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Cruising again!

NJTravelGal — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:49:32 +0000

Hi everyone!

Well I will be leaving on Saturday, December 5 and flying to Fort Lauderdale. Staying overnight at the Comfort Inn South Cruiseport for the night and then will hop their shuttle to Miami to catch NCL’s Jewel for a week-long cruise to the Western Caribbean. Will be visiting Roatan, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; Costa Maya, Mexico and Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas before heading back to Miami. Just checked the weather and it looks like rain again… Rain and cruising just seems to go together for me!

Hopefully, I will be able to blog this time while I’m on my trip. I really want to be able to give you an idea of what it’s like to cruise, if you’ve never been on a cruise. This time we will have a Veranda (balcony) cabin – looking forward to that. Will post videos of the room and the ship for you to see. This is the ship that we will be cruising on:

The rest of this week will be taken up with getting ready for the cruise… getting the house in order, washing clothes, packing… all the fun stuff. So will talk to you on Saturday when we get to Fort Lauderdale!

6 of the 1,237,017 Ways to Deja Vu-Proof a Vacation

celebrationsint — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:08:42 +0000

Introducing Norwegian Epic

How many of you have ever been to an Ice Bar at sea? Or seen improv like The Second City off St. Thomas? What about going bowling off Cozumel? Or a two-story-tall Wii wall? Onboard NCL’s new Norwegian Epic, you will have one new experience after another, from the Aqua Park and the largest slide bowl at sea–Epic Plunge– to the 24-foot-high climbing cage–the Spider Web.

You’ll also see staterooms like you’ve never seen before on land or sea. Welcome to the next generation of Freestyle Cruising. Norwegian Epic alternately sails the Eastern and Western Caribbean from Miami starting in Summer 2010.

To learn more, visit Celebrations International Travel’s Norwegian Epic pages or contact us to book your NCL cruise vacation today!

Uppföljaren för offensivälskare.

wolfsshockplay — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:44:36 +0000

Ja gott folk, det kommer att komma en uppföljare till NCL

Den kommer dra igång så fort jag hinner planera klart den efter att nuvarande NCL är färdigspelad.

Konceptet:
Många spelare har under många år efterlyst offensiva turneringar, nu tänkte jag göra ett litet test. Inte som officiell turnering så inga medaljer, men det kommer givetvis att sponsras från Raketspel med priser till dom som lyckas bäst.

Jag väljer att kalla den för “NCL Non Push edition”
Tanken är att även här ha 3 mannalag (kan ändras), mer exakt utformning kommer inom kort och startdatum kommer att planeras inom kort.

Den stora skillnaden mot “vanliga” NCL kommer att vara, dels att man inte får spela defensivt och dels att spelformen med största sannolikhet kommer att bli det poängsystem som jag en gång uppfann och som uppskattades. (Tar gärna synpunkter på allt) Här kan ni se poängsystemets utformning.

Kom igen nu alla offensivgalningar. Nu har ni chansen att deltaga i en uteslutande offensiv turnering.

Undrar ni något och inte kan vänta tills mer information kommer ut, skriv till mig på shockplay eller msn så förklarar jag mer!

Mr Daydreamer

Tack för det televerket.

wolfsshockplay — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:37:57 +0000

Kära läsare.

Jag vill bara dela med mig lite av mitt snälla men mycket “korkade” beslut denna kväll.

Utan att egentligen tänka mig för så lovar jag joshp att kolla upp med marrubou (admin för NCL-Backgammon) om jag kan spela honom trots att tiden gått ut för spel.
Tyckte nämligen inte det va mer än rätt då han härom dagen frågade mig men jag då var upptagen (har sedan dess inte fått någon chans att spela)

marrubou säger kör, jag gör en turnering, vet att jag behöver 6 poäng (set) för att vinna lagmatchen åt mig och pepzgirl.
När jag börjat matchen frågar jag marru hur det blir om jag vinner matchen (eller tar 6 set). Jo då kommer vi 2a i gruppspelet, får jag 5 set och gör lagmatchen till en tie eller förlorar med mer än så kommer vi 3a i gruppen. Sen…….. får jag reda på att om vi kommer 3a i gruppen får vi möta …… ingen mindre än mina absoluta mardrömsmotståndare i kvartsfinalen!!! (kommer tillbaka till det)

Matchen:
joshp totalt krossar mig med sina dubblar, minst 3 st i varje set han vann (inte låga heller) han vet detta med sig då han själv vid tillfälle skrev OMG med stora bokstäver
På något underligt sätt lyckas jag ta mig till 4-6 och har även då läga att dubbla, gör det och vet att om jag vinner detta set slipper vi dessa motståndare i kvarten!! Settet såg ok ut, han hamnade i en knepig situation där han fick lämna öppet 2 ggr och jag hade nästan helmur….. får jag tag på honom? Nepps, det va inte min match. Hatten av, med denna vinst tog han sitt lag till kvartsfinal!! Grattis!!

Motståndarna:
Huh, vågar inte ens tänka på hur det kommer se ut och låta här inne :) Battlefield får väl duga som ord =)
Motståndarna heter marrubou & Katjziska. Vette attan om man kan få värre motstånd i Backgammon, inte för egen del iaf då jag väldigt sällan spöar dessa damer. pepzgirl sade också att det blir tufft. Men vinna ska vi så håll i hatten..

Hjärnan: Vad tänkte du med när du föreslog att spela den där matchen?
Jag: Du som är hjärnan, inte jag!!
Hjärnan: Så det är mitt fel?
Jag: Ja, Absolut!!
Hjärnan: Är det mitt fel att du förlorade med?
Jag: Ja, måste ju skylla på nån eller hur?
Hjärnan: Schysst! Hoppas du förlorar kvarten din nolla!
Jag: Tack för ditt stöd, iq fiskmås!

Min tolkning av mig själv efter matchen! hehe

Lite allvar då kanske.

Grattis alla lag som tagit sig till kvartsfinal & lycka till i jakten på guldet!

Må bästa lag vinna!

Mr Daydreamer!

Mera semifinal i NCL.

wolfsshockplay — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:02:02 +0000

Idag Torsdag kommer det vara stor NCL fokus.
tuggummi! ska försöka vända underläga mot lag Simon (DK), en svår uppgift, men kommer bli mycket spännande att följa. Detta kommer ta sin början vid 21 tiden ikväll!

Innan dess skall den andra semifinalen inledas, finns en risk att det kommer pågå matcher samtidigt.
Klockan 19.00 skall lag Mr Daydreamer & lag hjerterNio inleda sin semifinal, den lagmatchen kommer att spelas klart ikväll! Vem som börjar vet vi inte & vilka som spela vet vi inte/avslöjar vi inte

Missa inte all denna NCL action om du är intresserad av att kolla på bra couronne!

Spänningen kommer vara på topp, nerver kommer att styra, agnarna kommer att sållas från vetet!

Häng med, vi börjar som sagt klockan 19.00, 7pm CET.

Ses där!

Mr D

NCL's Norwegian Sky

Hiroki — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:35:22 +0000

I’ve been on many cruises. I’ve seen the eastern Caribbean, southern Caribbean, and the west Caribbean. This was the first time I’ve been on a cruise ever since I have lived in Miami. So I took off on Friday at noon and jumped onto the Norwegian Sky, a cruise ship owned by the Norwegian Cruise Line company.

Surprisingly enough, according to a friend, the boat is an upgrade from Carnival or Royal Caribbean cruise lines. Unfortunately, as usual, everything was geared towards tourists and Middle America. The most unexpected thing was the food. Buffet food is usually random, but this ship had very decent buffet food. They also had a ‘eat whenever you want plan’, so unlike other cruise ships where you have a set time to have dinner; in this boat, you can head to eat whenever you wanted. They also had a French restaurant, an Italian restaurant, and a steakhouse as well for a “cover” charge. Lunch and dinner at the regular dining room was excellent. Unfortunately, we were on a 3 day cruise, so we did not think it was necessary to pay the “cover” charge for the other dining areas.

We spent a lot of time at their Martini bar, which had 2 for 1 special from 6-8 PM. It was a good way to pregame before dinner, a show, or the casino. We even ordered Alaskan king crabs from the steakhouse on one of the nights and sipped on Martinis to the point we did not know if it was the boat shaking or us drunk.

We stopped by at Nassau (in which I will write a separate post on) and was scheduled to stop by at the NCL’s private island, Great Stirrup Cay, however that was canceled due to enormous waves. We managed to stop by at one of the entertainment shows and it was nothing extraordinary. The host threw some cheap easy-to-laugh jokes and that was about it. Maybe, if I get a little fatter, I’ll understand it more.

The boat reached shore early Monday and we headed straight back to work.

The cruise was a good getaway, however it would have been nice, if it was longer, and if we brought friends our age.

Första semifinalmatchen i NCL!

wolfsshockplay — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:57:45 +0000

Om bara 35 minuter spelas den första semifinal matchen i NCL mellan marrubou & Simon (DK).
Missa inte första matchen i denna mycket spännande semifinal!

Välkomna!

Unique Opportunity with Norwegian Cruise Line

John Trivedi — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:32:15 +0000

One of the best parts about being in the group cruise business is that I get to share my passion and knowledge with folks just like you about the world of cruising. Being able to plan and organize group cruising events is what fills my day with joy and happiness, and now, I have the opportunity to take my happiness to another level due to all that I have accomplished.

I’ve been given the wonderful and unique opportunity to participate in Norwegian Cruise Line’s PhD@Sea program which is an industry first. This special program was designed only for cruise professionals who became Freestyle Certified (highest level of certification) at Norwegian Cruise Line’s University (NCL U), and being selected as one of the professionals to go, I have to admit that I am beyond excited and truly honored!

Norwegian Cruise Line will be whisking away 40 cruise professionals including myself aboard the magnificent Norwegian Jewel (pictured below) for a 7-night Western Caribbean Cruise on December 6th. We will be visiting many beautiful ports including Roatan, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; Costa Maya, Mexico; and Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas – which is Norwegian’s very own private island (exclusive only to Norwegian passengers).

Norwegian Jewel

So what exactly is a PhD@Sea program and how is it different than any other cruise vacation? Well to start with, this program will give cruise professionals like myself an experience that is rare for anyone going onboard. Here are just some of the exciting activities we’ll be doing onboard in addition to having a week long of cruising fun:

Welcome cocktail reception and sail-away party
Behind-the-scene tours
Panel discussions
Meeting the shipboard leadership team
Attending a group dinner
Receiving a personalized PhD@Sea certificate, a group photo and a farewell gift
A professional press release announcing my PhD@Sea status to distribute to my local newspaper, radio, and television stations
Class credit for CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association)
And much much more!

You can take a breath now. This special group cruise program is going to be jam-packed with so much fun I can’t wait until the day arrives! I’ll be taking my sister on this cruise since she has never experienced one before and has been extremely eager to finally have the opportunity. And let me tell you, she is getting one special first-time cruise experience!

I’ll be blogging about my day-to-day experiences on the special PhD@Sea program and will be posting these entries upon my return.

All the professionals and I have already established a relationship in the NCL U forum and we’ve also created a special name for our group, and that is the “Family Jewels” – very fitting! I’ve always been excited about going on a cruise, but with this program, I can already tell it’s going to be something extra special.

Until next time…

Your Friend in Cruising,

John Trivedi, Owner
World Travelers United
(425) 205-9911

john@worldtravelersunited.com
www.worldtravelersunited.com
“We make your Perfect Group Cruise experience a dream come true!”

Avgörande kvartsfinalmöte.

wolfsshockplay — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:09:55 +0000

I morgon vid 17.00 skall Simon (DK) & riiiv spela en mycket viktig match i NCL.
Simon (DK) har 3-1 mot agaton och lag riiiv har lite mark att hämta upp.

Missa inte en mycket spännande match mellan 2 spelare som brukar ha ganska jämna matcher.

Kan riiiv hålla sitt lag kvar i turneringen?

Vi ses på stadion, shockplay.com

Ps. http://www.youtube.com/shockplaycouronne sen en riktigt bra gjord “reklam” eller kul matcher att se. Gjord av iiindes

En dramatisk kväll på shockplay

wolfsshockplay — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:54:16 +0000

Igår kväll var en dramatisk och intressant kväll på shockplay.com

Det var ligamatcher och NCL matcher vilken riktining man än vände sig.

Kvällen började med att jag informerade wolfman att han och Mularn förmodligen skulle behöva spela kvartsfinalmatch nummer 2.
Men när jag sitter online på kvällen så dyker Cronos upp och min puls går upp. Jag kontaktar både Cronos & Lanski som också va online och sen var det bara köra.

Jag vinner 3-1 mot Lanski och 3-0 mot Cronos och sen var det wolfmans tur, han behövde 2 set på 2 matcher för att säkra en plats i semifinalen!
Gissa en som va nervös när wolfman förlorade 0-3 mot Lanski och behöver 1 set för tie och 2 set för vinst mot självaste Cronos.
Med en enorm skopa tur lyckas wolfman ta de 2 set han behöver och Mr D dansar segerdansen hemma i Södertälje Tack Mats.

Lag hjerterNio lyckades under tiden denna dramatik pågick utmanövrera lag zonic och säkra sin plats i semifinal. Grattis till detta!

Lag tuggummi! är sedan ett par dagar tillbaka klara för semifinal och där skall dom möta vinnaren mellan lag Simon (DK) och lag riiiv.
Där leder lag Simon (DK) med 1-0 i matcher och har dessutom 3-0 3-0 i matcher och har gett lag riiiv en uppgift näst intill omöjlig. Lag riiiv är tvungna att vinna 2 matcher i rad med 3-0, för en tie!

Inte nog med detta, det har även hänt saker i ligan denna intressanta kväll.
Allt från det sopigaste tänkbara spel (jag) till sweep på tap break, och en dramatik utan dess like.
Först såg det ut som att Simon (DK) skulle vinna guldet, men han fick stryk av riiiv som då blandade sig i guldstriden, men den guld drömmen krashades när jag spöade honom. tuggummi! hade sedan saken i egna händer och skulle säkra guldet mot riiiv, men åkte på pumpen, så nu har Simon (DK) chansen på guld igen, men en annan spelare har saken i egna händer nu. Se om braverymonkey lyckas ta hem sitt första guld genom att vinna mot wonderwoman?

Lycka till braverymonkey med guldjakten
Lycka till lag riiiv och vända matchen och leva kvar i NCL
Och sist men inte minst, lycka till alla som skall spela semifinal i NCL!

Mr Daydreamer

Första laget klart för semifinal i NCL.

wolfsshockplay — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:22:21 +0000

Stort grattis till lag tuggummi! som för en liten stund sedan säkrade sin biljett till semifinal i NCL. Lag tuggummi! består av tuggummi!, marrubou & Katjziska.

Efter vissa bekymmer och lite änglavakt lyckades tuggummi! ta det sista avgörande settet mot Broken Angel och saken var klar.

Det var inte utan späning någonstans i den andra lagmatchen och utgången var osäker in i det sista.

Nu får lag tuggummi! en välbehövlig semester på några dagar innan det är dags för nästa stora slag!

Min åsikt om varför detta lag har gått så långt är:
Stark stomme och envisa duktiga finnar som aldrig ger upp!

Grattis!

U.S. Army paying the Taliban not to shoot at them

infolution — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:52:06 +0000

U.S. Army paying the Taliban not to shoot at them

Aram Roston
The Nation
November 11, 2009

On October 29, 2001, while the Taliban’s rule over Afghanistan was under assault, the regime’s ambassador in Islamabad gave a chaotic press conference in front of several dozen reporters sitting on the grass. On the Taliban diplomat’s right sat his interpreter, Ahmad Rateb Popal, a man with an imposing presence. Like the ambassador, Popal wore a black turban, and he had a huge bushy beard. He had a black patch over his right eye socket, a prosthetic left arm and a deformed right hand, the result of injuries from an explosives mishap during an old operation against the Soviets in Kabul.

But Popal was more than just a former mujahedeen. In 1988, a year before the Soviets fled Afghanistan, Popal had been charged in the United States with conspiring to import more than a kilo of heroin. Court records show he was released from prison in 1997.

Flash forward to 2009, and Afghanistan is ruled by Popal’s cousin President Hamid Karza. Popal has cut his huge beard down to a neatly trimmed one and has become an immensely wealthy businessman, along with his brother Rashid Popal, who in a separate case pleaded guilty to a heroin charge in 1996 in Brooklyn. The Popal brothers control the huge Watan Group in Afghanistan, a consortium engaged in telecommunications, logistics and, most important, security. Watan Risk Management, the Popals’ private military arm, is one of the few dozen private security companies in Afghanistan. One of Watan’s enterprises, key to the war effort, is protecting convoys of Afghan trucks heading from Kabul to Kandahar, carrying American supplies.

Welcome to the wartime contracting bazaar in Afghanistan. It is a virtual carnival of improbable characters and shady connections, with former CIA officials and ex-military officers joining hands with former Taliban and mujahedeen to collect US government funds in the name of the war effort.

In this grotesque carnival, the US military’s contractors are forced to pay suspected insurgents to protect American supply routes. It is an accepted fact of the military logistics operation in Afghanistan that the US government funds the very forces American troops are fighting. And it is a deadly irony, because these funds add up to a huge amount of money for the Taliban. “It’s a big part of their income,” one of the top Afghan government security officials told The Nation in an interview. In fact, US military officials in Kabul estimate that a minimum of 10 percent of the Pentagon’s logistics contracts–hundreds of millions of dollars–consists of payments to insurgents.

Understanding how this situation came to pass requires untangling two threads. The first is the insider dealing that determines who wins and who loses in Afghan business, and the second is the troubling mechanism by which “private security” ensures that the US supply convoys traveling these ancient trade routes aren’t ambushed by insurgents.

A good place to pick up the first thread is with a small firm awarded a US military logistics contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars: NCL Holdings. Like the Popals’ Watan Risk, NCL is a licensed security company in Afghanistan.

What NCL Holdings is most notorious for in Kabul contracting circles, though, is the identity of its chief principal, Hamed Wardak. He is the young American son of Afghanistan’s current defense minister, Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak, who was a leader of the mujahedeen against the Soviets. Hamed Wardak has plunged into business as well as policy. He was raised and schooled in the United States, graduating as valedictorian from Georgetown University in 1997. He earned a Rhodes scholarship and interned at the neoconservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute. That internship was to play an important role in his life, for it was at AEI that he forged alliances with some of the premier figures in American conservative foreign policy circles, such as the late Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick.

Wardak incorporated NCL in the United States early in 2007, although the firm may have operated in Afghanistan before then. It made sense to set up shop in Washington, because of Wardak’s connections there. On NCL’s advisory board, for example, is Milton Bearden, a well-known former CIA officer. Bearden is an important voice on Afghanistan issues; in October he was a witness before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where Senator John Kerry, the chair, introduced him as “a legendary former CIA case officer and a clearheaded thinker and writer.” It is not every defense contracting company that has such an influential adviser.

But the biggest deal that NCL got–the contract that brought it into Afghanistan’s major leagues–was Host Nation Trucking. Earlier this year the firm, with no apparent trucking experience, was named one of the six companies that would handle the bulk of US trucking in Afghanistan, bringing supplies to the web of bases and remote outposts scattered across the country.

At first the contract was large but not gargantuan. And then that suddenly changed, like an immense garden coming into bloom. Over the summer, citing the coming “surge” and a new doctrine, “Money as a Weapons System,” the US military expanded the contract 600 percent for NCL and the five other companies. The contract documentation warns of dire consequences if more is not spent: “service members will not get food, water, equipment, and ammunition they require.” Each of the military’s six trucking contracts was bumped up to $360 million, or a total of nearly $2.2 billion. Put it in this perspective: this single two-year effort to hire Afghan trucks and truckers was worth 10 percent of the annual Afghan gross domestic product. NCL, the firm run by the defense minister’s well-connected son, had struck pure contracting gold.

Host Nation Trucking does indeed keep the US military efforts alive in Afghanistan. “We supply everything the army needs to survive here,” one American trucking executive told me. “We bring them their toilet paper, their water, their fuel, their guns, their vehicles.” The epicenter is Bagram Air Base, just an hour north of Kabul, from which virtually everything in Afghanistan is trucked to the outer reaches of what the Army calls “the Battlespace”–that is, the entire country. Parked near Entry Control Point 3, the trucks line up, shifting gears and sending up clouds of dust as they prepare for their various missions across the country.

The real secret to trucking in Afghanistan is ensuring security on the perilous roads, controlled by warlords, tribal militias, insurgents and Taliban commanders. The American executive I talked to was fairly specific about it: “The Army is basically paying the Taliban not to shoot at them. It is Department of Defense money.” That is something everyone seems to agree on.

Mike Hanna is the project manager for a trucking company called Afghan American Army Services. The company, which still operates in Afghanistan, had been trucking for the United States for years but lost out in the Host Nation Trucking contract that NCL won. Hanna explained the security realities quite simply: “You are paying the people in the local areas–some are warlords, some are politicians in the police force–to move your trucks through.”

Hanna explained that the prices charged are different, depending on the route: “We’re basically being extorted. Where you don’t pay, you’re going to get attacked. We just have our field guys go down there, and they pay off who they need to.” Sometimes, he says, the extortion fee is high, and sometimes it is low. “Moving ten trucks, it is probably $800 per truck to move through an area. It’s based on the number of trucks and what you’re carrying. If you have fuel trucks, they are going to charge you more. If you have dry trucks, they’re not going to charge you as much. If you are carrying MRAPs or Humvees, they are going to charge you more.”

Hanna says it is just a necessary evil. “If you tell me not to pay these insurgents in this area, the chances of my trucks getting attacked increase exponentially.”

Whereas in Iraq the private security industry has been dominated by US and global firms like Blackwater, operating as de facto arms of the US government, in Afghanistan there are lots of local players as well. As a result, the industry in Kabul is far more dog-eat-dog. “Every warlord has his security company,” is the way one executive explained it to me.

In theory, private security companies in Kabul are heavily regulated, although the reality is different. Thirty-nine companies had licenses until September, when another dozen were granted licenses. Many licensed companies are politically connected: just as NCL is owned by the son of the defense minister and Watan Risk Management is run by President Karzai’s cousins, the Asia Security Group is controlled by Hashmat Karzai, another relative of the president. The company has blocked off an entire street in the expensive Sherpur District. Another security firm is controlled by the parliamentary speaker’s son, sources say. And so on.

In the same way, the Afghan trucking industry, key to logistics operations, is often tied to important figures and tribal leaders. One major hauler in Afghanistan, Kandahar (AIT), paid $20,000 a month in kickbacks to a US Army contracting official, according to the official’s plea agreement in US court in August. AIT is a very well-connected firm: it is run by the 25-year-old nephew of Gen. Baba Jan, a former Northern Alliance commander and later a Kabul police chief. In an interview, Baba Jan, a cheerful and charismatic leader, insisted he had nothing to do with his nephew’s corporate enterprise.

But the heart of the matter is that insurgents are getting paid for safe passage because there are few other ways to bring goods to the combat outposts and forward operating bases where soldiers need them. By definition, many outposts are situated in hostile terrain, in the southern parts of Afghanistan. The security firms don’t really protect convoys of American military goods here, because they simply can’t; they need the Taliban’s cooperation.

One of the big problems for the companies that ship American military supplies across the country is that they are banned from arming themselves with any weapon heavier than a rifle. That makes them ineffective for battling Taliban attacks on a convoy. “They are shooting the drivers from 3,000 feet away with PKMs,” a trucking company executive in Kabul told me. “They are using RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] that will blow up an up-armed vehicle. So the security companies are tied up. Because of the rules, security companies can only carry AK-47s, and that’s just a joke. I carry an AK–and that’s just to shoot myself if I have to!”

The rules are there for a good reason: to guard against devastating collateral damage by private security forces. Still, as Hanna of Afghan American Army Services points out, “An AK-47 versus a rocket-propelled grenade–you are going to lose!” That said, at least one of the Host Nation Trucking companies has tried to do battle instead of paying off insurgents and warlords. It is a US-owned firm called Four Horsemen International. Instead of providing payments, it has tried to fight off attackers. And it has paid the price in lives, with horrendous casualties. FHI, like many other firms, refused to talk publicly; but I’ve been told by insiders in the security industry that FHI’s convoys are attacked on virtually every mission.

For the most part, the security firms do as they must to survive. A veteran American manager in Afghanistan who has worked there as both a soldier and a private security contractor in the field told me, “What we are doing is paying warlords associated with the Taliban, because none of our security elements is able to deal with the threat.” He’s an Army veteran with years of Special Forces experience, and he’s not happy about what’s being done. He says that at a minimum American military forces should try to learn more about who is getting paid off.

“Most escorting is done by the Taliban,” an Afghan private security official told me. He’s a Pashto and former mujahedeen commander who has his finger on the pulse of the military situation and the security industry. And he works with one of the trucking companies carrying US supplies. “Now the government is so weak,” he added, “everyone is paying the Taliban.”

To Afghan trucking officials, this is barely even something to worry about. One woman I met was an extraordinary entrepreneur who had built up a trucking business in this male-dominated field. She told me the security company she had hired dealt directly with Taliban leaders in the south. Paying the Taliban leaders meant they would send along an escort to ensure that no other insurgents would attack. In fact, she said, they just needed two armed Taliban vehicles. “Two Taliban is enough,” she told me. “One in the front and one in the back.” She shrugged. “You cannot work otherwise. Otherwise it is not possible.”

Which leads us back to the case of Watan Risk, the firm run by Ahmad Rateb Popal and Rashid Popal, the Karzai family relatives and former drug dealers. Watan is known to control one key stretch of road that all the truckers use: the strategic route to Kandahar called Highway 1. Think of it as the road to the war–to the south and to the west. If the Army wants to get supplies down to Helmand, for example, the trucks must make their way through Kandahar.

Watan Risk, according to seven different security and trucking company officials, is the sole provider of security along this route. The reason is simple: Watan is allied with the local warlord who controls the road. Watan’s company website is quite impressive, and claims its personnel “are diligently screened to weed out all ex-militia members, supporters of the Taliban, or individuals with loyalty to warlords, drug barons, or any other group opposed to international support of the democratic process.” Whatever screening methods it uses, Watan’s secret weapon to protect American supplies heading through Kandahar is a man named Commander Ruhullah. Said to be a handsome man in his 40s, Ruhullah has an oddly high-pitched voice. He wears traditional salwar kameez and a Rolex watch. He rarely, if ever, associates with Westerners. He commands a large group of irregular fighters with no known government affiliation, and his name, security officials tell me, inspires obedience or fear in villages along the road.

It is a dangerous business, of course: until last spring Ruhullah had competition–a one-legged warlord named Commander Abdul Khaliq. He was killed in an ambush.

So Ruhullah is the surviving road warrior for that stretch of highway. According to witnesses, he works like this: he waits until there are hundreds of trucks ready to convoy south down the highway. Then he gets his men together, setting them up in 4×4s and pickups. Witnesses say he does not limit his arsenal to AK-47s but uses any weapons he can get. His chief weapon is his reputation. And for that, Watan is paid royally, collecting a fee for each truck that passes through his corridor. The American trucking official told me that Ruhullah “charges $1,500 per truck to go to Kandahar. Just 300 kilometers.”

It’s hard to pinpoint what this is, exactly–security, extortion or a form of “insurance.” Then there is the question, Does Ruhullah have ties to the Taliban? That’s impossible to know. As an American private security veteran familiar with the route said, “He works both sides… whatever is most profitable. He’s the main commander. He’s got to be involved with the Taliban. How much, no one knows.”

Even NCL, the company owned by Hamed Wardak, pays. Two sources with direct knowledge tell me that NCL sends its portion of US logistics goods in Watan’s and Ruhullah’s convoys. Sources say NCL is billed $500,000 per month for Watan’s services. To underline the point: NCL, operating on a $360 million contract from the US military, and owned by the Afghan defense minister’s son, is paying millions per year from those funds to a company owned by President Karzai’s cousins, for protection.

Hamed Wardak wouldn’t return my phone calls. Milt Bearden, the former CIA officer affiliated with the company, wouldn’t speak with me either. There’s nothing wrong with Bearden engaging in business in Afghanistan, but disclosure of his business interests might have been expected when testifying on US policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. After all, NCL stands to make or lose hundreds of millions based on the whims of US policy-makers.

It is certainly worth asking why NCL, a company with no known trucking experience, and little security experience to speak of, would win a contract worth $360 million. Plenty of Afghan insiders are asking questions. “Why would the US government give him a contract if he is the son of the minister of defense?” That’s what Mahmoud Karzai asked me. He is the brother of President Karzai, and he himself has been treated in the press as a poster boy for access to government officials. The New York Times even profiled him in a highly critical piece. In his defense, Karzai emphasized that he, at least, has refrained from US government or Afghan government contracting. He pointed out, as others have, that Hamed Wardak had little security or trucking background before his company received security and trucking contracts from the Defense Department. “That’s a questionable business practice,” he said. “They shouldn’t give it to him. How come that’s not questioned?”

I did get the opportunity to ask General Wardak, Hamed’s father, about it. He is quite dapper, although he is no longer the debonair “Gucci commander” Bearden once described. I asked Wardak about his son and NCL. “I’ve tried to be straightforward and correct and fight corruption all my life,” the defense minister said. “This has been something people have tried to use against me, so it has been painful.”

Wardak would speak only briefly about NCL. The issue seems to have produced a rift with his son. “I was against it from the beginning, and that’s why we have not talked for a long time. I have never tried to support him or to use my power or influence that he should benefit.”

When I told Wardak that his son’s company had a US contract worth as much as $360 million, he did a double take. “This is impossible,” he said. “I do not believe this.”

I believed the general when he said he really didn’t know what his son was up to. But cleaning up what look like insider deals may be easier than the next step: shutting down the money pipeline going from DoD contracts to potential insurgents.

Two years ago, a top Afghan security official told me, Afghanistan’s intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security, had alerted the American military to the problem. The NDS delivered what I’m told are “very detailed” reports to the Americans explaining how the Taliban are profiting from protecting convoys of US supplies.

The Afghan intelligence service even offered a solution: what if the United States were to take the tens of millions paid to security contractors and instead set up a dedicated and professional convoy support unit to guard its logistics lines? The suggestion went nowhere.

The bizarre fact is that the practice of buying the Taliban’s protection is not a secret. I asked Col. David Haight, who commands the Third Brigade of the Tenth Mountain Division, about it. After all, part of Highway 1 runs through his area of operations. What did he think about security companies paying off insurgents? “The American soldier in me is repulsed by it,” he said in an interview in his office at FOB Shank in Logar Province. “But I know that it is what it is: essentially paying the enemy, saying, ‘Hey, don’t hassle me.’ I don’t like it, but it is what it is.”

As a military official in Kabul explained contracting in Afghanistan overall, “We understand that across the board 10 percent to 20 percent goes to the insurgents. My intel guy would say it is closer to 10 percent. Generally it is happening in logistics.”

In a statement to The Nation about Host Nation Trucking, Col. Wayne Shanks, the chief public affairs officer for the international forces in Afghanistan, said that military officials are “aware of allegations that procurement funds may find their way into the hands of insurgent groups, but we do not directly support or condone this activity, if it is occurring.” He added that, despite oversight, “the relationships between contractors and their subcontractors, as well as between subcontractors and others in their operational communities, are not entirely transparent.”

In any case, the main issue is not that the US military is turning a blind eye to the problem. Many officials acknowledge what is going on while also expressing a deep disquiet about the situation. The trouble is that–as with so much in Afghanistan–the United States doesn’t seem to know how to fix it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ1_eGqDZv4

Taliban Still Working for the CIA?

Taliban Find U.S. Military Ammo Dump

Tarpley: Alqaeda is the ‘CIA Arab Legion’

Afghans Trained By Blackwater Join Taliban

Is the Taliban on the U.S. Gov. Payroll?

City doc, Pune lab eye implant market

csirindia — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:24:14 +0000

By Rahul Chandawarkar

12 November 2009

Vinay Agrawal, a Mumbai-based eye surgeon and entrepreneur, has broken new ground by using the polymer science technology from the Pune-based National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), a laboratory under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), to manufacture ocular and maxillofacial implants.

The implants manufactured by Dr Agrawal’s Biopore Surgicals — priced at a third of the cost of similar international products — are proving a boon for patients. “I first came across ocular and facial implants while training abroad,” Agrawal said. “But these were prohibitively expensive. This is when the idea of manufacturing them myself struck me.”

Agrawal’s search for the right technology ended in 2003 when he met scientists from the NCL’s polymer sciences department. “We were fortunate to find an enthusiastic team of scientists at NCL comprising V Premnath, Ashish Lele, and Harsha Kapse,” he said. “Premnath has the ability to understand an entrepreneur’s mind. This proved to be a boon. The NCL team custom-built the products for us…..Read complete news item…..

Kvartsfinal NCL!

wolfsshockplay — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:59:25 +0000

Hej alla nyfikna.

Ville bara meddela att om intresse finns så skall det spelas en spännande match i NCL kvartsfinalerna ikväll (Lördag), kanske 2!
riiiv ska spela mot Simon (DK) kl 18.00 6pm CET. Eventuellt spelar Simon (DK) och agaton direkt efter!
Missa inte denna/dessa match/er om ni gillar att titta på bra couronne!

Alla matchresultat i kvartsfinalerna i NCL hittar ni här.

Välkomna!

US Tax Payer Dollars Funding The Taliban

count us out — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:03:20 +0000

video via robpatozz How the US Funds the Taliban by Aram Roston On October 29, 2001, while the Talib

Pune’s Venture center to launch seed fund

csirindia — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:51:59 +0000

By Sarimul Islam Choudhury

28 October 2009

It targets sub-Rs 15 lakh category start-ups in chemical, material and biological sciences space.

Venture Center, a Pune-based technology business incubator, has submitted a proposal to the Technology Development Board (TDB) to launch a mini-sized seed fund of around Rs 1 crore.

While the amount may appear very negligible, technology entrepreneurs will tell you that sums of Rs15 lakh is what most of them typically need to kick-start their work. And, it is this petty cash that is hard to come by.

Speaking to VCCircle, Kaushik Gala, business development manager, Venture Center said, “not many VC funds are interested in the sub-Rs 15 lakh category. We are trying to fill the gap. It makes sense to compliment VCs and angel networks.”

Venture Center has also launched its flagship programme called ‘Lab2Mkt’ to help commercialise the technology portfolio of different R&D labs.

Venture Center, an initiative of CSIR, is a not-for-profit company hosted by the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune and funded by Department of Science and Technology. It offers a range of services to knowledge-based technology start ups in chemical, material and biological sciences space…..Read complete news item…

NCL to showcase technologies, woo biz

csirindia — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:25:04 +0000

30 October 2009

PUNE: The National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) Innovation Park, along with Venture Centre, will soon showcase technologies from the areas of polymer science and engineering to highlight their commercial potential.

“The event is targeted at entrepreneurs, MSMEs, corporations and technology commercialisation professionals who wish to leverage our competencies and know-how and identify specific opportunities to take these technologies to the market,” P K Ingle, head of the publication and science communication unit of the NCL, said.

The session, to be held on November 13 at the NCL Innovation Park, will display techniques related to membranes, microspheres, microcapsules and silicones, among others.

These technologies are applicable to a wide variety of large and growing markets both in India and abroad in the fields of health-care, consumer goods, industrial equipment, construction materials and military applications, among others.

The day-long event will start off with an introduction to NCL innovations followed by examples of commercial applications for each of these technologies. Participants will also get an opportunity to interact with some of the scientists behind the technologies.

The afternoon session will focus on explaining the technology commercialisation process, how technology transfer/licensing works at the NCL, and insights into various sources of funding for entrepreneurs who wish to commercialise these technologies.

The NCL is a research, development and consulting organisation with a focus on chemistry and chemical engineering. It has been involved in research partnership with industry. This is the first of a series of such events to be organised by the organisation in the future.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/NCL-to-showcase-technologies-woo-biz/articleshow/5178064.cms

Pune’s Venture Center To launch seed fund

csirindia — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:48:09 +0000

By Sarimul Islam Choudhury

21 October 2009

Venture Center, a Pune-based technology business incubator, has submitted a proposal to the Technology Development Board (TDB) to launch a mini-sized seed fund of around Rs 1 crore.

Venture Center has also launched its flagship programme called ‘Lab2Mkt’ to help commercialise the technology portfolio of different R&D labs.

Norwegian Epic's Red Light Cabins

Malcolm Oliver — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:20:27 +0000

Norwegian Cruise Line has announced that some cabins on its much-ballyhooed next ship, the Norwegian Epic, will have a “love setting” for lighting that bathes the room in a red glow.

Studio Cabin in Blue Glow mode!

The specialized lighting option will be available in Epic’s studio cabins: a cluster of 128 interior rooms built around a communal, two-story living area.

The love setting is one of four mood-enhancing lighting options planned for the cabins. The others: blue for calm, white and a rainbow setting. The specialized settings will be controled from a panel on cabin walls.

The studio cabin concept is one of several innovations planned for the massive, 153,000-ton ship, which debuts in June. Aimed at a budget crowd, the cabins are just 100 square feet but boast an ultra-modern design and large, round windows that look out onto the corridor. The exclusive, key card-accessed communal area, called the Living Room, is designed as a place to unwind with lounge seating, a bar, two large TV screens and a dedicated concierge.

(USA Today)

Malcolm says: Red lights? Windows? Sounds like Amsterdam!

NCL Chooses Captain's for Norwegian Epic

Malcolm Oliver — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:20:02 +0000

Norwegian Cruise Line today named the two seasoned captains who will serve on Norwegian Epic, the company’s largest and most innovative Freestyle Cruising ship to date.

Captain Trygve Vorren

In a live interactive online event, Norwegian also introduced the ship’s two hotel directors who will be responsible for all guest areas. The Norwegian Epic will enter service next June under the command of Captain Trygve Vorren, a 29-year seafaring veteran who is currently captain of Norwegian Jade, and Captain Hakan Svedung, at sea for 35 years and currently captain of Norwegian Dawn. Vorren, a native of Norway, joined Norwegian in 1980 as first officer on the SS Norway, then the world’s largest cruise ship. He has also served aboard Skyward, Southward, Sunward II, Dreamward, Leeward, Starward, Royal Odyssey, Norwegian Sea, Norwegian Crown, Norwegian Sun, Norwegian Dawn and Norwegian Majesty. Svedung, who lives in Sweden, has served on Norwegian Dawn since 2006; prior to that he worked for Star Cruises, one of Norwegian’s shareholders, for 12 years. Both captains are looking forward to this exciting and challenging new role.

Klaus Lugmaier and Sean Wurmhoeringer will serve as Norwegian Epic’s hotel directors. Lugmaier, currently director of shipboard operations at the company’s Miami headquarters, began his career at Norwegian 21 years ago aboard Seaward and held a variety of positions before becoming one of the youngest hotel directors in the cruise industry at the age of 26. As hotel director, he has launched seven of the company’s new ships, including Leeward, Norwegian Sky, Norwegian Star, Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Gem. He was also part of the team that launched Norwegian Dream and Norwegian Wind. Wurmhoeringer, with Norwegian since 2002, is currently serving as hotel director on Norwegian Spirit and has also served on Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Sky.

”We carefully chose these seasoned veterans to lead the on board team that will launch the most important project in the company’s history,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line’s chief executive officer. “We are confident that they have the expertise, dedication and passion to make Norwegian Epic’s launch and inaugural season extremely successful.”

(NCL)

Malcolm says: I don’t doubt that Epic’s hardware will be good, but I do wonder about the software (crew: quality of food and service etc.) NCL get some very inconsistent reviews (when compared to Royal Caribbean, for example) especially from Brits. Let’s hope that the experience officers above can make it happen. IF Epic’s initial reviews are poor, this mega ship could quickly sink like a stone in the middle of a recession. However, I do wish NCL susess as I like the way they think ‘outside the box’ .

LuaGravity in the Lua Workshop 2009

luagravity — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:01:52 +0000

The Lua Workshop’09 [1] was held two weeks ago in Rio de Janeiro. Two days, around 25 talks… I really enjoyed the high quality of the talks.

I presented the talk entitled “Interactive applications for the Brazilian Digital TV”. The Brazilian standard uses an authoring language called NCL[2] that can be scripted with Lua for developing interactive applications. I developed the integration between the two languages during my MSc period at the Telemídia Lab[3].

The guy that would present the last talk didn’t show up and I was given the opportunity to speak about LuaGravity. It was good to see the reaction of a Lua aware audience and I could talk to some people about the project. I’m particularly interested in integrating LuaGravity with eLua[4] (also presented in the workshop).

[1]: http://www.lua.org/wshop09.html

[2]: http://www.ncl.org.br/index_en.php

[3]: http://www.telemidia.puc-rio.br

[4]: http://elua.berlios.de/

Epic's sails for the UK Travel Trade

Malcolm Oliver — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:30:26 +0000

A two-night inaugural cruise for the travel trade by Norwegian Cruise Line’s new ship Norwegian Epic is to run from Southampton next summer. The line’s largest vessel, which is currently being built, will visit the UK next June en route to the US where it will be christened in New York on July 2.

Norwegian Epic, which will offer 20 different dining options and multiple nightlife venues, will sail on June 19 to Rotterdam and will run an overnight cruise from the Dutch port back to Southampton on June 21. The ship will then depart on its transatlantic crossing to New York on June 24.

Following the christening celebrations in the Big Apple, Norwegian Epic will move to its home port of Miami prior to the start of regular seven-night eastern and western Caribbean cruises on July 10, 2010.

(Travelmole)

Malcolm says: Best make friends with a Travel Agent!

Shot in the arm for innovators

csirindia — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:53:47 +0000

By Swati Shinde

19 October 2009

PUNE: Good news for innovators and entrepreneurs. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has appointed Pune-based Venture Center to operate a funding support scheme for entrepreneurs and micro/small entrepreneurs.

Venture Center has already submitted proposals on behalf of 10 entrepreneurs in Pune region. The center will support technology commercialisation activities of MSMEs whose proposals are cleared by the Ministry.

Kaushik Gala, business development manager of Venture Center said, “The government has a lot of schemes for innovators and entrepreneurs but not many know about it. We help entrepreneurs seek funding support through various government agencies.”

Venture Center, an initiative of the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), is an independent not-for-profit company hosted by the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) and funded by the Department of Science and Technology……Read complete news item…..

Lite ändringar i NCL Couronne och Back Gammon

wolfsshockplay — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:48:15 +0000

Vi har bestämt att från och med nu (3:dje gruppspelet) får man spela hur man vill inom laget, dvs man får välja vilken spelare man vill att spela, men även att alla 3 spelare i laget får spela i samma lagmatch. Dock är det fortfarande 4 matcher som gäller per lag & lagmatch.
Samma spelare får givetvis inte spela 3 matcher i samma lagmatch!!
Det kommer att bli extra viktigt att rapportera resultat direkt efter spelad match.

Exempel:
Mr D spelar mot riiiv & agaton
wolfman spelar mot Kliii
och Mularn spelar mot riiiv

Ett exempel på där alla 6 spelare spelar i en o samma lagmatch

Back Gammon info
Runda 2 av NCL Backgammon Tour kommer att spelas mellan 21 oktober-28 november!

Under runda 2 kommer du att samla poäng genom teamets matcher ..

precis som i grupp omgång 1.
De 8 lag som har flest poäng efter runda 2 , kommer att

kommer att gå direkt till kvartsfinal i NCL backgammon tour!

Alla matcher spelas över 7 poäng genom hela turneringen.

All information finner ni såklart på NCL sidan

Wolfman

Milk mafia on the loose

csirindia — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:44:11 +0000

By Siddharth Gadkar

18 October 2009

PUNE: A pressing issue which, surprisingly, hardly found any mention in the election campaign rhetoric now brings forth another shocking development.

Over the past two months, a crackdown by police and Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on the rampant milk adulteration in the district had left a total of 48 persons arrested and several rackets busted.

It was also revealed that a whopping 22 dairies are supplying adulterated milk in the district. Pune Mirror had previously reported on this on August 25th, September 23rd and 24th.

Now, in a move that reeks of a stark indifference towards public welfare safety and reluctance to take concrete action, 41 of the 48 arrested were released on bail last week. This, when the crucial assembly election was at its peak.

…….On the flip side, all samples provided by FDA during its raids have tested positive for adulteration by the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL). This builds up FDA’s case against the accused. Baramati, Phaltan, Indapur, Pune and Shirgonda were among the places where the FDA had conducted raids.

Sanjay Patil, joint commissioner FDA, said, “The samples we had sent to NCL were collected from Phaltan Taluka.

These were the first eight samples collected from that side. Since then, we have collected more than a dozen samples from various places in Pune city and district. NCL has clearly stated that samples were adulterated.”…….Read complete news item……