| Le Mans comes to Levens
The Gulf Porsche 917 sportscar, famous for race victories at circuits across Europe, is certainly not the car you would expect to see when stopping for a quick fill-up at your local petrol station. But that's exactly what visitors to Levens forecourt and car dealership, P.V. Dobson & Sons, are being treated to this week. "It's certainly turning a lot of heads," says General Manager Chris Hammond. "The Porsche is in the showroom which is directly in view of the forecourt pumps, so you can't miss it. The timing is great as we're also launching the new Jaguar XF on Thursday 7th February, and with our other display cars and smart new Gulf branding people will have a lot to look at if they come down in the next few days." P.V. Dobson & Sons have owned the site since 1979, which includes dealerships for Jaguar, Volvo and Mazda.
Sonthi indicates he wants interior portfolio as well
Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin Saturday indicated that he also wants the post of interior minister along with the position of deputy prime minister in charge of security affairs.
Sonthi was speaking during recording of his interview to Joh Jai programme at the JSL Company Saturday afternoon.
He said he has not discussed with Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont over the post of interior minister yet.
But if the Interior Ministry was involved with security affairs, it should help him take care of the security affairs much better, he said.
Sonthi traveled to the company in Mercedes Benz S600, which was once official car of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The Nation
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Investment bank fees hit record $84bln in 07-study
Half of the fees, which were up 21 percent on 2006, came from merger and acquisition advisory, with the rest earned through equity and fixed income underwriting, said International Financial Services London (IFSL). More than half of total investment banking fees were generated in the U.S. market and just over a third in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Investment banks reported losses of $130 billion on their exposure to U.S. subprime mortgages up to the end of January, IFSL said. "Many investment banks are likely to experience further losses in 2008 on their investments in assets backed by subprime mortgages," the industry body said in its banking report. (Reporting by Olesya Dmitracova; Editing by David Holmes) .
TEAM TRANSCRIPTS (INDIANAPOLIS) - RYAN BRISCOE AND PENSKE RACING
MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us for today's Indy Racing League teleconference. Our guest is Ryan Briscoe, who yesterday was named to drive the No. 6 Team Penske car in the IndyCar Series in 2008. Good afternoon and congratulations. RYAN BRISCOE: Thank you. Thanks a lot. MODERATOR: He has made 19 starts in the IndyCar Series over the past three seasons. As a rookie with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2005, he started 14 races, recording three top-10 finishes and winning the pole position at Infineon Raceway. In 2006, he made four starts, recording a third-place finish at Watkins Glen, and in this past season, he finished fifth in the Indianapolis 500 in his only start of the season. Ryan, tell us what it makes to be back in the IndyCar Series full-time and to be able to do it with a team like Team Penske? RYAN BRISCOE: It really is amazing.
The Sky is Falling!!!!The Sky is Falling!!!! Chicken Little, please go ...
Have you ever been out somewhere or with friends, and that one buddy ALWAYS complains about everything. Nothing is ever right and something bad is going to happen. The crazy thing is for some reason when he or she is around something bad does always happen. Is he or she a prophet??? NO!!!! They just bring negativity to everyone and alot of his or her problem is self-fulfilling. I prefer to look for the silver lining. Why am I blogging about this? Our national media... Every time you turn on the TV there is a story about the NATIONAL real estate market and how it is awful. Things are terrible, homes are going down in value, foreclosures are up, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!!!! What NATIONAL real estate market? I do not care about the market in California or Florida. I live in Middle Tennessee.
Pick up a six pack for a sizzling summer
Call it vanity, but having a strong, flat stomach really isnt enough. If youre sick of attractive women swooning about Brad Pitts abs in Fight Club, its crunch time. Start with improving your mid-body strength with a variety of exercises. The best exercises for the abdominals will focus on all of your lower middle muscles, including: the lower back muscles, the lower side spinal muscles, and the both the middle abdominals and the obliques. Crunches, bent-knee sit-ups, trunk twists, back raises and side bends are the easiest and safest exercises. Start off with a small amount of reps and do as many sets as you can. Gradually add more sit-ups to each set. Start with say, 20 crunches, rest, then do 20 more, rest and do another 20. Work your way up to 50 crunches in each set and build up to doing at least three sets.
Virtual Pit Reporter: Team updates before California
I think part of that is having Juan (Montoya) as a teammate last year has helped him step up. I think bringing Dario (Franchitti) on has helped him step up. He's stepping up. He's doing what we've asked him and what we want him to do. He's doing exactly what we want him to do. We couldn't be happier."
Go back to the top 6. Elliott Sadler, No. 19 Dodge, Gillett Evernham Motorsports This week: Sadler won the 2004 Labor Day weekend race at Fontana for Robert Yates Racing in a Ford. Sadler has two top-10 finishes in 13 starts there. "It is always nice to return to someplace where you've won before, but we're going back this year with a whole new deal," Sadler said. "We have a brand new type car that we've never raced there. We've only had the one test session with this new car on this type of track.
Buy books by Simon Hoggart at the Guardian bookshop
Two things, possibly connected, struck me this week. The BBC wants another above-inflation rise in the licence fee, and England's footballers performed miserably, twice. Even if the Beeb gets its rise, it will still cost round about a quarter of what we pay for cable TV, including Sky Sports, and for the licence fee you get what is still the finest broadcasting in the world. Sky's money, on the other hand, goes in large part to footballers. At that level, the difference between earnings of, say, £40,000 a week and £100,000 is pretty marginal. You're never going to worry about the gas bill or the children's shoes, and once you've got the high-rise apartment in Dubai, the Ferrari, and the cellar full of Roederer Cristal, there isn't a whole lot else to spend it on. It's no wonder they aren't hungry any more, no wonder they go through the motions on the pitch, like the heir to a multi-million pound fortune enduring another dull meeting with his accountant.
'Be Kind Rewind' ode to long-ago era of VHS
The delightfully dippy Be Kind Rewind isn't just a movie that feels as if it was a pleasure to make. It's about how making movies can be fun -- creative, exhilarating enterprises undertaken purely for the joy of the experience. Written and directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Be Kind Rewind stars Jack Black and Mos Def as a pair of video-store clerks who inadvertently erase all their VHS rental copies. In a panic and with a reservation put on hold by a loyal customer (Mia Farrow) for Ghostbusters, the two film their own version of that science-fiction comedy and try to pass it off as the real thing. It doesn't fool anyone, of course, but the rental is a hit nonetheless. Soon the whole neighborhood wants to see homemade versions of their favorite blockbusters.
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