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AT&T quietly introduces $10 DSL plan
NEW YORK — Without any sort of fanfare, AT&T Inc. has started offering a broadband Internet service for $10 a month, half the price of its cheapest advertised plan.
The DSL, or digital subscriber line, plan introduced Saturday is part of the concessions made by San Antonio-based AT&T to the Federal Communications Commission to get its $86 billion acquisition of BellSouth Corp. approved last December.
The $10 offer is available to customers in the 22-state AT&T service region, which includes former BellSouth areas, who have never had AT&T or BellSouth broadband, spokesman Michael Coe confirmed today. Local phone service and a one-year contract are required. The modem is free.
The plan was not mentioned in a Friday news release about AT&T's DSL plans, and is slightly hidden on the AT&T Web site. A page describing DSL options doesn't mention it, but clicking a link for "Term contract plans" reveals it. It's also presented to customers who go into the application process, Coe said.
The service provides download speeds of up to 768 kilobits per second and upload speeds of up to 128 kbps, matching AT&T's $19.95 plan.
The agreement with the FCC required the company to offer the plan for at least 2 1/2 years. Coe said he could not comment on future advertising plans for the offer.
The introduction of the plan, slightly before the deadline at the end of June, was first reported by The Tennessean in Nashville.
Another concession to the FCC is yet to come: a plan for DSL that doesn't require local phone service. AT&T has another six months to introduce that option, which should cost at most $19.95 per month.
Consumer advocates have fought for this so-called "naked DSL plan," because DSL can carry Internet-based phone calls for less than the price of local phone service. However, at 768 kbps, the download speed may be too low to appeal to the relatively sophisticated customers who use the Internet for phone calls.
Source : www.chron.com
Fresh Ways to Burn More Calories
Jump in the water, hop on a swing, or run with a hound to burn more calories this summer—sans gym membership.
by Bethany Lye
by Bethany Lye
From hula-hooping to picking berries, we’ve got 18 surprising ways to rev up your heart rate and help you slim down.
Boosting your heart rate keeps your heart in top form and burns serious calories—no gym membership required. Here are 18 simple, surprising tips to help you get your heart pumping this summer.
1. Move your workout into the water. The next time you’re at the beach or poolside, take a break from lounge-chair languishing and try a shallow-water workout instead. Walking through thigh-deep water burns nearly twice as many calories as walking on land.
Total burn: More than 210 calories per half-hour
2. Hold the ’07 Olympic trials in your backyard. The real Games may be a year off, but you can make your mark in the garden-rock shot put or sandbox long jump. Choose your favorite summer Olympic sport and tweak it to make it backyard-friendly. Then gather all the friends and family you can and go for the gold.
Total burn: 170 calories per half-hour
3. Adopt a stretch of park or beach and keep it clean. Picking up trash can help both your community and your heart. Start by recruiting buddies, then crank up some fast-paced tunes on your boom box or MP3 player and get to work. All that squatting and lunging will leave you—and the land—looking beautiful.
Total burn: 102 calories per half-hour
4. Take a bike tour of a nearby city. Explore new neighborhoods, or grab a friend and a map to create your own sightseeing trip. Your heart will be racing in no time.
Total burn: Around 270 calories per half-hour at a moderate pace
5. Pick your own berries. Get a full-body workout while you gather fresh fruit. Walk the fields at a nearby farm, pick to your heart’s content, then carry the berry-filled baskets back to your car. To find a local farm, visit pickyourown.org.
Total burn: 102 calories per half-hour
6. “Test out” playground equipment. 170 calories per half-hour
7. Crank up the iPod and get your groove on. 153 calories per half-hour
8. Go canoeing. 119 calories per half-hour
9. Scale the longest staircase in town. 272 calories per half-hour
10. Get spinning with a hula hoop. 153 calories per half-hour
11. Jog on the beach. 238 calories per half-hour
12. Twirl a jump rope. 340 calories per half-hour
13. Play a game of tennis—with no out-of-bounds. 238 calories per half-hour
14. Volunteer to walk dogs at a local shelter. 102 calories per half-hour
15. Take a self-defense class. 340 calories per half-hour
16. Listen to books on tape while walking the chapters away. 129 calories per half-hour
17. Cultivate a garden of your family’s favorite veggies. 136 calories per half-hour
18. Pack a picnic and hike to the perfect spot. 238 calories per half-hour
Note: All calorie estimates are based on a 150-pound woman.
Source : www.health.com
YouTube expanding reach to Brazil, Japan, parts of Europe
SAN FRANCISCO — Unshaken by its legal problems in the United States, online video leader YouTube will attempt to extend its cultural reach and increase its moneymaking opportunities by programming new channels in nine other countries.
The expansion, announced today in Paris, will make new YouTube sites available in Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The Web sites will be translated into the native languages of each country, when necessary, and allow YouTube to highlight videos that appeal to their respective audiences.
Most of the visitors to YouTube's Web site in the United States already come from computers located in other countries, so creating more international channels is a step the San Bruno-based company always hoped to take, co-founder Steve Chen said in a phone interview from France.
But the expansion didn't become viable until online search leader Google Inc. bought YouTube for $1.76 billion late last year.
Besides giving YouTube more computing power, Google also supplied its new subsidiary with the expertise it needed to diversify. The international expansion is being overseen by Sakina Arsiwala, who previously worked on Google's search engines outside the United States. Arsiwala eventually hopes to engineer additional YouTube channels in dozens of other countries.
YouTube says it already streams more than 200 million videos each day.
By making its programming more accessible to people who don't speak English, YouTube is hoping to stimulate even more usage outside the United States. Targeting specific markets may also appeal to advertisers.
"We really feel like we are going to be providing a better product around the world," YouTube Chief Executive Chad Hurley said in a phone interview.
The expansion also could deliver new challenges for YouTube as it tries to adhere to the laws and community standards of other nations.
YouTube already is battling allegations that it has profited from copyright videos that users post without proper authorization.
In the highest profile case, Viacom Inc. is suing YouTube and Google for $1 billion in damages. YouTube and Google have denied any wrongdoing, citing their practice of removing videos as soon as a copyright owner sends a notice of unauthorized usage.
Another federal lawsuit filed in New York already has provided a glimpse at some of the legal trouble that YouTube could encounter in other counties.
The parties who filed the class-action suit include the Premier League, a top soccer league in England; the Federation Francaise de Tennis, which puts on the French Open; and the Ligue de Football Professionnel, another soccer group in France.
The claims in the case are currently limited to copyright violations that occurred on YouTube's U.S. site, said Louis Solomon, an attorney representing the sports leagues.
"But if they operate in the same unlawful manner that they do in the United States, they will get lawsuits in other countries, too," said Solomon.
YouTube has worked out licensing agreements with more than 150 content providers in Europe and is trying to negotiate more. YouTube also remains committed to protecting the copyrights of those who don't want their videos shown on the site, Hurley said.
Source : www.chron.com
Can't remember? Sleep on it
Throw out the ginkgo. Forget mnemonics. New research suggests there's a simple way to lock in new info: Sleep on it.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston asked 48 subjects to learn a list of 20 pairs of words and then tested them 12 hours later on their recall of the pairs. Some subjects were taught the words at 9 a.m., while others learned the words at 9 p.m. and then went to sleep.
The results, to be reported this week at a neurology meeting, were a wake-up call for all-night exam crammers: Subjects in the sleep group remembered 12 percent more words from the list than subjects who learned the words at 9 a.m.
Half of both groups also were asked to learn a second list of words just before testing, to study the effect of distracting information on recall. Yet again, subjects in the sleep group did better, recalling 44 percent more words than subjects in the nonsleep group.
Lead author and neurologist Dr. Jeffrey Ellenbogen said he believes the memory boost could be caused by the brain replaying daytime information during sleep, similar to a rehearsal. And he has some advice for sleep-deprived students.
"I tell my students that you might do OK if you cram for an exam all night long, but don't expect that memory to last very long,'' he says in an e-mail. "Sleep is important for making memories stable and strong.''
Source : www.chron.com
Source : www.chron.com
Yahoo Declines After CEO Semel Resigns
NEW YORK — Yahoo Inc. shares declined Tuesday after the company said its chief executive resigned and that its second-quarter sales may come in near the midpoint or low end of an earlier forecast because of slower display advertising growth.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based search engine operator's shares lost 37 cents to $27.75 in afternoon trading.
Late Monday, the company said Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, 38, would replace Terry Semel, 64, as CEO.
Semel, who has headed Yahoo since 2001, has long been under pressure from investors unhappy with the company's performance as compared with rival Google Inc., which has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the burgeoning online advertising market.
Yahoo's stock has declined more than 28 percent since the end of 2005, while Google's stock has grown a little over 24 percent. Semel will remain with the company as non-executive chairman.
On Monday, Yahoo also said it appointed its head of advertising operations, Susan Decker, as president.
During a conference call, Decker said the company is "extremely pleased" with the performance of its Panama advertising system, thus far, but its gains are being offset by slower display advertising growth. She said the company anticipates its second-quarter revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs will come in between the midpoint and low end of the company's earlier $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion forecast.
In a note to clients Tuesday, Goldman Sachs analyst Anthony Noto lowered his price target on Yahoo to $32 from $34, writing the company is confronting challenges in various areas, including display and search advertising, ongoing audience fragmentation, its changing management and lowered sales expectations. Noto's target price implies he thinks it will trade 13.8 percent above Monday's closing price of $28.12, by year-end.
The analyst also lowered his 2007 through 2009 estimates for Yahoo's sales and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, and kept his "Neutral" rating on the stock saying investors should "remain on the sidelines."
Noto also wrote that he thinks the company's management changes suggest it's unlikely Yahoo will be sold in the near future.
"Our rationale is that this management team is very close to Terry Semel and, as such, if a deal was going to happen in the near term, they would likely have weathered the financial shortfalls until it was announced," he said.
Source : www.chron.com
Faster access to Eastern Europe now available: Diplomat
Indonesian exporters exploring new opportunities in the Eastern European market may want to consider alternative routes to the region other than using traditional ports, such as Hamburg, Amsterdam, or Rotterdam.
Due to the benefit of geographical proximity plus new infrastructural developments, at least four ports in the Adriatic now offered access that was five days faster to the region.
"By using the Adriatic ports, exporters can save up to five days compared to shipping to Hamburg or Amsterdam," Indonesian Ambassador to Hungary Mangasi Sihombing told The Jakarta Post recently in Budapest.
Mangasi was referring to Dubrovnik, Rijeka and Ploce ports in Croatia, and Koper port in Slovenia. "I have personally visited them, and found them to be excellent ports that are able to accommodate large vessels."
Traditionally, Indonesian exporters used Hamburg, Amsterdam and Rotterdam to access both Western and Eastern Europe markets. Sailing times to these ports can be up to 45 days.
"In the past, importers were reluctant to use these (Adriatic) ports because of their size. But now, after the latest infrastructural developments, these ports have become cost-effective shipping destinations," Mangasi said.
Not only faster shipping, but also faster access to the countries that act as gateways to Eastern Europe, such as Hungary, only 8 hours drive from the Croatia ports, compared with 24 hours from Hamburg.
"New highways are now available, and excellent trucks are operated by the logistics companies," Mangasi said.
"Freight from the Adriatic ports can use the highways connecting all the countries in the region, such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, and further feeding into Russia, which has huge market potential with its emerging economy."
Commenting on the administrative procedures for accessing the region through the Adriatic ports, Mangasi said that because most of these countries had recently joined the European Union, the procedures in the ports were similar to those in the Western Europe countries, with which many Indonesian exporters were already familiar.
"Exporters should no longer worry about the paperwork. The Eastern Europe countries have become more up to date in this regard," he said.
Mangasi said that the main problem about using the ports was the lack of agents in Indonesia that could facilitate shipments to the region.
"Right now, Indonesian agents are dominated by the traditional ports. There must be an effort to establish a system that connects agencies in Indonesia to these new ports."
During a bilateral meeting between Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu and Hungarian Economics and Transport Minister Janos Koka in Budapest last week, Indonesia proposed that it use Hungary as a gateway for penetrating the Eastern European market, and signed a commitment to strengthen trade facilitation between the two countries.
Indonesian National Export Development Agency (BPEN) director Bachrul Chairi said that Indonesian exporters interested in seeking market opportunities in Hungary should contact the BPEN.
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
Kaine clarifies powers of Tech review panel
A panel investigating the Virginia Tech shootings may have greater ability to access health and academic records of gunman Seung-Hui Cho under an executive order issued by Gov. Tim Kaine.
Kaine on Monday signed an order that clarifies the powers of an eight-member panel he appointed to review all aspects of the April 16 shootings that left 33 people dead, including Cho. In the order, Kaine gives the panel "any authority I can give it to pursue records necessary to its mission by court order."
Federal privacy laws have limited the panel's access to Cho's scholastic and mental health records. Kaine's order directs Tech and "other education institutions" to provide the panel with any scholastic and health records it seeks during its investigation. Tech already has turned over Cho's campus counseling records to the panel after getting consent from Cho's family.
Kaine's order also allows the panel to ask the Virginia Crime Commission, a legislative agency, to use its subpoena powers to get access to records the panel is unable to obtain.
The order also states that any records protected by privacy laws would be treated as governor's "working papers" and not made public.
Lawyers assisting the panel recommended that the governor issue the order to better define its mission and legal standing, said Kaine spokesman Kevin Hall. Since the order was issued, the panel already has obtained a recording of a 2005 hearing in which a Montgomery County special justice ordered Cho to get outpatient mental health treatment.
Source : www.roanoke.com
Kaine on Monday signed an order that clarifies the powers of an eight-member panel he appointed to review all aspects of the April 16 shootings that left 33 people dead, including Cho. In the order, Kaine gives the panel "any authority I can give it to pursue records necessary to its mission by court order."
Federal privacy laws have limited the panel's access to Cho's scholastic and mental health records. Kaine's order directs Tech and "other education institutions" to provide the panel with any scholastic and health records it seeks during its investigation. Tech already has turned over Cho's campus counseling records to the panel after getting consent from Cho's family.
Kaine's order also allows the panel to ask the Virginia Crime Commission, a legislative agency, to use its subpoena powers to get access to records the panel is unable to obtain.
The order also states that any records protected by privacy laws would be treated as governor's "working papers" and not made public.
Lawyers assisting the panel recommended that the governor issue the order to better define its mission and legal standing, said Kaine spokesman Kevin Hall. Since the order was issued, the panel already has obtained a recording of a 2005 hearing in which a Montgomery County special justice ordered Cho to get outpatient mental health treatment.
Source : www.roanoke.com
Papua's rural poor await govt initiative
JAYAPURA, Papua: The governor of Papua, fresh off a tour of remote villages, said past development efforts have failed to lift the majority of rural Papuans out of poverty.
Governor Barnabas Suebu, who visited villages in Supiori, Biak Numfor and Waropen regencies during his two-week tour, said more than 80 percent of people in rural areas were living in absolute poverty.
He said the impression he received during his visits to the villages was that most of the people were unable to fend for themselves, resulting in local administrations being overwhelmed by aid requests.
Suebu said the standard of education in rural areas was far below that in urban areas.
Many schools have just one or two teachers, which means the quality of education and the attention students receive is lacking.
He said there were cases of students graduating high school and moving on to Cenderwasih University, but still being unable to write.
Health and nutrition are also major concerns in more remote areas of the province.
"That's why we need a program that directly involves people in the villages in order to improve their standard of living," said Suebu.
He said considering Papua's natural wealth, which the governor likened to a "sleeping giant", it was incomprehensible that so many residents were living in poverty.
"The people are sleeping on mountains full of gold and when they die they are buried in earth filled with gold, but they have never benefit from it. Why is this? What has gone wrong? We must answer these questions."
The provincial administration is making efforts to address this problem through its Rural Development Strategic Plan, or Respek.
It will allocate funds from its annual budget for the program, which is designed to bring development to previously untouched areas.
Suebu said development must begin in rural areas for a prosperous Papua.
He said part of the program is dedicated to tracking true conditions in rural areas, which will help the administration pinpoint needs and problems, and address them more effectively.
The provincial administration will provide each village with Rp 100 million (approximately US$11,100) this year.
During his tour of villages, Suebu said the money should not just be divided among residents, but used to fund village-level development programs.
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
E-mails? What e-mails??
Let’s play a game this Tuesday. See if you can guess who/which organization offered this gem: “The rule of law, the very foundation for a free society, has been under assault, not only by criminals from the ground up, but also from the top down. An administration that lives by evasion, coverup, stonewalling, and duplicity has given us a totally discredited Department of Justice. The credibility of those who now manage the nation’s top law enforcement agency is tragically eroded. We are fortunate to have its dedicated career workforce, especially its criminal prosecutors, who have faced the unprecedented politicization of decisions regarding both personnel and investigations.”
Is the answer: 1) A Democratic loudmouth on the Senate Judiciary Committee? 2) A smarmy Democratic presidential candidate? 3) The relentless folks from moveon.org? 4) That guy on HBO who is less funny than he thinks he is? Nope. The correct answer is, surprise surprise, the 2000 Republican National Platform. That’s right. The platform upon which President George W. Bush first ran for and won the presidency contained precisely the sort of language that his most strident critics might be tempted to use today as the U.S. Attorney scandal swirls downward to a whole new level.
I found the quote researching Monday’s news from the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which issued a draft report highly critical of the White House’s use of Republican National Committee email accounts for official business. Worse, many of those emails now apparently are missing, which means that White House officials were effectively able through use of their RNC accounts to make an end-run around the Presidential Records Act. Their communications now are not part of the historical record of the Bush Administration, circa 2001-2009, despite the federal law that requires the maintenance of such records.
The White House said Monday that the RNC accounts were used so that government officials could not be accused of violating the Hatch Act, a federal law that prohibits federal employees from using governmental facilities (like email accounts) for partisan political purposes. And, indeed, if all this were about were White House officials using partisan political email accounts to conduct partisan political business it would be no big deal. But this story is about a lot more because investigators now will be unable to determine fully whether or not those RNC accounts were used for official (i.e. taxpayer-funded business).
Even if you are unwilling to assume the worst, which is that these officials purposely used their RNC email accounts to evade their legal duties under the Records Act, the result is unacceptable. One of the ways in which we can hold accountable our public officials is to be able, contemporarily or retrospectively, to check upon the details of their day-to-day work on our behalf. You take away the chance to check the books and you take away a large part of the oversight function that the President Records Act was designed to ensure.
In other words, the Hatch Act and the Presidential Records Act were never meant to be mutually exclusive. White House officials for decades have been able to comply with both. People wonder why Congressional Democrats keep pushing ahead with the U.S. Attorney investigation. Monday’s dismaying news about hidden emails is just one of many reasons.
Source : www.cbsnews.com
Is the answer: 1) A Democratic loudmouth on the Senate Judiciary Committee? 2) A smarmy Democratic presidential candidate? 3) The relentless folks from moveon.org? 4) That guy on HBO who is less funny than he thinks he is? Nope. The correct answer is, surprise surprise, the 2000 Republican National Platform. That’s right. The platform upon which President George W. Bush first ran for and won the presidency contained precisely the sort of language that his most strident critics might be tempted to use today as the U.S. Attorney scandal swirls downward to a whole new level.
I found the quote researching Monday’s news from the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which issued a draft report highly critical of the White House’s use of Republican National Committee email accounts for official business. Worse, many of those emails now apparently are missing, which means that White House officials were effectively able through use of their RNC accounts to make an end-run around the Presidential Records Act. Their communications now are not part of the historical record of the Bush Administration, circa 2001-2009, despite the federal law that requires the maintenance of such records.
The White House said Monday that the RNC accounts were used so that government officials could not be accused of violating the Hatch Act, a federal law that prohibits federal employees from using governmental facilities (like email accounts) for partisan political purposes. And, indeed, if all this were about were White House officials using partisan political email accounts to conduct partisan political business it would be no big deal. But this story is about a lot more because investigators now will be unable to determine fully whether or not those RNC accounts were used for official (i.e. taxpayer-funded business).
Even if you are unwilling to assume the worst, which is that these officials purposely used their RNC email accounts to evade their legal duties under the Records Act, the result is unacceptable. One of the ways in which we can hold accountable our public officials is to be able, contemporarily or retrospectively, to check upon the details of their day-to-day work on our behalf. You take away the chance to check the books and you take away a large part of the oversight function that the President Records Act was designed to ensure.
In other words, the Hatch Act and the Presidential Records Act were never meant to be mutually exclusive. White House officials for decades have been able to comply with both. People wonder why Congressional Democrats keep pushing ahead with the U.S. Attorney investigation. Monday’s dismaying news about hidden emails is just one of many reasons.
Source : www.cbsnews.com
PPATK demands investigative powers
Feeling toothless in its efforts to enforce the anti-money laundering law, the Financial Transaction Reports Analysis Center (PPATK) is demanding greater authority to investigate allegations of money laundering and freeze any accounts linked with the crime.
"All this time we have only been able to provide raw materials in the form of intelligence reports on allegations of money laundering to the police. The next steps depend solely on the action of law enforcers," PPATK director for law and regulation affairs Iktut Sudiharsa said Monday.
Both he and Teten Masduki of Indonesian Corruption Watch said legal proceedings for money laundering cases are often lengthy. "And by the time law enforcers come into the process of checking the alleged bank accounts, the money has gone," Sudiharsa said.
The extending of PPATK's authority to include freezing accounts, tapping communication channels and blocking access to alleged assets is among the points in a draft amendment of the 2003 Money Laundering Law currently under deliberation in the legislature.
"At the very least, with the extended authority to investigate we can cook up the raw material of our analysis before they are needed by the police," Sudiharsa said.
"The center is not yet functioning as expected because it can only act as a kind of intelligence unit, which provides analyses for the police," Teten said, adding that PPATK's analyses are regarded only as preliminary investigation results and not as evidence.
"The police, therefore, cannot determine any suspect before they reinvestigate the report," he said, adding that the authority to freeze alleged accounts would be useful for preventing perpetrators from eliminating evidence.
According to Sudiharsa, by the end of May, PPATK had filed 480 analysis reports with the police from the 740 suspicious transaction reports submitted to the center.
"However, we are not able to learn how many of the analysis reports we've sent have been filed into cases by the police," he said.
"All I know is that the courts have made verdicts on eight cases."
However, because the term "money laundering" is still new to many judges, he said, most cases are tried as corruption cases.
The center has also raised the need to extend its range of informants to include three sectors: financial service firms such as banks, insurance and security firms; professionals such as accountants and lawyers; and providers of services and goods such as real estate firms, automobile dealers, jewelers and auction houses.
"The amendment of the law will oblige those sectors to report transactions to the PPATK," Sudiharsa said, adding that those who failed to report could face a two-year jail term or a Rp 500 million fine.
"The informants are protected by the law, yet they could be prosecuted if law enforcers discover they are trying to hide information or cooperating with the perpetrator of money laundering," he said.
According to Sudiharsa, the amendment of the money laundering law should have taken place by September in light of the up-coming Mutual Evaluation Review in October by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force. The global money-laundering watchdog removed Indonesia from its list of non-cooperative countries in February last year.
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
Portman back in play in Ohio politics
Rob Portman’s announcement Tuesday that he will resign as White House budget director puts the popular former Cincinnati-area congressman back in play as a force in Ohio politics – and as a potential statewide candidate in coming elections. For a political figure who’s maintained a reputation as an honest, skilled consensus builder while maneuvering through Washington’s power circles, it’s another well-timed move.
By returning to Cincinnati in August “to spend more time with my family,” as Portman said, he makes a graceful early exit from the troubled Bush administration while having helped steer the White House onto what he calls more “fiscally responsible” course. And Portman, who represented Ohio’s 2nd District in the U.S. House between 1993 and 2005, positions himself to be active in local and state Republican politics during the coming presidential election year.
Portman served as U.S. trade representative for a year before becoming budget director in May 2006. “I have been in the midst of the battle here on fiscal issues,” Portman said in a conference call with the Enquirer on Tuesday morning, before his resignation was announced.
“It’s tough to leave a meaningful job where I’ve been able to make a difference. But I’ve been doing this (Cincinnati-Washington) commute for 14 years, and this particular job doesn’t lend itself to commuting. It’s also a good time to leave because it is the start of the new budget process for 2009.”
• Comment: What's next for Rob Portman?
While the timing of his resignation may have been a surprise, it’s not unusual to see White House officials leave such posts before the end of an administration, and it shouldn’t be seen as a step backward in his career.
The real question is what Portman will decide to do next. His career has been distinguished by his ability to collaborate with colleagues in both parties, even those who disagree strongly with his conservative point of view, and craft consensus legislation. In the House he was the key player on reforms of unfunded mandates, the IRS, the tax code and pension policy.
Most recently, Portman has been the major force behind President Bush’s decision to get tough on congressional bills that exceed spending levels the White House has requested. Bush reportedly will veto several major spending bills in the coming months – quite a departure for a president who didn’t veto a single piece of legislation during the first 5½ years of his administration.
But Democrats’ taking control of Congress last fall – and particularly, winning the Ohio governorship and other statewide offices – changed that calculation. Portman notes that ethics and spending led the list of reasons why independent voters shifted to the Democrats, and why fewer Republicans went to the polls than expected. “A lot of that was attributable to a voter sense that (Republicans) had lost our way on taxes and spending,” Portman said.
He hopes the 2008 election reverses or at least halts the GOP losses. “The president is firmly on record supporting more restraint in spending,” Portman said. “This has the advantage of drawing a distinction between the parties.”
Designated budget successor Jim Nussle, a former Republican House member from Iowa, “will be very well received on the Hill,” said Portman, who added that the change doesn’t signal a different direction for the White House on budget matters. “He will continue our commitment to fiscal discipline – reasonable restraint on the spending side while keeping taxes low.”
Portman said it’s unlikely he’ll run for any office in 2008, and area voters shouldn’t be looking for him to reclaim his old House seat. It’s more likely that he could be a statewide candidate in 2010 – perhaps taking on Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. “There’s a Senate race in 2010, but (incumbent George) Voinovich I assume will run again. So I’m also looking at 2012, obviously.” That’s when Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, will be up for re-election.
Until then, Portman said, “my immediate focus is going to be my family.” His plans later this summer, after he leaves Washington, include camping and hiking trips with his teenage children.
Portman has served Southwest Ohio and the nation well during the past 14 years, and deserves the break. We congratulate him on his service, and look forward to the next chapter in his career.
Source : news.enquirer.com
But Democrats’ taking control of Congress last fall – and particularly, winning the Ohio governorship and other statewide offices – changed that calculation. Portman notes that ethics and spending led the list of reasons why independent voters shifted to the Democrats, and why fewer Republicans went to the polls than expected. “A lot of that was attributable to a voter sense that (Republicans) had lost our way on taxes and spending,” Portman said.
He hopes the 2008 election reverses or at least halts the GOP losses. “The president is firmly on record supporting more restraint in spending,” Portman said. “This has the advantage of drawing a distinction between the parties.”
Designated budget successor Jim Nussle, a former Republican House member from Iowa, “will be very well received on the Hill,” said Portman, who added that the change doesn’t signal a different direction for the White House on budget matters. “He will continue our commitment to fiscal discipline – reasonable restraint on the spending side while keeping taxes low.”
Portman said it’s unlikely he’ll run for any office in 2008, and area voters shouldn’t be looking for him to reclaim his old House seat. It’s more likely that he could be a statewide candidate in 2010 – perhaps taking on Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. “There’s a Senate race in 2010, but (incumbent George) Voinovich I assume will run again. So I’m also looking at 2012, obviously.” That’s when Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, will be up for re-election.
Until then, Portman said, “my immediate focus is going to be my family.” His plans later this summer, after he leaves Washington, include camping and hiking trips with his teenage children.
Portman has served Southwest Ohio and the nation well during the past 14 years, and deserves the break. We congratulate him on his service, and look forward to the next chapter in his career.
Source : news.enquirer.com
Stricter tobacco laws a must: YLKI
A prominent consumer group is pressuring the government to issue stricter regulations to protect children and passive smokers from the negative effects of cigarettes.
The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) said Monday it would file a class action suit against the government if it failed to formulate stricter tobacco regulations that deal especially with protecting children from cigarettes.
"If the government does nothing to tighten regulations on tobacco by the end of the year, then YLKI will file a class action suit against it. Children, who have been overlooked, need more substantial protection," YLKI coordinator Tulus Abadi told a media conference.
"The government is reluctant to implement a comprehensive regulation. They focus on the economic factors rather than the health factors of tobacco consumption," he said.
He added that cigarette advertising still pervades prime-time local television shows watched by millions of children, making them the target market.
"Cigarette producers want to get them hooked to cigarettes at an early age so they would be more loyal to their brand."
According to 2004 data collected by the foundation, which is also supported by the National Commission on Child Protection, 78 percent of smokers tried their first cigarette before reaching the age of 19. There has also been an increase in children aged between five and nine who try smoking from 0.35 percent in 2001 to 1.65 percent in 2004.
The consumer group is demanding that the government tighten its tobacco-related laws by ratifying the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which was the first international treaty to control tobacco consumption.
The FCTC obliges governments to suppress the promotion of cigarettes, as far as their constitutions permit, and ensure that at least 30 percent of tobacco packaging is allocated for health warnings.
Tulus said the treaty, which has been ratified by big tobacco-producing countries such as India, Brazil and China, provides a win-win solution for stakeholders in terms of not irreparably damaging the social, economic and labor aspects of the tobacco industry.
Deputy chairman of the Indonesian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development, Hakim Sorimuda Pohan, said that although Indonesia was late in ratifying the treaty, it could still join through an "accession" procedure as per international law.
"Indonesia has been humiliated by its own history, as it has better laws for animal health protection than for humans'. This country, therefore, needs to have a better tobacco law as soon as possible," Pohan said.
Meanwhile, a recent survey by the Coalition for a Healthy Indonesia found that passive smokers are often marginalized because of their permissiveness toward smokers.
"From our survey of 100 respondents, only 25 percent of smokers said they would put out their cigarettes after being asked by their mates not to smoke nearby," the coalition's program assistant, Iskandar Soesman, said.
He said passive smokers are yet to stand up for their right to clean air.
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
Missile attack kills militants in Pakistan
A missile attack killed at least 17 pro-Taliban militants and wounded 10 in a Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border on Tuesday, according to independent television news channels.
The blast occurred at a militant training camp near Datta Khel district, about 60km west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.
The Pakistani army did not carry out any operations in the area, army spokesperson Major General Waheed Arshad said, adding that initial reports suggested the explosion occurred while the militants were making a bomb.
Pakistani military spokespersons have offered such explanations in the past when United States forces in Afghanistan have launched strikes on militant targets in Pakistani territory in order to avoid admitting any violation of territorial sovereignty.
Aaj and Dawn television news channels both reported that the militants were killed in a missile attack.
Last September, the Pakistan government struck a controversial peace deal with militants in North Waziristan.
Under the terms of the treaty, foreign fighters were bound to either surrender or be expelled, but critics said the pact created a sanctuary for militants in North Waziristan.
Source : www.mg.co.za
The blast occurred at a militant training camp near Datta Khel district, about 60km west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.
The Pakistani army did not carry out any operations in the area, army spokesperson Major General Waheed Arshad said, adding that initial reports suggested the explosion occurred while the militants were making a bomb.
Pakistani military spokespersons have offered such explanations in the past when United States forces in Afghanistan have launched strikes on militant targets in Pakistani territory in order to avoid admitting any violation of territorial sovereignty.
Aaj and Dawn television news channels both reported that the militants were killed in a missile attack.
Last September, the Pakistan government struck a controversial peace deal with militants in North Waziristan.
Under the terms of the treaty, foreign fighters were bound to either surrender or be expelled, but critics said the pact created a sanctuary for militants in North Waziristan.
Source : www.mg.co.za
Imparsial pushes military time for military crime
Members of the House of Representatives are currently deliberating the bill on Military Tribunal but are at odds with a well-known human rights organization over whether soldiers convicted of crimes should serve time in civilian prisons.
"The soldiers have been convicted of felonies and sentenced to more than five years," Chief of the special committee for the Military Court Bill Andreas Pareira told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
"They will not be able to serve the armed forces and so should be discharged to serve their time in civilian prisons," he said.
"But if they are sentenced to one year or less ... they could stay in a military prison."
But he said usually a felony would mean a longer prison term.
"We also have to think about rehabilitation counseling for them."
Andreas said previous discussions between the House and the government had determined counseling was required for soldiers serving time in prison.
"The counseling issue is a technical matter and we haven't discussed it much."
Advocacy coordinator for non-government human rights monitor Imparsial Donny Ardyanto said if a soldier was tried in a civilian court and convicted under civilian law, he should serve time in a civilian prison.
"However, if it is a military crime, it should be processed in a military court and the soldier should serve time in a military prison."
After a soldier had left a prison, there should be a review mechanism to determine whether or not he would be able to rejoin the military, Donny said.
"For example, if it was a petty crime with a short serving time, such as stealing a chicken, it might be better to just demote him and cut his salary, before allowing him back to the military."
He suggested a military honor council would act as an internal watchdog under the military chief and could make rulings on such matters.
"But we don't want the body to handle criminal actions. It would only rule on behavioral problems."
Imparsial also highlighted several things the bill had yet to cover, including a convict's rights in military courts.
Donny said they should be enabled to contact their lawyers, get access to health care or doctors and should be tried in an open court.
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
Western-style democracy not suitable for Indonesia: VP
Vice President Jusuf Kalla has reiterated his wariness toward the application of Western-style democracy in Indonesia.
Speaking before a visiting delegation from the Netherlands-based Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) on Monday, Kalla said the application of Western democracy in Indonesia would create injustice and inequality.
"Western-style democracy, such as that in Europe or the United States, can't just easily be applied here. It has to be made suitable to the conditions and culture of Indonesia," Kalla was quoted as saying by Golkar Party Central Board member Rully Chairul Azwar.
Kalla also said that democracy should not be seen as an end in itself but as a means to achieve prosperity, and that democracy in Indonesia was more advanced than the form applied in the Netherlands.
The NIMD delegation was led by the institute's chairman, former Dutch prime minister Ben Bot.
Also present at the meeting were Indonesian Community for Democracy (KID) chairman Ignas Kleden, KID secretary Daniel Sparingga and Golkar Party secretary general Budi Harsono.
With funding from NIMD, KID recently facilitated the establishment of a forum called the Indonesian Political Parties Dialog Community to promote democratic values in the country.
After the meeting, Bot was quoted by Antara as saying that NIMD's presence in Indonesia is not aimed at strengthening the party system, as this depends on the will of political parties themselves.
He said his organization aimed to encourage the public to take part in the application of democratic principles.
Kalla has repeatedly stated that the application of democracy in Indonesia has been too excessive and has hampered the country's economic growth.
He said the excess of democracy in the country has materialized in street rallies and riotous House of Representatives sessions.
The Vice President's latest comments echo those of former dictator Soeharto and former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, who said that Eastern societies have their own versions of democracy which uphold harmony and consensus.
These so-called "Asian values" withered away following the 1998 Asian economic crisis that led to the downfall of a selection of authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia.
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
Barroso tells Poland, others to be "constructive" at EU summit
Brussels - The European Union's new members from central and eastern Europe must be constructive at the bloc's summit this week by helping strike a deal on a new EU treaty, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Tuesday.
Barroso, speaking ahead of a make-or-break EU summit on June 21- 22, said failure in Brussels would damage Europe's international credibility as well as its standing among European citizens.
New member states had the chance to show that their membership was not making EU life more difficult, but giving new impetus to Europe, said Barroso.
In an implicit reference to Poland which is demanding a controversial revamp of EU voting rules - a move opposed by others - Barroso said he wanted 'active and constructive cooperation of new member states.'
Countries should not come to the summit with 'red lines and vetoes,' said Barroso, warning that failure at the meeting would create 'mistrust' among EU states and damage the bloc's 'mechanisms of solidarity' under which rich nations help others through financial transfers.
'It is not in the interest of any member states to be seen as a hardliner,' said the commission chief, adding: 'Please do not block' agreement.
Barroso insisted that there was a 'real opportunity for a deal' and urged countries to be 'decisive, constructive and not be guided by out-dated language of victory and defeat.' Echoing appeals made by Germany which is current holder of the EU presidency, Barroso said failure to clinch a treaty deal would mean 'there will only be losers. If we succeed we can all be winners.' EU leaders at the summit are hoping to launch negotiations on a so-called 'amended' or 'reformed' treaty which would be a simplified version of the document rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005. Officials say the new treaty - no longer called a 'constitution' - is needed to streamline EU decision-making following the bloc's 2004 'big bang' enlargement to include ten new members. Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in January 2007. However, preparations for the EU summit, to be chaired by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have been overshadowed by strident Polish demands for a revamp of the bloc's voting system, a move opposed by almost all other EU states. Germany has warned that opening the hard-fought compromise on EU voting rights included in the current draft treaty would open a chaotic Pandora's box of equally difficult and contradictory demands from other EU states. Warsaw is demanding fresh EU talks on voting procedures in a bid to increase its weight in the bloc;s decision-making, especially compared to larger countries such as Germany. The 'double majority' system included in the current EU draft treaty says EU decisions require the support of 55 per cent of member states, representing 65 per cent of the population.
But Poland has proposed an alternative voting system based on the square root of each country's population. Barroso insisted that a new treaty was needed to enable the EU to deal with key challenges, including immigration, terrorism and climate change. While Polish demands are expected to dominate the Brussels meeting, other countries are also coming to the meeting with requests in hand. The status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights remains controversial, with Britain opposing a document that is legally binding. France and Spain are demanding the scrapping of a number of national vetoes including in justice and police matters, a move Britain opposes. Other outstanding issues for the summit include whether the EU should have a single legal personality, enabling it to sign international agreements and Dutch demands that national parliaments have a greater say in EU policy-making. If EU leaders are successful in Brussels, another intergovernmental conference to negotiate details of the new treaty will start in autumn. Negotiations are expected to be completed by the end of the year, allowing the new treaty to be ratified and enter into force by summer 2009 to coincide with elections to the EU parliament.
Source : news.monstersandcritics.com
Press freedom is safe: Govt
A top official has maintained that the government remains committed to protecting Indonesian press freedom as well as those working in the media industry.
"There have been no such ideas to revise the 1999 Press Law ... We don't know where the issue has come from," Communications and Information Minister M. Nuh told a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission I for information, defense and foreign affairs here Monday.
The minister was responding to questions raised by commission members who warned that the nation's press would return to its former state under the authoritarian New Order regime if the government pursued a revision of the press law.
Agreeing with the commission, acting director general for information services and the dissemination of information at the ministry, Widiatnyana Merati, said the ministry is currently studying ways to empower the media, provide social security programs for media workers and seek support from relevant authorities to make the press law a lex specialis (special law) in handling cases involving the media.
"So far, we have held discussions with the University of Indonesia and the Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java, to prepare the necessary regulations or decrees to enforce the press law," he said.
Jeffrey Massie of the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) and Abdillah Toha of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said the House commission appreciated the government's prudent treatment of the media, but warned the nation would pay a high price if the state did not respect press freedom, which, they said, was a "precious fruit" from the reform movement launched in 1998.
"The government is carrying out seven flagship programs, namely e-Leadership, e-Education, e-Infrastructure, e-Industry, e-Procurement, e-Budget and e-Government, in its strategy to achieve a so-called 'information society' by 2015 to show the government's political will in building an information-literate society. But it looks strange if the government has plans to reimpose censorship on the press," Jeffrey said.
The minister said bills on the free flow of information and on information and electronic transactions, expected to be approved this year, would provide a legal basis for access to and encourage the use of information.
"The government is even preparing a cybercrimes bill in anticipation of a new crime modus through the Internet and computers," he said.
The commission also asked the government to review the allowance of foreign ownership in the telecommunications industry, which it alleged has caused huge losses to the state.
"The government should take concrete action in line with the increasing protests over foreign ownership in the telecommunications industry," said Theo Sambuaga, who presided over the hearing.
Citing Singapore's Temasek Holdings' stake in Indosat, Jeffrey said the government must decide whether to renegotiate Temasek's ownership -- through its subsidiary Singapore Technologies Telemedia -- of Indosat, repurchase its share or nationalize it over reports that Temasek's monopoly of Indonesia's telecom industry has caused huge losses to the state.
At the meeting, Abdillah, Djoko Susilo of PAN and Effendy Choirie of the National Awakening Party also asked the government to prohibit quiz shows, call girls and other TV programs from incorporating short message services (sms) in their programming because their motives were purely business related.
"The programs must be barred from using sms because they have grabbed billions of rupiah from participants who are mostly unaware of the (premium rate) tariff of Rp 2,000 (22 U.S. cents) per sms," Djoko said.
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
Refugee numbers falling in Russia against global surge - UN
MOSCOW, June 19 (RIA Novosti) - The number of refugees in Russia has been falling steadily in recent years, while global refugee figures have surged, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday.
Dennis Blair, deputy head of the Moscow Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told a RIA Novosti news conference that displaced people in Russia totaled 382,000 as of the end of May 2007.
Specifically, the number of people displaced from the troubled Republic of Chechnya has plummeted to 15,000, down from 250,000 just two years ago, he said.
The official attributed the trend to a construction boom in the republic, making new housing available for those who lost their homes in Russia's two wars there.
Most refugees now in Russia came from Georgia, in particular the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, Blair said, adding that many of them have already been granted Russian citizenship.
The fall in refugee numbers in the country comes amid a general increase in global refugee figures, which hit a five-year high of 10 million in 2006, 14% up on the previous year. The figures were released Tuesday in Geneva, where the UNHCR is based.
Russian authorities lack a regulatory framework that would make a clear distinction between genuine refugees and economic migrants calling themselves displaced. The top UNHCR official in Russia, Wolfgang Milzow, said his agency was willing to help the country forge such legislation so that it could reduce the inflow of illegal migrants while ensuring that people whose lives are in danger in their home regions or countries are accepted.
Source : en.rian.ru
Anger, frustration boil over as mudflow victims square off
Police officers were forced come between two groups of mudflow victims in Sidoarjo, East Java after the groups accused one another of providing false information in efforts to receive compensation.
Police officers invited representatives from each group to a reconciliation meeting beside the main thoroughfares of Sidoarjo.
The groups clashed at the junction between Jl. KH Mukmin and Jl. Sunandar Priyo Sudarno when residents of Tanggulangin Anggun Sejahtera housing complex marched their way to the office of Team 16.
Team 16 consisted of representatives of the mudflow victims, who were assigned to convey victims' wants and needs to the authorities.
Protesters said they believed Team 16 had not made clear enough the aspirations of mudflow victims from four subdistricts in Porong.
The protesters accused the team of taking side with the government and Lapindo Brantas Inc. -- the company at the center of the mudflow disaster.
Residents also said a Team 16 member intended to make a profit from the dispute via the victim administration registration process.
"The person, for example, sold verification letters which should have been distributed free of charge," protester Hendro said.
"The person forced the residents to pay Rp 160,000 (US$17.70) each."
Hendro said Team 16 sent a letter to the bank in charge of handling the compensation payment process, state Bank Tabungan Negara, to ensure all mudflow-related communication came through Team 16 and no-one else.
"This means that Team 16 has indicated to the bank that everyone else involved in the mudflow belongs to a wild and unregistered group," Hendro said.
"That was why we marched to Team 16's office," he said.
While the residents clashed, the flow of hot mud into a nearby river had become uncontrollable.
Completely under mud was a makeshift bridge linking the village of Mindi and Besuki -- the only access for thousands of Besuki villagers to Porong street.
M. Soleh, one of the nearby villagers, packed up his belongings in fear the mudflow would soon hit his house.
"Rather than being late (to evacuate), I would rather pack my belongings," said Soleh. "But I don't know where to go..."
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
British police break up pedophile ring, 31 children rescued
Yesterday, the British police with support from several other countries and help from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) arrested seven hundred men, and rescued thirty-one children when they thrashed an online pedophile ring that expanded across the globe. Yesterdays actions are the result of almost a year’s worth of investigations. The ring included exchanges of indecent images of minors and live exchanges of abuse, on and offline.
There are two-hundred suspects based in Britain, said the CEOP. Regarding the thirty-one children, some only a few months old, more than fifteen were in Britain, the center said. Detective Sgt. Kim Scanlan, of the Toronto police sex crimes unit, said to the AP that twenty-four Canadians were arrested and seven Canadian children rescued since late 2005. The US investigators declined to comment further as well as the UK officials because investigations are ongoing, and suspects are still being watched, and rounded up.
While all of the people arrested will get their fitting reward for their crimes, it is certain that Timothy David Martyn Cox will get his comeuppance for hosting the chat room ‘Kids the Light of Our Lives,’ the twenty-seven-year-old was arrested last September, on nine offences, relating to the Possession and Distribution of Indecent Images of Children. That means he will remain in prison until authorities determine he is no longer a threat to children, with luck that will be forever.
‘Kids the Light of Our Lives’ was an internet chat room dedicated to the sexual exploitation of children. Hundreds of members worldwide used it to trade a range of material, including photographs and videos of children being subjected to sexual abuse and serious sexual assault. Cox was identified after intelligence linking the chat room to the UK was passed to the CEOP by Canadian officials within the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) last August. The CEOP said that when Suffolk forensic teams examined Cox’s computer they found seventy-five thousand nine hundred sixty indecent and explicit images in addition to evidence that he had supplied eleven thousand four hundred ninety-one images to other site users.
Gordon Mackintosh, thirty-three, attempted to resurrect ‘Kids the Light of our Lives’ following Cox’s disappearance as host. The CEOP carried out extensive work to identify the person behind the usernames ‘silentblackheart and ‘lust4skoolgurls’. Alongside Hertfordshire Police, they arrested Mackintosh on January 9, 2007. CEOP officers, the Australian Federal Police, ICE (US Department of Homeland Security) and Toronto Police undertook twenty-four hour online surveillance to infiltrate the room for a second time and collate details of all the offenders attempting to trade material, a CEOP statement said. McIntosh’s computer was found to contain five thousand one hundred sixty-seven indecent and explicit images of children, in addition to three hundred ninety-two indecent movie files. He pleaded guilty to twenty-seven charges of making, possessing and distributing indecent images and movies. He awaits sentence. “Today’s verdict serves as a powerful warning to those using the Internet to facilitate the sexual exploitation of children. From the apparent ‘safety’ of his home, Cox spent hours each day planning, promoting and encouraging the abuse and exploitation of innocent young victims. In doing so he provided a service to hundreds of like minded individuals, enabling those with a sexual interest in children to share indecent images and discuss further plans for abuse. Any individual who thinks they carry out such horrific activities undetected is in for a very rude awakening. The belief that the Internet provides anonymity is unfounded and for Cox and Mackintosh it has already proved to be a costly misconception.” -- Jim Gamble, CEO at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and Chairman of the Virtual Global Taskforce.
Source : tech.monstersandcritics.com
Balikpapan crocodile park a treat for lovers of exotic fare
Residents in Balikpapan and other parts of East Kalimantan may be familiar with the Borneo Crocodile Recreational Park on Jl. Mulawarman in the city, managed by CV Surya Raya Crocodile Farm.
The place offers visitors a variety of crocodile leather products, such as briefcases, purses, wallets, belts and bags, as well as some exotic fare -- crocodile satay at Rp 3,000 (approximately 33 U.S. cents) a stick.
Crocodile meat is seen by many as nutritious and is believed to heal a number of diseases, such as asthma and allergies, as well as relieving hypertension and reducing sugar levels in diabetics.
The park is open to the public daily, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, visitors can sample crocodile satay only on Sundays and other major holidays, such as Idul Fitri, Idul Adha, Christmas and New Year's Day.
The Cafe Borneo, where crocodile satay is sold, was packed with dozens of visitors eating satay when The Jakarta Post visited.
Besides local visitors, curious diners come from as far as Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Medan, Yogyakarta and even overseas.
"This is my first time eating crocodile satay. I got the information from my friends who came here earlier. It tastes delicious, like mutton satay," said Adrianus, from Jakarta, who was on a working visit to Balikpapan.
Another visitor from Jakarta, Roni, concurred. "I am by chance hungry... so it tastes more delicious, like chicken satay," said Roni.
According to an employee at Cafe Borneo, Edi, eating crocodile satay has no side effects and is safe for both children and adults. Only younger crocodiles, ideally around three-and-a-half-years old, are slaughtered for their meet.
"We can sell 500 to 1,000 sticks of satay during Sundays, but more than 2,000 sticks during holidays such as Idul Fitri and New Year," said park employee Hamroni.
The park also sells other crocodile-based products, such as crocodile oil, which costs Rp 8,000 per bottle. It is believed to be an effective ointment to heal burns. Crocodile penises are also on sale at Rp 300,000 to Rp 500,000 a piece and are believed to boost male virility.
A 120-ml bottle containing a medicinal drink mixed with crocodile penis is sold at Rp 15,000. Those who prefer light snacks can buy crocodile crackers at Rp 2,000 per pack.
Visitors can buy unfried crocodile crackers as gifts to loved ones back home for Rp 10,000 per pack. The park also sells frozen crocodile meat, meat floss and crocodile bile, believed by many to have qualities to heal asthma, skin diseases and prevent malaria.
Its crocodile leather products are sought after by visitors from the United States, Korea and Brunei. For those who wish to make their own creation from crocodile leather can buy a whole skin at Rp 1.27 million.
"It can be turned into bags, jackets, shoes and others. One of the company's aims is to provide high quality leather products at affordable prices so people from all walks of life can afford them," said Hamroni.
The park is always packed with visitors on weekends. More than 1,000 people visited the park last Sunday, some just to relax, conduct study tours or hold class farewells, as evident from a bus-load of students from the SDN 18 state elementary school in Samarinda Seberang.
The park is home to thousands of crocodiles, from young to mature.
It is not hard to reach the park. Visitors can take the number 7 public van, with fares ranging from Rp 2,500 to Rp 5,000 depending on the distance. It takes 30 minutes from Sepinggan International Airport by car.
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
Vatican driving commandments pave highway to heaven
The Vatican instructed its followers to take the high road Tuesday, issuing 10 commandments calling for those behind the wheel to drive with as much moral purpose as they live their lives.
"Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road," released Tuesday by the Vatican's office for migrants and itinerant people, warns that cars can be "an occasion for sin" — whether it's a driver's pride in showing off, the wrath displayed in a road-rage incident, or the more literal and lustful transgression of the curbside prostitute pick-up.
| The 10 commandments of driving |
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| Source: The Vatican website and the Associated Press |
The document calls for drivers to obey speed limits and to exercise a host of Christian virtues: charity to fellow drivers, prudence on the roads, hope of arriving safely and justice in the event of crashes.
It also praises the benefits of making the sign of the cross before turning the ignition key and reciting the rosary on the road, as its "rhythm and gentle repetition does not distract the driver's attention."
The Vatican also warns motorists of the dangers to themselves and others of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as well as failing have their vehicles serviced regularly.
Bible full of travelling souls, long roads
Renato Cardinal Martino, president of the office behind the commandments, told reporters Tuesday that driving has become such a central part of contemporary life that the Vatican felt it had to provide some guidance.
He noted that the Bible is full of people on the move, including Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus — and that his office is responsible for dealing with all "itinerant" people — including refugees, prostitutes, truck drivers and the homeless.
"We know that as a consequence of transgressions and negligence, 1.2 million people die each year on the roads," Martino said. "That's a sad reality, and at the same time, a great challenge for society and the church."
The document also celebrates the many virtues driving provides, such as family trips, allowing people to encounter other cultures through travel and transporting the sick to hospital.
The paper is intended for bishops conferences around the world, and as such offered recommendations for their pastoral workers, including setting up chapels along motorways and having "periodic celebration of liturgies" at major road hubs, truck stops and restaurants.
Source : www.cbc.ca
Child wounded in Pasuruan shooting discharged from hospital
A child wounded by marines who shot at residents of Alas Tlogo in Pasuruan regency was discharged from hospital on Monday.
Choirul Anwar, 4, who underwent an operation on his abdomen at a hospital in Malang, East Java, does not remember the incident, in which four people were shot dead, including his mother.
"I'm confused that Choirul thinks his mother is still alive and at home looking for grass (to feed the cattle)," said Choirul's father, Sutrisno.
Sutrisno, a sugarcane plantation worker, said he was happy to see his son recovered but was still mourning the death of his 27-year-old wife Mistin.
Mistin and three other residents were shot dead by marines in a land dispute between Alas Tlogo villagers and the Navy.
Choirul was allowed to go home by doctors at Syaiful Anwar Hospital after they had removed 18 pieces of shrapnel from his body.
"I still do not know how to tell Choirul about the real condition of his mother after we get home," Sutrisno said.
Sutrisno and his father-in-law, Samad, 53, have stayed at the hospital with the boy for the last 20 days. Choirul has constantly asked for his mother and wanted to know why she wasn't at the hospital.
"I was speechless. I thought maybe this child had already felt his mother was no longer alive," Sutrisno said, adding that his son's questions made his heart feel "as if it were being sliced into pieces" and that he could not tell his son the truth.
"This child is very clever so we have to be careful when speaking to him," he said.
Meanwhile, the commander of Indonesia's East Region Fleet, Rear Adm. Muchlas Sidig, reiterated in Surabaya on Monday the Navy's plan to build a battle training center in the area where the shooting took place.
"I already negotiated with a number of villagers and they said they were ready to relocate to other areas by receiving 500-square-meter plot of land per person. However, the plan had to be postponed due to the shooting incident," he said.
Navy chief of staff Adm. Slamet Soebijanto said earlier that the military training center was badly needed and that Pasuruan was the most strategic area as it could be used for land, air and sea training.
Pasuruan Regency Jusbakir Aldjufri initially proposed that the training center be moved farther away, an idea submitted to institutions including the House of Representatives, the Regional Representatives Council and the National Human Rights Commission, but which received no response.
The Navy claims that the land was bought legally in 1963, although it also alleged that corrupt officials at the local regency administration had sold it illegally.
Source : www.thejakartapost.com
Moscow's the priciest city
You might want to skip buying any CDs if you're planning a trip to Moscow. One'll set you back almost $25 in the Russian capital, which has been tabbed the world's most expensive city for the second year in a row.
London (no surprise here) placed second, followed by three also not surprising Asian entries—Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
The rankings are the result of a survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, which compared costs in more than 200 areas, including housing, transportation and food, according to an Associated Press story. Though the results are aimed at helping multinational companies figure out compensation for employees in other countries, they're a good indicator for the leisure traveler too.
I was surprised to see Iceland didn't crack the top 50. Eight-dollar beers and $50 dinners in modest restaurants are the norm there.
You got any sticker shock stories or money-saving travel tips to share?
Here are the top 50 most expensive cities: 1. Moscow
2. London
3. Seoul
4. Tokyo
5. Hong Kong
6. Copenhagen
7. Geneva
8. Osaka, Japan
9. Zurich
10. Oslo
11. Milan, Italy
12. St. Petersburg, Russia
13. Paris
14. Singapore
15. New York
16. Dublin, Ireland
17. Tel Aviv
18. Rome
19. Vienna
20. Beijing
21. Sydney
22. Helsinki, Finland
23. Stockholm
24. Douala, Cameroon
25. Amsterdam
26. Madrid
Shanghai (tie)
28. Kiev, Ukraine
29. Athens
30. Almaty, Kazakhstan
31. Barcelona, Spain
Bratislava, Slovak Republic (tie)
33. Dakar, Senegal
34. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
35. Abidjan, Ivory Coast
36. Glasgow, Scotland
37. Lagos, Nigeria
38. Istanbul, Turkey
39. Munich, Germany
40. Frankfurt, Germany
41. Birmingham, England
42. Los Angeles
43. Luxembourg
44. Brussels
45. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Berlin (tie)
Dusseldorf, Germany (tie)
48. Taipei, Taiwan
49. Prague, Czech Republic
50. Algiers, Algeria.
Source : leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com