‘Cobra’s Anger’ strikes Taliban

More than 1,000 U.S., British, and Afghan troops launched a major offensive in a key battleground of southern Afghanistan yesterday, only days after President Barack Obama unveiled a new strategy to end the war.

NATO said the offensive was designed to crush terrorists around a major town in Helmand in order to allow development to begin and civilians to return, key elements of Mr. Obama’s decision to deploy 30,000 new U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

About 900 U.S. Marines and sailors, British troops and more than 150 Afghan soldiers and police were taking part in Operation Khareh Cobra, or “Cobra’s Anger” in the valley of Now Zad.

Hundreds of Marines were dropped by aircraft into the north of the valley, while a large force of soldiers pushed northward from the town of Now Zad to sandwich the Taliban between the two forces.

“More than 1,000 ISAF personnel partnered with Afghan national security forces began a long-planned operation in northern Helmand province to clear insurgent forces from a key area,” the military said.

For the first time in Afghanistan, U.S. troops used Osprey aircraft — which have features of both a helicopter and a fixed-wing plane– to fly waves of Marines into the valley.

Also for the first time, combat engineers deployed the “Assault Breacher,” a tracked armoured vehicle built on a tank chassis. It was being used to clear a path through improvised minefields.

Major William Pelletier, from Camp Leatherneck in Helmand, told CNN the valley is “a major through-route” for transporting fighters and munitions from east to west and north to south. Terrorists have mined the region, and troops intend to provide enough security for the Afghan government and nongovernmental organizations to begin clearing the mines and roadside bombs so they can repopulate the town.

“So far, four Taliban dead bodies were left behind on the battlefield. But enemy casualties could be higher,” said Daud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Helmand governor, adding scores of mines and a cache of explosives were seized.

See also:
U.S. Marines advance in southern Afghanistan
US, British, Afghan Troops Push into Taliban Area
Marines Start Operation in Helmand Province
Marines, Afghans Launch Major Offensive
‘Cobra’s Anger’ unleashed in Taliban heartland
New Afghan push takes aim at militants
U.S., Afghan troops launch first major offensive after Obama’s announcement of troop surge
Militants killed, detained in new Afghan-US military operation
‘Cobra’s Anger’ making progress, say US Marines
‘Cobra’s Anger’ Offensive Sends Thousand U.S., NATO Troops To Afghan Valley
NATO takes on Taliban in south of Afghanistan
Marines Start Operation in Helmand Province
Monster mine-clearing tank goes to work in Afghanistan
ABV to protect combat engineers
Grizzly [Breacher]
Controversial ‘Osprey’ chopper makes debut in Afghanistan
V-22 Osprey
V-22 Osprey

/dusting off the old playbook, shades of Junction City

Okeh.
Entah kenapa skarang saia jdi rajin begini apdet blog..
Anggap saja kebetulan..
Jarang2 enjel begini..wkwk
Terlepas dari smua utang FF q..
Jujur, saia punya dilema.
Kok punya yak? Bahasanya aneh deh..yowes, lanjoth.
Begini.
Trkadang saia tuh punya satu pikiran seperti ini, “Apa ceritaku (FF mksutna) itu bener2 standart ato membosankan? Knapa kok g ada yg ngomen?”
Dan satu jawaban timbul langsung, “Mending ngga usah dipikirin, cepet slesein utang FF aja smua lalu pergi dari aktivitas yg biasa kalo aku onlen lgsg ngecek FF.”
Dan itu mungkin benar.
Aku berpikir untuk membuat FF sendiri, siapa yg mau atau memang ingin membaca FF ku, baru aku kasi.
Percuma kalo ikut forum2 gitu..
Haha.
FF ku memang tak berguna.
Dan aku tak peduli akan itu.
Aku adalah aku.
Tulisanku adalah tulisanku.
Itu uda jadi ciri khasku.
Dan aku takkan pernah mau merubahnya. NEVER!!

Oke.
Kayaknya memang benar2 membosankan kalo aku share yg sedih2 gitu.
Dan jujur.
Aku termasuk tipikal orang yg benci kesedihan, pokona yg hening, sepi, dan menyedihkan gitu deh. ^^

Nah.
Trnyata..
Sifat dodolku itu menurun juga ke ade ku.
Dodol ato lemot yak?
Yowes lah..kita sebut domot aja, dodol lemot. *gaje*
Kapan hari, pas adekku mau pergi ke acara ultah temennya, mamaku nanya, “Temenmu itu punya pawang ujan ya? Hari ni kok cerah banget..”
Adekku dgn tampang polosnya jawab, “Bukan. Temenku itu punya mobil BMW..”
Gubrakk.
Dyerr.
Duarr
Dorrrrr..
Jleb.

Itu termasuk dodol, lemot, ato idiot?? wkwkkwk!
Dan…….kdang2 punya ade cowok itu seru, tpi kadang2 ngeselin juga.
Kalo lg tengkar, wihhh….bisa ancur nih kamar.
Wkwk~

Now there’s a phrase I’d never thought I’d type, but it’s quite sincere! Hooray for Rwanda!

Why hooray? Well, they’ve come a long way since 1994, when all they could find time to do was horribly murder each other while we in the West sat back, made some annoyed grunts and then otherwise paid no attention to it (“Never again!” we cried after the Holocaust, not bothering to add, “Unless it’s black people, or European Muslims“).

But seriously, the country has come a long way. They’ve had Truth and Reconciliation committees that have met to deal with the genocide, they’ve got a reasonably stable government, and in the last week not only have they joined the Commonwealth of Nations (becoming only the second country that wasn’t a former British colony to do so), but they’ve also become the first country that was mined extensively to now be landmine free (Obama still won’t sign off on anti-landmine treaties, another black-eye in the face of America’s standing in the world, though compared with the former President who authorized secret prisons and torture, it’s really more like a small speck in the eye).

So good going, Rwanda! Keep it up and you can wind up being an example to the rest of Africa and, indeed, the rest of the world.

finally we managed to watch new moon, 6 days after the premiere. haha x kisah la. watched this movie at tgv mines last night with anne, duri, skin, yani, erol, emie, paru and hasnor. nasib de petom kalau x mcm gile gay dorg tengok new moon hahaha. actually this is my fourth time watching new moon. first time – downloaded from cybertracker yg quality sux to the max tu haha. second time – tengok yg tu jugak lagi sekali for the sake of boredom. third time – tengok semalam ngan mr c. gile obsess ke hape. still worth it because it is new moon kowt plus the tix is only rm6 hehe.

the nicest thing is; anne, skin and I wore the i ♥ EC shirt! haha you can call us new moon freaks or whatsoever. the diff is their shirts say “i ♥ Edward Cullen”, while mine says “i ♥ Embry Call”. ngahaha. Edward Cullen is so last three years kott haha. this year ialah the wolf pack – Jacob, Embry, Paul, Jared, Quil, and Sam pon bole la join. the actual plan was – all of us (petoms) were going to wear the shirt on last thursday’s premiere. but you knoww plan is still a plan, sometimes it doesn’t work out. come on la sape nak tengok new moon masa raya haji kot. so hari ni tengok jugak la. and i’m glad i can wear it. penat jela anne bersusah payah buat kalau x pakai haha. now i’m waiting for the next june’s eclipse! woohoo.

I feel like I’m climbing into the depths of oblivion as darkness and absolute silence engulf me. As my feet touch the ground, I relax and let go of the grimy ladder rungs. I hear the manhole cover bang into place above me and my tour guide follows me down. This isn’t your standard city tour. I’m standing in a former canal junction somewhere near central Manchester, but deep underground. In the streets above me football fans converge in pubs in Deansgate to egg on Manchester in the Champions League. Twenty feet below them, with my heart pounding and my flash light illuminating the worn brickwork of the room, I embark on my first urban exploration adventure.

Urban exploration is the infiltration of any man-made structure be it abandoned mines, sewage systems, derelict asylums and even the dizzying heights of cranes. The main motivation is curiosity and the sheer thrill of exploring an obscure hidden space. Members of this unusual community share a keen interest in the history, architecture and engineering of the places they infiltrate. There are numerous websites on the internet dedicated to the hobby, most of which display fascinating photographs along with informative articles about the history of the sites.

Tom is 27 years old. He lives in a stylish Liverpool penthouse. He is also my tour guide for the next two days. So what motivated this successful, self-employed individual to climb down grubby manholes and mine shafts in the first place? “I got into urban exploration in 2007 because I really wanted to climb a crane,” he said. “I’m an experienced rock climber anyway so I approached a climbing group first of all but they told me it wasn’t their area of expertise and directed me to an urban exploration website. There used to be some really good cranes to climb in Liverpool but there aren’t so many now development has stopped,” he said. “It’s a crazy hobby, you could be leaving work in your suit at 5 o’clock and be chilling out at the top of a crane a couple of hours later.”

Tom’s friend Mark is accompanying us on the trip tonight. He’s old enough to have a few grey hairs on his head but not so old he couldn’t free climb to the top of the Angel of the North last year. Mark works for a demolition company, which is what motivated him to join the urban exploration community in the first place. “I spend all day knocking down old buildings,” he said. “It felt like a waste so I decided to go and have a look inside so that I could appreciate the history and beauty of what I was destroying.” Mark has been investigating abandoned structures and drains for as long as he can remember and his children are intrepid explorers too.

As we round a corner in the canal junction we find ourselves facing a long corridor filled with stagnant water. We pull on chest high waders and proceed to wade through the murky water. Mark is passionate about history and points out the bays where boats used to unload tea leaves and other goods in the early 1900’s. Some of the instructions for the workers are still printed on the walls although sections are beginning to fade. The canal was abandoned in the 1930’s due to maintenance problems but was re-used during the war as a public air raid shelter. Later we wade past an 18^th century toilet, which has been preserved beneath the cool waters of the canal.

Curiosity about abandoned places has existed for decades and so the exact origins of urban exploration are unclear. A counter culture group known as The Suicide Club have been credited as the founders of modern urban exploration. The group formed in San Francisco in the late 1970’s and embarked on tours of utility tunnels and abandoned buildings around the city. They gained public recognition through elaborate stunts including a black tie dinner party on the walkway of the Golden Gate bridge. The antics of the group grabbed much media attention and instigated public interest in the vast areas of forgotten urban landscape sprawled across the country – and so urban exploration was born.

Although Tom and Mark are united in their love of history and exploration, Tom likes mines best and Markprefers drains. On Tom’s website there are photographs of him exploring mines in Wales. This involves a great deal of technical skill ranging from abseiling and climbing to zip-wiring and even kayaking. “There’s lots of exploring to be done in mines,” said Tom. “You don’t have that fear of being caught by security either like you get in buildings. However they are very dangerous places. Recently a group was disabled after a huge boulder came off the roof and landed next to them. No one was hit but the shock wave apparently disabled them and they had to stand still and await rescue.”

Mark recalls glimpsing a curious looking basement room whilst in a shop at the tender age of seven. He has wanted to re-visit it ever since but cannot remember where it is. He’s been examining sewage pipes and storm drains for the last decade in an attempt to find it. Later in the night he leads us down another manhole and into a somewhat smelly sewage overfill pipe. The pipe is much larger then I imagined it would be. Three tall adults could walk through it side by side. It is both fascinating and exhilarating to be walking beneath people’s homes but the mound of sodden loo roll stuck to my shoe puts things in perspective. I can’t quite overlook the fact that half the residents of Manchester have stained these pipes with last week’s dinner. As we approach the end of the overfill Mark points to the torrent of sewage in a section below. “I tried to wade down there the other day,” he said enthusiastically. “Unfortunately the currents were too strong so I had to turn back but as I turned around I realised I’d been damming up a load of turds and tampons behind me.” Mark is looking for another ‘hardcore’ explorer to investigate the sewage pipe with him more thoroughly. Perhaps it will lead him back to that basement room.

‘Draining’ has evolved out of urban exploration into an entire community in its own right. Mark attended the annual International Drainers Meeting this year, a tasteful black tie and champagne event. Drain fanatics were given the GPS co-ordinates of the party, which was of course, underground. “There were loads of people in tuxedos strolling around London on the day,” Mark said. “They were all jumping down various manholes and converging at this central location in their tuxedos and waders which just looked bizarre.”

Finding new locations to explore often requires extensive research and investigation. “You won’t read about the really good places online,” said Tom. “The best locations don’t get put up on the websites because we don’t want them to become part of the tourist trail. It’s so much more exciting exploring a site that hasn’t been done before and knowing that you are the first person to see it, the way it was left originally.” The tunnel behind Niagara Falls and the catacombs of Paris are both esteemed international locations but according to Tom, Prince Rupert’s Tunnel is a local explorer’s dream. The tunnel is a mile and a quarter long and runs through the Edge Hill district of Liverpool.

In the 1900’s there was an orphanage known as the Newboys’ Home, which is rumoured to have housed the entrance to the tunnel in its cellar. Some of the orphans went down with home-made torches dipped in paraffin and returned with gold rings and coins. The authorities launched an investigation at the time, which established that the tunnel was Prince Rupert’s. The Prince is rumoured to have hidden £3 million worth of gold there, which he confiscated from the defeated Parliamentarians during the English Civil War. “No one knows how to enter the tunnel now,” said Tom. “Although it may well have been explored already but kept a secret.”

Tom and Mark both follow a strict code of ethics when exploring locations. “The motto of the community is a little bit cheesy but it’s – take only photos, leave only footprints,” said Tom. “I like to leave the locations the way I found them.” Later in the evening we explore a site in Manchester known as ‘Cathedral Steps.’ The steps were wooden staircases that used to descend from street level to landing platforms on the river Irwell. As we enter what would once have been the public bathroom, Tom and Mark begin to tut in anger as they pick through the rubble of the smashed up toilet bowls. “This makes me really angry,” said Tom. “People have obviously come in here and smashed these up since we were last here. Preservation is the main reason I don’t publish the best locations on my website,” he said. “There are urban explorers who do just want to break into sites and have parties but most of the community care about the history.”

Although they don’t condone trespass, Save Britain’s Heritage admitted that they have actually benefited from the intrepid nature of urban explorers. “There have been one or two cases where photographs taken of the interior of the buildings have aided us in our assessment of them,” they said. “Although it is not something we would encourage, we are not opposed to it either and we have not had any problems with explorers in the past. They have generally been fairly benign.”

However The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) said that old buildings are frequently stripped of their fittings and materials for sale in the architectural salvage market. “By posting photographs of the interior of buildings on the internet, urban explorers could inadvertently be providing source material for those interested in architectural theft,” they said.

Urban exploration remains a risky business and is shrouded by health and safety issues. Old and abandoned buildings often have unstable structures and unsafe floors, both of which present entrapment hazards. Whilst exploring an old dock warehouse with Tom, I had been nervous about inhaling asbestos which is often difficult to detect and can cause serious, long-term health problems. Another thing to look out for was pigeon faeces as this building was a haven for the birds. Explorers can alleviate these dangers by wearing dust masks or respirators but there may be occasions where they do not think it is necessary to do so. I had been a little worried about inhaling hazardous gases and nasty diseases whilst in the sewage overfill. Fortunately Mark used an electronic device to identify any gases in the atmosphere, alerting him to their toxicity. I guess picking up a nasty virus is just a risk you have to take if your planning on taking your evening stroll in a sewage system. I for one felt fit as a fiddle the next day. Another of Tom’s friends takes a canary with him on all mine expeditions, working on the premise that he will observe the affects of any gases on the bird before they affect him. There have been a few stories in the news about explorers drowning in storm drains because of flash floods. Although this is rare it is a legitimate concern. The ‘draining’ community normally work on this principle, ‘if it rains, don’t do drains.’ Another fear I had whilst urban exploring was that if I did have an accident – and lets be honest, this wasn’t highly unlikely – how would the emergency services reach me?

Despite all of these potential hazards the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) maintain that urban exploration has caused them few problems. “It is only a minority of people doing it and they seem to be quite skilled, getting themselves into places with ingenuity and dexterity,” they said. “However we don’t want to condone it because this would bring the activity under the public eye and could encourage unskilled citizens to participate. We do however sympathise with the owners of these buildings, who have to spend money on security to keep these people out.”

Besides the obvious dangers of the sport, urban exploration has several legal implications. Generally explorers avoid breaking into sites, which frees them of any breaking and entering charges. However if caught they could be arrested for trespass. Tom admits that he has been chased by security several times. “The last time we were caught by security we were wearing high visibility jackets and had clip boards,” he said. “We told them we had permission to take photographs and they let us go.” When I contacted the police force in Manchester, they seemed to be blissfully unaware of the hobby so urban explorers can’t be causing too many problems.

Climbing out of the canal junction was almost as exciting as climbing into it. Mark clambered up the ladder first to make sure no-one was looking and gave Tom and I the thumbs up. I don’t honestly know what I would have said if some one had spotted me hauling myself out. Tom told me that a drunk student spotted him climbing out of a man hole once. “What are you doing?” she slurred. “I was just taking a look around,” replied Tom. “I don’t understand,” said the girl. “Why don’t you just get drunk like a normal person?” I think I can answer that question for him. Urban exploration for me was like finding a new land at the back of my closet. These spaces have been here the whole time but I never imagined they existed or dreamed what adrenaline fuelled adventures I could have in them. Most importantly of all, urban exploration is ridiculously educational. Goodbye Tate, hello manhole!

*Names have been changed at the request of the explorers.

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 641

“Phnom Penh: Personnel of the National Assembly (not to be confused with the 123 parliamentarians) is required to receive their salaries through a bank account and to pay taxes for their salaries; according to the plan, this will start from January 2010.

“On 25 November 2009, 73 persons employed at the National Assembly, in positions of directors and deputy directors of departments, are preparing documents and have their photos taken to fill in application forms to open accounts at the ANZ Royal Bank. This is the first step. Next comes the filling of forms by normal staff of the National Assembly – their total number is not given. But it is known that those staff are under the administration of the secretariat of the National Assembly, where at present, there are 1,200 staff members and some other contracted persons.

“Officials of the National Assembly in charge of this work said that the National Assembly organizes to release the salaries through a bank, following public financial reforms of the Royal Government. Also, this eases the release of the salaries for civil servants at other cities and in the provinces, as they need not come to collect their salaries in Phnom Penh, and it improves the efficiency of the management of resources. The release of salaries to staff of the National Assembly through a bank will begin in January 2010.

“The private ANZ Royal Bank received the exclusive right from the Cambodian government to handle the release of the salaries of civil servants and officials of all ministries and institutions. This agreement was made in mid 2007.

“The head of the commercial communication section of the ANZ Royal Bank, Mr. Nou Netra, who is organizing the documents to open bank accounts for the staff of the National Assembly, said that so far, the ANZ Royal Bank has already prepared to release the salaries for 35 of the 36 state institutions, and it has been operating at 27 ministries.

“Meanwhile, personnel of the National Assembly will also have to pay taxes on their salaries, which had been decided to begin in October 2009, but the National Assembly had asked to delay it until early 2010.

“During a meeting between the secretariat of the National Assembly and tax officials of the Ministry of Economy and Finance last week, tax officials mentioned the order of Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen regarding the collection of taxes on salaries of civil servants at all ministries and state and private institutions.

“Monthly salary taxes will be collected in accordance with the amendment of the taxation law that was published to be used on 31 March 2003.

“The ranges for the collection of taxes on staff salaries are set as follows:

• from Riel 500,001 [approx. US$125] to Riel 1,250,000 [approx. US$312]: 5%
• from Riel 1,250,001 to Riel 8,500,000 [approx. US$2,125]: 10%
• from Riel 8,500,001 to Riel 12,500,000 [approx. US$3,125]: 15%
• more than Riel 12,500,000: 20%.

“It should be noted that the total number of staff of the National Assembly and the total amount of their salaries are not given. But the amount of their salaries depends on their experience and certified level of education. Normal staff who are high school graduates earn more than Riel 600,000 [approx. US$150], and heads of departments earn Riel 1,200,000 [approx. US$300] and above.” Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5060, 29-30.11.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Monday, 30 November 2009

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #349, 29-30.11.2009

• Army Commanders at the [Cambodian-Thai] Border Meet Each Other More Often and Play Sports, while Diplomatic Ties Are Still Tense
• Cambodia Will Ask to Extend the Time Necessary to Clear All Mines from Cambodia for 10 More Years [at a an international conference in Colombia about mines and other explosion devices]

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2111, 29-30.11.2009

• A Branch Director of the Acleda Bank in Kompong Cham and His Girlfriend Were Arrested for Taking Nearly Half a Million Dollars [Phnom Penh]
• A Court Decided to Release a Man Accused of Rape and of Taking Photos to Extort Money [from his sister-in-law, due to lack of evidence - Phnom Penh [according to another source, the man tried to catch her for committing adultery with another person]

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #542, 29-30.11.2009

• [Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian] Mr. Yim Sovann: There Should Be No More Tensions, while the Border Issues near the Preah Vihear Temple Are Being Solved

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6818, 30.11.2009

• To Eliminate Gender Inequality, there Must Be an Increasing Number of Women Officials [according to a workshop organized by the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Women's Affairs]

Phnom Penh Post [Khmer Edition], Vol.1, #56, 30.11.2009

• [More than 100] Sam Rainsy Party Members Defected to the Cambodian People’s Party [however, the spokesperson of the Sam Rainsy Party, Mr. Yim Sovann. said that the number was exaggerated, because there were only two or three members who defected]

Rasmei Angkor, Vol.16, #1478, 30.11.2009

• Nine Types of Foodstuff [6 tonnes] Worth US$200,000 Arrived as Humanitarian Aid from South Korea [to assist victims of the typhoon Ketsana]

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5060, 29-30.11.2009

• The National Assembly Prepares to Release the Salaries of Personnel through a Bank, and to Collect Taxes on the Salaries
• [Thai Prime Minister] Abhisit Vijjajiva Asked Cambodia to Consider Asking for a Loan [from Thailand, to construct a road with the amount of about US$41 million] again, as the Military Commanders Promised that there Will Be No Armed Clashes
• Siamese [Thai] Black Clad Soldiers [that is from the Special Border Protection Unit] Shot at a Group of Khmer Citizens, Killing One Youth [they had entered the forest to cut trees on Thai territory - Oddar Meanchey]
• The National Assembly Asked the Government to Provide Documents and to Explain the Border Demarcation [with Vietnam]

Have a look at the last editorial – you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
And please recommend us also to your colleagues and friends.

Back to top

Introduction

I used to work around Sri Kembangan area, and every morning I’d drive on the highway looking over the mining lake at the green grass of Mines Resort and Golf Club, and often wondered when will I ever make enough cash per month to actually go and play there, since I heard that the green fees are exorbitant. Now there are a few reasons to that:

1)      Tiger Woods played there before for the World Cup Golf 1999. Lots of pictures of him around the club. So many in fact, I think the local Church of Tiger Woods hold their mass here and light candles and sing songs for him. Creepy. I don’t think he’s coming back, Church of Tiger Woods.

2)      Robert Trent Jones designed that course. If you don’t know who he is, well, be like me and Wiki him. All golfers should have some knowledge of these designers so at least we can pretend that we know more about the game than just destroying golf courses.

3)      By pricing it astronomically, it will discourage world class hacks like this writer to decapitate the course, therefore, saving millions on course maintenance fees. Seems like a sound business model, except the only players on a typical weekday on that course are the native gerbils and the occasional squirrel.

The last I know about the green fee was about RM400 per person. Now I believe this is a myth. I don’t know how anyone would be psycho enough to fork 400 bucks to pay for 18 holes, unless it’s St Andrews, Pebble Beach, Augusta or TPC Sawgrass. Definitely not me. I don’t think any of you reading this article as well, unless you earn in USD. In which case, maybe you can donate some cash to me for me to continue reviewing courses?

How I got there? I suddenly I found myself there, invited for a closed tournament to raise charity. Since I didn’t need to cough up the dough, I was more than willing to take a look at the mythical Mines Resort and Golf Club.

Travel (3/5)

You basically want to get to the Palace of the Golden Horses in Mines. To get there, there are 2 good ways to get there: from the North South highway and from the Bukit Jalil highway.

1)      North-South: Get to the North South highway. For gila readers, you should be as familiar with this highway as you are familiar with your own mother. Serious. This is the gateway to all your golfing paradise. Once on the highway, keep left, you want to turn up the mines flyover before the toll. Look for signs on the left to the Palace of the Golden Horses. By the way, the this is a hotel, not some kind of massage parlour as the name might suggest. Follow the turnoff and you’ll end up in a mini roundabout. Take a 3 o’clock and keep left. You DON’T want to turn down to the Sg Besi Highway again or you’ll have a first hand experience of the brainless way Malaysian roads are made, with the only U-turn 50 kilometres away. Take a left instead and you’ll see the hotel on the right. Just follow along the road and you’ll eventually reach Mines Resort and Golf.

2)      The Bukit Jalil highway: Take the LDP from PJ heading towards Sunway. Pass the Sunway toll, head straight, go by Kinrara and Bukit Jalil all the way. You’ll see Astro HQ on the left and hit the mini roundabout we spoke about.

Along the way, don’t be distracted with those houses that look like clubhouses. These are actually private residence, no doubt put there with the express purpose to make us mid-class citizens feel bad about our little terrace homes. I’d like to tee up a driver right at their windows.

Price(0/5)

Before we even start to talk about the course, the myth of RM400 green fees, unfortunately has not been dispelled. As mentioned, I had a free pass that day and after the game, I was just too darn tired to go up to the counter and ask for pricing. All I know was that a member had to bring you in, and you still had to donate a kidney to play here. If someone does confirm that mines costs RM400 for green fees, we’re going to dip it down to negative. As such, we’re willing to be as unbiased as possible and give it just 0. A positive 0, based on unfounded rumours, just like all the articles in our Star Newspaper and New Straits Times. This is what journalist call, creative integrity.

First thoughts

For the price you pay, you have certain expectations. Face it, that’s how life is. You pay RM10k for a Proton Tiara, you’d perceive it as a piece of junk, which it is. 200K for a BMW, you expect it to perform. If that 200K BMW performs like a junk, you get pissed off. If that Tiara performs like a junk, you’re glad it’s performing at all. Actually, 10K will be too much to pay for the Tiara.

Bear in mind, at RM400 green fees (again, stand to be corrected), you want something mind blowing. Something that takes Saujana and Tropicana and KGNS and spit on them. Something that ranks up there with Pebble Beach or at least gives you an indication that you are some Saudi oil magnate coming to play. You are the king, it has to be something that’s so darn special, you want to take some grass with you, some sand from the bunker and preserve it for your children.

So it was rather strange, standing on the 13^th tee (we had a shotgun start) and seeing the grass is just grass, the sand is just sand. In other words: what the heck is the big deal??

Service (3/5)

We had 2 caddies for our flight. Unfortunately, I always seem to end up with the apprentice. The guy wasn’t that bad (not in looks, I mean in reading the greens), but wasn’t extremely good as well, unlike the other guy hanging out with the other twosome in the other buggy. He read the first green well and I promptly sunk a par putt to start things off. Things began to derail from the 18^th (my 5^th hole) onwards, when I sunk in a 10. In a tournament, a 10 means certain death. I mean 10! What the heck! Although that’s probably 99% my fault, still, I had to blame someone, so the caddy gets it.That wasn’t too bad, but on the second, fourth and ninth, I had easy putts that were read wrongly and lipped out. I can’t remember if I didn’t listen to him, or he didn’t offer me good advice. Either way, we had to fork out 60 bucks for his service.

Still, we’re giving a three because Mines is generally well known for good service. They attend to you, tag your bags properly and generally do what a RM400 green fee course should be doing. And the changing room is pretty good. I wanted to take a picture of it, but was afraid that they might jail me for indecent pictures of fat, naked men walking around after golf.

Fairways (4/5)

Ah, now we’re talking.

The Bermuda turf withstood the previous night’s rain pretty well as we had very consistent fairways throughout. It still wasn’t as nice as Tropicana’s in comparison, but it had a carpet-like quality to it, and the drainage was very good. We still managed to mutilate this nice sheet of green blanket with our lousy play but hey, at least it was good while it lasted.

Greens (4/5)

The greens, likewise were almost perfect. There were a few holes that were patchy, but I’d attribute it to traffic over the day, since we had close to 10 flights, which is probably the same amount that visited this place last year.

I found the green pretty straightforward, without the extreme up and downs or trickiness of Saujana…its only my darn problem that I can’t get the ball in! Darn you caddy!!

Rough (3/5)

I had no issues with the rough but the bunkers weren’t optimum, with the sand hard packed enough to use pitching wedge to dig in. I was having quite a time with my wedge, especially on the 17^th when I pitched in. Normally, hard packed sand would be deemed passable but not when you have a reputation of being the most expensive golf club in Malaysia! I want that fluffy white sand that when you hit it, it comes out in a cloud of white powdery dust!

Aesthetics (4/5)

Throughout the game, Mines offers a lot of wow. As in, Wow, haven’t I seen this before? Sure! Just head to Clearwaters! The par 4 12^th especially with the lake on the left and a slight dogleg left, brings to mind one of the holes with similar set up in Clear waters. I realize that there’s only so much one can do with a golf course before the design starts repeating but hey, if I can recall this, it must really be quite common, since I have a memory of a dingbat.

The lake really puts a lot of beauty to it, but I wish there were a little more variety, but this is a mining course, so don’t expect a whole lot of trees surrounding it. The par 3s are generally quite pretty, I liked the 7^th hole, where the green is ensconced in a little U shape dell, with bushes all around it. Hit it too hard, left or right and it’s into snake land.

Fun Factor (4/5)

It’s quite impossible not to have fun in a tournament with 10 flights and a shotgun start. I started off pretty well from 13^th, with par on the first hole and 4 bogeys, including one pitched in. I unraveled on the 18^th with a 10 on a par 5 after shanking 2 balls into deep woods. Let’s see: first shot hit a tree. Second shot tried to slice it around, ended up shanking. Third is on a slope, shank again. (Ever noticed once you start shanking you’re pretty much SCREWED?) Fourth one, decided to play out, hit the darn tree, still in rough. Fifth one pitched out. Sixth one pitched to the green, over. $#*#(@!! Chip back, roll past hole to fringe for 7. Eight, aggressive putt, missed hole. Ninth, easy 4 footer downhill missed. Ended with bloody 10.

I played 4 bogeys after, then went on a par-birdie-par before double bogeying the 8^th and 12^th (my last hole) after horrendous tee shots.

One thing about mines was that it really allowed you to recover your shots. There’s not much OB except for the occasional jungle lying up the sides, but you could easily avoid that by aiming to the other side. Now, that is a real genius advice, isn’t it?

Conclusion

There’s really no way to win anything by pricing green fees so high. The overwhelming feeling we had when we left the place was: it’s a nice course, interesting holes, great maintenance, but would it be worth the price of admission? Probably not. This was probably the first and only time we’ll be coming to Mines Resort and Golf. It’s better to use the money and go Saujana or something. Or Tropicana or even KGNS.

The good: Great greens, fairway in good shape even after downpour; pretty easily accessible.

The bad: Price. We’ll need to confirm it but if it’s really RM400 or so, it’s just too crazy to pay for a round of 18. Especially when the course doesn’t have that great a character. Better to travel further and play at Clearwaters.

The skinny: 25 of 40 divots (62.5%).

Massively has put out another weekly Q&A for Star Trek Online and Week Two’s subject is Space Combat and I have a feeling this is the subject everyone has been waiting for, me included. Answers were given by Al Revera, senior game designer on Star Trek Online

The first thing that caught my eye was from the Question :

Drexel-: How will the use of our weapon systems and abilities be limited during combat?

In the answer Al  mentions 4 possible weapons slots

• Beam arrays
• Cannons
• Torpedos
• Mines

This is the first mention of Mines which is good but there is nothing about Drones or Drone Racks and these are very effective in keeping an enemy at a distance if you’re trying to make an escape or trying to drain their weapons power I’m keeping my fingers crossed it comes up later like when I mentioned Shuttles and Boarding Parties and the nest day what does Ship Tactics Part II show use, that very subject. Cool Down Rates along with Limited Power will insure you have to think about what you’re doing and not just blast away like some crazed Khan

I like Al’s Answer the Fanboy’s question :

FanBoy: What will happen when you “die”?

In the answer Al shows some humor to a very serious question that every gamer, especially in MMO’s needs to know. What is the penalty for death? there  is a five balance between being a good death and a throw your arms up in the air and walk away death. If it is to high then the player will get frustrated and lose interest in the game if  it’s to light then this encourages reckless play and other players get pissed off, Games these days have gotten a lot more forgiving on the death penalty, partly because we do so much of it and mainly because only the hardcore players would put up with the great loss of time invested with a high penalty.  That is a sure way to lose your subscriber base

Al’s answer to Grandpotato’s question is not exactly an answer

GrandPotato, eddie: Will there be boarding parties? If so, can you capture vessels, or does that just disable them or something?

We know there will be Boarding Parties but will they be able to take control of an opponents ship before he can Self Destruct. My answer would be NO.  How would you feel it someone boarded your ship and took it from you after you’ve spent 10’s maybe 100’s of hours building it up.  I would not be pleased and probably quit right there and if I did not quit I sure wouldn’t get into any fights unless I knew for sure 100% I was going to win. That being said PvE would be different…..?

There also a good question on Science ships and how they affect other ships. you can read the full Q$A at Massively and stay tuned for the third round of Q%A sometime in the near future I’m not even sure what the subject will be maybe Ground Combat if you have any ideas let them know

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 640

“The rector of the Chamkar Doung Royal University of Agriculture, Mr. Chan Nareth, is accused by lecturers working under his administration of being involved in corruption to take between US$300,000 and US$400,000 university resources each year.

“A local website wrote, following the claims of many lecturers, staff, and civil servants of the university, that Mr. Chan Nareth took the money, income of the university, for himself alone, while lecturers, staff, and civil servants receive only small salaries that cannot even support their daily living expenses.

“The lecturers describe on the website their accusation against the university rector Chan Nareth, claiming he commits corruption for his own interest, and at present he has luxury cars and several residencies.

“The Royal University of Agriculture is located in the Meanchey district of Phnom Penh; it is also called the Chamkar Doung School or the Chamkar Doung University of Agriculture.

“The lecturer Chhum Phetlun wrote on the website that since 1999, this university started to charge tuition fees from its students, for the studies that began in 2000, so it brings in US$300,000 to US$400,000 each year. This large amount of resources was not shared with lecturers, staff, and civil servants of the university to assist their family livelihood, but Rector Chan Nareth took it alone. Because they can no longer bear the greed of their director, they decided to disclose this case through the media in order to inform the leaders so that they take action to seek justice for lecturers, staff, and civil servants of the university.

“Earlier on, 72 lecturers, staff, and civil servants had thumbprinted a demand addressed to Mr. Chan Nareth to add US$6 per hour to the hourly remuneration decided by the state [for the lecturer's remuneration], and to add additional payments for civil servants, who earn US$80 per month, and for other staff who earn US$50 per month, starting from 2010.

“The lecturer Chhum Phetlun added that previously, being afraid of the power and influence of Rector Chan Nareth, all lecturers, staff and civil servants did not dare to protest, or to report anything to higher level leaders. But now, because of the rector’s greed to take US$300,000 to US$400,000 per year for himself alone, they cannot stand it any longer, and are not afraid any longer, and they decided to report it to the media to help to bring this message to the leaders, especially to the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Mr. Chan Sarun, to learn about the difficulties of lecturers, staff, and civil servants of the Royal University of Agriculture of Chamkar Doung.

“Adding up the amounts of US$300,000 to US$400,000 each year from 2000 to 2009, it comes to as much as US$2,700,000 to US$3,600,000.

“Yesterday [26 November 2009] Khmer Machas Srok could not reach Rector Chan Nareth, who is being accused, for a comment.

“Analysts said that in this case, Mr. Chan Nareth probably did not dare to take the money alone, there must be some other higher leaders with whom he shared it, so that he can be happy above the pile of difficulties of many lecturers, civil servants, staff, and workers.

“Therefore, they wait to see what measures the higher level leaders of the relevant institutions, especially the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Chan Sarun, and the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Keat Chhon, will take on Mr. Chan Nareth, if this scandal is true.” Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #540, 27.11.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Friday, 27 November 2009

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #347, 27.11.2009

• Two Boys, Seven and Eight Years Old, Are Accused of Raping a 5 Year-Old Girl [Banteay Meanchey]
• Two Girls [13 and 14 years old] Died in a Pond when They Took Clothes there to Wash [Kandal]

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2109, 27.11.2009

• Soldiers Patrolled the Border and Stepped on a Mine Left from Wartime, Resulting in One Death and One Injured in Thma Da Commune [Pursat]

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #540, 27.11.2009

• Lecturers of the Chamkar Doung Royal University of Agriculture Wait to See How Chan Sarun Takes Action against Chan Nareth

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6816, 27.11.2009

• Asia Pacific Regional Conference about the Prevention of Violence against Woman and Children Was Held [in Siem Reap; and a 16-Day Campaign to combat violence against women and children was launched]
• Terrible Trick: [Three] Men Cheated a Woman to a Guesthouse; Some Raped Her and Some Took Pictures of Her [Nude] Body to Extort Money from Her [they were all arrested - Phnom Penh]

Phnom Penh Post [Khmer Edition], Vol.1, #55, 27.11.2009

• Duch Hearings Will Finish Today and the Judgment Will Be Announced in 2010
• A/H1N1 Has Killed Five People [and the number of infected people has increased to 472 in Cambodia]

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5058, 27.11.2009

• A Thai Official from the Ministry of Defense and the Mother of the Thai Alleged Spy Will Meet Him Today
• Robbers Shot to Rob a New Series Motorbike [then they escaped; the victim died at a hospital - Phnom Penh]
• Siamese [Thai] Police Found 6,000 Explosives and 8 Guns Prepared to Welcome [Thai Prime Minister] Abhisit Vijjajiva [during his visit to Chiang Mai]
• Vietnam Approved the Plan to Create a Nuclear Power Electricity Generation Plant

Have a look at the last editorial – you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
And please recommend us also to your colleagues and friends.

Back to top

Múrcia és un destí molt poc conegut. Ningú no va a Múrcia, a no ser que hi tingui parents. Ningú no pensa en Múrcia per passar un pont o unes petites vacances. I, si imaginem Múrcia a l’estiu te la seva lògica, tot i que Múrcia te platges maravelloses, i zones de la seva costa, com ara les compreses entre Mazarrón i Aguilas, son una passada. Però Múrcia és molt més que les platges verges de la costa rocosa o les platges turístiques del mar Menor. Múrcia és una ciutat agradable, amb grans atractius artístics, amb una regió al seu voltant amb tota mena de reclams turístics de primer ordre. Només en citaré alguns. A Múrcia capital teniu la Catedral, (a la foto), els carrers del casc antic, amb els seus palaus i esglèsies, plenes d’obres d’art, i museus com el Salzillo, amb els passos de setmana santa d’aquest artísta genial. La setmana santa es viu a Múrcia capital, i a tota la província, amb un fervor especial. Els actes són dignes de veure’s. Si parlem de la regió teniu Caravaca de la Cruz, i el seu santuari. O bé Lorca, una sobirana ciutat, plena d’art. O la militar Cartagena. O la blanca Águilas, a tocar del mar. L’interior depara sorpreses com la Sierra de Espuña, pulmó natural de la zona, el vall de Cieza, o Calasparra amb el seu arròs. El paisatge mineral i llunar dels voltants de La unión, zona minera poderosa, atrau als mineralogistes i als amants del turisme industrial. Per dormir us recomanem els hotels que les grans cadenes tenen a la capital. Sovint en palaus impressionants, molt bé de preu quan no hi ha executius agressius a la vista. Com ara el NH Rincón de Pepe, o l’NH Amistad. O bé cèntric com l’Hotel Arco de San Juan. O els preciosos AC-Hotels, com el Ciutat de Múrcia. Hem dormit a tots ells i us assegurem que són fantàstics. Per menjar aneu pels voltants de la plaça de Sant Joan i mengeu productes frescos de l’horta murciana. Tota mena de verdures a la planxa. Una delícia!.

Murcia es un destino muy poco conocido. Nadie va a Murcia, a no ser que tenga parientes. Nadie piensa en Murcia para pasar un puente o unas pequeñas vacaciones. Y, si imaginamos Murcia en verano tiene su lógica, aunque Murcia tiene playas maravillosas, y zonas de su costa, como las comprendidas entre Mazarrón y Aguilas, són una gozada. Pero Murcia es mucho más que las playas vírgenes de la costa rocosa o las playas turísticas del mar Menor. Murcia es una ciudad agradable, con grandes atractivos artísticos, con una región a su alrededor con todo tipo de reclamos turísticos de primer orden. Sólo citaré algunos. En Murcia capital tienen la Catedral, (en la foto), las calles del casco antiguo, con sus palacios e iglesias, llenas de obras de arte, y museos como el Salzillo, con los pasos de semana santa de este artista genial. La semana santa se vive en Murcia capital, y en toda la provincia, con un fervor especial. Los actos son dignos de verse. Si hablamos de la región tiene Caravaca de la Cruz, y su santuario. O bien Lorca, una soberana ciudad, llena de arte. O la militar Cartagena. O la blanca Águilas, al lado del mar. El interior depara sorpresas como la Sierra de Espuña, pulmón natural de la zona, el valle de Cieza, o Calasparra con su arroz. El paisaje mineral y lunar de la zona de La unión, zona minera poderosa, atrae a los mineralogistas y los amantes del turismo industrial. Para dormir os recomendamos los hoteles que las grandes cadenas tienen en la capital. A menudo en palacios impresionantes, muy bien de precio cuando no hay ejecutivos agresivos a la vista. Como el NH Rincón de Pepe, o el NH Amistad. O bien el céntrico Hotel Arco de San Juan. O los preciosos AC-Hoteles, como el Ciudad de Murcia. Hemos dormido en todos ellos y os aseguramos que son fantásticos. Para comer vayan por los alrededores de la plaza de San Juan y coman productos frescos de la huerta murciana. Todo tipo de verduras a la plancha. ¡Una delicia!.

Feb 12, 2009
Location: Fuji Speedway
Lap time: Mines R35 GTR recorded 1.49.782 s
Driver: Mr. Eiji Yamada (Professional race car driver)

On February 12th the Mines GTR broke the 1.50s barrier at the Fuji Speedway. With a 1.49.782s time on the Fuji Speedway and considering that the Mines GTR has been tuned as a Street car with stock tires their recent time is an amazing feat. Mines had further developed the exhaust and boost up system along with modification to the computer to improve the GTR’s performance. Once again the highly advanced expertise that Mines has developed for the GTR has proven their dominance in the performance of the GTR.

This is 7s quicker than a stock R35 GT-R and 1s quicker than a Mines R34 (ref. July 2005 – J-Tuner).

Huambo – Um milhão trinta e nove mil e 405 libras, equivalente a dois milhões de dólares, ( um dólar equivale a 88.325 Kwanzas)  é o valor que o Governo da Inglaterra doou este ano para apoiar o programa de desminagem que está a ser desenvolvido em Angola pela organização não governamental “The Halo Trust”. Mais…………..

Estos grandes del mercado han sacado nuevos productos para diferentes vehiculos

Mines ha realizado unas suction pipes para el nuevo GTR en titanio que asegura una ganacia de entre 20 y 30 cvs, entre ellos tambien por su material de titanio dan una estetica envidiable

http://gt-rr.com/gt-r/r35/mines/part/titanium_suction_pipe_kit/pid/778#

Amuse por su parte tambien ha desarrollado su nuevo colector 4-1 para los S2000 ap1 y ap2 en titanio por supuesto. El precio no es barato, $3200 pero sabemos que compramos calidad.

Greddy por suparte ha desarrollado un kit turbo para mejorar las prestaciones del GTR, con este kit greddy. El precio dle kit es de $10000 pero a esto debemos sumar otras piezas si queremos sacar todo el partido posible, mas de 700cv. Las piezas necesarias serian

Hard Pipe Set (approx $1800)
Haltech ECU ($3199)
Intercooler (approx $3700)
Injectors ($699)
Tuning
Total – $19,000+

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 640

“In order to promote gender equity and the empowerment of women, and to reduce all forms of violence against women and against children, and to increase the percentage of citizens with a clearer awareness about violence, the Open Institute held a women’s forum under the topic: ‘Best Practice of ICT Use to Combat Violence against Women and Children.’

“25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and the Open Institute will participate in an international campaign ‘Reclaiming Information and Communication Technology to End Violence against Women’ focusing on all activities considered as violence against women and children which come from a wrong attitude and lead to crimes. This campaign will take place until 10 December 2009, which is the International Human Rights Day.

“The executive director of the Open Institute, Ms. Chim Manavy, told Deum Ampil that the Open Institute is an organization working on the use of Information and Communication Technology to contribute to development of equality between men and women. She added that the Women’s Program of the Open Institute, in cooperation with the Association for Progressive Communication, will organize some activities to participate in the 16 days campaign under the topic: ‘Take Control of Technology to End Violence against Women’ [a collaborative campaign to use Information and Communication Technology like mobile phones, instant messengers, blogs, websites, digital cameras, e-mail, and pod casts to promote the end of violence against women]. She went on to say that this campaign is going to be organized with the goal to publish the campaign to contribute to ending violence through the use of Information and Communication Technology in women’s organizations, by users of Information and Communication Technology, and the public in Cambodia, to raise awareness about the different forms of violence against women, as well as to address how important the use of Information and Communication Technology can be [to combat violence against women]. She went on to say that to learn about a rich collection of information about laws, rights, gender, and other documents regarding development, on can visit the Women’s Web Portal at the following Internet address: http://women.open.org.kh/; also articles and short texts related to women’s affairs can be sent to a discussion list at the following address: gender@lists.open.org.kh .

“It should be noted that the history of the campaign to use Information and Communication Technology to end violence against women dates back in the Association for Progressive Communication since 2006, and it is used as base material in many countries of the world.”Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #344, 24.11.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Tuesday, 24 November 2009

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #344, 24.11.2009

• 16-Day Campaign to Promote Gender Equality to Combat Violence against Women and Children
• [The Minister of Economy and Finance] Mr. Keat Chhon Asked America to Cancel the Debt Cambodia Owes [of more than US$300 million since the time of the Khmer Republic regime - 1970-1975]
• [Three] Robbers Robbed a Gold Seller Couple in Lvea Em District, Took 5 Chi of Gold Away [approx. US$690], and Assaulted the Husband Seriously [with a hammer on his head; then they escaped - Kandal]
• Russian Investors and the Odessa Bank of the Ukraine Are Interested in Investment in Cambodia [in mineral resources, energy, agriculture, and tourism]

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2106, 24.11.2009

• Lawyers and Government Officials: The Cambodian-Thai Relation Broke Down due to [Thai Prime Minister] Abhisit Vijjajiva’s Government [that used the Khmer Preah Vihear Temple for its policy - according to a forum held on 23 November 2009 in Phnom Penh]
• A Christian Church’s Teacher Was Detained for Raping a 9-Year-Old Female Pupil Three Times in a Toilet [Phnom Penh]
• Three More Houses Were Destroyed by Fire in Svay Pak Commune because of Electric Faults [Phnom Penh]

Khmer Amatak, Vol.3, #537, 24.11.2009

• A Siamese [Thai] High Ranking Official from the Ministry of Defense [who came to Cambodia] Requested Bail for the Siamese Man [accused of spying] or to Extradite Him to His Home Country

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #537, 24.11.2009

• The Information that Cambodia Will Have an Anti-Corruption Law Soon Is Welcomed [by the Sam Rainsy Party and by the political observer, Ms. Chea Vannath]
• [Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian] Mr. Son Chhay: The Management of Natural Resources in Cambodia Is Not Good, because the Parliament Dominated by the Ruling Party Is Poor in Checking and Monitoring

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6813, 24.11.2009

• Japan Grants US$12 Million to Cambodia to Clear Mines and to Assist Mine Victims
• The Government Rejected a Thai Spokesperson’s Accusation that Samdech Dekchor Hun Sen’s Daughter Plans to Control Stocks of the Cambodia Air Traffic Service
• A Terrible Man Raped His Sister-in-Law and Stabbed Her to Death, then He Was Arrested [Koh Kong]

Meatophoum, Vol.53, #752, 27-28.11.2009

• Former US President [Mr. Jimmy Carter] Announced to Build 6,000 Houses for Khmer Citizens

Phnom Penh Post [Khmer Edition], Vol.1, #52, 24.11.2009

• The Authorities Destroyed [18] Sites Producing Mreah Prov Oil [from a large softwood tree, used as an ingredient to produce ecstasy] at the Kravanh Mountain Range Area in Pursat [the sites are controlled by Vietnamese experts who moved to Cambodia after Vietnam banned such products in 1999; however, it is not known how many people are responsible for those sites]
• 180 [Cambodian] Delegates and Athletes Will Attend the [25th] South East Asian Games in Laos

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5055, 24.11.2009

• The Hearings of [the former Tuol Sleng prison chief] Duch Arrive at the Last Stage [lawyers from both sides were offered time to give their final conclusion about the case, and the judgment is expected to be made early next year]
• The Seoul Women’s University of Korea Grants 20 Scholarship to 20 Cambodian Female Students Each Year [to study there]
• The Son of the Owner of the Fishing Lot 18 Shot a Worker Fishing there to Death [the perpetrator escaped - Kandal]

Have a look at the last editorial – you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
And please recommend us also to your colleagues and friends.

Back to top

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 640

“There had been several reports that information about confidential flight plans by the Cambodia Air Traffic Service (CATS) controlled by Thai people were leaked. The opposition party has demanded that the government should take control of the air traffic control itself, but there is no response. And now everything seems somewhat too late.

“The spokesperson of the Sam Rainsy Party, Mr. Yim Sovann, spoke to the media late last week, saying that the government should take the CATS company under its control to ensure that there is no economic loss, and it would be easier for the government to control national secrets. Mr. Yim Sovann said, ‘The Sam Rainsy Party had mentioned this case many times before, suggesting that all these important tasks should not be given to foreigners, and the government should control it by itself. But the state does not care.’

“In January 2001, the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation of the Cambodian government signed an agreement with the [Thai] Samart Corporation, providing an exclusive license for 22 years to this company, to organize, operate, and maintain a system for air traffic routing for civil aviation companies in Cambodia, and this company is also required to conform to the technical standards of BCT [an aviation maintenace company]. After receiving the license from the Cambodian government, Samart very quickly prepared the bidding procedure for the radar system and set up the necessary tools needed for its effective air traffic control operations.

“A parliamentarian from the Cambodian People’s Party, Mr. Cheam Yeap, agreed that it would be very good if the government would reconsider the air traffic control agreement with the Thai side. He added that Cambodia should have the ability to control this company, rather than allow foreigners to continue to control it. He said, ‘We should recheck that investment agreement, and we should check whether our human resources can take the place of the foreigners.’ He explained that Cambodia jointly created the company CATS with Thailand, because, at that time, Cambodia did not have sufficient experts, and air traffic was not so busy [like it is at present]. Mr. Cheam Yeap went on to say that to continue to let foreigners do the air traffic control affects the security of our nation through the secret release of confidential information to their government, adding that foreigners are not honest to us. He said, ‘Do not trust foreigners but only those having the same blood as Khmers. If we let them be at that place, they might release confidential information about national security, as one Thai person did already. They are not 100% honest towards us.’

“Mr. Cheam Yeap continued to say that according to new Article 90 of the Constitution of Cambodia, the Royal Government can make a request to the National Assembly ["The National Assembly shall approve the national budget, State planning, loans, financial contracts, and the creation, modification and annulment of tax."]. Then the National Assembly will exercise its right to cancel any contract that can affect the national interest. The Thai spy can be considered as proof to cancel that contract. Another Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian, Mr. Son Chhay, said that the opposition party had expressed concerns since the beginning about problems of national security. Now, it happened as the Sam Rainsy Party had been concerned. He said he will write a letter to the government, because it is related to national security.

“He said, ‘I also saw information about the arrest of the Thai spy. I think it is an opportunity to respond to the Ministry of Defense and the Council of Ministers which had claimed that there would be no problems, but the problem exists now, and I want to know what measures they take.’ He emphasized that he will write a letter this week to the government to request it to check the control over the CATS company.

“Because of the secret copy of the flight plan of Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, the Cambodia government ordered all Thai [CATS] personnel to stop working, after Mr. Siwarak Chutiphong, 31, had been arrested for spying, while the eternal friend of Prime Minister Hun Sen, Thaksin Shinawatra, visited Cambodia, to give a lecture about the Cambodian economy, as he is now an economic advisor of Cambodia.” Sereypheap Thmey, Vol.17, #1817, 23.11.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Monday, 23 November 2009

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #343, 23.11.2009

• Forty Eight [not well-known] Civil Society Organizations Support the Suspension of Mr. Sam Rainsy’s Immunity [according to their joint statement]
• The Ministry of Information Asks All Television Stations to Accept to Broadcast Advertisements for Khmer Sports and to Stop Broadcasting Foreign Sports
• Forty Two People Died, Sixty Six Are Missing, and More Than 100 Were Injured through an Explosion in a Coal Mine [in China]

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2105, 22-23.11.2009

• A Lawyer Will Request Bail for Siwarak Chutiphong on Monday [this Thai engineer was arrested for copying the flight plans of Prime Minister Hun Sen and Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra to send them to Thailand]

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #436, 22-23.11.2009

• The Government Recognized that there Is Waste of National Resources and there are Wrongly Allocated Expenses

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6812, 23.11.2009

• The Three Samdechs [Samdech Hun Sen, the Prime Minister; Samdech Heng Samrin, the President of the National Assembly, and Samdech Chea Sim, the President of the Senate] Responded to Samdech Euv [the former King] that the Setting of Border Markers and of the Border Line Is Done Based on the Map Deposited at the United Nations in 1964
• 40,000 Red-Shirt Demonstrators [supporters of Thai ousted and fugitive Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra] Prepare to Demonstrate against [Thai Prime Minister] Abhisit Vijjajiva in Chiang Mai, while 1,000 Yellow-Shirt Demonstrators Rallied to Demand the 4.6 Square Kilometer Land [near the Preah Vihear Temple]
• A Man like an Animal Raped His 10-Year-Old Daughter Three Times, and then He Was Arrested [Kandal]
• A French Man Took an Underage Girl to Have Sexual Relations into a Guesthouse and Was Arrested [Phnom Penh]

Phnom Penh Post [Khmer Edition], Vol.1, #51, 23.11.2009

• A Thai Engineer Acknowledged that He Provided Information [about the fight plans of Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra] to the [Thai] Embassy [in Phnom Penh]
• Vietnam Has Invested US$600 Million in Rubber Plantations in Cambodia [it plans to plant rubber trees on 100,000 hectares of land in Mondolkiri, Kompong Thom, Kratie, and Ratanakiri by 2012]
• Supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra Warned to Kill [Thai Prime Minister] Abhisit Vijjajiva [by blowing up his car during his visit to Chiang Mai]

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #50, 22-23.11.2009

• Former US President [Jimmy Carter] Helped to Build 21 New Houses for Poor Cambodians [Kompong Speu]
• [Two] Robbers Shot at a Student to Rob His Motorbike, but the Bullets Ricocheted and Hit and Injured Two Children [who were playing in front of their house during the robbery; the robbers escaped - Phnom Penh]
• The Number of Deaths from Swine Flu [A/H1N1] Has Increased to 6,660 [worldwide, according to the World Health Organization]

Sereypheap Thmey, Vol.17, #1817, 23.11.2009

• An Opposition Party: The Government Should Control the Cambodia Air Traffic Service Itself

Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.16, #3,500, 22.11.2009

• Cambodian Expands Diplomatic Ties in New York [the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is responsible to organize documentation to establish diplomatic ties with some countries that have not established contacts with Cambodia]

Have a look at the last editorial – you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
And please recommend us also to your colleagues and friends.

Back to top

Via Associated Press

Excerpt:

“YERINGTON, Nev. — Peggy Pauly lives in a robin-egg blue, two-story house not far from acres of onion fields that make the northern Nevada air smell sweet at harvest time.

But she can look through the window from her kitchen table, just past her backyard with its swingset and pet llama, and see an ominous sign on a neighboring fence: Danger: Uranium Mine.”

It’s going to be interesting to see how this develops.

International Day for Mine Awareness & Assistance in Mine Action – 4 April

The filmmaker Oliver Englehart follows a local team working to clear mines from a residential area in Afghanistan, where buried explosives are a finite, but persistent problem

THE UNITED NATIONS MINE ACTION SERVICE 

Disabled land-mine victim in Afghanistan

 

    According to UN Afghanistan is one of the top three most-mined countries on the planet. About 200,000 civilians have died and 400,000 have been disabled in mine incidents in Afghanistan.

 

     Approximately 6,000 more will lose their lives or limbs every year in the war battered country due to mine incidents, says a report issued by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan-mine clearance programme (UNOCHA).

 

    Afghanistan is infested with 10 Million anti-personnel mines ready to explode the moment anyone stepped on them.

  

    In Afghanistan alone, about 20 innocent civilians including children and women, daily fall victim to mines, half of whom loss their lives due to lack of medical facilities. Due to the presence of mines, access has been denied to more than 488 square kilometer of land, including agricultural fields, irrigation canals roads and residential areas.

 

    Over 30% mine victims in Afghanistan are children. The legacy of that long war also included 750,000 amputees

     The UN figure for the number of Landmines in Afghanistan at 10 million. There are more than 600,000 landmines to be cleared while the warring factions are still laying more.    

 

 

 Deminers train for rapid response deployment

THE UNITED NATIONS MINE ACTION SERVICE  

 

•  UNMAS Annual Report 2007

• UNMAS Annual Report 2008 

19 Donors contribute $92.5 million to Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action 

Landmines and other unexploded objects continue to jeopardize the security of the people of Afghanistan. The country is still littered with hazardous explosive devices, meaning that even in areas where conflict has ceased, civilians risk being killed or injured by weapons of war. 

Men, women and children live in fear of the footpaths and fields around them. Refugees and displaced people are afraid to return to their homes. After eighteen years of conflict, fear of landmines continues to play a major role in the lives of many Afghans. 

The UNOCHA Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan (MAPA) is committed to working to help Afghans rid their land of these gruesome and sinister weapons. Launched in 1988, the programme has made significant progress in surveying and clearing residential and agricultural areas and roads, as well as battlefields. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people have received mine awareness training. Over the past nine years, the MAPA has striven to bring down the cost of mine clearance, by constantly enhancing techniques and skills.

 Today, it costs around 70 US cents to clear one square metre of contaminated land. 

 

(The Portugal News on Line) Angola ranked fourth worldwide in 2008 regarding areas cleared of landmines, according to the latest study by the International Campaign to Eradicate Landmines released Thursday in Geneva.

“Landmine Monitor 2009” said Angola cleared eight square kilometres of mined areas last year out of a total suspect area of 1,239 sq kms. In all, 158 sq kms were cleared of landmines worldwide in 2008, allowing the destruction of more than 476,000 anti-personnel mines and nearly 100,000 anti-vehicle devices, the study said.

L’enfer du Lagazuoi : la guerre des tunnels

Nous avions repéré le Monte Lagazuoi, près de Passo Falzarego, en visitant les Cinque Torri et nous nous étions promis d’y aller avant le week-end, par peur de la foule et parce que le départ vers notre second camp de base se profile…

Nous montons en téléphérique jusqu’au refuge Lagazuoi (alt. 2752m), le temps est couvert et il n’y a quasi personne. Nous ne sommes pas beaucoup renseignés sur ce site, nous pensons qu’il n’y a pas de sentier pédestre mais seulement une via ferrata, vu la grande barre rocheuse à franchir. C’était une erreur

Le Lagazuoi est un musée à ciel ouvert où se visitent librement les vestiges de la première guerre mondiale (1915-1918) entre Italiens et Autrichiens. Cela commence classiquement par des trincea :

Nous traversons ces tranchées en ruines dans une véritable purée de pois. Les hurlements du vent glacial rajoutent encore à cette ambiance très particulière. Mieux qu’un son et lumières !

A un moment nous marchons sur une crête très étroite, d’un côté un vide naturel, de l’autre un vide creusé par l’explosion de positions militaires. Avec les rafales de vent et la brume, concentration pour ne pas faire un faux pas…

L’impression d’avoir emprunté une machine à remonter le temps plutôt qu’un téléphérique s’estompe lorsque nous arrivons à l’entrée des tunnels car un groupe de touristes est en train de s’y engager à grands renforts de commentaires.

Cela fait du bien de se retrouver à l’abri des éléments. Par comparaison il fait presque chaud dans la galerie ! Dès l’entrée deux voies s’offrent à nous, nous emprunterons la “galerie spirale”. Ce sont des galeries pentues avec des planches en bois délimitant de hautes “marches”, un câble sert de main-courante tout du long (et c’est loin d’être inutile). Il n’y a pas de lumière, chaque visiteur doit apporter sa lampe.

Ce gigantesque dédale souterrain militaire a été creusé par les Italiens. On y retrouve les classiques galeries d’écoute et de contre-mine, etc.

Régulièrement une ouverture donne sur un accès extérieur, un poste de tir ou d’observation, etc.

Des ateliers ayant abrité des générateurs, compresseurs, etc. sont toujours visibles. Une arrivée de téléphérique permettait d’acheminer du matériel et des vivres, ainsi que des hommes, mais cela devait être fait de nuit car les Autrichiens, situés à une position supérieure, avaient un merveilleux angle de tir dessus ! Les pertes étaient lourdes.

En plus des télécabines, il y avait création de “voies ferrées” permettant aux militaires de franchir les falaises à l’aide de quelques bouts de ferraille plantées dans la roche, ce qui est de nos jours une discipline sportive connue sous le nom de via ferrata…

Nous descendons, descendons, descendons… un peu l’impression d’être dans une vis d’Archimède ! Nous croisons énormément de groupes en train de monter. Manifestement ils ont pris le chemin pédestre. Cette galerie aboutit donc en bas de la barre rocheuse, après une médusante dénivelée de l’ordre de 400m dans la roche !

AàG voudrait remonter car il n’y a plus rien à voir à présent, ce n’est plus qu’une longue descente un peu embouteillée et même plus spiralée. Mais une vue plus bas donne envie de continuer pour visiter cette seconde partie, si possible :

Enfin le tunnel débouche au jour ! Tout en bas, nous voyons le départ du téléphérique.

Quelques “terrasses” nous amènent devant un esthétique point de vue en compagnie d’un troll qui fume la pipe

Un petit sentier à flanc de falaise nous mène à la seconde partie tant convoitée : Cengia Martini, du nom d’un commandant italien.

Une galerie souterraine reliait les deux parties mais est à présent effondrée. Peut-être est-ce celle dont il est question le 17 janvier 1917 ?
Un autre chemin a été creusé à flanc de montagne.

J’ai beaucoup aimé ce sentier avec son petit pont artisanal tout mignon !

Cette zone est moins aménagée pour le passage des touristes.

Un lavoir en pierre portant la date de 1917… Propres sur eux, les officiers du bataillon alpin !

Des baraquements abritant la cantine et la cuisine (protégées par des grilles, donc les photos ont été prises comme j’ai pu).

Ces militaires avaient un sens certain de l’esthétisme, vous ne trouvez pas ? Regardez cette belle maisonnette en bois ! La nostalgie de leur foyer, peut-être…

Une autre galerie s’ouvre ensuite à nous, les boisages de l’entrée ont manifestement été renouvelés en partie.

Cette partie est assez ludique, avec une échelle pour géant donnant accès à cette plateforme avec un petit pont en bois. Mais oui c’est solide, ne vous inquiétez pas, j’ai fait passer AàG d’abord

Et la galerie après ce pont donne sur… sur ? Bon vous suivez pas, c’est quoi c’te histoire ! Vers des ouvertures vers la vallée bien sûr !

Ca n’arrête pas de monter, on se dit chouette, plutôt que de remonter par la même galerie on aura fait une belle boucle !

On découvre les lieux avec d’autant plus de plaisir qu’ils sont déserts, seul le bruit du vent nous accompagne car à intervalles irréguliers, on tombe sur… sur…?

L’originalité dans ce souterrain-ci, c’est que certains de ces postes d’observation sont obturés par des trappes en bois inclinées (auto-refermantes) et verrouillables.

Et après la montée, on tombe sur… sur ? Un cul-de-sac !!

Enfer et damnation, on a remonté entre 100 et 200m facilement, tout ça “pour rien”, enfin en supplément ! Ce sont des sadiques ces Italiens ! On a beau jeter un œil aux ouvertures pour voir si une échappée n’est pas possible par là, c’est niet… trop pentu et aucun chemin. On est bon pour tout redescendre et tout reremonter, argh, ça va beaucoup plaire aux genoux ça.

A la redescente, on croise plusieurs groupes de touristes… on leur dit ou on leur dit pas ? Allez, on ne va pas être peau de vache

On pique-nique auprès du lavoir, en nombreuse compagnie car des chocards à bec jaune ont repéré les bouts de pain que je leur lançais. Mais ce qui les intéresse beauuucoup plus, ce sont nos croûtes de fromage voire des morceaux de saucisson !!

Avec le vent assez violent, ce sont des boules de plumes complètement ébouriffées qui viennent rôder autour de nous

Ah quelle funeste idée de s’alourdir l’estomac avant la grande remontée Ce fut dur dur… et quel monde, en ce début d’après-midi !

Nous visitons ensuite les autres parties de ce souterrain : la galerie ronde et la galerie des crêtes. Dehors les éléments se déchaînent, le vent a forci et la drache est digne d’un automne belgikistanais. Eclairs et tonnerre sont d’autant plus impressionnant dans ce cadre. Combien d’orages, combien de tempêtes ont vécu les soldats reclus ici ?

Nous attendons à l’entrée du tunnel que le plus gros de l’orage soit passé, mais ça semble prévu pour durer… et la surpopulation guette. Alors tant pis, lançons-nous gaiement hors de notre abri ! Une fois trempés, il ne pourra plus rien nous arriver de toute façon

Nous remontons vers l’embranchement qui nous permettra d’accéder aux positions autrichiennes. Eh oui, eux aussi ils ont creusé ! Mais par contre les zones principales ont sauté, il ne reste plus que quelques petits souterrains épars.

Assez boueux, plus étroit et plus bas de plafond, mais bien sympathique tout de même ! Il y a de temps à autre un boîtier avec trois boutons (italien – anglais – allemand)… machinalement je les actionne. Rien ne se passe, comme les précédents boîtiers rencontrés Et puis soudain, crise cardiaque !! Des tirs de mitrailleuses et des explosions !

Certaines zones sont inaccessibles car obstruées de terre, de planches, de ferrailles… sans doute les conséquences d’une proche explosion.

Nous remontons le ruisseau chemin ruisseau malgré l’envie d’aller plus loin car l’heure du dernier téléphérique se rapproche et, surtout, nous sommes inquiets de ne pas en avoir vus passer depuis un long moment. Sans doute la violence du vent empêchait-elle tout voyage ! Qu’en sera-t-il à présent ?

Ca va faire long s’il faut redescendre à pattes… Heureusement le machiniste ? conducteur ? enfin le responsable, nous dit de patienter car il y en aura finalement un qui partira dans 15-20 minutes. Seulement on est bleu et on tremble, forcément : on est trempé, il vente toujours et la température a fameusement chuté. Il nous invite très gentiment à patienter sur le banc à l’intérieur, c’est pas chauffé mais il vient de nettoyer et on profite des vapeurs chaudes du sol (oui on en est à ce point là )

Finalement les secousses seront assez modérées, le vent a faibli. Pas trop de frayeurs donc !

Ceux qui connaissent l’italien peuvent découvrir l’historique de ce lieu (et du restant des Dolomites) durant la guerre sur ce site. Pour les francophones, quelques éléments ici (sous le titre “le front austro-italien”).

Ci-dessous, la vue depuis notre logement avec deux APN différents… On a vu ces mêmes montagnes rosir violemment lors du coucher de soleil du premier soir, c’était magnifique (mais pas d’appareil photo sous la main évidemment).
Un souper tranquille et agréable à la Ciasa Soleil et puis, dodo !

Gold… From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: diamond products. The blog is also related to: diamond stone.

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 639

Apologies for the delays, which may continue for some days, as I am attending the UN Internet Governance Forum meetings in Sharm el Sheikh/Egypt with a busy schedule, in a different time zone, and then traveling back to Cambodia. I try to be on time as much as possible.

Norbert Klein

“According to a news source, at least three disabled veterans, poor citizens, were arrested between 14 to 16 November 2009, when they resisted armed forces and police of the Kompong Thom authorities, coming to enforce a notification to confiscate land, where the authorities claimed that those citizens live there illegally, in Banteay Rou Ngieng village, Kraya commune, Santuk district, Kompong Thom.

“The source of this information claimed that there is an association with more than 1,700 families of disabled veterans, living there since 2004, and that the association lives on more than 10,000 hectares of land, where each family was provided with 3 hectares by the head of that community, for housing and for growing different crops, since 2005. But on 14 and 16 November 2009, about 50 armed forces and other authorities came with machinery to remove their houses, and they arrested three people.

“The disabled veterans said that the authorities burnt their houses, shot at them, and even arrested some people and hit them with riffle handles, in order to evict them to seize the land for the Tan Bieng company [a Vietnamese company].

“Responding to the accusation that the authorities ordered armed forces to burn their houses, shoot at them, and arrest people, the Kompong Thom deputy police chief, who had gone himself to conduct the eviction, Mr. Nou Thany, told Deum Ampil on 18 November 2009, via phone, ‘The accusation is not true. And if there is anything true in it, the authorities used only their right to self protection, because those disabled people used knives, sticks, and gasoline bottles to burn the machinery of the authorities and to chase them away and to hurt them with knives.’ He added that the action was taken following a notification to confiscate the land for the Tan Bieng company, which had received the right from the Royal Government to make some investment on that land. For evictions, the municipality has a policy to offer each of them a plot of land in the nearby Thma Samlieng area, but only somewhat more than 100 of them agreed to register to take this offer of land at the new location. The rest protested, rejecting this policy and they used force against the authorities who went to enforce the eviction order.

“Mr. Nou Thany emphasized that the disabled veterans association does have the right to create an association at that area, but not the right to control the land. Therefore, there was a notification, ordering them to leave. Before they would have to leave, the municipality had set the deadline of 25 November 2009 for them to accept new land; however, they turned to resist strongly on 14 to 17 November 2009.” Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #340, 19.11.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Thursday, 19 November 2009

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #340, 19.11.2009

• Three Were Arrested for Preventing the Implementation of a Notification to Confiscate Land in Kompong Thom
• Most Malaria Medicines Are Fake and No-Quality Medicines [according to expert officials of the Ministry of Health]
• Tragedy as a Boat Sunk [because of strong wind] Resulting in the Deaths of a Man and of Three Children while His Wife Survived [Kandal]
• Two Young Men Died Immediately after They Were Hit [while riding on a motorbike] Behind a Bus of the Capital Company [Battambang]

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2102, 19.11.2009

• [About 300] Staff and Workers of the Royal Railways of Cambodia Stopped Protesting after the Ministry [of Public Works and Transport] Promised to Pay Their Salaries on 27 November 2009
• More Than 600 Square Kilometer of Cambodia Are Still Mine Infested [according to the Cambodian Mine Authority]

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #533, 19.11.2009

• Mr. Sam Rainsy and Ms. Tioulong Saumura Attended the European Community Parliament Meeting about Cambodia Yesterday [in Brussels]

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6809, 19.11.2009

• The Red Shirt Demonstrators Announced to Conduct a Large Demonstration on Sunday [29 November 2009] to Dismiss [Prime Minister] Abhisit Vijjajiva’s Government
• Special UN Envoy [in charge of AIDS in the Asia Pacific, Dr. Nafis Sadik] Met with a Group of Most Vulnerable People in the City [drug addicts, people infected with AIDS, and orphans - Phnom Penh]

Phnom Penh Post [Khmer Edition], Vol.1, #49, 19.11.2009

• Court Started to Question a Thai Man about Spying [he had copied flight documents of Prime Minister Hun Sen and of Thai ousted fugitive prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to send the copies to Thailand]
• Cambodia Is Still the Country with the Most Corruption among the Countries in the Region [of Asia Pacific; according to a report of Transparency International, Cambodia stands at the 158th position among 180 countries affected by corruption in the public sector, while in 2008, Cambodia was at the 166th position]
• Construction Investments Increased by 22% within 9 Months Compared to the Corresponding Period [last year; by the end of September 2009, there were 1805 projects amounting to US$1.165 Billion, while in 2008 there were only 1558 projects]

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5051, 19.11.2009

• A Robber Shot a Policeman to Death and Then after Half-an-Hour Siege the Robber Was Shot Dead by Police [if he had agreed to let police arrest him and not shoot one policeman to death, he would not have be killed - Chamkarmon, Phnom Penh]
• A Japanese Man [a staff member of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)] Fell from the Second Storey of a Building of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and Died [police has not identified why he fell down - Phnom Penh]
• The Minister of Tourism Asked UNESCO to Help Create a Master Plan for Eco-Tourism around the Tonle Sap Lake

Have a look at the last editorial – you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
And please recommend us also to your colleagues and friends.

Back to top

Corrieo da Manha : A explosão de uma mina terrestre abandonada causou a morte a três crianças e ferimentos noutras duas em Angola, um dos países mais minados do Mundo. 

O incidente ocorreu na passada quinta-feira na povoação de Djakala, província angolana da Lunda Norte, mas só agora foi divulgado. Segundo a Rádio Nacional de Angola, as crianças estavam a brincar com a mina quando inadvertidamente a atiraram contra uma árvore, fazendo com que explodisse.

Sete anos após o fim da guerra civil, e apesar dos esforços de desminagem levados a cabo pelo governo e ONG internacionais, Angola continua a ser dos países mais minados do Mundo, e todos os anos estes engenhos fazem novas vítimas, principalmente entre as crianças.

I hope to blog out my thoughts about EmergingUmc2: Restoring Missional Methodism over the next several days.  Here is my second attempt to summarize my experience at the conference. Here is my blog post from yesterday about the conference.

After our walking/missional tour of downtown Indianapolis, we returned to the church, had lunch, and finished up the official part of our Friday at EmergingUMC2.

We spent that afternoon talking about the early Methodists and the church structure that had developed since then.  Ultimately, it was this way of doing church that got us into the ditch  that we United Methodists now find ourselves in. 

One thing is clear; John Wesley and the early Methodists were the Shane Claibornes and ordinary radicals of their time and place.  Their ministries started in prisons, coal fields, factories, in the farm fields, etc.  They spoke out against injustice like slavery and industrial reform and primarily worked through small groups called classes.  Along with the social activism and small gatherings, these early Methodists also put emphasis on personal piety and discipline. 

According to Taylor Burton-Edwards, the EmergingUMC2 conference leader, the prevailing  spirit and structure of the early Methodists started to dissipate with the creation of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1784, especially as the church gained economic and political power and became part of the dominant, mainstream culture by its 100th birthday in 1884. 

The numbers lie sometimes but the United Methodist church is fading.  We are about to be passed by the Mormons for third place on the largest American denominations list, continue to lose hundreds of thousands of members each decade, and now the percentage of Americans who consider themselves United Methodist  have nearly been cut in half over the last forty years. (6% in 1970, 3% today).

Burton-Edwards argument on this Friday afternoon made a lot of sense; The church as congregation model hasn’t worked out very well and its well worth looking at what those early Methodists were up to! You cannot recreate the past, of course, but there is much to learn  from the pre-Methodist Episcopal Church Wesleyan movement.  

Much more could be said, but most importantly, returning to a model that emphasises the small group/class could add the vitality needed to Keep Wesley’s hope that the Methodist movement “[would] not only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.…” He wrote that two years after the formation of the Methodist Episcopal church.  

To back this up, Burton-Edwards quoted the following in his presentation:

•GBOD research– discipleship grows and deepens  primarily through an experience or a group outside the congregation (Dan Dick)

•Missiological observation– “communitas”–a “band of brothers and sisters who have each other’s backs struggling through a common ordeal– is the environment most conducive to missional action and multiplication (Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways)

ahad lepas eh semalam la tu kan, gi mines tengok 2012 di pagi bute utk tengok 2012 lagi bersame duri jen skin. sebab dorg x tengok lagi. kasian. anne mcm bese la penunggu gua mane nk ikot. sitot study kat bilik xmo ikot gak. yani dot nad pi dragon boat kat melaka. nasib ade tiket padahal dia da tulis kat skrin tv tu FULL. tapi ade je lagi seat kosong. bodo gila pekerja tgv ni rugi padan la muke. ramai gile kot org beratur nk tengok 2012 tp tengok perkataan FULL teros blah x jadi tengok. tapi seat tgv mines ni cam harrram punye sakit tengkuk.

2012 mcm haritu la kan da cite. masih best walaupon tengok for the second time. kali ketiga nanti tatau la best ke x. x best dah laa kot mungkin aku tido. nasib tiket first haritu dot yg belanja (thx dot muahxx bwekk), yg kedua ni rm7 je murah gile sebab pagi bute kot.

pas movie gi makan. duri jen tapau subway. pastu gi pizza san francisco sbb aku ngan skin nk makan situ. aku oder pollo chicken ke amende tah. sedaappp. die cam ayam pastu de mushroom2 pastu de potato pastu de sayur2 aaa lapa. skin oder beef steak tp cam mkn batu je haha. bpk liat ah. pastu gi soping groceries pastu balik la.