Obama calls Eagles owner to congratulate him for signing Vick By Chris Chase

Michael Vick(notes) has been getting support from all sides during his road to redemption. He's now getting it from the leader of the free world.

NBC's Peter King reports that Barack Obama called Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie earlier this week to congratulate him for giving Vick a second chance after his release from prison. According to King, the president said that released prisoners rarely receive a level playing field and that Vick's story could begin to change that.

Forget your political allegiances or feelings about Michael Vick and take a step back to think about this. The sitting president of the United States went out of his way to publicly praise a man who, 3 1/2 years ago, many thought would never play again in the NFL. Even the most ardent believers in Vick couldn't have fathomed a turn-around like this.

In retrospect it seems obvious that Vick would get a second chance in the NFL, but it wasn't so clear-cut back when he was lying to the commissioner, getting sternly admonished in federal court and serving out a sentence at Leavenworth. We tend to take for granted unbelievable events when they slowly unfold before our eyes. The step-by-step nature of these sorts of tales tend to minimize the shock when taken in over a long process. So though it now seems like it was all pre-destined to work out like this, it wasn't: Vick's rise and fall and rise is a truly stunning tale. He went from star to pariah to inmate to backup to MVP candidate to political prop for the leader of the free world all in a span of a couple years.

[Related: Obama and Kobe Bryant talk trash]

For Obama to praise Vick now shows a number of things, namely that uttering the quarterback's name is thought to be a safe political move. He's playing the best football of his life for a playoff team and was the second-leading vote getter for the Pro Bowl. At the moment, he's the model of redemption, someone worthy of praise.

Because, if you think about it, Vick got that "second chance" from Lurie 16 months ago. There was no phone call from the president then. Praising Vick at that time would have been a political third rail. But now that Vick is playing great and most people seem to have either forgiven him or stopped caring about his transgressions, it's a shrewd political move. After what could be termed a rough two years in office, the president is looking for a second chance from the people who have turned against him over the past two years. Supporting a huge star like Vick could help with the president's recent image problems. It may not register much nationally, but it couldn't hurt in Pennsylvania. After all, it's a swing state and 2012 is just around the corner.

Snow at North East of USA

People look over a downed light pole on Broad Street in Downtown Newark, N.J. as gusty winds and heavy snow continued to cover the city, Monday, Dec. 27, 2010.
(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Kazu is grown up!

Merry Christmas

at 2pm, My mum made a wonderful lunch for me and herself. She made a tender chicken, potatoes, and carrot. She was making a best sweet potatoes. It made me silvia more at foods! My mom and I had a nice talking... I told her a couples of interesting stories about my life in Singapore. I told her that a lot of Singapoean people are an interesting to do for me to speak for my voice. I told at some of Singapoean people that your first language is speaking by your ear... therefore, my first langauge is Sign language by my eye. I also told my mum that "west Chinese muslim and East Chinese Buddism are doing meeting for business in Shanghai, China. They realized that They dont understand eachother due to different diaglog, so They had to written at Chinese Language, so they would able to understand eachother in Chinese langauge... Do you think, they are stupid?! lah! My mom's repond: smile at me.

Naked man arrested at McDonald’s outlet in Singapore!

A Chinese man in his mid-twenties gave McDonald’s customers and crew alike a nasty shock when he walked in naked. (Yahoo! file photo)

A man was refused service by the McDonald’s crew in Queensway after he walked in stark naked and tried to order breakfast in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The incident occurred at the Rideout Tea Garden McDonald’s outlet along Queensway around 4am.

A witness, media coordinator Aslan Asat, 26, who was sitting in the alfresco area of the restaurant with three of his friends, told The New Paper they were shocked to see the man grinning as he casually walked into the restaurant totally nude.

“The naked guy was holding on to a laptop case, but he did not attempt to cover his private parts with it,” he added. The naked man also did not appear to be intoxicated.

It is understood that the Chinese man, who looked to be in his mid-twenties to early thirties, tried to order a cup of coffee over the counter but was refused service by the McDonald’s crew.

Mr Aslan said, “The McDonald’s staff asked him to leave, but he loitered around in the restaurant for at least 10 minutes before walking out.”

There were six other customers in the fast-food restaurant at the time, and they had the same reaction towards the naked man.

“Everyone was gawking at him initially and started to giggle after a while,” he said.

However, the naked man continued to loiter outside the restaurant even after being asked to leave.

“He took out a phone from the laptop case and started to make a call. I overheard him complaining about the refusal of service by McDonald’s staff in English,” said Mr Aslan.

“He left only after lighting up a cigarette.”

A McDonald’s spokesman confirmed the incident and said the restaurant had to turn the customer away due to the objectionable nature of his behaviour.

“The fast-food restaurant has referred the case to the police and investigations are under way.”

Police said they received a call at 4.35am on Sunday regarding a man appearing naked at a McDonald’s outlet. They arrested the man and referred him to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for psychiatric assessment.

Lawyer, Foo Cheow Ming, told the paper that appearing naked in public and exposing one’s private parts is regarded as an “obscene” act by Singapore courts.

If found guilty, the man faces a maximum sentence up to three months in jail and a fine of $2,000.

Thank you for the incredible, amazing response to Yahoo!’s Fit-To-Post blog so far. We continue to welcome your views and comments but please don’t abuse this opportunity. Be nice. Be courteous. Be sensible. Respect the feelings of others and refrain from using any kind of offensive language. And in the spirit of great conversations, please don’t stray from the topic at hand.

Thai Hana Resturant

Yesterday and Today, New Thai co worker at Thai hana was shocking that I would able to do work in smart way and she asked me if I am driving my vechicles. I noddled my head. She keeps share at me... ha cos I told her I am Deaf and not mute! I am sure that She realized that Deaf Thai people are not mute/stupid too!!!:)
Tuesday at 11:19pm · Friends Only · LikeUnlike · Comment · View Feedback (12)Hide Feedback (12)

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Jason Lee, Erika Mercedes Munro, Odessa Leeper and 7 others like this.
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Marija Todorovic Right on! Your shoes were in mine n speak /sign aloud good! Beauty Deaf people are damn pride!
Tuesday at 11:56pm via Facebook Mobile · LikeUnlike
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Chaz Hickey Yes that right!!!
Wednesday at 6:00am · Like

My mum's birthday on Dec 6, 2010

My mum and I went to eat at Thai Hana2 resturant, where the pizza hut was helding there on 312. 1)eat at Japanese foods
2)walked at downtown
3)took photos of her birthday cards.

Top 10 ‘cheapest’ homes in Singapore

By Mr. Propwise (courtesy of PropertyGuru)

Based on the comments from my last article on the Top 10 Most Expensive Houses in Singapore, it seems many readers feel it would be useful to look at the most affordable choices instead. I have thus compiled this list of the 10 most affordable homes currently on the market in Singapore. Just like the previous article, I used PropertyGuru to filter these out (the prices below are the asking prices).

My findings? Amongst the top 10, all but one are HDB flats, which no surprise, but they tend to be in the faraway corners of Singapore such as Yishun, Marsiling and Boon Lay, although there are also flats in prime neighbourhoods such as Ang Mo Kio. The cheapest home on the market in Singapore is, surprise surprise, a landed property — but with a fatal flaw (read on to find out more).

Here are the 10 cheapest homes in Singapore in descending order:

10. For $252,000, you get a 721 sqft ($350 psf) 3NG (New Generation) HDB flat at Blk 118, Potong Pasir Avenue 1. It comes with 2 bedrooms and bathrooms and is a windy, bright and unblocked unit that is near to amenities and Saint Andrew’s, an SAP school. The asking price implies a Cash Over Valuation (COV) of around $22,000.

9. For $250,000, you get a 740 sqft ($338 psf) 3I HDB flat at Block 25 Tanglin Halt Road. It comes with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, is a corridor unit in “simple move in condition”, and is near to amenities and a school.

8. Also for $250,000, you can get a 721 sqft ($347 psf) 3NG (Modified) HDB flat at Blk 111, Yishun Ring Road. It has 2 bedrooms and bathrooms, is a corner unit on a high floor, and has designer décor. There is no COV payable.

7. In seventh place is a 3NG (Modified) HDB flat at Block 202 Marsiling Drive, also going for $250,000. At 731 sqft ($342 psf), it has 2 bedrooms and bathrooms, has a great unblocked view, and is in move-in condition. You will be minutes away from amenities and within walking distance of the Woodlands checkpoint.

6. In sixth place is a 3NG (New Generation) HDB flat at Blk 565, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, going for $247,000. For that price, you get 2 bedrooms and bathrooms and 743 sqft ($332 psf) of space. The $235,000 valuation implies a COV of $12,000.

5. For just $238,000, you can buy a 3NG (Modified) HDB flat at Block 103 Yishun Ring Road. At 721 sqft ($330 psf), you get a flat which has 2 bedrooms and bathrooms, and is near to the MRT, shops and schools. The apartment is in move-in condition, and is near to amenities and schools.

4. In fourth place is a $238,000 721 sqft ($330 psf) 3NG (Modified) HDB flat at Block 24 Marsiling Drive. It has 2 bedrooms and bathrooms, is on a high floor, and is near to Admiralty MRT station and the Woodlands checkpoint.

3. On another end of the island, you can pick up a 3I (Improved) HDB flat in Blk 185, Boon Lay Drive for $235,000. Space will be a bit tighter as it is only 624 sqft ($377 psf), but still has 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. The asking price implies a COV of $20,000. It is near to the market, schools and Boon Lay MRT.

2. For $215,000, you can buy a 3I (Improved) HDB flat at Block 187 Boon Lay Avenue. The ad claims that you get 2 bedrooms and bathrooms in 635 sqft ($339 psf) of space. The apartment is next to Boon Lay MRT and Boon Lay Shopping Centre, and can achieve a potential rental yield of 5 percent.

1. And the cheapest property currently being marketed on PropertyGuru is, unexpectedly, a landed property. How much would you pay for a 3+1 double-storied terrace house at Geylang Lorong 3 with 1,100 sqft of built-in area and sitting on 725 sqft of land? At an asking price of $188,000 you are paying just $171 psf (built-in) and $259 psf (land). You are located just minutes away from Kallang MRT and town, and have amenities and a community centre nearby. Sounds too good to be true? Well, this property does have a fatal flaw – it has only 9+ years of lease left. So if you buy it, you’ll be house hunting again before the decade is up…

Mr. Propwise is the founder of Singapore property blog www.propwise.sg, which aims to help people make better real estate buying, selling, renting and investing decisions.

Find HDB properties for sale and rent at PropertyGuru: (www.propertyguru.com.sg/singapore-property-listing/hdb)

Thank you for the incredible, amazing response to Yahoo!’s Fit-To-Post blog so far. We continue to welcome your views and comments but please don’t abuse this opportunity. Be nice. Be courteous. Be sensible. Respect the feelings of others and refrain from using any kind of offensive language.