By Evann Gastaldo You hear a lot about the healing power of forgiveness these days, but the movement has gone too far, writes Simon Doonan in Slate . Reeva Steenkamp‘s uncle wants to forgive Oscar Pistorius for killing her. The mother of the girl who was raped in Steubenville, Ohio, forgave one of the… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
By Associated Press Lawyers for Oscar Pistorius appealed against some of his bail restrictions Thursday, saying the Olympic athlete might eventually need to return to track competition to earn money. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at ESPN Headlines
By Morgan Housel, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
1. The intrinsic value of the stock market as a whole increases by about 1% every six weeks. That’s what you’ll get over the long term. Everything else is noise.
2. Several academic studies have shown that those who trade the most earn the lowest returns. Remember Pascal‘s wisdom: “All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.”
3. The single best three-year period to own stocks was during the Great Depression. Not far behind was the three year period starting in 2009, when the economy struggled in utter ruin. The biggest returns begin when most people think the biggest losses are inevitable.
4. Economist Alfred Cowles dug through forecasts a popular analyst who “had gained a reputation for successful forecasting” made in The Wall Street Journal in the early 1900s. Among 90 predictions made over a 30-year period, exactly 45 were right and 45 were wrong. This is more common than you think.
5. There is virtually no correlation between what the economy is doing and stock market returns. According to Vanguard, rainfall is actually a better predictor of future stock returns than GDP growth. (Both explain slightly more than nothing.)
6. The Financial Times recently wrote: “In 2008, the three most admired personalities in sport were probably Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, and Oscar Pistorius.” Given the volume of recent insider trading charges, something similar could occur among the investing “greats.”
7. There are no investment points awarded for difficulty or complexity. Simple stocks can make outstanding investments.
8. 90% of Warren Buffett‘s success can be explained by three factors: Patience, compound interest, and time.
9. All bubbles begin with a rational idea that gets taken to an irrational extreme. That’s why so many people fall for them.
10. How long you stay invested for will likely be the single most important factor determining how well you do at investing.
11. According to Longboard Asset Management, from 1983 to 2007, 40% of stocks were unprofitable, 19% lost at least three-quarters of their value, 64% underperformed the market, and 25% were responsible for all the market‘s gains. Statistically, successful stock-picking is more about avoiding awful investments than finding good ones.
12. There were 272 automobile companies in 1909. Through consolidation and failure, three emerged on top, two of which went bankrupt. Spotting a promising trend and a winning investment are two very different things.
13. In hindsight, everyone saw the financial crisis coming. In reality, it was a fringe view before mid-2007. The next crisis will be the same (they all work like that).
14. Management fees, transaction costs, and taxes are the bane of investment returns. Thankfully you can invest in commission-free low-cost index ETFs in a tax-protected Roth IRA through Vanguard.
15. You are under no obligation to read or watch financial news. If you do, you are under no obligation to take any of it seriously.
16. Investor Dean Williams once said, “Confidence in a forecast rises with the amount of information that goes …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Associated Press Lawyers for Oscar Pistorius are appealing some of the Olympic athlete’s bail restrictions in a court in the South African capital. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at ESPN Headlines
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The ad was immediately controversial, with many critics saying that the ad implies that Woods’ past sins — he admitted to serial infidelity in 2009 — are wiped away now that he’s winning again.
But isn’t that basically true?
Tiger did indeed fall out of favor with the public after the cheating scandal hit, and as a result he lost many of his endorsement deals. But earlier this month we looked at Tiger’s newfound winning touch, and considered the fact that many other athletes have recovered from worse scandals simply by playing well. Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, for instance, was linked to a murder and only avoided jail time by testifying against two companions. Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, meanwhile, admitted to cheating on his wife and was accused of sexual assault, though the charges were dropped.
Both athletes resumed their dominance of their respective sports, with Bryant winning two NBA championships since the charges were dropped and Lewis capping a hall-of-fame career with a Super Bowl championship. Lewis is now headed for an analyst job at ESPN; Bryant remains popular and largely kept his endorsement deals (including one with Nike).
Speaking of Tiger’s endorsement prospects earlier this month, sports marketing expert Larry McCarthy told us, “We’re extremely forgiving of [athletes] like Woods once they continue to play at the level they were at.”
Not everyone has forgiven Tiger, as this controversy makes clear. And no one would suggest that his recent string of success somehow absolves him of his personal failings.
But the fact is that athletes are ultimately judged on performance, and barring a truly career-ending scandal — Oscar Pistorius‘ murder charge or Lance Armstrong‘s admission of doping, for instance — they can always get back in our good graces by performing well on the field.
Nike probably shouldn’t have come right out and said so in their ad. And to be fair, the quote in question was initially uttered by Woods when he was asked whether he was preoccupied with his ranking.
But what Nike said was essentially correct: When it comes to sports, winning really does take care of everything.
Matt Brownell is the consumer and retail reporter for DailyFinance. You can reach him at Matt.Brownell@teamaol.com, and follow him on Twitter at @Brownellorama.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
By The Huffington Post News Editors
VANDERBIJLPARK, South Africa — The brother of double-amputee athlete Oscar Pistorius went on trial in a South African court Wednesday for the death of a woman in a road collision in 2008.
Carl Pistorius, who faces a charge of culpable homicide, or negligent killing, wore a dark suit and was accompanied by his sister, Aimee. Oscar Pistorius, who was charged with murdering his girlfriend on Feb. 14, was not present. The Olympian hasn’t been seen in public since he was granted bail at Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Feb. 22. His lawyers plan to challenge his bail restrictions on Thursday.
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By The Huffington Post News Editors
NEW YORK (AP) — Maybe winning doesn’t take care of everything.
Nike is causing a social media storm with its latest online ad showing a picture of Tiger Woods overlaid with a quote from him, “Winning takes care of everything.”
The ad, posted on Facebook and Twitter, is supposed to allude to the fact that the golfer recovered from career stumbles to regain his world No. 1 ranking on Monday, which he lost in October 2010. But some say it’s inappropriate in light of Woods’ past marital woes. It’s the latest controversy from the athletic giant who has recently had to cut ties with biker Lance Armstrong and runner Oscar Pistorius due to separate scandals.
By Neal Colgrass 
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
By Polly Davis Doig 
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
South Africa‘s presidency says Nelson Mandela has spent a night in the hospital after he was admitted for tests.
Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said Sunday there were no updates on 94-year-old Mandela’s condition since he went to a hospital in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon.
In a statement Saturday, Maharaj said the medical tests for the anti-apartheid leader and former president were scheduled and that doctors have indicated there is no cause for “alarm.”
Mandela was hospitalized for nearly three weeks in December before going home on Dec. 26. At that time, he was treated for a lung infection and had a surgical procedure to remove gallstones.
Mandela’s latest hospitalization comes at a time when South Africa is enduring a series of setbacks that serve as a reminder of how it has fallen short of the kind of harmonious society that he envisioned, but could not realize during his five years as the country’s first black president.
The nation of 50 million has long struggled with poverty and inequality since it emerged from white minority rule. But crisis hit in August, when police shot and killed 34 striking miners at the Marikana platinum mine in a spasm of violence that drew comparisons among some South Africans with Sharpeville in 1960, Soweto in 1976 and other mass killings by agents of the apartheid state.
Then came February, when the gang-rape and killing of 17-year-old Anene Booysen highlighted the scourge of violence against women in South Africa; the arrest of Oscar Pistorius, South Africa‘s double-amputee athlete who inspired millions at the London Olympics, on charges of murdering his girlfriend; and the killing of Mado Macia, a Mozambican taxi driver who was found dead in a South African police cell after he was dragged from a police vehicle in view of onlookers who filmed the shocking incident.
Just a few days ago, Graca Machel, the Mozambican wife of Mandela, appeared at a memorial service for Macia east of Johannesburg and issued a rare denunciation of conditions in South Africa, warning of “big trouble” because of the alleged role in his death of police officers who are supposed to protect the public.
“We have all been correctly angered by the rogue elements and criminals who molest women and children and commit other extreme forms of violence,” President Jacob Zuma said in a recent speech to traditional leaders.
“The outrage expressed by our people at such recent violent incidents in particular is most welcome as it indicates that South Africans have not lost their sense of right and wrong,” he said. Zuma asserted that “general crime” had decreased over the years, but acknowledged that violence against women and children remains high and he encouraged efforts to rebuild the “moral fiber” of South African society.
The former president has become increasingly frail over the years. In January 2011, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later. He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
By The Huffington Post News Editors
JOHANNESBURG — South African police say the former lead detective in the investigation of the murder case against Oscar Pistorius has resigned from the police force.
Police Brig. Neville Malila said Thursday that detective Hilton Botha voluntarily applied to leave the service.
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South African police say the former lead detective in the investigation of the murder case against Oscar Pistorius has resigned from the police force.
Police Brig. Neville Malila said Thursday that detective Hilton Botha voluntarily applied to leave the service.
Botha made several procedural errors in his role as the lead investigator after Pistorius, the double-amputee athlete who competed at the London Olympics, shot and killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Feb. 14.
It later emerged that Botha faced attempted murder charges for a case in which he fired on a vehicle in an attempt to make it stop. His superiors then removed him from the Pistorius case.
On the front of the March 11, 2013 cover of Time Magazine, legless athlete Oscar Pistorius stands like a physical specimen held up by his prosthetic legs. The title reads, “Man, superman, gunman: Oscar Pistorius and South Africa’s culture of violence,” by Alex Perry.
“Don’t keep sweeping your troubles under the rug for someday you’ll trip over it.” Taylor Wapaha
While reading the article, I felt overwhelmed by the statistics: South Africa # 6 in the world for gun killings, 88 percent rise in home robberies in the past five years and total racial separation. Black poverty skyrocketed after the end of apartheid. Two surveys found: “…28 percent of men admitted to being rapists and 46 percent of victims were less than 16 years of age, 23 percent under 11 and 9 percent under six years old. Out of 3.5 million residents of Cape Town, 2.1 million live in shacks without toilets or running water.”
“In the townships, vigilante beatings and killings are the norm,” wrote Time writer Alex Perry. “South Africa’s private security industry employs 411,000 people, more than double the number of police officers. South Africa knows crime as a vast stretch of lawlessness covering an area twice the size of Texas. As much as $50 billion annually is lost to graft and crime.”
Much of Africa comprises dictators and unimaginable human brutality toward women. When you include the Muslim world’s honor killings of 5,000 women killed by fathers, brothers and husbands annually, you get a sick feeling in your stomach. While the world “rapes” Africa for its natural resources, its human residents suffer indescribable misery from Cape Town to Cairo. Note Egypt’s internal revolution, Syria killing of over 70,000 and Libya’s ongoing war, Somalia’s starving people, Sudan, etc.
Read More at OfficialWire . By Frosty Woolridge.
A remarkably public feud erupted Tuesday within the family of Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympian charged with murdering his girlfriend, as the runner and his relatives distanced themselves from comments his father reportedly made about guns and crime in South Africa.
South Africa‘s ruling party, the African National Congress, also waded into the family dispute. A spokesman for the party accused Henke Pistorius, the runner’s father, of racism for his observations reported in British newspapers about crime against white South Africans and the suggestion that the ANC government isn’t adequately protecting them.
The Pistorius family and the reputation management firm it has hired are working to head off any negative publicity or controversy that might possibly have a bearing on the outcome of the runner’s case, which could see him jailed for life if convicted of premeditated murder.
They quickly issued a statement early Tuesday morning saying the family “is deeply concerned” about the father’s interview that “doesn’t represent the views of Oscar or the rest of the Pistorius family.”
The Telegraph and Mirror newspapers quoted Henke Pistorius as saying the family owns handguns for self-defense. That is not unusual in South Africa. Two years ago, Police Minister Nkosinathi Emmanuel Mthethwa said the country of 49 million people had 1.7 million registered firearm owners holding 2.9 million guns.
Oscar Pistorius had a police license for the 9 mm pistol with which he shot Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day.
The gun collectors’ club, the Lowveld Firearm Collectors Association, which the runner joined last April said Pistorius also owned but hadn’t yet licensed six other firearms for his gun collection.
South Africa‘s Beeld newspaper reported that the runner’s father, three uncles and grandfather also own 55 firearms between them — ranging from handguns to rifles.
“Some of the guns are for hunting and some are for protection, the hand guns,” the Telegraph quoted Henke Pistorius as saying. “It speaks to the ANC government, look at white crime levels, why protection is so poor in this country, it’s an aspect of our society.”
“You can’t rely on the police, not because they are inefficient always but because crime is so rife,” the father said, according to the newspaper.
It said he had never used a gun in self-defense, but added: “That doesn’t mean I haven’t been hijacked, attacked. As a family, we value life much too much to produce guns at every opportunity we can use them.”
“I have been in positions where I can use a gun but we have been brought up in a way that we value the lives of others very highly,” he said.
Prosecutors charged Pistorius with premeditated murder for killing Steenkamp, saying the shooting followed an argument between the two. Pistorius said he mistook the 29-year-old model for a home intruder, fired shots at the door of his toilet and then discovered she was inside.
The family statement said: “Oscar Pistorius‘s family is deeply concerned about the comments made by Oscar’s father, Henke Pistorius, to UK newspaper the Telegraph about the family using its weapons to …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
By David Kroll
The moment I heard that an herbal remedy and syringes had been found at the home of the accused murderer, athlete Oscar Pistorius, I suspected that it might not have been “herbal” but rather a glandular extract used as a hormone supplement. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Health
By John Johnson 
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home
By Associated Press Even if Oscar Pistorius is acquitted of murder, firearms and legal experts in South Africa believe that, by his own account, the star athlete violated basic gun-handling regulations. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at ESPN Headlines
Oscar Pistorius planned a personal memorial service on Tuesday for Reeva Steenkamp, the 29-year-old model he shot at his home on Valentine’s Day.
The evening service would be at the Pretoria home of his uncle Arnold, where the Olympic athlete has been staying since he was released on bail awaiting trial on a premeditated murder charge.
Pistorius’ reputation management firm said Pistorius had specifically requested the service “as he remains in deep mourning for the loss of his partner Reeva,” whom he says he shot by accident assuming an intruder had entered his home on Feb. 14.
“Oscar has asked for a private service with people who share his loss, including his family members who knew and loved Reeva as one of their own,” Vuma Reputation Management said in a statement.
Exactly a week ago, a memorial service was held for Steenkamp in the southern coast city of Port Elizabeth, where her body was cremated following a private service.
That same day, the bail hearing for Pistorius started in the nation’s capital Pretoria.
It was unclear exactly what Pistorius’ service would consist of or how many people would attend.
Prosecutors say the pair had an argument before Steenkamp was killed. Vuma said that Pistorius “continues to grieve” for her. Vuma spokeswoman Janice Hills would not give any further details about the ceremony, saying it is “a private matter for the family.”
Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair set bail for Pistorius at 1 million rand ($113,000). The 26-year-old track star was also ordered to hand over his passports, turn in any guns he owns and keep away from his upscale home in a gated community in Pretoria, the scene of the crime.
He cannot leave the district of Pretoria without his probation officer’s permission and is not allowed to consume drugs or alcohol.
Nair himself was in private mourning on Tuesday. He confirmed that he is related to a woman suspected of killing her two children and committing suicide on the weekend.
The revelation was the latest twist in the saga of Pistorius and prominent figures linked to the case against the double-amputee athlete.
The bodies of a woman and her two sons were found Sunday evening at their Johannesburg home by her ex-husband, police Warrant Officer Balan Muthan said. Authorities suspect the woman administered a substance that killed her children, and took her own life by ingesting it as well.
“I can confirm the deceased is my first cousin,” Nair told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
The woman’s brother, Vishal Maharaj, identified her as Anusha Maharaj. Police said Maharaj was her family name before she married. South African media identified her as Anusha Mooljee.
Muthan said police suspect “she took her own life by ingesting a substance that killed her,” and that she “most probably” gave the same substance to her children. Autopsies were conducted Monday and toxicologists were analyzing the substance believed to have killed the three family members.
Suicide notes were found and a murder investigation was underway, Muthan said. He said copies of the notes were admitted as evidence in the probe …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
