So now that the Royal Wedding is over, what's the most desired ticket in the world? Courtside at the NBA Finals? The Super Bowl in New York City? The World Cup final in Rio?

How about none of the above?

The BBC reports that one million people applied to see an event that has nothing to do with Tom Brady or LeBron James or Lionel Messi.

And the event will last less than 10 seconds.

We're talking about the men's 100-meter final in London next August. The sprint is always the marquee event of the Summer Olympics, but this is likely the most anticipated Olympic event ever, because of one man.

Every sports fan in the world, let alone the million who applied for a seat at the Olympic Stadium next year, wants to watch Usain Bolt try to beat his unfathomable world record Olympic time of 9.69 seconds, set at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

To give you some perspective, 1.6 million people applied for tickets to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but that was for a weeks-long tournament. This is for one race.

The stadium seats 80,000, so chances are not great, but if Bolt lowers his mark, few will complain about shelling out 725 pounds (about $1,000) to see it.

Bolt will be 25 when he takes his place in the starting blocks next year -- assuming he stays healthy and qualifies, of course -- putting him right in the prime of his sprinting life. So although he'll be competing against seven other runners, he'll really be competing against the limits of human capacity -- and himself.

His Beijing performance was met with both awe -- he beat the second place finisher by a whopping 0.2 seconds -- and wonder. Bolt slowed down to showboat at the end of the race, and had a shoelace untied, so speculation immediately began as to how fast he could really run. Some calculated close to 9.5 seconds, which is preposterous in a world where a sub-9.8 time is still superb. (Maurice Greene set a World Record with a 9.79 time in 1999.)

So almost as soon as Bolt crossed the finish line in Beijing, the countdown to London 2012 began. While most assume Michael Phelps has reached his potential as an Olympian, Bolt's ceiling is very much up for debate. Many think the 2012 Games will bring the answer. And many think Bolt will hit a generational best -- a mark that will not be matched for decades, despite the steady progression of lower times over the course of running history.

Bolt made London even more interesting in 2009 by lowering his world record to 9.58 seconds in Berlin. At the end of that event, the mayor of that city presented the sprinter with a chunk of the Berlin Wall that weighed nearly three tons.

But that heavy piece of history is not nearly as popular these days as the little piece of paper that will allow a view of the fastest human ever.

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In the Ramsey home, the last week has been one of prayers and goodbyes.

The prayers are for friends and family, even if, like Ramsey's father, they don't believe ("He says it's our own thing and that we'll see on Saturday," Ramsey says). Friends -- the couple has few left aside from fellow Judgement Day preachers -- have come over for Mexican Lasagna, one of Ramsey's favorites.

On Thursday, Paladines' mother flew up from Florida. They hadn't seen each other for a year. Mom doesn't believe the end is near. "This is just a phase that will pass," she tells her daughter, who breaks down in tears at the words.

Over the weekend, mother, daughter and son-in-law went out to eat sushi at their favorite spot in Harrison. They wandered the halls of the American Museum of Natural History, gazing in awe at God's creations: an IMAX film on ancient creatures of the ocean, a hall of life-size taxidermied African mammals and an exhibition on 25,000 miles of ancient road's created during the Incan empire.

"We still have until May 21," says Paladines, hoping her mother will come around.

She caresses the bulge of her belly, smiling and shedding a tear as she feels the baby's slight kicks.

This may be one of her last memories of him, she thinks. Judgment Day followers believe that for those who are saved, there will be no recollection of the pains or pleasures of earth while in heaven.

"God is in control. I have prayed for mercy on my baby," Paladines says, crying. "But I don't know what's going to happen. If I'm here May 21, then I will suffer the consequences of the wrath of God. I know like anybody else I'll deserve it because none of us are perfect."

"I don't know how heaven will be. Just a very nice and beautiful place," she says. "Nothing that we have ever seen before."

* * * * *

Several Judgment Day caravans have taken off from California and other states in recent weeks, traveling to many corners of the U.S. to preach. Followers have quit their jobs and depleted their savings to join the effort.

Last week, hundreds of them converged in Manhattan business districts and parks before heading to Delaware and Boston.

Ramsey came with his mother and brother to Union Square.

"The enemy is coming!" he shouted to bewildered passersby. He wore a neon green shirt proclaiming "Judgement Day: May 21, 2011."

It was just after 5 p.m. on a Thursday as Ramsey held out stacks of pamphlets ("GOD GIVES ANOTHER INFALLABLE PROOF THAT ASSURES THE RAPTURE WILL OCCUR MAY 21, 2011," one read) to a crowd of suited men and women briskly walking and tapping at their Blackberries and iPhones.

The pamphlets were ordered free of charge from Family Radio's web site. Other organizations, including eBiblefellowship and WeCanKnow.com have also given out free materials.

"We only have a few days left -- can you pipe down?" a middle-aged man said to the Ramseys.

A young woman wearing sunglasses and driving a BMW pulled up and rolled down her window. She took a stack of pamphlets and immediately dropped it to the ground.

"You're insane," she said, before speeding away.

"People have a total disregard for the Bible," says Ramsey. "It seems like the ones who have everything God has to offer don't want to let go. They're absolutely terrified."

While he has passed out hundreds of pamphlets, Ramsey, like several other preachers interviewed, admits he has only seen a few dozen people actually read them.

"For a long time, I wouldn't have either," he says. "I never imagined I'd be the one to warn about The End."

End of Days

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An 'end of days' bus can be seen by city hall in New York city on May 12, 2011. A religious group who follows the teachings of Harold Camping believes that May 21, 2011 will be Judgement Day, which is the beginning of the end of the world. ( Damon Dahlen, AOL )

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A religious group that follows the teachings of Oakland, Calif.-based televangelist Harold Camping believes that May 21, 2011 will be Judgement Day, which they call the beginning of the end of the world.

Until six weeks ago, Ramsey spent most days working at the catering company in the city. At night, he and his family would gather to study and write down the Bible's code, trying to verify what they had heard on Camping's radio shows. Ramsey and his 19-year-old brother would do the math and charts. Ramsey's wife, Marcia Paladines -- she says her "math isn't so good" -- would read alongside them. His mother, Jackie, would cook broccoli casserole and potato soup for the group.

The resulting Biblical study took almost a year to finish. But Ramsey says the numbers, which match Camping's, are "undeniable."

Camping, a frail 89-year-old who speaks in a slow but sonorous voice for hours each day on his "Open Forum" call-in show, is convinced that he crunched the exact date of the Rapture through a complex set of equations.

For example, he says, certain numbers repeat in the Bible along with particular themes. The number five means "atonement." Ten means "completeness." Seventeen is "heaven."

"Christ hung on the cross April 1, 33 A.D.," he says. "Now go to April 1 of 2011 A.D., and that's 1,978 years."

If you multiply that number by 365.2422 -- the number of days in the solar calendar -- it equals 722,449. And if you add 51 (the number of days between April 1 and May 21) to that number, it equals 722,500.

Multiply five by ten by 17 to equal 850, and multiply 850 by 850 and the result is the same: 722,500.

That’s just one example.

Camping's radio ministry, which is worth more than $120 million, has 66 stations throughout the country. Its broadcasts reach as far as Nigeria and, via the Internet, it's available in 61 languages.

"Salvation comes only through faith," he says. "We don't know what's going to happen to Family Radio or the banks or anyone else on that day, but it will be horror." Camping himself doesn't know whether he will be saved. Those outcomes are predetermined by God, he says.

Yet this isn't the first time Camping has predicted 'The End.'

On Sept. 6, 1994, dozens of Camping's followers gathered a short drive from the radio station's office in Alameda, Calif. to watch for the return of Christ. Nothing happened.

Today, Camping says he got his math wrong and hadn't "fully examined" parts of the Bible until more recently.

"I always said if it wasn't 1994, it would be 2011," says Camping. He won't entertain the idea that May 21 could pass without a blip.

Neither will his followers.

* * * * *

Two years ago, Ramsey moved to the New York City area to study audio production and immerse himself in the city's art scene. He eventually settled in a modest two-bedroom apartment in Harrison, N.J. Paladines joined him two months later and got a job as a bank teller. Ramsey's brother, mother and father also moved shortly thereafter.

Around the same time, the family stumbled upon Family Radio, which broadcasts from 94.7 WFME FM in West Orange, N.J. Camping was deep into his end-times prophecy.

"In the beginning, I was like, 'Wow, would you believe in a date? Doesn't the Bible say nobody can know?'"says Paladines.

They started attending a Pentecostal church in Newark that is popular among the city's burgeoning Hispanic population. Filled with the Holy Spirit, congregants would speak in tongues and fall to the floor.

Ramsey and Paladines found it bizarre. Their membership only lasted a few months. Last year, they dusted off their King James Bible, returned to Family Radio and began researching Camping's ideas.

"God showed me a lot of things I haven't learned before. The numbers make sense. And look at all these things happening in the world: Earthquakes. The radiation in Japan. Tornados. Flooding," says Paladines.

Late last year, she become pregnant. The baby is is due May 27.

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A religious group that follows the teachings of Oakland, Calif.-based televangelist Harold Camping believes that May 21, 2011 will be Judgement Day, which they call the beginning of the end of the world.

HARRISON, N.J. -- Circled dates dot a calendar on John Ramsey's refrigerator door. They show the busy life of a 25-year-old: dinner parties, birthdays, holidays. But only until May 21.

Every month after May has been crossed out. As has all of 2012.

Ramsey is one of thousands of followers of a loose-knit Christian fringe movement whose members are increasingly found on sidewalks, in parks and at transit hubs in major cities throughout the United States.

They recite passages of the Bible line-by-line and say they have decoded a message for humanity: The world is about to end.

"God says when you see the sword come upon the land, you blow the trumpet and you warn the people," says Ramsey, paraphrasing Ezekiel 33:3. "All I'm doing is telling what I know."

Ramsey and the movement's followers say that at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, the ground will quake, graves will open and many of the dead will ascend to heaven. Two hundred million of the 'saved' -- dead or alive -- will float up. Those left behind will be doomed to live among blood, destruction and disease for five months before God annihilates the Earth on Oct. 21.

These warnings are drawn from the obscure and complex Biblical numerology of Harold Camping, an 89-year-old televangelist who owns Family Radio, a vast international network of Christian radio stations. Camping has been predicting 'The End' for the past two years. A similar prediction went unrealized in the mid-1990s.

His apocalyptic message has been broadcast via hundreds of billboards from Idaho to Manhattan and by a volunteer army of sign-toting, pamphlet-passing amateur preachers like Ramsey.

For most of his adulthood, Ramsey rarely stopped to consider the afterlife. Nights were for ecstasy-fueled rave parties, days were for catching up on sleep. There was the occasional college class, girlfriend or menial job -- most recently, at a catering company. The Bible was simply an old book collecting dust on his closet shelf in his parents’ house.

A soft-spoken 25-year-old with black-rimmed glasses, he favors bright polo shirts and tapered jeans -- garb not typically associated with doomsayers. But there are clues.

On a shelf in his living room rests a four-volume interlinear Bible with cross-references to the book's ancient Greek and Hebrew versions. He says most translations have corrupted the Bible, which followers read as God's literal word as well as a book of parables and symbolism. The best English translation, Ramsey says, is the King James version.

His pantry and fridge are half-empty after a final grocery store run last week. The family bought some of its usual staples: rice, steak, frozen pizza rolls, ribs, beans and corn flour for tortillas.

On a coffee table, he keeps a binder with a handwritten, 80-page timeline of the Bible. Part Biblical genealogy, part numerology, its charts and equations all point to May 21 as the long-awaited Rapture.

"Everybody says it is open to interpretation, but you have to compare scripture to scripture," Ramsey says of the Bible, alluding to 1 Corinthians 2:13 ("Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual").

Ramsey did not grow up in a religious household. Born in Ecuador and raised in North Carolina by an agnostic father and a mother who was once a Jehovah's Witness, he rarely went to church. As a teen, he "leaned atheist." Among his favorite courses in high school were chemistry and biology.

"For a while, I thought science was the answer to all my questions," he says. "But I always was fascinated in the stories in the Bible." He wondered whether they were real, and if so, what did they mean?

In college, he signed up for tourism engineering courses. The interest faded. Slowly, Ramsey says, he was "swept up" in the rave scene. He drank, got high, had one-night stands and traveled to electronic music festivals throughout South America in his spare time.

Four years ago, he met his wife. "I was in a parking lot after going out with friends," Ramsey says, "and we passed by this car of girls with one speaking in Ecuadorian Spanish."

It was rare to meet another Ecuadorian in the American South. Within a year, they married.

Ramsey was turning his life around. And, he had started going to church.

"Baptist, evangelical, Episcopal, Roman Catholic, I tried it all," he says.

None of the denominations struck him, but Ramsey came to a realization. He wanted to find God.

He got a hold of a King James Bible -- the same tattered and ink-stained one he points to today when talking about 'The End.'

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Judgment Day is coming this Saturday, May 21, beginning at 6 p.m., according to Harold Camping, the president of the Christian broadcaster Family Radio. Could he be wrong? He wouldn't be the first. Here are five failed Judgment Day predictions.

- Eoin O'Carroll, CSMonitor.com

1. October 22, 1844

Who: Samuel S. Snow, a preacher in the Millerite movement, led by the Baptist preacher William Miller

How he came by this date: A prophesy in the Book of Daniel states "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed" (Dan. 8:14). If you convert the days into years, and if you start in the year 457 BC – the year that Artaxerxes I of Persia decreed that that the city government of Jerusalem shall be re-established – then this takes you to 1844. Using the Karaite Jewish calendar, Snow pinned the date down to October 22.

What actually happened: Thousands of people gave away all their posessions, only to be surprised when the world did not come to end, and the day came to be known as "The Great Disappointment." The Millerites splintered into several religious groups, the largest and most mainstream being the Seventh Day Adventists, and the smallest and most unconventional probably being the Branch Davidians. Millerism has also influenced the Bahá'í Faith.

2. 1806

Who: The Prophet Hen of Leeds, a domesticated fowl in Leeds, England, who in 1806 began laying eggs that bore the message "Christ is coming."

How she came by that date: As you will see in the next paragraph, the answer is "the hard way."

What actually happened: Charles Mackay's 1841 book, "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds," describes it thus:

"Great numbers visited the spot, and examined these wondrous eggs, convinced that the day of judgment was near at hand. Like sailors in a storm, expecting every instant to go to the bottom, the believers suddenly became religious, prayed violently, and flattered themselves that they repented them of their evil courses. But a plain tale soon put them down, and quenched their religion entirely. Some gentlemen, hearing of the matter, went one fine morning, and caught the poor hen in the act of laying one of her miraculous eggs. They soon ascertained beyond doubt that the egg had been inscribed with some corrosive ink, and cruelly forced up again into the bird’s body. At this explanation, those who had prayed, now laughed, and the world wagged as merrily as of yore."

3. December 21, 1954

Who: Dorothy Martin, a Chicago housewife and student of Dianetics, a set of practices developed by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard.

How she came by this date: Through automatic writing, Martin came in contact with beings from the planet Clarion, who told her that the world would be destroyed by flood and that the faithful would be rescued at midnight by flying saucers (or so she said).

What actually happened: Martin's followers, many of whom quit their jobs and gave away their possessions, gathered in her home to await the aliens. (Martin's husband, a nonbeliever, slept upstairs through the whole thing.) To avoid being burned by the flying saucer, her followers removed all metal from their persons, including zippers and bra straps. Midnight came and went and the group became increasingly agitated. Finally, at 4:45am, Martin said that she received another message from Clarions informing her that God was so impressed by her groups actions that He changed His mind and decided to spare the earth.

The group was infiltrated by a psychologist named Leon Festinger, who used his observations to develop the theory of cognitive dissonance.

4. 2000

Who: Hal Lindsey, who has been continually predicting the end of the world since his 1970 book "The Late, Great Planet Earth," and who, in his 1996 book "Planet Earth 2000 A.D.: Will Mankind Survive?" wrote that Christians should not make any plans after the year 2000.

How he came by this date: Probably the same method he used to calculate the date of the end of the world in his book "The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon," which is now out of print.

What actually happened: Despite his less-than-stellar track record, Lindsey is still at it. In 2008, he wrote a column for the conservative news site WorldNetDaily suggesting that Barack Obama is the Antichrist.

5. October or November 1982

Who: Pat Robertson, who in a 1980 broadcast of "The 700 Club" said "I guarantee you by the end of 1982 there is going to be a judgment on the world."

How he came by that date: Robertson has said that God told him about pending disasters on numerous occasions (including a West Coast tsunami in 2006, and a terrorist attack in 2007 – neither occurred). "I have a relatively good track record,” he has said. “Sometimes I miss.”

What actually happened: The world didn't end in 1982, but "WKRP in Cincinnati," did.

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Is the end of the world coming like this image from the movie "2012?"

(Credit: Columbia Pictures)

(CBS) We're not rapture experts or anything, but it seems every time someone is screaming about Judgement Day and the Apocalypse, that someone is a man. That's not to say that women don't say plenty of crazy things, just not this particular brand of crazy.

Take most recent case in point Harold Camping and his army of branded vans. According to the Christian broadcaster, the first day of "end of days" is May 21, 2011. Then God will destroy the Earth five months after -- October 21, 2011 to be exact.

Well naturally we though that was kind of funny. But we weren't the only ones. Folks in the Twitterverse are having a blast making jokes in the short time they have left
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2008 - God's Final Witness

The year 2008 marked the last of God’s warnings to mankind and the beginning in a countdown of the final three and one-half years of man’s self-rule that will end by May 27, 2012.

On December 14, 2008, the First Trumpet of the Seventh Seal of the Book of Revelation sounded, which announced the beginning collapse of the economy of the United States and great destruction that will follow. The next three trumpets will result in the total collapse of the United States, and once the Fifth Trumpet sounds the world will be thrust into WW III.

The Seven Trumpets of the Seventh Seal, as well as the Seven Thunders of the Book of Revelation (which the apostle John saw but was restricted from recording) are revealed in this book.

Many of the prophecies of the Seven Thunders are being fulfilled and will continue to increase in strength and frequency throughout this final three and one-half years of man's self-rule on earth.

The prophecies revealed in this book explain the demise of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, and much of western Europe, which will be followed by man's final world war. This last war will be the result of clashing religions and the governments they sway. Billions will die! The destruction of this time will far exceed the very worst times of all human history.

As these events unfold, the world will increasingly become aware of the authenticity of the words in this book and realize that Ronald Weinland has been sent by God as His end-time prophet.

This book is primarily directed to the people of the three major religions of the world (Islam, Judaism and Christianity), whose roots are in the God of Abraham. Ronald Weinland has been sent to all three.
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Harold Camping really believes the world is going to end.

And while you may not personally buy into the May 21 judgment day prediction, the California-based religious figure and radio broadcaster has followers around the world preparing for the impending rapture.

Who is the man behind the movement? For a quick review, here are five facts on Harold Camping.

Harold Camping really believes that judgment day is coming May 21st
1. He's originally from Colorado.
Camping was born July 19, 1921 in Colorado, but moved to California with his family at a young age. He eventually earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1942.

2. He started Family Radio in 1958.
After school, Camping established himself in the construction business before forming and becoming president of the non-profit ministry of Family Stations, Inc. Three years later, the organization introduced the Open Forum, a live, weekend radio program hosted by Camping.

3.He already wrongly predicted the rapture once before.
Camping has written approximately 30 books, and "1994?" -- which contains his infamous prediction that the rapture would take place sometime during mid-September, 1994 -- is perhaps the most well-known among them.

By the way, you can get all of Camping's works for free on the Family Radio website.

4.Even so, he's pretty sure of himself this time around.
When asked by New York Magazine whether he would start getting nervous if "six o'clock rolls around" nothing is happening, Camping responded, "It’s going to happen. It’s going to happen. I don’t even think about those kind of issues. The Bible is not — God is not playing games. I don’t even want to think about that question at all. It is going to happen."

5. He has more than a few doubters.
While Camping does have his share of followers -- maybe you've seen the billboards and buses -- he also has his share of detractors. For instance, the folks at RefuteCamping.com.

For more, here's Camping responding to a caller who doesn't buy into the May 21 rapture.

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AFP/Getty Images/File – A general view of the porte cochere at the Sahara Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 11. …

• Slideshow:Sahara Hotel & Casino Closes

by Romain Raynaldy – Sun May 15, 5:31 pm ET

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) – Las Vegas marks the end of an era this week as one of the US gambling mecca's last original "Rat Pack" casino-hotels, the Sahara, finally closes its doors.

Opened in 1952, the Sahara hosted everyone from Elvis Presley and Jerry Lewis to Frank Sinatra and the Beatles in the 1950s and 60s, and their photos still decorate the walls above the reception.

But in recent decades Vegas saw an explosion of mega-sized casino resorts which left the "small" Sahara struggling to fill its 1,700 rooms at the end of the famous Strip.

The death knell was sounded in March, when its owners since 2007, SBE Entertainment, announced that the casino-hotel complex with its more than 1,050 staff was no longer a viable business.

"In a way it was a surprise, but in a way it wasn't," Michael McLendon, a supervisor in the casino's poker room -- already deserted ahead of Monday's final day -- told AFP.

"The way things were going, with the economy and all, we felt something was happening. We just didn't know what it was," he said. "I'm retiring. I'm done. There are not too many people out there looking for a 66 year-old anyway."

Getty Images

And with hard times hitting Vegas even harder than most US cities, the prospect of finding other jobs is not good.

"Some dealers here, just like porters, bartenders, cocktail waitresses, they found other jobs. But the majority didn't, because it's not a good time, now in Las Vegas, because of the economy," said McLendon.

Sheryl Reed, a waitress in the Nascar Cafe for 11 years, hasn't found anything. "It sucks ..You have to be in your 20s to work in Vegas, now. I left applications, they say they'll call you, but they never call," she said.

Dennis Carade, a front desk clerk for 39 years, has also chosen to retire. "I was offered a job in the Aria because a friend of mine works there," he said, referring to another Vegas casino.

"But you know, I've been in this business for 50 years, time's up," he said, recounting anecdotes about Elvis and Clint Eastwood -- who made "The Gauntlet" here in 1977.

He also doesn't mince his words about the Sahara's latest owners.

"These are the worst we've ever had. They came in here from California and they are very arrogant. It took them about three and half years to take this hotel right down to the ground," he said.

"These people should be ashamed to themselves," he added.

The management of SBE Entertainment declined to make any comment.

Far from its "Rat Pack" glory days, the Sahara has been known in recent years for its dollar-a-go games and the 6-pound, 2 foot (2.7 kilo, 60 cm) burrito available in the Nascar Cafe, dubbed "The Bomb."

But the hotel, with its Moroccan-style decor, its large Hollywood-style swimming pool and its ghosts -- Sol Arenas, a cleaner for 20 years, says she saw a "frightening and diabolical presence" in the Tangiers tower -- retained an outmoded charm which many will miss.

In the 1950s the "Rat Pack," a group of actors led by Sinatra but also including Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., appeared in numerous Vegas shows and several films, including the original "Ocean's Eleven."

For French retirees and Strip habitues Brigitte and Daniel Quentin, who have already seen the demise of the Dunes, Stardust, New Frontier and Sands, the end of the Sahara is another body blow.

"We've stayed here several times and it is distressing," said Brigitte. "We knew our machines and the staff. It was a hotel with a human dimension, it had warmth."

It is a view shared by Tracy Reed, a Californian who has visited the Sahara four or five times a year for 15 years.

"It was like home. The other hotels are way too big. There's no contact, you can't meet people, get to know them. And here you got to know the employees, they got to know you by name, it's just very homey," she said.

In his little tattoo parlour, opposite the reception, Eric Ayala also voiced the hotel staff's emotional attachment to the hotel.

"This morning, we just got an employee who wanted a tattoo of the coin of the casino on his arm. He was sad, you know, he's been working here all his life".

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The concept of heaven or any kind of afterlife is a "fairy story," famed British scientist Stephen Hawking said in a newspaper interview this week.

"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail," the physicist said in an interview published Sunday in Britain's Guardian newspaper. "There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."

Hawking, who was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - a terminal and debilitating illness that causes loss of mobility and impairs speech - at age 21 and was not expected to live long after, also talked with The Guardian about his own mortality.

"I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years," said Hawking, 69. "I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first."

In a book published last year, Hawking wrote that God did not create the universe, in what he said was an attempt to banish a divine creator from physics.

Hawking says in the book "The Grand Design" that given the existence of gravity, "the universe can and will create itself from nothing."

"Spontaneous creation is the reason why there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist," he wrote in the introduction of the book, which was published in September.

"It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper (fuse) and set the universe going," Hawking wrote.

CNN's Richard Greene contributed to this report.

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Camden Pierce Hughes (photo courtesy: Facebook)

CONCORD (CBS) – A boy found dead in Maine Saturday has been identified as 6-year-old Camden Pierce Hughes of Texas. WBZ-TV was first to break the news Wednesday afternoon.

WBZ-TV’s Ken MacLeod reports.

His mother, Juli McCrery of Irving, Texas, is in Massachusetts State Police custody in Concord and has confessed to giving her son an overdose of cough syrup that resulted in his death, sources tell WBZ-TV.

See: Boy’s Family, Maine Residents React

“We were together for two years, but I’ve known (the boy) since the day he was born,” said Robert Miller, McCrery’s ex-boyfriend who also lives in Irving, Texas. “He was a very nice boy. He was an innocent boy.”

Web Extra: Juli McCrery Leaves State Police Barracks

Camden Pierce Hughes’s body was discovered in South Berwick, Maine over the weekend, wrapped in a blanket next to a dirt road. During a news conference at the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Concord, a state police spokesperson said that the case has been referred to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

WBZ-TV’s Christina Hager reports from Hampton, N.H.

A New Hampshire state police crime truck is parked outside a hotel in Hampton, N.H. (credit: Karen Anderson/CBS)

Wednesday evening investigators from New Hampshire State Police were at a hotel on Route One in Hampton. Motel clerks say police spent much of the day going door to door interviewing clerks.

The owner of Summer Wind, along the popular Hampton Beach strip says police asked her if she had seen a woman fitting McCrery’s description. “They said she was going around saying she only had $25 and she was looking for a motel trying to barter.”

She says the woman did not stop at her place, but several miles up Route One, police converged on the Stone Gable Inn, where some guests remember her.

“She wasn’t a very nice person. She was introverted, kept to herself. She was asking for cigarettes; asking for everything for free,” says Larry Regan, who’s staying in a room above the one police are scouring.

He says he never saw the boy, but that when he walked by the room, he heard her yelling at someone he assumed was a child. “Typical screaming of a parent that was irate.”

He and several motel clerks say they wish they had seen the boy, thinking they may have been able to help.

The break in the case came late Wednesday morning, when a Massachusetts state trooper spotted a blue Toyota Tacoma pickup truck at a Chelmsford rest area off I-495.

WBZ-TV’s Peg Rusconi reports.

The truck matched the description of a vehicle witnesses spotted at the Maine crime scene on Saturday.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Jim Smith reports.

Sources told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 that the driver of that truck, a woman in her 40′s, was taken into protective custody after making statements regarding the death of her son. That woman has since been identified as McCrery.

The truck was taken from the rest stop on I-495 in Chelmsford this morning. (Photo courtesy: lowellsun.com)

The truck, which had Navy insignia on the license plate, was taken to the State Police barracks in Danvers for processing. Around 4:30 p.m. she was taken from the barracks to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation.

For days police have been seeking the public’s help to identify the boy. They released a computer generated photo of a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy wearing a gray camouflage hoodie.

Autopsy results on Camden’s body have not been released.

WBZ-TV’s Christina Hager contributed to this report.

read more original post boston.cbslocal.com

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Editor’s Note: Robert Jeffress is pastor of the 13,000-member First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas and the author of 17 books, including the forthcoming "Forget Saving America!"

By Robert Jeffress, Special to CNN

In January 1961, a few days before John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as president, he invited Billy Graham to spend a day with him in Key Biscayne, Florida. After a round of golf, Kennedy and Graham were returning to their hotel when Kennedy stopped the white Lincoln convertible he was driving by the side of the road.

“Billy, do you believe that Jesus Christ is coming back to Earth one day?” Kennedy asked.

“Yes, Mr. President, I certainly do,” the evangelist responded.

“Then why do I hear so little about it?” Kennedy wondered.

Were Kennedy alive today, he probably wouldn't be asking the same question.

During Kennedy’s lifetime, few mainline Protestant churches discussed the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Fifty years later, however, televangelists, network television programs, movies and books like the "Left Behind" series — which has sold more than 60 million copies — have succeeded in placing the return of Jesus Christ in the public consciousness.

A 2004 Newsweek poll revealed that 55 percent of Americans believe in the Rapture, the snatching away of all Christians prior to the end of the world and the return of Jesus Christ.

As a pastor who preaches often about Bible prophecy, I am grateful for the general awareness people have of the promised return of Jesus Christ.

But our culture’s newfound interest in the end times has a downside. Bible prophecy inherently attracts fanatics. As a seminary professor of mine used to say to our class, “Remember, wherever there is light, there are bugs!”

One of those fanatics is Harold Camping, the founder of the Christian broadcasting ministry Family Radio in Oakland, California. Camping has predicted that the Rapture will occur at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, followed by the end of the world five months later on October 21, 2011.

Family Radio has plastered billboards across the nation with the warning “Judgment Day, May 21, The Bible Guarantees It!”

Road trip to the end of the world

Readers should note that Camping first predicted the world’s end in 1994. He says he was wrong due to a mathematical miscalculation.

Now I am going to make my own prediction which I’m (almost) willing to stake my life on: May 21 will come and go without any Rapture.

How can I be so certain of my prophecy? The Bible itself says that no one can know the date of the end of the world.

Predicting the apocalypse

In discussing His return to Earth, Jesus told His disciples, “... of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36).

If God has not even revealed to his own son the date the world will end, I doubt he has revealed it to Harold Camping.

My hunch is that the date God ultimately has chosen is one that will not be plastered on billboards around the country.

What harm is there in an 89-year-old preacher making prognostications about the end of the world?

First, such predictions give non-Christians one more reason to discount the Bible.

For example, many secularists have dismissed the Bible because they assume that it teaches the world is only 6,000 years old. In reality, the Bible never makes such a claim about the Earth’s age. Instead, some well-intentioned Christians have misused the genealogies in the Bible to attempt to ascertain the date of creation.

Similarly, when next Saturday passes without a Rapture, some will say, “See, the Bible was wrong again,” when, in fact, it will have been Harold Camping who was wrong — again.

Second, predictions about the end of the world always lead some people to make foolish decisions. When a self-professed prophet named Edgar Whisenant predicted that the Rapture would occur in 1988, a couple I know responded by charging their Visa card to the limit with a trip to Disney World, believing the bank would be left with the bill once they had left the Magic Kingdom for God’s kingdom.

Obviously, things did not go as planned.

A look at the ways the world could end

Just as every teacher knows how unproductive and unfocused students are the week before school lets out, God knows how tempted we would be to neglect the responsibilities he has entrusted to us if we knew the date we would be raptured into heaven. That is why God refuses to show us his calendar and instead instructs us to focus on our assignment.

But the most harmful consequence of Camping’s false prediction is that it discourages people from making the necessary preparation for the real event when it actually occurs.

Remember the boy who cried wolf once too often? The villagers were so hardened to the boy’s false alarms that they were unprepared when the wolf finally arrived.

When May 21 passes and Camping’s prophecy is added to the ash heap of discredited prophecies, some will be tempted to join the chorus of cynics whom the Bible predicts will mockingly say, “Where is the promise of Christ’s coming?” (2 Peter 3:3-4).

Make no mistake about it. As Billy Graham affirmed to President Kennedy, Jesus is coming back some day. Over 1,800 verses in the Old Testament and 300 verses in the New Testament prophesy of the lord’s return.

Don’t allow the Harold Campings of the world keep you from making the necessary preparation for the end — whenever it may be.

religion.blogs.cnn.com

Posted by: The Editors - CNN Belief Blog

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So you may be looking to May 21st, 2011 as the rapture according to Christian radio host Howard Camping. But according to him the world isn’t actually ending on May 21st. That’s a convenient little out. That won’t happen until October 21st, 2011. So even he knows it isn’t happening.

Judgment Day isn’t going to happen this weekend or any time soon if ever. Jesus isn’t coming down out of those clouds to save the oppressive peoples out there who believe that they’re right. If Camping really believed this, he wouldn’t be spouting this garbage on an isolated radio station that about three people above the Mason-Dixon Line listened to prior to his rapture scoop.

He’s just trying to get an audience. This isn’t going to happen. He’s be touring churches throughout the country free of charge trying to get who he believed would be saved ready for the rapture. He would’ve given up this life as a hack radio host and lived life to its fullest. By spreading the word of God, Camping means getting enough people to listen consistently to get a high paycheck.

That’s why he’s said the actual end of the world will not come until October 21st. That way if nothing happens this weekend, he’ll come up with some other doomsday scenario where either nobody was saved or it would just be delayed. If October 21st passes and nothing happens, then he’s got a problem but by that time, he probably will have gained a much larger audience and gotten a fat new paycheck.

Priests breaking news of the rapture has happened tons of times now and how many raptures have we had? One guy is spitting nonsense and it ascends to the top of Internet trends and captures peoples’ imaginations? Why? Do they actually believe this? No they just want to make more money and they do that by getting higher ratings and people will surely be listening to his last broadcast before the rapture.

Harold Camping is a fraud. Every right thinking rational human being knows this. The world isn’t coming to an end this Saturday. It’s just beginning. We should go live our lives because we can, not because Harold Camping is a blowhard moron.

So please, everyone: Internet, people on the streets, and everyone else: be quiet. Nothing is happening this Saturday of any world-ending interest. Please be quiet Camping. At least you gonna get your money thanks to the morons that take you seriously.

pnosker.com/news/tech

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In the midst of busy Helmy Yahya
still taking the time to write novels.
Triwarsana company now
Production is handled may
House busiest in Indonesia, end of year
this course they will handle 30
television program.
It seems difficult to find people who do not know Helmy Yahya.
People of young entrepreneurs who are familiar with the world of television entertainment,
a abreg activity is now practiced. But if allowed to choose
between being an entertainer, host (MC), lecturer,
managers, artists, singers or become an entrepreneur, Helmy
yahya prefer if people know him as a
entrepreneurs. Because according to him was his plop it into the world
entertainment is just a mere coincidence. In the middle
Helmy preoccupations are still listed as a Lecturer STAN (Sekolah
Higher State Accounting) for subjects Marketing, Theory
Accounting and Business Ethics, must be nice to be wrong
a student. Being a teacher is one
who will continue his commitment lakoni, "I come from a world
campus, so I will not leave, "he said.
It all started with a music performance in STAN,
Helmy time with her friends invite Ireng Maulana. Apparently Ireng Maulana was very impressed with the style
Helmy managing the show, happened when it Ireng
Maulana All Stars is a band performers "Race In
Melody "which was raised by the Master of Quiz Indonesian First Lady Ani Sumadi.
A moment later Helmy has joined with Ani Sumadi
Production, for ten years (the period from 1989 to 1999) he
gain knowledge of the First Lady Ani Sumadi, felt herself to be more
developing then in 1999 he decided to get out of Ani
Sumadi Productions, and immediately fly the flag Joshua
Enterprise and Helmy Yahya Production House, both then
merged in a single container which is a company Triwarsana
venture between Helmy Yahya, Joddy Suherman (Joshua's father-red)
and Liem Sio Bok.
Editorial Management successfully interviewed Helmy
Yahnya, after shooting Quiz Who Dare.
Interviews took place in his private car, for one hour
then he had to attend a meeting with his client. Helmy
choose to sit in the front seat, as if he did not want to look like
a boss who sits in the back seat, and will not go into
car before the driver opened the door for her. His car
laden with piles of books, full sebakul souvenirs from the city
participant's hand fruit flower Quiz Who Dare. In the car
There is also vice-Helmy Reinhard Tawas in the first Triwarsasa
once known as a commentator on NBA Games on SCTV.
Further interviews to flow, and Helmy Yahya was recalled
about a successful trip. I never dreamed of this success, because
more successful than I dreamed it, ha ... ha .. ha ... No,
I never dreamed, I thought my life would be
professionals such as doctors or engineers, I never
dream to become an entertainer or a
company. I'm just dreaming to become rich. Aspiration
I previously was to become a doctor, but oddly enough
I never should have pursued his education
to become a doctor. I chose accounting,
because at that time I have to look for schools that 'free'
because I'm sure my parents would never be able to
pay for my school. Therefore, I came out of the IPB and
STAN entry.
I address my opinion of those who consider
now higher than my sister Tantowi
is mediocre, I confess I learned a lot from him.
We are both starting from zero, so I think we have the same
thankful for what we've got. Now maybe
I am a bit more superior than Tanto, maybe next time again
Tanto the superior, for me is not no problem, wong
compete with others that I did not have a problem let alone
with his own brother.
I thank my parents who
enabled me to achieve all this, my dad already
died and my mother is old and now are often ill-
weakly. Secondly I also want to thank my beloved wife, Harfansi Yahya, without support from my
will not be like now, also to my three children.
I never make the phasing in achieving
now what I get, I am not the person who is so rigid
and develop planning, flowing just my philosophy, which is important
I tried to go on, I try to every day there
something that is growing. However, I never
surprised with what I got, because what I
get is the result of a process, so I never
know what people are saying "moral hazard" or
get something out of a lack of accident. Although
I think the quiz "Who Dare" is a serendipity,
a coincidence which then becomes something quite beyond
ordinary.
The days when I just became a lecturer at STAN
with a very limited salary, with three children is
difficult times in my career, such moments
I get this life lesson. My childhood
very concerned, I never drink milk, never
familiar with soaps, shampoos never known, even clothes
potluck, my pants just two to three pieces of course, often
I play with bare chest, nothing special,
I learned more in the streets. It also experienced by
my brother the other four include Tanto, life
which is very alarming is then motivated us
to reach success. Our father always said, "Do not be preceded by style rather than income." So before
success, do not force-gayaan first but if it is successful will
any style go ahead. One more thing I remember, the second person
Our parents are parents who do not easily be
meet what we asked for, they just want to give
something, after our kids to do something to
get it. Bitter reality in the past is what
then becomes a kind of provision to deal with the situation
as difficult as anything, and I always say just what
get now is the accumulation of hard work and
concern that I have spent all this time.
From every failure I can always draw lessons
it, such as when many people who say the film "Joshua
oh Joshua "failed, but I think not. As it turns out when
the film was aired on television on New Year's Eve rating 17,
and it is the highest rating, higher than the packed event
specifically with high costs on the same night.
Joshua Oh Joshua film producer still often contact us,
our own but who feel cured '. Because we must know
themselves, because in the movie too much time. And at first
when we worked on the film was none other as a token of appreciation
us to the national film industry, that's all.
I always prepare myself for anticipated failures,
prepare themselves to avoid failure. For example, I was appointed
to bring a completely new event for me,
certainly will lead to a sense of nervousness, and for pain that I prepare myself. Another example
when I was a few moments ago is challenged by Renny Jayusman
to sing rock songs in the Hard Rock Café, I honestly admit
This is something new for me, and if I had been
often challenged people in the quiz Who Dare, then why do I
must resign if I get a challenge. At that time there is a sense of
scared at myself if I would fail. Even Tanto furious
to me when I accepted the challenge, to make Tanto
what I am risking my reputation for things you think
Tanto do not deserve to be implemented. I think the only one
answered the challenge is to prepare ourselves, not
even run, and Alhamdulillah I managed, after the show
I managed to get a contract, contract to direct my
recording, I also get a contract for a music event
on television.
We need to make ourselves the challenge
for the better, and if you are faced with a
challenges do not circumvent the challenge, but try
as hard as possible to answer the challenge, learning and
practice continually, and this is what I did.
If Tanto known for the first time through Gita Quiz Youth,
then I am known by a wide audience through the quiz Who Dare,
although previously I have also been involved in many events
sports such as NBA games. My experience brings events
exercise is also interesting, because there I shared with Agus
Maulo and Reinhard Tawas like bringing a new genre. Because we bring the sport events with emotion
new, we used to yell, or do other things that are not
ever we meet on a similar event in previous times.
I also had time to get criticism, because I speak
with a speed that is not fair, but I told them
This sport, basketball is everything going fast ball. And
You see now almost all host sporting events has
changed, I am glad if I could bring a change.
I also need a very good team to support the career
me and certainly for the benefit Triwarsana. Today
Triwarsana has handled 17 television programs, and at the end
GOD willing, next year will be 30 programs of the event. Because
for us to do all of this is the demand that we can
continues to grow, and I never give a damn if there is
people who then consider me greedy. My team now
was 70-person. You imagine every program at least
should be handled by 5-6 people, this means that my team has worked
well. Thank God I never made dizzy or
frustrating to think things to run like
we expected, because I believe my team is
know what they are doing. Trust is the word
key, and I am grateful to all my team are children
young who can be trusted, and they work for 24 hours,
they also do this with a sincere heart, I probably
have inspired them. Interestingly none of
My team members backgrounds broadcast world, including myself who come from the disciplines of accounting, but because we
has committed to continue to learn then we as a team work
can be said successful. No exaggeration when later I
said, "If you want to witness firsthand the
magic of team work bagaimanana see our work. "
I was able to sleep at 12 o'clock at night. Usually my
make themselves available to swim for a while between 10 to 15
minutes, for my time like this is when I can do
relaxation, so that I can complete the day's fatigue.
After that I continued to read books. Activity course
open by performing the dawn prayer. At 8 am I should
already in Indosiar for Quiz Who Dare. You imagine
with 17 programs, sometimes I have to arrange time
in such a way so that I can see making process
images from the 17th program. Not to mention the 6-7 times
meetings in a day. At night I also often was asked
to be the MC on special occasions. And I am grateful
still able to set it properly, so that no single
left behind, especially my attention to my family, for
This is my priority.
Antonhuang.com
Universitasbisnis.com

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Before the New Order collapsed in 1998,
Arifin Panigoro name is only known
limited circle as a businessman in
an oil field. Circle
more with her social
Pertamina and international petroleum business. However,
when the reform was "an old pregnancy" which is characterized by rampant
student demonstrations, political awareness Arifin rise. He
has become a symbol of political awakening the entrepreneur. Not only that,
he participated actively assist the movement of students,
including preparing lunch pack to be sent to
students who were staged in the Parliament Building Senayan
Jakarta.
Alumni Elektro Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) in 1973 this
started his business indirectly being the boss in Meta Epsi Drilling
Company (Medco). Before the 1980s, she initially only
as an electrical installation contractor door to door. Next start
pipe installation project on a small scale. Once there is a project
a large diameter, it is not serving a local businessman,
but foreign businessmen. So, every Pertamina
Tenders for the installation of large pipes, then the foreign companies that win because for pipaline need heavy equipment. Equipment
usually only owned by foreign companies.
Conditions that make him think, local entrepreneurs should also
given the opportunity or be assisted to be able to handle installation
large pipe and not only given a small job. Year
1981 he summoned the courage to begin to enter the project pipeline
a large diameter. For that job, he collaborated
with foreign companies. Deal, when a project is completed, for
the result is that equipment. Partner agrees, the project was completed. Since
it with the tool he was looking for projects everywhere.
In addition to holding foreign partners, support and protection from
government is essential. There's no way local entrepreneurs
new standing and no experience can suddenly compete
with foreign firms with experience in the field
petroleum for decades. Together with external partners and
government support was the way local businesses can
opened the door to a broader field of business. That way,
competition with foreign companies can be done.
Everything starts from the stage familiarize the local entrepreneurs
working on large projects. An example was experiencing with
Medco business flag occurred in 1979-1980 when there was oil
boom, the State Secretariat took the initiative to build
oil refineries because there is an additional budget. At that time,
government wishes to insert elements coaching for
local entrepreneurs, including Medco. At that time, the development
Cilacap refinery, Medco mated with one company from the United States. Finally, Medco who do not know anything about
installation of pipes, to be understood.
Similarly, when starting a business of oil drilling in 1981,
also not free from government assistance. According to Arifin, the year that was
Medco to be great starting point. At that time, he has
proximity with the Director General of Oil and Gas Wiharso who want no
local entrepreneurs in the project drilling services. Incidentally there
government equity participation to Pertamina, which would make
drilling for gas in South Sumatra.
The government encouraged him to join the tender, although no
ngebor equipment. The government summoned foreign companies
chance to win was asked to rent the equipment, or use
Medco people as partners. The purpose of the government at that time
is to raise local entrepreneurs. However, responses
from foreign companies that make Mr. Wiharso tersingung and
canceled. Then Mr. Wiharso asked him working on that project
alone. Arifin did not believe with this decision
because he did not have the experience to do the drilling.
The result, he was desperate because the project is tendered in 1979
should begin work in 1980. With feeling
sure, he also accepted the challenge. Early stage he instructed staff
who has the ability to explore the English language center
drilling equipment sales in the U.S.. Only when there is certainty
and known price, he flew from Jakarta to Houston.
It was his first trip to the U.S. experience. Capital "English Tarzan" and the money 300 000 dollars, he did
deal with the owner of the goods. As a result, deal a bad place.
The seller of goods request within two weeks of goods worth 4
million U.S. dollars already paid, if not then advances 300 000
U.S. dollar sunk. He was forced to accept the conditions because the position
offer the ugly. After that he immediately flew to Indonesia.
So long trip economy ticket, arrived in
Indonesia immediately sick. However, with tough conditions he
attempted to meet with Governor of Bank Indonesia Rachmat Saleh, then
to Pertamina.
How was the final step that must be done because he
still is a businessman "baby". Luckily, Mr. Piet Haryono
and Mr. Wiharso provide recommendations, Medco should be assisted.
The funds were liquid at the threshold of the agreement. Projects can run
appropriate time determined by the government.
On The assistance provided by the government, the judge Arifin
very positive for local entrepreneurs to compete. However, it remains
must be done right because if you can not, so misguided.
This is where the difficulty, sometimes the protection it gives results
vice versa. While given protection, employers became
spoiled.
After the pioneering efforts of the 80s, Medco begin glory
in 1990. Prior to 1990 Medco always cooperate
with third parties and to get in there not only
perseverance and normative consistency problem, but also business
hand line as a determinant. Because, to hunt down an oil well of no concern to thousands of U.S. dollars, but millions of U.S. dollars and it
was not necessarily see the oil.
However, the desire to remain independent, then the year 1990
for the first time Arifin buy oil wells at Tarakan,
East Kalimantan, worth 13 million U.S. dollars. The field was able to
producing 4000 barrels per day (bpd). In 1995, purchases more wells
PT Stanvac Indonesia's oldest oil owned by ExxonMobil, which until
currently owned by Medco's total production reached 80,000 bpd.
Perhaps this is the most glorious achievements of Arifin and
his company, Meta Epsi Drilling Company (Medco). Purchase
Stanvac was won through a tender which was her name
changed to Expan. With the purchase, PT Stanvac no longer
controlled by foreigners because the oldest oil company in Indonesia
It is wholly owned by Medco.
The success was supposedly because there are elements of pressure from the government.
Over the issue, Arifin revealed that he bought
the oil companies through international tender. To meet
directly with the person just can not. Only after completion
purchase, they can actually meet. He bought it
directly. It was backed up just 20 million. Then
production in 1996 was encouraged. As a result, one field alone could
obtain 320 million barrels of oil.
Success in the field of petroleum was to make others think Arifin
still in the mining sector. Why local people can not prosper
in gas, as well as in oil. Though Indonesia's one
largest gas producer in the world and many industries are shouting gas shortage? This statement is often made
depressed. If we see on the one hand, Indonesia ranked
number one in the world in the export of LNG because natural gas reserves far
more than oil. Now, the reserve has reached 170 trillion
cubic feet (TCF). If reserves were produced, up to 50 years were
will not be exhausted.
Gas exists outside the island of Java, but still must be taken to
Java Island for any price remains attractive. For example
PLN, if purchased gas cost only 3 dollars per million metric
british thermal unit (MMBTU) is very luxurious. However, if
synchronized with the fuel equal to 18 U.S. dollars per barrel.
The price was very cheap compared to the price of fuel that must be
PLN paid $ 30 dollars per barrel.
But, again, why there is no gas on the island of Java, this
government policy issues. So, it should Bappenas or
Minister of economic affairs the same thought, do continue to rely
oil whose price is 30 dollars a barrel. Medco to sell to
Pusri 1.8 U.S. dollars plus the cost of 0.5 cents worth of pipe, was able to
profit.
This is what he considers the policy was wrong. Similarly, project
built by PT Perusahaan Gas Negara, which successfully
connecting the gas pipeline to Singapore, after that build pipeline
to Java is the wrong policy. Gas in South Sumatra
actually not much longer, so it should be taken to Java.
But, perhaps the government has the consideration of price in
Singapore is perhaps better. Success in business made him come into the world of adventure
political. At first he held a meeting at Hotel Radisson
Yogyakarta in 1997. Actually it is a meeting or
regular discussions. However, the effect was remarkable, especially for Arifin. He
accused of trying to thwart the General Session that will be
President Soeharto passed into the seventh time.
When the action heats up students, Arifin give assistance
consumption to the demonstrators who perform actions in Building
House of Representatives. Thousands of boxes of food delivered. No wonder then if
Arifin is an opinion that appears behind the action figures or bosses
the students. However, Arifin know that he is not alone. Movement
reform is a twist to make things better.
The temptation to step in the political world is still continuing. In the era
President BJ Habibie, Arifin Panigoro again entangled with the allegations
corruption criminal misuse of commercial paper worth more than
Rp 1.8 trillion. At that time, some circles believe dijeratnya
Arifin because of its proximity to the student movement. Even
during the reign of Megawati, Arifin again attempted to
snared by the prosecutor's case. From the beginning, he was convinced only
dikerjain because there are many parties who are not happy with
political activity that was involved.
His experience as a businessman made him not surprised
with political practice because in it there or lobbying activities
work, also money politics. For him, these days money is
business. From the first start as an entrepreneur, he does not
never make a deal with the facilities acquired. Likewise, the political affairs who is also part of
compromise cross-faction, the agreement of all power. The things that
not always use money, just understanding that we have something
a larger, let us live together. However, travel
not always smooth, the temptations are many. Moreover, political power
now after Soeharto era, relatively new players all.
Although accustomed to playing with money, but admitted Arifin
have limitations in play money. Unfortunately, the process
political or political decision-making process, it turns out money
who spoke. In fact, although he was a businessman, but he
want a business without money. Although he confessed, the way business
was not as clean as in the U.S.. In that country, treat eating
above 100 U.S. dollars is included categories bribes. He is not so
so, but crave good government and corporate
governance, in order to make this nation a better future.
He is counting, today, the money spent on anything. He would
calculate how much total money spent in elections
head regions in Indonesia, which will burden the budget each
area. Do not forget, it's public money from taxes. If the leader
play, certainly inflated the project funds, would also subordinate
took part. Thus corruption can result position
cause a chain effect, if the funds diverted Rp 1 trillion,
public money would be lost around Rp 10 trillion for the election
head region.
More in-depth introduction to the world of politics is when
new parties emerged in 1998-1999 after the fall of Soeharto from the presidency. At first, establish Arifin
relationships with various political figures, both community leaders
who had long known and newly emerging leaders. When
declaration of a new party was held, Arifin often attend.
However, the choice finally fell to the Democratic Party of Struggle led
Megawati Sukarnoputri. Together PDIP, Arifin also pitch
towards Senayan as a member of Parliament.
For the category of new players in world politics, real political career
Arifin fairly good. He could sit in the ranks of the DPP winning party
most votes in the election. He has led cross-faction,
also became Chairman of the PDIP faction of the MPR. However, the political world is
such as the fast-changing weather. Arifin, who is often known as
children "boarding" in the party bearing the fat red bull
considered less loyal to his party and began to take sides
opponent's political party heads.
Arifin Panigoro once considered as the inspiration of development
President Megawati's smooth road to the presidency, is now
regarded as a naughty child. The issue was rampant that Arifin
would be fired. However, until now, the issue did not bear fruit
become a reality.
On this issue, he argues that he issued,
it seems he should make a farewell ceremony with friends
friends. But, in fact he was thinking to get out.
According to him, if released he would be more pleased. As
working people, if you can not stop severance pay, if
dismissed even to severance pay. Although ready to come out, but about the future
politics remains unclear, and he still could not
to figure out where to dock. It happened because of
In 1998 he included a non-partisan, despite recent
join the party. Initially, he came to every event
inauguration of a new party, until finally joining the PDIP.
Arifin considers himself as an opportunist who fad-
fad. Or he just wants to have another five-year period, not
only be a definite pengusaha.Tetapi, thrifty,
ridiculous if it stops then immediately against PDIP, let alone want
topple Megawati.
If you actually withdraw from the political world, it is likely he will
relaxation and play golf in Paris or looking for a special school
for those who already lived in cities that have
delicious food. Maybe six months of rest first.
He was also among those who respect the Muslim scholar
Noercholish Madjid (Cak Nur). According to him, Cak Nur was not
politicians, but are interested to be president. When first
expressed his interest to be president Arifin include people who
early days came and asked, apparently the answer is
want. He thought, whoever this, she was from a different element
compared to other politicians. Thus can be
size moral, because morality must also be measurable. At the very least, politicians
there is a little shy. So, Cak Nur's nomination, can actually
improve the quality of the match. Regarding family life, the husband of Raisis A Panigoro
quite happy. Her children are grown, even the oldest
Maera Hanafiah soon married and endowed children
second. The youngest was added Yaser Mairi
education in Singapore in the IT field. Now, though somewhat
late, he realized that if he failed to give attention to
children, because the working hours inconsequential. Now, since the school
abroad, the children seemed to forget the parents.
Although the children go to school abroad, but no
which is specially prepared place. First child
a housewife, a second child was not prepared for it.
In principle, Medco is not a family company, so it's best
run by a professional. Incidentally, the sister of oil. Thus,
Hilmi Panigoro sit Medco.
He also will not force the children to continue business
parents. If the capacity is filled, go ahead if
going forward. He claimed not to fear if his company
held by others, yet all of the assets, reserves are not where-
where.
Although now become "oil king", the husband of Raisis A
Panigoro is admitted, rich is relative. He claimed never to
count, whether he is rich or not, because all life
who lived kept rolling. For him, called rich is relative,
that in Indonesia, as he was already prominent. As
people who were banned several times for traveling abroad, he
also asked to what that wealth. As a romantic person, she admitted that she felt really
Rich, if you are in a concert of music that really
preferred. Like now, after can enjoy the strains of gamelan
Java, any Java listen to music before falling asleep, she
feel rich. So rich is quite simple for him, not asset
overflow or power.
Arifin was also aware, a time will retire as a person
petroleum. However, it does not mean he will remain silent. He
Medco plans to focus on the other is in
agribusiness sector. Nowadays many people are talking about
agriculture. The problem of cooking oil that is still less coconut
palm. Perhaps that is one port that will
its target later.

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