Rais Yatim said that it's difficult to pronounce H1N1 rather that "selsema babi" for reporters. So using the "selsema babi" will be easy for sending the message across. But anyway, it's good to find out the reason why it is called "swine flu" at first.
Why is novel H1N1 virus sometimes called “swine flu”?
This virus was originally referred to as “swine flu” because laboratory testing showed that many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs in North America. But further study has shown that this new virus is very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs. It has two genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia and avian genes and human genes. Scientists call this a "quadruple reassortant" virus.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Passive Thinking
“If we build the ERL linking Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, this is not good because the Singaporean will then buy the houses here.”
A passive statement that I have heard really upset me. Liberalization of air services in Asean is going to happen soon. I don’t really understand why peoples still have this kind of mentality. It makes me sick. It’s like saying that “if we don’t allow peoples to come in, then we will own all our resources.” But until when?
A passive statement that I have heard really upset me. Liberalization of air services in Asean is going to happen soon. I don’t really understand why peoples still have this kind of mentality. It makes me sick. It’s like saying that “if we don’t allow peoples to come in, then we will own all our resources.” But until when?
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Where's the Money come for Real Madrid?
How comes a club can afford to buy the players with such an incredible price?
From UK Independent:
From UK Independent:
Real rich: Where Madrid's money comes from
* Clubs in Spain are free to negotiate separate deals rather than central contracts. Madrid signed a £700m seven-year deal with MediaPro in 2006, seeing them easily top £100m a year, double United's earnings.
* Their bids for top players are also aided by Spain's tax laws – foreign players pay tax at just 23 per cent for their first five years. In England the 50p tax means clubs have to pay more to match wages on offer in Spain.
* The club's status in Spain helps them maintain their place at the forefront of European football. All debts they hold are with local banks, rather than relying on American billionaires or Russian oil companies. These banks are pressured to allow Madrid certain unwritten privileges, such as low interest repayments on loans. Their stature and standing in the country means they are unaffected by issues that could affect smaller clubs.
* Real Madrid have finished top of the Deloitte Money League for four years. The Bernabeu enjoys the third-highest average attendance in Europe while overseas trips generate revenue through ticket and merchandise sales.
How does the structure of the club differ from other leading sides? (from timesonline.uk)
Real are one of four Spanish clubs - the others are Barcelona, Osasuna and Athletic Bilbao - who were exempted from a 1991 law forcing teams to become plcs. This means they hold regular elections to determine who will lead the club. The president then selects his board and appoints his men to key positions within the club.
No evident was found, but it looks suspicious. Anyway, this makes me think whether this is the only way to clear the debts. I am wonder whether it is any possibilities for UK football teams doing the same since almost all the teams there have debts.
Never mind. Different set of rules in Spain and any other leagues in Europe. So what's the function of EU? Just wonder......
