Edisi 2 februari 2010 | International Bali Post

China says won’t relax grip on Tibet

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Law enforcement have weakened PAGE 8

‘Top Chef’ Star Padma Lakshmi Hospitalized

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A corn field in Tinga-Tinga village which was destroyed by the landslide on Sunday, January 31st, 2010. The heavy rain which happened in Buleleng regency made a boy killed and several people were injured.

Flood and Landslide in Celukan Bawang

PAGE 12

A Boy Killed, Farm Covered Singaraja (Bali Post) -

Heavy rain keeps falling in western Buleleng since Sunday, January 31st 2010. The heavy rain made some villages in the area were flooded and covered with mud. The poor weather condition made a boy died and several people injured.

WEATHER FORECAST

Moh Daniel Fahusa, A two years old boy from Celukan Bawang village, was drowned in a septic tank near his house. The boy was rushed to the hospital but his life can not be rescued.

I Nyoman Kartika, the head of

Grokgak precinct, said that the heavy rain made the flood was up to the knee of an adult. At that time, the boy was playing with his uncle, Munawar.

When Munawar went to take a bath, Daniel went outside to see the water on the yard. Unfortunately, he

fell into the tank because it was covered by water. After the uncle return, he was very surprised that her nephew was not in the room. So he and the rest of the family search all over the place until the boy was found drowned in the tank. Many

people also were injured during the heavy rain. Most of them fell from the motorbikes because the road was very slippery.

Landslide

Heavy rain also caused landslide in Kembang Udaya village in Grokgak. The landslide covered the farm of Nyoman Dasta. The landslide also killed 5 cows belong to the locals. The people actually were trying to save the cows but they were not successful. The lost caused by the disaster was undetermined yet.(kmb15)

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AFP/Jesus Alcazar

Relatives in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico mourn the loss of loved ones after gunmen drove up to a house where a high school party was in full swing and opened fire killing 13 people and wounding 17 others.

CIUDAD JUAREZ – At least 23 people were killed in separate mass shootings in northern Mexico as the country continued to reel from drug-related violence.

In Ciudad Juarez, gunmen drove up to a house where a high school party was in full swing and opened fire killing 13 people and wounding 17 others, the city public safety agency said.

Most of the victims were “youngsters,” said the Chihuahua state attorney general’s office.

Witnesses said the gunmen drove up to the

house in several cars, first shooting at people gathered outside the dwelling, then pursuing some of the youngsters who jumped over a fence to get away.

“A young man was celebrating his birthday with his schoolmates... and when the host of the party came out to drop off his girlfriend” the shooting broke out, a neighbor told AFP. Local press reports said the party host’s father was among the dead. Other sources said the young people were members of a local soccer team celebrating a championship victory, the Reforma daily said on its website.

Continued on page 6

2

International

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Bali News FIR of Denpasar House Insists on Rejecting STB Bridge Denpasar (Bali Post) –

The plan of Bali Provincial government to build the Serangan-Tanjung Benoa (STB) Bridge as transportation infrastructure got a highlight from Great Indonesia Faction (FIR) in Denpasar House. This faction considered the STB bridge could remain to be put into debate.

On that account, this faction urged the executive to immediately convey this matter to the minister and forwarded it to the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) to be reviewed. A faction member of Great Indonesia in Denpasar House, I Ketut Resmiyasa, in Denpasar, last Sunday (Jan 31) admitted to have consulted this matter to Director of Regional Government Affairs, Directorate General of Regional Autonomy, Department of Home Affairs on the recent technical guidance. However, the rejection of STB bridge project was not without a clear solution. “FIR dare express it, because we have a much better alternative. Other than requiring fewer funds, this solution will not turn off the activities at the port of

Benoa,”said Resmiyasa.

This representative from Sesetan revealed the solution to overcome the congestion of traffic flow on the route of Sanur— Kuta Roundabout—Nusa Dua. This solution would not disrupt the continuity of the entry of large ships into Benoa Harbor. Because, the alternative offered, made the road to Benoa, not from Serangan.

The roads made started from the road to encircle Benoa Harbor to the west and south toward the port area to Tanjung Benoa. From the road, it could also be split into the Ngurah Rai Statue, Tuban.

“With this solution cruise ship wishing to go into Benoa Harbor will not be hampered, because the road is behind the port area,” he explained. He also added if the

STB Bridge could be realized, then the vessel with a height above 35 meters would be difficult to enter.

Yet, the fact that cruise ships going into the Benoa Harbor have the average height of over 36 meter.

As the data in 2007, out of nine cruise ships coming into the harbor, eight ships had an average height of more than 37 meters.

Related to funding issues, his party has calculated namely if the STB Bridge spent IDR 1.2 trillion, the flyover (elevated grade) with a length of about 8 kilometers only needed IDR 800 billion.

This meant there would be an excess of funds of approximately IDR 400 billion that could be used to finance the Garuda Wisnu statue and flyover at the Dewa Ruci statue. (kmb12)

Security Post Burned after Village Head E-Voting, Three Perpetrators Arrested Negara, (DenPost)—

A publicly owned village security post of Darma Kusuma Hamlet located next to the Darma Kusuma Hamlet Hall, Pangkung Jajang, Tukadaya, Melaya was burned down on last Friday (Jan 30) night.

From the incident, three perpetrators including Komang Yudana, 47, Komang Agus Arya Puput, 29 and Putu Agus Tinayasa, 23 all from Pangkung Jajang, Tukadaya Melaya were secured at Jembrana Resort Police, last Sunday (Jan 31).

This incident began with the election of hamlet head (kadus) by evoting system at Pangkung Jajang, Tukadaya Melaya on Friday morning until the afternoon. Such hamlet head election also ran safely and smoothly. The election was won by the candidate Made Widana, while Ketut Sumerta lost in the election by e-voting system.

From the information on the scene, the night after implementation of hamlet head election, three perpetrators with three friends sat

at village security post.There, they drank arrack. Based on information, they discussed about the defeat suffered by the candidate they supported. Whether they were not satisfied with the losses experienced by candidate or other reasons, the three perpetrators affected by alcohol directly enraged. While three others left the post. The three perpetrators threw roof onto the road right away and the security post building was burned down. As a result, the building burned. On looking such incident, one of the local residents immediately reported the incident to the Melaya Sector Police. Promptly, the officers came to the scene.

Based on coordination conducted by Chief of Melaya Sector Police, Nyoman Pageh and Chief of Jembrana Resort Police, Ahmad Nurwakhid, finally the burning and destruction cases were handled by Jembrana Resort Police.

Chief of Detective Unit, Jembrana Resort Police, I Ketut Suparta, when asked for his confir-

mation last Sunday, justified to have handled the case. Additionally, his party confirmed to the candidate who won and lost in the election and actually there was no problem.

The losing party has acceptd the defeat. “Even the defeated candidates also regretted the incident of burning the village security post,” he said.

Now, the three perpetrators have been arrested at Jembrana Resort Police and snared by Article 187 Criminal Code with subsidiary of Article 170 of the Criminal Code of performing the burning and destruction together. Chief of Jembrana Resort Police, Ahmad R Nurwakhid through his handphone emphasized the three perpetrators were secured for his actions during this time has made people nervous in the area. “So far the perpetrators often troubled the local community and could never be touched. We have the support from community leaders to provide guidance and legal handling professionally and proportionally,” he explained. (021)

Cikungunya Epidemic Comes Back to Yeh Embang, Resident Turns Restless Negara, (DenPost)—

Cikungunya disease that has become an epidemic at Yeh Embang Kauh area since two months ago is now coming again to Yeh Embang Kauh and Yeh Embang Tengah. If previously the disease makes the body feel pain and weak attacked the resident of Munduk Anggrek Kaja, Sekar Kejula, Yeh Buah, Bangsal Gulingan, Munduk Anggrek, Munduk AnggrekKaja and Kedisan, now the disease is attacking residents of Nusamara and Bangli Hamlet.

The outbreaks of this disease claimed to trouble the community because they are afraid of being infected.

Even, previously there were many people running amuck at their house because they did not receive healthcare services due to hundreds of people got sick and they could not help her pain and discomfort.

Head of Mendoyo Subdistrict, Nengah Ledang, last Sunday (Jan 31) admitted that the disease was endemic again in the region of Yeh Embang but it has got fogging treatment. Ledang said based on the data obtained the number of Cikungunya patients at the Nusamara region reached 84 people and 25 people at Bangli Hamlet.

Meanwhile, some residents of Yeh Embang whose name reluctant to be mentioned in the media said the relevant agencies should be more proac-

tive in handling the disease. They should let no people got infected and complications with other diseases causing things unwanted. Even, the officials of community health center were overwhelmed dealing with the disease.

“Both doctors and nurses at the health center until burnt out. Regency Government should also address this seriously. It is said health problems had a serious treatment but where is the evidence,” he asserted.

He was also surprised and sorry because no help provided by Jembrana Regency to assign one of the doctors to provide roving medical services. Even many people with this disease are poor people in the region that are unable to seek treatment to the clinic because the need transportation.

“Service is only focused on the community health center. Ideally, there should be officers who visit the sick residents. Do not let more people go mad for not getting the service because it could not hold back the pain,” said one of the community leaders of Yeh Embang who requested his name not to be mentioned. According to him, government should provide enlightenment on how to avoid this disease and other handling. “Moreover, I think this extraordinary incident has nearly affected hundreds of people,” he said. (021)

Bring a Stolen Motorbike, Caught to Steal HP, Armed Forces Officer Beaten by Mass Tabanan (Bali Post) –

Having been caught stealing handphone, the person of Armed Forces Bambang Herwanto, 40, from Galis Village, Giligenting Subdistrict, Sumenep, East Java, was beaten by mass. He was badly bruised after trying to steal a handphone at Belimbing Village, Pupuan. Also revealed, in carrying out the action, the perpetrator was using a stolen motorcycle.

The incident took place last Saturday (Jan 31), at around 11:00 pm Local Time.

At that time, Bambang, who admitted as a member of the TNI Kodam V / Brawijaya, East Java, on a motorbike Mio Soul from Denpasar toPupuan. Arriving at Belimbing Village, Bambang pretended to buy gasoline. But when the seller was serving petrol sales, Bambang attempted to steal handphone.

However, his action was caught. The owner of handphone attempted to take back the phone from the hands of the person claimed as military member. Finally, the action led to mutual drawing between Bambang and the owner of the phone. Spontaneously, the victim called out for help. Residents in the surrounding stalls consequently came directly en masse. Angry residents were unable to control themselves on seeing the behavior of Bambang. Bambang was beaten up until blue and black and then was taken to the police station nearby.

In the investigation by police officer, it was revealed the Mio Soul motorcycle he carried was the result of stealing. The corps member in camouflage uniform, admitted to steal the bike on Jalan Anyelir, Denpasar, last Saturday (Jan 30). (kmb14)

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Bali News

International

Public Service in Badung is Un-Optimal Denpasar (Bali Post) —

Although nicknamed as the richest district in Bali, but the public services in Badung regency are still not optimal. This is acknowledged by the Head of Badung’s Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda Litbang) Kompyang R. Swandika. He said the main cause of the stunted excellent service in Badung is the low quality of human resources.

Not only that, one of the barriers for outstanding public service comes from the institutional side. Integrated Licensing Service Units (UPT) in Badung is not functioning as expected; given the existing Licensing Unit have not met the current standards. “We recognize that the public service is still lacking, despite the well-being, quality of human development, and the high rank of Badung among other regencies in Bali,” said Kompyang recently.

According to him, to improve the quality of public services, there is a

need to improve factors such as human resource, facilities, infrastructure, and institutional issues (ie.

UPT). Improving public services, said Kompyang, will be the main agenda of Badung Regency in the upcoming 2011 budget year. Good services are targeted to be maintained in the Government Center as well as in the village offices and clinics.

Specifically for UPT, Kompyang confirmed that it will be evaluated in the near future. This evaluation will be done following the letter issued from the central government that licensing institutional (UPT) should be

taking the form of official service.

With the establishment of licensing services, business licenses can be completed under one roof.

In this 2010 budget, Badung regency has allocated some budget for UPT in the sectors of assistance and development for IDR 176.4 million, provision of supporting infrastructure on population administration system of IDR 261.8 million and a budget to build the E-Procurement in the context of procurement of goods and electronic government services that amount IDR 618.85 million. (DED)

Australia to Donate 600,000 Rabies Vaccines Denpasar (Bali Post) –

The Australian Government will contribute 600,000 rabies vaccine to vaccinate dogs in Bali. Current population of dogs in Bali reaches about 500,000. It was hinted by the former Chairman of the Special Committee of rabies, Nyoman Gede Putra Astawa, last Sunday (Jan 31). But the number of rabies vaccines exceeding the population of dogs, should not be considered more than enough because to free dogs from rabies disease in Bali, the dog must get injectiont for three times.

On that account, it takes 150,000 rabies vaccines.

With the help of rabies vaccine given by Australia next June, it is believed to accelerate the efforts to liberate Bali from rabies disease in 2012.

Governor of Bali Made Mangku Pastika said the seriousness of govern-

ment to free Bali from rabies in 2012 was by providing adequate budgets. For that purpose, the Government of Bali has allocated a budget of operational funds in 2010 Main Regional Budget worth IDR 3.389 billion more for health maintenance and prevention of livestock infectious diseases. Allocation of funds for other infectious diseases prevention amounted to IDR 184. 364 million more. Total budgetary control of rabies and other infectious diseases is worth DIR 3, 573 billion more.

The fund does not include the provision of anti-rabies vaccine (VAR) in the Bali Health Services worth IDR 2.5 billion. VAR will be distributed to the Regency/City Hospital. “Despite all that, there is an unexpected fund of IDR 10 billion which can be used if there is a shortage of budget,” he explained. In other words, the overall 2010 budget

funds that may be used for control and eradication of rabies is worth around IDR16. 073 billion more.

Rabies prevention budget worth IDR 3.389 billion is used for the purchase of poison, the purchase of dog collar tag, dog blowpipe and toxic bullets, observation cage and cooler boxes, burial costs of dog eliminated, public ad services on TV and honorariums for non-civil servant rabies vaccinators, eliminator. The remaining will be used to control other infectious livestock diseases.

With such a strategic, the governor hoped, prevention and eradication of rabies disease will be more focused and effective. The number of cases expected to keep on declining until rabies no longer affected the communities. To that end, active community participation is expected by government. (029)

Assistance Not Delivered, Tornado Victims Panic Singaraja (Bali Post) –

A number of residents of Tegallinggah Village, Sukasada Subdistrict became the victim tornado hit in early January and are now only able to scream for help expected from Buleleng Regency that has not delivered yet. To repair the damaged houses, most residents belonging to the have-not are forced to raise their own money in various ways.

Based on information collected in the midst of the health safari at Tegallinggah Village, last Saturday (Jan 30), suggested the Buleleng Regency Executive Force on Natural Disaster Reduction (Satlak PBA) has collected the data on losses afflicted by residents. From the data, it was recorded 28 damaged houses due to tornado hitting in last January. Out of that number, 12 homes were categorized into seriously

damaged. Value of the loss reached more than IDR 50 million. “However, up to this moment, the assistance has not come out, while residents have to fix their homes to be occupied,” said a villager.

Head of Tegallinggah Village, Gede Suardana, confirmed that material assistance from Buleleng Regency for home improvement has not been delivered yet. To that extent, the Buleleng Regency just provided basic food assistance package distributed through the Department of Social Welfare. But the assistance to repair damaged homes hit by tornado has not been given. “I do not know what the problem is, but until now residents are still waiting for help from Buleleng regency,” said Suardana.

As reported, at the beginning of last January, a number of houses in the village of Tegallinggah were

damaged by tornado disaster. Other than atTegallinggah, a number of houses at other villages were also hit by similar disasters, but until now the victims have not received any assistance.

Information from Buleleng PBA Satlak stated that this institution only collected the data on the damaged houses. The data were then reported to the Regent of Buleleng to do the study. Buleleng Regency has prepared a budget for handling unexpected natural disasters amounted to approximately IDR 1.5 billion.

However, its funds could not be issued because it should pass through a study and recommendations from the Regent of Buleleng. “If the Regent considers the disaster victims need to receive an aid, then the unexpected funds will be distributed,” said an official at the PBA Satlak Buleleng. (kmb15)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

3

Thieves enter homes in broad daylight Losses USD 14 Million Denpasar (Bali Post) —

Public safety and orders in Denpasar are recently creating concerns. Robbers have not only done their action at night, but also in broad daylight. Like the robbery occurred at Rambang’s (38) home on Jalan Pulau Kawe No. 74 A. South Denpasar.

This two-story house known to have been robbed on Sunday (31 / 1) at 2 p.m. Previously, the victim left the house to pray to the church, at 8.30 a.m. ‘’When the victim returned, the lock on the fence have been broken,’’ said a police officer.

The victim did not have any strange feelings when he left the house because he had locked the doors and shut all windows. In fact, the gate’s padlock has assuredly been locked. ‘’The victim was just praying in the church, unruffled,’’ he said.

After prayers, the victim returned to the house. Once his foot stepped in front of the gate, he was shocked. Visibly, the locks were in damaged condition. The victim be-

lieved that someone had already entered the house uninvited. He also quickly checked into the house.

The first floor was used to sell phone credits/top-ups and accessories, while the second floor was used for shelter. ‘’All rooms were in chaotic condition and some items were already gone,’’ the victim said when met at the scene yesterday.

A laptop valued at IDR 4 million, cash of IDR 7 million and a set of gold jewelry worth 3 million rupiah are recorded to have been robbed.

The total loss suffered by the victim reached IDR 14 million. “I put my money and laptop on the first floor, while the jewels were on the second floor,” he concluded.

For further investigation, this case was reported to the South Denpasar Police Station immediately. Police that came to see the crime scene suspected that the perpetrators of this house break-in were more than one person. Moreover, from the description the victim’s neighbors, they had seen five teenagers who have hung around the victim’s house. (kmb21)

Outspread, Buildings Violate River Border Commission A and B Requested to Make a Raid Singaraja (Bali Post) –

As a result of weakness in the control of authorized institutions, today many stately buildings stand on the bank that allegedly violated watersheds border (DAS). For that, the Commission A and Commission B of Buleleng House are requested to immediately conduct a raid to a number of watersheds filled with buildings.

From the observations of Bali Post, last Sunday (Jan 31), the development suspected to use the watershed border occurred atTukad Penarukan, Tukad Banyuning, and Kubujati region, Singajara. At the area of Tukad Penarukan lies a talud in the middle of the river basin. After making a talud, the land space lying between the river and then covered by landfill so that the flow of the river becomes narrower. Information at the location mentioned that Buleleng Public Works has actually made a raid to the talud area, however it is unclear whether the talud violated or not. Obviously, from the bridge can be seen that the talud covered by landfill occurs at watershed border.

Meanwhile, the riverside of Tukad Banyuning, around Jalan Gempol Singaraja, there is a building of boardinghouse alleged to violate the watershed border. Other than being close to the river, the sevenroom building was also built around a dam that had been used as the river

flow divider. On that account, the buildings were allegedly prone to landslides. Moreover, the talud built on the edge of the river had once been broken and repaired again.

Information obtained at location, the building with boardinghouse style has been inaugurated by Buleleng Regent Putu Bagiada and attended by nearly all of officers within Buleleng Regency, last Friday (Jan 29). “The building was just inaugurated in Hindu rituals. Many officials attended the event. He said the building was owned by Mr. Regent. However, I do not know exactly,” said a local resident around the building.

The Head of Buleleng House, Dewa Nyoman Sukrawan, said his party received a number of reports on buildings located at watershed alleged to violate at a number of rivers in Buleleng, including the Tukad Banyuning and Tukad Penarukan.

The number of buildings alleged to violate the watershed border was due to weak control assessed by the competent authorities. For that purpose, Sukrawan confessed he would instruct Commission A and B to organize a raid to location and conduct a study to see whether the building was violated or not. “Everyone, officials, company or individual, should consider the prevailing regulations. All have their own regulation, both development near the highway, near the beach, moreover at riverside,” Sukrawan said. (kmb15)

4

News

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

International

North Korean weapons mystery continues AP

BANGKOK – Thailand said Monday that an aircraft loaded with North Korean weapons was flying to Iran when it was intercepted in December but the ultimate destination of the arms is still not known.

AFP/File

East Timor National Police march in a military parade in the country’s capital, Dili.

Video spotlights East Timor police abuse AFP

DILI (AFP) – The brutal beating of a demonstrator by East Timorese police in front of UN officers raises serious questions about the world body’s training of the local force, an opposition lawmaker said Monday.

Opposition Fretilin lawmaker Jose Teixeira said a video of the assault that had appeared on the Internet showed such abuse was “happening with an unprecedented frequency and on an unprecedented scale”.

The video shows a Timorese man being punched, kicked, stamped and struck with a rifle butt by police officers after President Jose Ramos-Horta had opened an international fishing competition on Atauro island in November.

The victim, Llhew Comacoshe, 27, is shown in the video holding up a placard related to a Timorese fishing group before he is knocked down by several men who appear to be uniformed and plain-clothes police officers.

United Nations police officers look on a short distance away but do not intervene to stop the assault.

One of them appears to try to talk to his East Timorese counterparts but the beating continues.

“We will be proposing a parlia-

mentary commission of inquiry in addition to any current investigations to review guidelines, regulations and policies for police use of force, including armed response,” Teixeira told AFP. “The use of force in the manner we have seen and heard of in recent cases indicates a certain consent from upper echelons, and some suspect at political level also.

This must be investigated.”

Complaints against the local police in East Timor occur on an almost-daily basis, the opposition lawmaker said, casting a shadow over the effectiveness of the UN training process.

“It makes us wonder what sort of training they have been getting, but it certainly is not a police service that is respectful of our citizens’ constitutional and human rights,” he said.

“Certainly the command and leadership of the police is brought into grave question after these events.” Gyorgy Kakuk, the UN?s spokesman in East Timor, said a joint UN-East Timorese investigation had been opened into the alleged assault.

“We are taking this matter very seriously,” he told The Australian newspaper last week

Thai authorities seized the Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane and its five-man crew as it landed to refuel on a flight from Pyongyang Dec. 12. Found on board were 35 tons of weapons. A Thai government report to the U.N. Security Council, leaked to reporters in New York over the weekend, said the aircraft, which had violated U.N. sanctions against North Korea, was bound for Tehran’s Mahrabad Airport.

But Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayarkorn said Monday that “to say that the weapons are going to Iran, that might be inexact.”

“The report only says where the plane was going to according to its flight plan, but it doesn’t say where the weapons were going to,” he said. “It’s still under investigation, and the suspects are under our legal system.”

The five-man crew — four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus — remain under detention. The crew has been charged with illegal arms possession, but the charges are expected to be stiffened once the investigation wraps up, police have said.

The weapons found on board the aircraft were reportedly light battlefield arms, including grenades — hardly the ones Iran’s sophisticated military would need.

From the start there has been speculation that the weapons were to be shipped on to some of the radical Middle Eastern groups supported by Tehran.

The U.N. imposed sanctions in June banning North Korea from exporting any arms after the communist regime conducted a nuclear test and test-fired missiles. Impoverished North Korea is believed to earn hundreds of millions of dol-

lars every year by selling missiles, missile parts and other weapons to countries such as Iran, Syria and Myanmar.

Investigations by The Associated Press in several countries showed the flight was facilitated by a web of holding companies and fake addresses from New Zealand to Barcelona designed to disguise the movement of the weapons.

The plane’s chief pilot maintains

that the aircraft was headed for Kiev, Ukraine.

“I never said or confirmed the plane was routed to Iran. I only know that the plane was going to Ukraine and the cargo was to have been unloaded there. That’s the information I have,” the crew’s Thai lawyer, Somsak Saithong, told The Associated Press on Monday.

He said the prosecutor will have to decide whether to drop the case or send the five for trial before Feb. 11, when their detention period expires. After seeing his clients, Saithong said all continued to insist they did not know the contents of the cargo they were flying.

AP

Kayasit Pissawongprakan, Director General of the Office of the Thai Attorney General

US ready to talk over Japan base row: Pentagon AFP

AFP/File

US military helicopters are pictured flying over the US Marine Corps Futenma air base on Japan

TOKYO (AFP) – The United States is ready to negotiate with Japan in a months-old row over a US military base, a Pentagon official said Monday, suggesting a softer stance from Washington.

US Assistant Secretary of Defense Wallace Gregson said the administration would not seek an “American-imposed” solution to the dispute, which has simmered since a centre-left government took power in Tokyo last year.

“Our plan is based on our alliance relationships, and if we have to go back to negotiating, we’ll go

back to negotiating,” he said in a Tokyo speech.

“And it’s not negotiating like the United States and the Soviet Union in the old days of the Cold War. This is less negotiation than it is collaboration and mutual effort,” said the retired Marine general.

The row centres on a US Marine Corps air base on Okinawa island which many locals want closed, citing aircraft noise, pollution, the risk of accidents and crimes committed

by American troops.

Japan’s new government has launched a review of a 2006 agreement to move the base from a crowded urban area to a coastal part of the island.

It has said the base may have to be relocated off Okinawa or even outside Japan. Last month, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Japan to “move on” with the original plan, insisting the base’s relocation within Okinawa was “the way forward”.

Striking a milder tone, Gregson said: “We certainly understand the need for the new government to reexamine that, we are patient on that.”

The 2006 deal, agreed under previous conservative governments on both sides, is part of a wider plan to realign the 47,000-strong US troop presence in Japan, where American forces have been based since the end of World War II.

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

General Info

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

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

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

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

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

Phone : 223 036 Fax : 268 690.

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

Phone : 222 142.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

News

China says won’t relax grip on Tibet

Iraqi police: Suicide bomber kills 16 in Baghdad AP

BAGHDAD – A suicide bomber walking among Shiite pilgrims in northern Baghdad detonated an explosives belt on Monday, killing at least 16 people, officials said.

The bombing was the first major strike this year against pilgrims making their way to the southern holy city of Karbala to mark a revered day on the Shiite calendar. It raised fears of an escalation of attacks when the pilgrimage culminates on Friday.

The bomber, pretending to be a pilgrim, struck as a group of pilgrims made their way through the Shiite-dominated neighborhood of Shaab in northern Baghdad, an Iraqi police official said.

The dead included three women and two children, the official said.

He added that about 38 people were wounded, including five women

AFP

BEIJING (AFP) – China said on Monday it made no concessions on Tibetan sovereignty during talks with envoys of the Dalai Lama over the future of the region — the first such negotiations in more than a year. “(China’s) national interests are inviolable and there is no room for discussion on the issues of national and territorial sovereignty,” said a government statement on the talks, quoted by the official Xinhua news agency.

The statement marked China’s first confirmation that the secretive talks had concluded, and came as the Tibetan spiritual leader’s envoys returned to their exile base in India.

The talks between the two sides, which have held intermittent dialogue over the years on the Dalai Lama’s call for “meaningful autonomy” for the Buddhist Himalayan region, were the first in 14 months.

But the statement from the United Front Work Department — a Communist Party organ that handles contact with the Dalai Lama — indicated no major breakthroughs were achieved.

It said the idea of a “high degree of autonomy (for Tibet) violates China’s constitution.”

The Tibetan envoys flew to China a week ago and held meetings with Chinese officials first in the central province of Hunan before moving to Beijing at the weekend, the Dalai Lama’s senior secretary Chhime Chhoekyapa told AFP. Chhoekyapa declined to provide any details of the talks.

The envoys, Lodi G. Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, were to travel to the Dalai Lama’s base in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala later on Monday to brief the prime minister of the exiled Tibetan government, Chhoekyapa said.

The actual Chinese statement could not immediately be seen and there was no other official comment from Beijing, although it announced it would hold a press briefing on Tuesday on the issue.

At the last round of talks in November 2008, the Tibetans handed over a memorandum insisting their demands for autonomy in the mountainous Buddhist enclave were in line with China’s constitution.

Beijing said at the time it would not compromise on its position that Tibet is an integral part of China, but said it would keep open the door for future discussions despite “serious divergences” between the two sides.

Gyari and Gyaltsen had flown to China on January 25 for what was the ninth round of meetings since the secretive dialogue process began in 2002.

The Dalai Lama, 75, who has complained Tibetan culture is in danger of being extinguished, has sought some degree of autonomy for the region since he fled his homeland after a failed uprising in 1959 against Chinese rule.

Child rescue bid raises tough questions in Haiti Associated Press Writer AFP –

China has said it made no concessions on Tibetan sovereignty during talks with envoys of the Dalai Lama, That came nine years after Chinese troops invaded the region.

China says the Dalai Lama actually wants full independence and has insisted that he must renounce “separatist” activities — which he denies supporting.

The resumption of talks had been warmly welcomed by Washington, which said it hoped for “positive results” in addressing long-standing differences over the future of Tibet.

The Dalai Lama will be in Washington at the start of a 10-day US visit on February 16. Chhoekyapa said he could not confirm whether the exiled spiritual leader would have a meeting with US President Barack Obama.

Since the 2008 round of talks, China has maintained a tough crackdown in Tibet launched following a wave of unrest that erupted in March of the same year.

Several people have reportedly been executed for their roles in the violence, and earlier this month China named military veteran Padma Choling as Tibet’s new governor.

He promptly vowed to crush attempts at “secession” and to “safeguard national unity” — rhetoric typically aimed at the Dalai Lama.

Air Force: Test missile misses its Pacific target AP

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The Air Force says a missile-intercept test failed when a long-range missile launched from California missed a target missile launched from a Pacific island because of radar problems.

A statement posted on the Vandenberg Air Force Base Web site says the target missile was launched from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands on Sunday at about

and six children.

A hospital official in Baghdad confirmed the casualties. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.

Despite an overall decline in violence in Iraq, al-Qaida and other Sunni extremists have routinely targeted pilgrims in an attempt to stoke sectarian strife and make the Shiitedominated government look bad.

This week, hundreds of thousands of Shiites make the pilgrimage to Karbala to mark the end of 40 days of mourning that follows Ashoura, the anniversary of the death Imam Hussein, one of two revered Shiite figures buried there.

A steady stream of pilgrims — some carrying green, black or red banners — have been walking through the Shaab neighborhood, following a highway out of Baghdad en route to the shrine.

3:40 p.m. and the long-range interceptor missile was launched from California’s central coast shortly after.

The statement says both missiles launched and flew without trouble but the system’s sea-based X-band radar did not perform as expected and the interceptor missed its target.

The statement says officials from the Missile Defense Agency that conducted the test will conduct an extensive investigation to determine the cause of the failure.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The arrest of 10 Americans for trying to take children out of Haiti has raised an uncomfortable question in this brutally poor and earthquake-devastated country: could some children be better off abroad under the grim circumstances?

The Baptists from Idaho were waiting Monday to hear if they will be tried on child trafficking charges for attempting to take 33 Haitian children to the Dominican Republic without official authorization.

Child welfare groups expressed outrage over Friday’s attempt, saying some of the children had parents who survived the Jan. 12 earthquake.

Prime Minister Max Bellerive denounced the group’s “illegal trafficking of children” in a country long afflicted by the scourge and by foreign meddling.

But the reality is that some struggling Haitian parents see adoption as a last-ditch hope for their children.

“My parents died in the earthquake.

My husband has gone. Giving up one of my kids would at least give them a chance,” Saintanne Petit-Frere, 40, a mother of six living outside in a tent camp near the airport said Sunday. “My

only fear is that they would forget me, but that wouldn’t affect my decision.”

The Baptists’ “Haitian Orphan Rescue Mission” was described as an effort to save abandoned, traumatized children. Their plan was to scoop up 100 kids and take them by bus to a 45room hotel at Cabarete, a beach resort in the Dominican Republic. The 33 kids ranged in age from 2 months to 12 years.

They were stopped at the border for not having proper paperwork and taken back to Port-au-Prince, where the children were taken to a temporary children’s home.

Haiti’s justice secretary, Amarick Louis, told The Associated Press that a commission would meet Monday to determine if the group would go before a judge. The group was being held at a building where government ministers are giving regular briefings — a maze of dingy concrete rooms but not traditional cells. Their living conditions were unclear.

Foreigners adopting children from the developing world have grabbed headlines recently — Madonna tried to adopt a girl from Malawi amid criticism from locals, while Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have a burgeoning multicultural brood.

Mexico...

From page 1 The shooting took place in Ciudad Juarez, the city on the border with the US state of Texas that holds Mexico’s record in bloodshed, with more than 2,500 people killed last year in drugrelated gangland crimes.

It was the third mass shooting of youngsters in Mexico since September when, within two weeks, 28 youths were killed in two separate shootings at drug rehabilitation centers.

Meanwhile, 10 people were killed and 11 were wounded when gunmen attacked a bar in the city of Torreon, in the northern state of Coahuila.

Most of the victims were students aged between 19 and 25, authorities said.

The war waged by several powerful drug cartels in Mexico has already left 15,000 people dead. The government has deployed 50,000 troops and thousands of police in an effort to put the violence under control.

International

Indonesia Today

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

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Wild elephants trample huts in villages Antara

AFP PHOTO/Bay ISMOYO

In a file picture taken on May 27, 2009 containers wait to be delivered at the upgraded Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) in Tanjung Priok port. A record surge in exports helped Indonesia’s trade surplus jump to three billion dollars in December, well above market forecasts, the Central Statistics Agency said on February 1, 2010.

Record exports surge helps Indonesia surplus Agence France-Presse

JAKARTA - A record surge in exports helped Indonesia’s trade surplus jump to three billion dollars in December, well above market forecasts, the Central Statistics Agency said Monday.

The surplus rose from 1.90 billion dollars a month earlier as a recovery in global demand boosted exports to a record high, officials said.

Exports leapt 23.90 percent from a month earlier and 49.80 percent from a year earlier to 13.33 billion dollars, due mainly to higher global commodity prices.

The value of outward-bound shipments was the highest on record, easily trumping the previous high of 12.9 billion dollars set in May 2008.

“This is a signal of the global economic recovery,” statistics agency chairman Rusman Heriawan was quoted as saying by Dow Jones Newswires.

“Our exports staged a turn-

around in the fourth quarter of the year, rising 23.80 percent over the same period a year earlier.”

The median forecast of a Dow Jones Newswires poll of 10 regional economists was for a surplus of 1.82 billion dollars.

Crude palm-oil export revenue increased by 1.1 billion dollars in December from November, while copper exports rose by 284 million dollars and coal exports gained by 268 million.

The trade surplus rose to 19.63 billion dollars last year from 7.82 billion in 2008.

Border area development not well-managed: legislator Antara

JAKARTA - The development of Indonesia’s border areas has not yet been well and concertedly managed where polices regarding their development are also overlapping, a legislator said.

“The main problem in the development and management of the country’s border areas is coordination and synergy among relevant agencies,” Fayakhun Andriadi of the House Commission I in charge of defense, foreign affairs and information affairs, said here on Monday.

He was commenting on the Presidential Decree on National Board for Border Management (BNPP).

On the occasion, Andriadi who is also a member of the Golkar faction

in the House, also explained the results of the visit of Commission I to areas in East Kalimantan, which share borders with the Malaysian state of Sabah.

“We have to criticize the government in this case because it is obvious that the border areas management is not carried out well and concertedly so that it causes uncertainties and policy overlapping,” he said.

The central and provincial governments as well as district administrations did not share the same vision and mission on the objective conditions of the border areas, he said.

“Besides, the stereotype reason saying the budget is limited amid priorities to other sectors also always emerges,” he said.

Therefore according to Andriadi,

the issuance of the presidential decree would bring a big hope for the development of the border areas.

“It is also expected that the coordinate points of the borders in Papua, Kalimantan and those with Timor Leste should be made immediately.

The coordinate points have not yet been clearly made in Law No. 43 / 2008 on Border Areas,” he said.

He said that the absence of the coordinate points had caused the Indonesian security officers to lose confidence in safeguarding the border areas when the military officers of neighboring countries lodged a complaint.

“The House urges the government to give priority to the coordinate points in issuing a presidential decree,” he said.

TAPAKTUAN - A herd of three wild Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) damaged tens of peasant huts at Simpang village, Bakongan sub-district, South Aceh District.

Besides trampling on dozens of the huts, the endangered giant animals that entered the villages in the past couple of weeks also damaged crops such as bananas, palms and areca nuts. Simpang village head Hamdan said that the loss caused by the elephants was estimated at tens of millions.

“Apart from the wooden huts, the big animals also destroyed four hectares public palm plantations,” Hamdan said.

The villagers are afraid to go outdoors at night, and only a few brave men tried to drive the elephants away, he said.

Efforts by the traditional and

normal way of chasing them away like using firework had not been very successful, and even caused the big animals angrier.

Meanwhile, East Trumon village head H Lahmuddin said that the villagers in Naca, Jambo Dalem, Kapa Sesak and several other villages began to worry about a similar elephant attack.

“Usually after destroying a plantation in Simpang village, East Bakongan, the elephants moved to the East Trumon district,” said Lahmuddin. Both Simpang villagers and sub-district head expect the relevant agencies and institutions to cope with animal attack.

“It’s been almost ten years of our regions had been disturbed by the wild animals, and nobody seems to care. We hope the government will set up a wild management post so that people can do their normal daily activities,” said he added.

Indonesian court clears boy of bee prank Agence France-Presse

SURABAYA - An Indonesian schoolboy was cleared of serious abuse charges Monday for stinging a female classmate with a bee, a “crime” that took the country’s legal system a year to resolve.

Nine-year-old David Yusuf was charged in January with inflicting serious abuse and faced almost three years in jail. But in a rare stroke of common sense, judge Sutriadi Yahya of Surabaya district court, East Java, let the thirdgrader off the hook.

“This case shouldn’t have been brought to court. It could have been settled amicably by the school and the parents involved because it’s about normal children’s naughtiness,” Yahya said.

“Because of that, we’re acquit-

ting him of the charges... We leave it to the parents to guide him.”

The court heard that Yusuf had taken a bee from a swarm buzzing around a coconut drink stall near his school in March last year and planted it on his classmate Dian Nirmalasari’s left cheek, giving her a sting. The girl’s furious parents reported him to the police.

Yusuf’s mother, grocery shop owner Any Sulistyowati, cried as the verdict was read.

“We’re satisfied with the judge’s decision. We will look after our child properly,” she told reporters.

Indonesia’s legal system is notoriously corrupt and inconsistent. A survey of foreign business executives by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy in 2008 ranked Indonesia’s judiciary last against 12 other Asian countries.

AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyah

Chinese lanterns are displayed at a market at the China town in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Jan. 29, 2010. Ethnic Chinese communities in the world’s most populous Muslim country are preparing to celebrate the start of the Lunar Year of the Tiger.

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Internationa

Tuesday, February 2, 2009

Bali Today Balinese youth attracted to learn Pendet dance Antara

http://iwbdenpasar.files.wordpress.com

The photo shows view from Gumang hill, Karangasem.

DENPASAR – The youth of Bali is attracted to learn Pendet dance after the dance almost being claimed by Malaysia. In a dance competition for teenager which is held in Gianyar, more than 300 participants take part in it.

Kadek Suartaya, a lecturer in Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) Denpasar, said that the participants were coming from all regencies in Bali and they performed many kinds of Pendet dance.

The dance is the welcoming dance for the guest who visited Bali and also often being performed in a ceremony.

The interest of the teenagers to learn Pendet dance is very good because previously, not many youth in Bali who wanted to learn the dance.

Suartaya said “the case with Malaysia had made the youth concern about Balinese culture especially Pendet dance so they are learning and performing the dance.”

For that reason, Gianyar government held a competition in order to give the chance for all people throughout Bali to perform various kinds of Balinese traditional dances including Pendet dance.

Several hills in Karangasem targeted by investors

Law enforcement have weakened Bali Post

AMLAPURA – Members of Karangasem Regional Council of Representative, I Nyoman Sadra, BA, Sunday (31 / 1) yesterday in Amlapura admitted to be concerned that the law enforcement in Karangasem have been bended. Although regulations regarding provincial and district spatial plan (RTRW) have been made, violations continue to occur.

This is such ashamed when the decision-making process for RTRW itself took lengthy time and great costs. The rules were made to organize the construction of buildings, so no damage will be done to the beautiful environments that will ultimately harm all parties. In fact, despite the regulations, the executives as implementers of the law themselves have violated the rules in the first place.

Nyoman Sadra illustrated, a villa construction on the Southeast slope of Gumang hill was a scam with the submission of private home building permit (IMB) as evidence. Location of the development is actually functioned as protected buffer area of the Gumang hill, yet the head of Karangasem Office of Public Works, Ir. I Wayan Arnawa issued the permit anyway. Lately though the Office of Pamong Praja Police Unit of Karangasem have done inspections to the villa, and

then issued a letter to stop the construction, residents said the work continues. The reason for the work is a two-stories building that was nearly finished will be completed, while five other buildings would not be continued. ‘’There have been many protests about the destruction of view by the villa construction on the Southeast of Gumang Hill,’’ confirmed Sadra which is also an environmental activist.

In addition, the region of Mimba Hill-Padangbai, based on the Candidasa RTRW law, is functioning as protected agricultural green areas in order to protect the area underneath it as objects of tourism and a port. The hill was purposed for agricultural activities with reforestation of parts that can not be planted, so it can prevent erosion from rapidly eroding the harbor.

But Regent Gredeg issued Regent’s Decree (Perbup) No.1 of 2009 and unilaterally changed one chapter of the RTRW Law to transform Mimba area as an exclusive tourist area.

Meanwhile, Vice Regent of Karangasem Drs. I.G.L. Rai, while attending the submission of three new Regional Regulation Drafts (Ranperda) regarding regional retribution, admitted that many laws have already made, but there have also been many violations, and law enforcement itself is very weak. ‘’That’s because many constraints exist, in addition to the weakened law enforcement,’’ he said. (013)

Joged Bumbung festival revive the value of culture Antara

DENPASAR – The closing ceremony of the “Joged Bumbung” festival in Tanah Lot, Tabanan, will be the moment where the traditional dance returns to its original meaning. I Made Sujana, the Operational Manager of Tanah Lot, said that the development of jogged bumbung is diverted from its course.

The dance is identical with erotic moves and porn.

This can make a bad image for tourism abroad. On the last day of the festival, the art group from Tabanan and Pupuan performed on Enjung Galuh stage.

The audiences who consist of the locals and foreign tourists also dance with the dancers. Sujana said that preserving the culture is very important and diminishing the negative image is also a part of it.

The Joged Bumbung festival was being held started on Thursday, January 21st 2010. The festival was meant to preserve Balinese culture and also to revive the value of jogged dance as the friendship dance.

The festival was held in an open stage in order to give the chance to the audience to dance along with the dancers. There is great hope that by the participation of the audiences, the negative image of jogged can be removed.

The committee gave souvenirs and VCD about Tanah Lot to the audience who participate in the performances.

The prize made many people wanted to dance. The foreigners who wanted to dance must wear traditional Balinese clothes. Sujana said that the moves of the dancers and the other participant were tightly monitored in order to prevent any porn act.

Bali Post/Eka

Young Balinese girls performing Pendet Dance. The youth of Bali is attracted to learn Pendet dance after the dance almost being claimed by Malaysia. In a dance competition for teenager which is held in Gianyar, more than 300 participants take part in it.

Bali produces 3,850 tons of cashew nuts last year Antara

DENPASAR - Bali province last year produced 3,850 tons of cashew nut, up 25 tons from the year before, a plantation official said.

“The cashew nut production last year is 50 tons higher than the target of 3,800 tons,” Head of the

Bali Provincial Plantation Office Made Sudharta said on Sunday.

Nearly 2,600 tons of the cashew nuts were produced by farmers in Karangasem district on the eastern tip of Bali Island and the rest by farmers in Klungkung and Buleleng districts, he said.

The province now has 10,630 hectares of cashew nut plantation.

Bali province last year produced 3,850 tons of cashew nut, up 25 tons from the year before, a plantation official said. http://files.myopera.com

al

Tuesday, February 2, 2009

Balinese Culture Otonan: Real ‘Birthday’ Celebration for Companions Month by month has gone by and another year is coming. Time is so significant to humans when he performs action and writes down his story of life. When having arrived at certain point, he may need a short break for an introspection and commemoration of a beautiful moment in his lifetime.

Yes, it’s commonly known as birthday, an annual celebration of the day on which one was born.

Etymologically, there may have been a common ‘misperception’ here where birthday in the Gregorian calendar should be celebrated on the same day as the word suggests and not the same date (should be birth date). On the contrary, otonan in the Balinese (Hindu) tradition is similar thing but of different context. This one is celebrated every 210 days on the same day based on Javano-Balinese wuku year. So, it can be said a real birthday. For example, if one was born on Wednesday (day) Kliwon (five-day week) Dungulan (one of thirty wukus), he will celebrate his otonan on the same day as above.

Another difference between the two is the dating system, particularly on the starting point of new date. If the Gregorian starts at 00:01, the wuku at the sunrise.

Sometimes, there is also misunderstanding among some Balinese to determine the day of a baby that was born at dawn, let’s say on Wednesday Kliwon Dungulan at 04:00.

Based on Gregorian calendar, the day and date have belonged to the next (Thursday) and will become its ‘birth date’ later. However, its otonan should not follow this calendar system, but as the baby was born at 04:00, it should belong to Wednesday (Buda) based on the wuku system.

This misdating may often inflict mistakes in determining his otonan day and its character does not accord with the Hindu astrology. This then needs something like ritual adjustment in Hindu belief to the appropriate day through an exorcism rite as mentioned in palm-leaf manuscript that commonly used as reference like Wrehaspati Kalpa.

Otonan in Balinese tradition is actually a private and comprehensive ritual that only celebrated by the family internally. By certain kinds of oblation, the ritual is intended for one’s inner and outer self along with his kanda empat or four companions that are believed to accompany him since birth to the end of lifetime and even the period after death.

They are expressed in personification as amniotic fluid, vernix cascosa, the afterbirth and the blood. In Hindu belief, the names of the four companions will change in keeping with the increasing age of the human self and so are the places where they indwell. The four will loyally keep the self in this world. If ‘spiritual’ communication and empowerment run well among the five, one will never feel fearful wherever he goes and can do healing. As loyal and eternal companions, too, they will accompany the self around the clock. By doing this, they will know every single deed of the self during its interaction with corporeal body. After death, on facing the court of Yama, no facts can be hidden or no lies can be told, as the four companions will deliver the true witness.

In essence, otonan is an immensely important celebration for the Hindus. It constitutes right moment to reorganize, encourage the relationship of human self with the four integrated companions as the otonan contains two dimensional aspects, both sekala (visible) and niskala (invisible). By this, it is also expected to promote harmony between the body with soul and finally reach eternal bliss here and after. (BTN/*)

Balinese dance-drama.

Of the many factors that have contributed to the remarkable flourishing of dance and drama on the island of Bali for more than a millennium, three are of particular note. First, Bali remained isolated from both Islam and the West. Second, there was a merging of folk and court performance styles into a single communal tradition appreciated by all. Third, dances and plays are indissolubly linked to the recurring cycles of local festivals and rituals whereby the well-being of the community is maintained against constantly threatening malicious forces in the spirit world. From the verve and brilliance of Balinese performances it is clear not only that the people like to perform but also that there exists some culturally determined compulsion to do so.

Balinese dance and dramatic forms are so numerous that only a few can be noted. Balinese villagers playing in the barong exorcism dance-drama are not merely actors exercising theatrical skills. The actors’ bodies, going into a trance, are believed to receive the spirits of Rangda and the Barong, and it is the spirits themselves that do battle. Thus the performance is actually more a ritual than a piece of theatre. The sanghyang dance is usually performed by two young girls who gradually go into a state of trance as women sing in chorus and incense is wafted about them. Supposedly entered by the spirit of the nymph Supraba, the girls rise and dance, often acrobatically, though they have been chosen from among girls untrained in dance. The dance’s purpose is to entice Supraba to the village to gain her blessing when evil forces threaten. In the ketjak, or monkey dance, as many as 150 village men, sitting in concentric circles around a flaming lamp, chant and gesticulate in unison until, in trance, they appear to have become ecstatically possessed by the spirits of monkeys. This performance, however, has no ritual function of altering an earthly condition.

Barong Dance That the Balinese wayang kulit may represent the older style of wayang, known on Java before the coming of Islam, is suggested by the less stylized shape of the puppets, by the shorter performing time of four to five hours, and by the simple music of only four gender, a bronze instrument similar to a xylophone with resonance chambers underneath, from the gamelan ensemble. In one type of shadow play having a special religious significance, the puppets perform before a screen during the daytime, and the puppeteer is seen in his role as a Brahman priest, bare to the waist. In the redjang processional dance, village women symbolically offer their bodies to their temple gods.

Because Balinese performing arts are vitally alive, they change from decade to decade, even from year to year. The gambuh, respected for its age, contains elements of dramatic dance, song, narrative, and characterization found in later forms. It is thought dull, however, and is seldom performed, though it is believed to have provided the model for the singing style of popular ardja opera troupes and the dance style of the lovely girls’ legong. Wayang wong is analogous to the Javanese wayang orang, but masks are worn and the repertory is limited to Rama plays. Pandawa plays are staged in identical style but are called parwa. It has been suggested that these forms also stem, at least in part, from gambuh. Wayang topeng masked-dance plays are ancient, being mentioned in a palm-leaf document of 1058. The Javanese chronicle of the Majapahit period (c.

1293-1520), the Pararaton, in which Ken Arok is the hero, is a favorite tapeng story. This point to the strong influence exerted by Javanese on Balinese arts after the Majapahit court was transferred to Bali in the 16th century to escape Islamic domination. (http:// asiarecipe.com)

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10

Destinations

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

International

Badung Traditional Market

http://media.lonelyplanet.com

DENPASAR Traditional Market is a center of town’s economics which is located in Gajah Mada Street, that is main road and become a shopping centre of Bali. This traditional market is apposite to the village temple that is one of three biggest temples in Denpasar. It is initially does not as big as like now because have changed experiences and modification which is adapting to the requirement and town growth. This market cannot be discharged from the existence of an existing market in the cross Badung’s river that is called Kumbasari Market because the local society will feel incompletely go for shopping if they are not come to Kumbasari Market, especially for the Balinese who want to buy the ceremony items.

Denpasar Market is a market selling the costume and clothing items with the prices are relative cheaper than clothing items sold at the shops in Gajah Mada Street which are most owned by citizen of Chinese clan.

Kumbasari Market is previously called by Peken Payuk (pot market), it sell the items from gerabah /jar like pot, pengedangan, cubek (plate from land), paso (pail from

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land), caratan (water jug from land), jeding (barrel from land), penyantokan (mixer from land), coblong (cup from land), kekeb (rice cover) and others. All of these items are the kitchenware and also the items for ceremony. Since this market most popular as a place to sell payuk/pot, hence Kumbasari Market in the past referred as Peken Payuk or pot market. But now it sell the material or art items for tourist therefore it is one of tourist destinations in Denpasar Town.

Denpasar Market is opened on 24 April 1984 by Bali ‘s Governor, Prof. Dr. Ida Bagus Mantra. Then after experiencing of the fire accident, it has been repaired in year 2000 at that moment Bali ‘s Governor is Mr. Dewa Made Berata. This market owns the broadness about 14.544 M² and broadly park 9064 M² which is built in four floors. The local people who go for shopping at this market are not only from environment of Denpasar community but also come from outside of town. The moment before the big holiday like Galungan, Kuningan, Nyepi and others, this market is always crowded by the buyer which are most of them the local society. (www.balistarisland.com)

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

11

BUSINESS Swiss warn UBS bank could collapse Agence France-Presse

GENEVA - Switzerland’s justice minister warned in an interview on Sunday that top bank UBS could collapse if sensitive talks with the United States over a high-profile tax fraud investigation fall through.

“The actions of UBS in the United States are very problematic.

Not just because they are punishable but also because they threaten all of the bank’s activities,” Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told Le Matin Dimanche newspaper.

“The Swiss economy and the job market would suffer on a major scale if UBS fails as a result of its

AFP PHOTO/Saul LOEB

US President Barack Obama

China manufacturing expands at fastest pace on record Agence France-Presse

Obama budget plan aims to boost jobs, rein in deficit Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama unveils a new spending plan Monday aimed at reining in a massive budget deficit while still supporting the economic recovery and job creation.

The budget proposal for fiscal 2011, which starts October 1, comes with the US government seeking to wind down a huge stimulus aimed at lifting the economy out of its worst recession in decades.

The multitrillion-dollar spending plan is being unveiled amid intense pressure to bring down record deficit spending that analysts say could do long-term damage to US living standards and confidence of foreign investors in Treasury bonds.

The latest Congressional Budget Office estimate projects a deficit of 1.35 trillion dollars in 2010 and a grim longterm outlook for bringing down debt.

At 9.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the basic measure of a country’s overall economic output, that deficit would be slightly smaller than the record 2009 shortfall of 1.414 trillion dollars or 9.9 percent of GDP. But The Washington Post reported Monday the 3.8-trillion blueprint Obama plans to submit to Congress projects a record deficit of nearly 1.6 trillion dollars.

The proposed 2011 defense budget comes to more than 700 billion dollars, a modest two percent increase, and unlike last year avoids sweeping

cuts to major weapons programs, according to Pentagon officials and draft documents.

The size of the deficit is one factor — along with high unemployment and the sluggish economic recovery from the worst financial crisis in decades — that is helping to drag down public perceptions of Obama’s economic management.

To help rein in the deficit, officials said Obama will seek a three-year freeze on government spending that is not linked to security or mandated social programs, in a bid to save 250 billion dollars over 10 years.

In his weekly radio address Saturday, the president said it was time for Americans of different political persuasions “to come together and make the painful choices we need to eliminate” the problem.

White House officials have taken pains to argue that the freeze would not hurt efforts to foster an economic rebound or ease crippling 10 percent unemployment.

Obama has vowed to cut the deficit in half by the end of his term in 2013, which is seen as an ambitious goal in view of the economic crisis, White House spokesman Rob-

ert Gibbs said on Tuesday that if the government could not cut down on discretionary expenditures, it would have little hope of making further cuts in the budget.

“If we can’t make these steps, how are you going to go after stuff that is politically hard? How are you going to create a coalition to do that?”

The fiscal straitjacket will lead to painful decisions on some government programs beloved of Democratic leaders and lawmakers in Congress and will crimp the spending plans of some members of Obama’s own cabinet.

It may also force Obama to scale back the size of his ambitious reform agenda, just one year into his four-year term of office.

Republicans have hammered Obama for big spending programs, including a 787-billion-dollar economic stimulus plan, and dismiss administration claims that the program saved or created two million jobs.

They downplayed Obama’s freeze, saying it would not do enough to rein in wasted spending by lawmakers, and also pointed out in his 2008 campaign, the president had argued that such curbs never worked.

licence being revoked in the United States,” she said.

Switzerland and the United States have negotiated an agreement under which UBS would hand over information on some 4,500 account holders to US tax police.

But a Swiss court ruling earlier this month put the deal in doubt.

Many in Switzerland, where banking secrecy is a source of pride and a key part of the economy, have accused the government of failing to protect UBS. “We have nothing to blame ourselves for. I don’t think anyone could prove that we acted badly,” WidmerSchlumpf said in the interview.

BEIJING - China’s manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace on record in January on strong growth in new orders, as improved economic conditions encouraged spending, a survey showed Monday.

The HSBC China Manufacturing PMI, or purchasing managers’ index, rose to 57.4 last month from 56.1 in December, the highest since data were first collected in April 2004, the survey showed.

A reading above 50 means the sector is expanding, while a reading below 50 indicates an overall decline.

“Industrial activity continues to accelerate, implying stronger GDP (gross domestic products) growth in the first quarter,” Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at HSBC, said in a statement.

“But rising input and output prices also point to greater inflationary pressure, which will likely prompt more tightening measures in the coming months,” he said.

The HSBC survey showed that

new orders, supported by firmer market demand, rose at the fastest rate last month since the start of the survey while export sales also increased at a nearrecord rate.

Prices charged by Chinese manufacturers rose at the most marked rate since July 2008 mainly due to rising raw material costs, HSBC said.

A separate official PMI published by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing on Monday showed manufacturing activity expanded for the 11th consecutive month to 55.8 in January, slightly slower than 56.6 in December.

The world’s third largest economy grew 8.7 percent last year and 10.7 percent in the fourth quarter, underpinned to a large extent by a 586-billion-dollar government stimulus package unveiled in November 2008.

In 2008, manufacturing accounted for more than 40 percent of economic output in China, but has since been hit hard by evaporating demand for its products in key export markets such as the United States and Europe amid the global crisis.

AP Photo/Vincent Thian

A construction worker stands on a crane in downtown Beijing, Monday, Feb. 1, 2010. China’s manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace on record in January on strong growth in new orders, as improved economic conditions encouraged spending, a survey showed Monday.

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Entertainment

International

‘Top Chef’ Star Padma Lakshmi Hospitalized Author Salman Rushdie’s ex-wife Padma Lakshmi was recently hospitalized after experiencing complications with her pregnancy. The Indian-born TV chef, 39, announced she was expecting her first child in October, branding the pregnancy a “medical miracle” after years of struggling with endometriosis, in which the lining of the uterus grows in other areas of the body.

Studies show that 20 percent of women who suffer from endometriosis and are trying to conceive will not succeed. Lakshmi was admitted to a New York hospital earlier this month and spent five days under doctors’ care after a baby scare, according to the New York Post’s gossip column PageSix. Details of Lakshmi’s medical problem are unknown, but a source tells the publication, “The baby was in serious danger.”

The former model is now recovering at home with her close friend, talent agency boss Teddy Forstmann, as she nears her February due date.

The insider adds, “Teddy has been by her side the whole time. He has been incredibly wonderful and supportive.” Lakshmi has refused to name the father of her baby, but new reports suggest he’s venture capitalist and Columbia Business School teacher Michael Dell. Lakshmi’s publicist had not responded to requests for a comment as WENN went to press.

Dave Matthews Denies John Edwards Offer GRAMMY Award nominee Dave Matthews has laughed off reports he was asked to perform at disgraced U.S. politician John Edwards’ nuptials, insisting he would never have agreed to the offer.

The former Senator and vicepresidential candidate recently confessed to fathering a child with his mistress, and allegedly assured the woman, a former assistant, that he was serious about leaving his wife and marrying her - by planning his ideal wedding.

Matthews was reportedly at the top of Edwards’ list of performers, but he insists he never spoke to the politician about his wedding day plans.

The rocker tells news show ‘Access Hollywood’, “He didn’t ask me and I would make a fair bet that I would have said no to such an offer, or I would have charged him an incredible amount of money.”

Edwards and his mistress have since split; and earlier this month the exSenator’s wife walked out on him after he confessed to the affair.

Beyonce Won Four Rolling Stones Star Ronnie Wood Grammys Before The Checks Into Rehab For Eighth Time Show Even Started ROLLING Stones star Ronnie Wood has checked himself into a rehabilitation center in London in a bid to kick his alcohol problems once and for all, according to reports. It will be the 62-year-old rocker’s eighth stint in rehab, according to Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper.

Wood last sought professional treatment for his boozing in July 2008, shortly after he walked out on his wife of 23 years, Jo, to be with his then-lover, young Russian waitress Ekaterina Ivanova.

His latest rehab stint comes weeks after he was cautioned by British police following a violent altercation with now-ex, Ivanova. The troubled star was arrested in December after allegedly choking his 21-year-old lover during a heated 30-minute argument outside a restaurant in Surrey, England. The subsequent split from Ivanova reportedly sent Wood over the edge - and back to rehab. A source tells the Mail, “Ronnie has been in a bad state of mind since his split with Katia. They were in a ter-

rible relationship, but since their break-up he has not been himself.

He has been lonely and drinking...

Jo and the entire family are just happy that he is seeking help again.”

The tabloid report suggests Wood’s bandmate Sir Mick Jagger had also advised the guitarist to get help with his drinking. A close pal tells the publication, “Mick has always been helpful and supportive of Ronnie when he gets in trouble and falls off the wagon (starts drinking). The news (that) Ronnie’s decided to go into rehab is really pleasing for Mick. He has always urged him to get help when he’s had his problems - and this case was no different. Mick’s just delighted he’s taken heed and is trying to get himself straight.”

A representative for the Rolling Stones had yet to respond to requests for a comment as WENN went to press. A rehab stint might be just what the grizzled rocker needs after confessing he’s tired of being the object of tabloid attention.He recently told Britain’s Daily Star, “I wanted to have this year off to do whatever I wanted, but I’m getting so much attention all the time - it’s annoying to see myself in the papers practically every day.”

BEYONCE and the Black Eyed Peas were already big winners at the Grammy Awards before the official show had started. Beyonce, who was nominated for 10 top prizes, learned she had already won four as she took her seat at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday night. The superstar picked up Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for her rendition of Etta James classic “At Last”, which she performed for the “Cadillac Records” soundtrack.

She also sang her version of the R&B standard as Barack Obama and Michelle Obama danced together as U.S. President and First Lady at an inauguration gala last year. Her “Single Ladies” track also earned her Best R&B Song honors and her hit “I Am... Sasha Fierce” was named the 2010 Best Contemporary R&B Album. Black Eyed Peas claimed three prizes before the big show: Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals (“I Gotta Feeling”), Best Pop Vocal Album (“The E.N.D.”) and Best Short Form Music Video (“Boom Boom Pow”).

The San Francisco Symphony’s classical hit “Mahler: Symphony No. 8; Adagio From Symphony No. 10” was also a pre-ceremony triple

winner, claiming the Best Choral Performance, Best Classical Album and Best Engineered Album honors.

Double winners prior to the show included Taylor Swift, Kings of Leon, Maxwell, Jay-Z, Jason Mraz and Lady Gaga.

Life Style

International

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

13

Experts unveil dino, oldest known ancestor of birds Reuters -

HONG KONG – China has unearthed the fossil of a two-legged carnivorous dinosaur that lived 160 million years ago and which researchers have identified as the earliest known member of a long lineage that includes birds. The “Haplocheirus sollers” had a long, narrow skull, many small teeth and powerful biceps and forelimbs, which enabled it to hunt primitive lizards, small mammals and reptiles.

The individual, believed to be a young adult when it died, had a long tail and a total body length of between 190 and 230 cm. (6 feet 2 inches to 7 feet 6 inches), the researchers wrote in a paper published in the journal Science. It was found in orange mudstone beds in the Junggar Basin in China’s far western Xinjiang region. “It has unique features but it shares some features with birds. It moves its hands sideways, like how birds can fold their wings. Its head, vertebral column, hind limbs, hands are all bird like,” said Professor Xu Xing at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology & Paleonanthropology.

“Their legs have four digits like modern birds, with three digits pointing forwards. The first digit, unlike in birds which point backwards, this one points sideways,” he said. Xu, a member on a research team led by Jonah Choiniere at the George Washington University in

Washington, said that while this species shared some features with birds, it was more like a “typical carnivorous dinosaur.”

“The most salient feature of this group is their forelimbs, they are predators. They have three claws on their hands, used to catch other animals. They have very bizarre forelimbs, they are very short but very stout and very strong,” said Xu. “Primitive lizards, small mammals, mammal-like reptiles were all possible food items,” he told Reuters by telephone. “They represent the earlier stage in the evolution of birds, but they are not birds.

You can say they are early ancestors of birds ... and very slowly, it (the lineage) turned into birds.” This species belongs to the family of Alvarezsauridae — a bizarre group of bird-like dinosaurs — and its discovery pushes the fossil record of this family back by 60 million years into the Late Jurassic period (145 million to 161 million years ago).

REUTERS/Barry Huang

The skull of the newly discovered fossil of a carnivorous dinosaur called “Haplocheirus sollers” is seen at a Chinese Academy of Sciences’ workshop on the outskirts of Beijing, January 26, 2010.

Change in space for NASA: Renting the Right Stuff Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/SpaceX

This undated handout photo provided by SpaceX shows the liftoff of the Falcon 1. In its new budget to be released Monday, Feb. 1, 2010, the Obama administration proposes spending billions of dollars to encourage private companies to build, launch and operate spacecraft for NASA and others. NASA already started an early version of this last year with $50 million in stimulus money.

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration on Monday will propose in its new budget spending billions of dollars to encourage private companies to build, launch and operate spacecraft for NASA and others. Uncle Sam would buy its astronauts a ride into space just like hopping in a taxi.

The idea is that getting astronauts into orbit, which NASA has been doing for 49 years, is getting to be so old hat that someone other than the government can do it. It’s no longer really the Right Stuff.

Going private would free the space agency to do other things, such as explore beyond Earth’s orbit, do more research and study the Earth with better satellites. And it would spur a new generation of private companies — even some with Internet roots — to innovate.

But there’s some concern about that — from former NASA officials worried about safety and from congressional leaders worried about lost jobs. Some believe space is still a tough, dangerous enterprise not to be left to private companies out for a buck. Government would lose vital knowledge and control, critics fear. Proponents of private

space, an idea that has been kicking around for nearly 20 years, point to the airline industry in its infancy. Initially the Army flew most planes. But private companies eventually started building and operating aircraft, especially when they got a guaranteed customer in the U.S. government to deliver air mail.

That’s what NASA would be: a guaranteed customer to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station through 2020. It would be similar to the few years that NASA paid Russia to fly astronauts on its Soyuz after the Columbia accident in 2003. “With a $6 billion program you can have multiple winners. You’ll literally have your Blackberry, your iPhone and your Android phone all competing for customers in the marketplace,” said John Gedmark, executive director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. The White House has said it will be adding $5.9 billion to the overall NASA budget over five years; Gedmark believes most or all will go to commercial space.

Mike Gold, corporate counsel at Bigelow Aerospace, which is building the first commercial space station and is a potential spacecraft provider, believes the government should have privatized astronaut launchings decades ago. “It will force the aerospace world to become competitive again and restore us to our glory days,” Gold said.

Last year as part of the stimulus package, NASA said it would give out $50 million in seed and planning money for the idea of a commercial spaceship. Several firms expressed interest and NASA will soon pick a winner or winners.

American University public policy professor and space expert Howard McCurdy said this is not as radical as it seems. The shuttle was built not by government workers but

by Rockwell International, a private company. Then in 1996 the Clinton administration outsourced the shuttle’s day-to-day launch and other operations to a private company.

“This is something that NASA has been drifting toward in the last 25 years,” McCurdy said. But the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, created after NASA’s first fatal accident, warned that the existing private rockets are not rated by the government as safe for people to fly on. That has to be addressed with testing and study before jumping into commercial space, the panel said.

It’s not that it is impossible to certify these rockets as safe enough for astronauts but it is a long process that is not spelled out, said former NASA associate administrator Scott Pace, now a space policy professor at George Washington University.

14

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Sport

International

Kobe jumper lifts Lakers to victory over Celtics Reuters -

BOSTON - Kobe Bryant made amends for a poor shooting game by sinking a spectacular game-winning jumper as the Los Angeles Lakers edged the Boston Celtics 90-89 on Sunday.

Bryant drilled a difficult 15-footer with 7.3 seconds left despite the close attendance of Ray Allen, who then went on to miss a three-point attempt as time expired to ensure the Lakers (3711) took a satisfying win over their long-time rivals.

“I was thinking about last year when I had a chance to win a game in regulation but missed it. I wanted to make up for that,” Bryant told reporters after L.A. beat Boston for the third time in a row since losing to the Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals. “The fans are very knowledgeable here and it’s always a great place to get a win.”

Bryant finished with 19 points and six assists despite 8for-20 shooting and Andrew Bynum added 19 and 11 boards as Los Angeles captured its fourth straight win. In a marquee matchup between the last two NBA champions, the Celtics re-

covered from an early deficit and looked poised to prevail when they led by 11 with less than nine minutes remaining.

However, the home team suffered a dry spell that allowed the Lakers to inch closer and the visitors pulled within one on Ron Artest’s drive with 45 seconds remaining. Artest then drew an offensive foul on Paul Pierce to set up his team’s final possession.

Rajon Rondo led the way with 21 points and 12 assists for a struggling Boston (29-16), who have suffered six defeats in eight games.

Injuries and an aging roster have been of concern for the Celtics, who have compiled a mediocre 13-

8 home record this season.

The Lakers took the life out of the TD Garden in the first where Bynum had 12 points for the hotshooting visitors, who took a 3019 advantage, before Rondo sparked a Boston comeback. The newly named All-Star point guard scored nine in the second and the Celtics seized the momentum with a 30-10 turnaround to grab a 4940 advantage with 3:01 left before the half. “We came back with some energy from our bench who gave us a lift and we stuck with it and kept fighting,” Rondo said. “No matter what are offense does we have to come down and play defense.”

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (24) is fouled under the net as Boston Celtics’ Ray Allen, bottom left, Kevin Garnett, left, and Kendrick Perkins (43) defend during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010, in Boston. The Lakers won 90-89.

Murray needs new help to take Moesly Signs for Mayweather Clash the final step, says Becker Shane Mosley has signed to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr on May 1, according to his attorney. Judd Burstein told the Los Angeles Times that Mosley signed a contract on Friday for the bout, which would probably take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Mayweather Jr has yet to sign his contract according to the report, but Burstein says he’s been assured that will happen in the next two days.

“It’s a fight people have wanted to see for a long time, but never happened for whatever reasons,” said Burstein, who revealed Mosley will get the biggest purse of his career.

“Now that it’s going to happen, Shane is looking forward to doing what he and many of his fans have long thought he would do.”

Reuters -

LONDON - Andy Murray needs to tap into the knowledge of some of the “icons of the game” if he is to move from grand slam contender to champion, according to six-time major winner Boris Becker. Murray was in tears after Sunday’s 6-3 6-4 7-6 defeat by Roger Federer in the Australian Open final, his second grand slam final defeat after he was swept aside by Federer in the 2008 US Open. Sunday’s loss was closer, but not much, as only in the third set did the Briton begin to show the aggression and risk-taking necessary to disturb Federer’s cruise to his 16th grand slam.

Becker said that Murray had played the best major tournament of his career in Melbourne but that it had also revealed that he needs to work on his aggression. “How assertive he was in the final was always going to be crucial. At the very start of the match he went head to head with Roger, but he then reverted to his usual defensive game, and allowed Roger to play such great tennis,” Becker wrote in Britain’s Daily Telegraph.

“Even when he had set points, in the third set, he could not take the big step. He tried to attack, but a mid-court forehand let him down.

It is not a shot he would usually select, and on the big points, tennis players revert to instinct. It was a revealing moment, and one which showed that Andy now needs to improve technically, to ingrain the

A clash with Mayweather Jr will provide a genuine superfight for boxing fans to look forward to in 2010, after ‘Money’ saw his planned showdown with P4P king Manny Pacquiao fall through after the two camps failed to agree on drug testing procedures.

Mosley (46-5) is the reigning WBA welterweight champion though it hasn’t been confirmed as yet whether his belt will be on the line against Mayweather Jr. ‘Sugar Shane’ hasn’t fought for more than a year now since that hugely impressive demolition of Antonio Margarito in Los Angeles.

He had been due to face unbeaten Andre Berto on Saturday, but his opponent pulled out after the recent earthquake in Haiti.

(AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Andy Murray of Britain gestures during a press conference after he lost to Roger Federer of Switzerland in the Men’s singles final match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010. killer shot so deep inside him that it becomes instinctive to play it at the right moment, like Roger. That is the next stage in his progression. I was looking at Andy’s box during the match and there was no one up there who knows what it is like to be out in a grand slam final. Don’t get me wrong, “Team Murray” are first rate they have made Andy the third best player on the planet - but you cannot learn the skills you need out on the centre court from a book, or from hearsay. “ “You need to talk to people like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, someone Andy would listen to and respect.

For Murray, it is now about playing the

right shot at the right time, not running or going to the gym.” Becker, who won Wimbledon three times, the Australian Open twice and the US Open once, ruled himself out of the job but said Murray needed someone who has achieved the ultimate in the game to be alongside him in the slams to “talk about the five or so make-or-break shots in a match, and how best to play them.”

“Andy will be among the top men’s players over the next five years, but if he wants to be above them, not amid them, he needs to have someone in his corner who knows what it is like to win a grand slam, to climb the Mount Everest of tennis,” Becker said.

Shane Mosley has signed to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr on May 1, according to his attorney

Sport

International

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

15

Sevilla beat Valencia to climb to fourth Reuters -

MADRID - Alvaro Negredo struck twice to fire Sevilla to a 2-1 home win over third-placed Valencia on Sunday and lift the Andalusians to fourth in Liga. Valencia’s setback meant leaders Barcelona and Real Madrid pulled further away at the top following victories at Sporting Gijon and Deportivo Coruna on Saturday.

Undefeated Barca have 52 points from 20 matches, Real 47, Valencia 39 and Sevilla 36. Spain striker Negredo broke the deadlock in a scrappy match at the Sanchez Pizjuan in the 21st minute. France defender Julien Escude leaped to flick the ball on from a corner and Negredo turned the ball past goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez from close range. Valencia’s pacey Spain forwards David Villa, David Silva and Juan Mata battled to haul their side back into the match but the visitors fell further behind in the 69th.

Sevilla winger Jesus Navas burst clear through the centre and released Negredo, who lifted an exquisite chip over Sanchez from the

edge of the penalty area. Villa thumped the ball against a post and fluffed another chance before defender David Navarro netted a header in added time. Atletico Madrid’s miserably erratic season took another turn for the worse on Sunday when they lost 2-0 at home to Malaga and were whistled off.

Atletico are through to the King’s Cup semi-finals but another league defeat left them mired in 13th place in the standings with only six wins from 20 matches. They fell behind in the third minute at the Calderon when unmarked midfielder Duda drove a Jesus Gamez cross past goalkeeper David De Gea from close range. With

Atletico playing their Cup semi-final first leg against Racing Santander on Thursday, coach Quique Sanchez Flores left Sergio Aguero and Jose Antonio Reyes out of his starting lineup and the home side struggled to get back into the match.

They looked more of a threat with the pair on the pitch after the break but more woeful defending allowed Javi Lopez to sweep home Malaga’s second on 70 minutes.

“We have to ask for forgiveness from the fans,” Sanchez Flores told a news conference. “I’m not going to look for excuses,” he added. “The match was generally very bad and the result and our impotence hurt.”

AS Roma forward Chuka Stefano Okaka, left, and Siena defender Claudio Terzi fight for the ball during the Serie A soccer match between AS Roma and Siena at Rome’s Olympic stadium, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010.

(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Okaka seals Roma win, Milan and Juve draw Reuters

MILAN - Substitute Stefano Okaka scored with a stunning backheel two minutes from time to give flying AS Roma a 2-1 Serie A win over bottom side Siena on Sunday. Roma have won their last four games to surge level on points with second-placed AC Milan, who ended a difficult week by labouring to a 1-1 home draw with struggling Livorno. Both sides moved eight points behind leaders Inter Milan, whose match at Parma was postponed because of snow.

New Juventus caretaker coach Alberto Zaccheroni, who replaced the sacked Ciro Ferrara on Friday, got off to a mixed start with a 1-1 home draw against former club Lazio.

Alessandro Del Piero went down under a challenge from Modibo Diakhite and slotted in the 70th-minute penalty before Lazio’s Stefano Mauri netted from close range to extend Juve’s winless run to five matches. Juve fans, gave a lukewarm reception to Zaccheroni given he has been out of work for three years and also coached rivals Inter, Milan and Torino.

The little-used Okaka was due to make a loan move to Fulham but was named in Sunday’s squad because four Roma forwards were out injured, including Francesco Totti and

Luca Toni. The 20-year-old entered the fray on the hour after John Arne Riise’s terrific volley put Roma ahead before Simone Vergassola equalised from a tight angle late in the first half.

Okaka then found the perfect moment to score his first league goal this term with a potent backheel from eight metres.

“I told him ‘you’re not leaving now’. He fainted,” Ranieri joked to Sky TV, hinting Okaka would still go to Fulham. Milan could have done with a moment of magic after another lacklustre San Siro display following last Sunday’s defeat by nine-man Inter and Wednesday’s Italian Cup exit against Udinese. Before kick off, chief executive Adriano Galliani declined to deny reports of a swap between Milan left back Marek Jankulovski and Inter winger Mancini on Monday’s transfer deadline day.

Ronaldinho struck a post before David Beckham swung in a cross and Massimo Ambrosini hooked home a minute from the break.

Livorno, whose coach Serse Cosmi resigned last week before changing his mind, deservedly equalised on 53 minutes when Cristiano Lucarelli prodded in Claudio Bellucci’s scuffed shot. A bad week for Fiorentina also ended on a dull note with a 2-2 draw at Cagliari which left the Florence club 11th.

(AP Photo/Angel Fernandez)

Sevilla’s Alvaro Negredo, left, reacts after scoring against Valencia during their La Liga soccer match at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010.

Egypt secure third successive Nations Cup title Reuters -

LUANDA - Substitute Mohamed Nagui scored five minutes from time to hand Egypt an unprecedented third successive African Nations Cup title after a 1-0 victory over Ghana on Sunday. It was a far from impressive performance from the Egyptians but a rare attack near the end of the match gave Nagui his fifth goal of the tournament and snatched a record seventh African championship for his country.

He curled a shot into the Ghana net from a tight angle after a smart one-two with striker Mohamed Zidan, who had been largely anonymous throughout the game. “We have achieved what no other side has ever done. This is the best team ever in the history (of African football),” said victorious coach Hassan Shehata.

Ghana, badly affected by injury to key players, had surprised many with their progress to the final but despite an inexperienced lineup they took the game to their opponents.

Egypt, who missed out on qualification for this year´s World Cup finals, started with nine of their winning team from two years ago while only two of Ghana´s side had been born when

they last won the Nations Cup in 1982.

“We won this to make up for the disappointment of the World Cup,” defender Wael Gomaa told a news conference. Ghana created more of the limited chances in a cagey game, devoid of any tempo and pace in the muggy and humid conditions in the Angolan capital. Striker Asamoah Gyan, who played a lone role up front, was full of enterprise and came close with several efforts, all of them from outside the box.

Most of the goal-bound efforts came from long range as both defences held tight for much of the game and players retreated quickly behind the ball when without possession. Egypt had two opportunities midway through the second half but both Emad Moteab and Zidan were let down by their first touch. Ghana might have forced the game into extra time with the last attack of the match after a cross from Samuel Inkoom evaded the Egypt defence but fell wide off the chest of substitute Eric Addo. The win meant Egypt extended their run of unbeaten games at the Nations Cup to 19. Captain Ahmed Hassan, named man of the match, became the first player to win four Nations Cup medals.

Ghana’s Kwadwo Asamoah, center, attacks as Egypt players defend during the final of their African Cup of Nations soccer match at the November 11 stadium in Luanda, Angola, Sunday Jan. 31, 2010. Egypt beat Ghana 1-0.

(AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

16

Sport

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

New Toro Rosso unveiled at Valencia Cheste , ESP

Scuderia Toro Rosso became the latest team to unveil its 2010 challenger on Monday, as the Faenza-based team’s STR5 was shown for the first time. The new car is the first machine that Toro Rosso has had to produce itself, following the effective ban on customer cars in F1. “2010 is a landmark year for Scuderia Toro Rosso as the new regulations demand that we go it alone in terms of designing and building our car in-house,” said team boss Franz Tost.

AP Photo/Paul White

Toro Rosso Formula One drivers Jaime Alguersuari of Spain, left and his team mate Sebastien Buemi of Switzerland pose by the new Toro Rosso car during it’s official presentation at the Ricardo Tormo race track in Cheste, just outside Valencia, Spain, Monday Feb,1, 2010.

Renault: Petrov hired because of talent RENAULT says that its decision to hire Vitaly Petrov as a driver for 2010 was motivated not purely by money, but because his performance and future potential also stood out. Petrov is well known to have significant backing, rumoured to be more than £10 million, and was linked with several F1 teams for a 2010 berth before committing to Renault.

But although it is no secret his backing has helped ease his path into Renault, team chiefs are adamant that the Russian was chosen primarily because of his talent.

Renault team principal Eric Boullier said: “We just put it simply: either we go for an experienced driver which, on paper,

may help to bring back some points for the championship - which is very crucial. Or we go for a young driver.

“One of the things that we wanted was to have a driver with strong sporting results. This is why [Vitaly] Petrov was on the list.

“Obviously going through every criteria that we wanted, we had to decide at one stage, and quite late honestly – experience or gambling on youth? The choice for Vitaly was clearly because he has the speed, we believe he has the speed and can do well. Definitely there is a risk because he is a young driver, but we had also to think in this process about the team for the future. Strategically, he is Russian, which can open up a lot of new perspectives for Formula 1 – and not just Renault

– for the future. That is part of the process to bring back the team to be head down and successful.”

Team co-owner Gerard Lopez said that the attraction of Petrov was that he had the potential to open up new financial markets in Russia for his Renault team to exploit. “We actually had drivers that could have brought about twice the amount that Vitaly is bringing,” he explained. “So the choice was really made number one because of personal performance. The second thing I would like to say about that, when people talk about numbers, the fact is that someone like Vitaly can bring directly something like seven percent of the budget. That’s not going to make this team wane or survive or something like that.”

“The fact that Vitaly does come from Russia I think is interesting.

But that is also true about Robert don’t forget - the fact that he comes from a country that is very sizeable and that is completely unrepresented in F1. So we are, if anything, very aware of the nationality of our drivers and as a result of that very aware of where the marketing and sponsoring effort should go to.” Lopez admitted that the team did not yet have its full 2010 budget secured – but that discussions were ongoing with several potential title sponsors. When asked how much of the team’s 2010 budget was in place, Lopez said: “I am pretty good with numbers so I’d say something like 83%.

So a large amount.”

“After four years of working in collaboration with Red Bull Technology, the TR5 is the first car that is one hundred percent down to our own endeavours. “Creating the necessary infrastructure to tackle this task has been our biggest challenge, possibly more difficult than actually producing the car itself. We have taken on an additional eighty staff and expanded our facility to accommodate them, including a Machine Shop to increase our production capacity. In addition, we have commissioned a wind tunnel in Bicester, England, which we bought from Red Bull. It will take time for the highly skilled team we have assembled to learn to work together as efficiently as possible.”

“Making predictions for the coming season is a dangerous trap, but if pushed, I would say we must aim to finish in the top eight in the Constructors’ Championship, while giving our young drivers everything they need to improve, as well as optimising our infrastructure in order to be as competitive as possible in 2010 and beyond.” Although conservative in its philosophy, the car features a fully-optimised double diffuser - with the team having had to incorporate the concept into last year’s STR4 mid-season following the FIA decision that the designs were legal.

“At the end of last year, we had already increased our staff to around one hundred and fifty and now we have two hundred. At the end of March ’09, we got the green light as to what actually constituted being an F1 Constructor,” added technical director Giorgio Ascanelli.

That was the starting point for building up our operation in such a way that we could actually design a car that was achievable in engineering terms, working in a different way to the methods we had adopted in the past.”