text:
September 3, 2008
Enterprise Completes Initial Assessment of Onshore Facilities Impacted By Hurricane Gustav; No Major Damage Reported
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) today announced that initial inspections by onsite field crews indicate minimal or no visible damage to its natural gas processing, fractionation and natural gas and liquids pipeline assets in Louisiana as a result of Hurricane Gustav. Enterprise expects to conduct aerial evaluations of the partnership's offshore platforms that were evacuated ahead of the storm, as well as its onshore pipelines and facilities later today.
Enterprise's 438-mile Acadian natural gas pipeline system has returned to normal operations. In addition, a flyover of the Dixie Pipeline system yesterday showed no visible damage to the pump stations or pipelines. However, Dixie remains out of service from Mont Belvieu to the Baker, Louisiana station because of a loss of power but operations are normal eastward from Petal, Mississippi to Apex, North Carolina, where the system terminates.The loss of commercial power represents the most significant challenge facing Enterprise, but once restored, the partnership expects processing, fractionation and pipeline facilities to quickly resume operations. Enterprise continues to work closely with local electricity providers but does not have an estimate as to when power will resume at the impacted locations.
Enterprise operates or owns an interest in nine natural gas processing facilities in Louisiana, with net capacity of nearly 3 billion cubic feet per day. In addition, the partnership has four Louisiana fractionators representing net capacity of approximately 179,000 barrels per day.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is one of the largest publicly traded partnerships with an enterprise value of more than $21 billion, and is a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and petrochemicals. Enterprise transports natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and petrochemicals through more than 35,000 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines. Services include natural gas transportation, gathering, processing and storage; NGL fractionation (or separation), transportation, storage, and import and export terminaling; crude oil transportation and offshore production platform services. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is managed by its general partner, Enterprise Products GP LLC, which is wholly owned by Enterprise GP Holdings L.P. (NYSE:EPE). For more information on Enterprise GP Holdings L.P., visit www.enterprisegp.com.
This news release includes forward-looking statements. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, weather-related events, insufficient cash from operations, market conditions, governmental regulations and factors discussed in Enterprise Products Partners L.P.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results or outcomes may vary materially from those expected. The partnership disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or reverse such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.


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July 07, 2016
The 9 Wedding 'Rules' To Break
By Molly Guy
It's 2016 and your mama's wedding is officially a thing of the past. I'm the first to condone any ritual involving love, but some of the wedding traditions out there these days are practically voodoo. Closing your eyes and tossing flowers to the crowd in hopes your college roommate cat lady will catch it? The robotic processional walk to "Pachelbel's Canon"? The rose petals strewn across the duvet enticing you to slither upon it in slinky lingerie? Methinks not.
At its core, a wedding is a raw, essential celebration of true love. Anything that detracts from that . . . well, it detracts from that. Plus, every good Stone Fox knows that rules are meant to be broken. Toss your 10-foot veil to the wind, set fire to the monogrammed matchbook party favors, and stroll down the road to wedded bliss with reckless abandon. Be the bride who says, "I did it my way." Here, nine tips for breaking the mold.
Say "I don't" to:
Historically, they were there to let the world know you were the property of your big strong husband, who was out in the scary mean world skinning bears and slaving away at his important job, while you stayed home, scrubbing the woolen underwear of your six children in the washbasin. Why not get matching tattoos instead? Actually, why get matching anything? Not to get too Stevie Nicks here, but the psychic bond you share is what's important—not the jewelry.
Girls, Girls, Girls
After the proposal, sit your bitches down and be all: "Listen, I'm not going to torture you with the popularity contest of a bridal party and the engagement party and the shower and having to pedestal-ize me for the next year in your crappy $400 crinoline monstrosity. Just pick some gorge dress and strut down the aisle at my wedding." And did someone say "maid of honor"? Let's not even go there.
The Registry
When's the last time you cooked a casserole or pressed a panino at home? If you're a domestic goddess, the registry idea is sweet and all, but why not just go old-school and request cash post-ceremony? Send one of the flower girls around, holding a big basket with an adorbs sign around her neck that says "Accepting contributions." Now you can do with it what you want: kitchen items, paying off student loans, a charity of your choice.
The Big Reveal
I totally get the appeal of the big rom-com moment when the groom sees the bride in her dress for the first time, but honestly, you have been spending every single day together since you first met at Lit Lounge in 2001 . . . is this really necessary? I'm all for a five-minute powwow before walking down the aisle so you can press your heart to his and remember why you're there in the first place.
Something Old, Something New
Ew. Doesn't that stress you out? What's the point? Why add another thing to your checklist? Let it go and move on. And while we're at it, can we talk about the garter? A slutty, elasticized strip of fake lace cutting off circulation to your upper thigh? All so that the man of the hour can drunkenly remove it, then pass it on to Great-Uncle Ted in the hopes he gets laid? Let's opt out of this one.
Walking Down the Aisle With Daddy
Safely ensconced in the nook of his arm, like a wee lamb? Is that really necessary? Why not walk down the aisle by yourself or with your about-to-be partner—or better yet, don't even walk down the aisle at all. When your guests file in, be there to greet them, then, as they take their seats, proceed to the altar hand in hand with your betrothed, ready to get the show on the road.
First Dance
Am I the only person who finds this really bizarre? Twirling around to a waltz as if you're in a Viennese ballroom circa 1932? Not to mention, dance lessons are both costly and time-consuming. And then to have a million pairs of eyes on you? No thanks.
Feeding Each Other Cake
That awkward rigmarole where the two of you hobble up to the dessert bar and playfully feed each other a slice amid a barrage of blinking flashbulbs? Why? Being hand-fed cake in front of an audience is disgusting. 'Nuff said.
The Elaborate Honeymoon
Try out the staycation alternative instead. Book a suite at a nearby hotel and hole up for a couple days with some board games and champagne, and call it a long weekend. And while you're there, ask the hotel manager if the pool could stay open late for a private swim.
Originally published on Vogue.com


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SARATOGA SPRINGS — The League of Women Voters of Saratoga County (LWV) has scheduled a meeting on Saturday, April 1 to examine the separation of executive and legislative powers in Saratoga County local governments. The meeting will start at 1 p.m. on the second floor of Woodlawn Commons, located at 156 Lawrence Street.
A local study was initiated in the spring of 2015. The study committee will present its findings in relation to local governments separating executive (or administrative) from legislative (or policy making) functions in Saratoga County villages, towns, cities and the county government.
Non-LWV members are invited to attend the meeting to understand how the group develops policy positions by consensus. For more information, call 518-331-4011.


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Super Mega Worm (iPhone) Game Review: Tremors Homage
As a child of the 80s, one guilty pleasure, which I'm sure many are familiar with, would be the movie Tremors. Starring Kevin Bacon, it was a horror-comedy featuring gigantic worms coming out of the ground and eating people. I think I've watched the movie (and its sequel) a total of more than a dozen times. Now someone has taken the idea of gigantic worms eating up people (and cows) and made it into a game. That someone would be Deceased Pixel LLC, and the game in question would be Super Mega Worm for the iPhone. Even the game's icon is a take on the movie's poster.
I was grinning from ear-to-ear when I was playing this game earlier today. No prizes for guessing that you the big worm in this game, and by controlling a slider to steer the worm, you are supposed to come up from the ground (like a whale breaching water) and gobble up people or animals. Given the size of the worm, you need to constantly eat up stuff otherwise the health bar on the top-right of the screen will continuously drop. Once it is empty, the worm dies in an explosive fashion.
There's a quota on the number of people to eat that needs to be fulfilled in each level. And with each new level, the worm grows longer. The humans will soon put up sterner opposition and I've played to levels whereby helicopters shoot and also drop landmines. The worm is capable of spectacular feats, such as spitting acidic saliva or even bouncing off a vehicle to get some "air time" (and eat some birds at the same time).
Super Mega Worm is presented in retro 8-bit style, something which I observe to be in renaissance on the iPhone. It adds an old school charm to the game and even the developers put up a cheeky mock-up of the game as if it were for the NES. The latest update for the game brings Game Center compatibility but it seems to break the game when run on iOS 4.0. I know this after installing the game on my girlfriend's iPhone. It runs fine on my updated iPhone running iOS 4.1. Hopefully this will be fixed soon.
Check out Super Mega Worm over at the App Store, it's currently priced at 99 cents, after a 66% price drop in conjunction with Labor Day week (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/super-mega-worm/id388541990?mt=8). Highly Recommended.Powered by Sidelines
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Nine Over Ten 9/10 » Super Mega Worm (iPhone) Game Review: Tremors Homage…
Now someone has taken the idea of gigantic worms eating up people (and cows) and made it into the game. That someone would be Deceased Pixel LLC, and the game in question would be Super Mega Worm for the iPhone…


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Who says that you have to be serious if you are in business?
We like to have some FUN with our business and finances!
Come on! Admit the truth: you didn't start your business just to make money, did you?
Surely you started your business because you thought (on some level) that it would be fun? (And if you're not having fun in business now, perhaps you're trying to make more money, so you can spend the money on having more fun!)
Let's get back to basics. Let's make business fun again.
You may be as unhappy as I once was. I used to work 70+ hours a week in a windowless office, and it was NOT fun. Apart from being dissatisfied at work and never at home, it was the triple-punch combination of a burst appendix, torn vocal cords and a rip-snorting heart attack at age 33 that made me decide to change my lifestyle.
In a world-class hissy-fit, tantrum-tastic melt-down, I overturned everything about my life.
The 70-hour weeks: Gone! My calendar was only open for six-hour days: maximum, four days a week (*hint, Jeremy started 24-hour working week in 2005, that's where the "24HourWealth" tag got started)
The bad lifestyle choices: Gone! Previously up to a pack of cigs a day, ten coffees a day, and 4-5 bourbon shots of an evening, I quit cigarettes, quit alcohol, quit coffee; then quit red meat and dairy. Later on, I quit white meat, grains and started some fasting and body-cleansing. (Nowadays, I am still vegetarian, but will enjoy the occasional beer or wine and be more balanced in my lifestyle.)
The bad relationships: Gone! Whilst working 70-80 hours a week, I had no time for friends and invested almost zero time into my family. Coming back to a more manageable lifestyle meant that I could have a better intimate relationship and also cultivate good relationships with friends and family.
Other bad habits: Gone! Simplifying my life, discarding a lot of "clutter", spending less money on toys and gadgets, and investing more time into meaningful experiences. I discarded not only cars, furniture and accessories, but also five televisions from my house and was totally "TV-free" for 8 years.
Yes, sometimes you have to go through a major overhaul to get back on track. My hissy-fit saw me behaving obsessively for a while, before coming back into a more balanced rhythm.
I did this for YOU
I learned the hard way so that you don't have to!
Learn from my mistakes and gain balance now, before a heart attack, cancer, stroke, bankruptcy or divorce hits you out of left field.
Detox your lifestyle, revitalise your business, have less stress and more FUN!
Initial consultations by appointment, web or phone can be booked at www.ChooseMyCoach.com
Jeremy coaches clients via Skype or Phone, sun-gazes, meditates, walks on the beach and reads Phantom comics when he cannot access audited company reports.
We love business and education. We support ongoing education in your life and also in several schools in Africa. As of 2017, our clients have helped us to provide support and assistance for over 200 000 children. Click "Find us" button below to see our latest tally in "real time", or become inspired by other related charity projects.


text:
Kuroko watched as Kagami wiped thw sweat off of his forehead and received the bottle of sportsdrink that Kuroko was handing him.
"Thanks" he grumbled.
Kuroko nodded. Kagami had been staying later after practice and continued to work on his skills as he trained for the upcoming match that no doubt would be tough, since he would be going up against Aomine. Kuroko himself had been working on his techniques as well, and he could feel himself becoming stronger as well.
That wasn't the only thing he could feel lately. Somehow, walking towards the basketball court late in the night to practice only to find the red head passionately running laps and shooting baskets, it gave him a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Maybe it was the determination that he saw in his eyes, or the way a slight smile would appear after he was done for the night, (of course most of the time Kagami wouldn't notice Kuruko, and he did nothing to bring attention to himself ) It was something, something that was making him take the long way home after each practice.
That night, Kuroko decided he would take Kagami something to drink. Initially, when Kuroko greeted him, Kagami did hump from surprise but allowed him to stay and watch.
Kagami continued to practice until his cell phone alarm began to ring telling him it was time to go home if he wanted to be able to practice the next day.
That is when Kuroko handed him the drink, and their eyes locked.
They had made eye contact many times before, but at that moment both of them felt drawn to one another.
"Kagami, you love basketball." Kuroko's breath caressed Kagami as he had somehow found himself lowered to the shorter player's eye level.
Naturally, their bodies had moved closer to one another.
"I-I do." Kagami replied, he suddenly felt nervous, and the scent of soap that emanated from Kuroko made him dizzy, but he liked it.
Kuroko smiled, a different expression and emotion that Kagami had never seen on Kuroko's face. He liked it, oddly enough, it made him smile to see the other do so. And Kagami's warm smile only made Kuroko's widen.
"You are a brilliant light, Kagami, and as your shadow I'll stay by your side and make sure you shine even brighter."
Kagami had heard Kuroko repeated him the promise before, but in their current positions it sounded different. It felt different. The taller one found himself blushing, and an overwhelming feeling took over Kuroko.
He leaned in and kissed Kagami lightly on the lips.
Kagami began to burn. The feeling of Kuroko's lips on his set him ablaze and he felt the energy to take on a whole team on his own! Before Kuroko could vanish as he pulled away, Kagami pulled him back in and kissed him again. This time allowing his passion to be well felt.
"We'll be the best," Kagami said pulling away, "together,"
Kuroko wiped a bead if sweat from Kagami's face and smiled. Together.


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Nashville Predators goaltender Dan Ellis knows what it is like to win an NHL playoff game, but now he wants to find out how it would feel to have an early lead to work with.
Monday night Ellis was in net for the Predators' 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings at the Sommet Center. He will be back between the pipes tonight at 8 when the Predators and Red Wings play Game 4 of their Western Conference Quarterfinals Stanley Cup Playoff series.
"It is always easier to play with a lead than battling from behind," Ellis said. "We want to look to get out early and often in Game 4. Whenever you have the lead it takes the weight off of everyone's backs. We can put the pressure on them and put them on their heels.
"That is what they have been able to do to us in the entire series. We want to make things easier on us. Sometimes the easy way isn't the best way for this team."
Ellis and the Predators will see what kind of a lift they get from their win as they try to even the series at 2-2 before returning to Detroit Friday for Game 5 of the best-of-seven series.
"It is a huge momentum-builder for us," said Ellis. "To be able to battle back into a series that looked like it was somewhat slipping away from us was huge. You don't want to get down 3-0 in a series. It's very difficult to come back from that."
Ellis faced only 26 shots in the win.
"We played a much more solid 60 minutes," Ellis said. "We limited their opportunities much more than we did in the first two games.
"They were still able to break through with a few goals, but we didn't give up as many odd-man rushes. We didn't give up as many rebound chances as we did in the first couple of games. We want to use that momentum to push us into Game 4."
Center Jason Arnott, the Predators' captain, said he can still hear the sound of the more than 17,000 fans ringing in his ears. He thinks that kind of fan response will be the boost the Predators need if they are to again triumph.
"This should fire us up," Arnott said. "Especially after coming back after being down by two and then being down by one in the third. We stuck with our game plan and stuck with each other and worked through it kind of like we did all season long.
"The crowd gave us that extra push to give us a chance to win. That should be a big confidence booster for us to come in Game 4 firing on all cylinders. We need contributions from everybody and we are getting that right now."
Arnott was still feeling the effects of his goal celebration Monday night. Right wing Alexander Radulov knocked Arnott down and he was off the ice for the final 3:48 of the game. Both Arnott and coach Barry Trotz downplayed any injury that Arnott may have suffered.
"I was collecting my thoughts," Arnott said with a laugh. "I told Radulov to slow down next time. He came at me pretty quick. It hurt a little bit, but not too bad. It was more or less excitement on his part I guess."
Radulov is one of the more emotional players for the Predators. Trotz told him to be more careful about how he decides to celebrate.
"I told Radulov to hit the guys in red, not the guys in blue," Trotz said. "You could tell he was excited and just ran Arnie over. Arnie got rattled. He bounced off of the boards. Arnie has more of a whiplash than anything, but he will be all right."
Despite the euphoria of the win, the Predators have a long way to go in this series. Trotz mixed up his top lines with by pairing Arnott with wingers Martin Erat and Radulov and center David Legwand between J.P Dumont and Jan Hlavac.
"David is such a good two-way center man I can put him in any role," Trotz said. "It doesn't matter who Detroit puts out. I can put David out there and feel comfortable.
"We changed things up because you get a feel for which guys are going good and which guys you need together more. You have a Plan A and work yourself through to Plan Z if you need to do it. We have to be flexible and change when we need to do it."


text:
Erika Gibson, Beeld
Pretoria - A second shipment of considerably-more-sophisticated Chinese
weaponry destined for Zimbabwe will be flown to Harare from China within the
next week.
It was going to be taken by aircraft to expedite the delivery and to
circumvent the controversy around last week's shipment by sea.
The decision apparently was made on Monday by Zimbabwean military generals
during an emergency meeting.
According to Beeld's sources, the meeting took place because the generals
apparently were worried that any further delays would run the delivery of
the really big guns into the ground.
The Zimbabwean military's operational planning could also suffer as a
Orders placed three days after poll
Both orders were apparently placed only weeks ago. The paperwork for the
ship carrying the weapons, the An Yue Jiang, was finalised in Beijing on
April 1 - three days after the Zimbabwean elections.
The step to rather use an aircraft apparently was taken to keep the nature
and extent of the load secret from the outside world.
"There is no way that anyone is going to determine what will be delivered,"
said Beeld's source.
"What is known is that the kind of weaponry which is manufactured in
Shenzhen, in the second consignment, is highly sophisticated and not just
the kind of basic mortars and ammunition that's on the ship," said Beeld's
Shenzhen, in Guangdong province, is one of China's core industrial
manufacturing cities.
Shortly after Durban High Court issued an order against the transport of the
weapons across South African territory, the ship fled.
Since then, it had sailed around Cape Point and was already in Namibian
territorial waters by early Monday morning.
Satawu makes appeal to African countries
The Zimbabwean generals decided that this consignment could take its time
from Luanda, but that the delivery of the second consignment could not be
In the meantime, the South African Transport Allied Workers Union (Satawu)
made an appeal in the interest of peace in the region to all countries in
Africa not to allow the Chinese ship into its harbours.
Satawu's general secretary Randall Howard said the pressure that had been
placed on the Mozambican government by the International Transport Workers'
Federation (ITF) was partially responsible for the fact that the country had
also refused the ship entry.
Howard appealed to Cosatu, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU)
and the ITF to sustain the pressure so that wherever the ship docked,
harbour workers or truck drivers could not be forced to unload the shipment.
René Lötter in Cape Town reported that, according to a source, the Namibian
government had said that if such a request were made, the An Yue Jiang would
be welcome to offload its cargo in Namibia and use the infrastructure to
transport the weapons to Zimbabwe.
Letters of opposition
Namibia's Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) said in a statement that it planned
to go to court if it appeared as if Namibia were to be used as a transit
LAC director Norman Tjombe confirmed that the centre had sent letters to the
Namibian Port Authority (Namport) and to the ministry of defence to express
its opposition.
By Monday evening, it seemed as if the ship would stop at the Namibian port
town Walvis Bay only to refuel on its way to Angola.
Derek Matyszak, Research and Advocacy Unit, Idasa
Download this document
- Acrobat PDF version (168KB)
If you do not have the free Acrobat reader on your computer, download it from the Adobe website by clicking here.
The media and several political analysts seem to be confused as to what precisely ought to have happened after people went to the polls in Zimbabwe on March 29th 2008 to vote in four "harmonised" elections - those for Local Government, the House of Assembly, the Senate and the president. This confusion could have been avoided by ignoring what Zanu PF and ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) spin doctors said after the initial results began to reveal that the opposition had won the elections, and looking to see what the Electoral Act ("the Act") prescribed. For example, when the results were not announced within a few days of the election, Zanu PF spokesperson Bright Matonga informed the media that this was normal as ZEC had six days within which to announce the result. The international media immediately accepted this statement at face value and the six day deadline was repeated as a fact in numerous broadcasts. After the six days had come and gone without the announcement of the presidential result, this "time limit" was quietly forgotten. Presumably the international media was too embarrassed at having been so easily duped, to remind Matonga subsequently of his earlier statement. In fact, as will be seen below, the time for announcing the results is not six days or any explicitly prescribed number of days.
However, Section 110(3) of the Act does provide that if no candidate receives an absolute majority in the presidential election, a run off between the two frontrunners must be held "within 21 days of the previous election." It has been suggested that this means 21 days from the declaration of the result. This is not the case. If the legislature had meant 21 days from "the declaration of the result" it would have said so. Elsewhere, it managed to use the phrase within 48 hours of "the declaration of the result" for purposes of the president elect's assumption of office. And it could have used this phrase if this is what was intended for the commencement of the 21 day period. It did not. "Election" cannot refer to the day the president is declared elected as in the case of a run off this will not have happened. It can only mean polling day. ZEC itself, in an announcement from its public relations office, accepting the need for a run off if none of the candidates achieved an absolute majority, stated that the 21 days runs from polling day.
By delaying the announcement of the result of the presidential poll by over 21 days there cannot be compliance with the 21 day requirement, which will expire on the 19th April, 2008, the day upon which ZEC has declared it will conduct a recount. This difficulty is likely to be resolved either by ZEC ignoring its previous announcement and holding that the phrase "previous election" means the announcement of the result (contrary to the plain language of the Act) or through Mugabe controversially (and probably unconstitutionally) exercising his power under the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act which allows him to amend and enact legislation. He may thus purport to amend the 21 days to a period he finds amenable.
A second point of confusion
that has arisen due to several articles in the media, is the legitimacy of the
continued exercise of power by the President and his Ministers during the hiatus
while the presidential results are announced. The President is reported to have
"dissolved" his cabinet at the same time as parliament before the elections and
it has thus been suggested that Ministers cannot continue to exercise their
executive duties and privileges. This is not the case. In fact, a position as a
member of Cabinet is different from a Ministerial appointment. In terms of
section 31E(c) of the Constitution,
Ministers remain in office until the assumption of office of the new President.
It is also a misapprehension that a Minister must be a Member of Parliament. The
requirement under section 31(E)(2) is that no person shall hold office as
Vice-President, Minister or Deputy Minister for longer than three
months unless he is a member of Parliament. However, after Parliament
is dissolved, he may continue to hold such office without being a Member of
Parliament until Parliament first meets after the dissolution. The President
need not convene parliament for six months after its dissolution. The President
remains in office until the assumption of office of the President Elect in terms
of section 29 of the constitution. The current anomaly of continued governance
by those who do not have a democratic mandate has been caused by the actions of
ZEC and is itself a further factor which suggests the illegitimacy of ZEC's
actions (discussed below) and that they violate the Electoral
Download full document
Zimbabwe Today
The real reason why it's all taking so long
It has been difficult to believe that the Zimbabwe elections, both
parliamentary and presidential, could be more farcical, more convoluted, and
more shameful. But they could, and they are. And my reliable source within
the Zimbabe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is watching it happen.
This is what he reports: the recounts of both votes, which are unjustified
and quite possibly illegal, began on Saturday - and by halfway through the
afternoon it became quite clear to the Zanu-PF officials in attendance that
those doing the counting had mis-counted yet again.
There were the piles of votes. The recounts of 16 parliamentary
constituencies had been completed. Each had originally been won by the MDC.
Each, in the recount, had also been won by the MDC - in some cases, by an
even greater majority than before.
The Presidential election recount was also proceeding on schedule. The
original count gave MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai a clear and conclusive lead
over President Robert Mugabe of Zanu-PF. And the recount? Yes, it was
showing very much the same result.
At this point the Zanu-PF officials stepped in, to demand that the recount
be recounted, and, weak-kneed as ever, the ZEC people agreed. And the
counting began all over again. And is still going on. And on and on.
How long it will be, and what tricks will be used, until the recounted
recounts produce a result acceptable to Mugabe's men remains to be seen.
What we do know is this: our government, previously an object of contempt
and condemnation by the rest of the world, is now also a grim
Posted on Monday, 21 April 2008 at 13:39
Zim Online
by Wayne Mafaro and Sebastian Nyamhangambiri Tuesday 22 April
HARARE – Zimbabwe's electoral commission on Monday said it was not sure
whether it would be able to announce results for the country's presidential
election immediately after an ongoing partial vote recount is completed.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) deputy chief elections officer Utoile
Silaigwana said the commission would need to reassess the situation at the
end of the recounting exercise – itself expected to last several more days
than the three originally planned.
"We have to see when this (recounting) exercise is going to be finished. At
the moment I cannot tell," said Silaigwana, in what appeared confirmation
that Zimbabwe's election stalemate could still run for several more days.
Political analysts have warned that the election stalemate if left
unresolved for too long could lead to violence and bloodshed while the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party said on Sunday that
ruling ZANU PF militants had stepped up violence against its supporters.
The MDC said that 10 of its supporters had been killed in the violence,
while about 3 000 others had been displaced from their homes in a bid to cow
them to back President Robert Mugabe in an anticipated presidential second
round run-off election.
Zimbabwe, also battling its worst ever economic recession marked by the
world's highest inflation of more than 160 00 percent, was plunged deeper
into political crisis after the ZEC withheld results of a March 29
presidential election that Mugabe is believed to have lost to MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai.
Tsvangirai, whose Movement for Democratic Change party defeated Mugabe's
ZANU PF party in a parallel parliamentary poll, claims he won the
presidential ballot with more than 50 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a
second round run-off.
But ZANU PF party and independent election observers say the MDC leader came
a shade lower than 50 percent, warranting a rerun of the ballot against
ZANU PF, which won 97 seats compared to 110 won by the MDC and other minor
opposition candidates, could regain control of parliament if it captures
nine out of the 23 seats where vote recounts are taking place.
Meanwhile, a Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting in
Mauritius on Sunday backed South African President Thabo Mbeki as mediator
in the Zimbabwean crisis.
"We have complete faith in President Mbeki. We have renewed our confidence
in him by asking him to continue the work of mediation and find a solution
to the situation in Zimbabwe," said Navin Ramgoolam, the Prime Minister of
Mbeki, leader of the region's most powerful economy, had come under severe
criticisms for allegedly failing to apply pressure on Mugabe to allow
release of election results and remove all impediments to the democratic
Mbeki, heavily criticised by the international media over his handling of
Zimbabwe, has insisted on engaging Mugabe but his critics that policy has
failed to yield results in the past and has been misconstrued as support by
the 84-year old Zimbabwean leader.
Tsvangirai last week openly called for Mbeki to be replaced as SADC's chief
mediator in Zimbabwe. – ZimOnline.
Zim Online
by Ntando Ncube Tuesday 22 April 2008
JOHANESBURG – The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) said on
Monday that it was mobilising unions in Africa to block a Chinese ship
carrying weapons for Zimbabwe from offloading its cargo.
The ITF-affiliated South African Transport Workers' Union (SATAWU) last week
refused to offload the Chinese vessel saying it feared the weapons could be
used by President Robert Mugabe to crackdown on opponents as he battles to
reinforce his grip on power after surprise losses to the opposition in
elections last month.
The Chinese ship, known as An Yue Jiang eventually fled South Africa's
Durban port after a High Court judge directed that the ship be offloaded but
refused to allow the weapons to be transported across South Africa to
ITF Inspector and spokesman in Durban Sprite Zungu told the press: "Our
objective is to mobilise and organise unions in Africa to take a firm stand
and try to stop the ship from offloading these dangerous weapons which could
be used to kill Zimbabweans."
It was not clear on Monday where the ship was headed but several reports
suggested it might be headed for Angola, a close ally of Zimbabwe, where
authorities might allow it to offload its cargo.
Zungu said the ITF, a federation of more than 650 unions representing 4.5
million transport workers in 148 countries across the world, was following
up on the ship to ensure they blocked it from offloading wherever it ended
up docking.
ITF secretary general David Cockroft said the union was also attempting to
contact the Chinese Seafarers' Union (CSU) for support in its bid to stop
the weapons reaching Zimbabwe.
Cockroft said "The ITF is in contact with the CSU. This is a significant act
of solidarity with Zimbabwe's working people. The ITF fully, strongly and
uncategorically supports SATAWU's actions and will be following this case
with the closest of interests."
The Chinese vessel is believed to be carrying three million rounds of AK-47
ammunition, 1 500 rocket-propelled grenades and more than 3 000 mortar
rounds and mortar tubes destined for Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe, also battling its worst ever economic recession marked by the
world's highest inflation of more than 160 00 percent, was plunged deeper
into political crisis after election authorities withheld results of a March
29 presidential election that Mugabe is believed to have lost to opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Tsvangirai, whose Moveemnt for Democratic Change party defeated Mugabe's
ZANU PF party in a parallel parliamentary poll, claims he won the
presidential ballot with more than 50 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a
second round run-off.
But ZANU PF party and independent election observers say the MDC leader came
a shade lower than 50 percent, warranting a rerun of the ballot against
The MDC says ZANU PF militants and state security forces have stepped up a
campaign of violence and terror against the opposition party's supporters in
a bid to cow them to support Mugabe in the second round vote.
The opposition party said on Sunday that 10 of its supporters had been
killed in the violence while about 3 000 others had been displaced from
their homes by ZANU PF militants and state security agents. – ZimOnline.
Yahoo News
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is intervening with governments in
southern Africa to prevent a Chinese ship carrying weapons for Zimbabwe's
security forces from unloading its cargo, The Associated Press has learned.
At the same time, the State Department's top Africa hand, Jendayi Frazer,
plans to visit the region this week to underscore U.S. concerns about the
shipment. Frazer also will try to persuade Zimbabwe's neighbors to step up
pressure on President Robert Mugabe's government to publish results from a
disputed election that the opposition claims to have won, administration
officials said Monday.
U.S. intelligence agencies are tracking the vessel, the An Yue Jiang, and
American diplomats have been instructed to press authorities in at least
four nations — South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and Angola — not to allow
it to dock, the officials told The Associated Press. The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity in order to discuss delicate diplomatic talks.
The ship, which is laden with large amounts of weapons and ammunition,
already has been turned away from South Africa and Mozambique, and is now
believed to be headed for Angola, possibly with a refueling stop in Namibia.
The freighter left South Africa after a judge on Friday barred the arms from
transiting South Africa and it was not immediately clear if U.S. lobbying
had influenced authorities in Mozambique who stopped it from docking over
the weekend.
Two officials said Washington's effort to block the ship from unloading its
cargo was now concentrated on Namibia and Angola and that both countries
were being told that allowing the An Yue Jiang to dock could harm their
relations with the United States.
There are fears that the arms, which include mortar grenades and bullets,
could be used by Mugabe's regime to expand a clampdown on opposition
supporters. The government has refused to publish the results of
presidential elections held three weeks ago, and there are reports of
increasing violence against the opposition.
South Africa's main trade union confederation has called on workers in other
African countries to follow the example of South African dock and freight
workers who said Friday they would not unload the ship or transport its
The State Department endorsed that position on Monday.
"Given Zimbabwe's current electoral crisis, we do share the concerns ...
that these arms could be used against individuals who are merely trying to
freely express their political will," said Kurtis Cooper, a department
"We call on the Zimbabwe government to immediately cease the perpetration of
brutal acts against its citizens and strongly urge the regional leadership
to enhance its intervention for an expeditious solution to the postelection
crisis," Cooper said.
The comments, prepared ahead of an expected announcement that Frazer will
travel to southern Africa, come as the Bush administration has grown
increasingly impatient with Mugabe — whose recent rule Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice last week called "an abomination" — and with Zimbabwe's
neighbors for not taking a harder line against the octogenarian leader.
The 14-nation Southern African Development Community, known as SADC, has
been unwilling to take the tough stand on Zimbabwe as called for by western
countries, notably Britain and the United States.
Part of Frazer's planned trip is aimed at rallying support for action from
SADC members, whose leaders met in a mid-April summit on Zimbabwe but could
agree only on a weak declaration that failed to criticize the absent Mugabe,
officials said.
Mon 21 Apr 2008, 20:34 GMT
LUSAKA, April 21 (Reuters) - Zambia's president urged regional states on
Monday to bar a Chinese ship carrying arms to Zimbabwe from entering their
waters, saying the shipment could deepen the country's election crisis.
Zimbabwe announced a delay on Sunday in a partial recount of votes in March
29 parliamentary elections, extending a deadlock in which the opposition
says 10 of its members have been killed and hundreds arrested.
The opposition says its leader Morgan Tsvangirai won presidential elections
held on the same day, and that Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is
attempting to cling to power by delaying declaring the result.
The Chinese ship, An Yue Jiang, was turned away from South Africa and is
heading for Angola in the hope of docking there, Mozambique's transport
minister said on Saturday.
Mozambique did not allow it to enter its waters.
"I hope this will be the case with all the countries because we don't want a
situation which will escalate the (tension) in Zimbabwe more than what it
is," Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who is also chairman of the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) regional grouping, told reporters.
The Chinese ship left South African waters on Friday after a court refused
to allow the arms to be transported across South Africa.
The 300,000-strong South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU)
refused to unload the weapons because of concerns Mugabe's government might
use them against opponents in the post-election stalemate.
For its part, China is trying to prevent the controversy from fuelling
criticism over its human rights record and rule in Tibet ahead of hosting
the Olympics in August. Violent protests have followed the Olympic torch
across the globe.
"The Chinese can play a very useful role in Zimbabwe without (offering)
firearms," Zambia's Mwanawasa said.
In Harare, Zimbabwean Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said it was
Zimbabwe's sovereign right to defend itself and buy weapons from all
legitimate sources.
"I don't understand all this hullabaloo about a lone ship," he told a news
conference. (Reporting By Shapi Shacinda; Editing by Jon Boyle)
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP)--A Zimbabwe official Monday said the cash-strapped
government has a right to buy arms from any legal source as long as they are
needed to defend the country.
"It's our sovereign right to defend ourselves, it's our sovereign right to
buy weapons from any legitimate source worldwide and we don't need clearance
from anyone," Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said.
A Chinese ship, An Yue Jiang, laden with Zimbabwean-bound weapons last week
failed to unload at a South African port after a court barred its cargo from
being transported overland to the land-locked crisis-torn country.
The vessel, which anchored off the South African port of Durban, sailed off
to an unknown destination on Friday.
Three million rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades
and more than 3,000 mortar rounds and mortar tubes are among the cargo on
the Chinese ship, according to copies of the inventory published by a South
African newspaper.
Chinamasa said Zimbabwe government has purchased weapons in previous years.
"I don't understand what the hullabaloo is all about," he said.
"As long as the need arises, we will buy," he said in response to a question
at a news conference.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
By Blessing Zulu
21 April 2008
Heads of state of the Southern African Development Community have asked
South African President Thabo Mbeki to continue as mediator in the Zimbabwe
crisis despite generally mounting criticism of his performance and a request
by both branches of the Zimbabwean opposition Movement for Democratic Change
that he be replaced.
Mr. Mbeki's role came up for discussion by the SADC leaders over the weekend
on the margins of a development summit in the island nation of Mauritius.
Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said the SADC heads of state
expressed "complete faith" in Mr. Mbeki. "We have renewed our confidence in
him by asking him to continue the work of mediation and find a solution to
the situation in Zimbabwe."
The Zimbabwean opposition has long felt that Mr. Mbeki fell short of
impartiality in his attempts at mediation in the crisis over the years, and
his statement April 12 in Harare on his way to another SADC summit in
Lusaka, Zambia, after meeting with President Robert Mugabe, that "there is
no crisis" in Zimbabwe, was the last straw.
That statement also galvanized Mr. Mbeki's critics at home in South Africa,
where his ruling African National Congress party is calling for a tougher
stance with Harare.
ANC President Jacob Zuma, leading a ruling-party delegation to Germany,
Britain and France, said Mr. Mugabe's government is undermining Zimbabwe's
Zuma was expected to meet Wednesday in London With British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown, who has been prominent in stoking international outrage at the
delay or more than three weeks in releasing the results of the March 29
presidential election.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband meanwhile accused Mr. Mugabe of
trying to steal the parliamentary elections, in which official results
showed the combined MDC claiming a majority in the lower house, through
fraudulent recounts.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon continues to lobby African leaders to
address the Zimbabwe crisis more energetically, most recently on the
sidelines of a trade and development conference under way this week in
Ghana. Reuters reported that Ban met with privately with Tsvangirai for
about half an hour on Monday in Accra.
Ban spokeswoman Michel Montas told journalists New York that Tsvangirai
"appealed for an intervention by the African Union and the United Nations"
as he "feels there is no progress" despite two rounds of SADC discussions in
recent weeks.
She said Ban had again called on Zimbabwean authorities to release the
results of the presidential election, and intended to consult further with
the president of the African Union, currently President Jakaya Kikwete of
South African-based political analyst Hermann Hanekom told reporter Blessing
Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Mr. Mbeki's mediation has been a
Johannesburg-based political analyst Nickson Nyikadzino said SADC must have
more say in Mr. Mbeki's mediation approach rather than writing him a blank
The Guardian,
Tuesday April 22 2008
Robert Mugabe's strategy for staying in power after losing the popular vote
is painfully clear, even to those of his supporters - such as the South
African president, Thabo Mbeki - who look the other way. First, it is to
delay the announcement of the election results by yet another week. Three
weeks have now passed since the election was held in Zimbabwe, but as the
Herald, the regime's mouthpiece, said yesterday, more time is needed to
recount 23 contested parliamentary seats. "A lot of work is involved," the
newspaper said, with no irony intended.
It is not just a matter of breaking and entering, although there is plenty
of that going on with the ballot boxes, according to Dianne Kohler-Barnard,
the South African member of the observer team. Time is also needed for
assault and battery. The aim is to frighten the wits out of anyone who voted
against Zanu-PF in the rural areas. This is the second arm of Mr Mugabe's
strategy, and just because it is cruder than the first does not mean it is
any less effective. Intimidation comes from the top. The health minister, Dr
David Parirenyatwa, brandished a Kalashnikov at a meeting in which he
threatened to kill opposition supporters if they dared to vote for the
Movement for Democratic Change in the second round.
A fresh assault on white farmers has developed into an extensive campaign of
beatings, intimidation and torture in provinces such as Mashonaland East and
Masvingo where Zanu-PF lost ground three weeks ago. As Human Rights Watch
reported over the weekend, torture and violence are surging in detention
centres set up in opposition constituencies. Tendai Biti, the MDC secretary
general, said 10 people had been killed, 500 injured and 3,000 displaced. If
past experience is anything to go by, the thugs will run rampage until the
second round runoff is called and then vanish overnight. By the time
election monitors reappear, peace will have returned to the rural
constituencies but the damage will have been done.
While the Zanu-PF strategy is clear, what is less certain is how much longer
the rest of southern Africa is prepared to tolerate it. There are large
fissures opening up on the ground on which Mr Mbeki stands. The African
National Congress, under its new leader, Jacob Zuma, has broken with the
South African president over his handling of Mr Mugabe. This has emboldened
the MDC's leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, to call for Mr Mbeki to stand down as
mediator for the Southern African Development Community in favour of
Zambia's president, Levy Mwanawasa, who wants Mr Mugabe out. The SADC itself
is split. Zambia, Botswana and Malawi are pushing for a hard line against Mr
Mugabe. Mozambique, Angola and South Africa have thus far resisted.
A second-round runoff between Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai would provide the
acid test of the SADC's new-found resolve. If it insists that the runoff is
fully transparent, that Zimbabwe is flooded with observers, and that the
whole process is monitored from start to finish, it can still ensure a fair
result. Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, has no formal standing
in this dispute, but has emerged from his successful mediation in Kenya with
the stature to help solve the crisis in Zimbabwe. Both the African Union and
the UN could also be involved in monitoring.
Mr Tsvangirai has given contradictory statements on whether he would contest
a second round; there are two reasons why he should. First, by his own
contested figures, he only just won the election in the first round, and it
would look as if he were running away if he refused to participate. Second,
he could still win if he is allowed to campaign in the rural areas. He would
be relying on the fact that desperation overcomes fear, and that everyone
knows that the regime is finished. It is a big risk, but the prize of a
peaceful transition is even bigger.
April 21, 2008, 22:00
The ruling Zanu-PF party has accused the MDC of supplying youth with drugs
and letting them loose on police and the public. It has also denied MDC
claims that it unleashed the militias who are terrorising opposition
supporters across the country.
The police and the army stand accused of imposing an unofficial curfew and
meting out random beatings on civilians. The MDC claims this is in
retribution for voting against President Robert Mugabe. But Zanu-PF says
this is not true.
"We stopped the issue of violence, so we are not going to allow that.
Zimbabwe has got no reputation to protect at the moment - if you come to
provoke the police or the army they will not let you get away with it," said
Zanu-PF spokesperson Bright Matonga.
Police have acknowledged politically related deaths but are downplaying
reports of widespread violence. However, civil society is growing
increasingly concerned.
Director of Zimbabwe Peace Project, Jestina Mukoko, says there are torture
camps that have been established in Mashonaland East province.
"A lot of people that have been targeted and victimised have had their
homesteads burned down," she said.
Many fear that acts of intimidation and violence will accelerate to levels
last seen in 2002, ahead of the anticipated re-run of the presidential
Meanwhile, the recount in 23 disputed constituencies continues, with results
from the process now also expected to be delayed.
Modern Ghana
By Rejoice Ngwenya, AfricanLiberty.org
Mon, 21 Apr 2008
Feature Article
"The Author's/Authors' views do not necessarily reflect those of
President Thabo Mbeki and his infamous colleague Robert Mugabe are marooned
on an isolated political island, under siege by diplomatic brickbats and
flotsam; their old bodies quivering and shivering in cold winds of backlash
from Mr. Mbeki's unpopular proclamation that Zimbabwe is not a crisis
situation. While Mbeki ponders thoughtfully on the next move to restore a
badly mutilated credibility, Mugabe conspires with China to fend off a
deluge of inevitable popular electoral discontent with Chinese AK-47s,
bullets and Israeli water canons.
Meanwhile, 18 April Independence celebrations at Gwanzura Stadium was
nothing more than a display of military force, a sure sign that the civilian
centre can no longer hold at Mugabe's ZANUpf camp. He is doing want he knows
best, defending his political space with stolen ballots and Chinese bullets.
In addition, Mr. Mugabe told us that "ZANUpf brought democracy to Zimbabwe"
and roasted Gordon Brown, as predicted, for attempting to buy Britain's way
back to state house via 'MDC puppets'. Harare residents were chided for
voting for MDC whose agenda Mugabe claims is only one – giving Zimbabwe back
to its former colonial power wherefore he vowed the opposition would never
ever assume political control of the country as long as he is alive.
Herein lays the contradiction. Mugabe's narrow perception of democracy is
one of a commodity that can be bought, sold and exchanged on the political
market place. It is a preserve only for ZANUpf, and therefore anyone who
encroaches onto this context must be a sell out. We progressive Zimbabweans
would now like to expose this gigantic act of archaic self-delusion.
Since 1980, Zimbabwe has been, in Mugabe's own words, religiously holding
elections every five years. He won each one of them up until last month,
pumping in millions in USA dollars of state resources in campaigns,
materials, publicity, vote buying – all in the name of 'democracy'. In the
process – that is from 1985 – thousands of innocent citizens have died in
defence of 'this' democracy, mostly under the hands of Mugabe's own
repressive machinery. Therefore, if he accuses the British of racist
hypocrisy during the reign of Ian Smith, what does he himself have to show
for his ZANUpf brand of democracy in the past twenty eight years of his
Moreover the 'good' president has completely got his facts wrong. Robert
Mugabe was not even part of a rebellion within the Zimbabwe African People's
Union [ZAPU] in 1963 that formed ZANU, but Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole. In
1965, Ian Smith rebelled against Britain by the Unilateral Declaration of
Independence [UDI] and later proclaimed that Africans [like Mugabe and
Joshua Nkomo] would not rule Rhodesia in a thousand years. Mugabe then
enters the fray long after by deposing Reverend Sithole in a 'prison room'
coup, before taking over the reigns from Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front on
April 18, 1980. To say ZANUpf shot the Conservative party of Margaret
Thatcher out of power in Rhodesia is political gibberish. All the British
did, at Lancaster House and through Lord Soames, was to facilitate a
democratic process that entirely benefited Mugabe, even though they were not
the best of friends. So Mugabe and his apparently educated cronies should
know by now that even if one does not like an election observer, one can
still win that election.
The second revelation one can make is about the trinity of evil that is
colluding to deprive Zimbabweans of true liberty. ZANUpf, the Judiciary and
the Zimbabwe Election Commission are a diabolical axis of vampires whose
agenda is to perpetuate fascist dictatorship. So if Mugabe is such a
democrat, why are his institutions of governance so frightened by political
competition? The more pertinent question really is: has he ever been loved
by anyone enough to be voted for purely on a voluntary basis – the essence
of true democracy? Of course not!. Since the early seventies, Mugabe has
been at the helm of his party, ZANUpf. Does this mean no one, in these
thirty-five years, has ever been good enough to beat him in an internal
leadership contest? Perhaps history will one day expose the myth, but there
have been questions raised about the 'assassination' of firebrand barrister
Hebert Chitepo and the motor vehicle 'accident' of military genius Josiah
Tongogara, who many believe were ideally positioned to replace Mugabe long
before he felt completely indispensable.
The last revelation on Mugabe is about his humaneness or lack of it. The
1980s Matabeleland genocide was clear testimony that Robert Mugabe does not
have a conscience that an average human being possesses. This is not about
the length of his pre-independence incarceration at Wha Wha prison. If it
were, then Nelson Mandela would not have been the saint that he is now.
Eyewitnesses at Nyadzonia and Chimhoio – the refugee and military camps were
Mugabe was based during the war of liberation – allege that he never shed a
single tear for the hundreds of children that were napalm bombed by Ian
Smith's commandos. He dismissed the Matabeleland carnage merely as a moment
of madness. Hundreds of young men were murdered in the Democratic Republic
of Congo protecting the interests of a few of his cronies, some of who were
named in blood diamond scandals by the United Nations. Operation
Murambatsvina drove one million citizens to homelessness while Mugabe's
devastating price control decree in July 2007 left an entire nation on the
verge of starvation. As you read this piece, scores of villagers have been
tortured and displaced by Mugabe's rogue elements rampaging in Zimbabwe's
rural areas as post-election retribution for voting for MDC.
Therefore, stealing and cheating in an election would hardly appear as an
'event' in Mugabe's contaminated political dictionary. So while the world is
screaming at him, he has sealed his ears and is now preparing to die in
public office.
By Our Correspondent
NYAMURIWO, April 21, 2008 (thezimbabwetimes.com) - In the remote village of
Nyamuriwo in north-eastern Zimbabwe, supporters of the MDC are counting the
cost of
voting against President Robert Mugabe and the Zanu-PF party during the
March 29 poll.
The smouldering ruins of what were once three village dwellings serve as a
potent warning to
all those now regarded as traitors for having voted MDC. The houses were set
on fire under
cover of darkness in the early hours of Saturday morning. Families managed
to flee but lost
most of their belongings.
As he surveyed the ruins, Garikai Chitaunhike, 26, a supporter of the
MDC,was sorrowful as
he told The Zimbabwe Times: "It is a threat we are all taking very
seriously. There will be more
burnings and beatings, too."
Zanu-PF lost the March 29 poll by 11,867 votes to 7,869 in this
constituency, which is a two
hour-drive north of Harare in an area where the MDC did not dare to campaign
openly in the
recent election and never in the past. The party was able to make a clean
sweep at the polls,
Unable to accept the defeat of their party and undeterred by the fact that
they are clearly a
minority, supporters of the ruling party have launched attacks on anyone
they accuse of betraying
their cause. The home of Hwande Mushore, a security guard in Harare, was
first to be attacked
. He had bravely refused to surrender his MDC card and T-shirt. Next to be
set alight was the
homestead of Frank Kaseke. His nephew Vincent was puzzled.
"My uncle's daughter passed away last week, and there were many people at
the funeral," he
said. "I think someone was wearing an MDC T-shirt. That's the only reason I
can think why my
uncle became a target."
Last to be targeted was the home of Nyasha Nheza, a father of nine, whose
family vehemently
denied supporting the MDC, but to no avail.
"We are card-carrying members of Zanu-PF," insisted one of his sons.
In another incident, Sipho Dzapasi, an MDC supporter, was beaten up.
Reprisal attacks are seen
as inevitable after a poll that has caused Zanu-PF to lose its parliamentary
majority for the first
time since independence in 1980, amid fears that Mugabe was finally beaten
at the polls and by
the very candidate he swore would never be President of Zimbabwe, Morgan
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has failed to announce the results of the
election for three weeks, prompting wide-spread speculation that they are
protecting Mugabe
from the humiliation of defeat by Tsvangirai. Mugabe has routinely dismissed
Tsvangirai as a
"puppet of the West". The defeat of Zanu-PF suggests that Zimbabweans may be
concerned with bread and butter issues than they are influenced by spurious
allegations of
neo-colonialism. It is for that rejection by the people of Zimbabwe that
Mugabe now seeks
to punish them.
He has ordered a recount in 23 constituencies where he alleges there was
electoral fraud by
the MDC. The recounts started Monday amid reports of tampering with ballot
The reprisal attacks against the MDC have escalated sharply throughout the
especially in villages such as Nyamuriwo, once a stronghold of Zanu-PF and
far from the eyes
of police.
The police said yesterday that they were investigating the raid on the
village. Three of the
alleged perpetrators had been arrested while the hunt continued for another
11 identified
Thousands of refugees from those rural areas worst hit by post-election
intimidation remain in
safe houses around the capital and in other urban centres. News of spreading
violence will not
encourage them to return home any soon.
Zimbabwe could soon be saddled with a refugee problem similar to the massive
drift from the rural areas into the urban areas as poor peasants fled from
persecution by
troops fighting to sustain Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front regime against
guerilla incursions.
The Zimbabwean
Sunday, 20 April 2008 08:27
Fears of teachers' strike
HARARE –Monday May 26, the working day set aside for Africa Day (25), has
been set for the presidential election run-off, according to a senior
military source.
He told The Zimbabwean on Sunday that it had been agreed at a secret meeting
that the ZEC would delay the release of last month's presidential election
results – which was won by MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai - for another two
weeks, possibly using the excuse of the three by-elections.
The well-oiled, vicious Zanu (PF) election machine has been extremely busy
since it became obvious that Robert Mugabe lost.
The source gave details of a complex web of deception, coercion and violent
intimidation to ensure that another electoral defeat for Mugabe in the
presidential election run-off would not be remotely possible. The number of
polling stations to be reduced in the cities to discourage a large turnout
in MDC strongholds.
The CIO has a file on "each MDC activist detailed to the level of the
football club he or she supports together with family members details etc.,"
revealed the source.
Such personalities are being identified right across the country with
emphasis on the rural areas, and loyal Zanu cadres are to be assigned to
deal with them.
The source also said Reserve Bank governor, Gideon Gono, would shortly
release RBZ funds for cooperatives and other rural ventures to boost Mugabe's
"Each Headman is to receive Z$5 bln and each Chief Z$10 bln with
instructions to gather villagers for at least two meetings to enlist support
for in the runoff. This will be over the 21 day period. Then there will be
10 Star rallies," he said.
In addition, a directive has been issued that no school fee increases will
be announced until after the elections which will be held after pay day.
During the 21 day period between now and the run-off, the winning Zanu
candidates for the House of Assembly will hold victory parties and
celebrations using funds provided by the RBZ to further coerce voters.
In an interesting development, showing some sensitivity to international
condemnation of human rights violations by the security forces, the ZRP has
been instructed not to provoke anyone in the cities and will only act as
intelligence gatherers. This is to put a "public shine" on the force as
agents of the government. They are presently visiting business in Bulawayo
demanding to know why companies were closed during the general strike.
Police officers were given their "election bonus" of Z$0 million at the end
of January, but have not been given their "top up" as promised after the
The source said all police officers had been asked to state their allegiance
to the ruling party as 4000 are required for "civilian duties". Deployment
started last week and they have been instructed to wear old civilian
clothes, not to shave, not to carry ID and if possible, not to ear any
shoes. They are to report to the senior army officials from the Military
Junta commanding each province as listed in last week's issue of The
Zimbabwean on Sunday.
"They have been told to focus more on the old," revealed the source.
He also said Zanu (PF) was terrified of any potential strike action by
teachers, as the military junta would like to use them as pawns to garner
support for Mugabe in the rural areas, where they are still highly respected
by the communities. In order to prevent any strike action, the secret
meeting decided that an announcement should be made giving teachers a pay
increase – but this would not be implemented once the election had taken
The Zimbabwean
Monday, 21 April 2008 14:57
Peter Chikondi
In a surprise turnaround, Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe on
finally admitted defeat in the past harmonised combined elections.
In a clear admission of defeat Mugabe told an independence
gathering at Gwanzura stadium in Harare that he would not allow the
opposition to lead the country and showed anger that people voted for
Mr Mugabe said opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement
Democratic Change (MDC) were sell outs who would never be allowed to
Zimbabwe although Tsvangirai and the MDC won the March 29 harmonized
There will never ever be change in Zimbabwe. We shall never reverse
gains of the liberation struggle. Zimbabwe will never be a colony
said Mugabe.
Mugabe castigated the electorate for voting for the MDC saying that
were being bought and corrupted by the British whom he alleged that
splashing money to pervert the electorate.
Digressing from his prepared speech which he rarely read from, Mugabe
revealed that war guerrillas had taken up arms to fight against the
leadership of the opposition despite having clearly won the elections.
Violence has erupted around the country and the opposition and human
groups have said that the coordinated attacks on the opposition are
led by the military and the former war veterans. He bitterly attacked
Britain for commenting on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe
saying the
British should not lecture Zimbabwe about democracy because ZANU PF
brought democracy in Zimbabwe.
Mr Mugabe also said that there will never be change in Zimbabwe in a
sign that the ruling elite were not willing to respect the outcome of
elections that go against them.
The Zimbabwean
Monday, 21 April 2008 13:54
We have just received some more reports of violence in the Zishumbe
Resettlement Area i of Masvingo North Constituency where zanu pf youths
have severely beaten up 10 MDC polling agents – so much so that 7 of them
are unable to walk. These polling agents are currently at the Masvingo
Central Police Station making a report, after which they will be ferried
Masvingo Hospital , according to eyewitness reports .
Apparently, the MDC people assigned to monitor the Bikita re-Count
have been chased away by zanu
The Zimbabwean
Monday, 21 April 2008 06:09
Detained freelance journalist Frank Chikowore's lawyer, Harrison
Nkomo, has
filed an urgent High Court application compelling the police to take
Chikowore to hospital as he is complaining of abdominal and chest
The application also compelled the police to have Chikowore appear
before a
Magistrate on 17 April 2008, as the 48-hour period within which a
arrested by the police should appear before a Magistrate court, as
stipulated under Zimbabwean laws, has elapsed.
Chikowore, who was gathering news on the fateful day, was arrested on
April together with supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change
He and the MDC supporters are said to be facing charges of malicious
to property for allegedly torching a bus belonging to Nyamwenda Bus
in Warren Park.
According to Chikowore's lawyer, who was hired by MISA-Zimbabwe under
Media Defence Fund (MDF), the police initially wanted to charge
under the draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
(AIPPA) but later discovered that he is an accredited journalist and
there was no offensive material on his laptop.
Chikowore was arrested in Harare on 15 April 2008 in unclear
According to his wife, Chikowore left their home in Harare's suburb of
Warren Park early in the morning on his way to work, only to return
later in
the company of seven police officers, four of whom were in riot gear
three in plainclothes. The police then reportedly searched the house
confiscated a laptop, recorder and camera.
This Day, Nigeria
From Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo in Ota, 04.22.2008
President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe would not concede defeat without the
intervention of the African Union, the president of the Movement for
Democratic Coalition (MDC) and opposition leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, said
in Ota, Ogun State, yesterday .
Tsvangirai made the remark while visiting the former president, Chief
Olus-egun Obasanjo, in his farm house to enlist his assistance in drumming
up support for an urgent resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis.
The results of the presidential election which was held three weeks ago are
yet to be released by the country's electoral commission, although
parliamentary results show that opposition parties have defeated Mugabe's
ZANU-PF for the first time since 1980.
MDC has insisted on the release of the presidential results which it claimed
went in MDC's favour.
He said: "President Mugabe wants to create a situation to buy time when he
rolled out this military situation. The violence has now become so endemic
to create a captive audience. By the time the announcement comes, he would
have prepared the population by this violence to create a new electoral
environment where he will have his own predetermined outcome."
Tsvangirai arrived Lagos in the wee hours of Monday morning.
He met the press on the lawn in front of Obasanjo's personal summer house
where Obasanjo, Tsvangirai, after a prayer meeting that lasted a few hours
ushered Tsvangirai to the high table and went on to play a game of local
Decked in a well-cut brown suit with a purple shirt and tie to match,
Tsvangirai saved no punches for Mugabe whom he accused of sponsoring state
terrorism against the people of Zimbabwe.
He added that his campaign is a diplomatic offensive against the regime of
He said: "This impasse has caused a tremendous crisis in my country. We now
face an extra-ordinary situation in which violence has erupted not because
the people are protesting but because the state has rolled out violence
against its people using the army, the police and the militias to the extent
that the Southern African Community Leaders had to convene a summit a week
ago, to try to attend to the crisis."
He said the summit resolved that the results of the elections of three weeks
ago must be released expeditiously and it should be authenticated by the two
Explaining his mission to Nigeria, Tsvangirai said: "We in the MDC believe
that this matter must be taken to the level of the African Union. That's why
I'm here in Nigeria. First of all to discuss with the former president
Obasanjo, who has been previously engaged in the Zimbabwean dispute."
Tsvangirai also disclosed his mission to proceed to Ghana to build an
African coalition to try to find a solution to the crisis in Zimbabwe, just
like a solution was found to the Kenyan crisis, by Africans to resolve the
post-election conflict.


text:
The once hot and happening celeb couple Malaika Arora and Arbaaz Khan have legally called it quits to their marriage. The Bandra family court granted them a divorce today after the completion of all the legal proceedings.
While Malaika has got custody of the couple's son Arhaan, Arbaaz has been granted visitation rights whenever he wants, according to a report in Mid-Day.
Also Read: Is Malaika Arora dating Arjun Kapoor? Here's what she has to say
The ex-couple's lawyers Kranti Sathe and Amruta Sathe Pathak confirmed the news to the tabloid.
Last year, after months of rumours that Malaika and Arbaaz's marriage was over, the two finally released an official statement declaring the same.
In their joint statement, Malaika and Arbaaz said, "The truth is, we have taken a break, but that doesn't mean people can presume, assume and speculate things of such malicious nature. We are taking out time to figure out our lives... Yes, it's true that we are separated, but where our lives go and what transpires between us, it is for us to decide. Wherever it goes from here, we will talk about it when we are ready to."
Malaika and Arbaaz filed for a divorce last November through mutual consent.
However, there are often spotted together at holidays and other events. In fact, the duo was spotted together along with their son Arhaan Khan at Justin Bieber's concert at the DY Patil stadium in Mumbai.
The ex-couple, who tied the knot in 1998, have ended their 18-year-old relationship today and, we wish all the good luck for their future.


text:
Shoddy work brings back bad old days of 'no Irish need apply'
SYDNEY LETTER: A string of incidents involving a small minority of Irish people have been giving the blameless majority a bad name
THERE ARE more Irish people than ever before working in Australia, but a tiny minority are giving the rest a bad name.
A record 21,753 Irish nationals got Australian working holiday visas in the year to June 30th last – an almost 50 per cent increase on the number granted the previous year. This figure is almost certain to be surpassed when the numbers to June 30th this year are collated.
There has also been an increase of close to 20 per cent in the numbers of Irish people getting a "457 visa", open to those with particular skills such as engineering. Only British and Indian citizens get more of these 457 visas.
However this year has seen a string of incidents in which some Irish people have been giving the blameless majority a bad name.
In January, two Irish people were convicted over unlicensed building work and subsequently deported. In February, in New South Wales, another seven Irish were charged with similar offences.
In Queensland, meanwhile, people were warned about a gang of Irish bitumen-layers charging thousands of dollars for shoddy work. "It seems to be a never- ending problem and people need to be on the alert for these smooth- talking Irish," said Queensland local councillor Paul Tully.
An internet job ad in March looking for a bricklayer in Perth warned that "no Irish" need apply.
When The Irish Times rang the number in the ad, the phone was answered by an Irishman. "They were just not turning [up]. It's a lot different over here," he replied when asked why the ad rejected his countrymen.
"Coming in hung over on a Monday morning is no good . . . I'm trying to run a business here."
In a case compared to the film The Hangover, April saw an Irishman convicted in Melbourne after he went on a six-week spending spree with fraudulently obtained credit card details.
Michael Hegarty from Co Meath, along with two Australian accomplices, used credit card numbers bought for $9 (€7) each online and spent an estimated $30,000 to $35,000 on five-star hotels, fine restaurants, limousines and alcohol before they were caught.
Hegarty was jailed for 90 days, with the term suspended for 12 months, and ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid community work.
Keeping up a strong batting average of misbehaviour, last month saw young Irish backpackers in Perth being warned by the police that they faced deportation if they did not curb their antisocial activities.
The police are seeking the help of Perth's GAA clubs to get the message across. A warning email sent out by one club to its members read: "The WA [Western Australian] police are extremely unhappy and appalled by the antisocial behaviour which is taking place all too often on the streets. Even rental agencies are not as willing to rent properties to Irish people here in Perth as they are getting destroyed during parties, and left in terrible conditions once vacated."
The GAA president in WA, Robert O'Callaghan, said it should not be "construed that they're targeting the GAA". "The police just basically took it on themselves to have a chat to the clubs," he said.
Regardless of all the bad behaviour, an unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent means Australia is experiencing labour shortages, so Irish people will continue to be welcomed.
In Western Australia, which is going through a massive resources- fuelled boom, the unemployment rate is 3.8 per cent.
The government has just announced it will allow 1,700 foreigners to work on a $9 billion iron ore mining project in the state. Given the recent track record, many of these will be Irish.
Those thinking about applying for a skilled visa will soon find the process speeded up through the "SkillSelect" programme, which is being introduced on July 1st.
Minister for immigration Chris Bowen said: "SkillSelect will ensure visas are allocated to the best and brightest skilled migrants so that the migration programme can better meet the needs of Australian businesses."
The programme is partly designed to help ensure better distribution of skilled visas to regional areas, where some industries are suffering from a shortage of workers. Visa applicants who indicate they are willing to live and work in regional Australia could increase their chances of getting pre-arranged employment and thus being granted a visa.
However the traffic is not just going one way.
It has emerged that both Facebook and Google's Australian arms are channelling the vast majority of their advertising revenue through their Irish operations, where corporate tax is less than half that of the 30 per cent rate in Australia.
Google Australia paid $74,176 to the Australian tax department on revenue of $201 million last year. New legislation which aims to curb this practice has been introduced in the federal parliament.


text:
Prince of Dreams
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A wealthy and bitter exile, he most dangerous and desirable man in all of England, he burns to possess a proud, headstrong beauty who is promised to another. But winning Emma Stokehurst's exquisite hand through threats and determination does nothing to fill the empty spaces in Nikola's heart—until passion's magic carries the handsome, tormented prince back to a bygone era of splendor and romantic dreams. For there his destiny awaits him in a distant life. And in one remarkable woman's tender touch—achingly familiar but gloriously new—he must seek the elusive promise of ecstasy . . .and learn, at last, to love.


text:
Hailing State Supreme Court Ruling on NYU Expansion Plan
I am gratified that earlier this month State Supreme Court Justice Donna Mills affirmed what we in the community have said for years: the public park strips on Mercer Street and LaGuardia Place cannot be given to NYU without approval by the State Legislature. The gardens and playground on the city-owned land NYU would co-opt were developed and have long been maintained by local residents on behalf of our open-space-starved neighborhood. I was proud to help lead Manhattan Community Board 2 when it passed its resounding resolution in opposition to the NYU 2031 plan. With this decision, NYU must go back to square one and develop a plan that protects our public open space and respects the character of the neighborhood.


text:
All the topline merchant bankers in the country have formally pitched for the mandate in the divestment programme of Rashtriya Chemicals Fertilisers.
The presentation was held on June 23 with nine contestants making the pitch.
Sources said some of the bigger ones are not that keen on bagging the mandate.
According to a merchant banker, there is not much money to be made out of government divestments. Besides, RCF lacks the glamour of some other public sector undertakings.
Among those known to be in the race are HSBC Securities, SBI Capital Markets, Rabo Bank and Lazard India.
RCF is one of the largest urea producing fertiliser companies, which is likely to be disinvested soon.
The department of divestment is expected to appoint an advisor for the divestment within the next seven days.
The government of India has put RCF on the fast track of divestment. On May 22, the government had announced its intentions of privatising RCF by offering a little over half (51 per cent) of its 92.5 per cent equity to a private company. The rest 7.5 per cent of the stake is with the public.
The DoD had invited expressions of interest in order to select an advisor till June 9.
Interested parties were asked to make presentations on June 23, thereafter an advisor is expected to be selected within one or two weeks. Due diligence is expected to start in the following two or three months.
A senior RCF official confirmed that the government was going to appoint an advisor soon. However, he said that the company was not aware of the players who are in the race to be the advisor.
It is understood that the divestment of RCF will take place after National Fertiliser is divested, where the bid price is expected to be out in Mid-July.
According to analysts, divestment of NFL would offer greater confidence for the smooth divestment of RCF. The pricing and interest in NFL would determine the business valuation for a fertiliser company such as RCF.
RCF is one of the largest fertiliser and chemical manufacturing companies in Asia and its cost of urea manufacturing is lower than the average cost of all companies in this category.
The company's Thal manufacturing plant's (classified under the pre-92 mixed feedstock) cost of manufacturing is Rs 6,500 a tonne against the group's average of Rs 7,085.
Similarly at the Trombay plant (classified under the pre-92 gas-based feedstock), the cost of production of urea is Rs 5,800 per tonne, against an average cost of Rs 6,200 per tonne.
"Being a low cost producer of urea will give the bidder an advantage and also over 55 per cent market share in Maharashtra," said one analyst from a domestic brokerage.
The latest report by ASK Raymond James said, "Financially, the company is not doing too well due to the price of urea being controlled. Because of the price control on fertilisers, RCF incurred a loss of Rs 48 lakh (Rs 4.8 million) in FY03 but made a profit of Rs 85.4 crore (Rs 854 million) in the second half of FY03. Hence, it would be valued low for business, as returns from its operations have not been adequate. We feel the valuation of the company could be spilt into two parts-business and property."
Analyst estimate Rs 157 per share as the valuation for the company. They also said RCF's plant is quite old and not making attractive return and hence would fetch a lower price.


text:
The hostage taking of four peace activists in Iraq a few days ago, on November 30, 2005, is strikingly similar to what happened to Italian left-wing reporter Giuliana Sgrena earlier this year on February 2, 2005. The Jawa Report has ... [ More ]
By Digger on December 02, 2005
Giuliana Sgrena, the Italian journalist taken hostage in Iraq, has made claims that the car they were in after she was freed March 4, 2005 was travelling at a normal rate of speed when it approached a US checkpoint and ... [ More ]
By Digger on April 30, 2005
Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has now promised President Bush the Italians will no longer pay ransom for hostage. A little late in coming for my tastes. I wonder if this will be tested by the terrorists by taking another ... [ More ]
By Digger on March 13, 2005
Here's a few little updates on the Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena. The Car Giuliana Sgrena Claims Was Shot 3-400 timesThe Car Bonnie And Clyde Died InBoth Were Shot Over 50 Times In An Ambush First we have the car (pictured... [ More ]
By Digger on March 07, 2005
| Comments (3)
Giuliana Sgrena, the freed Italian Journalist who was being held hostage in Iraq by terrorists, claimed that US forces deliberately targeted her for attack. The car she was in was speeding towards a checkpoint at Baghdad airport when the checkpoint... [ More ]
By Digger on March 06, 2005
| Comments (5)
Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena who has been held hostage by terrorists in Iraq since February 4, 2005 has been released. It did not go smooth however and the car she was in sped towards a checkpoint without stopping. The... [ More ]
By Digger on March 04, 2005
| Comments (2)
A video tape of Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena, who was taken hostage Feb 4, 2005, was released this morning by the terrorists who are holding her hostage. In the video she is pleading in French and Italian for all... [ More ]
By Digger on February 16, 2005
| Comments (3)
The saga of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena continues. Just days after a terrorist group claimed to have executed her, her employer, Il Manifesto, now says it has contact through a third party who has seen her multiple times. The exact... [ More ]
By Digger on February 10, 2005
The Mujahedeen Brigade In Iraq has claimed to have executed Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena. This is the third group to have claimed having taken hostage Sgrena. The first was The Islamic Jihad Organization then on Feb. 6 The Jihad Organization... [ More ]
By Digger on February 08, 2005
It has been announced by the terrorist group the Jihad Organization that an Italian reporter Giuliana Sgrena, 56, is to be released in "the next few days". Sgrena was ambushed and taken hostage Feb. 4, along with 3 Iraqi's, in... [ More ]
By Digger on February 07, 2005
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text:
POUND RIDGE, N.Y. -- Pound Ridge Golf, New York's only Pete Dye designed golf course, finalized its construction in November 2007 and is gearing up for a July 2008 grand opening. The high-end daily fee masterpiece will attract domestic and international golfers, as well as regular players from its metro-New York location. The world-class layout was crafted by Dye's trusted construction manager of nearly 20 years, Michael Langkau.
Pete entrusts his course construction to be carried out by architecture shapers, artists who operate bulldozers while overseeing his course design vision on site. "Mike has done a wonderful job at Pound Ridge Golf Club and I am very proud of his work," confirmed the legendary designer. Langkau has played a key role in 16 Dye courses throughout the country. His notable projects include: Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisconsin; The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, South Carolina; The Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, West Virginia; Crooked Stick in Indianapolis, Indiana; Collecton River Plantation in Bluffton, South Carolina; Brickyard Crossing, Indianapolis, Indiana; Whistling Straits in Haven, Wisconsin; Big Fish Golf Club in Hayward, Wisconsin and the River Course at Virginia Tech, Radford, Virginia. "Everything that I know about golf course construction I know either directly or indirectly because of Pete," Langkau affirms.
The talented shaper takes Pete's conceptualization on paper and builds it into reality. The interaction between the two is vital to the creation and implementation of an excellent golf course. "In my early years I was fortunate to work with Pete on a daily basis. I feel that gives me an advantage to understand the subtle hand gestures and language that a new shaper, who has a limited exposure to Pete, can't possibly understand," he explains.
Since March 2006, Langkau has excavated the Pound Ridge Golf course site and he has shaped tees, greens and fairways, while working in concert with Pete and his co-designer son, Perry Dye. His skills were particularly tested at Pound Ridge. "The holes here were the 18 toughest holes to shape in my 20-year career because of the quantity of rock," according to Langkau. "My favorite par-3 is the 15th hole, where we incorporated many of the natural elements of beauty inherent to the entire property on one hole, including a tremendous and visually intimidating rock backdrop. The fifth hole is my favorite par-4 because this hole puts a real premium on precision and strategy. The 16th hole is my favorite par-5 because its uphill length requires careful thought for the second shot. The 14th hole definitely was the most challenging to build. I think the blasters ran out of dynamite here!"
Originally from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Langkau received his career opportunity at the Innis Arden Golf Club in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, when his employer arranged for an interview with the dean of the University of Massachusetts, Stockbridge School of Agriculture. While attending UMASS, he interned at Medinah Country Club, Chicago, Illinois, site of three U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships and the 2012 Ryder Cup. He graduated with an associates degree in Turf Management in 1986.
As the crew foreman at Blackwolf Run in 1988, Langkau received his first taste of Dye construction. "Pete came into my life at a time when I needed someone to look up to and he has provided me with a role model, mentor and at times a father figure," he says with admiration. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Langkau continuously moved back and forth between Dye projects such as Kiawah Island, The Pete Dye Golf Club and Whistling Straits. When a heavy rain storm created a major setback at The Gauntlet in Southport, North Carolina (a P.B. Dye course), Pete sent his trusted shaper to fix the damage that occurred on his son's course.
Between September 1989 and the Ryder Cup in September 1991, Langkau received a crash course in golf course construction and design at Kiawah Island. The commitment that Pete made to build a golf course from scratch to host a Ryder Cup two years later was unprecedented. The impending Ryder Cup was of such importance to Pete and his wife Alice that they lived on-site to oversee the construction process. Weeks after breaking ground, Hurricane Hugo took aim at Kiawah and Charleston and completely devastated South Carolina. "I arrived a few weeks later and within days Pete gave me my big break, operating heavy equipment. One thing led to another and I started my shaping career there. After we finished the golf course it all came down to the final group on the final hole where Bernard Langer missed 'the putt heard around the world' that would have retained the Cup for the European team. The golf course had only been open for a few months prior but has since become a landmark in American golf.'
With the Pound Ridge course opening in 2008, Langkau looks forward to the future honors that he believes will be bestowed upon the club. "When your previous project receives critical acclaim, it gives you a tremendous amount of credibility. I am also very pleased that Mr. Wang chose to keep Pound Ridge accessible to all golfers, as I enjoy building Dye courses that are available for everyone to play."
"Pete and Perry Dye have spent a lot of time at the Pound Ridge site. Pete averages one to two courses per year, so he can oversee the construction on a regular basis," Langkau adds. "The number of courses that Pete has in the Top 100 lists is simply amazing. When you compare the number of courses an architect is credited with against the number of courses he has in the Top 100, nobody comes close to Pete."
Pound Ridge Golf Club is situated in affluent Westchester County. The new 18-hole daily fee public course has been carved out of 172 acres of magnificent rocky cliffs, streams and wooded hills. The club anticipates becoming a destination course with golfers visiting from across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Contact: On Course Strategies LLC
(203) 454-0232


text:
The purpose of this website is to inform our community about the status of the November 2013 bond program. The bond package addresses improvements to existing campuses and infrastructure, provides technology for students and teachers, creates facility equity across the district, increases security and provides space for future growth.
On this website you will find project information, design presentations and construction photos. If you have any questions about the bond projects, please contact the GISD Administration Office at 817.408.4000.
©2013 Granbury ISD


text:
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In the Shadow of the Andes: A Personal Journey
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Age-old Ways
Photograph by Pablo Corral Vega
Harvesting barley by hand is backbreaking work for the farmers of Cayambe, Ecuador. In remote highland areas such as this, many people still speak Quechua, the language of the Inca, and live much as their ancestors did before the arrival of the conquistadores.
Canon EOS-1N
Film Type:
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Speed and F-Stop:
1/125 @ f/4
Weather Conditions:
Clear foreground, stormy background
Time of Day:
Late afternoon
Lighting Techniques:
Slight underexposure to saturate colors
Special Equipment or Comments:
I like framing my subjects very tightly with the wide angle.
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Asia › Thailand › Koh Tao › Koh Tao Tips
How to choose a dive centre on Koh Tao.
Koh Tao, Thailand
How to choose a dive centre on Koh Tao. Reviews
4 reviews
What to look for !! Aug 01, 2006
Many many people come here to learn to dive, after all it is one of the cheapest places in the world to learn how to do this life changing activity. As a result there are nearly 40 dive centres for you to choose from and this can be a little off putting !! I've worked here as a dive instructor over the passed 4 years and am writing this to help make your choice easier and hopefully more informed.
Ask yourself what you want from your course....
1) Are you happy in a large group or would you prefer smaller groups?
2) Do you want a lively resort who will offer a busy after dive party scene or do you wanna chill ?
3) What kind of accomodation do you want ?
4) What sort of location do you want - the main and central area of Sairee, quiet and out of the way Chalok Ban Khao or the main arrival point of Mae Had?
5) What language would you like to complete your course in ?
Do not worry that there is a choice of PADI and SSI courses. Each are valid licences and all SSI instructors are PADI instructors too - so you will benefit from the same experience which ever you choose. The big difference is in terms of cost. During an SSI course your materials are borrowed from the dive centre but on a PADI course each student must buy their own books - this can cost you an extra 1000-1500 baht and then of course you have to try and cram then in your backpack and carry them around !!
Booking before arrival is a good idea as it ensures you have the accommodation reserved for you and a free taxi from the pier. This means you dont have to deal with touts and haggle with taxi drivers upon arrival after a long journey. All the touts and taxi drivers are on commission and will 'sell' you the dive centre they work for which leaves you with little choice.
To choose your dive centre before arrival I would advise speaking to fellow travellers and getting their recomendations and thoughts, look for reviews on online forums and check out websites. Prices vary little but I would not advise simply booking the cheapest. Look for what you want based on the answers to the above questions.
If you do not have time to book before arrival then be prepared with the answers to the above questions so you know what you are looking for but be prepared for some pavement pounding.
1) Either go and find somewhere to stay and my advice would be to grab a cab to Sairee - this should cost you around 150/200 baht each get some accom and then go out looking for a dive centre. The upside to this is that you can have a rest, chill, freshen up and grab some food before hitting the pavement. The downside to this is that you will usually get a better deal on accom within the dive centre if you are diving with them, however you can always move after one night.
2) Your other option is to pick up a free cab from the pier that belongs to a dive centre, again I would advise one in Sairee, but check the policy of the taxi - ie what happens if you choose not to stay and dive there - do they charge you for the taxi or what? Most dont worry because atleast they have got you to their dive centre for a look around. Then you can look around that dive centre, you scored a free cab and you can move on to check out other places...
I recomend coming to Sairee as it will offer you the largest choice in terms of accom and dive centres as well as bars and restaurants and a beautiful long sandy beach.
Weather you choose option 1 or 2 - pop into a few dive centres and check them out - speak to their instructors, find out about them, notice their passion and enthusiasm but keep in mind what you want based on the questions at the begining. See who you like and the atmosphere that suits you too - take your time and even speak to a few divers around the centre too.
Dont be pushed and take your time - when you have spoken to a few - go and grab yourself a well earned beer, have a little think and decide.
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