Bernard Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years in prison for his multibillion-dollar fraud scheme.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin handed down the sentence in New York on Monday, June 29. 

The 71-year-old former Nasdaq chairman was arrested
late last year after confessing to his sons that his secretive investment advisory business was a "big lie."
He pleaded guilty to securities fraud and other charges in March and has been jailed since.

Minutes before the sentence was handed down, Madoff apologized to his family and to the victims of his multibillion-dollar fraud scheme. The financier said that
he "will live with this pain, this torment, for the rest of my life." Madoff says that he dug himself "deeper into a hole" as the scheme progressed.

Madoff had pleaded guilty to securities fraud and other charges in March and has been jailed ever since.

Madoff, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and a tie, sat and listened as emotional witnesses described how he spoiled their security, and they urged Judge Chin to send him to prison for life.

"Life has been a living hell. It feels like the nightmare we can’t wake from," said Carla Hirshhorn.

"He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in between. He had no values," said Tom Fitzmaurice. "He cheated his victims out of their money so he and his wife Ruth could live a life of luxury beyond belief."   

Read more here….Businessweek.com

"He stole from the rich.  He stole from the poor.  He stole from the in between.  He had no values"    That’s Bernard Madoff for you.  I think he’s ruthless, heartless… he has no conscience.  He got his sentence. 

However it is so apalling to know that there are still some people who are just like Maldoff, but always get away with it.   Even more amazing sometimes, they go places… (they can even go abroad!) living on other people’s hard-earned money!  Such disgusting parasites!  How?  How can they live such a life?  How can such trash even exist at all?  I pity the  people who work so hard to earn for a living and trust their money to trashy criminals like these who definitely deserve to be put in prison for the rest of their lives!   

Bernard Madoff is just one person.  Now he’s paying for his crime.  But there are still plenty out there, one I know (actually there are two of them… it runs in their blood),  lurking in the streets, watching and waiting for that opportunity to swindle another trusting, innocent person… BEWARE!   Don’t be deceived!  Dont be too naive and too gullible!  He may get to you with his smooth-talking and "know-it-all" disguise!  Once he does get to you, you might never have the chance to get back what belongs to you ever again…because he always runs and gets away with it all the time!

THE KING OF POP HAS PASSED….

TMZ.com – We’ve just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50.

Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We’re told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.

A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived. A cardiologist at UCLA tells TMZ Jackson died of cardiac arrest.

Once at the hospital, the staff tried to resuscitate him but he was
completely unresponsive.

A source inside the hospital told us there was "absolute chaos" after
Jackson arrrived. People who were with the singer were screaming, "You’ve
got to save him! You’ve got to save him!"

We’re told one of the staff members at Jackson’s home called 911.

Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince "Blanket" Michael Jackson II.

Posted Jun 25th 2009 5:20PM at TMZ.com

I love Ballroom dancing!  Before my mom invited me to go ballroom dancing, I used to think it was an icky thing.  She would tag me along on her dancing evenings and I used to laugh while watching her dance because I considered it something that only old people would do…hahaha! 

Then one day she insisted that I tried dancing…just for once.  Well, since I was getting bored sitting there watching her all night long, I decided to give in… so yes.. I tried the swing…finally! 

After the first few moves,  I felt funny.  No…as   a matter of fact, I felt aweful!  I looked around me and  everyone else was dancing gracefully while there I was, busy stepping on the feet of my partner…. hahaha!  The poor fellow struggled to teach me the right steps and got his toes all sore by the end of the evening…hahaha!  

Needless to say, after that first time, I finally made a decision to learn the swing.  Mom opened her own ballroom joint and assigned me to manage it.  Since then, I worked and danced my nights away…all at the same time… hahaha!  I did not only learn the swing, I also learned to dance the reggae, chachacha, the rhumba, the foxtrot, the tango and even the waltz!  I actually fell in love with ballroom dancing!  PLUS, while learning the different dance styles, I evidently gained the weight  that I had  so much longed (and yearned) for such a long, long time!  The dancing improved my self confidence, and it was an exercise that obviously increased my appetite! 

Well…all that was three years ago... until we finally opened our own business…

Meanwhile, a few months ago, we gave my mom a surprise birthday celebration.   YES!  it was dancing night again for me once again!  But I had second thoughts about dancing…. three years is such a long time!  I wasn’t quite sure if I could still do it again.  So there I was trying my feet on the dancefloor …. and omg, I was dancing!  I could still do the Swing…gracefully! hahaha!   It was so unbelievable that even after 3 years I hadn’t forgotten the steps!   I was totally proud of myself !  That was such an enjoyable evening!

Anyway, this morning while surfing the net,  I spotted this video on YouTube of a girl dancing the swing.   As I watched the girl dance, she reminded me of how much I love the swing… and I do, I do!  I guess no matter how many years have passed, the love for dancing couldn’t just wear off of me… and I do miss it sooooooooo much!  The good news is… I’m going to be dancing again… soon…whooopeee! 

In the meantime, let’s all watch this girl on the video below enjoy her swing dancing… she is having so much fun!   Maybe one day I’ll be able to post my own video here….wish wish wish! …but watch out for it…hahaha! 

Wow it has almost been a month since I last wrote!  Well, for the most part, I’ve been busy on some days, lazy on other days, and the rest of the days i just didn’t feel like writing at all, I guess….

Summer vacation is over, all the kids are back to school.  Once again, I am up early every morning to see them all go to school, most especially my little girl, who takes ages to finish her meals every single day!  If I don’t keep an eye on her while she eats breakfast, I doubt if she’ll ever make it to school on time!

Meantime, the two older kids are perfectly fine.  They’re both very independent and they can take care of their own needs… what a relief!  The eldest is on her first year in college and she’s currently adjusting to the change of environment, since she’s been in the same all-girls school for the past 10 years of her life.  She’s been so used to seeing the same classmates, the same teachers, and being in the same campus for such a long time that she had culture shock on the first day of school.  She arrived home that day feeling so frustrated that she didn’t know anyone yet and had to eat alone during her lunch break at school….awww my poor baby!   She actually reminded me of a kindergartener left by her mom inside the classroom on the first day of school…..LOL!

My son, on the other hand, well, is in the same school he went to last year, so he’s pretty much adjusted to everyone around him, that he was even able to enroll all by himself this school year!

Anyway.. I guess this is going to be another long school year … and I hope and pray that all my three kids will do well again, just as they did last school year!