The World War II 100:

A Ranking of the Most Influential Figures of the Second World War

List below is from the book The World War II 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Figures of the Second World War, New Page Books (2006), written by Howard J. Langer.

This book will be a good birthday or X-mas gift to those who are in to military stuff/history. I like history especially about World war 2...some of the names below, i myself have never heard of them but each one is good in their own way and some who were betray. It is up to the reader to decide whether the author's list is good or not. List number 1-8, he is dead on and will not entertain any reasons why the names and ranking is there. From 9-100, he will entertain debates.

Of course the war involved more then the 100 people listed here, it is just the influential ones that made the list. List from the 'good' guys and the 'bad' guys. Decisions these people make, effect lives of others.

1 Adolf Hitler : Cruel and Cunning Nazism.

2 Franklin D. Roosevelt: Risking Impeachment.

3 Winston S. Churchill: From Defeat, Defiance Anglican

4 Joseph Stalin: Ruthless and Paranoid Russian.

5 George C. Marshall: First in War, First in Peace.

6 Isoruku Yamamoto: Planning Pearl Harbor.

7 Dwight D. Eisenhower: Leader of the Coalition.

8 Douglas MacArthur: "I Shall Return."

9 Jimmy Doolittle: The Raider from "Shangri-La"

10 Douglas Bader: Legend of the RAF

11 George S. Patton: The Fightingest Field Commander

12 Heinz Guderian: Master of the Blitzkreig

13 Albert Einstein: The Pacifist Who Won the War.

14 Harry S Truman: "The Buck Stops Here."

15 Stewart Menzies: Master of the Ultra Secret

16 Bertram Ramsay: A Miracle at Dunkirk

17 Georgi Zhukov: Stalin's Toughest General

18 Chester Nimitz: Up from the Canvas

19 Husband E. Kimmel, Walter Short: Foul-Ups---or Fall Guys?

20 Ernest J. King: "No Fighter Ever Won by Covering Up."

21 Henry L. Stimson: Bipartisanship in Time of Peril

22 Harry L. Hopkins: "Lord Root-of-the-Matter"

23 William Stephenson: The Spy in Rockefeller Center

24 William J. Donovan: American Spymaster

25 Reinhard Heydrich: Plots and Paranoia
26 William F. Halsey: The Navy's "Patton"
27 Henri Petain: The Man from Vichy
28 Alan Brooke: Churchill's "Marshall"
29 Hideki Tojo: A Time for Hara-Kiri
30 J. Robert Oppenheimer: "I Am Become Death..."
31 Wernher von Braun: Father of the V-2 Lutheran
32 Leslie R. Groves: Director of the Manhattan Project
33 Omar Bradley: The G.I.'s General
34 Arthur Harris: The 1,000-Plane Raider
35 Thomas Kinkaid: In the Spirit of John Paul Jones
36 C.A.F. Sprague: "Combustible, Vulnerable, Expendable"
37 Bernard Montgomery: He Chased the Desert Fox
38 Takeo Kurita: A Sea Battle and an Election
39 Erwin Rommel: Destination: Suez?
40 William Friedman: Shakespeare, Bacon, and the Purple Code
41 Henry H. Arnold: Champion of Airpower
42 Vasily Chuikov: Hero of Stalingrad
43 Hermann Goering: From Air Ace to War Criminal
44 Joseph Goebbels: Propagandist to the End
45 Masaharu Homma : A Question of Responsibility
46 Alfred Jodl: Unconditional Surrender
47 Konstantin Rokossovsky: The Captive Hero
48 Wilhelm Keitel: The Man Who Obeyed Orders
49 Emperor Hirohito: The Last Word state Shinto
50 Benito Mussolini: Hitler's Junior Partner Catholic
51 Charles De Gaulle: Leader of Free France
52 Joachim von Ribbentrop: The Role of the Deal-Maker
53 Vyacheslav M. Molotov: Man of the Hammer
54 Semyon Timoshenko: Rebuilder of the Red Army
55 William L. Shirer: From Reporter to Historian
56 Gerd von Rundstedt: The Fuhrer's Bluntest General
57 Friedrich von Paulus: The Field Marshal and the Corporal
58 Tomoyuki Yamashita: The Tiger of Malaya
59 Jean Darlan: Behind the North African Landings
60 Frank Knox: From Rough Rider to Navy Boss
61 Josip Broz (Tito): Guerrilla Warfare
62 Maurice Gamelin: How France Lost the War
63 Robert Murphy: A "Diplomat Among Warriors"
64 Karl Doenitz: Commander of the U-boats
65 Heinrich Himmler: The Fuhrer's Hit Man
66 Neville Chamberlain: The Great Appeaser?
67 Anthony McAuliffe: Crisis at Bastogne
68 Gustav Krupp/Alfred Krupp: The Family Business
69 Andrew Jackson Higgins: Eureka!
70 Edward R. Murrow: "This...is London."
71 Ernie Pyle: The Little Guy's War
72 Bill Mauldin: Up Front
73 Breckinridge: Long Silent Partner of the Holocaust?
74 Pietro Badoglio: Surrendering Italy
75 Francisco Franco: Prelude to a World War Catholic
76 Harold Alexander: Ike's First Choice
77 Albert Speer: The Slave Master
78 Eleanor Roosevelt/Madame Chiang: The Feminine Mystique Episcopalian/?
79 Lavrenti Beria: Scorched Earth and Non-Persons
80 Galeazzo Ciano: Mussolini's Heir Apparent
81 Eduard Benes: Humiliation at Munich
82 Wladyslaw Sikorski: Betrayal and Death
83 Joseph W. Stilwell: The Mission That Failed
84 Jonathan Wainwright: Last Message from Corregidor
85 The Sullivan Brothers/The Four Chaplains: On Brotherhood
86 Charles Lindbergh: The Isolationists' Poster Boy
87 Chiang Kai-shek: The Agony of China
88 Tadeusz Bor-Komorowski: Leader of an Underground Army
89 Claus von Stauffenberg: The Plot That Failed
90 Anne Frank: Keeping a Diary
91 Adolf Eichmann: "Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal"
92 Robert Jackson: Judgment at Nuremburg
93 Henry Morgenthau: A Plan for Germany
94 Cordell Hull: Architect of the United Nations
95 George VI/Christian X/Leopold III: Crowned Heads, Royal Symbols
96 Haile Selassie: The Plea That Failed Rastafarian deity
97 Mordecai Anielewicz: He Fought Back
98 Joseph P. Kennedy: A Controversial Ambassador
99 Paul Reynaud: A Voice in the Wilderness
100 Pope Pius XII: The Sound of Silence

Another tag...:)

Got this one from Bento Pet. Thank you...:)

Layer One: On The Outside
Name: Known as "Nightwing"
Birth Date: First year of World War 2. Real time - Born in middle of the 70's.
Current status: :)
Eye Colour: Blue. Real time - Black or dark brown??
Hair Colour: Black.
Righty or Lefty: Right.


Layer Two: On The Inside
Your Heritage: my religion
Your Fears: you really don't want to know
Your Weaknesses: my hobbies

Your Perfect Pizza: Meat lover.

Layer Three: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
Your Thoughts First Waking Up: When is the weekend starting?
Your Bedtime: Not fix.

Your Most Missed Memory:KIV - Have not thought of one yet.


Layer Four: Your Pick
Pepsi or Coke: neither
McDonald's or Burger King: McD's.
Single or Group Dates: Single
Adidas or Nike: Nike
Tea or Nestea: Tea
Chocolate or Vanilla: None of the choice given.
Cappuccino or Coffee: None of the choice given.


Layer Five: Do You...
Smoke: No and I don't enjoy breathing in secondary smoke either.
Curse: Sometimes.
Have a crush: :)
Think you've been in love: Yeah.
Go to school: :)
Want to get married: :)
Believe in yourself: Try to.

Think you're a health freak: Does not understand the question...:)


Layer Six: In The Past Month Have you...
Drank alcohol: Nope
Gone to the mall: No mall here..only shopping complex...:)
Been on stage: Yes
Eaten sushi: Ya..GF's favourite.
Dyed your hair: Not yet.


Layer Seven: Have You Ever...
Played A Stripping Game: Do they have this kind of game?
Changed Who You Were To Fit In: Nope...stay the same.

Layer Eight: You're Hoping
To Be Married: :)

For a: Companionship.


Layer Nine: In a Boy (For guys, In a Gal)
Best Eye + Best Hair Color Combination: Sorry brain does not compute.
Short Hair or Long Hair: No understand this question...:)

Layer Ten: What Were You Doing
1 Min Ago: Doing this tag
1 Hour Ago: Trying to log on.
4.5 Hours Ago: Lunch?
1 month Ago: Busy, busy, busy
1 Year Ago: Don;t recall.


Layer Eleven: Finish The Sentence
I Love: my God, my family and friends
I Feel: no comment
I Hate: people get bully.
I Hide: my emotions....:) I Miss:
I Need: $$$$$

Any one wants to join in, please feel free.

Child seeking attention in the wrong way?

Got this from the Star.

Last week, many people thought she was kidnapped and was released after the parents seek help from the media. But turns out it is not what it seems to be.

Girl lied about abduction, abuse claim
By BERNARD SEE

PENANG: Ten-year-old Recka almost had the whole country fooled when she made up a story about being abducted from a VCD shop in Market Street by a woman last week.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Azam Abd Hamid said the girl had approached a woman and told her that she was afraid to go home as her mother would beat her for playing in the rain.

“The woman, whom she befriended a few weeks earlier at the shop, took pity on her and gave her shelter at her Bandar Baru Air Itam home on Monday.

“She stayed with the woman for three days. She then felt guilty and went home when she saw her mother in the media crying and appealing to her ‘abductors’ for her safe return.

“She took a bus to Chulia Street where she was spotted by a man who handed her over to the police at about 10pm on Thursday,” he said yesterday.

ACP Azam said the police are concerned about the girl’s “state of mind,” adding that she would be sent for psychiatric evaluation at the Penang Hospital.

“Her claims of being abused by her mother were also not true as the medical check-up showed no signs of any injuries. She is a bright and healthy kid with an over- active imagination.

“We have already interviewed the woman, who took her home, and the man who found her. Statements were also taken from the parents.

“Our investigations papers have already been handed over to the deputy public prosecutor’s office for further action,” he said when met at his office.

Recka’s stepfather Ahmad Omar, 49, said he and his wife would be handing over the little girl to the Welfare Department as they found it hard to control her.

“I love her a lot but my wife and I cannot be keeping an eye on her all the time as we need to work in order to feed our family of six other children.

“I want what is best for her as I cannot be locking her up in the house. I feel that the state would be able to take better care of her,” he said when met at his Kampong Kolam home.

Lovely message...

Received this from an Aunty through SMS.

Time is like a river.
You cannot touch the same water twice,
because the flows that have passed will never pass
again...:)

Enjoy every moment of live..:)

Good day..:)

May all of you have a great week ahead.

What would u do if you were this man?

From CNN.

I probably sue left, right and center of everyone who was involve with the case. 22 years of his life gone, wasted because of overjealous cops and proscuting lawyers.

Innocent man shares his 20-year struggle behind bars

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Willie "Pete" Williams had no idea when he was pulled over by police that the criminal justice system was about to steal away half his life.


Willie "Pete" Williams, 45, spent half of his life behind bars for a 1985 rape he did not commit.

1 of 3 Sitting in the flashing glow of Atlanta squad car lights along Georgia State Road 400, the 23-year-old part-time house painter didn't know police were looking for a rapist who had struck nearby three weeks earlier.

Police questioned -- and then arrested Williams, triggering a series of mistaken witness identifications that led to his unjust conviction for rape, kidnapping and aggravated sodomy.

It was 1985 and Williams was sentenced to serve 45 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. "I felt betrayed. ... I felt like these people had taken my life for something I didn't do. I felt like I was being treated unfairly. ... I felt very, very angry towards everybody," said Williams last week, a free man after nearly 22 years behind bars.

He said he spent many of those years stoking that anger by fighting guards and inmates, while his childhood friends were developing careers and raising families. Watch Williams offer more details about his prison nightmare »

Earlier this year, after DNA science proved his innocence, the 45-year-old with a graying mustache stood again before a judge -- who this time exonerated Williams.

Williams' troubling story provokes discomfort in a nation that prides itself on a justice system where the accused are innocent until proven guilty. So far, DNA evidence has directly exonerated 208 wrongly convicted people in the United States, according to the Innocence Project. It's unknown how many prisoners now locked up in American jails could be freed by new testing of DNA evidence.

A jury of Williams' peers convicted him in the April 5, 1985, rape, kidnapping and aggravated sodomy of a woman in Atlanta's Sandy Springs neighborhood.

The victim told police her attacker first approached her to ask if she could help him find someone named Paul. Then he produced a gun and forced her into her car, according to police. They then drove to a dead-end street where the assault occurred.

Because the science behind each person's unique DNA signature was new to police in 1985, the key evidence that sealed Williams' fate was the testimony of three eyewitnesses who mistakenly said they recognized him.

"Mistaken eyewitness identification has long been the single biggest factor in the conviction of innocents," said Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project.

"That has got to be important to everybody, because if we can reform identification procedures, it will keep more innocent people out of jail and convict criminals who really commit the crimes."

As a new prisoner Williams said he fought a painful struggle against the raw deal the world had dealt him. When board members denied him parole the first of three times Williams said, "they had to escort me to 'the hole' [solitary confinement]."

"I couldn't function out there around the other inmates," Williams said. "I was mad, I was bitter. I felt the whole world just gave me up."

It wasn't until 1997 -- more than a decade after he was locked away -- that Williams' own voice freed him from the grip of his anger. At Valdosta State Prison, a close friend named Charlie Brown helped him join a Christian choir -- leading him to accept Jesus.

"Singing was like being out here, in a sense. It freed me from all the things, from all the fights, from the officers who were cruel, prison, stabbings," said Williams, who especially embraced the hymn "Amazing Grace."

After singing got a hold of Williams, he said the hardest part of his heart started to dissolve.

"I didn't feel angry anymore -- or any hate."

Witness ID
Sequential double-blind lineups are standard in:



New Jersey

Suffolk County, Massachusetts

Northhampton, Massachusetts

Madison, Wisconsin

Hennepin County, Minnesota

Ramsey County, Minnesota

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Santa Clara County, California

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Source: Innocence Project
To prevent more tragedies like Williams', innocence projects in many states, including Georgia, have begun pressing lawmakers to adopt special witness ID procedures called sequential double-blind lineups. Such lineups are administrated by officials who don't know who the suspect is and present each member of a lineup one-by-one instead of simultaneously.

Witnesses who see several potential suspects simultaneously are more likely to choose a person who looks most like the perpetrator -- but who may not actually be the perpetrator, according to the Innocence Project. The group also cites research that says misidentification is reduced if the person overseeing the lineup is "blind" to which person in the lineup is the suspect.

Georgia's Legislature held hearings Monday in Atlanta to study the research and the proposed standards, which have been adopted by New Jersey and jurisdictions in Minnesota, California and elsewhere.

Louis M. Dekmar, vice chair of the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies is skeptical of the research, but said the issue deserves further study.

"I don't believe the research is so compelling that we need to make swings and changes that don't bode well for criminal investigations and the criminal justice process," said Dekmar, a 30-year law enforcement veteran and chief of police for LaGrange, Georgia.

Dekmar argues investigators should be allowed to administer lineups to gauge reaction while they look at witness faces, to see if a witness is "stressed, weeping, nervous -- all those reactions that help detectives formulate whether this is a strong identification or a weak identification."

Williams' Case

April 5, 1985: Woman raped, kidnapped in Atlanta, Georgia



Williams arrested: April 28, 1985


Sentence: 45 years in prison

Freed: January 23, 2007

Exonerated by DNA evidence: February 13, 2007


February 10, 2007: DNA tests result in arrest and eventual conviction of Kenneth G. Wicker for the 1985 rape


Sources: Innocence Project, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Williams was convicted on the identification of three witnesses who first singled him out from a photo lineup, according to the Georgia Innocence Project.

More than 20 years later, Georgia Innocence Project attorneys arranged to compare Williams' DNA with DNA evidence collected from the 1985 rape. It was not a match, proving that Williams was not the attacker and opening the door to his release.

Shortly after Williams' exoneration, DNA science again played a role in the case when a genetic match resulted in the conviction and imprisonment of Kenneth G. Wicker for the crime that Williams had been wrongly convicted of. Years earlier Wicker had served four years in prison for another rape and two attempted sexual assaults, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

As Scheck's Innocence Project marks its 15th year, the 1995 O.J. Simpson defense attorney describes it as a movement for criminal justice as well as human rights.

"I think that it's going to be remembered for getting innocents out of jail, but also for changing the paradigm in the criminal justice system," said Scheck.

"There is a greater understanding now that sound scientific and critical research can go a long way toward proving injustice and prosecuting the guilty."

Sometimes an Innocence Project client is confirmed to be guilty by DNA evidence, but the group doesn't make the number of those cases available. Theoretically, If key DNA material in a case is properly preserved, there's no time limit on revisiting old cases, according to the Innocence Project.

Critics accuse the group of denying closure to communities and victims' families by giving new life to old cases. To that, project spokesman Eric Ferrero said, "Victims are not served by the wrong people being convicted."

Perhaps the most important victory for the project has been its role in sparing the lives of 15 people condemned to death. In 2000, 13 condemned prisoners were exonerated by a group of Northwestern University students affiliated with the Innocence Project.

Some of the innocent prisoners were freed through DNA testing, others were exonerated after new trials were ordered by appellate courts.

Those spared lives prompted then-Illinois Gov. George Ryan to declare a state moratorium on all executions and later, a blanket clemency of all 167 death row prisoners.

The moratorium remains in effect while Illinois authorities consider proposed reforms to the system.

Back in Georgia, during the ten months since Williams' friends and family welcomed him home with hugs and kisses, he's been taking his time rejoining society, attending electronics classes and dealing with his top complaint: 21st century traffic.

Williams has found a home in a church congregation and plans to join its choir, holding on to the spiritual anchor he formed in prison.

Money is tight for Williams, and, according to the Innocence Project, only 45 percent of those exonerated by DNA evidence have been financially compensated. He expects some compensation from Georgia, although the state has no law guiding such cases.

Regaining his freedom has renewed Williams' belief in the power of prayer, but he said it has done little to repair his faith in the nation's justice system. He wonders how many other Americans are still suffering injustices like his own.


"When I see someone on television when they say, 'this is a suspect,' I have a difficult time believing that that actually is a suspect," Williams said.

"That's how I'm affected now."

I LOVE this story.

Story from email. Happy reading.


A lovely story...even if you dont get the bits in tagalog....the story still comes through fine..so do spare a moment to read it.


Somewhere in Milaor, Camarines Sur, there lived a fourth grader boy who
would follow this route to school everyday: He has to cross the rugged
plains and cross the dangerous highway where vehicles are recklessly
driving to and from.

Once past this highway, the boy would take a short cut, passing by the
Church every morning just to say Hi to God, and faithfully say
his, "Magandang umaga po" in Bicol dialect. He was faithfully being
watched by a Priest who was happy to find innocence so uplifting in the
morning,

"Kamusta, Andoy? Papasok ka na?"

"Opo padre ... "he would flash his innocent grin, the priest would be
touched. He was so concerned that one day he talked to Andoy.

"From school...", he advised "Do not cross the highway, you can
pass through the Church and I can accompany you to the other side of the
road...that way I can see that you are home safe...."

"Thank you father ... "
"Why don't you go home ... why do you stay in
this church right after school?"

"I just want to say ' Hi ' to my friend, God," and the priest
would leave the boy to spend time beside the altar,
talking to himself, but the priest was hiding behind the altar to listen
to what this boy has to say to his heavenly FATHER.

"You know my math exam was pretty bad today, but I did not cheat although
my seatmate is bullying me for notes... I ate one cracker and drank my
water, Itay had a bad season and all I can eat is this cracker.

Thank you for this! I saw a poor kitten who was hungry and I know how he
feels so I gave my last cracker to him ... funny but I am not that hungry.
Look, this is my last pair of slippers ...I may have to walk barefoot next
week, you see this is about to be broken... but it is okay....at least I am
still going to school.... Some say we will have a hard season this month,
some of my classmates have already stopped going to school ..... please help
them get to school again, please God?

...Oh, you know, Inay hit me again, it is painful, but I know this pain
will pass away, at least I still have a mother.... God, you want to see my
bruises? I know you can heal them.... Here... here and ..... oh ...blood
...I guess you knew about this one huh? Please don't be mad at Inay, she
is
just tired and she worries for the food in our table and my schooling that
is why she hits us....Oh, I think I am in love ... there's this pretty girl
in my class, her
name is Anita ... do you think she will like me? Anyway, at least I know
you will always like me, I don't have to be anybody just to please you, you
are
my very best friend! Hey your birthday is two days from now!!! Aren't you
excited? I am! Wait till you see, I have a gift for you . but it is a
surprise! I hope you will like it! Oooops, I have to go ...." then he stood
up and calls out, "Padre, padre, I am finished talking to my friend ....
youcan accompany me to the other side of the road now"

This routine happens everyday. Andoy never fails. Father Agaton shares this
every Sunday to the people in his church because he has not seen a very
pure faith and trust in God, a very positive look at negative situations.

One Christmas day, Father Agaton was sick so he could not make it in the
Church, he was sent to the hospital. The Church was left to 4 manangs who
would chant the rosary in 1000 miles per hour, would not smile and would
always find fault in what you do, they were also very well versed in cursing
if you irritate them! They were kneeling, saying their kilometric rosary
when Andoy, coming from his Christmas party,playfully dashed in.

"Hello God! I ......"

"P----!! (a curse) bata ka!! Alam mo nang may nagdadasal!! Alis!!"

Poor Andoy was so terrified, "Where's Father Agaton? He is supposed to
help me cross the street ... and to be able to cross the street I will
have
to pass by the back door of this church .not only that, I have to greet
Jesus. It is His birthday, I have a gift right here....
" Just as he was about to get the gift out of his shirt, the manang pulled
his shirt and threw him out of the church. "Susmaryosep!!! (does the sign
of the cross fervently) Alis kang bata ka, kung hindi matatamaan ka!!!

So the boy had no choice but to cross the dangerous side of the road in
front of the church. He crossed. A fast moving bus came in.

There was a blind curve. The boy was protecting his gift inside his
shirt,
so he was not looking. There was so little time. Andoy died on the spot. A
lot of people crowded the poor boy, the body of a lifeless young boy ...

Suddenly, out of nowhere a tall man in a pure white shirt and pants, a
face so mild and gentle, but with eyes full of tears... He came and carried
the boy in His arms. He was crying. Curious bystanders nudged the man in
white, and asked,

"Excuse me sir, are you related to this child?

Do you know this child?"

The man in white, His face mourning and in agony, looked up and
answered,

"He was my best friend . " was all he said. He took the badly
wrapped gift in the bloody chest of the lifeless boy, and placed it near
His heart.

He stood up and carried the boy away and they both disappeared in sight.

The crowd was curious ...

On Christmas Eve, Father Agaton learned of the shocking news. He visited
the house, and wanted to verify about the man in white. He consulted the
parents of Andoy.

"How did you know that your son died?"

"A man in white brought him here." sobbed the mother. "What did
he say?"
The father answered, "He did not say anything. He was mourning. We do not
know him and yet he was very lonely about our son's death, as if he knew
our
son very well. But there was something peaceful and unexplainable about him.
He
gave me my son, and then he smiled peacefully. He brushed my son's hair
away from his face and kissed him on his forehead, then he whispered
something..."

"What did he say?"

"He said to my boy..." the father began, "Thank you for the gift
... I will see you soon ... you will be with me..." and the father
of the boy continued, "and you know for a while, it felt so

wonderful ... I cried, but I do not know why....all I know is I
cried tears of joy .... I could not explain it, Father, but when
that man left, something peaceful came over me, I felt a deep sense

of love inside ... I could not explain the joy in my heart, I knew
my boy is in heaven now but...tell me, Father, who is this man that my son
talks to everyday in your church, you should know because you are always
there ... except at the time of his death ......."Father Agaton suddenly
felt the tears welling in his eyes, with

trembling knees, he murmurred, " ... He was talking to no one .....
but .. GOD...."

If you love this story, please. pass this on to your friends.

I just did!

Update - 'Is this for real?'

From the Star.

Thank God the child was found...and yes, she was abducted (according to the news). Malaysia's version (not full version yet), NURIN alert works.

Missing girl Recka found

By BERNARD SEE

PENANG: Recka, the 10-year-old schoolgirl who went missing after going to a VCD shop in Little India on Monday, has been found.

The Year Four pupil was apparently dropped off outside a mosque in Lebuh Chulia by a bus driver, who saw her standing by the roadside in Bandar Baru Air Itam on Thursday.

According to her father Ahmad Omar, 49, his friend had spotted his daughter at 9pm while having dinner at a nasi kandar stall near the mosque.

“My friend immediately sent her to my home located barely 200m away. She cried when she saw my wife and me.

“She looks all right except for a minor bruise on her face. She told me that a woman had taken her to a flat in Bandar Baru Air Itam after abducting her,” he said.

Recka told her father she was at a VCD shop when the woman, who was not known to her, enticed her with an ice cream and took her away.

Ahmad said her daughter's abductor panicked when she saw pictures of the girl featured on the evening news and in major newspapers.
“She was bathed before being abandoned by the roadside in Bandar Baru Air Itam. Recka told me that a bus driver spotted her and gave her a ride to the mosque at no charge.

“The man left after dropping her off. I was shocked when my friend turned up at my house with my missing daughter.

“He then accompanied me to the central police station. My prayers have been answered as God has delivered my daughter back to me safely,” he said.

Recka's mother Salma Sellamah Abdullah, 41, was too happy for words. She cried tears of joy when she was approached by reporters at the Patani Road police station.

State police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Koh Hong Sun told a press conference that the girl was sent to the Penang Hospital for a check-up after she was briefly interviewed.

“We will interview her again after she has been given a clean bill of health. She will be able to shed more light on the abduction and hopefully, the identity of her abductor," he said.

Is this for real?

Got this from the Star. (I really hope this news is wrong) Come on. When will this stop? WAKE UP parents!!!!!

10-year-old girl disappears in Penang
By BERNARD SEE

PENANG: The parents of a 10-year-old schoolgirl are worried sick over the disappearance of their daughter who failed to return home after going out to buy a VCD on Sunday.

Recka, a Year Four schoolgirl, had asked for RM5 from her stepfather, Ahmad Omar, 49, to buy the VCD at about 9pm.

Ahmad, a second-hand goods trader, said she left their house in Kampong Kolam near Acheen Street here after he gave her the money.

“I began to worry when she failed to return home by midnight. I waited for her until 4am and then contacted my wife (Salma Sellamah Abdullah, 41) at work. She rushed to the Central police station to lodge a report,” he said at the station Wednesday.

Those who have seen the girl are urged to contact the Rakan COP hotline (04-2691 999).

Parent's sacrifice...

Got this from CNN.

Where ever you go with children, please remind them of the dangers of the place.

Parents drown rescuing children.
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Four parents drowned as they helped rescue their children from the sea off Portugal, the British Foreign Office confirmed to CNN Tuesday.

The four tourists -- three Britons and one German -- rushed into the Atlantic Ocean along with at least three other adults after their children got into difficulties in the surf on a beach near Sagres, around 120 miles south of Lisbon, according to reports in the Portuguese media.

Some of the adults managed to push the children back into shore but others were swept away themselves in the strong Atlantic currents, according to the daily paper Diario de Noticias.

One died in the sea and three others were pulled to the shore, where emergency workers were unable to revive them, the paper reported.

Three other adults required hospital treatment and one of them remains hospitalized, the spokeswoman said.

A British Foreign Office spokeswoman said among those who died were a British couple with two children. She said arrangements were being made to fly out relatives of the orphaned children, who were being looked after by the other families involved in the incident.

Another of those who died was a British mother of two, the spokeswoman told CNN.

No information was immediately available about the German who died.

An official from the British consulate in nearby Portimao had traveled to the scene to provide assistance to the victims, she said.

The three British victims all came from the town of Wootton Bassett, in the southwest of England, according to reports in the British newspaper The Guardian.

The paper reported that the adults had drowned off Tonel beach in the resort town of Sagres, in the far southwest of Portugal. The spot is popular with surfers because of the Atlantic swell but suffers from dangerous rip currents, the paper said.

Golf..

On Sunday, played in a golf competition (invited guest section). Its a yearly event, my golf club's open tournament. It is a 3 day event.

The day before (2nd day of competition), one guy scored a Hole-in-one in a par 3 hole, the prize was a New Toyota Camry and Persona (Latest model of Proton). He is a player from Kudat. The $$ worth of the prize was about RM300k (i may be wrong), just heard conversations among other golfers.

On the same hole, first day (Friday)...this player hit 2 shots into the pond (same hole, which he scored the ace). I guessed he must use that as a practise for him to score the hole in one.

One of the players playing with me saw the whole thing, cause he was the course marshal for day 1 and 2. He said the shot landed perfectly and roll straight to the hole. The player himself did not even realise it. I can guess he must have wished the competition ended that day itself...:)

Any way, i had a chance at the hole too....:) it landed on the green but rolled away...missed my chance to share the prize..haha.

Yesterday was the longest golf competition i ever played...finished about 5-6 hours after i start. Due to a lot of waiting when we crossed over to the second 9. I played ok for my first 9, used only 3 wood and iron. But due to the long wait at the second 9, blew 2 holes...hense the chance of winning something.

Shot of the day ....there was one hole really played like Tiger Wood. After i tee off, still got about 200 meters to the green. There were ppl on the green, I asked an Uncle (who was in the same group with me), can i hit the shot? He said....for u, better don;t. Ok, i took his advice. After the green was clear, i hit the ball...it went straight and landed on the green (where the players were before). I said wow....that was my first time using a 3 wood and hit so far.

Thankfully did not spoil that hole, got a par for it...:) hehe...only one hole that i play like Tiger Woods la..hehe. The rest is rojak.

After finished my round, had shower..waited for the championship group to come back. Only 3 something baru we get to eat. For me i shot a 48-50, handicap 20...final score 78. Not bad for me...cause the last competition i shot a 112.

All in one accept for the long wait and 2 bad holes...i think i did alright..:) And of course my brother played better...he scored 48-47, handicap 20...final score 75. Had he played better, could have won something...i think he missed by 3 strokes. Never mind, at least it will keep his hunger for getting better there...which is a good thing. Hopefully next July he will get to play in World Junior Championship in San Diego.

As for me, as long as i can lower my handicap...i be happy..:)

Something to start the week with...:)

I could not contend myself when i was reading it. Enjoy....

AND THESE LAWYERS ACTUALLY CHARGE HUNDREDS AN HOUR FOR THEIR SERVICES .

Actual court recordings

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are
things people actually said in court, word for word,
taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of
staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.


ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.

____________________________________________________________
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

______________________________________
ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example! of
some thing you forgot?

_____________________________________
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said
to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan!

______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.

______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his
sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

____________________________________
ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: Uh, he's twenty-one.

________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Do you really know what you said?

______________________________________
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Uh.... I was gett'in laid!

______________________________________
ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Are you joking? Your Honor, I think I
need a different attorney. Can I get a new Attorney?

______________________________________
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Now whose death do you suppose terminated it?

______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Guess.

_____________________________________
ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a
deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you
performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead
people. Would you like to rephrase that?

______________________________________
ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What
school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.

______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering
why I was doing an autopsy on him!

____________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh....are you qualified to ask that question?

______________________________________
And the best for last:

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy,
did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient
was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still
been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been
alive and practicing law.

Congratulations to Feli...

Would like to post a shout out to a blogger friend, Feli, who is based in Australia.

Beside working full time, she also sells things on the net and do a lot of creative stuffs. One of which are beading. She just got featured in an online beading magazine, called Beading Daily.

She is one creative lady. Congratulations Feli. The best is yet to come. Keep it up....:)

Amazing story..

Got this from MSN. God's angels must have protected him.

Autistic teen found alive in woods after 4 days
Hiker reunited with his family after getting lost in W. Virginia wilderness

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - An autistic 18-year-old lost in the wilderness for four days was found sleeping under a bush Thursday, weak but apparently fine, and reunited with his family, searchers said.

“To the best of our knowledge, he was just hungry and thirsty and fatigued,” Jim Reneau, one of the nine searchers who found Jacob Allen, said at a news conference at the command post near Davis, about 150 miles south of Pittsburgh.

Allen, who wandered away from his parents while hiking Sunday, was found lying in a clearing about a mile from where his hat was found Monday.

Allen, who has the mental capacity of a 3- or 4-year-old, opened his eyes and rolled over to meet his rescuers when Reneau’s son, Jeremy Reneau, called out his name.

“He was very quiet, he was nonverbal,” said Jeremy Reneau, 25, the first to spot Allen. “But you could tell by his body language he was hungry.”

Rescuers fed him candy bars and peanut butter sandwiches and tried to walk him out of the wooded Dolly Sods Wilderness Area, part of the Monongahela National Forest. When he became too tired, they carried him out on a litter, Reneau said.

“The family is all together,” search group spokesman Chris Stadelman said. “As soon as they heard the report he was alive and doing fairly well, they gathered in a prayer circle.”

Allen was in good condition Thursday night at Davis Memorial Hospital in Elkins, where he was to be kept overnight for observation, hospital spokesman Bill Phillips said.

“I think the whole state’s relieved,” said Lara Ramsburg, spokeswoman for Gov. Joe Manchin, who visited the Allen family Wednesday night. “We’re all relieved for him and his family.”

Allen wandered away from his parents Sunday afternoon. Hundreds of volunteers and trained professionals had been combing the woods, calling for him to come to them for candy bars, ice cream and other food.

Allen had no food or water with him, but Stadelman had said there were natural water sources in the search area, which consists of about 10 square miles of often steep and brush-covered terrain.

Overnight temperatures dropped to as low as 38 degrees on the nights Allen was missing. He was wearing hiking boots, a long-sleeved T-shirt, a wind jacket and wind pants.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

I blog because...

Got this from Puteri. Please feel free to join in.

**Start Copy Here**

We have a voice;

We must be heard;

Therefore we blog;

Now spread the word!

This meme is based on a recent post that was conducted asking the question “Why do you Blog?” and the rewrite “Why do you Blog? - Reworked.” The purpose of this meme is to tell our tales by spreading the reasons that we blog to as many sites as possible. We get to explain ourselves, direct traffic to our site and highlight our most important, most representative or most relevant post in an SEO favorable format. This will be a positive experience for everyone who wants to get involved. This will enable you to create a short advertisement for your site that will be spread across the blogesphere; a growing directory of blogs.

This is an open meme. You do not have to be tagged to join in. All you have to do is follow the rules.

Please let me know when you have added your site by leaving a comment on “Complete List” with a link to your post. This will insure an up-to-date list, giving you even greater distribution. You then have the option of copying the growing list back to your site.

Rules:
1. Create an inventive post title.

2. Write a brief introduction to the meme.

3. Copy from “**Start Copy Here**” through “**End Copy Here**” .

4. Paste into your post.

5. At the end of the “*list*”, before “**End copy here**”, please add your name, site name (with link), a very brief description (2-3 sentences) of why you blog, and your most important, most representative, or most relevant post (with link.)

6. Tag at least 5 others to participate.

7. Leave a comment and a link to your post on “Complete List”

*List*

My name is Mel and I am the Author of Attitude, the Ultimate Power, aka Monday Morning Power. I blog because I am passionate about happiness and living in the moment. I want to spread the concept that we are in control of our own lives and can choose how we act and react. My site is focused on the Pursuit, Capture, Care and Feeding of a Positive Mental Attitude. One of my most representative posts is “Happiness Vs. Human Nature.”

I am Max and I offer weekly articles on MAX. Why do I blog? I do it because I want to share my thoughts with you guys. I present a new and interesting way of transmitting philosophical thoughts: funny, engaging and intriguing! My funniest, yet intriguing, post is “Don’t you just love People?“

I am the Great and Powerful Baba Doodlius. My 100% factual blog The Thoughts and Sayings Of Baba Doodlius is intended to educate all of you curious readers about the Truth behind the Great Secrets of the Universe. I have the Truth! Can you handle the Truth? For a sample of my powers of enlightenment, read my Revelation of the terrible secret of Bigfoot, aka Don’t get stepped on.

My name is Amelia and I am the Author of Amel’s Realm. I blog because I need to voice everything in my world so that I won’t explode. My site is all about thoughts, experiences, fears, problems, misadventures, hopes, and dreams of an introverted tropical girl in a foreign land (Finland). One of my most representative posts is On Trust and Relationship.

I am Geoff of Geoffandcarley.com and I blog for reasons as diverse and as fickle as my moods. Mostly I blog because I’m firmly convinced I’ve figured a few things out and that the world will benefit from my experience the same way I’ve benefited from others’ experiences. One post that I feel captures my emotional involvement and my ire (but not my humor as much) is Decision time.

My name is Judy and I am the Author of ~~Sugar Queen’s Dream~~. I blog because it’s cheap therapy and I have something to say. I feel my most powerful post is called “The Myths of Smoking……”

My name is Sindi and I have written a blog entitled Life is a roller coaster!. My blog is based on the ups and downs of everyday life. I started blogging because I was going through some hard times and I wanted to meet new people to talk to. I like to write and was hoping people might enjoy reading what I have to say. I think the most inspiring post I have written to date is We Effect So Many.

People call me the Midgetmanofsteel (although I’m neither a midget, nor made of steel). I am the sole author the blog Mental Poo: a mostly true and humorous account of things that have happened to me, are happening to me, or are just filling my head and taking up valuable space where images of women should be. You can get a sneak peek into my mess of a brain by reading “Raisins are People” – a true account of my son’s first field trip.

My name is Sandee and I have a blog called Comedy Plus. My blog is just for fun, and I started it to poke fun about everyday life. My reason for blogging is to have fun and meet new friends. I have done both beyond my wildest dreams. I have posted lots of jokes, but when ask what my favorite joke is, I always pick Anger Management.

My name is Lynda. I blog to as a way to expose my writings and to spread my knowledge on the subject of love. My primary blog (I have 15) is lynda’s loft. My favorite piece would be I LOVE….. I have over 300 original poems and posts dealing with the wonderful and painful world of love. I love love!

My name Adrian, although most of you probably know me as the Mighty Genie King. I am the author First Time Dad. I started blogging as a way to document my growing up pains as my wife and I raise our daughter. I hope that one day my daughter will be able to look at this and get an idea what life was like “back then”. Now I blog about everything but the main focus is still the same! One of my favorite posts is Goodnight Sweetheart! Hello Basil! Eh…Who’s Basil…

Hello, my name is Ann and I’m the author of A Nice Place in the Sun. I blog because I care about people and want to make them happy. My site is focused on humorous, inspiring, and nostalgic posts about life, children, and memories. My most representative post, or the post where I’m most myself is “The Craziest Experience Of My Life.

“We are a team of writers, and everyone calls us NAFA, so that would be our name. We are the proud authors of NAFASG©™ - United And Dedicated Behind You™. Blogging, to us, is a form of spreading useful information and sharing our knowledge to every part of the world in order to contribute to the betterment of our global community. The post that we feel would be representative of our blog and the global community at large is The Sociological Interaction.

Hola! This is Mariuca and I blog because writing is what makes me whole. I write about anything under the sun from life, love, friends to cats and work. I tend to write best when under pressure and my personal favourite post from Mariuca is Love in Disarray.

My name is Susan and I am the Owner of ~~Wake up America ~~, which is a political, right leaning blog. I blog because I believe we need more voices out there to separate fact from fiction, to support our troops and to high light the lack of ethics from journalists today. I feel my most powerful post is called “Are You Proud to be an American……“

“Here I am My name is Mauro and I’m the author of 1 Million Love Messages … maybe the biggest love challenge in the blogosphere. Why I blog ??? Because I believe that bloggers can make a difference in the world. That’s my challenge! My favourite post it’s (for sure) Adam Donkus & Lizzie’s Love History.

“Hi there World I am Aussie, the author of Little Aussie Cynic and I want to Breathe among others. I was recently asked:”Why Do you Blog?” this takes me back to the beginning… I started blogging in an attempt to get people thinking, using my cynical humour as a tool to make people laugh, think and at times get the blood pumping…. Each of my Blogs takes in a little peice of my varied personality but the one which discribes me best would have to be There is Always a Natural Way the latest edition to the Aussie Cynic Family…

I am Zubli Zainordin, in Total Happiness, I organize the Book Project blog and co-author Santa’s Community Blog and Hall Of Fame Blog. I blog with the purpose of documenting about my self for my own reference, my future generations and friends who prefer to know me. I also share vital and valuable information entirely on total happiness. I believe in Santa Claus and I share the Spirit of Christmas within this Blog World. In addition I promote bloggers, their blogs, and invite them to share their blogging experiences, and together with Shinade, I review their blogs and award them with the Zubli and Shinade Recommended Read awards. Those who continuously show continuous blogging improvements shall be residence of the Hall Of Fame blog.

Hi! My name is Crystal, my middle name actually. I am the author of Choc Mint Girl. I started to blog because I need my own space to ‘just write’, but what I find here is quite inspiring and I am amazed at how many different bloggers with different approach ended up as great friends and inspire each other. It doesn’t matter what I blog about as long as the two parties find the connection in one another, that will be the best reason of why do I actually blog. I guess my most relevant post is my very first innocent post, Getting Started.

Hi, Genny is here. I am the happymomiam in the world of blogging. I am the author of My Life’s Adventure, Wonderful Things In Life, and The Beauty of Life. I blog because i like to share some of my experiences in life about my family and friends. I like to give some encouragement knowing that everybody needs people who can comfort them. My most relevant posts are all the quotes & encouraging food for thoughts.

My name is Darlene.I am a stay home wife & mommy to our two year old adorable son.I’ve got three sites that’s called My Life,My World,Mommy’s Gibble Gabbles & Author’s Sweet Life.I blog because i want to share to my friends my experiences of what kind of life i have in here since i got here in United States Of America being with my family & how grateful i am having them in my life.

My name is Angie and a stay at home mom to handful soon-to-be 10 month-old son Casey James. A wife to a wonderful guy who loves golf all his life before we met. I blog because it’s a comfort zone to someone like me who’s living in place miles away from my real home. I have several blogs that I give much of my attention to namely, The Simple Times In Life, The Daily Matters, Shop Online, Daily Digest and Glittery Report among others. The most recent relevant post that I can share would be For those who love the Philosophy of Ambiguity.

Hi, I’m Puteri. I’m a stay-at-home mom to two pre-schoolers, and run a long arm machine quilting business from home. I blog because it is a form of documenting my life. I have never really kept a diary and blogging is as good as keeping a diary. I have six blogs - Puteri’s Musings, Puteri’s Musings 2, Puteri’s Musings 3, and Health and Beauty Notes, are four of them. My favorite post is D-I-V-O-R-C-E, because that was my second post when I first started blogging and one of the main reasons for me to start blogging. I needed to put into words the way I felt when my dear friends went through a divorce.

Helo, Nightwing here. Always wonder about the world of blogging and what it was all about. So i gave it a go and thus Carpe Diem was born. After only a few months of blogging, have made many new friends around the world. I like to read books and have also use my blog to post book reviews. Here is one example of it. Happy blogging.

**End Copy Here**

Euro 2008 - England vs Russia

Today England faces Russia (home ground) in a must win game in order to advance to Euro 2008. The last time they met (1 or 2 months ago) was in England and the match was won by England (3-0).

The score line may indicate it was an easy game but it was not. Russia may have play bad that day but they did not give up without a fight. England team is on the alert. Although there are some set backs, some key players are injured. But if they performed like they did against Estonia...i think England will have a chance.

Play with heart and not with ego, do not be let astray by mind games..i.e simply get yellow or red cards.

All the best England.

ESPN

Three hours after delivering a Churchillian battle speech, England coach Steve McClaren was forced into a damage limitation exercise after skipper John Terry was all but ruled out of tomorrow's crucial European Championship qualifier with Russia.


In calling for heroics and inspiration, McClaren might as well have been pointing to his captain, who was addressing a different audience at exactly the same time at the Kempinski Hotel.


But the words, delivered in the shadow of Red Square and the Kremlin, where so many intriguing plots have been played out over the years, were undermined almost immediately as news of Terry's injury filtered out.

'John Terry is almost certainly ruled out of tomorrow's match,' said McClaren in a statement issued from the Luzhniki Stadium.

'His knee locked towards the end of training and he could not complete the session.'

While the decision to replace Terry with Sol Campbell, the skipper's deputy during Saturday's 3-0 win over Estonia at Wembley is easy enough, the damage to morale by the unwanted development could run far deeper.

McClaren had expected to be without Terry from the moment he initially injured his knee on Wednesday, feeling 24 hours later the Chelsea man 'had no chance'.

However, the problem eased sufficiently over the weekend for Terry to convince McClaren he could make the trip and the England coach confirmed in his pre-injury briefing the 27-year-old would play provided he suffered no further reaction.

The note of caution has proved painfully prophetic, leaving Terry to contemplate the possibility of an operation in what has been a bad week for Chelsea on the England front given Ashley Cole will miss tomorrow's encounter after being stretchered off against Estonia with a nasty-looking ankle injury.

It means Campbell will now be required to step in and do something that has proved beyond the veteran Portsmouth defender since January, namely play two full games in the space of five days.

At least the 33-year-old has some recent international match practice behind him now after ending his 15-month England exile at the weekend.

But with Joleon Lescott expected to make his first senior start at left-back in place of Cole, it does place added strain on a defence which could end up being the best form of attack as England chase the win which would seal a place in Austria and Switzerland next summer.

What it does not do is diminish in any way the requirements McClaren laid out for his team as they bid to build on the feelgood factor generated by their rugby union counterparts' recent World Cup heroics in France.

'We will have to be organised, we will have to be disciplined and we will have to be in control individually and collectively,' McClaren said.

'And the key thing is the inspiration, the commitment, the attitude and the leadership.

'We need one of the performances we saw at the weekend from the rugby team, the kind of performance we have seen from many an England football team in recent years; Istanbul and Rome come to mind.

'We need heroes out. The players know the importance. They know what is required. They have to deliver that.'

For all the unwanted reshuffling caused by Terry's absence, almost uniquely, McClaren is in the happy position of being the least pressurised of the two managers.

While victory would take England through, a draw would leave Russia in the unenviable position of needing to beat Israel in Tel Aviv and then hope Croatia can defeat McClaren's side at Wembley on the same night as they dispose on Andorra on home soil in their final game.

It is a healthy situation for the visitors and one that could hardly have been envisaged when England were lambasted by their own fans as they laboured against Andorra six short months ago.

Five straight 3-0 wins have sorted that problem out, although McClaren insisted he was never that concerned.

'Four or five games ago, so many people doubted we would be in this position,' he observed.

'But I always said the last five games would be critical.

'We have put ourselves in pole position. We have come here knowing a draw is a good result but we are coming here to win. Our performances in recent games bode well. Russia have to worry about us, not the other way round. They are the ones who have to win.

'But if we are to go on and do well ourselves, we have to deal with these situations.

'If we can't come through matches like this and get a result, we won't go anywhere.'

Michelle Wie...

It has not being a good year for young lady golfer Michelle Wie (18 years old). Beside injury problems, also had PR (public relation) problems and now a person hired to managed her, resigned..after less then a year.

Her golf season for the year is over. She should continue her college life and regain her love for the golf and be prepare for next year. She has got the talent but who ever has been pushing her to compete with the men's (PGA tour)....have to rethink again.

Let her play LPGA and win some competitions first like Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel. Even Brazilan Korean Angela Park (19 years old)is having a good year. Might even be rookie of the year.

Let the love of the game flow into her again. And forget about this year. And also forget about playing at the men's tour. Win tournaments and win back the fans. Otherwise she will only be another child phenom...whose potential was never realise because of ......interference.

She is fast lossing support from fans. Even the latest Sam sung tournament, she was not meant to be there if it was based on her performance this year. If not because early this year the sponsors already gave her an 'automatic' spot.
NOTE: Out of 20 players, she got 19th placing.

Prior to the tournament they offer it to Annika Sorenstam
(also not having a good year) but she decline...She said the slot should be given to 'deserving' players.

That is what i call sportsmanship. Hats off to you Ms Annika.


ESPN

The losses for Michelle Wie keep piling up even though her LPGA Tour season is over. The latest came Monday when her agent resigned after less than a year on the job.

Story

Greg Nared, a former Nike business manager whom the William Morris Agency hired a year ago to manage Wie, resigned as vice president of golf. His announcement came one day after Wie finished 19th in a 20-player field at the Samsung World Championship.

"After careful consideration for my future, I have resigned effective immediately," Nared said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. "I'm very grateful to the William Morris Agency for the opportunity to work with world-class athletes. It has been an invaluable experience and I'll forever cherish [it]."

Nared declined to elaborate when contacted before flying home to Oregon. Jill Smoller, to whom Nared reported at William Morris, did not immediately return a call.

"While we are sorry that Greg will no longer be handling the road management of Michelle, we wish to thank him for his work and wish him the best going forward," Jesse Derris, a spokesman for the Wie family, said in a statement. "The core group of agents handling Michelle's business relationships remains intact, as it has from day one of her professional career."

Wie, a Stanford freshman who celebrated her 18th birthday Thursday, played her eighth and final LPGA event at Samsung. She ended her season with a 76.7 scoring average, broke par only twice, failed to record a single round in the 60s and made only two cuts (with a 20-player field, Samsung did not have a cut).

Wie turned pro in October 2005 and was managed by Ross Berlin, a former PGA Tour executive hired by the William Morris Agency as Wie's agent.

Berlin had disagreements with Wie's parents on her schedule, particularly in late 2006 when Wie was taken out of her senior year at Punahou School in Honolulu to play a European Tour men's event in Switzerland, then the following week outside Pittsburgh on the PGA Tour at the 84 Lumber Classic. She finished last in both events.

Berlin resigned after the Samsung last year and returned to the tour. He was replaced by Nared, a former Maryland basketball player who had been a constant presence around Wie when he worked at Nike and was well-liked by the teenager and her family. Wie signed endorsement deals with Nike and Sony when she turned pro.

Nared quietly endured the heavy criticism that followed Wie during her most tumultuous year.

He was the in middle of her biggest controversy at the Ginn Tribute in South Carolina in the spring, conferring with her on the 16th tee moments before she withdrew. Wie was 14 over par through 16 holes when she quit, and it appeared as though she was trying to avoid the LPGA's "Rule 88," in which nonmembers are ineligible for one year if they shoot 88 or higher.

Wie then showed up at Bulle Rock two days later to practice for the McDonald's LPGA Championship, and Annika Sorenstam harshly denounced the move as disrespectful.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

When will they ever learn...

Last month it was express buses. And now, few days ago a ferry caught fire on the way to Pulau Tioman. When will they ever learn. Cause of the fire, now baru check on the ferries nation wide. Whether they are legal ferries or not.

Only when there are lost of lives baru 'check this, check that'. And this is supposed to be Visit Malaysia year.


Survivors want answers from authorities

17.10.2007.

New Straits Times

Survivors of the ferry which caught fire and sank while on its way to Pulau Tioman last Saturday have questions.

Ng Soon Tiong, 41, who was part of a 24-member family holiday group that included 10 children, said the family wanted the parties involved to explain how the tragedy could have happened.

Ng's uncle, Hong See Tiew, 53, and aunt, Teh Siew Lian, 52, were two of the four killed.

"I want answers from the ferry company, Marine Department, travel agent and, especially, the Transport Ministry.

"I want to know how a ferry with an expired shipping permit, no insurance, insufficient life jackets and supposedly blacklisted by the authorities was left to run its course until now," Ng said at the DAP headquarters after attending the funeral of Hong and Teh.

Also present was Ng's brother-in-law, Tan Chee Hee, who was among those on board the ferry.

Tan claimed that the life jacket he grabbed for his son was later found to be faulty when they hit the waters. Fortunately, they were picked up by a boat 30 minutes later.

"The crew members of Seagull Express 2 were incompetent. When my brother-in-law and I pulled the bodies of our uncle and aunt onto the rescue boat, we had urged the crew to perform first aid.

"But they refused, claiming that they did not know how," said Tan, who was shocked by their answer as he had thought that first-aid training was a must for all seamen.

Ng's wife, Sylvia Lucas, said the ferry's design should also be scrutinised as it lacked proper emergency exits.

What the Modern Woman Wants

Another story from email..

It's worthwhile taking 5 mins to read this essay.

Singapore girl wins Commonwealth essay prize!

A 15-YEAR-OLD Singaporean, competing against 16- to 18-year-olds, has
won the top prize in a writing contest that drew 5,300 entries from 52 countries.

In the annual Commonwealth Essay Competition, Amanda Chong of Raffles Girls' School (Secondary) chose to compete in the older category and won with a piece on the restlessness of modern life.

Her short story, titled What The Modern Woman Wants, focused on the conflict in values between an old lady and her independent-minded daughter.

'Through my story, I attempted to convey the unique East-versus-West struggles and generation gaps that I felt were characteristic of young people in my country,' said Amanda, who likes drama, history and literature and wants to become a lawyer and a politician.

Chief examiner Charles Kemp called her piece a 'powerfully moving and ironical critique of modern
restlessness and its potentially cruel consequences'. The writing is fluent and assured, with excellent use of dialogue.

Amanda gets (S$1,590). A Singaporean last won the top prize in 2000, said Britain 's Royal Commonwealth
Society, which has been organising the competition since 1883. Singaporeans also came in second in the
14- to 15-year-old category, and fourth in the under-12s. Other winners included students from
Australia, Canada and South Africa .
==================================================================
What the Modern Woman Wants
By Amanda Chong Wei-Zhen

The old woman sat in the backseat of the magenta convertible as it careened down the highway, clutching
tightly to the plastic bag on her lap, afraid it may be kidnapped by the wind. She was not used to such
speed, with trembling hands she pulled the seatbelt tighter but was careful not to touch the patent
leather seats with her callused fingers, her daughter had warned her not to dirty it, 'Fingerprints show
very clearly on white, Ma.'

Her daughter, Bee Choo, was driving and talking on her sleek silver mobile phone using big words the old
woman could barely understand. 'Finance' 'Liquidation' 'Assets' 'Investments'... Her voice was crisp and
important and had an unfamiliar lilt to it. Her Bee Choo sounded like one of those foreign girls on
television. She was speaking in an American accent. The old lady clucked her tongue in disapproval.

'I absolutely cannot have this. We have to sell!' Her daughter exclaimed agitatedly as she stepped on the
accelerator; her perfectly manicured fingernails gripping onto the steering wheel in irritation.

'I can't DEAL with this anymore!' she yelled as she clicked the phone shut and hurled it angrily toward
the backseat. The mobile phone hit the old woman on the forehead and nestled soundlessly into her lap.
She calmly picked it up and handed it to her daughter.

'Sorry, Ma,' she said, losing the American pretence and switching to Mandarin. 'I have a big client in
America. There have been a lot of problems.'

The old lady nodded knowingly. Her daughter was big and important.

Bee Choo stared at her mother from the rear view window, wondering what she was thinking.
Her mother's wrinkled countenance always carried the same cryptic look.

The phone began to ring again, an artificially cheerful digital tune, which broke the awkward
silence.

'Hello, Beatrice! Yes, this is Elaine.' Elaine. The old woman cringed. I didn't name her Elaine.
She remembered her daughter telling her, how an English name was very important for 'networking',
Chinese ones being easily forgotten.

'Oh no, I can't see you for lunch today. I have to take the ancient relic to the temple for her weird
daily prayer ritual.'

Ancient Relic. The old woman understood perfectly it was referring to her. Her daughter always assumed
That her mother's silence meant she did not comprehend.

'Yes, I know! My car seats will be reeking of joss sticks!'
The old woman pursed her lips tightly, her hands gripping her plastic bag in defence.
The car curved smoothly into the temple courtyard. It looked almost garish next to the dull sheen of the
ageing temple's roof. The old woman got out of the back seat, and made her unhurried way to the main
hall. Her daughter stepped out of the car in her business suit and stilettos and reapplied her lipstick as she
made her brisk way to her mother's side.
'Ma, I'll wait outside. I have an important phone call to make,' she said, not bothering to hide her disgust
at the pungent fumes of incense.

The old lady hobbled into the temple hall and lit a joss stick, she knelt down solemnly and whispered her
now familiar daily prayer to the Gods.

Thank you God of the Sky, you have given my daughter luck all these years. Everything I prayed for, you
have given her. She has everything a young woman in this world could possibly want. She has a big house
with a swimming pool, a maid to help her, as she is too clumsy to sew or cook. Her love life has been blessed; she is engaged to a rich and handsome angmoh man. Her company is now the top financial firm and even men listen to what she says. She lives the perfect life. You have given her everything except happiness. I ask that the gods be merciful to her even if she has lost her roots while reaping the harvest of success.

What you see is not true - she is a filial daughter to me. She gives me a room in her big house and provides
well for me. She is rude to me only because I affect her happiness. A young woman does not want to be
hindered by her old mother. It is my fault.

The old lady prayed so hard that tears welled up in her eyes. Finally, with her head bowed in reverence
she planted the half-burnt joss stick into an urn of smouldering ashes. She bowed once more.

The old woman had been praying for her daughter for thirty-two years. When her stomach was round like a
melon, she came to the temple and prayed that it was a son. Then the time was ripe and the baby slipped out of her womb, bawling and adorable with fat thighs and pink cheeks, but unmistakably, a girl. Her husband had kicked and punched her for producing a useless baby who could not work or carry the family name.

Still, the woman returned to the temple with her new-born girl tied to her waist in a sarong and prayed
that her daughter would grow up and have everything she ever wanted. Her husband left her and she prayed
that her daughter would never have to depend on a man. She prayed every day that her daughter would be a great woman, the woman that she, meek and uneducated, could never become. A woman with nengkan; the ability to do anything she set her mind to. A woman who commanded respect in the hearts of men. When she opened her mouth to speak, precious pearls would fall out and men would listen.

She will not be like me, the woman prayed as she watched her daughter grow up and drift away from her,
speaking a language she scarcely understood. She watched her daughter transform from a quiet girl, to
one who openly defied her, calling her laotu; old-fashioned. She wanted her mother to be 'modern', a
word so new there was no Chinese word for it.

Now her daughter was too clever for her and the old woman wondered why she had prayed like that.
The gods had been faithful to her persistent prayer, but the wealth and success that poured forth so richly had
buried the girl's roots and now she stood, faceless, with no identity, bound to the soil of her ancestors
by only a string of origami banknotes.

Her daughter had forgotten her mother's values. Her wants were so ephemeral; that of a modern woman.
Power, wealth, access to the best fashion boutiques, and yet her daughter had not found true happiness.
The old woman knew that you could find happiness with much less. When her daughter left the earth everything
she had would count for nothing. People would look to her legacy and say that she was a great woman, but she
would be forgotten once the wind blows over, like the ashes of burnt paper convertibles and mansions. The old woman wished she could go back and erase all her big hopes and prayers for her daughter; now she had only one want: That her daughter be happy. She looked out of the temple gate. She saw her daughter speaking on the phone, her brow furrowed with anger and worry. Being at the top is not good, the woman thought, there is only one way to go from there - down.

The old woman carefully unfolded the plastic bag and spread out a packet of beehoon in front of the altar.
Her daughter often mocked her for worshipping porcelain Gods. How could she pray to them so
faithfully and expect pieces of ceramic to fly to her aid? But her daughter had her own gods too, idols of
wealth, success and power that she was enslaved to and worshipped every day of her life. Every day was a quest for the idols, and the idols she worshipped counted for nothing in eternity. All the wants her daughter had would slowly suck the life out of her and leave her, an empty soulless shell at the altar.

The old lady watched her joss tick. The dull heat had left a teetering grey stem that was on the danger of collapsing. Modern woman nowadays, the old lady sighed in resignation, as she bowed to the east one final time to end her ritual. Modern woman nowadays want so much that they lose their souls and wonder why they cannot find it.

Her joss stick disintegrated into a soft grey powder. She met her daughter outside the temple, the same look
of worry and frustration was etched on her daughter's face. An empty expression, as if she was ploughing
through the soil of her wants looking for the one thing that would sow the seeds of happiness. They climbed into the convertible in silence and her daughter drove along the highway, this time not as fast as she had done before.

'Ma,' Bee Choo finally said. 'I don't know how to put this. Mark and I have been talking about it and we
plan to move out of the big house. The property market is good now, and we managed to get a buyer willing to
pay seven million for it. We decided we'd prefer a cosier penthouse apartment instead. We found a perfect
one in Orchard Road . Once we move in to our apartment we plan to get rid of the maid, so we can have more
space to ourselves...'

The old woman nodded knowingly.

Bee Choo swallowed hard. 'We'd get someone to come in to do the housework and we can eat out-but once the maid is gone, there won't be anyone to look after you. You will be awfully lonely at home and, besides that,

the apartment is rather small. There won't be space. We thought about it for a long time, and we decided
the best thing for you is if you moved to a Home. There's one near Hougang-it's a Christian home, a very
nice one.'

The old woman did not raise an eyebrow.

'I've been there, the matron is willing to take you in. It's beautiful with gardens and lots of old people to keep you company! I hardly have time for you, you'd be happier there.' 'You'd be happier there, really.' Her daughter repeated as if to affirm herself.

This time the old woman had no plastic bag of food offerings to cling tightly to; she bit her lip and
fastened her seat belt, as if it would protect her from a daughter who did not want her anymore. She sunk
deep into the leather seat, letting her shoulders sag, and her fingers trace the white seat.

'Ma?' her daughter asked, searching the rear view window for her mother. 'Is everything okay?'

What had to be done, had to be done. 'Yes,' she said firmly, louder than she intended, 'if it will make you
happy,' she added more quietly.

'It's for you, Ma! You'll be happier there. You can move there tomorrow, I already got the maid to pack
your things.' Elaine said triumphantly, mentally ticking yet another item off her agenda.

'I knew everything would be fine.' Elaine smiled widely; she felt liberated. Perhaps getting rid of her mother would make her happier. She had thought about it. It seemed the only hindrance in her pursuit of happiness. She was happy now. She had everything a modern woman ever wanted; Money, Status, Career, Love, Power and now, Freedom, without her mother and her old-fashioned ways to weigh her down... Yes, she was free. Her phone buzzed urgently, she picked it up and read the message, still beaming from ear to ear. 'Stocks 10% increase!'

Yes, things were definitely beginning to look up for her...

And while searching for the meaning of life in the luminance of her hand phone screen, the old woman in
the backseat became invisible, and she did not see the tears.

Moral Story....

Got this off email. Would like to share it here. Keep reading it until the end. In the beginning you may feel like killing the 'beep' of the man (i know i did)...just hold on before doing so.

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand
and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly.

Again I observed the hurt in her eyes. Suddenly I didn't know how to open my
mouth.

But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised
the topic calmly.

She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly,
why?
I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks
and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to
each other.

She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to a lovely girl called Dew.

I didn't love her anymore...I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that
she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced
at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years
of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time,
resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved
Dew so dearly.

Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had
expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of
divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and
clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at
the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell
asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew.

When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I
turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want
anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She
requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a
life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's
time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to
recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She
requested that everyday for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom
to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make
our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Dew about my wife s divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and
thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to
face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was
explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both
appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in
his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the
sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms.
She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce.

I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to
wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my
chest... I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realised that I hadn't
looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realised she was not young
any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying!

Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done
to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realised that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses
but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have
grown bigger.

I suddenly realised that she had grown so thin, that was the
reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly it hit me, she had buried
so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and
touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mum out. To
him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part
of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him
tightly.

I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom,
through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly
and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.
But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in
my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her
tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.

I drove to office... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door.
I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind... I walked upstairs.
Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce
anymore.

She looked at me, astonished and then touched my forehead. Do you have a
fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I won't
divorce my wife. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I
didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each
other any more.

Now I realise that since I carried her into my home on our wedding
day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Dew seemed to
suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and
burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my
wife.
The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote:

"I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart".

The small details of our lives are what really matter in a relationship. It
is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank,
blah..blah..blah. These create an environment conducive for happiness
but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's
friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy.

Do have a real happy marriage!

If you don't share this email with your loved ones and friends, nothing
will happen to you, but if you do, you just might save a marriage.

- Author unknown -

If i had known about this story sooner, i would have save some marriages. 50-50 chance better then 0.

This is funny...

I think some of you have read this...but still think its funny.

What Starts with F and ends with K

A first-grade teacher, Ms. Brooks, was having trouble with one of her students. The teacher asked, "Harry, what's your problem?"

Harry answered, "I'm too smart for the 1st grade. My sister is in the 3rd grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 3rd grade too!"

Ms. Brooks had had enough. She took Harry to the principal's office.

While Harry waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms. Brooks he would give the boy a test. If he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the 1st grade and behave. She agreed.

Harry was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.

Principal: "What is 3 x 3?"
Harry: "9."


Principal: " What is 6 x 6?"
Harry: "36."

And so it went with every question the principal thought a 3rd grader should know.

The principal looks at Ms. Brooks and tells her, "I think Harry can go to the 3rd grade."

Ms. Brooks says to the principal, "Let me ask him some questions."

The principal and Harry both agreed.

Ms. Brooks asks, "What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?"




Harry, after a moment: "Legs."

Ms. Brooks: "What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?"

The principal wondered why would she ask such a question!
Harry replied: "Pockets."

Ms. Brooks: "What does a dog do that a man steps in to?"
Harry: "Pants."

Ms. Brooks: What starts with a C, ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious and contains thin, whitish liquid?"
Harry: "Coconut."

The principal sat forward with his mouth hanging open.

Ms. Brooks: "What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky?"


The principal's eyes opened really wide and before he could stop the answer, Harry replied, "Bubble gum."


Ms. Brooks: "What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?"

Harry: "Shake hands."

The principal was trembling.


Ms. Brooks: "What word starts with an 'F' and ends in 'K' that means a lot of heat and excitement?"


Harry: "Firetruck."

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and told the teacher, "Put Harry in the fifth-grade, I got the last seven questions wrong......