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The lawyer of CV Bali Balance,Agus Setiawan, arrived in Bali onMonday, December 21st 2009, anddirectly went to Denpasar HighProsecutor Office in order to verifythe law status after the verdict wasgiven especially there will be anappeal made by Suanda.

Billabong Manager ConvictedBillabong Manager ConvictedBillabong Manager ConvictedBillabong Manager ConvictedBillabong Manager Convicted2.5 years imprisonment2.5 years imprisonment2.5 years imprisonment2.5 years imprisonment2.5 years imprisonment

Bali Balance directly acts following the verdict given to I WayanBali Balance directly acts following the verdict given to I WayanBali Balance directly acts following the verdict given to I WayanBali Balance directly acts following the verdict given to I WayanBali Balance directly acts following the verdict given to I WayanSuanda, the Sales Manager Marketing PT Billabong Indonesia bySuanda, the Sales Manager Marketing PT Billabong Indonesia bySuanda, the Sales Manager Marketing PT Billabong Indonesia bySuanda, the Sales Manager Marketing PT Billabong Indonesia bySuanda, the Sales Manager Marketing PT Billabong Indonesia byDenpasar Court on Thursday, December 17Denpasar Court on Thursday, December 17Denpasar Court on Thursday, December 17Denpasar Court on Thursday, December 17Denpasar Court on Thursday, December 17ththththth 2009. 2009. 2009. 2009. 2009.

“I wanted to know how far thecase is going because there is a big-ger target who is the President Di-rector of PT Billabong ChristoperJohn James. Currently, he is wantedby Indonesian Government,”Setiawan said.

Denpasar (Bali Post)—Commission C of Badung House

sent a letter to Regent AA GdeAgung to ask for the taxpayer list ofhotel, restaurant and entertainmentspot that has not paid their tax up tonow alias stubborn taxpayers. Ac-cording to the schedule, Commis-sion C would take action right away,especially to those having reprimandletter from Regional Revenue Ser-vice (Dispenda) of Badung. Secre-tary of Commission C of BadungHouse, I Made Reta, last Monday

Commission C ofBadung House

Threats theStubborn Taxpayers

(Dec 21), said that such endeavormeant to anticipate the regional lossdue to unpaid tax whose amount waslarge enough. Commission C woulddemand an explanation directly fromthose stubborn taxpayers.

Specifically for taxpayers thathave received reprimand letter fromBadung Regional Revenue Service,Reta said that his party would re-check thoroughly and recommendthe executive to submit the case toDistrict Attorney.

BP/Edi

The Lawyer of CV Bali Balance, Agus Setiawan (left) give statement after conduct meting in Bali Prosecutor Office.

Tens of trumpetsellers packedDenpasar

China looks toWTO probe intoU.S. tire duties

Venice festivalhonors Woo withlifetime award

InternationalWednesday, December 23, 20092

Founder : K.Nadha, Chief Editor: ABG Satria Naradha Managing Editor: Wirata Editors: Alit Purnata, Alit Susrini, Alit Sumertha, Darmasunu, Daniel Fajry, Diah Dewi, Iwan Darmawan, Martinaya, Mawa,Palgunadi, Sri Hartini, Suana, Sueca, Sugiartha, Sutiawan, Wirya, Yudi Winanto Denpasar: Dira Arsana, Giriana Saputra, Mas Ruscitadewi, Oka Rusmini, Umbu Landu Paranggi, Subagiadnya, Subrata, Suentra,Sumatika, Gregorius Rusmanda, Asmara Putra. Bangli: Pujawan, Buleleng: Adnyana, Gianyar: Agung Dharmada, Karangasem: Budana, Klungkung: Bali Putra Ariawan, Tabanan: Surpi. Jakarta: Nikson, Suharto Olii,Indu P. Adi, Ahmadi Supriyanto, Achmad Nasrudin, Hardianto, Darmawan S. Sumardjo, Heru B Arifin, Asep Djamaluddin, Ade Irawan, Ipik Tanoyo. NTB: Agus Talino, Syamsudin Karim, Izzul Khairi, Raka Akriyani, Nur

Haedin, Suyadnya. Surabaya: Bambang Wilianto. Development: Alit Purnata, Mas Ruscitadewi. Office: Jalan Kepundung 67 A Denpasar 80232. Telephone (0361)225764, Facsimile: 227418, P.O.Box: 3010 Denpasar 80001. Bali PostJakarta, Advertizing: Jl.Palmerah Barat 21F. Telp 021-5357602, Facsimile: 021-5357605 Jakarta Pusat. NTB: Jalam Bangau No. 15 Cakranegara Telp. (0370) 639543, Facsimile: (0370) 628257. Publiser: PT Bali Post

Bali News

The services cut off or mergedconsisted of Regional Informaticsand Telematics Services (Inkomda)was merged with Transportation Ser-vices, while Industry and Trade Ser-vices was merged with Cooperativeand Small-Medium Enterprises(SMEs) into Disperindagkop.

Other than those services, othertechnical institution was reducedfrom 12 units to 11 consisting of sixagencies and five offices. In addition,the structures under them were alsominimized; where at the agenciesthere were four division heads, ex-cept for at Educational Services had

Four Office Services to be Cut Off

Budget EfficiencyBudget EfficiencyBudget EfficiencyBudget EfficiencyBudget EfficiencyReaches IDR 1.2 BillionReaches IDR 1.2 BillionReaches IDR 1.2 BillionReaches IDR 1.2 BillionReaches IDR 1.2 Billion

Amlapura (Bali Post)—Karangasem Government just organized a minimization to its in-Karangasem Government just organized a minimization to its in-Karangasem Government just organized a minimization to its in-Karangasem Government just organized a minimization to its in-Karangasem Government just organized a minimization to its in-

stitution for the sake of working efficiency and effectiveness. Fourstitution for the sake of working efficiency and effectiveness. Fourstitution for the sake of working efficiency and effectiveness. Fourstitution for the sake of working efficiency and effectiveness. Fourstitution for the sake of working efficiency and effectiveness. Fouroffice services were cut off and then coalesced into other services.office services were cut off and then coalesced into other services.office services were cut off and then coalesced into other services.office services were cut off and then coalesced into other services.office services were cut off and then coalesced into other services.Previously, there were 16 services and now they only left 12 ser-Previously, there were 16 services and now they only left 12 ser-Previously, there were 16 services and now they only left 12 ser-Previously, there were 16 services and now they only left 12 ser-Previously, there were 16 services and now they only left 12 ser-vices. The Head of Karangasem House I Gede Dana admitted thisvices. The Head of Karangasem House I Gede Dana admitted thisvices. The Head of Karangasem House I Gede Dana admitted thisvices. The Head of Karangasem House I Gede Dana admitted thisvices. The Head of Karangasem House I Gede Dana admitted thismatter and Deputy Head I Nyoman Celos, last Monday (Dec 21).matter and Deputy Head I Nyoman Celos, last Monday (Dec 21).matter and Deputy Head I Nyoman Celos, last Monday (Dec 21).matter and Deputy Head I Nyoman Celos, last Monday (Dec 21).matter and Deputy Head I Nyoman Celos, last Monday (Dec 21).

five Division Heads. Meanwhile,Regional Revenue Services(Dispenda) had six Division Heads.At the office or other technicalimplementer (UPT), there weremaximally three sections.

Gede Dana said that RegionalLegislation on governmental institu-tion intended to reorganize the cur-rent numerous institutions imple-menting maximal pattern has beenapproved by the House. However,the implementation of Regional Leg-islation was waiting for verificationfrom provincial government andMinister of Home Affairs. It was es-

timated that it could be implementedin 2010. Moreover, the generalpolicy of budget (KUA) discussingthe Regional Budget Draft 2010 isunder process at Karangasem House.

Such institutional minimization,added Gede Dana, at least resultedin efficiency of administration bud-get amounting to some IDR 1.2 bil-lion. The efficiency was importantbecause the current Regional Bud-get was deficit while the fund sourc-ing from Public Allocation Fund(DAU) kept on exuding by centralgovernment. On the other side, anumber of officials belonging to thesecond echelon (the same level of thehead of office services), divisionhead and section head inKarangasem looked confused be-cause many of them had possibilityto lose their position. In addition, anumber of senior officials under re-tirement preparation were not ex-tended. (013)(013)(013)(013)(013)

Semarapura (Bali Post)—Semarapura (Bali Post)—Semarapura (Bali Post)—Semarapura (Bali Post)—Semarapura (Bali Post)—Reckless speeding seemed to become a homework that should get

serious attention from police officers. Moreover, the perpetrators weregood at hiding and seeking with police. As if they already have hadthe schedule of police’s regular patrol. On that account, when policeheld a patrol the perpetrators hid somewhere. However, when policehas gone away the speeding turned crowded.

Moreover, on Saturday nights or holidays, perpetrators used someroutes existing in Klungkung. Some of them are in front of the officeof Klungkung Regent, Jalan Bypass Tihingan-Pesinggahan and someother points. Of course, it would result in bad impact on other roadusers passing through the locations. “We attempt to minimize suchreckless speeding. One of the ways is by intensifying our night patrol,chiefly on holidays,” asserted the Spokesperson of Klungkung Re-sort Police, Dewa Gede Sugawa, when asked about his confirmation,last Monday (Dec 21).

Aside from intensifying the night patrol through Chief of TrafficUnit, Klungkung Resort Police, his party also provided briefing andeducation to youngsters in order they could act disciplined as roadusers and did not disturb other road users. “More importantly, theywere expected to stop their bad habit, namely reckless speeding onthe road,” he said.

Dewa Sugawa admitted that there should be an organization toaccommodate the talent of youngsters having a hobby of speeding.On that account, their hobby could be channeled through the rightmedium without disturbing and threatening the safety of others. “How-ever, the non-existence of medium to channel their talent became thejustification to commit such speeding on the road,” he said. (kmb)(kmb)(kmb)(kmb)(kmb)

Having Police’s Patrol Schedule

Reckless SpeedingHard to Control

Denpasar (Bali Post)—Denpasar (Bali Post)—Denpasar (Bali Post)—Denpasar (Bali Post)—Denpasar (Bali Post)—Polemic on the withdrawal of collecting fee in Badung is

getting fiercer. A number of parties in Badung House contin-ued to urge in order this case would be promptly accomplished.As well, it was getting more serious after the arising of state-ment of a member of Commission III, Central House of Repre-sentatives, Prof. Dr. T. Gayus Lumbuun, mentioning the shar-ing of collecting fee (UP) as a kind of collective corruption in aseminar held in Sanur, last Saturday (Dec 19). Even, within theinternal of Badung House emerged an idea in order to form aSpecial Committee assigned to investigate the withdrawal andallocation of collecting fee in Badung.

The exhortation of forming Special Committee on Collect-ing Fee in Badung came out from the member of Budget Agencyof Badung House, I Nyoman Giri Prasta, the Head of Commis-sion C I Nyoman Satria, Deputy Head of Commission C WayanSuyasa and a member of Commission C Alit Yandinata.

According to Giri Prasta, the formation of special commit-tee was the right measure to accomplish promptly the contro-versy on the withdrawal of Collecting Fee in Badung. The for-mation of Special Committee could become a solution to iden-tify whether the withdrawal of Collecting Fee performed byBadung Government was incorrect or has been pursuant to thestipulation. (ded)(ded)(ded)(ded)(ded)

The Formation of SpecialCommittee on CollectingFee in Badung Propose

BP/Eka

Hundreds of taxi drivers rallied in Sunset Road to protest against the new taxi permit released bythe government. The rally seemed to work where 250 new permit had been revoked.

3Wednesday, December 23, 2009International Bali News

Denpasar (Bali Post)—By pretending as a domestic ser-

vant, Indah Wulandari, 18, was de-termined to take out all valuables ofher employer. The girl who was alsoa former café girl was proven to havestolen the gold jewelry belonging toNi Gede Ari living at Perum GriyaMertanadi No. 3A, SouthKerobokan, North Kuta, Badung.

However, Detective Unit of NorthKuta Sector Police disclosed the evildeed of the suspect. The suspect wasfinally captured at Olala Hotel atUbung area, Denpasar, last Saturday(Dec 19), at 10:00 am Local Time.Now, the suspect is under arrest ofNorth Kuta Sector Police while wait-ing for further legal process.

Chief of North Kuta Sector Po-lice I Nyoman Sukanada, last Mon-

As seen on last Monday (Dec 21),the parking lot on Jalan Gajah Madawas very disharmonious. Multiplelayers of cars looked to be parkedhaphazardly and so did vehicles un-loading their freights in front of theshops. Such condition made the roadusers disturbed because both road-sides have been used for parkingmotorbikes and vehicles. Pavementand gutters in the heart of the citylooked damaged at night. Heaps ofused oil, food leftover or bottles ofvarious drinks scattered on the gut-ters and damaged pavement.

Besides, many vendors made useof the pavement to display their mer-chandises or to set up their nameboard. The most striking obstacleswere price list board belonging tohand phone counters put on the pave-

Denpasar (Bali Post)—The Environmental Affairs

Agency (BLH) of Badung Regency,last Monday (Dec 21), organized asite inspection to Tune Hotel allegedto become the cause of pollutiontoward the wells of local residentslocated on Jalan Ciung Wanara,Kuta. As a result, BLH team founda number of evidences that the ho-tel mentioned committed an errorin storing of fuel into the receptacle.It was strongly alleged that thiscause made the fuel permeated intothe wells of local residents.

Division Head of Control andRecovery of BLH Badung, AABagus Oka Sutama, said that basedon the examination performed atlocation of the fuel receptacle infront of Tune Hotel, his party founda spill of diesel fuel around the re-ceptacle tank. These spills were thenstagnant at the storing vessel andalleged to permeate into the sur-rounding environment. “Our provi-sional allegation, the pollution oc-

Denpasar (Bali Post)—The circle of Badung House

urged the hazardous arrack companyUD Tri Hita Karya to be closedpromptly and its permit should bewithdrawn. This exhortation cameinto view following the loss of hu-man lives due to the product ofarrack company located at KwanjiHamlet, Dalung, few months ago.More than that, in terms of land al-location, the stated company has in-fringed the regulation.

The Head of Commission A ofBadung House, I Nyoman Sutrisno,last Monday (Dec 21), said that otherthan urging the closing toward theoperation of UD Tri Hita Karya, hisparty also demanded the authority of

Pretended to Become a Domestic ServantFormer Café Girl Steals Jewelry

Leadership of the Regent Will Change

The LookThe LookThe LookThe LookThe Lookof Tabananof Tabananof Tabananof Tabananof TabananCity StillCity StillCity StillCity StillCity StillDisorganizedDisorganizedDisorganizedDisorganizedDisorganized

Badung House Urges the Closingof Hazardous Arrack Company

Bali Province no to give statementthat even gave an impression to pro-tect the evil perpetrator. “We hopeBali Government would not giveopinion protecting this company.The exhortation on the closing ofthe company has been clear. Prod-uct of the company has killed tensof lives. Please do not let it kill morelives,” he asserted.

Sutrisno reminded that the BaliOffice of Industry and Trade Ser-vices (Disperindag) should issue apermit based on comprehensiveconsideration. Instead, it gave a con-venience to the company to operatewhereas the company has clearlyviolated the regulation and threat-ened the safety of public.

Previously, a number of membersof the Badung House once deliveredthe statement on the closing of sucharrack company. The Head of Com-mission B I Putu Parwata also regret-ted the statement of many parties inDisperindag of Bali Province and itwas not based on proper studies, es-pecially in terms of land utilization.

When asked separate confirma-tion, the Head of Badung Civil Ser-vant Police Unit (Satpol PP), IWayan Adi Arnawa, admitted tostudy the case of UD Tri Hita Karya,including by performing site inspec-tion. Nevertheless, his party wasready to carry out the closing if thecompany was proven to have in-fringed. (ded)

day (Dec 21) explained the two goldjewelries stolen consisted of 7-gramrings. “The suspect stole thejewelries on last Wednesday (Dec16) at 07:00 am Local Time. Hav-ing taken the jewelries, the suspecttook leave with the reason to gohome to Java because her grand-mother died,” said Chief Sukanada.

When the suspect took leave, thevictim did not put any suspicion ofher valuables that have been takenaway. As soon as the suspect left herhouse, the victim just realized thatjewelries put in the cupboard van-ished. The victim had confidencethe loss of her rings was stolen bythe suspect. “The victim reportedthe case right away here (NorthKuta Sector Police—ed),” he toldjournalists on last Monday.

Responding the report, the teamled by Chief of Detective Unit ofNorth Kuta Sector Police, AriefPrasetya, made investigation to lo-cation. Even, the investigation wascommitted to her home village inJember. However, police got infor-mation if the suspect stayed at Ho-tel Olala. The police finally move tolocation and frisked the hotel. Thesuspect could be encountered in oneof the rooms together with her boy-friend. Up to this moment, her boy-friend remained to have a status aswitness. “Based on the confessionof the suspect, the jewelries havebeen sold at IDR 1,400,000. Onemillion of them have been sent toJava, while the rest was used fordaily consumption,” he concluded.(kmb21)

Pollution on the Wells of Kuta Residents

Strongly Alleged to be Caused byPermeation of Hotel Tune’s Fuel

curred was due to the spill of suchdiesel fuel. Even though it is a tem-porary allegation, we remain to ap-peal the hotel in order it handles thisspill of diesel fuel to prevent a widerbad impact,” he said.

Other than rechecking the ho-tel, BLH Badung also took asample of well’s water and sewer-age of hotel to be examined. Theresult of this laboratory test wouldensure the cause of pollution case.

The Head of Kuta CommunityEmpowerment Institution (LPM),Graha Wicaksana, asserted again inorder the Hotel Tune immediatelyhandled the pollution case. Other-wise, his party would threaten to sealthe Tune Hotel. In the meantime, theoperator of Hotel Tune, Prayitno,admitted to repair promptly the re-ceptacle of diesel fuel belonging tothe hotel. In addition, his partywould also organize a meeting withlocal residents and related institutionto accomplish the matter of compen-sation requested by residents. (ded)

Tabanan (Bali Post)—Though within the next few months the leadership of Tabanan Regent

Nyoman Adi Wiryatama will terminate, the look of Tabanan City has notchanged. The appearance of Tabanan downtown remains to look vilewith disorganized parking. Actually, this poorly organized city has beencomplained for long time. Up to these days, it remains unchanged.

ment. As a result, this condition madepedestrians inconvenient. Severalowners of hand phone counter ad-mitted to do so because only few pe-destrians used the pavement. “Yousee that no pedestrians passingthrough. To make my products vis-ible, I put the price list there (on thepavement),” observed an owner ofhand phone counter at ease.

Currently, various discourses havedeveloped regarding to the handlingof Tabanan City’s look. Some of themwere City Park and central parkinglot. However, though the City Parkhas been worked on, it was unknownwhen the appearance of Tabanan Citywould be well organized. The exist-ence of night market considered tomake the city vile was difficult to re-locate to other place. (kmb14)

International4 Wednesday, December 23, 2009 News

Reuters

WASHINGTON - A reportedconfidential Iranian technical docu-ment describing Tehran’s efforts todesign an atomic bomb trigger wasforged by Washington, Iran’s Presi-dent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tolda U.S. news program on Monday.

Ahmadinejad was asked by ABCNews about a Times of London re-port last week on what it called aconfidential Iranian technical docu-ment describing a four-year plan totest a neutron initiator, the part of anuclear warhead that sets off an ex-plosion.

Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO - The Bra-zilian Supreme Court’s top judgedelayed until Tuesday a ruling onwhether a 9-year-old boy at thecenter of an international custodybattle will be reunited with his fa-ther and return to the UnitedStates.

A ruling in the case of SeanGoldman, whose father DavidGoldman is an American andwhose mother Bruna Bianchi wasa Brazilian who died last year, hadbeen expected on Monday. But aspokesman for Chief JusticeGilmar Mendes told Reuters lateon Monday the ruling would beannounced the following day.

The Goldman case has reachedthe highest levels of both govern-ments and threatened to mar Bra-zil-U.S. relations.

Bianchi took Sean from theUnited States to her native Brazilin 2004, then divorced Goldmanand stayed with the boy in theSouth American country, in whatthe Goldman and the U.S. govern-ment call a clear case of interna-tional child abduction.

Since Bianchi’s death, her fam-ily and second husband have

The court rejected a defense mo-tion to suspend the trial, upholding theconfinement of a man who oncetopped the Simon Wiesenthal Center’slist of most-wanted war criminals.

German state prosecutors accuseDemjanjuk of assisting in killings atthe Sobibor death camp in Poland,where prosecutors say at least250,000 Jews were killed.

Early in the day, the 89-year-oldsat silently in his wheelchair andshowed no emotion as 12 plaintiffs,some of them with tears in their eyesand their voices breaking, describedhow they had survived the Holocaustwhile their relatives perished.

After a recess, officials set up abed in the courtroom for Demjanjuk,

Reuters

PESHAWAR - A suspectedTaliban suicide bomber blew him-self up on Tuesday at the gate of thePress club in the northwestern cityof Peshawar, killing two people andwounding four, a city official said.

“It was a suicide attack. Thebomber wanted to get into the Pressclub and when our police guard

Iran nuclear triggerreport fabricated byU.S.: Ahmadinejad

“They are all fabricated bunch ofpapers continuously being forgedand disseminated by the Americangovernment,” he told the U.S. net-work in an interview in Copenhagen,Denmark, after he attended theUnited Nations conference on cli-mate change.

Reports that Iran is working on abomb trigger are “fundamentally nottrue,” said Ahmadinejad.

The Times of London publishedon December 14 what it said was theFarsi-language document, alongwith an English translation, entitled,“Outlook for Special Neutron-Re-lated Activities Over the Next FourYears”.

The document describes steps todevelop and test parts for a neutroninitiator, a device that floods the coreof highly enriched uranium with sub-atomic particles to touch off the chainreaction of a nuclear explosion.

Last week Iranian Foreign Min-istry spokesman RaminMehmanparast called the report“baseless ... not worthy of attention,intended to put political and psycho-logical pressure on Iran.”

Iran, the world’s No. 5 crude oilexporter, says its uranium enrichmentprogram is aimed at generating elec-tricity so that it can export more gasand oil. The West believes Iran wantsbombs from enrichment because ofits record of nuclear secrecy.

AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI

President MahmoudAhmadinejad.

Brazil top judge to ruleon U.S. custody case

fought to keep Sean in Brazil, say-ing he has settled in the country anddoes not want to go back the UnitedStates.

Last Thursday another SupremeCourt judge blocked a decision bya federal court earlier in the weekordering the return of the boy toU.S. authorities within 48 hours.

The father, who has only seenSean in brief visits to Brazil since2004, and Brazil’s attorney generalappealed that ruling, asking forSean to be handed over immedi-ately.

Goldman, who lives in the U.S.state of New Jersey, flew to Brazilon Thursday after the federal courtruling.

The lawyer for the Brazilianfamily told Reuters that Sean hada right for his voice to be heard incourt — the reason given by theSupreme Court judge on Thursday.

“I don’t say his opinion must befollowed but he does have the right,a constitutional right in the U.S., anda right under all the U.N. resolutionsto be heard,” Sergio Tostes said.

Mendes’ ruling would needeventual approval by the full courtbut it could still allow Goldman totake his son back to the UnitedStates now.

AFP PHOTO DDP / POOL / MICHAELA REHLE GERMANY OUT

Ukrainian-born John Demjanjuk (2nd R) sitting on a wheelchair arrives at the courtroom at Munich’s regionalcourt for the continuation of his trial on December 21, 2009. Eighty-nine-year-old John Demjanjuk, accused ofbeing a guard at a Nazi death camp Sobibor, is charged with assisting in the murder of 27,900 Jews and othersat Sobibor, one of a network of camps erected by Hitler’s Germany in Eastern Europe during World War II withthe sole purpose of mass extermination. The trial is likely to be the last major Holocaust trial.

Two dead in Pakistan suicide attack on press clubstopped him he blew himself up,”city police chief Liaqat Ali Khan toldReuters. The guard was killed andfour people were wounded, he said.

Top city official Azam Khan saidtwo people had been killed. Bomb-ers have struck in Peshawar numer-ous times since the army launchedan offensive against PakistaniTaliban militants in the SouthWaziristan region on the Afghan

border, to the southwest ofPeshawar.

The bombers’ main targets havebeen the security forces.

Reporters have been attacked andkilled in ethnic Pashtun tribal re-gions along the Afghan border butthe Tuesday blast was the first on areporters’ club in a city. A city re-porter said militants had recentlythreatened to target journalists.

Demjanjuk says in pain,Demjanjuk says in pain,Demjanjuk says in pain,Demjanjuk says in pain,Demjanjuk says in pain,Holocaust survivors testifyHolocaust survivors testifyHolocaust survivors testifyHolocaust survivors testifyHolocaust survivors testifyReuters

MUNICH - John Demjanjuk complained of back pain while Holo-caust survivors on Monday recalled the horrors of Nazi Germany at histrial on charges of helping to force 27,900 Jews into gas chambers in 1943.

after a doctor said had complainedof back pain.

A prison official quoted inTuesday’s edition of the Tageszeitungnewspaper said Demjanjuk regularlytook breaks in the prison yard, eitherin his wheelchair or with the assis-tance of a walker. He also had beenreading Ukrainian newspapers andpreparing meals of salad, the official,Michael Stumpf, added.

Demjanjuk denies he was involvedin the Holocaust and his family in-sists he is too frail to be standing trial.

“UNHEALED WOUND”One of the plaintiffs, 87-year-old

Philip Jacobs had to be helped ontothe witness stand, where he said he

felt guilty to have survived the Ho-locaust while his parents and fian-cee perished.

“Sobibor is an unhealed wound,”the former pharmacist said.

Another plaintiff, Robert Cohen,83, whose brother and parents werekilled at Sobibor, described his ex-periences at Nazi death camps in-cluding Auschwitz.

“We didn’t know what was go-ing on,” the Amsterdam-born pen-sioner told the court during themorning session. “We thought wehad to work.”

Due to Demjanjuk’s frailty, hear-ings are limited to two 90-minutesessions a day. His case is likely tobe Germany’s last major Nazi-erawar crimes trial.

Demjanjuk was born in Ukraineand fought in the Soviet army be-fore being captured by the Nazis andrecruited as a camp guard. He emi-grated to the United States in 1951.

General Info Wednesday, December 23, 2009 5International

Denpasar

There are 4 major hospitals usually used by foreigners -Denpasar General Hospital(RSUP Sanglah), Kasih Ibu Hospital, Rumah Sakit Wongayaand Rumah Sakit Dharma Husada.

RSUP Sanglah is the main provincial public hospital. Itsfacilities have improved since the emergency ward had beenbuilt in 1991. Difficult/critical cases would not become aproblem anymore since it has complete equipments. It islocated on Jl. KesehatanSelatan 1 Sanglah Denpasar with :Phone : 227 911 – 15Fax : 226 363

Kasih Ibu Hospital is a private hospital which caters forless serious cases such as diarrhea, intestinal disorders, ane-mia, asthma and minor accidents. Kasih Ibu is also equippedto care for pregnant women. This hospital is located on Jl.Teuku Umar 120 Denpasar.Phone : 223 036Fax : 268 690.

Rumah Sakit Wongaya (Public Hospital; Psychiatric Unit)Jl. Kartini, Denpasar.Phone : 222 142.

Rumah Sakit Dharma Husada , (Private)Jl. Sudirman No 50, DenpasarPhone : 227 560, 234 824

In relating with health, Bali also has insurance and medicalevacuation company, thatis:AEA International - SOS Assistance Bali.PT Abhaya Eka Astiti, Jl. By Pass Ngurah RaiNo. 24X, Kuta 80361.Phone : 755 768 Fax : 755 768One thing that should be noted by tourists here is that theBlood Bank in Bali normally carries no stock of Rhesus (Rh)Negative blood.

Badung

Bali Medical ClinicsThere are some medical clinics that are well known by for-eigners in Bali. Some of them are western owned and oper-ated :

Bali International Medical Center (BIMC)Bali International Medical Centre (BIMC) provides excel-lent Primary Health Care & Emeregency Medical Servicesfor tourists, traveler, and expatriate living in Bali.Emeregency Room, Ambulance, Clinic Services, Insurance& Medical Evacuations also available. Open 24 hours Phone: 761 2631. Located Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai No.100X, Kuta,Bali 80361 - Indonesia. http://www.bimcbali.com

International SOS Clinic BaliOpened in 1999, offers International SOS members and visi-tors to Bali comprehensive primary health care and 24-houremergency medical service.Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai 505X, Kuta 80361, Bali - IndonesiaPhone : 720 100 Fax : 721 919E-mail : info@sos-bali.comttp ://www.sos-bali.com

Bali Nusa Dua Emergency ClinicJl Pratama No. 81 Phone : 771 324

Kuta ClinicJl. Raya Kuta Phone : 753 268

Dental ClinicDr Indra Guizot, Jl. Patimura 19, DenpasarPhone : 222 445, 234 375

DDS. Ritjie Rihartinah, Jl Pratama No. 81Nusa Dua Phone : 771 324

Retno W. Agung, Jln. Bypass Ngurah Rai No.4ABr. Tamansari – Sanur Phone : 288 501

Australian Consulate GeneralJalan Tantular 32 Renon DenpasarPhone: +62 361 241118Fax: +62 361 221195 (General) +62 361 241120 (Immigration)

Royal Danish & NorwegianMimpi Resort Jimbaran, BaliPhone +62.361.701 070

The Czech RepublicJalan Pengembak No. 17 Sanur, BaliPhone +62.361.286 465

France Consulate AgencyJalan Merta Sari Gang II No. 8 Sanur, BaliPhone +62.361.285 485

The Federal Republic of GermanyJalan Pantai Karang No 17 Sanur, BaliPhone +62.361.288 535

The Republic of HungaryJalan By Pass No 219 Sanur, BaliPhone +62.361.287 701

Italian ConsulateJalan By Pass Ngurah Rai Jimbaran, BaliPhone +62.361.701 005

Honorary Consulate of MexicoJalan Mohamad Yamin 1 A, Renon, Denpasar, BaliPhone +62.361.223 266

Honorary Consulate of The NetherlandsJalan Raya Kuta 127, BaliPhone +62.361.761 506

Honorary Consulate of SpainKomplek Istana Kuta Galleria Blok Vallet 2 No 11. JalanPatih Jelantik Kuta, BaliPhone +62.361.769 286

USA Consulate AgencyJalan Hayam Wuruk No. 188 Denpasar, BaliPhone +62.361.222 426

Consulate General of JapanJalan Raya Puputan No. 170 Renon, Denpasar, BaliPhone +62.361.227 628

Honorary Consulate of BritishJalan Tirta Nadi No. 20 Sanur, BaliPhone +62.361.270 601

Swiss and Austria ConsulateJalan Patih Jelantik, Komplek Pertokoan IstanaGalleriaPhone +62.361.751 735

Honorary Consulate of BrazilJalan Legian No. 186, BaliPhone +62.361.757 775

Honorary Consulate of ThailandJalan Raya Puputan Renon 81, Denpasar, BaliPhone +62.361.263 310

Embassy of IndiaJalan Raya Puputan Renon 42-44, Denpasar, BaliPhone +62.361.241 978

Honorary Consulate of Sweden anf FinlandSegara Village Hotel, Jalan Segara Ayu, Sanur, BaliPhone +62.361.282 223

Honorary Consulate of MalaysiaAlam Kulkul Boutique Resort, Jalan Pantai Kuta, BaliPhone +62.361.752 520

Bangli

Bangli General HospitalJl. Kesumayuda 27, BangliPhone : +62 366 91521

Gianyar

Clinic MasJl. Raya Mas, UbudPhone : +62 361 974573

Toyo ClinicJl. Pengosekan, UbudPhone : +62 361 978078

Permata Bunda ClinicJl. Patih Jelantik 50 X, GianyarPhone : +62 361 942082

Ubud ClinicJl Raya Ubud No.36 Campuhan, UbudPhone : +62 361 974911

Gianyar General HospitalJl. Ciung Wanara 2, GianyarPhone : +62 361 943049

Karangasem

Karangasem General HospitalJl. Ngurah Rai, KarangasemPhone : +62 363 21001

Klungkung

Klungkung General HospitalJl. Flamboyan 40-4, KlungkungPhone : +62 366 21371

Negara

Negara General HospitalJl. Gelar, NegaraPhone : +62 365 41006

Tabanan

Laboratorium ClinicJl. Gunung semeru No. 8, TabananPhone : +62 361 819260

Mengwi ClinicJl. I Gusti Ngurah Rai 46, TabananPhone : +62 361 880550

Darma Kerti HospitalJl. Teratai 16, TabananPhone : +62 361 812359

Tabanan General HospitalJl. Pahlawan 14, TabananPhone : +62 361 811027

Praja Taxi : (0361) 289090Bali Taxi : (0361) 701111Ngurah Rai Taxi : (0361) 724724Pan Wirthi Taxi : (0361) 723366Komotra Taxi : (0361) 758855

Singaraja

Prodia ClinicJl. RA Kartini 12, Singaraja Bali0362 - 24-516

Singaraja HospitalJl. Ngurah Rai 30, Singaraja Bali0362 - 22-573

Pet ClinicsKayumas: (0361) 226934Sayang Binatang: (0361) 483121Satwa Kertha Husada: (0361) 263018Pantai Sindhu: (0361) 287518Sidakarya: (0361) 724492Pedungan: (0361) 720026

HOSPITALIMIGRATION HOSPITAL

TAXIS

Wednesday, December 23, 20096 News

The storm buried cities fromWashington, D.C., to Boston, re-sulted in closures or significant de-lays at airports and forced hundredsof flight cancellations just days be-fore Christmas.

“All airports are open and ourflights are running normally today,”said Susan Elliott, a spokeswoman

Airlines add seats afterAirlines add seats afterAirlines add seats afterAirlines add seats afterAirlines add seats aftersnowstorm hits travelsnowstorm hits travelsnowstorm hits travelsnowstorm hits travelsnowstorm hits travelReuters

ATLANTA - Major air carriers added extra flights on MondayATLANTA - Major air carriers added extra flights on MondayATLANTA - Major air carriers added extra flights on MondayATLANTA - Major air carriers added extra flights on MondayATLANTA - Major air carriers added extra flights on Mondayto accommodate passengers whose travel plans were disrupted byto accommodate passengers whose travel plans were disrupted byto accommodate passengers whose travel plans were disrupted byto accommodate passengers whose travel plans were disrupted byto accommodate passengers whose travel plans were disrupted bya massive weekend storm that dumped as much as two feet of snowa massive weekend storm that dumped as much as two feet of snowa massive weekend storm that dumped as much as two feet of snowa massive weekend storm that dumped as much as two feet of snowa massive weekend storm that dumped as much as two feet of snowon the U.S. Northeast.on the U.S. Northeast.on the U.S. Northeast.on the U.S. Northeast.on the U.S. Northeast.

for Atlanta-based Delta Air LinesInc, the world’s largest air carrier.

She said Delta has added about6,500 additional seats to flight sched-ules on Monday, including 22 addi-tional flights, in heavily impactedmarkets. On some routes, aircrafthave been upgraded to planes thathave more seats to be able to serve

more travelers, she said.UAL Corp’s United Airlines

halted about 1,000 flights over thepast weekend, or about a tenth of itsglobal network, spokesman RahsaanJohnson said. He said the airline isalso planning to add extra flights thisweek.

AMR Corp’s American Airlinesadded at least 15 extra flights to ar-eas such as New York, Boston andWashington, spokesman Tim Smithsaid in an email. American Airlinescanceled about 325 flights Decem-ber 18-20, and a similar number

were canceled on the carrier’s Ameri-can Eagle regional affiliate, he said.

“We have made good progress inreaccommodating passengers and we’llcontinue that process today to get ourcustomers to their destinations in timefor Christmas,” Smith added.

The Arca airline index was up mod-estly on Monday as airline stocks weremixed. Delta was down 8 cents to $11.58in afternoon trading, while AMR wasup 4 cents to $7.65. UAL was up 12cents to $11.54, and Continental AirlinesInc gained 40 cents, or 2.3 percent, to$17.67.

ReutersThe Federal Bureau of Investiga-

tion is investigating a hacking thattargeted Citigroup Inc and resultedin the theft of tens of million of dol-lars, the Wall Street Journal said,citing U.S. government officials.

The cyber attack by hackers be-lieved to be linked to a Russian cybergang was aimed at Citi’s Citibanksubsidiary, the paper said, adding itwas unclear whether the hackersgained access to the bank’s systemsdirectly or through third parties. Twoother entities, including a U.S. gov-ernment agency, were also attacked byhackers, the paper said, citing peoplefamiliar with the attack on Citibank.The cyber attack on Citibank was be-lieved to have taken place last sum-mer but U.S. investigators suspect theattack could have taken place a yearearlier, the paper said.

“We had no breach of the systemand there were no losses, no cus-tomer losses, no bank losses,” JoePetro, managing director ofCitigroup’s Security and Investiga-tive services told the paper.

FBI probescyber attackon Citigroup:

report

“We have discussed it and aregoing to take action to location inorder the threat of Dispenda wouldnot only become a discourse. Start-ing from next January we will takeaction every two weeks to inspect,”he said. As reported previously, tax-payers in Badung having receivedthe third reprimand letter amountedto teens. Regarding to this matter, ifthe taxpayers do not promptly settledtheir obligation Dispenda Badungthreatens to forward the case to Dis-trict Attorney. (ded). (ded). (ded). (ded). (ded)

I Wayan Suanda was foundguilty because illegally using thepromotion tools and punished 2 anda half year imprisonment. Thejudge, Nyoman Sutama, also or-dered to the authorized departmentto confiscate the evidences such aslight box, display shelf, and post-ers. In order to be used as the evi-dences in the other trial for the de-fendant Christoper John James.

The cooperation betweenBillabong International Pty LtdAustralia with CV. Bali Balancewas started in 1988. The last licenseagreement last for 5 years startedfrom June 2004 through June 2009.

In the agreement, CV. Bali Bal-ance was trusted to produce and dis-tribute Billabong products such asclothing, accessories, shoes, coats,and others. CV. Bali Balance whichis owned by Balinese businessmanwas also given the privilege to usethe promotion tools such as lightbox, display shelf, and posters.

From page 1

Billabong The promotion tools were placed in34 stores in Bali and 12 stores outsideBali. However, on June 6th 2006, a newcompany emerged called PT BillabongIndonesia established by Billabong In-ternational PTY. Ltd Australia qq GSMOperations. The company which wasled by Christopher John James as thePresident Director took over the pro-duction and marketing of Billabongbrand in Bali. The company used themarketing network owned by Bali Bal-ance and the suspect Christopher JohnJames and Wayan Suanda change thepictures in the promotion tolls withoutasking permission to CV Bali Balanceand it cost some loss to the company

Since the case was investigated, thesuspect Christopher John James aliasChris James ran away from Indonesia.In order to solve the case which is al-ready going on for three years, Indone-sian Government already sent extradi-tion letter to Australian Government.

The letter which was signed by In-donesian Law Minister at that timeAndi Matallata and was given to theAustralian Government on November18th 2009 by Hendi Santosa, an officerof Indonesian Law Department.

CommissionFrom page 1

ReutersGUATEMALA CITY - Guate-

mala will pay $3 million to com-pensate victims of a civil war-eramassacre in order to comply withan international court ruling, thenation’s human rights chief said onMonday.

The Inter-American Court ofHuman Rights called for the pay-ments after concluding that the Gua-temalan government failed to fullyinvestigate a three-day raid on themountain hamlet of Dos Erres in1982 where more than 200 villag-ers were killed by a special forcesunit. “It’s a strong message,” thegovernment’s highest human rightsofficial, Ruth del Valle, toldReuters, confirming the $3 millionpayment.

Center-leftist President AlvaroColom was elected in 2007 on aplatform of reconciliation with the

Guatemala will pay $3million to massacre victims

country’s violent past. Earlier thismonth, a retired Guatemalan colo-nel was convicted of ordering theforced disappearance of people dur-ing the civil-war era.

Dos Erres became emblematic ofone of the most brutal massacresduring Guatemala’s 36-year civilwar between government forces andleftist guerrillas that left about aquarter-million people dead, mostlyindigenous Maya.

A United Nations-backed TruthCommission found soldiers threwbabies against trees and walls andtossed their bodies into a well, whilehelpless family members weretrapped inside a church only later tobe killed themselves. In a report re-leased on Monday, the court, underthe Organization of American States,said the government should paymore than $3 million to family mem-bers of victims and for court costs.

UNITED STATES- Passengerswait in line todrop their bagsas they prepareto departLaGuardiaAirport onDecember 21,2009 in NewYork. The winterstorm thatswept throughthe East Coastover the week-end caused thecancellation of1,200 flights atNew York’smajor airportsbut today NewYork’sLaGuardiareports delaysof only 15minutes.

AFP PHOTO/DON EMMERT

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 7Indonesia TodayInternational

Speaking at a hearing with theHouse of Representatives (DPR)’sBank Century Inquiry Committee atthe Parliament Building here on Tues-day, Boediono explained that a num-

AFP PHOTO / TJAHJO ERANIUS

Relatives and supporters of late rebel commander Kelly Kwalik lead his coffin (inside the ambulance) dur-ing a funeral in Timika on December 22, 2009. Some 400 people followed the casket of Free Papua Move-ment (OPM) commander Kelly Kwalik, who was shot in a police raid last week, through the streets of Timikato his grave beside a local church. Kwalik’s death has triggered days of anti-Indonesian protests and callsfor independence for the ethnic Melanesian region on the extreme east of the Indonesian archipelago.

Antara

YOGYAKARTA - The ArcheologicalHeritage Preservation Board (BP3) ofYogyakarta has confirmed that a site dis-covered at the Indonesian Islamic Uni-versity (UII), Yogyakarta, used to be ashrine, not a bathing facility (petirtaan).

The leader of the excavation team, BudhySancoyo, said, however, to which religionthe shrine belonged and when it was builtcould not yet be determined because noimportant leads had been found so far.

On the second excavation day, theteam succeeded in unearthing theshrine’s main gate which was 50 cm inwidth, a 6x6 meters wide main yard anda 60 cm wide entrance.

According to Sancoyo, the finding wasa little different from the one outside themain entrance gate which was believedto be the civilization center which onlyhad a 38-cm wide gate.

Antara

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Navy’s warshipswill be equipped with missiles made in China, NavyChief of Staff Admiral Agus Suhartono said hereon Monday.

“We will continue to procure C-802 missilesfrom China after we tested the weapon with goodresults,’ he said adding that the Indonesian Navywas also negotiating with China to obtain C-705missiles that were more slender in shape.

“Both types of missile will be added to the ar-mament of the navy’s fast patrol boats and VanSpeijk warships,” Agus said.

He said the navy would increase the combat ca-pabilities of its Van Speijk and fast patrol boats byintegrating their armament systems with weaponryfrom China.

“We are still unable to make missiles domesti-cally. But fortunately, state shipbuilding firm PTPAL already has the technology to integrate weaponsystems imported from abroad with those alreadyin place on our warships,” he said.

Antara

JAKARTA - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said womenplay a crucial role in building national civilization and character.

“The freedom that we exercise is an ethical one. We build the na-tion to have character and noble morality. Slander, bad and exagger-ating words will only disturb,” the President said in his remarks onthe 81st commemoration of Mothers’ Day at TMII (Beautiful Indo-nesia in Miniature Park) in east Jakarta on Tuesday.

Women, especially mothers, have been playing significant roles innational development since the national struggle for independence,according to the head of state.

Mothers’ Day in Indonesia is observed to express gratitude andappreciation to mothers as well as to promote gender equality in thecountry, according to Yudhoyono.

He said that there has already been progress in the gender equalityefforts as women currently have become legislators, businesswomen,and government officials.

The President also called for more respect and appreciation towomen as they continue to deal with globalization and economic cri-sis.

The Mothers’ Day commemoration was attended among others byFirst Lady Ani Yudhoyono, Vice President Boediono’s wife HerawatyBoediono, and Mrs. Try Sutrisno (wife of former vice president TrySutrisno).

President: Women playcrucial role in nationalcivilization building

Change in BI regulations duringChange in BI regulations duringChange in BI regulations duringChange in BI regulations duringChange in BI regulations duringcrisis not uncommoncrisis not uncommoncrisis not uncommoncrisis not uncommoncrisis not uncommonAntara

JAKARTA - Former Bank Indonesia (BI) governor Boediono said achange in BI regulations by the BI board of governors in time of crisiswas not uncommon.

ber of emergency steps had been takento save the country’s banking indus-try in a crisis situation in order to pre-vent the problem from dragging on.

In a crisis condition, a change in the

minimal CAR (Capital Adequacy Ra-tio) limit to obtain a short-term creditfacility (FPJP) was also necessary,Boediono, currently the country’s vicepresident, said. A collapse of a bank,no matter how small, could cause otherbanks to meet the same fate, he said.

Boediono said he had differentopinion from that of the SupremeAudit Agency (BPK), which saidthat the policy was merely for the

sake of Bank Century. At the hear-ing led by the committee chairmanIdrus Marham, Boediono said theCAR policy change was applied forall banks - big and small ones.

A BPK audit on Bank Century(now Bank Mutiara) had earlier in-dicated that there was BI indecisive-ness regarding the bank formerlyowned by Robert Tantular. Bank In-donesia was suspected of making up

its own regulations in order to en-able Bank Century to get FPJP.

Bank Indonesia changed BI’sregulation No. 10/26/PBI/2008 onthe requirement to give FPJP frompreviously 8 percent of CAR to CARpositive. The CAR position of pub-lic banks per 30 September 2008 wasabove 8 percent, namely 10.39-47.34percent. The only bank with a CARbelow 8 percent was Century.

RI warships to be equippedwith Chinese-made missiles

The navy chief admitted with limited budget forhis department, his officials would continue mak-ing a priority scale on the procurement of weap-onry system.

“Our main priority now is security in sea borderareas and the outer islands of Indonesia,” he saidadding that the navy would also replace some 27 ofits warships with newer types and better combatcapabilities. Agus Suhartono had previously saidIndonesia’s western waters were prone to variousmaritime crimes such as smuggling, human traf-ficking and poaching.

“The sea crimes are not the only problems wehave in the western waters. In these areas we alsohave border problems with India, Vietnam, Thai-land, Singapore and Malaysia,” the navy chief said.

He said that in order to maintain security in thearea, the navy conducted routine patrols in the In-donesian western waters. It had maintained jointpatrols with its counterparts from India, Thailand,Singapore and Malaysia. As a result, the maritimecrime rate in the western waters had dropped, par-ticularly in the Malacca Strait.

Archeological team findsancient shrine in Yogyakarta

An artifact in the form of a double tri-angle corner decoration was found at themain temple located at the western endof the shrine which was discovered someseven meters away from the main gate.

The team had yet to establish whichof two religions the shrine builders em-braced - Buddhism or Hinduism - asthere were much similarty between thetwo, their difference being only in thestatues they set up.

“A fragment of the shrine’s stonestructure was also discovered some sevenmeters from the western side of today’sexcavation,” Sancoyo said.

The team aimed to focus on gettingthe shrine’s design within 12 days tocome by mobilizing 10 experts and 20local staffers.

“After the digging target in squaremeters has been achieved, the team willdig deeper to determine the shrine’sdepth,” Sancoyo said.

8 InternationaWednesday, December 23, 2009

Bali Today

Mulkis, a seller from eastern Java, said thathe sell various items that can be use to cel-ebrate New Year. The price varied from 2,000rupiah through 7,000 rupiah. “We alwayscome to Bali every year and sell our NewYear products. After the holiday pass, we goback to Java and sell meat balls,” he added.

Mulkis and some of his friend are sell-ing in Ahmad Yani Street. He said that thebuyers are not many yet. “Near the New Yearusually the buyers increase highly. Now weonly can sell 7 trumpets a day,” he added

Mulkis admitted that he earned a lot ofmany by selling the trumpets in the previousyears. Usually he brought 2,000 trumpets buthe only sells 50 of them each day. There isgreat hope that the New Year accessories canbe sold highly because the Balinese has thetradition to use trumpets to celebrate NewYear.

Suprim, who also from East Java choseto sell his trumpets in Gatot Subroto Street.Previously, he sold carpets but now he turninto trumpets because the demand of trum-pets increasing highly near the New Year.

However, Suprim didn’t make thetrumpets by himself so he must share theprofit with the producers. “We split the profit50-50,” he added. The system is very ben-eficiary for the sellers because they don’thave to give down payment before takingthe products.

Tens of trumpet sellers packed DenpasarTens of trumpet sellers packed DenpasarTens of trumpet sellers packed DenpasarTens of trumpet sellers packed DenpasarTens of trumpet sellers packed DenpasarAntara

DENPASAR – Tens of trumpet DENPASAR – Tens of trumpet DENPASAR – Tens of trumpet DENPASAR – Tens of trumpet DENPASAR – Tens of trumpetsellers from Java started to display theirsellers from Java started to display theirsellers from Java started to display theirsellers from Java started to display theirsellers from Java started to display theirproducts on the streets of Denpasar.products on the streets of Denpasar.products on the streets of Denpasar.products on the streets of Denpasar.products on the streets of Denpasar.They are coming to Bali near the Christ-They are coming to Bali near the Christ-They are coming to Bali near the Christ-They are coming to Bali near the Christ-They are coming to Bali near the Christ-mas and New Year 2010 celebration.mas and New Year 2010 celebration.mas and New Year 2010 celebration.mas and New Year 2010 celebration.mas and New Year 2010 celebration.

The three systems take into ac-count the respective positions of themoon and the sun, because accord-ing to Hinduism these influence hu-man life in many ways. The orbit-ing of the planets in space, can cre-ate a climate which greatly affectsall living things, which are HyangWidhi’s (God) creations.

In the book of BrahmandaPurana, the planets which fill spaceare called Brahmanda, from theword Brahman meaning God. Theword Anda meanwhile means egg.

It is clear then that the plan-ets filling space – according to theWeda language – mean the eggs ofHyang Widhi. In other words, theplanets are the creation of God. Theplanets which mostly affect humanlife and all other living things arethe sun, the moon and the earth.

Like western philosophy,oriental philosophy also states thatman lives in harmony with nature.And according to Hinduism, manis also called Bhuwana Alit (micro-cosmos) while the universe is called

Balinese Hindus UseThree Different Calendar Systems

To determine good days orTo determine good days orTo determine good days orTo determine good days orTo determine good days orbad days, Balinese Hindus usebad days, Balinese Hindus usebad days, Balinese Hindus usebad days, Balinese Hindus usebad days, Balinese Hindus use

three different calendarthree different calendarthree different calendarthree different calendarthree different calendarsystems. The first is the lunarsystems. The first is the lunarsystems. The first is the lunarsystems. The first is the lunarsystems. The first is the lunarsystem (system (system (system (system (Chandra PremanaChandra PremanaChandra PremanaChandra PremanaChandra Premana),),),),),which is based on the moonwhich is based on the moonwhich is based on the moonwhich is based on the moonwhich is based on the moon

orbiting around the earth. Theorbiting around the earth. Theorbiting around the earth. Theorbiting around the earth. Theorbiting around the earth. Thesecond one is the solar systemsecond one is the solar systemsecond one is the solar systemsecond one is the solar systemsecond one is the solar system

(((((Surya PremanaSurya PremanaSurya PremanaSurya PremanaSurya Premana), which is), which is), which is), which is), which isbased on the earth orbitingbased on the earth orbitingbased on the earth orbitingbased on the earth orbitingbased on the earth orbiting

around the sun. And the thirdaround the sun. And the thirdaround the sun. And the thirdaround the sun. And the thirdaround the sun. And the thirdis the “wuku system”, whichis the “wuku system”, whichis the “wuku system”, whichis the “wuku system”, whichis the “wuku system”, whichis only known by Hindus inis only known by Hindus inis only known by Hindus inis only known by Hindus inis only known by Hindus in

Java and Bali.Java and Bali.Java and Bali.Java and Bali.Java and Bali.

Bhuwana Agung (macrocosmos). The sun, the moon and the

earth each revolve according totheir own nature. Since human be-ings live with nature, they have tolive in line with it.

The earth revolves aroundthe sun for 365 days 5 hours 48minutes and 46 seconds a year andthe moon revolves around the earthfor 355 days a year. Compared tothe earth orbiting the sun, the moonorbiting the earth is always ten daysfaster every year. There thereforeneed to be adjustments made tothe calendar systems every tenyears.

In the above lunar-solarsystem, one year is divided intotwelve months much like in anyother calendar system. Anothersystem which is used is the wukusystem. This system is also calledpawukon and has 210 days a year(a wukon), which is equal to justover six months in a conventionalcalendar system. It is this systemwhich is usually used to determine

AntaraGIANYAR – Near Christmas and

New Year 2010, the hotel occupancyrate in Ubud increase up to 7%.Dewa Gede Putra Arimbawa, thehead of Gianyar Hotels and Restau-rants Association (PHRI), said thatthe previous month, the hotel occu-pancy rate in the area was only 63%but now already 70% or 80%.

“Currently, most of the 250hotels in Ubud are almost fullybooked. There is great hope that thecondition will remain stable untilDecember,” he added.

Arimbawa who also ownedHotel Pertiwi in Ubud, is still veryoptimist that the hotel occupancy ratewill be stable until New Year. Thesimilar statement also said by IWayan Roja, the owner of HomeStay Roja’s.

“Our hoe stay is 70% bookedby the tourists. The number will in-crease by the end of the year, it hap-pened every year,” he added.

Hotel’sbooking in

Ubud increasewhen piodalans (temple festivals)are held. When this edition of BaliTravel News is published, manysuch odalan will be going on invarious temples throughout Bali.

The Balinese also have adating system, called PrenataMasa, which is especially used foragriculture. It is important to notethat no matter how modern the cul-ture of a society is, without agri-culture it is nothing, since it is theagriculture which provides the ba-sic needs of human beings. In ap-plying the teachings of their reli-gion, Hindus never abandon agri-culture no matter how modern theservice industry is.

According to Hinduism, theharmony of the universe will havea great effect on the harmony ofhuman life on earth. What is meantby harmony in this context coversthe dynamism and productivity indeveloping balanced and continu-ous material and spiritual valuesto improve the quality of humanlife. (BTN/*)(BTN/*)(BTN/*)(BTN/*)(BTN/*)

Bali Post/Eka

Children are buying trumpets from the seller. Tens even hundreds of trumpets sellers crowded at Bali during the year endholiday. They came from East Java and usually come to Bali to sell trumpets and other Christmas accessories during theChristmas and New Year celebration.

Balinese Culture

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 9al

Kenus Mebase Bali(Balinese Squid)

Overview:If you are only accustomed to eating deep-fried

squid, you’ll be surprised by the difference when it iscooked Balinese style. If squid is unavailable, replacewith large cuttlefish or any other firm fish fillets suchas snapper or sea bass.

Ingredients:600 gram baby squid, cleaned and diced1 tbsp freshly squeezed limejuice1/3 tsp powdered black pepper1/2 tsp salt1/2 tsp oil5 shallots, peeled and sliced2 large red chilies, seeded and sliced1/2 cup spice paste for seafood1 cup chicken stock5 sprigs lemon basil, slicedFried shallots and sprigs of lemon basil to garnish

Preparation:Heat oil in wok; add shallots, chilies and squid and

sauté for 2 minutes over high heat. Add seafood spicepaste and continue to sauté for 1 more minute. Pourin chicken stock, add the sliced basil and bring to boil.Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Season totaste and garnish with sprigs of lemon basil, friedshallots and serve with Coconut Rice.(www.baliguide.com/balifood)

Pancong(Coconut Cake)

Ingredients:2 cups freshly grated coconut, or1½ cups desiccated coconut moistened with warm

milk1/3 cup glutinous rice flour1/3 cup plain rice flour¼ cup white sugar½ tsp salt

Preparation:Combine all ingredients in a deep bowl and knead

well for 3 minutes, until the dough is smooth and doesnot stick. Dust a cake tin with a little rice flour andpress the dough into it. Bake in moderate oven (180degree Celsius/350 degree F) for approximately 35minutes, or until the top is golden brown.(www.baliguide.com/balifood)

Bali Post DENPASAR - Having suc-

cessfully accomplished the organi-zation of Gajah Mada Town Festi-val 2008, at this yearend 2009,Denpasar City Government willhold again the same event with thetitle Denpasar Festival II. Thus, theAssistant II of Development Admin-istration, IGN Eddy Mulya, lastMonday (Dec 21), revealed whenchairing the press conference atBumbu Desa Restaurant at Renon,Denpasar.

Eddy Mulya accompanied bythe Head of Denpasar GovernmentTourism Office, Putu Budhiasa, theHead of Denpasar Industry and TradeServices, Wayan Gatra and PutuGede Suwitra as event organizer ex-plained further that as a yearend fes-tivity opened to public, DenpasarFestival would present the richnessof art and culture as well as economicactivities being familiar withDenpasar City. It would be high-lighted into the theme “Welcomingthe Brilliant Future.” This theme wasintended as an affirmation of behav-ior and exclamation that even thoughDenpasar was open, it was selectiveand adaptive toward the developmentof time. Similarly, it had confidencethat the entire potency and culturalheritage merged into art, culture andcreativity posed the values becom-ing the basic assets to step furtherinto a better future.

Besides, the festival was themanifestation of the spirit ofDenpasar to make itself a Creative

Denpasar Festival to be held in year endCity Based on Superior Culture.Eddy Mulya also explained that thefestival organized around JalanGajah Mada would take place fromDecember 28 through 31, 2009 in-volving hundreds of vendors fromvarious kinds of products aside frompresenting modern and traditionalart performances, he said.

Meanwhile, the Head ofDenpasar Government Tourism Of-fice highly expected all media bothelectronic and print media to help theorganization of the event in the form

of broadcast, publication or inputs.Then, the Head of Denpasar Industryand Trade also expected the participa-tion of all media, committee and com-munity to make the event successful.It involved almost a hundred of par-ticipants from all nooks and cranniesof Denpasar City, comprising the ven-dor, figure, artist, humanist, scientist,academician, expert, teacher, studentor others. Having heard the explana-tion in details from the event organizer,the press conference was resumed withquestion-answer session.

http://dasarbali.files.wordpress.com

Visitors walking out from Gajah Mada Town Festival 2008 thatlocated at Gajah Mada Street, Denpasar that held annually bythe Denpasar’s government. Having successfully accomplishedthe organization of Gajah Mada Town Festival 2008, at this yearend 2009, Denpasar City Government will hold again the sameevent with the title Denpasar Festival II.

Wednesday, December 23, 200910 InternationalDestinations

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BALI Museum, Places of interestin Bali, Denpasar TownBali Museumis strategically located in MajorWisnu Street in Denpasar Bali and itis find it due to the location is in theheart town. In the north side there areglorious temple of Jagatnatha, mean-while in front of it the PuputanBadung (Badung Courtyard) and fourface statue (Catur Muka Statue) arelocated. The development of BaliMuseum is begun by the existence ofinitiative how to vitally the heritageof Balinese culture and taking careof, preserve and maintaining. The ini-tiative is based on the existence offeeling to worry, that there is symp-tom a kind of culture erosion, so thatthe cultural heritage become totallydisappeared, lose, what omit onlyphotograph and documentations.Bali Museum History

Bali Museum save the Balineseculture heritage, emerge the found-ing plan a museum which afterwardbecomes the Bali Museum:

* The early planning of Bali Mu-seum founding was Governmental

Bali Museumfunctionary of Dutch, Bali King, So-ciety Prominent, all artists like: WFJKroon (assistant of Dutch Resident),Curt Grundler (a Germany Architect),I Gusti Alit Ngurah (BestuurderPenegara Badung), I Gusti BagusJelantik (King of Karangasem), IGusti Ketut Djelantik (King ofBuleleng), King of Tabanan, and allartists like I Gusti Ketut Kandel, IGusti Ketut Rai. The Planning is hap-pened in year 1910 with the elemen-tary concept Bali Museum buildingstructure that was solidarity of thestructure between temple building(Sanctum) and Palace (Keraton).

* After agreed on the concept ofthe museum building structure, hencefounded a mains building which de-flect finished in year 1925. Becauseof the ancient object collection whichhad been collected is not yet adequateand then during 7 years (1925-1932),the mains building stood functionedfor the exhibition purpose. All meri-torious experts in checking objecttaken as collection of Bali Museumfor example: DR.W.F. Stutterheim,

G.I. Graider, G.M. Hendrikss, DR.R.Goris, and artist of Walter Spies

* Bali Museum in the beginningis handled by an institution that iscalled Bali Museum Institution andopened officially on 8 December1932 with the name of Bali Museum

* The management hereinafterby institution of Bali Museum hasbeen reverted to Government of In-donesia since 5 January 1966.

The object collections which arekept in Bali Museum can be classifiedbecome the prehistoric object collec-tion like: the Grave Petrify (sarkopag),the object collection coming from his-tory era like: stupika clay containingsuperstitious formula Ye Te, the bronzestatues (Hindu and Budha statues) andethnography object collection likeKeris, Endek Cloth, and religious cer-emony equipments (Sangku, Cecepanand Sidakarya mask). In its growth,now Bali Museum have been openedgenerically and become the tourist des-tination in Denpasar Town and it is aprefect place to visit in Bali.(www.balistarisland.com)

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 11

BUSINESS

At a World Trade Organization disputesettlement meeting in Geneva on Monday,China requested the formation of an expertpanel to examine the legality of “specialsafeguard” duties on Chinese tire importsimposed by the Obama administration inSeptember, the Xinhua news agency re-ported. The United States successfullyraised procedural objections, and Chinawill raise the demand again next month,launching a WTO probe that could take sixmonths or longer to reach a finding, saidthe report. Either side then can take issuewith the panel finding, eventually pushingthe case to a final decision by WTO judges.

“The U.S. government decision toimpose the duties lacked a factual basis,and was thus in violation of the relevantWTO rules,” the Xinhua report said, citinga statement by Chinese officials in Genevaon Monday.

“This so-called special safeguard wasbowing to pressure from domestic protec-

China looks to WTO probe into U.S. tire dutiesChina looks to WTO probe into U.S. tire dutiesChina looks to WTO probe into U.S. tire dutiesChina looks to WTO probe into U.S. tire dutiesChina looks to WTO probe into U.S. tire dutiesReuters

BEIJING - China has sought a WTO probe into U.S. duties on Chinese- BEIJING - China has sought a WTO probe into U.S. duties on Chinese- BEIJING - China has sought a WTO probe into U.S. duties on Chinese- BEIJING - China has sought a WTO probe into U.S. duties on Chinese- BEIJING - China has sought a WTO probe into U.S. duties on Chinese-made tires but was stymied for now by U.S. objections, state media said, themade tires but was stymied for now by U.S. objections, state media said, themade tires but was stymied for now by U.S. objections, state media said, themade tires but was stymied for now by U.S. objections, state media said, themade tires but was stymied for now by U.S. objections, state media said, thelatest in a series of disputes between the two economic giants to reach the globallatest in a series of disputes between the two economic giants to reach the globallatest in a series of disputes between the two economic giants to reach the globallatest in a series of disputes between the two economic giants to reach the globallatest in a series of disputes between the two economic giants to reach the globaltrade umpire.trade umpire.trade umpire.trade umpire.trade umpire.

nancial in San Bernardino, California, was as-tounded by what he heard at a brokers’ meetinglast week.

“The confusion and misunderstandings overRESPA is worse than I thought,” said Rice, whosought more education. “Of the 20 or so in atten-dance, each had a different interpretation of at leastone item.”

The new estimate details and defines loanterms and costs, versus undefined line items in theold one. It specifies rate, whether the rate canchange, and encourages the borrower to shoparound. For the first time, good faith estimatesmust match, with few exceptions, costs on closingstatements. This means more work and liability forlenders since inputs of lawyers, title companies andbrokers increase chances for error.

Lenders are looking for more precision thanever from HUD on the guidelines since the esti-mate puts them on the hook if closing costs vary.

Reflecting the uncertainty of lenders andsettlement agents, frequently asked questions onHUD’s website have soared to 253.

“It’s a document that just keeps growing, andwe’re in the final hours of people getting ready,”said Jonathan Corr, chief strategy officer at EllieMae in Pleasanton, California. The company’s loansoftware, which is used to originate 20 percent ofU.S. mortgages, has been updated for the changes,he said. “This is a mess,” said Bill Dallas, chiefexecutive officer of Skyline Financial Corp. inCalabasas, California. As an industry, “it’s likewe’ve read about this earthquake thing and arethinking, ‘We ought to do something.’ That’s wherewe are.”

To get ready, Fairway Independent Mortgagespent tens of thousands of dollars in technology,

U.S. mortgage industrygrapples with new disclosures

legal and other costs, said Dan Cutaia, president ofthe Frisco, Texas-based lender. Cutaia has set “au-dit checkpoints” as checks on business partners andto prevent problems with disclosures that could tainthis ability to sell the loans he makes. Common ques-tions from loan officers include whether a good faithestimate must be generated with a loanprequalification and what information is requiredfrom the borrower before the document can be gen-erated, First Secure’s Rice said.

Brokers have the additional challenge of ex-plaining their fees, which are singled out in the newestimate, even though final origination costs maybe identical under a bank-led origination, said FredArnold, a broker with America Family Funding inStevenson Ranch, California.

Big lenders with more resources may be inbetter position to handle the changes, adding to ad-vantages that have helped their retail channels gainmarket share, analysts said.

Wells Fargo, the largest U.S. lender, said it isready after making “a real commitment” to adaptits systems and speak with real estate and settle-ment agents who will help inform customers aboutpossible impacts on loan-processing timelines.

The new forms “should help borrowers avoidsurprise charges at settlement, give them the abilityto competitively shop for the loan, and, ultimately,help them feel more comfortable with their finaldecisions,” a spokesman said.

This month, HUD stepped up its efforts toeducate the industry about the changes with onlinepresentations. It is making headway, though com-munication between lenders and settlement agentscould cause problems initially, said Vicki Bott,HUD’s deputy assistant secretary for single-familyhousing.

tionism, and violated the international con-sensus to avoid protectionist measuresagainst the backdrop of the financial andeconomic crisis,” said the statement.

Beijing reacted angrily to PresidentBarack Obama’s decision to impose a spe-cial 35 percent tariff on Chinese-made tiresafter the United Steelworkers union com-plained that imports had tripled between2004 and 2008 to about 46 million tires.

China worries the decision could set aprecedent for other such safeguard barriersagainst its exports and had already indicatedit was looking to take the dispute to theWTO. Washington has said it believesthe tire duties do not violate WTO rules.

Trade disputes between Beijing andWashington being heard by the WTO coverproducts such as steel, poultry, and raw ma-terials. WTO trade judges on Monday re-jected a Chinese appeal against a ruling thatmany of its curbs on foreign films, books andother cultural products violate trade rules.

ReutersNEW YORK - The biggest changes to

home loan disclosures since the 1970s arearound the corner and many in the industryare warning that misunderstandings will cre-ate a logjam of confusion just as housing triesto recover.

A complete overhaul of the “good faithestimate” — a standard disclosure documentsent to borrowers — under the Real EstateSettlement Procedures Act, known as RESPA,will take effect on January 1, potentially dis-rupting home sale closings.

The new procedures developed by theU.S. Department of Housing and Urban De-velopment come after years of attempts to

improve transparency on costs associated withclosing a loan, including broker fees, and pre-vent the kind of surprising jumps in paymentsthat made the housing crisis worse.

While the thrust of the rules is understood,there is widespread trepidation about how toput them into practice.

Changes that expand a one-page form tothree have been the subject of countless hoursof debate for banker and broker groups thatquestion the benefits to consumers.

Disputes aside, the rules must now beimplemented. Much of the industry is still try-ing to understand what must be disclosed —and how and when.

Bob Rice, president of First Secure Fi-

Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

The Sagamore Hotel is seen on December 14, 2009 in Miami Beach, Florida.After missing the last three mortgage payments, Sagamore Partners mayloose the hotel as it faces a $31.5 million foreclosure lawsuit filed by acommercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) fund. The biggest changesto home loan disclosures since the 1970s are around the corner and manyin the industry are warning that misunderstandings will create a logjam ofconfusion just as housing tries to recover.

REUTERS/Jianan Yu

Employees work on the assembly line at an automobile factory in Hefei, Anhui prov-ince December 17, 2008. China has sought a WTO probe into U.S. duties on Chinese-made tires but was stymied for now by U.S. objections, state media said, the latest in aseries of disputes between the two economic giants to reach the global trade umpire.

Entertainment InternationalWednesday, December 23, 200912

Calling the 61-year-old film-maker “an innovator of the contem-porary language of cinema,” festi-val organizers said in a statementposted on their official Web siteMonday that they decided to awardWoo the Golden Lion for lifetimeachievement.

“The acknowledgment recog-nizes a filmmaker who in recentdecades, with his revolutionary con-ception of staging and editing, hasrenewed action movies to the core,introducing an extreme stylizationclose to visual art, both in Asia andin Hollywood,” organizers said.

“This is a surprise to me. I’mexcited. I’m very grateful,” Woo toldThe Associated Press in a phone in-terview from the eastern Chinesecity Hengdian, where he is produc-ing a new kung fu movie starringformer Bond girl Michelle Yeoh.

Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES – Authoritiessaid Monday it appeared actressBrittany Murphy died of naturalcauses after becoming ill withflulike symptoms in the days be-fore she collapsed in the bathroomof her Hollywood Hills home.

Assistant Chief Coroner EdWinter said an autopsy had beenconducted and officials wereawaiting the results of toxicologyand tissue testing before determin-ing an official cause of death. Itcould take up to six weeks beforea determination is made public.

Officials also interviewedMurphy’s personal physician andexamined prescription drugs takenfrom her home.

Paramedics tried to reviveMurphy early Sunday, but she waspronounced dead at Cedars-SinaiMedical Center. The hospital saidshe died of cardiac arrest.

The autopsy found no signs oftrauma to the body of the 32-year-old star of “Clueless” and “8 Mile.”Police did not suspect foul play.

“We went to the scene to see ifthere was anything that suggestsfoul play, and there wasn’t,” LosAngeles police Detective WendiBerndt said.

Winter said Murphy’s familyreported she had been ill and thatcould have contributed to herdeath. He said he had no furtherdetails about the medication taken

Agence France Presse

LOS ANGELES – Science-fic-tion adventure “Avatar” topped theNorth American box office thisweekend, scooping 77 million dol-lars in a stellar debut for the effects-laden epic, final figures showedMonday.

Director James Cameron’s firstfilm since the 1997 Oscar-winner“Titanic” is a 3-D spectacular with areported budget of 300-500 milliondollars, which would make it themost expensive movie ever.

The film, a love story set on a dis-tant planet, accounted for about 59percent of the weekend box office,according to industry tracker Exhibi-tor Relations. Analysts believe “Ava-tar” would have scored an even big-ger opening had it not been for thewinter storm that dropped recordsnowfalls on large areas of the east-ern United States, deterring movie-goers from theaters.

Avatar dislodged Disney’s “ThePrincess and the Frog,” which earned12.2 million dollars for second place.

Third was “The Blind Side,” adrama about a white couple who givean illiterate black teen a home and anew lease on life. The film scored 10million dollars in its fifth week ofrelease.

Next was “Did You Hear Aboutthe Morgans?”, a romantic comedyin which Hugh Grant and Sarah Jes-sica Parker play an estranged couplewho witness a mob hit and are placedin a witness protection program. Thefilm grossed 6.6 million dollars in its

Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – CarrieUnderwood is engaged to OttawaSenators hockey player MikeFisher, her publicist said Monday.No wedding date has been set forthe couple, who have been datingfor about a year.

“The couple couldn’t be hap-pier,” said publicist Jessie Schmidt.

Fisher, 29, recorded his 300thcareer point for the Senators in their4-1 win over the Minnesota Wildon Saturday. Fisher had an assist onAnton Volchenkov’s goal in the firstperiod.

Asked by The Associated Presslast month what Underwood’s fam-ily thought of Fisher, the 26-year-old singer said they were support-ive.

“They love me and I would hopemy parents would think we raiseda good, smart girl, so she’s going todo the right thing no matter what itis,” she said.

Days before the CMA Awards inearly November, Underwood didnot know whether she would bespending the holidays with Fisher.

“Christmas, I don’t know. Wehaven’t really thought that farahead. We kind of take it one week

Venice festival honorsVenice festival honorsVenice festival honorsVenice festival honorsVenice festival honorsWoo with lifetime awardWoo with lifetime awardWoo with lifetime awardWoo with lifetime awardWoo with lifetime awardAssociated Press Writer

HONG KONG – Organizers for the Venice Film Festival have hon-ored John Woo with its lifetime achievement award, saying the vet-eran director transformed action movies both in his native Hong Kongand his current professional home of Hollywood.

“I feel very gratified that I cancommunicate with many peoplearound the world and make manyfriends through movies,” he said.

Woo made his name in Hong Kongwith stylish action films like “A Bet-ter Tomorrow,” “The Killer” and“Hard Boiled” before moving on tothe U.S., where his credits include“Broken Arrow,” “Face/Off” and“Mission: Impossible II.” Woo re-cently returned to China to make thetwo-part historical epic “Red Cliff.”His next project is a movie about theso-called “Flying Tigers” — Ameri-can fighter pilots who defended Chinaagainst Japanese invaders duringWorld War II.

“In his war and gangster film mas-terpieces, Woo has been capable oftransfiguring hyperbolic motion andexasperated violence with a highlyoriginal poetic and romantic infusion,

AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, FileFILE - In this Feb. 5, 2009 file photo,Chinese film director John Woospeaks during the Japan premiereof ‘Red Cliff Part II’ in Tokyo, Japan.

sustained by an extremely personal andenergetic figurative tension, similar toa surreal hallucination,” organizerssaid. The award will be presented atthe 67th Venice Film Festival, whichwill be held from Sept. 1-11, 2010.

Sci-fi epic ‘Avatar’ tops North American box officedebut. Fifth place went to “The Twi-light Saga: New Moon,” the vampireromance sequel adapted fromStephenie Meyer’s phenomenally suc-cessful books, with 4.4 million dollars.

In sixth spot with 4.2 million dol-lars was “Invictus” starring veteranactor Morgan Freeman, about howthen-president of South Africa NelsonMandela united the country around the1995 World Cup.

Seventh place went to “Disney’s AChristmas Carol,” starring wacky com-edy hero Jim Carrey with earnings of3.4 million dollars.

Eighth was “Up In the Air” starringGeorge Clooney in the acclaimed storyof a corporate downsizer who starts toquestion his role in life, which earned3.2 million dollars.

“Brothers,” a drama starring “Spi-der-Man” Tobey Maguire about theimpact of the Afghanistan war on aconflicted US family, which earned 2.9million dollars in its fourth week ofrelease, was next.

“Old Dogs,” a Disney film starringJohn Travolta and Robin Williams,earned 2.3 million dollars to round outthe top 10 films.

AFP/Getty Images/File/Kevin WinterL-R: Actors Sigourney Weaver, Sam Worthington, Michelle Rodriguezand Joel Moore arrive at the premiere of 20th Century Fox’s “Avatar” atthe Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on December 16 in Hollywood, Califor-nia. “Avatar” dominated the weekend boxoffice, with projected sales of$73 million — accounting for more than half of North American movieticket sales, according to industry estimates.

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg.FileCarrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood engagedto NHL player Mike Fisher

at a time,” she said then.Underwood has kept her relation-

ship largely under wraps, but shegave Fisher a very public shout-outin the liner notes of her current al-bum, “Play On,” that was releasedNov. 3. She wrote, “Thank you (No.)12 (referring to his jersey number.)You are the most amazing additionto my life! You are such a wonder-ful person and have had such anamazing hand in the building of thisalbum and in the growth of me as aperson. I love you so much! Youmake my life better in every way!”

Family: Brittany Murphywas ill days before death

from the home Murphy shared withher screenwriter husband SimonMonjack.

“My world was destroyed yes-terday,” Monjack told Access Hol-lywood in an interview Monday. Hesaid Murphy’s mother, Sharon, dis-covered the actress unconscious inthe shower, and he called 911.

He told Access Hollywood thatMurphy had laryngitis but it didn’tseem that serious. Funeral arrange-ments have not been announced.

“The sudden loss of our belovedBrittany is a terrible tragedy,”Monjack and her family wrote in astatement. “She was our daughter,our wife, our love, and a shiningstar.” Murphy’s death put “SaturdayNight Live” in an awkward spot.

BP/ist

Brittany Murphy

International Wednesday, December 23, 2009 13Life Style

But the revelation in the book“Time to Eat the Dog: The RealGuide to Sustainable Living” byNew Zealanders Robert and BrendaVale has angered pet owners whofeel they are being singled out astroublemakers.

The Vales, specialists in sustain-able living at Victoria University ofWellington, analysed popular brandsof pet food and calculated that amedium-sized dog eats around 164kilos (360 pounds) of meat and 95kilos of cereal a year.

Combine the land required togenerate its food and a “medium”sized dog has an annual footprint of

PEOPLE who send text messageswhile driving are six times more likelyto crash, a new study finds. The re-search adds to a mountain of evidenceshowing that texting or talking onmobile phones while driving is dan-gerous. Texting seems to be the worst.

The new study was done in a driv-ing simulator, however, so it’s notknown exactly how the results wouldtranslate to the road. Still, the resultswere stark.

In the simulations, drivers tendedto decrease their minimum followingdistance when texting and also expe-rienced delayed reaction times - mean-ing among other things they wereslower to hit the brakes when needed.Drivers’ median reaction time in-

Associated Press Writer

AUGUSTA, Maine – A Mainelegislator wants to make the statethe first to require cell phones tocarry warnings that they can causebrain cancer, although there is noconsensus among scientists thatthey do and industry leaders dis-pute the claim.

The now-ubiquitous devicescarry such warnings in some coun-tries, though no U.S. states requirethem, according to the NationalConference of State Legislators. Asimilar effort is afoot in San Fran-cisco, where Mayor Gavin Newsomwants his city to be the nation’s firstto require the warnings.

Maine Rep. Andrea Boland, D-Sanford, said numerous studiespoint to the cancer risk, and she haspersuaded legislative leaders to al-low her proposal to come up for dis-cussion during the 2010 session thatbegins in January, a session usuallyreserved for emergency and gover-nors’ bills.

Boland herself uses a cell phone,but with a speaker to keep the phoneaway from her head. She also leavesthe phone off unless she’s expect-ing a call. At issue is radiation emit-ted by all cell phones.

Under Boland’s bill, manufactur-ers would have to put labels onphones and packaging warning ofthe potential for brain cancer asso-ciated with electromagnetic radia-tion. The warnings would recom-mend that users, especially childrenand pregnant women, keep the de-vices away from their head andbody.

The Federal CommunicationsCommission, which maintains thatall cell phones sold in the U.S. aresafe, has set a standard for the “spe-cific absorption rate” ofradiofrequency energy, but it doesn’trequire handset makers to divulgeradiation levels.

The San Francisco proposalwould require the display of the ab-sorption rate level next to eachphone in print at least as big as theprice. Boland’s bill is not specific

A man walks hisdog in the snow inthe East Village onDecember 19 inNew York City.Man’s best friendcould be one ofthe environment’sworst enemies,according to anew study whichsays the carbonpawprint of a petdog is more thandouble that of agas-guzzlingsports utilityvehicle.

AFP/Getty Images/File/Mario Tama

Polluting pets: thePolluting pets: thePolluting pets: thePolluting pets: thePolluting pets: thedevastating impactdevastating impactdevastating impactdevastating impactdevastating impactof man’s best friendof man’s best friendof man’s best friendof man’s best friendof man’s best friendAgence France Presse

PARIS – Man’s best friend could be one of the environment’s worstenemies, according to a new study which says the carbon pawprint of apet dog is more than double that of a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle.

0.84 hectares (2.07 acres) — aroundtwice the 0.41 hectares required bya 4x4 driving 10,000 kilometres(6,200 miles) a year, including en-ergy to build the car.

To confirm the results, the NewScientist magazine asked JohnBarrett at the Stockholm Environ-ment Institute in York, Britain, tocalculate eco-pawprints based on hisown data. The results were essen-tially the same.

“Owning a dog really is quite anextravagance, mainly because of thecarbon footprint of meat,” Barrettsaid.

Other animals aren’t much better

for the environment, the Vales say.Cats have an eco-footprint of

about 0.15 hectares, slightly lessthan driving a Volkswagen Golf fora year, while two hamsters equatesto a plasma television and even thehumble goldfish burns energyequivalent to two mobile telephones.

But Reha Huttin, president ofFrance’s 30 Million Friends animalrights foundation says the humanimpact of eliminating pets would beequally devastating.

“Pets are anti-depressants, theyhelp us cope with stress, they aregood for the elderly,” Huttin told AFP.

“Everyone should work out theirown environmental impact. I shouldbe allowed to say that I walk insteadof using my car and that I don’t eatmeat, so why shouldn’t I be allowedto have a little cat to alleviate myloneliness?”

In this photo taken Dec. 15, 2009, Tina Derby sends text messageswhile driving in Concord, N.H. Tina Derby loves the ease and speed oftext messages, even while driving, and sees no need to pull over to tapher fingers on her phone. As of Jan. 1, New Hampshire, Oregon andIllinois will join more than a dozen other states,

Drivers Who Text Are Six Times More Likely to Crashcreased by 30 percent when they weretexting and 9 percent when they talkedon the phone, compared with when theywere just driving.

Drivers who were texting alsoshowed impairment in forward and lat-eral control than did drivers who talkedon a cell phone while driving or drovewithout texting. A study earlier this yearfound that 60 percent of teens “drivewhile texting,” or DWT.

Previous studies had found thatadults who talk on cell phones whiledriving in simulators perform as dis-mally as drunken study participants.

When talking on a cell phone, “driv-ers apparently attempt to divide atten-tion between a phone conversation anddriving, adjusting the processing prior-

ity of the two activities depending ontask demands,” the researchers be-hind the new study write in the jour-nal Human Factors. That split in at-tention is worse than conversing withsomeone who is in the car, past re-search has found.

Texting is a whole other matter. It“requires drivers to switch their at-tention from one task to the other,”the researchers said in a statementtoday. “When such attention-switch-ing occurs as drivers compose, read,or receive a text, their overall reac-tion times are substantially slowerthan when they’re engaged in aphone conversation.” Reading textmessages affected braking time morethan did composing messages.

AP Photo/Harry HamburgA traveler who was delayed by theblizzard that struck the East Coaston Saturday makes a cell phonecall at Union Station in Washing-ton, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009.

Maine to consider cellphone cancer warning

about absorption rate levels, butwould require a permanent,nonremovable advisory of risk inblack type, except for the word“warning,” which would be large andin red letters. It would also include acolor graphic of a child’s brain nextto the warning.

While there’s little agreementabout the health hazards, Boland saidMaine’s roughly 950,000 cell phoneusers among its 1.3 million residents“do not know what the risks are.”

All told, more than 270 millionpeople subscribed to cellular tele-phone service last year in the UnitedStates, an increase from 110 millionin 2000, according to CTIA-TheWireless Association. The industrygroup contends the devices are safe.

“With respect to the matter ofhealth effects associated with wire-less base stations and the use of wire-less devices, CTIA and the wirelessindustry have always been guided byscience, and the views of impartialhealth organizations. The peer-re-viewed scientific evidence has over-whelmingly indicated that wirelessdevices do not pose a public healthrisk,” said CTIA’s John Walls.

InternationalSportWednesday, December 23, 200914

Messi, whose goals this yearhelped Barcelona win the Champi-ons League final and World ClubCup final, thus succeeds RealMadrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo as theworld’s top player, as voted by na-tional team captains and coaches.

Messi has played a huge role inthe recent success of Spanish giantsBarcelona, who have won a total ofsix trophies in the past season includ-ing the Champions League title andthe World Club Cup trophy lastweek.

The Argentine forward’s talentswere given the ultimate thumbs-upearlier this month when he was votedthe winner of the Ballon d’Or for theEuropean Footballer of the Year.

On Monday Messi, 22, had been

Agence France Presse

MANCHESTER – RobertoMancini crowned an eventful firstnews conference as ManchesterCity manager by saying he wantedto bring the English Premier Leaguetitle to Eastlands next season.

It is more than 40 years sinceCity were last crowned championsof England. And given the mannerin which his predecessor MarkHughes was sacked last week, thereare some who believe former InterMilan boss Mancini may do well tostill be at City come the start of the2010/11 campaign.

Nevertheless, Mancini told re-porters here on Monday: “My tar-get this season is to arrive in the topfour. I think it’s possible. Next sea-son we want to win the PremierLeague.”

Mancini, who won three straightSerie A titles with Inter before beingsacked a year-and-a-half ago becauseof the club’s lack of ChampionsLeague success, added: “I stayed atInter for four years - which is a recordin itself. I also won seven trophieswhen they had not won anything for20 years. “Then I got sacked. Pres-sure in this job is normal.”

But the fact former strikerMancini, who briefly appeared inEngland for Leicester towards theend of his playing days, is City’s17th manager (including caretakers)in 20 years may put a dampener onany title talk.

Abu Dhabi-based SheikhMansour, who has already spentsome 200 million pounds on bring-ing new players to Eastlands, is thelatest in a long line of colourful ifdemanding City owners.

No side has lost fewer games inthe Premier League so far this sea-son than City, who’ve been beatenjust twice and lie sixth in the table,11 points behind leaders Chelsea.

Hughes, who on Sunday said hehad no idea he was about to besacked, believed he was on courseto achieve the “realistic target” ofsixth place or in the region of 70points set by the owners at the startof the season.

Mancini sets City’s sightson Premier League title

But chief executive GarryCook said the club’s wealthybackers felt that target would notbe achieved unless there was achange of manager.

“The trajectory of recent re-sults was below this requirementand the board felt that there wasno evidence that the situationwould fundamentally change,”Cook, sitting alongside Mancini,explained.

It said something that thiscomment - and television phone-ins suggested fans were split onwhether the club were right tosack Hughes - was arguably theleast contentious one made byCook on Monday.

Cook originally planned toread out nothing more than a pre-pared statement which outlinedthat no discussions with Mancinihad taken place until after lastWednesday’s 3-0 league loss toTottenham Hotspur.

However, Mancini then con-tradicted Cook by revealing hehad met with chairmanKhaldoon Al-Mubarak andSheikh Mansour in London afortnight ago.

“Two weeks ago I metKhaldoon in London,” Mancinisaid. “Only to speak in generalon football - it is possible (toonly meet to talk about sport).”

This appeared too much evenfor Cook who, in an unscriptedintervention, added: “Two weeksago Roberto met Khaldoon Al-Mubarak in London and after theSpurs game he was contacted forfurther discussions of a more se-rious nature.

“The discussions in Londonwere general, they were aboutfootball and they were aboutconsidering managerial optionsat that point.”

Earlier Cook, reading fromthe statement, said: “I think it isimportant for people to knowthat Roberto was only offered thejob after the Spurs game, we ne-gotiated on Thursday andfinalised his agreement on Fri-day.”

AFP/Andrew Yates

New Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini poses forphotographers at the City of Manchester stadium in Manches-ter, as he takes over from the recently departed Mark Hughes.

AFP/Fabrice Coffrini

Argentina’s Lionel Messi(L) receives the trophy from the hands of FIFA president Swiss Sepp Blatterafter being named FIFA World Player of the Year during the World Player Gala 2009 in Zurich.

Barcelona’s Messi namedBarcelona’s Messi namedBarcelona’s Messi namedBarcelona’s Messi namedBarcelona’s Messi namedWorld Player of the YearWorld Player of the YearWorld Player of the YearWorld Player of the YearWorld Player of the YearAgence France Presse

ZURICH, Switzerland – Barcelona and Argentina striker LionelMessi was crowned World Player of the Year by world football’s rul-ing body FIFA on Monday.

in contention with Barcelona team-mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi, bothfrom Spain, Brazilian striker Kaka ofReal Madrid, the winner in 2007, andlast year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo also won both trophieslast season.

While Ronaldo won the FerencPuskas award for goal of the seasonwhile playing with former clubManchester United, one of Messi’sgoals was among the highlights.

Messi profileDespite his diminutive stature

Messi, who stands 1.69 metres or fivefeet seven inches tall, rose aboveUnited’s defence in the ChampionsLeague final in Rome to head the sec-ond of Barcelona’s goals in their 2-0

victory.The Argentine is also known for his

superb dribbling and fast, mazy runsthat leave opposition defences in tat-ters, and on Monday he was just asquick to share out the plaudits.

“I want to thank my teammates,notably those who are present heretonight, without whom none of myachievements would have been pos-sible,” said Messi.

“2009 has been a wonderful yearfor Barcelona and also for me.”

Messi’s goal against United in lastseason’s final was his ninth of the2009 Champions League campaignand left him as the competition’s topscorer. Last week Messi also proveddecisive in the World Club Cup final.He scored Barcelona’s second goal inthe 2-1 victory over South Americanchampions Estudiantes of Argentina.

In 2009 Barcelona also won theleague title, the King’s (Spanish) Cup,the Spanish Super Cup and the Euro-pean Super Cup.

Agence France Presse

PARIS – Chelsea midfielderMickael Essien has been named inthe Ghana team for next month’sAfrican Nations Cup but captainStephen Appiah has been left outalong with Sulley Ali Muntari.

Essien, 29, limped off with ahamstring injury during Chelsea’s

Essien gets Nations Cup nod,but Appiah, Muntari out

2-2 draw against APOEL Nicosiaearlier this month, and is not certainto be in top form for the Janaury 10-31 tournament.

Like Essien and Gyan Asamoah,Inter Milan midfielder Ali Muntarirefused to play in a friendly againstAngola on November 18 but hasbeen punished for disciplinary rea-sons after failing to pay a fine.

Appiah has not sufficiently recov-ered from a right leg injury and willmiss the tournament for the secondtime after already missing the 2008edition in his homeland through in-jury. Coach Milovan Rajevac calledup six of the recent under-20 WorldCup winners including Fredrikstadstriker Dominic Adiyiah, the topscorer and player of the tournament.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 15International Sport

They will receive their awards atthe annual ITF World ChampionsDinner on June 1 in Paris, duringthe French Open.

Federer had an oustanding yearregaining the world No.1 rankingfrom Rafael Nadal after completinga career Grand Slam at RolandGarros with victory over RobinSoderling in the final.

He went on to surpass PeteSampras by winning his 15th GrandSlam title at Wimbledon after amemorable final contest againstAndy Roddick.

Federer was also runner-up at theAustralian Open, where he lost infive sets to Nadal, and the US Open,where he also went down in five setsto Juan Martin del Potro, and helpedhis country retain its World Groupstatus in Davis Cup.

“It is an honour for me to benamed ITF World Champion for afifth time. It was an incredible yearfor me both on and off the court,”the 28-year-old Swiss star said.

“To win my first Roland Garros

Federer and Serena named ITF World ChampsFederer and Serena named ITF World ChampsFederer and Serena named ITF World ChampsFederer and Serena named ITF World ChampsFederer and Serena named ITF World ChampsAgence France Presse

PARIS – Roger Federer has been named International Tennis Fed-PARIS – Roger Federer has been named International Tennis Fed-PARIS – Roger Federer has been named International Tennis Fed-PARIS – Roger Federer has been named International Tennis Fed-PARIS – Roger Federer has been named International Tennis Fed-eration (ITF) champion for the fifth time with Serena Williams tak-eration (ITF) champion for the fifth time with Serena Williams tak-eration (ITF) champion for the fifth time with Serena Williams tak-eration (ITF) champion for the fifth time with Serena Williams tak-eration (ITF) champion for the fifth time with Serena Williams tak-ing the women’s award for the second time.ing the women’s award for the second time.ing the women’s award for the second time.ing the women’s award for the second time.ing the women’s award for the second time.

title, break the all-time Grand Slamrecord and regain the No. 1 rankingis amazing. It means a lot to me tofinish the year again at the top.”

Serena Williams becomes thewomen’s World Champion for thefirst time since 2002 after producingher best performances at the biggestevents.

The 28-year-old American cap-tured two Grand Slam titles, at theAustralian Open and Wimbledon, toimprove her collection to 11 majors.

She went on to win the season-ending WTA Championships inDoha, sealing the No.1 ranking in thelast event of the year.

Serena also took the doubles yearaward with sister Venus after takingtheir career total to ten Grand Slamtitles. In so doing she joins LindsayDavenport and Martina Hingis as theonly players to become singles anddoubles world champions in the sameyear. American twins Bob and MikeBryan were named as the men’sdoubles World Champions for thesixth time in seven years.

AFP/File/Sebastian Derungs

Switzerand’s Roger Federer celebrates his quarter-final victoryover Russia’s Evgeny Korolev atthe Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel. Federer has been named International Tennis Federa-tion (ITF) champion for the fifth time with Serena Williams taking the women’s award for thesecond time.

ReutersPHOENIX – The last un-

beaten home record in the NBAcame to an end on Monday whenthe Cleveland Cavaliers pro-duced a final quarter rally to see-off the Phoenix Suns 109-91.

LeBron James hit 29 pointsand Mo Williams 24 as the duoled a 15-0 run in the fourth quar-ter for the Cavaliers (21-8), whilethe Suns, who trailed by six with6:50 remaining, went scorelessfor more than five minutes.

“Our effort was at a prettyhigh level for most of the nighton the defensive end,” Cavalierscoach Mike Brown told report-ers. “When we do that, we getgood results.”

It was a strong return to formfor Cleveland after a disappoint-ing loss to the Dallas Maverickson Sunday.

“We’re a veteran ball cluband we know how importantbounce-back games are,” Jamessaid. “We didn’t play as well aswe wanted to (Sunday) but weforgot about it and moved on.”

James produced a couple ofthunderous dunks and was sup-ported by Anderson Varejao (13points) and Delonte West (12)to prevent the Suns claimingtheir 20th successive home win.

“They have a great player(James) on their team and theyplay off him,” Suns coach Alvin

Cavs end Suns’ 19-gameunbeaten home record

Gentry said.“Contrary to what anybody

may think, to get to the EasternConference Championship youare going to have to go throughCleveland at some point.”

Shaquille O’Neal had an un-eventful return to Phoenix in hisfirst game back since beingtraded from the Suns in theoffseason, scoring three pointsand grabbing five rebounds in 19

Agence France PresseWELLINGTON – New Zealand

will play Mexico in March as part ofthe buildup to their first World Cupfinals appearance since 1982, accord-ing to officials.

The minnows’ match against theworld’s 17th-ranked side will beplayed in Los Angeles on March 3,in the first of up to six warm-upmatches for the finals in South Af-rica, New Zealand Football said.

New Zealand will take on worldchampions Italy, Slovakia and Para-

New Zealand to play Mexicoin World Cup warm-up

guay in Group F at the World Cup,and national coach Ricki Herbert saidthe Kiwis had been keen to face aLatin American team in the build-up.

“I think with Paraguay in the group,a game against Mexico is ideal for us,”Herbert said.

“A big name, a very strong teambut a good opportunity to get our teamback together in the only windowleading up to the World Cup,” he said.

New Zealand reached the WorldCup finals after beating Bahrain intheir final qualifying tie last month.

minutes.For Phoenix (18-10), Steve

Nash recorded 18 points and 10assists as they suffered their firsthome defeat since Cleveland beatthem on March 12. “We juststopped scoring,” Nash said “Itdidn’t necessarily have to do withtheir lineups. They wanted it bad,and we were indecisive. We lostour confidence down the stretch,and that was it.”

REUTERS/Rick Scuteri

Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James reacts to a call againstthe Phoenix Suns in the first quarter of an NBA basketballgame in Phoenix, Arizona, December 21, 2009.

AFP/Adam Jan

New Zealand’s players are seen during a recent training session.N.Zealand will play Mexico in March as part of the buildup totheir first World Cup finals appearance since 1982, according toofficials.

Wednesday, December 23, 200916 Sport

The Italian, speaking to the pressat Ferrari’s annual Christmas lunchlast week, indicated that with FelipeMassa still recovering from injury, andthe 2009-specification F60 havingproved less than spectacular, the teamurgently needed a driver that coulddrive the development of a car. Headded that he considered Alonso,rather than Kimi Raikkonen to be thatperson.

“Besides hazy regulations, our carin 2009 wasn’t up to the level of com-petitiveness we needed,”Montezemolo was quoted as sayingin Gazetta dello Sport. “I was afraidthat Massa wouldn’t recover. After hiscrash we have focused on the 2010car. Kimi had trouble working withthe team, but my judgement on him ispositive.

“In order to make a leap forward,however, we needed someone able tocommunicate with the team, Alonsowill do that. When StefanoDomenicali, who I trust very much,talked to me about him three yearsago, I told him we had to bring himhere.

“Alonso was supposed to race withus in 2011, but after Massa’s crash we

Ferrari: Alonso can turn team aroundFerrari: Alonso can turn team aroundFerrari: Alonso can turn team aroundFerrari: Alonso can turn team aroundFerrari: Alonso can turn team aroundFerrari president Luca di Montezemolo says he signed FernandoFerrari president Luca di Montezemolo says he signed FernandoFerrari president Luca di Montezemolo says he signed FernandoFerrari president Luca di Montezemolo says he signed FernandoFerrari president Luca di Montezemolo says he signed Fernando

Alonso a year earlier than expected to accelerate the Scuderia’sAlonso a year earlier than expected to accelerate the Scuderia’sAlonso a year earlier than expected to accelerate the Scuderia’sAlonso a year earlier than expected to accelerate the Scuderia’sAlonso a year earlier than expected to accelerate the Scuderia’sreturn to competitiveness.return to competitiveness.return to competitiveness.return to competitiveness.return to competitiveness.

decided to bring that forward, afterlearning that he wasn’t involved in theSingapore scandal.”

In an exclusive interview withAUTOSPORT last week however,Raikkonen indicated that he suspectedthe reason he had left Ferrari a yearearly was financially, rather than per-formance-related.

“I think when there is enoughmoney involved, you can alwayschange anything! I think it’s a lot todo with Santander coming in. Prob-ably they made some deal. I don’tknow...”

Montezemolo also revealed that hebeleived major changes were requiredin the way F1 is managed and that hehoped that the new FIA president Jean

Todt would usher in an era of coop-eration between the sport’s govern-ing body and the teams.

He proposed relaunching and re-structuring the sport so that it canmove on from the political strife ofrecent years.

“We need to set up a table whereto bring proposals in order to relaunchin a big way,” he said. “We must alsothink about a new engine from 2013.Bernie Ecclestone? In no sport thereis a 50 per cent commission on busi-ness deals. We come from a MaxMosley administration to forget.

“We seriously considered aban-doning F1. Some have, as a conse-quence of dead end policies. Now wehave new teams with paying drivers,but how many teams will be at thestart of the first race? Looking beyond2012, we’d also like to win at LeMans, or at Indy.

Romain Grosjean reveals thathe is hopeful about his prospectsof remaining on the grand prix gridwith Renault in F1 2010 - as thedriver he replaced in 2009,Nelsinho Piquet, nears a decisionabout his own future

He might have endured a dis-appointing start to his grand prixcareer in the latter stages of the F12009 campaign, but RomainGrosjean insists he is hopeful ofstaying on-board as a race driverat Renault next year, calling on theteam not to ‘let me down after allthe work we’ve done together since2006'.

Grosjean hopes Renault ‘won’t let him down’Renault sold a majority 75 per

cent stake in its Enstone-based F1operation to Luxembourg invest-ment fund Genii Capital last week[see separate story – click here],meaning that whilst the strugglingFrench car maker will no longer beinvolved in the sport as a manufac-turer in its own right, the name willremain, for the time being at least.

Where the deal leaves sole 2010signing Robert Kubica is less clear,with the Pole’s management teamunderstood to be carefully examin-ing his contract to determine whetherthe sale triggers a get-out clause thatmight enable the 2008 Canadian

Grand Prix winner to jump ship toMercedes Grand Prix shouldMichael Schumacher’s plannedcomeback fail to materialise again.

That means there will be eitherone or two seats available at Renaultnext season, and despite havingfailed to demonstrate any markedimprovement on the driver he re-placed in the cockpit of the secondR29 in 2009, Nelsinho Piquet –qualifying no higher than twelfth inseven appearances and never evencoming close to threatening thepoints – Grosjean is confident ofbeing given an extended stay of ex-ecution.

BP/ist

Fernando Alonso