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HONG KONG - If the global economy fails to recover in 2009, the housing bubble or credit crunch may not be to blame. It could be a lack of fire.
Chinese fortunetellers say fire _ one of the five elements mystics believe form the basis of the universe _ is essential to financial well-being. And fire is nowhere to be found in the mythology of this coming Year of the Ox, the Chinese lunar year that begins Monday.
"Fire is the driving force behind economic growth. Without it, the market lacks momentum," said Raymond Lo, a Hong Kong master of feng shui, the ancient Chinese practice of trying to achieve health, harmony and prosperity through building design, the placement of objects and auspicious dates and numbers
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Chinese soothsayers see a deepening recession, millions more losing their jobs, and stocks and home prices continuing to fall. That's more or less in line with what some economists are predicting, but some fortunetellers are throwing in other dire predictions _ massive earthquakes, rising U.S.-Russian tensions and trouble for President Barack Obama.
Obama, born in the Year of the Ox, is taking office in a particularly bad year for his Chinese astrological sign. The ox sign is in direct conflict this year with a traditional Chinese divinity called the "God of Year," considered a bad omen. Obama also is the 44th president, a number the Chinese deem extremely unlucky, because "four" is pronounced the same as "death" in Chinese.
"The new U.S. president is not having good luck this year. His honeymoon will only be short-lived," said fortuneteller Alion Yeo, predicting Obama may even face impeachment in his first year in office. "The Year of the Ox looks slightly better and less dire than last year, but it will still be bumpy."
Yeo also predicted that the U.S. mortgage crisis would worsen and the stock market would plunge to new lows.
But Malaysian numerologist Weng Shi Ming suggested Obama's birth year would offset his bad luck. Weng said the symmetry of 1961 is "the perfect mix of ying and yang," rendering Obama "immune to the effects of 44."
The ox, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, symbolizes calm, hard work, resolve and tenacity. According to legend, the ox allowed the cunning rat to ride on its head in a race to determine the animals' order. Shortly before the ox crossed the finish line, the rat leaped off to claim victory. The Year of the Rat was marked in 2008.
Among the world's luminaries born in the Year of the Ox: former U.S. President Richard Nixon (1913), former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1925), Princess Diana (1961), and Hollywood actors George Clooney (1961) and Richard Gere (1949).
The lunar new year is the biggest annual festival for ethnic Chinese, who make up about one-fifth of the world's population. It is a time of lavish spending, when loved ones exchange "hong bao," or red envelopes stuffed with money. But this year's festivities will likely be more subdued amid the economic slump.
"What's important is that the family has a good time. There's no need to overspend," said Ooi Lee Mui, a Malaysian housewife shopping in Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown, where the season's gold lanterns and bright-hued flowers bedecked streets and stores.
Joey Yap, a feng shui expert in Malaysia, saw no economic recovery before 2010.
"It will be a daunting year. We haven't really reached the peak of the problems yet," Yap said. "We haven't tasted the main dish, and will most likely experience it during the second half of the year."
But feng shui master Lo saw a glimmer of hope. The combination of two elements changes every lunar year, and this time it's two earths, the element that represents harmony and peace. Not since 1949, when the world order was settling down after World War II, has an Ox Year seen two earth signs.
"It is a year for healing ... from the turbulent time the world has experienced," Lo said.
By DIKKY SINN,Associated Press Writer AP
In an exclusive and moving interview with the News of the World, sex-change dad Thomas Beatie and his wife Nancy tell of their joy. And he reveals unseen family snaps of his astonishing early life as a teenage beauty queen.
"I feel fantastic," he said. "I cannot wait to see my baby's face."
In a tender and intimate moment, Thomas shares a cuddle with wife Nancy—before telling the News of the World of his secret hopes for the future.
With four weeks to go, he sensationally reveals the couple are ready to have MORE BABIES after the birth of their daughter.
And as well as posing for these amazing world exclusive pictures, Thomas opens up his family album to show unseen snaps of his life as a teenage beauty queen.
Thomas—who changed sex ten years ago but kept his ovaries and womb so he could have children—told us: "I feel on top of the world.
"I'm 36 weeks now and almost due but I feel fantastic. Every day Nancy a
nd I think about how we just cannot wait to hold our daughter for the first time, to finally get to touch her and see her face.
"We have her nursery ready and her diapers are lined up in her bedroom. Everything is ready to go.
"We have even picked a name which we both love—although we're waiting until she is born before we tell anyone. All the people who really know us and love us, our friends and family, have been incredibly supportive.
"So much so we might even have more children. We will just see what the experience is like with our daughter's arrival first and then give it some thought."
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Thomas, 34, posed naked for our fascinating new pictures which show just how extraordinary this pregnancy is as he even SHAVES while resting his elbow on his baby bump.
Lucky
And the photos from his past document his transformation from a Hawaiian beauty called Tracy Lagondino into the man he is today.
Brave Thomas has caused worldwide controversy over the "reverse" pregnancy, which was the only way he and Nancy could have children.
But at the centre of the storm, all has been calm, as Thomas explains: "Everything has been excellent. I have been so lucky. I didn't have any discomforts or ailments.
"In fact when I found out I was pregnant I went online and read how a lot of women suffer back pain but I haven't had any. It has been remarkably easy.
"And when Nancy and I saw the first scans it was just such an incredible emotional experience we did not care what some people were saying about us.
"To be able to see her face, her lips, her body made all the abuse we have endured worthwhile.
"She went from being a figment of hope to a real person, our baby and the experience has been magical.
"Starting a family was a dream Nancy and I had shared for some time, and in four weeks our dream is about to come true. We just cannot wait."
Thomas had his breasts removed ten years ago but chose to keep his female reproductive organs because Nancy, 45, had undergone a hysterectomy.
When the time came, he had to stop taking his sex-change testosterone hormone so he could start ovulating again.
He fell pregnant with twins on his first attempt using donor sperm bought from a cryogenic sperm bank. Thomas was inseminated by Nancy at home using a special syringe from a VET who looked after their pet birds—because a baby clinic turned them away.
"I asked for a syringe without a needle," said Nancy. "They gave us one and we got our container of sperm."
Thomas had an ectopic pregnancy and lost the embryos and a fallopian tube. But against the odds a second try worked—and the baby will be delivered by caesarean section by obstetrician Dr Kimberly James on July 3.
"It was always a clear decision that we wanted to have children and for me not to remove my organs," said Thomas.
"Wanting to have a child is neither a male nor female desire but a human desire."Meanwhile at their detached home in Bend, Oregon, Nancy and Thomas—who run a T-shirt business—are keen to portray an air of everyday normality.
Our photographs show Thomas having his daily shave then taking a bath, lying in the bubbles, gazing at his bump.
He poses lovingly with Nancy, clearly showing the scars from his breast operation and pregnancy pigmentation lines on his abdomen.
And he plays with his pet birds, perching them on his arm. Then the amazing couple got out their family albums, revealing just how beautiful Thomas was as Tracy from her early school years to her teens.
Tracy and her two brothers were raised in Hawaii by their father after their mother committed suicide.
The young beauty was a model—even making it to the finals of Miss Hawaii Teen USA.
There are also pictures from their happiest day—when they wed in Hawaii in 2003 five years after they met in Honolulu.
Thomas has no regrets about becoming a woman. He still has female organs but says he and Nancy manage to have a healthy sex life.
Now he is looking forward to a bright future as a father.
"We have come so far together and our daughter will be the icing on the cake for us," Thomas told us. "Finally we will be a complete family."
