Obituaries 01 (Sep 08 - Jul 11)

[Aspellian]

Hi Aspellian
It seemed he was on a biz trip. He skipped the hotel swimming pool and drowned at sea.
Such a great misfortune.

oic... actually swimming in sea is very dangerous... i have experienced diver friend who also like swimming in sea - but he says it can be very dangerous - he explained that one can drowned in sea because of:

- one moment you think that it is shallow beach but the next moment could be a sharp cliff and you cannot feel the ground at all.
- sometimes the waves/tides can be against you swimming back to shore and pull you further out into the sea....
- cramps
- nobody know where you are in the big sea... usually too late when any help is reached
- inexperienced sea swimmer; even though one can be a strong pool swimmer (especially who panicked when above happens)

tradegy.

[kennynah]

it's a tradegy to spend too mmuch time trading and too little with the loved ones

[Poles]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituar ... a-Bua.html



Luangta Maha Bua
Luangta Maha Bua, who died on Sunday aged 97, was a senior Buddhist "forest monk" who used his standing as a living saint to help salvage Thailand's economy after the Asian economic meltdown of 1997.
6:41PM GMT 01 Feb 2011

Monks play a central role in the daily life of Thais, from the daily alms round to weekend temple visits. Senior monks command immense respect – even King Bhumibol bends the knee before them. While urban monks focus on studies of Buddhist texts, forest monks devote themselves to meditation and a life of simplicity as the path to spiritual liberation. As abbot of the Wat Pa Ban Tat Forest Monastery in Udon Thani, near Thailand's northern border with Laos, Luangta Maha Bua was widely regarded as an "arahant'' – a monk who has attained spiritual liberation after having rid himself of worldly desires.


Bua's finest hour came in 1997 when Thailand's economic growth rate fell from 5.5 per cent in 1996 to minus 0.4 per cent, inflation rose and the country's foreign currency reserves fell from $38.7 billion to less than $27 billion following a failed bid to defend the baht.

Emerging from his forest retreat, Bua decided to make resuscitating Thailand's economy a personal crusade and launched a fund-raising drive to replenish state coffers. If Thais did not donate, he threatened to commit suicide, or "leave his earthly body".

On the last day of his campaign, an estimated 100,000 people lined up for five miles at his forest temple to give gold, jewellery and cash to save the monk's life and in 2001 Bua proudly presented some 12 tonnes and 79.8kg of gold, plus 10.2 million US dollars to the Bank of Thailand.

One of 16 children of a family of rice farmers, he was born Bua Lohitdee on August 12 1913 in the village of Ban Tad in Udon Thani. Ordained in 1934 at the age of 21, he became a disciple of Ajarn Mun Bhuridatto, a leader of the forest monk tradition in northeast Thailand. In 1955 he built his own monastery. After decades of contemplation, in 1997 he announced that this lifetime was his last and he would never be reincarnated, a sign, according to followers, that he had achieved spiritual enlightenment.

Bua's efforts on behalf of the Thai economy seem to have whetted his appetite for politics and from time to time he emerged to cause consternation in the corridors of power. In 2001, after the Bank of Thailand announced it would consolidate its currency reserves, including Bua's donations, to pay off Thailand's debts, a furious Bua said that the funds should be called on only in dire emergency and accused government ministers of being "ravenous ghouls seeking to eat the people's guts". He insisted the cash and gold must be kept untouched in what he called "the national vault". Meanwhile his followers demonstrated in Bangkok, demanding the impeachment of finance minister Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda and prime minister Chuan Leekpai. Within months the government had been forced to shelve its plans and the two ministers bowed down to Bua and offered him flowers.

The following year Bua publicly criticised Leekpai's successor Thaksin Shinawatra, who had upset him by appointing Somdet Phra Phuttacharn, abbot of Wat Saket in Bangkok, and a member of a different order of monks, as acting supreme patriarch – the effective leader of all Buddhist monks in Thailand.

The appointment, Bua argued in a sermon, was a flagrant attempt to control the Buddhist clergy and usurp royal authority. "I feel Thailand is now under a dark influence. Bad people are in power and good people are being dominated. Not only ordinary people but also monks are now in trouble," he was quoted as saying. The following year he called on Thaksin to resign, describing his government as "wicked, corrupt, power-hungry, and greedy". Thaksin was subsequently deposed in a military coup.

Perhaps surprisingly, given his clashes with the authorities, Luangta Maha Bua ordered in his will that all gold ornaments, bars and other donated assets in his custody be handed to the Bank of Thailand as gold and cash reserves.

[winston]

Former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher has died at the age of 85, according to family statement.

Source: CNN International

[winston]

Warren Christopher, U.S. negotiator, dies at 85

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who helped bring peace to Bosnia and negotiated the release of American hostages in Iran, died in California at age 85.

Christopher "passed away peacefully, surrounded by family at his home in Los Angeles" late on Friday of complications from kidney and bladder cancer, his family said in a statement.

As the top U.S. statesman under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997, Christopher was a behind-the-scenes negotiator. Often called the "stealth" secretary of state, he was known for his understated, self-effacing manner.

"As President Clinton's Secretary of State, he was a resolute pursuer of peace," President Barack Obama said on Saturday. "Warren Christopher was a skillful diplomat, a steadfast public servant, and a faithful American."

Christopher said that as a diplomat, careful listening was his secret weapon. "I observed some time ago that I was better at listening than at talking," The New York Times quoted him as saying in a 1981 speech when he was deputy secretary of state.

That secret weapon helped Christopher weather diplomatic crises and bring enemies together.

In 1995, he intervened during the crucial final days of the U.S.-brokered Bosnian peace talks at Dayton, Ohio. He had an important role in closing the deal, according to his deputy, Richard Holbrooke, the force behind the agreement.

Christopher not only spoke the language of diplomacy, he dressed the part. Favoring elegant, tailored suits, he was once named one of the best dressed men in America by People magazine for his "diplomatically dapper" style.

MIDDLE EAST WORK

As secretary of state, Christopher devoted much of his time to the Middle East. He made at least 18 trips to the region in pursuit of peace and a ceasefire in southern Lebanon between Israel and the pro-Iranian Islamic group Hezbollah.

In 1994 he witnessed the signing of a peace treaty between Jordan and Israel.

As President Jimmy Carter's deputy secretary of state, he negotiated the release of 52 Americans taken hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979.

The hostages were freed on January 20, 1981, minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in to succeed Carter.

Carter awarded Christopher the Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian honor, for his efforts. On Saturday the former president said the country had "lost a great and revered leader."

"Warren was a diplomat's diplomat -- talented, dedicated and exceptionally wise," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement. "As well as anyone in his generation, he understood the subtle interplay of national interests, fundamental values and personal dynamics that drive diplomacy."

Christopher also helped negotiate the Panama Canal treaty, worked on establishing normal relations with China and played a major role in developing Carter's human rights policies.

"Most talking is not glamorous," Christopher said in an address at Stanford University months after the Iranian hostage crisis ended. "Often it is tedious. It can be excruciating and exhausting. But talking can also tame conflict, lift the human condition and move us close to the ideal of peace."

Christopher was born on October 27, 1925, in Scranton, North Dakota, and grew up in Los Angeles.

Source: Reuters US Online Report Domestic News

[winston]

Oscar-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor has died at the age of 79, her publicist tells CNN.

Source: CNN International

[winston]

Actress Elizabeth Taylor dead at 79

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor, one of the most alluring actresses of the 20th century, died on Wednesday at age 79, her publicists said.

She died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles surrounded by her four children after having been hospitalized six weeks ago with congestive heart failure, a statement from publicist Sally Morrison said.

"My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love. Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world," son Michael Wilding said in a statement.

Source: Reuters US Online Report Entertainment News

[winston]

I have been listening to this guy for a long time. Very good mind and I always thought that he was a bit over-weight ...


Stifel Strategist Battipaglia Dies at 55 By Theresa McCabe

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Joseph Battipaglia, a widely quoted stock market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus, died of a heart attack on Thursday at age 55, according to reports.

The Wall Street veteran made his name during the dot-com boom in the late 1990's and early 2000's. He was frequently featured in media interviews and became renowned for his optimism about the market.

Joseph Battipaglia

He was known for maintaining an upbeat stance on the market, even as the tech bubble was bursting,

In a 2001 interview with Barron's, Battopaglia forecast the market was on the upswing.

"Over the last 12 months, we had to face a 70% correction in the Nasdaq Composite index from its top," Battipaglia was quoted as saying. "We had to face the collapse of the Internet bubble. And we had a 36-day [presidential] election process, one of the messiest in history. And we survived that with the economy still growing at 1% in the first quarter. That's a performance that, I think, will be replicated and slightly better in the second quarter, and I think we can ramp up from here meaningfully."

Doug Kass, the president of Seabreeze Partners and a contributor to TheStreet's RealMoney Silver subscription site, offered his sincere condolences to Battipaglia's family and friends.

"I knew Joe well and, throughout the last decade, often debated him on The Kudlow Report and Squawk Box, among other media venues," Kass said. "He will be badly missed."

Battipaglia had been the chief investment strategist at Stifel since 2007, and had worked at Stifel's predecessors, Ryan Beck & Co, and Gruntal & Co, since 1984.

Before 1984, Battipaglia was a financial analyst for the Exxon(XOM) and worked as a securities analyst at Elkins & Co.
Battipaglia was also the CIO of Washington Crossing Advisors, which is a Stifel Nicolaus investment advisory program, and a former trustee of the Securities Industry Institute, a leadership and management program run by the Security Industry Association.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11084445 ... L_atb_html

[kennynah]

now, every time i see a new posting in this thread...i seriously hope it isn't lee kuan yew....

we are very close to general elections and the last thing i want happening is for pap to gain "sympathhy" votes, if lau lee kicks the bucket just now...

[winston]

Indian spiritual guru Sai Baba dies

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian spiritual guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba, revered by millions of followers as a living god, died Sunday in a hospital in southern India. He was 86.

Sai Baba, who was admitted to hospital in his hometown of Puttaparti a month ago, died of multiple organ failure, media said.

His followers, estimated to number six million, included top Indian politicians, business tycoons and Bollywoods stars.

Sai Baba, with distinctive frizzy hair and always clad in his trademark saffron robes, ran schools and hospitals through trusts in numerous countries. Questions are likely to arise over the management of his substantial assets.

He was credited with mystical powers including conjuring objects out of thin air.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Sai Baba's death was "an irreparable loss" to all.

Legions of followers, including top judges and bureaucrats, were expected to take part in his last rites, media said.

Source: Reuters US Online Report World News