Rio Ferdinand To Remain With England Squad For Start Of World Cup - Report

Posted by ashertrix , Sunday, June 6, 2010 3:12 AM


Rio Ferdinand will remain with England for the first group game of the World Cup tournament against the USA after Fabio Capello encouraged the defender who was due to captain England at the tournament to remain with the squad.

Despite being devastated at the prospect of missing the opportunity to lead his country at the tournament Ferdinand is keen to be around the squad for experience and morale.

Speaking to the News of the World an England source said: "Capello has spoken with Rio and will be delighted to have him around for as long as he wants to stay.

"Rio is obviously very down at the moment but to have him around  would be great for team morale."

The defender was injured during the team’s first training in South Africa after a collision with Emile Heskey. A hospital scan later revealed the Manchester United will be out of action for up to six weeks.

England physio Gary Lewin examined him again on Saturday and diagnosed the injury as a level two cruciate ligament strain.

This comes after a season of disappointment for Ferdinand in which he was forced to sit on the sidelines for long periods suffering a series of injuries.

Meanwhile Michael Dawson completed his first training session with the England squad on Saturday morning after flying in to replace Ferdinand.

He was welcomed warmly by Capello before being put through his paces.  Fellow defenders Matthew Upson and Ledley King were missing from the session, Upson with a virus which is believed not to be serious, while King was restricted to gym work.

Iliza Shlesinger

Posted by ashertrix , Friday, June 4, 2010 11:59 PM


Funny woman Iliza Shlesinger started off slow but has finally made it big as Comedy Central gave her the chance to have her own half hour special which she performed last night at half past ten in the evening. Iliza Shlesinger came into the stand up comedy officially when she won “The Last Comic Standing” event which immediately put the spotlight on her but she says that it isn’t easy to be a good stand up comedian.
An interview with Iliza Shlesinger gives us a little insight to what the woman thinks about the job and how it should be done. She says that people, stand up comedians to be more specific, cannot just take a break from the job because every hour that you spend not working is going to be an hour that puts you further under water. Of course those weren’t her exact words as she said that ‘when you’re not moving forward you’re drowning’ and it is this philosophy of hers that has got her working harder than ever.

She says that this half hour special was just the beginning of what she wants to do with her life and that she always wanted to make her career something that would make her money by doing something funny. Well now she is on her way to stardom in the comic industry and is hoping by next year she will have her very own talk show or something of the sort and although I do find her humor to be a little flat on the energy level I think with experience she will blossom into the comic that she is aspiring to be.

Honda workers in Foshan threaten further action

Posted by ashertrix 11:39 PM


Workers at the Honda parts plant in Foshan have resumed work provisionally but will resume their strike within three days if their demands are not met in full, the workers' 16-member negotiating committee said June 3 in an open letter.
Honda announced yesterday that it would resume car production on Friday at four plants affected by the strike, which began on May 17, but admitted uncertainty remained as not all workers in Foshan had agreed to return to work.
The workers committee listed their demands as an 800 yuan (US$117) per month across-the-board increase for all workers, including interns and trainees, reform of the wages and promotion systems and an overhaul of the trade union, including election of shop-floor representatives. They said the company had already agreed that no workers would be dismissed for taking part in the strike.
The committee said the provisional return to work had been agreed with Zheng Qinghong, deputy chairman of Guangzhou Automobile Group, the Chinese side of the joint venture that manages Honda's other plants in China.
The company has so far offered a wage increase of 355 yuan (US$52) per month for established employees and 477 yuan (US$70) for interns, an offer the strike committee said was devised to divide the workforce.
The committee said the company was "using every means to split the workers," including asking training schools to withhold diplomas from striking interns. Interns from technical colleges make up a significant proportion of the Foshan workforce.
The open letter from the negotiating committee strongly criticized local trade union officials from Nanhai district and Shishan Township, who, it said, had sided with management, in particular by demanding interns sign "no-strike" agreements.
The negotiating committee also demanded a full explanation and apology for an incident on May 31 when some union officials clashed with striking workers at the factory gates.
The Nanhai and Shishan trade union branches published an open letter to the Honda workers on June 1, claiming that "the impulsive and emotional state of some of the workers," had led to a "physical conflict between some employees and representatives of the union." It added that "If people feel some of the methods used in yesterday's incident were difficult to accept, we apologize."
The strike committee dismissed the union apology and accused union officials of using the letter to claim credit for negotiating wage increases that were "conceded under pressure from the strikers, obtained by their sweat and blood."
The 1,900 workers at the Foshan plant, which is wholly-owned by Honda, began their strike action on May 17. The strike quickly forced the closure of all Honda's plants in China.

Daniel Craig

Posted by ashertrix 11:36 PM


The name's Craig, Daniel Craig! And long before landing the coveted role of James Bond, he was toiling in London theater and winning small, yet memorable parts in films, like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Road to Perdition.

But it was his star-making turn as a charismatic coke dealer in 2004's Layer Cake that caught the eye of Bond producers (who were looking to replace Pierce Brosnan). At first, Craig admitted he "wasn't deeply enthusiastic" about the role – preferring highbrow fare like Sylvia and Munich. What helped change his mind? A few kind words from Brosnan, who told him, "Go for it – you'll have the ride of your life."

Despite the initial backlash, 2006's Casino Royale became the highest-grossing Bond film ever–until 2008's Quantum of Solace. Craig – who was briefly married to British actress Fiona Loudon, with whom he had daughter – has found similar success with movie producer Satsuki Mitchell.

Tiger Woods as a Role Model

Posted by ashertrix 11:32 PM


Tiger thinks that being a good role model to others is even more important than his golf. He thinks his golf is just a vehicle for him to influence people. He wants to influence kids in a positive way. Tiger feels that's what it's all about.
Tiger and his parents put together The Tiger Woods Foundation in order to promote both golf and non-sports activities for disadvantaged children. In 1997 Tiger ran six different golf clinics for youths in Orlando, Chicago, New York, Dallas, Miami and Memphis. Tiger's foundation isn't just interested in helping kids with their golf. It's to help youngsters become better people.
People say Tiger has a real presence and that his ability to help others extends beyond the U.S. He is truly a multi-racial person, not just a black athlete. People feel that he will be a big influence on people across the world - and not just in a golf sense. He can hold everything together. He is a universal child - truly multi-cultural.

'Jaws' Shark Hunted Down

Posted by ashertrix 11:21 PM

 
The star of "Jaws" has been found resting in a Los Angeles junkyard.
No, not Richard Dreyfuss -- the shark! With the 35th anniversary of Steven Spielberg's classic blockbuster just around the corner, an NPR reporter set out to track down the mechanical beast that struck fear into the hearts of so many.
In order to maximize their control over the creature, the "Jaws" filmmakers built three sharks for their 1975 movie. All created from the same mold, the sharks were dubbed "Bruce" after Spielberg's lawyer, Bruce Ramer. The gigantic metal creatures were 25-feet long and weighed hundreds of pounds. The heads alone came in at 400 lbs. apiece, with jaws the size of a small human. 

When reporter and "Jaws"-enthusiast Cory Turner set out to track down Bruce's whereabouts, he went straight to the source -- the movie's director. A spokesman for Steven Spielberg explained that the original Bruces had all been destroyed, as no one had thought to save them.
But theories circulated on a Facebook page for the famous shark that another Bruce might be out there. After a little research, Turner discovered that a fourth shark had indeed been cast from the original mold, just months after its brothers were constructed. The baby of the Bruce family was created for display at Universal Studios Theme Park, where it hung by its tail for fifteen years.
In 1990, the shark was taken down and shipped out to destinations unknown. Turner picked up the phone and started dialing junkyards. He finally found the creature in a yard in the Sun Valley area of Southern California -- just minutes away from Universal. Turner brought the team who built Bruce -- art department members Joe Alves and Roy Arbogast to verify the shark's authenticity.
"It's the real one," Arbogast told Turner after examining the creature. "It's just kinda' nice to see it again after 25 or 30 years. It's amazing that it's still here."
Bruce's discovery couldn't come at a better time. There's talk that Universal might be considering a 3D "Jaws" remake -- with comedian Tracy Morgan in the shark-hunter role. Perhaps Bruce will find his way onto the silver screen once again.

Lakers defeat Suns on last-second shot by Ron Artest

Posted by ashertrix , Thursday, May 27, 2010 9:00 PM

He puts back a missed jumper by Kobe Bryant to give L.A. a 103-101 win in Game 5 for a 3-2 lead in best-of-seven series. Bryant has 30 points and nine assists. Steve Nash leads Phoenix with 29 points and 11 assists.

 It wasn't easy and it went down to the last second, but the Lakers took Game 5 of the Western Conference finals with a 103-101 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

In the end, it was Ron Artest's rebound and put back of a Kobe Bryant miss at the buzzer that gave the Lakers the win. For Artest it was an atonement for some bad clock management a minute earlier.


The Lakers lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 with Game 6 on Saturday in Phoenix.

Bryant was the high scorer with 30 points. Derek Fisher had 22 points and Pau Gasol added 21. Bryant led the Lakers with nine assists, while Lamar Odom had 13 rebounds.

Here's how the heart-stopping finish unfolded for the Lakers:

With about 2 1/2 minutes to play Channing Frye missed a three-pointer that could have tied the score. The Lakers rebounded and Gasol was fouled. He went to the line and hit both attempts to put the Lakers ahead by five.

But Steve Nash, who finished with 29 points and 11 assists, made a jumper on the move with less than two minutes to play. The Lakers answered as Odom scored from under the basket. Still the Suns weren't done as Nash hit another jumper with 1:21 to play.

Then Ron Artest, who rarely passes up a shot, missed a three and after Gasol got the rebound, Artest missed another three with 22 seconds left on the shot clock.

Suddenly, the Lakers were up by only three with 51.5 seconds to play. But the Lakers got lucky as Frye missed a three. But when Gasol missed a slam the Suns took two attempts at threes to tie the score before Jason Richardson banked in a 27-footer with 3.5 seconds to play.

That led to Artest's heroics.
 

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