Kedai-kedai, butik, Outlet dan Supermarket adalah topik daya tarik universal dalam dunia konsumerisme global. Sistem runcit di era informatika antarabangsa, dan daya tarikan yang cap-produk baru memecut pada khalayak global yang besar dan menggiurkan. Belanja dan konsumsi tidak hanya salah satu daripada drive terbesar untuk bekerja dan produktiviti; mereka juga sumber pembiayaan untuk usaha kreatif dan cabaran komunikasi seperti iklan, filem dan pemasaran.

References: flip, auctionhouse, fleamarket, listing, listings, onlineauctions, vendingmachines, vendingmachine, vending, vendors, vendor, fleamarkets, welder, privatelabel, antiqueshops, antiquestore, boutique, conceptstore, emporium, boutiquehotels,

Penjualan barang-barang konsumen dan berita tentang pusat perbelanjaan adalah topik utama daripada kumpulan domain yang kami kumpulkan di sini. Topik-topik ini adalah berkembangnya kekhawatiran untuk selalu lebih pengguna Internet, yang melihat potensi web sebagai saluran untuk membandingkan maklumat produk yang banyak sebagai alat untuk membeli barang dagangan, baik dalam kawasan rumah mereka sendiri atau dari luar negeri pembuat kompetitif. Situs yang dikelola dan disediakan oleh http://www.t-h-e-n-e-w.com dan http://www.euroserve.cn (dengan perkhidmatan dns http://www.esw3.eu).

References: boutiquehotel, getaways, goods, bookshop, boutiquefund, boutiques, merchandising, wares, privatelabelboutiquehotels, salesman, shoppingcarts, shoppingcart, marketplace, shopper, orders, outlets, freestuff, listings, supermarkets, purchasing

Toko-toko, butik, Outlet dan Supermarket adalah topik daya tarik universal dalam dunia konsumerisme global. Sistem ritel di era informatika internasional, dan daya tarik yang merek-produk baru mengerahkan pada khalayak global yang besar dan menggiurkan. Belanja dan konsumsi tidak hanya salah satu dari drive terbesar untuk bekerja dan produktivitas; mereka juga sumber pendanaan untuk usaha kreatif dan tantangan komunikasi seperti iklan, film dan pemasaran.

References: flip, auctionhouse, fleamarket, listing, listings, onlineauctions, vendingmachines, vendingmachine, vending, vendors, vendor, fleamarkets, welder, privatelabel, antiqueshops, antiquestore, boutique, conceptstore, emporium, boutiquehotels,

Penjualan barang-barang konsumen dan berita tentang pusat perbelanjaan adalah topik utama dari kelompok domain yang kami kumpulkan di sini. Topik-topik ini adalah berkembangnya kekhawatiran untuk selalu lebih pengguna Internet, yang melihat potensi web sebagai saluran untuk membandingkan informasi produk yang banyak sebagai alat untuk membeli barang dagangan, baik dalam wilayah rumah mereka sendiri atau dari luar negeri pembuat kompetitif. Situs yang dikelola dan disediakan oleh http://www.t-h-e-n-e-w.com dan http://www.euroserve.cn (dengan layanan dns http://www.esw3.eu).

References: boutiquehotel, getaways, goods, bookshop, boutiquefund, boutiques, merchandising, wares, privatelabelboutiquehotels, salesman, shoppingcarts, shoppingcart, marketplace, shopper, orders, outlets, freestuff, listings, supermarkets, purchasing

Tindahan, Boutiques, saksakan at supermarket ay isang paksa ng pandaigdig na pag-apila sa mundo ng mga globalized consumerism. Ang sistema ng tingi sa edad ng informatics ay internasyonal, at ang pag-apila na bagung-bagong produkto ibuhos sa pandaigdigang madla ay matipuno at mapanukso. Shopping at consumption ay hindi lamang ang isa sa mga pinakadakilang drive para sa trabaho at produktibo; ay din sila ng pinagkukunan ng pagpopondo para sa creative endeavours at komunikasyon tulad ng mga hamon sa advertising, mga pelikula at marketing.

Benta ng mga paninda ng mga mamimili at balita tungkol sa shopping center ay ang mga pangunahing paksa ng grupo ng mga domain namin ang nakolekta dito. Ang mga ito ay mga paksa ng isang lumalagong-aalala para sa mga laging mas maraming mga user ng Internet, na makita ang potensyal ng web na impormasyon na channel upang ihambing ang mga produkto, tulad ng marami bilang isang instrumento upang bumili ng mga paninda, maging ang mga ito sa kanilang sariling tahanan rehiyon o mula sa competitive sa ibang bansa gumagawa. Ang site ay pinamamahalaan at ipinagkakaloob sa pamamagitan ng http://www.t-h-e-n-e-w.com at http://www.euroserve.cn (na may http://www.esw3.eu serbisyo DNS).

References: boutiquehotel, getaways, goods, bookshop, boutiquefund, boutiques, merchandising, wares, privatelabelboutiquehotels, salesman, shoppingcarts, shoppingcart, marketplace, shopper, orders, outlets, freestuff, listings, supermarkets, purchasing

By Rob Packer

I was ill last week with the flu (not a cold, this was flu alright), and when you’re ill, what makes more sense than soup? It’s wholesome, good for you, delicious and universal. The CIS is deservedly known for its borshch and shchi, and there are some excellent Kyrgyz soups like shorpo, which was part of our Eid celebrations at work. Supermarkets in Bishkek are normally palaces of Romanian pop and their permanent loop always manages to give me a twinge of ancestral pride; current flavour of the month is Akcent’s That’s My Name, which my friend Annie described as where Lady GaGa’s Poker Face meets accordions. I was expecting my local supermarkets to be palaces of soup too.

Unfortunately in Kyrgyzstan, things don’t always work as easily as that. I must’ve trawled every aisle of that supermarket looking for canned soup. But it seems that in Kyrgyzstan soup is something that you really only make at home, because canned soup is not imported to Kyrgyzstan (I now check every supermarket I go into, just to confirm this). Normally, I’d support this kind of enforced soup-making, but does an ill person really want to make chickpea soup from a powder? I’m guessing the answer is no.

While I was at the supermarket, I did pick up some salt. This is the smallest packet they had.

The smallet pack of salt I could find.

Shop in a typical UK supermarket and you’ll see how little priority is given to customer service. Checkout staff are measured on how many items they scan per minute. This doesn’t speed up the checkout process. The goods pile up in a random heap at the end of the conveyor as the hapless customer tries to re-sort them into a sensible order for packing. The end result is an irate customer, damaged goods, and a queue which is processed more slowly than if the checkout operator had been allowed to deliver the simple customer service of matching scanning speed to the customer’s packing speed. Similar examples can be found in many other areas, where easily measurable targets are used as a substitute for good process. The DeliveryDemon is not impressed!

Da, am urinat pe betzigas si s-a rozulit. E clar. Mi se parea mie, ca prea aveam pofte. As a matter of fact, si acum mi-e pofta de pomelo. Am scris bine? pomelo? Sper…oricum, in fiecare zi mi-e pofta de cate ceva bun. Azi pomelo, maine ciocolata nush de care, poimaine pomelo. In general pomelo.

O sa pornesc agale, in curand, si o sa dau iama in MegaImage (ce nume retardat pentru un supermarket) ca nu am de ales. Nu zic….nu e un supermarket rau, doar ca daca te-nimeresti prin Pantelimon (g-yeah!) ajungi sigur, din greseala, intr-unul. Sunt peste tot! Si probabil ca o sa iau un pomelo, o cioco, ceva care sa ma tina ocupat. Pomelo makes me hungry.

Hai ca m-am dixtrat cu voi, de fapt nu sunt insarcinat, v-am pacalit. Sunt doar gras!

As found in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, an advertisement for Meatless Chicken Nuggets:

The first question you ask yourself is, seeing that the name is Quorn does that mean it’s, in fact, made…of corn?

It’s only logically seeing that it’s NOT MEAT. But no, it’s not as simple as that.

Chicken style? What the fugg is that? Like chickens run around in the wild shaped in breaded, bite sized morsels! You wonder how the hell is this going to taste. They answer the question for you..

Surprise! Its yummy! I know you’re expecting fuselage flavor, but surprise! It’s not halfway bad (according to them). I suspect it’s the same thing Chicken McNuggets are made of.  Speaking of which, what are these abominations made of?

Guess what? It’s made of fungus! Yum, de-licious! Chicken style, more like mushroom style…

But of course, it is 100% all natural right?

Wrong! It’s made with 100% natural man-made ingredients. Sing it with me,” its naturally synthetic!”

Just say no to mycoprotein, kids! I can’t believe it’s not chicken!

As QUORN’s slogan goes, “It might just …. you” Fill in the blank.

Jusco Supermarket in 2007

Somebody told me yesterday that my local supermarket, Jusco, will close in February 2010. Apparently they cannot keep up with the competition. I noticed they have not invested much in the property, especially since IT City moved out of the third floor last year.

Jusco & Carrefour

There is a larger Carrefour supermarket next door. There are two Tops Markets within 400 metres, one in the Esplanade complex and another under Robinson’s Department Store. There is a Tesco-Lotus store less than a mile away in Fortune Town Mall.

Jusco is the closest to the apartment and it has a good range of Thai and Western food. I think the fresh produce (vegetables) are better than Carrefour. Moreover the staff and always friendly and helpful. In Carrefour the staff often seem tired and overworked.

I hope they don’t close the car park as that is the shortest route to the Subway Station. Cutting through Carrefour would be a pain.

Every Wednesday is “Jusco Day“. Shoppers get a 25 Baht coupon for every 500 Baht they spend – a 5% discount. I don’t know it makes much sense financially. I am sure many people are like me and do weekly shopping on Wednesdays. If Jusco Day did not exist I’d probably buy the same goods on other days. Jusco does not have any loyalty card scheme so they hand out 5% discounts to everybody without collecting any data about their shopping habits. Tops, Carrefour and Tesco-Lotus all have loyalty cards.

According to the Wikipedia article my Jusco is the one remaining store in Bangkok. Clearly they cannot compete against the big companies.

Motorcycle Taxi Drivers Outside Jusco

My local friendly motorcycle taxi drivers will also lose their spot. They seem busy all the time.

Rupiah dan rupiah lagi. Biasanya rupiah itu dibuat tidak berkutik dengan nilai tukar lain seperti Dollar Amerika. Sementara itu nilai tukar rupiah sendiri di negeri ini mulai merendah harga 1000 rupiah untuk 3 tahun yang lalu, tentu berbeda dengan Rp. 1000 tahun ini, begitu seterusnya. Hukum ekonomi akan terus berlaku.

Ini sih tentang seberapa berharganya rupiah di negeri sendiri, dan bagaimana kita menghargai nilai rupiah yang kita punya. Terakhir kali Bank Indonesia mengeluarkan pecahan Rp. 2.000 menjelang lebaran. Keluarnya pecahan dua ribu rupiah menyebabkan makin terpuruknya nilai tukar rupiah. Terpuruk dalam arti nilai yang kita punya sudah tidak seberharga dulu. Lahirnya Rp. 2000 mengikis pula dengan hadirnya nilai-nilai rupiah kecil seperti koin Rp. 50, 100, maupun Rp. 500. Bahkan nilai-nilai kecil tersebut di bank tertentu kadang di tolak jika ingin menyetornya (fakta dari beberapa keluhan  suara pembaca diharian Ibu Kota).

Hal ini di perparah pula dengan sudah bergantinya nilai tukar rupiah pecahan Rp. 50, 100, maupun Rp. 200 yang kini berganti fungsi menjadi permen. Yah permen, tapi perlu di ingat bahwa tidak semua orang suka dengan permen. Dan parahnya lagi, permen itu tidak bisa dijadikan alat tukar yang sah untuk transaksi pembelian.

Ya tidak bisa di pungkiri jika kita pergi berbelanja ke mini market ataupun supermarket,  kita menjadi semacam ‘dipaksa’ untuk menerima kembalian permen.  Dengan dalih tidak ada uang kecil maka pecahan nilai tukar rupiah kecil pun berubah jadi permen yang sering kali tidak kita makan sama sekali alias di buang. Artinya rupiah kita sudah tidak dihargai lagi di negeri sendiri. Dari beberapa pengalaman yang pernah penulis alami, seringkali minimarket yang kini menjamur hampir di pelosok perumahan selalu mengembalikan kembalian uang kecil dalam bentuk permen. Ini menjadi semacam pemerasan terselubung yang dilakukan, walau memang kalau di telusuri pasti mereka juga tidak mau disalahkan karena tidak adanya nilai kecil. Bayangkan saja jika nilai tukar di bawah Rp. 500 semisal kembalian Rp. 265  yang seharusnya di kembalikan dalam bentuk rupiah akan berubah fungsi menjadi dua buah permen. Nah yang Rp. 65 kemana? mending kalau permennya kita makan? nah kalau enggak? Tapi kalau kita bertransaksi misalnya Rp. 95.115, pasti akan terjadi pembulatan menjadi Rp. 95.200 dan yang kembalian Rp. 300 akan di berikan dalam bentuk permen. Nah ini gimana? ini memang pemerasan terselubung karena mau tidak mau kita akan menerima permen, alias mereka sebenarnya menjual permen, hanya saja tidak masuk dalam struk.

Bukan persoalan permen atau nilai yang tidak seberapa, akan tetapi ini menjadi menyebalkan karena permen bukanlah nilai tukar yang sah di Indonesia ini. Memang harus diakui tidak semua minimarket mengembalikan dalam bentuk permen, akan tetapi hampir sebagian besar melakukan praktek tersebut. Lantas dimana keadilan buat konsumen? apabila sewaktu-waktu kita membayarnya dalam bentuk permen dari kembalian minimarket ataupun supermarket tersebut akankah diterima? ini seharusnya menjadi PR bagi YLKI untuk melindungi konsumen-konsumen kita.

Namun satu acungan jempol saya berikan untuk ‘Indomaret’ karena dengan cerdas bekerjasama dengan Bank Mandiri telah mengeluarkan Indomaret card dimana buat penulis pribadi sangat bermanfaat karena tidak perlu di pusingkan dengan kembalian permen. Dan tentu saja nilai rupiah yang kita keluarkan sesuai dengan struk yang ada. Memang kita harus deposit dulu dengan sejumlah uang untuk transaksi, akan tetapi fair dan adil karena jumlah yang kita keluarkan toh sesuai dengan nilai struk yang ada. Dan untuk minimarket-minimarket lain semoga saja menyusul, karena buat apa punya member yang harus di perpanjang jika kembalian kita juga tetap saja ditukar dengan permen.

Semoga saja kedepannya nilai rupiah kita akan lebih di hargain lebih oleh bangsanya sendiri, atau solusi cerdas adalah berbelanjalah ke warung-warung terdekat.

Banjir Langka

Saudi banjir…? Mungkin ada baiknya kita merenungi salah satu hadist Rasulullah SAW: “Hari Akhir tidak akan datang kepada kita sampai dataran Arab sekali lagi menjadi dataran berpadang rumput dan dipenuhi dengan sungai-sungai.” (HR Muslim).  Kiamat benar2 di ambang pintu…

BANJIR LANGKA

Hujan sangat lebat dan banjir besar melanda Arab Saudi. Menurut gulfnews, 13 orang tewas dan ribuan jamaah haji terperangkap di bandara di Jeddah, Rabu kemarin (25 Nop2009).

Ada apakah dengan hal ini? Seperti diketahui, Saudi merupakan negara Arab yang panas. Jika pun terjadi hujan, itupun tak pernah besar dan hanya terjadi dalam waktu yang berjarak lama.

Ini adalah curah hujan yang paling berat selama bertahun-tahun, yang tidak pernah terjadi di kerajaan Saudi, banjir memampat banyak jalan dan bangunan di Jeddah. Saat ini sekitar 1,6 juta jamaah haji datang dari berbagai pelosok dunia.

Berikut kondisi yg sempat terekam…:

selengkapnya ada di alamat ini: Muslm dot Net

Videonya sebagai berikut:

TIGA TANDA NYATA:

Ada lagi tiga tanda fenomenal dari tanda-tanda Kiamat yang perlu diantisipasi dewasa ini oleh umat manusia pada umumnya dan umat Islam pada khususnya. Dua di antara ketiga tanda itu masuk dalam kategori tanda-tanda besar Kiamat. Satu lagi kadang dimasukkan ke dalam tanda besar, namun ada pula yang menyebutnya sebagai tanda penghubung antara tanda- tanda-tanda kecil Kiamat dengan tanda-tanda besar Kiamat.

Tanda penghubung antara tanda-tanda kecil Kiamat dengan tanda-tanda besar Kiamat ialah diutusnya Imam Mahdi. Imam Mahdi merupakan tanda Kiamat yang menghubungkan antara tanda-tanda kecil Kiamat dengan tanda-tanda besar Kiamat karena datang pada saat dunia sudah menyaksikan munculnya seluruh tanda-tanda kecil Kiamat yang mendahului tanda-tanda besar Kiamat. Allah tidak akan mengizinkan tanda-tanda besar Kiamat datng sebelum berbagai tanda kecil Kiamat telah tuntas kemunculannya.

Banyak orang barangkali belum menyadari bahwa kondisi dunia dewasa ini ialah dalam kondisi dimana hampir segenap tanda-tanda kecil Kiamat yang diprediksikan oleh Nabi Muhammad shollallahu ’alaih wa sallam telah bermunculan semua.  Coba perhatikan beberapa contoh tanda-tanda kecil Kiamat berikut ini:

* Dan perceraian banyak terjadi =  ويكثر الطلاق
* Dan banyak terjadi kematian mendadak (tiba-tiba) = و الموت الفجاء
* Dan banyak mushaf diberi hiasan (ornamen) = و حلية المصاحف
* Dan masjid-masjid dibangun megah-megah  =   و زخرفت المساجد
* Dan berbagai perjanjian dan transaksi dilanggar sepihak  =  و نقضت العهود
* Dan berbagai peralatan musik dimainkan = و استعملت المأزف
* Dan berbagai jenis khamr diminum manusia = و شربت الخمور
* Dan perzinaan dilakukan terang-terangan =  و فخش الزنا
* Dan para pengkhianat dipercaya (diberi jabatan) =  و اؤتمن الخائن
* Dan orang yang amanah dianggap pengkhianat (teroris) =  و خون الأمين
* Tersebarnya Pena (banyak buku diterbitkan)  =   ظهور القلم
* Pasar-pasar (Mall, Plaza, Supermarket) Berdekatan  =  تتقارب الأسواق
* Penumpahan darah dianggap ringan   =     استخفاف بالدم
* Makan riba =  أكل الربا

Jadi kalau kita perhatikan, contoh-contoh di atas jelas sudah kita jumpai di zaman kita dewasa ini. Bahkan bila kita buka kitab para Ulama yang menghimpun hadits-hadits mengenai tanda-tanda kecil Kiamat, lalu kita baca satu per satu hadits-hadits tersebut hampir pasti setiap satu hadits selesai kita baca kita akan segera bergumam di dalam hati: “Wah, yang ini sudah..!” Hal ini akan selalu terjadi setiap habis kita baca satu hadits. Laa haula wa laa quwwata illa billah….

Jika tanda-tanda kecil Kiamat sudah hampir muncul seluruhnya berarti kondisi dunia dewasa ini berada di ambang menyambut kedatangan tanda-tanda besar Kiamat. Dan bila asumsi ini benar, berarti dalam waktu dekat kita semua sudah harus bersiap-siap untuk menyambut datangnya tanda penghubung antara tanda-tanda kecil Kiamat dengan tanda-tanda besar Kiamat, yaitu diutusnya Imam Mahdi ke tengah ummat Islam. Hal ini menjadi selaras dengan isyarat yang diungkapakan Rasulullah shollallahu ’alaih wa sallam mengenai dua pra-kondisi menjelang diutusnya Imam Mahdi.

أُبَشِّرُكُمْ بِالْمَهْدِيِّ يُبْعَثُ فِي أُمَّتِي عَلَى اخْتِلَافٍ مِنْ النَّاسِ

وَزَلَازِلَ فَيَمْلَأُ الْأَرْضَ قِسْطًا وَعَدْلًا كَمَا مُلِئَتْ جَوْرًا وَظُلْمًا

“Aku kabarkan berita gembira mengenai Al-Mahdi yang diutus Allah ke tengah ummatku ketika banyak terjadi perselisihan antar-manusia dan gempa-gempa.  Ia akan memenuhi bumi dengan keadilan dan kejujuran sebagaimana sebelumnya dipenuhi dengan kese-wenang-wenangan dan kezaliman.”  (HR Ahmad)

Nabi shollallahu ’alaih wa sallam mengisyaratkan adanya dua prakondisi menjelang diutusnya Imam Mahdi ke tengah ummat Islam. Kedua prakondisi tersebut ialah pertama, banyak terjadi perselisihan antar-manusia dan kedua, terjadinya gempa-gempa. Subhaanallah.

Jika kita amati kondisi dunia saat ini sudah sangat sarat dengan perselisihan antar-manusia, baik yang bersifat antar-pribadi maupun antar-kelompok.

Demikian pula dengan fenomena gempa sudah sangat tinggi frekuensi berlangsungnya belakangan ini.

Berarti kedatangan Imam Mahdi merupakan tanda Akhir Zaman yang jelas-jelas harus kita antisipasi dalam waktu dekat ini. Dan jika sudah terjadi berarti kitapun harus segera mempersiapkan diri untuk mematuhi perintah Rasulullah shollallahu ’alaih wa sallam yang berkaitan dengan kemunculan Imam Mahdi. Kita diperintahkan untuk segera berbai’ at dan bergabung ke dalam barisannya sebab episode-episode berikutnya merupakan rangkaian perang yang dipimpin Imam Mahdi untuk menaklukkan negeri-negeri yang dipimpin oleh para Mulkan Jabriyyan (Para penguasa yang memaksakan kehendak dan mengabaikan kehendak Allah dan RasulNya).

فَإِذَا رَأَيْتُمُوهُ فَبَايِعُوهُ وَلَوْ حَبْوًا عَلَى الثَّلْجِ فَإِنَّهُ خَلِيفَةُ اللَّهِ الْمَهْدِيُّ

“Ketika kalian melihatnya (Imam Mahdi) maka ber-bai’at-lah dengannya walaupun harus merangkak-rangkak di atas salju karena sesungguhnya dia adalah Khalifatullah Al-Mahdi.” (HR Ibnu Majah)

Imam Mahdi akan mengibarkan panji-panji Al-Jihad Fi Sabilillah untuk memerdekakan negeri-negeri yang selama ini dikuasai oleh para Mulkan Jabriyyan (Para penguasa yang memaksakan kehendak dan mengabaikan kehendak Allah dan RasulNya). Beliau akan mengawali suatu proyek besar membebaskan dunia  dari penghambaan manusia kepada sesama manusia untuk hanya menghamba kepada Allah semata, Penguasa Tunggal dan Sejati langit dan bumi. Beliau akan memastikan bahwa dunia diisi dengan sistem dan peradaban yang mencerminkan kalimatthoyyibah Laa ilaha illAllah Muhammadur Rasulullah dari ujung paling timur hingga ujung paling barat.

Ghazawaat (perang-perang) tersebut akan dimulai dari jazirah Arab kemudian Persia (Iran) kemudian Ruum (Eropa dan Amerika) kemudian terakhir melawan pasukan Yahudi yang dipimpin langsung oleh puncak fitnah, yaitu Dajjal. Dan uniknya pasukan Imam Mahdi Insya Allah akan diizinkan Allah untuk senantiasa meraih kemenangan dalam berbagai perang tersebut.

تَغْزُونَ جَزِيرَةَ الْعَرَبِ فَيَفْتَحُهَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ فَارِسَ فَيَفْتَحُهَا اللَّهُ

ثُمَّ تَغْزُونَ الرُّومَ فَيَفْتَحُهَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ تَغْزُونَ الدَّجَّالَ فَيَفْتَحُهُ اللَّهُ

“Kalian akan perangi jazirah Arab dan Allah akan beri kemenangan kalian atasnya, kemudian kalian akan menghadapi Persia dan Allah akan beri kemenangan kalian atasnya, kemudian kalian akan perangi Ruum dan Allah akan beri kemenangan kalian atasnya, kemudian kalian akan perangi Dajjal dan Allah akan beri kemenangan kalian atasnya.” (HR Muslim)

Lalu kapan Nabiyullah Isa ’alihis-salaam akan turun dari langit diantar oleh dua malaikat di kanan dan kirinya? Menurut hadits-hadits yang ada Nabi Isa putra Maryam ’alihis-salaam akan datang sesudah pasukan Imam Mahdi selesai memerangi pasukan Ruum menjelang menghadapi perang berikutnya melawan pasukan Dajjal. Pada saat itulah Nabi Isa ’alihis-salaam akan Allah taqdirkan turun ke muka bumi untuk digabungkan ke dalam pasukan Imam Mahdi dan membunuh Dajjal dengan izin Allah.

Begitu Imam Mahdi dan pasukannya mendengar kabar bahwa Dajjal telah hadir dan mulai merajalela menebar fitnah dan kekacauan di muka bumi, maka Imam Mahdi mengkonsolidasi pasukannya ke kota Damaskus. Lalu pada saat pasukan Imam Mahdi menjelang sholat Subuh di sebuah masjid yang berlokasi di sebelah timur kota Damaskus tiba-tiba turunlah Nabi Isa ’alihis-salaam diantar dua malaikat di menara putih masjid tersebut. Maka Imam Mahdi langsung mempersilahkan Nabi Isa ’alihis-salaam untuk mengimami sholat Subuh, namun ditolak olehnya dan malah Nabi Isa ’alihis-salaam menyuruh Imam Mahdi untuk menjadi imam sholat Subuh tersebut sedangkan Nabi Isa ’alihis-salaam makmum di belakangnya. Subhanallah.

” ينزل عيسى بن مريم ، فيقول أميرهم المهدي : تعال صل بنا ،

فيقول : لا إن بعضهم أمير بعض ، تكرمة الله لهذه الأمة ” .

“Turunlah Isa putra Maryam ’alihis-salaam. Berkata pemimpin mereka Al-Mahdi: “Mari pimpin sholat kami.” Berkata Isa ’alihis-salaam: “Tidak. Sesungguhnya sebagian mereka pemimpin bagi yang lainnya sebagai penghormatan Allah bagi Ummat ini.” (Al Al-Bani dalam ”As-Salsalatu Ash-Shohihah”)

Saudaraku, marilah kita bersiap-siap mengantisipasi kedatangan tanda-tanda Akhir Zaman yang sangat fenomenal ini. Tanda-tanda yang akan merubah wajah dunia dari kondisi penuh kezaliman dewasa ini menuju keadilan di bawah naungan Syariat Allah dan kepemimpinan Imam Mahdi beserta Nabiyullah Isa ’alihis-salaam.

Ya Allah, masukkanlah kami ke dalam barisan pasukan Imam Mahdi yang akan memperoleh satu dari dua kebaikan:

’Isy Kariman (hidup mulia di bawah naungan Syariat Allah) au mut syahidan (atau Mati Syahid). Amin ya Rabb.

Wa Alloh a’lam…

reff:

1. Banjir di Saudi
2. Tiga-tanda-kiamat
3. Muslm dot Net

Cică, ne îmbogăţim! Cu Billa, pe lângă Kaufland, Penny, Carefour, Winmarkt,  … ca să-i batem pe ghirişeni că au Plus şi ce mai au.

Oricum, clădirii îi stă mai bine renovată şi cu “Billa”, decât cu poarta găurită şi cu “Miliţie” sau “Poliţie”!

Să sperăm că nu va fi un nou … fâs!

Pentru că, dacă te iei după schema desenată de unu’ care a auzit numai de str. Turda din Bucale, ajungi la Cora!

Să sperăm, ca la fiecare alegere sau inaugurarea, că … nu sperăm degeaba!

Ca să nu te doară billa de grija afacerilor, să revenim la oile noastre.

La poznele turdene, cotidiene:

Na, că, tot de grija lui Băse, … întoarcem coada spre frumoasele flori!

Parfumul crizei

Chiar că-i criză, dacă nici pentru parfumuri nu au avut bani să listeze un afiş!

Ekleyeceğiniz birşey var mı?

Pe vremuri, în ferestre, se puneau muşcate. Florile acelea roşii, care rezistau şi la frig. Acum s-a trecut la alb. Muşcător!

Şi la Turda au apărut afişele cu programul manifestărilor dedicate Zilei naţionale. Doar că, la noi, suprapunerea afişelor a dat cu plus. Am renunţat la “România bunului simţ” pentru a ne aminti de tradiţionalul nostru “Spectacol omagial“.

Mă simt mai tânăr cu vreo două decenii!

Cum va arăta oraşul când nici doi stâlpi nu vor mai face faţă la invazia sârmelor?!

Despărţirile adevărate, cu partaj se fac!

Grupul e dovada invaziei mandarinilor?

Mandarinele sunt porcotalii?

De vreo doi ani se tot renovează clădirea. Cu respect pentru arhitectura ei din trecut. Şi cu respectul faţă de oraş, trotuar şi cetăţeni …

Ca să nu mai vorbim despre riscul celor care îşi permit să treacă prin şantier, printre utilajele care lucrează!

Circulă un zvon, conform căruia, magazinul s-ar inaugura în curând. Ca autostrada? Adică, se va tăia panglica de inaugurare şi se va mai lucra încă un an la finisări?! Româneşte! Că nu suntem în Argentina! Deşi, nu ştiu cum se procedează pe-acolo. Poate, găsesc un sponsor pentru o vizită de documentare!

This wasn’t taken at the supermarket but I think it sums up how I was feeling 2 hours ago.

I cleaned my fridge today and realised once I had thrown away the lettuce I planed to make Cesar salad with and the zucchini I planned to make into a pasta bake and some very old squashed brown and blue brie, my fridge was in fact bare….

I hesitated wondering if at all possible I could avoid going to a supermarket until Saturday morning, would it be ok to not have any Fresh juice? Would it be OK not to have any bin liners. would it be ok not to feed my children until then? My guilty conscience took over and I decided we HAD to go. I am currently refusing to shop at Tescos, it’s all a bit political and I don’t want to get into it unless I get really hacked off or more than 5 people comment and ask me why. I hate the local sainsburys it’s full of people with Croydon Facelifts and people with words like “Innit” in their vocabulary and I get pissed off just being near them. Hello if you are from Croydon, still with me?

Off we went to the only place where I think I can cope. Waitrose it’s full of the elderly and middle aged I love it, they talk to the kids and they walk slowly meaning I can charge around them at 30 miles an hour throwing things into my trolley which I keep, keep calling a stroller. I also have fast track which means I scan my own shopping bag it and leave. no Queues.

Eliza proceeded to touch every single item as I selected a cucumber I saw her throwing red peppers from one basket into the other. I shot a look a round me and exclaimed what are you doing? “NUFFINK” Well that’s good I said. Then she touched something else and I got “a look” so I crouched down and said “If you don’t start to behave I shall get the manager of the shop to talk to you” she looked like this

Good… Jerry started to ask for a “cuggle” and proceeded to lunge his head into me. I grabbed some strawberries and then I heard a dreadful smash. I knew straight away it was my little scanner thingy. I ignored it while I picked my strawberries. I turned around to a member of staff holding it. “Oh thank you I said” and she said “shall I put this in your trolley?” “no thanks I need it as, you know I’m shopping” “these cost  two thousand pounds” she said to me. I had a vision of clubbing her in the head with it, I was willing for my child to burn his retinas out with that and now you are telling me not to let him as it cost two thousand pounds. OK fair enough. Jerry throws HUGE tantrum and I have to them finish the rest of my shopping with a out of control 17 month old in my arms.

Next time I will let the kids starve it’s gotta be better than shopping with them.

I jest we also have takeaway.

Nobody can bring order to such chaos.

There is a circle of hell reserved for the most evil Asperger sufferers. Those who rape nuns, abuse animals and devour human flesh.

It is called supermarket shopping.

Woebetide those who enter this arena.

Few make it out alive.

November 25, 2009- Amidst the economic problems troubling the retail industry in the first quarter of 2009, some positive news emerged earlier this year as several retailers announced that they are opening stores, changing concepts and refusing to recess.

Among these retailers is Basha’s supermarket, which will be unveiling what they are calling a “state-of-the-art grocery experience” including fingerprint activated self-checkout systems.  In addition, the store will provide a lounge with flat-screen TVs and free wireless Internet for parents and a free, supervised play center for their children.  By providing these value-added services, Basha’s hopes to differentiate from competitors by providing a comfortable, hassle-free customer experience.

For printers-
Hassle-free means simpler, faster and more convenient.  Printers with strong experience in data can provide both b/w and color digital economically in large quantities.  Also, provide services like a customized shopping list based on previous purchasing habits and integrated direct mail using PURLs with conditional coupons.  The provision of these services is strategically aligned with companies like Basha’s.

We arrived in sunny Mallorca on Saturday at a huge 22 degrees.. Kath and I immediately stripped off (well took our jackets off).. Kath’s aunt Maxine and Grandpa met us at the airport to pick us up. Surprisingly enough our flight was early, good old Ryanair.

From the airport we headed to Maxine’s flat which Kath and I are staying at. (Maxine and Tommy have a beautiful house behind the flat. We then headed out to lunch to an all-you-can-eat (and drink) buffet. We all stuffed ourselves full then headed into Port de Polenca to take Kath’s Grandpa home. He has an apartment right on the waters edge, beautiful location. We then went to Maxine and Tommy’s house and had watched some tv on the wide screen and had some wine.

On Sunday we had a pretty quiet day and headed out to a Medieval Fayre Markets which we walked around an old church courtyard that had a whole pig on the spit. Maxine bought us some slippers to keep our feet warm in the evenings. We went to a Kebab place for lunch. It was the biggest kebab ever!And Tasty!!

On Monday, Maxine was going to hire a car for us. So we drove into the town centre of Port Pollenca and tried to hire a car, however we were to young so we drove to Alcudia and Maxine hired us a little blue Ford Ka.  It’s a nice little 3 door car. In the afternoon we drove up to Formentor which is up narrow little roads up mountains and through tunnels to get some great views and to see a far which is a lighthouse. The views were absolutely amazing! Got to love the Mediterranean.

On Tuesday, we filled the car up at a petrol station in Alcudia – the guy came up and filled the car up for us and then you just go in and pay – it was great!! We then drove through Arta, then to Cap de Pera and went up to the lighthouse and had a nice little break – the views on this corner of Mallorca were just as beautiful if not better. We were having a snack of some cheese chip things and all these cats come out from nowhere – there was like 7 cats! We then drove around for awhile trying to find the coves de arta. We got 2 euros of our tickets which was good – the caves were great – the guide spoke spanish, some english and a little bit of french – Pretty impressive!

We then drove home and had a nice night in. On Wednesday – Kath started to feel a little better and we went in to Port Pollenca and had a quick walk around the markets and then came home- to go off for a nice drive up mountains to Port Solla. The roads were narrow – but the views were amazing. There was an odd car who we think were driving around the tourist stop points seeing if people left there cars open. We had parked our car at one photo spot, and we were taking some photos and just sitting in the sun when Kath see’s this car come from one direction and turns around and drives back the way they came and parked right behind our car, the passenger guy got out and started to look at “the view” and then when he saw us walking back to the car he got back in and had to REVERSE to drive off. The fact that he was that close when There WAS like at least 100 other places seemed odd… as we were driving along we saw the same car within like 3kms like 5 times. We think he was driving around the tourist photo stops. So we kept driving to Port Soller and had a nice walk around the water and tried to make sense of the menus etc…  We ended up getting ice cream.

We then headed through some towns and ended up in Palma (the capital of Mallorca).. The traffic was horrific through the town centre. We then headed back up to the flat. We’ve seen some fantastic views and are loving the sun and warm weather we are having.

.. I usually have an “Wanna Annoy Me” post every now and again but there were too many things today that just crawled up my ass so I figured I’d go easy on you guys and just enter one post.

Actually.. that’s not all together true. I just got back from the laundromat with 5 :: count ‘em 5 :: hampers so stuffed with clean clothes that I’ll never get the wrinkles out to fold that multiple posts just isn’t Father Time’s hourglass.

Ok..

So..

Things that annoyed me today:

1. I cut my bangs too short. I have this crazy curly hair that just magically shortens by 5 inches when you cut it. I usually leave it to the professionals :: which, I WAS one before I let my license expire :: but it got on my nerves so bad today that I dry cut it. This.. for all you non-professionals out there is when you cut your hair.. dry. Meaning, not wet. Meaning you just get done blow drying your hair and you can’t stand the way it fall into your face and annoys you that you grab the nearest scissors you can find and just start chopping. That’s a “dry cut”. The problem is when you cut your bangs yourself, you kind of get cross eyed. So it’s not a pretty thing to witness. So what was once a bang length down to my chin is now a bang length just in the middle of my eye. Too short. Long term baseball cap wear-age definitely in my future.
2. Men who wear tighty-whities. I am allowed to say that out loud because Chief is among the tighty-whitie wearers and I am the one who has to launder his tighty-whities. I used to roll my eyes at the Spawn from Satan’s Ass because he wore tighty-non-whities and it just looked ridiculous but if there is one kind thing I can say about the Spawn, it’s that he spared me from looking at and having to handle stained underwear. And we all know underwear gets stained.. PLEASE don’t try to convince me that your’s doesn’t. My question is.. how are you not EMBARASSED by it? I have been know to wear underwear on occassion :: yes, I usually go “commando” :: but even then, one little thing that isn’t suppose to be there and they get chucked in the trash. Buried deep. So no one can see them.
3. People who drive with handicap placards hanging from their rear view mirror. Because.. like.. it clearly states DO NOT HANG WHILE DRIVING. I know.. because my dad :: RIP :: used to have one. If you’re going to do that then I’m going to assume your handicap is of the mental variety and you shouldn’t be driving anyway. Therefore, I can’t help what comes out of my mouth when you decide your going to make a UTurn on a four lane highway from the far right lane, while I’m in the middle lane. Jerk off.
4. .. and speaking of stuff hanging from rear view mirrors. What’s with all the damn plastic leis all of a sudden? Did I miss a memo? Forget to invite me to a party. Get that dumb shit off.
5. People who think THEIR time is WAY MORE valuable then mine. You know the whole issue we’re having with Bubba and school, right? Well, I’ve been in email communication with his primary teacher and since today was report card day, she suggested that I go to the high school at 4:30 so that I can have a sit down meeting with all his teachers. 4:30. I KNOW she said 4:30. I KNOW she said 4:30 because when she said 4:30 all kinds of things started running through my head like, “Will Chief be able to close the store and come with?” .. “Do I leave Bubba home alone?”.. “Will I be able to pick Bubba up at 2:20 and then go to the wholesalers and make it back in time?” .. so yea.. I KNOW she said 4:30. So what happens? I get to the school at 4:30 and no one. Anywhere. I check the library where we were suppose to meet and it’s empty except for someone that’s somewhere in the back who won’t respond to my HELLOs or EXCUSE MEs only to make an appearance after I roamed all over an empty school :: so much for fucking security :: and happen to see the above mentioned someone in the middle of the library vacuuming. When asked the whereabouts of the teachers, she looked at me in disgust and told me that report cards weren’t going to be given out until 6… with an attitude. But no bigger then the one I was already carrying around. So I drive back to the shop fuming and then drive back to the school fuming and when finally face to face with the primary teacher, she tells me that she smugly told me that she had something to do. If Bubba’s education was NOT as important as it is I would have dropped the cow on her fat ass. Immediately.
6. My father in law telling me he can’t believe I stayed with his son this long. That annoyed me. Maybe because it’s true and I know it’s true. Dunno. Must ponder that one.
7. Missing school pictures. OH how that annoyed me! If you read some of my recent previous posts, you know that the Crack Whore was throwing up accolades in my direction because I sent her a message that I had Spaz’s school picture for her. Well, today, Spaz got out of school early and because .. well, I don’t really know “because” .. anyway, he called the Crack Whore and she how ever it happened, she came by the shop and took him somewhere. I was in the back.. didn’t see her.. didn’t care. BUT I figured when I got home, I better sort out the pictures because I wanted to put which ever ones in the Thanksgiving cards I got for Chief’s brother, my mom, etc. So when I get home.. there’s no 8×10. There WAS an 8×10 because I ordered and 8×10.. and even if I didn’t think I ordered an 8×10, I clearly remember the day that Spaz came home with them and pulled the 8×10 out of the envelope because I told him to put it back before his sticky candy fingers smudged it. I have a wall lined with their 8×10 school pictures so I know there was one. So I call the Crack Whore and leave a message to have Spaz call me because there’s a missing 8 x fucking 10 picture missing. About an hour and a half goes by and he calls and asks if I want to talk to him and I ask him if he took the picture. He said no.. and if there was ever a time that I could tell this child was lying it was then. The pause.. the stutter.. all neon arrows. He tells me that I didn’t order one. Now.. excuse me.. my brain cells are not swimming in anything chemical. It’s sharp as a tack so to try and convince me that I didn’t order one only inflamed me more. That and the fact that the edging that was on the 8 x fucking 10 picture was cut. And not in a straight line. We had issues with pictures before, me and the Crack Whore. Especially when she stole Weed’s prom picture. Yes. You read that right. STOLE. So I’m not putting it past her that she asked about the pictures and Spaz gave her the 8 x fucking 10. What I’m more pissed about is that she made him lie about it. So tonight at dinner, after he came home from her crack den, I told him that I wanted the picture back. That no one but me and him knew where the pack was. He started pulling his drama queen shit which further proved he had lied. So Chief gave him the opportunity to come clean saying that it’s understandable if he did because he’s just a little boy but he had to be honest about it. Which of course, made Sarah Bernhardt rise from the dead. And so I got pissed. Because I paid the $60 that I didn’t have for these pictures and I told Chief, he could call her all he wants.. she’s not going to ‘fess up to it. Because she never does. But I will tell you one thing.. in a few days that picture is going mysteriously turn up.. or I’m going to hear, “oh.. I forgot!’ or “I didn’t know you were talking about THAT picture”. I’ll bet you any amount of money on that.
8. Supermarkets that tell you that you CANNOT get the free turkey that is owed you for spending over three hundred dollars on their discount card because you lost the receipt that says you are entitled to a free turkey because you spent over three hundred dollars on their discount card. Since my father in law is coming over for dinner Thursday, I need a fucking turkey. Because as un-traditional as Chief is.. he CAN’T have ham :: of which I have one frozen in the freezer :: on Thanksgiving. It HAS to be turkey. It’s the TRADITION. I rolled my eyes at him and said, “.. you’re fucking kidding me, right?” Which, of course, he wasn’t. So I drive over to the supermarket .. grab a frozen bird :: AND thinking that if any bird deserved to be frozen right then it was Chief’s :: and when I get to the counter I remember that I don’t have the coupon. Not only don’t I have the coupon but I realize that I have no clue where it’s at. No problem. I have my discount card on my keyring. So I run out to the car to get my keys :: yes, I put my keys in the glove box if I know I’m not going to need a damn discount card because I always lose them and my car has coded locks so it’s not like I’d be locked out. :: come back into the store only to have the cashier tell me that I need the coupon. UH-UH! I have the discount card. She says it doesn’t matter.. that she has to ring up the card along with the coupon and bedlam ensues. Because I want someone who gets paid more then the cashier does to tell me that my discount card is NOT good enough.. because if the damn card can tell them everything about everything I’ve purchased then why the hell can’t it tell them that I get a free turkey. But of course, this is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the crowd behind me is looking for things to impale me with so I told her that I would return tomorrow to speak with the manager. Then I went home and told Chief we were starting a new tradition and having ham, dammit.
9. Cats that chew on a ridiculously expensive pair of boots that have been stored in the deepest, darkest depth of my closet since last winter REALLY ANNOY me. I mean REALLY annoyed me. Annoyed me so much that I started to believe that the author of “Puss In Boots” had a cat that chewed on a ridiculously expensive pair of boots and made him pay for it dearly. Or maybe that’s what I was thinking when I found my boots were chewed. Hard to tell. I was annoyed.

Well.. I think y’all had enough of my ranting for now. I still have two hampers of laundry to fold and the laptop battery is running low.

Wish me a better day tomorrow.. either that, or send me a REALLY good recipe for spiked egg nog!

A few more people came out of the store during our trek across the lot, but they all avoided us, as if our story had become legend: The three-armed race that has developed a taste for human chicken soup! Avoid them at all costs, because you’re too polite to turn down their outrageous requests!

We also weren’t pestered inside the store, which was far more crowded than I would have anticipated. The aisles were barely wide enough for a single cart, more like an independent hardware store than a supermarket. It did, incidentally, have a hardware section, which was small and even more densely packed, with sliding shelves in front of other shelves, as well as racks suspended from the ceiling with pincers mounted on long poles so you could grab things from them. Elsewhere, lawn games shared shelves with used books and painted rocks that identified themselves as souvenirs from Landerville.

Shopping was a slow affair. We tended to get in the way of each other, and there were a number of close calls where unwatched ribbon slack nearly led to some kind of mishap. It only did once, in the produce section. Watermelons had been impressively, if unwisely, stacked into a three-layer pyramid on a central display table. In his puppylike exuberance to meet my request of bananas, which hung from hooks just past the table, Nathan managed to get the ribbon wedged underneath the second melon layer. Whether the ribbon had help from either me or Carla I shall explicitly refuse to say.

Nathan had to reach high enough for the bananas that the ribbon dislodged the fruit that was laying on top of it. That watermelon crashed to the floor and broke open, revealing a fairly satisfying splatter of pink guts.

It had been a weight-bearing watermelon.

Only four watermelons total were destroyed by the collapse; two more fell but were cushioned by their predecessors’ flesh. I nevertheless consider it the Victoria Falls of watermelonfalls, and will until I see a greater one.

I suggested that we might want to get out of the aisle before our mess was discovered, but to no purpose. A plump, pimply teenaged boy was already hauling his seemingly undersized string mop and bucket to the scene.

“I told Mr. Watkins that this would happen,” he grumbled. “I told him that watermelon would fall, and it would take that one, that one, that one, that one, and that one with it. But did he listen?”

“I apologize, sir,” Nathan offered. “It was carelessness…”

“Don’t be sorry,” the boy bellowed, shifting his tone to exuberance. “We had a bet. You just won me twenty bucks.” He began attacking the mess with tremendous vigor, although the primary effect was that he managed to break the shells into slightly smaller pieces.

We soon worked out a system. At least I did. Basically, I behaved as if I were a chariot and Nathan were the horse, aiming him by pulling the ribbon the direction that I wanted him to go and slowing him down with brute force. I don’t know how he felt about the arrangement, or if he even realized, but it worked. The only incidents of the rest of the shopping trip were low-speed collisions between cart and shelves, caused more by the narrowness of the aisles and the ricketiness of the cart than any recklessness on Nathan’s part.

Nathan paid for the groceries with a hundred-dollar bill and led us across the parking lot. He seemed was obviously impatient with the pace that Carla and I set, but he worked off his extra energy by zigzagging, rather than pulling. Getting into Nathan’s ship was therefore no particular trial.

*****

Not much to say about this that I didn’t cover yesterday, except that the store is actually based on my local grocery store, which has, among other things, a used book section.

I attempt to get all my grocery needs in one monthly shop,  because I despise grocery shopping,    So I decided on IGA at Waterloo Sydney to pick up some milk.  The rest are ‘impulse’ buys or things I could recall on my list at home.  Truthfully only the tomatoes and cucumbers were on the list.  I really prefer the 3L bottles of milk as we go through a lot of milk.

Kellogs Special K 360g  $3.79

Mrs Brunt’s waffles 6 pack 2 x @ $4.25 ea

2 x 2 L Daisy Lite milk @ $2.79 ea

De Costi fresh cooked peeled prawns 325g $12.01

Cucumber 525g @ $5.49 kg

Trussed tomatoes  @ $8.25 / kg = $5.26

This Illustration appears in ‘Take a Break’s Fiction Feast’ Magazine, it is an illustration that accompanies a short story that was entered into their ‘Young Fiction Writer of the Year’ competition.

How can we be more sustainable through going shopping? Head down to your local farmers market apparently – I braved some blustery conditions over the weekend down at Riverside Farmer’s market in Cardiff and this is what one shopper had to say about the experience.

Eating more locally grown produce and reducing food waste were just two of the things spoken of at a debate that I went along to as part of Cardiff University’s sustainability week.

In a question time styled debate, a panel including Environment Minister Jane Davidson,  Dr Pam Robinson, School of Social Sciences (who knows her stuff about the supermarkets),  and Professor Kevin Morgan (of an Urban and Regional governance background), fielded questions from a fully charged audience of academics and students.

The most enigmatic of the bunch was Steve Garrett, who is the founder of the Riverside and Roath Farmers markets. Agriculture, farming and food production is one of the biggest contributors to global warming, and with populations set to rise food shortages will become a huge issue.

A big question is, how can you ensure a level playing field when supermarkets have economies of scale on their side to drive down prices and squeeze a farmer’s profit margins ever lower? Remember the dairy price fixing allegations of the ‘big four’ by the Office of Fair Trading in 2008? Even then the OFT got its fingers burnt with claims of defamation, so the supermarkets certainly have some legal clout behind them.

It’s inevitably about cultural change; how can people be persuaded it’s wrong to eat strawberries in December after accruing thousands of air miles to get to the fruit aisle?

There are some good reasons why people should make a farmer’s market a higher priority for their weekly shop.

There is a general misconception that farmers markets are for the bourgeoisie, and although there were stalls with specialist cheese’s and olives at riverside, you could still get all the staples. Also people fear that farmers markets just aren’t as cheap as the supermarkets, although that wasn’t according to the people i asked.

With pros there usually always come a few cons though.

So there are clearly things that a farmers market can’t do that the supermarkets can. Perhaps the answer is a mixture of the two, and this is something that was suggested at the debate.

Anyway back to the point, what are the three key things people need to do eat more sustainably?

1. Eat less meat
2. Eat locally grown seasonal food
3. Throw less food away

Sounds simple. However, we’re struggling to get to grips with the thought of having to pay for plastic bags here in Wales, so the Welsh Assembly need to come up with something good to get people away from the supermarkets and out buying more locally produced food. Maybe they could even teach us how to grow our own!

“คาร์ฟูร์” จับมือสยามพิวรรธน์-เอ็มบีเค เซ็นเตอร์ ร่วมขบวนศูนย์การค้า “พาราไดซ์พาร์ค” เปิดซูเปอร์มาร์เก็ตเสียบแทน “กูเมต์ มาร์เก็ต” จากค่าย “เดอะมอลล์” ที่ขอถอนตัว วางคอนเซ็ปต์ระดับพรีเมี่ยม มัดใจ พร้อมเปิดตามแผนมีนาคมปีหน้า

หลังกลุ่มสยามพิวรรธน์และเอ็มบีเค เซ็นเตอร์ เข้าไปซื้อศูนย์การค้าเสรีเซ็นเตอร์ และได้เริ่มแปลงโฉมเพื่อเปลี่ยนเป็น “พาราไดซ์พาร์ค” ศูนย์การค้าที่ดีที่สุดในย่านกรุงเทพฯตะวันออก ด้วยงบฯลงทุนก้อนโต 2,000 ล้านบาท และตามแผนจะแล้วเสร็จและเปิดในเดือนมีนาคมปีหน้า

ความเคลื่อนไหวล่าสุด ผู้สื่อข่าวรายงานว่า ขณะนี้ในกลุ่มพื้นที่เช่าและพันธมิตรที่ได้ตกลงเช่าไปแล้วกว่า 70% ได้มีการปรับเปลี่ยนใหม่ในพื้นที่ชั้นกราวนด์ จากเดิมพื้นที่กว่า 5,000 ตร.ม. ได้วางให้เป็นซูเปอร์ มาร์เก็ตระดับพรีเมี่ยม ตามแผนได้เตรียมจะนำ “กูร์เมต์ มาร์เก็ต” ซูเปอร์มาร์เก็ตที่เปิด 2 สาขา ที่สยามพารากอน และ ดิ เอ็มโพเรียม และเตรียมจะเปิดอีก 1 แห่ง ปลายปีนี้ ที่คอมมิวนิตี้มอลล์ เค-วิลเลจ (สุขุมวิท 26) เข้ามาเปิดเพื่อตอบสนองกลุ่มลูกค้าระดับบน

ทั้งนี้ กูร์เมต์ มาร์เก็ต เป็นบริษัทร่วมทุนระหว่างกลุ่มเดอะมอลล์และสยามพิวรรธน์ที่ถือหุ้นคนละครึ่ง แต่ล่าสุดรายงานข่าวระบุว่า กูร์เมต์ มาร์เก็ต ได้ถอนตัวออกไป และมีไฮเปอร์มาร์เก็ต คาร์ฟูร์ เข้ามาบริหารในพื้นที่ดังกล่าวแทน

นายสุเวทย์ ธีรวชิรกุล กรรมการผู้อำนวยการ บริษัท เอ็มบีเค จำกัด (มหาชน) ในฐานะประธานกรรมการ บริษัท เสรีเซ็นเตอร์ แมเนจเม้นท์ จำกัด ยอมรับว่า ได้คุยกับคาร์ฟูร์เพื่อทาบทามให้เข้ามาร่วมเปิดในศูนย์การค้าพาราไดซ์พาร์ค และบริหารพื้นที่ในส่วนซูเปอร์มาร์เก็ตดังกล่าว ส่วนรายละเอียดการตกแต่งรวมทั้งคอนเซ็ปต์การวางสินค้าต้องไปถามทางคาร์ฟูร์ซึ่งจะตอบได้ชัดเจนมากกว่า

ก่อนหน้านี้ในงานเปิดตัวโครงการพาราไดซ์พาร์ค เพื่อชักชวนให้นักลงทุนค้าปลีกและซัพพลายเออร์คู่ค้าเข้ามาร่วมนั้น ศูนย์วางรูปแบบชั้นกราวนด์ให้เป็นสวรรค์ของ นักชิม ที่มีศูนย์อาหารและซูเปอร์มาร์เก็ต ระดับพรีเมี่ยม ด้วยการรวบรวมสินค้ากลุ่มอาหารสด โกรเซอรีส์ และอาหารนำเข้าจากต่างประเทศ เพื่อตอบสนองกลุ่มลูกค้าย่านศรีนครินทร์และพื้นที่ใกล้เคียง

โดยแบ่งพื้นที่เป็น 3 ส่วน คือ 1.พื้นที่ 5,000 ตร.ม. สำหรับซูเปอร์มาร์เก็ต 2.เสรีมาร์เก็ต และฟู้ด คอร์ต ที่รวบรวมอาหารสดในรูปแบบตลาดนัดติดแอร์และร้านอาหารชื่อดังมารวมกันบนพื้นที่ 5,000 ตร.ม. และ 3.พื้นที่สำหรับฟู้ด บาซาร์ที่รวมร้านอาหารเทคโฮมและเบเกอรี่กว่า 100 ร้านค้า

ผู้สื่อข่าวสอบถามเรื่องดังกล่าวไปยังคาร์ฟูร์ โดยผู้บริหารจากบริษัท เซ็นคาร์ จำกัด กล่าวว่า ตอนนี้อยู่ในช่วงของการประชุมเพื่อสรุปแผนการขยายสาขาในปีหน้า เบื้องต้นโดยส่วนตัวยังไม่ทราบว่าจะมีการรวมแผนเรื่องการเปิดสาขาใหม่ที่ พาราไดซ์พาร์ค เข้าไปด้วยหรือไม่ คงต้องรอให้การเจรจาเสร็จสิ้นก่อน

ปัจจุบันการเปิดสาขาของคาร์ฟูร์มีทั้งหมด 4 รูปแบบ ได้แก่ ไฮเปอร์มาร์เก็ต พื้นที่เฉลี่ย 6,500 ตารางเมตร คอมแพ็กต์ 4,000 ตารางเมตร มินิคาร์ฟูร์ 2,000 ตารางเมตร รวม 38 สาขา และได้เริ่มทดลองเปิดซูเปอร์มาร์เก็ตชื่อ คาร์ฟูร์ซิตี้ ขนาด 300 ตารางเมตร 1 แห่ง

ด้านแหล่งข่าวค้าปลีกรายหนึ่งให้เหตุผลถึงการที่กูร์เมต์ มาร์เก็ต ถอนตัวออกจากโครงการพาราไดซ์ พาร์ค ว่าที่ผ่านมา คอนเซ็ปต์การเปิดกูร์เมต์ฯเพื่อดึงคนเข้ามาในห้างและจับจ่ายต่อเนื่องไปยังส่วนของดีพาร์ตเมนต์ แต่รูปแบบของพาราไดซ์ พาร์คเป็นศูนย์การค้าอย่างเดียว จึงไม่ตรงกับแนวทางการทำธุรกิจของกูร์เมต์ มาร์เก็ต ที่จะเปิดเดี่ยว ๆ แบบสแตนด์อะโลน

ล่าสุด นางชฎาทิพ จูตระกูล รองประธานกรรมการ บริษัท พาราไดซ์พาร์ค จำกัด ได้เซ็นสัญญากับ นางณัฐธยาน์ ปางพุฒิพงศ์ กรรมการ บริษัท ดาวคอฟฟี่บีนส์ จำกัด สำหรับการเช่าพื้นที่ชั้น 3 ของศูนย์ พาราไดซ์พาร์ค เพื่อเปิดร้านคอฟฟี่บีนส์ บายดาว (Coffee Beans By Dao) ร้านเบเกอรี่และอาหารในรูปแบบเอ็กซ์คลูซีฟแห่งแรก ด้วยงบฯลงทุน 15 ล้านบาท จับกลุ่มลูกค้าครอบครัวรุ่นใหม่ที่อาศัยในโซนกรุงเทพฯตะวันออก ซึ่งเป็นทาร์เก็ตระดับกลาง-บนที่มีกำลังซื้อสูง

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