Check Your BO The Next Time You Take A Flight

BO : body odour.

Here's why.

A man on Jazz Air, a regional airline in Canada that also serves U.S. cities, was reportedly kicked off a plane earlier this month because of his strong body odor.

And I'm wondering if this is the first ever case.

Careers On The Way Out

Some careers have simply faded away over the past 10 years. In most cases, advances in technology eliminated the need for certain jobs. Americans are also more focused on conservation. Here are a few jobs that are being phased out; hopefully your career isn't on this list!

1. Bank Tellers

While the need for banking services has increased, services traditionally performed by tellers (receiving and dispensing cash, depositing money, etc.) is now performed electronically. The use of ATMs and online banking continues to increase. Tellers are only needed for complex transactions.

2. File Clerks

Even the most paper intensive organizations have decreased their use of paper files. Imaging, electronic forms and careful attention to process efficiency reduced the need to maintain paper files. One of the biggest threats to the file clerk occupation is the push toward environmental sustainability (preserving trees by using less paper). The new "file clerk" is a Database Report Writer who knows how to run database queries.

3. Telephone Operators

Even the smallest company can now use sophisticated telephone systems that allow callers to select their own options for needed information. Callers simply listen to pre-recorded telephone directory names and select the person they want to talk to. Voicemail, email and even texting have become preferred forms of communication in addition to traditional telephone conversations.

4. Data Entry Clerks

There is no doubt the amount of data generated over the past decade has swelled. But it was all electronic to begin with, so there's no need to hire a person to copy it from other sources. The ability to integrate systems and make various systems exchange date automatically also reduced the need to for a person to translate or manipulate data

5. Mail Clerks

Yes, there is still plenty of mail, only it's electronic, so the need for people to sort and distribute paper mail has decreased. Also, bar code readers sort mail and pre-printed postage eliminates the need for weighing and applying postage stickers. Today's mail clerks have new tools to allow more work to be done with fewer people. (Not all careers are ho-hum. These 10 have a very high percentage of happy employees.

6. Photo Processors

With the prevalence of digital photography, the need for photo processing has greatly diminished. Even people who still choose to print their photos use self-service kiosks. Photo processors who used to run machines in retail stores, as well as in processing centers, are becoming obsolete.

7. Travel Agents

The internet now makes it possible for the public to schedule their own trips. While there are still many travel agents, incentives once offered by airlines, hotels and car rental companies make the occupation less profitable. Today's travel agents often book long or complicated trips, while the weekend getaway or quick business travel is scheduled individually online.

8. Watch Salesperson

Who needs a watch when your cell phone tells you what time it is 24/7? Everything around you shows the time - most electronic devices have a clock. Even billboards show the current time. Watches and watch salespersons are becoming a thing of the past.

9. Video Store Clerk

Remember the video store? Clerks collected returned video tapes and checked them in. They used to stick the tapes in a re-winder then pluck them back in their cases. Even DVDs are being upstaged by online movie viewing and cable companies with user-selected movies. You can now even watch movies on your video game console. Traditional video stores are going away, and so is the need for workers.

The Bottom Line

The past decade ushered in job market changes that closed out old careers and started new ones. In many cases, the processes performed in old jobs were replaced technology, but in some cases, the processes simply went away. One thing is for sure, there will always be change. The unemployment rate may be high, but that doesn't mean you need to sit on the sidelines.

Now. here's the list of jobs that are here to stay:

1. Automotive technicians and mechanics repair and maintain automobiles and light trucks. Motorists need these services near their homes and businesses, meaning this hands-on work would be pretty hard for someone in another country to do. So rest easy. This job is staying close to home.

2. Teachers help children and adolescents develop intellectually and socially through hands-on instruction that can only be done onsite. With the U.S. Census Bureau projecting that some 56 million K-12 students will enroll in the 2009-2010 school year, teaching is a solid job that's here to stay.

3. Physical Therapy Assistants work with physical therapists to assist in the rehabilitation of patients who have suffered from injury or illness. The work involves using the power of touch to heal and inspire, which means that this work must be done locally.

4. Electricians light up our lives by installing, maintaining, and repairing electrical systems and components. With work done onsite at our homes, offices, and factories, electrician jobs cannot be sent overseas.

5. Veterinary Assistants assist veterinarians in handling pets and nonfarm animals, administering medicine, and taking x-rays. Most animals can't travel far for their health care

(source: Yahoo)

FINALLY! Some Arrests in the PKFZ Scandal!

PUTRAJAYA: More people are to face charges in relation to the Port Klang Free Zone fiasco, with three senior executives already brought to court yesterday.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said politicians, civil servants, businessmen and lawyers implicated in the scandal would be charged in stages.

Yesterday, the former general manager of Port Klang Authority, Datin Paduka Phang Oi Choo, was charged with criminal breach of trust amounting to RM254 million.

Stephen Abok, chief operating officer of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, the project’s turnkey developer, and architect Bernard Tan Seng Swee were charged with cheating. All three pleaded not guilty and were granted bail.

On Monday, Law Jenn Dong, an engineer with Kuala Dimensi, is to be charged.

For the rest of the story, click HERE.

Well....I thought they'd never arrest anyone for this....

Good, job!

And yet, I can hear dissatisfied voices.

You can NEVER please people with agendas.

Will I Miss Oprah?

Ms Oprah Winfrey has announced that she will "dim the lights on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" at the close of its 25th season in late 2011.

Well, blow me down. She's a clever one. Quit whil the going is good. Quit while you're still riding high.

Truthfully, and I hate to admit it...I will kinda miss her. I think she has been so much a part of our lives -- whether you like it or not.

Of course, it's not that I need her like a drug. I do not make a point of turning her on, if that's what you're thinking. But, well, I do enjoy Oprah whenever she's on.

The lady is smart and very enterprising. For her to be able to survive the industry and be as big as she is now, takes a lot, I tell ya.

She is iconic and is an inspiration to a lot of people.

I'm sure her star will continue to shine.

All about her announcement HERE.

(This image taken from video Friday, Nov. 20, 2009 and provided by Harpo Productions Inc., talk-show host Oprah Winfrey announces during a live broadcast of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' in Chicago that her daytime television show, the foundation of a multibillion-dollar media empire, will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air. (AP Photo/Harpo Productions, Inc.) MANDATORY CREDIT, NO SALES

Obama: Guantanamo To Close Next Year

This is good news. I hope this will really happen.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he believes the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, can be closed next year, but he acknowledged that he will not meet his original January deadline.

Obama said he was not disappointed that he would not meet the one-year deadline he set upon taking office last January because, he said, "I knew this was going to be hard."

He made the comment in Beijing in an interview to be aired on Fox News Channel's "Special Report with Bret Baier" later on Wednesday.

"We are on a path and a process where I would anticipate that Guantanamo will be closed next year," Obama said, declining to name a specific date for when the prison will be closed.

The Obama administration has had difficulty in closing the prison because many U.S. lawmakers are deeply reluctant to transferring the prisoners there to the United States.

"It's hard not only because of the politics. People I think understandably are fearful after a lot of years where they were told that Guantanamo was critical to keeping terrorists out. So, I understood that that had to be processed, but it's also just technically hard -- I just think as usual in Washington things move slower than I anticipated," Obama said.

THE REST OF THE STORY HERE

Give It Up, Tee Keat & Soi Lek..

I think the MCA is going to the dogs.

I cannot believe the shenanigans of these party leaders -- fr4om Datuk Ong Tee Keat, Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek right down to everyone who've been quoted in the media -- mainstream and online!

Like a bunch of puerile brats who insist on getting their own way.

Listen, fellas. You guys are in deep shit, you hear.

You're gonnat take down the Barisan Nasional with you. So stop it already!

I so agree with the Third Force or whatchamacallit -- looks like you can't handle it, guys. You need the big man himself.

Yep. It's got to that point. Now, don't go blaming everyone else but yourselves!

But before, big man Najib sits down and help you clean house -- I agree with so many people that Tee keat and Soi Lek have got to give it up!

Pretty Doesn't Always Work, For Stores

The world is going crazy. Some time and tested practices no longer work. There's good and bad about it.

Remember how good looks were put to damn good use? You'd put pretty people in advertisements, on can covers, on front pages, on magazine covers and on all sorts of products.

You'd put pretty receptionists on your front desk, pretty waitresses in your restaurants and bars and, of course, pretty people to show off your clothes.

Man, if you had looks, you'd have won 80 per cent of your battle.

These days, though, pretty may not be so good. According to a survey in Australia, pretty store assistants are putting off customers and are causing sales to dwindle.

Here's why:

Research from the University of South Australia has found that regardless of the product, women are less likely to buy it if they think the saleswoman is more attractive than them.

After being intimidated while shopping, PhD researcher Bianca Price decided to investigate and her findings were recently published in the Journal of International Business and Economics.

"Attractiveness does have its benefits, hence stores hire these girls, but the problems lie with the fact that we aren't all stunners," she told ABC News Online.

You may read the rest of the article HERE.