TR EMERITUS

Match of the Weekend 9 Jan Birmingham City VS Manchester United In most other seasons, this match would have been quite a straight forward one for the visiting Red Devils. However, this is no other season and Birmingham City is currently the form team in the country. Alex McLeish comes into this game on a run of 11 Premier League games without defeat, having earning points off Liverpool and Chelsea over the course of that run. McLeish - Confident A lot of players in the current team deserve praise, but one player who has been really making the headlines is on-loan goalkeeper Joe Hart. City has the best defensive record in the division beside Chelsea and Hart’s performance the sticks had been crucial. Manchester City is his parent club and he will have an added incentive here to perform against United. United had just lost to Leeds United in the Third Round of the FA Cup last weekend and will be keen to brush away memories of that embarrassment. The defending champions’ form at the moment can be at best described as patchy, but yet they remain very much in title hunt, just two points away from league leaders Chelsea. Birmingham is likely to sit deep and attack on the break so the onus will be on United to break them down. As a defensive unit, the Blues are solid and should be hold on for a point here. Birmingham City 0 Manchester United 0 The Next Big One 10 Jan Liverpool VS Tottenham This game is termed a “six-pointer” for two teams deemed to be fighting for the fourth place finish in the Premier League. Tottenham had already beaten the Reds once this season, on the opening day of the season. Another victory here at Anfield will definitely be a huge psychological boost for Harry Redknapp’s side. Spurs have kept five consecutive clean sheets coming into this game and confidence is high. This is of course stark contrast to the mood in the Liverpool camp. Despite two consecutive Premier League wins, Liverpool have not been playing well. Last weekend, they were again outplayed by Championship side Reading in the FA Cup and were lucky to take the tie to a replay. That said, Spurs have not won at Anfield in the league since 1993. Both sides may have to settle for a point a piece here. Liverpool 1 Tottenham 1 Elsewhere on the Continent 10 Jan Juventus VS AC Milan The two most successful clubs in Italian club history faces off in Turin as both try to close the gap on leaders Inter Milan. On the manpower front, the sides are on the opposing end of the scale of fortunes. Trezeguet - Out for 40 days AC Milan welcomed the arrival of their loan signing David Beckham on Wednesday as they thumped mid-table side Genoa 5-2 in a league game. Like last season, Beckham is expected to spend three months with the Rossoneri as he maintains his fitness level. Juve on the other hand, had just lost striker David Trezeguet to an ankle injury. Despite only starting half of the team’s fixtures this season, Trezeguet is the leading goal scorer with seven goals so his absence will be felt. AC Milan is the side on the up and is capable of winning here. Juventus 1 AC Milan 2 Other Predictions: Hull City 1 Chelsea 1 Arsenal 2 Everton 1 Burnley 0 Stoke 0 Fulham 2 Portsmouth 0 Sunderland 2 Bolton 0 Wigan 1 Aston Villa 2 West Ham 2 Wolves 2 Manchester City 3 Blackburn 0  Read More →

By Louis Lim Robert Kiyosaki defines 'Wealth' as a 'Positive Net Cash Inflow'. In financial terms, when money coming to you on a regular basis is more than what is going out from you, you are wealthy. There is a further condition i.e. the incoming cash flow must be a 'passive one'. Thus, a 'wealthy' person or one who is financially free is one who has a passive income(s) that is in excess of what is needed to live the life one desires. Passive income is receiving money from assets whether you are doing anything or not. Robert Kiyosaki take on this is 'Wealthy people do not work for money but money works for them'. Clearly then, the way to wealth is to create passive incomes to work for you! How then does one create a passive income? To Robert Kiyosaki, it's about creating financial assets. An asset is something you own that brings 'positive' cash flow. If you own a house and have to pay a mortgage and the cash flow is negative then the house is a liability, not an asset. However, if you collect a rental from the house which is more than your mortgage then it is an asset. Other assets would include securities(sic!) or business(es) or royalty from a book etc.. The next question must be 'how does one create an asset?' Can one create assets like shares, houses and business etc. without money, special talents and skill, connections? The answer is yes and many have done it! It is even more possible today because of the internet. Robert Kiyosaki will tell you it's about one's perspective! If you believe you can be wealthy, you will be! To Kiyosaki the best way to create wealth is to start a business of your own. A successful business will allow you to build assets. Currently there are businesses you can start part-time whilst you are working. Nowadays the easiest to start is an Online business. Besides the internet, what other businesses should you go into that can lead you to wealth. The kinds that can do without much money, employees and provide multiple streams of passive incomes; and which suits almost anyone! Here is where the second Robert i.e. Robert Allen is going to guide you. He claims to have created many millionaires. Indeed his ideas on how any ordinary guy can create great wealth is something anyone who desires to have lots of money need to know. The space given this article is too short. Please look out for 'The Three Roberts and The Meaning Of Wealth' (Part 2) to read about the other two Roberts and how ideas  together can make you truly wealthy. Wishing you all the best! About the Author: Louis Lim is a highly qualified certified management consultant who promotes entrepreneurship as a set of basic human skills for financial security! With these skills,, anyone can always feel secure of making a living with or without a job. Louis has identified Internet Marketing as the latest opportunity for those seeking financial independence. He has decades of experience consulting for many firms and mentors many business people. He is sharing his skills in business on the internet. Louis Lim is also an Expert Author on Entrepreneurship in the top Ezine Business and Motivation magazines in the internet and Google.  One of his websites is http://TheSuperFastAffiliate.com" where you can find a program to learn how to start an internet a marketing business.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent The investigation of the double hit-and-run accident by a vehicle belonging to the Romanian embassy in Singapore by Romanian authorities which has already claimed the life of an innocent young man Mr Tong Kok Wai is likely to take "several years". Romanian online news daily Click! quoted a statement from the Romania Jurse Court: "In all these cases involving letters of requests between two countries, the completion of the investigation will likely take several months, if not years." Romanian diplomat Dr Silviu Ionescu has emerged as the prime suspect in the accident with many eye-witnesses coming forward to describe the features of the driver. He repeatedly denied that he was involved in the accident. Speaking to Click!, he said: “The press is free to report on anything it wants. I do not have any comment and it is not important anyway. All that matters is to establish the truth. The fact remains that the embassy car was stolen and I was not in it at the time of the accident.” On the decision of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the accident in Singapore, Dr Silviu said it is a normal procedure in such cases. “We are all ready to support the investigations carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office,” he added. Dr Silviu has since been recalled from his diplomatic position in Singapore by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to aid in the investigations. He now says he would “assist” in the accident investigations from Romania. Yesterday, Dr Silviu was whisked to a "secret" location outside Romania's capital Bucharest by agents from the Foreign Intelligence Service or Serviciul de Informatii Externe (SIE) for questioning. It is not known if he has returned home yet. With the case entirely in the hands of the Romanian prosecutors, it seems that Singapore no longer has the power or right to prosecute and punish the culprit though the crime was committed in Singapore. Nearly a month after the fatal accident, Singapore police is still "investigating" the matter and the identity of the driver remains a mystery. There are no official statements from Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs either other than a laughable remark by Foreign Minister George Yeo describing the accident as "very bad". The prosecutors in the Prosecutor-General Office in Romania has set up a commission rogatory to initiate investigations. This means that the statements of witnesses can be taken in Singapore and filed in Romania without them going all the way to Romania more than 10,000 kilometers away in the other half of the globe. It is also possible for Romanian officials to travel to Singapore to assist in the ongoing "investigations" by the unusually "efficient" Singapore police force which had strangely allowed Dr Silviu to leave the country three days after the accident without impounding his passport or informing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to apply for a waiver of the suspect's diplomatic immunity. (If Dr Silviu has criticized the ruling party or judged to have "interfered" in Singapore politics, his diplomatic immunity will probably be waived immediately and he will  be booted out of the country in double-quick time.) Due to the complexities and intricacies involved in going through the various diplomatic and official channels to conduct a proper investigation into the case, it is likely to take a long time to complete by the time which the culprit may already have died from natural causes. (Dr Silviu appears to be obese and being diabetic, there is a good chance he may suffer a heart attack or stroke in the next ten years) For example, the Romanian prosecutors will have to submit an official request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore police and other agencies to even come to Singapore to investigate the case. A lot of time will be wasted just on waiting for official replies from one party to another and going through all the bureaucratic red-tape while the Romania and Singapore governments play "Tai-Chi" together. Though Romania is a member of the European Union, there is no extradition treaty between Singapore and Romania which means that there is no way for Singapore to bring Dr Silviu Ionescu back here to be tried even if it wants to prosecute him. Given the rife corruption and messy politics in Romania, it is not impossible that the perpetrator of this hideous crime be let off the hook with a couple of thousands of euros. Furthermore it is strange that nobody from Singapore or Romania has come forward to reveal the identity of the culprit after so long when the evidence has been pretty obvious from the testimonies given by eye-witnesses. For the family of the deceased Mr Tong Kok Kai who have been hoping for a swift justice, they are likely to be disappointed. The case will drag on and on for years till it fade away completely from the collective consciousness of the public which will help negate the fallout for both the Romania and Singapore governments for their ineptitude to punish the culprit and deliver swift justice to the families of the victims. EDITORS' NOTE: It now appears increasingly likely that the case will not be solved soon and the culprit may not have to pay a price for his crime in his lifetime. Mr Tong's family may like to seek legal advice to sue the Romania government in a EU court rather than to wait for several years to seek redress from Romania's justice system which is a suspect given the prevailing circumstances in the country. Readers who are familiar with the EU Commission, please offer your frank views here. Copyright © 2009 – 2010 The Temasek Review (If you are going to reproduce this article on your blog or forum, please provide a link back to ours) Related articles: 1. Dr Silviu Ionescu whisked away to secret location by Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service 2. Dr Silviu Ionescu: I will not return to Singapore 3. Email interview with Yenny Young, wife of Mr Tong Kok Wai 4. Dr Silviu Ionescu: fact remains that I was not in the car at the time of the accident 5. Investigating or procrastinating: Dr Silviu Ionescu still holidaying in Romania 6. George Yeo on Romanian embassy car crash: What happened is “very bad” 7. Online petition calls on Romanian govt to make ex gratias payment 8. Dr Silviu Ionescu: I took cab to notify car theft 9. Eye witness saw driver quarreling with a young girl in the car 10. Dr Silviu Ionescu: I have no connection with the case 11. Dr Silviu Ionescu flagged taxi at Sungei Kadut 12. From Romania with love: The Great Singapore escape of Dr Silviu Ionescu 13. Singapore police has not ruled out Dr Silviu Ionescu as a suspect in its investigations 14. Romanian diplomat suspected to be driver of Audi in hit and run accident at Bukit Panjang  Read More →