YEAR OF THE RAT

Tension, disaster, turbulence - welcome to the Year of the Rat
artwork ICESTORM

The Year of the Rat threatens to see a build-up of international tensions, natural and air disasters, and a more turbulent stock market, soothsayers and analysts say.

As the Year of the Pig ends tonight, followers of Chinese superstition will be scurrying to consult fortune-tellers, astrologers and feng shui geomancers to guide their year ahead.

Chinese fortunes are based on a belief that events are dictated by the different balances in the elements that make up the earth -- gold, wood, water, fire and earth.

Feng shui master Raymond Lo says this year will see the earth element sitting atop water, suggesting an outward solidity built on sliding foundations.

"The earth on top is Yang earth which symbolises a mountain, and mountain gives a sense of stability and firmness. But such floating earth in the ocean is weak in foundation and the stability appears to be fragile," Lo said.

"This elemental relationship will bring a year which apparently is more stable but there are a lot of underlying tensions and confrontations."

Lo added that the Chinese calendar follows a 60-year cycle, so 2008 will be similar historically to 1948, when Israel was established and the blockade of Berlin started, both events part of the build-up to long-standing conflict.

The lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and associates each of the 12 years forming a partial cycle with an animal. Fortune-tellers base their predictions on the relationship between the zodiac animals and the characteristics of each.

The Rat is the first of the 12 animal signs, so marks new beginnings, which Lo said will be reflected in changes of leadership in the United States, Russia and Taiwan.

It is followed by ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

The rodent is also seen as a "flower of romance" which means the year will stimulate romance, but also sex scandals.

More worryingly, it provokes a clash between water and fire which could mean heavy flooding or a tsunami, Lo added.

"The most famous water disasters in history, such as the south Asian tsunami in 2004 and the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, both incidents happened on a date with prominent appearance of the Rat," Lo said.

He also said that the previous Year of the Rat, 1996, witnessed more than 20 plane crashes including the Trans World Airlines Boeing aircraft which exploded over the Atlantic, killing 230 people.

Lee Sing-tong, a third-generation feng shui master, said China may suffer a water shortage in the next 12 months.

But after the property bubbles in the US and China's tightening monetary measures, Lee believes the US and China property markets will enter another chapter and will see stable development for the property market and economy.

Although the subprime crisis has caused concerns in the global economy, unexpectedly the property market will stabilise in 2008.

He predicts a better economy for China after the 2008 Olympics.

"2009 will be its most prosperous year in history," he added.

Lee said there would be a big change in Hillary Clinton's health and career but that doesn't necessarily mean she will hold political power.

In contrast, Clinton's Democratic rival, Barack Obama, "has an in-born talent for leadership and is expected to be in an extraordinary political position in the next 10 years."

"There's a big chance that he will win November's presidential election in the United States," Lee predicted.

Kenny Lau, head of the small-cap sector at Credit Suisse, said the last three Rat years had all seen very strong stock market growth in Hong Kong. It grew 232 percent in 1972, 30 percent in 1984 and 18 percent in 1996.

But he said high inflation -- he predicted 5.1 percent in Hong Kong and 6.5 percent in the Chinese mainland -- would provide a threat to economic growth and turbulent times were ahead.

He said investors should target their lai see -- the cash Chinese people give to relatives and colleagues during the festival -- at small stocks that have not yet gained the full benefit of the booming Hong Kong and mainland markets.

His colleague Vincent Chan, head of China research, said the markets will not repeat the record returns of the past few years.

"It is likely that the volatility of the market in 2008 will be comparable to that of 2007, but the chance of significant absolute returns is rather remote," he said.

say word

Make it rain in the hood!!!!!!!

GHOSSSSSSSTTTT!!!!!!

A humpday hip hop moment

I love this shit. Heads was being real without stressing and telling heads they where being real and dropping jewels t the same time. And Jeru rockin the O G FRO joint tough. shout out to, NITO!!!! NONSTOP BABY!!!!

Jeru The Damaja - D. Original

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Not stressin five o hot hand in celo
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Where the manic depressive psycho murderers stalk
Walk like a ninja, on the asphalt
Here talk is cheap, you're outlined in chalk
And there's more hardtimes, than on Good Times
And most niggaz dedicate their life to crime
So I'm steady schemin, won't work for a dime
Used to get, tax free loot, all the time
Type slick can't fess on 'Ru, because

Verse Two:

Before trains were graffiti proof I used to get loose
Dirty rotten since the days of the deuce
Dirty, because of the skin I'm in
The fact I have melanin automatically makes me a felon
Even though I'm righteous, rotten's what you're yellin
But I'm not chain-snatchin, or drug-sellin
According to your books you said I would be damned like Ham
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gland, as I expand, you know who I am

Verse Three:

Father of all stylin, I be whylin on wax
We hack shit up like big ax and little ax
Don't need tokes to make you jump like bungee
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When I come through I clog up your sewer
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No matter what you do, you can't get through the
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But pay homage to.

50 being 50

he's rolling for Hillary Clinton

NY Giants 17, New England 14

By BARRY WILNER, AP Football Writer
February 3, 2008

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- The Giants had the perfect answer for the suddenly imperfect Patriots: a big, bad defense and an improbable comeback led by their own Mr. Cool quarterback, Eli Manning.

In one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, New York shattered New England's unbeaten season 17-14 Sunday night as Manning hit Plaxico Burress on a 13-yard fade with 35 seconds left. It was the Giants' 11th straight victory on the road and the first time the Patriots tasted defeat in more than a year.

It was the most bitter of losses, too, because 12-point favorite New England (18-1) was one play from winning and getting the ultimate revenge for being penalized for illegally taping opponents' defensive signals in the season-opener against the New York Jets.

But its defense couldn't stop a final, frantic 12-play, 83-yard drive that featured a spectacular leaping catch by David Tyree, who had scored New York's first touchdown on the opening drive of the fourth quarter.

"It's the greatest feeling in professional sports," Burress said before bursting into tears.


"That's a position you want to be in," said Manning, who followed older brother Peyton's MVP performance last year with one of his own. "You can't write a better script. There were so many big plays on that drive."

And now the 1972 Miami Dolphins can pop another bottle of champagne in celebration of a record still intact, the only perfect season in the Super Bowl era.

The Patriots were done in not so much by the pressure of the first unbeaten season in 35 years as by the pressure of a smothering Giants pass rush. Tom Brady, the league's Most Valuable Player and winner of his first three Super Bowl, was sacked five times, hurried a dozen more and at one point wound up on his knees, his hands on his hips following one of many poor throws in New England's lowest scoring game of the season.

"They played well," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "They made some plays. We made some plays. They just made a few more. We played as hard as we could. We just couldn't make enough plays."

Hardly a familiar position for the record-setting Patriots and their megastar quarterback. And a totally strange outcome for a team that seemed destined for historic glory.

Oddly, it was a loss to the Patriots that sparked New York's stunning run to its third Super Bowl and sixth NFL title. New England won 38-35 in Week 17 as the Patriots became the first team in 35 years to go spotless through the regular season. But by playing hard in a meaningless game for them, the Giants (14-6) gained something of a swagger and Manning cast found his footing.

Their growing confidence carried them through playoff victories at Tampa, Dallas and Green Bay, and then past the mightiest opponent of all.

Not that the Patriots were very mighty this day. They even conceded with 1 second on the clock as coach Bill Belichick ran across the field to shake the hand of jubilant Giants coach Tom Coughlin, then headed to the locker room, ignoring the final kneeldown.

That it was Manning taking that knee was stunning. He not only matched his brother's achievement of last year with the Indianapolis Colts, but he showed the brilliant precision late in the game usually associated with, well, Brady.

Peyton Manning was seen in a luxury box jumping up and pumping both fists when Burress, who didn't practice all week because of injuries, caught the winning score.

"We just hung in there on offense, kept executing," said Burress, who wasn't far off on the 23-17 prediction he made a few days ago. "It came down to one play and we made it."

The Giants became the first NFC wild card team to win a Super Bowl; four AFC teams have done it. They also are the second wild-card champions in three years, following the Pittsburgh Steelers after the 2005 season.

The upset also could be viewed as a source of revenge not only for the Giants, but for the other NFL teams over Spygate back in September. That cheating scandal made headlines again late in Super Bowl week, and could have placed an infinite cloud over New England's perfection.

Until the frantic fourth quarter, the only scoring came on the game's first two drives.

The Giants did almost exactly what they sought with the opening kickoff, using up nearly 10 minutes to go 63 yards. Almost exactly, but not quite, because they settled for a 32-yard field goal after converting four third downs on the 16-play series. The 9:59 drive was the longest in Super Bowl history.

That 3-0 lead lasted for the rest of the quarter, but only because the Patriots were stopped at New York's 1 as the period expired. On the next play, Laurence Maroney scored.

New England's 12-play drive was aided by a 16-yard pass interference penalty on linebacker Antonio Pierce in the end zone. It began with Maroney's 43-yard kickoff runback.

It was the fewest possessions in the first quarter of a Super Bowl.

New York's first series of the second quarter looked dangerous after Amani Toomer's lunging sideline catch for 38 yards. But rookie Steve Smith mishandled Manning's throw at the New England 10, Ellis Hobbs intercepted and returned it 23 yards.

Those are opportunities teams can't waste against a strong opponent, let alone the Patriots. It was Manning's first interception of the postseason, albeit entirely not his fault; the last was by Hobbs in the season finale.

The Giants survived rookie Ahmad Bradshaw's fumble, which he recovered, on their next series, because their league-leading pass rush came alive when the Patriots got the ball back. New York sacked Brady on successive plays, forcing a punt, but the Giants' were hurt by an illegal batting of the ball penalty on Bradshaw after reaching the New England 25.

Justin Tuck's second sack, in the final seconds of the half, forced a fumble recovered by New York teammate Osi Umenyiora. The Giants' celebrated defensive line controlled much of the half, holding the most prolific offense in NFL history to a measly 81 yards and seven points. New England had the ball only 10:33.

But New York's mistakes left it with just three -- and there are no moral victories in Super Bowls.

So the Giants got a real one as the maturing Manning hung in to find Tyree for a 5-yard touchdown to cap an 80-yard drive for a 10-7 lead.

Pressed unlike they are accustomed to, the Patriots responded with their own 80-yard march as Brady finally got some time. Randy Moss, who caught a record 23 of Brady's record 50 TD throws this year, took a 6-yard pass when cornerback Corey Webster fell, and with a mere 2:42 remaining, the first 19-0 season was right there.

Eli and the Giants snatched it away.

Put lead in your a** and drink a cup of tea

SIMPLIFYING YOUR LIFE

The philosopher Democritus said, "if you want to be content, do less"But it might be better to say, "Do only what is essential, and do the things that human reason alone demands, when it is needed" This brings the contentment of doing fewer things but doing them well. Since most of what we say and do is completely redundant, if you follow this way, you will have more time and less trouble. So on every occasion ask yourself, "Is this really necessary?"And remove not only unnecessary acts but the thoughts that precede them, for without excesive thoughts there would be no
superfluous acts- Marcus Aurelius