Saturday, January 31, 2009

Decisions in Life

I have spoken about being good and fair. And it all starts with making a decision  in your life. Decisions are starting points for everything in one's life. If you want to start a business, you start with making a conscious decision. Read this good article on the power of decision .

Do You Require 1000 Beautiful Web Images?


If you're looking for some nice images, then download this file which consists of 1000 beautiful, high definition pictures.



Friday, January 30, 2009

History



This sign was plastered on a wall, 5 feet from the ground, showing the flood level in Kuala Lumpur 28 years ago. As Kuala Lumpur sits in a valley and is built along the Klang river, floods are a common thing but 5 feet of water is truly a sight to behold.

Lots of News, from RIP to Call for Vocation, For Allah's Sake...

Firstly, THANK YOU old members for responding to the call to invite your friends to join this group. On behalf of Malaysian Catholic, I WARMLY WELCOME 86 new members and pray you have an enlightening time here with us. Feel free to contribute to the group and check out all the topics at our discussion board. :)
--------------------------
----------------

► RIP: Rev. Fr. Maurice Edouard Sermon MEP
George Vaithynathan January 30 at 11:25pm wrote:

Rev. Fr. Maurice Edouard Sermon MEP has passed away:
Birth:10.12.1922
Ordination: 21.12.1946
Passed Away: 29th January 2009 @ 3.15
Body Lying in Repose :
29th (Thurs)- 30th(Fri) - Hospital Fatimah Chapel
31st (Sat) @ 1pm His Remains Would be moved to St Michael's Church Chapel Of Repose

Funeral Mass: 2nd February 2009, 4.00pm @ St Michaels Church Ipoh
Burial in St Michaels Church Cemetery (NOT confirmed yet)

May His Soul Rest In Peace!
------------------------------------------

► CALL FOR VOCATION
ChrisWil Soosai on January 30 at 5:36pm wrote:

Hi Pat,
I'm Fr. Christopher W. S. from Sacred Heart Church, Jalan Peel. I wish to say thank you for updating things on the facebook and tell you the truth I'm still learning about it. Thank you and wish to say continue your good works.

By the way I'm also the Vocation Director for the Archdiocese and as you already know, we need more priest and religious. Therefore, need your help to inform the public on the Vocations drive of the Archdiocese Vocation Promotion team. Thank you and Take care.

Chris

» Reply: Hi Father Chris and other Vocation Directors on this group, you are most welcomed to post your Vocation Promotion at http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=60051095353&topic=5002 — created last year specially for all of you. :) Please provide further details, such as an introduction to your Order; including contact person and numbers, and a link to your website if any at the above link.
------------------------------------------

► FOR ALLAH'S SAKE
WHEN the Home Ministry forbids a non-Muslim group from saying "Allah", then attempts to prevent it from publishing in Malay, the government is imposing more than a ban. Full story, Post #16 at http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=60051095353&topic=6603 — under Topic: Herald Continues To Use Allah Word

» Home Ministry's Letter — Show people this photo by sending them this public link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30341680&l=a9a15&id=1189343704

» Terence Zavier invites all members to a discussion
Topic: Should Herald Subdue or Not?
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=60051095353&topic=6720

------------------------------------------

► TRADITIONAL ANGLICAN COMMUNION SET TO ENTER CATHOLIC CHURCH?
Linda Jasmine Archibald on January 30 at 1:42pm wrote at The Wall:

Thought I share this little bit of good news with you! :-)

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=31870

Indeed our prayers for Christian Unity Week all these years have been answered by our Lord - the Good Shepherd in His time.

PS: Bro Greg, thanks for posting a note on St Thomas Aquinas. I was amused by the fact that just as we were entering the Lunar New Year (and year of the Ox), we were also celebrating the feast day of this saint popularly known as the Dumb Ox! ;-)
------------------------------------------

► Lastly but not the least, enjoy these typical Catholic Jokes contributed by Andrew Goh...
Post #7 — A Catholic Dictionary
Post #8 — A fuse blows and all the lights go out...
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=60051095353&topic=4969
Feel free to add on. We need a good laugh (and lots of prayers too) in these trying times.
------------------------------------------

Mooooooooooooo!
(Interpretation: Have a blessed weekend!)

With love from Malaysian Catholic Group
— Let all that you do be done in love.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

How Great is Virgin Airlines?



If you ever wondered what the low-cost airlines are doing to cut cost, then read this wonderfully crafted letter by a gentleman who took a Virgin flight from Mumbai to Heathrow recently. I wonder if Richard Branson has replied to it or just left it unsaid, which is typical of these corporations.

Unemployed graduate

An unemployed graduate woke up one morning and checked his pocket. All he had left was $10. He decided to use it to buy food and then wait for death as he was too proud to go begging. He was frustrated as he could find no job; nobody was ready to help him.

He bought food and as he sat down to eat, an old man and two little children came along and asked him to help them with food as they had not eaten for almost a week. He looked at them. They were so lean that he could see their bones coming out. Their eyes had gone into the socket. With the last bit of compassion he had, he gave them the food. The old man and children prayed for him that will bless and prosper him and then gave him a very old coin. The young graduate said to them "you need the prayer more than I do".

With no money, no job, no! food, the young graduate went under the bridge to rest and wait for death. As he was about to sleep, he saw an old newspaper on the floor. He picked it up, and suddenly he saw an advertisement for people with old coins to come to a certain address. He decided to go there with the old coin the old man gave him. On getting to the place, he gave the proprietor the coin.

Alas, the proprietor screamed and brought out a big book and showed the young graduate a photograph. This same old coin was
worth $3M. The young graduate was overjoyed as the proprietor gave him a bank draft for $3M within an hour. He collected the Bank Draft, went in search of the old man and little children.

By the time he got to where he left them eating, they had gone. He inquired from the owner of the canteen who told him that they even left a note for him. He quickly opened the note thinking it would lead him to find them. But alas, the words in the note reads thus:

"You gave us your all and we have rewarded you back with the coin"
GOD

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Firefox 3.0.6 Is Super Stable!



I am impressed. The new Firefox 3.0.6 is super stable. I opened up a total of 67 tabs concurrently, expecting the browser to crash, but it didn't. I am quite impressed with its stability.

Well done Mozilla!!


What Does This Picture Make You Think?



What thought crosses your mind when you saw this picture? What emotions does the naked female body stir in you?

Evolution of a Programmer.


This is a good website which shows the evolution of a computer programmer from school to CEO.

http://www.ariel.com.au/jokes/The_Evolution_of_a_Programmer.html


How to Kill Your Wife and Be Rich

SHAH ALAM, Jan 28 – Former Petronas Carigali geologist Muhamad Suhaimi Abdul Aziz is challenging the Syariah High Court decision allowing Amanah Raya Berhad's application to drop his name from the list of beneficiaries of his late wife's estate totalling RM319,445.02.

He filed the notice of appeal at the Selangor Syariah Court of Appeal Registry here today through counsel Musa Awang.

Suhaimi, 48, stabbed his wife, Faizah Arshad, who was a human resources officer at Petronas Carigali, to death in a bathroom at their house in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, at 3pm on Sep 25, 1999.

However, he was acquitted of murder by reason of insanity and ordered to undergo rehabilitation at Hospital Bahagia in Tanjung Rambutan until Oct 4, 2007. He now leads a normal life under his father's care in Terengganu.

On Jan 15 this year, Syariah High Court Judge Saarani Ismail ruled that Suhaimi had lost his eligibility as a beneficiary of his wife's estate when he killed his wife.

He said that in the interest of Faizah's remaining family members, namely, her parents and three children who had more rights to the estate, the estate was to be divided among them according to "faraid" while Suhaimi was to bear the cost. – Bernama


Original Article: http://my-1.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/17026-wife-killer-seeks-share-of-her-money-

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Malaysia's First Submarine and a Hefty Commision for the Middle Man?



Amid cheers for Malaysia's first submarine, the KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, I wonder why a middle man gets RM540 Million just to facilitate the deal?

Obama Is Times People Of The Year



It's no surprise that President-Elect Mr. Barak Obama is 2008 Time Magazines People of the Year.



Thursday, January 22, 2009

Misbehaving AVG Anti Virus Software?

If you find your AVG Anti Virus software constantly asking you to reboot your machine so that it can complete its update properly, you might want to go to the AVG website and download the latest version of the software, which will fix the problem once and for all.
I presume what has happened was that AVG central updated the software and made the older, free version of the software unable to update its services properly. I am also guessing that the paid users of AVG will get their proper notification, which is fair since they paid for it.

The Old Bike



Once someone's pride, this machine now lays abandoned by the roadside.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Catholic priest to be charged for taking part in Bersih rally

Please update those whom you may informed that the court hearing has been postponed to Friday, 9AM at PJ Magistrate's Court.
Those who can't make it, please pray at the appointed time for ALL vigilers and their families too. More news below...


UPDATED: Catholic priest to be charged for taking part in Bersih rally
By Debra Chong


KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 — A Catholic priest from Shah Alam will be charged at the Petaling Jaya Magistrate's Court Friday for taking part in an illegal assembly organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, better known by its Malay acronym Bersih.

Rev Father Paulino Miranda was among 24 people who were arrested at the PJ Civic Centre in November last year, allegedly for taking part in an illegal rally, organised by Bersih in conjunction with its first anniversary.

Others who were arrested include DAP politicians Tony Pua, the MP for Petaling Jaya, Lau Weng San and Ronnie Liu, who are the Selangor state assemblymen for Kampung Tunku and Pandamaran respectively.

A spokesman for the Kuala Lumpur Catholic Lawyers' Society (CLS) Annou Xavier, told Malaysian Insider that Father Paulino received the summons to appear at the PJ Magistrate's Court three days ago.

Annou claimed that those arrested were later released on police bail, and were initially told there would be no charges against them.

He added that the CLS would be representing Fr Paulino in court. He called on all Catholics to turn up at the PJ Magistrate's Court to show their support.

Father Paulino could not be reached for comment.

A spokesman from the Church of the Divine Mercy, where Fr Paulino is the parish priest, told Malaysian Insider he is away attending an annual meeting involving the Catholic bishops and clergymen.

However, she confirmed that Fr Paulino had received the summons and will be present for the court hearing Friday, scheduled for 9am.

SOURCE: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/16473-catholic-priest-to-be-charged-for-taking-part-in-bersih-rally

--------------------------
--------------------------------------
Bernama, Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Home Ministry to probe Catholic paper's action

The Home Ministry will investigate claims that the "Herald – The Catholic Weekly" was still using the word "Allah" despite the government's decision prohibiting the publication from doing so.
Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the decision to disallow the weekly from using the word "Allah" was a government's decision and not that of the ministry.

"The case is not yet disposed of by the court. They should have waited for the court's decision and not think as if they have all the rights and others don't," he told reporters after attending the ministry's monthly gathering today.

"We have been tolerant towards other religions; If we decide to ban the publication, they will get angry and accuse us of stifling freedom."

In May, the High Court granted leave to the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur to apply for a judicial review against the Home Ministry's decision to prohibit the weekly from using the world "Allah". – Bernama

SOURCE: http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/17132/84/

----------------------------------------------------------------
Prayer for our homeland Malaysia, excerpts from Lowery's Awesome Benediction at Obama's Inauguration, view http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=60051095353&topic=6624

Comments, please post at our discussion board under the respective threads: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=60051095353#/board.php?uid=60051095353

With love from Malaysian Catholic
- Let all that you do be done in love
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=60051095353

Malaysia In A Week


It seems that UMNO still hasn't learned its lesson from the March 2008 election. The same arrogance was displaced in the recent by-election in Kuala Terengganu (KT). All its threats about KT not having a say in Parliment went down the drain when KT voted for the Opposition (PAS).

I believe KT only voted for PAS because there was no other viable candidate. Because I don't think most people agree with PAS Youth's call for a ban on Rihanna's upcoming concert in Malaysia. PAS seems to fear outspoken women, women with knowledge. If you walk into any PAS led state, you will find 99% of the women covered from head to toe. And most of the PAS women are silent when it comes to running the state. That is why PAS is always the first to condemn female celebrities. I find this a sad, pathetic party. Luckily I am not the only one.

Lastly, the Health Ministry's comment on Malaysian not doing their bit to fight the rise in dengue fever is uncalled for. I admit that we're partly to be blamed as they are surprisingly a large number of well educated but really STUPID Malaysians who throw their garbage wherever they feel like throwing. These are not the underprivileged as they seem to have more concern on the environment. It is the middle class and the rich who are doing so. I guess just giving a man an education doesn't make him a civilised human being.

But what the Health Ministry could do is the check whether its personnel are doing their job in cleaning the drains that always seems clogged in housing areas. The drains are always clogged in the areas of Kepong, Jinjang and Selayang. But come to Tmn Tun Dr. Ismail and you will find their drains clean and well maintained. Why? It is because they pay higher local taxes?

Hudud Law Soon A Reality in Malaysia


It doesnt take a genius to know that the Hudud law will soon become a reality in Malaysia.

With the number of non-Muslims dwindling because of migration to other non-Muslim countries and the lack of off-springs from the ones still residing in Malaysia, soon Muslims will constitute nearly all of the Malaysian population. And dont think is far off. Even for now, all it takes is for PAS to take over 2/3 of the government and they can move to change the constitution to incorporate Hudud laws. And what is stopping PAS from making Hudud cover all Malaysians!


Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Announcement: 23 people detained at PJ candlelight vigil to be charged tomorrow

Pat Lu posted an announcement to the cause Stop Fascism, Abolish ISA, Free All Detainees.

----------------
23 people detained at PJ candlelight vigil to be charged (including Fr Paulino Miranda, the parish priest of the Catholic Church of the Divine Mercy in Shah Alam)

The 23 people who were detained at the PJ anti-ISA candlelight vigil on 9 Nov 2008 will be charged in the Petaling Jaya court at 2pm on Thursday, 22 January 2009.

Please spread the message and come in support of our comrades.

SOURCE: http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/17100/84

► My Little Scrapbook: Lots of vigil stories here. The many reasons why Malaysians must organize and attend vigils nationwide.
http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/category/1/34/84/

► View Photo Albums: A picture speaks a thousand words.
http://picasaweb.google.com/pahlawan.volunteers

► Anti-ISA PJ Vigils Video Archive: Here are the videos where you can hear every word.
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=PahlawanVolunteers&view=playlists

Stand up and be counted in your own special way for the sake of all Malaysians and your children too.

See you every Sunday, 8.00PM at MBPJ!

No copyright. Feel free to share and forward on all works by Pahlawan Volunteers. Join us at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=33559455073
----------------

View Announcement - Invite Friends

Thanks,
The Causes Team


Monday, January 19, 2009

Tips for a Better Life

ONE.
Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. 

TWO
Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other. 

THREE
Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want. 

FOUR
When you say, 'I love you,' mean it. 

FIVE
When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye. 

SIX
Be engaged at least six month s before you get married. 

SEVEN
Believe in love at first sight. 

EIGHT
Never laugh at anyone's dr eams. People who don't have dreams don't have much. 

NINE
Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely. 

TEN
In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling. 

ELEVEN.
Don' t judge people by their relatives. 

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN.
When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?' 

FOURTEEN
Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk. 

FIFTEEN
Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze. 

SIXTEEN
When you lose, don't lose the lesson. 

SEVENTEEN. 
Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your act ions. 

EIGHTEEN. 
Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship. 

NINETEEN.
When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. 

TWENTY. 
Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice. 

TWENTY- ONE. 
Spend some time alone. 

Why Do White Educated Americans Hate Obama?


I'm on Twitter and Facebook and part of some internet marketing groups on both sites. I am surprised to find the number of educated, white Americans who hate President-Elect Barak Obama just because he's black. And these are Americans. I wont name names but these are famous Internet marketers. Which makes me wonder that if a superpower country like America still hasnt abolished racism, what can I expect from a primitive country like Malaysia?

Nothing.


Bird Strike




This is the extent of damage on a helicopter when a bird struck it during take off.

Take off and landing times are the most dangeous period for most flying vehicles. This is why most airports do have trees close by, to avoid birds either flying into or accidentally being sucked into airplane engines during take off






Thursday, January 15, 2009

QSH 3698

Why do small cars always speed?

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Citibank Hypocrites


Citibank - what a bunch of hypocrites. Despite losing potentially billions of dollars, they had the cheek to issue a forecast on Malaysia's GDP. They put Malaysia's GDP to 0.5% from an earlier estimated growth of 3.5%. And this comes from a company that is nearly bankrupt.

Someone once told me that American is a broke country. It's a country that's being run on debt. And like a house on cards, when it falls, it falls hard. I doubt President Elect Obama can do much, especially when multinational corporations in the US have powers even exceeding that of the US government.

Citibank should be allowed to fall. And the same goes for General Motors and Chrysler. These are companies with poor management and they have to pay the price. Unfortunately, its not the management who suffers since they will still take home a huge severance pay but its the lowly worker who will go home without a safety net.



Liverpool FC in Malaysia

REDS AROUND THE WORLD: MALAYSIA
Meet 32-year-old events manager Jonno Lim, who helps run an independent supporters' club and gets up at the crack of dawn to catch the Reds in action with hundreds of other fans in a crowded Malaysian bar.
Like most things, my association with the Malaysian independent supporters' club started with a few beers. After meeting on the fans' forum Red and White Kop (RAWK), we decided that as there were a fair number of us Reds in the same corner of the world, the least we could do was watch a game together in a bar.
 
Liverpool ran home 3-0 winners over Everton at Goodison Park that day in August 2003, with Michael Owen scoring a brace and Harry Kewell getting the third goal just before the final whistle.
 
Having supported the club from afar for so long, it felt very special to be enjoying a Liverpool victory with a few like-minded people. I had watched the Reds with friends before, but nothing like this. Even the owner of the Boardwalk on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur was a Reds fanatic, so it became known as the closest thing any Malaysian Red could get to the special Anfield atmosphere.
 
There are so many Liverpool fans in this part of the world, and they all have their own story to tell. Some adopt the Reds because of their history, others simply get drawn in by the miracle of Istanbul in 2005 or the breathtaking 'Gerrard Final' of 2006.
 
malaysia

 
The only reason I can offer for following the Reds is probably quite similar to most people's - all of my family are massive Liverpool fans. It goes way back to the seventies and beyond, so it was a no-brainer for me to be the same as them.
 
My earliest memory is of Michael Thomas and Ian Rush securing the FA Cup for Liverpool with great goals against Sunderland at Wembley in 1992. I can also vividly remember Neil 'Razor' Ruddock holding his head after scoring a late equaliser in the dramatic 3-3 draw with Manchester United in January 1994.
 
Nigel Clough scored twice that day, but the look on Ruddock's face will remain with me forever - the ball hit him on the top of his head before going in the net and he seemed in quite a lot of pain while celebrating his decisive goal at Anfield. I couldn't stop laughing.
 
As time went by, my Liverpool obsession grew. We experienced many joyous Saturday and Sunday nights at the Boardwalk over the years and celebrated many great Liverpool victories there. But our friend, Bala, soon told us he had to sell his bar and we were left with nowhere to watch our beloved Reds during the early hours of the morning over here in Malaysia.
 
And when the new owner of the Boardwalk told us they would not be opening for the 2007 Champions League final clash with AC Milan due to the fact it would be kicking off at 3.30am over here, we knew that we had to act quickly to find a new venue.
 
After a long and frustrating search, we finally found a small pub that would open for the match. We got in touch with our friends and fellow supporters to join us for the big game, as we knew that whenever Liverpool was involved in a big European game, it was guaranteed to be something special.
 
malaysia

 
We only really expected about 50 people to turn up at the most, but the bar ended up being crammed full with about 200 fans, all screaming at the screen, willing on the Reds. We were all disappointed that Rafa's men did not win that night in Athens, but a few of us knew right then that not only did we need a bigger venue, but also a proper fan club to bring all of these Liverpool supporters together.
 
We called our new supporters' club 'MyRAWK', as most of us had met through RAWK, while the 'My' stands for Malaysia and also gives us a sense that a certain part of LFC can belong to us individually.
 
Things were tough at the beginning, but settling on the M Bar as our exclusive home for watching all the games helped us a lot. The owner agreed to open up at all the unsociable hours involved in supporting a club many miles away and laid on a host of generous drinks offers.
 
What started as a small MyRAWK blog soon turned into a full website, and before long we had Liverpool fans joining us from all over for our match-viewing parties. From local lawyers to homesick expats, tourists to ex players (Ian Rush once even joined us - that was a very special day), the M Bar is now full of fervent fans week in, week out. I usually take up the microphone at each event and am always proud to be the official master of ceremonies.
 
We even have our futsal team and are also in the process of setting up a full 11-a side side. Our interim team recently won our first trophy, the Christmas Cup and one day we hope to have a proper team which takes part in the local social league.
 
malaysia

 
But due to the exchange rate and distance, not many of us have been lucky enough to get over to Anfield. I am currently saving up to make the pilgrimage one day next season with a few other fans. I'm sure that once we get up close to Liverpool's hallowed home, there will be many of us who will be close to tears, as this would be nothing short of our visiting our very own Mecca.
 
One of our newer members, Phil, who now lives in Liverpool, always talks about how unbelievable it is that a bunch of guys who have never seen the Reds play up close can wake up in the middle of the night to support a team who are playing nearly 7,000 miles away, only to go back to bed and rise for work less than two hours later.
 
But none of us at MyRAWK would have it any other way. Witnessing another Liverpool victory make all the long, sleepy days in the office after a match worth it - and believe you me, there have been a lot of those in recent years.
 

Things You Will Only See in Malaysia



The lighter side of Malaysia.....

Monday, January 12, 2009

Stella Awards

           It's time again for the annual 'Stella Awards'! For those  unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old  Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico , where she purchased coffee. You  remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get  burned doing that, right? That's right; these are awards for the  most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the  kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy. Here are the Stella's for the past year:

           *SEVENTH PLACE*

           Kathleen Robertson of Austin , Texas was awarded $80,000 by  a jury of her  peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running  inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.

           Start scratching!


           * SIXTH PLACE *

           Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles , California won $74,000 plus medical  expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda  Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of  the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.

           Scratch some more...


           * FIFTH PLACE *

           Terrence Dickson, of Bristol , Pennsylvania , who was  leaving a house he  had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for  Dickson, the  automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage  door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door  connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT days and survive on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance  company claiming undue mental Anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the  insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all  have this kind of anguish. Keep scratching. There are more...

           Double hand scratching after this one..


           *FOURTH PLACE*

           Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas , garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the  butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in  its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he  asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the  time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the  yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun.

           Pick a new spot to scratch, you're getting a bald spot..


           * THIRD PLACE *

           Amber Carson of Lancaster , Pennsylvania because a jury ordered a  Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she  slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an  argument. What ever happened to  people being responsible for their own actions?

           Only two more so ease up on the scratching....


           *SECOND PLACE*

           Kara Walton, of Claymont , Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000....oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure.

           Ok. Here we go!!!!!


           * FIRST PLACE *

           This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was:  Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City , Oklahoma , who purchased  new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from  an OU football game,  having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually  leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down?
           $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their  manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.

           Are we, as a society, getting more stupid.... or are more members of  Congress serving on juries these days?

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Most Beautiful Chess Players




Check out the world's most beautiful chess players... http://www.chesspics.com/rating.php?r=1