SPIN CYCLE : Power to earn still dead-on
Jennifer CHRISTMAN

Posted on Sunday, October 29, 2006

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How would you like to earn $ 32 million in one year ?

And all you have to do is... nothing ! Just rest. Just rest on your laurels. Just rest eternally.

That’s how much Charles M. Schulz made last year. The Peanuts cartoon creator died in 2000, but his estate generated millions from his syndicated comic strip and licensed merchandise.

He wasn’t the only departed talent to keep the megabucks coming in. Artist Andy Warhol proved that he’s still skilled in the art of making money, earning $ 19 million last year. And genius Albert Einstein’s estate brought in another brilliant $ 20 million for having the sense to have his name on Disney’s Baby Einstein line of kids educational aids and other projects. And John Lennon is still as profitable as can be imagined; the singer’s estate earned a hefty $ 24 million.

All this according to the annual top earning dead celebrities list compiled by Forbes that we always find depressing. Not because we think it’s particularly morbid to assess the moneymaking of the deceased.

But because such people make more in one year of being dead than most of us will make in a lifetime.

This year’s ultimate celebrity death match resulted in a stunning upset. Elvis Presley, the reigning king of postmortem prosperity, who earned $ 42 million last year, found the security of his No. 1 position all shook up by this year’s No. 1 earner, $ 50-million-man Kurt Cobain.

No, Cobain’s widow Courtney Love hasn’t gone and opened Grungeland, a Cobain answer to Presley’s Graceland, or envisioned a Cobain-theme Sin City attraction (although Viva Nirvana ! does have a ring ) like the Elvis camp has in the works... well, not yet. But she did sell a significant chunk of the Nirvana song catalog — hey, all those drugs and then rehab for all those drugs gets really expensive — to a New York music publishing company, so expect the anti-establishment musician’s work to be in commercials any day now. As for the order of the other aforementioned list-makers: Schulz was No. 3, Lennon was No. 4, Einstein was No. 5 and Warhol was No. 6. Also on this year’s list: Dr. Seuss (No. 7 ), Ray Charles (No. 8 ), Johnny Cash (No. 10 ), J. R. R. Tolkien (No. 11 ), George Harrison (No. 12 ) and Bob Marley (No. 13 ). Hmm... Kurt, Andy, Johnny, George ? Where are all the female names, Forbes ? The only woman to make this year’s list of the departed top 13 earners was No. 9, actress Marilyn Monroe, who earned $ 8 million last year. Yes, sadly even in the afterlife, women still make less than men. 

How Not To Protect the Public
TheWig&Skirt By Aboyade, Email:

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Writing about our men in black (To Serve and Protect With Integrity) is definitely not my favourite pastime, but continue to write one must. If only to point out how NOT to serve and protect the hapless Nigerian public.
I抳e no doubt that there are many honourable Policemen out there ?of the rank and file, as well as officers. The ones we mostly hear about though, not to mention the ones we come across in our daily lives, seem to be those who give the Force a bad name.
I抳e had cause to write several times in this column, about the need for a total overhaul of our Police Force and a complete reorientation of their approach to dealing with the public. I抦 making that call again. What has brought this about was the news report last week that the FCT Police manhandled and used excessive force on a group of protesting women. Again. That latter comment I抣l come to that later.
The women had gathered peacefully outside an Abuja hotel where some pro-impeachment Anambra State lawmakers were lodging. They were protesting moves to impeach Governor Peter Obi.
Our men in black, serving and protecting with integrity, swooped in and arrested them on the spurious grounds that they had failed to obtain a Police permit for their protest. The women were severely manhandled and practically stripped naked before being bundled into a waiting Police vehicle (which could have been put to better use by say, pursuing the burgeoning army of armed robbers ?but I digress). The FCT Police Commissioner, to make matters worse, was reported to have, in a swaggering manner, threatened to arrest journalists who were reporting the scene with arrest as accomplices! My, my, what a Police Force! As the media reports have not been denied, I am proceeding on the assumption that they were accurate and represent what happened.
For the purposes of this write-up, let us ignore the reason given by the Police ?they seem to be the only ones left who do not know that a court judgment has adjudged that Police Permits infringe on our Constitution and are not a requirement, and that this remains the law unless and until overturned on appeal. As they wallow in their self-inflicted ignorance, let us also for the purposes of this write-up forget that the 1999 Constitution expressly confers on citizens, the rights to dignity of the human person, freedom of _expression, peaceful assembly and association and movement.
Now, pray tell, would all that be enough reason to molest and manhandle those women? To use excessive, brute force in arresting them? To strip them almost naked in the process?
Our bullies in black, lest we have forgotten, took on the ignoble role of tear-gassing grandmothers, mothers and children who gathered in Lagos to protest last December抯 Sosoliso plane crash which claimed the lives of over 60 school children in Port Harcourt. Lest we have forgotten also, our bullies in black have the dubious distinction of, a couple of years ago, tear-gassing Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, a national and international icon, if ever there was one.
Like all bullies, they prey on the helpless and weak (the only difference being that they, at least, are mandated by law to protect those same helpless citizens) and do it with distinction. Rarely do we hear of the same zeal or show of strength or even courage when confronted with a force just as powerful or perhaps, more powerful. Like, say, let me see?armed robbers? What we hear is that these same men either refuse to respond to distress calls, or flee the scene or are cheaply gunned down in droves.
Our law enforcement agencies, not just the Police, have got to re-orientate their personnel. There must be minimum standards of decency and civility, especially under a democratic dispensation. The generality of citizens they are paid (from the public purse) to protect are NOT the enemy. Police brutality, arbitrariness and arrogant show or flaunting of power have no place in a democracy. Each time all these negative things happen, they diminish us as a nation. They portray us as a country which places no premium on the lives and dignity of its citizens. Little wonder why other countries, particularly their Embassies here, take their cue from this and proceed to treat us shabbily, with little or no respect?
One would have thought that with two lawyers, in quick succession, heading the Nigeria Police a new path would by now have been charted. Regretfully, that has not happened. The average Policeman, himself demoralised and with low self esteem, sees the average citizen either as an enemy to be combated, subdued and overcome or a meal ticket to be milked and exploited to the hilt.
As we enter times of politicking and campaigning by presidential hopefuls in the build up to 2007, one looks forward to the security of lives and property (for this is what it all boils down to) being made a serious campaign issue. What, after all, are the clich閐 dividends of the democracy if we are not alive or are too brutalised to enjoy them?
晻?BR>For the fourth week running, we are focusing on the fallout concerning the Impeachment of Governor Ayo Fayose and his Deputy, Abiodun Olujimi and the State of Emergency declared in Ekiti State. This should come as no surprise, it抯 been a saga full of twists and surprises and has thrown up juicy legal issues.
As in 1993, the Judiciary, especially at State level for obvious reasons, is also under the spotlight and public scrutiny. One hopes that our Judges, especially Chief Judges of the various states, are fully conscious of the crucial role they play and their place in history and that they will resist stoutly, increasing attempts to make them dance to the unmelodious tunes of desperate politicians, drowning office holders and power seekers. The role of the Ekiti State Judiciary in the impeachment of Governor Fayose has been less than commendable. It gives Judges a bad name.
As we move closer to an important election year and politics and electioneering heat up, expect to read more and more about issues arising from those activities in THISDAY LAW. They are, after all, activities that will affect our lives and very existence, both corporately and individually, so we cannot - and will not - remain aloof from it all.
晻?BR>We have another columnist joining us. Starting this week, Ayuli Jemide will be writing twice a month, endeavouring to bring clarity to contemporary corporate and commercial law issues and concepts. His column seeks to inform and educate in the simplest of styles. In it will be information that will, hopefully, be useful to lawyers and business people alike. Other readers will also benefit from it as Ayuli breaks down issues and concepts that often appear to be 慸ifficult?or complex. Ayuli, a lawyer of some 18 years standing, and a member Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK is a partner with Detail Solicitors which has offices in Lagos and Port Harcourt. He is also President, Nigeria-Swiss Chamber of Commerce and is presently pursuing a Certificate in Business as well as an LL.M in International Transactions from the Instituto De Empressa in Madrid and North Western University in Chicago respectively. Further proof that you never stop learning.
I抦 sure Ayuli抯 column will be successful, just like that of our other columnist, Bayo Adaralegbe whose Oily Briefs has in its six months of existence, proven to be a run away success and a hit, especially with oil, gas and power industry players. As usual, we would welcome readers?comments, responses or suggestions to our new addition.
晻?BR>Another Plane crash. How depressing. I had just finished writing my column when the news filtered in. This is too bad. What a tragedy! It抯 numbing. It抯 frightening. What is going on? What, for the love of God, is going on?!
Practically everything is in need of a major overhaul ?our Police, the aviation sector, the education sector, infrastructure et al.

B&Q China to sell more electrical appliances 
        

SHANGHAI: B&Q China President David Wei said yesterday that the firm, a subsidiary of Kingfisher, Europe's largest home improvement chain, is broadening its product range to tackle intensifying competition.

The chain, which offers DIY supplies and goods for the home and garden, has signed an agreement with Haier Group to sell Haier's kitchen appliances in its stores, Wei told China Daily yesterday.

The move is part and parcel of B&Q's aggressive expansion in China.

"The partnership with Haier is a milestone for B&Q in its efforts to broaden its product range," said Wei. "We will continue working with Haier and other potential domestic appliance suppliers to provide more of our customers with more products."

He added that the domestic electrical appliances would help boost B&Q's sales.

"Sales of electric kitchen appliances in some B&Q stores have increased by 400 per cent since early this year, which led us to decide to introduce the new products to all of B&Q China's stores," Wei said.

Market analysts forecast that B&Q will introduce more white goods to its stores in the future to boost its sales, adding that B&Q China would set a new business model for other furniture retailers.

"B&Q China will not be converted into an electrical retailer such as Gome or Suning, but it is no longer just a DIY supplier," said Xu Tianhua, an analyst with Shanghai-based Dazheng Consulting Co Ltd.

"When customers come to B&Q to buy furniture and accessories, it is now possible for them also to buy air conditioners or microwave ovens," he said.

Last year, B&Q China partnered with US domestic appliance giant Electrolux to sell its refrigerators in its Beijing stores.

Wei admitted that, as China's DIY market is too small, B&Q has long considered adding domestic appliances to its Chinese stores.

"So it is quite clear why B&Q is making the shift to domestic appliances," said Zhang Jian, an analyst with Shanghai-based Link-Line Consulting Co Ltd. "B&Q China has to reconsider the products it sells in order to maintain its rapid growth."

Meanwhile, B&Q, in a bid to grab some of the market share currently held by furnishing giants such as Ikea, will also offer more soft furnishings and cut back on the number of basic DIY products such as nuts and bolts.

"Now we have Mickey Mouse pillows and other soft furnishing products. Our strategy is to cultivate B&Q's image as a fashionable retailer," Wei said.

"We will have a broader selection which may add more soft decorations like furniture in the future," he said.

On May 20, B&Q opened a store specializing in soft furnishing accessories in East China's Fujian Province, the first of this kind in China.

B&Q currently has more than 50 stores in China. The company is planning to open its tenth store in Shanghai, where its regional headquarter is based, according to a release from the company yesterday.

The company expects to have 100 stores in China by the end of 2010, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency. B&Q opened its first chain store in Shanghai in June 1999.

Dual ships iPod-ready mobile theater
 

Dual Electronics today began shipping the XDVD8182, a new mobile theater system that combines DVD-based entertainment options with full iPod control capability. The XDVD8182 features a 7-inch touch-screen motorized TFT LCD display in widescreen format. The unit is compatible with DVD, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3, and WMA media, featuring easy integration within the most modern mobile entertainment systems via 5.1-channel preamp outputs, as well as one set of audio/video inputs. The system also includes two dedicated video outputs to drive optional headrest monitors, and a rear view camera input. Information such as playlist, artist, album, and track are displayed on the unit's LCD screen once an iPod is connected with the supplied interface cable.
The XDVD8182 also comes with Dual's recently upgraded iPlug audio/video interface cable for easy connectivity to any portable digital or analog media player with a 3.5mm headphone jack, and/or analog a/v outputs. The audio is powered by 200 watts of clean amplification, providing users with more radio broadcast programming flexibility through 48 station presets that feature preset scan, auto station store, one-touch station memory, and a choice of auto-seek or manual tuning.

Apple's New iPod Nano Causes Waves Around the Web

News and reviews of Apple's second generation iPod nano have been spreading around the web like wildfire - some positive and some negative. Find out what the world has been saying about the newest Apple on the block.

London, United Kingdom, September 19, 2006 --(PR.COM)-- Apple's new iPod nano is the sleekest and most colorful nano yet. Unlike the first gen, which was limited to white and black only, the new nano is also available in pink, green, and blue. Beneath the hood, the new unit has also had an upgrade in power, featuring up to 8GB of memory to store a massive 2,000 songs.

It has become journalistic tradition on the web to follow every new Apple release with either extreme praise and hardened cynicism, and this new model has not been the exception. Blompo.com has been following every step at http://www.blompo.com/product.php?product=32, and can attest that reactions to this particular release have been more polarised than most.

The excitement surrounding this new Apple product started with MacDailyNews.com, who reported the following predictions of industry analyst Shaw Wu: "An interesting data point we have picked up on the new Nanos is a new magnesium-based casing,. We believe this new casing will improve scratch-resistance, durability, and help lower Apple's support and warranty costs." Wu said that he expected the iPod Nano to arrive in the second half of September. As it turned out, Apple if anything beat Wu's predictions, announcing the second generation early on in the second week of September - on September the 12th.

The first person to break the news of the actual launch on the web was James Kim of the CNET Alpha Blog, who said lovingly: "So, in addition to the boost in capacity, the new Nano is all about improvement: improved durability, sleekness, and battery; some wish-list features such as gapless playback; and of course, an array of color choices." Geekzone.co.nz was equally quick off the mark and equally praising: "The new iPod nano supports gapless playback, and includes Apples Auto-Sync technology that automatically downloads a users digital music collection, photos or podcasts onto iPod nano and keeps it up-to-date whenever iPod nano is plugged into a Mac or Windows computer using USB 2.0."

Even at this early stage though, the cynics were there to bring us back down to earth. The UK's T3 Magazine said: "As bastions of jaw-dropping design Apple slightly disappointed with its new spectrum of iPod nanos. See, when the nano first launched in September 2005 its shockingly slim body left the world smitten, but these colourful updates don't come close to replicating that love-struck sensation." AppleInsider.com were also happy to point out some negatives: "Although the new nano is precisely the same height and width of its predecessor, Apple has conveniently (for its margins) offset the dock connector by about a millimeter, making the new nano completely incompatible with the first-generation iPod nano dock."

But the world got its first hands-on-reviews of the iPod nano from the 13th of September and these have almost all been positive. "The nano is nearly perfect; it is amazingly small and packs almost all of the features of the iPod photo and a few more." said ArsTechnica.com, also adding however that it suffered from "its lack of Firewire, lack of compatibility with older accessories, and no current support for video output".

DigitalTrends.com didn't hold back its praise: "The newly 'remastered' iPod nano is yet another awesome product from Apple. The new design is a refreshing change from the scratch-prone and fingerprint-attracting construction of the original iPod nano.", and CNET Asia was no less loving: "The second-generation Apple iPod nano is like the successful offspring of an iPod mini and a first-generation iPod nano. It's small, stylish, user-friendly, and competitively priced--a great player all around and suitable for a variety of users."

The comparison between the iPod nano and the discontinued iPod mini was inevitable, and CNET was not the only one to make it. Here's PlayListMag.com: "The second-generation iPod nano is both a welcome step back to the more colorful (and scratch-resistant) days of the iPod mini and a moderate step forward in functionality. This middle-child iPod feels and looks great with its rugged aluminum finish and bright display."

mp3.com were slightly more refined than their competitors, instead taking a rather neutral ground in their review: "The 2G Nano doesn't really bring anything new to the table in the fast-advancing world of MP3 players, but the improvements over the original are certainly welcome." Also slightly less overwhelmed was PC Magazine, who pointed out minor problems with loud volumes: "the sound quality is very good until you push the volume near the limit", but they weren't about to take the wind from Apple's sails: "When all is said and done, the second-gen iPod nano is an excellent product. It is slim, attractive, sturdy, and easy to use, not to mention the excellent integration with iTunes."

Overall, most of the reviews of the new second generation Apple iPod Nano have been exactly the way Steve Jobs would have hoped, but the world has forgotten its initial love affair with the iPod nano and this time round is not afraid to come out and criticise its shortcomings. This is a market that now has alternatives, and if you are looking for an MP3 player the iPod nano isn't necessarily the only or best option available to you.




Mp4 Player
DVD Players
DVD Player
CD Player
Travel Hair Dryer
Hair Dryers
Electric ice Crushers
ice Crushers
Fruit juice extractors
Electric Rice Cooker
Rice Cookers
Sewing Machines
Computer mice

President's death casts shadow over Kosovo's future 
 
     The death of President Ibrahim Rugova will cast a shadow on Kosovo's future political scene, as talks on the future status of the Serbian province are about to start, observers said Sunday.

    Rugova, a leading figure in the Kosovo Albanian drive for independence since the 1990s, died of lung cancer on Saturday at the age of 61.

    His death has added more uncertainty to the prospects of the ethnic Albanian push for independence, observers said.

    The funeral will be held Thursday, his office said. The U.N.-administered region has begun the difficult task of finding asuccessor to him.

    Rugova led Kosovo's negotiating team in the province's future status talks, which were originally set for Wednesday in Vienna.

    His strong leadership was seen as crucial in the talks and his death forced the United Nations to postpone until early February the first face-to-face talks between Kosovo's Albanian leaders and Serbia.

    Legally still a part of Serbia, Kosovo has been run by the United Nations and NATO since mid-1999, when the alliance drove out the forces of then Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, accusing them of alleged human rights abuses in a crackdown on separatist Albanian rebels.

    Kosovo's future status has long been a bitter subject between Belgrade and Kosovo's Albanian majority, who are pushing for independence from Serbia.

    Kosovo Assembly Speaker Nexhat Daci is expected to be appointed as acting president of the province until the assembly chooses a new leader. But no political figures in Kosovo seem to enjoy the same prestige as Rugova among Kosovo's ethnic Albanians and internationally.

    Rugova, hailed as "the Gandhi of the Balkans," was deeply committed to the ideas of non-violence. But the long unresolved issue of Kosovo's future status has made his non-violent movement gradually lose influence among young Albanians, who are prone to more radical means to gain independence.

    Kosovo's UN mission and government met twice on Saturday, but still failed to decide who should succeed Rugova as the head of the Albanian negotiating team for the status talks.

    At the end of the meetings, the authorities merely issued a brief statement paying tribute to Rugova and urging people in the troubled province to remain unified and calm.

    Kosovo Serbs, meanwhile, expressed worries that Rugova's death could destroy the overall stability in the region. They called on the international community to take necessary measures to protect the Serbian community in the province.

    After winning Kosovo's parliamentary elections in 2004, Rugova's Democratic Alliance of Kosovo, although the largest party at that time, had to form a coalition government with other parties.

    His death could further weaken the party's influence in parliament and a more radical political force could take center stage in Kosovo's politics.

    Before the death of Rugova, some leaders had warned of a looming political crisis and of "plots" in the bid to appoint a new president.

    Analysts said his death could destroy the fragile balance within the coalition.

    And many analysts say none of Rugova's likely successors has enough of the diplomatic acumen that he had on the world stage in the ethnic Albanian push for independence.

    A major part of the problem is that Rugova declined to prepare anyone to take over from him within his Democratic League of Kosovo.

    That has led to many expectations and possibilities regarding the political future of Kosovo, which has long been a war-torn region in the Balkans.
 

Iran to examine scientific evidence for Holocaust
 
 Iran says it will sponsor a conference to examine the scientific evidence supporting the Holocaust.

    The announcement is seen as an apparent next step in Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's campaign against Israel and a move likely to deepen Tehran's international isolation.

    Ahmadinejad has already called the Nazis' World War II slaughter of European Jews a myth, and said the Jewish state should be wiped off the map or moved to Germany or the United States.

    Speaking on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi didn't disclose where or when the Holocaust conference would be held, nor would he say who would attend or what had prompted Tehran to sponsor it.

    "The Foreign Ministry is going to hold a conference on the scientific aspect of the issue and to discuss and review its repercussions. We will announce the time of the conference in the future."

    On Saturday, Ahmadinejad urged the West to be sufficiently open-minded to allow a free international debate on the Holocaust.

    Ahmadinejad's initial remarks prompted a global outpouring of condemnation, and Tehran further raised international concern last week when it resumed "research" at its uranium enrichment facility. Enditem

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)

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