--Chelsea seals Fernando Torres transfer--

LIVERPOOL, England -- Chelsea has broken the British transfer record, signing Fernando Torres from Liverpool for a fee reported to be 50 million pounds ($79.5 million). ~

Monday's deal is soccer's third-most expensive transfer, exceeded by Real Madrid's 2009 purchases of Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for 80 million pounds ($131 million) and Kaka from AC Milan for 65 million euros ($92 million). It will be a similar figure to that received by Inter Milan when the Italian side team sold Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona the same year, a deal that sent Samuel Eto'o to Inter.

"Liverpool Football Club tonight confirmed they have agreed a fee with Chelsea for the sale of Fernando Torres," a Liverpool statement said.

Liverpool, purchased last fall by the parent company of the Boston Red Sox, described Torres' move Monday as a "British-record transfer fee" after he signed a 5½-year deal with Chelsea. Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez was recognized as being the previous most expensive signing within British soccer after moving from Manchester United for about 47 million pounds (then $76 million) in 2009.

~

~http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/6077267/liverpool-chelsea-set-transfer-fee-fernando-torres?campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines&asid=4e4bbac1

--The Year Of Rabbit 2011--

Why not have a look below to get a free forecast of what 2011, the Year of the Rabbit, holds for you! You’ll also find out what personal traits you need to let shine through the coming year!
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The history of the Chinese Zodiac is very interesting! It is said that Buddha invited all of the animals in the world to join him for the New Year celebrations, but only 12 animals bothered to turn up. As a great reward, Buddha named a year after each one of them and they actually run in the order that the animals arrived to celebrate with Buddha, starting with the rat and ending with the last guest, the pig.

The Chinese believe that those born during a year of a particular animal would inherit some of the good and bad personality traits of that animal.

Also, each Chinese year is influenced by whatever animal it falls in. The Year of The Rabbit begins on February 3rd 2011. Most Rabbit years are quiet, positive and inspiring and 2011 looks to be heading in this direction – a refreshing change after the fast-moving and quite dramatic Year of the Tiger. Family, diplomacy and personal development will all be highlighted in 2011. Once again alternative sources of energy and green living will be under the spotlight. The arts and culture sector of society will very busy producing amazing works of art and staging important exhibitions throughout the year. Love, romance and family life are well-starred, with a renewed appreciation of loved ones and friends. Overall, it should be a fun and relatively peaceful year. Even though aggression, violence and war zones will still be in evidence, the Chinese Rabbit year favours peaceful solutions and diplomacy, so there will be a feeling that all is not lost and that hope is still very much alive.

Let’s take a look at each animal, their major personality traits and what the prospects are for 2011, the Year of the Rabbit.

~

~http://www.moonslipper.com/chinese.html

--"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step - Lao Tzu"--

Laozi (Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ; Wade–Giles: Lao Tzu; also Lao Tse, Lao Tu, Lao-Tzu, Lao-Tsu, Laotze, Laosi, Lao Zi, Laocius, and other variations) was a mystic philosopher of ancient China, and best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching. His association with the Tao Te Ching has led him to be traditionally considered the founder of Taoism (also spelled "Daoism"). He is also revered as a deity in most religious forms of the Taoist religion, which often refers to Laozi as Taishang Laojun, or "One of the Three Pure Ones". Laozi translated literally from Chinese means "old master" or "old one", and is generally considered honorific.
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According to Chinese tradition, Laozi lived in the 6th century BC. Historians variously contend that Laozi is a synthesis of multiple historical figures, that he is a mythical figure, or that he actually lived in the 4th century BC, concurrent with the Hundred Schools of Thought and Warring States Period.
^~
A central figure in Chinese culture, both nobility and common people claim Laozi in their lineage. Throughout history, Laozi's work has been embraced by various anti-authoritarian movements.
~

The five colours blind the eye.
The five tones deafen the ear.
The five flavours dull the taste.
Racing and hunting madden the mind.
Precious things lead one astray.

Therefore the sage is guided by what he feels and not by what he sees.
He lets go of that and chooses this.

~

Look, it cannot be seen - it is beyond form.
Listen, it cannot be heard - it is beyond sound.
Grasp, it cannot be held - it is intangible.
These three are indefinable, they are one.
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From above it is not bright;
From below it is not dark:
Unbroken thread beyond description.
It returns to nothingness.
Form of the formless,
Image of the imageless,
It is called indefinable and beyond imagination.
~

Stand before it - there is no beginning.
Follow it and there is no end.
Stay with the Tao, Move with the present.

Knowing the ancient beginning is the essence of Tao.

~
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~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laozi
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~http://www.moonslipper.com/chinese.html
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~http://www.answers.com/topic/lao-zi
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~http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Philosophy/Taichi/lao.html
~
~

--Nian~~年獸--

In Chinese mythology, a Nian (simplified Chinese: 年兽; traditional Chinese: 年獸; pinyin: nián shòu) is a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains. Once each spring, on or around Chinese New Year, it comes out of hiding to attack people, especially children. The Nian is sensitive to loud noises and is afraid of the color red. The Chinese Lion Dance is known to have originated from the legend of the Nian. The tradition began when a Nian attacked a village. After the attack, the villagers discussed how to make the Nian leave them alone. Eventually they came up with a plan where drums, plates and empty bowls were hit, red robes were worn, and firecrackers were thrown, causing loud banging sounds that would scare off the Nian. This scared the Nian, and since that time, the Nian has not appeared in the village again. The Nian is still believed to exist, but that it is scattered about the jungle and mountains, never to appear in front of a human again.
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年獸是一種傳說生物。相傳在遠古時代，有一種頭如獅子身如壯牛的兇惡怪獸叫「年」，一年四季都在深海裡，但逢新舊歲之交，便出來糟蹋莊稼，傷害人畜，百姓叫苦連天。有一次它又跑到村莊裡為非作歹，被一家門口晾的大紅衣服嚇跑了。到了另一處，又被燈光嚇得抱頭鼠竄。於是人們掌握了「年」怕聲音、怕紅色、怕火光的弱點。每至年末歲首，人們就在家門口貼紅聯、放鞭炮、掛紅燈，院子里燒柴禾、攏旺火，用菜刀剁菜肉，發出聲音，把「年」嚇得逃回海裡，不再危害人們。人們得以安全。
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據說被鴻鈞老祖收服，成為其坐騎。
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~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nian
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~http://www.monstropedia.org/index.php?title=Nian
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~http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/年獸

--Apollo 11 30th anniversary 1969~1999 --

Apollo 11 is the designation of the space flight that landed the first humans on Earth's Moon on July 20, 1969. The mission, carried out by the United States, is considered a major accomplishment in the history of exploration and represented a victory for the U.S. in the Cold War Space Race with the Soviet Union.
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Launched from Florida on July 16, the third lunar mission of NASA's Apollo program (and the only G-type mission) was crewed by Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquility and on July 21 became the first humans to walk on the Moon. Their landing craft, Eagle, spent 21 hours and 31 minutes on the lunar surface while Collins orbited above in the command ship, Columbia. The three astronauts returned to Earth with 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar rocks and landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.
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Apollo 11 fulfilled U.S. President John F. Kennedy's goal of reaching the moon before the Soviet Union by the end of the 1960s, which he had expressed during a 1961 mission statement before the United States Congress: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

Five additional Apollo missions landed on the Moon from 1969–1972.

~

~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11
~
~http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_11_30th.html

--25 years later....The Challenger....1986...and The "Journey Continues........" A Challenger's"..--

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — For many, no single word evokes as much pain.
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Challenger.
~

A quarter-century later, images of the exploding space shuttle still signify all that can go wrong with technology and the sharpest minds. The accident on Jan. 28, 1986 — a scant 73 seconds into flight, nine miles above the Atlantic for all to see — remains NASA's most visible failure.

It was the world's first high-tech catastrophe to unfold on live TV. Adding to the anguish was the young audience: Schoolchildren everywhere tuned in that morning to watch the launch of the first schoolteacher and ordinary citizen bound for space, Christa McAuliffe.

She never made it.

McAuliffe and six others on board perished as the cameras rolled, victims of stiff O-ring seals and feeble bureaucratic decisions.

It was, as one grief and trauma expert recalls, "the beginning of the age when the whole world knew what happened as it happened."....

~

~http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41296542?GT1=43001

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~http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JKIZ7j20EA&feature=related

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~http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hQL0NWS1Rc&feature=related

--虎去兔来--

虎年将尽，新世纪的第一个兔年在下星期后便会到来，虎年中、港、美股表现并不算弱，先挫后升，在去年年底时也差不多收复全年失地。兔年股汇市走势如何，市 场意见分歧。主流意见认为股市会升，主要是美元贬值，而人民币和商品货币会继续升值。无论如何，希望不是脱缰野兔，到处狂奔乱闯，造成破坏。个人仍偏向认 为，如以一年为限，上半年整体金融市场，应会出现大幅波动的调整，但会是伺低吸纳之机会。笔者自一月初便重复指出巿场内里暗涌不减，不要被四方唱好的气氛 降低警觉性，中国连串政策带来之连锁收缩效应，极可能在第二季便开始陆续浮现。但在这之前，上调准备金率、减慢信贷等将陆续有来，一定会在出现实质效果时 才会停止，但可能在发觉「落药过重」之时，已经迟了一步，到时想再重新加速便有难度。希望中国能从外国央行过去之错误中领会，「微调」经济结果往往出人意 表，不要操之过急，要预留多一些空间让经济和市场自行调节疗伤复原，否则后遗症会更严重。其实通胀不是头号大敌，今年经济的头号大敌是「没有适当及有效之 方法」去「微调达到平衡」！
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~http://www.cnforex.com/person/033cc68409ea7747.aspx