Denpasar (Bali Post) -

The Head of Indonesian Con-stitution Council, Mahfud MD, visited K Nadha press building on Wednesday, January 18, 2012. He received by the CEO of Bali Post Media Group, Satria Naradha, and the Rector of Mahendradatta University, Arya Wedakarna.

After a dialog about the press freedom, Mahfud MD signed the “Press Freedom” charter. Quoted

from Benyamin Constant, he wrote “Press often makes riots but without press the government will do as they like. For that reason, we must protect the freedom of press so democracy and monocracy can be carried out well.”

Mahfud MD also wrote on the Ajeg Bali inscription, “we already agreed to develop Indonesia as the unite nation, combine the big and small in one. Let us protect Bali and unite the nation in the spirit

of Bhineka Tunggal Ika.” During the visit, Mahfud re-

minded that the nation will grow with four pillars and one of them is the press. Currently, most of the pillars are not working well including the press.

“On the other pillars, the dam-age is all around but on the press only the person acts that create the damage but the institution is still quite clean,” he added.

SUNNY BRIGHT/CLOUDY RAIN

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16 Pages Number 264th Year

e-mail: info_ibp@balipost.co.id online: http://www.internationalbalipost.com. http://epaper.internationalbalipost.com.

Price: Rp 3.000,-I N T E R N A T I O N A L

CITY TEMPERATURE OC

WEATHER FORECAST

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DENPASAR

JAKARTA

BANDUNG

YOGYAKARTA

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Actor Wahlbergapologizes for 9/11comments

Bali tourismskyrockets,poverty follows

The KMPKP-HAM consists of press freedom volunteers, stu-dent, lawyers, and others gave the Sadaksara Petition to the member

of the House. There were received by the Head of Bali House A.A. Ngurah Oka Ratmadi, accompa-nied by the head of commission I,

I Made Arjaya and the secretary, Pande Maliana.

The coordinator of KMPKP-HAM, Raymond Simamora, said

that the alliance urge the house to resolve the dispute between Bali Governor and Bali Post.

Another member of the al-liance, Agung Wardana said that the Governor as a part of the government supposed to be able to preserve the freedom of press.

IBP/File

Mahfud MD

Mahfud MD:

Without press, government will act hastly

Bali House will summon the GovernorKMPKP-HAM gave petition

IBP/File

The press freedom voulenteers give the petition to the member of Bali House of Representative, on Wednesday, January 18, 2012.

Denpasar (Bali Post) -

The threat on the press freedom in Bali made hundreds of people joined in the alliance of Balinese People for Press Freedom and Human Right (KMPKP-HAM) concern. On Wednes-day, January 18, 2012, they came to Bali House of Representative to ask for an action.

InternationalFriday, January 20, 20122

Bali News

Founder : K.Nadha, General Manager :Palgunadi Chief Editor: Diah Dewi Juniarti Editors: Gugiek Savindra,Alit Susrini, Alit Sumertha, Daniel Fajry, Mawa, Sri Hartini, Suana, Sueca, Sugiartha, Wirya, YudiWinanto Denpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Subagiadnya, Subrata, Suentra, Sumatika, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Pujawan, Buleleng: Adnyana, Gianyar: Agung Dharmada, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung:Bali Putra Ariawan. Jakarta: Nikson, Hardianto, Ade Irawan. NTB: Agus Talino, Syamsudin Karim, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto. Development: Alit Purnata, Mas Ruscitadewi. :Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, : 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali Post Jakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-

5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp. (0370) 639543, : (0370) 628257. Publisher: PT Bali Post

Chairman of PHRI Buleleng, Dewa Ketut Suardipa, said on Wednesday (Jan 18) that he got information if a cruise ship would berth at Celukan Bawang. His party was not involved at all, both in the reception and coordination regard-ing the other problems. “We are not involved in the activities, let alone be informed,” he said.

According to Suardipa, a former cruise ship worker, many tourism perpetrators were disappointed because of being not involved in the coordination. In tourism-related events, the tourism organization should be involved. Anyhow, tech-nically the tourism perpetrators knew better on how to welcome tourists. If only welcomed by the ranks of regency, it was feared the reception of tourists would be more ceremonial only.

He got information if a cruise ship would berth at Celukan Bawang carrying 208 tourists and crewmen. Government should make careful technical preparation to welcome the arrival of the cruise ship tourists. The port facility, for instance, should support the tourist needs. He pointed out that around

the harbor should be equipped with adequate toilet facilities. Similarly, the parking of vessel should be put separately between the vessel unloading freights and passenger vessel. “Do not let tourists feel disappointed with the service pro-vided. Maybe, the cruise ship only berths at the harbor once and it is then made a jargon by govern-ment,” he said.

On the other hand, Suardipa confessed to be pessimistic if the cruise ship could anchor at the quay of Celukan Bawang Harbor. Moreover, based on information the cruise ship would park in the middle of the sea and the passen-gers would be picked up by using boats to the harbor. If this hap-pened, then it would be useless to extend the dock port, but in reality it could not be used as a cruise ship quay. In response to this condition, government should make a good preparation. If based on technical analysis Celukan Bawang was not feasible for cruise ships to berth, the vessel would preferably be diverted to Lovina Beach. It would work and be supported by adequate tourism accommodation facilities. “If the

cruise ship parks in the middle of the ocean with a distance of some 1 mile from the land, what are the reasons to choose Celukan Bawang that is very far from tourist accom-modation? On Lovina Beach, the ship could also park in the middle of the ocean. Our colleagues could set up a more adequate accom-modation and facilities to pick up to cruise ship. Therefore, it will not complicate the tourists,” he explained.

Meanwhile, ahead of the arrival of the MV Seabourn Legend cruise ship, the Regent of Buleleng, Putu Bagiada, expressed his readiness to welcome the tourists travelling with the cruise ship from America. The regent was also ready to wel-come the tourists by offering tour packages to eleven destinations in Buleleng. Based on site inspection, the vessel would be likely to park outside the quay and then the tour-ists would be picked up by using boats to seaside. “We are ready to welcome the arrival of cruise ships to Buleleng and this will make a sustainable experience that Buleleng has owned a cruise ship harbor,” he said. (kmb)

Denpasar (Bali Post)—Rabies remains a frightening specter

in 2012. A member of Commission 4 of Bali House, Wayan Rawan Atmaja, said on Wednesday (Jan 18) the program of rabies-free Bali by 2012 could not be achieved and would be only a chimera. It happened due to weak handling of ra-bies, including the prevention. Procure-ment of anti-rabies serum (SAR) was still considered minimal so that it could endanger the life of rabies victims.

According to him, so far the related agencies were not responsive to the actual conditions in the community so the rabies handling was not optimal. He considered the anticipation of rabies was still very weak and even the government seemed overwhelmed when the case appeared and spread. He said that many dogs had not been vaccinated. Additionally, there were also many rabies cases until claiming casualties.

He pointed out there was a resident of Nusa Dua bitten by a dog not long ago and the victim eventually died. Likewise, the anti-rabies serum (SAR) was considered very expensive. Even, people often did not get it in the gov-ernment hospital. As consequence, the family had to get it in private hospitals at higher price to save their life. “If SAR is unavailable, it can endanger the life of rabies victim. It is also very detrimental to the community if they have to buy in private hospitals at a more expensive price. If people buy the SAR in private hospitals as unavailable in the government hospital, government should reimburse them. Do not aggra-vate their miseries,” said the politician from Nusa Dua.

With those problems, he said, the ra-bies-free Bali by 2012 was ascertained

to fail and would become as chimera only. “I am pessimistic if the rabies-free Bali will fail if the handling is still slow like this. Related agencies should

frequently so that it can be anticipated more quickly,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of Bali Health Agency, Nyoman Sutedja, said the cur-rent availability of anti-rabies vaccine (VAR) was no problem. However, he admitted to be overwhelmed because there were no supplies from central government. “But, the demand for SAR is not too much because it is only for serious bite,” he said. He also con-fessed if the dog bite case was still quite high reaching 54, 000 in 2011. But the amount dropped from 64,000 in 2010. Meanwhile, the mortality rate due to rabies also decreased from 83 in 2010 to 23 people in 2011.

In the meantime, the Head of Bali Livestock Agency, Putu Sumantra, said that his party had done his best to prevent the rabies by mass vaccination. According to him, the third mass vac-cination in all regencies/municipality covering 250,000 dogs would be held next March. “We are targeting the vac-cination can cover 70-80 percent of the dog population,” he said. According to

dog population in Bali due to lack of people’s awareness to report their dog. Estimated, there were some 350,000 dogs across Bali.

His party also claimed to have conducted integrated training on bite cases to minimize the impact on each bite case on human and to accelerate the observation on biting dogs. People were expected to actively report their dog at mass vaccination so the rabies could be prevented. (wid)

Related to arrival of cruise ship

Tourism businessmen disappointed as uninvolvedSingaraja (Bali Post)—

The arrival of the MV Seabourn Legend cruise ship that would berth at Celukan Bawang Harbor, Gerokgak Subdistrict, was in fact not well coordinated. Evidently, the regency did not inform the tourism perpetrators coalescing into the Association of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) of Buleleng Chapter.

The Legend

Of The Seas

Cruise Ship

docked

on Benoa

Harbour. The

ship carry-

ing 2,300

passengers

will stay in

Bali for three

days.

IBP/Eka

Weak handling, rabies-free Bali by 2012 just a chimera

A dog is

examined

by the of-

ficer due to

perevent the

spread of

rabies in Bali

IBP/File

3International Bali News Friday, January 20, 2012

Denpasar (Bali Post)—

days. Last November 2011, hundreds of houses on the banks of Badung

houses were also submerged at Pagutan Hamlet, Padangsambian Kajaand Jalan Bumi Ayu, Sanur.

The Head of Denpasar Public WorksAgency, I Ketut Winarta, whenmet in Denpasar on Wednesday (Jan 18) said the efforts to minimize

the handling was carried out in stages. Denpasar already had owned amaster plan undertaken in stages.

amount of funds, while the fund available in the regional budget wasvery limited. Therefore, the work implemented was only in the formof maintenance to the existing drainage. “To shore up this effort, it isneeded a lot of funds and will be coordinated with central governmentand provincial government,” explained Winarta.

He said the initial steps worked on would be the project at TukadTebe and Renon area with drainage to Tukad Pakerisan. “We are inregional government is required to make a secondary channel, while thegrand design was prepared by central government,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Denpasar IB Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra

master plan. Incidentally the central government paid a great attention

of four stages, while solution to the problem at Monang Maning andJalan Pura Demak has been running and will be completed in October2012,” he said.

from the State Budget and Regional Budget of Denpasar. The budgetfrom central government would be disbursed in stages. First phaseamounted to IDR 99 billion. The funding was expected to overcomethe puddle at some points in Denpasar. “The problem on the area ofJalan BumiAyu and Jalan Sekuta Sanur has been addressed. But, sinceit is a serious problem, the central government will also participate tocope with. “It is the most severe problem because the area has a basinlike a skillet. It has to be sucked with a pump specially brought in fromKorea,” said Rai Mantra. (kmb12)

Highest puddles occurredaround the entrance to SulanyahVillage, on the southern side ofthe Singaraja-Gilimanuk road sec-tion. It was an alternative road forSingaraja-Pupuan route withouthaving to pass through the capitalof Seririt Subdistrict. Similarly,it was the road leading to Shanti

-ing, the vehicle carrying patientwas unable to pass to the hospital,but forced to detour through Bubu-nan Village.

heavy rains, the water supply fromthe upstream region could not beaccommodated in the river so it

than the streets, several houses,-

pality Waterworks (PDAM), werealso inundated. Even, a numberof cars and motorcycles balkedbecause they were desperate tobreach the high enough puddles.

Headman of Sulanyah, Gede

indeed frequently occurred dur-ing heavy rains in the road area ofSulanyah Village. He admitted tohave carried out various efforts to

resolve the problem such as by re-questing assistance to government.“We submitted a proposal in 2010,but until now we did not get anyresponse,” he said.

According to Sutarma, the-

curred because the road was lowerthan the surrounding plains. Suchcondition was exacerbated by thenarrowing of river borderline asthe residents did not build theirhouse pursuant to the rules. “Houseconstruction of residents living onthe river border exceeds the bor-derline so the watershed is gettingnarrower,” he said. (kmb15)

Denpasar (Bali Post)—Due to rainy season, the supply of superior rice from East Java to Bali

was sluggish. The Bali Industry and TradeAgency recorded a decrease inthe rice supply reaching 15 percent. This condition occurred a week ago.

The Head of Bali Industry and Trade Agency, Gde Darmaja, admittedsuch condition occurred because farmers supplying the superior rice fromEast Java faced crop failure due to weather anomalies.As a result, the grainproduction slumped and had the impact on the supply.

“The rain accompaniedwith strongwinds,whichdidnot onlyhappen inBali recently, caused the supply of superior rice from East Java to reduce,”said Gde Darmaja when contacted on Wednesday (Jan 18).

Nevertheless, Darmaja said the condition had no impact on the price ofrice in traditional market. Until January 18, the price of superior rice wasstill IDR 9,500 per kg. Sluggish supply only happened to superior rice,while the rice supply of other quality was still in safe condition.

“Superior rice is mostly consumed by the upper-to-middle class society.Rice supply of other quality is still safe because it is brought in from vari-ous areas,” he explained.

To overcome the decline in the rice supply from East Java to Bali,Darmaja acknowledged that Logistic Agency (Bulog) had helped supplyfrom the parent agency to Bali. “It has been assisted by Logistic Agencyto address the shortage of superior rice,” he said.

Meanwhile, regarding the price of foodstuff before the Chinese NewYear celebration, Darmaja asserted that it was basically still normal. Onlya few basic commodities lived through a price hike, even the increase ofbasic commodities was also not purely caused by Chinese New Year.

demand is not too high. The price hike will certainly ensue ahead of Ga-

Darmaja continued that price hike happened to broiler meat, wherepreviously it lay at IDR 25,000 and then increased to IDR 28,000 per kg.Meanwhile, the price of local chicken meat increased to IDR 38,000 perkg from IDR 35,000. (par)

IBP/File

A woman is carrying her son through the flood which happen on Seririt Subdistrict, Buleleng

Alternative Singaraja-Pupuan road section disturbed Seririt (Bali Post)—

Rice supplies to Bali sluggish

Flood countermeasure worked on through four stages

News International4 Friday, January 20, 2012

But the storm, nicknamed “Snowmageddon” as it approached the Puget Sound region, proved less extreme than originally forecast, with the National Weather Service lowering its outlook for possible snow accumulations from up to 10 inches to around 6 inches, meteo-rologist Dustin Guy said.

The storm, which arrived on Tuesday evening, bore down more forefully on towns in the interior part of Washington state, where snowfall totals ranging from 10 inches to 20 inches were expected, the Weather Service said.

By midday Wednesday, 20 inches of snow already had fallen on the rural town of Rochester, just south

of the state capital of Olympia, said Rob Harper, a spokesman for the state Emergency Operations Center.

Most schools in the Seattle area were closed on Wednesday due to the storm, said Lesley Rogers, a spokeswoman for the Seattle Public Schools district.

Children took advantage of the rare snow day to sled down hilly streets, especially the city’s tallest incline, Queen Anne Hill, which towers 450 feet above nearby Elliott Bay.

Four inches of snow was mea-sured at the city’s Sea-Tac Airport by mid-morning, and the Seattle suburb of Bothell was blanketed with nearly 7 inches of snow, the Weather Service reported.

Alaska Airlines canceled over 40 flights departing from or arriving in Seattle as a result of the storm, the company said on its Facebook page. Southwest Airlines cancelled six flights into Seattle early in the day but resumed all flights by mid-morning, said company spokes-woman Ashley Dillon.

The snowstorm also slowed traf-fic on city streets and freeways.

“There’s been tons of collisions, it’s been really slick out there,” said Julie Startup, a spokeswoman for the Washington State Patrol.

The State Patrol responded to reports of 75 collisions and spin-outs in King County alone, which includes Seattle, between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m., Startup said.

Normally temperate Seattle is more accustomed to steady rain than snow in winter, averaging just 6 to 7 inches of snow each year, said National Weather Service me-teorologist Brad Colman.

Associated Press Writer

ROME — Divers resumed the search Thursday for 21 people still missing after a cruise ship capsized off the Tuscan coast, but rough seas forecast for later in the day added an element of uncertainty to the operation and plans to begin pumping fuel from the stranded vessel.

The $450 million Costa Con-cordia was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it slammed into a reef and cap-sized Friday after the captain made an unauthorized diversion from his programmed route and strayed into the perilous waters. Eleven people have been con-firmed dead, their bodies removed from the ship and frigid waters.

Divers were focusing on an evacuation route on the fourth level, now about 18 meters (60 feet) below the surface, where five bodies were found earlier this week, Navy spokesman Ales-sandro Busonero told Sky TG 24. Officials restarted the search after

determining the ship had stabi-lized after shifting on the rocks 24 hours earlier.

The ship’s sudden movement also postponed the start of the weekslong operation to extract the half-million gallons of fuel on board the vessel, as Italy’s environment minister warned Parliament of the ecological im-plications if the ship sinks.

“Today is an important day, the weather forecasts are nega-tive, rough sea, we’ll have to see how the ship reacts to that,” firefighter spokesman Luca Cari said Thursday.

Authorities on Wednesday identified the first victim: Sandor Feher, a 38-year-old Hungarian musician working aboard, who a fellow musician said helped crying children into lifejackets, then disappeared while trying to retrieve his beloved violin from his cabin. His body was found inside the wreck and identified by his mother who traveled to Italy, according to the Hungarian Foreign Ministry.

Associated Press Writer

MOSCOW — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he is ready for dia-logue with the country’s newly energized opposition forces but doubts whether their leaders want to talk, according to Russian news reports.

Putin met with top editors of Russian news media and was asked if he is ready for dialogue in the wake of the massive protests that erupted over allegations of vote fraud in last month’s parliamentary

election.Putin said some figures had

been invited for talks “not long ago” but did not come.

“This question occurs to me — what do they want? Do they want to show that there are no discussions or that they do not want to discuss,” Putin was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency.

“We’re ready, and I am person-ally ready to meet with them, to talk. We invited them, but they did not come even one time,” he said.

It was not clear from the reports specifically who had been invited

or when the invitations were is-sued.

Putin, who was president in 2000-2008, now seeks to return to the Kremlin in an election on March 4. Although he is seen as almost certain to win, his image has taken a significant blow from the protests, including two rallies in Moscow that attracted tens of thousands of people in the largest public show of discontent in post-Soviet Russia.

Putin has belittled the protest-ers, dismissing them as Western stooges, and he has firmly rejected

opposition demands that the parlia-mentary election be negated and a new one conducted.

In late December, he had ap-peared to effectively reject talks with the opposition, saying they had no common platform or leader-ship, so “who is there to talk to?”

Russian Prime Minister Vladi-mir Putin speaks at his meet-

ing with mass media editors in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Wednesday,

Jan. 18, 2012.

Putin says he’s ready for dialogue

AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Pool

Divers resume search for 21 missing from ship

AP Photo/Giacomo Aprili

In this photo taken on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, and made available Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, Francesco Schettino, right, the captain of the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia, which ran aground Friday off the tiny Tuscan island of Isola del Giglio, is taken into custody by Carabinieri in Porto Santo Stefano, Italy.

AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

Snow blankets cars and homes in Tacoma, Wash., Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. A widespread snowstorm wal-loped western Washington on Wednesday with the heaviest blow missing Seattle and hitting the Olympia area, causing accidents, closing schools and canceling flights at Sea-Tac Airport.

Seattle faces unusually strong snowfall

Reuters

SEATTLE - A Pacific storm blanketed Seattle in more than 4 inches of snow on Wednesday, forcing school closures and airline flight can-cellations and snarling traffic throughout a city more accustomed to rain than severe winter weather.

Activities Friday, January 20, 2012 5International

Temple CeremonyCalendar Event for January 4 through 26, 2012

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

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

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

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

Balinese Temple Ceremony

4 Jan Buda Paing Wariga Merajan Pasek Gaduh Kayubihi Bangli.

7 Jan Tumpek Uduh/Pengatag Pura Puseh/Pura Desa Batuan Sukawati Pura Pasek Bendesa Kekeran Mengwi Pura Manik Mas Besakih.

8 Jan Purnama Kepitu Ngusaba Ngaed Pr. Benua - Besakih Pura Dalem Desa Camenggaon - Sukawati Pura Suranadhi Lombok Pura Narmada Lombok Pura Segara Ampenan Lombok Mr Agung Dewa Agung Klungkung Sidemen -

Karangasem Pura . Merajan Pasek Gelgel Ababi Mr. Pasek gelgel Tista Pura di Gunung - Tianyar Kubu - Karangasem. Pura Pingit Klenting sari Gerokgak - Singaraja Pura di Gunung - Tianyar Tianyar Merajan Pasek Gelgel Ababi Mr. Pasek gelgel Tista Pura di Gunung - Tianyar Kubu - Karangasem Pura Pingit Klenting sari Gerokgak - Singaraja Pura Payogan Agung Kutai Kartanegara.

11 Jan Buda Wage Warigadean. Pura Kepisah Sumerta Denpasar Pura Pasek Gelgel Pura Pasek Gelgel Pura Puncaksari Penarukan Peninjoan Bangli Pura Bangun Sakti Besakih Pura Antegsari Kaba-Kaba Kediri Tabanan Pura Pesimpangan Batur Pande Kaba-Kaba Kediri

Tabanan

13 Jan Sukra Umanis Warigadean Odalan Ida Ratu di Penataran Agung Besakih

Odalan Ida Ratu Puraus Merajan Salonding Besakih.

15 Jan Redite Pon Julungwangi Pura Panti Pasek Gelgel Gobleg Banjar Singaraja.

17 Jan Anggar Kasih Julungwangi Pura Tirtaharum Tegalwangi Bangli Pura Pasek Tohjiwa Wanasari Tabanan Pura Pasek Tangguntiti Jakatebel Tabanan Pura Pasek Bendesa Sangsit Buleleng Pura Dalem Waturenggong Taro Tegalalang Pura Ibu (Pura Kaja) Wanasari Selemadeg Tabanan Pura Pasek Gelgel Tulikup Pura manik Bingin Sidemen.

18 Jan Buda Umanis Julungwangi Pura Penetaran Gana Bebalang Bangli Pura Dalem Gede Banjar Pande Bangli Pura Puncaksari Sangeh Abiansemal Pura Dadia Agung Pasek Sanak Sapta Resi Sidan

Gianyar Merajan Pasek Tohjiwa Jakatebel Merajan Pasek Prateka Batusesa Odalan di Mr. Jeroan Dauh Cemenggon Pr. Puseh Penegil Darma Kubutambahan Singaraja.

23 Jan Tilem Kepitu Aci Petahuan Pura Ulun Kulkul Besakih Ngusaba Buluh Pura Benua Kawasan Besakih.

26 Jan Wraspati Wage Sungsang Pura Kawitan Tangkas Kori Agung Desa Tangkas

Klungkung Pr. Siang Kangin Tampuagan Tembuku Bangli Odalan Ida Ratu Mas Penataran Agung Besakih Merajan Pasek Gelgel Petemon Merajan Pasek Gelgel MelinggihGelgel Melinggih Odalan Ida Bhatara Bang Tulus Dewa Besakih

PHYSICALLY, Dewi Sinta Hotel, Restaurant & Spa is not as grandiose as the hotels located in the premier tourist resorts of Nusa Dua, Sanur or Kuta. However, never misunderstand! The budget hotel located in the Tanah Lot tourist destination has its own unique-ness, both in terms of panorama or services extended. “Though it is a budget hotel, we provide services based on the standard of star-rated hotels,” said I Gusti Gde Aryadi, the owner of the hotel.

Most importantly, continued Aryadi, he provided services for guests with friendliness, honesty and professionalism, so as to create impressive images for the only hotel in the favorite tourist area in Bali. Familiar and familial atmosphere was not only intended for the staff, but also became a priority for ev-

ery single traveler. “We also give awards for the best employees as a way to encourage the morale of our workers in providing the best ser-vices,” added the pioneer of Tanah Lot tourist object calmly.

Dewi Sinta is the oldest hotel since the Tanah Lot was visited by many tourists. The entire building is designed by perfectly combining the traditional elements and stylish architecture to engender a conve-nient tourism sanctuary to unwind. Aura of the sanctity exuded by the Tanah Lot Temple, Enjung Galuh Temple and Pakendungan Temple give more profound tranquility. Meanwhile, the existing lush tropi-cal gardens confer a typical coun-tryside nuance.

There are 20 rooms consisting of 2 types on offer, namely standard and deluxe room with air condition-

ing, private bathroom with hot and cold water, IDD telephone, TV, and mini bar. In front of the hotel rooms stretches an enchanting terraced rice fields in combination with the verdant fairways of golf course and swimming pool. These added-value backdrops made this accommoda-tion close to nature. Additionally, it is also equipped with spa treatment facilities featuring with Balinese therapies to blissfully pamper guests with freshness and fitness.

In the meantime, Dewi Sinta is also equipped with restaurant offer-ing a variety of menu choices such as Balinese, Indonesian, Chinese, Seafood and European cuisine. All delicacies are carefully prepared by well-experienced cooks. Interest-ingly, breakfast, lunch and dinner are optionally served in a la carte or buffet style.

Other amenities equipping the hotel property are an open stage and a conference room with a capacity of 300 people. Such facilities offer a dinner party with traditional cul-tural performances such as Kecak, Tektekan, Legong and shadow puppets. Best services, guaranteed

security and good relationship with the surrounding communities led the hotel to achieve some out-standing achievements such as the Security Certificate from the Bali Police with gold predicate, bronze medal in THK Awards and the best taxpayer in Tabanan Regency.

Dewi Sinta Hotel:

Relishing Sea View in Fusion with Terraced Rice Fields

Friday, January 20, 2012 6 News

From page 1

International

Dozens of activists from OccupyLondon, part of an internationalmovement inspired by the OccupyWall Street protest that began lastSeptember, have been campingoutside St Paul’s since October.

They are engaged in a legalbattle with the City of LondonCorporation, which has policingpowers in the area and wants toevict the campers.

At a packed High Court hear-ing, judge Keith Lindblom saidthe camp should be removed ongrounds of safety and hygiene andto allow better access to the cathe-

dral for worshippers.“(The corporation) gave the

defendants ample opportunity toremove the protest camp withoutthe need for time and money to bespent in legal proceedings,” saidthe judge.

Dozens of Occupy Londonmembers stood in the courtroom,some wearing hats adorned withsymbols of peace and nuclear disar-mament, and one shouted “Shame!”

his ruling.John Cooper, a lawyer represent-

ing Occupy London, said the camp-

ers would appeal against the deci-sion. A lawyer for the corporationsaid it would allow the protestersseven days to lodge an appeal.

Protester Rosa O’Connor, a 27-year-old student, said she was con-cerned the authorities would try anduse force to remove the campers.

“I think the protest movement isimmovable,” she told Reuters afterthe hearing.

“It has affected so many people... over issues that were previouslyoverlooked or pushed to one side,taboo or even boring. It has madeeconomics trendy.”

Reuters

LONDON - Britain accused Argentina of “colonialism” inits claim to the Falkland Islands on Wednesday, as the 30thanniversary of their conflict over the British-ruled territory ap-proaches.

A day after Britain’s National Security Council discussed theFalklands’ defenses, Prime Minister David Cameron told parlia-ment Britain was committed to protecting the South Atlanticislands and added that people there should be allowed to decidetheir own nationality.

Cameron said he was determined that the islands’ defenses werein order and that islanders’ wishes were paramount. “We supportthe Falkland islanders’ right to self-determination,” he said.

“What the Argentineans have been saying recently I wouldargue is actually far more like colonialism because these peoplewant to remain British and the Argentineans want them to dosomething else.”

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez described Britainlast June as a “crass colonial power in decline” for refusing tohold talks over the islands, known as Las Malvinas in Spanish,and Argentine officials were quick to hit back over Cameron’sremarks on Wednesday.

“It’s totally offensive,” said Interior Minister FlorencioRandazzo, while Foreign Minister Hector Timerman describedBritain as “a synonym for colonialism.”

“Evidently at a time when only scraps of colonialism linger,Great Britain ... has decided to rewrite history,” Timerman toldthe state news agency.

London has controlled the islands, about 300 miles off theArgentine coast, since 1833. Its two-month war with Argentinain 1982 resulted in the deaths of 255 British and about 650 Ar-gentine soldiers.

AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis

Occupy London protesters chant anti-corporate slogans as they gather on the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral, in central London, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. Britain’s High Court decided Wednesday, Occupy London protest camp an be evicted from outside St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Occupy London campers told to leave cathedralReuters

LONDON - A British court ruled on Wednesday that a protest camp denouncing economic

Britain accuses

colonialism” over Falklands

He thinks that the rules in Indonesia already regulate the varietyin the nation and the governing tools also could manage it. “Weagreed that this is a plural country and it is a democracy nation,”Mahfud MD.(kmb13)

However, the law suit against the press and ignoring the sugges-tion by the press council is very opposite with the effort to preservethe press freedom.

Wardana also asked whether the governor already seek a recom-

Wayan Jondra, also the member of KMPKP-HAM, said that the law-suit with the huge amount of money is an effort to make the societypoor. Why? Because the press is a part of the society and suppose tobe protected not threaten.

The similar thing was also stated by Made Suena. He urged bothparties to resolve the issue immediately before there is a friction in thesociety. If not, the alliance will propose a letter to the house suggestedthe governor is lying.

The Head of Bali House, Cok Ratmadi said that he is very concern

against the press. He thinks that press has great role in democracy.“Democracy cannot be back down. We all must preserve it espe-

cially the press. It can give constructive correction. I’m afraid if thereis a huge scenario to destroy Bali,’ he said.

Ratmadia said he will invite the governor to the House to giveexplanation on the issue. “We will urge this matter to be resolved ina peaceful way,” he added (wid)

Without press...

Bali House... From page 1

Friday, January 20, 2012 7Indonesia Today International

REUTERS/Supri

Vehicles are stuck in a traffic jam at the central business district in Jakarta January 18, 2012. Indonesia won a fresh stamp of approval as one of the world’s hottest emerging markets on Wednesday when Moody’s rat-ings agency upgraded its debt to investment grade in a decision that will lure fresh funds to Southeast Asia ‘s biggest economy.

“Based on the results of an investigation, more suspects have

been named, namely chief sergeant K, chief corporal K, sub-second

lieutenant S, second sergeant M and second sergeant IAS who are army members, BS, a civil servant, and four civilians,” head of the National Police`s public relations division Inspector General Saud Usman Na-sution said here on Wednesday.

He said the army members

were suspected of having fa-cilitated the illegal immigrants` departure by boat to Australia in violation of articles 55 and 56 of the Criminal Code and were now still being detained at the Brawijaya Military Command Headquarters.

A boat carrying more than 200 il-legal immigrants from Middle East-ern countries capsized at around 10am in the waters in Prigi, Treng-galek, East Java, on December 19.

The victims were first found by two fishermen in Prigi waters around 25 miles from the coast.

IBP

YOGYAKARTA -Kiat Es-emka, car made by Mechanical High School (SMK) from Solo, that’s been very famous lately because so many people want to buy it available online thanks to Tokobagus.com. The online site that now gaining popularity in Indonesia help Kiat Motor that produce Kiat Esemka.

According to PR Manager Tokobagus.com A. Ichwan Si-torus, recently, the producer of the famously known car now have account in Tokobagus.com. The management of Tokobagus also made special online shop for the Kiat Motor that owned by Haji Sukiyat.

Ichwan stated that coopera-tion between Tokobagus and Sukiyat is a way to help Kiat Motor grow bigger. Moreover,

Ichwan who visited the plant of Kiat Esemka recently said the car made by young gen-eration that need support to move forward. ‘’This is a way of Tokobagus.com to support Indonesian product,’’ he said.

President Director Toko-bagus.com Arnold Sebastian Egg added that Tokobagus.com gives several facilities to Kiat Motor. They will be able to doing online promotion in Tokobagus. The facilities, among others are verified members label, level power seller, and promotion point. ‘’We have done many things for Kiat Motor because Haji Sukiyat has giving inspiration for so many people,’’ Arnold explained.

He also expressed his ad-miration to Sukiyat because he able to motivate and help

high school students making Kiat Esemka. The phenom-enal car now being ordered by legislators, regents, and celebrities.

Meanwhile, Sukiyat ex-pressed his gratitude because Tokobagus giving support to Kiat Esemka. Through this support, he optimistic that high school students will be motivate and do creative things to improve the quality of their products.

Kiat Esemka commercial advertisement now available online in Tokobagus. The ad was officialy release on Janu-ary 17, 2012. Kiat Esemka will be listed in Automo-tive section that available in Tokobagus.com website. The website now have around 120 thousands ads about automo-tive. (kmb18)

Antara

JAKARTA - State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said he was optimistic Indonesia would surpass Spain in terms of economic progress in 2013 considering the good national economic conditions at present.

“The economy is growing at a rate of 6.5 percent while inflation gas levelled out at 3.9 percent. This is very good,” he said at a discussion titled Financial Lecture: Post-Investment Grade at the Ritz Carlton Hotel here on Wednesday.

He said Indonesia`s economy was now generally better than the Netherlands`. If Indonesia`s economy continued to grow, it was not impossible it would surpass Spain`s next year, he said.

“Right now we have the potentials to beat Spain. This is a big mission. And next year we must be able to realize that,” he said.

Dahlan said Indonesia was now entering a new phase, namely a phase that really separates business and politics.

“When we listen to news reports it seems the country`s economy is messed up and the country is suffering huge losses. But in reality Indonesia`s economy is advancing,” he said.

Dahlan said, in the midst of a political atmosphere that was heating up Indonesia had kept showing economic progress. He said the situation must be used well and not neglected.

The political atmosphere in Indonesia was heating up in connection with the planned general elections in 2014 which is to be followed by presidential election.

Kiat Esemka available online

IBP/Courtesy of tokobagus.com

Illegal immigrants case

Five army members named suspectsAntara

JAKARTA - Five Indonesian army (TNI-AD) members have been named suspects in the case of illegal immigrants whose boat sank in Prigi, Trenggalek, East Java, recently, on its way to Australia.

RI to beat Spain economically in 2013

8 InternationalFriday, January 20, 2012

Bali Today

Unfortunately, amid the sky-rocketing growth of Bali as a tour-ist destination, the number of poorpeople also increased. Up to Sep-tember 2011, Bali still had 183,100poor people and increased 16,900people if compared to March onlyreaching 166,200 people.

According to Deputy of BankIndonesia Denpasar, Gde MadeSadguna, such condition occurredbecause the development of Balitourism was only enjoyed by theowners of big capital, while thesmall community just got the seep-

“Whatever the form of tourismis, it should be developed andmay not deviate from the conceptof tourism, namely tourism forcommunity, not community fortourism,” he said.

According to him, equalizationof the tourism growth could bereached by developing tourismvillage. Development of ecotour-ism was also good to provide moreoptions of tourist attractions. Asa result, if the program could berealized, it would increase thepeople’s income as well as sustainthe national economic growth.

“By such tourism development,it will have an impact on the high

Tourists are enjoying the beautiful scenery of ricefield in Gianyar area.

Bali tourism skyrockets, poverty follows

E Island o the Gods is not only a avorite tourist destination in Indonesia but also through-

and a vast employment can berealized. Therefore, the economicgrowth will be sustainable,” hesaid.

the Indonesia Tourism IndustryAssociation (GIPI) of Bali Chap-ter, Gusti Aya Kompyang, statedthe high poverty rate in Bali wascaused by uneven developmentdue to many violations againstthe spatial order plan. “Commit-ment of government to equalizethe tourism growth through theenforcement of rules is still in greyzone or indecisive and unclear,”he said.

Government, said KompyangAya, had to get out of the grey zonein managing the development ofBali. Government should never becontrolled by investors. Moreover,there was intention to eliminatethe bhisama (religious stipulation)and legalize the building heightsurpassing 15 meters that shouldbe set in stone and preserved.

“If government in determiningthe development is still siding withthe interests of certain people, Baliwill never be well ordered. As aresult, the poor will continue toincrease due to uneven develop-ment,” he said.

Meanwhile, an academician

from Udayana University, Prof.Nyoman Suparta, mentionedthat Bali Provincial Governmentshould understand the dominantfactor causing the emergence ofpoverty. By doing so, the pov-erty alleviation would not only beimplemented as a project only.

“Mechanism on the imple-mentation of poverty alleviationprograms at this time seems par-tial (sectoral ego or project ego)and poorly coordinated. Conse-

change,” he added.He said many people doubted

the number of poor householdsthat did not meet the criteria, be-cause in fact they had livestock or

poor households deliberately al-lowed their name to be mentionedin the poor household list with thehope of getting rice package forthe poor.

Effective strategies in reduc-ing the poverty were communityempowerment, education improve-ment, health promotion, geo-agro-ecosystem improvement, womenempowerment, entrepreneurshipdevelopment, social and culturalvalue strengthening, and charitystrategies.

“To make the poverty reduc-tion program more effective, thenthe regional working unit (SKPD)

-teristics of poverty seriously andknow related information behindthe causes of poverty,” he said.

He added the developmentof agribusiness, agro-industriesand SMEs should be the mainactivities of empowerment, ruraldevelopment, and an important in-strument to accelerate the agricul-tural reform and rural economy.Governments and stakeholderswere also required to synergizethe development potential of theagricultural sector with tourismsector and handicraft industry.

Meanwhile, the Director ofthe Bali Tourism Institute (STP)Nusa Dua, Dr. I Nyoman Madiun,also asked the leaders of Bali boththe legislative and executive inorder to focus their attention onbalancing the development be-tween the North and South Baliwhich admittedly was still fullof gaps. “Acceleration or veloc-ity of development distributionin the North and South Bali isactually a very urgent homeworkto be completed at the moment,”he said.

Madiun pointed out that tour-ism development becoming thebackbone of Bali’s economy wasstill concentrated in southernBali. Construction of hotels andsupporting facilities in large

scale were almost entirely locatedin South Bali. He said that unevendevelopment also triggered the highurbanization rate as happening tothe community in North Bali whoseeconomy was relatively laggingcompared to that of South Bali. Thisphenomenon was certainly under-standable considering the peoplein North Bali were also entitled toenjoy the tourism pie. If the leadersof Bali would like to equalize thetourism development, he said, theyshould surely have a political will todrive investment and constructionof tourism facilities to North Bali.“Do not let tourism developmentconsistently overcrowd the SouthBali whose condition has been verydense,” he suggested.

To direct the tourism invest-ment to North Bali, said Madiun, ofcourse, the local government shouldimprove the tourism supportinginfrastructure such as roads leadingto tourist destination in North Bali.At the very least, the facility shouldbe comparable to the existing facili-ties in South Bali. Without such apolicy, it was impossible to directinvestments to North Bali becausecapital owners would not be inter-ested to invest as the location was

-fully, commitment of the leadersto equalize the development of Balishould not just be in the level ofdiscourse. On the contrary, it shouldbe actualized in real actions,” hesaid. (par ian)

IBP/File

Balinese Culture

9International Friday, January 20, 2012

A creative and unique Subak withArt Festival (SWAF) was held in theSubak Museum, Tabanan. Variouscreative art works jazzed up the eventopened by the Deputy Regent of Ta-banan, Gede Sanjaya, Saturday (Jan14). Collaboration of the Indonesian-Australianartistsaswellaselementaryschool students was so captivating.

“This event is intended to raise thepublic awarenessof the importanceofsubak system, aside from introducingthesubakculture to theworldcommu-nity,” said Chief of Subak Museum,IdaAyu Ratna Pawitrani.

In the first presentation, SWAFthoroughly performed a collaborativeart show with the theme of subak.Ap-proximately 210 coconut shell craftsmadebychildrenofelementaryschoolfrom SD Panji Singaraja and Soban-gan Badung were displayed. Thecoconut shells were used to illustratethe Balinese calendar for determiningthe auspicious day for farmers. Thetable serving as the buffer contained30rowsof thecoconut shell indicatingthenumberofwuku(seven-dayweek)and lines indicating the day. As thehandle, the children employed black,white and red strap or tridatu symbol-izing the omnipotence of God.

An intriguing work of art was thesimple painting highlighting a varietyof equipments used by farmers tocultivate their farmland. Althoughsimple, the message implied was sopowerful in preserving the superb

SATE LILIT(Minced Seafood Satay)

OVERVIEW:

This probably the most delicious satay you will

ever encounter. The delicate flavors of the shrimp and

fish are greatly improved if you can find spears of

fresh lemongrass to use as skewers, and if you can

cook them over a fire of coconut husks rather than

charcoal. Nonetheless, even with wooden skewers and

a standard charcoal grill, you will have people coming

back more.

INGREDIENTS:

600 gr skinned boneless snapper fillet

1 cup freshly grated coconut or

1½ cups moistened desiccated coconut

½ cup seafood spice paste

5 fragrant lime leaves, chopped

1 tsp black peppercorns, finely crushed

1 tsp salt

3-5 bird’s eye chilies, very finely chopped

2 tbsp palm sugar

Lemon grass or satay skewers

PREPARATION:

1. Mince fish fillet very finely in a food processor or

with a chopper.

2. Add all other ingredients & mix well.

3. Mould a heaped tablespoon full of this mixture

around a wooden skewer or over trimmed stalks of

lemon grass and grill over charcoal until golden brown.

Subak with Art Festival Present Collaboration of Indonesian-Australian Artists

IBP/ist

Balinese culture. Among them, therewerescarecrow, frogspear, ricepestle,sickle,mortar, bamboo tray, and seed-ling comb. “By drawing in person theequipment of subak, children mustalwaysremember thesubak,”revealedAyu Ratna.

Meanwhile, the artists compris-ing I Komang Gde Made SuryaDarma, Made Ngurah Sadnyana,I Gede Putu Setiawan, Gede Su-anda, Christine McMillan, MargaretBrooks and Adrian Symes col-laborated dynamically to showcase

art supported by printed materials,photographs and video documen-tation. There were also kulkul orwooden split drum and scarecrow. Inthe meantime, in Balinese Pavilion

was specially exhibited 210 piecesof ketupat or rice bag symbolizingBalinese calendar. “The exhibition is

on subak and children storytelling,”said Ayu Ratna.

opening of SWAF was quite lively.In the morning, before the openingsession, the children were invitedto join the storytelling entitled ‘SriSedana,’a story related to the subak.Later, it was resumed with the draw-ing of museum collection on postcards and continuously drew onpaper to express the knowledge onsubak. The exhibition is open everyday from 8 00 a.m. up to 3 30 p.m.,except holidays and takes place untilJanuary 28, 2012.

Friday, January 20, 201210 InternationalDestinations

TIHINGAN Village in Banjarangkan sub district is the center of Gong gamelan production. Its production is start with crude work then expert work to synchronize the gong sound. This, the most important thing is the expertise to synchro-nize the gong sound. In Tihingan village there are 2 pande (expert) gong maker groups.

This Village is location in Banjarangkan sub district and can be reached with 2 wheels or 4 wheels vehicles. About 3 km go to the west of Semarapura city. The road to Tihingan is well enough.

The people of Tihing village are very famous in Bali as they are expert of making gamelan instru-ment like Gong, Other Gamelan instrument gende. Except Gong, The people in this village can make all kind of gamelan Bali like: Semara Pegulingan, Gender puppet, Kelentangan/Angklung and other, made of kerawang metal. Their expertise may descended by their ancient from hundred years ago. It can be approved by looking at Gamelan instrument having by many villages. Their vil-lage (Tihingan) is written on those gamelan. The gamelan has become famous in the world and many foreign tourists come to Tihingan and reserve Gong to be brought to their country.

TihinganVillage

IBP/Net

Friday, January 20, 2012 11

BUSINESSInternational

Goldman shares shot up 6.8percent to 104.31, while theS P financial sector .GSPFrose 1. percent, leading the S P500 higher.

The banking sector has outper-formed the broader market so far

was the S P 500’s weakest-performing one last year.

While the Goldman resultssupported financial shares, theIMF’s willingness to bolster itscrisis-fighting resources gavethe sector a big push. Financialshad suffered throughout 2011on worries that Europe’s debt

crisis would hit banks globally.“Any time liquidity is added to

-nancials a little bit of breathingroom, and it will result in higherprices for the banks,” said KevinCaron, market strategist at Stifel,Nicolaus Co, in Florham Park,New Jersey.

The IMF is seeking to boost itswar chest by 600 billion to helpcountries reeling from the crisis,even though some nations insist

-port ailing members, accordingto sources.

Home builders’ shares surged

after data showed U.S. homebuild-er sentiment unexpectedly jumpedin January to its highest level in4-1 2 years. The PHLX housingindex .HGX climbed 3.1 per-cent, while the Dow Jones homeconstruction index .DJUSHBrose 4.4 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial aver-age .DJI rose 96.88 points, or0. 8 percent, to close at 12,5 8.95.The Standard Poor’s 500 Index

.SPX added 14.3 points, or1.11 percent, to 1,308.04. TheNasdaq Composite Index .IXICclimbed 41.63 points, or 1.53 per-cent, to close at 2, 69. 1.

Reuters

Eastman Kodak Co, which invented the hand-held camera and

for bankruptcy protection, capping a prolonged plunge for one ofAmerica’s best-known companies. The more than 130-year-old photo-

of consumer products like cameras, said it had also obtained a 950million, 18-month credit facility from Citigroup to keep it going.

The loan and bankruptcy protection from U.S. trade creditors may

patents, the key to its remaining value, and to reshape its businesswhile continuing to pay its 1 ,000 workers.

“The board of directors and the entire senior management teamunanimously believe that this is a necessary step and the right thing todo for the future of Kodak,” Chairman and Chief Executive AntonioPerez said in a statement.

“Now we must complete the transformation by further addressingour cost structure and effectively monetizing non-core intellectual-property assets. We look forward to working with our stakeholdersto emerge a lean, world-class, digital imaging and materials sciencecompany,” he added. At end September, the group had total assets of5.1 billion and liabilities of 6. 5 billion.

business reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the SouthernDistrict of New York. Non-U.S. subsidiaries were not covered by the

it added.

Reuters

E R I AG - Investors’optimism for Google Inc isrunning high, setting the stage for another jump in its shares to an all-time peak after the Internet search company reports results Thursday.Options investors appear to be betting on more gains for the stock,which hit a record high of 6 0.25 on January 4. The stock has sincepulled back by about 6 percent, closing at 632.91 on Wednesday.

Traders have been purchasing Google calls, which grant the right

than its puts - or rights to sell the stock at a preset price - heading intoearnings due after the market close on Thursday.

“The options market is positioned bullishly ahead of results. Calloptions have been bought over the past few weeks,” Credit Suisseequity derivatives strategist Terry Wilson said. Investors have boughtnearly two calls for every put option as a new position on three U.S.options exchanges over the past 10 sessions, according to Schaeffer’s

That call-to-put ratio of 1.93 is higher than 99 percent of the read-ings taken over the past year, suggesting bullish optimism heading intothe results, said Joe Bell, senior equity analyst at Schaeffer’s.

Google, which almost always reports earnings a day before optionsexpiration, is known for volatile post-earnings moves in its shares.The company has beaten earnings estimates percent of the timesince the second quarter of 2005, said Kevin Pleines, analyst at BirinyiAssociates, in a report on Wednesday.

After beating estimates, Google shares have opened higher 65 percentof the time, averaging a 4.1 percent gain the next morning, he said.

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, January 17, 2012.

Wall Street gains 1 percent as IMF gives Europe hopeReuters

E R - tocks umped to their highest since uly on ednesday as the InternationalMonetary und sought to help countries hit by the European debt crisis hile orecast-beating

e pected earnings rom Goldman achs Group Inc ollo ed disappointing results rom itigroup

bankruptcy, secures

Big earnings could drive Google shares to new high

Entertainment InternationalFriday, January 20, 201212

THIS year is playwright Athol Fugard’s 80th birthday and the first production in New York to be mount-ed in the honor of this South African trailblazer is, appropriately enough, about the bravery of artists.

The Roundabout Theatre Com-pany’s somewhat sleepy but still satisfying production of “The Road to Mecca” opened Tuesday at the American Airlines Theater featur-ing Carla Gugino, Jim Dale and the luminous Rosemary Harris.

“It grows on you,” Harris’ char-acter says at the beginning of the play. She’s talking about the small South African village where the action is set, but she might as well be describing the piece itself, which really only gets going in Act 2.

Fugard’s play was inspired by a real woman he knew in passing named Helen Martins, who, after an uneventful life, turned herself into a driven artist, covering the walls of her home with crushed glass patterns and filling her yard with playful concrete sculptures of owls, sheep, camels, religious icons and imaginary beings all facing east toward Mecca.

Shunned by her neighbors as crazy, she nevertheless kept work-ing on her art until she took her own life in 1976. After languishing for decades in a state of disrepair, her home is now a popular tourist attraction.

Fugard puts Miss Helen in the center of a tug-of-war. On one side is Pastor Marius Byleveld, a local priest played by Dale, who finds the widow’s work to be idolatrous and wants to pack her off to a church retirement home. On the other side is Elsa, a

young school teacher from Cape Town played by Gugino, who has arrived to care for the elder woman, finding her inspiring and urging her to keep creating uncomfortable art.

Under Gordon Edelstein’s straightforward direction, Harris plays the widow as a doddering old lady who seems paralyzed by the choice before her at the begin-ning — should I stay or should I go? — but gradually shakes off her passivity over the course of the play and delivers a rather wonderful speech about why she is driven to create the art she does.

“I had as little choice over all that has happened as I did over the day I was born,” she declares with Harris’ eyes blazing with fire, as always bringing dignity to her part. “They say mad people can’t tell the difference between what is real and what is not. I can.”

Michael Yeargan’s idiosyncratic set shows only the inside of Miss Helen’s home, which is a bizarre but warm space, the walls crudely painted with beautiful hues of blue and red and crushed glass accents glinting like glitter. The odd sculp-tures she has been busy making are not shown — a clear statement that what they actually look like mat-ters less than what they stand for. The set is also made alive by Peter Kaczorowski’s fading sunlight and later filled by candle light.

Gugino plays Elsa as a sophisti-cated, Balzac- and Camus-reading woman with a restless edge — a woman who is being eaten away by the guilt of being a liberal white South African during apartheid. She returns again and again to her story of picking

up a hitchhiking black woman carry-ing a baby for miles. She’s haunted by the woman’s plight for both personal and political reasons, which become clear at the end.

The two women have an inter-esting relationship that’s akin to the push-pull of a mother-daughter dynamic. Elsa is an impatient revo-lutionary in comparison to the more live-and-let-live Miss Helen, illus-trating the divide between urban-ized, English-speaking South Afri-cans and rural Afrikaners (though their uneven accents sometimes get in the way of clarity.) Both women haven’t been completely honest with each other and must learn to

trust again.Their relationship is tested by

the appearance of the pastor, who is wonderfully conceived by Dale in a part that has been played by the playwright himself. Dale’s pastor is clearly the villain here and he is played to the unctuous, fussy hilt, and yet he is hardly cartoonish. Dale almost steals the show — if it wasn’t for Harris up there, too, he’d sneak home with the play.

The pastor slowly reveals his religious objections to the art — he calls them “cement monstrosities” — and his concern for an elderly woman who may be unsafe liv-ing alone. “Your life has become

as grotesque as those creations of yours out there,” he tells h

The face-off between Elsa and the pastor has been a long time in coming — Act 1 drags on way too long simply to establish the jeop-ardy Miss Helen is in. The play then has a hard time deciding how to end after Miss Helen has taken the stage for her grand soliloquy, a manifesto for any artist to defy convention.

Before the curtain goes down, Valiums have been handed out — on stage, not off. But with all that candlelight, talk over cups of tea and a heartwarming conclusion, it might seem as if those calming pills were supplied with the tickets.

The star of the film “Contra-band” issued his apology Wednes-day after comments he made to Men’s Journal drew criticism

He told an interviewer in the February issue that had he been on American Airlines Flight 11 with his children “it wouldn’t have went down like it did.” Terrorists flew

the plane with 92 people aboard into the north tower on Sept. 11, 2001.

In his apology, Wahlberg said to speculate was “ridiculous to begin with.” He said that to suggest he “would have done anything differ-ently than the passengers on that plane was irresponsible.”

COURTENEY Cox will get a whole lot of love from ABC for Valentine’s Day.

The third season of Cox’s comedy “Cougar Town” will premiere on February 14 at 8:30 p.m. -- in place of the network’s ill-fated cross-dressing comedy “Work It.”

Though “Cougar Town” had not yet received a season-premiere date as of late last week, the series’ executive producer, Bill Lawrence, hinted at the scheduling move Friday night, tweeting, “Hoping CT’s premiere date will be announced Tuesday. Fingers crossed...”

“Work It” lasted just two episodes before ABC pulled the plug. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender groups ripped it before it even aired, saying it would hurt trans-gender people.

On the “Cougar Town” premiere -- dubbed “Ain’t Love Strange” -- Cox’s character, Jules, becomes angered when her neighbor Grayson, working under an ulterior motive, calls her “predictable,” while Ellie (Christa Miller) wor-ries that her son Stan could be developing into a “devil child.”

“Cougar Town” replacescanceled “Work It”

FILE - In this July, 23, 2001 file photo, actor Mark Wahlberg ar-rives for a special screening of “Planet of the Apes,” in New York. In an apology issued on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, Wahlberg said he was sorry for asserting that he would have stopped terrorists from flying an airliner into New York’s World Trade

Actor Wahlberg apologizes for 9/11 comments

ACTOR Mark Wahlberg has apologized for asserting that he would have stopped terrorists from flying an airliner into New York’s World Trade Center on Sept. 11 if he had been on the plane.

Plodding but still satisfying ‘The Road to Mecca’

AP Photo/Boneau/Bryan-Brown

Joan Marcus Rosemary Harris, left, and Carla Gugino are shown in a scene from “The Road to Mecca,” in New York.

Science Friday, January 20, 2012 13International

The collection, catalogued over the last few years, includes more than 3,500 books, 1,400 audio recordings and 270 videos, and is housed in the new four-story, $12 million building.

Thousands more books and recordings and hundreds of videos will be added as previously stored items and new donations are catalogued, said Andy Leach, director of the library and archives.

“We hope to serve music scholars, teachers, students and the general public,” Leach said. “We hope to see all of them here.”

Tuesday’s opening of the building on the Cuyahoga Community College campus in Cleveland, not far from the Rock Hall, oc-curred without a lot of fanfare. The low-key opening allows the public to enjoy the library before a grand opening April 9. The college

funded the building, which the library and archives share with the college’s Center for Creative Arts. The Rock Hall financed con-struction and furnishings of the interior of its section of the building.

The library also offers photos, albums and covers, oral histories and scrap books.

Leach said the Rock Hall has done a great job of telling the story of rock ‘n’ roll. He said he sees the library as bringing the museum more recognition and showing “it to be a serious place of research.”

The library collection also includes movie posters, photos and memorabilia related to Alan Freed, the DJ credited with coining the phrase rock ‘n’ roll; a handwritten list by Elvis Presley of songs included in one of his concerts; and personal letters from Mick Jagger.

Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK — Can the world live with-out Wikipedia for a day? The shutdown of one of the Internet’s most-visited sites is not sitting well with some of its volunteer editors, who say the protest of anti-piracy legislation could threaten the credibility of their work.

“My main concern is that it puts the orga-nization in the role of advocacy, and that’s a slippery slope,” said editor Robert Lawton, a Michigan computer consultant who would prefer that the encyclopedia stick to being a neutral repository of knowledge. “Before we know it, we’re blacked out because we want to save the whales.”

Wikipedia’s English-language site shut down at midnight Eastern Standard Time Tuesday and the organization said it would stay down for 24 hours.

Instead of encyclopedia articles, visitors to the site saw a stark black-and-white page with the message: “Imagine a world without free knowledge.” It carried a link to informa-tion about the two congressional bills and details about how to reach lawmakers.

It is the first time the English site has been blacked out. Wikipedia’s Italian site came down once briefly in protest to an Internet censorship bill put forward by the Berlusconi government. The bill did not advance.

The shutdown adds to a growing body of critics who are speaking out against the legislation. But some editors are so uneasy with the move that they have blacked out their own user profile pages or resigned their administrative rights on the site to protest. Some likened the site’s decision to fighting censorship with censorship.

One of the site’s own “five pillars” of conduct says that Wikipedia “is written from a neutral point of view.” The site strives to “avoid advocacy, and we characterize infor-mation and issues rather than debate them.”

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales argues that the site can maintain neutrality in content even as it takes public positions on issues.

“The encyclopedia will always be neutral. The community need not be, not when the encyclopedia is threatened,” he tweeted.

The Wikimedia Foundation, which ad-ministers the site, announced the blackout late Monday, after polling its community of volunteer contributors and editors and getting responses from 1,800 of them. The protest is aimed at the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act under consideration in the Senate.

Wikipedia has seen a small decline in participation, from a peak of 100,000 ac-tive editors a year ago to about 90,000 now. Wikimedia Foundation blames this mainly on outdated editing tools, and believes it can get the number growing again with software upgrades.

Associated Press Writer

“Thinking Small: The Long, Strange Trip of the Volkswagen Beetle” (Ballantine Books), by Andrea Hiott: The Volkswagen Beetle has a unique and colorful history, with principal characters that include the Nazi dictator who personified evil, the legendary designer of Germany’s most celebrated race cars and the Jewish advertising executive who pioneered a creative revolution on Madison Avenue.

It’s a story whose twists and turns over four decades eventually gave rise to the oddly shaped small car that came to symbolize America’s 1960s counterculture and went on to become the world’s top-selling car model.

Author Andrea Hiott transports readers through the most turbulent decades of the 20th century, from the rise of Adolf Hitler to the Allied victory that left postwar Germany in ruins, to that nation’s economic rebirth epitomized by the success of the Volkswagen plant at Wolfsburg.

A car enthusiast who never drove an auto-mobile or held a driver’s license, Hitler had a vision for a “people’s car” that would extend to Germans the same mobility that Henry Ford’s

Model T gave Americans. The dictator set out to build a network of autobahns and erect a massive factory in a pasture to build what he decreed to be The Strength Through Joy Car.

The genius chosen as its designer was Ferdinand Porsche, who was told to produce a prototype by 1935 so that 1 million cars would come off the line within three years. But with Hitler bent on war, the plant’s mis-sion shifted to arms production, and output shifted to mines, bazookas, V1 flying bombs and jeeplike utility vehicles.

As Wolfsburg started turning out Beetles in increasing numbers, Volkswagen sought to market it to American motorists in an era of bigger cars, dazzling chrome and outsize tail fins. To challenge that mindset, they teamed up with Bill Bernbach, whose quirky ad agency launched a campaign that prompted a signifi-cant number of car buyers to “Think Small.”

The book also features the role of Heinrich Nordhoff, a veteran of General Motors’ Opel division before the war. It was his organiza-tional and managerial talents that helped put Volkswagen on the path to prosperity as a key element of postwar Germany’s “economic miracle.”

Rock Hall of Fame opens archives to public Associated Press Writer

CLEVELAND — The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened its new library and archives to the public on Tuesday to give scholars and fans access to the stories behind the music through such “artifacts” as personal letters from Madonna and Aretha Franklin and 1981-82 video of the Rolling Stones tour.

AP Photo/Amy Sancetta

A biography of Joan Jett is one of the over 3,500 books on the shelves at the newly-opened Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Library and Archives in Cleveland on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012.

The strange history of the Volkswagen Beetle

AP Photo/ Manish Swarup

Indian mod-els unveil the Volkswagen new Beetle during a press preview at the India Auto Expo, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012. The five day long auto-mobile event begins Saturday.

Wikipedia editors question site’s blackout

Friday, January 20, 201214 InternationalSport

The France fullback, whoextended his contract with theSpanish and European champi-ons on Monday, galloped on toa floated Lionel Messi pass 13minutes from time and calmlyslotted past Iker Casillas to givethe 2011 runners-up the advan-tage for next week’s second legin Barcelona.

Real forward Cristiano Ron-aldo had put the home side aheadwith a breakaway goal in the 11thminute before Barca captain Car-les Puyol flung himself at Xavi’scorner to power a header pastSpain team mate Casillas for a49th-minute equaliser. “We wonthis game but we have to be care-ful in the return match becausethat’s going to be another toughtest,” Abidal, whose goal wasonly the fourth of his career, saidin a television interview.

“I seem to be a Cup player,” the32-year-old former OlympiqueLyon player added. “I scoredin the Cup back in France andI seem to be doing it again inSpain.” The winners of the tiewill face Valencia or their cityneighbours Levante, who playtheir quarter-final first leg onThursday.

On the other side of the draw,headers from the towering Fer-nando Llorente and the diminu-tive Iker Muniain gave AthleticBilbao a 2-0 win at home to RealMallorca in their last-eight firstleg earlier on Wednesday. If theBasques can hold on in Mallorcanext week they will play 2006

champions Espanyol or third-tierMirandes, who are through to thequarters for the first time.

Mirandes stunned Espanyolby opening a two-goal lead intheir first leg on Tuesday beforethe home side struck three timesin four minutes late on to securea 3-2 lead for the second leg inMiranda de Ebro.

DELIBERATE STAMP

Real coach Jose Mourinhosprung a couple of surprises inhis starting lineup for the fourthof a possible eight meetings be-tween Real and Barca this season.He included Portuguese compa-triot Ricardo Carvalho in centraldefence despite the Portugal in-ternational not having played forseveral months due to injury.

He also deployed Hamit Altin-top at right back, handing theTurkey international only histhird start of the season, andmoved centre back Pepe forwardinto midfield to try to thwartBarca’s approach play. The matchquickly settled into a pattern fa-miliar from recent meetings, withBarca dominating possession andReal looking to use the pace ofRonaldo, Karim Benzema andGonzalo Higuain on the break.

After Ronaldo’s opener, whenBarca keeper Jose Manuel Pintolet the ball under his body, Casil-las produced smart saves to denyMessi and Andres Iniesta whileAlexis Sanchez sent a loopingheader onto a post from a Cesc

Fabregas cross.Pepe, who had earlier been

booked, was lucky to stay onthe pitch in the second half aftertelevision replays showed he de-liberately stamped on Messi’s handwhen the World Player of the Yearwas sitting on the ground. Therewere a few ugly challenges late inthe game and Carvalho was bookedfor cynically chopping Messi downfrom behind as the Argentine wasracing away towards goal.

“In the first half we managedto do what we were looking tobut they scored from a set piece,which seem to be causing ustrouble recently,” Casillas toldSpanish TV. “They have theirway of playing and we haveto congratulate them but wehave to use our weapons. Ourgoal is to continue improvingevery day to be able to competewith Barca and against all ourrivals.”

Barca’s vic tory extendedGuardiola’s recent dominanceover Real. It was his ninth winin 13 ‘Clasicos’ since he tookthe helm in 2008 and came on his41st birthday. His only reversewas in last year’s Cup final, whenRonaldo scored a dramatic extra-time winner in a 1-0 victory.

Barca beat Real 3-1 in La Ligalast month, when they also fella goal behind, and secured theseason-opening Spanish SuperCup with a 5-4 win over two legs.Their latest success means theydraw level with Real on 86 wins

Agence France Presse

AC Milan rung the changesand made hard work of reaching

beating Novara 2-1 after extra-time at the San Siro on Wednes-day night.

Te e n a g e r S t e p h a n E lShaarawy opened the scoring

but Ivan Radovanovic equalisedtwo minutes from time.

In the extra period Brazilianpair Robinho and AlexandrePato combined for the latterto score the winner and securea clash with Lazio in the nextround.

Coach Massimiliano Allegrirested star performers such asZlatan Ibrahimovic, ThiagoSilva and Mark van Bommelwhile Kevin-Prince Boateng hasbeen ruled out for a month witha hamstring injury.

It meant veteran FilippoInzaghi was given a startingberth alongside youngsters suchas El Shaarawy and AlexanderMerkel, while France centre-back Philippe Mexes was af-forded a rare start.

In fact Merkel was thruststraight into the team despiteonly re-joining the club fromGenoa 24 hours earlier.

Allegri was relieved to havemade it through.

“We conceded a goal a min-ute from the end from a free-kick we could have avoided,”he moaned.

“Then we had a chance tomake it 3-1. We struggled butthe important thing was to gothrough and we’ve done that.”

Chances were few and far be-

tween with Inzaghi, 38, peelingoff his marker at the back postto meet an inswinging crossfrom Luca Antonini, only tohead wide.

Moments later and Novara’sSimone Pesce tried his luckfrom outside the box but re-serve goalkeeper Marco Aure-lio turned the ball around thepost.

The goal came on 24 min-utes as El Shaarawy, 19, turnedinside a defender and thenthumped a shot from distancebeyond Alberto Fontana.

The tiring Inzaghi made wayfor Pato who soon after teed upUrby Emanuelson but the Dutch

to Fontana.Pato seemed keen to make an

impact but he was well off targetwith a pair of chances, a shotfrom an angle and a free-kickfrom a long way out.

And out of the blue, havinghardly created anything allnight, Novara equalised whenRadovanovic cracked in a free-kick from long range.

In extra-time Fontana cameto his side’s rescue when hemade an instinctive one-handedsave to deny Pato from fiveyards out after Ignazio Abate’sdevillish cross.

But moments later substituteRobinho brilliantly dinked theball past the defence and Patochipped Fontana before volley-ing home. Seconds later Robin-ho crashed a volley against thepost as Milan showed far moreurgency than they had done inthe first half. Milan finishedwith 10 men and under the coshas Pato limped off injured.

Abidal grabs Cup winner for Barca at RealReuters

MADRID - Eric Abidal netted a rare but superbly-taken goal to give Barcelona a 2-1 come-

Guardiola’s side tightened their stranglehold over their rivals.

FC Barcelona’s

Eric Abidal from

France, left,

celebrates with

Daniel Alves from

Brazil after scor-

ing against Real

Madrid during

a Copa del Rey

quarter final, 1st

leg soccer match

at the Bernabeu

stadium in Madrid

Wednesday, Jan.

18, 2012. AP Photo/Paul White

Pato sinks Novara as Milan reach quarters

AP Photo/Antonio Calanni

AC Milan Brazilian forward Pato, left, kicks the ball as No-vara defender Michel Morganella, of Switzerland, looks on during the Italian Cup eight final soccer match between AC Milan and Novara, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012.

Friday, January 20, 2012 15International Sport

A former Finals MVP known forrising to the occasion at key moments,Billups took a handoff from BlakeGriffin on his team’s final posses-sion and drained the winner. “It wasa great play,” Billups told reportersafter finishing with 21 points andeight rebounds. “It’s a great win forus in our third game in three days. Itgot a little crazy at the end but we gotthe win.”

Terry had given Dallas the one-

seconds to play. The Mavericks had

convert a lob as they lost their second

after falling to the Los Angeles Lakerson Monday.

Paul sat out a thirdgamewithaham-string injury, but Mo Williams came upbigwitha team-high26off thebenchfor

theClippers (8-4),whowerecomingoffa painful 29-point defeat to Utah.

“I’m proud of the guys and the waywe battled back and fought,” Los An-geles coachVinny Del Negro said. “Wemade plays when we needed to and thatwas the key.”

tallied14points, 1 reboundsandsevenassists.DirkNowitzkiandDelonteWesthad 1 apiece for Dallas (8- ).

Reuters

ME B R E - Budding Hollywood actor Novak Djok-ovic led the way with a 6-3 6-2 6-1 demolition of Santiago Gi-raldo as a trio of formerAustralian Open champions reducedtheir opponents to bit part characters on Thursday. Djokovicmakes his acting bow in the blockbuster “The Expendables2” later this year but the defending champion showed that hehad lost none of his appetite for his day job with an emphaticsecond round victory at Melbourne Park.

Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams earlier swept intothe third round to rumblings about the lack of depth in thewomen’s game but second seed Petra Kvitova bucked thetrend when her second round match threatened to turn intoa horror show.

here, was also in imposing form and there was no need for any“Braveheart”-inspired heroics as he despatched FrenchmanEdouard Roger-Vasselin 6-1 6-4 6-4. Djokovic revealed after

be more of a dramatic tussle than the crowd on Rod LaverArena witnessed on Thursday.

“A win is a win however it comes to you. I try obviouslyto not underestimate any opponents in early rounds,” theSerbian told reporters afterwards.

knew that sooner or later he’s going to drop the rhythm and Ijust have to hang in there. I’ve done a good job.” There was

Giraldo a service break, but the world number one broke backto love immediately and said there had been no nerves.

“To be honest, I’ve had lots of situations where I wasbreak down in my career so I guess that doesn’t affect

I would start hitting the ball better.”Sharapova, the 2008 champion, took just 64 minutes to

defeat Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-0 6-4. Thethird former winner in the women’s draw, defending cham-pion Kim Clijsters, progressed with a 6-0 6-1 victory onthe same Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.

While a dreaded “double bagel” 6-0 6-0 defeat has yetto be doled out this year, the rash of lop-sided contests hasonce again prompted questions about the gap in qualitybetween the best and the rest in women’s tennis.

GET SMART

The performance of Kvitova’s 58th-ranked opponentCarla Suarez Navarro was a riposte to those questions as

break down in the third set to salvage a 6-2 2-6 6-4 win.“It’s very tough to get back because you know that shemoved very well and she got everything,” the 21-year-oldCzech said.

“I just try to get more shots and be in the rallies with-

liams has often been at an elite level of her own over theyears and her victory over Strycova was the 500th winof her career.

“It’s like the ultimate. It’s really, really cool. Five hun-dred is a lot of matches to play, let alone to win,” she saidof the milestone, which only her sister Venus, Clijstersand Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn have reached before heramong active players.

An older generation of grand slam champions take cen-

Hewitt, the former U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion,faces 2003 U.S. Open winner Andy Roddick in a matchthe American said would be a “war”.

Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO - Beer willsold at the 12 venues of the 2014World Cup finals, FIFA generalsecretary Jerome Valcke said onWednesday as he attempted toclose all further discussion on acontroversial issue in Brazil. Votingon the bill for the World Cup Lawhas been held up over differencesbetween the tournament hosts andworld soccer’s governing body,notably on the sale of alcoholicdrinks at sports venues which isbanned in Brazil.

The bill was scheduled to havebeen voted on by the chamber of

deputies at the end of last year but ithas been delayed by several issuesincluding the sale of beer, with FIFAdemanding protection of sponsors’trademarks. “Alcoholic drinks arepart of the FIFAWorld Cup, so we’regoing to have them. Excuse me if Isound a bit arrogant but that’s some-thing we won’t negotiate,” Valckesaid.

“The fact that we have the right tosell beer has to be a part of the Law,”he told the foreign press corps in aninterview in Rio de Janeiro, whereon Thursday he will hold a meetingwith the World Cup local organizingcommittee (LOC).

Alcoholic drinks have been banned

in Brazil’s stadiums since 2003 as partof the Supporters’ Statutes, aimed atpreventing violence among hardcorefans at football matches. AlexandrePadilha, health Minister in PresidentDilma Rousseff’s government, andother members of parliament linkedto health matters have put pressureon Congress to maintain the ban inthe World Cup Law.

One of FIFA’s longest-standingssponsors is the U.S. brewer Bud-weiser, which belongs to the world’sbiggest beer-selling groupAnheuser-Busch InBev. “Our partner here isin fact a Brazilian company,” saidValcke referring to the local AmBevwhich is part of AB InBev.

REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Los Angeles Clippers Chauncey Billups (R) scores the game-winning three point shot against the Dallas Mavericks during their NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, California January 18, 2012.

Big Shot Billups lands winning blow for ClippersReuters

hauncey Billups delivered on his reputation as Mr Big hot ith a game- inning three-pointerith one second remaining to give the os Angeles lippers a 1- home victory over the Dallas

a pair o three-pointers rom ason erry Billups responded to help the lippers see o the de end-ing champions even ithout in ured point guard hris aul.

FIFA tells Brazil it must have beer at World Cup

Nerveless Novak makes light work of day job

Friday, January 20, 201216 SportI N T E R N A T I O N A L

All of Loeb’s nearest competitors had tough ends to their days, with Ford’s Petter Solberg ruing his use of two snow tyres on what was now a mostly dry SS4 and Loeb’s Citroen team-mate Mikko Hirvonen damaging a brake in a minor impact with a wall.

Their delays allowed Dani Sordo to

move back into second for Mini despite damaging his suspension in an error this morning, although the Spaniard is 1m04s behind Loeb and just 1s ahead of Solberg.

Sebastien Ogier therefore holds an astonishing fourth place overall in his S2000 Skoda - thanks to some very rapid

stage times as well as the WRC field’s issues. The ex-Citroen WRC driver is just ahead of Evgeny Novikov’s M-Sport Ford and the delayed Hirvonen, with Francois Delecour holding a highly respectable seventh on his WRC return with another WRC Ford. Thierry Neu-ville retired from his Citroen debut on the day’s final stage.

P-G Andersson’s Proton holds 10th overall and leads the S2000 class, albeit as one of only two cars still running in the poorly-supported division.

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap

1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen 1h30m30.1s

2. Dani Sordo Mini + 1m04.2s

3. Petter Solberg Ford + 1m05.2s

4. Sebastien Ogier VW Skoda + 2m21.1s

5. Evgeny Novikov M-Sport Ford + 2m26.5s

6. Mikko Hirvonen Citroen + 2m30.0s

7. Francois Delecour M-Sport Ford + 2m49.9s

8. Pierre Campana Mini + 4m09.7s

9. Ott Tanak M-Sport Ford + 4m14.0s

10. P-G Andersson Proton + 4m33.8s

Agence France Presse

Lewis Hamilton is a better Formula One driver than reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari’s former world drivers’ championship win-ner Fernando Alonso has told German magazine Sport-Bild.

“Lewis is very fast, aggressive and totally focused, he is only interested in victory. Sebastian has not reached that level yet,” said Alonso.

“I know he’s the double world champion, but he is still somewhat behind the level Lewis has set.”

Germany’s Vettel secured his second consecutive world drivers’ championship title when he dominated the 2011 season, finishing with 392 points, while Britain’s 2008 champion Hamilton finished fifth - 165 points behind the German.

Spain’s Alonso was fourth last season and won the last of his two world titles in 2006.

The new Formula One season begins on March 18 with the Australian Grand Prix.

Loeb leads Monte Carlo Rally after Latvala’s crash

SEBASTIEN Loeb holds a comfortable lead at the end of day one of the Monte Carlo Rally after rival Jari-Matti Latvala crashed out of first place. Latvala had been 30 seconds in front of five-time Monte winner Loeb going into today’s final stage, but rolled his Ford and was forced to retire.

A supporter waving a flare cheers Citroen pilot Sebastien Loeb and his co-pilot Daniel Elena during the second special stage of the 80th Monte Carlo rally between Burzet and Saint Martial, south-eastern France, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012.

Lewis Hamilton is a better Formula One driver h i i ld h i S b i V l

AFP Photo/Dimitar Dilkoff

Rell Bull’s Sebastian Vettel (left) and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton wave to supporters on the eve of the Belgium Grand Prix in August 2011.

AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani

Leading positions after SS4: