17 Sep

September 17, 2010

Kuwait Times

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INSIDE

Teaching the professor a lesson PAGE 5

BEIRUT: In this file photo, an Ethiopian domestic worker, hangs washed clothes on a balcony in Beirut, Lebanon.

An international human rights group says Lebanon’s justice system is failing to protect the rights of foreign domestic workers. — AP

UN calls for world to support Pakistan appeal PAGE 15

Mini-moo: 33-inch English cow worldʼs smallest PAGE 53

Former England cricket captain Flintoff retires PAGE 60

‘I was raped by my employer’ Filipino housemaid gives birth on flight MANILA: A Philippine woman who acknowledged giving birth to a baby on a flight from the Middle East and then leaving him in the trash on the plane said she was raped by her employer, a lawmaker said yesterday. The baby was found by a security guard at Manila’s airport last Sunday in a trash bag unloaded from a Gulf Air flight from Bahrain. The trash apparently came from the plane’s bathroom.

Rep Lani Mercado said she met yesterday with the woman, who told her that she had been raped by her employer while working as a maid in Qatar and became pregnant. She said her employer’s wife then forced her to return home, and she managed to hide her pregnancy and board a flight. “She had labor pains in the plane,” Mercado said. “Then she gave birth.” Mercado said the woman told her she abandoned the baby because she was afraid of what her family would say.

Mercado, who serves on legislative committees on children and women, said she met with the woman at Manila’s National Bureau of Investigation headquarters to try to help her. The woman gave birth while the plane was approaching Manila, according to the bureau’s chief, Magtanggol Gatdula.

The woman has been shown a picture of the child, and “she’s very eager to see her baby,” he said. The woman left in June last year to work in Qatar for three years, and her family was surprised when she suddenly returned home, said police Inspector Jeffrey Vicente, quoting her husband in northern Apayao province with whom she has two children.

The six-pound, nine-ounce baby - still attached to the placenta - was found wrapped in tissue paper.

Airport officials said the baby, already bluish in color, may have died within a few minutes had he not been found. The baby, temporarily named George Francis after Gulf Air’s flight code GF, is now fine but underwent an X-ray because of two bumps on his head, welfare officer Thelsa Biolena said. The results have not yet been released. The 30-year-old woman was located Wednesday in Apayao after investigators set

out to find the person who sat in a bloodstained seat on the plane.

Authorities brought her to Manila for questioning and testing. They did not release her name. Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, who has custody of the baby, cautioned that authorities are still working to confirm that the woman is the mother. She earlier said authorities plan to conduct DNA tests and that it would take at least a month to establish whether she is the parent. “We want to be very sure that we won’t ascribe this act to the wrong person,” Soliman told The Associated Press. Bahrain-based Gulf Air said in an emailed statement yesterday that it provided Filipino investigators access to the plane earlier in the day, so that they could take samples from blood specks for the DNA tests.

The airline said it is providing the child with baby food, medicine, diapers and vitamins. The mother could face criminal charges for abandoning her child, Soliman said. About 20 couples, including some from abroad, have offered to adopt the boy, she said. About one in 10 Filipinos works abroad, many as domestic workers and laborers in the Middle East, to escape crushing poverty and unemployment at home.

Lebanon ‘not protecting maids’ The Lebanese justice system woefully fails to pro-

tect the country’s large number of migrant domestic workers, many of whom face abuse by employers who act with near total impunity, a human rights group said yesterday. “After reviewing more than 114 legal cases affecting migrant domestic workers in Lebanon, unfortunately we reached the conclusion that the justice system is failing them at every level,” the Beirut director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), Nadim Houry said.

In a 54-page report entitled: “Without Protection: How the Lebanese Justice System Fails Migrant Domestic Workers,” the New York-based watchdog found that Lebanese authorities largely ignore violations involving domestic workers, whose legal complaints can often languish in court for more than four years. “By turning a blind eye to such violations, Lebanon’s police and judiciary are complicit in the ongoing violations by employers against this vulnerable group,” Houry said.

There are an estimated 200,000 migrant workers in Lebanon, primarily from Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Nepal. Many have their passports confiscated by their employers upon arrival in Lebanon and are locked up inside homes. Houry said that on average about four a month commit suicide. “In August of this year alone, eight committed suicide,” he said. — Agencies

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Friday, September 17, 2010

You’re under arrest!

By Nawara Fattahova nly two or three years ago, the idea of having a policewoman on patrol in Kuwait sounded like a dream. It was thought that the masculine job was too hard for women to do. For many though, the dream recently came true and women have been allowed to be police officers.

Unfortunately, however, three recent scandals have shaken the delicate beginnings of this new tendency in law enforcement. Toward the beginning of this year, a female police officer was caught travelling to Sharm El Sheikh with a colleague for the weekend. The second incident involved a drunk female officer driving a vehicle and the latest scandal involves the arrest of two police officers, a man and a woman, wearing their official uniforms, caught in a shameful position in a car parked by the seafront.

This last scandal has provoked a great reaction from some MPs, especially Mohammed Hayef, who blamed the Minister of Interior for the recent scandals. He said that these scandals are a result of the Minister’s failure to keep his promise to keep female officers in women-only places.

The opinions on the rights and wrongs differed ranging from shock, to amusement to disapproval. “I didn’t expect such shameful behavior from a policewoman in such a short period of time,” said Hamad, a

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KUWAIT: In this file photo, the first batch of the women special forces are seen graduating. The image is for illustrative purposes only. — KUNA

How scandals have shaped the opinion about female officers 24-year-old Iranian. “At the end of the day I believe we should have female police officers because their work is necessary and vital in some places.”

Most questioned for this article were not affected by the actions of these few police officers. “I think these are individual cases, it won’t shake my trust in policewomen,” said Manal, a 42-

year-old housewife. “I think society needs more time to judge them. They have only been working in this field for about a year. We should give them at least five years to make a fair judgment. Also, hundreds of policemen have committed worse acts and even crimes. I think that these issues are only highlighted because they are women.”

Some men find policewomen to be attractive and hence a more likely option for assistance. “I think that policewomen are attractive. I wouldn’t mind dealing with one of them as opposed to a policeman,” said Abdulmuhsin, a 28year-old Kuwaiti. “I don’t think that the bad behavior is limited to just policewomen.

Policemen have much more serious and immoral acts.

Also, there are many rude and careless women out there that need a policewoman to deal with them because policemen can’t always take strict action against them,” he said. He opines that policewomen should also be part of the traffic department and drive a patrol car. His reason: “I don’t think they will issue as many unjustified fines as policemen do”.

Still though, there are some men who are against the whole idea of having a policewoman in Kuwait. “In my opinion, a policewoman will cause too many problems,” said Sabah, a 37-year-old Kuwaiti. “They should not be working in departments with men, this will only lead to problems. The shameful actions of policewomen have affected Kuwait’s reputation.”

Nastiness: The new occupational hazard?

Rude customers make sales staff’s lives miserable B y N aw a ra Fa tt a ho va adia, saleslady of a well-known brand store in one of Kuwait’s luxury malls is used to ending her day with a tear.

For her the terrible attitude of customers and insults on the job has become the norm.

“I’m fed up with this job, and seriously thinking of packing it in, even though the salary is very high,” she says.

She explains that every job has its positives and negatives, however, her emotional state has become fragile after eight years in Kuwait. Nadia is not alone in her endeavor to cope with rude customers.

Those working in service-oriented positions involving direct contact with the public can certainly face some exasperating situations. Meeting people on a daily basis, they quickly find that many individuals are routinely extremely rude to sales staff, treating them as though they were servants.

Such bad experiences leave their mark on sales staff’s memories, especially female personnel sales employees. Salespeople must remain endlessly patient, often when dealing with obnoxious customers, and cannot respond even to the worst provocation

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while they’re on duty. Those who have worked in this field for years certainly have many stories to tell.

Nadia has been working in this store for eight years, ever since she came to Kuwait.

Some of the stressful situations which the sales staff endures can even have a harmful impact on their physical health.

“I’ve often returned home crying at a customer’s bad behavior or insulting treatment. My husband told me many times to leave this job and look for something else or stay at home,” she said. Being subjected to this cruel treatment has resulted in even worse consequences than that for Nadia too. “One time I was taken to hospital after I got into a very bad state. A customer insulted me in a bad way, and I got very depressed afterwards. I couldn’t even eat and they took me to the hospital where I was put on a drip. My husband insisted that I should leave the job, but then I get better and I came back to work,” she explained.

“The worse thing is that nobody appreciates our job,” she continued. “What makes the situation harder is that I can’t respond with a similar insult back at an impolite customer since I’m at work. The manage-

ment will always find the customer right, and will blame me anyway. And I might get punished or even fired if it’s a VIP customer.”

Sales staff generally face heavy pressure in their jobs and never get the same number of holidays as other employees. “In the whole year, we only get one day off per week. This is comparable to the private sector, but during the holy month of Ramadan we didn’t get even one single day off for 30 days straight. This was exhausting! My kids wanted to go out during the weekends, but I couldn’t accompany them as I had to be working in the store,” she explained.

Other than rudeness, customers’ lack of tact is another occupational hazard. “Some customers also make silly comments about personal matters. For instance, one customer asked me why I was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt,” she said. Nadia says that she understands this is the nature of the job. Her learning curve can be summed up succinctly: “we are routinely in contact with the public, so we have to be patient and learn how to ignore such comments and behavior.”

‘A customer insulted me in a bad way, and I got very depressed afterwards. I couldn’t even eat and they took me to the hospital where I was put on a drip.’

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Friday, September 17, 2010

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SATIRE WIRE

It’s fake and you know it

By Sawsan Kazak n a recent visit to a friend’s house, I noticed something strange: a huge vase of flowers.

The odd aspect was that these weren’t just any flowers, they were really tacky plastic flowers. The concept of having a fake floral arrangement in your home has always baffled me.

Who are you kidding anyway?

These ‘flowers’ always look extremely artificial, with odd shapes and colors that you would never find in nature or on an alien planet for that matter. The petals are stiff, their stems are neon green and the stamp ‘Made in China’ can clearly be seen on the side. They are in the same vase year after year

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and they never need any water. The worst aspect about these fake plants is the unnatural amounts of dust that accumulates on them adding to their fake and somewhat disgusting appearance.

I would understand displaying such atrocities in the office place or malls as they do not necessitate any maintenance and can be left undisturbed for years. But actually voluntarily wanting them as a fixture in your home is unnatural. I know that we humans are extremely detached and far removed from nature with our housing, transportation and even entertainment, but faking nature in our homes is going too far. What will be next? Will we store plastic food in the fridge or fill

our tubs with artificial water?

For those of you who chose to display these flowers in your home, think about all the things you are missing out on by choosing fake flowers. You don’t get the great smells, original appearance and feel of nature that comes with real plants and flowers.

And anyway, don’t you think that people will find it strange that your blossoms are always in season, never change positions and have a heavy layer of dust on them? Your eternal ‘fresh pot of flowers’ is not fooling anyone and are - the majority of the time extremely ugly to look at. I say put an end to the visual pollution that is plastic flowers, fight the ugly. sawsank@kuwaittimes.net

Parenting is not easy

By Muna Al-Fuzai fter a long summer holiday, children are ready to return to school. Parents may experience a sense of relief when the kids are sent to bed early. Money is spent on school fees, tuition, clothes, school buses, and private teachers for those who take extra lessons.

For many working parents, this time of the year has its share of good and bad. I agree with their complaints of having to singlehandedly bear the costs while school fees vary on a yearly basis at schools. Their income remains limited. Being a parent is not, quite literally, a child’s play. Life has changed. Not everyone is happy being a parent even if their children are young.

I recently received a funny email from a man who is the father of infant twins. He apparently asked his wife to quit her job because maintaining it was costing him more! He claimed that the whole family had to wake up very early so that his little children are taken to a day-care center. The mother would spend more time fixing her clothes and appearance rather than preparing a decent breakfast for him. He would waste more time trying to find a parking space at the children’s day-care center and then go back to his wife’s workplace, which he claimed, was far away. By the time he reached office, he was tired, hungry and late!

His boss would shout at him and his wife would phone him up him to ensure that he would buy some lunch on his way back to school - many times. He would get a traffic ticket for speeding! He went on to say that now that his wife is no longer employed, he doesn’t have to rush. She doesn’t spend as much time in front of the mirror but prepares breakfast and good lunch on time. He says he can save money now and his children are at home full-time.

He eats his meals on time and enjoys freedom from worry.

I don’t entirely agree with this man’s attitude. I think he is being selfish by not considering his partner’s feelings, likes or dislikes.

Parenting is no longer an easy task. Probably this man is right and may be his wife does not mind being a housewife. Quite sadly, she doesn’t get paid for managing household chores! It is difficult to be a father or a mother. Even though some people want peace of mind, if you have young children, the only words you can say is bye bye peace and bye bye savings. muna@kuwaittimes.net

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IN MY VIEW

The national unity excuse

By Abdulla Alnouri read in the newspaper recently that some elementary schools were extending their school days by an extra few minutes by adding classes to promote national unity.

What does that mean exactly, an extra round of the national anthem and field trips to Starbucks and Pink Berry?

This ‘national unity’ concept gets tossed around by politicians and columnists all the time, but I often get the impression that none of them really get to the crux of the issue. Either that or the phrase gets used by opportunistic politicians as a desperate attempt to scare people into thinking that a person, or policy, is a risk to the cohesion that should exist amongst Kuwaitis in our society.

Ah yes! I can see it now — politicians and public figures crouching in their diwaniyas waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. They are waiting for the slightest controversial issue to pop up so that they can take advantage of it for their own personal agendas. We know what the real prob-

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lem is. Politics in this country has turned into a very desperate popularity contest, and everybody knows the best way to win a competition of this sort; be a drama queen.

It’s a familiar formula. Wait for an issue, cry ‘bloody murder’ and make people so nervous and scared that they have no other choice but to follow your lead and the conclusions you make because your voice is the loudest, whether it is correct or not. The tactic is being used right now against Muslims and Islam in New York City where conservatives use the mosque/community center near ‘Ground Zero’ to drum-up support for conservatives. It is also being used in countries throughout Europe to scare people against supporting the building of mosques. It’s a shame that such a clichéd formula is being used by Muslims against each other here.

Back to Kuwait, though, I can honestly say that nothing is more of a threat to my own personal feelings of national unity than having to listen to another elected official carry on about how concerned they are about nation-

al unity. It is so insincere that it makes me feel ashamed to be a cardcarrying member of the same country they claim to be trying to protect.

A good way to test their sincerity would be to ask them what they think would actually promote national unity.

Oh, we all know the threats; radical Shiites hiding in England and insulting important Islamic figures, TV personalities accusing Kuwaiti families of not being Kuwaiti enough, hesitating on the development plan, dual citizenship.

Okay, fair enough, all those things are problems that should be solved but is it really necessary to drag the fear and confusion that follows such an accusation as ‘threat to national unity?’ No, I don’t think so.

And where are the suggestions to promote national unity? Has anyone come up with a cause, a campaign or a catch phrase that everyone can get regardless of their religious background, political tendencies, or even citizenship that doesn’t have anything to do with a cell-phone plan?

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SOME PAIN IS PHYSICAL, SOME PAIN IS MENTAL; BUT ONE THAT IS BOTH IS DENTAL: A patient gets a clean-up done during a dental procedure at a local dental clinic in Kuwait. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

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By Abdullah Al-Qattan

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aha, in her late thirties, is driving for an appointment with a PR executive, the radio is running an interview with a leader of an opposition movement she is supporting and she is clutching a BlackBerry trying to answer an urgent email from work. As she tries to confirm her appointment, she sends the wrong email while speeding to catch the green light at the traffic light. She stops, stares at the blinking BlackBerry and gets a traffic fine. She promises herself: “I will never multi-task again.”

But is this possible? Maha is not the sole crusader of this new fad. It has become a habit for many young people to juggle more than one task at a time. But how efficiently are these tasks managed? In the words of Olivia, a European expat, taking time off one task to perform another is not a win-win trade-off. “If I am checking my email while talking on the phone with a customer, I am unable to focus on either. In this way I fail to devote all my attention to the customer or answer the email in the right manner,” she said.

Her observation goes beyond the boundaries of her house and into the streets of Kuwait. On the way to work, Ahmad, an Egyptian expat, notices people driving and talking on the phone, SMSing or even eating.

He calls them multi-taskers disapprovingly and say that neither is driving and eating good for digestion nor for the safety of other road-troopers. What is inconceivable to him, however, is the music’s loudness coming from the headphones of his colleagues at work. “How can they listen to music and work at the same time?” he asks.

For Reem, the debate about multi-tasking has taken up a gender curve. Reem, who considers multi-tasking a perfectly normal occurrence, thinks the dilemma lies in the ambiguous concern of how multi-tasking affects productivity and how it differs for men and women.

Studies have proven that being a housewife has made women far more capable in accomplishing different tasks at the same time. As women, since the prehistoric ages have become accustomed to spending their days taking care of the household and all its surroundings, cooking, caring for the kids and defending the house in case of emergencies, they have mastered the art of multi-tasking.

Salwa Al-Shatti says that women can still multi-task better than men, where they have the ability to listen to someone talk while reading a magazine or a newspaper and not miss a single word from any of the two. Salwa suggests “men nowadays simply try to imitate women by claiming that the use of technology and all of its benefits is a form of multi-tasking”.

Yin and Yang Today, both genders compete for the title of the ultimate multi-tasker trying to complete all the chores and obligations in the household. Mohammad takes the kids to school in the morning while his wife drops the laundry and pays the Internet bill on the way to work. Their family, they observe, has found a successful working formula. Add to this technology, and completing your tasks becomes a whole load of things. Regardless of the convenience and arrangements, people still can’t manage their time properly while

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juggling more than three things at a time.

Khalid Al-Salman says that people, especially men, had to develop new tricks and multi-task so they can adapt easily to this life which is the opposite of what things used to be. “People today have more chores and more obligations than before, especially since technology has made life easier,” Khalid added.

Mariam Al-Houti takes the debate on a slightly different edge. She says that women today lack the basic computer skills required to enable them to work on different chores that may require the knowledge of a computer. “Therefore men today seem more dominant than women in the field of multitasking,” she says.

Hussain Ahmed says that women today rely on multi-tasking more than ever but they tend to avoid it when it comes to technology as if technology has made it harder for them when it was supposed to make it easier.

Jawad Al-Hasawi says that most men today can’t compete with the ability to multitask, especially since it is not in their DNA or they haven’t evolved in that way unlike women who are natural at that. “Men today pretend to be good at performing different chores at the same time, but the final result always seems imperfect. Women, on the other hand, tend to perfect their work,” Jawad added.

Aisha Al-Othman says that most people get easily distracted and lose their focus, therefore if they do multitask, the outcome is usually noticeably bad especially in a professional work environment. Aisha is very vocal on the issue of multi-tasking as juxtaposition to productivity. She says, “Multi-tasking usually leaves some loose ends that need to be taken care of later on, whereas performing single tasks at a time can ensure a clean cut”.

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By Hussain Al-Qatari

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ecent incidents of political and sectarian tension in the country could negatively impact students’ behavior, fear public school teachers. As the Ministry of Education promises to adopt a new program that will fight sectarianism in schools, teachers expressed their doubt with regards to the program’s capabilities.

The details of the program, which were published in a local daily this week, promise a comprehensive agenda that will encourage goodwill and implement positive values like tolerance and understanding of cultural differences. Despite the optimistic plan, 43year-old teacher Nora (not her real name) says she has her doubts, “In order to create awareness, you need to invest quite a lot of effort and money in teachers and educators, as well as social workers and school psychologists. I don’t see any investment or training going on. Throughout the summer, all teachers were on vacation. Most of them were probably out of the country. The ministry’s promises, I fear, will not see the light,” said the sociology high school teacher from Mubarak Al-Kabeer. Not to doubt the teachers’ efforts in the classroom, Nora says that there are a lot of teachers who try very hard to bring out the best of the classroom environment. This is extremely difficult due to the relatively short time students spend in school. “Whatever effort teachers put into controlling students’ behavior inside or outside the classroom is sadly unnoticed by the ministry officials. Sometimes it is not even encouraged,” she said.

Eliminating sectarianism in schools is not possible, as most parents don’t take teachers seriously, “Many parents are arrogant and

Kuwait’s public school teachers get into trouble for ‘sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong’ don’t think it is the business of the teacher to speak about anything other than the subject their children study in the classroom,” she said. Giving the example of an incident that happened to her, she said, “I was once interrogated by my superiors because a 17year-old student confided in me and told me that she is in love with a boy who wants to propose to her although he is from a different sect. Appreciating her trust in me, I didn’t want to reprimand the girl. I told her that she should think of her future first in terms of education and career before thinking of marriage, and that if God wills, she will get married regardless of the difference of sect and background,” she narrated. “I told her that she should focus on her studies and think of what she wants to do after graduation. The next day, her parents spoke to the school management and filed a complaint claiming that I encouraged the girl to start a relationship with a boy.

Encouraging her to study and focus on her future went unnoticed; they were upset because I told the girl that background and sectarian differences don’t matter,” she said.

Furthering on Nora’s point, Dalal, 27, an English language teacher at a primary school for boys said that teachers in Kuwait’s public schools especially seem to be always getting in trouble for “sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong,” which is what many parents and school officials call teachers’ interference with students’ behavior.

Talking about her experience, she narrates, “I had a student who behaved very improperly in my class. He was very disrespectful to his colleagues and to me.

After one incident, I punished him by assigning him to write a letter apologizing for being disrespectful, and to read it in front of the class. I also referred him to the school principal, who was very supportive of the idea of his public apology.”

The next day, the boy didn’t show up.

Instead, his angry mother came to the principal’s office and demanded that the teacher apologizes, she explained. Her son’s punishment was public humiliation, she claimed, and her son is not going to apologize to anyone because she believed he did nothing wrong, “You see, we try to correct

what we see to be wrong, but sometimes there just isn’t enough support, or no support at all. The opposite of that, actually,” she said.

Dalal also added that the schedule is very tight, “We are required to follow the syllabus, teach the students certain skills, spot talents and try to hone them, try to find the negative to fight it, all of this keeping track of the syllabus and the daily lesson assigned by the ministry. This all needs to be done in less than an hour, in a classroom with about thirty students. It’s difficult to try to juggle all that and still be discouraged by parents,” she noted.

Mishal, a teacher in a boys’ middle school, says that sectarian tension translates into bullying in the school yard, “Some parents understand when we punish their kids for getting into fights but the majority have the sectarian ideologies themselves,” he said.

“They wouldn’t recognize their kids’ mistake in bullying someone for belonging to a different sect, tribe or background. This is because they speak ill of those who are different from them.”

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Friday, September 17, 2010

By Sunil Cherian

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KUWAIT: Items seen for sale at a “mia mia” store. — Photos by Ben Garcia

Revisiting ‘mia-mia’ store

By Ben Garcia

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ave you been visiting the ‘mia-mia’ store these days? You will be surprised at the hiked prices of many of the items on sale. The products which are usually sold for as less as 100 fils, are now available at 150 fils. Those that were sold at 150 fils now cost 250 fils, 500 fils and 750 fils each.

A store owner who spoke to Kuwait Times on condition of anonymity, believes that the rise was mostly due to the increase in transportation and shipment fees of products which he mentioned, increased by about 20-50 percent, “Transportation fees of these products has risen. If we are not going to increase our price a little higher, at the end of the day, we’ll lose our business,” the store owner said.

Mia-mia store sells items which are available in several bigger stores at a higher cost. The store, however, will provide you with the same products but at a lower cost. All of these products are made in China and helps many low-income earners enjoy the items that are usually found in upper or middle class homes.

“I usually buy items at the cost of 100 fils, but I was surprised that most of the products now are priced more than 100 fils. Earlier I would buy five pieces of comb and several pony tails (fake wigs) at 100 fils only. Now, the same items cost me 250 fils,” one customer commented.

Even at hiked prices, a Filipina customer is ready to pay extra cash than buy expensive products, “It’s okay to pay an extra amount. After all, I only have to add 50 fils. I cannot buy the same products at bigger stores in the Avenues or Marina Mall at same price. So, I don’t mind adding 50 fils,” she said.

An equally smart mother now chooses to buy the same products at a supermarket, “If you are used to buying products at the cost of 100 fils, you must have noticed that the same things now cost 50 percent more,” she reasoned. “I think, I better buy a slightly more little expensive product that will last a little longer, compared to mia-mia or now mia khamsin fils products,” she added.

The ‘mia-mia’ stores sell not just small personal items but other products that are manufactured in China. These stores also boast of beautiful products of various sizes that are enjoyed by kids like toys, souvenir items, kitchen utensils, school-related stationery and various small home and office products.

n ‘Oonga Boonga’, an amusing children’s story written by celebrated German author and special education teacher Frieda Wishinsky, a crying baby’s brother coos the unconventional words. The baby’s face breaks into a smile immediately.

For an onlooker, children’s first day at school is a stark reminder of Wishinsky’s baby and the brave brother story. The secret behind the magic word ‘Oonga Boonga’ is as charming as a child’s smile: children want something catchy and creative which at the same time is physical and hands-on.

Meaningless litany of instructions and lifeless ‘Good mornings’ and ‘How are yous?’ are most likely to go over their head. Thank God if they don’t wink at teachers.

The school’s bulletin boards, hallways and the auditorium sparkle with colorful welcome notes, thanks to teachers who spend long hours preparing them. But any tone of monotony will not attract children that already know the tricks of the trade. As adults, we are caught up with routine, forgetting the fact that children can remember the same smile, same demeanor, same words, that are repeated over the years.

“My first day at school was a horrible one,” a young MBA graduate reminisced his first day at school.

There was a HumptyDumpty like huge figure with a bobble head,” he recollected. “He was present at the school auditorium, swaying to loud music, showing off his colorful outfit. I don’t think he could see properly through the fitted bobble head. I was seated in the crowded hall amid crying kindergarden children and parents who tried hard to comfort them. As my mother walked away, I ran after her and the ‘bobble head’ came in the way. We collided against each other and fell onto the floor. I could see some teachers laugh.”

“I liked my school”, he added, “I was fond of one teacher. She cared about me and would enquire about me if missed school for a day.

She sounded genuine and she did what she said”.

Wishinsky’s story has a funny ending. The baby starts crying again when the entire family screams ‘Oonga Boonga!’ The wise brother is called in and he whispers, “Banga Woonga” in its ears. The baby bares its gums from ear to ear again.

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KUWAIT: (Left) A dead bird is pictured. (Right) A young boy takes aim at a bird to shoot at. The Kuwait Bird Society recently requested people to stop bird-shooting as a sport and urged them to protect them from danger. — KUNA

Al-Habeeb traveled to Iran on Iraqi passport Al-Habeeb describes release from prison as ‘divine decision’ KUWAIT: Controversial Shiite clergyman Yasser Al-Habeeb said that he had obtained an Iraqi passport to travel to Iran after taking refuge in Iraq following his ‘mistaken’ release from jail. Al-Habeeb’s confessions, which were broadcast by Al-Watan TV, revealed a new development in this case. A haste decision may be taken to address his case, and may change the course of the case’s direction - from insulting the wife of Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) to that of dual citizenship. The statement issued by Al-Habeeb will keep authorities wondering on how the manner in which the case can be tackled - either by rescinding his

citizenship or initiating an interpellation motion against the interior minister or even the premier.

Al-Habeeb described the Kuwaiti government as being ‘stupid, ‘and the National Assembly as being ‘backward,’ reported AlWatan. Al-Habeeb described his release from prison as a ‘divine decision,’ and refused to speak about his departure from Kuwait. He only commended a group of individuals that offered him refuge on the Iraqi side. After crossing Abdaly and Safwan border posts, he then went to Karbala. He added that he had obtained an Iraqi passport to travel to Iran.

Crimes To p po l i ce o ffi cer refus es to tes ti fy KUWAIT: An arrest warrant was issued against the Director of Hawally Security Brig Abdellatif Al-Wahaib for refusing to be questioned by the Bayan police. The Bayan police investigator had asked Brigadier AlWahaib to testify in a general security case.

However, he refused to comply, claiming that his job designation disallows him to do so. The investigator sought legal help and issued an arrest warrant against him. Officials said that Brig Al-Wahaib did testify later.

Mi s s i ng g i rl fo und A parent lodged a complaint with the Adan police stating that his daughter was missing and could not be traced. Police investigation revealed that the girl left for a neighboring Gulf country without seeking permission from her family. Kuwait authorities informed their counterparts in the Gulf state about the girl’s whereabouts. She was arrested and referred back home.

Si s ter s pat A citizen filed a complaint against her sister with the Fintas police station citing verbal insult and threatening and reportedly a dispute arose between the two. The women were interrogated to determine the reason behind the spat.

Verbal abus e cas e A female citizen who trains under a lawyer was verbally abused by a Syrian expat. The man apparently, forcibly entered the office and began shouting obscenities at the citizen. She filed a complaint at Hawally Security Department. The Syrian was summoned for investigations.

PARIS: Kuwait’s Ambassador to France Ali Al-Saeed (left) is pictured with former French president Jacques Chirac. — KUNA

Kuwait gives 1m euros to Foundation Chirac PARIS: Kuwait donated yesterday one million euros to Foundation Chirac humanitarian body, headed by former French president Jacques Chirac. Kuwait’s Ambassador to France Ali AlSaeed presented the donation to Chirac who expressed great gratitude to His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah for the generous donation.

He expressed hope to cooperate with Kuwait in all humanitarian fields, stressing that the Gulf state was leading in supporting humanitarian

action. The foundation aims to reduce poverty in the world through encouraging the exchange of ideas and values and contributing to establishing a network of knowledge and practices that lead to sustainable development.

The foundation contributes to several projects related to conflict prevention, providing access to clean water and quality medication and healthcare, fighting deforestation and desertification, and safeguarding cultural diversity. — KUNA

Wo man beaten, ro bbed A bedoon woman reported to Sharq police that she was beaten and robbed at the parking lot of a famous mall in Sharq. She said that an Iraqi man physically abused her and made away with her laptop. Policemen later learnt that the man was her ex-boyfriend. The man was reportedly pursuing her. However, the woman pleaded with him to return the laptop.

The man refused to return it. Police are investigating the case.

Bo o tl eg g er nabbed The Hawally police arrested an Asian man with possession of 15 cartons of imported liquor in south Surra. Acting Director of Criminal Detectives Department Brig Sheikh Mazen Al-Jarrah was tipped off on the Asian man’s activities. The man was continuously monitored. An undercover agent posing as a

customer struck a deal with him to sell two cartons of imported liquor. He was arrested during the exchange. The suspect was referred to concerned authorities.

Co nman s el l s fake chal ets An Iraqi expatriate who sold several nonexistent chalets at unbelievable prices was caught recently. The citizens who discovered they were ‘fooled’ lodged a complaint with the Mubarak Al-Kabeer police Director Lt Colonel Waleed Al-Duraiee. They succeeded in locating and arresting the conman. Officials said that he confessed to committing several scams.

Man s tabbed A young man was admitted to Jahra hospital after taking refuge at a police station in a severely injured state. He bled profusely from a stab wound sustained to the chest. The man told police that two assailants had stabbed him. Police managed to capture one of the men. The other is being sought.

Investigations are underway.

Arab man s ho t at The Farwaniya police arrested seven individuals suspected of shooting an Arab expatriate. The Arab was shot in the abdomen. Criminal investigation detectives stated that an AK-47 machine gun was used to attack the man.

Haras s er caug ht The Farwaniya police arrested an Arab expatriate for harassing women at a mall.

Many complaints were filed by women against a man who misbehaved with them. Police arrested the man in a while.

Po l i ceman attacked A policeman who found four young men involved in a street brawl and carried sharp objects, tried to break up the fight. However, the men attacked the policeman instead, prompting onlookers to place an emergency call with the Interior Ministry’s Operations Room. Policemen who arrived at the scene arrested them.

Ci ti zen s ho o ts el derl y man A Kuwaiti citizen shot and wounded his friend’s father. The man was peeved at being asked to leave the latter’s diwaniya located in Al-Oyoun, Jahra. Police received a call from a citizen who reported the incident. He said that the owner had kicked the man for displaying acts of bad behavior. In retaliation, he pulled a shotgun and fired at the elderly man before fleeing the scene.

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Cabinet meet targets recent media tension Ministers discuss viable solutions to combat repercussions

KUWAIT: Fireman Fahad Mohammad Al-Otaibi (right) who was injured while on duty is pictured at Adan Hospital. He was visited by concerned officials from the fire department recently. —Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: An extraordinary Cabinet session concluded yesterday at Sief Palace, aimed at putting a stop to recent media clashes between several entities in Kuwait, which threatens national unity, a minister said here.

Following the session, Minister of Communication and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Dr Mohammad Mohsin Al-Busairi said that this tension “does not suit the Kuwaiti society’s dedication to unity in all its sects, and this is what Kuwait is used to throughout the generations.” The acting Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad AlSabah expressed enormous gratitude and pride at the directions of His Highness the

Amir, in his opening wise, fatherly speech to the nation during the final 10 nights of the holy month of Ramadan.

Sheikh Jaber praised HH the Amir’s constructive advice, wisdom and precise vision, and his calls to unite according to patriotic belief in the face of challenges, while warning of the dangers of sedition and segregation. The acting Prime Minister also commended HH the Amir’s calls for local media to commit to their noble role in support of a conscious freedom to tackle division and separation. Ministers discussed procedures that have been taken to isolate the developments of the issue, and how to best limit its negative repercussions. —KUNA

crimes

Al-Bathali interrogated

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A security officer said that political activist Mubarak Al-Bathali was interrogated at the State Security Department’s premises on his supposed threats issued to kill parliament members who were opposed to Yasser AlHabeeb’s citizenship annulment. The officials stated that the State Security Department will refer Al-Bathali to the Public Prosecution Department in connection with issuing murder threats and verbal abuse. Acting

Premier and Defense Minister and Acting Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah had instructed that Al-Bathali be questioned.

Orientation session held An orientation session was held at the office of Non-commissioned Officer, 16th Batch.

It was organized under the patronage of Director General of the noncommissioned and individual personnel qualification department Brig Khalid Abdelaziz AlJarahi.

Delegation visits injured fireman The Public Relations and Information Department, in cooperation with the Safety and Occupational Health at the Kuwait Fire Services Directorate (KFSD) visited AlAdan hospital. They inquired about the condition of fireman Fahad Mohammad Al-Otaibi.

He was injured while on duty.

Ahmadi Governorate Fire Director Colonel Jamal AlBulaihees, Director of Al-Zour center Colonel Saad Saif and First Lt Mohammad Al-Najdi, Lt Hamad Al-Awadi and Lt Jaafar Fadhel were also present.

VALLETTA: Kuwaiti non-resident Ambassador to the Republic of Malta Sheikh Jaber Al-Duaij Al-Sabah is pictured with Prime Minister of Malta Dr Lawrence Gonzi and other officials during his visit. —KUNA

Non-resident diplomat presents credentials VALLETTA: Prime Minister of Malta Dr Lawrence Gonzi praised here yesterday, the strength of bilateral and historical relations shared between his country and Kuwait. He said that the country was looking forward to consolidate them to a wider horizon in all areas that serve the interests of both countries.

Kuwaiti non-resident Ambassador to the Republic of Malta Sheikh Jaber Al-Duaij AlSabah said in a press statement that he conveyed to the Prime Minister of Malta, after presenting his credentials to President George Abela,

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Public Works began its 55-km Kabd-Wafra road project at a cost of KD 14.5 million yesterday. —KUNA

Kabd-Wafra road project begins KUWAIT: The Ministry of Public Works began yesterday its 55-km Kabd-Wafra road project at a cost of KD 14.5 million. The implementation of the road project will meet the required standards adopted by the ministry for road projects, said Eng Habib Ali, Director of the road project department at the ministry. The ministry has already begun preparation for the road project, he added.

The road will have two lanes and sides in

each direction; six percent of the project has been completed so far, and the entire project will be finished in July 2012, he noted. The ministry has already agreed with Kuwait University to conduct a study identifying the causes of traffic accidents on the same road in addition to group meetings held with the General Administration of Traffic, Municipality and others involved in the project to be developed. —KUNA

greetings of HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser AlMohammad Al-Ahmad AlSabah.

He added that Dr Gonzi asserted during the meeting, the historical strength of bilateral relations shared between the Republic of Malta and the state of Kuwait, and commended the assistance provided by Kuwait since 1970s. He said that the Maltese official welcomed the forthcoming visit of His Highness the PM Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad AlAhmad Al-Sabah to Malta, adding that he hopes such visit

would contribute significantly to push forward bilateral relations in various fields and levels.

He also asserted the importance of holding mutual visits between officials of both countries to promote bilateral relations and their development in various fields, recalling a recent visit by the envoy of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad AlSabah, who recently attended in the funeral of late Maltese President Guido de Marco. —KUNA

Kuwaiti delegation part of OPEC’s celebrations KUWAIT: Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Oil and the national representative of the State of Kuwait at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nawal Al-Fuzai’a unveiled a visit to be paid by a Kuwaiti delegation to Vienna to attend the cartel’s celebrations next week.

Al-Fuzai’a said that the delegation includes members from the Ministry of Oil, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), Kuwait Oil

Company (KOC) and the Ministry of Information. She added that the secretariat of OPEC will organize an exhibition and big events that will continue until the end of September in the city of Vienna on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the organization, in addition to an open day dedicated to the State of Kuwait in which the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information would take part in technical and heritage activities as well as fashion. —KUNA

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Jordan, PLO turn page on ‘Black September’ but fears remain AMMAN: Jordan and the Palestinians have turned the page on the bloody clashes of “Black September” that kicked off exactly 40 years ago today but fears still remain in the absence of regional peace. Estimates of the numbers killed in the 10 months of fighting that finally saw Jordan’s army drive Palestinian fighters out of the country range widely, between 2,000 and 30,000. Palestinians have revised down the toll to 3,000.

Following the Arab defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War, Yasser Arafat, who later became Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chief, saw in Jordan an ideal location for military bases for around 40,000 fighters to attack the neighboring Jewish state. But the power of the Palestinian armed groups developed into a state within a state.

On September 6, 1970, the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked three passenger planes, two of which landed in Azraq, east of the capital Amman. Three days later a fourth plane was hijacked, with 56 British and US-Israelis citizens on board. On September 17, Jordan’s then king Hussein responded by ordering his army of 50,000 men to kick the Palestinian fighters out of the kingdom.

After 10 days of bloody fighting, during which Syria intervened to back the Palestinians, a ceasefire was signed in Cairo. But the Palestinian armed groups got to stay in Jordan, and the fighting did not stop until prime minister Wasfi al-Tel drove the Palestinian fighters out of the country in July 1971.

Tel was assassinated four months later

IRBID: People stand near a destroyed building in a street of Irbid, in September 1970, during the fights between the Jordanian army and Palestinian armed fedayeen fighters in the so-called Black September events. — AFP in Cairo by four members of the “Black September” organisation.

Jordanians have few regrets about the king’s decision, however, in a country where around half of its 6.2 million people are now of Palestinian origin.

“It was not only inevitable but also necessary. If we did not act the way we did, it would have served the purpose of Israel of creating a Palestinian state in

Jordan,” said Adnan Abu Odeh, a confidant of king Hussein of Palestinian origin and information minister at the time of the fighting. The two sides have officially turned the page on the “Black September” events.

In the 1980s, Arafat and king Hussein reconciled, although their relationship remained permanently tinged with suspicion, sources who were close to them say. In 1988, Jordan

relinquished its claim to the West Bank, which it had clung on to after Israel seized the territory in the 1967 war, and ceded it to Arafat’s PLO. Since King Abdullah II ascended the throne in 1999, he has stressed Jordan’s support for Palestinian rights and called on Israel to commit itself to a two-state solution.

Jordan and the Palestinian Authority coordinate regularly, and King Abdullah was invited to Washington on

Mideast peace talks rich in symbolism JERUSALEM: In less than a month, globe-trotting Mideast peace makers have traveled from the regal grounds of the White House to the calm shores of the Red Sea and the holy city of Jerusalem in a series of carefully choreographed meetings rich in symbolism. In Middle East peacemaking, symbolism is often just as important as substance. Each venue in the recently renewed talks, the first in nearly two years, has been carefully chosen , a set of gestures meant to send important messages to key constituencies.

Launched on the lawn of the White House on Sept 2, the peace efforts moved this week to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the Israeli prime minister’s official residence in Jerusalem, the West Bank and then to Jordan. President Barack Obama has made Mideast peace a top priority in his foreign policy. Bringing the sides together at the White House after months of painstaking mediation underscored the personal commitment of the US president to the peace process while giving him an important boost ahead of key midterm elections.

The high-profile stage of the White House also provided a bump to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It helped Netanyahu , widely seen as a hard-liner by the international community, portray himself as a peacemaker, and aided the embattled Abbas in shoring up his position at home. But it was important to shift the talks quickly back to the Middle East.

All sides agreed to launch the latest round of negotiations in Egypt, a nod to the first Arab country to reach peace with Israel and a key moderating force in the region. Sharm el-Sheikh, a frequent site of Mideast summits, was a natural choice.

The summit at the Red Sea resort town, which was anchored by Secretary of State Hillary

JERUSALEM: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, stands as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, at his residence in Jerusalem, Israel Wednesday. —AP Rodham Clinton, was a clear sign of appreciation for Egypt’s 82-year-old leader, Hosni Mubarak, and gave Abbas an important “Arab” endorsement at a time when he has come under criticism for returning to the negotiating table.

“We appreciate very much the role of Egypt, the leader of the Arab world, in supporting the process of Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation,” said Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Their providing a venue was a very tangible way of expressing

support.” On Wednesday, the talks moved to Jerusalem, the epicenter of the conflict and potentially the thorniest stop on Clinton’s sweep through the Middle East. “This is a city that holds such deep meaning for Jews, Christians and Muslims,” Clinton noted during an appearance with Israel’s president, Shimon Peres. Israel claims the entire city as its capital, while the Palestinians seek east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war, as the capital of a future independent state. —AP

September 2 to attend the resumption of direct peace negotiations. Palestinian political analyst Hani al-Masri said there is now a “privileged relationship” between the two governments and two peoples because there is no longer a Palestinian desire to take over Jordan.

“A Jordanian-Palestinian agreement on the need for compromise and peace in the region... has reached the level of an alliance between them,” Masri said.

But he admitted the events of 40 years ago left “deep wounds” on both sides, and many Jordanians, whose country signed a 1994 peace treaty with Israel, still fear that their kingdom might turn into an alternative state for the Palestinians. “Even right now, we find it difficult to secure our safety and security without a Palestinian state on the West Bank,” said Abu Odeh, who is on the board of the International Crisis Group (ICG).

Although both leaderships have repeatedly rejected right-wing Israeli talk of a Jordanian option to solve the Palestinian conflict, Jordanians have developed an obsession with the issue, said Mohammed Masri, a researcher at the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies. “The so-called Jordan option has become an obsession for Jordanians, particularly the elite, who think of this issue every time the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks fail or every time a domestic problem happens,” he told AFP. “People’s fears increase because they do not trust Israel and at the same time they do not trust the government.”—AFP

‘Gap remains wide’ on settlements: Palestinian official RAMALLAH: Israel and the Palestinians remain deeply divided on the renewal of settlement construction despite fresh peace talks, a senior Palestinian official said yesterday. The official said the negotiations held in Egypt and Jerusalem and attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had failed to resolve the settlements row, which could derail the peace talks relaunched earlier this month.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has threatened to walk out if Israel does not renew a moratorium on the construction of new homes in West Bank settlements that expires at the end of the month. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thus far refused to extend the partial ban despite the urging of US President Barack Obama.

“The Abbas-Netanyahu meeting (on Wednesday) saw very wide differences around the issues of settlements and borders, and the gap remains wide despite the attempt to intervene by (Clinton and US envoy George Mitchell),” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The talks “were difficult and made no progress,” he added. “The Palestinian side wants to focus on the issue of borders in order to resolve the issue of settlements,” he said.

He said the Americans had suggested a threemonth extension to the moratorium in which the two sides could agree on borders, which could bring a “final halt to settlement on the lands of the future Palestinian state. The official added US negotiators wanted a complete halt to settlements while Israel was insisting on continuing to build in major settlement blocs it hopes to keep in any final peace accord.

Some 500,000 Israelis live in more than 120 Jewish settlements across the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories expected to form the bulk of a future Palestinian state. The conflict over settlements has been one of the core disputes in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks going back to the early 1990s.—AFP

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Attempt to stop the highlighting of economic woes

Iran security agents ‘raid opposition leader’s office’ TEHRAN: Iranian security agents have ra ided the office of opposition lea der Mir Hossein Mousa vi, his w ebsite reported yesterday, sa ying it w a s a move to stop him from highlighting the nation’s economic w oes. “La st night, security

FALLUJAH: Mourners chant slogans during a funeral procession for people killed in a raid in Fallujah west of Baghdad, Iraq yesterday. — AP

Iraq approves settlement for Saddam’s US victims BAGHDAD: The Iraqi Cabinet unanimously approved a $400 million settlement for Americans who say they were abused by Saddam Hussein’s regime, the government spokesman said yesterday. The agreement represents a significant step forward for Iraq and could bring an end to years of legal battles by Americans who claim to have been tortured or traumatized under Saddam’s regime dating back to the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

The deal is likely to anger Iraqis who consider themselves the victims of both Saddam’s regime and the 2003 USled invasion and they wonder why they should pay money for wrongs committed by the ousted dictator.

Saddam’s government held hundreds of Americans hostage during the run-up to the 1991 Gulf War, using them as human shields in hopes of staving off an attack by the US and its allies and many have since pursued law suits against the Iraqi government.

The settlement needs to be approved by the Iraqi parliament, a big hurdle given the likely public outcry over the deal and the fact that the legislature has only met once since the March 7 elections. The vote produced no clear winner, leaving Iraq still without a new government.

Government spokesman, Ali alDabbagh, did not mention the dollar amount that Iraq had agreed to pay in the statement released yesterday, but

Iraqi officials previously have said that according to the agreement, signed Sept. 2, Iraq would pay about $400 million to Americans affected by the Kuwait invasion.

Any amount Iraq agreed on as compensation for the American victims of Saddam should be seen favorably and as a compromise between the two sides, given that the US claims “exceed $10 billion,” al-Dabbagh said.

He emphasized the importance of the deal with the Americans since it could pave the way to persuading the U.N. to lift sanctions imposed after the Kuwait invasion. The Americans involved kept up their legal fight even after Saddam was overthrown in 2003 and a new government came to power. CBS News correspondent Bob Simon, who was held for more than a month during the Gulf War, was one of the people suing Iraq.

In other developments, the US military said an American airman was killed and a soldier was wounded in a controlled detonation , a routine process to dispose of bombs and munitions , at the Joint Base Balad, north of Baghdad. The military said the incident, which happened Wednesday, is under investigation. The death raises to at least 4,419 the number of US military personnel killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003 according to an Associated Press count. — AP

Ahmadinejad rebukes threat of new Iran sanctions TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized the threat of new sanctions against his country Wednesday, saying Iran can survive without the aid of the United States and its allies. Ahmadinejad told NBC News in an interview that Iran was justified in barring further visits by United Nations atomic inspectors. “We in Iran are in a position to meet our own requirements,” he said.

The UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions in June, saying Iran has refused to suspend uranium enrichment and start negotiations with the five permanent members and Germany. Tehran says its nuclear program is aimed solely at producing nuclear energy. Asked about the apparent escalation of tensions in recent weeks over the topic of Quran burning in the US, Ahmadinejad said there was no conflict between the two cultures and blamed a small minority of Americans for fueling the rising anger between Muslims and Americans.

“Their interests lie in creating wars and conflicts,” he said. “Quran is a heavenly book, a divine book. That was an ugly thing, to burn a holy book.”

Ahmadinejad’s comments came a week before he is scheduled to attend the UN General Assembly in New York. — AP

“With the attack by plainclothes security agents on the office of Mousavi, it seems that another phase of restrictions has started,” it said. The report said the raid was an attempt to prevent Mousavi from commenting on the country’s economic situation. “The upcoming economic crisis... is among the worries of the government... They are distracting public opinion by imposing restrictions on people of the Green Movement like Mousavi and (Mehdi) Karroubi who are trying to give news on the status of the country,” Kaleme said.

Both men have repeatedly criticised the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over its foreign policy as well as its handling of the economy. On July 7, weeks after the UN Security Council imposed a fourth set of sanctions on Iran, Mousavi lashed out at Ahmadinejad. He said the measures would “decrease GDP, increase unemployment, create more hardships for people and widen the gap between us and other developing nations, especially our neighbours.”

He urged the government to tell the people about the impact of the sanctions.

“They should know the effect of this resolution... on their livelihood, inflation, the nation’s progress and security. If people are asked to resist (sanctions), then their trust should be earned by telling them the truth.”

Ahmadinejad has maintained that the sanctions will fail to have any impact on Iran.

The UN measures, followed by unilateral ones by the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and South Korea, as well as the European Union, have targeted Iran’s vital financial and energy sectors. Kaleme also said that, in the past few weeks, security agents deployed in the streets and alleys near the office had been “preventing people from entering” the premises. It also said the office manager had been arrested recently.

“Based on reports received by Kaleme, we anticipate more intense actions” against the opposition leader, the website added. Another opposition website, Rahesabz.net, said that over the past few months the Revolutionary Guards, who are in charge of the security of officials, “changed a number of Mousavi’s guards with unknown people.”

It said agents prevented visitors from entering Mousavi’s office by “either detaining or interrogating them,” adding that Mohammad Reza Khatami, brother of former president and opposition supporter Mohammad Khatami, was also stopped from meeting Mousavi.

Earlier this month, Kaleme reported that the Guards and Islamist militiamen had besieged Karroubi’s home before the annual Quds Day rally in support of the Palestinians. The Guards denied its members were involved, blaming it on “rogue elements” not linked to it or the Basij militia. Mousavi and Karroubi continue to maintain that Ahmadinejad’s re-election last year was the result of massive vote rigging. — AFP

agents raided the office of Mir Hossein Mousa vi.

They searched the premises and took some equipment” including computers, Kaleme.com sa id w ithout giving the exa ct loca tion of the office.

BEIRUT: An elderly Palestinian woman prays in front of a poster bearing pictures of her killed relatives during a memorial ceremony commemorating the 28th anniversary of the Sabra-Shatila massacre at the Sabra Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut yesterday. — AFP

Lebanese general summoned after ‘threats’ BEIRUT : A Lebanese general who called Prime Minister Saad Hariri a liar and urged people to topple his government has been summoned for questioning by the state, a judicial official said yesterday.

Brig. Gen. Jamil Sayyed was among four pro-Syrian officers who were jailed without charge for nearly four years in the 2005 assassination of Hariri’s father, Rafik. They were freed last year for lack of evidence. In a news conference Sunday, Sayyed accused Hariri of selling his father’s blood to frame Syria for the killing, which at the time set off a wave of turmoil that led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops after nearly 30 years.

Sayyed, who left the country shortly after his remarks, also said Hariri supported “false witnesses” who misled the investigation into his father’s death. Sayyed warned Hariri that he must be held accountable or “I will do it someday with my own hands.” He later said he meant he would get justice through the courts. “The Lebanese people must unite against this (government) and topple it, even if by force,” Sayyed said.

Prosecutor General Said Mirza summoned Sayyed for

questioning over his “threats against the Lebanese state” and Hariri, the judicial official said.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to give official statements to the media.

Rafik Hariri, a billionaire businessman and a former prime minister, was Lebanon’s most prominent politician after the end of the 15-year civil war in 1990.

Suspicion initially fell on Syria after the killing in February 2005, since Hariri had been seeking to weaken Damascus’ domination of the country. Syria has denied having any role in the killing and last week, in a stunning reversal, Hariri’s son said it was a mistake to blame Damascus.

Earlier this year, Sayyed asked the U.N. tribunal investigating Hariri’s assassination to release his secret case file so that he might know who accused him. Sayyed traveled to Paris following his press conference on Sunday to await the court’s decision, which is expected this month. The judicial official said if Sayyed did not respond within the coming 48 hours, his name would be distributed on all ports of entry in Lebanon so that he can be taken for questioning upon arrival. — AP

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5 French, 2 Africans kidnapped in Niger NIAMEY: Kidnappers abducted five French nationals, a Togolese and a Madagascan yesterday in a uranium mining region of the west African country of Niger that is prey to AlQaeda militants, officials said. “The attackers were probably elements of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb or bandits who sell their hostages on to the jihadists,” a security official in Niger told AFP in Niamey, speaking on condition of anonymity.

French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said: “According to our information, seven people, including five French citizens employed by Areva and Satom, were kidnapped last night in the Arlit region of Niger. “All the state’s services have been fully mobilised, notably the foreign ministry crisis centre and our Niamey embassy,” he added, noting that France has as yet received no demands from the kidnappers.

French nuclear giant Areva and

Vinci engineering group subsidiary Satom said six of their employees and the wife of one of these employees were taken in the Arlit region, 800 kilometres (500 miles) northeast of the capital.

In a joint statement, the firms said they had stepped up security measures for their remaining employees in Niger and were working with the authorities in France and Niger to seek the safe release of the hostages.

Areva said the married couple had been seized at their home. Niger government spokesman Laouali Dan Dah confirmed the nationalities of the victims and said they had been taken by an “armed group” of men speaking Arabic and sometimes Tamachek, the language of local Tuaregs.

“Afterwards they headed off in the direction of Inabangaret,” he said, referring to a town deeper in the Sahara near the border with Algeria

and Mali, where Al-Qaeda linked kidnappers took a French hostage in April. “A certain number of measures have been taken, by police and the military, to quickly find the victims and the kidnappers without putting the hostages’ lives in danger,” he said, without going into detail.

A Nigerien who was seized alongside the foreign hostages was released and abandoned about 40 kilometres (25 miles) outside Arlit and is being questioned by security forces, Dan Dah told AFP. The French military works closely with several armies in the region, but there was no immediate confirmation that they have been mobilised. Another security official in Niger said the surprise attack had been launched between 2.00 am and 5.00 am yesterday.

The gang wore turbans and arrived driving five pick-up trucks.

Areva operates a major uranium

mining operation in the remote Arlit region, which is prey to roving gangs of Touareg rebels, armed bandits and Islamist militants linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Last month France declared it was “at war” with Al-Qaeda after the murder of a previous French hostage, 78-year-old Michel Germaneau, who was abducted in Niger in April and taken across the desert to a militant camp in Mali.

On July 22, French and Mauritanian commandos launched an assault on an Al-Qaeda base in Mali where they thought Germaneau was being held, killing seven militants.

But they failed to find the hostage. An AQIM commander later announced that their captive had been killed in revenge for the raid, but his body has not been found and French officials suspect he may already have been dead when the assault was launched.

In August, AQIM leader Abu Anas

al-Shanqiti posted a message on a jihadi website threatening France and President Nicolas Sarkozy with vengeance. “To the enemy of Allah, Sarkozy, I say: You have missed your opportunity and opened the gates of trouble,” he said, urging attacks on the “apostate traitors, the sons and agents of Christian France.” France responded by updating its domestic security measures and issuing a travel warning urging citizens to avoid the Sahel region of Africa between Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Chad in which AQIM operates.

Nevertheless, France’s huge nuclear power generating industry relies on Niger for 50 percent of its fuel. Areva employs 2,500 people, including many French expats, mining uranium in the former French colony.

In July, Areva-which is majority stateowned-announced that it had stepped up security in Niger, where it has worked for 40 years.—AFP

15 die in Somalia, Parliament demands government vote Counterattack kills a dozens of people

MOGADISHU: Somali’s carry a wounded man to a waiting ambulance to take him to the Medina Hospital, Mogadishu, Somalia yesterday. —AP

Roadside bomb kills nine aboard minibus in Turkey ANKARA: A roadside bomb attack killed nine people traveling on a minibus yesterday, authorities said, in the latest violence to shake Turkey’s turbulent southeast, where Kurdish guerrillas have been fighting for autonomy for decades.

Turkish troops launched an operation to hunt those believed to be behind the attack, which also injured four people, including a 15-month-old baby, near the village of Gecitli in the rugged Hakkari province bordering Iran and Iraq, Hakkari Gov. Muammer Turker said. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to press ahead with the fight against the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or

PKK. “These kinds of incidents will not deter us,” Erdogan said after the attack. “Terrorism has a cost but it will not remain unanswered.” The Hakkari governor’s office initially said 10 people were killed in the blast, but later reduced the death toll to nine. It said the mix-up stemmed from the condition of the bodies and that one of the victims had two different names. A brief scuffle broke out between Kurdish villagers and soldiers who arrived to investigate, after some villagers allegedly refused to hand over a bag they found, CNN-Turk television said. Soldiers could be seen firing shots into the air while a youth was shown throwing a rock at troops.—AP

MOGADISHU: Mortar rounds fired by suspected Islamist insurgents crashed into Somalia’s government complex yesterday, killing three government soldiers, wounding a member of parliament and triggering a counterattack that killed a dozen more people. The attack happened while parliament was in session to pass a motion asking leaders of the shaky government to appear within three days for a vote of confidence.

One member of parliament was wounded in the face and five government troops were also hurt. Government and African Union troops responded by firing into the main Bakara Market. At least 12 people were killed and 40 were wounded there, said Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu’s ambulance service.

The legislators accuse Somalia’s transitional government of failing to perform its duties, including trying to foster peace between the country’s warring factions and increasing humanitarian efforts. Somalia hasn’t had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew the president.

The country’s most dangerous militant group, the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabab, has increased attacks on the government complex and is believed responsible for yesterday’s attack.

The militants who control much of this Horn of Africa country want to overthrow the government and install a conservative brand of Islam across the country.

In a hospital run by Burundian peacekeepers, small children flinched as AU and government troops fired their own mortars.

“We need peace so badly,” said 17year-old year old Kalima Abdi, who lay under a blue mosquito net.

“The fighting is too much.” Abdi was paralyzed a month ago by a mortar that was fired at an African Union base but landed on her house, killing her seven brothers and sisters.—AP

EDINBURGH: Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Edinburgh, Scotland, on a windy day to begin the first papal state visit to Britain yesterday. —AP

Pope visits UK, admits failures in abuse scandal EDINBURGH: Pope Benedict XVI, beginning a controversial state visit to Britain, acknowledged yesterday that the Catholic Church failed to act decisively or quickly enough to deal with priests who rape and molest children and said the church’s top priority now was to help the victims. The pope’s comments to reporters traveling with him from Rome marked his most thorough admission to date of church failures to deal with the sex abuse scandal. The issue has reignited with the recent revelations in Belgium of hundreds of new victims, at least 13 of whom committed suicide.

Benedict also said abusive priests must never have access to children, saying they suffered from an illness that mere “goodwill” couldn’t cure. Benedict’s four-day visit to Britain has been overshadowed by anger over the abuse scandal and marked by indifference in the highly secular country where Catholics are a small minority.

The pope’s first meeting yesterday was with Queen Elizabeth II, both head of state and head of the Church of England, at a palace in Scotland. Benedict was greeted at the airport by the queen’s husband, Prince Philip. The pope answered questions, submitted in advance by journalists traveling with him to Britain, where anger about the abuse scandal remains high. Protests are planned, “Pope Nope” T-shirts have been spotted around London and public discussions of the Roman Catholic Church’s celibacy requirement for priests are being held.

Benedict acknowledged the opposition, saying Britain had a “great history of anti-Catholicism. But it is also a country with a great history of tolerance.” He was asked about Britain’s history of antiCatholic sentiment and polls that suggest that the faithful had lost trust in the church as a result of the sex abuse scandal. Benedict said he was shocked and saddened upon learning of the scope of the abuse, in part because priests take vows to be Christ’s voice upon ordination. He said he felt “sadness also that the church authority was not sufficiently vigilant and not sufficiently quick and decisive to take the necessary measures” to stop the abuse and prevent it from occurring again. —AP

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Census: 1 in 7 Americans live in poverty WASHINGTON: The ranks of the working-age poor in the United States climbed to the highest level since the 1960s as the recession threw millions of people out of work last year, leaving one in seven Americans in poverty. The overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million people, the Census Bureau said yesterday in its annual report on the economic well-being of US households. The report covers 2009, President Barack Obama’s first year in office.

The poverty rate climbed from 13.2 percent, or 39.8 million people, in 2008. The share of Americans

without health coverage rose from 15.4 percent to 16.7 percent , or 50.7 million people , mostly because of the loss of employer-provided health insurance during the recession.

Congress passed a health overhaul law this year to address rising numbers of the uninsured, but the main provisions will not take effect until 2014.

The new figures come at a politically sensitive time, just weeks before the Nov. 2 congressional elections, when voters restive about high unemployment and the slow pace of economic improvement will decide whether to keep Democrats

in power or turn to Republicans.

The 14.3 percent poverty rate, which covers all ages, was the highest since 1994. Still, it was lower than estimates of many demographers who were bracing for a record gain based on last year’s skyrocketing unemployment. Many had predicted a range of 14.7 percent to 15 percent. Analysts credited in part increases in government pension plan payments in 2009 as well as federal expansions of unemployment insurance, which rose substantially in 2009 under the economic stimulus program. With the additional unemployment

benefits, workers were eligible for extensions that gave them up to 99 weeks of payments after a layoff.

Another likely factor was a record number of working mothers, who helped households by bringing home paychecks after the recession took the jobs of a disproportionately high number of men.

“Given all the unemployment we saw, it’s the government safety net that’s keeping people above the poverty line,” said Douglas Besharov, a University of Maryland public policy professor and former scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

Other census findings: -Among the working-age population, ages 18 to 65, poverty rose from 11.7 percent to 12.9 percent. That puts it at the highest since the 1960s, when the government launched a war on poverty that expanded the federal role in social welfare programs from education to health care. Poverty rose among all race and ethnic groups, but stood at higher levels for blacks and Hispanics. The number of Hispanics in poverty increased from 23.2 percent to 25.3 percent; for blacks it increased from 24.7 percent to 25.8 percent. —Agencies

Hundreds of thousands party as Mexico turns 200 WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama greets the crowd at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 33rd Annual Awards Gala at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, Wednesday. —AP

Obama jabs Republicans over tax, immigrants WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has laid into Republicans over taxes and immigration, seeking to capitalize on a rare ray of hope for his Democrats ahead of crunch mid-term elections. Obama sharpened his attacks Wednesday after the final big nominating contests for November’s congressional polls exposed fresh splits between Republicans, pitting party grandees against the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement.

He slammed the opposition party as a “blockade” holding back reforms needed to pull the United States out of multiple crises, and mounted his most passionate defense yet of his own record during a tumultuous 20 months in office. Obama told an audience of politicians and lobbyists from the electorally crucial Hispanic community that though they might chide him for failing short of elevated expectations, they should not forget who their friends were.

“Don’t forget who is standing with you, and who is standing against you,” Obama said, striking a note of passion rarely seen during his presidency, when he has seemed worn down by the cares of office. “Don’t ever believe that this election coming up doesn’t matter,” he said, in a message clearly tailored towards November

2, when Hispanic voters will form a crucial voting block on a day Democrats fear heavy losses.

“Don’t forget who secured health care for four million children, including the children of legal immigrants.” New evidence that the president is now in full-bore campaign mode came after primary elections on Tuesday underscored the complications the Tea Party movement poses to Republican ambitions of seizing power in Washington.

The shock win by conservative Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell in Delaware, against party favorite Mike Castle, saddled the Republicans with a nominee that even party leaders think cannot win the seat in November.

Former president George W. Bush’s political guru Karl Rove, warned on Fox News television late Tuesday that O’Donnell risked driving off independents by saying “nutty things.” “We were looking at eight to nine seats in the Senate. We are now looking at seven to eight in my opinion,” said Rove.

Several analysts believe Republicans are in reach of winning the 39 additional seats they need to capture the House of Representatives, but will fall short of the 10 seats needed to retake the Senate. —AFP

MEXICO CITY: Mexico looked beyond its drug war to throw a 200th birthday bash celebrating a proud history, whimsical culture and resilience embodied in the traditional independence cry: “Viva Mexico!” Across the capital, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets despite their fears, blowing horns and dancing alongside a parade of serpent floats, marching cacti and 13-foottall warrior marionettes and staying late into the night at open-air concerts. President Felipe Calderon capped the evening by ringing the original independence bell from a balcony in the Zocalo square and delivering “El Grito,” patterned on founding father Miguel Hidalgo’s 1810 call to arms against Spain: “Long live independence. Long live the bicentennial ... Long live Mexico!”

Roaring thousands echoed his cry as fireworks exploded in the square and at the iconic Angel of Independence about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) down the city’s crowded main promenade.

“I love being Mexican!” said Michel Dosal, wearing a green, white and red Mohawk wig. “The 15th of September is better than Christmas. It’s better than my birthday!” In cities where drug violence is heaviest, festivities were more subdued. The grito was canceled in Ciudad Juarez for the first time in its history. People still showed their patriotism in the border city , Mexico’s most violent , by hanging Mexican flags from their MEXICO CITY: Women wearing dresses in the colors of Mexico’s flag roofs and hosting family dance on stilts during bicentennial celebrations at the Zocalo plaza in dinners. In the western city Mexico City, Wednesday . —AP of Morelia, the scene of a cartel-related grenade Rodriguez Montiel, a small and US Labor Secretary eight gunmen were killed in attack that killed eight business owner who had Hilda Solis attended. a shootout with soldiers, during the 2008 traveled from the Gulf Coast Still, anxiety hovered authorities said. independence celebration, state of Veracruz and waited over the festivities in a “In Mexico, we all live in barely 2,000 showed up at since morning for the country that most recently fear. And the worst part is the main plaza for a “grito” festivities to start. “It gives has seen car bombs, the that we are starting to get that once drew tens of me chills just to think about assassination of a used to it,” said Eric Limon, thousands. it.” Little girls wearing gubernatorial candidate, and 33, a professional dancer “My son asked me to take ribbons of the Mexican flag the massacre of 72 migrants who volunteered to wear a him to see the grito, so I watched the 1.7-mile (2.7- who refused to smuggle jaguar mask and swing a brought him despite my kilometer) parade down drugs for a brutal gang. colorful Aztec club and spear fears,” said Silvia Godinez Reforma from the shoulders Military helicopters buzzed for the parade. “I want to be Perez, a secretary. “We can’t of their fathers. Other overhead in the capital, part of something easily forget what happened children blew trumpets as heavily armed federal agents important,” he said. “I know two years ago.” But in the air filled with confetti. and metal detectors greeted this won’t solve our Mexico City, a $40 million problems, but this is my “It’s like a Carnival of revelers. fiesta, two years in the Rio, plus an Olympic The Interior Department grain of sand to create a making, drew people from ceremony, plus Woodstock said there were no attacks sense of unity. This is what across the country to the all put together in the same against the celebrations. Mexico needs.” Those who main Reforma Avenue and day,” said artistic director Prosecutors in the stayed away from the city Zocalo. Moments before Marco Balich, who produced Caribbean coast resort of center celebrated from their Calderon emerged on the the opening and closing Cancun said they were rooftops and staged their balcony of the National ceremonies of the 2006 investigating whether six own neighborhood fireworks Palace, a voice boomed from Turin Winter Olympics. “For men detained with assault displays. All night long, loudspeakers: “Let’s show the cost of a warplane, you rifles and hand grenades had rockets whistled and boomed the world that Mexico is can celebrate the birthday of planned an assault on skyward, blanketing the strong and standing.” “This a country.”

Several bicentennial festivities. In yards and streets with one is special,” said Iris Mari neighboring heads of state northern Nuevo Leon state, smoke. —AP

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Friday, September 17, 2010

No Japan-China talks seen at UN due to boat tension Japan embassy in China issues warning to citizens TOKYO: Chinese and J apanese leaders are not planning any ta lks next w eek on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly partly beca use of esca la ting tension over a collision nea r disputed southern islets, the top Ja pa nese government spokesman said yesterday. Meanw hile, Japan’s embassy a nd consula tes in China issued a w a rning to its citizens in the country to w atch their w ords a nd actions so a s not to provoke Chinese after nationa listic protests amid reports of va ndalism at a Ja panese school.

The diplomatic spat broke out last week when Japanese authorities arrested the captain of a Chinese fishing boat after it collided with two Japanese patrol boats near islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries.

The 14 crew members and the trawler have returned to China. But the captain remains in Japanese custody and could face prosecution for obstructing the coast guards’ public duties, triggering harsh criticism from Beijing.

Beijing has said the confrontation could damage its relations with Japan and has summoned Ambassador Uichiro Niwa five times, underlining the sensitivity of the territorial dispute. The incident has also led to protests in Taiwan, which also claims the islands, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, which are located 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of Taiwan.

Last week, in a sign of its BEIJING: US special envoy to North Korea Stephen Bosworth speaks anger, Beijing postponed to reporters in Beijing, China yesterday. Bosworth is in China for talks talks with Japan on contested on restarting stalled negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear undersea deposits in the East China Sea. The talks would disarmament. — AP have been the second meeting over gas exploration related to the territorial dispute. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku told a regular news conference that neither Tokyo nor Beijing is seeking to arrange talks for SEOUL: North Korea said it defining the rank and number the warship sinking, South the two leaders during their provincial proposed yesterday a joint of members of the group and Korean visit in New York next week probe with the United States to “start the investigation as government and civic groups to attend the UN meeting. of the deadly sinking of a early as possible.” The two said they sent 530 tons of Kan’s predecessor had met South Korean warship that an sides agreed to meet again flour to North Korea with Chinese Premier Wen earlier international around Sept. 28, it said. The yesterday to help ease food Jiabao at last year’s General command, which shortages in the North, investigation blamed on UN Assembly, and leaders of Pyongyang. The North’s oversees the cease-fire, which is reeling from flooding the two nations usually official Korean Central News issued a brief statement on and devastation from a recent meet at international Agency said Pyongyang made the meeting that did not typhoon. gatherings. So while it was The South Korean Red the offer during military talks comment directly on the assumed Kan and Wen with the US-led UN North’s proposal. It said the Cross also announced plans would meet, nothing had Command in the two sides agreed to hold to send 5,000 tons of rice, been set. colonel-level 10,000 tons of cement, Demilitarized Zone that another “At the moment, nothing divides the Korean peninsula. meeting again at a date to be medicine and other items to has been decided, as neither help the North recover from A South Korea-led determined. side is making a move to set Seoul, meanwhile, was heavy flooding in its international team of up (a meeting),” Sengoku investigators has concluded considering whether to northwest. An estimated said. He cited “the problem involving the Senkaku,” as that a North Korean torpedo accept a proposal from 80,000-90,000 people were part of the reason why both sank the warship Cheonan in Pyongyang to hold the first affected by the flooding. sides are not arranging There is speculation that March, killing 46 South military talks between the talks.

He also cited Korean sailors. North Korea two Koreas since October the flooding has prompted scheduling conflicts on both denies any involvement. The 2008. The North wants to North Korea to postpone a sides. political meeting sinking has raised tensions meet next week to discuss rare The diplomatic tit-for-tat on the peninsula, which the maritime border and anti- believed aimed at promoting threatens the wary remains in a state of war North Korean leafletting by a son of leader Kim Jong Il. rapprochement the two because the 1950-53 Korean activists, a South Korean State media reported last governments have forged War ended in a truce, not a Defense Ministry official week that Workers’ Party in recent years after peace treaty. The North has said. The official spoke on delegates were gathering in decades of hostility and previously demanded its own condition of anonymity, citing Pyongyang to elect new party enmity from Japan’s World investigators be allowed to department policy. South leaders in what would be the War II-era aggression. activists and communist party’s biggest visit South Korea to examine Korean Saturday marks the the evidence. Seoul has defectors regularly send meeting in 30 years. Analysts anniversary of the 1931 rejected the North’s leaflets across the heavily believe Kim, 68, will use the “Mukden Incident” that led armed frontier in a campaign conference to give his requests. to the Japanese occupation KCNA said yesterday’s to urge North Koreans to rise youngest son, Kim Jong Un, a of China’s northeast, and proposal for a joint probe with up against leader Kim Jong Il. key party position as part of the date has in the past been marked by anti-Japanese the UN command covered While the situation on the plans to groom him as his protests in China. —AP naming the inspection group, peninsula remains tense after successor. — AP

N Korea calls for probe with US into ship sinking

BATTICOLOA: In this file photograph taken on August 25, 2010, Sri Lankan housemaid Ariyawathi (L), who returned from Saudi Arabia with 24 nails inside her body, talks to a nurse while receiving treatment at a hospital in Batticoloa. — AFP

Nail torture case shines light on Asia’s migrant maids COLOMBO: LP Ariyawathie said she got a taste of what was in store for her just weeks after leaving her native Sri Lanka to work as a housemaid in Saudi Arabia. At first, she said, her employers mocked the basic Arabic she had learnt during a 15-day training course before she left for the Gulf. Then, events took a more sinister turn.

“The torture started when a plate was broken by accident.

(My employer) asked me whether I was blind and tried to prick something in my right eye,” the 49-year-old said.

“When I covered it with my hand, they pricked a needle on my forehead above the eye.”

Ariyawathie returned home from Riyadh last month, traumatised after what she said was months of beatings and abuse. Doctors had to operate to remove dozens of nails and needles driven into her forehead, legs and arms. The Saudi authorities have questioned the mother-of-three’s account. But the case has

brought into focus how some foreign employers treat the thousands of poor women from South Asia and beyond who work overseas, lured by the promise of better wages to help support their families back home.

Human Rights Watch has raised concerns about Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, although cruelty and ill-treatment-from withholding wages and travel documents to overwork and sexual abuse-have been documented worldwide. A recent Channel 4 television documentary said many of the more than 15,000 domestic workers who come to Britain each year are enduring a modern form of slavery, with a charity claiming one in five people they see reports abuse.

Joynal Abedin Joy, a charity worker in Bangladesh, said rapes, beatings and brandings were “routine” in Lebanon, although the government in Dhaka said it was unaware of any pattern of abuse. —AFP

Officials face charges over hostage crisis MANILA: The Philippine justice secretary said yesterday she will recommend criminal and administrative charges against about 10 officials, police officers and journalists over the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists last month in a botched hostage rescue that outraged China. Leila de Lima said she will submit a report yesterday to President Benigno Aquino III with the names of those to be charged, details of the charges, and other information about the Aug. 23 standoff in which the hostage-taker, a fired policeman, also died.

Security forces bungled the standoff, while millions watched on live TV, straining the Philippines’ ties with China and the Chinese territory of Hong Kong. It delivered Aquino’s first major crisis less than two months into his presidency and highlighted problems within the country’s underfunded police force and his new Cabinet. De Lima previously said that preliminary ballistics reports indicated that some hostages may have been hit by “friendly fire” from security forces during the rescue. She said yesterday that the report’s findings, based on survivor accounts, will indicate that the hostages were killed by the hostage-taker but added that those findings were not yet complete.

“What we are really scrutinizing now , because the ballistics are incomplete, is if there are stray bullets from the assault team” which hit the hostages, she said, adding the investigation has yet to account for “a few more bullet holes.” —AP

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Friday, September 17, 2010

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UN calls for world to support new Pakistan appeal CHARSADDA: The head of the UN refugee agency yesterday urged the world to do far more to help Pakistan recover from catastrophic floods that hit millions, on the eve of a major new UN appeal. “My hope is that the international community will understand the need and fully respond to the dramatic situation,” Antonio Guterres told AFP in the northwestern town of Charsadda, where he saw aid handed out to survivors.

Pakistan’s worst floods in history have affected up to 21 million people and left 10 million without shelter.

More than eight million people are reliant on aid handouts just to survive. The United Nations is to launch a new appeal for funds in New York on Friday, although UN figures show that donors have met only about two-thirds of an initial appeal for 460 million dollars issued on August 11.

“All entities working in Pakistan, including the United Nations and government of Pakistan need much stronger support from the international community,” said Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “I would say that the

international community is not doing enough, particularly in view of the level of devastation.”

In Charsadda, an AFP reporter saw some 200 men and women queuing up at a UNHCR distribution point to receive quilts, mats, buckets and soap; and locals starting to rebuild damaged homes. “My house, crop and cattle were destroyed by floods. I cannot support my family without help now,” local resident Shamroz Khan told AFP. Visiting US special envoy Richard Holbrooke, Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also voiced calls for more action to assist with relief and recovery efforts.

“Everyone must step up and everyone must do more,” Rudd told reporters in the central city of Multan, announcing additional aid of 40 million dollars that would bring Australia’s overall commitment to 75 million dollars. “The challenge is ongoing. We should be watching very carefully, the prospects and the dangers ahead.” Holbrooke said the United States, which has been the lead donor to the floods disaster and which has put Pakistan on the front

SINDH PROVINCE: Pakistanis ride a small boat towards their village that is surrounded by floodwaters at Sehwan Sharif, Sindh province, southern Pakistan yesterday. — AP line of its war on Al-Qaeda, would be providing further assistance.

“We are doing this because we care about Pakistani people,” he said. Pakistan is home to 1.7 million Afghan refugees — 1.5 million of whom live in areas affected by the floods, which have hit terrain the size of England. Guterres ruled out

any forced repatriation of Afghans, saying the floods destroyed 16 Afghan refugee villages in Pakistan and that 15 will be rebuilt.

He visited Azakhel, the largest Afghan refugee camp that the floods destroyed. It had a population of 22,000 people.

They lost everything. “The government of

Pakistan has guaranteed that despite this tragedy Pakistan will not force these refugees to go back to Afghanistan,” Guterres said after meeting elders from the devastated northwestern village.

“Some Afghan families wanted to go back and we will support their repatriation, but nobody will be forced to go back to Afghanistan.”

Guterres acknowledged there were “doubts” about Azakhel being rebuilt because of its “dangerous location” prone to future flooding.

“UNHCR will do everything to support the people if this Afghan refugee camp is to be relocated,” he said. Village elders said their children wanted to return to Azakhel.

“We want to come back to the village. Our children want to come back because we have deep associations with it as we have been living here for the past 30 years,” village representative Sharaft Hussain told Guterres. Nearly two months after the floods first struck, Azakhel is still a wreckage of flattened mud-brick houses and rubble. Stagnant flood waters emitted a foul smell, an AFP reporter said. — AFP

Top separatist urges sit-in protests in Indian Kashmir Five paramilitary officers injured KABUL: Afghan policemen gather for a briefing before escorting a convoy of trucks with ballot boxes to voting centers in Kabul, Afghanistan yesterday. — AP

Afghan officials promise security for elections KABUL: Afghan officials sought to reassure wary citizens yestereday that it will be safe to vote in this weekend’s parliamentary elections despite an upswing in violence in recent months.

Both the Taleban and Hizb-iIslami, an insurgent group under the leadership of warlord and former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, have criticized the elections and urged people to stay home.

Yesterday, election officials announced they will close about 300 additional voting centers because of security concerns, dropping the number of polling stations to 5,516. But in the southern province of Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taleban, Gov. Tooryalai Wesa insisted that recent military operations by NATO and Afghan forces had weakened the insurgents.

“They’ve got nothing,” Wesa told reporters in Kandahar city. “They just have propaganda and threats, so people should not be

afraid. They should come out for the coming elections and they should vote their choice for their own candidate.”

Saturday’s poll is the first since a fraud-marred presidential vote last year that left many of the Afghan government’s international backers questioning whether they had a reliable partner in President Hamid Karzai.

Much of the fraud in the August 2009 election was tied to insecurity. Polling station lists were only released a few days before the vote because of continually changing reports from security forces about what areas they could secure.

A push to open as many polling stations as possible enabled corrupt officials to stuff ballot boxes for their preferred candidate at stations voters didn’t know about or couldn’t get to.

Adding to tensions in Afghanistan have been a series of protests in recent days against reported burnings of Qurans in the United States. — AP

SRINAGAR: Indian Kashmir’s top separa tist ca lled yesterday for protesters to block police a nd army camps w ith sit-ins, posing a new cha llenge to security forces as they struggle to restore order. More tha n 90 a nti-India protesters ha ve been shot dea d by police in three months of unrest in the disputed Himalayan region, w ith the government under fire over its handling of the crisis.

Most clashes have seen masked Kashmiris, some barely teenagers, throw stones at heavily armed security forces who have retaliated with tear gas, baton charges and live ammunition.

“I have urged people to stage peaceful sit-in protests in front of army and security force camps in Kashmir,” hardline separatist Syed Ali Geelani, who has led protests since June, told reporters in Srinagar.

The new action, the first of its kind in the wave of demonstrations, will begin next Tuesday, said the 81year-old leader, who has set a calendar for protests that has been rigorously followed to date. Army spokesman J.S. Brar slammed the new initiative, which came after a meeting of senior security force officials who said they had formulated a new strategy to quell the violence. “This is a deliberate attempt to embroil the army in the ongoing agitation and distract it from its primary role,” Brar told reporters, adding that the protests were aimed at “preventing movement of army convoys.”

“The army makes a sincere appeal to the people to avoid being misled by the separatist leaders and avoid confronting army garrisons or vehicles,”

SRINAGAR: Kashmiri protesters stand as bricks and rocks are scattered on the road during a protest in Srinagar, India yesterday. —AP Brar told reporters. Muslimmajority Kashmir is jointly administered by India and Pakistan and the Indian part has been in the grip of a separatist insurgency for the last 20 years which has left an estimated 47,000 people dead.

Militancy has now fallen to a 20-year low, however, with the stone-throwers now the focus of a resistance movement in favour of independence.

“The protests on September 21 will be peaceful where people will chant slogans like ‘Go India, Go Back!,” Geelani said, adding that petitions would also be handed to army camp officers urging them to leave Kashmir.

The hardline leader has been strengthened by the anger generated during the protests and has emerged as chief organizer. His calendar of strikes and protests-all he says in pursuit of a peaceful solution-has seen almost a total shutdown of businesses and public administration.

The death toll from three months of unrest rose to 94 yesterday after the cousin of another separatist leader, Yasin Malik, died of injuries suffered in a shooting last month, Malik’s spokesman told AFP. Also yesterday, five paramilitary officers were injured in the main town of Srinagar when their vehicle

crashed as a small group of protesters defied a curfew and pelted them with stones, a police spokesman said.

All major towns in Kashmir remained under curfew for the fifth day, leading to complaints from locals that they were running low on food and water. In New Delhi, the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh faced criticism from several commentators after a fivehour crisis meeting between political leaders held in the capital on Wednesday.

The meeting broke up with a decision to send a factfinding mission to the Muslimmajority area. “Wars are won and insurrection defeated by leaders, not committees,” wrote commentator Manoj Joshi in the Mail Today newspaper. “The Manmohan Singh government seems bent on defying this logic.” Samar Halarnkar, writing in the Hindustan Times, said “the all-party meeting in Delhi has utterly failed to address the (Kashmir) valley’s realities.”

He warned of the insurgency getting a new lease of life unless the grievances of local people were addressed.

Indian troops yesterday shot dead five suspected militants during a gunbattle near the southern town of Tral, a police spokesman said. — AFP

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EU agrees to South Korea free trade deal BRUSSELS: The European Union agreed yesterday to a free trade pact with South Korea that will slash billions of dollars in industrial and agricultural duties, despite some countries’ worries that the auto industry could be hurt by a flood of cheaper cars.

The deal — the first such pact between the EU and an Asian trading partner — will be signed at an EU-South Korea summit on Oct. 6 and come into force on July 1,

2011, said Belgian Foreign Minister Steven van Ackere, whose country holds the union’s rotating presidency.

The EU is South Korea’s second-largest export destination, and South Korea is the bloc’s eighth largest trade partner, according to figures from the European Commission. EU trade with South Korea exceeded §65 billion ($84 billion) in 2008.

Van Ackere called the deal “a very big step in opening markets in

Asia” to European businesses.

“This will create prosperity and jobs across in Korea but also in Europe.”

The deal was initialed last year, but fears that it could hurt Europe’s auto industry by opening the door to more and cheaper South Korean cars delayed the signing. Italy, home to automaker Fiat, long opposed the deal. South Korea exported 303,205 vehicles to the EU in 2009, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association. EU

automakers, meanwhile, exported 40,097 vehicles to South Korea.

The European Commission estimates the deal will see the elimination of §1.6 billion ($2.1 billion) worth of industrial and agricultural duties for European exporters to South Korea. The EU will cut some §1.1 billion of duties for Korean importers.

The two sides took a little over two years to strike the deal amid strong opposition from Europe’s

automakers angry over the continent’s huge deficit in vehicle trade with South Korea, home to Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors. In a statement, the EU called the agreement its “most ambitious trade agreement ever” that will likely lead to a doubling of trade with South Korea.

“The FTA is our first deal with an Asian partner,” the statement said. “It is a signal that the EU is open for business.” — AP

Sony’s game console to show 3-D movies

Tokyo event showcases fledgling 3-D gaming TOKYO: An employee of Japan’s videogame software house Capcom displays the company’s videogame “Street Fighter IV” on Apple’s iPhone (L) and iPad (R) at the Tokyo Game Show in Chiba city, suburban Tokyo yesterday. — AFP

Toyota may provide hybrid technology to Daimler: Reports TOKYO: Toyota Motor is in talks to provide technology and core components for hybrid vehicles to its German rival Daimler AG, newspapers reported yesterday.

The world’s top automaker will consider providing Daimler with motors and batteries in addition to technology, upon the request of the German carmaker, according to the evening edition of the Nikkei business daily.

If they strike a deal, Daimler will be the fourth automaker receiving Toyota’s hybrid parts and technology following Ford, Nissan and Mazda.

Sales of components to Daimler would help Toyota expand production of hybrid vehicles that run on gasoline and electricity, and thus reduce costs, the Nikkei said.

Toyota and Daimler will also consider forming a broad alliance that would cover cars powered by fuel cells, it added.

The two companies

began negotiations a year ago, and their talks are now focusing on which hybrid parts will be supplied, said the evening edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun.

Toyota declined to confirm the reports, but acknowledged interest in expanding its supply of hybrid technology to rival carmakers.

“As has been our ongoing stance, if we receive requests from outside companies, we will consider the requests, taking into account factors concerning our production capacity and sales,” it said in a statement.”

Toyota’s Prius hybrid has been a success for the carmaker, particularly in Japan where the compact vehicle has topped the country’s best-seller list since May 2009.

The automaker has been plagued by safety recalls in the past year for unintended acceleration, engine, steering and brake problems, with around 10 million vehicles in total affected. — AFP

CHIBA: The Tokyo Ga me Show has a lot of people w ea ring da rk glasses this yea r, w ith the buzz turning 3-D a t the a nnual event that brings together the la test offerings from game-ma chine and softw are makers. But despite the fa nfare a nd razzle-da zzle footage, people checking out 3-D ga mes for the PlaySta tion 3 a t Sony Corp.’s spra w ling booth w ere w arned to take the specia l gla sses off immedia tely, should they feel sick or giddy.

And Nintendo Co., also hoping for a boost from 3-D technology with its planned 3DS handheld that’s set to go on sale before April, was conspicuously absent. The event previewed to reporters and guests yesterday ahead of its opening to the public this weekend. It is expected to draw more than 180,000 people.

Kyoto-based Nintendo, the manufacturer of the Wii console and Super Mario games, is skipping the show and planning a separate Sept.

29 event, also at Makuhari Messe hall in this Tokyo suburb, where the 3DS is expected to take centerstage.

“It’s like the elephant in the TOKYO: A model displays the latest software for Xbox 360 videogame room,” said gaming expert console at the Tokyo Game Show in Chiba city, suburban Tokyo Mark MacDonald, executive yesterday. Some 180,000 people are expecting to visit the four-day director at Tokyo-based 8-4 videogame exhibition. — AFP Ltd., which brings Japanese games to the US MacDonald moved up to ride on the needed for 3-D gaming to take Japan. Move and Kinect are answers to the said visitors like him were momentum of 3-D popularity, off for home consoles is that it both executive Hiroshi requires a 3-D TV set, which enormously successful Wii watching for what he called Sony from cost about $2,000 or more. wand-controller “peripherals” for machines Kawano said.

“The appeal and impact of Software makers are waiting Nintendo. Separately, Phil already on sale such as the Move motion-controller from games will be definitely for sales of the TVs to increase Spencer, head of Microsoft’s with 3-D before investing in developing games division, announced five Sony and Kinect from enhanced partnerships with Microsoft Corp., billed as technology,” he said during a 3-D games, says Yusuke new controller-free because it two-hour presentation at the Tsunoda, analyst at Tokai Japanese studios and declared detects a player’s movements. Sony booth. “The industry has Tokyo Securities Co. in Tokyo. the country’s creativity as key “It still remains to be seen to its Xbox 360 console’s The show’s focus was gained a new engine for obviously on 3-D but the full growth in 3-D.” Kawano said whether 3-D gaming is going future.

He said Microsoft, based in potential of 3-D for games has the portion of 3-D TVs will to provide a genuinely new yet to be explored, he told The likely move up from 5 percent experience,” he said. “But it is Redmond, Washington, plans of all TV sets sold this year to a big opportunity like a gift to help Japanese game makers Associated Press.

“It’s a young technology in 20 percent next year. Sony that’s dropped from the sky.” _ recently seen as insular and terms of games. People don’t aims to sell 2.5 million 3-D Among other news at the lagging overseas competitors _ game show was Sony’s Move to aggressively pursue a know yet how much is too TVs next year, he said.

The PlayStation 3 already motion-controller, going on bigger share of the global much,” MacDonald said. “You might start feeling sick, or you plays 3-D games with an sale Sept. 19 in the U.S. and market. “Japanese games are the games that the world loves just want to see the game and upgrade that could be done Oct. 21 in Japan.

A 5,980 yen ($70) “starter to play,” Spencer said in a feel I can’t see what’s going over the Internet earlier this speech.

Jay on.”

Tokyo-based Sony year. Some of the 3-D games kit” for the Move comes with keynote announced that its PlayStation shown at the event, such as a software called “Beat Sketch!” Defibaugh, analyst with MF FXA Securities, 3 game console will work as a clip of the planned “Metal Gear which allows people to make Global Blu-ray disc player for 3-D Solid,” were as impressive as computer-graphic paintings on believes 3-D gaming is the movies and music videos, not 3-D movies in providing the TV screen using the perfect way for Sony to itself from just 3-D games, with a visceral computer graphics and motion-controller stick. A differentiate software update download illusion of depth. But others, similar kit for the US, with a Microsoft, which does not offer such as 3-D versions of racing different game, costs $99.99, 3-D, as well as from Samsung starting Sept. 21.

The free-of-charge update games, looked disappointingly and the wand by itself costs Electronics Co. of South underpricing Korea, which makes 3-D TVs to their 2-D $49.99, for movies and other content similar Microsoft’s Kinect at $150 in but doesn’t have movies or had been promised for later predecessors.

The reason more time is the US and 14,800 yen in games businesses. — AP this year. But the date was

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‘Inflation remains the dominant concern’

India hikes interest rate more than expected MUMBAI: India’s central bank raised a key interest rate more than expected yesterday — its fifth rate hike this year — as it continues its fight against high inflation. The Reserve Bank of India raised the repo rate — at which it makes short-term

TNMHEFEI: A Chinese customer talks on her mobile phone as she withdraws cash at a bank in Hefei, east China’s Anhui province yesterday.

China’s yuan hit its highest level since Beijing pledged limited currency reform in June, as US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner prepares to face US lawmakers angry over its value. — AFP

China rejects US pressure over currency control BEIJING: China rejected US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s criticism of its currency controls and warned yesterday that continued pressure might worsen the situation.

Geithner complained in testimony prepared for two congressional hearings Thursday that China’s currency and other policies are hurting the United States. Critics say Beijing keeps its yuan undervalued, giving its exporters an unfair price advantage and swelling its huge trade surpluses.

“The appreciation of the renminbi can’t solve the trade deficit with China,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu, referring to the currency by its other official name. “Pressure cannot solve

the issue. Rather, it may lead to the contrary.” China promised more exchange rate flexibility in June but the yuan has risen by only about 1 percent against the dollar since then.

“We are concerned, as are many of China’s trading partners, that the pace of appreciation has been too slow and the extent of appreciation too limited,” Geithner said.

Some American lawmakers are pushing for punitive action if China fails to move faster.

The yuan was allowed this week to rise to its highest level against the dollar since June in government-controlled trading in an apparent effort to defuse the dispute.

Asked whether the rise was coincidence, Jiang referred questions to the Chinese central bank. — AP

Economists had expected quarter point hikes in both rates, which still remain below pre-crisis levels. “The magnitude has been steeper than expectations,” said Yes Bank chief economist Shubhada Rao. “Even the tone remains more hawkish than we were anticipating. Inflation as a concern remains the most dominant policy focus.” She expects the bank to hike rates again, by a quarter point, when it meets in November.

“Inflation remains the dominant concern,” the Reserve Bank said in a statement.

“Essentially, inflation rates have reached a plateau, but are likely to remain at unacceptably high levels for some months.” It’s not just the price of food — which was hit by a poor harvest and rose 14 percent in August — that is costly. The bank said two-thirds of August’s 8.5 percent inflation was driven by nonfood products. The bank would like to see prices rising in line with historical norms of 5 to 5.5 percent.

From April to June, average monthly inflation was 10.6 percent.

Over the same period, the economy grew 8.8 percent — an indication, the bank said, that India’s recovery is consolidating and resuming pre-crisis growth rates.

Surging industrial production of 13.8 percent in July, along with good prospects in the service sector and in agriculture, thanks to strong rains, all point to “sustained growth,” the bank said.

The bank said it has been concerned that real interest rates in India are negative, thanks to loose monetary policy and high inflation. This has been a drag on bank deposit growth as savers look for higher returns elsewhere, it said. Commercial banks are India’s most important source of corporate financing, as the corporate bond market is thin. “If bank credit is not to become a constraint to growth, real rates need to move in the direction of encouraging bank deposits,” the Reserve Bank said. —AP

loans to commercial banks — by a quarter percentage point to 6 percent with immediate effect. It raised the reverse repo rate — the rate at which it borrows from commercial banks — by an unexpected half percentage point to 5 percent.

MUMBAI: A fruit seller stands by his roadside shop in Mumbai yesterday.

India’s central bank raised its main interest rates more than expected, springing the fifth hike in six months as it tries to tame inflation in Asia’s third-biggest economy. India’s economy grew 8.8 percent in the first fiscal quarter to June and is forecast by the RBI to expand 8.5 percent for the full financial year. — AFP

KSE price index ends trade up 6,838.7 pts KUWAIT: The price index of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended trading yesterday with a 12-point hike to 6,838.7 points, while the weighted index reached 457.43 points, an increase of 1.46 points.

Trades came to 4,936 transactions, worth KD 56.7 million, and volume was at 277.2 million shares upon closing. Five out of the eight sector indices were green.

Top gainer index was the industry index, which put on 46.9 points, while the biggest

loser was the food index, which dropped 57.8 points. Leading high shares was the stock of Kuwait Investment Company, while biggest loss was suffered by the United Foodstuff Industries Group stock.

Five most traded shares were those of International Financial Advisers, Jeezan Holding Company, Abyaar Real Estate Development Company, Kuwait Real Estate Company, and Kuwait International Bank. — KUNA

Asia markets down as China falls on bank jitters BANGKOK: Asian and European markets were mostly lower yesterday as China shares tumbled on concerns that banks will need to raise more capital. But Japan’s market mostly held on to its big gain from the previous day when Tokyo intervened in the currency market for the first time since 2004 to weaken the yen. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index fell 7.06 points, or 0.1 percent, to 9,509.50. The index jumped more than 2 percent Wednesday as investors cheered Japan’s action to knock the yen off a 15-year high against the dollar. China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.9 percent to a three-week low of 2,602.46 as investors fretted the banking regulator will order banks to raise the amount of capital they hold in reserve

following a surge in lending over the previous year. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China’s smaller second exchange dropped 2.2 percent to 1,156.51. “It refreshed concerns that banks will face pressure to sell shares,” said Peng Yunliang, an analyst for Shanghai Securities.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.2 percent to 4,605.30 and South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.7 percent to 1,811.85. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2 percent to 21,691.45. But India’s Sensex climbed 0.3 percent to 19,556.88, shrugging off a larger-than-expected interest rate hike by the central bank.

As trading got underway in Europe, France’s CAC-40 was down 0.3 percent at 3,745.92,

Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent to 5,544.49 and Germany’s DAX retreated by 0.1 percent to 6,252.12. Wall Street was set to fall with Dow futures off 37, or 0.4 percent, at 10,472.00 and S&P futures lower by 4.4, or 0.4 percent, to 1,116.30. The dollar, meanwhile, continued to trade above 85 yen following the move by Japan’s finance ministry and central bank Wednesday to buy dollars to weaken the surging yen. The dollar had fallen below 83 yen after Prime Minister Naoto Kan survived a leadership challenge Tuesday from another ruling party lawmaker. Currency traders had bet that Kan was unlikely to intervene.

Speaking at a business leaders’ meeting yesterday, Kan said Japan will “continue to take

firm action” against the yen’s rise, which is sapping strength from the country’s already fragile economic recovery.

Japanese officials did not provide a figure for how much yen the central bank had sold in the market. But Japan’s top business daily Nikkei said the government may have sold more than two trillion yen ($23.4 billion), which would be largest single-day intervention on record. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 46.24, or 0.4 percent, to close at 10,572.73.

It was the index’s highest close since Aug. 10.

The Dow still 5.6 percent below its 2010 high reached on April 26, and up only 1.4 percent for the year to date following steep declines in May and June.—AP

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Australian finance chief warns of China risks SYDNEY: Australia’s central bank yesterday warned that the country was more exposed than ever to bumps in China’s growth, as the Treasury chief described its rise as a “shock” to the economy.

Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Philip Lowe said Asian industrialisation and urbanisation had “profound and important” impacts on Australia, with demand for resources helping it stare down the global slump.

“When discussing the impact of Asia on Australia over recent years, the focus has rightly been on China,” Lowe told a conference in Sydney.

“The transformation that has been occurring there is truly remarkable and it is reshaping the global economy.”

But he said the boom came with risks, warning that deeper ties with

China left Australia more vulnerable to the vagaries of its growth and “we can do little to control the external environment that (the nation) faces”.

“Clearly what happens in the Australian economy is now more dependent upon what happens in China than has been the case at any time in our past,” said Lowe.

It was a sentiment echoed by Treasury secretary Ken Henry, who told the same conference that Australia’s Asia-driven commodities boom carried significant risks.

“The resource-intensive nature of China and India’s growth, reflecting their stage of economic development, represents a very large shock to the Australian economy,” Henry said.

Record high commodity prices had sent Australia’s export values rocketing, but Henry said it could

badly skew the domestic economy, creating shortages in other areas as the resources sector boomed and inflating wages.

“The increasing integration of economies and financial markets is also affecting the potential magnitude, speed and transmission of shocks originating outside of Australia,” he said.

“The recent financial crisis underlines the importance of understanding how international developments may affect the Australian economy.”

Lowe said India was often overshadowed by China when Australia talked about trade links, but it was to become “increasingly important” as a slower-burn growth story. “While at the moment, the bulk of the Indian population live in rural areas and investment in

infrastructure has been relatively low, there is the potential for this to change over the years ahead, just as it has in China over the past 30 years,” said Lowe.

“If this does indeed occur then the demand for raw materials, and steel, in particular, is likely to be very strong over coming decades.”

Gold, coal, education and copper were among Australia’s top exports to India, according to RBA figures released yesterday which showed a trade surplus of 15.5 billion dollars (14.5 billion US) in 2009.

“India’s long-term economic growth is likely to benefit from a working-age population that is expected to grow until at least the middle of this century, unlike countries such as Japan, South Korea and China,” the RBA said.

Lowe dismissed concerns that

Australia’s newly-formed fragile coalition government would pose a threat to business investment or confidence.

“I don’t think it’s particularly important, the investment that’s taking place in the resources sector is moderated by the long-term growth in Asia and most of it has a horizon of decades,” Lowe said.

“The day-to-day movements in the political cycle are not particularly important in that investment.”

The comments came as Treasurer Wayne Swan announced that transition talks with the resources industry about the government’s 30 percent tax on coal and iron ore profits would begin in coming weeks. Swan said the transition panel would hold its first meeting on September 20. — AFP

Strong yen puts Japanese exporters at a disadvantage

Japan PM pledges decisive forex steps amid criticism TOKYO: Prime Minister Naoto Ka n yesterday pledged further “decisive” steps in currency ma rkets if needed, after J apa n acted to tame the yen in a move tha t drew criticism from Europe and the United States. “We are determined not to allow the dra stic fluctuation of the yen,” Ka n told a conference in Tokyo, a day after J apan’s first global currency market intervention since 2004 to help safeguard a n export-driven recovery.

But that may provoke ire from Japan’s Group of Seven partners after its unilateral move Wednesday was rounded on in Washington and Brussels.

The decision surprised markets as Kan sought to silence those accusing him of inaction and win over supporters of Ichiro Ozawa, the pro-intervention rival he beat in a ruling party leadership election Tuesday.

A strong yen puts Japanese exporters at a disadvantage as it erodes their repatriated earnings and competitiveness, which in turn threatens the nation’s fragile growth.

“If companies lose their willingness to invest due to the yen’s volatile movement, labour conditions would worsen further which in turn could hamper Japan’s efforts to exit from deflation,” said Kan. The Nikkei business

daily said Tokyo likely sold at least two trillion yen (23 billion dollars) during a manouevre considered initially successful.

The yen was at 85.40 to the dollar yesterday, nearly three yen off a 15-year high of 82.86 reached before the intervention.

But optimism turned into caution over the durability of the yen’s weaker position, as Tokyo shares dipped 0.07 percent.

“Further intervention will be required, and soon, to ensure that speculators do not simply take the opportunity to add to their long yen positions at better levels,” noted Julian Jessop at Capital Economics.

Japan’s move has heightened concern that other central banks now have more incentive to weaken their currencies and boost the competitiveness of their

exports, obscuring efforts to encourage China to let the yuan rise further.

The US is weighing bills to impose retaliatory measures against Beijing amid accusations it keeps its currency-and thereby its exports-artificially cheap.

Japan’s intervention drew criticism from a top US lawmaker who called it “deeply disturbing.”

“China is not the only country with a predatory exchange rate policy,” said Democratic Representative Sander Levin, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee that has power over taxes and trade policy.

And Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the group of finance ministers from the 16 countries that share the euro currency, called Japan’s strategy “inappropriate”, Dow Jones Newswires

reported. With a large trade and current account surplus, some analysts argue Japan has a relatively weak case to lower its currency to boost exports.

And while the yen recently hit 15-year highs on nominal terms, it is still below its 1995 peak when adjusted for price changes and compared to a basket of currencies used by Japan’s largest trading partners, say analysts.

Japan sees intervention as necessary to prevent the yen rising to levels that would push exports lower, send more production overseas and push the economy back into recession. Analysts question how effective Japan’s solo actions will be, given global moves to keep domestic currencies weak and continuing expectations for further monetary easing in the US. — AP

SHANGHAI: Guests look around during the first store opening of Hermes’ high-end Chinese designer brand Shang Xia in Shanghai yesterday. — AFP

HONG KONG: This undated handout computer generated image provided by Airbus yesterday, 2010 shows an Airbus A350-900 with Cathay Pacific livery. Cathay Pacific airline of Hong Kong has converted an order in principle for 30 long-range A350 aircraft into a firm contract with a book price of 7.82 billion USD, Airbus said yesterday. — AFP

Cathay Pacific firms up big order for Airbus A350 planes PARIS: Cathay Pacific airline of Hong Kong has converted an order in principle for 30 long-range A350 aircraft into a firm contract with a book price of 7.82 billion dollars, Airbus said yesterday.

This means that 34 airlines have now placed firm orders for 558 of the A350 XWB, an airliner built largely of composite materials and designed to compete with the Boeing 777 and the new Boeing 787. Hong Kong Cathay Pacific had signed a letter of intent for the order, worth 6.0 billion euros at list prices, at the beginning of August.

At that time, the chairman of the airline, Christopher Pratt, said: “This is the largest single purchase the company has made, and, I dare say, the largest single investment made by any commercial company in Hong Kong in

recent years.”

Contracts for new airliners are often concluded at prices significantly different from those listed in the manufacturer’s catalogue.

The airline is to operate the A350 XWB version throughout its network, and notably on non-stop flights to Europe.

Cathay Pacific’s managing director Tony Tyler said that the purchase of these new-generation airliners was an important step for the airline in developing its fleet and staying at the forefront of the industry.

The aircraft will be powered by the only engine available for this model, the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB. The A350 XWB is the future long-haul airliner offered by the European aircraft consortium Airbus.

It is due to enter service in 2013. — AFP

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Intel guru: Future phones will sense your mood SAN FRANCISCO: Ultrasmartphones that react to your moods and televisions that can tell it’s you who is watching are in your future as Intel Corp’s top technology guru sets his sights on context-aware computing.

Chief technology officer Justin Rattner stuffed sensors down his socks at the annual Intel Develop Forum in San Francisco Wednesday to demonstrate how personal devices will one day offer advice that goes way beyond local restaurants and new songs to download.

“How can we change the

relationship so we think of these devices not as devices but as assistants or even companions?” he asked.

Handheld devices could combine already common geographic location technology with data from microphones, cameras, heart and body monitors and even brain scans to offer their owners advice that today only a friend or relative could give.

“Imagine a device that uses a variety of sensory modalities to determine what you are doing at an instant, from being asleep in your bed to being out for a run with a

friend,” Rattner said. “Future devices will constantly learn about who you are, how you live, work and play.”

Rattner also demonstrated a television remote control that figures out who is holding it based on how it is held, and then learns the viewer’s entertainment preferences.

The world leader for decades in microchips for servers and desktop computers, Intel is hurrying to catch up in the lucrative market for smartphones like Apple’s iPhone and Research in Motion’s Blackberry.

Telephones with email, global positioning and media players are pointing the way to a future where ever more functions are packed into ever smaller mobile devices.

The smartphone industry, including technology giants like LG and Samsung, is likely to sell 270 million phones this year and grow 25 percent in 2011, according to market research company IDC. “I think you can expect to see features that support context-aware computing starting to appear in Intel products in the not-too-distant future,” Rattner said.

But analysts say Intel faces an

uphill battle getting its microchips into new phones as Nvidia, Marvell and Qualcomm have already made headway with cheap, lower-power processors based on designs by ARM Holdings.

Rattner conceded that questions about privacy and people’s willingness to be intimate with their computers will have to be resolved before the future generation of smartphones he described takes off.

“If you think identity threat is a problem today, imagine when your whole context is readily available on the Net,” he said. —Reuters

Spain raises 4.0 billion euros with bond issue

Spanish construction giant ACS launches bid for Hochtief MADRID: Spanish construction giant ACS Group announced yesterday a 2.76-billion-euro all-share takeover bid to take full control of German rival Hochtief to create a major world player. ACS, which already has a 30-percent stake in Hochtief AG, said it was opening the offer to all shareholders in the company, which is Germany’s largest public works group. It offered eight ACS shares for five of Hochtief’s. “The ACS Group has decided to make a tender offer to all shareholders of the German company Hochtief, it said in a statement to Spain’s stock market regulator.

PARIS: An employee of the Monnaie de Paris presents yesterday at the Monnaie de Paris (The French Mint) two 10-euro coins from a new limited collection of coins bearing the names of the 22 French regions and the four overseas territories. This collection of 4 billions limited coins made of silver will be sold from September 20, 2010. —AFP

Microsoft teams up with Japanese game studios CHIBA: Microsoft Corp. kicked off the Tokyo Game Show yesterday by unveiling plans to help Japanese game makers — recently seen as insular and lagging overseas competitors — to aggressively pursue a bigger share of the global market.

In a keynote address, Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s games division, announced five new partnerships with Japanese studios and declared the country’s creativity as key to the Xbox 360 console’s future.

“Japanese games are the games that the world loves to play,” Spencer said, noting the Japanese origins of classic arcade games like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. The Tokyo Game Show, which runs through Sunday, is Asia’s largest video game trade show. More than 185,000 people attended last year’s event.

The game industry in Japan has engaged in frequent handwringing in recent years over signs of decline: insularity and a shrinking home market, a dearth of young developers and a sense that it had fallen behind Western game technology.

At the 2008 Tokyo Game Show, the chief executive of Square Enix Holdings Co., a major Japanese game publisher, made waves when he declared that Japan had lost its place as the world’s video-game leader.

While Japanese titles used to

dominate, their popularity in the West has receded as US companies like Electronic Arts and Activision grab market share.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has been on a bit of a roll lately. The Xbox 360 was the best-selling console in the US three months in a row, according to market research firm NPD Group. It shipped 356,700 units in August, up about 66 percent from last year.

The console is No. 1 across Europe as well, Spencer said.

Microsoft appears to have a blockbuster on its hands with the latest edition of its popular “Halo” first-person shooter franchise. Released Tuesday, “Halo: Reach” made $200 million on its first day alone, making it the biggest entertainment debut this year.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company also has high hopes for Kinect, its new controller-free gaming system that goes on sale in North America on Nov. 4.

Once known as Project Natal, Kinect stretches the concept of motion capture that propelled the Nintendo Wii’s global success. Instead of a hand-held controller, Kinect relies instead on a camera system that recognizes gestures and voices, enabling players to control onscreen avatars in action and sports games simply by moving their own bodies. —AP

The remaining 70 percent stake would be worth about 2.76 billion euros (3.61 billion dollars) based on the value of Hochtief’s shares at the close of the share market on Wednesday.

The Spanish daily ABC had reported earlier yesterday that ACS would make a takeover offer for Hochtief, prompting a flurry on the stock market.

In Madrid, trading of ACS shares was suspended in the morning but re-opened shortly after midday (1000 GMT), gaining 1.59 percent to 35.355 euros when compared with Wednesday’s close.

Hochtief shares leapt by almost 10.5 percent at the opening of trading on the Frankfurt stock exchange before falling back to show a gain of 2.31 percent at 57.61 euros in late morning trades.

ACS first bought a 25 percent stake in Hochtief in March 2007, and then exercised an option to increase its stake in March of last year.

It now owns 29.98 percent of the equity in Hochtief, Germany’s largest public works group, according to Hochtief’s website.

Dow Jones Newswires quoted Bankhaus Lampe analyst Marc Gabriel as saying a takeover would make strategic sense.

The two groups overlap little, and buying Hochtief would propel ACS into global player position, Gabriel said.

Spain’s biggest construction group has sought recently to reduce its debt, in particular with the sale in August of a holding in the motorway management company Abertis for 1.72 billion euros (2.24 billion dollars).

At the same time, ACS has

MANILA: Job applicants wait for their turn to be interviewed at a job fair in Manila yesterday. Unemployment in the Philippines eased to 6.9 percent in July as an improving economy opened up more jobs mostly in the farm sector, the government said. —AFP increased its interests in the energy sector, and is the leading shareholder in the wind energy company Iberdrola, with a stake of 12.6 percent.

The group in July announced first-half net profits slumped 67 percent to 501 million euros from the same period last year, when earnings were boosted by the sale of its 35-percent stake in energy group Union Fenosa.

The bursting in 2008 of Spain’s property bubble, which had been the country’s engine of growth for a decade, has hurt construction and real estate firms, and plunged the Spanish economy into its worst recession in decades.

ACS president Florentino Perez is also president of one of the leading European soccer clubs, Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Spain raised 4.0 billion euros with a 10year and 31-year-bond issue yesterday, the maximum target for the auction and at a lower interest rate than previously, the Spanish treasury said.

The government auctioned 1.28 billion euros (1.66 billion dollars) of 31-year bonds at an average yield of 5.077 percent, compared with 5.908 at the last sale on June 17, it said.

It sold 2.72 billion euros of 10-year bonds at an average yield of 4.144 percent, down from 4.83 percent from the previous auction on July 6.

Markets have been jittery over Spain’s high public deficit, which peaked at 11.2 percent of gross domestic product last year, fearing the country could suffer the same

fate as Greece which needed a bailout from the European Union.

But the drop in the average yields for the two bond issues suggests investor concerns over the nation’s ability to cut its ballooning fiscal gap and find financing in the market is starting to abate.

Demand for the 31-year bond was 2.1 times the amount sold and was 2.32 times the amount sold for the 10-year bond.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s government has implented the sharpest spending cuts since Spain returned to democracy following the death of conservative dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 aimed at bringing the public deficit down to 6.0 percent of output in 2011. —Agencies

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Airlines in dire need of pilots and maintenance crew SINGAPORE: The global commercial aviation industry will need more than a million pilots and maintenance crew in the next 20 years, with Asia accounting for almost 40 percent of demand, Boeing said yesterday.

The US plane maker estimated world demand at 466,650 pilots and 596,500 maintenance personnel from 2010 to 2029, of whom 180,600 pilots and 220,000 mechanics would be needed in Asia.

Boeing estimates that there are currently about 233,000 pilots and more than 100,000 mechanics and engineers working for airlines worldwide.

Within Asia, China will account for nearly 40 percent of the demand, followed by Southeast Asia at around

23 percent, said Roei Ganzarski, chief customer officer at Boeing Training and Flight Services.

North America will need 97,350 pilots and 137,000 maintenance personnel while Europe will require 94,800 and 122,000, respectively.

Ganzarski said at a news conference in Singapore that the industry would have to ramp up the training of pilots as well as aircraft engineers and mechanics to meet the forecast demand without compromising safety standards.

“There is a significant number of people that we’re going to have to train and the infrastructure right now in the Asia Pacific is not necessarily a scale that can address this entire requirement,” Ganzarski said.

“That’s why we see in the region

growth also in the infrastructure around training,” he said, noting that more flight schools and training centres were being set up.

Boeing and its European rival Airbus dominate the global aircraft market.

The US giant was publicly releasing its forecast for future demand for pilots and mechanics for the first time.

Ganzarski expressed confidence the aviation industry would be able to meet demand but said it was “caught a little off guard” by the quick and sharp recovery of air travel from the 2008-2009 recession.

In China, demand for pilots is “double to triple” that of training capacity, but Chinese airlines are solving that problem by sending

cadets overseas.

“The market will answer that demand because business people want to make money,” he said.

However, one of the risks is that the proliferation of training centres and flight schools could lead to a lowering of safety standards.

To help raise training quality, Boeing operates 17 campuses worldwide to train pilots and technicians, with plans for further expansion, Ganzarski said.

The industry also needs to make a flying career more attractive to potential pilots, he said, noting that long working hours and time spent away from families were keeping some applicants away.

And unlike in the past when being a pilot was a passport for young

people to see the world, travel has now become cheaper and easier for anyone, he added.

Airline association IATA said in July that global air travel grew faster than expected in June led by a sharp improvement in Asia, particularly in China, following a severe slowdown during the global recession.

“The industry continues to recover faster than expected, but with sharp regional differences,” said IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani.

Boeing expects the Asia-Pacific region to be the “largest growth area” for air travel worldwide, with an annual growth rate of 7.1 percent in the next 20 years, beating the estimated 5.3 percent average global expansion. —AFP

US jobs data fail to excite stock markets

DORAL: In this Sept 13, 2010 photo, a customer enters a FedEx Office in Doral, Fla., loaded with packages. Fedex reports a surge in 1st-quarter earnings yesterday, plans to cut 1,700 jobs and shut 100 facilities. —AP

FedEx 1Q profit doubles, plans to cut 1,700 jobs NEW YORK: FedEx Corp. indicated yesterday that the global economic recovery remains uneven. It touted strength in its international shipping operations while moving to fix the weak spot in its business: Its money-losing US trucking business.

FedEx did raise its financial outlook for the full fiscal year after its first-quarter net income doubled. But the projections for the second quarter and full year fell shy of Wall Street expectations, and the stock dropped almost 3 percent in premarket trading.

Growth in international air shipments has been driving FedEx’s results lately. That continued in the first quarter. But the FedEx Freight segment lost money again as demand for large items like refrigerators and other appliances continues to be weak. As it competes with other trucking companies to ship a limited amount of freight, FedEx has been forced to forgo the rate increases that are helping its other segments grow.

FedEx will combine its FedEx Freight and FedEx National less-than-truckload operations on Jan. 30, closing 100 facilities and cutting 1,700 workers. FedEx says the move, along with other

cost cuts, will ensure the trucking business is profitable next year.

Less-than-truckload shippers take goods from many different manufacturers and consolidate them into a single truck for delivery.

The move suggests that big companies like FedEx, which is a bellwether for broader economic health, are feeling that the global economy still has a way to go for a full recovery.

The world’s second-largest package delivery company now expects to earn between $1.15 and $1.35 per share for the quarter ending in November, below analysts’ expectations of $1.36 per share.

For the full fiscal year that ends in May, the company now expects net income of $4.80 to $5.25 per share. That’s up from its estimate of $4.60 to $5.20 per share in July but some analysts were forecasting earnings as high as $5.60 per share, according to Thomson Reuters. The Memphis, Tennessee, company earned $380 million, or $1.20 per share in the fiscal first-quarter that ended in August, compared with $181 million, or 58 cents per share a year ago. —AP

LONDON: A solid set of weekly US jobless claims figures yesterday failed to excite stock markets, though it did help the dollar clamber off day lows against the euro.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 17.57 points, or 0.3 percent, at 5,537.99 while Germany’s DAX fell 20.79 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,241.08. The CAC-40 in France was 21.31 points, or 0.6 percent, lower at 3,734.33.

Wall Street was poised to give up a chunk of Wednesday’s gains at the open — Dow futures were down 39 points, or 0.4 percent, at 10,470, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 futures fell 5.5 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,115.20. Figures showing that the number of newly laidoff workers seeking US unemployment benefits dropped by 3,000 last week to 450,000 — its lowest level in two months — failed to resonate much in the stock markets, though it may be a sign that labour market conditions may be improving.

However, the data did help the dollar recoup some ground — by mid afternoon London time, the euro was trading up 0.4 percent on the day at $1.3064, having earlier breached the $1.31 level for the first time in over a month.

The euro has been in demand the past couple of days in the wake of the Bank of Japan’s first intervention in six years.

Though that was designed to effect the yen’s value against the dollar, it has had repercussions through the currency markets.

The primary impact elsewhere has been a sharp rise in the euro’s value against the dollar — before the intervention, the euro was trading below $1.30. —AP

NEW YORK: In this July 15, 2010 file photo, trader Chris Crotty, left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Investors again appeared ready to put the market’s September rally on hold yestrday, at least temporarily, as they await key readings on unemployment, inflation and manufacturing. —AP

Kingfisher profits up LONDON: Kingfisher, Europe’s biggest homeimprovements retailer, said yesterday that its net profits rose 24 percent to 250 million pounds (299 million euros, 389 million dollars) during its first half.

Kingfisher, which owns the B&Q chain in Britain and Castorama in France, said its profit after tax for the six months to July 31 compared with net income of 201 million pounds during the equivalent period in 2009.

“We have traded well with profit again strongly ahead and financial debt reduced,” said group chief executive Ian Cheshire, who gave a cautious outlook.

“As we have consistently said, the immediate outlook for consumer spending is fragile, particularly in the UK where it is likely to remain challenging for some time.

“Our continued profit growth will come from our wellestablished self-help initiatives, including sourcing more products through our global network and vigorously driving operating cost efficiencies,” he added in a statement.

The results came as official data showed British retail sales fell surprisingly in August. —AFP

Business

Friday, september 17, 2010

Page 21

Union members chant as they march around Lake Eola during the AFL-CIO Labor Day Jobs Rally at Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando, Florida on September 6, 2010. — MCT

Uncertainty weighing down US economy

W

hen it comes to the current economy, some see the glass as half empty, others as half full.

Linda Patterson, an investment manager for the city of Yuma, prefers the latter view. “But then I’m an eternal optimist,” she said after her semiannual report to the Yuma City Council during its work session on Tuesday evening.

With short-term rates stuck in neutral, there isn’t a lot of good news right now regarding the various investment funds she manages for the city, Patterson said. By their nature, the accounts are short term as they hold the money used for the city’s operating costs such as payroll and day-to-day expenses.

But Patterson does see a “little engine” of recovery and is confident things will turn around.

“We’ll make it out,” she said. It just will take some time, she cautioned. After all, she noted, “it took 15 years to get into these problems and it will take a couple of years to get out.”

The uncertainty and gridlock in Congress are worrying business, she said.

Then there’s the big changes coming because of the health care reform bill and uncertainty about taxes.

The current political turmoil and the countdown to midterm elections also are lending an air of uncertainty

With short-term rates stuck in neutral, there isn’t a lot of good news right now regarding the various investment funds she manages for the city, Patterson said. By their nature, the accounts are short term as they hold the money used for the city’s operating costs such as payroll and day-to-day expenses. to the economy, she said, expressing hope that will improve after November’s election.

Banks are ready now to lend, Patterson said. But businesses aren’t willing to borrow and they’re not feeling confident enough to hire additional employees.

And the lack of jobs or the worry about the potential loss of employment is a big drag on the economy’s recovery, she said.

“Consumer spending is down due largely to a serious lack of confidence and an even more serious lack of jobs.”

In the meantime, consumers are deleveraging (paying down) their debt and increasing their savings at a time when the economy needs them to spend money to stimulate it, said Patterson, noting that household spending fell to

the lowest level since 1942.

After all, she said, the economy is made of people who right now are concerned about their retirement or what tomorrow will bring.

“They may buy a new dress but not something that would lock them in for a long time like a house or car.”

They’re also putting their money in safe harbors like money market accounts, driving down the rate of return for such investments, Patterson said.

“There’s not much good news in the investment world right now,” she said, noting that she manages accounts for 37 entities and “there haven’t been many smiles. It’s pretty solemn out there.”

She concluded: “We need to see some continuous good news ... something sustainable.” — MCT

Ready to get to work

H

undreds of unemployed people lined up outside St John’s Lodge AF & AM on Green Street yesterday morning waiting for the 10 am start of the ValleyWorks Career Center Port City Job Fair.

Almost 20 companies set up tables in the hall and welcomed prospective employees.

Among those looking to hire were Anna Jaques Hospital, Comcast, Raytheon Electronics, Rochester Electronics and even the National Guard.

Yesterday’s event marked the fourth year that ValleyWorks Career Center, based in Lawrence, has held a job fair in Newburyport. ValleyWorks Career Center executive director Arthur Chilingirian estimated as many as 400 people would visit the fair until it ended, around 1 p.m. But that estimate appeared to be conservative as people were filing in and out of the downtown Masonic Hall at a rapid pace around noon. Chilingirian said companies that signed up for the job fair were required to have at least one open position. This year’s fair, he said, attracted at least six more companies than last year.

“Hopefully, that’s a good sign people are hiring again,” Chilingirian said.

Finding a job remains difficult for millions of people across the country. The most recent national unemployment rate is 9.6 percent, according to the US Department of Labor. In Massachusetts the unemployment rate was 9.1 percent as of July. Local towns range from less than 7 percent in Georgetown and West Newbury to more than 10 percent in Salisbury.

Waiting in line to speak to an Anna Jaques Hospital representative was Wendy Michaud of Seabrook. Michaud, the mother of one, said she was looking for a full-time administrative assistant job after losing her

last job in April. “It’s very nerve-wracking,” Michaud said. “It’s just so hard to find a job and when I walked in the door, it was overwhelming to see so many people.”

Making things even more unsettling, Michaud said, is that two of the companies she worked for were at the job fair.

After speaking to an Anna Jaques representative, Michaud joined other lines to drop off her resume. Asked if she thought the economy was getting any better after two years of recession, Michaud shook her head and said no.

“It’s just so hard to see so many people unemployed; it’s sad,” Michaud said. The job fair attracted people of varying ages.

There were fathers and mothers in their 20s who came with their children and there were also men and women in their 50s, 60s and even 70s.

Chilingirian said the average age of people looking for work over the last few years has risen to around 45. Many, he said, can’t afford to retire and are looking for ways to supplement their incomes.

Chilingirian said people are actually removing credentials from their resumes such as prior experience or education background just to get an interview.

“They’re doing what they can to survive,” Chilingirian said.

Jill Swanson, human resources manager at Rochester Electronics in Newburyport, said her company had nine openings to fill.

Swanson said most of the people who approached her table were looking for entry-level positions, a rarity at the company that is looking for people with many years of experience.

Still, Swanson said, the quality of candidates has improved since last year’s job fair and she will be calling back a few of them for interviews. —MCT

CAREERs

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Friday, september 17, 2010

Do it the write way O

f all the classes I took in college and graduate school, the two that have helped me most in my career have been English Composition and Business English. In these classes I learned effective writing skills, which I have used in every job I have ever had. No other job but my work on this site included writing as part of my job description. In spite of this, I was required to write in every job, and it was taken for granted that I would be able to do this. This is the case with most jobs-whether you must write internal memos, correspond with clients, or help design sales materials.

Writing beautiful prose and poetry is a talent. Writing effectively, however, is a skill that can be learned.

Organize Your writing Whether you are writing a memo to your co-worker or a report for your boss, you should decide what information you want to convey. Here is how to do this: List each item you need to discuss in your memo or report.

Put them in order - from most to least important Write a brief summary of your entire memo - this will be your first paragraph.

Expand on each item listed in step 1.

If any action needs to be taken by the recipient, state that in your closing paragraph.

Some tips Avoid wordiness. Say out loud what you are trying to write. Listen to how the words sound. For example, the sentence, “I found out that I should take a look at our past sales figures in order to come up with a plan to help us re-evaluate our sales technique” could be more simply stated as “I must take a look at our past sales figures to reevaluate our sales technique.”

Write for your audience. Use simple language. You don’t want the reader to need a dictionary to decipher what you are trying to say. You should not try to impress your reader with your huge vocabulary. Chances are you will frustrate your reader instead. Most people are juggling several tasks at the same time, and are interested in receiving only necessary information.

You are responsible for making this happen. Instead of saying, “His gregarious nature credentials him as a superlative candidate for the job,” say “His friendliness makes him a top

candidate for the job.”

Stay away from jargon your reader may not understand. If your work is very technical, but the person you are writing to is not well versed in that field, stick to words that person will understand. For example, if you are a Web site designer, this sentence in a memo to your client, a psychologist, will make no sense: “What would you like me to use as the BGCOLOR for your site: #ADD8E6 or #FFFFFF?” Anyone proficient in Web page design knows that this question can be translated to “What would you like the

background color of your site to be: Light Blue or White?” However, don’t expect your client to be more familiar with this technical jargon than you would be with her discussion of a psychological term such as trichotillomania.

A cliche a day keeps the reader away - or at least it does not make him or her remember what you are saying.

You want your writing to be memorable. Because we hear cliches often, we become desensitized to them.

The words, then, are not uniquely associated with your writing. Rather

Before you hit send Tips to keep in mind before emailing

N

inety two percent of Internet users in the United States use email. That’s a huge number since 73 percent of those living in the US use the Internet (Information Please(r) Database, Pearson Education, Inc, 2008). Many people use email for business communications, which stresses the importance of knowing proper email etiquette. While a lot of people understand the importance of following certain rules when writing a business letter, they often forget these rules when composing an email message.

Here’s a refresher. ¥ Mind Your Manners: Think of the basic rules you learned growing up, like saying please and thank you. Address people you don’t know as Mr, Mrs, or Dr Only address someone by first name if they imply it’s okay to do so. ¥ Watch Your Tone: Merriam-Webster defines tone as an “accent or inflection expressive of a mood or emotion.” It is very difficult to express tone in writing. You want to come across as respectful, friendly, and approachable. You don’t want to sound curt or demanding. ¥ Be Concise: Get to the point of your email as quickly as possible, but don’t leave out important details that will help your recipient answer your query.

¥

¥

¥

¥

Be Professional: This means, stay away from abbreviations and don’t use emoticons (those little smiley faces). Don’t use a cute or suggestive email address for business communications.

Use Correct Spelling and Proper Grammar: Use a dictionary or a spell checker - whichever works better for you. While you can write in a conversational tone (contractions are okay), pay attention to basic rules of grammar.

Ask Before You Send an Attachment: Because of computer viruses, many people won’t open attachments unless they know the sender. Even that can be a mistake because many viruses come disguised in email messages from someone you know. Before sending an attachment, ask the recipient if you may do so.

Wait to Fill in the “TO” Email Address: Career Planning Site visitor Larry Batchelor says, “I never fill in the ‘TO’ email address until I am completely through proofing my email and I am sure that it is exactly the way that I want it. This will keep you from accidentally sending an email prematurely. In the past, I have accidentally clicked on the send icon, when I really meant to click on the attachment icon.”

than saying “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today” in a memo to a subordinate you are trying to motivate. Simply say, “Stop procrastinating. Get the job done now.”

When possible, use the active voice.

The active voice makes your sentence stronger and usually shorter. Let’s try these examples. Passive voice: “Sales increased due to the networking I did.”

Active voice: “My networking increased sales.”

Don’t be redundant. It is not necessary to say “2 pm in the afternoon” or “the expectant pregnant woman.” Saying “2 pm” or “2 in the afternoon” or “the expectant woman” or “the pregnant woman” all convey what you want to say and are less wordy.

Of course pay attention to grammar.

Use Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, available on the Web. A good dictionary should be nearby, along with a thesaurus. A thesaurus will allow you to keep your writing fresh by helping you find a variety of words to use. Many of these resources are available online.

Proofreading is one of the most important things you can do. Since you probably do most of your writing on a computer, you have access to automated spelling and grammar checkers. Beware though - some words, used in the wrong context may be missed by computerized spell checkers. For example the sentence “To employees attended too meetings two learn about the gnu software,” would pass through the spell check without any misspellings being detected. Have someone else proofread your document, if possible. If time allows, put your composition away, and proofread it later, or even better, the next day.

www.careerplanning.about.com www.careerplanning.about.com

TECHNOLOGY

Friday, September 17, 2010

Page 23

Which upgrades will boost PC speed?

I

s your computer too fast?

Probably not. In fact, if you’re like many PC users, you’ll eventually find yourself wishing that you could spend more time using your PC and less time waiting for it. That’s when the idea of upgrades comes into play.

Component manufacturers stand at the ready, of course, offering you every possible upgrade - from video card to extra memory to full-fledged processor upgrades. All of these promise to make your computing life less frustrating and more productive.

But which upgrades make sense?

Read on for some answers.

Q: How ca n I ma ke my Window s Vista computer boot fa ster?

A: Bootup speed of Vista or any other operating system is determined largely by two things: how fast your hard drive is and how much software you have installed that loads automatically at startup. You have some control over both, but let’s start first with the no-cost option: reducing the number of software programs that start automatically when your system does.

First, uninstall any applications that you do not use regularly. You would be surprised at just how much additional system load is

caused by programs installed on your PC, whether they’re running or not. Second, perform some optimization of your bootup process. Windows Vista and 7 give you the tool to do this in MSConfig. Open the Start menu, type MSConfig, and press enter.

The System Configuration dialog box opens. From there, click the Startup tab and inspect the list of applications there. Each one of those starts when your computer does. De-select anything that you know you don’t use or need. Next, in the same dialog box, click the Boot tab, and then click the Advanced Options button. There, you’ll see a “Number of processors” check box, which allows you to specify the number of processors - or cores - that Windows should use during the bootup process. If you have a dualor quad-core machine, activate that setting, and tell Windows to use all of your processors.

Software tweaks will only go so far, though, in making your PC boot up faster. Hard drive speed is critical, too, as is system memory.

Assuming your machine is outfitted with at least 2 gigabytes (GB) of memory (RAM), you may want to look at upgrading your main hard drive with a solid state disk, which will probably cut your

boot times in half. SSDs are still pricey, however, compared to conventional hard drives, so see whether you can stomach the cost of a replacement SSD that’s large enough to satisfy your data needs.

Q: I ha ve 4 giga bytes of RAM in my Window s 7 computer. I understand tha t the computer ca n ta ke up to 8 gigs of RAM. Will the extra RAM improve performance?

A: First, to access more than 4 GB of RAM, you must be running the 64-bit version of Windows 7. If you’re not, then don’t worry about adding more RAM. Your computer won’t even recognize it. But even if you are running the 64-bit version of Windows 7, you won’t see an appreciable improvement in overall system performance with 8 GB of RAM unless you regularly use applications that you know can take advantage of it. Think highend graphics, CAD, or video production software. For conventional computing, however, with browsers, e-mail, and traditional office applications representing the majority of what you use, 4 GB is plenty, even with the 64-bit version of Windows.

Q: My computer has a Core 2 Duo processor, but it can take a qua d core. Will I notice much performa nce improvement if I

upgra de?

A: Going from a Core 2 Duo to a Core 2 Quad processor may or may not provide you with the kind of performance boost you’re seeking. Much will depend upon the particular Core 2 Duo model you currently use and the quad core processor you’re eyeing. In general terms, though, moving from a lower-end Core 2 Duo to a higher end Core 2 Quad will give you a noticeable performance improvement, and your overall computing experience will be smoother.

However, if you have a higherend Core 2 Duo, moving to the top-of-the-line Core 2 Quad will probably not yield you enough performance gain to make the investment worthwhile. And if you happen to be a gamer, you’re almost certainly better off staying in the high-end Core 2 Duo camp, since few games take advantage of quad core chips.

Q: I’m going to give my tw oyea r-old Core 2 Duo computer to m y son. He claim s it needs a gra phics ca rd upgrade to a llow him to pla y the la test ga mes. I bought the m achine for business use. W hat should I look for in a graphics ca rd?

A: First, look for compatibility with your current computer’s

motherboard. If your current machine has integrated graphics and no PCI Express (PCI-E) slot for adding a dedicated card, your son will be out of luck.

If you currently have a dedicated graphics card or a free PCI-E slot, however, you can move on to other considerations.

Primary among them should be the strength of your PC’s power supply and the size of your case.

Gaming cards such as Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 480 or AMD’s Radeon HD 5870 require a minimum of a 500 watt power supply that outputs 40 amps on the 12-volt rail. These are fairly technical specifications that you’ll have to research by, at a minimum, finding out the current wattage rating of your PC’s power supply.

If the machine has less than a 500-watt unit, you may need to upgrade it to a 750-watt power supply when you procure the new card. A newer, beefier power supply is also sure to have the additional PCI-E power connector that many high-end cards require.

Be sure, too, that you have enough space in your case for a graphics card designed with gaming in mind. Some of these cards are substantial in size and will not fit in a slimline or mini-tower computer case. — dpa

BeaUTY

The Maharishi Ayurveda approach to beauty and skin care

Page 24

Friday, September 17, 2010

“E

or sun very well. Of all the three skin types, pitta skin has the least tolerance for the sun, is photosensitive, and most likely to accumulate sun damage over the years. Pitta skin is aggravated by emotional stress, especially suppressed anger, frustration, or resentment.

very person is born perfect. Inferiority is a mistake of the mind, a cloud covering the light.

Dissolve the clouds by observing a balanced life with healthy habits. Nourish your mind and body. Connect with your own inner self. Celebrate your own magnificence and your beauty will always shine through.” -Dr Rama Kant Mishra, renowned Ayurvedic physician and dermatologist

- Recommendations for care Avoid excessive sunlight, tanning treatments and highly heating therapies like facial or whole body steams. Avoid hot, spicy foods and favor astringent, bitter and sweet foods which balance pitta. (Again, naturally sweet, not chocolate and refined sugar!) Sweet juicy fruits (especially melons and pears), cooked greens and rose petal preserves are especially good.

Drinking plenty of water helps wash impurities from sensitive pitta skin. Reduce external or internal contact with synthetic chemicals, to which your skin is especially prone to react, even in a delayed fashion after years of seemingly uneventful use. Avoid skin products that are abrasive, heating or contain artificial colors or preservatives. Most commercial make-up brands should be avoided in favor of strictly 100% natural ingredient cosmetics. And be sure to get your emotional stress under control through plenty of outdoor exercise, yoga and meditation.

The three pillars of beauty Maharishi Ayurveda (MAV), the modern, consciousness-based revival of the ancient Ayurvedic medicine tradition, considers true beauty to be supported by three pillars; Outer Beauty, Inner Beauty and Lasting Beauty. Only by enhancing all three can we attain the balanced state of radiant health that makes each of us the most fulfilled and beautiful person we can be.

Outer beauty: Roopam The outer signs of beauty your skin, hair and nails - are more than just superficial measures of beauty. They are direct reflections of your overall health. These outer tissues are created by the inner physiological processes involved in digestion, metabolism and proper tissue development. Outer beauty depends more on the strength of your digestion and metabolism, the quality of your diet, and the purity of your blood, than on external cleansers and conditioners you may apply.

General recommendations for outer beauty As we will discuss, the key to skin care is matching your diet and skin care routine to the specific skin type you have.

Meanwhile, there are some valuable recommendations for lustrous skin, hair and nails that will be helpful to everyone, regardless of skin type.

1) Diet: Without adequate nourishment, your collagen layer thins and a kind of wasting takes place. Over time, your skin can shrivel up like a plant without water from lack of nourishment.

To keep your skin plump and glowing: A- Eat fresh, w hole organic foods that are freshly prepared.

Avoid packaged, canned, frozen, processed foods and leftovers. These foods have little nutritional value and also they are often poorly digested which creates impurities that localize in the skin. The resulting buildup of toxins causes irritation and blocks circulation depriving the skin of further nourishment and natural cleansing processes.

B - Favor skin nourishing foods.

Leafy green vegetables contain vitamins, minerals (especially iron and calcium) and are high in antioxidant properties.

They nourish the skin and protect it from premature aging.

Sweet juicy fruits like grapes, melons, pears, plums and stewed apples at breakfast are excellent for the skin in almost everyone.

Eat a wide variety of grains over different meals and try

mixed grain servings at breakfast and lunch. Add amaranth, quinoa, cous cous, millet and barley to the wheat and rice you already eat.

Favor light, easy to digest proteins like legume soups (especially yellow split mung dhal), whole milk, paneer (cheese made from boiling milk, adding lemon and straining solids) and lassi (diluted yogurt and spice drinks).

Oils like ghee (clarified butter) and organic, extra virgin olive oil should be included in the diet as they lubricate, nourish and create lustre in the skin.

Use spices like turmeric, cumin, coriander, and black pepper to improve digestion, nourish the skin and cleanse it of impurities. Avoid microwaving and boiling your vegetables. They lose as much as 85% of their antioxidant content when cooked in this way. Steaming and sauteing are best.

Caring for outer beauty through knowledge of skin type Besides these general recommendations the key to Outer Beauty is to understand the difference in skin types so you can gain the maximum benefit from your individualized skin care regimen. MAV identifies three different skin types based on which of the three main metabolic principles (doshas)- present in everyone, but to different degrees- is most dominant in your body.

Vata Skin - Description: Vata is composed of the elements of air and space. If you have a vata skin type, your skin will be dry, thin, fine pored, delicate and cool to the touch. When balanced, it

glows with a delicate lightness and refinement that is elegant and attractive. When vata skin is imbalanced, it will be prone to excessive dryness and may even be rough and flaky.

- Potential problems: The greatest beauty challenge for vata skin is its predisposition to symptoms of early aging. Your skin may tend to develop wrinkles earlier than most due to its tendency to dryness and thinness. If your digestion is not in balance, your skin can begin to look dull and grayish, even in your 20’s and 30’s. In addition, your skin may have a tendency for disorders such as dry eczema and skin fungus. Mental stress,

warm (not cold for vata types!) water throughout the day and eat plenty of sweet, juicy fruits.

Going to bed early (before 10 PM) is very soothing to vata and will have a tremendously positive influence on your skin. Avoid cleansing products that dry the skin (like alcohol-based cleansers) and perform Ayurvedic oil massage to your whole body (abhyanga) in the morning before you shower.

Pitta Skin.

- Description: Pitta dosha is composed of the elements of fire and water. If you have a pitta skin type your skin is fair, soft, warm and of medium thickness. When

Maharishi Ayurveda considers true beauty to be supported by three pillars; Outer Beauty, Inner Beauty and Lasting Beauty such as worry, fear and lack of sleep, has a powerful debilitating effect on vata skin leaving it looking tired and lifeless.

- Recommendations for care With a little knowledge, you can preserve and protect the delicate beauty of your vata type skin. Since your skin does not contain much moisture, preventing it from drying is the major consideration. Eat a warm, unctuous diet (ghee and olive oil are best) and favor sour, salty and sweet tastes (naturally sweet like fruits, not refined sugar) as they balance vata. Avoid drying foods like crackers. Drink 6-8 glasses of

balanced, your skin has a beautiful, slightly rosy or golden glow, as if illuminated from within. Your hair typically is fine and straight, and is usually red, sandy or blonde in color. Your complexion tends toward the pink or reddish, and there is often a copious amount of freckles or moles.

- Potential problems: Among the many beauty challenges of pitta skin types is your tendency to develop rashes, rosacea, acne, liver spots or pigment disorders. Because of the large proportion of the fire element in your constitution, your skin does not tolerate heat

Kapha Skin - Description: Kapha dosha is composed of the elements of earth and water. If you have a kapha skin type your skin is thick, oily, soft and cool to the touch. Your complexion is a glowing porcelain whitish color, like the moon, and hair characteristically thick, wavy, oily and dark. Kapha skin types, with their more generous collagen and connective tissue, are fortunate to develop wrinkles much later in life than vata or pitta types.

-Potential problems: If your skin becomes imbalanced, it can show up as enlarged pores, excessively oily skin, moist types of eczema, blackheads, acne or pimples, and water retention.

Kapha skin is also more prone to fungal infections.

- Recommendations for care Kapha skin is more prone to clogging and needs more cleansing than other skin types.

Be careful to avoid greasy, clogging creams. Likewise, avoid heavy, hard to digest foods like fried foods, fatty meats, cheeses and rich desserts. Eat more light, easy to digest, astringent, bitter and pungent (well-spiced) foods as they balance kapha. Olive oil is the best cooking oil and a little ginger and lime juice can be taken before meals to increase your characteristically sluggish digestive fire. Take warm baths often and use gentle cleansers to open the skin pores. Avoid getting constipated and try to get some exercise every day to increase circulation and help purify the skin through the sweating process.

Inner beauty: Gunam Happy, positive, loving, caring individuals have a special beauty that is far more than skin deep.

Conversely we all experience the quick and deleterious effect on

BeaUTY

Friday, September 17, 2010

Page 25 impurities from accumulating, localizing and hardening in the tissues. Just as we change the oil in our cars regularly for optimal performance and lifespan, Ayurveda recommends that we cleanse the “sludge” from our tissues on a regular basis through panchakarma treatments.

Best of all, panchakarma treatments are luxurious, blissful, and make you feel (and look) completely rejuvenated in just a few days time. I have had many a patient who told me that friends asked them afterwards if they had gotten a facelift, they looked so fresh and youthful!

Other free radical busters include: reducing mental stress, eating antioxidant foods like leafy green vegetables, sweet, juicy fruits and cooking on a daily basis with antioxidant, detoxifying spices like turmeric and coriander.

Without adequate nourishment, your collagen layer thins and a kind of wasting takes place. Over time, your skin can shrivel up like a plant without water from lack of nourishment our skin from fatigue and stress.

Inner beauty is authentic beauty, not the kind that shows on a madeup face, but the kind that shines through from your soul, your consciousness or inner state of being. Inner beauty comes from a mind and heart that are in harmony, not at odds with each other, causing emotional confusion, loss of confidence, stress and worry. Inner peace is the foundation of outer beauty.

Maintain your self-confidence and a warm, loving personality by paying attention to your lifestyle and daily routine and effective management of stress (I highly recommend the TM technique for its scientifically-verified benefits on mental and physical health and reduced aging.) You will also be healthier and feel better through the day if you eat your main meal at midday and make a habit of going to bed early (by 10 PM is ideal.)

Remember, kindness, friendliness and sincerity naturally attract people to you. On the other hand, being uptight or tense makes people want to walk the other way, regardless of your facial structure, body weight, or other outer signs we associate with attractiveness.

Lasting beauty: Yayastyag In order to slow the aging process and gain lasting beauty there are two additional key

considerations beyond those already discussed, A- Eliminate toxins and free radicals in the body: The main

deteriorating effects of aging come as toxins and impurities (called ama in Ayurveda) accumulate throughout the body. These toxins may begin as free radicals in the body, or over time may become oxidized into free radicals, all of which contribute to premature aging in the body. For lasting health and beauty it is essential to avoid and neutralize free radicals, to prevent impurities of all kinds from accumulating and to remove those that have already become lodged in the body.

The most powerful cleansing therapy in Maharishi Ayurveda is “panchakarma” therapy, a series of natural treatments ideally performed twice yearly, that involves 5-7 days in a row of massage, heat treatments and mild herbal enemas. Ayurveda emphasizes the importance of undergoing this cleansing program once or twice a year to prevent

B- Add rejuvenative techniques to da ily living: The daily activities of life in the modern world systematically wear us down and speed up the aging process. Ayurveda maintains it is crucial to practice daily rejuvenative regimens to counteract the stressful wear and tear of everyday life. According to Ayurveda the most important rejuvenative routines for your life are: Going to bed by 10:00 PM. This simple habit is one of the most powerful techniques for health and longevity, according to MAV. Meditate daily. Any meditation that does not involve concentration (which has been shown to increase anxiety) can be very helpful. I highly recommend the twice-daily deep rest and enlivenment of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique, whose benefits have been verified by over 700 published research studies.

Eat organic, whole fresh food that is freshly prepared. There is an Ayurvedic saying: “Without proper diet. medicine is of no use. With proper diet, medicine is of no need.” Be sure to avoid those leftovers, processed and microwaved foods for better nutrition and vitality.

Perform Ayurvedic oil massage in the morning (abhyanga). Morning oil massage purifies the entire body, reduces anxiety and stress, helps prevent and heal injuries and supports circulation. It is especially helpful in creating a radiant complexion and keeping your skin youthful. Research shows it may also help prevent skin cancers.

Practice yoga asanas.

Maintaining flexibility and circulation is key to health.

Practice pranayama (yoga breathing) techniques. Pranayama enlivens the mind and body. Ideally practice the following sequence twice a day. Asanas, pranayama and meditation. (www.ambafrance-do.org )

Summary

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veryone’s unique beauty shines forth when they have radiant health and personal happiness. Beauty is a side effect of a balanced, fulfilled life. Supreme personal beauty is accessible to everyone who is willing to take more control of their health in their dayto-day life through time-tested principles of natural living.

For most of us, beauty is not a gift but a choice. Every woman can be radiantly beautiful simply by beginning to lead a healthier life. You will be rewarded by the glowing effects you will see in your mirror each day and the powerful, bliss-producing effect your special beauty has on everyone in your life.

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HEALTH

Friday, September 17, 2010

Woman launches campaign against methadone abuse Donna Levine stands near a gallery of her son, Jonathan, who she lost to a methadone overdose. She decided to turn his death into a crusade to educate teens and their parents about the dangers. — MCT

J

onathan Lucas Levine should be celebrating his 21st birthday this month. Probably he would be in college by now, studying to be a math professor or perhaps a psychologist. And surely he would have plenty of friends. The way other kids used to follow him around, his mom dubbed him The Pied Piper. Instead, Donna Levine sits in her Orlando, Fla., apartment surrounded by photos of her only child and tries not to cry again. Three years ago this month, at 18, Jonathan died of a drug overdose.

Among the mix of chemicals in his system was methadone. It was, the medical examiner ruled, what had turned the combination from risky to lethal. “People just don’t know about the dangers,” Donna Levine said. “Kids take these pills from their parents’ medicine cabinet, and they have no idea what they’re getting into.”

Levine is launching a mission in her son’s memory to educate parents and their children about those dangers. She calls her fledgling nonprofit organization Mad Over Methadone or MOM for short - and has sold her car to cover start-up legal expenses. “I have to do this,” the 52-year-old said. “This is my purpose.” While most people know methadone as a treatment for addiction to heroin, in recent years the drug has become an increasingly popular, if controversial, choice to treat severe pain. “I hear stories all the time of the drug being misused,” said Monte Drenner, an Orlando mental-health therapist and certified addiction professional who supports Levine’s efforts. “Most people are naive. They have the idea that if something is prescribed, it’s safe.”

But according to a report this summer by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission, methadone ranked as the state’s third leading cause of drug deaths last year, behind Oxycodone and Benzodiazepines, such as Xanax and Valium. And its popularity seems to be rising. The presence of methadone among

drug-death victims rose another 5 percent last year over 2008, continuing a trend that dates back at least another five years.

The increase comes despite a public health advisory issued by the federal Food and Drug Administration in late 2006: “Methadone use for pain control may result in death and lifethreatening changes in breathing and heart beat,” it said. The FDA further noted that

prescribing methadone for pain is a “complex” issue because of potentially fatal interactions with other drugs and because methadone has a long half-life, staying in the body for at least several days.

Methadone also is readily available, relatively cheap and legal - at least when used as prescribed - thus making it a more attractive option to abusers than heroin or cocaine. Dr

Levine has started the process of forming a nonprofit organization aimed at raising awareness and has already served as a support for other grieving parents. – MCT

Stacy Seikel, medical director at The Center for Drug-Free Living in Central Florida, said the drug has a legitimate - and successful - use in treating addiction to heroin and Oxycodone.

But Seikel said she never prescribes it to anyone taking benzodiazepines, a class of drugs used for anxiety, insomnia, seizures and muscle spasms. “It’s very powerful, particularly in people who haven’t built up any tolerance,” she said. “And when you combine it with something like Xanax or Ativan, you basically just stop breathing.”

The primary source of the problem, said Seikel, an addictions specialist, is methadone that is prescribed by “pill mill” doctor offices frequented by drug-seeking patients. Those prescriptions too often end up being sold by the patient for a profit. That’s what happened in Jonathan’s case. On Sept 20, 2007, while stopping to visit a friend in Altamonte Springs, Florida, he complained of excruciating pain in his sinuses and face - the result of a surgery that had left him with an implanted metal plate and a pair of titanium screws.

The friend’s mother, Donna Levine said, sold Jonathan a pair of methadone pills. He took only one, but he already had taken a trio of other drugs prescribed by his doctors for pain and mood stabilization. Later, he would call his mom to say he was too tired to come home and was spending the night with a friend. By morning, he was dead. “The last thing I told him is that I loved him,” Levine said. It took two years of grieving before she knew what she wanted to do. With the help of a pair of young people who knew her son, she plans to take the message to schools, youth groups and camps.

She’s also trying to spread the word to parents - and offer solace to mothers and fathers who learn of the danger too late. “I am not one of these people who say it will all be worth it if it saves one life,” she said. “I want to save a lot of lives.” — MCT

health

Friday, September 17, 2010

Page 27

Inline skaters head down on S Street in Sacramento, California, on their way to the chalk art festival Sept 6, 2010. — MCT

Inline skating hangs on as exercise, hobbyists roll on p in the garage rafters were the in-line skates, all three pairs of them. Dusty and unused in a box marked “Rollerblades”, they’ve been moved - unopened - to five addresses in three states over eight years. Not once have they been pulled out. It just seems so passe, like the out-of-fashion equivalent of throwing a cassette in your boombox. Didn’t in-line skating go out of circulation with the sitcom “Friends”, MC Hammer and Tupperware parties?

Surely, this sport - a great way to burn 500 calories an hour - has succumbed to fickle trendiness. The answer would be yes - and no. Although abandoned by the hordes who once pursued it, in-line skating hasn’t gone away at all. A group of in-line skating devotees has met in Sacramento, California, for its Monday Night Skate for the past 18 years. “It’s not as hard as you think,” said event organizer Bernie Scoville of Sacramento. “Tonight, we’ll have 10 people show up, probably. But we should have more. This in-line skating is such great exercise.”

The all-time high attendance, said Scoville, was in 1994 when 106 skaters showed up. They had to skate through town in clusters. If you are teetering on the edge of middle age and woefully out of practice, you may think you could never do the 10-mile Monday Night Skate. Then you find out Scoville is 72 years old and skates weekly. “I’m trying to pass it on,” said Scoville, a retired state worker.

The youngest skater on a recent Monday night was 30-year-old Cory Hamma from Sacramento’s Land Park neighborhood, who said the group isn’t really a good place to find a date. “If you want to meet women, take up ballroom dancing,” said Hamma, who works in IT, has a girlfriend and began in-line skating last month. Dayle Rodenborn, a social worker from Sacramento, has been inline skating for 15 years and in the Monday Night Skate group for two.

“The thing I like most about skating is being outside and seeing new places,”

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Steve Lee, of Roseville, California, does some inline skating tricks at a downtown parking lot in Sacramento. — MCT said Rodenborn, 35. “It’s better outdoors. You can go any place that has pavement.”

Pavement is something you’ll probably get acquainted with if you haven’t skated for a while. Maybe you’ll fall down and knock the wind out of your sails just after closing the dorky tricolored latches on your vintage skates and stepping away from the car.

Consequently, you might want to don those old wrist guards and knee pads, and be careful not to put them on backward and upside down. If you do, perhaps you’ll have a kindly veteran skater nearby, one such as Steve Lee, a Roseville, California, dentist who helped get in-line skating approved 10 years ago as a legal activity on the American River parkway.

And to hang with the group, you’ll want to have the lingo down. Although

the terms Rollerblading and in-line skating are often used interchangeably, the former is a brand name of the latter, akin to using “Kleenex” instead of “tissue”. The formerly hip word known as “blading” isn’t so cool as it was in the 1990s in Minneapolis, home of the Rollerblade company where in-line skating first got started, apparently by the glut of hockey players who wanted to keep in shape after the ice melted.

Speed, athleticism and distances make this sport addictive. Enthusiasts cite other benefits. “Skating is a lot less expensive than most sports are,” said Hamma. “You don’t have to worry about locking up your skates. And you can bring your skates all over the world.”

This inexpensive adrenaline rush can become a lot less attractive, however, when you hear of a serious accident.

One in-line skater was sandwiched

between two cyclists while going downhill, breaking five bones, including two compound fractures of his leg and ankle.

Then, infectious osteomyelitis crept into his bones and he spent the next half a year on his back, moving in with his parents to recover. He still sets off airport alarms with the pins and plates in his legs.

In-line skating instructors encourage participants to suit up with wrist, elbow and knee guards, and a helmet. Scoville said he’s seen only one serious accident during a Monday Night Skate - a skater separated her shoulder and was rushed to the hospital. Otherwise, it’s the occasional face plant and road rash from mild spills.

Speed is behind many accidents, Scoville said. Yet, the need for speed seems to be what draws the younger

generation into in-line skating and away from traditional four-wheeled roller skates, or “quads”, which have enjoyed a recent boost from the gritty roller derby trend.

“Quads are cool and are better for balance, but I can go a lot faster on these,” said 15-year-old Maylani McGhee of Fair Oaks, California, who was in-line skating on Labor Day at Sunrise Rollerland, zipping around the carpeted area to find her friends. Love of the outdoors, though, brings enthusiasts back to the Monday Night Skate. The route varies; this one went through Land Park and past the Sacramento Zoo and Tower Theatre, where some of the group did tricks on the marble surface of the outdoor foyer while ticket sellers pointed and chuckled at the sporting equivalent of an endangered species.

A few tips: It’s not a good idea to roll over manhole covers, gravel, those patches of yellow bumps, wet leaves or sticks - although rocks tend to bounce out of the way. And you will definitely want elbow guards, a water bottle, a clipon blinker, a headlamp to see cracks in the road at night, and a helmet. If you crash to the ground several times during a two-hour skate, a skating pal might just remind you of another 1990s classic, a Chumbawamba song and appropriate soundtrack for the novice in-line skater: “I get knocked down. But I get up again.

You’re not ever going to keep me down!”

Despite minor dust-ups, you’ll get treated to spectacular views such as the long stretch along the Sacramento River, where a glorious sunset laced with pink clouds hangs over the water.

At the end of the night, you might take off with the group to split some nachos at Vallejo’s. (You’ve already burnt off those calories.) Or you might just climb back into your car and, look into the mirror, realize why your eye has been bothering you - a smashed bug in the corner and, on closer inspection, several more flattened on your cheek.

Totally gnarly, dude. — MCT

PETS

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Friday, September 17, 2010

Army Spc Brandon Rethmel and Kimberly Ison work with their dogs at America’s VetDogs in Smithtown, New York. —MCT

Man’s best friend for more reasons than one Dogs trained to detect, alleviate stress in war veterans

wo years ago, a sniper’s bullet struck Kimberly Ison while the Army staff sergeant was stationed in Serbia. It shattered her wrist and left her with a concussion and a fractured sense of security. Ison, who previously served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, became distrustful of crowds and fearful of leaving her San Antonio apartment. Worse still, Ison, who also suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder, became such an active sleepwalker she feared she would harm herself while in a dream state.

But a 2-year-old golden retriever named Bosley, trained by America’s VetDogs, a Suffolk County, NY-based charity, is helping Ison regain a sense of wellbeing. “I would wake up in the closet or in the bathtub. My biggest fear was that I’d get into the car and drive,” said Ison, 53. “He’s pretty much given me my life back.” At the VetDogs campus in Smithtown, NY, which echoes with the tumult of kenneled canines, war-scarred troops from around the country come to be matched with dogs

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taught to care for them. In addition to the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center, military therapy dogs trained in Smithtown are used to comfort patients at the Eisenhower medical center at Fort Gordon, Ga. And George and Raleigh - a golden retriever and a mixed golden/lab - are stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. Under an arrangement that began in 2007, two “combat stress” dogs from Smithtown are stationed with psychotherapists in Tikrit and Mosul, Iraq, providing emotional relief for troops dealing with sleep disorders, homesickness or battlerelated anxieties. Two more are scheduled to go to Iraq in August.

On a humid July morning, service dogs trained there with Ison and other disabled service members - including an amputee, a soldier blinded by his injuries and several with post traumatic stress disorder - who were picked from a waiting list to receive them. The dogs helped with balance problems, fetching and retrieving dropped items, and carrying small

backpacks. Soldiers with PTSD were matched with dogs that had been taught to sense situations their new master may find stressful, such as crowds, and to physically block strangers who are getting too close.

Bosley has learned to keep Ison from leaving her bedroom if she walks in her sleep. If Ison stirs in the middle of the night, the big golden retriever bounds to the door to block her way. He also watches for signs of increasing anxiety in Ison, a common symptom of PTSD sufferers.

When the crackle of fireworks going off near the Smithtown training facility reminded Ison of gunshots, Bosley took Ison’s hand in his mouth and walked her back into the building.

“I was in tears,” Ison said. “I wondered, ‘How does he know this?”“ Health experts credit service dogs with helping to ease the recovery of patients recuperating at military and veterans hospitals here and across the country. James Leathem, a mental-health social worker at

Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said he began incorporating Bruno, a retired guide dog, into psychotherapy sessions.

Leathem said the dog’s presence helps relax patients when painful emotions make them clam up. “The dog will actually get up from his slumber, walk over and lay his chin on his knee, and the veteran will relax,” Leathem said.

“It’s been extremely effective. The veterans are more willing to talk in a group setting than they were before he was working here.”

America’s VetDogs was founded in 2003 by the Smithtown-based Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind. The charity has provided about 100 veterans with dogs, said spokesman William Krol. Dogs that are bred at the Smithtown kennels are sent for about a year to the homes of “puppy walkers,” who teach them basic commands and familiarize them with behaving in public.

“There are a few places I go without a dog, but not many,” said Susan Semple, 61, of Huntington, NY, who said she began as a dog-

raising volunteer four years ago in memory of her blind father. “It was a niche waiting for me.”

Once they are old enough, the dogs return to the VetDogs campus for several months, learning how to cope with the specific need of a veteran waiting to be matched with a dog. Finally, veterans arrive at the campus for about 10 days of training with their dogs, learning how to convey their needs to the dogs and how to keep their dogs from becoming distracted. Army Spc Brandon Rethmel, 23, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who spent a year at Walter Reed after a leg amputation, applied for a service dog after meeting George, a VetDogs animal stationed there.

Rethmel was uneasy about talking with psychotherapists about a rocket attack in Afghanistan that destroyed his leg and killed a buddy, Sgt Rodrigo Munguia Rivas, 27, of Maryland. Having George around helped him relax enough to open up. “Especially George, that made it a lot easier,” Rethmel said from his wheelchair. “It wasn’t as stressful.” — MCT

RELATIONSHIPS

Friday, September 17, 2010

Page 29

Women navigate motherhood differently than in the past

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he is taking care of business at home and on the job. She is savvy about caring for herself and her family - even if it sometimes gets overwhelming. She taps the Internet for information and resources to lighten her load, ease her mind and share her burdens. Increasingly, she not only controls the purse strings, she’s putting a bigger share in the purse.

She’s “the New Mom,” according to a recent report

by Waterford, Michigan-based Sphere Trending, compiled for Inforum, a professional women’s alliance in Michigan.

It’s the second in a series of reports commissioned by the alliance to examine the status of women in 2010. “This report confirms the growing power and influence that moms have,” says Terry Barclay, Inforum president and CEO. “It’s starting to reach a point that they’re such a critical mass that employers are going to have to help families balance work and family.

“It used to be moms were the sole carriers of that banner. This gives us a chance to reframe the challenges as challenges of parents, not just women’s issues.” Employers attempting to attract top talent, many of whom are women, must recognize that more workers come with a different mind-set - a mindset that says I don’t want to choose between a career and a family and I’m not going to kill myself to achieve workfamily balance, Barclay says.

According to the report, America is increasingly becoming a more matriarchal society. “As the economy shifts from a manufacturing economy - depending on muscle - to more service and creative industries, the jobs are changing,” says Susan Yashinsky, vice president for marketing for Sphere Trending. “At the same time, more women are becoming much more educated and more of a force in the economy.”

Job growth will be greatest in those fields dominated by women, particularly the service industry, while declining in the manufacturing fields dominated by men, Yashinsky says. The report compiles data from diverse research and trend information, Yashinsky says. For the report, Sphere looked at the status of mothers in categories ranging from Prime Timers (senior citizens) to Zoomers - baby boomers zooming through life - to Generation Now (women usually living in the moment, capturing life on iPhones,

iPads and iTunes). Meet three women who fit the New Mom mold - Andrea Steinkamp, a 33-year-old mother of two sons; Sue Makki, 44, a divorced mother of teenage twins who’s also helping care for an ailing father, and Connie Smith, 30, a mother who’s the primary breadwinner for her family.

Prima ry breadw inner, social netw orker Connie Smith, 30, is the primary breadwinner for her family, which includes her husband, Jeremy Smith, 32, and their daughters, Danica, 3, and Skyler, 9. It’s been that way for about 1 1/2 years, ever since the recession dried up freelance photojournalism assignments for Jeremy Smith. So Connie Smith’s job as a morning news producer at WJBK-TV Fox 2 pays the bills for the couple who were high school sweethearts and married nine years ago.

They considered relocating where job prospects would be better for him. But they had more reasons to stay. She loves her job, their house in Berkley, their neighborhood and the church they attend. And besides attempting to sell their house right now would be financially foolish, she says.

So what did they do instead? Almost a year ago, she started a children’s resale shop in Berkley called Dandelions: A Children’s Consignment Shop. “Because kids grow like weeds,” she explains. Her husband works at the store in the mornings and she joins him after work in the afternoon. “Sometimes the best things happen unplanned,” she says. “We always wanted to be entrepreneurs and own our own business. And with the economy tanking, we knew people would need to budget.

Our store gives people an opportunity to make money and save money.”

Social networking - which she can do at home - helps promote her business. “The first month we were open, a mom who had a good experience at our store put a post on her Facebook page and within two days, 30 moms came in response to that one post.” Connie Smith says based on conversations with many of the women who come into her shop, her situation is not unusual. She also sees women creating opportunities for themselves to make ends meet.

“At the end of the day, we’re just trying to support our families,” she says. “It’s a crazy life,” she says.

“Sometimes I don’t feel I’m giving 100 percent to being a mom. I wish I was home

Connie Smith, 30, of Berkley, Michigan, is the primary breadwinner of her family of four. Posing with her are her daughters Skyler, 9 (left) and Danica Smith 3. — MCT more. But the reality is the job market is open for me right now. And one good thing is we don’t use day care at all.”

Cares for parents, single mom For Sue Makki, 44, of

Dearborn, Mich., caregiving extends from her 15-year-old twins, Sukina and Kamel Bazzi, to her 66-year-old dad, Kassem Makki, who’s staying with her temporarily while he recovers from a fall. Her mom,

1. New Moms are the beneficiaries of decades of equality struggles resulting in higher education, greater job opportunities and more lifestyle choices.

2. New Moms have evolved from the “second-class citizen” of the 1950s to a key decision-maker at home and work.

3. New Moms have been raised on the Internet and rely on a Web community of strangers as well as close personal friendships.

4. Today’s working wife brings home 42 percent of the family income.

Siham, lives nearby but has health challenges of her own.

Women have always cared for children and adult parents.

Lately, there’s another category at home - young adult children who are either

But four of 10 mothers - many of them single women - are the primary breadwinners in their families.

5. The New Mom makes dinner 3.5 nights a week, goes out 1.2 times a week and brings home a prepared meal 1.3 times a week.

6. The caregiving stage of today’s mom extends as young adults live at home for longer periods of time and moms help care for aging parents.

7. A market of “mompreneurs” is blossoming as women find creative ways to add to their household income.

An industry growing to address their

staying at home while going to college or moving back home after college - both to save money, says “The New Mom” report.

“I couldn’t do it without the support of my family,” says Makki, a single mom, of her balancing act.

Makki works full-time as an AmeriCorps program manager for ACCESS - the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services - based in Dearborn. Although divorced from her children’s father, Tony Bazo, nine years ago, he remains an active and integral part of their lives.

“Having a close relationship with my ex has proven to be a plus. My kids didn’t even realize that we were divorced until a few years after the fact,” she says. “To all the women out there, be friends with your ex! It is very beneficial to your children.”

Makki’s father and mother live nearby and helped her as much as she is helping them now. “Having my parents nearby since I divorced has been my savior throughout the years,” Makki says. “If it wasn’t for that, I don’t know how I would have survived working a job that requires travel and long hours. “My parents assisted me in child care in the event that they were sick and could not go to school,” she says. “My mom helped with the cooking, and my dad was their personal driver to and from school as well as all sports events.”

Next to family, there’s one other critical weapon in her arsenal to be a good worker and mom: her laptop. “I use my computer to live life,” Makki says. She conducts training sessions with webinars, talks to staff members across the country via e-mail and Facebook and bargain hunts for deals online. “I just had a pair of $100 slippers shipped to my house - total cost $8.48,” she boasts. — MCT

needs includes blogs, Web sites, books, magazines and support groups.

8. The New Mom is smart about shopping for best deals online and consulting her peers about ways to stretch a dollar.

9. The New Mom educates herself to make smart decisions about the health and safety of herself and her family.

10. The impact of the New Mom’s influence is evident in products ranging from automobiles and office furniture to the growth in ready-made meals.

FOOD

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Friday, September 17, 2010

Everyday cooking

By Sawsan Kazak

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ith its shiny pu eggplant is a rple exterior and spongy w tr taste is uniq endy and classy lookin hite core, the g vegetable. ue as it has skin, bitterne Its touches of sw ss in the seed eetness in th s smoky flavo e r. Grilled, frie and an allover depth and d in enough pers onality to be or baked, this delicious ve tensity of th ge recipes that capitalize on e star of the dish. Try th table has the distinctiv e following e flavors of eg gplants.

What do you think? sawsank@ku waittimes.net

How to pick and store your eggplants

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ggplants are delicious in lasagna or a parmigiana.

Picking an eggplant correctly is important to the success of any eggplant recipe. An eggplant that is picked too late may taste bitter and have too many seeds. If you pick an eggplant too early, it will be too hard. As long as you know what to look for before you head to the grocery store, you will be able to pick the perfect eggplant.

Use your senses

Step 1 Examine the size of the eggplant. A large eggplant is not the best choice. It was probably picked too late which means it will have a large amount of hard seeds and will be bitter in taste. A small eggplant was probably picked too early. Look for eggplants that are medium in size compared to all of the others.

Step 2 Examine the skin of the eggplant. If you notice any soft spots or spots that are

brown in color, avoid them.

These are signs that the eggplant is going bad.

Step 3 Check the firmness of the eggplant. To do this you need to press your thumb on the skin of the eggplant. You want the skin to bounce back after you press your thumb on it. If it doesn’t, it is old or picked too late. If your press your thumb on the eggplant and the skin doesn’t move at all, it was picked too early.

Step 4 Lift the eggplant up and see how heavy it is. An eggplant should feel heavier than it looks. If it doesn’t feel heavy enough, tap on it with your fingers. If it sounds hollow it is no good.

Don’t buy it.

Tips Use your eggplant within two days of purchasing it to get the best flavor out of it.

Eggplants go bad quickly.

FOOD

Friday, September 17, 2010

Page 31

1 eggplant, cut into 3/4 inch slices 1 1/2 tablespoons salt 8 tablespoons olive oil 8 ounces ricotta cheese 6 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

P 1 eggplant 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup tahini 2 tablespoons sesame seeds 2 cloves garlic, minced salt and pepper to taste 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

reheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet. Place eggplant on baking sheet, and make holes in the skin with a fork. Roast it for 30 to 40 minutes, turning occasionally, or until soft. Remove from oven, and place into a large bowl of cold water. Remove from water, and peel skin off. Place eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, and garlic in an electric blender, and puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer eggplant mixture to a medium size mixing bowl, and slowly mix in olive oil. Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.

S

prinkle both sides of the eggplant slices with salt. Place slices in a colander, and place a dish underneath the colander to capture liquid that will sweat out of the eggplant. Allow to sit for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Mix in egg and basil. Rinse the eggplant in cold water until all salt is removed. In a large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Place one layer of eggplant in the pan, brown each

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 egg, beaten 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil 4 cups pasta sauce

side. Repeat with remaining eggplant slices, using additional oil if necessary. In a 9x13 inch baking dish, evenly spread 1 1/2 cups of spaghetti sauce. Arrange a single layer of eggplant slices on top of the sauce. Top the eggplant with 1/2 of the cheese mixture.

Repeat layering process until all the eggplant and cheese mixture is used. Pour remaining sauce on top of layers, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake 30 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until sauce is bubbly.

Ratatouille

8 thin 3-ounce eggplants Vegetable oil, for frying 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 2 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons Olive Oil 3 cloves Garlic, minced 2 teaspoons Dried Parsley 1 Eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes Salt, to taste 1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese 2 Zucchini, sliced 1 large Onion, sliced into rings 2 cups sliced Fresh Mushrooms 1 green Bell Pepper, sliced 2 large Tomatoes, chopped

P

reheat oven to 350 F. Grease casserole dish with 1 tbs. olive oil. Add remaining olive oil to medium skillet. Heat over medium heat. Saute garlic until tender. Stir in eggplant cubes and parsley. Saute 10 minutes. Season eggplant with salt. Spoon eggplant into casserole. Spread to create even layer. Sprinkle eggplant with parmesan cheese. Arrange zucchini slices in even layer over eggplant. Sprinkle zucchini layer with parmesan cheese. Repeat layering with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes. Sprinkle remaining parmesan on top. Bake 45 minutes.

P

reheat the oven to 325ยบ.

Set a large wire rack over a large rimmed baking sheet. With a paring knife, starting just below the stem, cut each eggplant lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices attached at the stem. Press down on the eggplants to fan the slices out.

In a large, deep skillet, heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil to 350ยบ, or until shimmering. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the egg yolks and half of the ice water until almost smooth, then whisk in the

1 1/3 cups ice water Salt Lemon wedges, for serving

remaining ice water. Working in 3 batches, dip the eggplants in the batter and add them to the skillet. Fry the eggplants over high heat until nicely browned, about 3 minutes.

Turn the eggplants and cook until browned on the second side, about 3 minutes longer.

Reduce the heat if the eggplants brown too quickly.

Transfer the eggplant tempura to the rack and season with salt; keep warm in the oven while you fry the rest. Serve at once with lemon wedges.

THEY ARE THE 99!

99 Mystical Noor Stones carry all that is left of the wisdom and knowledge of the lost civilization of Baghdad. But the Noor Stones lie scattered across the globe now little more than a legend. One man has made it his life’s mission to seek out what was lost. His name is Dr. Ramzi Razem and he has searched fruitlessly for the Noor Stones all his life. Now, his luck is about to change - the first of the stones have been rediscovered and with them a special type of human who can unlock the gem’s mystical power. Ramzi brings these gem - bearers together to form a new force for good in the world. A force known as ... the 99!

THE STORY SO FAR : When a herd of small Mongolian horses escapes from a farm, Noora, who loves horses, wants to help. But instead, Dr. Ramzi asks her to supervise the rescue team...

The 99 ® and all related characters ® and © 2010, Teshkeel Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

www.the99.org

TRAVEL

High-tech History Center will broaden mansion’s appeal

Page 34

Friday, September 17, 2010

Re-enactors add to the experience at Tryon Palace in New Bern, North Carolina. — MCT

N

ew Bern’s Tryon PalaceNorth Carolina’s equivalent to Colonial Williamsburg-is no stranger to radical re-dos. And in late October, you’ll be able to see what a $60 million high-tech augmentation can accomplish. The game-changer is a 6,600-squarefoot center that will provide depth and context for all visitors, educational diversions for their kids, and make Tryon Palace-the re-creation of the mansion and grounds built by one of the last royal governors of North Carolinaa more competitive travel destination.

The original was built in the late 1760s by royal Gov. William Tryon, a pushy guy who collided frequently with ornery colonists.

The regal, London-style brick home he commissioned was intended to reflect the crown’s power. Tryon was promoted to New York governor in 1771; quarrels with his superiors during the Revolution resulted in his getting the boot.

Josiah Martin, Tryon’s successor in North Carolina, fled from colonials, who made the mansion the state capitol-George Washington danced there-until Raleigh came along in 1794.

Tryon’s palace burned to the ground four years later. Over time, a highway and about 50 residences blanketed the original grounds.

In the late 1940s, the state decided to excavate the grounds, with an eye toward rebuilding the place. The foundations were unearthed, several acres of houses were removed, and, in a stroke of luck, the original blueprints were found in London. Public and private money was raised, craftsmen were hired and the hard-to-believe-it’snot-colonial Tryon Palace opened to the public in 1959, the same month the Corvette Stingray debuted.

A time trip? You bet. But “house museums” of all stripe aren’t doing well these days.

Preservation often translates as “nothing new.” Repeat visitors need changing exhibits andincreasingly-interactive bells and whistles. Hence Tryon Palace’s new NC History Education Center, on six acres just around the corner at Front and Metcalf streets. It holds a museum, orientation theater, a performance hall, galleries, a kid-friendly compound, cafe, and an outdoor plaza with a view of the restored wetlands and the river beyond.

It’s a high-tech wraparound for visiting the Palace. As of late October, you’ll first go to the History Center, 529 S. Front St. (at Metcalf). Buy your tickets in the lobby; check for word of special programs scheduled for the day.

See the brand-new orientation movie and walk through the Gateway Gallery, where a timeline

and exhibits further attune you to the 1770s.

You can rent a History Navigator ($5), a hand-held text/sound gadget that can be set to reflect history from certain perspectives-a leader, a slave, a woman, etc.

As you tour the Palace buildings and gardens, the device can be activated to add historical detail that merges with the viewpoint you’ve selected. (You can also hear period music and poetry through it.) Then you go around the corner and visit the Palace, the outbuildings and gardens; chat with re-enactors, and so on.

When you’re done, return to the History Center to see the aftertour flourishes that add context to the development of New Bern as well as palace complex. The center’s Regional History Museum covers the early days of NC ‘s central coast, the natives who were first lived there and the Europeans

Tryon Palace is one of the major attractions in New Bern, North Carolina. The town is celebrating its 300th anniversary.

and Africans who displaced them.

The computer-enhanced presentation ties history to specific and real people who’ve been researched. There are graphic panels and more. One neat touch is a flat-screen TV mounted high on a wall that shows images of actual signs used by silversmiths, blacksmiths and others.

The TV is positioned so you view the tradesmen’s signs as though they were mounted on an actual street.

The highly-interactive Pepsi Family Center is meant for kids.

Pass through the fancy “time machine” and you’re transported to 1835. You’ve been given a colorcoded computer scan card, so get to work performing tasks in areas set up like a ship (loading it; electronically sailing it), a home (cooking a virtual meal, etc), a forest (making turpentine) and a store (tasks include working at a print shop). Computer points are

scored with each task accomplished. At the end, your results can be sent, via Internet, to your home or school.

Besides being highly interactive, The Pepsi Family Center is focused on teambuilding: Completing the tasks require working with others in your group. No group? Then you team with other visitors. The Minnette Chapman Duffy Gallery holds changing exhibits related to the area. First up is the “Bern / New Bern” exhibit spotlighting the town’s Swiss origins. The display debuted in December in Switzerland. (The gallery will open during the 300th Jubilee, then close again until the center’s formal opening in late October.)

Also inside: a state-of-the-art 202 seat performance hall, and a cafe.

Outside: a plaza that overlooks a restored marsh, with the Trent River beyond. — MCT

The colonial gardens are a large part of the attraction of Tryon Palace in New Bern. — MCT

TRAVEL

Friday, September 17, 2010

Paris for beginners

Page 35

Few tips for those preparing to make their maiden voyage

G

rumpy, glorious Paris-where does a first-timer start? Well, I’m here to tell you that they mold a nice cornice, these people, and perform near-miracles with duck fat. Every block has an open-air cafe, chairs facing the street where young women in cotton dresses ride by on bikes, like beautiful little parachutes.

If you enjoy such things, you’ll probably love Paris.

The museums? Worth a look. But honestly, I couldn’t get out of the Louvre fast enough. It was so packed that the only way to get to the Venus de Milo was to crowd surf across the heads and Nikons of a thousand tourists. Often, I enjoy such things, but not without air conditioning. The Louvre on a crowded summer day had, for me, all the appeal of Disneyland during a power outage.

But the Musee d’Orsay, where the Impressionists live? Could’ve spent a month amid the Renoirs, in the refurbished train station that is a masterpiece in itself. That was Paris for me on my first visit. For every disappointment, there were a dozen pleasures. Best of all, everything you love about a major city is within walking distance. Then there’s the language itself, which rolls off their linen tongues like a torch song. No, I don’t know what you’re saying. Just talk. Mind if I dance?

Paris won me over in a heartbeat.

True, it is lousy with scooters and hence relentlessly loud. It is hopelessly congested and nonsensical in its layout. Its inhabitants are mostly melancholics (the condition of chronic melancholy). To me, the French are like the weird kids in college. They hold their cigarettes like jewelry, cupping them in their hands so as not to set themselves-or you-on fire.

Mostly, they succeed. They are also, despite some reports, gracious and helpful hosts, quick to answer questions or pour you aboard the proper bus. All in all, I’d save these folks from the Germans anytime.

So, on my maiden voyage to Paris, I found an enchanting place that was never, for half a second, dull. Here are my tips for those who have never been: Like most Americans, I flew here, 12 hours in steerage, two meals on Air France.

De Gaulle was a breeze, and when I couldn’t find the prearranged shuttle to the hotel, a driver from a rival service used his cellphone to summon my driver. Merci.

In no time, I was sitting at a corner cafe somewhere on the Left Bank, “the center of thought”though one of the locals assured me that that was very long ago. It seems impossible to exaggerate the importance of the little sidewalk cafe to Paris. They are to this French city what beaches are to LA. And every day, Paris has a parade-the tourists, supermodels, pickpockets and artists who make up this low-slung city.

The cafes are like the parade stand.

Sit down, ask the waiter to bring you un cafe, and swallow it all up to your heart’s content.

If you ever leave your little

sidewalk spot, getting around Paris will prove pretty easy. When you’re heading downhill, you’re headed toward the river, the surprisingly skinny Seine that splits the town in two. The rest is confusing but so scenic you don’t care. Note that there is no true north in Paris. As with moral relativism, there are only variations.

In any case, a good bet is the carnet, a packet of 10 tickets ($15) good for subway or bus, and available at any Metro station. The ubiquitous subway system is manageable after about a day, though I found the buses the most direct way to the major sights. I started my Paris tour with the Louvre, but if I had it to do all over again, I’d begin at Notre Dame, early (before 10 am), when the lines are shortest.

The jaw-dropping cathedral is on the Ile de la Cite, the first of two little islands on the river. When you’re done touring the cathedral (free) or climbing to the bell tower like Quasimodo ($10), wander around back to the small bridge that leads to Ile Saint-Louis, the second island.

Here, you’ll find an elegant old street, Rue St -Louis-en-l’Ile, as narrow as your living room. This is the Paris you’ve always imaginedquaint restaurants, pastry shops and perhaps the best ice cream ever, at

In the summer the crowds at the Eiffel Tower make for long lines so a wise traveler may consider a night visit. — MCT heart of the city. You can walk here from almost anywhere, and the golden domed church in which Napoleon is housed is one of the most visible and alluring landmarks.

Parts of the Left Bank where I stayed were pretty buzzy-loud and

‘To me, the French are like the weird kids in college. They hold their cigarettes like jewelry, cupping them in their hands so as not to set themselves-or you-on fire’ the famed Berthillon (pronounced bear-tee-yone). I had a fine lunch at Les Fous de Ile, a cheery little bistro. For 20 bucks, I had a mussels remoulade appetizer and grilled lamb chops on a bed of potatoes. At 2:30 in the afternoon, the place was still throbbing. In France, happy hour apparently lasts from noon till about midnight.

From here, you might catch the bus to my beloved Musee d’Orsay.

As you’re aware, the French have lost a lot of wars over the years yet somehow managed to end up with most of the world’s great artwork.

Here, I learned that the Symbolists expressed a fragile world, an inner reality. I also learned that I am particularly drawn to snowy pastorals and paintings of naked ladies combing their hair.

I have an appointment with Napoleon. These days, Napoleon rests inside a series of coffins, one within the other. Honestly, I’m not sure whether it’s to protect the remains from thieves or to give him additional stature. In any case, it is a stirring burial site and comes as part of the $11 admission to the Musee de l’Armee, a sprawling, occasionally repetitive military museum in the

gridlocked-but on the other side of the river, near the Opera Garnier, I found the center of the Parisian universe. The area pulses with boutiques and cafes. There are many high-end shops, but bargains abound too. Watch your step, though. Only by the grace of God is there not a traffic death here every minute. I

don’t know where I heard about Harry’s New York Bar (5 Rue Daunou), a few blocks off the Avenue de l’Opera, a comforting old Hemingway hangout with just the right blend of stale beer and over varnished mahogany. But I needed a place to dampen my lips on a hot July day.

After a refreshment here, the French bartender and one of the locals had a grand time directing me to the Metro line that would take me to the Moulin Rouge, the famed redlight district, where I hoped to sample some drink.

The No 3 train to Villiers, then the No 2 train toward Nation, exiting at Blanche. ... Despite their help, I eventually found it, after being hustled by a hooker in front of Starbucks, of all places, across from the Moulin Rouge itself. How French.

How else did I waste my time?

Hey, remember what Bertrand Russell once said: “The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

So I sampled a rhubarb tart at a little

Napoleon’s Coffin is actually six coffins within each other, like Russian nesting dolls. — MCT

deli named Paul on Rue des Pyramides. I tried the cookies at one of the irresistible La Cure Gourmande candy shops.

If you go: Telephones: To call the numbers below from the US, dial 001 (the international dialing code), 33 (the country code for France) and the local number.

Where to stay: Victoria Palace Hotel, 6 Rue Blaise Desgoffe, Paris; 1-45497000, www.victoriapalace.com.

Spacious and elegant rooms on the Left Bank and friendly, English-speaking staff. James Joyce a former resident. Doubles from about $400.

Renaissance Paris Vendome, 4 Rue du Mont Thabor, Paris; 14020-2000, www.marriott.com/hotels.

Stylishly modern boutique hotel in downtown Paris, with excellent location near major attractions and shopping. Doubles from $400.

Hotel Langlois, 63 Rue SaintLazare, Paris; 1-4874-7824, www.hotel-langlois.com.

Beautifully furnished former bank in culturally rich Right Bank location. Doubles from $185.

Where to eat: La Petite Tour, 11 Rue De al Tour; 1-4520-0931, www.lapetitetour.fr. Highly recommended neighborhood eatery. Try the crabmeat appetizer. Locals love the scallops entree. Dinner from about $30.

Les Fous de l’Ile, 33 Rue des Deux-Ponts; 1-4325-7667.

Bustling little bistro with friendly, hardworking wait staff and delicious food at a fair price. Twocourse lunch about $20. —MCT

BOOKs

Page 36

Friday, september 17, 2010

Grab one of these titles and kill some time!

Where Are You Now?

The Heretic’s Daughter

By Kathleen Kent

By Mary Higgins Clark

T

t has been ten years since twenty-one-year-old Charles MacKenzie Jr. (“Mack”) went missing. A Columbia University senior, about to graduate and already accepted at Duke University Law School, he walked out of his apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side without a word to his college roommates and has never been seen again. However, he does make one ritual phone call to his mother every year: on Mother’s Day. Each time, he assures her he is fine, refuses to answer her frantic questions, then hangs up. Even the death of his father, a corporate lawyer, in the tragedy of 9/11 does not bring him home or break the pattern of his calls.

Mack’s sister, Carolyn, is now twenty-six, a law school graduate, and has just finished her clerkship for a civil court judge in Manhattan. She has endured two family tragedies, yet she realizes that she will never be able to have closure and get on with her life until she finds her brother.

She resolves to discover what happened to Mack and why he has found it necessary to hide from them.

So this year when Mack makes his annual Mother’s Day call, Carolyn interrupts to announce her intention to track him down, no matter what it takes. The next morning after Mass, her uncle, Monsignor Devon MacKenzie, receives a scrawled message left in the collection basket: “Uncle Devon, tell Carolyn she must not look for me.”

Mack’s cryptic warning does nothing to deter his sister from taking up the search, despite the angry reaction of her mother, Olivia, and the polite disapprovalof Elliott Wallace, Carolyn’s honorary uncle, who is clearly in love with Olivia.

I

he panic and horror of the Salem witch trials in Kent’s novel is conveyed with dead-eyed calm and an occasional tremor of emotion by Mare Winningham, whose tempered, dispassionate voice is not given to great displays of drama. Her melodiousness is pleasing to the ear, and Kent’s novel becomes a sort of long-form song possessed of many verses and no chorus. At times, the melody overwhelms the meaning, but Winningham is more than capable as a reader, and her reading of Kent’s sad tale of women accused and accusing emits a hint of deeply buried, untouchable tragedy.

Don’t Tell a Soul

By David Rosenfelt

T

im Wallace’s wife was killed in a boating accident several months ago-and one New Jersey cop is sure he did it. He didn’t. But even if the police eventually clear his name, he’ll never get over this terrible tragedy...

It’s New Year’s Eve. Tim’s buddies convince him to go out for the first time since his wife’s death. They’re at a local pub when, just before midnight, a drunken stranger approaches Tim-and asks him a compelling question. Soon the man confesses to a months-old murder-even offering as proof the location of the woman’s body. “Now it’s your problem,” he says to Tim before walking away. When the man turns out to have been telling the truth, Tim’s life goes from bad to worse as he is put under the microscope again by the copsand this time they’re not giving up. But neither is Tim: He is the only one who can figure out what’s really going on-and who murdered his wife...

Bone by Bone

By Carol O’Connell

T

wenty years after the disappearance of his younger brother, Josh, Oren Hobbs quits his career as an Army CID investigator and comes home because he believes his father is dying.

Instead, he finds that someone has been leaving human bones on the porch of his father’s house and that his father is ready to bury both Josh and the past without further investigation. When the local sheriff is both obtuse and obstructive about the case, Oren reluctantly gets drawn into investigating what happened all those years ago. In the

process, he stirs up memories for several troubled townspeople of this seemingly idyllic enclave. Oren must also face his own past and present crimes. Intriguing, complex characters and long-buried secrets help build suspense and a sense of dread in this new standalone by the author of the gripping Mallory series (Find Me ).

A l t h o u g h O’Connell explores new characters and crimes here, her focus remains tight on the damage that humans can do to each other.

Remember Me?

By Sophie Kinsella

W

hen twenty-eight-year-old Lexi Smart wakes up in a London hospital, she’s in for a big surprise.

Her teeth are perfect. Her body is toned.

Her handbag is Vuitton. Having survived a car accident-in a Mercedes no less-Lexi has lost a big chunk of her memory, three years to be exact, and she’s about to find out just how much things have changed. Somehow Lexi went from a twenty-five-year-old working girl to a corporate big shot with a sleek new loft, a personal assistant, a carbfree diet, and a set of glamorous new friends.

And who is this gorgeous husband-who also happens to be a multimillionaire? With her mind still stuck three years in reverse, Lexi greets this brave new world determined to be the person she...well, seems to be. That is, until an adorably disheveled architect drops the biggest bombshell of all. Suddenly Lexi is scrambling to catch her balance. Her new life, it turns out, comes complete with secrets, schemes, and intrigue. How on earth did all this happen? Will she ever remember? And what will happen when she does?

BOOKs

Friday, september 17, 2010

Page 37

A Big Little Life

The Almost Moon

By Dean Koontz

A

uthor Dean Koontz always loved dogs (astute readers know that he populates his thrillers with them), but he didn’t fully realize the genius of the species until Trixie came into his life. In ways, this 68-pound golden retriever seemed to manifest Buddha-like virtues: a refreshing lack of vanity and an uncanny knack for living in the here-and-now. Though nominally retired as a Canine Companion service dog, good-natured Trixie continued to perform spontaneous good deeds. For Koontz, her gentle nuzzles were transformative, gradually modulating his workaholic ways down to a healthy balance.

The soulful book about a short-lived canine companion might surprise those who have only secondhand acquaintance with Koontz’s fiction, but nobody with a heart will leave it disappointed.

Waiter Rant

By Steve Dublanica

I

n this book, the pseudonymous Steve Dublanica (a.k.a. Dan John Miller) achieves for waiters what Anthony Bourdain did for cooks in Kitchen Confidential.

By the evidence of Waiter Rant, not even his seminary classes or job as a psychiatric worker could prepare Dublanica adequately for what he would experience pulling shifts at an upscale restaurant outside New York City. He tells story after entertaining story about customers, co-workers, and bosses who range individually from the imperious to the clinically insane. Along the way, the author-waiter delivers sound advice on proper tip etiquette and the art of getting good service.

T

he journalist who famously lived as a man commits herselfliterally Norah Vincent’s New York Times bestselling book, Self-Made Man, ended on a harrowing note. Suffering from severe depression after her eighteen months living disguised as a man, Vincent felt she was a danger to herself. On the advice of her psychologist she committed herself to a mental institution.

Out of this raw and overwhelming experience came the idea for her next book.

She decided to get healthy and to study the effect of treatment on the depressed and

insane “in the bin,” as she calls it. Vincent’s journey takes her from a big city hospital to a facility in the Midwest and finally to an upscale retreat down south, as she analyzes the impact of institutionalization on the unwell, the tyranny of drugs-as-treatment, and the dysfunctional dynamic between caregivers and patients. Vincent applies brilliant insight as she exposes her personal struggle with depression and explores the range of people, caregivers, and methodologies that guide these strange, often scary, and bizarre environments.

Eye opening, emotionally wrenching, and at times very funny, Voluntary Madness is a riveting work that exposes the state of mental healthcare in America from the inside out.

“W

hen all is said and done, killing my mother came

easily.”

So begins The Almost Moon, Alice Sebold’s astonishing, brilliant, and daring new novel. A woman steps over the line into the unthinkable in this unforgettable work by the author of The Lovely Bones and Lucky.

For years Helen Knightly has given her life to others: to her haunted mother, to her enigmatic father, to her husband and now

grown children. When she finally crosses a terrible boundary, her life comes rushing in at her in a way she never could have imagined.

Unfolding over the next twenty-four hours, this searing, fast-paced novel explores the complex ties between mothers and daughters, wives and lovers; the meaning of devotion; and the line between love and hate. It is a challenging, moving, gripping story, written with the fluidity and strength of voice that only Alice Sebold can bring to the page.

The Book of Lies

Voluntary Madness

By Norah Vincent

By Alice Sebold

By Brad Meltzer

C

ain kills Abel in Chapter Four of the Bible. It is the world’s most famous murder. But the Bible is silent about one key detail: the weapon Cain used to kill his brother. That weapon is still lost to history.

In 1932, Mitchell Siegel was killed by three gunshots to his chest.

While mourning, his son dreamed of a bulletproof man and created the world’s greatest hero: Superman. And like Cain’s murder weapon, the gun used in this unsolved murder has never been found.

Until now. Today in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Cal Harper comes face-to-face

with his family’s greatest secret: his long-lost father, who’s been shot with a gun that traces back to Michell Siegel’s 1932 murder. But before Cal can ask a single question, he and his father are attacked by a ruthless killer tattooed with the ancient markings of Cain. And so begins the chase for the world’s first murder weapon.

What does Cain, history’s greatest villain, have to do with Superman, the world’s greatest hero? And what do two murders, committed thousands of years apart, have in common?

This is the mystery at the heart of Brad Meltzer’s riveting and utterly intriguing new thriller.

CHILDREN

Page 38

SOLUTION

Sudoku

Friday, September 17, 2010

Friday, September 17, 2010

The Magic Pen I

’m sitting in my backyard on a sunny early spring afternoon. My blue spiral notebook is on my lap and a magic pen is in my hand. The pen doesn’t look that special if you see it in my bag or on my desk, just a black gelstick pen with a cap. The magic begins when I touch it to paper.

Two fussy blue jays chase each other overhead. “Are they mad at each other or just playing?” My pen writes the question before I have time to think of it.

A squirrel buries a pecan in the next door neighbor’s yard, his bushy tail twitching as he digs. “How will he remember where he hid it?” my pen asks. I really don’t know.

There are tiny yellow flowers tucked throughout the greening grass. “Why do we call them weeds?” the pen questions.

Oh, and there are six fluffy dandelion seed balls lined up against the side of my house. “You can make a wish, you know.

What will you wish for?” my pen asks. I stop writing for a moment to think of all the possibilities.

A yellow and black butterfly the size of my hand flits by.

My pen records its brief appearance. A gentle breeze stirs the air around me and my pen takes note. I hear children playing down the street, and my pen scribbles the sounds across the page.

The sun goes behind a cloud, then peeks out again but I’m not looking at the sky. I know this because of the shadow of my pen that follows the in and out dance with the sun.

What good is all this magic from a pen on such a pleasant day, I think. I really don’t know.

But my pen keeps writing. Taking word pictures of the world around me and the thoughts running through my head to be read to some child I don’t even know before he or she goes to bed.

“They will be able to see the pictures and hear your thoughts,” the pen explains.

Oh. Now that’s magic. www.bedtime.com

CHILDREN

Page 39

ANALYSIS

Page 40

Friday, September 17, 2010

Threat of an EMP attack

By Scott Stewart and Nate Hughes

O

ver the past decade there has been an ongoing debate over the threat posed by electromagnetic pulse (EMP) to modern civilization. This debate has been the most heated perhaps in the United States, where the commission appointed by Congress to assess the threat to the United States warned of the dangers posed by EMP in reports released in 2004 and 2008. The commission also called for a national commitment to address the EMP threat by hardening the national infrastructure.

There is little doubt that efforts by the United States to harden infrastructure against EMP - and its ability to manage critical infrastructure manually in the event of an EMP attack - have been eroded in recent decades as the Cold War ended and the threat of nuclear conflict with Russia lessened. This is also true of the US military, which has spent little time contemplating such scenarios in the years since the fall of the Soviet Union. The cost of remedying the situation, especially retrofitting older systems rather than simply regulating that new systems be better hardened, is immense. And as with any issue involving massive amounts of money, the debate over guarding against EMP has become quite politicized in recent years.

We have long avoided writing on this topic for precisely that reason. However, as the debate over the EMP threat has continued, a great deal of discussion about the threat has appeared in the media.

Many Stratfor readers have asked for our take on the threat, and we thought it might be helpful to dispassionately discuss the tactical elements involved in such an attack and the various actors that could conduct one. The following is our assessment of the likelihood of an EMP attack against the United States.

Defining Electromagnetic Pulse EMP can be generated from natural sources such as lightning or solar storms interacting with the earth’s atmosphere, ionosphere and magnetic field. It can also be artificially created using a nuclear weapon or a variety of non-nuclear devices. It has long been proven that EMP can disable electronics. Its ability to do so has been demonstrated by solar storms, lightning strikes and atmospheric nuclear explosions before the ban on such tests.

The effect has also been recreated by EMP simulators designed to reproduce the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear device and study how the phenomenon impacts various kinds of electrical and electronic devices such as power grids, telecommunications and computer systems, both civilian and military.

The effects of an EMP - both tactical and strategic - have the potential to be quite significant, but they are also quite uncertain. Such widespread effects can be created during a high-altitude nuclear detonation (generally above 30 km). This widespread EMP effect is referred to as high-altitude EMP or HEMP. Test data from actual high-altitude nuclear explosions is extremely limited. Only the United States and the Soviet Union conducted atmospheric nuclear tests above 20 km and, combined, they carried out fewer than 20 actual tests.

As late as 1962 - a year before the Partial Test Ban Treaty went into effect, prohibiting its signatories from conducting aboveground test detonations and ending atmospheric tests - scientists were surprised by the HEMP effect. During a July 1962 atmospheric nuclear test called “Starfish Prime”, which took place 400 km above Johnston Island in the Pacific,

electrical and electronic systems were damaged in Hawaii, some 1,400 km away.

The Starfish Prime test was not designed to study HEMP, and the effect on Hawaii, which was so far from ground zero, startled US scientists.

High-altitude nuclear testing effectively ended before the parameters and effects of HEMP were well understood. The limited body of knowledge that was gained from these tests remains a highly classified matter in both the United States and Russia.

Consequently, it is difficult to speak intelligently about EMP or publicly debate the precise nature of its effects in the open-source arena.

The importance of the EMP threat should not be understated. There is no doubt that the impact of a HEMP attack would be significant. But any actor plotting such an attack would be dealing with immense uncertainties - not only about the ideal altitude at which to detonate the device based on its design and yield in order to maximize its effect but also about the nature of those effects and just how devastating they could be.

Non-nuclear devices that create an EMP-like effect, such as high-power microwave (HPM) devices, have been developed by several countries, including the United States. The most capable of these devices are thought to have significant tactical utility and more powerful variants may be able to achieve effects more than a kilometer away. But at the present time, such weapons do not appear to be able to create an EMP effect large enough to affect a city, much less an entire country. Because of this, we will confine our discussion of the EMP threat to HEMP caused by a nuclear detonation, which also happens to be the most prevalent scenario appearing in the media.

Attack Scenarios In order to have the best chance of causing the type of immediate and certain EMP damage to the United States on a continent-wide scale, as discussed in many media reports, a nuclear weapon (probably in the megaton range) would need to be detonated well above 30 km somewhere over the American Midwest.

Modern commercial aircraft cruise at a third of this altitude. Only the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China possess both the mature warhead design and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capability to conduct such an attack from their own

territory, and these same countries have possessed that capability for decades.

(Shorter range missiles can achieve this altitude, but the center of the United States is still 1,000 km from the Eastern Seaboard and more than 3,000 km from the Western Seaboard - so just any old Scud missile won’t do.)

The HEMP threat is nothing new. It has existed since the early 1960s, when nuclear weapons were first mated with ballistic missiles, and grew to be an important component of nuclear strategy.

Despite the necessarily limited understanding of its effects, both the United States and Soviet Union almost certainly included the use of weapons to create HEMPs in both defensive and especially offensive scenarios, and both post-Soviet Russia and China are still thought to include HEMP in some attack scenarios against the United States.

However, there are significant deterrents to the use of nuclear weapons in a HEMP attack against the United States, and nuclear weapons have not been used in an attack anywhere since 1945. Despite some theorizing that a HEMP attack might be somehow less destructive and therefore less likely to provoke a devastating retaliatory response, such an attack against the United States would inherently and necessarily represent a nuclear attack on the US homeland and the idea that the United States would not respond in kind is absurd. The United States continues to maintain the most credible and survivable nuclear deterrent in the world, and any actor contemplating a HEMP attack would have to assume not that they might experience some limited reprisal but that the US reprisal would be full, swift and devastating.

Countries that build nuclear weapons do so at great expense. This is not a minor point. Even today, a successful nuclear weapons program is the product of years if not a decade or more - and the focused investment of a broad spectrum of national resources. Nuclear weapons also are developed as a deterrent to attack, not with the intention of immediately using them offensively. Once a design has achieved an initial capability, the focus shifts to establishing a survivable deterrent that can withstand first a conventional and then a nuclear first strike so that the nuclear arsenal can serve its primary purpose as a deterrent to attack.

The coherency, skill and focus this

requires are difficult to overstate and come at immense cost - including opportunity cost - to the developing country. The idea that Washington will interpret the use of a nuclear weapon to create a HEMP as somehow less hostile than the use of a nuclear weapon to physically destroy an American city is not something a country is likely to gamble on. In other words, for the countries capable of carrying out a HEMP attack, the principles of nuclear deterrence and the threat of a full-scale retaliatory strike continue to hold and govern, just as they did during the most tension-filled days of the Cold War. Rogue Actors One scenario that has been widely put forth is that the EMP threat emanates not from a global or regional power like Russia or China but from a rogue state or a transnational terrorist group that does not possess ICBMs but will use subterfuge to accomplish its mission without leaving any fingerprints. In this scenario, the rogue state or terrorist group loads a nuclear warhead and missile launcher aboard a cargo ship or tanker and then launches the missile from just off the coast in order to get the warhead into position over the target for a HEMP strike. This scenario would involve either a short-range ballistic missile to achieve a localized metropolitan strike or a longer-range (but not intercontinental) ballistic missile to reach the necessary position over the Eastern or Western seaboard or the Midwest to achieve a key coastline or continental strike.

When we consider this scenario, we must first acknowledge that it faces the same obstacles as any other nuclear weapon employed in a terrorist attack. It is unlikely that a terrorist group like AlQaeda or Hezbollah can develop its own nuclear weapons program. It is also highly unlikely that a nation that has devoted significant effort and treasure to develop a nuclear weapon would entrust such a weapon to an outside organization. Any use of a nuclear weapon would be vigorously investigated and the nation that produced the weapon would be identified and would pay a heavy price for such an attack (there has been a large investment in the last decade in nuclear forensics).

Lastly, as noted above, a nuclear weapon is seen as a deterrent by countries such as North Korea or Iran, which seek such weapons to protect themselves from invasion, not to use them

offensively. While a group like Al-Qaeda would likely use a nuclear device if it could obtain one, we doubt that other groups such as Hezbollah would.

Hezbollah has a known base of operations in Lebanon that could be hit in a counterstrike and would therefore be less willing to risk an attack that could be traced back to it.

Also, such a scenario would require not a crude nuclear device but a sophisticated nuclear warhead capable of being mated with a ballistic missile. There are considerable technical barriers that separate a crude nuclear device from a sophisticated nuclear warhead. The engineering expertise required to construct such a warhead is far greater than that required to construct a crude device. A warhead must be far more compact than a primitive device. It must also have a trigger mechanism and electronics and physics packages capable of withstanding the force of an ICBM launch, the journey into the cold vacuum of space and the heat and force of reentering the atmosphere - and still function as designed.

Designing a functional warhead takes considerable advances in several fields of science, including physics, electronics, engineering, metallurgy and explosives technology, and overseeing it all must be a high-end quality assurance capability.

Because of this, it is our estimation that it would be far simpler for a terrorist group looking to conduct a nuclear attack to do so using a crude device than it would be using a sophisticated warhead - although we assess the risk of any non-state actor obtaining a nuclear capability of any kind, crude or sophisticated, as extraordinarily unlikely.

But even if a terrorist organization were somehow able to obtain a functional warhead and compatible fissile core, the challenges of mating the warhead to a missile it was not designed for and then getting it to launch and detonate properly would be far more daunting than it would appear at first glance. Additionally, the process of fueling a liquid-fueled ballistic missile at sea and then launching it from a ship using an improvised launcher would also be very challenging. (North Korea, Iran and Pakistan all rely heavily on Scud technology, which uses volatile, corrosive and toxic fuels.)

Such a scenario is challenging enough, even before the uncertainty of achieving the desired HEMP effect is taken into account. This is just the kind of complexity and uncertainty that welltrained terrorist operatives seek to avoid in an operation. Besides, a ground-level nuclear detonation in a city such as New York or Washington would be more likely to cause the type of terror, death and physical destruction that is sought in a terrorist attack than could be achieved by generally non-lethal EMP. Make no mistake: EMP is real.

Modern civilization depends heavily on electronics and the electrical grid for a wide range of vital functions, and this is truer in the United States than in most other countries. Because of this, a HEMP attack or a substantial geomagnetic storm could have a dramatic impact on modern life in the affected area. However, as we’ve discussed, the EMP threat has been around for more than half a century and there are a number of technical and practical variables that make a HEMP attack using a nuclear warhead highly unlikely. When considering the EMP threat, it is important to recognize that it exists amid myriad other threats, including related threats such as nuclear warfare and targeted, small-scale HPM attacks. —Stratfor

ANALYSIS

Friday, September 17, 2010

Page 41

9/11 and the 9-yr war

By George Friedman

I

t has now been nine years since Al-Qaeda attacked the United States. It has been nine years in which the primary focus of the United States has been on the Islamic world.

In addition to a massive investment in homeland security, the United States has engaged in two multi-year, multidivisional wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, inserted forces in other countries in smaller operations and conducted a global covert campaign against Al-Qaeda and other radical jihadist groups.

In order to understand the last nine years you must understand the first 24 hours of the war - and recall your own feelings in those 24 hours.

First, the attack was a shock, its audaciousness frightening. Second, we did not know what was coming next. The attack had destroyed the right to complacent assumptions.

Were there other cells standing by in the United States? Did they have capabilities even more substantial than what they showed on Sept 11?

Could they be detected and stopped?

Any American not frightened on Sept 12 was not in touch with reality. Many who are now claiming that the United States overreacted are forgetting their own sense of panic. We are all calm and collected nine years after.

At the root of all of this was a profound lack of understanding of AlQaeda, particularly its capabilities and intentions. Since we did not know what was possible, our only prudent course was to prepare for the worst.

That is what the Bush administration did. Nothing symbolized this more than the fear that Al-Qaeda had acquired nuclear weapons and that they would use them against the United States. The evidence was minimal, but the consequences would be overwhelming. Bush crafted a strategy based on the worst-case scenario.

Bush was the victim of a decade of failure in the intelligence community to understand what Al-Qaeda was and wasn’t. I am not merely talking about the failure to predict the 9/11 attack.

Regardless of assertions afterwards, the intelligence community provided only vague warnings that lacked the kind of specificity that makes for actionable intelligence. To a certain degree, this is understandable. AlQaeda learned from Soviet, Saudi, Pakistani and American intelligence during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and knew how to launch attacks without tipping off the target.

The greatest failure of American intelligence was not the lack of a clear warning about 9/11 but the lack, on Sept. 12, of a clear picture of AlQaeda’s global structure, capabilities, weaknesses and intentions. Without such information, implementing US policy was like piloting an airplane with faulty instruments in a snowstorm at night.

The president had to do three things: First, he had to assure the public that he knew what he was doing. Second, he had to do something that appeared decisive. Third, he had to gear up an intelligence and security apparatus to tell him what the threats actually were and what he ought to do.

American policy became ready, fire, aim.

In looking back at the past nine years, two conclusions can be drawn: There were no more large-scale attacks on the United States by

A hijacked commercial plane approaches the World Trade Center shortly before crashing into the landmark skyscraper on Sept 11, 2001 in New York. – AFP militant Islamists, and the United States was left with the legacy of responses that took place in the first two years after 9/11. This legacy is no longer useful, if it ever was, to the primary mission of defeating AlQaeda, and it represents an effort that is retrospectively out of proportion to the threat.

Wrong assum p tions If I had been told on Sept 12, 2001, that the attack the day before would be the last major attack for at least nine years, I would not have believed it. In looking at the complexity of the security and execution of the 9/11 attack, I would have assumed that an organization capable of acting once in such a way could act again even more effectively. My assumption was wrong. Al-Qaeda did not have the resources to mount other operations, and the US response, in many ways clumsy and misguided and in other ways clever and targeted, disrupted any preparations in which Al-Qaeda might have been engaged to conduct follow-on attacks.

Knowing that about Al-Qaeda in 2001 was impossible. Knowing which operations were helpful in the effort to block them was impossible, in the context of what Americans knew in the first years after the war began.

Therefore, Washington wound up in the contradictory situation in which American military and covert operations surged while new attacks failed to materialize. This created a massive political problem. Rather than appearing to be the cause for the lack of attacks, US military operations were perceived by many as being unnecessary or actually increasing the threat of attack. Even in hindsight, aligning US actions with the apparent outcome is difficult and controversial.

But still we know two things: It has been nine years since Sept 11, 2001, and the war goes on.

What happened was that an act of terrorism was allowed to redefine US grand strategy. The United States operates with a grand strategy derived from the British strategy in Europe - maintaining the balance of power. For the United Kingdom, maintaining the balance of power in

Europe protected any one power from emerging that could unite Europe and build a fleet to invade the United Kingdom or block its access to its empire. British strategy was to help create coalitions to block emerging hegemons such as Spain, France or Germany. Using overt and covert means, the United Kingdom aimed to ensure that no hegemonic power could emerge.

Binary divide The Americans inherited that grand strategy from the British but elevated it to a global rather than regional level. Having blocked the Soviet Union from hegemony over Europe and Asia, the United States proceeded with a strategy whose goal, like that of the United Kingdom, was to nip potential regional hegemons in the bud. The US war with Iraq in 1990-91 and the war with Serbia/Yugoslavia in 1999 were examples of this strategy. It involved coalition warfare, shifting America’s weight from side to side and using minimal force to disrupt the plans of regional aspirants to gain power. This US strategy also was cloaked in the ideology of global liberalism and human rights.

The key to this strategy was its global nature. The emergence of a hegemonic contender that could challenge the United States globally, as the Soviet Union had done, was the worst-case scenario. Therefore, the containment of emerging powers wherever they might emerge was the centerpiece of American balance-ofpower strategy.

The most significant effect of 9/11 was that it knocked the United States off its strategy. Rather than adapting its standing global strategy to better address the counterterrorism issue, the United States became obsessed with a single region, the area between the Mediterranean and the Hindu Kush. Within that region, the United States operated with a balance-ofpower strategy. It played off all of the nations in the region against each other. It did the same with ethnic and religious groups throughout the region and particularly within Iraq and Afghanistan, the main theaters of the

war. In both cases, the United States sought to take advantage of internal divisions, shifting its support in various directions to create a balance of power. That, in the end, was what the surge strategy was all about.

The American obsession with this region in the wake of 9/11 is understandable. Nine years later, with no clear end in sight, the question is whether this continued focus is strategically rational for the United States. Given the uncertainties of the first few years, obsession and uncertainty are understandable, but as a long-term US strategy - the long war that the US Department of Defense is preparing for - it leaves the rest of the world uncovered.

Consider that the Russians have used the American absorption in this region as a window of opportunity to work to reconstruct their geopolitical position. When Russia went to war with Georgia in 2008, an American ally, the United States did not have the forces with which to make a prudent intervention. Similarly, the Chinese have had a degree of freedom of action they could not have expected to enjoy prior to 9/11. The single most important result of 9/11 was that it shifted the United States from a global stance to a regional one, allowing other powers to take advantage of this focus to create significant potential challenges to the United States.

One can make the case, as I have, that whatever the origin of the Iraq war, remaining in Iraq to contain Iran is necessary. It is difficult to make a similar case for Afghanistan. Its strategic interest to the United States is minimal. The only justification for the war is that Al-Qaeda launched its attacks on the United States from Afghanistan. But that justification is no longer valid. Al-Qaeda can launch attacks from Yemen or other countries. The fact that Afghanistan was the base from which the attacks were launched does not mean that AlQaeda depends on Afghanistan to launch attacks. And given that the apex leadership of Al-Qaeda has not launched attacks in a while, the question is whether Al-Qaeda is capable of launching such attacks any

longer. In any case, managing AlQaeda today does not require nation building in Afghanistan.

But let me state a more radical thesis: The threat of terrorism cannot become the singular focus of the United States. Let me push it further: The United States cannot subordinate its grand strategy to simply fighting terrorism even if there will be occasional terrorist attacks on the United States. Three thousand people died in the 9/11 attack. That is a tragedy, but in a nation of over 300 million, 3,000 deaths cannot be permitted to define the totality of national strategy. Certainly, resources must be devoted to combating the threat and, to the extent possible, disrupting it. But it must also be recognized that terrorism cannot always be blocked, that terrorist attacks will occur and that the world’s only global power cannot be captive to this single threat.

The initial response was understandable and necessary. The United States must continue its intelligence gathering and covert operations against militant Islamists throughout the world. The intelligence failures of the 1990s must not be repeated. But waging a multidivisional war in Afghanistan makes no strategic sense. The balance-of-power strategy must be used. Pakistan will intervene and discover the Russians and Iranians. The great game will continue. As for Iran, regional counters must be supported at limited cost to the United States. The United States should not be patrolling the far reaches of the region. It should be supporting a balance of power among the native powers of the region.

The United States is a global power and, as such, it must have a global view. It has interests and challenges beyond this region and certainly beyond Afghanistan. The issue there is not whether the United States can or can’t win, however that is defined. The issue is whether it is worth the effort considering what is going on in the rest of the world. Gen. David Petraeus cast the war in terms of whether the United States can win it. That’s reasonable; he’s the commander. But American strategy has to ask another question: What does the United States lose elsewhere while it focuses on the future of Kandahar?

Shock The 9/11 attack shocked the United States and made counterterrorism the centerpiece of American foreign policy. That is too narrow a basis on which to base US foreign policy. It is certainly an important strand of that policy, and it must be addressed, but it should be addressed through the regional balance of power. It is the good fortune of the United States that the Islamic world is torn by internal rivalries.

This is not dismissing the threat of terror. It is recognizing that the United States has done well in suppressing it over the past nine years but at a cost in other regions, a cost that can’t be sustained indefinitely and a cost that could well result in challenges more threatening than a rising Islamist militancy. The United States must now settle into a long-term strategy of managing terrorism as best as it can while not neglecting the rest of its interests. After nine years, the issue is not what to do in Afghanistan but how the global power can return to managing all of its global interests, along with the war on Al-Qaeda. —Stratfor

SPOTLIGHT

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Friday, September 17, 2010

Composer Charles Fox, who has written everything from ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song,’ to ‘Love American Style’ and ìHappy Days,’ has published his autobiography aptly titled, Killing Me Softly. — MCT

I’m not content to rest on my laurels Emmy and Grammy winner Charles Fox opens up...

“K

illing Me Softly With His Song.” “I Got a Name.” “Ready to Take a Chance Again.” The themes from “Love, American Style,” “Happy Days,” “Laverne & Shirley” and “The Love Boat.”

What do these songs have in common?

They all sprung from the melodic mind of Charles Fox, who for the last half-century has composed more than 100 motion picture and TV scores, ballets and classical works. The two-time Emmy Award winner, Grammy winner and two-time Oscar nominee recalls his successful career in his new autobiography, aptly titled “Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music,” which comes out next week.

Now 69, the soft-spoken Fox certainly isn’t resting on his laurels. He and frequent collaborator Hal David last week introduced “90210 Beverly Hills,” the official theme song of the city.

“The mayor asked us to write it,” says Fox, relaxing on a recent Saturday afternoon in his memorabilia- and award-filled music studio at his Encino house.

Just last week in Gdansk, Poland, he conducted a new composition written to commemorate the 200th birthday of Chopin. “It was also the 30th anniversary of the Solidarity Movement,” Fox says. “We did the concert in the big square with 22,000 people standing shoulder

to shoulder.”

He also penned the music and appears in the new documentary “100 Voices _ A Journey Home,” playing on 500 screens around the country for one night only on Sept. 21, about the personal stories and musical performances of a group of Jewish cantors and Fox, who traveled last year to Poland, the birthplace of cantorial music.

Fontainebleau with the famed Nadia Boulanger, the influential composer, conductor and teacher.

“So many people asked me about her,” he says. “She had an extraordinary ability to go into the heart and soul of each composer.

She was very formal. I couldn’t go to her house without a suit and tie. A man without a necktie was naked.”

Fox collaborated with lyricist

“He said ‘I would like to do it’ because it brought him closer to his father who died at a young age before he was able to fulfill his own dreams.” (Sadly, Croce died in a small commercial plane crash 37 years ago before “I Got a Name” was even released.)

The same year Fox and Gimbel wrote “I Got a Name,” they scored a massive international hit with “Killing Me Softly,” recorded

They all sprung from the melodic mind of Charles Fox, who for the last half-century has composed more than 100 motion picture and TV scores, ballets and classical works. The two-time Emmy Award winner, Grammy winner and two-time Oscar nominee recalls his successful career in his new autobiography, aptly titled ‘Killing Me Softly: My Life in Music,’ which comes out next week.

Born in the Bronx, Fox got his first professional start playing at 15 in a band at a hotel in the Catskills. He attended and graduated from the High School of Music and Arts in New York City and then at 18 traveled to France to study for a few years at the American Conservatory in

Norman Gimbel on his bestknown hits including “I Got a Name” and “Killing Me Softly.” “I Got a Name,” which was a big hit for the late Jim Croce, was written for the 1973 Jeff Bridges film “The Last American Hero.”

“We played the song for Jim Croce over the phone,” Fox says.

by Roberta Flack. It won three Grammys: song of the year, record of the year and female pop vocal.

But Flack wasn’t the first to record the haunting ballad; Lori Lieberman first sang it in 1971.

“Norman Gimbel and I were looking to find a voice for our songs,” Fox explains. The two

went to clubs to listen to young singers, then the best performed at Fox’s house.

Both he and Gimbel were immediately sold on the clearvoiced Lieberman. They had recorded nine of their songs with her when Capitol Records called and told them they really wanted to release the album as soon as possible. But they needed another song. “Norman had a book with some titles and thoughts of lyrics and he had this title, ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song,’” Fox says.

“He wrote the lyric that day, called me at the end of the day and read me the lyric over the phone,” he says. “I wrote the music that night and the next day we got together with Lori and she loved it.”

Because she was a new artist, the album didn’t get a lot of promotion but received ample airplay as part of music programming on American Airlines, which is where Flack first heard it. She got in touch with Quincy Jones to find out how to connect with Fox. He said he soon got a call one day saying, “‘This is Roberta Flack. We haven’t met but I am going to record your song.’”

The song was a hit everywhere. And the song became another major hit in 1993 thanks to the Fugees’ recording. Notes Fox: “It brought a whole new generation to the song.” — MCT

Friday, september 17, 2010

arts

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Art for art’s sake

V&A to celebrate aesthetic movement t a time of anxious austerity it could be just what is needed: an examination of one of the most flamboyant and joyously bohemian art movements there has ever been.

The V&A announced today that it is to mount the first ever major exhibition devoted to the aesthetic movement of the late 19th century, looking at a group of artists who placed the importance of beauty above everything else and followed a mantra that said let us value art for art’s sake.

The show will bring together 300 objects, including 60 paintings, to celebrate a British movement that flourished between 1860 and 1900 and whose members included preRaphaelite artists such as Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Frederic Leighton as well as Oscar Wilde and William Morris.

Co-curator Stephen Calloway said now was a particularly good time to shine a spotlight on the aesthetes. “In times of austerity fantasy always seems to be the thing, but I think it’s particularly interesting at the moment because people, I suspect, are becoming rather tired of ugliness and things which are not well made and art that isn’t well drawn.”

Calloway said there was much contemporary art and design that was not aiming to be beautiful or comfortable to live with. “So the idea of looking at an art movement where, consciously, beauty and quality are central ideas seems to me extraordinarily timely.

“A lot of people would like a return to a kind of art and a kind of decoration that is all about pleasure of the eye and the beauty of being within a complete environment.”

The aesthetes were passionate and seriousminded, reacting against Victorian values which said that all art had to have a purpose and also against a kind of pervading ugliness seen, for example, at the 1851 Great Exhibition, with its rather hideous and huge furniture.

It started out as a group of people amusing themselves in their own houses, becoming a wider movement that people were eager to buy in to. It was the first art movement to inspire an entire lifestyle. Suddenly the middle classes were aspiring to create their own beautiful interiors and Liberty became purveyors of all that was gorgeous.

The show will include numerous loans from private collections including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s - and

will also feature paintings which use models who were not conventionally beautiful by the standards of the day.

Women such as Elizabeth Siddal, a model for many of the pre-Raphaelites, whose pale skin and copper red hair was held to be ugly by most Victorians.

Of course not everyone was won over and enchanted by the aesthetes, and the show will include Punch magazine cartoons satirising the movement and a novelty teapot by James Hadley which poked fun at Wilde and his belief that by surrounding yourself with beautiful things you become beautiful. The spout is a man’s effete arm in the air and the inscription reads: “Fearful consequences, through the laws of natural selection and evolution, of living up to one’s teapot.” —Guardian

A

First major exhibition to gather work of 19th-century artists

including preRaphaelites, Oscar Wilde and William Morris

Detail from Pavonia by Frederic Leighton, one of the pre-Raphaelite artists who will feature in the exhibition. —Guardian

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C R O S S W O R D

8 3

Friday, September 17, 2010

Word Sleuth Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

ACROSS 1. Electronic equipment that provides visual images of varying electrical quantities.

4. Narrow French stick loaf.

10. The United Nations agency concerned with international maritime activities.

13. The act of hopping (jumping upward or forward (especially on one foot)).

14. (Sumerian) Consort of Dumuzi (Tammuz).

15. White crystalline compound used as a food additive to enhance flavor.

16. The act of using.

17. Treat or speak of with contempt.

18. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity equal to 10 decibels.

19. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.

21. Lettuce valued especially for its edible stems.

24. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

25. A very light colorless element that is one of the six inert gasses.

26. Of or relating to a language that arises from contact between two other languages and has features of both.

30. United States feminist who founded a national organization for women (born in 1921).

34. A bag used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women).

36. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

37. A white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily.

38. Black tropical American cuckoo.

39. Red pear-shaped tropical fruit with poisonous seeds.

42. Being one hundred more than three hundred.

43. An informal term for a father.

45. (Greek mythology) Goddess of the earth and mother of Cronus and the Titans in ancient mythology.

49. West Indian tree having racemes of fragrant white flowers and yielding a durable timber and resinous juice.

56. Jordan's port.

59. The 21st letter of the Greek alphabet.

60. Syncopated music in duple time for dancing the rumba.

63. A human limb.

64. The sense organ for hearing and equilibrium.

65. African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey bread.

66. A tight-fitting headdress.

DOWN 1. European freshwater game fish with a thick spindle-shaped body.

2. Large genus of erect or climbing prickly shrubs including roses.

3. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum.

4. The capital and chief port of Qatar.

5. Used of a single unit or thing.

6. Primitive predaceous North American fish covered with hard scales and having long jaws with needle-like teeth.

7. An agency of the United Nations responsible for programs to aid education and the health of children and mothers in developing countries.

8. Make attractive or lovable.

9. A unit of weight used in east Asia approximately equal to 1.3 ounces.

10. (followed by `with') Deeply filled or permeated.

11. One thousandth of a second.

12. Look at with amorous intentions.

20. A compact mass.

22. 100 thebe equal 1 pula.

23. Seed of a pea plant.

27. Type genus of the Ranidae.

28. A town in north central Oklahoma.

29. 36th President of the United States.

31. The United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy.

32. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

33. A quantity of no importance.

35. Mentally or physically infirm with age.

40. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.

41. Large brownish-green New Zealand parrot.

44. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).

46. A medicinal drug used to evoke vomiting (especially in cases of drug overdose or poisoning).

47. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.

48. A nucleic acid consisting of large molecules shaped like a double helix.

50. A Loloish language.

51. The habitation of wild animals.

52. An aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect.

53. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.

54. A genus of Mustelidae.

55. An inclined surface or roadway that moves traffic from one level to another.

57. Two items of the same kind.

58. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

61. (astronomy) The angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing.

62. A unit of information equal to one million (1,048,576) bytes.

Yesterday’s Solution

Page 45

Friday, September 17, 2010

COUNTRY CODES

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Aries (March 21-April 19) When teen pop star Miley Cyrus appeared on David Letterman's late-night TV talk show, band leader Paul Schaeffer asked her if she lip-syncs to pre-recorded music during her performances. Miley replied that no, she never fakes it.

For evidence, she said, anyone could go watch a Youtube clip from one of her concerts. Sometimes she sounds terrible, which proves that she's risking the imperfection of actually singing live. I urge you to follow Miley's lead in your own sphere, Aries. In the coming week, you really do need to be as raw as the law allows. Be your authentic self, please -- with no Auto-Tune-like enhancements.

Ta u r u s ( A p r i l 2 0 - M a y 2 0 ) Here's your mantra: BIG GREEN LUCK EVERYWHERE. I urge you to say it frequently in the coming days. Sing it softly to yourself while you're driving your car or riding on public transportation. Whisper it as a prayer before each meal. BIG GREEN LUCK EVERYWHERE. Chant it in rhythm to your steps as you walk.

Murmur it to the tiny angel looking down at you from the ceiling just before you drop off to sleep. Yell it out as you're dancing beneath the sky. BIG GREEN LUCK EVERYWHERE. It'll work its magic even if you don't know exactly why you're saying it or what it means.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) While growing up, US president Abraham Lincoln lived in Indiana for 14 years. The Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial commemorates his time there. When my friend Janet was seven years old, her second-grade class visited the place.

While strolling around outside, she found a Band-Aid on the ground and excitedly assumed it had once graced a booboo on Old Abe himself. She took it home and secretly used it as a talisman. When she rubbed it on her own wounds, it seemed to have magical healing properties. Only later did she realize that Band-Aids weren't invented until 55 years after Lincoln's death. No matter. The artifact had done a superb job. I predict you will soon find a comparable placebo, Cancerian.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Afghanistan is a wasteland of desert and rocks, right? Well, no, actually. It harbors huge deposits of minerals that are critical to the industrialized world. There's a complication, though. To succeed, the arduous business of mining such minerals needs lots of water and electricity as well as political stability and a good infrastructure -all of which are in short supply in Afghanistan.

In offering this scenario for your consideration, Cancerian, I'm suggesting that you make a comparable re-evaluation of a certain situation in your own life. According to my reading of the omens, someone or something you've considered barren may in fact harbor resources that are useful to you. Here's the rub: Are you in position to get access to them? If not, what would it take to do so?

Leo (July 23-August 22) Afghan farmers grow a lot of poppies -- more than anywhere else in the world. While most of the crop is converted into opium and heroin, it could just as well be used to create poppy seed bagels -- as many as 357 trillion of them by one estimate. The way I see it, Leo, you have a comparable choice ahead of you. A resource that's neutral in its raw or natural state could be harnessed in a relatively good cause or a not-sogood cause. And I bet you will be instrumental in determining which way it goes.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) "Nothing is more conducive to peace of mind than not having any opinions at all." German aphorist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg said that, and now I'm offering it for you to use. Are you game? Try this experiment: For seven days, divest yourself of your opinions. And I mean all of them: opinions about politicians, celebrities, immigration reform, rockabilly music, your friends' choices in mates -- everything. For this grace period, be utterly non-judgmental and open-minded and tolerant. Allow everything to be exactly what it is without any need to wish it were otherwise. By experiment's end, you'll probably feel more relaxed than you have in a long time.

Libra (September 23-October 22) The Latin motto "Dulcius ex aspiris" means "Sweetness out of difficulty." It has a different meaning from "relief after difficulty" or "character-building from difficulty." It suggests a scenario in which a challenging experience leads not just to a successful outcome, but also to a delicious, soothing harmony that would not have been possible without the difficulty. This is what I foresee coming for you, Libra.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Give the best gifts you can possibly give, Scorpio. Don't hoard any of the intense blessings you have at your disposal. It's time to unveil the fullness of your idiosyncratic generosity . . . to bestow upon the world the naked glory of your complex mojo. Some people will be better able than others to receive and use your zesty offerings, and it's OK to favor them with more of your magnanimity. On the other hand, don't spend too long worrying about the fine points of how to disseminate your wealth. The important thing is to let it flow like a river fresh from eternity.

Sagittarius (November 22December 21) "Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment," said Zen Buddhist teacher Dogen.

Which leads me to say: "Do not think you will necessarily be aware of becoming a role model and potent influence." The way I see it, either of those developments may happen in the coming weeks. Without suffering any pangs of self-consciousness, you could suddenly find yourself thrust into a higher, brighter, more powerful state of being. I doubt there'll be any stress or strain involved. Rather, it will naturally occur while you're being your strong-minded, expansive self, trying simply to rearrange the world to conform to your vision of paradise.

Capricorn (December 22January 19) Soon it will probably be time for you to wrap up the Season of Exploration. You've surveyed the outlands and fringe areas enough for now, right? I'm guessing that you've reconnoitered the forbidden zones so thoroughly that you may not need to do any more probing. Or am I wrong about this? Am I underestimating your longing to push out to the frontiers and beyond? Maybe your brushes with exotic creatures and tempting adventures have whetted your appetite for even more escapades. I'll tell you what, Capricorn: I'm going to trust your intuition on this one. Are you ready to rein in your risk-taking, or are you hungry for more?

Aquarius (January 20February 18) Seth GrahameSmith rewrote Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice. He kept 85 percent of her material, but also added a big dose of “ultraviolent zombie mayhem,� creating a new story, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In his version, Austen's tale is expanded and altered by the previously unrevealed activities of zombies. I urge you to follow Grahame-Smith's lead, Aquarius. Take some original creation you really like, and add a shot of your own unique approach to generate a completely new thing.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) The eighth-century theologian known as the Venerable Bede compared our existence to a sparrow that flies in the window of a royal castle while the king is enjoying a winter feast with his entourage. Outside, a snowstorm is raging. Inside, there's a big fire in the hearth that keeps everyone warm. But the sparrow doesn't stay in this welcoming place; it quickly flies out another window on the other side of the dining room, refraining from plucking any of the delicious scraps of food the revelers have discarded. Bede says that the sparrow's actions are like ours in our own approach to living our lives. Well, guess what, Pisces: I don't think that will be true for you in the coming months. Judging from the astrological omens, I suspect that once you fly into the feast room, you won't depart like a restless, confused wanderer. You will linger.

Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antiga Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Cyprus (Northern) Czech Republic Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador England (UK) Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Holland (Netherlands) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Ibiza (Spain) Iceland India Indian Ocean Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait

0093 00355 00213 00376 00244 001264 001268 0054 00374 0061 0043 001242 00973 00880 001246 00375 0032 00501 00229 001441 00975 00591 00387 00267 0055 00673 00359 00226 00257 00855 00237 001 00238 001345 00236 00235 0056 0086 0057 00269 00242 00682 00506 00385 0053 00357 0090392 00420 0045 00246 00253 001767 001809 00593 0020 00503 0044 00240 00291 00372 00251 00500 00298 00679 00358 0033 00594 00689 00241 00220 00995 0049 00233 00350 0030 00299 001473 00590 001671 00502 00224 00592 00509 0031 00504 00852 0036 0034 00354 0091 00873 0062 0098 00964 00353 0039 00225 001876 0081 00962 007 00254 00686 00965

Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Liberia Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Majorca Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar (Burma) Namibia Nepal Netherlands (Holland) Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Nigar Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Ireland (UK) North Korea Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts Saint Lucia Saint Pierre Saint Vincent Samoa US Samoa West San Marino Sao Tone Saudi Arabia Scotland (UK) Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tanzania Thailand Toga Tonga Tokelau Trinidad Tunisia Turkey Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay

00996 00856 00371 00961 00231 00218 00370 00352 00853 00389 00261 0034 00265 0060 00960 00223 00356 00692 00596 00222 00230 00269 0052 00691 00373 00377 00976 001664 00212 00258 0095 00264 00977 0031 00599 00687 0064 00505 00227 00234 00683 00672 0044 00850 0047 00968 0092 00680 00507 00675 00595 0051 0063 0048 00351 001787 00974 0040 007 00250 00290 001869 001758 00508 001784 00684 00685 00378 00239 00966 0044 00221 00284 00232 0065 00421 00386 00677 00252 0027 0082 0034 0094 00249 00597 00268 0046 0041 00963 00886 00255 0066 00228 00676 00690 001868 00216 0090 00688 00256 00380 00976 0044 00598

what's on

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Friday, september 17, 2010

Premier Goal Academy, Everton launch football for all

T

he Premier Football Academy and Goal have joined forces to create the new Premier Goal Academy in association with Everton FC from the English Premier League.

Kuwait’s new Centre of Football Excellence is based at Shaab Park and offers a ‘Football For All’ program of coaching courses for young players aged from 3-18 years. Under the patronage of the British Ambassador, Frank Baker, the PGA offers the Premier League experience here in Kuwait.

Youngsters in the PGA program will have the opportunity to follow a proven coaching program - the Evertonway- that has helped develop some of the finest young players in England including Wayne Rooney. In addition to the professional coaching from fully qualified English FA and UEFA coaches there are regular tournaments and fixtures within Kuwait and Tournaments in Bahrain, Dubai, USA and Europe for selected players.

The Premier Goal Academy aims to provide opportunities for players of all ability levels to maximize their potential with a Centre of Excellence program for advanced level players. The best coaching, top facilities at Shaab Park Goal Centre, international tournaments and tours and a partnership with Everton Football Club make this a world class opportunity for Kuwait’s youngsters.

Director of Football at the Premier Goal Academy, Mike Finn, has had many years coaching

experience with some of England’s top teams. “The Premier Goal Academy and Everton Football Club are delighted to provide this exciting football development program here in Kuwait. We want to help re-ignite Kuwaiti football so we can see the country performing well on the international stage again. We feel that working with young talented players can help achieve this in the long term. We also want to develop football in the

community and provide opportunities for children to become involved in high quality coaching, learning new techniques, making friends and above all enjoying football”.

The Everton Way online player and coach development program is the most advanced specialist coaching site of its kind and is accessible to all on www.evertonway.com. Members of the Everton coaching team will be

visiting Kuwait regularly to support and monitor progress in the hope that players from Kuwait will be playing in the world’s top league in the future. Selected players will also have the opportunity to play in international tournaments in addition to training with Everton FC in England.

An Open Morning to meet the coaches, tour the facilities, try out and register, takes place at Shaab Park on Friday September 24, from

9-11 am - everyone is invited to attend - come in playing kit and join in the fun! Courses will commence the following weekend on October 2 and 3. For further details of the PGA program contact Mike Finn, Director of Football Tel 99981327 (English), or Baker Al Nazer, Director of Administration Tel.66918666 (Arabic) or Daniel Christensen, Director of Coaching Tel.99128010. Email; premier_fa_kuwait@yahoo.com.

Announcements Theater & Music All level music classes: ‘Treasure of Talents’ (est in 1992) music education program invites all level music classes on piano, theory of music, vocal, flute. Academic Level teachers help prepare for international exams, children concerts, yearly ‘Treasure of Talents’ Festival and music competitions. Contact Prof Cezary, Tel. 25320427, 66549009 of Ms Yasmeene - Berlitz Institute Tel: 22542212. 22512533 or email: treasureoftalents@yahoo.com treasureoftalents@hotmail.com ✦✦✦ Call to classical music lovers: Are you a lover of music? Would you like to promote the traditional Indian classical music in Kuwait? If your answer is in the affirmative, please write ton more details to music_karnatic@yahoo.co. in (that is, music underscore karnatic) with your contact details or call 7978286.

SEPT 24 NSS Onam: Nair Service Society (NSS), Kuwait will celebrate Onam on Sept 24, at Cambridge School, Mangaf. South Indian film star and acclaimed dancer Lakshmi Gopalaswamy will perform during the function. Ajai Malhotra, Indian Ambassador to Kuwait, will be the chief guest at the Onam

celebration on September 24, which will be followed by a full day variety entertainment program depicting the rich heritage and art forms of Kerala. Muraleekrishnan P, President of Nair Service Society, Kuwait (NSS Kuwait) will preside over the function.The OnaSadhya (Onam Feast) will be served in the traditional Kerala style on banana leaf on September 24. Nair Service Society (NSS) Kuwait, is one of the largest SocioCultural Organization in Kuwait formed in year 2001 and now has more than 3000 Indians as members. For more information, contact Anish Nair, NSS Kuwait 9969-1431.

Oct 14 Tulukoota Kuwait announces its “Decennial Parba “on October 14th & 15th. 2010 at American International School Hawally. We invite all Tulukoota Kuwait members to join us for fun filled and exciting events planned to celebrate the milestones throughout Tulukoota Kuwait’s 10 years journey. 14th October Rasamanjari - musical show by Star performer Anuradha Bhatt, Prakash Mahadevan Naveen Koppa & others, Vismaya Jadoo by Mega Magic Star Ganesh Kudroli & troupe. Dr. Mohan Alva Cultural Performances & King of Comedy Navin D Padil presents tulu drama

“ Paniyerla aath Panande Budiyerla aath” This is a fun tilled evening for entire family! Join us for a great time. For more information call : Swarna C Shetty - 99006934; Pascal Pinto - 9953 1557; Sathya Narayan - 66585077: Suresh Salian - 99161228; Chandrahasa Shetty 55941955.

OCT 21 Rendezvous 2010: The Kuwait Chapter of the St. Aloysius College Alumni Association (SACAA KUWAIT) have announced that “Rendezvous” their hallmark event will be conducted on 21st October at Asia Asia Restaurant, Souk Al Watiya, Kuwait City from 8 pm onwards. This year, SACAA Kuwait celebrates five years of its existence in Kuwait. SACAAKuwait has been synonymous with various fund raising initiatives through which they consistently supported various needs of their Alma Mater and its students back in Mangalore, India. Through Rendezvous-2010, SACAA-Kuwait intends to help generate funds for the Poor Students Fund of St. Aloysius institutions where numerous needy students look forward to assistance to subsidize their costs. SACAA Kuwait calls upon all Aloysians, their families and also like minded people to join this noble cause and help make life a little better for those needy

students back home. For entry passes and further information, kindly contact - 66731828, 66746425, 66181041, 94093275, 66699857, 66091962.

OCT 29 Onathanima tug of war: Thanima is conducting its annual Onam celebrations along with its celebrated tug of war competitions on October 29 at Central School compound, Abbasiya. Cultural procession, concert and other attractive cultural items will add glitter to the evening function in which many prominent personalities are expected to be present. Those teams wishing to participate in the tug of war competition, please contact 99865499 / 97253653 / 66071276 / 99703872.

Nov 17 Trend setter Udupi Restaurant, Kuwait proudly presents “ Gandharva Ganam” a live carnatic classical concert by living legend & maestro Padmabooshan Dr. K.J.Yesudas with his troupe on 17th Nov. 2010 at American International School, Kuwait. Sri. Nagai Murali on violin, Sri. Bakthavalsalam on Mridangam and Sri. Thripunithura Radhakrishnan on Ghatam. For more details, please contact 66752462 or 66784867.

Sreelatha Namboothiri to attend OnamFest 2010

V

anithavedi-Kuwait celebrates OnamFest 2010 today, in Khaitan Indian Community School. The highlight of the celebration will be the Athapookalam and Thiruvathirakali competitions from 8-10 followed by the public meeting inaugurated by the Indian Ambassador Ajai Malhotra. The famous cine artist Sreelatha Namboothiri will be chief guest of OnamFest 2010.

It will be a daylong program with various cultural programs. The chief guest will add the beauty of the day with her talents in music and ‘kacheri’.

what's on

Friday, september 17, 2010

British Academy of Sports announcement

O

n Saturday, September 25, 2010 the most comprehensive community sports program in Kuwait will be launched by British Ambassador, Frank Baker, with an Open Day to be held between 10 am to 1 pm at the British School of Kuwait in Salwa, Block 1 Street 1.

The British Academy of Sport will offer over 100 courses in over 20 sporting activities, including football, basketball, gymnastics, swimming, scuba diving, karate, yoga, hockey, cricket, rugby, go-karting , paintball, fitness fun, bowling, tennis, skating, horse riding, martial arts, aerobics, cycling, boating and climbing and

much more - sport for all. In addition there are sporting weekends in Dubai where you can enjoy indoor skiing and desert safaris, plus skiing in Lebanon and a sporting week in the UK.

There are courses suitable for all ages with something for everyone to enjoy.

The program will commence in October 2010 at specialist facilities throughout Kuwait with a team of fully qualified, experienced coaches encouraging a healthy lifestyle, participation and above all lots of fun for everyone. Make the most of your leisure time and come along to the Open Day to see what is on offer - taster sessions, displays, swimming, team games, competitions, inflatables, lots of free gifts and special offers - fun for the whole family. For further details visit www.bas.com.kw.

Mallappally Pravasi Association Eid-Onam celebrations

M

allappally Pravasi Association, Kuwait Chapter is conducting Eid - Onam Celebrations today from 10 am to 2 pm at Pravasi Auditorium, Abbasiya. The program will have cultural programs, public meeting and traditional Onam sadya. Children of

MPA members who have passed 10th and 12th this year in Kuwait or India are requested to submit their mark sheets for prizes and certificates. All the members of MPA are invited to the venue to be a part of the celebration. For details, contact: 97229131, 99852331.

NAFO Kuwait Onam 2010

N

ational Forum Kuwait (NAFO Kuwait) will celebrate Onam 2010 with its full spirit and fervor on Friday, September 24, 2010 at the Indian Community School Auditorium (Senior), Salmiya from 9:30 am onwards.

Indian Ambassador Ajai Malhotra and his wife Ira Malhotra will be the chief guests on this happy occasion. Veteran political leader, former Minister of Kerala and Director Board member of NSS, R Balakrishna Pillai will be the celebrity guest. A galaxy of eminent personalities in Kuwait will also join the celebration.

Starting from the floral carpet called “Athapookkalam”, NAFO family will stage various cultural programs bringing back the nostalgic memories of a bygone era

of prosperity, equality and righteousness under the golden reign of King Mahabali.

In addition, a sumptuous meal-the traditional “Onasadya” will be served to all invitees.

B S Pillai, NAFO president inaugurated the distribution of Onam coupon by giving a coupon to Reception Committee Convener G K Nair. In order to make the mega event a grand success, a program committee and subcommittees have been formed under the leadership of C G Manoj, General Secretary, Gopakumar, Cultural Secretary and Program Convener M S Nair. For more details, please contact 99660428/94062853 or contact@nafoglobal.com.

Saradhi Kuwait Onam celebration today

By Sajeev K Peter

S

aradhi Kuwait, a well-known Indian socio-cultural organization, will celebrate Onam, Kerala’s harvest festival with a daylong cultural programs and variety entertainments tomorrow at the American International School, Maidan Hawally. Indian Ambassador Ajai Malhotra will be the Chief Guest in which prominent Indian community representatives, leaders of various organizations and artistes will participate.

A dazzling musical extravaganza led by upcoming playback singer and actor Vineeth Sreenivasan will be the main attraction of the event. He will be supported by Idea Star singer fame singers Roshan, Arun Goapan, Gayahtri and Neelima who will make the event a memorable one, said Saradhi President N Sasidharan while addressing a press conference.

An array of cultural programs by Saradhi members including their children from different units will also be presented during the day-long celebration, he said.

Prizes for educational excellence will be presented to children of Saradhi members on the occasion, said Deepak Sadanandan, general secretary.

Other office-bearers who attended the press conference included Program Committee General Convener Sudheer Sodar, Convener Madhukuttan, Githesh M P, Brijesh Narayanan, Reji C J, P Radhakrishnan, Satheesan S and Vanitha Vedi Chairperson Rathidevi Dinesh.

Saradhi Kuwait, with a membershipstrength of 3,500, has earned a name for itself as a proactive socio-cultural organization of Indian expatriates with its distinctive activities. Over a decade, it has made significant contribution to various charity activities in Kuwait and India.

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Embassy information EMBASSy OF US The United States Department of State announces the increase in various visa fees to ensure sufficient resources to cover the increasing cost of processing nonimmigrant visas (NIVs).

US law requires the Department to recover the cost of processing nonimmigrant visas through the collection of the application fees. The increased fees are to take effect June 4, 2010.

Under the new rule, applicants for all visas that are not petition-based, including B1/B2 tourist and business visitor visas and all student and exchange-visitor visas, will pay a fee of $140. Applicants for petition-based visas will pay an application fee of $150, as each of the below categories requires a review of extensive documentation and a more in-depth interview of the applicant than other categories, such as tourists.

These categories include: H visa for temporary workers and trainees L visa for intra-company transferees O visa for aliens with extraordinary ability P visa for athletes, artists and entertainers Q visa for international cultural exchange visitors R visa for religious occupations The application fee for K visas for fiance(e)s of US citizens will be $350.

The fee for E visas for treaty-traders and treaty-investors will be $390.

EMBASSy OF CANAdA Middle East Education Initiative (MEEI) 2010 October 2 to 4, 2010 organized by the Embassy of Canada. Representatives of leading Canadian universities, colleges and other institutions of higher education will be available to meet students, parents, teachers and guidance counsellors to present the advantages of studying in Canada. On October 4, 2010 a “Study in Canada” exhibition will be being held at the Safir Marina Hotel, Salmiya for potential students and their parents to attend. The Canadian institutions will also be visiting local schools to speak to interested students about opportunities to study in Canada.

Please contact the Canadian Embassy in Kuwait for additional information. The MEEI tour will also be visiting the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco.

EMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India has further revamped and improved its Legal Advice Clinic at the Indian Workers Welfare Center, and made the free service available to Indian nationals on all five working days, i.e. from Sunday to Thursday every week.

Kuwaiti lawyers would be available at the Legal Advice Clinic daily from Monday to Thursday, while Indian lawyers would be available on Sundays.

Following are the free welfare services provided at the Indian Workers Welfare Center located at the Embassy of India: [i] 24x7 Helpline for Domestic Workers: Accessible by toll free telephone no. 25674163 from anywhere in Kuwait, it provides information and advice exclusively to Indian domestic sector workers (Visa No. 20) as regards their grievances, immigration and other matters. [ii] Help Desk: It offers guidance to Indian nationals on routine immigration, employment, legal, and other issues (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iii) Labour Complaints Desk: It registers labor complaints and provides grievance redressal service to Indian workers (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iv) Shelters: For female and male domestic workers in distress; (v) Legal Advice Clinic: Provides free legal advice to Indian nationals (Embassy premises; Kuwaiti lawyers 3 PM to 5 PM, Monday to Thursday; Indian lawyers 2 PM to 4 PM on Sunday); and (vi) Attestation of Work Contracts: Private sector worker (Visa No. 18) contracts are accepted at the Embassy; 9 AM to 1 PM; Sunday to Thursday; Domestic sector worker (Visa No. 20) contracts are accepted at Kuwait Union of Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO), Hawally, Al-Othman Street, Kurd Roundabout, Al-Abraj Complex, Office No 9, Mezzanine Floor; 9 AM to 9 PM, Saturday to Thursday; 5 PM to 9 PM on Friday.

The Embassy of India will remain closed on September 2, 2010 on account of ‘Janmashtami’ respectively.

EMBASSY OF turkEY The Embassy of the Republic of Turkey announces that Turkish language course will restart at the Embassy’s Tourism, Culture and Information Office 4 October 2010. The lessons will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. For further details and registration please contact. * The Embassy at Tel: 22531785 (only from 9 am to 3 pm) * Or fill the application form on http://kuweyt.befscnet.net and send it to the e-mail: Turkish_embassy_Kuwait@hotmail.com EMBASSy OF ThAilANd All foreigners who apply for Tourist Visa at the Royal Thai Embassies and the Royal Thai Consulate General worldwide, including eligible foreigners who apply for Visa on arrival at designated checkpoints, will be exempted from tourist visa fees until 31 March 2011. Such arrangement is for Tourist Visa only.

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Friday, September 17, 2010

FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161

FLIGHT SCHEDULE

IN CASE YOU ARE NOT TRAVELLING, YOUR PROPER CANCELLATION OF BOOKINGS WILL HELP OTHER PASSENGERS TO USE SEATS. Arrival Flights on Friday 17/09/2010 Airlines Flt Route Wataniya Airways 188 Bahrain Tunis Air 327 Tunis/Dubai Kuwait 544 Cairo Wataniya Airways 305 Cairo Wataniya Airways 434 Damascus Middle East 408 Beirut Gulf Air 211 Bahrain Jazeera 187 Dubai Pakistan 215 Karachi Turkish 772 Istanbul Air Arabia Egypt 551 Alexandria Egypt Air 614 Cairo Jazeera 267 Beirut DHL 370 Bahrain Emirates 853 Dubai Jazeera 513 Sharm El Sheikh Wataniya Airways 322 Sharm El Sheikh Etihad 305 Abu Dhabi Qatari 138 Doha Jazeera 241 Amman Air France 6770 Paris Ethiopian 622 Addis Ababa/Bahrain Jazeera 503 Luxor Jazeera 527 Alexandria British 157 London Kuwait 416 Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur Kuwait 206 Islamabad Kuwait 302 Mumbai Fly Dubai 053 Dubai Kuwait 676 Dubai Kuwait 352 Cochin Kuwait 286 Chittagong Kuwait 284 Dhaka Kuwait 362 Colombo Emirates 855 Dubai Arabia 121 Sharjah Qatari 132 Doha Etihad 301 Abu Dhabi Iran Air 619 Lar Gulf Air 213 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 182 Bahrain Middle East 404 Beirut Wataniya Airways 102 Dubai Jazeera 165 Dubai Yemenia 825 Sanaa Iran Aseman 6807 Shiraz Gulf Air 219 Bahrain Egypt Air 610 Cairo Egypt Air 1610 Cairo Jazeera 525 Alexandria Jazeera 457 Damascus Kuwait 672 Dubai Wataniya Airways 432 Damascus United 982 Washington DC Dulles Jordanian 800 Amman Fly Dubai 057 Dubai Jazeera 257 Beirut Wataniya Airways 422 Amman Kuwait 552 Damascus Kuwait 744 Dammam Jazeera 481 Sabiha Qatari 134 Doha Kuwait 546 Alexandria Kuwait 1542 Cairo Mihin 403 Colombo/Dubai Jazeera 427 Bahrain Etihad 303 Abu Dhabi Emirates 857 Dubai Gulf Air 215 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 402 Beirut Saudia 510 Riyadh Jazeera 239 Amman Arabia 125 Sharjah Jazeera 367 Deirezzor

Time 00:30 00:35 00:50 00:50 00:55 01:05 01:05 01:10 01:15 01:15 02:00 02:05 02:10 02:15 02:25 02:30 02:35 02:55 03:20 03:20 04:50 03:30 05:50 06:20 06:30 06:35 07:15 07:50 07:55 08:00 08:05 08:05 08:10 08:20 08:25 08:40 09:00 09:25 10:40 10:45 10:45 10:50 11:05 11:15 12:00 12:45 12:50 12:55 13:05 13:05 13:10 13:15 13:35 13:35 13:35 13:50 14:05 14:10 14:35 14:40 14:40 15:05 15:30 15:45 16:40 16:50 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:15 17:20 17:40 17:40 17:55

SriLankan Wataniya Airways Kuwait Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Indian Kuwait Fly Dubai Oman Air Middle East Rovos Jet A/L Saudia Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways Kuwait DHL Gulf Air Jazeera Qatari United Emirates Lufthansa Jazeera Jazeera Egypt Air Shaheen Air KLM Egypt Air Wataniya Airways Kuwait

227 Colombo/Dubai 304 Cairo 166 Paris/Rome 106 Dubai 502 Beirut 542 Cairo 618 Doha 497 Riyadh 177 Dubai 614 Bahrain 674 Dubai 774 Riyadh 102 New Yokr/London 575 Chennai/Goa 562 Amman 061 Dubai 647 Muscat 402 Beirut 081 Baghdad 572 Mumbai 506 Jeddah 642 Vienna 404 Beirut 786 Jeddah 372 Bahrain 217 Bahrain 459 Damascus 136 Doha 981 Bahrain 859 Dubai 636 Frankfurt 185 Dubai 429 Bahrain 612 Cairo 441 Lahore/Karachi 0447 Amsterdam/Bahrain 606 Luxor 108 Dubai 1544 Cairo

Departure Flights on Friday 17/09/2010 Airlines Flt Route Egypt Air 607 Luxor Bangladesh 044 Dhaka India Express 390 Mangalore/Kozhikode Lufthansa 637 Frankfurt Indian 982 Ahmedabad/Hyderabad/Chennai Pakistan 206 Lahore Tunis Air 328 Tunis Turkish 773 Istanbul Pakistan 216 Karachi Air Arabia Egypt 552 Alexandria Egypt Air 615 Cairo DHL 371 Bahrain Emirates 854 Dubai Etihad 306 Abu Dhabi Ethiopian 622 Addis Ababa Qatari 139 Doha Wataniya Airways 101 Dubai Jazeera 480 Sabiha Air France 6770 Dubai/Hong Kong Jazeera 524 Alexandria Jazeera 480 Sabiha Jazeera 164 Dubai Jazeera 456 Damascus Gulf Air 212 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 181 Bahrain Jazeera 256 Beirut Wataniya Airways 431 Damascus British 156 London Kuwait 545 Alexandria Fly Dubai 054 Dubai Kuwait 177 Frankfurt/Geneva Kuwait 671 Dubai Kuwait 1541 Cairo Kuwait 117 New York

18:00 18:35 18:40 18:45 18:50 18:50 19:00 19:00 19:05 19:20 19:20 19:25 19:25 19:30 19:40 20:05 20:15 20:10 20:30 20:30 20:35 20:45 20:50 20:50 21:00 21:05 21:15 21:35 21:55 22:00 22:30 22:40 22:45 22:55 23:00 23:10 23:15 23:55 23:50 Time 00:15 00:15 00:25 00:50 01:05 01:10 01:25 02:15 02:30 02:40 03:05 03:15 03:45 04:00 04:15 05:00 06:50 07:00 05:15 06:05 07:00 07:05 07:45 07:45 07:50 08:05 08:10 08:25 08:35 08:40 08:55 09:00 09:10 10:00

Wataniya Airways Kuwait Arabia Emirates Wataniya Airways Qatari Etihad Wataniya Airways Gulf Air Iran Air Middle East Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait Kuwait Yemenia Gulf Air Iran Aseman Jazeera Egypt Air Egypt Air Wataniya Airways Jordanian Kuwait Fly Dubai United Jazeera Kuwait Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait Qatari Kuwait Rovos Kuwait Etihad Mihin Wataniya Airways Gulf Air Emirates Arabia Jazeera Saudia SriLankan Wataniya Airways Wataniya Airways Jazeera Kuwait Jazeera Kuwait Fly Dubai Kuwait Kuwait Oman Air Middle East Jet A/W Wataniya Airways Gulf Air Saudia DHL Kuwait Jazeera Qatari Kuwait Kuwait Emirates Jazeera Jazeera United Jazeera Kuwait Egypt Air

421 Amman 551 Damascus 122 Sharjah 856 Dubai 641 Vienna 133 Doha 302 Abu Dhabi 401 Beirut 214 Bahrain 618 Lar 405 Beirut 303 Cairo 743 Dammam 541 Cairo 238 Amman 366 Deirezzor 103 London 501 Beirut 825 Doha/Sanaa 220 Bahrain 6808 Shiraz 426 Bahrain 611 Cairo 1611 Cairo 105 Dubai 801 Amman 561 Amman 058 Dubai 982 Bahrain 176 Dubai 673 Dubai 403 Beirut 785 Jeddah 617 Doha 496 Riyadh 458 Damascus 773 Riyadh 135 Doha 613 Bahrain 082 Baghdad 1543 Cairo 304 Abu Dhabi 404 Dubai/Colombo 306 Cairo 216 Bahrain 858 Dubai 126 Sharjah 184 Dubai 511 Riyadh 228 Dubai/Colombo 407 Beirut 107 Dubai 428 Bahrain 283 Dhaka 266 Beirut 361 Colombo 062 Dubai 343 Chennai 331 Trivandrum 648 Muscat 403 Beirut 571 Mumbai 187 Bahrain 218 Bahrain 507 Jeddah 373 Bahrain 675 Dubai 612 Lahore 137 Doha 203 Lahore 301 Mumbai 860 Dubai 526 Alexandria 636 Aleppo 981 Washington DC Dulles 502 Luxor 411 Bangkok/Manila 613 Cairo

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

09:10 09:10 09:20 09:40 09:45 10:00 10:10 11:35 11:35 11:40 11:50 11:50 11:55 12:00 12:10 12:15 12:30 13:00 13:00 13:55 13:45 13:55 13:55 14:05 14:30 14:30 14:35 14:35 14:50 14:55 15:10 15:10 15:20 15:35 15:35 15:50 16:05 16:20 16:20 17:00 17:05 17:35 17:40 18:05 18:05 18:05 18:20 18:30 18:35 19:10 19:25 19:40 19:50 20:15 20:10 20:20 20:50 21:00 21:00 21:15 21:20 21:30 21:35 21:55 21:55 22:00 22:10 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:10 23:20 23:35 23:40 23:40 23:40 23:55

CLASSIFIEDS

Friday, September 17, 2010

Page 49

Call: 99322585. (C 2665) 16-9-2010 An executive (single) looking for sharing accommodation, single room with separate toilet, preferably with Christian family around Salmiya.

Please call: 66764062. (C 2657) One independent room available for 1 or 2 decent executive bachelors in 2 BR flat, separate bathroom.

Only KD 80, new building, near Shara Amman Street, Opp. Appolo hospital, Salmiya. Call 99761807.

(C 2658)

ACCOMMODATIOn sharing accommodation is available in a C-A/C flat for working ladies, couple or a decent family in Jabriya, area-10, near Jabriya Indian School. Please contact: 99300513. (C 2663) Accommodation available for a decent (non smoking) bachelor with a Keralite single family in Abbassiya.

Contact: 99378344 / 24332105. (C 2664) room for rent in old Khaitan near Pakistani International School for family or working ladies.

FOr sALE Laptop IBM Thinkpad Centrino with basic configuration price KD 75 & PC IBM p4, Ram MB, HD GB, with 17� LCD monitor, Price KD 65, all in excellent condition. Call: 99322585.

CHAnGE OF nAME I, syed Ajmer Ali s/o Syed Akter Ali R/O 17-1181/M/1918, Madannapet, Hyd, A.P. has changed my name as MIR MUSTAFA ALI s/o. Syed Akter Ali. Hence I will be known as Mir Mustafa Ali (B/1011/C09936). (C 2653) sITUATIOn VACAnT

General Nurse 5 years experience in child care.

Contact Mobile: 94995583.

(C 2662)

MATrIMOnIAL Keralite R/C girl, 27 yrs, staff nurse (MOH), going for vacation on Dec. seeks proposals from educated working boys in Kuwait. Contact: wilsonmathilakam@yahoo.com

(C 2661) 15-9-2010

Indian driver required for Kuwaiti family with transferable residency. Contact 97894903. (C 2659) 15-9-2010 Live-in Filipina housekeep-

er / Nanny required for a European family with 2 children.

Good English required and experience with children is a must.

Contact: 65887206.

(C 2652)

TrAnspOrT A driver to take a lady from Al-Rumaithiya to Salmiya.

Tel: 99662391. (C 2654) 14-9-2010

LOsT I syed Shaffiulla, Indian National, lost my passport, with passport No. F2746695, issued from Hyderabad. Finder please contact me thru my mobile no: 55235216.

15-9-2010

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists: Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 5622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 5752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 5321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 5739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 5757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 5732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 5732223 Ear, nose & Throat (EnT): Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz

4555050 Ext 510 5644660 5646478 5311996 5731988 2620166 5651426

General practitioners: Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi Dr. Yousef Al-Omar Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem Dr. Kathem Maarafi Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae

4555050 Ext 123 4719312 3926920 5730465 5655528 4577781 5333501

Urologists: Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 2641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 2639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 2616660

Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 5313120 plastic surgeons: Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari Dr. Abdel Quttainah

2547272 2617700 5625030/60

Family Doctor: Dr Divya Damodar

3729596/3729581

psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

2635047 2613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians: Dr Adrian Harbe Dr. Verginia s.Marin Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly Dr. Salem soso

3729596/3729581 572-6666 ext 8321 2655539 5343406 5739272 2618787

General surgeons: Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 2610044 Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 5327148

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra Dr. Mobarak Aldoub Dr Nasser Behbehani

5728004 5355515 4726446 5654300/3

paediatricians: Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed Dr. Zahra Qabazard Dr. Sohail Qamar Dr. Snaa Maaroof Dr. Pradip Gujare Dr. Zacharias Mathew

5340300 5710444 2621099 5713514 3713100 4334282

(1) Ear, nose and Throat (2) plastic surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada) 5655535 Dentists: Dr Anil Thomas Dr. Shamah Al-Matar Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

3729596/3729581 2641071/2 2562226 2561444 2619557 2525888 5653755 5620111

Internists, Chest & Heart: Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada

2639939 2666300

neurologists: Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 5633324 Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 5345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman 2636464 Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 5322030 Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 2633135 Endocrinologist: Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 5339330 Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 5658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 5329924 physiotherapists & VD: Dr. Deyaa Shehab Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

5722291 2666288

rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 5330060 Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 5722290 Internist, Chest & Heart: DR.Mohammes Akkad 4555050 Ext 210 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Tel: 5339667 Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Consultant Cardiologist Tel: 2611555-2622555

Page 50

Friday, September 17, 2010

TV Listings Orbit /Showtime Channels

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

08:40 Breed All About It 09:05 Breed All About It 09:35 Planet Wild 10:00 Pit Bulls and Parolees 10:55 Monkey Life 11:20 Dolphin Days 11:50 Miami Animal Police 12:45 E-Vets: The Interns 13:10 Pet Rescue 13:40 Animal Cops Miami 14:35 Wildlife SOS 15:00 RSPCA: Have You Got What it Takes?

15:30 Pit Bulls and Parolees 16:25 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 17:20 Groomer Has It 18:15 Great Ocean Adventures 19:10 Wolverine 20:10 Stranger Among Bears 20:35 Stranger Among Bears 21:05 Whale Wars 22:00 Living with Wolves 22:55 Animal Cops Miami 23:50 Wolverine

Dollhouse One Tree Hill Survivor Karen Sisco Dawson’s Creek Hawthorne Defying Gravity Dollhouse Dawson’s Creek Criminal Minds Karen Sisco Hawthorne Defying Gravity Criminal Minds Karen Sisco Dawson’s Creek One Tree Hill Survivor Dollhouse Bachelor Friday Night Lights Happy Town The Closer Saving Grace

00:45 Untamed & Uncut 01:40 Weird Creatures with Nick Baker 02:35 Pit Bulls and Parolees 03:30 Animal Cops South Africa 04:25 Wolverine Revealed 05:20 Untamed & Uncut 06:10 RSPCA: Have You Got What it Takes?

06:35 Planet Wild 07:00 Animal Crackers 07:25 Meerkat Manor 07:50 The Planet’s Funniest Animals

00:25 01:10 02:00 02:45 03:15 03:45 04:20 04:35 05:00 05:10 05:40 05:55 06:20 06:30 07:00 07:15 07:40 07:50

The Weakest Link Casualty Vital Signs Eastenders Doctors Last Of The Summer Wine Gigglebiz Teletubbies Tellytales Tikkabilla Gigglebiz Teletubbies Tellytales Tikkabilla Gigglebiz Teletubbies Tellytales Tikkabilla

08:20 08:35 09:00 09:10 09:40 10:10 10:40 11:25 12:20 12:50 13:20 14:10 14:40 15:10 15:45 16:40 17:25 17:55 18:25 19:15 20:00 20:45 21:15 22:00 22:50 23:35

00:10 00:40 01:05 01:55 02:40 03:20 04:10 04:40 05:05 05:55 07:00 07:50 08:35 09:20 09:40 10:05

Humboldt County on Show Movies

Gigglebiz Teletubbies Tellytales Tikkabilla Last Of The Summer Wine Last Of The Summer Wine The Weakest Link Innocent Doctors Eastenders Casualty Last Of The Summer Wine Last Of The Summer Wine Last Of The Summer Wine Innocent The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Casualty Strictly Come Dancing The Weakest Link Doctors Robin Hood The Jonathan Ross Show The Jonathan Ross Show Live At The Apollo

Daily Cooks Challenge Daily Cooks Challenge Cash In The Attic House Swap Cash In The Attic Come Dine With Me Daily Cooks Challenge Daily Cooks Challenge 10 Years Younger House Swap Antiques Roadshow House Swap Bargain Hunt Hidden Potential Cash In The Attic Usa Chuck’s Day Off

10:25 10:50 11:35 12:20 13:10 13:55 14:40 15:05 15:30 16:20 17:05 17:55 18:20 18:50 19:40 20:10 21:00 21:45 22:30 23:20 23:45

Chuck’s Day Off House Swap Cash In The Attic Come Dine With Me 10 Years Younger House Swap Chuck’s Day Off Chuck’s Day Off Antiques Roadshow House Swap Cash In The Attic Daily Cooks Challenge Daily Cooks Challenge Come Dine With Me Celebrity Masterchef Goes Large Rhodes Across China House Swap Cash In The Attic Come Dine With Me Celebrity Masterchef Goes Large Celebrity Masterchef Goes Large

01:15 03:30 05:15 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 18:45 21:00 22:45

Jennifer Eight-18 American Violet-PG15 Nights In Rodanthe-PG15 It Might Get Loud-PG15 Not Easily Broken-PG15 L’age Des Tenebres-PG15 The Old Curiousity Shop-PG Save The Last Dance-PG Edward Scissorhands-PG The Children Of Huang Shi-PG15 Romulus My Father-PG15 La Graine Et Le Mulet-PG15

00:40 01:35 02:30 03:25 04:20 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:25 08:15 09:10 10:05 11:00 11:55 12:25 12:50 13:20 14:15 15:10 16:05 17:00 17:55 18:50 19:15 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:55 22:50 23:45

00:30 01:20 01:45 02:35 03:25 03:50 04:45 05:40 06:10 07:00 08:00 09:00 09:55 10:20 10:50 11:45 12:15 13:10 13:35 14:30 15:25 15:55 16:50 17:45 18:40 19:05 19:30 20:20 20:45 21:10 22:00 22:25

Street Customs Dirty Jobs Oil Disaster: a Race Against Time Mega Builders Mythbusters How It’s Made How Does it Work Dirty Jobs Fifth Gear Mega Builders Street Customs Mythbusters Ultimate Survival Oil Disaster: a Race Against Time Border Security How Does it Work How It’s Made Mythbusters Miami Ink Ultimate Survival Dirty Jobs Overhaulin’ Mythbusters Cake Boss Border Security The Gadget Show How Does it Work How It’s Made Swords: Life on the Line Construction Intervention Ultimate Car Build-Off LA Ink

Perfect Disaster The Gadget Show Catch It Keep It I, Videogame How Does That Work?

Junkyard Mega-Wars Robotica Weird Connections Perfect Disaster Junkyard Mega-Wars Mars: The Quest for Life Catch It Keep It Stunt Junkies Weird Connections Perfect Disaster How Does That Work?

The Greatest Ever One Step Beyond Catch It Keep It Science of the Movies The Gadget Show Mars: The Quest for Life The Greatest Ever Brainiac Sci-Fi Science Sci-Fi Science FutureCar How It’s Made The Gadget Show The Greatest Ever Sci-Fi Science Sci-Fi Science

21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00 23:30 00:15 Leave It To Lamas 00:40 Dr 90210 01:30 Wildest TV Show Moments 01:55 Reality Hell 02:20 E!ES 03:15 25 Most Stylish 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Battle of the Hollywood Hotties 05:30 Streets of Hollywood 06:00 THS 06:55 THS 07:45 Behind the Scenes 08:10 Behind the Scenes 08:35 E! News 09:00 The Daily 10 09:25 Denise Richards: It’s Complicated 09:50 Leave It To Lamas 10:15 15 Unforgettable Hollywood Tragedies 12:00 E! News 12:25 The Daily 10 12:50 Behind the Scenes 13:15 Pretty Wild 13:40 Keeping Up with the Kardashians 14:05 Kendra 14:30 Dr 90210 15:25 E!ES 16:15 Behind the Scenes 16:40 Behind the Scenes 17:10 Keeping Up with the Kardashians 18:00 E! News 18:25 The Daily 10 18:50 Keeping Up with the Kardashians 19:15 Pretty Wild 19:40 THS 20:30 Kendra 20:55 Chelsea Lately 21:20 Kourtney & Khlo√© Take Miami 21:45 Kourtney & Khlo√© Take Miami 22:10 E! News 22:35 The Daily 10 23:00 Chelsea Lately 23:25 Kendra 23:50 Pretty Wild

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 08:00 10:00 11:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 20:00 22:30 23:00

Bmx Megatour Tread Bmx Rebel Events 2009 Sports Jobs Fantasy Factory Iex 2009 Winter Dew Tour 09/10 Winter X Games 14 2010 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross...

Ticket To Ride 2009 Winter X Games 14 2010 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross...

Winter Dew Tour 09/10 Winter X Games 14 2010 Lucas Oil Ama Motocross...

Ticket To Ride 2009 Strikeforce

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:00 03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 05:30 06:00 07:00 07:25 07:50 08:15 08:40 09:05 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00

Chopped 30 Minute Meals Tyler’s Ultimate Iron Chef America Barefoot Contessa Unwrapped Chopped Throwdown With Bobby Flay Guys Big Bite Iron Chef America Paula’s Best Dishes Good Deal with Dave Lieberman Guys Big Bite Barefoot Contessa Everyday Italian 30 Minute Meals Tyler’s Ultimate Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Barefoot Contessa Unwrapped Paula’s Party Paula’s Best Dishes Good Deal with Dave Lieberman Guys Big Bite Barefoot Contessa Everyday Italian 30 Minute Meals Grill It! with Bobby Flay Iron Chef America Barefoot Contessa Unwrapped Paula’s Best Dishes Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Throwdown With Bobby Flay Good Deal with Dave Lieberman Iron Chef America

Barefoot Contessa Everyday Italian Chopped Grill It! with Bobby Flay Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives

00:00 The Golf Channel - TBA 02:00 Golf Central International 02:30 The Golf Channel - TBA 06:00 Nationwide Tour: Albertsons Boise Open Rd. 1 Boise, ID 08:30 NFL Replay Teams TBA 10:00 MLB: San Diego Padres at St. Louis Cardinals 13:00 Golf Central International 13:30 World Sport 2010 14:00 NFL Game Day 14:30 Sport Central 15:00 Beach Sports EVP Pro Beach Volleyball - Northeast Championships Charleston, WV 15:30 European Tour Austrian Golf Open Rd. 2 Vienna, Austria 18:30 World of Athletics 19:00 MLB: San Diego Padres at St. Louis Cardinals 22:00 FIM Supermoto Salou Catalunya 23:00 Rolex Spirit of Yachting Racing Boats & Racing Cars 23:30 Nationwide Tour: Albertsons Boise Open Rd. 2 Boise, ID

00:30 01:20 02:10 03:05 04:00 04:55 05:20 06:10 06:35 07:00 07:50 08:40 09:30 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:25 12:50 13:40 14:30 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

A Haunting FBI Files Autopsy: Most Shocking Cases Dr G: Medical Examiner Forensic Detectives Ghosthunters Dr G: Medical Examiner Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls Forensic Detectives FBI Files CSU Mystery ER Forensic Detectives Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls Solved Mystery ER Forensic Detectives FBI Files CSU Mystery ER Forensic Detectives Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls Solved Mystery ER Extreme Forensics Extreme Forensics Dr G: Medical Examiner

01:15 03:00 04:40 06:10 08:05 10:00 11:50 13:45 15:20 17:15 18:55 20:35 22:00

Moonlight & Valentino Article 99 Soldier Boyz The Program The Black Stallion The Playboys Popi The Spikes Gang Woman Of Straw Kuffs The Mechanic The Knack And How To Get It Blown Away

00:30 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 05:30 06:30 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00

Cruise Ship Diaries Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue 4Real Don’t Tell My Mother Madventures Long Way Down Bondi Rescue Banged Up Abroad Cruise Ship Diaries Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue 4Real Don’t Tell My Mother Madventures Long Way Down

Page 51

Friday, September 17, 2010 11:00 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:30 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:30 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:30 22:00 23:00 23:30

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30 05:30 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00 23:30

00:00 01:00 01:30 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Bondi Rescue Banged Up Abroad Cruise Ship Diaries Cycling Home With Rob Lilwall A Childhood Promise Meet The Natives - USA Madventures Long Way Down Bondi Rescue Banged Up Abroad Cruise Ship Diaries Cycling Home With Rob Lilwall A Childhood Promise Meet The Natives - USA Madventures Long Way Down Bondi Rescue Banged Up Abroad

Til Death Seinfeld The Daily Show with Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Late night with Jimmy Fallon Seinfeld The Ricky Gervais Show South Park Late night with Jimmy Fallon Everybody Loves Raymond Malcolm in the Middle The Drew Carey Show Ellen Three sisters Seinfeld Everybody Loves Raymond Malcolm in the Middle The Drew Carey Show Will & Grace Parks & Recreation Everybody Loves Raymond Three sisters Late night with Jimmy Fallon Seinfeld Everybody Loves Raymond Malcolm in the Middle Til Death Parks & Recreation The Daily Show with Jon Stewart The Colbert Report The Drew Carey Show Ellen Three sisters The Simpsons My Name is Earl Sons of Tucson Two and a half men Late night with Jimmy Fallon The Daily Show with Jon Stewart The Colbert Report Funny or Die The Ricky Gervais Show South Park Sons of Tucson

What’s Good For You Look A Like Look A Like The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Monique Show The Tonight show with Jay Leno GMA (repeat) GMA Health What’s the Buzz What’s Good For You Look A Like Look A Like Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The View The Ellen DeGeneres Show What’s Good For You GMA Live GMA Health What’s the Buzz The Tonight show with Jay Leno Look A Like Look A Like The View The Ellen DeGeneres Show Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The Tonight show with Jay Leno The Monique Show

PLAYHOUSE DISNEY 07:00 Lazytown 07:25 Imagination Movers 07:50 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 08:15 Handy Manny 08:40 Jungle Junction 08:50 Special Agent Oso 09:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:25 Handy Manny 09:50 New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 10:15 Little Einsteins 10:40 Special Agent Oso 11:05 Imagination Movers 11:30 Lazytown

11:55 12:20 12:45 13:10 14:00 14:25 14:50 15:05 15:30 15:55 16:20 16:45 17:10 Pooh 17:35 17:45 18:10 18:35 19:00 Pooh 19:25 19:35 19:50

My Friends Tigger and Pooh Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Little Einsteins Higglytown Heroes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Special Agent Oso My Friends Tigger and Pooh Imagination Movers Little Einsteins Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse New Adventures of Winnie the

00:00 02:00 04:00 05:30 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:15

Humboldt County-18 My One And Only-PG15 Gifted Hands-PG15 Che Part Two : Guerilla-PG15 Wild Child-PG15 Stevie-PG15 Swing Vote-PG15 Nurse.fighter.boy-PG15 Wild Child-PG15 Appaloosa-PG15 Public Enemies-18 Swing Vote-PG15

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Special Agent Oso Imagination Movers Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse New Adventures of Winnie the Handy Manny Special Agent Oso Jungle Junction

00:15 00:17 01:00 01:50 02:00 02:45 03:15 03:17 07:15 07:17 08:00 08:45 09:15 09:17 13:00 13:45 15:15 15:17 16:00 16:45 17:15 17:17 18:00 18:45 19:00 20:00 20:30 22:15 22:17 23:00 23:40

Solstice-18 District 13: Ultimatum-18 Eagle Eye-PG15 The Least Of These-PG15 Fracture-PG15 The Tournament-18 The X Files-PG15 Fracture-PG15 Surviving Evil-18 Mortal Kombat-PG Goal Iii-18 El Orfenato-18

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My Own Worst Enemy Cold Case CSI Miami Smallville 8 Simple rules Rita Rocks Sons of Anarchy Emmerdale Turn Back Your Body Clock CSI Miami 8 Simple rules Rita Rocks Smallville Without a trace CSI Miami Emmerdale Turn Back Your Body Clock 8 Simple rules Rita Rocks My Own Worst Enemy

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Cold Case Without a trace Smallville Gavin and Stacey The Book Group Bones Bones CSI Miami Sons of Anarchy Smallville

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Quo Vadis The Screening Room 10 Rillington Place The Screening Room Bad Day At Black Rock The King And Four Queens A Hole In The Head Bite The Bullet Quo Vadis Echoes Of A Summer Welcome To Hard Times 2010 School Daze

00:30 Prehistoric Mega Storms 01:20 Mega Disasters 02:10 Life After People 03:00 Crossing The Bridge 03:55 The Nazi Officer’s Wife 05:40 How The Earth Was Made 06:30 Prehistoric Mega Storms 07:20 Mega Disasters 08:10 Life After People 09:00 Crossing The Bridge 09:55 The Nazi Officer’s Wife 11:40 How The Earth Was Made 12:30 Prehistoric Mega Storms 13:20 Mega Disasters 14:10 Life After People 15:00 Crossing The Bridge 15:55 The Nazi Officer’s Wife 17:40 How The Earth Was Made 18:30 Prehistoric Mega Storms 19:20 Mega Disasters 20:10 Life After People 21:00 Investigating History 21:55 Rome: Rise And Fall Of An Empire 22:50 Prehistoric Mega Storms 23:40 Battles B.c.

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00:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 01:00 Travel Notebook 02:00 Julian and Camilla’s World Odyssey 03:00 Intrepid Journeys 04:00 Globe Trekker 05:00 World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides 06:00 Taste Takes Off 06:30 Journey Into Wine-South Africa 07:00 Globe Trekker 08:00 Travel Oz 08:30 Distant Shores 09:00 Top Travel 09:30 Travel Today 10:00 Journey Into Wine-South Africa 10:30 Opening Soon 11:00 Riding Route 66 11:30 Essential 12:00 Globe Trekker 13:00 Taste Takes Off 13:30 The Thirsty Traveler 14:00 Entrada 14:30 Distant Shores 15:00 Top Travel 15:30 Travel Today 16:00 Globe Trekker 17:00 Travel Oz 17:30 Taste Takes Off 18:00 Journey Into Wine-Spain & Portugal 18:30 Opening Soon 19:00 Globe Trekker 20:00 Globe Trekker Special 21:00 Think Green 22:00 The Thrillseekers Guide 22:30 PhotoXplorers 23:00 Globe Trekker VH1 00:00 Music For The Masses 01:00 Greatest Hits 02:00 VH1 Music 05:00 Chill Out

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Friday, september 17, 2010

Lifestyle

In this Sept 11, 2010 file photo, actor and director Robert Redford is seen.—AP

(From left) In this film publicity image released by The American Film Company, Robin Wright, and James McAvoy are shown in a scene from, “The Conspirator.”—AP

Redford goes indie with Lincoln ‘Conspirator’ tale R

obert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival has hooked up scores of eager young directors with theatrical distributors. Now Redford has succeeded at the same independent game he helped establish with Sundance: He came to the Toronto International Film Festival with a drama made outside of Hollywood and went away with a deal to land it in theaters. Acquired Wednesday by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions, Redford’s Abraham Lincoln assassination saga “The Conspirator” arguably was the biggest film to enter the prestigious Toronto festival without a distributor already in place.

Redford had been to the Toronto festival before with a film he directed, 1992’s “A River Runs Through It.” People had asked him about the possibility of premiering “The Conspirator” at Sundance in January, but he never considered it, recalling the mixed feelings

he had when his own festival premiered a film in which he starred, “The Clearing,” in 2004.

“I was uneasy about that and still am and think that was a mistake. I don’t ever want to do that again. I see that as too dangerously self-serving, and I just don’t want it,” Redford, 74, said in an interview.

“The Conspirator” is a $20 million production, small by Hollywood standards but huge for the independent world, where movies often are made by unknowns who max out their credit cards just to cover the basic costs of filming. The story of “The Conspirator” also is huge, chronicling the little-known aftermath of the assassination, when boarding-house owner Mary Surratt (Robin Wright) was put on trial at a military tribunal along with male defendants accused of plotting with Lincoln’s killer, John Wilkes Booth.

Reluctantly recruited to defend Surratt, a Union war hero (James McAvoy)

gradually comes to doubt his own government’s motives, viewing his client as a scapegoat in a sham trial. “The Conspirator” is the first production financed by the American Film Co, launched by billionaire Joe Ricketts, who founded the online brokerage Ameritrade and whose family owns the Chicago Cubs.

Ricketts started the production outfit to make films based on American history.

Wright, like many Americans, knew nothing about the conspiracy trial that followed the assassination.

“The household name was Booth growing up in history class,” Wright said. “That’s all I remember.” The film is stacked with rhetoric about civil liberties and constitutional rights, lines that could come from the mouths of critics assailing tribunals and detention of suspects in today’s war on terror. “The fact that the comparisons are there, it’s partly because it’s about a miscarriage of justice, which I

think is completely part of the human experience. Not just the recent experience of post-9/11 Western countries,” McAvoy said. Redford “was at pains not to let us really ram it down people’s throats. Some of the lines we had to change as well because they were just too on the nose, and some of the stuff that some of the characters said were like quotes from many politicians of today.” Redford said he was cautious about the rhetoric, saying, “I have been framed-maybe it’s my own faultframed as somebody that’s doing political films with a liberal bent to them.” Any parallels to today arose entirely from the story unfolding in “The Conspirator,” he said.

“The beauty of it is, this is not something that a filmmaker invents to put in there as a kind of a lesson to be learned or something to be preached to get attention. History provides it,” Redford said. “History is a series of loops. Patterns

keep repeating themselves. If you get McCarthy, you’re going to get Nixon, and you’re going to get Bush. You’re just going to get that. You’re going to get those patterns.”

The Conspirator” co-stars Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood, Alexis Bledel, Justin Long, Tom Wilkinson and Colm Meaney.

Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions plan to release the film next spring, timing that suits Redford, who said he senses renewed interest in the assassination with an offBroadway play about Booth and other Lincoln-related projects. “It feels like the time for this is kind of now. Because something’s getting in the air right now about Lincoln.

It’s coming back. It periodically comes back in waves. Lincoln’s assassination has never gone away. It’s become an ongoing American issue,” Redford said. “There’s something in the air, and you want to get ahead of that.”—AP

Historic sites go beyond glorifying great men homas Jefferson’s clothes and linens did not get pressed on their own, and the meals for his lavish parties did not cook themselves.

Now, Jefferson’s estate, Monticello, is expanding efforts to depict the lives and activities of the people who worked behind the scenes, allowing visitors to see that Jefferson had a lot of support for his achievements. Other sites have been undertaking similar updates, and in doing so, they are providing a more nearly complete depiction of history.

Curators at the third president’s mountaintop home have been using Jefferson’s detailed journals, archaeological finds and other research to expand Monticello’s stories beyond the third president of the United States and his political, scientific, diplomatic, literary and other achievements.

They also are speaking to a wider audience that includes a growing number of black visitors and other minorities, said Leni Sorensen, AfricanAmerican research historian at Monticello. “It isn’t that (visitors) aren’t interested in Jefferson. They are, and they want to see how was he allowed to live the way he lived; who was behind that work,” Sorensen said. “They’ll see that competent, skilled enslaved people did the work and helped make it happen.” A new permanent exhibit that opened in June in Monticello’s cellar depicts a place where

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slaves who worked as cooks, housemaids and others worked together and crossed paths with Jefferson family members, visitors’ servants and others. Called “Crossroads,” the exhibit includes life-sized figures of Jefferson’s enslaved butler Burwell Colbert, Jefferson’s daughter Martha, teenage house servant Israel Gillette and others next to artifacts found during archaeological research, such as thimbles, clothing irons and shoe buckles.

Ford Bell, president of the American Association of Museums, said that historic sites and museums are now reflecting a more multicultural approach, turning away from the “great man theory” that spotlighted only the achievements of Jefferson and other historic figures. “The true story is the telling of millions of individual stories of all Americans,” Bell said. “It’s truly about diverse cultural and ethnic groups that came together to create our country, and many of them were reviled or subjugated.” Updating history also could help attendance. The nation’s demographics are changing, but core museum visitors are still largely white, Bell said. To draw more diverse visitors, museums are offering stories that resonate with visitors of many backgrounds, including people from ethnic or religious minorities, he said. —AP

This Tuesday, Aug 17, 2010 photo shows Perri Jenkins, 9, of Houston, Texas, as she looks at a display depicting teenage house servant Israel Gillette during a tour of the a new exhibit about the lives of slaves at Thomas Jefferson’s home Monticello in Charlottesville, Va.—AP

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Lifestyle Mini-moo: 33-inch English cow world’s smallest minuscule cow with a taste for contemporary music has been named the world’s smallest by the Guinness World Records book. Guinness says the sheep-sized bovine from the West Yorkshire region of northern England measures roughly 33 inches (84 centimeters) from hind to foot. The 11-year-old cow is named Swallow and her owner, Caroline Ryder, said she spent yesterday grazing with her herd and listening to BBC radio in her cowshed.

Swallow is a Dexter cow, a breed known for its diminutive stature, but is small even

by Dexter standards. She already has nine regular-sized calves and is pregnant with her 10th. Guinness said her youngest calf has already grown larger than she is.

Guinness World Records 2011 was published yesterday in the UK.-—AP

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This is an undated Guinness World Records handout photo made available yesterday of Swallow, right, an 11-year-old cow from Yorkshire posing next to Freddie the bull.—AP

Michael Jackson’s mother sues concert promoters ate pop icon Michael Jackson’s mother has filed suit against promoters of a concert series he was supposed to give in London in 2009, claiming they shared the blame for his death during rehearsals.

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Katherine Jackson filed the suit in Los Angeles Superior Court in her name and those of the singer’s three children. The suit is for an unspecified amount in damages. She charged that the AEG group did not give her son

In this June 14, 2010 photo, Michael Jackson’s parents, Katherine Jackson and Joe Jackson leave a Los Angeles courthouse after a preliminary hearing setting and motions in the trial of Michael Jackson’s personal doctor Conrad Murray.—AP

appropriate medical care during rehearsals for the shows, and alleged negligence in allowing Dr. Conrad Murray to care exclusively for her son.

A Los Angeles judge has set a January 2011 hearing to weigh whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Murray for involuntary manslaughter over the singer’s death. The 57year-old doctor, who was with Jackson when he died June 25, 2009, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in February this year, but is free on a 75,000 dollar bond.

Officials have ruled that Jackson died after being injected with a powerful cocktail of sedatives and painkillers, including propofol, which the singer regularly requested from Murray to help him sleep.

Jackson’s death sent shockwaves around the world, and family and fans were outraged to learn that the man dubbed the King of Pop was administered a dangerous mix of powerful prescription drugs in the hours before his death.

Murray, who was born in Grenada and grew up in Trinidad before moving to the United States, has denied the charges against him, which were filed after a painstaking seven-month probe involving local and federal investigators.—AFP

(From left) Brazilian acoustic guitar “Duofel” duo players Luiz Bueno and Fernando Melo, perform during the Olinda International Music Festival (MIMO) at the seminary of Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil. The Brazilian music, in all its complex and inexhaustible originality was the star of the VII International Music Show of Olinda, setting new trends and seducing the foreign great musicians who took part in the event.—AFP

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Friday, September 17, 2010

Modesl wear designs by Michael Kors .— AP/AFP photos

By Samantha Critchell

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he runways at New York Fashion Week carved a path through the woods-sometimes literally. Michael Kors had a wooden runway lined with boxwood for his sunny nature-inspired show on Wednesday, which featured a “shredded shrub” fabric. At Rodarte, dresses mimicked tree bark and wood paneling. But nature was evident even in ways that were less obvious-in natural, textured fabrics like gauze, silk and linen. “It’s all very natural and easy and it’s all being mixed: chiffon, gauze, leather, suede, hemp and linen. It’s an interesting take on what you find in nature,” said Joe Zee, creative director for Elle magazine. The earthy feel goes with the easy feeling that has prevailed at the spring MercedesBenz Fashion Week previews that run through Thursday. The fashion flock then moves on to London, Paris and Milan.

MICHAEL KORS Bells and whistles can mask many things in fashion: sketchy tailoring, stale ideas and figure flaws. Simplicity done well, like Michael Kors turned out Wednesday, means everything else has to be perfect. “It’s all about the way you cut it, the texture ... You can’t hide behind ruching and ruffles. But I love simplicity when it’s right,” Kors said backstage just after his “Sunshine State of Mind” collection debuted on the runway. The words he used to describe the look that included a daffodil-yellow cashmere tank dress, a crinkly hemp linen tunic, a white gauze pullover and matching sarong skirt that looked like something the long, lithe model just tossed on in the casually chic way models often do. The fluid

Modesl wear designs by Marchesa.

See next page >>>

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Friday, September 17, 2010

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<<< From previous page gabardine trench over a stone-colored pullover and floaty linen gauze skirt captured the easy elegance that editors, stylists and retailers are buzzing about as the big message from the spring collections. The shoes were mostly flat buff-colored sandals. Kors said he was tired of seeing women in heels tucking an extra pair of shoes into their bags; the solution is stylish flats.

MARCHESA Really, no one had to go farther than the entrance of the Marchesa Fashion Week presentation at the Chelsea Art Museum to see “the dress.” It was a huge black-and-white tulle confection decorated in a hand-painted floral motif. “One morning, Georgina (Chapman) came into the office and said, ‘I think we should start the show with the finale,”‘ said the label’s co-founder Keren Craig.

She could have had her choices: Other feats presented Wednesday that seem destined for the red carpet were a mint-colored, handpleated mini with jadelike embellishment; a pearl-colored, allembroidered dress with a lacelike effect; and a fully sculpted strapless gown made of a midnight-stained organza with flower details and painted illustrations.

Models wear designs by Tory Burch.

NARCISO RODRIGUEZ The full change in fashion’s favorite silhouette from the aggressive, tight shape of just a season or two ago to a looser, more languid look couldn’t have been more obvious than on the Narciso Rodriguez runway. His spring collection was feminine and sultry, yet it never lost sight of the strong woman underneath. Sarah Jessica Parker and Courtney Love were among those in his front row. Love had to put her glasses on to get a better view. The delicacy of Rodriguez’s spaghetti straps-make that angel hair-on the last few slip dresses was masterful. Rodriguez has made architectural styles his signature, and they were still a driving force here, but there was an overall mellowing in line with the trends that have dominated New York Fashion Week. And, strategic use of champagne-colored fabrics were used as he hit the bareness-without-skin trend.

ONESTOPPLUS Curvy girls walked a Lincoln Center runway Wednesday in clothes that accented their real-life silhouettes during New York Fashion Week’s first-ever show exclusively for plus sizes. Turned away from the official Mercedes Benz tents, sponsor OneStopPlus.com presented “Belle Epoque” just down the street above Jazz at Lincoln Center, drawing some of the most visible inspirations for girls and women of size — Nikki Blonsky, KayCee Stroh and Gabourey Sidibe among them. Models representing the low end of the plus spectrum (sizes 12 to 16) showed off oneshoulder goddess dresses and bouquet-print blouses, belted shirt dresses, cropped jackets in leather and lace sheaths. “It’s, like, finally!” said Stroh, who played Martha Cox in the “High School Musical” franchise. “Designers make good clothes, but who’s going to wear them?” “It’s a very, very big step in acceptance of people of size,” said Sidibe, the Oscar nominee for “Precious,” of Wednesday’s show. “We obviously buy a lot of clothes.”

TORY BURCH Like no one else at New York Fashion Week, Tory Burch is her own customer, and there were 20 Burch lookalikes on the runway Wednesday at her presentation. Not that the models all had her bouncy blond hair or just-golden skin, but you could imagine Burch in each and every outfit there. There were striped pantsuits for business meetings, a tiered white linen dress topped with a bonecolored leather blazer for luncheons, and a nubbly Baja hoodie for weekends. Kanye West was there, wandering in search of Burch to congratulate her. “I saw Tory before, but that was before I saw it.

I have to find Tory again now that I’ve seen the collection.”

VERA WANG Vera Wang typically specializes in artful, romantic styles, which might give one pause when she cites as inspiration Quentin Tarantino’s violent “Kill Bill.” But Wang, in her notes, said it was a “fusion of East meets West, with a mixture of boyish urban sophistication and romantic otherworldly sensuality.” Wang’s dresses were her best offerings, including a red silk-tulle gown with a high neck and hand-ruched draping over a bustier, and a gray jersey dress with twisted pleats and a sheer organza back drape. She conducted a worthwhile experiment with a rolled “welted” cuff that she added to shorts and, even more successfully, to the collar of a jersey tunic that was paired with a high-waisted skirt that had twisting pleats. But Wang’s high-waisted pant with a pleated front, skinnier legs and, there’s no other way to say this, dropped crotch, might need to revisit the drawing board.

HERVE LEGER Max Azria has lightened up his dresses for the Herve Leger brand. Azria tweaked the skintight banded dresses to include light

Designs by OneStopPlus.

See next page >>>

Designs by Vera Wang.

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Friday, September 17, 2010

<<< From previous page pinks, off-whites and beige to create a chic sexiness. Azria said the sexiness of the signature dresses comes from the corsetry. When he’s designing them, he thinks of a beautiful woman who “wants to be sexy and classic.” The clothes were definitely sexy. A nude color sleeveless dress had netting around the neck area and at the hip to reveal skin. A black dress of perforated leather and bands had cutouts. A peach dress played peek-a-boo with mesh. There was also a sweet pink strapless dress with pink and cream lines running down it, and dresses with woven straps that revealed skin.

Designs by by Max Azria .

BILL BLASS Bill Blass made its return to New York Fashion Week with designer Jeffrey Monteiro at the creative helm, with a small, quiet collection for spring-pretty but not a lot of flash. That might be an intentional move, considering there have been several high-profile attempts-and flameouts-at returning the house to its place on the designer floors of department stores since Blass left the company in 1999 and, in 2002, died. Monteiro said that color and texture were already on his mind when he found a photography book from the 1970s about South African tribal culture. It’s from there that he added a raffia dress and a red-based striped tribal gown. “I’d like to think I bring a youthfulness and a lightness to the collection. Mr Blass did that, too, but I bring my spirit and my eye to it,” Monteiro said. 3.1 PHILLIP LIM The atmosphere at the 3.1 Phillip Lim show was austere and dark, but the clothes were demure and feminine. Large white abstract sculptures were laid out on the huge wooden floor that the models walked on. In his show notes Lim quoted singer Charlotte Gainsbourg: “She walks crooked and paints her eyelids blue ... dandie-lion, I wanna go there too.” And there were blues but also black, tan, nude, taupe and some copper. Some fabrics were very languid and there was lots of layering. Some skirts looked like they had panels on them. — AP

Designs by Bill Blass.

Designs by PhillipLlim .

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Friday, September 17, 2010

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rench fashion label Hermes yesterday opened its first boutique for its new brand Shang Xia-a bold strategy that highlights China’s growing importance to luxury goods companies. “We are very moved-this is like the birth of a child,” Hermes chief executive Patrick Thomas said ahead of the inauguration of the shop in a high-end shopping mall in Shanghai, China’s most cosmopolitan city. The store, a picture of minimalist chic, offers clothing, home furnishings, shoes and tableware-a collection inspired by tea, and made from traditional Asian materials such as bamboo, cashmere and porcelain.

In front of the store, artisans put their skills on display for the widely anticipated opening, making tea cups enveloped in an intricate web of woven bamboo. Shang Xia, whose name means “Up Down” in Mandarin, aims to boost what Thomas told AFP

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soft-spoken 14-year-old’s nose piercing has landed her a suspension from school and forced her into the middle of a fight over her constitutional right to exercise her religion. Ariana Iacono says she just wants to be a normal teenager at Clayton High School, about 15 miles (25 kilometers) southeast of Raleigh. She has been suspended since last week because her nose ring violates the Johnston County school system’s dress code.

“I think it’s kind of stupid for them to kick me out of school for a nose piercing,” she said. “It’s in the (constitution’s) First Amendment for me to have freedom of religion.”

Iacono and her mother, Nikki, belong to the Church of Body Modification, a small group unfamiliar to rural North Carolina, but one with a clergy, a statement of beliefs and a formal process for accepting new members. It’s enough to draw the interest of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has contacted school officials with concerns that the rights of the Iaconos are being violated by the suspension.

The Iaconos say the school system is ignoring its own dress code policy, which allows exemptions on religious grounds. The effect, Nikki Iacono, 32, says, is that Johnston County school officials are setting themselves up as judges of what constitutes a “real” religion.

“We pretty much flat-out asked them, what guidelines are you following? What do you need to establish a sincere religious belief?,” she said. “We were told that if we were Hindu, or she were Muslim, it would be

last month was “very strong growth” in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan-collectively now the company’s “principal market.”

“The idea is to bring the Hermes philosophy to China, to create a Chinese Hermes,” Thomas told AFP. The brand, which will be run as a separate entity, presents a unique China strategy for an international fashion house: building a brand from scratch around a blend of traditional Chinese craftsmanship and contemporary design. “If Shang Xia becomes a competitor to Hermes, that would be a success,” said Thomas, who added he is planning to open the new label’s second standalone store in Paris, without offering a specific date.

The brand’s creative director Jiang Qionger, a Shanghai-based designer who is also a minority shareholder in the new company, is managing a team of about 20 artisans who will bring to

different.” On Tuesday, after her first suspension ended, Ariana went back to school with her mother-and her nose ring. She was suspended again, this time for five days. If she comes back to school on Sept 21 with the nose stud, she’ll face a 10-day suspension or referral to “alternative schooling,” Nikki Iacono said.

A Johnston County schools spokeswoman declined to comment on the situation, saying it’s against the law to publicly discuss a particular student’s disciplinary matters.

Richard Ivey, the Iaconos’ Raleigh-based minister in the church, believes it’s a case of officials dismissing something unfamiliar. “They’re basically saying, because they don’t agree and because they choose not to respect our beliefs, that it can’t be a sincerely held religious belief,” he said. Ivey describes the church as a nontheistic faith that draws people who see tattoos, piercings and other physical alterations as ways of experiencing the divine. “We don’t worship the god of body modification or anything like that,” he said.

“Our spirituality comes from what we choose to do ourselves.

Through body modification, we can change how we feel about ourselves and how we feel about the world.” The church claims roughly 3,500 members nationwide, having started about two years ago, after adopting the name of a similar group that had been dormant for several years. The Iaconos have contacted the North Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union for help, and legal director Katy Parker says the school is on shaky ground. —AP

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A craftwoman displays her skill on cashmere during the first store opening of Hermes’ high-end Chinese designer brand Shang Xia in Shanghai on September 16, 2010.

—AFP

life the design team’s vision. Sales of luxury goods in mainland China hit an estimated 8.6 billion dollars in 2008, according to the consulting firm Bain and Company. When purchases by Chinese people abroad are factored in, the market was worth 20 billion dollars.

China is forecast to become the world’s top buyer of luxury goods by 2015, according to consulting firm P r i c e Wa t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s .

Fashionistas and industry experts will closely watch the Shang Xia launch to see what lessons it could offer to other high-end foreign labels looking to tap the massive Chinese market. Hermes is not the only brand using fine craftsmanship to attract buyers. At its flagship store in Shanghai, Louis Vuitton has set up a workshop where France-based artisans work for several weeks at a time, in full customer view.—AFP

on’t call Osman, not today. He’s busy, he’s tense, he’s tired. The star designer is in the final, manic phase of preparations for his London Fashion Week catwalk show-the stage where marathon workdays are needed to make sure each dress, each outfit, is perfect.

London Fashion Week opens today morning with a Paul Costelloe show. Osman’s chance to shine-or fall flat if the collection doesn’t catch the fancy of the fickle trade press-comes on Saturday, Day 2 of the twice-a-year extravaganza that brings the world’s designers, models, buyers and stiletto-heeled wannabes to overbuzzed London. “These last few days are really exhausting,” Osman sighed as he admired one of his signature black, beautifully draped dresses on display at the John Lewis store on Oxford Street.

“You work 15 hours a day, sometimes more than that, and then it goes too quick. It seems you work for six months and it lasts 10 or 15 seconds,” he said. The shows actually last 10 or 15 minutes, but it may seem like a blur to the designers, who pack so much passion into such a short time. It takes a lot of effort to make the show look effortless, a lot of planning to get the designs and the makeup and the hair and the lighting and the accessories and the music and the presentation just right. The big

names are all coming: Christopher Bailey for Burberry Prorsum, Vivienne Westwood showing her Red Label collection, Paul Smith, Christopher Kane, and a host of others are on the list, even Ozwald Boateng showing his distinctive menswear collection on the final day. The pressure to succeed seems to whip up a collective hysteria among the fashion crowd, who descend on London en route from New York and bound for Paris and Milan, where the next shows will be held.

Jace Tyrrell, a spokesman for the New West End Company, which represents retailers, expects many new collections to be slightly more demure than in years past, with fewer brash colors and an emphasis on curvy models. Designers are celebrating the “curves are back” aesthetic, conceding that real women often have real curves that should be celebrated. The mood is summed up by a Times magazine article headlined, “The Bosom is Back.” “Some of this is the influence of Mad Men,” said Jo Hooper, chief womenswear buyer for retailer John Lewis.

“We’re going to see a much more grownup, ladylike way of dressing.” London Fashion Week gives the UK a Red Bull-sized boost every six months, setting new trends and bringing customers into the stores after a

summer of fashion lassitude. “We absolutely see a spike around the time of London Fashion Week,” said Tyrrell. “The showcasing of the new pieces does stream down to the consumer, and puts fashion on their mind.”

The result is a quicker-than-ever transition from catwalk to retailer, with high quality, moderately priced outfits based on those seen on the catwalks made available to consumers in record time.

The stature of London Fashion Week has grown in recent years because of the unusual mix of talents on display, said Alexandra Shulman, editor of the British edition of Vogue. “We have the heritage names like Pringle and Burberry, which are big brands, and then we have established designers like Paul Smith and Nicole Farhi, and then the generation that people are so excited by, with Christopher Kane, but now you also have a younger level, people like Peter Piloto and Mark Fast,” she said. “There is a wonderful sense of really talented people coming up through London.” She said fashion week expectations are also high because the financial crisis has eased. “Last season and the season before, there was the shadow of recession hovering over it,” she said. “This season people seem more confident.”—AP

General view of the main venue for London Fashion Week in London yesterday.—AP

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Tulo powers Rox against Padres NL Roundup DENVER: Troy Tulowitzki had his third multihomer game in a little more than a week, setting a career high with seven RBIs to help the Colorado Rockies beat the National League Westleading Padres 9-6 Wednesday and avoid a series sweep. San Diego began the day with a 1 1/2game division lead over the second-place San Francisco Giants, who hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday. Tulowitzki has 11 homers in his last 13 games. With Tulowitzki hitting a pair of three-run homers and an RBI single, and Jorge De La Rosa (8-4) giving the beleaguered bullpen a break by pitching into the eighth, the Rockies climbed within 21/2 games of San Diego. They also closed within 21/2 games of Atlanta in the NL wild-card race.

Adrian Gonzalez homered twice and drove in five runs for San Diego.

Clayton Richard (12-8) gave up a season-high eight runs in three innings.

NEW YORK: Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Ronny Cedeno lands on New York Mets’ Ruben Tejada in the eighth inning of the Mets’ 8-7 victory in a baseball game in New York. — AP

Rays top Yankees after 4-3 win ST PETERSBURG: The Tampa Bay Rays regained top spot in the seesawing race for the American League East crown by beating the New York Yankees 4-3 on Wednesday. The teams with baseball’s top two records flip-flopped positions in the standings for the third straight night. The first two games of the series went extra innings, with the Rays winning 1-0 on Monday and the Yankees regaining the division lead by a

AL Roundup half-game with an 8-7 win on Tuesday.

Dan Johnson hit a pair of two-run homers Wednesday off Phil Hughes (168), who gave up a two-out single then allowed Johnson’s second shot in the seventh. New York had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh via Curtis Granderson’s two-run homer off Chad Qualls (1-0). The Yankees and Rays will play four more games in New York next week, with Tampa Bay holding an 8-6 edge in the season series.

Twins 9, White Sox 3 In Chicago, Minnesota took a commanding eight-game lead in the AL Central with a victory over Chicago.

With 17 games left for both teams, Minnesota has all but secured the division, having won 10 of its past 11 games and boasting baseball’s best record in the second half of the season.

Twins catcher Joe Mauer had three hits,

including a three-run homer. Minnesota starter Brian Duensing (9-2) pitched six innings, allowing two runs. Since being promoted to the rotation in late July, he is 6-1 as a starter.

Rangers 11, Tigers 7 In Arlington, Texas, the hosts extended their winning streak to seven games by beating Detroit. In what might have been their last home game before clinching the division title, the Rangers built an 8-2 lead in the fourth on David Murphy’s three-run homer. The blast into the second deck in right ended the night prematurely for Tigers starter Armando Galarraga (4-6), who had already allowed Vladimir Guerrero’s homer to start the second. Ian Kinsler also went long for Texas, while starter Colby Lewis (11-12) went six innings for the win.

Red Sox 5, Mariners 1 In Seattle, Boston completed a threegame sweep of Seattle. Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz (16-7) allowed one run - a first-inning homer - in his first victory in more than three weeks. He lowered his ERA to 2.48, second in the AL. Victor Martinez hit a two-run double for Boston, which has quietly crept within six games of the wild card after it had appeared its season was over. The Mariners have lost seven straight.

Royals 6, Athletics 3 In Kansas City, Wilson Betemit hit

his first career grand slam as Kansas City beat Oakland. Betemit worked a full count from Trevor Cahill and fouled off the next three pitches before homering just inside the right-field pole. That snapped Cahill’s 15-inning scoreless streak. Royals starter Bruce Chen (107), who was 1-13 from 2007-09, went five innings, allowing three runs.

Orioles 3, Blue Jays 1 In Baltimore, Brad Bergesen gave up only one run in his third career complete game, steering Baltimore past Toronto.

Bergesen (7-10), who did not issue a walk, came in with a 6.99 ERA in five career starts against the Blue Jays, but dominated this one after yielding a solo homer in the first inning. That homer came from Jose Bautista, who has a majors-leading 47 for the season.

Bergesen was aided by two double plays, and the Orioles threw out a runner at the plate. Baltimore swept the three-game series.

Angels 7, Indians 0 In Cleveland, Jered Weaver, staked to a seven-run lead after two innings, earned his first win in more than a month as Los Angeles beat Cleveland.

Weaver (12-11) retired 21 of the 22 batters he faced over seven innings to snap the longest losing streak of his career at four games. He struck out seven to take over the AL lead with 218.

He retired the first 11 men he faced until a single in the fourth. — AP

Phillies 10, Marlins 5 At Miami, Roy Halladay struck out nine batters to defeat Florida for the fourth time this season as Philadelphia extended its lead in the NL East to three games. Halladay (19-10) gave up three runs and 10 hits in six innings for the Phillies, who swept a threegame series at Florida for the second time this season and are 17-3 away from home since Aug 1. Halladay has a career-high 210 strikeouts, 41 coming against the Marlins, and is the Phillies’ first 19-game winner since John Denny in 1983. Chase Utley homered for Philadelphia.

Jose Contreras - who relieved an ineffective Brad Lidge in the ninth - escaped a basesloaded, one-out jam for his fourth save in five chances.

Nationals 4, Braves 2 At Atlanta, light-hitting Justin Maxwell hit a grand slam off rookie Mike Minor in the second inning as lastplace Washington handed Atlanta its second home series loss this season. John Lannan (8-7) gave up two runs and eight hits in six innings for the Nationals, who have won eight of 15 meetings with the Braves this season. Joel Peralta, Sean Burnett and Drew Storen combined for two-hit relief, with Storen pitching a 1-2-3 ninth for his fourth save in five chances.

Reds 7, Diamondbacks 5 At Cincinnati, Drew Stubbs connected as Cincinnati’s deep bullpen

held off Arizona with the help of a homer-saving catch by right fielder Jay Bruce.

Orlando Cabrera had three doubles - giving him five in his last three games and scored three runs for the Reds. Five relievers teamed up to pitch six innings of tworun ball in support of starter Homer Bailey, who left the game after three innings with dizziness. Kelly Johnson hit his 21st homer for the Diamondbacks. Joe Saunders (2-6) allowed seven runs, four earned, and nine hits in 7 1-3 innings. Bruce made a running, leaping catch in the corner to rob Adam LaRoche of a tying homer, ending the game.

Mets 8, Pirates 7 At New York, Angel Pagan capped New York’s seven-run fourth inning with a tiebreaking two-run single as the Mets beat Pittsburgh.

Jose Reyes hit his 10th homer in the sixth inning for the Mets, who have won three straight. The Pirates helped New York out with two errors in the big fourth inning, when they wasted a 5-0 lead. Ike Davis and pinch-hitter Mike Hessman each had run-scoring hits in the frame.

Brewers 8, Astros 6, 10 innings At Houston, Mat Gamel hit the go-ahead double in the 10th inning as Milwaukee avoided a series sweep to Houston. Ryan Braun homered and drove in three runs for the Brewers, who lost the first two games of the series 4-2 and 3-2.

With the game tied at 6, Carlos Gomez singled off Matt Lindstrom (2-5), stole second and took third on an error by catcher Jason Castro. Gamel doubled in Gomez, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Jonathan Lucroy’s single.

Cubs 7, Cardinals 3 At St Louis, Carlos Zambrano allowed two runs in six innings and Tyler Colvin hit a three-run homer as Chicago completed its first three-game sweep in St Louis in more than 20 years.

Zambrano (9-6) allowed an earned run and four hits, improving to 6-0 with a 1.37 ERA in his last seven starts.

He is 7-1 with a 1.29 ERA in 12 career starts in St. Louis, including 6-0 in seven outings at the new Busch Stadium.

It was the Cubs’ first three-game series sweep in St. Louis since June 10-12, 1988. Chicago also has won five consecutive games at the Cardinals for the first time since June 18-Aug 14, 1983. — AP

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Drug case hits beleaguered S African athletics JOHANNESBURG: One of South Africa’s top sprinters said yesterday she was injected with a blood-boosting drug without her knowledge, the latest allegation to rock the country’s athletics federation in the wake of the Caster Semenya gender dispute.

Commonwealth Games 100-meter silver medalist Geraldine Pillay told Talk Radio 702 she thought the substance administered by a team doctor in 2008 was a vitamin cocktail, commonly used by athletes. It turned out to be Actovegin, a calf’s blood derivative which boosts the amount of oxygen carried by the blood and can also mask other substances.

Pillay said the drug was administered by team doctor Maaki Ramagole on the advice of Ekkart Arbeit, a controversial former East

German coach. She said she is considering legal action. Ramagole claimed she also did not know what the substance was because labels on the bottles “were written in German,” according to radio reports, and said Arbeit asked her to give it to Pillay. South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee board member Ray Mali, the temporary administrator in charge of ASA said yesterday: “At the moment these are just allegations,” and chose not to comment further.

However, Mali said elections for eight places on the ASA board, to replace officials who resigned, would go ahead this weekend despite the scandal. SASCOC has been in temporary charge of the troubled federation since its entire board was suspended last year

following allegations of financial mismanagement and the handling of the Semenya case. Initial details of the Actovegin affair emerged in the Citizen newspaper, which quoted a report ordered by SASCOC into wider mismanagement by Athletics South Africa officials. According to the Citizen, the forensic report into ASA by audit firm Deloitte says officials knew about the alleged Actovegin incident.

The newspaper quotes an e-mail sent by Ramagole to former ASA manager Molatelo Malehopo on May 6, 2008 concerning the use of the Actovegin on Pillay. “Hi, this is what Ekkart gave Geraldine and asked me to inject,” Ramagole wrote, according to the Citizen. “I only checked it now on the Internet and I am worried that it is a banned

substance.” Attached was an article dated Dec. 12, 2000, which showed Lance Armstrong’s US Postal team being investigated for using the drug at the Tour de France earlier that year. Although Actovegin was not banned by the World AntiDoping Agency at the time of the Pillay incident, it had been a prohibited substance before.

The International Olympic Committee became concerned about it in 2000 after it appeared at the Tour de France. The drug was placed on the banned list, then removed a year later because more evidence was needed as to whether it was performance-enhancing or damaging to athletes’ health.

Women’s 800-meter world champion Semenya, who was sidelined for 11 months after undergoing gender tests last year,

Djokovic spearheads Serbia’s Davis dream PARIS: Novak Djokovic will hope to bury his US Open heartbreak when he spearheads Serbia’s bid to reach a first Davis Cup final, while the United States try to avoid sinking to a 22-year low this weekend. Djokovic was widely applauded for his gutsy performance in going down to Rafael Nadal in New York on Monday as the Spaniard completed a career Grand Slam. But he is adamant that the loss will not overshadow the Davis Cup semi-final against the Czech Republic in Belgrade.

“I cannot hide the disappointment. It’s just I’m not going to cry or complain,” said Djokovic, looking back on his loss to Nadal. “It’s just the way it is. I wanted that trophy, but I will continue working hard and waiting for the next chance to come.”

His first chance to put the US Open behind him arrives on Friday. Serbia have been impressive in the Davis Cup this season, defeating the USA 3-2 in Belgrade and then cruising past Croatia 4-1 in the quarter-finals in Split.

Serbian captain Bogdan Obradovic has named an unchanged team for the third consecutive tie so Djokovic lines up with Janko Tipsarevic, Viktor Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic. The Czech Republic, last year’s runnersup, have recalled their top two players, Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek, after both missed the 4-1 victory over Chile in the quarterfinals through injury. Berdych reached the French Open semi-finals this year before finishing runner-up to Nadal at Wimbledon. “We have a great team and we believe in ourselves,” said Stepanek.

“We’ve been underdogs so many times, the same as we will be in Serbia, and we will try to use it to our advantage.”

Ivo Minar and Jan Hajek make up the four-man Czech

team. In the other semi-final, France, who knocked out defending champions Spain in the last eight, host Argentina in Lyon. World number 15 Gael Monfils, a quarterfinalist at the US Open where he lost to Djokovic, leads the French team in the absence of the injured Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is nursing a knee injury.

“For an emotional player like me to play in the Davis Cup is just something unbelievable,” Monfils said.

Michael Llodra, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon make up the team. Argentina, runners-up in 2006 and 2008, will rely on fit-again David Nalbandian, who has won the deciding fifth rubber in both his team’s 3-2 victories this year, away in Sweden and Russia. “It’s going to be tough,” said former world number three Nalbandian, who has been rebuilding his career after missing nine months with a hip injury. Juan Monaco, Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos join Nalbandian on the Argentina team. Nine-time Davis Cup champions France will start as favorites, having defeated the South Americans in all four previous meetings.

The United States, meanwhile, can boast a record 32 Davis Cup titles but that legacy will count for nothing if they lose to Colombia in Bogota in one of eight play-offs. Defeat would send them out of the elite World Group for the first time since 1988. The US, who will be without top player Andy Roddick, were forced into the play-offs after losing to Serbia in the World Group first round this season. Australia, the second most successful Davis Cup nation with 28 wins, welcome Belgium to Cairns, where a defeat would condemn Lleyton Hewitt’s team to another season in the zonal competition. —AFP

is not implicated in any of the drug allegations, but Arbeit did work with Semenya during his time at ASA. Arbeit, the former head coach of Athletics South Africa, admitted his role in state-sponsored drug use with the former East German athletics team in the 1970’s and 1980’s. One of the athletes under Arbeit’s charge, shot-putter Heidi Krieger, claimed she was given so many anabolic steroids by Arbeit that she was forced to undergo a sex-change operation and now lives as a man. Deloitte delivered its report to South Africa’s Olympic committee after being asked to investigate the allegations of financial mismanagement and the bungling of the Semenya affair by ASA officials, and suspended ASA president Leonard Chuene. —AP

Lorenzo seeks Aragon win in Tomizawa’s honor

Novak Djokovic

ARAGON: World championship leader Jorge Lorenzo wants to clinch victory at the Grand Prix of Aragon on Sunday and dedicate it to tragic Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa. Spain’s Lorenzo, the runaway leader in the MotoGP championship with eight wins in 12 races, is determined to pay fulsome tribute to Tomizawa, who was killed in a horror crash in the Moto2 support race at San Marino two weeks ago. “I would like to have a great race and dedicate it to Tomizawa,” said Yamaha rider Lorenzo.

Tomizawa’s funeral took place on Wednesday in Asahi, Chiba, where over a thousand mourners paid their respects.

Fellow Japanese world championship riders Yuki Takahashi and Tomoyoshi Koyama were amongst those present, as was Technomag-CIP team boss Alain Bronec. The death of 19-year-old Tomizawa has cast a cloud over Sunday’s race, named as a replacement for the Hungarian Grand Prix, which lost its slot on the 2010 calendar when work on the country’s proposed circuit fell behind schedule.

Lorenzo has a 63-point advantage over rival Dani Pedrosa in the standings although his fellow Spaniard has won the last two races, at Indianapolis and San Marino.

“It’s our third race in Spain but the first time at Aragon and I’m excited,” said 23-year-old Lorenzo, who has won at Jerez and Catalunya on home soil in 2010. Pedrosa is aiming for a fourth win of the season and has reignited his title challenge with back-to-back victories in his last two outings.

Although he is 63 points behind Lorenzo, there are still 150 to ride for in the remaining six races. “It’s always very nice to race in Spain and I can imagine that the atmosphere will be incredible; I’m looking forward to meeting the Spanish fans again,” said Pedrosa, who was second to Lorenzo at Jerez and Catalunya. —AFP

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Injury-hit Flintoff bows out England ex-captain retires from all cricket

LONDON: Andrew Flintoff announced his retirement from all cricket yesterday as he admitted defeat in his battle against a persistent right knee injury. “It is with both disappointment and sadness that I am today (Thursday) announcing my retirement from all forms of cricket,” former England captain Flintoff said in a statement released by his agents, International Sports Management (ISM).

“The decision to end my career came yesterday (Wednesday) after consultation with medical advisers,” added the 32year-old all-rounder, who quit the Test format after helping England regain the Ashes last year. “Having been told that my body would no longer stand up to the rigors of cricket, I had no alternative but to retire. “I would like to thank my family, Lancashire Cricket Club, England, all my sponsors, friends and advisers for all the help and support they have given me throughout my career.

“Last, but by no means least, I am indebted to the encouragement and support I have always received from England’s magnificent supporters.” Flintoff, who has been widely tipped to follow the path of fellow exEngland skippers Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan by pursuing a media career, added: “I will now be taking a break before deciding which future direction to take.”

England captain Andrew Strauss, who played alongside Flintoff, paid tribute to the “ultimate impact cricketer”. “I would just like to say on behalf of the England team we would like to congratulate Andrew on an outstanding career,” Strauss, speaking at The Oval ahead of the fifth oneday international against Pakistan at the south London ground on Friday, said. “The impact he has had on English cricket has been immense.

“The biggest memories I will have of him are how incredibly able he was to make something happen out of nothing with both bat and ball,” said Strauss, who recalled Flintoff’s immense contribution to England’s 2005 Ashes series win.

“2005 was his zenith. But he was always the ultimate impact cricketer, somebody who on so many occasions stepped up to the plate. “He would put his body on the line on flat wickets when other bowlers were maybe starting to struggle.

“Because of the way he

MANCHESTER: In this file photo England’s Andrew Flintoff celebrates taking the wicket of Australia’s Shane Warne on the fifth day of the third Test Match of the Ashes series at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester. Former England captain Andrew Flintoff yesterday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket with immediate effect. —AP

bowled, and what he put into it, it was probably not as easy for him to get seven-fors and eight-fors. “But if you talked to other players around the world, they would always say Andrew was one of the bowlers they least wanted to face - because he could be so hostile. “We are all striving to gain the respect of our peers,” Strauss said.

“Andrew certainly did that Flintoff has not played cricket at all since the fifth and final Test against Australia at The Oval in August last year. His career was blighted by injuries, particularly to his ankle and knee, and he retired from Test cricket after that match.

But he then outlined his ambition to become the world’s best one-day player.

However, Flintoff was unable to return to action and had to scrap plans to play for county side Lancashire this season.

Flintoff, a pace bowler and hard-hitting batsman, played 79 Tests for England after making his debut as a 20year-old against South Africa at Trent Bridge in 1998. He took 226 wickets at 32.78 and scored 3,845 runs at 31.77, with five hundreds, including a best of 167 against the West Indies at Edgbaston in 2004.

Flintoff was also an effective one-day cricketer and an especially economical bowler in the limited overs game. His outstanding season came when England, under Vaughan’s captaincy, regained the Ashes in 2005.

Flintoff scored 402 runs and took 24 wickets in arguably the greatest all-round display by an English cricketer since Ian Botham transformed the 1981 Ashes series. But that was the pinnacle of his England career.

Flintoff, when Vaughan was unfit, captained England to a 5-0 loss in the subsequent 2006/07 Ashes series in Australia.

Then Flintoff, after a late night drinking session, was found on a pedalo in the early hours in St Lucia during the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean-an incident that saw him stripped of the England vice-captaincy.

However, there were a couple of memorable solo displays last year where only the third five-wicket haul of his Test career helped bowl England to their first Test victory over Australia at Lord’s since 1938. He also ran out Australia captain Ricky Ponting with a direct hit in the fifth and final Test at The Oval in a victory that saw England take the series 2-1. —AFP

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Schalke looks for first league points in derby FRANKFURT: Struggling Schalke looks for its first points of the season against archrival Borussia Dortmund on a Bundesliga weekend that features four local showdowns, including the Hamburg city derby. After three losses to start the Bundesliga, Schalke didn’t gain any confidence midweek by losing 1-0 to Lyon in the Champions League. Still, coach Felix Magath is looking forward to Dortmund on Sunday instead of back on Lyon.

“Following three losses starting the season you have to win anyhow, also in the derby against Dortmund regardless if you are at the top or not,” Magath said.

“So this game comes at exactly the right time.” Dortmund has only won two of the last 23 league games against Schalke, with 11 draws and

10 losses. “We don’t even want to think about (a loss),” Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said.

“Now we need to call up some team spirit.” Dortmund, meanwhile, is enjoying a much better start to the season after beating Stuttgart and Wolfsburg in its last two games.

“Schalke is taking a completely different course, so it’s two different worlds colliding on Sunday. But I don’t want overvalue that, especially before a game with so much meaning,” Dortmund captain Sebastian Kehl said. “I wouldn’t overestimate their start.

The table means nothing in the first couple of game days. But it’s clear that we are heading there to win.”

The local matchup with the biggest impact on the Bundesliga table is Hoffenheim at promoted Kaiserslautern tomorrow.

Hoffenheim leads the league with three victories in three matches for nine points, having only allowed one goal.

“We still have to improve,” Hoffenheim midfielder Isaac Vorsah said. “Three victories are not enough for me. know that the atmosphere in Kaiserslautern will be heated. But we are in first place and still want to be on top after the game.” Kaiserslautern has had mixed results, beating Bayern Munich at home before losing at second-place Mainz. Wolfsburg, meanwhile, is also without a point through three matches ahead of its derby at home tomorrow against Hannover, which has seven points for fourth place.

Wolfsburg has five wins and two draws in its last seven Bundesliga games against Hannover, but Steve

McLaren’s team is struggling to find its form. “The communication within the team is a problem,” McLaren said.

To help the situation, the team held a players-only meeting Tuesday to watch the Champions League without the coaching staff.

Things are going much better for Hamburg, which is third in the league with seven points heading into the city showdown against promoted side St Pauli.

The match is highly anticipated in the city, with St Pauli’s Millerntor Stadium long sold out, and 25,000 more fans expected at a public viewing at Hamburg’s arena.

“St Pauli and Hamburg are from the same city which makes things a bit bigger than Schalke against Dortmund,” Hamburg keeper Frank Rost said. “We have to be prepared

Men against boys, says Jol as Mourinho celebrates MADRID: Ajax boss and former Tottenham coach Martin Jol admitted it was men against boys as Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid handed his Dutch youngsters a 2-0 Champions League defeat.

Mourinho, who won the Champions League with Inter Milan at the Bernabeu in May, saw an own-goal from 21-year-old defender Vurnon Anita and a strike from Argentina international Gonzalo Higuain settle the Group G opener. But Jol believes that Real’s greater experience proved crucial.

“It was a match between a team of young players against experienced, international players,” said Jol. “They know how to play the ball and didn’t allow us to develop our game. We need to have the ball. They had 30 shots at goal, they clearly dominated the game.”

The victory gave Real three points in a group which also includes fellow former champions AC Milan and another clean sheet.

Real have yet to concede a goal in their three games under Mourinho, who believes the Spanish giants are ready to win the Champions League for the first time since 2002 despite failing to get past the last 16 for the past six seasons. Madrid should have won by more and Mourinho said it was just a matter of time before someone will be routed by his Real side.

“We played very well, pressured well and didn’t let them play how they like to,” said Mourinho. “One day some poor team is going to pay for all these chances that we are missing.”

The Portuguese said his team was just as young as Ajax and dismissed Jol’s belief that greater experience was the key. “No, it was children against children,” he said. “Real Madrid is a team of children, not counting the likes of Carvalho, Casillas and Xabi Alonso.

“They are all 21, 22, 23... we played well, we pressed and didn’t allow Ajax to play. This team is a work in progress.” —AFP

that everything surrounding the game will not be comforting. If we don’t keep our cool, we could be surprised very quickly. It will not be a normal game.”

Hamburg defender Heiko Westermann, who like Rost had experience in the DortmundSchalke derby, said his team has a lot more to lose than their opponent. “St. Pauli has less pressure but we have the better team,” Westermann said. “Footballwise St Pauli is not close to us.” In other games, reigning champion Bayern Munich travels to Cologne tomorrow while Werder Bremen hosts Mainz; and Stuttgart welcomes Borussia Moenchengladbach. On Sunday, Bayer Leverkusen hosts Nuremberg and Freiburg heads to Eintracht Frankfurt today.—AP

Marseille needs a win at Arles to kickstart season

MADRID: Real Madrid’s coach Jose Mourinho from Portugal reacts after Gonzalo Higuain from Argentina scored his second goal during a Group G Champions League soccer match against Ajax at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Wednesday Sept 15, 2010. — AP

PARIS: Marseille coach Didier Deschamps hoped the Champions League would kickstart the French champion’s flagging season, but instead a 1-0 home defeat to Spartak Moscow merely underlines the continuing problems in defense and attack.

Marseille is languishing in 13th place with only one win in five games, and tomorrow’s short trip to last-place Arles should offer the defending champion a much needed win. But goalkeeper Steve Mandanda says the time has come to stop thinking about playing attractive football and start grinding out wins, even against a poor side that has been conceding two goals a game so far in losing all five matches.

“We have to pick things up quickly and start winning again,” Mandanda said. “We have to win, even if we don’t play as well.” Elsewhere, surprise early leader Toulouse looks to maintain its slender lead over second-place Rennes when it travels to play unbeaten Monaco tomorrow. Toulouse was expected to struggle after selling star striker Andre-Pierre Gignac to Marseille, but has 12 points after winning four of its opening five games.

Rennes is one point behind ahead of its trip to Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday. Gignac was a frustrated spectator for much of Wednesday night’s home defeat to Spartak, as Marseille wasted several chances before being caught on the break by the Russian side late on.

Deschamps is struggling to find a way to spark his attack now that last season’s top scorer Mamadou Niang has left to join Fenerbahce in Turkey. Brazilian striker Brandao and Gignac have both not scored in their last 11 games for club and country. The lack of a cutting edge was glaringly obvious against Spartak, despite some fine wing play from France’s Mathieu Valbuena. “We gave everything we had and attacked in style, creating chances. Things haven’t gone for us but we have to keep fighting and things will turn our way,” Marseille’s Ghana winger Andre Ayew said. “We have to lift our heads up now because we have an important game against Arles tomorrow. We can’t waste it.”

Striker Loic Remy is struggling to recover from a groin injury sustained playing for France two weeks ago, and he is not expected to play against Arles. The problems are equally big in defense, with nine goals conceded in six games in all competitions so far. The club’s only clean sheet was nearly a month ago in a 2-0 home win over Lorient, and only some fine performances from Mandanda - France’s No 2 goalkeeper behind Hugo Lloris - have prevented the team from leaking more goals. In tomorrow’s other matches, it is: Lorient vs Caen; Nancy vs Brest; Saint-Etienne vs Montpellier; Sochaux vs Nice, and Valenciennes vs Lens. —AP

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No team advantage at ideal Cup venue LOS ANGELES: Connoisseurs of match play golf can expect a mouth-watering venue for next month’s Ryder Cup in Wales with no apparent advantage for either team, says the man in charge of preparing the hosting Twenty Ten course.

According to Jim McKenzie, director of golf at the Celtic Manor, the par-71 layout in the picturesque Usk valley is a teasing delight featuring at least seven “classic matchplay” holes where risk and reward have to be carefully balanced.

The Briton also predicts that long and straight driving will be at a premium for the Oct. 1-3 showdown between Europe and holders the United States without the ‘tricked-up’ nature of recent Ryder Cup courses. “We feel really excited about the venue as a whole,” McKenzie told Reuters on Wednesday of the first purpose-built Ryder Cup course. “We have put together an extraordinary amount of options so you could go out and play a different golf course each of the three days, or in each of the five sessions. It’s unique from that point of view. “We’ve got seven classic matchplay holes that can be played in a number of different ways, depending on whether it’s foursomes, fourballs, singles, and whether you find yourself a couple (of holes) up or a couple down.”

In McKenzie’s view, the venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup effectively boils down to the final five holes in matchplay terms. “You really don’t have a decision to make on the Twenty Ten golf course until you get to the 14th tee,” the Scot said during a telephone interview. “You will play the 14th in many different ways, relative to what has happened to you in the previous 13 holes. If you’re two or three up, you will play a completely different way than you will if you’re two or three down.” The par-four 14th gives players the option to drive over a lake to leave a nine-iron or wedge for the second shot or alternatively play safely down the left side of the water off the tee.

LURKING OMINOUSLY Next up is the 377-yard, par-four 15th, a sharp left-to-right dogleg which can be drivable over the trees although thick rough guards the back and right of the green with water lurking ominously to the left. The closing hole, the downhill par-five 18th, has been shortened to 575 yards for the Ryder Cup to give players the chance to reach the green in two. However, the green is steeply sloped and protected by water at the front.

“Fourteen, 15 and 18, along with the par-four fifth, are the standout holes on the course in terms of multiple options,” McKenzie said. Asked whether the Twenty Ten course would favor the European team in any significant way, McKenzie replied: “There’s not really a home advantage feel to this layout. I don’t think there’s an American or European way of winning events. We win over there. They win over here. “(European captain) Colin (Montgomerie) has made it very clear that he’s not going to get involved in ‘tricking up’ the course. He believes the team that turns up best on the day and plays well will win.”

While the greens at Celtic Manor will be slower than those at Valhalla in 2008 when the US won the trophy for the first time in nine years, McKenzie pinpointed driving accuracy as the biggest concern for both teams at this year’s edition. “There are a lot of very subtle borrows on the greens here but the Americans will come over prepared for the type of golf course we’ve got and I’m sure they will come over with a couple of putters-a light and a heavy one probably,” he said.

“I think the premium at this year’s Ryder Cup will be on keeping it (the ball) on the short stuff off the tee.”—Reuters

Friday, september 17, 2010

Coetzee takes early lead at Austrian Open ATZENBRUGG: South African newcomer George Coetzee shot a 7-under 65 to take the early first-round lead at the Austrian Open yesterday. Coetzee took advantage of an early tee time by starting from the 10th tee with four straight birdies before a strong wind started to blow over Diamond County Club. Although he dropped a shot finding water in front of the ninth green, Coetzee produced three more birdies in the second half of his round.

As scoring became increasingly more difficult during the morning, Coetzee found himself with a threeshot lead over Austria’s Javi Colomo, who qualified by winning a local order of merit, and Sweden’s Jarmo Sandelin.

They both shot 68s. Miguel Angel Jimenez, one of two European Ryder Cup players in the field could only manage a level par 72. The Spaniard, who also began from the 10th, had three birdies in his first four holes, but produced a

double bogey at the 17th and dropped two more shots on his final two holes. After a prolonged recent spell of wet weather in Austria, preferred lies were in operation but Coetzee believed he overcame a very tough test.

“It’s probably one of the better courses that I have played this year or in my life,” he said. “There are a lot of tough holes and lots of water to avoid but there a lot of birdie holes as well which probably evens itself out.”

With earnings of only $144,000 from 20 events during his first full season in Europe, Coetzee has much work to do if he is to avoid a visit to tour school in late November. However, he believed his 65 showed he had the potential to retain his playing card. “I have had a few low rounds this year and slowly I am getting confident,” he said. “But my goal has to be putting together a good week rather than just playing well for a day.” —AP

LAS VEGAS: File photo shows Manny Pacquiao, of the Philippines (left) throwing a left to the head of British boxer Ricky Hatton in the second round of their junior welterweight title boxing match in Las Vegas. Greater Manchester Police say they will speak to former boxing champion Ricky Hatton about newspaper allegations he snorted cocaine in a hotel room. —AP

Khan set for title defense Hatton in cocaine scandal LONDON: Britain’s WBA lightwelterweight champion Amir Khan has said he will defend his WBA lightwelterweight title against Argentina’s Marcos Maidana on December 11. The Bolton fighter, who is based in California, last fought in May when he defeated American Paulie Malignaggi in New York.

Maidana, his mandatory challenger, had been among a shortlist of possible opponents and is regarded as a particularly dangerous proposition having racked up a record of 29 wins and one defeat with 27 knockouts.

Khan had said earlier that Maidana was pricing himself out of the fight but said on

Twitter the deal had been done. “All the legality work for the next fight has been done,” he said. “The fight has been signed by both parties.” The 2004 Olympic silver medalist said no venue has been confirmed yet, but Las Vegas seems almost certain to host the fight. Khan had wanted to take the fight to England but apparently made the concession to get the contest signed.

Hatton scandal In another development, Greater Manchester Police say they will speak to former boxing champion Ricky Hatton about newspaper allegations he snorted

cocaine in a hotel room. A photograph on the front page of a British tabloid on Sunday appeared to show Hatton snorting the drug on a night out. The former fourtime world champion in two weight divisions has since been admitted to a rehabilitation clinic.

Police say they are aware of the allegations and “once his rehabilitation has been completed, officers will be speaking to Mr Hatton.” Hatton, who has been diagnosed with depression and a drinking problem by a specialist, has not fought since losing to Manny Pacquiao in May 2009 but hasn’t officially retired. —Agencies

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ICC vows to maintain ‘sanctity’ of the game Umpires suspicious over Pakistan no-balls NEW DELHI: The president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) yesterday vowed to maintain the “sanctity” of the game after meeting Pakistan’s cricket chief over the spot-fixing betting scandal. Sharad Pawar held talks at his home in New Delhi with Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt to discuss allegations that Pakistan players were paid to bowl deliberate noballs during a match in England last month. “We will never tolerate any nonsense or corruption in the game of cricket. We want to maintain the sanctity of cricket,” Pawar, who is also India’s agriculture minister, told reporters after the 90-minute talks.

Since the allegations were made, the ICC has been under fierce attack

from critics who say it has failed to tackle corruption and illegal gambling in the sport. Pakistan players Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt have all written to the ICC saying they will defend themselves over disciplinary action brought against them over the claims, their lawyers confirmed this week.

Ijaz Butt said they would remain suspended until a probe by British police was completed. “The matter is under investigation. Until that investigation is completed, we cannot comment on it,” he said.

“The ICC has suspended the players. Unless the suspension is removed, they cannot play.”

Pakistan’s tour of England has been

overshadowed by newspaper allegations of a betting scam involving no-balls being deliberately bowled in the fourth Test at Lord’s.

The claims, published in the News of the World newspaper, led to the suspension of Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Aamer and Asif by the ICC. Umpires suspicious New Zealand umpire Tony Hill suspected Pakistan bowlers were deliberately sending down no-balls against England last month but did not link the tactic to corruption, a report said yesterday. Hill and compatriot Billy Bowden officiated in the Test at Lord’s, which is at the centre of newspaper allegations of a

betting scam in which no-balls were deliberately bowled.

The claims, published in the British News of the World newspaper, led to the suspension of bowler Mohammad Aamer, along with captain Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Hill told Wellington’s Dominion Post newspaper that during the match he and Bowden discussed the possibility that Aamer and Asif were bowling no-balls on purpose by overstepping the crease. But he said they thought it was simply a tactic to unsettle in-form England batsman Jonathan Trott, rather than anything to do with betting.

“We never suspected a thing,”

Hill told the newspaper in his first comments on the issue. “There had been the big overstep in particular and in our minds that was more a deliberate overstep to have a go at Trott, who had been batting so well.

“Billy and I chatted about that and thought it seemed deliberate, especially as it was dropped in short. But it all seemed to be one of those things that fast bowlers have been known to do to get an advantage.” The International Cricket Council has suspended Aamer and Asif, along with Pakistan captain Salman Butt. Hill said the scandal had tainted his first experience of umpiring a Test at Lord’s, regarded as the spiritual home of cricket. —Agencies

PRETORIA: Chennai Super Kings bowler Muttiah Muralitharan dives as he tries to catch a shot by Wayamba’s batsman Rangana Herath (unseen) during the Champions League Twenty20 cricket match at the Supersport Park in Pretoria, South Africa on Wednesday, Sept 15, 2010. —AP

Westfield charged with cricket fraud LONDON: Former Essex cricketer Mervyn Westfield has been charged with conspiracy to defraud over claims he deliberately played poorly, England’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said yesterday. Westfield is alleged to have dishonestly agreed to bowl his first over in a 40-over match between Durham and Essex on September 5, 2009 in such a way as to allow a certain number of runs to be scored.

He is now due to appear at the City of London Magistrates’ Court.

Westfield was originally arrested in May at the same time as Pakistan and Essex leg-spinner Danish Kaneria.

But the 29-year-old Kaneria was released without charge by police on September 8 and told he would face no further action. Westfield, 22, of Chelmsford, Essex, east of London, was charged yesterday morning at Rayleigh police station in Essex and has been released on bail.

Antony Swift of the CPS said in a statement yesterday: “I have advised that Mervyn Westfield should be charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud for intentionally playing other than to the best of his ability, contrary to his contractual obligations.

“It is alleged that he

dishonestly agreed to bowl his first over to allow the scoring of a certain number of runs at a match between Durham and Essex on September 5, 2009. “I have made this decision after careful consideration of a file of evidence from Essex Police. “There is sufficient evidence to prosecute Mr Westfield and it is in the public interest to do so.”

Westfield is accused of conspiring to defraud the club’s members, his teammates and spectators at the match.

The offence, under the Criminal Justice Act 1987, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment

and an unlimited fine.

Police were looking into allegations Westfield was involved in the manipulation of ‘spot-betting’, where gamblers bet on specific incidents happening in a match. In the match in question, Westfield conceded 60 runs in seven overs, with four wides and two no-balls.

It was screened live globally on Sky TV. Westfield made his first-class debut for Essex against Derbyshire in 2005 but his career was blighted by injury and he was released by Essex in August.

Similar ‘spot-fixing’ allegations, made by a British newspaper, concerning the deliberate

bowling of no-balls as part of a betting scam during last month’s fourth Test at Lord’s led the International Cricket Council (ICC) to suspend Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif. The trio have all since been questioned by Scotland Yard detectives under caution while businessman Mazhar Majeed has been accused of accepting 150,000 pounds to organise the alleged ‘fix’.

Butt, Aamer and Asif, who have all since flown back to Pakistan although they could yet be recalled to Britain, all deny any wrongdoing.

Pakistan fast bowler

Wahab Riaz, who remains with the squad, was also questioned by police under caution on Tuesday. Kaneria played in the first Test against England at Trent Bridge but was dropped from the Pakistan squad and released back to Essex after taking just one wicket for 171 runs in a crushing 354run defeat. Pakistan lost the four-match Test series 3-1.

England have since beaten Pakistan 2-0 in a two-match Twenty20 series and lead the ongoing five-match oneday international campaign between the two countries 2-0 ahead of the third ODI at The Oval, in south London. —AFP

Qatar unveils flashy designs for WCup DOHA: Qatar presents a model of its Al-Rayyan stadium as it bids to host the FIFA 2022 World Cup during the FIFA Inspection tour for the country’s bid, in Doha yesterday. —AP

State-of-the-art cooling system; temperatures below 27 degrees DOHA: FIFA inspectors wrapped up their three-day visit to Qatar yesterday with a look at flashy designs for a dozen stadiums for the 2022 World Cup, including one that pulsates with light and is inspired by a sea urchin and another modeled after an Arabic fort. The stadiums will cost $4 billion to build and include state-of-the-art cooling system that ensures temperatures on the pitch and in the stands remains below 27 degrees Celsius (81 F). All but one of the stadiums will have modular components allowing organizers to dismantle them afterward and donate some 170,000 seats to football programs in developing countries.

“The whole thing will be taken out and shared with the world,” said bid official Fatma Fakhro, as she showed reporters the 44,950 Doha Port stadium which will be completely removed after the tournament. The inspection team, which includes six delegates led by Chile Football Federation president Harold Mayne-Nicholls, completed its work yesterday. Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the organizing committee for the World Cup in

South Africa, is also part of the delegation. Qatar is the final stop on a tour of nine countries which are bidding to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cups. FIFA’s 24-member executive committee will choose the winners and they will be announced on Dec 2.

Most analysts consider the desert nation of 1.6 million a longshot in a group of bidders containing the United States, Australia, South Korea and Japan, which all have hosted either a World Cup or an Olympics in the past.

It also faces concerns about the heat which can reach 50 Celsius, fears its conservative values will put the brakes on the party atmosphere and questions over whether there is enough for visitors to do during the tournament which last for several weeks. Organizers spent the last three days making the case that Qatar can host a fun, safe and, most importantly, a cool World Cup. Qatar also showcased its plans to spend $42.9 billion on infrastructure project to be completed by the World Cup,

including a high-speed rail network with trains that can reach 350 kilometers per hour, a 50 millionpassenger airport as well as city of 200,000 which will be home to some of the training facilities, accommodations and a tournament stadium.

The stadium designs - some of which were released publicly earlier this year - have been praised for mixing traditional Arab culture and cutting edge technology.

Organizers seem just as proud they are all environmentally friendly, would have flexible uses and are sustainable. Dan Meis, an American architect who has been involved in designing the stadiums, said the use of modular technology

by Qatar was “groundbreaking” and would likely be seen more often in future bids.

“We’ve got to the point where the cost of building infrastructure to put on an event like this doesn’t make sense if there is no use for them beyond the event,” Meis said.

“If we can design stadiums with modularity to it or flexibility in use afterward, it makes it much easier for any bidding country.”—AP

Barca, Real face tough away games in La Liga MADRID: Real Madrid and Barcelona both need to make up for faltering starts when they travel to tough away games this weekend in the Spanish league. Barcelona plays at league leader Atletico Madrid on Sunday after a stunning 2-0 loss at home against promoted Hercules, and looks set to again deploy Liverpool signing Javier Mascherano to shore up the midfield.

Madrid travels to Real Sociedad tomorrow, and playmaker Xabi Alonso said he was delighted to be returning to his hometown of San Sebastian.

Alonso, who began his professional career at Sociedad, said he expected a challenging match against tough players in his boyhood team. “There will be three points at stake against Real Sociedad, so we will be opponents for 90 minutes,” he said.

Alonso said he was impressed with Mesut Oezil, who played a key role in Madrid’s 2-0 Champions League win against Ajax on Wednesday.

“He has good timing, works from

the back and has great vision. His work on the team is fantastic and I believe he may become an important player in the future,” Alonso said.

Coach Jose Mourinho agreed. “The kid is really, really good. He looks very comfortable in this club so, yes, we are all happy with the kid,” Mourinho said about Oezil. Mourinho said he was not worried about his squad’s lack of precision in front of goal, adding that it was just a matter of time before goalscoring improved. “The best way to work on their psychological aspects is to do nothing. Leave them alone in their natural habitat,” Mourinho said of his forwards. Alonso dispelled thoughts that that Madrid’s lack of scoring stemmed from the new tactics under Mourinho, whose Inter Milan side perfected a defensive, counterattacking style in winning a treble last season. Madrid has a longstanding tradition of attractive, attacking play. “Mourinho isn’t a defensive coach,” Alonso said. “His Chelsea was demolishing.”— AP