Olympics 2008

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be celebrated from August 8, 2008, to August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony beginning at 08:08:08 pm CST (12:08:08 UTC) at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, People's Republic of China.



Some events will be held outside Beijing, namely football (soccer) (in Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shenyang and Tianjin), equestrian (in Hong Kong) and sailing (in Qingdao). This will be the third time the Olympics are held under the jurisdiction of 2 different NOCs (Hong Kong and mainland China compete separately).

The Olympic games were awarded to Beijing, People's Republic of China after an exhaustive ballot of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 13, 2001. The official logo of the games, titled "Dancing Beijing," features a stylized calligraphic character jīng (京, meaning capital), referencing the host city.

The mascots of Beijing 2008 are the five Fuwa, each representing one color of the Olympic rings. The Olympic slogan, One World, One Dream, calls upon the world to unite in the Olympic spirit. Athletes will compete in 302 events in 28 sports, just one event more than was on the schedule of the Athens games of 2004. Several new National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have also been recognized by the IOC.

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will give friends from all over the world an opportunity to experience Beijing, the capital city of China.

Beijing is both a tribute to China's proud history and a gateway to China's future. The capital city during the Liao, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Beijing has long been the political, cultural, and diplomatic center of China. It is now an international metropolis, home to 11 million people from all walks of life.

Alongside 7300 cultural relics and historic sites and more than 200 scenic spots -- including the world's largest palace, the Forbidden City, as well as the Great Wall, Summer Palace, and Temple of Heaven -- Beijing boasts an impressive modern skyline, a reflection of its rapid economic development. The recently expanded Beijing Capital International Airport is China's largest and most advanced airport.

August and September mark the end of summer and the beginning of autumn in Beijing, with temperatures ranging from 18 to 30 degrees Celsius. This is the best season to visit, with clear, blue skies allowing visitors to fully witness the charm and vastness of the city.

MP3 Music Downloads



Subscribe in a reader

Forex Affiliate

Forex-Affiliate.com offers a win-win earning program – combination of CPA and Revenue-Sharing, tailor made to suit you best! As our business partner, your commission is based on the revenue generated by your referrals, plus a flat fee for introducing referrals.

In addition, you may well enhance your earning by running the 2nd-tier program (introducing Forex-Affiliates under you). Also the 2nd-tier program offers combined CPA and Comm-Share (flat fee, plus percentage of commission earned by your referred affiliates).

Currency Trading Online

Trade currencies online with the
Worlds ultimate trading platform

Forex-Affiliate.com - Join Now

ENTERTAINMENT EARTH

ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT EARTH

Thank you for taking the time to browse through the Entertainment Earth Action Figures, Gifts and Collectibles website.



We've come a long way since the launch of our original e-commerce website in 1996 thanks to your continued business. Our goal has always been to provide you with the best possible client experience, unique products, and ground-breaking industry leading innovations.

Easy Forex

Easy-Forex? Others offer promises. WE deliver.




Forex? What is it, anyway?

The market

The currency trading (FOREX) market is the biggest and fastest growing market on earth. Its daily turnover is more than 2.5 trillion dollars. The participants in this market are banks, organizations, investors and private individuals, just like you. (click here to read full market background by Easy-Forex™).


The goods (merchandise)

Markets are places to trade goods, and the same goes with FOREX. The Forex goods are the currencies of various countries. You buy Euro, paying with US dollars, or you sell Japanese Yens for Canadian dollars. That's all.

How does one profit in Forex?
Obviously, buy cheap and sell for more! The profit potential comes from the fluctuations (changes) in the currency exchange market.

The nice thing about the FOREX market, is that regular daily fluctuations, say - around 1%, are multiplied by 100! (in general, Easy-Forex™ offers trading ratios from 1:50 to 1:200).

How risky is Forex trading?

You cannot lose more than your "margin" (your initial investment)! You may profit unlimited amounts, but you never lose more than what you initially risked. However, risk only what you can afford and is not vital for your well-being.

How do I start trading?

Register (Easy-Forex™ offers the simplest and quickest registration process, no obligation); deposit your first trading "margin" amount (credit cards are welcome, only by Easy-Forex™); start trading.

How do I monitor my Forex trading?

Online, from anywhere, anytime. You have full control to monitor status, check scenarios, change some terms in the deal, or close it.

Want to know more? Want to get on-line training? Register here (quick, no obligation), we'll be glad to guide you, every step of the way.

Good luck!

Dollar or Euro? Make my day!

Control your destiny.
Forex trading involves substantial risk of loss, and may not be suitable for everyone.

Sharesults Affiliate Programs - Join Today

India Tourism

DUBAI — 8 May 2008 In a major change in its visa policies, India will soon introduce visa on arrival at its airports for foreign tourists, Kanthi Singh, the newly appointed Minister of State for Tourism and Culture of India, told Khaleej Times yesterday.

The move aims at giving a fillip to India’s tourism sector.

Kanthi Singh was addressing a Press conference during the ATM.

Currently, tourists visiting India have to obtain a visa from the Indian mission in their respective countries. “We have already introduced a facility of five-year multiple entry visa system for nationals of 18 countries,” she said.

This visa facility allows tourists from the 18 countries to stay in India for up to 90 days followed by their exit and re-entry again on the multiple entry visa,” she explained.

“India has vast tourism attractions and we are trying to develop new tourism potential such as offering adventure tourism, medical tourism, rural tourism, cruise tourism and shopping fairs,” she noted.

To ensure the safety and security of tourists, all the state governments are being requested to deploy tourist police at all important tourist destinations, the minister added.

The minister said that the number of tourists from the Middle East to India had registered an impressive growth of 16 per cent in the year 2007.

She pointed out that 172,389 tourists from the Middle East visited India in 2007. The trend continues and tourist arrival figures in the first quarter of 2008 already show a double digit growth over the corresponding period last year.

“India is also emerging as one of the leading source markets,” she said.

Indian Consul General in Dubai Venu Rajamony, Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor of the ministry E.K. Bhrath Bhushan, and Regional Director of Incredible India Kamal Lochan Das were also present.

Virtual Assistant / Secretary 24/7

Cloud Seeding

ABU DHABI — 8 May 2008 - Cloud-seeding may lead to rain today. Would you be surprised if it rains today? At this point of time in the year?

What, if you were told that it’s not the normal showers?

Well, it’s true! The Met Department at the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) is expected to carry out tests to induce artificial rain in different parts of the country today, Khaleej Times has learnt.

Meanwhile, according to a recent agency report, the unseasonal rain in Abu Dhabi and other parts of the country experienced on Tuesday was ‘artificial’ too and “enhanced by the centre (NCMS)”.

ItsHot Diamond Watches & Jewelry

Angry Iran

TEHERAN - 8 May 2008 - Iran angry as Iraq backs UAE on isles - Iran has protested to Iraq over reports that Baghdad had backed the United Arab Emirates’ claim to three islands in the Gulf, the foreign ministry said yesterday.

“The Iraqi ambassador (Mohammed Majid Abbas Al Shaikh) was invited (to the foreign ministry) and was notified of Iran’s protest,” foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told the state broadcaster.

“The Iraqi government was also asked to correct its position,” he said. The official UAE agency Wam reported on April 28 that in a memorandum sent to the UAE foreign ministry, the Iraqi government asserted “its unconditional support to the sovereignty of UAE” over the three islands.

“It also said that Iraq supports all procedures and peaceful means UAE will adopt to reclaim the three islands, and rejects any action from Iran to bolster the occupation,” the agency reported.

Iran occupied the Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa islands, which control access to the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and the UAE, after British forces left the Gulf in 1971.

Teheran has rejected claims by the UAE, which insists the islands in strategic Gulf waters are occupied by Iran.

The Islamic republic has also ruled out taking the issue before the international court in The Hague, although the UAE launched a fresh appeal yesterday in Cairo.

“Egypt agrees that this question ... should be subject to judicial measures, even at the level of the UN Security Council,” said Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, speaker of the UAE Federal National Council.

“The UAE must ask Iran (to accept) a recourse to the International Court of Justice,” he told reporters after a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abdul Gheit.

Despite their differences over the islands, the two states have close ties, with Iran being the UAE’s top trading partner. Iranians also form a sizable diaspora community in Dubai.

Since the fall of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, Shia-majority Iran has enjoyed warm ties with its western neighbour, which fought a bloody war with Iran from 1980 to 1988.

However, the Iraqi government announced earlier this week that it will form a panel of security ministries to investigate and document any Iranian intervention in Iraqi affairs, amid mounting US claims of meddling by Teheran.

Iran vehemently rejects allegations of interference in Iraq, saying the best way to restore stability to the country would be the immediate exit of US and other foreign troops. (AFP)

Indian's food habits Vs high oil prices

Washington, May 6 (PTI) - After food, US now targets India, China for high oil prices.

After President George W Bush's remarks linking Indians' food habits to rising prices of commodities globally, the US is now faulting India and China for the surge in oil prices to record levels.

The White House also sought to calm the frayed nerves in India to Bush's remarks that the rising prosperity of it's large middle class is contributing to rising foods prices around the world saying the US saw "higher living standards" of people there as a "good thing".



"Many developing nations like India or China are having greatly increased demand, which obviously is having an impact on price," White House Deputy Spokesman Scott Stanzel said at a briefing responding to a question on the crude oil price crossing USD 120-mark.

"There are a lot of different ways that we can reduce our dependence, but we have more to do and it's just -- and also I would point out that, obviously, the demand for oil is growing around the world," he said.

Asked to clarify Bush's remarks on Indian's food habits, Stanzel said "We think that it is a good thing that countries are developing; that more and more people have higher and higher standards of living." However, he apparently did not go back on Bush's point that Indian food habits were contributing to spiralling food prices, which in turn, were worsening the global food crisis.

"The point that I think was to be made is that as you increase your standard of living, the food that you eat can venture more into meats that require more commodities to feed the livestock which, you know, uses more of those commodities, whether it's corn, or wheat, or other commodities and it drives up the price. So that is just a function of how those food prices that we've seen spike around the world." PTI

More on U.S. India-bashing….

Politicians across the Indian political spectrum are condemning President Bush's remark, linking high food prices in the West to a growing middle class in India.

From New Delhi, VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports Indians are pointing the finger back at the United States.

The governing coalition and opposition in India rarely agree on much, but they are united in condemning the American president for saying a growing demand for food grains by India's middle class is partly to blame for the surge in global food prices.

Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony calls President Bush's comment "a cruel joke" contending that U.S. policies, including advocating bio-fuels, are responsible for higher food prices.

M.A. Nagvi, the vice president of the largest opposition force, the Bharatiya Janata Party, says President Bush is shifting from his earlier role of global "bomb inspector" to world "bread inspector."

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, a key national Communist leader, says the American president "has gone out of his mind."

The other side of Bushladin's tomfoolery…

As of Wednesday, April 30, 2008, at least 4,063 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians. At least 3,307 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

The AP count is five more than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET.

The British military has reported 176 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia, three; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, South Korea, one death each.

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, 29,829 U.S. service members have been wounded in hostile action, according to the Defense Department's weekly tally, on April 22.



War has wiped out about 655,000 Iraqis or more than 500 people a day since the U.S.-led invasion, a new study reports.