed in 2008, the year the financial crisis struck with force; only three succumbed in 2007.
The growing number of bank failures has sapped billions of dollars out of the deposit insurance fund. It fell into the red in 2009, and its deficit stood at $8 billion as of Sept. 30.
The number of banks on the FDIC's confidential "problem" list rose to 860 in the third quarter of last year from 829 three months earlier. The 860 troubled banks is the highest number since 1993, during the savings-and-loan crisis.
The FDIC expects the cost of resolving failed banks to total around $52 billion from 2010 through 2014.
Depositors' money -- insured up to $250,000 per account -- is not at risk, with the FDIC backed by the government. That insurance cap was made permanent in the financial overhaul law enacted in July.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
so sad.............
US mother kills teen son and daughter (Updated)
TAMPA, Florida (AP): The wife of a military officer shot and killed her son on the way to soccer practice, then drove to their upscale home and shot her daughter in the head while she studied at her computer, police said Friday.
Afterward, the woman told detectives she killed the teens for being "mouthy." Julie Powers Schenecker admitted the slayings after officers found her covered in blood on the back porch of her home Friday morning, police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.
Schenecker's mother had called police from Texas because she was unable to reach the 50-year-old woman, whom she said was depressed and had been complaining about her children.
Schenecker's husband, Parker Schenecker, is an Army colonel stationed at the headquarters of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.
The father had been away for several days when the killings happened, said CentCom spokesman Lt. Col. Michael Lawhorn, describing him as a career Army intelligence officer.
Police said Parker Schenecker was in Qatar and was told of his children's deaths on Friday.
Julie Schenecker left a note detailing her plans to kill her disrespectful children and then herself, saying "they talked back and were mouthy and that she was going to take care of it," McElroy said. She provided the same motive to police who interviewed her.
"I think we will never understand how or why a mother could take the lives of her children," McElroy said. "That was the only reason she provided to our detectives."
The body of Schenecker's daughter, Calyx Powers Schenecker, 16, was found in an upstairs bedroom, McElroy said. The body of her son, Powers Beau Schenecker, 13, was found in an SUV in the garage.
An arrest affidavit said Schenecker shot her son twice in the head "for talking back" while driving him to soccer practice Thursday night.
She drove home, went inside and shot her daughter in the back of head while the teen sat at a computer doing homework, then shot her in the face, the affidavit said.
McElroy said investigators believe the teens "never saw it coming." Both were killed with a .38-caliber pistol. Julie Schenecker was jailed and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Wearing a white jumpsuit, she was led into a county jail later Friday visibly shaking and being supported by a sheriff's deputy. Her Facebook page says she earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from the University of Northern Iowa.
Sylvia Carroll, who attended Muscatine High School in Iowa with Julie Schenecker, said she was a popular and athletic girl who starred in basketball in the late 1970s. They reconnected about a year ago on Facebook.
"I'm just in shock," said Carroll, who now lives in Austin, Texas. "I can't believe this." The family's home is on a cul-de-sac in a gated country club community in north Tampa.
Hillsborough County property records show that the Scheneckers bought the house in 2008 for $448,000. It now has a market value of $261,000.
TAMPA, Florida (AP): The wife of a military officer shot and killed her son on the way to soccer practice, then drove to their upscale home and shot her daughter in the head while she studied at her computer, police said Friday.
Afterward, the woman told detectives she killed the teens for being "mouthy." Julie Powers Schenecker admitted the slayings after officers found her covered in blood on the back porch of her home Friday morning, police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.
Schenecker's mother had called police from Texas because she was unable to reach the 50-year-old woman, whom she said was depressed and had been complaining about her children.
Schenecker's husband, Parker Schenecker, is an Army colonel stationed at the headquarters of U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.
The father had been away for several days when the killings happened, said CentCom spokesman Lt. Col. Michael Lawhorn, describing him as a career Army intelligence officer.
Police said Parker Schenecker was in Qatar and was told of his children's deaths on Friday.
Julie Schenecker left a note detailing her plans to kill her disrespectful children and then herself, saying "they talked back and were mouthy and that she was going to take care of it," McElroy said. She provided the same motive to police who interviewed her.
"I think we will never understand how or why a mother could take the lives of her children," McElroy said. "That was the only reason she provided to our detectives."
The body of Schenecker's daughter, Calyx Powers Schenecker, 16, was found in an upstairs bedroom, McElroy said. The body of her son, Powers Beau Schenecker, 13, was found in an SUV in the garage.
An arrest affidavit said Schenecker shot her son twice in the head "for talking back" while driving him to soccer practice Thursday night.
She drove home, went inside and shot her daughter in the back of head while the teen sat at a computer doing homework, then shot her in the face, the affidavit said.
McElroy said investigators believe the teens "never saw it coming." Both were killed with a .38-caliber pistol. Julie Schenecker was jailed and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Wearing a white jumpsuit, she was led into a county jail later Friday visibly shaking and being supported by a sheriff's deputy. Her Facebook page says she earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from the University of Northern Iowa.
Sylvia Carroll, who attended Muscatine High School in Iowa with Julie Schenecker, said she was a popular and athletic girl who starred in basketball in the late 1970s. They reconnected about a year ago on Facebook.
"I'm just in shock," said Carroll, who now lives in Austin, Texas. "I can't believe this." The family's home is on a cul-de-sac in a gated country club community in north Tampa.
Hillsborough County property records show that the Scheneckers bought the house in 2008 for $448,000. It now has a market value of $261,000.
95% will lose in any market tradng or investment....
....the only way to be a winner is to have your own system. Don't follow anyone.......Use other people's system to fine tune your own system...
Friday, January 28, 2011
Stanley Ho: The King of Gambling ......tt lim the king of FAi chai.....
Stanley Ho was born on 25th November 1921, in Hong Kong, into a wealthy, well-known (the Ho Tung (ed.)) and very powerful family. Stanley grew up without any money worries, but was confronted with the uncertainties of the stock markets at the age of 13, when his father lost money in a crash and became bankrupt. From then on, life would never be the same again. Ho’s two older brothers committed suicide and his father abandoned the family. Ho’s mother found herself with three children (Stanley and his two older sisters ed.) to care for. Penniless, Stanley went to see a family friend, a dentist, whose unkind words greatly upset him. He went back home and cried, and promised his mother that he would become an important man, setting himself the objective of earning money… a lot of money.
Stanley Ho studied at Queen’s College in Hong Kong, but his academic results were not good enough to enable him to enter the best universities. His father’s bankruptcy problems made him realise that the only way of improving his social status would be through assidious study. Stanley redoubled his efforts to obtain respectable academic results. His work paid off: he was granted a scholarship to attend the University of Hong Kong (he became the first student to receive a scholarship who had made such lightning academic progress from lowest to highest ed.). During his academic studies, Ho applied himself relentlessly to the study of foreign languages. Thus, Ho mastered English, Japanese and Portuguese perfectly.
At the age of 22, the young Ho took his first steps in the world of work by devoting himself to administrative tasks in a Japanese import-export company in Macao. His language abilities soon helped him gain the company’s trust and he quickly became a partner. Then he began to get a bit of a shady reputation as he started becoming rich in a questionable or even illegal manner. During the Second World War, Ho made his first fortune smuggling luxury goods between China and Macao. Far out at sea, in charge of a ship, pirates siezed the vessel and demanded a ransom. The crew were killed and Ho had to pay them the entire amount that he had in his possession, that is 300,000 dollars. While absorbed in counting the money, the pirates became negligent and Stanley Ho got his hands on a gun and regained control of the ship. His reputation was thus established and he received a million dollars by way of a reward.
Part of this money allowed him to invest in oil and construction companies. At this time, the building sector was in full expansion and Ho made an excellent profit. Ho and his partners such as Henry Fok and Yip Hon – an important figure in the gaming world at Macao – and the latter’s brother-in-law, were paid franchise operation fees. By investing collosal amounts of money and promising to promote tourism and develop infrastructures, Ho and his partners obtained the licence operation rights for the gaming sector, in a monopoly position. At the beginning of the 1960s, the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macao limited company (STDM) was born and the Lisboa Casino hotel became the flagship of Stanley Ho’s and Macao’s casinos In 1961, he created Shun Tak Holdings Ltd, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and owned one of the world's largest fleets of high-speed jetfoils, ferrying passengers between Hong Kong and Macao. Ho diversified his activities, extending them to several new sectors, and invested in different domains such as Macao Jockey Club and launched the first soccer and baseball lotteries.i
Private life and links with the Chinese mafia
Stanley Ho is an ardent supporter of polygamy and does not hide the fact that he has four wives, who have given him 17 children. Ho has suffered from numerous tragedies, particularly the death of his Portuguese wife, Clementina, in 1973, on the road between Guincho and Cascais. Robert Ho, Stanley’s eldest son, also died in a car accident with his wife Melanie. As far as his sisters are concerned, he is estranged from his sister Winnie, who accuses him of owing her 30 million euros in unpaid dividends. These two never talk to each other except through their lawyers. Several murders have never been solved, such as that of his assistant, found with his throat cut in a square in Hong Kong, and allegations about his links with the triads often appear in the news. This very astute man has “many allies and few friends” and has always ensured his survival. A gang war raged resulting in around fourty people dead… either from being beaten up or from gun shots. In other words, in this social environment, it is best not to step on the toes of the ruthless and Ho’s diplomacy was somewhat shaken.
2001: A dramatic year for Ho
Reigning supreme as true master of the Macao gaming world since 1962, Stanley Ho found himself, for the first time in fourty years, losing the gaming monopoly in Macao. In 1999, Portugal ceded Macao back to China and the Chinese Goverment opened its doors to foreign investors. Some see in that opening, a desire on the part of the Chinese administration to lessen Stanley Ho’s influence in the gambling world. Hoping to make Macao into the “Las Vegas of the Far East”, China granted gaming licences to foreign groups, amongst whom was Sheldon Adelson who took the opportunity of building a replica of the Venetian casino at Macao. The multimillionaire Kirk Kerkorian also invested millions of dollars in the new gaming capital’s MGM.
Stanley Ho had had gaming in Macao in the palm of his hand. In February 2007, he still owned 40% of the gaming market and controlled 18 of Macao’s 28 casinos, amongst which the Lisboa Casino is his greatest success. In 2008, 31 casinos existed of which 19 were managed by the Sociedade de Jogos de Macao (Stanley Ho ed.), the Galaxy group owned five of them, Sheldon Adelson three, Wynn one casino, Melco two of them and Kirk Kerkorian managed one single casino. The income achieved by Macao’s 31 casinos in the first nine months of 2008 was close to ten and a half billion dollars, that is close to the total income for the whole of the year 2007.
A man at the service of Macao and China
According to Forbes magazine, in 2008, Stanley Ho was at 113th place among the world’s richest men with a fortune estimated at 8 billion dollars. Ho the tycoon is a famous figure at Macao and was the second relay runner during the passing of the flame in the new gaming capital. The 86 year old man ran 200 metres with the torch in his hand and was the oldest relay runner in the stage. The sports lover, who goes swimming every day and practices tennis, declared “this 200 metre run was easy for me.”
Stanley Ho has contributed to recovering statuettes dating from the 1800s and rabbit and mouse heads, which were stolen by invading foreign troops in 1860. The allied Anglo-French forces pillaged the park of the Yuánmíng Yuán (the Old Summer Palace) and burned it. These rabbit and mouse heads are part of a collection of 12 animal sculptures. Thanks to Ho’s efforts, five of the twelve heads have been brought back to China. Last year, he paid out the tidy sum of 8.8 million dollars for a sculpture of a horse’s head which he donated to China. The country greeted “a patriotic gesture” and declared it unacceptable that China should herself pay for her own rightful property.
Stanley Ho funds scholarships encouraging young people to take part in higher education. For this, he created the Guangzhou Education Fund which finances university research. Ho has a personal relationship with the University of Hong Kong which educated him and he took part in the University’s 90th anniversary celebrations. He spoke in public, recounting his life and his beginnings at the university. He did not hesitate to pay out 2.6 million pounds sterling for Pembroke College at Oxford University.
This man is the first Chinese person to have had an Avenue named after him in Portugal. Macao was under Portuguese mandate until its transfer to China in 1999. The links uniting Portugal and the tycoon being very strong, the mayor of the town of Cascais decided to name an avenue after him:. Avenida Dr. Stanley Ho. This honour is unique and pays tribute to Stanley Ho’s efforts at tourist development in the province of Cascais.
The 1.5 kilo truffle for 330,000 dollars
Stanley Ho caused a stir during a somewhat original auction. An Italian who had discovered a truffle weighing 1.5 kilos sold it at an auction which took place simultaneously in London, Macao and Florence. The “king of gambling” bid up to 330,000 dollars and won the large and valuable fungus. The daily newpapers have contributed to the media coverage of the casinos of this great gaming figure’s empire.
© Casinoweb
Stanley Ho studied at Queen’s College in Hong Kong, but his academic results were not good enough to enable him to enter the best universities. His father’s bankruptcy problems made him realise that the only way of improving his social status would be through assidious study. Stanley redoubled his efforts to obtain respectable academic results. His work paid off: he was granted a scholarship to attend the University of Hong Kong (he became the first student to receive a scholarship who had made such lightning academic progress from lowest to highest ed.). During his academic studies, Ho applied himself relentlessly to the study of foreign languages. Thus, Ho mastered English, Japanese and Portuguese perfectly.
At the age of 22, the young Ho took his first steps in the world of work by devoting himself to administrative tasks in a Japanese import-export company in Macao. His language abilities soon helped him gain the company’s trust and he quickly became a partner. Then he began to get a bit of a shady reputation as he started becoming rich in a questionable or even illegal manner. During the Second World War, Ho made his first fortune smuggling luxury goods between China and Macao. Far out at sea, in charge of a ship, pirates siezed the vessel and demanded a ransom. The crew were killed and Ho had to pay them the entire amount that he had in his possession, that is 300,000 dollars. While absorbed in counting the money, the pirates became negligent and Stanley Ho got his hands on a gun and regained control of the ship. His reputation was thus established and he received a million dollars by way of a reward.
Part of this money allowed him to invest in oil and construction companies. At this time, the building sector was in full expansion and Ho made an excellent profit. Ho and his partners such as Henry Fok and Yip Hon – an important figure in the gaming world at Macao – and the latter’s brother-in-law, were paid franchise operation fees. By investing collosal amounts of money and promising to promote tourism and develop infrastructures, Ho and his partners obtained the licence operation rights for the gaming sector, in a monopoly position. At the beginning of the 1960s, the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macao limited company (STDM) was born and the Lisboa Casino hotel became the flagship of Stanley Ho’s and Macao’s casinos In 1961, he created Shun Tak Holdings Ltd, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and owned one of the world's largest fleets of high-speed jetfoils, ferrying passengers between Hong Kong and Macao. Ho diversified his activities, extending them to several new sectors, and invested in different domains such as Macao Jockey Club and launched the first soccer and baseball lotteries.i
Private life and links with the Chinese mafia
Stanley Ho is an ardent supporter of polygamy and does not hide the fact that he has four wives, who have given him 17 children. Ho has suffered from numerous tragedies, particularly the death of his Portuguese wife, Clementina, in 1973, on the road between Guincho and Cascais. Robert Ho, Stanley’s eldest son, also died in a car accident with his wife Melanie. As far as his sisters are concerned, he is estranged from his sister Winnie, who accuses him of owing her 30 million euros in unpaid dividends. These two never talk to each other except through their lawyers. Several murders have never been solved, such as that of his assistant, found with his throat cut in a square in Hong Kong, and allegations about his links with the triads often appear in the news. This very astute man has “many allies and few friends” and has always ensured his survival. A gang war raged resulting in around fourty people dead… either from being beaten up or from gun shots. In other words, in this social environment, it is best not to step on the toes of the ruthless and Ho’s diplomacy was somewhat shaken.
2001: A dramatic year for Ho
Reigning supreme as true master of the Macao gaming world since 1962, Stanley Ho found himself, for the first time in fourty years, losing the gaming monopoly in Macao. In 1999, Portugal ceded Macao back to China and the Chinese Goverment opened its doors to foreign investors. Some see in that opening, a desire on the part of the Chinese administration to lessen Stanley Ho’s influence in the gambling world. Hoping to make Macao into the “Las Vegas of the Far East”, China granted gaming licences to foreign groups, amongst whom was Sheldon Adelson who took the opportunity of building a replica of the Venetian casino at Macao. The multimillionaire Kirk Kerkorian also invested millions of dollars in the new gaming capital’s MGM.
Stanley Ho had had gaming in Macao in the palm of his hand. In February 2007, he still owned 40% of the gaming market and controlled 18 of Macao’s 28 casinos, amongst which the Lisboa Casino is his greatest success. In 2008, 31 casinos existed of which 19 were managed by the Sociedade de Jogos de Macao (Stanley Ho ed.), the Galaxy group owned five of them, Sheldon Adelson three, Wynn one casino, Melco two of them and Kirk Kerkorian managed one single casino. The income achieved by Macao’s 31 casinos in the first nine months of 2008 was close to ten and a half billion dollars, that is close to the total income for the whole of the year 2007.
A man at the service of Macao and China
According to Forbes magazine, in 2008, Stanley Ho was at 113th place among the world’s richest men with a fortune estimated at 8 billion dollars. Ho the tycoon is a famous figure at Macao and was the second relay runner during the passing of the flame in the new gaming capital. The 86 year old man ran 200 metres with the torch in his hand and was the oldest relay runner in the stage. The sports lover, who goes swimming every day and practices tennis, declared “this 200 metre run was easy for me.”
Stanley Ho has contributed to recovering statuettes dating from the 1800s and rabbit and mouse heads, which were stolen by invading foreign troops in 1860. The allied Anglo-French forces pillaged the park of the Yuánmíng Yuán (the Old Summer Palace) and burned it. These rabbit and mouse heads are part of a collection of 12 animal sculptures. Thanks to Ho’s efforts, five of the twelve heads have been brought back to China. Last year, he paid out the tidy sum of 8.8 million dollars for a sculpture of a horse’s head which he donated to China. The country greeted “a patriotic gesture” and declared it unacceptable that China should herself pay for her own rightful property.
Stanley Ho funds scholarships encouraging young people to take part in higher education. For this, he created the Guangzhou Education Fund which finances university research. Ho has a personal relationship with the University of Hong Kong which educated him and he took part in the University’s 90th anniversary celebrations. He spoke in public, recounting his life and his beginnings at the university. He did not hesitate to pay out 2.6 million pounds sterling for Pembroke College at Oxford University.
This man is the first Chinese person to have had an Avenue named after him in Portugal. Macao was under Portuguese mandate until its transfer to China in 1999. The links uniting Portugal and the tycoon being very strong, the mayor of the town of Cascais decided to name an avenue after him:. Avenida Dr. Stanley Ho. This honour is unique and pays tribute to Stanley Ho’s efforts at tourist development in the province of Cascais.
The 1.5 kilo truffle for 330,000 dollars
Stanley Ho caused a stir during a somewhat original auction. An Italian who had discovered a truffle weighing 1.5 kilos sold it at an auction which took place simultaneously in London, Macao and Florence. The “king of gambling” bid up to 330,000 dollars and won the large and valuable fungus. The daily newpapers have contributed to the media coverage of the casinos of this great gaming figure’s empire.
© Casinoweb
PLEASURES.........
all pleasures are bought at a price...legitimate pleasure you pay it before before the pleasure....illegitimate pleasure you pay it after the pleasure......LEGITIMATE PLEASURE is anything that refreshes you without diminshing, destroying or distracting you from your final goal.......ILLEGITIMATE PLEASURE ...jeapordises the sacred right of another.......any plasures however good if not kept in good balance will distort reality or destroy appetite....RAVI ZECHARIAH
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Being filled with God's perfect peace
January 20, 2011
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Romans 8:35-37
I remember it like it was yesterday. In 1970, I was preaching a revival meeting at a small church in Crowell, Texas. I was a student at Hardin-Simmons and Deb and I had been married for just two months. I received a call on Tuesday morning from my brother who uttered the words I'd never forget, "Jack, Dad's been hurt."
A shoplifter had come into the hardware store that dad ran and hit him in the head with a hammer. So Deb came from Hardin-Simmons and picked me up in Crowell. After that, we drove as fast as we could to Harris Hospital in Fort Worth.
My dad had been critically injured and was in brain surgery. He lingered for ten days before he passed away from his injuries. I couldn't understand it.
But on the day he died, I went into the little prayer chapel at the hospital, got down on my knees, and wept for my father. I asked God for his peace and his comfort. And I can tell you that the peace of God that passes all understanding flooded my soul as never before.
Friends, I know Jesus is real because I have experienced his presence. And though my father indeed went on to be with the Lord, there was a lasting peace in me that only a believer can experience.
GOD'S PEACE SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING AND WILL GET YOU THROUGH THE DARKEST TIMES IN YOUR LIFE.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more from PowerPoint Ministries and Dr. Jack Graham, please visit www.jackgraham.org
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Romans 8:35-37
I remember it like it was yesterday. In 1970, I was preaching a revival meeting at a small church in Crowell, Texas. I was a student at Hardin-Simmons and Deb and I had been married for just two months. I received a call on Tuesday morning from my brother who uttered the words I'd never forget, "Jack, Dad's been hurt."
A shoplifter had come into the hardware store that dad ran and hit him in the head with a hammer. So Deb came from Hardin-Simmons and picked me up in Crowell. After that, we drove as fast as we could to Harris Hospital in Fort Worth.
My dad had been critically injured and was in brain surgery. He lingered for ten days before he passed away from his injuries. I couldn't understand it.
But on the day he died, I went into the little prayer chapel at the hospital, got down on my knees, and wept for my father. I asked God for his peace and his comfort. And I can tell you that the peace of God that passes all understanding flooded my soul as never before.
Friends, I know Jesus is real because I have experienced his presence. And though my father indeed went on to be with the Lord, there was a lasting peace in me that only a believer can experience.
GOD'S PEACE SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING AND WILL GET YOU THROUGH THE DARKEST TIMES IN YOUR LIFE.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more from PowerPoint Ministries and Dr. Jack Graham, please visit www.jackgraham.org
...LKY favourite was Li Yipeng who was born an albino.
SINGAPORE’S Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew will accept the reality if any of his grandchildren is homosexual, Sin Chew Daily and Nanyang Siang Pau reported.
In an interview with The Straits Times, Lee said homosexuality was a genetic issue.
Sin Chew Daily, which quoted excerpts from the interview, reported Lee as saying that former US vice-president Dick Cheney was against homosexuality but he still loved his daughter even though she was a lesbian.
However, Lee stressed that none of his children was a homosexual.
He said that of his six grandchildren, his favourite was Li Yipeng who was born an albino.
He added that Yipeng was respectful of elders and hardworking even though he was slow in his studies.
In an interview with The Straits Times, Lee said homosexuality was a genetic issue.
Sin Chew Daily, which quoted excerpts from the interview, reported Lee as saying that former US vice-president Dick Cheney was against homosexuality but he still loved his daughter even though she was a lesbian.
However, Lee stressed that none of his children was a homosexual.
He said that of his six grandchildren, his favourite was Li Yipeng who was born an albino.
He added that Yipeng was respectful of elders and hardworking even though he was slow in his studies.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Nicknaming tt lim FAi chai does the trick....FAi chai be happy ah..
Calling him FAi chai in my blog persistently seems to do the trick. Words are very powerful especially when you associate it with yourself.
FAi chai is the epitome description of tt lim, a pathetic spammer. He make fun of and belttle TA. I dun do likewise for FA(reverse psychology).
Instead I nicknamed him associating with the system he chose and claimed to work for him, ie pure FA and no TA. And FAi chai is the least he expected me to coin. FAi chai is a very powerful (double whammy) chinese description of someone. He is shocked n dismayed. When he see so many FA chai words used in my blog...it literally eat into his subconcious.
What he has left other than spending so much time spamming, is showing you some artificially generated new members to boost his ego. Thats the only way to attract newbies.
Then he will show you the hate comment by "anti-samgang" people, to generate sympathy from newbies.
So never use foul language on him. When you get angry with him you will make him very happy.
He is not worth getting angry over. I rather get angry with the present government for its pathetic development of our country in comparison to Singapore. Ignoring him is still the best like what dali does.
FAi chai is the epitome description of tt lim, a pathetic spammer. He make fun of and belttle TA. I dun do likewise for FA(reverse psychology).
Instead I nicknamed him associating with the system he chose and claimed to work for him, ie pure FA and no TA. And FAi chai is the least he expected me to coin. FAi chai is a very powerful (double whammy) chinese description of someone. He is shocked n dismayed. When he see so many FA chai words used in my blog...it literally eat into his subconcious.
What he has left other than spending so much time spamming, is showing you some artificially generated new members to boost his ego. Thats the only way to attract newbies.
Then he will show you the hate comment by "anti-samgang" people, to generate sympathy from newbies.
So never use foul language on him. When you get angry with him you will make him very happy.
He is not worth getting angry over. I rather get angry with the present government for its pathetic development of our country in comparison to Singapore. Ignoring him is still the best like what dali does.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Niamah!!!: WTF!!!
Niamah!!!: WTF!!!: "Errr...the fler died from....errr....I don't know la....wait....I get my instructions first boleh? It is a very ANGRY day in Malaysia. For a..."
Thursday, January 20, 2011
FAi chai...How many things did he fail to do?
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
How many things did he fail to do?
Boo-hoo-hoo...sniff...sniff...I failed!
In The Star today it was reported that Dr. Mahathir admitted that one of his failures during his 22 years as Prime Minister was his administration's inability to rehabilitate and develope Kampung Baru. What a gracious leader to admit his failures. Well, since the old man started it and since we Malaysians love lists let's continue where he left off. Come on. Add to his list of failures. Put your contributions in the comments section and I will update them here. Have fun!
He failed to improve the Education system of Secondary and Universities in this country. Actually it became worst!
He failed to improve the economic status of most Malays in this country. Proton is still crap! Corruption became worst!! Police force is a joke! the only bigger joke in this country is our Courts and Judiciary!
He failed to save his son's venture in Konsortium Perkapalan? Oh wait, wait, he did.
The most tragic failure of mahalingam's rule is his failure to commit suicide to spare us his sham tears. Kg Baru would today be developed if his family had been given half the land.
He failed to make Ringgit stronger than Sing dollar.
With his superb acting ability and ethnic background, this mamak failed to go to Bollywood. He would have made a good kerala clown.
He failed to develop incentives and a process that would encourage talented Malaysians and Expats to stay and contribute to this country's future, and their counterparts overseas to return.
Sorry Patrick, I can't contribute to your list of his failures, but I can list some of his more memorable achievements, they are:
1. Increasing number of fat croonies
2. More White Elphants roaming in Putrajaya.
3. buying loads of useless expensive defence.
4. Buying out his son's company with yours and my money.
5. Spend my reirement funds for 1/2 priced stocks.
6. Increasing outflow of local talents.
7. perfecting d art of racial disciminaion.
8. dismantling our judiciary and cultivating yes-mans.
9. entertaining us with sodomygate-1
10. neutralising the royal families.
I would rather list his successes:
1. raped and sodomized the civil service, the judiciary,the A-G Chambers, PDRM, SPR, etc..
2. stole RM100b from the national wealth
3. blocked the suits by Memali villagers for wrongful deaths
4. bonsai the minds of the Malays
Niamah!!!
How many things did he fail to do?
Boo-hoo-hoo...sniff...sniff...I failed!
In The Star today it was reported that Dr. Mahathir admitted that one of his failures during his 22 years as Prime Minister was his administration's inability to rehabilitate and develope Kampung Baru. What a gracious leader to admit his failures. Well, since the old man started it and since we Malaysians love lists let's continue where he left off. Come on. Add to his list of failures. Put your contributions in the comments section and I will update them here. Have fun!
He failed to improve the Education system of Secondary and Universities in this country. Actually it became worst!
He failed to improve the economic status of most Malays in this country. Proton is still crap! Corruption became worst!! Police force is a joke! the only bigger joke in this country is our Courts and Judiciary!
He failed to save his son's venture in Konsortium Perkapalan? Oh wait, wait, he did.
The most tragic failure of mahalingam's rule is his failure to commit suicide to spare us his sham tears. Kg Baru would today be developed if his family had been given half the land.
He failed to make Ringgit stronger than Sing dollar.
With his superb acting ability and ethnic background, this mamak failed to go to Bollywood. He would have made a good kerala clown.
He failed to develop incentives and a process that would encourage talented Malaysians and Expats to stay and contribute to this country's future, and their counterparts overseas to return.
Sorry Patrick, I can't contribute to your list of his failures, but I can list some of his more memorable achievements, they are:
1. Increasing number of fat croonies
2. More White Elphants roaming in Putrajaya.
3. buying loads of useless expensive defence.
4. Buying out his son's company with yours and my money.
5. Spend my reirement funds for 1/2 priced stocks.
6. Increasing outflow of local talents.
7. perfecting d art of racial disciminaion.
8. dismantling our judiciary and cultivating yes-mans.
9. entertaining us with sodomygate-1
10. neutralising the royal families.
I would rather list his successes:
1. raped and sodomized the civil service, the judiciary,the A-G Chambers, PDRM, SPR, etc..
2. stole RM100b from the national wealth
3. blocked the suits by Memali villagers for wrongful deaths
4. bonsai the minds of the Malays
Niamah!!!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
FAi chai...is your house worth USD 0.150 million.....
The Most Expensive Celebrity Real Estate For Sale
Candy Spelling's 56,500-square-foot Los Angeles 'manor' is listed at $150 million
Celebrities are a picky bunch when it comes to buying homes. Among the amenities they may regard as necessities: screening rooms to watch their celluloid selves, entertainment spaces to host A-list parties and elaborately equipped gyms to keep those tabloid-gracing abs rock-hard. Other must-haves are high-tech security systems and secluded locations.
"The home really should be set off the street or down a private driveway," explains Jade Mills, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Previews International of Beverly Hills, who regularly handles celebrity real estate deals like the late Dennis Hopper's $6.2 million compound, which she currently shares with fellow agent Jane Gavens.
Slide Show: Most Expensive Celebrity Real Estate For Sale
It's no surprise then that the properties celebrities like Ricky Martin, Dr. Phil McGraw and Anjelica Huston have on the market are walled-in fortresses tucked into exclusive neighborhoods. Many are in Beverly Hills, where the average police response time to calls for assistance in a speedy three minutes.
Ricky Martin's two-story Mediterranean mansion in
Golden Beach, Florida is listed at $18.9 million
We tapped online listing sites Realtor.com and Trulia to round up a list of the most expensive celebrity-owned real estate now for sale. We narrowed the search to Multiple Listing Service (MLS)-listed properties that currently belong to high-profile people in entertainment or that did so in the past. The result is a list of the 15 priciest properties for sale from America's rich and famous stars.
Boston Red Sox third-baseman Adrian Beltre no longer needs his $19.8 million Bradbury, Calif., home, thanks to his team transfer. TV personality Dr. Phil has listed for $16.5 million a posh Beverly Hills home he purchased in 2002 for $7.5 million cash. McGraw has already snatched up another local home.
Some of these properties' celebrities owners have passed away. That includes Michael Jackson's Holmby Hills French chateau-inspired home, which is now up for grabs. The home, which he leased for a reported $100,000 a month, is listed for $23.5 million and includes everything the superstar could have dreamed of to keep the paparazzi at bay. Among the amenities are an in-house spa, plush home theater and an elevator. The only hitch? It's also where the King of Pop suffered his premature, drug-induced death.
Candy Spelling, the widow of hugely successful TV producer Aaron Spelling, and mother of actress and reality star Tori, owns the most expensive celebrity residence currently on the market. It's price: a jaw-dropping $150 million, making it one of the most expensive residences for sale anywhere.
The home that the late Michael Jackson leased
in Los Angeles is listed at $23.5 million
Spelling Manor sits on 4.7 acres of lush landscaping and boasts an orangery and a 56,500-square-foot mansion filled with everything from a two-lane bowling alley, game arcade and billiard room. There's even a professional flower-cutting hall. If you don't want to pay cash, Spelling Manor can be yours for monthly mortgage payments of $881,961, as calculated by Trulia.
It probably comes as no surprise that homes in this league can take time to sell, and some on our list have been for sale for half a year or more. "Even in good times the market for these more expensive homes is elongated. You don't sell these right away," says Joyce Rey, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Previews International who has brokered sales for Nicolas Cage, Jennifer Lopez and Hugh Hefner. "It's not as if there are 50 buyers out there looking for what you are offering."
How do you get to tour such a home? Not during a Sunday afternoon open house, that's for sure. Instead, the process of viewing a celebrity home as a potential buyer is an arduous one. The Coldwell Banker brokers rigorously screen those who claim to be in the market to shelter celebrities from "vanity showings."
The high-profile owners of some of the homes on our list are struggling to drum up interest. Ricky Martin's posh Miami mansion was listed a few years back, pulled off the market and relisted in 2010. Some celebs would rather wait than get burned in a fire-sale; others slash their asking prices. Actor Val Kilmer's 6,000-acre Pecos River Ranch first hit the market in 2009 with a $33 million price tag. Since then it's been chopped 44% to its current $18.5 million asking price. Kilmer has fallen up other hardships with the property; as of early January Kilmer's failure to pay income taxes had straddled the New Mexico nature preserve with a nearly $500,000 lien.
Val Kilmer's ranch in Rowe, N.M.
sits on 6,000 acres and sells for $18.5 million
Abbe Lane, a songstress and actress of the 1950s and '60s, has been trying to sell her Los Angeles home since 2008. Initially listed for $19.7 million, her home can now be yours for $9.95 million.
While ultra-luxury real estate on average has not suffered to the same extent as the rest of the market, values have dropped 20% in places like Los Angeles, according to Rey. As with less opulent abodes, sellers can do themselves a favor by subscribing to several basic sales tenets.
"Price point is key," emphasizes Mills. "If you can price something appropriately and it's a desirable location, it will sell fairly quickly."
Candy Spelling's 56,500-square-foot Los Angeles 'manor' is listed at $150 million
Celebrities are a picky bunch when it comes to buying homes. Among the amenities they may regard as necessities: screening rooms to watch their celluloid selves, entertainment spaces to host A-list parties and elaborately equipped gyms to keep those tabloid-gracing abs rock-hard. Other must-haves are high-tech security systems and secluded locations.
"The home really should be set off the street or down a private driveway," explains Jade Mills, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Previews International of Beverly Hills, who regularly handles celebrity real estate deals like the late Dennis Hopper's $6.2 million compound, which she currently shares with fellow agent Jane Gavens.
Slide Show: Most Expensive Celebrity Real Estate For Sale
It's no surprise then that the properties celebrities like Ricky Martin, Dr. Phil McGraw and Anjelica Huston have on the market are walled-in fortresses tucked into exclusive neighborhoods. Many are in Beverly Hills, where the average police response time to calls for assistance in a speedy three minutes.
Ricky Martin's two-story Mediterranean mansion in
Golden Beach, Florida is listed at $18.9 million
We tapped online listing sites Realtor.com and Trulia to round up a list of the most expensive celebrity-owned real estate now for sale. We narrowed the search to Multiple Listing Service (MLS)-listed properties that currently belong to high-profile people in entertainment or that did so in the past. The result is a list of the 15 priciest properties for sale from America's rich and famous stars.
Boston Red Sox third-baseman Adrian Beltre no longer needs his $19.8 million Bradbury, Calif., home, thanks to his team transfer. TV personality Dr. Phil has listed for $16.5 million a posh Beverly Hills home he purchased in 2002 for $7.5 million cash. McGraw has already snatched up another local home.
Some of these properties' celebrities owners have passed away. That includes Michael Jackson's Holmby Hills French chateau-inspired home, which is now up for grabs. The home, which he leased for a reported $100,000 a month, is listed for $23.5 million and includes everything the superstar could have dreamed of to keep the paparazzi at bay. Among the amenities are an in-house spa, plush home theater and an elevator. The only hitch? It's also where the King of Pop suffered his premature, drug-induced death.
Candy Spelling, the widow of hugely successful TV producer Aaron Spelling, and mother of actress and reality star Tori, owns the most expensive celebrity residence currently on the market. It's price: a jaw-dropping $150 million, making it one of the most expensive residences for sale anywhere.
The home that the late Michael Jackson leased
in Los Angeles is listed at $23.5 million
Spelling Manor sits on 4.7 acres of lush landscaping and boasts an orangery and a 56,500-square-foot mansion filled with everything from a two-lane bowling alley, game arcade and billiard room. There's even a professional flower-cutting hall. If you don't want to pay cash, Spelling Manor can be yours for monthly mortgage payments of $881,961, as calculated by Trulia.
It probably comes as no surprise that homes in this league can take time to sell, and some on our list have been for sale for half a year or more. "Even in good times the market for these more expensive homes is elongated. You don't sell these right away," says Joyce Rey, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Previews International who has brokered sales for Nicolas Cage, Jennifer Lopez and Hugh Hefner. "It's not as if there are 50 buyers out there looking for what you are offering."
How do you get to tour such a home? Not during a Sunday afternoon open house, that's for sure. Instead, the process of viewing a celebrity home as a potential buyer is an arduous one. The Coldwell Banker brokers rigorously screen those who claim to be in the market to shelter celebrities from "vanity showings."
The high-profile owners of some of the homes on our list are struggling to drum up interest. Ricky Martin's posh Miami mansion was listed a few years back, pulled off the market and relisted in 2010. Some celebs would rather wait than get burned in a fire-sale; others slash their asking prices. Actor Val Kilmer's 6,000-acre Pecos River Ranch first hit the market in 2009 with a $33 million price tag. Since then it's been chopped 44% to its current $18.5 million asking price. Kilmer has fallen up other hardships with the property; as of early January Kilmer's failure to pay income taxes had straddled the New Mexico nature preserve with a nearly $500,000 lien.
Val Kilmer's ranch in Rowe, N.M.
sits on 6,000 acres and sells for $18.5 million
Abbe Lane, a songstress and actress of the 1950s and '60s, has been trying to sell her Los Angeles home since 2008. Initially listed for $19.7 million, her home can now be yours for $9.95 million.
While ultra-luxury real estate on average has not suffered to the same extent as the rest of the market, values have dropped 20% in places like Los Angeles, according to Rey. As with less opulent abodes, sellers can do themselves a favor by subscribing to several basic sales tenets.
"Price point is key," emphasizes Mills. "If you can price something appropriately and it's a desirable location, it will sell fairly quickly."
Monday, January 17, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
FAi chai, I will only respect your character and behaviour when you have made USD100M...
Russell Simmons’ rules for getting “super rich”
Posted Jan 13, 2011 12:46pm EST by Stacy Curtin in Newsmakers
Related: ^DJI, ^GSPC, DIS, TWX, CBS, WMG, NWS
From music to fashion to flim, TV and other businesses, Russell Simmons -- who is worth more than $100 million -- seemingly has the “Midas Touch”. In his new book, Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All, he wants to show you how you too can achieve super richness.
Tech Ticker's Aaron Task recently sat down with the "godfather" of hip-hop after a Jivamukti yoga seminar in midtown Manhattan to glean some of the key principles that have made him a successful entrepreneur and one of the “Top 25 Most Influential People of the Past 25 Years," according to USA Today.
Simmons grew up in a middle-class neighborhood where he has noted, "the only entrepreneurs we knew were the numbers guys and the drug dealers.”
He has come a long way and some would even say he’s become the epitome of the American dream.
After attending City College in New York, Simmons began his music career in the late 1970s. He started small by managing and producing artists like Run DMC and the Beastie Boys.
In 1984 he partnered with award-winning producer Rick Rubin to create Def Jam Recordings which led to the making of mega-stars Foxy Brown, Ludacris and Jay-Z, just to name a few. He helped take hip-hop mainstream. In 1994, Def Jam was sold to Universal Music Group with a final price tag of $300 million.
Just like the legendary Midas, Simmons realized the fruits of his golden touch are not all they are cracked up to be. “People I guess pursue money to be happy and money doesn’t really make you happy,” he says. “[Being] happy makes you money though;” in order to find that happiness one must “start from the inside out.”
After many more musical successes, Simmons saw a crossroads between hip-hop and style and in 1992 started a fashion company called Phat Farm. It was hugely popular and made him millions. He went on to add additional brands to the empire including Baby Phat, Run Athletics, Argyleculture and American Classics.
Now, as Chairman and CEO of Rush Communications, Simmons' philosophy is spiritual and based on the inner peace he has found from 15 years of practicing yoga and meditation. So without further ado, here are: Russell Simmons’ Top Principles to Super Richness
#1 Give Your Talents Until They Can’t Live Without It
“Wake up in the morning and find out what you want to give as opposed to what you want to get,” he says. “Through this practice of becoming a good giver you become a good getter.”
Simmons gives examples of many of his former selfless, tireless and upaid interns that went on to greatness, including Sean Combs, Kevin Liles, and Julie Greenwald, recently named COO of Atlantic Records Group.
“Those who focus on being good servants usually attract the most in the end,” he says.
Basically, offer your talents and skills for free and the rewards will find you.
#2 Relentlessly Pursue Your Goals Without Appearing Needy
Simmons’ law of attraction says: “when you chase things, they will always run from you.”
This principle goes hand-in-hand with principle number one by virtue of the more you give, the more good that will just find you.
#3 If You Don’t Love it, Leave it Alone
This is not only the idea that you should do what you love and a wealth of richness will follow, but the idea that you should only do things you are “karmically” comfortable doing.
“People can sell anything,” from bombs to drugs, he says, even though there are very serious ramifications to those actions. “I want to stress that making money just for the sake of getting paid is a pedestrian activity that you can rise above.”
If you don’t love it, don’t do it.
#4 Let Go of the Results
“You really have no control over the results, you have control over the action," he says. “So make sure you perform your action and your duty well.”
In the accompanying clip, he explains that he has no recollection of his very first paycheck, but says he certainly does remember making his first good record.
“All I could think is ‘when my friends hear this record’ it will make them so happy,” he reminisces. “Do things you love. Do things that you have faith will make other people happy and that will give back what you give them.”
#5 Get Open
“You want to always be open, creative and fluid as possible, and never become rigid, old or tight,” he writes, encouraging readers to let loose and lower your defenses.
And if you're thinking these principles are easy for someone worth millions to say, Aaron asks him about that too in the accompanying clip.
The Joy of Giving
Simmons' list of his successes are deep but the endeavors most important to him may be those that go along with his first principle listed above. The idea of being a “good giver.”
He is known globally for not only his business acumen, but also his commitment to philanthropy. Simmons has devoted an entire division of empire to charity and non-profit work.
Russell Simmons is also the author of New York Times best-seller, “Do You!”
Posted Jan 13, 2011 12:46pm EST by Stacy Curtin in Newsmakers
Related: ^DJI, ^GSPC, DIS, TWX, CBS, WMG, NWS
From music to fashion to flim, TV and other businesses, Russell Simmons -- who is worth more than $100 million -- seemingly has the “Midas Touch”. In his new book, Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All, he wants to show you how you too can achieve super richness.
Tech Ticker's Aaron Task recently sat down with the "godfather" of hip-hop after a Jivamukti yoga seminar in midtown Manhattan to glean some of the key principles that have made him a successful entrepreneur and one of the “Top 25 Most Influential People of the Past 25 Years," according to USA Today.
Simmons grew up in a middle-class neighborhood where he has noted, "the only entrepreneurs we knew were the numbers guys and the drug dealers.”
He has come a long way and some would even say he’s become the epitome of the American dream.
After attending City College in New York, Simmons began his music career in the late 1970s. He started small by managing and producing artists like Run DMC and the Beastie Boys.
In 1984 he partnered with award-winning producer Rick Rubin to create Def Jam Recordings which led to the making of mega-stars Foxy Brown, Ludacris and Jay-Z, just to name a few. He helped take hip-hop mainstream. In 1994, Def Jam was sold to Universal Music Group with a final price tag of $300 million.
Just like the legendary Midas, Simmons realized the fruits of his golden touch are not all they are cracked up to be. “People I guess pursue money to be happy and money doesn’t really make you happy,” he says. “[Being] happy makes you money though;” in order to find that happiness one must “start from the inside out.”
After many more musical successes, Simmons saw a crossroads between hip-hop and style and in 1992 started a fashion company called Phat Farm. It was hugely popular and made him millions. He went on to add additional brands to the empire including Baby Phat, Run Athletics, Argyleculture and American Classics.
Now, as Chairman and CEO of Rush Communications, Simmons' philosophy is spiritual and based on the inner peace he has found from 15 years of practicing yoga and meditation. So without further ado, here are: Russell Simmons’ Top Principles to Super Richness
#1 Give Your Talents Until They Can’t Live Without It
“Wake up in the morning and find out what you want to give as opposed to what you want to get,” he says. “Through this practice of becoming a good giver you become a good getter.”
Simmons gives examples of many of his former selfless, tireless and upaid interns that went on to greatness, including Sean Combs, Kevin Liles, and Julie Greenwald, recently named COO of Atlantic Records Group.
“Those who focus on being good servants usually attract the most in the end,” he says.
Basically, offer your talents and skills for free and the rewards will find you.
#2 Relentlessly Pursue Your Goals Without Appearing Needy
Simmons’ law of attraction says: “when you chase things, they will always run from you.”
This principle goes hand-in-hand with principle number one by virtue of the more you give, the more good that will just find you.
#3 If You Don’t Love it, Leave it Alone
This is not only the idea that you should do what you love and a wealth of richness will follow, but the idea that you should only do things you are “karmically” comfortable doing.
“People can sell anything,” from bombs to drugs, he says, even though there are very serious ramifications to those actions. “I want to stress that making money just for the sake of getting paid is a pedestrian activity that you can rise above.”
If you don’t love it, don’t do it.
#4 Let Go of the Results
“You really have no control over the results, you have control over the action," he says. “So make sure you perform your action and your duty well.”
In the accompanying clip, he explains that he has no recollection of his very first paycheck, but says he certainly does remember making his first good record.
“All I could think is ‘when my friends hear this record’ it will make them so happy,” he reminisces. “Do things you love. Do things that you have faith will make other people happy and that will give back what you give them.”
#5 Get Open
“You want to always be open, creative and fluid as possible, and never become rigid, old or tight,” he writes, encouraging readers to let loose and lower your defenses.
And if you're thinking these principles are easy for someone worth millions to say, Aaron asks him about that too in the accompanying clip.
The Joy of Giving
Simmons' list of his successes are deep but the endeavors most important to him may be those that go along with his first principle listed above. The idea of being a “good giver.”
He is known globally for not only his business acumen, but also his commitment to philanthropy. Simmons has devoted an entire division of empire to charity and non-profit work.
Russell Simmons is also the author of New York Times best-seller, “Do You!”
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
so sad......................
Girl, three, dies of internal injuries with 73 bruises
By AUSTIN CAMOENS
newsdesk@thestar.com.my
JOHOR BARU: A three year-old girl who was brought to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital here by her estranged parents with “breathing problems” was found to have 73 bruises and scars on her body that were believed to be a result of prolonged abuse.
She was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital’s trauma and emergency unit on Sunday morning. The child died of internal bleeding.
Seri Alam OCPD Supt Roslan Zainuddin said the mother had called the child’s father at around 8.25am to say their daughter was having breathing difficulties.
“The man rushed home and brought the girl to the hospital. But she was pronounced dead on arrival,” he said.
Supt Roslan said a post mortem carried out early yesterday showed at least 73 bruises and scars on the girl’s body.
“The post mortem revealed the girl died of internal bleeding,” he said. He added that initial investigations revealed the girl’s parents were currently going through divorce proceedings.
“We have identified the main suspect in the case and will take the person into custody soon,” said Supt Roslan, adding the case has been classified as murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
He urged anyone with information on the case to contact the police hotline at 07-2212999 or visit the nearest police station.
By AUSTIN CAMOENS
newsdesk@thestar.com.my
JOHOR BARU: A three year-old girl who was brought to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital here by her estranged parents with “breathing problems” was found to have 73 bruises and scars on her body that were believed to be a result of prolonged abuse.
She was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital’s trauma and emergency unit on Sunday morning. The child died of internal bleeding.
Seri Alam OCPD Supt Roslan Zainuddin said the mother had called the child’s father at around 8.25am to say their daughter was having breathing difficulties.
“The man rushed home and brought the girl to the hospital. But she was pronounced dead on arrival,” he said.
Supt Roslan said a post mortem carried out early yesterday showed at least 73 bruises and scars on the girl’s body.
“The post mortem revealed the girl died of internal bleeding,” he said. He added that initial investigations revealed the girl’s parents were currently going through divorce proceedings.
“We have identified the main suspect in the case and will take the person into custody soon,” said Supt Roslan, adding the case has been classified as murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
He urged anyone with information on the case to contact the police hotline at 07-2212999 or visit the nearest police station.
When Unclothed Is Unfitting: Thoughts on Selling with Sex
John Piper
Jonathan Edwards once said that godly people can, as it were, smell the depravity of an act before they can explain why it evil. There is a spiritual sense that something is amiss. It does not fit in a world permeated with God.
Ephesians 5:3 says that some things "are not fitting" among saints." "Fitting-ness" is not always easy to justify with arguments. You discern it before you can defend it. That's good, because we have to make hundreds of choices every day with no time for extended reflection.
But from time to time we need to pause and give rational, biblical expression why something is not fitting. Some years ago I came to that point when, week after week, a local newspaper put scantily clad women on the second page of Section A in order to sell underclothes. I wrote a letter to the paper with nine reasons why they should stop using this kind of advertising.
Perhaps my reflections will help you deal with the hundreds of abuses of God's good gift of sexuality in our culture. Here is what I wrote.
As a 14-year subscriber and reader of the [name of paper omitted], I am writing to express the persuasion that your sexually explicit ads that often turn up in Section A are increasingly offensive and socially irresponsible. I mean that the effectiveness of catching people's attention by picturing a woman in her underclothes does not justify the ads. The detrimental effects of such mercenary misuse of the female body are not insignificant. The harm I have in mind is described in the following nine persuasions.
1. This woman could not go out in public dressed like that without being shamed or being mentally aberrant. Yet you thrust her out, even in front of those of us who feel shame for her.
2. This portrayal of a woman sitting in her underclothes at a table with a cup of tea disposes men to think of women not as persons but mainly in terms of their bodies. It stimulates young boys to dwell on unclothed women's bodies and thus lames their ability to deal with women as dignified persons. I have four sons.
3. The ad stimulates sexual desire which in thousands of men has no legitimate or wholesome outlet through marriage. In other words, it feeds a corporate, community lust that bears no good fruit outside marriage, but in fact many ills.
4. The ad makes sensibilities callous so that fewer and fewer offenses against good taste feel unacceptable, which spells the collapse of precious and delicate aspects of personhood and relationships.
5. The ad makes thousands of women subconsciously measure their attractiveness and worth by the standard of rarefied, unrealistic models, leading to an unhealthy and discouraging preoccupation with outward looks.
6. The ad feeds the prurient fantasies of ordinary men, lodging a sexual image in their minds for the day which can rob them of the ability to think about things greater and nobler than skin.
7. The ad condones the proclivity of males to mentally unclothe women by reminding them what they would see if they did, and by suggesting that there are women who want to be publicly unclothed in this way. This reminder and this suggestion support habits and stereotypes that weaken personal virtue and jeopardize decorous relationships.
8. The ad encourages young girls to put excessive focus on their bodies and how they will be looked at, adding to the epidemic of depression and eating disorders.
9. The ad contributes to dissatisfaction in men whose wives can't produce that body and thus adds to the instability of marriages and homes.
I realize that the bottom line is big bucks for page two, and lots of attention for [name of department store omitted]. But please know that at least one assessment of your standards of fitness for print is that it is part of a tragic loss of modesty and decency that may, for now, feel like mature liberation, but in generations to come will reap a whirlwind of misery for all of us.
From John Piper, A Godward Life, published by Multnomah Books.
By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
Jonathan Edwards once said that godly people can, as it were, smell the depravity of an act before they can explain why it evil. There is a spiritual sense that something is amiss. It does not fit in a world permeated with God.
Ephesians 5:3 says that some things "are not fitting" among saints." "Fitting-ness" is not always easy to justify with arguments. You discern it before you can defend it. That's good, because we have to make hundreds of choices every day with no time for extended reflection.
But from time to time we need to pause and give rational, biblical expression why something is not fitting. Some years ago I came to that point when, week after week, a local newspaper put scantily clad women on the second page of Section A in order to sell underclothes. I wrote a letter to the paper with nine reasons why they should stop using this kind of advertising.
Perhaps my reflections will help you deal with the hundreds of abuses of God's good gift of sexuality in our culture. Here is what I wrote.
As a 14-year subscriber and reader of the [name of paper omitted], I am writing to express the persuasion that your sexually explicit ads that often turn up in Section A are increasingly offensive and socially irresponsible. I mean that the effectiveness of catching people's attention by picturing a woman in her underclothes does not justify the ads. The detrimental effects of such mercenary misuse of the female body are not insignificant. The harm I have in mind is described in the following nine persuasions.
1. This woman could not go out in public dressed like that without being shamed or being mentally aberrant. Yet you thrust her out, even in front of those of us who feel shame for her.
2. This portrayal of a woman sitting in her underclothes at a table with a cup of tea disposes men to think of women not as persons but mainly in terms of their bodies. It stimulates young boys to dwell on unclothed women's bodies and thus lames their ability to deal with women as dignified persons. I have four sons.
3. The ad stimulates sexual desire which in thousands of men has no legitimate or wholesome outlet through marriage. In other words, it feeds a corporate, community lust that bears no good fruit outside marriage, but in fact many ills.
4. The ad makes sensibilities callous so that fewer and fewer offenses against good taste feel unacceptable, which spells the collapse of precious and delicate aspects of personhood and relationships.
5. The ad makes thousands of women subconsciously measure their attractiveness and worth by the standard of rarefied, unrealistic models, leading to an unhealthy and discouraging preoccupation with outward looks.
6. The ad feeds the prurient fantasies of ordinary men, lodging a sexual image in their minds for the day which can rob them of the ability to think about things greater and nobler than skin.
7. The ad condones the proclivity of males to mentally unclothe women by reminding them what they would see if they did, and by suggesting that there are women who want to be publicly unclothed in this way. This reminder and this suggestion support habits and stereotypes that weaken personal virtue and jeopardize decorous relationships.
8. The ad encourages young girls to put excessive focus on their bodies and how they will be looked at, adding to the epidemic of depression and eating disorders.
9. The ad contributes to dissatisfaction in men whose wives can't produce that body and thus adds to the instability of marriages and homes.
I realize that the bottom line is big bucks for page two, and lots of attention for [name of department store omitted]. But please know that at least one assessment of your standards of fitness for print is that it is part of a tragic loss of modesty and decency that may, for now, feel like mature liberation, but in generations to come will reap a whirlwind of misery for all of us.
From John Piper, A Godward Life, published by Multnomah Books.
By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
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