Edisi 27 Desember 2010 | International Bali Post

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Assange says signed 1.1 million pounds in book deals PAGE 12

AFP PHOTO

New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas attend a ceremony to celebrate the 42nd founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines, at a remote village in the southern island of Mindanao on December 26, 2010.

Philippine rebels threaten attacks despite talks Associated Press Writer

MOUNT DIWATA, Philippines – Communist rebels threatened more attacks Sunday despite looming peace talks with the Philippine government, as they marked the insurgency’s 42nd anniversary by defiantly marching with their weapons in public view.

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Aside from targeting government forces, New People’s Army guerrillas — one of Asia’s most resilient Maoist forces, withstanding decades of military crackdowns — also

threatened to step up attacks against mining companies, accusing them of destroying the environment and exploiting workers.

“Despite the peace talks, we will

go on with the revolt,” regional rebel spokesman Jorge Madlos told journalists in a farming village at the foothills of the Diwata mountain range in Surigao del Sur province, about 530 miles (860 kilometers) southeast of Manila.

The government and the rebels have agreed to resume peace talks after six years in February, and chief government negotiator Alexander Padilla sounded optimistic early this

week, citing promises by the new reformist president to address rebel concerns.

Amid a Christmas cease-fire, about 80 young guerrillas marched in public through this rice-growing village, brandishing M16 assault rifles, grenade launchers and other weapons to celebrate the Dec. 26, 1968, founding of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines.

Continued on page 6

Pope celebrates Christmas Eve amid security fears Agence France Presse

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI ushered in Christmas Eve with an evening Mass on Friday amid heightened security concerns following the package bombings at two Rome embassies and Christmas Eve security breaches at the Vatican the past two years.

Benedict processed down the central aisle of St. Peter’s Basilica at the start and end of the Mass without incident; with his normal phalanx of bodyguards on either side, he stopped several times to bless babies held up to him from the pews.

During the same service in 2008

and 2009, a mentally disturbed woman lunged at the pope as he processed down the aisle — and last year she managed to pull him to the ground.

Friday’s service saw no such interruptions. In his homily, Benedict recalled the birth of Jesus which is commemorated on Christmas and prayed that the faithful today become more like Christ.

“Help us to recognize your face in others who need our assistance, in those who are suffering or forsaken, in all people, and help us to live together with you as brothers and sisters, so as to become one family, your family,” he said. In addition to the past breaches, secu-

rity was also vigilant Friday due to the package bombings a day earlier at the Swiss and Chilean embassies, for which anarchists claimed responsibility. The two people who opened the envelopes were injured.

The bombings added to tensions in the capital following a violent, anti-government protest last week in the historic center and a fake bomb found Tuesday on a Rome subway.

The Vatican identified the pope’s 2008 and 2009 Christmas Eve assailant as Susanna Maiolo, a SwissItalian national with a history of psychiatric problems. Both years she wore a telltale red sweat shirt.

Continued on page 6

AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

Pope Benedict XVI

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International

Monday, December 27, 2010

Bali News Exotic Christmas at missionary village:

Santa Claus going around the village by bike Christmas celebration at Palasari Village, Melaya subdistrict, is slightly different from similar celebrations in other regions.

Cultural syncretism inherent in the society of Palasari becomes the characteristic and rural exoticism of Jembrana Regency.

Peaceful atmosphere of the community at the missionary village during the celebration of Christmas is very intense as when Bali Post explored every nook and cranny of the village.

The village inhabited by the majority of Catholic devotees is situated about 25 kilometers west of Negara City. It is in the same direction as the Palasari Dam tourist attraction founded during the administration of President Soeharto. When entering the village, beautiful scenery and serene atmosphere were exuded as typical characteristic of villages in Bali. Settlement house of the residents also lined up neatly arranged in such a way in various styles of architecture. Even, the building of houses intensely reflected the nuance of European-style architecture. Such a condition was inseparable from the role of missionaries who formerly cleared the forest for settlement. It was the Priest Simon Buis, SVD who first opened the forest in Melaya (1892-1960).

“He is the forerunner of this village and opened the forest.

Similarly, this figure played important role in preparing the spatial layout of the rural roads connecting the villages to each other as in Europe,” said one of the Palasari community leaders, Wayan Sujana Raharja.

If the Balinese Hindus had a tradition of homecoming during the Nyepi, Galungan and Kuningan, the diaspora residents of Palasari Village also had a tradition of going home during Easter and Christmas Day. Uniquely, during the Christmas celebration like last Saturday, the vibes of this village was like other villages in Bali celebrating the Galungan festivity. Before the entrance gates of each house compound was installed a penjor with various creative ornaments.

At a glance, there was no difference from the atmosphere on the celebration of Galungan when entering the village streets. It was just realized that it was not the celebration of Balinese Hindu when the gate’s shrine and family temple were not encountered to be embellished with ornamental paraphernalia within the house

compound. Ornament on the front porch was different, namely in the form of Christmas tree with colorful lights. The tradition of Catholics at this village on the Christmas celebration assimilated with the Balinese Hindu tradition. It was not merely penjor, but also the tradition of ngejot (passing gift to relatives/neighbors), pajegan or gebogan (offering made of cakes and fruits), lawar delicacy up to middle customary attires used to worship to the Church and ngejot.

“Other than Catholic, the village is also dwelled by the Hindus and we show high tolerance. Each Nyepi or Day of Silence, like any other villages, we also respect them by not to go out of the house. And, so does the ngejot tradition,” added Sujana who is also a legislator in the Jembrana House.

Roads in the residential areas connected to each other. For those who visited the village for the first time would be made surprised by the number of intersections, but inter-related. All residential roads had access to the church and cemetery. Uniquely, on the last Christmas, there was someone in complete Santa Claus attires with cigarette holder riding a push bike around the village. But, the Santa Claus did not carry a sack of gifts.

At least, he could jazz up the atmosphere of Christmas celebration at the village.

Aside from the house buildings designed in the Netherlands architectural style, the no less important and becoming the icon of the village was the Christ’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church of Palasari. The church building was built in 19551958 initiated by Pastor B. Blanken SVD. Additionally, the architectural style of the church was inseparable from the Balinese architectural style in general. A touch of Balinese architectural style was initiated by I.B. Tugur implementing the typical ornamental details.

Specificity of Balinese architecture was discernible when entering and exploring the steps to the porch of the church. Entrance gates made of

IBP/Olo

The Santa who is travelling throughout thw village using a bike. carved red brick stone in Balinese style welcomed visitors and then followed by a towering church building. On the front wall of the church, every level was embellished with Balinese-style stone carvings. Then, the topmost building usually used to house the bells was also made in Balinese-style.

The exterior space of the church accommodating 800 people was more dominated by Balinese architectural style and such design made the difference.

Dissimilar atmosphere was discernible when we entered into the church. Its interior design was dominated by European-style with distinctive arches of the European church. The element of simpleshaped stone in the foundation of the building and wood on the roof were more highlighted. But, the corners of the supporting pillars were decorated with Balinese carved stone ornaments. Meanwhile, Chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council, John Wayan Puniasta, said the church was renovated in 1998, especially the roof

of the church by timber. Balinese Hindu ornament could be found on the front side. Then, a building resembling to a lotus sat on the wall facing the main door of the church.

Similarly, every front corner of the church was embellished with pajegan. Puniasta also said that the church building was a combination of Balinese and European styles.

In celebrating the Christmas, the villagers were also familiar with the term penampahan (the day before) and umanis (the day after) Christmas. Priest Bartholomeus Bere Pr. said the meaning of Christmas was very pervasive and special. Throughout December of this year, there were a series of festivities starting from Eid al-Adha, Galungan, Kuningan up to Christmas. Especially in Jembrana, it would be organized a regent election within a few days after Christmas. This priest from Atambua (East Nusa Tenggara) hoped that peace continued to occur on the Land of Buffalo Races (Makepung) as Christmas vibes at Palasari. “We feel a more condu-

cive situation, even though within the pre-election days. The political issues did not too much influence us. On that account, devotees could say prayers comfortably,” he said, accompanied by Priest Adi Harun. The celebration was also a little different this year marked by the drama featuring the birth of Jesus Christ performed by young people.

This missionary village also has a spiritual tourist attraction. Almost every day the Catholics who passed through the Denpasar-Gilimanuk road section always stop by to worship. Development of spiritual sanctum is also carried out by building the Maria Cave located adjacent to the church. Location of the cave is on the plateau and has been formed in such a way for musing worship. At night, the atmosphere here is truly tranquil so that a few people do meditation here. “Indeed, this project has not completely finished. However, we plan to accomplish it next year,” said the initiator of the Maria Cave, Gusti Suwirya. (olo)

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Bali News

International

Monday, December 27, 2010

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Ceremony in Goa Lawah Temple Semarapura (Bali Post)—

Coinciding with the Anggarakasih Medangsia (Dec 28), a padudusan agung ritual will be held in Goa Lawah Temple. In connection with the ritual, some preparations had been made by the committee such as establishing traditional marquee, installing Tawang shrine, invoking holy water to a number of universal temples in Bali, ritual to the oblation ingredients and some others. It was announced by the ritual committee, Bagus Darmayasa, Saturday (Dec 25).

Similarly, it was mentioned, the peak of the ceremony would be chaired by Ida Pedanda Gede Keniten from Geria Dawan. Having accomplished the ritual, the Lord would receive the worship (nyejer) for four days until January 4 and the ritual would be led by some higher priests.

“For the ceremony, most of the preparations had been completed by

supporting devotees of Pesinggahan Village,” said Bagus while expecting that Hindu devotees could say prayers and come orderly. By doing so, it would be in harmony with what had been carried out by the committee namely trying to prepare something good to give more flexibilities and conveniences to devotees in their prayers. (kmb20)

IBP/ist

Goa Lawah Temple

Fortifying children’s mental with educative programs LATELY, the touch of artistic values within the society began to decrease. Arts and entertainment performances, especially those containing educational elements, were still rarely found. Special entertainment for children’s consumption, for instance, such as the number of children’s songs or movies or soap operas produced today is countable.

As a result, children then looked for the options to watch adult soap opera, adult movies and the like. Unfortunately, the existing options more highlighted the elements of violence, luxury and glamour. Its consequence could be felt with the emergence of various violent acts, criminal acts, abuse or abuse against children in the society. These phenomena were inseparable from various information and media contents. Then, what kind of entertainment that can keep the kids away from violence? Who is indeed responsible for these?

Deputy Rector I of the Indonesia Institute of Arts (ISI) Denpasar, Ketut Murdana, did not dismiss if the entertainment containing violent and porn nuances would adversely affect the mental development of children. Children that were in their time to imitate the pattern or model would easily mimic the violence they saw or witnessed in the media or performed on stage.

Therefore, according to Murdana, who is also an artist, the oversight was important to do. Before aired to the broader public, the artistic value and content of an entertainment had to be supervised by relevant authorities.

Film, for example, had censorship agency overseeing the content of the film. Movies qualifying for the censorship could just be played on widescreen

or television.

Similarly, in the world of traditional and modern arts, there should be supervision from relevant agencies so there would be no element of violence or porn staged. The Balinese traditional art once missed due to the emergence of horrendous porn Joged Bumbung.

This kind or art would be very dangerous if watched by children. Gratefully, Bali government, in this case the Bali Cultural Services, immediately organized a contest of Joged Bumbung recently. It aimed to take back the Joged Bumbung dance to its original style.

“By and large, children are easy to imitate anything intrigued them. On that account, it should be attempted as good as possible to keep them away from the elements of violence and porn. By doing so, it would not be until highlighted on various types of entertainment or the arts, both in traditional, contemporary and developmental arts. It is important to control the content and aesthetical value of the art works by relevant authorities,” he said. The key, said Murdana, the arts had to be returned to its ideal function. Except for refining the mind, the art could also be used as a medium of social control. Well, in order our children could grow properly with good mental condition, they should be given a touch of art-laden educational value, or spectacle with guidance-laden.

Then, to what extent is the role of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) of Bali Chapter in addressing the rampant programs of violent acts? Chairman of KPI Bali Komang Suarsana said the programs containing the elements of violence in the media had a very detrimental effect on children. Such influences, among others, could increase the aggressive behavior

leading to insensitivity against violence and raise the fear. Children witnessing violence on television had tendency to do the same in later dates.

In respond to that matter, KPI had already been taking action by reducing the programs related to violence, especially during the hours where children still had a chance of watching television. KPI through the Regulation No.2/2009 and Regulation No.3/2009 concerning with the Broadcasting Code of Conduct and Broadcasting Program Standards (P3-SPS) had set forth that broadcasting programs should pay attention to and protect the interests of children, adolescents, and women. P3SPS also restricted and prohibited the broadcasting programs containing the elements of violence and sadism either in factual programs such as news and non-factual programs like the arts. For example, it prohibited to show off in details the bleeding victim, mutilated bodies and other pathetic conditions.

Likewise, it prohibited the torture scenes in close ups with or without tools (club/bat, electrical currents, sharp objects) tangibly, giving sadistic impression and making viewers cringe, such as stabbing by a knife, needle or other objects so the blood spurted and removed the contents of the body, and shooting from a short distance. Then, it was also prohibited to display any scenes of a murder committed sadistically.

Similarly, it prohibited the elements of verbal abuse such as abusive words and curses. The programs broadcast were prohibited to use harsh words and curses both disclosed verbally and nonverbally having a tendency of insulting, degrading human dignity, meaning dirty/nasty/obscene/vulgar, and insulting any religion and God. (lun)

Transportation Services to divert traffic on Jalan Gajah Mada Denpasar (Bali Post)—

By the implementation of Denpasar Festival commenced on the upcoming Tuesday (Dec 28), a number of arrangements had been made. Even, for the smooth implementation of the yearend celebration, the Denpasar Transportation Services began to divert the traffic flows in the area of Jalan Gajah Mada. The changes came into effect from Saturday (Dec 25).

Two roads were significantly altered, namely Jalan Sulawesi and Jalan Gunung Kawi. Both roads had a total change, where previously the traffic ran northwardly to Jalan Sulawesi, but it is now running southwardly. In other words, vehicles can enter through Jalan Gajah Mada and then head for Jalan Hasanudin.

As for Jalan Gunung Kawi in front of the Pemeregan Hamlet Hall, originally the traffic ran southwardly and entered from Jalan Gajah Mada, but now it is no more allowed. Vehicles leading to this road should enter from the Jalan Hasanudin by turning left toward the north and then arrived on Jalan Gajah Mada.

“The changing of traffic course is related to the implementation of Denpasar Festival.

However, if this change can make the traffic flow on the

Jalan Gajah Mada area smoother, it could be made permanent.

Otherwise, it will be taken back to previous routes,” said the Head of Denpasar Transportation Services I Gede Astika last Saturday.

Meanwhile, in relation to the parking-free area along the Jalan Gajah Mada, it would be applied permanently because the central parking services in this area had been effective. “So the prohibition of parking on Jalan Gajah Mada has been final and continuously enforced,” he said.

Based on observation made on Saturday, the course changing resulted in severe traffic congestion on Jalan Gajah Mada. It was caused by a number of motorists and drivers that did not know about the changes in the traffic flow. Not only that, the central part of Jalan Gajah Mada was also closed to prepare the culinary stands.

Vehicles coming from the west towards Jalan Surapati were finally directed to Jalan Kartini. As a result, the density of traffic flows on Jalan Kartini was seen to increase by 100 percent. “Since the eastern road section of Jalan Gajah Mada is closed, the drivers finally turned his vehicle to Jalan Kartini,” said Komang Suarta, one of the residents met on Jalan Kartini last Saturday. (kmb12)

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News

Monday, December 27, 2010

International

West African presidents to tell Gbagbo to quit Reuters

ABIDJAN – Three West African presidents will fly to Ivory Coast Tuesday to tell incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo to quit or face force, Benin said Saturday, a sign of mounting regional determination to force him out. Gbagbo has so far resisted calls to cede power to rival presidential candidate Alassane Ouattara after a November 28 election which African neighbors, the United Nations, the United States and the European Union all say Ouattara won.

The United Nations said Saturday it had so far counted 14,000 refugees fleeing Ivory Coast for neighboring Liberia since the vote, as fears mount that the dispute will rekindle a 2002-03 civil war.

Humanitarian needs were increasing for the “mostly women and children refugees as well as for the villagers hosting them,” UNHCR said on its website.

Nearly 200 people have died in violence since the election. The presidents of Benin, Sierra Leone and Cap Vert will tell Gbagbo on behalf of regional bloc ECOWAS “that he must step down as quickly as possible or face legitimate military force,” Benin’s Foreign Minister Jean Marie Ehouzou told

Reuters.

A spokesman for Gbagbo’s government — which is also facing travel bans and funding freezes — said Saturday in an interview with Radio France Internationale that the ECOWAS threat of force was “unjust.”

Christmas celebrations were muted in the country as fearful citizens stayed home. “This is the worst Christmas I have experienced so far. Even in 2002 when there was war, it was better. The problem now is that people are tired. Two presidents, two governments, all this is too much for people,” said Saibou Coulibaly, a toy vendor in the main city Abidjan.

RECOGNITION OF RESULT

Gbagbo insists he won the election after the Constitutional Court, which is headed by one of his allies, threw out hundreds of thousands of votes from pro-Ouattara constituencies.

The standoff turned violent last week with brief gun battles between government soldiers loyal to Gbagbo and rebels who now back Ouattara. The United Nations and human rights groups have said gunmen are now attacking proOuattara neighborhoods by night, kidnapping and killing people.

AP Photo/ Lee Sang-hak, Yonhap

South Korean Army soldiers patrol on the front line of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Inje, north of Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 24, 2010. One month after a deadly exchange of artillery fire, the two Koreas ramped up their rhetoric, with South Korea’s president pledging unsparing retaliation if attacked again and a top North Korean official threatening a “sacred” nuclear war if provoked.

NKorea troops boast of artillery attacks on SKorea Agence France Presse

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean soldiers boasted on state television they bombarded a front-line South Korean island with artillery last month as immediate retaliation after the South fired first.

REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Delegates speak before the fourteenth Special session on the situation in Ivory Coast of the Human Rights Council at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva December 23, 2010.

The two Koreas have ramped up their rhetoric since the Nov. 23 attack killed four South Koreans on Yeonpyeong Island near their tense western sea border. North Korea has said it fired after South Korean shells landed in its waters, while the South has said its routine firing drill aimed away from the sea frontier and should not have provoked an attack.

North Korea’s war of words intensified around Saturday’s 19th anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il’s appointment as the North’s supreme military

commander. Kim’s military chief threatened last week to launch a “sacred” nuclear war against the South.

On Friday, North Korean soldiers appeared on a state TV program marking Kim’s appointment anniversary and bragged of participating in the artillery barrage.

“Our eyes were full of fire right after we saw the enemy’s shells being fired into our sacred waters,” soldier Kim Moon Chol said, clinching his fists and standing shoulder-toshoulder with three uniformed col-

leagues. Their ranks were unknown.

“At the order of ‘fire,’ we poured our merciless thunderbolt of fire at the enemy,” he said in a loud, oratory-style speech. A soldier whose uniform was full of military decorations expressed his loyalty to Kim Jong Il. “Facing the enemy’s provocation, we shouted, ‘Let’s dedicate our lives to fighting the enemy and giving them a merciless death for our dear leader and supreme military commander,’” Kim Kyong Su said.

Their speeches constantly drew applause from the audience — mostly uniformed soldiers who spoke separately and vowed to get tougher with South Korea. They all later sang a military song together.

Pakistan food centers shut after suicide bombing Associated Press Writer

KHAR, Pakistan – Authorities have temporarily closed food aid distribution centers in northwest Pakistan, an official said Sunday, a day after a female suicide bomber killed 45 people and wounded scores more outside a World Food Program depot in the region.

Shafiq Khan, an official with the WFP food distribution project, said the regional government ordered the temporary closure of all four food relief centers in the Bajur district following Saturday’s bombing in the area’s main town of Khar.

The WFP project in Bajur feeds thousands of people who have been displaced since early 2009 by fighting between the Pakistan military and insurgents in the country’s rugged tribal regions along the Afghan border. It was not immediately clear how long the food distribution points would be closed.

The decision to temporarily shut down the program’s food depots over security concerns was prompted by Saturday’s attack, when a burqa-clad bomber lobbed two hand grenades before detonating her explosive belt among a crowd of some 300 people outside the United Nations agency’s aid center in Khar. It was the latest

militant strike against the Pakistani authorities’ control over the key tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Khar administrator Sohail Khan said Sunday authorities have yet to identify the bomber.

The bombing, which the Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for, drew swift condemnation from around the world, including President Barack Obama. In a statement released in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he was spending Christmas, Obama said that “killing innocent civilians outside a World Food Program distribution point is an affront to the people of Pakistan, and to all humanity.”

AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad

Pakistan army paramedic and rescue workers unload an injured victim of suicide bombing, from a van upon his arrival at Lady Reading hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010.

Activities

International

Monday, December 27, 2010

5

Aston Bogor Hotel & Resort Opens IBP

BOGOR - Aston International announced the opening of the group’s first hotel in Bogor – the 4 star Aston Bogor Hotel & Resort.

The Aston Bogor Hotel & Resort is set to become Bogor’s premier international 4 star hotel & resort and aims to offer unprecedented facilities for business and leisure travelers as well as professional MICE organizers.

The new hotel & resort is part of the Nirwana Epicentrum commercial and entertainment area and features 123 rooms and suites in a variety of configurations ranging from studios to one and two bedroom serviced condominiums. Facilities include a lobby lounge, coffee shop, terrace café, a large pillar less ballroom and several modern meeting rooms as well as ample of recreation options such as fitness center, spa and a large outdoor swimming pool.

Hotel guests will also benefit from the many nearby attractions such as The Jungle Water Park which is literally right next to the new Aston Bogor Hotel & Resort and Orchard Walk with its many Restaurants and Cafes.

Aston Bogor Hotel & Resort’s General Manager, M. Darto said: “Bogor is one of Indonesia’s major leisure and MICE destinations. The new Aston Bogor Hotel & Resort was designed to become the premier venue for the city’s social and commercial activities and as such is the perfect location for business assignments, leisure stays, meetings, and exhibitions.”

Temple Ceremony Calendar Event for December 18th through December 25th 2010 18. “Kuningan” believed as the ascending day of the ancestral holy spirits back to Heaven after spending time with their descendants during Galungan.

Throughout Bali. “Makotekan” ceremony “village purification”, Munggu village, district of Mengwi, Badung regency.

“Perang Jempana” rituals when the temples adherents carrying temple-effigies strike one another as to indicate that the ceremony as a whole has been properly done, at Pura Panti Timbrah, Paksebali village, district of Banjarangkan, Klungkung regency.

Temple anniversary celebrations at: * Pura Taman Pule, Mas village, district of ubud, Gianyar regency. * Pura Ularan, Takmung village, district of Banjarangkan, Klungkung regency. * Pura Bukit Jati, Guliang Kawan village, Bangli regency. * Pura Dalem Tegal Jaya, Batubulan village, district of Sukawati, Gianyar regency. * Pura Dalem Guwang village, district of Sukawati, Gianyar regency. * Pura Jengengan Majapahit, Cemenggaon village, district of Sukawati, Gianyar regency. * Pura Sadha, Kapal village, district of Mengwi, Badung regency. * Pura Sakenan, Serangan Island, the municipality of Denpasar. * Pura Luhur Pakendungan, Tanah Lot Beach, district of Kediri, Tabanan regency. * Pura Dalem Sanding village, district of Tampaksiring, Gianyar regency.

19. “Pemendakan” Welcoming procession held started from Sakenan Temple to Denpasar, Serangan Island, south of Denpasar.

Temple anniversary celebrations at: * Pura Dalem Pauman Bhujangga, Penatih village, east of Denpasar. * Pura Alas Arum, Batur village, district of

Kintamani, Bangli regency. * Pura Batuaji, Ubud Tengah village, west of Denpasar. * Pura Dalem Buleleng, downtown of Singaraja. * Pura Dalem Jagaraga village, district of Sawan, Buleleng regency.

21.T emple anniversary celebrations at: * Pura Banua Besakih complex, district of Rendang, Karangasem regency. * Pura Dalem Semenggaon village, district of Sukawati, Gianyar regency. * Pura Desa Celuk village, district of Sukawati, Gianyar regency. * Pura Dewa Agung Klungkung, Ulah village, district of Sidemen, Karangasem regency. * Pura Gunung Rena, Sidemen village, Karangasem regency.

22.T emple anniversary celebrations at: * Pura Tanah Lot (well know as temple on the rock) Beraban village, district of Kediri, Tabanan regency. * Pura Bukcabe, Mas village, district of Ubud, Gianyar regency. * Pura Puseh Ganggang Canggi, Batuan village, district of Sukwati, Gianyar regency. * Pura Masceti Sanding village, district of Tampaksiring, Gianyar regency. * Pura Luhur Batur Pucangan, Buahan village, district of Penebel, Tabanan regency. * Pura Dalem Tarukan Cemenggaon village, district of Sukawati, Gianyar regency. * Pura Dalem Bangun Sakti, Kapal village district of Mengwi, Badung regency. * Pura Dang Kahyangan Penataran Agung Baturening, Mambal village, district of Abiansemal Badung regency.

25. Chritsmas

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

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

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

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

6

Monday, December 27, 2010

News

Quake shakes New Zealand, causing minor damage Associated Press Writer

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Masonry and glass rained down near post-Christmas shoppers as a magnitude 4.9 earthquake rocked Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island on Sunday.

No one was injured, but at least 20 buildings in the city’s center were damaged by the temblor, which scientists said was the latest of hundreds of aftershocks since a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch on Sept. 4. That quake caused extensive damage and a handful of injuries, but no deaths.

Sunday’s temblor also came a few hours after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck under the sea near Vanuatu. There were no reports of damage or injuries from that quake, though it generated a small tsunami wave.

New Zealand and Vanuatu are situated on the Pacific “ring of fire” — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching from Chile in South America through Alaska and down through the South Pacific.

The quake struck Christchurch in the late morning as shoppers thronged central city streets to take advantage of traditional Boxing Day sales. Although masonry and glass fell across sidewalks, no one was hurt, according to police. Large parts of the central business district were cordoned off after the quake and power was cut temporarily.

Monitoring agency GNS Science said the quake occurred at 10:30 a.m. within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of Christchurch at a depth of 8 miles (12 kilometers).

It was the largest of more than a dozen aftershocks that rattled Christchurch throughout Sunday.

Scientists said the temblors were related to the September quake and could continue for some time.

Earlier on Sunday, a 5.9 magni-

tude quake was felt across New Zealand’s North Island, but no damage or injuries were reported. The quake was centered north of volcanic White Island off New Zealand’s east coast.

New Zealand sits above an area where two tectonic plates collide.

The country records more than 14,000 earthquakes a year — but only about 150 are felt by residents, and fewer than 10 a year do any damage.

Mao-style cap and goatee. “I’m happy knowing that with them, the rebellion will go on,” he said.

Engendered by the Cold War in the late 1960s, the rural-based insurrection has emerged as this Southeast Asian nation’s most serious security menace, stoked by decades of poverty, agrarian unrest, government corruption and misrule. Five presidents have failed to crush the Maoist rebellion, which has killed at least 120,000 combatants and civilians.

The party dates from its split from an older Communist group at a conference Dec. 26, 1968, in northern Pangasinan province.

That date also was the 75th birthday of China’s Mao Tse-Tung.

Washington has blacklisted the Communist Party and its armed wing, the 5,000-strong New People’s Army, as terrorist organizations, blaming them for separate attacks that killed four American military personnel in the 1980s.

The rebels walked away from peace talks brokered by Norway in 2004, suspecting then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s government of instigating their inclusion on U.S. and EU terrorist lists.

Since assuming office in June, President Benigno Aquino III has begun tackling pervasive government corruption and human rights

violations blamed on state security forces that have helped breed the insurgency.

His promises to tackle poverty and graft could boost upcoming peace talks with rebels and make irrelevant the country’s communist insurgency, Padilla told The Associated Press in an interview.

The president, he said, understands the rebels’ concerns. His mother, former President Corazon Aquino, led a 1986 “people power” protest that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos, whose martial law declaration in 1972 provided the fodder for the rebel movement as students, farmers and the middle-class swelled its ranks to some 25,000.

After restoring democracy, Corazon Aquino opened talks with the rebels, but they soon broke down. Battle setbacks, factionalism and surrenders have sapped their strength, but they still claim a presence in each of the Philippines’ 81 provinces.

The NPA operates a shadow government in areas under its influence, conducting trials — and sometimes executions — of policemen and village officials accused of harming people. The rebels also collect “revolutionary taxes” — and punish business establishments refusing to pay.

Aquino won rare praise from

Fallen bricks lay on the ground at the Community of the Sacred Name on Madras Street in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Sunday, Dec. 26, 2010, following a series of aftershocks.

AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Simon Baker

Philippine...

From page 1 On a makeshift wooden stage festooned with a huge red cloth emblazoned with the hammer and sickle communist symbol, rebels sang nationalist songs and guerrilla speakers revved up the more than 2,000 farmers, villagers and sympathizers. The hilly village is tucked about a mile (1.6 kilometers) away from a main road, where army troops stood guard in an outpost and listed the names of villagers streaming in to attend the ceremony.

“It’s scary at first but later, you gain confidence when you think that you’re fighting for the people,” said Johnny Buyo, a 19year-old who joined the guerrilla movement six months ago.

An M16 rifle slung on his tiny frame, Buyo guarded the rebel ceremony, wearing muddy boots and mingling with other young guerrillas. Nearby, parents, siblings and friends used the occasion to reunite with rebels, who came down from a mountain stronghold, embracing each other and exchanging stories and cell phone numbers. An emotiongripped mother said she saw her son for the first time after he joined the rebellion 10 years ago.

A new generation of fighters ensures that the revolution will continue, said Madlos, a 62-yearold rebel known for his trademark

the rebels when he recently ordered the dropping of charges against 43 health workers who claimed they were abused in military custody after being arrested as suspected insurgents 10 months ago.

Padilla said the rebels — faced with the collapse of many communist states that supported and inspired them, and with a popular new national leader seen as addressing social inequities — may soon fade to irrelevance if they persist on waging a protracted war.

He noted that even hardline leftists have been elected into Congress after abandoning their armed struggle. Madlos said oppressive conditions in the country that have fostered poverty, corruption and rights abuses had remained under Aquino.

Despite sporadic fighting, in-

cluding the killing of 10 army soldiers in a Dec. 14 rebel ambush, both sides have agreed to resume formal talks Feb. 15-21 in Norway’s capital, Oslo. They also agreed to a Christmas truce through Jan. 3.

The military, meanwhile, has softened its counterinsurgency strategy, which has been linked to extrajudicial killings of hundreds of left-wing activists and suspected rebel sympathizers.

The new six-year program unveiled last week seeks to wean away civilian communities from the rebels and includes support of advocacy groups from outside the government in addressing human rights concerns.

Political analyst Ramon Casiple said it showed that a part of the 120,000-strong military has agreed to adhere to human rights safeguards.

Pope...

From page 1 In 2008, the pope’s security detail blocked her from getting to him. But in 2009, she jumped the wooden security barrier along the basilica’s central aisle, grabbed Benedict’s vestments and pulled him to the

ground when the pope’s bodyguards toppled her.

The pontiff wasn’t hurt and continued with the Mass. But Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, a retired Vatican diplomat who was near the pope, suffered a broken hip in the fall.

International

Indonesia Today

Monday, December 27, 2010

7

Indonesia conducts peaceful Christmas holy mass Antara

JAKARTA - Christmas Holy Mass at churches and chapels in many parts of Indonesia had been conducted peacefully.

Churchgoers of the Huria Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) also conducted a peaceful Christmas holy mass at the OPP building in the West Java city of Bekasi on Saturday.

Last September, two HKBP churchgoers were attacked by a group of people on the Pondok Timur Asam road, Cikeuting village, Mustika Jaya sub-district, Bekasi.

As a result, Asiah Lumbuan Toruan, 49, and a HKBP preacher Luspida (40) sustained injuries.

Asiah suffered a stab wound at his right abdomen while Luspida suffered a blow on her head.

This attack was condemned by various civilian figures of different religious backgrounds.

A HKBP churchgoer, Erikman, told ANTARA that several hundred members of the congregation attended this year’s Christmas mass.

The mass was started at 10 AM local time led by Preacher Natan Siburian.

A number of policemen were seen guarding the HKBP’s Christmas mass venue.

“We are happy with this peaceful and crowded mass. Since we have moved to the OPP building, we have no more problems,” Erikman said.

A peaceful pontifical mass was also conducted at the Cathedral in

Central Jakarta. The holy mass was attended by some 2,000 Catholics, including Vatican Ambassador to Indonesia Leopoldo Girelli.

“The pontifical mass was led by Bishop MR Ignati Suharyo,” Graece Tanus, a spokesman of the Cathedral, said.

In North Sumatra province, the Christmas masses were also held securely and peacefully.

North Sumatra police spokesman Senior Commissioner Iwan Hari said the Christmas eve and Christmas celebrations throughout the province were held peacefully. Iwan Hari said policemen had been deployed to sensitive areas to secure Christmas and New Year’s eve celebrations in the province.

“We have so far not found any situation that can disrupt this national holiday,” he said.

In Banten town of Lebak, Christians also celebrated Christmas in a peaceful and secure situation.

Christmas mass at five churches in Lebak district preceded peacefully.

In securing Christmas Eve and Christmas celebrations, policemen, servicemen and society members worked hand-in-hand, Lebak district police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Widoni Pedri said.

Head of Christmas committee of Santa Maria Tak Bernoda Church in

AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY

Indonesian Christians attend the Christmas mass for children at the Catedral in Jakarta on December 25, 2010. Indonesian Christians in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country joined millions of other Christians the world over in celebrating Christmas day.

Rangkasbitung, Agustinus, thanked the security officers for securing Christmas celebrations at his church.

“Eight hundred people attended the pontifical mass at this church,” he said.

Indonesia has been fighting terrorist cells in the country since 2000. On December 24, 2000, a string of attacks

on churches were carried out by terrorists on Christmas eve in several cities.

The attackers targeted a number of churches in Batam, Pekanbaru, Jakarta, Sukabumi, Pangandaran, Bandung, Kudus, Mojokerto, and Mataram.

Two years after the Christmas Eve bombing, the terrorists attacked Bali

Island in 2002, killing 202 people, including 88 Australian holiday makers.

The latest deadly incident happened on July 17, 2009 when two suicide bombers attacked JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels in South Jakarta.

Merapi eruptions affect Yogyakarta hotel occupancy rate YOGYAKARTA, Dec 25 (ANTARA) - The Mount Merapi eruptions in late October and early November this year had a significant impact on the number of tourist arrivals and the occupancy rate of hotels in Yogyakarta, a spokesman said.

“Admittedly, the hotel occupancy rate is currently showing an increase compared to the previous month. But compared to the same period last year there has been a decline in hotel occupancy rate,” Chief of the Yogyakarta Public Relations Association (Kapurel)

Deddy Pranowo Eryono said here on Saturday.

Since Dec 23, the occupancy rate of star-rated hotels in Yogyakarta has reached 70 percent, representing a sharp decline compared to the same period last year, he said.

“During the 2009 Christmas

and New Year holidays the occupancy rate reached 100 percent,” he said.

He said most of hotel guests in Yogyakarta over the past few week were domestic tourists while the number of foreign tourists from Europe, America and Australia was relatively

small.

“The fact that Mount Merapi is still put an alert level has caused foreign tourists to think again of visiting Yogyakarta although tourism operators in Yogyakarta have several times promoted “lava tour” on the Merapi slope,” he said.

Some 7,324 inmates receive christmas remission

AFP PHOTO/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT

This photo taken on December 25, 2010 shows an Indonesian miner filling baskets with sulphur before carrying them from the bottom of the crater of Indonesia’s active Kajah Iwen volcano, in the extreme east of Java island. Some 350 sulphur miners eke out a dangerous and exhausting living on the active volcano, carrying hauls of up to 80 kilos of “yellow gold” which will be bought by local factories and used to refine sugar or make matches and medicines.

JAKARTA, Dec 25 (ANTARA) A total of 7,324 inmates throughout Indonesia received a Christmas remission this year, a prison spokesman said.

Currently, 127,082 people were being jailed in Indonesian prisons, and they consisted of 77,444 inmates and 49,638 detainees, Chandran Lestyono, a spokesman of the Justice and Human Rights Ministry’s Directorate General for Penitentiaries said here Saturday.

Director General For Penitentiaries Untung Sugianto was scheduled to symbolically present the remission in the Christmas celebration 2010 at Bulak Kapal prison, Bekasi, West Java, on Saturday at around 10 am local time.

The recipients of a remission included Schapelle Leigh Corby and

Renae Lawrence, both Australian nationals sentenced to 20 years in jail for drug trafficking. They respectively get a remission of 1.5 months.

“We have proposed that Corby and Renae be given Christmas remission as they have met all the requirements, and in fact our proposal has been accepted,” Siswanto, the head of Kerobokan jail in Bali said.

Four other foreign prisoners also got Christmas remissions in Bali this year.

At present, 30 foreign inmates and 19 foreign detainees are being jailed in Bali’s biggest prison.

In Papua Province, about 564 of the total of 939 inmates in the province enjoyed the remission in this year’s Christmas celebrations.

8

International

Monday, December 27, 2010

Bali Today Taiwanese tourist arrivals in Bali increase Antara

DENPASAR - The number of Taiwanese tourists arriving in Bali in the January - October 2010 period increased 6.05 percent to 109,251 from 103.019 in the same period a year earlier, a statistics official said.

“They mostly arrived through Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport aboard an airplane flying them directly from their country. We only have a record of one Taiwanese arriving through a seaport using an excursion ship,” Head of Bali’s Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), I Gede Suarsa, said here on Sunday.

He said that Taiwanese tourists who came to enjoy the natural beauty of Bali and its arts diversity in 2009 totaled 111,146, which was a drop of eight percent from those in the same period in 2008.

“The improvement of the Taiwanese economy is expected to boost the arrivals of Taiwanese

tourists in Bali in the future,” he said.

Taiwan is the fifth biggest foreign tourist contributor to Indonesia. It is able to contribute 5.08 percent of the total foreign tourist arrivals in the January - October 2010 period which stood at 2,149,020, he said.

Christmas and New Year holidays

Thronged by tourists, Lembongan was complained as untidy Bali Post

SEMARAPURA - Christmas and New Year holidays affected the atmosphere of Lembongan tourist resort, Nusa Penida. Both domestic and foreign tourists began flocking to one of the three islands of Nusa Penida. Unfortunately, tourists remained to complain about the untidy condition of Lembongan. It included the coastal region where rubbish was still encountered to have been washed away by the sea water.

Most tourists flocking the

Lembongan Island were from Australia. Then, it was followed by Japan and several other countries. One of them was Italian, although its number remained a few. “In the matter of sanitation, the Italian tourists are very fussy. Even, some of them immediately asked to go home as soon as setting their feet on the Lembongan Island because what they saw was not suitable with their expectation,” said the Director of Bali Hai Cruises, Dewa Hartawan while adding that to improve the attractiveness of Lembongan as a tourist object, the matter of sanitation

should be put on top priority in years to come.

Moreover, he said, Lembongan had been considered as an alternative tourist attraction in Bali beyond Nusa Dua, Kuta, Ubud and some other renowned tourist attractions.

Lembongan had uniqueness of its own as a tourist attraction because of its white sand along the beach, various marine tourist attractions, underground cave (object in the mainland) and some others. The number of tourist visits to Lembongan ranged from 200 to 300 people every day. (kmb20)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com

Christmas and New Year holidays affected the atmosphere of Lembongan tourist resort, Nusa Penida. Both domestic and foreign tourists began flocking to one of the three islands of Nusa Penida. Unfortunately, tourists remained to complain about the untidy condition of Lembongan.

IBP/doc

Asian tourists taking picture at Ground Zero, Kuta, Bali. The number of Taiwanese tourists arriving in Bali in the January - October 2010 period increased 6.05 percent to 109,251 from 103.019 in the same period a year earlier, a statistics official said.

Balinese traditional dishes on Christmas Antara

DENPASAR – The celebration of Christmas in Bali is also marked by the special dishes of the locals in the certain area.

This is similar with the Hindus when they celebrate Galungan Day every 6 months.

If the Hindus have traditional food such as “lawar”, “urutan” and “be balung”, the Christian in Bali also have the similar dishes. During the celebration of Christmas in Tuka village, Kuta, Badung Regency on Saturday, December 25, 2010, many people bring their traditional dishes.

The head of Paroki Tritunggal Mahakudus Tuka, Ketut Jack Mudastra, said that serving Balinese traditional food during Christmas celebration is a tradition passed on by the old generation. In Tuka village, the Christian and the Hindus live side by

side in peace and harmony. In their daily life, the people who have different religion often help each other, whether it is during the private activities or on the religious ceremony such as Galungan or Christmas.

“If there is a ngaben ceremony, the Christian will take part in the ceremony in order to give assistance to the Hindus and the other way around. We always help each other, ” Mudastra said.

Meanwhile, the Christian in Bongan Village, Tabanan, have the “ngejot’ tradition. It is the tradition where the Christian give food parcels to the locals in the area. The local priest Rai Saul Suryadi, said that the tradition has been done since a long time ago.

The tradition could give the sense of togetherness among the people in the village who have different religion and beliefs

International

Monday, December 27, 2010

Balinese Culture Domestic tourists to Bali decrease during New Year holiday Antara

DENPASAR – The interest of the domestic tourists to enjoy their New Year holiday in Bali decreased. This can be seen from the vacant hotel rooms outside Kuta area which is currently available in large amount.

The Sales Manager of Inna Sindhu Beach, Putu Sukarata, said Saturday, “in our place in Sanur area, the hotel occupancy rate is only 60%. Apparently, the tourists are crowded in Kuta area.” He admitted that it is difficult to reach the 90% target for this year’s New Year.

“Our hotel always fully booked during the year end but this year

the condition is quite different,” Sukarata added. Based on the data gathered from the Inna Hotel group in Bali such as Inna Grand Bali Beach Sanur, Inna Veteran Denpasar, and Inna Putri Bali in Nusa Dua, the condition is similar, the hotel is not fully booked, only Inna Kuta run out of rooms.

Sukarata explained that most of the guests cancelled their booking after the hotel charge 550,000 rupiah extra fee for the gala dinner during the New Year. “We only charge 800,000 rupiah per night but I don’t know why we are having difficulties to attract the guests,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Marketing Communications Manager Maya Ubud

Resort & Spa, Julita Candra, said that from the total 108 rooms in the resort, many of them still available.

Even so, she is quite optimist that the hotel occupancy rate will increase up to 70% entering the New Year.

The condition is totally different in Kuta area, tourists are very difficult to find hotel rooms. Many of them decided to find rooms in Sanur or even Denpasar. The street in Kuta and Denpasar crowded with buses which taking groups of people who want to spend their holiday in Bali.

Many of them choose to saty in the hotels in Denpasar area such as in Nangka Street, Gatot Subroto, and Cokroaminoto. The hotels usually give very cheap price for the tourist groups who stay in the hotel.

Three investors to build hotels in Denpasar Antara

DENPASAR - Three investors are planning to build hotels in Denpasar, Bali, which are expected to overcome a shortage of 1,600 hotel rooms in the past two years, a tourism official said.

“There have been three investors applying for permits to build new hotels,” Head of the Denpasar City Tourism Office Putu Budiasa said here on Thursday.

One of the investors hailed from

Poland, he said without elaborating on the total investment of the three hotels.

He said the local authorities were still processing the applications from the three investors.

If they met requirements and had good management the tourism office would soon issue in-principle approval to them and they could embark on the construction of the hotels in 2011, he said.

“But we still have to consider their financial capacity first. Let’s wait and

see the further developments,” he said.

Two of the hotels will be built on the Sanur beach and the other in the heart of Denpasar city.

“Hopefully, the presence of the three new hotels will overcome a shortage of 800 hotel rooms in Denpasar,” he said.

The city administration had set itself the target of raising the number of hotel rooms by 1,800 in 2010 and 2011.

He said 1,000 of the targeted 1,800 hotel rooms had been built this year.

C.045 ibp

Ikan Bali (Bali Fish)

Ingredients * 1 Fish, about 650-900g dressed Weight.

Preferably sea bass or Mackerel * 1 t Salt * Oil, for deep frying *2T Margarine or oil * 2 sm Onions, sliced * 1 t Sambal Oelek * 1/2 t Laos * 1/2 t Lemon grass * 3 T Tamarind juice * Pinch of ground ginger * 1 t Brown sugar * 1 T Sweet soy sauce

Directions Cut fish into serving portions and rub salt all over.

Feep-fry and drain on absorbent paper.

Heat oil and saute sliced onions until lightly brown.

Add sambal oelek, laos, lemon grass, tamarind juice, ginger, brown sugar and soy sauce. Heat thoroughly.

Place fried fish in deep serving dish and pour sauce over it. Serve with rice. (http://asiarecipe.com)

Balinese Food Culture Your gastronomical experience in Bali is as enchanting and full of discovery as your cultural experience. Balinese usually eat three meals in a day, with lunch as the primary, heaviest meal. Breakfast can be as light as a cup of coffee (which is usually not light), or a plateful of “nasi goreng” or fried rice. Lunch is the heaviest meal, with a plate of steam rice (or a mound if you prefer), accompanied by a number of main courses, usually consisting of a meat or fish dish, a vegetable dish, and a soup. Dinner is a smaller version of lunch. Desserts for both lunch and dinner can vary from various kinds of fruits, depending on the season.

As a Balinese grandmother used to say, you haven’t had a complete meal unless you have had rice. Rice is the basic food for most of Asians. But it is more than that for Balinese - it is the basis of life itself. One of the most respected goddesses in Bali and certainly the most popular is Dewi Sri - the goddess of rice. The rituals of rice, from planting to harvesting are an important part of a Balinese life.

The primary desserts in Bali as well as in the rest of Indonsia is fruit, which is available in more varieties than you can think of. There are literally tens or even hundreds of different kinds of bananas alone, from a small, pinkysized, gold-colored bananas to a foot or foot-and-a-half, dark green ones.

One favorite dessert is pisang goreng or fried banana fritter. Traditionally, my mother would make pisang goreng for afternoon snack. And you can find numerous street vendors who would make these and other snacks out in the open air (with all the dusts from bemo spicing the food).

Another traditional dessert is tape (ketan or ubi) or fermented sticky rice or cassava. This dessert is made by first steaming the sticky rice or boiling the cassava, pouring ragi or yeast powder to help the process of fermentation, and storing it for several days to allow the fermentation process to take place. The result is a sweet (if you do it right), delicious, and aromatic tape ketan or tape ubi. (Incidentally, the side product of a tape making process is the wine that comes out of the rice that becomes a light alcohol beverage called brem). (http:// asiarecipe.com)

9

10

Monday, December 27, 2010

Destinations

International

Ubud Traditional Art Market IBP

http://www.mybalitours.com

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Ubud Traditional Art Market where the existence is not far different from other markets available in the tourism area.

This market as a society economics center of Ubud and it is apposite to the existence of Ubud Empire that is called Puri Saren. The market is unfolding from west to easterly divided become two group with different purpose. There are two markets available at the same area those are one block at the Westside is for a traditional artistic market and another block located in the east as an everyday traditional fundamental market requirement. This market is opened every day about at 08:00 until 18:00, even some from them still open until nighttime. While the traditional market for the fundamental requirement is opened everyday at 06:00 even before that there is morning market started at 04:00 morning.

The art crafting are sold in this art market consisted of various crafting, from traditional until contemporary crafting which its price is relatively cheap. You can do the transaction directly to the merchant which generally can be bargained. All the crafting sold in this place you can bring home as souvenir like slipper, wood idol, bag, clothes, matting, painting and a lot of more.

It is very simple way and easily to find Ubud Market since it is very famous among the Balinese and it is strategically located in the center of Ubud Village. This market is located just in the front of Ubud Palace with crowded of visitor who purchases the items every day.

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

Monday, December 27, 2010

11

BUSINESS China’s Wen says confident can contain inflation Reuters

BEIJING – China’s government will be able to keep inflation in check, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday, pledging to speed up efforts to rein in house price surges.

Steps taken in the past month, including outright price controls to curb speculation and monetary tightening, had started to produce results, he said.

Central bank the People’s Bank of China raised interest rates on Saturday for a second time in just over two months as Beijing strengthened its battle against the stubbornly high inflation.

“We have raised reserve requirement ratio for six consecutive times and increased interest rates twice to absorb excess liquidity in the market to keep it at a reasonable level to support economic development,” Wen said in a state radio broadcast a day after the rate rise.

“I believe we can keep prices at a reasonable level through our efforts.

As a major leader of the government, I have the responsibility and I have the confidence, too,” he said in remarks published on www.cnr.cn.

The central bank said on Friday it would deploy a range of measures to head off inflationary pressures and asset bubbles.

China intensified its property tightening measures in April and September in an attempt to brake soaring property prices.

“Until now, the measures are not implemented well enough, and we will reinforce our efforts in two ways,” Wen said.

The government plans to build 10 million units of affordable housing in 2011, up from this year’s target of 5.8 million.

China will also increase efforts to curb speculation in the real estate market, mainly through monetary policies and stricter use of land, Wen said, without giving details.

Property transactions as well as land costs, a major contributor to high housing prices, have shown signs of a rebound in recent weeks, triggering concerns of more tightening.

Despite all the challenges, Wen said: “I believe property prices will return to reasonable levels through our efforts. I have the confidence.”

Eurozone reform moves: deep revamp or just tinkering?

Agence France-Presse

PARIS – The eurozone debt crisis has shaken the foundations of the single currency alliance. Its leaders are now weighing measures that could either herald a far-reaching operational revamp or simply a modest tinkering.

Emergency or temporary bailouts for euro states struggling with huge debts and gaping public deficits have given way to a permanent rescue mechanism.

At the same time, eurozone leaders have begun to talk about giving the bloc greater cohesion with the creation of an “economic government,” perhaps through a federal arrangement similar to that of the United States.

There have also been suggestions that eurozone nations jointly issue debt bonds, allowing financially troubled eurozone nations to pool their credit standing with stronger partners.

In an initial gesture, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund joined forces last May to make 110 billion euros available to Greece — but only after much debate over whether EU sovereignty could be compromised by calling in the IMF. Then it became clear that Greece was not the only eurozone member under threat. So the EU and IMF went a step further and launched a broader temporary fund that would provide a 750-billion-euro backstop for countries in difficulty.

The fund was called the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), financed by the 16 eurozone members,

and is due to expire in mid-2013.

But EU leaders understood that the eurozone’s debt crisis could not be made to disappear with temporary measures. So at a Brussels summit December 16-17 it approved a permanent rescue scheme — the European Stability Mechanism — to replace the EFSF in 2013.

And in what would be another significant development, private sector banks and investment funds that buy government-issued bonds may for the first time have to absorb some of the losses should states require financial help.

The ESM, as is the case with the current arrangement, allows for financial assistance to countries provided they adopt budgetary measures drafted by the EU’s executive commission and the IMF. The engagement of private investors, however, would not be automatic, as Germany had initially wanted: it would be determined on a case-bycase basis.

Private investor contributions would depend on the seriousness of the crisis, as measured by the European Commission and the IMF in conjunction with the European Central Bank.

The commission, the IMF and the ECB would determine if the country concerned merely faced a cash shortage or was in fact facing insolvency.

In the case of a liquidity squeeze private creditors would simply be encouraged to hold on to their invest-

ment.

But if a government was deemed to be insolvent, European aid would come with an obligation not only to implement budget reforms but to restructure the debt.

The government concerned would then negotiate with its private creditors. Debt payments could be rescheduled, interest rates lowered or the amounts to be repaid reduced.

The proposal for joint eurozone bonds, advocated most prominently

by Luxembourg Prime Minister JeanClaude Juncker, has sparked considerable controversy in recent months, but it remains a live talking point.

Throughout the debt crisis analysts have contended that bailouts alone are not sufficient — that what the eurozone really needs is a thorough overhaul of its operating procedures.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy has lobbied for a form of economic governance that would reduce divergences among member states.

His finance minister, Christine Lagarde, last week told a German newspaper that “an economic government means seeking the approval of other states” before taking action.

But her remarks drew a negative response from German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle.

Bruedele described the idea as “not a good plan,” calling instead for a “permanent protection mechanism for the single currency” and sanctions against eurozone members who fail to exercise budget restraint.

Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP

A gas station advertises gas in excess of $3 per gallon December 23, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The global economy can withstand an oil price of $100 a barrel, Kuwait’s oil minister said on Saturday, as other exporters indicated OPEC may decide against increasing output through 2011 as the market was well supplied.

World economy can withstand $100 oil price: Kuwait Reuters

CAIRO – The global economy can withstand an oil price of $100 a barrel, Kuwait’s oil minister said on Saturday, as other exporters indicated OPEC may decide against increasing output through 2011 as the market was well supplied.

Analysts have said oil producing countries are likely to raise output after crude rallied more than 30 percent from a low in May because they fear prices could damage economic growth in fuel importing countries.

European benchmark ICE Brent crude for February closed at $93.46 on Friday after hitting $94.74 a barrel, its highest level since October 2008.

Arab oil exporters meeting in Cairo this weekend said they saw no need to supply more crude as stocks were high and prices had been inflated temporarily by cold weather in Europe.

Asked by Reuters if the world economy could stand a $100 oil price, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Abdullah alSabah said: “Yes it can.”

Iraq’s new oil minister and the head of Libya’s National Oil Corporation both told Reuters that $100 was a fair price, while Qatar’s Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said he did not expect OPEC to increase production in 2011.

“I do not expect an OPEC meeting before June because oil prices are stable,” he said.

Some delegates even called for exporters to comply better with agreed production limits. OPEC members’ compliance with promised cutbacks reached 56 percent in November, according to Reuters estimates.

When asked if output could be

raised, Kuwait’s Sheikh Ahmad said: “No. More compliance, more compliance.”

The Cairo meeting of the Organization of Arab Exporting Countries (OAPEC) brought together Arab members of OPEC including top exporter Saudi Arabia, which has traditionally been viewed as a price moderate, as well as non-OPEC countries Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Bahrain.

OPEC cut output drastically after the global financial crisis struck in 2008 to prop up collapsing oil prices.

As demand has risen steeply in 2010 and is expected to rise further in 2011, the market is watching closely whether OPEC can release at least some of its spare capacity to prevent prices from soaring to around $150 per barrel as they did before the crisis struck in summer 2008.

OPEC’s most influential oil minister, Saudi Arabia’s Ali alNaimi, said on Friday he was still happy with an oil price of $70-80 a barrel and there was no need for an extra OPEC meeting before the next scheduled one in June.

Others in the group have been pressing for a higher price, arguing that quantitative easing and a weakened U.S. dollar that spurred gains across financial markets mean the oil price strength is partly nominal.

Egyptian Oil Minister Sameh Fahmy said the current increase in oil prices was the result of higher demand on heating fuel because of the cold weather in Europe.

United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Mohammed al-Hamli said crude oil inventories are “quite high. It’s the highest over the five years average... The market is well supplied.”

12

Monday, December 27, 2010

Entertainment

International

Assange says signed 1.1 million pounds in book deals Agence France Presse

LONDON – WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange said in an interview published Sunday he had signed deals for his autobiography worth more than one million pounds (1.2 million euros, 1.5 million dollars). Assange told Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper that the money would help him defend himself against allegations of sexual assault made by two women in Sweden.

AP Photo/Warner Bros., Melissa Moseley

In this film publicity image released by Warner Bros., Leonardo DiCaprio is shown in a scene from “Inception.”

“Social Network,” “Inception” top THR film list Reuters

LOS ANGELES – Film critics by definition are contrarians, so naturally, if you gather seven in a room, there will be few points of agreement. So it is with Top 10 Films of 2010 as drawn up by seven film critics for “The Hollywood Reporter,” six U.S.-based and one overseas reviewer who keeps up with domestic releases.

No film made everyone’s list. There was only limited agreement over the No. 1 film. Three fingered Christopher Nolan’s strikingly original “Inception.” Two others picked David Fincher’s Facebook tale, “The Social Network.”

The remaining votes were divided between Olivier Assayas’ “Carlos,” about the infamous terrorist known by that moniker, and Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech,” a film many pundits see as an Oscar frontrunner.

The closest area of agreement came with “The Social Network.” It made six out of seven Best 10 lists.

“Inception” and Jacques Audiard’s prison picture “A Prophet” from France wound up on four lists. “Carlos” and Lisa Cholodenko’s “The Kids are All Right,” a rare comedy, made three lists. So did Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours” and Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer.”

Animation and documentaries are making real in-roads into Best 10 lists compared to, say, 10 years ago. But, once again, agreement eludes the critics. Lee Unkrich’s “Toy Story 3,” which Disney is billing in its Oscar campaign as the best reviewed film of the year, hit only three lists while Sylvain Chomet’s “The Illusionist” and Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders’ “How to Train Your Dragon” from DreamWorks appeared on two lists as well.

No less than five documentaries were honored, but in each case, only a single list. Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor’s “Sweetgrass,” Charles Ferguson’s “Inside Job,” Frederick Wiseman’s “Boxing Gym,” Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea Annonier’s “Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno” and Banksy’s genre-bending “Exit Through the Gift Shop.”

Singer, actress Lina Romay dies at 91

“I don’t want to write this book, but I have to,” he said. “I have already spent 200,000 pounds for legal costs and I need to defend myself and to keep WikiLeaks afloat.”

The Australian said he would receive 800,000 dollars (600,000 euros) from Alfred A. Knopf, his American publisher, and a British deal with Canongate is worth 325,000 pounds (380,000 euros, 500,000 dollars).

Money from other markets and serialisation is expected to raise the total to 1.1 million pounds, he said.

The latest project of Assange’s whistleblower website is the gradual release of tens of thousands of US diplomatic cables.

Since this latest project began Assange, who is on bail in Britain fighting a bid by Sweden to extradite him over the sex assault claims, has faced problems financing WikiLeaks.

Credit card companies Visa and MasterCard and the Internet payment firm PayPal have blocked donations to WikiLeaks, prompting Assange to label them “instruments of US foreign policy.” The Bank of America, the largest US bank, has also halted all transactions to WikiLeaks.

Washington has been infuriated by WikiLeaks as the site slowly releases the cache of around 250,000 secret US State Department cables. The US is believed to be considering how to indict Assange over the the huge leak.

Assange has been staying at a friend’s country mansion in eastern England since his release from jail on December 16 on strict bail conditions that include reporting to police daily and wearing an electronic tag. A court in London is due to hold a full hearing on the Swedish extradition request starting February 7.

Filmmaker Perry to rebuild woman’s burned home Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA – Entertainment mogul Tyler Perry is offering to rebuild the home of an 88-year-old great-grandmother who lost all her belongings in a fire.

Rosa Lee Ransby and her 4-year-old great-granddaughter escaped the fire Tuesday that destroyed her home of 40 years in Coweta County, southwest of Atlanta. Coweta County firefighters began soliciting donations, and calls flooded in.

The Atlanta-based filmmaker visited Ransby’s neighborhood Thursday and pledged to rent her a house for a year, pay for her utilities, buy her furniture and then build her a new home. Coweta Fire Chief Todd Moore said Perry’s decision “made my Christmas.”

Associated Press Writer

PASADENA, Calif. – Lina Romay, who sang with the Latin-inflected Xavier (ig-ZAY’-vee-yur) Cugat orchestra in the early 1940s before beginning a decade-long career as a film and TV actress, has died. She was 91. Romay’s son, Jay Gould, says his mother died Dec. 17 of natural causes at a hospital in Pasadena.

Romay began her entertainment career by touring as the Cugat orchestra’s lead singer. A performance with the orchestra in the 1942 Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth film “You Were Never Lovelier” led to roles in some 15 other films and appearances on the Milton Berle Show, the Red Skelton Show and other TV programs.

Her show business career ended in 1953, but from the late 1970s into the 1980s, she worked as a Spanish-language radio announcer for horse races at Hollywood Park Racetrack.

AP Photo/Matt Dunham

The founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange speaks to members of the media as he leaves a police station in Beccles, England, after complying with bail his conditions, Friday, Dec. 24, 2010.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File

FILE - In this Oct. 25, 2010 file photo, Tyler Perry attends a special screening of ‘For Colored Girls’ at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York.

Life Style

International

Monday, December 27, 2010

13

Civil War message opened, decoded: No help coming Associated Press Writer

Elusive Saharan Cheetah Captured in Photos An elusive Saharan cheetah recently came into the spotlight in Niger, Africa, where a hidden camera snapped photos of the ghostly cat, whose pale coat and emaciated appearance distinguish it from other cheetahs.

In one of the images the sleek, light-colored cat with small spots on its coat and a small head is turning in the direction of the camera, its eyes aglow.

Its appearance, and how the Saharan cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki) is genetically related to other cheetahs is open to question, said John Newby, CEO of the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF), who is part of the team, along with SCF’s Thomas Rabeil and others, who captured the camera-trap snapshots between July ad August. What they know about this species comes from

the few photos they’ve managed to capture. [Image of Saharan cheetah] “I think we were more happy than surprised when the images turned up, because we knew cheetahs were in the general area because we had seen their tracks on several occasions,” Newby said.

“However, the area is so vast that picking up an animal as rare as this always entails a lot of luck and good judgment on where to place the cameras.”

The animal is so rare and elusive scientists aren’t sure how many even exist, though they estimate

from the few observations they’ve made of the animal and tracks that fewer than 10 individuals call the vast desert of Termit and Tin Toumma in Niger home. Fewer than 200 cheetahs probably exist in the entire Sahara.

[10 Species You Can Kiss Goodbye] Losing this cheetah would also mean losing important genetic and biological diversity, as these animals have adaptations for survival in extreme desert conditions.

Their home can reach sizzling temperatures up to 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius), and is so parched no standing water exists.

“They probably satisfy their water requirements through the moisture in their prey, and on having extremely effective physiological and behavioral adaptations,” Newby said.

RICHMOND, Va. – A glass vial stopped with a cork during the Civil War has been opened, revealing a coded message to the desperate Confederate commander in Vicksburg on the day the Mississippi city fell to Union forces 147 years ago. The dispatch offered no hope to doomed Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton: Reinforcements are not on the way.

The encrypted, 6-line message was dated July 4, 1863, the date of Pemberton’s surrender to Union forces led by Ulysses S. Grant, ending the Siege of Vicksburg in what historians say was a turning point midway into the Civil War. The message is from a Confederate commander on the west side of the Mississippi River across from Pemberton.

“He’s saying, ‘I can’t help you.

I have no troops, I have no supplies, I have no way to get over there,’ “ Museum of the Confederacy collections manager Catherine M. Wright said of the author of the dispiriting message.

“It was just another punctuation mark to just how desperate and dire everything was.”

The bottle, less than 2 inches in length, had sat undisturbed at the museum since 1896. It was a gift from Capt. William A. Smith, of King George County, who served

during the Vicksburg siege. It was Wright who decided to investigate the contents of the strange little bottle containing a tightly wrapped note, a .38-caliber bullet and a white thread.

“Just sort of a curiosity thing,” said Wright. “This notion of, do we have any idea what his message says?” The answer was no.

Wright asked a local art conservator, Scott Nolley, to examine the clear vial before she attempted to open it. He looked at the bottle under an electron microscope and discovered that salt had bonded the cork tightly to the bottle’s mouth.

He put the bottle on a hotplate to expand the glass, used a scalpel to loosen the cork, then gently plucked it out with tweezers.

The sewing thread was looped around the 6 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch paper, which was folded to fit into the bottle. The rolled message was removed and taken to a paper conservator, who successfully unfurled the message. But the coded message, which appears to be a random collection of letters, did not reveal itself immediately. Eager to learn the meaning of the code, Wright took the message home for the weekend to decipher. She had no success. A retired CIA code breaker, David Gaddy, was contacted, and he cracked the code in several weeks.

AP Photo/Museum of the Confederacy

In this Jan. 14, 2009 image shows a Civil War bottle with a message that was tucked inside at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Va.

Biologists head to bunkers to fight bat disease Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

In this March 31, 2010 photo provided by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Susi von Oettingen, bats are seen in a bunker in New Hampshire. Oettingen is part of a team that will study the habitat of the bats over the winter.

CONCORD, N.H. – Biologist Susi von Oettingen walked into the dark World War II-era military bunker and took out her flashlight. Among the old pipes, wires and machinery parts, she saw some bats hanging from cracks in the cement walls and ceiling.

It was an unusual place for the bats to hibernate, different from a mine or cave. But something else was different, too: None of them had whitenose syndrome, a fungus that’s killing bats across the country.

The group of bats found last winter in the New Hampshire bunker was small, recalled von Oettingen, an endangered species biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But two of the three species discovered there — the Northern Long-eared Bat

and the Little Brown Bat — have been dying off from the disease.

Starting as early as next month, von Oettingen will be part of a group of state and federal biologists monitoring that bunker and a few others in the state.

They’ll study temperature and humidity levels and put up footholds for the bats, hoping to attract more and figure out if there’s a way to control whitenose syndrome, first discovered near Albany, N.Y., in 2006. “We may be able to maintain a white-nose-free site for these bats to return to,” she said.

The disease, which appears to affect bats mostly during winter hibernation, has killed more than a million in the Northeast and has spread to at least 11 states, as far west as Oklahoma, and parts of Canada. Some caves on federal lands were closed to people this year to prevent them from

spreading the disease.

Because the bunkers would be controlled, artificial settings, biologists also might be able to experiment with different treatments for bats with the disease, without worrying about how a spray or drug might affect other organisms.

“This is one of the most promising things I’ve heard,” said Nina Fascione, executive director of Bat Conservation International, an Austin, Texas-based group that focuses on research initiatives involving bats and their ecosystems. “It presents an excellent opportunity to test things.”

One of the challenges is encouraging enough bats to use the bunkers, von Oettingen said. “They move around on the landscape, so it may be that they will naturally colonize it, or we may bring some in,” she said.

14

Monday, December 27, 2010

Sport

International

Park: United will be top when I return Park Ji-Sung says that Manchester United will cope without him as he heads off to play at the Asian Cup and maintains his side will still be at the top of the table when he returns. Park is set to play his last game for United against Sunderland on December 26, before leaving to play for South Korea in the Asian Cup in Qatar.

United sit on top of the league with a two-point lead of over secondplaced Arsenal and also have a game in hand, and the midfielder thinks that nothing will change in a few weeks time.

“I totally believe we will still be No. 1 when I come back,” Park told the Guardian. “I have no doubts we will be in the same position as we are at the moment. Playing for the national team is an honour but I am going to miss several games, so it is quite disappointing. But Manchester United have a big enough squad to be very strong and they will do well without me.” He is, however, not underestimating the challenge of high-flying Sunderland.

“Sunderland have shown what they can do against the big teams,’’ he added. ‘’Their victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was a great result. They probably think they can do the same at Old Trafford. We need to be aware of that and concentrate because this will not be easy.”

IBP/ist

Arsene Wenger

Arsenal manager wants to hammer Chelsea Agence France Presse

LONDON – Arsene Wenger wants Arsenal to deliver a hammer blow to Chelsea’s title challenge when the champions visit the Emirates Stadium in a crucial London derby on Monday. Wenger’s side have endured a miserable run against Chelsea recently, but they have a golden opportunity to end that barren streak of five successive defeats in their final home match of 2010.

While Chelsea have slipped to fourth in the Premier League after failing to win any of their last five matches, the Gunners have moved one point above their rivals into second place thanks to some impressive performances.

Arsenal’s only slip came two weeks ago when they lost to leaders Manchester United, but, despite being widely written off as title contenders in pre-season, they have managed to outshine Carlo Ancelotti’s team over the last two months and Wenger knows they can significantly damage Chelsea’s chances with victory in the first of their Christmas fixtures.

“Of course this is a must-win game,” Wenger said. “We have mixed feelings because we came out of both games against Chelsea and Manchester United this season thinking we could have won and that there wasn’t a difference between the teams.

“We have a good opportunity to show that in the coming months and that our improvement is bigger than any other team because we are a very young side.

“We are confident over taking Chelsea on at home. Chelsea have gone through a period

where results are a bit less good but that can happen to anyone in this league. “They have a little bit less confidence than they had in October but we know that winning will be down to our performance.

“We want to put a top-level performance in at the Emirates and show we are masters at home.” Wenger hopes the boost of having captain Cesc Fabregas and Dutch forward Robin van Persie starting together for the first time since August will spark his team to a landmark victory.

But Chelsea boss Ancelotti believes the presence of Frank Lampard in the team after his three-month injury absence could prove decisive. Lampard has been sidelined by hernia surgery and a groin injury and the England midfielder’s eye for goal and energetic displays have been sorely missed during Chelsea’s dismal run.

“It’s very important to have him in our attacking play and when we have the ball. That will increase our possibility to score,” Ancelotti said. “Having him back will be fantastic news. He will be able to play. He’s fit. He’s excited.

“It’s very difficult to find this kind of player who has the capability of scoring 20 goals. He has character, ability, he always runs and works hard. “He’s so professional. In the (transfer) market there is no player capable of replacing Lampard.”

After starting the season with a blizzard of goals and dominant displays that had many proclaiming them as certainties to retain the title, Chelsea looked far from invincible as injuries to Lampard, John Terry, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba took their toll.

That quartet are all back now though and Ancelotti will be left with no excuses if Chelsea continue to fall further off the pace.

The Italian’s claims that it is harder to stay at the top than get there are unlikely to cut any ice with notoriously demanding Blues owner Roman Abramovich and his coterie of advisors. “In football it is difficult to maintain first place. It’s easier to arrive first. It’s very difficult to maintain it,” Ancelotti said.

“It’s harder to stay at the top of the table. Obviously, it’s harder now to win the title and stay at the top level. But that’s a fantastic motivation for us.”

Lukaku reveals Real Madrid ‘dream’ Lukaku, 17, is attracting a huge amount of interest from Europe with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham among those looking to secure his signature. But the young striker has one ambition above all others and says he dreams of playing for Real Madrid.

“Of course, it’s a dream to play at the Bernabeu. It’s a top stadium,’’ he said. ‘’ That Jose Mourinho is the coach of Real Madrid is an extra motivation. For a coach like Mourinho, I’d want to learn as much as I possibly can.” Happy to continue his education at Anderlecht for the time being, Lukaku added that he will be ready for a big move soon.

“We’ll see in June, but for now I don’t want to hear about it. I feel happy at Anderlecht,’’ he said. “But I am ready for the big jump when the time comes. I am very ambitious. I will then do everything to convince people that I was worth so much money.”

Though the youngster admits his father will be the one to make the final decision on his next destination. “I love English, Spanish and German football. Italy is also a major championship, but it requires more experience. My father will make the right choice.”

Sport

International

Monday, December 27, 2010

15

LeBron has triple-double, Heat rout Lakers Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES – LeBron James and Kobe Bryant ran their mouths while they jogged downcourt, not quite making eye contact during an unpleasant conversation in the closing minutes. “Just asked him what he got for Christmas,” James said.

Although the two superstars wouldn’t reveal what angry words they exchanged, it wasn’t tough to pick out a few statements Saturday. While Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers got a disturbing first look at the Miami Heat, LeBron got the last word at Staples Center yet again. James had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while hitting a seasonhigh five 3-pointers, and the Heat thrived on the holiday stage in a 96-80 victory.

Although both teams called the game a television curiosity rather than a potential NBA finals preview, it clearly meant something to James, who had his third tripledouble with Miami and the 31st of his career. James also outplayed Bryant, who scored 17 points, in his second straight Christmas win in the Lakers’ home arena, following last season’s victory for LeBron’s Cavaliers.

“We’re not trying to make a statement to anyone,” James said.

“We’re trying to show each other

that we can play at a high level and try to get better every game.

This is one game. ... We’re happy because we got better today.”

While the Heat realize Boston and Orlando are much more important obstacles to their championship hopes, and while the Lakers don’t get terribly excited about playing anybody until the playoffs, there was a palpable edge in the crowd at Staples Center for this intersectional matchup — until the Heat’s steady defensive effort flattened the Lakers in the second half.

Chris Bosh had 24 points and 13 rebounds, Dwyane Wade added 18 points on a sore knee and the Heat won for the 14th time in 15 games while flustering the twotime defending champions into a terrible offensive performance, starting with Los Angeles’ 14point first quarter.

“Our whole thing is just playing solid defense the whole game,” Bosh said. “That’s the primary part of our identity. Our backbone right now is defense.”

James played a balanced, pa-

tient game, even after a technical foul near halftime for an underthe-basket scuffle with Lakers defensive stopper Ron Artest.

James’ teammates contributed enough to keep the Heat comfortably ahead, with Bosh playing an outstanding first half and Mario Chalmers contributing 13 points in a reserve role, including three 3-pointers.

“Offensively, it’s probably the most trust and the most poise we’ve played (with) this season,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Pau Gasol scored 17 points for the Lakers, who fell behind early and never caught up to the tantalizing new contenders for their title. Although Bryant wore garish green shoes for the holiday, his Lakers simply didn’t raise their games to meet the spotlight that follows Miami, falling well behind in the first half and never making a run.

Bryant, who picked up his third technical foul in two games, was visibly displeased with his teammates throughout the second half.

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, center, falls after committing an offensive foul on Miami Heat small forward James Jones, below while forward LeBron James looks on during the second half of their NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010, in Los Angeles. The Heat won 96-80.

Justice will be done, says upbeat Contador Agence France Presse

MADRID – Triple Tour de France winner Alberto Contador issued an optimistic Christmas Day message on Saturday declaring he would be cleared over a

doping charge and that 2011 would be an historic year for him.

The 27-year-old Spaniard was provisionally suspended in September after trace amounts of clenbuterol, a banned weight loss/ muscle-building drug that is also

AFP/File/Pedro Armestre

Triple Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, pictured in September 2010, issued an optimistic Christmas Day message on Saturday declaring he would be cleared over a doping charge and that 2011 would be an historic year for him.

used to fatten cattle, were found in a urine sample taken during this year’s Tour de France.

However, Contador expressed his confidence on his twitter that his claims he unknowingly ingested the clenbuterol from beef brought from Spain to France during the second rest day of the Tour, just four days before he won his third title on July 25, would be borne out.

Clenbuterol was banned by the European Union in 1996 but it is still administered illicitly by some ranchers. “I cannot say it has been either the best Christmas nor the most tranquil, but I am confident that in 2011 reason, ethics and the truth will prevail, and that justice will be done,” he said.

“I would like to thank my team Saxo Bank (who he signed a twoyear contract with in August) for retaining its faith in me. This year coming up will be HISTORIC (his emphasis)!”

The UCI asked the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) to open disciplinary proceedings against Contador on November 8 and the cyclist - who also won the Tour in 2007 and 2009 - has threatened to quit the sport if he is suspended for two years.

Klitschkos promise fight with WBA champion Haye in 2011 Reuters

BERLIN – Ukraine brothers Vladimir and Vitali Klitschko, who hold four out of five world heavyweight title crowns, promised on Saturday a much-anticipated fight with WBA champion David Haye would take place next year.

“We promise that a fight with David will take place in 2011, the brothers told German Bild newspaper. “He can choose who of the two of us he will fight and will lose his world title to,” they said.

Vladimir, who holds the WBO, IBF and IBO belts, pulled out of his bout against Briton Dereck Chisora on December 11 with a stomach muscle injury.

Vitali retained his WBC world

heavyweight title by beating American Shannon Briggs on points in October.

Haye easily defended his WBA title against fellow Briton Audley Harrison in Manchester, England, on November 13. He had been due to fight Vladimir, the younger of the brothers, in June last year but withdrew citing an injury.

A Haye-Klitschko fight would certainly generate major media attention, especially now that many of the Klitschko world title defenses get no or hardly any live coverage in North America.

It is also the only fight that would give the Klitschkos the title of undisputed heavyweight champions of the world, given they will not fight each other.

16

Monday, December 27, 2010

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

Sport

Lorenzo sees Stoner as biggest threat MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo has tipped Honda’s new signing Casey Stoner as his biggest rival for the 2011 title. While Stoner switches from Ducati to Honda next year and Valentino Rossi leaves Yamaha for Ducati, Lorenzo will stay on to defend his crown with Yamaha.

IBP/ist

Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner last season.

Todt to reconsider superally rule FIA president Jean Todt has strongly hinted that he would like to get rid of the superally regulation which allows crews to re-enter rounds of the World Rally Championship when they have retired. The controversial regulation began on the Acropolis Rally in 2004 and has divided opinion in the sport ever since.

Purists believe retirement from an event means just that, while the alternative argument points to the benefits of returning retired cars to the event for the following day for spectator entertainment and the op-

portunity for younger drivers to gain experience.

Todt admitted he isn’t keen on the regulation, saying: “I’m not a big fan of superally. Maybe for the spectators - if people have been travelling for a long time to see the cars they would be disappointed not to see them.

“Maybe we can find a way of allowing to test, but to score points once you have retired? I don’t like the philosophy, it doesn’t seem natural to me.”

Todt added that there will be no rush to make regulation changes in

the WRC: “We have the process to change, but before we change we must make sure it’s a good change against an emotional reaction. We must make sure it’s the right change.”

The teams are keen for superally to remain. Ford’s Malcolm Wilson said: “It costs a huge amount for the privateers in the Juniors and Super 2000 WRC to go around the world and if they retire on the opening stage all that money and effort is wasted. “But superally gives them the chance to gain experience. It keeps cars on the stages and that has to be a good thing.”

Asked by Gazzetta dello Sport whether he feared the Rossi/Ducati or Stoner/Honda partnership most, Lorenzo said he believes Honda will give Stoner a quicker package than Ducati will provide for Rossi.

“As things stands now I’d say Casey/Honda [is the bigger threat],” said Lorenzo. “The Japanese manufacturer is ahead compared to Ducati, but then everyone would say that after the Valencia test.

“Experience, however, suggests to wait for the first race of the year in Qatar. The red bike has great potential and has demonstrated that with Stoner these years.”

Lorenzo also believes Stoner will prove to be a tougher long-term opponent than either his Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa or Rossi.

“Pedrosa lacks something in side-by-side racing, while Rossi... well, it’s difficult to find shortcomings with him,” said Lorenzo. “I’d say his limit is age. He’s been at the front for many years, and it can’t be easy to be up there for so long. For sure, he’s super-motivated at the moment.

“In my opinion Stoner has more talent than anyone else. The way he rides is impressive, but he isn’t consistent, he crashes too much. But when he’s calm and focused it’s tough to beat him.” Former World Superbike champion Ben Spies is moving from the satellite Tech 3 squad to Yamaha’s works team next year, and Lorenzo believes his new teammate will be another major challenge.