Audi A8 – Glitz. Glamour. Glorification. If you watch Extra! every night, this is what you think the luxury lifestyle is about. For the self-absorbed starlets of Hollywood, it is. For the rest of us, true luxury is about understatement, not ostentation. It’s about appreciating the finer things in life, going about your business quietly, and conducting yourself with dignity, class and elegance. For this kind of life, the Audi A8 is a perfect conveyance. Unfortunately, luxury is also about simplicity, and the A8 is, at times, dangerously complex.

Ever heard of the name Paulo Martinelli? If you haven’t, just think Formula One. He’s one of the brains behind engine performance for some of Ferrari’s top cars in the series. So what’s the connection with Paulo Martinelli and the next best car lease deal in the new Abarth SS? Well, stepping into this vehicle and driving it around, you will have to thank this man as he is the person assigned to fine-tune the four-cylinder model of the Abarth SS, which is about to hit city streets in parts of Europe in 2008. Dubbed the Super Sport (thus the SS), the Abarth is a monster of a car that is the ultimate evolution of the Fiat-based Abarth 500 that we have come to know so well. It’s got enough ‘oomph’ and style to give the Mini Cooper a run for its money and if you wait long enough, we just might see the introduction of the Abarth Grande Punto SS which sports a 1.4 liter turbo engine and even more race style than imagined for a slick little street car.

When all is said and done, all that is left for you to do is to check out all these beautiful models of the year 2008 and see if you like them yourself.

Article source: http://gurudor.com/automotive/cars/best-cars-of-2008.html

What Is Pet Insurance?

Pet insurance is an insurance policy that covers your household pets and is mainly used for dogs and cats. Most pet insurance will pay for the vet costs if your pet is ill or has an accident. Pet insurance can also provide third party protection for any damage your pet may do to other people’s property and cover other expenses such as emergency kenneling costs, theft, travel and even death. Pet insurance also gives you peace of mind, knowing that your pet will always receive the best possible medical treatment available.

On average one in every three pets need treatment from a vet each year following injury or illness and more than 50% of the visits to the veterinary clinic are unplanned due to sudden illness or an accident. Treatment for hip treatments, spinal injuries, broken legs and internal complaints can quickly run into thousands of pounds, especially if medication or x-rays are required. There are also the unforeseen associated costs that may be incurred like holiday cancellations and court costs (you are liable if your dog causes an accident). All of these can add up quickly.

Many pet health insurance companies only cover dogs and cats as a rule. However, there are some companies that also provide cover for other animals such as exotic birds, reptiles, horses and rodents.

What Types Of Pet Insurance Policies Are There?

Most pet insurance companies offer numerous policies from the basic through to premium plans that provide cover for every aspect of your pet’s medical care. You need to decide how much care is right for your pet and then pick a policy that closely matches your needs. As with other insurance policies, the higher the premium, the more cover that is provided.

It is important to look out for the following main points to see if they are covered in the pet insurance policy:

1. Cover for life or fixed term
2. Vet Fees
3. Death from illness
4. Accidental Damage
5. The policy excess
6. Dental treatment?
7. Third Party Liability & legal expenses
8. Death from accident, theft or straying
9. How much of the vet bills are covered. 70 – 100%
10. Emergency treatments, X-rays, lab fees etc

As with humans, many pet insurance companies require your pet to have a medical exam . This is so the insurer can manage their risk and keep premiums low as they are not supplying cover for animals that are on deaths door and having to payout on an animal that are known to be dying. The insurance companies will often put a cap on the total amount they will pay on a policy either on any one type of illness or in any given year. If your pet suffers from a pre-existing medical condition, you may find it hard to get an insurance company that will give you cover.

The easiest way to save money on your pet insurance is to shop around and compare prices. Check at least 3 separate insurance companies to compare pricing and terms to make sure you get the best deal.

Source: Why Do I Need Pet Insurance

Pay Attention To Energy Levels

There are many different breeds of dogs in this world today, and they can differ not just in their looks but in their temperament and their energy level as well. This is important to be aware of when looking into getting a large dog such as the black Labrador. High energy dogs are often very enjoyable to the person or the family that likes a lot of outdoor activity, but this type of dog might not be as good of a choice for the person that works all day or lives in an apartment. This does not mean that the black Labrador would not make a good pet, but it is not healthy for the dog to be closed up in an apartment all day and could result in destructive behavior simply because the dog would be bored.

Big Dogs Need Big Spaces

For those that are interested in owning a black Labrador, space must be considered. Those who live in apartments either do not own dogs or only own small dogs because large dogs with a lot of energy are often unhappy in an apartment all day. However, for the family that has space for a large dog, a black Labrador would be a good choice because they make good guard dogs yet are gentle and affectionate with people that they know including small children.

Source: about black Labradors

Semicolon sightings in the city are unusual, period, much less in exhortations drafted by committees of civil servants. In literature and journalism, not to mention in advertising, the semicolon has been largely jettisoned as a pretentious anachronism.

Americans, in particular, prefer shorter sentences without, as style books advise, that distinct division between statements that are closely related but require a separation more prolonged than a conjunction and more emphatic than a comma.

more…

–

almost a year… unoffically.. whatever that means… haha… you know who you are..

–

last friday of the month.

last day of exam.

last day of school.

last day to wear our uniform.

–

last saturday, i watched vantage point with rc and barbie, and ate dinner at rairaiken with them plus cha, jen, and ais. vantage point was good… i suggest that you watch it.

–

im really very happy that bryan and i patched thigns up before school ended… thanks!

–

start of the week we had our last outing.. very very fun!?!? all the usual things we do plus more and yet at the same time, almost all of us had that lingering feeling of sadness.. this would be our last get together… as a class.. as students.. time seems to fly so fast especially when you’re with them… ill miss the laughter, the moments.. everything that makes our class unique in every aspect of it…

what aissa said is true, no words can ever express how happy ive been tha past five years ive been with you guys…

enough with the drama… we’ll party like theres not tomorrow and meet up whenever we have the chance…

–

whats really saddening is the fact that after this, there is no turning back, no start of school to look forward to, no more summer vacations with friends… it just all ends here…

Allegra could be used in an off-label capacity, meaning that your doctor may decide that using this anti-histamine may sort out another current condition you may have. The use of Allegra can affect blood pressure; a matter of concern to people who suffer from hypertension and have difficulty controlling blood pressure.

The real issue is Allegra -D and not Allegra and blood pressure. Allegra contains fexofenadine, which decreases the effects of histamine in the body. But some people suffer from nasal congestion and want relief from it and as a solution, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, manufacturers of Allegra, designed a medication containing the decongestant pseudoephedrine.

Pseudoephedrine restricts blood vessels which decreases the amount of nasal congestion but, being specific to the vessels in the nose alone, restricts all blood vessels. Two problems occur : People with borderline hypertension can have their blood pressure raised to high levels and continued use can cause peripheral vascular and cardiac problems. The effect on people taking antihypertensive medications such asMecamylamine, Aldomet or Reserpine, is that pseudoephedrine will counter act the effects of these medications and patients taking these medications will be left without protection or control against the dangerous effects of high blood pressure. In addition, pseudoephedrine can cause blood pressure to rise.

High blood pressure patients and those taking blood pressure medications should be worried about the connection between blood pressure and Allegra. Lengthy exposure to hypertension or high blood pressure, increases the workload on the heart and cardiovascular system. This increased strain and stress can lead to congestive heart failure, kidney failure, stroke or heart disease.

Doctors can’t always establish reasons behind hypertension, but they know which factors are high risk causes of the symptoms. Many of these factors are reversible. By taking care of risk factors, high blood pressure is controlled more easily or is reduced with milder medications. Risk factors are obesity, poor diet,smoking, lack of exercise and little rest.

Be sure your healthcare provider knows your medical history, medications you take (over the counter medications and vitamins) and your symptoms before agreeing to take Allegra. Do not take Allegra if you have had an allergic reaction, have kidney, liver or heart disease, are pregnant or are breast feeding.

Some people without risk factors can take Allegra to help alleviate seasonal allergy reactions, but for those who have risk factors this medication can cause some serious health risks.

For more information visit our http://stimul-pharmacy.co.uk/category_allergies.htm allergies category.

Source: http://stimul-pharmacy.co.uk/press/2008/02/26/allegra-and-the-affects-on-blood-pressure/

Company: Sanofi-Aventis

Zimulti (rimonabant) is an anti-obesity drug. It was approved for marketing as Acomplia in the European Union in June 2006. Zimulti is not yet approved for use in the United States.

Zimulti Update: On June 13, 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee did not recommend approval of Zimulti (rimonabant) to the US FDA for use in obese and overweight patients with associated risks factors because of continuing concerns about increased risks for suicidal thoughts among some users. The FDA is expected to decide by July 27, 2007 whether Zimulti should be on the market.

What is Zimulti?

• Zimulti (rimonabant) is the first in a new class of therapeutic agents called Cannabinoid-1 Receptor Blockers (CB1).
• Zimulti is used in the treatment of obesity and related conditions.

How does Zimulti work?

• Zimulti acts by selectively blocking CB1 receptors found in the brain and in peripheral organs important in glucose and lipid (or fat) metabolism, including adipose tissue, the liver, gastrointestinal tract and muscle¹.
• CB1 receptor blockade with Zimulti acts to decrease the overactivity of the endocannabinoid system (EC system)^2,3. The EC system is a recently characterised physiological system that includes receptors such as the CB1 receptor and it has been shown to play an important role in regulating body weight and in controlling energy balance, as well as glucose and lipid (or fat) metabolism.
• Zimulti switches off the same brain circuits that make people hungry when they smoke cannabis. As a result, people who take Zimulti eat less and lose weight.

What is Zimulti used for?

• Zimulti is used complementary to diet and exercise to treat obese or overweight patients who suffer from Type 2 diabetes and
  order cheap acomplia

  abnormal levels of fat in the blood.

• Sanofi argues that Zimulti can also prevent the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Does Zimulti also aid smoking cessation?

• Zimulti has been studied by sanofi-aventis as an aid to smoking cessation based on studies for up to one year in over 6,500 smokers motivated to quit smoking.
• Sanofi-aventis submitted a New Drug Application for Zimulti to the FDA, which in turn issued a non approvable letter for Zimulti for use in smoking cessation. An approvable letter was however, issued for Zimulti for use in weight management.

What were the results of the clinical studies?

• In clinical studies, Zimulti has been shown to improve a wide array of cardiometabolic risk factors as well as promoting sustained weight loss^4,5.
• Approximately half of the observed improvement in HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and HbA1C (an indicator of blood sugar control) in patients who received Zimulti 20mg was beyond that expected from weight loss alone⁶.

What are the possible side effects?

• Side effects in the trial on Zimulti in obesity were vomiting and nausea, forcing about 19 percent of patients to leave the trial versus 13 percent of those who took placebo.
• Clinical studies found that 26 percent of people taking Zimulti reported psychiatric symptoms, including anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks as well as increases in aggression and agitation compared to patients given a placebo.
• Zimulti has also been shown to cause increased suicidal tendencies and other depressive symptoms.⁷

References:

1. Pagotto U. Pasquali R. Fighting obesity and associated risk factors by antagonising cannabinoid type 1 receptors. Lancet. 2005; 365: 1363-64.
2. Van Gaal LF, Rissanen, AM, Scheen AJ, Ziegler O, Rössner S for the RIO-Europe Study Group. Effects of the cannabinoid-1 receptor blocker rimonabant on weight reduction and cardiovascular risk factors in overweight patients:
   order generic acomplia

   1-year experience from the RIO-Europe study. Lancet. 2005; 365: 1389-97.

3. Marzo V, et al. Leptin-regulated endocannabinoids are involved in maintaining food intake. Nature. 2001;410:822-825.
4. Després, J.P. et al. Effect of Rimonabant on Body Weight and the Metabolic Syndrome in Overweight Patients. New England Journal of Medicine, November, 16, 2005.
5. Van Gaal L, et al. Effects Of The Cannabinoid-1 Receptor Blocker Rimonabant On Weight Reduction And Cardiovascular Risk Factors In Overweight Patients: 1-Year Experience From The RIO-Europe Study. The Lancet. 365;1389-1397.
6. Zimulti Summary of Product Characteristics
7. Testimony Before FDA Advisory Committee Meeting on Rimonabant (HRG Publication #1815), Testimony of Sidney Wolfe, M.D., Ben Wolpaw and Elizabeth Barbehenn Ph.D. Health Research Group of Public Citizen. FDA Endocrine Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee Meeting on Rimonabant: June 13, 2007

Sources: www.drugs.com

Company: Sanofi-Aventis

Acomplia (rimonabant) is an anti-obesity drug. It was approved for marketing in the European Union in June 2006. Rimonabant is not yet approved for use in the United States, where it is known as Zimulti.

What is Acomplia?

• Acomplia (rimonabant) is the first in a new class of therapeutic agents called Cannabinoid-1 Receptor Blockers (CB1).
• Acomplia is used in the treatment of obesity and related conditions.

How does Acomplia work?

• Acomplia acts by selectively blocking CB1 receptors found in the brain and in peripheral organs important in glucose and lipid (or fat) metabolism, including adipose tissue, the liver, gastrointestinal tract and muscle¹.
• Acomplia switches off the same brain circuits that make people hungry when they smoke cannabis.
• CB1 receptor blockade with Acomplia acts to decrease the overactivity of the endocannabinoid system (EC system)^2,3. The EC system is a recently characterised physiological system that includes receptors such as the CB1 receptor and it has been shown to play an important role in regulating body weight and in controlling energy balance, as well as
  order acomplia

  glucose and lipid (or fat) metabolism.

What is Acomplia used for?

• Acomplia is used complementary to diet and exercise to treat obese or overweight patients who suffer from Type 2 diabetes and abnormal levels of fat in the blood.
• Sanofi argues that Acomplia can also prevent the risk of cardiovascular disease
  to buy acomplia

  .

• Patients with large waist circumference (102 cm in men and 88 cm in women) will mostly benefit from taking the drug.

Does Acomplia also aid smoking cessation?

• Acomplia has been studied by sanofi-aventis as an aid to smoking cessation based on studies for up to one year in over 6,500 smokers motivated to quit smoking.
• Sanofi-aventis submitted a New Drug Application to the FDA, which in turn issued a non approvable letter for Acomplia for use in smoking cessation. An approvable letter was however issued for Acomplia for use in weight management.

Acomplia has just been approved in the European Union. Is Acomplia approved in the United States?

• No. Sanofi is still awaiting U.S. marketing go-ahead which it has said could come by the end of this year.
• U.S. health authorities have asked Sanofi for more information on Acomplia.
• Acomplia received European Union marketing approval in June 2006.
• The first launch will take place in Britain in July and be followed by launches in Denmark, Ireland, Germany, Finland and Norway in the second half of this year, according to Sanofi.

What were the results of Acomplia Clinical trial studies?

• In clinical studies, Acomplia has been shown to improve a wide array of cardiometabolic risk factors as well as promoting sustained weight loss^4,5.
• Approximately half of the observed improvement in HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and HbA1C (an indicator of blood sugar control) in patients who received Acomplia 20mg was beyond that expected from weight loss alone⁶.

What are the side-effects of Acomplia?

• Side effects in the trial on Acomplia in obesity were vomiting and nausea, forcing about 19 percent of patients to leave the trial versus 13 percent of those who took placebo.

References:

1. Pagotto U. Pasquali R. Fighting obesity and associated risk factors by antagonising cannabinoid type 1 receptors. Lancet. 2005; 365: 1363-64.
2. Van Gaal LF, Rissanen, AM, Scheen AJ, Ziegler O, Rössner S for the RIO-Europe Study Group. Effects of the cannabinoid-1 receptor blocker rimonabant on weight reduction and cardiovascular risk factors in overweight patients: 1-year experience from the RIO-Europe study. Lancet. 2005; 365: 1389-97.
3. Marzo V, et al. Leptin-regulated endocannabinoids are involved in maintaining food intake. Nature. 2001;410:822-825.
4. Després, J.P. et al. Effect of Rimonabant on Body Weight and the Metabolic Syndrome in Overweight Patients. New England Journal of Medicine, November, 16, 2005.
5. Van Gaal L, et al. Effects Of The Cannabinoid-1 Receptor Blocker Rimonabant On Weight Reduction And Cardiovascular Risk Factors In Overweight Patients: 1-Year Experience From The RIO-Europe Study. The Lancet. 365;1389-1397.
6. Acomplia Summary of Product Characteristics

Source: www.drugs.com

The restructuring plan has been processing well and last date for right issue entitlement date is Nov 27. News appended below:

FCW HOLDINGS reported that trading in the Company’s shares will be suspended on Nov 27, 2007 to facilitate the following:
1. Cancellation of 40 sen per 50 sen par value shares and consolidation thereafter into 50 sen par shares.
2. Proposed Rights Issue of up to 185.7m shares of 50 sen par together with 74.3m free Warrants on the basis of 5 Rights and 2 free Warrants for every 3 FCW shares held after the Capital Restructuring.

STOCK NEWS & ANALYSIS
DIALOG – After a credible 1Q08 performance, we expect the earnings momentum to pick up in the remaining quarters. The developments in Tanjung Langsat are especially interesting because, for the second time after the development of KTSB, Dialog plays the dual role of a contractor and a concession holder. Upcoming announcements of more partners make the prospects all the more exciting. We maintain our forecasts and target price of RM2.42, which is pegged to an unchanged forward P/E of 25x, a 40% premium over our target P/E for the market given its 3-year EPS CAGR of 40+%. Dialog remains an OUTPERFORM with the re-rating catalysts being 1) more EPCC projects, 2) entrance of new partners after MISC (MISC MK, Outperform), and 3) new international markets. – cimb

OTHERS
GUANGZHOU, Nov 21 (Bernama) — The soaring palm oil price has not affected demand because it is still more economical than most vegetable oils and its versatility in the food and non-food industries, Malaysian Palm Oil Board director-general Datuk Mohd Basri Wahid said today.

“Crude palm oil is hovering around US$870 (US$1=RM3.36) per tonne and its trading discount compared to soyabean has narrowed sharply from US$178 in 2004 to only US$4.

“Demand for palm oil has been bullish from 2006 inwards and the price is moving in tandem with crude oil,” he said at the 2nd China Oils and Oilseeds Conference here today.

MY SWING COUNTERS
(Each thousand shares represents a transaction at different price and time. It is not the volume actually been traded.)
Code/Price/Date/#Shares/Closing/Remarks
DBHD/0.3875/0906/4000/0.365/ hold
Dgate/0.1983/0418/3000/0.60/ hold
Dialog/1.7029/1009/7000/1.62/ hold
Foutain/0.1475/0105/6000/0.22/ hold
Gamuda-CD/-0.1813/0628/2000/0.055/ added@0.05
Idaman/0.3287/1025/4000/0.29/ hold
K1/0.9280/0411/4000/1.08/ hold
MVest/0.804/0719/5000/0.775/ hold
Notion/0.45/1102/1000/0.425/ hold
Nscom/0.05/0713/1000/0.05/ hold
Palette/0.1050/0829/4000/0.10/ hold
Putera/0.6675/1115/2000/0.705/ hold
SKPRes/0.165/1102/2000/0.155/ hold
Tebrau/1.2521/0822/5000/1.09/ hold

Back in 1985 I was pregnant and very ill. I developed some weird sickness that meant I could not hold down any food during the pregnancy and I almost had to consider terminating the baby. Luckily I didn’t and my daughter came through the foetal trauma and is wonderful.

Anyway, the night I want to talk about happened one early evening when I had such a big argument with my husband. I really wasn’t fit for fighting or walking out to the dusky streets in a strop – but I did it anyway. It was something I did quite a lot in those days. I just simply walked out.

My husband had pissed me off beyond belief and as it was such a hot summer night I decided to walk along by the River Clyde.

I didn’t really like the river as my mother had been thrown in its murky water years before and had died that spring night of 1982 at the hands of her violent boyfriend.

I always felt odd looking at the dirty water, as I often pictured her rotting corpse floating about amongst the reeds. I do have a very vivid imagination but what happened that summer night of 1985 will stay with me till I die.

I had walked right down to the dockside. It used to be a busy industrial place but, now that the shipyards had closed down, it was just a dirty broken place where old drunks hung out on the rusting decks and corroded pontoons that used to serve the giant ships.

It started to get dark and the summer sun had dipped beyond the massive metal bridges on the river and left a strange red striped pattern on the flat water near the old shipyard. Minutes later, the whole area went dark as the sun slipped of to the West. There were not many street lights down at the dockside. The local council had tried to make the place look presentable by planting loads of trees, hedges and thick bushes but that only served to hide rabbits and a few city foxes that would raid the bins.

I sat down feeling nauseous on a bench that had green crackled paint and deep gouges of graffiti cut into it, making the seat scratchy and uncomfortable, but I needed a rest.

I watched the water move slowly, my eyes trying to focus into the darkness. There were some pools of light from the orange street lamps that lit up various spots along the water side, but only sporadically as many of the lights were broken.

Empty beer cans and fag ends littered the pathways illuminated in the freakish-looking orange light, bushes rustled and I could hear moans coming from various points along the walkway from drunks who had taken refuge amongst the undergrowth.

I didn’t feel unsafe or scared. This was my city and drunks aren’t always dangerous. Most are just friendly and like a chat. We owned a bar at that time and drunks were my constant companions. I knew how to handle them.

Behind me, I heard the foliage move; twigs were being broken underfoot. I turned to see who was coming behind me but, in the darkness, it was hard to see what was there. I assumed it was a fox and dismissed it. I sat there fighting the need to vomit.

The noise stopped and I focussed back on the river, sitting there in my own thoughts again. Still feeling angry and sick at the same time, I went over the fight with my husband in my head. We never stopped fighting. We always argued. And, now that I was pregnant, I wondered what the hell I was going to do with my life. I got lost in my thoughts…and just then I felt someone brush past me from behind. It was a slight feeling, as if my hair was being touched and my neck was slowly getting warm.

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