When the federal judge rejected Bernard Madoff's plea for leniency Monday (29 June 2009), sentencing the 71-year-old swindler to spend the rest of his life in prison for an "extraordinarily evil", it brought closure to the victims who were swindled out of US$ 65 billion in the largest recorded financial fraud. It was only discovered in part after the investors demanded for repayment of money that was long gone when the stock market plummeted.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin cited the unprecedented nature of the multibillion-dollar fraud as he sentenced Madoff to the maximum of 150 years in prison, a term comparable only to those given in the past to terrorists, traitors and the most violent criminals. There is no parole in federal prison so Madoff will most likely die there.

Only Madoff and an accountant accused of failing to make basic auditing checks have faced criminal charges. But a person familiar with the investigation said that 10 more people would face federal charges by the time the probe is complete. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, wouldn't detail potential charges or say whether the 10 would include Madoff's family or former employees.

While the investigation is still focused on the persons involved, the public is also clamoring for a review of the agency responsible for preventing it. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lost credibility when it emerged that a tipster had been trying to blow the whistle on Madoff for years but had been brushed off repeatedly. Since Madoff's case came to light, the agency has announced a series of changes it hopes will improve enforcement, making it easier to detect and root out fraud before it approaches this massive scale.

But this might not be enough. Hence, Daniel Wagner, an AP Business Writer, prepared some questions and answers about what the SEC is doing to shore up its examination and enforcement actions, and how far these changes will go to prevent the next Madoff-style scandal.

QUESTION: Could a Madoff-style fraud happen again?

ANSWER: Of course it could. Enforcement is by definition a backward-looking process, with officials exposing and punishing wrongdoing only after it's been committed. As far as the SEC knows, there are more Madoffs starting up right now.

But officials say fraud on Madoff's scale is unlikely because he was an uncommonly talented crook, quietly gaining the trust of investors, regulators and power brokers over decades in the financial world.

QUESTION: Does that mean they're not doing anything to stop the next Madoff?

ANSWER: Regulators are doing quite a bit to prevent similar Ponzi schemes from bilking more investors.

The examinations division, which is responsible for day-to-day oversight, will be improving examiners' expertise in fraud detection and in complex financial products, looking more closely at firms deemed more likely to commit fraud and improving handling of tips and complaints. That's according to a speech this month by Lori Richards, who directs the SEC's Office of Inspections and Examinations.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro has installed a new director of the Division of Enforcement: Robert Khuzami, a former federal prosecutor. He has launched efforts to improve the SEC's enforcement capabilities, including streamlining key processes, and advocates pouring vast resources into hiring new staff.

Testifying before Congress in May, Khuzami said, "Not a day goes by that I don't think about how we can stop the next big fraud."

The agency also will introduce a new computer system intended to track and sift through the complaints that come in, which number between 750,000 and 1.5 million a year.

QUESTION: That all sounds nice, but aren't there some concrete loopholes the SEC needs to close to prevent future scams?

ANSWER: Madoff exploited the opportunity to act as both investment adviser and custodian of his clients' assets. That meant there was no one to verify whether the assets existed, or whether he was making the trades he claimed.

The SEC proposed a new rule that would require third-party verification of the assets, effectively closing that loophole.

But closing loopholes doesn't prevent future abuses, warns Laura Unger, a former commissioner and acting chairman of the SEC.

"Disclosure and rules are always changed after the crisis," she says. "You're hard-pressed to prevent the next thing before it happens because it's always going to be something different."

QUESTION: With so many attempts at reform going on all at once, how can we be sure the SEC even understands where the problems were?

ANSWER: In August, SEC Inspector General David Kotz is expected to release a long-awaited investigation of the breakdowns that allowed Madoff to pull off his scam undetected. It will examine information sharing between the examination and enforcement divisions, and attempt to explain why a tipster with information on Madoff's fraud was unable to attract the agency's attention for over a decade.

Even before the formal recommendations come out, Schapiro has said she will address any weaknesses that come to her attention.

QUESTION: Now that the SEC is stepping up its game, can investors rest easy?

ANSWER: Never.

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In the midst of all the economic uncertainties, here is one good news for the Philippines. GMAnews.TV reported that the country is being eyed as the hub of Fujitsu’s SAP (Systems and Application Program) and Oracle enterprise solutions and services, which are software applications used by companies.

This was announced after Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand recently acquired Australian-based Supply Chain Consulting Pty. Ltd., which has a local subsidiary.

The acquisition resulted in the creation of Fujitsu-Supply Chain, which is "expected to generate additional SAP income for both companies, with consolidated IT, communications solutions, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) products."

The same transaction also intends to improve the company’s current capabilities by “exporting services and increasing investments in employment, training, infrastructure and technology," said Raymond Lacdao, director of Supply Chain Consulting Philippines.

Currently, Fujitsu-Supply Chain is “serving support customers in Hong Kong, Australia, and Thailand," he added.

It also plans to increase investments, a move allowing it to “accept bigger capacity for more international work."

“Fujitsu has expressed confidence in the Philippine operations, and plans are currently underway to build out the Manila site into a center of excellence for the region in the ERP space," it added.

Fujitsu-Supply Chain handles “finance, accounting and other needs of a company."

Although Fujitsu-Supply Chain holds about P300-million worth of business in the Philippines, the company is raring to get more, particularly from the government.

The company was invited by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to bid for a project,

“Based on its requirements, it could be for Pagcor City," Lacdao added.

Hotel, resort, and casino construction in the 800-hectare Bagong Nayong Pilipino Entertainment City is currently in full swing.

Pagcor is requiring investors in the mixed-use commercial, retail, and entertainment complex to put in at least $1 billion in capital outlay for any project.

Some $20 billion is needed for the Pagcor City’s development, which has acquired local investors and those from Malaysia, Japan, US, Europe and South Korea.

Fujitsu-Supply Chain is also currently serving the SAP requirements of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and state pension fund Social Security System.

Top companies such as those in telecommunications industry employs SAP and Oracle applications, Lacdao explained.

Fujitsu’s local subsidiary is also hiring 100 more employees to fill up the company’s “identified requirements," the company said.

Fujitsu has two options in its plan to ramp up its current work force: by tapping on the fresh graduates of technical and IT courses, and end users of SAP and Oracle solutions.

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Aside from the death of Michael Jackson, Hollywood was also shocked to learn that Farrah Fawcett has died after a long battle with cancer. She passed away at 9:28 A.M. on Thursday (25 June) at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California.She was 62.

"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away," Farrah's longtime companion, Ryan O'Neal, said in a statement to Hollywood Access. "Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world."

The actress, best known for her role in the '70s TV show "Charlie's Angels" and her iconic hair, was in the hospital earlier this month and a source close to Farrah told Access Hollywood at the time that she was not doing well.

While her condition was deteriorating, those closest to Farrah wanted to take her home for her final days.

Her death comes just days after O'Neal revealed he had asked Farrah to be his wife.

"If she's feeling a little better, I've asked her to marry me again and she's agreed," Ryan said in a new interview with Barbara Walters for ABC's "20/20," set to air 26 June.

"We will as soon as she can say, 'Yes.' Maybe she can nod her head. I promise you, we will."

However, a source has confirmed to Hollywood Access that Ryan and Farrah did not get married prior to her death.

Following her diagnosis with anal cancer in 2006, Farrah waged a very public battle against the disease, documenting her fight in "Farrah's Story," which aired in May on NBC and will re-air on 26 June.

After several rounds of chemotherapy treatments, Farrah announced that she was cancer-free, but in May 2007, the cancer had returned and she underwent further treatment in Germany.

The star was born on 2 February 1947, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Even at a young age, Farrah caught people's attention - she was given the title "Most Beautiful" in high school.

She became an icon for her role as Jill Munroe in "Charlie's Angels" in the mid-'70s, inspiring fans to imitate her feathered blonde hair. She rose to sex symbol status thanks in part to a now-legendary swimsuit poster that sold over 12 million copies.

Farrah left the popular show after a single season, going on to star in a number of films, television shows and made-for-TV movies such as 1984's "The Burning Bed," which earned her an Emmy nomination.

The actress made further headlines in 1995, when she posed for Playboy at age 48.

Farrah is survived by her father James, longtime partner Ryan O'Neal, their son, Redmond O'Neal, who has dealt with numerous legal issues over the last few years.

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It was reported today by Associated Press that Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted child star who rose to become the "King of Pop" and the biggest celebrity in the world only to fall from his throne in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday (25 June 2009). He was 50. Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County, confirmed his office had been notified of the death and would handle the investigation.

The circumstances of Jackson's death were not immediately clear, but some speculate that it could be Cardiac Arrest. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper.

Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

His 1982 album "Thriller" — which included the blockbuster hits "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" — remains the biggest-selling album of all time, with more than 100 million copies worldwide.

The public first knew him in the late 1960s, when as a boy he was the precocious, spinning lead singer of the Jackson 5, the music group he formed with his four older brothers. Among their No. 1 hits were "I Want You Back," "ABC," and "I'll Be There."

He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched voice punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks second only to his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.

"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced "Thriller." "He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."

Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time. In fact, he united two of music's biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie.

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The Associated Press reported that it isn't just the thunder thighs that shrink after obesity surgery. Melting fat somehow thins bones, too. Doctors don't yet know how likely patients' bones are to thin enough to break in the years after surgery. But one of the first attempts to tell suggests they might have twice the average person's risk, and be even more likely to break a hand or foot.

The Mayo Clinic's finding is surprising, and further research is under way to see if the link is real. But with bariatric surgery booming and even teenagers in their key bone-building years increasingly trying it, specialists say uncovering long-term side effects and how to counter them takes on new urgency.

Simply popping today's doses of calcium supplements may not be enough.

"These procedures are now being sold as a panacea," Dr. Shonni Joy Silverberg of Columbia University told last week's annual meeting of The Endocrine Society, where the fat-and-bone relationship took center stage. "It is of heightened importance to find the answers to these questions."

Here's the irony: Obesity actually is considered protective against bone-weakening osteoporosis, possibly the only positive thing you'll ever hear a doctor say about too much fat.

"They're starting better than most of us," cautions Mayo bone-metabolism expert Dr. Jackie Clowes. So the big question is whether they really end up with worse bones, or just go through a transition period as their bones adjust to their new body size.

About 15 million Americans are classified as extremely obese, 100 pounds or more overweight. Dieting alone doesn't make enough of a dent to fend off rampant diabetes and other health problems, so surgery is fast becoming the preferred treatment — from the stomach stapling called gastric bypass to less invasive stomach banding. Patients tend to lose between 15 percent and 25 percent of their original weight, and diabetes dramatically improves.

More than 1.2 million U.S. patients have undergone the surgery in the past decade, 220,000 in the last year alone, according to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

There's little data on how patients fare many years later; large National Institutes of Health studies, on both adults and teens, are under way.

But doctors have long noted that the radical weight loss can speed bone turnover until the breakdown of old bone outpaces the formation of new bone. Silverberg cites recent studies showing that a year after gastric bypass, adults' hip density drops as much as 10 percent, raising concern about a common fracture site of old age. (Stomach banding causes less thinning because it doesn't alter nutrient absorption as much.)

No one knows if teen bones react similarly, but it's an important issue because almost half of peak bone mass develops during adolescence.

To see if such changes translate into fractures, the Mayo team is comparing the medical records of nearly 300 adults who've had bariatric surgery with similarly aged Minnesotans who haven't.

A quarter of the 142 surgery recipients studied so far experienced at least one fracture in the following years, Mayo's Dr. Elizabeth Haglind told the endocrinology meeting. Six years post-surgery, that group had twice the average risk. But in a puzzling finding, the surgery recipients had even more hand and foot fractures than their Minnesota neighbors, three times the risk.

Those fractures aren't usually connected to osteoporosis. Did the once-obese merely start exercising and just fall down more? Clowes doubts it.

"I was shocked" at the numbers, says Dr. Scott Shikora, president of the bariatric surgeons group, who says he hasn't seen a significant fracture problem in his own practice.

Surgeons routinely tell patients to take some extra calcium and vitamin D. Shikora estimates about half follow that advice, and other research suggests higher doses may be needed anyway as the obese tend to start out deficient in vitamin D.

A key next step will be to compare the patients who fracture with people of the same weight to see if their bone mass just had to adjust — or if something about surgery alters the complex soup of hormones and other factors that keep bones strong, thus requiring more than extra calcium.

Clowes' advice for now: Don't skip checkups, where doctors monitor bone health, and aggressively treat nutrient deficiencies.

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Technological advancement has made ebooks an important aspect of everyday life. Instead of browsing through a bulky printed material, ebooks offer consumers convenient reading since it can be viewed on a desktop computer or a portable device such as a laptop, PDA or e-book reader. Numerous e-books can be kept on portable units for traveling, eliminating weight and volume compared to equivalent paper books. Electronic bookmarks make referencing easier, and most readers allow the user to annotate pages.

It is no wonder, therefore, that the internet is flooded with various types of ebooks and search engines are fully maximized to retrieve this electronic information. However, despite the fact that engines provide considerable assistance in locating information, anyone who has even little knowledge with their use will quickly realize that there are certain common problems that occur quite frequently. Moreover, aside from the problems encountered by information seekers who want to search pdf and other formats in the internet, those who publish information also face significant difficulties when registering there site or a published document.

A quick check today will reveal that there exist several search engines scattered all over the Internet. Of those some are large and incorporate multiple features, while others are smaller and limited in functionality. Each of these search engines, depending on the size of its database and its abilities, provides different services to the consumers. But one search engine has stood out so far, the eBook Search Queen.

The eBook Search Queen is using one of the most comprehensive ebooks bases so far. It can easily find the book even if the end user is having problems remembering the title exactly because it also uses the text of the book when crawling for a search. Most of the materials in their database are in pdf format, but there are quiet a few good materials also in doc, ppt, txt and rtf formats.

Another important feature of the eBook Search Queen is its ability to classify information in certain categories. For instance, it provides links to several academic and scientific headings as well as many other common topics. These links help users avoid any confusion and retrieving unnecessary information to allow them to focus directly on the topics of their interest.

It should also be noted that the presentation of the results themselves is often of remarkable importance to many consumers. Users prefer results to be followed by a very brief description, which summarizes the content of specific web-pages. This usually provides readers with enough motivation to enter the web-page in question. Hence, eBook Search Queen's information retrieval mechanism and other available tools (e.g. forms, help facility) makes the results more reader-friendly by presenting the information in groups of 10 and can classify the searches by country.

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The first Filipinos to conquer Mount Everest hope to sail around Southeast Asia and then to Africa in a replica of an ancient boat – a feat they hope will inspire unity in the politically fractious Philippines, organizers said last 17 June 2009.

The balangay, a wooden-hulled boat used in this archipelago about 1,700 years ago, will set sail from Manila Bay on 27 June, said project leader Art Valdez.

Several Badjao tribal craftsmen were flown to Manila from the southernmost province of Tawi Tawi to painstakingly construct the 16-yard (15-meter) boat according to ancient traditions using primitive tools and not a single nail, Valdez said.

The adventurers plan to stop at some 75 ports in the Philippines then head off around Southeast Asia before considering whether to attempt the voyage across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar off the southeast coast of Africa, he said.

The Madagascar leg of the voyage will depend on the state of the vessel and its crew, Valdez said. The entire expedition is expected to last past the end of 2010.

A balangay is a fair-weather, round-bottomed sailboat with a prominent bow. In ancient times, balangays could accommodate as many as 50 people and often entire families lived on board. Sailors sat on benches attached to the ribs of the hull, and were protected from the sun and rain by a canopy stretched over the central part of the hull.

Five Coast Guard personnel who won the country's praise in 2006 and 2007 as the first Filipinos to scale Mount Everest will lead the voyage accompanied by about a dozen crew of expert mariners and navy guards. Seafaring Badjao tribesmen will navigate guided by the stars and other natural indicators.

A Philippine Coast Guard patrol ship will tail the boat in case something unforeseen occurs, Valdez said. The crew will sometimes live on the boat and sometimes lodge on land, he said.

Janet Belarmino-Sardena, a member of the crew and the Philippine coast guard, said they hoped the voyage would unite Filipinos and instill courage in them to overcome poverty.

The Philippines, formerly among Southeast Asia's most stable economies, has degenerated into one of the region's economic laggards, often distracted by political conflicts, coup attempts and rampant corruption. Communist and Muslim separatist rebellions have raged there for 40 years.

"We were once very superior," Sardena told The Associated Press. "We have to get that pride and confidence back."

She said the voyage should project a message that "Filipinos can do anything."

"When you watch the news, you see so many problems," said crewmember Erwin Emata, who scaled Everest in 2006. "Instead of joining the rallies, we look for ways to make children realize that we have a glorious past," said the father of three.

Rey Santiago, an archaeologist at the Philippine National Museum, said nine original balangay boats were discovered in the 1970s in southern Butuan city, three of which are on display in museums. One has been estimated to be at least 1,689 years old based on carbon dating tests, he said.

Balangays traditionally had wooden hulls reinforced with rib-like wooden frames and palm cords. They were used as dwellings, cargo boats and war ships.

Although they are no longer in use, Badjao tribesmen in Tawi Tawi and other tribes still practice the ancient building methods.

Philippine villages are called barangays in the Tagalog dialect, perhaps because boat-dwelling people were among the country's earliest communities, Santiago said.

"It's a time capsule," he said. "In it, you can find the story of the Filipino people."

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Blatant and outright scams by website hosting companies are rarely featured as a news item, but it does not mean they do not exist. In fact, there are several cases already filed in courts where the web host was accused of using a dedicated server hosting to intercept all page requests for all sites of their website hosting customers. The usual modus operandi is that if the request was from a person, the normal page was returned, but if a request was from a major search engine spider, the web host's server scam modified the page that was returned, by dynamically adding a set of links to it. This was usually done to all the web host's customers' sites without their knowledge or consent.

Many of the the added links are directed to the web host's own websites, but some pointed to non-existent (virtual) sub-folders within the customer's site. What is more frustrating is that when any search engine spider is looking for a page within those non-existent sub-folders, the system immediately creates a page of links that directs to the host's own sites, giving them more links. Now, when the users will request for any of these non-existent pages, they are dynamically redirected to the site's home page, but for search engines, each hosting customer's site contained sections that the customer didn't put there, and didn't know existed.

According to some experts, the main reason behind the scam was to add many links and targeted link text to the website host's own sites. This will supposedly pushed them up the search engines' rankings. However, when this happens, the users or customers will lost out a small amount of their ranking power because the host is siphoning PageRank credits out of their sites.

Fortunately, Web Hosting Geeks comes to everyone's aid. The site provides information about the different types of hosting providers and rank them according to the best price-value ratio, host reliability, uptime, key features, bonus features, customer support, past and current user feedback, user-friendliness and hosting awards.

As an add-on, business bloggers can access information about the Best Web Hosting Awards for 2008 from the site's links. Information from this linked location can complement the information already provided by Web Hosting Geeks and give the readers a complete picture on what is the best hosting company that suits a specific need.

However, the most useful section of Web Hosting Geeks is the area where they post articles about web hosting. Potential and existing business bloggers can learn anything about the concept from how to set-up one, how to earn money from it and even what best fits the needs of the clients. For instance, an article on dedicated server hosting and managed hosting describes the advantages and disadvantages between these two types and which one could help increase the site's visibility more.

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Associated Press (AP) found out that at one of the top trauma hospitals in the US, a nurse circles a patient's bed, humming and waving her arms as if shooing evil spirits. Another woman rubs a quartz bowl with a wand, making tunes that mix with the beeping monitors and hissing respirator keeping the man alive.

They are doing Reiki therapy, which claims to heal through invisible energy fields. The anesthesia chief, Dr. Richard Dutton, calls it "mystical mumbo jumbo." Still, he's a fan.

"It's self-hypnosis" that can help patients relax, he said. "If you tell yourself you have less pain, you actually do have less pain."

Alternative medicine has become mainstream. It is finding wider acceptance by doctors, insurers and hospitals like the shock trauma center at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Consumer spending on it in some cases rivals that of traditional health care.

People turn to unconventional therapies and herbal remedies for everything from hot flashes and trouble sleeping to cancer and heart disease. They crave more "care" in their health care. They distrust drug companies and the government. They want natural, safer remedies.

But often, that is not what they get. Government actions and powerful interest groups have left consumers vulnerable to flawed products and misleading marketing.

Dietary supplements do not have to be proved safe or effective before they can be sold. Some contain natural things you might not want, such as lead and arsenic. Some interfere with other things you may be taking, such as birth control pills.

"Herbals are medicines," with good and bad effects, said Bruce Silverglade of the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Contrary to their little-guy image, many of these products are made by big businesses. Ingredients and their countries of origin are a mystery to consumers. They are marketed in ways that manipulate emotions, just like ads for hot cars and cool clothes. Some make claims that average people can't parse as proof of effectiveness or blather, like "restores cell-to-cell communication."

Even therapies that may help certain conditions, such as acupuncture, are being touted for uses beyond their evidence.

An Associated Press review of dozens of studies and interviews with more than 100 sources found an underground medical system operating in plain sight, with a different standard than the rest of medical care, and millions of people using it on blind faith.

How did things get this way?

Fifteen years ago, US Congress decided to allow dietary and herbal supplements to be sold without federal Food and Drug Administration (FAD) approval. The number of products soared, from about 4,000 then to well over 40,000 now.

Ten years ago, Congress created a new federal agency to study supplements and unconventional therapies. But more than US$ 2.5 billion of tax-financed research has not found any cures or major treatment advances, aside from certain uses for acupuncture and ginger for chemotherapy-related nausea. If anything, evidence has mounted that many of these pills and therapies lack value.

Yet they are finding ever-wider use:

• Big hospitals and clinics increasingly offer alternative therapies. Many just offer stress reducers like meditation, yoga and massage. But some offer treatments with little or no scientific basis, to patients who are emotionally vulnerable and gravely ill. The Baltimore hospital, for example, is not charging for Reiki but wants to if it can be shown to help. Other hospitals earn fees from treatments such as acupuncture, which insurance does not always cover if the purpose is not sufficiently proven. The giant HMO Kaiser Permanente pays for members to go to a Portland, Ore., doctor who prescribes ayurvedics — traditional herbal remedies from India.


• Some medical schools are teaching future doctors about alternative medicine, sometimes with federal grants. The goal is educating them about what patients are using so they can give evidence-based, nonjudgmental care. But some schools have ties to alternative medicine practitioners and advocates. A University of Minnesota program lets students study nontraditional healing methods at a center in Hawaii supported by a philanthropist fan of such care, though students pay their own travel and living expenses. A private foundation that wants wider inclusion of nontraditional methods sponsors fellowships for hands-on experience at the University of Arizona's Program in Integrative Medicine, headed by well-known advocate Dr. Andrew Weil.


• Health insurers are cutting deals to let alternative medicine providers market supplements and services directly to members. At least one insurer promotes these to members with a discount, perhaps leaving an incorrect impression they are covered services and medically sound. Some insurers steer patients to Internet sellers of supplements, even though patients must pay for these out of pocket. There are networks of alternative medicine providers that contract with big employers, just like HMOs.

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As General Motors (GM) heads toward insolvency, the company that was once the biggest on the planet is still riding high in the world’s most populous country.

As the storied American company prepares to financially dismantle its operations between good and poor performing assets, GM China is becoming the crown jewel in the company’s operations.

"If there’s a good GM and a bad GM, China is definitely going to be in the good GM side," said Michael Dunne, an auto analyst and managing director of J.D. Power and Associates China.

But the company’s build-up in China is raising concern for U.S. consumer advocates and members of the U.S. Congress. Of particular concern are plans to build cars for the U.S. market in China after thousands of GM workers were laid off at U.S. plants.

"Do we really want the United States of America to export its auto industry paid for by the taxpayer, and unemploy workers to a dictatorship to a country like China?" said consumer advocate Ralph Nader. "Where’s our self-respect as a nation?"

Adds U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio: "That cannot be a part of their restructuring of this company. Their business plan cannot include more outsourcing of jobs while taking taxpayer money."

Industry analysts say the decision is a simple matter of dollars and cents: GM is now the third-biggest car manufacturer in China, which has recently overtaken the U.S. as the world’s largest car market.

"Our business is run as separate joint-ventures here in China in partnership with SAIC ... so we’re profitable, we fund our own investment and we would be largely independent of any action that took place in the U.S.," said Kevin Wale, president and managing director of GM China.

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With Filipinos' growing attachment to their many mobile phones, Cherry Mobile seeks to make life easier for everyone by providing a dual SIM technology at affordable prices. This was announce by the newest player in the local mobile communications industry when it launched its products in Makati last 28 May 2009.

"With today’s economic climate, we feel that this is the perfect time to be releasing our dual SIM devices," said MR. Roger Chui, president, Cherry Mobile during an interview with The Manila Times. "Consumers, even in trying times, demand nothing less from the products they buy; we bring incredible functionality at a price that just can’t be beat in the market."

With its four new handsets, Cherry mobile is designed to suit various Filipino lifestyles. It is set to capitalize on the growing market need for multi-network mobile communications with its NTC-approved dual Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card cellular phones.

Cherry Mobile phones are manufactured in China but its R&D (research and development) is located in the Philippines. The phones will allow users to simultaneously use and manage two separate pre-paid or post-paid subscriptions.

The company is targeting to sell about 5,000 units of its phones monthly until the end of the year. Prices range from PhP 2,690 to less than PhP 7,000 each.

Aside from being dual-active, Cherry mobile phones sport a 2.0 Megapixel VGA camera, large screen LCD Display, FM radio, voice recorder and Bluetooth.

The M35 Integra, on the other hand, is Cherry mobile’s "Entertainment anytime, anywhere" phone, equipped with Free-to-air- TV reception, an expandable MicroSD card slot and GPRS.

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