Edisi 14 Januari 2010 | International Bali Post

Philippine massacre witness implicates suspects

16 Pages Number 9 2nd Year e-mail: info_ibp@balipost.co.id online: http://www.internationalbalipost.com. http://epaper.internationalbalipost.com.

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PAGE 6

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Tress cut down anticipating rainy season PAGE 8 AP Photo/Radio Tele Ginen

The combo pictures show the condition of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, when a big earthquake hit them. People carry an injured person after an earthquake. On the right, damaged building is seen after an earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010. The largest earthquake ever recorded in the area rocked Haiti on Tuesday. The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 10 miles (15 kilometers) west of Port-au-Prince.

Conan O’Brien says no thanks to NBC move PAGE 12

Haiti’s capital shattered by powerful earthquake AP

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Dazed and injured Haitians sat on darkened streets pleading for help Wednesday and untold numbers were trapped in tons of rubble brought down by the strongest earthquake to hit this poor Caribbean nation in more than 200 years.

WEATHER FORECAST CITY

TEMPERATURE OC

DENPASAR

24 - 32

JAKARTA

25 - 32

BANDUNG

19 - 28

YOGYAKARTA

22 - 33

SURABAYA

24 - 33

SUNNY

BRIGHT/CLOUDY

RAIN

HOTLINE

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The extent of destruction from Tuesday afternoon’s 7.0-magnitude tremor was far from clear — and estimating the number of casualties was impossible, save for the dead lying among thousands of collapsed buildings in Haiti’s capital. The ornate National Palace crumbled into itself, the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping mission collapsed, and swaths of rickety shacks lay in shambles.

Clouds of dust thrown up by falling buildings choked Port-auPrince for hours.

The United States and other nations began organizing relief efforts, alerting search teams and gathering supplies that will be badly needed in Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country.

Associated Press journalists found the damage staggering even for a country long accustomed to tragedy and disaster.

Aftershocks rattled the city as women covered in dust clawed out of debris, wailing. Stunned people wandered the streets holding hands. Thousands gathered in public squares long after nightfall, singing hymns.

It was clear tens of thousands

lost their homes and many perished in collapsed buildings flimsy and dangerous even under normal conditions.

“The hospitals cannot handle all these victims,” Dr. Louis-Gerard Gilles, a former senator, said as he helped survivors. “Haiti needs to pray. We all need to pray together.”

An Associated Press videographer saw a wrecked hospital where people screamed for help in Petionville, a hillside Portau-Prince district that is home to many diplomats and wealthy Haitians as well as the poor.

At a destroyed four-story apartment building, a girl of about 16 stood atop a car, trying to peer inside while several men pulled at a foot sticking from rubble. The girl said her family was inside.

U.N. peacekeepers, most of whom are from Brazil, looked for survivors in the ruins of what had been their five-story headquarters.

U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said late Tuesday that “as we speak no one has been rescued.”

Le Roy said many U.N. personnel were missing, including mission chief Hedi Annabi, who was in the building when the quake struck.

Some 9,000 peacekeepers have been in Haiti since a 2004 rebellion ousted the president.

Much of the National Palace pancaked on itself, but Haiti’s ambassador to Mexico, Robert Manuel, said President Rene Preval and his wife survived the earthquake. He had no details.

The 7.0-magnitude quake struck at 4:53 p.m., centered 10 miles (15 kilometers) west of Port-au-Prince at a depth of just 5 miles (8 kilometers), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

USGS geophysicist Kristin Marano called it the strongest earthquake since 1770 in what is now Haiti.

The temblor appeared to have occurred along a strike-slip fault, where one side of a vertical fault slips horizontally past the other, said Tom Jordan, a quake expert at the University of Southern California. The quake’s power and proximity to Port-au-Prince likely caused widespread casualties and structural damage, he said.

“It’s going to be a real killer,” he said.

Most of Haiti’s 9 million people are desperately poor, and after years of political instability the country has no real construction standards.

In November 2008, following the collapse of a school in Petionville, the mayor of Port-au-Prince estimated about 60 percent of buildings were shoddily built and unsafe in normal circumstances.

Tuesday’s quake was felt in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, but no major damage was reported there. In eastern Cuba, houses shook but no significant damage was reported. With electricity knocked out in many places and phone service erratic, it was nearly impossible for Haitian or foreign officials to get full details of the devastation. In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said that U.S. Embassy personnel were “literally in the dark” after power failed.

“They reported structures down.

They reported a lot of walls down.

They did see a number of bodies in the street and on the sidewalk that had been hit by debris. So clearly, there’s going to be serious loss of life in this,” he said.

The Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, said at least two Americans working at its Haitian aid mission were believed trapped in rubble.

“Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken,” said Henry Bahn, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official visiting Port-au-Prince.

“The sky is just gray with dust.”

Continued on page 6

2

International

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Bali News Sanglah Hospital Receives Skull Package THE MORGUE of Sanglah Hospital received a package consignment containing skulls, last Tuesday (Jan 12) around 2:00 pm Local Time. Coordinator of Forensic Medical Installation of Sanglah Hospital, Dudut Rustyadi, suggested the package containing the skull was about to be sent abroad through the airport.

“We get the information, there is a package containing about three skulls smuggled abroad, but successfully foiled. Continued Dudut, it was the third time for Sanglah Hospital to receive smuggled skulls. The first skull was hidden in the helmet and wrapped boxes.

Meanwhile, the second has been made in the form of face decorated with ornaments and beads. “The two skulls were equally about to be sent to France, while this third case contains about three skulls and it is going to be examined on Wednesday,” said Dudut. (san)

Special Committee of Hidden Asset, Replaced

by Independent Team Negara (Bali Post)—

Asset Special Committee of Jembrana House established by the House of the former period was finally buried and it was handed over to an independent third party. This was taken after having the report and the conclusion and the special committee found difficulties to probe the assets owned by the government suspected to have vanished due to transferred to private ownership.

The Head of Jembrana House, Made Kembang Hartawan, who was contacted last Tuesday (Jan 12), did not dismiss about the matter of special committee. Now, with the changed members of the House, the tasks were submitted to the Appraisal Team. Asset matter of this region became a homework to the legislative or executive to inventory the assets owned by Jembrana Regency both of moving assets (cars and vehicles) or immovable assets. Moreover, in the near future the local leadership would change.

Made Kembang Hartawan told that the House remained to continue the tasks of Asset Special Committee, but entrusted it to a truly independent Appraisal Team. The House would only function to control. In the budget this year, the House has allocated IDR 700 million for data collection of assets owned and would be done by Appraisal Team.

“We received a report from the Asset Special Committee that essentially concerning with the difficulty to inventory the asset. On that account, the House decided to allocate a budget for a professional Appraisal Team. We are not giving up, but it is hard to do. The executives who have handled for decades found a trouble as well and it is not clear until now,” said Kembang who is also the

Head of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) of Jembrana Branch.

When asked when the team began to take action, Kembang submited to the executive authority to run it. The House would not join in the team and would control only.

Changing Hands

As has been known, the Asset Special Committee was established by the previous Jembrana House chaired by I Putu Dwita then. This committee was made at the initiative of the House on responding to the reports from the community questioning about the existence and ownership of local assets that alleged to have changed hands. Some of those assets were the land and building in the city streets of Negara like at the former SMA N 1 Negara and currently it has been functioned as campus of STITNA, land of PHDI used for the office of the Head of Jembrana subdistrict and so on.

This committee was formed to recommend to the head of the region in order to arrange the asset management in the region. These measures need to be done in order a a number of assets owned by regency government would be clear, orderly, and not change hands to a third party. The Special Committee was not only targeting the land and buildings but also the property of regency government such as facilities and infrastructure like Jimbarwana TV and medical equipment purchased with the budget of 2008 worth IDR 5.3 billion. Allegedly, the equipment was also used for a private hospital in Negara. Similarly, unclearness also occurred to hundreds of assets owned by Regency as Balinese cow in the village of Baluk and cow development center at Melaya. (sur)

IBP/eka

Garbage and dead fish filled Kuta beach because the high tides and strong wind occur on the beach. The picture show a person move a dead turtle on Kuta beach

Pedudusan Agung Rite at Penataran Agung Temple Satrya I Dewa Kandel Pejeng Gianyar (Bali Post)—

Pedudusan Agung rite was held at the temple of Penataran Satriya I Dewa Agung Kandel, in Banjar Puseh, Pejeng, Sukawati, Gianyar, last Tuesday (Jan 12). In 1980— exactly 30 years ago—in fact the same rite has already been held at the temple supported by 23 supporting devotees or clans from all over Bali, but its level belonging to Pedudusan Alit or smaller category.

Ida I Dewa Gede Mangku, Jro Mangku Pengelingsir (senior priest), said the Pedudusan Agung rite belonged to primary category of offerings by using three water buffaloes, calf, turtles, goats, et cetera. This ceremony has been prepared since last October 9, 2009. The Pedudusan Agung ceremony in the whole would be officiated by 27 priests. Nine of the priest or Ida Peranda led the summit of the Pedudusan Agung ceremony on last Tuesday (Jan 12). The summit took place after devotees did solemn worship service led by nine priests consisting of Ida Peranda Gde Jumpung Putra Keniten (Geria Jumpung Kamasan), Ida Peranda Gede KetutKeniten (Geria Dhawan Kelod), IdaPeranda Jelantik Manik Giri Puspa (Geria Santian, Peliatan) , Ida Peranda Wayahan Bun (Geria Sanur, Pejeng), Ida Peranda Jelantik Giri (Geria Gunung Sari), Ida Peranda Gede Buruan (Geria Sanding Pejeng), Ida Peranda Istri Oka (Geria Sand-

ing Pejeng), IdaPerandaIstri Agung Keniten (Geria Jumpung Gelgel), Ida Dalem Surya Dharma Soghata (Puri Kaleran Klungkung).

A procession of sacred dance as supplement of Pedudusan Agung presented consisted of mask, puppets, rejang and warrior dance. Subsequent ceremonies comprised the ngingkup, nyenuk, ngebek, Rsi Bojana, and mesineb or the closing on January 23.

Every day, the descendants of royal palaces in the territory of Gianyar, Puri Batan Ancak Tabanan and Puri Klungkung also made their time to pay homage and so did myriad devotees from all over Bali. Community figures like the Bangli Regent Nengah Arnawa, Gianyar Regent Cok Ace, and the CEO of Bali Post Media Group Satria Naradha also came to worship.

Ida I Dewa Gede Mangku told briefly about the origin of which I Dewa Kandel glorified at the emple. He said that I Dewa Kandel was the eldest son of Dalem Ketut Ngulesir with I Gusti Ayu Suanita. Since he mastered household affairs, kingdom administration including spiritualfield, he was then awarded title as Arya Bujaga Kandel Astra.

He became leader of the royal household in Gelgel in early 1400s. So, I Dewa Kandel strategic played important role and gave much contribution to the King Dalem Waturenggong who was no other than his younger sibling.

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Bali News

International

Disappeared for Two Days

Corpse of a Girl Found Floating at Lake Beratan Tabanan (Bali Post)—

The discovery of the corpse floating in Lake Beratan, Bedugul identified as Ni Luh Sri Utami, 21, last Tuesday (Jan 12) made residents of Baturiti shocked. Sri Utami was a girl from Banjar Asah Panji, Wanagiri Village, Sukasada, Buleleng missing since three days ago. It was unknown the cause of floating corpseof Sri, whether as victim of violence, accident or suicide.

The corpse of Sri who previously worked at the Puncak Bagus restaurant, Bedugul was first discovered around 10:00 am Local Time.

Two people initially saw a corpse floating in face downward position about 200 meters from the edge of the lake. Witnesses Budiansari and Rahmat, employees of Al Sidiq restaurant nearby, were walking at the lakeside. The thing supposed to be corpse was later then informed to other residents. Residents believing the figures as corpse directly reported toBaturiti Sector Police. Afterwards, the police came to location. Apparently, it was true that the floating figure was a human corpse. Many people then visited the location.

When obtaining information about the discovery of the corpse, relatives of victim came to location. The victim’s father, I Nyoman Laden , 64, relative Wayan Mertana, 25, and Nyoman Bagiada, 37, were on the scene before the body was pulled to lakeside. After arriving at the edge, they believed the body was Sri Utami.

When found, Sri was wearing a light orange shirt, black jacket with words saying Skull Warrior, and pink pants. There were a

number of wounds on the right ear and lower right lip. The left eyelid and also epidermis peeled out. Victim’s body was very concerned.

From the pocket of clothing was found a hand phone Nokia and money worth IDR 15 thousand. The corpse of Sri was taken to Sanglah Hospital for an autopsy.

When the evacuation took place, the victim’s family said that Sri’s boyfriend, Kadek Sukertia, 28, from Banjar Yeh Ketipat, Wanagiri Village, a housekeeping at BIMC Kuta has disappeared last Sunday (Jan 10).

Families also did a search. Three days ago, Monday (Jan 11) was found Honda Supra motorcycle parked at roadside, near Lake Beratan. The search was continued. However, no local residents knew about the existence of victim. On obtaining information about a discovery of corpse, relatives of victims came to the location immediately.

Meanwhile, the police could not identify the cause of death of the victim. Spokesperson of Tabanan Resort Police, Endung Hardanto, last Tuesday (Jan 12) said that his party was performing investigation and waiting for the result of autopsy. (kmb14)

Acquisition of Village Fund Allocation 2010 Reduces 30 Percent Gianyar (Bali Post)—

Acquisition of village allocation fund (ADD) for each village in Gianyar Regency declined in the year 2010. This made a number of development programs of the village administration planned in the Village Budget Plan (APBDes) chaotic. Those who have made the planning of activities set forth in APBDes became confused due to the decreased ADD compared to what they received in the previous year.

The information obtained, last Tuesday (Jan 12), the decline in the allocation of village funds in Gianyar Regency reached 30 percent.

Villages that previously received ADD worth IDR 80 million, in 2010 they only received as much as IDR 50 million. This made some village heads puzzled to find out funds for their rural development programs that has been socialized to their community. The amount of funds obtained in ADD of this year after deducted by expenditure of operational and village officials was certainly very small for development activities in the village.

The Head of Pering Village, Wayan Sudiartana, knew the decrease of the ADD acquisition from his secretary. Direct notification about the declinewas not received yet.

“It is said, his rural administration will organize a meeting with Rural Administration Ser-

vices in relatively short time to discuss about the reduction of such ADD,” he revealed.

Responding to such decline reaching 30 percent, Sudiartana said it had direct impact on the village administration, particularly in improving services to the community village.

As such, by the existence of the ADD, Pering Village has conduct procurement transport car for rubbish processing paid each year from ADD funds. Other than sourced from ADD, the payment reaching USD 20 million was also taken from other village revenue. Therefore, such decrease would automaticallydecreased the development program at the village level, he explained.

Meanwhile, the Head of Rural Administration Services of Gianyar Regency,Wayan Wardana, confirmed that he did not dismiss the existence of declining ADD for every village in Gianyar Regency this year. This decline occurred due to a decrease in gains earned through General Allocation Fund (DAU) of Gianyar Regency in 2010. The decline of DAU received also resulted in the decline of ADD earnings. To discuss this matter, his party would organize a meeting with all Heads of Village across Gianyar Regency.

On that account, he appealed the planning in APBDes should be adjusted to the acquisition of ADD. (kmb16)

Thursday, January 14, 2010

3

PD Swatantra Apprehensive

Office Looks Vile, Deposits Revenue Only IDR 30 M Singaraja (Bali Post)—

Although managing the plantation assets in large enough quantities, the Regional Companies (PD) Swatantra Buleleng Regency, in fact has apprehensive property. It is discernible from the condition of shabby office and not representative and the profit paid to the pockets of Regionally Generated Revenue (PAD) was only IDR 30 million a year.

Commission C of Buleleng House highlighted that condition when visiting the office of PD Swantantra located on Jalan A Yani Singaraja, last Tuesday (Jan 12). “It is very surprising, the condition is not appropriate with the total assets managed by PD Swatantra,” said the Head of Commission C ofBuleleng House, Dewa Mahayadnya, as set foot at the office.

Impression of shabby office building was visible from the condition of the old impressed building and looked to have not refurbished for long time. Even, a number of tiles also seemed to leak, while courtyard was filled with weeds without adequate arrangement. The more apprehensive condition was the office had no signboard so that people never knew it as the office of PD Swatantra.

Whereas, PD Swantantra was known to have substantial assets in the form of land of coffee and clove plantations scattering at several villages in Buleleng. From the results of the current visit, Commission C knew the total assets of PD Swatantra was 89,322 hectares of coffee plantations, clove, and other production. With such a great asset, in

fact, the PD Swatantra only deposited revenue to Buleleng Regency worth IDR 30 million with a target of IDR 35 million.

Other findings also becoming a question of Commission C was the amount of personnel handling the assets of that extent namely only 5 people, namely a Managing Director, Director, Agricultural Division, Finance and Administration. Even, the position of Managing Director occupied by Nengah Gelgel also became a question because the filling of Managing Director was not known for sure by the House. “Probably, if we do not make this working visit, we will not know that PD has appointed new management. Actually, as a controlling institution, we should know the change of management here,” said a member of Commission C, Made Rawa. In response to the matter, Nengah Gelgel said that his appointment as managing director was known in a sudden. At that time, there was no notice and suddenly he received the decree as Managing Director of PD Suwatantra.

Even though it happened suddenly, he still received the task. “Suddenly I received the decree to take care of this PD because I can not refuse the job. As a mandate, I take it,” he said.

Related to the conditions of the office looking to be shabby, Gelgel confessed that he did not dare do it because according to information the location would be taken advantage as international swimming pool by Buleleng Regency. About the small amount of PAD deposits, Gelgel said that the Board of Directors of PD Swatantra have prepared a strategy as a step to increase the income. (kmb15)

Skill Training of Natural Disaster Prevention Denpasar (Bali Post)—

Condition of Nusa Tenggara region in general is a region of highly vulnerable to natural disasters treats. Because this area belongs to a cluster of volcanic regions and broken plates seabed subjecting to natural disasters. Seeing the problem, it is necessary to anticipate the possibility of a disaster that will occur.

Thus, the Military Command 163/ Wirasatya as a strategic line of the compartment of Regional Military Command IX / Udayana trained their skills and abilities to face natural disasters. By involving about 50 soldiers, its party held a rehearsal exercises of Commander Post I 163/Wirasatya, last Tuesday (Jan 12). Such competency exercise would last for three days.

Chief of Regional Command XI/ Udayana, Hotmangaradja Pandjaitan, said the goal was to train the elements of leadership in improving the ability of relation procedures of staff and commander, to plan and prepare and organize in dealing with problems arising in the Zone of Military Commander 163/Wiarasatya.

In addition, said Hotmangaradja Pandjaitan, it meant to implement the tactics and techniques in military operation, perform the fight and implement prevailing work procedures. “This skill training also assists the Regional Government in the context of natural disaster management, espe-

cially earthquake followed by tsunami,” he said in his address read by Chief of Staff of Regional Military Commander IX /Udayana, Agung Revulton.

Pursuant to the Law No. 34/2004 regarding to National Armed Forces (TNI), the ability to help regional government in dealing with mini-style disaster was one of the main tasks of the Armed Forces in military operations other than war (OMSP). On that account, the rehearsal was held by Regional Military Command 163/Wirasatya entitled “Regional Military Command 163/Wirasatya conducts military operations other than war to provide natural disaster relief assistance to the Regional Government in the Bali Province, to support the main tasks of Regional Military Command IX/Udayana.”

Hotmangaradja explained that his party took this theme because it was relevant, considering the geographical area of Bali was vulnerable to natural disasters, particularly earthquakes accompanied by tsunami. “We can not predict the natural disasters accurately.

So is the development of technology and modern science can not predict it,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Military 163/ Wirastya,Yoedhi Swastanto, explained the same thing. The capability exercise for natural disaster response management was expected to be useful. “We are conducting this training for three days,” he said. (kmb21)

4

News

Thursday, January 14, 2010

International

Mexico-US cooperation cited in 2nd druglord arrest AP

TIJUANA, Mexico – The capture of a brutal druglord accused of ordering massacres, beheadings and the dissolving of bodies in caustic soda marks the second time in less than a month Mexico has taken down one of its most powerful traffickers.

Teodoro Garcia Simental, known as “El Teo,” was seized by federal troops Tuesday when they stormed a seaside vacation home near the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

The arrest of the Tijuana-based trafficker is considered another victory for the enhanced surveillance techniques being cultivated with the assistance of Washington.

U.S. anti-drug officials had been helping Mexican authorities track Garcia for more than five months.

The arrest also raised hopes among the families of hundreds of people missing and believed killed

by Garcia’s gang, their bodies dissolved in vats of caustic soda so no trace was ever found.

AP

Teodoro Garcia Simental, known as ‘El Teo,’ center, is guarded by federal police

“I have received calls from Guadalajara, Mazatlan and Mexicali, from the families of people who disappeared in Tijuana and hope that this man will confess to where he left the bodies of their sons, wives and fathers,” said Cristina Palacios, president of a victims rights groups representing the families of the disappeared.

Palacios said that of the more than 300 cases of missing people documented by the group between 2007 and 2009, 60 percent to 70 percent are linked to Garcia’s gang, which used the services of Santiago Meza Lopez, known as “The Stewmaker,” who authorities say confessed to dissolving 300 bodies.

Authorities say Garcia, in his mid-30s, ordered his rivals disposed of in especially grisly ways.

Those who weren’t dissolved were sometimes beheaded and their bodies hung from bridges. He took hefty ransom payments from kidnapping Tijuana business leaders.

He is also believed to be behind many of the dozens of assassinations of Tijuana police officers over the last two years.

Ramon Eduardo Pequeno, head of the federal police’s anti-drug unit, said Garcia had recently stepped up efforts to kill Baja California’s attorney general, Rommel Moreno, and Tijuana’s public safety chief, Julian Leyzaola.

“Tijuana has been living through some very bad times, but victories like this are what keep us moving forward,” said Tijuana Mayor Jorge Ramos.

President Felipe Calderon launched an all-out war upon taking office in December 2006, sending thousands of troops out to combat the drug gangs. But until recently the government had little success in taking down the top kingpins, and Mexicans have been growing increasingly frustrated with a war that has left more than 15,000 casualties.

AP

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the lawmakers of his ruling party at the parliament.

Israel tries to defuse diplomatic flap with Turkey AP

JERUSALEM – It fell short of an apology. But Israel’s deputy foreign minister has signaled he regrets humiliating Turkey’s ambassador, in an effort to defuse a diplomatic flap that has further strained ties between the once-close allies.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also weighed in publicly Wednesday for the first time since the flap erupted earlier this week, gently chiding the Israeli diplomat for his conduct. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon did not go so far as to explicitly apologize for inviting Israeli TV crews on Monday to film how he forced Ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol to sit on a sofa lower than his and denied him a handshake.

And he stood behind his decision to summon Celikkol to protest a Turkish TV show that depicts Israeli intelligence agents as brutal.

But “it’s not my custom to offend ambassadors,” Ayalon said in a statement to the Israeli media late Tuesday.

“And in the future I will explain my positions in accepted diplomatic ways.”

The Turkish Embassy had no immediate comment. But Turkey’s NTV and Haber Turk television stations cited

unnamed Turkish foreign ministry officials as saying Ankara was not satisfied with Ayalon’s statements and expected a serious apology. The officials also suggested that Celikkol could be recalled if Israel didn’t comply.

The put-down enraged Turkey and deepened the rift that has emerged over the past year between the Jewish state and its closest friend in the Muslim world. Headlines in Turkish newspapers reflected the deep outrage over the incident.

“Insolence,” blared the daily Vatan, and Cumhuriyet proclaimed, “Ties with Israel are breaking down.” “Vile conspiracy,” railed the Sabah, while the pro-Islamic Yeni Safak newspaper fumed: “Despicable and immoral.”

NKorea warns SKorea over propaganda leaflets AP

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea’s military warned Wednesday that South Korea would face unspecified retaliation if it doesn’t stop activists from launching propaganda leaflets across their divided border.

The two Koreas agreed in 2004 to end decades of propaganda warfare across the Demilitarized Zone dividing the neighbors. However, the South Korean government says it cannot prevent activists from sending the leaflets, citing freedom of speech, though it has urged them to stop so that they don’t damage ties between the two Koreas.

The North’s military said it “will never tolerate even the slightest acts” of undermining “our leadership’s absolute authority.”

The comments came in separate statements issued in Korean and English that were carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The North demanded South Korea immediately punish activists engaged in sending leaflets and disband their organizations, saying hundreds of thousands of propaganda leaflets were flown to the North on Jan. 1.

“The separatists at home and abroad will never be able to flee from a stern punishment by the nation for challenging history,” the English-language statement said.

The North has issued similar threats in the past, including one late last year.

Chun Hae-sung, a spokesman at South Korea’s Unification Ministry, said Wednesday that the South has no law that could ban activists from launching leaflets. He didn’t elabo-

rate.

The North’s threat came two days after it again proposed peace talks to formally conclude the Korean War, which ended with an armistice in 1955, not a peace treaty, thus leaving the peninsula technically in a state of war.

The country, which says it was compelled to develop atomic bombs because of U.S. threats, said its return to stalled nuclear disarmament talks depend on better ties with Washington and the lifting of international sanctions on it.

On Jan. 1, about 70 South Korean activists tied tens of thousands of leaflets condemning North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to balloons and launched them across the border. Some protesters also burned large North Korean flags with Kim’s picture printed on them.

AP

FILE- In this file photo taken on Jan. 12, 2010, South Korean activists release a huge balloon.

International IMIGRATION Australian Consulate General Jalan Tantular 32 Renon Denpasar Phone: +62 361 241118 Fax: +62 361 221195 (General) +62 361 241120 (Immigration)

General Info

Thursday, January 14, 2010

HOSPITAL Denpasar There are 4 major hospitals usually used by foreigners Denpasar General Hospital (RSUP Sanglah), Kasih Ibu Hospital, Rumah Sakit Wongaya and Rumah Sakit Dharma Husada.

HOSPITAL Bangli Bangli General Hospital Jl. Kesumayuda 27, Bangli Phone : +62 366 91521 Gianyar

Royal Danish & Norwegian Mimpi Resort Jimbaran, Bali Phone +62.361.701 070 The Czech Republic Jalan Pengembak No. 17 Sanur, Bali Phone +62.361.286 465 France Consulate Agency Jalan Merta Sari Gang II No. 8 Sanur, Bali Phone +62.361.285 485 The Federal Republic of Germany Jalan Pantai Karang No 17 Sanur, Bali Phone +62.361.288 535 The Republic of Hungary Jalan By Pass No 219 Sanur, Bali Phone +62.361.287 701 Italian Consulate Jalan By Pass Ngurah Rai Jimbaran, Bali Phone +62.361.701 005 Honorary Consulate of Mexico Jalan Mohamad Yamin 1 A, Renon, Denpasar, Bali Phone +62.361.223 266 Honorary Consulate of The Netherlands Jalan Raya Kuta 127, Bali Phone +62.361.761 506 Honorary Consulate of Spain Komplek Istana Kuta Galleria Blok Vallet 2 No 11. Jalan Patih Jelantik Kuta, Bali Phone +62.361.769 286 USA Consulate Agency Jalan Hayam Wuruk No. 188 Denpasar, Bali Phone +62.361.222 426 Consulate General of Japan Jalan Raya Puputan No. 170 Renon, Denpasar, Bali Phone +62.361.227 628 Honorary Consulate of British Jalan Tirta Nadi No. 20 Sanur, Bali Phone +62.361.270 601 Swiss and Austria Consulate Jalan Patih Jelantik, Komplek Pertokoan Istana Galleria Phone +62.361.751 735 Honorary Consulate of Brazil Jalan Legian No. 186, Bali Phone +62.361.757 775 Honorary Consulate of Thailand Jalan Raya Puputan Renon 81, Denpasar, Bali Phone +62.361.263 310 Embassy of India Jalan Raya Puputan Renon 42-44, Denpasar, Bali Phone +62.361.241 978 Honorary Consulate of Sweden anf Finland Segara Village Hotel, Jalan Segara Ayu, Sanur, Bali Phone +62.361.282 223 Honorary Consulate of Malaysia Alam Kulkul Boutique Resort, Jalan Pantai Kuta, Bali Phone +62.361.752 520

RSUP Sanglah is the main provincial public hospital. Its facilities have improved since the emergency ward had been built in 1991. Difficult/critical cases would not become a problem anymore since it has complete equipments. It is located on Jl. Kesehatan Selatan 1 Sanglah Denpasar with : Phone : 227 911 – 15 Fax : 226 363 Kasih Ibu Hospital is a private hospital which caters for less serious cases such as diarrhea, intestinal disorders, anemia, asthma and minor accidents. Kasih Ibu is also equipped to care for pregnant women. This hospital is located on Jl. Teuku Umar 120 Denpasar.

Phone : 223 036 Fax : 268 690.

Rumah Sakit Wongaya (Public Hospital; Psychiatric Unit) Jl. Kartini, Denpasar.

Phone : 222 142.

Rumah Sakit Dharma Husada , (Private) Jl. Sudirman No 50, Denpasar Phone : 227 560, 234 824 In relating with health, Bali also has insurance and medical evacuation company, that is: AEA International - SOS Assistance Bali.

PT Abhaya Eka Astiti, Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai No. 24X, Kuta 80361.

Phone : 755 768 Fax : 755 768 One thing that should be noted by tourists here is that the Blood Bank in Bali normally carries no stock of Rhesus (Rh) Negative blood.

Badung Bali Medical Clinics There are some medical clinics that are well known by foreigners in Bali. Some of them are western owned and operated : Bali International Medical Center (BIMC) Bali International Medical Centre (BIMC) provides excellent Primary Health Care & Emeregency Medical Services for tourists, traveler, and expatriate living in Bali.

Emeregency Room, Ambulance, Clinic Services, Insurance & Medical Evacuations also available. Open 24 hours Phone : 761 2631. Located Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai No.100X, Kuta, Bali 80361 - Indonesia. http://www.bimcbali.com International SOS Clinic Bali Opened in 1999, offers International SOS members and visitors to Bali comprehensive primary health care and 24-hour emergency medical service.

Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai 505X, Kuta 80361, Bali - Indonesia Phone : 720 100 Fax : 721 919 E-mail : info@sos-bali.com ttp ://www.sos-bali.com Bali Nusa Dua Emergency Clinic Jl Pratama No. 81 Phone : 771 324 Kuta Clinic Jl. Raya Kuta Phone : 753 268 Dental Clinic Dr Indra Guizot, Jl. Patimura 19, Denpasar Phone : 222 445, 234 375 DDS. Ritjie Rihartinah, Jl Pratama No. 81 Nusa Dua Phone : 771 324 Retno W. Agung, Jln. Bypass Ngurah Rai No.4A Br. Tamansari – Sanur Phone : 288 501

Clinic Mas Jl. Raya Mas, Ubud Phone : +62 361 974573 Toyo Clinic Jl. Pengosekan, Ubud Phone : +62 361 978078 Permata Bunda Clinic Jl. Patih Jelantik 50 X, Gianyar Phone : +62 361 942082 Ubud Clinic Jl Raya Ubud No.36 Campuhan, Ubud Phone : +62 361 974911 Gianyar General Hospital Jl. Ciung Wanara 2, Gianyar Phone : +62 361 943049 Karangasem Karangasem General Hospital Jl. Ngurah Rai, Karangasem Phone : +62 363 21001 Klungkung Klungkung General Hospital Jl. Flamboyan 40-4, Klungkung Phone : +62 366 21371 Negara Negara General Hospital Jl. Gelar, Negara Phone : +62 365 41006 Tabanan Laboratorium Clinic Jl. Gunung semeru No. 8, Tabanan Phone : +62 361 819260 Mengwi Clinic Jl. I Gusti Ngurah Rai 46, Tabanan Phone : +62 361 880550 Darma Kerti Hospital Jl. Teratai 16, Tabanan Phone : +62 361 812359 Tabanan General Hospital Jl. Pahlawan 14, Tabanan Phone : +62 361 811027 Singaraja Prodia Clinic Jl. RA Kartini 12, Singaraja Bali 0362 - 24-516 Singaraja Hospital Jl. Ngurah Rai 30, Singaraja Bali 0362 - 22-573 Pet Clinics Kayumas: (0361) 226934 Sayang Binatang: (0361) 483121 Satwa Kertha Husada: (0361) 263018 Pantai Sindhu: (0361) 287518 Sidakarya: (0361) 724492 Pedungan: (0361) 720026

TAXIS Praja Taxi : (0361) 289090 Bali Taxi : (0361) 701111 Ngurah Rai Taxi : (0361) 724724 Pan Wirthi Taxi : (0361) 723366 Komotra Taxi : (0361) 758855

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Thursday, January 14, 2010

News 142,800 gallons of fuel spilled on Alaska island AP

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An estimated 142,800 gallons of diesel fuel spilled from a storage tank on an island in Alaska’s remote Aleutian chain.

The Coast Guard says 1,000 gallons from the Monday spill on Adak Island entered a creek and flowed into a small boat harbor.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation says the fuel flowed from an underground

storage tank as a ship moored at a pier pumped fuel to the tank.

The flow reached a drainage system that collects water from around the underground tanks and sends it into the creek. The amount overwhelmed the system’s oil and water separator.

The fuel tank is owned by Adak Petroleum. Workers discovered the spill, halted pumping and set up boom to contain the fuel.

Adak Island is 1,300 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Former Army captain sentenced for stealing $400K AP

AP –

Hancuffed Andal Ampatuan Jr. is led by members of the National Bureau of Investigation during his trial

Philippine massacre witness implicates suspects AP

MANILA, Philippines – The first witness to testify against a powerful clan member accused of leading a pre-election massacre of 57 people in the southern Philippines said Wednesday he saw the defendant and his family firing guns as victims knelt and begged for their lives.

The testimony came on the second day of the murder trial of Andal Ampatuan Jr., the top suspect in the Nov. 23 killings of journalists, relatives and supporters of a rival who was challenging Ampatuan for the governorship of Maguindanao province in May elections.

Ampatuan, the only one indicted so far in the deaths, pleaded innocent to murder charges at his arraignment when the trial opened last week. His father, clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., and several other close relatives have been implicated but not formally charged in the killings. They also face separate charges of rebellion. Rasul Sangki, vice mayor of Ampatuan township, told the court he witnessed the killings after Ampatuan summoned him to a road checkpoint where police officers stopped the caravan in which the victims were traveling.

“I went with him because I was scared,” Sangki said. “If I did not follow him, he might get mad at our family. He is feared in our province.”

He said the victims were ordered at gunpoint to lay face-down and then were divested of money, cell phones and TV cameras.

They were then herded back into their cars and led to a hilltop clearing

several miles (kilometers) away, Sangki said.

Sangki testified that he heard Ampatuan speak to someone on a radio, saying “Father, they are here.” The voice on the other end replied, “You know what to do,” Sangki told the court.

As gunshots rang out, the victims pleaded for their lives and women screamed. One of the journalists pleaded with Ampatuan to spare his life, Sangki said. Armed with an M-16 rifle fitted with a grenade launcher, Ampatuan shot him as well as the sister and wife of his election rival, Esmael Mangudadatu.

Sangki testified that two of Ampatuan’s uncles and a nephew, who also is a brother-in-law of Sangki, were among those who shot the victims.

“They continued firing on those who had been gunned down ... in the head and other parts of the body to make sure they will not survive,” he said.

Following the slaughter, Sangki said that Ampatuan told him to return to the checkpoint “and tell the people they saw and heard nothing.”

Defense lawyer Sigfrid Fortun questioned Sangki why it took him 18 days after the killings to prepare an affidavit of his allegations. The vice mayor replied that he was too scared to speak out sooner.

“I lost trust in the law,” he said. “The police and the military — they (Ampatuans) control them.”

Sangki is among eight prosecution witnesses testifying against a request for bail filed by Ampatuan. All the evidence presented in the bail hearings will form part of the records of the main trial.

Among those killed were at least 30 journalists and their staff in what is considered the world’s deadliest single attack on media workers. The carnage has sparked international outrage, prompting President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to briefly impose martial law in Maguindanao to crack down on the powerful clan — once a key political ally — and its private army.

Arroyo’s political backing of the clan, which helped her win crucial votes during the 2004 elections, had allowed the Ampatuans to maintain a longstanding iron grip on Maguindanao, a predominantly Muslim province about 560 miles (900 kilometers) south of Manila, the International Crisis Group, a prominent think tank, said last month.

Arroyo’s aides have acknowledged her close alliance with the Ampatuans but said that did not authorize them to commit crimes. The Ampatuans were expelled from Arroyo’s ruling party after the killings.

HONOLULU – A former Army captain has been sentenced to four years and two months in federal prison for stealing $400,000 from the U.S. government while stationed at Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan.

U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor on Tuesday also ordered David Gilliam to pay about $450,000 in restitution to the government.

The 39-year-old Gilliam had pre-

viously pleaded guilty to theft, money laundering and filing a false tax return.

Gilliam was accused of stealing the money between April 2004 and April 2005. At the time he worked as a disbursing officer for the Army’s Alpha Detachment, 125th Finance Battalion, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Prosecutors say he allegedly smuggled the funds from Afghanistan to Hawaii, where he spent some of the money before relocating to South Carolina.

8-yr-old boys save drowning man at Aussie beach AP

ADELAIDE, Australia – Two 8-year-old boys in a young lifeguards training program rescued a man who was struggling in the ocean off Australia’s east coast.

Jake Satherley told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio that he and friend Spencer Jeams saw a middle-aged man having trouble Sunday off Northcliffe beach, in Queensland state.

“We saw him put his hand up and saying, ‘help, help,’ so we went over to him and pulled him on our

board,” Satherley said Monday.

The boys are part of the under14 lifeguard training program at Northcliffe Life Saving Club.

Club president David Shields said he’d never seen a rescue like it.

“They really did perform well above their years,” he told ABC. “We’re just so proud of them and the way they acted instinctively.”

Nearly 50,000 Australian children ages 5 to 13 are enrolled in junior life saving programs, according to Surf Life Saving Australia.

Haiti’s capital...

From page 1 President Barack Obama offered prayers for the people of Haiti and said the U.S. stood ready to help. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. was offering full assistance — civilian and military — and a national organization of registered nurses called for nurse volunteers to provide care in Haiti.

Venezuela’s government said it would send a military plane with canned foods, medicine and drinking water and provide 50 rescue workers.

Mexico, which suffered an earthquake in 1985 that killed some 10,000 people, planned to send doctors, search and rescue

dogs and infrastructure damage experts.

Edwidge Danticat, a HaitianAmerican author whose books about Haiti have won the National Book Award and the Pushcart Prize, was unable to contact relatives in Haiti. She sat with family and friends at her home in Miami, looking for news on the Internet and watching TV news reports.

“You want to go there, but you just have to wait,” she said. “Life is already so fragile in Haiti, and to have this on such a massive scale, it’s unimaginable how the country will be able to recover from this.”

Indonesia Today

International

Thursday, January 14, 2010

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Agreement on Australia-New Zealand FTA enters into force Antara

JAKARTA - Hot on the heels of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (FTA), now comes the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA), it was reported here Wednesday.

Described as the single most comprehensive economic agreement among its Dialogue Partners, the AANZFTA entered into force on 1 January 2010, the ASEAN Secretariat said.

The Agreement on the Establishment of the AANZFTA was initially

signed in Thailand in February 2009.

Eight of the 12 Parties - Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Viet Nam - are now implementing the Agreement and the commitments they have made therein.

“This is indeed a significant development particularly in our efforts to slowly integrate the markets in this region,” said Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN. “What makes this particular development more meaningful is the fact that the AANZFTA is being implemented amidst such economically challenging times,” Dr Surin added.

The AANZFTA Agreement hopes to create a trans-Pacific free trade zone comprising a market of 600

million people with a combined GDP of US$ 2.7 trillion.

It is expected to substantially reduce barriers to trade in goods and services, thereby, opening up a wide range of opportunities for trade and investment in the region not only for the Parties but non-Parties as well.

Dr Surin encouraged the rest of the Parties to the Agreement to endeavor to be on board to enable them to reap the benefits from the Agreement as early as possible.

Under the AANZFTA, tariff re-

ductions started gradually on 1 January 2010 with free trade to be fully realized by 2015. The newer ASEAN Member States - Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam have longer time frames.

The Agreement with AustraliaNew Zealand is unique in that the goods, services and investment components were negotiated in a single undertaking as compared to FTAs with other ASEAN Dialogue Partners where they are negotiated sequentially.

Susno can Indonesian government red-faced over prison perks report his murder threat to police Agence France-Presse

Antara

JAKARTA - Head of the National Police Criminal Detective Unit Commissioner General Ito Sumardi said Commissioner General Susno Duadji has the right to report the threats to kill him to the National Police Headquarters.

“There is a procedure, and we will submit any such report to the police,” Ito said in Jakarta Tuesday night.

Ito said that if the former police criminal detective unit chief reported the threat by way of short messages (SMS) that he will be killed, the report will be followed up by the nearest police station, whose men will check and find the source and the person who has sent the short messages to kill the three-star police general after receiving a copy of from the Police Headquarters.

Ito said the police will help Susno if the former West Java police chief reported the threat and asked for assistance in tracing the terrorist.

“But as no such report has been received, the police would not take any action,” the former South Sumatra police chief said.

Ito also disclosed that Police Spokesman Inspector General Edward Aritonang had already contacted Susno on the murder threat, and ordered the local police station to find out about the terror threat.

On Sunday (Jan 10) night, Susno received a threat by way of a short message (SMS) cell phone after he talked to the media with regard to his testimonies in the hearing of the Antasari Azhar case.

The murder threat went as follows: “Susno!! If you speak to the media again, you’re finished, and we know how to kill you quickly.”

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government — which has promised to stamp out corruption — was embarrassed by revelations Tuesday that rich and powerful prisoners are living in luxury behind bars.

Details of the perks for influential inmates were front-page news after a team established by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to probe judicial corruption conducted a snap inspection of a women’s jail in Jakarta.

Businesswoman Artalyta Suryani, convicted last year for bribing prosecutors, was reportedly interrupted in the middle of a laser beauty treatment in her 64-squaremetre (690-square-foot) apartmentstyle “cell”.

Her perks included a double bed, air conditioning, flat-screen television, a refrigerator, private kitchen and bathroom, and a playpen for children, according to The Jakarta Globe newspaper.

“We deeply regret that several prisoners might have received special treatment,” presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha told AFP. “President Yudhoyono believes that all inmates should receive equal treatment. There shouldn’t be any privileges or special dispensations for prisoners.”

Yudhoyono has promised to crush what he has called the “court mafia” that runs the country’s judicial system, although critics say his fact-finding team lacks authority and point to Yudhoyono’s failure to take more decisive action.

The ex-general won re-election in July but his second five-year term has been hit by a steady flow of scandals that have cast doubt on his oft-repeated promises to tackle pervasive corruption.

“All the problems related to the judicial mafia can’t be solved overnight,” Pasha said.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar suspended the head of the Pondok Bambu (Bam-

boo Hut) women’s prison in Jakarta that was inspected by the fact-finding team and promised to reshuffle other prison chiefs.

This would prevent them creating their own “kingdoms” by selling favours and privileges, he added.

He made no promise to prosecute any prison chiefs who had profited from such illegal behaviour.

It is well known in Indonesia that wealthy and powerful inmates are able to buy special treatment and even shorter sentences, while the poor and vulnerable are crammed into overcrowded cells and subjected to extortion and abuse.

An anonymous former inmate told Metro TV that new prisoners

faced torture in the form of daily beatings unless they paid money.

Other prisoners worked with the guards to extort money from newcomers, he said.

“When I was new, I was asked for money but I didn’t have any. The consequences were painful, I was beaten up every day,” he said.

“The most expensive fee for privileges like a/c was two million rupiah (218 dollars) a month, but everything is negotiable.”

The son of late dictator Suharto reportedly enjoyed luxuries including four fish tanks and personal staff, although he was convicted of killing a Supreme Court judge.

One of six children, Hutomo

“Tommy” Mandala Putra Suharto served just a third of a 15-year jail term for the murder. He was released in October 2006 and made an unsuccessful bid to run for president last year.

Yudhoyono pledged to crack down on the court mafia late last year after police and prosecutors were caught allegedly conspiring to frame two senior anti-graft investigators on behalf of a corrupt businessman.

One of the prosecutors has resigned without further punishment, while the chief detective at the centre of the scandal remains on the force and no action has been taken against the so-called broker who acted for the businessman.

AFP PHOTO / RAMDANI / MEDIA INDONESIA NEWSPAPER

This photo taken on January 10, 2010 and released on January 12, 2010 by Media Indonesia Newspaper shows former businesswoman Artalyta Suryani, convicted last year for bribing prosecutors, sitting in her prison cell at a jail for women and children in Jakarta.

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Internationa

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Bali Today Trees cut down anticipating rainy season Antara

DENPASAR – Denpasar Sanitation and Garden Department, cut trees on the side of the roads in order to anticipate the rainy season and the strong wind. I Ketut Wisada, the head of Denpasar Sanitation and Garden Department, said “we are very worried that the trees could fall down during heavy rain or strong wind so we must cut the leaf and branches.”

The department also prepared five teams of garbage disposal where each team consists of four officers.

“The teams are ready 24 hours so if there is a tree blocking the road, the people can directly report to the department and we will act right away.”

Currently, the department has 40 trucks to handle garbage problems in Denpasar but 5 of them are broken so there are only 35 units available. “Last year we bought other cars last year which have special purposes such as a garbage container, one unit of harm-roll, and a street swiper,” Wisada said.

The street swiper can clean 10

kilometers of road in an hour and it is already being use to clean Ngurah Rai Street and other free parking streets.

Wisada hoped that all of the people take part in keeping the environment clean by not throwing the garbage everywhere. “We keep socializing the clean lifestyle to the people and we also had coordinated to the head of the village for the issue,” he added.

In the future, to keep the hygiene of the environment, the government will cooperate with the local Balinese police or “pecalang”. This is needed to preserve the environment.

FOTO ANTARA/Jafkhairi

Official from Sanitation and Garden Department cutting a fall down tree. Denpasar Sanitation and Garden Department, cut trees on the side of the roads in order to anticipate the rainy season and the strong wind.

A Tradition to Sustain the Living Environment Ancient Hindu Customs Survive on Indonesia’s Bali Island

The ritual of Tumpek Uduh or Tumpek Bubuh performed by the Balinese bring human beings from all over the world to preserve the environment well so that humans do not lose their food, clothing and housing resources that constitute their primary needs. If you coincidentally spend a holiday in Bali you will see Balinese people present offerings on the trees, ritual procession in the midst of vast estate and various socio-religious activities from the early morning to late night. The function and meaning of this Tumpek Bubuh is an awareness milestone to sustain the environmental preservation for the sake of survival of all living creatures.

For Balinese people sustaining the environmental preservation comprises divine duty in implementing the Hindu teaching. Hence, human and living environment are inseparable and always in interdependency.

In the concept of Tat Tvam Asi (That art thou) human is an element of this living environment, to make the Balinese aware sustaining the harmonious relation to its environment.

In the kekawin (long poem) of Nitisastra, the interdependency relationship of human and living environment just likes a tiger in the woods.

The tiger sincerely guards the woods again wicked people, and on the contrary, the dense woods are glad to protect the habitat of tiger and provide it with the abundant food.

In endeavor to preserve the environment, apart from doing real action in the field they also perform the ritual procession called Tumpek Bubuh or Tumpek Pengarah, Tumpek Pengatag, Tumpek Wariga. This rite is performed in the morning, when the sun rises on the eastern horizon the Balinese rush to bring the offering to their estates behind their home or the

http://organikbali.com

The ritual of Tumpek Uduh or Tumpek Bubuh performed by the Balinese bring human beings from all over the world to preserve the environment well so that humans do not lose their food, clothing and housing resources that constitute their primary needs.

places that is full of trees. In the midst of vast estate area, the offerings put on asagan (bamboo altar).

Such was Hindu devotes in Bali carrying out the rites of Tumpek Uduh or Tumpek Bubuh that fall on Saturday Kliwon Wariga, once in six months (210 days).

Ingredients of offerings presented on that day predominated by the form to porridge. But if devotees has vast estate along with productive plats, like coconut, coffee, clove, and so on, the offering is usually completed with roasted sucking pig.

Tumpek Bubuh is constitutes the preliminary celebration for the preparation of welcoming for the Galungan holiday a festival for the universe (commemorative day for the earth). In the Balinese calendar system, the range of Tumpek Bubuh with Galungan counts 35 days or a month in the system. Their for Tumpek Bubuh apart from conveying thanksgiving to the Almighty God as the supreme authority of sarwa tumbuh (useful plats for human life) also signifies the expectation that God in His manifestation as the Lord Sangkara at all time extends boon for fertility, so all plants grow and bear fruit flourishingly as the prayer recited on presenting the offerings.

If you travel to Bali you would better go to the village corner to see the performance of Tumpek Bubuh rites.

The sacredness vibration of this rite will help you to attain an awareness to behave wisely in preserving the environment. When you succeed in sustaining yours well, actually you have made a saving for your retirement age that is immensely beneficial for your future generations. (BTN/doc)

The small population of Trunyan Island claims to be descendants of the original Balinese, or Bali Aga. They follow a form of Hinduism that predates the influence of the powerful Majapahit Empire that ruled neighboring Java for 200 years from the late 13th century.

Although Bali has developed rapidly as a tourist destination, the isolated village of Trunyan maintains an unusual tradition: Their dead are not cremated or buried, but instead are respectfully laid out under a sacred banyan tree.

Until an asphalt road reached the village in 2006, it was accessible only by boat. Traditions forgotten or modi-

fied in other parts of Bali are still honored here. “All our traditions and ritual practices are inherited from our ancestors,” said I Ketut Jaksa, a deputy to the village chief.

An ancient fig tree in the center of Trunyan’s cemetery is considered the sacred incarnation of a Hindu goddess who descended from the sky and married a Javanese prince.

The new road has brought the inevitable tourists. While their business is welcome, the community remains committed to preserving the ancient rites and rituals. “Any violation, no matter how small it is, will cause a fatal impact for all of us here in the village,” Jaksa said. (BTN/Doc)

http://images.travelpod.com

Although Bali has developed rapidly as a tourist destination, the isolated village of Trunyan maintains an unusual tradition: Their dead are not cremated or buried, but instead are respectfully laid out under a sacred banyan tree.

al

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Balinese Culture Babi Kecap

Bali to host Global Environment Forum IBP

DENPASAT – Bali to become the host of The 11th Special Session of the Government Council/ Global Environment Forum of United Nations of Environment Programme (UNEP) that will be held at Nusa Dua on February 22 to February 26, 2010. According to Head of Bali’s Public Relations and Protocol I Putu Suardhika on Wednesday, this forum will participated by 5,000 delegates from 150 countries. ‘’This meeting will be held at Bali International Convention Center (BICC) at Westin Resort, Nusa Dua,” he explained.

He said the Secretary of Environmental Minister Ir Arief Yuwono already meet the Bali’s Governor Made Mangku Pastika to discuss this meeting. During the meeting, said Suardhika, Arief explained that the meeting will be held on two sessions. The first session will be held on 22 to 24 February, while the second session will be held on 25 to 26 February. ‘’The second session will be attended by Environmental ministers from all participant’s countries. According to the plan, Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, will officially open this session.

This forum will be the continuation of meetings at Rotterdam,

Brussels, and Stockholm. All the participants agree to choose Bali as the host of this eleventh session because Bali has been chosen as the national sample in the environmental preservation project.

Suardhika also said that Bali’s Governor expressed his honor because Bali has been chosen as the host of the important meeting. This is, according to Bali’s Governor, a prestigious forum because environmental issues are very important matters. He hoped that Bali will give positive contribution to the earth saving acts. ‘’Some of Balinese wisdoms, like Tri Hita Karana, Tumpek Uduh, and Tumpek Kandang are very relevant to save the environmental,”. (iah)

South Korean visited Bali decrease Antara

DENPASAR – The number of tourists from South Korea visited Bali during January through November 2009 period was 115,026 people. The number decreased compare to the same period two years ago.

Ida Komang Wisnu, the head of Bali Statistics Department, said “the decrease of the tourists from

South Korea was 7%. The total number of tourists in the same period in 2008 was 124,098 people.”

All of them were using air transportation. The tourists from South Korea often visited tourism objects throughout Bali and also enjoying Balinese art performances. Currently, there are 647 guides that specializing in handle the tourists from South Korea from he total 5,027 guides in Bali.

The tourists from South Ko-

rea contribute 5% from the total number of tourists coming to Bali last year which was 2.1 million people. Wisnu said that the cooperation between Bali with Cheju Province in South Korea made the tourists often attracted to visit Bali The cooperation is in farming, tourism, and art and culture. The art groups from each province have visit each other during art festival in Bali or South Korea.

http://hprasetyo.files.wordpress.com

Asian tourist take picture with monkey at Sangeh. The number of tourists from South Korea visited Bali during January through November 2009 period was 115,026 people. The number decreased compare to the same period two years ago.

(Pork Cooked in Soya Sauce) Though Indonesia is an Islamic country, there is some pork available. It is hard to find and most restaurants don’t serve it because any restaurant that cooks pork would have to have completely separate facilities and equipment to prepare it or the restaurant would not be considered halal (clean).

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients 1/2 kg (1 1/4 lb) fillet of pork -or leg of pork 1 tb Clear soya sauce 2 tb Plain flour 1/2 ts Powdered ginger 20 g (4 oz) button mushrooms 4 Cloves garlic 1 sl of root ginger, about 2 cm -(1") across and 1/2 cm -(1/4") thick 3 tb Dark soya sauce Pepper or a pinch of chilli -powder 2 tb water 2 tb Medium dry sherry or rice -wine (optional) 2 ts Lemon juice 6 tb Oil or pork fat Directions This, as its name suggests, is pork cooked in soya sauce. It is a particular favourite with my own husband and children, who always know when it is about to appear on the table because the ginger and garlic frying in the sauce smell so deliciously savoury.

Cut the pork into small cubes. Put the flour into a bowl and add the clear soya sauce and ginger powder, mixing them well together. Coat the pork with the mixture and then let it stand for at least 30 minutes.

Clean and slice the mushrooms. Peel the garlic and ginger and slice them very thin; you can use these thin slices as they are, or cut them again into very tiny sticks.

Heat the oil or fat in a wok or thick frying pan and fry the meat, half of it at a time, turning it from time to time, for 5 minutes.

Repeat the process for the remaining half of the meat.

The flour that coated the meat will tend to stay in the pan or stick to the bottom of it, but leave it there-it will thicken the sauce later. Now take most of the oil out of the pan, leaving only about two tablespoons which you then heat again. In this, fry the tiny slices of garlic and ginger and the mushrooms, stirring continuously, for i minute. Add the soya sauce, the water and the meat. mix well, season with pepper or chilli powder, and stir continuously for 1 or 2 minutes. just before serving, add the sherry or rice wine and the lemon juice. Serve hot.

This dish keeps extremely well in the freezer, and it is worth making a large quantity from, say, half a leg-of pork, which is much cheaper than buying pork fillet. If you are going to freeze your Babi Kecap, however, do not add the sherry or lemon juice at the time of cooking.

To serve from the freezer, thaw the meat out completely and heat quickly on a high flame for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan well all the time. Add the sherry or rice wine and lemon juice just before serving. (http://asiarecipe.com)

9

10

Destinations

Thursday, January 14, 2010

International

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Thursday, January 14, 2010

11

BUSINESS ECB rates on hold as bank wrestles with Greek debt crisis Agence France-Presse

AP Photo

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010, a bank clerk counts U.S. dollars and RMB yuan notes for a customer at a bank in Hefei, in central China’s Anhui province. China, which has emerged as the world’s biggest exporter, is coming under fresh criticism in the US and Europe for using an “undervalued” currency to shore up its economic and trade competitiveness.

China under fresh criticism over currency Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON - China, which has emerged as the world’s biggest exporter, is coming under fresh criticism in the US and Europe for using an “undervalued” currency to shore up its economic and trade competitiveness.

FRANKFURT - The European Central Bank will keep its key interest rate at a record low of 1.0 percent on Thursday, analysts say, as ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet is pressed for comment on the Greek debt crisis.

“Rate hikes will not be an issue until the second half of the year,” ING senior economist Carsten Brzeski commented.

Meanwhile, “the market’s focus at the January press conference will likely be on what ECB president Trichet says about Greece,” Deutsche Bank analysts wrote.

The International Monetary Fund said Monday it will send a mission to Athens for talks on helping Greece overcome its financial crisis as concern grows that fiscal trouble there and elsewhere threaten the eurozone’s credibility.

The Greek public deficit rose to 12.7 percent of output last year, far above the 3.0 percent ceiling permitted to countries that share the single currency.

Greek debt was estimated at 113 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and will likely climb this year to more than double the European Union limit of 60 percent.

The EU’s new president Herman

Fed finalizes credit card rules, limits teen cards Agence France-Presse

Beijing’s policy of keeping the yuan weak has helped China become the first key economy to recover strongly from the world financial crisis but at the expense of its key trading partners still nursing the wounds of recession, some analysts contend.

Such a policy that makes Chinese exports more competitive and allows Beijing to further amass foreign exchange reserves, now more than two trillion dollars, could result in protectionism and even spark a trade war, they warn.

“I think China is more vulnerable to criticism on its exchange-rate policy now than it has been in the recent past,” said Nicholas Lardy, a China expert in the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics.

He said concerns over China’s currency policy “are real” and that “one can now make a stronger case that its recovery has been based, at least in part, on imposing cost on others through allowing its exchange rate to depreciate.”

Beijing was “allowing its currency to depreciate very dramatically on a trade-weighted basis that is looking against all the currencies of its major trading partners,” Lardy said.

After having allowed the yuan to appreciate gradually against the dollar since mid-2005, China re-established a hard peg against the greenback in 2008, ensuring that the yuan followed the dollar as the American currency fell against the euro and the yen. China overtook Germany as the world’s top exporter, trade figures from the German national statistics office showed last week. It also surged past the United States as the world’s biggest car market, industry data showed Monday. “(The US) Congress has been uncharacteristically quiet, but patience is wearing thin in Washington and everywhere,” The New York Times said in a scathing editorial Tuesday.

If China sticks to its “cheaprenminbi guns,” it was bound to draw a protectionist response, the newspaper warned, noting that President Barack Obama’s administration already has caved in to political demands and slapped exceptional tariffs on Chinese tires and antidumping duties on Chinese steel pipes.

The Times raised the prospect of a “trade war” with China, saying it would be “disastrous and bound to escalate around the world.

“Restraint is needed. But we fear no one is going to feel restrained if China doesn’t change its strategy.”

Europe also is increasingly concerned about the yuan devaluation.

The European Union’s incoming trade commissioner lashed out Tuesday at what he said was China’s “deliberate” policy of keeping its currency undervalued.

Warning that China’s foreign-exchange stance posed a “major problem” for global economic recovery, Belgium’s Karel De Gucht highlighted growing EU unease on the issue.

“It is clear to me that this is a deliberate policy and we should address this on all possible occasions, bilaterally and also multilaterally.”

No immediate changes to China’s currency policy are expected.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has vowed not to yield to international pressure to allow the Chinese yuan to appreciate.

“The pressure on the yuan to appreciate is bigger and bigger... we have been getting this and that kind of pressure to appreciate, but we refuse to yield,” Wen said in an interview with Xinhua news agency on December 27.

Van Rompuy told reporters Tuesday in Athens the country is now taking steps to meet the “substantial” challenge posed by its huge debt and public deficit.

But Deutsche Bank analyst Mark Wall expected journalists to ask Trichet Thursday “whether and under what conditions Greece could be put under pressure to voluntarily choose to exit” the 16-nation eurozone.

A working paper published by the ECB in December concluded there was little chance of a member leaving or being forced out, but the fact the bank produced such a document at all raised eyebrows in financial markets.

The bloc’s first recession has exacerbated fiscal disparities among its members, presenting the ECB with widely contrasting situations.

Germany should wrestle its finances back into shape fairly soon but “peripheral” members like Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain must “step up budget consolidation far more than the core countries,” Commerzbank chief economist Joerg Kraemer warned.

Not all eurozone economic news is gloomy meanwhile.

The ECB will probably thus fix its main rate at 1.0 percent for most if not all of 2010 to support growth and slowly unwind exceptional measures like unlimited supplies of cash as banks get back on their feet.

WASHINGTON - The US Federal Reserve finalized new rules aimed at protecting credit card holders Tuesday that also make it difficult for anyone under the age of 21 to obtain a credit card.

As part of a series of new rules aimed at protecting consumers, the measure forbids banks from issuing a credit card to anyone under 21: unless the consumer has the ability to make the required payments or obtains the signature of a parent or other cosigner with the ability to do so.”

The new rules, effective February 22, also prevent lenders from unexpected increases in interest rates on card balances, and limit fees and certain types of interest calculations.

The new measures implement a law passed last year by Congress.

Fed governor Elizabeth Duke said the effort “marks an important milestone in the Federal Reserve’s efforts to ensure that consumers who rely on credit cards are treated fairly.”

The American Bankers Association praised the new regulations.

“These rules — the most comprehensive ever seen — herald a new

era for America’s credit card customers,” said Kenneth Clayton, senior vice president at the ABA. “Many practices that frustrated customers have been eliminated, and credit card users will now benefit from greater control and clearer terms for their accounts.”

The ABA said the new law “ends confusing billing practices, instituting new rules that are easier to understand.”

Due dates will be the same every month, and interest charged on a socalled “double-cycle billing” will be completely eliminated.

The measure bans fees for payment processing — such as surcharges for paying by telephone, and requires that promotional interest rates on new cards stay valid for six months.

It forbids rate increases on existing balances unless consumers are at least 60 days late paying their bill or the initial rate was a promotional rate that has expired, and requires 45 days’ notice to raise rates.

The credit card industry argued the bill could result in a tightening of credit at a time when a credit crunch is already depressing spending amid an economic crisis.

12

Entertainment

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Rape investigation of David Copperfield closed Associated Press Writer

SEATTLE – Federal prosecutors closed a twoyear rape investigation of magician David Copperfield on Tuesday without filing charges, and police in nearby Bellevue say his accuser made a false sexual assault claim against another man last month.

The end of the federal investigation came in a brief court filing by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Roe. The U.S. attorney’s office in Seattle declined to discuss its reasons, but in a written statement, spokeswoman Emily Langlie said that generally, AP Photo/Lilli Strauss, file FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2006 file photo, investigations may be U.S. illusionist David Copperfield arrives closed without charges if for a press conference in Vienna to pro- prosecutors determine mote his show ‘An Intimate Evening Of there is no federal jurisdicGrand Illusion’. tion, no federal laws were broken, or that it would be impossible to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

“Neither the investigation, nor its termination, should be perceived as a comment on guilt or innocence,” the statement said.

The woman who made the complaint, a 23-year-old fashion model, waitress and former Miss Washington contestant, said in a related civil lawsuit against Copperfield that she met him when he pulled her out of the crowd and onto the stage during a performance in Kennewick, in southeastern Washington. She was later invited to visit his private island in the Bahamas in July 2007.

The woman claimed that once she arrived, Copperfield, whose real name is David Kotkin, sexually assaulted her, in one instance holding her head under water to coerce her.

“She is disappointed, but it wasn’t completely unexpected given the jurisdictional issue of prosecuting him here for something that happened on his private island,” said Rebecca Roe, a lawyer for the woman.

The illusionist’s lawyers, Angelo Calfo and Patty Eakes, previously said he denied the allegations and called the lawsuit “extortion for money, plain and simple,” but they had no immediate comment on the prosecutors’ decision.

Bellevue Police records obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday indicate that Copperfield’s accuser made false sexual assault allegations against another man last month. Police referred the matter to prosecutors for potential charges of prostitution and making a false or misleading statement to a public servant.

International

FILE - In this June 1, 2009 file photo provided by NBC, Conan O’Brien makes his debut as the host of NBC’s ‘The Tonight Show’ in Universal City, Calif.

AP Photo/NBC, Paul Drinkwater

Conan O’Brien says no thanks to NBC move Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES – Conan O’Brien has refused to play along with NBC’s plan to move “The Tonight Show” and return Jay Leno to late-night, abruptly derailing the network’s effort to resolve its scheduling mess.

O’Brien said in a statement Tuesday that shifting “Tonight” will “seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting,” and he expressed disappointment that NBC had given him less than a year to establish himself as host at 11:35 p.m. EST. O’Brien is in line to make approximately $30 million from NBC if he is replaced on “The Tonight Show” or if the show is canceled, said a source close to the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about it publicly. However, the source said the sum would not apply just for moving O’Brien to a later time slot.

O’Brien said he doesn’t have an offer in hand from another network.

Fox, which lacks a network late-

night show, has expressed its appreciation for him but said this week that no negotiations have been held.

In his statement, wryly addressed to “People of Earth,” the comic knocked his network’s prime-time ratings woes, which stem in part from the poor performance of Leno’s new prime-time show. “The Jay Leno Show” debuted in the fall after Leno surrendered his 17-year stake in the “Tonight” last spring to O’Brien.

“It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both,” O’Brien said.

“But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my ‘Tonight Show’ in its in-

fancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in primetime by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Growing up watching “Tonight” host Johnny Carson and getting the chance to “one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me,” and was an opportunity he worked long and hard to obtain, O’Brien said.

“Tonight” has long been the dominant late-night program on television, with O’Brien following in a line of hosts that included Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson and Leno. For many of those years, an appearance on “Tonight,” particularly for comics, could make or break a career.

NBC wants to move Leno out of prime-time and to the 11:35 p.m. slot with a half-hour show, bumping “Tonight” to 12:05 a.m. — the latest it’s ever regularly aired. The network was under pressure to make a change from its affiliate stations, who found Leno’s show an inadequate ratings lead-in for their lucrative local newscasts.

Tobey Maguire won’t return for ‘Spider-Man 4’ Agence France Presse

AFP/DDP/File/Michael Kappeler

US actor Tobey Maguire poses during a photocall for the movie “Spider-Man 3 “ in Berlin in 2007.

LOS ANGELES – Tobey Maguire has hung up his spandex suit and will not return as Spider-Man when the fourth film based on the web-slinging superhero hits cinemas in 2012, studio officials confirmed.

In a surprise move, Sony Pictures Entertainment said on Monday Maguire and director Sam Raimi would not be involved in “Spider-Man 4,” the latest instalment of the franchise which has grossed nearly 2.5 billion dollars worldwide since 2002.

The announcement comes after weeks of rumors swirling around Hollywood citing creative differences between Raimi and studio chiefs over the script being prepared for “Spider-Man 4.”

Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios said they would proceed with a script written by James Vanderbilt in which hero Peter Parker returns to high school.

“Spider-Man 4” — with a different script and Raimi directing — had initially been set for release in 2011 but had not gone into production.

“A decade ago we set out on this journey with Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire and together we made three ‘Spider-Man’ films that set a new bar for the genre,” said Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

“When we began, no-one ever imagined that we would make history at the box office, and now we

have a rare opportunity to make history once again with this franchise,” she said.

“Peter Parker as an ordinary young adult grappling with extraordinary powers has always been the foundation that has made this character so timeless and compelling for generations of fans,” Pascal said.

“We’re very excited about the creative possibilities that come from returning to Peter’s roots...” Raimi said in a statement that the “SpiderMan” movies “was the experience of a lifetime for me.”

“While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, the studio and Marvel have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, and I know they will

do a terrific job,” he said.

Columbia Pictures President Matt Tolmach, who has served as the studio’s chief production executive since the beginning of the franchise, described the parting with Maguire, 34, and Raimi as “bittersweet.”

“We have had a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration and friendship with Sam and Tobey and they have given us their best for the better part of the last decade,” he said.

“This is a bittersweet moment for us because while it is hard to imagine Spider-Man in anyone else’s hands, I know that this was a day that was inevitable,” Tolmach said.

“Now everything begins anew, and that’s got us all tremendously excited about what comes next.”

Life Style

International

Kid’s charms and jewelry are sold at a shop at whole sale market Tuesday Jan. 12, 2010 in Yiwu, China. Interviews with more than a dozen manufacturers and sellers in Yiwu confirm that the toxic metal cadmium is a common ingredient in the earrings, bracelets, charms and other baubles being churned out by local factories and piled high in city’s wholesale markets.

AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

China jewelry makers say toxic metal cuts costs Associated Press Writer

YIWU, China – For China’s low-cost jewelry makers, it was an open trade secret: The metal cadmium is shiny, strong and malleable at low temperatures, regardless of its health hazards. And it’s cheap.

Despite the risks, manufacturers in factories ringing this city on China’s east coast say their top priority is profit. So offering cut-rate goods often means using lower quality materials, including cadmium, which is known to cause cancer.

“Business is business, and it’s all up to our client,” said He Huihua, manager of the Suiyuan Jewelry Shop at International Trade City in Yiwu, a sprawling wholesale mecca where sellers pitch their wares in hopes of landing a lucrative export contract.

He spoke from a small cubicle with rows of dangling metal earrings and key chains hanging on the wall. Elsewhere, brooches, necklaces, charms and other baubles shone under the market’s lights.

“We just make what our clients order. If they pay more, we use the bet-

ter raw material, and vice-versa.

From a few cents to a few dollars, we can make the same style of jewelry product with a different raw material.”

Asked what he thought about the health risks associated with cadmium and other toxic metals, He said: “I can’t be overly concerned about that.”

Long-standing concerns about the safety of Chinese exports flared anew this week after an investigation

by The Associated Press found that 12 of 103 pieces of mainly Chinesemade children’s jewelry bought in the Unites States contained at least 10 percent cadmium, some in the 8090 percent range. Two had less than 10 percent and the rest had none.

The findings prompted retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to remove

the products cited by AP from its stores in the United States. On Tuesday, the jewelry and accessories chain Claire’s, with nearly 3,000 locations in North America and Europe, announced that it, too, would stop selling any item cited in the AP investigation.

Charms on a “Best Friends” bracelet sold at Claire’s contained 89 and 91 percent cadmium, according to testing organized by AP, and shed alarming amounts in a procedure that examined how much cadmium children might be exposed to.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced it was opening an investigation into the AP’s findings, and China’s government also took notice of the trouble brewing in its largest export market.

“We just heard about this, and we will investigate,” said Wang Xin, director of supervision in the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

13

Study: Running Shoes Could Cause Joint Strain RUNNING shoes, decked out with the latest cushioning, motion control and arch support technologies, may not be as beneficial to your feet and joints as you might think.

A new study finds that running shoes, at least the kind currently on the market, may actually put more of a strain on your joints than if you were to run barefoot or even to walk in high-heeled shoes, and the increased pressure could lead to knee, hip and ankle damage. The scientists don’t recommend ditching your high-tech sneaks, however, as going barefoot on man-made surfaces could also prove harmful, While exercise is no doubt beneficial for overall health, running and walking put stresses on your joints that may predispose you to getting osteoarthritis in those areas, said Dr. D. Casey Kerrigan, who conducted the study while at the University of Virginia, where she was a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Osteoarthritis is the breakdown of cartilage in your joints, which can lead to bone rubbing on bone, causing pain, Kerrigan explained. Walkers and runners should try to minimize forces on their joints to prevent this damage, she said.

In pervious work, Kerrigan and colleagues had shown that women’s high-heeled shoes cause an increase in pressure on the knee joint, specifically in areas where osteoarthritis typically develops, compared with walking barefoot. Since cushioning in running shoes can also create a slightly elevated heel, Kerrigan decided to investigate whether or not these shoes also increase these potentially damaging forces.

Running on a “bathroom scale”

The study enrolled 37 women and 31 men who ran recreationally, at least 15 miles (24 km) per week. The subjects were then studied in a “gait laboratory,” running either barefoot or with a typical running shoe.

The subjects had markers on their knees, hips and ankle joints, and as they ran, cameras picked up these markers, allowing the researchers to see how the joints moved.

The subjects ran on a treadmill that contained a forceplate, a device Kerrigan describes as a “glorified bathroom scale.” With each step, the forceplate provided measurements of the magnitude of their bodyweight forces on the joints, and the direction of those forces.

AP Photo/Ariel Schalit

Marathon runners participate in the 33rd Tiberias Marathon in Tiberias, on the sea of Galilee in northern Israel, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010. More then 1500 runners participated in 42.195km (about 26 miles) asphalt course that took place in Tiberias, located in the Jordan Valley, about 200 meters below sea level.

Google to end China censorship after e-mail breach Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO – Google Inc. will stop censoring its search results in China and may pull out of the country completely after discovering that computer hackers had tricked human-rights activists into exposing their e-mail accounts to outsiders.

The change of heart announced Tuesday heralds a major shift for the Internet’s search leader, which has repeatedly said it will obey

AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

Chinese laws requiring some politically and socially sensitive issues to be blocked from search results available in other countries. The acquiescence had outraged free-speech advocates and even some shareholders, who argued Google’s cooperation with China violated the company’s “don’t be evil” motto.

The criticism had started to sway Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who openly expressed his misgivings about the company’s presence in China.

Visitors stand at the reception of the Google China headquarters in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010. Google Inc. will stop censoring its search results in China and may pull out of the country completely after discovering that computer hackers had tricked human rights activists into opening their e-mail accounts to outsiders.

But the tipping point didn’t come until Google recently uncovered hacking attacks launched from within China. The apparent goals: breaking into the computers of at least 20 major U.S. companies and gathering personal information about dozens of human rights activists trying to shine a light on China’s alleged abuses.

Google spokesman Matt Furman declined to say whether the company suspects the Chinese government may have had a hand in the attacks.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the Google allegations “raise very serious concerns and questions” and the U.S. is seeking an explanation from the Chinese government.

14

Sport

Thursday, January 14, 2010

International

Duncan, Parker lead Spurs over Lakers, 105-85 Associated Press Writer

SAN ANTONIO – Tim Duncan had 25 points and 13 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs showed they can still hang with their Western Conference rivals in a 105-85 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

Tony Parker scored 22 as the Spurs got their biggest victory this season. The Lakers are just the fourth winning team San Antonio has beaten, but none the caliber of the defending NBA champions.

Kobe Bryant had another off game, scoring 16 points. He again wore a thick splint over his broken right index finger, and did not play in the fourth quarter because of back spasms. Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Bryant was probable for Wednesday’s game in Dallas.

The Spurs and Lakers dominated the last decade, winning seven titles between them. The Lakers whittled a 22-point deficit to six late in the first meeting of this decade, but it was a rout by the end.

Bryant, who scored just 12 on 4-of-21 shooting in a win over Milwaukee on Sunday, had another slow night. He took a season-low 10 shots from the field, hitting seven of them.

Bryant has said that keeping his

finger covered gives it more strength and protection, but he admits it affects his touch.

Andrew Bynum scored 23 points and Ron Artest had 13 for the Lakers. Los Angeles has lost three of four — its worst slump yet by the standards of the NBA’s best team.

Few teams, meanwhile, have been hotter over the last month than San Antonio. The Spurs are 14-4 since Dec. 9, trailing only Cleveland (154) for the best record over that stretch. None of those wins were as satisfying — or as much a relief — as this one.

The Spurs (23-13) have built their winning record on the backs of weak competition, going 19-2 against teams with losing records. But they’ve wilted consistently against winning teams, including a loss Friday against Dallas.

But the Spurs had been looking forward to this litmus test. They spent lavishly last summer for the unsaid purpose of keeping up with the Lakers, and here was a chance to

show if they got their money’s worth.

Instead, their older investments led this win. Duncan was 12 of 19 from the field while Parker shot 10 of 18. Parker scored nine points in the fourth quarter.

Richard Jefferson, added this summer to add more offensive punch, scored 12. George Hill had 13.

This wasn’t the same Lakers team the Spurs are likely see again later.

Besides Bryant’s hurt hand, Pau Gasol has missed the last five games with a strained left hamstring. Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Gasol has his sights on returning Friday against the Clippers.

Center Andrew Bynum #17 of the Los Angeles Lakers takes a shot against Tim Duncan #21 of the San Antonio Spurs on January 12, 2010 at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images/AFP

Serena likes it hot at Australian Open Contador: Cold weather hampering training Agence France Presse

SYDNEY – Serena Williams stormed into the semi-finals of the Sydney International on Wednesday, cranking up the heat on her opponents ahead of next week’s Australian Open.

The American world number one tossed aside Russian Vera Dushevina 6-2, 6-2, making it just seven games she has dropped on her way to the last four of the Sydney tournament.

AFP/Greg Wood

Serena Williams of the US goes down on one knee after playiing a return during her match against Vera Dushevina of Russia at the Sydney International tennis tournament. Williams won in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.

Williams, strong favourite to lift her fifth Australian Open crown and her 12th Grand Slam, takes on world number 27 Aravane Rezai of France in Thursday’s semi-finals.

Rezai won her third match of the tournament against Italian Flavia Pennetta, 6-3, 6-0 on Wednesday.

In the bottom half of the draw, Belarus sixth seed Victoria Azarenka is through to the semifinals after beating Slovak Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 7-5, while defending champion Elena Dementieva was due to face world number two Dinara Safina later Wednesday.

“I definitely enjoy playing in the heat,” Williams said of steamy Melbourne, home to the Open. “I usually enjoy playing in the heat. I live in Florida, so it’s all about hot weather there.

“So I think maybe that’s one of the reasons why I do so well down here. “The past couple of times I won it’s been extremely hot, so I expect the same temperatures again.”

Asked during her post-match press conference how close she was to her best form, Williams said: “I always try to get there usually around the semi-finals and finals of the Grand Slams.

“I’m just doing the best that I can now to get there. Hopefully I have a long way to go, which I think is always good.” Williams said she was expecting her toughest match of the week against Rezai.

“I haven’t played her, but I know her game,” she said. “I played her in doubles and (sister) Venus has played her before.

“She’s a good player and she’s really young.

She has a lot of drive. I think she can be really good. It’ll definitely be my toughest match yet.”

Azarenka had to again work hard to stay alive in the tournament, taking two hours 20 minutes to extinguish the challenge of the 24thranked Cibulkova. So far Azarenka has been taken to three sets in all her three matches at the tournament.

MADRID – Tour de France champion Alberto Contador says the unusually cold weather in Europe is hampering his preseason training plans.

The Astana rider said Tuesday his training so far has been “difficult to sort out.”

“The winter we’ve been having in Europe this year — and especially in my area — I can’t remember one as bad as this one,” Contador said of his hometown Pinto, which is south of Madrid and been hit by freezing temperatures and snow.

But the Spanish rider still feels he’s in good shape going into Astana’s 10day preseason training camp Thursday at Calpe, Spain.

The 2007 and 2009 Tour de France champion will start his season at the Tour of Algarve in Portugal in mid-February, but doesn’t believe he’ll win that race because of the lack of training.

“This year, I don’t think I’ll arrive there at the same level as last year,” Contador said. “But it will be a good warm-up for the rest of the races.”

Contador expects to compete in Paris-Nice in March and perhaps the Tour of Catalonia and Tour of the Basque Country. He has not ruled out the Giro d’Italia or Spanish Vuelta, but said his priority is the Tour de France.

Contador said Astana has built a good team around him since the departure of Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer.

“We’ve managed to put together a pretty competitive team that is quite complete, one that is at the level that the Tour requires,” he said.

BP/ist

Alberto Contador

Sport

International

Thursday, January 14, 2010

15

Mokoena gives Pompey FA Cup relief Agence France Presse

LONDON – South Africa’s Aaron Mokoena scored right at the end of extra-time as crisis club Portsmouth came from behind to beat Coventry City 2-1 in an FA Cup third round replay on Tuesday.

Victory gave Portsmouth, bottom of the Premier League and beset by financial problems, a fourth round tie at home to top-flight rivals Sunderland.

Both of Pompey’s goals were heartbreaking for second-tier Coventry, coming in the last minute of normal time and in time added on at the end of the second half of extra-time.

The win gave Portsmouth fans a rare moment of celebration in an otherwise chaotic season, on and off the field, and Mokoena said it had come at a vital time for the south coast club.

“It was very important to win this game so we can build on it,” Mokoena told ITV4. “We needed it so badly. It’s a big win for us.”

He added: “It’s always difficult to come to these places and credit to Coventry, they made it difficult for us. At the end of the day we managed to wrap it up.”

Portsmouth, the 2008 FA Cup winners, were behind for most of the match after Coventry striker Leon Best fired the home side into a 22nd minute lead.

And it seemed cash-strapped Portsmouth, whose officials met earlier Tuesday with Premier League chiefs in a bid to lift the club’s transfer embargo, were about to exit the FA Cup until Coventry’s Stephen Wright headed into his own net shortly before the end of normal time at the Ricoh Arena.

The tie was heading for a penalty shoot-out until defender Mokoena headed in the winner with virtually the last act of the game.

Earlier, Barry Ferguson’s first goal for Birmingham City saw them beat

Nottingham Forest 1-0 in a third round replay at St Andrews to set-up a fourth round tie away to Premier League rivals Everton.

Scotland midfielder Ferguson struck from 15 yards shortly after the hour mark as Birmingham saw off in-form Championship high-flyers Forest and extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 14 matches.

Elsewhere, second division Derby beat third tier Millwall 5-3 on penalties after the match at Pride Park finished extra-time at 1-1.

The deadlock was eventually broken when Steve Morison gave Millwall a 108th minute lead before Derby equalised soon afterwards through Steve Davies’s lob.

Derby goalkeeper Stephen Bywater saved from Danny Schofield in the shoot-out before Dean Moxey sealed the hosts’ place in the fourth round.

Sheffield United almost blew a 30 lead away to Championship rivals QPR but held on for a 3-2 win at Loftus Road.

Lee Williamson opened the scoring in the 19th minute and then two goals in three second-half minutes from Jamie Ward and Richard Cresswell left the Blades 3-0 up with 20 minutes left.

But Akos Buzsaky’s penalty gave Rangers hope before Damion Stewart’s goal two minutes from time set up a frantic finish.

In Tuesday’s only third round match Bristol City’s late equaliser secured a 1-1 draw against Championship rivals Cardiff after substitute Gavin Williams scored in the second minute of stoppage-time at a blizzard-hit Ashton Gate to cancel out Michael Chopra’s 76th minute opener for the visitors.

Wednesday’s third round replays see Premier League Liverpool, looking to salvage a so-far disappointing season, at home to second-tier Reading while Championship leaders Newcastle face divisional strugglers Plymouth.

South Africa’s Aaron Mokoena, pictured in 2009, scored in the final minute of extra-time as crisis club Portsmouth came from behind to beat Coventry City 21 in an FA Cup third round replay on Tuesday.

AFP/File/Glyn Kirk

AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI

Mohamed Zidan (L) of Egypt vies for the ball with Yobo Michae of Nigeria during their group C stage match at the African Cup of Nations CAN2010 at Ombaka stadium in Benguela on January 12, 2010.

Champions Egypt off to winning Nations Cup start Agence France Presse

BENGUELA, Angola – Defending champions Egypt defeated Nigeria 3-1 in their opening Africa Cup of Nations Group C match at the Ombaka Stadium here on Tuesday.

Egypt coach, Hassan Shehata, said some inspired second-half substitutions helped his team to a deserved victory. “The substitutions paid dividends,” said the former Zamalek striker.

The veteran manager added: “The victory over Nigeria is just the beginning, we still have a long way to go and so we still need our fans’ genuine support and prayers.”

Striker Mohamed Zidan said: “We didn’t give up. I think we deserved the victory.” Nigeria coach, Shuaibu Amodu, said his team paid the price for some schoolboy errors.

“We played well and controlled the game especially in the first half but somehow we made some silly mistakes and we were punished,” said a miserable Amodu.

Skipper Joseph Yobo said had they sustained their first half performance, they would have recorded maximum points. “We started well and got a goal but they came at us and equalised, they also scored early in the second half to unsettle us.

“Had we come out in the second half as we did in the first half, we would have won this very difficult game,” said the Everton defender.

The six-time champions brought to an end a 33-year-old winless run they have endured against the west Africans and, most importantly, gave them a head start to progress to the knockout stage of the tournament.

Against the run of play, Nigeria

took the lead after 12 minutes through the exciting Chinedu Obasi, who powered home a left-footed rocket of a shot from outside the box beyond a diving goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary.

Emad Motaeb drew Egypt level in the 34th minute when he got to the end of a quick counter attack initiated by Wael Gomaa and skipper Ahmed Hassan to round goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and slot the ball into an empty net.

Skipper Hassan gave the champions the lead in the 54th minute when he thundered home a blinder past Enyeama from outside the 18yard box.

Substitute Mohamed Nagi completed the demolition job on Nigeria in the 87th minute when he drove home a pile driver for the third goal to the delight of the noisy, 32,000strong crowd.

Before that Zidan should have extended Egypt’s lead on the hour mark when all alone with Enyeama inside the box, but he blasted wide.

Hoffenheim striker Obasi, a late inclusion in the Super Eagles squad to Angola, was at the heart of several Nigerian attacks against an Eyptian team missing key stars like Mohamed Aboutrika, Mohamed Barakat and Amr Zaki through injury.

Zidan would have put the defending champions in front after seven minutes but his final shot sailed over

the bar with goalkeeper Enyeama beaten.

And immediately after Obasi’s stunning opening goal, Said Moawad would have drawn Egypt level but he sliced his final effort off target.

On 23 minutes, Borussia Dortmund striker Zidan again threatened the Nigerian goal but his low shot screamed into touch to the relief of Enyeama.

Yakubu Aiyegbeni had a penalty appeal refused by the referee from Mauritius, Rajindraparsad Seechurn, in the 20th minute after Egyptian defender Mahmoud Fathalla handled the ball inside the box.

And moments later, Kalu Uche fired wide from inside the area.

In the 33rd minute, leftback Taye Taiwo launched an ambitious attack down the left wing before pulling back for Kalu Uche, who failed to hit the target.

It was a miss Nigeria would rue as, moments later, Egypt countered for Al Ahly striker Motaeb to score the equaliser as the Pharaohs finished the first half the stronger of the two teams.

In the second half, Egypt continued to create chances with Zidan troubling the Nigerian back four again and again, while at the other end, goalkeeper El Hadary kept out whatever Nigeria could produce as the champions showed they cannot be taken lightly in Angola.

16

Sport

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Stoner plans to race cars after bikes CASEY Stoner says he would like to race in Australia’s V8 Supercars once he retires from MotoGP, but the former champion says his main focus will remain bikes for now.

Unlike rival Valentino Rossi, the 2007 world champion has not participated in any serious races with cars, but Stoner admits his plan is to start trying once he is close to the end of his career as a rider.

“After I retire from bikes it’s my plan basically,” Stoner said when asked about a switch to four

wheels during Ducati’s media event in the Dolomites.

“I enjoy driving dirt cars around.

Before I retire I may be testing a few cars and get ready, but once I retire from bikes I think cars will be a little bit more of a relaxing sport for me.

“I’m not talking about going to Formula 1, but something like V8 touring cars in Australia. I think something like that would be a lot of fun.

“It’s something I’m planning on.

But for now and for the near future I’m enjoying my bikes and that’s all I want to do for now.”

AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS

Spain’s Carlos Sainz steers his Volkswagen during the 10th stage of the Dakar 2010, between La Serena and Santiago, Chile, on January 12, 2010. Spain’s Carlos Sainz won the stage and leads the race, France’s Stephane Peterhansel took the second place and US Mark Miller finished third.

Sainz takes first stage win of 2010 The Spaniard completed the 238-km special Dakar - Dakar rally leader Carlos Sainz has moved another step closer to overall victory after from La Serena to Santiago in just over three hours winning Tuesday’s 10th stage of the South Ameri- to claim his first stage victory of the 2010 Dakar.

Sainz finished 28 seconds ahead of Frenchman can event.

Stage 10 standings: Pos Driver 1. Carlos Sainz 2. Stephane Peterhansel 3. Mark Miller 4. Nasser Al-Attiyah 5. Guerlain Chicherit 6. Orlando Terranova 7. Miguel Barbosa 8. Guilherme Spinelli 9. Robby Gordon 10. Carlos Sousa

Car Volkswagen BMW Volkswagen Volkswagen BMW Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Hummer Mitsubishi

Gap 3h01m05s 28s 1m02s 1m04s 2m04s 3m42s 7m43s 9m26s 9m36s 9m38s

Overall standings after stage 10: Pos Driver 1. Carlos Sainz 2. Nasser Al-Attiyah 3. Mark Miller 4. Stephane Peterhansel 5. Guerlain Chicherit 6. Carlos Sousa 7. Giniel de Villiers 8. Guilherme Spinelli 9. Orlando Terranova 10. Robby Gordon

Car Volkswagen Volkswagen Volkswagen BMW BMW Mitsubishi Volkswagen Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Hummer

Gap 36h34m45s 10m06s 28m19s 2h14m20s 2h30m59s 3h54m05s 4h46m13s 5h25m08s 5h40m31s 5h43m56s

Stephane Peterhansel, with American Mark Miller in third position.

It was Sainz’s 16th stage victory of his Dakar career. Sainz’s closest rival and Volkswagen teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah had to settle for fourth place in the stage, losing one minute and forty seconds to the former world rally champion, who now leads the Qatari by over ten minutes with four timed specials remaining in the event.

“Today we didn’t have any problems,” said Sainz. “Some 80kms from the start we caught up with Nasser and we followed him because he wasn’t listening to the sentinel and it was impossible to pass him.

“It was a very slow and twisty track, a road more than anything. I knew he wasn’t going to let me pass but since km 80 I was on his trail of dust.”

Al-Attiyah, the first man on the road today, said it has been an stressful stage for him.

“It was very, very dangerous, not easy, because there were a lot of corners, a lot of slippery stuff,” he said. “For me it was not a good feeling and I’m really happy to have finished without any problems.

“I’m quite happy. For me today it was very stressful because we opened the road and it was not easy. But it’s okay, I’m quite happy for today.”

On a very tight special, BMW’s Guerlain Chicherit was fifth fastest, just over two and a half minutes behind Sainz.

AFP PHOTO /HO/

This handout picture released on January 11, 2010 by the Wrooom 2010 photo service shows Ducati driver Australian Casey Stoner waving as he arrives for the “Wrooom, F1 and MotoGP Press Ski Meeting” Ducati and Ferrari annual media gathering in Madonna di Campiglio.