Highest-Paid Athletes 2012 – World’s Richest Athletes

1. Floyd Mayweather
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $85 million
Salary/winnings: $85 million
Endorsements: $0
Sport: Boxing , Age: 35

2. Manny Pacquaio
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $62 million
Salary/winnings: $56 million
Endorsements: $6 million (Monster Energy, Hennessy, Nike, Hewlett-Packard)
Sport: Boxing , Age: 33

3. Tiger Woods
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $59.4 million
Salary/winnings: $4.4 million
Endorsements: $55 million (Nike)
Sport: Golf, Age: 36
Net Worth: $500 million – As of September 2010, according to Forbes

4. LeBron James
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $53 million
Salary/winnings: $13 million
Endorsements: $40 million ( Nike, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, State Farm and others)
Sport: Basketball, Age: 27

5. Roger Federer
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $52.7 million
Salary/winnings: $7.7 million
Endorsements: $45 million (Nike, Rolex, Wilson, Credit Suisse)
Sport: Tennis, Age: 30

6. Kobe Bryant
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $52.3 million
Salary/winnings: $20.3 million
Endorsements: $32 million
Sport: Basketball, Age: 33

7. Phil Mickelson
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $47.8 million
Salary/winnings: $4.8 million
Endorsements: $43 million (Callaway, Barclay’s, KPMG, Exxon, Rolex, Amgen/Pfizer)
Sport: Golf, Age: 41

8. David Beckham
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $46 million
Salary/winnings: $9 million
Endorsements: $37 million (Burger King, Sainsbury’s, Samsung)
Net Worth: £160 million ($260m) – As of April 2012, according to the Sunday Times Rich List
Sport: Football, Age:37

9. Cristiano Ronaldo
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $42.5 million
Salary/winnings: $20.5 million
Endorsements: $22 million (Nike, Castrol, Konami and others)
Sport: Football, Age: 27

10. Peyton Manning
Total Earnings between June 2011 to June 2012: $42.4 million
Salary/winnings: $32.4 million
Endorsements: $10 million (Reebok, Sony, Wheaties, DirecTV, Gatorade, Papa John’s)
Sport: Football (NFL)  , Age: 36

Syria's crisis

The Security Council will most likely not renew the mandate of the U.N. observer mission in Syria later this month, which would require it to pull out of the conflict-torn country, France's envoy to the United Nations said on Thursday, August 2.

In this citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, taken on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, smoke leaps the air from purported shelling in Damascus, Syria. Syrian opposition activists say regime forces have swept through neighborhoods south of the capital Damascus in a deadly military operation that has inflicted casualties. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)

Members of the Free Syrian Army get ready after they were told a tank belonging to forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad is heading to their area in Aleppo's district of Salah Edinne July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

A member of the Free Syrian Army carries ammunition as he prepares for their patrol in Attarib, on the outskirts of Aleppo province July 30, 2012. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Free Syrian Army members place frozen water bottles on the bodies of civilians killed by shelling, to prevent rapid decomposition, in Aleppo July 29, 2012. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

A Free Syrian Army member takes position while people flee after hearing shelling at Aleppo's disctrict of al- Sukkari July 29,2012. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

In this Sunday, 22 July, 2012 photo a Syrian rebel fires his weapon during clashes with Syrian troops in Idlib, Syria. (AP Photo/Fadi Zaidan)

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2012 photo, a Syrian rebel sits in the back of truck mounted with an anti aircraft weapon during clashes with Syrian troops in Idlib, Syria. (AP Photo/Fadi Zaidan)

In this Sunday, 22 July, 2012 photo a Syrian rebel takes cover after he fires his weapon during clashes with Syrian troops in Idlib, Syria. uly is set to become the bloodiest month of an uprising that activists say has claimed 19,000 lives since it began on March 2011. (AP Photo/Fadi Zaidan)

Damaged buildings are seen at Barza in Damascus July 27, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout

Demonstrators protest against Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad at Binsh near Idlib July 27, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout

Residents carry the body of Khaled Saad Eddin, whom activists say was killed by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, during his funeral at Houla, neighbourhood of Homs July 25, 2012. Picture taken July 25, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout

Free Syrian Army soldiers pray at the Bab Al-Salam border crossing to Turkey July 22, 2012. Syrian forces regained control of one of two border crossings seized by rebels on the frontier with Iraq, Iraqi officials said, but rebels said they had captured a third border crossing with Turkey, Bab al-Salam north of Aleppo. "Seizing the border crossings does not have strategic importance but it has a psychological impact because it demoralises Assad's force," a senior Syrian army defector in Turkey, Staff Brigadier Faiz Amr, told Reuters by phone. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

A Free Syrian Army soldier steps on portraits of President Bashar al-Assad at the Bab Al-Salam border crossing to Turkey July 22, 2012. Syrian forces regained control of one of two border crossings seized by rebels on the frontier with Iraq, Iraqi officials said, but rebels said they had captured a third border crossing with Turkey, Bab al-Salam north of Aleppo. "Seizing the border crossings does not have strategic importance but it has a psychological impact because it demoralises Assad's force," a senior Syrian army defector in Turkey, Staff Brigadier Faiz Amr, told Reuters by phone. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

A Syrian refugee flashes the victory sign at a refugee camp near Zakho, an Iraqi border town with Syria, June 23, 2012. As Syria's crisis escalates, Syria's Kurdish provinces have been spared most of the violence. But increasingly, Syrian Kurds say they are fleeing to Iraqi Kurdistan to escape from growing economic hardship, kidnappings and instability. Picture taken June 23, 2012. To match Feature SYRIA-CRISIS/IRAQ REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

In this photo taken during a government-organized tour, Syrian soldiers stand next to burned cars after they regained control of the district of Midan, in the southern part of Damascus, Syria, Friday, July 20, 2012. Syrian troops and tanks on Friday drove rebels from a Damascus neighborhood where some of the heaviest of this week's fighting in the capital left cars gutted and fighters' bodies in the streets. Hundreds of people were killed in a single day, activists said, as the military struggles to regain momentum after a stunning bombing against the regime's leadership. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

A burnt tank belonging to government forces is seen in Azzaz, Aleppo province July 19, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout

Child abuse disrupts brain, may cause depression: study

Children who suffer or witness physical abuse undergo changes to their brain structure that may predispose them to depression and substance abuse later in life, a study said Wednesday.

The finding holds promise for early detection and pre-emptive counselling already in adolescence -- a crucial phase of physical and emotional development and brain maturation, say researchers in the United States.

Using a specialised MRI scanning technique, "we identified microstructural disruption at certain locations of the white matter tracts of adolescents who experienced maltreatment during childhood," researcher Hao Huang told AFP.

White matter tracts or nerve fibres, comparable to computer network cables, connect the grey matter in the brain's different processing regions -- transmitting signals to ensure they "talk" with each other efficiently.

Nineteen adolescents who had suffered physical or sexual abuse before the age of 10 or witnessed domestic violence that lasted six months or longer, took part in the study, as well as a control group of 13 with no abuse history.

Those in the abused group were physically and mentally healthy at the time they were recruited at an average age of 16, and were not abusing alcohol or drugs at the time.

All the teenagers were followed at six-month intervals for up to five years.

"We found that adolescents with maltreatment history who had disrupted white matter tracts during the initial recruitment were more likely to develop depressive and addictive disorders," said Huang of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre's Advanced Imaging Research Centre.

Five of the 19 abuse victims developed depression later, compared to one in the control group, while four became substance abusers compared to one control teenager.

Two from the maltreated group developed both conditions, said the study published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

The adolescents exposed to childhood abuse as well as those who later developed depression had significantly lower FA values -- a measure of white matter efficiency.

"We believe that... brain scans might be helpful in identifying youngsters who are at high risk for developing these disorders and target them for early preventive intervention," said Huang.

Earlier studies had observed similar white matter changes in individuals with a history of abuse, but this was the first to find a link to later psychological problems. Huang said the exact mechanism by which the white matter tracts were disrupted was not yet understood and required further investigation.

http://news.yahoo.com

Stunning images from around the world

China's Ding Ning watches the ball as she serves during her table tennis women's gold medal singles match against compatriot Li Xiaoxia of the London 2012 Olympic Games at The Excel Centre in London on Wednesday. Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

An elephant sprays water ahead of the Sri Lankan Esala Perahera festival in the ancient hill capital of Kandy on Wednesday. The festival features a nightly procession of Kandyan dancers, fire twirlers, traditional musicians, elephants, and draws thousands of tourists and spectators. (August 1, 2012) Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

A national parks ranger inspects a dead 30-tonne humpback whale in the Newport Beach rockpool north of Sydney on Wednesday. The 11.6 metre adult humpback, which appears to have been dead for several days, washed up in the ocean baths overnight as rough seas lashed parts of Australia's east coast. (August 1, 2012) Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

A rescued baby pangolin is released in the forest by government wildlife and conservation officer in Karo district located in North Sumatra province on July 31, 2012 after Indonesian police intercepted 85 endangered pangolins, most of them alive despite being stuffed into sacks by suspected smugglers. Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Streets are packed with heavy traffic following a power outage and rains in the central part of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. India's energy crisis spread over half the country Tuesday when both its eastern and northern electricity grids collapsed, leaving 600 million people without power in one of the world's biggest-ever blackouts. Photo Credit: AP

An Indian girl carries an idol of Hindu goddess Dashama as she looks for reusable material amid idols left by devotees on the banks of the River Sabarmati at the end of Dashama festival in Ahmadabad, India. The 10-day festival celebrated in the Shravan month of the Hindu calendar culminates with the immersion of the idols of Hindu goddess Dashama. (July 29, 2012) Photo Credit: AP

People throw colored powder into the air during the Holi Festival in Berlin, Germany. The original Holi, also known as the festival of colors, is a festival celebrated in India and other Hindu countries. Some thousands of people celebrated this event with Indian Djs, acrobatics and dance in the German capital. (July 29, 2012) Photo Credit: AP

Carnaval des Fleurs queen, Kimberley Benoit, 22, poses for a photo during a presentation ceremony of carnival royalty at the national palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Carnival of Flowers, a three-day celebration, will mark new beginnings and the revitalization of Haiti with a Sunday parade, concerts and street dancing. (July 27, 2012) Photo Credit: AP

Many hands join in to help as an anaconda snake at the Oklahoma City Zoo has dental floss taped to it's head and along it's body as it is measured at the zoo in Oklahoma City. The floss and tape are necessary because it would be nearly impossible to stretch out the snake. The anaconda weighed 152 lbs. and measured 16 feet. (July 26, 2012) Photo Credit: AP

Water is released from the Three Gorges Dam, a gigantic hydropower project on the Yangtze river, in Yichang, central China's Hubei province, after heavy downpours in the upper reaches of the dam caused the highest flood peak of the year. (July 24, 2012) Photo Credit: Getty Images

China and the Olympics

Ye Shewin wins a gold medal

China’s Olympic triumphs prove once again the transforming nature of revolutions.

The People’s Republic of China sent its first delegation of athletes to the 1952 Olympic summer games in Helsinki, Finland. Arriving late, they were able to participate in only one sporting event. Due to the imperialists refusing to recognize the Chinese communist government in Beijing, and instead declaring Taiwan the representative of China in the Olympics, the PRC boycotted the summer games for the next 32 years.

It wasn’t until the 1984 games in Los Angeles that the PRC sent its first full delegation of athletes. And 24 years later in 2008, China hosted the XXIX summer games in Beijing, where it won 100 medals — more than any other country, including the U.S.

That was an astonishing achievement for a country that had only recently begun to emerge from semifeudal underdevelopment after a heroic socialist revolution achieved people’s power in 1949. Today China, with 1.3 billion people, has the second-largest economy in the world.

China showed at the 2008 games that it was a world sports power to be reckoned with. It shattered the myth that only teams from rich capitalist countries like the U.S. were invincible. The U.S. could not hide its displeasure with China’s achievements. Most notably, when the Chinese won the gold medal in women’s team gymnastics, beating the reigning world champions from the U.S., the latter accused the Chinese team of being underage because of their small stature. Women gymnasts are required to turn 16 in the same year as the games.

The U.S. was hoping that the Chinese women would be disqualified, but it never happened. Chinese coach Lu Shanzhen stated, “It’s unfair that people keep saying the Chinese are too young to compete. If they think they can tell someone’s age just by looking at them, well, if you look at the foreign athletes, they have so much more muscles than the Chinese. They are so strong. Do you then say that they are doping?” (New York Times, Aug. 13, 2008)

History is repeating itself four years later, at the 2012 XXX Olympic Games in London, where China sent the fifth-largest delegation of athletes. Only Great Britain, the U.S., Australia and Germany sent more. As of day three of the games, China is tied with the U.S. for the most medals won overall, and it has more gold medals than any other country.

The Chinese male gymnasts won their second consecutive team gold medal, with Japan winning the silver and Great Britain the bronze. The U.S. team came in fifth. Both Japan and Great Britain had brutally ruled China with an iron fist in the last century. Before China’s Olympic victories, the biased U.S. gymnastic commentators on NBC stated that the Chinese men were in danger of not winning any kind of medal, due to their “mediocre” qualifying scores (which are required to reach the finals).

The U.S. is once again expressing its anti-China bias by accusing a great Chinese swimmer, Ye Shiwen, of using banned substances. Ye won a gold medal July 30 in the 400-meter individual medley, setting a world record. U.S. coach John Leonard made the accusation in a Guardian interview, saying Ye’s performance was “unbelievable,” “outrageous,” “disturbing” and that she looked like a “superwoman.” Ye replied, “The Chinese team keep very firmly to the anti-doping policies, so there is absolutely no problem.” (July 30)

When it was reported that Ye swam faster over a 50-meter span than U.S. gold medal winner Ryan Lochte, Leonard commented that “a woman does not out-swim the fastest man in the world in the back quarter of a 400m individual medley that is otherwise quite ordinary. It just doesn’t happen.” However, the British Olympic Committee officially stated that Ye was clean. These accusations hark back to the anticommunist, sexist statements made during the 1980s about women athletes from the former German Democratic Republic.

What has infuriated the U.S. and other Western powers most of all is that in just three generations China, as a result of a massive revolutionary upheaval that lasted for decades, has come from being one of the poorest countries in the world, where only the most privileged got any kind of education or training, to a world power in so many areas, including sports.

Credit to : http://www.workers.org

Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity

People aren't always awful. Sometimes, they're maybe even just a little bit wonderful. This picture of two Norwegian guys rescuing a sheep from the ocean.

Brad Pitt’s mother pens anti-gay marriage letter

By Ron Recinto | The Lookout – Fri, Jul 6, 2012

Brad Pitt once said he wouldn't marry Angelina Jolie until everyone—gay or straight—had the same right.

Apparently his mother doesn't share his views.

In a letter to her hometown paper, the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader, Jane Pitt writes that Christians, like herself, should not refuse to vote for Mitt Romney just because he is a Mormon. The published response to an earlier opinion in the paper describes President Barack Obama's opponent for president as "a family man with high morals, business experience, who is against abortion, and shares Christian conviction concerning homosexuality."

Jane Pitt's letter continues:

Any Christian who does not vote or writes in a name is casting a vote for Romney's opponent, Barack Hussein Obama—a man who sat in Jeremiah Wright's church for years, did not hold a public ceremony to mark the National Day of Prayer, and is a liberal who supports the killing of unborn babies and same-sex marriage.

She concludes with, "I hope all Christians give their vote prayerful consideration because voting is a sacred privilege and a serious responsibility."

The newspaper even verified the identity of the letter's author in this editor's note: "To clear up earlier confusion, the News-Leader has verified the letter writer is the mother of actor Brad Pitt and local businessman Doug Pitt."

Brad Pitt worked with George Clooney in the play "8," a YouTube-streamed reading that charted the proceedings in the federal appeals court hearing that deemed Proposition 8, a California ban on same-sex marriage, unconstitutional.

Pitt has been vocal about his support for same-sex marriage.

Brad Pitt told People magazine in 2011: "No state should decide who can marry and who cannot. Thanks to the tireless work of so many, someday soon this discrimination will end and every American will be able to enjoy their equal right to marriage."

Well, this could make for an interesting discussion should Brad and Angelina take their kids to visit Grandma Jane in Missouri.

Amazing Transport, only in Vietnam