Edisi 17 Desember 2010 | International Bali Post

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Friday, December 17, 2010

Sunni rebels claim Iran suicide blasts, 39 dead

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Obama to unveil Afghan strategy review Agence France Presse

Getting in Touch with Local Culture PAGE 8

Veteran CNN host Larry King hangs up suspenders PAGE 12

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is expected to declare Thursday that his strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan is on track, despite record combat deaths and public US tensions with the two countries. Obama will unveil an unclassified version of a sweeping two-month review of US military and civilian operations likely to claim important progress against the Taliban admit severe challenges remain in the nine-year war.

But no changes to US strategy are expected, despite critics complaints that US policy in war-torn Afghanistan is too ambitious, challenged by countrywide corruption and that political fragility may make US gains unsustainable.

“I doubt there will be, in all honesty, a lot of surprise at what the review lays out,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

“There has been some important progress in halting the momentum of the Taliban in Afghanistan. “We have seen, through counterterrorism, success at degrading senior AlQaeda leaders. And we?ve seen greater cooperation over the course of the past 18 months with the Paki-

stani government.

“You will also see in the review an enumeration of the continued challenges that we have in that region,” Gibbs told reporters on Tuesday.

Administration officials on Wednesday played down two intelligence reports cited by two newspapers, which apparently paint a less optimistic picture of the war than that seen in the administration report.

US intelligence agencies believe the US-led war effort could be doomed unless Pakistan cracks down on militant sanctuaries inside its border, the Los Angles Times and New York Times reported. The intelligence reports point to a

AFP PHOTO/Massoud HOSSAINI

US Marines from 1st Battalion 8th Marines watch a US Marine CH-53 helicopter drop flares as it leaves Musa Qala in Helmand province on December 14, 2010. The US-led NATO alliance in Afghanistan warned December 13 that foreign soldiers will face further violence in 2011, capping what has been the deadliest year of the war on record. longstanding problem cited by miliThe reports, or National Intellitary officers, that Afghan Taliban and gence Estimates, reflect a consensus other militants move across the Paki- view of all 16 intelligence agencies, stani border with impunity, allowing including the CIA and the Defense them to stage attacks against coalition Intelligence Agency. troops.

Continued on page 6

Aussie PM warns asylum boat toll to rise in grim hunt Agence France Presse

WEATHER FORECAST CITY

TEMPERATURE OC

DENPASAR

22 - 31

JAKARTA

24 - 33

BANDUNG

20 - 28

YOGYAKARTA

22 - 31

SURABAYA

24 - 33

SUNNY

BRIGHT/CLOUDY

SYDNEY – Hope dwindled for survivors of a refugee boat wreck off Australia Thursday which killed at least 28 people, including seven

children, renewing debate on the plight of boat people travelling from Asia. The wooden craft, crowded with up to 100 Iraqi, Kurdish and Iranian asylum seekers and their children, hit rocks at remote Christ-

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AFP PHOTO / THE WEST AUSTRALIAN / HO

A Channel 7 TV framegrab of a photo released by The West Australian on December 15, 2010 shows an asylum boat full of refugees being smashed by violent seas against the jagged coastline of Australia’s Christmas Island.

mas Island Wednesday and was shattered by huge waves as residents watched in horror.

Traumatised survivors pulled from the sea after the disaster huddled in a hospital and reception centre Thursday, with the most seriously injured flown to Perth as hope faded of finding their fellow passengers alive in wild seas.

“We have got to prepare ourselves for the likelihood that more bodies will be found and there has been further loss of life than we know now,” warned Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who cut short her holiday to respond to the emergency. Cyclonic conditions hampered search and rescue efforts which resumed at first light but yielded no further bodies or survivors by late Thursday, Customs said.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor said 28 bodies had been recovered, including four infants, three children and nine women, underscoring “the tragedy that’s occurred here”. Among the 42 survi-

vors were eight children, one unaccompanied minor and three Indonesian crew, he added.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen earlier said there had been between 70 and 100 people on board the leaky fishing boat, according to survivors, adding that the exact number of dead would “probably never” be known. Medical personnel believe as many as 50 people may have perished on the jagged limestone outcrop, some 2,600 kilometres from Australia’s mainland.

“Yesterday we saw a truly horrific event, a terrible human tragedy on what is a very dangerous coastline at Christmas Island,” said Gillard. “I know the nation is shocked by what we have seen.”

Gillard was forced to defend border police as questions mounted about how the boat managed to cross the most closely-watched people-smuggling corridor between Indonesia and Australia without being intercepted.

Continued on page 6

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International

Friday, December 17, 2010

Bali News Crashed by tree, buildings of Puseh Temple severely damaged Gianyar (Bali Post)—

Heavy rain accompanied by strong winds occurred in Gianyar on Wednesday (Dec 15) resulted in disaster at Taro Kelod customary village, Taro village, Tegallalang subdistrict, Gianyar.

A pedanten tree of hundreds of years old suddenly collapsed and crashed the shrine buildings in the Puseh Temple of Taro Kelod. Severe damage occurred at the Meeting Hall, psalmodic pavilion, Ratu Puseh shrine, and bebotohan shrine.

The incident shocking the people of Taro Kelod who were working to prepare a ritual in the Mount Raung Temple was estimated to occur at 02.00 a.m. Local Time. According to the priest of Puseh Temple whose home located in the south of the temple, at that time he heard a quite loud noise. Unthinkably, such a loud noise was the sound of falling trees crashing the temple’s buildings. The falling tree was just known in the morning at around 07:00 a.m. “I was told by residents that meeting hall was missing,” he explained.

When checked to the temple, in fact the meeting hall had been destroyed as crashed by the large enough falling tree. Such an incident was then re-

ported to village apparatus and Taro Kelod customary village. Likewise, the falling tree caused the compound wall damaged. When local residents knew it, more and more people flocked to temple to see the damage buildings.

According to the temple priest, the falling tree was triggered by decayed condition of the tree. The tree itself had fallen for two times. However, the more severe condition occurred in the current incident. Furthermore, village apparatus of Taro Kelod planned to spiritually ask for the tree located at Tegal Suci, Taro Kaja.

“Tegal Suci poses a sacred area overgrown by many trees used for to the ritual paraphernalia in the

Mount Raung Temple. So, the remaining the tree would be invoked through ceremonial procession to avoid similar cases happening again in the future,” he explained.

Meanwhile, after the disaster afflicting the Puseh Temple of Taro Kelod, the authority of regional disaster management agency had examined the losses. Such identification was also witnessed by Subdistrict Head of Tegallalang while having a closer look at the damage undergone by the temple. In response to the incident, the temple priest thoroughly hoped that government could help the renovation to the damaged buildings caused by disaster of falling tree. (kmb16)

IBP/dar

The tempel damage by the tree fall down due to the bad weather.

30 buildings on green belt executed Tourism afoot, tour guides must be controlled Mangupura (Bali Post)—

Justiciary team of Badung Regency Government began to perform execution against the buildings violating the green belt along the Jalan Raya Canggu until Jalan Raya Pererenan on Wednesday (Dec 15). Such gradual dismantling targeted 30 violating buildings. Meanwhile, the demolition was led by the Head of Badung public order officers (Satpol PP), I Wayan Adi Arnawa.

According to Adi Arnawa accompanied by the Division Head of Investigation of the Satpol PP, I Ketut Muliasa, out of the 30 violating buildings listed, 23 of which located along the Jalan Raya Canggu. In the meantime, the rest sat on the Jalan Raya Pererenan.

Demolition of the 30 buildings would be carried out gradually or not simultaneously. Adi Arnawa reasoned that such an action was taken with consideration of time and insufficient personnel.

He explained that before demolition executed, his party had sent a warning letter for three times to the building owners. However, the owners did not pay attention or kept the building on standing on the green belt area.

Buildings located on green belt posed a form of violation against the Regional Regulation No. 3/1992 concerning with the prohibition of establishing buildings in the area of green belt. The demolition was also in accordance with a warrant granted by the Regent of Badung.

Adi Arnawa also revealed, aside from conducting the discipline on the green belt, the demolition also denoted an initial stage in order to develop the public awareness that the Badung Regency Government was very consistent in the enforcement of rules, in this case the enforcement of Regional Regulation.

“We appeal the people having a land located in the area of green belt may not do any development. As consequence of this violation, the building will be demolished,” he said.

Nevertheless, he also disclosed that the government actually gave tolerance to the community. Pursuant to the Regional Regulation No. 3/1992 people were allowed to open a business in harmony with the arrangement of green areas such as the one selling various plants, provided there were no permanent buildings.

Meanwhile, in the demolition made last Wednesday, the authority first dismantled the building owned by Komang Swastika situated on Jalan Raya Canggu No. 27, North Kuta. Such asbestos-roofed building was taken advantage for the business of “Ani Jaya Motor” providing muffler services. After holding a talk with the business owner, one by one of the building materials began to be dismantled by construction workers along with dozens of personnel of the public order officers. In the meantime, the officers of North Kuta Police came down to secure the location. (kmb25)

Semarapura (Bali Post)—

The development of tourism sector in Klungkung Regency starts to move. It is discernible from tourist visits to a number of tourist objects like Kerthagosa, Goa Lawah and some others. However, the development has not given significant impact on the increase of the regionally generated revenue (PAD) of Klungkung. It is caused by less optimal application of the regional regulation (Perda) No. 5 /2008 regarding to tour guides resulting in quite a few illegal tour guides operating and they were uncontrollable by local governments. The matter was revealed by a legislator of Bali House from Klungkung, Ketut Mandia, in Klungkung, Wednesday (Dec 15).

According to Mandia, it was time for regional government to discipline those illegal tour guides so that they would be controllable and give contribution to the region. As set forth in the Regional Regulation No. 5/2008, every single tour guide was required to have certification issued by the authorities of Bali Government Tourism Office.”It is valid for many local and foreign tour guides flocking to Bali,” said Mandia while adding that the regulation also governed the tour guides in charge of the local tourist object.

“There are special tour guide who only operates around the particular object and a gen-

eral tour guide that can operate at all tourist objects,” he added. The presence of unlicensed local and foreign tour guides was worried to kindle a separate problem namely incapability of describing about a tourist attraction where they operated. “Additionally, the existence of foreign tour guides also threatens the potential of local residents. In terms of ability to communicate, many certified local tour guides were no less competitive compared to foreign tour guides,” he said.

On that account, he said that Regional Regulation No. 5/2008 became one of the protections for the potentials of local community, let alone when they talked about the matter of historical tourist objects. “Do not let the information given to tourists go against the truth because the tour guides do not understand about the history of tourist attraction,” he said while hoping that provincial government through Bali Government Tourism Office could oblige all tour guides to have certification.

“Otherwise, strict sanction should be imposed. The Regional Regulation No. 5/2008 has been firmly set forth that uncertified tour guides are fined as much as IDR 10 million,” he said while mentioning that so far his party never heard that illegal tour guides were imposed with sanction. It showed the control against the law remained very weak. (kmb20)

z Founder : K.Nadha, z General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Diah Dewi Juniarti z Editors: Gugiek Savindra,Alit Susrini, Alit Sumertha, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Sri Hartini, Suana, Sueca, Sugiartha, Wirya, Yudi Winanto zDenpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subagiadnya, Subrata, Suentra, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Pujawan, Buleleng: Adnyana, Gianyar: Agung Dharmada, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Bali Putra Ariawan,Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan,. NTB: Agus Talino, Syamsudin Karim, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto. z Development: Alit Purnata, Mas Ruscitadewi. z Office: Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, Facsimile: 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp. (0370) 639543, Facsimile: (0370) 628257. Publisher: PT Bali Post

Bali News

International

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Friday, December 17, 2010

Protect the Women and Children

Representative Promised Special Regulations Denpasar (Bali Post) -

Bali House of Representatives (DPRD) members promised will arrange regional regulation planning (ranperda) that will discuss protection on women and children as until now Bali has no special regulation on it. The promise was stated by First Commission member of DPRD Bali Ni Made Sumiati during a dialog at Wantilan of DPRD Bali last Wednesday (15/12).

According to Sumiati, it’s time already !ali to have it as there have been an increase in crimes against women and children looking at the increasing graphics from 20080 to November 2010. Based on the data stated by Bali Police Criminal Research Directorate, crime cases towards women kept increasing as most were domestic violation. Until November 2010 at least 54 percent of the case that victimise women has been done physically.

When actually during 2008 this kind of case only reached 50 percent. Meanwhile other cases were torture, kidnapping, sexual assault, rape and abortion.

And for harshness cases on children, until November 2010 it is noted have reached 125 cases. This case shows trend of increase remembering during 2008 only noted 120 and 2009 only 122. Along 201, the cases were dominated by sexual intercourse on children reaching 42 cases followed

by torture 30 cases, sexual assault 20 cases and kidnapping 19 cases and the rest were rape.

Taking action to these, Sumiati looked over what’s need to be arranged in the ranperda to protect the women and children. Sumiati who specialise on law and government stated the ranperda will be a suggestion from legislative. She clarified, this regulation will be very important to protect them as !ali never had this before, “This suggestion was actually stated by Children Protection Commission (KPAID).”

In connrcting to this, Vice Head of KPAID Bali, Luh Anggraeni, welcomed well that plan as with it coordination and special management for women and children will be easier, “It is time for Bali to have the regulation.

Don’t let the cases upon women and children kept increasing from year to year.”(kmb13)

Poor Families in Denpasar Decreased 44 Percent Denpasar (Bali Post)-

Poverty has to get a serious tackle from the government and public component. Moreover in year 2006 the number of poor families (RTM) reached 4.159 or 17.066 people yet until 2010 have quite decreased significantly reaching 44 percent or around 14.423 people. This was srared

by Denpasar Mayor IB Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra, SE, MSi, in his welcome speech read by Regional Secretary First Assistant Drs. I Ketut Mister, MM when opening a socialisation of President Regulation No. 15 Year 2010 last Wednesday (15/ 12) at Praja Madya Meeting Room of the Mayor’s Office. The mayor stated it happened as the city government have done various programs to strengthen the people’s economy. To fasten this tackle, it needed a united approach done in steps, planned and involves every connected sides from the government and non government organisations including the public itself. Rai Mantra hoped this success will keep continuing and keeps decreasing year to year. This in the same time goes on with the Bali Province Poverty Tackle Coordination Team

(TKPK) program and guidance which hoped that gradually Bali can decrease poverty minimal 10.000 RTM a year as stated at President Regulation No. 15 Year 2010 on to fasten tackling poverty also Home Minister No. 42 Year 2010 on coordination team in tackling province/regional/city poverty there should be an action plan programmed.

For that through this meeting, the Mayor hoped there will be suggestions from the meeting candiidates. Besides that Mayor hoped that this meeting can sharpen priority so this program gets to the right target, useful and resulting.

Meanwhile Head of Public and Village City Government Source I Ketut Dunia who’s also head of the meeting committee in the report stated the purpose and meaning of this socialisation was to know the causer to poverty specifically, not only to know the address but to know the productivity potential, causer, access, and program affect. Besides arranging the action plan, what’s more effctive would be to get it on target and so the government policy would be quicker applied to fasten poverty tackling. (kmb12)

IBP/doc

A man is trying to catch fish in the river.

Fish Poisoners Still Exist Sea Assets Have to be Saved Amlapura (Bali Post) -

Karangasem House of Representatives (DPRD) member, Nyoman Sadra, BA, last Wednesday (15/12) stated there were still quite a lot of reports from fishermen on those who use poison to capture fishes on the sea.

And so lately it caused Karangasem fishermen sufferring badly as their fishing results were uncertain because they’re hard to find, “They captured very little while they have to spend on petrol because it’s very far.”

According to Sadra, the bomber on the sea at Karangasem beach was never heard again since 2004 as at that time a number of sea bombers were captured by police, “There were less and there were none lately as there were no more basic fish population.

These bombers then changed to poisoners by capturing lots of aquarium fishes or others by poisoning.”

Bomber and poisoner are both dangerous for the population coninuing in the sea and corals. For that, it has to be protected.

Sadra who also likes to go fishing at sea thinks that 87 km Karangasem waters were potential to increase the fishermen’s prosperity as the number of fishermen here is a lot along the beach shores.all this time their prosperity has been low so for that fishery and sea management is very important and needs higher budget allocation. He asked there should be posts for sea guards with suitable facilities using the Regional Budget and Expenses (APBD) and so it needs to be

fought to get to APBD or even from the state’s (APBB).

Karangasem Secretary, Drs. Nengah Sudarsa, stated actually there has been join work in protecing the sea assets where there is a memorandum of join work with Sea Indonesian Army (TNI-AL) and they have posts at Ujung and Seraya Beaches.

It is hoped with these posts the sea assets will be safer so there’s no longer opportunities for those sea poisoners. It is admitted with the long and wide waters of course there should be join work with all sides especially the fishermen at Karangasem to coordinate and report quickly to the sea posts and air polices if there are suspicion on sea crimes. (013)

Strong Wind in Jembrana

Causing Harbor Closed and Opened Negara, DenPost

Strong winds landed on Jembrana Region on Tuesday night changed into a disaster. The meru building inside Pura (temple) Beragbang Agung, Berangbang Village, Jembrana, broken down. It caused material loss also psychological disturbing the guardians of the pura remembring on Monday (20/ 12) will held its piodalan (anniversary ceremony).

The wind also caused forests in west Bali a mess as tens of huge trees also other dozens of trees fell down to the streets causing traffic routes total jammed. The Gilimanuk-Ketapang Harbor also experienced chaos as they have to keep opening and closing the harbors.

Berangbang Head Village, Nengah Sudama, stated the meru that was built since 2001 was broken down at midnight. Besides the meru it also damaged the ‘bale tetaring’ made from bamboo with aluminium top made by the local residents for the coming cerenoby. For this incident, Sudama will have a meeting with some village

figures and the pura priest to find a solution to this disaster. This disaster has invited worries to the Jembrana Regent’s official I Gusti Made Sunendra who came to location. In this opportunity the Bupati official asked all those who came to take the meaning of this disaster. Connecting to the people’s demand to fix the damages in the pura, Jembrana Secretary Second Assistant I Made Sudantra stated the Jembrana government has given fee IDR 25 million from this year’s budget and expenses (APBD) to widen the pura’s areal and there will be fixing fee in the APVD 2011 as much as IDR 60 million including to fix the meru that’s damaged.

Meanwhile, trees were falling down on the north side of DenpasarGilimanuk route included two big ones.

First a sonokling tree at Penginuman forest, Gilimanuk fell down with its trunk blocking the road causing half an hour traffic. The tree hit a Damri bus DK 9142 AB driven by Suwandidan with 20 passengers which caused the front bit’s window fractured.

To remove it so, SAR team and other drivers who were helping police took one hour to do iy as the small saw they were using can’t wuickly cut the huge tree. The traffic jam cause was as long as 3 km on each sides. “In this route there are many trees. We ask the road users to be aware during this such season,” Head of Melaya Police, AKP I NyomanPageh, stated when coming down to location.

Closed Harbor Meanwhile the bad weather at Bali Strait caused Gilimanuk Harbor to be closed. Head of Gilimanuk Harbor Dewa Nyoman Kari, last Wednesday (15/12) stated the crossing on Tuesday (14/12) night was closed for a while from 10 to 10.45 pm. The harbor was closed due to strong winds and high sea waves.

Then on Wednesday (15/12) the harbor was closed again at 1 tto 2.30 pm due to unfriendly sea wave and so there were queue of vehicles, “We will delay departures if the weather’s not good and we ask everyone to be alert of it.” (120)

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News

Friday, December 17, 2010

International

Chavez foes, US condemn plan for decree powers Associated Press Writer

CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez is using a friendly lame-duck congress to seek broad powers to rule by decree for the next year — a plan that drew strong criticism Wednesday from the U.S. government and opponents who called it a blow to democracy.

AFP PHOTO/ KAMARUL AKHIR

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (R) leaves the Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur on December 16, 2010. Anwar and three of his allies were suspended from parliament for six months in a vote that triggered pandemonium and an opposition walkout.

Malaysia Parliament suspends Anwar, 3 top allies Associated Press Writer

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia’s ruling coalition won a vote Thursday to ban its archrival Anwar Ibrahim and three of his top allies from Parliament for six months, eroding the opposition’s legislative influence to precarious levels.

The suspension reduces the opposition to less than one-third of Malaysia’s 222-member Parliament for the first time since 2008 general elections. That could enable Prime Minister Najib Razak’s coalition to change the constitution and election district boundaries before the next national polls, which some expect next year.

Anwar was suspended on accusations of making false statements in Parliament last March, when he claimed that the government’s program to promote multiracial unity in this Muslim-majority country was inspired by a 1999 Israeli election campaign.

The suspension was the government’s “way of mocking the people’s voice, preventing us from defending ourselves,” the opposition leader said after Thursday’s vote. Anwar’s three senior colleagues were penalized for leaking details about a parliamentary investigation into his remarks.

Anwar and dozens of other opposition legislators stormed out of Parliament’s lower house during the vote, which followed scenes of pandemonium and shouting. Some opposition lawmakers held posters denouncing the lower house as “a kangaroo court” because they claimed Anwar was unfairly targeted.

Anwar and his three colleagues will be barred from parliamentary debates and votes through June, but they can continue other political work, such as addressing rallies. The opposition has already launched efforts to convince the public that the government is abusing its legislative majority.

Khairy Jamaluddin, a prominent government lawmaker, said Anwar “was given every opportunity to defend himself but chose to abuse and stall the process” over the past nine months. Anwar has insisted his comments linking the government’s policies to Israel were correct.

Political activity has intensified amid rampant rumors that Najib will call for national polls next year, even though they are not due until mid-2013. Najib might seek to capitalize on internal bickering in Anwar’s three-party alliance, which made spectacular gains in 2008 elections but has since lost some of its luster.

Anwar has also been distracted by an ongoing trial on charges that he sodomized a male former aide in 2008. He faces a 20-year prison sentence if convicted of the accusation, which he says was fabricated to stem his political ascent. The government denies any conspiracy.

For almost five years, Chavez has enjoyed near total control of Venezuela’s National Assembly thanks to a strategic blunder by his foes, who boycotted 2005 elections.

That untrammeled power comes to an end Jan. 5 when a new congress arrives, with enough opposition lawmakers to hinder some types of major legislation.

Critics accuse Chavez of trying to sidestep those limits and neutralize his opponents by getting the outgoing congress to give him decree powers for 12 months — allowing him to impose laws on his own. They see it as a power grab by a president they say is steering Venezuela toward Cuba-style socialism.

Supporters say Chavez needs decree powers to swiftly approve disaster relief measures after severe floods and mudslides that left thousands homeless.

But the law goes beyond such emergency measures, allowing decrees affecting telecommunications, the banking system, information technology, the military, rural and urban land use, and the country’s “socio-economic system.”

Several thousand students marched to the National Assembly on Wednesday, chanting “Freedom!” to protest against a separate government bill that they fear would increase state controls over autonomous universities.

The demonstration broke up after a group of Chavez supporters hurled rocks and other objects at the marchers. At least one student was hit in the head with what appeared to be a rock.

Other government opponents warn that Chavez is trying to push through laws clamping down on opposition media, free speech and human rights groups.

In a speech to the National Assembly, opposition lawmaker Ismael Garcia denounced what he called a “a package of laws that are a coup d’etat against the constitution.”

In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley noted Chavez has asked congress for decree powers four times in his presidency.

A supporter of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez throws a chair toward students during clashes with university students outside the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday Dec. 15, 2010.

AP Photo/Fernando Llano

Activities

International

Friday, December 17, 2010

5

Potato Head Beach Club IBP

PETITENGET - Potato Head was first introduced in Jakarta and after almost two years on the culinary scene it has been voted as one of the best venues in the capital of Indonesia. After long anticipation, Potato Head will finally open its doors in the island of the Gods.

Potato Head Beach Club will offer the most creative music, art and fashion collaborations of international and indigenous artistes. The entertainment calendar will be filled with educational and artistic breakthrough events throughout the year and will have the clients exposed to the peak of artistic creativity. Furthermore, the presence of A-list internationally recognized celebrities and talents are befitting to a world-class experience and recognition. A truly special venue one must see and feel, while visiting the Island of Gods.

Temple Ceremony Calendar Event for December 1st through December 13th 2010 December 1st

Temple anniversary celebrations and full moon ceremony at : - Pura Bhatara Kawitan Pura Agung Bangli, downtown of Bangli - Pura Pasek Gelgel, Pedungan village, south of Denpasar - Pura Kertha, Banyuning village, downtown of Singaraja ( north Bali) - Pura Taman, Bubunan village, district of Seririt, Buleleng regency ( north Bali) December 2nd

Temple anniversary celebrations and full moon ceremony at : - Pura Puseh and Desa Silakarang village district of Sukawati village, Gianyar regency - Pura Dalem Pulasari Samprangan village, district of Blahbatuh, Gianyar regency - Pura Natih, banjar kaloh batuan village - Pura Dalem petitenget, Kerobokan village, district of Kuta, Badung regency December 3rd

Temple anniversary celebrations and full moon ceremony at : - Pura Dalem Puri, Besakih village, Karangasem regency - Pura Dalem Puri, Batuan village, Gianyar regency - Pura Dalem, Singakertha village, district of Ubud, Gianyar regency - Pura Dalem Agung, downtown of Bangli - Pura Dalem, Ketewel village, district of Sukawati, Gianyar regency - Pura Desa, Downtown of Denpasar - Pura Puncak Payogan, Kedewatan village, district of Ubud, Gianyar regency December 8th

Temple anniversary celebrations and full moon ceremony at : - Pura Merajan Agung, Batuyang village, district of

Sukawati, Gianyar regency - Pura Tanjungsari, Padangbai village, Karangasem regency.

December 8th Galungan

This is the most important holiday symbolizing the victory of Virtue (Dharma) upon Evil (Adharma). The holiday is specialized by the fitting of ‘penjor’, a tall bamboo pole splendidly decorated with woven young coconut leaves, fruit, cakes and flowers, on the right side of every house entrance. People are attired in their finest clothes and jewels this day.

December 11th

Temple ceremony on this day: - Segara Temple, Jembrana Regency - Dalem Gede Temple, Losan – Klungkung Regency December 12th

- Redite Wage Kuningan, Ulihan. Balinese do believe, this day is the return of all mighty spirit back to heaven after leaved a prosperity and longevity to the worshipers.

Temple ceremony on this day:

- Dalem Tegal Tamu Temple, Sekarmukti, Batubulan - Gianyar Regency - Kubayan Umagunung Temple, Sempidi – Badung Regency December 13th

Temple ceremony on this day: - Dasar Gelgel Temple, Gelgel – Klungkung Regency - Pasek Tohjiwa Temple, Sawah, Selemadeg – Tabanan Regency - Pemerajan Agung Temple, Benawah Kangin – Gianyar Regency - Panti Pasek Gelgel Temple, Pelapuhan, Busungbiu - Buleleng Regency - Kahyangan Tulus Temple, Apuan – Tabanan Regency

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.

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Friday, December 17, 2010

News Missing Nepal plane found, all 22 onboard dead AP

KATMANDU, Nepal – Rescuers have recovered the wreckage of a small passenger plane that went missing in Nepal’s mountainous east on Wednesday. They say all 22 people onboard were killed.

The Rescue Coordination Committee at Katmandu Airport said Thursday that rescuers were

searching through the wreckage.

The Canadian-built Twin Otter aircraft belonging to domestic Tara Air was carrying 19 passengers and three crew members from Lamidanda, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) to the east of Katmandu. Its wreckage was found near a village about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Katmandu.

Obama...

From page 1

Reuters –

The aftermath of an explosion outside a mosque in Iran’s southeastern city of Chabahr

Sunni rebels claim Iran suicide blasts, 39 dead Reuters

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Two suicide bomb attacks killed 39 people outside a mosque during a Shi’ite religious ceremony in southeastern Iran on Wednesday, a strike Jundollah rebels said was retaliation for the execution of their leader in June.

In a statement on its website, the Sunni Muslim group said it was responsible for the bombings outside the Imam Hussein Mosque in Chabahar, which also wounded more than 100 people.

“At least 39 people were martyred after two suicide bombings targeted Shi’ite mourners in front of a mosque in the town of Chabahar,” Fariborz

Ayati Firouzabadi, head of the Coroner’s office in the province.

The bombings killed many children and women, who attended a Shi’ite religious ceremony to commemorate the death of Prophet Mohammad’s grandson Hussein, state television reported, adding that the death toll was expected to increase.

The poor province of Sistan-

Baluchistan, near Iran’s border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, has been the scene of unrest with the mainly Sunni population claiming discrimination by the Shi’ite authorities.

Iran’s Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar told state television that the attackers had links to neighbouring Pakistan and that an investigation was underway.

French court rejects Noriega’s request for release AP

PARIS – A French court on Wednesday turned down former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega’s request to be released from prison while awaiting possible extradition to his home country.

Noriega was sent to France this year to face trial after spending two decades in a U.S. prison. In July, a Paris court convicted him of laundering drug money in France and ordered him to spend seven years behind bars.

Despite the seven-year sentence,

Noriega is likely to be eligible for parole much sooner than that. However, Panama is seeking his extradition from France for crimes including the murder of political opponents.

Noriega’s lawyer says he would not oppose being sent to Panama, but he wants to be released from prison in France in the meantime. An extradition would require approval from a host of French judges and top officials, as well as from the United States, and a decision could take time Lawyer Yves Leberquier, who petitioned the Paris appeals court for

Noriega’s release, argued that his client is in poor health. Noriega’s legal team says he has blood pressure problems and is paralyzed on the left side as a result of a stroke four years ago.

Noriega says he is 76, though there is confusion about his true date of birth.

Panamanians who fought against human rights abuses during Noriega’s 1983-1989 regime are worried he could die in France and want to see him face justice at home. Noriega was deposed after a 1989 U.S. invasion and went on to serve 20 years in a Florida prison for drug trafficking.

Defense officials say the intelligence accounts are “behind the curve,” lacking insights from troops on the frontline in a fluid situation.

“We have agreed to disagree,” one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP. Officials say Obama’s report will highlight improved cooperation in the fight against extremism with the Pakistani government — but added it would also state the need for Islamabad to do more.

The White House has signaled that the review will show sufficient progress for Obama to sign off on his promised start to a conditions-

based drawdown of US surge troops — 30,000 of whom were ordered to Afghanistan a year ago.

But despite the promised start to the drawdown, the key date for US Afghan policy is now 2014, which NATO partners agreed at a summit last month to set as the target to cede full control to Afghan security forces.

Limited progress in Afghanistan has come at a high cost: more foreign troops — nearly 700 — died in 2010 than in any year of the nineyear conflict, and Washington has waged public spats with Kabul and Islamabad.

Aussie PM...

From page 1 The prime minister said the boat had approached the island in predawn darkness and “extreme weather conditions” meant it was not detected “until seen from Christmas Island itself”.

“In very rough and dangerous seas there is a limit to what can be achieved through radar and other surveillance mechanisms,” Gillard said, adding there would be a criminal investigation as well as a coroner’s probe. Officials could not comment on the vessel’s origin and said it was not being tracked because it was made of wood and was hard to detect.

Local police said they had received an emergency call from someone claiming to be on a boat with about 80 people — believed to be the stricken vessel — about 20 minutes after it was first sighted as it drifted after losing power.

Residents said they were woken at dawn Wednesday by the screams of victims, gathering life jackets and rushing to the cliffs to offer help, but were helpless as strong winds blew the flotation devices back onshore. They watched in horror as the victims were crushed

against limestone rocks, despite the efforts of navy rescuers to reach them in towering swells.

More than 5,000 asylum seekers from Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have made their way to Australia this year, mostly on unseaworthy vessels from Indonesia, prompting criticism of Canberra for softening its refugee policy.

But lawyers and refugee advocates including Amnesty and the UNHCR said the tragedy highlighted the desperate plight of refugees and urged greater cooperation between nations for more humane solutions.

Survivors of the wreck were recovering Thursday in a hospital and a reception centre on Christmas Island, the site of Australia’s main immigration detention centre for boat people. Five seriously injured people were flown to the mainland for medical treatment.

Though they would be dealt with under normal immigration processes, Gillard said survivors would be given time to recover from their ordeal, and said the children and families would be allowed to live in the community instead of detention camps.

International

Indonesia Today

Government claims its economic policy on right track Antara

JAKARTA - The government claimed its present economic policy is on the right track due among others to various corrective steps it has taken to address a number of problems including those in the logistics sector.

“The government`s (economic) policy is now on the right track,” Djatmiko, expert staff of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, said at a seminar held to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of ANTARA News Agency here on Wednesday.

While most countries saw their economic growth contracting as a result of the 2008 global economic meltdown, Indonesia, along with a few nations recorded positive growth in that year, he said.

Responding to the growing capital inflows in recent months, he said the government agreed with Bank Indonesia (the central bank/ BI) to slow them down.

“So the problem is how to prevent the foreign hot money from causing problems and allow it to stay longer in this country,” he said.

Many developed countries had now been looking for suitable places particularly in Asia to invest, he said.

So far, India, China and Vietnam had emerged as contenders for Indonesia to attract foreign investors, he said.

Djatmiko said Indonesia‘s performance in the fields of export, import and investment also continued to improve all the time.

The high investment growth would be directed towards encouraging the development of productive sectors to allow the economy to grow at a faster pace, he said.

RI to increase transportation safety cooperation with Australia Antara

JAKARTA - Indonesia is to step up and promote its transportation safety cooperation with the Australian government, Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said.

“The purpose of this arrangement is to enhance and promote Indonesian transport safety in accordance with existing international standards and contemporary safety management practices.” Numberi said after signing the annex of an MoU with Australian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese MP here Wednesday.

The annex of MoU was established in the forum of arrangement between the Ministry of Transportation of Indonesia and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport of Australia o the Indonesian Transport Safety Assistance Package (ITSAP).

The package consists of four components, namely transport safety policy and management, aviation safety, maritime transport safety and the safety management itself.

The Australian government provides 14.5 million dollar to train transport safety inspector and accidents investigator as well as undertake joint search and rescue exercise.

The investment was aimed to strengthen the relationship between the two countries and to reassure the traveling public of both countries that their government consider safety as a number one priority, Australian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese MP said.

The Australian government would administer the funding in cooperation with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and Aircevices Australia, he said.

Indonesia‘s Directorate General of Civil Aviation is given opportunity to improve its air traffic management systems and the transition to a single air navigation service provider cooperating with Airservice Australia.

Moreover, over 700 Indonesian government and industry professionals in a range of areas including safety investigation, port control, maritime systems, air navigation, and search and rescue would be trained in the cooperation.

Australia would also fund three joint Australia-Indonesia civil search and rescue exercises involving AMSA and Indonesia‘s National Search and Rescue Agency and also three Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee investigators to complete an ATSB Transport Safety Investigation diploma, Albanese said.

The CASA would also provide training and technical assistance to Indonesian counterparts in safety management systems and airworthiness audits, he said.

Friday, December 17, 2010

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Undersea quake hits eastern Indonesia Agence France-Presse

JAKARTA - An undersea earthquake hit eastern Indonesia on Wednesday, seismologists said, but there was no tsunami warning and no immediate reports of damage.

The quake hit at 20:29 (1329 GMT), 249 kilometres (154 miles) northwest of Saumlaki in Maluku province at a depth of 191 kilometres, according to the local meteorology and climatology agency, which gave the magnitude

as 6.1.

The US Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 5.9 and was 148 kilometres deep.

“The quake occurred on the sea.

Its epicentre located very deep and far from land. I don’t think it will

cause damage,” national earthquake official Ramdan told AFP. The vast Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where the meeting of continental plates causes high seismic activity.

Companies yet to utilize capital market optimally Antara

JAKARTA - An economist said a lot of companies in Indonesia had not yet utilized the capital market optimally for expansion.

“In view of our economy, our market capitalization is still far below that in the neighboring countries,” Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, an economist from Danareksa Research Institute said here on Wednesday.

He said the ratio of market capitalization to the Gross Domestic Product in 2009 still reached 35.97 percent compared to 147.05 percent in Malaysia, 78.56 percent in the Philippines, 252.91 percent in Singapore and 64.89 percent in Thailand.

“The relatively small ratio in Indonesia shows that the role of the capital market in the Indonesian economy is still small compared to that in the neighboring countries,” he said.

He said with the increasing positive sentiment towards the Indonesian capital market and huge foreign capital inflows now was the

right time for domestic companies to tap into the funds from the market.

“Indonesia must make use of the positive momentum and would not worry too much about possible sudden reversal,” he said.

He said daily transactions in the Indonesian capital market had soared. In 2005 it reached only around Rp1.67 trillion but in 2010 it went up to around Rp4.5 trillion.

“This shows that our market is more liquid. The rise in liquidity will certainly become an attraction in itself for investors,” he said.

The significant hike in the price of shares in the Indonesian stock exchange has also increased market capitalization significantly.

In 2009 the market capitalization reached Rp2,000 trillion while until October 2010 it rose to around Rp3,000 trillion.

Purbaya said right now the Indonesian economy was in the phase of expansion which could last until 2016. This means there is still an opportunity for the composite index to rise higher than the present level.

He said companies could tap into

the funds in the market through various means such as an IPO or a right issue. They could also issue bonds.

“The more companies that would utilize the capital market the more competitive our financial system would be,” he said.

He said competition in the capital market would give additional pressures on the banking system to reduce their lending rates to a better level for the economy.

“Our capital market could make our financial system more competitive with the lending rates tending to be lower to make our economy able to grow faster,” he said.

Regarding views that the rise in the composite index was a bubble Purbaya the hike was supported by economic fundamentals.

“What has happened in our capital market now is not a bubble but will continue to expand until 2016. Ups and downs in the market are a common thing,” he said.

AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY

Indonesian people explore a shopping mall in Jakarta on December 15, 2010. Many shopping malls and business establishments in Indonesia are decorated with Christmas ornaments ahead of the Christmas day.

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Internationa

Friday, December 17, 2010

Bali Today Bali is still favorite place To celebrate New Year Antara

Denpasar – Bali is still become the main destination for the tourists who wanted to spend their Christmas holiday and celebrates the 2011 New Year. Ni Nyoman Purniati, a tourism businesswoman, said “Bali is still a favorite place and most of the businessmen already promote the year end package. This attracts many tourists to visit Bali.”

Most of the hotels in Bali are already fully booked for the holiday. The managements of hotel and restaurants are also decorating their place to commemorate the festivities.

She said that the number of tourists celebrating Christmas and New Year in Bali will be higher compare the last holiday. The year end holiday is celebrated by everyone and offices also will be closed so many people will come to Bali.

Puniati explained that most of the

visitors already booked hotel rooms since four months ago because they were afraid to run out of rooms.

The similar condition is also happening in the transportation business. Dew Nyoman Sujana, the owner of car rental in Denpasar, said “most of our guests already order a car since a few months ago. They want to use the car during their holiday in Bali.”

He said that usually the highest number of tourists will happened on December 23 through January 6.

Boeing 777-300 explodes at Ngurah Rai Airport During a simulation Mangupura (Bali Post)—

Boeing 777-300 aircraft owned by Gateway’s Bali Airlines flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Ngurah Rai International Airport on Wednesday (Dec 15) at 7:05 p.m. Local Time made an emergency landing. The plane landed from runway 27, but it was overrunning and exploded. Such highspeed aircraft carrying 175 passengers broke into several pieces.

The fiery accident killed 23 and injured 62 people, while 90 others survived, including passengers indicated as the members of a terrorist group. Such an incident posed a handling simulation of the 60th Dirgantara Raharja or aviation emergency exercise 2010 organized by the authority of Ngurah Rai Airport to ascertain that the airport was ready to face any emergency situation.

General Manager (GM) of PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) Ngurah Rai Airport, Heru Legowo, explained that officers, facilities and emergency handling procedures would be trained, tested and evaluated in the face of certain scenarios. “This will become the Indonesia’s first training held at night. Accidents can happen anytime, so we must be ready and alert in the face them, day or night,” he explained.

Furthermore, he added the exercise conducted periodically once every two years was also intended to test and ensure whether personnel of the airport were

really professional and always ready for emergencies occurring any time in the airport.

“The decision to do the exercise at night poses a big challenge for us and this exercise has been thoroughly prepared with care,” he said.

The activity would ensure that all airport employees were ready to implement the Airport Emergency Plan professionally. “This exercise poses a means for us to improve the procedures, train staff and provide facilities in the face of emergency situations that can happen anytime,” he said.

According to synopsis of the exercise as presented by Heru, it employed Boeing 777-300 aircraft, with registration number PK-BGW, call sign of gateways 555 and flew from Kuala Lumpur to the Ngurah Rai Airport.

At the same time, the Aviation Security also received information from the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) that one of the passengers was suspected as a terrorist group that would meet its members at the Ngurah Rai Airport.

On entering the airspace of Bali territory, the pilot declared that smokes arose in the cabin from the engine No. 1 that was on fire. The pilot requested a priority for landing as well as asked for medical assistance because some passengers had difficulty to breath and some others fell unconscious. (par)

http://www.purnamabeachestate.com

The photo shows Bali’s rice field.

Getting in Touch with Local Culture Robinson Crusoe might not originally have planed to explore the pristine tropical Island of Màs a Tierra. However, since the ship he went with was wrecked by vicious storm, he had no choice but attempted to save himself to nearest island. Like blessing in disguise, he has fallen in love with the island for some 28 years. He could do many things and obtain valuable experiences while waiting for the time to return home.

At that time, he probably did know about the terms agrotourism. Yet, without being realized he has enjoyed a variety of tourism activities. He got acquainted with local tribes and did farming as the local did.

Agrotourism is similar to what might have been carried out by the figure Robinson Crusoe in the novel authored by Daniel Defoe. It is the form of tourism taking advantage of rural culture as tourist attraction. Its focus lies on cultural landscape.

It’s worth noting here that the culture does not only include the arts and tradition, but culture in the general sense as in the seven universal elements of culture that also embrace the system of livelihood, equipment, technology, language, religion and so forth. Actually it’s a comprehensive and sustainable tourism development. By this, local people are enabled to be widely involved in various activities, not merely as passive spectators.

On the other hand, through this activity visitors have a good opportunity to get acquainted with many aspects of rural life, starting from agricultural occupation, local products, traditional culinary, custom and tradition as well as lifestyle of local people. In agricultural field, for instance, there are areas producing characteristic local variety of rice like at Penebel; snakefruit at Pupuan and Sibetan; strawberry at Bedugul; and tangerine at Bondalem and Tejakula to name a few. Then what is making different from that of other regions across the archipelago? This disparity concerns with the tradition and lifestyle. In Bali, visitors will be able to see that local farmers have traditional organization managing the irrigated and non-irrigated farming named subak. Uniquely, they perform ritual to express their gratitude to God on the prosperity obtained from farming on particular days and specifically on Tumpek Bubuh (the nearest one falls

on 21 February).

Moreover, this kind of tourism will bring visitors closer to nature and other rural activities beyond farming. Even, they can participate in those activities. For instance, if Bali has rich traditional dances, visitors can join to learn some of them. As a result, visitors do not only visiting Bali to feel the pleasure of touring, watching cultural performance and seeing the enchanting panoramas, but also experiencing in person the local lifestyle. Other than agricultural-related activities, Bali retains a wide variety of unique ones that are worth visiting. There are handicraft making, traditional painting, (seasonal) coffee harvesting, fishing and many more. And if possible, they can stay with the local community.

Visitors participated in agrotourism are ideally expected to be more active than the average tourists while on trips. In essence, there are some categories of activity in agrotourism namely the family-oriented activities like sporting and cycling; participatory activities like learning to dance and cook traditional food; nature-oriented activities like horse riding, elephant safari, trekking; farming-related activities like seasonal harvesting, exploring local fruits at traditional market and so forth. These activities can complete the existing tourism product. In Bali, this tourism has become an alternative to avoid the market saturation of those very same products.

Agrotourism does not only enrich the existing tourism products and provide alternative to visitors. To local community, it poses an empowerment that enables to them get involved in the tourist activities. In general, it will make an even distribution of tourist visits to villages and working opportunity. To sum up, this community-based tourism will make available more opportunity to wider community. Hopefully there will be no cases like the closing access to see the beautiful view of terraced rice field as the field’s owner gets nothing from ‘his property of attraction.’ By this development, at least the land owner gets additional benefits from valued asset he has apart from his harvest. By doing so, he would feel the benefit of tourism while remaining cultivating his land. Do you think he will sell his land providing him with such double impacts? (BTN/punia)

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Friday, December 17, 2010

Balinese Script: A Key to Open the Asset of Bali Except for oral tradition, Balinese community also has written traditions. It is inseparable from the spread of Hinduism and Buddhism in Indonesia during the ninth to tenth centuries. At the time Devanagari and Pallawa script were widely used to perform written inscriptions immortalizing important events.

Thanks to these two scripts that implanted important basic in the origin of Balinese script.

At a glance, Japanese scripts (Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji) have similarity to Balinese script in terms of its functions. Balinese script has three types involving the wreastra (to inscribe common words), swalalita (borrowing words from Old Javanese and Sanskrit), and modre (holy syllables). Departing from this similarity, Bali should be able to take a spirit to develop itself. If Japanese language can play important role in the regions most visited by its tourists, Bali ideally should be able to play the role at least at home.

JATA Ecotourism Handbook mentions some important points regarding to ecotourism namely the principle of treasuring and preserving irreplaceable nature and precious cultural assets (including language and script); and the guidelines including to value and respect cultural assets and

historical sites and to try to communicate in the local languages. On seeing these, language and script denote important cultural asset in ecotourism development.

A friend of the writer, an expert in Balinese language, once told that in Leiden, the lontars manuscript are stored in a very secure room. In order to see (read) it; one should pass through at least three security layers. Then, another point is an important lontar was once handed over to the former President Megawati by the Queen of the Netherlands in person. These indicate that how important assets the lontar manuscripts are. Have the Balinese given the same attention to theirs? Probably, only some have done it, while some others prefer to leave theirs obsolete at home without knowing what subject matter it contains.

As a tourist destination Bali has a great potential to introduce this asset to visitors.

Moreover, script as a medium to record important thinking, ancient tradition and literary works is worth giving serious attention. The problem is that how to make the preservation go hand in hand with the ‘business.’ It needs a business touch packaging the leisure travel and study on the native language of the destination. And more specifically, how to make the publication written in Balinese lan-

guage and script that can attract others (beyond Balinese community) to know and read it? Of course, it should feature something beneficial for them.

Up to these days, Balinese characters are only widely used in the writing of lontar (palmleaf) manuscripts. Meanwhile, for commercial book, magazine or publication for public consumption is almost unavailable.

Ideally, there are regular publications using the native language (basa Bali) and Balinese script (aksara Bali). By doing so, both can be used to express Balinese culture and accommodate the needs of modern community.

Through the media, both can feature relevant subject matter to modern living. On that account, the preservation will not stop at the competition of lontar inscription, writing of labels like the names of street in Denpasar, shop (along Jalan Gajah Mada), and board sign of government’s office, but keeps on meeting the demand of the users’ life.

In short, Balinese scripts (along with Balinese language) should be able to accommodate the needs of its users today. They are becoming both an icon of Balinese community and a medium to express the users’ mind, emotion and communication in wider context as other languages and scripts do. Therefore, they should go hand in hand with time and make them not be left behind by its users! (BTN/w punia)

Balinese Culture Sambal Be Tongkol (Tuna Fish Salad) OVERVIEW: Although this is made with fresh tuna in Bali, you can also use drained canned tuna as a substitute. Season the canned tuna and combine with seasonings, but do not attempt to fry it.

INGREDIENTS: 4 fresh tuna steaks, weighing 100 gr each ¼ cup seafood spice paste 1 tsp salt ½ tsp crushed black pepper 1 tbsp freshly squeezed limejuice 2 tbsp oil 1-cup sambal matah Fried shallot for garnish PREPARATION: 1. Season fresh tuna steaks with seafood spice paste, salt pepper and lime juice.

2. Heat oil in frying pan and cook tuna steaks for 3 minutes on each side over high heat. Do not over cook.

Set aside and allow cooling down, and then breaking the tuna into small chunks. Place in salad bowl, add sambal matah and mix well.

3. Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with fried shallots. Serve at room temperature with steamed rice. (www.baliguide.com/baliguide)

Gado-Gado (Vegetable Salad With Peanut Sauce) INGREDIENTS: 100 gr Long bean cut, blanched 1 cup Bean sprout, blanched 100 gr Spinach, blanched 1/4 ea Cabbage chopped and blanched 1 ea Carrot (medium), thinly sliced, blanched 4 sq Hard beancurd, deep fried, sliced 4 ea Hard boiled eggs, cut in wedges 2 tsp Shallot, sliced, fried 1/2 cup peanut sauce

http://staff.unud.ac.id

Balinese manuscripts

PREPARATION: Prepare the sauce by blending first four ingredients until coarse. Put in pan with all other ingredients except fried shallots and lime juice. Simmer over very low heat for I hour. Stirring to prevent sticking. Stir in lime juice and shallots just before use. Arrange all vegetables and on a dish and pour over the sauce. Garnish with bean curd and eggs, sprinkle with shallots and serve with deep-fried krupuk. (www.baliguide.com/balifood)

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Friday, December 17, 2010

Destinations

Bali Museum IBP

Strategically located in Major Wisnu Street in Denpasar Bali and it is find it due to the location is in the heart town. In the north side there are glorious temple of Jagatnatha, meanwhile in front of it the Puputan Badung (Badung Courtyard) and four face statue (Catur Muka Statue) are located. The development of Bali Museum is begun by the existence of initiative how to vitally the heritage of Balinese culture and taking care of, preserve and maintaining. The initiative is based on the existence of feeling to worry, that there is symptom a kind of culture erosion, so that the cultural heritage become totally disappeared, lose, what omit only photograph and documentations.

Bali Museum save the Balinese culture heritage, emerge the founding plan a museum which afterward becomes the Bali Museum: * The early planning of Bali Museum founding was Governmental functionary of Dutch, Bali King, Society Prominent, all artists like: WFJ Kroon (assistant of Dutch Resident), Curt Grundler (a Germany Architect), I Gusti Alit Ngurah (Bestuurder Penegara Badung), I Gusti Bagus Jelantik (King of Karangasem), I Gusti Ketut Djelantik (King of

Buleleng), King of Tabanan, and all artists like I Gusti Ketut Kandel, I Gusti Ketut Rai. The Planning is happened in year 1910 with the elementary concept Bali Museum building structure that was solidarity of the structure between temple building (Sanctum) and Palace (Keraton). * After agreed on the concept of the museum building structure, hence founded a mains building which deflect finished in year 1925. Because of the ancient object collection which had been collected is not yet adequate and

then during 7 years (1925-1932), the mains building stood functioned for the exhibition purpose.

All meritorious experts in checking object taken as collection of Bali Museum for example: DR.W.F. Stutterheim, G.I. Graider, G.M. Hendrikss, DR.R. Goris, and artist of Walter Spies * Bali Museum in the beginning is handled by an institution that is called Bali Museum Institution and opened officially on 8 December 1932 with the name of Bali Museum * The management hereinafter by institution of Bali Museum has been reverted to Government of Indonesia since 5 January 1966.

The object collections which are kept in Bali Museum can be classified become the prehistoric object collection like: the Grave Petrify (sarkopag), the object collection coming from history era like: stupika clay containing superstitious formula Ye Te, the bronze statues (Hindu and Budha statues) and ethnography object collection like Keris, Endek Cloth, and religious ceremony equipments (Sangku, Cecepan and Sidakarya mask).

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Friday, December 17, 2010

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BUSINESS Feds sue BP, other companies for oil spill damages Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS - The Justice Department sued BP and several other companies involved in the Gulf oil spill Wednesday, an opening salvo in the government’s effort to get billions of dollars for untold economic and environmental damage.

The government accuses the companies of disregarding federal safety regulations in drilling the well that blew out April 20 and triggered a deadly explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig. The lawsuit is separate from a Justice Department criminal probe that has not resulted in any charges.

“The department’s focus on investigating this disaster and preventing future (spills) is not over,” Attorney General Eric Holder said during a news conference in Washington.

“Both our civil and criminal investigations are ongoing.”

The federal lawsuit filed in New Orleans names BP, rig owner Transocean and some other companies involved in the ill-fated drilling project, but not Halliburton — the project’s

cement contractor — or the maker of a key cutoff valve that failed. Both could be added later.

BP said it would respond to the claims at a later date but noted that it stands “alone among the parties” in having already stepped up to pay for the cleanup. It said in a statement that it will continue to fulfill its commitments to the Gulf and to cooperate with ongoing investigations.

“The filing is solely a statement of the government’s allegations and does not in any manner constitute any finding of liability or any judicial finding that the allegations have merit,” BP said.

The lawsuit makes it possible for the federal government to seek billions of dollars in penalties for polluting the Gulf of Mexico, beaches

and wetlands, and reimbursement for its cleanup costs. More than 300 lawsuits filed previously by individuals and businesses, and now consolidated in the New Orleans federal court, include claims for financial losses and compensation for the families of 11 workers killed in the blast.

The judge overseeing those lawsuits had set Wednesday as the deadline to file certain types of complaints, though it was unclear whether the government was bound by that time frame.

“The Justice Department has left its options open to argue that there was gross negligence and therefore should be higher penalties,” said David Uhlmann, a law professor at the University of Michigan who headed up the Justice Department’s environmental crimes section for seven years. “The government has not limited itself in any way with the filing of its civil lawsuit.”

The suit asks that the companies be held liable without limitation under the Oil Pollution Act for all re-

moval costs and damages caused by the spill, including damages to natural resources. The lawsuit also seeks civil penalties under the Clean Water Act. The government did not set a dollar figure in the lawsuit, saying the amount of damages and the extent of injuries sustained by the United States are not yet fully known.

Under the Clean Water Act alone, BP faces fines of up to $1,100 for each barrel of oil spilled. If BP were found to have committed gross negligence or willful misconduct, the fine could be up to $4,300 per barrel.

That means that based on the government’s estimate of 206 million gallons released by the well, BP could face civil fines of between $5.4 billion and $21.1 billion. BP disputes the government’s spill estimate.

The government did not specify in its lawsuit whether it believes there was gross negligence, but it left open the possibility for such a finding later.

Besides BP Exploration & Production Inc., the other defendants in

the case are Anadarko Exploration & Production LP; Anadarko Petroleum Corp.; MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC; Triton Asset Leasing GMBH; Transocean Holdings LLC; Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc.; Transocean Deepwater Inc.; and Transocean’s insurer, QBE Underwriting Ltd./Lloyd’s Syndicate 1036.

Anadarko and MOEX are minority owners of the well that blew out.

Transocean disputed the allegations and insisted it should not be held liable.

“No drilling contractor has ever been held liable for discharges from a well under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990,” Transocean said in a statement.

“The responsibility for hydrocarbons discharged from a well lies solely with its owner and operator.”

The Justice Department isn’t the first government entity to sue BP. Alabama Attorney General Troy King filed federal lawsuits in August on behalf of the state against BP, Transocean, Halliburton and other companies that worked on the project.

BofA gets more time for EU hopes to seize debt crisis initiative at summit talks over soured loans Reuters

Agence France-Presse

CHARLOTTE - Bank of America and a group of investors demanding the bank buy back soured mortgages it sold to them have agreed to extend talks aimed at resolving their dispute.

The bank and a law firm representing the investors said Wednesday they would go beyond a 60-day discussion period triggered by a letter sent to the bank in mid-October. The bank did not say whether there was a new time limit set on the talks.

Investors appeared to welcome the prospects of a negotiated settlement to the standoff and the possibility of the bank avoiding a costly, and potentially messy, legal battle. Following Bank of America’s statement late Wednesday, its shares added 25 cents to $12.54 in aftermarket trading. The stock had slipped 11 cents to $12.29 during the regular session. As the housing boom raged, many lenders sold off mortgages to investment banks that pooled the loans into securities and sold them to investors. However, in the housing and economic crisis that followed, many homeowners ended up defaulting on their loans, saddling investors with securities backed by bad loans.

Now, some of those investors are demanding that the lenders that sold them the now-troubled mortgages buy the loans back — a practice known as “put-backs” on Wall Street.

Bank of America had previously rejected the claims and said last month it would not buy back bad mortgages,

even as both sides engaged in talks.

The announcement that we’re making today is consistent with our strategy all along that if there is a valid defect, Bank of America will act responsibly and buy back the loan, and in case of no evidence of a valid defect we will defend the interests of the company and of our shareholders,” said Jerry Dubrowski, a BofA spokesman.

The group of eight investors seeking put-backs from Bank of America includes the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Freddie Mac, Pimco Investment Management and Blackrock Financial Management.

The investors own interests in a slate of 115 transactions with an original principal balance of $104 billion. Now the balance is $46 billion. The investors want Bank of America to buy back defaulted mortgages made by its Countrywide unit, which the Charlotte-based bank acquired in July 2008.

They argue that Countrywide’s practice of modifying loans found to have faulty paperwork or those written outside of normal underwriting standards breached signed agreements with the investors. By continuing to service bad loans rather than speeding up foreclosures, the group claims, Countrywide ran up servicing fees, enriching itself at the expense of investors. Bank of America, however, has described the loan modifications as the “proper response to an unprecedented housing crisis and in furtherance of the stated policy of the federal government.” It called claims of poorly handled loans baseless.

BRUSSELS – European Union leaders meet on Thursday to try to agree the next steps in tackling a year-long debt crisis that has consumed Greece and Ireland and threatens to spread to Portugal and Spain.

After months of battling to put out fires, including a 110 billion euro bailout for Athens and an 85 billion euro aid package for Dublin, EU leaders will discuss changing the EU’s treaty to create a permanent crisis-resolution mechanism from 2013, and may look at enlarging their existing crisis fund.

The two-day summit comes as market pressure on the sovereign debt of peripheral euro zone states has fallen marginally before yearend, but EU officials are conscious that any failure to take decisive action could be interpreted as weakness, with the threat of further bond market fallout early next year.

Ratings agency Moody’s warned Spain on Wednesday that its debt could be downgraded, and Portugal took steps to revive its economy and bolster its finances, hoping to stave off renewed market pressure that could force it into an EU bailout.

Moody’s said it was concerned about Spain’s high debt funding needs, its heavily indebted banks and its regional finances, but it did not expect Madrid would have to follow Greece and Ireland in seek-

ing EU assistance.

The Portuguese government announced moves to cut red tape and boost growth, and said it would soon adopt quarterly fiscal targets.

Both Spain and Portugal have come under intense pressure and are facing funding crunches next year.

As well as approving a change to the EU’s treaty demanded by Germany to create a permanent system for handling crises from mid-2013, EU leaders will discuss how they can improve the current temporary financial safety net — a 750 billion euro ($1 trillion) joint EU/IMF loan facility.

One possibility is to increase the size of the fund, while another would involve making it more flexible in terms of the loans it can make, including the possibility of credit lines.

Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders said the EU’s portion, 440 billion euros, could potentially be doubled to fend off the threat of renewed market pressure on Portugal and Spain, and Spain’s economy minister backed the idea of a larger fund.

The EU’s leading powers, Germany and France, say less than 10 percent of the rescue funds have been committed so far, so there is no urgent need to increase the money available.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said no country in Europe would be left on its own, and reiterated that the euro was a strong

currency that would be defended to the hilt.

“We know that the euro is our collective destiny, and Europe is our collective future,” she said on Wednesday. “Nobody in Europe will be abandoned. Europe will succeed together.”

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso urged leaders to act fast to reach a consensus at the summit.

The European Central Bank holds the second day of a regular, non-rate setting meeting on Thursday, when it is expected to agree to ask euro zone member states for more capital, a move to lower its risk profile as it helps tackle the debt crisis.

Belgium had the outlook on its sovereign debt lowered by Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday, with the threat of a downgrade within six months if it fails to sort out a political impasse.

Top EU officials, including Luxembourg Prime Minister JeanClaude Juncker and the Italian finance minister, have called for the euro zone to consider issuing collective treasury bonds, or e-bonds, which would effectively mean the 16 euro zone countries sharing credit risk and debt issuance.

Germany opposes the proposal, which would expose its credit risk to the influence of riskier peripheral euro zone countries such as Portugal and Greece. The issue may be raised at the EU summit, but no decisions are expected.

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Friday, December 17, 2010

Entertainment

International

Veteran CNN host Larry King hangs up suspenders Agence France Presse

LOS ANGELES - Veteran CNN talk show host Larry King hangs up his famous suspenders Thursday, after a quarter of a century of interviewing the powerful and famous. The 77-year-old, who will be succeeded by former British journalist Piers Morgan, is finally retiring from “Larry King Live,” the show he has presented on the Atlanta-based news network since 1985.

Typically combining high politics with showbiz news and gossip, interviewees on his final shows this week have included Barbra Streisand and former British premier Tony Blair. Born Larry Zeiger in Brooklyn, the CNN icon has become one of the most recognizable figures on US television, after previously anchoring a national radio show for seven years.

Over the decades the gravelvoiced broadcaster has quizzed everyone who is anyone on his nightly programme, including every US president since Gerald Ford.

Other highlights included Playboy founder Hugh Hefner with a bevvy of Playmate girlfriends, Mike Tyson interviewed inside the boxing ring at the

MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. While critics say his interviewing style can be too soft-soap, others argue that’s why he gets everyone to come on his show, winning scoops which some credit with helping establish CNN in its early days.

The Emmy award-winner has conducted over 40,000 interviews over the years, and recently broke the world record for the same TV interview show in the same time slot with the same presenter.

To celebrate his 40th anniversary in broadcasting, Tinsel Town honored King in 1997 with a star on the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard, a short walk from CNN’s LA offices. King’s private

life has been almost as storied as his on-screen career: in April he filed for divorce from his seventh wife Shawn Southwick, citing “irreconcilable differences.”

Although Southwick was King’s seventh wife, it was the eighth time he had filed for a divorce. He was twice married and divorced to Alene Akins, with whom he split in 1972.

Tributes have been flowing since he announced he was leaving the show. “We will miss Larry’s giggle.

We will miss Larry’s stupid suspenders,” said Washington Post TV columnist Lisa de Moraes.

“We will miss the way he, at times, has no idea who he is interviewing. There will never be another like Larry,” she added.

AP Photo/John Russell, file

FILE - In this Dec. 16, 1999 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. George W. Bush jokes with CNN’s Larry King after finishing the “Larry King Live” show from the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, Tenn. After 25 years of “Larry King Live,” Larry King will hang up his suspenders with his last broadcast on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010.

Big Bird stars in Chinese Aretha Franklin goes home ‘Sesame Street’ spin-off for the holidays Agence France Presse

Associated Press Writer

SHANGHAI - Sesame Street’s Big Bird is returning to Chinese television after a nine-year absence as the star of his own Mandarin-language spin-off series set to premiere in Shanghai next week. The eight-foot-tall yellow bird is the host of “Sesame Street’s Big Bird Looks at the World”, a daily 11-minute programme set to debut on Shanghai Media Group’s Ha Ha Children’s Channel on December 22, the producers said.

“Sesame Workshop has had a proud history of serving the needs of children globally since 1969 and in China since 1983 when Big Bird first visited,” Gary E. Knell, president and CEO of the nonprofit Sesame Workshop, said in a statement.

Big Bird first came to China to film sequences for “Sesame Street” 27 years ago and again from 1998 to 2001. Sesame Workshop at that time partnered with Shanghai television to produce Zhima Jie, a Chinese version of the legendary educational children’s programme.

But the show did not last beyond 130 episodes in a tough regulatory environment that favours domestic fare over imported programmes.

“Through the continued efforts of those in the industry, the children’s media landscape in China has made big strides in the last few years,” said Ye Chao, deputy general manager of Toonmax, the Shanghai Media Group unit in charge of Ha Ha. Big Bird’s co-stars on the show will be Elmo and a new character named Lily, a martial arts-loving tiger, the producers said. Each of the 52 episodes will focus on a question raised by one of the characters such as “Where does the sun go at night?” or “What are seashells?”, the producers said.

Health care products company MSD China, a subsidiary of Merck & Co, which works with Sesame Workshop around the world, is helping fund the programme.

NEW YORK – Aretha Franklin is home from the hospital — and she’s already making plans for the holidays. In a statement released Wednesday, the Queen of Soul said she’s been home for three days and her family and friends are taking great care of her. Franklin says she also has a private nurse who checks on her every day.

She also says she’s hoping to see a play about Sam Cooke in her hometown of Detroit soon and to see the production of “Dreamgirls” there before it closes this month. Franklin had surgery for an ailment she has not disclosed. She says her doctors deemed the operation “highly successful.”

Franklin was forced to cancel concerts recently because of illness.

AP Photo/Shea Walsh, file

FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2008 file photo, Aretha Franklin performs at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.

Life Style

International

Friday, December 17, 2010

13

Women wrestling in the Bolivian Andes Agence France Presse

LA PAZ - On weekdays, mild-mannered 29-year-old Mariela Averanga works as a secretary in La Paz, but at the weekend she dons the billowing, Aymara skirt of the highlands and climbs into the ring as the nefarious “Benita the Untouchable”.

“I’m going to kill that dirty Indian,” she shouts as she grapples, kicks, punches and jumps off the top rope onto her opponent in a small wrestling ring set up in a square in La Paz’s northern suburb of El Tejar.

It’s wrestling in all its glory with a feminine touch of the Andes.

Sporting the traditional long braids and multi-layered skirts of the Aymara, these “cholitas luchadoras” (Indian women wrestlers) have become a local institution half-way between circus and sport, much as wrestling is considered elsewhere in the world.

It all started nearly eight years ago in El Alto, a sprawling bedroom community overlooking La Paz, at a nose-bleeding 4,100 meters (13,400 feet) above sea level, wrestling promoter Nelson Calle told AFP. Wrestler Edgar Palacios, Calle

said, “saw a couple of women fighting in El Alto. They were fighting for real, and he noticed people had gathered round to watch without interfering in any way. That’s where he got the idea of the fighting Indian women.”

That’s one version. A likelier one is that as male wrestling began losing popularity in the 1990s to television and DVDs, promoters turned to female wrestling to lure the crowds back to neighborhood rings.

The cholitas luchadoras gradually caught on and spread to La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia’s biggest cities, which sport some eight private stables of female wrestlers with ring names like “Tender Juanita”, “Headbusting Elizabeth” and “Jennifer Two-Face”.

The two-hour fighting extravaganzas make their way around the

suburbs, the provinces and even abroad, in neighboring Peru. The skirted wrestlers have become parttime sportswomen and local celebrities, something with little precedent for Bolivian women of indigenous extraction, who are mostly homemakers, street vendors and office workers, said Calle.

Depending on their standing, they make between 100 and 200 bolivianos (14-28 dollars) per fight night, which is about 25-33 percent of the minimum monthly salary in Bolivia.

But they have other rewards. “I’ve been fighting since I was seven. I like it. I like the adrenaline rush,” “Benita the Untouchable” told AFP after a match she lost to “Cute Angela”, a more technical opponent who wowed some 200 spectators with flying scissors and headlocks.

AFP PHOTO/Aizar RALDES

In a picture taken on December 4, 2010 Benita La Intocable (R), faces Simpatica Angela during a “cholitas” (Aymara women in skirts) all-in wrestling fight in La Paz. The fighting “cholitas” are one of the main attractions of the “catchascan”, a kind of circus that perform in popular neighbourhoods of Bolivia.

A picture taken on December 14, 2010 in Versailles, west of Paris, shows the back view of “Grand Controle” hotel that will be renovated in a twenty tree rooms luxury hotel.

AFP PHOTO/JACQUES DEMARTHON

France’s Versailles palace to host luxury hotel Agence France Presse

PARIS - The Palace of Versailles is to transform one of its satellite buildings into a luxury hotel, paving the way for a series of French projects aimed at exploiting the economic potential of listed buildings while securing their renovation.

The Hotel du Grand Controle, the traditional home of the chateau’s treasurers, is to be converted into a “luxury hotel,” JeanJacques Aillagon, president of the Chateau de Versailles, said Tuesday. “It’s a pioneering initiative,” he told reporters. The opening of the 23-bedroom establishment, in which some rooms will look out onto the “Orangerie” — the chateau’s elaborate greenhouse — or the Swiss ornamental lake, is planned for late 2011.

The palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site deemed one of the crowning achievements of 18th-century French art, is one of Europe’s most popular tourist attractions.

Famed for its Hall of Mirrors and home to the French court from 1682, the complex was transformed and expanded under the Sun King Louis XIV into a monument to royal grandeur and absolutism. It remained the official seat of power until the French Revolution in 1789, when Marie-Antoinette fled the palace via a secret passage.

A concession has been granted to the Belgian company Ivy

International SA, which is to renovate and develop the satellite building, which dates back to the 17th century, over 30 years. The company is already working on a similar luxury hotel in France’s western Brittany region.

Built in the 1680s by the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the 1,700 square-metre (18,000 square-feet) Hotel du Grand Controle served as an officers’ mess until 2006. “This building was given to us in a very dilapidated state,” said Aillagon. “I’ve been given the task of saving it,” he added.

Ivy will pay for the renovation works, estimated at 5.5 million euros (7.3 million dollars), which will be led by historic monuments architect-in-chief Frederic Didier. The company will pay Versailles an annual fee to lease the building.

A November 2009 agreement between the Culture Ministry and the Secretariat of State for Tourism set out to encourage the economic and touristic development of French heritage. Another royal palace, the Chateau of Fontainbleau south of Paris, is preparing to appeal for bids to develop its listed Heronniere barracks next year.

“We have to find a purpose for these buildings to avoid them falling into ruin,” said Jean-Francois Hebert, president of Fontainbleau. “One of the ways will be to set up an upmarket hotel complex,” he said.

Indonesian fishermen find old sunken ship Associated Press Writer

JAKARTA, Indonesia – A sunken ship that may be several centuries old and containing green and gray ceramics has been found off remote Indonesian islands recently hit by a tsunami, officials said Thursday.

Fishermen who found the vessel believe the Oct. 26 wave off the Mentawai islands — which killed more than 500 people — lifted the 20-foot- (7-meter-) long ship from the ocean floor and pushed it closer to shore, said Yosmeri, who heads West Sumatra’s Maritime and Fishery Department.

Wooden ships laden with ceramic pots, golden necklaces and valuable spices for centuries navigated Indonesian waters, a key trade route linking Asia with Europe and the Middle East. Hundreds are said to litter the seabed off West Sumatra province.

The pots, jugs and bowls found last week still need to be tested to determine their origin and age, Yosmeri said, but he added that they are similar to 14th century artifacts found inside sunken Chinese vessels.

Local fisherman say they found the wooden ship after spotting its mast 4 miles (6 kilometers) from the beach off Pagai Island, hardest hit by the tsunami.

They dove into the water and emerged with several well-preserved jugs and pots found in the hull, which they said was laden with more treasures.

Pictures of the artifacts have been sent to the capital, Jakarta, and teams will be sent to the area soon to carry out a more extensive search, Yosmeri said.

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Friday, December 17, 2010

Sport

International

Dortmund Cup woe continues, Napoli squeeze through Agence France Presse

AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili

Inter Milan Samuel Etoo, left, is challenged by South Korea’s Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma soccer player Ko Jae Sung , middle, during their FIFA Club World Cup semi final soccer match at the Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Wednesday Dec. 15, 2010.

Inter cruise into Club World Cup final Agence France Presse

ABU DHABI - European champions Inter Milan swept into the final of the Club World Cup with a convincing 3-0 semi-final defeat of Asian counterparts Seongnam Ilhwa here on Wednesday. Argentine striker Diego Milito made one goal and scored another on his return from a fiveweek absence, as Rafael Benitez’s under-performing side set up a meeting with surprise package Tout Puissant Mazembe in Saturday’s final.

Inter, who last season won an unprecedented treble of Italian league, cup and Champions League titles, were 10 points behind Serie A leaders AC Milan when they left for Abu Dhabi, but they will now be expected to end the year with another piece of major silverware.

“It was a very hard win and it was difficult to control the game as Seongnam players were running a lot and they knew exactly what to do,” said Benitez. “It wasn’t easy to start as well as we did as we lost (Wesley) Sneijder so quickly.

“The second goal made the difference for us and then towards the end we controlled the game.” He added: “I’m happy with my players as they did what we wanted of them. Seongnam are well organised and they have a lot of qualities but they had some difficulties tonight.”

Seongnam Ilhwa coach Shin Tae Yong said: “I would like to congratulate Inter as they played really well today. The score might be 3-0 but our players gave their best until the end of the game.

“Our team did a lot of effective work but in the first half we conceded two goals and they had a

slight advantage.

“If we compare the two teams, Inter’s players were physically stronger. “Also, their individual skills were better than us and that was one of the reasons why we lost tonight.

Inter were good and they scored three goals but we were not bad ourselves and gave a good performance tonight.”

Inter welcomed Julio Cesar, Cristian Chivu and Milito back from injury, but Sneijder had to go off after appearing to injure his left hamstring inside the first 30 seconds.

Sneijder had barely disappeared down the tunnel when veteran Serbian midfielder Dejan Stankovic put Inter ahead. After Milito was crowded out on the edge of the Seongnam box, Stankovic displayed impressive balance and a cool head to steady himself and then roll the ball into the bottom-right corner with his left foot.

Seongnam were unable to react to the setback and in the 32nd minute Inter doubled their lead in stylish fashion. Captain Javier Zanetti flicked the ball to Milito and drove into the box before receiving Milito’s expertly directed back-heel and guiding the ball beyond Seongnam goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong.

Julio Cesar had to be alert to save

a Dzenan Radoncic header as Seongnam sought a route back into the game, but the Brazilian goalkeeper was then beaten by a header from Chu Byung-Kuk as he advanced to claim a free-kick, only for the ball to go wide of the post.

Jo Jae-Chol gave Inter a mild scare with a snapshot from distance that brushed the roof of the net, but the Italian champions were largely able to keep their opponents at arm’s length.

Eto’o was denied by Jung with 17 minutes remaining, but Milito was on hand to stab the rebound into the net and seal Inter’s place in the final.

Seongnam had a superb opportunity to respond shortly afterwards, but when Julio Cesar parried Asian player of the year Sasa Ognenovski’s free-kick straight to Radoncic, the Montenegrin side-footed the ball wide from close range.

Earlier, Mexican side Pachuca hit back from 2-0 down to defeat local representatives Al-Wahda on penalties in the fifth place play-off.

Pachuca trailed by two goals with less than 10 minutes to play but Dario Cvitanich claimed a late brace to tie the scores and after a goalless period of extra time, the Mexicans prevailed 4-2 on penalties.

PARIS – Runaway German league leaders Borussia Dortmund crashed out of the Europa League on Wednesday as they were held 2-2 by Spanish side Sevilla in Spain in their Group J clash.

Dortmund - who exited their domestic Cup to third division Offenbach in October - needed to win to progress and deny their opponents a place in the last 32 but it was Sevilla who gained a much needed morale boost to end a run of five successive defeats, including three at home.

French title contenders Paris Saint Germain topped the group, ending their campaign with a 11 draw away at Ukrainian outfit Karpaty Lviv.

Napoli took the phrase last chance saloon to its limits also on Wednesday as a goal from inform Uruguayan international striker Edinson Cavani in the third minute of time added on gave the Serie A side a 1-0 win over Romanian outfit.

The win lifted Napoli over the unfortunate Romanians and fill second spot behind group winners Liverpool, who drew 00 at home to Utrecht. Dortmund had got the ideal start in Seville as Japanese striker Shinji Kagawa struck in the fourth minute.

However, Ivory Coast international Romaric drew the hosts level just after the half hour mark reacting first after the ball came off the chest of Brazilian team-mate Luis Fabiano.

Sevilla took the lead four minutes later in the 35th minute as Malian striker and club captain Fredi Kanoute headed home - however he had to leave the fray in the 41st minute injured.

The German visitors fought back to level the match in the 49th minute. Serbian international central defender Neven Subotic powered a header home, but chances were few and far between from then on and Dortmund were left to focus solely on maintaining their domestic league lead.

Greek side PAOK had gone into the final match requiring just a draw away over Croatian opponents Dinamo Zagreb, who needed a win to progress.

However, it was PAOK who took the second and last qualifying place in Group D with a hard-earned 1-0 victory, all the more impressive as it came only a day after a group of VIP’s travelling with them had their bus attacked by home fans.

A goal on the hour by Greek international Dimitrios Salpingidis split the sides and extended the hosts miserable record in European competition which has seen them fail to play European football after the New Year since 1970.

Thursday’s play sees holders Atletico Madrid praying for a miracle to retain their hopes of defending their crown as they need to beat already qualified Bayer Leverkusen in Germany and Greek outfit Aris fail to beat Norwegian opponents Rosenborg in Greece.

AP Photo/Angel Fernandez

Borussia Dortmund ‘s goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, rear, reacts as assistant referee Vladimir Pettay looks on during their Europa League group J soccer match against Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville, on Wednesday Dec. 15, 2010.

Sport

International

Friday, December 17, 2010

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Celtics edge Knicks on Pierce jumper with 0.4 left Associtated Press Writer

NEW YORK – Paul Pierce made a tiebreaking jumper with 0.4 seconds left, Amare Stoudemire’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was ruled too late, and the Boston Celtics pulled out a thrilling 118-116 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night for their 11th straight win.

The Knicks had their eightgame winning streak snapped when a video replay of Stoudemire’s shot showed the ball was clearly still in his hands as time expired.

Pierce scored 32 points for the Celtics, who trailed most of the fourth quarter before running their record to 20-4, best in the Eastern Conference.

Stoudemire had 39 points, extending his franchise-record streak to nine straight 30-point games. But the Knicks were denied the victory over a top team they desperately craved to punctuate their return to relevance.

They get another chance Friday, when LeBron James and the Miami Heat come to Madison Square Garden.

“The Knicks have arrived,” Pierce said in a postgame television interview. “They’re going to be a force to reckon with in the division.”

Ray Allen scored 26 points and Kevin Garnett had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics, en-

joying their fifth winning streak of 10 games or more since their Big Three came together before the 2007-08 season.

Raymond Felton had 26 points and 14 assists, Danilo Gallinari scored 20 points and Wilson Chandler had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who lost for just the second time in their last 15 games.

Most of those victories came during a soft part of the schedule, leaving the Knicks needing a victory over an established NBA power to prove doubters they were back, despite their 16-10 record.The Celtics just wouldn’t let it happen.

Stoudemire’s dunk snapped a 94-all tie with 8:05 left, and the Knicks stayed ahead until Garnett made two free throws with 1:29 remaining. Felton was late getting back after landing hard on a missed drive and the Celtics swung the ball around to Allen, whose 3-pointer gave Boston a 116-113 lead with 1:02 to play.

Gallinari answered with a

three-point play and the Knicks got the ball back after the Celtics threw it away trying to find Allen, but Stoudemire’s shot from the lane rolled out.

Pierce ran the clock down and created enough space to make his shot over Stoudemire, who had picked him up on a switch. After a timeout, the Knicks inbounded the ball to Stoudemire behind the arc, and the Madison Square Garden crowd that was standing for most of the final minutes roared when his shot went through.

But the referees had ruled it came too late, and with the Celtics standing behind them as they watched it again on video, they saw their judgment was correct.

New York Knicks’ Amare Stoudemire (1) passes away from Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010, in New York.

AP Photo

Penalty shoot-outs ‘unfair’ say researchers Agence France Presse

LONDON - Football penalty shoot-outs give an unfair psychological advantage to the team that shoots first according to new research from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) published Thursday. Now Professor Ignacio Palacios-Huerta, from the LSE’s department of management, has suggested football chiefs switch to a tennis style tie-break system, during which players can have two consecutive serves, in a bid to make shoot-outs fairer.

Palacios-Huerta and co-author Jose Apesteguia, an associate professor at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, studied 2,820 kicks from shoot-outs in major national and international competitions between 1970-2008.

They found that the team that takes the first kick wins 60 percent of the time and the team that takes the second 40 percent of the time.

“Most TV channels cut to the commercial break when the coin is being tossed to decide which team takes the first penalty — but our findings show that this could be the deciding moment after a drawn match,” Palacios-Huerta

said.

“The coin gives a 20 percent advantage to the team that shoots first. The psychological pressure of ‘lagging behind’ clearly affects the performance of the team that kicks second.” The research, published in the American Economic Review, is said to be the first study of its kind.

Palacios-Huerta and Apesteguia studied films of the penalty coin toss in 20 matches. In every case, except one, the winner of the toss chose to take the first penalty.

The exception was Italy-Spain in the 2008 European Championships — Italy won the coin toss but opted to go second and Spain won the shoot-out. The researchers also interviewed 240 players and coaches — both professional and amateur.

Almost all said they would prefer to take the first kick and 96 percent said this was to put pressure on the team kicking second.

“I suspect that the heads of FIFA or UEFA are not going to like the fact that the winner of the World Cup, the European Championship or the Champions League is decided, in part, on the 60-40 flip of a coin,” PalaciosHuerta said. His proposed solution for reducing the impact of the kicking order mirrors what happens in a tie-break in a tennis match.

Hall of Famer Bob Feller dies at 92 Associated Press Writer

CLEVELAND – Teenage pitching sensation, World War II hero, outspoken Hall of Famer and local sports treasure. Bob Feller was all of them. One of a kind, he was an American original.

Blessed with a right arm that earned the Iowa farmboy the nickname “Rapid Robert” and made him one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, Feller, who left baseball in the prime of his career to fight for his country, died Wednesday night. He was 92.

Feller, who won 266 games in 18 seasons — all with the Indians — died at 9:15 p.m. on Wednesday night of acute leukemia at a hospice, said Bob DiBiasio, the Indians vice president of public relations.

Remarkably fit until late in life, Feller had suffered serious health setbacks in recent months. He was diagnosed with leukemia in August, and while undergoing chemotherapy, he fainted and his heart briefly stopped. Eventually, he had pacemaker implanted. In November, he was hospitalized with pneu-

monia and recently released into hospice care.

Even as his health deteriorated, Feller continued doing what he loved most — attending Indians games deep into last season. “Nobody lives forever and I’ve had a blessed life,” Feller said in September. “I’d like to stay on this side of the grass for as long as I can, though. I’d really like to see the Indians win a World Series.”

Feller, in fact, was part of the rotation the last time the Indians won it all — in 1948. Fiercely proud and patriotic, Feller’s life was much like one of his overpowering fastballs. He seemed unstoppable, whether on the mound or in conversation. Feller, who broke into the majors at the tender age of 17, could always bring the heat.

“Bob Feller is gone. We cannot be surprised,” Indians owner Larry Dolan said in a statement. “Yet, it seems improbable. Bob has been such an integral part of our fabric, so much more than an exballplayer, so much more than any Cleveland Indians player. He is Cleveland, Ohio.

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Friday, December 17, 2010

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

Sport

Liu makes triumphant return, Rudisha shines Agence France Presse

PARIS - Chinese hurdles star Liu Xiang made a triumphant comeback in a year when Tyson Gay made the most of Usain Bolt’s absence through injury and Kenyan David Rudisha exploded onto the 800m scene. Liu claimed his third successive Asian Games title in the 110m hurdles and immediately set his sights on reclaiming the Olympic gold he won at the 2004 Athens Games.

Having limped out injured at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Liu made sure to live up to the soaring expections of a demanding nation, coming home in an impressive 13.09 seconds.

“I used to be unwilling to mention what happened (in Beijing) because it would take me into a depression,” said Liu, the former

world record holder.

“But that shadow isn’t following me around anymore. “I think about the demons facing me now when I race. I know that I can conquer them if I face them head on.” Elsewhere on the track, Kenya’s David Rudisha made history by twice breaking the long-standing 800m world record, the previous best mark set by

Denmark’s Kenyan-born Wilson Kipketer in August 1997.

The 21-year-old, coached by renowned Irish priest Colm O’Connell, first broke the world record in Berlin on August 22 with a time of 1min 41.09sec before bettering that mark with 1:41.01 in Rieti, Italy, a week later.

He was also crowned African

AFP PHOTO / PETER PARKS

Liu Xiang of China takes the final before finishing first and taking gold in the men’s 110m hurdles final in the athletics competition at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou on November 24, 2010.

Aprilia plays down MotoGP return hopes Aprilia technical director Luigi dall’Igna says it is unlikely that his company will return to MotoGP when the new rules come into effect in 2012.

The Italian manufacturer won this year’s World Superbike title with former MotoGP star Max Biaggi.

The new MotoGP regulations will allow teams to run with productionbased 1000cc engines, leading to

rumours that some current Superbike manufacturers might be tempted into MotoGP next year.

But dall’Igna has played down the chance of Aprilia joining the grand prix field under the ‘claiming rule’.

“You need to consider that Aprilia is a manufacturer that has reaped a lot of success in the series it has participated in,” he told Motosprint.

“To race in a world championship

with a bike that is not on the same level as our rivals is not the right spirit to face such an important commitment, so I think that in 2012 we won’t be in the world motorcycling elite, and we won’t participate in MotoGP.” Aprilia last competed in MotoGP in 2004. It retains a presence in the grand prix series in 125cc, which it currently dominates.

champion in July in Nairobi and was unbeaten in his 16 races during the outdoor campaign. O’Connell warned, however, that he must keep his feet on the ground.

“Rudisha should realise there is much work to be done and what he has achieved this year is a phase in his career,” 0’Connell said. “The next two years are very important since we have the world championships and the Olympics coming up and he can only consider himself a great if he adds his name to these categories.”

Rudisha and Croatian high jump star Blanka Vlasic were named male and female athletes of the year by the sport’s governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Alongside Rudisha’s recordbreaking runs, the 27-year-old Vlasic won both the European outdoors and world indoors titles. It was a quiet season for the biggest global draw in athletics, Jamaican Usain Bolt, ahead of the 2011 world championships in Daegu, South Korea.

The reigning treble gold medallist in world and Olympic competition and world record holder in the 100 and 200m missed most of the

season through injury.

Bolt raced 11 times, seven individually, but stopped his season early on the advice of doctors because of a lower back problem after missing a month earlier in the season with a tight Achilles tendon. The Jamaican, who has since resumed training, was a loser in his final appearance of 2010, dropping a 100m race in August to US rival Gay in Sweden.

After spending the last two years in Bolt’s shadow, Gay emerged with the right to be called the best sprinter over the blue riband distance.

The 28-year-old finished atop the standings for the shortest event in the inaugural 14-leg Diamond League, which replaced the sixevent Golden League and associated Grand Prix meetings. “You have to change your training around a little bit,” Gay said of the season-long structure, bemoaning a lack of synchronicity in complementing events. “If I run the 100m, I like to watch the women run the 100.”

Doping again reared its ugly head, the most high-profile case being that of American 400m Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt, who received a 21-month ban for failing three dope tests.