Edisi 11 Februari 2011 | International Bali Post

16 Pages Number 46 3rd Year Price: Rp 3.000,-

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Friday, February 11, 2011

PAGE 6

Three regions deny moratorium policy PAGE 8

A resident walks near burning oil tankers which were set ablaze by an bomb explosion in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan February 8, 2011.

‘True Grit’ spurs Berlin film fest start

REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz

Agence France Presse

PAGE 12

MARDAN, Pakistan – A teenage suicide bomber killed up to 31 Pakistani army recruits at a parade ground on Thursday, an attack the Taliban said was revenge for US drone strikes and local military offensives. Wearing school uniform, the young teen blew himself up at the parade inside a heavily guarded military compound just outside the town of Mardan, killing the soldiers with shrapnel and explosives, officials said.

WEATHER FORECAST

It was the deadliest suicide bombing in Pakistan since a woman with a bomb strapped under her burqa killed 43 people at a UN food distribution point on Christmas Day in the tribal district of Bajaur. The Taliban claimed responsibility and threatened “bigger attacks” in coming days to

avenge American drone strikes and Pakistani military operations targeting Islamist militants in the northwestern tribal belt. “It was a suicide attack. The teenager bomber was on foot and was wearing a school uniform,” Abdullah Khan, a senior police officer in Mardan, around 30 kilometres (20

miles) from the regional capital Peshawar, told AFP. “The death toll has now reached 31 recruits. Thirty-six have been injured, Sixteen of them are critical,” Khan told AFP. “The bomber was 14 or 15 years old. He was not a student at the school inside the regiment. He came from outside but was dressed

like the other school boys.”

After the attack, soldiers in bulletproof jackets and helmets cordoned off the entire area around the Punjab Regiment Centre, deploying jeeps mounted with machine guns and preventing access to the site, an AFP reporter said. Police had earlier put the death toll at 27.

Pakistan suffers near-daily attacks blamed on Taliban and AlQaeda-linked militants — the attacks have killed more than 4,000 people since government troops evicted Islamists from an Islamabad mosque in a deadly July 2007 siege.

Continued on page 6

CITY

TEMPERATURE OC

DENPASAR

25 - 31

JAKARTA

25 - 31

BANDUNG

22 - 29

Pa. gas explosion destroys homes; 6 people missing

YOGYAKARTA

23 - 32

Associated Press Writer

SURABAYA

25 - 33

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A natural gas explosion in eastern Pennsylvania leveled two houses, spawned fires that burned for more than seven hours and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people. At least six people were unaccounted for Thursday.

Among them are two people whose two-story row house in a downtown residential neighborhood blew up about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, police

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AP Photo/Rich Schultz

Allentown firefighters battle a fire after an explosion near the intersection of 13th and Allen Streets in Allentown, Pa., early Thursday morning Feb.10, 2011.

Chief Roger MacClean said. The cause of the explosion was unclear.

The fires consumed an entire row of homes, fire Chief Robert Scheirer said. The blaze was put out early Thursday, delayed by the difficulty of digging through packed layers of snow and ice to a ruptured underground gas line that was feeding the flames, Scheirer said. He predicted eight houses would be lost and another 16 damaged.

Continued on page 6

2

International

Friday, February 11, 2011

Bali News Treaty Bali, the Island of Science signed

Indonesian Education Minister and the head of DPR praise Mahendradatta University The Mahendradatta University is successful in inviting intellectuals from 10 South East Asia (ASEAN) countries and it is highly appreciated by Indonesian Education Minister and the head of parliament (DPR).

This can be seen on the opening ceremony of ASEAN – Republic Of Korea International Academic Conference 2011 on Thursday, February 10, 2011 in Grand Ball Rama Sita Room Bali Beach Sanur.

In his speech, Indonesian Education Minister said that he appreciated the effort by Mahendrasatta University to embrace the nation in education event.

The similar statement was addressed by the head of DPR, Dr.Marzuki Alie.

He said that Indonesia will gain many benefit from the conference and it is also on the same path with the effort of the government and DPR to give more attention in the education world.

“I congratulate the head of Mahendradatta University, Dr. Ngurah Arya Wedakarna, who has worked very hard in giving the best image of Indonesia abroad, especially in the education world. It is a remarkable achievement to hold a conference consists of 10 countries throughout ASEAN. Congratulation to Mahendradatta University,” he added.

Praise was also given by the President of Korean Association of South-

east Asian Studies (KASEAS), Prof.Yoon Jin Pyo. He said that the cooperation between Korean Republic and Asean University Network (AUN) must have good value for science.

“Mahendratta University has carried out the international event perfectly and we would like to congratulate them for that,” he added.

AUN also stated that the cooperation with Mahendradatta University must be developed in the future.

“AUN is ready to cooperate with all universities in Indonesia in AUN programs and Mahendradatta University has proven that Indonesia able to carry out international events,” Prof.

Surichai Wungaeo, the associate of AUN, said.

Marzuki Alie was also signing the treaty of Bali, Island Of The Science and also the Bali Intelectual 2020 program. Today, there is a cultural trip to Puri Agung Klungkung, Presedency palace in Tampaksiring, the anti coruption reasearch office also in Tampaksiring and Farewell Dinner di Arma Museum Gianyar.

IBP/ROK

ASEAN CONFERENCE – Dr.Marzuki Alie ( Head of DPR – RI ), Supriadi Rustad ( General Director of Indonesian Education Ministry ), Dr.Shri I Gusti Ngurah Arya Wedakarna MW Suyasa III ( Head of Universitas Mahendradatta ), Prof.Yoon Jin Pyo ( President Korea Association Of South East Asia Studies / KASEAS ), Prof. Surichai Wungaeo ( Assc.Prof.Asean University Network ) and Delegtes from 11 ASEAN countries.

Car Sellers Almost Robbed

Padangtegal Monkey Forest Save Themselves to Police Headquarter proposed to win Kalpataru Denpasar (Bali Post) –

Gianyar (Bali Post)—

Monkey forest located at Padangtegal, Ubud, Gianyar, in this year 2011 will be proposed to re-compete for the environmental conservation award, namely Kalpataru Award. The proposal is expected to become a revival after the failure of Gianyar Regency to deliver the Monkey Forest, Padangtegal Customary Village, to reach the Kalpataru in 2010.

Information collected on Wednesday (Feb 9) told that the existing forest area at Padangtegal, Ubud, was submitted to the Gianyar Regency to be involved in the competition of Kalpataru environmental conservation awards.

The proposal was quite reason-

able. The forest becoming the tourist object had been preserved and expanded. Now, the extent has reached 12.5 hectares from the previous eight hectares.

Chief of Padangtegal Customary Village, I Made Dana, when met last Wednesday said other than expanding the forest area, the rural communities also preserved the animals within the forest such as thousands of monkeys. Whether it would be successful or not, his party handed it over to relevant agencies.

It was mentioned, regarding to the assessment of Kalpataru, the Monkey Forest had been visited by a team of Bali Province not long ago. Regarding to the results, it was the matter of time. (kmb16)

The three car sellers named I Ketut Wardana, I Wayan Sujana and Made Kameana, Denpasar Residents, should be an example to all.

On Wednesday (9/2) they were almost robbed around South Nangka Street as their Suzuki Karimun car DK 1370 DA got its wheel holed by a crime act.

As they were alert and moreover they just took out IDR 133 million cash from Central Asia Bank (BCA) at Central Gatsu Street, Denpasar, they forced to drive their car even though on wheel went flat. They then save themselves to the Bali Police Headquarters specifically at Samapta Directorate, WR. Supratman Street, Denpasar.

According to Wayan Sujana, he and his two friends (Wardana and Kameana, red) was getting cash

from BCA Gatsu Tengah Branch, Denpasar and used a red Suzuki Karimun car. After getting it, they were planning to go to Regional Development Bank (BPD) Renon Branch, Denpasar, “So we planned to go through South Nangka Street, then Kamboja Street then go to Renon.”

As they got to South Nangka, one of the wheels got flat. Knowing that, they were aware that’s something not right. They looked over around them including the back, “There were suspicious people riding Suzuki FU 125 motorcycle behind us.”

They suspected strongly that these people who has holed the car and they were using a full covered helmet. The suspicion grew when they victims looked over the motorcycle driver movements as they stopped when one of the car wheels got flat, “We saw they stopped, but then drove again yet we

keep on driving as we felt something’s not right also because of our previous experiences.”

Victim then kept driving his car to find a safe place. They then chose to go Samapta Directorate. When checked, the wheel has a modified nail on it, “What’s more suspicious, when we went in to the Bali Police areal the two crime acts stopped at the West of the Headquarters.”

Head of Bali Police Public Relation Section, Great Commissioner Gde Sugianyar, who also went to see the victim’s car, said that the victim’s step to safe himself is very right as they know they are in danger, “We hope that when the public was going to take lots of cash better to seek security from the police. It is much safer rather than no security accompanying.” (kmb21)

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Bali News

International

Friday, February 11, 2011

3

Not Yet Diving

German Man Died at Baturinggit Beach Amlapura (Bali Post) –

IBP/Ole

Houses flooded with water which coming from Tamblingan Lake.

Water of Lake Tamblingan overflows 21 houses and 2 temples get inundated Singaraja (Bali Post)—

At least 21 houses and 2 temples on the side of Lake Tamblingan, Munduk Village, Banjar Subdistrict, were inundated by water. This happened after the water of Lake Tamblingan overflowed about five meters high and ran over the land as far as 300 meters from the lakeside.

Based on observation of Bali Post, Wednesday (Feb 9), the residents living on the lakeside could no longer occupy their home. Water of the lake entered into the house of residents as high as to reach the thigh of adult. A number of houses located very close to the lake almost drowned and people could only see their walls and roof.

To enter the house for taking items that could be saved, people had to go by boat.

Aside from houses, two temples located on the lakeside, namely Gubug and Tirta Mengening temple were also flooded. Even, a number of buildings within the Gubug Temple area, like the resting pavilion, only the tip of the pole and roof appeared.

Meanwhile, to enter into the temple, people had to use a boat.

Residents whose houses were flooded by water had no choice but fled for their life by setting up simple huts in the forest area. Overall, there were about 30 families taking refuge. Other than 21 families whose homes were flooded by water, around nine other families also fled although their house was not flooded. It was estimated the water continued rising so they feared if all houses located on the lakeside would be inundated.

Mangku Suitra and Luh Sariati, local residents, said the water overflowing onto the land had been happening since about ten days before. Actually, the water had begun to rise since tor-

rential rains about a month. Though it did not rain at that time, the water continued rising slowly until inundated the house of residents. Even, it was estimated the water would keep on rising and more houses of local residents would be inundated.

According to another local resident, the overflowing water of the lake was estimated to be caused by violent rainfalls and it triggered the increasing recharge of the underground water. The overflowing water of the lake had never been estimated by residents. He said similar incident last occurred around in 1972. Then, in subsequent years water of the lake continued to subside until it finally rose again this year. Since nearly all villagers did not have residence other than on the lakeside, then 21 families fled to the forest area and built a simple hut that was not so far from the lake. In the meantime, other residents, though their house was not inundated yet, had already fled as worried if water of the lake would keep on overflowing and, in turn, would inundate their homes, too.

Families that fled into the forest were such as Ketut Suasta, Ketut Sutama, Ketut Ridana, Mangku Gede Suitra, Komang Pariadi, Ketut Ngenteg, Gede Wetan, Gede Widiana, Nengah Supama, Nyoman Sudana, Gede Ristawan, Mangku Gede Artawan, Mangku Wayan Sosial, Kadek Swisnaya, Wayan Suada, Made Srinada, Gede Suardana, Putu Wera and

Ketut Sedana.

The forest area used as the refuge site is owned by the agency of natural resources conservation (KSDA). The authority of KSDA allowed the people to build those simple shacks in the forest area as they only lasted temporarily.

Residents claimed their stock of staple food had almost run out because their daily livelihood as fisherman in the lake could not be carried out due to natural disaster.

Meanwhile, Secretary of Munduk Village, Made Yasna, said there were about 44 houses on the lakeside. Residents whose house inundated were people settling adequately close to lakeside. Virtually all residents living there worked as a fisherman and provider of transportation services for devotees who would like to perform a ceremony to the middle of the lake.

As for the fate of refugees, according to Yasna, the village authority was unable to do much. The administrative village could have not given a permanent settlement for them. Originally, his party wanted to prepare a multipurpose hall to be used as refugee camp, but his party failed to do so. Fortunately, the KSDA was willing to provide its forest land for temporary refuge. “It is a temporary settlement because the KSDA only gave it for a while. After that, if water of the lake continues rising we will try to find out another solution where they should move,” he said. (kmb15)

A German tourist, Monden Wolfgang Eberhard Heinrich Friz (51) was found unconscious then died at Baturinggit Beach, Kubu, Karangasem last Wednesday (9/2) afternoon. It is still unknown what have caused it.

The body found using underpants and covered in cloth was then sent to the Karangasem Regional General Hospital corpse room by ambulance owned by Galang Kangin Tukad Luah Foundation, Kubu. The body was accompanied by Luh Sri, manager to Alam Batu Hotel, Baturinggit, where Friz have stayed. Sadly Luh Sri was not open to the reporters as she did not explain Friz identity and the cause of his death.

Meanwhile, Karangasem House of Representatives member mediated the corpse room on Wednesday, “I do not know what caused the tourist died. I am only helping here to make sure the body can be kept here for the while.”

A Kubu Police officer who also accompanied the body to the hospital stated that based on witnesses statements, victim was preparing to dive in at that time. He just took off his day clothes and was about to use the diving clothes. Yet, all of a sudden victim got unconscious then fell and before help was given victim has died.

The body was then brought to the hospital and all accessories of two huge gold necklaces were taken off from the tall body before inserted to the body’s freezer, “After it got autopsied then we will know what the cause of his death is.”

It is stated also that on Wednesday victim died because of illness not because of diving. In the beach where he was found there were medicines found suspected for asthma also a sprayer. From day to afternoon, there has been bad weather such as rain, dark clouds and threatening waves at Baturinggit Beach causing victim to delay his diving. (013)

Polemic, Buddha Statue Height in Gilimanuk Negara (Bali Post) –

The plan to build a Buddha statue at Astapaka Vihara, Gilimanuk is still being discussed by the government and local people as it is planned to reach 25 meters height. The statue will be above a gorge and four meters from the roads. There will be also a temple accompanying it. The statue with “Abhaya/Abhaya Mudra” position known by Buddhist as the symbol of “Reconciliation and Peace” will be seen from Banyuwangi, East Java. All the people going to Bali by ship can also see it. Yet before it will be built, there’s a need of socialization to the people also an agreement in cross religions forum of this statue and temple height.

A number of Jembrana Government and Indonesia Hindu Dharma Group (PHDI) officials last Wednesday (9/2) held a meeting at Jembrana Government Office connecting to the plan of having a Buddha Statue on the West Bali entrance gate. A number of employees from Permit Agency, Public Works and Living Environment (PULH) Agency, Social Economy and Culture, Jembrana Secretary, PHDI Jembrana, Melaya Sub District Leader and Head of Gilimanuk Village discussed the Bali Province Government consultation results based on the technical document owned by Jembrana Spatial Planning (RTRW) year 2008-2028 as this

location is part of Housing place.

Then based on Jembrana Regulation No. 3 Year 2004, the maximum height of a building is 15 meters from land level except that it is a tower, chimneys or religious places. Yet it needs an agreement on the height of the statue being more than 15 meters also its socio culture affect. The discussion was also attended by PHDI, Religious Communication Forum (FKUB), Villages Council and Jembrana Government. Besides that it also needs an agreement of the height from Public Works Agency. Meanwhile according to Bali Province Regulations No. 16 Year 2009 on RTRW Bali Province year 2009-2029, the statue will be in a Bali Province Strategic Area (KSP). Yet after coordinating with the Bali People Prosperity Bureau it is stated that a religious praying place is not regulated under the KSP so it does not need any Governor recommendation.

Gilimanuk Head Village, IGN Rai Budi, confirmed the situation when met after the meeting. To him for the construction and to cause no problems in the future it needs all agreement. In the near time there will be another meeting involving the people and FKUB, head of villages and all local residents where the statue will be built, “In the near ime we will discuss it first and socialized this Provincial recommendation as we don’t have any problems knowing that praying place has been there before.” (kmb26)

4

News

Friday, February 11, 2011

International

Thai villagers trickle home after Cambodia clashes Reuters

KANTHARALAK, Thailand – Thai villagers began trickling back to their homes near a disputed stretch of the border with Cambodia on Thursday in a sign of easing tension after deadly clashes over an ancient temple. But both Thai and Cambodian forces remained on alert a day after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the four days of fighting that began last Friday constituted “war”. Both sides have promised maximum restraint and deny beefing-up their forces, but witnesses on the Thai side saw tanks, armored vehicles and fighter jets on the move.

Thailand and Cambodia blame each other for the clashes near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple that killed at least three Thais and eight Cambodians. At least 34 Thais and 55 Cambodians were wounded, according to statements from both sides.

The temple ruins, perched on a cliff overlooking the north Cambodian plain, have been a thorn in the

side of relations between the neighbors since the 1950s. The issue has blown up in recent years partly because of bitter divisions in domestic Thai politics with a pro-establishment “yellow shirt” activist movement whipping up nationalist feelings.

The governor of Thailand’s Si Sa Ket province, Somsak Suvarnsujarit, said several thousand villagers had left temporary shelters and returned home.

“Many of those who come from villages further from the fighting range opted to go back,” Somsak said, adding that in all, about 21,000 villagers had left their homes “Those in the villages right next to the scene of fighting were asked to stay back until it is really safe. For now, the situation remains uncertain and we have not got the all clear from the army.”

In Cambodia’s northern frontier areas, schools and temples have been turned into shelters for several thousand displaced people. The Cambodian and Thai foreign ministers are heading to New York where they are due to present their cases to the U.N. Security Council on Monday.

AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

Anti-government protesters jog along a street as part of their daily exercises after spending the night in front of the Egyptian Parliament in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011.

Strikes in Egypt add to pressure from protests Associated Press Writer

CAIRO – Thousands of workers went on strike Wednesday across Egypt, adding a new dimension to the uprising as public rage turned to the vast wealth President Hosni Mubarak’s family reportedly amassed while close to half the country struggled near the poverty line.

REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Cambodian soldiers walk at the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and Cambodia February 9, 2011. Thailand and Cambodia faced growing diplomatic pressure on Wednesday to end an armed standoff on a stretch of border surrounding the 900-year-old clifftop temple as guns held silent for a second day.

Protests calling for Mubarak’s ouster have been spreading since Tuesday outside of Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where demonstrators have been concentrated for the past two weeks. On Wednesday, protesters also gathered at parliament, the Cabinet and the Health Ministry buildings, all a few blocks from the square, and blocked Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq from his office.

Strikes erupted in a breadth of sectors — among railway and bus

workers, state electricity staff and service technicians at the Suez Canal, in factories manufacturing textiles, steel and beverages and at least one hospital.

In one of the flashpoints of unrest Wednesday, some 8,000 protesters, mainly farmers, set barricades of flaming palm trees in the southern province of Assiut. They blocked the main highway and railway to Cairo to complain of bread shortages. They then drove off the gover-

nor by pelting his van with stones.

Hundreds of slum dwellers in the Suez Canal city of Port Said set fire to part of the governor’s headquarters in anger over lack of housing.

Workers “were motivated to strike when they heard about how many billions the Mubarak family was worth,” said Kamal Abbas, a labor leader. “They said: ‘How much longer should we be silent?’”

Egyptians have been infuriated by newspaper reports that the Mubarak family has amassed billions, and perhaps tens of billions of dollars in wealth while, according to the World Bank, about 40 percent of the country’s 80 million people live below or near the poverty line of $2 a day. The family’s true net worth is not known.

Stalemate over Korea talks after North walkout Reuters

SEOUL – North Korea said it will no longer take part in military talks with Seoul after walking out of a preliminary meeting, state media reported on Thursday, as a stalemate emerged over the starting point for dialogue. The United States, which has nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea, said it was hopeful the rivals could work out their differences and resume talks as soon as possible to reduce tensions on the divided peninsula.

Preliminary military talks between the neighbors broke down on Wednesday over procedural issues, including the agenda for their meeting and the rank of participants that would attend a subsequent senior meeting.

“In a situation where (they) do not wish for improvement of NorthSouth relations and are refusing dialogue itself, our military and people no longer feel the need to be associated with the South,” the KCNA state news agency quoted the lead delegate from the failed talks as saying. Analysts said the breakdown was inevitable as both sides came to the negotiating table with different issues, and noted that the walkout follows a similar pattern to past sputtering inter-Korean dialogue.

Colonels from the two Koreas met at their heavily fortified border for their first meeting since the North’s attack on the southern island of Yeonpyeong in November, which killed four people.

But the North’s delegates abruptly walked out of the meeting on the second day. South Korean media reported the process will now return to the drawing board, with both sides likely to exchange statements leading to a resumption of talks.

Seoul said its offer for senior-level military talks still stood, but on the condition the North “takes responsible steps” regarding attacks that killed 50 South Koreans last year. Reports said the North Korean delegates stood by their stance that Pyongyang had nothing to do with the sinking of the South’s Cheonan warship in March and that it shelled Yeonpyeong out of self-defense.

The North also insisted that discussions about the attacks should be taken up at the senior level, South Korean media reported. Tensions have eased on the peninsula since the start of the year, with both sides calling for dialogue, raising hopes the neighbors could rebuild relations shattered over the past two years by a series of deadly attacks and failed nuclear talks.

In this photo released by the Defense Ministry, North Korean Army Col. Ri Sun Gyun, left, arrives with other North Korean delegates for a military meeting between the Koreas, at the south side of the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas since the Korean War, north of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011.

AP Photo/Defense Ministry

International

Activities

Friday, February 11, 2011

5

Dava “reinventing” itself with New Chef de Cuisine IBP

JIMBARAN - Dava restaurant, the signature dining venue at Ayana Resort and Spa Bali, has “reinvented” itself as an “innovative steak and seafood restaurant by John Nash” following the appointment of the new Chef de Cuisine.

Previously based in Doha, Qatar, where he was Chef de Cuisine at The Ritz-Carlton’s La Mer fine dining French restaurant, John said he was inspired to join AYANA because of the resort’s successful rebranding and the opportunity for creative freedom at Dava.

One of his first responsibilities will be the Valentine’s Day Dinner at Dava (6-courses, Rp2,800,000++ per couple including 1 glass each of Moet et Chandon).

“Bali already has a multitude of fantastic restaurants specializing in various cuisines, and I wanted to do something completely different,” said the American, who has worked in several Michelinstar restaurants in Japan.

“My menu draws on the concept of a classic steakhouse offering the six best cuts of meats paired with the guest’s choice of gourmet sauces and sides. But we’ve taken it upscale with a mod-

ern twist, featuring seafood dishes, small touches of molecular gastronomy in the mushroom gelee and horseradish espuma for example, use of local flavors and ingredients, and a larger selection of meats than a traditional steakhouse.”

All meats and seafood are prepared using the sous-vide (French for ‘under vacuum’) technique preferred by the world’s best chefs – perhaps most famously, Paul Bocuse, Michael Mina and Joel Robuchon. Sous-vide maintains the integrity of the ingredients and ensures even, slow cooking for full flavor, by sealing the meat or seafood in an airtight plastic bag in a water bath and cooking it at low temperatures for many hours. At Dava, the Braised Short Ribs are cooked for more than 24 hours, while the Angus Beef Fillet is cooked for two hours.

John has also created a new Tasting Menu for more adventurous guests, offering the choice of 3, 4 or 5 courses. “This is my play area, where I get to do the really fun things,” said John, who first got into cooking while working at a ski resort. Then 17, he was on banquet set-up, but decided he “wanted to wear a tall, white hat. Now I never wear a hat, it falls off going in and out of coolers and is very inconvenient.”

Temple Ceremony Calendar Event for February 1 through March 2, 2011 1 February AnggarKasih Tambir Dalem Puri Temple in Batuan - Sukawati Dalem Kediri Silakarang in Silakarang Singapadu - Gianyar Dalem Temple in Sukawati Village - Gianyar Dalem Temple in Singakerta Village - Ubud Gianyar Dalem Lemben in Ketewel - Sukawati Gianyar Paibon Pasek Tangkas in Peliatan - Ubud Puseh ngukuhin in Keramas - Gianyar Pemerajan Agung Ki Telabah in Tuakilang Tabanan Karang Buncing in Blahbatuh - Gianyar Dalem Bubunan in Seririt - Buleleng Desa Badung Temple in Denpasar Merajan Pasek Gelgel Gobleg in Turupinghe Banjar - Buleleng Luwur Pedengenan Bedha in Bongan Tabanan Merajan Dukuh Sebudi in Keramas - Gianyar Merajan Pasek Ngukuhin in Keramas - Gianyar Pucak Payongan in Kedewatan - Ubud Gianyar Tanah Kilap “ Griya Anyar” in Suwung Kawuh - Denpasar Selatan Selukat Temple in Keramas - Blahbatuh Gianyar Dalem Tampuagan in tembuku - Bangli Dalem Waturenggong in Desa Taro - Gianyar Dalem Bentuyung in Ubud - Gianyar Puseh Temple in Ubud - Gianyar Dalem Temple Peliatan Ubud - Gianyar 2 February Buda Umanis Tambir, Tilem Kawulu Sari Bankar Titih Kapal - Badung Ulun Kulkul (Aci Sarin Tahun) Besakih Karangasem Dalem Yang Taluh Sidemen Karangasem

Dalem Kangin Sidemen - Karangasem.

16 February Buda Keliwon Matal Puseh & Desa Temple Sukawati Village - Gianyar Merajan Agung Batuyang - batubulan Pasek Gelgel Bebetin Sawan - Buleleng Maspahit Temple Sesetan - South Denpasar Pasek Bendesa Manik Mas Dukuh Kendran Tegalalang Panti Pasek Gaduh Sesetan - South Denpasar Merajan Pasek Kubayan Wangaya Gede Pedarman Arya Kanuruhan Besakih Karangasem 17 February Purnama Kesanga Penataran sasih Temple Pejeng - Gianyar Bukit Mentik Gunung Lebah Batur Village Kintamani - bangli 26 February Tumpek Kandang Day Puseh Temple Gianyar City Luhur Dalem Sagening Kediri - Tabanan Merajan Pasek Gelge Tegal Gede - Badung 2 March Buda Wage Menail Dalem Tarukan LinggihCemenggaon Sukawati Gianyar Pasek Dangke Bambang - Bangli Penataran Dalem Ketut Pejeng Pejeng Kaja Gianyar Puseh Menakaji Peninjoan - Bangli Merajan Agung Blangsinga Blahbatuh - Gianyar Kawitan Gusti Agung Blangsinga Blahbatuh Gianyar Kawitan Gusti Celuk Celuk - Sukawati - Gianyar Baler Sada Temple Banjar Pemebatan, Kapal Mengwi

Balinese Temple Ceremony EVERY Temple and Shrine has a special date for it annual Ceremony, or “ Odalan “, every 210 days according to Balinese calendar, including the smaller ancestral shrine which each family possesses. Because of this practically every few days a ceremony of festival of some kind takes place in some Village in Bali. There are also times when the entire island celebrated the same Holiday, such as at Galungan, Kuningan, Nyepi day, Saraswati day, Tumpek Landep day, Pagerwesi day, Tumpek Wayang day etc.

The dedication or inauguration day of a Temple is considered its birth day and celebration always takes place on the same day if the wuku or 210 day calendar is used. When new moon is used then the celebration always happens on new moon or full moon. The day of course can differ the religious celebration of a temple lasts at least one full day with some temple celebrating for three days while the celebration of Besakih temple, the Mother Temple, is never less than 7 days and most of the time it lasts for 11 days, depending on the importance of the occasion.

The celebration is very colorful. The shrine are dressed with pieces of cloths and sometimes with brocade, sailings, decorations of carved wood and sometimes painted with gold and Chinese coins, very beautifully arranged, are hung in the four corners of the shrine. In front of shrine are placed red, white or black umbrellas depending which Gods are worshipped in the shrines.

In front of important shrine one sees, besides these umbrellas soars, tridents and other weapons, the “umbul-umbul”, long flags, all these are prerogatives or attributes of Holiness. In front of the Temple gate put up “Penjor”, long bamboo poles, decorated beautifully ornaments of young coconut leaves, rice and other products of the land. Most beautiful to see are the girls in their colorful attire, carrying offerings, arrangements of all kinds fruits and colored cakes, to the Temple. Every visitor admires the grace with which the carry their load on their heads.

6

Friday, February 11, 2011

News Deaf dog gets sign language training Reuters

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – A dog who couldn’t hear has learned some sign language thanks to inmates at a U.S. prison and children at a school for the deaf. Inmates at a Missouri prison trained the deaf dachshund named Sparky in sign language and then asked the Missouri School for the Deaf in Fulton to take him in.

Today, Sparky is right at home with the school’s youngsters, who have taught him additional sign language.

And a second deaf dog, a Boston Terrier named Petie, may be on his way to the school soon. Superintendent Barbara Garrison approved bringing Sparky to the school.

“She really thought it would be a great learning experience for the kids,” Garrison’s secretary Barbara McGrath said in an interview.

Sparky came from the South Central Correctional Center in Licking, Missouri, which has also offered Petie.

Garrison is interested in taking in Petie but only if she knows it can eventually be placed in a permanent home after some sign language training, McGrath said.

Sparky responds to hand signals to sit, heel, lie down, and stop and is working on additional signs that mean “food” or “outside.”

Sparky and Petie come from the Puppies for Parole program of the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Pa. gas...

From page 1

AFP PHOTO/BELGA/BRUNO FAHY

Outgoing Belgian Minister of Finance and of Institutional Reforms Didier Reynders talks to press as he arrives for a meeting in Brussels, on February 9, 2011.

In all, 500 to 600 people were evacuated, including elderly residents of a high rise. Residents were allowed to return home early Thursday. They had been taken to a Jewish community center and an agricultural hall at the city’s fairgrounds while emergency crews worked overnight.

The blast was so powerful that it sent a flat-screen computer monitor sailing into the back of Antonio Arroyo, whose house was on the opposite end of the row from the house that exploded. “I thought we were under attack,” he recalled from a shelter where some 250 people took refuge in the hours after the blast.

Arroyo and his wife, Jill, both 43, lost their home in the fire. Antonio said he ran outside and saw that an entire house had been leveled, a fireball now raging in the spot where it once stood.

“What I saw, I couldn’t believe,” said Arroyo, a community volunteer.

He and his wife, a nurse, fled their

Can sex, shaving boycotts save Belgium?

‘Schoolboy’...

Agence France Presse

From page 1

GHENT, Belgium – No sex here please! As Belgium hits eight months without a government this week, a boycott on sex is being suggested as a way out of the nation’s longest political impasse. “When a situation’s dire and nothing’s moving, either you become a cynic or you react with humour,” said Marleen Temmerman, the Belgian senator and gynaecologist who threw up the notion.

Speaking in her Ghent office, Temmerman said her call for “no more sex until a new administration” dates back to a trip to Kenya last month where she got wind of another novel bid to break the deadlock — a boycott on shaving.

That was from Belgian actor Benoit Poelvoorde, star of early 1990s mockumentary “Man Bites Dog” and recent movie “Coco After Chanel.”

“Let’s keep our beards until Belgium rises again,” he urged on Belgian TV. Temmerman said “the men loved it and that was when Kenyan women reminded us about their sex strike” in 2009 to demand a political solution.

“Within a month a deal was done there.”

Colombian women likewise in 2006 staged a strike “of crossed

legs” to press gangsters to give up their guns. And in ancient Greece, Aristophanes’ play Lysistrata sees women boycotting the marital bed to end the Peloponnesian war. In Belgium, feuding politicians from the Dutch-speaking north and the francophone south have been squabbling to strike a coalition government deal ever since elections last June 13 failed to produce an outright majority.

As fears mount of a lasting divorce between the two language communities, the figurehead sovereign, King Albert II, has named a succession of special envoys to bridge the divide, but all efforts have floundered. “People are growing increasingly angry,” said Temmerman. “We had to act.”

Current go-between, caretaker finance minister Didier Reynders,

is due to end a mediation mission next week amid public anger and fears for Belgium’s economic future if no solution is found. The gynaecologist, also involved in health projects in Africa, said she has been flooded with positive calls and e-mails over the sex ban.

Asked for response in a busy Belgian shopping mall, Florence Willems said: “Why not? We may as well! We don’t know what else to do to get a government.” With policy at a dead end and projects put on hold as a caretaker government deals with daily business, citizens have taken initiatives but see no response.

“Despite all these often novel forms of pressure, a solution seems a long way off,” said political scientist Pascal Delwit in the daily Le Soir.

Most of the violence is concentrated in the northwest, where Washington has branded the lawless tribal belt snaking along the border with Afghanistan the global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and the most dangerous place on Earth.

A suicide attack at the same army base in Mardan killed at least 42 soldiers in 2006 and another attack nearby killed 13 people in 2008. Pakistan is under pressure to eliminate militant sanctuaries to help US efforts to win the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and defeat Al-Qaeda. But attacks on police and soldiers have spiked since the start of a fresh offensive in the tribal district of Mohmand, where the United Nations has said around 25,000 people have fled the fighting.

Mardan is around 50 kilometres east of Mohmand. “We proudly claim this suicide attack,” Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location. “We will continue such attacks on those people who are providing security to the Americans.

These attacks are to avenge the drone attacks and military operations in the tribal areas.” Relations between Pakistan and the United States have sunk to

home with only the clothes on their back. They planned to return at daylight to see what they could salvage.

Jill Arroyo broke down sobbing when she recalled her son’s athletic memorabilia — likely lost in the blaze — including DVDs of his high school football games. “The DVDs are gone. All his trophies are gone. All gone,” she sobbed as her husband comforted her.

Tricia Aleski, who lives a few blocks away, said the explosion jangled her nerves. “I was reading a book in the living room and it felt like a giant kicked the house. It all shook. Everything shook,” she said. “I checked the stove and everything, (to) make sure everything’s off.”

Jason Soke was watching college basketball when he heard and felt the explosion. It rattled his windows. He went to the third floor and looked out and saw flames and smoke. “Your senses kind of get stunned,” he said.

“It puts you on edge.”

a new low since a US official shot dead two men in the eastern city of Lahore last month, and was taken into Pakistani custody under investigation for double murder.

Raymond Davis said he acted in self-defence, fearing the men were about to rob him. Washington says he has diplomatic immunity and should be released immediately. Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik has confirmed the American had a diplomatic passport, but the government says the matter stands with the courts, where lawyers argue that diplomatic immunity be waived in the case of grave crimes. The military announced separately Thursday it had successfully test fired a cruise missile capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads.

The Hatf 7 (Babur) had a range of 600 kilometres (375 miles), and could carry conventional and other warheads, it said.

Pakistan and its chief rival India, which have fought three wars, two of them over the disputed territory of Kashmir, have routinely carried out missile tests since both demonstrated nuclear weapons capability in 1998.

International

Indonesia Today

Friday, February 11, 2011

7

Indonesia to boost rice stocks amid global food fears Reuters

JAKARTA – Indonesia ordered hefty rice imports on Wednesday to boost stocks by a third in the latest sign that governments concerned about rising food prices and dwindling supplies are rushing into the market and could drive inflation even higher.

AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD

Supporters of Indonesian radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir display his portrait outside the Jakarta court on February 10, 2011.

Bashir terrorism trial opens in Indonesia Agence France-Presse

JAKARTA – The terrorism trial of a Muslim cleric who regularly praises Al-Qaeda’s brand of global jihad opened in Indonesia Thursday amid high security and a surge in sectarian violence that has left three dead.

Hardline supporters of 72-yearold radical preacher Abu Bakar Bashir surrounded the south Jakarta court as hundreds of heavily armed police stood by to prevent further outbreaks of mob violence that have shaken Indonesia this week.

The world’s most populous Muslim-majority country — often praised for its pluralism and tolerance — is still in shock after the gruesome lynching of three members of a minority Islamic sect by an enraged Muslim mob on Sunday.

Two days later another mob of Islamic extremists launched an antiChristian rampage through the streets of Temanggung, also on the main island of Java, in some of the worst religious violence the country has seen for years.

Wearing his customary white

robes and religious garb, a grinning Bashir entered the courtroom to chants of “jihad” (holy war) and “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest) from his followers.

“I’m fine. Prophet Mohammed was also like me,” he told reporters. The trial was quickly adjourned until Monday after the bespectacled cleric’s defence team complained that he had not been given the minimum three-days notice to appear in court.

It was a low-key start to what is the biggest test of Indonesia’s antiterrorism laws since the convictions and executions of three Islamic extremists over the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed more than 200 people.

If convicted Bashir could also face the death penalty. He claims he is being framed by the US government.

“Abu Bakar Bashir planned and mobilised other people to break Indonesian law by providing firearms, munitions, explosive materials and other dangerous materials to be used to carry out an act of terrorism,” the indictment says, ac-

cording to a copy obtained by AFP. A senior ideologue for the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network blamed for the Bali attacks, Bashir served almost 26 months for conspiracy over the bombings before being freed in 2006 and subsequently cleared of any involvement.

Prosecutors have also unsuccessfully charged him with involvement in the bombings of churches across Indonesia in 2000 and the Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2003.

The frail but pugnacious cleric denies committing terrorism himself but regularly preaches in praise of Al-Qaeda-style global jihad, and is seen as a hero by many in the radical Islamist movement across the region.

After his release from jail he set up a new group, Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid, to work for the creation of an Islamic state spanning much of Southeast Asia.

Police say senior figures in the organisation provided support to a militant group that was training to carry out Mumbai-style attacks on Western targets and political figures.

Global food prices have climbed to record highs on shrinking supplies of wheat, corn, soybean and oilseeds. While rice has been less of a worry thanks to ample supplies in the top two exporters, Thailand and Vietnam, traders said other Asian governments may soon seek to boost rice stocks too. Adding to gathering nervousness among governments over food supplies, China plans subsidies to boost grain output this year, state radio said in a report on its website.

The impact of Cyclone Yasi in Australia has exacerbated food worries. The chairman of Australia’s main sugar industry group Canegrowers said up to a quarter of the sugar cane crop in the state of Queensland may have been lost.

“Given there has been such a wide area of impact from this cyclone, we are looking at losses on the outer edges of 5 to 10 percent and close to the center of the cyclone up to 50 percent of the crop could be lost,” Alf Cristaudo told Reuters in an interview.

The latest monthly grains report from the U.S. government threatened to further stoke concerns over crops being increasingly used for fuel. The U.S. Department of Agriculture slashed its forecast for corn stockpiles 9 percent, projecting the tightest supply since the Great Depression as a record amount of the crop is used to make ethanol.

Problems with Australia’s wheat crop as well as lingering effects of last summer’s drought

in the Black Sea region have boosted the role of the United States on the export market.

In January, global food prices tracked by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization hit their highest level on record. The FAO said last week its Food Price Index rose for the seventh month in a row to reach 231 in January, the highest level since records began in 1990.

The rising prices have raised concerns over inflation, protectionism and social unrest, factors behind the 2008 food crisis, and prodded the G20 to promise action.

Indonesia’s government met to discuss food security on Wednesday. Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa asked state procurement agency Bulog to secure imports to gradually boost rice stockpiles to 2 million tonnes from the current 1.5 million tonnes, underlining fears shortages could cause price spikes. Traders said other governments may also look to increase stocks despite ample supplies in Thailand and Vietnam.

“Rising supply from the world’s top two exporters is likely to weigh prices down. However, there could be steady demand from traditional buyers such as the Middle East, African countries and demand elsewhere in Asia that could help support prices,” said Kiattisak Kallayasirivat of trading firm Novel Agritrade.

Indonesia surprised markets last month by buying nearly five times as much rice as expected, then suspended rice import duties, signaling it could look to stockpile more.

Indonesians fired up by soaring chili prices Associated Press

JAKARTA – In spice-crazed Indonesia, a meal without fresh chilies is almost unthinkable.

But prices have soared as much as 10-fold in recent months — some say because of climate change — driving up inflation and pulling everyone from housewives to the president into the debate.

Grow your own, some say. Or what about using bottled hot sauces instead?

With unusually heavy rainfalls decimating crops, the country’s most

popular ingredient is hovering at between $10 to $11 per kilogram — making it more expensive than beef.

That’s put a serious dent in wallets — many people in this nation of 237 million earn less than $200 a month — but few are willing to cut back.

“Food is tasteless without sambal!” said Nining, a mother of three, referring to the fiery condiment made of the green and red “lombok” chilies.

Rising global temperatures and wild shifts in weather are hurting palates elsewhere.

In India, not only has there been a drop in tea production but growers point, also, to subtle, unwelcome changes in the flavor of their brews.

In wine-loving France, it’s grapes that are suffering. And in South Korea, where torrential rains have ruined cabbage crops, it’s kimchi.

But the concern of governments — especially in developing countries where food prices account for a bigger portion of the CPI basket — is the effect such hikes have on inflation.

In Indonesia, the consumer price index rose nearly 7 percent in De-

cember, the highest in 20 months and nearly 1 percentage point above the government’s target, largely because of higher food prices — chili topping the list.

The ministers of agriculture and trade responded by asking consumers to lay off the hot peppers for awhile or to simply shift to bottled sauces.

But President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had his own idea: Plant them in your own garden.

For now, food stall vendors in the bustling capital, Jakarta, say they just have to accept a drop in profits.

“All I can do now is be patient, I guess,” said Marliani, serving up a plate of rice with a boiled egg, chili and a handful of fried beans for which she charges 50 cents.

“I can’t raise prices, or I’ll lose my customers.”

And rather than close up shop and head back to her village in Central Java province, she’s resigned to waiting for better days.

At the peak of its price in December, the red and green chili peppers, or “cabai rawit,” jumped nearly 600 percent from $2.20 per kilogram to $15, creating panic nationwide.

8

Internationa

Friday, February 11, 2011

Bali Today Archaeological heritage in Bali

IBP/ist

Maya Hotel, one of the hotel in Ubud, Gianyar Regency.

Three regions deny moratorium policy Bali Post

DENPASAR — The measure of Bali Provincial Government to implement the hotel moratorium policy in three regions namely Badung, Denpasar and Gianyar will not run smoothly. After the government of Badung and Denpasar refused and had the policy reviewed, it is now the turn of Gianyar Regency to express its objection against the halt of accommodation development in the region.

“We in the region have been very selective. If harmful, why should we approve them? Conversely, if they are useful, why not?” said the Regent of Gianyar, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati, on the sidelines of the inauguration of Chairman of HIPMI Bali in Denpasar, Wednesday (Feb 9). The man who was familiarly addressed Cok Ace argued if the hotel development was required, so construction of the tourism facility should continue.

On the way round, if it was not beneficial to society, the government would certainly not approve the investment plan.

“The hotel moratorium plan should be observed again thoroughly since it was only imposed on the three regions, namely Badung, Denpasar and Gianyar,” he said. The policy set forth at the beginning of February 2011, said Cok Ace, enabled many opportunities that could be exploited by investors.

Moreover, criteria of hotel that would be affected by the moratorium policy remained unclear.

“The policy only applies to boutique hotels and starred hotels, right?

Which ones can be categorized into boutique and starred hotels, they still need further classification,” he said.

According to him, the development of tourist accommodation facilities in Gianyar Regency was still required by the community because it provided substantial multiplier effect for local communities.

“It needs further formulation, especially the category of hotels that would be affected by the moratorium. So far, the government of Bali Province only issued the policy on the moratorium of boutique and starred hotel development in the three regions,” he explained.

Cok Ace also added that starred hotels needed a clearer description, whether they were large or small. Today, there were villas but their facilities were similar to a starred hotel. On that account, the policy should be defined with further details.

“As the name of foreign investment implies, investors can do anything to find out a possible opportunity within the rules. Preferably, before applied, it should be formulated first in details,” he added.

Previously, the Denpasar Municipality also requested the provincial government of Bali to review the moratorium policy. The reason, Denpasar Municipality remained to require additional hotel rooms. Every single regency or

municipality in Bali had a different potential. One of them was Denpasar. It had the potential of cultural tourism development that should be supported by accommodation facilities in adequate numbers.

“Denpasar stays to require additional hotel rooms. When the Bali Provincial Government declared a moratorium, of course it will certainly hamper the entry of investors into the hotel sector development especially in Denpasar,” said Head of Denpasar Government Tourism Office, Putu Budiasa.

Over-booking condition happening in Denpasar indicated the demand of hotel rooms in Denpasar surpassed the capacity of existing hotel rooms. On that account, the culture-based city remained to require investment in the hotel room but in a limited scale.

Denpasar Municipality said it would review the moratorium on the construction of new hotels in the area of Denpasar. “We must conduct a study first to get precise data if indeed there have been a surplus hotel rooms in Denpasar area so it will not result in a mass product causing the hotel rates to fall. Additionally, we do not want to offer cheap tourism products in Denpasar,” he added. (par)

Archaeological researches in Bali have found a number of archeological heritages, which belonged to prehistoric and historic remains. Prehistoric remains proved the earliest of the people’s life, started from hunting and food gathering through cultivation up to mastering the advanced technology.

Such remains indicated the struggle and the achievement of the people’s life gradually, after adapting and exploring their environment its natural resources for their life, because the nature was still quite dangerous. On the other hands, the remains also demonstrated the relationship of the prehistoric Balinese people to those who lived in Java, Sumatera etc, even to the South-East Asian people.

The most important of the prehistoric live in Bali is the invention of the metallic technology along with the megalithic tradition. During the advance technology the Balinese people have produced several kinds of bronze goods for ritual purpose such as kettledrums and for daily uses as well such as axes etc. Mastering the advance technology, Balinese people have succeeded to develop stone moulds in the village of Manuaba (Gianyar) for casting bronze kettledrum. The humanmask decoration, showed a remarkable similarities to the decorations of the huge kettledrums found in the village of Pejeng not so far of the east of Manuaba, but the stone moulds of Manuaba are small in its size.

It should be noted here that bronze kettledrums were not only found in Bali, but also in Java, and Eastern Indonesian Island. Another bronze moulds made of clay were also found in West Java, but not for producing kettledrums, but for making spearheads, axes, etc. Regarding the human-mask decorations, which were founds on the kettledrums of Pejeng, on the stone moulds of Manuaba and on the number of the sarcophagi found in Bali, was regarded as symbol of the leader’s or the ancestor’s spirits. The people believed that the spirit, who were abode on the top of the mountain or on the inaccessible place have the magic power for protecting the living society. When Hinduism has spread widely in Indonesia, the people believed to the sacred mountain as the place of the Hindu pantheons and the ancestor’s spirit as well. Based on this conception, then the people built their temples on the mountain area such as as Pura Besakih on the slope of Mount Agung.

Along with the development of the metallic industry, the megalithic tradition increased not only in Bali, but also in Sumatera, Flores etc. Several kinds of megalithic remains were found there namely menhirs, dolmens, menhirstatues, stepped pyramids etc.

It is a matter of facts that the megalithic tradition have strongly influenced the people’s life and it is not surprising any more that living megalithic tradition could be found until to present day in Nias, Toraja, Bali and

Eastern Indonesians Islands. In Bali, the megalithic remains, exe the sarcophagi are regarded as sacred monuments and functioned for worshipping thje Hindu Trinity, the local deities and the ancestor’s spirit (Sutaba 1984).

Researches on the advanced technology and on the megalithic tradition in Bali in particular, have made conclusions that Balinese people have build their social organization headed by the leaders. The well organizations have made favorable conditions for mastering the advance technology. Then the social and cultural development became the solid foundation for facing the new era when Hinduism arrived in Bali (Sutaba, 1930).

Bali have got Hindu-Budhis influences nearly at the 9 century A.D. as Proved by the finding of clay stuphikas and seals beared Budhis formula, near the village of Pejeng, Gianyar. Then a pillar inscription was rediscovered in Blanjong Sanur (Badung) which mentioned the name of the king Kesari Warmadewa. This inscription was originated from c.10 century A.D. Since this period, Hinduism was spread widely in Bali and went deeply into the life of the Balinese people and then survived until today. Having well developed social organization and cultural life before the arrival of Hinduism, have led the Balinese people successfully modified the new elements in accordance with their characters and became the new one beared Balinese identity.

The wellknown king of Bali is a couple royal named king Udayana and his wife Gunapryadharmapati (c.10 century A.D), then succeeded by their families. During the ancient history of Bali, a number of temples were built nearly in the whole island. In these temple several kinds of historical remains were preserved e.g. statues, inscriptions etc. As the follower of Hinduism, Balinese people regard the temples including the remains in them as sacred monuments for worshiping the Hindu pantheons, the local deities and the ancestor’s spirit as well.

This religious function was the responsibility of the Balinese people for keeping the monuments in well conditions and the welfare of the living society.

Based on the evidence found in Bali there were thousand tamples, which then named Bali as “The Island of Thousand Temples” or “The Island of Paradise”. Most of the old temples are located in the village between the two rivers called Pakerisan and Petanu namely the village of Bedulu, Pejengand Tampaksiring (Gianyar). It is remarkable that the temples found here originated from different period, e.g. Pura Goa Gajah, Yeh Pulu relief (Bedulu); Pura Kebo Edan, Pura Pusering Jagat, Pura Penataran Sasih, Pura Ukur-ukuran, rock cut temple Kelebutan (Pejeng); rock cut Gunung Kawi, Pura Megening, Pura Tirtha Empul, Pura Pegulingan etc (Tampaksiring). (BTN/Doc)

al

Friday, February 11, 2011

Balinese Culture

Badung River Water Park Will Commence Denpasar (Bali Post)

The plan to open a water park in Badung River (Tukad Badung) is going to be realized as Denpasar Tourism Agency have planned to launch it during the peak of Denpasar City’s 19th Birthday this month even though the plan responded negatively by the Denpasar House of Representatives.

IBP/file

Tukad Badung River will become one of the tourism attractions in Denpasar and Badung area.

Head of the Agency, I Putu Budiasa, in his office last Wednesday (9/2) stated that the water park will be near Dam Buagan, Pemecutan Klod which planned to be operated on Denpasar’s birthday 27th February.

The preparation has been finalized from equipments, basic facilities to supporting facilities, “It is done and in near time around 19th or 20th February we will launch it.

For this birthday, at least there’s something new as a present to the Denpasar residents.”

To maximize the program, the Agency bought 6 units of water bicycle with duck and seal shapes made from fiberglass. The bike can be used by two people, “The price for one unit is IDR 16 million.”

Besides that, supporting facilities such as parking areal, toilet, first aid, rubbish bins, shop stands, waiting place, water bike parking place and many other also prepared. This water park is made not only just to increase taxes and contributions but also in making people realize to protect their surroundings, “At least they will no longer throw rubbish to the river.” It is mentioned that this is one way for it and a beginning to keep Badung River clean.

Before, Vice Head of Denpasar House of Representatives, A.A. Gde Widiada, criticized this plan as it is not effective with some things still not taken control of like rubbishes also water debits haven’t been stabile. (kmb12)

Tabia lalah manis (Chili In Soy Sauce) INGREDIENTS : 15 bird’s chilies eye ¼ cup sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) ¼ cup thin soy sauce (kecap asin)

PREPARATION : Slice bird’s chilies eyes and mix with the sweet and thin soy sauce. Do not store for any length of time, as this sauce tends to turn soft and sour. (www.baliguide.com/balifood)

Base Be Pasih

(Spice Paste For Seafood) INGREDIENTS: 450 gr large red chilies, seeded & chopped 50 gr cloves garlic, peeled & chopped ½ cup spice paste for seafood 225 gr shallots, peeled and chopped 175 gr fresh turmeric, peeled & chopped 200 gr medium-sized tomato, halved and seeded 100 gr ginger, peeled and chopped 125 gr candlenuts 2 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed 2½ tsp dried shrimp paste (terasi), roasted 150 ml coconut oil 2½ tbsp tamarind pulp 50 ml water ¾ tbsp salt 3 salam leaves 2 stalks lemon grass, bruised PREPARATION: 1. Combine all ingredients except tamarind pulp, salam leaves and lemon grass, salt and water in food processor and grind coarsely.

2. Place ground ingredients in heavy saucepan, add remaining ingredients and simmer over medium heat for approximately 60 minutes or until water is evaporated and marinade changes to golden color.

Cool before using. (www.baliguide.com/balifood)

9

10

Friday, February 11, 2011

Destinations

International

Beratan Lake IBP

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Beratan Lake is a shallow lake with the high caldera about 1231m above sea level and it is located at Bedugul, the famous tourist destinations in Bali. This lake have wide 3,8 km2 and also its deepness is up to 22 meters.

The water volume in this lake is about 0,049 km3, so Beratan Lake is the closed lake. Tourist can access the Beratan Lake through the dock which have been provided or desist around Ulun Danu Beratan Temple. In this place, the visitor can do various activities like doing recreation to look around in dock or do the other outdoor activities. The various water recreation activities can also be conducted here, for example riding the boat motorize to circle the lake, parasailing, canoeing with the traditional boat, banana boating, water skiing, and others. Fishing activities are also available in this places for who one love fishing in the lake.

Beratan Lake is situated in the plateau area with cool atmosphere surround it. It is an ideal place for relaxation while enjoy the beautiful panorama of lake. The accommodations are also available in this area where is the perfect place for overnight stay, resting and enjoy the beautiful panoramic of lake with the Ulun Danu Temple as a magnificence. The small scale of agriculture activities are likely conducted around this lake and can be perceived at the same time circle around it. If we encircle it, we can take photograph with the beautiful background view or make the picture sketch face in painting mini studio at the lakeside with a short time as a souvenir.

Jl. Kepundung 67 A, e-mail: info_ibp@balipost.co.id Jl. Palmerah Barat 21 F

Friday, February 11, 2011

11

BUSINESS Asian stocks slump, dollar subdued after cautious Fed Reuters

SYDNEY – Asian stocks suffered a second session of sharp losses on Thursday, while the dollar struggled to make much headway after the U.S. central bank chief signaled the recovery in the world’s biggest economy was still fragile.

European stocks, however, were expected to open slightly higher, according to financial bookmakers.

Worries about further interest rate hikes in China and whether authorities in emerging Asia can tackle inflation without derailing longer-term growth have prompted investors to lock in profits on some of last year’s best performing markets.

Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.1 percent, while shares elsewhere in Asia slid 1.3 percent, wiping out this year’s gains to reach lows not seen since late December.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.7 percent, South Korea’s KOSPI lost 1.8 percent and Singapore’s Straits Times Index shed 1.2 percent.

Last year’s laggards like the Nikkei, however, remained well in the black for the year as investors rotated into some developed markets from emerging ones.

“It’s not like buying in Japanese stocks has completely stopped, but investors have been looking for a reason to take profits and now they’re cautious about overheating in the market,” said Norikazu Kitta, strategist at Nikko Cordial Securities.

Despite the generally downbeat mood, there were patchy bright spots in the market. Among them, shares in Australian bourse operator ASX jumped 4.7 percent, while Singapore Exchange gained 0.7 percent.

Investors are hoping that merger news between major bourses like the NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse would boost prospects for Singapore Exchange’s $7.9 billion takeover bid for ASX, which is facing political hurdles in Australia.

Rio Tinto put on 0.3 percent ahead of its December half re-

sults. After the Australian market close, the global miner reported a record second-half profit that more than doubled from a year earlier.

Investors, however, pushed SingTel shares down 1.6 percent after the telecom company unveiled a 2.2 percent fall in quarterly profit.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which tracks the greenback’s performance against a basket of major currencies, edged up 0.2 percent to 77.786 after a steep decline overnight.

Many traders still think the dollar is in a holding pattern for the near term as the euro was also lacking upward momentum of its own after the European Central Bank last week quelled expectations of an early rate hike.

The euro traded at $1.3690, retreating from a one-week high around $1.3744 set a day earlier.

“It’s difficult for now for the euro to rise above the peak hit earlier this month. It will need a fresh factor to go beyond that peak,” said Keiji Matsumoto, a strategist at Nikko Cordial Securities.

Also under pressure, the Australian dollar hit one-week lows at $1.0074 even after another solid jobs report as investors bet the numbers were not strong enough to make a rate rise more likely anytime soon.

U.S. crude futures drifted up 0.2 percent to $86.87 a barrel, and Brent crude rose above $102, supported by ongoing tension in Egypt and tighter North Sea supplies.

Gold edged down to $1,361.30 an ounce, well off a lifetime high around $1,430 hit in December, while copper, which hit an alltime high of $10,160 per tonne on Monday, traded at $9,970.

Bernanke talk on jobs, prices weigh on dollar Associated Press

NEW YORK – The dollar lost ground Wednesday after a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested that the central bank will keep interest rates at record lows and continue its $600 billion bond purchases.

The Fed chief said U.S. inflation remained tame, while the job market has improved but remains stressed, with a “more normal” level of unemployment still several years away. The government said on Friday that January unemployment fell to 9 percent.

The euro rose to $1.3724 late Wednesday from $1.3627 Tuesday.

Bernanke’s speech “further reinforces the market’s view that the Fed will not be hiking interest rates this year,” said Michael Woolfolk, a currency strategist with Bank of New York Mellon in New York.

Lower interest rates tend to weigh on a currency, as they make it less attractive to investors seeking higher returns on their bets. The euro has risen in 2011 as rising prices in Europe have triggered some hopes that the European Central Bank may raise rates sooner than the Fed. Earlier this month, however, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said that in the long term, infla-

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP

Job seekers wait in line to fill out applications for employment during a job fair for San Francisco Bay Area grocery store chain Mollie Stone’s Market on February 9, 2011 in San Francisco, California. The dollar lost ground Wednesday after a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested that the central bank will keep interest rates at record lows and continue its $600 billion bond purchases. tion would likely “remain contained,” tamping down some hopes of a rate boost from the ECB. Investor expectations that European officials are bolstering their plans to combat Europe’s debt crisis have also helped the euro bounce back this year from a monthslong decline against the dollar.

In other trading Wednesday, the British pound rose to $1.6098 from $1.6057, while the dollar edged up to 82.39 Japanese yen from 82.38 yen.

The dollar dipped to 99.47 Canadian cents from 99.60 Canadian cents, and rose to 0.9577 Swiss franc from 0.9634 Swiss franc.

Mortgage default notices slow sharply in January Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – Fewer U.S. homes entered the foreclosure process in January than in any month in more than three years, the latest sign lenders are taking longer to move against homeowners who have fallen behind on mortgage payments.

The number of homes that received an initial default notice fell 1 percent last month from December and tumbled 27 percent from January last year, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

Scheduled foreclosure auctions also fell to the lowest level in two years, the firm said.

The delays stem partly from foreclosure paperwork problems that came to light last fall, leading many lenders to revisit thousands of foreclosure cases, especially in states such as Florida that require foreclosures to be approved by a judge.

Some lenders that put foreclosure actions on hold temporarily last year have since resumed, but at a more measured pace, causing a decline in the foreclosure-related notices sent to households last month. Banks also have been letting borrowers who have missed payments stay in their homes longer so they can delay adding to their backlog of bad loans.

“We are still seeing the lingering after-effects of the documentation issues that plagued lenders through the

last quarter of 2010,” said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac. “In some cases . courts are being more demanding and more particular about what they’ll even allow to go into foreclosure.”

In Florida, the number of homes receiving a foreclosure-related warning last month dropped nearly 16 percent from December and about 54 percent from the same month last year.

Even with the sharp decline, Florida still had the second-highest number of homes in some stage of foreclosure, RealtyTrac said.

While lenders are taking longer to move homes into the initial stage of the foreclosure process, they stepped up home repossessions in January.

Banks took back 78,133 properties last month, an increase of 12 percent from December, RealtyTrac said. The January total was down 11 percent from a year earlier, however.

Homeowners in states where judges play a role in the foreclosure process were less likely to see their homes repossessed last month. In those states, repossessions declined 7 percent from December and 16 percent from a year earlier.

Elsewhere, repossessions surged 12 percent between December and January, although they were down 9 percent versus the same month last year.

Banks took back more than 1 million homes last year. Despite the

slowdown in the foreclosure process, lenders are still poised to repossess more homes this year than any other since the U.S. housing meltdown began in 2006.

About 5 million borrowers are at least two months behind on their mortgages.

And many of the factors that have contributed to the foreclosure crisis are also likely to continue driving foreclosures, including high unemployment, a weak housing market, flat-to-falling home values and tighter lending standards making it tougher for buyers to qualify for financing.

In all, some 261,333 properties received a foreclosure-related notice in January, up 1 percent from December and down 17 percent from a year earlier. That translates to one in every 497 U.S. households.

The firm tracks notices for defaults, scheduled home auctions and home repossessions — warnings that can lead up to a home eventually being lost to foreclosure.

At a state level, Nevada registered the highest foreclosure rate in the nation last month, with one in every 93 households receiving a foreclosure notice. That’s more than five times the national average.

Arizona posted the second-highest foreclosure rate, thanks in part to a 54 percent monthly spike in home repossessions. While California ranked third, with one in every 200 households receiving a foreclosure notice.

12

Friday, February 11, 2011

Entertainment

International

Meryl Streep takes on Thatcher role Agence France Presse

LONDON – Oscar winner Meryl Streep has undergone a dramatic transformation for her role as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in a forthcoming biopic about her life called “The Iron Lady.” Streep has adopted Thatcher’s trademark bouffant hairstyle, ruby-red lipstick and pearl earrings for her part in the film about Britain’s longest continuously serving premier of the 20th century.

AP Photo/Alex Bailey, Pathe Productions, pa

In this undated image made available in London, Tuesday Feb. 8, 2011, by Pathe Productions, twotime Oscar winning actress Meryl Streep is transformed for her role as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher .

“The prospect of exploring the swathe cut through history by this remarkable woman is a daunting and exciting challenge,” said Streep, in a statement from the film’s producers. “I am trying to approach the role with as much zeal, fervour and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses — I can only hope my stamina will begin to approach her own.”

The movie, due for release later this year, reunites Streep, 61, with “Mamma Mia!” director Phyllida Lloyd and also stars veteran British actor Jim Broadbent as Thatcher’s husband Denis. Other members of the cast include Richard E. Grant and comedian John Sessions.

The script for the film, which began shooting at the end of January, covers a broad sweep of Thatcher’s career. Pathe, which is producing the movie with Film4 and the UK Film Council, said it is about “a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world.” Thatcher, whose nickname gives the film its title, is the only woman ever to be British prime minister.

At the head of Conservative governments from 1979 to 1990, she oversaw a transformation of the British economy but crushed the trade unions and took Britain into a brief war to retake the Falkland Islands from Argentinian forces.

The increasingly frail ex-leader, who is now 85, has suffered a series of minor strokes since leaving office and was told by doctors to quit public speaking in 2002. She spent two weeks in hospital late last year after being admitted with flu.

Judge tells Lohan she’s no star in his courtroom Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES – Lindsay Lohan walked into a courtroom to face a felony grand theft charge looking like a million dollars, only to be told by a judge she was no different than anyone else. Lohan’s arraignment on a charge that she stole a $2,500 necklace from an upscale jeweler wasn’t the first time a judge threatened to throw the troubled starlet in jail. But it was the first time a judge wielded enough power to keep her locked up for a long time.

“You’re in a different situation now that a felony has been filed,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz said after the actress pleaded not guilty Wednesday. “Everybody else has to follow the law,” Schwartz said, noting that he was giving the actress a tamer version of a lecture he’d delivered to her attorney be-

hind closed doors and away from the dozens of assembled reporters.

“You’re no different than anyone else. So please, don’t push your luck.” Testing the limits — in the courtroom rather than the big screen — has been Lohan’s calling card in recent months. She has arrived late to some hearings on a 2007 drunken driving case, and appeared at one with an expletive painted on her fingernails.

Judges sent her to jail twice last year and twice to rehab as well, but her time in custody was shortened each time by overcrowding and the fact that she was being held on misdemeanor charges and bail had to be set.

During her recent three month stay in rehab at the Betty Ford Clinic, Lohan was accused of battery on a worker. Prosecutors are still considering whether to file charges.

‘True Grit’ spurs Berlin film fest start Agence France Presse

BERLIN – “True Grit”, an Oscar-nominated remake of the classic western, on Thursday kicks off the 61st Berlin film festival, a 10-day extravaganza of glitzy entertainment and explosive political fare. US film-making brothers Joel and Ethan Coen and stars Jeff Bridges and Josh Brolin were expected in the wintry German capital to promote the shoot-em-up’s European launch at the Berlinale, one of global cinema’s top showcases.

The movie, which is up for 10 Academy Awards, is screening out of competition for the festival’s Golden Bear top prize, which jury president Isabella Rossellini will award to one of 16 contenders on February 19. The Berlinale will screen nearly 400 films from 58 countries including 3D pictures from art-house directors such as Wim Wenders and Werner Herzog, while Madonna may drop in to unveil out-takes from a new movie she directed, “W.E”.

“Margin Call”, the feature film debut of US director J.C. Chandor starring Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore and Jeremy Irons and set at an investment bank at the start of the financial crisis, will launch the competition Friday.

British actor Ralph Fiennes, a two-time Oscar nominee, is to unveil his directorial debut,

“Coriolanus”, a retelling of the Shakespeare tragedy about a Roman general who mounts a rebellion against the empire.

However festival director Dieter Kosslick opted for less Hollywood and more Sundance this year, with 20 films from January’s independent movie showcase in Utah due in Berlin, often a key stepping stone to an international cinema run. “Kosslick seems to have placed less of an emphasis on the fame of the directors and actors this year and that’s a mark in his favour,” Lars-Olav Beier, film critic for Der Spiegel magazine, told AFP. “Better to have good films from unknowns than mediocre films with stars.” Iranian film-maker Asghar Farhadi, who won a best director prize for his haunting drama “About Elly” at the 2009 festival,

will be back with “Nader and Simin, A Separation” about an estranged couple reunited by a surprise event.

Farhadi faced a production ban by Iranian authorities while making the film for comments in support of dissident director Jafar Panahi, whom the festival will honour this year. The ban was later lifted. Iranian authorities slapped Panahi, widely known for award-winning films such as “The Circle” and “Offside”, with a six-year jail sentence and a 20-year film-making ban in December.

He was convicted of “propaganda against the system” for making a film about unrest after the disputed re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009. The 50-year-old is free on bail but cannot travel abroad. In keeping with its reputation for political engagement, the Berlinale invited Panahi to serve on its jury and will screen nearly all of his films as a tribute to him in his absence.

The festival will also feature a raft of hard-hitting documentaries including a film about the jailed Russian former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Miley Cyrus sorry about salvia bong hit Reuters

NEW YORK – Last December, Miley Cyrus took the bong hit viewed around the world. Now the “Hannah Montana” star has expressed regret for her dalliance with the psychedelic herb salvia, footage of which leaked online.

“I’m not perfect,” Cyrus recently told Marie Claire magazine. “I made a mistake ... I’m disappointed in myself for disappointing my fans.”

Salvia is a legal drug in most states including California, where she reportedly smoked it. She was

asked, “But do you really think it was a mistake? Obviously college kids your age all over America are smoking bongs with a lot more than salvia in them.”

The Disney star’s response: “But they’re not Miley Cyrus. They’re not role models. So for me it was a bad decision, because of my fans and because of what I stand for.”

Reportedly filmed just five days after her eighteenth birthday, the video of Cyrus’ salvia bong hit features the singer/actress declaring that she was “having a little bit of a bad trip.”

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

Miley Cyrus

Science

International

Friday, February 11, 2011

13

Iconic ‘Guitar Hero’ video game gets the ax Associated Press Writer

FILE - This file screen grab released by Activision shows “Band Hero” a poporiented entry in the “Guitar Hero” series.

Activision Blizzard Inc. said Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011, that it is ending the “Guitar Hero” franchise after a run of more than five years.

NEW YORK – These days, guns are more popular than guitars, at least when it comes to video games. The company behind “Guitar Hero” said Wednesday that it is pulling the plug on one of the most influential video game titles of the new century.

Activision Blizzard Inc., which also produces the “Call of Duty” series, is ending the “Guitar Hero” franchise after a run of more than five years. The move follows Viacom Inc.’s decision in November to sell its money-losing unit behind the “Rock Band” video games. Harmonix was sold to an investment firm for an undisclosed sum.

Harmonix, incidentally, was behind the first “Guitar Hero” game.

Game industry analysts have long lamented the “weakness in the music genre,” as they call it — that is, the inability of game makers to drum up demand for the products after an initial surge in popularity in the mid2000s. Music games are often more expensive than your typical shoot-’emup game because they require guitars, microphones and other musical equipment. While extra songs can be purchased for download, this hasn’t been

enough to keep the games profitable.

Activision’s shares tumbled after the announcement, but investors appear more concerned with the company’s disappointing revenue forecast than the demise of the rocker game. As far as investors go, discontinuing an unprofitable product isn’t the end of the world, even if “Guitar Hero” fans disagree.

“In retrospect it was a $3 billion or more business that everybody needed to buy, so they did, but they only needed to buy it once,” said Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. “It’s much like ‘Wii Fit.’ Once you have it, you don’t need to buy another one.”

“Guitar Hero” was iconic and often praised for getting a generation weaned on video games into music.

But its end after a mere half a decade is a big contrast to other influential video game franchises, such as the 25-

AP Photo/Activision

year-old Mario series from Nintendo.

“Call of Duty” first launched in 2003, two years before “Guitar Hero.”

In a conference call, Activision said its restructuring will mean the loss of about 500 jobs in its Activision Publishing business, which has about 7,000 employees. But the company’s overall work force numbers are not going to

change much because it is hiring people elsewhere.

Activision did better than expected in the fourth quarter, which ended in December, but that already was anticipated.

After all, it launched “Call of Duty: Black Ops” in November. That game, which is mostly set during the Vietnam War, made $1 billion after just six weeks in stores.

Its latest “World of Warcraft” game has also been doing well.

Bobby Kotick, Activision’s CEO, said the company’s big franchises “have larger audience bases than ever before and we continue to see significantly enhanced user activity and engagement for our expanding online communities.”

Drilling may kill Mediterranean ecosystem: WWF Agence France Presse

ROME – A rush to drill in the gasrich Mediterranean may do permanent damage to the sea’s wildlife as it takes at least a millennium for an ecosystem to grow, the World Wildlife Fund warned Wednesday. Drilling in the Mediterranean’s eastern region shared by Turkey, Israel and Egypt, “could cause irreversible dam-

AFP/NASA/File/Nasa

This NASA Terra satelllite image released in 2003 shows a true-color image of the The Nile River Delta.

age” to its biodiversity, said Sergi Tudela, head of WWF’s Mediterranean Fisheries Programme.

The area hosts rare and millenniaold species such as deep-sea sponges, worms, mollusks and cold water corals, and therefore are “particularly fragile and vulnerable to external interference,” he added in a statement.

Once a deep-sea floor has been drilled, “it can take a millennium or more before the unique micro-ecosystem grows again, so the most fragile and valuable species and under-sea areas must be left untouched by gas development.”

The recently discovered Leviathan gas field, 135 kilometres off the Israeli coast, is the world’s biggest deep-water gas discovery in a decade, with an estimated volume of 16 trillion cubic feet of gas. Earlier this year the West Nile Delta gas field was discovered, lying in Egyptian waters 80 kilometres off Alexandria.

The green group called on a handful of Mediterranean countries and the European Union to ban industrial development and drilling in deep-sea areas where the biodiversity is rich.

China blog spotlights missing-child problem Agence France Presse

BEIJING – A Chinese website that helps parents find missing children has become a sensation, shining a light on child abductions and the growing power of Twitter-like Internet services in China. The microblogging site swept into the national spotlight earlier this week when it was used to help reunite a young father with his six-year-old son, who had been missing for three years after being kidnapped.

The emotional reunion of Peng Gaofeng, 30, with his son Peng Wenle, was captured on video and the footage quickly went viral on the Internet. The boy’s identity was still to be confirmed by DNA tests.

Since then, parents of missing children have seized on the site, which

had 170,000 followers as of Thursday. Six more children have been found so far, according to reports.

The microblog was set up in late January on leading portal Sina.com

by Yu Jianrong, a professor of rural issues who has gained a reputation for activism on behalf of China’s downtrodden classes. The blog encourages people to snap pictures of child beggars and orphans and upload them in the hope that parents may see their missing child and track them down.

Abductions and human trafficking have become serious public concerns after a string of revelations, including a shocking 2007 scandal in which thousands were forced into slave labour in brick yards and mines across the nation. Mounting outrage spurred a government crackdown,

which according to state media resulted in thousands of adult and child victims being rescued.

In one recent case, the operator of an unlicensed shelter for disabled people in southwestern China sold at least 70 mentally ill workers to work as slaves in factories across the country. However, there is a widespread public lack of confidence — often expressed on the Internet — in authorities’ willingness to fully address the problem. Some parents searching for children have told state media that their attempts had been routinely thwarted by inertia and indifference from officials and police. One follower of the missing-child blog posted a comment saying it was up to citizens to look out for their own rights, as the government could not be counted on to do so.

AFP/File

File photo shows a Chinese parent holding up playing cards with photos of missing children. The families each paid 600 yuan (US$75) to have their child’s photo placed on the cards, complete with descriptions and personal detail, in Xian, northern China’s Shaanxi province.

14

Sport

Friday, February 11, 2011

International

France coach Blanc level-headed despite success against Brazil Agence France Presse

PARIS – France coach Laurent Blanc sought to cool expectations surrounding his side’s potential after seeing them extend their winning run to five consecutive games with a 1-0 defeat of 10-man Brazil. A goal from star performer Karim Benzema nine minutes into the second half was the difference between the sides at the Stade de France on Wednesday, after Brazil’s Hernanes had been sent off following an ugly high kick on Benzema.

It followed France’s impressive 2-1 win against England in November and suggests that Blanc’s bid to restore Les Bleus to former glories after their World Cup humiliation is firmly on the right track. France have now won their last five games since the shock 1-0 loss at home to Belarus in their Euro 2012 qualifying opener, but Blanc warned that stellar showings in friendly games would ultimately count for nothing.

“Our objective is qualification for Euro 2012 and these wins will bring us no points,” said Blanc, whose side currently top their qualifying group by a point from Belarus.

“But I hope these two matches against England and Brazil will give us more confidence on an individual and collective level. “For what comes ahead, the big qualifying matches, I hope we will be able to draw on this.” Benzema’s goal, a tap-in from Jeremy Menez’s right-wing cross, was reward for a performance full of exuberance from the Real Madrid striker, who has endured a difficult second season in the Spanish capital.

Apparently not trusted by Real coach Jose Mourinho, Benzema slipped further down the club’s pecking order of strikers when Togolese international Emmanuel Adebayor arrived on loan from Manchester City last month. The former Lyon starlet’s showing against Brazil was brimming with panache and neat touches, however, and he said it had been an unforgettable night.

“We all enjoyed it tonight,” said Benzema.

“It’s a great victory against a great team. It’s a real pleasure to play against Brazil. I’ve followed them since I was really young.

“Playing against them was a dream, so to score and then to win at the end makes me very happy.” Brazil had looked confident in possession in the game’s early stages and caused France several moments of unease with their pressing, until the dismissal of Hernanes changed the game.

Mano Menezes, who experienced his first defeat as Brazil coach against Argentina in November, said he had no complaints about the Lazio midfielder’s red card. “The action was quite hard. I’ve not seen it again,” he said.

“For a friendly match it was a bit hard. It wasn’t necessary. It was a mistake by Hernanes. He didn’t see Benzema, who came in quickly.”

Menezes fielded a youthful side containing just three players — Julio Cesar, Dani Alves and skipper Robinho — who featured prominently at the World Cup. They struggled to get back into the game after Benzema’s goal but Menezes insisted that the defeat was not cause to push the panic button and turn to more experienced campaigners.

“I have no doubts about my strategy,” he told the post-match press conference. “Of course you take risks at the beginning. But it would be too easy to call on players like Kaka and Ronaldinho.

“It might resolve certain problems but that’s not what we’re looking for. We’re looking towards the future and in (the) 2014 (World Cup in Brazil) I don’t want to find myself without the right players.

“Matches like this, away from home in front of big crowds, will give the players experience and help them forge a stronger spirit.”

Lampard says England’s future brighter Agence France Presse

COPENHAGEN – Frank Lampard believes England’s future is beginning to look brighter after many of Fabio Capello’s new selections made a big impact in Wednesday’s 2-1 friendly victory over Denmark.

Lampard was named captain for the first time in his international career as he won his 84th cap but it was relative new boys Ashley Young, Darren Bent, Jack Wilshere and Scott Parker who made a real impact in Copenhagen and gave Capello encouragement that his team is finally getting over their World Cup hangover.

Bent scored only his second goal for England in his eighth appearance as he equalised Daniel Agger’s early opener and then Young, only recently converted from winger to striker by Aston Villa, hit the winner in the Parken Stadium - his first ever for England.

Arsenal teenager Wilshere made his

full debut and showed real promise while Parker also made an international return as a second-half substitute and now becomes a trivia question king after winning his fourth cap, each one while he was playing for a different club; Charlton, Chelsea, Newcastle and West Ham. England now go to Cardiff for a Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales next month and Lampard believes spirits should be high.

Lampard said: “I was very proud to lead the team out - it was very nice for me personally. “I have had a lot of caps to get to captain the team for the first team but I am very proud and pleased it ended in a win.

“It was an important win too - with this game you will always have the qualifier in mind next month. We are happy to get the winning habit - it’s been a long time that we have been apart and with a slightly different team I think we have got a good momentum now. “fter going 1-0 down, we showed good character, passed the ball about and won the game.

AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFE

France’s forward Karim Benzema (R) tries to kick the ball past Brazil’s defender David Luis (C) during the friendly football match France versus Brazil on February 9, 2011 at the Stade de France in St Denis, near Paris.

Scots treble sinks Northern Ireland Agence France Presse

DUBLIN – Kenny Miller celebrated being handed the Scotland captaincy by scoring in a 3-0 Nations Cup win against Northern Ireland at Lansdowne Road here on Wednesday. Miller, now with Turkish side Bursaspor, gave the Scots an early lead before James McArthur made it 2-0 before the break, with Kris Commons adding a third goal after half-time.

Both sides were hit by injuries and withdrawals but Craig Levein, the Scotland manager, told Sky Sports: “The most pleasing thing was the way they played as a team.

“All the effort they put in made the game easier, that was what pleased me the most.”

McArthur was a late replacement for Scott Brown, who was injured in the warmup, and Levein added: “It couldn’t have been easy for him. It can’t be easy to come in at the last second and stamp your authority on the game but I thought James did it.”

Northern Ireland manager Nigel

Worthington was heartened ahead of his side’s Euro 2012 qualifiers despite this loss.

“We are disappointed with the defeat but I am looking forward to Serbia and Slovenia,” Worthington said. “The plus factor is you have nine, 10 players to come back in who have a wealth of experience to add to the group. Hopefully they will all be fit.

“Credit to Scotland. They were strong and they were hungry and ran out strong winners.” Miller scored from close range before McArthur’s cross found the top corner, with Commons making it 3-0 after a fine pass from Steven Naismith.

The Nations Cup is a four-team tournament also featuring the Republic of Ireland, who beat Wales 3-0 in the inaugural match here on Tuesday.

The new tournament is a league format, with all six matches being staged at Lansdowne Road (the rest will take place in May). It is envisaged all future editions will be held in the one country on a rotational basis.

Sport

International

Friday, February 11, 2011

15

French president to promote Annecy Olympic bid Associated Press Writer

ANNECY, France – French President Nicolas Sarkozy will travel to Annecy on Friday to meet with the IOC evaluation commission inspecting the Alpine city’s proposed venues for the 2018 Winter Games.

Sarkozy will meet with the commission members in Annecy following a trip to the Haute Savoie region to discuss the economy, his office said Wednesday.

Annecy is the first stop on the commission’s tour, which will continue with visits to the other candidate cities, Pyeongchang in South Korea, and Munich, Germany. The panel, chaired by IOC member Gunilla Lindberg of Sweden, started its work on Wednesday with meetings with Annecy officials.

Several topics including the bid’s legacy, the Games’ concept, the venues, the Olympic villages, accommodation, transport and environment were on the agenda. According to the IOC’s rules, the 11 members of the commission are not allowed to speak with media during their visit and will only deliver their impressions during Saturday’s closing press conference.

Secretary of state for tourism Frederic Lefebvre said after the meet-

ings that the commission members wanted to make sure the accommodations would be of high quality, describing this as “very important for the success of Olympic Games.” “They wanted proofs that what is written in our bid book regarding services, accommodation and catering is what we are going to deliver,” Lefebvre said.

“And we gave them guarantees.”

Annecy officials are adamant they have the capacity to welcome fans and others in all categories of hotels. However, Annecy’s bid book contains 530 hotels, which could be seen as a major handicap by the commission, with the IOC likely to favor more concentrated projects.

“We are aware of this and we will need to optimize our transportation system,” said Barbara Martins-Niot, the accommodation expert for the Annecy bid.

Annecy officials said about 240,000 hotel rooms would be available during the Games and that “95 percent of the rooms are already available for the IOC, and 89 percent for other groups.”

Evaluation commission members are set to start their inspection on Thursday with visits of the snowboard, freestyle, cross-country and Nordic skiing venues in La Clusaz, Le Grand Bornand and Semnoz.

AP Photo/George Frey

Top seeds Verdasco, Monfils advance at San Jose Agence France Presse

SAN JOSE, California – Top seed and defending champion Fernando Verdasco of Spain and French second seed Gael Monfils breezed into the second round of 600,000-dollar SAP Open ATP hardcourt tournament.

Verdasco rolled over US wild card Rajeev Ram 6-3, 6-2 in 61 minutes to book a second-round match Thursday against Croatian Ivo Karlovic, who smashed 19 aces in defeating American Ryan Sweeting 6-4, 6-4.

Monfils, who has never won an ATP event outside Europe, defeated US wild card Bradley Klahn 6-3, 6-2 to book a second-round date with American Robert Kendrick, who earlier eliminated Russia’s Igor Kunitsyn 7-5, 3-6, 64. Lithuania’s Richard Berankis

won the final five games to outlast American Donald Young 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 and become the event’s first quarter-finalist.

Young, a 21-year-old US southpaw ranked 146th in the world, led 5-2 in the third set and served for the match in the ninth game but surrendered the last of his six double faults and was eventually broken.

Berankis, a 20-year-old who is down one spot from his career-best ranking of 73rd set last week, broke again for a 6-5 edge and held to finish off Young after two hours and 23 minutes.

Berankis will next face Canada’s Milos Raonic, who ousted US veteran James Blake 6-2, 7-6 (7/4).

Last year at San Jose, Berankis came through qualifying to become the first Lithuanian to reach an ATP quarter-final before falling to Verdasco.

AP Photo/George Nikitin

Fernando Verdasco, of Spain, watches his shot on the run against Rajeev Ram, of the United States, during the first round of the SAP Open tennis tournament, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011, in San Jose, Calif.

Verdasco beat Ram 6-3, 6-2.

Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose, looses control of the ball as the Utah Jazz’s Derron Williams, left, and C.J. Milles defend during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Salt Lake City, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. The Bulls beat the Jazz 91-86.

Rose scores 29 to lift Bulls over Jazz Associated Press Writer

SALT LAKE CITY – All the attention was focused on Carlos Boozer as handmade signs shouted “Whozer?” and boos rained down on the former Utah Jazz All-Star forward. When it counted most, two other former Jazz players came up big for the Chicago Bulls in Wednesday night’s 9186 victory over Utah. “It felt good to hit a big shot,” said Kyle Korver, who hit a 3-pointer with 2:17 remaining to give the Bulls an 87-83 lead.

Bulls teammate Ronnie Brewer, who was drafted by Utah in 2006, stole the ball from Jazz point guard Deron Willliams with 7.9 seconds left and sank a pair of free throws to seal the victory. Boozer also had a steal late, but overall had a rough time in his return to Utah. He had a number of his shots blocked and finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

“It was a little bit of everything,” Boozer said of the nasty reception he received. “I’m just happy we won. We had two losses in a row. It was a grind-out game that we didn’t have a good rhythm for but we just kept fighting, playing hard. Sometimes when you keep grinding, things go your way a little bit.”

Derrick Rose scored 29 points for Chicago. He also had seven assists and three rebounds, and a steal

with 1:05 remaining that gave Chicago control of the game. “He’s been playing like that the whole season,” Boozer said of Rose. “It’s why we keep chanting his name for MVP because he’s been phenomenal all year.” Al Jefferson led the Jazz with 28 points, while Paul Millsap added 20 points and 14 rebounds. “We were there,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. “We just couldn’t close the door.” Sloan kept reporters waiting more than half an hour after the game as he met with his assistants and general manager Kevin O’Connor. And the Jazz announced that Thursday’s practice had been abruptly canceled.

After a 15-5 start, the Jazz are now 31-23 and have dropped three straight at home. Asked if it was time for a shake-up, Sloan hedged.

“I don’t think there’s any great

need for panic,” he said, before adding that his general manager is always evaluating players and moves the team can make. “We’re not looking to trade anybody. We’re looking to make our team hopefully better on the floor.” It didn’t help that three former Jazz players came back to haunt Utah.

Boozer was a two-time Western Conference All-Star in Utah, but there were always questions about team chemistry with him in Salt Lake. He made it be known he wanted out, and eventually signed as a free agent with Chicago after last season.

His first game back in Utah elicited the most media attention surrounding the Jazz since the NBA playoffs. He was booed during introductions and every time he touched the ball.

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Friday, February 11, 2011

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Sport

Capirossi eyes 100th podium in 2011 Loris Capirossi says he will do his best to make sure he achieves his 100th podium in the world championship as he starts a new era with the Pramac Ducati team. The veteran Italian, the most experienced rider in history, goes into his 22nd season in the championship hoping to end a two-year podium drought.

Capirossi, who left Suzuki after last season, admitted he is as fired up as always and says he would quit otherwise. And the Pramac rider made it clear he is determined to continue racing next season, while aiming to score his centenary podium in 2011.

“I’m too proud to just be a bit player: should I realise I’m not able to get results anymore, I will realise that the time to quit has come,” Capirossi was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport. “But one way or another, I will get on next year’s 1,000cc bikes, and then I will perhaps find a role to stay at the top: I have a couple of offers.

“In the meantime I’ve changed my training, aiming for strength and stamina. It will be tough, but I’ll try to get my 100th podium which I’ve been chasing for two years.”

Team-mate Randy de Puniet is also aiming to enjoy a strong season

after being one of the surprises of last year before he was sidelined by a leg injury.

“I am happy with this new adventure in Ducati,” he said. “I am back ‘Italian’ again, as in the past I have already ridden an Italian bike.

I really enjoyed riding with my Ducati, even if sometimes it is still a bit hard to control, especially when cornering.

“Last year, despite the bad leg injury, I have achieved good results.

Now the most important thing for me is knowing that the leg has not given me any problems and in these first tests I was able to push hard.

“The goal is certainly to be repeated this season. With my work and my engineers we are confident that this goal is easily attainable. Already in a few days we will face a new test in Sepang and I am sure that we can already improve our results.”

Italian rider Loris Capirossi of Pramac Racing leaves the pitlane during the MotoGP pre-season test on the Sepang circuit in Sepang near Kuala Lumpur on February 1, 2011.

AFP PHOTO/ Saeed Khan

Renault to evaluate Heidfeld at Jerez NICK Heidfeld will test for Renault at Jerez later this week as the outfit evaluates a replacement for the injured Robert Kubica. The German has emerged as the leading contender to stand in for Kubica, who could be out for the remainder of the season as the result of the serious injuries he picked up in a rally crash at the weekend.

Although Renault has five reserve drivers, and is giving its lead one Bruno Senna a first test in its car this week, the team has made no secret of the fact that it will need an experienced driver to lead its team if Kubica is sidelined for a long time.

Heidfeld has held talks with Renault over the last 48 hours and agreement has been reached for him to run at Jerez at some point this week. Vitaly Petrov will test, as originally scheduled, on Thursday and Friday before Senna and Heidfeld are given mileage over the weekend.

Renault team owner Gerard Lopez said earlier today that the team would wait until after testing before deciding on who will partner Vitaly Petrov this year - and Heidfeld’s

chances will depend on how he compares pace-wise against Senna.

“We must wait for the Jerez tests now, and thankfully the Barcelona ones too, and see how the car is going, and how the driver - who will start the season and maybe ending it too - is doing. We don’t know,” he told IVG.it “There are drivers who have had good races, for example Nick Heidfeld. We all know that Nick is

rather good, but we don’t know what level he is in now, we don’t know how he does with our car. Same goes for Vitantonio Liuzzi, same goes - I don’t know -for Bruno Senna, who last year was in a team with a car that could do nothing.”

Heidfeld has been left without a seat after being replaced at Sauber at the end of last season by Sergio Perez, who brought valuable sponsorship backing from Mexico.