Obama first African American elected President of the USA

There was this feeling in the air that the elections in the US would be different. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama where fighting it out as candidate for the Democrats. In the end Obama won and he would have to fight it out with John McCain.

Obama's campaign raised $58 million during the first half of 2007, of which donations of less than $200, classified as "small donations" by campaign laws, accounted for $16.4 million. The $58 million set the record for fundraising by a presidential campaign in the first six months of the calendar year before the election.

He again broke fundraising records in the first two months of 2008, raising over $90 million for his primary.

After McCain was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate, polls indicated that he had closed the gap with Obama.

But to no effect as Obama defeated McCain on the 4th of November to become became the first African American to be elected President of the United States.

The world was desperate for a change and the world got it. For some reason there is suddenly hope again all around the world.

But a big task lies ahead for Obama because a certain Mr Bush will leave a big mess behind and it will take years to recover from it.

Lets hope that peaceful years lay ahead.

Melamine found in China made Products

Singapore has suspended the import and sale of all milk and milk products from China since 19 September. A total of 8 findings of affected products were found to contain the industrial chemical melamine. The Agri—Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) says the public need not be unduly concerned as only low levels of melamine were detected in the affected products. Consumers have to consume large quantities of the contaminated products over a prolonged period of time to have any potential ill effects on health.

All 8 products that have been detected containing melamine:

1. Dutch Lady Banana Flavoured Milk
2. Dutch Lady Honeydew Flavoured Milk
3. Silang – House of Steamed Potato – Potato Cracker
4. Puffed Rice Rolls – Butter Corn Flavour
5. Puffed Rice Rolls – Cheese Flavour
6. Yi Li Choice Dairy Fruit Bar Yogurt Flavoured Ice Confection
7. Dutch Lady Straberry Flavoured Milk
8. White Rabbit Creamy Candy


My beloved family and friends in Singapore please take not of the above products.

Football at the Olympic Games a disaster

I watched Belgium - Brazil, a first round game in the Olympic tournament.

There has been so much written in the newspapers about teams that didn't want to send their players too the Olympic games.

While at first I was against those teams, I now understand why.

Sending good players to such a tournament is one thing, but then sending referees too those games that don't have any idea what football is, is another thing!

It is insulting to the players and there teams that somebody who obviously never led a big game can show there stupidity at the Olympic Games.

In a rather friendly game giving 10 yellow cards! How absurd!!!!

Brazil won in the end with 1-0 with thanks to the referee.

Maybe that will be the only way that the Brazilian team can win the gold medal.

No surprise if their won't be any football tournament at the next Olympic Games.

More than 1 million visitors for Singapore Flyer

Since the Singapore Flyer started operating, five months ago, more than 1 million people have visited the Flyer.

Half of those tickets were sold to tourist, the other half was bought by Singaporeans.

A new visitors centre for tourists has been launched at the Singapore Flyer, to further boost ridership figures, which should help to reach the 2,5 million visitors mark set for this year.

It is expected that the Singapore Flyer peak period will be during the Formula 1 race in Singapore and the Youth Olympics.

Singapore is 13th most expensive city in the world

According to Mercer Worldwide Cost of Living Survey Singapore is now the 13th most expensive city in the world and the 5th most expensive in Asia.

Singapore's rise in rankings is partly due to the appreciation of the Singapore dollar against the US dollar.

The research confirms the global trend in price increases for certain food products and petrol.

After living in Singapore for almost a year I find it not surprising.

A disturbing factor though is that still a majority of the people work for a salary of around 1200S$ which is very little if you live in the 13th most expensive city in the world!

Here the top 20 as published by Mercer:

1. Moscow
2. Tokyo
3. London
4. Oslo
5. Seoul
6. Hong Kong
7. Copenhagen
8. Geneva
9. Zurich
10. Milan
11. Osaka
12. Paris
13. Singapore
14. Tel Aviv
15. Sydney
16. Dublin
17. Rome
18. St. Petersburg
19. Vienna
20. Beijing

£350,000 to give peace a chance

£350,000, thats what has been paid for John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for 'Give Peace A Chance' at a rock memorabilia auction.

John Lennon wrote the lyrics on a piece of paper in a hotel suite in Montreal during Lennon and Yoko Ono's historic Bed-In for Peace in 1969.

The framed lyrics where sold by Gail Renard who was in John Lennon's company when he wrote the lyrics.

Reading the lyrics makes the whole thing a bit ironic as a piece of paper is sold for that amount of money.

At the same auction another Beatles memorabilia was sold at a record price. A drumskin used by the Fab Four on the front cover of their 1967 album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, fetched £450,000.

I geuss The Beatles still stand for big money!

70-year-old woman gives birth to twins

Omkari Panwar, a 70 year old Indian woman gave birth to a twin. The boy and girl where born premature but are in perfect health.

The woman and her 77-Year old Man always wanted a son to continue their farm. They already have two adult daughters and five grand children.

The poor family sold their buffalo’s, used all their savings and took a loan to get a special treatment to get pregnant.

They are delighted to finally get a son, as it is tradition in India that the son has the right to a dowry when he gets married. And that’s the reason why they spend so much money and tried one last time to get a son.

According to the proud father he can now die as a happy man.

The Return of the Leatherback Turtle

Malaysia witnessed the return of the Leatherback Turtle last month after a one year absence.
The leatherback Turtle can grow up to 180 cm and 600 kilogram in weight. They are the largest of all sea turtles.
The biggest ever recorded leatherback turtle was a male stranded on a Welsh beach that reached 256 cm long and weighed 916 kg.

The nesting of the Leatherback Turtle fell drastically in Malaysia due to over
fishing, pollution and poaching.

While 50 years ago there where around 10,000 female turtles laying there eggs every year on the beaches in Malaysia, the number dropped drastically with only 800 in the eighties and even none last year.

As it becomes increasingly more difficult to find male Leatherback Turtles, most of the eggs found are not fertilized. No eggs hatched since 2000 because of this.

So even today after two Turtles returned to the beaches in Malaysia there is still big skepticism for the survival of the species.

Playing football in Cambodia can be dangerous

Three football players where killed during a football game after lightning struck.
Three other players got injured and had to be rushed to hospital. The incident happened in Phnom Phen, the capital of Cambodia.

The victims where all in their early twenties. The Cambodian football association recommends its members not play anymore during bad weather.

This year there have been killed 40 people so far by lightning.

Ugly Gus

Gus, a pedigree Chinese crested, was in California(USA) elected as the ugliest dog in the world.
The Poor dog has only three legs, one eye and a little bit of white fur on the head.
Gus and his owner who lives in Florida traveled thousands of kilometers just to enter the bizarre competition.
Gus might be ugly but by winning the contest he got $500 and a guest appearance on national TV.
The $500 is more than welcome says Gus’ owner who will spend the money on treatment for Gus' skin cancer.
Well, don’t worry Gus. I’m pretty sure that a lot of dogs are uglier than you but they just couldn’t make it to the contest.

Biofuels cause Great Poverty

According to aid agency Oxfam, biofuels are an important cause of the raising food prizes in the world. Biofuels are responsible for 30 percent of the increase in global food prices. Because of this around 30 million people worldwide are pushed into poverty.
Developed countries try to reduce their dependence on imported oil and cut emissions of carbon dioxide which led to a shortage of grain, pushing up commodity prices.

Biofuels are taking over agricultural land in the poorer countries and forcing farmers to expand into lands that are important carbon sinks, like forests and wetlands.

An Official report states that Rich countries spent up to $15 billion last year supporting biofuels while blocking cheaper Brazilian ethanol, which is far less damaging for global food security.

So think twice before you think you are saving the world by using biofuel!!!!

Miracle Pig survives 36 days under debris

Soldiers came across a fortunate pig that was trapped beneath debris at a collapsed pig farm in Sichuan.
The Pig survived 36 days by drinking rainwater and munching its way through a bag of charcoal. During its 36 days ordeal the pig lost around 120 kilograms.

A local museum bought the animal for 3,008 yuan and will take care of the animal for the rest of its life. They renamed the pig Zhu Jianqiang or Strong Pig.

The Earthquake that devastated southwestern China leaves 90,000 people either dead or missing.

Smokers getting paid to stop smoking

Smokers are offered £12,50 per week to stop smoking in deprived parts of the big cities in Scotland.
The organizers hope that around 900 smokers will be helped with the £500,000 pilot scheme.
Participating smokers will be offered £12.50 per week with which they can buy food in their local supermarket.
The participants will also be provided with nicotine replacement therapy through their local pharmacy.
Smokers can take part in the project for 12 weeks.
This new incentive scheme is a partnership between NHS Tayside, Dundee City Council and the Scottish Government and is launching in the autumn.

I been planning to stop smoking for while and I just wonder if money will do the trick.
And how will the participants be tested, what stops them from smoking during the project?
And what after those 12 weeks?
Smoking is a habit that is hard to break and it takes a lot of self discipline to quite.
Stating that they want to help the deprived by giving them some money for a few weeks will not do the trick I'm afraid.
Instead they should try to get jobs for those people as boredom is the biggest problem for people who want to stop smoking.
Good luck to all of you who want to stop!

Makers of Angels and Demons banned from the Vatican

The makers of Angels and Demons, a prequel to The Da Vinci Code, have been banned from the Vatican.
In Angels and Demons a sinister elite known as the Illuminati to install their candidate as Pope and blow up the Vatican.
Crucial scenes where to shot in the churches Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria.
The Church also condemned the Da Vinci Code, the first Dan Brown novel turned into a movie.
Tom Hanks also stars in Angels and Demons, which like The Da Vinci Code, is directed by Ron Howard.
Archbishop Velasio De Paolis stated that It would be unacceptable to transform churches into film sets so that his blasphemous novels can be made into films in the name of business.
The cast will have to shoot some scenes in the studio.
But it is a big question to me if Angels and Demons can satisfy the movie goers as The Da Vinci Code was far below average.

Scolari new coach of Chelsea

In between all the bustle of EURO 2008 it was announced yesterday that Portugal Coach, Scolari will be the new Chelsea coach for next season.
Scolari coached Brazil to their 2002 World Cup success and reached with Portugal the EURO 2004 Final and World Cup 2006 Semi Final.
But the man has no experience in the European Champions League or Premier League and does not speak English.
The 59-year old coach will get a yearly wage of £6.75 million and is promised an astounding £ 100 million for new players.
Some names of top players on the request list of Scolari are Kaka, now playing for Milan; Fernando Torres, now playing for Liverpool; Frank Ribery, now playing for Bayern Munich and even Ronaldinho of Barcelona who had a very bad season.
Another Barcelona player, Deco might put his signature on a contract within a few days time.
It is still not sure what players will leave Chelsea, but it's guaranteed that they will have a great squad again next year.

Manny, The Labrador, Is No More

Yesterday, a Labrador named Manny died.
His death was announced in the newspaper today. Now what can be so special about this dog that they write about it in the newspaper?
They where even planning a post-mortem on the dog to figure out the cause of death.
Well, the dog was special, very special.
This dog was trained to sniff out pirated discs!
Does a pirated disc smells different from a normal one?
The was to become part of the first anti-piracy canine unit.
A pair of Labradors in the unit sniffed out US$ 1.6million worth of CD's and because of this the counterfeiters decided to put a price on the head of these dogs.
So, did Manny died of natural causes or was he murdered by the counterfeiters?

20,345 US$ for a bottle of wine

And just when I wrote a post about the high food prices I read in the news paper about a Singaporean Business man who bought 12 bottles of wine for 244,133US$.
The sale took place in Hong Kong at a wine auction held by Acker Merral& Condit at the Shangri - La Hotel.
The Singaporean Business man paid a record 244,133US$ for 12 bottles of 1990 Domaine de le Romanee-Conti. According to wine experts, it is the most expensive and most rare wine in the world.
It is another prove that food prices are rising!
But in this case I don't think that the man in question will starve to dead.
He might have the most expensive hang-over in his life though!!!!!

Skyrocketing food prices cause hunger

If you have to give it a name what would you call it? Free market, capitalism, opportunism or greed.
Since June 2007 prices of food went up with 40%, the price of rice went even up 70% oil prices are at an all time high.
The profits of the oil producing countries went up by 500%.
And because the oil prices went up so much some countries started producing bio fuels, causing rocketing prices for products like corn and multinationals started buying up farm land.
Speculation on food products on the stock markets should be controlled.
Because of the food crisis around 850 million people are suffering from chronicle hunger worldwide.
In a country like Bangladesh more than half of the people live of 1 dollar a day and with the high food prices most people are starving to dead.
Unicef is crying for help but it’s fighting against the tide as prices went up all over the world and even the richer countries can not afford (or don’t want) to donate a lot of food supplies.

Space Shuttle Discovery on the way to fix toilet

The space shuttle should arrive at the space station today after taking of 2 days ago.
The space shuttle will deliver spare parts for a malfunctioning toilet.
The toilet is Russian made and they started having problems with it since last week.
At the moment it takes two Astronauts ten minutes to flush the toilet.
I'm sure they must be happy that they will come to fix the toilet.
It definitely gives a whole new meaning to toilet flushing!!!

The end of the Nepalese Kingdom

Nepal has been declared a Republic. It's the end of a Dynasty of Hindu Kings that ruled Nepal for 239 years.
The newly elected Political Counsel wants to start a new democracy in this way.
The Parliament, with the Maoists as the biggest fraction voted with an overwhelming 560 to 4 to end the Monarchy.
King Gyanendra has 15 days time to leave the palace and the country, otherwise he will get some unfriendly help from the army.

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in Asia and tourism is the main industry, so peace and stability are more than welcome.