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Mesolitica 36

INDIAN PERANAKANS : THE CHITTY MELAKA The Melaka Chitty community, also known as the Malacca Straits-born Hindus or Indian Peranakans has been in Malacca, Malaysia since the reign of the Malacca Sultanate in the early 15th. century. Years before Parameswara the founder of Malacca in 1401 became the first sultan, Hindu traders had already come to Malacca. Trading between the West and East had long been established before then. Due to the distance and weather conditions, traders had to make several stops along their trading route the Straits of Malacca and Malacca was seen as the best location. It was exactly the ideal choice for these traders as it was stragically located and food supplies were easily available. As Malacca gained its popularity, more and more traders including the Hindus from the Corromandel Coast, Southern India thronged its port. Inter-marriages between the Hindu traders and the Malays, Chinese, Javanese and Bataks were then unavoidable. Through the process of assimilation, these traders had gradually adapted themselves to a new lifestyle. Thus the term 'Melaka Chitty' was born. As staunch believers of the Hindu faith, the Melaka Chitty community still uphold their religious ceremonies and beliefs but with a unique blend. In Malacca, one can easily notice this unique community in Kampung Chitty, Gajah Berang which is situated about 2.5 kilometres from the city centre. It consists of a few castes namely; Pandaram, Pillay, Neiker, Raja, Pathair, Chitty and Padaichi. They strongly resemble the Malays and Baba Nyonyas the Malacca Straits-born Chinese in terms of clothing, spoken language, food and appearance. No doubt they are inarticulate in Tamil but they still maintain their Hindu names and customs. As of material importance, need to assert that the Melaka Chitty community is different than the other Hindus, especially the Chettiars the Hindu money-lenders, in many ways. They had lost all forms of relation with their descendants in India a long time ago. Today, they pledge their loyalty to the Ruler of Malaysia. Most of them are wage earners and lead a simple life. Some have ventured into other types of occupations. A handful of them are living in other parts of the country and some can be found in Singapore too. During festive seasons, most of them would return to Kampung Chitty and they will have lots to talk about. "PLEASE don't confuse us with the Chettiars. They are moneylenders and we are the traders who came here in the 14th Century like the Babas & Nonyas." So pleads Chitty village elder V. Ramasamy Pillai. "After all these years, more than 600 years to be precise, Malaysians are still unable to differentiate between Chittys and Chettiars," he says smiling and shaking his head. History books and Ramasamy, 83, will tell you that the Chittys are actually Indian traders who came to the Malacca in the early 1400s from the southern part of India, namely Kalinga in the Corromendal Coast, during the days of the spice trade. Many married local Malay women like the Chinese Peranakans & adopted the cultures and languages of the region while retaining their own religion – Hinduism.Seafaring Chitty traders went on to become farmers and settled down in many parts of Malacca, eventually moving to Kampung Tujung in Gajah Behrang. You will notice from the below picture that the Indian Peranakan Wedding Ceremonies and styles of dressing abd wedding garments are very similar to that of the Chinese Peranakans. Also notice the "Ranjang Kemanten" in the background on the picture of the right to that of a Peranakan Chinese "Ranjang Kemanten". It is in Kampung Tujung where many of the Chittys now live. There are 19 homes amidst three temples and a newly constructed museum that awaits its official opening. When many of the Chittys married and settled in Malacca, they didn't keep in touch with their families in India, thus making it virtually impossible for their predecessors to trace relatives in Kalinga.While their Indian relatives might be a permanently closed chapter, the Chittys in Malacca are a fascinating group. Daily but more so on weekends, scores of visitors come to Chitty village. "Most Chittys look like Indians while others have fair skin like the Chinese Peranakans and have made Bahasa Malaysia their official language. Many here only speak Tamil haltingly as Baba Malay is the language spoken by the community," says K. Nadarajan Raja, who is secretary of the Cultural Society of Chitty Malacca. "What we wear differs from our counterparts in India. The Chitty woman usually wears the kebaya panjang or kebaya pendek, depending on her marital status, with a sarong, like the Nonyas. The handkerchief or binpoh is usually worn on the shoulder like a shawl," he informs. The men are normally dressed in a dhoti and shirt for religious functions while for traditional events, it is usually the sarong or kain pelekat with the lose Nehru jacket and cap. A piece of colourful cloth is often draped on the left shoulder. As for festivals, the Chittys celebrate all three days of ponggol, the harvest festival in January, and Deepavali on a grand scale. Temple festivals are also celebrated by following a strict vegetarian diet for 10 days during which the Chittys living elsewhere in the country, congregate in Malacca for the celebrations. One festival celebrated with much ado is the Bhogi Parachu, usually falling in January. Chittys make offerings to ancestors on this day. Chitty delicacies such as pulut tekan/nasi lemak, ginggang and other homemade specials are served then. On this occasion, nasi lemak is patted down onto banana leaves and salted eggs are embedded in the centre along with raddish. Some 13 other dishes such as friend mutton and chicken, soup and sweets are also placed on the banana leaves. "This is one festival celebrated in every household in the village. Ancestral worship is very important to us because we want the blessings of our forefathers," says Nadarajan. "It is also a time when everyone in the village visits one another." The practce of Ancestor Worship is alien in other Indian communities. This shows us that the Indian Peranakan community has adopted many Chinese Peranakan customs and traditions through intermarriage as intermarriage with Indian Peranakans were common in the past. The below photo shows you how similar the Indians Peranakans are to the Chinese Peranakans. INDIAN CHITTY PERANAKAN CUISINE Chitty cuisine, a blend of Malay local influences, Nonya and the Indian art of blending spices, is little-known. There is no Chitty restaurant, not even in Malacca, and hence their food can only be sampled in the community's enclave in Kampung Tujuh Gajah Berang. "The Chittys' most famous food is nasi lemak. We serve it as offerings during prayers,'' says G. Meenachi, 70. Unlike the other Indian groups who usually offer rice with vegetarian dishes during prayers, the Chittys serve nasi lemak or plain rice with a variety of fish and meat accompaniments. "Chitty nasi lemak is usually steamed. First, we steam the rice for about 20 minutes before it is left to cool. In the meantime, we will boil thick and thin coconut milk separately over a low fire. The pandanus leaf is boiled with the coconut milk so that it'll be fragrant. "Stir the coconut milk into the steamed rice. Leave the rice for a few hours or until all the coconut milk has been absorbed by the rice. Then steam the rice again for 10-15 minutes,'' Meenachi's daughter, Amuthavathi, narrates the painstaking preparation of nasi lemak, as taught by her mother.A good nasi lemak must be fragrant, and the grains fluffy and separate, and must even have a shiny sheen. The secret to getting the shiny sheen, says Chitty S. Kathai, is by adding on some lemon juice to the rice during the steaming process. Unlike the Northerners, ginger is not added to their nasi lemak. "Nasi lemak is only cooked in a rice cooker when there are unexpected guests. We call this nasi lemak terkejut (surprise nasi lemak).'' Offerings to Ancestors a Chinese Peranakan trsdition such as rice accompanied by 13 dishes are served by the Chittys to honour their ancestors. Traditional Chitty cooks such as Meenachi suffer no shortcuts or half measures in their kitchen, holding firm to elaborate details that give their food a delicious edge. When she makes chillied fried fish, she wraps the fish with turmeric leaf which lends the dish a subtle aroma. For pulut tekan (glutinous rice cake steamed with coconut milk), Meenachi uses leaf only from the pisang batu or pisang nipah tree ... "leaves from other banana species would darken the white pulut.''Spices are not blended in electric blenders, but are ground on the batu giling (a granite pestle and mortar slab). Meenachi's youngest daughter, S. Amuthavathi, recalls handling the heavy granite roller from young as her mother was adamant that her children learn to cook well. "My mother called this morning to instruct that I pound the shallots, ginger and garlic, and not use an electric blender,'' says Amuthavathi who cooked one of the Chittys' signature dish for us, armed with her mother's detailed instructions and secret tips. One of the Chitty's more unusual dish is nasi kembuli. Not many Chittys still know how to cook it although it was once served to brides three days after the wedding, and as offerings during prayers. "The ingredients in nasi kembuli are Indian such as ghee, cumin and coriander. However, one of the most important accompaniments, pineapple pachedi, is Malay in origin,'' says Amuthavathi. A popular Chitty everyday dish is lauk pindang which bears strong Malay influences. "Lauk pindang is fish cooked with a blend of shallots, garlic and turmeric, in a tamarind and thin coconut milk gravy,'' describes Amuthavathi. The best time to sample Chitty delicacies is during festivals such as Ponggal or Bhogi. Bhogi, which falls on the eve of Ponggal, is the day that Chittys hold ancestral rites and honour deceased family members. "On that day, we lay out seven banana leaves of offerings for our ancestors. In my family, there will be three leaves of nasi lemak, three leaves of nasi kembuli and a leaf of white rice. There will be 13 accompaniments to the rice, a salted egg, and coffee,'' says Meenachi. The accompaniments include sambal ludang (fish roe and prawns cooked with belimbing (sour starfruits), lemon grass, ginger, shallots, chilli, turmeric and coconut milk), dry chicken and mutton curry, pineapple pachedi, spiced fried chicken, brinjal pachedi, udang goreng asam garam (prawns fried with tamarind and salt), cucumber relish, lauk pindang and krill sambal. Other festive Chitty food is putu, which is Indian in origin. Putu is traditionally served during the Sadanggu, a ceremony for young girls who have reached puberty. "Only women are invited for this ceremony, and they must finish all the food prepared to ensure that no man eats the food. It's considered bad luck if food for the Sadanggu is eaten by a man. Notice the Sembayang Dato or Offering to the Ancestors Ceremony in the middle picture below. Notice the two red candles used. This is a Peranakan Chinese tradition, not an Indian Tradition as only the Peranakan Chinese use Red Candles for offering and prayers to the Ancestors. "It is also best to serve tea with sugar and pandanus leaf to go with the putu, which is made from scraped coconut, palm sugar syrup, fried green beans, cardamom and rice flour,'' says Meenachi. Although many Chitty dishes are still prepared, there are fears that some recipes may be forgotten as the young marry out of the close-knit but small community. Meenachi's four daughters hope to document the Chitty recipes their illiterate mother remembers so vividly. Meenachi does not only list down ingredients and cooking methods when passing recipes, but also the little details that matter.For certain dishes, use only the pink shallots. A pinch of salt must be added when pounding sambal belacan to mute the chillies' rawness. Boil salted mustard for itik tim in a brass wok, and it won't turn yellow but remain green. Recipes aside, Chitty Baba Malay terms used to describe cooking methods are also interesting. Some of these terms include masak atas darat which means to fry spices in hot oil away from the fire, and kare which is to use a chopstick to gently separate the rice grains without breaking them. It is estimated that there around 50,000 Indian Peranakans in the whole of Peninsular Malaysia and another 5,000 in Singapore alone. The overwhelming majority of Peranakans however are the Chinese Peranakans.

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In 2009, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) was formed to promote and protect the human rights of people in the region and was tasked to formulate the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, which aimed to standardize all human rights of all people in the Southeast region of Asia. •Five member countries have laws that target and criminalize transgender women for ‘cross dressing’: Brunei, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. •Six member countries of ASEAN have laws criminalizing same sex activities between mutually consenting adults: Brunei, Burma, Malaysia and Singapore, Philippines (in Marawi City), Indonesia (in South Sumatera province). •None of the 10 member countries of ASEAN have national anti-discrimination laws to protect people of diverse sexual orientation or gender identity or other minorities and vulnerable groups. "The only glimpse the public and civil society groups have had of the proposed declaration was by way of a leaked document" Jakarta PostThe ASEAN Human Rights Declaration does not include or recognize the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) persons. "Civil society groups gathered in Phnom Penh last week argued that time was running out to rid the proposed draft of clauses that would restrict peoples’ rights rather than protecting and enhancing them."Since it’s conception, LGBT groups have been demanding the inclusion of human rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration but our demands have fallen on deaf ears. This is a clear sign by the member countries of ASEAN that they do not recognize the existence of LGBTIQ persons and have no interest in protecting and promoting the human rights of LGBTIQ persons in this region. Take Action! Stand in Solidarity with the ASEAN LGBT Caucus and IGLHRC in demanding the inclusion of LGBT Rights in the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration!

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In the final episode, Julian Assange talks to Malaysia’s opposition leader, who faced prison terms twice in what he calls politically-motivated cases. But he never gave up fighting for democracy in a country he brands less democratic than even Myanmar. Watch the full new episode of The Julian Assange Show exclusively on RT. When Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister of Malaysia and currently leader of the opposition party, says democracy, he means “an independent judiciary, free media and an economic policy that can promote growth and the market economy.” However, at the same time, he told Assange that the people of Malaysia should understand what abuses all these elements of freedom may bring to their country. “Arab Spring – one area clambering for freedom. Then we have Occupy Wall Street… and the limitations, the unbridled greed and the gap between the very rich and very poor, the complicity between the big business groups and politics – these we need to avoid,” Ibrahim says. Nowadays Ibrahim’s opposition political party is gaining more and more support from the people. However, before his voice was heard, he went through six years in solitary confinement in prison and two criminal cases. Ibrahim was first arrested for supporting land farmers in the north and demanding better treatment from the government. As a result he spent two years in detention without trial. The activist was released after Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister, whose reforms he supported. He even became his deputy. But in 1998 Ibrahim was imprisoned for six years ‘for corruption and sodomy’ after he fell out with his boss. He was released in 2004 largely thanks to campaigning by his wife. Thousands of people went into the streets in his support. In 2008, a significant year for Malaysian politics, Ibrahim tried to get elected to parliament. He maintains this was a real challenge because his opposition party was not given even a minute of air-time. “We won 10 out of 11 parliamentary seats, and so I believe we are ripe for some sort of Malaysian Spring through the electoral process,” he says. And despite the fresh allegations of sexual harassment he faced in 2008 and the abuse he suffered on a daily basis at the hands of the national media, his party gained more support from people. In January 2012 he won the case. But with Malaysian elections looming and Anwar tipped to win, he has recently been charged with unauthorized assembly. On Monday he faced fresh charges over his part in a mass rally for electoral reforms. If he is found guilty, Anwar might be sentenced to up to two years in prison and a fine. This will mean that he could be disqualified from standing in elections.

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Looking to work in digital? Digital business in Malaysia is booming, and in support of Malaysia's premiere digital community, we're going to show you why you should consider working in one of the fastest growing and most dynamic industries out there today. If you don't need the convincing, look to Digital Future for your potential job- and if you aren't convinced by the end of this- we don't know what will! Digital Future is an initiative made of several top Malaysian digital companies, coming together to further digital space in Malaysia, by conducting research as well as establishing standards and guidelines for Malaysia's emerging digital industry. More information can be found at the Malaysian Digital Association's website.

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Lee Westwood/ asiantour.com The top contender this week the top at the US$1 million Thailand Golf Championship staged at the Amata Spring Country Club, is Asian specialist Lee Westwood. Lee is known around the world as an Asian specialist because of his record of multiple victories around the region including the 2011 Thailand Golf Championship, where he romped home to a seven-shot win over South African Charl Schwartzel. During that week, Lee also flirted with the magical score of 59, just missing the mark by one stroke, in the opening round. He is in fine form this season, winning the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters on the Asian Tour following a third place result at The Masters. Lee has missed only one cut this season, and enjoys a World Ranking of 6th. Bubba Watson will bring his own specialist style of golf to challenge the Championship at Amata Spring. Bubba is the reigning Masters Champion, and well-known for his extra long drives on the PGA Tour, where he averages over 315 yards. Bubba also has four top ten finishes this year in the U.S. and is determined to set his sights on victory here in Asia. Gaganjeet Bhullar, currently fourth on the Asian Tour of Merit,is a young Indian player who has had a wonderful run of results on the Asian Tour, winning twice, and also finished tied 10th at the CIMB classic in Malaysia. Gaganjeet has a mathematical chance of toppling Thaworn Wiratchant at the top of the Order of Merit but needs a really good finish here and then again next week in Malaysia. Thaworn himself is on course to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit, standing in 1st place at the moment, this would be the second time since 2005. He has three victories on the Tour this season and is certainly enjoying a purple patch. Thaworn finished second at the King’s Cup on home soil last week and knows a big finish this week will see him creep closer towards the prestigious Merit crown. Sergio Garcia has enjoyed a resurgence of form earning him back-to-back wins in late 2011. He won again this year on the PGA Tour, at the Wyndham Championship and also has had six other top-ten finishes. And of course Sergio also played a starring role for Europe in the Ryder Cup victory over the United States in September. His current World Ranking is 22nd and he finished in fourth spot last year in the Thailand Golf Championship. Another notable from Europe and Ryder Cup player is Nicolas Colsaerts, the Belgian is the longest driver of a golf ball on the European Tour. Nicolas had a wonderful season winning the Volvo World Matchplay, and has also amassed eleven top ten finishes, and is ranked 35th in the World. South African Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters Champion is also contesting this event, he is looking for his first win of 2012, to back up his seven top ten finishes this year. To win this year would help erase the memory of last years thrashing in the final at the hands of Lee Westwood. This is a good field for this tournament and it should be a hotly contested affair, which will be a pleasure to watch.

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://whitedragongolf.wordpress.com/tag/wyndham-championship/

2013-05-21T17:08:54Z

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en

AiDASiNC’s Healthcare Marketing services can build for your company world-class brand presence and visibility. What more, by increasing goodwill, your company will also see qualified lead generation system developing for health, beauty, supplements, weight loss, and skin care products / service industries. Healthcare Marketing – Huge Assortment Of Categories Healthcare Marketing is about a huge assortment of products, services, accessories and assortments therein. And affordable, reliable and efficient healthcare marketing requires smart management of multiple challenges posed by variations in the global as well as local buyer psyche. Healthcare & Beauty Marketing – Some Work Here! Ayurvedic Candies, Ayurvedic Cosmetics, Ayurvedic Food, Ayurvedic Jams, Ayurvedic Oil, Ayurvedic Formulations Body Scrubbers Bath Oil, Shower Gels, Handmade Bath Soaps, Bath Gel, Bath Scrubber, Body Mud Combs, Hair Removal Machine, Hair Iron, Barber Chairs, Shampoo Beds, Laser Hair Removal Machine Body Lotion, Body Oils, Snow Spray, Talcum Powder, Body Cleanser, Baby Carrier Deodorants, Perfume, Deo Spray, Ladies Perfumes, Synthetic Fragrances, Peppermint Products Body Tattoos, Cosmetic Cream, Lipstick, Mascara, Beauty Care Services, Lip Gloss Ear Drops, Earplugs, Ear Syringes, Cotton Swabs Amla Oil, Aroma Oil, Aromatherapy Oil, Fish Oil, Flower Oils, Lubricating Oils, Medicated Oil, Natural Oil, Neem Oil, Sunflower Oil Contact Lenses, Eye Drops, Reading Glasses, Convex Mirror, Eye Pads, Eye Masks Slimming Machine Foot Cream, Elastic Bellows, Foot Gel, Foot Massager Hair Color, Hair Gel, Hair Oil, Hair Shampoo, Almond Oil, Anti Dandruff Shampoo Food Supplement, Protein Supplements, Food Vitamins, Blood Pressure Meter, Nasal Drops, Veterinary Product Herbal Cosmetics, Herbal Extract, Herbal Powder, Herbal Tea, Herbal Blends, Alfalfa Powder Massage Oil, Massage Electric Pillow, Massage Bed, Massage Lotions, Scalp Massager, Massage Balls Dermatology Equipment, Hematology Analyzer, Ophthalmic Instruments, Scientific Instruments, Wheelchair Accessible Tables, Rehabilitation Equipment, Aromatherapy Medicine, Chemotherapy Drugs, Health Medicines, Natural Remedies, Marijuana Drug, Herbal Medicines Nail Cutter, Nail Polish, Nail Printer, Nail Drill, Artificial Nail, Nail Gel Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Tooth Powder, Dental Floss, Oral Rinse, Dental Hygiene Products Bulk Drugs, Capsules & Tablets, Drug Intermediates, Pharmaceutical Formulations, Pharmaceutical Ingredients, Pharmaceutical Raw Material Contraceptives & Condoms, Sex Medicines, Hoodia Medicine, Revitalizer for men, Sex Oil, Personal Lubricants Mouthwash, Skin Care Creams, After Sun Lotion, Skin Tonic, Anti Wrinkle Cream, Tanning Oils Aftershave Lotion, Razors & Shavers, Shaving Soap Bowls, Razor Blades Spa Tub Covers Weight Loss Patches, Diet Gel, Weight Loss Supplements, Slimming Products Some Interesting Facts for Healthcare Marketing companies: - Top 5 Competitive Health Care Markets on Globe -India | United States | United Kingdom | Canada | Germany - Top 5 Healthcare Markets on Globe -Malaysia | Italy | Canada | South Africa | United Kingdom Top 3 Things To Do For Better, High ROI Healthcare Marketing - In Healthcare Marketing, e-Branding Works – Healthcare marketing as researched and experienced by experts at AiDASiNC works on One Major Factor – Brand Goodwill. So for manufacturers and distributors of healthcare products and services, it is prudent to invest in building brand value in target markets. Like Amway and LR, two of the most popular direct sales healthcare marketing companies on globe. Healthcare marketing mostly targets buyers who are higher up in the social strata. And what could be more affordable than having a strong brand visibility and reputation on the internet? For most likely, such buyers would be smart phone savvy. - Integrate Direct Marketing And e-Push – Some of the leading healthcare marketing brands have been heavily relying on direct sales through independent business partners. Their customers benefit from individual advice from people they know in social circles and the partners benefit from attractive extra incomes. Exporting to international markets requires a state – of – art online presence. What can be a major sales tool here would be a robust social media network aided by a resilient website. An online store where distributors or business partners can reach out anytime and place orders. An online brochure that sales affiliates can readily showcase to prospective clients. Ignorance of the internet, by many healthcare marketing companies is only detrimental. - Online Makes Healthcare Marketing Easy – Look at drugstore.com. It is one of the most popular sites on globe and look at what they have been successfully doing since 1999. Right from Free Shipping to local as well as international destinations, to Instant Coupons for furture sale redemptions to huge range of SKUs, they have been there and done that for ages. Is your healthcare marketing lagging behind? Drugstore is one amazing company. Imagine the high ROI that its healthcare marketing might be generating with these figures: 823,000 Facebook Fans | 18,000 Twitter Followers | 100~105 Million Visitors p.a A conservative estimate says, at an average ticket size of US$ 25, drugstore.com would be generating more than US$ 52 Million p.a. Get Highest ROI From Integrated e-Healthcare Marketing A good healthcare marketing program would require a generous blend of traditional media with new age media. And as reflecting in the above two cases of LR and Drugstore, both have systematically been integrating these media for high gains. - LR, with their continued focus on Direct Sales Affiliates and E-Marketing of their website. - Drugstore, with their integrated e-Marketing across properties aided by the Walgreens network. So should you be considering expanding to newer markets, increasing your healthcare marketing ROI and staying ahead of competition, AiDASiNC e-Marketing can do some wonders for you. Feel free to contact experts at AiDASiNC for a one-on-one, no-obligation discussion on the various possibilities in Healthcare Marketing. Explore opportunities and avenues to reach new markets for a stronger, reliable and affordable healthcare marketing for your company.

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://www.aidasinc.com/web-marketing/world-class-healthcare-marketing-3-tips/

2013-05-21T17:43:58Z

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en

July 5, 2010 Liquid City vol 2 Now Available For Pre-Order Image Comics to release second volume of critically acclaimed LIQUID CITY anthology in September. Lefty's story entitled "The Way Back" is lucky enough to be included in the anthology among the works of great Southeast Asian creators. LIQUID CITY, VOL. 2 has Lat's vignette of a soccer game in Malaysia, Ivan Song's poignant near-future tale of childhood memories, Vietnamese artist Nguyen Thahn Phong's account of his adventures in South Korea and more. If you visit comic shop regularly or there is one that you know, you could make a pre-order from it. The pre-order code is JUL10 0414 from Diamond Previews July. You could also pre-order it from Kinokuniya with the same method. Thank you for your support. LIQUID CITY, VOL. 2 is edited by Sonny Liew and Lim Cheng Tju. LIQUID CITY, VOL. 2, a 312-page full-color trade paperback from Image Comics, will be on sale for $29.99 on September 29, 2010.

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://www.gilamon.blogspot.com/2010/07/liquid-city-vol-2-now-available-for-pre.html

2013-05-21T17:36:48Z

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en

MUMBAI: Malaysia has stitched 16 deals worth $70 million at the recently concluded Mipcom. The deals with foreign partners included India, India, the Singapore, South Africa, Australia, NZ, UK, Germany, France, Spain, China, Korea and Lebanon. Thee were in the areas of international co-productions, distributions and global product companies who engaged with the foreign partners were Animasia Studio, Backbone Entertainment, Cartoon4Kids, Double Vision, Ed-Online Technologies, Escalade, Funcel, InfiniteMotion, Lemon Sky Animation, Payang Group, Sirius Pictures, Tulus Fikir, Vision Animation and Vision New Media. Pictures of Malaysia and Heart Command Films of India have agreed to co-produce a slate of films and documentaries for television and new media platforms. Sesame Workshop has appointed Vision Plus Entertainment of Malaysia to distribute and co-produce localised content for programme catalog of Sesame Street in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, comprising Play with Me Sesame, Elmos World, Abbys Flying Fairy School and Jalan Sesama. Animasia Studio of Malaysia has signed a production servicing contract with Strika Entertainment to continue the third season of the soccer series Supa Strikas which aits in over 70 countries worldwide, including Disney Asia, ESPN Star Sports, Nickelodeon Asia, Orange and SABC. Animasia Studio of Malaysia and ZN Animation of China will co-produce an animation series My Ugly Little Brother. Backbone Entertainment of Malaysia, Neonpumkin of Korea and Millimages of UK will co-produce a 3D animated TV series Call of Malaysia and Baleuko of Spain will co- roduce a 3D animated TV series Smolitoon. Double Vision of Malaysia and FFP New Media of Germany have agreed to co-produce a tele-movie Re-United in Malaysia. This is the second successive co-production tele-movie project, after Rendez-vous of Malaysia and Latin Media Corporation from the US will co-produce a telenovela drama series Only You for the local and global market, promoting Malaysian cultural values and traditions through suspense and mystery, with a of Malaysia and August Media of Singapore will co-finance and co-produce a slate of three animated series of 52 episodes each. Funcel will be the animation production partner for the slate of series, while August Media along with its Scottish subsidiary Red Kite Animation would be responsible for development, finance, executive production and distribution. The titles of the three series are expected to be announced before the end of the year. Motion of Malaysia and DuArt Film And Video of the US will co-produce an undisclosed animation series title, inclusive of script writing and dubbing. Infinite Motion of Malaysia and Three Black Cat of UK will co-produce an animation series Sky Animation of Malaysia, Lion Rock Ventures of NZ and Media Tropics will co-produce a Pre-School animation series Buzzy Bee and Friends that is based on a popular NZ-brand, as seen on TVNZ. Distributed by Australias Beyond Distribution, the series is a finalist of this years Mipcom Juniors Kids Jury Award. official contingent to Mipcom more than doubled since last year from 30 creative content companies to 75 this year. National Film Development Corporation Malaysia joined forces with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and Multimedia Development Corporation, in association with the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation to reshape and enhance the local film and digital content industry by exposing multiple content properties to the global marketplace. Malaysian contingents objective this year was to put innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship at the forefront of the global film and multimedia content supply chain and to make this industry as an engine of growth and contributor to national GDP. Its primary aim is to capitalise on past investments in cellular and data networks, by building the vertical industries, such as the creative content and application industry, as the next engine of growth. The end-result will be to enhance Malaysias capacity and capability to create many original, locally produced content and develop competency in content-related services to the regional market. regards to strategically and effectively promoting Malaysian content to its fragmented target audience, the Governments priority will be to allign all its plans to help the local industry create a greater presence in the local and international broadcast market with a special focus on global IP development through formalisation of international co-production deals and partnerships with international distributors.

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k11/oct/oct124.php

2013-05-21T17:10:46Z

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en

Chloe Moretz - Billboard Music Awards 2013 Zendaya & Val Chmerkovskiy: Samba & Freestyle on 'DWTS' Finale - Watch Now! Little Mix: 'Seventeen' June/July 2013 Cover Kellan Lutz Covers 'August Man Malaysia' June 2013 (Exclusive) Booboo Stewart is all smiles as he arrives at the world premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides held at Disneyland on Saturday (May 7). Joined… Read More Here

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://www.justjaredjr.com/photo-gallery/416226/booboo-stewart-thor-pirates-11/

2013-05-21T17:32:52Z

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en

Chloe Moretz - Billboard Music Awards 2013 Zendaya & Val Chmerkovskiy: Samba & Freestyle on 'DWTS' Finale - Watch Now! Little Mix: 'Seventeen' June/July 2013 Cover Kellan Lutz Covers 'August Man Malaysia' June 2013 (Exclusive) Allie Gonino and Alexandra Chando arrive at the premiere of Bully held at the Chinese 6 Theatres on Monday night (March 26) in Los Angeles. The 21-year-old Lying… Read More Here

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://www.justjaredjr.com/photo-gallery/465947/alexandra-chando-allie-gonino-bully-02/

2013-05-21T17:33:11Z

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en

Stocks lost ground Tuesday, as investors brace for Corporate America to start reporting quarterly results. Your tax refund may not be so delayed after all. Boeing shares sank 3.6% Tuesday following a pair of incidents involving its new 787 Dreamliner. National oil companies from China, India, Malaysia and elsewhere in Asia snapped up international energy properties at a record rate in 2012, buying or partnering in nearly $50 billion worth of deals. Aluminum producer Alcoa marked the unofficial start of earnings season Tuesday by posting sales that beat analyst expectations. Google's ambitions to wire the world are expanding. The company announced on Tuesday that it will provide free Wi-Fi service to Chelsea, a New York City neighborhood where Google has its local headquarters. Even as it runs ads thanking America for a $182 billion bailout, insurer AIG might join a lawsuit claiming that shareholders were unfairly hurt by the terms of the federal rescue that kept it out of bankruptcy four years ago. Sears Holdings chairman and noted hedge-fund manager Edward Lampert is taking on an additional role as the retailer's chief executive after Louis D'Ambrosio said he's stepping down due to a family health matter. Target will match prices from top online retailers year-round, the company said Tuesday. Businesses in the eurozone may be feeling more confident but there's no sign of that translating into better employment prospects yet. FEATURES AND COMMENTARY Millions of high school-aged girls and women binge drink, behavior that can have disastrous results including long-term health effects, the CDC warns in a report released Tuesday Neuroscientists have been discovering mounting evidence that being fluent in more than one language protects against age-related cognitive declines. But there's still the major question: Why?

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://www.kesq.com/news/ADVISORY-CNN-Wire-Outlook/-/233092/18045622/-/item/4/-/elrbvq/-/index.html

2013-05-21T17:32:16Z

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en

Malaysian tourist Soong Sai Yee proposed to his girlfriend more than a week ago, and the happy couple are still celebrating. Mr Sai Yee and fiance Chan Wan Yin were attracting a lot of attention in Oamaru yesterday as they stood on the corner of Itchen and Thames Sts posing for photos. On September 9, Miss Wan Yin, who was based in Nelson on a working holiday, knew something was up, but never expected a proposal. Her partner Mr Sai Yee had travelled across the world to visit his girlfriend of 14 years. "He gave me a surprise, there was a banner [reading "Will you marry me?"] on the wall, candles in the shape of a love heart and he got on the ground and proposed," she said. Her partner since high school then whisked her away for a romantic South Island getaway. They arrived in Oamaru on Friday and in each town they visit, the couple plan to stop at a landmark and take a photo with Mr Sai Yee's proposal banner. After visiting the Blue Penguin Colony and the Victorian Precinct, the happy couple erected the sign at the end of Thames St by Annie's Victorian Tea Rooms for a photo. Having already visited Tekapo and Mount Cook, their next stop is Dunedin before heading to Queenstown. Mr Sai Yee will fly back to Malaysia at the end of October, while Miss Wan Yin will wrap up her working holiday and be reunited with her fiance in December.

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://www.oamarumail.co.nz/news/a-sign-of-true-love/1546758/

2013-05-21T17:39:07Z

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en

I worked in sales in NZ for 3 months, and trust me thats a bumpy road. If youre looking for the easy money and the good time, roll of bed and wake up from the dream world. Sales is a practice that requires lost of training, motivation to succeed and most important, time and experience. Some people born with the gift to sale "ice to Eskimos" and some need a bit more practice. Usually the best drive to improve comes from the "hunger" for money. When you work on commission it means: "the more you sale, the more you earn", simple as that. In most sales jobs you can have a really bad week and in one day to make big sales that will balance the all week. Some days you can sale nothing all day long and in less than half hour to make some sales that will cover the all day. Its a tricky job, so you need to know how to keep your head up in the hard moments. And trust me, youll have plenty of those. The first lesson in sales is to understand that no one got up in the morning and thought to buy your product, it is your job to make the costumer stop and check out your products and hear about them, and eventually make him purchase it. The second lesson is to learn how to handle rejection, youll hear the word "No" many times a day, and thats ok. Youll never have 100% success rate, no one has. In most sales jobs you work on a mass of people, so the more people that youll get interested in your products- the more youll sale and basically the more money youll make. Usually the first week or two are the toughest weeks, especially for the inexperienced ones, cause it takes time to learn how to sale the specific product and to get to know the work environment. The best tip here, is to look at the veteran salesmen and learn from them. They are doing it for a while, so they probably knows what therere doing. Remember that a good salesman can sale anything anywhere, but it always good to learn new tricks. To sum things up, sales is probably one the best jobs if you want the "big money". But it is not for anybody and it takes usually a bit of time till you start to earn the big bucks. The statistics for oversea travelers is rough, from 5 people that will go to sales job-only 1 will succeed and most of the others will fail. So before you apply to sales job, think carefully if youre up for it. From my experience it can be a rough job but also fun and very profitable. After 5 weeks of work i can now say that it is one of the best experiences ive had in New Zealand. The people here realy try to make you a part of the team and have a realy relaxing attitude. Whenever we want to go to town for weekly shoppings we can just use one of the cars without paying anything. And the great thing about working on a vinyard is the abundance of wine. Every end of the week we go to cellar and get some free half empty left over bottles, people didnt finish at winetastings. So theres plenty of fun in the weekends. The work itself consists of hanging nets over the vines to protect them from birds and clipping them together. its hard work because you are bending down for about 9 hours a day, but in the mean time you can talk with eachother and fantasize on what youll be doing with all the money youre making. Another more exiting part of the job is bird scaring. That doesnt mean having to stand around in a field with a rake looking angry all the time, but driving through the plants on a fourwheeler 30 miles an hour. it really gives you a kick, speeding through the fields in the sun with cloudy mountains in the distance (and getting payed for it!). We live in a lodge on the vinyard itself for a small fee which is deducted from our salary. At the other end of the vinyard is another house where all the woofers live. A couple of times a week we get together to watch a movie or enjoy a glass of well deserved homegrown Sauvignon Blanc. its a really cool atmosphere meeting new people every week, sharing travel experiences and tips on where to go next. Pretty soon harvest is starting which according to the people here is the best time of the year. So ill be sticking around for a while, not having the feeling im working but just having a great time! After 3 days of hunting, I saw a posting titled ĎMilkmaní on one of the websites. Immediately it has caught my attention. I picked up my phone and dialed the number of the contact person, and lucky enough, he scheduled an interview. 10.30am the next day, I went to meet Liam, my interviewer. He explained to me the role of a milkman, and basically, the job is to go door to door in the neighborhood and try to just sell some milk. It sounds really fun after listening to it and I decided to give it a go, after all Iíd been a pharmaceutical representative for 3 years and I believe I can handle this. Feeling all excited for my first day of work. We go as a team of 8 ĎMilkmaní, all from different part of the world. Weíre assigned with 40 houses in a day, and our target is to sign up at least 4 customers for the milk delivery service each day. The first door that I knock on was horrible. The lady probably didnít understand what Iím trying to sell to her because I practically stuttered over my lines and I was talking with the speed of a rocket. I was panic. Obviously she didnít register any with me. I continue to knock on the next door and try to keep myself motivated. After several calls, my lines got better and I was able to generate some interest in my customers. Ended my first day with one sale, which earn me 30 dollar of commission. Not too bad! Itís my second week being as a milkman and Iím still feeling excited being as one. Itís really a lovely feeling when people tell you stories about how the milkman used to deliver milk to their doorstep every morning in the past, and how they appreciate us bringing back the culture once again. It makes them nostalgic. Once in a while weíll be invited into our customerís house as well, simply because detailing outside of the door during winter time is too cold. Itís so warm and comfortable with the firewood burning inside, and sometime it makes me feel reluctant to go out of the house. Definitely we have our bad days as well, such as not getting sales at all in the day, or when itís pouring outside and weíre still required to go door knocking. However, itís a different and awesome experience. It gives me the opportunity to understand the Kiwiís culture more. Besides, it also helps me to strengthen my communication and interpersonal skills. Iím really glad that I have this job and I embrace the experience that Iíve been through. If one year ago somebody had said that I would be working with kids -and enjoining it madly- nobody will have believed it. But I spent the last four month working as an au-pair and I am sure that this job gave me the opportunity of understanding the kiwi culture better than any other job I could have taken, plus giving me a lot of knowledge about children -something useful If one day I decide to be a mother. I am a journalist and after five years writing for a magazine in my home country, Uruguay, I decided to take one gap year just to travel, find new experiences and write about them in my blog (www.hillstoheels.com) Our home tongue is Spanish, so I thought that the ideal was to choose a country were English were the language spoken -this is the language I use when I interview international artists, so improving my vocabulary and pronunciation would be something very useful for my job. Lots of friends recommended me to come to New Zealand. Every year 200 Uruguayan citizens between 18 and 35 years get a New Zealand `s working holiday visa, and in 2011 I turned in one of this lucky ones. To avoid the temptation of talking all the time in Spanish I decided to live with a kiwi family instead of moving with Uruguayan and Argentinian friends. This would be, I told myself, a short-cut in my immersion inside the kiwi culture and habits. There are several ways of finding a native family to be your hosts -small bed & breakfast, for example- but I decided that being an ďau-pairĒ (a nanny that lives inside the house) was the most accurate for the purpose of my travel, because it was going to give me the extra benefit of talking continuously in English with this children -and also being able to teach them some Spanish. Furthermore, the experience was also making me able to save the money of the rent and food, and also earn a little bit that I could use for traveling around the country (I spent it at weekend trips to Coromandel, Taupo, Tauranga, Roturua and Wellington, plus a ten days vacation at South Island) There are several websites specialized in nannys or au-pairs in New Zealand, like www.aupairlink.co.nz, www.nznanny-aupair.co.nz, www.aupairnewzealand.co.nz, www.nanniesabroad.co.nz/au-pair-nz, www.culturalcare.co.nz, and many other else -if you write ďau pairĒ in Google you will see a lot of sites. But I already had an Argentinian friend living in Auckland before I arrived to New Zealand, and she put me trow a kiwi women who has looking for an au-pair for their two kids. I must confess that when I started this job (March 2012) I didnīt know even how to change a nappy. I donīt have kids nor nephews -I am the elder one of three sisters- so my knowledge of kids was very little. They were like ET to me! The first time I put one of them ďTime outĒ -this is the way we call when they are going to have punishment for bad behavior or ďbeing naughtyĒ- he said to me: ďI donīt like youĒ. It was very hard for me to hear that, being as I was so far from my home and my family, but the mother then said me to donīt worry about that and carry on. Actually she thought me so much about kids in the four months I worked for them, that I am sure that if one day I become a mother I will owe her a lot. Maybe it contributed the fact that she herself had been an au-pair ten years ago, in a winter she spend in Switzerland. She also lend-me all her snow equipment during the week that I took off to go to South Island and ski in Queenstown, and she also offered me her van to use whenever I want -but I donīt drive so I never used it. And I canīt explain you how happy I felt the first time one of the kids said to me: ďI love youĒ. Far away from home and my beloved sisters, this two kids were somehow my family, so the sweet words of the boy -and the smiles and cuddles of the one year old girl- were the things that made my days. I learn how important is for them to see you strong but sweet, happy but firm. Because everything is simple when you are playing with songs, making castles with Lego or reading stories, but it is not so enjoyable when you have to teach them to share the toys, to not hit each other, to wait their turn for something. It is not easy because they will never say ďOh yes you are rightĒ. Of course not: they will complain, shout and cry. And you need to show them that you are the boss. That you are in charge. And actually this is good for them, not only because they will learn manners, but also because they will feel safe. Being a nanny also gave me the opportunity to visit parks, museums, streets and do plenty of activities -the parents gave me lots of freedom around the city, the only requisite was, of course, that the activity was interesting for the kids. During several activities I meet some girls -nannys and babysitters most of them- that are now great friends for me. Being a nanny is a common occupation for teenagers and university students, mostly because it is perfectly compatible with studding and also because it is very enjoyable -if you like kids, of course. I have a bachelor degree in Social Communication, and wile I was working as an au-pair I also started developing the Social Media of Edcorp, an international consulting firm specialized in Education in New Zealand. I was also giving some lessons of Spanish as a private tutor, writing free lance articles of tourism to Spanish and Latin America media, and updating my blog as frequently as I can (the blog is in Spanish, but you can find lots of pictures taken by me in this four months around New Zealand) At the beginning I was able to all this activities at the same time, but four months before starting I decided that it was the moment for a change. Even though the experience was great, I wanted my own flat in order of having more independence. And I was also craving for new experiences. So I give the job for one of my Uruguayan friends -she is a kindergarten teacher so she was thrilled with the offer-, I took more hours at the office and I also assumed a new challenge: being the barman of a very gourmet restaurant. Before coming to New Zealand I studied how to be a bartender at Cocktail Club Uruguay (www.cocktailclub.com.uy), one of the most prestiguious schools of my country, but I have no experience, so it is quite a challenge. I will write about this new job in a couple of months, in my next post. At this stage, after 5 months in New-Zealand, I was running out of money so I was about to go back home, ending my trip without having seen the south island. And one day, I saw an ad of Seasonal Solutions on Facebook for grape harvesting in Central Otago. Iíd already harvested grapes before, in France itís very popular and very nice. I thought it could be a good experience that would give me the opportunity to visit a little bit the south island and maybe save a bit of money. So I put my stuffs in the rear of my car, took the road and 3 days later, I was in Cromwell, harvesting grapes under the sunshine, surrounded by the beautiful mountains and this amazing blue river, it was like paradise. I worked for Grape Vision, a local contractor, if one day youíve got the opportunity to work for them, go for it, itís one of the best. I had an amazing manager, the one who make you feel very good at what you are doing and unique. They paid us more than the minimum wage and than the others contractors around, they gave us gloves to protect our fingers and provided something to eat every morningís smoko. And we had a ending party with a meal and drinks ! The job was pretty easy as the vines are higher here than in France and the people, mostly backpackers from everywhere like me but some local as well, were very friendly. We were working all together in four or six rows every day, we could chat and pick at the same time. I worked 3 weeks without a day off, it was a little tough but I did it and it was worth it, it was good money. It was one of my best experience in New Zealand, I warmly recommend to anyone who likes working outdoor to try it. Whenever you start planning a trip to New Zealand, and when I say a trip I mean a ďone year trip on a working holiday visa to the most isolated country in the entire worldĒ, you donít realize what adventure means till you arrive at the airport in Auckland. Nobody is waiting for you, you have a backpack that weighs half your weight and a customs guy is making you explain what is that Argentinian infusion you are bringing with you. You donít even realize at that moment that you are putting yourself into the most adventurous year of your life. And Iím not just talking about swimming with sharks, jumping from the highest tower or driving the most dangerous road. Definitely not (even tough you can also do all of that in this country). Iím specifically talking about saying goodbye to your family (and not see you tomorrow) leaving all your friends and safety places like your home and your job, getting on a plane for more tan 15 hours, traveling approximately 12000km to a country you barely know about, landing right in the other side of the world without the slightness idea of whatís going to happen from the very first day, and stillÖ getting on that plane and saying goodbye. Itís been six months since we arrived in the greenest country Iíve ever visited and in early February we started one of many ďadventurous tripsĒ when you only know the beginning but never even imagine the ending. (By this time you must have realised that Iím not travelling on my own but still I like to create sort of a mysterious atmosphere) After spending two fabulous months at Mount Maunganui working on the beach, literally on the beach (cleaning the oil from the Rena spill) we decided to keep on travelling and move on (well, we, our employers, who cares?) We had no idea where to go, so we decided to visit a friend we made during the first months of our ďone year trip on a working holiday visa to the most isolated country in the entire worldĒ, who was at that moment living in a farm in the middle of nowhere. Just what we needed. So, once again we said goodbye, now to our lovely flatmates, packed all our stuff put some petrol in our car (the kiwi movil from now on) and started our first road tripping (yeah! If you sing it, do it aloud! Road tripping. Yeah!) I couldnít sleep the two nights before the road tripping and thatís not because I had conjunctivitis (for god sake!) It was only for the simple reason that that was going to be the first time I was driving in the high way, in my own car with a map and a co-pilot as the only witnesses. Yes, I have to admit it. I got my International driver license just a few days before coming to New Zealand and even tough I drove a lot in the city I had never ever driven in the high way before I arrived to New Zealand (and, for my delightful, I found out that Iím a really good driver) So, a few hours later, my nerves a little confused by the up-side downs and more than 500 km driven non-stop, we got to Russell, the first New Zealand capital (a long time ago) and one of the most peaceful and beautiful places weíve been in New Zealand so far. Our friend was waiting for us in her new home, she hadnít made cookies or a big dinner but a bed and good shower was enough. We decided to rest and wait till the next morning to go to town, celebrate our friendís birthday and see what Russell was like (yes, I know that Iíve already said that is one most beautiful towns in NZ but at that time we were about to find it out) The next morning we woke up early, had an empowering breakfast, took some fruits and drove straight to town. We spent only one hour hunging around the town till, by chance and without any expectation, we found a tiny little ad at the post office that claimed: ďWe are looking for experienced, tidy and responsible people to join our team. Please send us your CV or come to the hotelĒ If my mother was told one year ago that I was going to be a housekeeper at a five star hotel in one of the spots towns surrounding the beaches of New Zealand, she would have laugh really loud and said Ďno wayí. But there I was, two days after that miraculous morning, introducing myself to the incredible world of the bleach, the mop and the air freshener. Becoming a master of the vacuum cleaning and the ironing. Willing to know new products everyday and using them as a professional and experienced cleaner. Extremely tidy and organized. Dusting, polishing and moping. Becoming the bellboy, the service guy, the pool man and the managerís hand. And, at last but not least, being a member of the funniest, coolest and most cheerful (and international) housekeeping team in the world! Our job started on a Sunday, can you imagine starting a job on Sunday? That is hard working! And it was only the beginning of the hard working. We spent the following three months working a lot, I think that we only stopped to drink some tea and have some cookies, no Iím just kidding we worked a lot but, luckily, we also spent some time going to the beach, cooking, reading and having the good life but not for a long time because, even tough we never thought that we were going to stay for more tan a week in Russell, I myself, found a second job (and yes, my mum is still laughing and couldnít believe I was working double!) So here comes the description of one my typical double shifts days. 8.00 am. Alarm clock went off for the first time. 8.30 am. Alarm clock went off for the fourth time and I jumped out of the bed. 8.35 am. With my face and teeth cleaned, I started to make and have breakfast 9.00 am. Signing in at my first job (still a bit sleepy) 9.01 am to 3.30 pm. Cleaning, dusting, cleaning, moping, cleaning, vacuuming!!! Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning!!! 3.30 pm to 4 pm. Quick shower, fast lunch and preparing myself for my second job 4 pm. Signing in at Sallyís Restaurant. 4.01 till late. Stocking the bar, making coffees and drinks, waiting, writing the specials on the board, helping in the kitchen, taking a ten minutes break, making the bills, counting tips, cleaning and closing the restaurant. Late. Having dinner and some drinks at the restaurant, next to the Russell wharf, relaxing with my new friends (and the enigmatic someone that has been with me through all the trip) and having the best time of the day under the shining moon (unless it was raining. Then, it was only the restaurantís roof) Later (after late). Getting home in my Mercedes Benz, smoking a Cuban cigar, drinking my scotch on the rocks, listening to chill out music and taking a long bath. Oh no! I felt asleep again! Sorry! The last part of the day wasnít that interesting so weíll skip it. Adventure means out of any convention for me so a fantastic summer spent in the unthinkable Russell, working with wonderful people, spectacular viewings and the best environment ever is an adventure itself without any doubt. Our Working Holiday Visa Tour is still on, so buy your tickets. That was just the beginning. To begin with let me just say that it wasnít easy finding a job in Mount Maunganui. But, as they say (even though I donít know who ďtheyĒare), hope is the last thing you lose. We arrive to New Zealand on the last days of November. Oh wait, I forgot. You donít know who WE are. Iím Gonzalo, and I came to the kiwi centre of the universe with Juan from Argentina, the Dulce de leche centre of the universe. Now we can go on with my story. As I was saying, we arrived to New Zealand on the last days of November. We stayed in Auckland for two days and then moved to Mount Maunganui. Itís a 6 hours drive by bus with a short scale in Rotorua. The road to the Mount is quite amazing. You get to see beautiful prairies and mounts. One expects to see Heidi or the Von Trapp family coming down at one moment or the other. (They donít, in case you were wondering). So. We got to Mount Maunganui, and we were thrilled to see the place where we were going to live. I mean, you see the beach, you see the sea and a big mount at the end that sums it all up. How could one not be amazed by that?! Of course we were two, but the rule still applies. We stayed at a backpackers on one of the main roads but a bit aside from the city centre. Great place. And the very next day started looking for a job. We couldnít find anything. We went into every shop, motel, hotel, drive in. We even went into a tent, but that was just a mistake. Although the couple that was in did offer us some work! But I aint ironing no one clothes!! So we just kept on looking for a whole week. Now, for those of you who donít know thisÖ a week is made of seven days. And that brings you down. So we were ready to leave the mount, feeling defeated, when the girl who works at the backpackers said: ďHey guys! I think I got a job for you!Ē "Well take it!" we said fill with joyment. So, she made a phone call and on we were into the bus all the way to Tauranga city. What a moment of happiness. We could already see ourselves with our pockets full of money, and our hearts filled with pride. But mostly with our pockets filled with money. Then again our pockets werent that big so it didnt need too much money to fill them. Anyway, we went to this employment office and told the receptionist that we were there for a job. The man asked us if we had a car. We said no. He said he didnt have any job for us. But we werent going down without a fight! So we told the guy that we would get a car and come back the very next day. And we did. And we got the job. Now in order for you to understand what was it that we did, I need to tell you about a little disaster that happened on the New Zealand shores. There was this big boat coming from I dont know where to I dont know where (not a long trip I suposse since both places have the same name) carrying a lot of stuff in it. And rumor has it that it was the captains birthday so everyone was drinking. You know how they say that you must not drink and drive? Well it seems that it also applies to driving big boats full of stuff. So the boat hit the rocks and the oil started to come out and float its way to the beaches. And our job, was to pick up that oil and put into bags so the beaches would be clean and prettyÖ and safe once again. Its actually a pretty good job. You earn money and you are doing something for the environment. We had to use this white overall, gloves and boots so it felt like you were in a movie starring Dustin Hoffman. Have you seen that movie? Its actually really good. You should see it. In fact I advise to go right now and rent it. Go. Go now. Have you done it? Have you watched it? Wasnt it awesome? See? I told you! Now lets go back to my story. The pay was good, and we had a 30 minutes lunch. Now, the lunch time was unpaid but they would give us a big lunch consisting of two sandwiches, a muffin, a square of cake, a fruit, and chips. So it was great! Since we were working on the beach under the sun, they supplied us with plenty of water and sunscreen. Every morning our supervisor would tell us the safety rules of the day. And you know in the beginning it was hard to understand what he said. Kiwis have an accent thats difficult to understand. But between me, my friend Juan, a guy from Paris, and two check girls we were able to understand what we should or shouldnt do. At least most of it. We did this job for a whole month and we loved it. But after a while, there just wasnt that much oil in the beaches. (Thanks to who? A-ha! Thanks to us, yes sir. Good workers arent we?) so they told us that the job was over and that only a few would continue working. We werent part of that few people group. And off we went in search of another job. But thats another story and maybe Ill tell you about it in another letter. Now go, enjoy the beaches and know that they are clean of oil. I saw an ads for apple picker on suitcasehome and I TXT the contact person. He rang and told me there was a vacancy for onion grader, much suitable for girls. So I took it and booked a bus ticket on nakedbus from Auckland to Waipawa. I left Auckland at 7:30 a.m. and reached Waipawa at 7:50 p.m. and the supervisor of the onion packinghouse picked me up. After a long journey, I had a sound sleep in the dormitory that provided by the factory owner. My first seasonal job as an onion grader began on 03/27, just picking out stones, rotten and damaged onions from the good ones No WIFI and weak signal indoor for call, which disappointed me. The rent was $100 per week and 4-6 persons per room. I stayed there for two weeks and enjoyed life with those guys good at cooking. We had parties at weekends, sharing food like Sushi, Indian noodles, Pasta and chicken rice, etc. Nice natural beauty there. I looked on the seasonal jobs website one evening and searched for hospitality and south island. Up came a list of various hotel chains in places such as Wanaka, Queenstown, Tekapo... all of the beautiful places that I knew I would miss out on if I were to waste the rest of my precious time in Auckland! Then low and behold, one particular position caught my eye! This was in a place I had never even heard of. I knew I had passed through, but like all other small towns, the first time I had passed through Omarama, it had never really blown me away enough to stop and have a coffee, and it had never imprinted on my memory. I looked on Google, found the location and read a little bit about the town - A small town with approx 800 residents. The location was perfect, just 100km from Wanaka, Tekapo and Oamaru. This was just what I needed to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, to go and live and work somewhere quiet, where I can work as many hours as I like (which was a lot after 3 months of not earning) and that I can manage my finances. Reading the fine details about the job, and having checked out the estasblishments website online, I knew then and there that this was the job for me. I called the telephone number on seasonal jobs and the very next hour I had a call back. Could I send my CV and a brief covering letter? Yes! Of course! The next day(actually my birthday) I received a telephone call. We would like to offer you the job, and as youre experienced you will be starting on a little more than our basic entry wage. Wonderful! thats exactly what I had expected! The next day I packed the van and set off on a 3 day road trip to Omarama, Place of Light. When I arrived late in the night, three days early for work, the employer never failed to disappoint. Everything that was promised to me was delivered... Unlimited hours, good wage, accommodation provided for a lump sum, induction, training and a beautiful, quiet and scenic backdrop to enjoy the rest of what had already been a glorious summer. Starting work in the restaurant/housekeeping departments, I later transfered to the kitchen, first as a kitchen hand, then being trained as a chef assistant. Needless to say, I fell in love with the region and worked at a local skilodge for the winter. But before I had left for the winter I had secured my job back at the same establishment in Omarama for the following Summer. Im still here now, as a breakfast and lunch chef, coming to the end of my second summer season, and once again I am looking at the seasonal jobs website to try and find some income for the winter. Ive been asked to return to my job in Omarama again next summer season. Of course it depends on my VISA but I would have no other objections. To me, Omarama was where I was meant to be all along, it feels like home to me. Being here has changed my life in many ways, it feels like the path I was always meant to take... the road less travelled! UK Traveller & NZ Enthusiast Back home, and before coming in New Zealand, I obtained a degree in horticultural production and I would like to run my own apple orchard for making apple cider, which is very popular in the place where I live. So, one of my plan was working in apple production for afford my trip of course and learn news techniques. Full of hope, I arrived in Napier at the beginning of December, as recommend by the Pick NZ office (http://www.picknz.co.nz/), the first result appearing when you look for a seasonal job in fruit picking in NZ. Very high level of job demand for this period of the year, and after having registered myself on the website and send some emails directly to the office without receiving any concrete answer, I decided to come and see by myself. As so many other travellersÖ I found a city full of backpackers looking for the same thing, a job in apple thinning, the only job available at this time of the year. Most of them were, even worse, in a hostel where the manager had promised them a job if they stayed in the hostel and paid for room for a week but couldnít give a job to everyone, so all these poor travelers were wasting their money in the meantime. Very discouraging. Of course, the trip until Hastings for visiting the Pick NZ office and registered myself again in person was useless. The same answer, Ďwe will let you know if we have any opportunitiesí. I started to search for orchards address on Internet and go there for meeting the manager in person and ask if there were some positions available, and send some emails at the same time. After 3 days of work, because as everywhere in the world, looking for a job, if you really want to get one, is a full time job, I received a positive answer. But the manager was looking for someone with experience with hydraladderÖ Hum, I could do it, I could learn something new very quickly, and I was very motivated so that worked ! The farm was located between Napier and Hastings and was also a wwoofing place. They gave me a go during the 3 first days as a wwoofer and finally they hired me. I was working 8 hours per day, 3 hours for food and accommodation, who was in a caravan with share kitchen and bathroom, and the rest was paid. The job was not very hard, apple thinning being just pick the small and bad apple and let them on the ground, so you get it quickly and can be very fast after only 3 full days of work. Of course, you must know that you go to spend 8 hours up, outside, concentrated on apples, and that could be boring sometimes. But compared to the workers that I met before, I was paid hourly and not by contract (per tree), so I had decent wages. There were other wwoofers over there so I could socialize. I worked there for 5 weeks and they offered me to come back for the harvest season. Of course I said yes, I didnít really want to have the same bad days, care about money and job opportunities. And even if this year is a bad year for apple because of the bad summer, I met some great people and it was a great opportunity for me to learn something new in my job back home. In conclusion, I would like to say to travellers who would like to enjoy a working experience in New Zealand to do not rely on those who say to you that they can find you a work but offer you nothing concrete and thatís always better when you do it by yourself. Dear fellow backpackers, I am sure you will agree that there are not many countries as suitable for backpacking as New Zealand is. However, I am sure you will also agree that a green land far far away is not so keen on our pockets, which makes working here necessarily for almost everybody who wants to stay more than a month or two. And we all know that not even six months is enough to explore all the beauties of Kiwiland. The work itself is a nice opportunity not just to make some money, but to get to know the working system in another country, learn some extra skills and meet other travelers. It is great to put down a backpack for a few weeks and stay still in one place for a while before the travel bug starts kicking in again. But I am sure you already found out that this is harder than it sounds. It is not work that itís a necessary evil, itís finding it. Yes, there are different job agencies and services which you would expect to provide you with work and all the information you need, but my own experiences show, that like at many other things in life, you have to shift for yourself. Best way to get seasonal work is to go directly to managers of orchards or vineyards. Most of job seekers do that, which means they skip the middlemen and therefore they do not have anything to offer you. Ask travelers at the hostel you are staying and get managers contacts from previous employees. Call them and do not wait for the phone call you were promised to receive at an agency. Even locals I met didnít prove to have very reliable information. They are all saying things like: ďOh, yeah! Thereís hips of work here or there,Ē but they donít know that there are also a lot of backpackers fighting for that spots. Websites like www.backpackersboard , www.agstaff , www.seasonalwork, ect werenít very useful to me, but they can help you to find out what kind of work is coming up in different regions. Build your itinerary based on that. One other thing that is important if you are looking for work in an orchard or a vineyard is having your own ride. Thereís a reason why they ask you if have on at every agency. My experiences show that you are more likely to get a job if you have a car, but thatís not completely true, especially if you go directly to managers. Also not completely true, is that all job agencies are useless. Barbara at Wanaka Job Agency is a great girl and she does not just give you false hope, she indeed calls you, and not just once. If you are looking for other types of work, the story is not that different. The best thing is to go to a sore, a restaurant or a cafť you want to work in and hand your CV directly to the manager. Be persistent. Go there many times so they will remember you and know you are serious. In my opinion work is easier to find in smaller and quieter towns where backpackers usually donít stay for more than a night such as Twizel or Arrowtown. The competition in bigger cities is tough, especially if you are trying to get a job in a city center. Stores along Qeen St in Auckland will reject you by showing you a pile of CVs they receive every day. Again, try your luck in quieter neighborhoods. Bottom of line, there is a lot of seasonal work in New Zealand and it is possible to get it, although it sometimes looks like it isnít. Just donít lose hope, look around you and be open to anything that comes your way. Happy travels and best of luck, Tomaz from Slovenia Hello there! My name is Isha, and I come from the Netherlands. I came here in New Zealand to travel and work. When I arrived I discovered that I preferred to travel first, and so I travelled for 2 months and spent a lot of money. After these 2 amazing months I realised that I really needed to find a job to earn my money back. And so my job hunting began. First I tried to get a seasonal job in Nelson/Blenheim. Unfortunately, I was there at the wrong time: The season wasnít even started and most of the companies were on holiday break. So after two unsuccessful weeks I went to Wellington to try to find a hospitality job. This didnít work out either. I was pretty tired of (for more than 1 month) intensively looking for jobs, and so I decided to go to a Ďworking hostelí in Napier. This hostel would help me with getting a seasonal job, and provides also transport to the job, which is good because I donít have a car. I came here together with Janine, another Dutch girl that I met during my travels. We both hoped that we could get a job really soon! At the time we arrived here and we checked in, I was more happy than anyone in the world, as the hostel-owner said they should have a job for us in 2 days. After all this seemed to be not exactly true, because it was one week later that we could finally begin. We were going to do picking, thinning and pruning Capsicums. When I first heard that, I laughed and thought how ironic it was. In Holland I live in an area where there is a big capsicum-business in glasshouses. So Isha goes to the other side of the world, to do the same thing she can do next to her own house in Holland! Haha! The hostel-owner told us to wear a shirt with long sleeves and long pants, sport shoes, and a cap against the sun. We also put a lot of sunscreen on, because we were still a little bit sunburned from a few days before. Tip: Bring always sunscreen with you, although itís not sunny in the morning, you know the changing weather conditions in New-Zealand! I brought my little 750ml water bottle, assuming that there would be a water tap, where I could refill my bottle. When we arrived there by car with 3 other people from our hostel, we had to sign a contract on the bonnet , which I thought was funny because I expected that we had to have an interview in an office with the supervisor or something. But no, only signing the contract and giving our documents was enough. Tip: If itís your first day of work, bring your passport, and a copy of it, a copy of your visa, your IRD-number, and your bank account number. Besides, there was nothing like an office there! There wasnít even a water tap, which meant that I was going to die due to a lack of water;) Well, ok, it was not that bad, but you could say that I looked similar to one of the sad dried out Capsicum-plants at the end of the day! Tip: Bring always loads and loads of water with you!! I never have had a seasonal job before and so the first day was pretty hard. We needed to sit on a plastic box, which was placed on a trolley, and put ourselves forward with our legs. Meanwhile we had to remove the side-branches, but to do this you needed to bend over. How later that day, how older I felt myself. In the end I couldnít even sit straight anymore because my back was hurting and stuck at the same position. Haha, and with the sun shining, sweating like never before and a lack of water, the music in my ears was the only reason I survived that first day. Tip: Bring you I-pod with some good music and make sure itís completely loaded (the last hours of the day you will probably need it the most) The day after, I was better prepared. I had a short-sleeved t-shirt on, because there was no reason to put long sleeves on, and I had ten times more water with me. Unfortunately Janine didnít come with me the second day because she had too much pain in her back. When we arrived I was happily surprised because we had to pick the big capsicums! This was actually pretty funny to do. Except that we had to use a little knife, and that I (of course) cut a piece of my finger of. Haha, but even though I had a Vietnam wound now, which I secretly thought was really cool, the picking of capsicums was sweet hey! Just racing with your trolley in front of you, put the capsicums in the plastic boxes, and try to be the fastest.! I was sad that after 1 hour all the big capsicums where already picked. Now I needed to fasten all the plants to a cable with tape so that they can grow straight. This was less hard for my back, so that was good. But this time my hand was painful after a while, because you have to staple the tape around the plant and cable with your hand. But never mind, the first days your body just have to get used to the act or move. So donít be scared, in the end everything will be all right;) We have 3 breaks a day and in the break we just hang around the car a little bit. Itís nice to relax for a moment and secretly eat some blueberries from the other field! Tip: Take except your lunch also something sweet, something fresh and something salty to eat with you. Like a muesli-bar, an apple and some nuts or chips. At my third working day it rained in the morning. I first prepared to go to work, than I heard that we didnít have to work so I went to bed again. After ten minutes I heard that we did have to go to work anyway, so I stressed and tried to be ready at time. But then after 5 minutes my colleague got a text-message that there was no work today. Haha it was crazy, but in the end I went back to bed again. Tip: Check the weather conditions for the day after, so that you can prepared , and already know if there is a chance you donít have to work the next day. Well, this was a description of my first working days! I hope you enjoyed it. I think the first days are always hard because your body has to get used to it. But after a few days everything is ok, you will get to know the people you work with, and talk with them while youíre working. You can also listen to music, or think about your boyfriend (or girlfriend haha). So after all, itís not that bad, and sometimes it will be even fun! You will get tan, and maybe lose some weight! You are outside, in the summer, with the nature around you and although the days will be long, I think itís a nice way to earn some money! I will end my story with three other tips. - Take many different clothes with you. If the weather suddenly changes you want to be prepared. So take a sweater and your raincoat with you! - If youíre preparing for work in the morning, put some fresh lemon and some sugar in your water. Believe me, drinking this helps you surviving the heat. - If youíre tired of all your music, because you have listened it for a thousand times, you can also buy some audiobooks and put them on your I-pod! Now you can enjoy a story, and earn money at the same time! Im a small town New Zealand guy and when i left school i wanted to leave my small town behind for a new and exciting adventure. Having spent all my school life in the north island i decided to head off to the south island. i had been told by a few friends and family that i should go to a place called MOtueka and pick apples. It had never crossed my mind to do anything like this before but i was in search of an adventure so i decided to head off. I figured the south island was much colder than the north so i packed a few jackets. But when i arrived in motueka the weather was perfect and i didnt ever use the jackets i had packed. My first day on the job started around 7am , it was tough work and i ended up only picking 2 bins ( the average for a normal person was 4).By the end of the week i had reached my target of 4 bins a day but was stuffed. I felt like going to my cabin and dying but then i got chatting to a few people and we decided to treat ourself to a few beverages. As time went by i started to pick even more bins and was getting some what fitter. along with my work improving my social life was also improving. There was me and about 4 kiwis, a couple germans , an american, brazilian, a frenchy and a couple of checzs. I had never seen this sort of diversity before as i had never left the north island but it was cool to hear so many stories from all around the world. Things were looking good, life was great, good times and good friends. So after my first day of pain and terror it had some how jumped to the end of the 2 months. it was sad but my pockets were full of cash, i was super fit and i had met some awesome people, some who i still stay in touch with too this day even though over 10 years have passed. Its a part of my life il never forget in one of the most beautiful places in the world with some fantastic people so that was just a brief explanation of my first time picking, i liked it so much that i returned a few years later. I reccomend it to everyone ps only problem is you may get sick of apples ďWell certainly my dear,Ē she said ďyouíre going to have a lovely time at the lodge, believe you me.Ē ďOK, Angie. Itís a deal then. Weíll be there in three days. See ya!Ē Wow! I thought to myself, what a nice lady. Canít wait to get there. I googled ďRUSSELL NZĒ, clicked the ďimageĒ tab and it seemed to be the perfect place. Really beautiful. So we packed our stuff, which is not so little, threw everything in the car and said goodbye to our woofing hosts in Tauranga. It was a really nice experience to woof on a farm, but we needed some extra cash and we thought weíll be able to get a full-time or part-time job in Russell. Also the Rena mess made our decision to leave the region an easy one. The deal with Angie, the owner of the Family Park in Russell, was that we work there for 2,5 hours daily for accommodation. Which sounded quite reasonable at the moment, comparing it to the 5 hours we worked at the farm for a room and most of the food. Plus we could apply for some afternoon paid jobs in the town, which there are ďheapsĒ of. So there we were. A 27 year old Slovenian couple, both with university degrees (not that it matters, not here not at home), full of energy and expectations parked at the Family Park to begin our work there. Angie greeted us with a voice that was a mixture of snobbish English and something I couldnít figure out at that moment. She showed us our room, which was a big one with four beds and a small fridge. The furniture and the equipment in the room were slightly out of date, some 30 years, but so were the most things around the Park. Never than less we kind of liked it and were happy to finally sleep on a double bed after last week sharing a bunk, which doesnít help the relationship balance. ďYou guys relax, and go to the town to ask for some work. Iíve talked with the restaurants in the town and they need heaps of help there. Iím sure youíll find something quickly. No worries. Youíll be okay here. Believe you me.Ē ďThatí cool. Thanks Angie. And we start to work tomorrow? What type of work we will be doing?Ē ďWell, weíve got cleaning covered, so that means you two can do a lot of gardening. Is that all right with you?Ē asked very politely, emotionless. ďI guess so. I love working outside in the nature. And what time should we start?Ē ďOh, Iíll tell you in the evening, I have to ask Bob, because he will be working with you guys.Ē Bob was her husband, a Kiwi. An all right dude turned bitch whipped. But thatís how things turn out sometimes, even for the toughest chaps. She came from Australia and after getting to know her made me consider real good if I want to visit the country. They lived half of year in New Zealand and half a year in Australia. A well of couple with two grown up daughters. They bought the place ages ago as a type of investment and rented it out to different managers. Iíve been told that the prior manager turned the place into a dump. Having drug dealers living there and let it slowly rot away. Now it was their time to take over their kingdom again and regain power and the Working-Holiday Visa travelers were their servants that would make the magic work. There were lots of other people working at the place. A 19 year old German couple so beautifully naive and full of hopes and dreams it made you feel like a teenager again. But they had to work 3 hours daily, because they stayed in a special lodge, which was much smaller than our room, but had a terrace and wooden floor. There was also a German girl (seems that these days the country has more German population than Argentina after WWII) who was also looking for some paid job, because she wanted to travel with her boyfriend who is on the way here. But she was more or less in her room watching soaps and searching for jobs that actually paid, so we didnít had much contact. And not to forget a 6 head family, which were the coolest people we met so far. So we were the Park pack. Doing whatever there was, to keep it clean, keep it pretty to Australian standards and to be good obedient workers, which we were forced and proved to be just the next day. ďWhy donít we go down to the town to ask for jobs?Ē Katja asked me. ďAll right than. I just grab the CVs and weíre off,Ē I replied, Ēit would be nice if we find something today, ha?Ē ďYes, that would be cool. So we can finally save up something as we agreed to.Ē The little town of Russell, which we didnít know by then how little it was, was very little. It wasnít just very little it was also a good hour walk from the Park. So here we go petrol money! The town center consists of four restaurants, two cafes, a pub, three souvenir shops and two supermarkets of the same company. Lots of opportunities for everybody I guess. So afterward I checked the web, telling me that that Russell has only about 2500 inhabitants. Hmmm. Thatís for not doing your homework! The next day we start at about 9 AM. Bob the chief rocka drove us in his SUV/4x4 around the property while we put the trash in the trailer attached to the car. Next stop, dropping the rubbish and then fill the trailer with what they call good soil. Actually it was just clay that stood there for ages and was hard as aÖ. Well, I donít mind working with picks and spades, but my girlfriend definitely wasnít used to that kinda work. But we did as we were told to. And no time to breathe or go to toilet or get a glass of water. ďHey we have only two hours and a half,Ē said the chief. Iíve worked in landscaping for some time and I can tell you that we never worked this fast. Not because we wouldnít want to, but because itís just not healthy to work without a pause or hydration, especially under the world famous New Zealand sun. A surprise awaited us just around the corner. The next day it was burning stuff day. Which means that we burned all the old invoices, files and papers, of course keeping the 30 year old broken folders for future generations to use. And they picked just the right spot to do it Ė on bare land in front of the trees. ďDonít you think the forest can catch fire?Ē Katja asked Bob. He looked like a wasp stung him in the nuts, like: ĒNah. Itís gonna be all right. Donít you worry. If that would be Australia we would be in trouble, but New Zealand got good trees, they doní burn that fast. Plus itís not that dry hereĒ ďWhatever you sayĒ I go. Although it looked like a damn dessert. Then we watch the fire that rose like three meters high slightly touching the manuka trees. He puts on more paper and some dry gorse. WOOOOF it goes. We just watch the spectacle skeptical and wait Ďtil it would go down. He dontyouworryiní us again. Meanwhile Angie stops by and whispers in Bobís ear: ĒHey. Why are they standing around? They donít do nothing. Get them to work.Ē I just think to myself: ďWhat a poor schmuck!Ē and ďWhat a c**t!Ē ďYou cannot load everything on the fireĒ Bob goes. ďItís going to be too big. The forest might catch fire.Ē ďOK, but still. Maybe he can get new folders and she can put stuff on the fire. They canít just stand around.Ē Of course this was a great idea and we finish the day smelling like smoked salmon. When we arrive at the so called base to return the gear, meaning gloves full of holes, they find out that there are still 5 minutes left so we do some other stuff for the next 20 minutes. How do you like that? In the next few days we got the task to make a forest trail for the customers. What sounded like great, ended up frustrating, when finally Angie interfered. She wanted the trail to go through the swamp. HmmmÖ No problem. There you go. Now the people staying in the Family Park can freely enjoy the moist experience in the beautiful swamp. Just donít forget to give them gum boots Angie. We stayed for two weeks all together. The 6 member family living there and some other woofers made the stay there enjoyable, but we needed some paid jobs. Where do we go from here? Letís go to Wellington! We guessed in a big city itís going to be easier to find a job, more people, more jobs. "Haere Mai, passive reader. I arrived in NZ last March and spent a couple of months in Auckland. During what is amusingly called ĎWinterí in the Southern hemisphere (for the obvious yet still pleasantly foreign concept of it running from June to August), I began to travel around the North Island. Myself and my delightfully reckless new friend Pierre (yes, French) set off to the Bay of Plenty (of recent oil spill fame) to seek out opportunities in the traditional New Zealand seasonal vocation of Kiwi-picking. Te Puke, the kiwi fruit capital of the world, was where we found ourselves soon after. Checking in to the ĎHairy Berryí hostel it was a wonderful surprise to find that a drink fuelled, metal loving, Norse-cultured energy vibrated its walls. We were both soon revelling in late night sessions of testosterone fuelled excessive drinking, discussions on historical warfare and random acts of destruction to the pleasantly reminiscent thrashing of Slayer and the like. A great deal of seasonal agriculture work can be found through the local hostels and motor parks within the respective area. After talking with a contact at the Hairy Berry we soon found ourselves packing Kiwiís by the thousand in an enormous warehouse at Satara, one of several packhouse chains in the area; a line of work that did not pay particularly well but made up for it in the available hours (sometimes 60+). Its a monotonous environment, the air filled with kiwi fibres and the noise of conveyor machinery, but like many things its something you can get used to. Soon after this we tried our hand at the much more physically demanding (but equally more soul rewarding) actual picking of the Kiwis. We both moved into a caravan park on the other side of town for a much cheaper rent whose minor inconveniences could be resolved easily by a bit of forward planning ahead of the 20yard walk to the kitchen and the $5 purchase of a 2nd hand electric heater. Contracted to be paid by the value of a crate divided by how many people were picking to fill them, this inspired a motivation and impetus to pick the Kiwiís, hanging between 5 and 7 feet off the ground, at a ferocious rate. Myself I achieved a truly joyful efficiency in grip-to-drop rate that must have amounted to around 3-4 pieces of fruit in the chest-mounted bag per second, filling the bag in about 4-5 minutes. At about $14 per crate, an average of 8 people per team and about 30-40 bags filling a crate... well, you do the maths. The work was exhausting and on occasion annoyingly infrequent when the rain clouds appeared. But this was an authentically, and literally ĎKiwií experience that I would never change. Pierre and I shared solidarity with each other and all others we met of a kind I believe can only be felt by those from lands far away, joined together and engaged in a sporadic physical labour on foreign shores. But much more than this, because of the PSA infection, a congenital disease that has now spread across almost the entire Kiwi industry in New Zealand, this seasonal work that has kept working-travellers flowing through this region for decades, may well entirely come to an end within the next four or five years according to many growers that we spoke to. For this reason alone, I feel privileged to have been a part of it". I grew up in Marlborough, where Seasonal Work is a way of life. Each and every summer I marched out into the vineyards, sun-block smeared across my forehead, gloves at the ready, hoping to gain new friends, some more work experience, some cash to burn, and most importantly, a sun-tan. What I gained from seasonal work was all that and more. I gained character. Working outdoors in the elements can have its ups and downs but at the end of the day itís always worth it. You retreat back out of the sun to wherever it is you came from and enjoy a fantastic glass of Marlborough wine, quietly wondering whether the grapes that went into the wine came from a plant that was once tended by your own hands in summers passed. The people from all walks of life who join you working along those long rows of endless summers will stay with you forever. For several summers I watched a friendship blossom between myself and two friends as we bud-rubbed and wire-lifted away our days together. Those girls are now young women, and will be escorting me down the aisle as my bridesmaids in January. I watched a romance grow as two people working together over the summer leaned over the wires and whispered things to one another. They are still in Love and still spend their summers working together as a couple, 5 years on. One year I worked with a Tongan family for a few weeks and learned things about their language and culture that helps me relate to people in many situations. Those people who have experienced seasonal jobs like me will agree that although it feels like you are just picking up a bit of work over a period of time, and although it feels like a temporary state that will be gone and forgotten, this is not true. Seasonal jobs COULD change your very life as you know it. After a month of travelling a bit around and sightseeing, I noticed that I was spending more money than I calculated I would. Not a problem, job hunting started! Translated my CV and went into town, to drop it off at some places. I was looking forward to work in hospitality, so most of the places were restaurants and bars. No experience, but back in Holland I used to work as a manager in a supermarket so I had a lot of experience with working with people and customers. Always happy, a smile on my face, make sure that customers have a day out: thatís what youíre responsible for when you have a job in hospitality. I thought I could do it! After a few days I received a phone call from a restaurant, they wanted me to come in for an open interview, with 4 others. Eventually I was the lucky one and had to come in for a trial. Even after the trial, with no experience Šnd a Dutch accent, they hired me! Thirty to forty hours is what they promised me. Lucky me! Waitressing in a good restaurant, making delicious coffees and working behind the bar would be the things to fill in my job. The first night I was slightly nervous: my first job in a country I just arrived 6 weeks ago, speaking a language that Iím capable of speaking it but which still isnít my first language, and in an industry Iíve never worked before. After all I did a good job. The girls with who I worked that night were happy, and I was a member of the team! After a few weeks I realised that I still didnít work thirty hours a week so far, and even after asking for more hours (a girl quit) I ended up with 20hours a week. Not what they promised me. Last weekend, I work here for 6 weeks now, I had to work with this lady who manages the restaurant. Once she entered the building, all staffs faces tightened and I could feel the tense. And indeed, as the girls I was working with once told me: she is a tyrant, snarls at the staff, never let us finish what we have to say, gives us orders in front of customers, always looking for something that she can blame us for, treats you like youíre the most stupid person she has ever met, etc etc... Once she is in, all of the staff rather wants to go home. Before I applied for a job at this restaurant, a women told me: donít apply there, I was there once having a coffee with a friend and on older lady was shouting and screaming to her staff. You really donít want to work there! But I did... And no I finally worked with her, I can definitely say that she is not the kind of person I want to work for. I used to managed 20 people, but I never ever treated them like how she treats us. Ever. I know sometimes you have to be hard at your staff, but if you ask it nicely but still letting them know that youíre the boss, they will do everything for you! My team in Holland had never let me down, and I was respectful to everybody. This lady, on the other hand, is the opposite. Never in my entire life I let anyone speak to me again the way she did. Tonight Iím going to quit my job. Not only because of her, I just donít want to give her the joy that someone quits because of her, but mostly because of the hours that they promised me I would get. I work to live, I donít live to work. I flew into New Zealand on 12th October after putting back my flight from Chile 3 times, yes the staff at the travel company were starting to get to know about me and my life! I spent just over 7 months in South America, the end months werent by choice - I had to stay there until I made enough money to continue my travels. My flight over to Auckland was a nerve racking experience, I couldnt sleep as I knew I only had $100 to my name and I seriously needed a job. Not the best time to be flying into the country with the rugby world cup on - the cost of hostels were extortionate. I arrived at 6am in the morning and was told I wouldnt be able to check in until 1pm - so after a long flight with no sleep I had to battle on before I could finally rest. I took myself to job boards in hostels, the post shop to get my bank account and IRD number sorted and then to an internet cafe. I plodded on and got myself 2 interviews for the next day and another 3 for later in the week - I really wasnt messing about. The rugby world cup although expensive for me, helped me out as I got a job immediately as a Transport Advisor, which was a tad ironic, informing people where to get their transport from when I had only been in the country myself a mere matter of days. I have also worked for other companies; at a food event making cocktails, at Ellerslie Racecourse for the Melbourne cup and a door knocking milk man! I have been none stop in my quest for work and the search continues. I like the adventure and experience but it is also not as easy as I thought it would be securing a job. Thanks for reading. This winter, I came from Canada with a group of my friends to spend the season snowboarding at Snow Park. I intended on getting a part time job once I arrived and settled in Wanaka, but I didnt know it would be so hard to get work here. For two months I job hunted with no success - town was too quiet! After almost giving up hope the Job Agency in Wanaka gave me a call about some work at a cafe on weekends. I happily accepted (especially because I was almost broke) and started working the same weekend. After I worked a few weekends there, the agency started calling me with more and more work throughout the week. Over the last two months of the season I have done numerous odd jobs around Central Otago including; vineyard work, helping a moving company and even setting up a fashion show. Some of the work was awesome and some was terrible, but the agency always gave me something to do. They listened to what work I enjoyed and helped place me in more similar positions. When it came time to leave and move onto Queenstown, the agency in Wanaka set me up with the agency here and has already got me some work lined up. If youre a backpacker in Wanaka or Queenstown and looking for some part time work definitely pop into the Job Agency and see if they can help you out. They usually pay just over minimum wage and are good at finding you work each week. I had a great time working for them and hopefully you do to! by Kyle Gibson Peach thinning working experience When I arrived in Hawkeís Bay, I soon found a seasonal job Ė thanks to my roommates who informed me. A local company hired us to work in a nearby peach orchard. Our task was to cut off most of the peaches, so that the remaining ones had enough space to grow really big. Doing this we had to use a ladder in order to get to the top branches of the peach trees, nevertheless some of them seemed to be unreachable. Observed by Indian supervisors we had to finish at least 3 trees per hours, which sounds quite easy but it is almost impossible. Work started every morning at 7 a.m. and ended at approximately 4.30 p.m. in a six days per week schedule. We were promised to earn $5 per tree; in the end we all got just $13.25 per hour (before tax, which is minimum pay). Working in a rural orchard means silent environment, fresh air and time to think about everything, but also itching, bloodshot eyes and skin irritations due to sprayings and sunburns and dehydration due to only few breaks during the day. In addition to that we had to stand the so-called Indian way of motivating people, which meant threatening us with losing our job in such bad English a three-year-old could express. As a result many works were fired after having worked 2 days and many quitted deliberately. At least the salary was in time. All in all this job is a good means to earn money quickly for 2-3 days if you need it urgently, but nothing more. By the time we arrived back in Arrowtown where our shared accommodation was, it was well into dusk, and very cool. As I said the mornings and evenings take up the greatest parts of the day in the high mountainous regions of Queenstown and Arrowtown, and though it was cold at around 4pm every night, one could enjoy a spectacular array of dusky colors in the sky almost every night. The air is so clear and dry at that altitude, and the weather is consistently good. I assume due to the outdoor work, and clean clear crisp working environment of the mountains, everyone was very subdued after work, and would usually retire to bed early. But before bed we would share a meal. Every night it was someone elseís turn to cook, and there was a big pot, that was used by everyone. The meals were basic fodder. Mince and boiled potatoes, mince and beans, stew, stew and cabbage and potatoes, stew and beans, etc. I will always remember this time working in the vineyards of Queenstown, and would encourage anyone who wants to have a go at doing seasonal work to give it a try. The starts are early, the days can be long, and the work hard, but it is an unforgettable experience. Back in 2009, I was able to scrounge up enough money to travel half way across the world to Japan and New Zealand. Of which I spent one week in Tokyo, Japan and a month in Auckland, New Zealand. I was able to stay with a very good friend of mine, which meant I did not have to pay for accommodation. I went out to NZ wanting to spend time with my friend, while seeing what I could of NZ and not losing too much money in the progress (since I was a student!). If you want to work in NZ you will need to do the following first before you are permitted to work for a year. The New Zealand government offers something called a Working Holiday Scheme which simply involves you applying without needing to provide any evidence that you have even received a job offer. I am a UK citizen so it was not necessary for me to apply for a Visa. Finding work for me was easy only because the work found me! To my advantage, I was able to assist my friend who is a bass guitarist in a band but he now plays for a band in LA called ďTribeĒ.I ended up assisting his band with some odd jobs such as some promotional filming and carrying gear. Nothing major, but that was how I got by! All the while I was able to watch a live shows, for minimal effort. It was great being able to spend time catching up with my long time friend and his family. He was able to show me a good time on the North Island, with us having some eventful nights in Auckland. I also had a site recommended to me called http://www.askalo.co.nz/ that I found pretty handy on figuring out what I should do next.His family also owned their own boat, so one weekend we were able to get an amazing view of Auckland from a distance. The view had then become pretty blurry since I got to hang off the back of the boat on one of those rubber tubes. My personal highlight of my time in New Zealand though, would have to be jumping out of a plane from 15,000 ft in the air over lake Taupo. If you get the chance, you must do Tandem Skydiving! That is something I will never forget, and the view on the way down was truly All in all, in case it is not apparent I really enjoyed my time in New Zealand and if I had the chance I would most definitely visit again. I now work full-time, so I hopefully will not have to do any odd jobs ;) My name is Gonzalo Barnes and I am from Argentina. I have 24 years old and I applied for the workig holiday visa last year. I have arrived to Auckland with two friends last December and I have worked in many different places. During the first days was difficult to find work but after some days of going to every place and sending ours CVs to all the emails that you can imagine we decided to go to Waiheke Island, near Auckland. Good place to start if you have just arrived to NZ. There I worked in a restaurant and my friends in vineyards. We worked like 6 hours the 3 of us at least and it was great after expending so much money in the city of Auckland. My work was excelent! I passed a great time their and the payment was good enought because I didnt have many expenses. After Waiheke I went to Tauranga but we couldnt find any work the first week so with my two friends we decided to go to Napier. After some days we started in vineyards again but now we were only putting nets over the plants. A hard job, because you should we fast to get some good money. After finishing with the field work we moved to Watties Factory. We worked their as a grader for 2 months but the job here was really hard. We worked their 8 hours a day looking after the bad fruit. We couldnt hear anything in the factory and I generally worked with my mate nearby. So I dont recomend to do this for long time although the pay is good.Despite this, we have a great time in Napier because we leaved with lot of Argentinian people in the same house. After work we usually go to Waipatiki beach and we have fun. Finally, we went to Mt Manganui and we found a job in a packhouse during the night shift. We worked 12 hs a day, 6 days a week. I worked as a tray pay making the boxes where the packers put the kiwis. It was very hard but after 5 weeks we made very good money and we decided to go to Coromandel and Samoa. Now, after 2 months of relaxing we are trying to find some work in Auckland to earn some more money to go to Asia. I hope you can enjoy my experience, NZ is excelent!! I came into this plane of existence from the spirit realm several years ago, taking the usual route through my mothers vagina. By that stage, some white colonialists had pretty much taken over the place. On some islands in the Pacific they were busy chopping down trees to plant marshmallows on the hills. They left a few trees standing so that they could pack tourists onto buses and show them how many trees they still had standing. Agriculture flourished as precious foreign currency was milked from the tourists wallets and they jumped off bridges into quasi-suicidal joyous oblivion, only to be caught by a rubber band and sprung back up to be milked again another day. Some of the less milkable tourists were put to work in the vineyards, producing precious booze for the colonialists. They talked about the size of the locals cellphones and the sameness of all people, seeing only themselves reflected in everybody that they met. These tourists of the world were given rather a raw deal from dodgey contractors who would take on far too many of them in order to fill contracts they couldnt afford and then lay them off at random when work ran low. The more fortunate tourists worked in the orchards picking cherries to be sold in Japan for a buck each. They worked under much more favourable conditions since they worked directly for an orchard owner. This gave the added benefit of discounted onsite accommodation in many cases. The tourists almost without exception drove around in poorly running and occasionally dangerous vans which they bought in Auckland for way too much money. This gave them something else to talk about besides when each of their visas would run out and how ignorant and old-fashioned the locals were. These vans could be seen parked at most rest areas except perhaps in the small hamlet of Alexandra, where ignorant and old-fashioned locals would write obscene messages of hatred on the windows for no particular reason. Alexandra is what happens when you take a white-picket-fence suburb and leave it out in the desert for twenty years. Deprived of their mall, the residents turn on each other in oft-repeated drunken brawls and attempt to impress girls they are probably related to. This results in a town with one cop per square inch of scorched earth and a river of shitass boyracer cars that meanders through the KFC drive-thru every weekend. So in summary, try and work on orchards and not vineyards if possible (or else as a bartender or waitress if youre pretty), NEVER work for contractors, dont go to Alex and remember that travel does not constitute a meaningful personal experience, no matter how long the flight was. This requires independent thought processes and self-actualisation to avoid acting out a TV show or walking around with a mirror infront of your face. Even though I cannot explain my exact reasons, I had always been dreaming about coming to New Zealand. When I started dating my current boyfriend Tomas, I was slowly preparing him for the fact that once I finish my university studies, I would like to come to this wonderful country, no matter if with or without him. Although my interests in English have always been huge, Tomas has never learnt it and this fact worried me a little bit. After our second anniversary and also after almost two years during which we spread this information among our families and friends, everybody became a little bit bored by our plans and stopped hoping we might ever get there. At that time I finished my economy studies and had summer holidays ahead. This was the time when I had to decide whether to find a job or simply leave and extend my holidays. I had a lot of free time to browse on the internet and gather the needed information. As I was not completely decided yet, I started to apply for both and let the faith decide. While I went to some job interviews, we sat down one evening and applied for the Working Holiday Visa. Knowing that there are various companies in the Czech Republic which can arrange the visa for you and worrying that we might make some mistakes by trying to get it by ourselves; we did not hesitate and visited the immigration websites (www.immigration.govt.nz). After creating our accounts and downloading the right document, we started to fill it in. The questions were very easy to understand and much easier to answer. At the end Tomas applied for his visa himself (without the knowledge of a single word) and was very satisfied that he could understand the conditions without having to pay to any agency. We paid by our visa card online and could wait for the reply. To our surprise, we got the visa approval within two days. From now on we had one year for getting to New Zealand, and then the possibility to work and travel for a year. Our dreams were slowly becoming true, I no longer applied for another job, Tomas prepared his own business for enclosure and we started to plan our journey. There are some very useful Czech websites concerning traveling and working in NZ, e.g. www.hedvabnastezka.cz, www.cestananovyzeland.cz. Moreover, it is not difficult to find many English ones: www.newzealand.com, www.i-site.org.nz etc. For some more information we also used many blogs of people who were here before, or we simply contacted some people through facebook or used the information given by the immigration of NZ. Even though we got plenty of useful info and advice, we still felt very unprepared and scared about traveling around half of the world and not knowing anything for sure. It was the right time for getting our plane tickets. When we visited our largest travel agency, we found out that the ticket would cost us arms and legs. After a little bit more searching on the net, we found a highly recommended private ticket trader Oldrich Ther on http://letenky-levne.sletenkou.cz/ and decided to use his services and travel by Korean Air. A return ticket per person cost us about 1800NZD, which was just a little bit more than a single one (you need a proof of having a leaving ticket at the customs and we also wanted to be secure in case we were unsuccessful in earning any money for the journey back). By the way, the tickets included a really wonderful stop-over in Seoul, Korea in a brand new 4-star hotel with all meals included. There are of course some other options, e.g.: www.airasia.com, www.airnewzealand.co.nz, www.koreanair.com, www.emirates.com ... One of the important parts was to arrange a good health insurance. I am not sure if it applies in your country as well, but we have to show to our authorities that we are insured if we do not pay the insurance at home. We chose the one designed especially for working holiday workers Orbit Protect (www.orbitprotect.com). Try to compare the prices of different companies, but I am sure you will appreciate the fact that Orbit is held by a New Zealand company and therefore easy to claim in case of an accident. Moreover, it also includes most of the Pacific Islands, which are a popular destination for hard-working backpackers. :-) Once we got to New Zealand, we were trying to run away from Auckland as soon as possible, and therefore we needed a new car. What we may highly recommend in this case are either the famous weekend car-markets in Auckland, walking around some back-packers notice boards, or simply get out of this concrete jungle and have a look along the roads. Getting a car and change the ownership is the matter of ten minutes in the Post office. Some other websites are: www.trademe.co.nz, www.sella.co.nz Ö We slowly started to explore this amazing country and meanwhile we were slowly heading down to the south, we were looking for some jobs. In http://www.picknz.co.nz/ you will find a very useful map of the main horticultural areas with their seasons and other important information. From our experience, working here is basically a matter of combination of both knowledge of the peak seasons and a good luck. You may apply for a job through a mail, or a form on various websites: www.seasonaljobs.co.nz, www.seek.co.nz, www.trademe.co.nz or www.backpackerboard.co.nz. From our experience, the best thing you can do is ask people, stop at farms, ask farmers, read ads in local stores etc., more than through the internet. This is how we got all our jobs. If you are really desperate, sometimes it helps when you accommodate in a backpacker and the owners will help you with finding the job. First we were working in Blenheim at vineyards. The job was called ďwire-liftingĒ and was physically really hard. We were working for an Indian company, paid 3-4c per a tree. Even though we were trying our best and almost running the whole day without having a break, we could hardly reach the minimal wage. We quit after four days and immediately found a job in strawberry picking. This was paid 2$ per a small box. We could easily earn about 80$ in six/seven hours and enjoy the sun the rest of the day. Unfortunately the season finished soon and we had to move on. It was the before X-mas and cherry season was already open. Some friends of ours got a stone-fruit picking position in Cromwell and ask if we would like to be a team with them, as a team of 6 was the condition for this job. We moved to Cromwell and picked apricots, plums, nectarines, peaches etc. The supervisors were awesome and sometimes helped us. We had better money than the minimal wage and were really satisfied. The problem when you work in a group of people and share the price is that somebody takes it easy and it might drive you crazy sometimes. After the stone-fruit and cherry season, start apple and kiwi fruit picking. We decided to travel and enjoy our time. After two months of working we had enough money for almost two months of traveling. We moved back to the North Island and found jobs in a kiwifruit packhouse. The position was called a ďgraderĒ and we worked nightshifts, 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. We were paid 13,5$/h + 1$/h night allowance. Tomas soon became QC (quality controller) and enjoyed it much more. Even though this was a monotonous job and picking might have been more fun, less hours for better money (depending on contract) and in the fresh air, we knew some friends picking and complaining about the never ending rain. So we finally earned much more money in the same period of time. We felt really tired and exhausted after our 3months kiwiseason. We bought tickets to Samoa and spent the rest of winter over there (3 weeks). When we got back we found a great family and now we are staying at their place, doing wwoofing. The spring is wonderful, everything is blooming and we enjoy working 3-4hours, 3-4days a week for food and accommodation. We are getting to know the kiwi way of life and meet many interesting people. When we get tired and broke, we will move on and find another job. It is really easy, and you may not believe, but also fun! As far as I remember, I always dreamed to travel. I thus stopped my studies and worked during 6 months as dishwasher in an old peoples home to pay my trip and realized this dream. The only hard thing was to buy the flight ticket because its really expansive from France (about 1000Ä = 2000$!!). It only took one week to receive my WH visa. I arrived on June 27th to Auckland, where I had a friend who waited for me for two months. When I arrived, this friend already had an apartment where I was able to live for $100 on K road! My friend was obliged to keep his job as barman till the end of the rugby world cup and wanting to travel with him, I thus decided to stay in Auckland waiting for him. Meanwhile, I made all the necessary administrative procedures to work in New Zealand (IRD Number, Bank Account). Make sure to have all the necessary papers to do that (they ask to proof of ID: Passeport and International Driver Licence or letter from your employer...). It took only one week for me to have everything I need to work. But the thing is that I never really looked for work as I didnt really want to stay in this huge city that is Auckland. Thats why, instead of earning money to travel, I spent all my money in 1 and a half month. After that, as I was really pissed of Auckland, I left to Blenheim (where I am at present) to work in vineyards. I found my first contract thanks to one of the numerous backpackers you can find here, in Blenheim. Then, I found all my other contracts by myself (friends, internet...) because fortunatly, I bought a van in Auckland so I was able to stay in there for free (only 3$ the shower in Blenheim community pool) instead of paying rent for a backpacker... My first job in vineyards was "stripping". It was in a huge vineyard and the boss wanted us to make a minimum of 60 plants per hour (1 per minute). It was the very first time I was doing this job and the second day, I made 54 plants per hour. In spite of this, this guy fired me (and the three other guys working with me) because we wasnt fast enough haha! After that, I found another contractor thanks to a friend of mine, and I worked for him during 1 month, until the end of september, when there isnt a lot of work in vineyards anymore. Now, I am still looking for a job around Blenheim and in the South Island, and its really difficult because I think all the jobs starts at the end of october or on november... So if you have some informations about works on october, you are welcome ;) Hi, my name is Mariano Ferreyra and Iím going to tell you the story about my first seasonal job in It all begins one morning in Auckland. Tired and disappointed about the lack of responses to my text messages seeking for any position available anywhere in N.Z, I went to sleep early just waiting for the next day to come. Just before getting to the stand by state before sleep, I start hearing my text message ringtone. I jump out of the bed and grab my phone. It said:ĒHi Mariano, we are contacting you from ####### Orchard. The job starts in two days. We will be waiting for you. CheersĒ. My happiness was indescribable and the day ended with a great future ahead. My destination was Hastings, Hawkes bay. Someone told me there were too many vineyards down there, but I never thought there were so much as I saw. I arrived at 8pm, and went directly to the accommodation arranged. I stayed in one of the many flats the place held. I lived with 4 asian guys, one from Taiwan and the other three from Malasia. They were working in the same orchard as I Would so, as I had no car, we arranged they could take me to work. Next day, at 6:30am I was up getting ready to be taken to work at 7:00am. I had to prepare a bag full of food and drinks because the day was going to be long and hunger and thirst needed to be Once in the orchard, I was given some tools and taken to my respective block. The job I had to do was vine pruning. They you have a big scissor, a small one and some paper tyers. Basically your task is to cut the tree big branches first with the big scissor leaving just 3 branches. One of those will finally be cut too. The second step is to use the small scissor to cut little branches coming out of the 3 branches. After that you pull all the cut branches out. Finally you roll two branches (one from each side) to the lowest wire and you tie the last but of the branch with your tyer. It sound quite easy but it isnít. After some hours, your hands start aching, so does your back. You get really hungry and thirsty and you get paid per contract, that means the amount you get paid its up to you. The positive thing is that you have time to talk with the guy in front of you and meet a person from everywhere, thatís how I met Sonia. Sonia was a Chech girl that was working in Hastings since last year. She was good and really fast at pruning. She was a money machine, and she was gorgeous too. As days passed by we got to know each other pretty well. I taught her some Spanish words and the other way round. She made me try some tipic Chech food and so did I. We were starting to fell in love with each other, but we were to fool to realize. At the same time,the job was finishing and Sonia and me were going to take different routes, which made us feel quite sad about it. Anyway that month in Hastings was awesome. The experience of working outdoors, in an orchard or farm is really unique although its pretty taught too. I met many people from different countries and we managed to exchange stories and culture. I also had a love story with this beautiful lady that will keep a piece of my heart for ever. I recommend you whoever is reading that this are things that happen just once in life. This are opportunities we must not let them pass away. We have to live our life as if every day was the last one, trying to learn from everyone and from everything. Hope you had enjoyed my storie Mariano from Argentina. Making our descent in to Blenheim on a narrow plane with sixteen seats and one for the pilot, it was clear even from the air what this town was about, Wine. Peering out of the window, looking downwards, all I could see were rows. Rows, rows and more rows of budding grapes that were destine to become the Sauvignon Blanc, the Pinot Gris - the Special Reserve that we see on our supermarket shelves all over the world. Still in the air, of course I couldnít have known how closely I was to see these rows, but I was soon to find out. There was very little time in fact, between my flight and the search for some sort of employment. It had been three months since I had done a daysí work, back in my hometown of Bristol. Since then I had been on the road, which had taken me from Paris to Turkey from Istanbul to India, through Thailand to Cambodia and New Zealand was the final stop. My partner was a Kiwi and so Blenheim was the destination and after months of spending Lira, Rupees and Baht it was time to make myself some dollars. This town was a haven for the travel-weary backpacker, looking to boost the funds. Marlborough was the home of countless vineyards and at this point in the early summer there were contractors crying out for casual workers all over town. By the time I had unpacked my trusty backpack and slept off my jetlag, I was signed up with a vineyard contractor and my alarm was rudely announcing the start of my first day on the job. Stumbling sleepily in to a bus full of softly spoken European languages, I learned that our first job was skirting. This involved working our way along the rows, snipping the stray and overgrown branches from the underside of the plants. We were paid just a few cents per plant, which sounded rubbish but there were a lot of plants in a row and the work was easy and swift. The weather on that first day was beautiful, and it never changed throughout the two months I worked in the vineyards. Marlborough is known for its sunshine (which explains the grapes, I suppose) and those continuous bright summer rays didnít disappoint. The scenic mountains and hills that surrounded us added a feeling of place and atmosphere to the days we spent working. The jobs I did over those weeks were varied. Sometimes the work was hard, the heat was always there and the repeated application of sun cream was important, but none of the jobs were beyond me and the variation of tasks meant that I was never bored. I particularly enjoyed the work I did on a new block of plantings, which involved a number of days in a shed, making up a million green plastic grow-guards, which were put over the tops of the baby plants. We then clipped several miles of irrigation pipe in to place, positioned to quench the thirst of the little plants as they grew. As they matured the grow-guards were removed and the plants were given the support of new wires that we strung in to place. I found this period of work very rewarding because I felt like I had seen the process through from the very beginning. Later, as the mature fruit were almost ready for harvest, the last of my jobs was leaf plucking. This involved giving the plump bunches of grapes space to breath, by removing some of the leaves from around them. This was a simple and rewarding job, which happened just before harvest. For me though, this was as far as my grape journey went. I was never to see the harvest because my traveller feet had become itchy again and it was time to move on! Hi, we are two guys from Germany and we are here in New Zealand since August. I planned to have a gap year after school years ago, but I actually started to plan how to do it one year before we wanted to come to New Zealand. First I checked out some organisations which sent me free material. But when I talked to one of their employees, she told me that you can do it on yourself easily. So we booked our flight, luckily a relative works in the business, so we get it very cheap, but it is always an advantage if you can book it very early. The next step was our working holiday visa, but there is a very easy online application, where they tell you everything you have to know and as soon as you has completed the application form and paid the visa via credit card, you get your visa in ca one week. (http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/workingholiday/default.htm ) (The credit card is a good idea anyway, as it saves you money as long as you have to transfer the money from home.) Next we joined wwoof (http://www.wwoof.co.nz/ ), to be able to work for accommodation and food, but there are other webpages, too. (http://www.helpx.net/findhosts.asp?network=1 ) One thing about your backpack: You need always less than you bring with you, so think about it twice. And I am really glad about my mobile phone which can use Internet, because like this I can use its GPS! Once we were in Auckland, we found out that the taxis are quite expensive, but we were glad to be here, so we didnt mind. We did not book the hostel in advance, but it is essential to do that, when you arrive in tourist season (thats the German winter). The three things to do first, getting an IRD number, opening a New Zealand bank account and buying a phone card are very easy, too. For the IRD number just ask in the local New Zealand post shop with two ids e. g. passport and international drivers license, for the bank account just walk into a bank (e.g. westpec) with your passport and a current address and for the phone card, dont search for cheap offerer as they are available in Germany, because mobile phoning is expensive anyway. (http://www.vodafone.co.nz/ ) We started with bicycles but we found out quickly that New Zealand is not the right country for travelling by bike, because it is very hilly and there are no seperate roads, so you always have to cycle on the main road. Additionally, when you start searching for jobs you will be glad about a car as many employers want you to have your own transport. The cheapest way is to buy a car privatly and buying a car is really easy in New Zealand. But a secure way is e.g the backpackers carmarket in Auckland (http://www.backpackerscarmarket.co.nz/), because they have German speaking employees and you can understand everything you sign. Once we started our trip, we had no problems finding jobs for accommodation and food as there are serveral websites.(see above) We had to do gardening, cutting firewood, painting, weeding and other easy jobs, mostly they find you something that fits your skills. But after two month of travelling through New Zealand, we decided to search for a real job. Everybody we asked before coming into the country told us that finding a job would be easy. But we had to sent almost 30 applications to different places before we found a company which was searching for temporary workers. Benni, a carpenter could work full time and got paid very well, while I worked part time doing every job that was around and was paid 15$. So just sent your CV to every possibility you can find, the worst thing that could happen is that they say no. (http://www.backpackerboard.co.nz/work_jobs/index.php;http://www.seek.co.nz/;http://www.trademe.co.nz/jobs; ) It is also worth it to have a look in the local newspapers and at the boards of hostels and supermarkets. I have been to hundreds of websites and I think the best advice is to start searching for a job early enough, not when the money is already gone. Furthermore it is easier to find work for about three month than shorter and, of course their are more jobs in summer when more tourists are around. But just keep trying! Cheers Franzi and Benni When I first came to NZ I heard that Hawkes Bay is the fruit bowl of NZ and it wasnít a myth. I arrived in The Rotten Apple Backpackers at the end of September and already the first week in October I started workingÖ.and I didn`t stop for the next 8 months. Jason, our wicked hostel owner, found me a contractor and my contractor found me all different kind of jobs, starting with sorting the pumpkins, planting tomatoes, weeding on top of Te Mata Peak, working in the vineyards, picking and packing different fruit and when it was raining I worked in a winery. When you work under the Contractor, you usually get paid the minimum $13 + 8% holiday pay and usually he makes sure that you get at least 40 hours per week. Stonefruit- and appletree thinning starts in November and it goes til Christmas. The work is very easy and usually paid buy contract. Some contracts are very good and the fastest can earn $180-$200 per day (before tax). At the same time, some contracts are insanely low, so you can work 8-9 hours and you earn maybe only $30. The good thing about NZ is that the Contract between you and the Employer says that you have to earn at least minimum pay. So if you don`t reach the minimum pay buy working with the contract rate, they still have to pay you the minimum. It sounds good and you may think that well, I can just be lazy every day thenÖbut no, usually they let you try 2 days, and if you don`t get your speed up, they recommend you to find another job. Vineyards have work all year round. It all starts with pruning (May til September), then shoot thinning (end of October), then bud rubbing (start of November), wire lifting (end of November), leaf plucking (in February), fruit thinning (end of February), then netting and harvesting (in April, May). Vineyard work is usually paid contract. Physically the hardest is pud rubbing, even the most fit boys got sore knees and back and not many people earned more than minimum with that job. Wire lifting and harvesting are not hard and if you are fast you can easily earn more than $150 per day. Apple picking starts in March and thatís the best job to make good money. You have to be relatively fit (full bag weighs 18kg and you have to claim ladder) and motivated but the work is not hard. Picking-bags are comfortable and donít hurt your back at all. You have to fill up your bag carefully and not bruise the apples. One bin takes 36 of your bags and usually they pay again contract rate which is around $30-32 per bin (before tax). At the beginning of the season it`s easy to get 4-5 bins with 8 hours. If you work hard you get 6-7 bins. I use to work with boys from Bali and they picked every single day through the season 10-12 bins with 8 hours. So that shows it`s possibleÖat the same time there were backpackers who struggled to get 2 bins full. I was happy with my 6. And once there has been the first pick, and the second pick..there are not many apples leftÖand then usually the bin rate goes up a bitÖabout $40-45 per bin. But then it`s hard to pick more than 2. It`s also good to get a job in a pack house, cause then the rain doesnít bother you too much. Most orchards don`t let you work with the rain, but if there is a lot of fruit waiting in the cool-room, you can still go and pack it. Usually you work 9-10 hours per day, 6-7 days per week. And if you go and find the job yourself you most likely get paid more than a minimum (for example I got $14+8%). If you are in Hastings, go have a look in Omahu road, there are heaps of packhouses (also MrApple, Appollo etc.). So my point is that it`s easy to find a job if you like to work J And if you wanna have some crazy good times, go to The Rotten Apple Backpackers! Good people! Good place! Work Hard, PLAY HARDER! Whale and Dolphin Watching ImEnglish and love the ocean, I came to NZ looking for sunshine and warmseawater! In anticipation of needing work I compiled a cover letter andCV and emailed a variety of different tourist outfits that specialised inmarine activities. Within a month of arriving in NZ a Whale and Dolphinwatching company invited me for interview. After a brief chat, I wasinvited to go on a trip with them that afternoon. We spent 4 1/2 hourscruising in beautiful sunshine with dolphins jumping all around us. Apparently this was called work! SoI got the job, which is busiest in summer when all the tourists are here. I search using binoculars for the whales and dolphins, I make tea andserve pies to the guests on board and I take photos. Its the most amazingjob, basking in the sunshine on the deck of a boat surrounded by stunningscenery, watching whales feeding just meters away! Themarine life in the Hauraki Gulf is incredible, on a good day we could find apatch of ocean with thousands of sea birds (Gannets, Petrels and Shear Waters)in the Air, all diving and feeding on small fish (Pilchards) and crill whichwere being brought up to the surface by hundreds of dolphins. Then a whale would be seen, its spoutand a crash of water as it lunges to take food. Ourtrips would always be different, sometimes flat calm, you could see for milesand we would head out to Kawau or Little Barrier and almost to GreatBarrier. Other times would beright on the edge of safe operation, windy and rough we would look for shelterunder the Corromandel, the less glamorous part of my job was handing out littlegreen buckets to people who were seasick! Weregularly saw Brydeís Whales (perhaps 75%) of our trips and Orcas come rightinto Auckland harbour! I saw aSouthern Right Whale, mother and calf and even a Blue Whale, one of the rarestanimals in the world. A far cryfrom the smoke of London! The Waitakere Ranges Afriend of mine told me she had been offered a job cutting bait trails in the Waitakere Rangers. ďWhat does thatinvolve?Ē I asked. ďIímnot quite sure she said but you need to be good with a compass and map, and youget to go hiking every day in the Waitakeres.Ē ďSounds good, can you put a goodword in for me?Ē I went with my friend to meet Andyat the Ranger Station in ĎArc in the Parkí. Andy took us for a short walk into the bush pointing outtrees and plants and identifying birdcalls. It was idyllic but Andy informed us that the work was HARDand he expected us to get injured at some point, but if we were keen we couldstart in the morning. Dressed in full tramping gear wearrived at 7am to meet the other workers. We were offered a variety of tools to choose from: saws (Silkys),shears, cutters (Wolfies) and machetes. Issued with GPSs and maps we were sent out in groups of two orthree. I was working with a guy who wasover 6ft and weighed probably 90Kg (a big dude compared to me!). We had an hour-long hike along a nicewide trail to our start point, and then it was into the bush. Our job was to cut a grid of trailsinto an area of bush, nailing bait stations (plastic boxes) onto tress every50m in an attempt to eradicate pests. We were literally Bush Bashing, hacking, cutting, pulling, pushing,jumping and sliding our way through unknown territory. The trails needed to be wide enough forone person to walk easily along and put new bait in the bait stations on aregular basis. It was tough! On some days we movedno more than 300m from our start point on a good day we managed perhaps 600mmaximum. We would be confronted bywalls of Supple Jack, every vine had to be individually cut and then avoided asit snapped back in your face. Or asea of Cutty Grass, its blades like razors, it had to be hacked away andstomped on. Flax was slightlyeasier it provided a cushion and could be jumped into! We were in the bush from dawn till dusk,making two hour hikes out from the end of our trail in falling light, quitescary considering the rough terrain and how tiered we were. Is this what theearly settlers had to deal with when they made their way through the bushchopping down Kauri? Although ready to quit after just asingle day, the work was fun and rewarding, a fantastic way to get rid of somefrustration and to feel like a real explorer. We saw lots of birds and somebeautiful Kauri and Rata tress and the work was valuable, we were contributingto the conservation of New Zealandís wildlife. By putting these bait trails in place volunteers could comeout on weekends and put fresh bait in the traps to kill off the rats andpossums and give the native bird species a chance to flourish. I felt privileged to do this job, toget off the beaten trail and inside the native bush of New Zealand and in thename of Conservation, it was fantastic! 1. Jones/Suncrest Orchard, Cromwell. Before working at Suncrest, I had always lamented the fact that with the majority of jobs, we are paid for the amount of time we spend at work, rather than for how much work we do. Being paid for mucking around at your workplace hardly makes you motivated to work hard. Being paid for how much work you do, however, is fantastic, especially at Suncrest, where the rates of pay were always very fair. I began the season thinning stonefruit, which is mind-numbing work, but which pays will if you can motivate yourself to move fast. After a couple of weeks, the cherry season began and suddenly we were all rolling in cash. You get paid per bucket at Suncrest, and while the bucket rice, at around $5, is not as much as some other orchards, Suncrest workers generally come away with more money, due to the fact that the managers seem to be conscientious with regard to providing work every day, unlike other orchards I have worked at, where we have been required to be on hold, earning no money, for days at a time. Also, the accommodation available at the orchard is much cheaper than a lot of other orchards, at only around $40 per week. Sure, the bosses at Suncrest can sometimes come across as, well, bossy, but youll soon find that if you dont mess them around, things will run very smoothly for you. I highly recommend cherry-picking in New Zealand, particularly at Suncrest Orchard. 2. Fortune Fruit, Cromwell Last summer (2010-11) I was late in applying for cherry-picking jobs and, after much hunting around, received an offer of employment driving a tractor at Fortune Fruit, in Cromwell. This job was to show me the incredible pay disparity between people doing different jobs on the same orchard. Most orchards in New Zealand operate a "colour-picking" system where there is work almost every day and pickers pick only the ripe fruit. This means that there is work every day for both pickers and other workers, such as the drivers who transport the cherries from the fields to the pack-house. If I had been driving on a colour-picking orchard, I would probably have recieved around $800 per week. At Fortune Fruit, however, the picking system is what is known as "strip-picking." This is a method where pickers wait around for a variety of cherries to ripen and then pick a huge amount in one day. This method is great for pickers, who can make up to $450 in a day, and sometimes around $1500 in a week. If, however, you are like me, and a working on hourly wages, you will make extremely little money. Where pickers were making $1500 per week, I was lucky to receive $400. It was incredibly frustrating sitting on a tractor watching people making loads of money doing a job I was perfectly capable of, while earning a pittence myself. After two weeks, I had had enough and quit, forfeiting a days pay. I went apricot picking on another orchard and was soon making three times what I was making driving the tractor, and enjoying the work much more. My name is Joaquin and I am from Argentina, we decide with my friends (tomas, agustin, and eduardo) to visit New Zealand to learn more about your culture and of course to stay here for the Rugby Word Cup. We departed from Buenos Aires( Argentina) in november 2010, and now we still here.After we arrived we take the bus in the airport that its a bit expensive, I think its better to take a taxi if you are more than 2, once we arrive to Auckland City we were very lost but people here its very nice so they help us to find some accomodation and jobs too. The first week we stay in acb base hostel ( In my oppinion the best backpacker, big, clean, organized, nice people, partys, internet, all that you need you have it there) After one week in auckland we left to Napier , we rent a very bug house, we were 16 argentinian people living there,it was awesome, and we start our first work,we worked like 1 or 2 months in orchards, and then we get a job in a factory ( Watties), there we meet lot of kiwi and mahori people, really funny and nice persons,The job in the factory was not so good, because you have to be dressed with an overall, 2 pairs of gloves, ears protectors (you couldnt hear ANYTHING!), boots... We looked like Teletubies!. Also we were grading 8 hours a day wich is not a sane job to do for a long time. The good part of the job was that we worked 40 hours a week and the pay was good, and as we were out at 2pm, we could go to Waipatiki beach everyday to swim and have some fun, but a few weeks after we start the job finished so we moved Christchurch but this time we rent just rooms in a family house and it was really nice to be there with that family, unfrtunately we cant find any job in Christchurch so we decided to move again, but this time to Auckland(big city with heaps of bars and a good possibility to stat working asap in any place). After long time we had luck and we find an Au pair job in Auckland taking care of 3 little girls , they are very funny and nice girls, actually we still doing that, and trying to find any other work because the rugby word cup its comeing soon so Auckland its going to be a Big Party every place you go. Its the first time that we are without work for more than 2 weeks, luckyly, we made the paperworks to recover our taxes, so we have some backup. Through working in different places you experience the real New Zealand and get to know the towns and locals, and discover the places that arenít in the guidebooks. At work you meet literally hundreds of like-minded travellers and are able to build life-long friendships and go on mad adventures with them. I have had countless unforgettable experiences here and have been able through working so often to also do all of the bigger tourist activities I would love to tell you more, but it is impossible to type all my thoughts out in one day. And what about the future? Well New Zealand is amazing country with lovely people so I can see myself living here. So who know how many people that came to New Zealand as a tourists stayed here for ever. I love Nz celphone number : 02102962760 Im Aleö and Im from Czech Republik. Before travel to New Zealand I worked like site manager building construction in Prague. I never wanted leave Chzech Republic, but my friend told me, I can make good money there. So me and my girlfriend and two friends went to New Zealand. On the internet we found Information about this. Student agensy helped to us make the visa and school. When we arriwed to Auckland, we studied there one mounth English lenguage and after looking for work. It was 1st of October. We tried to send a few mails to different company, what we found on the Internet, but no one no answer. We send a few email to some backpapers and only two answer: "You can come here, I have work for you". We went there, we spent there one week and stil work nothing. The ouwner of backpaper was liar (Katikati Backpaper) So we tried visit picknz in Hastings and filled in forms, but they never did not call us. In Hasting we found very good backpper. The ouwner is very good man and he helped to us found the job. First job was with Chinese contractor. It was terible, becouse we didnt get holiday pay and tax was 21%. When I checked my online IRD accont, I saw he paid only 16%, so he stole 5% every week from maybe 15 persons. No one didnt get payslip, realy crazy. So we changet contractor, but if you work for Indian of Asian contractors, its the same. This is true, realy I have lot of experience like this. After long time we had luck in May and we started work in apple packhouse and after kiwi packhouse. Realy good job, but weather made lot of problem. Pickers coudnt pick fruit, so many days was day of. In New Zealand, I tried: Maybe I made a mistake, when I went to New Zealand, but its very good life experiance and nature in New Zealand is incredible. After a month in Waiheke, we moved to Napier, where we picked apples at first. Its a hard work to do in summer, and its worst if you do it by contract, and in our case most of the apples were green so they were not good for picking. After two days we quit and we started putting nets in Vineyard. A good job, and if you are fast and organized you can get some extra money. While we were working in the vineyard we applied for Watties Factory, and in a very rainy day, they started calling us from the factory, so with a huge smile we went home in order to be prepared to work in Watties. The job in the factory was not so good, because you have to be dressed with an overall, 2 pairs of gloves, ears protectors (you couldnt hear ANYTHING!), boots... We looked like Teletubies!. Also we were grading 8 hours a day wich is not a sane job to do for a long time. The good part of the job was that we worked 40 hours a week and the pay was good, and as we were out at 2pm, we could go to Waipatiki beach everyday to swim and have some fun. When the season finished in Watties, we moved to Mt Manganui, and after a week of going every day to the packhouses, we found a job at Apata packhouse, where we worked 12 hs a day 6 days a week, and at night shift. It was really hard, but after 5 weeks we made very good money. With some of that money we decided to go to samoa to relax a bit!! Now I am in Christchurch, working not so frecuently, we worked 2 days in furniture moving, which is a bit hard, and two days cleaning a reconstructed school. That was a really good job, no preassure, we listened to music, Bob Marley... Its the first time that we are without work for more than 2 weeks, luckyly, we made the paperworks to recover our taxes, so we have some backup, but if anybody has work in christchurch give a call please!!! Moving through seasonal work is the only way to travel, and New Zealand is by far the easiest country I have ever visited to find temporary work in! In 18 months I have worked with kiwi fruits, apples, two epic ski seasons and a travelling carnival, and have worked for accommodation in a number of short but sweet temporary placements. I have slowly made it from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island in my trusty van, finding work through the internet a month or so before moving on to the next place. Iím from the UK and I had my first job confirmed before I arrived in the country so after a short holiday was able to get stuck straight in. I walked into the ASB bank, and walked out with a bank account and card 20mins later! I walked into the IRD office and walked out with a temporary IRD number (the actual one came through a week or so later). I bought my van from a really small town and paid half the price than in the big cities, if you can fly into Christchurch, vehicles are a fraction of the price there than in the North Island. Through working in different places you experience the real New Zealand and get to know the towns and locals, and discover the places that arenít in the guidebooks. At work you meet literally hundreds of like-minded travellers and are able to build life-long friendships and go on mad adventures with them. I have had countless unforgettable experiences here and have been able through working so often to also do all of the bigger tourist activities without even touching my savings. My advice Ė work hard play hard and be organised. Get to know where the seasonal work is at the different times of the year and use websites like Seasonal Solutions to plan work in advance and you will have an amazing time in New Zealand. I would do it all again in a heartbeat, very sad to be leaving this Christmas. LIVE THE LIFE YOU LOVE, LOVE THE LIFE YOU LIVE! With some saved up cash from several temporary jobs back home in The Netherlands, my New Zealand adventure started in October 2010. Since it was actually the first time I went on a journey like this alone, I had to get used to living in the backpacker mode. And I mean moneywise! Looking back now on my first weeks/months in NZ, I realize that Ive spent much more money than necessary in the beginning. Simply because I had to learn the tricks! So at some point in January (New Years in Queenstown obviously blew my budget) I was pretty much broke. Fortunately at the right time, because I went to Picton to visit a relative of mine and stay at his place for a while. As a local, he knew what was going on in town and gave me some contact details of people who were looking for temporary workers. Eventually I ended up at a campervan rental business. It was high season and they needed keen folks for grooming the vans, which basically comes down to cleaning. It may sound boring and dull, but it actually was good fun! The summers been quite great iin Marlborough, so being outside in 25-30 degree heat, washing the vans with a good spray of cold water wasnt too bad at all! Besides, the group was small but great. I will probably never have a better boss again than here. She was always cheerful, happy and reasonable, and even helped me to a better contract (even though I only worked there for 1.5 months). After this period I went touring again for a couple of weeks. Had awesome times in the Abel Tasman National Park and the Golden Bay area, and went back to Picton afterwards. I decided to buy a car, so again: that blew my budget! (Even though it has so far been worth every cent.) I drove down south to Central Otago, where I had already been last summer. I really enjoyed the area back then and decided to go back to look for some work in the winter, which is supposed to be really cold and snowy in this region! I found some cash-in-hand work doing some odd jobs for several people in Oturehua. Gardening, raking leaves, helping running a small hostel, helping out at the local pub, chopping firewood... That kind of things! A very nice experience, for this town has only about fourty inhabitants. It was special to be part of a small local community for a while! The downside was, though, that eventually there was no work for me anymore. And also: the winters been so mild that we didnt get a single flake of snow! The sake of Mother Nature... But well, thats how it goes. On the way back north, I figured that the decision to go to Central Otago wasnt the best in financial prospect. I simply didnt make enough hours in my time there to save up a decent amount of money. Also: basically the only means of entertainment in town was the pub! On the way pack to Picton, I visited friends in Akaroa, spent more money and realized that I was pretty much broke again and that I had to look for a new job. So thats what Im going to do now: take the ferry to the North Island tomorrow and look for temporary work again in Wellington, and otherwise elsewhere. Ive spent eight months on the South Island only so far, so it feels like a new adventure going to the other island. Im really looking forward to the next months! And with the Rugby World Cup coming closer, I definitely should be able to find some work this Spring too ;) First, I will tell you a bit about myself. My name is Nils, Iím a young French man (24), have studied software engineering and worked two years as an IT-Manager close to Strasbourg in France. Iíve met there my lovely girlfriend Emilie. Iíve got German and Dutch family and Iím used to travel since my early childhood. Our story (related to New-Zealand) started last year in November. Emilie and I had both a work contract ending in December. We both thought that it was a great opportunity to travel Ė well, when youíve found a long term job itís hard to leave for more than two weeks. A friend of mine who spent one year in New Zealand told me a lot of good things about this country. An English speaking country where people are described as very nice and where the landscape should be wonderful? A rugby team weíve beaten twice at the Rugby World Cup? Letís go teasing them! We applied for a working holiday visa online. I got mine after three days and Emilie needed to send an X-Ray of her lungs because she has spent more than 3 months in Russia. (She had to prove that she has not the tuberculosis disease). Couchsurfing, WWOOF, HelpX Ö There are a lot of websites made for travellers who need a place to stay (in exchange of a few hour work a day, or not). We arrived mid-January in Auckland and spent the first night there at a Couchsurferís house. We went next day directly to Te Puke where our first WWOOF-hosts were waiting for us. We couldnít find a better place! The people were so lovely and their place was so beautiful! We had our first woofing experience on their kiwi orchard: three weeks of weeding (we didnít know at that time that weeding is the most common WWOOF-job), grabbing thistle out, thinning, housekeeping Ö We saw for the first time kiwi vines and learned that kiwifruits are not always perfectly shaped like the ones we buy in the supermarket. We also heard for the first time about the devastating PSA-disease and could feel how worried our hosts were. But even though, they kept a positive mind and kept smiling. We decided at that time to buy a car. Hitchhiking is nice and works well in New-Zealand (compared to FranceÖ) but when you see only one car per half-hour driving in the wanted direction, it makes you. We had a look at that ads on the New World panel and texted the first interesting one to ask for more details. First answer from the guy: ďR u indian?Ē. Strange. He texted us later that Indians are not good to deal with. OKÖ We arranged a meeting to see the car and what a surprise. The guy is Indian! Trying to sell the car of one of his friend stuck in Australia and who canít get back and blah-blah. We didnít buy it. Finally, we bought a second hand car at a garage. It feels much safer when you donít know much about mechanical stuff. Taupo, Gisbourne, Hastings, Palmerston North, OtakiÖ We spent a few weeks woofing/helping/travelling through the north island and met a lot of great people. All our hosts were nice and made us feel welcome at their home. As we needed money for our journey, we worked as apple pickers at an orchard close to Hastings. Finding the job was not an easy task considering that we were still in Taupo when we looked for it. We searched for a while on the internet and found the contact details of an orchard manager. We called him and on our way to Gisborne we stopped in Hastings to meet him. They even rent caravans to the pickers. Great! Apple picking is hard work. You have to climb up and down a ladder all the day long to reach the summits. It can be freezing, your hands are getting cold by touching apples, sometimes they are wet and the water pours down your arms while you are picking them. And you have still to pick fast if you are on contract (and want to earn more money). We saw pickers who worked like robots. Some days, one of them could nearly pick as much apples as Emilie and I together. But even if it was hard, it was a great experience. The manager and the owners at this place were (and still are!) nice and friendly. We had a lot of good times, met new people and made new friends we will certainly meet again back in Europe. At least, we spent a week-end in Wellington with another French couple we have met in Taupo. After three months spent on the countryside, it was so strange to be in a big city again! We arrived in the south island in May and continued our journey, woofing/helping here and there. We also had our first bad experience with a host, but never mind, we had a great time with all the others, thatís the important thing to remember. Finally, weíve landed in Queenstown at the end of May and plan to stay until the end of our journey here. The snow is late this year and itís really hard to find a job: for a car groom position, Jucy Rentals got 180 CVsÖ Thatís CRAZY! Luckily, Emily found a job at a bakery and she can pay the rent for our room while I keep trying finding a job. I pity all the shop/bar personal who have to permanently tell to people like me that they have nothing available, but most of them are understanding and trying to help us and to cheer us up, thatís great! When I first arrived in New Zealand I applied for jobs everywhere you could possibly imagine, spending large amounts of my day in an underground internet cafe/karaoke bar. Between versions of R.E.S.P.E.C.T. being absolutely murdered by shrieking girls (and sometimes guys) I managed to find a job at a marketing company looking for a few people to join their vibrant sales team. I figured what the hell, applied, and finally left the god-awful karaoke din behind. A few days later I was offered an interview - a few questions asked and answered over the phone, such as whether I was willing to ask people for money as part of the job and how comfortable I was chatting to strangers. I was then asked to come in on a two-way observation day, for them to see what I was like and for me to see what they were like; up until now, I didnt actually have much of an idea what the job involved. The obs day, as it was known, turned out to be quite good fun. I arrived at the office at some ungodly hour to fill in some information forms and meet the person who would interview me. This was where I discovered the job was basically marketing and fundraising on the street for various charities. I would never have considered this job at home, being one of those people who doesnt particularly like being marketed at in the street when Im desperately trying to get on with my life before the shops shut, but once again I thought what the hell - I wasnt exactly need deep in dollar. I followed a team of four out to their location on the North Shore, being asked all the usual interview-type questions along the way. My interviewer was very friendly, asking a bit about me as a person as opposed to a professional and putting me completely at ease. As I wasnt an employee yet I couldnt take part in the real process of the job and so I was given a mission to prove my confidence and personality in chatting to strangers - I was given a list of random questions to ask random strangers and given twenty minutes to go and come back with some interesting stories. It was hilarious, really, and I genuinely did come back with some funny stories. I was offered the job and started the next day. Talking to strangers about the charity we were representing was good fun and I came across a lot of very interesting people with inspiring stories of their own. I loved the people I worked with and always had fun at work. However - as time went on I wasnt making the sales (as they were called, although really they were donations) and my senior couldnt work out why - I was good at chatting to people and being friendly; I just wasnt getting donations in. As we were paid entirely on commission I was earning less than I was spending on travel and expenses; eventually, I decided that it just wasnt worth it and quit. In two weeks, though, I learned an insane amount, grew in confidence, grew to know Auckland and its people very well and learned some inspiring stuff - the job itself just wasnt for me, and that was the only problem. I could tell that if this sort of job suited you then you could have an absolute ball and make some money as well, so if it sounds like you and you want an opening in sales then go for it! I came to New Zealand with a plan. Fresh out of college, with an agriculture/viticulture degree, and a reputation for Ďalwaysí being prepared, I was determined not to let New Zealand catch me off guard. Hoping to acquire a seasonal harvest position at a good winery, I submitted 400 resumes across the whole of New Zealand, both North and South Islands. I scouted out every wine related website I could get my hands on. (http://www.winejobsonline.com/ & http://www.wineindustryjobs.com.au/ are an awesome start!) Out of 400 resumes, about 20-25 responded. Although there were a few interested wineries, most were polite dismissals with urgencies to visit if I ever made it down their way. (I would like to note: every turn down I received was extremely kind and not at all clinical. Just a taste of NZ hospitality.) I was finally able to nail an offer from GisVin ltd. in Gisborne, New Zealand. Having no winery experience, I jumped at the chance. I needed the opportunity to prove myself in a winery and GisVin extended the hand. I saved the $4,000+ as recommended (required) by the NZ immigration website (http://www.immigration.govt.nz/), for US citizens. I made copies of all important documents, cards, etc. I purchased a round trip ticket, intending to return home in four months. I did everything a seasonal worker is Ďsupposeí to do. Skipping forward 3 months: Iím currently in Waipukurau! An odd place to end up, no? After the Gisborne winery and working 12hr. night shifts, my frazzled mind needed some R & R. I felt unfulfilled, even though I had accomplished what I had set out to do. So what next? BAM. Franz Josef, thatís what. Trudging over to the ever reliable backpacerboard.co.nz, I found a ĎTourism Assistantí position offered at the Franz Josef Glacier Country Retreat for full board. I e-mailed without hesitation. And I got it! I ended up spending one month at the beautiful retreat serving guests, cooking breakfast and dinner, performing housekeeping duties, baking cookies, baking cakes, Öand more baking! (They are incredibly nice hosts and I suggest you give them some business if you are ever in the area. They deserve it. It is a lovely place to stay.) Embarrassingly, I gained a good 3-5kg at the very least and Iím still struggling to get my winery fit body back in shape. Feeling the itch to move onward once again, I travelled to Wellington in hopes of working for Fuel Coffee. I went for an interview last week and did not get the job. Another Ďwhat now?í moment arose. Surfing the backpackerboard and gap year websites once again, I found a request for Ďhouse elf helpí. I e-mailed prontoÖand not more than 2 hours later I received a response. ANDÖhere I amÖin WaipukurauÖa very content house elf indeed. Iíve since secured seasonal viticulture work in Warkworth and Iím really psyched to start in June. Three months of seasonal viticulture work will allow me to extend my visa by 3 months, for a whopping 15 month adventure in New Zealand. I came to New Zealand with my resume in mind. Finances were one my greatest concerns, as well as how the heck I was going to navigate around a country I had never visited. Although my future in viticulture and viniculture is still of importance, it doesnít overwhelm me like it once it. Money is no longer a fear, as I have realized there are always kind people willing to take you on in exchange for accommodation. My advice: donít worry, donít over-plan, talk to people, eat good food, and drink good wine. Have a goal in mind, but donít be surprised if it doesnít work out. Donít be surprised if something else comes along. Donít be surprised if you get everything you never knew you wanted. I would love to tell you more, but it is impossible to type all my thoughts out in one night. Pop over to http:///www.mywinememoirs.weebly.com for the full spiel on my adventure. Thanks for reading and I wish you luck with finding a purpose for yourself. New Zealand is the place to do it! A month before embarking on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure, we had made quite a lot of research on where to go, where to work, mode of transport, accommodation, which airline to fly us there., etc. After getting our plane tickets, there was not much $$ left, so we have to travel on a really tight budget. We applied for our holiday working visa online, without much hassle we got the visa within few days. Our plan was to travel around north island for two weeks before settling in Blenheim for pruning jobs we had found online. We arrived in Auckland, visited One Tree Hill, walk around the city for a bit, before making our way to Paihia. From Paihia, we travel down south to Rotorua, Taupo, Turangi, Whanganui National Park, Waitomo and Wellington where we took the ferry across the straits to Picton. Black water rafting and cave tubing at Waitomo and Tongariro Crossing at Whanganui National Park were the highlights of our two-week stay in North Island. We took a ferry from Wellington across the straits to Picton. From Picton we made our way to Blenheim. We were told by the vineyard contractor that we could not start work immediately. We stayed at Spring Creek for about 2 weeks, while waiting for the contractor to call us to start the pruning job he had offered us. It was quite a long wait, as we donít have much $$ left to spend. Finally, the time has come for us to start work. We were paid about $0.60 to $0.90 per tree. We worked from 7:30am till 5:00pm, Mondays to Fridays, rain or shine. After deducting tax and transport cost, we manage to take back about $350 per week. With the money that we had earned in about 6 weeks, we rent a car and travel down south to Timaru to meet our friend who was staying and working there at that time. Below were some places that we had been to in South Island:- Aoraki / Mount Cook Dunedin Ė visited Baldwin Street which is reputed as being the worldís steepest street, Cadbury chocolate factory and Speightís brewery Fox & Franz Josef Glacier Hampden Ė the award winning fish and chips shop is a must-go Hanmer Springs Ė felt like Christmas because it was snowing when we were there; it was like walking in the winter wonderland Milford Sound / Te Anau Oamaru Ė home of the blue penguin colony Wanaka Ė had an amazing time at Stuart Landsboroughís Puzzling World Thank you, Alice and Sheila, for showing us around when we were there. It has been 5 years, I may have forgotten the names of some places I had been to, but looking back at the pictures that I had taken, they never fail remind me of those great times. Recently as I was lookin for a new job here in NZ and I stumbled upon your page, so I decided to tell my story a bit different - via text... Im originally from germany, grew up in the south and found my passion in a - for that area quite unusual sport: Windsurfing! After a long time in school (and many wagged days to challenge the latest storm on my local lake), it was quite clear for me that I couldnt live a life far away from water and trapped behind a desk. So I hit the web and - straightforward as I am - put all my hope into ONE SINGLE application at the most decent looking advertisment for new windsurf instructors. A few weeks later I had practically a new life: From now on I lived on my own in a caravan, right in front of the sea (admittedly, it was behind the dunes). I taught people how to windsurf and could share the one thing I loved and still love the most. And after the season (it can get pretty cold in good ol germany) in summertime, I took up travelling and visited all sorts of places - Italy, Denmark, The Canaries, Cape Verde, Morocco, Hawaii and now New Zealand. Things up there worked out pretty good and I made this great place my new home - check out the Surf + Kite Club Zingst (www.die-surfschule.de) for more if you want. During my trips, I also took up surfing (without a sail) and I havent been sailing on flatwater or on lakes since I went up to north germany. I love waves and I dedicated my whole life to be as much as possible in the elemtents, I stopped drinking, smoking, eat healthy, do some workout on the land when there surfs flat and go to bed early. Im literally addicted to waves. Sometimes I drive a couple of hours to a surf spot, spend heaps of money, get up in the middle of the night to be at the spot at sunrise - just to catch a wave. Although it sounds pretty much like that, but Im not a happy-go-lucky person. While I was still in school I often had quite major depressions and I still have them occassionally, coming with panic attacks and I got problems to deal with people. All the therapies I tried back in germany were more or less unsuccessfull. But I found a remedy and it is surfing and windsurfing and sharing this passion with others, even if its just for short (sometimes Im able to keep up my mood). You can say that almost every day is quite a big challenge for me. But itll never keep me off from travelling and chargin for waves. I dont know where Id be now and what Id have become without windsurfing and surfing - but I might miss something. Life can be great. ++THE NZ STORY++ After three years of being a windsurf instructor in germany, I decided to take a break, so I went this year (2011) to New Zealand. After my last trip with the Surf + Kite Club Crew to Hawaii, I booked my tickets to Auckland Airport and with nothing more than some Euros, a few clothes and sure enough my gigantic board bag full of surf and windsurf gear, I arrived - no plans, no information, nothing. I always travel like that, cant explain why, propably because I just dont like to plan for the future, just to get dissappointed anyway. On the airport I asked for any hostel somewhere around and took a shuttle together with some other tourists right into the CBD. People always look funny when they see me carrying a 2,6m bag around. After being awake for more than 40h in cars and airports, I took a quick nap of about a day length. Later on I checked out my new location, Auckland is a beautiful town with its seaside although you are in the middle of the sea you are sorrounded by land. Fascinated and refreshed, I went to an internet cafe and lucky enough I found a website of a surf school advertising for work as a windsurf instructor. From my newly purchased NZ SIM card I gave the school owner a call, we met, had a quick chat in a starbucks cafe and a few days later I held my first lesson in English on the beautiful beach of Mission Bay. I was a bit nervous because of the unknown location and the new language to teach in - although my day-to-day english is quite experienced through all my travels (not from school by the way - I never listened). So people drifted through the whole beach because I forgot to tell them to stay close, but its a safe beach and in the end we all had a laugh about it. In the meanwhile I did some calls to different campervan owners that wanted to sell their vans and after having seen the first one and not very keen to deal with another night in the crowded hostel in the CBD, I bought it. It is beautiful hand-painted, got some miles down already and later on I had to fix some (luckily not very major) issues with the engine, but I was happy to be out there, have my own home and to be mobile. Later on my quite friendly boss (hes actually a psychologist from the UK btw) invited me to stay at his house with his family quite often, so I have a second home as well if I want. From then on I taught almost every weekend till the end of the season. And I love it, sometimes you get burned by the sun because you forgot to use suncream, sometimes you cant sleep because of all the sand in your van, sometimes you got cuts in your feet from the shells, but there wont be many jobs were you can hang out on the beach the whole day, get to know new people and be just busy with the thing you love the most! Altogether its not so different from germany, its a different language, another sea, another location, different people, but its still windsurfing. But I noticed one important thing - that Kiwis show their emotions while windsurfing way more than germans do. And its such a good feeling to bring someone else joy, all the money couldnt pay for that. Unfortunately though, as almost everywhere I travelled, people seem to love and enjoy windsurfing incredibly much from the first few moments, but seldomly you see someone spending much time for it. People should know that career, money and all the luxury is far not as important as being happy and fulfilling your dreams. Saying this, guys keep on doing what you love! Maybe see you next time on the beach! Ill be on Mission Bay Watersports next summer again. Check www.windsurfauckland.com for more. Now its getting a bit chilly here - but still warm compared to the german winter, so Im holding out and check out the millions of different surf spots NZ got to offer. The swells hitting the coastline is determining where I go next and so live keeps on going. Occassionaly I make some money with some board repairs and what I didnt mention yet is that I feel quite confident in webdesign so I design and script homepages - mainly for surf schools including booking system, content managment systems and all sorts of stuff. I sometimes get invited to peoples home - its incredible how open-minded and friendly people are here without knowing you just a little bit. All in all, Im quite happy with my current life style. Sometimes Im nearly or completly broke, but as long as Im close to the sea and have at least one surfboard left, everything is alright. For anyone else, whos impressed by that story...go, do a windsurf/surf/kite course, get infected by the virus and life the dream. Even if you dont have any experience, a surf school is always looking for helpers. Always make personal contact, show them that this is what you wanna do and you should be fine! Hope thats not too much, but hey - you wanted more than just a few sentences - and this is the short version already :) Ill attach some pictures from a special event - a school booking we did up in Thawaranui. We taught more than 70 people how to windsurf and went kayaking with them for three whole days. That was pretty cool! Good luck to everyone else out there lookin for jobs. All the best, Dan. My name is Diego and I am from Spain. I was living in Ireland with my girlfriend Kairika, from Estonia, when we decided to apply for a Working Holiday Visa for New Zealand. We had saved some money and our plan was to travel around New Zealand and work in seasonal jobs in our route to keep travelling and doing activities. We arrived in Christchurch in January 2011, and after a few days in the city we bought a beautiful camper-van to start our adventure in the other side of the world. It did not take long time to realise that we were in the perfect place to live on the road. New Zealand is an amazing country if you like outdoors life, and we certainly do. There are stunning spots everywhere, breathtaking views and a modern infrastructure of holiday parks, conservation campsites, public toilets and parks, i-sites with free tourism information, etc. An authentic paradise for nature lovers. After one month travelling in South Island we decided it was time for us to find a seasonal job, stay for a few weeks in some place and live a totally different experience. We found out there was an office in Alexandra (Central Otago) called Seasonal Solutions who help backpackers or anyone willing to work in horticultural and viticultural industry in the area, so we went there and registered ourselves as job seekers. They even helped us with immigration advise and to get our IRD number. After a few days we got a text message in my cell phone requesting confirmation to start working in a vineyard in Cromwell (Central Otago) next day. We confirmed our interest and next day early in the morning we went to the meeting point in Cromwell where we met our manager and workmates and we all went to the vineyard where we would be working for the following five weeks. There were people from everywhere: Germany, United States, France, Chile, Vanuatu, Malaysia, etc. and everybody was really friendly and nice, so it was a very good international work atmosphere full of jokes, laughs and, yes, some hard work under the sun and good money too. Our task consisted basically on thinning the vines. Harvest was coming soon and we had to make sure that the wine produced was going to meet certain quality standards, so armed with gloves and scissors we were dropping the bunches of grapes not matured and leaving those healthier following some instructions from our managers. It was easy, mechanic, and the good atmosphere at work allowed all of us to enjoy our days in the vineyard. When all the vines were almost ready for the harvest our job was different. This time we had to cover all the vines with nets for the birds not to eat the juicy and sweet grapes. I have to admit that I enjoyed more this task. In pairs, each one of us in each side of the vine row was clipping the net wrapping completely the bush with it. It was easy too, and our manager used to play good rock music in his powerful car stereo so we could listen to it while working, which helped a lot. I even improved my dancing skills! We used to meet after work to have some beers together in Cromwell, and I have to say that I will not forget either the taste of the cold beer relaxed in good company after a long work shift under the sun. It was a great time that now we remember with a smile in our face. Five weeks later we had to say goodbye to everyone as we were not staying for the harvest. We had enough money to go back to the road and continue exploring the beautiful country, its mountains, lakes, beaches and culture. We crossed then by ferry to the North Island looking forward to getting new adventures. The next time we decided to work we went directly to Bay of Plenty region, which is well known for its kiwifruit production. We arrived in Te Puke, close to Tauranga, and we went directly to the i-site to ask for information about seasonal job opportunities in the area. The woman in the office nicely gave us a page with a list of kiwifruit packing houses and fruit picking companies and she informed us that in one of them they needed staff immediately for sure. We took the van and drove directly to the mentioned packing house, where they asked us if we could start immediately. It was surprisingly fast, in 30 minutes we had signed the contract and we had our aprons on while attending to the induction to learn how to grade kiwifruits. It was a huge packing house, again with people from everywhere working in different departments. There were packers in charge of packing the fruits. There were warehouse staff in charge of transporting the pales. There were also people controlling machinery, testing the quality of the fruit and managers to assure the proper running of everything. And finally, there were fruit graders with me and my girlfriend among them. Basically we were two or three of us in each position, seeing thousands of kiwis rolling in front of our eyes, and we had to decide, according to some standards, which one belonged to class A, which one to class B, and which ones were not fit for consumption. It was an easy job and the managers were really nice with all of us. We even had free cookies, coffee and tea in our breaks, and a nice terrace to sit down under the morning sun to rest. After almost 4 weeks, the kiwi season was over, and the company thanked all of us with an amazing lunch that nobody expected. It was certainly a company where I would not doubt to come back next year or to recommend. With the good memories and our pockets filled again we were back on the road. And this has not finished yet. What will it be next? My story is really short, Iíve being here only for three month, so I think that the best is jet to came. Me and my boyfriend planned this trip, not for so long. We had the idea, we apply to the visa, we sell most things we could, and we just take the plane and came. We arrived only with a couple hundred dollars, just to sleep and eat for a couple of days. The first two days, we spent all dayÖ.and I mean all day, in the library trying to find out the next move. We didnít know much about New Zealand, only that there were seasonal jobs in some regions. I was starting to get a little worried, when, I donít quite remember how, I got into this web site about a small town in northland call Kerikeri. The web site (http://www.aranga.co.nz/ ) about a backpackerís and they offer to found you jobs. Great! So we took our backpacks, and hit the road! Everything from there went great. The third day we arrive we start working in this packhouse in the night shift. At first, a crazy job for us (a scriptwriter and a cook); pack house, machines, and fruit everywhere!!! But at the end it was wonderful, we met great people, we had this crazy surfer good to drink beer boss, awesome supervisors and finally a great team. Great place Kerikeri, nice fishing, fantastic places to visit, so many beaches close, and we are in winter! Imagine in summer!! But, like everything, nightshift came to an end. So we got out of jobs. We are still in Kerikeri trying to find something. It would be great for us to stay here until August or September. But the reality rules, so if we donít find anything in the next week, we must part. Anybody knows good place to go now, jobs available, in kitchens maybe? I chose to work in New Zealand on a temporary basis using a "Working Holiday Visa". Through email and various Skype conversations I was able to secure a job working as a nanny to three small children. Lucy (11), James (9) and Drew (9). The two twin boys proved to be quite a handful! The family were based near Waimai in a light-brick one storey house with lots of lovely large glass windows. What immediately striked me as different to my small appartment in London, was the severe diffference in the amount of space available. In New Zealand (one of the children told me - James I think) there are apparently more sheep than people! I would not argue with that! It seems that everyone has a decent sized garden - even in the more built up areas and small towns. The people of New Zealand are noticeably friendly and will go absolutely out of their way to help you. In huge contrast therefore to, you guessed it, the British (I can say this as I am 100% POM as the Kiwis call us) who will readily send tourists in the wrong direction just to save time and hurry on. The entire family could not have made me feel more welcomed into their home. What I loved about the job - was the balance that I was able to achieve between work and travel. The hours of job were not long and I was given weekends off which meant that there was lots of time for seeing all the things that I had placed post-it notes next to in my Travel Guide. Another bonus of being a nanny, is that often (for practicality) you can be given a car. I was one of these fortunate people! It made getting out and about to see these attractions so much easier, and an increased sense of flexibility. I would definitely recommend to anyone thinking of working abroad on a seasonal contract in New Zealand to go for it. If you heart is in it - then there is no way that you cant have an absolutely fantastic time in the land of the long white cloud. I know I did. I am a kiwi so I have worked a lot in a lot of different jobs in New Zealand. Over the past six months I have travelled a lot around New Zealand, mostly around the upper South Island, with a break in Taranaki over Christmas/New Years. When I first restarted my travels in the South Island in 2011, I was fortunate enough to already have a job lined up through a friend from Wellington. He owns a property near lake Ohau and was looking for a extra pair of hands to help clear the wilding pines that were becoming a real problem there. The assignment was for two weeks at the beginning of May. I had read about the wilding pines problem in the South Island, but nothing can prepare you for the scale of the problem. Literally, there were pines as far as the eye could see, and that was just on his one property. Luckily the pay was very good and we had help to tackle the infestation from both the Department of Conservation and Forest & Bird. It was not easy work but it was rewarding. Not only did I know I was working towards something of real value, protecting New Zealands natural heritage, but when you have been down pulling out, and cutting down, pines for hours, you stand up to stretch and all around you in an amazing vista. The lake was a intense blue and the hills caped with snow. On a clear day you could see the Southern Alps across the lake. It was truly stunning. There were plenty of recreational activities in the area. The Ohau Ski lodge was nearby (though ski season was not due to start until July), There was walking in the hills, as well as mountain biking tracks. Food and accommodation was provided as part of the arrangement, in a quaint little cottage nestled amongst douglas fur and NZ beech. When the assignment was over I was sore and tired. But my camera was full, I was proud to have achieved something and my bank account was a little healthier allowing me to focus on travel unhampered by financial concerns for a time. The work is ongoing. They are due for another blitz this October, and I am sure that around then the property owner will be looking for students and travellers for another two weeks work. Hey,we are a german couple, Carolin and Philipp , 19 and 20 and we are for a half year with a working holiday visa in New Zealand. We are traveling with a van trough the country. Our first place to work was in Gisborne in the beginning of the new year. We took some flyers of the wineries in the surrounding from the i-Site and called them. By hazard, the third one got work for some weeks and so we worked there together with some guys from France and South America. Our job was to pluck the leaves, that the fruits get more air and sun. After that we hung nets to protect the plants of birds. The job was not very hard in fact only the back was hurting very much. Our boss was very nice and friendly. For smoko we got tee, coffee and sometimes cookies and after work we got the possibility to taste the homemade wines. After two weeks all work had been done and we had to look for another job. In our hostel there was an announcement for plucking leaves on a big vineyard and we decided to go there. The boss was very unfriendly and the job quite hard. It was payed on production: for every plant you get 12cent or per row 30$. It wasnt possible to do more than 1.5 rows per day and therefore we quit the job after two days and moved on. Later we got to know that they cheated on us. In the end all had been payed hourly and it was only to keep us working fast. After traveling on South Island we stopped to work in Blenheim.A aunt in Germany has a customer who came from New Zealand to Germany. He has some relatives in Blenheim who have a Winery. The bad thing was, that we knew only the name of the relative and nothing more. After a lot of nerve-racking phone-calls we got to know that he is at the moment in Australia on holidays - so no work for us. In general at this time all people in the hostel searched for work - without luck . Two other Germans gave us a number from a contractor, she should have work but they tried it and had no luck. We thought that we could at least try it and called her. After 2 minutes we had a job on vineyard. The first two days we went there for thinning and then started with harvesting for a big company of the region. The payment was on contract, the amount depends on the size of the bunches we had to pick. For the bigger and so easier ones we got 80c and for the plants with more and smaller grapes we got up to 1,20$. Every worker had some stickers with an individual number, which we put on the irrigation line of each bay, one bay has 3 or 4 plants. At the end of the day a supervisor went throw the rows and counted the stickers of each person. Actually you have to trust them because you have no proof of the work you did. All in all the team was a little bit confusing, because every day it was another time that they pick us. Some days we had to wait up to two hours without knowing if someone comes. Additionally we picked shallots for some days. It was payed hourly but working the whole day on your knees with the dust around you was quite hard. After we decided to stop working it took a long time that we got all of our money on our bank account. Back on North Island we called our old boss in Gisborne and she said that maybe in a few weeks there would be some work for us. She also passed our number to other winemakers and finally she and 2 others called us, that they need our help. We went spontaneously from Taupo to Gisborne once again and worked one week for them. It was very nice to see our boss again. Now she is no more a employer but a very good friend for us. We also bought there some wine for our family in Germany to show them Ąourď wine. Our last stop was in Tauranga, there we wanted to work in a pack-house but they had all no vacancies and a long list of applications. Working as a kiwi fruit picker would be for a girl too hard, anyway they wanted only boys. On the internet we found some smaller jobs on little farms and did this for a few days. So all in all we would say, that if you really want to work, it is easy to find a job in New Zealand. You have to be willing to work hard for the minimum wage and under all conditions but with a little bit of luck you meet great people from all over the world and you make friends with them. We made here experiences we would never have made in Germany. ę To keep the doctor away, eat an apple a day Ľ! Well thatís one easy thing to do when you work at Mr Apple. We had read about this company, employing over 1500 people during peak season, on Seasonal Jobsí website as we first arrived in New Zealand. We happily drove our way through the North Island, and when we got to Hawkeís Bay we thought we might knock on Mr Appleís door and give it a try. As everyone else, we did want to reach South Island with a little something in our pockets. A call on Saturday and a short form filled on Monday, thatís what it took to get started on Tuesday! We would work night shifts at the Whakatu Packhouse, 6 days a week, from 3.30pm to 12.30am, with two 30 minutes break amusingly called ďsmokoĒ, and would be paid 13$ per hour for 5 weeks. Doesnít matter what your background is, as long as your back works! The Packhouse atmosphere felt warm and friendly at once. People coming to work in their bright yellow uniform shirt seemed to have arrived from every continent. Chinese people, Koreans, South Africans, Polish, Irish, others from Samoa, Tahiti, the usual Kiwis and now us French! A real international melting-pot gathered to provide the best apples to the world. That being said, our manager warned us at once, itís not an easy job, involving a lot of standing, twisting, speeding and lifting. The job consists in sorting out good apples from bad ones, placing the good apples on trays, turning them around so they are lined up and have their red side up, and all this, at the speed of lightning. The first day was a complete nightmare, we felt as if we were in hell, a place filled with apples, coming at you so fast that you got completely overwhelmed and ended up drowning beneath a sea of apples. In French, the saying ďtomber dans les pommesĒ literally ďfalling into applesĒ means fainting, and this first day at work I thought: it must have been someone working in a Packhouse that invented that saying. Hopefully, plenty of nice people came to help us and give us some good tips! They said that our back would be killing us for a few days, but that after a week, we wouldnít feel any more pain. And thatís what happened. As the days went by, we got better and better at handling those apples, crunchy Pink Lady apples, beautiful NZ Roses, shiny Granny Smiths but mostly funky Fujis, coming in different sizes. Sometimes, we could even handle both our apples and a conversation about the Chinese society today or Maori language with our neighbor. Speaking of languages, the Packhouse is better than school when it comes to learn foreign languages. Everybody comes to ask us some useful French words, and we got taught a good deal of Samoa! After a week, we also tried to vary activities, packing apples away by putting trays in boxes. We noticed that everyday had its share of good and bad. One day itís pay day, one day itís chocolate cookie for everyone, one day itís meeting a new pal, and then another day itís crazy speedy day when both fingers and eyes turn as red as the apples. And then you realize, itís not sheep that you count as you go to sleep... But the good atmosphere always makes up for it, and with such a good team, it came as no surprise when everyone arrived dressed as a rabbit the day before Easter and chocolate eggs were handed out to all of us! Also, no doubt that working night shifts in a Packhouse had its share of advantages: no one asks you for a degree or even if you speak English, you donít depend on the weather to go to work and you get to enjoy the morning in beautiful Hawkeís Bay and discover plenty of nice places around Napier, Cape Kidnappers or the Te Mata Peak. Here is all the info you need to have your own Mr Apple experience: Address of the Pachouse: Station Road Ė Whakatu (Between Napier and Hastings) Phone: 06 873 1061 / 06 873 1070 Seasonal work starts in February : graders , packers, tray fillers, stackers, quality controllers, packers. North Island Notes Having fallen truly in love with the raw, sprawling magnificence of the South Island, I got onto the ferry at Picton with trepidation, not sure what to expect of the North Island, except more people than in the south. I arrived on a gloomy, raining afternoon in Wellington and must say that I was overwhelmed by the city itself; by the amount of people, cars, traffic, city sounds, shops, colours and buildings. I arrived at the backpackers I was staying at for a night and crashed, determined to go exploring over the next few days to find the gems I could feel were glimmering in this notoriously colourful and cultural city. I went to the Te Papa museum and cannot recommend it highly enough. The staff are very knowledgeable and willing to share their information with you enthusiastically. The layout is logical and the displays are distinctive, fascinating and memorable. Cuba Street is a must in Wellington. Walking up and down it can take minutes hours or days, depending on how entwined you get. The eclectic smorgasbord of clothing shops, countless coffee shops, restaurants, clubs and bars, quirky, small back-door art galleries (which are certainly worth investigating) and intriguing little side streets that could lead to another world provide endless entertainment and stimulation. The people are interesting and friendly and there is a phenomenal buzz in the air. Moving further north, I landed in Rotorua, and it would be a shame to go there without seeing the geothermal pools. I went to Wai-o-tapu, where bubbling mud pools, multi-coloured steaming pools and geysers that shoot high into the air blew me away and are truly an amazing natural phenomenon. The distinctive sulphurous smell was a reminder of how different and special this area really is. Another of my favourite things about Rotorua and indeed of the entire country would be the Zorb. It is a massive transparent ball into which people climb and is rolled down a hill, picking up a surprising amount of speed as you watch the world fly by between tumbles and peals of laughter. It was one of the best activities I ever done. I did mine through Ogo rather than at the Agro Dome, as you get a longer stretch of grass down which to roll and thus it is far better value for money. I recommend that you do the wet option where they fill the ball with water and also that you get the photos or at least ask to see them afterwards Ė they are hilarious! Another activity that I highly recommend is kayaking down the Whakapapa River in National Park. I know that most people go to National Park to do the Tongariro Crossing, but when I was there the weather was foul so we could not do the crossing - it is known to be an area with high weather volatility. Thus, if you land up in National Park, the weather turns bad and you are at a loss for what to do, ask around for the Adventure kayak company run by a woman called Sarah Cate. She will come and collect you for the day and take you on a kayaking adventure you will never forget. She is professional and laid back at the same time, a ball of energy and I guarantee you will have a well- priced day saturated with fun and laughter. I landed up in Auckland after a few weeks of travelling the North Island, needing to find work and hoping to do a sailing course in the Bay of Islands, which I completed last week. If you are interested in sailing and/or doing any sailing courses, I cannot recommend Bay Sail NZ highly enough. It is run by Glen Caulton and from my first enquiry to the last goodbye, Glen went out of his way to accommodate me and the others doing the course. The Bay of Islands is magnificent and seeing it from a yacht is definitely one of the best ways to get the most out of the area. Glen does day charters and a host of other yacht-based activities. All information can be found on his website. He is an amazing sailor, very professional, I had complete faith in his ability, his 40ft sail yacht ďSheís a LadyĒ is wonderful to sail and be aboard and above all, Glen is a great man who is very easy-going and easy to get along with. After my sailing course, my bank balance was looking far worse for wear and thus I needed to get a job. I have found one but it was not easy Ė I do not say this to frighten anyone, but it not always a quick process to find a job. However, if you have the right attitude and keep at it, there is little that will stand in your way if you put in the time and effort. From my limited experience, I highly recommend that you take up-to-date CVís to the streets and go in to companies/places to work rather than relying mainly on web-based applications as you can feel the place out, meet some faces and know right away how things have gone. If you drop off a CV, follow it up after a day or two rather than waiting for them to get back to you Ė someone else may get the job otherwise. In summary, I recommend that you get stuck into all that New Zealand has to offer. While the South Island certainly is a special place, so is the North Island Ė there is plenty to do and see that is unlike anywhere else and anything else, and it is definitely worth exploring. There are countless wonderful small privately-owned companies who provide personal, small-group, well-run activities that are worth supporting. If you do something with a company who offers you a good service, spread the word to others so that everyone can benefit. Enjoy! Hey guys, my name is Freddy, i am 19 years old and from Germany. I am in New Zealand now for half a year and started in Auckland to travel down south. But i came here to see something new in life, so just travelling one year would be quite boring. Because of that, and of course because the financial circumstances, i worked as well. I started in Napier with fruitpicking - the typical backpackers job :p I got it from the owner of the backpackers i stayed at (Wallys Backpackers, 7 Cathedral Lane, Napier 4110, (06) 833 7930 ) who had contacts to Crasborne, an agency which employes worker for their contacts (basicly fruit picking stuff). If you are around there searching for a job - go there!!! EVERYBODY in that hostel was working, and having a car, we arrived wednesday evening and got a job thursday morning!!! awesome ! ;) After that I went to Christchurch to work for Savvy Direct - a Company which makes advertisement for IHC, Red Cross and some other Charitys. I worked there as a salesman doing door to door sales or lets say tring to make people sign a monthly donation to the IHC (Interlectually Handicapped Children). I saw the position advertised in TradeMe and I have just applied for it, passed the interview and the working test (pretty easy ^^) and started. I have worked there for about a month which was an awesomly interesting experience, but after that i stopped because the payment was on contract and I was not bad in it, but i havent really had the motivation to increase my sale skills to much cause of having a problem with the moral behind it and so on. I mean it was for a good course - my motivation to give it a try - but i didnt feel comfortable to jump all the time to the salesman again when you started to have a good conversation after an eyesbreaker at the beginning. Just a personal thing, but im quite happy with my decission. But any way - awesome experience!!! And very good for your english. As soon as you are able to say a pitch of 1-3 minuts completly by hard you can really concentrate on HOW you say things. Good for the accent and quite funny, as far as testing people is concerned. In that case the job is extremly interesting and funny by the way. After a little while you start to do things, you would never do in your everyday-life, where you are a person, seen as such from everybody else. But beeing just the guy on the door from the IHC , even if that is exactly what you should not be to be succesful by the way ;), gives you the chance to try a lot of things you wouldnt like to try with people, you might meet again . After that i worked in a Callcenter for the HIA Group, also in Christchurch. A friend of me told me about it, i just gave the boss a ring, had an interview and started to work the next week doing surveys on the phone. Good practise for my english. I also liked the job somehow, but the earthquake made it impossible to work there any more, cause the building i worked in was located in the centre. During that (because it was just from monday to thursday, 6h/day) i worked for accomodation in my hostel (Frienz Backpackers, 169 worcester Street 8011 CHCH) and on the weekend for Micky Finns, 85A Hereford Street CHCH, a quite big bar with heaps of bands playing in there - so quite buisy, always looking for somebody ;) I also started to work specially on Friday and Saturday for a Relocation Company (The Office Relocation, Torc http://torc.co.nz/ ), but yes - as i wrote before, the earthquake set an end to all that :( BUT they are allways looking for poeple and that might be all over the country. They are located in Wellington, but have a lot of stuff to do in christchurch, and if poeple need them anywhere else they go there aswell! Just give them a ring whereever you search something - funny group, good work and fast payment ;) At the moment i work in Ashburton, helping with the potatoeharvest. I was visiting friends over here and just had a look in the newspaper on saturday, saw stuff searched, gave them a ring, drove over there and started the next day! The Agencys name is Tom Gundry - 37 Robinson Street (03) 308 3003 Ill stay there for about 2 weeks, cause im a little bit fed up with farmwork. But its very good money, cause you have the possibility to work up to 12h/day, 7 days a week. At the moment im looking for jobs in auckland. What i am doing in generel when i want to get a job somewhere; -have a look on trademe, seasonal jobs & backpackerboard.co.nz -newspaper on saturday -asking and talk to people around me (very very effectiv!!!). If i come noew to a city, i try to start somehwere where i have the chance to talk to a lot of people. Couchsurfing/big backpackers - Things like that give you the chance to meet people who could helo you ;) You also shouldnt be afraid to just talk to people in the street. I mean im not taling about going to random people and ask them for a job, but lets say you are openig a new bank account and during the process theres a bit of time to chat with the guy/girl caring for you. Often they ask you about you, your plans etc and if that happens just tell them you are searching a job. Poeple here are awesomly willing to help you ! ;) I was once standing in front of a cashmashine, waiting for my turn (3 people before me) and just explaining my friend behind me my plans, which were basicly to get a job quite soon. The womain before us, who obviously heard our conversation, just rurned around and told us to go to ..., cause she have just come from there and saw a sign stuff wanted. One other thing i do is google more specified things. Once i did for example a little, one hour software test in christchurch. Very interesting for me, cause i like this kind of stuff and 25 bucks cash, which is not too bad for on hour of work. Since that, i allways google software testing which gives me the chance to see options, which wouldt be shown at the pages im usuallyu searching for. I would give you that advice in generel if you want to to something different than the typicaly backpacker jobs. If you hear from people that they are doing something interesting or you just see your self doing something which you cant find there - google it and try to find somehthing around you. Write a nice email with a gooc CV, try to make sure that you are motivated and people will maybe give you a chance to proove yourself ;) I wish you all good luck and hope i could help you with that My story started 3 years ago, while I was working for Emirates airlines as a flight attendant and one of my trips took me to new Zealand- Auckland. As soon as I found out that I can do skydive I signed for it as it was always my dream. And that is when it all started and I met my partner working at that time as a skydive instuctor. One year later I decided to join him and come to New Zealand. We have been living since in Fox Glacier-Westcoast and working there too. Fox Glacier is really tiny small town that has few motels, hostels and pubs :) so not much social life :) But on the other hand it i a paradise- raiforest, mountains with snow all aound the year a bit of driving and you can make a bbq on the beach and if you lucky see some Dolphis too... You can do a skydive over there- what is unreal, hike the glacier or fly about it....well it is beautifull place that is hard to descibe with words. I worked for a while at Cafe Neve- cool place with cool people and good food. As everywhere in New Zealand I met there and worked with people from all over the world, what is really cool- I specially loved the Chillians, Argetinias :))). While living in Fox Glacier we made few trips to North Island but I always loved to come back to South Island. After 2 years we got a bit tired of the small town and we moved to Queenstown. So here we are in Quennstown getting ready for winter season and some skiing:) I am also at the moment looking for a new job what isnt so much fun but thats life. Queenstown is also special town- many many tourists and young people. The only think I dont like is that most of your friens will be here just few months or for a season and than they take off...thats how Queenstown works and you better get used to it. And what about the future? Well New Zealand is amazing country with lovely people so I can see myself living here. So who know how many people that came to New Zealand as a tourists stayed here 4ever :) My name is James and Im a 24 year old from Denver, Colorado USA. Ever since I was very young Ive been traveling. Whether it was camping trips with my parents, chugging along the greater US with my grandparents in their RV, road trips with friends, or flying to other countries with my family, I eventually inherited a mean hunger to explore new places. In 2008, when my brother and his wife left the US to live in Australia, I saved up enough money to take a month off from work and go see them. That trip, before now, was the longest I had ever been away from my home country; and I loved it. I knew I wanted to do something big after that, but I just didnt know what. I loved Australia and the people there and thought about going back for an extended amount of time. It wasnt until mid-2010 when my vision of a lengthy overseas experience really came into perspective. My brother had just moved to Dunedin, NZ so his wife could obtain her masters at Uni. My parents called me one day to ask if I would be interested in checking out New Zealand with them - of course I was. Instead of following their original plan of 3 weeks abroad, I seized the opportunity to capitalize on this once in a lifetime chance and put things in motion. After quitting my job, selling my car, and obtaining a work visa, I said farewell to my friends and greater family back home and boarded a flight to Auckland. I have never been truly alone in another country. Usually I have friends or family for an initial web of support and some would say Im not the most extroverted individual. It was time to put everything to the test. When my plane touched down in New Zealand I was excited but nervious. Where would I go? What would I do? Will I be able to handle this? I stayed in Auckland for a couple days with the plan to somehow make it to Dunedin to watch over my brothers house while he was away. I knew I wanted to find a job within a few weeks so I didnt have to spend all of my saved money. But, how was I going to get this accomplished? After meeting a fellow American in Auckland, I decided to follow him down to Queenstown, soak up that scene for a few days, and then bus down to Dunedin. It turns out that this was the cheapest way, at the time, to get to Dunners anyways. I had a good time in Queenstown, but then again how couldnt I? The people in the hostile there, Nomads, were so nice. It was impossible to not meet new travelers who were eager to explore the city as well. I was very happy at the time that I had made it to the south island, met some cool people, and had already seen some amazing sights. Hell, the plane ride alone into Queenstown was so cool! Seeing the lakes, rivers, mountains, and open land through my tiny airplane window made me so excited to see more. Now, to make it down to Dunedin and find a job: how would I do this? Enter miracle bus ride. Boarding the bus, I was excited to get a chance to see rural New Zealand. Coming from Denver which has a metropolitan area with about the same population as the country here, I was used to seeing big buildings, concrete, and cars. Now I was finally getting away from that and enjoying the endless scenery on my route. No one really talked on the bus, and being a bit introverted I didnt really make any effort to either. It didnt matter though, I was content with what I was seeing out of the bus windows which was enough for me. We cruised along for a bit and eventually pulled into Cromwell where the passengers going to Dunedin and the like were required to switch over to a different bus. No big deal. I stepped out for a cigarette and took my time outdoors in the middle of an area that I was wholly unfamiliar with. After five minutes, to the best of my knowledge I extinguised my cigarette and went and sat in one of the last 2 seats at the back of the bus. One spot was left, and the last passenger boarded, asking me if it was ok to take the seat next to me. Of course. What happened next had to have been fate. "Mate! Youre on fire!!" I turned to the guy, with a dumbfounded look, and then looked down. What the hell! My shorts were smoking! I jumped off the bus, right past the driver who was explaining to everyone where we were headed, and put the blaze out. Super embarrassed, I reentered the bus but to my astonishment no one really reacted except for the 3 other people in the back, who no doubt were all laughing. I said something stupid and pulled out a book to try to escape the ridiculous reality of what had just happened. Impossible. After a couple of minutes I just burst out laughing and the guy next to me did too. Soon enough were we joking about the incident and eventually started talking about other stuff as the bus rolled on. Man, how freaking crazy to have done that! It turns out this guy was a kiwi tradesman who had just finished up a 6 week stint in Queenstown and was headed back home. Anyways after a good couple hours on the road, Pretorian (name change request per the individual), told me that he had a mate who was picking him up in Dunedin and could drop me off at my Bros place. Nice! Soon enough the bus came into Dunedin and we were off. Halfway to my destination Pretorian suggests we grab a crate of beers and go to his place to tell his mates about the bus ride. Sounds awesome to me, I had nothing going on and was ready to meet some other locals here in Dunners. Plus youve got to admit what happened on the bus was damned entertaining. Come to find out, my brothers place is only four blocks from Pretorians! Sweet as! I drop my stuff off and head over to his place. We all have a good time and tell the story of how I came to be in their lounge that night. Good times. I go home that night satisfied that a dumb mistake turned out to be a good thing. As time goes by I stay in touch with the mighty Pretorian and we continue to hang out and have plenty of laughs. A couple weeks go by and I am ready to leave Dunedin to venture off for work. As Im looking online at bus fares, etc I get a text that says, "Mate. Just hooked, lined, and sinkered this client who is keen on me hiring a couple people for work. Want a job?" No way! I shut my laptop and jumped for joy. I had never thought I would come to New Zealand and learn a trade, but now I was getting ready for a painting gig that was to begin in a couple of days. How cool is that?! Work was great and after a few weeks I was starting to get a hang of things. To seal the deal, and to keep up with the apparent stroke of luck i was having, Pretorian just had a mate move out and wanted to know if I wanted to live in his girlfriends and his flat. Rent was cheap, and the flatmates were super cool! Heck yeah! It just couldnt have turned out any better for me. I had accomplished all of my initial goals and it felt good. I guess the moral of this story is, even when you stress about something or get down, the solution to your problems could be sitting right next to you. It really pays to talk to everyone you can because they can help open up doors for you and give you really great advice. I am forever grateful for what Pretorian and his girlfriend have done for me. Living at the flat has been such a good time and an awesome way to spend the first few months of my New Zealand adventure. Not to mention, Ive also learned how to prep and paint houses as an added bonus. With only a couple weeks of work left, Im now thinking ahead to what my next move will be. I cant imagine it going as smoothly as this one did, but then again you really never know. Cheers! Having worked for 2 years towards coming to New Zealand, I thought I had enough money to last me a couple of months before I had to look for work. I was very wrong! When my friend and I arrived in Auckland, we were disappointed. Not that Auckland is a horrible city, but weíd just been (more than) slightly delusional to think that all of New Zealand would be like a spread from a National Geographic ďReal Natural BeautyĒ edition. And it wasnít; it was just a city like anywhere else. We had both completely underestimated the jetlag, I donít think either of us realised until two weeks or so after landing, just what an effect it had had on us. We decided after a couple of days roaming the streets of Auckland to head up to the Bay of Islands. Sadly, weíd booked for 2 weeks at Base Auckland, and could only get Base vouchers for their other hostels. Paihia was nice, overhyped but nice and pretty and we happily frittered our money away on fudge and ice creams and sky dives (Definitely recommended, although try not to pass out like I did!) Two weeks later, we returned to Auckland, nearly penniless and desperate for work. By chance we saw an advertisement online for vineyard work in Blenheim. This was Friday, we contacted the man (Swampy, owner of Swampyís Backpackers, Spring Creek) who said we had to be there by Sunday at the latest. We jumped on a 12 hour bus to Wellington the next morning and were in Spring Creek but mid morning on Sunday. There were various people starting on Monday with us, and all the information we could find was ďItís very hard!Ē Informative. The real blow came when we learnt we were starting at 6am! 6am! I hadnít even had to get up for school at 6am! But we bit the bullet, and at 5.15am the alarm woke us, bleary eyed and dreading what was to come. It was raining! Pelting, soaking rain! But our little posse, (us two Brits, 3 Czechs and a German) braved the storm and drove to the railway station where we were told to meet our employer. He was there in his truck, waiting to tell us to ďGo home, weíll try again in a couple of hours when itís not raining.Ē Brilliant! By the time we were back in our warm beds, he text to say the rain had stopped, time for work! It wasnít that bad. We were wire lifting; As self explanatory as it sounds. Involving lifting metal wires along rows to raise the vines so that the grapes have room to grow. Some people are paid per post (anything from 3c to 12c a post) but we were on hourly, around $13.80. Which wasnít brilliant but at least we could potter along at our own pace, and as it was nearly always sweltering, that was a definite bonus! Although we started at 6am, we finished between 2 and 3 pm, so we were back at the hostel before anyone else took over the kitchen and it gave us a lot more time to relax and do washing etc. Now wire lifting was fairly easy, but bud rubbing nearly broke us. 10 of us spent 2 days on one block, doing the dreaded bud rubbing. If youíre on contract itís supposed to be easier, as youíre more motivated to move forward. Hourly, we must have looked ridiculous. Bud rubbing involved rubbing off the lower growth on the vines, which means being bent double the entire time. By morning break (10am) we were like old hags, groaning and aching. The following morning I felt surprisingly good, until I jumped out of bed and my legs buckled beneath me! After a month working for those contractors, we felt we had enough money and they had run out of work so we were jobless, but wealthy! However, we stayed at Swampyís for 3 weeks over Christmas, that was 3 weeks of rent ($130 p/w) boozing and Christmas based cooking and presents! We were poor again! Having vowed never to work on a vineyard again we were forced to go back. This time for different contractors; wire lifting was finished by now so we were ďripping and tuckingĒ Ė pulling off low hanging canes on the vines or tucking them under the wires if they had grapes on them; ďsecond settingĒ Ė cutting off the second set of grapes which donít ripen on time for the harvest and make the wine sour; ďfruit thinningĒ Ė taking off excess bunches of grapes so that they ripen on time and the vineyard doesnít go over itís quota for that variety of grape; ďcolour thinningĒ Ė removing still green, unripened grapes from the ripened ones and ďnet clippingĒ Ė fastening long black or white nets around the vines with tiny plastic clips to prevent the birds eating the fruit. All in all, not very exciting work, we varied from contract for the ripping and tucking, and hourly for the rest ($13 p/h after tax) some days go quickly, when itís not to hot and the workís quite fast, other days when itís sticky and sweltering and you take 3 hours to do a row make a day feel a week long. Thereís something rewarding about it though, in the end. Iíve never worked so hard in my life and I feel proud that I managed to work for such long hours for 3 months in total. However, Iím still in New Zealand, and Iím still dog poor, so the vineyards may be calling againÖ Im a British student, currently reading for a law degree in the UK. I came to New Zealand as a backpacker almost entirely by accident. My parents emigrated to the Australian Gold Coast (they also live and work part of the time in NZ) when I was 16, whilst I stayed at home to finish my A levels, living with my grandmother. When I graduated from high school in the summer of 2009, I flew out to meet them because I hadnt seen them since I left, and Id never visited the South Pacific before. After spending a couple of weeks in almost constant 30C+ heat, I was excited to take my up my parents suggestion of a trip to the more temperate climate in Auckland. We stayed in the CBD, and I, whilst they shopped, spent my time exploring the - compared to London - modest but not undiverse nightlife of the city. By the time they were due to go back Id met some other travellers, and didnt feel like leaving so soon, given that theyd told me, and I was rather envious, of all their pursuits, from skydiving in Rotorua to - and yes, I know its cliche - exploring middle earth, on the South Island. Id pretty much run out of cash, however, by this point, so in order to fund experiencing some of these things, as well as to recompense my parents for the flight theyd paid for back to Queensland!, I figured I need to get a temporary job for a few weeks, at minimum. Perhaps not surprisingly, most of the retail stuff in the city centre wanted people to commit for a year or so, which I wasnt prepared to do (I should add that, luckily, my folks had sorted out all of the work-visa stuff for me. I cant imagine what might have happened if Id come up short of money without one!) so I went, after scanning the local papers, of all places, to work on a small fishing operation, owned by local Maoris, in Whangamata. After Id had enough, about 8 weeks later, not quite ready to leave this really wonderful country, I applied, and successfully obtained an aupair position with a charming family in Wellington. Id previously been on an overnight trip soon after I first arrived here, and loved the historical feel of the place, and thought it somewhere Id feel settled for an extended period of time. And so I looked after their two children (who were very difficult at times) for about six months, give or take a few days and really felt like a member of the family. Im back in the UK now, but will never forget the amazing trip I had down under. Landing in New Zealand is unlike landing in any other country. As I descended over the glacially blue tongues of water cutting into the relatively untouched magnificence of the South Island and down through kilometres of thick tumultuous cloud to the green expanse of Dunedin, I knew things were about to change for me, and so they have. I was blessed enough to start with people I knew, who are thoroughly Kiwi and have a deep love for and appreciation of the land. I have had so many life-changing experiences in the 4 months I have been in this country Ė involving people, the land and never a lot of money. This is in itself a reflection of the greatness of the country, where you do not need a goldmine to have an amazing time. In fact, following the well-worn tourist tracks spending all your hard-earned shanks and franks on various activities may be fun but may also see you ride rough-shot right over the splendour that lurks beneath. And let me tell you Ė there is immeasurable splendour beneath. So get out your spade or borrow one and get scratching through the surface! I will start with a story from the start of my journey. I was staying with 3 wonderful people 20 minutes out of Dunedin in a magnificent area called Hamilton Bay. They had helped their neighbour shear his sheep the day before and as an exchange, he gave them some meat, which we cooked and ate gratefully. As many people do in New Zealand, this household had their own bountiful garden and loved it dearly. The next day we went down to the beach to explore some caves, run along the empty beach and collect mussels which we steamed and ate with malt vinegar Ė delicious! The land of New Zealand is very generous Ė Be good to the land and she will be good to you. We went out to watch a band one night Ė get out to see some local New Zealand bands: there is so much musical talent in this country, it would be a tragedy to leave here without hearing and learning from it. Get to the free concerts in summer, pay for some of the local favourites and make sure you go to at least one tiny little gig somewhere in an obscure area with not necessarily such a large crowd Ė the outcome is irrelevant, but I have been the only one dancing to some of the best DJís I have ever known until the early hours of the morning in this beloved country. ATTENDANCE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT TALENT. When youíre staying in Auckland and you donít want to spend too much money, there are two options : only do free activities, which can be quite annoying once youíve visited the Auckland museum, Victoria park and other sightseeingÖ The other one is to work in backpackers in exchange for accommodation. Almost every backpackers has a few places for this kind of job, and, obviously, the biggest the backpacker is, the more places there is. This is why the easiest place to get one of these is to look for it at Base Backpacker, the biggest in Auckland city. I first checked the internet to find out where I could do such a thing, and I saw that there were three free posts at Base Backpacker. So I showed up there one morning, asking to talk with the staff manager. We had a short talk, then she just hand me a contract, ask me to read it then sign it, and that was it : I was hired. The only thing that made me different from the other candidates was that I got there the first. About the job, the first thing to say I that it isnít hard work. Obviously, you canít ask someone whoís doesnít get paid to work too hard. Letís face it : even if you do, they wonít. Most of the time, backpackers has two types of jobs : reception and cleaning. I was hired as a cleaner, since it was the only vacant post. The tasks are mainly vacuuming, cleaning the kitchen and changing the beds sheets. At Base Backpacker, they ask for 4 hours a day, from Monday to Friday (20 hours a week), in exchange for a bed in an 8 beds room. About the place now, staying in a backpacker and working there is of course very convenient to meet new people, since everyone in your room does the same job than you do, plus that you spend many hours working, cooking or just chilling in the lounge and other TV rooms. The main advantages of this backpacker are : the big and complete lounge room, including couches, two TV rooms, a Cyber Cafť and a Job Office The kitchen is clean and spacious, and the location is very good, on the middle of Queen street, with many bars, restaurants and the Metro Center nearby. The main problems are : first of all, 20 hours a week is, in my opinion, too much for an 8 beds room, in a country where the minimum wage is around 13$ an hour. The place sometimes feels too big with its ten floors. The smokers will have to get out of the place if they want to have a smoke, since there is no smoker room or balcony. If you plan in advance to do such a job, you can call most of the Auckland backpackers and see if they have any vacancies. Some only ask for 2 hours of work every day (14 hours a week), and a smaller place asks for more quiet tasks. These types of jobs are very convenient for those who look for jobs in Auckland and donít want to spend money on the accommodation while doing it. And when you are only asked two hours of work each day, you can even combine it with a job ! My name is Nis and I am travelling through New Zealand in a Van together with my sister since mid of December. At home in Germany we got a Working Holiday Visa in the internet and planned to do some harvest work here in New Zealand. We started in Auckland, made our way down south and took the ferry to the South Island between Christmas and New Year. When we arrived in Wanaka we started looking for jobs because we were running out of money. The first job offer we got was on a Berry Farm near town, where we picked raspberries for two days. But because it was only a few hours a day and not every day we still applied for other harvest jobs in the Central Otago region. In the internet I send a Mail to the PickNZ office in Alexandra, a few hours later we got the phone call and with it a job on a cherry orchard in Lowburn near Cromwell. We should start a few days later so we still hat time to explore the beautiful region. On Monday the 9.1. we arrived on the cherry farm in the morning and got introduced to the sorting of cherries in the pack house. We had to sort the incoming cherries in three categories: All perfect cherries were export quality, all cherries with little scratches or steam less were domestic and all the rest of rotten and squeezed cherries were thrown into the rubbish bucket. It was a lot of rubbish because of the rain in the last days. We were payed by every bucket that we emptied. On our first days sorting we thought we could never get faster and we would not make any money here at all. But after a few days we could already double our number of buckets. It is amazing how you can improve your skills and speed in sorting just by training, doing it again and again. For three days I did another job in the pack house. Because one of the bucket boys, who carry full unsorted and rubbish buckets was absent I did his job which was a completely new experience. Instead of standing around and only moving my hands I had to do really hard work now. Although I liked this kind of challenge I went back to sorting after the three days mostly because of more money that I could earn with this. My sister and I slept in our Van on the big camping ground on the farm where all of the workers lived. It was a very nice community and after we all got to know each other it was hard to say goodbye and move in different directions after the season finished. After the last day we had a lunch together with a traditional Maori hangi. It was really declicious. Now we are in the Hawkes Bay area and looking for work again. Probably we will pick apples soon. We are looking forward to all the nice people we are going to get to know here! I had applied in the internet, more out of fun and nothing else to do. Some hours later I got a phone call and I had the job. Great! So the next weeks were spent sorting cherries into export quality, domestic and rubbish. It micht sound kinda boring, but it wasnt actually. You could listen to music, talk to other people and eat as many cherries as you liked. The atmosphere was great as well! Nobody put pressure on you, if not yourself, because you were paid by contract and not hourly. People were really friendly to each other and did even heop the slower sorters to finish their last bucket befoer break, when they had done theirs already. Additionally when the working day was long (usually it started at 8:30am and finished between 3:00pm and 5:00pm), the supervisor gave some chocolates to us to keep up the motivation. Like all the other workers I was staying at a campsite on the farm. I was sleeping in a van, but there was a very well equipped kitchen and, of course, sanitaries. After some time it was almost as if you were staying with your big family. You got to know the other workers really well and had lots of fun together! Also there were lots of things to do with cherries - baking pies, pancakes, jam, fruit salad... and lots of competitions in spitting cherry pits were held ;). I am really gonna miss that time and all the nice people! All in all it was a great experience and even though it was hard work, I enjoyed every minute and would have loved to stay longer! Visit Fortune Fruit Website Lake Dunstan Cromwell Lake Dunstan Photos When I got to Whangamata, I had this meeting for a painting tattoo job. I ended up washiing dishes at Sands Cafť. First of all, I found a great accomodation, Barbaras BBH backpackers, one minute from the beach and only a hundred dollars a week. With that, and all the young people in the streets, I wanted to get a job there and nowhere else. So when I realised that my tattoo painting job wasnt going to get me any money, I printed some CVs and walked down the main street, stopping in every shop asking for a job. The problem was that, in the middle of summer, most of the places had all the staff they needed. I was starting to loose faith when I walked in this big, nice place with a summer coloured name : Sands Cafť. I asked to talk to the manager, said I was looking for a job, and here I was, hired to wash the dishes and help around. I did my first days in a place busy as hell, so busy that one day a hurried colleague closed the door of the giant freezer without noticing that I was still incide... Got me a free half an hour break. Anyway, I was getting money, and, best of all, had free lunches on my breaks. I spent a month there, working with a nice, energetic team, and I only left when all the tourists went back home, returning Whangamata to its quiet rythm. When I think about my work experience in Whangamata, its as one of the best places in New Zealand to get a summer job. If you get there in early december youll find a job for sure, and dont miss Barbaras BBH backpackers on Beverly Terrace, ideal to meet people, and a rock throw from the beach ! The idea of travelling to New Zealand (NZ) had been stuck in my head since I was young, due to a family friend having moved there. She was working for the Department of Conservation (DOC) in Turangi, and her partner ran the Tongariro Natural History Society (TNHS) in the same building. All I knew was that both their jobs involved working in the outdoors, and that was me hooked. I applied for a position with TNHS, and after being accepted set about applying for a working holiday visa. A working holiday visa for NZ can last up to 23 months, although you can actually only work for 12 of these months. I applied online for mine through STA Travel, and received it within weeks. I also booked my flights and travel insurance with them too. In recent years I have used Flight Centre to book all my flights, as they thoroughly search for the cheapest deals. When choosing travel insurance, be sure to note what you want it to cover. NZ is full of adventure activities such as sky diving, bungee jumping and white water rafting. Basic travel insurance covers grade three white water, so if you injure yourself on a grade five river you cannot claim. Travel insurance can be expensive, but is certainly necessary. After four months in Ethiopia with a friend, I flew to NZ, arriving in Auckland airport at the end of December. That first notion of being on your own is crazy, after eighteen years of being told what to do and then suddenly it is all up to you. Fight or flight. I remember feeling quite pleased with myself when I discovered the Airbus that went direct to Auckland city centre, and stopped outside the backpackers I had booked into. (It was actually the only mode of transport into the city apart from a taxi)! If in doubt with anything in an airport, just ask at airport information or tourist information as there are lots of staff around to help, and they are perfect at dealing with people new to travelling and airports. On the bus my body began to crash from lack of sleep, as I attempted to concentrate on the sights and sounds of Auckland. I had been flying for twenty something hours and had not slept much, but luckily I did not have to wait long for my stop. There is an abundance of backpackers, hotels and motels in Auckland, looking online shows a wide variety of places to stay who cater for all your required needs. Popular chains around NZ include Base Backpackers and YHA, both offering discount cards and nightly events for cheap prices. Last year I had the pleasure of escorting my sister to NZ, and our flight arrived in Auckland at the ridiculous time of 12.30 at night. I searched for a backpackers close to the airport, and found the Skyway Lodge. I emailed them in advance, and they were happy to pick us up even though it was late. Upon checking in at the backpackers, I discovered that I had left my passport on the bus...Ēoh ****Ē, what an idiot. I frantically phoned Airbusís office and the airport police in a frantic attempt to find it, but to no avail. It was New Yearís Eve and everywhere was in party mode, so instead of freaking out I decided to just go with the flow and managed to befriend some kiwi girls to go drinking with. I hung around in Auckland for a few days after that trying to find my passport, but with limited places to look and the probability of it containing a new photograph of a supposed me; I jumped on an Intercity bus to Turangi. www.intercity.co.nz Turangi is the trout fishing capital of New Zealand, or so the sign claims, (suspiciously the town of Gore states the same). The Rough Guide to New Zealand says that it ďis a small, flat and characterless placeĒ, and I guess it may be to the untrained eye, but I love Turangi. I spent just over three months there tramping around its bush, conserving its wildlife and swimming in the glacial river. A definite must do is walk the hour long circular track around lake Rotopounamu, at the base of Mount Pihanga . TNHS volunteers have made this piece of bush what it is today by working hard to eradicate foreign predators, and keeping native bird numbers up. I did eventually get my passport back, and felt very guilty about making assumptions about it being stolen. Not every country is made of bandits! It happened days after arriving in Turangi and because I had not had any luck in those first few days, I had cancelled it and started making arrangements to get an emergency one. (This can all easily be done online or by telephone, do not panic)! Literally a few hours later, a PC Bradley from the Auckland airport police phoned TNHS (after phoning my parents in the UK their 2am) and said it had been handed in and what address to send it on to. It gave my parents quite a shock as I had not actually told them about the passport drama, and having the NZ police phone randomly during the night cannot have been very comforting. Oops lesson learnt, luckily everyone saw the funny side. For travellers I would say Turangi would be more of a brief stop off, than a place to stay with it being only half an hour away from Taupo. The Mustard Seed Cafe makes a good lunch stop, and the Liquorice Cafe (just outside of Turangi on the Taupo side), does an amazing iced coffee. For a bit more adventure, contact the Tongariro River rafting office. Turangi is situated in the Tongariro National Park, and from the town you can carry on to National Park, Whakapapa and Mountains Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe (Mount Doom, Lord of the Rings). A must do for walkers is the Tongariro crossing, and for those who are extra keen, a jaunt up the scree that is Ngauruhoe is fun if only for the slide back down! TNHSís season ended at the beginning of April, and I found myself on an Intercity bus to Taihape in search of River Valley: I was to be their new bar girl. River Valley is located a forty minute drive out of Taihape, which proves difficult to get to if you arrive without a car. Luckily the day I arrived a member of staff was in town getting gas as the staff assured me I would have been left there until something from town was required! The Kiwi Experience bus also stops there nightly. River Valley is a big lodge nestled at the bottom of a lush, green valley, with the mighty Rangitikei flowing through. It is a beautiful, serene place with a great vibe: a perfect contrast of relaxation and adventure. White water rafting was a new concept to me entirely; I had not seen much grade 5 white water before then. The first time I mentally prepared myself for rafting, we got halfway up to a lookout point and discovered the river was too high for our trip to be adjured safe, and we had to abort. The second trip was better as we actually got the rafts into the river, but the water level was really low. I remember thinking rafting was not really all that, even Ďboringí may have crossed my mind. It was definitely third time lucky for me, and this trip completely nullified my previous thoughts. The river had risen to a very substantial level, and at the bottom of a rather Ďextremeí rapid our raft was caught on a rock and another raft ploughed into and over the top of the bow. Literally a minute before a friend had asked if I wanted to swap places, and the place that had doomed to be mine was now empty, and people were in the water, cavorting downstream. I just sat there staring at the emptiness, vaguely hearing our guide Darryn yelling back paddle. Now I am addicted! River Valley has been in the press a lot lately, for an incident that occurred a few years ago. The guides are highly trained, but it is an adventurous activity and there are obviously elements of risk that occur, especially in Grade 5 white water. On a lighter note the Rangitikei is an amazing river to experience, and the gorge it winds through holds beautiful New Zealand fauna and flora with the extra special opportunity of maybe spotting a deer or pig. There are not many rafting companies arranged in such a way that you finish at the lodge, and are able to jump straight into a hot shower. Everyone has their own unique memories of River Valley, mine were definitely the people. I met some amazing friends from all over the world who I have gone on to work, live, party and even fall in love with. From the Rangitikei River I went to Mount Ruapehu, and slept on a friendís floor for a few months and attempted learning to snowboard. Ruapehu opens its doors for the ski season around June/July, and remains open until early Spring offering many job opportunities. Many avid snow orientated travellers work in rentals, operate the ski lifts, serve in its cafes and even teach people to ski and board. Both the north and south islands have ski fields, and are always looking for workers, and even on occasion offering visas to those who keep returning. As summer approached and the snow melted, I decided to follow some raft guides to the south island and the Rangitata River, which runs through Peel Forest. The village of Peel Forest is about a two hour drive from Christchurch, turning off at Ashburton or a twenty minute drive from Geraldine if you come up from the south. The road in is flanked by farm land, field upon field of cattle, sheep deer and swede. The village is a consecutive line of houses occasionally interrupted by a native tree, with the Mustererís Bar and Cafe at the centre, which is also the local store. Driving further on you reach the bottom of Little Mount Peel, and the start of an array of beautiful walks. A main reason for people visiting Peel Forest is for its DOC walking tracks, which vary in length and difficulty from a half hour walk to discover Peel Forests ďBig TreeĒ, to a six hour hike up Little Mount Peel and back. Doc also owns a large campground near the river, which is open from late August to April. Other outdoor activities in Peel Forest include horse trekking, and white water rafting. White water rafting on the Rangitata River is a very different experience from the mighty Rangitikei. The Rangitikei is low volume and technical, where as the Rangitata is high volume grade 5. Meaning no matter what the river flow, the Rangitata always has two grade 5 rapids. It also holds the longest grade five white water rapid in New Zealand, which goes by the name of Ďthe pinchí. Expect action packed, and yes, you are going to get wet! I left New Zealand at the start of winter that year, and headed back home. Two years later and I am back again, I missed the relaxed lifestyle, endless rainforests and mountain ranges too much. What began for me as a travelling adventure has turned into a way of life; New Zealand will always hold a special place and a home for me. We departed from the Czech republic in october 2009 and we made one month trip in Thailand. After arrival we had booked the Ponsonby Backpacker. We have used the shuffle bus from airport, which can take you door to door for one-time fee 25 dollars per person. I was trying to choose my bank thorougly for couple of days and finally the ANZ bank won, becouse this bank has the biggest network of branches and cashmachines. You pay only 5 dollars monthly fee and thatís it! No further fees! It is something unimaginable in the Czech republic! Great Next step was to buy a car. We made a big trip (it was more like Great Walk) around Auckland to get some good reliable car (not a lemon, like couple of our friends) Ė but everything was so old with scary milage and for big money! Crazy! Finally weíve been saved by carmarket in Elerslie. We were trying to find something good from early morning, but we were disappointed until noon Ė in this moment we were approached by one car tout that he apparently has good van exactly for us. This perfect car was Nissan Serena 2.0 petrol 4WD, but there wasnīt a bed Ė but weīve been told by seller it is not a problem to do it Ė so we had to wait until next dayÖ. We checked the car and we did the test drive Ė everything seemed to be alright so we paid a deposit. The seller brought us our new Nissan next day to a backpacker, already with bulit-in bed inside. Today, 6 months later, i have to say the car is still awesome Ė there werenīt any problems! So, great technical condition, 1995, 3rd owner for 4.000 bucks! However we got a lesson Ė november is the worst month to buy a car Ė becouse everything is so expensive and only few cars on sale! After one week what we have spent in Ackland we scooped direction to Hastings. We were expecting ubiquitous signs: We need workers! Ė but we were disappointed. There was nothing! We were trying to call everywhere and we have tried to find something on internet as wellÖ So, finally we found a job on Mr. Appleīs orchard in Waipawa. We have been thinning apples Ė it was pretty good job, weīve been living in comapnyīs camp in orchard (by the way, the camp is awesome!) and we got quite well paidÖ Weīve been satisfied anyway Closely to x-mass thinning was terminated and we went to the northÖ We were wondering about that long time, becouse everybody wanted to go to the south island Ė and we (we Ė it means me, Nela and our new fried Tomas from camp) went to the north paradoxically, because it seemed to us can be crowded there on the south islandÖ We started to work in Kerikeri in the middle of January and weīve been thinning kiwifruits Ė i must recommend this, it is cool job You are in the shade all day under the kiwifruit bush Ė and Ė you donīt have to use the ladder!! We returned to Waipawa in early March Ė there was starting the apple picking. Weīve been working for hourly wage first week and everything was fine. But next couple of weeks were crazy! Weīve been paid only for count of bins we have done, and there were a days, when we have done only one bin for 40 bucks, becouse there were no apples!! It was fourth pick of royal gala varietyÖ And we said: ĄStop!ď in the moment, when we had only 100 dollars each on our payslips for a week of hard work! By law the company is obliged to pay each worker the minimum wage, and no amounts of bins! Its very sad, but i canīt recommend this copany for the picking! Almost all staff quit like we and went to a different parts of this beautiful country. And now, we are working in packhouse for hourly wage and we are satisfied Some tips from me: There is a problem to get the car insurance for backpackers. AA offers a advantageous products only for residents and other companies are similar. But we found this: http://www.bbh.co.nz/default.aspx?pid=15 You can extend your working holiday visa for another 3 months with no problemÖ When you put your car to the service just stay there with mechanic. It happend to us Ė we paid for wheel alignment and mechanics didnīt do that! We had to tell to boss it, he tested the car personally Ė he found out is is true and after they fixed it! We also can recommend to buy AC/DC transmitter, which you can connect instead the car fighter Ė it is good to have a czech plug for laptop or cellphone charging. My name is Agnese and I‚Äôm from Latvia (in case you don‚Äôt know where it is ‚Äď Europe, Baltic States, between Estonia and Lithuania, with beautiful capital city called Riga; No, we aren‚Äôt part of Russia anymore and Yes, we do have our own language - Latvian). The Working Holiday Scheme with New Zealand opened only in March, 2009, so ‚Äď for us it‚Äôs a pretty new thing, but I‚Äôm happy to know that more and more Latvians are applying for it and going for this lifetime adventure. I think getting a Working Holiday Visa (if your country has such thing with NZ) is more or less the same ‚Äď quite easy. You just go to Immigration Service web page ‚Äď www.immigration.govt.nz and follow instructions: fill the application form, try to persuade Immigration Service that you haven‚Äôt done bad things in past (in a meaning - testify you haven‚Äôt been in a jail or something), might need to go see a doctor and get a Temporary Entry X-ray Certificate, wait for while until Visa is approved (for me it took 2 weeks, as I have heard for others - only 3 days), save some money, get flight tickets and here you go ‚Äď welcome to New Zealand. Easy ‚Äď peasy, but it‚Äôs just the beginning‚Ķ Then comes all the arrangements and sometimes confusing you-need-to-do-this-and-this regarding finding a work, place to live and actually starting to work. If your financial situation allows, then I would suggest that you do some traveling first and then find a place to settle down for a while rather than doing the other way around. Sometimes you can stuck in one place for a long time and afterwards feel sorry that your precious time here in this country starts to run out, but there is still so much to see and do. But when you start to look for a work there are two things that you should do first ‚Äď get bank account and IRD number. There are many ways how can you get these 2 things (it depends if you have already a sort of ‚Äėpermanent‚Äô place to live and 2 international ID‚Äôs ‚Äď passport, international driver‚Äôs license or international ID card). I had only my passport, so I went to BNZ, gave them address of my hostel where I was staying at that moment, deposit some money, opened bank account and asked them to hand out a statement of my current address. With this statement I went to nearest Inland Revenue Service, filled application form and after 2 weeks received my IRD number. If you need to know it faster, you can call them and ask for it on the phone. Regarding finding a work‚Ķwell there is no super-duper/overall advice, sometimes it takes time, patience and determination and sometimes just a little bit of luck. So far I have worked in two places and the ways how I found them are quite opposite. I was on South Island and went to Christchurch which is the biggest city there, so it should be easy to find a work there, right? But the thing is that there are thousands of other travelers that think the same way, lots of them are heading to Christchurch for this reason. And then there are students, who look for summer jobs as well, so competition is quite high. But it depends what kind of work you are looking for and what kind of experience you already have. The main vacancies are in tourism and hospitality sector and usually they ask for experienced staff. I didn‚Äôt have any relevant experience, so it was hard for me to find anything. At the end (after some 2 weeks) I found a work as a housekeeper, but it was only a part time job, so I didn‚Äôt save lots of money. But I still had a great time and don‚Äôt have any regrets. The second work was in orchard ‚Äď cherry picking. To get this work I didn‚Äôt do anything, well‚Ķ except one phone call. I was heading to Alexandra to look for a fruit picking work, I called to book a bed at one of the hostels called Marj‚Äôs place. The owner ‚Äď Marj started to ask me out what I‚Äôm going to do in Alexandra. I explained that I want to do a little bit of traveling first and then find a fruit picking work. And then she said that by the time I get to Alexandra she will find me work in some of orchards. And that‚Äôs how it really was ‚Äď after traveling around the bottom of South Island, I went to Alexandra and was able to start work the next day. Thanks Marj. So, as you can see there are many scenarios about finding a work in New Zealand. And there are many ways how to look for a job ‚Äď job agencies, community information boards (usually in supermarkets), internet, local newspapers, just walk in and ask (must warn that sometimes it can get very depressing to hear ‚ÄúNo, thank you. We don‚Äôt need anyone at this moment‚ÄĚ for the 57th time), but for the best results you have to try them all. That‚Äôs my experience so far. Now I‚Äôm in Picton looking for a job again. Nice town, but not so much work opportunities, especially when the season is starting to end. But it‚Äôs going to be great, at the end it always is. Somehow it works out. Good luck! All it started in Czech Republic where I have lived since I was born. I always wanted to get to know country of the lord of the ring or also country where lives more sheeps than people.:] Even more there was an advantage of having summer twice a year. So this all make my decision to go there. My flight started in Vienna and I came to Auckland after two days When one night I spend in luxury hotel arranged by my Flight company. It was really luxury stage before come back to reality After that Ive got to the reality Just like that I have been in foreign country with a really heavy backpack and no booked accommodation for a night. What more... there was really expensive bus to the Auckland downtown . Later I have found out that for this price u could pay half way to Hastings. So question is why I have a feeling that this is kind of playing with people who dont have any other chance to get to the city. So anyway lets move on After two weeks I bought car cause in the city was almost no chance to get a job for me and only possibility to stay with an money is going to do seasonal jobs. Which was much more easier to find with a car. Lately I got call that if I have got car I was going to get a job And that was how I found my first job. Thinning apples was my first experience that earning maney would be that easy as it was addressed in much traveling agencies After that experience I had a many similiar jobs where most important was have two fast hands, strong shoulders and been able to do same kind of moving whole day. Also I would like to say that sometimes it is hard to work for an constractors How u should take those people seriously when they are not paying u correctly, forgeting about hours,names and when u have worked. Offen also happends that they dont need u for whole week even u are asking them. And later youll get to know that they came to your backpacker and asked just for asian people. Kind of discrimination? Now I am staying in Hasting and guess what I do picking apples job. Like a most of people in this time. So in the end if u are thinking about going to New Zealand. I would recommended it. It is beatifull country with a lot to show. But just be sure that if u want to do backpacking and earn some money during traveling it would not be easy and sometimes u maybe wouldnt find a job. Good luck with finding right job!! we applied for the visa directly through nz immigration website. we got our ird and bank accounts through visa first. but should of done it when arrived as was soo easy to do and would of saved money. we arrived in Christchurch and had already arranged to stay in a place called urban rooms we ended up staying there for 3 months. my hubby worked as a tourist photographer at the Christchurch gondola and Antarctic centre. we also worked in a local outdoor shop together. we also did a lot of helpx work in b&bs and hostels which eventually led us to manage a big 100 bed hostel over on the west coast. we found most of the jobs ourselves and most on the bbh website. we loved it so much we are back in 3 months time check out blog at blog.mlcoffeybean.co.uk My story started in Czech republic in Prague. I was looking for some job in Prague during the summer, but I wasnīt successful. One day i got an idea to find some job in another country. I decided to travel and earn money in New Zealand. Why New Zealand? When I was young I have met some people from Czechoslovakia who emigrated to New Zealand during communism in our country and they told me that New Zealand is great country for tramping. I realy love tramping and hiking and I have heard that NZ has good opportunity to get seasonals jobs. This reasons was leading me to change my dreams into reality. I started looking for informations about New Zealand and how to travel, where and how I can get visa and working permit. I have found all information on internet. First step was to get visa. Student agency arrange visa for me and they help me to buy fly ticket. I arrived to Auckland in the end of October. I have spent two day in Auckland to apply for IRD number and arrange bank account. Then I moved to Taupo for one day for small trip and then to Hastings. I was so fool, that I didnīt book accommodation in this town. I had a problem to find some, but finally I got accommodation, but only for one night. Second day I went to information centre and they helped me to find accommodation in Napier, because all backpackers in Hastings were full. I went to Hastings cos I have read that there is a big chance to get job in apple orchard for tinning apples. This work usually starts at November, but people told me, that this year was strong winter and this work is going to start later. They told me the same in Napier. I decided that traveling is better than waitting for job. After some day I have visited Mahia peninsula with two guys from Czech republic. I have met them in Naked bus. And then we went to great walk lake Waikaremoana. Very nice experience was in Whakatane in work and income office. One lady help us very much with looking for work. So we moved to Te Puke for picking kiwi flowers. We were working for contractor Al Kirimana for one week in kiwi fruit orchards. After this work we traveled to Taupo to find better job like housekeeping. Contractor Al told us, that he will send our money to our bank accounts on Wednesday, but reality is that he has never send me it. I have spent about 30 NZD to call him or text him, but his reaction always was: Ąsry I always 4gotď. Now Iīm trying to solve this problem with picknz and department of labor. In fact I wonīt see my money anymore. Then I spent one week in Taupo. Door to door asking and interviews werenīt successful. The most interesting experience here was small trip around lake Taupo and tour trough sheep farm with owner, but he have not had work for men (male). First of December I moved to Hastings again and registred in picknz. After two hours I have received message with contact to Thornhill and my work in vineyards has bugun. Wire lifting Ė tacking and budrubbing. Between X-mas and New Year I was in Tongariro for Tongariro northern circuit great walk. After New Year I did not have chance to get job and Thornhill gave opportunity to another guys. But French friends from vineyards found job for Peter - awesome Ąkiwiď farmer in kiwi orchard near to Clive. Kiwi fruit tinning. It was only for 5 days. Then I was working in plum orchards Ė picking for 2weeks. From 28 of January me and my friend donīt have work and trying the best to find it every day. It is not easy now and apple season is going to start mid February.

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2 Stamford Road +65 6338 8585 +65 6338 2862 Maps & Directions Each guest room is equipped with top-of-the-line amenities, all designed to indulge today’s frequent travellers. Stay in luxurious suites with private balconies providing a breathtaking panorama of the country’s bustling landscape as well as scenic views of the nearby islands of Malaysia and Indonesia. Swissôtel The Stamford, Singapore's is a business hotel with elegant rooms and fitness facilities. Willow Stream Spa is one of Asia’s largest sanctuaries of wellness and fitness. Reflecting traditional Swiss hospitality, Guest Services are personalised, warm, and welcoming. Offering cutting-edge facilities, the Raffles City Convention Centre provides a versatile range of 27 fully-equipped meeting rooms capable of accommodating events of all sizes. The state-of-the-art Executive Conference Centre with a satellite conference system featuring icon-based touch screen and advanced facilities is the preferred venue for global conferences. The biggest ballroom – the magnificent pillar-free Fairmont Ballroom – can accommodate up to 3,000 guests. Whether for a large-scale symposium or a company training seminar, the dedicated convention services team will see to your specific needs. Please click here for our special meeting offer Seminars and functions Private & Special Events Click here to submit an RFP for your next event Request for Proposal Click here to view our Interactive Floorplans +1 506 388 6948 (Toll Number) We are processing your request. Thank you for your patience. View more offers at Swissotel.com/offers today!

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What is your first food memory? My first food memory is school lunch. My mom was very good at switching things up so my sister and I wouldn’t get bored. Some days we had sandwiches—the traditional tuna with cucumbers, peanut butter and jelly, or pastrami with lettuce, tomato, and mustard. Other times, we had Japanese rice balls covered in seaweed, stuffed with either tuna or bonito. Snacks were the traditional potato chips or Clementine oranges, but sometimes I got sontong (sun-dried cuttlefish strands) or mini packets of dried baby anchovies mixed with peanuts. Those are the things I remember—if I didn’t grow up with those things, I probably wouldn’t like them as an adult. What are some of your early cooking experiences? My mom didn’t really want me cooking as a kid, or rather, messing with her kitchen space. Whenever we visited our extended family in Malaysia, however, my aunt would always put me right to work in the kitchen. She was the head of the 10-person household, so whenever my sister and I visited, she took the opportunity to take a little break and have us help her out with some of the chores, in which cooking was my earliest cooking memory. Any family influences on your style and taste? All of my cooking is based primarily on my family’s cooking techniques and taste preferences. My mother is an amazing cook (although she will deny it). She mastered everything from Malay-style curries to homemade lasagna to traditional Thanksgiving dinners. She taught me that you can make any type of food you want and that you can make it taste awesome, no matter what your culinary background is. That’s what gave me the confidence to pursue a culinary profession; it helped that I had somewhat of a knack for it as well! Where did you study or apprentice? I have no formal culinary education. I knew, early on, that I didn’t want an office job—I need to be moving and physically doing things. Cooking food seemed the perfect job. I liked to eat food, and I liked the creative aspect of it. I worked in several restaurants, mostly in the Bar Harbor area—moving on to completing two summer seasons at the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor. There, I met two amazing chefs that were willing to teach me all they knew culinary-wise, as well as a good work ethic, which I felt I somewhat had a grasp on. But watching these amazing chefs work, as well as my fellow line cooks and dishwashers, made me want to work harder, do better, and have fun while I was doing it. When did you realize you were a chef? I got the “title” of chef when I was 26 years old, working at a fine dining restaurant that has since gone out of business in the Bangor area. I was, however, far from being a chef. It took me a good three years of trial and error and developing my skills to be able to feel like one. There are two instances in which I thought to myself, “I am now a chef.” The first was when my business partner, Laura Albin, and I opened our current establishment, The Fiddlehead Restaurant. The second is when I experiment with food and certain dishes that I am totally unfamiliar with, totally mess it up, and realize I know exactly how to fix it and make it better. Owning my profession physically, with a restaurant, and mentally, with my skills, was the caveat for me to consider myself a real chef. What was your pivotal career move? Opening our own restaurant. Thinking back, it was a lot more liberating than I thought it would be. Trusting your instincts, making your own decisions, and relying on a group of people that you love and admire to help you achieve that one goal. It’s amazing. It’s the third-best thing that’s ever happened to me—after meeting my fiancé and the birth of my child. When did the Fiddlehead Restaurant open? How did it happen? We opened on August 25, 2009. Laura and I had just gotten done working at another restaurant in town. Both unemployed (and me with a 1-year-old), we knew we wanted to stay in the Bangor area and we knew we were good at working in restaurants—we didn’t, however, want to work for anyone else. We decided to open our own place. Things just happened to fall into place, after that. We are still pretty amazed at how it all came together—but it did. We must be doing something right—we’re still crossing our fingers. What is your favorite ingredient to work with? I’ll discover something new (to me) one week, really like using it, and then find something new the next. What I really like are challenges—people coming in with food allergies, dietary restrictions, and/or personal food preferences. We like to make everyone feel welcome at the Fiddlehead, so when I look into my fridge and try to create a dish for people with what I have available—not just to get by, but to make the dish taste good and succeed—that makes me feel like a real chef. You source a lot of ingredients locally. Why is this important to you? It’s not just a trend, in my opinion. It really gets the community together—people get to know each other, and yes, it fosters a certain type of pride in the “stuff” we create because we have to “own” it, and answer for it. For example, we can’t just blame the “big company” if our greens aren’t good—we discuss our issues with our local greens person and fix the problem, and it’s a matter of pride. People are willing to work together to make our food better and people want to create things that are of good quality and reliable items. Slowly but surely, we’re creating a little self-sufficient community that we will all be proud to be a part of. What is the dish we have featured? How did it come about and what ingredients are used? This is a char sui-marinated pork chop with Japanese-style fried rice and hot sesame oil. Simply, I missed the taste of Japanese fried rice, so I recreated it for this dish. Char sui is a Chinese-style marinade, mostly used with pork, so it naturally goes with the pork chop. Bringing it all together is the hot sesame oil, which mellows out the sweetness of the char sui marinade, and kicks up the flavor of the fried rice. Usually, with a dish, I start with the thought: What do I want to eat today/what do I want to make that sounds good? It’s all downhill from there. What is your least favorite job-related task? It’s usually the simplest things that I hate doing. The type of chores that only take three minutes—like chopping herbs or shredding cheese. Thankfully, I have a sous chef and line cook who like me enough to do it for me most of the time. What does a perfect day off look like? I love my job, but any day off is a perfect day off. More specifically, watching my son (now 3 years old) learn to skate and play hockey, and learn to swim. I also enjoy movie nights with my fiancé/best friend, cooking good, simple food at home, and yes, cleaning my house! What you would want your last meal to be? Here’s a list of what I can think of now, but believe me, there’d be a table full of food. To start: a Fiddlehead Restaurant bloody Mary. My mother’s spaghetti Bolognese, traditional Malaysian laksa, my aunt Noni’s chicken soup with potatoes and field mustard greens, and traditional Malay-style roti canai with chicken curry. Oh, and my fiance’s moose chili.

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Playing the Setup in IMAX Published on Thursday, 09 August 2012 08:24 Written by TradersHuddle Wire New York, August 9th (TradersHuddle.com) - Imax Corporation (NYSE:IMAX) closed the the trading session at $21.67, near its 50 day and 200 day moving averages currently set at $22.55 and $22.10 respectively. IMAX's price action places the stock below these important levels, which makes it difficult to be bought, as it will certainly face resistance as it approaches these important moving averages. Imax Corporation (NYSE:IMAX) specializes in motion picture technologies and large-format film presentations. The company designs and manufactures projection and sound systems for large-screen theaters and designs custom attractions, including motion simulation theaters, for both large-scale attractions and smaller venues. The latest price action range, defined by a peaks and troughs algorithm, placed calculated support at $21.11 and resistance at $25.99. Traders should monitor these levels, as they provide insight into the latest price dynamics in IMAX. If traders want to establish a position on IMAX, given the heavy resistance expected near the 50 and 200 day moving averages, a trade might be evident as the stock manages to break these moving averages. However, until the break materializes buying the stock is nothing different than flipping a coin. - IMAX Is Moving Above Resistance - IMAX Corporation to Present at the 14th Annual B. Riley & Co. Investor Conference - Paramount Pictures And Skydance Productions' Star Trek Into Darkness™ Opens Strong In IMAX® 3D Theatres, Grossing $13.6 Million Domestically - Jean-Pierre Jeunet's The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet™ Journeys Into IMAX® 3D Theatres In France Beginning Oct. 16 - Roger Pollock Joins IMAX as Head of International Film Marketing - IMAX Is Near its 50 Day Moving Average - IMAX Is Near Resistance - IMAX Corporation to Present at May Investor Conferences in New York - Is IMAX Closing in to Resistance? - Marvel's 'Iron Man 3' Has Record-breaking Global Weekend In IMAX® Theatres Worldwide, Grossing $28.6 Million Related Partner Headlines - IMAX, Warner Bros. Pictures Agree to 20-Picture Deal - Benzinga - Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight Rises Crosses $100 Million Milestone In IMAX Theatres - Benzinga - Piper Jaffray Reiterates Overweight Rating, $32 PT on IMAX - Benzinga - Imax Corporation Stock Upgraded (IMAX) - TheStreet.com - Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight Rises Generates Strongest-Ever Second-Weekend Results In IMAX® Theatres - Benzinga - UPDATE: Wedbush Downgrades IMAX to Neutral, Lowers PT - Benzinga - IMAX Expands Partnership With VieShow Cinemas In Three-Theatre Deal - Benzinga - UPDATE: Goldman Sachs Initiates IMAX Corporation at a Buy Rating - Benzinga - IMAX and TGV Cinemas Expand Joint Revenue Share Agreement With Seven Additional IMAX® Theatres in Malaysia - Benzinga - IMAX And AMC Entertainment Expand Joint Revenue Sharing Partnership - Benzinga Recent Trading Ideas Is Priceline.com Coming Down? Google Is Near a Key Resistance Area Above Resistance: United Technologies Trading Idea: What to Expect as Devon Energy Breaks Resistance Micron Technology Is Near a Key Resistance Area IMAX Is Moving Above Resistance Trading Idea: - Is Bank of America close to Resistance? Latest Partner Headlines Dow Today: Verizon Communications (VZ) Higher - TheStreet.com Separating the Bargains From the Busts - TheStreet.com Cramer Quick Take: The 60-Inch TV Will Be Key This Holiday - TheStreet.com Cramer Quick Take: Cisco Wins If Fiscal Cliff Is Resolved - TheStreet.com Gap Up and Sit - TheStreet.com Apple, Intel, MicroStrategy: Tech Winners & Losers - TheStreet.com Windows 8 PC Sales Disappointing: Report - TheStreet.com Cramer Quick Take: Buy Home Depot and Lowe's - TheStreet.com Dow JonesCompany ID [INDEXDJX:.DJI] Last trade:15,405.36 Trade time:1:31PM EDT Value change:▲70.08 (0.46%) S&P 500Company ID [INDEXSP:.INX] Last trade:1,672.18 Trade time:1:31PM EDT Value change:▲5.89 (0.35%) NASDAQCompany ID [INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC] Last trade:3,507.83 Trade time:1:31PM EDT Value change:▲11.40 (0.33%) In The Wires NCI Building Systems Second Quarter Fiscal 2013 Conference Call On The Internet AEP Announces Live Webcast Of Presentation By CEO At Sanford Bernstein Conference May 29 Morguard Sunstone Real Estate Income Fund Announces May Distribution Pure Multi-Family REIT LP Announces May Distribution WesternOne Inc. Announces Cash Distribution for May 2013 Boardwalk Rental Communities Sponsors the Walk for Wellspring in London, ON. U.S. Smartphone Users Spend More Time With Their Phones Than U.K. and China Smartphone Users Northrop Grumman Will Help U.S. Navy Mature Laser Weapon Systems, Components for Surface Self-Defense Missions

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://www.tradershuddle.com/Trading-Ideas/50793608092012-playing-the-setup-in-imaxcorporation.html

2013-05-21T17:32:02Z

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en

The Park Regis Kris Kris Hotel- Dubai is to host Taste of Singapore food festival between November 10 and 25, celebrating the opening of its signature restaurant Kris.Star of the show will be Singapore’s celebrity chef, Devagi Sanugam, author of 20 cookbooks, columnist, teacher, entrepreneur (TRAVPR.COM)UAE - October 13th, 2011 - TASTE OF SINGAPORE AT PARK REGIS KRIS KIN HOTEL - DUBAI The Park Regis Kris Kris Hotel- Dubai is to host Taste of Singapore food festival between November 10 and 25, celebrating the opening of its signature restaurant Kris.Star of the show will be Singapore’s celebrity chef, Devagi Sanugam, author of 20 cookbooks, columnist, teacher, entrepreneur and professional bon vivant who has starred in cookery programmes on the BBC and CNN as well as conducted cookery classes on four continents.Known as the Spice Queen, Chef Devagi will work alongside the hotel’s own Executive Chef, Poonsak Sumonratanakul, to recreate the culinary delights of Singapore in Dubai, with a sumptuous set menu every night featuring noodles, chicken rice, rojak and other Singaporean delicacies. For aspiring gourmet chefs, Chef Devagi will be conducting two master classes, on November 10 and 11, showcasing her skills and offering insider tips and professional expertise during a morning session, followed by lunch – price of this is AED 80.The Kris Restaurant owes its name to the asymmetrical dagger indigenous to much of South East Asia, and the menu there reflects the diversity of the regional cuisine, offering a spice trail through China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, India to as far as Arabia.Located on the 19th floor of the Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel, it offers fantastic 360 degree views of the Dubai skyline and features a chic cocktail lounge, walk-in wine cellar, both intimate and group table settings and a refined Oriental décor to match the elegance of the cuisine. According to General Manager Scott Butcher, the Taste of Singapore food festival will provide an ideal incentive for Dubai residents to discover the exceptional cookery skills of Chef Poonsak as well as enjoying the showmanship of Chef Devagi.“Singapore cuisine is well known for its spice and flavours, and it is a city where people love their food – this will be reflected in the festival at Kris, and we are confident it will put the restaurant on the culinary map of Dubai,” he said.Located opposite Burjuman Shopping Mall and the Metro, the 390-room Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel offers brasserie and Asian dining; a sports bar; rooftop pool, fitness centre, event facilities for up to 220 people and a business centre, while room amenities include Wi-fi, interactive TV system with 40+ channels, desk and mini-bar, tea- and coffee-making equipment, designer bathrooms and 24-hour room service. For more information please visit www.kris.ae. For media contact: Hina Bakht Vice President MPJ (Marketing Pro-Junction) Mob: +971 50 6975146 Email: [email protected] http://www.mpj-pr.com Please contact the person or company listed above for information regarding the content of this press release. TravPR.com are not the issuers of this press release and are not responsible for the accuracy of the content.

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2013-05-21T17:32:05Z

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Transcript for Prince William and Kate Middleton to Tour Asia, South Pacific And we turn to will and kate on the road. After a romantic weekend in france, the royal couple is touring. Abc's bob woodruff joining us from their first stop in singapore. Reporter: Good morning,... See More And we turn to will and kate on the road. After a romantic weekend in france, the royal couple is touring. Abc's bob woodruff joining us from their first stop in singapore. Reporter: Good morning, after. Spending four days in a secluded chateau in france, william and kate will be here. The glamorous couple is planning to celebrate the queen's jubilee in some of the world's most excellent adventures. The duke and duchess will hit four countries, it is the third official trip since the wedding. Thousands turned out for just a glimpse during the first voyage in canada and california. Kate has just has such a big response to the couple, they've become mega stars, wherever they are, tour ago broad. Reporter: The duchess of cambridge is expected to show off the clothes from her favorite outfits, possibly, 30 outfits, along with the tiara said to be on loan from the queen. She's young. She's a attractive and glamorous. Reporter: In singapore's botanic gardens they will visit a garden. In the caribbean, harry is now in duty in afghanistan. This will be kate's time to shine. Giving her first overseas speech on thursday at a hospice in malaysia. Many hoping she will wow the crowds as she did earlier this year. I'm really sorry that william is not here today. He would love it here. The couple will receive a south pacific welcome at their last stop where they will be honored in a gar lynn-conferred canoe. I love that line about prince harry. This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

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2013-05-24T02:07:19Z

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posted by Dyske Yesterday, on my way home, I saw a Chinese lady carrying four bags of mooncakes and realized that it is now the season for them; Mid-Autumn Festival, which is apparently today (September 30) according to Wikipedia. From what I read on the Web, mooncakes are so labor-intensive that most people do not bother making them at home. I asked several of my Chinese friends and they told me to get the ones sold in a box at Chinese supermarkets. Last night, I went back out to Chinatown to look for them. A teacher at my daughter’s school told me that Fuxiangyuan is a good brand to get, so I went to about a dozen different bakeries and supermarkets to find it. I finally found it at New York Mart at 128 Mott Street. I was so excited to find it that I didn’t pay attention to the flavor indicated on the side of the box, and I ended up getting a mixed nuts version (Photo B: $20 per box of 4), which is not the traditional kind. On the way back home, I also bought one from Natalie Bakery on Grand Street at Forsyth (Photo A: $5 each). They make their own. This morning, another friend told me to go to Golden Fung Wong Bakery Shop on Mott Street at Pell Street. They too make their own mooncakes and they have many different kinds. I got the traditional one with lotus seed paste and egg yolks (photo C: $4 each). I went back to New York Mart to get the traditional kind but it was already sold out. In fact, I noticed that everyone sold out of all the imported mooncakes with lotus seed paste and egg yolks. The only ones I could find were ones with untraditional flavors, ones made elsewhere like Malaysia, or ones made by local bakeries. The expensive ones sold out first. My family happened to go near Flushing, Queens today, so we went to Hong Kong Supermarket on Main Street. When we got there, there were still about a dozen boxes available (Photo D: $11 per box of 4). As I was inspecting it, they were flying off the shelf, and by the time we left, they were all gone. Since I’m not familiar with the flavors of lotus seed paste and salted duck eggs, I can’t judge which one was the best, but I personally preferred the one from Golden Fung Wong (Photo C). I liked the saltiness of the egg yolk combined with the sweetness of the lotus seed paste. These should be eaten with a cup of tea. It’s essentially a way to sweeten the tea without actually putting sugar in the tea. As you can see from the photos, the imported ones look the best. I saw many other house-made ones, and none of them looked as good as the imported ones. 3 Responses to “Mooncakes Found in NYC” Leave a Reply We (i.e. the creators of AllLookSame.com) developed a series of iPhone apps for preschool kids. (My wife developed the characters and I did the coding.) Our own 4-year old daughter has been enjoying them. They are now available on Apple's App Store. You can search for "bitskis" on your iPhone, or visit the official website at bitskis.com. It's great for parents when they are traveling with kids (in a car, doctor's office, waiting for food at a restaurant, etc..). If you have kids and own an iPhone, please check it out. It's $2.

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2013-05-24T01:30:24Z

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Age rating: 12+ Publisher: Microsoft Corporation © Microsoft Corporation These apps help you stay in touch and manage your life. Mail, Calendar, People, and Messaging are beautifully crafted and built for the way you live and work. They make it easy to communicate and coordinate with everyone you care about. Improved performance and reliability in Mail, Calendar, People, and Messaging. What’s new in Mail: • Create, rename, and delete folders. • Flag messages and view all flagged messages. • Filter for unread messages and choose when messages are marked as unread. • Sync faster and more reliably. • Search for mail on the server. • Get easier access to search and printing. • Mark messages as junk mail. • See smart contact suggestions when composing a message. • Add, edit, and delete links when composing a message. • Edit bulleted or numbered lists more easily when composing a message. • Paste in formatted content from other apps more reliably. • Save senders as new contacts. • Read and compose rights-managed messages. • Delete all messages in a folder. • Manage draft messages more efficiently. • Send email from your outlook.com alias. What’s new in Calendar: • Find appointments more easily with updated visuals and improved readability. • See your work week at a glance. • See current time in day and week views and when Calendar is snapped. • Check the availability of meeting attendees. • Forward meeting invitations. • Send email to all meeting attendees. • Choose more recurrence options. • Set end dates for recurring events. What’s new in People: • See information from your Exchange global address list. • Filter your What’s new feed by social network. • Post to your friend’s Facebook wall. • Navigate to People sections more easily. x86, x64, ARM English (United States), Arabic, German, Spanish, Hindi, Japanese, French, Russian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Greek, Bangla (India), Hebrew, Italian, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Slovak, Galician, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, English (United Kingdom), Welsh, Serbian (Latin), Slovenian, Hungarian, Bangla (Bangladesh), Valencian, Serbian (Cyrillic) (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Serbian (Cyrillic) (Serbia and Montenegro, Former), Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Armenian, Assamese, Basque, Belarusian, Bosnian (Latin), Catalan, Czech, Georgian, Gujarati, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Kannada, Kazakh, Khmer, Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili, Konkani, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Malay, Malayalam, Maltese, Marathi, Nepali, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian (Nynorsk), Odia, Persian/Farsi, Punjabi, Quechua, Sesotho sa Leboa, Setswana, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu, Tigrinya, Urdu, Vietnamese, Wolof, Hausa, Kurdish (Arabic), Punjabi (Arabic), Sindhi (Arabic), Tajik (Cyrillic), Uzbek (Latin), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Filipino (Latin), Scottish Gaelic (Latin), Dari (Arabic), Azerbaijani (Latin), Igbo (Latin), Kyrgyz (Cyrillic), Maori (Latin), Mongolian (Cyrillic), K'iche' (Latin), Turkmen (Latin), Tatar (Cyrillic), Uyghur (Arabic), Yoruba (Latin) The Microsoft Services Agreement governs your use of this service. The Windows 8 or Windows RT End User License Agreement governs your use of this software.

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2013-05-24T02:05:25Z

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Yesterday Singapore’s and Malaysia’s prime ministers announced plans to build a high-speed rail link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. This is just the latest progress in improving cross-straits relations. Hopefully, this will help lead to ending the long delay in full implementation of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Goods in Transit (AFAGIT), a key but low-profile aspect of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The issue of goods in transit matters because the AEC is not a customs union. This is because national import duty rates of the individual member states vary widely. Each member state can impose its own duty rates on non-ASEAN origin goods, which would not be the case in a customs union, where rates on externally-originating goods are the same, regardless of where the goods enter. ASEAN-origin goods, on the other hand, receive the preferential tariff rate under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) when they are traded between ASEAN member states. Thus, the problem arises when an ASEAN-origin good has to cross multiple national borders within ASEAN. The Form D origin documents and other import documentation must be presented each time the good crosses a border, which I explained can lead to a good losing its ASEAN-origin status. This issue should have been resolved by the AFAGIT, which would allow for special procedures for goods in transit between ASEAN member states to reach their ultimate destination. The AFAGIT was signed in 1998 and was intended to be part of the implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), the predecessor of the ATIGA. The problem was that two major protocols of the AFAGIT were never agreed upon: Protocol 2, the designation of frontier posts, and Protocol 7, the establishment of a customs transit system. Both protocols were delayed for years because of the bilateral dispute between Singapore and Malaysia regarding the railway that links the two countries. Singapore insisted on having its immigration and customs facilities for exit at the Woodlands checkpoint in the northern part of the island. Malaysia insisted on having its immigration and customs facilities at the Tanjong Pagar train station at the southern part of the island, thereby asserting sovereignty over the rail bed between Tanjong Pagar and Woodlands. Hence the two countries could not agree on the frontier posts, nor the limits of their territory, leading to the impasse over the AFAGIT protocols. The dispute was resolved in 2010, leading to the closure of Tanjong Pagar in 2011 and now yesterday’s announcement of the high-speed rail. The major political obstacle to full implementation of the AFAGIT has been removed yet we are still waiting, 15 years later, for the protocols to be implemented. ASEAN’s leadership has promised that this will happen and an ASEAN committee of government experts is working on this. But like much of ASEAN, full implementation of the AFAGIT will require additional patience by those hoping for full and effective implementation of the AEC. Hopefully this latest positive development in Singapore-Malaysia relations will help add to the impetus for full implementation of the AFAGIT.

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

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2013-05-24T02:05:31Z

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Friday December 7, 2012 Refinancing fuels record sukuk, firms take advantage of low yields to raise RM91b from bonds KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian companies are taking advantage of all-time low yields to refinance local-currency sukuk, accounting for 55% of 2012's record issuance. Average costs for 15-year top-rated corporate debt fell 48 basis points this year to 4.6%, according to a Bank Negara index. Of the RM91bil of syariah-compliant securities issued in 2012, RM50bil was for refinancing, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Sime Darby Bhd, the world's biggest palm-oil producer, sold RM700mil of Islamic bonds on Nov 28 as part of a restructuring, pricing the portion due in 2027 at 4.35%. The drop in yields is also making it cheaper for firms to retire short-term bonds and sell longer maturities after the premium on 10-year sukuk over those maturing in 2014 narrowed 19 basis points to 47 basis points this year. More companies are planning to sell Islamic notes in 2013 to lock in the lower funding costs, according to Maybank Investment Bank Bhd, the leading arranger this year. “Our pipeline on bond and sukuk refinancing looks healthy,” Tengku Datuk Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, head of Maybank's investment banking unit, said in a Dec 1 interview. “A number of our refinancing transactions are looking to price by the end of 2012. Companies are seeking cost-efficient funding and an extension of debt maturities to achieve cost savings.” The Government sold its first 15-year ringgit-denominated syariah-compliant bonds in June, paying a coupon rate of 3.899%, which has helped set a benchmark for Malaysian companies, Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, chief executive officer of CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd, said in a Dec 3 interview. The notes yielded 3.84% today. The Bloomberg-AIBIM Bursa Malaysia Corporate Index, which tracks 57 ringgit-denominated issues, rose to a record 102.1137 yesterday and has gained 3.6% since it started in February. Yields on bonds rated BBB, the second-lowest investment grade at Malaysian Rating Corp (MARC), dropped 60 basis points, or 0.60 percentage point, to 15.06% this year, a separate Bank Negara gauge shows. UEM Land Bhd, a state-owned property firm, plans to sell as much as RM2bil of Islamic bonds to repay debt and to redeem convertible shares, according to a Dec 3 e-mailed statement from MARC. MNRB Holdings Bhd, a reinsurance firm, said in an Oct 15 stock-exchange filing that it aimed to offer RM150mil of sukuk for refinancing. UEM Group Bhd set the ball rolling in January by issuing RM30.7bil of sukuk, the world's single-biggest Islamic offering, to pay off existing debt and to fund the takeover of PLUS Bhd, the nation's largest highway operator. Power producer Malakoff Bhd sold RM9.3bil of syariah-compliant securities, while telecommunications provider Axiata Group Bhd and state-owned investment firm Johor Corp raised RM5bil and RM3bil respectively, for refinancing. Sime, rated the highest investment grade of AAA by RAM Rating Services Bhd, also sold 10-year syariah-compliant bonds to yield 3.98% in November. Proceeds will “largely be used for refinancing and restructuring to longer-tenor debt,” Tong Poh Keow, chief financial officer, said in a Nov 30 interview in Kuala Lumpur. “The sale will help us better manage cash flows and will also result in interest savings,” Tong said, declining to be more specific. “If market conditions continue to be favourable, we may consider selling sukuk again.” Average yields on global Islamic bonds rose nine basis points to 2.85% in the first three days of this week after reaching a record low of 2.76% on Nov 30, according to the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai US Dollar Sukuk Index. The difference between the average and the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, widened 10 basis points to 194 basis points, the highest level since Oct 12. The notes returned 9.2% in 2012, according to HSBC, while debt in developing markets climbed 17.9%, JPMorgan Chase & Co's EMBI Global Composite Index shows. Yields on Malaysia's 3.928% dollar Islamic bonds maturing in 2015 decreased one basis point to an all-time low of 1.3% yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The difference in borrowing costs between Dubai's 6.396% securities due in November 2014 and Malaysia's debt was little changed at a record 88 basis points. Declining syariah-compliant bond yields have also spurred a surge in new issues worldwide. Offerings climbed 22% to an unprecedented US$44.9bil, from the US$36.7bil sold in all of 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Foreign investors raised holdings of Malaysian local-currency debt by 29% in October from a year earlier to a record RM221.9bil, surpassing the RM215.5bil reached at the end of September, according to data published on the central bank's website. They cut ownership of corporate bonds including sukuk to RM13.5bil from RM14.8bil. “Longer-dated Islamic debt appeal to pension funds and insurance companies as they match their investment criteria,” CIMB Islamic's Badlisyah said. “For issuers, longer-maturity sukuk will also result in cost savings.” Bloomberg

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

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2013-05-24T01:50:21Z

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For five years Edelman has run an annual global study that explores consumer attitudes around social purpose, including their commitment to social issues and their expectations of brands and corporations. For the first time we are excited to present data for Australia. To supplement the global goodpurpose® 2012 study, Edelman Australia has surveyed the views of the general population (sample size 1,000, General Population, Ages 18+). Edelman’s goodpurpose survey reveals the power of Purpose in helping to drive consumer preference in a world where trust in corporations is low and differentiation between brands is negligible. Since 2008, when quality and price of a product are deemed equal, social purpose has consistently been the leading purchase trigger for consumers around the world muscling design and innovation and brand loyalty aside. More than half (53 percent) pegged social purpose as the most important factor in choosing one brand over another when quality and price are the same. Over the years, the relevance of Purpose as a purchase factor has risen 26 percent globally. Whilst Australia’s passion and action for Purpose lags behind other markets, this doesn’t suggest that it’s not on our agenda. Australians are willing to buy and advocate on behalf of a purpose-led brand. Here is what we found: - 58 percent of Australians would switch brands if a different brand of similar quality supported a good cause. - 68 percent of Australians say they are more likely to purchase a product knowing that a portion of the money would go to a good cause - 59 percent of Australians are more likely to recommend a brand that supports a good cause over one that doesn’t Australian brands aligning themselves with an authentic purpose and cause are not only securing more consideration, but they are also earning their dollars and support. 36 percent of Australians say they buy brands that support a good cause at least monthly. However, Aussie brands are not doing a great job in communicating their commitment to purpose. One in three Australians (28%) said they did not know if they had purchased a product that supported a good cause. If Australian companies can make consumers aware of their efforts to address societal issues, Australia’s purchase intent may climb closer to the global average. Currently, 84 percent of global consumers say they purchase a product that supports a good cause at least yearly. In Australia, it is only 57 percent. What else is in the study? The global study reveals that social purpose gets personal as people discover the “Me” in “We”. Edelman found that personal need trumps common good for Aussies. Find out more about what issues matter most to Australians here. The study also finds although Aussies are more focused on social issues that affect them personally, they are less likely to take action to support good causes. In fact, only 48 percent of Australians say they are personally involved in supporting a good cause, compared to 60 percent globally. Find out more here. Globally, Edelman has seen that rapidly growing economies including China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil and the UAE have much higher consumer participation in social issues. Countries most impacted by the global financial crisis including the US, UK, France and Germany have seen declines in consumer engagement. View this infographic about how these “Purpose Bull Markets” are demonstrating their propensity for growth – in profit and Purpose. View the full goodpurpose presentation here. View the Australian press release here and the global executive summary here. -Kate Ferguson, Director, Edelman’s Corporate Brand practice

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://blog.edelman.com.au/2012/06/26/edelmans-2012-goodpurpose-study-the-reengineering-of-brand-marketing-purpose-as-a-purchase-trigger/

2013-05-24T01:51:51Z

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en

Hi, I'll move to Zhongshan, Xiaolan county very soon. Anybody can tell me if it is possible to find an apartment? hi friends all i will like 'to visit Xinxing Road, known locally as the "Lighting Street".Guzhen 'town Zhongshan. i will b coming from hong kong.which bus shall i catch from zhongshan port in month of september.'to visit guzhen. thnx I have an evening flight out of Macau (flight is at 9:10pm) and was wondering what would be the best way to get there (quick, low hassle, etc). I think there is a ferry from Zhongshan to Macau, but I don't know at what time it leaves, how long it takes, how much it costs. I am sure there are buses from Zhongshan to Zhuhai (then can get to Macau), but don't know what time they leave, how long it takes, cost, or how to get from zhuhai to the macau airport. Which option is better? Is either easier/quicker with respect to customs/immigration? I should make it to the AIRPORT in Macau no later that 8pm, so what time should I leave Zhongshan?? Thanks a bunch ... I know I asked a lot of questions. :-) Hi , can anyone confirm that there is a direct bus from Macau to Zhongshan. Most recommendation received were Macau to Zhuhai then Zhuhai to Zhongshan which sound too inconvenience. Just wondering 1)How far is this bus station ( Macau - Zhongshan route ) from Macau airport and how to get there ? 2) Any bus depart after 2 pm ? What is the frequency ? 3) If I take taxi , how much taxi fare would be from Macau to Zhondshan ? 4) Is mid Nov considered peak season in Zhongshan ? Should I prebook a hotel first ? Thanks, Traveller118 Malaysia Hi, Planning for a shopping trip to Zhongshan , 1)Pls recommend a convenient and safe hotel with budget less than RMB300 ie shopping area is within walking distance and food stall are just around the corner. Hi Does anyone know if there is a ferry from Shekou (Shenzhen) to Zhongshan? If not, what about the bus from Futian? I don't want to go all the way to Luohu. Thanks! What is the easiest way from Shenzhen airport to Zhongshan, Is there direct bus? Taxi? How long is the trip? Thanks in advance Hello Everyone! We will be staying in the China Hotel, Guangzhou and would like to visit Zhongshan. Are there are any transport options that I can consider? Would greatly appreciate if there are any websites or telephone numbers for me to contact. Thank you! Lyn_from_Singapore do any one of u know the place where i can extend my visa in zhongshan city... As i have just started teaching english in beijing i need to know the easiest and cheapest ways to get to zhongshan from beijing. For example the closest airport, how much for a flight and how to connect to zhongshan from there! Any and all help is welcome thank you very very much. How do you get from Zhongshan to Shenzhen? How long does it take and what does it cost? Does Shenzhen have a soccer team in the Chinese national league? Hi, Would appreciate if someone can tell me how to get to Zhongshan from Zhuhai by bus? How long is the journey and what is the fare like? Is there a bus from Zhongshan to Guangzhou? How long is the journey and how much is the ticket ? Where does it stop in Guangzhou ? Thanks much. Hi, Is there a direct bus or ferry service to ZhongShan? Or must i take it from Zhuhai instead? I will be relocating in ZhongShan this June... but i will be working in "Jishui Industrial Zone,Nantou,Zhongshan" any ideas and suggestions.... Thanks I am looking for an english map of Zhongshan and a list of places to visit and things to do. Thanks Steve Is there going to be any events in Zhongshan City(Guangdong) in the first half on June 2004? I will stay there for two weeks then and I'd like know about shopping, attractions, bars and events of the city. I appreciate any information you can give me, thanks in advance!!! Any tips on the best way to get from the mainland China (I'm currently in Zhongshan City, but I assume I will leave from Guangzhou) to Hong Kong, and from Hong Kong to the airport? I have a Chinese visa currently, do I also need at least a transit visa to pass through HK? Thanks much! Josh Hi all, I needed some information on this place. As I may be going there for training for a yr. May i know, wat is the standard of living there as compared to Suzhou or Guangzhou? Is that place safe for a female stayer? Is there a good puvlic transport network? What is the cost of living there. I will be given monthly allowance of 12k, will have to pay for my accomodation + utilties charges , everything by myself. What is range of rental rates like in the city (1 room apartment)? thank you... all information given will be greatly appreciated

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://forum.virtualtourist.com/Zhongshan-1044556-5/forum.html

2013-05-24T02:06:27Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

Join a Professional Diving Internship At Downbelow a Diving Internship is not just about becoming a diving instructor; it's about becoming a successful dive operator. Go Pro with Downbelow Can't dive? No problem. Meet Downbelow's attentive GoPro IDC team and learn why they can help you get the diving job you've always dreamed about. PADI IDC SCUBA Diving Instructor Development Course in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia PADI Course Director Richard Swann and his GoPro Team invites you to join Downbelow's Instructor Development Course in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo, Asia. The PADI IDC is an Instructor Development Course designed to train and qualify the PADI Divemaster for Open Water SCUBA Instructing. At Downbelow instructor training takes place in the real world at our busy PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Centre on Gaya Island, where we dive every day. Our Sabah, Borneo PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Centre conducts 4 PADI IDC Instructor Development Courses per year in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. There are many choices around the region when it comes to PADI IDC SCUBA Instructor Courses - PADICourseAsia.com will show you why Downbelow in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah is the best choice for your SCUBA Instructor Course in Asia. Quality Instructor Development Training & Attention to Detail With our resident Course Director, highly trained and experienced Instructors, quality dive facilities & equipment, and a high regard for safety & procedures, we are the best instructor training centre in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia. PADI IDC Instructor candidates receive full support, thorough preparation, anytime access to instructors and Team Teaching to benefit from every instructor's experience. We have a 100% success rate for helping divers live the diving dream by becoming qualified PADI Open Water SCUBA Instructors. Start your journey towards living the diving dream by discovering more about PADI IDC Instructor Development...

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://idccourseasia.com/

2013-05-24T02:05:19Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

Posts tagged 206 It’s been a number of months now since the launch of the much anticipated Naza Bestari (rebranded Peugeot 206). One of my friends has gotten her order delivered and had been driving the car for the past few months. Naturally, I test drove the car and are ready to give a full review with some of the minor details that might not otherwise be evident when you look at the car at the showroom. the Naza Bestari (Peugeot 206) The TU3 1.4 liter engine that is the heart of the car generates about 75 horsepower. As far as everyday driving is concern, it is pretty sufficient and have no trouble going uphill. However, due to the relatively heavy weight of european design (1025kg curb weight), this car isn’t exactly a screamer at all. As a comparison, the Kelisa is around 760kg while producing about 55 horsepower with its 1.0 liter engine. In terms of horsepower over weight ratio, both cars are almost the same (around 0.073 hp/kg). However, the slightly cheaper Proton Waja 1.6 is 1175kg with the campro engine generates 115 horsepower, 0.098 hp/kg. As far as fuel consumption is concerned, this car isn’t exactly a super saver’s dream. A RM70 full tank only gets you around 400 km in city driving (RM 1.92 per liter). Not terribly cheap to operate for a 1.4 liter car, but it is over one tonne in weight. the nicely illuminated meter cluster The 206 comes with the 4 gear automatic transmission with tiptronic. In my opinion though, tiptronic is a feature that ultimately many will never use. While in automatic mode the car performs pretty much up to expectation, however, shifting into tiptronic mode has a noticable, if not slightly annoying lag. That said, it might be that I am spoilt after testing the 2.3 liter Mazda 6. There are, however, two other features that might be quite useful, the snow and the sports option. The snow option attempt to give the car more grips, while in Malaysia we are not going to expect any snow, it is useful during heavy down pours. Another use of this option might be during long downhill drives if you do not want to shift down to lower gears with the tiptronic. The sports option delays gear change till higher RPM, thus letting the engine rev longer to give the car more power for overtaking maneuver. Then again, the relative lack of engine horsepower pretty much limits what you can achieve anyway. The current gear is also shown on the meter cluster if tiptronic is used. audio control, head lamp height control, tiptronic gear shift, side aircond vent Other nice features: There are several very nice features that comes with the Peugeot 206, some of which you can’t find in Japanese cars of similar prices. - engine oil indicator – when you switch on the car, the level of engine oil is displayed on the meter console. no more getting your hands dirty checking engine oil level before any long trips - head light height adjuster – you can adjust the height of the head light from within the car. On the contrary, to do the same with most other cars will need you to open the hood and have a screw driver. - steering stereo controller – while not really located on the steering wheel, the stereo controller is situated on the right of the steering wheel. Very handy for changing volume, switching radio channels and such without having to take your eyes and hand away from the steering. - thermometer - there is a reading of outside temperature displayed on the stereo LCD output, something nice to have though not exactly necessary. Unfortunately, in-car temperature is not available. - door indicator – when a particular door is opened, it is shown on the stereo display. In most other cars, there is only an indicator light without any information on which door is opened. Built quality and the missing headrest: It is reported that over 200 components on the Bestari are locally made in Malaysia, and not surprisingly, this is shown in the overall built quality. My friend has to send the car back to the dealer twice to fix an annoying rattling sound at the left rear of the car. The fittings in the car are less refined, if you notice the lower right picture above, the gap between the door and dashboard is big enough to fit a thumb. Then there’s the plastic cover of the oh shit handle on the driver side that keeps opening up. That was solved using glue instead. The last annoying thing is the lack of headrests on the rear passenger seats. Instead, there were hard plastic covering the six holes where you would expect the three head rests. Worse still, there seem to be no way to purchase the headrests from Naza. It is very annoying if you are a rear seat passanger going on a long trip and constantly getting your head knocked on the hard plastic covers. Finally, the spare tyre is mounted under the car instead of inside the rear luggage compartment like most other cars. It means that the spare tyre gets dirty easily and also makes refilling the spare a slightly trickier affair. Overall, the car still offers decent value for RM 68,888 including roadtax and insurance. Afterall, it is a good price to get the European feel. Especially you are those sort of person who loves the exclusivity of having something that isn’t as common as a MyVi or Waja. More detailed information on the 206 can be found here.

<urn:uuid:e4fe5e04-0dd5-4ad4-828d-fa989b8ab3ce>

CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://kydrives.net/tag/206/

2013-05-24T01:37:31Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

“Let's discuss how to enter the realm of true feeling in the world of illusion, before Earth Changes alter that reality into a hard-working, joyful expression of love. Your Earth has been printed with 144 crystal quarries that are connected to the Central Earth spiritual kingdom, known as Shambhala.Shambhala receives currents of electromagnetic energy from a primary core collector on the Giza plateau in Egypt. Normally, this energy is diverted to the tectonic plate seams that keep continental land masses in place. As zero point is reached, some of this energy is diverted by Shambhala directly to these 144 crystal quarries, and they are activated. As the Second Coming occurs and star vessels position themselves within Earth's own merkabah structure, an alignment is created between the 144 star tetrahedrons of Earth's merkabah and these 144 subterrestrial crystal configurations. On the surface of Earth, these quarries create a very special vortex. You have observed some of these vortexes as sacred sites such as Mt. Shasta in California, Sedona in Arizona, and Stonehenge in England, whose last full activation point was about 30,000 years ago. “There exist twelve in the United States and Canada, twelve in Mexico and Central America, and twelve in South America. There are twelve in Africa, western Europe, Sweden and Norway. and twelve in eastern Europe through Turkey and Greece. The Middle East has twelve, including Egypt to the south and southern Russia to the north. The remaining portions of Russia, northern China and Tibet share twelve, as do southern China, India, Cambodia, Viet Nam, and Laos. Twelve serve Australia and Malaysia. Twelve serve the western Pacific including Japan, and twelve serve the eastern Pacific and polar regions. The final twelve are independent and represent ancient vortexes that are distributed globally as 'time portal' vortexes. These are activated first and handle the beginning of the ascension of the 144.000. The two nearest to your area lie in southwestern Colorado and on the Big Island of Hawaii. All remaining vortexes will be activated as the number of Ascending Masters increases. “Once zero point is achieved, it will become a highly intuitive and frequent impulse within you to travel to one or many of the activated vortexes. You will feel 'true feelings' and realize that this is perhaps your ascension point. You will take these feelings back home with you, but will desire to return as often as possible until you unite with your retribalizing soul group and finally move to your ascension vortex. Excerpt from Celestial Reunion, A Channeled Tale by Peter Phalam

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CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://lightworkers.org/channeling/105018/st-germain-true-feelings-and-ascension-vortexes

2013-05-24T01:51:07Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

Geotags, aerial synths, street synths… capturing events as they happen. If you can mark it on a map, then this is the place to talk about it. There are some really cool places in the world that I'd love to see synths of, but for lack of time and money haven't been able to make it to (yet). Here's my list. What about other people, what would you like to see? • Shiptons Arch, China • Angel Falls, Venezuela • Nazca lines, Peru • Bungle Bungles, Australia • some bones in dinosaur national monument, Colorado/Utah • Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe/Zambia • K2/Baltoro Glacier, Pakistan http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=35.759607~76.548615&style=h&lvl=11&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&cam=-54.055532~-37.330167&scene=-1&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1 • Deer Cave, Malaysia The Ice Hotel! [Insert large cavern system here] preferably shot both as a walk-through (and back!) but also as panoramics in areas of interest so we get lots of donuts. Another one high on my list would be an aerial synth of the Grand Canyon, preferably done about 200' below the altitude of the rim so you're down in it the whole way. Ideally, photograph it using a hemispherical array of cameras all synchronized to a single shutter control so you get instant donuts every time an exposure is taken. But you know what would be tops on my list? For the Mars rover teams to submit their pictures as massive synths. MWAHAHAHAHAHAA! I'd love to boldly go where no man has gone before. Ok, so little wheeled robots have, but... I realize I'm posting things that aren't likely to be picked up by someone local to the place who says, "Sure! That's easy enough!" but these really are the places I'd love to see synthed. How about New Zealand. Not exciting? I'm talking about someone Synth'ing their Bungie trip from the walk up, to the jump off, the way down, and the bounce back up. That camera had better be strapped onto their helmet... Fracture - this thread was meant to be list of all the places in the world we'd like to see a synth of where we currently don't have one. We actually have OK coverage of NZ, but havent seen any taken while bungie jumping. That would be fairly cool, skydiving as well. Can you guys think of any more places/situtation we need synths of? Son Doong Cave In Vietnam While I was replying to a thread about collaborative synths, this came to mind: I know Photosynth won't synth water, but a closer statement would be that it won't synth the water's surface. Underwater there are loads of fixed points to tie images together. Soooo... I'd love to see a synth of a coral reef. That would be a BLAST. Even better, I'd love to figure out a way to tie the below-water images to the above-water shots and have someone on the reef and someone else on shore doing a collaborative synth. You'd be able to "stand on the beach" at the beginning of the synth, and "dive underwater" to see the reef. (Oh PLEEEEZE tell me someone is interested in doing this! I don't have an underwater housing on my camera!!) I think Tom's onto something here. I think the transition from above water to below water would be the absolute hardest part, but I too would LOVE to see this. A good polarizer and a really careful choice of angles might work. I've had underwater features show up in a couple of synths I've done this way. It might be enough to tie the two, though the other direction would be a LOT harder. (Anyone on the Big Island with an underwater housing for their camera? I'll do the dry-land photography!) Cave systems in halong bay/Cat Ba island Vietnam would fit your suggestion TBenedict, and I'd love to see them http://images.google.com/images?q=halong bay cave system&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7HPEA_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi Also synths of reefs.. excellent idea. There are a huge team of underwater photographers in Egypt and some awesome dive sites I'm sure the Devs here could fire off some emails to camel divers & they could use it for promo work ;) ;) One possiblility would be the use of a glass bottom boat to ease the transition from land to water? I'd particularly like to see some underwater wrecks, starting underwater at the boat near a shallow reef and descending down. Some well phrased emails would definately start off a few clusters of this type of synth! Any series of photos from space... The saturn mission has some good stuff going around Titan - their pictures are already in the public domain as well, I reckon they might be up for some synthing.. I honestly think you're right, the above/below beach/reef synth should ideally be done by underwater photographers. I REALLY like the idea of the glass bottomed boat for the transition. That or something similar on a smaller scale. I'm still interested in doing this, but I hope an honest to goodness underwater photographer beats me to it. It will be far better done. Your mention of space synths (of which I think NASA has done several) gave me an idea... I'll try to get this one done later in the week (time permitting.) Okay, I'm now obsessed with large scale underwater reef synthing... Underwater photography is tough, normally holiday divers don't have the equipment to balance the red shift (deeper water has less blue light) it's a pain to have to add/remove coloured slides for every photo.. (sorry--going off topic there) I emailed one dive centre in Sharm el Sheik but they haven't responded so I have sent emails out to dive centres I have worked at in the past suggesting they make a synth map a part of their dive master/master scuba diver course or make a synth to use for promos, there are centres where professionals dive the same reefs month in month out, 20 photos per dive, 70 dives per month... Anyways, I'll let you know if I get any success synth fishing :D Also, to return to the thread topic - I'd love to see a synth from the front of a train, some rapid fire photos might do the trick from trains both ways? *deeper water has less red light... doh! Glad to see you taking point on this, Mister_Blondie! I don't even qualify as a holiday diver, and my equipment is nil. I really like the direction you're taking with that, especially the idea of using photos from centers where professionals are in there all the time. I'd really like to see how that turns out! I don't know about the front of a train, but a while back Darius posted a link to a "drive through" synth where someone was taking pictures from inside a car, coming and going. The technique works quite well. At the speeds most trains go, though, you might need a pretty high frame rate to pull that off. Glad you thought of doing it both ways. For the viewer to be able to turn around and go back, that's essential. No dice on the space synth I hoped to do this week. I'll have another chance next week, so I'll give it another go then. A sculpture park. A whole big sculpture park... Here's an fantastic attempt at a sculpture park: http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=97153326-97b4-4df7-ba8d-aaf9851fa34d This is pushing the upper limit of the synther as it is, so a park larger than this would be very difficult. The overhead view in this one is great. awesome, thanks :) I'd like to see some Mt Everest base camp synths. This takes a step out of the realm of the real world, but I'd absolutely love to see Michael Chesko's miniature model cities thoroughly synthed. He's worked on models of New York City, but also has a fictional city of his own design, entitled 'Britannica'. I happened to bump into his work on Robyn Miller's blog some time ago and have been hooked on the idea of synthing his models ever since. You can find one of Robyn's Britannica posts here: http://tinselman.typepad.com/tinselman/2008/08/stop-and-smell.html Unfreakin'real. I second that, Nathanael. I'd be willing to be there are no small number of photographers who would be ready to jump at the chance. (I WOULD!) I would love to synth Jack Lewis's house, "The Kilns". Short of being able to tackle it myself, though, I'd truly enjoy someone else doing a good job of it.

<urn:uuid:aa71c29b-fc84-4974-ab2d-24a501adf539>

CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://photosynth.net/discussion.aspx?cat=a03647b9-821e-439b-8dbc-ae0239d6870d&dis=af7481c3-563f-44ee-8c43-034792821894

2013-05-24T01:37:21Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

Md. Yusof, Rozman (2007) Relationships between Emotional Intelligence and Organizational Commitment and Job Performance among Administrators in a Malaysian Public University. PhD thesis, Universiti Putra Malaysia. The individual performance is an issue of growing importance to the higher learning institutions in their preparation to accomplish their mission to become a world class university. An employee commitment, together with a competent workforce seemed to be of decisive importance for a university to be able to compete in quality and to go along with changes. At present, the theoretical linkages between job performance and both emotional intelligence and organizational commitment simultaneously in the higher learning institution are not fully established by past researchers. Therefore, it is the aim of this study to investigate the relationship of the selected independent variables: emotional intelligence dimensions (self-management, relationship-management and communication), organizational commitment dimensions (affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment) and job performance, determined the significant difference in job performance between each group of administrators in UiTM; and finally, determined the predictor variables of job performance. Data were collected from 152 randomly selected administrators from a public university, using self-administered questionnaires that comprised: (1) Management View/Practices Questionnaire (100 items) that measured job performance; (2) PeopleIndex (74 items) that measured emotional intelligence; and (3) Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (18 items) that measured organizational commitment. Overall, the study revealed that the administrators’ job performance and its dimensions were high. The level of emotional intelligence and its dimensions: self-management, relationship-management and communication were relatively high. Their level of organization commitment was moderate. However, they were reported high level of affective commitment, moderate level of continuance commitment but low level of normative commitment. One-way ANOVA test revealed that there was a significant job performance difference within workload level of administrators. Posthoc Turkey test also revealed that there was a significant job performance difference between age group 20-29 years old and age group > 49 years old as it increased progressively for each older age group. Results obtained from the correlation analysis revealed that the three emotional intelligence dimensions of the administrators were strongly related to job performance. Affective commitment was moderately positive related to job performance and continuance commitment was also found to be positive but low. However, normative commitment was found to be negatively related to job performance. The result of the multiple regression analysis at .05 level of significant showed that communication, affective commitment and relationship-management were significant predictors of job performance of employees. These three predictors explained 64% of the variance in job performance of the administrators. This study has implications on the importance of recognizing other dimensions of the job performance construct such as emotional intelligence and organizational commitment in order to provide a more comprehensive account of what constitutes performance. In reviewing the overall results of the study, it would appear to provide tentative evidence which suggests that the administrators may achieve improved performance if the emotional intelligence elements of relationshipmanagement and communication are included in their selection criteria. Furthermore, having established the positive influence of affective commitment on job performance will become important for organizations to find out what they can do to maintain and enhance the commitment of these employees as part of their internal marketing strategy. Therefore, the results of the study had recognized the existence of emotional intelligence and components of commitment especially affective commitment in the workplace. This has clear implications for a university to target relevant strategies if they want to achieve better performance among administrators. Finally, the study recommends among other things that the organizations should provide a proper training on emotional intelligence and organizational commitment to administrators to enable them to perform their job better. This study should also be extended to include a larger population of administrators from other universities in Malaysia so that it would be able to provide stronger evidence on the applicability of western findings in Malaysia. |Item Type:||Thesis (PhD)| |Chairman Supervisor:||Associate Professor Bahaman Abu Samah, PhD| |Call Number:||FPP 2007 18| |Faculty or Institute:||Faculty of Educational Studies| |Deposited By:||Rosmieza Mat Jusoh| |Deposited On:||31 Mar 2010 18:21| |Last Modified:||24 Jul 2012 12:22| Repository Staff Only: item control page

<urn:uuid:3440c065-630f-4a39-ab4b-8d17fcee0614>

CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://psasir.upm.edu.my/4847/

2013-05-24T01:52:10Z

s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz

en

Jaafar Sidik, Norrizah (2008) Establishment Of Tissue Culture And Evaluation Of Biological Activities Of Jarum Tujuh Bilah (Pereskia Bleo Kunth). PhD thesis, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Pereskia bleo is a leafy cactus which belongs to Cactaceae family and it is commonly used among the traditional medicine practitioners to prevent or treat cancer by consuming the leaves. As there is lack of information available on this plant, this research was carried out to determine the biological activities in natural plants and tissue culture materials. In order to produce standardize plant material for secondary metabolite production, tissue culture systems for Pereskia bleo was initiated and established. In vitro plantlets and tissues of Pereskia bleo were micropropagated in order to provide enough uniform explants for further tissue culture work and for extraction. The highest number of sterile explants (65.6%) was observed using fungicide for 20 minutes followed by 20% Chlorox® for 10 minutes. The growth characteristics on different types of basal media containing plant growth regulators were analyzed for maximum production of biomass: plantlets, calli and cell suspension. The highest number of multiple shoots (5.3 ± 0.5) was formed in MS basal medium supplemented with 2.22 μM BAP using shoot tips explants. Using node explants cultured onto MS supplemented with 8.88 μM BAP gave the highest number of multiple shoots (6.7 ± 0.58). Cell suspension growth was highest in MS basal media supplemented with 2.26 μM 2,4-D. Hairy root experiments revealed that both leaf and stem explants of Pereskia bleo were susceptible to all Agrobacterium rhizogenes (TR 105, LBA 9402, 8196, ATCC 15834) tested. Addition of acetosringone in the Agrobacterium rhizogenes culture increased the transformation frequencies of hairy root in Pereskia bleo. Results from brine shrimp lethality test showed no toxicity of the Pereskia bleo extracts occurred. The petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol leaf extracts showed strong in vitro antiproliferative activities (IC50 : 6.5 - 25.4 μg/ml) for MCF-7 (human hormone-dependent breast cancer cell line) and (IC50 : 19.3 - 26.8 μg/ml) for MDA-MB-231 (human hormone non-dependent breast cancer cell line). The IC50 value against HL-60 (human leukemia cell line) between 6.91 and 9.98 μg/ml for chloroform, petroleum ether and methanol extracts. Non-cytotoxic activity towards the non-tumour 3T3 mouse fibroblast indicated that the extracts exhibited selective mode of inhibition between tumor and non-tumor cells. The findings of antioxidative and antiproliferative activities of the plant extracts in vitro suggested that this species does contain antioxidant and cytotoxic compounds. The results obtained support the use of this species in traditional medicine for the prevention and treatment of cancer. |Item Type:||Thesis (PhD)| |Subject:||Pereskia - Tissue culture| |Chairman Supervisor:||Professor Madya Norihan Mohd. Saleh, PhD| |Call Number:||FBSB 2008 3| |Faculty or Institute:||Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences| |Deposited By:||Nurul Hayatie Hashim| |Deposited On:||01 Apr 2010 18:02| |Last Modified:||18 May 2011 15:52| Repository Staff Only: item control page

<urn:uuid:a11d2dd1-4716-45cb-85af-1326603f7734>

CC-MAIN-2013-20

http://psasir.upm.edu.my/4928/

2013-05-24T01:30:54Z

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By Storage Asia Editors | Jul 31, 2012 Accelerating the adoption of shared enterprise cloud services is among eight projects that have been identified under the Digital Malaysia initiative, according to Multimedia Development Corp (MDeC) CEO Datuk Badlisham Ghazali. The eight projects will be rolled out in phases starting this year. Under the initiative, shared enterprise services will result in US$94.4 million (RM300 million) in public-private-partnership (PPP) investments, contribute RM1.68 billion to the gross national income (GNI) and create 710 high-value jobs by 2020. MDeC and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) form part of the steering committee driving the Digital Malaysia initiative, which was unveiled by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak last October. As a whole, the initiative is expected to create 160,000 high-value jobs and result in about RM31.2 billion worth of investments based on a PPP model by 2020. It will also raise the information and communication technology's (ICT's) GNI contribution to 17% by 2020 from 9.8% in 2010, reaching RM294 billion. The eight projects, Badlisham said, will be the first batch of many in the pipeline. Another project identified is the Asian e-Fulfilment Hub that seeks to develop Malaysia into the Asian hub for servicing cross-border e-commerce shipment into the region. This project is expected to need PPP-based investments worth RM620 million, while creating 1,622 jobs and a RM287 million GNI contribution by 2020. Also highlighted is a project to enable e-payment services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and micro enterprises. This project is expected to require RM600 million worth of PPP-based investments and generate 2,000 jobs as well as RM5 billion in GNI contribution. Other projects include microsourcing for income generation, customized online education, embedded systems and a trusted mobile digital wallet platform. MOSTI deputy minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof said Digital Malaysia's three strategic thrusts -- enabling digital entrepreneurs through demand-focused initiatives, nurturing IT-savvy talent and driving technology adoption and automation among SMEs to boost productivity -- would foster a cohesive digital ecosystem. MDeC is the agency that spearheads Malaysia's National Information & Communication Technology Initiative, the MSC Malaysia, formerly known as the Multimedia Super Corridor. Recent popular content Recent popular content

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Monday March 11, 2013 Lahad Datu: Filipinos in the east coast making a run for it LAHAD DATU: Worried Filipinos are fleeing the east coast of Sabah as the operation to flush out remnants of the Sulu armed group continues. Using whatever boats available to get past a tight blockade enforced by Malaysia and the Philippines, hordes of them have been arriving in Tawi-Tawi since last week. Tawi-Tawi Governor Sadikul Sahali said some 600 people, mostly women and children of Suluk origin, had reached Bongoa, less then an hour from here, as of yesterday. “We are providing temporary shelter and food until they return to their respective provinces,” he said, adding that all those who arrived had no links to Raja Muda Azzimudie Kiram, the leader of the armed intruders. He said most of them told the authorities that they returned voluntarily as they were frightened of being caught in the crossfire over the ongoing operations against the Sulu gunmen. “As Tausugs (identified as Suluks in Sabah) they fear reprisal, that is why they left,” he said. Sadikul also confirmed that the prices of essential goods, such as rice and sugar as well as diesel and petrol, had gone up by 50% to 80%. Barter trading between the Tawi-Tawi chain of islands and Sabah has virtually ground to a halt and the province has to get its supplies from Zamboanga in southern Philippines. Sadikul also said that the Philippine military and coastguards were maintaining their blockade and not allowing any Filipinos to leave for Sabah. Meanwhile, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib dismissed Philippine media reports that their citizens were mistreated by Malaysian authorities. “I strongly deny that. They can say anything but the focus of our operation is only in the two areas of Kampung Tanduo and Kampung Tanjung Batu,” he said. Hamza denied another report that shots were fired at Filipinos who were leaving Sandakan. Lahad Datu: Teachers and students to get counselling Lahad Datu: 100 protest against two PKR leaders Lahad Datu: Manila to seek answers over mistreatment Lahad Datu: Injured policeman now in Ipoh hospital Lahad Datu: Over my dead body I'll allow Filipinos to claim Sabah' Lahad Datu: The armed gunman was watching us' Lahad Datu: Teen killed and man injured in Kampung Sungai Bilis Lahad Datu: Ministry keeping an eye on displaced residents' welfare Lahad Datu: Youths show love for peace and harmony

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From this Friday's Real Time, Bill Maher told his audience that he and his staff think they've found the "smoking gun" that proves the IRS had unfairly targeted the tea partiers who are upset about having to wait to get their 501(c)(4) status approved. 30 documents found in 0 seconds. - 2013 National Defense Authorization Act - 2nd amendment - Anwar Al-Awlaki - Ayn Rand - Barack Obama - Bill Maher - Bill of Rights - Bobby Jindal - Bradley Manning - Catholic Church - Civil Liberties - Domestic Spying - Donald Trump - Focus Group - Fox & Friends - Fox News - Gay marriage - Glenn Beck - Gun Control - Gun Nuts - Internal Revenue Service - Julian Assange - Kim Kardashian - LGBT rights - Legalization of Marijuana - Loving v. Virginia - Mildred Loving - National Security - New Rules - Paul Ryan - Pope Francis - Real Time - Real Time with Bill Maher - Republican Party - Richard Loving - Ron Paul - Rush Limbaugh - Sarah Palin - Sean Hannity - Social Security - Supreme Court - Warrantless Wiretapping - con men - corporate media - drone strikes - hate talk - interracial marriage - jay leno - law suit - low information voters - police state - rand paul - same-sex marriage - tax exempt - tea party - trickle down economics - undecided voters Bill Maher wound up his New Rules segment on this Friday evening's Real Time by going after today's crop of Ayn Rand worshiping Libertarians in a rant where Maher basically said he didn't leave Libertarianism, it left him. As he noted, even though he's expressed support for the philosophy in the past, it was because it "meant he didn't want big government my bedroom, or my medicine chest and especially not on the second drawer of the nightstand on the left side of my bed." I'm sure he'll have all of the Ron and Rand Paul supporters mad at him after he lumped them in with their fellow Ayn Rand fan, Paul Ryan, for basically taking the movement and turning it into a “creepy obsession with free market capitalism.” Maher thinks the movement has basically lost its collective mind these days, and I would argue you could say the same for the Republican party as well, which as a whole has adopted these very same "principles" if you want to be generous enough to call them that. If you've got HBO and did not get a chance to watch their documentary, The Loving Story this week, it reairs in May. In the wake of the two hearings by the Supreme Court on gay marriage, the film serves as a stark reminder for how we're likely to be viewed by future generations for the rhetoric and animosity we're seeing to same-sex couples being allowed to be married today. Here's more on the documentary from Kate Sheppard at Mother Jones: "The Loving Story": How an Interracial Couple Changed a Nation: The most striking thing about Mildred and Richard Loving is that they never wanted to be known. They didn't want to change history or face down racism. They just wanted to come home to Virginia to be near their families. The Lovings weren't radicals. They were just two people in love—one of them a taciturn white guy described by one of their lawyers as a "redneck," the other a sweet, soft-spoken young woman of black and American Indian ancestry. When the The Loving Story makes its national debut on HBO on Valentine's Day, it will be the first time many Americans have met this couple. They are the namesake of the landmark 1967 Supreme Court case that struck down the anti-miscegenation laws still on the books in 16 states some 13 years after school segregation was deemed unconstitutional. These laws constituted one of the last formal vestiges of the Jim Crow era, and this film shows for the first time what it took to bring them down. Even as they changed America, the Lovings were never a household name. After getting married in Washington, DC, in June 1958, they simply returned to their home in Central Point, Virginia. Mildred was unaware, she said, of her state's "Racial Integrity Act," a 1924 law forbidding interracial marriage—although she later added that she thought her husband knew about it but didn't figure they'd be persecuted. Just over a month after the Lovings' homecoming, police raided their place at 2 a.m., arrested the couple, and threw them in jail. Leon Bazile, a judge for the Caroline County Circuit Court, convicted them on felony charges. "Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay, and red, and he placed them on separate continents," the judge wrote. "The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix." Read on... Mediaite had something interesting posted on the same topic, which is a quiz to see if readers can tell the difference between actual anti-interracial and anti-gay marriage quotes. As they noted: Whether it’s condemning homosexuality as “unnatural” and “immoral,” or comparing gay relationships to “armed robbery” and “marrying your dog,” or simply “thumping the Bible” as the primary means to argument, many of the opponents of same-sex marriage sound an awful lot like those who so vocally opposed miscegenation, the marriage between races. Bill Maher let his audience know what he thought of the Catholic church just making up their own sets of "new rules" over the years during his New Rules segment on Real Time this Friday evening. From this Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO: Assange urges leak of US drone rules: WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange has urged US officials to leak secret documents on drone strikes, saying that the broad discretion to kill citizens shows a "collapse" in the American system. Assange, who has angered US officials by releasing thousands of secret memos, used a rare US television appearance to condemn President Barack Obama's controversial green light to kill American citizens who conspire with al-Qaeda. "I can't see a greater collapse when the executive can kill its own citizens arbitrarily, at will, in secret, without any of the decision-making becoming public," Assange told the HBO talk show Real Time with Bill Maher. "That's why we need organisations like WikiLeaks. I encourage anyone in the White House who has access to those rules and procedures, work them on over to us. We'll keep you secret and reveal it to the public." Assange spoke to host Bill Maher, a supporter of WikiLeaks, by video link from Ecuador's embassy in London, where he has been holed up since June to avoid extradition to Sweden. Britain has refused him safe passage to Ecuador. Read on... Full transcript below the fold. Anyone who is a regular reader of this site is probably already familiar with Donald Trump's threat to sue Bill Maher over his joke where he asked flame thrower and birther for proof that he was not the result of his mother having sex with an orangutan. Well, now that Trump followed through on his threat, Maher responded during his New Rules segment on HBO this Friday evening, and let's just say, the results weren't pretty for Trump. Maher took Trump apart and opened up the segment with this: After discussing Sarah Palin's departure from Fox "news" right after Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal told his party that they need to "stop being the stupid party," Real Time's Bill Maher reminded his audience during his New Rules segment that people like Palin always seem to land on their feet, like her cohort who they finally fired, Glenn Beck. And as Maher noted, there's really only one thing that people like Palin, or Beck or Limbaugh care about -- and that's separating the rubes who take them seriously from their money. And as long as that's the case, they're going to be causing problems for Republicans winning elections. These carnival barkers might not have much influence in national races, but they're doing their best to do real damage when it comes to any sane Republicans being able to make it through a primary race. Here's more from Raw Story: Maher: ‘Con men’ like Beck and Limbaugh ‘don’t care about winning elections,’ just making money: Maher then mentioned Glenn Beck, who was also fired by Fox News. “But then he saw an open window: the internet. Who needs Fox News when he could take his patented brand of apocalyptic race-baiting directly to the fans?” Maher said that “con men” like Beck and Rush Limbaugh are why the GOP is in “dire straits. They don’t care about winning elections. They care about separating rubes from their money.” After arguing that they have found a way to profit from making boogie monsters out of organizations like Planned Parenthood or advocates for immigrant and LGBT rights, he said. “They don’t want a majority. They want a mailing list,” he said. “Why not just hogtie your audience and steal their disability checks?” he went on. “I don’t know why being a Republican means needing to have your faith recharged five times a day like Dick Cheney’s heart, because there’s no comparable industry on the left, dedicated to separating liberals from their cash. I mean, unless you count Whole Foods.” In his New Rules segment this Friday, Bill Maher took a shot at all of the "gun nuts" out there who are so worried about their 2nd Amendment rights being stripped away, but who, along with a lot of liberals, haven't said anything about the National Defense Authorization Act quietly being passed by Congress, which actually is a threat to our civil liberties in this country. Maher's right that this is a bi-partisan political problem, but I think the bigger problem with the complacency is that we've got a corporate media out there which for the most part is completely ignoring the problem. It's a shame we'll see it discussed on a comedy show like his but ignored on the "news." Attention junkie Donald Trump is doing his best to take advantage of Bill Maher poking fun at him on Jay Leno's show this week, where he decided to one-up Trump's birtherism with President Obama. Sean Hannity actually had this clown on for the better half of his show Thursday evening and Trump repeated some of the same remarks he made on Extra the previous day: Trump will ‘probably sue’ Maher after proving mother didn’t have sex with orangutan: Real estate mogul Donald Trump is threatening sue HBO comedian Bill Maher over a bet over whether the billionaire’s mother had sex with an orangutan. During an interview with NBC’s Jay Leno earlier this week, Maher had mocked Trump’s absurd offer of $5 million if President Barack Obama could prove he was a U.S. citizen. Maher said that he would donate $5 million to the “Hair Club for Men” or “Institute for Incorrigible Douchebaggery” if Trump produced evidence to counter the claim that he “had been the spawn of this mother having sex with an orangutan.” “The other night on Jay Leno’s show, he made an absolute offer, I made an absolute acceptance,” Trump explained to Extra on Wednesday. “I sent him documentation and he owes me $5 million, which I’m going to give to charity.” Trump repeated his threat to sue Maher and also told Hannity that HBO should fire the comedian immediately for insulting him: Hannity said there would be far more outrage if anyone but Trump had been the target of Maher’s barbs. Trump called Maher “insulting” and said he was shocked by the “horrible things” Maher was saying about his parents. He sent a letter directly to Maher with his birth certificate demanding the five million dollars, which he joked that Maher may or may not have. There has been some question over whether Maher would be legally obligated to pay up, but Trump assured Hannity that his lawyer is confident of their case. But on the subject of the double standard, Trump agreed that there is only minimal outrage because the insults were directed at him. He told Hannity that if he ever said anything similar about Obama, “you would be fired immediately.” He said that more people should be outraged about Maher’s statements, bragging that his lawyer won him five million dollars before and he’ll do it again. Apparently the entire concept of comedy and satire is lost on these two. You've got to give it to both of them for having that feigned victimhood routine down pat, though. Heaven forbid that mean old comedian was picking on Trump. It's not like he's ever said anything hateful or disrespectful to deserve it! Hannity was also pushing him about whether he's going to run for president again and he didn't rule it out, so I guess we've got an early scoop: The next Republican presidential primary is going to be just as big of a clown show as the last one. Here's Maher on Leno's show earlier this week for anyone that missed it. Bill Maher took a few shots at those coveted "undecided voters" that politicians are still vying for and that the media constantly puts on a pedestal, and voiced his disdain for having been subjected to one too many of these so-called "focus groups" with a bunch of “nincompoops" who have trouble focusing. As he noted, if he wanted to watch a bunch of “ignorant jackasses bullsh*tting about the election,” he'd just turn on Fox & Friends. He also got shots in on the Octomom, Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump along the way. I agree with him on being tired of the media and their focus groups and asking these people what they think. They ought to be doing a better job actually educating voters on the issues, but that would distract from their time continually pushing their he said/she said fake balance spots where the "truth" doesn't seem to matter much.

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Center for Chinese Studies announces Spring 2007 Chung Fong and Grace Ning/Confucius Institute Fund awardsUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Center for Chinese Studies HONOLULU — The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Center for Chinese Studies recently announced the latest awards presented to graduate students and faculty members of the university from the Chung Fong and Grace Ning/ Confucius Institute Fund for Chinese Studies. The fund benefits graduate students and faculty members with China-focused academic projects by providing support for conference or research travel; purchase of books, materials, or supplies; and hiring student assistance. The latest award winners include: - Kuan-Hung Chen, PhD student, philosophy — Travel to Taiwan to present the paper "Cognition, Language, Symbol, and Meaning Making: A Comparative Study of Epistemic Standings of Yijing and Whitehead" at the International Conference on Creativity and Process. - Chung-ying Cheng, professor, philosophy — Summer travel and research assistance for data collection for further study of the Yijing. - Hong Jiang, assistant professor, geography — Literature/archival research in Taiwan for "Ecological and Ethnic Discourses of China‘s West." - Chan Lee, PhD student, philosophy — Travel to San Francisco to present a chapter of dissertation on "Zhu Xi on Ontological Reflection of Self-Cultivation." - Kevin Lo, PhD student, international management — Research travel to gather data for a study measuring guanxi vs. networking tendencies at the individual level in Shanghai. - Pu Miao, associate professor, architecture — Support for presentation in a series called "Architecture and Urban Planning in China and Belgium," held throughout 2007. - Jungmin Seo, assistant professor, political science — Summer research travel support to complete work on three studies: on the Korean Chinese community in Beijing, on "Two Ends of Asia: East Asia and the Islamic World," and on the Chinese cultural industry. - Mingwei Song, assistant professor, East Asian Languages and Literatures — Travel to present "The Journey to Interiority: Lyricizing the National Catastrophe in the Wartime" at the 9th Biennial Conference of the Association of Chinese and Comparative Literature in Chengdu, and to conduct research for a book project on the formative experiences of young writers living in Chongqing, Yanan, and Kunming during the Sino-Japanese War. - Constantinos Vrakas, MA student, Asian studies — Travel support and production costs to film a documentary on the construction of ethnic identity by Uyghur migrants running ethnic restaurants in Shanghai. - Shu-Ling Wu, MA student, East Asian Languages and Literatures — Travel support to present "Cognitive Perspectives on Historical Development of Causal Expressions" at the Chinese Lexical Semantics Workshop in Hong Kong. - Yiyuan Xu, assistant professor, psychology — Travel support to present a paper on how Chinese culture influences children‘s conception and expression of shyness, at the conference of the Asian Association of Social Psychology in Sabah, Malaysia. - Man (Beryl) Yang, MA student, ethnomusicology — Support to conduct fieldwork for MA thesis on Chinese ethnic minority musical identities, using as a case study the "National Young Singers Competition" held in 2006 in Beijing. - Kate Zhou, associate professor, political science — Research travel support to complete the book "China‘s Long March to Freedom: Grassroots Liberalization through Individual Action" in China. For more information, visit: http://www.chinesestudies.hawaii.edu/index.php

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All great things start with an idea, ours starts with the idea that nothing is impossible. TEDxYouth@KL is back again, this time bigger and bolder, to celebrate the impossible ones, the ones who believe that anything is achievable, the ones who believe that mountains are movable. Date: November 17, 2012 Venue: Auditorium Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah, Level 10, Menara SSM @ KL Sentral You will have the chance to meet speakers below:- Sze Ning, Documentary Photographer Sze Ning is no stranger to the plight of marginalised communities, especially the indigenous peoples of Malaysia. Unlike her peers however, she has done more than simply raise awareness through social media. Together with her friends Mike Tee and Devan Singaram, she co-founded Elevyn, an online retailer that enables artisans from the aforementioned communities to sell their products to a global market, thus increasing their incomes and subsequently their standard of living. Ninie Ahmad, Yoga Instructor Heavily influenced by daily Ashtanga practice and also certified in teaching Preconception, Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga, Ninie is often considered a breath of fresh air in an industry dominated by saffron-wearing instructors. Her small figure belies her immense experience and her very public journey of sharing her love for yoga has been an inspiration to health and fitness enthusiasts in Asia. Despite her many appearances in the spotlight, Ninie is most comfortable in the sanctuary of her own yoga studio- Upward at Saujana Resort, Subang. Alex Au-Yong, The Xtramiler Alex Au-Yong is an avid ultra marathon runner and uses his gift to raise awareness and give back to the community. He launched a community campaign called The XtraMile Day last year to encourage community development. The campaign raised RM111,000 in donations for the StART Society for underprivileged children. The XtraMile Day also saw the Rotaract Club, 100 volunteers and 400 runners run in relay style to accompany Alex to finish a 100km run in 17 hours from Putrajaya to StArt Society in PJ. In Jan 2013, he plans to run another 100km to collect pledges to build homes for orang asli in collaboration with EPIC Homes. Lou Yeoh, Director of FrogAsia Lou Yeoh believes that education goes beyond what lies in textbooks. Her active involvement in co-curricular activities during her secondary school heydays has embedded in her a yearning for learning, a trait she hopes to inculcate in today’s bright young minds. She believes passionately in learning beyond boundaries and aims to help spark fresh perspectives on what education really means. She champions equal access to technology for all as a means to bring about a positive wave of change in the education arena, and to inspire and equip the next generation, via FrogAsia, an exciting new start-up that is set to transform the way teaching and learning takes place in Malaysia. Liew Suet Li, Teach For Malaysia Fellow Concerned with the state of education in the country, Suet Li gave up aspirations of becoming an investment banker or consultant to join the Teach For Malaysia programme. She has not looked back ever since as she hopes to make a difference in the lives of her students, who mostly hail from low-income households and whose English language proficiency are years behind their grade level. Suet Li currently teaches English, Physical Education and Art in a rural secondary school in Negeri Sembilan. Lim Cheng Soon, Tech Entrepreneur Lim Cheng Soon is an entrepreneur, designer, and web developer. He is also the founder and curator of Hacker Monthly — print magazine of Hacker News and one of the most prominent magazine among programmers worldwide. Su-Zen Low, Co-founder of CultureRun Su-Zen is the Co-founder of community learning platform CultureRun. She believes that everyone has skills, passion and knowledge worth sharing. Together with sister Suwen, they founded CultureRun based on a desire to reawaken learning as a curiousity centered and lifelong pursuit. She is a strong supporter of community development and ideas that move people. Alongside a team of young professionals, she organized ‘CultureRun’s Big Idea’, a free event in conjunction with Kuala Lumpur’s 4th Global Entrepreneurship week that inspired participants to dream big, share and build upon their ideas liberally. Bosilika An, Co-Founder of The BASH Bosilika An has established herself as a philanthropist, social entrepreneur, and international role model at the tender age of 18. Driven by her mission of “Teens Helping Teens,” she first cut her teeth in the world of philanthropy with The BASH 2009, a star-studded charity event that benefitted local children’s hospitals. Since then, the BASH has focused its efforts on international education, women and girl’s empowerment, as well as sustainable programmes in schools in developing nations. A descendant of the former Vietnamese Royal Family, Bosilika was born in San Francisco and now lives in Los Angeles. David Lai, Mentalist David Lai’s age belies his experience and mastery of the mentalism – a subdivision of magic that employs manipulation of the mind. His mind-boggling feats have drawn him fans the likes of former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir and AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes; perform for such clients as Mercedes Benz, Nokia, Apple, Maxis and Hyundai; as well as being invited to shows in Cairo, Dubai, Jordan, Amsterdam, Beirut and across Asia. The Impatient Sisters, Band The Impatient Sisters, as the name implies, are a trio of siblings who burst into prominence with the release of hit singles ‘Comet and Stars’ and ‘The Mermaid Song’. Since then, their unique brand of soul and folk-pop music has seen them displaying their musical chops to appreciative audiences at various open mic sessions, concerts and festivals. Dr Jason Leong, Stand-Up Comedian Jason used to treat broken bones as a doctor but now spends most of his time tickling funny bones instead as a stand-up comedian. Spurred on by the good response from the audience after his initial performance at Timeout KL’s Comedy Thursday, he plans to extend his 15 minutes of fame into a fulltime career. Jason is a member of comic troupes Comedy Kao Kao and Goodflers, where he regularly unleashes his unique brand of satire and political incorrectness upon the unsuspecting public. Ticket is RM 45 per person Register now while it lasts - http://www.tedxyouthkl.com/register/ Our event is called TEDxKL, where x = independently organized TED event. It will be held at Malaysia’s capital – KL: Kuala Lumpur. At the TEDxKL event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. TEDx KL, the 4th TEDx KL showcases top presenters of their respective field, passion sharing the needs for Malaysia and her people. TEDx KL is held on the 14 July 2012. The theme of the conference is “Interdependence” When: 14 July 2012 (12:30pm to 7.30pm) Where: Temple of Fine Arts How Much: Rm 100 online and RM 130 walk-in. Watch this short video to know what is TEDx. This year, TEDxKL features selected speakers from across the globe and in different fields to inspire you. Entrepreneur and TED Fellow: Derek founded CD Baby in 1998, which went on to become the largest seller of independent music online, generating $100mill in sales for 150,000 musicians. In 2008, Derek sold the company for $22mill, giving the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education. Co-Founder of Biosense Technologies and TED Fellow: A TED 2012 Fellow, Myshkin is co-founder of Biosense Technologies, a medical device venture focusing on point-of-care non-invasive diagnostics. In the past, he has worked at McKinsey & Company as a business consultant and a researcher affiliated to MIT’s Senseable City Lab. Professor of Physics and Expert in Nanotechnology, Biomimetics & Tribology: A Professor of Physics from Austria, she is an expert in Nanotechnology, Biomimetics and Tribology. Unlike most of her peers, her approach to science is wide and holistic, bridging over to biology, the arts and the social sciences. Artistic Director, Instant Café Theatre and CHAI: Jo is one of the grand dames of the local performing arts scene. She has played the roles of writer, actor and director, sometimes all at the same time, in countless award-winning theatre productions. Photographer, TIME Magazine & Asian Geographic: A largely self-taught photographer, Zann began her first serious foray into photojournalism after the tsunami in January 2005. She has since covered humanitarian and socio-political issues in restricted areas. Sun Bear Conservationist: Known as the Sun Bear Man in some circles, Siew Te is in the midst of setting up the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) in Sabah. The project aims to save the oft-overlooked animals through research, education, rehabilitation and habitat conservation. News researcher at The Malaysian Insider. Founder of Unscientific Malaysia: Zurairi is the founder of Unscientific Malaysia, a Malaysian community that aims to gather as many rationalists, humanists, freethinkers and secularists to advocate science, scepticism and free thought. Architect, smallprojects: Drawing from ten years of experience at a firm in Kuala Lumpur, Kevin left corporate practice to reclaim old dreams and established smallprojects in 2002. He has since lectured internationally and has conducted critiques and workshops at universities in Asia and Oceania. Singer, song writer: Michelle Lee, or more popularly known to her fans as Froya, is a singer with a repertoire that one can only describes as eclectic. Covering a range of genres from folk and electronica to pop, this talented lass discovered her calling out of a simple songwriting venture that turned into a career. Comedian: Starting from his maiden standup comedy performance at The Actor’s Studio in 2006, Kavin has now become a familiar face at various underground comedy shows and open mic sessions. His brand of humour is an eclectic mix of slapstick, edginess and political incorrectness. He recently founded Young Comedians Of Malaysia (YCOM). Co-founder of Sinar Project: Khairil leads a team of dedicated developers at the non-profit and non-partisan Sinar Project, which uses open source technology and ideas to track and measure corruption. REGISTER NOW AT HERE - https://www.flickevents.com/tedxkl-2012 FOR MORE INFO – CLICK HERE - http://tedxkl.com?lrRef=3550B Twenty one things I did when I was 21 years old. Organized TEDx, an independently organized TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) event with an awesome team. TEDxGurneyDrive was held for the first time ever in Penang. Went to Kuching and saw Rafflesia, the world’s largest flower. I used to say I will not go back to Kuching until Kim and Bryan ‘s wedding, but paradigm has shifted and I will go there more often. Had a 20min closed-door mentoring session with the Prime Minister of Malaysia in Youth Nation Summit, which was organized by myHarapan and AIESEC Malaysia. We discussed about social entrepreneurship and he laughed when I told him that PTPTN (student loan) is the main source of project funding. Started a medical fundraising campaign for a good friend of mine. With the help of hometown friends, Krian Ex Scout and generous public, we raised RM 360,000 within 45 days. Kuan Kyn is now undergoing treatment in Taiwan and we pray for him to recover soon. Flew across the Pacific Ocean to the United States. And saw Alaska from the sky. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of States for Global Undergraduate Exchange Program to study in the US for 2 semesters. Lived as the only Malaysian in my host institution, Marymount University. Truly learnt to be independent and embraced the diversity of cultures. It really doesn’t matter to me whether you’re white, black, yellow, gay or straight; I made friends with everyone cause we are all homosapien. Learnt to speak Spanish and made friends from countries which I was not familiar with, such as Albania, Coasta Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Uzbekistan to name a few. Away from home for almost a year. Went to New York City for 5 times, but still did not see King Kong. Lived in Washington D.C. and covered almost every attraction in the metro area. Such as most of the Smithsonian museums, inspiring monuments, George Washington’s house at Mt. Vernon, JFK’s tomb at Arlington Cemetery, cruised on the Potomac River for Cherry Blossom Festival, got a memberships card for the Library of Congress and went into the White House. Experienced snow for the first time. What made it more special was the early snow fell in October. You can still see the colorful Autumn leaves. Had a decent Thanksgiving Dinner with Joey’s family at Eastern Shore, Maryland. Scored 4 flat for the first time in college. Still very much an Asian, not Bsian. LOL Traveled to more than 15 US cities in a short span of 10 months. From cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge, to cycling at a countryside Had coffee at the first Starbucks store in Seattle Boarded an aircraft carrier at San Diego To New Year countdown at the City of Angels; I’ve learnt that the world is so big yet it has become smaller than ever, and there is nothing cannot be achieved if you’re armed with a strong perseverance, determination and little luck. Interned at the World Bank Group. Met amazing individuals and learnt how this organization works. I was sitting in the office of Alternative Executive Director of South East Asia, a position held by a Malaysian woman from Kuching. Interned in the Washington DC Economic Partnership, the first point of contact of businesses in the capital. Learnt how the city functions and also studied on different business improvement districts. I passed the White House, which is 1 street next to the office, every time I went to work. Selected as the only 3 Malaysians to participate in Clinton Global Initiative Univeristy, and shared a light moment with Bill Clinton. And also his lovely daughter, Chelsea Clinton. Being in Washington D.C. gave me a lot of opportunities to meet individuals from different arena, such as the Secretary General of NATO who’s also the former Prime Minister of Denmark. Meeting Director of National Security Agency (NSA), a term I learnt 7 years back in Dan Brown’s fiction Digital Fortress. Visited 10 embassies in 1 day at Passport DC 2012. Enjoyed the beach by the Atlantic Ocean. Paid tribute to Steve Jobs at 5th Avenue and bought my 1st Apple product. Saw the painting Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. Earth without art is just “eh“. Went for a 2 hours Open Heart Surgery Observation. It was an artery bypass surgery to replace Aortic valve of a 82-year-old. Woke up early in the morning to see Discovery Space Shuttle. It flew directly above me on the sky of Washington D.C. 21-year-old had been a great one. I am truly lucky and grateful for being able to meet amazing friends and experienced many once-in-a-life-time opportunities. I appreciate people who has helped and supported me along the way. I remember and will do the same. Today, I am 22. And I look forward to a better year. Cheers! In daily life we see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. - Brother David Steindl-Rast - Let’s get MAD! Mountains Are Doable @ TEDxYouth KL - TEDxKL 2012 – A TEDx Talk You Can’t Miss - Twenty One - Life motto - The last flight of space shuttle Discovery - A Ray of Sunshine - D.C.’s Old Post Office Pavilion redevelopment: Trump moves in four blocks from the White House - Be Thankful - Malaysia, this is your Wake Up Call. - Winter Break 1: South Dakota – Sioux Falls the Wild Wild West - Malaysia 2009 – Redang Island - Malaysia 2011 – Sarawak - Singapore 2010 – Beary Good Hostel - Singapore 2010 – Bugis - Singapore 2010 – Orchard Road + Clarke Quay - Singapore 2010 – Sexy Marina Bay - Singapore 2010 – Universal Studio - Taiwan 2006 – Student Exchange + Earthquake at Kaohsiung - Taiwan 2009 – Dan Shui & Yang Ming Shan (泡温泉） - Taiwan 2009 – Hua Lian & Taitung - Taiwan 2009 – On TV <Guess> <我猜我猜我猜猜 > - Taiwan 2009 – Taichung - Taiwan 2009 – Taipei - Thailand 2011 – Hatyai - Vietnam 2006 – Ho Chi Minh City - Beh Kuan Kyn Medical Fundraising (1) - City Talk (4) - Finance (2) - Malaysia (4) - Mindset (5) - Nice Foods (3) - Outdoor Activities (1) - Personal (1) - Social Entrepreneurship (4) - Social Media (8) - Sports (1) - Technology (4) - Thanksgiving (1) - Travel (6) - Uncategorized (1) - University Life (2) - USA (8) - Washington D.C. (4) - welcome (1) - Malaysian bloggers mourn Jobs’ death | MALAYSIAN INSIDER - MALAYSIAKINI on Steve Jobs, you are the legend. - wilsonbeh on Journey from Penang to USA - Dalton on Online in a new, enjoyable way! Get Speeddial 2 in your Google Chrome - rajiv on 17 lessons learnt in USM – 2 years life as a local university student - Chong on 17 lessons learnt in USM – 2 years life as a local university student Friends who blog - Beautrice Low (KMPP) - Boon Chuan (KMPP) - Charlene Chen (AIESEC) - Choon Sian (Global UGRAD) - Dalton Low (Krian) - Eric Yeap (KMPP) - Florence Ho (USM) - Gene Harn (AIESEC) - Jai Yin (AIESEC) - Jasmine Chong (Melbourne) - Jerry Tan (Krian) - Jessie Loi (AIESEC) - Khai Shing (Global UGRAD) - Kristinah (AIESEC) - Ling Hong (AIESEC) - Liu Yan (KMPP) - Louis Tan (USM) - Nick Chan (Penang) - Paris (AIESEC) - Pei Jhu (USM) - Phui Yoke (USM) - Ryan Chen (Global UGRAD) - Sapien Bryan (Penang) - Suzanne Chuah (AIESEC) - Teng (AIESEC) - Ting Yik (KMPP) - Wei Pin (USM) - Wilson Ng (AIESEC) - Xuan Xuan (Sunway) - Xuxu (USM) - Yean Yee (USM)

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The Australian Bridge Federation Youth Committee is pleased to announce the following recipients of the major youth awards for 2011: Andrew Reiner Trophy: Daniel Braun & Shane Harrison This newly established award is granted to the best performed pair in the primary target international event taking account of performance in the event itself, commitment to preparation and contribution to team success. Daniel Braun and Shane Harrison anchored the Australian Under-21 team to its victory in the Asia Pacific Bridge Federation Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in June 2011. Playing 22 of 25 matches their contribution was clear based on a commendable +0.36 imps per board against datums. Away from the table they strongly supported their teammates with unwavering positive energy in the face of adversity in the first round-robin and were well prepared having practiced extensively on BBO under the mentorship of Nabil Edgtton in the months leading up to the event. A special mention is made for Michael Whibley and Liam Milne who similarly anchored the Under-26 team to finish just one VP outside of the medals and went on to win the Open Pairs at the same event. Andrew Reiner was a pioneer in establishing Australia's international youth representative programme in 1989. In addition to captaining the bronze medal winning Under-26 team in 1991 (which to this day remains Australia's best ever performance in a World Youth Team Championship) Andrew has made significant financial contributions to the youth programme over many years. Helman-Klinger Achievement Award: Laura Ginnan This annual award is presented to the Australian youth player whose ability, achievements, sportsmanship, attitude, contribution and commitment during the calendar year are most deserving. The 2011 award was won by Laura Ginnan, who has been active in teaching in schools, establishing and operating a primary school GATEWAY programme, establishing and maintaining the VicYouth Facebook page, setting-up a weekly under 16s youth session in Melbourne, assisting with the regular Melbourne youth session, running a university bridge crash course and convening the ABF Youth Triathlon. At the table Laura's 2011 results included: 2nd in the National Youth Teams, 2nd in the ANC Interstate Youth Teams, 6th in Victor Champion Cup, 3rd in the Victorian Open Pennant and 1st in the GNOT Swiss Pairs. Special mentions are made for Andy Hung (refer below) and Stephen Williams who has been running a successful weekly programme at Sydney Girls High School for much of 2011. Helman-Klinger Masterpoint Award: Andy Hung This award, which players may only win won once, is granted to the Australian youth player who earns the most masterpoints in the calendar year in question. This year Andy Hung won with 248.61 masterpoints which included 2nd in the National Open Teams and a string of victories and strong finishes in congresses and state events in Queensland (most notably winning the four major pairs championships). Other notable McCutcheon performances in 2011 included Liam Milne (159.50) and Max Henbest (154.66) who were 1st and 2nd respectively in the National Master category and Jamie Thompson (149.02) who was 1st in the Local Master category and 2nd in the overall "Improvers" competition. Both Helman-Klinger Awards exist due to the generosity of Rabbi Leonard Helman, an American lawyer, prominent bridge enthusiast and philanthropist, who made a substantial donation to establish the prizes to honour Ron and Suzie Klinger's outstanding contribution to bridge in Australia. Hills-Hurley Trophy: Sebastian Yuen & James Higgins This trophy, donated by Richard Hills and Steve Hurley, is intended to encourage talented young bridge players in forming long-standing partnerships and reward successful pairs which have developed a well-organised partnership to harness their full potential. In 2011 Sebastian Yuen and James Higgins have continued their partnership of several years contesting various national youth and open events together with a number of strong performances on their local Canberra scene. Highlights in 2011 included: 1st in the World University Online Championships, 2nd in the National Youth Teams, top youth team in the South-West Pacific Teams, 6th in the Victor Champion Cup, 2nd in the ANC Interstate Youth Teams and qualifying to represent Canberra in the GNOT. Whilst not the most successful youth partnership in 2011, they clearly fulfil the intent of the award based on the enduring nature of this partnership and the significant amount of ongoing work on system development and practice. Special mention is also made in this category for Michael Whibley and Liam Milne who had a successful year including 1st in the National Youth Teams, 2nd in the National Open Teams, 1st in the ANC Interstate Youth Teams and 1st in the APBF Open Pairs. Friends of Youth Bridge Fund Special Recognition Award for Services by a Youth Player to Youth Bridge: Andy Hung For the second year running, Andy Hung has been a close second in the voting for the Helman-Klinger Achievement Award and in light of Andy's outstanding contribution to youth bridge over many year a decision was taken to grant a Special Recognition Award. Andy is extremely generous with his time in mentoring and supporting up and coming youth players through BBO practice and speaking with young pairs at tournaments. In 2009 Andy spent many hours with Sam Schultz and Shane Harrison taking them from a relatively unknown pair to our top Under 21 pair in 2010. More recently, Andy was the assigned mentor for Stephen Williams and Lauren Travis with whom he spent countless hours on BBO preparing that pair for their successful APBF campaign. Andy has been a regular fixture on Australian representative teams since 2006 when Australia had its best performance in a World Championship at any level in 15 years making the semi-finals in the Under-21s at the World Youth Team Championships in Bangkok. Andy's Under-26 international successes include quarter-finals in the 2008 and 2010 World Youth Team Championships and victories in the 2007 and 2010 Asia Pacific Bridge Federation Championships. Andy has forged close ties with youth players in Europe which has been invaluable in bringing new ideas and techniques to Australia's youth programme. Andy's connection to the European youth scene has attracted Alex Smirnov to the last two Australian Youth Weeks and Summer Festivals and helped secure Alex's services as Australian youth coach for 2012. Andy also set up a youth bridge website on which he posted regularly and which contributed to a more friendly, fun and unified youth scene in Australia.

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- Key Facts - Board of Governors - Board of Directors - Departments and Offices - Policies and Strategies - Annual Meetings - Independent Evaluation - News & Events - Data & Research - Industry and Trade - Information and Communication Technology - Public Sector Management - Social Protection - Capacity Development - Climate Change - Environmental Sustainability - Gender and Development - Poverty Reduction - Private Sector Development - Regional Cooperation and Integration - Social Development - Urban Development - Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) - Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) - Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) - Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) - South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) - European Representative Office - Japanese Representative Office - North American Representative Office - Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office - Pacific Subregional Office Countries with Operations - China, People's Republic of - Cook Islands - Kyrgyz Republic - Lao PDR - Marshall Islands - Micronesia, Federated States of - Papua New Guinea Inauguration of the 2x120 MW Siddhirganj Peaking Power Plant Speech by Paul J Heytens, Country Director of ADB's Bangladesh Resident Mission, at the inauguration of the 2x120 MW Siddhirganj peaking power plant, Dhaka, Bangladesh Your Excellency Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Honorable Ministers and Advisers to the Prime Minister, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is a great honor for the Asian Development Bank to attend this inauguration of the 2x120 megawatt Siddhirganj Peaking Power Plant today. The commissioning of this first power plant under the current Government is indeed an important milestone, which hopefully marks the beginning of the end of the current power shortages in Bangladesh. ADB wishes to congratulate the Government and its executing agency — the Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh Ltd — for this fine achievement, which we are pleased to have been able to support through financial and technical assistance. This inauguration, coming on the eve of the Bangladesh Development Forum, also sends a very clear message to development partners of the Government's resolve to address the power situation. As the largest development partner in the power sector, ADB is heartened that the Government of Her Excellency Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has set improving the power situation as one of its top priorities. Bangladesh is currently faced with a 1,500 megawatt daily average power shortage during peak hours. Over the last 10 years, net energy demand has grown by around 9% annually, while average annual GDP growth was just under 6%. Though the demand-supply gap continued to rise, only a few plants have been operationalized in recent years, which has not been sufficient to meet the growing demand. It is therefore reassuring that the Government has prepared a work plan with specific milestones to achieve its ambitious targets in the power sector. In order to reduce the shortage in base load generation, a number of similar new power plants need to be commissioned very urgently. But for this to be a reality, the procurement process for constructing new power plans will have to become more transparent and efficient, and sector reforms will have to be accelerated. In addition to utilizing captive power, reducing the power gap in the shortest possible time will require a reduction in system losses, more efficient load management, and urgent attention to maintenance of the power stations. A reinvigoration of the Independent Power Producer (IPP) program could also be targeted as a cost-effective measure to improve the power situation in the long run, and regular tariff adjustments are another essential step to ensure the sustainability of the sector. Further, it will also be very important to take advantage of the recent agreements to improve regional connectivity to establish cross-border interconnections of power grids in South Asia. Finally, the scope for introducing energy saving devices and exploiting renewable energy, such as solar and biomass, should also be further explored—in the latter case also as an option to bring power to households in off-grid areas. Although substantial reforms have been initiated over the past 10 years, the power sector has a long way to go to fulfill the country's power supply requirements. The reform process needs to be accelerated to further expand power generation capacity and reduce the cost of supply through greater public and private sector participation, for the benefit of the entire economy. Further corporate and financial restructuring, reducing outstanding dues from the Government to the sector entities, progressive adjustment of power tariffs, and steps to ensure efficient management of the corporatized power entities are also critical in addressing the imminent challenges. ADB has long been supporting the Government in its efforts to provide reliable electricity to the country, focusing on transmission, distribution, and construction of peaking power plants and helping the Government to carry out specific reforms, and is keen to assist Bangladesh in setting up more new plants and expanding transmission and distribution networks. Over the next three years, ADB plans to provide another $800 million in financial support for the power and energy sectors. This is on top of the support we are currently providing to help the Government develop 150 megawatt power plants in Khulna and Sirajganj, construct the National Load Despatch Center, establish the country's first high capacity 400 KV transmission line from Meghnaghat to Aminbazar, and improve distribution systems in DPDC and DESCO, among other areas of support. Honorable Prime Minister, Honorable Ministers and Advisers to the Prime Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen: Let me conclude on a note of optimism that Bangladesh will succeed in its efforts to become a middle income country, with poverty halved, by 2021. To realize this vision, the country needs to build on the important foundation of this new peaking power plant by delivering results through timely implementation and completion of development projects in all sectors. We are optimistic about Bangladesh's future and stand ready to continue assisting Bangladesh in unlocking the country's development potential.

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New Delhi, India, 27 November 2004 - At a ceremony to be held in India at the gardens of Humayun's Tomb , His Highness the Aga Khan will announce the seven recipients of the 2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. 2004 marks the completion of the ninth cycle of the programme, which has a triennial prize fund of US$ 500,000, the world’s largest architectural award. During the current cycle of the Award, 378 projects were presented for consideration, and twenty-three were reviewed on site by outside experts. An independent Master Jury selected seven Award recipients that are notable for having attained the highest international standards of architectural excellence while reflecting the values of the primarily Muslim societies the projects are intended to serve. The seven projects selected by the 2004 Award Master Jury are: Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt Primary School, Gando, Burkina Faso Sandbag Shelter Prototypes, various locations Restoration of Al-Abbas Mosque, Asnaf, Yemen Old City of Jerusalem Revitalisation Programme, Jerusalem B2 House, Ayvacik, Turkey Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Two of the projects - Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt and the Petronas Towers in Malaysia - are the results of important international architectural competitions for high-profile landmark buildings. A third project - the Sandbag Shelter Prototypes- is an experiment for self-built housing that employs earth-filled sandbags stacked atop each other to form domed and vaulted spaces. The provision of housing is an important aspect of the Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Programme that also includes components for the restoration of historic monuments and for the creation of public and community facilities, schools, and playgrounds. The Primary School in Gando, Burkina Faso, goes far beyond its educational programme and exemplifies highest-calibre architectural design employing locally available materials and techniques, training, and community participation and empowerment. B2 House, located in a small village on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, extends architectural design to a poetic level, establishing dialogue between nature and building, inside and outside, and public and private. The Restoration of Al-Abbas Mosque in Yemen represents attainment of the highest standards of restoration and conservation while, at the same time, investigating the nature and contemporary importance of a sacred site. Reinforcing the architectural excellence of the seven winning projects is the written statement of the Master Jury, which reveals the comprehensive approach adopted to discover, understand and explain the challenges of architecture in the Muslim world as it confronts modernity in all its diversity. The Jury identified four areas of social meaning to illustrate the winning projects: how the complexity of history and of historical memory can be expressed in architecture; how private initiatives are integrated into the emerging public sphere; how to express individuality within complex social settings and in the context of the plurality of Muslim traditions; and how power and authority in the global domains of technology, culture and economics might be addressed through architecture. Throughout their two week-long meetings at the Award headquarters in Geneva, the Jury gave foremost importance to projects that raise the standards of excellence. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established by the Aga Khan in 1977 to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Islamic societies. The Award recognizes examples of architectural excellence throughout the Islamic world in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community improvement and development, restoration, reuse and area conservation, as well as landscape design and improvement of the environment. The Award is governed by a Steering Committee chaired by His Highness the Aga Khan. The current members of the Steering Committee are Akram Abu Hamdan (Director General, National Resources Investment and Development Corporation, Amman); Charles Correa (Principal, Charles Correa Architects, Mumbai); Abdou Filali-Ansary (Director, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, Aga Khan University, London); Jacques Herzog (Partner, Herzog & de Meuron Architects, Basel); Glenn Lowry (Director, The Museum of Modern Art, New York); Mohsen Mostafavi (Dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, Cornell University, New York); Babar Khan Mumtaz (Reader in Housing Studies, University of London); and Peter Rowe (Raymond Garbe Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at Harvard University, and Education Programme Director of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture). Suha Özkan is the Secretary General of the Award. The Awards are selected by an independent Master Jury appointed by the Steering Committee for each three-year Award cycle. The Master Jury members for the 2002-2004 cycle are Ghada Amer (Artist, New York City); Hanif Kara (Partner, Adams Kara Taylor Structural and Civil Engineering Consultancy, London); Rahul Mehrotra (Executive Director, Urban Design Research Institute, Mumbai); Farshid Moussavi (Partner, Foreign Office Architects, London); Modjtaba Sadria (Professor of Cross-Cultural Relations and East Asian Studies, Chuo University, Tokyo), Reinhard Schulze (Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Berne); Elías Torres Tur (Partner, Martínez Lapeña - Torres Arquitectos S.L., Barcelona); Billie Tsien (Partner, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, New York City); and Jafar Tukan (Principal, Consolidated Consultants for Engineering and the Environment, Amman). Ceremonies to announce the winning projects and mark the close of each triennial cycle have been held in settings selected for their historical importance to the Muslim world: Shalimar Gardens in Lahore (1980), Topkapi Palace in Istanbul (1983), Badi’ Palace in Marrakech (1986), the Citadel of Saladin in Cairo (1989), Registan Square in Samarkand (1992), Karaton Surakarta in Solo (1995), the Alhambra in Granada (1998) and the Citadel of Aleppo (2001). A monograph on the 2004 Award will be published by Thames & Hudson in November 2004. Entitled Architecture and Polyphony: Building in the Islamic World Today, the book includes full descriptions and illustrations of the seven winning projects, as well as essays by Reinhard Schulze, Billie Tsien, Hanif Kara, Elias Torres Tur, Modjtaba Sadria, Babar Khan Mumtaz and Suha Özkan, as well as a series of collages by Ghada Amer. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the Aga Khan Development Network The Award is part of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which coordinates the cultural activities of the Aga Khan Development Network. The Trust’s Historic Cities Support Programme pursues cultural and rehabilitation activities in Syria, Egypt, Zanzibar, Northern Pakistan and Bosnia. At present, it is completing Al-Azhar Park, a 30-hectare public garden near the historical centre of Cairo, as well as physical restoration and social development projects in the adjoining Darb Al-Ahmar district. The Aga Khan Music Initiative helps preserve Central Asia’s endangered musical heritage by ensuring its transmission to a new generation of artists and audiences. The Music Initiative supports musicians it has identified as tradition-bearers, and also sponsors a worldwide music touring programme and the dissemination of Central Asian music. Another initiative undertaken by the Trust’s Education and Culture Programme in conjunction with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is ArchNet (www.archnet.org), an Internet-based network that provides students and professionals with a globally accessible resource on architecture, urban design and related issues. The Aga Khan Humanities Project is developing a core, introductory humanities curriculum based on the cultural traditions of Central Asia for use in universities in the region. The Trust’s Museums Project is creating the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto and the Indian Ocean Maritime Museum in Zanzibar. The Trust interacts closely with the other agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network, a group of eight private, non-denominational, international development agencies created by the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims. The Network represents a contemporary endeavour of the Ismaili Imamat to realize the social conscience of Islam through institutional action. Philosophically, the Network is grounded in Islam’s ethic of inclusiveness, compassion, sharing, self-reliance, respect for health and life, the cultivation of a sound and enlightened mind, and humankind’s collective responsibility for sustainable physical, social and cultural environments. Network agencies have mandates that range from the fields of health, education and rural development to the enhancement of non-governmental organizations and the promotion of private-sector enterprise. They are currently working to improve living conditions and opportunities in countries on four continents. The Aga Khan Foundation is known for its work in difficult, resource-poor areas such as Afghanistan and Mozambique; in every undertaking, the goal is to assist in the struggle against hunger, disease and illiteracy through the discovery and implementation of innovative solutions to development. The Aga Khan Education Services aims to diminish obstacles to educational access, quality and achievement; it operates more than 300 schools and advanced educational programmes at the pre-school, primary, secondary and higher secondary levels in the developing world. The Aga Khan Health Services provides primary and curative health care in India, Kenya, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Tanzania through 325 health centres, dispensaries, hospitals, diagnostic centres and community health outlets. The Aga Khan Planning and Building Services works to improve the built environment through design and construction, village planning, natural hazard mitigation, environmental sanitation and improved water supply systems. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development - the only for-profit, international development agency in the Network - takes bold but calculated steps to invest in fragile and complex environments by mobilising investment for the construction, rehabilitation or expansion of infrastructure, setting up sustainable financial institutions and building economically viable enterprises; all profits are reinvested in future development initiatives. The Aga Khan University, headquartered in Karachi, is a major centre for education, training and research in health sciences and teacher education; it now has ten teaching sites in Afghanistan, Kenya, Pakistan, Syria, Tanzania, Uganda, and the United Kingdom. The University of Central Asia aims to foster economic and social development in the broad mountain regions of Central Asia and elsewhere, while at the same time helping peoples to preserve and promote their cultural heritage; it is located on three campuses: in Khorog, Tajikistan; Tekeli, Kazakhstan; and Naryn, Kyrgyz Republic. For information please contact: The Aga Khan Award for Architecture PO Box 2049 1211 Geneva 2 Tel: (41.22) 909.72.00 Fax: (41.22) 909.72.92 © 2007 The Aga Khan Development Network. This is the only authorised Website of the Aga Khan Development Network.

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Hotels in Kuala Lumpur City Centre Tips In the past, there was nothing really special about Kuala Lumpur; it was simply the capital of a little known country in the Far East known as Malaysia. However, as Malaysia’s economy began to rapidly grown in the late 1950’s, Kuala Lumpur gradually transformed from just an ordinary [...] Hotel Contact Information :Apple Hotel, No. 78, Jalan Alor, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel : +603 – 2142 2288 Fax: +603 – 2141 1288 Latest Travel Tips - PJ Live Arts Presents D’Arranged Marriage - PJ Laugh Fest: Don’t Drop the Baby - Broken Bridges – The Musical of Dreams - French Art and Film Festival 2013 - Where to Stay in Kuala Lumpur? - Top Quality Budget Hotel That Facilitates Luxurious Services - Explore The Voguish & Trendy Style Of Shopping In Kuala Lumpur

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- Subscribe TodayGet a Free Book of Lists Sign Up for the South Florida Morning Edition NewsletterSee All Newsletters » A digest of important news from sources selected by our local editors. Delivered weekday mornings. Send this story to a friend Florida Grand Opera to sell downtown Miami site A parking lot the Florida Grand Opera planned to develop into its headquarters is under contract to be sold to a local developer. The one-acre property, at 245 NE 14th St., was listed on the market in June. It sits directly north of the opera building in downtown Miami, according to a story in Miami Today. Money from the sale will be applied toward operations and to reduce the opera’s debt. The area has been a focal point of investment for some time: Malaysia-based The Genting Group owns more than 15 acres in the neighborhood including the waterfront parcel that is currently home to The Miami Herald. It wants to build a casino resort on the property. Miami Worldcenter Group, which includes Nitin Motwani, has also been assembling land just south of the operate house in the neighborhood known as Park West. Midtown Miami and Wynwood are to the northwest of the site. Oscar Pedro Musibay covers real estate. - Most popular - Highest-paid South Florida technology executives -- slideshow - Former Versace mansion price cut to $75 million –- slideshow - U.S. Century, Ocean Bank among those making nine big foreclosures - The List: Top South Florida General Contractors - Highest-paid South Florida cruise executives -- slideshow - Just like Miami Beach, without the lofty prices - South Beach's Shore Club a victim of real estate boom - MDM Group plans massive downtown Miami hotel - FDIC sues CEO of failed bank over $48M in losses from risky loans - U.S. Century Bank bulk loan sale discount could be up to 45% Should CEO and chairman positions be separate? - Residential Lender Stonegate Bank | Fort Lauderdale, FL - Advertising Consultant The South Florida Business Journal | Fort Lauderdale, FL - Careers at Verizon Wireless Verizon Wireless | Local Opportunities - Senior Accountant Stephen James | Boca Raton, FL - Senior Accountant Stephen James | West Palm Beach, FL

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|« Back to Article| U.S. Marine cargo planes deliver aid, equipment to quake victims EN-LAI YEOH, Associated Press | May 30, 2006 BANTUL, Indonesia — U.S. Marines joined an international effort today to deliver aid and medical equipment to some 200,000 Indonesians left homeless by a devastating earthquake, as hopes faded of finding more survivors. Two U.S. Marine cargo planes carrying a mobile field hospital landed in Yogjakarta, closest to the quake area in central Java, after cracks in the airport runway were patched. A disaster assistance response team from the U.S. Agency for International Development is being readied and the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, which has extensive medical facilities, is en route to the area, White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said. The United States also increased its aid contribution to $5 million. The United Nations said at least 21 other countries have joined the effort to help those left homeless by Saturday's magnitude-6.3 quake, which killed nearly 5,700 people. As medical aid began to arrive, the threat of a health crisis appeared to be easing. At two hospitals in Bantul, the hardest-hit district, parking lots and hallways that were filled with hundreds of injured in the days after the quake were clear, with most patients now being treated in beds. Workers removed a tent from the parking lot at Yogjakarta's largest hospital, Sardjito, that had been used to shelter patients. The U.N.'s top humanitarian official said the aid effort was going well, and there had been major improvements in coordination among aid organizations and nations since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 131,000 people in Indonesia's Aceh province alone. The government's Social Affairs Ministry said the official death toll rose today to 5,698 as officials account for bodies buried quickly in mass graves after the quake. Most survivors were still living in improvised shacks or group shelters erected in rice fields. Groups of families cooked together, each contributing scavenged food. Despite government promises of aid, shortages of food and fresh water remained a pressing concern, and thousands of people used cardboard boxes to beg for cash and supplies from passing drivers. The head of a Malaysia search and rescue team said hope had faded of finding more survivors or bodies, and his group had turned to clearing rubble from streets instead. "The collapsed homes were all so small that anyone who was trapped would have been extracted by their family members," Abdul Aziz Ahmad said, adding his team found only one body Monday. A 44-member team of Chinese doctors, search and rescue workers and seismologists also arrived with five tons of supplies, including a field hospital, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. Thailand said it would send 48 military medical personnel, medicine and equipment. Teams from Malaysia, Singapore, Norway and other nations already are working in the area. The Asian Development Bank announced a total of $60 million in grants and low-interest loans to rebuild the earthquake zone. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has temporarily moved his office to Yogjakarta and spent a night sleeping in a tent with survivors, vowed to fight corruption in delivering aid money. "I am ordering that not even one dollar will be misused," he said. The quake was the fourth destructive temblor to hit Indonesia in the past 17 months, including the one that triggered the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami.

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Ask the Physical Therapist: Rotator Cuff Injuries Michael S. comes to the physical therapist after seeing his orthopaedic physician. He has a script for physical therapy and has a diagnosis of Rotator Cuff Impingement. Michael S: What is my Rotator Cuff and what does it do? Physical Therapist (P.T.): The rotator cuff is a group of 4 small muscles in the shoulder. They are often referred to as the "SITS" muscles: Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor, and Subscapularis Muscles (see Figures 1-4). The rotator cuff stabilizes the shoulder joint (refer to figure 1 and 4 and note where the humerus (arm bone), meets the scapula (shoulder blade.) In addition, the muscles assist in moving the arm in abduction (moving the arm sideways away from the body, and in external rotation (with elbow bent, at your side, forearm straight forward, and moving the hand outwards. Michael S: How could I have injured my rotator cuff? Physical Therapist (P.T.): First of all let’s take a look at the shoulder joint. It is a ball and socket joint, much like the hip. However, it moves much more freely than the hip. Because it has greater mobility than the hip, it is not as stable as the hip. The previous predisposes the shoulder for injury. Injury to the rotator cuff can occur from the following: - Trauma: Most likely occurs from either a forceful and sudden contraction of the rotator cuff, or from falling on an outstretched arm. Throwing has been shown to be one of the movements that most consistently produces rotator cuff tears. - Overuse or Impingement: Occurs when the rotator cuff and one of the shoulder bursa are pinched underneath the front aspect of the scapula. This area is referred to as the coracoacromial arch (Fig.5.) There are different stages of impingement. They are based on the age of the patient and the severity of symptoms. Stage I usually occurs in individuals under age 25, and swelling is the most common symptom. Stage II usually occurs in patients 25 - 40 years old. The condition is now chronic, and thickening of the bursa, and fibrosis of the rotator cuff occur. In Stage III, there is degeneration, and often tears in the rotator cuff. - Aging and Attrition (Wear and Tear): Aging causes progressive degeneration of the entire rotator cuff, decreasing its ability to adapt to stresses, and to heal after injuries. Michael S: How does one determine that my rotator cuff is injured? Physical Therapist (P.T.): First of all, most patients complain of pain in their shoulder area. An orthopaedic physician and physical therapist will notice abnormal shoulder movements and weakness. An MRI is an effective means to evaluate the shoulder. Michael S: How do I treat my condition? Physical Therapist (P.T.): Depending on what stage your impingement is, will determine the treatment. For all stages, some sort of rest is required. This means the patient needs to avoid any movements that aggravate their symptoms. Ice, heat, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and specific exercises may be recommended by a physical therapist. A physician may prescribe anti-inflammatories, and/ or local steroid injections. Surgery is indicated when all forms of conservative treatment fail (e.g. physical therapy.) Donnatelli,Robert and Wooden, Michael. Orthopaedic Physical Therapy. Churchill Livingstone, Philadelphia, PA, 2001. Hoppenfeld, Stanley. Physical Examination of the Spine and the Extremities. Appleton Century Crofts, East Norfolk, VA, 1976. Netter, Frank. Atlas of Human Anatomy. Ciba-Geigy Corporation, Summit, NJ, 1989. Sieg, Kay and Adams, Sandra. Illustrated Essentials of Musculoskeletal Anatomy. Megabooks, Gainesville, FL 1985.

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|Help us with further development of this site by using the PayPal Donate option on home page| Report of the Special Rapporteur COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS FURTHER PROMOTION AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, INCLUDING THE QUESTION OF THE PROGRAMME AND METHODS OF WORK OF THE COMMISSION ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES AND WAYS AND MEANS WITHIN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM FOR IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVE ENJOYMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS At its fiftieth session, the Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 1994/45 of 4 March 1994, decided to appoint, for a threeyearperiod, a special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, to report to the Commission on an annual basis. Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy (Sri Lanka) was subsequently appointed as Special Rapporteur. The Commission on Human Rights, at its fiftyfirst session, in its resolution 1995/85 of 8 March 1995 entitled "The elimination of violence against women", welcomed the preliminary report of the Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/1995/42). The present report focuses on all forms of violence against women in the family. Chapter I outlines the working methods of the Special Rapporteur and reports on the activities undertaken by the Special Rapporteur in the exercise of her mandate since the fiftyfirst session of the Commission. Chapter II is an introduction to the problem of violence in the family. Chapter III examines domestic violence as a violation of international human rights law. Chapter IV addresses the question of domestic violence and other forms of violence against women in the family, based essentially on the analysis of information received by the Special Rapporteur in reply to a note verbale of 29 July 1994, sent to Governments, United Nations organs, bodies and specialized agencies, as well as nongovernmental organizations and women's groups. In Chapter V, the Special Rapporteur lists existing national legislation on domestic violence. In chapter VI she analyses the legal mechanisms available in various countries in connection with which a framework for model legislation on domestic violence has been prepared (E/CN.4/1996/53/Add.2). Finally, chapter VII contains recommendations on ways and means to eliminate violence against women in the family, along with its causes, and to remedy its consequences. I. WORKING METHODS AND ACTIVITIES The Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 1995/85, requested all Governments to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the performance of the tasks and duties mandated, and in particular to respond to the SecretaryGeneral's request of 29 July 1994 by providing all relevant information and data requested. Thus far, only 44 States have replied. The Special Rapporteur is, however, pleased that, in addition to replies received for the preliminary report, the following Governments sent information to her: Australia, Austria, Barbados, Bulgaria, Canada, Congo, Croatia, Greece, Guatemala, Lesotho, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Thailand. Finally, the Special Rapporteur would like to draw the attention of the Commission to its resolution 1995/85 and to the Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women, which request the SecretaryGeneral to provide the Special Rapporteur with all necessary assistance, in particular the staff and resources required to perform all mandated functions. In this context, the Special Rapporteur regrets the disruptions caused to her work by the uncertain working conditions of the staff assisting her at the Centre for Human Rights, despite her earlier representation to the Commission that continuing assistance with an acquired understanding of the subject is of vital importance to her mandate. B. Communications with Governments With a view to finding durable solutions for the problem of violence against women in all societies, the Special Rapporteur has established procedures to seek from Governments, in a humanitarian spirit, clarifications and information on specific cases of alleged violence in order to identify and investigate specific situations and allegations of violence against women in any country. Since the inception of her mandate, the Special Rapporteur has received some information on alleged instances of violence against women. However, it is noted that much of the information lacks sufficient detail to enable the Special Rapporteur to undertake appropriate action. The Special Rapporteur has, therefore, prepared a standard format for reporting on alleged cases of genderbased violence against women which is attached in Annex I to the present report. The Special Rapporteur wishes to inform the Commission that she has transmitted two communications to the Government of the United Arab Emirates concerning the case of a 16yearold Filipina migrant worker, Sarah Balabagan, who was reported to have stabbed her employer to death in selfdefence after having been raped at knifepoint by him. The first communication, dated 17 October 1995 following an urgent appeal transmitted by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, raised the concern of the Special Rapporteur over the allegation that Balabagan's original sentence of seven years' imprisonment had been overturned and replaced by the death penalty. In the Special Rapporteur's second communication, dated 16 November 1995 and sent in support of an urgent appeal transmitted by the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, it was acknowledged that whilst the death sentence against Balabagan had been quashed, an appeals court in the United Arab Emirates sentenced Balabagan to one year's imprisonment and 100 lashes, in addition to a financial obligation. In a communication dated 16 January 1996, the Government of the United Arab Emirates, in reply to the Special Rapporteur's letter of 16 November 1995, stated that it should be noted that the penalty of flogging is carried out only if it has been established, by way of a medical examination and under the supervision of all the competent medical and other authorities, that the accused person is physically capable of bearing it. It was further stated that the practice of flogging does not constitute violence practised by the State against women, since it is a legitimate penalty that is applied on the basis of legal and medical considerations. The Government of the United Arab Emirates, therefore, saw no justification for the Special Rapporteur's communication in view of the fact that the State had provided the accused with all the facilities needed to ensure a fair trial. The Special Rapporteur is grateful for the opportunity for dialogue with the Government concerned and has taken due note of its reply. The Special Rapporteur wishes, however, to clarify that it is not the act of corporal punishment per se that raises concern over violence against women, but the circumstances in which female migrant workers such as Balabagan are compelled to resort to their selfdefence. The often illegal or undocumented status of women migrant workers renders them particularly vulnerable to abuse by their employers, whether by confiscating their passports and withholding their salaries or, as in Balabagan's case, violating their right to life and security of person by subjecting them to sexual harassment, abuse and rape. The Special Rapporteur, therefore, strongly urges all receiving countries to ensure that the human rights of all persons within their boundaries, and specifically those of women migrant workers, are protected in accordance with their obligations under international law. C. Field visits The Special Rapporteur wishes to draw the attention of the Commission to the report of her mission to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea and Japan on the issue of military sexual slavery in wartime, carried out from 14 to 27 July 1995 (E/CN.4/1996/53/Add.1). The Special Rapporteur would like once more to express her appreciation for the cooperation of the Governments concerned during her visits. In 19961997, the Special Rapporteur hopes to visit the regions of Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Africa on the issues of domestic violence, violence against women migrant workers, trafficking and forced prostitution and violence against refugee women. The reports of these missions will be presented to the Commission at its fiftythird session. In this context, the Special Rapporteur extends her gratitude to the Government of Brazil, at whose invitation she will visit Brazil in May 1996 on the issue of domestic violence. D. Participation in conferences and meetings In accordance with the Commission's requests for closer integration within the United Nations system of women's rights and human rights mechanisms, the Special Rapporteur actively participated in the preparatory process for the Fourth World Conference on Women and in the Conference itself. During the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 415 September 1995), the Special Rapporteur convened, on 8 September 1995 in Beijing, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, a panel discussion on "Violence against women, its causes and consequences". Panellists included women's rights activists from Costa Rica, the United States of America and Zimbabwe, two experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, as well as the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Interregional Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Institute. The interesting and thoughtprovoking discussions focused on specific forms of violence against women in different regions, as well as on a global strategy for the elimination of all forms of violence against women, its causes and consequences. The Special Rapporteur also participated in a panel discussion organized by the Centre for Human Rights on the integration of women's rights into the human rights mechanism of the United Nations, entitled "From Vienna to Beijing". In connection with the panel discussions, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur received a petition with over 1.5 million signatures, calling for United Nations action and accountability to implement the equal status and human rights of women as recommended in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The Special Rapporteur also participated in a panel discussion on "A Commitment to the World's Women" organized by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), in a World Health Organization round table on "Women, Health and Violence", as well as in a journalists' encounter on violence against women. The Special Rapporteur considers that relevant sections of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, such as those on violence against women, women and armed conflict and human rights of women, demonstrate significant progress achieved at the international level towards the elimination of violence against women. Strategic objective D of the Platform, "Violence against women", adheres to the definition and scope of violence as contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and, in some instances, even goes beyond it. For example, in addition to the various forms of violence against women already elaborated in the Declaration, the Platform makes specific reference to acts of violence such as forced sterilization and forced abortion, coercive/forced use of contraceptives, female infanticide and prenatal sex selection. Furthermore, the particular vulnerability to violence of, among others, women belonging to minority groups, indigenous women, refugee women, women migrants and women in detention is emphasized. The analysis of the underlying causes and consequences of the Platform for Action is a clear manifestation of how far the international community has evolved in its attitudes towards violence against women since the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women held at Nairobi in 1985. The Special Rapporteur notes with satisfaction the much deeper understanding and openness that surrounds the diverse implications of violence against women manifest in the Platform, which stress that acts or threats of violence, whether occurring in private or in public life, instil fear and insecurity in women's lives and are obstacles to the achievement of equality, development and peace, resulting in high social, health and economic costs to the individual. Violence is recognized as one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men. It is realized that the lack of legal guarantees and safeguards and the lack of access to and information on these mechanisms and laws all reinforce women's vulnerability to violence. The Special Rapporteur supports the urgent request to carry out research and collect data, statistics and information relating to the prevalence of different forms of violence against women with a view to studying the causes and consequences of violence against women and the effectiveness of preventive measures. The Special Rapporteur is particularly pleased that Governments at the Beijing Conference made a firm commitment to develop a holistic and multidisciplinary approach towards creating violencefree families, communities and States. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur looks forward with interest to the implementation of the strategies for action for the elimination of violence against women, including the promotion of an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies and programmes relating to violence against women, the enactment and enforcement of legislation against perpetrators of practices and acts of violence against women, and the creation of institutional mechanisms for reporting incidents of violence. In addition, the Special Rapporteur noted with satisfaction that the Conference called for strategies for action envisaged in the field of education and awarenessraising, such as the organization and funding of information campaigns and educational activities to sensitize girls and boys, women and men, to the personally and socially detrimental effects of violence in the family, the training of judicial, legal, medical, social, educational, police and immigrant personnel in order to avoid power abuse leading to violence against women, and the provision of counselling and rehabilitation programmes for perpetrators of violence, as well as communitybased support services for women victims of violence. II. DEFINITION OF VIOLENCE IN THE FAMILY According to the myth of the family as a sanctuary of tranquillity and harmony, domestic violence is a veritable incongruity, a contradiction in terms. Violence shatters the peaceful image of the home, the safety that kinship provides. None the less, the insidious nature of domestic violence has been documented across nations and cultures worldwide. It is a universal phenomenon. Domestic violence is violence that occurs within the private sphere, generally between individuals who are related through intimacy, blood or law. Despite the apparent neutrality of the term, domestic violence is nearly always a genderspecific crime, perpetrated by men against women. When the reverse occurs and women strike out against their male partners, such incidents barely influence statistics of the genderspecific nature of domestic violence. In any case, such incidents most often occur when women attempt to physically defend themselves against their abusive partners. According to the United States Justice Department, women are 11 times more likely to be victims of domestic violence than men. Domestic violence is often, albeit problematically, labelled "family violence", so that the actual structure of the family, whether defined as nuclear, joint or singlesex, becomes an important subject of investigation. Discussions on family violence have failed to include the broad range of women's experiences with violence perpetrated against them by their intimates when that violence falls outside the narrow confines of the traditional family. Therefore, it is important that in any definition of family violence there exists an accompanying conceptualization of the family. This, however, rarely occurs and negates the reality of those women whose experiences do not fall into traditional categories of family. For the purposes of this report, family is defined broadly as the site of intimate personal relationship. A subjective definition, i.e. any unit where the individuals concerned feel they are a family, is more inclusive than an objective one and more relevant for the discussion of domestic violence. Rather than relying on the institutionalized definitions of family imputed by the State, notions of family should be reconceptualized around expressions of ideals of nurturance and care. There is a need to make room for "difference and plurality" within our understanding of what constitutes family. In addressing violence in the family, Statetolerated violence intended to control women in their socalled private lives has thus far not been accounted for. The rhetoric of public versus private and the consequent primacy afforded to the public realm has fundamentally affected perceptions of women's rights. In distinguishing certain forms of violence as domestic violence, definitions have arisen out of the original conceptualization of such violence as private acts within the family. However, an inflexible definition of domestic violence, focusing solely on private actors, legitimizes the public/private dichotomy. This construction has continually been challenged and critiqued by women's human rights activists, not least because it neglects a genderspecific dimension. Thus, the development of a comprehensive framework clearly depicting the relation between the nature of the violence perpetrated against women and their private personae is important in an effort to move beyond a private/public distinction in addressing violence. At its most complex, domestic violence exists as a powerful tool of oppression. Violence against women in general, and domestic violence in particular, serve as essential components in societies which oppress women, since violence against women not only derives from but also sustains the dominant gender stereotypes and is used to control women in the one space traditionally dominated by women, the home. In an effort to expose its various forms and dimensions, this report defines violence in the family as violence perpetrated in the domestic sphere which targets women because of their role within that sphere or as violence which is intended to impact, directly and negatively, on women within the domestic sphere. Such violence may be carried out by both private and public actors or agents. This conceptual framework intentionally departs from traditional definitions of domestic violence, which address violence perpetrated by intimates against intimates, or equates domestic violence with womanbattering. It is more in keeping with the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women which, in article 2, defines violence as encompassing, but not being limited to "physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowryrelated violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, nonspousal violence and violence related to exploitation". III. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AS A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS The Special Rapporteur, in her preliminary report, outlined in detail the international human rights standards with regard to violence against women. It, therefore, suffices to state that domestic violence, defined as violence that occurs within the domestic sphere perpetrated by both private and State actors, constitutes a violation of the human rights of women. State policies, manifested by both State action and inaction, may perpetuate and/or condone violence within the domestic sphere, although it is the duty of States to ensure that there exists no impunity for the perpetrators of such violence. "In the case of intimate violence, male supremacy, ideology and conditions, rather than a distinct, consciously coordinated military establishment, confer upon men the sense of entitlement, if not the duty, to chastise their wives. Wifebeating is, therefore, not an individual, isolated, or aberrant act, but a social license, a duty or sign of masculinity, deeply ingrained in culture, widely practised, denied and completely or largely immune from legal sanction". It is, therefore, argued that the role of State inaction in the perpetuation of the violence combined with the genderspecific nature of domestic violence require that domestic violence be classified and treated as a human rights concern rather than as a mere domestic criminal justice concern. Under international human rights law, Governments are not only obliged to refrain from committing human rights violations but also to prevent and respond to human rights abuses, without discrimination. In the past, however, a narrow interpretation of international human rights protections has overlooked the issue of State inaction to prevent and punish violations committed by private actors, despite provisions in, inter alia, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which require States to respect and ensure, among other things, the right to life, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and the security of person. Increasingly, however, international legal interpretations and norms are evolving to define more clearly the positive role and responsibility of the State in preventing abuses perpetrated by paraState or private actors. The concept of State responsibility has developed to recognize that States also have an obligation to take preventive and punitive steps where human rights violations by private actors occur. In this context, the Human Rights Committee has clearly stated that a State not only has a duty to protect its citizens from such violations but also to investigate violations when they occur and to bring the perpetrators to justice. At the regional level, the InterAmerican Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women (the "Convention of Belém do Pará") is the first regional human rights treaty to focus exclusively on genderbased violence and to prohibit violence within the home. A. Due diligence It follows from the above that, by definition, a State can be held complicit where it fails systematically to provide protection from private actors who deprive any person of his/her human rights. However, unlike for direct State action, the standard for establishing State complicity in violations committed by private actors is more relative. Complicity must be demonstrated by establishing that the State condones a pattern of abuse through pervasive nonaction. Where States do not actively engage in acts of domestic violence or routinely disregard evidence of murder, rape or assault of women by their intimate partners, States generally fail to take the minimum steps necessary to protect their female citizens' rights to physical integrity and, in extreme cases, to life. This sends a message that such attacks are justified and will not be punished. To avoid such complicity, States must demonstrate due diligence by taking active measures to protect, prosecute and punish private actors who commit abuses. In 1992, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adopted General Recommendation 19, in which it confirmed that violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights and emphasized that "States may also be responsible for private acts if they fail to act with due diligence to prevent violations of rights or to investigate and punish acts of violence, and for providing compensation." The Committee also made recommendations on measures States should take to provide effective protection of women against genderbased violence, including, inter alia: "(i) Effective legal measures, including penal sanctions, civil remedies and compensatory provisions to protect women against all kinds of violence, including, inter alia, violence and abuse in the family, sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace; "(ii) Preventive measures, including public information and education programmes to change attitudes concerning the roles and status of men and women; "(iii) Protective measures, including refuges, counselling, rehabilitation action and support services for women who are the victims of violence or who are at risk of violence." The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women also calls on States to "pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating violence against women" and, among other things, to "exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons (art. 4)." The InterAmerican Court of Human Rights has issued a judgement in the case of Velásquez Rodríguez, which articulates one of the most significant assertions of State responsibility for acts by private individuals; this represents an authoritative interpretation of an international standard on State duty. The opinion of the Court could also be applied, by extension, to article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which requires States parties to ensure to all individuals the rights recognized in that Covenant. In the same case, the InterAmerican Court further reaffirmed that States are "obliged to investigate every situation involving a violation of the rights protected by [international law]". It discussed the scope of the duty of States, under article 1 of the American Convention on Human Rights, "to ensure" the rights within the treaty to all persons within their jurisdiction. The Court stated that a State "has failed to comply with [this] duty ... when the State allows private persons or groups to act freely and with impunity to the detriment of the rights recognized by the Convention". Moreover, the Court required Governments to: "Take reasonable steps to prevent human rights violations and to use the means at its disposal to carry out a serious investigation of violations committed within this jurisdiction, to identify those responsible, to impose the appropriate punishment and to ensure the victim adequate compensation." This includes "ensur[ing] that any violations are considered and treated as illegal acts". Consistent with this reasoning, States should be held accountable for consistent patterns of nonenforcement of criminal law. Thus, what would otherwise be wholly private conduct is transformed into a constructive act of State, "because of the lack of due diligence to prevent the violation or respond to it as required by the [American Convention]". The Court also clearly stated that a single violation of human rights or just one investigation with an ineffective result does not establish a lack of due diligence by a State. Rather, the test is whether the State undertakes its duties seriously. Such seriousness can be evaluated through the actions of both State agencies and private actors on a casebycase basis. The due diligence requirement encompasses the obligation both to provide and enforce sufficient remedies to survivors of private violence. Thus, the existence of a legal system criminalizing and providing sanctions for domestic assault would not in itself be sufficient; the Government would have to perform its functions to "effectively ensure" that incidents of family violence are actually investigated and punished. For example, actions by State employees, the police, justice, health and welfare departments, or the existence of government programmes to prevent and protect women victims of violence are all concrete indications for measuring due diligence. Individual cases of policy failure or sporadic incidents of nonpunishment would not meet the standard to warrant international action. When setting out the international legal framework relevant to domestic violence in her preliminary report, the Special Rapporteur wrote, with regard to State responsibility: "In the context of norms recently established by the international community, a State that does not act against crimes of violence against women is as guilty as the perpetrators. States are under a positive duty to prevent, investigate and punish crimes associated with violence against women." B. Equal protection of the law International law, as contained in, inter alia, articles 2 (1), 3 and 26 of the ICCPR, imposes a duty on States not to discriminate on a number of specified grounds, including gender, in the protection of human rights. Failure to fulfil this duty constitutes a violation of human rights. Women victims of violence, therefore, have an equal right to the enforcement and protection of the law as any other victim of violence, so that a pattern of non-enforcement amounts to unequal and discriminatory treatment on the basis of gender. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, in article 2, requires States parties to "pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women", which includes the duty "to refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions shall act in conformity with this obligation" and "to take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women". Similar provisions are contained in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (arts. 2 and 3), the American Convention on Human Rights (arts. 1 and 24) and in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (art. 14). C. Torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment It has also been argued by jurists, based on the work of psychological experts in torture and gender violence, that, depending on its severity and the circumstances giving rise to State responsibility, domestic violence can constitute torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. This view challenges the assumption that intimate violence is a less severe or terrible form of violence than that perpetrated directly by the State. Torture, as defined in international human rights law, generally involves four critical elements: (a) it causes severe physical and/or mental pain, it is (b) intentionally inflicted, (c) for specified purposes and (d) with some form of official involvement, whether active or passive. In this context, it is argued that, like torture, domestic violence commonly involves some form of physical and/or psychological suffering, including death in some cases. Secondly, domestic violence, like torture, is purposeful behaviour which is perpetrated intentionally. Men who beat women partners commonly exercise control over their impulses in other settings and their targets are often limited to their partners or children. Thirdly, domestic violence is generally committed for specific purposes including punishment, intimidation and the diminution of the woman's personality. Lastly, like torture, domestic violence occurs with at least the tacit involvement of the State if the State does not exercise due diligence and equal protection in preventing domestic abuse. This argument contends that, as such, domestic violence may be understood to constitute a form of torture. The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment covers private acts of torture or ill-treatment when carried out with the "consent or acquiescence of a public official (art. 1 (1))". Accordingly, the international human rights framework could be applied to address discriminatory laws or customs, like exceptions for marital rape or the defence of honour, which exempt perpetrators of domestic violence from sanctions and reflect the consent of the State. If domestic violence were to be treated as a form of torture, States would be obligated to take legal and other measures to prevent domestic abuse through training, investigation and prosecution or extradition of all offenders. Jurists and experts have documented that the physical and/or psychological abuse characteristic of both official torture and domestic violence is comparable in both kind and severity. They emphasize that both the battered woman and the prisoner live isolated under a reign of terror and that both may suffer physical violence resulting in death or serious impairment as well as often profound and lasting psychological debilitation. Rape is common in both contexts and is commonly reported as the most devastating. Although the battered woman is seemingly free to leave while the prisoner is not, a battered woman's fear of precipitating deadly violence against herself or her children may make escape dangerous; the lack of resources, legal and community support and alternative means to survive may make escape seem impossible as well as reinforce her shame, hopelessness, and sense that she deserves this treatment. Second, like officially inflicted torture, domestic violence is purposeful behaviour which is perpetrated intentionally. Men who beat women partners commonly exhibit control over their impulses in other settings and their targets are often limited to their partners and/or children. Third, like official torture, domestic violence is committed for the internationally specified (specific) purposes of eliciting information, punishment, intimidation, discrimination, and, under the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, to obliterate the personality and diminish the capacities of the woman. As in torture, battering may involve a humiliating interrogation whose purpose is more the assertion of supremacy and possession over the victim than the acquisition of information. Battered women, like official torture victims, may be explicitly punished for infraction of constantly changing and impossible to meet rules. Both may be intimidated and broken by the continual threat of physical violence and verbal abuse; and both may be most effectively manipulated by intermittent kindness. Intimate violence is, as has been internationally recognized, an expression and act of gender discrimination. Finally, where the State does not exercise due diligence and equal protection to prevent and punish domestic abuse, it, like official torture or independent paramilitary violence, occurs with at least the tacit involvement of the State. Where the State permits this violence or is passive or halfhearted, it abandons the battered woman to the dominion of the batterer and tacitly supports that dominion. On these bases, it is contended that severe domestic violence can be understood as a form of torture while less severe forms may be sanctioned as illtreatment under the ICCPR. In addition, the United Nations Convention against Torture covers private acts of torture or ill-treatment when carried out with the "consent or acquiescence of a public official". Accordingly, the international human rights framework could be applied to address a range of situations from discriminatory laws or customs, like the marital rape exemptions or the defence of honour which exempt domestic abuses from sanction, to situations where adequate positive steps to prevent and punish this violence are not undertaken by the State. The argument that domestic violence should be understood and treated as a form of torture and, when less severe, ill-treatment, is one that deserves consideration by the rapporteurs and treaty bodies that investigate these violations together perhaps with appropriate NGO experts and jurists. Arguments have also been put forward to expand and enlarge the interpretation of international law beyond the standards of due diligence, non-discrimination and even torture, to propose that gender-based violence is a form of discrimination against women and should, therefore, be considered a human rights violation in itself. Article 1 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women defines such discrimination as: "any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women ... of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field". In its General Recommendation 19, the CEDAW stated that the general prohibition of gender discrimination contained in the Convention included: "... gender-based violence, that is, violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately. It includes acts that inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty". The Committee also clarified its view that violence against women is a form of discrimination. Proponents of a broader interpretation of international law point out that virtually every society contains forms of brutality and violence directed at women. While assaults are committed throughout all sectors of society, gender-based violence, such as domestic violence, is directed primarily at women with the intention of depriving them of a range of rights and maintaining their subordination as a group. Because of the systematic and pervasive nature of this form of female subordination worldwide, it is argued that gender-based violence is a distinct form of discrimination which should constitute a violation of international human rights law in itself. IV. MANIFESTATIONS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Throughout a woman's life cycle, there exist various forms of genderbased violence that manifest themselves at different stages. Most of this violence is domestic, occurring within the home, perpetrated by those to whom the woman is closest. Even before birth, females in cultures where son preference is prevalent are targeted by the violent discriminatory practices of sex-selective abortion and female infanticide. Violence against the girl child manifests itself as enforced malnutrition, unequal access to medical care, as well as physical and emotional abuse. Incest, female genital mutilation, early childhood marriage and other harmful traditional practices, and the sale of children by their parents for prostitution or bonded labour are all forms of violence inflicted on girl children. These practices are compounded by violence associated with courtship. Throughout their adult lives, women become victims and survivors of womanbattering, marital rape, dowry violence, domestic murder, sati, forced pregnancy, abortion and sterilization, abuse and violence against widows and elders that is perpetrated against female domestic workers. This extensive list of violence that plagues women in their homes throughout their lives illustrates the myriad manifestations of domestic violence. Although the distinct social, cultural and political contexts in which domestic violence exists give rise to different forms of domestic violence, it is continuously prevalent, transgressing national borders and cultural identities. Despite such universality, however, a conspiracy of silence continues to conceal the extent of the violence. Woman-battering or domestic assault is the most common form of domestic violence, characterized by the use of physical or psychological force, or the threat of such force, by the dominant domestic partner, whilst recognizing the overwhelming probability that this partner is male, for the purpose of intimidating, manipulating or coercing the subordinate partner. Women victims who survived woman-battering report that such violence often includes various methods of torturous physical violence, such as kicking, punching, biting, slapping, strangling, burning, throwing acid, beating with fists or objects, raping with body parts or objects, stabbing and shooting. At its most extreme, woman-battering may lead to domestic murder. Physical violence is not, however, the sole weapon of the batterer. Like the act of torture, batterers often use a debilitating combination of physical and psychological violence in a process of domination and exertion of control, meant to destabilize, victimize and render the woman powerless. Psychological abuse resulting from the spoken word, limitations on and control of social mobility and deprivation of economic resources generally accompany physical battering. The mere existence of violence against women in general and domestic violence in particular spreads fear among women, often restricting the way in which they lead their lives. Many victim-survivors of battering report that the psychological violence is worse than the physical brutality. Beatings leave scars as an external proof of the private reality. With no scars, no wounds to dress, women report that they are often made to feel mentally destabilized. Battered women have a high incidence of stress and stress-related illnesses such as post-traumatic stress syndrome, panic attacks, depression, somatic problems, elevated blood pressure, alcoholism, drug abuse and low self-esteem. These psychological consequences lead to an alarmingly high incidence of suicide and suicide attempts. Studies in India, Bangladesh, Fiji and the United States of America, as well as in Papua New Guinea and Peru, reveal a high correlation between domestic violence and suicide. Women who are victims of domestic violence are 12 times more likely to attempt suicide than those who do not live with such violence. In fact, as many as 35 to 40 per cent of battered women in the United States of America attempt suicide, many successfully. Victim-survivors of woman-battering, fearing for their lives, are often compelled to flee their homes. However, due to a lack of support services for victim-survivors of domestic violence many, if not most of these women have no place to go. In New York City, for example, 59 per cent of those who seek shelter in the city's battered women's shelters are turned down because there is no space. Consequently, in the United States of America, victim-survivors of domestic violence and their children constitute a high percentage of the homeless population. In countries where there are no organizations which provide services or shelter to victim-survivors, women have little hope of escaping without the help of understanding friends or family members. Women victims of domestic violence are being murdered by their batterers with increasing frequency. In fact, research has documented a pattern in the frequency and severity of violence that accompanies the amount of time spent in an abusive relationship, since women who are killed by their batterers generally have lived for many years with their violent partners. Studies conducted in Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Kenya, Thailand and the United States of America document the reality of femicide committed within the domestic sphere. Women's groups in some southern African countries have also begun documenting the increasing incidents of femicide. One project, undertaken by Women in Law and Development in Africa, studied the role of Governments in five southern African States in the perpetration of violence against women in general and femicide in particular. The project found that the States' failure to uphold and protect the rights of women in those five countries contributed to the incidence of femicide. Furthermore, in many cultures the role of the mother-in-law is one of the few positions of relative power for women within the family. Reportedly, many South Asian women refugees in Canada seek shelter not only from the abuse perpetrated by their husbands but also from the physical and psychological violence committed by in-laws who often live in the same home. Additionally, women who live in rural areas of China report that domestic violence often involves the members of the husband's family as well as the husband himself. Statistical data on woman-battering There is a need for detailed research to be carried out regarding the incidences of domestic violence. Although research has been undertaken in numerous countries in all regions of the world, more data is available from Northern countries, in particular Canada and the United States of America. None the less, the documentation leaves little doubt regarding the extent or seriousness of the problem: (a) Over 81 per cent of the assaults reported in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1985 were committed by husbands, boyfriends or former husbands and boyfriends; (b) Accompanying the rapid increase in the incidence of divorce in China are indications of the prevalence of domestic violence. A sample survey of divorce cases demonstrated that in one quarter of all cases wife battery was an issue; (c) In France, women comprise 95 per cent of victims of reported violence. Of these women victims, 51 per cent were assaulted by their husbands; (d) In 1990, a random sampling of women in Guatemala found that 49 per cent of them had been physically, emotionally and/or sexually abused by a male partner; (e) A survey of violence against women in India revealed that in almost 94 per cent of the cases the victim and the offender were members of the same family; in 90 per cent of these cases the wife was the victim of the husband. Furthermore, 9 out of 10 murders of women were incidents of husbands killing their wives; (f) It is estimated that 10 per cent of married Israeli women are battered; (g) In a survey of 796 Japanese women, 77 per cent reported that they had experienced some form of domestic battery. Of these, 58.7 per cent said that they had experienced physical violence, 65.7 per cent reported that they had suffered emotional violence and 59.4 per cent indicated that they had suffered sexual violence. Furthermore, over 11,000 women in Japan each year file for divorce on grounds of domestic violence; (h) In a survey of women in the Kissi district of Kenya, 42 per cent reported that they were beaten regularly by their spouse; (i) In New Zealand, 22.4 per cent of women in a random sample survey had been physically battered at some point since the age of 16; in 76 per cent of the cases the batterer was a male partner. Additionally, 20.7 per cent of the women who were abused by their male intimates reported that the abuse included not just physical abuse but also sexual abuse; (j) In Nicaragua, 44 per cent of surveyed men admitted that they beat their wives; (k) A survey conducted by a Pakistani newspaper reported that 99 per cent of women who worked in the home and 77 per cent of those working outside the home who responded to the survey were battered by their husbands; (l) Statistics compiled by the Forensic Hospital in Bucharest, Romania, indicate that 28 per cent of the women seeking treatment at the hospital had been beaten by an intimate male partner. A doctor at the hospital, however, warned that the statistics were unrepresentative because victims generally seek treatment only after several assaults. Additionally, judges estimate that 60 per cent of the divorce cases in Bucharest involve claims of physical violence; (m) In the United Republic of Tanzania, 60 per cent of the women surveyed in a three-district study on domestic violence, reported that they had been physically battered by a domestic partner; (n) In the United States of America, an estimated 2 million women are beaten by their male partners each year, approximately half of whom seek medical treatment; (n) In 1992, a study of Zambian women documented, inter alia, that 17 per cent believed that violence, either physical or psychological, was normal in marriage; The story of Man-Soon Cheng (Republic of Korea) is a classic case of wifebattering: "Man-Soon, 42, is a mother of three children, whose husband is in the military. Although she had been planning to marry a different man, she was forced to marry her husband, who had been a friend of hers, after he raped her and, in Man-Soon's words, caused her to 'lose her purity'. According to Man-Soon, she felt guilty and believed that she must accept responsibility and marry the man who had raped her. "Whenever he was drunk, Man-Soon's husband would become violent. At first his violence was not directed at her, but soon it turned on ManSoon. He threatened her and beat her, often using techniques learned from his military life. Man-Soon's husband strangled her, stabbed her with chopsticks, beat her with a club, ruptured her eardrums and set a tent in which she was sleeping on fire. As a result, it was Man-Soon, not her husband, who sought psychological help. Fearing for her safety, Man-Soon left him several times but finding she had nowhere to go, she would return only to receive more severe beatings. Eventually, Man-Soon went to 'Shimter', a shelter for battered women in Seoul. While at the shelter, Man-Soon became self-sufficient and has since moved into her own flat. She has not returned to her husband. "Man-Soon reports that her husband was raised in an atmosphere of domestic violence. His mother was beaten by his grandmother and his father. Man-Soon's husband and his three brothers all are batterers." B. Marital rape More recently, many countries have begun to recognize marital rape as a criminal offence, although some argue that rape does not exist between husband and wife. Rape is broadly defined as non-consensual intercourse through the use of physical force, threats or intimidation, including the rape by a man of his wife. However, the recognition of marital rape not only as a crime but as a violation of human rights is complicated by the conception of the home as a private sphere. It is only recently that this public-private dichotomy, at its most intimate in the case of marital rape, has been challenged. In Sri Lanka, for example, recent amendments to the Penal Code recognize marital rape but only with regard to judicially separated partners, and there exists great reluctance to pass judgement on rape in the context of partners who are actually living together. However, some countries have begun to legislate against marital rape, refusing to accept the marital relationship as a cover for violence in the home. For example, the Government of Cyprus, in its contribution to the Special Rapporteur, reports that its Law on the Prevention of Violence in the Family and Protection of Victims, passed in June 1993, clarifies that "rape is rape irrespective of whether it is committed within or outside marriage". Incest, or intrafamilial child sexual abuse, is a particularly pernicious crime because it is a betrayal of trust. The classic case of incest involves a girl child and her father, step-father or father figure. Incest does not necessarily imply a biological relationship but a social one between a child and a parental figure. The vast majority of countries throughout the world legislate against incest and make it a criminal offence, as reflected in most of the replies received by the Special Rapporteur on this issue. However, the essential question is not whether such acts are criminal but whether sanctions are effectively applied in any given society. Incest is widely viewed as unacceptable for social and biological reasons. Laws banning incest are, consequently, a reflection of the taboo that surrounds incest. But precisely because incest is in contravention of the most fundamental social norms in the world, families in which it occurs keep their knowledge secret, making it one of the most invisible, and most difficult to account for, forms of domestic violence. Moreover, children victims of incest, are a particularly vulnerable group, as they play no part in decision-making and have no control over their own social situation. In addition, they have no access to protection while they maintain a situation of dependency vis-à-vis other family members. Often the child victim is too young to rationalize or understand her/his predicament having been coerced under cover of secrecy and familial authority. The divide between male and female and between adult and child is fully exploited. The results of incest are invariably damaging. Physicians have recorded some of the symptoms of physical damage inflicted by incest which are, inter alia, poor sphincter control, anal and vaginal laceration, sexually transmitted disease and early childhood pregnancy. Equally damaging are the long-term psychological effects which manifest themselves in behavioural problems. Moreover, abused children go on to abuse their own with alarming regularity. Although laws prohibit incest, the victim's rights are sacrificed as a result of secrecy, court proceedings which require forensic evidence of incest, evidentiary procedures such as the fact that a wife cannot testify against her husband and the notion that an abused child may be cross-examined at length, so that many cases are dropped or not brought to court. It is, therefore, imperative that mechanisms be set up to identify incest and prosecute perpetrators, so that the law does not remain theoretical. The Convention of the Rights of the Child, in article 19, states that: "1. States parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has care of the child. "2. Such protective measures should, as appropriate, include effective procedures for the establishment of social programmes to provide necessary support for the child and for those who have care of the child, as well as for other forms of prevention and for identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and followup of instances of child maltreatment described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for judicial involvement." These provisions make it clear that incest is not only a crime but a violation of the human rights of children protected under international law. States therefore are held to due diligence standards in preventing, prosecuting and punishing perpetrators of incest in all societies. D. Forced prostitution Domestic violence in the form of forced prostitution by male partners or parents has been reported worldwide. In Pakistan, for example, it is not uncommon for women to be prostituted by their husbands in addition to being physically or sexually abused by them. Also, many young indigenous women from rural villages in Nepal are sold or tricked by their husbands or relatives into being trafficked to India for prostitution. Prostituted women are then detained, often for a period of seven years, as sexual slaves, systematically raped and repeatedly subjected to other forms of sexual torture. Some women who have escaped report that they were tortured, beaten and starved when they attempted to resist their prostitution. Furthermore, prostituted women are forced to work in inhumane and degrading conditions. In India many of them are forcibly sterilized. Frequently, prostituted women are barred from communicating with their families and prohibited from returning to their homes. Prostituted women generally have little or no access to medical care despite the fact that they are at risk of numerous and deadly infectious diseases, including a high incidence of HIV/AIDS infection. Once it has been discovered that a woman has contracted a disease, she is forced to return to her village, where little understanding or medical assistance is available. Even after a prostituted woman is released from her servitude, owing to the stigma attached to being prostituted, she is often unable to return to her home village because she will be ostracized. One victim-survivor reports that "once we are sold, our lives are finished. After we come back to our villages, society behaves as if we had invited our fates ourselves". Laws regarding the sale and trafficking of women are inadequate and poorly enforced. Reportedly, legal action is rarely taken against traffickers and when such action is undertaken it is done merely for the sake of formality and, thus, fails to produce results. In the case of a Pakistani woman victim, Ayesha, her husband, Baig Ghulam Mohammad, a heroin addict, had been subjecting her to beatings for many years. Additionally, for the last four years her husband had allegedly forced her into prostitution in order to maintain his drug habit. He had repeatedly sold her to Ajaz Faiz, his son-in-law from his first marriage: "On 19 May 1995, Ayesha was finally compelled to abandon her home for fear of her life. According to Ayesha, her young children and the neighbour's children were involved in a quarrel to which she responded by reprimanding all the children. Her husband, after hearing about this, became angry with Ayesha and subjected her to a beating. Since this was not the first incident of beating, Ayesha threatened to go to Mandi Hira Singh police station to report the beating. Ayesha's husband then threatened her with an axe and a butcher's meat chopper. Later that day Ayesha escaped her husband and went to report the matter to the police. At the police station, Ayesha met some of her husband's relatives who advised her not to go to the police, claiming that the matter could be settled within the family. She also met her uncle who advised the same. In the meantime Ayesha's husband had learned of her intentions to report the incident. He, along with some other relatives, followed her to the police station. Once he arrived and had assured Ayesha's uncle that he would neither beat nor hurt her, Ayesha's uncle convinced her to return to the village. "They returned the same day. That night Ayesha's husband suddenly took the children out of the house and then returned with six of his relatives. According to Ayesha, her husband, and his six relatives, all beat her. After the beating, her in-laws held her down while her husband retrieved a kitchen knife and cut off her nose. After this, Ayesha ran away to her relatives in Karachi where she remains". E. Violence against domestic workers Violence against female domestic workers, a problem of escalating proportions, has only recently been given attention at the international level. The silence that surrounds violence against domestic workers arises partially out of the unwillingness of both sending and receiving States to accept responsibility for migrant workers owing to the economic benefits associated with migrant labour, as well as to the lack of documentation regarding such violence. In addition, there are obstacles to addressing violence against migrant domestic workers because, on leaving their home country, they are often deprived of their rights as citizens. As elaborated in the Special Rapporteur's preliminary report, women migrant workers suffer double marginalization, and consequently higher levels of violence, in both the sending and the receiving State. The issue of violence against female migrant domestic workers presents a particularly difficult problem in the Asian and Middle Eastern regions. Increasing unemployment and poverty in countries such as Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Indonesia lead women to seek employment abroad primarily in areas of unskilled labour, overwhelmingly as domestic workers. At least 50 per cent of the over 10 million Asian migrant workers are women. Thousands of Sri Lankan women are, for example, currently working in countries of the Middle East, Greece, Hong Kong, Japan, Mauritius and Singapore. Factors such as isolation from one's community and family, sexism, racism and classism further exacerbate the conditions that lead to widespread violence against domestic servants and abuse at the hands of their employers within the walls of what has become both their home and their workplace. In Kuwait, for example, from March 1991 until August 1992, at least 2,000 women domestic servants escaped violent situations, generally seeking shelter in their embassies. A non-governmental organization has identified that "there exists a significant and persuasive pattern of rape, physical assault and mistreatment of Asian maids that takes place largely with impunity" in Kuwait. Such violence has also been documented in other countries including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Singapore. In many countries with large migrant worker populations, there exist a variety of formal and informal legal and social structures that conspire against women domestic workers. Non-existent and ineffective laws and enforcement mechanisms exacerbate violence by creating a situation in which women domestic workers are vulnerable, lack protection and rights. Cases are cited in which the police have halted women's attempts to flee abusive domestic situations and to file formal complaints by returning women to their violent employers. Furthermore, even though there do exist mechanisms of criminal accountability, such as rape and assault statutes, cultural biases against believing women and tendencies to blame the victims of violence themselves often thwart attempts to transform reports into investigations, arrests or prosecutions. Commonly, recruiters or the employers confiscate the passports of domestic workers, restricting their mobility within the country, as well as prohibiting their departure from the country. Confiscation is then compounded by inflexible procedures that require exit visas and, often, the original passport. Such policies, whether codified by law or implemented through informal mechanisms, violate international human rights law. Not only do such practices violate the woman's right to leave the country and to return to her own, but also a woman's inability to leave the violent domestic situation which may result in violations of her right to life and personal security, as well as her right to be free from involuntary servitude and arbitrary detention. In some cases the laws of a country are drafted explicitly to exclude domestic workers from their purview of protection. For example, the Private Sector Labour Law No. 38 in Kuwait regulates working conditions for all workers in the private sector, both internal and expatriate, by restricting the number of hours employees can be required to work, providing for overtime benefits and requiring weekly and annual leave. Domestic workers, however, are excluded from the law and, thus, have none of these protections. Physically and often linguistically isolated from everyone but the family for which they work, women migrant workers have no opportunities to organize and collectively demand their rights. Sinhala Bolasi's story is a case in point: "Sinhala Bolasi, a 20-year-old Sri Lankan woman, was admitted to Al-Razi Orthopaedic Hospital on 4 April 1992 after her employer detained her in one of the rooms in the house and raped her. According to the victim, after raping her, he threw her off the balcony. She landed on the ground several stories below. At the time of her admittance to the hospital, both of Sinhala's ankles were broken, she was bleeding vaginally and she had internal injuries and lacerations to her labia and rectal area that required stitches. It was observed that she had a tear that extended from her vagina to her anus, an injury consistent with having been forcibly raped by someone using a sharp object. "It is reported that Sinhala was catatonic and unresponsive to verbal cues for weeks following her admission to the hospital. Although she was able to answer questions in early May 1992, she still appeared withdrawn, had trouble focusing on faces of those around her and became visibly agitated when questioned about how she received her injuries. "Despite an initial investigatory report by hospital-based police investigation and a letter from a non-governmental organization to His Highness, the Emir of Kuwait dated 15 June 1992, requesting that Sinhala Bolasi's case be investigated and she be kept safe from her employer, Kuwaiti authorities appear to have taken no action against the victims's former employer." The case of Flor Contemplacion from the Philippines, which was submitted to the attention of the Special Rapporteur, demonstrates the interlocking nature of domestic violence perpetrated by employers against domestic workers and that perpetrated by States through discriminatory policies and procedures: "Flor Contemplacion, a 42-year-old Filipina mother of four children, had been a domestic worker in Singapore for six years until her sentencing and ultimate execution for allegedly murdering another Filipina and the 3-year-old son of that woman's employer. Although Flor Contemplacion was convicted of the double murder, a young Filipina domestic servant who had since returned to the Philippines came forward with information that may have proved Contemplacion's innocence. According to the witness, it was the employer who killed his domestic servant after he discovered that his son had drowned in the bathtub due to an epileptic seizure during which he hit his head. Despite pleas made at the last minute by the Government of the Philippines, the Government of Singapore refused to delay her execution in order to investigate the new information. Flor Contemplacion was hanged on 17 March 1995." F. Violence against the girl child While the abuse of children in the form of physical, psychological and sexual violence is perpetrated against both male and female children, there are gender dimensions to child abuse. For example, an estimated 90 per cent of victims of child sexual abuse are girl children and more than 90 per cent of the perpetrators of child sexual abuse are men. There exists a documented link between woman-battering and child abuse. According to one expert, "children whose mothers are battered [are] more than twice as likely than children whose mothers are not battered to be themselves abused, by either their mothers' attacker or their mothers. Furthermore, children who live in homes in which their mother is abused risk injury or even death at the hands of their mother's abuser if they intervene in, or inadvertently become involved in a violent episode. Batterers often turn their violent rages on anyone who threatens their authority. Attempts made by children to intervene or to protect their mothers not only have led to injuring the child but have also led children to kill their fathers. This was the case in Thailand when the 15-year-old son of a woman who was being battered by her husband killed the abuser, his father. Research supports the connection between woman-battering and child abuse. In the United States, for example, the rate of child abuse in violent domestic situations is 1,500 per cent of the national average. Not surprisingly, significant psychological effects ensue for children living in violent homes. A child who comes from a violent home in which her or his mother was beaten exhibits substantially more emotional and behavioural problems than a child from a non-violent home. Such problems often become more pronounced when the abused mother of the child attempts to separate and seek shelter, a process which may or may not include the child. Although women frequently bring their children with them to shelter, the shortage of space causes some domestic violence shelters to exclude children. Thus, women are forced to choose between abandoning their children, which may leave their children's safety in a precarious position, and seeking safety for themselves or remaining in the abusive relationship. Left with this choice, many women choose to remain, so that it can be said that the lack of adequate shelter space directly increases women's vulnerability to violence. When women do seek shelter, the combination of displacement, crowded communal living and sometimes strict rules pose challenges and cause emotional strain for both women and their children. Many shelters have programmes distinctively designed for children and children's advocates expressly trained to address the particular needs of children from violent homes. None the less, the transition from a violent home to a communal shelter can be a difficult one. Furthermore, children from violent homes make up a disproportionately high percentage of street children throughout the world. In Bogotá, Colombia, for example, a study by the Metropolitan Police documented that 1,299 children were living on the streets after being forced from homes in which domestic violence occurred. Children who are compelled to leave their violent homes are often victimized by systems that use punishment to "rehabilitate" and "protect" runaways. With nowhere else to go, many children live on the streets where they face increased violence and exploitation. Of the 1,299 children in the Bogotá study, for example, a reported 389 children were prostituted, 32 were beggars and 122 used drugs. Links have also been documented between both witnessing and directly experiencing domestic violence as a child and violent behaviour both within and outside the home as an adult. In one study that covered a 30-year period, childhood experiences with domestic violence, specifically woman-battering, were found to be "significantly predictive of serious adult personal crimes [including] assault, attempted rape, rape, attempted murder, kidnapping and murder." G. Sex-selective abortions and female infanticide Son preference is the discriminatory preference for male children that often results in violence against and maltreatment of female foetuses and girl children. When son preference turns to violence directed at the child by a parent, a family member or the State, it can be clearly labelled as domestic violence. In many cases, States either passively acquiesce or overtly sanction such violence, mostly perpetrated by parents or family members, through official policies. Although infants are comparatively rare targets of domestic violence, the violence directed at them in the form of sale of children, the binding of body parts, enforced malnutrition and infanticide is often lethal when it occurs. "The persistence in India of cultural practices that discriminate against girls and women means not only the abuse but, finally, the deaths of countless women". In countries such as India and China, where an already strong cultural and traditional bias exists in favour of male children, technological advances are used to the detriment of women. For example, amniocentesis and sonogrammes to detect the sex of a foetus lead to the abortion of thousands of female foetuses. A study in one clinic in India showed that out of 8,000 aborted foetuses, 7,997 of them were female. Another survey found that, in one year, 40,000 female foetuses were aborted in Bombay. Within cultures with a high level of son preference, female infanticide provides a disturbing alternative for women who do not have access to amniocentesis, sonogrammes and abortion. Infanticide has been described as a "mechanism through which societies dispose of infants whose birth or condition makes them a liability to the family or to the entire group". The most common "reason" cited for committing infanticide is to relieve parents of the "burden" associated with the birth of a girl child. The high level of sexselective abortions in India, for instance, arises from the same societal attitude that regards girl children as a social and economic burden. In this context, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the adoption by the Government of India of the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act of September 1994 which effectively prevents the results of prenatal procedures which reveal the sex of the foetus from being used as a reason for female foeticide. The Special Rapporteur also looks forward to a national programme of action for the eradication of female infanticide currently under elaboration by the Government of India. China's one-child policy demonstrates the interlinkage between Statecondoned violence and domestic violence. Through this policy, the Government of China intrudes into the domestic sphere by regulating and restricting the number of children a married couple may have and, at times, by violently enforcing this policy. The one-child policy violates a woman's right to physical integrity and security of person, and the right of both parents freely to determine the timing and spacing of their children. Additionally, in a culture where son preference is widespread, this policy encourages and, ultimately, sanctions sex-selective abortions of female foetuses and female infanticide. In 1994, in China, 117 boys were born for every 100 girls, a figure significantly higher than the world average of 106 males to every 100 females. Thus, approximately 500,000 more male children than female children are born each year in China. The one-child policy is, in fact, a complex and differentially applied policy. The central Government of China issues ideological directives that are then implemented at the country level. One of the primary components of the policy is enforced birth control. The policy also strictly controls the age of marriage and the timing and number of children each married couple can have. Whereas urban couples are generally restricted to only one child, regardless of the sex of the child, rural couples often are allowed to have a second child if their first is female. Abortions are compulsory for single women as well as migrant women who can only avoid abortion if they return to their home region. Much of the birth control is regulated through informal measures such as peer pressure implemented through work and social units. Reportedly, it is also common for family planning officials to employ strategies of psychological intimidation, harassment and violence in order to effectuate the policy. It is alleged that many women have been forcibly removed from their homes by family planning officials in the middle of the night in order to violently enforce the policy. A non-governmental organization has labelled the practices of forced abortion and forced sterilization as "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees or restricted persons by government officials." Although the State Family Planning Commission of China claims that "coercion is not permitted", investigations have not found instances in which sanctions were imposed upon officials who used violence to promote the policy. However, people who assist women by, for example, hiding those who are threatened with forced abortion or sterilization have been illegally detained, imprisoned and tortured. In 1993, a man was sentenced by a district court in Guangzhou to 10 years in prison and three years' deprivation of political rights for participating in a "save the babies and save women group" that had assisted 20 women who were pregnant in violation of the policy. According to UNICEF estimates from South Asia, North Africa, the Middle East and China, there are 100 million fewer women than could be expected from general demographic trends. Other figures which are of extreme concern to UNICEF are, inter alia, the following: (a) A recent official survey in China revealed that 12 per cent of all female foetuses were aborted or otherwise unaccounted for, mainly the result of ultrasound screening throughout the country to determine the sex of unborn children; (b) In one survey in Bangladesh, 96 per cent of women said they wanted their next child to be a boy, whereas only 3 per cent wanted a girl. Further manifestations of the practice of son preference are the facts that: (a) More boys are immunized and treated by hospitals than girls. One 1990 study found that 71 per cent of babies under the age of two admitted to one hospital were boys; (b) Girls between the ages of two and five years have higher death rates than boys in many developing countries; (c) In many cultures, food taboos limit what girls and women are allowed to eat or they might be expected to eat smaller portions than boys and men. The result is that they do not get the protein and minerals they need. Iron deficiency affects between 75 and 96 per cent of girls of 15 or older in Africa and up to 70 per cent of girls between 6 and 14 in India. H. Traditional practices affecting the health of women and children Traditional practices reflect values and beliefs held by members of a community, often throughout many generations. However, as the Special Rapporteur has already stated, certain customary practices and some aspects of tradition, such as those related to deeply rooted power inequities of society, often constitute a cause of violence against women and girls. Blind adherence to and the delicate nature of questioning the existence of these practices, the lack of information and education in many regions where such practices are prevalent and, more often than not, State inaction with regard to these traditional and customary practices, are all factors contributing to the continuing existence of traditional practices affecting the health of women and children today in Asia, Africa and increasingly in Western countries with large immigrant communities from those regions. It is important to emphasize that not all customs and traditions are unprotective of women's rights and that certain practices actually promote and defend women's rights and dignity. However, those practices that constitute definite forms of violence against women cannot be overlooked nor justified on the grounds of tradition, culture or social conformity. In this context, many international human rights instruments, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (art. 5 (a)), the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as, most recently, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action call on States to refrain from invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligation with respect to the elimination of all forms of violence against women. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action also makes strong recommendations for action by Governments on this issue. It requests Governments to enact and enforce legislation against the perpetrators of practices and acts of violence against women, such as female genital mutilation, female infanticide, prenatal sex selection and dowry-related violence, and to give vigorous support to the efforts of non-governmental and community organizations to eliminate such practices. Furthermore, Governments are called upon to adopt all appropriate measures, especially in the field of education, to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, and to eliminate prejudices, customary practices and all other practices based on the idea of the inferiority or superiority of either of the sexes and on stereotyped roles for men and women. Several replies received by the Special Rapporteur addressed the question of traditional practices and are summarized below. The Special Rapporteur, in this context, calls upon all Governments to report to the Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children on national implementation of the Plan of Action for the Elimination of Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children. Female genital mutilation Information concerning legislative measures for the prohibition of female genital mutilation was provided to the Special Rapporteur by countries in which the practice is known to occur, due in large part to the presence of large immigrant communities from mainly African countries. In this context, the Government of Australia informed the Special Rapporteur that, in Australia, the number of women from the four countries where the most extreme forms of mutilation occurs (Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and the Sudan) has increased by 154 per cent since the 1991 census. However, information obtained by the Family Law Council in 1993 also suggests that a range of female initiation ceremonies have been practised by Aboriginal Australians in the past, generally at the first signs of puberty. It is not known to what extent such practices persist today. The practices appear to have varied from one district to another. As far as is known, none of the ceremonies involve excision or infibulation but may have involved practices such as enlarging the vaginal orifice, cutting the perineum and breaking the hymen with a stick. Some of these practices would result in mutilation of the genitalia. Additionally, some residents of the Cocos and Keeling Islands perform a ritual circumcision ceremony. However, it is unclear whether this is purely symbolic or whether it involves clitoridectomy. Also in Australia, a uniform legislative approach is currently being pursued through the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General. New South Wales has already introduced specific legislation, Queensland has prepared recommendations for consideration and the Australian Capital Territory is beginning to draft legislation. Following a report by the Australian Family Law Council in June 1994, which concluded that there should be special legislation making the practice of female genital mutilation an offence in Australia, as well as education programmes directed at relevant communities and health and welfare professionals, the Government is committed to providing support for those who wish to resist the continuation of the practice and assistance to those who have been subjected to the procedure. The Government has agreed in principle to provide funding for the development of a national education programme. With regard to legislative measures regarding female genital mutilation, the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985 of the United Kingdom makes it an offence to excise, infibulate or otherwise mutilate the whole or any part of the labia majora or labia minora or clitoris of another person or to aim, abet, counsel or procure the performance by another person of any of those acts on that other person's own body unless such an act is carried out as part of a necessary surgical operation. The maximum penalty for an offence under section 1 of the Act is a fine or five years' imprisonment or both. In France, while the advisability of prosecuting the performance of a "cultural" practice was questioned for a long time, the courts have gradually come round to the view that excision is a crime. The Criminal Section of the Court of Cassation, in its decision of 20 August 1983, had already established the principle that the ablation of the clitoris, resulting from wilful acts of violence, constitutes mutilation, basing its decision on provisions of the Criminal Code which penalize "wilful assault and battery resulting in death without intent" and state that the person guilty of assault and battery is liable to a term of imprisonment if the offence has resulted in the "mutilation, amputation or deprivation of the use of a limb, blindness, the loss of an eye or other permanent disability or death without intent". These texts specify the sentence to be given to "whosoever intentionally" assaults a victim. Three decisions concerning excision have been handed down recently in France, imposing prison sentences and making both the mother and the father liable to prosecution. This constitutes an interesting development because until recently only mothers had received sentences in this connection. It is interesting to note that the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia of 8 December 1994 states in article 35 (4) that "women have the right to protection by the State from harmful customs. Laws, customs and practices that oppress women or cause bodily or mental harm to them are prohibited." This is a significant step by the Government of Ethiopia, a country with a high incidence of female genital mutilation, towards the elimination of practices harmful to the health of women and children. Giving rise to some concern, the Government of Lesotho indicated that "female genital mutilation still takes place in cases where girls and women are sent to initiation schools. Exactly how it is done and why is still shrouded in mystery. But it is definitely not done in sterile surroundings". The urgent need for a further study of the issue in Lesotho is apparent. The United Nations Development Programme in the Gambia reported on a seminar on communication strategies to combat harmful traditional practices affecting the health of women and children. It was suggested that female genital mutilation is an age-old, deeply entrenched tradition and not done for religious reasons. "Female circumcision", in this case, consists of cutting the tip of the clitoris, the whole clitoris or the scooping of the vulva, without any perceptible hygienic advantages and frequently associated with complications. The practice, as performed without anaesthesia, is extremely painful and often bleeding is excessive and difficult to control. Infections, leading to infertility and complications at birth, as well as psychological problems, are common consequences for girls and women who undergo this ritual. The United Nations Children's Fund has instigated a number of community education programmes on the practice of female genital mutilation and works directly with women's and community groups to educate women, and in particular men, to abandon the practice because of the severe physical and psychological harm it causes to girl children and women. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the proposed programme of work of the Women's Health and Development Programme within the Division of Family and Reproductive Health of the World Health Organization which proposes, inter alia, to pursue the prevention and management of the health consequences of female genital mutilation through activities such as a multi-country study of attitudes and practices of female genital mutilation among health care providers, as a basis for developing educational materials and training guidelines for nurses and midwives; the development and testing of standard research protocols; discussions with WHO country representatives and regional staff to raise awareness and identify their needs; and support for national research and intervention efforts. According to information received from a non-governmental organization, in one region of Africa it is pressure from the local mullahs which makes Muslim women believe that the practice of female genital mutilation constitutes an integral part of being a Muslim and is, therefore, not to be challenged. The Special Rapporteur is firmly convinced that Islam, nor any other religion, is connected with female genital mutilation. However, in many societies, it is only with the involvement of religious leaders, village elders and other influential, mostly male, groups of society that progress towards the elimination of harmful traditional practices can be achieved. In addition to information campaigns on the health consequences for girls and women and education on human rights of women, the mentalities and social behaviour of both women and men need to be changed. Finally, the Special Rapporteur wishes to express her appreciation to the work carried out at the international level by the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children within the NGO Sub-Committee on the Status of Women and its working group on traditional practices, as well as at the national level through national committees in over 25 countries in Africa. The problem of violence in the home resulting from religious extremism has been of serious concern to the Special Rapporteur. Her next report on violence in the community to be submitted to the Commission at its fifty-third session will dwell on the details of such violence. V. LEGISLATION ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AS REPORTED BY GOVERNMENTS The following chart is compiled on the basis of submissions by Governments pursuant to the request made by the Special Rapporteur for information regarding State action in relation to violence in the family, violence in the community and violence perpetrated and/or condoned by the State, and is based, in particular, on replies relevant to the issue of domestic violence. a/ According to information provided by the Government of Australia, "... almost all States and Territories [have] adopt[ed] specific legislation in relation to domestic violence ..." (letter dated 2 February 1995). b/ While China does not have a domestic violence statute per se, art. 35 of the Women's Rights and Interests (Protection of) Act states that "... drowning, abandoning or brutally injuring female infants is prohibited; discriminating against or maltreating women who give birth to female children, or who are barren, is prohibited; injuring women through superstitious belief or violence is prohibited ..." (letter dated 24 September 1994). c/ Although Ecuador currently has no domestic violence statute, the National Congress is considering draft reform of the Criminal Code, which includes a chapter on domestic violence (letter dated 7 October 1994). d/ While Iraq does not have any criminal provisions on womanbattering, Iraqi law prohibits forced marriages (letter dated 21 October 1994). e/ In Kuwait, art. 126 of the Personal Status Act provides for legal separation on the grounds of "bad treatment" (letter dated 8 November 1994). f/ Although section 192 of the Norwegian Penal Code on rape "has also been applied when the offender and the victim were married", it is not clear whether marital rape is actually specifically referred to in the Penal Code (letter dated 16 February 1995). g/ Although, as of October 1994, the Philippines had no domestic violence statute, bills on wife cruelty/beating were pending before the Parliament (letter dated 13 October 1994). h/ In Slovenia, domestic violence is not even defined as a criminal act in cases of "light" physical injury defined to include "fractured nose, rib, light concussion, punched-out teeth" (letter dated 14 October 1994). i/ Although the statutory definition of rape does not include marital rape, the House of Lords in R. v. R. (1992) upheld a Court of Appeals decision finding that there is no implied consent to sexual intercourse within marriage, and, thus, that it is possible for a husband to rape his wife. A statutory amendment is currently pending before Parliament (letter dated 10 October 1994). VI. LEGAL MECHANISMS In the past, the law has been extremely reticent about intervening with regard to domestic violence. The policy of preserving the privacy and integrity of the family was given more weight than helping the victim. Today, some forms of intervention, formal or informal, that are available to women experiencing domestic violence have proven to be effective in curbing incidents of domestic violence in general and womanbattering in particular. Research clearly shows that the level and immediacy of the intervention are directly linked to both the frequency and the severity of womanbattering. Thus, one expert asserts that "immediate intervention designed to stop the beating or to prevent it from ever starting is a key first line of defence in controlling wife beating." Those mechanisms that provide immediate protection to abused women emerge as the most effective means of controlling womanbattering, whereas protection provided after the incident has occurred does not appear to have any important impact on the prevention of womanbattering. Significantly, a study suggests that factors that predict womanbattering also foretell the delayed or nonexistent nature of intervention. Thus, women are less likely to receive adequate protection or outside help from societies in which economic and gender inequality, violent conflict resolution, male domestic authority and divorce restrictions for women are prevalent. This underscores the importance of developing strategies that go beyond providing protection and that attempts to deal with the socio-cultural causes of domestic violence must also be made. In this context, reference is made to addendum 2 to the present report containing model legislation on domestic violence in any given society, prepared for the Special Rapporteur by International Women in Law and Development. It could be argued that there is no one model that would lead to the eradication of violence against women in all societies but there are important elements that must be included in any strategy to combat violence against women and that can be adapted to differing socio-cultural contexts. Although, in recent years, there has been increasing State recognition of the problem of violence against women, "the legal relief available to women who are victims [of] such violence remains undeveloped in most national systems." Strategies employed by Governments to address violence against women have emerged in reaction to the violence that occurs, focusing on punishing the perpetrator and protecting the victim. These strategies have relied greatly upon the law and have concentrated on the introduction of new legal measures in their attempt to address violence against women. In most countries, therefore, there exists at least one of three traditional legal mechanisms available to victims of domestic violence: criminal law, civil remedies or matrimonial relief. Criminal law has traditionally provided the only option for women victims of physical abuse. Even without specific statutes on domestic violence, laws on general assault, battery, manslaughter and murder, among others, should provide remedies for women and girl children in cases of domestic violence. Except in the case of marital rape, general criminal prohibitions have not explicitly excluded criminal behaviour committed within the family. However, due to the "hands-off" approach traditionally assumed by law enforcement agents and the judiciary in cases occurring within the private sphere, such laws have not been invoked to punish perpetrators of domestic violence. In addition, in many countries, both real and evidentiary obstacles exist in cases of domestic violence. As in many violent crimes, there are often no witnesses of domestic violence, except for the victim. Unlike violent crimes, however, intimacy remains a bond between victim and perpetrator and often there continues to be contact between the victim and perpetrator. Such contact, generally unwelcome by the victim, leaves women vulnerable to threats or pressure to withdraw their complaints. Despite the fact that the myth of a high level of complaint-withdrawal among victims of domestic violence has been proven to be false, the excuse is still commonly used to justify non-prosecution. A. Mandatory arrest Some jurisdictions in Canada, Australia and the United States of America have adopted policies that require police and prosecutors to treat domestic violence cases in the same way as any other criminal matter, as a crime against the State, and to prosecute regardless of the victim's will. Although many advocates support such measures, contending that they appropriately shift responsibility for the violence from the victim to the State, some advocates warn that mandatory arrest and pro-charging policies are contrary to the victim's best interests and threaten to further weakening of her position by taking away control over the proceedings. Additionally, despite an increase in the number of arrests of batterers, mandatory arrest policies have also had the unintended consequence of leading to the arrests of victimsurvivors. B. Protection orders Perhaps the most widely utilized civil remedy for domestic violence is the protection or restraining order, which generally forbids abusers from having any contact with the victim-survivor, may exclude the abuser from the shared home, provide police a mechanism for arrest if further violence occurs and furnish women with protection in the absence of criminal sanctions. These orders, however, are often rendered ineffective if practical policy considerations are lacking. Policy considerations may include the definition of abuse (and whether it encompasses psychological and sexual violence), the definition of the requisite relationship between the victim and perpetrator (which is, in many cases, limited to husband-wife relationships) and the costs or legal expertise involved in acquiring a protection order which may serve to undermine the practicality of protection or restraining orders. C. Tort and delict Tort and delict remedies that provide financial compensation for civil wrongs may also be available to victim-survivors of domestic violence. Victimsurvivors of domestic violence, or families of the deceased, may not only pursue such civil causes of action against the perpetrators but also against law enforcement officials when they fail to provide adequate protection to individual victims. In many jurisdictions, where marital relationships may exempt husbands from being sued by their wives either directly, or effectively through the woman's status as legal minor, a civil cause of action against the husband is an impossibility. Matrimonial relief or divorce provides a remedy for victim-survivors of domestic violence in cases in which a marital relationship exists. According to one researcher, marital law regimes can be broken down into three groups: general law based on a European model; customary law as a product of colonialism, where local leaders worked with colonial leaders to codify "custom"; and laws which are derived from religious texts. In many countries, general common law and other personal laws coexist, governing marriages differentially. Although there is a general lack of uniformity even within each of these three marital law regimes, generalizations have been made regarding the availability of relief in cases of domestic violence. General common law systems allow for divorce when the fault of one of the parties for the breakdown in the marriage can be established; the marriage has irretrievably broken down and there is evidence of this breakdown; or the marriage has irretrievably broken down as demonstrated by the parties' testimony or by their physical separation for a specified period of time. Within customary law marital regimes, divorce is formally possible but strongly discouraged. In some marital law regimes based on religion, divorce is prohibited. While women may be able to divorce their husbands because of cruelty, marital law regimes based on Islam often greatly restrict a woman's ability to obtain a divorce. E. Specific domestic violence legislation According to a report on domestic violence legislation submitted to the Special Rapporteur, it is argued that domestic violence legislation which specifically prohibits violence against women is by far the most effective legal mechanism to address the issue of domestic violence. Remedies under this type of legislation include protection from violence and threats of violence, safety and security for herself, her dependents and property and assistance in continuing her life without further disruption. The report, based on a survey of domestic violence legislation in 21 countries, suggests, inter alia, a framework for model legislation to serve as guidelines for countries hoping to enact legislation on domestic violence, (see addendum 2 to this report). Although this has not always been the case, in recent times laws have been formulated with women victims of violence in mind. Often, laws were drafted and utilized to the detriment of women victims of violence. In one country, for example, women throughout the country are serving lengthy prison sentences for killing their abusers in self-defence. Conversely, men who kill their intimate partners are often excused or their sentences mitigated after the provocation defence or the defence of honour has been raised and accepted by the court. In southern African countries the three most commonly utilized and successful defences for domestic murder are provocation, intoxication and insanity, all of which serve to excuse the crime or to reduce the perpetrator's culpability. Such laws clearly benefit the domestic murderer to the detriment of the victim. In some countries, the crime of domestic violence is taken very seriously. Brazil was one of the first countries in Latin America to include an article on domestic violence in its Constitution. It provides that the family is the basis of society and will have the special protection of the State. The constitution assures assistance to each person in the family and provides that the State will create mechanisms to prohibit violence within familial relationships. Other countries with constitutional provisions on violence against women are Ethiopia and Viet Nam. F. Community support services and domestic violence Domestic violence and its effects extend beyond a mere criminal justice problem, so that the legal system is generally utilized as a last resort, only after other mechanisms have been exhausted or proved ineffective. Domestic violence is a health, legal, economic, educational, developmental and human rights problem. This is reflected in ways in which women attempt to deal with domestic violence. Women often seek assistance first from family, friends, religious confidants, nurses, doctors, social workers, counsellors, or women's organizations. For example, whilst numerous victim-survivors of domestic violence pass through the doors of hospital emergency rooms each day, hospital staff generally accept the victim-survivors accounts of clumsiness, whether it is falling down stairs or walking into doors, as explanations of the marks that cover their body. Without clear policy and reporting guidelines, doctors and hospital staff merely accept these unconvincing stories, treat the wounds and allow the victim-survivor to return to her violent home, without any questions asked, any attempt to offer help or any referrals to appropriate organizations. Although doctors report that they rarely have difficulty identifying victims of domestic violence, they also rarely have the time or resources to address their suspicions. In numerous countries, as in the case of the World Health Organization's classification guidelines, neither womanbattering nor domestic violence is treated as a distinct health problem. Some hospitals have taken steps to remedy the failure of the medical community to address the needs of victim-survivors of domestic violence. Recognizing, for example, that a large number of victims of domestic violence were arriving at the doors of its emergency room, a hospital in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) instituted a comprehensive approach to domestic violence in the form of the "One-Stop Center". At the "One-Stop Center", victims of domestic violence are provided with a room for 24 hours, have access to onsite police personnel and lawyers and are provided with a copy of their police report free of charge. As a matter of fact, the police have a potentially important role to play in combating domestic violence. Although they are particularly well positioned to provide assistance to victim-survivors of domestic violence, they are generally not well trained. Thus, this potentially easily accessible public service has been thwarted by inadequate training, inadequate laws, stereotyping and ambiguity regarding its role in dealing with domestic violence. Studies have shown that, when called in domestic violence cases, police often try to mediate or counsel the couple rather than to treat the incident like a criminal matter. Additionally, prosecutors often refer domestic violence cases to civil rather than to criminal courts. In Malaysia, for example, 91 per cent of domestic violence cases reported to the police between 1990 and 1992 were referred by the police to a civil court. Since legal aid is not available to individuals pressing civil claims, the victimsurvivors of domestic violence must hire their own lawyers and cover all expenses themselves, the costs of which prohibit many women from pursuing justice. Classification of domestic violence as a criminal matter, however, does not guarantee it will be treated any more seriously. Of the 6.2 per cent of the cases that rose to the level of criminal assault in Malaysia between 1990 and 1992, a mere 0.5 per cent of the cases have been brought to court. In another country, although the injuries suffered by women at the hands of their abusers are as serious as injuries resulting in 90 per cent of violent felonies, domestic assaults are almost always classified as misdemeanours. Special women's police stations, generally staffed with multidisciplinary female teams equipped to meet the many needs of victims of violence against women, have proven effective in combating the traditional failings of the police in addressing domestic violence. Since the establishment of the first delegacia da mulher (women's precinct), a specialized unit that works exclusively with victims of domestic violence, in Sao Paulo (Brazil), in 1985, these units have now been set up throughout most of the states in Brazil. Brazil's success has encouraged the neighbouring countries of Colombia and Peru to institute their own versions of the specialized units. The delegacias provide comprehensive support to women including social, legal, psychological, housing, health and day-care services. Similar police stations have also been instituted in Malaysia, Spain and Pakistan. There is no doubt that domestic violence raises serious safety issues for its victims. In order to adequately meet the needs of victim-survivors, funding must be allocated for the support or establishment of shelters for victims of violence. Shelters in many communities have been established out of an identified need to provide victims of domestic violence with a safe space and assistance as they attempt to leave their violent domestic situations. Such shelters are overwhelmingly private, non-profit, nongovernmental organizations that sometimes receive financial support from Governments. In countries where there are little or no social services provided by Governments for victims of domestic violence, the utility of shelters has been called into question by some women's organizations, notably in the Latin American region. For example, the violence prevention programme Lugar de Mujer in Argentina took a political decision not to open a shelter, believing that it is the responsibility of the communities and Governments themselves to take steps to end the violence. While the importance of providing immediate safety to women in need of such protection is not denied, temporary shelters only address the consequence of domestic violence and thus, in isolation, they have only limited effect. Laws that attempt to provide protection for victims without providing necessary support services or the funds for such services are incomplete. Such resources for domestic violence legislation should, however, not only be set aside for the implementation and enforcement of the law itself but also for services that support victim-survivors and those that work towards the eradication of domestic violence through strategies such as education, training and documentation. A. At the national level States have an affirmative duty to protect the human rights of women and they must exercise due diligence to prevent violence against women. Because of the nature of violence against women, its prevalence, persistence and high incidence throughout the world, States must develop expansive strategies in order to fulfil their international obligations effectively. If statistics illustrate that existing laws are ineffective in protecting women from violence, States must find other complementary mechanisms to prevent domestic violence. Thus, if education, dismantling of institutional violence, demystifying domestic violence, training of State personnel, the funding of shelters and other direct services for victim-survivors and the systematic documentation of all incidents of domestic violence are found to be effective tools in preventing domestic violence and protecting women's human rights, all become obligations in which the State must exercise due diligence in carrying out. The due diligence standard is not limited to legislation or criminalization. The following are some strategies that should be incorporated into national initiatives against domestic violence and considerations that States should contemplate when taking steps to address domestic violence: (a) States should ratify all international human rights instruments; (b) States should withdraw their reservations, particularly those regarding the human rights of women, to all human rights instruments, particularly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; (c) States should comply with the reporting requirements of the various human rights instruments, and ensure the inclusion of gender-specific information as it pertains to all such instruments; (d) States should enact legislation on domestic violence along the lines of the guidelines set out in addendum 2 to this report; (e) States should establish special units or procedures in hospitals to help identify women victims of violence and to provide them with counselling; (f) States should define the powers of the police regarding violence against women in written policy and provide training to all police, both veterans and new recruits, in line with such powers, bearing in mind that the police create an important link between the State and victim-survivors, as they are often the first State agency to have contact with the victimsurvivor; (g) Recognizing that women and girl children often do not report the violence that is perpetrated against them because they do not understand that they are victims of, rather than participants in, the violence, States should undertake legal literacy campaigns to inform women of their legal rights and educate them specifically about domestic violence; (h) Accepting that family laws serve to legitimize certain family forms, as well as certain roles within the family, States should ensure that such laws are just and that they provide for the equal protection of women, men and children within the family. Both women and men, for example, must have the same opportunity to initiate divorce. Additionally, States should systematize family and personal laws and laws relating to violence against women; (i) Recognizing that economic deprivation and isolation are often significant aspects of womanbattering, States should ensure women's economic empowerment through equal remuneration for equal work and increased job opportunities for women, as well as equal rights to property, inheritance and family income; (j) Accepting that there are serious safety issues that arise from domestic violence, States should provide a mechanism through which victimsurvivors can invoke State protection to enforce their desire to separate, and rigorously enforce such mechanisms as protection orders. Additionally, provisions should provide for the removal of the abuser from the shared home and allow the victim-survivor to retain her present housing, at least until formal and final separation is achieved; (k) In cases of domestic violence, women should be granted full custody of the children. In cases of womanbattering, the batterer should not be granted visitation rights so that they may be protected from abuse and from being used as leverage. In cases in which visitation rights are granted, visitation should be supervised and arranged in a way so as not to cause the woman any contact with the batterer. Details such as transportation, the site of the visitations, financial support for the visits and the persons authorized to supervise the visits should all be included in the court decree. In cases where domestic violence against a pregnant woman or her unborn foetus has occurred, there should be legal mechanisms to grant custody to the mother prior to the birth of the baby; (l) In order to protect their safety, women should be allowed to leave the State or country regardless of whether they have children. The State must not punish the woman for taking such steps to ensure her own or her children's safety in cases when the State has failed to provide adequate protection. If she is arrested or if custody is granted to her former husband in retaliation for her flight from his home State or country, the State directly places the woman and children at increased risk; (m) Recognizing the nexus between domestic violence and homelessness, priority should be given to victim-survivors of domestic violence in Statesponsored housing; (n) Various State organs, including the police, prosecutors and social workers, should conduct coordinated outreach efforts in various marginalized communities where there are problems of domestic violence; (o) Refugee and asylum laws should be broadened to include gender-based claims of persecution, including domestic violence; (p) It is the State's duty to foster cooperative relationships between State organs and non-governmental organizations. The State must institute initiatives that encourage individuals and organizations working on issues of domestic violence to contribute to the official initiatives of the State. The State must also seek to identify ways in which it can assist non-governmental organizations working on issues of domestic violence; (q) In order to evaluate the efficacy of new laws and policies, uptodate statistical data should be collected and recorded in a public forum. Additionally, policies regarding the classification by the police of crimes of domestic violence which document the relationship between the perpetrator and victim should be instituted; (r) States with a high level of son preference must reform all laws, practices, policies and procedures that sanction the practice. Additionally, States must institute laws that prohibit violence consistent with son preference; (s) Official policies of the State that affect, restrict or influence individuals in the family sphere should be easily accessible to all citizens in written form. Additionally, there must be mechanisms to which individuals can lodge formal complaints and through which the State will investigate such complaints against State actors who violate State policies. (t) States should adopt legislation which makes female genital mutilation a crime and implement education programmes to prevent the practice, which is one of the most pernicious forms of violence committed against women; (u) States should, with due diligence, prevent, prosecute and punish perpetrators of incest in any given society; (v) States should introduce legislation which recognizes marital rape as a crime; (w) States should ratify and comply with the ILO conventions on the rights of migrant workers so as to reduce violence against women migrant workers. Furthermore, States must take an active stance against the abuse of migrant workers' rights, including the right of preview of contract, a minimum wage, payment of cash at regular intervals, maximum hours of work and holidays with pay, and social security/welfare benefits at least equal to those of the nationals of the country. B. At the international level The international community should adopt and ratify an optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women which would allow women the right to seek redress for the violation of their human rights. The international community should consider the possibility of adopting an international convention on the elimination of violence against women. There does not at present exist a comprehensive international legally binding instrument on violence against women, and the position of the Special Rapporteur is only an ad hoc mechanism with no avenue for redress. In accordance with Commission resolutions 1994/45 and 1995/86 on the question of integrating the rights of women into the human rights mechanism of the United Nations and the elimination of violence against women, ways in which the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on the Status of Women can, both individually and jointly, further promote the aims of these resolutions should be identified, including strategies for further incorporating the human rights of women into all mechanisms of the United Nations. Increasingly, non-governmental organizations have been supplying genderspecific information to various country and thematic mechanisms of the Commission on Human Rights. The Commission should examine the reports of these bodies, with a view to assessing the response to and inclusion of this and other gender-specific information into their work. Violence against women is an extremely broad mandate for one special rapporteur. In fact, it is unnecessarily broad due to the existence of other rapporteurs whose mandates overlap with that of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women. If the mandates of other thematic and country rapporteurs of the Commission and its Sub-Commission were more clearly defined to cover expanding definitions of what constitutes certain human rights violations, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women would be able to carry out her work more effectively. Thus, both the Commission and the SubCommission should expand the mandates of those thematic mechanisms that currently lack specificity regarding violence against women. The United Nations must allocate resources to human rights bodies and mechanisms to specifically address violations of the human rights of women. Adequate resources should be channelled to the Centre for Human Rights to ensure that the work of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women is not compromised for administrative reasons. Name of person/organization: Were there any witnesses? Name/age/relationship/contact address:

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|Joshua Heytvelt was prominent for Tofas at the weekend, but could not help his team avoid defeat in the BEKO Ligi| Gameday 3 action in the EuroChallenge Regular Season tips off on Tuesday evening with 12 games and concludes on Wednesday night with the remaining four encounters. Group leaders Pinar Karsiyaka (2-0) hope to extend their winning streak when they visit Cyprus to take on Michelin ETHA Engomi (0-2). The Turkish side are coming off an 87-74 road win over Royal Hali Gaziantep BŞB in the Turkish BEKO Ligi on Saturday. Robert Dixon led all scorers with 22 points and Abdul Aminu had 11 points and nine rebounds for Karsiyaka, who remain in second place in the BEKO Ligi standings. ETHA also won away from home on Saturday, 75-73 at Petrolina AEK and improved to 2-2 in the Cypriot league standings. Half an hour later on Tuesday night, Tofas Bursa (1-1) are playing host to KRKA Novo Mesto. Tofas lost 74-66 at Fenerbahce Ulker on the weekend in the BEKO Ligi. Joshua Heytvelt finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in defeat. KRKA also slumped to defeat on the road, losing 79-61 to Red Star in Belgrade in the Adriatic league, their fifth loss in nine games in the competition. In their most recent EuroChallenge encounter, the Slovenes also tasted defeat, losing away to Karsiyaka 79-56 Krasnye Krylia (2-0) delivered one of their best performances on the weekend, inflicting on Spartak their first loss in the VTB League and, more impressively, did it in St. Petersburg. The Samara outfit won 63-61 in overtime, behind 22 points from Chester Simmons. After the St Petersburg stop, the Russians continue westwards and face Joensuun Kataja (1-1) on Tuesday. The Finns routed Namika Lahti 98-43 in their domestic league on Sunday. In the other game in the group, Keravnos (1-1) are playing host to CSU Asesoft Ploiesti (0-2). The Cypriots are at the top of the domestic league standings with a 4-0 record, after a comfortable 83-58 win over ENAD at the weekend. The Romanian side registered a similar result on Friday, beating Dinamo Bucharest 86-47 at home Group leaders BK Ventspils (2-0) travel to Sweden to take on Södertälje Kings on Tuesday, following a hard-earned weekend victory on the road. The Latvians defeated Siauliai 71-65 in Lithuania and remain at the top of their group in the Baltic League. Arturs Berzins and Donald Sims had 13 points apiece for the winners. The other game of the group also takes in Sweden, but on Wednesday. Norrköping Dolphins (1-1) are hosting Tampereen Pyrintö, who experienced their second defeat in 11 games in the Finnish league on Thursday. Despite losing 85-78 at Forssan Koripojat, the Tampere outfit remain at the top of the Finnish league standings but have yet to get off the mark in the EuroChallenge and face a premature do-or-die duel in Sweden | Sava Lesic had a productive weekend for Khimik, scoring 21 points on six-for-seven shooting from the field| Gaz Metan Medias (2-0) suffered a second consecutive defeat in the Romanian LNB at the weekend, falling 78-74 to fellow EuroChallenge side BCMU Pitesti at home. The Romanians are now facing their toughest test in the EuroChallenge so far, when they play host to Khimik Yuzhne on Tuesday. The Ukrainians are the only other unbeaten side in the group and registered an important win on the road on Friday and remain joint-top in the Superleague standings. Khimik defeated Dnipro 90-68 behind 21 points from Sava Lesic, who was six-from-seven from the field and made seven-of-his-eight free throws. Later on Tuesday, Tartu Rock welcome JDA Dijon to Estonia in a battle that will leave one of the two sides bottom of the group with no wins to their name. Tartu Rock were impressive at the weekend in the Baltic League, defeating Liepaja 87-55 while the French side lost 61-67 at home to Pro A leaders Le Mans. Link to Groups E-through-H here

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Search for the cheapest FLIGHTS for the entire year. Nearest Airport: Locating... Any Popular Places * We will find the best offers for tickets from all local low-cost airlines throughout the entire year. Spend your weekends in this beautiful and indulging island. One of the most popular tourism places in Malaysia. A food paradise. A beautiful island that everyone should spend their holidays in. By far the best flight searching tool I've seen! Finally I know where to find the RM1 AirAsia tickets :) Thanks for giving this to us! You guys rock! - Sebastian, KL Disclaimer: We are in no way associated with any of the airlines in our result. All the rights including the price belong to the specific airline and we are simply here to help you search for the cheapest flight ticket especially during promotion period such as . This is a free service and it will always remain free. You are most welcome to join our Facebook page. Brought to you by INFINITILAB. It is better to get insurance for your travel to oversea country like united states and europe. Insurance help you minimize the cost and you can feel the treatment like a VIP. There are airlines that provides insurance. For any lose during the travel, you can claim it easily. Some airlines donate it out to charity, while some give you chance to make a recovery through your lost. So think wisely. If they don't you can get attorney or lawyer to make the claim.

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- America (EN) - United Kingdom (EN) - India (EN) - Ireland (EN) - Malaysia (EN) - Singapore (EN) - Canada (EN) - Australia (EN) - Nigeria (EN) - Ghana (EN) - Kenya (EN) - South Africa (EN) - España (ES) - Argentina (ES) Torino - AC Milan Preview: Rossoneri seek to maintain resurgent form in Turin After another disappointing home display in Europe, Massimilano Allegri's men turn their attentions back to Serie A and a tricky visit to Stadio Olimpico By Harry Slavin Darmian, Di Cesare, Ogbonna, D'Ambrosio Cerci, Basha, Gazzi, Santana De Sciglio, Mexes, Yepes, Constant Nocerino, De Jong, Emanuelson Robinho, Bojan, El Shaarawy AC Milan will be looking to make it three wins in a row in Serie A for the first time this season when they face Torino on Sunday. Massimiliano Allegri fielded a weakened side at San Siro midweek as they lost 1-0 to Zenit St Petersburg and a host of regulars are expected to return to the starting XI at Stadio Olimpico. One player that is unlikely to feature, however, is midfielder Riccardo Montolivo. The Italy international has been back in training after coming off with an injury against Catania last weekend, and he is not expected to feature for AC Milan. Kevin-Prince Boateng will also miss out as he serves his suspension after his sending off in the 3-1 win against the Sicilian outfit. The game comes to soon for the sidelined trio of Sulley Muntari, Alexandre Pato and Bakaye Traore, but they are all set to return in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the hosts are sweating over the fitness of strikers Riccardo Meggiorini and Alessandro Sgrigna. Giampiero Ventura is also forced to reshuffle his defence after Kamil Glik's sending-off in the Turin derby last weekend, with Valerio Di Cesare expected to start in the Pole's absence. |DID YOU KNOW?| - Defeat to Zenit on Tuesday means AC Milan are still to win a game at home in Europe this season after drawing their opening two fixtures. - The Rossoneri have scored in every one of their 7 away games in Serie A so far this season. - That record, however, is largely down to the impressive talent of Stephan El Shaarawy (pictured, right) who has netted in the last 6 consecutive away league matches. - Torino are on a disappointing run of form in the league, winning only 1 of their last 9 encounters. - Il Granata have a poor record against Sunday's opponents in recent years and have only won once in their last 24 Serie A clashes. |Sign up today with Ladbrokes and get a $20 welcome bonus!| Top 3 Predictions Torino 0-3 Milan - 23.04 % Torino 0-2 Milan - 16.87 % Torino 1-3 Milan - 15.18 % |Italy - Serie A (ITA1)||May 5, 2013||Milan 1 - Torino 0| |Italy - Serie A (ITA1)||Dec 9, 2012||Torino 2 - Milan 4| |Italy - Serie A (ITA1)||Apr 19, 2009||Milan 5 - Torino 1| |Italy - Serie A (ITA1)||Nov 23, 2008||Torino 2 - Milan 2| |May 19, 2013||Torino 2 - Catania 2||ITA1| |May 12, 2013||Chievo 1 - Torino 1||ITA1| |May 8, 2013||Torino 0 - Genoa 0||ITA1| |May 5, 2013||Milan 1 - Torino 0||ITA1| |Apr 28, 2013||Torino 0 - Juventus 2||ITA1| |Returns:||Torino $36.00||Sign up today with Ladbrokes and get a $20 welcome bonus!| |Returns:||Draw $32.50||Sign up today with Ladbrokes and get a $20 welcome bonus!| |Returns:||Milan $21.00||Sign up today with Ladbrokes and get a $20 welcome bonus!| |5||Valerio Di Cesare||Defender| |6||Angelo Obinze Ogbonna||Defender| |4||Migjen Xhevat Basha||Midfielder| |7||Mario Alberto Santana||Midfielder| |14||Alessandro Carlo Gazzi||Midfielder| |2||Mattia De Sciglio||Defender| |76||Mario Alberto Yepes||Defender| |34||Nigel De Jong||Midfielder| |92||Stephan El Shaarawy||Midfielder| Live Final scheduled Suspended Cancelled Postponed

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|Sam Nazarian compares outsourcing to a table that’s missing a leg. To maintain stability, the 37-year-old entrepreneur prefers to fill his hotels with homegrown restaurant and nightlife brands. An all-inclusive business strategy retains control of the guest experience and yields a more profitable investment, Nazarian says, which is especially attractive to developers in tier-one cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. “The fact that we have all these brands and they’re proven and they’re international on their own gives us an interesting position in the market,” says Nazarian, founder and chief executive officer of Los Angeles-based hospitality company SBE Entertainment. SBE acquires, develops, and manages projects through its hotel, restaurant, nightlife, and real estate divisions. Founded in 2002, the company has 40 properties to date, with an additional 31 in development. The past two years have been fruitful for SBE, from the summer 2010 launch of its second hotel brand, The Redbury (see “Scrappy Younger Brother"), in Hollywood, to the June opening of a South Beach location for SLS Hotels, its luxury brand that debuted in fall 2008 with the flagship property in Los Angeles. Other highpoints include the nationwide growth of its Katsuya sushi restaurants with eight locations thus far, the successful SBE-controlled West Coast expansion of New York mainstay Papaya King, the launch of Sayers Club and Greystone Manor nightlife venues in Hollywood, a new partnership with the Miami Heat to open Hyde AmericanAirlines Arena nightclub later this year, and an investment in the L.A.-based Umami Burger chain. What was once a Southern California-centric company is evolving into a nationwide entity. SLS Hotel New York is slated to open in 2013, followed by SLS Hotel & Casino Las Vegas in 2014. In August, Nazarian traveled to China to begin international expansion of his growing empire. A BROADER REACH As China experiences a major boom in domestic tourism and its rapidly emerging middle class has more disposable income to spend, SBE is joining other U.S. hotel chains to push expansion in the country. “We see this as a big piece of our growth over the next five years for SBE Entertainment and SLS Hotels,” Nazarian says, speaking from his hotel room in Shanghai. SBE has secured a yet-to-be disclosed distribution and operation joint-venture partner in China, he says, and the company intends to announce a number of SLS Hotels within the next 12 to 18 months. “We feel we’ll have some very exciting news here in the next six months about the first SLS in mainland China, probably in Shanghai or Beijing,” Nazarian says, “and the announcement of our Hong Kong office imminently, which will give us reach to the international markets, not just in the Pan Pacific area but also India, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia—the whole rim.” The Hong Kong office will handle a big piece of distribution for SBE’s brands, specifically SLS Hotels and SLS Residences. Serviced apartments and condos will give the company an opportunity to grow the brand in another hospitality category that’s both profitable and in demand, Nazarian says. “Right now we’re getting a lot of inquiries on serviced apartments,” he says. “In that net of how we’re seeing growth in the U.S. and in international markets is really the desire for the developer or the owner to see a fully synergistic product.” For the expansion of SLS in the U.S., SBE expects to acquire a high profile asset in Miami, and is targeting New York as one of the most important cities for growth. The company is also considering markets like D.C., Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Austin, and Houston. “I think we’re really focused on the core urban markets,” Nazarian says. “We’re not really looking to go to tier-two cities in the U.S. as of yet, but I think in the next 12 months you’ll see a huge pipeline of SLS Hotels integrated with SBE food and beverage concepts.” Up until now, SBE has been focused on acquiring and redeveloping existing properties, but the company recently announced that it will be taking on a ground-up project for SLS Residences soon. The timing is right, Nazarian says. “We have so many brands that we can sometimes get in the front of the line because developers can deal with one operator for the majority of their needs.” Nazarian says the industry has reached a fork in the road, as lifestyle becomes the next generation of boutique hotels. “The forefathers of our business, whether it be Hilton, Starwood, Hyatt or Marriott, are really pushing their lifestyle brands, in addition to blocking and tackling with their more well-known brands,” he says. The success of a lifestyle property relies partly on its intangible assets, and Nazarian says food and beverage experiences are a key driver in the current landscape. Since its beginnings in 2002, SBE has settled into a position where the brands in its portfolio are mature and relevant in the lifestyle sector, he adds. “That’s really given us the ability to have a seat at the big table with every major developer that we’re talking to, from when they’re [issuing a Request for Proposal] for a new operating company,” he says. “That’s been a really interesting growth model for us in the last 12 months.” Whereas big hotel companies usually require brand standards, SBE has the flexibility to take a more entrepreneurial approach. “From our standpoint, there is a lot of space and noise and crowdedness in the lifestyle sector,” Nazarian says. “I think now it’s just going to be the proof in the pudding in the next two to three years of which lifestyle product actually resonates the most in this new era of lifestyle and boutique hotels and the emergence of all these new brands that are going to come out.” SBE may not have millions of customers in its distribution channel, but Nazarian says his team has found a way to make owners and developers comfortable with what he calls its scalpel-versus-the-hammer approach. “Our scalpel goes into our customer base and we’re filling up our hotels and growing in markets and RevPAR year-over-year better than our comp set in every one of our hotels,” he says. SBE has an exclusive agreement with French designer Philippe Starck for the creation of hotels, restaurants, and lounges in North America. Starck helped introduce the original boutique hotel design concept to the industry while working with hotelier and developer Ian Schrager to redesign the Royalton Hotel in New York City in 1988. Starck fueled the artistic vision behind the 142-room SLS Hotel South Beach, a $45 million renovation of the former Ritz Plaza. Since opening in June, the hotel is above budget in both rate and occupancy, Nazarian says. The renovation marked Starck’s return to Miami, where he designed the Delano Hotel in 1995, and the two hotels are now neighbors. The SLS Hotel South Beach has a single kitchen with three food and beverage outlets owned and operated by SBE. James Beard award-winning chef José Andrés, the property’s creative director of food and beverage, opened the second location of The Bazaar, which blends traditional Spanish cuisine with local Latin flavors. Andrés’ previous experience in the hotel industry includes opening Jaleo and China Poblano restaurants at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. “Jose and I have a great relationship and he’s probably one of the strong reasons why SLS Beverly Hills and Miami are where they are today from a product standpoint. His growth and our growth were parallel,” Nazarian says. Hyde Lounge, which was already established as a nightlife destination in Los Angeles and at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, debuted its first oceanfront location, Hyde Beach, at the hotel. The property also has a Katsuya restaurant in partnership with master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi. With plenty of successful South Beach hotels already in operation, Nazarian relied on elevated service as a differentiator. “I think people really appreciated a new design from Starck and a new comprehensive host of brands within one building that are focused on service.” Since the opening of SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills, SBE has learned a lot from a development perspective. With the first location of any brand, Nazarian says companies cast a wide net to see what it brings in and where gaps exist in the market. SBE perceived an unaddressed market between the boutique and luxury sectors in Beverly Hills, and positioned a property to fill that need. The top-to-bottom renovation of the former Le Méridien cost $230 million, and Nazarian had to restructure the property mortgage amid a massive financing crunch. “I’m sure a lot of people in 2006 that built a hotel for 2008 probably felt some of those same challenges,” Nazarian says. Ultimately, the project has been successful from an investment standpoint with all of the partners, he says, and the hotel is resonating with guests due to a consistent four-star food and beverage program. Since the opening, the surrounding areas have been undergoing major construction and development of super luxury product, Nazarian says, most notably a 100-key apartment building from high-profile developer Rick Caruso, whose projects have included The Grove retail and entertainment complex in Los Angeles. WORKS IN PROGRESS In April, SBE and real estate investment firm Stockbridge Capital Group LLC secured $300 million in new funding for the redevelopment of the Sahara Hotel & Casino into the SLS Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. JP Morgan Securities LLC raised the funds in about a two-week period. SBE and Stockbridge had purchased the hotel and casino in 2007 with plans of turning it around, but shuttered it in May 2011 because it wasn’t economically viable. SBE enlisted Gensler Architects and Las Vegas-based Penta Building Group to assist in the redevelopment of the property, which is slated to open in 2014. Construction is expected to begin in December, Nazarian says. This will be Starck’s first Vegas resort and largest hospitality project to date. Once complete, it will feature a mixed-use resort and casino with more than 1,600 guestrooms and suites and a collection of SBE’s signature restaurant and nightlife brands, reimagined for Vegas. This will include The Bazaar by Andrés, Katsuya by Starck, a reinvention of SBE’s original nightlife concept, Shelter, and new brands currently in development. In total, Nazarian says there will be 12 restaurants, four nightclubs, and two pools. SBE named hospitality and gaming industry veteran Rob Oseland, formerly of Wynn Resorts, as president and chief operating officer. SBE will run all aspects of the property, including its F&B, gaming, and nightlife outlets and front- and back-of-house operations. “The Vegas SLS will really put us in a unique space as a hospitality company. When it opens we will be the only gaming company that has a major Las Vegas Strip presence combined with a brand that has distribution into the key core urban markets of the U.S. and internationally,” Nazarian says. The Las Vegas market has been showing a month-over-month recovery for the last two years, Nazarian says. According to the most recent data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, visitation in June was up 2.1 percent for the month (up 2.4 percent year-to-date) and ADR was up 8.5 percent versus last year (up 4.3 percent year-to-date). Visitor volume in 2011 rose 4.3 percent over 2010. “I think Vegas is in need of a new idea,” Nazarian says. The last major resort and casino to open in Las Vegas was the Cosmopolitan in December 2010, and Nazarian hopes SLS Las Vegas will be the first to open in four and a half years. “There’s been a level of absorption in the market of all the new product that’s come in,” he says, “and then I think everybody else in that market will be reshuffling and reintroducing their brands and hotels.” In July, SBE announced the acquisition of and initial development plans for SLS Hotel New York, in collaboration with Manhattan-based Moin Development. It will be a converted office building situated within Manhattan’s Park Avenue South corridor. When the redesign is completed in mid-2013, the hotel will feature 190 guestrooms and suites, and SBE’s restaurant and nightlife concepts in the lobby and on the rooftop. Following Starck’s dream world design at SLS Hotel South Beach, the SLS Hotel New York will reflect both the core DNA of the SLS brand and its Manhattan locale, and will feature an entirely new guestroom look. New York City has one of the highest hotel occupancy rates in the country. In 2011, occupancy rates were 85 percent, compared to a national average of 60 percent. “New York is the mecca of the hotel business,” Nazarian says. “We’ve been trying to find a hotel asset site in New York for many, many years.” The project continues the company’s skill set of adaptive reuse, taking a pre-worn 14-story building and transforming it into a product that will yield maximum return on investment and deliver positive guest experiences, Nazarian says. “Because we’re operating with all the food and beverage, the nightlife, the spa, the rooftop experience and the rooms under one management contract, we beat out a lot of suitors for this project.” Moving ahead, the hotel platform will lead the overall growth of SBE, which is something Nazarian had hoped for since founding the company. “The hotel growth will definitely be the main driver for our business,” he says. “Really growing these amazing food and beverage concepts that have worked and are proven within them will give us the leg up in some of these scenarios.” Tuesday, May 14, 2013 by digital slr lenses GHpJMQ Hey, thanks for the article post.Much thanks again. Keep writing. Sunday, March 03, 2013 by viagra online FKVufI Appreciate you sharing, great post.Much thanks again. Cool.

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Kuala Lumpur Shopping Kuala Lumpur Shopping – Catering To Different Tastes And Budgets Are you planning to visit or relocate to Kuala Lumpur? If yes, then shopping Kuala Lumpur is one phpect that you are certainly going to cherish. The city is famous for entertaining the tastes and preferences of individuals form all age groups and above all, the shopping places in the city are known to meet the budget limits. The city is called the commercial hub of Malaysia and the main credit for this is shared by the shopping establishments. Explore the discussion below to learn more about shopping at Kuala Lumpur. What to Buy * Brass and silver items are among the most cherished shopping products in the city of Kuala Lumpur. One can find jewelry items, key-chains, pen holders and a variety of other items at various shopping outlets and that too, at reasonable prices. * Malay brocade and other garments, crafted from silk and gold and silver threads are other bestselling products in the Kuala Lumpur markets. * Statues, especially those crafted in wood, are also cherished by the visitors to the city, as these reflect the artistic approach of the people in the country. * Pottery products like jugs and jars are also sold in the markets and loved by the purchasers. * Fashion clothes from the most renowned brands and designers are other products one can find at these marketplaces. * Another set of most popular products consists of variety of perfumes. One can also find purses, bags, shoes and other fashion accessories being sold here. * Electronics goods, ranging from camcorders and digital cameras to televisions and cell phones are other items worth purchasing. Where to Buy * A number of shopping malls have been established one after another in various parts of the city. Kuala Lumpur shopping itself becomes a wonderful experience, once you enter the malls like Suria KLCC, Berjaya Times Square, Bukit Bintang, Pavilion, Sunway Pyramid and many more. * Shopping at Kuala Lumpur is made a privileged practice by a number of markets like Central Market, National Craft Complex, Chow Kit Market and many more. Apart from shopping facilities, there are many other things you must know before relocating to Kuala Lumpur. You can take the route to movenadstay.com and learn the most informative phpects related to the city. Important Shopping Areas * One can visit different corners of the city to experience the night markets that are popularly known as Pasar Malams * Jalan Conlay, Chow Kit Street, Jalan Hang Kasturi and many more areas can be visited to find different markets and shopping outlets. * Chinatown at Petaling Street is one of the most visited places in Kuala Lumpur and it offers the products like jeans, watches, fashion accessories, herbs and medicines. * Bukit Bintang houses a number of shopping plazas and malls and this, remains full of buyers for the whole day. Shopping Kuala Lumpur is an opportunity worth exploring, as you will find yourself in the middle of the most exciting deals. So, whenever you get a chance to visit the city, accompany with yourself the useful information you learnt here.

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IRELAND AIMS TO BECOME A GMO-FREE ZONE GM Content a threat to market: farmer More EU states wary on GMO maize Ban on trials of GM crops to continue RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS PRESENT NEW DATA ON THE IMPACT OF GMOs ON ANIMAL HEALTH Judge prohibits planting of genetically engineered alfalfa Greetings from Brazil! Judge mulls making alfalfa ban permanent Scientist says GE crops don't live up to promise India to divulge information on toxicity of GM foods OVER 6.5 MILLION FARMERS FROM EVERY STATE IN INDIA, 'PRAY' TO INDIA'S SUPREME COURT Greenpeace activist denied access to data on safety tests of GM crops KOREA SAYS NO TO GE RICE IMPORTS ASIA: Facing the Threat of GE Rice Bt cotton allegedly causes cattle deaths in Andhra Pradesh Bee demise - Are GMOs the missing link? Mexico Halts US Rice Over GMO Certification French Scientists Express Doubt About Genetically Modified Corn USDA accused of lax food safety measures Dutch Council of State ordered destruction of BASF GE potato field trial GM starch potato: still no cultivation in 2007 Rice Recalled Over Gene Contamination Bt cotton spells doom for cattle? Freeze Welcomes Judges List of Mistakes in FSA Handling of GM Rice Contamination US group wants to halt herbicide-resistant alfalfa seed EU ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS TWICE RESIST GMOs Suppressed report shows cancer link to GM potatoes France fines Monsanto for fraudulent advertising US judge challenges Monsanto seed approval: NYT USA: Federal Court Orders for the First Time a Halt to New Field Trials of GM Crops Plea to halt cultivation of Bt hybrids GE rice industry facing meltdown as global tide of rejection grows ONE MILLION EU CITIZENS CALL FOR LABELLING OF GM FOODS Africa's Sorghum Saved Farmers discard Bt GM Variety The ongoing Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court India on Genetically Modified Organisms Corn pest expansion consequence of transgenic crops? The Global Status of Genetically Engineered (GE) Crops: 10 years of continuing rejection GE Crops Slow to Gain Global Acceptance THE Bt COTTON TRAGEDY THAT STRUCK DHARMAPURI Giant ragweed added to glyphosate resistant list Monsanto maize approved for human consumption potentially toxic, warns new study Greenpeace demands immediate withdrawal of suspect maize from the market, and review of regulatory system Brussels, Belgium - New research into the health impacts of genetically engineered (GE) food already approved in Europe casts further doubt on the way these products are checked for safety by EU authorities before being approved for sale and consumption. The study, carried out by French scientific research institute CRIIGEN on the results of rat feeding trials using a GE maize made by biotech firm Monsanto, highlights 60 significant differences between the rats that were fed the GE maize and those fed normal maize (all for 90 days). The first group showed differences in their kidney, brain, heart and liver measurements, as well as significant weight differences. These could be warning signs of toxicity, but have not been further investigated. "Greenpeace is deeply concerned that genetically engineered crops and foods are getting the EU green light for sale despite alarming health anomalies occurring in test animals over very short test periods. We will be faced with eating these foods for years," said Marco Contiero policy adviser on GMOs at Greenpeace European Unit. The Monsanto maize, known as NK603 maize, has been engineered to tolerate Monsanto's own herbicide. Approved for import for use in human food and animal feed in 2004, it is currently being tested for cultivation in field trials in Europe. The scientists at CRIIGEN analysed Monsanto's own test results, which had informed the EU food safety authority's decision to approve the maize for sale. CRIIGEN's report suggests that a far more thorough investigation is necessary. Neither Monsanto nor the scientific committees consulted on the feeding trials disputed the differences found in the test animals compared to the control group. However, they dismissed the results as "not of biological significance". The CRIIGEN study questions that conclusion. "It is alarming that a company which produces a genetically-engineered crop not only gets to design and conduct the safety tests of its own product, but also to analyse the results. The lack of any independent scrutiny of test data suggests that Europe's risk assessment procedure is overlooking the threats and not assessing risks at all, just rubberstamping company dossiers," said Marco Contiero. This is the second such case: another Monsanto maize, known as MON863, subject of a peer-reviewed scientific study published in March 2007, also showed signs of toxicity of liver and kidney in rats fed with this maize over a period of three months. Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini of CRIIGEN, the University of Caen and the French state commission on biotechnology (Commission du Genie Biomoleculaire, CGB) said: "The statistical analysis should be repeated by independent experts and the crude data put on a website for the scientific community to be involved. Further testing should always be carried out if the analyses of the data do not result in a clear outcome." Greenpeace is campaigning for the withdrawal from the market of NK603 maize, pending further investigation and a re-evaluation of Monsanto's trials, and for the suspension of all genetically engineered product and crop authorisations until the current EU risk assessment system is reviewed. Further contact information for reporters to get video, photos or report details The CRIIGEN report is available now from Professor Séralini, 40 rue de Monceau, 75008 PARIS, or by e-mail from Katharine Mill, [email protected]. It will be posted on the CRIIGEN website [http://www.criigen.org/] in the coming days. Katharine Mill, Media Officer, Greenpeace European Unit - [email protected] - Telephone: +32 2 274 1903 Marco Contiero, Greenpeace European Unit, Policy Director - GMOs - [email protected] - Telephone: +32 2 274 1906 Ban on trials of GM crops to continue - Nitin Sethi - THE TIMES OF INDIA, 12 May 2007 NEW DELHI: The GM industry has nothing to cheer about. SC [Supreme Court] has not vacated its order on fresh field trials of genetically modified crops. The apex court has only allowed ongoing and earlier approved trials to continue, while not vacating the ban that it had imposed in an interim order of September 22 2006, banning any fresh field trials of GM crops. The court, in its order, said, "The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) shall take sufficient precautions to see that these (ongoing and already approved) trials are not causing any contamination to the cultivation in the neighbouring fields." In order to pin down responsibility in case of any mishap, the court said: "In all trials that are being conducted, the name of the scientist and other details of who will be responsible for all aspects of the trials should be reported to GEAC and there should be regular supervision by them." The court, in fact, tightening the leash on the government, has also ordered that the government release data on any tests of toxicity and allergenicity that may have been conducted on the four species of Bt Cotton already approved by the government. The precedent setting order has elated the green groups as they have been constantly asking for such data to be put out in the public domain. Meanwhile, the lawyer for the petitioners in the case, Prashant Bhushan, has sent a legal notice to the environment ministry for the ?misinterpretation? of the SC order by minister of state for environment and forests, Namo Narain Meena. In a speech, the MoS was quoted as saying, "The stay on Genetic Engineering Approval Committee has been vacated today (May 9) during judicial hearing." RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS PRESENT NEW DATA ON THE IMPACT OF GMOs ON ANIMAL HEALTH - By Eremurus Club "The results of new research of the impact of GMOs on living organisms question the idea of their safety" said Alexander Baranov, president of All-National Association of Genetic Safety at the press-conference that was held on the 16th of April in Moscow. At the event the results of new experiment made in the Vavilov's Agrarian University of Saratov (regional capital on Volga river) by the members of the association were presented to public. The research demonstrated serious pathological defects in experimental mice fed on GM-soy. As Maria Konovalova (engineer-biotechnologist, post-graduate who conducted the experiment under the supervision of doctor of medicine, professor V.Blinov) reported at the press-conference, a herbicide resistant RoundUp Ready Monsanto soy (variety 40-3-2), approved for human consumption in the Russian Federation and in many other countries, induced serious changes in the morphology of viscera (liver, kidney, testis) of mice, in their histological and cell structures. GM-soy also is found to impact the size of litters, and the mortality of the young. Soy is already assumed to provoke an increase in aggressiveness and a loss of maternal instinct. "Mice that were fed by protein from GM soy demonstrated different behaviour. Some of the females in the GM soy group suffocated their young and then ate their brains. And it is also very sad that we identified abnormalities in the young mice whose mothers were fed on GM soy," said Maria Konovalova. At the press-conference Baranov reported that his association has sent an Open Letter to the Chief sanitary doctor of Russia Gennadi Onischenko, whose department is responsible for controlling the safety of GM food. The NGO urged him to temporarily revoke the authorization of approved GM food in Russia and to declare a moratorium on the registration of new varieties until full data related to GMO impacts on human health is available. Russian researchers present new data on negative influence of GMO on human health - http://www.regnum.ru/english/813298.html (translation from several sources) "Results of our research on the effects of GMOs upon living organisms indicate that they are not harmless," President of the National Association for Genetic Safety Alexander Baranov said at a news conference held at the REGNUM press center in Moscow today. "This research must form the basis for serious reflection at official governmental institutions," Baranov said. Members of the association presented the results of research conducted at Vavilov Agriculture University (Saratov). The research registered pathological deviation in experimental animals that ate GMO. As author of the test, Russian biotechnologist Maria Konovalova, who was personally conducting the research, said the Monsanto Roundup Ready GM-soy used during the tests on rats and mice caused serious mutilations of their internal organs (liver, kidneys, testicles) and in histological and cellular construction. Besides, it influences the number of babies in a litter, caused increased death rates among descendants, and results in increased aggressiveness and loss of maternal instinct. "In mice fed on a protein isolated from GM-soy, there has been an increase in the weight of internal organs," she says. In addition, there has been an increase in aggressive behaviour by females towards their young. The really sad thing is that we found deformities and abnormalities in mice whose mothers drank GM-soy." Maria Konovalova submitted a photo of a typical mouse from the GM test group which had been fed on GM soy for 5 months, and another photo of a mouse from the control group fed on normal soy. The difference in bodyweight and general condition was apparent, with the GM-fed mouse apparently in very poor condition. At the press conference, President OAGB Alexander Baranov also said that the association sent an open letter to the chief sanitary doctor of the Russian Federation Gennadi Onishchenko. "The letter asks for the suspension of already approved GMOs in food products and the declaration of an interim moratorium on the registration of new GMOs to fully determine their effects on the human organism," said Baranov. "It was surprising to see that in our country, where a number of GM lines is allowed in the food supply, none of those lines have been fully explored," concluded President OAGB. According to him, the RAMN Nutrition Research Institute recently confirmed that the overwhelming majority of GM-lines have been tested in only one generation of rats. "Only in one case was there a two generation study," said Alexander Baranov. "Methodical medical-biological guidance on assessing GM food products was signed by the same Onishchenko in 2000, and researchers are encouraged to check 5 generations of the test animals. But at the moment, there is a terrible situation: we feed our children food which no one can claim to be one hundred percent safe," says President OAGB Aleksandr Baranov. "We do not want to seek scapegoats. In our letter to Gennadi Onishchenko, we propose concrete measures for a speedy solution to the problem." As REGNUM reported earlier, in October 2005, Russian reseracher Dr. Irina Ermakova made public the results of her experiment that showed that genetically modified soy affects posterity in rats. Judge mulls making alfalfa ban permanent - By Michael Kahn - SCIENCE NEWS - Reuters, April 27 2007 SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge questioned whether he should lift a ban on the sale and planting of Monsanto Co.'s genetically modified alfalfa without a government study of the crop's potential impact. U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer on Friday told lawyers defending the use of Monsanto's alfalfa that it was up to the government - not him -- to determine whether use of the seed posed a potential threat to the environment. He also said that lifting his preliminary injunction before such a study was complete could lead to greater harm to the environment. He challenged defense lawyers to show him case law establishing a precedent for him to do so. Breyer, who has already ruled that the government acted illegally in approving the biotech alfalfa, issued the preliminary injunction in March and set April 27 as a date to consider whether to make it permanent. He did not indicate when he might make a final decision on the ban. "It is not the court's function to do an environmental impact study," Breyer said during the hearing. "That hasn't been done, and I don't know if the court ought to do it. The government ought to do it, and that is what I held.." In March, Breyer issued a preliminary injunction banning the sale and planting of the alfalfa, which has been genetically altered to tolerate treatments of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. Many farmers, environmentalists and consumer activists fear the biotech alfalfa will contaminate organic and conventional varieties, create "superweeds" that don't respond to herbicide and damage export business. Alfalfa is a perennial livestock fodder crop and among the most widely grown crops in the United States. The judge's order in March said the USDA had not done a thorough job in evaluating the potential impact of the crop, and he vacated the USDA's 2005 approval of Monsanto's alfalfa. His decision marked the first time a federal court overturned USDA approval of a biotech seed and halted planting, according to The Center for Food Safety, among the groups seeking the injunction. Lawyers defending use of the crop, however, urged the judge to lift his injunction, saying at the hearing on Friday that the important factor was that any likelihood of injury was low and that farmers relying on the seed would be harmed. "There are some significant environmental and beneficial effects in Roundup Ready Alfalfa," Janice Schneider, a lawyer representing Monsanto, told the judge. Monsanto has presented testimony from scientists who say there is an "extremely low" risk that Roundup Ready Alfalfa would pollinate conventional crops if "appropriate stewardship measures" were taken. Monsanto has also argued that a continued ban on Roundup Ready seed would force farmers "to plant lower-yield alfalfa breeds that pose more complicated and costly weed control problems and require the use of more toxic or environmentally problematic herbicides." The Roundup Ready alfalfa genetic trait was developed by Monsanto and licensed to Forage Genetics International, which produces and markets the seeds. Scientist says GE crops don't live up to promise - By PAUL GORMAN - The Press, 16 April 2007 Crop and Food Research is being accused of tunnel vision on genetic engineering (GE) by one of its former scientists. Biotechnologist Dr Elvira Dommisse, who worked on the early stages of Crop and Food's GE onion experiments before the current field trials began, says GE crops have not lived up to their initial promise and the Crown research institute should invest more in conventional plant breeding. The institute's application to carry out a 10-year Lincoln field trial of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and forage kale genetically engineered to contain a natural pesticide to kill caterpillars was heard by the Environmental Risk Management Authority (Erma) in Christchurch last week. Dommisse worked for the old Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and then Crop and Food from 1985 to 1993. She left because she found the work unrewarding and could not see it solving the problems people said it would. She was critical of the "lack of precaution and lack of thinking" in Crop and Food's application to Erma, and said scientists working in the GE area were under pressure to develop lines that would become commercially viable. Some scientists were not keen on GE work but were afraid to talk out about it for fear of losing funding on which jobs depended. "New Zealand has invested quite heavily in it. As a scientist, once you narrow down into GE your skills are very much in that area. You can't just say, `I don't like this area any more, I'll zip over to plant breeding instead'.....You have to try to push it - 'we have got this GE stuff, what are we going to do with it now? We have to keep getting our salaries for the next 10 years, get funding that will keep this project going'.....If you can get a 10-year bloc of funding, you are home and hosed," Dommisse said. She doubted the field trial would be a useful exercise if it were approved. Most people ate broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower for health benefits and would be unimpressed by GE brassicas. By the time the 10-year trial ended, that would mark 30 years since the experiment began. "They could have been spending that time and money to develop new commercial lines. What they could do instead is put a bit more money into conventional brassica breeding, using hand pollination and selection to look for good traits without tweaking the genes." Scientists were "theoretical people, not growers", she said. "They have done this under very strict conditions in the glasshouse but not in the field. You can't just transfer that to the fields, it's completely different." On the last day of the Erma hearing on Friday, Crop and Food project leader Dr Mary Christey admitted there were no cast-iron guarantees all the GE material could be contained on the site. "I don't think you can give an absolute to anything, but we would have a high level of probability of detecting things," she told the hearing. Christey said she would not engage in any research that would compromise the environment her children inherited. "I'm interested in ensuring the environment is preserved for them. I wouldn't engage in this research if I didn't think it wouldn't be damaging the environment....At the same time, I can see GE plants growing overseas and I can see the benefits that can accrue." BioAg New Zealand founder Phyllis Tichinin said if the trial went ahead it was important for New Zealand's "social cohesion" that it was scientifically robust and advanced the country's international "scientific mana". CIC orders govt to divulge toxicity of GM foods - Manoj Mitta - The Times of India, 14 April 2007 NEW DELHI: If a genetically modified (GM) food causes allergies or contains toxins, can the government refuse to disclose such bio-safety information on the grounds that it involves "commercial confidence" or "trade secrets" and that it will compromise the "competitive position" of the bio-tech company concerned? Central Information Commission (CIC) said no on Thursday and ordered the department of biotechnology to disclose toxicity and allergenicity data on transgenic food crops that are being field-tested across the country. In a far-reaching interface between RTI and environmental protection, the head of CIC, Wajahat Habibullah, directed the government to make public within 10 working days all the relevant data on genetically engineered brinjal, okra, mustard and rice which have been approved for multi-location trials. The order came on an appeal filed by a Greenpeace activist, Divya Raghunandan, against government's refusal to disclose the data saying it was covered by Section 8 (1)(d) of RTI Act which exempts from disclosure "information, including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party". While arguing for the disclosure of the toxicity and allergenicity data, Raghunandan cited a recent rat-feeding study in Europe by three French scientists who, despite the efforts of bio-tech major Monsanto to keep the matter under wraps, established that a genetically modified maize brought out by that company was not a safe food. Raghunandan also drew attention to an alarming admission made by the government in response to her RTI application. Although it has approved their multi-location field trials, the government said that the data on rice, okra and mustard was "under development" and "yet to be evaluated" by it. Such laxity in regulation, she said, could lead to genetic contamination in the areas where field trials were being held even before the toxicity and allergenicity data had been analysed. Given the obvious public interest in the health risk assessment of genetically modified foods, CIC observed that the government should be, under Section 4 of the RTI Act, proactively putting out all the relevant data without waiting for applications for their disclosure. But CIC declined Raghunandan's plea for making public the minutes of the meetings of the Review Committee on Genetic Modification (RCGM), which approved the various proposals of multi-location field trials of genetically modified food crops. Since RCGM's minutes mention details of the proposals made by each of the bio-tech companies, Habibullah chose to leave it to the government to take a call on whether those confidential documents could be made public. Info body gives bio-tech dept a RTI power-punch - ASHOK B SHARMA - Financial Express, April 14 2007 NEW DELHI, APR 13: In a verdict which may have a far-reaching consequence in the future, the Central Information Commission (CIC) on Friday directed the department of bio-technology (DBT) to make public the data generated from the tests carried out on transgenic crops by agro-biotech companies. Chief commissioner Wajahat Habibullah delivered this right to information (RTI) power-punch, in response to an petition filed by Greenpeace India, after the review committee on genetic modification (RCGM) under DBT consistently refused to part with this closely guarded secret for over a year. Striking down the DBT's contention that the data falls under Section 8.1.(d), Habibullah pointed out that the request of the applicant for toxicity and allergenicity tests on genetically modified (GM) rice, mustard, okra and brinjal cannot be refused under the RTI Act. Any further grounds for non-disclosure are invalid even if the data in reference are in the process of development. The information was also directed to be disclosed under section 4. (1). (d) of the RTI Act, which states "provide reasons for its administrative or quasi judicial decisions to affected persons. Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan who pleaded before the CIC on behalf of Greenpeace India said, "The Commission's order is significant as past experience shows that RCGM has not used the right kind of protocols for bio-safety testing". In February, last year, Greenpeace India had requested the RCGM to make public the toxicity and allergenicity data for four GM crops alongwith the minutes of the meeting. "Our victory today is in keeping with the spirit of the RTI, and has only strengthened the RTI as a tool to building a participatory democracy, " Divya Raghunandan of Greenpeace India. GMOs: FARMERS IMPLEAD IN THE GM PIL - PRESS RELEASE OVER 6.5 MILLION FARMERS FROM EVERY STATE IN INDIA, 'PRAY' TO INDIA'S SUPREME COURT TO BE IMPLEADED IN THE GM PIL. IN AN UNPRECEDENTED & HUGE REACTION TO THE UNION OF INDIA'S CONTINUING DRIVE TO FORCE GM CROPS ON AN UNAWARE FARMING COMMUNITY AND AN UNAWARE POPULATION, FARMERS SAY: "NO GM CROPS"; "NO" TO THE ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY OF IRREVESIBLE CONTAMINATION OF THEIR FIELDS AND SEED STOCK IF GM CROPS ARE NOT BANNED. Contamination from GM Crops Including Field Trials Risk Farmlands & India's Bio-diversity in Perpetuity Contamination, even the risk of contamination, from GM crops has been long denied by the GE Industry as a figment of the imagination of those opposing GM crops. However, it is a biological FACT and the physical evidence of genetic contamination being reported from all over the world is now incontrovertible and conclusive. The recent GM rice contamination of US long-grain rice is so serious that the damage to the US rice industry is valued in billions of $s with countries moving to ban US rice imports and American farmers being stopped from planting rice in the current season. The GM contamination of rice in the US is spiralling out of control despite the best attempts of farmers, millers, exporters and the Regulator to contain it and clean-up. Thus, the strategy of GM crop developers in the US and other parts of the world has now changed to demanding that they be allowed to contaminate Non GM crops! Regulation is being 'bent' to allow contamination. And the reasons are: *That testing techniques are not sensitive enough to detect contamination at zero detection levels so some contamination is therefore inevitable and should be accepted as reasonable, even of organic certified crops! Thereafter, contamination of all crops by GM will be so pervasive that we will be faced with a 'fait accompli' everywhere, particularly in India and the developing world, that it will be futile to oppose it. 'NATURAL' SEEDS WILL BE VIRTUALLY EXTINCT. This is quite simply the objective of the Biotech GE industry led by Monsanto. The question that must be asked is; why is the Union of India with its Regulator the GEAC and DBT aiding and abetting such an objective? This is the mystery because, the astonishing fact is, that the Union of India and its Regulator are complicit in allowing the contamination of India's farmlands, food and the environment, as they continue to actively promote and approve GM crops and field trials of every conceivable oilseed, grain and vegetable, not undertaken in any other country in the world. GM crops continue to be largely untested by regulators that rely on the crop developer?s assurance of their safety. Leading International scientists warn of the serious hazards connected with GM crops; that they are unsafe for human and animal health and for the environment. Toxicity and allergenicity tests are conspicuous by their absence in every country, not just India. When the Regulator was requested by GreenPeace for such data under the RTI for brinjal and okra, it was refused on grounds of CBI (Confidential Business Information). Thus, it is now quite clear that the Union of India and its Regulator consider the protection of Monsanto and the rest of the industry as having priority over public health and India's sovereign interests of food security and her bio-safety. Genetically engineered crops because of the certainty of genetic contamination therefore also preclude or negate farmer rights to grow Non-GM crops, and indigenous people's community rights. Without the required prohibitions and remedies in place, farmers are faced with multiple threats arising from the adverse and irreversible impact of GMOs on them. They therefore require the following action to be taken immediately (amongst other measures): i.No GM Crops to be Grown in India. ii.A Full List of Field Trials and their Locations during 2005-7 It is also required that DNA sequences of the genes in field trials are put in the public domain to allow probes to be easily developed to perform independent PCR tests to detect whether these experimental genes have contaminated farmlands and/or made it into food. GE crop developers may not be allowed to hide behind bogus claims of CBI (confidential business information), as the GEAC have repeatedly cited, putting public health and the environment in jeopardy. iii.Deterrent & Precautionary Measures §Any farmer that suspects his fields have been contaminated will have the right to ask for tests to be conducted on his crop and land. Detection levels for GM contamination are being constantly refined and state-of-the-art labs are currently able to detect traceability levels of genetic contamination of less than 0.01%. It is stressed that farmers require zero tolerance for genetic contamination. The Regulator will not be exempt from responsibility if contamination occurs, the rules for which must be addressed. §Testing for genetic contamination, which will be required periodically, or as required by stakeholders for quality assurance regarding the genetic purity of their crop. These are required to be done at the crop developers' expense and will be carried out in a time-bound way within the stipulated period of time, non compliance of which will attract penalties as laid down. §Compensation for genetic contamination will be penal to be worked out according to the well grounded and established legal principle of Tort and will also entail criminal liability individually and collectively. iv.The Institution of an Ombudsman Given the track record of the Government and its Regulator and anti-farmer stance in promoting GM crops, it is clear that we have a thoroughly compromised Government. Therefore, in order to engender a commitment to objectivity, it is required that the many issues outlined above, most critically the environmental defence of India, must be overseen by an independent and autonomous Body, free of bureaucrats in its management, with the active involvement of civil society in the election and execution of its mandate. Such an 'Ombudsman' must carry the critical Constitutional mandate of the 'Protection of India?s Biodiversity'. It therefore becomes necessary that its authority is underpinned by an Act of Parliament by which it will be instituted. Dr. KrishanBir Chaudhary: Petitioner No 1 - Executive Chairman Bharat Krishak Samaj With Co-Petitioners: Arun K Shrivastava (New Delhi) and Mrs. Begari Samamamma (Andhra Pradesh) 9th April 2007 Greenpeace activist denied access to data on safety tests of GM crops - Meena Menon - The Hindu, April 4 2007 Reason: disclosure can harm crop developing company *Appellate authority's decision "questionable" *Procedure was "not transparent" MUMBAI: The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 has not helped Greenpeace activist Divya Raghunandan. Her demand for information about safety tests of genetically modified (GM) crops was rejected on the ground that disclosure could harm the competitive position of the third party - the company which developed the crops. In February 2006, Ms. Raghunandan applied to the Department of Biotechnology for information on a list of field trial locations (villages and districts) for brinjal, okra, mustard and rice. These trials drew widespread protests from farmers and consumers last year. In several places, rice trials were destroyed and exporters were particularly alarmed at transgenic rice being tested in basmati growing areas. Ms. Raghunandan also sought toxicity, allergenicity and other relevant data on transgenic brinjal, rice, mustard and okra and minutes of the meetings of the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM), which is under the Department of Biotechnology, held between February 2005 and 2006. On March 29, 2006, she received a reply with information on field trial locations but she was denied information on the second demand. On her appeal on April 19, 2006, the appellate authority of the department said the information officer was being requested to provide the toxicity and allergenicity data for brinjal not later than June 15, 2006 as the third party had to be informed. As for rice, okra and mustard, she was told that the data was yet to be evaluated and therefore could not be made public. The RCGM minutes might contain information related to trade secrets and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues and if put in the public domain, it would be prejudicial to the interest of the applicants, the appellate authority said. However, information not pertaining to this could be culled out if specific requests were made to the information officer. Ms. Raghunandan, whose final appeal will be heard on April 5, told The Hindu that though information about the toxicity, allergenicity and other relevant biosafety data on brinjal was to be provided before June 15, 2006, this had not happened. She said the RCGM did not require the submission of any information by the applicant under confidential clauses. Therefore, the appellate authority's decision to withhold information till June 15 for disclosing to the third party the intention to make this information public was questionable. Information to her was refused under Section 8.1.d RTI Act, which relates to "information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of the third party." In her second appeal, she submitted that none of this information, sought under RTI Act, could be used for harming the third party's competitive position. Citing the latest studies that refer to the toxicity of GM foods, Ms. Raghunandan said the whole procedure was not transparent. There was no reason to withhold data on toxicity and biosafety tests of transgenic crops as they were all critical and of public interest, specially as genetic engineering was a technology which had not yet been proved safe for human consumption. While GEAC maintains that field trials were conducted with all regulatory norms in place and that biosafety tests were under way, Greenpeace and farmers' organisations are pointing out serious violations. KOREA SAYS NO TO GE RICE IMPORTS 28 March 2007- Seoul - Korea's leading civil and farmer organizations voiced an unequivocal NO! to the import of genetically engineered (GE) rice into the country at the WORA Seminar entitled "How to Secure the Safety of Rice" held in the heart of Seoul city today. This stand is supported by the Korean Ministry of Agriculture. In a message from the Vice-Minister of Agriculture, Park Hae Sang, which was read out on his behalf by the Deputy Director of the Foodgrain Policy Division, Park Hee-Su, the VM said that the Ministry was working to keep GE rice out of the country: "Rice is the principal food for Koreans and is the most important product of Korean agriculture. Korea is the only one out of 140 rice-importing countries to have a policy requiring GMO-certification from the exporting country - in this way, we try to prevent importing GMO rice." This pleased the crowd of about 80 present comprising government officials, journalists and members from local leading NGOs and farmer organizations. The seminar was the major event of WORA Korea, organized by Consumers Korea (CK) in collaboration with The Korean Farmers and Fishermen?s Weekly News (KFFWN) and Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP). Presidents of CK and KFFWN, Kim Jai Ok, and Suh Kyu Yong respectively, opened the event by talking about the importance of ensuring the safety of rice in Korea. "Rice is our life and the risks of GM rice are very real," they said and both called upon the groups present to act collectively to secure a GM rice-free Korea. Dr Ricarda Steinbrecher, director of Econexus (UK) and a consultant genetic scientist for PAN AP who had been invited to address the event, spoke on "Genetically Engineered Food and Crops: Issues and Concerns from a Scientific Perspective". Stressing that genetic engineering was far from being a precise technology, she cited example after example of negative, unexpected and unexplainable side effects of the genetic engineering of various crops. "Since rice is eaten everyday, even low level toxicity, which can be a side effect of GE rice, will be very damaging over the long term. It is best to exercise the precautionary principle with regard to GE rice and GE food." Clare Westwood, Campaign Coordinator of PAN AP, based in Penang, Malaysia, explained why there was an urgent need to organize an Asia-wide campaign to save the rice of Asia with the onset of the threat of GE Rice. "Lee Kyung Hae, the Korean farmer-hero who took his life in 2003 in protest of rice trade liberalizaton, is a symbol of what is happening to rice farmers everywhere. Do we want seeds that mean the extinction of millions of small rice farmers all over the world?" She called upon Korea as a developed Asian nation to ban GE rice and deny GE seed companies an important market. "Korea, Asia needs you! Join hands with the rest of Asia to save Asia's rice heritage." The eleven leaders from the various local NGOs and farmer organizations present each responded affirmatively and added calls of their own. All agreed to fight to keep Korea GE rice-free, set up more GE-free zones, and insist on strict labeling regulations for GE food/products. Consumers Korea reported that it had found GE content in 27 out of 260 food product samples - none of the samples had GE content included in the label. Furthermore, the farmer organizations expressed interest in forming a network with the consumer organizations to fight against GE. "This is a wonderful development," said Kim. "This WORA seminar has been very successful for many reasons, mainly in bringing together leading opinion leaders in Korea - this is very important as collectively, they are a powerful force; in getting everyone to realize that an Asian-wide campaign is needed to tackle the GE threat and having them commit to this campaign; in the strengthening and formation of alliances between the various groups to fight GE; and last but not least, in having the Ministry's assurance that it is against the import GE Rice." As proof of their commitment, all those present at the seminar put pen to paper by signing giant posters of the 1-million "People's Statement on Saving the Rice of Asia". The Week of Rice Action (WORA) 2007 brings together farmers, rural communities, and other sectors of society to celebrate and protect rice culture. To be officially launched on March 13 in Bangladesh, the main WORA events will take place in 13 countries across Asia from March 29 to April 4. Culminating in India and the Philippines, WORA will be an unprecedented mobilization of Asians "Celebrating and Protecting Rice Culture"! A key feature of WORA will be its one-million signature campaign calling on policy-makers to take immediate steps to save the rice of Asia. WORA is organised by Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP) and its partner organisations in thirteen countries in the region. Anyone interested in being a part of WORA 2007 can log on to the WORA page at www.panap.net Contact at PAN AP: Ms Anne Haslam, PAN AP at [email protected] PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (PAN AP), P.O. Box 1170, 10850 Penang, Malaysia. Tel: 604-6570271 or 604-6560381 Fax: 604-6583960 Home Page: www.panap.net Pesticide Action Network (PAN) is a global network working to eliminate the human and environmental harm caused by pesticides and to promote biodiversity based ecological agriculture. PAN Asia and the Pacific is committed to the empowerment of people especially women, agricultural workers, peasant and indigenous farmers. We are dedicated to protect the safety and health of people, and the environment from pesticide use and genetic engineering. We believe in a people-centered, pro-women development through food sovereignty, ecological agriculture and sustainable lifestyles. ASIA: Facing the Threat of GE Rice - Marwaan Macan-Markar - Inter Press Service, March 27 2007 BANGKOK, Mar 27 (IPS) - With an eye to the future of rice farming in Thailand, a local grassroots organisation is bringing together youth in a north-eastern rice-growing province in a celebration of the diverse varieties of this staple grown in the traditional way. The event in Kalasin, from Mar. 28 to Apr. 4, aims to ''expose the young to the local rice-growing culture,'' says Janphen Ruyan, programme manager of the Foundation of Reclaiming Rural Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Action. ''Rice is our life; it is not something we just consume.'' This youth camp aims to make the sons and daughters of the country's farmers ''proud of what their communities have produced in the past'' and ''the need to do more,'' she explained in an interview. ''There is concern because some of the local varieties of rice are disappearing.'' In fact, such an awareness campaign is part of a broader effort, spanning the rice-growing countries of Asia, to showcase the triumphs of farmers and rural communities that toil to ensure an abundant crop annually. Thirteen countries, ranging from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, on one end, to Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines, on the other, are part of the Week of Rice Action (WORA), which runs from Mar. 29 to Apr. 4. ''This is a fight for the grassroots people,'' says Anne Haslam, spokeswoman for the Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN-AP), a regional non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Penang, Malaysia which is spearheading this campaign. ''We want to collect a million signatures during the week to support the work of the local farmers.'' The week of activism is a response to growing fears that traditional farming is under threat from genetically engineered (GE) rice varieties, she told IPS. ''GE rice has been detected in some Asian countries.'' ''Agri-business has paved the way for hybrid rice and now, GE varieties such as 'Golden Rice', 'Bt rice' and 'Liberty Rice', have brought about not only the loss of strong and unique local and traditional rice varieties, but their contamination as well,'' states the petition being circulated for signatures during (WORA). ''GE will only make the problem of world hunger worse.'' The petition also targets the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), based in Los Banos in the Philippines, accusing it of joining ranks with agri-business giants to ensure ''corporate control of seeds and agriculture,'' which, the petition argues, ''rightfully belongs to the farmers of the land.'' IRRI has led the way in producing high yielding hybrid rice in Asia for over four decades. In the last ten years, for instance, it developed over 20 hybrid rice varieties and distributed them to nine Asian countries, from India and Bangladesh in South Asia to Indonesia and Vietnam in South-east Asia. IRRI also pioneered the Green Revolution, during which high yielding varieties of rice were distributed to increase the rice output by 42 percent over a 13-year period, from 1968-81. But grassroots sympathisers are hardly impressed by such feats, as the 'People's Statement on Saving the Rice of Asia' notes. ''Through the so-called Green Revolution, corporate agriculture has poisoned people and rice fields with pesticides and synthetic fertilisers; degraded rice lands; destroyed rice ecosystems, ecological rice practices and rice culture; and severely undermined the safety of cereal as food,'' states the petition. Bangladesh illustrates that view. The introduction of hybrid rice has seen that country's rice varieties drop from an estimated 50,000 rice varieties to about 1,500. Activists blame the Green Revolution for destroying the traditional farming culture that had given birth to such an abundant diversity of grain. Asia is the largest producer of the grain that feeds an estimated three billion people daily. China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand top the list of the world's rice-growing nations. The region harvests over 500 million tonnes of paddy annually, according to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates. Thailand, moreover, is the world's leading rice exporter, shipping over seven million tonnes of the grain annually, in recent years, to overseas markets, adds the U.N. food agency. Vietnam comes second in a list that also includes China, India and Pakistan. But early this year, the global environmental lobby Greenpeace raised the alarm on threats to Asian rice varieties by GE rice varieties produced in the United States but detected in South-east Asian markets. The Philippines government was the target of this warning, given Manila's decision to allow ''the importation and continued sale of genetically-modified rice which, by law, cannot be legally distributed and marketed for human consumption in the country.'' Among the rice brands singled out by the South-east Asia office of Greenpeace was ''Uncle Sam Texas Long Grain,'' which it said was ''tainted with the GMO Bayer LL601.'' This grain 'LL601' is rice that has been ''genetically altered to resist the powerful herbicide glufosinate. It is illegal (not approved for distribution and human consumption) everywhere in the world except in the U.S.'' ''This is a threat to biodiversity in the region. It shows that there is no proper effort to check and monitor contaminated rice from the U.S. ending up here,'' Neth Dano, an associate of the Third World Network, a regional think tank, said in a telephone interview from Manila. ''Governments are still not aware about the dangers posed by GE rice.'' The week-long awareness campaign is needed to drive home the concerns of local farmers and communities that the paddy fields of the region are not open to GE rice, she added. ''If things change, it will be very tragic.'' Bt cotton allegedly causes cattle deaths in AP - Uma Sudhir - NDTV, March 26 2007 (Hyderabad): Genetically modified Bt cotton in the midst of yet another controversy. And this time it could be the beginning of a head on collision between the animal husbandry and agriculture ministry in Andhra Pradesh. The animal husbandry department in Andhra Pradesh is going to ask the agriculture ministry to stop the sale of genetically modified Bt cottonseeds in the new season. This follows reports from several districts that sheep, goat and even cattle grazing on leftover Bt cotton fields have taken ill and even died. "We have given this message that not just goat and sheep, even cattle are also affected with this poison, so better not to graze. We will also write to the commissioner, agriculture to give clear instructions not to sell Bt cotton seeds in the coming season," said Dr Laxmi Rajam, Additional Director, Animal Husbandry, Andhra Pradesh. Shepherds and goatherds from 12 districts protested in Hyderabad on Monday to demand immediate action on the unusual deaths that are now being reported for the third consecutive year. "After grazing on non-Bt fields, there is no problem. Only after grazing on Bt leaves, sheep and goat are dying," said P Jamalaiah, Secretary, AP Shepherds and Goatherds Union. "It is not just us who are saying that. Even the animal husbandry department and veterinary doctors have said that in their primary reports," he added. The department had earlier this year issued an advisory to shepherds and goatherds to avoid Bt cotton fields but that did not reach people like Urimekala Kotaiah in Khammam who lost 10 of his 50 sheep just two weeks ago. "The government is allowing the sale of these seeds, so only if they ban the seeds, this problem can be solved because our sheep necessarily graze in open fields," said U Kotaiah, Shepherd. The agriculture department has initiated an independent study following the reports of animal mortality. However, it may not be easy at all for the government to stop the sale of Bt cottonseeds even if it decides to, as a precautionary measure. Bee demise - Are GMOs the missing link? - Sierra Club press release, March 22 2007 Are honey bees the canary in the coal mine? What are honey bees trying to tell us that we should pay attention to? One out of every three bites of food that we consume is due to the work of honeybees, serving as crucial pollinators. Yet food production may be severely impacted by the recently reported Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Beekeepers are reporting estimates as high as 80% loss of their honey bee colonies. There's a link that's not being investigated. Highly respected scientists believe that exposure to genetically engineered crops and their plant-produced pesticides merit serious consideration as either the cause or a contributory factor to the development and spread of CCD. Laurel Hopwood, Sierra Club's Chair of the Genetic Engineering Committee states, "In searching for the cause of massive honey bee losses nationwide, we must leave no stone unturned to find the answer. Is the release of genetically engineered organisms the smoking gun?" This past decade we are seeing releases into the environment that we have never before seen on this planet. Genetic engineering involves the artificial transfer of genes from one organism into another, bypassing the protective barrier between species. Scientists admit that unintended consequences may occur due to the lack of precision and specificity in the DNA sites on different plant chromosomes where the inserted genes randomly end up. According to the prominent biologist Dr. Barry Commoner, "Genetically engineered crops represent a huge uncontrolled experiment whose outcome is inherently unpredictable. The results could be catastrophic." Regulators don't look, so they don't find. The USDA and EPA have failed to adequately assess the potential for lethal and sublethal impacts of engineered crop pesticides on pollinators like honey bees and wild bees, including the larvae brood and young bees. They have failed to study the effects of the practice of feeding honeybee colonies genetically engineered (GE) corn syrup and parts of recycled hives containing additional GE food residues. Considering that loss of honeybee pollinators can leave a huge void in the kitchens of the American people and an estimated loss of 14 billion dollars to farmers, it would be prudent to use caution. If genetically engineered crops are killing honeybees, a moratorium on their planting should be strongly considered. In a letter sent to the Senate and House Agriculture Committees sent yesterday, Sierra Club urges our elected officials to initiate investigations to determine if exposure to genetically engineered crops or corn syrup is the missing link. To read the letter: http://www.sierraclub.org/biotech/whatsnew/whatsnew_2007-03-21.asp Contact: Sierra Club - Laurel Hopwood - 216-371-9779 - [email protected] Mexico Halts US Rice Over GMO Certification - REUTERS NEWS SERVICE, March 16 2007 Chicago Board of Trade rough rice futures took a nose dive Wednesday, falling nearly the 50-cent trading limit on talk of the trade disruption, traders said. US export sales were already lagging about 20 percent from a year ago as business has been hurt since a biotech gene material LLRICE601 was found in the US rice supply last summer. The US government has said the variety, which was engineered to resist herbicides, is safe for human consumption, but many countries now require certification that US rice contains only trace amounts of GMO. Three exporters of US milled rice had their shipments stopped, said Bob Cummings, the vice president of international policy at USA Rice Federation, a trade group. At least eight rail cars have been stopped at Laredo, Texas, he said. Mexico is requiring certification from an approved laboratory that the grain is free of LLRICE601. "We are working to make sure that Mexico understands this is a safe product," Cummings said. "We have been able to do that in countries like Canada where we are selling rice. We'd like to be able to do the same thing in Mexico." Marco Antonio Meraz, who heads a federal biosecurity and GMO commission, said the Mexican government was testing for the LLRRICE601 strain which contaminated the US commercial supply last year. The Mexican Ministry of Health would publish the test results Friday or Monday, he said. Mexico is the largest buyer of US rice and last year bought 805,500 tonnes of rice valued at US$205 million, USA Rice Federation said. "Mexico would have to be considered the stumbling block for American rice today," said Neauman Coleman, an analyst and rice broker from Brinkley, Arkansas. "Considering the magnitude of Mexico for American rice, any time you back up the flow, that just holds up overall consumption and tends to become a tad negative," Coleman added. (Additional reporting by Christine Stebbins in Chicago) French Scientists Express Doubt About Genetically Modified Corn - DeutscheWelle, 13 March 2007 The environmental protection organization Greenpeace has long said genetically modified maize could be a health hazard. Now, in a new study, a group of French scientists have also expressed their doubts about the corn. Greenpeace has warned about the potential dangers of genetically modified (GM) produce and maize for some time. On Tuesday they presented a study in Berlin to backup their claims. Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini of the University of Caen said that according to studies by his group, CRIIGEN, Monsanto's maize type MON863 caused symptoms of poisoning and liver and kidney damage in rats that were fed the product during experiments. Seralini's results call into question an earlier report by Monsanto that said genetically modified feed was harmless. "There are significant deficits in the statistic evaluation of the Monsanto report," Seralini said. Genetically altered maize could therefore not be deemed safe, Seralini said. Greenpeace genetic engineering expert Christoph Then said the case shows that "German Consumer Affairs Minister Horst Seehofer must stop the sowing of GM seeds and the import of GM food in Germany." Built in pest control MON863 has been cultivated since 2003 in several countries, including the United States and Canada. The GM maize, which can be legally imported into European Union countries since 2006 as a food and feed product, contains a protein to combat plant pests, allowing farmers largely to grow their maize crops without having to use pesticides. Seralini, however, said he found that GM maize produced around one kilogram of poisonous substances per hectare. He said that is more than farmers would use in pesticides. The scientist also pointed out that Monsanto ran tests with animals fed with MON863 for only 90 days. Long-term studies do not exist, he said. As safe as unmodified corn Andreas Thierfelder, spokesperson for Monsanto Agrar Germany, said Greenpeace had already been unsuccessful in several attempts to question studies done on the effects of MON863 in feed. "But the allegations were refuted every time by competent authorities," Thierfelder said. He said the European Food Safety Authority and the German Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety had evaluated Monsanto's experiments with GM feed. Monsanto Germany's spokesman said the authorities had found that "MON863 to be as unquestionable for health and the environment as conventional maize." USDA accused of lax food safety measures - Tuesday, March 13, 2007 The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been accused of failing to protect the nation's food supply, following last week's withdrawal of a long-grain rice seed after possible contamination with genetically modified material. "This latest incident of contamination-the third in the last six months-underscores the USDA's inability to keep unwanted and potentially harmful modified genes out of our food supply," said Karen Perry Stillerman, a food analyst at the non-profit group Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) last week issued 'emergency action notifications' to prevent the planting and distribution of a rice seed from German firm BASF. The variety, Clearfield CL 131, was not developed as a genetically engineered product, but the firm's own testing revealed that the seed may have been contaminated with a genetically modified strain. BASF last week notified the USDA of its findings, which are now due to be verified by further tests conducted by APHIS. The US rice industry - and the USDA's regulatory standing - already suffered a major hit last year, after Bayer Crop Sciences in July notified the agency that it had discovered trace amounts of an unapproved GM rice in samples of commercial rice seed. The incident sparked a flow of reactions against the firm and the US rice export market, with food safety warnings and regulatory restrictions resonating globally. These two incidents together indicate that the agency is lacking in its protection of the US food supply, claimed UCS last week. The organization, which says it combines independent scientific research and citizen action for a safer consumer environment, also said the USDA was taking consumer health risks by approving the first commercial production of a food crop - again rice - engineered with human genes. The new rice is genetically engineered to produce lactiva and lysomin - two proteins found naturally in breast milk, and reported to have significant potential against diarrhea. California-based Ventria Bioscience this month received approval from the agency to cultivate over 3,000 acres of the rice in Kansas. But the news sparked new concerns and fears from the global anti-GM lobby, and UCS added its voice to these. According to the group, pharmaceutical crops such as Ventria's rice pose a threat to the food supply and public health because the proteins they contain are intended to be biologically active in humans and may be harmful if eaten accidentally. "When such compounds are produced in food crops grown outdoors, they are almost certain to contaminate the food supply," said UCS. "Growing pharmaceutical food crops outdoors is not worth the risk it poses to public health and the financial health of farmers and food companies. Because it is virtually impossible to produce pharma food crops outdoors safely, even if very strong regulatory systems were put in place, we are calling for a USDA ban," said Stillerman. According to Stillerman, a 2005 report by the USDA's internal auditor found that the agency's oversight of pharma crops was lax. "In some cases, regulators didn't know where pharma crops were grown or stored. Several recent court decisions also have lambasted the agency's risk assessment and regulatory systems for pharma and other genetically engineered crops." © 2000/2007 Decision News Media SAS Dutch Council of State ordered destruction of BASF GE potato field trial - Linda Coenen, ASEED (Netherlands), 9 March 2007 Last Wednesday, March 7th, The Council of State in The Netherlands judged in a appeal by Greenpeace that the field trials of BASF had been illegally permitted by the Ministry of Housing, Spacial Planning, andnEnvironment (VROM) and destroyed the permits immediately. The court decision was based on the grounds that 1) these potatoes had been insufficiently tested in a controlled environment (like a greenhouse or laboratory) to be release in the open, and 2) the Ministry had not been able to do a proper environmental effect assessment (as required) since BASF had failed to provide information specific enough for this purpose on the location of the trial sites. It concerns three BASF GM potato varieties, two with changed starch content similar to the Amflora-potato and one with hightened late blight resistence. All three are also herbicide-resistent. Court decision (Dutch): http://www.raadvanstate.nl/verdicts/verdict_details.asp?verdict_id=16397 Greenpeace press release (Dutch): http://www.greenpeace.nl/news/rechter-trekt-vergunning-proef GM starch potato: still no cultivation in 2007 - GMO Compass, Germany, 5 March 2007 The Amflora potato, developed by BASF Plant Science with an altered starch composition, apparently may not yet be cultivated this year in the EU. As reported by the magazine Agrar Europe, the European Commission has requested an opinion from the European Medicines Agency, EMEA, as prerequisite to an approval decision. The subject of interest is the marker gene used in the potato, making it resistant against the antibiotic kanamycin. GM plants are only approved in the EU, if the containing resistance gene has no harmful effects on health and environment. According to a current study by the World Health Organisation, WHO, the relevant antibiotic kanamycin may have a greater importance in veterinary medicine than has been assumed to date. However, the European Food Safety Authority has already identified no safety concerns which may have an adverse effect upon approval. The Amflora potato contains only starch with the amylopectin component, and delivers renewable raw material to the starch industry. Its cultivation was planned already for 2007. Three cultivation areas have been registered provisionally in the site register of the Federal Bureau for Consumer Protection, BVL. GMO-Compass: Amflora approval - http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/gmo/db/17.docu.html GMO-Compass: Why Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Transgenic Plants? - http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/safety/human_health/45.docu.html GMO-Compass: Alternatives to Antibiotic Resistance Marker Genes - http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/safety/human_health/129.docu.html Rice Recalled Over Gene Contamination - Rick Weiss, Washington Post Staff Writer - Washington Post, March 6 2007 The Agriculture Department last night took the unusual step of insisting that U.S. farmers refrain from planting a popular variety of long-grain rice because preliminary tests showed that its seed stock may be contaminated with a variety of gene-altered rice not approved for marketing in the United States The announcement marks the third time in six months that U.S. rice has been found to be inexplicably contaminated with engineered traits, and it comes just weeks before the spring planting season Adding to the potential disruption, the variety of rice affected is one that many farmers had planned to switch to this spring to avoid a different contaminated strain. The new problem involves Clearfield CL131 seed, produced by BASF of Germany and marketed by Horizon Ag of Memphis. In an after-hours posting on the USDA Web site, agency officials did not say which unexpected genetic trait had been found in the rice. In August, Cheniere rice was found to be contaminated with an herbicide-resistance gene that had been under study in 2001 but was never approved or brought to market. The discovery continues to disrupt U.S. rice exports, even though the trait won speedy approval in December. Bt cotton spells doom for cattle? Following is a news article from The Hindu, in the Hyderabad edition today, for your information and further investigation. So far, reports on livestock morbidity and mortality came from civil society groups including shepherd unions and the government discounted such reports consistently, other than making admissions here and there (including in the Parliament) under pressure. For the first time, we have reports from the animal husbandry department officials from Adilabad district. If they are reporting 200 deaths so far, the actual mortality would be much higher and morbidity even higher. When will the GEAC and the DBT sit up and do a proper investigation? Is this country incapable of doing a systematic, scientific study on what is the phenomenon here by quickly constituting a team to design a sound framework for the study and then go about implementing it? It is also learnt that the issue of livestock deaths after grazing on bt cotton came up in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly yesterday and the Animal Husbandry department responded that they have no such reports reaching them! How can that be when their own officials are recording the phenomenon in the districts and warning farmers not to graze their animals on Bt Cotton? How can that be when representatives of Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and AP Goatherds' & Shepherds' Union met with senior officials in the animal husbandry department in the month of February 2007, gave them our preliminary assessment report from a couple of villages and demanded immediate action? The phone numbers of the Director, Animal Husbandry department are 040-23316855 and 23316848. The scientist who investigated the phenomenon last year too, after the Director-AH ordered an investigation is one Dr Sudarshan Rao, Animal scientist, Veterinary Biological Research Institute [ VBRI], a public sector agency: +91-94-408-10709. It is the same institute which is supposed to have received the samples from the dept veterinarians from Adilabad this year for further investigations. Bt cotton spells doom for cattle? - S. Harpal Singh NOTHING TO CHEER ABOUT: Cattle grazing on the residual Bt cotton crop in Gudihatnoor mandal. ADILABAD: Grazing on residual Bt cotton crop seems to have resulted in the death of over 200 animals in various mandals of the district in the last two months. The Animal Husbandry Department has sounded an alarm as the number of sick animals with somewhat classic poisoning symptoms has kept increasing. It is a practice among the farming community, especially in the cotton-intensive areas, to use residual crops as fodder. As the area under Bt cotton had increased substantially this year, large tracts under the crop were available for use as fodder after harvesting ended in December-January. Acute in many mandals "In all the cases where animals were treated for suspected Bt cotton poisoning, the animals showed symptoms like convulsions, nasal discharge, vomiting, respiratory problems and diarrhoea," K. Shravan Kumar, veterinary assistant surgeon, said. The problem is acute in mandals like Tamsi, Bazarhatnoor, Sirpur(U), Gudihatnoor, Talamadugu and Bela. A. Vinod, veterinary assistant surgeon at Tamsi, said the problem came to their notice in January. "We are opting for symptomatic treatment so long as the `culprit' toxic substance is not identified. Timely treatment can save a few animals in our mandal," he said. "Another bullock died in Talamadugu recently. We have sent the extracted feed material after a post-mortem on the animal and leaves, stem and other material from the suspected plants for analysis at the Veterinary Biological Research Institute in Hyderabad," Y. Sanjiv Reddy, veterinary assistant surgeon at Talamadugu, said. Having noticed similar deaths of sheep from other districts, the Animal Husbandry Directorate issued a circular this month to veterinary hospitals asking them to send relevant material for analysis. "However, it needs more than an analysis to curb the occurrence of animal deaths due to suspected poisoning," a veterinarian observed. Kavitha Kuruganti, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, 12-13-445, Street # 1, Tarnaka, Secunderabad 500 017 - Phone: +91-9393001550 Freeze Welcomes Judges List of Mistakes in FSA Handling of GM Rice Contamination - 23rd February 2007 GM Freeze has welcomed acknowledgement of a High Court judge that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) had made mistakes in the way they handled the contamination of US long grain rice imports with an unapproved GM traits last summer. The campaigning group is calling upon the FSA to break their close relationship with industry and for Parliament to take far greater interest in the operations of the Agency. In a Judicial Review brought against the FSA by Friends of the Earth, Justice Calvert-Smith ruled that the food safety watch dog had not acted illegally in failing to require local authorities and companies to take action to verify that all contaminated rice which was already in the retail and catering supply chains had been traced and removed from sale (22nd February). However, in his ruling the judge identified three mistakes in the way the FSA had dealt with the contamination incident. These were their: • failure to issue any Food Alerts to local authorities. • failure to notify the public of which batches of rice were contaminated. • failure to provide legal guidance to local authorities at the start of the incident The FSA have agreed to hold an internal review on how it handled the GM rice contamination incident. The contamination of US long grain rice with GM rice, known as LL601, was discovered in January 2006 but the EU authorities were not informed until mid August. The GM rice had been grown in test sites in the USA between 1998 and 2001 but had not received any approval for commercial growing anywhere in the world. It was illegal to sell the rice in the EU. The dossier of safety data required for a commercial approval was not complete and therefore the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) were unable to complete a full safety assessment and to say, with certainty, whether the GM rice was safe to eat. Initially, the FSA announced there were no public safety issues associated with the LL601 but later revised their advice following the EFSA’s opinion which acknowledged the lack of data. Minutes of private meetings between the food industry and FSA showed that the FSA were advising companies that it did not “expect contaminated products already in the food supply chain to be removed from sale” and “does not expect companies to trace products and remove them from sale’ . Over five weeks (21st and 25th September) after the GM contamination was first announced, GM Freeze supporters were able to buy batches of contaminated rice from Morrisons’ store in Taunton. GM Freeze reported these purchases to Somerset Trading Standards but no legal action was taken. In January 2006 GM Freeze published a report of a survey on how well the GMO traceability and labelling regulations were being enforced and warned the FSA that the UK was open to future GM contamination incidents . Commenting on the outcome of yesterday’s case Pete Riley Campaign Director of GM Freeze said: “The FSA were well aware of the risk of further GM contamination and that the UK was ill equipped to deal with such incidents so the judge’s criticisms of their handling the GM rice case are fully justified. The next contamination incident could involve crops genetically modified to produce drugs or vaccines. The FSA’s review of their handling of this case must include a substantial input from outside and the outcome and evidence must be published in full. In our view, Parliament needs to take a more active role in overseeing the performance of the FSA to ensure that they become a true consumer watchdog and that they break their cosy relationship with industry”. Calls to Pete Riley 07903 341065/01226 790713 1. FSA press release 1st September 2006. 2. Food and Drink Federation minutes of a meeting with the FSA. 3. See http://www.gmfreeze.org/admin/uploads/report_doc.pdf Carrie Stebbings, Co-ordinator, GM FREEZE CAMPAIGN, 94 White Lion Street, London, N1 9PF - Tel: 020 7837 0642 - Fax: 020 7837 1141 [email protected] - www.gmfreeze.org US group wants to halt herbicide-resistant alfalfa seed - By Jim Gransbery - Wednesday, February 21, 2007 A coalition of farmers, environmentalists and food safety organizations plans to ask a federal judge in California to halt the sale of Roundup Ready alfalfa seed, the group's lawyer said Tuesday. The request follows a decision released two weeks ago in which U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer in San Francisco ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture failed to follow environmental law before approving the genetically modified forage. Breyer asked parties to the suit for proposals for remedies after he found that the USDA should have completed an environmental impact statement before giving its go-ahead for the crop in 2005. The proposed remedies are due Monday. "The USDA approval is vacated" by the judge's decision, said Joseph Mendelson, an attorney for the Center for Food Safety in Washington, D.C. "So any new sales of seed and hay should be halted," he said. As for what to do with stands of the perennial already in the ground, Mendelson said, "It is hard to speculate. It is difficult to halt a harvest." In Montana and Wyoming, a decision to stop sales could directly affect seed producers and seed businesses. The Center for Food Safety represented itself and the co-plaintiffs in the suit, including the Western Organization of Resource Councils, which has headquarters in Billings. WORC is a coalition that includes the Northern Plains Resource Council and similar organizations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon and Colorado. Mendelson was asked if Roundup Ready alfalfa posed any threat to animal or human health or whether the suit focused on environmental and economic consequences. "Both," he said. "At this point on alfalfa we are unable to know (health threats) because USDA has not done an EIS." Millions of acres of Roundup Ready soybeans, corn and canola are planted each year in the United States and are consumed by animals and humans. Genetic modification, as compared with hybridization or cross-breeding, involves inserting genes from one kind of an organism into the genes of an unrelated organism. Roundup Ready seeds contain genetic material that makes the plants resistant to the herbicide Roundup, thus reducing the costs of tilling and weed control. Monsanto Co., which produces Roundup and Roundup Ready seeds, discontinued its research plots of spring wheat varieties in Montana in 2004. The company said at the time that there were better business opportunities for its genetically modified strains of corn, cotton and oilseeds. Monsanto and Forage Genetics of Nampa, Idaho, a partner in the development of the alfalfa strain, were not party to the case in California but are affected by the results of Breyer's decision. "We are working with seed producers and farmers," said Andrew Burchett, public affairs manager for Monsanto in St. Louis, Mo. "And we will work with USDA in seeing the regulatory requirements are satisfied. There is an extensive dossier already" on Roundup Ready alfalfa. Approved in Canada, Japan He noted that Canada and Japan have ruled Roundup Ready alfalfa safe. Jose Arias, of Forage Genetics, said he had no comment when informed that the Center for Food Safety intended to seek a halt of the sale of the seed. Burchett said the issue is procedural." The coexistence of Roundup Ready plants and organic is well-known. Roundup Ready soybeans, corn and canola all co-exist." Blaine Schmaltz, of Rugby, N.D., rejects that argument. An independent seed grower and organic farmer, Schmaltz discontinued his sprouting seed sales because the "expense of testing lies on me." He said he has to prove that his seed is not contaminated by pollen from Roundup Ready plants. "Alfalfa is a perennial and is open-pollinated," he said. "And there is the liability issue. There is no insurance for it." Schmaltz was a co-plaintiff in the suit as an affected party. He provided written testimony in the case. He said the possibility of contamination from Roundup Ready alfalfa is "devastating the organic market, which is growing." He expressed concern that Roundup Ready plants are leading to "super-resistant" weeds because the herbicide is now used on so many crops. The suit also affects Laurel seed producer John Wold, who raises seed for Forage Genetics. He said Monday that he has raised Roundup Ready alfalfa seed for two years. "It is very safe, in my opinion," he said. He questioned how the court could halt sales. "It would be pretty hard to do that," he said. "A tremendous amount is sold already." Wold conceded that the issue is "a touchy subject." Seed purveyor and user Dan Downs said Roundup Ready "is just another tool in the box." "The question is, does it work for that field for the money?" Downs said. The seed carries a premium that goes to Monsanto as a royalty because it has a patent on the process. Downs owns and operates Montana Seed and Grain and Chemicals in Billings. "This is not a big issue for me," he said of the suit. "But for others it is big." Downs said he has sold less than three tons of seed in the past two years. "Roundup Ready can make a real difference in getting an early start," he said. "I planned on planting it this spring. I go seed when the ground is ready, and I get a 15 to 20-day head start." When the weeds emerge, Downs can use Roundup herbicide to kill them without injuring the alfalfa. 3rd most valuable crop Alfalfa is grown on more than 21 million acres in the United States and is valued at $8 billion a year, making it the country's third most valuable and fourth most widely grown crop. It is the primary forage for dairy and beef cattle. Alfalfa seed production was worth $4.8 million in 2006 for Montana farmers, almost double its value in 2005. The 2006 increase was attributable to increased acres. In 2006, 10,700 acres were harvested, compared with 6,100 acres in 2005. The average price per hundredweight was $113 in both years. Copyright © The Billings Gazette EU ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS TWICE RESIST GMOs Friends of the Earth Europe - Press Statement - Tuesday 20th February 2007 Brussels - Today, Environment Ministers from EU Member States voted to allow Hungary to uphold its national ban of Monsanto’s genetically modified maize . Helen Holder, GMO campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe said, “EU countries have defended Hungary’s right to protect its environment and its citizens’ health by banning a genetically modified crop. Bans such as Hungary’s are allowed under EU law and according to the World Trade Organisation rules and EU countries were quite right to refuse to be bullied by the European Commission into annulling the ban.” Environment Ministers also failed to give the green light for the marketing of a genetically modified flower. Since the Ministers failed to reach a clear agreement amongst themselves, the final decision, under EU rules, will now revert back to the European Commission. For more information, please contact: Helen Holder, GM Campainger at Friends of the Earth Europe : Tel : +32 2 542 0182 , Mobile +32 474 857 638 , Email : [email protected] Rosemary Hall, Communications Officer at Friends of the Earth Europe: Tel:+32 25 42 61 05 , Mobile: +32 485 930515 , Email: [email protected] Genetically modified maize, MON810, produced by Monsanto. Prohibited by Hungary under the Safeguard Clause of Directive 2001/18 Suppressed report shows cancer link to GM potatoes - By Colin Brown, Deputy Political Editor - The Independent, 17 February 2007 Campaigners against genetically modified crops in Britain last are calling for trials of GM potatoes this spring to be halted after releasing more evidence of links with cancers in laboratory rats. UK Greenpeace activists said the findings, obtained from Russian trials after an eight-year court battle with the biotech industry, vindicated research by Dr Arpad Pusztai, whose work was criticised by the Royal Society and the Netherlands State Institute for Quality Control. The disclosure last night of the Russian study on the GM Watch website led to calls for David Miliband, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to withdraw permission for new trials on GM potatoes to go ahead at secret sites in the UK this spring. Alan Simpson, a Labour MP and green campaigner, said: "These trials should be stopped. The research backs up the work of Arpad Pusztai and it shows that he was the victim of a smear campaign by the biotech industry. There has been a cover-up over these findings and the Government should not be a party to that." Mr Simpson said the findings, which showed that lab rats developed tumours, were released by anti-GM campaigners in Wales. Dr Pusztai and a colleague used potatoes that had been genetically modified to produce a protein, lectin. They found cell damage in the rats' stomachs, and in parts of their intestines. The research is likely to spark a fresh row about GM crops in Britain. Graham Thompson, a Greenpeace campaigner, said: "It is important because it backs up the research by Pusztai, which was smeared at the time by the industry." Brian John of GM Free Cymru, who released the findings, said the research was conducted in 1998 by the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and has been suppressed for eight years. It showed that the potatoes did considerable damage to the rats' organs. Those in the "control groups" that were fed non-GM potatoes suffered ill-effects, but those fed GM potatoes suffered more serious organ and tissue damage. The potatoes contained an antibiotic resistance marker gene. The institute that carried out the studies refused to release all the information. However, Greenpeace and other consumer groups mounted a protracted legal battle campaign to obtain the report. In May 2004 the Nikulinski District Court in Russia ruled that information relating to the safety of GM food should be open to the public. The institute, however, refused to release the report. Greenpeace and Russian activist groups again took the institute to court, and won a ruling that the report must be released. Irina Ermakova, a consultant for Greenpeace, said she had conducted her own animal feeding experiments with GM materials. "The GM potatoes were the most dangerous of the feeds used in the trials ... and on the basis of this evidence they cannot be used in the nourishment of people." Greenpeace said the Russian trials were also badly flawed. Half of the rats in the trial died, and results were taken from those that survived, in breach of normal scientific practice. France fines Monsanto for fraudulent advertising - Pesticide Action Network Updates Service (PANUPS) Agence Presse news service reported that a French court levied US $19,000 fines on both Monsanto and Scotts France for misleading the public about Roundup, Monsanto's flagship herbicide. One of the groups to which damages also must be paid stated that the court decision, "puts an end to Monsanto's lies." A former chairman of Monsanto Agriculture France had claimed that Roundup is biodegradable and "left the soil clean." Roundup's active ingredient is glyphosate. According to a June 2005 report in Environmental Health Perspectives, Roundup was found to be "...toxic to human placental...cells within 18 hours [of exposure], with concentratons lower than those found in agricultural use," and, "Roundup is always more toxic than its active ingredient." The researchers also found glyphosate and Roundup effects on sexual hormones at very low levels. This suggests that "dilution with other ingredients in Roundup may, in fact, facilitate glyphosate's hormonal impacts." Read more about Roundup. US judge challenges Monsanto seed approval: NYT - Reuters, February 14 2006 NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Agriculture Department violated the law by failing to adequately assess possible environmental impacts before approving genetically-engineered alfalfa from Monsanto, the New York Times said on Wednesday. The ruling, given on Tuesday by Judge Charles Breyer of the District Court in San Francisco, said the agency had been "cavalier" in deciding that a full environmental impact statement was not needed because the potential environmental and economic effects of the crop were not significant, the paper said. The judge asked the plaintiffs, some alfalfa seed companies and environmental and farm advocacy groups, and the defendant, the Agriculture Dept., to meet and propose remedies to him by February 26, the paper said. Monsanto was not named in the suit, the paper said. No one at the company could immediately be reached for comment. USA: Federal Court Orders for the First Time a Halt to New Field Trials of GM Crops Far-Reaching Decision Requires More Rigorous Environmental Review For Future Trials Past Trials on Genetically Engineered Creeping Bentgrass Ruled Illegal Center for Food Safety press release, 6 February 2007. - Contact: Joseph Mendelson (202) 547-9359 Washington, DC - In a decision broadly affecting field trials of genetically engineered crops a federal district judge ruled yesterday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must halt approval of all new field trials until more rigorous environmental reviews are conducted. Citing potential threats to the environment, Judge Harold Kennedy found in favor of the Center for Food Safety that USDA's past approvals of field trials of herbicide tolerant, genetically engineered bentgrass were illegal. "This is a significant victory. The decision requires far more thorough oversight of the environmental impact of these crops, " stated Joseph Mendelson, legal director of the Center for Food Safety. "The Court was clearly concerned that the agency has put our nation's environment at risk by exempting many of these field trials from environmental review. That's why the judge made the decision broadly apply to all future field trials of genetically engineered crops." Mendelson continued. The federal lawsuit was filed by the Center for Food Safety, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center and other individuals and organizations in 2003. At issue in the lawsuit are novel varieties of creeping bentgrass and Kentucky bluegrass manufactured by Scotts and Monsanto that have been genetically engineered to resist Roundup, Monsanto's popular herbicide. Currently, use of the Roundup weedkiller is limited to spot spraying of weeds in that the herbicide kills any grass with which it comes in contact. The new engineered grass has been altered to be resistant to the weedkiller so that users will be able to spray entire lawns, fields and golf courses with large amounts of the chemical without fear of hurting the grass. Large scale planting of the biotech grass would therefore significantly increase the amounts of herbicide used in home lawns, sports fields, schools and golf courses around the country. In seminal studies concerning environmental contamination from genetically engineered creeping bentgrass, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found multiple instances of the pollen from engineered bentgrass traveling several miles and transferring its traits to native grasses. Last year, EPA researchers found that the engineered grasses had escaped from field trials to contaminate a national grassland. "These field trials threaten our public land, our communities and our health," said Lesley Adams, Outreach Coordinator for plaintiff Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. "We will monitor the USDA very closely to make sure they don't allow any more of these tests until they've rigorously assessed their environmental impact," Adams concluded. View the court's decision: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/pubs/GTBC_Doc_94_Opinion%202-5-07.pdf Plea to halt cultivation of Bt hybrids - The Hindu, 4 February 2007 - http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/04/stories/2007020417070300.htm Hyderabad: The Deccan Development Society (DDS) has asked the Government to declare a moratorium on the cultivation of Bt hybrids until a comprehensive study is undertaken on the possible impact of Bt hybrids on environment, livestock and human health. In a statement, M. Abdul Qayuum and S. Kiran, DDS scientists, said the deleterious affects of Bt cotton on livestock have resurfaced in Warangal district. In Gammadavelli village, symptoms appeared more on the goats compared to sheep. Bloating of stomach, mucous flow from nostrils, reddish urination were some of the symptoms. Besides, some shepherds also had bloating of stomach and skin allergies in the neck region, the release said. GE rice industry facing meltdown as global tide of rejection grows - Bayer, global pusher of GE rice must admit defeat, says Greenpeace Greenpeace press release, 6 February 2007. Amsterdam 6 February 2007 - - The global rejection of genetically engineered rice is revealed today as 41 of the world’s biggest exporters, processors and retailers issued written commitments to stay GE free. The worldwide tide of opposition is reflected in the new Greenpeace report, "Rice Industry in Crisis". The report carries extracts of company statements covering Asia, Europe, Australia, and North and South America (1) and includes a commitment from the world's largest rice processor, Ebro Puleva, to stop buying US rice. This follows a major contamination incident in 2006, when the world's rice supply was contaminated with an experimental and illegal variety of GE rice produced by biotech company Bayer. "Bayer is aggressively pursuing commercial approvals for its GE rice globally, including in Europe and Brazil, yet refuses to accept responsibility for the major financial damage its unauthorised GE rice has caused in the US and elsewhere. Indeed, Bayer is blaming hardworking farmers or 'acts of God' for these problems when all signs point to Bayer being at fault," (4) said Adam Levitt, a partner in the Chicago office of the law firm of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz - one of the law firm's leading the prosecution of these cases against Bayer. "This global contamination and global market rejection of GE rice clearly shows the need for Bayer to withdraw from any further GE rice development," said Jeremy Tager, Greenpeace International rice campaigner. "Bayer proves that GE rice is too risky. Through field trials alone Bayer caused massive financial damage to the global rice industry. The commercial growing of GE rice must never become a reality; the impact on the world's most important food crop world be disastrous." The report also examines the significant economic implications of the Bayer contamination, including when rice futures prices plummeted $150 million -- the sharpest one-day decline in years. Experts have predicted that US rice exports may decline by as much as 16% in 2006/2007. (2) Several multi-million dollar class action lawsuits have been filed by US farmers who refuse to bear the financial burden of Bayer's irresponsible and negligent conduct. The farmers claim that Bayer is responsible for the contamination of rice supplies and the economic losses the U.S. rice farmers have suffered as a result and must compensate farmers for the monetary and other losses that they have sustained as a result of Bayer's improper conduct. (3) In addition to the class action lawsuits, several individual lawsuits have also been filed and there are also anecdotal reports that European traders contemplating legal action. As a result of the contamination of the rice supply with Bayer's GE rice farmers, millers, traders and retailers around the globe are facing massive financial costs, including testing and recall costs, cancelled orders, import bans, brand damage and consumer distrust - distrust that could last for years. "Governments from around the world must respond to the economic, market and environmental damage caused by the 2006 GE rice contamination and reject outright any GE rice food and cultivation applications currently on the table," said Tager. "GE rice should not be developed as genetic engineering is an unnecessary, unwanted and outdated technology that threatens the world's most important staple food." Greenpeace campaigns for GE-free crop and food production grounded on the principles of sustainability, protection of biodiversity and providing all people access to safe and nutritious food. Genetic engineering is an unnecessary and unwanted technology that contaminates the environment, threatens biodiversity and poses unacceptable risks to health. For more information and interviews Jeremy Tager, Greenpeace International GE campaigner, +31 6 4622 1185 Adam Levitt, partner, Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLC, +1 312-984-0000, U.S. lawyer representing rice farmers in U.S.-based class action litigation against Bayer Mhairi Dunlop, Greenpeace International Communications: (M) +44 (0)7801 212 960 Notes to editors (1) Company statements received from the following countries: Japan, Switzerland, France, Hong Kong, Germany, Australia, Pakistan, Thailand, India, Brazil, Spain, Canada and the UK. For statements see pages 7 - 12 of the Rice markets report: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/rice-industry-in-crisis. (2) Elias P. 2006. California growers fear biotech rice threat. Washington Post. 15 October, 2006: (3) Weiss, R. 2006. Firm Blames Farmers, Act of GodÇ for Rice Contamination. Washington Post. 22 November, 2006: www.washingtonpost.com/ActofGod Leonard, C. 2006. 13 Lawsuits Over Accidental Spread of Genetically Altered Rice Could Be Combined Into 1. Associated Press. 30, November, 2006: (4) Countries in which Bayer CropScience has applied for authorization for cultivation or food/feed consumption. All approvals are for LL62 unless otherwise noted. 1. Australia - food and feed. Applied 2006 2. Brazil - cultivation, food and feed, seed import, additional field trials. Applied 2006 3. Canada - approval granted for food and feed 2006 4. European Union (25 states) - food and feed. Applied 2004 5. New Zealand - food and feed. Applied 2006 6. Philippines - food and feed. Applied 2006 7. South Africa - food and feed. Applied 2006 8. United States - approvals granted for cultivation, food and feed. Approvals - LL601, 62, 06 (2006, 2002) ONE MILLION EU CITIZENS CALL FOR LABELLING OF GM FOODS - EU Observer, 5 February 2007. By Helena Spongenberg. BRUSSELS - A Greenpeace petition - signed by 1 million EU citizens ‚ is calling on the European Commission to legislate that food products such as eggs, meat and milk where the animal has been fed with genetically modified crops should be labelled as such. The petition was handed over to EU health commissioner Markos Kyprianou on Monday (5 February) after the 1,000,000 signatures had been displayed outside the EU executive building in Brussels. "This petition reflects the broad concern of the public for food safety, for the quality of food and in particular for the use of GMOs in the food chain," said Marco Contiero from Greenpeace at a press conference together with the commissioner. Under EU law, foods like cooking oil, ketchup and cake mix have to be labelled if the ingredients include 0.9 percent GMOs or more, and animal feed packets must be similarly labelled. But food products derived from animals fed with GMOs do not need to be labelled. "Currently there is a loophole in the legislation and we hope that the commission will actually act in order to cover this loophole, because millions of tonnes of genetically modified crops are entering the European market every year, used in animal feed," Mr Contiero said, adding that consumers in the EU are not informed about this. Greenpeace said that up to 30 percent of the regular diet of farm animals contains GMOs, adding that over 90 percent of GM crops imported into the 27-nation bloc are soy and maize destined for animal feed. The group argues that studies have shown that animals react badly to genetically modified crops. Industry argues, however, that European concerns are unfairly restricting their access to the lucrative EU market, and that decisions on the approval of new products are based on political motives rather than scientific proof. "A petition supported by 1 million signatures of course shows a strong interest on the part of European citizens for a specific issue and therefore we will take this into serious consideration," Mr Kyprianou said. He explained that even though an attempt for similar measures was taken out of a compromise law on labelling by the European Parliament and the member states in 2004, the commission would look at the case again. "Being presented now with a strong view on the part of the European citizens, of course we will look into the matter again," he said, adding that he would consult with his advisers. Mr Contiero told EUobserver that things look differently now than they did four years ago with more studies and a petition from one million citizens in 21 EU countries. The right of citizens to form an initiative and become more involved in EU issues is part of the European Constitution, rejected by France and the Netherlands in 2005 but seeing a revival by the current German EU presidency. According to the treaty, if a petition collects one million signatures, the commission can then be asked to look into the issue. "Even if the EU constitution is not ratified it is still a principle for the EU - it has a political weight that cannot simply be disregarded," Mr Contiero explained. Africa's Sorghum Saved: Applause for second GM sorghum rejection - African Centre for Biosafety - 2ndFebruary, 2007 The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) hails the decision taken by the Executive Council (EC)-South Africa’s GM regulatory body on the 30 January 2007 to turn down an application by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research's (CSIR) to conduct experiments with genetically modified (GM) sorghum in a level three containment facility. This decision was taken against the backdrop that Africa is the centre of origin for sorghum where (including in South Africa), a large number of sexually compatible weeds, wild relatives strains and races of cultivated sorghum occur. While the EC will make its reasons for the rejection available in due course, it previously (in June 2006) turned down a similar application when it cited environmental concerns about gene flow from transgenic sorghum to South Africa’s biodiversity. The ACB lodged an objection to the application and raised strong concerns that GM sorghum would introgress into wild relatives. “Some activities just cannot be permitted and should be regarded as NO GO options” said Mariam Mayet, founder of the ACB. “The risks posed by GM sorghum to sorghum wild and weedy relatives cannot be tolerated at all and the granting of a permit will be tantamount to a licence to contaminating Africa's heritage. Even containment in a level three facility will not negate the concerns that will remain, if the GM sorghum was to be tested in open field trials with the objective of commercialisation” said Mayet. This decision is a severe and final blow to the African Biotechnology Sorghum Project (ABS), bankrolled by Bill and Melinda Gates to the tune of millions of dollars, to bring GM sorghum to Africa’s poor. The ABS is spearheaded by a consortium, which includes Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Florence Wambugu’s Africa Harvest Biotechnology International, Rockerfeller Foundation-backed African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), the CSIR, the Agricultural Research Council etc. Mariam Mayet 083 269 4309 Farmers discard Bt GM Variety - Radhakrishna Rao, INFA - Central Chronicle, Thursday February 1 2007 The sustained and no-holds-barred campaign by Indian farmers against the "backdoor and sly" move to introduce the genetically modified GM rice variety into the country, has resulted in the farmers in parts of Haryana and Tamil Nadu destroying the trial plots of GM rice. These experimental rice fields were being monitored by the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) on behalf of the American agro-business outfit Monsanto. The increasing tempo of the countrywide opposition to GM rice has derived strength from the decision of the EU countries to ban the import of American rice, fearing contamination by the GM rice strain Liberty Line (LL-601). In fact, it was the detection of few grains of GM rice in the American rice consignments that proded the EU countries to suspend the trading in American rice. Following this episode, the world's largest rice importer Ebro Puleva stopped trading in the US grown rice. In fact, there is a vehement public distrust of GM variety of food in Europe even as the USA is trying to hardsell the theory that GM food varieties are safe for human consumption. According to a well-known agricultural scientist, "Bt (GM) rice proponent might argue that since rice is a self-pollinated crop, genetic contamination is excluded. But genes travel to related plots on their own which is called gene flow. In 1966, gene flow was discovered to be much more common than it was previously thought. The process of putting alien genes into plants and animals to favour certain traits or confer resistance is, at best, an inexact science, with unpredictable consequences. Genes don't necessarily control a single trait". Clearly and apparently, the European countries' decision to stop importing American grown rice could be utilized by the Indian rice exporters to fill this "vital gap". The EU countries used to import about 300,000 tonnes of rice from the USA to meet a part of its annual requirement running upto 12,000,00 tonnes. And the rice of Indian and Pakistani origin imported by the EU countries used to account for around 3,00,000 tonnes. "Since Indian rice is free from the GM contamination, this gap in supply certainly open up vistas for additional market access for Indian exporters", says K.S. Money, Chairman of the New Delhi-based Agricultural Products and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA). Indian exporters of Basmati rice who have already established a presence in the EU countries hope to boost their export by expanding their portfolios to include non-basmati rice varieties. Pakistan and Thailand are the other major exporters of rice to the EU countries. And in terms of quality and price, Indian rice has certain advantages over its Asian competitors. Meanwhile, with a view to step up rice production to meet the needs of a fast-growing population, India is laying special emphasis on increasing the area under hybrid rice cultivation. Currently, over a million hectares of land under hybrid rice in India. And this is a far cry from just 10,000 hectares in 1995. But in the neighbouring China around 15-million hectares are under hybrid rice cultivation and this constitutes 50% of the total area under rice cultivation in this most populous country in the world. "Hybrid rice is an option that could come handy at a time when India will have to increase rice production by at least 2 million tonnes by 2011-12", says B.C. Viraktamath, Project Director of the Directorate of Rice Research in Hyderabad. Incidentally, India is the second country in the world to develop and commercialize hybrid rice. Researchers, on their part, point out that the potential in the country for raising hybrid rice varieties, is anywhere between 8 million and 15 million hectares. In the meantime, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has signed an agreement with the Las Banos-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for collaboration in research which includes genetic enhancement of rice in terms of yield and quality. The main objective of collaboration is to apply genomics and bioinformatics to discover new and novel genes capable of pushing up the rice yield. As it is, in India the productivity of rice has now touched 2,000 kg per hectare and the country continues to occupy second position in rice export, next only to Thailand. But then in India there is a growing realization of the need to boost rice production without bringing in ore land under cultivation. As such, the focus is on surmounting the technological challenges in breaking the genetic yield barriers, improving input yield efficiency and developing environmentally acceptable strategies for decreasing the losses due to pest attacks and diseases. There is also a growing concern in the country over the steady control exerted by the big and powerful multinational corporations (MNCs) over the genetic resources of rice. Navadanaya, a New Delhi-based NGO (Non-Government Organisation) has together with farmers from nine Indian States developed a register documenting over 2,000 indigenous rice varieties. According to Navadanya, the genetically modified rice strains are not only costly to cultivate but also are a poor match to the native strains in fighting pests, diseases and environmental fluctuations. Several indigenous rice strains adopted by the Indian farmers can withstand extremes of climatic conditions, survive submergence for a fortnight and even withstand salinity with a high degree of success. According to Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) all through the last decade, global production increased at rates marginally higher than those of the population growth. Right now, China and India account for more than half of the world rice yield. As it offers food security, rice is one of the commodities that remains widely subject to Government intervention. As rice continues to be one of the most traded commodities, under protection, it presents considerable scope for further liberalization. However, due to its importance in income generation and political stability, Governments are often reluctant to lower their control over the rice sector. There is also a concern in rice growing countries including India that the global warming could adversely affect the yield of the rice crop in the years ahead. As such, the need for devising an appropriate strategy to blunt the threat of global warming to the rice crop, is being felt acutely. February 1, 2007 : In the ongoing Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) filed by Aruna Rodrigues, Devinder Sharma, P V Satheesh and Rajeev Baruah, the next hearing is slated for 5th February. Yesterday's hearing had to postponed because the Union of India did not file their response and requested for a day's time. This is for your information. As you are aware, the current issues before the Court in this case, (especially after the interim orders in September 2006 where the SC halted further GM field trial approvals in the country), are related to * conflict of interest in the regulatory regime of the country & the need for a truly independent Ombudsman mandated to protect India's health and environment and * the Delhi University's GM Mustard trial which was permitted on conditional grounds & the need to stop ALL field trials anywhere and everywhere in the country. Below, CSA has put together some information (collected from personal contacts and through other reports) related to some of the regulators in GEAC and RCGM. We request the media to look into these matters and investigate further. Thanks. How can we believe that Indian GM regulation is driven by farmers' interests? A look at some of the people involved in GM regulation in the country does not give us much hope that farmers' interests would be the foremost when the apex regulatory body, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), supported by Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM in the DBT) takes major decisions related to irreversible agricultural technologies to be used in the country. Centre for Sustainable Agriculture tried to compile some such information for the public to understand where they have placed their trust. 1. Dr C D Mayee Co-Chair of GEAC, nominee from DBT as per the reconstitution of GEAC that took place on January 25th 2007: Dr Charudatta Mayee, as reported in a leading national daily, is also a Board member of ISAAA an international network funded by biotech majors such as Monsanto, Bayer and Dupont and whose high-profile Board Members, past and present, include Monsanto's Robert Fraley, Wally Beversdorf of Syngenta, and Gabrielle Persley, Executive Director of the AusBiotech Alliance. In addition to the Rockefeller Foundation, its financial sponsors include Monsanto (USA), Syngenta (Swiss), Dow AgroSciences (USA), Pioneer Hi-Bred (USA), Cargill (USA), Bayer CropScience (Germany), and a mysterious "Anonymous Donor" (USA), and US-AID of the State Department. Dr C D Mayee's son, Dr Hrishikesh Mayee, is reported to have gotten married to the daughter of Mr Vijay Kashikar, a Director of Ankur Seeds on January 23 rd this year. Ankur Seeds is one of the Bt Cotton companies in India (reported to have a 300-crore turnover) which has been permitted by the GEAC to sell its genetically engineered seeds to the farmers. 2. Dr Venugopal Earlier, a CICR-Coimbatore scientist who oversaw some field trials of certain Bt Cotton hybrids while with CICR [Central Institute for Cotton Research]. Now with Rasi Seeds, which has a growing market of Bt Cotton hybrids in India. 3. Dr T V Ramanaiah, Ex-Member-Secretary, Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation [RCGM], Department of Biotechnology: The person known for the many approvals he had personally given as Member-Secretary of RCGM to the hundreds of GM crop field trials that have happened in India so far (some of the hurried approvals for the scores of trials permitted had their share of "cut & paste" mistakes too!) has quit his post in the DBT and has joined Pioneer HiBred International (a subsidiary of DuPont) as their 'Biotech Regulatory Affairs Manager' (as per a phone call to PHI). He is further named as a Spokesperson of the All India Crop Biotechnology Association (AICBA) [as confirmed by a phone call to AICBA], an industry body consisting of several companies as its members ones that have approved Bt Cotton varieties and other GE crops in the pipeline. This technocrat reported in a national business daily (Business Standard in November 2006, when violations from field trials were being reported including the fact that trials were taking place without the knowledge of trial farmers), to have said "As for informing farmers, how do you expect every farmer to be told about the various experiments that are being done?". The story goes on to quote RCGM authorities, presumably Dr Ramanaiah who is quoted extensively in the story as the RCGM voice,: "University of Hissar …. know it rather than telling hundreds of farmers about things they will not understand. '' 4. Dr Deepak Penthal: promoter of the controversial GM Mustard variety which has been permitted for trials by the Supreme Court in the ongoing Public Interest Litigation, on a conditional basis. He is also the Chairperson of a 12-member Expert Committee set up by the GEAC to look into the public feedback received on Mahyco's Bt Brinjal. Meanwhile, a closer look at the 30-member GEAC reveals more conflict of interest and questionable "independent" expertise. While their expertise may not be in doubt here, the 'independent' status alluded to is worth looking at. Other members in the GEAC : • Dr Akhilesh Tyagi UDSC (University of Delhi, South Campus) is shown as an Independent Expert whereas the Vice Chancellor himself is clearly a GM crop developer, walking up to the GEAC and the SC for approvals on behalf of the institution. Similarly, Prof A N Maitra, Dept. Of Chemistry, Delhi University is listed as an Independent Expert. • Dr B M Khadi, Director of CICR is shown as an Independent Expert, when CICR is busy trying to get approvals for its GM cotton varieties from the GEAC! • ICGEB (International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology) is a GM crop developer for GM cotton, GM Rice and GM Tobacco, as per DBT's reports in 2003 about GE crops in the pipeline (as reported by the USDA's GAIN report No. IN3125 in December 2003). The Director of ICGEB, Dr V S Chauhan is listed as an Independent Member of the GEAC! • Dr P Anand Kumar of National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology, (NRCPB), Indian Agricultural Research Institute is also listed as an Independent Expert. IARI incidentally is into developing Bt Brinjal, GM Mustard, GM Pigeonpea (2003), GM Tobacco (2003), GM Tomato (2003), GM Cauliflower (2003), GM Cabbage (2003) and GM Rice. [http://www.iari.res.in/divisions/biotechnology/ has more information on the projects that Dr Anand Kumar has handled] Dr Rakesh Tuli of National Botanical Research Institute is also a regulator listed under "Nominees of Scientific Institutions" in the re-constituted GEAC list. Dr Tuli is also well-known for providing Bt genes to various institutions and companies for their transgenic crop development. The GEAC itself saw many Chairpersons change over the past few years including some periods when there was no Chairperson in place. The following is the list of Chairpersons who came in and went out since 2002: A M Gokhale, 2002, when the first Bt Cotton hybrids were allowed for commercial cultivation; his exit happened soon after rejection of possibly-Starlink-contaminated food aid consignments from the USA; Sushma Chowdhary - 2003; V K Duggal came in mid-year 2003; Meena Gupta, around November 2003, after a gap without a Chair; Bina Chotray, in 2004; Suresh Chandra, from December 2004; No Chairperson during November 2005-January 2006; Bir Singh Parsheera, from February 2006. GEAC also does not have a set date for its meetings nor a quorum of members required for its decision-making. Given that only a small set of people seem to be appearing for the meetings for reasons and interests of their own, it is very hard to believe that decision-making in the apex regulatory body will actually ensure biosafety and the best interests of farmers and consumers in the country. Kavitha Kuruganti, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, 12-13-445, Street # 1, Tarnaka, Secunderabad 500 017 - Phone: +91-9393001550 Corn pest expansion consequence of transgenic crops? - FarmWeek, January 17 2007 A corn pest that can devastate yields may be increasing in prevalence across Illinois and other states because Bt crops are reducing predators that once kept the pest at bay. That was the word from an Iowa State University researcher who spoke during the recent Illinois Crop Protection Technology Conference, Urbana. Western bean cutworms, a major pest in Nebraska and Colorado, was first detected in Illinois in 2004 and has spread to 49 counties, according to Marlin Rice, an Extension entomologist at Iowa State. Rice and his colleagues attempted to learn why a pest that was rare in Iowa six years ago has spread as far east as central Ohio. In laboratory experiments and field studies, Rice tested the bean cutworm's survival when placed together with corn earworm, which is the more aggressive of the two pests and will kill the bean cutworm. Both pests were allowed to feed on silks from Herculex and YieldGard plants [YieldGard is a Monsanto GM rootworm-resistant corn]. The bean cutworms had better survival rates when they fed on YieldGard, which is not labeled for cutworm control, compared to Herculex, which is. Both hybrids are labeled for corn earworm control. "Our theory is that increased (use) of Bt cotton and YieldGard corn has suppressed (populations) of corn earworms, which are predators of western bean cutworms. This allows (more) bean cutworms to survive," Rice said. "YieldGard corn may be one of the reasons for more damage from western bean cutworm," Rice said. "It may be influencing (pest) competition in the field." Bean cutworms have become established in Illinois, "but we'll have to wait a couple of years to see if it is an economic problem," Rice said. He recommended farmers scout their fields and time insecticide treatments for when eggs or young larvae reach economic thresholds. If western bean cutworm becomes an economically damaging pest, farmers should consider planting Herculex hybrids, he said. - Kay Shipman For More Info Contact: David McClelland, Editor of Publications - Phone (309) 557-3156 Fax (800) 640-1995 E-mail [email protected] The Global Status of Genetically Engineered (GE) Crops: 10 years of continuing rejection GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE Amsterdam, 18 January 2007: A summary of global reaction against genetic engineering in 2006, released by Greenpeace today, provides solid evidence that resistance to genetically engineered (GE) crops continues to grow among farmers, consumers and governments. The Greenpeace summary was released hours before the expected release of an annual report by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), a think-tank supported largely by the agrochemical industry. "There is irrefutable evidence (1) that governments, farmers and consumers throughout the world recognise that genetic engineering is unreliable, unviable or downright dangerous," said Jeremy Tager, campaigner for Greenpeace International, "Market reaction to the recent rice contamination scandal was of near epidemic proportions; some countries are banning GE altogether. Romania, for instance, which had 85,000 hectares planted with GE soy in 2005, will drop to zero this year, in keeping with a new government policy banning the cultivation of GE soy." The most significant demonstration of GE rejection occurred in the aftermath of Bayer's LLRICE601 contamination scandal. In August 2006, the US government announced that significant amounts of US long grain rice had been found to be contaminated with an unapproved genetically engineered variety, LLRICE601; the news elicited strong reactions from rice farmers and processors, as well as governments worldwide. The Rice Producers of California and a major rice mill in the state, Sunwest Foods, have called for a ban on any cultivation of GE rice (including field trials) in California. Large sectors of the rice industry, including Ebro Puleva, the world's largest rice processor, committed to being GE-free. Rice traders of two of the largest rice exporting countries, Thailand and Vietnam, have signed an agreement that commits them to being GE-free, capitalizing on new market opportunities that have opened up as a result of the contamination of US rice supplies with Bayer's GE rice. The Chinese Biosafety Committee once again requested further data and assessment on the safety of GE rice, thereby again delaying a decision about commercial approval, even though the varieties have been under active consideration by the committee for over two years. The All India Rice Exporters' Association formally requested that the Indian government prohibit field trials of GE rice in basmati rice-growing states. Rice farmers in India burnt down GE-rice test plots that could potentially contaminate their own fields. Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson for the Bharathiya Kisan Union, (BKU) one of the largest farmers' groups in India, was straightforward in his condemnation of GE, saying, "The threat to farmers' livelihoods in India is clear. Examples from across the country of Bt cotton failures show that this technology is unsafe for humans and the environment, and that it can neither be controlled nor regulated. We consider the threat serious enough to warrant the destruction of test fields of GE rice to stop its introduction and protect ourselves." Chip Struckmeyer, a rice farmer from California, agreed, "US rice producers took a big hit financially when rice was found to be contaminated with unapproved varieties. It's clear our customers don't want genetically engineered rice. Why on earth would we plant it?" "ISAAA might claim that genetic engineering has been a success, with consistent increases in global acreage. But the global reaction to the Bayer rice contamination scandal of 2006 provides a sharp contrast to the rosy picture they're painting. It is overwhelmingly evident that the GE industry will not be able to convince consumers to eat GE rice, wheat, aubergine, or anything else. With governments unwilling to allow it, farmers unwilling to grow it and consumers unwilling to buy it, it is clear that genetic engineering has no place in our future," concluded Tager. Notes to Editor: 1. See 'Global reaction against Genetic Engineering in 2006', http://www.greenpeace.eu/downloads/gmo/GlobalStatusGECrops2006.pdf For further information please contact: Namrata Chowdhary, Greenpeace International Communications: +31 646 1973 27, [email protected] Jeremy Tager, GE Campaigner Greenpeace International: + 31 646 2211 85, [email protected] GE Crops Slow to Gain Global Acceptance - by Stephen Leahy - Inter Press Service, January 10 2007 Widespread use of genetically engineered (GE) crops remains limited worldwide, even as growing weed and pest issues are forcing farmers to use ever greater amounts of pesticides. More than 70 percent of large-scale GE planting is still limited to the U.S. and Argentina, according to a new report released Tuesday by Friends of the Earth International (FOEI). "No GM (GE) crop on the market today offers benefits to the consumer in terms of quality or price, and to date these crops have done nothing to alleviate hunger or poverty in Africa or elsewhere," said Nnimmo Bassey of Friends of the Earth Africa in Nigeria. "The great majority of GM (GE) crops cultivated today are used as high-priced animal feed to supply rich nations with meat," Bassey said in a statement. The new report, "Who Benefits From GM Crops?", is an analysis of the global performance of GE crops from 1996-2006. It also notes that the "second generation" of GE farm crops with attractive traits long promised by the industry has failed to appear. Supporters of biotechnology have long claimed that the technology is the solution to world hunger, but the only GE crops widely planted are herbicide-tolerant soy, maize, cotton and canola (oil seed rape) and Bt maize and cotton. Herbicide tolerance allows these crops to be sprayed with glyphosate (RoundUp), a potent weed killer, without affecting the crop. Bt maize and cotton contain an insecticide that kills insect pests. Studies have shown that GE crops do not increase yields or improve food quality - the only benefit is reduced labour for farmers because it easier to control weeds by constantly spraying glyphosate over their crops, said Adrian Bebb of Friends of the Earth Europe. "That's only an advantage for big, industrial-scale farmers and is inappropriate for the majority of farmers," Bebb told IPS. Studies by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and University of Arkansas show that large farms continue to get larger because the combination of the high GE seed costs and the low cost of glyphosate works better the bigger farms are. However, repeated use of glyphosate is creating weeds that are resistant to the chemical that is widely considered the world's best herbicide. Late last year, U.S. scientists discovered that giant ragweeds in Indiana and Ohio have become immune to glyphosate. This is the seventh weed species to do so in the U.S. In the southern U.S. where GE cotton is widely grown, 39 percent of farmers who grow GE crops reported problems with glyphosate-resistant weeds. Only a few years ago there was no such thing. "The only surprise here is the speed with which weeds evolved resistance," says Bebb. Many scientists had predicted that continual use of glyphosate on GE crops would eventually result in resistant weeds. The same thing has happened in Canada, Brazil and Argentina. In fact, glyphosate-resistant wild poinsettia, also resistant to other herbicides, has become nearly uncontrollable on 16 million hectares in Brazil, Ribas Vidal, professor of weed science at the University of Rio Grande du Sol in central Brazil, has been reported as saying. Despite this, acreage planted with GE soy and maize continues to grow in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, says Karen Nansen of Friends of the Earth Uruguay. "Yields are not better but there is a savings in labour costs," Nansen said in an interview. "That's a big problem here because it increases rural unemployment." As in the north, the GE technology works only with large farm operations. Most of the GE soy and maize grown is exported to North America and Europe as animal feed, she says. These countries use GE exports to help pay off their massive debts to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and for that reason create policies and conditions to encourage the GE expansion, said Bebb. Worse still is the fact that a government and industry focus on GE crops has drained enormous amounts of money from research and seed breeding of conventional crops, critics say. Normal breeding methods have already produced virus- and blight-resistant potatoes but the nearly all the focus is on creating GE potatoes with the same properties and that meet the precise shape and size demanded by large fast food corporations, Bebb says. Not surprisingly, the biotech industry takes the opposite view. In fact, Clive James, chairman and founder of the influential International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), an industry-funded promoter, recently claimed that the number of countries growing GE crops will "at least double" from 21 in 2005 to around 40. Next week the ISAAA will issue its annual global status report detailing the global use of GE crops. Last year, it claimed 90 million hectares of GE crops were planted in 21 countries in 2005. However, Bebb says that many of those 21 countries, like Germany, France and Romania, planted "minuscule amounts...The ISAAA will declare a country even if it grows a single hectare." According to the FOEI report, Spain and Romania planted fewer hectares of GE as have the majority of countries using GE cotton including Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, South Africa and Australia. James has said that "6.4 million Chinese peasants are growing Bt cotton on tiny farms in China" in previous interviews with IPS last year. Bebb said that ISAAA data in 2004 reported 7 million Chinese cotton farmers. Even with that decline, both numbers appear too high because recent studies by Cornell University in the U.S. has shown that after a number of years of using Bt cotton, many of China's cotton fields are now plagued by insects unaffected by Bt. "No one knows where the ISAAA gets their numbers because they never provide any references," says Bebb. James maintains that ISAAA data is proprietary and is based on government and industry information. "If FOEI reports had no references we'd be a laughing stock and yet ISAAA stats are widely quoted by governments and scientists," said Bebb. THE Bt COTTON TRAGEDY THAT STRUCK DHARMAPURI [Tamil Nadu] - PASUMAI VIKATAN, 3/1/2007 "Looks like we have to pluck our nose with this cotton…." "Like the proverbial saying --'it has bitten the goat. Then bitten the cow...finally bitten the man himself' --- Bt has taken the lives of Andhra farmers, then the Maharastra farmers and now it is threatening our lives", tremble the fear-struck Dharmapuri farmers. The reason behind is the total failure of Bt cotton planted here this year. They had petitioned to the Collector asking for action against the seed company as the crop they had raised stands as trash. Kantha Goundanur is 10 kms from Kadathur and is on the road from Kadathur to Puttirettipatti and adjacent to the rail track. Cotton grown in this area is known as KanthaGoundanur cotton and is highly popular. KanthaGoundanur and the adjacent villages like Sivanalli, Venkatathara Alli cultivate cotton as their main crop. Till last year the crop was a money spinner; but this year, the farmers are shedding blood from their eyes…. As we entered Kanthagoundanur, the villagers had collected around us and poured out their stories. Everyone is filled with sadness and dejection. "Look at my field. Out of ten plants, eight plants do not hold the bolls. Looking for the bolls, one only got numbed eyes. You plough, make ridges, plant, irrigate and take care of the crop finally, one has to pluck his nose with this cotton only" says a farmer Manikkam. Next was the turn of another Chakravarthy who narrated his experience in a sad and choked voice - "Lost. Lost. All are lost. We planted MRC 6918 seeds. We spent Rs.15000/= per acre. They had cheated us by giving useless and good for nothing seeds. Last Pongal I had stacked cotton in my whole house and was running short of space I stacked part of the produce outside my house. This time the investment is lost. We purchased 450gm packs of this seed. Out of this only about 10 gm of seeds has flourished well. The rest is all standing up as sticks. "The local dealer Jayaram had supplied the seeds from Mahyco Company of Maharastra. Last year, we got more than Rs.45,000/- per acre. The dealer had interviewed us and advertised that 'the seeds are high yielding'. This year we had purchased seeds from the same dealer. The yield is not good. Now the dealer is joking with us 'May be your plants are affected by chicken-gunya'. If a solution is not arrived at before Pongal, we do not have any means to cook food in our households", says Chakravarthy. "In our area, about 4000 acres are affected. We have decide to go to the Consumers' Court. We have sent petitions to the authorities for taking action. But we are not sure whether our authorities will take action on the Mahyco company, which is a very big company", doubts Chakravarthy. The narration of another farmer Chokalingam raises anxiety. "With the hope that this shall give a good harvest, I have pledged even the Mangalsutra of my wife and sowed in the soil. Finally it had ended like this. Saying that the seeds are gene changed, they have changed our lives. MY daughter is waiting to be married. Those who had lent money on the hope of Cotton yield are coming down heavily and when they abuse me biting their teeth, I feel like ending my life all at once. Some time back we heard that the goats which had grazed on BT cotton had perished. We do not know whether the news is true or false. But we fear that such a plight may happen to us". We intervened and uttered a few words of comfort to him. "If there is a problem with the seeds there will be action from the government side". Then we proceeded to meet the dealer Jayaram. When we asked about the complaints made by the the farmers, the dealer said: "We had sold the seeds for Rs. 1600/= last year and the very seeds we had sold this year for a mere Rs.600/. Farmers are saying that we had reduced the price and reduced the quality also. The actual reason for reducing the price was to spread the BT seeds to all farmers. Bt cotton is not such a loss making crop as the farmers are making out. If the same crop is planted in the soil for 10 years continuously, then it creates some changes in the soil conditions. One should use crop rotation. Leaving behind all such factors, they are talking about gene modified seeds and there is some problem in that. Farmers are coming out with reasons of their own. We have written to the company enquiring about the reason for the failure and they had promised to come and investigate". Then we met Mr. Duraisamy, Joint Director (Agriculture), Dharmapuri District and discussed with him about the problem. He said, "As soon as the matter had come to our knowledge we had informed the Scientists at Coimbatore Agriculture University. They had come to the site on 22 nd and inspected the seeds. Also they had conducted tests on the soil where the crops were planted. To get a better picture, they had taken the seeds with them. The results will be known very soon. We can talk only after getting the results". The Dharmapuri District Collector Mr. Pankajkumar Bansal had received a petition from slogan-shouting farmers who had collected in front of his office and assured them: "I shall definitely take suitable action." When we discussed with him he opined: "Only after the investigation report, we can ascertain whose fault it is. If the fault is that of the seed company, action shall be taken on them after getting approval from the government". He said that very firmly. There is already a countrywide uproar about the BT type seeds. Though the problem is not very much pronounced in Tamilnadu, farmers and NGOs in the state are up in arms against Bt seedsvery agitated about it. In this context, T.S. Prabhuraja, President of NAAM said: "The demonstration was conducted at Collector's office under my leadership. The collector had ordered for immediate report on what type of failure had occurred and how many people were affected. The officials had collected all necessary information at lightning speed. They are now waiting for the test report. We have demanded a compensation of Rs.50000/=per acre". "However mighty the concerned organizations may be, the officials have to act firmly ensuring justice to the affected farmers. ..Otherwise our struggle will be inevitable", the leader roared emotionally. "Ban for Mahyco Seeds" When we met the Tamilnadu Agriculture Minister Mr Veeera Pandi Arumugam and presented the plight of cotton farmers, the Minister stated: "What you are going to say had already been brought to my notice. The authorities had informed me that improper seeds only had caused all the problems. I had talked to the Chief Minister immediately and I had ordered that the said company should not sell any type of seeds in Tamilnadu. We had advised the company to pay compensation to the affected farmers. So the farmers need not be worried". The minister further added, "we have formed a cell to safeguard the interests of farmers under the leadership of the Chief Minister. Experts from various sections of agriculture ministry shall be in the cell. They shall watch out for problems of farmers and keep submitting solutions for the problems. On the whole, our objective is there should not be any problem to the farmers". R Yoganathan, Junior Vikatan, 3/1/2007 - Translated by Mr G.Thirunavukkarasu, Tamilnadu Organic Agriculturists Movement

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Govt announces Rs 300,000 to each member of World Cricket League Div 4 winning team The government has announced Rs. 300,000 cash reward to members of the national cricket team that clinched the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 recently held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The cabinet meeting on Thursday decided to provide the cash reward to the players. The winning team consisted of cricketers Paras Khadka, Gyanendra Malla, Sharad Vesawkar, Amrit Bhattarai, Shakti Gauchan, Basanta Regmi, Sanjam Regmi, Rahul Kumar Vishwakarma, Pradeep Airee, Anil Kumar Mandal, Prithu Baskota, Chandra Saud, Binod Das and Subash Khakurel. The government had also awarded Rs. 200,000 each to women cricketers who won the ACC U-19 Women’s Championship held in Kuwait earlier. nepalnews.com

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We'll never post anything without your permission. Hang Out with the Cast Members of GLEE - What You'll Do: Share the stage with the stars during YSF's “The Biggest Show”. Whether you're the next musical star or just a fan, the performance will be set up so you fit right in. You and your guest will also hang with the cast members (aka your "co-stars") in the VIP room before. Consider this your official induction into New Directions. Make Mr. Schue proud! - What You'll Learn: What it's like to get your big break and what it takes find your voice in front of a live audience. - What Else: The show takes place on Saturday, October 20th in LA. Deadline to enter is October 5, 2012. If you'd rather just hang with the cast, you can also have your friend perform, it's totally up to you. Can't guarantee the entire cast will be in attendance, but we can guarantee it will be an amazing night. Who you're benefiting What would you say? More awesome experiences Winners: 1 lucky winner chosen. Winner can bring one lucky friend. Timing: Experience will take on Saturday, October 20th, 2012 Location: Los Angeles What’s Included: Airfare and hotel for you and a friend Deadline to Enter: October 13, 2012 Winner Announced: Via email, Facebook, Twitter, and Omaze.com on or around Oct. 12th Who’s Eligible: Persons who have reached the age of majority in their countries of residence. Void in Sweden, Malaysia, Spain and countries on the United States list if embargoed countries. Employees of Omaze, the prize providers, and the Prize Benefactor mentioned in rule, and members of their immediate families, regardless of where they reside, are not eligible to enter. Guest Allowances: the attending guests of eligible winning participants may include minors if: (i) the parent or other legal guardian of the minor(s) is the eligible winning participant or the eligible winning participant is the lawful guardian of the minor (as evidenced by documents satisfactory to us); and (ii) the eligible winning participant and the minor(s)’ parent or legal guardian sign such documents, including a release of liability, as we may request in connection with the participation in the experience. How to Enter: Visit omaze.com and buy one or more tickets, and/or utilize our free alternative method of entry (see official rules for details). Each ticket represents an individual entry into the sweepstakes. Winners are chosen through a process of random selection. Odds of winning depend on the number of tickets held. Selection Process: Conditional winner(s) will be chosen at random by Omaze or its representative. A verification process will take place during which conditional winners will be required to sign paperwork re-confirming their eligibility and their ability to participate on given dates. Omaze may also perform background checks at its discretion before an official winner is announced. No purchase, payment, or contribution necessary to enter or win. Contributing will not improve chances of winning. Void where prohibited. Entries must be received by date specified on experience details page. You may enter by contributing to Young Storytellers Foundation on the current page or click here to enter without contributing. The specified number of winners will each receive the prize package specified on the experience details. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. Promotion open only to U.S. citizens, or lawful permanent U.S. residents who are legal residents of 50 United States, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and 18 or older (or of majority under applicable law). Promotion subject to Official Rules and additional restrictions on eligibility. Sponsor: Omaze, 120 Broadway Ste 300, Santa Monica, CA 90401.

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Indian students rank near the bottom on PISA, a global test of learning standards conducted in 74 nations this year. TIMSS, another standardized international test, produced similar results earlier in 2003. This is the first time that Indian students participated in PISA. Students from Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu took the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) test, coordinated by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Prior to this participation, students from Indian states of Orissa and Rajasthan took a similar test called Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2003. Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh rank high on human development indicators among Indian states. The India Human Development Report 2011, prepared by the Institute of Applied Manpower Research (IAMR), categorized them as “median” states, putting them significantly ahead of the national average. IAMR is an autonomous arm of India's Planning Commission. Himachal Pradesh ranked 4 and Tamil Nadu 11 in literacy rates on India's National Family Health Survey released in 2007. However, in the PISA study, Tamil Nadu ranked 72 and Himachal Pradesh 73, just ahead of the bottom-ranked Kyrgyzstan in mathematics and overall reading skills. Shanghai, China's biggest city, topped the PISA rankings in all three categories—overall reading skills, mathematical and scientific literacy. The new entrants included Costa Rica, Georgia, India (Himachal Pradesh & Tamil Nadu), Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Venezuela (Miranda), Moldova, United Arab Emirates. PISA 2009+ involved testing just over 46 000 students across these ten economies, representing a total of about 1,377,000 15-year-olds. In Tamil Nadu, only 17% of students were estimated to possess proficiency in reading that is at or above the baseline needed to be effective and productive in life. In Himachal Pradesh, this level is 11%. “This compares to 81% of students performing at or above the baseline level in reading in the OECD countries, on an average,” said the study. The average Indian child taking part in PISA2009+ is 40 to 50 points behind the worst students in the economic superstars. Even the best performers in Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh - the top 5 percent who India will need in science and technology to complete globally - were almost 100 points behind the average child in Singapore and 83 points behind the average Korean - and a staggering 250 points behind the best in the best. The average child in HP & TN is right at the level of the worst OECD or American students (only 1.5 or 7.5 points ahead). Contrary to President Obama's oft-expressed concerns about American students ability to compete with their Indian counterparts, the average 15-year-old Indian placed in an American school would be among the weakest students in the classroom, says Lant Pritchett of Harvard University. Even the best TN/HP students are 24 points behind the average American 15 year old. The 2003 TIMSS study ranked India at 46 among 51 countries. Indian students' score was 392 versus average of 467 for the group. These results were contained in a Harvard University report titled "India Shining and Bharat Drowning". These results are not only a wake-up call for the "India Shining" brigade, but also raise serious questions about the credibility of India's western cheerleaders like Indian-American journalist Fareed Zakaria and New York Times' columnist Tom Friedman.

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http://www.pakalumni.com/profiles/blogs/indian-students-score-at-bottom-on-pisa-timss-international-ranki

2013-05-24T01:50:26Z

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en

This guide aims to help businesses introduce CEP initiatives in their organisations through simple step-by-step information. It contains tips and practical suggestions on how organisations can encourage and foster social harmony at the workplace, as well as ways to put in place or strengthen their preparedness plans. This publication offers a snapshot of the National CEP Dialogue 2012, and puts on record the CEP initiatives taken by the CEP Secretariat and the five CEO clusters. This publication is available in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil. [Note: With effect from 1 Nov 2012, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) have been restructured to form three new ministries. Two of the new ministries are the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) , and they will remain as CEP cluster leads.]

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http://www.singaporeunited.sg/cep/index.php/web/Resources/Publications

2013-05-24T01:37:11Z

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About Us | Contact Us | Shipping Info | Anti-Spam Policy | Security Policy | All logos, brands and trademarks of respective rightful companies shown. Other names are for informational purposes only. While all efforts are made to update and check on latest product pricing, errors do occur from time to time and Softheware.com reserves the right to cancel orders at our discretion. Softheware.com provides "always discount" best value, quality, service and selection of all the software development products and categories such as software components, development tools, business software, game development, professional services including top notch software customization and so on. We are online worldwide software components reseller and global development tools distributor selling software indirectly through our international software distribution channels. We can help boost your non-domestic sales to the world so contact us to sell your products. Join us now to see the different! We are always discounted with the SAME branded quality from trusted software vendors. ||Softheware.com protects and backups all employees' server, laptop, desktop computers in And the only online backup service that doesn't need you to pick folders and filetypes. 365 Main Datacenters that shared with Sun Micro., Cnet, Esurance and Fortune 500 companies. Copyright © 2010 Softheware.com. All Rights Reserved. Malaysia (HQ): F-2-43, Block F, Taipan Damansara 2 Jalan PJU 1A/3, Ara Damansara 47301 Petaling Jaya, SelangorPhone: +603 7842 8836 Fax: +603 7842 6836 E-Mail: [email protected] 14, Robinson Road #13-00 Far East Finance Building +65 6494 9125 Fax: +65 6323 1839 E-Mail: [email protected] Powered by Prosper Online Sdn Bhd

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2013-05-24T01:45:24Z

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by Staff Writers Bangkok (UPI) Feb 11, 2013 Five Thai soldiers were killed Sunday in two attacks blamed on Muslim insurgents, police said. Officials said in addition to the deaths, five others were wounded in roadside attacks in Thailand's troubled southern provinces. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said that a curfew should be imposed in some southern border areas to counter the rising insurgency there. Thai Police Major Torphan Pusanthi said insurgents detonated a car bomb on a road in Raman district in Yala province as a truck carrying six soldiers passed. The insurgents then opened fire on the soldiers, killing five of them, leaving one wounded. The second attack occurred when militants exploded a bomb on a road in Ra Ngae district in Narathiwat province and wounded four soldiers. Yingluck said a curfew ought to be imposed in some southern border areas to counter insurgency in the restive region, albeit with some provisos, The Bangkok Post reported Sunday. After advocating a potential curfew, Yingluck called for a thorough discussion on the decision, which was initially proposed by Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, with royal Thai Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha backing the suggestion. Yingluck, after stating that she said she didn't want the imposition of a night curfew, added that if it must be implemented, it should be in areas where there had been repeated violent incidents and not areas considered low risks of attacks. Yingluck suggested that alternative measures should be discussed, telling reporters: "Authorities are looking into details. Any areas that are peaceful, we don't want to announce curfews but any areas that remain problematic, we will look at it on a case-by-case basis." The area used to be an Islamic sultanate until it was annexed by Thailand in the early 20th century. Muslims in Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and part of Songkhla provinces have long complained, however, of discrimination by the Buddhist-dominated central government. Since November 2004 the region has been roiled by a rising insurgency of the region's separatists, seeking an independent Muslim state carved out of southern Thailand, a majority Buddhist country. More than 5,300 Thais, both Buddhist and Muslim, have died since then, with the provinces suffering bomb or gun attacks nearly every day. In 2005, Thai authorities imposed a state of emergency on the troubled three southern provinces but the hard-line stance failed to stop the rising violence. Far from being part of the global jihadi movement, analysts say the indigenous Muslim insurgents are rebelling against a long history of discrimination against ethnic-Malay Muslims by successive Buddhist-dominated Thai governments in Bangkok. Muslim militant groups operating in Thailand include the Mujahedeen Pattani Movement, the Pattani United Liberation Organization, the Pattani Islamic Mujahedeen Movement, the Mujahedeen Islamic Pattani Group, the National Revolution Front, the Pattani Liberation National Front, Jemaah Islamiyah and Runda Kumpulan Kecil. Jemaah Islamiyah has attracted the most attention from Western intelligence agencies because its activities have spread across Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Malaysia. |The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement|

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2013-05-24T01:51:07Z

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en

Citi today announced that it now offers securities lending services in Malaysia through its OpenLend SM platform. This follows a successful market launch in India earlier last month, reinforcing Citi’s strength in Asia and dominance in the emerging markets space. The new service offering will allow offshore and domestic investors access to the Malaysian market. “The launch of the securities lending service in Malaysia further underscores our commitment to expanding our product offering. The new service leverages our deep on-the-ground expertise and global product capabilities through our core in-country infrastructure, as well as our product and relationship management teams,” said David Russell, Asia Pacific Head of Securities and Fund Services at Citi. Available in 72 markets globally as part of a suite of investment services delivered through Citi OpenInvestor SM OpenLend delivers an award-winning, open-architecture securities lending solution that leverages Citi’s global presence, robust risk management controls and innovative trading strategies to help clients achieve their performance objectives. “Emerging markets are an area of particular expertise for our business as we are able to leverage Citi’s vast global footprint and our team’s deep market knowledge” explained David Martocci, Global Head of Securities Finance for Citi Transaction Services. “Extending our lending services in Asia enables our clients to take advantage of the lucrative revenue opportunities in these markets such as Malaysia.”Citi OpenInvestor SM is the investment services solution for today’s diversified investor that combines specialized expertise, comprehensive capabilities and the power of Citi’s global network to help clients meet performance objectives across asset classes, strategies and geographies. Citi OpenInvestor SM provides institutional, alternative and wealth managers with middle office, fund services, custody, investing and financing solutions that are focused on their specific challenges and customized to their individual needs. About Citi Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Select the service that is right for you!COMPARE ALL SERVICES Jim Cramer and Stephanie Link actively manage a real portfolio and reveal their money management tactics while giving advanced notice before every trade. - $2.5+ million portfolio - Large-cap and dividend focus - Intraday trade alerts from Cramer - Weekly roundups Jim Cramer's protege, David Peltier, identifies the best of breed dividend stocks that will pay a reliable AND significant income stream. - Diversified model portfolio of dividend stocks - Alerts when market news affect the portfolio - Bi-weekly updates with exact steps to take - BUY, HOLD, SELL 24/7 market commentary from Jim Cramer and 20+ veteran Wall Street gurus. Get access to the latest trading ideas on stocks, options, and ETFs as well as a real-time forum to see the pros exchanging their investment ideas. - Jim Cramer + 20 Wall Street pros - Intraday commentary & news - Real-time trading forum - Actionable trade ideas All of Real Money, plus 15 more of Wall Street's sharpest minds delivering actionable trading ideas, a comprehensive look at the market, and fundamental and technical analysis. - Real Money + Doug Kass + 15 more Wall Street Pros - Intraday commentary & news - Ultra-actionable trading ideas Our options trading pros provide daily market commentary and over 100 monthly option trading ideas and strategies to help you become a well-seasoned trader. - 100+ monthly options trading ideas - Actionable options commentary & news - Real-time trading community - Options TV

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http://www.thestreet.com/story/11773374/1/citi-extends-securities-lending-services-to-malaysian-investors.html

2013-05-24T01:39:27Z

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Elimination of congenital syphilis Investment case for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of syphilis: promoting better maternal and child health and stronger health systems OCTOBER 2012 - WHO outlines the epidemiologic, economic, and health systems strengthening benefits of investing in elimination of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis. Twelve countries (Central African Republic, China, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, and Zambia) have been nominated by WHO regional offices for intensified support to scale-up national efforts and strengthen underlying maternal and child health systems. Criteria and processes for validation of elimination of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV and syphilis, 6–8 June 2012 The consultaion aimed to reach a consensus on global criteria and processes to validate elimination, and identify next steps to finalize and establish a validation process. Experiences from country pilots in Botswana, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Moldova, Saint Lucia and South Africa were discussed. (UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNICEF and WHO cosponsored the consultation and the country pilots). Global Congenital Syphilis Partnership Partners include: the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Save the Children, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. LONDON, MARCH 2012 - The Partnership has been launched to champion and invest in the fight against congenital syphilis. WHO looks forward to collaborating with this new Partnership to raise awareness of the need to eliminate congenital syphilis, provide training and technical support for increasing capacity to diagnose syphilis in countries, and identify opportunities to integrate congenital syphilis elimination efforts within HIV and maternal and child health activities. Through this partnership, a toolkit has been developed to assist with introduction of rapid syphilis tests in countries. Global data on syphilis in pregnancy DECEMBER 2011 - Data from 63 countries on antenatal care syphilis testing coverage and 75 countries on the prevalence of syphilis among antenatal care attendees is published in the 2011 progress report: Global HIV/AIDS response: epidemic update and health sector progress towards universal access: progress report 2011 . Congenital Syphilis highlighted at ISSTDR in Quebec City, Canada JULY 2011 - Congenital syphilis was highlighted in a variety of oral and poster sessions at the 19th International Society of Sexually Transmitted Disease Research (ISSTDR) conference. Congenital syphilis identified as a "Winnable Battle" OCTOBER 2011 - The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified reduction of mother-to-child HIV transmission and congenital syphilis as one of five major public health goals for which major progress can be made with sustained, coordinated effort. These "winnable battles" will be a special focus for CDC as it implements its broad global health portfolio.

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http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/rtis/cs_global_updates/en/index.html

2013-05-24T01:59:24Z

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Sears Tower, the tallest tower in the Western Hemisphere at 1,725 ft and popular icon of Chicago, is to be renamed as Willis Tower as part of a rental agreement with London-based insurance company Willis Group Holdings. The company are to consolidate five area offices and move nearly 500 Associates into Willis Tower, initially occupying more than 140,000 sq ft on multiple floors. "Having our name associated with Chicago’s most iconic structure underscores our commitment to this great city, and recognizes Chicago’s importance as a major financial hub and international business center,” said Joseph J. Plumeri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Willis Group Holdings. The majority of Willis HRH Associates moving to Willis Tower work in the company’s retail brokerage business, which is supported by Willis’ key specialist capabilities in such areas as construction, executive risk, healthcare, property, real estate and employee benefits. The 110 storey tower, designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill and completed in 1973, held the record for the world’s tallest building for 25 years until the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia were built in 1998

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2013-05-24T01:59:17Z

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Newly discovered bacterial alchemists could help save billions of plastic bottles from landfills. The Pseudomonas strains can convert the low-grade PET plastic used in drinks bottles into a more valuable and biodegradable plastic called PHA. PHA is already used in medical applications, from artery-supporting tubes called stents to wound dressings. The plastic can be processed to have a range of physical properties. However, one of the barriers to PHA reaching wider use is the absence of a way to make it in large quantities. The new bacteria-driven process – termed upcycling – could address that, and make recycling PET bottles more economically attractive. PET bugs Although billions of plastic bottles are made each year, few are ultimately recycled. Just 23.5% of US bottles were recycled in 2006. This is because the recycling process simply converts the low value PET bottles into more PET, says Kevin O'Connor at University College Dublin, Ireland. "We wanted to see if we could turn the plastic into something of higher value in an environmentally friendly way," he says. O'Connor and colleagues knew that heating PET in the absence of oxygen – a process called pyrolysis – breaks it down into terephthalic acid (TA) and a small amount of oil and gas. They also knew that some bacteria can grow and thrive on TA, and that other bacteria produce a high-value plastic PHA when stressed. So they wondered whether any bacteria could both feed on TA and convert it into PHA. Bacteria hunt "It was a long shot to be honest," says O'Connor. His team studied cultures from around the world known to grow on TA, but none produced PHA. So they decided to look for undiscovered strains, in environments that naturally contain TA. Analysing soil bacteria from a PET bottle processing plant, which are likely to be exposed to small quantities of TA, yielded 32 colonies that could survive in the lab using TA as their only energy source. After 48 hours they screened each culture for PHA. Three cultures, all similar to known strains of Pseudomonas, accumulated detectable quantities of the valuable plastic. The next step is to improve the efficiency of the process, says O'Connor. "A quarter to a third of each cell is filled with plastic – we want to increase that to 50 to 60%." Less landfill Sudesh Kumar, a microbiologist at the University of Science, Malaysia, in Penang, is impressed with the study. "There are many other systems that are economically more viable to produce PHA with better material properties," he says. "But Kevin's work offers an interesting novel approach to solve the problem of PET accumulation in landfill dumps." But it is still unlikely that using the new approach alone will appeal to industry, O'Connor says. "Working with this kind of environmental technology in isolation, the chances of success are reduced," he says. The best approach, he continues, would be to use the new bacteria as just one part of a bio-refinery capable of upcycling an array of waste products in an environmentally friendly way.

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2013-05-27T02:57:40Z

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As kids, the one thing that we looked for, other than new clothings and Ang-Pows (red packets stuffed with money), it was the drinks and cookies. In those days, it was not soft drinks at any time as we would these days. Main reason was probably that it was something we could not afford and could afford to do without. It was and still is customary to have some kueh-kueh (cakes) and cookies during Chinese New Year time so that we could entertain visiting relatives and friends with them and soft drinks.My favourite drink then was F&N's Sarsaparilla, which has been shortened to Sarsi these days. Ah, somehow, the taste has changed too. Or was it just my tastebud? And for prayers, Mum would also start preparing to steam the Chinese kueh-kueh. One was the Kueh-Nern-Koh (Kai Dang Kohl in Cantonese or literally read as Qi Dan Gao in Mandarin). We youngsters, full of energies would be the best candidate to help beat the eggs. Often, we would use a big glazed earthen pot, which looked more like a garden pot without the holes. With a beater (that looks like a spring with a handle), we would have to beat the number of eggs cracked into the pot - gosh how many were there - until it seemed to grow in volume. We could not stop until Mum said so. The other was the Huat Kueh (Fa Gao) which most of the aunties and grannies would be very superstitious about. No unnecessary comments, lest the Huat Kueh (which has yeast included) does not "huat" - "grow" up evenly like a flower just bloomed. Ah, here, we were warned not to say anything, just beat! For this Huat Kueh, we had to have the yeast with the dough overnight. When these were ready, the special baskets (weaved with bamboos?) with the "glass papers" laid in the baskets would be prepared for the beaten eggs or dough into, and then, placed into a huge kuali (wok) already steaming hot with boiling water and a bamboo tray sitting on the wok. The baskets were placed onto the bamboo tray that was way above the reach of the boiling water. And a huge cyclindrical cover was placed over these dough on the wok. Wet towels (like those used as face towels) were place around the cover to prevent excessive escape of the steam. Home-steamed kueh kueh are probably the best, with the best ingredients and no preservatives and well, there could be secret methods of preparing them. Alas, I think much of the arts could have been lost. Grandma's legacy. In making the other cookies, there seemed to be a mix of Chinese and Malay (or was it Peranakan) cookies. I only had the experience of making "love-letters". Well, that was no fun when you have to roll the flat pancake into a roll, like a cigar. In our days, we used to love to emulate our grandpa by "smoking" these love letters. Imagine in those days, they even has candies made to look like cigarettes! These days, one could almost get most of the common kueh-kueh in the shops. Ah, but, it will never be the same as those made by Mum, Grandma or Auntie.

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2013-05-27T02:54:00Z

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MORE PICS & Video - ALTANTUYA SHAARIIBUU; PICTURES of Early Childhood, Adulthood and Motherhood Life & TWO Children; Video Narrated by Father = = = == = = This Police source is to quell the rumors going through the grape vine in Ijok By-Election. The timing was a bit too late! And you will find ALL the print media will highlight and have the SAME story = = = =UPDATE: A DNA test has confirmed the 4 year old son (ABOVE) of the Mongolian woman killed in Two police officer and a forensic expert from the KL Hospital had gone to The murder of Altantuya 28 received widespread media coverage after her remains were found believed to have blown to bits by explosives in the Puncha dam in Shah Alam in Oct last year. The trial for the murder is scheduled to begin on June 4 in the Shah Alam high court. = = == =the STAR's account; Test confirms ex-hubby fathered Altantuya’s son The murder of Altantuya, 28, received wide media coverage after her remains were found, believed to have been blown to bits with explosives, near the Subang Dam in Puncak Alam in Shah Alam in October last year.= == = = = = = = ==UPDATE; Killing rattles Malaysian politics — Top official’s associates face trial in death of a Mongolian woman; By Yaroslav Trofimov; The Wall Street Journal The investigation into Ms. Shaariibuu’s disappearance has implicated close associates of the country’s second-most-powerful politician, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Najib Abdul Razak. A key political adviser will go on trial in June on charges of abetting the murder. Two members of Mr. Najib’s security detail have been charged with carrying it out. The connection has propelled this murder mystery onto the center stage of Malaysian politics, calling into question the near certainty that Mr. Najib will succeed current Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The coming trial is also viewed as a barometer of how far Malaysia has opened up in the three years since Mr. Abdullah succeeded his more authoritarian predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, and began relaxing restrictions on political debate, the media and the courts. “This murder case is very important — it is a test, not just of Najib, but also of Abdullah’s integrity and leadership,” says former Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim, who was imprisoned on sodomy charges after falling out with Dr. Mahathir in 1998 and was cleared under the current premier. The scandal has touched off a feeding frenzy in ABOVE: Altantuya's passport photo and BELOW: Her first husband, pop idol Maadai So far we have seen only the passport photo of the murdered Mongolian girl ALTANTUYA SHAARIIBUU and through the efforts of Susan Sloone, she managed to convinced her father to piece together a photo video album of her (with a narration in Mongolian by her father Mr. Stev Shariibuu) and a short clip of her 2nd ill son Atanshagai, 3 years old (BELOW) is reportedly to be having serious health problems. DNA tests are taken to compare with those of Abdul Razak. He does not have any resemblance at all? A typical Mongolian child. “(Altantuya) is a nice and young Mongolian girl who got killed by cruel murderers, terminating her young life.Background voice and produced by: Mr. Stev Shariibuu, Ulanbataar, January 2007. Translation by Dashvadaa, from “She was born as a dear child to her moderate parents, and like other children, she grew up, by spending ordinary days, day after day. “She grew up playing with her sister (ABOVE, right) , who is so much like her, as birds of a feather. “The picture of the girl sitting on the lap of her Russian teacher (ABOVE)in the remote city of the Chimkent Soviet Unionshows the beginning of her educational path. “It was in the city that she began to get acquainted with the great history of humankind. secondary schoolof Leningrad “By giving birth to her first child,(ABOVE) she became a mother to experience happiness of motherhood, although her livelihood burden increased as well. “Besides bringing up her son she strived to learn Russian, English and Chinese. “Her master’s, bachelor’s degrees and diplomas (ABOVE) in Chinese Language and many other certificates bear witness to her increasing knowledge, certify her good command of those languages. “But life is full of surprises, and to overcome all possible difficulties in life, she often overloaded herself with work, trying to repay her parents goodness, to rear her children and educate her sister. “She had a rare nature; she did not begrudge her friends and sacrificed herself for the sake of others. “But her lifespan was limited, yet the success she achieved in this 20+ years of life, will make you think, that she lived her life, racing to be ahead of time. “ Later, Altantuya gave birth to her second child,(ABOVE) and put in enormous effort to bring him up as a healthy boy. This is a witness of what an extremely good mother and unique good-hearted girl she was. “The Mongolian girl who departed from this life so sensationally, deeply distressed her parents, orphaned her dear children and reminded the world of the realities of modern life. “She will be remembered by all honest people, and frankly she will serve God after her death”. = = =The 4m 41 s Video of her photos is available H E R E (the last part 1m 26s shows her sick son crawling on the carpet.

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2013-05-26T09:34:48Z

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BE 107FM - A Quick Overview If you are in Singapore, certain parts of Malaysia and Indonesia, you can listen to our programs/short clips on 107FM. Alternatively, you can download the podcasts here on this site. Our productions are also picked up internationally by stations located in Guam, Philippines, and USA. Currently, not all the programs broadcast on 107FM are available for download. However, we’re working to provide you with complete access to what we produce. Click the show titles & spots links on the left for detailed introductions to each of our programs. Or read below for a quick synopsis. |Mon to Fri| |7.40am – 8am||Thought for the Day| |8am – 10am||Morning Mix| |4pm – 4.30pm||Adventures in Odyssey| |4.30pm – 5pm||Your Story Hour| |5pm – 6pm||Inspiring Music| |8.30pm – 9pm||AWR Poona (Tamil)| |9pm – 9.30pm||Pinoy Lah! (Filipino)| |9.30pm – 10:30pm||Morning Mix (Repeat)| |10.30pm – 10:50pm||Thought for the Day (Repeat)| |9pm – 10pm||Heartstrings (Mandarin) 1 hr| |9pm – 11pm||Pinoy Lah! (Filipino) 2 hrs| |9pm – 10pm||Soul Friend (Tamil) 1 hr| Our Christian Programs In addition to featuring content from established Christian broadcasters, every Monday, Morning Mix presents Faith & Rt on their locally produced show called "Trail Mix" and on Thursday, they ask Pastor Johnny Kan questions that listeners send in, on a show call "Ask A Pastor" Featuring two very popular and renowned children’s radio shows, The Pond and Adventures in Odyssey, Story Time is an hour of kid-friendly, family-fun, laughter and timeless lessons enacted through dramatized stories. Spend a half-hour with hosts, Aunt Carole (Carole Pezet) and Uncle Dan (Chet Damron), as they introduce dramatized stories that build character and develop positive values in children. A 30 minute family-oriented program consisting of songs/ church singing, the occasional children's story, health messages and more. All in Tamil. Thought for the Day A 20 minute devotional program produced by Trinity Christian Centre. Every Sunday night, from 9pm – 10pm, Pastor Raulraj shares his experiences and words of inspiration with the Tamil speaking community. Every Saturday night, from 9pm – 10pm, Jose Cruz and his co-hosts bring comedy, latest news, and special interviews with prominent Filipinos in an effort to reach out to the overseas Filipino workers. Every Friday night, from 9pm – 10pm, Mei Jye and her special guests encourage the community and share practical tips and personal testimonies. Our Short Clips (inserted within our Christian programs) Written and presented by Faith Toh, Trail Mix is a contemplative audio diary of sorts, bringing inspiring spiritual perspectives to current affairs and challenges people in their own spiritual journey. A 30-second reading of God’s Word embedded within a context that adds insight, meaning and relevance for today’s context. The Daily CQ is a daily reading of the CQ Bible Study Guides . Each episode is between 3-5 minutes and is accompanied with downloadable lesson studies and teachers’ guides in PDF format. Wellness Minute is an educational one minute radio podcast that brings you the latest in a wide range of general health issues. Take control of your health, your weight and your life with advice from Dr Eric Teo, director of Youngberg Wellness Center.

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Working in partnership and building capacity for development in Asia & the Pacific UNDP in the Asia & the Pacific region is responsible for delivering UNDP's country and regional programmes through 24 UNDP Country Offices in the region. We work in a diverse environment: a region that is fastest growing in the world while at the same time it is home to half of the world's poor: a region that houses countries experiencing economic transition (China, Mongolia, Viet Nam), two of the world's largest economies (China, India), middle income countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand), and countries facing or recovering from conflict (Afghanistan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste). Out of the 14 Least Developed Countries in our region, four are landlocked - Afghanistan, Bhutan, Lao PDR and Nepal - while seven are island developing countries-Kiribati, Maldives, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu (the other three LDCs are Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Myanmar). UNDP in the region also has a Regional Centres located in Bangkok with an office in Suva, Fiji. They deliver the regional programme and provide policy advisory and knowledge management services. New UNDP project zeros in on gender inequality in Afghanistan Recent Publications from UNDP Asia-Pacific

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Search hotels near Papa's Café Amusement and Theme parks Banks and Currency Exchange Popular right now in Bali Five great reasons to book with us! Over 285,000 hotels worldwide – more added every day Trusted by over 7,000,000 satisfied customers 4 million+ hotel reviews by agoda customers 1,000+ free nights redeemed weekly with reward points With availability in over 37,000 cities worldwide agoda special offers including last minute offers (even same day!) Bali is famous for popular attractions like Papa's Café. Agoda.com has secured the lowest rates at hotels near many other Restaurants and Cafes. A wide range of hotels are available near Papa's Café, from the friendly Q Hotel Bali to the luxurious Kuta Paradiso Hotel. Reservations for hotels close to Papa's Café are made easy via Agoda.com's secure on-line booking form. With convenient search tools and extensive information, hotels in Bali are easily searchable. More travelers are choosing agoda.com to book accommodation near Papa's Café, with over 150,000 hotels worldwide. Hotels near Papa's Café This boutique resort was designed to reflect the charm of a traditional Balinese village. Recently remodeled, the Alam KulKul Boutique Resort & Hotel is still a symbol of Bali’s unique culture with its thatched roof villas and a decor consisting of antique furniture and local handicrafts all set amidst a series of flower gardens and tranquil pools. The hotel itself offers a wide range of international cuisines at the Bunga Kelapa restaurant and the Jamu Traditional Spa has a variety of treatments for guests who like to pamper themselves. The Alam KulKul is conveniently located across from the Kuta Beach and is very close to local dining and shopping hotspots. When you're ready to book a room at AlamKulKul Boutique Resort, please enter your travel dates into the secure online booking form and click. Well-positioned in Kuta, Pro Surf Camp is the ideal point of departure for your excursions in Bali. From here, guests can enjoy easy access to all that the lively city has to offer. No less exceptional is the hotel's easy access to the city's myriad attractions and landmarks, such as Consulate of Malaysia, Tobia's Ristorante, Sushi Densha. Offering hotel guests superior services and a broad range of amenities, Pro Surf Camp is committed to ensuring that your stay is as comfortable as possible. Top features of the hotel include safety deposit boxes, poolside bar, tours, smoking area, coffee shop. The ambiance of Pro Surf Camp is reflected in every guestroom. internet access – wireless (complimentary), refrigerator, extra long beds (> 2 meters), satellite/cable TV, private pool are just some of the facilities at your disposal. Besides, the hotel's host of recreational offerings ensures you have plenty to do during your stay. With an ideal location and facilities to match, Pro Surf Camp hits the spot in many ways. Elegantly situated in the strategic surroundings across the famous Legian Beach and Kuta Beach, Pullman Bali Legian Nirwana Hotel is Bali’s new beachfront five-star hotel that offers prestigious accommodation and the best of Balinese hospitality. Ideal for leisure and business travelers alike, the hotel incorporates the elegant design of frangipani flower and the luxury of urban chic, making it an exquisite place to spend a special holiday and indulge into the sheer relaxation. All guestrooms have private balcony overlooking the panoramic view of the Indian Ocean and leafy landscape. However the most stunning place is the roof- top infinity pool, where the breathtaking spectacularity of the great ocean could be fully comprehended. As for dining, the hotel boasts three exclusive venues, where the memorial tastes of international and local cuisines are served. Built in 2012, The Stones Hotel Autograph Collection Hotel is a distinct addition to the city's skyline. Only 0. Km from the city center, the hotel's strategic location ensures that guests can quickly and easily reach many local points of interest. No less exceptional is the hotel's easy access to the city's myriad attractions and landmarks, such as Consulate of Malaysia, Tobia's Ristorante, Sushi Densha. The Stones Hotel Autograph Collection Hotel offers impeccable service and all the essential amenities to invigorate travelers. While lodging at this wonderful property, guests can enjoy meeting facilities, Wi-Fi in public areas, safety deposit boxes, concierge, babysitting. In addition, all guestrooms feature a variety of comforts such as complimentary bottled water, interconnecting room(s) available, air conditioning, in room safe, television to please even the most discerning guest. Throughout the day you can enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of the outdoor pool, massage, pool (kids), kids club, spa. With an ideal location and facilities to match, The Stones Hotel Autograph Collection Hotel hits the spot in many ways. Conveniently located in Bali, Rivavi Fashion Hotel is a great base from which to explore this vibrant city. From here, guests can enjoy easy access to all that the lively city has to offer. With the city's main attractions such as Consulate of Malaysia, Nero Bali, Tobia's Ristorante within close reach, visitors to the hotel will just love its location. At Rivavi Fashion Hotel, every effort is made to make guests feel comfortable. To do so, the hotel provides the best in services and amenities. Wi-Fi in public areas, car park, bar/pub, safety deposit boxes, tours are just a few of the facilities that set Rivavi Fashion Hotel apart from other hotels in the city. The hotel features 95 beautifully appointed guest rooms, each including bathtub, desk, air conditioning, complimentary bottled water, mini bar. Throughout the day you can enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of the indoor pool, pool (kids), fitness center. Whatever your purpose of visit, Rivavi Fashion Hotel is an excellent choice for your stay in Bali. Located meters from the famous white sandy Kuta Beach, it's only a 5-minute stroll to Kuta Beach. This hotel offers simple, relaxing and friendly atmosphere to leisure seekers who also wish for an affordable stay. All rooms feature air conditioning, fridge, satellite TV, IDD phone, and hot and cold running water. Swimming pool, kids pool, restaurant, car park, laundry, and room services from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. are also available within the property. The Legian Beach Hotel, just five kilometers from the International Airport is perfect for families, honeymooners and business travelers. The cottages and guest rooms are set within a landscaped tropical garden complete with coconut palms, shady trees, and sweet-scented flowers. The hotel has been styled in traditional Balinese architecture and utilizing local materials from Bali and neighboring islands. The hotel includes two swimming pools, fitness center, tennis and squash courts, surfing academy with professional instructors and unique to Legian Beach, a cooking class. Renovated in 2012, the The Kuta Playa Hotel & Villas guarantees guests a pleasant stay whether in Bali for business or pleasure. Situated only 0.8 Km from the city center, guests are well located to enjoy the town's attractions and activities. Visitors to the hotel can take pleasure in touring the city's top attractions: Consulate of Malaysia, Tobia's Ristorante, Sushi Densha. At The Kuta Playa Hotel & Villas, the excellent service and superior facilities make for an unforgettable stay. A selection of top-class facilities such as airport transfer, bar/pub, bicycle rental, 24hr room service, smoking area can be enjoyed at the hotel. The Kuta Playa Hotel & Villas is home to 156 bedrooms, all tastefully furnished to provide comforts such as in room safe, television, television LCD/plasma screen, bathtub, shower. The hotel offers many unique recreational opportunities such as garden, massage, jacuzzi, outdoor pool, spa. The Kuta Playa Hotel & Villas is a smart choice for travelers to Bali, offering a relaxed and hassle-free stay every time. Puri Etnik Hotel, located in Legian, Bali, is a popular choice for travelers. From here, guests can enjoy easy access to all that the lively city has to offer. No less exceptional is the hotel's easy access to the city's myriad attractions and landmarks, such as Consulate of Malaysia, Tobia's Ristorante, Nero Bali. Puri Etnik Hotel offers impeccable service and all the essential amenities to invigorate travelers. Top features of the hotel include tours, babysitting, family room, restaurant, Wi-Fi in public areas. Guests can choose from 40 rooms, all of which exude an atmosphere of total peace and harmony. The hotel offers wonderful recreational facilities such as outdoor pool, massage, garden, pool (kids), spa to make your stay truly unforgettable. When you are looking for comfortable and convenient accommodations in Bali, make Puri Etnik Hotel your home away from home. Situated in one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, Kuta, this award-winning Best Western property offers an alluring set of accommodations, well suited for leisure seekers. The Kuta Beach, Kuta souvenir shopping area, night life entertainments, local and international cuisines are all within close proximity to the hotel. Best Western Kuta Beach is set with elegant Modern décor throughout the property, from corridors to guestrooms. Their spacious modern rooms are well facilitated with superior amenities such as air conditioning, 60 channels TV cable, internet access, and comfortable bed setting. Enjoy a delightful meal at the open air diner in front of the swimming pool. With such service and accommodation, Best Western Kuta Beach will ensure a memorable vacation in Kuta. Well-positioned in Legian, Adus Beach Inn is the ideal point of departure for your excursions in Bali. From here, guests can enjoy easy access to all that the lively city has to offer. Visitors to the hotel can take pleasure in touring the city's top attractions: Nero Bali, Consulate of Malaysia, Sushi Densha. The facilities and services provided by Adus Beach Inn ensure a pleasant stay for guests. Guests of the hotel can enjoy on-site features like shuttle service, restaurant, shops, 24hr room service, room service. The ambiance of Adus Beach Inn is reflected in every guestroom. DVD/CD player, non smoking rooms, television, shower, extra long beds (> 2 meters) are just some of the facilities at your disposal. Besides, the hotel's host of recreational offerings ensures you have plenty to do during your stay. When you are looking for comfortable and convenient accommodations in Bali, make Adus Beach Inn your home away from home. Set right in Kuta, the former fishing village in southern Bali, Champlung Mas Hotel is an affordable accommodation with easy access to beautiful surfing Legian beach. The hotel is about 20 minutes from Ngurah Rai International Airport, 25 minutes from Denpasar, the capital of Bali. Rooms on offer range from standard to superior, with standard amenities satellite TV and private balcony. An outdoor pool, surrounded by gardens, is a great place for guests to relax. The restaurant is open 24 hours. There is also a bar where guests can enjoy a variety of refreshing cocktails. This comfortable budget hotel is located in the heart of Legian and Kuta, a stone’s throw from Kuta Beach. The Rosani Hotel offers budget travelers a clean and comfortable base in the very heart of Kuta, with an abundance of shops, markets, restaurants, and bars at your doorstep. The Rosani puts you right in the middle of all the action in Legian and Kuta, the most vibrant nightlife spots in the whole of Bali, making the budget hotel a suitable choice especially for younger travelers. Kuta Beach is only a three-minute walk from the hotel, and the Ngurah International Airport is a convenient ten-minute drive away. The budget Rosani Hotel provides modern amenities in a great location at a fraction of the prices of most other hotels. Rosani Hotel can be easily booked with our secure online booking form. Simply enter your dates and click to proceed. Well-placed in the restaurants, beaches, sports area of Bali city, The Magani Hotel and Spa provides a most conducive spot for you to take a break from your busy days. Only 15. Km away, this 4-star hotel can be easily accessed from the airport. With the city's main attractions such as Nero Bali, Consulate of Malaysia, Sushi Densha within close reach, visitors to the hotel will just love its location. Take advantage of a wealth of unrivaled services and amenities at this Bali hotel. The hotel offers access to a vast array of services, including meeting facilities, concierge, poolside bar, Wi-Fi in public areas, business center. Experience high quality room facilities, including complimentary bottled water, refrigerator, satellite/cable TV, in room safe, non smoking rooms, to help you recharge after a long day. The hotel offers an excellent variety of recreational facilities, including pool (kids), jacuzzi, massage, spa, fitness center. Whatever your reason for visiting Bali, the The Magani Hotel and Spa is the perfect venue for an exhilarating and exciting break away. Situated in the center of Legian, the Bali Mandira Beach Resort & Spa is just 20 minutes from the airport, and within walking distance of the Hard Rock Café, Kuta Square as well as a host of restaurants and boutiques. The property offers 117 guestrooms complete with all the modern amenities one can expect from a 4-star hotel. After a long day of exploring, unwind in the outdoor pool, relax in the sensuous spa or enjoy a number of exciting water sports on location. Guests seeking that perfect blend of attentive care and modern convenience will find it at this lovely hotel. The 3-Star Vilarisi Hotel is situated in central Legian, a 5 minute walk from Kuta beach and located amongst numerous shopping and nightlife attractions. The hotel features Balinese and Javanese architecture and decoration, including stone carving and paintings. Hotel amenities include mail service, car rental and motor bike rental, on call doctor, dry cleaning and laundry service, internet and computer rental, and on site restaurants. An outdoor swimming pool and massage service are available for guests who wish to relax on the hotel grounds, and 34 guest rooms have air conditioning and private balconies or terraces. Renovated in 2010, the Sayang Maha Mertha Hotel guarantees guests a pleasant stay whether in Bali for business or pleasure. Set 10.0 km from the excitement of the city, this 1-star hotel commands an excellent location and provides access to the city's biggest attractions. With its convenient location, the hotel offers easy access to the city's must-see destinations. Sayang Maha Mertha Hotel also offers many facilities to enrich your stay in Bali. A selection of top-class facilities such as concierge, business center, poolside bar, bar/pub, bicycle rental can be enjoyed at the hotel. 70 rooms spread over 3 floors provide a warm and pleasant home away from home and modern comforts such as shower, air conditioning, mini bar, DVD/CD player, desk. The hotel's garden, pool (kids), spa, outdoor pool, massage are ideal places to relax and unwind after a busy day. Superb facilities and an excellent location make the Sayang Maha Mertha Hotel the perfect base from which to enjoy your stay in Bali. Nestled in the heart of Legian, The Losari Hotel & Villas is an ideal spot from which to discover Bali. Set 1 km from the excitement of the city, this 3-star hotel commands an excellent location and provides access to the city's biggest attractions. With the city's main attractions such as Consulate of Malaysia, Legian Clinic, Rituals within close reach, visitors to the hotel will just love its location. At The Losari Hotel & Villas, every effort is made to make guests feel comfortable. To do so, the hotel provides the best in services and amenities. The hotel offers access to a vast array of services, including safety deposit boxes, car park, laundry service/dry cleaning, smoking area, 24hr room service. The ambiance of The Losari Hotel & Villas is reflected in every guestroom. complimentary bottled water, separate shower and tub, air conditioning, satellite/cable TV, desk are just some of the facilities at your disposal. The hotel offers many unique recreational opportunities such as pool (kids), jacuzzi, spa, outdoor pool, massage. Superb facilities and an excellent location make the The Losari Hotel & Villas the perfect base from which to enjoy your stay in Bali. 33 air-conditioned rooms just minutes away from restaurants, cafes, bars, art markets, and the thriving Kuta Beach - not a bad way to spend a holiday! And while most people decide to stay at the Bali Sorgawi Hotel because of its proximity to the action and local nightlife, there’s still a lot to do on premises including swimming in the large pool, working out in the fitness center and getting a traditional massage. A complimentary, made-to-order Indonesian breakfast is also included and airport transfers can be provided for a nominal fee. Bali Sorgawi Hotel Bali is easy to book - just enter your travel dates on our secure online booking form. Just minutes from Kuta and Legian beaches, the Legian Village Hotel is perfect for soaking up the sun on golden sands in a tranquil atmosphere. The nightlife scene around the hotel is buzzing with numerous packed out pubs, bars, nightclubs and eating venues. Rooms are warm, spacious and comfortably designed in minimalist fashion and offer modern amenities including satellite TV and a well stocked mini bar. A live band plays every night for guests dining in the onsite restaurant, which serves delicious Balinese dishes and a wide range of International meals. Go To Top

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Results 426 to 442 of 7111 Thread: Singapore Also Can 10-30-2009, 05:53 AM #426 Our Malaysian leaders too won some honours/awards ... Getting the Hang Tuah award is really a big deal as we dont dish this prestigious honour to any Ah Chuk or his uncle, Ah Mok, Lingam or his drinking buddy, Thandevan or Abu or his step brother, Badut. Hang Tuah is our legendary malay warrior who killed thousands and thousands of Portugese with his 1" butter knife. 10-30-2009, 06:06 AM #427 Singapore got this or not? The World Biggest Pewter Tankard. Hello Uncle Loh, our Royal Selangor Pewter crafted this sometime back. It is still the world's biggest tankard till this day as no other nation have the technology or technical know how to actually build one. 10-30-2009, 06:54 AM #428 I still possess some souvenir items made of pewter bought many years ago on my visits to Malaysia - a top spinner, a Kelantan kite flyer and a Kuda dancer as well as sealions. I must have lost the butterfly brooch. I think I read the story behind the success of the pewter company although I've forgotten most of the details. It is an inspiration for young entrepreneurs. 10-30-2009, 06:57 AM #429 11-01-2009, 08:50 AM #430 I also found the three monkeys reminding us to "speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil"! 11-01-2009, 09:18 AM #431 'Promising' PAP candidates The Straits Times Nov 1, 2009 By Jeremy Au Yong BY THE next general election - in 2011 or 2012 - the People's Action Party must have the next generation of political leaders in place, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday. Some members have been identified, he said, but the team that can one day take over from him and his senior colleagues is not yet complete. The hunt for political successors, including someone who could be Singapore's fourth PM, has been a niggling concern for Government leaders in recent years. Until now, however, no deadline had been set. But it is this uncompromising commitment to self-renewal, said PM Lee, that has allowed the PAP to thus far avoid the fates of other long-ruling parties like the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan and the Barisan Nasional (BN) in Malaysia. The Prime Minister, who is also the secretary-general of the PAP, made this points on Sunday morning at the PAP convention in Downtown East. He was addressing more than 1,000 PAP members, activists, MPs and former MPs. This year's convention holds special significance for the party as it marks 50 years of the PAP in power. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (left) said some members have been identified, but the team that can one day take over from him and his senior colleagues is not yet complete. -- PHOTO: ZAOBAO 11-01-2009, 11:05 PM #432 S'porean aces US Sudoku The Straits Times Nov 2, 2009 Though actually second, Tammy McLeod's perfect finish of the Japanese puzzle won her top spot By Cheryl Tan A SINGAPOREAN based in the United States has won a national Sudoku contest there, beating 68 contestants in cracking the killer Japanese number puzzles. The local brainbox, who won top prize in the third annual Sudoku National Championship in Philadelphia last Saturday, is Tammy McLeod, a 32-year-old computer programmer with search engine giant Google. Apart from the coveted title, she also wins US$10,000 (S$14,000), an iPod Touch and a place to represent the United States at the 2010 World Sudoku Championship to be held again in Philadelphia next April. Mrs McLeod was formerly from Raffles Girls' School (RGS) and Raffles Junior College (RJC). The mother of a 14-month-old baby girl, Audrey, she is also an alumni of the gifted programme in Rosyth Primary School and won the smartest Mensa competition in 1995. She has an IQ of 168. She moved to the United States in 2000 and lives in Los Angeles with her 35-year-old husband, Mr Brent McLeod, a video games designer. Computer programmer Tammy McLeod (far left, with husband Brent McLeod and daughter Audrey), on completing her puzzle onstage in front of more than 1,000 onlookers. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF TAMMY MCLEOD 11-02-2009, 10:40 PM #433 A question ... I got a question here ... Singapore have a population of 5 million +-, right? Singapore's universities are world reknowned, right? Singapore is modern, progressive and is considered one of Asia's economic tigers, right? ... but how come you lot cant find a PM other than LKY's little boy, Hsien Loong in that 5 million pool? Are you saying Hsien Loong is the ONLY smart looking and brainy stud amongst the 5 million? Why is that PM post a 'hand me down' thing from daddy to son? And how come Temasek is helmed by Ho Ching, Hsien Loong's wife? Again, no other smart and brainy women in Singapore other than Ho Ching? 11-03-2009, 12:27 AM #434 Actually Singapore may have a population of 5 million now, about 1 million are non-citizens comprising of foreign workers and permanent residents who can't stand for, and vote at elections. I think Singapore is blessed in a certain way to have two from the same Lee family to be willing to serve the nation and to continue to make progress and prosperity for all Singaporeans. You would agree that Singapore's current status is no mean achievement for a very small city state, more so considering its very difficult and humble beginnings. Of course having members of the same family to serve at the highest office is not unique to Singapore as the most powerful nation in the world, the US, also has this tradition, the most recent being the Bush family. Even Malaysia has its fair share with the Najibs, the son being the current PM. The same question should be thrown back at you: How come with a much bigger population of more than 25 million, Malaysia cannot find someone else other than another Najib? In Singapore's case, many like you may think that Lee Jnr's post is a 'hand-me-down' thing. This is not correct. When LKY stepped down in November 1990, it was Goh Chok Tong who took over as PM until August 2004 when he became SM, almost 14 years at the helm. Lee Hsien Loong entered politics when he was 32 in 1984 (His father was already PM at 35 years of age in 1959), not brought in by his father but by Mr Goh or Mr Rajaratnam, I think. He became PM on 12 August 2004. So it was a good 20 years working in government before he succeeded Mr Goh. As I understand it, the PM was not chosen by just one person. He was chosen by the Cabinet, comprising other top party leaders and Ministers. (Details of LHL can be found in Wikipedia: and in "Singapore Government": In this sense LHL's appointment cannot be termed as a 'hand-me-down'. He must command the respect and confidence of the other cabinet members, many of whom are highly qualified. The decision to be involved in politics is a personal one. There may be many able men and women in Singapore, but not many are willing to sacrifice their private lives and high incomes to serve the nation as political leaders. Ho Ching was not chosen by LHL to head Temasek. The chairman of Temasek must have found her to be suitable to employ her. And she has proven her ability before. Remember she has to produce results and face the music when things turn bad as it did earlier this year. She was willing to step down and be replaced by a foreigner, one Mr Goodyear, but he decided not to take on the responsibility at the last minute. So Temasek will have to source for another suitable candidate. Do we have another lady to respond? Your guess is as good as mine. 11-03-2009, 12:48 AM #435 I be more than happy to answer ... Ok, Malaysia, unlike Singapore, our universities are not world reknowned. Malaysia, unlike Singapore is not modern, progressive nor are we one of Asia's economic tigers. I also have couple of other ways to answer your question. It is as follows: ... 25 million chaps and still Najib?? Uncle Loh, in Singapore you guys do have a anti corruption agency, right? Do you have any witness (keyword;witness not suspect) murdered in the building of your corruption agency? Singapore got its own armed forces, right? And like any armed forces in the world, your army have weapons and explosives, right? Do you lot have any murder cases involving C4? Chinese are the majority race in Singapore, right? Does the chinese in Singapore tells the other minor races in Singapore that they are 2nd class citizens? And tell them to go back to India, Indonesia, Thailand whenever the Chinese thinks they are out of line? 11-03-2009, 12:59 AM #436 The reason why I asked why LHL was because I find it amazing for a smart and bright country like Singapore that there is no one other than LHL. Hand to heart, honestly, if LHL was not LKY's son, what are the chances of him being PM? And I agree, LHL is a smart cookie but I am sure there are a lot of smart cookies in Singapore as well, right? LKY to LHL ... maybe , you are right LHL is the smart and right choice. Ho Ching and Temasek?? I dont know. I just wonder if HC is not LHL's wifey, will she still head Temasek? I believe it helps if you have family connection in high places. I am not a smart chap but I think if my daddy is LKY, I will get some assistance in my career. LKY after all is human. 11-03-2009, 01:46 AM #437 LHL has been following his father since early days when the elder went about his political business. His tuition in politics started then and he has shown interest at such a young and tender age. This is a great headstart which later must have convinced him to take after his father's footsteps although he was not directly brought into the political arena by his father. In fact I read somewhere that his father tried not to influence his decision to take up politics but indirectly by bringing his son around to his meet-the-people sessions, etc, he has created an interest in him from very young. LHL has the intellect and political acumen to be a leader and with about 20 years learning the political ropes, he was well placed to be the PM, who could speak to the people in their language and dialect. How many young leaders who may have great brains can do this? How many are willing to endure the sacrifices? Many who are able prefer to earn more money in more comfortable circumstances. They prefer to be leaders in other less demanding professions. This is one distinct difference between those who are able and willing to become political leaders. Even now the PAP government is still cultivating possible candidates as our future leaders and has still not yet found a complete team for the next election. But the search is still on-going and hopefully among the brightest and most able, we are able to induce some who are suitable. 11-03-2009, 02:15 AM #438 S'pore resilient in crisis Nov 3, 2009 Everyone played a part, with flexibility and resilience all round By Fiona Chan & Robin Chan THE economic crisis has demonstrated how strong Singapore is and how resilient and flexible its people and businesses are, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Monday night. The Government's 'full-force fiscal intervention' - introduced in this year's Budget - has helped prevent huge job losses and limited fallout from the global crisis, but has been only one part of the story. Speaking at the Enterprise 50 Awards gala dinner at the Raffles City Convention Centre, Mr Tharman said: 'Nothing would have worked if everyone had not played his part.' He noted that companies retained as many workers as they could, with some even creating new jobs. Instead of laying off staff, they reached for help from Government programmes such as the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience, or Spur. Workers, too, made sacrifices in accepting wage cuts and shorter working weeks, and undergoing retraining, he said. Banks continued to lend to viable companies with help from the Government-funded risk-sharing initiative, while grassroots and community leaders, volunteers and philanthropists went out of their way to help those in need. Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam spoke at the Enterprise 50 Awards gala dinner at the Raffles City Convention Centre on Monday night, addressing the economic crisis issue. -- ST PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA 11-03-2009, 02:34 AM #439 50 years in 382 pages:Tracing Spore's history The Straits Times Nov 3, 2009 Book chronicles history of Singapore as reported in newspapers By Akshita Nanda IT COVERS the 1965 separation of Singapore from Malaysia and the 1987 death of stripper Rose Chan. A new book, Chronicle Of Singapore, tells the history of the country as it was reported in newspapers in the 50 years from 1959. The 382-page tome was created after sifting through about 10,000 reports from the Singapore Press Holdings archive and will be out in bookstores this Friday. It costs $59.90 and comes with a DVD of rare film and news footage, including Mr Lee Kuan Yew's emotional speech as Singapore gained independence. The book, published by Editions Didier Millet, features more than 2,000 stories on topics from politics to sports, arranged chronologically and presented in newspaper style. Mr Peter Lim, 71, who headed the team behind Chronicle and who is the former editor-in-chief of The Straits Times Press, said: 'It is not a history book in the conventional sense. Histories are notoriously subjective, depending on who they are written and commissioned by. We claim that this is objective, as objective as the newspapers that reported the events first.' The reports in the book present a slice of life as well as history, starting with British royal Prince Philip's visit here in 1959 and ending with the attack on Mr Seng Han Thong, MP for Yio Chu Kang, in January this year. Mr Peter Lim headed a 40-member team to produce Chronicle Of Singapore (left), which features more than 2,000 stories on topics from politics to sports. -- ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM 11-03-2009, 03:35 AM #440 All decked up for X'mas The Straits Times Nov 3, 2009 By Lim Wei Chean THIS year's Christmas light up will offer two different experiences - on Orchard Road and at Marina Bay. The annual dazzling affair is led by the trade associations of both precincts for the first time and they have each selected their own theme. The theme for the Orchard Road belt is 'Christmas all decked up', featuring the traditional yuletide icons with a twist. Catch Santas, reindeers and snowmen dressed to the nines, in part showing off Orchard Road as the fashion centre. Over at Marina Bay, drawing inspiration from the mythological tale of the Midas Touch, the streets from Raffles City, circling Suntec City, Millenia Walk, Singapore Flyer, Marina Square, The Esplanade, Citylink Mall and Clifford Pier will be transformed into a glittering extravaganza of gold. Coupled with dazzling lighting art pieces, Marina Bay will be presented as a golden shoreline, a reflection of its location. The light up has been brought forward to Saturday to coincide with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings. Singapore Tourism Board's director of tourism shopping and dining Andrew Phua said on Tuesday: 'Christmas is a time for celebration and this year, with the economy showing signs of recovery, there is even more to cheer about. Many tourists from all over the world come to Singapore this year-end season to join us in the festivities each year.' Catch Santas, reindeers and snowmen dressed to the nines, in part showing off Orchard Road as the fashion centre. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE 11-04-2009, 12:17 AM #441 An MIT for Singapore The Straits Times Nov 4, 2009 THE ST INTERVIEW SU, like the US university, will be all about bringing the best and brightest together for a quality education By Sandra Davie TO DESCRIBE the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as one of the world's most powerful engines of the entrepreneurial spirit would be a massive understatement. As one of its famously fastidious professors might put it, just check the numbers. If the revenues of all the companies formed by MIT graduates were added up, that would be more than US$2 trillion (S$2.8 trillion) a year - more than the gross domestic product of all but the 10 largest nations in the world. There are about 6,900 companies in the state of Massachusetts alone founded by MIT alumni. They employ just under a million Americans. A further 18,900 such companies are scattered around the world employing hundreds of thousands Prof with a focus on innovation PROFESSOR Thomas Magnanti, 64, is one of 14 institute professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The title is the highest awarded to a faculty member. He is also a former dean of MIT's School of Engineering. As dean of engineering from 1999 to 2008, he focused on educational innovation, industrial and international partnerships, technology-based entrepreneurship, diversity and innovation in emerging domains such as bioengineering, tiny technologies, information engineering and engineering systems. Prof Magnanti has received numerous education and research awards and honorary degrees and has served on a number of corporate and university boards. He is also a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His first degree, in chemical engineering, was from Syracuse University, and he has two master's degrees, in statistics and mathematics, as well as a PhD in operations research, all from Stanford University. Since the mid-1980s, Prof Magnanti has been a contributing faculty member and then a member of the governing board of the Singapore-MIT Alliance. He later became director of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology. He is married with a son. Prof Magnanti says his hope is that SU will do for Singapore what MIT did for Massachusetts and the US economy; be an engine of growth for the Singapore economy. -- ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG 11-04-2009, 01:12 AM #442 16 coach companies fined Nov 4, 2009 16 operators colluded to set minimum prices for tickets By Maria Almenoar SIXTEEN coach operators plying between Singapore and Malaysia and their association have been fined $1.69 million for price-fixing. The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) has found the companies and the Executive Bus Agencies Association (EBAA) guilty of setting a minimum price for coach tickets sold here and for a fuel and insurance surcharge on each ticket. This collusion took place between 2006 and June last year. The fines, ranging from $10,000 to $518,167, are pegged to the company's size and the amount earned from the price-fixing. The total fine is the biggest penalty handed down by the CCS, which promotes healthy competition in the various industries and administers the Competition Act. In the only other time it has wielded its powers, it fined six pest exterminators a total of $263,000 for bid-rigging in January last year. 1. Transtar Travel $518,167 2. Five Stars Tours $450,207 3. Konsortium Express & Tours $337,635 4. Regent Star Travel $103,875 5. Gunung Raya Travel $76,668 6. GR Travel $52,432 7. Grassland Express & Tours $27,706 8. Sri Maju Tours & Travel $24,600 9. Enjoy Holiday Tour $23,425 10. WTS Travel & Tours $13,611 11. Alisan $10,807 12. Travelzone Network Services $10,000 13. T&L Tours $10,000 14. Nam Ho Travel Service $10,000 15. Lapan Lapan Travel $10,000 16. Luxury Tours & Travel $10,000 17. Express Bus Agencies Association $10,000 By SunPower in forum GripReplies: 4: 11-02-2010, 12:10 PM By Dominic Seow in forum SingaporeReplies: 0: 09-08-2010, 10:24 PM By modious in forum Singapore Open 2002Replies: 2: 09-18-2002, 09:08 AM

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Pakistan’s P-3 Orion Maritime Aircraft – and their HarpoonsDec 19, 2012 12:50 UTC by Defense Industry Daily staff Pakistan’s location on the Indian Ocean next to the Persian Gulf, and its rivalry with India, ensure that its maritime patrol and strike capabilities will need to operate across a wide expanse of ocean. Maritime patrol aircraft are critical to that effort, because of the surveillance area that a single plane can cover. Like India, Pakistan relies on a mix. In its case, that mix includes converted Fokker F27 twin-turboprops, a couple of early-model Dassault Atlantiques, and a high-end force of 2 P-3C Orion aircraft, reactivated in 2006. The 4-engine Orions have much better range than Pakistan’s other maritime patrol aircraft, which widens that country’s sphere of naval influence. Subsequent orders have served to detail the modernization work for Pakistan’s Orion fleet, via a deal for 8 more P-3 aircraft, refurbishment orders, and the accompanying orders for AGM-84 Harpoon missiles that can attack naval or land targets. Contracts and Key Events 2009 – 2012 In late 2004, Portuguese aircraft refitter OGMA was chosen by Lockheed Martin in Marietta, GA to restore and refit Pakistan’s 2 remaining aircraft to the P-3C Update II.5 level. Those planes were reactivated in September 2006. In addition, Pakistan was preparing to buy 8 US Navy surplus P-3C aircraft through the Foreign Military Sales program – a sale that went through. While the P-3 Orion and Harpoon missile orders are separate deals, the Harpoon is the Orion’s critical surface warfare capability. A P-3 without Harpoon missiles is a patrol aircraft and a threat to submarines. One with Harpoon missiles can become a threat to any surface ship within the wide arc of its range – which in Pakistan’s case extends to the Strait of Hormuz, and across a wide swath of the Indian Ocean. “In a significant development, the United States has expressed willingness to provide Pakistan with another three to four [P-3C] maritime surveillance aircraft… during the 21st meeting of the US-Pakistan Defence Consultative Group (DCG), which was held in Rawalpindi on December 3-4.” Pakistan is also reportedly looking for another used FFG-7 frigate, as a companion to PNS Alamgir. Feb 21/12: P-3Cs inducted. Pakistan’s Navy inducts 2 refurbished P-3C Orions, during a ceremony at PNS Mehran, near Karachi. That makes 2 now. It would be 4, but jihadists destroyed the first 2 during an attack on PNS Mehran – q.v. June 15-17/11 entries. IBN Live. P-3Cs #3-4 inducted Dec 27/11: Support. Lockheed Martin in Owego, NY receives an $8.4 million firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract modification in support of the Pakistan [P-3] Upgrade Program (PUP). This modification includes Phase Depot Maintenance Phase I for aircraft 505; removal and replacement of engines for aircraft 505 and 511; and support costs associated with a schedule extension to the PUP Plus effort. Work will be performed in Greenville, SC (65%), and Owego, NY (35%), and is expected to be complete in May 2013. The US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ manages the contract, as Pakistan’s agent (N00019-06-D-0012). June 17/11: Reports surface that the USA will be replacing the 2 refurbished Pakistani P-3C sea control aircraft destroyed at PNS Mehran. A number of these reports cite the admonitions of a mixed opinion-news column by the Washington Post’s David Ignatius. On the other hand, some newspapers like Pakistan’s DAWN are citing “diplomatic sources” as backing for the news about the Orions. DAWN is a good paper, but the backing for these reports remains murky, depending on what they mean by “diplomatic sources.” Ignatius op-ed | Associated Press of Pakistan | DAWN | May 22/10: When Taliban attack! Pakistani Taliban/al-Qaeda guerrillas armed with automatic weapons and RPGs infiltrate Pakistan Naval Station Mehran, setting off a 15 hour battle. Casualties of the small-group raid include both of the upgraded P-3Cs delivered to Pakistan thus far, which are left as smoking wrecks. Pakistan will reportedly ask the USA to replace the 2 lost aircraft, but after discovering Osama Bin Laden sheltered in Pakistan, and listening to Pakistan take huge steps toward becoming a Chinese client, the mood in America isn’t exactly receptive. To that, add 2 more significant concerns, created by the attack itself. One is statements by Pakistani officials that 11 Chinese engineers were at the base, and escaped unharmed. It isn’t clear what they were doing there, and their proximity to modernized American sea control aircraft could well become another friction point between the USA and Pakistan. The second issue is that Pakistan’s inability to secure Mehran, and difficulty in recovering control, leads to even more disturbing questions about the safety of its nuclear weapons. Nor is the idea of such attacks far fetched. Bradford University’s Prof. Shaun Gregory says that nuclear facilities have been attacked at least 3 times in the past 5 years, at Wah, Sargodha, and Kamra. See Pakistan’s Daily Times | DAWN (op-ed) | Express Tribune (op-ed) | The Nation | The News International || India’s Economic Times | Seattle Times | Wall St. Journal | WIRED Danger Room || Indian SAAG analysis. Taliban attack PNS Mehran, destroy 2 new P-3Cs Oct 22/10: P-3C. Lockheed Martin Corp. in Eagan, MN receives a $7.3 million contract modification for indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity services in support of the Pakistan Navy’s 7-plane P-3C upgrade program. Support to be provided includes labor, aircraft hangar costs, and acoustic receiver technical refresh program report resolution. Work will be performed in Greenville, SC (80%), and Eagan, MN (20%), and is expected to be complete in November 2011. The US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ manages this contract (N00019-06-D-0012). June 1/10: P-3C. The first 2 refurbished P-3Cs are inducted at PNS Mehran, Karach, Pakistan. All 8 aircraft are scheduled to arrive by 2012. The US Embassy in Pakistan adds that over the last 3 years, U.S. civilian and security assistance to Pakistan has totaled more than $4 billion. It has included civilian aid, as well as 14 F-16 fighter aircraft, 10 Mi-17 helicopters, 2 Bell 412EP helicopters, 5 fast patrol boats, 115 M109 self-propelled Howitzers, more than 450 vehicles for Pakistan’s Frontier Corps, hundreds of night vision goggles, day/night scopes, radios, and thousands of protective vests and first-aid items for Pakistan’s security forces. First 2 P-3Cs inducted May 24/10: P-3C. Small business qualifier American Valley Aviation, Inc. in Orange Park, FL receives a $5.5 million firm-fixed-price contract to refurbish wing and weapons bay pylons in support of the Pakistan Navy P-3 upgrade program, and includes the addition of digital stores management systems for Pakistan’s 7 P-3 aircraft. Work will be performed in Orange Park, FL, and is expected to be complete in September 2011. This contract was not competitively procured, pursuant to FAR 6.302-4, by the US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ (N68335-10-C-0244). April 30/10: P-3C. The U.S. Navy formally transfers 2 P-3Cs to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, who accepts them in a ceremony at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, FL. US Navy. Jan 7/10: Deliver #2. Lockheed Martin delivers the 2nd upgraded Pakistani P-3C, at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, FL, for subsequent transfer to Pakistan. Lockheed Martin delivered the first plane in October 2009. Lockheed Martin | Flight International. Dec 23/09: Support. Lockheed Martin Corp. in Eagan, MN receives a $34.2 million modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract, adding funding for Pakistani P-3C mission system spares. Work will be performed in Eagan, MN (75%), Oldsmar, FL (20%), and Manassas, VA (5%), and is expected to be complete in September 2011. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ manages this contract (N00019-06-D-0012). Nov 23/09: P-3Cs. Lockheed Martin Corp. in Eagan, MN receives a $4.4 million modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-06-D-0012) to upgrade 7 P-3C aircraft for the government of Pakistan under the Foreign Military Sales program. This modification will replace the airplanes’ obsolete and unsustainable avionics systems with modern equipment. Work will be performed in Eagan, MN (70%), and Greenville, SC (30%), and is expected to be complete in February 2013. The Naval Air Warfare Center in Lakehurst, NJ manages this contract. 2004 – 2008 June 5/08: Support. An $8.1 million indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract with an estimated value of $8,134,542 for engineering, logistics, and technical services in support of the Harpoon Weapon Systems and SLAM-ER Missile System for the U.S. Navy, and for the Governments of Australia, Canada, Chile, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United Arab Emirates under the Foreign Military Sales Program. May 31/07: Support. A $8.1 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0027) for the procurement of a Harpoon Missile Subsystem Test Set Weapon Station upgrade, interim spares, installation and checkout, and applicable training for the Government of Pakistan under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in St. Charles, MO (34.02%); Dallas, TX (28.89%); St. Louis, MO (18.46%); Oklahoma City, OK (7.34%); St. Louis, MO (3.43%); Yorba Linda, CA (3.19%); Chatsworth, CA (1.20%); Englewood, CO (0.70%); Austin, TX (0.60%); and various locations across the United States (2.17%) and is expected to be complete in January 2009. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD. April 13/07: Training. Small business qualifier Delex Systems, Inc. in, Vienna, VA received a $7.5 million firm-fixed-priced order against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement (N00019-03-G-0015) for the development, documentation, testing and delivery of a turnkey Harpoon Tactical Training Program for the Pakistan Navy under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in Vienna, VA (95%), and Karachi, Pakistan (5%), and is expected to be complete in April 2012. The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD issued the contract. March 30/07: Harpoon. A $191.4 million firm-fixed-priced contract for Harpoon missiles combines US and foreign military sales. Included in the purchase is 30 Harpoon Tactical Block II Encapsulated All-Up Rounds for Pakistan, comprising $33.27% of the total order at $63.7 million. This contract was not competitively procured (N00019-07-C-0037). Feb 13/07: P-3C. Lockheed Martin announces a $186.5 million Foreign Military Sale contract to continue providing mission system upgrades and support for 7 Pakistani P-3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft. See also the March 3/06 entry, which describes the same contract, but doesn’t add the firm’s project timeline update. The Pakistan Navy’s P-3C Upgrade Program began in March 2006. The 1st modified aircraft was delivered in January 2007, and the 2nd refurbished aircraft is reportedly set for induction in March 2007. Lockheed Martin release | Express India. 1st P-3C handover Sept 13/06: P-3s. The Pakistani government announces that 2 existing Pakistani P-3s, which had been grounded since 2001, were reactivated after a refit by Lockheed Martin and Portugal’s OGMA. The two P-3C aircraft were manufactured in 1990, and were grounded when their overhaul period came. A 2004 contract with Portugal’s OGMA aimed to restore them to service at the P-3C Update II.5 level. A contract to re-activate them was signed between Lockheed and U.S Navy in January 2005, and maintenance work on both the aircraft was undertaken concurrently by Lockheed and Pakistan Navy personnel and technicians from OGMA. Defense Talk. OGMA refit complete May 31/06: The Defense Security Cooperation Agency officially announces [PDF] Pakistan’s request to buy 50 UGM-84L (submarine-launched), 50 RGM-84L (surface-launched), and 30 AGM-84L (air-launched) Block II Harpoon missiles; 5 Encapsulated Harpoon Command Launch Systems; 115 containers; missile modifications; training devices; spare and repair parts; technical support; support equipment; personnel training and training equipment; technical data and publications; U.S. Government and contractor engineering and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistics support. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $370 million. Read “Ahoy! Pakistan Requesting Harpoon Missiles” for more information concerning the purchase, and the Block II Harpoon. DSCA request: 130 Harpoon Block IIs March 3/06: P-3s. Lockheed Martin Corp. Maritime Systems and Sensors in St. Paul, MN receives a $186.5 million ceiling-priced modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-06-D-0012) for the fabrication, integration and testing of 7 P-3 aircraft missions systems for the Government of Pakistan under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in Greensville, SC (90%) and Eagan, MN (10%) and is expected to be complete in July 2011. This modification includes a fully capable Inverse Synthetic-Aperture Radar ISAR/SAR, Electronic Support Measures (ESM), acoustic system, Electro-Optical/Infra-Red system, communication system and Inter-Communication System (ICS). In addition, this modification includes the installation of upgraded P-3 mission systems into the Orion aircraft. P-3 main contract Feb 12/06: Harpoon. A $15.8 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0027), exercising an option for 10 Harpoon Tactical Block II Grade B All-Up-Round (AUR) missiles and 10 MK631 Canister AUR Containers for the Government of Pakistan under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in St. Charles, MO (50.46%); McKinney, TX (15.14%); Toledo, OH (5.93%); United Kingdom (5.28%); Huntsville, AL (3.86%); Clearwater, FL (3.79%); Galena, KS (2.33%); Elkton, MD (2.19%); Kirwood, MO (2%); Middletown, CT (1.83%), and other various locations throughout the United States (7.19%), and is expected to be complete in February 2007. May 6/05: The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announces [PDF] Pakistan’s official request for 40 AGM-84L (air-launched) and 20 RGM-84L (surface-launched) Grade B Canister HARPOON Block II missiles; containers; missile modifications; training devices; spare and repair parts; technical support; support equipment; personnel training and training equipment; technical data and publications; U.S. Government and contractor engineering and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $180 million, and Boeing will be the prime contractor. “Pakistan intends to use the purchase to upgrade and modernize its existing HARPOON missile capability. The Pakistani Navy currently has AGM-84 Block I air/surface/subsurface launch capability.” DSCA request: 40 Harpoon Block IIs Nov 16/04: The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announces [PDF] Pakistan’s official request to buy 8 P-3C aircraft with T-56 turboprop engines, communications equipment, training devices, medical services, support and test equipment, engineering technical services, supply support, operation and maintenance training, documentation, spare/repair parts, publications, documentation, personnel training, training equipment, contractor technical and logistics personnel services, and other related support elements. The estimated cost is $970 million. The DSCA adds that: “The command-and-control capabilities of these aircraft will improve Pakistan’s ability to restrict the littoral movement of terrorists along Pakistan’s southern border and ensure Pakistan’s overall ability to maintain integrity of their borders. Pakistan intends to use the proposed purchase to develop a long needed fleet of maritime and border surveillance aircraft. The addition of these aircraft will provide Pakistan with search surveillance, and control capability in support of maritime interdiction operations and increase their ability to support the U.S. Operation Enduring Freedom Operations; anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare capabilities; and a control capability over land against transnational terrorists and narcotics smugglers. The modernization will enhance the capabilities of the Pakistani Navy and support its regional influence and meet its legitimate self-defense needs. Pakistan is capable of absorbing and maintaining these additional aircraft in its inventory.” The prime contractor will be Lockheed Martin Company of Greenville, SC. DSCA request: 8 P-3C - The AMARC Experience – P-3 Orions for Pakistan. AMARC is also known as “the Boneyard.” Aircraft stored there are either reactivated, or used for spare parts. - Retired Indian Commodore RS Vasan – The impact of induction of the P3C Orion Aircraft on the Indian Navy’s Preparedness: An Assessment - DID – Ships Ahoy! The Harpoon Missile Family - Defense News (Jan 30/??) – Pakistan Navy To Boost Air Surveillance Capability

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Anna and the King Won't Play in Thailand, Censors Say Film fans in Thailand won't get a chance to see Anna and the King in theaters. Censors in that country have banned the Jodie Foster film because of what they call its "disrespect" toward Thai nobility. The film was released worldwide a few weeks ago. "The filmmakers have made King Mongkut look like a cowboy who rides on the back of an elephant," said censorship board member Thepmontri Limpayom. "The film on Anna and the King has several scenes that distort history and insult the king," said board chairman Police Major-General Prakat Sataman. "Most members of the censorship board ruled to ban it." The film stars Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-Fat as King Mongkut, also known as Rama IV. Anna and the King is based on two books by Victorian English teacher Anna Leonowens, who was employed to teach the king's children. Like most writers, Leonowens was known to embellish her material to make it more entertaining. The 20th Century Fox release is suffering the same fate as its 1956 musical predecessor, The King and I, which starred Yul Brynner as the King—a role he became permanently identified with—and Deborah Kerr as Anna. The King and I also wasn’t shown legally in Thailand, a country with strict laws regarding insults to the royal family. The issue was so serious to Thai officials that they refused filmmakers permission to make the movie in Thai territory. Instead, it was shot in Malaysia. The studio has 15 days to appeal the decision, but the chances of overturning it are slight. One board member said that for Anna and the King to win approval, it would have to be cut to 20 minutes.

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Royal Watch News Prince William working on dance moves Jun 8, 2012, 12:02 GMT Prince William and Duchess Catherine Britain's Prince William has been working on his dance moves ahead of his upcoming visit to the Solomon Islands. The royal and his wife Duchess Catherine will represent William's grandmother on a trip to the Commonwealth archipelago for her Diamond Jubilee celebrations and Catherine revealed her husband is already trying out some special steps. She told Governor-General Sir Frank Kabui: 'William's been working on his dance moves.' William added: 'We're extremely excited. Neither of us have ever been anywhere near this.' The royal couple will arrive in the country in the second week of September, according to Nigel Maezama, the Private Secretary to the Governor General. He said: 'The second week of September is listed as the time they will arrive in the country apart from other countries they will be visiting.' He also said the duration of time they would be staying in the country and the proposed places they would be visiting needs to be confirmed. A committee has been set up to prepare for Prince William and Duchess Catherine's visit and they have already been working on plans for their arrival. The couple - who married last April - will also be visiting Malaysia, Singapore, and Tuvalu. Their visits are part of the British royals' global tour this year to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee. They will visit every realm where the queen is head of state as well as trips to other major countries in the Commonwealth. FROM THE WEB Further Reading on M&C COMMENT on Prince William working on dance movescomments powered by Disqus Latest Headlines in Royal Watch - 1. Princes William and Harry open Help For Heroes centre - 2. Prince Charles protester fined - 3. Princes Charles and William to call for poaching action - 4. Duchess Catherine's etiquette knowledge - 5. Prince Harry to throw party for US swimmer

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2013-05-26T09:42:30Z

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en

Raikkonen's F1 start was with Sauber in 2001 when he tested for the team after his successful results in other championships. Critics voiced concerns over granting an F1 Super Licence to such as experienced driver but after a solid debut year Sauber had its best result of forth place in the constructors championship. From 2002-06 Kimi joined McLaren taking over from fellow Finn Mika Hakkinen, he scored a third place podium finish in his first race with McLaren during the 2002 Australian Grand Prix. At the opening of the 2003 qualified 15th in the spare car, he also took a speeding penalty caused by a software error but managed to finish 3rd. In Malaysia Kimi had his first Grand Prix win after starting 7th on the grid The same year in Brazil Kimi was declared the winner after the race was stopped on lap 55. A week later evidence emerged that Fisichella was on lap 56 when the race was stopped therefore the winner was decided at lap 54. This granted the win to Fisichella with Raikkonen 2nd. The 2004 season began with Raikkonen only claiming a single point in the first seven races. His McLaren, especially the Mercedes engine, suffered repeated breakdowns, allowing him to complete just two of the first seven events. After seven rounds Raikkonen had only one point to Michael Schumacher's 60. In Canada, Raikkonen made 5 pit-stops but was classified 5th since the Williams-BMWs and the two Toyotas were disqualified. At the United States Grand Prix, Raikkonen finished 6th. At the French Grand Prix, McLaren rolled out the new MP4-19B. Raikkonen finished 7th behind his team-mate, David Coulthard. At Silverstone, Raikkonen took pole and went on to finish second behind Michael Schumacher. Following on from this encouraging display, the McLarens qualified on the 2nd row of the grid in Germany. Both cars got off to a good start, however Raikkonen lost his rear wing on lap 13 of the race while following race leader Michael Schumacher. He retired again from the Hungarian Grand Prix after starting from 10th place on the grid, again on lap 13. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Raikkonen qualified 10th, but took the lead on lap 11 and held on to it to take McLaren's only win of the season. He also took the fastest lap. The next weekend at Monza, Raikkonen again retired on lap 13, this time owing to electrical problems. At the next race in China, he finished 3rd, only 1.4 seconds behind race winner Rubens Barrichello. At the Japanese Grand Prix, Raikkonen was shunted by Felipe Massa on the first lap of the race, which caused him handling problems. He later managed to make up some ground: he finished 6th, 2.5 seconds behind Alonso. At the last race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix, he overtook pole sitter Barrichello, even before they had reached Curva De Sol. Raikkonen later battled Montoya for the lead and finished 1 second behind him in 2nd. Raikkonen ended the year seventh, with 45 points, only one behind sixth placed Jarno Trulli, and four podiums. Despite the disappointment of the 2004 season, Raikkonen was still seen as one of the rising stars of the sport, along with BAR's Button, Renault's Alonso and 2005 McLaren teammate Montoya. Many pundits predicted 2005 to be filled with great on-track battles from a resurgent team. He was also referred to by Ross Brawn and Jean Todt as a driver whom Ferrari might consider in the future. In early November 2004, Raikkonen announced his intention to create a racing team with his manager Steve Robertson, to be entitled Raikkonen Robertson Racing (otherwise known as "Double R"), which would compete in Formula Three in 2005. Raikkonen's start to the 2005 season season was less than perfect. The car was reported to be too soft on its Michelin tyres, with the result that it was not generating enough heat to post competitive qualifying times - after 7 wins including Belgium, Monaco, Canada, Japan and Hungary he received the F1 Racing "Driver of the Year" accolade and Autosports "International Driver of the Year" award. At the start of 2006 Raikkonen suffered electronic problems during the Friday practice and a rear suspension breakage during the first qualifying session starting 22nd on the grid - nevertheless he drove through the field ending 3rd behind Alonso. The British Grand Prix at Silverstone saw Raikkonen qualify second behind Alonso and in front of Michael Schumacher. The running order was Alonso, Raikkonen, Schumacher until the second set of pitstops where Raikkonen was demoted to third by Schumacher, a position he held until the end of the race. In Canada, Raikkonen achieved another podium. In the United States Grand Prix, his teammate punted him out in an expensive seven car accident. The French Grand Prix saw Raikkonen qualify his car in sixth. His teammate was now former test driver Pedro de la Rosa in place of Montoya. Raikkonen ended the race in fifth. In Germany, Raikkonen qualified on pole. After a battle with Jenson Button, he finished the race for the first time in his career, ending in third place. Another pole came in Hungary, but he collided with Vitantonio Liuzzi after 25 laps, causing his fourth retirement of the season. After the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari announced that Raikkonen had signed a three-year contract with Scuderia Ferrari for the 2007–2009 seasons. Raikkonen said after the move that he was very happy with this change of events but wished McLaren the best of luck in the future. He became the teammate to Brazilian Felipe Massa, who had been driving for Ferrari since 2006. Following the retirement of Michael Schumacher and his new deal with Ferrari, Raikkonen was estimated to be the highest paid driver in F1, with a base salary reportedly worth $51 million annual. Near the end of the 2009 season, Ferrari announced that Raikkonen would be leaving the team, despite having a contract to race for them in 2010. He would be replaced by Fernando Alonso.He was expected to return to McLaren alongside Lewis Hamilton but negotiations with the team failed. Raikkonen was linked to Mercedes GP but the team eventually signed Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. Toyota F1, before it pulled out of Formula One, offered Raikkonen a driving contract to replace Timo Glock in 2010. The BBC reported that he refused the contract owing to wanting to drive a race-winning car, not to mention Toyota not offering a large enough salary. On 17 November 2009, his manager Steve Robertson confirmed that Raikkonen would not drive in Formula One in the 2010 season.But during 2010 itself, rumours emerged once again about another possible Raikkonen comeback this time with the Renault team in 2011. This followed a resurgence in Renault's form, and the fact that the Russian Vitaly Petrov had yet to be re-signed like team-mate Robert Kubica. Team principal Éric Boullier claimed he had been contacted by Raikkonen in connection with a possible return, but said that although he was flattered by Raikkonen's alleged display of interest: In the week before the 2011 Singapore Grand Prix, several news sources reported that Raikkonen was eyeing a return to Formula One for the 2012 season with Williams F1 after he was spotted at the team's headquarters in Grove, Oxfordshire. Several reports went so far as to suggest that Raikkonen had entered preliminary negotiations with the team. However, the team refused to comment on the reports, with driver Rubens Barrichello dismissing them as rumour and speculation. On 29 November 2011, it was announced that Raikkonen would be returning to Formula 1 in 2012, signing a two-year contract with Lotus. On 29 October 2012, Lotus F1 team confirmed that Raikkonen would be racing with the team in 2013. The news came after several weeks of speculation that Raikkonen had several other options for 2013 including other forms of motorsport. On 17 March 2013 he won the first race of the season, the Australian Grand Prix despite starting from 7th, thanks to a two-pitstop strategy, and he also set the fastest lap of the race on lap 56. He described the victory as one of his easiest races

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Aussie Presidents Sell Firms #1: Opinion Research Buys NWC infoUSA-owned Opinion Research has bought Melbourne-headquartered NWC Research, headed by current AMSRS President Greg Wayman, in a move to expand its presence into the Asia Pacific region. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. NWC Research (formerly known as Newton Wayman Chong & Associates) was founded in 1993 to provide quant and qual research across a wide range of public and private sectors, both in Australia and internationally. The firm, which also has offices in Singapore and Malaysia, will become part of Opinion Research’s market research group. Wayman, CEO of NWC, will remain with the company and report to Gerard Miodus, President of Opinion Research, while NWC’s existing management team will head up the combined Asian operations. Commenting on the investment, infoUSA’s Chairman and CEO Vin Gupta said: ‘This acquisition makes perfect strategic sense, coming on the heels of infoUSA’s acquisition last week of Guideline’. (www.mrweb.com/drno/news6985.htm ). Miodus believes that there are many synergies between the two organisations in the US, the UK and Greater China and confirmed that the firms had worked together previously on a number of shared client projects. Wayman says the combined resources of the two firms will accelerate NWC’s existing expansion strategy. Curiously, Wayman is current President of the Australian Market and Social Research Society (AMSRS), while its former President John Sergeant also sold his research firm today, to Ipsos – see DRNO www.mrweb.com/drno/news7006.htm. The firms are online at www.infousa.com and www.nwca.com.au.

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Tel: 01223 333753, Fax: +44 (0)1223 333840, E-mail: [email protected] Wildlife biology, primate socio-ecology and rain-forest conservation Functional anatomy of the gastro-intestinal tract – gross, microscopic and ultrastructural – in primates and other mammals, in relation to diet and feeding behaviour – statistical correlations between structure and function, with allometric corrections. Ecology, behaviour and conservation of primates in tropical rain-forest, mainly in Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico. Long-term studies of diet and feeding behaviour, plant phenology and chemistry, ranging behaviour and the use of space, population density and habitat type, effects of disturbance and ecosystem protection and management. Apart from research student activities in their home countries (and Vietnam and Indonesia), the main project is in Central Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) on the role of frugivores - primates, bats, birds in seed dispersal, hence forest regeneration, in relation to the sustainable management of forests outside protected areas. Also, involved, as Scientific Consultant to Project Orang Pendek , in the validation of a new species of ape in the Kerinci-Seblat National Park, Sumatera, and ecology studies of primates and other wildlife, in relation to FFI and World Bank projects. 12 Graduate students (currently) of Wildlife Research Group, from Brazil (2), Venezuela (2), Indonesia (2), Vietnam (1) and U.K. (6) Agency for Forestry Research and Development (Ministry of Forestry, Government of Indonesia). Dr Jito Sugardjito and others (Centre for Research in Biology, LIPI, Bogor, Indonesia). Main sources of funding (1) Project Barito Ulu, Indonesia. Funded by: Wickes Europe and previously, Garuda Indonesia, Lasmo Oil, Baring Foundation, Enterprise Oil, Chubb, Unilever, Inchcapes, British Council, Royal Geographical Society, Ultramar and others. (2) Research Studentships from Governments of tropical countries for their nationals, as well as Commonwealth Scholarships, Wildlife Conservation Society (New York Zoological Society), Fauna and Flora International, Primate Conservation Inc., Primate Action Fund (Conservation International), Denver Zoological Foundation. Chivers, D.J. (1992) Primate diets: gastro-intestinal adaptations. In: "The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Human Evolution" (JS Jones, RD Martin, DR Pilbeam, Eds) pp 60-64. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Chivers, D.J. (1992) Socio-ecology and conservation of gibbons in South-east Asia, with special reference to Borneo. In: "Forest Biology and Conservation in Borneo" (Ghazally Ismail, Murtedza Mohamed & Siraj Omar, Eds) pp 230-244. Yayasan Sabah, Centre for Bornean Studies, Publ. No. 2, Kota Kinabalu. Chivers, D.J. (1994) In: "The Evolutionary Ecology of Colobine Monkeys" (AG Davies & JF Oates, Eds) pp 205-227. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Chivers, D.J. (2001) The swinging singing simians: fighting for food and family in Far East Forests. In: "The Apes: Challenges for the 21st Century" (V. Sodaro, C. Sodaro, eds) pp. 1-27. Brookfield Zoo, Chicago. McConkey, K.R., Aldi, F, Ario, A. and Chivers, D.J. (2002) Selection of fruit by gibbons (Hylobates muelleri x agilis) in the rain forest of central Borneo. Int. J. Primatol. 23 : 123-145. Commitante, R, Husson, S., Morrogh-Bernard, H. and Chivers, D.J. (2003) Where the wild things are not - the plight of the wild orang-utan. Biologist. 50 (2): 75-80. McConkey. K.R. and Chivers, D.J. (2004) Low mammal and hornbill abundance in the forests of Barito Ulu Central Kalimantan. Oryx 38: 439- 447. Chivers, D.J. and M. Santamaria (2004) Feeding biology of Neotropical primates. A Primatologia Brasil no 8, pp. 37-51. IPEMA/SBPr, Vitoria, ES, Brasil. Chivers, D.J. (2005) Gibbons: the small apes. In: "World Atlas of Great Apes and their Conservation" (J. Caldecott and L. Miles, eds), pp 205-214. University of California Press, Berkeley. Mendes Pontes, A.R., Chivers, D.J. and Lee, P.C. (2006) Effect of biomass on assemblages of large mammals in a seasonally-dry forest in the Brazilian Amazonia. J. Zool.(Lond.) 271 (3): 278-287.

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Sate (or satay) has apparently been invented by Javanese street food sellers. This marinated and grilled meat on skewers served with a peanut sauce is a part of many Southeast Asian cuisines. Up till now I have only eaten the Thai version and it was one of my favourite dishes. Then, one day, I was delivered the Singaporean, Indonesian and Malaysian Cuisine by Christina Sjahir Hwang and discovered a completely new face of the Asian cuisine. Apart from the peanuts this sate recipe is very different from the most famous, Thai version. It is complex and seems very original for those who, like me, have never been to a Malaysian restaurant or Malaysia! (actually I have this impression every time I make a recipe from this book!). The recipe is very easy but it requires a lot of ingredients and a mortar or a good food processor. Since I do Sate quite often, I always have all of them ready. The marinade calls for candlenuts which are relatively easy to find in Asian groceries, but I was advised macadamia nuts by my friend who has Indonesian origins. Apparently candlenuts are toxic when raw, and since I didn’t now how long they should be cooked I preferred to stick to macadamia nuts. If you know how to handle candlenuts, use them of course! I have modified the ingredients a bit, e.g. adding more salt. Since I don’t have the grill I simply fry the marinated meat, charring it a bit, and I am usually too lazy to use skewers. It is delicious this way too! Special equipment: a food processor or a mortar Preparation: 30 minutes + at least several hours for marinating Ingredients (serves 2 as a main course or 3 as an appetizer): 2 chicken breasts cut into slices 2 tablespoons minced shallot 1/3 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root 1/3 tablespoon minced garlic clove 1/3 tablespoon candlenuts or macadamia nuts 1/4 turmeric powder 1 tablespoon coriander (ground) 2 T sweet soy sauce (Ketjap Manis, available in most Asian groceries) 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 lemon grass crushed Sauce (Peanut Sambal): 2 chili peppers 3 garlic cloves pinch of salt 60ml hot water 60 ml peanut butter 2 t tamarind juice 2 tablespoons palm sugar (or any other sugar you have) 2 tablespoons oil Mix all the marinade ingredients in a blender or grind in a mortar. Marinate the meat preferably overnight or two-three hours if you don’t have time. Prepare the sauce, mixing or grinding all the ingredients. Put it aside (it can be left for a couple of days in the fridge) and warm just before serving the dish. Soak the skewers in water. Scrub off the bigger bits of lemon grass (if, like me, you haven’t managed to grind them into a smooth paste). Mix the meat with the oil, put onto soaked skewers and grill (or heat the oil in a pan and fry them). Serve with the sauce as an appetizer or with rice and the sauce as a main course.

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2013-05-26T09:42:06Z

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October 3, 2011 | A team that includes NCAR scientists Anne Boynard and Alex Guenther has found that the rate at which plant canopies emit isoprene, a volatile organic compound, is influenced by circadian rhythms. The discovery has the potential to lead to more accurate predictions of ground-level ozone, which is harmful to human health. For the study, the researchers made measurements of isoprene in Malaysia above both tropical rain forest and oil palm plantations. They observed for the first time ever a circadian (24-hour) rhythm operating in concert across the entire tree canopy, especially in the palm plantation. The finding changes how scientists estimate isoprene emissions from plants, as both the palm plantations and rain forest emit less isoprene than shown by computer models of emissions. This has implications for ground-level ozone, which forms when volatile organic compounds such as isoprene react with nitrogen oxides from automobiles and industry. The researchers incorporated the circadian pattern into the NCAR Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN) model to estimate isoprene emissions for input to ozone models. They then compared simulated ground-level ozone to observed ozone measurements from 290 monitoring sites in the United States. They found that model accuracy was significantly improved. Accounting for circadian impacts on isoprene emissions could especially improve ozone predictions in isoprene-sensitive regions of the world, which include the United States, Mediterranean, Middle East, Japan, and parts of Southeast Asia. The research was published in Nature Geoscience in September. C. N. Hewitt, K. Ashworth, A. Boynard, A. Guenther, B. Langford, A. R. MacKenzie, P. K. Misztal, E. Nemitz, S. M. Owen, M. Possell, T. A. M. Pugh, A. C. Ryan, O. Wild, “Ground-level ozone influenced by circadian control of isoprene emissions,” Nature Geoscience, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1271

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List of Stories by Author this section of the ZambalesForum (ZF) sari-sari store, you will find articles, short stories, and anecdotes about the cultural traditions of the Filipinos irrespective of region. While the distinctiveness of the cultures that make up the larger Christian and the minority non-Christian Philippine society is apparent, many similarities do exist as to group them together as belonging to one single tradition. Many of today's Filipino cultural practices are a product of a blending of Malay and European traits- a reflection of its roots and the people's subsequent experiences, both the good and the bad, through hundreds of years of foreign colonization. However, despite the prominence of European institutional precepts in popular social life- the celebration of the "barrio fiesta" that honors local patron saints or observing "Angelus" at the strike of six o'clock in the evening, for instance- local interpretations, beliefs and rituals have allowed pre-Christian practices to flourish. In barrio Salaza (Palauig, Zambales), a housewife is well-advised to utter the phrase, "bari-bari", before throwing the evening's dish wash out of the kitchen window in deference to the roaming creatures that go bump in the night. "Then I saw my mother's familiar back. She was following the plow, her skirt tucked between her legs. Suddenly I knew what Leon had felt that day he came home, running suddenly to take the plow from my father. I started running across the fields and leaping over ditches, shouting and calling frantically: "Mother! Mother! Mother!" My mother stopped the carabao and looked toward me. The sun was falling directly upon her face, and she raised her hand to protect her eyes from the strong morning light. When she recognized me, she tied the rope to the handle of the plow, as my father used to do, and waited for me. "Have you come home, son?" she said. And that was all she could say. Her mouth began to tremble with joy and sorrow were always one and the same. Suddenly, she grabbed me affectionately and wept, murmuring: "We are poor people, son. We are poor people, son." I brushed back the tears from my eyes. I tried to laugh in order not to cry. Gently I pushed my mother out of the way and took the rope from her. "Go home, Mother," I said. "I will finish this piece for you." "Don't work the animal too hard," she said. "I won't," I said. I watched her go away, a little peasant woman who carried the world on her shoulders. Then I flipped the rope gently across the carabao's back and the animal moved obediently and expertly along the deep furrows." - Carlos Bulosan, "America is in the Heart", ©1943. Salaza, Palauig, Zambales ZambalesForum (ZF) owner-moderator Top of Page Zambales Mangoes picture courtesy of Roland Reyes © Copyright 2002-2006 ZambalesForum (ZF) discussion group members. All rights reserved. Disclaimers

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2013-05-27T02:55:02Z

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When people ask me about where they should have their pre-wedding portraits taken, I would suggest them to go back to the place that holds most of their memory together. But when we’re talking concepts, well… that can be anything. My absolute favorite would be to do shots around something that reflects the couples’ personalities. Sam and Celeste are two gorgeous doctors. They met during med school in Melbourne, where they also serve in the same church, and their love story began sometime five years ago. Sam left Malaysia to study and Celeste left Singapore for the same reason, and Melbourne became the place that will hold a lot of their memories of their journey together, as they just tied the knot there earlier this month. We had their pre-wedding session in Jakarta, and it was their first time ever to my homeland. We shot most of the scenes in our very own AXIOO House and had such a great time doing it all. Sam is very romantic and charming, while Celeste is warm and elegant. Together they are one of the most loving couple I have ever laid my eyes on. And these are a few of my favorite shots of them.

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2013-05-19T02:06:57Z

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Low tide allows the white sand to stretch out from the beach to the nearest of Temeak Hamlet’s Pulau Tiga, or Three Islands. Amak Rohani, amak being a term of reference for older males in Lombok, sits facing this view in his beruga, or gazebo, before his simple house. The man is fasting, and the afternoon is searing hot, but his face lights up as he relates the story of beras hutan, or forest rice, that he used to cultivate in Tanjung Ringgit, a cape about 80 kilometers southeast of Lombok Island’s and West Nusa Tenggara’s main city, Mataram. The 55-year-old starts by telling my friend Shirley and me about what he cultivates in the protected forest area of Tanjung Ringgit. Rohani, who has been in Temeak for over 40 years, tends his corn, sweet potato, long bean, papaya, peanut, komak, lebui, and chili plantations when he is not out fishing. In the past, the people of Tanjung Ringgit would share their surplus crops after every harvest. This practice has stopped since the area became arid and the cost of planting started to exceed the earnings made from selling the produce. “I used to plant forest rice too, the kind that has hair on their stalks. I stopped because the many boars, water buffaloes, and monkeys in the area ruined my rice field,” Rohani says, adding that he obtained the forest rice seeds from Central Lombok. “It was about 10 years ago that I stopped cultivating it. We usually planted the seeds half a month before the rainy season began. Harvest would come about six months afterward. We also planted chili along the [field's] dikes. After the chili plants died, the remains can be used to rejuvenate the soil,” Rohani says. “Forest rice tastes really good, and the grains are really white.” Rohani’s children had no interest in helping the man in the field, let alone encouraging the man to continue planting forest rice. He says they all went to the city to study or to work. So who is this “we” Rohani kept referring to? “Go to Embung Pesiak Hamlet,” he says. “People there used to plant forest rice too.” There is a group of houses in Embung Pesiak, still in Tanjung Ringgit, where the inhabitants are one big family. There are Amak Muhsan and Amak Jumadi, both in their 60s, 42-year-old Amak Eliza, and Amak Muhsan’s mother who cannot tell how old she is. The family moved here from Sakre, East Lombok, in the ’80s when the afforestation of the area required many workers, triggering a wave of migration from other parts of the island. Unfortunately, many who came decided to stay without permit, and they ended up cutting down the trees they had planted to open plantation grounds. “In ’99 I returned from working in Malaysia and saw that the man in charge of overseeing the HKM [hutan kemasyarakatan, or community forestry] program — he was from Central Lombok — had planted forest rice, as well as chili,” Muhsan says. He imitated what the man was doing, but his forest rice field only lasted for two cycles. He did not use any chemicals for the rice and the chili, but other farmers all around had been using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides for their corn fields. “The soil became bad,” he says. Muhsan admits to have resorted to chemicals for his corn field, although not so much for the heirloom species of jagung ketan. “We plant the ketan corn for our own consumption, and the hybrid corn for sale. The ketan corn will not taste as sweet if you fertilize it with chemicals, but I do use herbicides.” Shirley and I have grown this sudden obsession with the forest rice after separately spending times with a couple from Byron Bay, Australia, who started the nation’s seedsavers network and foundation. They have been traveling around the world for the purpose of saving heirloom, open-pollinated seeds and raising awareness of how important they are. It happens that the couple, Michel Fanton and Judith Ann Fanton, are in Tanjung Ringgit to do the same. “We’re thinking about people in Lombok to regain, to find again, their seed common, all the different varieties and species that made up their food in the past,” Michel says in a thick French accent as we drive to Keruak Market to make a video (get ready to see me featured in it in a future post). “So today we’ll be looking at a bio-cultural [state], because the plant is not just to feed, or to clothe if it’s a fibre, but it’s also to nourish a tradition,” he says. According to Michel, plants feed not only the body, but also the soul — the need for the continuity of a culture. His words remind me of the time I went to Wangongira Village in North Halmahera, where the people relied on a rice species growing in a river to tell whether or not their future crops would thrive. The rice species has been under threat from tourism and a public water works project. Read the full story here. According to Michel, it is when hybrid varieties become introduced that the need to use chemicals arise. Hybrid food plants can produce a lot more crops, but at the expense of needing much fertilizer and being fragile to pests and wild shrubs. Judith, or Jude as she is usually called, says that they have expertise in working with communities similar in lifestyle with those in Lombok. “Like in the Pacific, where the people live in very similar standard with grass huts and self-sufficiency in food and all their crops,” she says. She claims to be able to bring their experience, especially on food quality and food security, to help ensure that the local population improve their diet. The local people, according to her, make some bad food habits by eating too much sugary, fatty, salty, and processed food. There are food insecurity problems in Tanjung Ringgit because of the challenging climate and poor soil. “We would try and help them find solutions for their herbicide, pesticide, other biocide habits through organic methods of growing. With our expertise in looking for local varieties, we would help make some kind of plan to preserve that, or to find them in the whole of Jerowaro [sub-district] to bring those varieties in to Tanjung Ringgit,” she says. Jude adds that any agriculture needs to be done in a biodiverse system of mixed fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, spices, and flowers — like in a forest, which is their template for a garden. In short, she is talking about permaculture principles. But I should leave writing about permaculture for another post. Shirley and I has not been successful in our attempt to find forest rice in Ringgit Cape. But we do have information about their exact whereabouts on the island. We hope to one day make an expedition to Central Lombok to continue our hunt for the forest rice. For now we are really glad to have met Michel and Jude, who have enlightened us on the importance of saving local plant varieties. Find out more about their network and foundation at seedsavers.net.

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"Why the United States Should Spread Democracy" Discussion Paper 98-07, Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University Author: Sean M. Lynn-Jones, Editor, International Security; Series Editor, Belfer Center Studies in International Security Belfer Center Programs or Projects: International Security After the Cold War ended, promoting the international spread of democracy seemed poised to replace containment as the guiding principle of U.S. foreign policy. Scholars, policymakers, and commentators embraced the idea that democratization could become America''s next mission. In recent years, however, critics have argued that spreading democracy may be unwise or even harmful. This paper addresses this debate. It argues that the United States should promote democracy and refutes some of the most important arguments against U.S. efforts to spread democracy. After a brief discussion of definitions of democracy and liberalism, the paper summarizes the reasons why the spread of democracy— especially liberal democracy— benefits the citizens of new democracies, promotes international peace, and serves U.S. interests. Because the case for democratization is rarely made comprehensively, the paper explicates the arguments for why democracy promotes liberty, prevents famines, and fosters economic development. The logic and evidence of a democratic peace are also summarized, as are the ways in which U.S. security and economic interests would be advanced in a world of democracies. These benefits to U.S. interests include a reduction in threats to the United States, fewer refugees attempting to enter the United States, and better economic partners for American trade and investment. The paper then turns to a rebuttal of four prominent recent arguments against the benefits of spreading democracy: (1) the claim that the democratic peace is a myth; (2) the argument that the process of democratization increases the risk of war; (3) arguments that democratic elections are harmful in societies that are not fully liberal; and (4) claims that "Asian values" can undergird polities based on "soft authoritarianism" that are superior to liberal democracies. The paper argues that these recent critiques of U.S. efforts to promote democracy have not presented a convincing case that spreading democracy is a bad idea. The internationa spread of democracy will offer many benefits to new democracies and to the United States. The democratic peace proposition appears robust, even if scholars need to continue to develop multiple explanations for why democracies rarely, if ever, go to war. The evidence on whether democratization increases the risk of war is mixed, at best, and policies can be crafted to minimize any risks of conflict in these cases. The problem of "illiberal democracy" has been exaggerated; democratic elections usually do more good than harm. The United States should, however, aim to promote liberal values as well as electoral democracy. And the "soft authoritarian" challenge to liberal democracy was not persuasive, even before the Asian economic turmoil of 1997 and 1998 undermined claims for the superiority of "Asian values." In recent years, however, many writers have criticized the idea that the United States should attempt to spread democracy. The Clinton administration''s commitment to spreading democracy seems to have faltered, and critics from across the political spectrum have argued that the United States should scale back or abandon efforts to foster global democratization.4 In a prominent article, Robert Kaplan has argued that holding democratic elections in many countries may actually hinder efforts to maintain ethnic peace, social stability, and economic development.5 Fareed Zakaria has suggested that elections in countries without liberal values create illiberal democracies, which pose grave threats to freedom.6 This paper argues that the United States should make promoting democracy abroad one of its central foreign-policy goals. Democracy is not an unalloyed good and the United States should not blindly attempt to spread democracy to the exclusion of all other goals, but U.S. and global interests would be advanced if the world contained more democracies. It often will be difficult for the United States and other actors to help countries to become democracies, but international efforts frequently can make a difference. The United States can promote democracy. In many cases it should. I develop the argument for promoting democracy in three parts. The first section of this paper defines democracy and the closely related concept of liberalism. It distinguishes between democratic procedures of government and the political philosophy of liberalism, but also explains how the two are closely linked. The second section outlines the main arguments for why spreading democracy benefits the inhabitants of newly democratizing states, promotes peace in the international system, and advances U.S. interests. This section presents logic and evidence that demonstrates that the spread of democracy consistently advances many important values, including individual freedom from political oppression, deadly violence, and hunger. It also will show how the spread of democracy promotes international peace and stability, and helps to ensure the security and prosperity of the United States. The third section summarizes and rebuts some of the most prominent recent arguments against promoting democracy. These arguments include criticisms of the democratic peace hypothesis, the proposition that the process of democratization actually increases the risk of war, claims that in many countries democratic elections are at best irrelevant and at worst harmful, and the argument that the emergence of the "Asian model" of political and economic development demonstrates that liberal democracy is neither appropriate nor necessary in many countries. I. Defining Democracy and Liberalism A. Defining Democracy "Democracy" is notoriously difficult to define. Some writers have simply defined it by what it is not: "Democracy is a system in which no one can choose himself, no one can invest himself with the power to rule and, therefore, no one can abrogate to himself unconditional and unlimited power."7 Other scholars have offered a variety of definitions. Philippe Schmitter and Terry Karl offer the following definition: "Modern political democracy is a system of governance in which rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realm by citizens acting indirectly through the competition and cooperation of their elected representatives."8 Joseph Schumpeter''s influential 1942 definition saw the "democratic method" as "that institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people''s vote."9 Samuel Huntington "defines a twentieth-century political system as democratic to the extent that its most powerful collective decision makers are selected through fair, honest, and periodic elections in which candidates freely compete for votes, and in which virtually all the adult population is eligible to vote."10 The plethora of definitions of democracy has stimulated many scholars to analyze and compare how the term is defined.11 Attempts to define democracy are further complicated by the differences between the democracy of ancient Greece and contemporary democracy. Classical Athenian democracy was based on the ideals of full political participation of all citizens, a strong sense of community, the sovereignty of the people, and equality of all citizens under law.12 Modern democracy, on the other hand, relies on elected representatives and tends to draw a distinction between the public and private spheres, thereby eroding the bonds of community and fostering individualism. Because most writers use the term democracy to apply to modern, representative political systems, I will call such regimes democracies even if they fall short of the ancient Greek ideal of direct participatory democracy. Most contemporary definitions of democracy have several common elements. First, democracies are countries in which there are institutional mechanisms, usually elections, that allow the people to choose their leaders. Second, prospective leaders must compete for public support. Third, the power of the government is restrained by its accountability to the people. These are the essential characteristics of political democracy. Some writers add additional criteria to the list of what makes a polity a democracy. Larry Diamond argues that a democracy must have "extensive civil liberties (freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom to form and join organizations)."13 Samuel Huntington recognizes that democracy "implies the existence of those civil and political freedoms to speak, publish, assemble and organize that are necessary to political debate and the conduct of electoral campaigns."14 These attempts to expand the criteria for democracy reveal that it makes more sense to talk about degrees of democracy instead of neatly dividing states into democracies and nondemocracies. Some states may be more democratic than others; drawing the line between democracy and nondemocracy will usually be a matter of judgment. They also highlight the importance of the distinction between democracy and liberalism. B. Liberalism and Democracy Democracy can be defined as a set of political procedures involving participation and competition, but liberalism is a political philosophy that is based on the principle of individual freedom. As one scholar puts it, "liberalism''s ends are life and property, and its means are liberty and toleration."15 Liberalism calls for guarantees of the rights of the individual, including freedom from arbitrary authority, freedom of religion, the right to own and exchange private property, rights to equal opportunity in health care, education, and employment, and the rights to political participation and representation.16 Only the last category of rights is necessarily guaranteed in polities that meet the procedural definition of democracy. Most democracies are liberal democracies to some degree. The Western industrial countries combine procedural democracy with guarantees of civil liberties. Any state that embraces liberal principles is likely to become a democracy, because political participation, competition, and accountability are perhaps the best guarantees that individual freedoms will be preserved. Thus the terms "liberal" and "democracy" often go hand in hand. It is possible, however, that a country could be an illiberal democracy. For example, states with official racialist or nationalist ideologies might choose their leaders in elections but deny liberty to members of particular minority groups. Serbia and Iran are contemporary illiberal democracies. It is also possible-although unlikely-that a country could be a liberal state without being a democracy.17 The political philosopher Michael Walzer makes this point: "Even in the absence of free elections, it is possible to have a free press, religious freedom, associational pluralism, the right to organize unions, the right to move freely, and so on."18 In the 19th century Britain embraced liberal principles before it extended the franchise and became a democracy. In theory, a polity governed by a benevolent despot could respect most or all of the individual liberties associated with liberalism. In practice, relatively few contemporary states are liberal without being democratic. C. America''s Goal: Liberal Democracy Given the variety of definitions of democracy and the distinction between democracy and liberalism, what type of government should the United States attempt to spread? Should it try to spread democracy, defined procedurally, liberalism, or both? Ultimately, U.S. policies should aim to encourage the spread of liberal democracy. Policies to promote democracy should attempt to increase the number of regimes that respect the individual liberties that lie at the heart of liberalism and elect their leaders. The United States therefore should attempt to build support for liberal principles-many of which are enshrined in international human-rights treaties-as well as encouraging states to hold free and fair elections. Supporting the spread of liberal democracy does not, however, mean that the United States should give the promotion of liberalism priority over the growth of electoral democracy. In most cases, support for electoral democracy can contribute to the spread of liberalism and liberal democracy. Free and fair elections often remove leaders who are the biggest impediments to the spread of democracy. In Burma, for example, the people would almost certainly remove the authoritarian SLORC regime from power if they had a choice at the ballot box. In South Africa, Haiti, and Chile, for example, elections removed antidemocratic rulers and advanced the process of democratization. In most cases, the United States should support elections even in countries that are not fully liberal. Elections will generally initiate a process of change toward democratization. American policy should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good by insisting that countries embrace liberal principles before holding elections. Such a policy could be exploited by authoritarian rulers to justify their continued hold on power and to delay elections that they might lose. In addition, consistent U.S. support for electoral democracy will help to bolster the emerging international norm that leaders should be accountable to their people. Achieving this goal is worth the risk that some distasteful leaders will win elections and use these victories at the ballot box to legitimize their illiberal rule. The United States also should attempt to build support for liberal principles, both before and after other countries hold elections. Policies that advance liberalism are harder to develop and pursue than those that aim to persuade states to hold free and fair elections, but the United States can promote liberalism as well as electoral democracy, as I argue below. II. The Benefits of the Spread of Democracy Most Americans assume that democracy is a good thing and that the spread of democracy will be beneficial. Because the virtues of democracy are taken for granted, they are rarely fully enumerated and considered. Democracy is not an unalloyed good, so it is important not to overstate or misrepresent the benefits of democratization. Nevertheless, the spread of democracy has many important benefits. This section enumerates how the spread of democracy will improve the lives of the citizens of new democracies, contribute to international peace, and directly advance the national interests of the United States. A. Democracy is Good for the Citizens of New Democracies The United States should attempt to spread democracy because people generally live better lives under democratic governments. Compared to inhabitants of nondemocracies, citizens of democracies enjoy greater individual liberty, political stability, freedom from governmental violence, enhanced quality of life, and a much lower risk of suffering a famine. Skeptics will immediately ask: Why should the United States attempt to improve the lives of non-Americans? Shouldn''t this country focus on its own problems and interests? There are at least three answers to these questions. First, as human beings, American should and do feel some obligation to improve the well-being of other human beings. The bonds of common humanity do not stop at the borders of the United States.19 To be sure, these bonds and obligations are limited by the competitive nature of the international system. In a world where the use of force remains possible, no government can afford to pursue a foreign policy based on altruism. The human race is not about to embrace a cosmopolitan moral vision in which borders and national identities become irrelevant. But there are many possibilities for action motivated by concern for individuals in other countries. In the United States, continued public concern over human rights in other countries, as well as governmental and nongovernmental efforts to relieve hunger, poverty, and suffering overseas, suggest that Americans accept some bonds of common humanity and feel some obligations to foreigners. The emergence of the so-called "CNN Effect"-the tendency for Americans to be aroused to action by television images of suffering people overseas-is further evidence that cosmopolitan ethical sentiments exist. If Americans care about improving the lives of the citizens of other countries, then the case for promoting democracy grows stronger to the extent that promoting democracy is an effective means to achieve this end. Second, Americans have a particular interest in promoting the spread of liberty. The United States was founded on the principle of securing liberty for its citizens. Its founding documents and institutions all emphasize that liberty is a core value. Among the many observers and political scientists who make this point is Samuel Huntington, who argues that America''s "identity as a nation is inseparable from its commitment to liberal and democratic values."20 As I argue below, one of the most important benefits of the spread of democracy-and especially of liberal democracy-is an expansion of human liberty. Given its founding principles and very identity, the United States has a large stake in advancing its core value of liberty. As Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott has argued: "The United States is uniquely and self-consciously a country founded on a set of ideas, and ideals, applicable to people everywhere. The Founding Fathers declared that all were created equal-not just those in Britain''s 13 American colonies-and that to secure the `unalienable rights'' of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, people had the right to establish governments that derive `their just powers from the consent of the governed.''"21 Third, improvements in the lives of individuals in other countries matter to Americans because the United States cannot insulate itself from the world. It may be a cliché to say that the world is becoming more interdependent, but it is undeniable that changes in communications technologies, trade flows, and the environment have opened borders and created a more interconnected world. These trends give the United States a greater stake in the fate of other societies, because widespread misery abroad may create political turmoil, economic instability, refugee flows, and environmental damage that will affect Americans. As I argue below in my discussion of how promoting democracy serves U.S. interests, the spread of democracy will directly advance the national interests of the United States. The growing interconnectedness of international relations means that the United States also has an indirect stake in the well-being of those in other countries, because developments overseas can have unpredictable consequences for the United States. For these three reasons, at least, Americans should care about how the spread of democracy can improve the lives of people in other countries. 1. Democracy Leads to Liberty and Liberty is Good The first way in which the spread of democracy enhances the lives of those who live in democracies is by promoting individual liberty, including freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, and freedom to own private property.22 Respect for the liberty of individuals is an inherent feature of democratic politics. As Samuel Huntington has written, liberty is "the peculiar virtue of democracy."23 A democratic political process based on electoral competition depends on freedom of expression of political views and freedom to make electoral choices. Moreover, governments that are accountable to the public are less likely to deprive their citizens of human rights. The global spread of democracy is likely to bring greater individual liberty to more and more people. Even imperfect and illiberal democracies tend to offer more liberty than autocracies, and liberal democracies are very likely to promote liberty. Freedom House''s 1997 survey of "Freedom in the World" found that 79 out of 118 democracies could be classified as "free" and 39 were "partly free" and, of those, 29 qualified as "high partly free." In contrast, only 20 of the world''s 73 nondemocracies were "partly free" and 53 were "not free."24 The case for the maximum possible amount of individual freedom can be made on the basis of utilitarian calculations or in terms of natural rights. The utilitarian case for increasing the amount of individual liberty rests on the belief that increased liberty will enable more people to realize their full human potential, which will benefit not only themselves but all of humankind. This view holds that greater liberty will allow the human spirit to flourish, thereby unleashing greater intellectual, artistic, and productive energies that will ultimately benefit all of humankind. The rights-based case for liberty, on the other hand, does not focus on the consequences of increased liberty, but instead argues that all men and women, by virtue of their common humanity, have a right to freedom. This argument is most memorably expressed in the American Declaration of Independence: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness ..." The virtues of greater individual liberty are not self-evident. Various political ideologies argue against making liberty the paramount goal of any political system. Some do not deny that individual liberty is an important goal, but call for limiting it so that other goals may be achieved. Others place greater emphasis on obligations to the community. The British Fabian Socialist Sidney Webb, for example, articulated this view clearly: "The perfect and fitting development of each individual is not necessarily the utmost and highest cultivation of his own personality, but the filling, in the best possible way, of his humble function in the great social machine."25 To debate these issues thoroughly would require a paper far longer than this one.26 The short response to most critiques of liberty is that there appears to be a universal demand for liberty among human beings. Particularly as socioeconomic development elevates societies above subsistence levels, individuals desire more choice and autonomy in their lives. More important, most political systems that have been founded on principles explicitly opposed to liberty have tended to devolve into tyrannies or to suffer economic, political, or social collapse. 2. Liberal Democracies are Less Likely to Use Violence Against Their Own People. Second, America should spread liberal democracy because the citizens of liberal democracies are less likely to suffer violent death in civil unrest or at the hands of their governments.27 These two findings are supported by many studies, but particularly by the work of R.J. Rummel. Rummel finds that democracies-by which he means liberal democracies-between 1900 and 1987 saw only 0.14% of their populations (on average) die annually in internal violence. The corresponding figure for authoritarian regimes was 0.59% and for totalitarian regimes 1.48%.28 Rummel also finds that citizens of liberal democracies are far less likely to die at the hands of their governments. Totalitarian and authoritarian regimes have been responsible for the overwhelming majority of genocides and mass murders of civilians in the twentieth century. The states that have killed millions of their citizens all have been authoritarian or totalitarian: the Soviet Union, the People''s Republic of China, Nazi Germany, Nationalist China, Imperial Japan, and Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. Democracies have virtually never massacred their own citizens on a large scale, although they have killed foreign civilians during wartime. The American and British bombing campaigns against Germany and Japan, U.S. atrocities in Vietnam, massacres of Filipinos during the guerrilla war that followed U.S. colonization of the Philippines after 1898, and French killings of Algerians during the Algerian War are some prominent examples.29 There are two reasons for the relative absence of civil violence in democracies: (1) Democratic political systems-especially those of liberal democracies constrain the power of governments, reducing their ability to commit mass murders of their own populations. As Rummel concludes, "Power kills, absolute power kills absolutely ... The more freely a political elite can control the power of the state apparatus, the more thoroughly it can repress and murder its subjects."30 (2) Democratic polities allow opposition to be expressed openly and have regular processes for the peaceful transfer of power. If all participants in the political process remain committed to democratic principles, critics of the government need not stage violent revolutions and governments will not use violence to repress opponents.31 3. Democracy Enhances Long-Run Economic Performance A third reason for promoting democracy is that democracies tend to enjoy greater prosperity over long periods of time. As democracy spreads, more individuals are likely to enjoy greater economic benefits. Democracy does not necessarily usher in prosperity, although some observers claim that "a close correlation with prosperity" is one of the "overwhelming advantages" of democracy.32 Some democracies, including India and the Philippines, have languished economically, at least until the last few years. Others are among the most prosperous societies on earth. Nevertheless, over the long haul democracies generally prosper. As Mancur Olson points out: "It is no accident that the countries that have reached the highest level of economic performance across generations are all stable democracies."33 Authoritarian regimes often compile impressive short-run economic records. For several decades, the Soviet Union''s annual growth in gross national product (GNP) exceeded that of the United States, leading Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to pronounce "we will bury you." China has posted double-digit annual GNP increases in recent years. But autocratic countries rarely can sustain these rates of growth for long. As Mancur Olson notes, "experience shows that relatively poor countries can grow extraordinarily rapidly when they have a strong dictator who happens to have unusually good economic policies, such growth lasts only for the ruling span of one or two dictators."34 The Soviet Union was unable to sustain its rapid growth; its economic failings ultimately caused the country to disintegrate in the throes of political and economic turmoil. Most experts doubt that China will continue its rapid economic expansion. Economist Jagdish Bhagwati argues that "no one can maintain these growth rates in the long term. Sooner or later China will have to rejoin the human race."35 Some observers predict that the stresses of high rates of economic growth will cause political fragmentation in China.36 Why do democracies perform better than autocracies over the long run? Two reasons are particularly persuasive explanations. First, democracies-especially liberal democracies-are more likely to have market economies, and market economies tend to produce economic growth over the long run. Most of the world''s leading economies thus tend to be market economies, including the United States, Japan, the "tiger" economies of Southeast Asia, and the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Two recent studies suggest that there is a direct connection between economic liberalization and economic performance. Freedom House conducted a World Survey of Economic Freedom for 1995-96, which evaluated 80 countries that account for 90% of the world''s population and 99% of the world''s wealth on the basis of criteria such as the right to own property, operate a business, or belong to a trade union. It found that the countries rated "free" generated 81% of the world''s output even though they had only 17% of the world''s population.37 A second recent study confirms the connection between economic freedom and economic growth. The Heritage Foundation has constructed an Index of Economic Freedom that looks at 10 key areas: trade policy, taxation, government intervention, monetary policy, capital flows and foreign investment, banking policy, wage and price controls, property rights, regulation, and black market activity. It has found that countries classified as "free" had annual 1980-1993 real per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (expressed in terms of purchasing power parities) growth rates of 2.88%. In "mostly free" countries the rate was 0.97%, in "mostly not free" ones -0.32%, and in "repressed" countries -1.44%.38 Of course, some democracies do not adopt market economies and some autocracies do, but liberal democracies generally are more likely to pursue liberal economic policies. Second, democracies that embrace liberal principles of government are likely to create a stable foundation for long-term economic growth. Individuals will only make long-term investments when they are confident that their investments will not be expropriated. These and other economic decisions require assurances that private property will be respected and that contracts will be enforced. These conditions are likely to be met when an impartial court system exists and can require individuals to enforce contracts. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has argued that: "The guiding mechanism of a free market economy ... is a bill of rights, enforced by an impartial judiciary."39 These conditions also happen to be those that are necessary to maintain a stable system of free and fair elections and to uphold liberal principles of individual rights. Mancur Olson thus points out that "the conditions that are needed to have the individual rights needed for maximum economic development are exactly the same conditions that are needed to have a lasting democracy. ... the same court system, independent judiciary, and respect for law and individual rights that are needed for a lasting democracy are also required for security of property and contract rights."40 Thus liberal democracy is the basis for long-term economic growth. A third reason may operate in some circumstances: democratic governments are more likely to have the political legitimacy necessary to embark on difficult and painful economic reforms.41 This factor is particularly likely to be important in former communist countries, but it also appears to have played a role in the decisions India and the Philippines have taken in recent years to pursue difficult economic reforms.42 4. Democracies Never Have Famines Fourth, the United States should spread democracy because the citizens of democracies do not suffer from famines. The economist Amartya Sen concludes that "one of the remarkable facts in the terrible history of famine is that no substantial famine has ever occurred in a country with a democratic form of government and a relatively free press."43 This striking empirical regularity has been overshadowed by the apparent existence of a "democratic peace" (see below), but it provides a powerful argument for promoting democracy. Although this claim has been most closely identified with Sen, other scholars who have studied famines and hunger reach similar conclusions. Joseph Collins, for example, argues that: "Wherever political rights for all citizens truly flourish, people will see to it that, in due course, they share in control over economic resources vital to their survival. Lasting food security thus requires real and sustained democracy."44 Most of the countries that have experienced severe famines in recent decades have been among the world''s least democratic: the Soviet Union (Ukraine in the early 1930s), China, Ethiopia, Somalia, Cambodia and Sudan. Throughout history, famines have occurred in many different types of countries, but never in a democracy. Democracies do not experience famines for two reasons. First, in democracies governments are accountable to their populations and their leaders have electoral incentives to prevent mass starvation. The need to be reelected impels politicians to ensure that their people do not starve. As Sen points out, "the plight of famine victims is easy to politicize" and "the effectiveness of democracy in the prevention of famine has tended to depend on the politicization of the plight of famine victims, through the process of public discussion, which generates political solidarity."45 On the other hand, authoritarian and totalitarian regimes are not accountable to the public; they are less likely to pay a political price for failing to prevent famines. Moreover, authoritarian and totalitarian rulers often have political incentives to use famine as a means of exterminating their domestic opponents. Second, the existence of a free press and the free flow of information in democracies prevents famine by serving as an early warning system on the effects of natural catastrophes such as floods and droughts that may cause food scarcities. A free press that criticizes government policies also can publicize the true level of food stocks and reveal problems of distribution that might cause famines even when food is plentiful.46 Inadequate information has contributed to several famines. During the 1958-61 famine in China that killed 20-30 million people, the Chinese authorities overestimated the country''s grain reserves by 100 million metric tons. This disaster later led Mao Zedong to concede that "Without democracy, you have no understanding of what is happening down below."47 The 1974 Bangladesh famine also could have been avoided if the government had had better information. The food supply was high, but floods, unemployment, and panic made it harder for those in need to obtain food.48 The two factors that prevent famines in democracies-electoral incentives and the free flow of information-are likely to be present even in democracies that do not have a liberal political culture. These factors exist when leaders face periodic elections and when the press is free to report information that might embarrass the government. A full-fledged liberal democracy with guarantees of civil liberties, a relatively free economic market, and an independent judiciary might be even less likely to suffer famines, but it appears that the rudiments of electoral democracy will suffice to prevent famines. The ability of democracies to avoid famines cannot be attributed to any tendency of democracies to fare better economically. Poor democracies as well as rich ones have not had famines. India, Botswana, and Zimbabwe have avoided famines, even when they have suffered large crop shortfalls. In fact, the evidence suggests that democracies can avoid famines in the face of large crop failures, whereas nondemocracies plunge into famine after smaller shortfalls. Botswana''s food production fell by 17% and Zimbabwe''s by 38% between 1979-81 and 1983-84, whereas Sudan and Ethiopia saw a decline in food production of 11-12% during the same period. Sudan and Ethiopia, which were nondemocracies, suffered major famines, whereas the democracies of Botswana and Zimbabwe did not.49 If, as I have argued, democracies enjoy better long-run economic performance than nondemocracies, higher levels of economic development may help democracies to avoid famines. But the absence of famines in new, poor democracies suggests that democratic governance itself is sufficient to prevent famines. The case of India before and after independence provides further evidence that democratic rule is a key factor in preventing famines. Prior to independence in 1947, India suffered frequent famines. Shortly before India became independent, the Bengal famine of 1943 killed 2-3 million people. Since India became independent and democratic, the country has suffered severe crop failures and food shortages in 1968, 1973, 1979, and 1987, but it has never suffered a famine.50 B. Democracy is Good for the International System In addition to improving the lives of individual citizens in new democracies, the spread of democracy will benefit the international system by reducing the likelihood of war. Democracies do not wage war on other democracies. This absence-or near absence, depending on the definitions of "war" and "democracy" used-has been called "one of the strongest nontrivial and nontautological generalizations that can be made about international relations."51 One scholar argues that "the absence of war between democracies comes as close as anything we have to an empirical law in international relations."52 If the number of democracies in the international system continues to grow, the number of potential conflicts that might escalate to war will diminish. Although wars between democracies and nondemocracies would persist in the short run, in the long run an international system composed of democracies would be a peaceful world. At the very least, adding to the number of democracies would gradually enlarge the democratic "zone of peace." 1. The Evidence for the Democratic Peace Many studies have found that there are virtually no historical cases of democracies going to war with one another. In an important two-part article published in 1983, Michael Doyle compares all international wars between 1816 and 1980 and a list of liberal states.53 Doyle concludes that "constitutionally secure liberal states have yet to engage in war with one another."54 Subsequent statistical studies have found that this absence of war between democracies is statistically significant and is not the result of random chance.55 Other analyses have concluded that the influence of other variables, including geographical proximity and wealth, do not detract from the significance of the finding that democracies rarely, if ever, go to war with one another.56 Most studies of the democratic-peace proposition have argued that democracies only enjoy a state of peace with other democracies; they are just as likely as other states to go to war with nondemocracies.57 There are, however, several scholars who argue that democracies are inherently less likely to go to war than other types of states.58 The evidence for this claim remains in dispute, however, so it would be premature to claim that spreading democracy will do more than to enlarge the democratic zone of peace. 2. Why there is a Democratic Peace: The Causal Logic Two types of explanations have been offered for the absence of wars between democracies. The first argues that shared norms prevent democracies from fighting one another. The second claims that institutional (or structural) constraints make it difficult or impossible for a democracy to wage war on another democracy. a. Normative Explanations The normative explanation of the democratic peace argues that norms that democracies share preclude wars between democracies. One version of this argument contends that liberal states do not fight other liberal states because to do so would be to violate the principles of liberalism. Liberal states only wage war when it advances the liberal ends of increased individual freedom. A liberal state cannot advance liberal ends by fighting another liberal state, because that state already upholds the principles of liberalism. In other words, democracies do not fight because liberal ideology provides no justification for wars between liberal democracies.59 A second version of the normative explanation claims that democracies share a norm of peaceful conflict resolution. This norm applies between and within democratic states. Democracies resolve their domestic conflicts without violence, and they expect that other democracies will resolve inter-democratic international disputes peacefully.60 b. Institutional/Structural Explanations Institutional/structural explanations for the democratic peace contend that democratic decision-making procedures and institutional constraints prevent democracies from waging war on one another. At the most general level, democratic leaders are constrained by the public, which is sometimes pacific and generally slow to mobilize for war. In most democracies, the legislative and executive branches check the war-making power of each other. These constraints may prevent democracies from launching wars. When two democracies confront one another internationally, they are not likely to rush into war. Their leaders will have more time to resolve disputes peacefully.61 A different sort of institutional argument suggests that democratic processes and freedom of speech make democracies better at avoiding myths and misperceptions that cause wars.62 c. Combining Normative and Structural Explanations Some studies have attempted to test the relative power of the normative and institutional/structural explanations of the democratic peace.63 It might make more sense, however, to specify how the two work in combination or separately under different conditions. For example, in liberal democracies liberal norms and democratic processes probably work in tandem to synergistically produce the democratic peace.64 Liberal states are unlikely to even contemplate war with one another. They thus will have few crises and wars. In illiberal or semiliberal democracies, norms play a lesser role and crises are more likely, but democratic institutions and processes may still make wars between illiberal democracies rare. Finally, state-level factors like norms and domestic structures may interact with international-systemic factors to prevent wars between democracies. If democracies are better at information-processing, they may be better than nondemocracies at recognizing international situations where war would be foolish. Thus the logic of the democratic peace may explain why democracies sometimes behave according to realist (systemic) predictions. C. The Spread of Democracy is Good for the United States The United States will have an interest in promoting democracy because further democratization enhances the lives of citizens of other countries and contributes to a more peaceful international system. To the extent that Americans care about citizens of other countries and international peace, they will see benefits from the continued spread of democracy. Spreading democracy also will directly advance the national interests of the United States, because democracies will not launch wars or terrorist attacks against the United States, will not produce refugees seeking asylum in the United States, and will tend to ally with the United States. 1. Democracies Will Not Go to War with the United States First, democracies will not go to war against the United States, provided, of course, that the United States remains a democracy. The logic of the democratic peace suggests that the United States will have fewer enemies in a world of more democracies. If democracies virtually never go to war with one another, no democracy will wage war against the United States. Democracies are unlikely to get into crises or militarized disputes with the United States. Promoting democracy may usher in a more peaceful world; it also will enhance the national security of the United States by eliminating potential military threats. The United States would be more secure if Russia, China, and at least some countries in the Arab and Islamic worlds became stable democracies. 2. Democracies Don''t Support Terrorism Against the United States Second, spreading democracy is likely to enhance U.S. national security because democracies will not support terrorist acts against the United States. The world''s principal sponsors of international terrorism are harsh, authoritarian regimes, including Syria, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya, and Sudan.65 Some skeptics of the democratic-peace proposition point out that democracies sometimes have sponsored covert action or "state terrorism" against other democracies. Examples include U.S. actions in Iran in 1953, Guatemala in 1954, and Chile in 1973.66 This argument does not undermine the claim that democracies will not sponsor terrorism against the United States. In each case, the target state had dubious democratic credentials. U.S. actions amounted to interference in internal affairs, but not terrorism as it is commonly understood. And the perpetrator of the alleged "state terrorist" acts in each case was the United States itself, which suggests that the United States has little to fear from other democracies. 3. Democracies Produce Fewer Refugees Third, the spread of democracy will serve American interests by reducing the number of refugees who flee to the United States. The countries that generate the most refugees are usually the least democratic. The absence of democracy tends to lead to internal conflicts, ethnic strife, political oppression, and rapid population growth-all of which encourage the flight of refugees.67 The spread of democracy can reduce refugee flows to the United States by removing the political sources of decisions to flee. The results of the 1994 U.S. intervention in Haiti demonstrate how U.S. efforts to promote democratization can reduce refugee flows. The number of refugees attempting to flee Haiti for the United States dropped dramatically after U.S. forces deposed the junta led by General Raoul Cedras and restored the democratically elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, even though Haiti''s economic fortunes did not immediately improve.68 In addition to reducing the number of countries that generate refugees, the spread of democracy is likely to increase the number of countries that accept refugees, thereby reducing the number of refugees who will attempt to enter the United States.69 4. Democracies will Ally with the United States Fourth, the global spread of democracy will advance American interests by creating more potential allies for the United States. Historically, most of America''s allies have been democracies. In general, democracies are much more likely to ally with one another than with nondemocracies.70 Even scholars who doubt the statistical evidence for the democratic-peace proposition, agree that "the nature of regimes ... is an important variable in the understanding the composition of alliances ... democracies have allied with one another."71 Thus spreading democracy will produce more and better alliance partners for the United States. 5. American Ideals Flourish When Others Adopt Them Fifth, the spread of democracy internationally is likely to increase Americans'' psychological sense of well-being about their own democratic institutions. Part of the impetus behind American attempts to spread democracy has always come from the belief that American democracy will be healthier when other countries adopt similar political systems. To some extent, this belief reflects the conviction that democracies will be friendly toward the United States. But it also reflects the fact that democratic principles are an integral part of America''s national identity. The United States thus has a special interest in seeing its ideals spread.72 6. Democracies Make Better Economic Partners Finally, the United States will benefit from the spread of democracy because democracies will make better economic partners. Democracies are more likely to adopt market economies, so democracies will tend to have more prosperous and open economies. The United States generally will be able to establish mutually beneficial trading relationships with democracies. And democracies provide better climates for American overseas investment, by virtue of their political stability and market economies. III. Responses to Criticisms of U.S. Efforts to Promote Democracy A. The Controversy Over the Democratic Peace Although many political scientists accept the proposition that democracies rarely, if ever, go to war with one another, several critics have challenged claims of a democratic peace. By the late 1990s, proponents and critics of the democratic peace were engaged in a vigorous and sometimes heated debate.73 Participants on both sides claimed that their opponents had been blinded by ideology and refused to view the evidence objectively.74 Because of this intense and ongoing controversy, establishing the case for the democratic peace now requires rebutting some of the most prominent criticisms. Critics have presented several important challenges to the deductive logic and empirical bases of the democratic peace proposition. They have argued that there is not a convincing theoretical explanation of the apparent absence of war between democracies, that democracies actually have fought one another, that the absence of wars between democracies is not statistically significant, and that factors other than shared democratic institutions or values have caused the democratic peace. The critics of the democratic peace have presented vigorous arguments that have forced the proposition''s proponents to refine and qualify the case for the democratic peace. These criticisms do not, however, refute the principal arguments for the democratic peace. As I argue below, there is still a compelling deductive and empirical case that democracies are extremely unlikely to fight one another. Moreover, the case for spreading democracy does not rest entirely on the democratic-peace proposition. Although those who favor promoting democracy often invoke the democratic peace, the debate over whether the United States should spread democracy is not the same as the debate over the democratic peace. Even if the critics were able to undermine the democratic-peace proposition, their arguments would not negate the case for spreading democracy, because there are other reasons for promoting democracy. More important, the case for promoting democracy as a means of building peace remains sound if the spread of democracy merely reduces the probability of war between democracies, whereas "proving" the democratic peace proposition requires showing that the probability of such wars is at or close to zero. 1. Criticisms of the Deductive Logic of the Democratic Peace Several criticisms of the democratic peace proposition fault the logic that has been advanced to explain the apparent absence of war between democracies. These arguments do not rest on an assessment of the empirical evidence, but instead rely on analyses and critiques of the internal consistency and persuasiveness of the theoretical explanations of the democratic peace. Critics have offered four major challenges to the logic of the democratic peace: (a) there is no consensus on the causal mechanisms that keep democracies at peace: (b) the possibility that democracies may turn into nondemocracies means that even democracies operate according to realist principles; (c) the structural-institutional explanation of the democratic peace is flawed, not least because its logic also would predict that democracies are less likely to be involved in any wars, not just wars with other democracies; and (d) the normative explanation of the democratic peace is unpersuasive. a. Absence of Consensus on what Explains the Democratic Peace The Argument: The first, and most general criticism of the deductive logic of the democratic peace proposition holds that the lack of agreement on what causes democracies to avoid war with one another calls the proposition into question.75 This argument suggests that scholars cannot be confident in an empirical finding when they cannot agree on its causes. Response: The fact that several theories have been advanced to explain the democratic peace does not mean that we cannot be confident that democracies are unlikely to fight one another. There is no reason to assume that a single theory explains all the cases in which democracies have avoided war with one another. It is possible to be confident in an empirical finding even when many different explanations account for it. For example, it is empirically true that all human beings eventually die. (The discovery of evidence to refute this proposition would have profound biological, philosophical, and theological implications, not to mention its effects on retirement planning and the future of the Social Security system.) But there are many causes of death, each of which rests on a different logic of explanation. People die in wars, accidents, and violent crimes, as well as from AIDS, heart disease, numerous types of cancer, and Alzheimer''s Disease, among many other factors. In some cases, the causal logic of the explanation of death is very clear. It is well understood how a bullet through the heart leads to death. In other cases, including many infectious and chronic diseases, the precise biological and physiological processes that cause death are not fully understood. Nevertheless, the variety of causal mechanisms and our incomplete understanding of many of them do not lead us to the conclusion that some human beings will not die. Accounting for the absence of wars between democracies is somewhat similar to explaining why people die. Several causal mechanisms explain the absence of wars between democracies. In some cases, democracies avoid war because the distribution of power in the international system gives them strong incentives to remain at peace. In at least some of these cases, democratic decision-making processes may make democracies "smarter" and better able to recognize systemic incentives. When states share liberal values, they are unlikely to go to war because fighting one another would undermine liberal values such as respect for individual freedom. As John Owen has argued, democratic institutions may reinforce the incentives for peace provided by shared liberal principles.76 And there are probably additional explanations for why at least some democratic dyads have remained at peace. Proponents of the democratic peace need to refine the logic of each explanation and identify the conditions under which they apply, but the multiplicity of explanations does not mean that the democratic peace is invalid. b. Democracies may Revert to Autocracy The Argument: A second criticism of the logic of the democratic peace argues that democracies cannot enjoy a perpetual peace among themselves because there is always a possibility that a democratic state will become nondemocratic. This possibility means that even democracies must be concerned about the potential threat posed by other democracies. John Mearsheimer argues that: "Liberal democracies must therefore worry about relative power among themselves, which is tantamount to saying that each has an incentive to consider aggression against the other to forestall future trouble."77 In other words, the realist logic of anarchy, which posits that states exist in a Hobbesian world of fear, suspicion and potential war, applies even to relations between democracies.78 Response: There are four reasons for rejecting claims that fears of democratic backsliding compel democracies to treat other democracies as they would treat any nondemocratic state. First, the historical record shows that mature, stable democracies rarely become autocracies.79 Second, democracies are able to recognize and respond to states that are making a transition from democracy to authoritarianism. Democratic states thus can pursue a policy of accommodation toward other democracies, hedge their bets with more cautious policies toward unstable or uncertain democracies, and abandon accommodation when democracies turn into nondemocracies. There is no reason to assume that democracies will become autocracies overnight and then immediately launch attacks on democracies. Third, like some other realist arguments, the claim that states must give priority to preparing for an unlikely dangerous future development rests on flawed logic. It assumes that states must base their foreign policies almost entirely on worst-case scenarios. Similar logic would imply that, for example, citizens in any country should act on the basis of the assumption that domestic law and order might collapse into anarchy and violence. Fourth, the claim that democracies must worry about the relative power of other democracies (which may become autocracies) relies on the same shaky logic that predicts that states cannot cooperate because they need to worry about the relative gains achieved by other states. The relative-gains argument holds that in international politics, cooperation is rare because it often gives greater gains to one state, and these relative disparities in gains can be turned into advantages in power than can be used to threaten the state that gains less.80 The relative-gains argument sometimes assumes that states have high and constant concerns about relative gains. In practice, however, relative-gains concerns vary and are often almost nonexistent.81 c. Criticisms of the Structural-Institutional Explanation The Argument: Critics of the structural-institutional explanation of the democratic peace make the following arguments. First, the structural-institutional model fails to explain why democracies go to war with nondemocracies, even though they do not fight other democracies. If leaders of democracies are constrained from going to war by the public, this constraint would also prevent democracies from fighting nondemocracies.82 Many studies report, however, that democracies have the same rate of war involvement as nondemocracies. Second, critics argue that the public is often just as warlike as the leaders that they are supposed to constrain. Public jingoism and enthusiasm for war accompanied the outbreak of World War One and helped cause the Spanish-American War. The structural-institutional model thus erroneously assumes that the people are usually more pacific than their leaders.83 A related argument suggests that recent extended intervals of peace may have led publics to forget the horrors of war. The end of conscription in many countries and the tendency for wars to be fought by volunteer professional armies may further erode public opposition to the use of force.84 Response: The criticisms of the structural-institutional explanation of the democratic peace are not persuasive, for four reasons. First, this explanation can account for why democracies only avoid wars with other democracies, because democracies may behave differently toward states (i.e., democracies) with domestic institutions that constrain their ability to go to war quickly. Democracies may distinguish between states on the basis of their political institutions, and pursue different policies toward those that are constrained by democratic institutions. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and David Lalman argue that "some political institutions help foster beliefs ... about the dovish inclinations of certain states. Democratic institutions are visible signs that the state in question is likely to face high political costs for using force in its diplomacy."85 A slightly different form of the argument suggests that the constraints of democratic decision-making become much more severe when the government of a democracy attempts to mobilize the country for war against a fellow democracy. Thus the institutional argument does not actually predict that democracies will pursue peaceful policies toward all types of states. Second, the institutional-structural explanation, properly formulated, need not rest on the assumption that the public is peace-loving while leaders are eager to go to war. Some proponents of the democratic peace proposition, including Immanuel Kant, have assumed that the people are less eager to favor war, because they will ultimately be forced to pay its costs.86 The logic of the theory, however, can be recast in terms of checks and balances. In a democracy, the executive branch, legislative branch, and the public all constrain each other''s ability to make rash and hasty decisions for war. Third, the critics overlook how the existence of domestic constraints in a pair of democratic states can enable a democratic dyad to spend more time seeking a peaceful settlement of a conflict than a dyad with one or no democracies. If both states in a crisis are unable to mobilize quickly, they will have more time to resolve the crisis without war. Bruce Russett argues: "If another nation''s leaders regard a state as democratic, they will anticipate a difficult and lengthy process before the democracy is likely to use significant military force against them. They will expect an opportunity to reach a negotiated settlement."87 Finally, critics of the institutional-structural explanation have not addressed the claim that democratic institutions endow democracies with better information-processing capabilities that enable democracies to limit the myths that cause war and to avoid wars when international circumstances render war unwise. d. Criticisms of the Normative Explanation The Argument: Scholars skeptical of the democratic peace proposition have not criticized the normative explanation for the democratic peace as much as they have argued against the structural-institutional explanation. Several skeptics have not attacked the logic of the normative explanation, preferring to argue against the democratic peace on empirical grounds.88 There is, nevertheless, at least one prominent argument against the normative explanation. Some critics claim that democratic norms should preclude the use of threats or covert action by democracies against other democracies. Norms of trust and respect for the autonomy of liberal regimes would rule out such behavior, just as they proscribe war. But democracies often have threatened war or engaged in covert actions against other democracies.89 These hostilities between democracies fall short of war, but they call into question whether shared norms can explain the absence of wars between democracies.90 Response: Proponents of the democratic peace counter that the involvement of the United States in Chile in 1973 is usually the only example of covert intervention by a democracy in another democracy and that democracies as a group are actually less likely to engage in covert or overt interventions.91 More generally, they argue that the normative explanation is not undermined by hostilities short of war. If democracies (or liberal states) fail to recognize one another or temporarily adopt illiberal policies, they may find themselves at odds with other democracies (or liberal states). But as crises develop between liberal democracies, they tend to act on the basis of their shared norms and draw back from the brink of war.92 2. Empirical Criticisms a. Democracies Sometimes Fight The Argument: Critics of the democratic peace point to apparent wars between democracies as evidence that there is no democratic peace. They frequently cite the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War, Finland''s decision to align with Germany against the Western powers and the Soviet Union during World War Two, the American Civil War, World War One, and the wars that followed the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. At least 17 conflicts have been cited as potential wars between democracies.93 Responses: There are three reasons to reject the claim that the democratic peace proposition is invalid because democracies may have fought some wars. First, the democratic peace propositionCcorrectly formulated-holds that democracies rarely fight, not that they never fight. In social science it is probably impossible to generate laws with 100% accuracy. Thus the correct formulation of the democratic peace proposition is the statement that democracies almost never go to war with one another.94 Second, many of the cases cited do not qualify as "wars" between "democracies." A closer examination of the conflicts in question reveals that the apparent exceptions do not refute the democratic peace proposition. In some cases, one of the participants was not a democracy. In 1812, Britain was not a democracy. Spain''s democratic credentials in 1898 were dubious. Germany in 1914 was not governed by liberal principles and its foreign policy was directed by the Kaiser, not the elected Reichstag.95 In other cases, no international war took place. The American Civil War was not an international war. Finland engaged in virtually no direct hostilities with the Western allies during World War Two; it fought almost entirely against communist Russia.96 Third, the criticism that democracies have fought one another is irrelevant to deciding whether the United States should export democracy. The spread of democracy makes sense as long as democracies are significantly less likely to go to war with one another. A policy of spreading democracy would be justified if democracies have, for example, avoided war 99.9% of the time; we can decide to spread democracy without debating whether the figure is 99.9% or 100%. b. The Absence of War is not Statistically Significant The Argument: Statistical critiques of the evidence for the democratic peace proposition generally argue that there is not enough evidence to conclude that the absence of wars between democracies is statistically significant. There are two underlying logics behind most of these quantitative arguments. The first suggests that wars between a given pair of states are relatively rare in international politics, so the absence of wars between democracies might be a coincidence.97 The second argument claims that the absence of war between democracies is only statistically significant after World War II, and that the democratic peace since 1945 has been a product of the alignment of most democracies against the Soviet Union.98 Responses: Many quantitative analyses conclude that challenges to the statistical significance of the democratic peace do not withstand close scrutiny.99 Zeev Maoz has offered one of the most comprehensive rebuttals of these arguments.100 He argues that Spiro''s own analysis predicts far more wars between liberal dyads that actually occurred. Maoz also argues that it is misleading to count all parties in large, multi-state wars as being at war with one another. (E.g., Japan was not really "at war" with Bulgaria in World War I.) He notes that Spiro changes the counting rule for the Korean War. Maoz and Russett focused on the "politically-relevant" dyads, which account for most wars. Maoz also claims that slicing the data into one-year segments makes finding any war statistically insignificant. Such slicing is like testing whether a bowl of sugar will attract ants by assessing the statistical significance of finding an ant on an individual grain of sugar. The odds that ants will be in the sugar bowl are high; the chances of an ant being on a given grain of sugar, however, are so low that finding one on a grain would not be statistically significant. When Maoz looks at politically-relevant dyads, he finds that one would expect 57.63 liberal dyads at war between 1816 and 1986, but they find only one: the Spanish-American War.101 He offers similar figures for the 20th century and for militarized disputes. And when Maoz adopts Spiro''s suggestion to look at dyads over their entire history, he finds that conflict actually fell when both countries in a dyad became democratic. The second argument also is unpersuasive, because Farber and Gowa make an arbitrary decision to slice up the data into different periods and categories. Moreover, Maoz is unable to replicate their results. Farber and Gowa appear to have miscounted the total number of dyads.102 c. Other Causes Account for the Apparent Democratic Peace An additional set of arguments suggests other factors besides shared democracy have caused democracies to remain at peace with one another. Such claims are implicit in some critiques of the logic and evidence, but not all such critiques identify the factors that are alleged to count for the absence of wars between democracies. (1) Alliances Against Common Threats Cause Democratic Peace The Argument: Several critics of the democratic peace proposition claim that the absence of war among democracies can be explained by the fact that democracies often have allied against common threats. Democracies have avoided wars with one another not because they share democratic forms of government, but because they have had a common interest in defeating a common enemy. Thus the realist logic of balancing against threats explains the democratic peace.103 Responses: There are three responses to the claim that allying against common threats is a more important cause of peace among democracies. First, those who make this argument overlook the fact that threat perceptions and alliance choice often reflect shared values and political principles. These critics assume that alliance formation proceeds in strict accordance with realist logic and that regime type plays no role. Democracies, however, may have found themselves allied to one another against nondemocracies because they share a commitment to democratic values and want to defend them against threats from nondemocracies. Indeed, if the democratic peace proposition is only partially valid and if it is at least dimly understood by decisionmakers, democracies will find other democracies less threatening than nondemocracies and therefore will tend to align with them against nondemocracies. This argument is consistent with Stephen Walt''s balance-of-threat theory, which identifies offensive intentions as element of threat.104 If democracies regard one another as having no offensive intentions toward democracies, they are likely to align against nondemocracies. Second, the tendency of democracies to ally with one another is further evidence of the special characteristics of democratic foreign policy.105 The normative explanation for the democratic peace would predict that democracies would be more likely to form alliances. Instead of being a refutation of the democratic peace, the tendency of democracies to ally with one another is actually an additional piece of confirming evidence. Third, Maoz does an interesting test, examining whether states were allied before they became democracies or allied only after they became democracies. He finds that "Non-aligned democracies are considerably less likely to fight each other than aligned non-democracies."106 This finding suggests that shared democracy-not alignment against a common threat-has the most explanatory power in accounting for the absence of wars between democracies. (2) Democracies Have not had much Opportunity to Fight The Argument: Some critics of the democratic peace proposition claim that democracies have not fought one another because they have not had the opportunity. Until recently, there were relatively few democracies in the international system. Many were geographically remote from each other.107 Response: The most sophisticated statistical analyses of the evidence for the democratic peace take these variables into account and still conclude that there is a strong relationship between democracy and peace.108 (3) Process-Tracing does not Reveal Evidence of Democracy as a Cause of the Democratic Peace. The Argument: Skeptics suggest that, if the democratic peace proposition is valid, we should find that pairs of democracies behave in crises in way that reveals that shared democracy, not considerations of power and interest, caused them to avoid war. For example, tracing the process of how events unfolded should reveal that the publics in democracies did not want war with other democracies, that leaders did not make military threats against other democracies, and that democracies adopted accommodating behavior toward other democracies.109 Examination of historical crises, however, reveals that democratic decisionmakers avoided war because they feared defeat or that their states would be weakened in a conflict.110 Response: Proponents of the democratic-peace proposition do not deny that considerations of power and interest often motivate states.111 In the anarchic and competitive realm of international politics, democracies cannot avoid making such calculations. Thus evidence that democracies are sensitive to power and interest does not refute the democratic-peace proposition. In addition, critics of the democratic-peace proposition have not tested it fairly; they have not deduced the full range of predictions that the normative and institutional model makes about how democracies will avoid war. More comprehensive tests would also deduce and test hypotheses about how many political and diplomatic aspects of crises between democratic states differ from other crises. Such tests would also compare pairs of democratic states to mixed and nondemocratic pairs. John Owen has conducted such tests and finds considerable evidence to support the democratic-peace proposition.112 B. The Democratization Process Increases the Risk of War The Argument: One of the most important arguments against U.S. efforts to promote democracy is the claim that countries engaged in transitions to democracy become more likely to be involved in war. Edward Mansfield and Jack Snyder make this argument and support it with statistical evidence that shows a correlation between democratization and war. They suggest that several causal mechanisms explain why democratization tends to lead to war. First, old elites play the nationalist card in an effort to incite conflict so that they can retain power. Second, in emerging democracies without strong democratic institutions new rulers compete for support by playing the nationalist card and search for foreign scapegoats for failures.113 This type of electoral competition increases the risk of internal and international conflict. The argument that democratization causes war does not directly challenge the usual form of the democratic peace proposition. Mansfield and Snyder recognize that "It is probably true that a world where more countries were mature, stable democracies would be safer and preferable for the United States."114 Instead, the arguments suggests that attempts to spread democracy have significant risks, including the risk of war. Responses: Mansfield and Snyder have advanced an important new argument, but even if partially true, it does not refute the case for spreading democracy internationally. Taken to extremes, the Mansfield/Snyder argument would amount to a case for opposing all political change on the grounds that it might cause instability. Promoting democracy makes more sense than this course, because the risks of democratization are not so high and uncontrollable that we should give up on attempts to spread democracy. First, there are reasons to doubt the strength of the relationship between democratization and war. Other quantitative studies challenge the statistical significance of Mansfield and Snyder''s results, suggest that there is an even stronger connection between movements toward autocracy and the onset of war, find that it is actually unstable transitions and reversals of democratization that increase the probability of war, and argue that democratization diminishes the likelihood of militarized international disputes.115 In particular, autocracies are likely to exploit nationalism and manipulate public opinion to launch diversionary wars-the same causal mechanisms that Mansfield and Snyder claim are at work in democratizing states. Mansfield and Snyder themselves point out that "reversals of democratization are nearly as risky as democratization itself," thereby bolstering the case for assisting the consolidation of new democracies.116 In addition, very few of the most recent additions to the ranks of democracies have engaged in wars. In Central and Eastern Europe, for example, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia have avoided major internal and external conflicts. Of these countries, only Slovenia was involved in brief series of military skirmishes with Serbia.117 Russia has been involved in a number of small wars on or near its borders, but so far it has undergone a dramatic transition toward democracy without becoming very warlike.118 There is little evidence of international war in Latin America, which also has witnessed a large-scale transition to democracy in recent years. Countries such as Mongolia and South Africa appear to have made the transition to democracy without going to war. The new democracies plagued by the most violence, including some former Soviet republics and the republics of the former Yugoslavia, are those that are the least democratic and may not qualify as democracies at all. All of this evidence suggests that whatever may have increased the war-proneness of democratizing states in the past may not be present in the contemporary international system. It may be that states making the transition from feudalism to democracy became more war-prone or that the emerging democracies of the 19th century were European great powers that embarked on imperial wars of conquest. These factors will not lead today''s new democracies into war. Finally, if the democratic peace proposition is correct, the higher proportion of democracies in the current international system may further reduce the risk that new democracies will not engage in war, because they will find themselves in a world of many democracies instead of one of many potentially hostile nondemocracies. Second, it is possible to control any risks of war posed by democratization. Mansfield and Snyder identify several useful policies to mitigate any potential risks of democratization. Old elites that are threatened by democratization can be given "golden parachutes" that enable them to at least retain some of their wealth and to stay out of jail.119 New democracies also need external assistance to build up the journalistic infrastructure that will support a "marketplace of ideas" that can prevent manipulation of public opinion and nationalistic mythmaking.120 Finally, an international environment conducive to free trade can help to move new democracies in a benign direction.121 C. Promoting Elections may be Harmful or Irrelevant The Arguments: One of the most prominent recent criticisms of attempts to promote democracy claims that democratic elections often have few positive effects, especially in countries that do not have liberal societies or other socioeconomic conditions such as a large middle class and a high level of economic development. These arguments imply that electoral democracy may be undesirable in many countries and that the United States should not encourage its spread. Democratically elected governments may turn out to be illiberal regimes that oppress their citizens.122 The process of holding democratic elections in multiethnic societies can fan the flames of ethnic conflict.123 Democracy does not guarantee economic success and may even hinder it.124 Responses: These criticisms of electoral democracy are important reminders that democracy is imperfect and so are democracies. They also call attention to the need to promote the spread of liberal principles, as well as democratic electoral procedures. They do not, however, amount to a persuasive case against U.S. support for elections in other countries, for the following reasons. First, Zakaria overstates the extent to which new democracies are illiberal or are becoming so. He argues that the Freedom House ratings show that 50% of democratizing countries are illiberal democracies. He classifies countries as "democratizing" if their combined Freedom House scores for political rights and civil liberties (each measured on a 7-point scale with 1 denoting the most freedom and 7 the least) fall between 5 and 10. He regards countries as illiberal if they have a greater degree of political freedom than civil liberties. Zakaria''s claim that there is a growing number of illiberal democracies may be correct. After all, there are now more emerging democracies. But whether states have fewer civil liberties than political rights is a problematic way to distinguish between liberal and illiberal democracies. In 65% of the states classified as illiberal democracies by Zakaria, the difference between civil liberties and political rights is only one point on the 7-point Freedom House scale. In no case is the difference greater than 2 points. Moreover, classifying countries as illiberal on the basis of whether they have more civil liberties than political rights leads to some absurd distinctions. For example, Zakaria''s criteria would classify France as an illiberal democracy because it scores higher on political rights (1) than civil liberties (2), and Gabon as a liberal democracy because its civil liberties score (4) is higher than its political rights (5). Zakaria notes that he does not rely on Freedom House for classifications of individual states, only for overall statistical measures. Freedom House''s 1997 ratings show that civil liberties have improved in 10 of the countries Zakaria identifies as "democratizing" and fallen in only 4. The most recent Freedom House ratings also show that 81 of 117 democracies are now classified as "free" whereas only 76 of 117 were "free" in 1995. Thus there actually seems to be a slight trend toward liberalization, even as the overall number of democracies remains constant.125 In light of the absence of democratic and liberal traditions in many new democracies (particularly in the former Soviet Union and Africa), it is remarkable that freedom continues to flourish to the extent that it does.126 Second, Zakaria and Kaplan overlook the extent to which the holding of elections is (a) an important way of removing authoritarian leaders, and (b) part of the process of encouraging the growth of liberal values. The principle that leaders should be selected in free and fair elections can become an international norm that can be used to persuade authoritarian leaders to step aside, sometimes gracefully. Marcos in the Philippines and Pinochet in Chile were removed from power largely because of the growing international belief in the electoral principle. It is hard to imagine that elections in Burma, for example, could produce an outcome worse than the current SLORC regime. Elections do not only remove unpopular authoritarians, however; they also encourage the development of liberal habits and principles such as freedom of speech and of the press. Holding a free and fair election requires that these principles be followed. Elections alone do not guarantee that constitutional liberalism and the rule of law will be adopted, but they do focus the attention of the voting public on the process of freely electing their governments. Third, it is not clear what forms of government the United States should support instead of democracy. Zakaria believes the United States should "encourage the gradual development of constitutional liberalism across the globe."127 Most proponents of promoting democracy would agree that this is a worthy goal, but it is hard to promote liberalism without promoting democracy. There are few contemporary examples of liberal countries that are not democracies. Zakaria cites Hong Kong under British rule as an example, but this experience of a liberal imperial power engaging in a rather benign authoritarian rule over a flourishing free-market economy has already ended and is unlikely to be repeated. Earlier historical examples of liberal nondemocracies include Britain in the early 19th century, and possibly other European constitutional monarchies of that century. As Marc Plattner and Carl Gershman of the National Endowment for Democracy point out, none of the examples is a "practical vision" for the 21st century.128 Zakaria praises East Asian countries on the grounds that they "have accorded their citizens a widening sphere of economic, civil, religious and limited political rights," and suggests that they, much like Western countries around 1900, are on the road to liberty.129 But most observers-including some East Asians-would argue that these countries have curtailed political liberties (and sometimes bragged about it in the debate over "Asian values") and are hardly a model of liberalization that the United States should encourage. Thus it is difficult to see how Zakaria''s analysis can support a viable U.S. policy of supporting liberalism without also supporting democratic elections. Fourth, Kaplan and, to a lesser extent, Zakaria, exaggerate the degree to which elections per se are responsible for the problems of new democracies, many of which had the same problems before elections were held. In the area of ethnic conflict, for example, democratic elections may ameliorate existing conflicts instead of exacerbating them. The evidence is mixed, but the need to build electoral coalitions and the liberal practices of free speech and freedom of association necessary to hold elections may promote ethnic accommodation, not hostility.130 These arguments suggest that Zakaria, Kaplan, and other critics of electoral democracy have taken the valid point that "elections are not enough" too far. The United States should support democracy and liberalism; supporting only the latter risks not achieving either. D. The Challenge from "Asian Values" The most important contemporary ideological challenge to democracy comes from East Asia and has been called "soft authoritarianism" or the "Asian values" argument.131 This school of thought argues that countries should be ruled by a wise and authoritarian elite, that individual rights often need to be limited for the sake of the broader community, and that the state should play a leading role in economic development.132 In practice, it is approximated by Singapore''s political system, but elements of it have been embraced by Malaysia, China, and Indonesia. Many African countries are reportedly attracted by this model of government.133 Although this perspective has yet to become a coherent and unified political ideology, recent writings and statements from East Asian leaders, government officials, and intellectuals contain several recurring arguments for the superiority of East Asian political systems over Western democracy. Asian "soft authoritarianism" merits attention for two reasons. First, it is emerging as the most prominent, articulate, and comprehensive critique of liberal democracy. Second, the countries that advocate it were, at least until the second half of 1997, among the most dynamic economies in the world. Singapore, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, and other Asian economies achieved annual growth rates of 10% or higher in the 1980s and most of 1990s. Their growing economic power has increased their influence in international affairs. Their recent economic turmoil is probably only a temporary setback, and the fact that it disrupted financial markets around the world testifies to the growing economic importance of these countries. Asian attempts to articulate a distinctive "Asian way" and to criticize liberal democratic principles have provoked broader debates on the difference between Asian and Western cultures, whether there is a uniquely Asian approach to politics and economics, and the international implications of East Asia''s rise.134 Many of these questions are beyond the scope of this paper, so I will focus on the East Asian arguments against U.S. attempts to spread democracy. The Arguments: East Asian critics of democracy make the following arguments for why the spread of democracy-particularly to East Asia-is not desirable. First, Western democracy allows for too much liberty, and this excessive individual freedom causes moral decline and social collapse. U.S. divorce rates, out-of-wedlock births, and crime rates, are evidence of liberty run wild.135 Second, some Asians argue that the spread democracy would aggravate ethnic tensions and increase ethnic conflict within Asian countries. Third, and most generally, some East Asians claim that liberal democracy is not a suitable form of government for Asian countries, because Asia has a different set of cultural values that include a strong emphasis on communalism. Responses: Each of these arguments for the undesirability of democracy is seriously flawed. The first argument-that democracy causes moral decline and social disintegration-is not persuasive, because not all liberal democracies suffer such ills. Canada and most European countries demonstrate that liberal democracy does not cause social collapse. These countries are indisputably democratic, but they are far less violent than the United States, and they do not have America''s social problems. In 1995, the Population Reference Bureau reported that Americans kill each other at a rate 17 times higher than in Japan and Ireland, 10 times the rates in Germany and France, and five times the rate in Canada. The United Nations Demographic Yearbook shows homicide rates per 100,000 population for several countries in 1991, the most recent year available. Canada''s was 2.2, Japan''s 0.6, Austria''s 1.3, the Netherlands'' 1.2, and Norway''s 1.9. Portugal and Spain came in at 1.6 and 0.9, respectively, while Italy''s was 2.9 The United Kingdom''s was 4.8 versus 10.4 for the United States.136 These differences between the United States reflect deep-seated cultural differences. The American culture of individualism, not more universal liberal and democratic values, is responsible for many U.S. social problems. The argument that democracy exacerbates ethnic tensions also is unpersuasive. Managing ethnic tensions in multiethnic societies isn''t easy, but democratic approaches may be at least as successful as authoritarian ones. Authoritarian states that appeared to control ethnic tensions often did so at a high price in human life. The Soviet Union avoided ethnic civil war, but under Stalin it decimated or deported many ethnic minorities. Tito''s Yugoslavia avoided violent disintegration, but hundreds of thousands of suspected separatists were killed on Tito''s orders, particularly in the late 1940s. Considerable evidence indicates that liberal democracy, with its emphasis on tolerance, cooperation, political accommodation, and respect for civil liberties, provides the best recipe for long-term domestic stability. The third argument''s assertion that democratic government is incompatible with East Asian values is belied by the relatively successful growth of democracy in Japan, South Korea, and, more recently, Taiwan and the Philippines. These states have not emulated the Western model of democracy in all respects, but they are almost universally classified as democracies. In addition to conducting multiparty elections and maintaining civil liberties, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan all have impressive economic records. Some East Asians point to the Philippines and argue that democracy is responsible for its domestic instability and economic malaise, but that country''s economic performance has improved dramatically in recent years. In addition, the Korean and Japanese cases show that democracy and growth can go hand in hand. The former problems of the Philippines may be attributable to the Spanish colonial legacy, not the flaws of democratic political systems. The economic and financial crises that swept across many Asian countries in 1997 and 1998 have muted many of the loudest voices that argued for "Asian values" and "soft authoritarianism." Many commentators have argued that the answer to Asia''s economic difficulties would be greater acceptance of democratic values.137 Claims that the Asian model is in a crisis and will be abandoned are probably overstated, just as Asian leaders tended to overstate the virtues of their approach when their economies were flourishing. Nevertheless, it seems likely that proponents of "Asian values" will offer a less strident challenge to liberal and democratic values in the future and that Asian countries will pursue political liberalization as part of their economic reforms. At least some of the current economic difficulties in Asian countries can be attributed to a lack of public accountability. The recent critiques of U.S. efforts to promote democracy have not presented a convincing case that spreading democracy is a bad idea. The international spread of democracy will offer many benefits to new democracies and to the United States. The democratic peace proposition appears robust, even if scholars need to continue to develop multiple explanations for why democracies rarely, if ever, go to war. The evidence on whether democratization increases the risk of war is mixed, at best, and policies can be crafted to minimize any risks of conflict in these cases. The problem of "illiberal democracy" has been exaggerated; democratic elections usually do more good than harm. The United States should, however, aim to promote liberal values as well as electoral democracy. And the "soft authoritarian" challenge to liberal democracy was not persuasive, even before the Asian economic turmoil of 1997 and 1998 undermined claims for the superiority of "Asian values." Establishing that promoting democracy is beneficial does not, however, resolve all the questions that surround U.S. attempts to spread democracy. These questions include: Can the United States encourage the spread of democracy or must democracy always develop indigenously? How can the United States promote democracy in other countries? Which policies work and under what circumstances do they work? Any comprehensive case for why the United States should promote democracy must address these questions.138 Note 1: See, for example, Bruce Russett, Grasping the Democratic Peace: Principles for a Post-Cold War World (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993), p. 138; Larry Diamond, "Promoting Democracy," Foreign Policy, No. 87 (Summer 1992), pp. 25-46; and Joshua Muravchik, Exporting Democracy: Fulfilling America''s Destiny (Washington, D.C.: AEI Press, 1991). Note 2: See Douglas Brinkley, "Democratic Enlargement: The Clinton Doctrine," Foreign Policy, No. 106 (Spring 1997), pp. 111-127. Note 3: Quoted in Henry S. Farber and Joanne Gowa, "Polities and Peace," in Michael E. Brown, Sean M. Lynn-Jones, and Steven E. Miller, eds., Debating the Democratic Peace (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1996), p. 239. Note 4: See Robert Kagan, "Democracies and Double Standards," Commentary, August 1997, pp. 19-26 for the argument that the Clinton administration is showing less enthusiasm for promoting democracy, and for a summary and critique of recent arguments against promoting democracy. At least some members of the Clinton administration continue to argue for promoting democracy. See Strobe Talbott, "Democracy and the National Interest," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 75, No. 6 (November/December 1996), pp. 47-63. Note 5: Robert D. Kaplan, "Was Democracy Just a Moment?", Atlantic Monthly, December 1997, pp. 55-80. Note 6: Fareed Zakaria, "The Rise of Illiberal Democracy," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 76, No. 6 (November/December 1997), pp. 22-43. Note 7: Giovanni Sartori, The Theory of Democracy Revisited (Chatham, N.J.: Chatham House, 1987), p. 206. Note 8: Philippe C. Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl, "What Democracy Is ... and Is Not," in Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner, eds., The Global Resurgence of Democracy, second edition (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), p. 50. Note 9: Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy (London: Allen and Unwin, 1943), p. 269. Note 10: Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991), p. 7. Note 11: See, for example, James Lee Ray, Democracy and International Conflict (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995), pp. 89-102; and David Collier and Steven Levitsky, "Democracy with Adjectives: Conceptual Innovation in Comparative Research," World Politics, Vol. 49, No. 3 (April 1997), pp. 430-451. Note 12: For discussions of the differences between ancient and modern conceptions of democracy, see M.I. Finley, Democracy: Ancient and Modern (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1973); David Stockton, Classical Athenian Democracy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990); and Josiah Ober and Charles Hedrick, eds., Demokratia: A Conversation on Democracies, Ancient and Modern (Princeton: Princeton University Pres, 1996). I am indebted to Bradley A. Thayer for reminding me of this important distinction. Note 13: Larry Diamond, Promoting Democracy in the 1990s: Actors and Instruments, Issues and Imperatives, A Report to the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict, Carnegie Corporation of New York, December 1995, p. 10. Note 14: Huntington, The Third Wave, p. 7 Note 15: John Owen, "How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace," in Brown, Lynn-Jones, and Miller, eds., Debating the Democratic Peace, p. 123. Note 16: Although the term "liberal" has become an epithet hurled at those on the left of the American political spectrum, virtually all American politicians and most of those in Europe embrace the basic principles of liberalism. Liberalism is most closely associated with the political thought of John Locke and John Stuart Mill, although Thomas Hobbes and Adam Smith also contributed to its development. For discussions of liberty and liberalism, see "Liberalism Defined: The Perils of Complacency," The Economist, December 21, 1996; Isaiah Berlin, "Two Concepts of Liberty," in Berlin, Four Essays on Liberalism (London: Oxford University Press, 1969); Michael Doyle, "Liberalism and World Politics," American Political Science Review, Vol. 80, No. 4 (December 1986), pp. 1151-1169; and Stephen Holmes, The Anatomy of Antiliberalism (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1993), pp. 3-4. Note 17: Some liberals, however, regard electoral democracy as one of the "core norms" of liberalism. See, for example, Holmes, The Anatomy of Antiliberalism, p. 4 Note 18: Michael Walzer, "Vote Early," The New Republic, October 28, 1996, p. 29. Note 19: Many political and moral philosophers have addressed this issue and it would be impossible to do full justice to their arguments in this essay. Two good places to start exploring these issues are Charles R. Beitz, Political Theory and International Relations (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979), and Stanley Hoffmann, Duties Beyond Borders: On the Limits and Possibilities of Ethical International Politics (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1981). For a brief overview and evaluation of the contending positions in the debate over whether there are moral obligations to foreigners, see Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Nuclear Ethics (New York: The Free Press, 1986), chap. 3. Note 20: Huntington, The Third Wave, p. 30. Note 21: Talbott, "Democracy and the National Interest," pp. 49-50. Note 22: For definitions of liberty and classic discussions of the topic, see the writings of Immanuel Kant, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and the Federalist papers. Recent important discussions of liberty include Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (New York: Basic Books, 1974); Berlin, Four Essays on Liberty; and Stephen Holmes, Passions and Constraint: On the Theory of Liberal Democracy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995). Note 23: Huntington, The Third Wave, p. 28. Note 24: Adrian Karatnycky, "Freedom on the March," in Freedom Review, Vol. 28, No. 1 (January-February 1997), pp. 7, 11. Note 25: Quoted in Geoffrey Wheatcroft, "The Paradoxical Case of Tony Blair," The Atlantic Monthly, June 1996, pp. 22-40 at 26. Note 26: For some discussions of liberalism and its critics, see Holmes, The Anatomy of Antiliberalism; and Michael J. Sandel, Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982). Note 27: More generally, democracies are more likely to enjoy political stability. Huntington, The Third Wave, pp. 28-29. Note 28: R.J. Rummel, Power Kills: Democracy as a Method of Nonviolence (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Books, 1997), pp. 87-88. Rummel presents his definition explicitly: "By democracy is meant liberal democracy, where those who hold power are elected in competitive elections with a secret ballot and wide franchise (loosely understood as including at least two-thirds of adult males); where there is freedom of speech, religion, and organization; and a constitutional framework of law to which the government is subordinate and that guarantees equal rights." (p. 11) On p. 86 of Power Kills, Rummel lists additional studies that confirm the proposition that democracies have the least internal violence, but it is not clear whether those studies considered all democracies or only states that Rummel classifies as liberal democracies. Note 29: See Rudolph J. Rummel, "Power, Genocide, and Mass Murder," Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 31, No. 1 (February 1994), pp. 1-10. Rummel calls genocide and mass murder "democide," and distinguishes such killings from battle deaths. He reports that between 1900 and 1987 over 169 million people died in democides, compared to about 34 million battle death in wars. See also Rummel, Power Kills, chap. 6. Note 30: Rummel, "Power, Genocide and Mass Murder," p. 8. Emphasis in original. For a more detailed elaboration of Rummel''s explanation, see Power Kills, especially chapter 11. Note 31: See Huntington, The Third Wave, pp. 28-29. Note 32: "The Politics of Peace," Economist, April 1, 1995, p. 18. Note 33: Mancur Olson, "Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development," American Political Science Review, Vol. 87, No. 3 (September 1993), pp. 572-573. Note 34: Olson, "Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development," p. 572. Note 35: Barbara Crosette, "The 21st Century Belongs to ..." New York Times, October 19, 1997, Week in Review section, p. 3. Note 36: See Gerald Segal, China Changes Shape: Regionalism and Foreign Policy, Adelphi Paper No. 287 (London: International Institute for Strategic Studies, March 1994); and Jack A. Goldstone, "The Coming Chinese Collapse," Foreign Policy, No. 99 (Summer 1995), pp. 35-52. Note 37: Joshua Gordon, "Asian Growth Needs Democracy," Wall Street Journal, Interactive Edition,, August 12, 1996. Note 38: Kim R. Holmes and Melanie Kirkpatrick, "Freedom and Growth," Wall Street Journal, Interactive Edition, December 16, 1996. Note 39: Quoted in Zakaria, "The Rise of Illiberal Democracy," p. 34. Note 40: Olson, "Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development," p. 572. Emphasis in original. Note 41: Talbott, "Democracy and the National Interest," p. 51; Note 42: Adrian Karatnycky, "Still the Bedrock of a Better World," Washington Post, December 29, 1997, p. A17. Note 43: Amartya Sen, "Freedoms and Needs," The New Republic, January 10 and 17, 1994, p. 34. See also Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen, Hunger and Public Action (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989). Sen makes it clear that democracy may not be a necessary condition for preventing famines, it does appear to be sufficient. See Amartya Sen, "War and Famines: On Divisions and Incentives," Discussion Paper No. 33, The Development Economics Research Programme, London School of Economics, October 1991, p. 19 note 28. Note 44: Joseph Collins, "World Hunger: A Scarcity of Food or a Scarcity of Democracy?" in Michael T. Klare and Daniel C. Thomas, eds., World Security: Challenges for a New Century, 2nd edition (New York: St. Martin''s, 1994), p. 368. Note 45: Sen, "Freedoms and Needs," pp. 35, 36. Sen points out that the democratic political processes that prevent famines may be less effective in avoiding less urgent problems such as nonextreme hunger, illiteracy, and gender discrimination. Ibid., p. 35. Note 46: Sen, "Freedoms and Needs," p. 34. A considerable body of opinion suggests that famines and hunger are not caused by a global or country-by-country shortage of food but by the failure to distribute food to those who most need it. See Collins, "World Hunger," pp. 357-360; and Amartya Sen, Food, Economics and Entitlements (Helsinki: World Institute for Development Economic Research, 1986). Note 47: Sen, "Freedoms and Needs," p. 34. Note 48: Amartya Sen, "The Economics of Life and Death," Scientific American, May 1993, pp. 40-47. See also Mohiuddin Alamgir, Famine in South Asia: Political Economy of Mass Starvation in Bangladesh (Cambridge, Mass.: Oelgeschalger, Gunn and Hain, 1980). Note 49: Sen, "Freedoms and Needs," p. 35. For additional data, see Amartya Sen, "The Economics of Life and Death," Scientific American, May 1993, pp. 40-47; and DrPze and Sen, Hunger and Public Action. Note 50: Sen, "Freedoms and Needs," p. 34. Many Indians have, however, suffered from hunger and malnutrition since 1947, but the country has avoided the catastrophic famines that previously plagued it. Note 51: Bruce Russett, Controlling the Sword: The Democratic Governance of National Security (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1990), p. 123. Note 52: Jack S. Levy, "Domestic Politics and War," in Robert I. Rotberg and Theodore K. Rabb, eds., The Origin and Prevention of Major Wars (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), p. 88. Note 53: Michael W. Doyle, "Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs," Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol. 12, Nos. 3 and 4 (Summer and Fall 1983). Reprinted in Brown, Lynn-Jones, and Miller, eds., Debating the Democratic Peace, pp. 3-57. Note 54: Ibid., p. 10. Emphasis in original. Note 55: See Stuart A. Bremer, "Dangerous Dyads: Conditions Affecting the Likelihood of Interstate War, 1816-1965," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 36, No. 2 (June 1992), pp. 309-341; Bremer, "Democracy and Militarized Interstate Conflict, 1816-1965," International Interactions, Vol. 18, No. 3 (1993), pp. 231-249; Steve Chan, "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall ... Are the Freer Countries More Pacific?" Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 28, No. 4 (December 1984), pp. 617-648; Zeev Maoz and Nasrin Abdolali, "Regime Type and International Conflict," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 33, No. 1 (March 1989), pp. 3-35; Erich Weede, "Democracy and War Involvement," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 28, No. 4 (December 1984), pp. 649-664; and Weede, "Some Simple Calculations on Democracy and War Involvement," Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 29, No. 4 (November 1992), pp. 377-383. Note 56: Zeev Maoz and Bruce Russett, "Alliance, Contiguity, Wealth, and Political Stability: Is the Lack of Conflict Among Democracies a Statistical Artifact?" International Interactions, Vol. 17, No. 3 (1992), pp. 245-267. Note 57: For one of the earliest statements of this finding, see Melvin Small and J. David Singer, "The War-proneness of Democratic Regimes, 1816-1965," Jerusalem Journal of International Relations, Vol. 1, No. 4 (Summer 1976), pp. 50-69. Note 58: R.J. Rummel, for example, claims that libertarian states, which tend to be more democratic than others, are less likely to resort to international violence. Such states will at least inflict fewer casualties in wars, even if they go to war as often as other types of states. See Rummel, "Libertarianism and International Violence," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 27, No. 1 (March 1983), pp. 27-71; and Rummel, "Democracies ARE Less Warlike Than Other Regimes," European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 1, No. 4 (December 1995), pp. 457-479. Some studies find that disputes between democracies and nondemocracies are less likely to escalate to war that disputes between nondemocracies, See Zeev Maoz and Nasrin Abdolai, "Regime Types and International Conflict, 1817-1976," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 33, No. 1 (March 1989), pp. 3-35. For a reconsideration of the claim that democracies are as war-prone as other types of states, see James Lee Ray, Democracy and International Conflict: An Evaluation of the Democratic Peace Proposition (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995), pp. 17-21. Note 59: This type of argument appears in Doyle, "Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs," in Brown, Lynn-Jones, and Miller, eds., Debating the Democratic Peace, pp. 10, 20-27; and Owen, "How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace," pp. 122-125. Note 60: For examples of this argument, see Russett, Grasping the Democratic Peace, pp. 30-38; and William J. Dixon, "Democracy and the Peaceful Settlement of International Conflict," American Political Science Review, Vol. 88, No. 1 (March 1994), pp. 14-32. Note 61: For examples of institutional/structural arguments, see Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and David Lalman, War and Reason: Domestic and Institutional Imperatives (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992); T. Clifton Morgan and Sally H. Campbell, "Domestic Structure, Decisional Constraints and War: So Why Kant Democracies Fight?" Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 35, No. 2 (June 1991), pp. 187-211; and Randall L. Schweller, "Domestic Structure and Preventive War: Are Democracies More Pacific?" World Politics, Vol. 44, No. 2 (January 1992), pp. 235-269. Note 62: Stephen Van Evera, "Primed for Peace: Europe After the Cold War," in Sean M. Lynn-Jones and Steven E. Miller, eds., The Cold War and After: Prospects for Peace, expanded edition (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1993), p. 213. David Lake also suggests that democracies have advantages in the conduct of international politics, but concludes that this advantage makes democracies more likely to win wars. See David A. Lake, "Powerful Pacifists: Democratic States and War," American Political Science Review, Vol. 86, No. 1 (March 1992), pp. 24-37. Note 63: See Bruce Russett and Zeev Maoz, "Normative and Structural Causes of Democratic Peace," American Political Science Review, Vol. 87, No. 3 (September 1993), pp. 624-638. Russett and Maoz find that the normative model is more powerful. Note 64: See Owen, "How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace." Note 65: Diamond, Promoting Democracy in the 1990s, pp. 4-5. Note 66: David P. Forsythe, "Democracy, War, and Covert Action," Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 29, No. 4 (August 1992), pp. 385-395. Note 67: Diamond, Promoting Democracy in the 1990s, p. 5. For the argument that population growth is higher in authoritarian regimes, regardless of their level of wealth, see Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi, "Democracy and Development," paper presented to the Nobel Symposium on Democracy''s Victory and Crisis, Uppsala University, Sweden, August 27-30, 1994, pp. 9, 10, and 18, cited in Diamond, Promoting Democracy in the 1990s, p. 69 note 4. For a survey of the causes of refugee flows that emphasizes that refugees flee mainly for political, not economic reasons, see Myron Weiner, "Bad Neighbors, Bad Neighborhoods: An Inquiry into the Causes of Refugee Flows," International Security, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Summer 1996), pp. 5-42. Note 68: See Robert I. Rotberg, "Clinton Was Right," Foreign Policy, No. 102 (Spring 1996), pp. 135-141. Note 69: I am indebted to Sumit Ganguly for bringing this point to my attention. Note 70: Randolph M. Siverson and Juliann Emmons, "Birds of a Feather," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 35, No. 2 (June 1991), pp. 285-306. Note 71: David E. Spiro, "The Insignificance of the Liberal Peace," in Brown, Lynn-Jones, and Miller, eds., Debating the Democratic Peace, p. 231. Note 72: Huntington, The Third Wave, p. 30; and John Gerard Ruggie, "The Past as Prologue? Interests, Identity, and American Foreign Policy," International Security, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Spring 1997), pp. 89-125. Note 73: See the essays by Layne, Spiro, Farber and Gowa, and Oren in Brown, Lynn-Jones, and Miller, eds., Debating the Democratic Peace; Raymond Cohen, "Pacific Unions: A Reappraisal of the Theory that Democracies do not Fight One Another," Review of International Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3 (August 1994), pp. 207-224; Miriam Fendius Elman, ed., Paths to Peace: Is Democracy the Answer? (Cambridge, Mass. The MIT Press, 1997); Scott Gates, et al., Democracy and Peace: A More Skeptical View," Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 33, No. 1 (February 1996), pp. 1-10; Joanne Gowa, "Democratic States and International Disputes," International Organization, Vol. 49, No. 3 (Summer 1995), pp. 511-522; Arie M. Kacowicz, "Explaining Zones of Peace: Democracies as Satisfied Powers?" Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 32, No. 3 (August 1995), pp. 265-276; Susan Peterson, "How Democracies Differ: Public Opinion, State Structure, and the Lessons of the Fashoda Crisis," Security Studies, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Autumn 1995), 3-37; Bruce D. Porter, "Is the Zone of Peace Stable? Sources of Stress and Conflict in Industrial Democracies of Post-Cold War Europe," Security Studies, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Spring 1995), pp. 520-551; William R. Thompson, "Democracy and Peace: Putting the Cart Before the Horse?" International Organization, Vol. 50, No. 1 (Winter 1996), pp. 141-174; and Kenneth N. Waltz, "America as Model for the World? A Foreign Policy Perspective." PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 24, No. 4 (December 1991), pp. 667-670. Note 74: Compare, for example, Zeev Maoz, "The Controversy over the Democratic Peace: Rearguard Action or Cracks in the Wall?" International Security, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Summer 1997), p. 179, and Christopher Layne, "Lord Palmerston and the Triumph of Realism: Anglo-French Relations, 1830-48," in Elman, ed., Paths to Peace: Is Democracy the Answer?, p. 99. Note 75: An earlier criticism claimed that proponents of the democratic peace had failed to develop a theoretical explanation of the empirical finding that democracies do not fight each other. This criticism is no longer valid, because there is no longer any shortage of explanations. Instead, proponents of the democratic peace have advanced several explanations and they continue to explicate and refine the logic of each. Note 76: See Owen, "How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace." Note 77: John J. Mearsheimer, "Back to the Future: Instability in Europe After the Cold War," in Lynn-Jones and Miller, eds., The Cold War and After, p. 186. Note 78: For this variant of realism, see Mearsheimer, "Back to the Future." Some realists do not paint such a stark picture of the implications of international anarchy. See, for example, Charles L. Glaser, "Realists as Optimists: Cooperation as Self-Help," International Security, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Winter 1994/95), pp. 50-90. On balance, realist theories lead to the conclusion that democracies cannot enjoy a perpetual peace, not that democracies often will be at war. Recently, some scholars have combined realist theories with elements of explanations of the democratic peace. See, for example, Andrew Kydd, "Why Security Seekers Do Not Fight Each Other," Security Studies, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Autumn 1997), pp. 114-155. Note 79: See Huntington, The Third Wave, especially pp. 259-263. Note 80: For contending perspectives on relative gains, see David A. Baldwin, ed., Neorealism and Neoliberalism: The Contemporary Debate (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993). For a pessimistic realist view of how concern over relative gains inhibits cooperation, see John J. Mearsheimer, "The False Promise of International Institutions," International Security, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Winter 1994/95), pp. 19-24. Note 81: See Baldwin, ed., Neorealism and Neoliberalism; John C. Matthews, III, "Current Gains and Future Outcomes: When Cumulative Relative Gains Matter," International Security, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Summer 1996), pp. 112-146; and Peter Liberman, "Trading with the Enemy: Security and Relative Economic Gains." in ibid., pp. 147-175. Note 82: See Mearsheimer, "Back to the Future," p. 185; Christopher Layne, "Kant or Cant: The Myth of the Democratic Peace," in Brown, Lynn-Jones, and Miller, eds., Debating the Democratic Peace, p. 164; Spiro, "The Insignificance of the Liberal Peace," p. 205; Farber and Gowa, "Polities and Peace," p. 243; Gates, et al., "Democracy and Peace," p. 4; Thomas Risse-Kappen, "Democratic Peace-Warlike Democracies: A Social Constructivist Interpretation of the Democratic Peace," European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 1, No. 4 (December 1995), pp. 491-517 at 498-499. Note that proponents of the institutional-structural explanation agree that the logic of the model predicts that democracies will be less belligerent toward all types of states. See Morgan and Schwebach, "Take Two Democracies," p. 318. Note 83: Mearsheimer, "Back to the Future," p. 185; Layne, "Kant or Cant," p. 164. Note 84: "The Politics of Peace," Economist, April 1, 1995, p. 17. Note 85: Bueno de Mesquita and Lalman, War and Reason p. 272. Note 86: Kant argued: "If the consent of the citizenry is required in order to determine whether or not there will be war, it is natural that they consider all its calamities before committing themselves to so risky a game." Quoted in "The Politics of Peace," p. 17. Note 87: Russett, Grasping the Democratic Peace, p. 39. Note 88: Layne, "Kant or Cant," p. 165; Spiro, "The Insignificance of the Liberal Peace," p. 205. Note 89: See Forsythe, "Democracy, War, and Covert Action"; and Patrick James and Glenn E. Mitchell, II, "Targets of Covert Pressure: The Hidden Victims of the Democratic Peace," International Interactions, Vol. 21, No. 1 (July 1995). Note 90: On the weaknesses of the normative explanation more generally, see Ray, Democracy and International Conflict, pp. 34-37. Note 91: Maoz, "The Controversy over the Democratic Peace," p. 179. Note 92: See Owen, "How Liberalism Produces Democratic Peace." Note 93: See Ray, Democracy and International Conflict, chap. 3. In addition to above cases, others that are mentioned frequently include: Lebanon-Israel, 1948; Germany in the 1930s; and Israel''s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Note 94: See Russett, Grasping the Democratic Peace, p. 169 (note 2), and Bruce Russett and James Lee Ray, "Why the Democratic-Peace Proposition Lives," Review of International Studies, Vol. 21 (1995), pp. 319 (note 2) and 322. Note 95: Doyle, "Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs." Note 96: See Russett, Grasping the Democratic Peace; and James Lee Ray, Democracy and International Conflict. Note 97: Spiro, "The Insignificance of the Liberal Peace"; and Ray, Democracy and International Conflict, pp. 27, 152-153, 159. Note 98: See Farber and Gowa, "Polities and Peace." Note 99: See, for example, Bruce Russett, "The Democratic Peace: And Yet it Moves," in Brown, Lynn-Jones, and Miller, eds., Debating the Democratic Peace, pp. 337-350. Note 100: Maoz, "The Controversy over the Democratic Peace," especially pp. 164-173 Note 101: Ibid., pp. 165-166. See Zeev Maoz, Domestic Sources of Global Change (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996), chap. 2, appendix, for his current coding rules. Note 102: See Maoz, "The Controversy over the Democratic Peace," p. 167. Note 103: See Farber and Gowa, "Polities and Peace"; Mearsheimer, "Back to the Future," pp. 186-187. Note 104: Stephen M. Walt, The Origins of Alliances (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1987). Note 105: See Siverson and Emmons, "Birds of a Feather," and Kurt Taylor Gaubatz, "Democratic States and Commitment in International Relations," International Organization, Vol. 50, No. 1 (Winter 1996), pp. 109-139. Spiro, "The Insignificance of the Liberal Peace," also finds that democracies have a strong tendency to ally with other democracies. Note 106: Maoz, "The Controversy over the Democratic Peace," p. 176. Note 107: See Mearsheimer, "Back to the Future," p. 186. Note 108: See Russett, Grasping the Democratic Peace, and Maoz, "The Controversy over the Democratic Peace" for summaries of these studies. Note 109: See Layne, "Kant or Cant," in Brown, Lynn-Jones, and Miller, eds., Debating the Democratic Peace, pp. 165-166. Note 110: Ibid., pp. 168-190. Note 111: See Russett, "And Yet it Moves," p. 350. Note 112: See Owen, "How Liberalism Causes Democratic Peace"; and Owen, Liberal Peace, Liberal War: American Politics and International Security (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1997). Note 113: Edward D. Mansfield and Jack Snyder, "Democratization and the Danger of War," in Brown, Lynn-Jones, and Miller, eds., Debating the Democratic Peace, pp. 301-334. Note 114: Ibid., p. 301. Note 115: The most important challenge to Mansfield and Snyder is Michael D. Ward and Kristian Gleditsch, "Democratizing for Peace," American Political Science Review, Vol. 92, No. 1 (March 1998), pp. 51-61. Ward and Gleditsch find that democratization reduces the probability of war by about 50%. See also Andrew J. Enterline, "Driving While Democratizing," International Security, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Spring 1996), pp. 183-196. Mansfield and Snyder reply in ibid., pp. 199-207. Mansfield and Snyder object to Enterline''s focus on militarized international disputes (MIDs) instead of wars, but a strong case can be made for this choice. Wars usually come out of MIDs, which create the opportunity for leaders to play nationalist cards and to otherwise behave and Mansfield and Snyder fear. Mansfield and Snyder are working on a book (forthcoming from The MIT Press in the BCSIA Studies in International Security series) that will present their arguments more comprehensively and with additional data and case studies. Note 116: Mansfield and Snyder, "Democratization and the Danger of War," p. 332. Note 117: See Reinhard Wolf, "Correspondence," International Security, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Spring 1996), pp. 176-180. Note 118: For a discussion of Russia that takes the Mansfield/Snyder thesis into account and explains why Russia''s democratization has not cause much war, see Michael McFaul, "A Precarious Peace: Domestic Politics and the Making of Russian Foreign Policy," International Security, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Winter 1997/98), pp. 5-35. Note 119: Mansfield and Snyder, "Democratization and the Danger of War," pp. 332-333. Note 120: Mansfield and Snyder, "Democratization and the Danger of War," p. 333. See also Jack Snyder and Karen Ballentine, "Nationalism and the Marketplace of Ideas," International Security, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Fall 1996), pp. 5-40. Note 121: Mansfield and Snyder, "Democratization and the Danger of War," p. 334. Note 122: Zakaria, "The Rise of Illiberal Democracy," p. 22. Note 123: Ibid., p. 35; and Kaplan, "Was Democracy Just a Moment?", pp. 60-61. Note 124: Kaplan, "Was Democracy Just a Moment?", pp. 64-69. Note 125: See Zakaria, "The Rise of Illiberal Democracy," pp. 23-24; Karatnycky, "Freedom on the March," pp. 21-22; and Karatnycky, "Still the Bedrock of a Better World." Note 126: Kagan, "Democracies and Double Standards," p. 24. Note 127: Zakaria, "The Rise of Illiberal Democracy," p. 42. Note 128: Marc F. Plattner and Carl Gershman, "Democracy Gets a Bum Rap," Wall Street Journal, Interactive Edition, January 26, 1998. Note 129: Zakaria, "The Rise of Illiberal Democracy," p. 27. Note 130: The relationship between liberalism, democracy, and ethnic conflict is complex. See Michael E. Brown, ed., The International Dimensions of Internal Conflict (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1996), pp. 19-20, 577, and 609; Diamond, Promoting Democracy in the 1990s, pp. 5-6; Donald L. Horowitz, "The Comparative Politics of Ethnic Conflict Management," in Joseph V. Montville, ed., Conflict and Peacemaking in Multiethnic Societies (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1990); Ted R. Gurr and Barbara Harff, Ethnic Conflict and World Politics (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1994); and Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner, eds., Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and Democracy (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994. Note 131: Historically, of course, democracy has faced ideological challenges from Marxism, Fascism, and Monarchism. None of these is a significant force in contemporary world politics, so I have focused on the challenge from proponents of "Asian Values." Note 132: For examples of these views, see Fareed Zakaria, "Culture is Destiny: A Conversation with Lee Kwan Yew," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 73, No. 2 (March/April 1994), pp. 109-126; Kishore Mahbubani, "`The Pacific Impulse,''" Survival, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Spring 1995), pp. 105-120; Bilahari Kausikan, "Asia''s Different Standard," Foreign Policy, No. 92 (Fall 1993), pp. 24-41; and Yoichi Funabashi, "The Asianization of Asia," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 72, No. 5 (November/December 1993), pp. 75-85. Note 133: Howard W. French, "Africans Look East for a New Model," New York Times, February 4, 1996. Note 134: Alan Dupont, "Is There An ''Asian Way''?" Survival, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Summer 1996), pp. 13-33. Note 135: See, for example, Zakaria, "Culture is Destiny: A Conversation with Lee Kwan Yew," pp. 111-112. Note 136: Gregory Kane, "Violence as a Cultural Imperative," Boston Globe, October 6, 1996, p. D2. Note 137: See, for example, Steve Lohr, "Business, Asian Style: A Revaluing of Values," New York Times, February 7, 1998, pp. A17-A19. Note 138: I attempt to answer these questions in my contribution to Christopher Layne and Sean M. Lynn-Jones, Should America Spread Democracy? A Debate (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, forthcoming 1998). For some other attempts, see Muravchik, Exporting Democracy; Diamond, Promoting Democracy in the 1990s; Graham T. Allison, Jr., and Robert P. Beschel, Jr., "Can the United States Promote Democracy?" Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 107, No. 1 (Spring 1992), pp. 81-98; and Samuel P. Huntington, "Democracy for the Long Haul," Journal of Democracy, Vol. 7, No. 2 (April 1996), pp. 3-13. A Romanian translation is available here: http://webhostinggeeks.com/science/spread-democracy-ro A Polish translation is available here: http://www.autoersatzteile.de/blog/dlaczego-stany-zjednoczone-powinny-szerzenia-demokracji These links are posted as a courtesy. Harvard University, the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs assume no responsibility for the Romanian and Polish translations. The original English version is authoritative and should be used when citing or quoting the paper. For more information about this publication please contact the ISP Program Coordinator at 617-496-1981. For Academic Citation:

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- Dispatch stories - Stats & stuff - Slide shows - Seasons past Ohio State 26, Michigan 21: Perfect as can be Buckeyes complete unbeaten season after defense dominates Wolverines in second half of The Game Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller high-steps it past Michigan defensive end Frank Clark. Perfection is a funny concept in sports. It is expected by coaches, demanded by fans, sought after by players. Yet it is really unachievable. Only in a team’s record can the combination of a team’s strengths and faults be simmered into the stark finality of victory or defeat. Ohio State’s 26-21 victory over Michigan in front of 105,899 yesterday at Ohio Stadium was nobody’s idea of a flawless victory. The mistakes that have bothered the Buckeyes this season were on full display — penalties, turnovers and missed tackles. But so were the grit, the determination and the talent to overcome all of them. And so the Buckeyes, their season now finished because of NCAA transgressions that nobody on this team committed, have the satisfaction of becoming only the sixth unbeaten and untied team in the history of Ohio State football. “Well, to be 12-0, it really hasn’t sunk in yet,” coach Urban Meyer said. The victory over That Team Whose Name Shan’t Be Mentioned had almost a Greek-tragedy element to it. Defensive end John Simon, revered as the heart and soul of this team and by Meyer as practically a second son, could not play because of a bursa sac injury in his right knee. “When they DQ’d him, it was like a possessed group on defense,” Meyer said. “I know why — because our brother was down.” It took until the second half for the defense to become possessed. Michigan (8-4, 6-2) scored three touchdowns in the first half, the final one coming after it looked as if the Wolverines were content to run out the clock. But quarterback-turned-running back Denard Robinson, himself impaired by a bad elbow that prevented him from throwing, bounced off simultaneous hits by Christian Bryant and Travis Howard to go 67 yards for a touchdown that gave Michigan a 21-17 lead. Even after Drew Basil kicked a 52-yard field goal for Ohio State at the end of the half, the Buckeyes looked quite vulnerable. But they have been in that position much of the season. The defensive players were particularly resolved to tighten up. “They promised us when we went into halftime that they wouldn’t give up a point, and they didn’t,” said receiver Corey Brown, who caught a touchdown pass in the first half but also muffed a punt that set up a Wolverines touchdown. The defense set the tone on Michigan’s first possession of the third quarter. On fourth-and-2 from the Wolverines 48, coach Brady Hoke elected, after taking a timeout, to go for it. But Ryan Shazier and Etienne Sabino stuffed Robinson for a loss. The Buckeyes took advantage of the field position to take the lead on a 28-yard field goal. The Buckeyes offense had several more chances to put the game away but couldn’t. Braxton Miller had a 42-yard run, but otherwise found running lanes clogged, though he was an efficient 14 of 18 passing for 189 yards against the nation’s top-ranked pass defense. Carlos Hyde was the workhorse he wanted to be in last week’s overtime win at Wisconsin, running for 146 yards on 26 carries. But still, the Buckeyes offense couldn’t deliver the knockout. After Bryant caused a Robinson fumble, Ohio State drove to the Michigan 4. Facing second-and-1, Miller was sacked by a blindside hit — for the second time in the game — and then had to chase down an errant snap. That was followed by a missed 39-yard field goal attempt by Basil. In the middle of the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes took over at the Michigan 10 when Johnathan Hankins forced a Devin Gardner fumble, recovered by Howard. Again, the Buckeyes couldn’t end the suspense. They had to settle for Basil’s career-high fourth field goal to make it 26-21. But Ohio State’s defense rose to the occasion for the final time. C.J. Barnett stepped in front of a Gardner pass for an interception at the Michigan 49 with 4:50 left. After yielding 219 yards in the first half, Ohio State surrendered only 60 in the second half, including just 8 in the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes then used the power running of Hyde to run out the clock. As the final seconds ticked away, fans swarmed the field. Players hugged and posed for pictures. Offensive coordinator Tom Herman embraced Miller and kissed his helmet when they met on the way to the locker room. The Buckeyes will remain in Columbus when Wisconsin and Nebraska play for the Big Ten championship on Saturday. They will be at home during bowl season. Their season is over, but their legacy is only beginning. “After our team meeting on Tuesday, we start a new journey,” Meyer said. “And however the journey (goes), the foundation’s really, really strong. It couldn’t be stronger, because of our senior class. That’s all I can think about. “I want to make sure they’re properly recognized as one of the great groups of seniors in the history of this program.”

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This series of write-ups celebrates the Lenovo Forum's family of volunteer advocates - moderators, gurus and outstanding members of the Forum, who consistently go out of their way to help out in this community through sharing what they know, dissecting, delving and diving into various issues to educate other users and solve one another's problems. We salute and honor your dedication and hard work! You may have noticed a relatively new community member, ExJamJus amongst the troop of gurus in the forum, and you may find his style vaguely familiar – and rightly so. This is because ExJamJus is actually… JameZ. While James may have left Lenovo to explore other opportunities, his passion for helping others and his dedication to this community that he helped support remains. Thus he returns, trading in his blue staff colors for the green of the gurus. We catch up with James as he spills the beans... Serene: I never got to ask you this when you were still with Lenovo as a staff, but how did you discover the Forums? James: I had been thinking about what to do career-wise before I joined Lenovo – I was then working in a rival company as a technical support agent and stumbled across an advertisement about a job opening as a Technical Support Specialist (Japanese speaking). I then scoured through the job scope and saw that my skills were actually relevant (all, barring the language aspect – my knowledge of Japanese is restricted to food names). I decided to just go for the role and sent in an application. A few days after this was sent I received a call from the Human Resources people at Lenovo and I landed an interview with the company and was told that my job (that is, if I did get it) revolved around the Lenovo Forums. James at the Lenovo Malaysia office. I then ventured in to the Forums to have a look at what this was all about and noticed that there were quite a number of helpful people - advocates amongst the community members, on top of those who clearly identify themselves as employees. This is so different from other communities I visited, and I thought this was amazing how it was run – that there are so many great people out there who return to this forum time and again to help strangers out with their technical issues. Then, my heart was set racing when I heard the next piece of news from Human Resources that I got a second interview with the community team.) A Time article featuring Lenovo Chairman Liu’s commitment to driving the brand using a different approach made up my mind even more. I really wanted in. Thank goodness I managed to impress the interviewers and eventually hired on! Serene: Wow! So what are you doing right now? James: After spending about a year and a half in Lenovo, an opportunity came up and I decided to leave to explore my options in a sales-orientated position. I am currently working as an IT consultant in a recruitment company. My future plan is to go into networking in order to expand my knowledge on IT. I just couldn’t give up the community I have grown to love and hence, came back as ExJamJus, with the old handle being ‘retired’. Serene: I can imagine it being a difficult period of transition for you, with the switch in roles and of course, with a new career direction. James: Definitely. The decision to even leave Lenovo as a staff was a very tough one to make as I thought I would have to forego my friends in the company, both human and non-human (the equipment and computing gadgets I had access to… ouch, though I am currently using the U300s now, which is awesome. The boot up time is fantastic and the laptop goes to sleep in an instant. The battery life is amazing as well. ) It took two whole weeks, for instance, for the realization that I was no longer a staff to sink in. I’m better now – and am trying to manage the time I have to come in daily to help out in the forums – and with the shoe now on the other foot, I can understand where the other volunteers come from and why they continue to help out – it just feels good to be able to help others, and I make lots of new friends while beefing up my own computing knowledge. We are winners, all Have a question about a Lenovo product? Or have a tip about computing to share? Join in the discussions today and while you are at it, say hi to ExJamJus and our other advocates!

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DAP's P Ramasamy wants to know why the 'hooligan party' is now backing the opposition leader after being critical of him in the past. PETALING JAYA: The Human Rights Party’s support for Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim with regard to the sex video controversy has come under attack from a Pakatan Rakyat leader. Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy, in his Twitter posting, questioned HRP’s pro-tem secretary- general P Uthayakumar’s decision to back Anwar. “Why is the head of a hooligan racist party supporting Anwar, wants to be mandore!!!” he said. HRP leaders have constantly used the mandore term on Indian elected representatives from both sides of the political divide who compromise the interests of their community in exchange for positions and perks. The yet-to-be registered political party has also been critical of Pakatan, accusing the opposition coalition of not doing enough for the Indians. Responding to his boss, Ramasamy’s aide M Satees tweeted: “They want 15/38 la Prof…” This was in reference to the 15 parliamentary and 38 state seats with a high number of Indian voters which HRP aims to contest in the next general election. ‘It is a matter of principle’ Defending his party’s stand, HRP information chief S Jayathas said the decision to back Anwar was based on principle. “Anwar is victimised by Umno and is being tried in the media, similar to Hindraf when Umno accused us of having links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),” he told FMT. As for the mandore allegation, he said Ramasamy, who is also DAP deputy secretary-general, should read the definition of mandore and mandorism first, which were availabe on the HRP website (see link below). On Satees’ comment about the 15/38 plan, Jayathas said that his party will not be contesting in any seats if Pakatan lives up to its pre-2008 polls promise of addressing Indian issues. “They can start by resolving all land issues involving Hindu temples, cemeteries and Tamil schools with a stroke of the pen because they are already in the ‘Putrajaya’ of Kedah, Penang and Selangor.” Meanwhile, Anwar’s daughter and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah welcomed HRP’s support for her father. “We take comments in good faith. It is good when politicians, individuals across different vocations state a principled stance publicly,” she said. On Monday, Uthayakumar said that he had watched the video and concluded that it was not Anwar. He also claimed that the video was designed to politically assasinate Anwar. This morning the five Hindraf activists case came up for mention at the Selayang Magistrates Court at 9.00 a.m. In this case of the racist, fascist, supremacist, malicious and vindictive criminal prosecution by the racist UMNO Attorney General Tan Sri Gani Patail. When HRP Vice President and Hindraf National Coordinator K. Tamil Selvam informed the Court that HRP & Hindraf Information Chief S. Jayathas was today undergoing dialysis treatment and was unable to attend court and forwarded a copy of his last dialysis treatment receipt dated 29/4/11 (see copy below), the dumb UMNO Magistrate Puan Nuru Hafizah bt Kamaruddin ordered that she wanted a medical certificate or she would issue Warrant of Arrest. This is how the racist UMNO Malay-sian Chief Justice Tun Zaki Tun Azmi trains his learned magistrates who does not even know the difference that a dialysis patient is not a sick patient who would be issued a Medical Certificate. To add insult to injury this dumb but arrogant Magistrate without any due course or reason raised her voice and was intimidating the five Hindraf activists as if to force them to plead guilty which she is so used to doing, and some 99% of the Indian poor accused brought before her pleading guilty though they may not be guilty as they cannot afford legal fees for a lawyer, cannot afford bail. So these Indian poor are as good as being thrown into jail and having a criminal record when some racist UMNO policemen decide to racially profile him and arrest him. And then the racist Malay-sian police and AG Gani Patail crow and brag that their crime solving rate is higher than that of Interpol’s. Today’s case was postponed to a speedy hearing date on 7/6/2011 to swiftly convict these 54 Hindraf activists. The DPP was Ching Kian Chun and the attending lawyer was Andiappan. Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice This racist fascist, religious supremacist and malicious criminal prosecution is unprecedented and unheard of in the world over except in Malaysia and the absolute monarchy Saudi Arabia. This is how serious UMNO is in killing off Hindraf further to Ops Padam Hindraf and so as to speedily convict these 54 Hindraf activists so as prevent them from stan The rally's estimated to be 100 000 people gathered outside the Petronas Twin Towers at midnight, early Sunday morning.At least 240 people were detained, but half of them were later released. One day before the rally, police arrested three HINDRAF lawyers, P. Uthayakumar, P. Waytha Moorthy and V. Ganabatirau for sedition charges. Uthayakumar and Ganabatirau posted bail of 800 Malaysian ringgits each, but Waytha Moorthy refused bail as a sign of protest.

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Much like the sizzling temperatures of the season, office romance is heating up workplaces, according to the results of Randstad's latest “Global Workmonitor” survey employees in 32 countries around the world, according to a press release. On average 57 percent of global respondents indicate romantic relationships occur in their workplace. The data indicate this happens more often in China, India, and Malaysia (all around 70 percent). In Japan (33 percent) and Luxembourg (36 percent) however, romantic relationships in the workplace are less common. Stacy Parker, executive vice president of Marketing for Randstad Canada, says, like it or not, office romances happen. "People spend a significant amount of time in the office, and it is often a place where people feel a sense of community. The company is likely filled with people who share the same values, principles, work ethic, skills, and education. So it's not that surprising that romances tend to spark between employees," she says. Parker recognizes that there are risks that are associated with office romances. "Many employers frown on office relationships for good reason. It can disrupt productivity not only for those in the relationship, but for those who work with the couple. It can also hurt morale if favoritism between the couple is perceived, or if the relationship ends very badly," she says. Therefore, a global average of 40 percent of employees believe a romantic relationship with a colleague interferes with their performance at work. The concern is highest for employees in India (63 percent) and Luxembourg (65 percent). However, 72 percent of respondents believe romantic relationships in the workplace do not need to be problematic, with the highest percentage of agreement from Spain, Mexico, and Hong Kong (around 81 percent). The survey results also found that when a romantic relationship does occur, 44 percent of global respondents believe one of the two must be transferred to another department. But only 24 percent believe that one of the two should be forced to resign. Parker advises, before getting involved in a romantic relationship with a colleague, to find out if your company has any policies on office dating. "Many companies are open to the idea, but your company could have a no office romance policy. If you don't have an office policy against it and you do decide to go ahead and date your co-worker, keep it out of the office. This means no public displays of affection. Keep it as professional and low key as possible. It's also a good idea to never date someone you supervise or who supervises you," she says.

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Welcome to Apple iPhone news and Chat discussion forums. iPhone Discussions is dedicated to iPhone,Talk about iPhone modifications,software,reviews,Support, iPhone news , iphone mobile,iPhone OS and more about iphone imei cannot found... I just bought my iphone 5 one month ago then i realise my camera was not functioning, It always stuck in black screen when i try open the camera apps. I found out there are actually many people who bought iphone 5 suffered this problem when i try to look for resolution online. I want to go for warranty but my phone got dent on it's appearance. Therefore, apple told me that my phone was unable to warranty. However, my purpose to warranty is to fix the camera instead of the dent on my phone. Can apple fix my camera problem? I really feel sad and regret for purchase the phone now because of the problem i am facing now. Hopefully apple can give me a satisfied answer. Thank you. I contacted Orange UK and they said that this iPhone4 is ready to be unlocked, but they can't unlock the phone because I am not the original contract owner. Why can't Apple unlock this phone, because the original owner doesn't care and has sold it? As far as I understand, I am one of at least 3 owners for this phone. I guess there could be more. I just wanted to have a normal iphone, why can't Apple help on this issue? I have previously had many apple products, this is the first one I bought used adn just wanted to restore it to normal. Another thing is that 3rd party services can unlock it for 200$. What is that they do to unlock it? Why can't apple make a small comission for unlcoking iPhones instead. People find ways to cheat and ripoff people who doesn't deserve to pay extra for the phone they bought. Here is my iPhones description: imei: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXSerial Number: XXXXXXXXXXXPart Description: iphone 4 16GB BLACK Product Version: 6.0.1 Coverage Status: Out of Warranty Coverage End Date: First Unbrick Date: 29/03/11 Last Unbrick Date: 10/04/11 CTN: 7580088512 Next Tether Activation Policy Description: UK TMobile Orange. Lock Status: Locked I bought the iphone 5 from Star One Mobile in Sim Lim Square Singpore recently. After reaching my place , just found that the serial number and imei number in my iphone 5 product and the packaging box are different. When I check on the website the packaging number shows the product is replaced but the number in product shows valid. Can some one explain the difference?I did not anticipate an Apple product having a difference in serial and imei number from the packaging --- probable that the Star one mobile could have changed the package? I have an iphone 3g and my wifi wasn't working at all! The wifi button wasn't working like I couldn't press it at all, so my brother told me to erase my iphone. I backed it up and erased my iphone, it didn't work so he told me to jailbreak it because he thought maybe since my iphone was originally jailbroken it might just need it to be jailbroken again. I did that and when I looked at it again ALL apps were gone! There were no settings, safari, or app store nothing, it was just a blank page! (A blank page with, oddly enough, my same wallpaper still) When I tried to search up things on the iphone it was found, but it said it was not loaded at all. Help anyone?? as i connect my iphone with itunes, it is not showing imei NUMBER? also it is not showing wifi or sim service. can you help me to solve this problem? bought the iphone 4 from my friend, he said when it was updated to 6.1.3 it wont register my orange/tmobile EE sims i rang apple and gave imei and its not blocked. anyone help please? im not sure what to do Folks, I am getting confusing information from various sources.According to the service I am using for factory unlocking my iphone 5, as soon as I unlock my phone I will be able to use it on all GSM networks, except the original ATT. This is contrary to all the previous unlocks I have ever done on any phone. What is the reason why my phone will no longer work on ATT, if true? Can APPLE or ATT help me get it back on ATT network once I no longer need to use it overseas? Thank you for your help. how did i know if the imei of an apple iphone 4s ia autnebticated I lost my iphone 5 n I ask my provider to block the imei The phone..but fortunately I found my phone. Now can I use that phone overseas or how can I able to use that phone again? Any suggestions guys?? hi dear all please help me my iphone is lock. Right now I m in Azerbaijan(country) and i dont know how unlock phone. imei code: 013050007799547I want to add important data- i couldnt find Azerbaijan a list of countries in this site.thank you very much Message was edited by: Farxad After months and months of not being able to update my iphone 4 to the new technology due to storage usage, i was finally able to. Now after two hours of waiting, my phone says it was verifying the update. My phone turned off and then turned back on and i got the plug into iTunes icon. After i plugged it in it says that the iphone update server cannot be found. Hi, I am hoping someone can help me as my wife's iphone completely froze up after synching with the latest version of iTunes. In the end, the only thing she could do was re-set the iphone, thereby of course losing everything. Reconnecting to her laptop restored music and most apps, it seems she has to re-download the other apps again direct to the phone. Now the problem is images. There is an ipod cache directory on the laptop Pictures directory, and in this are folders labelled F00, F01 etc.. and a "Photo Database" file. In each of the Fnn directories is a series of files, called Txxx.ithmb, each of which is about 1,500KB. Doing a backup from the laptop indicates there are about 2900 files overall.Altogether there is about 3GB in this folder, so it looks to be a lot of space. Pointing iTunes to the directory containing all this and synching, still results in zero images being found. She went to the local Apple store for help, to be told these are not the images, but then elsewhere I have read that these are the full files, and this proprietary format contains three different resolution images. If the images taken on the iphone are not here, where are they? Finally, how on earth do we convince iTunes to recognize these files and imporrt them again? Sorry to be thick but losing everything thanks to the latest iTunes was rather catastrophic! Any help/ideas/suggestions greatfully received... The photo files were a mix of photos taken on the iphone and images previously uploaded from the laptop. Cheers Chipontheroad I found an iphone on Ebay that I am thinking about buying but it says it has a bad ESN. What does that mean? is it still okay to buy it? Please help- its my understanding that iphone stores where you have been (location history). When I was searching the Internet to see if I could access this info, I found Pete wardens iphone tracker download (I think it came out in April 2011), but then I read that apple fixed this problem of storing this info on your computer too, by releasing a software update shortly after. Is that correct? If I backup my iphone to computer will it have a file on there that stores the history of where I and my iphone have been? Or is this no longer the case? I desperately need a log with time stamps, I need to prove where I have been in the last week (marriage problems). If iphone only keeps this info on the phone now, can I access it somehow?Thanks for your help-Alisha Hi. Last Saturday morning I lost my phone and immediately went onto iCloud and entered the phone into Lost Mode, sent the message and Played Sound. Spent all that day reporting the loss to the police, insurance and Vodafone and generally panicking. Went to bed that night, put hand under pillow and guess what, found my darling phone!!! What a relief!! Cancelled Lost Mode on iCloud and restored passwords, Vodafone etc. HOWEVER, at various times (and obviously I never get any warning), the lost alarm still sounds and in public, people must think I have stolen my own phone!!! I have tried different ways to stop the alarm happening again eg setting Lost Mode over again and then cancelling it again but the alarm still goes off. All I have to do is press the on/off button to stop it sounding but the fact that it goes off in the first place is the problem. It should be cancelled! Why does the alarm still go off? Can anyone help please? Many thanks Susan I have been trying to update my iphone's software for the past few weeks due to my current provider not being found. (A bar that says "Searching" is always at the top where my 3G should be.) Yet whenever I try directly from my iphone, it always end with an error message. So, yesterday I tried updating directly from itunes and I let it download the new update and all that. However, after it finished trying to update my iphone, it put my iphone in a recovery mode and I've been trying to fix it eversince. I can not access my iphone, all it has is an icon saying to connect to itunes. I've tried troubleshooting, checking my software, updating my computer etc. yet it still leaves me with this message: "The iphone "iphone" could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (-1)." I've looked on the apple site and I've made sure my security is up to date, my computer is up to date, my itunes is up to date and that I have restarted my computer. I am very irritated and I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do because my warranty is over with apple and I still have a few years on my contract. This problem has become relatively frequent with the replacement I've received from apple. Please post all suggestions or ideas to help with my problem, Thank you for your time. -Applefanatic23 Hi there, my iphone's been stolen a few days ago and now I need to figure out my imei- Number to get the bill from Apple again, to hopefully get my money back from the insurance. So now my question: how can I figure out my imei- Number without having my iphone anymore? Please help me! Thanks Hi There i have my iphone 5 now for few Months, im travelling a lot between Europe and Asia, there was never a prob. But on Sunday when i arrive in Malaysia and switsch the Flight Modus off, since then the Phone is not accepting any Carrier. If i chooose Manual Mode he finds the Carrier, but still the phone is not taking over the Carrier. I have already reseted some times, and also found a topic in the net what say to switsch on and off a few times the Flight mode, nothing helps !! So please somebody give me a solution, this is my buissines phone !! I have tried resetting and erased all data but still no luck detecting network. 3G is found briefly when powering back up. I have tried two different sims from two different providers 3 an Vodafone but whilst carrier is found neither connect. Wifi if working fine as are all other phone functions. Any ideas? after updating to 6.1.4 about once per day y iphone loses its SIM the carrier area says "no sim" and the screen says "no sim found"when I reset it I get to verizon and all is fine for another day. i have my iPhone4s T-mobile i want to unlock now so it how can i do my self verson - 5.1.1 (9B206) imei No. 01293 70083 09261Model- MD254DSerial No. C36GH05DDTC0 I just bought a second hand (perfect condition) iphone 4S today, the user sold it because they had upgraded to an iphone 5. The previous user did not restore the phone they just deleted all of their previous data (contacts, pictures, applacations, they left their 1,100 songs though), so I planned on restoring it later tonight to start fresh. I had it activated to my phone number at the Verizon store on my way to a family party and used it throughout today but put barely anything onto it knowing I would be restoring it tonight. I got home and plugged it into my laptop and went to iTunes found "Emily's iphone" and then hit the restore button like normal, it worked perfectly fine and went the whole 14 minutes it said it had to. Then my phone went to the "connect to iTunes" screen when it was already connected. I checked to make sure everything was plugged in correctly, and it all was perfectly fine. I tried the manual reboot (holding the home and lock buttons for a few seconds) and all it does is shut off and bring me to the same "connect to iTunes screen".. someone please tell me how I can restore my phone! Thank you, Emily i buy iphone 5 from t-mobile and i paid full why t-mobile not unlock my iphone 5 T-Mobile Sim Unlock Request Sim Unlock Reference: 5828320 imei: 013428006907719Thank you for taking the time to contact T-Mobile. We have received your SIM Unlock Request. Unfortunately, this subscriber is not eligible to receive the unlock code at this time. In order to be eligible, the subscriber must complete the buyer's remorse period for their upgrade. Please submit a new request 14 days after this subscriber completed their upgrad Without my knowing it, I recently had my iphone 4 fall out of my jacket. When I came back and found it, it had been out in the rain for 3 hours. Now, the microphone does not work when making or receiving calls. The speakerphone microphone at the top works fine, but not the one at the bottom. I have tried rebooting, too, and nothing seems to work. Do I need to take it to the Apple store to diagnose and fix? after I connected itune, my iphone lost imei Hi all, everytime I want to edit text I'm entering into the message box, I'm not able to do it, since the cursor always jumps to the end of the text.This makes it impossible to mark & copy some or all text, as well as rephrasing or correcting typos. The only 'workaround' I found is to keep the finger on the target position (and having the looking glass active) and then type one character (or delete on). I'm a little bit curious since my friend and me are experiencing that issue for a long time now though I found no reference on the net for it yet (except one to a wordpress app). It happens on a 3GS as well as on a 4, at least all 6.* versions of iOS, with the previous (2.3.1) as well as with the current Viber version (3.0.0).Also experienced on iPad (3rd gen, cellular edition) with 6.1.3 / 3.0.0 Any hints or tipps are very welcome! Thanks in advance &cu,-udo https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do If you purchased it from a legitimate source, this wouldn't be a question. I purchased an iPhone4 32 GB from my friend and i want to know that either this iphone is Indian or not. Can any one tell me that is there any way to check this through imei number, Serial Number, iTunes or iCloud. I am trying to make a purchase with in my game apps like Csr racing but I keep getting a notice that purchase cannot be completed and to go to apple/ iTunes support. found nothing on my specific question so posting this to see if anyone else has experienced this and found a solution. Hi All, So I have disbled my iphone 4s by forgetting my passcode (like it seems many other people do!). Also as the phone went dead as I was away for the weekend the SIM is also locked. I have often backed it up to iCloud but I never had the camera roll back up option ticked as I cannot see it when I sign into iCloud. I dont have iTunes on my laptop or access to the original iTunes where it was synced a year and a half ago. My question is can I get the phone unlocked by Apple? ( I have the imei number and proof of purchase) Is there any way of keeping or getting my photos/videos and messages? When I had my phone plugged into the laptop and was clicking backup through wifi will this have also backed up my photos? Thanks! IS anyone else having issues after the 6.1.4 update? Here is what I have experienced in the last two days. 1- Unable to access a locked or secure network. It asks for password initially. When entered, it is unable to connect. I restart and then go to Settings, find the network and click. I never get a prompt for the password, just "Unable to Connect" 2-Bluetooth. I can after a few attempts to connect my Bluetooth headphones, only after I get a "Failed attempt" a few times. Then only music works, unable to make phone calls. This happens with two different products. A SENA SMH 10R and LG HBS 700. 3- Music play - I found this issue out when trying to figure out problem with Bluetooth. I can start to play a song fine, but if I click on the ">>" or "<< " it freaks the player out and then skips multiple songs or stops play and goes back to the playlist. At first it was doing this with the Bluetooth headphones when using it to make selections. So I deleted the devices and the iphone continued to do it when selecting functions on the screen. Some playlists did it and some don't. Creating a new playlist did not help. Additional Info.Apple Store replaced my iphone on Saturday 5.4.13 because if antina issues. The issues above came after I restored from backup and updated the OS. I have erased the phone 2 times since getting the new phone and restored from back up and rebuilt from Itunes and neither way makes a difference above. What is going ON? Message was edited by: Karl Kroeker Corrected Version update Hey everyone I have been holding back from updating my iOS on my iphone 4s (I know - not a smart move) I am currently still on 5.1.1 and trying to update to 6.1.3 (finally) from the phone itself (not via iTunes) I am trying to downlaod and install the update using Wi-Fi connectivity, but it just wouldn't let me? Kept saying An Error occured while downloading... It didn't give me any error code or any other explanation. It just simply won't update I know it was silly of me to begin with for not updating for so long, but I don't understand why my phone is rejecting the update? If this is even what is happening.. Also I sent my iMac for repair recently, came back with a Lion (which was what I had on there previously anyway) but it wasn't updated? So I couldn't just open iTunes and restore all my contacts.. AND I am still currently in the process of downloading the updates - but something always happens as well, an error occured that I have to re-download the update, internet drops on and off, etc. -- The reason I wanted to update was (this is a whole separate problem) my 4s kept crashing the apps, not doing anything out of ordinary - it just crashes everytime i start or a open an app. So I would hard reset my phone (turning it off and on again) and then I would find all my contacts gone. No other entries are gone, just my contact names! All messages and calendar entries are all still there - just no contact names in my address book. ***? After sleuthing here and there, and found no real solution to this problem. I decided to update my iOS because one of the discussion thread I found told me to try that. Heck, why not. SO I tried uploading and this is where I end up.. Does ANYONE have any idea what the **** is going on? Does anyone else out tehre have the same problem? Surely this is not just me!! The iphone can not be restored, can not be found.help? I found and iphone 5 on the bus and it's carrier is Verizon, i was wondering if i would be able to send it in to apple and get it flashed to Sprint? im 2 months into my 24 month contract no insurance as i thought the house insurance covered it but they dont as the phone was stolen from work. So im stuck with a contract for a phone i dont have that some guy now has for free..... I have been using the find my iphone app but it has been offline since? they turned the phone off straight away (as any thief would do)After doing some research i came to know that the find my iphone app doesnt work if the phone has been switched off? Ive reported the theft to police they have CCTV footage but cant track the theives! Isnt there anything that can be done other fork out for a new phone?! I dont understand why an app would be made that does half the job? obviously the first thing a thief would do is turn the phone off? And ive even found out that if they plug the phone into itunes they can jus wipe the handset not impressed. We pay so much for these handsets yet there not even upto scratch with security features. (overpriced? definatley) You would think that with all these updates they come up with they would have done something for the security and tracking. Im disappointed with the what i have found. Dear sir As i have purchase ipnone5 from singapore on nov.2012 but now i have problem with phone is that it is getting very hot while talking, battery drain within 4,5 hoursi have to recharge it twice or thrice in a day,as now i am in india, here service centre in india not helping, so pls.take me out of this problem, where to go or whome to contact in india,my phone imei no. **** serial no. F1*******TWDwaiting for your kind reply thanks With Regards, Amarjeet singh c-177, Gobind nagar,Race courseDehradun (uk)India <Personal Information Edited By Host> About a month ago my iphone 5 turned itself off. It does this now a couple times a day and I have to hold down both the menu button and the power button for almost 10 seconds to have it restart. Lately, I go to take the phone out of standby and it shows a power cable conneted to the iTunes logo. I still have to hold down both the menu button and the power button for almost 10 seconds to have it restart. The phone holds its charge and I make sure I am charging the phone everyday. Not sure what it is causing this. This morning when the power cable and the iTunes logo appeared I plugged the phone into my computer and opened itunes. It found the phone, but said it needed to repair and install everything from a previous backup. So I did that hoping that would solve the shut down issue, but it did not. Has anyone heard of this happening. The phone had been working great. Any thoughts? This started as my iphone saying searching= my imei number was gone i tried to restore and i got the error-1 idk what that is if anybody can help thank you... Okay. So this was what happened: I was updating my iTunes library to the latest version. All of a sudden, my netbook crashed and eventually was hanging. So I removed the battery and restarted my netbook. I later found out, my iTunes got deleted. I didnt panic at first since I deliberately deleted my iTunes before and reinstalled it again finding all my files back in the iTunes. But this time, when I reinstalled it, all my files were gone! With this situation, can I transfer all my current files from my iphone to my new iTunes library? I don't mind losing my music but I just want to safely sync my iphone to this new iTunes library without erasing my current apps and photos. Hope you guys can help me! If you can tell who the carrier is, turn it in to them. They should be able to get it returned to them. If you can't, you can try and take the SIM out and see who the carrier is that way. If all else fails, turn it in to the local police. A few days ago I got my iphone unlocked from my provider (Telstra) as I am about to travel and wanted to put a country specific sim in it. Since then no non-Apple apps have worked.I have tried (many times) to :- 1. restore from a previous backup (plus multiple syncs) and using different backups2. delete an app and reinstall it3. download a new free app (and when that didn't work I deleted it and retried installing it)4. sign in and out of the app store on the iphone5. sign in and out of the app store on my iMac6. de-authorise and re-authorise my iMac7. wipe the iphone clean and start with a fresh install8. And reset the device too many times. Nothing I have found on any site has worked. I thought the wipe the phone clean would have done it but it hasn't.I have wasted about 20 hours trying to get this thing working again. If I wasn't going on vacation tomorrow I would be at my provider getting them to fix their mess but I can't. Can anyone help? Please? iphone 4S (Apps are active - just won't stay open) my phone was stolen,only 1 month old.I didnt know how to download apps and things.Now i am being told that due to not having the find my phone app,my phone will never be found again,is there some way i can get it back??? I have iphone 4S that is UNLOCKED. I noticed after upgrading to iOS 6.1.2 and 6.1.3 the battery is draining quickly. - I searched thru the Apple forum and internet and followed troubleshooting steps to dissable any settings and applications that might increased the battery usage. Still after all the troubleshooting, my iphone has battery drain issues. - I called Apple and talked to customer support. The guy did his best effort to solve the problem but the solutions that he provided me I have already done it. I sent him a system report of my iphone and he told me that the iphone is operating fine. I asked him if there is a way that I can downgrade the iOS 5 and he told me that it is not possible. 1. Who has the same problem and found a solution? Please provide the solution?2. Has someone been able to downgrade to iOS 5? Please provide steps? Thanks Hi I purchased iphone5 in December. It was working fine till now (only if we ignore the heating of the device while charging). But then 2 days back i suddenly noticed flickering of the display on my phone's screen . I searched it on the internet and found that there are many people who have been facing this problem and with their discussions it was concluded that it is a software problem. I got a sigh of relief and dint bother about it. But after half an hour i noticed that my dispaly is gone There was a black screen though the functions work fine as i was able to hear the sound of clicks and reciever calls through earphones. I dont know what has happened to my phone suddenly. I tried hard rebooting also but it dint work. Still looking for a solution I am sitting with a phone with no display and cz its nano sim, it is restricting me from using it in any other phone.I dint expect such a problem in Apple atleast : i've dropped my iphone 4 down a drain and i have also lost my box. The insurance company wants my imei number, is there any way to get this without the phone or the box? Hello everyone, I rencently purchased an iphone 5 from a person selling it on craigslist. the iphone is an At&t model and according to the person i bought it from the device is unlock. Is there anyway of telling if this is true without inserting a sim card for a different carrier? Are those websites where one enters the imei number a safe way to determine unlock status? Hi. Can someone tell me if you can use find iphone to find a friends iphone, and if so how? I remember seeing an advert where someone found where their friend was in a football stadium, but can't remember what app was used to do it. Thanks Rob I have that router and it's working great with my iphone 4.The security I use on both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz is "WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES]" mainly for compatibility with older devices.You may also want to try and set the 2.4ghz wireless speed to "Up to 130Mbps" instead of "Up to 300Mbps" via the router settings > Wireless Settings on the top left, because I found some devices have connectivity problems or do connect and then run incredibly slowly on the "Up to 300Mbps" for some reason. i have lost my iphone 4 and i dont have anything except my mobile serial number. to report in police i need imei number. please help me.

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Authorities here said they will likely repatriate a Saudi Arabian writer who fled Saudi Arabiaamid calls for him to be executed after he posted Twitter messages considered insulting to the Prophet Muhammad, Malaysian authorities said Friday. Malaysian police detained the writer, Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old columnist for the Jeddah-based Al Bilad newspaper, when he arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Thursday, Hishammuddin Hussein, the Malaysian Minister of Home Affairs, said in a statement. “The police have contacted their counterpart in Saudi Arabia to determine the next course of action,” Mr. Hussein said. Rights groups have expressed concern about Mr. Kashgari’s safety after religious conservatives in Saudi Arabia called for him to be arrested and executed after he directly addressed the Prophet Muhammad in a series of posts on Twitter. Amnesty International called for Malaysia not to deport Mr. Kashgari, to immediately disclose where he is being held and to grant him access to a lawyer.

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Natasha Dragun February 10, 2013 Sitting pretty ... the infinity pool at the Marina Bay Sands. Photo: Reuters Singapore caters for those craving the arts, fine food and the best retail therapy. 1 Gardens by the Bay A Flower Dome, Supertrees and Dragonfly Lake ... no, it's not the set of Ridley Scott's next film but rather Singapore's freshly minted Gardens by the Bay. Costing about $775 million and spanning 101 hectares, the gardens are a showcase for horticultural artistry. Living plants - all 700,000 of them - aside, the waterfront park features man-made trees stretching 50 metres into the sky with steel trunks and illuminated wire rods for branches. Nightly sound and light shows add to the drama. 18 Marina Gardens Drive, +65 6420 6848, gardensbythebay.com.sg. 2 In the hood Born out of a plan to segregate new immigrants in the 19th century, the city's ethnic neighbourhoods offer a colourful cultural experience. Little India is an endless parade of hole-in-the-wall spice shops and restaurants - it's also one of the few places in town where you can get a haircut for a couple of dollars. While parts of Chinatown are still rough around the edges, many of the vivid shophouses - some heritage-listed - have been reinvented as hip boutiques, bars and small hotels. And then there's the fabulously named Kampong Glam, with strong ties to the ethnic Malay and Muslim community. Don't miss the Istana Kampong Glam (Malay heritage centre). 3 That pool Marina Bay Sands - one of Singapore's two integrated resorts - has changed the city's skyline dramatically since it opened, its towers topped with one of the most gravity-defying architectural edifices in the world: the 57th-floor Sands SkyPark. Here, 200 metres above the ground, hotel guests lounge by a 150-metre-long infinity pool on a platform large enough to accommodate 4½ A380 airliners. If you're not checked in to one of Marina Bay's rooms, you can still enjoy a bird's-eye view of the city from the observation deck, open to the public for a fee. 4 Celebrity chef chow-down Yorkshire-born Jason Atherton - a protege of Gordon Ramsay - is the latest high-profile culinary star to touch down in Singapore. His new restaurant, Pollen, is set in the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay (pollen.com.sg). Others already creating foams and flambes around the city include Sydneysider Tetsuya Wakuda, Guy Savoy, Wolfgang Puck, Daniel Boulud, Mario Batali and Joel Robuchon. Phew! Plus, pukka English chef Jamie Oliver is on his way as well, launching his Italian restaurant chain here this year. 5 Luxe lodgings There's no shortage of design audacity in Singapore - the gargantuan Marina Bay Sands complex broke dozens of architectural records when it opened in 2010. The trio of shimmering towers is home to an astonishing 2560 rooms and suites along with a Banyan Tree spa and boutiques including Jimmy Choo and Tiffany & Co. 10 Bayfront Avenue, +65 6688 8868, marinabaysands.com. The city-state's newest hotel, W Singapore - Sentosa Cove, pushes the design boundaries with pimped-up furnishings such as a DJ booth and jacuzzi in the Extreme Wow Suite. 21 Ocean Way, +65 6808 7288, starwoodhotels.com. Still on Sentosa Island, the freshly minted Tree Top Lofts offers just two accommodations, Angsana and Tembusu, perched 12 metres above the ground and with wraparound balconies overlooking the island and Mount Faber. [email protected]. 6 Get arty Singapore's newest art hub may occupy historic buildings but the Gillman Barracks galleries are as modern as they come. Once used to house a British military battalion, the 1930s buildings have been transformed into a shrine for contemporary art. Among the 13 galleries is Future Perfect, with works from an international roster of up-and-coming talent, and an outpost of the Shangh Art Gallery, one of the key players in the development of China's modern art movement. Opening soon is the Centre for Contemporary Arts, which will focus on artist residencies, research and conferences. 9 Lock Road, gillmanbarracks.com. 7 Sky-high cocktails Singapore only knows one season - hot. Forget airconditioned malls and instead cool down at the many, and mostly marvellous, rooftop bars. On level six of the Fullerton Bay Hotel, Lantern's wicker chairs and oversize candles set the scene for a dramatic laser show at Marina Bay Sands. 80 Collyer Quay, +65 6222 8088, fullertonbayhotel.com. Topping the MBS hotel is Ku De Ta, where the beautiful people enjoy killer views and equally good cocktails. +65 6688 7688, kudeta.com.sg. Loftier still is 1-Altitude, the highest open-rooftop bar in the world, where live music is paired with dazzling vistas from a perch on level 63 of 1 Raffles Place. +65 6438 0410, 1-altitude.com. 8 Boutique beds From mirrors on the ceiling to pink-satin duvets, Singapore's boutique hotels offer whimsy and comfort in equal measure. In Chinatown, the New Majestic features 30 individual rooms including five themed suites, one with the aforementioned mirrors. 31 Bukit Pasoh Road, +65 6511 4718, newmajestichotel.com. Nearby, the Scarlet Hotel occupies a row of shophouses decked out with chandeliers, gilded furniture and lashings of velvet. 33 Erskine Road, +65 6511 3333, thescarlethotel.com. Other standouts include The Club - 28 Ann Siang Road, +65 6808 2188, theclub.com.sg - designed almost entirely in black and white, and Wanderlust, where the rooms range from colourful capsule-like spaces to edgy suites decorated with pop art. 2 Dickson Road, +65 6396 3322, wanderlusthotel.com. 9 Sentosa redux After recently celebrating 40 years as Singapore's leisure isle, Sentosa is reinventing itself, thanks in part to Resorts World, now home to six hotels, a casino, dozens of restaurants and shops, among other diversions. 8 Sentosa Gateway, +65 6577 9900, rwsentosa.com. Still, in an achingly hot place such as Singapore, you won't want to stray far from water. With this in mind, lay down a towel on one of Sentosa's three beaches: Palawan, home to the new Port of Lost Wonder, a pirate-themed water playground, polw.com.sg; Siloso, favoured by sporty types for its volleyball nets; and Tanjong, home to the oh-so-cool Tanjong Beach Club. 120 Tanjong Beach Walk, +65 6270 1355, tanjongbeachclub.com. And forget taxis - the best way to explore the island is on a Segway, with new Gogreen after Dark tours offered on the two-wheel transporters. +65 9825 4066, segway-sentosa.com. 10 Under the sea The last addition to Resorts World Sentosa's entertainment offering is the Marine Life Park, the largest oceanarium in the world. It's home to more than 100,000 aquatic residents, including bottlenose dolphins, jellyfish, rays and non-endangered sharks. The park's SEA Aquarium lets you get up close and personal with the marine animals through the world's largest window to the ocean, while those looking to cool off will find respite at Adventure Cove Waterpark with water slides, wave pools and a coral reef for snorkelling. 11 Weird science Designed to resemble a white lotus, the ArtScience Museum offers a striking architectural contrast to the glass towers that soar above it at Marina Bay Sands. The 6000-square-metre space houses a vast array of galleries, each unique in its layout and concept. One space, for example, encourages visitors to explore the history of art and science; others host exhibitions by leading creative types including New York-based artist Nathan Sawaya, whose show The Art of the Brick (until April 14) unites 52 Lego sculptures. Bayfront Avenue, marinabaysands.com. 12 Bliss out You could lose yourself for days at the newly opened ESPA at Resorts World Sentosa, home to 28 treatment rooms, suites and villas set over 10,000 square metres of gardens, with pools and ponds and Japanese onsen-style baths. There's a suite for yoga, pilates and meditation, ice fountains, multi-sensory showers, rock saunas and crystal steam rooms plus Singapore's most lavish hammam (Turkish bath). Book the Indulgence Hammam Ritual and you'll be treated to a body cleanse and scrub, foam massage, marine body mask and hair treatment. +65 6577 8899, rwsentosa.com. 13 Time for Andre Young chef Andre Chiang is a master when it comes to culinary theatrics, and he wows diners at his eponymous establishment in the Bukit Pasoh district of Chinatown. Meals are degustations of eight concept courses - a dining style Chiang dubs "octaphilosophy", with dishes highlighting food characteristics: pure, salt, artisan, texture, terroir. Regardless of whether you're eating a scallop carpaccio (one of the "pure" dishes) or foie gras jelly (a "memory" dish conceptualised by Chiang in France), you can be sure it will look as good as it tastes. 41 Bukit Pasoh Road, +65 6534 8880, restaurantandre.com. 14 Retail therapy Singapore offers shoppers plenty of opportunities to spend their money, from the upscale boutiques in Marina Bay Sands to the intimate shops of Haji Lane and the malls and markets that line Orchard Road. One of the newest kids on the shopping block is ION Orchard, about 400 retail outlets sprawling over numerous levels and underground passages. Still, the mall is not all about consumerism - it's also home to an art gallery and an observation deck, ION Sky, set 218 metres above the ground. Serious shoppers will want to time their visit to coincide with the Great Singapore Sale (May 31 to July 28), which features two months of discounts and bargains. 2 Orchard Turn, +65 6238 8228, ionorchard.com. 15 A new beat Singapore punches well above its weight when it comes to world-class clubs. And party people have two new spaces in which to bump and grind with the recent opening of venues Avalon and Pangaea Nights, set side by side in a glass pavilion on Singapore Bay and with illustrious older sister clubs (Pangaea in London, New York and Miami; Avalon in Hollywood). Look forward to bottles of top-shelf spirits, international DJs and celebrities galore. 2 Bayfront Avenue; Pangaea +65 6597 8325, pangaea.sg. Avalon +65 8168 4439, avalon.sg. 16 Come fly with me Those looking for a high-octane adventure will want to make a beeline for iFly, the world's largest indoor skydiving simulator and home of the World Skydiving Championships in December. There's no jumping, no plunging, no bad weather and no aeroplane. Instead, you tumble, turn and glide in an 18-metre-high wind tunnel, which comes with a glass wall so that when you're airborne you'll feel like you're drifting over the South China Sea. 43 Siloso Beach Walk, +65 6571 0000, iflysingapore.com. 17 Universal appeal The Universal Studios theme park is the first of its kind in south-east Asia. Although it's petite by international standards, the park draws crowds with its headlining attractions: Battlestar Galactica, the world's tallest pair of duelling roller coasters, and the 3D Transformers The Ride. Young visitors can look forward to the Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase ride, opening soon alongside live Sesame Street shows. 18 Step up your stopover Singapore's Changi Airport is an attraction in its own right. Among other draws, the terminals are home to interactive art and science spaces, the world's highest indoor slide, five gardens including one dedicated to butterflies, a 4D cinema and an Entertainment Deck with Xbox 360 and PlayStation terminals. With so much to keep you on your feet, the complimentary massage chairs and rooftop pool provide welcome relief. If you do manage to tick off every attraction and have a layover of more than five hours, book a free two-hour city tour. changiairport.com. 19 Cheap eats From savoury carrot cake to Hainan chicken rice and knock-your-socks-off curries, Singapore's hawker centres are cheap, cheerful and unforgettable. A melting pot of ethnic diversity, the many centres - Maxwell Road, Newton and Lau Pa Sat are reliably good - are always buzzing with locals swarming around stalls selling steaming bowls of noodles and ocean-fresh seafood. Fans chug overhead, plastic plates clatter, Tiger beer bottles clink and fizz - now that's fine dining. 20 The need for speed Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel are among the big-name drivers in town every year for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix (September 20-22). Even if you're not into fast cars, it's hard to resist the allure of this race in Singapore, one of two cities to host the event at night. When tyres aren't screeching around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, international musicians and fireworks displays entertain crowds. The best bit? The circuit weaves past many of the city-state's top hotels. Book early to ensure a room with a view. +65 6738 6738, singaporegp.sg.

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(Reuters) – Here are details of ships still held by Somali pirates after pirates said on Sunday they had released the Greek-owned MV Eagle. The Eagle was seized last January en route to India from Jordan. It had a crew of 24 Filipinos. * SOCOTRA 1: Seized on December 25, 2009 in the Gulf of Aden. Yemeni-owned ship had six Yemeni crew. * ICEBERG 1: Seized on March 29, 2010. Roll-on roll-off vessel captured 10 miles from Aden. Crew of 24. * JIH-CHUN TSAI 68: Taiwanese fishing vessel seized on March 30. Crew of 14: Taiwanese captain, two Chinese and 11 Indonesians. * Three Thai fishing vessels — PRANTALAY 11, 12 and 14 — hijacked on April 17-18. Total of 77 crew. * SUEZ: Seized on August 2. Panama-flagged cargo ship hijacked in the Gulf of Aden. Carrying cement. Crew of 23 all from Egypt, 1akistan, Sri Lanka and India. * OLIB G: Seized on September 8. Maltese-flagged merchant vessel with 18 crew — 15 Georgians, three Turks. * CHOIZIL: Seized on October 26. South-African-owned yacht was hijacked after leaving Dar es Salaam. European Union anti-piracy task force rescued one South African but two other crew members were taken ashore and held as hostages. * POLAR: Seized on Oct 30: Liberian-owned Panama-flagged 72,825-tonne tanker seized 580 miles east of Socotra. Crew of 24 — one Romanian, three Greeks, four Montenegrins, 16 Filipinos. * YUAN XIANG: Seized on November 12. Chinese-owned cargo ship captured off Oman. Crew of 29 Chinese. * ALBEDO: Seized on November 26. Malaysian-owned cargo vessel was taken 900 miles off Somalia as it headed for Mombasa from UAE. Crew of 23 from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Iran. * PANAMA: Seized on December 10: Liberian-flagged container ship en route from Tanzania to Beira. Crew of 23 from Myanmar. * RENUAR: Seized on December 11: Liberian-owned bulk cargo vessel, 70,156 dwt, captured en route to Fujairah from Port Louis. Crew of 24 Filipinos. * ORNA: Seized on December 20: The Panama-flagged bulk cargo vessel, 27,915 dwt, owned by the United Arab Emirates, was seized 400 miles northeast of the Seychelles. * SHIUH FU NO 1: Seized December 25: Somali pirates appeared to have seized the Taiwanese-owned fishing vessel near the northeast tip of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The vessel had a crew of 26 Taiwanese, Chinese and Vietnamese nationals. * VEGA 5: Seized before December 31: Somali pirates hijacked the 140 dwt Mozambican-flagged fishing vessel about 200 miles southwest of the Comoros. There were two Spaniards, three Indonesians and 19 Mozambicans on board. * BLIDA: Seized on January 1, 2011: The 20,586-tonne Algerian-flagged bulk carrier was seized about 150 miles southeast of Salalah, Oman. The ship, with 27 crew from Algeria, Ukraine and the Philippines, was heading to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from Salalah with a cargo of clinker. * HOANG SON SUN: Seized on January 19: The 22,835-tonne bulk carrier, which is Mongolian flagged and Vietnamese-owned and had a crew of 24 Vietnamese nationals, was seized about 520 nautical miles southeast of the port of Muscat. * SAVINA CAYLYN: Seized on February 8: The 104,255-dwt tanker, Italian-flagged and owned, was on passage to Malaysia from Sudan when it was attacked 670 miles east of Socotra Island. It had five Italians and 17 Indians on board. * SININ: Seized on February 12: The Maltese owned and registered bulk carrier was seized with a crew of 13 Iranian and 10 Indian nationals in the North Arabian Sea. The 53,000 dwt vessel was on route to Singapore from Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. * ALFARDOUS: Seized on February 13: The Yemeni fishing vessel was believed to have been pirated close to Socotra Island in the Gulf of Aden and has a crew of eight. * DOVER: Seized on February 28: It was taken about 260 nautical miles north east of Salalah in Oman. The Panamanian flagged, Greek owned vessel was on its way to Saleef (Yemen) from Port Quasim (Pakistan) when it was attacked. The crew consists of three Romanians, one Russian and 19 Filipinos. * SINAR KINDUS: Seized on March 16: The Indonesian flagged and owned bulk cargo carrier was pirated approximately 320 miles North East of Socotra in the Somali Basin. The ship, which carried a crew of 20, was quickly used to launch further attacks. * ZIRKU: Seized on March 28: The UAE-flagged and Kuwaiti-owned oil tanker, bound for Singapore from Sudan, was pirated approximately 250 nautical miles South East of Salalah in the eastern part of the Gulf of Aden. The 105,846 dwt tanker carried a 29-strong crew including one Croatian, 17 Pakistanis, one Iraqi, one Filipino, one Indian, three Jordanians, three Egyptians and two Ukrainians. * SUSAN K: Seized on April 8: The German-owned, Antigua and Barbuda-flagged vessel was traveling to Port Sudan from Mumbai in India when it was pirated 200 nautical miles northeast of Salalah, Oman. The 4,450 dwt vessel carried a crew of 10 from Ukraine and the Philippines. * ROSALIA D’AMATO: Seized on April 21: The Italian-owned bulk carrier was captured 350 miles off the coast of Oman. The 74,500 tone bulk carrier was on its way to Bandar Imam Khomeini in Iran from Brazil with a cargo of soya. The crew consisted of six Italians and 15 Filipinos. Sources: Reuters/Ecoterra International/International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Center/Lloyds List/Inquirer.net/www.eunavfor.eu/ http://www.shipping.nato.int/CounterPir/?IFUNDERATT_state=max (Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)

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Pro73 to help you reach your importing needs Pro73 is a one stop full solutions centre to assist Malaysian manufacturer or wholesaler to import quality, safe and reliable household appliances (OEM) such as electrical/electronic items like table fan, ceiling fan and rice cooker at a competent price. Our mission is to ensure the OEM products market by the Malaysian manufacturers satisfies the Malaysia safety requirements set by the relevant authority. This is to safeguard the general public’s interest and to ensure the efficient use of electricity. At Pro73, we understand the true value of the safety requirements. Approved electrical equipment that have met the specified safety requirements and efficient use of electricity help to prevent fire, electric shock, explosion, radiation and other hazards that could result in injuries or deaths to humans, and/or damages to properties. At Pro 73, we always ensure services that keep in mind of every party:- - Overseas Manufacturer 1) IMPORT & EXPORT Customized solutions for all your import needs Our comprehensive services simplify the importing process and cut down the time frame of delivery. Enjoy the convenience of one point of contact. Whether you need to import on a single consignment or manage a number of global suppliers, we keep it simple for you. In general, importing goods from overseas may sound simple. In actual facts, it takes a lot of administrative procedures and time to import something from overseas. The process may involve import approved permits, customs procedures, safety certification body, tax matters, trade agreements, government approval on standards and other resources for importers. Pro73 specialized in sourcing quality, safe, reliable and competitive price products for Malaysia manufacturer throughout the world. As a reliable and trustable firm, we can negotiate on behalf. This will save your time to contact, negotiate, with the unknown manufacturer who may not have interest or time when dealing with new manufacturer. a) Customs Clearing With our experience, we can provide you with reliable and consistent services. At Pro73, we focus on the compliance with the Malaysia Custom Regulations which helps to reduce cargo delays and costs associated with non-compliance to customs regulations. Duty rates, customs clearance, and entry processes differ from country to country. Tariff classifications, value declaration, and duty management can create confusion and increase costs. Customs and security initiatives have imposed new regulations on companies that make it more challenging than ever to trade internationally. Related Local Newspaper Article: - New Straits Times Saturday, July 19, 2008 [View] b) Logistic Arrangement With our unique combination of industry expertise and our modern approach to real world logistics, our customers enjoy a competitive advantage. We take ownership of our customers’ products. This makes us one of Malaysia’s leading co-coordinator with reputable logistics providers. Less expensive, on time delivery without any further delay (such as penalty from your buyer) and fewer damages to your goods would help you to beat your competitors. We assure you of effective logistic arrangement. Convenient and organized management movement of goods. Full transparency and control of the movement of goods. As a one stop solution centre, we are able to save our customers time on warehouse management and control, safekeeping, organize & monitor movements of imported goods and other items from the warehouse to customer place without any further delay. 2) Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) An original equipment manufacturer or OEM is typically a company which sells their products to their buyer, the second company to allow the buyer to market the OEM products under their brand name. With our experience, we are able to source innovative, quality, reliable, safe and competitive price OEM product from manufacturers everywhere. a) Household Appliances (OEM) - Fast and convenient in sourcing products and customize items. - Our pricing is flexible, transparent and convenient. - Up-front pricing means no hidden costs or surprises. - Deal with only one company from Sourcing to delivery. We import a wide range of quality household appliances ranging from ceiling fan to various types of electronic/electrical household appliances tailored to customer’s requirements. Our import services do not only limit to household appliances but also other range of products and mainly customizes orders from our valuable customers. We are currently importing OEM household appliances for a few famous brand and listed companies in Malaysia. b) Corporate Gift & Souvenirs (OEM) In line with our company’s market expansion, we supply all kinds of corporate gifts, commemorative souvenirs for both government and private sectors. With many years of experience in importing OEM industry, we are able to source eye catching premium items that exceed your expectations and your client’s expectations. It’s time for you to reward your valuable customers by getting them some innovative, different from others yet competitive price premium gifts. If you are a marketer, special gift items would help building your company’s branding in now very competitive markets. Pro73 is here to assist businesses or companies who truly understand the value of loyalty clients and branding. Whatever your premium and souvenir needs, the solution is just a click away! Call our team of sales consultants today; tell us your requirement and quantity, we assure you of exclusive, innovative, luxurious and trendy gifts exceeding your expectations. 3) PRODUCT CERTIFICATION We help you to cut down on tedious paperwork and administrative works. In-house product certification expertise in the industry Accurate document preparation such as:- A) MALAYSIA ENERGY COMMISSION / SURUHANJAYA TENAGA (ST) The Energy Commission of Malaysia (The Commission) was created on 1st May 2001 under the Energy Commission Act (2001) as a new regulator for the energy industry in Malaysia. The Commission was established to ensure that the energy industry is developed in an efficient manner so that Malaysia is ready to meet the new challenges of globalization and liberalization, particularly in the Energy Supply industry. The Commission is empowered to regulate and promote all matters relating to the electricity and gas supply industry within the scope of applicable legislation namely Electricity Supply Act 1990, Gas Supply Acts 1993, Electricity Regulations 1994, and Gas Supply Regulation 1997. In performing its role, the Commission is to encourage and promote the development of the electricity supply industry and the gas supply industry and self-regulation. Laws and Regulations:- Electricity Supply Act 1990 Electricity Supply Act (Amendment) 2001 Electricity Regulations 1994 Energy Commission Act 2001 One of Energy Commission’s functions is to regulate manufacturers, importers, exhibitors, sellers and advertisers of any electrical equipment prescribed under sub regulation 97(1), of the Electricity Regulations 1994. Regulation 97 (1): No person shall manufacture, import, display, sell or advertise:- Unless the equipment is approved by the Commission. - Any domestic equipment; - Any equipment which is usually sold direct to the general public; or - Any equipment which does not require special skills in its operation, i) Sample Product’s Certificate Of Approval (COA) from Suruhanjaya Tenaga (ST) Malaysia / Malaysia Energy Commission ii) Approved Permit (AP)/ Import Permit - Objectives of Certificate of Approval : To ensure the electrical equipments imported or manufactured in Malaysia meets the safety requirements and quality, fulfilling Malaysia Standard (MS) or competent with the international standards. - Party Concern with the Application of Certificate of Approval from Suruhanjaya Tenaga Malaysia / Malaysia Energy Commission. Importers of electrical equipment under sub regulation 97(1) of the Electricity Regulations 1994 are required to apply for the Certificate of Approval (COA) from the Commission. Manufacturers in Malaysia who manufacture electrical equipment under Sub Regulation 97(1) of the Electricity Regulations 1994 are required to apply for the COA from the commission Exhibitors who display electrical equipment under sub regulation 97(1) of the Electricity Regulations 1994 are also required to apply for COA. |Sellers and Advertisers Sellers and advertisers of electrical equipment are required to apply for the COA in accordance with the sub regulation 97(1), of the Electricity Regulations 1994. Kindly refer to www.st.gov.my for more information. - Offences and Penalty Section 37(1) of the Electricity Supply Act 1990 states that:- Any person who tampers with or adjust any installation or part thereof or manufactures or imports or sells any equipment so as to cause or to be likely to cause danger to human life or limb or injury to any equipment or other property shall be guilty of an offence and for each such offence shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or both. - Newspaper Articles Berita Harian 10th Februari 2007, Saturday [View] Upon approval of certificate of approval by the Energy Commission/ Suruhanjaya Tenaga, The Energy Commission will issue an AP to the applicant. With the AP, importer is allowed to import the approved products into Malaysia. Under the Electricity Regulations 1994, regulation 122 makes it an offence for any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provisions of the Regulations and provides the punishment on conviction of:- Fine : Not more than RM 5,000 ; or Jail : For a duration not exceeding one year or both. Newspaper Articles is one of the effort made by Energy Commission to create awareness among consumers regarding electrical components (plugs). Sin Chew Daily, Wednesday 10 October 2007 [View] B)Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) SIRIM is a corporate organization wholly owned by the Malaysian Government, under the Minister of Finance. It has been entrusted by the Malaysian Government to be the national organization for standards and quality, and as a promoter of technological excellence in the Malaysian industry. The main headquarters is located in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd (SIRIM QAS) SIRIM QAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of SIRIM Berhad. It is Malaysia’s leading certification, inspection and testing body in Malaysia. SIRIM QAS concern on imported products that did not meet the Malaysian Standards for Safety. Initially, there was only 4 products were regulated, namely, plug top, switch, socket outlet and lamp holder. Currently, there are 31 Controlled Items as listed by Malaysia Energy Commission. a) Consignment Test and Safety Labels of Imported Electrical Products Electrical equipment that is being approved by the Malaysia energy commission/ suruhanjaya Tenaga (ST) Malaysia to be imported must passed a Consignment test conducted by SIRIM and every consignment within the valid period must be labeled with SIRIM Safety Label. Failing this consignment test will result the goods to be returned to the Country of Origin or being destroyed. b) Safety Labels By SIRIM All regulated electrical equipment approved by the Commission must be labeled in accordance with Regulation 98 of the Electricity Regulations 1994. Labeling or marking of regulated electrical equipment will enable consumers to differentiate between the approved and non-approved regulated electrical equipment. It also serves as a deterrent and a means to check non-approved regulated electrical equipment in the market. Consumers should only purchase electrical household appliances that have been approved by the Energy commission and affixed with the SIRIM Safety label. Under the law, the owner of the premise found to have falsified the SIRIM Logo can be fined up to RM250,000. Kindly refer to www.SIRIM.my. News/Article:- There are news reporting by local papers that fake SIRIM certification stickers used by marketers to deceive the consumers into believing that the products that they are buying is approved by the Malaysian relevant safety authority where in fact the electrical components did not adhere to SIRIM safety requirement. Government made their effort to thwart counterfeiters by incorporating hologram feature. The Star, Saturday 2 February 2008 pg 53 [View]| The Star, Saturday 2 February 2008 pg 33 [View] New Straits Times, Wednesday 14 February 2001 pg 22 [View] New Straits Times, Monday 18 April 2005 Pg 4, 5 & 6 [View][View] Harian Metro, Saturday 2 February 2008 pg 6 [View]| Berita Harian, Wednesday 14 February 2001 pg 8 [View] Shin Chew Daily, Saturday 1 November 2008 [View]

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September 24, 2007 I spent the first week of September in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where I was speaking about insider crime visualization at Hack In The Box. The conference is held annually and I was surprised about how big it was. A lot of attendees from the area, but also from other parts of the world, for example from Germany. In general I was fairly impressed with the caliber of people that presented. What I enjoyed a lot as well, was the lock-picking village … The guys running it were real experts on the topic and had excellent tools to teach you the art of lock picking. For those interested, I have the presentation available here. The download is fairly big. Sorry about that. The conference also made the rest of the presentations available. On to the next conference. See you in Jakarta end of October. September 16, 2007 As you might have seen on secviz.org, AfterGlow 1.5.9 is out. The announcement of AfterGlow 1.5.9 on secviz has some more details on what’s new. Just quickly here: The URL feature is pretty interesting and addresses some old thoughts and things I have been talking about with other people (Peter, are you reading this?). The issue there was that the AfterGlow graphs are very static and that’s kind of a bummer. It would be really nice if there was more interactivity. Clicking on nodes for example. Well, this is now a first step towards that. Along with the Splunk – AfterGlow integration, this is actually going almost all the way of completing the interaction round trip. I know, in terms of real interactivity, there is still a lot missing, but I think this is taking care of some really interesting use-cases. Technorati Tags: afterglow, visualization, splunk, interactivity, graphviz September 14, 2007 When eIQnetworks announced their OpenLogFormat, I think they did it just for me. I love it. I really enjoy taking these things apart to show why they are really really bad attempts. I am sure these guys are not readers of my blog. Otherwise they would have known that I will question their standard, line by line. It just doesn’t add up for me. Why are companies/people not learning/listening? So, there is yet another “standard” for event interoperability being suggested by yet another vendor. While some vendors (for example the one I used to work for), actually thought about the problem and made sure they are coming up with something useful, I am not sure this standard lives up to that promise. Let me go through the standard piece by piece, right after some general comments: - Why another interoperability standard? There is not a single word of motivation printed in the standards document. Don’t we have existing standards already? - You have to register for download the standard? Well, I know, ArcSight makes that same mistake. That wasn’t my doing! I promise. - How does this standard compare to others? What’s the motivation for defining it? Is it better than everything else? - When exactly would you apply this standard? All the time? OLF (the open log format) states: What the heck does that mean? For everything? Do you want me to proof you wrong? There are tons of examples where this thing won’t be able to apply this standard. OLF is designed for logging network events such as those often logged by firewalls, but it can also be used for events not related to the network. - You did not do your homework, my friends! In a lot of areas. Some friends of mine already commented on the fact that this is advertised as an “open” log format. The press release even calls it an open source log format. What does that mean? Was there a period for public comment? Believe me, there wasn’t. I would have known FOR SURE! - With regards to the homework. Have you heard of CEE? Yes, that’s a group that actually knows quite a bit about logging. Why bother asking them, they would only critique the proposal and possibly shoot it down? You bet. That’s what I am doing right now anyways. - Let’s see, did you guys learn from past mistakes? Don’t get me started. I claim NO. Read on and you will see a lot of cases that proof why. - Have you read my old blog entries and at least tried to understand what logging is about? I can guarantee that you guys have not. Or maybe you didn’t understand what I was saying. Hmm…. Here again, for your reference. - Have you looked at the other standards out there? For example CEF (common event format) from ArcSight. I am definitely biased towards that one, as I have written it, but even now that I don’t work there anymore, I still think that CEF is actually a really good logging standard. Again. Not done your homework! - Last general question: Why would I be using this standard as opposed to anything else, for example CEF. Is eIQnetworks big enough so I would care? Last time I checked, the answer was: No. If this was something that was done by Microsoft, I might care, just because of their size. Maybe you have a lot of vendors already supporting this standard? Yes? How many? Who? I have not heard OLF ever before and I deal with log management every day! So I doubt any significant adoption is reality. Actually, I just checked the Web page and there are six companies supporting it. Okay. All that Let’s go through the standard in more detail: - I already made this point: What is the area where this standard applies? Networking and non-networking events (That’s what OLF claims)? Nice. And why would you require an IP address field (to be exact: internalIP and externalIP) for every record? In your world, are there only events that contain IPs? In mine, there are many others too! - You are proposing a log-file approach. So you are defining a file-based standard, limiting it to one transport. Okay. But why? Again, read my blog about transport-independence. Who is logging to files only? A minority of products in the networking realm. - Have you guys written parsers before? (Yes, I have!). Do you know how bad it is to read headers first? Makes a whole lot of use-cases impossible. And to be frank, it requires too much coding (I am lazy). - Minor detail: You guys are already on version 1.1? Hmm… I wonder how version 1.0 looked - I don’t think the author of this paper has written a standard before: “The #Version line gives the version of OLF, which should always be 1.1.” How do you do updates? You deprecate this document? Confusing, confusing. - Why do you need a #Date line in the header? That does not make any sense AT ALL! - Okay, so you are using a header line that defines the fields. All right. Let’s assume that’s a good idea in order to reduce the size of an event (exercise to the reader why this is true). Why do you say then: NOTE: The fields may not vary; they must alwas be the ones specified in this document. What? This does not make any sense at all! Whatsoever! Delete that line. Done. It’s irrelevant. - Let’s go back to the header line. Why all these required fields? spam-info? This is very inefficient. Why have all these fields for every event? It unnecessarily bloats your events and circumvents the idea of a header line! - Tab-separated fields. Okay. Your choice. Square brackets to deal with escaping? Are you guys coders? That’s not a standard way of doing things at all. Anyone who wrote code before, have you seen this approach anywhere? If you stuck to commas and quotes, you might be able to read your logs in Excel without any configuration - tab-separated subfields. Shiver. - Guys, your example on page one is horrible. Priority in the preamble and in the suffix? Then the virtualdevice is root? Maybe I can’t count. You know what, I think the fields don’t even align. What are all the IPs in the message? Part of the message (the one with the seemingly interesting IPs) seems to be lumped together into one field (uses the square brackets). I don’t get it. - Error lines? Come again? So there are really two different types of log entries? Or no, hang on, there aren’t. Those lines are only generated if the OLF consumer realizes that the format is not correct? What does that have to do with a logging standard. If I wasn’t confused yet, now I definitely am. - Open source: “a device-type assigned by eIQnetworks”. No further comment. - Wow. Is it right that every log entry carries the “original” log message also (called the Nativelog)? So, if a product supports OLF by default, that’s just empty? Come on guys. Are you really suggesting to double the size of messages? - Talking about the field dictionary… What does it mean to have “unused” fields? Unused by what? The standard? Oh, maybe this is not a standard? - I will spare you the analysis of all the fields in the dictionary. There are tons of problems. Just one: If you have a count bigger than one and you only have one timestamp. What does that mean? All the events happened at the same time? - Note that the Nativelog field is defined as: Original syslog line. Okay, so this is a file-based standard, but it consumes syslog messages? - event types: There is indeed, and I kid you not, a -1 value. Is that for real? - priority codes: Nice. Read this (again, this is a standard, in case you forgot): The descriptions [of the priorities] given are the official interpretation, but usage varies; some vendors report routine events with higher priority - Note the copyright at the bottom of the pages [Okay, I admit, I might have made the same mistake with the first version of CEF, you are forgiven]. Have I convinced you yet why not to use this “standard”? Random observation: Why does this log remind me of IIS logs gone wrong? Technorati Tags: log standard, logging, event interoperability, cee, olf, open log format September 12, 2007 Yet another BaySec meeting. Come and mingle. When: September 17th, 7pm Who: People interested in computer security / geeks / … Want to be informed of future events? Subscribe to the mailinglist: baysec-subscribe at sockpuppet.org September 11, 2007 Finally, ArcSight is going for it: http://news.google.com/news?ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B2GGGL_enUS205US205&tab=bn&ncl=1120626202&hl=en It seems like there is a new wave of security companies going public. First sourcefire, then tippingpoint, now ArcSight. I am really curious as to what the share price is going to be and what the reverse split is going to look like. September 4, 2007 While I am on a roll, talking about normalization and log standards, let me have a look at a publication from Gartner. It is a bit dated already (May 2006), but people are probably still referring to it. There are a couple of things that I want to make sure people understand. While I like the fact that someone like Gartner is trying to dive into a technical topic, I am not too certain that this is very productive. The Gartner publication I am looking at is “Define Application Security Log Output Standards” by Amrit Williams. I must say, the publication is not horribly wrong or bad, however, there are some interesting problems that I want to address: - The publication outlines what fields should be contained in an “account access event”. Most of the fields make sense. However, there are two fields: “login success” and “login failure”. These fields should be normalized. There shouldn’t be two fields, one for success and one for failure. Just have one that indicates success or failure. That way you can correlate those two events against each other. Otherwise you can’t because you have two different fields. Well, you can, but it’s much more difficult. - Another field in the account access event is “access rights”. If you include this field in an event, you need a system which can deal with sets or lists of values. This is not simple and I don’t think any of the SIMs really take care of that. Not that they shouldn’t, but it’s really really expensive to build that into a correlation engine. Now, in this specific instance, for access rights, they should not be in an event anyways. This is static information that should be read into the correlation engine asynchronously or looked up on a need to know bases. - The publication further indicates that the access events have additional variables, called “Variable 1″, “Variable 2″, etc. I have no idea what these fields would be used for. But that’s not even important. The important part is that having generic variables without a fixed meaning is not very useful for later consumption in reports or correlation rules. You need a semantic associated with every field. That’s exactly why there is a common event language to start with! - The same mistake with splitting out the same type of events into multiple event fields is done in the “account /role management events”. Make one field tat talks about “creation”, “modification”, etc. One of the things to mention in this context is an event taxonomy. I am working on a generic taxonomy right now for CEE, the common event exchange format. CEE is an effort that I pushed Mitre to address a long time ago. Finally, there is a small working group and we should soon have the <A href=”http://cee.mitre.org”>Web presence</A> up and running. - I don’t agree with the “Log Output Formats” discussion at all. Sorry. Gartner (or Amrit?) recommends syslog as output format. While I am quite a fan of syslog, it’s definitely not my transport of choice. Read that again: TRANSPORT! Syslog is not a log format. It’s a transport. I am not going to roll-up my rant about formats and transports again. Read my older blog entry about the <a href=”http://raffy.ch/blog/2007/04/19/standard-logging-format-common-event-exchange-cee/”>format vs. transport</A> issue. - It seems really interesting to me that syslog is pushed as the “log format” (again, it’s a transport, but whatever). The publication even mentions all the RFCs associated with syslog, but not a single sentence about the draw backs. Unstructured, reliability (okay TCP is mentioned), poor timestamp, etc. Again, I think it’s great that Gartner picked this topic up. It’s incredibly important, but it takes a fair amount of work and experience to get a decent log standard put together. Stay tuned and check back for more information about <a href=”http://raffy.ch/blog/2007/04/23/common-event-expression-cee/>CEE</A>. Technorati Tags: log standard, syslog, cee, event fields

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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Evan Williams says he learned to lead through trial and error. Saturday, 31 July 2010 SKY NEWS: Iain Duncan Smith is to unveil his plans to encourage the unemployed to find work in a "radical" shake-up to the welfare system. The Work and Pensions Secretary talks to Sky's Mark Longhurst. Friday, 30 July 2010 THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Treasury figures show that one in every 36 one pound coins is counterfeit, at least £41-million worth in circulation Britain’s tills are awash with fake one pound coins, with a record £41-million worth in circulation. Treasury figures show that one in every 36 one pound coins is counterfeit, an increase on last year, when one in every 40 was phony. >>> | Tuesday, July 27, 2010 Thursday, 29 July 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: Workers will be able to stay in their jobs into their seventies under new rules to be announced by the Government. Ministers said they would end the “discrimination” of the Default Retirement Age, which allows companies to force staff out as soon as they turn 65. Personnel groups welcomed the move, which they claimed would boost productivity and improve employees’ freedom to shape their careers. Longer working is widely seen as necessary to keep income tax receipts up and reduce the burden on pension funds as Britain’s population ages. But business leaders warn that employers will find it difficult to plan for the future if they do not know when staff will step down, although compulsory retirement ages could still be enforced in physically demanding jobs such as front line policing. Older workers who do stay in their posts beyond 65 may also find themselves facing claims that they are not up to the job any more, or that they are keeping younger candidates out of work. Some fear it could lead to more employment tribunal claims from staff who believe they were sacked for being too old. Ed Davey, the Employment Relations Minister, said: “With more and more people wanting to extend their working lives we should not stop them just because they have reached a particular age. We want to give individuals greater choice and are moving swiftly to end discrimination of this kind. “Older workers bring with them a wealth of talent and experience as employees and entrepreneurs. They have a vital contribution to make to our economic recovery and long term prosperity.” >>> Martin Beckford and Louisa Peacock | Thursday, July 29, 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: After banning racism and sexism, it's high time to ban ageism >>> Ian Cowie | Thursday, July 29, 2010 Wednesday, 28 July 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has warned that high inflation will continue to erode earnings power through next year as the economy faces the threat of 'stagflation'. Prices rises have consistently defied the Bank's expectations of a slowdown, adding to pressure on households as wage growth remains weak and the Government introduces a strict austerity package. The Bank's rate-setters are charged with keeping inflation at 2% but the Consumer Prices Index benchmark has been above 3% throughout the year. However, addressing a committee of MPs, Mr King suggested that they will be reluctant to try to curb the problem by raising borrowing costs from 0.5 per cent any time soon because of the weakness of the economy. “There will come a point when we will certainly need to ease off the accelerator and return Bank Rate to more normal levels,” Mr King told MPs today. “I look forward to that time because it will probably be a signal that there is a smoother drive ahead, with the economic outlook improving in a durable way. But I fear there is some considerable distance to travel before we can begin to use the word ‘normal.’” >>> | Wednesday, July 28, 2010 Tuesday, 27 July 2010 SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Die Schweiz ist in Europa beliebt – vor allem bei kaufkräftigen EU-Bürgern, die auf der Suche nach einem Eigenheim sind. Seit den Bilateralen Verträgen mit der EU ist es für sie sehr viel einfacher geworden, in der Schweiz Wohneigentum zu kaufen. Die Nachfrage der Zuzüger aus der EU hat auch Einfluss auf die Immobilienpreise in der Schweiz. SKY NEWS: The outgoing BP chief executive Tony Hayward says he feels "demonised and vilified" over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as the firm posts one of the biggest corporate losses in history. Joel Hills reports. No, Tony, life certainly isn't fair when people who screw-up can walk away from a company with millions in the form of a golden parachute, yet others work all their lives, do things well, but walk away with next to nothing. Life certainly isn't fair. You got that right! – © Mark SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Den Stresstest der Europäischen Bankenaufseher (CEBS) haben 7 von 91 europäischen Banken nicht bestanden. Sie erreichten unter den zu Grunde gelegten Krisenszenarien nicht die als Ziel vorgegebene Kernkapitalquote von 6 Prozent. THE TELEGRAPH: Switzerland is fighting a losing battle to stop massive inflows of funds from investors fleeing sovereign risk in the euro area and the rest of the world, raising the risk of a violent spike in Swiss franc if global debt jitters return. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) said it lost over 14bn francs (£8.8bn) in the first half of the year in a forlorn attempt to hold down the currency against the euro. "If we have a US slowdown with a fresh financial crisis, everybody is going to want to buy the Swiss franc, along with bottled water, tins hats, and a shotgun," said David Bloom, currency chief at HSBC. "Now that Japan’s debt is around 200pc of GDP the franc has displaced the yen as the ultimate safe haven." The franc has appreciated dramatically against the euro since the debt crisis surfaced in Greece and set off a broader worries about the viability of EMU. It strengthened from CHF 1.52 at the end of last year to a record CHF 1.31 earlier this month. The SNB spent CHF80bn in one month alone trying to prevent the Swiss economy being pulled into a deflation spiral, but each attempt to buy euros has failed to secure any lasting effect. "They are betting against the fundamental trend, which never really works," said Neil Mellor from the Bank of New York Mellon. Hans Redeker, head of currencies at BNP Paribas, said the surging franc had been driven by capital flight from the eurozone. "If there is any further tension in the EMU banking system, the franc will immediately rise further." Handelsblatt reported that German citizens in Bavaria are crossing the border to open franc accunts in Zurich as a precaution, repeating a time-honoured tradition in times of stress. The Swiss economy is too small to absorb large inflows without causing huge disruption. "Without intervention by the SNB, the franc might be on its way to parity against the euro," said Jürgen Büscher, founder of Büscher Private Asset Management in Zurich. Continue reading and comment >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Wednesday, July 21, 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: Tony Hayward has resigned as chief executive of BP, after the energy giant announced a record $17bn loss this year on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The oil company also said that Bob Dudley, the American in charge of BP’s oil spill response unit, will now take over on October 1 and lead the company through an accelerated programme of $30bn in asset sales. BP made “clean” profits of $5bn, stripping out the effect of inventory changes and exceptionals, but took a $32.2bn pre-tax charge on the oil spill. This is made up of a $20bn compensation fund for victims, clean-up charges and provisions for funding costs. The “clean” profits are a 74pc rise in last year’s figure of $2.9bn, as a result of higher oil prices and more efficient operations. BP will now press ahead with becoming smaller and more profitable, selling $30bn of exploration and production assets in the next 18 months. Mr Dudley will also have to navigate a criminal investigation into the spill, a slew of litigation and ward off rivals seeking to pounce on the company's trophy assets. Dudley, who ran BP's troubled Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, said last month that for BP to "remain strong and viable in the US, it has a great deal of work to do." >>> Rowena Mason | Tuesday, July 27, 2010 DAILY EXPRESS: BP Boss Tony Hayward Sent to Siberia in £12m Exit Deal: BP boss Tony Hayward is to be sent to Siberia in a £12million exit deal designed to quell outrage in the United States, it emerged last night. >>> Padraic Flanagan | Tuesday, July 27, 2010 Monday, 26 July 2010 SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Trotz der Wirtschaftskrise haben die Schweizer Angestellten letztes Jahr deutlich mehr verdient. So kräftige Aufbesserungen gab es seit acht Jahren nicht mehr. Die Nominallöhne stiegen um 2,1 Prozent, die Reallöhne – dank der zurückgehenden Teuerung – sogar um 2,6 Prozent. SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Die guten Halbjahreszahlen grosser Schweizer Unternehmen zeugen von einem kontinuierlichen Wirtschaftswachstum in der Schweiz. Doch die Prognostiker sind sich uneins, wie lange dieser Aufwärtstrend anhalten wird. CYBERPRESSE: Une source officielle a confirmé lundi que le chef de la direction de BP (BP), Tony Hayward, démissionnerait de son poste en octobre pour accepter un emploi avec TNK-BP, une coentreprise de la pétrolière en Russie. L'image publique de Tony Hayward était devenue étroitement liée aux ratés de BP dans ses efforts pour maîtriser la fuite de pétrole dans le golfe du Mexique, qui a coûté plusieurs millions de dollars en dommages. >>> La Presse Canadienne, Nouvelle-Orléans | Lundi 26 Juillet 2010 THE GLOBE AND MAIL: BP’s Hayward to resign in October: Embattled CEO will take job with company’s joint venture in Russia, official says >>> Harry R. Weber, New Orleans, The Associated Press | Monday, July 26, 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: As they prepare for holiday reading in Tuscany, City bankers are buying up rare copies of an obscure book on the mechanics of Weimar inflation published in 1974. Ebay is offering a well-thumbed volume of "Dying of Money: Lessons of the Great German and American Inflations" at a starting bid of $699 (shipping free.. thanks a lot). The crucial passage comes in Chapter 17 entitled "Velocity". Each big inflation -- whether the early 1920s in Germany, or the Korean and Vietnam wars in the US -- starts with a passive expansion of the quantity money. This sits inert for a surprisingly long time. Asset prices may go up, but latent price inflation is disguised. The effect is much like lighter fuel on a camp fire before the match is struck. People’s willingness to hold money can change suddenly for a "psychological and spontaneous reason" , causing a spike in the velocity of money. It can occur at lightning speed, over a few weeks. The shift invariably catches economists by surprise. They wait too long to drain the excess money. "Velocity took an almost right-angle turn upward in the summer of 1922," said Mr O Parsson. Reichsbank officials were baffled. They could not fathom why the German people had started to behave differently almost two years after the bank had already boosted the money supply. He contends that public patience snapped abruptly once people lost trust and began to "smell a government rat". Some might smile at the Bank of England "surprise" at the recent the jump in Brtiish inflation. Across the Atlantic, Fed critics say the rise in the US monetary base from $871bn to $2,024bn in just two years is an incendiary pyre that will ignite as soon as US money velocity returns to normal. >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Sunday, July 25, 2010 MAIL ONLINE: The embattled head of BP is on the brink of bailing out today - with a golden parachute to break his fall. Tony Hayward, who arrived at the company's headquarters in London this morning, will receive a seven-figure payoff and a pension estimated at £584,000 a year. He will stand down today after three months of abuse left him described as the ‘most hated and clueless man in America’. The enforced departure of the 53-year-old Briton will top the agenda at a crucial London board meeting today. He has been widely seen as a ‘dead man walking’ ever since an oil-rig explosion led to the worst-ever environmental disaster in the U.S. The focus will not be on if he goes but when, and how much it costs. During his 28 years at BP, he has built up a gold-plated £10.8million pension pot which he can start taking at 60. He is also entitled to a year’s salary, equal to just over £1million. His departure follows a disastrous series of PR gaffes since 11 died in an explosion on April 20 in the Gulf of Mexico. One of his most notorious was to admit: ‘I want my life back’, at a time when millions of barrels of oil were gushing into the ocean, wrecking the livelihoods of thousands of Americans. A few weeks later, his decision to go sailing on his yacht in the Isle of Wight added to suspicions that Mr Hayward was not being suitably contrite. But the level of the fury from America has been extraordinary and relentless despite the fact that BP was not solely responsible for the disaster. President Obama warned: ‘He wouldn’t be working for me after any of those statements.’ Yesterday a BP spokesman insisted that Mr Hayward, whose family have been the victims of crank phone calls, hate mail and death threats, remains the company’s chief executive. But his departure is inevitable, and will be the second headline-grabbing exit of a BP chief executive in just three years. In 2007, his predecessor Lord Browne dramatically resigned after admitting lying on oath to a High Court judge. >>> Becky Barrow and Daniel Bates | Monday, July 26, 2010 Sunday, 25 July 2010 SKY NEWS: Sky's Jeff Randall Live asks Larry Elliott, economics editor at the Guardian, with growing signs that bank lending is drying up, do the new rules go far enough to avoid a repeat of the credit crunch on both sides of the Atlantic? SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Wie weiter mit den Steueroasen der Welt? Während Europäer und Amerikaner die Schweiz in den Schwitzkasten nehmen, profitieren sie von ihren eigenen Finanzinseln. Ein Beispiel: Jersey im Aermelkanal. Die Insel, auf der schätzungsweise 800 Milliarden Franken gebunkert werden, ist im Besitz der britischen Krone. Die Rundschau hat sich im sehr diskreten Jersey umgesehen. leJDD.fr: C'est une des familles les plus riches de France. C’était la plus discrète. Une vie rangée, derrière les hauts murs de propriétés splendides à l’abri des regards. Pas de vie tapageuse. Cet édifice a volé en éclats quinze jours après la mort d’André Bettencourt, en novembre 2007. Pour quelles raisons ? Le milliard d’euros de François-Marie Banier n’explique pas tout. Le trio François- Marie, Liliane et André… C’est un secret d’initiés que tous ceux qui ont approché les Bettencourt semblent partager. François-Marie Banier était aussi très proche d’André Bettencourt. Intime. "Ce n’est pas tout à fait exact", corrige-t-on dans l’entourage du photographe. "Liliane Bettencourt formait un très beau couple avec son mari, nuance un de leurs proches. Mais ils étaient libres tous les deux." Des personnages de roman, ce couple-là. Liliane Bettencourt, grande et magnifique femme, immensément riche. Et lui, André, un dandy élégant, raffiné. "Deux gentlemen", résume un avocat. >>> L.V. - Le Journal du Dimanche | Dimanche 25 Juillet 2010 LIBÉRATION: «Banier s’est mué en Raspoutine» : Françoise Meyers-Bettencourt, dans son audition mardi, a décrit l’emprise exercée sur sa mère. >>> Par Karl Laske | Samedi 24 Juillet 2010 Liens en relations avec l’article ici et ici BBC: BP's chief executive Tony Hayward has been negotiating the terms of his exit, with a formal announcement likely within 24 hours, the BBC has learnt. Mr Hayward has been widely criticised over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BBC business editor Robert Peston said it was likely he would be replaced by his US colleague Bob Dudley, now in charge of the clean-up operation. BP said Mr Hayward "remains our chief executive and has the full support of the board and senior management". Our correspondent added that while BP had been preparing for a change at the top for some time, the company was waiting until progress had been made on stemming the leak and until it was possible to quantify the financial costs of the disaster. BP is due to release its results for the second quarter on Tuesday. It is expected to reveal a provision of up to $30bn (£19bn) for the costs of capping the well, compensation claims and fines to be paid, resulting in a massive quarterly loss. BP's board is scheduled to meet on Monday ahead of the results. Mr Hayward has been with the company for 28 years. >>> | Sunday, July 25, 2010 Saturday, 24 July 2010 THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Eccentric developer from humble roots shocks nation by leaving offspring nothing Yu Pengnian’s journey from poor street hawker to Hong Kong real-estate magnate was already a remarkable one. Then the 88-year-old did something even rarer that shocked many in increasingly materialistic China: He gave it all away. Saying he hoped to set an example for other wealthy Chinese, Mr. Yu called a press conference in April to announce he was donating his last 3.2 billion yuan (about $500-million) to a foundation he established five years earlier to aid his pet causes – student scholarships, reconstruction after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, and paying for operations for those like him who suffer from cataracts. “This will be my last donation,” he announced. “I have nothing more to give away.” >>> Mark MacKinnon, Shenzhen, China | Friday, July 23, 2010 THE GLOBE AND MAIL: China’s richest and most generous >>> | Saturday, July 24, 2010 BERLINER ZEITUNG: Paris - In der bis in Frankreichs Staatsspitze reichenden «L'Oréal-Affäre» soll jetzt die reichste Frau Europas, Liliane Bettencourt, verhört werden. Die 87-jährige L'Oréal-Erbin, die im Mittelpunkt des seit Wochen andauernden Spenden- und Steuerskandals steht, wird französischen Medienberichten vom Samstag zufolge nächste Woche vernommen werden. Wie die Wochenzeitung «Paris-Match» auf ihrer Internetseite präzisiert, soll sie in ihrem Stadthaus in dem noblen Pariser Vorort Neuilly-sur-Seine verhört werden. >>> © dpa | Samstag, 24. Juli 2010 Verbundenes hier und hier Thursday, 22 July 2010 THE GUARDIAN: Cameron's drive for ambassadors in foreign outposts to focus on trade – and arms sales – gets a mixed reception It's not exactly farewell to Ferrero Rocher, glittering receptions and the flashier parts of diplomatic life. But Britain's men and women in far-flung outposts are being ordered to work harder to promote trade, business and investment. Ethics may not be abandoned, but exports and contracts are now in, big time. Taking its cue from David Cameron's wish to "refashion" Britain's external relations, the Foreign Office today confirmed the appointment of Simon Fraser, a top trade expert, as its permanent under-secretary – its senior civil servant. Colleagues described Fraser, 52, as a "platinum-level" technocrat whose experience in Paris, Brussels and in senior Whitehall jobs will help him galvanise his department into putting UK plc first. It still seems unlikely, however, that any more than a handful of business people will be appointed as full-time ambassadors in the way that is common practice in the US. William Hague, the foreign secretary, set out his stall in a speech in Tokyo last week, promising to "inject a new commercialism into the work of our foreign office and into the definition of … international objectives, ensuring that we develop the strong political relationships which will help British business to thrive overseas". Hague followed this up with a speech to ambassadors at their annual conference and then with a message to every Foreign Office employee. These have clearly been noted. "Every submission and every brief for a visit now has to include the commercial interests," one senior official told the Guardian today. "The emphasis is new and genuine. It's being put into the bloodstream." >>> Ian Black and Richard Norton-Taylor | Thursday, July 22, 2010 Tuesday, 20 July 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: Goldman Sachs has angrily defended itself against a public campaign that claims the bank is exacerbating global food crises through its commodity trading operations. The Wall Street bank has dismissed as "disingenuous and downright misleading" the conclusions by the World Development Movement that its activities have led to increased food prices, food riots, and poverty around the world. The WDM, a London-based non-governmental organisation, on Monday started an on-line campaign to persuade the public to report Goldman to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as the biggest bank allegedly distorting commodities markets. The organisers said they want to put pressure on authorities to limit the ability of banks and hedge funds to trade in commodity futures. The move came as Armajaro, a hedge fund run by Anthony Ward, was accused of cornering the cocoa market and pushing up prices after buying £650m, or 240,000 tonnes, of cocoa beans. The campaign follows the publication of a report by the WDM called The Great Hunger Lottery: how banking speculation causes food crises, in which the lobby group accuses banks and hedge funds of "gambling on hunger." The report concludes that commodity trading is "dangerous, immoral and indefensible." >>> Louise Armitstead | Tuesday, July 20, 2010 MAIL ONLINE: Goldman Sachs is today expected to earmark almost £6billion for its annual salary and bonus pool, handing staff a 15 per cent pay rise. The windfall means Goldman bankers will take home an average of £356,000 this year. Many senior deal-makers and star traders will pocket seven or even eight-figure packages, despite the bank's pivotal role in the financial crisis. The payouts - to be confirmed in the group's financial results for the first half of the year - are likely to anger taxpayers here and in the U.S. They come days after the Wall Street giant agreed to pay a £356million penalty to settle one of the most explosive fraud cases in U.S. banking history. Goldman cut a face-saving deal with America's financial watchdog after it was charged with tricking clients into buying an investment that was designed to collapse. Government-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland lost about £550million in this way, effectively leaving British taxpayers out of pocket. Goldman is expected to set aside as much as 45 per cent of its first-half turnover for salary and bonuses. Although markets have been shaken by the eurozone debt crisis, Goldman's turnover is forecast to hit £13.2billion, meaning £5.9billion will be channelled into the pay pool. For the typical worker at Goldman, this equates to some £178,000 for just six months work. >>> Simon Duke | Tuesday, July 20, 2010 Monday, 19 July 2010 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: BUDAPEST—Hungary's government said the International Monetary Fund and European Union are ignoring the economic risks of excessive austerity measures and that Budapest can't make deeper spending cuts now, despite a punishing reaction from markets after bailout-loan talks between the two sides broke off this weekend. The Hungarian currency, the forint, on Monday fell to its lowest level against the euro in more than a year, and the cost of insuring Hungarian government bonds against default jumped sharply after the IMF and EU walked out of talks with Budapest on Saturday, saying the government wasn't doing enough to shrink its budget deficit. Anxious investors also pushed down the currencies of Hungary's neighbors Poland and the Czech Republic. In the wake of serious debt troubles in Greece, which have prompted Europe-wide efforts to shore up confidence, markets have focused on governments' commitment to strengthening their finances and reining in spending. "The pressure is clearly going to remain on for some time," said Robert Beange, a senior emerging-markets strategist at Royal Bank of Canada in London. "The markets really want a deal" between the IMF, EU and Hungary. >>> Gordon Fairclough and Margit Feher | Monday, July 19, 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: Savers have seen two of the most popular state-backed investment products withdrawn from the market amid the Government’s austerity drive. National Savings & Investments has pulled its inflation beating and fixed interest savings certificates and cut rates on other products after seeing record inflows of cash. The group feared demand from consumers could place too high a burden on the taxpayer, at a time when the public finances are under unprecedented strain. The products had attracted more than a million savers with their promise of high returns and Government-guaranteed security. The announcement is the latest blow to savers who have seen their income plummet at a time when most savings accounts fail to offer any real rate of return once inflation and tax are taken into account. NS&I is tasked with raising a fixed amount for the Government coffers each year and can often offer better deals than commercial banks because it is not required to turn a profit. It is even permitted to make a loss of up to £2bn, to the benefit of its customers. However, it feared this cap could be breached this year because of the unusually high level of demand as consumers seek a safe place to keep their cash as a result of the financial crisis. Experts yesterday accused the Government of punishing the responsible behaviour of savers as it battles its own deficit. >>> Myra Butterworth, Personal Finance Correspondent | Monday, July 19, 2010 ZEIT ONLINE: Eine in Deutschland ansässige Bank ist offenbar an iranischen Atomgeschäften beteiligt. Damit hat das Geldinstitut Iran geholfen, die Sanktionen der UN zu umgehen. Mithilfe einer kleinen Bank in Deutschland hat die iranische Regierung die im Atomstreit verhängten Sanktionen umgangen. Dies berichtet das Wall Street Journal. Demnach wickelte die in Hamburg ansässige Europäisch-iranische Handelsbank (EIH) Milliarden-Geschäfte für iranische Unternehmen ab, die an den umstrittenen Atom- und Rüstungsprogrammen Teherans beteiligt sind. Zu den Kunden des Geldinstituts gehörten auch die iranischen Revolutionsgarden. Nach Informationen der Zeitung war die EIH im vergangenen Jahr Teil eines groß angelegten Versuchs der iranischen Führung, an den vom UN-Sicherheitsrat verhängten Sanktionen vorbei Geschäfte zu machen. So habe das Institut unter anderem Überweisungen für die iranische Sepah-Bank ausgeführt, die in Europa und den USA wegen ihrer Rolle bei iranischen Rüstungsdeals auf der schwarzen Liste steht. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> Zeit Online, AFP | Montag, 19. Juli 2010 Sunday, 18 July 2010 THE NEW YORK TIMES: As the Obama administration begins to enact the new national health care law, the country’s biggest insurers are promoting affordable plans with reduced premiums that require participants to use a narrower selection of doctors or hospitals. The plans, being tested in places like San Diego, New York and Chicago, are likely to appeal especially to small businesses that already provide insurance to their employees, but are concerned about the ever-spiraling cost of coverage. But large employers, as well, are starting to show some interest, and insurers and consultants expect that, over time, businesses of all sizes will gravitate toward these plans in an effort to cut costs. The tradeoff, they say, is that more Americans will be asked to pay higher prices for the privilege of choosing or keeping their own doctors if they are outside the new networks. That could come as a surprise to many who remember the repeated assurances from President Obama and other officials that consumers would retain a variety of health-care choices. >>> Reed Abelson | Saturday, July 17, 2010 Socialized medicine begins here! Consider this the start of the dismantlement of the old system of medicine provision in the States. By the end, the patient’s opinion will matter far less than the doctor’s. The state will control your healthcare and the management thereof. This is the price Americans will pay for being taken in by a smooth talker! – © Mark Saturday, 17 July 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES: Islamic Finance is a method of financing and banking operations that abides by Sharia Law. With the help of Bank of London and Middle East we outline the rules that all sharia-compliant financial products have to adhere to. What are the main rules for Islamic finance? Bank of London and the Middle East (BLME), a Sharia compliant bank, says the main principles of Islamic Finance is the avoidance of all haram (harmful) activities such as charging interest. In addition to the prohibition on charging interest, Islamic financial institutions must ensure that ambiguity (gharar) or gambling/speculation (maysair) is minimised in transactions and contracts. Complying with Sharia law also means that Islamic Financial Institutions are not permitted to invest in alcohol, pork, pornography or gambling. How does Islamic finance work? The overarching principle of Islamic finance is that all forms of interest are forbidden. The Islamic financial model works on the basis of risk sharing. The customer and the bank share the risk of any investment on agreed terms, and divide any profits between them. The main categories within Islamic finance are: Ijara, Ijara-wa-iqtina, Mudaraba, Murabaha and Musharaka. >>> Lucy Warwick-Ching | Wednesday, July 14, 2010 Related articles here and here and here THE GUARDIAN: Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, attacks 'extraordinary and outrageous' waste and predicts tough settlement The BBC licence fee could be cut as part of the government's public spending austerity drive, the culture secretary has said. Jeremy Hunt accused the corporation of "extraordinary and outrageous" waste in recent years and warned he could "absolutely" see viewers paying less than the current £145.50 a year after next year's licence fee negotiations with the government. "The BBC should not interpret the fact that we haven't said anything about the way licence fee funds are used as an indication that we are happy about it. We will be having very tough discussions," he told the Daily Telegraph. Hunt said the BBC should recognise the "very constrained financial situation" the country was in and it would need to change "huge numbers" of things that it does. "There's a moment when elected politicians have an opportunity to influence the BBC and it happens every five years. It is when the licence fee is renewed. "The BBC will have to make tough decisions like everyone else. There are huge numbers of things that need to be changed at the BBC. They need to demonstrate the very constrained financial situation we are now in." The licence fee review process begins next year and a lower levy could be in place for 2012. >>> David Batty and agencies | Saturday, July 17, 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: The culture department can offer glamour and excitement but Jeremy Hunt has taken charge with the BBC under fire and the arts facing severe budget cuts, writes Andrew Porter. And he doesn’t just mean the sight of the massed ranks of luvvies screaming at him — as they have been this week — about the impending cuts to arts budgets. He is referring to the period after this autumn’s spending review. “We are in an unreal period at the moment where everyone knows they are coming but they don’t know what it means. I’m not sure it’s sunk home yet what the effect of these cuts will be,” he says. “People probably still don’t assume it’s going to affect the services they use every day so it will be a shock when the penny drops.” With cuts of up to 40 per cent in Whitehall budgets, the Department for Culture Media and Sport, not being a front-line area, is braced for severe pain. Luckily, much of the money for the 2012 Olympics has been allocated already, but there are nagging concerns, not least about the ability to police such a monumental event. Mr Hunt is candid about the threats. “We’ve got a number of terrorist networks in the UK at the moment actively plotting to cause major, major carnage. So security is going to be an issue,” he says. “It’s an obvious target. We have to assume they are targeting it and we have to be ready for that.” Mr Hunt will use the Olympics to try to revive competitive sports in schools after years of neglect by Labour. Refreshingly, he is talking the right language. “The point about competitive sport is it helps people to deal with setbacks and losing,” he says. “Losing is something that happens just as often as winning in all sports — and in fact more frequently for most people. This is something we should welcome and we have got to bury the myth that everyone has to get a prize and it is damaging to people’s self-esteem if you don’t win first prize. Setting up the Olympic school programme is the way to help do that.” Mr Hunt has been taking flak this week from unlikely places. Selina Scott accused him of failing to follow up his promise in opposition to make the BBC examine how it treats its women. She says the corporation is guilty of “malign sexism and ageism”. But the Culture Secretary is not in the mood to be conciliatory. >>> | Saturday, July 17, 2010 Friday, 16 July 2010 LE FIGARO: Des enfants produisent du tabac pour Philip Morris : Au Kazakhstan, les fermes produisant du tabac pour le cigarettier Philip Morris font travailler de force des migrants et emploient des enfants, selon un rapport d'Human Rights Watch. L'entreprise américaine reconnait les faits mais tarde à agir. >>> Par Tristan Vey | Vendredi 16 Juillet 2010 FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Tabakindustrie – Zigaretten bleiben ein tolles Geschäft : Die Tabakindustrie lebt mit Lokalverboten, Werbebeschränkungen und hohen Steuern. 50 Prozent Gewinn vom Umsatz sind trotzdem immer noch drin. Nur die Jugendlichen machen der Branche Sorgen. Sie rauchen weniger. >>> Von Winand von Petersdorff | Freitag, 16. Juli 2010 THE INDEPENDENT: Crunch time for technology giant as public love affair with brand turns sour Apple, the £150bn technology giant, is this morning preparing to confront the biggest public relations crisis in its history, amid technical problems afflicting its latest iPhone and a warning that "an emerging pattern of hubris" could wreck the public's love affair with the company. It emerged yesterday that senior engineers warned early in the development of the new iPhone 4 that its choice of aerial could lead to dropped calls and poor reception. But the company ignored their concerns and when customers first complained about the fault wrongly blamed the problem on a software glitch. Today the company will hold an emergency press conference in an attempt to reassure customers – and Wall Street – that it has the problem under control. On Wall Street, where Apple has been the darling of investors for almost a decade since it unleashed the iPod music player on the world, its shares have tumbled, while the company faces a future of increased scrutiny by competition watchdogs and intense competition from newly-emboldened rivals. Apple has summoned media and industry players to its headquarters in Cupertino, California, in a mood that is a far cry from the launch event with founder Steve Jobs last month. Then, with typical hyperbole, he declared it “the biggest leap forward” since the launch of the original iPhone in 2007, and 1.7 million people snapped up the new device in just the first two days, making it the company’s most successful product launch ever. But users immediately started complaining of dropped calls and independent consumer tests laid the blame at the door of the phone’s aerial, which is built into the case of the phone. Continue reading and comment >>> Stephen Foley in New York | Friday, July 16, 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: Rarely before have a few coded words in the minutes of the US Federal Reserve caused such an upheaval in the global currency system, or such a sudden flight from the dollar. The euro rocketed to a two-month high of $1.29 and sterling jumped two cents to almost $1.54 after the Fed confessed that the US economy may not recover for five or six years. Far from winding down emergency stimulus, the bank may need a fresh blast of bond purchases or quantitative easing. Usually the dollar serves as a safe haven whenever the world takes fright, and there was plenty of sobering news from China and other quarters on Thursday. Not this time. The US itself has become the problem. "The worm is turning," said David Bloom, currency chief at HSBC. "We're in a world of rotating sovereign crises. The market seems to become obsessed with one idea at a time, then violently swings towards another. People thought the euro would break-up. Now we're moving into a new phase because we're hearing alarm bells of a US double dip." Mr Bloom said a deep change is under way in investor psychology as funds and central banks respond to the blizzard of shocking US data and again focus on the fragility of an economy where public debt is surging towards 100pc of GDP, not helped by the malaise enveloping the Obama White House. "The Europeans have aired their dirty debt in public and taken some measures to address it, whilst the US has not," he said. The Fed minutes warned of "significant downside risks" and a possible slide into deflation, an admission that zero interest rates, $1.75 trillion of QE, and a fiscal deficit above 10pc of GDP have so far failed to lift the economy out of a structural slump. "The Committee would need to consider whether further policy stimulus might become appropriate if the outlook were to worsen appreciably," it said. The economy might not regain its "longer-run path" until 2016. "The Fed is throwing in the towel," said Gabriel Stein, of Lombard Street Research. "They are preparing to start QE again. This was predictable because the M3 broad money supply has been contracting for months." The Fed minutes amount to a policy thunderbolt, evidence of how quickly the recovery has lost steam. Just weeks ago the Fed was mapping out withdrawal of stimulus. Continue reading and comment >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor | Thursday, July 15, 2010 Wednesday, 14 July 2010 THE INDEPENDENT: The true scale of Britain's national indebtedness was laid bare by the Office for National Statistics yesterday: almost £4 trillion, or £4,000bn, about four times higher than previously acknowledged. It quantifies the burden that will be placed on future generations, and it is the ONS's first attempt to draw together the "off-balance-sheet" liabilities that have been accumulated by the state. The figures imply a huge "intergenerational transfer" – broadly in favour of today's "baby boomer" generation at the expense of younger people and future generations. The debt primarily consists of the cost of public sector and state pensions, and of payments promised to private contractors under private finance initiatives. It far exceeds any of the figures so far published for the national debt, the largest current estimate for which is £903bn. That is projected to rise to £1.3trn by 2015. If the current generation of taxpayers wanted to remove the higher bills facing their children and grandchildren, they would now be paying around 30 per cent more in tax. >>> Sean O'Grady, Economics Editor | Wednesday, July 14, 2010 YAHOO! TRAVEL: Mediterranean resorts will no longer be the number one destination for UK holidaymakers by the end of this year. New research by The Co-operative Travel has revealed that once popular resorts in the Western Mediterranean, such as the Costa del Sol and Algarve, are being shunned in favour of holidays in up-and-coming holiday spots. The new number one area has been nicknamed 'the Mett' after its key destinations: Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey. This year Mediterranean resorts have seen a cumulative fall in bookings of 11.6% compared to the Mett’s increase of 23.4%. If these current trends continue then the two areas will swap places by the end of 2011, with the Mett becoming the number one choice for package holidays. This would mean that by summer 2012, the Mett would be receiving over 38% of UK package holidaymakers. >>> Paul Johnston | Undated THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Britain’s new government has tried to distance itself from Europe’s debt crisis by embarking on painful economic austerity measures. The U.K. pound’s rise against the dollar and euro suggests its strategy is starting to pay off. The pound has advanced 6% against the crisis-racked euro this year, picking up steam after Britain’s newly elected coalition government announced public-spending cuts and tax rises that have quieted down talk of a much-feared cut to Britain’s credit rating. Prime Minister David Cameron and Treasury chief George Osborne are betting that Britain’s first order of business is fixing the public finances to avoid a Greece-style debt crisis. Their opposition, the Labour Party, insists that massive spending cuts this year could throw a wrench in Britain’s fragile economic recovery. But so far investors are giving Britain’s economy the benefit of the doubt. Even as some analysts rub their eyes in disbelief, the U.K. pound continues to experience a big bounce: We’ve gone from one pound buying $1.42 in May to $1.5280. That’s getting closer to the roughly $1.60 level where the pound started the year. Just about everything is going sterling’s way Wednesday. Good profit numbers from the U.S.’s Intel is fueling optimism and encouraging investors to take riskier positions like the U.K. pound. Fresh figures Wednesday on U.K. unemployment showed Britain’s rate falling to a 15-month low of 4.5% in June. A day earlier, government reports showed that Britain’s inflation rate remains too high for the Bank of England, with prices rising 3.2% annually. That is raising expectations that the U.K. central bank could move faster than currently expected to raise interest rates. Higher rates make the pound more appealing. >>> Neil Shah | Wednesday, July 14, 2010 Tuesday, 13 July 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: The number of Britons taking foreign holidays slumped last year as a 40-year trend towards more overseas breaks comes to an end. UK residents made 58.6 million visits overseas in 2009 - 15% fewer than in 2008, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Visits to the UK by overseas residents also fell in 2009, but at a slower rate, dipping 6.3% from 31.9 million in 2008 to 29.9 million last year. The ONS said the falls followed a long period of overall growth in international visits to and from the UK. Visits abroad had grown at an average of 4% per year over the past 25 years and visits to the UK grew at an annual rate of 3.2%. The decline in 2009 follows small falls of less than 1% in visits abroad in 2007, the first since 1991, and a fall of 2.7% in visits abroad during 2008. The ONS said it was business visits that were hit hardest in 2009. They fell by 23% among UK residents going abroad and by 19% among overseas residents coming to the UK. >>> | Tuesday, July 13, 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: China's leading credit rating agency has stripped America, Britain, Germany and France of their AAA ratings, accusing Anglo-Saxon competitors of ideological bias in favour of the West. Dagong Global Credit Rating Co used its first foray into sovereign debt to paint a revolutionary picture of creditworthiness around the world, giving much greater weight to "wealth creating capacity" and foreign reserves than Fitch, Standard & Poor's, or Moody's. The US falls to AA, while Britain and France slither down to AA-. Belgium, Spain, Italy are ranked at A- along with Malaysia. Meanwhile, China rises to AA+ with Germany, the Netherlands and Canada, reflecting its €2.4 trillion (£2 trillion) reserves and a blistering growth rate of 8pc to 10pc a year. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, chief of the International Monetary Fund, agreed on Monday that the rising East is a transforming global force. "Asia's time has come," he said. >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor | Monday, July 12, 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: Property prices will not recover for another decade and should be viewed as "risky assets", according to PricewaterhouseCooper's Economic Outlook report. The PwC research, published on Tuesday, not only puts British growth lower than the official Office of Budget Responsibility's (OBR) forecast but also paints a grim picture for home ownership in the UK for the next 10 years. After 30 years of almost uninterrupted house price rises, Britons have piled in £3,500bn into bricks and mortar. Only pension contributions equal the 39pc of total net private wealth that is invested in the property market. But according to PwC: "Housing is a risky asset that is not guaranteed to generate positive real returns in the future even though this has been the pattern in the past." In fact, PwC says, there is a strong possibility that house prices continue to fall for the next five years and could drop further even beyond 2020. According to the report, this would significantly drag back the speed of economic recovery – which PwC claims faces a risk of a double-dip recession. >>> Helia Ebrahimi, Senior City Correspondent | Tuesday, July 13, 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: People holding accounts at banks that fail could soon have their savings of up to €100,000 (£84,000) returned to them within a week, under new EU plans. The draft laws from the European Commission, published on Monday, are designed to shore up confidence in the wake of the financial crisis. Current minimum compensation levels in member states are set at just €50,000, while people who bank with a collapsed lender face a three-month wait for their money. Read on and comment >>> Emma Rowley | Monday, July 12, 2010 Monday, 12 July 2010 THE GUARDIAN: Six successive quarters of negative economic growth from spring 2008 until autumn 2009 were the toughest for the economy since the Great Depression of the 1930s The deepest recession in Britain's post-war history was even more severe than previously feared, the government said today. Fresh information collected by the Office for National Statistics showed that the peak to trough decline in output was 6.4% of gross domestic product rather than the original 6.2% estimate. The new figures confirmed that the six successive quarters of negative growth from spring 2008 until autumn 2009 were the toughest for the economy since the Great Depression of the 1930s, harsher even than the slump of the early 1980s. Continue reading and comment >>> Larry Elliott, economics editor | Monday, July 12, 2010 THE OBSERVER: Gold price may go beyond record high to top $2,000 an ounce as bullion sales rocket and central banks stock up Goldfinger, the villain of the eponymous James Bond film, hatched a plot to increase the value of his bullion by detonating a nuclear device inside Fort Knox, making America's gold supply radioactive for 60 years. No less exciting, though rather more unsettling, is the real-life drama taking place on the world's financial markets, where investors have piled into gold on fears that capitalism is about to crumble. As a result, the gold price has soared to record levels, rising 9% this year to reach a peak of $1,264.90 (£834.44) an ounce, with influential names in the world of finance predicting it could top $2,000. Among them is Jim Rogers, the investment guru who called the start of the commodities rally in 1999. Having narrowly averted a financial Armageddon in 2008, investors are worried the authorities have transferred western indebtedness from banks and consumers to national governments. In their worst moments, panicky investors and savers visualise a world that has been turned upside down by a sovereign debt crisis that breaks both the euro and flattens the once mighty dollar. As the west sinks into a quagmire of its own making, demand plummets and the world is dragged into another Great Depression. Even the emerging markets of China, India and Brazil are affected as export markets shrivel. Political instability follows, with riots on the streets and unemployment at levels not seen since the 1930s. This nightmare vision has rattled investors around the word, driving the gold price ever higher. Of all the precious metals, it is the most popular as an investment. Since the earliest times, it has been seen as both a symbol of prosperity and a store of wealth. In the modern era, it has been bought as a hedge against economic, political or social crises, and as protection against the plummeting value of currencies. Continue reading and comment >>> Richard Wachman | Sunday, July 11, 2010 Sunday, 11 July 2010 THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: An obscure book about the collapse of the German economy in the 1920s has become cult reading among leading financiers, after a tip from billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Mr Buffett, known as the Sage of Omaha because of his shrewd investments, apparently told friends that When Money Dies illustrated what could happen today if European governments attempt to spend their way out of the downturn. Written in 1975 by Adam Fergusson, a one-time adviser to Tory minister Lord Howe, the book charts how the German economy was ruined by hyperinflation after the Weimar government allowed public spending to run out of control. The collapse of the Weimar Republic cleared the way for Adolf Hitler’s Nazis to seize power in 1933. After Mr Buffett tipped off a Dutch financier friend about the wisdom of Fergusson's analysis, his book became the talk of right-wing blogs and economics websites, with copies changing hands for up to £1,600. Old Street Publishing, a small British publisher, has rushed out a new edition to meet demand. >>> Matthew Moore | Sunday, July 11, 2010 THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: As Europe's top diplomat prepares to travel to Turkey, Colin Freeman finds a country not entirely convinced about their need to join the EU. Sipping a lunchtime latte amid the gleaming skyscrapers of Istanbul's financial district, banker Mehmet Canayaz debated whether the European Union should admit Turkey. The prognosis, he admitted, was not good: a dynamic, forward-looking region would end up shackled to an economy with severe debt, financial instability, and an uncompetitive workforce. Best for Turkey, perhaps, to steer clear of the chaotic Brussels club altogether. "If we don't join, it will be Europe's problem, not ours," said Mr Canayaz, 25, who was relieved to be watching the recent Euro-zone crash from the outside rather than the inside. "If they do let us in one day, fine. But in coming years, it will be them that needs us, more than us needing them. Their economy isn't as competitive as it once was." The issue of whether the EU should be allowed to join Turkey, rather than Turkey being allowed to join the EU, is not the way the Eurocrats of Brussels have often chosen to phrase it since the stalled membership talks formally began in 1987. But when the EU's Foreign Affairs High Representative, Baroness Ashton, arrives in Ankara for fresh accession talks this week, she may well find no shortage of Turks asking the same question the same way round as Mr Canayaz. Fed up with being rebuffed by France and Germany, proud of their successful economy, and increasingly keen to court their fellow Muslim neighbours to the East, a growing number of Turkey's 73 million citizens are now wondering whether EU membership is quite so important as it once seemed. While nearly three quarters of Turks supported the idea in 2004, some polls less than half doing so now. Among those whom Baroness Ashton will meet on Tuesday is the man most closely associated with Turkey's re-assessment of its outside interests, foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu. A key figure in the AKP party, the moderate Islamist movement that has ruled Turkey for the last eight years, he is widely seen as the prime mover in his country's cooling off towards the West. >>> Colin Freeman in Istanbul | Sunday, July 11, 2010 THE TELEGRAPH: The future health care in both countries must involve a mix of state and private provision, says Janet Daley. This week, the Coalition will offer an example of how coping with an economic crisis may serve a reforming purpose. Having to cut back the power and the expenditure of the state will provide a rationale for dismantling the monolithic, bureaucratic monster that the NHS has become. In his health White Paper, Andrew Lansley will apparently propose sweeping away the command-and-control structure in which clinical decisions are taken and hospital procedures commissioned by Primary Care Trust administrators, rather than by general practitioners who actually come face-to-face with people in need of medical help. Fine. But if GPs are to inherit all the authority in this system, then it should be possible for patients to choose – and change – their family doctors easily and without recrimination. For, alas, Mr Lansley has decided to pass on the powers that he is confiscating from the abolished PCT mandarins exclusively to doctors rather than to patients. This is a real missed opportunity, but never mind: he is at least facing the right way, devolving decision-making down to levels where it can be done with more responsiveness and sensitivity to individual needs, rather than with the impersonal, blanket uniformity of a target-driven central authority. The US government, meanwhile, is galloping doggedly in the opposite direction, bizarrely determined to occupy precisely the ideological ground which Britain is abandoning. Barack Obama has, indeed, appointed a man as head of the American public health care programmes who professes a passion (no other word will do) for some of the most discredited features of our NHS. Dr Donald Berwick is to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which effectively means that he will be in charge of Obamacare – the new universal health care system on which the President has staked his political credibility. The appointment has created an extraordinary kerfuffle, partly because it was made under highly contentious circumstances – as a “recess” appointment which allowed it to bypass Congressional approval – but primarily on account of Dr Berwick’s widely disseminated statements extolling the virtues of the most disliked aspects of state-funded medical care as we know it. Dr Berwick professes a love (which he describes in ecstatic terms that will have a tragicomic ring to most British ears) of just those evils of a national health system with which we are exasperated: the calculated rationing of treatment, and the ruthless enforcement of uniform cost limits, which often puts the most advanced medication and procedures out of reach of patients whose lives might have been extended or transformed by them. Dr Berwick thinks that our own dear National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) – which is scarcely ever out of the headlines for denying some poor suffering victim a remedy that is available in other countries – is simply wonderful. Continue reading and comment >>> Janet Daley | Saturday, July 10, 2010 Americans will come to rue the day they ever elected B. Hussein Obama into office. He is nothing other than the iPresident. That ‘i’ stands for the Internet, through which he got elected; but it also stands for incompetence, inexperience, insincerity, incapability, irrationality, immaturity, oh and, of course, Islam! – © Mark

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[Hong Kong] A glimpse of Hong Kong streets from a cab Photo taken on 8th August 2010. Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5. A glimpse of Hong Kong streets from the taxi. This post has been sleeping in my draft folder for a long time. These were taken in summer of 2010. 2 years ago! Wow! Time flies. Anyway, did you notice the amount of mobile phone this taxi driver have in his car? Amazing right. He was answering calls all the time. Oh. On an unrelated note. Did you check out the list of newly registered UNESCO world heritage sites I’m surprised that Malaysia have another UNESCO world heritage site now! Archaelogical Heritage of the Lenggong Valley (Malaysia) I didn’t know about this place until I read it on the UNESCO World Heritage website Btw. You can check out the 26 newly added World Heritage sites over here >> p/s: I’m going through my draft folder now… please expect to see more random old photos like these :p

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Heel Bursitis is another type of heel pain. The sufferer of this kind of heel pain experiences pain at the back of the heel when the patient moves his joint of the ankle. In the heel bursitis type of heel pain there is swelling on the sides of the Achilles’ tendon. In this condition the sufferer may experience pain in the heel when his feet hit the ground. Heel bruises are also referred as heel bumps they are usually caused by improper shoes. The constant rubbing of the shoes against the heel. What is bursitis? Bursitis is the inflammation of a bursa. Normally, the bursa provides a slippery surface that has almost no friction. A problem arises when a bursa becomes inflamed. The bursa loses its gliding capabilities, and becomes more and more irritated when it is moved. When the condition called bursitis occurs, the normally slippery bursa becomes swollen and inflamed. The added bulk of the swollen bursa causes more friction within an already confined space. Also, the smooth gliding bursa becomes gritty and rough. Movement of an inflamed bursa is painful and irritating. “Itis” usually refers to the inflammation of a certain part of the body, therefore Bursitis refers to the constant irritation of the natural cushion that supports the heel of the foot (the bursa). Bursitis is often associated with Plantar Fasciitis, which affects the arch and heel of the foot. What causes bursitis? - Bursitis and Plantar Fasciitis can occur when a person increases their levels of physical activity or when the heel’s fat pad becomes thinner, providing less protection to the foot. - Ill fitting shoes. - Biomechanical problems (e.g. mal-alignment of the foot, including over-pronation). - Rheumatoid arthritis. Bursitis usually results from a repetitive movement or due to prolonged and excessive pressure. Patients who rest on their elbows for long periods or those who bend their elbows frequently and repetitively (for example, a custodian using a vacuum for hours at a time) can develop elbow bursitis, also called olecranon bursitis. Similarly in other parts of the body, repetitive use or frequent pressure can irritate a bursa and cause inflammation. Another cause of bursitis is a traumatic injury. Following trauma, such as a car accident or fall, a patient may develop bursitis. Usually a contusion causes swelling within the bursa. The bursa, which had functioned normally up until that point, now begins to develop inflammation, and bursitis results. Once the bursa is inflamed, normal movements and activities can become painful. Systemic inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, may also lead to bursitis. These types of conditions can make patients susceptible to developing bursitis. - Cold presses or ice packs. - Anti-inflammatory tablets. - Cushioning products. - Massaging the foot / muscle stimulation. - Stretching exercises. - Insoles or orthotics.

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Tuesday, March 28, 2006 a bowl of rotten rojak, part 2 When I wrote Part 1, someone questioned the statistics of the said article. I could not put a link to that article on the NST because it was already older than 7 days and I have no access to the older archives. However, Mack wrote a related post on this issue and from there, I found a link to the mentioned article. Do take your time and read through it. Labels: malaysia 2 in 3 don't understand other cultures Hari Raya Puasa was wrongly perceived as the Malay new year by 32% of Malays 84% of Chinese 45% of Indians Chinese New Year was wrongly perceived as a religious festival by 57% of Malays 62% of Chinese 53% of Indians Deepavali was wrongly perceived as the Indian new year by 53% of Malays 86% of Chinese 28% of Indians I've actually written an interesting piece about this. We pride ourselves to be a muti-cultural society, yet many of us (myself included) are ignorant with regards to other people's cultures. Looking at the statistics, you could say that Indians and Malays are pretty much similar, with an average of 49% of Indians and 54% of Malays wrongly perceiving a celebration which was not their own. However, nearly double that - a shocking 85% of Chinese wrongly perceived a celebration of another race. But the Chinese also scored a high (or low!) of 62% of them not even understanding their own celebration! Are we so engrossed into our businesses and trying to 'beat the Malays' that we forget our own culture? And on a more general view, are we kidding ourselves by saying we are a multi-cultural society when we are in fact ignorant to the most basic characteristics of the other races? 1 of 2 do not trust other races The stereotype that 'in general most Malays are lazy' holds true for 58% of Malays 63% of Chinese 43% of Indians The stereotype that 'in general most Chinese are greedy' holds true for 71% of Malays 60% of Chinese 47% of Indians The stereotype that 'in general most Indians cannot be trusted' holds true for 64% of Malays 58% of Chinese 20% of Indians Do not confuse this with saying "Yes, all Malays are lazy." I think it was made very clear in the survey that it is a general stereotype. Of course not all the people of a certain race follow the stereotype - that goes without saying. But stereotypes exist for a reason - most people believe they are true. The Chinese are a pretty consistent bunch here. We rate pretty equal, even in critisizing ourselves. The strongest 'critisism' (for the lack of a better word) comes from the Malays to the Chinese and the 3rd highest percentage comes from the Chinese with regards to "Malays being lazy". Could it be that a serious distrust exists between the two races? (Funnily enough, I have had countless numbers of Chinese critisizing the Malays on this blog, but not one of the opposite). And perhaps the most interesting of the lot - the Indians are probably the most tolerant amongst us all, with the lowest percentage of them subscribing to the stereotypes. Heck, only 20% of them believed their own stereotype that "Mosts Indians cannot be trusted". Many friends have commented on the irony of that statistic. However, I would like to take it as a good sign - they are a tolerant bunch, certainly one that we can learn from. Another thing about not believing your own stereotype is that it makes you strive to get rid of it. You hate that you are stereotyped in that manner and therefore would not do anything that reflects that stereotype. It is for that reason that I find the Chinese and Malay acceptance of their stereotype (60% and 58% respectively) extremely worrying for that probably means they admit to it and therefore aren't doing much to shed that image. Statistics like these are probably not very accurate, yet they do give a good indication of what is wrong with us. Statistics like these beg to be interpreted by many different people - each with their own views. This is mine, and I have asked many questions but left them unanswered. What is yours? *I do not wish to land myself in jail, so any baseless comment with a slightest hint of racism would go straight into the bin* Sunday, March 26, 2006 a bowl of rotten rojak, part 1 The NST published a very interesting article the other day filled with statistics of all sorts. They commissioned an opinion poll on ethnic relations where 1113 people above the age of 20 were surveyed. Labels: malaysia The 'good' statistics: 92% enjoy Malaysia's multi-racial nature 90% are proud to be Malaysian 78% have friends of other races 76% say government policies help integration 61% say ethnic relations are good 55% say Chinese and Indians are not second-class citizens The 'bad' statistics: 42% don't consider themselves Malaysian first 46% say ethnicity is important in voting 55% blame politicians for racial problems 70% would help their own ethnic group first I chose to present the statistics to you in that manner, without any comments under them because I wished for you to read them with an open mind, unbiased by my comments, and let your opinions be forged by your mentality in which you grew up in and your experiences that moulded your interpretation of those statistics. I think it a travesty that the NST did not actually disect the rather interesting bits of that survey, although it was probably for a reason that we all understand. Nevertheless, we all have our own stand on it...and this is mine. On the 'good' statistics... I have two main critisisms here. 78% have friends of other races It pretty much depends on how you define a 'friend'. If a friend is someone you know at school or at work, then unless you are a hermit, anybody who has spent their whole life in Malaysia would invariably have friends of other races. Everybody has friends of different races. Question would be....how close? Someone you hang out with everyday? Your best friend? Your mamak kakis? Unfortunately, the occurance of such a strong bond between two different races is very rare. 55% say Chinese and Indians are not second-class citizens I digress here - a figure of 55% is far too low to be considered a 'good' statistic. It would mean that 45% of people consider themselves 2nd class, and surely that is not a good statistic for racial harmony? I remember Mahathir being asked once on a live interview on BBC by a Malaysian Chinese woman saying that she felt like a second class citizen in Malaysia because of our policies. His response was simple, yet powerful. "Ask the Malay driver who drives his Chinese boss around whether he feels like a second class citizen". I reckon that point holds true in many areas. You will NOT find a single Chinese driver, not a single Chinese road sweeper or garbage collector, and you will be hard pressed to find a Chinese rubber tapper. Being second-class is really nothing more than a matter of perspective. That said, if an Indian did complain about being second-class, I wouldn't brush that away as easily. On the 'bad' statistics... 42% don't consider themselves Malaysian first This is a problem I have been nitpicking at for ages. We are probably one of the few people in the world who respond to the question of "What are you?" with our race and not our nationality. I know of many people who get offended when foreigners refer to them as Malays (as they assume that people from Malaysia are called Malays just as people from Germany are called Germans). In actual fact, the non-existance of a Bangsa Malaysia is something that I believe the government should take the brunt of the blame. 46% say ethnicity is important in voting 55% blame politicians for racial problems I find these two statistics contradicting each other. How can we blame politicians for playing racial politics when we vote people based on the colour of their skin? Many a Chinese has complained that we will NEVER see a Chinese Prime Minister, but is that not as racist to demand that you want to see a Prime Minister's skin colour when in fact you should be looking at the man's capability instead? 70% would help their own ethnic group first This is perhaps the most worrying of the statistics, although I would say that it is not surprising. Many a time you hear of a Chinese or Indian complaining that they have no chance of making it big in a Malay company. However, I personally know of Chinese bosses who immediately bin any job application by a Malay. Perhaps it is a form of retribution, or perhaps they feel they are equalling the chances. I have a better explaination for that. I will no doubt be considered naive by many people who claim to have eaten salt all their lives, but this is my stand and one which I believe is true. I have already established the fact that most people do in fact hang out with members of the same race - be it at work or socially. It is also human nature to help someone you are friends with. It may be called croynism, but I do not believe for one moment that any of us would prefer to help an acquiantance over a friend if the situation permits us (for example if they are of equal capability), And it is for that reason, since the head honcho of a Malay company would be a Malay, then he would feel happier to promote his early morning nasi lemak buddy. And of course, the same would apply to a Chinese company. Someone the other asked me what I consider a racist behaviour. Someone else asked me whether I considered myself one. Honestly, I don't know the answer to either of the questions. What I do know is I TRY to keep an open mind about things. When people tell me not to work for a Malay company because I 'can't get far', I brush it off. I TRY to be less suspicious of other races. I TRY to see things from the perspective of the Malays (and the Indians) and I TRY to understand their actions. And that, my friends, is good enough for me. Thursday, March 23, 2006 you akan terasa What ever the hell happened to only speaking when you have something constructive to say? Labels: musings Wednesday, March 22, 2006 a rojak bowl I am working on a particularly long piece on racism, inspired by the NST article a couple of days ago. I will come out with the full list of statistics tomorrow after I am done analysing them. But just a quickie to help me out for my research: Labels: malaysia There are five options for you to choose from my question of 'Exactly how racist do you think you are?' I've just learnt this poll thingy is a little stupid. It displays the top 4 options only...you have to move your cursor over the arrow by the side plus they can't display the whole question if it is a little too long. But anyways, help me out a little, will you? Sunday, March 19, 2006 defending the indefensible Someone once told me that I chose the wrong profession. I should have been a laywer, she said. Apparently, I have the uncanny ability of being able to defend the most guilty of criminals and the most shocking practises which most people frown upon. Labels: awesome theories The mantra is simple. It's not about agreeing with the action of the person or agreeing with the policy. The important thing is to understand the situation and to understand why people act as they do. And seriously folks, once you do that, you can even defend Hitler's actions. So anyway, during a particularly slow day at the office just the other day, I sat down and started thinking of a bunch of indefensible stuffs and give a go at trying to be a lawyer defending those stuffs. Of course I do not actually agree with the following situation, but I managed to stupefy myself by successfully defending it. Before I start with presenting you the situation and risk the chance of you getting all biased and not paying attention to any of my arguments, I am going to start by asking you a few questions which you will of course answer honestly. And then I'll drop the scenario on your toes and you will go, "Yo Vincent! WTF MAN?!?!" Alritey then, what would you consider an acceptable level of public displays of affection? Holding hands? Kissing? Gropping? I did a fair bit of research and asked a few people what they thought about it. As expected, the answers varied. Some people thought kissing was ok, but only limited to a peck on the cheek, while others thought the lips was alright. Personally, I think a hug would be ok but kissing should be left in the privacy of your house (or car!). And of course there are old-fashioned people like some of our parents who seem to think that anything more than a mere holding of hands is considered 'indecent'. Everybody I asked said that they think frenching and gropping in public is disgusting, but I have seen people do that so I think those guys are ok with it. Ok, now that we have established that everybody has different levels of tolerance, the next question is.....what do we do when people breach our level of accceptable behaviour? TWO people said that they would mumble amongst themselves when their friends cross the line. Most people, and myself included, would not hessitate to shout out, "OI! GO GET A ROOM DAMMIT!" I think it is safe to say that 90% will do the same when our friends cross THAT line. So, established FACTS: 1) All of us have different tolerence levels 2) Most of us would scream when people cross that line Which brings me to my scenario. You know the stories we hear about the JAIS guys and the security guards in shopping malls who go around scolding couples who kiss and hold hands in public? Are their actions justified? Of course NOT Vincent! WTF MAN!? How can you justify the actions of moral police? But wait a minute. Didn't we already agree that everybody has different tolerance levels? And did we not agree that it was quite a normal thing to voice our displeasure when people act 'inappropriately'? YES! But these idiots go around berating people for merely HOLDING HANDS! So what? To them, holding hands is past their tolerance level. You and I say, "It's ONLY holding hands! It's not as if we are french kissing in public!" But then those people who DO french kiss in public will shout, "It's ONLY french kissing! It's not as if we are having sex in public!" So are you saying it's even right to have sex in public? No, you moron. Having sex in public is against the law. Besides, I never said any of this was right. It's a matter of perception and moral ethics. There are no rights and wrongs here. So as long as we scream at people to "GO GET A ROOM!", then we are no different from those JAIS folks. Aah, yes Vincent. You are right...in a totally fucked up way.... Yes I know. Sometimes I scare myself with the power my logic. I should have been a lawyer. I think I am ready to defend Saddam. Labels: awesome theories Wednesday, March 15, 2006 I guess the million dollar question behind this whole farce of SPM results is fairly obvious. How on earth is 15A1's better than 15A1's + 1A2? I suppose it is a question that highlights the utter nonsense of this annual worshipping of 'geniuses'. Labels: current issues I started off wanting to bash the three of them, but I realized that I would be doing no better than to repeat my points from last year. For your benefit though, I shall roughly scheme through some of those points. For instance, all of them did Basic Science when they did Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Basic Science is a subject done by students from the Arts Stream. It is nothing short of pointless and downright 'kiasu' to do a basic subject when you are at the same time studying a subject of a higher level. And sticking to subject choices, what was that 16A Chinese girl doing Tasawuur Islam? We would all like to think that these kids spent their time nicely and managed to have fun enjoying their childhood. SPM was something we all went through. It is not logical to say that kids these days are smarter than the days of "let's worship the guy who got 8A's." We have all known our fair share of geniuses in our time, and no matter how smart they were, we all know that getting 10A's in our time would require a superhuman feat, no less. That brings me to wonder...how much exactly are kids these days studying? There is enough time to be a zombie when we start working, slogging day and night to bring in some dough, but surely the line has to be drawn when it comes to teenagers? Should we not allow them to enjoy their youth and leave the slogging up to the adults? Too often have I seen the over-achievers in school get into university or get into the workforce totally burnt-out, a shadow of their former self. They end up partying like wild animals and somehow do not work with the same exuberance they showed in school. Why the burn out? Why did they pressure themselves to excel? More importantly, why did we pressure them to excel? Of course it would be preposterous to be suggest that they should have played around and not have a single responsibility in the world, and play around till they flunk all their subjects. Yet, there has got to be a line of moderation drawn somewhere - the line that separates sensibility in studying and sensibility in playing. On this year's issue, where all the newspapers as well as the MoE happily boast of a 43% increase in straight 1A students, not only is their action encouraging such high levels of unhealthy competition at such a young age, that statistic is ridiculously misleading. Let's start by bashing the statistics, shall we? To be honest, when I first read the papers of the 43% increase, I was muttering curses beneath my breath. Does that mean that kids last year are 43% smarter than the previous year? Rubbish. Does that mean that the standard had dropped? Maybe. Should we get all excited about it? Definately not. But then it occured to me to do a little research before I start with the bashing. Thank heavens I did. As you can see, the announcement of the supposed 43% increase is nothing more than the MoE blowing it's own trumpet just to please the public. Well, of course there would be a sharp increase in the number of students with straight A1's, since there are more than 20 000 more candidates last year compared to the previous year! Yes, there was an increase in the percentage of straight A1 students, but only by a mere 0.06% It then brings me to wonder, why show off the supposedly great results when in truth, they aren't much greater than last year? I think it has a lot to do with the public demands. Why do we laud top scorers? So what if they got 15A's or 17A's? Yes, we should pat them on the back, but why should we worship them as heroes? It is that sort of attitude that causes kids to attempt suicide when they get bad results. And of course sometimes the kids probably have no choice but to get all those A's because most of the time, that is what dictates who gets the scholarship and who doesn't. At last knowledge, co-curicular activities only count for 10% of the criteria, and no matter how hard people deny it, there is a very direct link between straight A scorers of today with their inadequate skills in other areas. Just the other day, a good student, a qualified engineer, was so nervous during an interview that he blurted out "Tekanan = Isipadu divide by area". Of course, when these guys don't get their scholarship despite their many A's they then scream bloody murder. I have never liked our system of education. Many people call me a government lover, and while that may be slightly true, I hate the MoE with a vengence. I could expand this article by another 5000 words but would still fail to cover every single fault within the system. Firstly, the SPM format and syllabus is way outdated. It does not encourage students to think, but to mug, because after all, mugging and not thinking yields the best short term result. With that mugging system in place, it is extremely easy for an experienced teacher to 'spot' questions just by analysing the papers from the past few years. There is not a single student out there now who can tell me that they never heard of a 'tip' for SPM that didn't come out. It is also a fact that large tuition centres especially here in the Klang Valley conduct large seminars just before SPM to 'sell their tips'. This practice was rampant when I sat for my SPM in 2000, and it is even scarier to think how common a practice it is these days. Of course, back then, I defended my actions as 'studying smart' instead of 'studying hard'. Thinking back now, 'studying hard' and 'studying smart' is essentially the same lie. We study to gain knowledge. We study because we have a passion for something. When we learn about the body's digestive system, we do so because we want to know what happens after we have dinner. We shouldn't learn about it because we know the exam will ask us to name the acid we find in the stomach. Studying for exams is a concept that should be made foreign to students. The grading system doesn't work either. Every year the MoE releases statistics that mention the increase (or decrease) in the percentage of A's and percentage of failures in a particular subject. Statistics like those are misleading and only serve to fool people into believing that results of that particular year have improved. The idea that "70% gets you an A, 60% gets you a B" is an extremely flawed practice. Two things essentially determine the grade of the student. First is of course his score. There is no exact figure to get an A, but it is known to be around 70%, but that figure can be raised or lowered depending on various other factors. I could make an uneducated guess and say that they might lower the bar if the paper was a little too tough but as those factors are only known to the MoE, I shall stop at that. In other words, the MoE can decide whether they want to lower or raise the bar for a particular subject for a particular year and we would be none the wiser. Crudely, it is possible to say then that the results are 'rigged'. Another factor would of course be the level of difficulty of the paper itself. While they do moderate the papers to be of a certain standard of difficulty, there is not an institution in the world who can set exam papers and say for sure that the 2003 paper is of the exact same level of difficulty as the 2004 paper. You may argue that that is why the practice of 'raising or lowering' the bar is put into place. However, I cannot begin to imagine how it is possible to judge the magnitude of which that said bar is adjusted. Besides, if we really wanted to promote a healthy competition between the students, they should be competing against each other and not against a system. Therein lies a very interesting marking system which I heard off from an Indian (from India, doh) lecturer in college. Under this system it is not necessary to moderate papers to match the level of difficulty from the previous year, nor is it necessary to adhere to the syllabus as rigidly as we do now. The idea is to set a paper, no matter how easy or hard it may be and the students go about with their exam. The MoE (in the case of the SPM, or the teachers in the case of an ordinary school exam) would then decide how many students they want to score A's. This figure would of course be a set figure (top 10% to get an A, bottom 10% to get an F for example) and be used in every exam. This means that we pre-decide the number of A's we get every year. Under this system it is not possible for a student to complain 'this paper was sooo tough!' for it would be possible for a student to get 30% in a difficult paper but get an A for it because he fared better than his 90% of his peers. Similarly, it would be possible to get 80% for a ridiculously easy paper and yet only manage a C. I am not championing this system, it has flaws like the current one - but I believe it is more efficient and more fair. I do know this however. SPM is only an entrance key to college and university. No amount of A's will ever give you the social skills you require to survive in the real world. And certainly, no amount of A's will ever buy you back the childhood that you lost. If you are one of the few morons who chanced upon my blog over the last few days looking for 'JPA scholarships' in Google, let me be the first to inform you that this is NOT the JPA website and you cannot apply for your scholarships here. But since you kids of today are so spoonfed in your education, I shall hold your hand (and shove a pacifier down your throat) and guide you to the official JPA website. However, since you couldn't tell the difference between a blog and a government website, a word of advice to you....don't bother. Labels: current issues Monday, March 13, 2006 Hari tu, I jumpa sama member I kat kilang tempat kerja. So I tanya dia, "Eh Mat, nak minta tanye, ko punya motor isi minyak...berapa you kena bayar?"Lepas tu, dia kasi tau...sebenarnya, tak banyak. Tangki penuh dulu RM6, skrang lepas naik harga baru tujuh ringgit lebih. Labels: current issues Lepas tu I tanye dia...satu bulan berapa kali kena isi? And then dia bagi tau, biasanye lima atau enam kali. Maksudnya satu bulan dia kena bayar RM7 atau RM8 lebih banding dengan dulu. "Gomen naik harga you tak marah ke?" "Tak la...naik harga memang kena naikla kan. Baca newspaper pun tau mah..dia orang cakap tak cukup minyak." "Susah makan tak?" "Alaaa...tujuh lapan ringgit tu apa? Biarlah dua hari tak keluar makan masak maggi...dah kira ok mah" Maka, sudahlah I dapat tahu, orang-orang yang asyik merengek tu bukanlah orang yang 'miskin' bawa motor. Sebenarnya, orang yang merengek tu adalah mamat-mamat berkepala buto yang ada gaji yang stabil tetapi tidak tahu dan mungkin tidak mahu merancang pembelanjaan mereka dengan baik. Minta maaf, ye...sebab I dah tak ikut janji. Tapi, biarlah perkara ni tenang dulu......barula I berbelog pasal benda lain. Misalnya, surat khabar besok tentu akan ada top scorer SPM semua. Kalaulah ada 'moron' seperti tahun lepas, tak habis habis I cerita pasal dia kat korang semua. Labels: current issues Sunday, March 12, 2006 a clean slate A few days ago, I heard an inspiring, if not down right whacky story. Of course, things like that happen for a reason. If you ask them religious blokes out there, they will attribute it to a higher power (and one with a very bad sense of humour, I might add) rewarding you to balance out some karmic forces of some sort. If you ask me, I think stuffs like that happen to get you to recontemplate how you live, or in this case, how you deal with adversities. Labels: blogs I wrote something I truely believed in. As far as that goes, I have always done that from day one. And for that, I offer no apologies. But after the aforementioned story, chats with countless people and a couple of emails, I realised that my readership had all this while appealed to sensible people, young or old regardless. I am thankful and very much prefer a readership of 300 sensible people who read my views, sit back and contemplate those views and most of the time keep their opinions close to hand than a legion of 800 fanbois who stick with me blindly. I have learnt that 'maturity' is a silly concept, for who are we to judge whether someone is mature or not? We call someone matured and rational if they succumb to our way of life and have the same mentality as us. Or is it all a matter of age and no less? For I have seen jobless middleaged people bumming around leeching off others, but no one would call a 40 year old man 'immature', the same way no one seems to call a 35 year old man who ditched work to take to the streets 'immature'. The sarcasms and the twisted humour will continue, as will the occasional 'social commentary' posts for that is still very much ME. Taking either of those topics away from this blog would be hypocritical, for they are not ME. Yet, if there is room for improvement, it would be the total avoidance of replying to morons the same way I did in the last few posts (damn I just called them morons! Bad Vincent!) But seriously, I may say all this, yet be human again when the next troll comes along and react badly but I again offer no apologies to that. However, that is my goal and we shall see what happens... Friday, March 10, 2006 I appreciate the fact that many of you reading this only started reading my blog since that ridiculous debate. However, less you go on further making a complete fool of yourself, there are two things you should really know about me. 1) I live and breathe sarcasm. It is my forte the same way camwhoring is other people's. 2) I make a living taking the piss out of people. And since I take it that most of you are n00bs, I'll be nice this time and explain something to you. For example, if I write something totally bohliao like yesterday's post, that means I am setting bait for unsuspecting labi-labi to bite. And boy did you suiyu bite and bite hard.... Lemme ask you though, how is it possible to read something like that and really take it seriously, and with all the italic words at the right places too?? Really guys, how does it feel to be a rocket scientist? tongue in cheek I can't believe that I had for just one small moment the other day doubted whether I was indeed as awesome as I thought I was.... Labels: blogs Events of today convinced me that I am not just awesome, I am fucking brilliant. And heck, I am ONLY 21, you know. Come on kids, worship your king! (if you really do know me outside the cyberworld, feel free to buzz me and I will happily brag about how I saved the world from catastrophy today) Tuesday, March 07, 2006 of eating chillies A baboon and a hyena were walking side by side in a mushy swamp. Of course, you would be wondering, how it is possible that a jungle baboon and hyena from the savannahs got together in the same place, let alone a swamp? I could tell you a long story of how an evil Sang Kancil forced them to be, but then you would be wondering how the hero Sang Kancil turned evil. Cutting straight to the chase, the baboon and hyena who weren't vey good friends in the first place, decided that they would let each other be as they carried on their own business in the swampy swamp. We should cue the suspense button here, but since there isn't a suspense button in the swamps, we shall just go on to say excitedly, "SUDDENLY......the baboon chanced upon abunch of bright red chillies." Of course, some of the more astute of you will be thinking, "Chillies don't come in a bunch..." Then of course, a fewer number of your smart guys out there would be thinking, "Never mind about the bunch, what the hell are chillies doing in a swamp??" However, only the sharpest of you lot would realise that there is nothing unusual about a bunch of chillies in a swamp since none of the earlier stuffs made sense anyway. And the baboon, being a baboon, decided to make a monkey out of himself. He took the whole bunch of bright red chillies and stuffed it all into his mouth at once. If there is one thing that is completely unusual about this story, it is the fact that nothing unusual happened here. As you would expect, the baboon, upon shoving the chillies into his mouth jumped with glee (yes, this part IS unusual) and started cursing in a million languages. He tries to spit all the chillies out but his tongue continued to burn for ages long. Terrified, yet enlightened with his new unpleasant experience, after the burning sensation had subsided, he turned to the hyena and said, "Go on mate, have some" as he pointed to the mushed up pulp of chilly that he had just regurgitated. Yes, you might find some chilly munched on and spit out by a baboon the most disgusting thing you have ever seen, but to the hyena it was nothing unusual. The hyena however wasn't having any of it. "I've seen how hot it is, I think I'll pass..." The selfish baboon, trying to inflict suffering upon his companion said, "Yes, it is hot, but you won't know how hot it is until you've tried it. Siapa makan cili dialah yang terasa pedas, tau tak?" (If you are wondering where the baboon had suddenly learnt BM from, then you have an IQ comparable to a watermelon, and it would be advisable to leave now, less you damage your brains any further) The hyena, not impressed by the baboon and his sob stories, retorted back, "My tongue may not know how it tastes, but my eyes saw you jumping around in agony, my ears heard you screaming in pain, and my heart bled when I saw and heard all that. After all that, I do not need to eat the chilly to know that it is a vile fruit" Monday, March 06, 2006 mending my boat So one day, on a particular given day when the sky was as grey as grey could be, and the sun was as hidden as hidden could be, an old fisherman was standing over his half broken boat while looking towards the sea. Of course, we would never know what he was really thinking, but one could look into his eyes and make an uneducated guess that perhaps he was worried that his boat was not seaworthy in such treacherous conditions. As the story would have it, young village boy was to stroll along the beach just at that precise moment. As he watched the old man mumble about the state of his leaking boat, he walked up to the fisherman and asked, "Sir, why don't you mend your boat so that you can take it out to sea to catch fish?" "How do you propose I do that?" the fisherman retorted. "Well, you could sell some of your belongings. The chain around your neck should fetch a few coins you know," the young boy suggested. "Tell me, young man, why should I give up something that has been a precious belonging of mine for years?" demanded the obstinate fisherman. "A small sacrifice for the greater good, SIR" scoffed the arrogant boy. "Sacrifice? Kid...I have in my life eaten more salt than you have eaten rice. I just had salt for breakfast!. You know nothing about eating salt, so don't give me advice about sacrifices, punk." "But sir," the boy asked, "if salt is as unpleasant as you say it is, then why do you still insist on having it for breakfast when you could have mended your boat and gone out to catch fish?" The old man and the young boy stared at each other, both failing to understanding why the other was being as obstinate and as arrogant as they were, both adamant that they were right. "Young man, one day, when you grow up and have eaten as much salt as I have, then you will understand why I complain about the boat. " "Ah, good sir, I assure you, if salt as is horrible as you describe it to be, then I have no intention of tasting it. And I assure you, I will make sure I won't have to.." "YOU WILL! It is inevitable!" screamed the old man. The young boy, refusing to argue with the obstinate old man, turned around and walked away. "Where do you think you are going, kid?" "I am off to mend my boat..." the kid answered, ".......before it starts leaking." Slyvester : you know what your selling point is? Labels: blogs Vincent : what? Slyvester : you're 21 and you make a shit load of noise...people aren't used to that. Vincent : So what? If they agree with you, you are a child genius. Otherwise you are an immature tin kosong...double edged sword you know... Slyvester : But that's how stuff works...you are still one of the more popular 21-year old bloggers out there.... Vincent : Nola. Got that stupid bimbo. She also femes wat.. Slyvester : Which one? Vincent : Neh that famous one...clever to post pics of herself but no content one.. Slyvester : Which one la?? Vincent : You fucking blur la...Neh that woman you go her site first thing you see she greet you big big picture.. Slyvester : knnccb...WHICH ONE!?!? Vincent : You damn idiot.....the one where horny perverts like you go to see pretty face only... Slyvester : Machauhai............GOT TWO OK!?! Which one you talking about? Vincent : Oh yeah hor!!!....hahahahahaha.. Slyvester : Ironic, huh? The way they both hate each other so..... Saturday, March 04, 2006 let's educate the masses Let's have a little lesson in economics, finance, business or whatever mumbo-jumbo it is called these days. I find it very ironic that I am giving lessons in finance when I miserably failed Financial Management and Corporate Finance in university. Oh yes, they force engineers to study that crap too, you know. Labels: current issues But fuck it, we don't need to have studied rubbish like that in university or in school to have a COMMON SENSE. Firstly, in order to spend money, that money has to come from somewhere. You idiots complain that the public transport is horrible, the education system dismal and the healthcare abysmal. However, when the goverment tries to raise money for precisely all that, you grumble to wit's end. So pray tell me, where the fuck do you expect all that money to come from? Would you prefer they raise the income tax rates, or are you praying that gold shall rain down from the heavens?? And on to more complex matters.... You question why it is not possible to raise the prices in small increments. It is of course possible, but as you all saw last year, everytime the fuel prices increased, not only did you idiots make noise all the time, prices of everything else also jumped up. This causes uncertainty because everybody - consumers, traders, investors do not know when the next hike would be. Rule number 1 of business. Risk is bad. Nobody likes risk. Uncertainty equals risk. Therefore, the higher the risk, the higher the expected return. In other words, when there is uncertainty in, goods will be sold at a much higher price - not at all proportionate to the hike. And that is just for common traders. If you look at a bigger picture, investors do not like throwing money into an uncertain market where a sudden price hike will leave them staring at a prospect of a big loss. Hence, by raising the prices as they did, the government could assure everybody that there would not be anymore price hikes for the whole year - thus eliminating the uncertainty in the market and the risk element that nobody likes. You know the most ironic thing about this whole thing? When you ask most Chinese about their thoughts on the NEP, they will tell you that the Malays should stop depending on the government for help. Funny then, that those same people demand that the government continue helping them so that they can live in their nice little comfort zone of theirs. And on to the moronic demonstration this afternoon. When I first heard of it, I sniggered to myself. Here we have a bunch of people who complain about the lack of money to buy fuel, and yet these are the same people who are free enough not to work on a weekday afternoon. However, there was a picture I saw which pissed the fuck out of me. This is as sickening as beggars who bring their kids along with them to beg. Look, asshole, if you choose to be a jobless leech, the least you could do is leave your kid at home and not USE her in a demonstration she knows NOTHING about. Certainly forcing her to hold a shitty banner does not score you any brownie points. Pathetic acts like these only goes to show the idiocy of the demonstrators. What happens if the crowd suddenly goes unruly and there is a stampede? What happens if the FRU are forced to use water cannons or tear gas? Your kid gets hurt or killed, you blinking dipshit. Post publication entry : I think it extremely sad that a discussion about fuel hikes invariably led to government bashing and accusation of cronisms of all sorts. Of course, the racial issue just had to be brought up. Do say hello to those nice blokes at the AutoWorld forum - I particularly enjoyed a few compliments that some of them extended to me. However, I amazed to learn that people weren't aggreived with the fuel hike. It was the government they were unhappy about. Suddenly, a discussion about the justification of the fuel hike turned into a bashing of all sorts. Apparently, my parents are government cronies because I support the hike, and I am 'rich' - because only cronies of the government get to be rich. And so, as a kind gesture to a particular recalcitrant 'adult', I would like to quote an excerpt of the wonderful book that is 'The Chinese Dilemma'. In fact, this applies to many of the whiners out there... Yet, despite the NEP, or because of it, many Chinese have become rich beyond their wildest dreams. Yet these are some of the people who complain the loudest about discrimination. It is hard to convince the non-Malays (and I include the Indians in this designation) that in their case the NEP has not disadvantaged them. If you point out to a non-Malay top civil servant that he has done very well for himself he will say, "Ah, but I would have done even better if I were Malay." I once suggested to a non-Malay chief executive of a bank that his being Indian hadn't prevented him from reaching the top, and his answer was: "You know what I'd be doing if I were Malay? I'd be heading a bigger bank." Do these people sincerely believe that they have been discriminated against on account of race? Or are they just saying so? I have earlier described some who have grounds for feeling genuinely disgruntled. Others find it convenient to blame discrimination rather than their own inadequacies when their achievements fall short of their aspirations. Still others are unsure, but are happy enough to fall in with the prevailing view. It is as tempting to plead an unfair disadvantage when you lose as it is to claim victory against all the odds when you win. Quit yabbling about how the government has failed you. You aren't as POOR as you make yourself out to be. If you are reading this, you are reading it from a computer somewhere - probably with broadband. You are probably well-educated, and while you might not be rich, you certainly aren't poor. You seem to mention a lot of your sufferings - the inability to pay the bills and such, yet you are well off enough to own a computer and educated enough to know what is going on. Stop trying to make it out as if the government has failed the poor - it is your own selfish and hypocritical needs that you are clearly more concerned about. Who are you actually kidding? The poor suffer from the price hikes!?? The 'poor' with their motorbikes and low fuel consumption? No, you are complaining because the government is 'taking' YOUR money and using it to help the poor. That is what you are really aggrieved about, isn't it? Labels: current issues Thursday, March 02, 2006 just a few suggestions How about you guys just shut the fuck up already? Labels: current issues It's already been two fucking days since they raised the prices. Why the hell are you still babbling like kids in school bitching over some pissy teacher who gave you extra homework? We all know that the government is not going to lower the price just because you bitch more than a housewife with rabies. And we all know that despite all that price hike, you idiots are still going to go about your daily life. Just bite the dust dammit. And another thing. Kids are not supposed to attempt to write social/political commentaries. I've explained it before. Most kids (and when I say kids, I mean idiots aged 18-25) don't know squat about the world, and hence are not qualified to give their shitty assed opinions about social policies. Know your limitations. You aren't Vincent Lau, because frankly, you guys can try till you drop dead but still won't be able to write a masterpiece like this. And for fucks sake, if you do want to try to make a fool of yourself, there are many better ways to go about it than to post your inane opinons which you based on inaccurate facts. How about...if it is expensive to go out, you stay home and watch tv? Goddamit. It's like an AhBeng who wants to go to Sunway Lagoon but the entrance fee costs a bomb - so he fucking doesn't go there until he has enough money. So, if you morons think you are too poor to pay for petrol so that you can go out with your friends, well....stay home, save money then go out next day. I drive a car. I pay for my petrol. I have, like the rest of you, a shitty pay. What's the fucking difference? Just now I bumped into one of the many such crap on PPS. Apparently, some people want to hold a protest in front of the KLCC on Friday at 2pm. So let me get this straight. Government raises the price of fuel. You ain't happy cause it stretches your wallet. No money, you say. It's Friday. It's 2pm. If you are a Muslim, mosque just ended and you should be heading back to office. If you are not a Muslim, there's no excuse. You're supposed to be working you lazy bastards. Here's a suggestion you fucking idiots. How about you get a job like the rest of us? Maybe then you can afford the petrol. *I haven't ranted like that in ages. My job isn't a stressful one. Really* Update : I've read in a few places that people are opposed to the hike because of 'bad timing'. Pray tell me, any one of you fucking morons, when would it be 'GOOD TIMING' to raise the price and ask people for more money? Quite simply put, there will NEVER be a good time. However, things like this just MUST be done. So, shut your gap already. It is 1.57pm. I hope, by some divine intervention, the skies will open up within the next few minutes and start pouring over the jamooks standing outside KLCC. Labels: current issues

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December 1 our grandson, Thomas, turned 8 years old. Because we had not been home last Christmas, we asked if Thomas' baptism could be bumped to January so we could spend the holidays at home. The baptism was scheduled for January 6th and so we scheduled our flight to Melbourne for New Years Eve. The week before we left Jonathan found out that he had to go to Malaysia for work and so the baptism had to be done on Jan. 2nd. We arrived about 1pm on the 2nd. After a 1 hour drive from the airport to Jon's house, we had a few hours to freshen up and then headed to the church. We had a very small group - Mom, Dad, brother, sister, 2 grandmas, a grandpa, the Bishops Counselor and Thomas' friend and his family. In Australia it was summer vacation time and most everyone was out of town. No matter, Thomas got baptized and the next day Jonathan left town. Since we spent a month in Australia, we have a LOT of pictures. I have taken a few of the 400 shots to show our activities during our stay. Since Margo's mother was also visiting, we did a little sight seeing while Jonathan was gone. The kids enjoyed feeding the birds. I was actually quite surprised that Caroline let me hold her. This was shortly after we had arrived and she had not warmed up to me totally yet but she was more afraid of the birds than she was of me. The pan of bird seed was actually hard to hold when the birds landed on it and so you see Lucas in the background looking at the pan he dropped. For someone so small it was a little scary when so many birds tried to get at your seeds.In the area where the birds were there are some really nice trails so we went for a little hike after feeding time. After Grandma Martha went home, we headed to Brighton Beach for a little sun and fun. They have a row of these cute little "cottages" along the beach. They are the size of a large shed and sell for around $250,000. We saw several open up while we were there and it is just a one room fancy storage area. People keep there beach chairs, tables, etc. in them. It does give you a shady area to sit in though. While there, the chocolate pudding bandito made an appearance. On the way back from Brighton Beach, we made a stop in St. Kilda. This is a cute little beach town with a long pier. We walked out to the end of the pier and back behind this restaurant there is a rocky walkway. In the nooks and crannies of the rocks were some surprises. The kids spotted this little penguin. Since we were there mid afternoon, most of the penguins were out to sea hunting food. This was just a baby, waiting for Mom's return. After we had been in Melbourne for about a week, we headed for the Great Ocean Road. This was our Christmas present from Jonathan and family. We took the train into the city and got on a tour bus for the day. The major attraction of the Great Ocean Road (at least for us) is the Twelve Apostles. Because of the wave action against the cliffs, water eroded the land and left twelve formations standing on their own. Some still stand as majestic as ever while several have eroded down to small bumps. We had the opportunity to take a helicopter ride out over the water to view the Apostles. For someone with a fear of heights this was some ride! Further up the road we stopped at Loch Ard Gorge. There is a sad shipwreck story that goes along with this area. Wayne hiked down to the bottom while I enjoyed the beautiful view from up on top. At our stop for "tea" in the afternoon we sere surprised to find this offering at the ice cream shoppe. For those in the know, I think that you will agree that Vegemite is NOT a flavor I would want in my ice cream. Our next adventure was a two day trip to Sydney. We stayed in a beautiful Marriot Hotel right near the Sydney Opera House. Our first afternoon there we just walked around the harbor area. We actually walked up to the Sydney Harbor Bridge and walked halfway across. As we were walking, we saw several groups of people who had paid $200 a piece to climb up to the very top and walk across. They had to be clipped to a cable since it was so windy. I was just fine doing our free walk on the pedestrian walkway. This is the picture of the Opera House that we took from the Harbor Bridge. The next day we did a tour of the Opera House in the morning and then did the Hop On Hop Off bus the rest of the day.We got off at Bondi Beach long enough to take a picture and buy some lunch. This is a popular surfing area. It also appeared to be a popular sunbathing area. When we were on the bus they would point out some of the interesting art sculpture that you find all over Australia. This car was actually one of the sculptures in the middle of a roundabout. There are some beautiful old buildings throughout the city. This is the Queen Victoria Building which has been turned into a shopping mall. Our last morning in Sydney we walked over to the Japanese Gardens for a very peaceful morning. Quite an amazing place right in the middle of the city. We found Iguanas in the gardens. The next week we took a trip out to Phillip Island to see the penguins. There are burrows in hills near the beach and after the adults have been out getting food all day there are hundreds who come in from the ocean to feed their babies. There are bleachers on the beach for people to sit and watch them come in. It was quite fun. We were not allowed to take pictures though so nothing to show for our evening there. Before going to the island, we went to the beach to play until dark. Because a lady was killed in an accident on the road to the island, we were unable to get to the planned area. There were undercurrents and strong waves at the beach we did go to so there was no swimming but the kids had fun in the sun anyway. There was one area that had a lot of rocks and it ended up being a good place for the kids to play in the water. There were some really interesting formations in the rocks from erosion. One day, we took the train in to the City. We had planned on going to the Queen Vic Market but unfortunately, it was Wednesday and the market was closed. We had a good time anyway. We had a little shop we had gone to with Margo last August and we wanted to go there again but Margo was not with us. It was in one of the little alleyways that are all through the downtown area. We had an idea of where it was so we headed off in that direction. Surprise, surprise. We actually found it. Along the way, we also found an alley with some of the graffiti that the area is known for.Wayne thought he looked a lot like this guy! A few days later Jonathan and Margo left for Thailand. We began 10 days of babysitting the grandkids. Since Jonathan has a company car, we were not able to drive so Wayne did a lot of walking to the grocery store and anywhere else he could find to go to. He learned the bus routes and we took the bus to church, he took the boys to the movies one day and he and the boys went to an area where they could hike to the top of a hill. The day they did the hike, the boys wanted to go on the train also.Ice cream helped to pass the time. We also let the boys play their DS's whenever we used the public transit. It made them much more willing to go places. This was taken on their hike. There are some really pretty places to hike which are not that far away. Wayne would take off several times a day and just walk for two hours. One day he decided to walk to the ocean. It was about 12 miles away and took him 6 hours or so to get there. Once he got to the beach he took the train and bus to get back home. Our other mode of transportation - walking. This was the day before the parents returned. We took the kids to the miniature golf place. It was about a 25 minute walk. The kids did great. Look closely and you can see the stick bug on the club. The kids loved to make pig faces. This was the sliding glass door but we saw them doing it on the shower wall too. No shrimp on the barbie but Wayne did get kangaroo steaks to try one day. He wanted to cook them while Jon and Margo were gone and I told him he needed to wait until they were back because I did not think much would be eaten. It is a good thing he waited because the kids and I would not try it and the rest of them took one bite and decided it was too tough and not good. This is the way the boys spend most of their time. Their lego collection is something to see and they are very creative with all those pieces. Grandpa and a walking buddy. A picture of a picture. Jon and Margo had family pictures taken in the alleys in the City. They looked really cool and Wayne took a picture of one. We just hoped that the graffiti did not say anything offensive. It was a little hard to figure out. We loved being with the grandkids and bonding but a month is a long time to be gone. We were happy to return and rest up for the next trip. It was good to be able to do a few tourist things this time and depending on what happens in the next few months we look forward to a return trip when we will check out a few more of the touristy things. Mothers' Day at Cove Fort 6 days ago

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My Rosa Parks moment in Sydney 2013 ABC newsreader Jeremy Fernandez has long experienced racism since moving to Australia as a teenager, but a 15-minute racist tirade he experienced in front of his young daughter left him particularly shaken. He asks, what makes people so ready to vent their hate in 2013? Earlier today I had what I like to think of as my own Rosa Parks moment on a Sydney bus travelling through the inner-west from Marrickville to Stanmore. It culminated in a woman, in the presence of her two school-aged kids, calling me a "black c***". She told me to go back to my "own country", and threatened to drag me off the bus as she raised her fist to my face. The entire encounter lasted about 15 minutes, and is one of the most confronting instances of abuse I have experienced recently. I am absolutely sure this episode isn't unique or even rare. I cop racist abuse from time to time - most recently from a checkout operator at Woolworths who had been moaning her disapproval about the influx of asylum seekers to our shores. When my turn came to go through the checkout, she scanned and piled my groceries on a tiny bit of the counter top until everything fell on the floor. As I picked my groceries up from the floor she kept going, sending more groceries off the edge of the tiny bench. You never know when you'll be hit next, and having your mug on TV doesn't offer much of a shield. However, this episode on the bus shook me particularly strongly because I had my two-year-old daughter with me. In fact, it was in her defence that the confrontation started. The woman's daughter had been flicking and pinching my daughter from behind. It was harmless child's play, but it made my daughter uncomfortable and confused. So I put my arm around her as protection. The little girl kept clipping my arm. I turned and told her softly, "That was my arm." The girl's mother asked what was going on, and I told her what had happened. She denied her daughter had even touched me. What happened next took me by surprise. She began hurling abuse and accused me of reaching behind our seats and touching her daughter. Of course, I had not done anything of the sort. This accusation hit me pretty hard. At this point, I considered moving to another spot on the bus. However, the woman then launched into a racist rant that continued for the longest 15 minutes of my life. I thought to myself, "What would Rosa Parks do?" She would stay put. So I did, especially since it is 2013. As the woman's rant continued, I did argue back, telling her she was a piece of work for even talking like this in front of children. She raised a fist to my face, and threatened to drag me off the bus if I didn't move. A Caucasian gentleman sitting next to the woman told her to stop. She told him off, before continuing her rant at me. No one else said anything, and for that I have no resentment. Any further outside involvement risked escalating the situation. I used my phone to record the tail end of the woman's rant, while she got her phone out to take photographs of me. She muttered threats, saying that she knew where I lived and would round up a few men to show me a lesson. After she got off the bus to drop her children off at school, a couple of people offered me their names and contact details as witnesses. The sting was yet to come. As I alighted from the bus, I told the driver that as someone who had carriage of passengers on his vehicle, it would have been nice if he had pulled this woman into line. He said, "It's your fault, mate. You could have moved." I was keen to press the point that I didn't move from my seat on principle because I had every right to be on that bus in that seat. It surprised me that as a European migrant himself, he failed to recognise that. Discrimination on the basis of race, colour, gender, economics, disability, sexual preference, and other differences is an unfortunate part of our modern society. People across the country put up with all types of abuse and move on. For me, this incident wasn't about race. It was about hate. If I were gay, disabled, elderly, or spoke poor English, this woman would have attacked that, perceiving it to be the most shameful aspect of me. Racism has been a part of my life since I was a young child growing up in Malaysia, when the fairer-skinned kids would call me the 'oily man' because I looked to them like I'd been dipped in a barrel of oil. I moved to Australia as a 13-year old with a 'weird accent', and learned to embrace being a novelty. One of my best friends at school, on learning I wanted to be a journalist one day, advised me not to worry about never getting a job: "There's always SBS," he said. I cut my teeth in journalism when Pauline Hanson was becoming popular. I attended her first speech in Perth, during which all of my belongings apart from a pen and paper were confiscated, in case I used them as missiles. It saddened me equally to see the people who turned out to hear Ms Hanson speak being pelted with fruit and vegetables. Ever since my family migrated to Australia, I have been asked what I think about racism. I rarely talk about it publicly because there is nothing new to say. Why are we still having conversations about immigration, embracing difference, and acceptance in 2013? And what makes people so ready to vent their hate? I have to admit that I had a bit of a cry after dropping my daughter off at daycare. It saddened me to realise that I'll have to teach her how to be stoic and stand up for herself in the face of an abusive person. Perhaps naively, I hadn't thought that far ahead, especially because Sydney is said to be one of the most open and inclusive cities in the world. I have been heartened and deeply humbled by the messages of support I've received today, many from strangers on social media outlets. I bounce back pretty easily. But I am now wondering about where and how we can change things so our kids don't have to explain hate to their kids. Jeremy Fernandez is a journalist and newsreader for ABC News. View his full profile here.

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ACCE News is official newsletter of the American College of Clinical Engineering ACCE. Our ACCE Newsletter containing articles on research, strategies, philosophies, trends, and success stories in Clinical Engineering is available 6 times a year. It provides practical information useful to professionals in a variety of fields, including healthcare technology providers, IT professionals, and advocates. ACCE News is a benefit of ACCE membership; non-members may subscribe for $75. To subscribe please e-mail [email protected]. Volume 23, Issue 2, Mar / Apr 2013 You must login to view or download this document File size: 2.5 Mb | File Type: .pdf | Date: 3/1/2013 Inside this issue: |•||Remembering Les Atles| |•||Healthcare Technology Foundation News| |•||ACCE at HIMSS 2013| |•||A New Medical Equipment Program Starts in Malaysia| |•||Book Review: Medical Equipment Maintenance (MEM) - Management and Oversight| | ||and more...|

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- Key Facts - Board of Governors - Board of Directors - Departments and Offices - Policies and Strategies - Annual Meetings - Independent Evaluation - News & Events - Data & Research - Industry and Trade - Information and Communication Technology - Public Sector Management - Social Protection - Capacity Development - Climate Change - Environmental Sustainability - Gender and Development - Poverty Reduction - Private Sector Development - Regional Cooperation and Integration - Social Development - Urban Development - Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) - Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) - Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) - Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) - South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) - European Representative Office - Japanese Representative Office - North American Representative Office - Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office - Pacific Subregional Office Countries with Operations - China, People's Republic of - Cook Islands - Kyrgyz Republic - Lao PDR - Marshall Islands - Micronesia, Federated States of - Papua New Guinea Urban Sector Strategy and Operations Show 5 tags Evaluation; Poverty; Social development and protection; Transport and ICT; Urban development |Series:||Special Evaluation Studies| The urban sector strategy (USS) was one of several sector strategies formulated around the end of the 1990s, and was intended to bring more coherence to the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) work in the urban sector. ADB recently decided to review and revise the USS. To provide the necessary analysis to revise the USS, it was agreed that the Operations Evaluation Department (OED) would contribute to the review preceding this revision. Given that the USS has been in effect for only 6-7 years, and most projects approved after it was adopted are still in various phases of implementation, this evaluation pays limited attention to the on-the-ground impact of urban projects. The study analyzes completed projects and technical assistance (TA) grants, reviews whether the USS's targets are being addressed, and assesses ongoing urban operations. Additional questions addressed in the evaluation are - why is ADB's urban sector program not much larger than it is today, given the rapid urbanization in the Asia Pacific region; - what is the value added of ADB involvement in urban sector projects against the transaction costs, as perceived by ADB clients; and - is a strategy needed and under what conditions would it be most effective? The study did an extensive desk review, conducted a questionnaire survey of all ongoing urban sector projects (85% response rate), and undertook case studies for the People's Republic of China, India, and the Philippines. Summary of findings - ADB's institutional focus on the urban sector has been somewhat lost due to ADB's reorganization and new business processes, dissipation of ADB professional expertise in the urban sector, and an increasing focus on country strategies. - Notwithstanding, the urban sector portfolio grew modestly after the issuance of the strategy. Before the strategy, urban sector lending constituted 9% of the total loans approved between 1993 and 1999 (11% if some large loans during the Asian Financial Crisis are excluded). After the USS, it accounted for 11.5% of total lending from 1999 to 2005. - Because of the complexity of urban sector projects and the often lower capacity at local government level, urban sector projects require more TA support than some other sectors. - The success rate of urban multisector projects is comparable to that of other sectors on average, whereas the performance of water and sanitation projects is somewhat weaker. OED assesses the USS of 1999 as partly successful given lower efficiency in influencing operations, in spite of good relevance to Asia and the Pacific. Its ambition to go beyond what ADB was already providing up to that time was not realized. OED assesses ADB's urban sector operations as broadly successful, mainly on account of the effectiveness of projects and TA, and in spite of their higher than average sustainability risks. Overall, ADB did not seize the opportunity to significantly increase the size and quality of its urban portfolio. The revision of the strategy is expected to be completed at end 2007. ADB's new Medium Term Strategy II (2006-2008) [ PDF ] highlighted urban infrastructure as one of the core sectors in which ADB needs to expand its program. OED recommends that a business plan be drawn that sets out assumptions about the resources, the role of various ADB's divisions and resident missions, and the plans to address the organizational and staffing impediments that are restricting the significant growth of ADB's urban portfolio. ADB should also provide the Urban Sector Strategy II with a results-based framework, as well as give staff guidance on how to deal with corruption in the sector. - Executive Summary - I. Introduction - II. Urbanization in Asia - III. ADB’s Focus on the Urban Sector - IV. ADB Assistance to the Urban Sector - V. ADB Assessments of Completed Urban Sector Projects - VI. ADB’s Added Value: Views from People’s Republic of China, India and Philippines - VII. Evaluation and Recommendations - Supplementary Appendixes

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- Key Facts - Board of Governors - Board of Directors - Departments and Offices - Policies and Strategies - Annual Meetings - Independent Evaluation - News & Events - Data & Research - Industry and Trade - Information and Communication Technology - Public Sector Management - Social Protection - Capacity Development - Climate Change - Environmental Sustainability - Gender and Development - Poverty Reduction - Private Sector Development - Regional Cooperation and Integration - Social Development - Urban Development - Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) - Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) - Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) - Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) - South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) - European Representative Office - Japanese Representative Office - North American Representative Office - Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office - Pacific Subregional Office Countries with Operations - China, People's Republic of - Cook Islands - Kyrgyz Republic - Lao PDR - Marshall Islands - Micronesia, Federated States of - Papua New Guinea Participating in HIV and AIDS Prevention Innovative partnerships to combat the spread of HIV infection in Papua New Guinea are tackling a lack of provincial capacity as well as risky behaviors and gender inequality. Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea —Missionary nun Rose Bernard runs the Shalom Center, an HIV testing and counseling center in Banz, a market town in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG). “I started this center after seeing HIV/AIDS positive women calaboosed to the home, looking after the family, the garden, and the pigs. While their partners go out with their buddies, the women had no one to talk to.” According to Bernard, many women resist confiding in their husbands, fearing abuse. “They can stay at the center where we tell them not to be afraid. We tell them HIV/AIDS is a sickness like any other and can be treated. We give them hope that they can still lead normal lives.” Faith-based centers, like Bernard’s, are part of coalition of stakeholders that are tackling the spread of HIV and AIDS in PNG, under the government’s HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control in Rural Development Enclaves Project, financed by a $15 million grant from ADB. A Public–Private Partnership Approach to Prevention PNG’s commodities-based economy continues to grow amid a global downturn, but its performance belies structural weaknesses that include a shortage of capacity in the public sector, especially outside Port Moresby. ADB’s HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control grant brought together the government, big business, church groups, and NGOs to respond to the particular cultural contexts of PNG. Businesses drive the project; provincial health authorities develop their capacity to deliver prevention and treatment services; and church groups and NGOs work with communities at a grassroots level and address people’s real motivations and constraints. The project focuses on preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS in PNG’s economic heartland, the Highlands region, where 40% of the population lives and which is the source for most mineral, petroleum, and agricultural exports. Companies here have a strong incentive to be proactive in the project: they need to protect their labor forces, which include large numbers of mobile men with disposable income, a high-risk group for HIV infection. A major part of the project has been to improve the rural health clinics that provide HIV testing, counseling, and treatment—and other primary health care services. In Western Highlands, for example, the enclave operator is W.R. Carpenter, a tea and coffee plantation company. Since the project got under way in 2007, W.R. Carpenter has renovated and refurbished 22 health clinics or aid posts (as of 31 August 2010). The company also provides training for the staff in these facilities and organizes awareness workshops for its workers and the wider community. In other enclaves, where extraction companies operate in lessdispersed areas, 51 health facilities (as of 31 August 2010) have been renovated. The clinics offer HIV counseling, testing, and treatment—and more besides. In the village of Aviamp, for instance, a health center refurbished in 2008 at a cost of 60,000 kina (K) ($22,000), serves a population of over 15,000. “We see between 60 and 100 patients a day,” said one health extension worker. “Malaria is the most common disease, followed by pneumonia, diarrhea, wounds and injuries, and AIDS. We treat most cases with basic drugs and refer severe cases to the hospitals in Kudjip or Mount Hagen.” Making Men Better Partners In addition to building clinics and improving access to health care, the government, through this project, is also trying to change sexual practices that spread the virus, the bailiwick of NGOs and church groups. There are a number of marital practices in PNG that experts believe may contribute to inequality between the sexes. For example, it is still common, especially in the Highlands, for a man to pay for a bride, and many men, even the educated, also take several wives. Health experts believe that inequality between the sexes, perhaps fueled by these practices, contributes substantially to the culture of multiple and concurrent sexual relationships that fuel the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). With government funding from the ADB grant, Population Services International (PSI), an international NGO, is advising men on healthy sexual behaviors, including developing more considerate relationships with their partners. “The sexual health workshops represent a cutting edge approach to HIV and other STIs. We don’t just talk about the dangers of HIV and how to use condoms. It’s like marriage counseling,” said Cynde Robinson, country representative for PSI. “We look at people as sexual beings and, by helping men better understand their needs and those of their partners, we make it easier for them to change their behavior.” The PSI behavior change program is supported by AusAID and NZAID, as well as the government and ADB. The bilateral agencies have each contributed $3.5 million in grants. So far, the project has conducted over 40 workshops for 1,000 men, including workforce enclave and community leaders, on topics ranging from threats to fertility, from STIs to good communication between partners. More recently, PSI started workshops for women, a proposal suggested by some of the male participants. “We started our first women’s training at Ramu, which was enthusiastically received,” Robinson said. Convincing the Church For the project to be successful, it needed support from religious leaders, some of whom, because of their faith, were not initially on board. “Pastors are among the most rewarding groups I have worked with. We remind them of the urgency of their own desires. We cite the Bible, ‘Love is as powerful as death,’” said Kel Browne, ADBaffiliated health services specialist, who has led courses on sexual health. “We also point out that today’s youth has to delay marriage because they cannot afford the rising bride price, and we ask what youth are going to do with their God-given sexuality for 10 or 15 years.” Already, the workshops have claimed some successes. The chairman of the Porgera Council of Churches began one workshop by saying he did not believe pastors should be promoting the use of condoms. However, at the end of the workshop, he said, “I wish to retract what I said before. We churches are responsible to our people and so we should provide options. Condom use can be of benefit to our young people.” “I do not promote condoms for birth control,” said Bernard, “but the Church recognizes the right of an individual to self-protection from life-threatening danger. As a counselor, I have to teach every method of protection, and it’s the people who make the decisions.” Measures of Success Some believe the workshops are already changing behavior. “We have follow-up sessions after the workshops and people tell us that, whereas they were careless in their sexual behavior before, they are more careful now,” said Betty Kaime, who runs the AIDS program for W.R. Carpenter. “People say they are using condoms and are reducing their number of sexual partners.” Since late 2009, the government significantly improved distribution of its free condoms. As a result of the greater availability of condoms as well as more voluntary testing and counseling services, the number of HIV-positive cases in the W.R. Carpenter districts rose by only 5 to 22 in 2009. “We think HIV is being contained,” said Kaime. Encouragingly, demand for the behavior change workshops is strong. “We can’t keep up with requests,” said Browne, who said the course is now available on DVD for wider distribution. As an indication that it is on the right track, ADB will continue to support the National Department of Health in implementing the new National Health Plan (2010–2020). “The support will focus more on widening the scope to include primary health services, especially in rural areas where health needs are greatest,” said Sakiko Tanaka, an ADB social development specialist.

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Consulting, Technology & Outsourcing News A panel of everyday consumers was asked to share their unbiased opinions about dining out, which provide more clarity into why people choose certain restaurants. Watch the two-minute video. - NCCR Partnered With ExpoTV To Under... Traackr surveyed more than 100 executive-level communications professionals around influencer communications. Through their findings, they came up with 10 commandments to follow when discovering and engaging with influencers. - Beyond The Influence Hype: Top 10 I... Online video ad technology company Tremor Video has acquired InPlay, a video analytics tech for publishers, from TubeMogul. Tremor Video will integrate InPlay directly into VideoHub, its enterprise video platform. - Tremor Video Acquires InPlay Video ... Foursquare has now partnered with start-up SinglePlatform to offer menu information for nearly 250,000 restaurants across the U.S. The partnership significantly bulks up Foursquare’s database and brings the New York-based start-up into the territory of Yelp and Seamless, which already offer online menu pages. - Foursquare Has Partnered With Singl... Fast Company talked with Rebeca Hwang, cofounder and CEO of YouNoodle, Inc. and a technology partner to the Startup Malaysia conference, Kevin Willer, the CEO of CEC, and Murat Aktihanoglu, managing director of the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator in New York City. Here’s what they told us about standing out, hooking up, and getting a brand-new business off the ground. - YouNoodle's Rebeca Hwang Talks Abo... We did a hands on review of the Galaxy Ace phone, and were pleasantly surprised. Lets do a quick look at the tech specs and later a short description of the user experience. Read More » Related posts:Samsung Galaxy S Review [A for Apple, B for Beauty] Samsung Galaxy S2 in India : The second coming of a great phone Samsung Galaxy Pop Review: Samsung Nexus S Compared: Three High End Android Devices in India [LG,HTC,Samsung] - Samsung Galaxy Ace : Hands On ReviewIndia’s most amazing startup contest, PowerPlug’s theme is announced and theme for May month is ‘Consumer Internet’. If you are a consumer Internet startup, do apply for the contest. There are lotsa goodies on your way (including a brand new iPad2). Read More » Related posts:PowerPlug Contest Upgrades to iPad2 [Announcing the Theme For May Month] Best of the Week: Internet in India, Mobile Web in Asia [and more] Mobile Internet : Opera Mini Crosses 50 million Uniques, Facebook Clocking 100 million per month Best of the Week: TRAI SMS Regulations, Groupon Clones, PowerPlug Best of the Week–Internet Kill Switch in India, Startup Visa [and more] - Best Of The Week, PowerPlug Theme Announced For May Month [Consumer Internet Startups]Every organization seems to have at least one Dr. No: someone whose role in life appears to be to come up with a dozen reasons not to proceed with an intriguing idea... or even to explore it further. That's true in even the most traditional fields, but if you're working in an emerging field like social media, you probably run into it constantly. And you may have learned such strategies as... apologizing after the fact instead of asking for permission beforehand keeping your project under the radar until the organization is so invested in it that they can't back down cultivating allies of greater or equivalent rank, who can defend your project against the slings and arrows of outrageous nay-saying seething silently, vent anonymously to other social media or tech types online, and biding your time until your Negative Nelly or Quarrelsome Quentin retires freshening your resumé, trolling LinkedIn and hoping to find green(light)er pastures elsewhere. Or you could do something completely insane: getting to know what makes your nemesis tick, identifying the fears or doubts that keep them up at night, and addressing them. In short, you could engage with the enemy honestly and try to bring them around to a more positive outlook. (And if that doesn't sate your lust to avenge a beloved cancelled initiative, you can always reflect on what Abraham Lincoln supposedly said about destroying your enemies by making them your friends). Best-case scenario: you gain a supporter. Worst-case scenario: they win you over to their bleak, despairing view of the world. In which case, at least you can while away the hours... by finding reasons to say no to other people's projects. More Noise to Signal. - Cartoon: RoadblockWe're always on the lookout for upcoming Web tech events from around world. Know of something taking place that should appear here? Want to get your event included in the calendar? Let us know in the comments below or email us. - ReadWriteWeb Events Guide, May 15 2011The Walt Disney Company has agreed to pay a $3 million settlement stemming from charges that online virtual worlds once operated by Playdom, now a Disney subsidiary, violated the Federal Trade Commission rules designed to protect the online privacy of children under age 13. According to the FTC, several Playdom sites that were aimed at young audiences illegally collected and then disclosed personal data in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). These sites included Pony Stars, 2 Moons, 9 Dragons, Age of Lore, and My DIva Doll. The FTC complaint says that some 821,000 children registered with Pony Stars between 2006 and 2009 and another 403,000 signed up for Playdom's other online virtual worlds. These sites collected children's names, ages, and email addresses and allowed them to post that personal information publicly online -- including their real names and locations. The FTC charged that the company failed to get parents' consent before collecting or disclosing this information. The sites in question were created by Acclaim Games, which were acquired by Playdom in May 2010. Playdom, in turn, was acquired by Disney in August 2010, and by that time many of the games were shut down or transferred to offshore operators. A Disney spokesperson said in a statement that it was "pleased that Playdom and the FTC have now resolved this matter amicably." The announcement of the settlement coincides with the introduction of legislation by Representatives Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) that will update online protections for children. Indeed, the legislation that governs children's online privacy, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, was first passed in 1998. 1998 - that's eons ago in Internet years. A world pre-Playdom, pre-Facebook, and even pre-Google. (Well, the search engine was actually incorporated that year.) The updated COPPA legistation, called the "Do Not Track Kids Online Act," would require online companies to explain the types of data that's collected as well as how it is to be used or disclosed. It would also update language to include mobile applications, and it would ban companies from using children and teens' personal data for targeted advertising. The federal government is examining a number of new measures to protect consumers' privacy online, but no surprise, particular attention is being paid to the children's privacy online - not just on those sites like Disney's aimed at directly at those under 13, but at others such as Facebook that, despite Terms of Service rules that dictate otherwise, are full of children. - Disney To Pay $3 Million Settlement For Violating Children's Online PrivacyIt's been more than two decades since Microsoft's now-ubiquitous suite of office productivity software was released. Although we've seen numerous free or low-cost alternatives arrive on the scene since then - OpenOffice.org, Google Docs and Zoho Docs to name a few - Microsoft Office still remains overwhelmingly dominant in this space. Forrester reported two years ago that 80% of companies were running some version of Office, and this number hasn't budged much. In a recent report, Forrester noted that all respondents were running Office, with 74% of IT departments saying they supported Microsoft Office 2003 or earlier. By contrast, only 8% said they utilize Google Docs and 1% were on Zoho Docs. With cheaper alternatives available, what's holding companies back from moving away from Microsoft's offering? For IT decision makers, the desire to rely less on Microsoft is simply not a very influential factor, as only 20% cited it as a primary driver. Much more important to the process of selecting this type of software is worker productivity. A majority (68%) of respondents said improving productivity was the main influence driving the adoption of solutions like Office. As easy as it may sometimes be to dislike Office, it's hard to deny that it has a pretty robust feature set. For as good as Web-based tools like Google Docs are, they only do a portion of what Office does. And while they accomplish the majority of commonly-needed tasks quite well and benefit from being based in the cloud, this is still not enough for many businesses. Forrester predicts that as the competition continues to "close the functionality gap," we should expect to see greater adoption of alternative suites like Google Docs. Meanwhile, forseeing this threat, Microsoft continues to expand its own Web-based offerings, with Office 365 recently going into public beta. Eagerness to provide an office suite alternative also varies depending on the type of worker. A Web-based solution would be especially ideal for workers who travel extensively, such as sales reps, for example. IT decision makers said they'd be more likely to offer a solution to workers who edit documents only occasionally, as opposed to those whose jobs revolve more heavily around doing so. The second most important factor cited by larger companies is the desire to cut costs. Obviously, for small businesses and nonprofits this is a much more significant consideration and as a result those organizations tend to be more likely to use Office alternatives. Does your company use Microsoft Office or one of its competitors? What your thoughts? Let us know in the comments. - With So Many Alternatives, Why Does Microsoft Office Still Reign? More... Continue reading → - Oh SNAPP, Its Photoshop Guys Live!The interface in Photoshop CS5 focuses on using panels for grouping all of the features that you need. If you prefer a floating panel layout, just click on the panel’s … Continue reading → - FREE FLOATING PANELSThe new bristle brush feature gives you the ability to add real bristle brush effects right in Photoshop. It even responds to the tilt of the Wacom pen. To see … Continue reading → - BRISTLE BRUSH PREVIEWSo you’re in Photoshop and you want to know what’s new in CS5 and where it is located. Simply go under the Window menu to Workspace and choose New in … Continue reading → - SEE WHATS NEW IN CS5. LITERALLY!To zoom in and out of your images is getting so much easier. While keyboard shortcuts will always be a favorite a great new addition to CS5 is the Scrubby … Continue reading → - SCRUBBY ZOOMY!Before you could only change the opacity of a single layer. Now in CS5 you can change the opacity of multiple layers in CS5 by highlighting 2 or more layers … Continue reading → - CHANGE OPACITY OF MULTIPLE LAYERSMore... Update: We spoke with Keshav Bajaj, VP-Business Development at Nimbuzz who informed that the move is inline with the company’s efforts to develop a recommendation engine, which would encourage users to upgrade their existing handset, after a specific time period, which would differ across handsets. He said that it will also help the company in [...] - Updated: Nimbuzz Gets Into E-Commerce; Launches Ncarry.comUdupi-based mobile app development company Robosoft, is developing a localized version of Android operating system with support for regional languages, according to a report from DNA. The company is known for developing apps for brands such as IBNLive, Hindustan Times, Times of India, NDTV, and OneIndia along with a host of games and utilities. According to the report, Robosoft will be revamping the entire Android operating [...] - Robosoft To Release Indic Versions Of Android For Localized HandsetsFollowing the restructuring of Network18′s companies, it has again reported results for Web18, HomeShop18 and Newswire18, under the Digital Content and eCommerce business segment, not indicating the profitability of individual businesses. The segment has reported an operating loss of Rs 25 crore for the quarter ended 30th September 2011, on operating revenues of Rs 57 crore: a growth of [...] - Network18s Digital & ECommerce Q2FY12: Revenue At Rs 57 Crore; Rs 33.2 Crore LossThe making of ‘Why This Kolaveri Di’ uploaded on YouTube by Sony Music India has aggregated over a million views in around four days – over 25,000 in the last couple of hours alone. For a film producer, the success of a film depends on its first weekend, and typically, around 70 percent of the [...] - Why This Kolaveri Di Gets It Right On YouTubeUpdated: Half year results and operational details from Intrasoft’s report. Previously (November 14): Intrasoft Technologies which operates the e-greeting cards site 123greetings.com has reported a Consolidated Profit after Tax (PAT) of Rs 2.96 crore for the quarter ending 30th September 2011, a 16% increase in profit from Rs 2.55 crore for the same quarter last year. The revenues stand at [...] - Updated: 123Greetings Q2FY12 Results: Profits Up 16% At Rs 2.97 Cr, Rs 13.15 Cr IncomeUpdate: The Facebook page is back up now - Updated: India Against Corrpution Facebook Group Is Unavailable; Our TakeMore... As of today certain aspects of the Flipboard experience have been blocked for Chinese users, at the very least access to Facebook and Twitter according to Flipboard CEO Mike McCue. While direct access to Facebook and Twitter is routinely blocked in China, the Flipboard app talked to its own US-based servers, which in turn talked to Twitter and Facebook so this block is particularly interesting. "Lots of folks in China had been using us happily until now," McCue said, "Guess we had unwittingly poked a hole in their wall which has now been shut down... Presumably unless we block Facebook and Twitter ourselves in China." The iPad app is still available in the Chinese app store. - Access To IPad App Flipboard Compromised In China The world is full of illusions. Magicians use a cascade of mirrors, smoke, and misdirection to trick their audiences into believing the unbelievable. In the process, they mystify them, capturing their attention. None of these magicians, however, hold a candle to the illusions provided by the characters who dance on television channels. For decades, the masses have been planted in front of the tube, waiting for packaged content to tickle their eyeballs and smooth the edges of modern life. And now we have the Internet, especially social networks, where the multiple forms of content shared by people and brands form signals that amplify in even greater ways. Today, those who participate in various social networks online also engage in a form of magic, using illusions to broadcast signals to their audiences. Instead of studios producing content on television, the willing participants play the part of studio and producer, using a variety of mechanisms to interact with audiences. We share check-ins from concerts and sporting events, and send Instagrams to make sure others know how yummy weekend brunch looks. We are in the age of the ubiquitous status updates, constantly sending ambient signals, where our audience has only two choices: to form some loosely-tiled mosaic of who we are—or to tune out entirely. - The Illusion Of Social NetworksIt's no secret that eBay has been heavily investing in a local commerce strategy. The central core of this is trying to capitalize on the $917 million online-to-offline buying market, which Forrester estimates will eventually reach $1.3 trillion (although this number seems low) and account for nearly 50% of total retail sales by 2013. Virtually every acquisition in the past year (besides the company's $2.4 billion purchase of GSI Commerce) has been of a company that is dabbling in local payments or linking to merchants (Milo, RedLaser, Where, FigCard). If you look closely, a clear strategy is emerging that positions eBay at the center of mobile shopping, local commerce, and payments (through PayPal). Let's connect the dots. eBay's first foray into the local commerce arena was though the acquisition of barcode scanning mobile app RedLaser last June. RedLaser's barcode scanning technology allows users to comparison shop on the go. Anyone can scan a barcode on an item at a store and then automatically access any eBay listings of the product on the marketplace. Sellers can also use the scanning technology to scan an item and list the product in very little time. RedLaser's technology was quickly integrated into eBay's dedicated iPhone and Android apps. - Connecting The Dots On EBays Local Shopping StrategyThis weekend finds me in London, whirling around in the eye of the book launch storm and with very little opportunity to keep track of what's making news in the world of technology. Fortunately here in the UK there's one tech story that's impossible to miss: an anonymous Twitter user has been posting details of legal injunctions, taken out by celebrities to keep their alleged misdeeds out of the public eye. Inevitably, a debate is raging both in the traditional press and online: does Twitter render so-called “super injunctions” redundant? What's the value in gagging a newspaper when the same allegations can be published anonymously online with impunity? Is there a place for secrecy in today's open and connected world? - Busting Super-Injunctions On Twitter: Another Symptom Of An Over-Entitled AgeIf you'd asked me a week ago what I thought about Honeycomb, the tablet version of Android, I would have said that it was in very bad shape and that it would be several months before it could even hold a candle to the iPad 2. Because despite my excitement to see Android take on Apple's ridiculously successful iPad, my experience with the Motorola Xoom — the first Honeycomb tablet — has been decidedly poor. From day one things were off to a bad start. At first, Android Market would crash literally every time I opened it. The Android team fixed that pretty quickly, but the OS was still riddled with weird bugs: swiping between home screens is laggy, widgets go blank and need to refresh, and there are myriad other glitches that pop up at random. And even beyond the bugs, there are weird quirks in the OS that feel poorly thought out (seriously, why does the 'Home' button look like an Up arrow?). But now I've had some time to test out the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, the new tablet that was given to Google I/O attendees and will be available in stores beginning June 8. And after spending the last couple of days using it around my apartment, I'm much more optimistic. In fact, I'm guessing this device is going to do very well, and that it foreshadows a bright future ahead for Honeycomb. - Honeycomb Has A Fighting Chance Against The IPadEver since he could remember, Ibrahim Boakye had a knack for understanding how things worked. There were things he could just do that no other kids-- let alone adults-- could understand. By the time he was five-years-old everyone had stopped questioning it, and neighbors were calling on him to fix their broken toasters, irons, or anything that was the least bit mechanical. By his early teens, he was getting things out of the dump and fixing them for fun. Soon after that, he was teaching himself to code. He's made an outsized living no one in his family could have anticipated by outsmarting other people on computers ever since. It's never been about money or even in those early days about doing good deeds around the neighborhood. He gets an intoxicating rush from solving the hardest technical problem he can find and from knowing that he's the best. - The Chilling Story Of Genius In A Land Of Chronic UnemploymentMore... (Refiles an item first published on Sunday to fix dateline) - REFILE-Macau's Galaxy Bedazzles With Opening Of $2 Bln Casino* Hyundai and Alabama to make investment announcement Monday - UPDATE 1-Hyundai, Alabama State To Make Investment Announcement* Chrysler likely to adjust terms before May - Chrysler May Restructure Refinancing Terms-sources* Half of voters want Kan to remain PM for initial - UPDATE 1-Most Japan Voters Back PM On Nuclear Plant ClosureTOKYO, May 16 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average fell on Monday, as volatile commodities prices and concerns about global economic growth appear to be sapping risk appetite, while bank stocks lost more ground on worries about their loans to Tokyo Electric Power . - Nikkei Falls, Banks Still Weak But Machinery Orders Help* Dollar index up more than 4 percent in less than two weeks - GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, Euro Dip On Profit Taking; Bonds AdvanceMore... - The Halifax Group Makes Investment In XL Associates - BeavEx Announces Growth Equity Investment - EnTouch Controls Raises $2 Million In Series A Financing - ChanRx Secures Series A Funding - EVariant Receives First Round Of Funding - OMERS Ventures Announces Hiring Of Derek Smyth As Managing DirectorMore... Google+ has opened a business "pages" feature on its social network, and has already attracted some big brands. - Google+ Opens For Business With Public Pages FeatureChanges in the way the government buys IT services were reflected in the latest figures from TPI, which revealed that the number of outsourcing contracts signed by the UK public sector in the first half of this year was 70% higher than the same period last year, whereas the total value of these contracts was 47% less. - UK Government Is Rewriting The Outsourcing Rule BookCustomers of HSBC across the world have had their cards rejected as the bank suffers a major technical problem. - HSBC Suffers Core Services DowntimeLogica's UK operation has outperformed its overall business and the company expects the UK to grow further as a result of demand from the utility sector, driven by the government's smart metering programme. - Logica UK Outperforms Overall BusinessThe IT service provider reported sales of $1.6bn and profits of $227m in the third quarter. - Cognizant Growth Shows That Businesses Are Continuing To Spend On ITAccenture will provide management, development and support for Department of Work and Pensions customer-facing applications. - Accenture Bags DWP ContractMore... Facing a tight but gradually loosening job market, Muhlenberg senior Kali Kambouroglos plans to head home after graduation to find a job in the public relations industry somewhere in central Pennsylvania. - Recent Grads Learn Difficult Career LessonsA lot has changed at AOL as it tries to shed the vestiges of its '90s image: the iconic "You've got... - 3:30 am There was a time when Steve Mehta was on his laptop nonstop. - Tablets Leave Netbooks In Dust As Laptops, Desktop PCslagFrost & Sullivan recently published its Executive Analysis of European Consumers' Awareness and Preferences for Usage of Smartphone Apps Inside and Outside Car, for which the consulting firm surveyed 1,911 customers across Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and France to assess preferences and willingness to pay for smartphone apps and usage inside ... - Frost & Sullivan: Awareness And Usage Of Smartphone Apps Inside Cars Remains Low In EuropeThe summer job market for teens is projected to mirror last year's with teens and young adults finding it hard to secure a job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. - Program Aims To Help Students Find JobsSoon after becoming chief executive of Alcatel-Lucent in 2008, Ben Verwaayen announced the company would cut its carbon footprint 50% by 2020. - The New CEO: Carbon Execution OfficerThe recession officially ended nearly two years ago. But with job growth sluggish and unemployment still high, it hardly feels like prosperity. - The Stara S Editorial | A Surprising Bright Spot In Dismal EconomyMore... The Missouri Health Connection (MHC), which is under negotiations with Cerner to have the IT company be its technology service provider for the statewide health information exchange (HIE), is aiming to provide a direct-messaging query service by early January 2012, according to its president, Raul Recarey. - Missouri On Fast Track To Statewide HIE The draft proposals for measures for meaningful use Stage 2 are taking shape. The panel has incorporated more emphasis on making the patient an active participant in healthcare and more exchange of health information as central to a number of the objectives. An advisory panel presented its draft proposals for the next stage of meaningful use to the federal Health IT Policy Committee at a meeting May 11 in a step towards establishing the near-term agenda. - More Patient Engagement Proposed For Stage 2 Meaningful UseOCHIN, (parent of O-HITEC), nonprofit providers of health information technology and services for community based health clinics serving the medically underserved, has reached a landmark agreement with ORHQN to assist Oregon's 25 Critical Access Hospitals in reaching the federal requirement to meaningfully use an electronic health record. - IT Help On The Way For Oregon's Critical Access HospitalsThere's wonderful information technology in the World of Health IT exhibit hall, said Microsoft's Bill Crounse here in Budapest, but it's what you do with the information that counts. Crounse, senior director of Worldwide Health for Microsoft, provided eHealth Week attendees with a tour of numerous advances in healthcare technology emerging throughout the world, while emphasizing the importance of putting patients in control of healthcare IT. - Crounse: 'Aggregate Data Around The Patient'AMIA, the association for informatics professionals, is urging the Office of the National Coordinator to give particular attention to workforce development. The organization called attention to healthcare IT workforce needs as part of its response to ONC’s call for comments on the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan. [See also: AMIA discusses health IT on Capitol Hill.] - AMIA Highlights Workforce Training To Boost ONC PlanThe Patient Privacy Rights Foundation and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs announced Wednesday they will co-host the nation’s first public summit to discuss the future of health privacy in the digital age. “Getting IT Right: Protecting Patient Privacy in a Wired World” will be held on June 13 at the Georgetown Law Center in Washington, D.C. - Patient Privacy Rights Announces International Summit On Health PrivacyMore... INDIA— Research software maker Confirmit has agreed a deal with the technology training company TrainedTalent that will see them become the exclusive approved Confirmit training institute in India. - Confirmit And TrainedTalent Strike India Training DealUS— Pharma and biotech research consultancy Healogix has named Tim Edbrooke as president and chief operating officer. - Edbrooke Promoted To President At Pharma Specialist HealogixUK— DJS Research has seen off competition from nine research agencies to carry out a social mobility project for Kingston-upon-Hull City Council. - DJS To Run Social Mobility Study For Kingston-upon-HullUK— Kadence International has appointed Hall & Partners’ Gurpinder Sidhu as an associate director at its UK headquarters. - Kadence Adds Associate Director To UK TeamUS— Retail and consumer market research agency The NPD Group has made an investment in beauty market tracking firm Segmenta. - NPD Takes A Stake In Beauty Tracker SegmentaUS— Research agency Forbes Consulting has introduced a picture-based technique for capturing emotional responses in online surveys and qual research. - Forbes Consulting Uses Images To Access EmotionsMore... Employment organisations have offered a lukewarm response to the Government's announcement that it is to extend its ongoing review into cutting employment red tape to look at areas such as collective redundancy, TUPE and discrimination com - Mixed Response To The Government's Employment Law Review The CBI claims that fit notes have failed to deliver a reduction in sickness absence, with its publication of new absence figures today. According to the - Fit Notes Failing To Curb Sickness Absence, Says CBI A split is forming in the labour market as employment "radically" slows in the public sector and continues to grow in the private sector, according to the recruitment and employment confederation (REC). The REC's claim is - UK Has 'two-speed Jobs Market', Says REC The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has published a revised code of professional conduct, which has been issued for consultation today. Clear standards of ethics, integrity, behaviour and competence - CIPD Launches Consultation On Revised Code Of Conduct Employment organisations have offered a lukewarm response to the Government's announcement that it is to extend its ongoing review into cutting employment red tape to look at areas such as collective redundancy, TUPE and discrimination com - Redundancy Proposals Risk Making Unemployment Worse, Says TUC Personnel Today has announced the introduction of a new category in the Personnel Today Awards 2011 - innovation in dispute resolution. The inclusion of the new category reflects the growing importance of dispute resolution - New Mediation Category For Personnel Today AwardsMore...

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Full Name: Harimau Muda A Nickname: Young Tigers Home Ground: - Manager/Coach: Ong Kim Swee (Malaysia) Malaysia Premier League Champions: 2009 Harimau Muda A, also known as the Young Tigers, is Malaysia’s U20 national team which competes in the Malaysian Super League so as to expose its players to a higher level of competition and prepare them for international tournaments. It has competed in Malaysia’s domestic leagues since 2007-08 and won the Premier League in 2009. 2011 is the first year they will participate in the Super League.

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Members of METALLICA, MACHINE HEAD, DEATH ANGEL, FORBIDDEN, SKINLAB and D.R.I., as well as former members of EXODUS, OVERKILL, S.O.D., POSSESSED, SACRILEGE B.C. and STEREOMUD, are among the musicians who made an appearance at a special event to celebrate the life of Debbie Abono, a well-respected and much-loved manager and promotional machine behind some of San Francisco Bay Area’s strongest metal bands (POSSESSED, FORBIDDEN, EXODUS, VIO-LENCE, SKINLAB), who passed away on May 16 after a battle with cancer. She was 80 years old. According to an obituary published in the Contra Costa Times on May 30, 2010, “Debbie was in her mid-fifties when she plunged into the Bay Area’s heavy metal/thrash metal music scene. She quickly [started working with] some of the Bay Area’s strongest metal bands (POSSESSED, FORBIDDEN, VIO-LENCE, EXODUS, SKINLAB) as well as Chicago’s BROKEN HOPE, Florida’s OBITUARY and CYNIC, Ohio’s SPUDMONSTERS, and from Texas SKREW. Many of these members who have gone onto further success with their careers with Debbie‘s constant guidance. She is known around the world not only for the work she has done for countless musicians, band crew members and their families, but more so for her heart and generosity and her ability to uplift, motivate and empower all those around her to always be honest and to be their best. “After recently learning that Debbie was gravely ill, James Hetfield of METALLICA, another Bay Area legend, gave a verbal tribute before singing the hit song ‘Nothing Else Matters‘ at a performance in Belfast, Ireland. Alex Skolnick, guitarist for TESTAMENT, posted the following statement: ‘In the mid-1980s when most folks over forty were afraid of metal, there was Debbie Abono, a kind, sophisticated woman in her 50s. She saw right through the pentagrams, upside-down crosses, leather and spikes and recognized that some kind souls lay underneath the anger reflected much younger, often-misunderstood group of metalheads and became manager to some of the heaviest bands. By doing so, she helped us realize that older people weren’t so bad either.’ TESTAMENT also dedicated the song ‘Alone In The Dark‘ [to Debbie] during the band’s May 16, 2010 performance in Enschede, Netherlands.” Donations can be made through this web site and via check payable to “East Bay Community Foundation” and should be accompanied by a note designating that the gift is for the Debbie Abono Memorial Fund for Music. Contributions should be mailed to The East Bay Community Foundation, Attn: Giles Miller, 200 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612. The Bay Area Thrash Scene of the early 80’s has been well documented. The most successful metal band of all time, Metallica, helped define it’s sound, and give San Francisco it’s second major music ‘scene’ (the first being the flower power, hippy, acid rock scene of the 60’s). Bands like Testament, Exodus, Death Angel, Possessed, Heathen, and Vio-lence where at the forefront of the new scene. Death Angel released three albums to much critical acclaim and built a very strong following. With the release of ACT III the band seemed poised to jump from a well known underground band to commercial success, but a bus accident at the beginning of the tour cycle sidelined the band with injuries, and they eventually separated in 1991. Fast forward ten years to Thrash Of The Titans a benefit for Chuck Billy, the singer of Testament, who was diagnosed with throat cancer. Many of the ‘old school’ Bay Area Thrash bands united and reunited for this epic event and cause. Death Angel was reborn with a new guitarist and due in part to the crowd response, and the persistence of a record label, Nuclear Blast, the band decided to hit the road and actually record an album. The last 9 years has seen three new albums, several successful tours, and a resurgence of the Bay Area old school Thrash Scene. Ted Aguilar has been with Death Angel now since the Thrash Of The Titans show in 2001. And while the band was on tour with Soilwork this summer, I chatted with Ted Aguilar after their Raleigh, North Carolina show (and heated Galaga video game match!) about Death Angel, a proposed tour of China, the first ever ‘metal’ themed cruise ship, the soon to be released Relentless Retribution (September 14th on Nuclear Blast), what it feels like to be starring three years of non stop touring straight in the face, and how he was able to take the stage at Thrash of the Titans after only two rehearsals with the band (‘fuckin’ nervous man, fuckin’ nervous!’ was his response) AWAY TEAM: This is ‘Slim’ Jim Keller with Awayteam.com and I’m sitting here with Ted Aguilar from Death Angel. I want to thank you very much for taking time out again for this interview. Congratulations on the soon to be released 6th studio album from Death Angel entitled Relentless Retribution. TED AGUILAR: Yes! AWAY TEAM: So how long have you been with Death Angel? TED AGUILAR: Nine years now this is my 3rd album with them. AWAY TEAM: Ok so when they reformed… TED AGUILAR: Yeah I’ve been with them since Thrash of the Titans. AWAY TEAM: What brought you on board to Death Angel? They reformed for the benefit for Chuck Billy called the Thrash of the Titans and it was the first time that they’d gotten together in eleven years to perform and so how did you end up in the band? TED AGUILAR: Actually, I’ve known the guys for a long time even back in the 80’s. I’d been to majority of all their hometown shows from Ultra-Violence until Act III. And when the band started to reform I guess everyone was into it except Gus (Pepa) the other rhythm guitar player. And I mean he just wasn’t into it, he was in the Philippines at the time he just basically checked out of music, well heavy music in general. I’d known Rob (Cavestany), and Rob gave me a call and said, ‘Hey man you want to do it? Gus can’t do it.’ and at first I was like, ‘Are you SURE?’ I don’t wanna step on anybody’s toes since Death Angel was more of a family unit. He goes, ‘Nope Gus can’t do it.’ So in 2 rehearsals I had to learn all the songs on my own and you know I jammed out with some individuals just to kinda get some ideas of the structures of the song. We did 2 rehearsals like 2 days before Thrash of the Titans and boom did the show. It was fun man. I was nervous as a motherfucker though I’ll tell you! But it was fun. AWAY TEAM: Kind of a big stage to take on for your first with only 2 rehearsals under your belt TED AGUILAR: Two rehearsals and its Death Angel’s first gig in 11 years! You gotta be on your game! I was nervous as a motherfucker. These guys know the songs inside out I mean they grew up writing it so it was like second nature to them. AWAY TEAM: So what were you doing before you got the call? TED AGUILAR: I just played in a couple local bands nothing really big, just jamming around with friends and local bands just played around the Bay Area. And my band played with Rob and Mark’s (Osegueda) band Swarm at the time. We did a few local gigs together and that’s how I guess I got the gig. They never actually told me I was in the band they go ‘You wanna jam?’ and 9 years later here I am today man! AWAY TEAM: Still waiting to sign the contract right! TED AGUILAR: I’m still waiting! I didn’t even get a handshake! Put it that way. AWAY TEAM: So your first album with Death Angel was Art of Dying. What was it at that show or shortly after that they decided or you all decided you should reform properly and actually do something with this? TED AGUILAR: Well that show was supposed to be a one-off. I mean from what the guys told me Death Angel wasn’t meant to reform, they were just done. They went out on a high note of Act III and they started doing other various projects as The Organization, Swarm, Silver Circus and Big Shrimp and all that stuff. Right after we did Thrash of the Titans… I loved it, and the rest of the guys just felt the overwhelmingness of the crowd. Just very into the band. We didn’t realize how much Death Angel was missed. So after that show there was other offers coming about and I guess we decided let’s just do one more round of touring put out a live album and that’s it, call it a day. But as soon as we went to Europe the crowd was just amazing! The first time we went there we headlined the F&R in 2002 July of 2002 I believe then we did the Dynamo Festival and those shows are just like, ‘Holy Shit!’ I mean metal is big in Europe and again we didn’t realize how much fans around the world missed Death Angel. And we did that and went back out on the road again we got this offer to do two weeks in Europe on a festival with Testament. Nuclear Blast started coming around offering us you know… they wanted to sign us without even hearing new songs! They just loved the band, loved the legacy, ‘we’ll sign you!’ So from there on we just said well let’s give it a shot we did and we released Art Of Dying, we released Killing Season, now we’re going to release Relentless Retribution and it’s been a great ride and we still got more to conquer! More to conquer! AWAY TEAM: Well you’re currently on tour with Soilwork, Swashbuckle and Mutiny Within; I saw maybe 5 dates left after tonight, what’s next? TED AGUILAR: After this we’re going to go home and kinda hang out with family real quick. Just hang out and chill, then the album comes out as you know September 14th, everyone go out and get it! AWAY TEAM: On Nuclear Blast. Find it on Nuclear Blast; pre-order it now you get a T-shirt with it… TED AGUILAR: There you go! And there’s gonna be there’s a limited DVD too. It’s the making of the record which I kinda filmed, directed, and produced the whole thing. I had someone else edit it. It’s the making of the record from the first riff all the way until the last riff and into the recording studio and whatnot. And September we’re going to do the Mezcal Metalfest the last week of September with Twisted Sister, Destruction, God Forbid, and Obituary. Then in October we’re going to South America for the first time which we’re really excited about then we come back in November. December we’re going out to Europe with Kreator, Exodus, and Suicidal Angels and that’s going to be a thrash fest festival across Europe! Come back for the holidays then in the new year we pick up at that 70,000 ton metal cruise we’re doing with Testament, Forbidden, Exodus, Fear Factory, Uli Roth, Trouble, Swashbuckle, so many bands! Then right after that we start our headlining U.S. tour and who knows what’s going to come after that. I know next summer we still have to do the major European festivals so relentless touring, relentless touring. AWAY TEAM: So springtime we should see you back in the States then on the road… TED AGUILAR: Around springtime yeah around there. AWAY TEAM: Early summer before the European festivals kick in? TED AGUILAR: Yeah then go back to Europe for the summer festivals then maybe come back in the fall too. Relentless touring! Who knows? But that’s the plan. AWAY TEAM: On this album you have two new musicians (Damien Sissom – bass, Will Carroll – drums) on it, has that changed how you guys write? TED AGUILAR: Well it definitely changed this time around because we have a new rhythm section. Andy Galeon and Dennis Pepa are no longer with the band due to personal and family obligations. They couldn’t go out on tour basically so we got a new rhythm section and when we got them, before we even started writing a record, we went out on tour with them. Just played the old songs and we noticed they have a thrashier element. So it was kinda good to go out on the road with them and play some of the old songs and get a feel of what’s going on. I’ve known Damien and Will for awhile, I’ve played with them, so I know what their vibe is about. But it was good in a sense for Rob and Mark because it’s probably the first time in Death Angel history they got to jam with somebody who are not family, somebody totally new. So when we came to writing the album Rob kinda knew what styles Will played, he knew Will’s a thrash drummer, basically like full on thrash drummer, Damien’s a thrash bass player but with a sense of like, ala Cliff Burton, Steve Harris, all those great players. So Rob wrote accordingly to that. The band’s been through a lot of ups and downs in the past couple of years losing members and a lot of personal things going on internally and externally. So all that influence and jamming with new people helped create this record which is the most aggressive and thrashiest record since Ultra-Violence. You know a lot of double bass a lot of fast parts and it feels like a new band. When you listen to the record, for us, it seemed like a new band getting its first record deal, excited! Just going out there again you know? It’s kinda like they helped bring that excitement back which was kinda tapering off with Dan and Andy because they just weren’t into it any more. You can’t really force anybody to be into something when they’re not. And it was really hard for the band because those guys had been with the band since the inception and a lot of fans are like, ‘Oh man! What’re they gonna do?’ But this album’s going to really prove that Death Angel can go on and we’re happy about that. AWAY TEAM: That’s one thing I’d noticed with the Art of Dying and Killing Season. Act III to most fans out there was the ‘be all end all’ Death Angel album and it was probably the most diverse out of the three original albums, very funky, a lot of different styles woven through the basic Bay Area Thrash sound and with the Art of Dying & Killing Season and what little bit I’ve heard of Relentless Retribution it’s like you have gone more towards the straightforward thrash. Is that more angry or just… TED AGUILAR: It’s a combination of things. I mean it was intentionally to do that and two it was like I said we’d gone through a lot in the past couple of years so all that vibe went into that, and Rob being the sole the chief writer on this one. Art of Dying was good you know it got our feet wet with the band discovering themselves again because it’d been a long time. Killing Season was a great record where everyone like pretty much honed in, but then again, like I’d said in the past couple of years there was tension within the band of collaborating. I mean collaboration is good sometimes you know and it works well when it works well and the past couple of years with everyone it was hard in a sense. And when everyone collaborated it made Death Angel, but this one was more Rob wrote everything. I mean he had the ideas, he had the thing, there was no fighting, there was no pushing and pulling. It wasn’t like, ‘No this has to be that way!’ ‘No this is that way!’ Rob had so much ideas, and so much to let out, that with our new rhythm section and we heard what Rob was writing and we’d go, ‘that’s it!’ You know he was feeling it, he had all this vibe and ideas, we just ran with it. It was easier for Rob to write. There was no pushing and pulling, he had everything, we just added to what he did. It’s like I said being a band, being in a first band, someone forms a band, ‘I got all these songs let’s do it, let’s do it, let’s do it!’ And when it came to the lyrics, Mark wrote the majority of the lyrics. There’s 12 songs on the record. Mark wrote 9 of them and Rob wrote the other 3 and it’s a heartfelt record. Mark finally got to release. Mark had a lot… you know we all went through a lot of stuff. We were all able to release, and that’s why the record’s more thrashy, more aggressive. It was purposely done that way. Along with the fact of what we went through, so we’re stoked about it. We’re just stoked. And it still has Death Angel elements in there. It doesn’t have the sing-along’s like some stuff on Act III, but there’s melody. It’s just aggressive melody. Who knows how well this album does. We could go on the road even longer. That’s something we want to do. It’s something a proper band should do. And that’s something we never got to do with Art of Dying and Killing Season. Due to the fact that a couple of the guys in the band either didn’t want to tour… we get booked a tour and go ‘I can do that first half but not the second half’ it’s like we gotta do it all! But now that those roadblocks are not there we are able to just tour and we need to tour to promote the record and to get in people’s faces. A lot of people want to see us live and they don’t want to wait 4 years for us to come by. So we want to keep comin’ and coming around. AWAY TEAM: Yeah I’m getting tired of driving 5 hours to see you guys! TED AGUILAR: Yes yes yes! We want to keep touring a lot so we can hit other markets where people don’t have to travel to. We’re hitting these markets where people have to travel because we haven’t come around a lot. The more we come around we can hit other territories. The word gets out ‘hey come over here instead of over there’. Cool. You know maybe hit your town so you don’t have to drive! AWAY TEAM: So you’re doing South America and with the European festivals you’re hitting a lot of Europe, what is probably like the one market or the one place you guys haven’t played that you want to? TED AGUILAR: Oh South America, one. Central America, probably want to go to Africa. I’ve heard they have shows in Africa. Morocco, Sepultura just did Morocco, they had a couple festivals in like Dubai. We’ve done the Philippines which is great awesome and … AWAY TEAM: How are you guys accepted there? TED AGUILAR: Great! AWAY TEAM: I think you and Journey ‘cuz of their new lead singer… TED AGUILAR: Yeah yeah! AWAY TEAM: You guys are pretty much the favored children of the Philippines. TED AGUILAR: Pretty much yeah! Well Journey more than us! We were accepted really well and the fans were awesome the people there were awesome. We want to go back to Japan, we’ve been to Japan, but I know there’s other territories. There’s talks of Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and you know Hawaii… There’s so many places, it’s just trying to get out there. It is hard but we’ll play everywhere where it’s feasible. If we can get out there without losing it, losing our asses, we’ll play! We’ll definitely play. AWAY TEAM: In the age of downloading, you guys unfortunately don’t make a lot money anymore on the actual album sales. Labels and no offense to Nuclear Blast and some other great labels out there but the big labels we’ll say are slowly but surely crumbling. And if they don’t change their business model then they’re not going to exist in the next few years. Can you still exist and can you make a good living doing this full time? TED AGUILAR: If you play your cards right! AWAY TEAM: It’s about being in your blood and wanting to play. That’s one thing. But being able to survive in today’s market… TED AGUILAR: A lot of bands seem to do it, I mean a lot of younger bands. Thing is to tour one, merchandise of course, you can download music but you can’t download a shirt. And we get people go ‘oh I’ve seen your YouTube performances’ great! And they come out to see us. Yeah you can see it on YouTube, but it’s not the same as going to a live show. Downloading does hurt and I’ve talked to people in bands and labels, it hurts but you gotta embrace the internet. I see it as touring, your merchandise, and just playing your cards right, and just embracing the internet. Don’t kind of shun it, it’s there, it’s not going away. The days of making money off platinum records seems to be over. Not even pop artists sell as much as they used to but… AWAY TEAM: Which is good actually! TED AGUILAR: Well in a sense, but for bands like us we gotta go out and tour. And the live show’s where people really see us. And the more we tour the more merch you sell or whatever and just gotta keep going. Putting out records cause the diehards will buy the records and in this day and age you got people like me and you who still buy records. The newer generations don’t seem to, a lot of the hardcore scene people kinda like download, but a lot of metal kids that I talk to, that I meet, have bought CDs and vinyl and want to sign it. So that’s good that they’re buying it. But it’s just touring and word of mouth the old school way. AWAY TEAM: Well, used to be when you’re starting out you lived on the road. You lived in the back of a van and you toured incessantly just to get your name out there. Now you have to tour incessantly to put money in your pocket! As you get older it really starts to wear on you more, how do you keep up the intensity? Because you guys put on a phenomenal show! Like I was telling Mark (Osegueda – singer) before we started the interview, I’ve been following this band since ’87. I’m from the Bay Area originally and there was a high school radio station KVHS that played metal, and that’s all they played! That was my introduction to Death Angel in ’87. They played the Ultra-Violence and I was hooked instantly. I’ve seen you guys live, since you got back together, I’ve seen you probably 5, 6 times. And they are just amazing shows! And the intensity on that stage whether it’s a huge room or a very small room, you guys just slay. How do you keep up that level of intensity and that energy night after night being on the road for say another 2 years now? TED AGUILAR: One we try to stay healthy eat right on the road a lot of us exercise a lot you know AWAY TEAM: And a lot of Galaga! TED AGUILAR: And a lot of Galaga!! We exercise a lot, we watch what we eat basically, and we’re not excessive drinkers. We don’t do drugs, an occasional puff here and there with the guys. Who doesn’t? It’s basically just really taking care of yourself. Plus when we play the songs that we play we’re just so into it, it just makes us go crazy night after night whether it’s a small crowd or a big crowd. We throw out the energy and the crowd throws it back at us. We love to do it, we love to go out there and perform. People come to see a show we’re going to give you a show! Plus we’re from the old school, where we go to a show and fuckin’ Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, old Metallica, all those bands they put on a show. KISS for example! So we kinda like are influenced by that, but how do we do it? We just rest, exercise, and try to work out and be cautious of intake. AWAY TEAM: Well I thank you very much it’s been a pleasure again thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule TED AGUILAR: No problem man thank you AWAY TEAM: Good luck with Relentless Retribution and the next 16 months on the road and hopefully we’ll see you again in Raleigh in the spring. TED AGUILAR: Raleigh or wherever you live! Hopefully you know the more we tour, and if the record gets pretty successful which we hope… Countin’ on you guys to buy it so we can hit more than just one city per state you know? So everyone can come out, we’re into it! Hope you’re into it too. Relentless Retribution September 14th via Nuclear Blast GO BUY IT! Come see the shows! Thank you to Ted Aguilar for the time he took out of his Galaga match to sit and talk with me, Francois for ensuring the interview happened, Charles at Nuclear Blast for setting it up, and Melissa for her great transcription services as always. Relentless Retribution can be pre-ordered here. For more DEATH ANGEL click here. Photos courtesy of Barry Knain MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn has recorded audio and video of an acoustic cover of BLACK SABBATH‘s “Die Young” song from the classic “Heaven and Hell” album for free download in tribute to the late Debbie Abono, who sadly passed away on the same day as legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio. In a statement made at the beginning of the video (which was recorded the day after Debbie‘s passing and which can be viewed at this location), Robb says, “I don’t know why I recorded this song, it doesn’t really have relevance to Debbie or Dio, but I was sad and depressed and it was the only thing that made sense in the world.” There are no plans to officially release Flynn‘s version of “Die Young“, but an MP3 version of the track is available for free download at the MACHINE HEAD web site. Debbie Abono, a well-respected and much-loved manager and promotional machine behind some of San Francisco Bay Area’s strongest metal bands (POSSESSED, FORBIDDEN, EXODUS, VIO-LENCE, SKINLAB), passed away on May 16 at approximately 9:59 a.m. PST after a battle with cancer. She was 80 years old. According to David Konow, author of the “Bang Your Head: The Rise And Fall Of Heavy Metal“, Debbie Abono was in her mid-fifties when she began to manage a band named POSSESSED. Abono started taking her daughters to MOTÖRHEAD shows, where the members of POSSESSED first asked her to manage the band. “There’s nothing to it,” they told her. “All you gotta do is get us shows.” Abono agreed and even allowed them to practice at her house. POSSESSED‘s association with Debbie Abono was not a “first” for both sides: Debra Abono worked with LaLonde and Becerra’s “Blizzard” while they were sophomores in high school even — before they guys learned to drive. Abono would then become the band’s first manager, and POSSESSED were Abono’s first official managed band. Abono had no previous connection to heavy metal music other than as a concert designated driver for her daughters, one of whom was a girlfriend of guitarist Larry LaLonde. Due to generation gap, Abono also had limited awareness of the sometimes blasphemous themes of heavy metal, and was allegedly offended upon reading the lyric sheet of “Seven Churches“. Nevertheless, she agreed to manage and represent POSSESSED as long as bassist/vocalist Jeff Becerra and LaLonde finished high school commitments. Although the group’s relationship amongst themselves and their first manager would reach points of discord and eventual termination, Abono would go on to manage additional bands in the Bay Area metal scene like EXODUS, VIO-LENCE and FORBIDDEN EVIL (pre-FORBIDDEN), as well as death metal bands like Chicago’s BROKEN HOPE and Florida’s CYNIC and OBITUARY. In a May 17 statement regarding Debbie Abono‘s passing, Flynn said, “Yesterday was a very sad day for metal. “I am devastated at the passing of Debbie Abono and words aren’t coming very clear for me right now. “Debbie was like a second mom to me, and having never lost a family member yet, this is very difficult. “Debbie managed VIO-LENCE [Flynn's pre-MACHINE HEAD band], and toured with us in a van as manager, tour manager, mom, friend, and facilitator. Phil [Demmel; current MACHINE HEAD and former VIO-LENCE guitarist] and I were her roommates at crummy Motel 6′s across America. “Thinking back on it now, touring with a bunch of snot-nosed thrash metal-ers for two months at a time in a van, playing crummy clubs, isn’t the usual course most 55-year-old ladies take in their lives, but she was no ordinary 55-year-old lady. She was fiery, feisty, charming, funny, and could look a person over in about two seconds and find something to joke about / roast them about should they wanted to test her. “She was one of the biggest forces behind the thrash and early-death-metal movements than I think most people will ever realize. “I dated her daughter Gina, and I lived at her house in Pinole on and off in my late teens, and even after Gina and I broke up, she gave me an incredible amount of belief and advice once MACHINE HEAD started. “My wife Genevra and I used to go out to dinner with her fairly regularly, especially before kids, and she was there the next day after my boys were born. She always came to our parties. “She was so proud of what we accomplished. Most importantly, she believed in me, even right up until the end. “The last time we spoke, she told me how much she loved me, and that ‘my money is on Robb Flynn.’ “Fuck. What the fuck. I’m crying. “Rest in peace, Debbie.” This interview was conducted on May 29th, 2009 in Raleigh, NC. When you think of Bay Area Thrash, you think of four bands; Metallica, Exodus, Testament, and Death Angel. Sure there were others of that time, and many that came later. But those four bands defined Thrash Metal and the ‘Bay Area’ sound. Naturally there were none bigger than Metallica, but close on their heels has to be Testament. After 24 years, numerous lineup changes, a throat cancer scare, and a nine year period of inactivity, Testament is back with a new album Formation of Damnation featuring Chuck Billy on vocals, Eric Peterson on guitar, Alex Skolnick on guitar, Greg Christian on bass, and Paul Bostaph on drums. A new tour that is taking the bands to markets they haven’t played in 15 years or more (I caught the show in Raleigh, NC, and there was much debate as to whether Testament had actually ever played Raleigh before). And a new focus and determination to take the band higher and farther than it has ever been before. I met with Alex Skolnick right before their set at the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh, and talked about Testament, Trans Siberian Orchestra, the Alex Skolnick Trio and life before and after Testament. Here we go…. Away-Team: This is Jim Keller with Alex Skolnick from Testament. Once again I want to thank you for sitting down and doing this interview with us, much appreciated. Away-Team: What I’d like to do basically is start at the beginning of the band. Away-Team: Testament was originally started as The Legacy.. Away-Team: By Eric (Peterson) and his cousin. They had Steve Souza in the band as a vocalist who left to join Exodus before you recorded your first album. It was reported that he actually suggested Chuck (Billy) as his replacement. Why did Steve leave? Alex: Well it was funny ‘cause he was the guy that gave us all serious talking toos about how everybody in this band has to be serious. You know when I joined the band he’s like you’re either serious, you either take this seriously or you take it somewhere else. We don’t want guys that are just in here that are just gonna leave and join some other band. Sure enough *laughs* he’s the guy that ends up leaving. But you know he left because I think he felt Exodus was going farther, faster. Away-Team: At that time when you joined, you were a student of Joe Satriani’s Correct? Away-Team: And after you joined the band did you continue practicing with him, learning from him? Alex: I studied with him for about two years. I was with him, basically for the first six months I was in the band and then he started getting really busy. He did his first solo recordings. He definitely uh got me to learn a lot more on my own than I would have otherwise. Away-Team: So, is it kind of a prerequisite that if you’re going to be in one of the better thrash bands out of San Francisco a la Testament, Metallica; you had to learn from Joe? Alex: Apparently!! Everybody studied with him, yeah! Alex: It was a hotel band… Away-Team: A hotel band had copyrighted the name The Legacy? Alex: Yeah. A hotel R&B band in New Orleans. Away-Team: So the story I had heard was that the reason you changed it to Testament was because the CD artwork – everything was already done and the label didn’t want to re-do everything, so you had named the album originally Testament… Alex: That’s not true Away-Team: That’s not true, okay, so how did you come up with Testament, then? Alex: Billy Milano, the singer for SOD came up with the name. Ya know he was on Megaforce Records. So basically an all points bulletin went out, to find a name for the band that Megaforce had just signed. So yeah, I think the guys from Anthrax were suggesting names. Everybody at the record label suggested. We were trying to come up with names and it was Billy Milano that came up with the name Testament. Away-Team: Did he know you guys or was it just kind of, this is a cool name they should use something like this? Alex: We had met him, once. But I think he had come up… I feel like I had met him, like maybe when we were recording the first album, and we just, we knew we had to have a name, before the album was released, obviously and it was just one of many suggestions and it was the one, we kind of lived with it for a while and it felt the best. Away-Team: Your current album, Formation of Damnation, to me is far and away the strongest album you guys have recorded since Practice What You Preach. It’s probably a more straightforward thrash sounding album than some of the last few albums. Was this a culmination of various writing from the last nine years or did you all sit down and write the album together as a whole band? Alex: No, it was a combination. I think the previous album the guys did when I wasn’t with the band, The Gathering, that was the first one I felt, a lot of people felt, where Chuck and Eric sort of found a formula that works for them. So I didn’t want to really, get in the way of that formula and try to make it 1989 again. But I made a lot of suggestions with the music they were doing and I did bring in some music of my own. Some of that got used; the song F.E.A.R. is something I wrote. But it was more a combination of ideas that Chuck and Eric had had, playing around with some new stuff. Away-Team: And Eric being the predominant songwriter, music writer for the band, now with this you’re current lineup which is the semi-reunited lineup or the original lineup with addition of Paul Bostaph is it a more of a collaborative thing now or at least going forward to looking at the next album is going to be more collaborative? Alex: We’ll see, just kind of going to let it happen as it happens. Away-Team: And will there be a new album? Alex: There will eventually be, yes. Away-Team: We mentioned the many lineup changes you guys have done over the years. You being one of them. You guys all got together in 2001 as The Legacy for the Chuck Billy cancer benefit. That show saw the best of the Bay Area thrash scene reuniting for a great cause. Bands like Exodus, Death Angel, Sadus, Vio-lence and of course you. In the last eight years or so, Exodus, Death Angel, you guys now with the Formation of Damnation, have released what many consider to be the best music of your individual and collective careers. Some amazing stuff has come out of the original Bay Area thrash scene in the last couple years. It seems that it’s alive and well again. What do you attribute the current popularity or resurrection of the Bay Area trash scene to? Alex: Well I think part of it is it’s not as isolated as it used to be. It used to be this very isolated area of music. Pretty much limited to the Bay Area with the exception of ya know Megadeth from LA and Anthrax form New York. I think it’s now like one of many genres of very heavy metal. Ya know you have black metal, you have death metal from Florida and it all relates to thrash metal. There are all these relatives in metal. And now you’ve got some newer bands that have formed in the last ten, fifteen years that in some cases are seeing a lot of success and that’s brought a lot more awareness to the original Bay Area thrash scene. So when we first did the reunion shows it was unclear what kind of type of fan we would have. Was it just going to be Old School fans? But there are actually a lot of young fans that are keeping it alive and well. Away-Team: Well, if you go in the venue right now; I was very surprised. ‘Cause that was one of the things I looked at as they were lining up out here. Is that they are all going to be my age or our age like a bunch of older guys standing out here but the entire crowd in there tonight has gotta be 25 or younger! Alex: And if we depended on guys our age, the audience wouldn’t be that big. Let’s face it. Away-Team: Yeah. Absolutely. Alex: People get to be our age and they have jobs, families; most don’t go out to shows like they did when they were in their twenties. So it’s nice to have a combination. It’s not that we have, we haven’t lost the original fans. But we do have this big young following now. I think a lot of other bands are seeing that as well, like Exodus. Away-Team: You had mentioned what I call, like the second wave of thrash.. 10 to 15 year old bands. Today you’ve got bands like the band on stage right now, Lazarus AD. Very, very similar to the old Bay Area thrash style. Warbringer, Municipal Waste a lot of very young bands, that seeing a lot of good response, that can be harkened right back to you guys. It’s like the third generation now. Twenty years later there’s still bands coming out and they’re not Retro, they’re not recreating the sound, but they are continuing it if nothing else and that’s got to really, for you guys to be their inspiration, it’s really got to be something. Alex: It’s great. It’s also great because for so long we were told our music’s not going to last. It’s passing. It’s in left field. It was this outcast music that nobody predicted a future for. So there’s the answer right there. Great, new young bands that are doing it today. Away-Team: And twenty four years later, you guys are still out here kicking ass, so it’s very cool. Going back to the formation of not damnation, but of Testament. Can you name one of your favorite memories of the mid to late eighties in the Bay Area Thrash music scene? Some of the shows from The Stone or Ruthie’s Inn or Mabuhay Gardens? Alex: Yeah, I will say I remember one time Metallica playing at Ruthie’s unannounced, just to do a warm-up. That was great. They did a lot of, they did some punk covers. It was just a fun gig. Uh, there was also this project called Spastik Children, with Cliff Burton, James Hetfield on drums and it was like comedy like sort of South Park before South Park. Completely politically incorrect, funny, bad, badly played on purpose music. Away-Team: God, I forgot all about Spastik Children… Alex: Yeah, some of those shows are pretty memorable. Away-Team: With Metallica coming from L.A., basically because the L.A. scene just couldn’t handle them. The crowds didn’t get what they were trying to do, with you guys, Vio-lence, Exodus, Death Angel, were you kind of a close knit community? Was it kind of you against everybody else? Was there a lot of camaraderie there, or..? Alex: I’d say there was camaraderie and competition simultaneously. Everybody wanted to be the best band they could and even though a lot of us we didn’t really sound alike. You always had to keep an eye out for the other bands. It’s like different football teams that are all in the same league. You want, as a whole you want to do well, but you still want to come out on top, above everybody else. Away-Team: I understand. Your current tour, in support of the Formation of Damnation, is unique in that you guys are allowing the fans to vote, via your MySpace page, for the set list they want to hear in their given town. You have three options, The Legacy, plus hits, The New Order plus hits, or a chronicle set list, basically from start to finish of your catalogue. How did you guys come about the idea? How has it been received? And any regrets on having to keep rotating a roughly thirty song playlist on tour? Alex: It’s worked out very easily, because overwhelmingly everybody’s voted for the Chronicle stuff, so that’s pretty much what we’ve done. And I’m not sure who came up with the idea, but it’s definitely been a very good idea and it’s just been fun to hear from the fans. And in the process they’ve not only voted on the songs, a lot of them have made suggestions a long the way. “We want to hear a chronicle, but we really want to hear this song. Why don’t you play this song?” Away-Team: And you guys are actually listening and paying attention to what they’re… Alex: Oh absolutely. Away-Team: Beside the main lineup changes, you guys have several label changes over the years; mainly due to simple bad luck and the labels folding on you. Did I read though that somehow you guys ended up on a gospel label prior to signing with Nuclear Blast? Alex: Well I think what happened was we were signed to Spitfire which got bought by another label, which was a gospel label. Away-Team: OK. And they had no interest in releasing the new Testament CD? Laughs Alex: Oh, Exactly. I’m sure at first they thought, oh this is perfect. Away-Team: A “New Testament” band awesome! Alex: And then they found out what it was and then they let the band go, no problem. Away-Team: So did Spitfire have some religious bands on their roster? Alex: I don’t think so. I’m not sure. Away-Team: Laughs. Alright, you are currently on Nuclear Blast and they are treating you well… Alex: Treating us great. It’s a great partnership absolutely. Away-Team: Good, good. When the current tour with Unearth and Lazarus AD, at least the North American leg of it is over, what are you guys’ plans? Where are you going next? Alex: We’re off for a couple weeks, then we’re going to be in Europe for July and part of August to do a lot of festivals. Away-Team: Do you have any plans for a follow up album and will we have to wait another nine years for it? Alex: No, it’ll be recorded next year, most likely released, late, by late next year Away-Team: Great! With all the side projects, from your various members, Dragonlord, you in Trans Siberian Orchestra, Chuck’s Dublin Death Patrol and your jazz trio, how do you guys find time to get together, to record and tour? And how does that affect, I mean is Testament now the priority or is it ‘we can fit in Testament around these various projects’? TSO’s a big deal, it’s a big show and you have to… Alex: Yeah, it’s a unique situation, because I was already, I’d already been playing with TSO for several years by the time the Testament reunion happened. So it’s been pretty understood that during the months of the Winter TSO tour I’m not available. I do my best, as far as my trio and I have couple other projects I’m involved with as well, some as a producer which I can’t talk about yet. They’re…They’re gonna be Away-Team: Then I won’t ask that question… Alex: Pretty exciting times and projects… We’re doing an album cycle right now. So, since last year we’ve been doing an album cycle, so this, Testament has been the priority. Soon as we’re done with this album cycle I think there’s going to be a slight shift in priorities. The way this record got created was a lot of the basics were worked on while I was with TSO, I would write ideas, which I think is going to happen this next tour as well, and then I think next year, Before the album cycle, before the Testament album cycle starts, that’s going to be a good chance for me to do a lot more stuff with the Alex Skolnick Trio. But then, of course, once the Testament album cycle starts then that’s going to be the priority. It really depends on where we are in terms of the album cycle.. Away-Team: So everybody’s working together though, with all their side projects, everything kind of fits in OK and there’s no real conflict going on with it? Alex: Yeah, I mean it’s a different thing with me, because with TSO it’s a very set tour. With Dragonlord, Eric decides, when that tours. With my Trio there are people that decide it with me, so we work to make sure that we capitalize on any available time I have to tour with them. Away-Team: I have heard that some of your solos for Formation of Damnation were recorded while on tour with TSO and done in someone’s bathroom in New York. Is that correct? Alex: That’s not true. I mean the part about the bathroom is not true. What basically happened was some of the solos were recorded in Albany, when TSO had some days off in 2007. The first studio that we found was a guy’s basement… Away-Team: It was his basement, OK Alex: Yeah. And it just, it was an awful situation. We had like 48 hours, we had two days and the goal was to do all of the solos and basically a whole day was wasted. We were getting all of this radio signal out of the amps and the guy had no idea what to do about it. So then we found a really good studio the one that we should’ve been at all along and I did half of the songs, and I did the other half as soon I was done with the TSO tour. Away-Team: Now did you already have the solos worked out or a rough idea what you were going to do with them… Alex: I had a couple rough ideas, but some of them I came up with on the spot…. Away-Team: ‘Cause they’re some outstanding solos. Alex: Thank you! Away-Team: Across the board the musicianship and the work on Formation of Damnation is actually very stellar… Alex: I appreciate that. Away-Team: Paul Bostaph is currently drumming for you. This his second stint in the band now. He’s played with some other great bands besides Testament. He started out with Forbidden… Slayer, Exodus and another not as well known Bay Area band, but that I’m very familiar with, Systematic. He’s kind of become known as the ‘go to’ metal drummer, almost like a journeyman. Is he now a permanent member of Testament? Alex: It certainly feels that way. That remains to be seen. Yeah, it definitely feels that way. I know on our end there’s no thought of working with anybody else… Away-Team: OK, so Louie’s not going to come knocking on the bus one day? Where is Louie? Alex: Louie comes… Louie makes appearances. He’s always… He always visits us when we play. He was just on tour with us for three days… Away-Team: Oh, really? Alex: He doesn’t really play any more. He just likes to hang out. We like having him around. It works out well. We get him away from his job. He’s like a, a relative… Away-Team: Is there anything you haven’t done yet, goal-wise or music-wise that you still want to? And what is it? Alex: Yeah there’s a lot of things. Definitely, I’m close, I mean I feel like with my instrumental albums I’m able to do the music that’s in my head. Which is great! For me it’s just getting my instrumental stuff to a wider audience. And I’d like to see Testament reach a wider audience as well. The truth is, what I would really like to see is the trio playing venues like Testament’s playing; those size crowds. I’d like to see Testament playing to crowds more like TSO’s. Alex: I get this experience of every year playing in front of a packed arena. Sometimes twice a day! And this band has never experienced that. That kind of production, that kind of audience. We’ve had some great support slots in arenas. But I think this could be a great arena band. Away-Team: You guys have never actually headlined arenas? Away-Team: Really. Wow, I did not realize that. Away-Team: There’s many bands out there today that are citing Testament as an influence, as a musician it’s got to be an ultimate compliment. How do you react to something like that? I mean, how does that make you feel? Alex: Great! It feels great. It’s a great compliment. It’s not something you think about while you’re doing it, while you’re in the studio or playing live; about having an influence on somebody else, you just do what you do. But when you hear that, it’s amazing, ‘cause having had many influences myself, just to think that I was able to be what I saw in my favorite guitars players, other people are seeing in me, which is really, really cool. Away-Team: Who are some of your influences? Alex: Well, it started out with Randy Rhodes and Eddie Van Halen, Michael Shanker. I studied their influences, Jeff Beck, Clapton, Hendrix and then the classic Blues players. And then once I got into Jazz, Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny… Away-Team: What made you pick up a guitar to begin with? Alex: Yep. I discovered KISS and wanted to play KISS songs. Away-Team: And it was the guitar always? Alex: It was piano, very briefly in third grade. And then I had a bad music teacher and I, I quit piano. Now I bought a piano. I still like to play, but I have no plans to play professionally. Away-Team: We’re not going to see you in a hotel lounge somewhere tickling the ivories… Alex: Not anytime soon! Away-Team: Well Alex, that pretty much wraps up my questions. I do appreciate your time… I wish you much luck with the rest of the tour… Alex: Thank you! Away-Team: The festivals this summer, of course TSO in the winter and then at some point next year we’ll hear a little bit from the trio again. Alex: Yeah, yeah, going to try to squeeze out a new trio album. Or at least an EP this year. Away-Team: Great! Alright, well I appreciate it Alex, thank you very much again for your time! Alex: No problem Jim, good to see you again. There you have it. We got some shout outs to Cliff Burton, James Hetfield and Spastik Children, Billy Milano of MOD and SOD, and KISS! My thanks to Brian at Adrenaline PR for setting up the interview, Mark for ensuring it actually happened, Alex for jumping in last minute and rescuing the interview, and Bam Bam as always for getting me in the interviews to begin with! If you haven’t heard Formation Of Damnation go pick it up NOW!!!! And check out Testament on the road. The show that night was nothing short of amazing. The guys played with a furiousness that belied their age, and a sense of fun and having a good time. The music and vocals were spot on, and I did not hear one person walk away from that show with a bad word.

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