Mall mogul Henry Sy and Tobacco king Lucio Tan move up in their rankings in Forbes Magazine's 2009 billionaires list.
Last year world's billionaires was 1,125 now down to 793, from their net worth of $4.4 trillion to $2.4 trillion.
Sy leapt from 843rd spot last year to 234th in this years list while Tan from 785th jumped to 522nd.
The Family Sy net worth increased from last year's $1.4 billion to $2.7 billion this year while Tan's net worth decreased from last year's $1.5 billion to $1.4 billion.
Sy and Tan were the only pinoy who made it to the Forbes Magazine 2009 list of billionaires. Sy the founder and chairman of the SM group of companies. The 84 year old mall magnate and his family control SM investments, While the 74 year old Tan and his family have holdings that include the hation's biggest cigarette maker, Fortune Tobacco, Philippine Airlines, Asia brewery, mining operations and Hong Kong properties, both were also ranked in Forbes Billionaires list in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Bill Gates of Microsoft is the richest man again, overtaking Warren Buffet, as the global financial meltdown wiped out $2 trillion from the net worth of the world's billionaires.
The number of billionaires in the world fell by nearly a third to 793 in the last year , with the large numbers dropping off the list in Russia, India and Turkey. Gate regained his title as the richest man in the world with $40 billion, after slippin to third last year when he was worth $58 billion. Buffet last year richest man fell to second when he $37 billion, down from $62 billion. Mexican Carlos Slim a telecommunications tycoon in the third place with $35 billion, down from $60 billion.
New York City replaced Moscow as home to the most billionaires, with 55. Russia, which saw the number of super rich soar in recent years, suffered among the biggest shocks, with the number of billionaires down to 32 from 87.
The only person in the top 20 who did not lose money was New York Mayor Bloomberg, whose net worth was revised up to $16 billion from $11.5 billion last year because os a revaluation of his media company, Bloomberg LP, He is now the New York richest man, jumping from 65 in the world to 17.
Others who manage to get richer were investors George Soros and Ronald Perelman, as well as short-seller John Paulson, who has profited from the fall in financial stocks, and entertainer Oprah Winfrey who jumped to 234 from 462.
Another discount retailer riding out the storm was Japan's Tadashi Yanai. His firm Fast Retailing, known for its uniqlo stores, helped pushed him from 296th to 76th and raise his wealth to $6 billion from $3.6 billion last year.
Among those conspicuous by their absence from the list was Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, one of last year's stars when he became the youngest self-made billionaire to make the list.
Also dropping were big name casualties, former American International Group chief executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg and former Citigroup chief executive Sanford Weill.
Allen Stanford, the Texan accused of an $8 billion fraud by US regulators, was also booted off the list.
Crime, however did not disqualify one notable new entry to the list - mexican drug lord Joaquin :Shortly" Guzman, who is among the world's most wanted men and now worth $1 billion.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao steps up training
Manny always step up more rounds when Freddie Roach is not around to assist His training. At the Wild Cards Gym Manny mitts Buboy Fernandez turned out an almost 10-rounds non-stop session instead of four rounds.
With Roach out, Pacquiao called the shots.
That is the problem with the Pinoy Icon. The supposed to be only four rounds, Manny wanted more rounds, that's Manny's reputation of always asking for more during His training, He just won't stop.
With Roach out, Pacquiao called the shots.
That is the problem with the Pinoy Icon. The supposed to be only four rounds, Manny wanted more rounds, that's Manny's reputation of always asking for more during His training, He just won't stop.
China Dialogue on Spratlys
China is pushing Dialogue on the South China Sea as well as greater cooperation in its disputed areas.
Ambassador Liu Jianchao made a courtesy call on Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, His country filing a protest on against Presedent Arroyo's signing into law of Republic Act 9522 or the Philippine Baseline Act.
RA 9522 excludes Scarborough Shoal and the Kalayaan group of islands from the country's teritory but classified as a "regime of Islands" under the Republic of the Philippines.
Under the UN convention on the Law of the Seas, archipelago nations like the Philippines must have definitive baseline laws by May 13.
Liu said His country is always ready to enhance trade relations with the Philippines, particularly in mining and infastructure. Liu added that China also wants more cultural and educational exchanges.
In 2010, China and Philippines will celebrate 35 years of bilateral relations.
Liu thanked the Philippines for hosting the visit of 100 school children from the earthquake ravage Sichuan province. The children and their families deeply appreciated the warmth display by their Filipino hosts.
In protest of the Baseline Act, Chinese Embassy said the inclusion of the disputed Kalayaan Islands and the Scarboruogh Shoal in the Philppine territory is "illegal" and "invalid."
Under the baseline Act the Philippine territory become smaller than the original Philippine territory.
The Philippine government lawmakers continue to defend the Baseline Bill amid China's protest.
Ambassador Liu Jianchao made a courtesy call on Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, His country filing a protest on against Presedent Arroyo's signing into law of Republic Act 9522 or the Philippine Baseline Act.
RA 9522 excludes Scarborough Shoal and the Kalayaan group of islands from the country's teritory but classified as a "regime of Islands" under the Republic of the Philippines.
Under the UN convention on the Law of the Seas, archipelago nations like the Philippines must have definitive baseline laws by May 13.
Liu said His country is always ready to enhance trade relations with the Philippines, particularly in mining and infastructure. Liu added that China also wants more cultural and educational exchanges.
In 2010, China and Philippines will celebrate 35 years of bilateral relations.
Liu thanked the Philippines for hosting the visit of 100 school children from the earthquake ravage Sichuan province. The children and their families deeply appreciated the warmth display by their Filipino hosts.
In protest of the Baseline Act, Chinese Embassy said the inclusion of the disputed Kalayaan Islands and the Scarboruogh Shoal in the Philppine territory is "illegal" and "invalid."
Under the baseline Act the Philippine territory become smaller than the original Philippine territory.
The Philippine government lawmakers continue to defend the Baseline Bill amid China's protest.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Friday the 13th
5 Facts About Friday the 13th
If Friday the 13th is unlucky, then 2009 is an unusually unlucky year. This week's Friday the 13th is one of three to endure this year.
The first came last month. The next is in November. Such a rare triple-threat occurs only once every 11 years.
The origin of the link between bad luck and Friday the 13th is murky. The whole thing might date to Biblical times (the 13th guest at the Last Supper betrayed Jesus). By the Middle Ages, both Friday and 13 were considered bearers of bad fortune. In modern times, the superstition permeates society.
1. Fear of Friday the 13th - one of the most popular myths in science - is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.
2. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor and some airline terminals omit Gate 13.
3. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and President Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.
4. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12." Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.
5. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number - 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.
Pythagorean legacy
Meanwhile the belief that numbers are connected to life and physical things - called numerology - has a long history.
"You can trace it all the way from the followers of Pythagoras, whose maxim to describe the universe was 'all is number,'" says Mario Livio, an astrophysicist and author of "The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved" (Simon & Schuster, 2005). Thinkers who studied under the famous Greek mathematician combined numbers in different ways to explain everything around them, Livio said.
In modern times, numerology has become a type of para-science, much like the meaningless predictions of astrology, scientists say.
However, mathematicians dismiss numerology, saying it lacks any scientific merit.
"I don't endorse this at all," Livio said, when asked to comment on the popularity of commercial numerology. Seemingly coincidental connections between numbers will always appear if you look hard enough, he said.
If Friday the 13th is unlucky, then 2009 is an unusually unlucky year. This week's Friday the 13th is one of three to endure this year.
The first came last month. The next is in November. Such a rare triple-threat occurs only once every 11 years.
The origin of the link between bad luck and Friday the 13th is murky. The whole thing might date to Biblical times (the 13th guest at the Last Supper betrayed Jesus). By the Middle Ages, both Friday and 13 were considered bearers of bad fortune. In modern times, the superstition permeates society.
1. Fear of Friday the 13th - one of the most popular myths in science - is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.
2. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor and some airline terminals omit Gate 13.
3. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and President Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.
4. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12." Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.
5. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number - 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.
Pythagorean legacy
Meanwhile the belief that numbers are connected to life and physical things - called numerology - has a long history.
"You can trace it all the way from the followers of Pythagoras, whose maxim to describe the universe was 'all is number,'" says Mario Livio, an astrophysicist and author of "The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved" (Simon & Schuster, 2005). Thinkers who studied under the famous Greek mathematician combined numbers in different ways to explain everything around them, Livio said.
In modern times, numerology has become a type of para-science, much like the meaningless predictions of astrology, scientists say.
However, mathematicians dismiss numerology, saying it lacks any scientific merit.
"I don't endorse this at all," Livio said, when asked to comment on the popularity of commercial numerology. Seemingly coincidental connections between numbers will always appear if you look hard enough, he said.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Hide Navbar Banner
Login to your blogger..
in your Dashboard select the blogs you wish to hide the Navbar.
click Layout.
click Edit HTML in the Layou.
Below you will see a part of the HTML.
on the top of "/* Variable definitions"
paste the CSS definition..
#navbar-iframe {
display: none !important;
}
copy the "#navbar-iframe {
display: none !important;
}" and paste below , as you see above the variable definitions..
-----------------------------------------------
Blogger Template Style
Name: Minima Stretch
Designer: Douglas Bowman / Darren Delaye
URL: www.stopdesign.com
Date: 26 Feb 2004
----------------------------------------------- */
#navbar-iframe {
display: none !important;
}
/* Variable definitions
====================
After that click SAVE TEMPLATE, Then click view blog..
You see no more Navbar.
in your Dashboard select the blogs you wish to hide the Navbar.
click Layout.
click Edit HTML in the Layou.
Below you will see a part of the HTML.
on the top of "/* Variable definitions"
paste the CSS definition..
#navbar-iframe {
display: none !important;
}
copy the "#navbar-iframe {
display: none !important;
}" and paste below , as you see above the variable definitions..
-----------------------------------------------
Blogger Template Style
Name: Minima Stretch
Designer: Douglas Bowman / Darren Delaye
URL: www.stopdesign.com
Date: 26 Feb 2004
----------------------------------------------- */
#navbar-iframe {
display: none !important;
}
/* Variable definitions
====================
After that click SAVE TEMPLATE, Then click view blog..
You see no more Navbar.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Bangladesh border guards mutiny
Hundreds of Bangladeshi border guards started reporting back to their headquarters after a bloody mutiny left at least 76 people dead and 72 others missing.
The Home Ministry gave guards across the country a 24-hour ultimatum Saturday to return to their posts or report to a local police station or face disciplinary action.
The insurrection — in which mostly army officers were killed — apparently erupted over the guards' long-standing complaints that their pay hasn't kept pace with soldiers in the army.
A few hundred guards, some out of uniform and accompanied by family members, waited outside their headquarters in the capital Sunday as officials checked their credentials.
Some of the returning guards said they were on leave or off duty during the two-day mutiny that ended Thursday, while others claimed they had fled the compound after the violence started.
The Home Ministry gave guards across the country a 24-hour ultimatum Saturday to return to their posts or report to a local police station or face disciplinary action.
The insurrection — in which mostly army officers were killed — apparently erupted over the guards' long-standing complaints that their pay hasn't kept pace with soldiers in the army.
A few hundred guards, some out of uniform and accompanied by family members, waited outside their headquarters in the capital Sunday as officials checked their credentials.
Some of the returning guards said they were on leave or off duty during the two-day mutiny that ended Thursday, while others claimed they had fled the compound after the violence started.
Leaving Iraq
The U.S. military map in Iraq in early 2010: Marines are leaving the western desert, Army units are in the former British zone in the south and the overall mission is coalescing around air and logistics hubs in central and northern Iraq.
Meanwhile, commanders will be shifting their attention to helping Iraqi forces take full control of their own security.
The Pentagon has not released the full details of President Barack Obama's plan to end America's combat role in Iraq by Aug. 31 of next year, but the broad contours are taking shape.
Statements from military officials, U.S. government reports and interviews by The Associated Press with Iraqi and U.S. planners offer a wide-angle view of the expected American formation in Iraq when the pullout quickens early next year.
Between 35,000 and 50,000 soldiers are expected to remain in a transition period before all troops must leave by the end of 2011 under a joint pact. In his speech Friday, Obama outlined the roles ahead.
The bulk of the current 138,000 U.S. troops are expected to remain until Iraq's national elections scheduled for late this year. Maintaining security for the balloting is considered a top priority by the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, and other high-ranking Pentagon officials.
Then the pullout will accelerate.
The first significant shift could be with the 22,000 Marines in Anbar province, a broad wedge of western desert where insurgents once held sway over key cities such as Fallujah and Ramadi.
The Marines could possibly leave a small contingent, but expect to turn over military duties to the Army.
The early exit from Anbar carries two important messages.
It's part of Washington's shift of military focus to Afghanistan. Obama plans to send 17,000 more soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan, to join 38,000 already fighting a strengthening Taliban-led insurgency.
Anbar also represents a critical turning point of the nearly six-year-old Iraq war. A U.S.-directed effort in late 2006 began to recruit and fund tribal leaders to join the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgent groups — which were eventually uprooted in Anbar and began to lose their hold in and around Baghdad.
In the south, the U.S. Army is making plans to fill the void left by the departure this spring of 4,000 British troops based outside Basra, the second-largest city in Iraq and a hub of the nation's southern oil fields.
Odierno has said a division headquarters — about 1,000 personnel — plus an undetermined number of troops would be sent to Basra. The transition is expected to begin in late March, and it's likely a U.S. force will remain around Basra until the final pullout in 2011.
Basra is a proving ground for Iraq's ability to handle security on its own. Iraq launched an offensive last year that — with U.S. help — crippled Shiite militia control in parts of the city. But the small British contingent has largely stayed out of direct security operations, leaving it mostly to Iraqi commanders.
During a tour of Basra on Friday, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said some military personnel will remain to train Iraq's navy, but the primary British goal is humanitarian aid and development.
Northern Iraq, meanwhile, poses the greatest uncertainties for the Pentagon.
Mosul — Iraq's third-biggest city — remains one of the last havens for al-Qaida in Iraq and its streets are among the most dangerous in the country.
On Tuesday, two Iraqi police opened fire during a U.S. military inspection of an Iraqi security unit in Mosul, killing one American soldier and an interpreter. The attack deepened worries of possible infiltration of security forces in the Mosul area.
U.S. combat support for Iraqis is likely to continue — and perhaps expand — in the coming 18 months. It then could become high on the agenda for the counterterrorism missions, which could include ground forces and aerial surveillance.
U.S. troop strength in the Mosul area is relatively light, but there is a U.S. base on the city's edge.
Obama left open the option for more extensive U.S. military backup if needed.
The northern city of Kirkuk is another potential trouble spot. Tensions between Kurds and Sunni Arabs over control of the city — and center of the northern oil fields — show no signs of easing.
Two bases north of Baghdad will likely take more prominent roles next year.
Balad Air Base, home to more than 20,000 U.S. forces, provides air power, logistics and counterterrorism support, as well as training for Iraqi security forces. Its location — 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Baghdad — offers a rich vantage point for intelligence gathering and analysis across the entire north and specific areas such as the Iranian border.
Another major U.S. air and logistics base in Taji, 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of Baghdad, sits next to Iraq's new supply and logistics hub.
The two sites would be a natural centerpiece for U.S. training and advising of the Iraqi military, Army Brig. Gen. Steven Salazar, the deputy commanding general at Multi-National Security Transition Command, told the AP recently.
Salazar said the Taji National Supply Depot was designed by the Iraqis to be the "top end" of the supply and logistics chain for its security forces.
In Baghdad, the U.S. military is already making changes in anticipation of the first step of the withdrawal timetable: U.S. forces out of major cities by June.
The United States has handed over the Green Zone to the Iraqi government, closed forward operating bases and combat outposts in the city or turned them into smaller stations where U.S. troops work alongside Iraqi security forces.
But Camp Victory, a huge base on the outskirts of Baghdad in a former Saddam palace complex, will continue to serve as the U.S. nerve center in the capital.
A military official with knowledge of the military planning process told the AP that Camp Victory's proximity to many Iraqi government ministries and the Baghdad International Airport make it a prime location for the U.S. military, and one they are not likely to give up anytime soon.
The base also is expected to expand as it absorbs troops pulling out of Baghdad before the June 30 deadline, said another military official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
Meanwhile, commanders will be shifting their attention to helping Iraqi forces take full control of their own security.
The Pentagon has not released the full details of President Barack Obama's plan to end America's combat role in Iraq by Aug. 31 of next year, but the broad contours are taking shape.
Statements from military officials, U.S. government reports and interviews by The Associated Press with Iraqi and U.S. planners offer a wide-angle view of the expected American formation in Iraq when the pullout quickens early next year.
Between 35,000 and 50,000 soldiers are expected to remain in a transition period before all troops must leave by the end of 2011 under a joint pact. In his speech Friday, Obama outlined the roles ahead.
The bulk of the current 138,000 U.S. troops are expected to remain until Iraq's national elections scheduled for late this year. Maintaining security for the balloting is considered a top priority by the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, and other high-ranking Pentagon officials.
Then the pullout will accelerate.
The first significant shift could be with the 22,000 Marines in Anbar province, a broad wedge of western desert where insurgents once held sway over key cities such as Fallujah and Ramadi.
The Marines could possibly leave a small contingent, but expect to turn over military duties to the Army.
The early exit from Anbar carries two important messages.
It's part of Washington's shift of military focus to Afghanistan. Obama plans to send 17,000 more soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan, to join 38,000 already fighting a strengthening Taliban-led insurgency.
Anbar also represents a critical turning point of the nearly six-year-old Iraq war. A U.S.-directed effort in late 2006 began to recruit and fund tribal leaders to join the fight against al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgent groups — which were eventually uprooted in Anbar and began to lose their hold in and around Baghdad.
In the south, the U.S. Army is making plans to fill the void left by the departure this spring of 4,000 British troops based outside Basra, the second-largest city in Iraq and a hub of the nation's southern oil fields.
Odierno has said a division headquarters — about 1,000 personnel — plus an undetermined number of troops would be sent to Basra. The transition is expected to begin in late March, and it's likely a U.S. force will remain around Basra until the final pullout in 2011.
Basra is a proving ground for Iraq's ability to handle security on its own. Iraq launched an offensive last year that — with U.S. help — crippled Shiite militia control in parts of the city. But the small British contingent has largely stayed out of direct security operations, leaving it mostly to Iraqi commanders.
During a tour of Basra on Friday, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said some military personnel will remain to train Iraq's navy, but the primary British goal is humanitarian aid and development.
Northern Iraq, meanwhile, poses the greatest uncertainties for the Pentagon.
Mosul — Iraq's third-biggest city — remains one of the last havens for al-Qaida in Iraq and its streets are among the most dangerous in the country.
On Tuesday, two Iraqi police opened fire during a U.S. military inspection of an Iraqi security unit in Mosul, killing one American soldier and an interpreter. The attack deepened worries of possible infiltration of security forces in the Mosul area.
U.S. combat support for Iraqis is likely to continue — and perhaps expand — in the coming 18 months. It then could become high on the agenda for the counterterrorism missions, which could include ground forces and aerial surveillance.
U.S. troop strength in the Mosul area is relatively light, but there is a U.S. base on the city's edge.
Obama left open the option for more extensive U.S. military backup if needed.
The northern city of Kirkuk is another potential trouble spot. Tensions between Kurds and Sunni Arabs over control of the city — and center of the northern oil fields — show no signs of easing.
Two bases north of Baghdad will likely take more prominent roles next year.
Balad Air Base, home to more than 20,000 U.S. forces, provides air power, logistics and counterterrorism support, as well as training for Iraqi security forces. Its location — 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Baghdad — offers a rich vantage point for intelligence gathering and analysis across the entire north and specific areas such as the Iranian border.
Another major U.S. air and logistics base in Taji, 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of Baghdad, sits next to Iraq's new supply and logistics hub.
The two sites would be a natural centerpiece for U.S. training and advising of the Iraqi military, Army Brig. Gen. Steven Salazar, the deputy commanding general at Multi-National Security Transition Command, told the AP recently.
Salazar said the Taji National Supply Depot was designed by the Iraqis to be the "top end" of the supply and logistics chain for its security forces.
In Baghdad, the U.S. military is already making changes in anticipation of the first step of the withdrawal timetable: U.S. forces out of major cities by June.
The United States has handed over the Green Zone to the Iraqi government, closed forward operating bases and combat outposts in the city or turned them into smaller stations where U.S. troops work alongside Iraqi security forces.
But Camp Victory, a huge base on the outskirts of Baghdad in a former Saddam palace complex, will continue to serve as the U.S. nerve center in the capital.
A military official with knowledge of the military planning process told the AP that Camp Victory's proximity to many Iraqi government ministries and the Baghdad International Airport make it a prime location for the U.S. military, and one they are not likely to give up anytime soon.
The base also is expected to expand as it absorbs troops pulling out of Baghdad before the June 30 deadline, said another military official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
