First Prototype of 2009 Porsche Panamera Caught Testing

Flush with cash from strong sales of its Cayenne SUV, Porsche is looking to expand beyond its sports car roots yet again with an all-new sedan. Revealed here in our exclusive spy video, this 2009 Porsche Panamera prototype was caught while undergoing early development tests prior to its launch in mid-2009.

It may be covered in heavy camouflage, but this prototype does give some hints to the overall shape of this front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sedan. Porsche is already calling the Panamera a four-door coupe much like Mercedes-Benz does with its sleek CLS sedan. This should assure a low, sloping roof for the Panamera and somewhat limited rear-seat passenger room compared to sedans of similar size.

Set for assembly at the same Leipzig factory as the Porsche Cayenne, the Panamera is expected to use the same lineup of V8 engines as the SUV. A top-of-the-line model could also utilize a retuned version of the V10 engine from the discontinued Carrera GT sports car. A dual-clutch setup similar to Audi's DSG system is expected to be the sole transmission.

Expect to see the production version of the 2009 Porsche Panamera debut at the Geneva auto show in the spring of 2009, with sales beginning later that year. more...

Angelina Jolie : The Year's Most Valuable Celebrity Faces

If America is falling into the recession economists fear it is, Angelina Jolie may prove more important than ever. If America is falling into the recession economists fear it is, Angelina Jolie may prove more important than ever. To the country's celebrity magazine editors, that is. Shrinking wallets could mean shrinking readership, and nobody moves magazines like Jolie, according to Forbes.com's second annual analysis of the top-selling celebrity faces. Jolie earned the top spot, thanks to strong performances in all three categories. Whether it's her humanitarian efforts or her ever-expanding brood, the globe-trotting A-lister has little trouble garnering interest at the checkout line.
Despite the paparazzi, pregnancy and peace activism, the owner of the world's poutiest lips still managed to play a lusty animated witch and the wife of a slain Wall Street Journal reporter in the same year. Photos of her twins should fetch the highest price ever for baby snaps. She'll probably give the money to charity.

People to pay $14 million for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's baby photos

Exclusive photos of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's newborn twins fetched $14 million, a person involved in the negotiations told The Associated Press, giving People magazine and a British tabloid joint rights to publish the most expensive celebrity pictures ever sold.

The person asked not to be named because he was not authorized to release the figure. People will feature twin babies Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon in an issue to hit newsstands Monday, spokeswoman Nancy Valentino said Friday.

The money - more than double the $6 million People paid for Jennifer Lopez' twins on a March cover, according to Forbes - will go to a foundation created by Pitt and Jolie that largely focuses on helping children around the world.

It's the second time the celebrity weekly won the North American rights to the couple's first-look baby pictures, and the third time they've worked with the two magazines in exchange for a hefty donation to charity.

"We're thrilled to be able to feature these pictures in People," managing editor Larry Hackett said in a statement.

People will split the bill with London-based Hello! magazine, which has worldwide rights; particulars of the division were not disclosed. People.com will unveil the first photo online Sunday evening.

Even before the babies were born July 12 in Nice, France, the speculation began over which celeb mag would come out on top of an inevitable bidding war. The couple ultimately chose to go a familiar route with its joint deal between People and Hello!, with Getty Images as the photographer and go-between.

People ponied up a reported $4 million donation for the U.S. rights to the first shots of their daughter Shiloh, now 2 years old, while Hello! obtained the British rights. And last year, the couple sold intimate shots of their son Pax, then 3 years old, to Hello! and People.

Getty Images, which was involved in the Shiloh deal, also took part this time around. In a statement, Getty co-founder and CEO Jonathan Klein said his company was "delighted that all proceeds from these stunning images will once again be donated entirely to charity."

When People the published six photos of Pitt, Jolie and baby Shiloh in June 2006, the issue moved 2.2 million copies, its biggest seller at the time going back to its 4 million-selling 9/11 special, Media Week reported at the time.

Jolie, 33, and Pitt, 44, established their foundation that year. They donated $1 million in June to The Education Partnership for Children of Conflict to help children affected by the war in Iraq. Last year, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation gave more than $300,000 to support the International Rescue Committee's relief program for Darfur refugees. more...

Salma Hayek teams up with Pampers and UNICEF for “One Pack = One Vaccine” global initiative

Salma Hayek isn’t taking her now role as a mom lightly! She’s so grateful for her daughter, Valentina Paloma’s health that she has teamed up with Pampers to help ensure mom’s all over the world can get access to life-saving vaccinations. The campaign, "One Pack = One Vaccine," is part of a global initiative with UNICEF that works to provide tetanus vaccinations for moms in developing nations worldwide. Salma serves as the North American ambassador for the Pampers/UNICEFpartnership in the U.S. and Canada to help raise awareness of thisprogram in TV commercials, print and online ads, as well as personal appearances. She will be paid an undisclosed honorarium for her participation.

Salma says,

In our own small way, this is an opportunity for moms like me here in North America to help other mothers on a global level. I’m honored to work with Pampers and UNICEF to help raise awareness of this important program.

Pamperslogo_2From April 1 through June 30, 2008, for every specially marked pack of Pampers product purchased in the U.S. and Canada, Pampers will provide UNICEF with funding for one tetanus vaccine for a mother in need worldwide. The participating products include the Pampers Stages diapers and wipes: Swaddlers, Swaddlers Sensitive, Cruisers and Easy Ups diapers, and Sensitive Wipes, Swipers and Clean n’ Go Wipes.

The immensely successful program, which launched in 2006 in the UK and expanded in 2007 to other countries in Western Europe, and debuts in the U.S. and Canada in spring 2008, has already helped provide UNICEF with funding for more than 25 million life-saving tetanus vaccines distributed throughout Africa and Asia. The goal for the North American campaign is to provide at least 27 million more vaccines, which would bring the total global donations to more than 50 million vaccines.

Caryl Stern, President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, explains why providing access to the vaccine is so important,

Childhood immunization is routine in the United States, but each year 140,000 infants and 30,000 women in developing countries die from tetanus – a life threatening, but preventable disease which can be contracted during childbirth. While significant progress has been made – last year Egypt and Zambia marked the elimination of tetanus – the disease is still a threat to women and children in more than 45 countries. I applaud Salma and Pampers for joining UNICEF in the fight against tetanus and helping us to move closer to our goal of completely eliminating the disease. more...

Bandidas is a Western Spoof About Two Women

Bandidas is the film where the two most famous latina stars of Hollywood, Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek, team up as a dynamite cowgirl duo fighting evil in Mexico, 1888.
There has been a large negative buzz about this film which is a bit unfair. Bandidas is just not to be taken seriously and is just good old entertainment where you have to have your sense of humor switched on. If you are expecting a serious western-drama, you have to look someplace else.

The film, which was releashed in cinemas all over Europe in January and March 2006, wasn't a huge hit. The thing with people was that they were expecting something without so much humour but did get that, which dissapointed them. The humour is indeed a bit too much sometimes, but there are some hilarious moments in the film that are absolutely enjoyable.
The chemistry between Cruz and Hayek is delicious and you can see in the way they are acting that they had a fun time on the set making the film. Next to Cruz and Hayek there is Steve Zahn. Zahn does what he does best: playing a comedic sidekick. He is funny and plays his part well. Dwight Yoakam feels a bit miscast in the film but he does an okay job as the main villian.
There is some drama in the film that feels a bit outnumberd compairing it with the comedic moments which gives the film a kind of messy feeling sometimes. That is too bad, but overall doesn't bother you.

The film has been professionally made and looks good. The special effects, the lush Mexican locations and cameramovements are beautifully done which gives great cinematography. Also the music, composed by Eric Serra is very nice and gives some scenes a nice powerboost and a fun western flavour.

Still the best reason to buy the film are two elements: Cruz and Hayek. They are sexy, funny and make the film worth to take a look at. Some things are a bit over the top, but who cares: it entertains, and it is nice to kill 1 and a half hours of boredom and replace that with nice popcorn fun.
And most importantly: Bandidas leaves you with a smile on your face, and that is what entertainment is all about.

First screened in Europe and scheduled for limited release in the U.S., Bandidas can now be viewed by all fans of the visually stunning duo, Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek. Set in Mexico 1888, Bandidas is a Western spoof about two women, Maria Alvarez (Penelope Cruz) and Sara Sandoval (Salma Hayek), who seek to avenge the tragedies befallen both their fathers under robber baron, Tyler Jackson (Dwight Yoakam). Jackson, employed by the Bank of New York, is sent to Mexico to buy land and open banks to the detriment of local culture. Jackson kills Sara's corrupt father, Don Diego, while bandits burn down Maria's home. The two ladies band together for the community's cause. Under the tutelage of Bill Buck (Sam Sheperd), Sara and Maria develop bank robbery skills. When criminologist, Quentin Cooke (Steve Zahn), hunts them, they convert him with their strong moral sense and good looks. Like any Thelma and Louise-ish tale of women who take charge, Maria and Sara are foil characters who eventually become an invincible, sisterly team. This comedy is built around their bickering. For Sara, with European education and penchant of designer clothing, Maria is a hick who lacks refinement, yet Maria, horse whisperer, can fire a gun. The slapstick is overkill, for example when Sara wonders whether a bandana is Gucci or Prada. However, viewers will love Penelope Cruz on horseback and the two actresses practice-kissing their foe in a brothel. Bandidas is a light film with some laughs and mucho sex appeal. more...

Person of the Year 2008

Barack Obama


Time magazine has just released their end-of-the year issue that names their annual person of the year. Time says of their choice, “It's unlikely that you were surprised to see Obama's face on the cover. He has come to dominate the public sphere so completely that it beggars belief to recall that half the people in America had never heard of him two years ago — that even his campaign manager, at the outset, wasn't sure Obama had what it would take to win the election. He hit the American scene like a thunderclap, upended our politics, shattered decades of conventional wisdom and overcame centuries of the social pecking order.

Obama issue when his interview with Time :

On the economy:
"It is not clear that the economy's bottomed out. And so even if we take a whole host of the right steps in terms of the economy, two years from now it may not have fully recovered."

On Afghanistan:
"We're going to have to make a series of not just military but also diplomatic moves that fully enlist Pakistan as an ally in that region, that lessen tensions between India and Pakistan, and then get everybody focused on rooting out militancy in a terrain, a territory, that is very tough — and in an enormous country that is one of the poorest and least developed in the world. So that, I think, is going to be a very tough situation.

On climate:
"And then the third thing that keeps me up at night is the issue of nuclear proliferation. And then the final thing, just to round out my Happy List, is climate change. All the indicators are that this is happening faster than even the most pessimistic scientists were anticipating a couple of years ago."

Obama enjoys for cooking, basketball, spending time with his family, and dancing. Barack and Michelle Obama and children, living nearby to Michelle's mother, Marian Robinson. Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Michelle Obama, née Robinson, the wife of Barack Obama, was born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. She is a lawyer and was a University of Chicago Hospital Vice-President. Barack and Michelle Obama have two daughters, Malia Ann and Natasha. more...

Enzo Ferrari

Enzo Ferrari was born in Modena Italy on February 18 1898. He came from a well to do family that owned a metal foundry making railroad parts, they were the first in his town to own a car.
When WWI came Enzo's father and brother (Dino) were drafted into the Italian army, whom both died from influenza in 1916. Enzo was forced to leave school to run the foundry, when the business collapsed he started work as a metalworker at the Modena Fire Brigade workshop as a turning instructor in order to support his widowed mother.

Enzo Ferrari 1919

Enzo himself was later drafted into the Italian army where he worked shoeing mules for the mountain artillery, after a few months he becomming seriously ill and was released from the military. Not interested in going back to shcool and against his mothers will, he found work as a test driver in Turin in late 1918. Enzo then moved to Milan to work at CMN (Costruzioni Maccaniche Nazionali) as a racing car driver. His first real race came in the 1919, the Parma-Berceto, he then entered the Targa Florio that same year. Enzo then founded Scuderia Ferrari, (literally means Ferrari Stable) who were mainly sponsors and trainers for Alfa Romeo.

THE PRANCING HORSE EMBLEM

The famous symbol of Ferrari is a black prancing horse on yellow background, usually with the letters S F for Scuderia Ferrari.
The horse was originally the symbol of Count Francesco Baracca, a legendary "asso" (ace) of the Italian air force during World War I, who painted it on the fuselage of his planes. Baracca died very young on June 19, 1918, shot down on Mount Montello after 34 victorious duels and many team victories. He was the Italian ace of aces and he soon became a national hero.
Baracca had wanted the prancing horse on his planes because his squad, the "Battaglione Aviatori", was enrolled in a Cavalry regiment (air forces were at their first years of life and had no separate administration), and also because he himself was reputed to be the best cavaliere of his team. The Scuderia Ferrari logo Coat of Arms of the City of StuttgartIt has been supposed that the choice of a horse was perhaps partly due to the fact that his noble family was known for having plenty of horses in their estates at Lugo di Romagna. Another theory suggests Baracca copied the rampant horse design from a shot down German pilot having the emblem of the city of Stuttgart on his plane. Interestingly, German sports car manufacturer Porsche, from Stuttgart, borrowed its prancing horse logo from the city's emblem. Furthermore astonishing: Stuttgart is an over the centuries modified version of Stutengarten (an ancient german word for "Gestüt", translated into english as mare garden or stud farm, into italian as "scuderia").

Enzo and Dino Ferrari

On June 17, 1923, Enzo Ferrari won a race at the Savio track in Ravenna, and there he met the Countess Paolina, mother of Baracca. The Countess suggested that he might use the horse on his cars, suggesting that it would grant him good luck, but it the first race at which Alfa would let him use the horse on Scuderia cars was eleven years later, at SPA 24 Hours in 1932. Ferrari won.
Ferrari left the horse black as it had been on Baracca's plane; however, he added the canary yellow background because it was the symbolic color of his birthplace, Modena. The prancing horse has not always identified the Ferrari brand only: Fabio Taglioni used it on his Ducati motorbikes. Taglioni's father was in fact a companion of Baracca's and fought with him in the 91st Air Squad, but as Ferrari's fame grew, Ducati abandoned the horse; this may have been the result of a private agreement between the two brands. The prancing horse is now a trademark of Ferrari.

ALFA ROMEO

Ferrari was officially hired by Alfa Romeo as head of their racing department in 1938, then in 1940, upon learning of the company's plan to take control of his beloved Scuderia, he quit Alfa. Since he was prohibited by contract from racing for several years, the Scuderia briefly became Auto Avio Costruzioni Ferrari, which ostensibly produced machine tools and aircraft accessories for Piaggio and RIV as Italy was gearing up for WWII. Ferrari did in fact produce one race car, the Tipo 815, in the non-competition period; it was thus the first actual Ferrari car, but due to the war it saw little competition.
Ferrari experienced an emotional breakdown in the late twenties and stopped racing for a short time, but in 1927, he returned. He continued to race for Alfa Romeo until his son was born, in 1932. Although Ferrari was a good racer, his talent was in the direction of organization and handling of small details. He worked for Alfa Romeo for nine years, but Ferrari wanted to design his own cars. After being released from his severance agreement with Alfa Romeo, Ferrari started his own car business. However, a stipulation of his release was that he could not race or design anything under his name for four years.
In 1943 the Ferrari factory moved to Maranello, where it has remained ever since. The factory was bombed in 1944 due to making machines for ball bearing production, it was rebuilt in 1946 to include a works for road car production. The first Ferrari road car was the 1947 125 S, powered by a 1.5-litre V12 engine; Enzo reluctantly built and sold his automobiles to fund the Scuderia. While his beautiful and blazingly fast cars quickly gained a reputation for excellence, Enzo maintained a famous distaste for his customers, most of whom he felt were buying his cars for the prestige and not for racing. Ferrari has long been one of the ultimate toys for the rich and young (or young-at-heart).

Ferrari Berlinette 375

Ferrari cars feature highly-tuned small V8 and V12 engines, often in a mid-engined configuration. But until the introduction of fuel injection in the 1980s, they were quite temperamental and were dificult to maintain. Before the mid 1980s they carried a reputation for unreliability and bad engineering, though these were written off by enthusiasts as "character." Ferrari owners have famously and religiously defended the merits of their cars while virulently criticizing other brands.
The fifties were a time of economic boom, mostly for the north. Italy was becoming a world economic power, and was experiencing rapid expansions in the industrial labor forces. With the boom came low inflation, low unemployment, and higher consumer spending. This was considered an economic miracle, there was a great demand for Italian goods (Galt Lecture, 1997). The north offered the jobs which caused massive migration from the south. With the southern workers mostly being uneducated and having no representation in the work force, they were candidates for exploitation.
As with any economic boom, there are also hardships. For Ferrari, the end of the boom came when his son, Dino, died of muscular dystrophy in 1956. This also led to the end of his marriage to Laura, who never got over the death of her only son. After he and his wife separated, he moved into an apartment at the factory. He started to work seven days a week and throw himself into the business. Following the death of his wife, he publicly announced that the son of his mistress was his new heir.
The Scuderia joined the Formula One World Championship in the first year of its existence, 1950. Jose-Froilan Gonzalez gave the team its first victory at the 1951 British Grand Prix. Alberto Ascari gave Ferrari its first World Championship a year later. Ferrari is the oldest team left in the championship, not to mention the most successful: the team holds nearly every Formula One record.

Ferrari Berlinetta 375

In the fifties the Ferrari racing company experienced numerous accidents, one of which led to Ferrari's indictment for manslaughter. One of his drivers lost control of his car and was killed along with spectators in the stands. Ferrari was acquitted of the charges, and he "urged strict new safety regulations to protect both drivers and the public".



In the years that followed Italy went through another crisis. In the sixties, the economy declined. An increase in inflation eroded wages. The late sixties were composed of student movements which included students helping the working class by fighting for and winning higher wages. During this time Ferrari was also experiencing economic troubles. He sold part of his company to Fiat in 1965, which kept it going for a few more years. In 1969, Fiat assisted him again and bought the up a total of 90% of the company, with the stipulation that he would control until his death.



The now classic Berlinettas battled the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The works engines produced 384 bhp at 7500 rpm. Customer 375mm Berlinettas and Spyders utilized a new short stroke engine of 84mm x 68 mm for a total displacement of 4523cc. This engine produced 340 bhp at a lower 7000 rpm.



Ferrari stepped down as president of the company in 1971. However, he continued to run many aspects of it, including control of his stock interest, until his death in 1988.

Enzo Ferrari was given the Italian award of Cavaliere for sporting mertit in 1924 and went on to receive further honours from the nation: Commendatore in 1927, Cavaliere del Lavoro in 1952. In 1960 he received an honorary degree in mechanical engineering from Bologna University. In 1988 Modena University gave him in Physics. He was awared the Hammerskjold Prize by the UN in 1962, the Columbus Prize in 1965, the Gold Medal from the Italian school of Art and Culture in 1970, the De Gasperi Award in 1987.

Under his leadership (1947-88) Ferrari won over 5000 races all over the world and earned 25 world titles. The most important achievements have been 9 Formula 1 Drivers' World titles, 8 Formula 1 Constructors' World Championships, 14 Manufactures' World titles, 9 wins at Le Mans 24 Hours race, 8 at the Mille Miglia, 7 at the Targa Florio.

Enzo Ferrari 1919

Enzo Ferrari died in Modena on August 14 1988. After the death of Enzo Ferrari, Scuderia Ferrari struggled to come to terms with the loss of its founder. The team was dragged down with internal politics marring the performances on the track. Despite a good run with Mansell and Prost the team soon became un-competitive. The turning point for Ferrari was the signing of the current world champion Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn in 1996, since then the team has re-found it's racing history and are now back at the front of the grid.

FERRARI 250 GT

Introduced in the fall of 1962, the 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso was Ferrari’s latest intermediate model, a vehicle to bridge the gap between competition racers and luxuriously appointed 2+2 Coupe’s. In the past, models like the 250 GT Pinin Farina ‘Notchback’ and SWB Lusso had occupied this middle ground, however, Ferrari's new model struck a perfect balance between what were two very different automobiles. It combined exceptional performance and sultry looks and today the GTL is widely regarded as one of Pininfarina's greatest ever designs - no small complement considering some of their exquisite bodywork from the last 60 years.
The Lusso's tubular steel Tipo 539 chassis was eminently comparable to the frame seen on Ferrari's awesome 250 GTO. Sharing an identical wheelbase of 2400mm, primary points of difference were smaller diameter steel tubing and the Lusso's forward mounted engine to increase cabin space. Otherwise, the independent front suspension and live rear axle set up, with hydraulic discs all-round and Borrani wire wheels, was very much the same. Once again, the single overhead camshaft, 60° V12 used in these GTL's was another descendent of Colombo's original unit, Lusso's representing the pinnacle of development for the legendary 250 unit. Designated Tipo 168, the engine was little more than a mildly de-tuned version of Ferrari's racing spec units used in the aforementioned GTO. Displacement remained at the by now familiar 2953cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 73mm x 58.8mm respectively. Output was 250bhp at 7500rpm with a compression of 9.2:1 and three twin choke Weber 36 DCS downdraught carburettors. However, by special request, both these could be altered according to the desires of any particular client. For example, some Lusso's received high compression units whilst hot 36 DCZ or even 40 DCL and DCZ carburettors were fitted to some motors. Indeed, it's believed that one or two GTL's left Maranello producing a GTO-rivalling 290bhp!

Ferrari 250 GTO 1962

The Ferrari 250 GTO was made from 1962 to 1964. There were 39 produced and they were only available as coupes (hardtops). Today's going rate for a good 250 GTO is in the $10,000,000 range! Obviously this is the way beyond the budgets of most mortals.
The design of the GTO was instantly and universally admired. Its appeal has withstood the test of time, and it is considered to be one of the best looking sports cars of all time.
"GTO" stood for Grand Turismo Omologato, or Grand Touring Homologated. This naming is widely considered to be a very effective ruse, by which Ferrari convinced the FAI (international sanctioning body for racing) that this car was a version of Ferrari's mass produced 250 GT.
1996 was a year for building for the future and in 1997 and 1998 Ferrari lost out on the title's only in the final race of the season. 97 will be remembered from the Jerez incident in which Michael Schumacher tangled with title rival Jacques Villeneuve handing the Williams driver the title. In 1998 it was Mika Hakkinen in the McLaren who took the title on the final day of the season after Schumacher's Ferrari stalled on the grid at Suzuka.
In 1999 a Schumacher driver's title looked on the cards until a leg breaking accident at Silverstone ruled him out of the title battle, it was left to Eddie Irvine to take the fight to Hakkinen and fight he did, the title again went to the final race of the season but not even the return of Michael Schumacher could prevent Hakkinen taking the crown once again, Ferrari however took victory in the constructor's championship.
2000 was a turning point for Ferrari's fortunes, another tough battle with McLaren was won in style with a fine end of season comeback which saw Michael Schumacher win the final four races of the season to secure both titles for Ferrari. And in 2001 the success would be repeated, this time Ferrari had less of a challenge and Schumacher had wrapped up another title long before the season was over.

In 2002 Ferrari launch the F2002 and it will be a car that is long remembered in the history of the Scuderia. The F2002 simply dominated the season after making a delayed debut in Brazil. Schumacher won the driver's title quicker than any other driver before and Ferrari won by a record margin of points. However this success caused the FIA to worry about the sport becoming boring and in 2003 they were to introduce a raft of changes to try and slow down Ferrari and keep the title's competitive.
The changes to F1 in 2003 did at least stop Ferrari running away with the title's once again, but they did not stop the winning streak from continuing. Schumacher once again took the driver's title this time fighting off a double challenge from Montoya and Raikkonen. Ferrari took their 5th straight victory in the constructor's title and put another notch on their domination of the sport in this period of time.
2004 would see Ferrari continue to dominate F1, after the tough battle in 2003 many expected Ferrari's winning run to come to an end at the hands of their Michelin shod rivals, but the F2004 was simply the class of the field as Ferrari went on the rampage once again similar to 2002 where nobody had an answer to their pace. Ferrari were so far ahead of the rest they stopped developing the chassis in the summer to work on the 2005 car, thus allowing their rivals some hope as they caught up with the champions towards the end of the season, but by then it was all done and dusted and the team sealed yet another double championship win, with 15 wins from 18 races.
As of 2004, the team's records include fourteen World Drivers Championship titles (1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004), fourteen World Constructors Championship titles (1961, 1964, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004), 179 grand prix victories, 3445 and a half points, 544 podium finishes, 174 pole positions, 11,182 laps led, and 180 fastest laps in 1622 grands prix contested. Famous drivers include Tazio Nuvolari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari, Phil Hill, Mike Hawthorn, John Surtees, Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, Gilles Villeneuve, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher.

FIAT and FERRARI

As of 2004, FIAT owns 56% of Ferrari, Mediobanca owns 15%, Commerzbank AG owns 10%, Lehman Brothers owns 7%, and Enzo's son Piero Ferrari owns 10%.
more...

Tom Cruise: 25 things you may or may not know

1 Born on the third of July

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV was born on July 3, 1962, in Syracuse, New York, but the family moved around and he attended 15 different schools in 12 years. “I had no close friend,” he told The Sunday Times in 2006. “I was always the new kid with the wrong shoes, the wrong accent. His father, an electrical engineer, Cruise said, was “a bully, a coward. The kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you”.

2 Mixed-up kid

At 7, he was assessed as being dyslexic.

3 Get physical

The sporty Cruise lost a tooth playing British Bulldog and injured his knee while wrestling. The latter prompted him to channel his eye-bulging competitiveness into acting, auditioning for a high-school production of Guys and Dolls.

4 Losing his religion

He briefly attended a Franciscan seminary intending to become a Catholic priest, but left after a year. It is unclear whether it was the ascetism or Cincinatti that put him off.

5 No thanks for the memories

Cruise counts his 25 years from Risky Business (1983). Does that mean he would rather forget Endless Love, Taps (both 1981) and The Outsiders (1983), which starred Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze?

6 Young enterprise

But Risky Business was his first iconic role, his horny teenager turning his parents' house into a brothel and lip-synching to Bob Seger's Old Time Rock and Roll in his underwear. A 5ft 7in legend was born.

7 Tom Gun

In 1986, Cruise went stratospheric as a navy pilot in Top Gun, a feature-length advert for Reaganite military muscle that grossed $300 million, boosted navy recruitment and impelled small boys on BMXs to yell: “I feel the need - the need for speed!”

8 Finding his religion

In 1987, Cruise married the actor Mimi Rogers, seven years his senior, who is a Scientologist. He later joined the religion and is now rumoured to be an Operating Thetan level 7, one of Scientology's elite beings who are reputed to be able to use telekinesis, leave their bodies at will and telepathically control human beings and animals.

9 Playing with the big boys

Cruise starred opposite Paul Newman in The Colour of Money (1986) and Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man (1988), and earned the first of three Oscar nominations as a paraplegic Vietnam veteran in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July (1989).

10 Thunderbolt

He then felt the need for more speed. But all he got from the motor-racing drama Days of Thunder (1990) were scathing reviews and a second wife, his co-star Nicole Kidman. They would later adopt two children, Isabella and Connor.

11 Bloodsport

The closest the relentlessly heterosexual Cruise has come to playing gay - not counting the famously homoerotic shirtless volleyball scene in Top Gun - was as Lestat the ambiguous bloodsucker in Interview with the Vampire (1994), an adaptation of Anne Rice's novel. “Tom Cruise is no more my Lestat than Edward G. Robinson is Rhett Butler,” Rice snorted.

12 Show me the money

With his Oscar-nominated turn as a sports agent in Jerry Maguire (1996), Cruise became the first actor to star in five consecutive films that grossed $100 million in the US.

13 Sister act

In 2004, Cruise replaced his publicist of 14 years, Pat Kingsley, with his sister, fellow Scientologist Lee Anne DeVette. Many attributed his subsequent openness about the religion to this change.

14 The drugs don't work

On NBC's Today programme in 2005, Cruise called psychiatry a “pseudo science” and criticised his Endless Love co-star Brooke Shields for using antidepressants after the birth of her child. “You don't know the history of psychiatry; I do,” he told the presenter Matt Lauer. He later apologised to Shields.

15 Shut that door

A 2005 episode of South Park depicted Cruise refusing to come out of Stan's closet. It has never been shown in the UK.

16 Pulling power

In 2005, Cruise started dating the former Dawson's Creek star Katie Holmes. Marc Headley, a former Scientologist, claimed in the News of the World that the relationship was arranged after an audition process disguised as a casting call. Among those who demurred, said Headley, was Scarlett Johansson, who apparently “freaked out” when she found out that the audition was at a Scientology Centre. Not so Holmes. “I knew immediately that she was the one,” Cruise is reported to have said.

17 Sofa, so bad

Appearing on Oprah Winfrey's talk show in 2005, Cruise leapt on the sofa, punched the floor and shouted, “I'm in love!” The phrase "jumping the couch", referring to someone who tarnishes their reputation in public, was named The Historical Dictionary of American Slang's term of 2005.

18 Crazy in love

Holmes then appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, who said: “This must be a very exciting time for you. You're in love with Tom Cruise, and Tom, as far as we can tell, has gone nuts.”

19 On a mission

Cruise was nevertheless voted the world's most powerful celebrity by Forbes in 2006. He celebrated by making the rubbish Mission: Impossible III, which still grossed $130 million.

20 Wedding vows

TomKat were married by a Scientology minister at Odescalchi Castle in Italy in front of friends including Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez and the Beckhams. The Scientology leader David Miscavige was the best man.

21 Married young

Each of Cruise's three wives (Rogers, Kidman and Holmes) has been 11 years younger than the last.

22 Birth right

On April 18, 2006, Holmes gave birth to a baby girl named Suri. Claims that Scientology rules forbade her to cry out during labour were denied.

23 Separate ways

Paramount Pictures ended its 14-year relationship with Cruise later that year. “His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount,” Sumner Redstone, chairman of their parent company Viacom, told The Wall Street Journal.

24 New ventures

Also in 2006, Cruise took joint charge of the United Artists studio, starring in the critically mauled Lions for Lambs and the forthcoming Valkyrie, based on an assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler.

25 The future

Cruise's big mistake was sacking the respected Kingsley, says Max Clifford. “Protection is the most important thing in PR. He's been too public about Scientology. He can turn things around because he's still popular. It's when you disappear from centre stage that it gets difficult.” more...

Kylie Minogue: Our pocket princess

Kylie Minogue, resplendent in white satin appliqued with sequinned stars, was yesterday made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace's ballroom- a world away from the frizzy perm and dungarees of her Neighbours debut.

Diminutive, her hair swept back in a French roll, so much prettier in real life and without the showgirl warpaint, she blushed and smiled and said "thank you" like a polite teenager at a school dance.

Watched by her sister Dannii, mother Carol and father Ron, Kylie Ann Minogue OBE sashayed in her Yves Saint Laurent dress gracefully atop sky-high gold stilletos and managed even a balletic and stylish curtsey for the Prince.

More than 300 people, family and guests of the 120 recipients of the Queen's New Year's honours, sat on gold-backed chairs upholstered with red satin under enormous chandeliers and gilt arches. Many men wore tails, the women in hats and ostrich feathers as the orchestra played high above in the balcony.

All could not help craning their necks when La Minogue returned to the ballroom to watch the rest of the ceremony. A little boy seated beside her could barely contain his excitement and not only shook the pop star's hand but scored a glorious smile and an autograph.

Outside, in the Palace's courtyard in the sunshine after the ceremony, the pop start took questions graciously. The thing that made her nervous was deciding "what to wear". No tears, just excitement.

"I was overwhelmed, nervous, I am so honoured." she said.

Life had changed a lot since her illness but she felt thankful everyday and her "energy levels" are high: "I'm rising to the challenge, I am so full of joy and so thankful" she said.

Minogue, despite her millionaire, superstar status, appeared shy, almost diffident talking to the phalanx of media and was clearly relieved when she could return to her family waiting outside the spotlight.

She is now an honorary Briton, she said smiling, then thought twice about how she might sound and added, "But I still call Australia home".

It seems incredible that this Australian-born pop icon, the girl who has spawned more Madame Tussaud wax likenesses than any other figure except the Queen, has turned 40.

In a birthday interview in Britain, Kylie says she still hopes to be doing what she loves best and performing on stage aged 50 and even 60.

However, the iconic hotpants will be left behind and, unlike Mick Jagger, who still wears hipsters but no longer has a bottom to hold them up, she will turn to more dignified outfits as a concession to ageing gracefully.

She could imagine herself in the spotlight when she was in her 50s and even at 60: "It's difficult to age with dignity in the pop business, but I'd like to think I've managed it so far.'' she said

Minogue has denied rumours she has rekindled her romance with French actor Olivier Martinez.

The pair split early last year and in the wake of chemotherapy for her breast cancer. Photographed having dinner with her parents in Paris last week sparked a frenzy of gossip but Ms Minogue insists she and the Frenchman are simply good friends.

She said that while she had thought about settling down and creating a family, she also admitted that there were days when she thought "that's not the right path for me''.

"I never really felt I was made for an ordinary life, like a husband and a terraced house in the suburbs," she said. more...

USC Legends : Frank Gifford

4-time All-Pro (1955-57,59); NFL MVP in 1956; led NY Giants to 3 NFL title games; longtime TV sportscaster, beginning career in 1958 while still a player; scandal struck the married Gifford after he was videotaped in a compromising position with a former TWA stewardess, Suzen Johnson, in 1997.

At the University of Southern California, Frank played both offense and defense and had won All-America honors as a senior.

It took only a few days for Giants coach Steve Owen to realize he had a prize as Gifford could run, pass, catch, play defensive back, and return punts and kicks. In 1953, he even played two ways in an era of one-platoon specialists, averaging almost 50 minutes every game.

In 1956, he was the NFL's Most Valuable Player as he paced the Giants to a league championship. Six times he was named first- or second-team All-NFL. Then in 1960, a severe head injury suffered in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles put Frank on the sidelines.

When he decided to retire before the 1961 season, there was every reason to believe the sparkling Gifford era was over. But in 1962 he returned to the game he loved. Facing and conquering the dual problems of regaining his touch after a long layoff and of learning a new position – he was switched from halfback to flanker to take advantage of his great pass-catching skills – Gifford attained star status once again.

No better yardstick of Frank's great versatility can be gained than from his eight Pro Bowl selections. He was named to the Pro Bowl at three different positions – first as a defensive back, then as an offensive halfback; and last as a flanker in 1964.

The Giants won big during the Gifford years and, while the team was loaded with many great pro football names, no one played a more dynamic role, year in and year out, in bringing the Giants success than did Frank Gifford.
more...

Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche

Ferdinand Porsche, was born in 1875 in Mattersdorf, a village close to Reichenberg, in what was then North Bohemia, later Czechoslovakia. The young Porsche demonstrated excellent mechanical aptitude and, at age 18, was recommended for a job in Vienna with Bela Egger (later Brown Boveri). In Vienna, he sneaked into night classes at the Technical University, the only "formal" engineering education he ever obtained.

After five years in Vienna, he landed his first job in the automotive field with Jacob Lohner. In 1900, the 'System Lohner-Porsche' electric carriage made its debut at the World's Fair in Paris. This automobile set several Austrian land speed records. It did over 35 mph. Porsche then harnessed Daimler's and Panhard's internal combustion engines to power wheel-mounted electric motors in the new "System Mixt." More speed records were won, acclaim followed, and in 1905 Porsche won the Poetting Prize as Austria's outstanding automotive designer. He was now a famous automotive engineer in Europe.

Austro-Daimler (a licensee of the Stuttgart-based Daimler firm) recruited Porsche in 1906 to be its chief designer. One of his most famous A-D's appeared in 1910. Porsche designed an 85-horsepower, streamlined car for the Prince Henry Trial. Examples won the top three places in the 1910 trial, and Model 27/80 has ever since been known as the "Prince Henry."

For most of the next decade, Austro-Daimler concentrated on war materiel including aircraft engines, huge trucks, and motorized cannons. In 1916, Porsche became the firm's managing director. The next year, Porsche received what became his most cherished honor, an honorary doctorate from Vienna Technical University, the same institution where 24 years earlier he had sneaked into night classes. This degree was designated by the now-famous "Dr. Ing. h.c." which was forever to be part of the professor's persona and eventually part of his firm's name.

While Austro-Daimler principally pursued large luxury sedans in the '20s, Dr. Porsche moved toward light cars and racing. Porsche had competed in hillclimbs, speed trials and rallies since his first days in the industry. By 1922, Dr. Porsche had embraced racing as a way to improve his cars and the resultant Sascha won races throughout Europe with 43 wins in 51 starts. Eventually, Porsche and Austro-Daimler's board differed on the future direction of its cars and Dr. Porsche triggered his formidable temper and left Austro-Daimler in 1923.

Ferdinand Porsche in 1923. Within several months, he was in Stuttgart as Daimler's Technical Director. His early work at Daimler earned him a second honorary degree, this time from the Stuttgart Technical University. A series of intimidating racing cars followed: the two-liter, eight-cylinder cars for 1925-27 in which Rudolf Caracciola won 21 races in 27 starts. After the 1926 merger of Daimler and Benz, the big 6.2-liter K, 6.8-liter S, and then the 7.0-liter SS, SSK, and SSKL models followed, dominating racing in 1928-1930. While Porsche's racing activities were successful, his push for small, light Daimler-Benz cars was not. The board objected. In 1929, Porsche left for a brief stay at Steyr, but the Great Depression was on and car manufacturing was not the place to be. Steyr collapsed. At age 55, Porsche had no job. Despite his broadly-acknowledged brilliance, his well-earned reputation for stubbornness was not going to help him find a good job in those hard times.

He returned to Stuttgart, an automotive center with firms such as Hirth, Mahle, and Bosch in addition to Daimler-Benz. In January 1931, he launched his consulting firm, 'Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH Konstructionsburo Fur Motern, Fahrzeug, Luftfahrzeug, and Wasserfahrzeugbau' ('Motors, Vehicles, Airplanes, and Boats...'). The staff was composed of men with whom the Professor had previously worked: Karl Rabe, chief engineer, was joined by Erwin Komenda (body design), Karl Frolich (transmissions), Josef Kales (motors), Josef Zahradnik (steering and suspensions), Francis Reimspiess, Han Mickl (aerodynamics), Adolf Rosenberger (business manager), and two relatives, Anton Piech (a lawyer, Ferdinand Porsche's son-in-law and later father of Ferdinand Piech, now chairman of Volkswagen), and Porsche's own son, Ferry.

Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche had been born in 1909 in Weiner Neustadt, Austria, the second child in the family behind a five-year older sister, Louisa. His first nickname was 'Ferdy' but (as he recounted 50 years later) his governess did not like the sound of the name and changed it to 'Ferry', actually a nickname for Franz.

Growing up, young Porsche was allowed to play in the Austro-Daimler factory. He was interested in matters automotive and paid attention to what he saw and heard in the factory. At an early age he accompanied his father to races for both Austro-Daimler and Daimler-Benz (including Indianapolis in 1923), and he had a half-sized two-cylinder car. Educated in Wiener Neustadt and then Stuttgart, Ferry was an excellent math student. In 1928, not yet 19 years old, he began an apprenticeship at Bosch. In 1930, he was tutored daily in physics and engineering in preparation for working in the new Porsche consulting firm.

The '30s were alternatively exhilarating and depressing for the Porsche family: times of impending financial disaster mixed with huge engineering successes, followed by the War, and the destruction of the European economy.

The new Porsche design firm had projects soon after opening, such was Professor Porsche's reputation. First was a new medium-priced car for Wanderer. Later, Porsche decided to undertake a new small car; one designed to be small from inception and not a scaled-down bigger car. Professor Porsche funded the project with a loan on his life insurance. It was an important design, being the direct antecedent of the Volkswagen. Later Zundapp was recruited to sponsor the project and three prototypes were built.

The VW 30 (left) and the VW 3 (right). Zundapp lost interest when its motorcycle business boomed; then NSU took on the project. After NSU bowed out in the face of huge tooling costs, the small car project lay fallow until Germany's newly elected chancellor, Adolf Hitler, decided every German family needed a radio (to be able to listen to his dogma) and either a small car or a durable tractor. In June of 1934, the Third Reich signed a contract to build prototype Volkswagens. By the winter of 1936, three prototypes, the VW3, had been built in the garages of Professor Porsche's home. In early 1937, the Nazi 'oversight' organization, the RDA (Reichverband der Deutschen Automobilindustrie) recommended further development and that 30 additional prototypes be built by Daimler-Benz. During the testing of the VW3O, the Reich selected an estate northeast of Hanover to become the site of the Volkswagen factory. "Die Autostadt" was born; today it is Wolfsburg, still the worldwide headquarters of Volkswagen.

While the Professor undertook co-general management (with a Nazi administrator) of the new plant, his son stayed in Stuttgart and ran the design business. The government gave the car a propaganda-oriented name, the "KdF" - short for Kraft durch Freude ("strength through joy"), the recreation arm of the workers' Labor Front. Refinements to the car were undertaken. Production started but was quickly switched over to the Kubelwagen and Schwimmwagen (a "jeep" and its amphibious counterpart) for the suddenly escalating World War II. In 1944, allied bombing destroyed over half of the plant. Only because two huge electricity-producing turbines were unscathed did the British rebuild the plant and restart production of the Volkswagen after the War.

Back in the early '30s the Porsche firm launched a second internal project to design a car to meet a new Grand Prix formula. Hitler had announced a 500,000 RM ($250,000) subsidy for a German firm that would build and campaign cars in the new formula. Daimler-Benz applied and won; Auto Union applied and lost. Auto Union reapplied and took Professor Porsche and his designs to meet with Hitler and his staff. In the now-famous meeting, Porsche convinced Hitler of the merits of the Porsche design. Soon the Grand Prix wars of the Silver Arrows were on, and Mercedes and Auto Union took turns at ascendancy.

The car Porsche designed was very innovative: a V-16 4.5-liter engine placed ahead of the rear transaxle, tube frame, aluminum skin weighing 99 pounds, gas tank between the cockpit and the engine (in the center of the car so that weight gain or loss with gas load did not unduly impact handling), a front suspension of torsion bars and trailing arms, and a rear suspension of swing axles, semi-elliptical springs, and tube-type shocks.

The 750-kilo formula Auto Union P-wagens were fearsome race cars. With fewer than three pounds per horsepower and ultimately 650 horse-power from six liters, the cars could lay rubber accelerating from 100 mph. In various iterations, they were hillclimb champions, won Grand Prix races, and set land speed records.

Professor Porsche was heavily involved with designing the P-wagens. Then as his involvement shifted more to building the plant for the KdF/Volkswagen, his son took over development projects at the Stuttgart design firm. After the formula change in 1938 (3-liter supercharged or 4.5-liter normally aspirated engines), Auto Union took full control of the team under Eberan von Eberhorst, who continued to work with the Porsche firm.

Toward the end of the War; Porsche people were working in Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, the family farm in Zell am See (Austria), and in Gmund (Austria) where the Third Reich sent the firm to avoid the Allied bombing of Stuttgart. The younger Porsche had long foreseen the outcome of the War. He had grown up anti-military and stayed apolitical through the Nazi years. The old Professor was simply politically naive; he was consumed with engineering, and it's obvious that he did not mix engineering with morality. If there was a sponsor for an engineering project, be it a race car or a tank, he wanted to design and build the best there ever was.

When the Allies arrived in mid-1945, it was no surprise. That November; the French invited Professor Porsche to visit them at their occupation headquarters in Baden-Baden. There he was offered the opportunity to redesign the Volkswagen to be "more French" and to move equipment (which the French would claim as war reparations) from Wolfsburg to build cars in France. The offer was probably a sincere one; the French had already nationalized Renault, and had arrested Louis Renault as a Nazi collaborator.

Disagreement within the government ensued. French automakers, led by Jean Pierre Peugeot, wanted no part of a French Volkswagen. On December 15, 1945, while the invited guests of the French in Baden-Baden, Professor Porsche, Ferry Porsche and Anton Piech were arrested as war criminals. Ferry was soon released, but the Professor and Piech went to prison in Dijon. No charges were brought and no trial was scheduled, but "bail" was set at 500,000 francs each.

After his release, the younger Porsche went to work to secure a commission for the family firm, still in Gmund. With help from Carlo Abarth, Porsche secured a contract with Piero Dusio, a wealthy Italian industrialist, for a new Grand Prix race car. The Type 360 Cisitalia, a 1.5-liter supercharged car smaller than, but reminiscent of, the Auto Unions was the result. The fees Porsche earned for its design bought the release of Professor Porsche and Piech. They were freed August 1,1947 after almost 20 months in captivity, mostly in terrible conditions in the medieval Dijon prison. The Professor's health was poor.

While the Professor was in prison, the little Porsche firm did whatever it could to stay in business. Aside from the Cisitalia project, it repaired cars, built and sold water pumps and winches, and designed its own sports car, the first car to carry the name Porsche. Type 356 was the project number. The prototype followed the tradition of the Auto Union and Cisitalia Grand Prix cars with mid-chassis engine placed ahead of the transaxle, in this case using modified Volkswagen drive train components. Upon his return to the company from prison, Professor Porsche reviewed the designs his son and his team had produced. He approved of them, commenting frequently to the workers that he would have designed both the Cisitalia Grand Prix car and the Porsche prototype the same way Ferry did.

During the winter of 1947-48, a Zurich car distributor ordered five Porsches and the Type 356 was put into production in the old saw mill in Gmund. Built entirely by hand, these cars adopted a more Volkswagen-like layout in order to have vestigial back seats: the engine was moved behind the transaxle. While in Gmund the little firm ultimately built and delivered 49 of the aluminum skinned 356s plus five additional chassis which were delivered to the Beutler firm in Thun, Switzerland, for fitting with their cabriolet bodies. In the Spring of 1949, Heinz Nordhoff hired the Porsche firm as consultants for further development of the VW, and contracted to pay Porsche a royalty on every car built. Porsche also became the Austrian distributor for VW. With finances now more secure, Porsche made plans to return to Stuttgart and in September 1949, reopened offices in space rented from the Reutter body works. Steel-bodied 356's went into production there soon after. Initial plans were to build up to 500 cars a year Eventually more than 78,000 356s would be built in 17 years.

In September of 1950, Professor Porsche celebrated his 75th birthday. A huge party was staged, and the courtyard of the family villa was filled with friends and associates from years past...and with Porsches and VWs. In November, Ferry took his father for one last look at the Wolfsburg Volkswagenwerk, now literally humming full speed with production of the popular VW Beetle. It was the first time the Professor had seen the plant since the end of the War.

Later in November, Professor Porsche had a stroke. He never recovered, and he succumbed January 30, 1952. His legacy, that of an untrained and largely uneducated young man who became one of the greatest automobile engineers of all time, lay in countless design innovations, many of them now distilled down to one car which his son had designed, the Porsche sportscar. It is fitting that a designer as fiercely independent as Ferdinand Porsche should father the last remaining independent sportscar manufacturer. more...

The Very First Porsche, a Hand-Built Aluminum Prototype

The very first Porsche, a hand-built aluminum prototype, was completed on June 8, 1948. The history of Porsche automobiles goes back much farther, however, all the way back to 1900 when Dr. Ferdinand Porsche introduced his first design, a Lohner-Porsche. more...

Andy Kaufman

Birth: Jan. 17, 1949
Death: May 16, 1984

Comedian, Actor. Started out in show business working in various comedy clubs in the Northeast in the early 1970s. He was discovered by agent-manager George Shapiro, who had picked up on his talent right away. He was then offered a spot on the inaugural broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Andy Kaufman brought the house down with a hilarious off-shoot of the "Mighty Mouse" song. His performance brought him much critical acclaim. He was then offered a spot on the new TV sitcom "Taxi," which initally balked, but later agreed for it would provide the springboard for which he and his partner Bob Zmuda could launch many comedic ventures. Among the things he (and Zmuda) did outside of "Taxi" were a television comedy show, appearences as lounge singer Tony Clifton, wrestling women and taking on the Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry "The King" Lawler. Although many critics described these ventures as outlandish and erratic, they were also noted for their originality and even genius. In the Fall of 1983 Andy Kaufman, a non-smoker/drinker/drug user, was diagnosed with a rare and deadly form of lung cancer known as 'Large Cell Carcinoma'. With the cancer already in advanced stages, he began chemotherapy, consulted with a "Holy Man" and even flew to the Phillipines to get medical aid from a "Miracle Doctor". Unfortunately none of these methods worked, and his cancer was quite virulent and spread rapidly. He died at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in May 1984. In December 1999, a much-anticipated biographical movie "Man on the Moon", starring Jim Carrey was released nationwide. Carrey's performance of Andy Kaufman's life and times introduced a whole new generation to his works. (bio by: Soorus) more...

Billy Preston

Birth: Sep. 2, 1946
Death: Jun. 6, 2006

Musician. A soul musician from Houston, Texas, he was teen prodigy on piano and organ who eventually was mentored by and played with Ray Charles. Often called the Fifth Beatle because he played keyboards for the Beatles on "Let It Be," "The White Album" and "Abbey Road" and was the only guest artist to get a credit on a Beatles single when "Get Back" was credited as "The Beatles with Billy Preston" and entered the United Kingdom's Singles Chart at number one. Also performed frequently with the Rolling Stones and on their hit song "Miss You," and often played with Eric Clapton. His own hits include "Nothing From Nothing," "Will It Go Round in Circles," the international hit "You Are So Beautiful" and "Outta Space" which won best instrumental Grammy in 1973. Most recently played on the 2005 re-release of the album "The Concert for Bangladesh" by long-time friend George Harrison, and Friends, and in Stadium Arcadium on the Red Hot Chili Peppers' album "Warlocks" in 2006. His discography lists 38 albums, 18 of them solo performances. He was the first musician guest to appear on Saturday Night Live, in 1975. Died in Scottsdale, Arizona, of long-term complications from kidney failure related to malignant hypertension. (bio by: Fred Beisser) more...

Cute Teens + Catchy Songs = Another Hit Disney TV Movie

“Camp Rock,” Disney’s latest made-for-television musical, drew as many viewers as last year’s “High School Musical 2,” but only if you add up the audience numbers from three broadcasts and an evening of Internet viewing.

The movie, starring the Jonas Brothers, was not expected to defeat last year’s “Musical,” but it still performed well for Disney, attracting an average of 8.9 million viewers on the Disney Channel Friday, 3.6 million on ABC Saturday, and 3.7 million on ABC Family Sunday. (That’s right ­ the two cable premieres topped the broadcast premiere ­ though, to be fair Saturday is the lowest-rated night of the week.)

Disney.com’s broadband channel recorded 950,000 visitors on Monday, the evening that “Camp Rock” debuted online. It all adds up to roughly 17.2 million viewers, the same number that “Musical” earned in August, although some of the “Camp Rock” fans probably watched it more than once.

In a news release Tuesday, ABC reported the total “reach” of “Camp Rock” ­ i.e., the total number of people who watched for six minutes, but may not have watched the whole movie ­ to be 21 million viewers.

The movie reached almost 5.8 million children between the ages of 6 and 11. Among 9- to 14-year-olds, it reached 6 million viewers. (Those figures include Canada, where 1.4 million viewers were exposed to the movie.)

As if on cue, The Hollywood Reporter said Tuesday that a follow-up to “Camp Rock” was in the works. “The network hopes to go into production on a sequel in late spring or summer 2009,” the trade publication reported. more...

Success Stories George Hill Fielding

Birth: Jan., 1866 Yorkshire, England
Death: 1928 Stouts Northampton County Pennsylvania, USA

George Fielding married Minnie Strouse.

George and Minnie are the parents of Ralph Fielding, Rebecca Fielding-Holt, Willis Fielding, Claude Fielding, Lester Fielding, Arthur Fielding, Robert Fielding and Alice Fielding-Winkler.


Burial:
South Easton Cemetery
Easton
Northampton County
Pennsylvania, USA more...

Breast Cancer Gene Risk May Be Overstated

The risk posed by certain gene mutations linked to breast cancer may be lower than commonly believed, a new study shows.

Many women fear that breast cancer is inevitable if they are found to carry mutations in the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. Genetic counselors and health organizations like the American Society of Breast Surgeons maintain that a woman has about an 80 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer if she carries one of the mutations.

But researchers at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have found that a carrier’s risk of developing breast cancer by age 70 ranges from 36 percent to 52 percent, according to a report published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The scientists studied about 2,000 women who had been diagnosed with cancer at the age 55 or younger. Some 181 carried mutations in either BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, the team found. The researchers also gathered information on whether patients’ mothers, sisters and daughters also had been diagnosed with cancer, about half of whom would also carry BRCA mutations.

Risk was highest among the relatives of the women who were diagnosed at a young age. If a woman with a BRCA mutation was diagnosed at age 35 or younger, the scientists found, her first-degree relatives had a 52 percent chance of having been diagnosed with breast cancer by age 70 and 95 percent by age 80. But if a woman with a BRCA mutation was diagnosed at age 45 or older, her relatives had a 36 percent likelihood of breast cancer by age 70 and 44 percent by age 80.

And if a woman was diagnosed at any age with cancer in both breasts, her relatives also faced a markedly higher risk for the disease, the study showed.

What to make of all this? To be sure, the risk of developing breast cancer among women with BRCA mutations is far higher than the estimated 12 percent lifetime risk faced by the average woman. Some carriers even undergo prophylactic mastectomies, because they believe breast cancer is a foregone conclusion.

The new study suggests that the odds are surprisingly variable even for carriers of the mutations. The authors said the variation is likely due to as yet unidentified mutations that further influence the odds of breast cancer.

“There is a perception out there that all that matters is if you’re a carrier or not, and if you’re a carrier that you’re virtually certain to get breast cancer,’’ said Dr. Colin Begg, chairman of the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and lead author of the paper. “What I think is important is that when a woman makes decisions, she should make them fully informed of what her risks are really likely to be.’’ more...

Still remember this girl? Amber Hagerman

Amber Renee Hagerman, born in 1986 and killed only 10 years later, was a victim of a child abduction and murder. She had been riding her bike near the home of her grandparents in Arlington, Texas, when she was kidnapped.

A neighbor had witnessed the abduction, and called in a description of the suspect and the car he had been driving. Four days after the search began, Amber’s body was found by a man walking his dog. Her throat had been slit, and her lifeless body lay at the bottom of a creek bed.
No arrests were ever made, and her murderer’s whereabouts have never been discovered. On July 25, 2007, a man named Terapon Adhahn was under investigation, after being arrested in connection with the abduction of Zina Linnik, however, nothing ever came of it.

In October of 2000, the US House of Reps. adopted H.R. 605, which encouraged a nationwide use of the AMBER Plan. Finally in 2003, George Bush signed the AMBER Alert legislation, which made the program national. There are still many updates that need to be made, as it seems technology has not quite caught up with the Amber Alert System, which notifies citizens when a child has gone missing.

There is currently a Lifetime made-for-TV movie called Amber’s Story that was filmed in 2006. more...

ADELINE LESCANNE Price "Veuve Clicquot" the businesswoman

AGE 28
TITLE Director Of Plumpy'nut in the field
COMPANY Nutriset SAS
LOCATION France

Adeline Lescanne is the public face of Nutriset SAS, a company her father founded specializing in products to fight malnutrition.

Nutriset first attracted attention with Plumpy'Nut, a paste made of milk powder, sugar, vitamins and peanut oil. It has been widely used over the past two years by nongovernment organizations such as Save The Children and Medecins Sans Frontieres to feed the children or Darfur and Niger.

Ms. Lescanne, an agricultural engineer, has been heading efforts to develop a franchise network of local Plumpy'Nut producers in Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo, among others. Her attempts to reconcile humanitarian goals with capitalist methods make her one of France's most promising female entrepreneurs.

- Marie Valla

Adeline Lescanne (88th promo)

This award Adeline Lescanne, graduated 5 years ago the ISTOM. She works in the company Nutriset food product development Plumpy'Nut, therapeutic infant food, used to treat severe cases of malnutrition by the United Nations and many NGOs and health agencies.

The merit of Adeline, is to have sought to produce the Plumpy'Nut also outside France, in user countries. As a technology transfer was made with three African enterprises, Niger, Malawi and RDCongo, which manufacture successfully Plumpy'Nut.

Among his many projects, Adeline Lescanne soon will be seeking to develop a network of independent producers in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nepal and the Dominican Republic.

more...

Local Plumpy’nut production brings hope to Uganda families

With a keen eye on the scale and her classmates’ eyes on her, Consy Olweny measured the ingredients that go into a recipe she was making for the first time. Others held the bowl as her sturdy hands stirred the paste that they all hoped would save their children.

“In the camps, we don’t get enough food. So I’ve come to find a solution,” said Consy.

PHOTO: IMC IMC staff teaches women how to make Plumpy'nut.

In the Kitgum district of northern Uganda nearly everyone lives in a camp for the displaced. For Consy, it’s been a long time.

“Ten years ago, the rebels took my husband and killed him,” she said.

After that, she moved into a camp too. Now she takes care of three of her own children, her mother, and four orphans. She used to grow sorghum and peanuts, but since she’s been displaced, she and her family have been surviving on rations.

“The babies don’t get enough from their mothers, and they don’t even know milk,” she says.

So along with other women from her parish, Consy is attending a course where she learns to make Plumpy’nut, a high-calorie peanut based paste that revitalizes malnourished children. Until recently, the product has been imported from France and distributed in the camps. But now International Medical Corps is starting a program by building the capacity of the women’s groups in Kitgum town to make Plumpy’nut themselves with mostly locally found goods.

IMC’s Uganda coordinator for nutrition programs, Zekarias Getachew, and Adeline Lescanne from Nutriset, the manufacturer of Plumpy’nut, led all day courses that trained the women to choose the right ingredients, follow the recipe, monitor the quality and package the product.

PHOTO: IMC Women make Plumpy'nut in Uganda.

“By making it locally, I hope we will create demand for the ingredients and income for the farmers,” said Getachew. “The minerals and vitamins is a special formula from my company, Nutriset,” added Lescanne, “but everything else is from here.” On a shopping trip to the local market, she and Getachew found the peanuts, vegetable oil, powdered milk and icing sugar that they needed.

Consy recognized much of the process. “I’d already ground nuts with a mortar and pestle,” she said. But the group showed their pride in what they’d just learned. They ended the day with a song:

Let us sing praising IMC
Who have come to provide us with skills
Making us better women of Kitgum.

source : www.imcworldwide.org

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George Carlin - Life is Worth Losing

George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) , one of the greatest stand-up comedians ever, has released his latest HBO special. If you are a fan of George Carlin like we are, please donate to his cause here: http://GeorgeCarlin.com Keywords: comedy, comedian, stand-up, acting, humor, satire, dry, hbo, special, life is worth losing, religions, world affairs, sarcasm, sarcastic, wars, president george gw bush, dick cheney, 9/11, 911, truth, movement, live audience, the beacon theater, theatre, new york city, high definition, hd, avi, aol, dolby surround, black shirt pants, tells it like it is. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this video is distributed without profit, to those who have expressed interest, for research or educational purposes.

If you watch thi, a interesting fact is Carlin gets a lot of his black humor from the insight of his bad Patrick Carlin, a national advertising manager for the New York Sun. Thats why he talk so much about about consuming, advertising, and Americans being sheeps. more...

Oprah Winfrey's Tarot Reading

Oprah Gail Winfrey grew up extremely poor in Mississippi. In 1971 she graduated from East Nashville High School in Nashville, Tennessee. She went on to Tennessee State University, graduating with a degree in Speech and Performing Arts.

With Native American as well as African ancestry, she has risen to historic heights in the entertainment industry. In 1994 she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca, New York. In February 2003 she became the first African American woman to make the Forbes Magazine Billionaire List. Indeed, she was the first African American woman in history to become a billionaire. In 2006, she took the Number 3 spot on the annual Forbes Magazine Celebrity 100 List.

Oprah is the first woman in history to own and produce her own talk show. The Oprah Winfrey Show is produced by Harpo (Oprah spelled backwards) Productions. She is Executive Producer. Harpo 'creates and develops original TV programming and operates Oprah.com, a premier women's lifestyle website.' The company produces feature films as well. In partnership with Hearst Magazines, it publishes O Magazine.

Oprah made her film debut in 1985. She received a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Sofia in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple (1985). She was also nominated for a Golden Globe. She has received acclaim for roles in TV movies Before Women Had Wings (1997), There Are No Children Here (1993) and The Women of Brewster Place (1989).

In 1998, after receiving a Lifetime Achievement award, she withdrew herself and her TV show from future consideration for a Daytime Emmy, saying, 'After you've achieved it for a lifetime, what else is there?'

On February 22, 2007 Oprah produced an Oscar special on ABC TV. She featured some of her own Oscar-winning friends interviewing the Oscar-winners they most wanted to speak with. Julia Roberts chose George Clooney, Nicole Kidman picked Russell Crowe and Jamie Foxx talked to Sidney Poitier.

With her Sun in Aquarius, Oprah is freedom-loving, strong-willed and independent. She insists upon living her life as she sees fit. On a personal level, she is willing to share herself with another, but does not adjust easily to the emotional give and take of a close relationship. Though intellectually open, she can be enormously opinionated and stubborn on a one-to-one level. She often lets her head rule rather than her heart. She seems self-sufficient and detached emotionally because she is capable viewing things dispassionately. But once she makes up her mind on an issue, she is difficult to sway.

She thinks in broad terms and is concerned with the world beyond her own personal sphere. She is likely to become involved in community affairs, social organizations and groups of all kinds. She enjoys being part of group endeavors and often finds herself organizing or supervising such activities. Her strong points are her concern for human welfare and social betterment, her democratic spirit and her vision.

Sun square Saturn means that feelings of personal inadequacy often plague her. She has a cautious attitude toward life and is highly disciplined with regard to her obligations. She tends to struggle more than she needs to, and to take herself too seriously.

With Mercury in Aquarius she is a progressive thinker, open and receptive to the latest discoveries in any field. She has high expectations and a deep belief that mankind's problems can be solved through the use of our creative intelligence. She has no patience for people whose conservative outlook limits their capacity to find solutions and envision a better future. She has a strong humanitarian impulse and knows that what happens in one part of the world affects everyone.

Mercury quincunx Uranus tells us her mind works in a rather electric, sometimes brilliant way. She grasps new concepts readily. However, her retention may be poor, as she tends to leap from one idea to another in a flash. Her mind may race so quickly that it is hard for her to sit still for any length of time. She has a highly sensitive nervous system and needs a calm environment to be at her best.

Uranus conjunct Jupiter/Pluto shows that she has the ability to quickly exploit every situation and is able to turn circumstances around in her favor. She is likely to achieve great success, but should beware of succeeding at someone else's expense.

Venus in Aquarius means she is open and unconventional in her attitude towards love, romance and sex. She enjoys socializing, bringing people together and having many friends of both sexes. She values friendship very highly and is, in fact, more comfortable being a friend than a lover. 'My idea of heaven is a great big baked potato and someone to share it with,' says Oprah. She desires an intellectual rapport or spiritual bond with her love partner, but deep intimacy does not come easily to her. The role of 'wife' in the traditional sense doesn't appeal to her. She abhors jealousy since she feels that no person truly 'belongs' to another. She appreciates a love partner who will allow her plenty of freedom and is not emotionally demanding. In December 2006, she and twenty-year companion Steadman Graham moved in together.

Venus square Saturn suggests she is so serious she finds it difficult to enjoy herself in a lighthearted way. She rarely does something purely for pleasure. She is very cautious about getting close to people, perhaps due to painful separations in her early life. At age 14 she had a baby boy who died from complications of being born premature. Needing to learn to love and value herself before she could find happiness, she shared this process on her show for the benefit of others.

Venus opposition Uranus/Pluto indicates she has a constant longing for new and exciting adventures. She likes to be admired and has a tendency to fish for compliments. Her creative power is strong, and she may have a desire to create some entirely new form of art.

Mars in Scorpio says she pursues her goals and desires with dedication and determination. She is capable of total concentration and tremendous discipline and, again, is very difficult to influence once her mind is made up. She can be secretive about the intensity of her aims and intentions. Quite forceful without being overtly aggressive, she is a formidable foe if she meets opposition or aggression from another. She is courageous with a primitive, raw side as well.

Mars trine Uranus makes her decisive and somewhat impulsive. She responds spontaneously to challenges and enjoys vigorous physical activities that require fast reflexes and a good sense of rhythm and timing. She has an abundance of energy and a restless desire to see progress. She makes a good leader, spearheading new projects and inspiring others to act.

Mars square Pluto gives her a powerful will; when she wants something, she pursues it relentlessly until she achieves it. Intense power struggles are likely. She is capable of great achievement if she uses her energies for constructive purposes.

Jupiter in Gemini suggests she has the ability to see connections between seemingly unrelated ideas or worlds, and to bring them together. She excels in any field requiring a clear intellect and communication skills. She has an insatiable curiosity and may read or watch television constantly in order to satisfy her need for mental stimulation. Her mind never stops.

Jupiter opposition Saturn/N. Node tells us she is fond of doing things for others, may sacrifice her own desires for them and feels an inner joy knowing that she was able to help someone.

'The essential question is not, 'How busy are you?' but 'What are you busy at?' Are you doing what fulfills you?'

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