Thursday, April 29, 2010

Israel's dog and pony show - An Excerpt from Al Jazeera



Israel's dog and pony show
By Sherine Tadros ( Al Jazeera correspondent)in Middle East- April 28th, 2010

.

An "educational" helicopter tour reveals the facts on the ground that are being made at the expense of Palestinian statehood.

I recently jumped at the chance to take an all expenses paid helicopter ride over Israel and part of the West Bank.

The trip was courtesy of The Israel Project (TIP) which describes itself as a non-profit, non-partisan group working to impact world opinion for the sake of Israel's security.

The helicopter ride is meant as an "educational tour" for journalists and was inspired by George Bush, the former US president, who took a similar ride and reportedly said it opened his eyes to just how vulnerable Israel is.

The tour operates twice a month and has taken up over 1,400 journalists.

We (AJE cameraman Brad McLennan and I) met our guide and fellow journalists early in the morning, were bussed to an airport near Tel Aviv, treated to breakfast, and (after a security check that happened only to involve Brad and I and not the other two Israeli journalists) were taken up on a civilian helicopter for 45 minutes.

In mid air, an information pack was given to each of us - a neat little 80-page handbook explaining why we were really here.

To boil it down - Israel, the argument goes, is small and under threat from every side so the borders they have imposed are out of necessity not choice.

Hence the name of the tour nicely laminated on the front of the pack - "Defencible Borders: Strategic Options for Israel's Security".

Don't look down

Throughout the flight, our tour guide used a variety of maps, statistics, pie charts, drawings and graphs to explain the reason for the separation wall (deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice).

We have all heard the reasoning that it prevents terrorist attacks but what our guide was trying to explain was that it has swallowed up Palestinian land only in areas which would have exposed Israel and posed a security threat.

The wall has in fact taken 12 per cent of Palestinian land and drastically changed the landscape of Jerusalem creating a de facto border where Israel would like to see one and not where international law deems one should be.

If we were looking down we would have witnessed this reality, but instead most in the helicopter were busy looking at the diagrams.

What is amazing is that in our 45-minute ride we managed to avoid flying over any of the 120 illegal Jewish settlements that have been built on Palestinian land in the West Bank.

Not a word was said by our guide about these settlements - neither does it get a mention in our info pack.

Below is a taster of what we did see - the town of Modi'in which sits next to the settlement of Modi'in Illit (which I couldn't film because of the route we took).

The other argument made by our guide was that the separation wall (which he points out will be six per cent concrete and 94 per cent electronic wire fence when finished) was not a permanent international border but rather a defensive one.

Plans, he said, are being made for electronic key cards so that Palestinian farmers left outside the wall can access their lands now on the "Israeli" side.

When I asked our guide why Israel is making long-term plans for a border he just finished telling us was only temporary, he answered "because one day it will be permanent".

It's a simple strategy and one Israel uses unapologetically - creating facts on the ground they call temporary (because in theory they are still negotiating over these facts) while carrying out actions that would make a final settlement based on anything other than what they have already created almost impossible.

The middle of the tour involved landing in the southern Israeli town of Sderot. Here the guide explained how it was in fact Hamas that has imposed the siege in Gaza, a point I challenged him on ...

The Israel Project do not hide their aim - shaping media coverage of the conflict. This is after all is a battle for land where the court of public opinion matters.

To preserve Israel's interests (to secure a Jewish state with borders of its choosing) an effort must be made to explain and justify to the world the process by which that state is being created.

But the changes happening come at the expense of Palestinian statehood, and that is clear to see for all those who choose to look down.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Rise & Fall of Whitney Houston







Monday 26 April 2010
By steffenjobbs


All the women went crazy over Bobby Brown. He was their dream stud. They were always throwing their panties onstage to Bobby and begging for his love child. This is how women are. They worship guys like Bobby Brown. Whitney got him and he taught her how to do the nasty and use a pipe. What more could a woman ask for from a man? Whitney got what she wanted and Bobby got what he wanted and they almost lived happily ever after in a crack-filled haze. That's what many people call the good life. Nothing lasts forever. I'm sure if Whitney had the chance to do it all over again, she would take the exact same path. Fame and fortune may slip away from Whitney, but crack will always be there for her to offer her peace of mind.
______________________________________________________


CopyCat

8/31/09, 13:55:pm


I’m sorry….I just don’t like Whitney Houston anymore. Sorry. She may make some decent music…but she fell off for me. When I saw her parading around on that fu@kery of a show with Her Husband…I knew she was dumb. I used to pay good money, American Dollars to see her in concert and all she did was praise Bobby Brown. Damned Fool. I just don’t like her. Thats all.


SAY NO TO DRUGS !!!!

________________________________________________________

Drugs Can Destroy Even The Rich And Popular

Addictions are the problems that influence all various kinds of individuals. It is really regardless if you are a popular person, an ordinary person some politician of the American. You can be experience, and without relevant curing and assistance, you may never be capable to vanquish your issues. One of the biggest points of controversy when facing the addiction problems is how you are cured. Celebrities frequently get approvals that they are implementing the relevant thing when they verify themselves into a rehab program. A lot of general individuals are viewed as doing criminal things and drug consumers instead of the courageous persons striving to get the curing that they require. Star may seem like they are always with the high priority of the world, but so a lot of actually needing immediate assistance. Unlike a lot of ordinary people, stars have the finances the power to obtain whatever they need. This can be specifically risky when they are having some kind of addiction. A lot of individuals suppose that the great fan bases that a lot of stars have is providing a reason very frequently of them to become some addiction to something.

For instance, it is stated that Michael Jackson obtained prescription drugs according to his countless exhaustion after getting ready for a concert. He comprehended that he had to make great efforts to make the people be proud of him. Nevertheless, he was ready to perform so hard that it was really dangerous to risk his life. There are other stars that have shown a lot of familiar things. Another instance is Anna Nicole Smith. She had been one of the really beautiful persons in the globe. She possessed everything that she was able and desired. Yet, she still feels into the way of addiction. Her issue with various kinds of drugs led to her death, which is still questionable. A lot of stars that have these kinds of deaths frequently came to becoming even more popular in their deaths. Nevertheless, when you see person who is turning to the drugs somewhere, they are never supposed of as experiencing from a plot twenty years later. They are constantly supposed of as society’s exiles, and never cured as others.

The real problem is who is giving all of these things, and medicals. Sure, there are a lot of drug dealer groups who are glad to provide their drugs to ordinary individuals. Nevertheless, how do the rich and popular celebrities come into facing these negative individuals who provide them supplies. Another general thought that individuals suppose is that known and popular individuals are unaffected from having issues in their lives. Everybody supposes that they can be cured so fast with having a great sum of finances.
________________________________________________________


Lindsay Lohan vents about the danger of doing drugs: 'They will ultimately destroy your lives'

BY Cristina Everett
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, January 5th 2010, 11:51 AM
Lindsay Lohan vented about the recent passing of many of her celebrity friends.

Since the sudden death of Johnson & Johnson heiress Casey Johnson, many of the late socialite's famous friends have speculated how drugs could have played a role in her untimely passing.

Johnson, the 30-year-old troubled daughter of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, was found dead Monday in her West Hollywood home.

Her fiancée, bisexual reality star Tila Tequila, was the first to announce the shocking death via Twitter.

"Everyone please pray 4 my Wifey Casey Johnson. She has passed away," Tequila, 30, tweeted Monday evening. "This is a very heartbreaking time for me. I'm heart is shredded."

According to RadarOnline.com, Tequila is said to believe Johnson's death was the result of a prescription drug overdose. Johnson was known to have battled drug and alcohol addictions and had failed numerous rehab stints.

Another celebrity speaking out about is Lindsay Lohan.

Lohan, whose own father has accused her of having an addiction to prescription pills, was photographed in tears during a cell phone conversation Monday in St. Barts.

Speaking to RadarOnline, the 23-year-old actress vented about the recent passing of many of her celebrity friends.

"For how long now, have I been on national television, radio and in the press making waves about prescription drug use and how it is affecting the people we love and others?" Lohan wrote. "Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, Adam Goldstein, Brittany Murphy and now Casey."

Lohan also credited Johnston's ex-girlfriend, Courtney Semel, for trying to help the late heiress with her problems.

"But let's not talk about celebrities. Let's talk about our own children and loved ones," the actress added. "When are people going to realize that these drugs cause you to do things you normally wouldn't and will ultimately destroy your lives!?

"Knock me all you want, I am trying, not lying! It's time to take a stand folks. Now! God bless Casey and her family."

_____________________________________________________________


Fall Of Fantasia


12 August 2010

Six years after triumphantly winning the third season of 'American Idol,' Fantasia Barrino was rushed to a North Carolina hospital this week where she is being treated for an aspirin and sleeping pill overdose. This tragic U-turn in her fortunes has many asking: How did her fairytale life turn so quickly into a nightmare?

"Fantasia wrongly assumed that after she won 'Idol' that all her worries would disappear, and for a while they did," a friend of the singer tells me.

In 2004, Fantasia's debut single, 'I Believe,' made her the first artist in history to ever have their first single debut at number one. It remained in the top slot for eleven consecutive weeks, becoming the top selling single of 2004 in the USA. Her debut album, 'Free Yourself,' was released in November 2004 and was a huge hit -- in its first week, the album sold over 240,000 copies on its way to going platinum and earned Fantasia four Grammy nominations.

It was official. Fantasia, the single mother who once worried about paying her rent, was now the one thing she had only ever dreamed about becoming: a star.

In August of that same year, Fantasia played herself in a hit Lifetime Television original film based on her autobiography, 'Life Is Not a Fairy Tale.' Nineteen million viewers tuned in to catch the flick its debut weekend. Everything was going perfect for the young lady from North Carolina.

The following year, her self-titled second album, 'Fantasia,' was released, and although it didn't do as well as her first CD, it was certified gold. Fantasia surprised everyone the following year when she announced she was putting her recording career on hold to star in the lead role of Celie in the Broadway musical 'The Color Purple.' (I saw her in the production and she was simply breathtaking.)

However, that's when things started to go wrong. First, Fantasia hurt her vocal cords while on Broadway, causing her to miss several shows. She was also dropped from the powerful 19 Entertainment management company and watched as her beloved $1.1 million home in Charlotte was put up for auction after she failed to repay money she was loaned to cover her 2006 taxes.

"It was very clear that the people she was surrounding herself with were not giving her great advice. It's very easy to think when you are on the top that the ride will never end," one industry insider tells me. "By the looks of things, she has very little to show for all the hard work she did. Where is all the money she earned? Very, very few artists have long-term careers like Madonna, the secret is to save as much as possible and make smart decisions while you are at the top. I'm afraid Fantasia didn't do this."

In addition to her financial troubles, Fantasia found herself at the middle of a very embarrassing scandal last week involving a married man and a sex tape.

"It all just got be too much for her," a record industry insider tells me. "Everyone wanted to be her friend the year she won 'Idol.' Now she's alone, wondering where have all those people gone."

Even with all the fair-weather friends, Fantasia isn't without her loyalists, including fellow 'Idol' winner Taylor Hicks.

"I've always been a huge Fantasia fan right from the first time I saw her on 'Idol,'" Hicks told me exclusively. "It was great to catch up and perform on stage with her at the 'American Idol' finale a few months ago. She was totally on her game and I hope to see her back singing again soon."

Sunday, April 25, 2010

The World's First Kentucky Fried Chicken®



The World's First Kentucky Fried Chicken®


For many years, people from all over the United States and the world have enjoyed the culinary creation of Corbin’s most famous citizen — Harland Sanders, known worldwide as Colonel Harland Sanders.


Even though people all over the globe are familiar with the snow-white bearded restaurant icon, few are familiar with how the Colonel got his start in the restaurant business.

Sanders, who was born on Sept. 9, 1890 in Henryville, Indiana, lost his father at the age of six. After completing the sixth grade, Sanders quit school and went to work at a variety of jobs. During his early years, Sanders worked as a farm hand, streetcar conductor, steamboat ferry operator, railroad fireman, secretary, insurance salesman, tire salesman and furniture store owner. However, it wasn’t until 1930 that Sanders moved to Corbin, where he would one day forge the culinary empire for which he was famous.

Once in Corbin, Sanders opened a service station, which was located on a spot near where the current Kentucky Fried Chicken® is located. In the back of that service station, he operated a lunchroom which consisted of one table, surrounded by six chairs. It wasn’t long, however, before word spread and Sanders found it necessary to expand his capacity.


By 1937, Sanders had built Sanders' Cafe, which seated 142 customers. At this restaurant, it was soon discovered that Sanders' fried chicken was the most popular selection on the menu.


Sanders often told of his search for the right recipe. It was while experimenting in his Corbin kitchen, that Sanders found his famous and closely guarded combination of eleven herbs and spices which he claimed “stand on everybody’s shelf.” It wasn’t only Sanders’ recipe of herbs and spices that made his fried chicken unique. He also used a pressure cooker to fry his chicken.

In 1939, fire destroyed the eatery, which Sanders then rebuilt as both a restaurant and motel. For many years, the restaurant and motel served as a popular stop for travelers driving along what was then the major north-south route — US 25. Business continued to boom until the completion of Interstate 75, which provided an alternative route for motorists...a route which no longer directly passed Sanders’ restaurant.

Sanders subsequently auctioned the restaurant and motel off. At the age of 66, he began to sell franchises based on his famous chicken recipe. Although he was a pioneer in the relatively new business of franchising, initial sales were slow. His first franchisee went to Pete Harman of Salt Lake City, Utah. By the late 1950s, more than 200 Kentucky Fried Chicken® franchises had been sold in the United States and Canada.

During the administration of Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon, Sanders was commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel. He was re-commissioned in 1950 by Governor Lawrence Weatherby. Although he had been a Kentucky Colonel for nearly two decades, it wasn’t until after 1950 that Sanders began to look the part, growing his trademark mustache and goatee and donning his white suit and string tie.

Sanders' oldest daughter Margaret suggested that her father start selling fried chicken as a take-home item. The first KFC® carry-out service was started at a restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida.


In 1960, Sanders moved the headquarters of his growing company to Shelbyville, Kentucky. On February 18, 1964, Sanders sold his franchise business to former Kentucky Governor John Y. Brown Jr. and Jack Massey for $2 million. Sanders was retained on salary as spokesman for Kentucky Fried Chicken®.

Over his lifetime, Sanders reportedly contributed money to religious charities, hospitals, medical research, education, the Boy Scouts®, Junior Achievement®, and the March of Dimes®.


Regardless of where he appeared, Sanders was immediately recognizable. At the age of 87, he testified against mandatory retirement before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Aging.


Sanders died on Dec. 16, 1980, after which his body lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort. He was buried in Louisville’s Cave Hill Cemetery.


Each year, thousands of customers make a stop at the Corbin Kentucky Fried Chicken® location, where they can view a variety of items from the early days of Sanders’ restaurant business, including a barrel of his famous recipe, a life-size statue of the Colonel, as well as a replica of his original kitchen.


Located at 688 U.S. Highway 25 West in Corbin

Open daily from 10 AM to 10 PM

Tour groups are welcome

Bus parking is available

Directions: From I-75 take exit 29, go south on 25E one mile, then right on 25w one-half mile. Located at the junction of 25E and 25W in Corbin.


For Further Information Please Contact the Sanders Cafe at (606) 528-2163 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (606) 528-2163      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Top 29 cities for men 2010



Following is this year's list of top 29 cities for men:

1. New York City

2. Melbourne

3. Tokyo

4. Madrid

5. London

6. Cape Town

7. Miami

8. Buenos Aires

9. Sydney

10. San Francisco

11. Paris

12. Los Angeles

13. Hong Kong

14. Tel Aviv

15. Barcelona

16. Sao Paulo

17. Berlin

18. Lisbon

19. Beirut

20. Istanbul

21. Shanghai

22. Montreal

23. Amsterdam

24. Chicago

25. Toronto

26. Kyoto

27. Bogota

28. Rome

29. Las Vegas

POLL NOTE :
by men's website Askmen.com ranked 29 cities across the globe based on how good they were for men to live, work and play.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Studying abroad? Take a look at Malaysia


KLCC - Photocredit : Oxymanus

Studying abroad? Take a look at Malaysia by : Nauvarat Suksamran / Bangkok Post


Proximity, courses and standard of living make this country a viable option

Published: 22/04/2010 at 12:00 AM


When the opportunity to study abroad comes along, the majority of Thai students usually aim for the US or Europe.

In the Asian region, the main choices would be Japan, Korea, Singapore and even India. There are a few Thai students who recognise the merits of studying in a neighbouring country such as Malaysia.

The cost of education in Malaysia is minimal and reasonable when compared to the cost of living in Thailand.

Pattani native Abdulloh Yapa is one of the few who opted to further his studies in Malaysia after completing 12th grade high school in Thailand.

Upon arriving in Malaysia, Abdulloh immediately sensed that he was in an unfamiliar and confusing environment. He hated everything: The Malay language he didn't understand, the food and the absence of friends.

It took several months to get used to things, but after more than four years of living in a foreign land, Abdulloh has a better understanding of life, and has learned to see the positive side of things.

Abdulloh has completed his undergraduate studies and is currently pursuing an MBA degree. More importantly, he has worked with IBM as an IT specialist. He doesn't rely on his parents for tuition fees anymore.

''Every time I return home to Thailand and meet up with my friends, I am convinced that I have learned something from this experience. I increasingly learn about people and understand how they think,'' he said.

An academic environment filled with international students requires that you dare to present your ideas and beliefs when you express yourself. Networking is one of the best benefits of a foreign education.

''The English language picked up in Malaysia, though a peculiar accent, can be adapted for communication. Everyone, every nationality uses the English language without being ashamed,'' said Abdulloh.

Sharif Yimyai hails from a traditional Muslim family in Bangkok. After graduating with an engineering degree from Chulalongkorn University, his first choice for a graduate degree in business studies was at Multimedia University, a private college in Malaysia.

Sharif's first obstacle was language because his first and only language was Thai. Now he was being thrust into an academic environment where only English is used. His friends are all from international backgrounds. More importantly, this is the first time Sharif will be staying in a hostel.

Though his Muslim background helped him adapt to local cuisine, the real challenge was his studies, which required much more effort than usual. He had to write down lectures, listen over and over again, while some subjects demanded that he read the material repeatedly to understand the subject matter. It took Sharif almost six months before he could adjust.

''The nice part about studying in Malaysia is that it's a short distance away from home. The travel expense is affordable. I have a goal of owning my own business here

This international university has enabled me to build a global network which will allow me to differentiate my business,'' said Sharif.

Suranand Sukhumanand, aka Hardy, 25, studied business in Bangkok and is currently pursuing a master's degree at Multimedia University. He admitted that his friends questioned his choice of university at first.

''Are you going to study religion, bomb-making or terrorism?'' were the frequent jokes made by his friends. However, the real reason was his grandfather who had studied religion in Malaysia. Hardy's family, especially his father, would often spend time in Malaysia.

Hardy said studying near Thailand makes it convenient to travel back and forth, the cultures are similar, food is almost the same and there's not much to adjust to.
Hardy is currently employed in the Technical Support division of HP (Hewlett Packard) responsible for clients in the Asia region; his MBA degree helped him get the job.

In Malaysia, education is encouraged by the government. Almost every university is ready to offer scholarships for the best people to study at their campus. Student life in Malaysia is a learning experience in itself. Thai student clubs exchange knowledge and culture with other groups or international clubs.
Getting to know Multimedia University

Multimedia University is a private university that has gained a reputation as one of Malaysia's most modern facilities, especially in the IT field.

It has earned a place in the top-200 universities of the Asean Times Higher Education (The-QS World University Rankings).

The university is located in Cyberjaya City, born from the efforts former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed who wanted to see Malaysia become a hub of innovation and technology.

Nuntasinee Fatima Muadmanee, manager of Student Relations at Multimedia University said that a distinct advantage is the fact that many leading IT companies conduct their business operations in Cyberjaya.

Multimedia University places great emphasis on research reports, she said, a key strategy that builds confidence when a graduate enters the job market. Plus, graduates are equipped with the necessary language skills, she added.

Nuntasinee said that the university is also highly regarded as a training centre, used by private organisations and various universities in Malaysia and the rest of the world.

''A memorandum of understanding has been signed with at least three private universities in Thailand, in addition to public universities such as Khon Kaen University, Prince of Songkla University, Mahasarakham University and Kasetsart University, to conduct joint activities and exchange teaching faculty and student training,'' she said.

Malaysia is a Muslim nation which means entertainment or distractions for young students are not present on campus, Nuntasinee added. The most popular department at Multimedia University is Creative Multimedia, followed by IT management.
Creative multimedia and the preservation of history

Multimedia University is benefitting from a Unesco donation of 15 million baht (1.5 million ringgit) to Creative Vista Company or CVC, a private company that is part of an initiative to create jobs and revenue for the university.

All CVC employees are university alumni with Creative Multimedia degrees.

A team of 10 people are working to preserve historic ruins.

Reza Maulana, a recent graduate with a Virtual Reality degree, works on creating dhdesigns using data research and ancient sites such as old mosques, buildings, and residential houses mostly found in and around Malacca and Georgetown which have been given world heritage status by the UN cultural body.

Maulana compares the past with the present using IT technology. He estimates that it will take six months before the project is completed.
Vision 2020

The Malaysian government has given its full support to education. Academic institutions at every level have sprung up. There are more than 60 universities, of which half are under state supervision.

Cyberjaya City was the brainchild of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamed.

A large amount of financial backing comes from the government and been put to use in research.

Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, former first lady of Malaysia and wife of Dr Mahathir is the Chancellor of Multimedia University. She said the university has many schools to choose from and its programmes are based on job market requirements in the future.

She added that since the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the US, more Muslim students are choosing to attend school in Malaysia because of the more peaceful environment.

Multimedia University has students from 75 countries all over the world. Iranian students are one of the largest groups among the international academic community.

Prof Dr Zaharin Yusoff, president of Multimedia University, said telecom agencies have provided support to the institution.

Every year a committee with members selected from every sector of society will evaluate the quality of education, he said.

More importantly, he added, Multimedia University places importance on research, promotes internal student activities by providing financial support, and provides a real work environment for students to learn and gain experience.

''We hope that in the future there will be more Thai students because we have held road shows and educational events on a continuous basis. We are eying the Thai student market because we are also the closest of neighbours.''

Thursday, April 22, 2010

What's "Nu "?




On a tiny island, catchy Web name sparks a battle
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
By Christopher Rhoads, The Wall Street Journal

The arrival of the Internet brought a rare bit of good fortune to Niue, a tiny, impoverished island in the South Pacific.

Its national Internet suffix, dot-nu, has become a big hit in Sweden, as "nu" means "now" in Swedish. An entrepreneur in Medfield, Mass., named Bill Semich, who acquired the rights to operate and sell the dot-nu domain name in the late 1990s, has plowed some of the profits from Sweden into making Niue (pronounced New-Ay) the world's first nation with free wireless Internet for all of its citizens, about 1,200 people.

But that success has thrown the island, which is about 1 1/2 times the area of Washington, D.C., into turmoil. Some officials charge they were cheated out of what they now see as an important and profitable national asset. "This is a huge issue of national development for us," says Richard Hipa, the managing director of Telecom Niue. "This is something that we should have run, and we were robbed of that."

The island's government has locked horns with the 62-year-old Mr. Semich, whose company is called .NU Domain Ltd., demanding a bigger slice of profits and more control over the domain name. The fight prompted a nearly three-year independent investigation launched by the government and became the dominant issue in the island's elections last year.

"The fact that we are making this extremely large and voluntary commitment to Internet service on Niue is unprecedented," says Mr. Semich from his spartan Medfield office. A small painting of a Niuean landscape adorns one wall. He argues that what he provides is worth more than cash. "To take that and turn it on its head and say, 'You should pay more,' misses the whole point."

As Internet use explodes, governments around the world, particularly in developing nations, are discovering the power of their once-obscure country-code domain names. They have begun to see the names as a source of revenue, a way to increase their presence in cyberspace and as part of their national sovereignty -- like the highway system or phone company -- to be managed as they see fit.

More than a dozen governments or quasigovernment organizations have gained control of their country-code domain names in recent years. Usually the names have been wrested from individuals managing them since the 1990s -- often before the governments were aware of the Internet.

In 2004, France passed a law to legitimize its control over domain names of its overseas territories, such as Mayotte (dot-yt) and St. Pierre and Miquelon (dot-pm). A couple of years ago, the Cayman Islands obtained control of its domain name, dot-ky, from a U.S. entrepreneur marketing the name in Kentucky. He had sold bluegrass.ky and horsecapitaloftheworld.ky, among others. Kazakhstan and South Africa have also battled to win back control of their domain names.

The body that makes such decisions, an arm of the nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann, in recent years has recognized each nation's "sovereign control" of its domain name, according to a policy statement. Previously, the organization, based in Marina del Rey, Calif., would transfer control of a domain-name suffix only if it were "in the best interests of the Internet community" and if both parties agreed to the change, according to its statements.

After slowing in the wake of the Internet bust six years ago, domain-name registrations have soared. The global total jumped by nearly half to 94 million in the two years that ended last Dec. 31, according to Zooknic, an Internet research firm based in Louisville, Ky. Much of the growth is coming in developing nations. The number of domain names using China's dot-cn and India's dot-in each more than doubled last year, according to Zooknic, well ahead of the 40 percent increase of names using dot-com.

Country-code domain names were conceived in the early 1980s by Jon Postel, a computer scientist at the University of Southern California, as a way to help organize addressing of the Internet.

Each computer connected to the Internet is given an identifying series of numbers, called an Internet protocol address. To make an IP address more user-friendly, each one has a corresponding domain name. Just as dot-com was set up for commercial entities, country-code domain names were to identify users by country.

Reflecting the collegial and informal nature of the fledgling Internet community at the time, Mr. Postel assigned operation of the domain names to trusted friends or people he knew. They were mostly like-minded academics and computer engineers who performed the work on a volunteer basis.

The administrative contacts for each country code had to reside in the given country and understand they were "performing a public service on behalf of the Internet community," Mr. Postel wrote in a 1994 memorandum codifying the domain-name structure. Typically, he decided who would manage country codes for distant nations on a first-come, first-served basis.

In the early and mid-1990s, this was happening below the radar of many governments, some of which viewed the Internet as a passing fad.

Still, Mr. Postel understood the political ramifications of country-code domain names. To avoid having to determine what constitutes a country and make up domain names for them, he used the two-letter codes from a list, called ISO 3166, compiled for mail and other purposes by the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization. Any territorial entity on the list would get a domain name.

Many of those listed weren't countries. Some were homes only to penguins. The Indian Ocean made the list, dot-io. Specks of land belonging to other countries were included, such as the United Kingdom's Pitcairn Island, a South Pacific island whose population consists of 50 descendants of the mutineers of the HMS Bounty and their Tahitian wives. (Niue governs itself in "free association" with New Zealand.)

Mr. Postel, who died in 1998, viewed the domain names as merely an administrative convenience. But others, such as Mr. Semich, the head of the company at odds with Niue's government, saw a business opportunity.

"It never occurred to Postel that the value of the revenue generated by domain names could be greater than the value of the Internet service itself," Mr. Semich says.

As an editor for a computer trade magazine in the 1990s, Mr. Semich followed the Internet's early development closely, taking note of the skyrocketing demand for new Internet domain names. He also plunged into the Internet policy debates at the time that included the creation in 1998 of Icann, which took over the duties handled by Mr. Postel.

That same year, Mr. Semich quit his magazine job and got into the business full time. He started a small software company offering clients the ability to have domain names in languages that don't use the Roman alphabet. And he trolled about for available domain names that seemed marketable. He settled on dot-nu, thinking it would be a catchy domain name for U.S. companies looking for a cheaper alternative to dot-com. At the time, a new dot-com address cost $100 to register for two years. After lining up the necessary servers, contacts on the ground in Niue and approval from Icann -- a process that took several months in all -- Mr. Semich was up and running.

Icann required only information that he had the technical capabilities to manage a domain name. There was no fee. But Mr. Semich did spend about $100,000 on servers and other equipment to get the business started.

The expression of interest from an American entrepreneur was at first warmly welcomed by Niue, which hasn't had many breaks over the years.

With its closest neighbor, Tonga, more than 350 miles away, Niue ranks among the most remote places on Earth. British explorer Captain James Cook got a bad taste of the island when he visited in 1774. After shouting natives chased him and his crew away, he dubbed the place "Savage Island." Subsequent settlers were surprised to find vegetation on the chunk of coral rising from the sea, calling the place Niue, which in the local language means, "Look, there's a coconut." When Niue finally built an airport in 1971, thousands of Niueans used the opportunity to emigrate.

Along with selling local stamps and fishing rights, the biggest source of revenue for islanders is foreign aid. The government is by far the largest employer. In January 2004, a mammoth cyclone devastated much of Niue, prompting even more to emigrate.

When Mr. Semich arrived on the scene, he says Telecom Niue wasn't interested in the domain name or in offering Internet service, because it feared the Internet would sap its revenue from faxes. Mr. Hipa of Telecom Niue says the government was just beginning to formulate an Internet policy but believed the domain name was just "like an international dialing code prefix."

Mr. Semich hired two expatriates on the island: Richard St. Clair, a former Peace Corps volunteer from San Jose, Calif., and a New Zealander named Stafford Guest, who runs a hotel and bar. Their chief task has been to erect Internet service on the island.

Mr. Semich's initial plan to market dot-nu to U.S. customers mostly flopped. Dot-com's big lead over other domain-name suffixes made dot-com even more appealing for new users. But before long, Mr. Semich found that some Europeans, in particular Swedes, took a liking to dot-nu.

At the time, Sweden's country-code domain name, dot-se, was reserved only for companies incorporated in Sweden, steering the country's burgeoning online population to alternatives, like dot-nu.

Today, more than 80 percent of Mr. Semich's business is in Sweden, prompting him to open a sales and marketing office in Stockholm. A Swedish parachutist club has registered the Swedish equivalent of "getupandjump.now," and an advertisement site for Vicks Vaporub uses the equivalent of "wakeup.now." Some Swedes believe the domain name is Swedish. Mr. Semich charges $30 a year for a domain name, with a minimum two-year commitment. There are about 110,000 domain names using the dot-nu suffix, he says.

Mr. Semich says his private company has annual revenue in the low single-digit millions. He donates 15 percent to 30 percent of that to a charitable arm of his operation geared toward developing the Internet on Niue. The money has gone toward an Internet cafe, tower construction, a building designed to protect Internet equipment from cyclones and a $6,000 monthly fee for a telecom link to New Zealand, among other expenses. Between the charity and the business, Mr. Semich employs 12.

Mr. Semich says the venture hasn't made him wealthy. He lives in the same house he did before he started. His visions of turning his non-Roman alphabet domain-name software into a big business vanished with the Internet bust, which forced him to lay off about a dozen full- and part-time employees at the time. Still, managing dot-nu has proved to be a sustainable business, he says.

By June 2003, the company was able to offer Niueans free wireless Internet, via a series of towers on the island. For many, it not only opened them to the outside world but also enabled an inexpensive way to keep in regular contact with friends and relatives who had left the island years before. The company also got involved in civic affairs on the island, sponsoring the rugby team and Niue's contestant in a regional beauty pageant.

Nevertheless, four months later, a new telecom minister on the island claimed the operators lacked a proper license. He shut down the service for workers in the government -- the largest group of users. The minister, Toke Talagi, requested Icann transfer management of the domain name to the government, charging Mr. Semich and his team with "neo-colonialism" and ignoring the rights of the government.

The government hired an American adviser to help lobby Icann for the change. The adviser charged Mr. Semich with reneging on a promise to give 25 percent of his profits to the government and, worse, with knowingly registering pornography Web sites. Mr. Semich denies the accusation. The government launched an independent investigation into the allegations.

Mr. Semich says there was never such an agreement. His company had voluntarily agreed to provide free Internet access to the island, which it was doing, he says. He points out that the operators of other domains don't pay a slice of their proceeds back to governments.

"We agreed to provide free wireless Internet to the government," he says. "There has never been any other agreement."

Nevertheless, on strongly Christian Niue, the charges that the country code was being used for pornography sites created a firestorm. Mr. Guest, one of Mr. Semich's local hires, says the bad publicity hurt business in his motel, the Coral Gardens, forcing him to shut down its restaurant. "They felt we were taking advantage of the nation," says Mr. Guest, whose wife is from Niue. "We were devastated by some of the things being said of us."

But soon citizens began to miss the free Internet access. The matter dominated the election for premier in March of last year, where Mr. Talagi, the telecom minister, was considered the favorite. Just days before the vote, the incumbent premier overruled Mr. Talagi by ordering that Mr. Semich's company could use government-owned towers to extend the Internet to several villages. Mr. Talagi was narrowly defeated.

"The people stood up and said, 'We want our Wi-Fi,' " says Mr. St. Clair, who came to Niue with the Peace Corps in 1994 as a bulldozer mechanic and stayed on to head the construction of the wireless Internet service, called Wi-Fi.

The winner of the election, Mititaiagimene Young Vivian, has taken a more accommodating approach toward Mr. Semich's company. The independent investigation, which ended late last year, found nothing improper about Mr. Semich's business or about how he became manager of the domain name in the first place. No evidence exists to support the pornography charge

Still, Premier Young Vivian says he wants to meet with Mr. Semich soon to discuss the domain name. "The key issue is that reasonable benefits should come to Niue," he says. "That is the goal of any leader."
First published on March 29, 2006 at 12:00 am

_________________________________________________________

The Niue flag has the ratio 1:2 and was officially adopted in 1975. It has a yellow background, with a Union Jack in the upper left corner. The Union Jack is defaced with 4 stars: one in the middle and four on the sides. The color yellow represents friendship and warmth with New Zealand.

The form of government is a Constitutional monarchy. The flag of Niue belongs to a country that gained it’s recognized in 1974. It is located in the South Pacific.

The capital and largest city in the country is Alofi. The Nieu flag belongs to a country whose national anthem is “Ko e Iki he Lagi”. The currency used is the New Zealand dollar.

Some interesting facts about Niue:

religion: Ekalesia Niue (a Protestant sect), Roman Catholicism, Latter Day Saints, Seventh Day Adventist, Jehovah's Witnesses
language: Niuean, English
population: 1,691

How to Improve Your Company's Customer Service


Service Bali Style - Photo credit : Oxymanus

How to Improve Your Company's Customer Service

In a tough economy, improving your customer service can be the key to survival.
By Tali Yahalom | Mar 18, 2010

A company's reputation is only as good as the customer service it provides. Please a customer, and your client base will swell with relatives and neighbors who catch wind of your top-notch representatives. But upset one, and brace yourself for disaster. "The experience that individuals have with a company and then what they hear from friends and family influence their perception of and likelihood to do business with a company," says Megan Burns, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, a Massachusetts-based research firm that specializes in customer service. It's "absolutely an essential moment of truth for companies."

Though a teetering economy may tempt executives to cut corners, improving service is your best chance for survival. "Companies of any size should understand what the customer experience is," says Andy Fromm, president of Service Management Group, a Missouri-based firm that works with retail and restaurant chains on improving customer service. Fromm stresses that companies should streamline their resources without sacrificing the essentials. "Understand what's important to customers. Speed and availability of service are universal truths."

But how do you balance satisfying demanding customers with maximizing cost-effective resources? Read on.

Improving Your Customer Service: It Starts With Your Staff


The most critical person to hire in the customer service schema is the manager, says Fromm, since employee turnover is directly driven by manager turnover. You want someone who'll stick around, because otherwise, Fromm cautions, "it will be almost impossible to keep up with the hiring challenge." But everyone should care about the product at hand: "Make sure that pet retailers like pets. It's not rocket science."

Other qualities to look for, according to V. Kumar, author of the book Managing Customers for Profit, include empathy, consistency and patience. Experience is vital, too, but it can be a double-edged sword: too much, and the representative may sound pedantic or condescending; too little, and the representative won't know how to handle delicate situations. The ideal? Three to five years.


Improving Your Customer Service: Cater to Your Clientele


Customer Service expert Robert Dewar divides customers into two categories: tech-savvy transaction-oriented people, and others who just want to talk. Automated response systems are okay, says Dewar, who teaches at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, but companies should facilitate access to live representatives by making direct contact the first option on a service menu.

The customer's mood also matters here. If you're a healthcare company, your customer is probably dealing with something "emotional," like illness or medication, Burns explains. "A website or a phone menu is not going to be able to give the customer a dimension of empathy." Similarly, problems that require detailed explanations, such as a broken television or a defective refrigerator, are difficult to convey in a text box. Other customized strategies include:

Clientelling: This strategy, often employed by high-end businesses, pairs a customer with a representative, who logs the client's every action into a database and caters future service accordingly. It's great for building relationships with profitable clients, Fromm says.

Service Levels: Divide customers into categories, so that the ones who are worth (and spend) a lot of money receive tailored service. Credit card companies and airlines offer exclusive benefits to top-tier members to signal appreciation and attract others to upgrade.


Improving Your Customer Service: Don't Waste Money


Use these cost-cutting methods to balance the budget without eliminating necessary service:

Act on the Customer's Terms: Interact with customers in the way that they see fit. Rather than hire a greeter whom customers often dismiss, instruct employees throughout your store to welcome incoming shoppers. "It's about offering service on the customer's terms," says Fromm.

Optimally Allocate Resources: Large companies notoriously flood mailboxes with dozens of catalogues that go straight to the trash and waste money in the process. Use customer data to figure out which type of catalogue (children's toys, luggage, jewelry) each household should receive and send accordingly. Provide as many means as possible to purchase a product – store, website, catalogue – to maximize the likelihood of a sale, adds Kumar.


Improving Your Customer Service: Use Online Tools to Personalize Assistance

Your website is usually the customer's first exposure to your company, so your homepage should be personal and user-friendly. Include staff bios or embed a Twitter feed to build an intimate relationship with your customer, and consider these online tools:

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software: Programs like Microsoft Access, Salesforce.com and Oracle collect important consumer background, including search history and time spent online, says Kumar. If you're selling an Internet-based service, knowing your customers' operating systems or connection speeds will reveal their intent for the product, give some context to you concerning their complaintn and strengthen the company-consumer relationship.

Social Media: Think of Facebook and Twitter as "listening posts," says Burns. People love to chat about their recent purchases and experiences, so why not tune in? But, she cautions, be mindful that those conversations may not represent the majority and should be put into context.

Online Reviews: The blogosphere can be a cruel place, but embrace sites like Yelp and Citysearch for their comprehensive feedback and seize the opportunity to respond to customers. It's a "way to engage in a two-way dialogue," says Burns, and should be used for problem prevention and customer retention.

Mobile Strategy: Customers expect on-the-go service, and that means you need to be mobile-ready, Fromm says. Go green, like Apple, and email receipts, or follow the southern department store Belk, whose mobile address allows traveling customers to text in their feedback.

Improving Your Customer Service: React Before the Customer Realizes Anything Is Wrong

You'll gain tremendous loyalty by solving a problem before the customer voices a complaint – especially if it is addressed by a low-level employee. Let's say a diner hasn't touched his or her food. If the waiter asks specific questions (I noticed you haven't touched your chicken. Did it taste okay?) and replaces the dish or removes it from the bill, it is "exponentially more beneficial," says Fromm, than if the customer leaves unsatisfied and hungry. A manager should follow up with customers about their experiences, but having to call one in draws out the problem and forces the unhappy customer to dwell on the complaint.


Improving Your Customer Service: Localize Support

For some industries, an in-person exchange is vital to return or repair a product, and so companies should make their addresses, hours and directions readily available. Of course, you save a lot of money by outsourcing call centers, especially if you're a shipping or financial services company that deals mainly with numbers and straightforward data. But businesses need to train outsourced employees and make sure they can communicate with all types of clients. Dewar stresses, "Heavy accents cause a lot of trouble. … People have to be able to understand the customer calling in," and vice-versa.

And don't forget to list a telephone number. Sending customers down an endless rabbit hole of dropdown menus and FAQ listings should never take the place of a prominently displaying a direct line to a company employee.


Improving Your Customer Service: After Solving the Problem, Keep in Touch

Pay attention to service calls, since one complaint may be indicative of a larger issue. Does the company's internal infrastructure make it easy for employees to misenter a code that later results in a billing problem? Burns says that a close watch is vital if you sell complicated products, like financial services, where it may be difficult to follow instructions or understand arcane jargon.

And the conversation shouldn't stop there. Every relationship is a two-street, and customers deserve the chance to let you know how they're feeling. Offer exit surveys for users to describe their visit to your site or experience with a crisis. Soliciting questionnaires from online shoppers is especially key for retail companies, who can communicate with visitors who decide not to buy.

Improving Your Customer Service: Make It Easy to Leave

Sometimes, your company simply isn't a good fit for the customer. But the more difficult you make it to leave, Dewar says, the more ill will you'll generate. Cable companies like Comcast, for example, insist that customers personally deliver their cable boxes before closing an account, and often require them to wait for hours at service centers in order to do so. Dewar warns, "It may look smart to try to make captive of a customer but if they have good reason to leave or they don't like you, all you've achieved is planting a time bomb that'll get you sooner."

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Dangers of Drugs


ABC Journalist Peter Lloyd

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Schapelle Corby Seeks Mercy from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for 20-Year Sentence for Smuggling Drugs into Bali.


Bali News: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
(4/13/2010) The Australian beautician academy student Schapelle Corby has reportedly filed a petition with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seeking clemency in connection with her 20-year jail sentence for smuggling 4.2 kilograms of marijuana into Bali. Arrested in October 2004, Corby underwent a high-profile trial that ended in January 2006 with the Indonesian supreme court reaffirming the original sentence of 20 years imprisonment.

In seeking mercy from Indonesia's president, lawyers for Corby are asking that her sentence be reduced or that she be set free. The petition to the president contains affidavits from Indonesian and Australian mental health experts affirming that the 32-year-old Queensland woman is clinically insane, suffering from deep depression and psychosis. A Bali-based psychiatrist has stated that Corby's life is at risk if she is not removed to new surroundings, given close supervision and put on a regular course of medication.

Her doctors alleged that the prison environment at Bali's Kerobokan penitentiary is unsuitable for the woman who has adopted a child-like demeanour that has made her susceptible to exploitation.

The request to President Yudhoyono also underlines alleged irregularities in the police investigation and trial process including a failure to fingerprint the plastic bag containing the marijuana; the lack of a video record of her arrest at Bali's airport, the failure to provide surveillance videos from the airport in Australia; the lack of weight records for the baggage boarded in Australia and the refusal of Indonesian officials to allow DNA testing of the confiscated plants. In further mitigation, lawyers for the Australian woman cite a major cocaine bust at Sydney's airport that implicated baggage handlers who reportedly committed their crime on the same day Schapelle Corby transited that airport on her way to Bali.

Clemency appeals are exceedingly rare in Indonesia. The President is not under any legal compulsion to respond to the petition and, if he does so, such a reply could take months or even years.

______________________________________________________


34 Iranians held for drug offences in 5 weeks
By STEVEN DANIEL

stevend@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Just five weeks into 2010, the authorities have already nabbed 34 Iranians for attempting to smuggle in drugs in their luggage.

“Last year, a total of 24 Iranians were arrested for trying to smuggle in about 12.8kg of methamphetamine,” Federal Narcotics director Comm Datuk Zulhasanan Najib Baharudin said.

They had smuggled the designer drug methamphetamine or locally-known as syabu which fetched the high price of about RM250,000 a kg, he told a press conference in Bukit Aman yesterday.

Apart from the 34 Iranians, Comm Zulhasanan said three locals, one Singaporean and one Filipino were also arrested during this period.

Police seized 41.97kg of methamphetamine was seized during 11 raids and seizures during the period worth RM10.5mil. A total of RM225,850 in cash was also seized.

The 39 people detained, aged between 15 and 58, comprised of 36 men and 3 women. A 15-year-old girl was detained for questioning after her Iranian parents were caught attempting to smuggle syabu.

Most of the arrests took place at the KL International Airport. Some were nabbed at posh hotels or residences which led to the busting of two international drug syndicates based in the country.

“The modus operandi of the smugglers include swallowing capsules of 7gm to 10gm each, ranging from 80 to 200 capsules per person, depending on their body size.

“Other popular methods include hiding the drugs inside bags or containers or soaking the clothes in drug solutions.”

Comm Zulhasanan said that methamphetamine was mostly manufactured in Iran before it was brought to Dubai as a transit point and then making its way to Malaysia and distributed locally or sent to neighbouring countries.

______________________________________________________

Peter Lloyd (born 1961) was the South Asia correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Based in New Delhi, Lloyd reported for the Australian national broadcaster across all national and international radio and television news and current affairs programs.

Lloyd was due to return to Australia to co-host Breakfast News with Virginia Trioli on ABC2 from October 2008, however, he was arrested in Singapore on drugs charges.

On 18 July 2008, Lloyd was arrested in Singapore and the local police charged him with drug-related offences. Police had alleged that Lloyd was found in possession of a small quantity of the drug 'ice', one improvised smoking pipe, and six syringes. The Singaporean police said that his urine tested positive for amphetamines and he was being investigated for trafficking a controlled drug.[2] Lloyd was released on bail of SGD 60 000, posted by his lover Mohamed Mazlee bin Abdul Malik.

In November 2008 Singapore's Attorney-General dropped the harsher trafficking charge against Lloyd, leaving him to face four lesser charges.

On 2 December 2008, Lloyd was sentenced to 10 months in jail after pleading guilty to three of the charges. On 23 June 2009, Lloyd was released from jail early for good conduct.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Best Travel Tips as encountered and explained by a world traveler. - An Excerpt


KLM Carrier - Photo credit : Oxymanus

SECRETS OF TRAVEL

1. Smile and be open and honest with everyone, they will be your
next solution.
2. Come from a good family, this will make number one easy.
3. Be the first to visit a place.
4. Fear is your friend.javascript:void(0)
5. Money is everywhere on the planet, you will have money.
6. Change all the time, adapt.
7. Common sense
8. Do not try to change people, do not feel sorry for people.
9. Share your knowledge with everyone that ask, however offer prudently.
10. Recognize angry people and walk away fast, no regrets.
11. Do what you like and not the guidebook or other people.


WHAT TYPE OF PERSON WILL HAVE TROUBLE TRAVELING

1. Save the world, people with a desire to stop problems in the
world, Starvations, religions, or self appointed saviors of
the planet, they are normally self-appointed victims, they will
volunteer to be victims in another country, they are
searching for problems.
2. Alcoholics or drug users.
3. People that do not read.
4. Lazy.
5. People that talk about sex, not the same as people that talk about
pretty people.
6. People that disobey the laws.
7. Shoppers
8. Impatient people or people that complain about weather.


Best advice:

1. Say Hello, to all other travelers. You never know when you need help.
2. Theft. Out of site, out of mind. Do not show people what you have.
People steal what they can see. EXAMPLE: Walking around with a camera.
Put it in a backpack.
3. Always take a taxi, or bus, etc from bus station to hotel.
4. Store you passport, travel check information in you e-mail box. Scan
5. Carry a Padlock, Place it on a door. Put eyelet screw on door
if possible or when needed, use your own lock.
6. Do not look rich, dress, jewelry, tourist clothes, expensive backpack.
7. Take long pants on all bus rides. Take lots of clothes.
8. Take lots of pictures, its all that will remain.

Hotels: Best 10 Questions

1. Let me look at the mattress please.
2. Do you have free water?
3. Do you have free breakfast?
4. Do you have hot water showers
5. Do you heat with Electricity? Solar? Gas?
6. Is the hot water 24 hours a day?
7. Do you have the hasp, so I can put on my own lock?
8. Are the showers free?
9. Can I bring friend into the hotel, or my room?
10. Do you have cable TV? HBO, Cinecanal?
11. Do you have a book exchange?

Save money:

1. Do not drink beverages, other than water. $3
2. Electric Hot Plate to cook, $2 Day
3. Guidebook for rooms. $2 Day
4. Water purification drops. $1 Day
5. Take overnight bus. $1 Day
6. Rent rooms in hotels with free water. $1 Day
7. Travel, or share a room with a friend $1 Day
8. Wash you own clothes .50
9. Eat only 1 sit down meal a day and eat in market for the others.
10. Stay for one month in each location and negotiate a price of room
for 1/2 normal price.

Jobs:

1. Teach English
2. Waiter or Waitress
3. Pick Fruit
4. Cook food at hostel for a month
5. Reception of desk.
6. Massage Therapist
7. Dive master
8. Tour guide, or selling tours
9. Graphic on computer. Trade for room
10. Travel Agency.

Most Likely to get robbed:

1. Walking around with camera around neck.
2. Cleaning people steal from your hotel room.
3. Putting things in the compartment above the seat in the bus.
4. Walking from the bus to the hotel with your backpack.
5. Whenever you put a backpack of any sorts on the ground next to you.
6. From other travelers you trust. If they have traveled a long time...?
7. Walking away from the automatic teller machine.
8. By Police
9. People that do not lock their doors when they go to toilet.
10. People that say, "The are very honest here, they would never rob me."

Most Physically dangerous:

1. Getting hit by cars.
2. Having sex with the locals.
3. Walking home very drunk after midnight.
4. Walking through groups of drunk people.
5. Tours, with bad guides. That is the job of a guide to protect you.
6. Getting involved with religious concerns.
7. Getting involved in political causes.
8. Complaining to the police.
9. Electricity in showers.
10. Military coup situations / or demonstrations.

Wanker solutions:

1. I know someone who was safe, therefore it is safe.
2. I got off the bus, and they offered me a place...
3. All the travelers are trustworthy...
4. The guidebook is terrible, nothing is right.
5. They are a peaceful people....
6. It never happened in the past...
7. My friend told me...
8. Their website said they were the cheapest Spanish school in South America
This one was quite funny. The person was paying 3 times what they
needed to pay in Quito, Ecuador. I luckily kept my mouth shut.
9. They are poor because the rich keep them poor.
10. I will give the stuff to the owner of hotel to hold.

Culture How NOT to learn about culture:

1. Go to all the hotels that cater to you country, or owned by you country.
2. Travel very fast, and only stay in a city two days. Go on all the tours.
3. Go to see the tourist sites, and not the people
4. Eat Pizza a lot, or Spaghetti. Go to Vegetarian restaurants.
5. Drive a car, and never take the bus.
6. Never leave the resort.
7. Get a guide that speaks your own language.

Why you should NOT travel:

1. Bad haircuts
2. People complain about you country, and culture
3. The pizza cheese sucks
4. People try to convince me all the time to change.
Example: Be a vegetarian, or to convince you to not like your country.
5. You will find out how lucky you are.
6. You have to see all sorts of human bodily functions
7. A future husband or wife will want you to live in one location.

How to learn?

1. Subscribe to Newsletter on information you want to learn.
2. Listen and ask questions but do never try or say a person that
has visited a country knows less than a person that has not.
3. Read the Encyclopedia on the place. Facts are better than guidebooks.
4. Find free WebPages like Geocities where people post honest information.
5. Find Logs or Blogs on subject.

10-plus ways you can lose money by doing it yourself - An Excerpt


Photo credit : Oxymanus

10-plus ways you can lose money by doing it yourself - By : Tom Barlow

Garding DIY can cost you moneyThe Moneyning blog recently did an excellent post on 10 expenses that will cost you more to do yourself than it would to hire someone to do it for you or simply just buy the finished product. This list, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. It included:

1. Growing your own food
2. Printing your own photos, notices, etc.
3. Building your own computer
4. Sewing your own basic clothes
5. Making your own pet food
6. Installing/altering appliances to make them more green
7. Making your own musical instruments
8. Fixing your small appliances
9. Selling your own personal items (rather than using a consignment shops)
10. Doing your own taxes

This list is just the starting point. There are plenty of other ill-advised DIY chores that just aren't worth the time, money or frustration. Here are three things to consider before you embark on that ambitious project.

Cost of supplies: Growing your own food sounds like a good way to trim expenses; that is, if you already own pots. a trowel, tomato cages, a cultivator, a shovel, a spade, a garden rake, a leaf rake, a weeder, a hoe, a pesticide sprayer, garden gloves, a hat, knee pads, a garden hose, a sprinkler, a fertilizer spreader, a compost bin... you get the idea. Taking these expenses into consideration, that that tomato isn't such a bargain.

In the same manner, I have a shelf full of tools I bought to use once, the expense for which I will never recoup. For example, the bookshelf that I bought a router to build -- a router I haven't used since -- ended up costing me over $120. I could have bought a better bookshelf for $40 at Staples. And don't even mention my chop saw, Dremel tool, pipe wrench...

Time sucks: How much is an hour of your life worth? If you don't enjoy the DIY job you take on, ask yourself, would I work for this wage? Gardening again is a good example. You may reap a harvest of 100 pounds of string beans, but by the time you do they'll be in season and every grocery will be selling them for $0.39 a pound. So you'll have $39.00 worth of string beans. If you put 8 hours total into those beans, you were working for under $5.00 an hour.

I've fallen into the money vs. time trap again and again, often because I have to go to the hardware three times for every job. Clearing brush, laying a brick sidewalk, installing a garage door, painting porch railings, running new phone lines; I've wasted countless hours just to save a buck or two an hour. What are your time sucks?

Lack of expertise: The worst aspect of this money trap is that, by doing something ourselves, taxes, for example, we never learn just how much money it really cost us. I've fancied myself at various times capable of installing a hard drive in my computer, hanging a ceiling fan, pruning my birch tree, patching my membrane garage roof, tuning my recumbent bicycle, and doing a brake job on my van. Each time I was forced to admit defeat and resort to that most foul-tasting of money traps, paying an expert to clean up my mess.

Of course, the list above contains many activities that people find enjoyable, and in that case, the difference between hiring to get the job done and doing it yourself can be written off as recreation. If you don't enjoy a task, however, before you do it yourself to save money, calculate your total expense -- in supplies, time, and the potential to screw it up for lack of expertise. I suspect you'll farm out a lot more jobs.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Penang - The Pearl of the Orient - An excerpt

Penang: Pearl of the Orient
Burhanuddin Abe ,  Contributor ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 12/29/2009 1:51 PM  |

Malaysia is more than Kuala Lumpur. Take Penang, for instance, which is just as appealing and its development just as dynamic.
The island is known not only as a city of education but also as the largest medical tourism destination in Southeast Asia.
Penang, which was the first British trade center in the Far East, is one of the most beautiful cities in the eastern region. Located northeast of the Malaysian peninsula, Penang is named after the pinang (betel nut) tree, which can be found all over the island.

Penang consists of Penang Island and Seberang Perai on the mainland peninsula. The two are connected by the 13.5 km Penang Bridge, which is the longest in Asia, and served by ferries.

Georgetown is a city on Penang Island that was named one of the best cities in Asia by AsiaWeek in 1998 and 2000. UNESCO has recognized it as a city with unique architecture. Georgetown has seen fast development over the last two centuries. Initially it was a swamp, but it was eventually transformed into a bustling trade center.

Downtown Georgetown has many old historical buildings. A British fortress was built in the city by Capt. Francis Light in 1786. Representing the British East India Company, Light accepted Penang in return for a pledge to protect Sultan Kedah from the Siamese.

Light renamed it Prince of Wales Island and later established Georgetown in the eastern cape of the island, later known as Semenanjung Daratan.

In 1805, Penang became a dependent of Bengal and was later developed into the fourth Indian Presidency of British India. In 1828, Malacca and Singapore were included into Penang territory and residential areas were established. The economy in Penang developed fast and Georgetown founded the first English school in Southeast Asia in 1816.

The Penang of today is a modern city that is considered the Silicon Valley of the East as many IT companies can be found on the island.
    
Shopping
Like Kuala Lumpur, Penang is also a shopping paradise with goods ranging from electronic gadgets and jewelry to clothes and antiques. Prangin Mall is a good place to start as it is the biggest mall on the island.

Chinatown is a must-see area, considering that the Chinese ethnic population in Penang constitutes the majority. Located in the heart of Georgetown, it is quite busy, particularly with various festivals. Lines of stores serving as the traditional business center, a Chinese temple, a Hindu temple and a mosque can be found here.

Temples
If you love historical buildings, visit one of the many temples in the area, such as the landmark Kek Lok Si Temple. Built in 1886, it is one of the biggest Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia. It has a 30-meter high pagoda and a giant statue of the Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin. To get to Kek Lok Si, visitors have to pass dozens of stairs flanked by souvenir stores. Interestingly, to reach the Goddess Kuan Yin statue, visitors queue for a lift that moves up at an angle of about 45 degrees. Arriving at the site of the statue, which is being renovated, one has a fantastic view of the whole island.  

Scenic spots
Penang as an island-city has beautiful beaches. Popular beaches are located along the north coast in Tanjung Bungah, Batu Ferringhi and Teluk Bahang. The area is popular among tourists and there are several hotels facing the sea, restaurants and souvenir stores.

Pasir Panjang Beach, located in the southwest of the island, is another popular spot with complete facilities. Quiet beaches can be found in Teluk Duyong, Pantai Keram Pantai Keracut and Pantai Mas, which can be reached through the Pantai Acheh protected forest in Teluk Bahang.

To get to the beaches in Teluk Bahang toward the northwest, a road passing through a mountainous area in Balik Pulau is taken where one gets to see a beautiful panorama of clove, nutmeg and durian plantations on the mountain slopes. A rural area, Balik Pulau, has many pretty Malay traditional houses. Just like a Pearl of the Orient.
 
Travel tips
Accommodation in Penang ranges from budget hostels to star-rated hotels. Budget hostels cost between $8 and $31 per night and star-rated hotels $80 to $200 per night.
The best way to explore Penang is by foot. By walking, the everyday life of the Penangites can be observed. You can also take buses, taxis or trishaws.
Fares vary sharply between public buses and taxis.  A cab from 100 Cintra Street (a hostel in Chinatown) to Batu Ferringi costs RM30.00 (US$8.80), while the bus costs RM1.50. Most city taxis do not use the meter, in which case you should agree on a price beforehand. Most city buses use coin machines to collect fares. The main bus terminals are at Pengkalan Weld (ferry terminal) and KOMTAR (ground floor).

Penang is a foodie’s haven due to its variety of hawker stalls. Among Penang’s most popular culinary delights are Penang Char Kuay Teow, Assam Laksa, Tar Sau Peah, Rojak Pasembur, Nasi Kandar and Hokkien Mee. A delicious lunch cost as little as $2.19.

Much of Penang’s nightlife can be found in the area between E&O Hotel and the Cititel. Here you’ll find smoky English pubs with darts, bars, discos and small eateries.

Penang’s main shopping areas are located on Jalan Penang, Lebuh Campbell, Lebuh Kapitan Keling, Lebuh Chulia and Lebuh Pantai. Shops along Rope Walk (Jl. Pintal Tali) offer a range of antique items and bric-a-brac.
Penang also has excellent and affordable medical services. For example, a basic standard executive health screening test including examination, electrocardiogram, chest X-ray and blood and other tests costs $130.

Fake accents can make your company larger - An Excerpt

Fake accents can make your company larger

Nury Vittachi , Bangkok | Sun, 04/18/2010 10:09 AM | Opinion


Sneaky bosses are making workers adopt weird accents to make companies sound larger than they are. “In my first job the company was so small, only three workers,” said one reader who did not want his name printed. “Sometimes I had an Indian accent, sometimes British, sometimes Romanian.” What’s a Romanian accent sound like? “We didn’t know what Romanians sounded like, so we just made it up,” he said.

One reader claims to have learned to speak English with a Na’vi accent, the language of the blue aliens from the movie Avatar. Thinks: Hmm. Are people in the corporate world impressed by a firm which employs fictional characters?

The cheekiest case was from a guy who gave his company a big-sounding name, something like Megacorp Multi-Global (Asia-Pacific) Inc. But in fact it existed only as a second SIM card in his mobile phone.

When the phone rang, he replied in an Indian accent, to make the caller think he had outsourced reception duties to a Hyderabad call-center: “MMG. Thanking you for your calling. Here is trading-wala’s reception. I putting you through to main office.” He sways his head from side to side as he talks to make himself sound more Indian.

He then puts the caller on hold briefly before re-answering in a Scottish accent. “Jest wait a wee moment, Jimmy.” Back on hold goes the caller until he re-answers in an Australian accent: “G’day, mate, so, what can I do yer for?”

But switching between accents comes with risk. Reader Jason Sydon says he is now so confused that he has lost control of his accent. “When I arrive at work, I often begin the day with an Irish accent, progressing within an hour onto Scottish. It’s not something I seem to be able to control,” he said.

Christy Chiang, a Hong Kong teenager studying Arabic, finds herself speaking English with a Middle-Eastern accent. Her Middle-Eastern lecturer finds himself using L for N in Cantonese style, pronouncing “knowledge” as “lolledge”.

On a related subject, your humble narrator received an email from an Indian police officer (who gave his name as Inspector Singh). He who complained that he had woken up with a B-movie-style Italian accent. “I tink i gotta Italiano disease! I cannot-a stop-a talkin’ a-like-a-dis. Mamma mia.”

Oddly enough this was followed by a message from someone with precisely the opposite problem. The email, signed Silvio Berlusconi, said: “Aiyo! I am waking up this morning with an Indian accent. What I am going to do? This is being most inconvenient, what with me being prime minister of Italy. And where’s the peon with my lunch? You can’t be getting good staffs these days. Where’s my jelabi?”

It’s clear that Foreign Accent Syndrome, a real disease, is continuing to spread. This is good news
for bosses who can just sack even more staff.

I just hope no one tells the bosses in this part of the world about Amy Walker, a young British woman who can do almost any accent in the world more or less perfectly (look her up on YouTube). We could launch an Asian equivalent of BBC World Service Radio and just employ her to do everything. This is actually not a bad idea.


The writer is a columnist and journalist.

Singapore through Hawaiian Eyes


Singapore Skyscrapers - Photo credit : Oxymanus

Surviving a Singapore fling - An Excerpt

Dalton Tanonaka , WEEKENDER | Mon, 03/29/2010 3:58 PM | Dalton Tanonaka

Singapore is just a 75-minute flight away from Jakarta, closer than Bali or your Kuningan dinner meeting on a bad traffic night.

It’s so efficiently manageable that international visitors refer to it as “Asia for Idiots”.

And its white-shirted bureaucrats have loosened up enough to open a Las Vegas-style casino that includes performances by the local version of the Pussycat Dolls.

So why do I still find the Lion City a weak kitten compared to its Sumatran tiger neighbor to the south?

My most recent visit to Southeast Asia’s smallest country came on the spur of the moment, a last-minute decision for a needed weekend getaway. I usually seek the spiritual nourishment of the warm sands of Jimbaran Bay, along with the delicious satisfaction of Seminyak’s world-class dining spots.

But I decided to go on my first extended Singapore fling in nearly 10 years. And I would soon rediscover why it would take so long to get back.

Let’s start at the airport.

After quickly getting through Changi’s painlessly efficient immigration booths, I was bewildered. And feeling quite alone.

Where were the touts pushing taxis and that “special Rolex” like those who greet you with huge smiles at Soekarno-Hatta? Is there no hospitality here?

“Sir, line up here for a taxi. Where would you like to go?” asked the elderly Chinese woman who looked like my stern aunt.

I got into the clean vehicle, driven by an elderly Chinese man who looked like my stern uncle. No chitchat. No nothing.

But that’s OK, because by the time I realized that flowing traffic is a normal thing in this part of the world, I was at my hotel in the historic Bugis district.

Actually, everything here is “historic”, preserved and promoted appropriately with markers and plaques as opposed to Jakarta’s casual approach to history.

Even the modern is advertised. Take the retail complex that sits adjacent to my hotel – “Singapore’s first glass-covered, air-conditioned shopping street.”

Are you kidding me? You mean I actually have to walk without having to keep my senses sharp for falling objects, bottomless potholes and a sudden monsoon rain? Where’s the fun?

Speaking of fun, I thought for sure I’d find it at the brand-new casino that had just opened the week before my arrival. The Resorts World Sentosa project, located on Singapore’s version of Fantasy Island, is the first of two big gambling palaces to open this year. The massive Marina Bay Sands is scheduled to begin operation in late April.

That this conservative, controlled country would embrace gaming is interesting. But morals often give way to business, and this was certainly an economic decision.

Those with foreign passports are allowed in free (Singaporeans must pay US$70), and no shorts, slippers or singlets (meaning sexy bodysuits) get through the door.

The blackjack and roulette tables are there, as are the slot machines (play the “Wheel of Fortune” progressive for the best value). And the “Maxims Dolls”, made up of mostly regional recruits, strut the main entertainment stage.

But where are the drink girls in fishnet stockings offering free beverages as they do in Vegas and Macau? And where are the infectious shouts of winning joy that erupt at casinos around the world?

“People in Singapore don’t do things with passion, they do things to make money,” said former resident Elizabeth, now based in beguiling Bali.

Heck, we gamble in Jakarta every time we try to cross the street.

And the nightlife. I was pleasantly surprised by the impressive St. James Power Station in the Harbourfront district, which has 13 different entertainment venues under one large roof. I particularly liked the Bellini Room with its classics theme.

But even there, as in the Latin and disco rooms, something was missing. Even as customers jumped around to the house beat, even as they cheered the birthday boy attempting awkwardly to dance with the Jennifer Lopez body double, something was missing.

And I’ve seen that something back in Jakarta, in the darkness at CJ’s, in the aisles at Immigrant, and especially on the tabletops at X2.

It’s called soul.

“Most people here jump around because they think they’re supposed to jump around,” explained Kalimantan native Indah, who’s now lived in Singapore for nearly 10 years.

I asked if her Indonesian “spirit” had been beaten down during her years across the sea.

“A bit. But I got quite wasted the other week, came home and threw up on my laptop.”

That was a relief to hear. Indonesians may leave their money in Orchard Road shops and Clarke Quay pubs. But they will always have their spice and spunk at home and abroad.

Hawaii native Dalton Tanonaka is the co-anchor of Metro TV’s Indonesia Now program, broadcast Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. and Sundays at 1 a.m. He can be reached at dalton@metrotvnews.com.

Memories and Challenges on Melbourne Street Circuit - An Excerpt

Special Report: Formula One
Memories and Challenges on Melbourne Street Circuit
By BRAD SPURGEON
Published: March 26, 2010


MELBOURNE — With a lively city of friendly and enthusiastic fans, with generally warm weather, the nearby ocean and a track situated in a green park within easy commuting distance of the city center, the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne has always been a favorite of most of the Formula One teams and drivers as well as the thousands of people that follow the world’s largest traveling circus.

The race Sunday will be the 15th Australian Grand Prix for the circuit in Albert Park, south of Melbourne, since it began holding the race in 1996, when it moved from Adelaide. And with the many chicanes, stop-and-go corners and the bumpy surface of this challenging street circuit, most of the races have been interesting ones.
“Australia has always been one of the highlights on the Formula One calendar, and this has never changed for me in all my years of competing,” said Michael Schumacher, who has won the race three times.

One of the few street circuits in the series, it is closest to the one in Montreal, because it uses public roads in a temporary setup and provides a large challenge to the drivers as the grip level increases over the weekend as the cars lay down rubber and dust it off.

“It’s quite a demanding circuit because the track conditions are constantly changing,” said Robert Kubica, a driver for the Renault team.
“On Friday, the track is very green so you have to leave some safety margin, because it’s easy to run wide and end up in the wall,” Kubica explained. “You can go quicker and quicker with each run as the track rubbers in, and by the end of practice your lap times can be as much as six seconds quicker than at the start of the session.”
The cars run at full throttle for 69 percent of the 5.3-kilometer circuit and at an average speed of 225 kilometers an hour, or 140 miles an hour, over the 58 laps of the race.

About 13 percent of the lap is run under braking, and the track is very hard on the brakes.
“You need good braking stability, because it’s very bumpy in the braking zones,” said Alan Permane, the chief race engineer for the Renault team.
This year that could result in even bigger challenges for the drivers and the technicians as the brakes undergo much more stress than in recent years because of a huge increase in the weight of the car at the beginning of the race. Because of a new rule outlawing refueling, the cars will begin the race about 150 kilograms, or 330 pounds, heavier than they did last year, while the thickness of the brake discs has not changed.

Moreover, that could negatively affect overtaking efforts on a track where overtaking is already difficult, because of all the dirt off the racing line. The best corner for passing is Turn 3, but drivers also have to hope that the car ahead makes a mistake or exits the corner too slowly.
“The grip levels are quite poor, so the setup priority is to work on drivability so that the car gives you confidence,” Kubica said. “You also need a car that can ride the curbs well so that you can carry good speed through the medium-speed corners.”
But hitting the curbs too hard can hurt the balance of the car, and therefore cost it speed.

Willy Rampf, the technical director for the Sauber team, said the track was driven at full aerodynamic down-force levels in order to give the car as much traction as possible.
“I’m curious about how the tires will be working,” Rampf said. “Last year the softer of the two compounds was degrading badly after just a few laps.
“This time Bridgestone is providing us with a harder compound, which naturally has an impact on the setup.”

Most of the drivers have warm memories of Melbourne because it often was the location of the first race of the season and, therefore, of the first Formula One race of their careers. This was the case for both of the world champion drivers at the McLaren team this season, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, who both drove good first races here.

“I really enjoyed my debut, running as high as fourth before retiring,” Button said. “I was on pole in 2006, although I had another nonfinish. Of course, last year was a fairy-tale race for me — I took pole and victory, which was one of the most satisfying and emotional moments of my career.”
Hamilton has also won in Australia.

“I’ve always enjoyed Albert Park,” Hamilton said. “I had a great race here on my Formula One debut in 2007, won the race a year later.”
For everyone, the nightlife and local culture make the race a high point of the season. The character, warmth and mind-set of the Australians are appreciated.
For example, the Toro Rosso team in its race preview came up with a long list of details that it likes about the race, including this particularly humorous observation:

“For those of you who are coming to the track by tram, note this sign on a bus: ‘When you leave this vehicle, please lower your head and watch your step. If you fail to do so, please lower your voice and watch your language.”’

Note :
Button Wins Wild Australian Grand Prix.Felipe Massa finished in third, behind Robert Kubica, the Polish driver for Renault, who finished second, at 12 seconds behind Button.