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Must see in Cambodia
14/4-16 (11:30)
I got up early in the morning to see the Sun Rise at Angkor Wat. Got the Entry ticket for 20$ for a day. This is also available for 2 or 3 days for 30 or 40 USD. I got a Tuk Tuk booked for the whole day trip for 20$.
When i reached at the main entry point of the Angkor Wat, I found myself among a huge crowd of tourists from all over the world.
During the whole day trip I found 1 day is less to deeply explore all the temples and sites. Though you get a fair idea abou the place in 1 day.
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Cambodias $24m museum
26/3-16 (10:06)
fully funded by North Korea
North Korean government has spent $24m to build the new Angkor Panorama Museum in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Museum authorities say it is a goodwill gesture from North Korea to strengthen ties between the two countries.
But experts assert it is a new way for Pyongyang to circumvent international sanctions and bring in much-needed funds.
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A museum in Cambodia
21/3-16 (12:09)
North Korea launches a new over-seas project : A museum in Cambodia
Siem Reap Province, Cambodia: Trailing towards one of Asias most iconic tourist destinations, Cambodias Angkor Wat Temple complex, one will now come across another surprise lying in wait for them.
And it is the newly inaugurated The Angkor Panorama Museum, which is funded and produced by Mansudae Art studio, undoubtedly the most prestigious in all of North Korea. The rooms are unfolded in a 360 degrees angle which will show the eyes an all-round display of seamlessly glowing 3D structures crafted in a style of 2D paintings. The scenery depicts the historical era from the Khmer Civilizations, one that Cambodia hold as its golden period.
As astonishing as it may sound the artist, the plans and the whole design was laid out and borne by the nation of North Korea. Mansudae Art Studio declares it as their one of the largest over-seas project and had already invested more about 26 million into the Museum. After the cost has been recouped by the studio, the rest of the revenue will eventually pass entirely back to the Government of Cambodia.
Mansudae has established over a thousand art including statues all over North Korea like the one of its supreme Communist leader Kim Jong Il and also abroad like the construction of Namibias New State house. Though not everyone is happy with the decision like Koryo Studioss Nicholas Bonner, who mostly deals with the East-Asian galleries, is of the opinion that the deals of such kind are more about commerce and propaganda.
While some from the Human Rights groups feel that the museum is acting itself as an exponent of one of the worlds most depressive regimes.
On the other hand, the museum authorities are hopeful that such comments will not deter the masses from visiting and appreciating the art that the museum offers.
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Kjell Andersson
Ready for Makeover
21/3-16 (12:07)
Over the centuries, looting, theft and mismanagement have plagued the 12th century Banteay Chhmar temple complex in Banteay Meanchey province. But the sprawling Angkorian monument is about to get a second life as an international training ground for future archaeologists and monument restoration specialists.
After an initial agreement was signed in December, the Ministry of Culture and the University of Londons School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) are now hammering out details to set up a field school for post-graduate studentsmany of them from Southeast Asiaand young Cambodian professionals.
The overarching aims are to work with established Cambodian experts in the field to train the next generation of heritage managers with the necessary practical and critical skills to lead heritage work in the Southeast Asian region, Ashley Thompson, head of SOAS Center of South East Asian Studies, said in an email interview.
While funding still is being sorted out, the plan is to launch the program toward the end of the year. The project will also include the restoration of Ta Nem, one of the monuments satellite temples adjacent to the main complex.
Thanks to the decades of international collaboration at Angkor in particular, Cambodian expertise is now region-leading, and in some areas, world-leading, Ms. Thompson said, referring to the numerous projects in Angkor Archeological Park, where Cambodians have worked alongside international experts for more than two decades.
We recognize this and have designed a project which avoids placing an international expert at the head of conservation but rather supports Cambodian national expertise in assuming responsibility, she said.
Near the end of the 12th century, the modest Banteay Chhmar site had been transformed into one of the largest monastery complexes in the country, spreading over 12 km and including eight secondary temples.
Its remote location in idyllic countryside about 20 kilometers from the Thai border, however, has exposed it to theft in recent years. In 1998, it was victim of a spectacular looting operation when 30 meters of wall adorned with sculpted features was chopped off and smuggled into Thailand. A portion of the wall was later seized by the Thai authorities and returned to Cambodia while another section disappearedaccording to several sources, it is at the home of a prominent Thai businessman near Bangkok.
Also due to its remote location, the monument had never been restored. Though Banteay Chhmar was known and documented by the French as far back as the late 19th century, archeologists and architects who had embarked on the restoration of Angkor a century ago focused on monuments in Siem Reap province. And when international and Cambodian teams began new restorations in the 1990s and early 2000s, that was where the attention remained.
The new plan to restore Banteay Chhmar follows a restoration project that fell apart itself, necessitating the intervention of the Ministry of Culture. In 2008, the Global Heritage Fund (GHF) began an eagerly anticipated restoration effort at Banteay Chhmar, only to see the repeated absence of the man in charge, British architect John Sanday, according to several people close to the project.
It was only due to the direct intervention of the Culture Ministry, which sent Kim Sothina restoration expert and director of the Department for Safeguarding and Preservation of Ancient Buildingsthat some of the planned work was accomplished.
In the end, emergency measures were taken to consolidate some structures that were close to collapsing. A wall with elaborate sculpted scenes of historical importance was rebuilt with support from the organization Friends of Khmer Culture, which provided funding to help study and reconstruct the scenes.
Mr. Sanday did not reply to emailed requests for comment. Cathy Giangrande, director of GHF United Kingdom, said that the project had been a success.
Mr. Sothin said the project had allowed the ministry to detail what further restoration was needed. Approximately 80 features need intervention; 29 of them urgently, he said.
For a visitor, walking inside Banteay Chhmar is magical. Surrounded by gray stones and green foliage, one feels something like a 19th century explorer discovering a kingdom in the middle of the jungle.
The monument is an example of what French archeologists of a century ago faced when they embarked on Angkors restorationthat is, the gigantic task of clearing moss and foliage to see what needed to be done, said French researcher Olivier Cunin. This clearing work must be done painstakingly so as not to weaken stone structures now supported by roots and trees, explaining why restoring a monument takes more years than it took to build, he said.
One reason for investing time and energy into Banteay Chhmar is because of its historical importance, said Mr. Cunin, who has been studying the monument for years.
Toward the end of the 13th century, images of the Buddha in Jayavarman VIIs monuments were replaced by images of Shiva.
At Banteay Chhmar, this iconoclast reaction did not take place, he said. Therefore, you have the original Buddhist iconography, which makes the monument the more interesting for historical research, he added.
This is one of the reasons why those walls with sculpted scenes are to be included in the SOAS conservation project, said Joanna Wolfartht, the schools Banteay Chhmar Project Coordinator. GHF also plans to contribute to the project, she said.
One other characteristic makes this monument unique, Mr. Cunin said. One princely figure standing near the king in a scene sculpted on the wall of Banteay Chhmar does not appear in a similar scene at the Bayon, the monument built at the center of Jayavarman VIIs capital during the same period, he said.
There must have been political events in the meantime for this personage shown [at Banteay Chhmar] not to appear in the same scene at the Bayon.
This discrepancy makes him believe that the scenes sculpted on the walls of Banteay Chhmar were prototypes for those that would later be done at the Bayon temple.
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Kjell Andersson
Temple dedicated
27/2-16 (14:13)
to Cambodian cuisine opens in Siem Reap. Fri, 26 February 2016
Living Cambodian cuisine made its formal debut in Siem Reap last Friday evening with a stunning reception for 400 guests to celebrate the grand opening of Malis, the iconic restaurant that has been wowing Phnom Penh diners for 10 years.
The opening marks the end of any lingering questions about Siem Reaps capacity to attract middle to upper middle-income travellers, as the market continues to evolve into a more complex and sophisticated destination.
Congratulating the team that made it happen, especially Arnaud Darc and chef Luu Meng, the Minister for Tourism, Dr Thong Khon, called on the hospitality industry to continue their work in making Siem Reap one of the best destinations in the world.
Its wonderful that visitors to Siem Reap, after visiting our amazing temples at Angkor Wat and learning about our unique culture, can now experience a culinary journey at Malis and taste delicious food that has been adapted from our ancestors, he said.
The minister also acknowledged Siem Reaps fresh global recognition as a destination worth taking note of.
Weve just seen Siem Reap voted Number 1 and Shinta Mani Number 2 hotel in the world on Trip Advisor. Cambodia is becoming known for its quality and sophistication, he said.
Arnaud Darc and Luu Meng are the men whose vision led to the creation of living Cambodian cuisine, an idea that goes beyond the boundaries of simple geography and deeper than traditions.
Cambodian cuisine is an amalgamation of flavours, influences and techniques that is unique in the world. It is virtually a living history book, written with ingredients that cannot be found elsewhere.
But their greatest problem at the outset was the lack of any clear reference. The only answer was to get out there and find out.
I had recipes from my mother, said Meng, addressing the crowd that included Secretary of State Kong Vibol, His Excellency Cham Prasidh, the Minister of Industry and Handicrafts, His Excellency Sum Map, Director General of the APSARA Authority, and several other dignitaries and luminaries from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.
But it also took a lot of talking to people, said Meng.
I travelled to the provinces, to markets and into family kitchens, learning about different ingredients and traditional ways of cooking.
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Volunteers for children
18/2-16 (01:22)
Girls Day volunteers for children in Cambodia
South Korean girl group Girls Day has volunteered at a school in Cambodia to empower impoverished children, its agency said Wednesday.
The four-member act recently visited a school in Siem Reap of northwestern Cambodia as an honorary ambassador of Plan Korea, the South Korean branch of the international childrens NGO, Plan International, DreamT Entertainment said.
Girls Day held art and music workshops, encouraging children to visualize their dreams by drawing on eco bags, the agency said, adding the children had never been taught art or music at school.
The group also provided an English dictionary, a notebook and a bicycle to a girl who said her dream was to become an English teacher.
Girls Day was appointed an honorary ambassador for the campaign called Because I Am a Girl organized by Plan Korea in 2013. The campaign aims to empower girls in developing countries where they are often discriminated against and lack access to education and legal protection.
Children without dreams are without futures, Girls Day was quoted as saying by DreamT Entertainment. We hope we provided an opportunity for children to think about their dreams and learn how to work towards them during our brief time together.
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Giant Puppet Parade
5/2-16 (10:17)
Returns To Siem Reap for 10th Year
About 1,000 children and adults will march through Siem Reap City on Saturday night, many of them holding aloft the glowing rattan-and-paper puppets for which the annual Giant Puppet Parade is named.
Thousands of spectators are expected to gather along the parade route from the Old Market to the Royal Independence Gardens for the events 10th iteration. Last year, about 15,000 people turned out to watch the event, said British architect and project director Stuart Cochlin.
If it carries on the way its carrying, we expect about 20,000 people this year, he said on Wednesday. When we first started in 2007, we probably had about 100 people.
Each year, the event is used as a platform to make young people and spectators aware of Cambodias endangered and indigenous species. This year, Mr. Cochlin said, five of the seven puppets have been made to resemble a monitor lizard, a white-winged duck, a water buffalo, a caterpillar and a red ant. The other two will be modeled after a monkey to honor the upcoming Year of the Monkey, and a lion from the countrys royal coat of arms.
The puppets will also be illuminated from the inside. The bamboo-and-rattan armature and lighting systems were made with the assistance of British outdoor-exhibit designer Martin Mathews and British lighting designer Lucy Gaskell. They worked with the organizers and 12 Cambodian artists trained at Phare Ponleu Selpaks art school in Battambang City who conceived the puppets.
We discussed their ideas and then we discussed how we could make it better, Ms. Gaskell said.
Making the puppets realistic was no small task, said artist Tes Vannorng. We had to think about how to design the whole body to make it all work, she said.
The parade is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a 45-minute show at the Royal Independence Gardens with performances by musicians and Phares circus artists, she said.
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Malaysian wins
26/1-16 (14:00)
first Angkor Wat ultramarathon.
The Kingdom of Wonder entered the adventurous world of ultramarathons last week with the first ever 128km trail through UNESCO recognised Angkor Wat archaeological complex, putting human emotions through the toughest of endurance tests the likes of which had never been tried before in the country.
At the end of two gruelling days of competition, Hiam Lim Soh of Malaysia took the top honours in 18 hours 34 minutes and 56 seconds ahead of Porter Andrew (18:38.31) of South Africa and Clement Julian (19:28.07) of France.
But from the Cambodian perspective, the greatest achievement was recorded by a Japanese business magnate and well-known sports benefactor Mitsuji Konoshita, who is also a Cambodian citizen. The chairman of the countrys leading hire purchase and motor finance company, GLF, proudly competed as a Cambodian and finished fourth (20 hours 39.55 minutes) in the elite mens group but was the undisputed winner of the event in his own senior category, giving him the honour of being not only the first from the Kingdom to take part but also pick up a piece of historical glory.
I was indeed very proud to be a Cambodian. I took up the citizenship two years ago, and it has always been my burning desire to represent Cambodia in an ultramarathon I so passionately involve myself in, said Mitsuji Konoshita, who had taken part in as many as 11 over-100-mile events last year and has already run two of the kind this year and is heading to two more in the next few months..
Among the first to congratulate Mitsuji Konoshita was the minister for tourism and president of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, who described this achievement as a historical event and one that should inspire every Cambodian. We are so proud of you, he said.
Later in his address during the medal ceremony, the minister said the introduction of this ultramarathon, which is fast gaining global popularity, was to boost sports tourism and attract more and more adventure-loving foreigners to the Kingdom.
We are pleased that 250 participants from 26 countries took part this year. It is a great number to begin with. For us the learning curve is long. There may have been some organisational shortfalls in our first attempt but we hope to make this event better when we host it again in January next year, the NOCC president declared.
In the Womens 128km event, Thailands Boonthant Suksodkeaw outstayed the rest with a timing of 21 hours 27.57 minutes keeping at a fair distances the French pair of Dufour Isabelle and Veyre Auroleia
In the womens 64km challenge, Irelands Haimill Jill, who is no stranger to Cambodian distance events like the half marathons and the fuller version, proved her enormous staying potential by winning the event in six hours and 29 minutes. Australias Voseh Kathyrin finished second ahead of Chen Cheng of Singapore.
Interestingly, Jill and Cambodias Rio Olympics probable Nary Ly have competed against each other in many local long-distance events with Jill enjoying a better winning record.
Among the men competing the 64km event, R Gregorie of Switzerland proved the one with greater reserves of stamina by winning the event in six hours and 42 minutes, pushing Defond Yann of France to second place and Zwierlein Rob of Australia to the third position.
One young Cambodian girl who showed a lot of courage in finishing the course was given a special award as a promising talent.
The event organised by the Sports Performance Development Organisation (SPDO) was fully supported by the government, the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, the Apsara Authority and the Siem Reap Provincial Authority.
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Ultra Marathon at Cambodias Angkor
23/1-16 (11:53)
Some 250 runners from 26 countries and regions have registered for the Angkor Ultra Trail 2016, to be held on Jan. 23 and Jan. 24 at the famed Angkor archaeological complex in northwest Cambodias Siem Reap province, a senior sports official said Wednesday.
"This will be the first-ever Ultra Marathon in Cambodia," Vath Chamroeun, secretary general of the National Olympic Committee, said in a press conference here. "It aims to attract more international tourists to the famous Angkor archaeological park."
Initiated by French specialist Jean-Claude Le Cornec, four races are scheduled according to the levels of difficulty, the 128-km Ultra Trail, the 32-km Trail, 64-km trail and 32-km Nordic Walking.
Vath Chamroeun said foreign runners are required to pay 160 U.S. dollars for a 128-km race, 90 U.S. dollars for a 64-km run, and 60 U.S. dollars for a 32-km trek.
Angkor archaeological park, the kingdoms most popular tourist destination, received 2.1 million foreign visitors last year, generating a gross revenue of 60 million U.S. dollars from ticket sales, according to the government figures.
New flight to Siem Reap
20/1-16 (09:30)
[Thai Smile] had to build its market under the codeshare with the Thai Airways, but now the airline can be independent and have its own flight movements, he said.
The new route gives parent company Thai Airways which operates 17 flights a week from Bangkok to Phnom Penh its first crack at Siem Reaps busy international airport, which reported 3.2 million passenger arrivals and departures last year.
The Bangkok-Siem Reap route is currently dominated by Bangkok Airways, a full-service regional airline, and Thai AirAsia, a low-cost carrier (LCC). Cambodia Angkor Air, the Kingdoms flagship carrier, also operates one daily flight.
Smile Air aims to position itself in the gap between full-service and budget carriers, with one-way flights on the route starting at $77 including taxes comparable with AirAsias best fares.
Thai Smile operates like an LCC because its business model aims at competing [with other LCCs] and domestic carriers, said Vutha.
Ang Kim Eang, president of Cambodia Travel Agent Association, said Thai Smile's new route will help bring more tourists to Siem Reap and serve as a feeder to the Kingdoms other tourist destinations.
It is a good sign for Cambodia when there are more new airlines, and it reflects the ability of Angkor Wat temple to build the Kingdoms reputation and attract more tourists, he said.
Thai Smile Airways currently operates a fleet of 15 Airbus A-320s, with another five aircraft temporarily operating under Thai Airways air operators certificate (AOC).
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New Cambodian Circus Location
9/1-16 (14:40)
Work was underway on Friday to erect the big top of Phare, The Cambodian Circus, at its new location on the outskirts of Siem Reap City.
The 11-meter-high circus tent, which weighs several tons, was secured on the ground with 40 1-meter-long pegs, said Nicolas Charpal, a circus-tent technician who had come from France to oversee the installation.
The ground had been prepared, compacted, refilled. So it was perfect to set up the big top, he said.
The circus company is a social enterprise created by the NGO Phare Ponleu Selpak to provide employment to circus artists trained at its art and circus school in Battambang City, and help support the free school.
The big top was previously located on rented land in downtown Siem Reap. But with the land value going up, Phare faced an imminent rent increase it could not afford, which made it decide to buy a plot of its own, said Huot Dara, the circus companys chief executive.
Without the pressure, we would probably have taken a lot more time to have our own place, he said.
Now were really happy about it. The new land was acquired through a social impact loan provided by the Grameen Credit Agricole Foundation, he added.
Phares new home is on Ring Road about 2 km from the city center.
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Slight increase in Angkor visits
11/12-15 (12:11)
SIEM REAP, 11 December 2015: The Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (APSARA) reports 1.87 million international tourists visited Angkor temples, January to November, a 2.2% increase compared to the same period last year.
Khmer Times reported ticket sales to foreign tourists at the Angkor Wat Temple complex reached USD53.5 million in the first 11 months of this year, up 1.15% year-on-year.
Apsara Authority spokeswoman, Chau Sun Kerya, was quoted saying the slight increase in revenue was mainly the result of visitors switching from three-day or weeklong tickets to single-day tickets, which cost less.
It might suggest also that visitors are prepared to spend less time exploring the historical park despite the high cost of getting to Siem Reap in the first place.
The cost of the entrance ticket is the least expensive item on the itinerary when compared to air fares, hotels and land travel costs factored in by tour operators.
Or the demographics of the visitors has change?. There are fewer Europeans interested in soaking up the culture and art of the historical park over two to three days and more Asian visitors on short break holidays with just a day to spare for the ancient temples.
Foreign visitors pay USD20 for a one-day pass to the temples, USD40 for three days and USD60 for a weeklong pass. There are no entrance fees for Cambodian nationals.
Siem Reap tourism department deputy director, Chheuy Chhorn, said the majority of foreign tourists this year are from other Asian countries, mainly Vietnam, China, South Korea and Thailand.
Cambodia terminated the contract for ticket sales at Angkor temples with Sokimex Group, 6 November. The group received a concession to manage the temple complex in April 1999.
The change in fee management will come into effect early next year. An inter-ministerial commission has been set up to manage revenue from ticket sales to the iconic temples to benefit the economy and develop infrastructure within the park.
The commission comprises officials from the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Apsara Authority, General Department of National Treasury, Ministry of Culture, General Department of State Property and Non Tax Revenue and Council Ministers.
It was officially formed earlier this month and is transferring management of ticket sales from Sokimex Group to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which is the secretariat of the newly formed commission, the report said.
The Angkor Archeological Park is the main tourist attraction in Cambodia, well ahead of coastal areas and the ecotourism sites in the northeastern part of the country.
The park was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1992 located in Siem Reap province, which lies 315 km northwest of capital Phnom Penh.
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Locals Sweep Water Festival
28/11-15 (19:01)
Boat Races in Rainy Siem Reap
SIEM REAP CITY Thousands lined the Siem Reap River on Wedneday evening as fireworks exploded overhead and the sun set on the final day of Water Festival boat races here.
The day began with friendly competition between the previous days losers, with anticipation building toward the 5 p.m. finals.
In the mens division, the crew of local boat Hanuman Meanrith took home the $1,000 prize, overcoming stiff competition from Neakach Senchey Teuk Dey Angkor in the final race. Angkor Chum Senchey made it a Siem Reap full house as the team from the provinces Angkor Chum district took the womens crown.
Crowds were at least as large as the previous day as sweltering temperatures gave way to gray skies and intermittent rain, with a particularly severe downpour sending spectators and vendors scrambling for cover as children splashed in the swollen river, dammed upstream on occasion of the races.
Despite the sizeable crowds, vendors parked along the riverside bemoaned poor sales compared to year past.
Business is as not as good as last year because of the weather, said Chhum Srey Oun, 34, who was selling water and soft drinks near the finish line.
Its been raining, and when its cold, people dont want to buy water. Last year I made $150, but yesterday I made $25, and today I made only $10, she said.
On Tuesday, Skun Sath, 33, who sells skewers of processed meat, also reported disappointing takings, but placed the blame on events organizers, who gave the prime spots to Thai sellers.
Vendors from Thailand got the spots near the starting line this year, she said. Last year, there were no Thai vendors, and now they are bringing new brands that people have never seen before.
This years Water Festival celebrations in Siem Reap are the biggest in the country, authorities having canceled the races in Phnom Penh for the fourth time in five years, citing low water levels and the need to allocate resources to drought mitigation.
Watching the races on Wedneday, Seun San, a 55-year-old farmer from Kandal province, who attended his first Water Festival there in 1965, said he usually decided to make the trip to Siem Reap after the races were called off in the capital.
I came here to see the boats. This is our tradition and this is my favorite sport, he said.
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Siem Reap mulls tourism attractions
12/10-15 (13:19)
SIEM REAP, 12 October 2015: Siem Reap is planning to expand the provinces tourism attractions by adding a tour of a a plantation following a visit to Angkor Wat.
It is hoped it will help to increase length of stay and give the town wider appeal beyond the World Heritage site.
Khmer Times quoted Apsara Authority spokesperson, Kérya Chau Sun, who confirmed plans had been presented to Siem Reap Provincial Tourism Department director Ngov Sengkak.
The plantation is located at Phumi] Khun Ream on National Road 67, on the way to Anlong Veng, the spokesperson said.
It would create a venue where travellers could visit ancient temples, and then enjoy a natural environment, the spokesperson added.
Promoting new sites and destinations could keep tourists in the country longer than the present average of two to three days, before they go to Thailand and Vietnam.
According to Apsara Authority, the Angkor Archaeological Park attracted 1.52 million international visitors in the first nine months of this year, up 1.8% from the same period last year.
Aspara Authority enjoys substantial earnings off gate fees to enter the historical park, but very little goes back to the local community to improve living standards.
Located in Cambodias Siem Reap province, Angkor Wat Historical Park, was inscribed in the UNESCOs World Heritage list in 1992, and is the countrys most popular tourist destination.
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Nara institute fixes ancient Cambodian temple
28/9-15 (06:17)
SIEM REAP, Cambodia--An ancient structure in Angkor Thom has been restored by the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, the first time it has completed a project overseas.
The institute's involvement was essential in restoring the historical architecture as long periods of civil war have depleted Cambodia of masons with the required skills to conduct such work.
A ceremony was held here Sept. 23 after the Nara-based organization completed the reconstruction of the Southern Sanctuary as part of its project to research and restore the Western Prasat Top ruins of Angkor Thom.
Angkor Thom, which is located in Siem Reap, is registered under the UNESCO World Heritage list together with Angkor Wat. The Western Prasat Top ruins, which date to the ninth through 15th centuries, comprise of the Southern, Central and Northern sanctuaries, all made of stone.
The institute has been investigating the ruins since 2002 and discovered that some of the structures of the Southern Sanctuary were falling apart due to tree roots penetrating the stonework. With some parts of the foundation collapsed, the institute decided to give it a full makeover and began restoration work from 2012. The 14th-century stone structure is more than 4 meters high.
Previously, the Nara institute worked on the stone chamber in the Takamatsuzuka burial mound in Asuka, Nara Prefecture, which is known for the Asuka Bijin (Asuka beauties) mural.
"We believe we were able to be of use to Cambodia as it recovers from the chaos of civil war through means of cultural aid, something the Japanese specializes in," said Hiroshi Sugiyama, director of the institute's planning and coordination department.
The organization plans to restore the two remaining sanctuaries by fiscal 2020. The restoration project has been funded by The Asahi Shimbun Foundation since fiscal 2012.
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Cambodias Angkor Wat a must-see
22/8-15 (02:19)
SIEM REAP, Cambodia The biggest tourist attraction in Cambodia is Angkor Wat. Historians know it well. Non-historians will read that its a forest of temples. This is an accurate depiction, which means you could pretty much spend a week there if you want to see everything everything being more than 200 temples.
You dont have to be an archaeologist, historian or geologist to enjoy Angkor Wat. We are none of the above, and we enjoyed it. Is it a must-see in Cambodia? Absolutely, because it is so cool and finding cool places in the heat of Southeast Asia is always a great idea, even if that is a mixed metaphor.
About 12 kilometres (seven miles) north of the city, the flagship temple is usually the first stop. Where you go from Angkor Wat is up to you. Your level of interest will dictate that, unless you simply take a tour. If you do, the guides probably decide where you go because there is an agenda. If you want to set your own agenda, go by tuk-tuk.
Tuk-tuks are open-air carts pulled by motorbikes. If you want the air-conditioned comfort of a van, dont hire a tuk-tuk and despite what they may say dont expect tuk-tuk drivers to be professional guides who speak impeccable or sometimes even passable English.
We hired a tuk-tuk. Mr. Nary was our guy, for the day, and his English was good. For us, it was the right choice, the first of many you make when you visit Angkor Wat.
Here are some others:
Tickets: Admission to Angkor Wat is $20 per person. A three-day pass costs $40, which gives you the option of going for short visits over three days, instead of marathon trips.
Budget: Taking a tour in a van may cost $150 for two, which would include one-day admission. Our tuk-tuk cost $15 for the day and walking tour guides at each temple run about $10.
At the main temple, 47 steps is a test for most visitors
At the main temple, 47 steps is a test for most visitors
Time: Your interest will dictate this. We visited five temples between 6:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., stopping for as long as two hours at one (Angkor Wat) and as little as 10 minutes at another (Chau Say Thevada).
Sunrise: Unless its raining (it was), almost every visitor wants to capture the sun rising behind the main temple, a photo so in demand that theres a marked off and well-worn section for tripods to be set up. Sunrise, by the way, is just after 5:30.
Angkor Wat Temple: Its on three levels. This is not for the faint of heart, nor faint of step. The walk from where the tuk-tuks wait is close to half a mile and theres climbing to every level, each with four towers, the third level with the top of the mountain in the middle. Entry to the third level means taking a steep staircase of 47 steps and there is always a line-up (note: the 47 steps are just as steep coming down). Because theyre ruins, these temples are not totally wheelchair accessible and you need to be able to climb those stairs, and children under 12 dont qualify. The climb is worth the wait and the vertical walk, and there are many horizontal walks reaching into the forest from the temple that lead to more buildings you would otherwise never see.
Other temples: Aside from the main one, three others were recommended to us and a fourth was Mr. Narys choice. At Bayon, we found the architecture fascinating from the outside our uneducated view was it almost looked Mayan and the inside suffocating with small rooms and hundreds of people trying to get through them. At Elephant Terrace, it was peaceful, unpopulated and spread out and there were elephant rides on the adjacent street. At Chau Say, it was the tuk-tuk drivers photo-op and we didnt stay more than 10 minutes that means we were getting weary. At Ta Prohm, there was a pleasant walk under a heavily-treed path to another must-see temple, because this is where the 15-year-old movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was filmed, with trees that grow out of the ruins in what is described as the dynamic interaction between nature and man-made art.
Thousands visit Angkor Wat thats city and temple in Cambodian every day. At one of the smaller temples, a security guard told us it was between 4,000 and 5,000 visitors for only my temple. Its unlike any place on earth however, India is building a quasi-replica that has the Cambodian government upset, even though Indias will never match it as ruins.
Because its so unique, if youre on an AmaWaterways river cruise as we were, dont miss it.
All for now. Phil Reimer
Skrivet av:
Rats Are Being Trained
2/8-15 (11:34)
To Sniff Out Land Mines And Save Lives
It's 5:45 in the morning, and in a training field outside Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat, Cambodia's demining rats are already hard at work. Their noses are close to the wet grass, darting from side to side, as they try to detect explosives buried just beneath the ground.
Each rat is responsible for clearing a 200-square-meter (239-square-yard) patch of land. Their Cambodian supervisor, Hulsok Heng, says they're good at it.
"They are very good," he says. "You see this 200 square meters? They clear in only 30 minutes or 35 minutes. If you compare that to a deminer, maybe two days or three days. The deminer will pick up all the fragmentation, the metal in the ground, but the rat picks up only the smell of TNT. Not fragmentation or metal or a nail or a piece of crap in the ground."
That's right: Someone using a metal-detecting machine will take a lot longer to detect a land mine than a rat using its nose.
There's plenty of work for the rats here in Cambodia. The government estimates there are 4 million to 6 million land mines or other pieces of unexploded ordnance including bombs, shells and grenades littering the countryside, remnants of decades of conflict.
Skrivet av:
Single visa for two kingdoms
13/6-15 (11:17)
Cambodia and Thailand have joined hands to increase foreign and inter-ASEAN tourism under the Two Kingdoms, One Destination tourism pact.
Tith Chantha, secretary of state at Cambodias Ministry of Tourism, said Cambodia and Thailand have already created a single-visa option for tourists looking to explore both countries in one trip.
Now, were joining with Thailand to promote Two Kingdoms, One Destination. It will make it much easier for tourists who dont want to visit only one country during their trip, he said.
Thailand has a lot of airlines operating long-haul to Europe or the United States we dont have many of those long flights, so we will benefit from this once the campaign kicks in.
Thailands minister of tourism and sports, Kobkran Wattanakvrangkul, told the Bangkok Post that the campaign would run from 2015 to 2017.
The collaboration looks forward to exchanging foreign travellers and facilitating travel across both countries. The plan also promotes intra-ASEAN tourism, Kobkarn was quoted as saying.
The campaign will promote two major tourist routes. One will run along the Gulf of Thailands coastline, going through Bangkok, Rayong, and Trat in Thailand to Koh Kong, Sihanoukville, Kampot and Phnom Penh.
The other will also originate in Bangkok and end in Phnom Penh, but will go through further inland from Aranyaprathet in Thailand to Poipet, Battambang, and Siem Reap.
Ho Vandy, co-chair of the Government-Private Sector Working Group on Tourism, welcomed the initiative. He said that Cambodia had been cooperating with Thailands tourism association since 2008.
Now that this is being done on a governmental level, it will be a big boost because it will share benefits with both countries, he said.
We have observed that we got more than 30 per cent of [Cambodias] tourists from Thailand since the promotion began.
Tourist arrivals to Cambodia from Thailand were up 37 per cent to 71,572 visitors during the first quarter of 2015, ranking fifth, while Vietnamese tourists still ranked first followed by China, South Korea, and Laos, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
The data showed that Cambodia welcomed some 1.3 million foreign tourists in the years first quarter, a 3.1 per cent increase from the 1.267 million tourists in the same period last year.
Last year, Cambodia received some 4.5 million foreign tourists, a 7 per cent increase from the year before. The arrivals generated about $3 billion worth of Cambodias $15 billion GDP. The Ministry of Tourism projected that Cambodia would receive about 5 million foreign tourist arrivals this year.
Skrivet av:
Cambodias Angkor Wat the Winner
4/6-15 (08:08)
TripAdvisor revealed the winners of the Travelers' Choice Landmarks. Cambodia's Angkor Wat, the best preserved temple in Angkor, is the monument of choice for travellers.
Travelers have shown a preference for historical monuments that have stood the test of time. Proof lies in the temple of Angkor Wat clinching the first spot in the Travelers' Choice Landmarks listing, followed by the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu in second and the Taj Mahal in third.
This ranking shows the popularity of spots in Asia as well as in Europe and the Americas. The Middle East is represented in position 4 by the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, and Barcelona's Sagrada Familia rounds out the top 5. Religious sites feature highly in the ranking: Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican is sixth, the Milan Cathedral (also known as the Duomo) is seventh, and the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro is ninth.
The two top spots in the US were both in the San Francisco area: Alcatraz coming in at number 8 outranked the Golden Gate Bridge at number 10.
The winners were determined with the help of an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of the comments on these monuments over a period of 12 months.
Tourists' top 10 favourite monuments around the world
1. Angkor Wat ― Siem Reap, Cambodia
2. Machu Picchu ― Machu Picchu, Peru
3. Taj Mahal ― Agra, India
4. Sheikh Zayed Mosque ― Abou Dhabi, UAE
5. Basilica of the Sagrada Familia ― Barcelona, Spain
6. Saint Peter's Basilica ― Vatican City, Italy
7. Milan Cathedral (Duomo) ― Milan, Italy
8. Alcatraz ― San Francisco, California, USA
9. Corcovado ― Christ the Redeemer ― Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
10. The Golden Gate Bridge ― San Francisco, California, USA ― AFP-Relaxnews
Skrivet av:
New Year party in Siem Reap
12/4-15 (14:57)
Celebrations are set to feature traditional games and dancing along with a giant rice cake, Khmer hat, palm pipe and chess game
More than 500,000 people are expected to descend on Siem Reap for this coming weeks Khmer New Year celebrations, which will feature traditional dances, games and a giant rice cake.
Unlike in neighbouring Thailand, which becomes one long wet T-shirt competition at this time of year, in Siem Reap traditions still take priority, with Cambodians taking over the temples and Pub Street for a change.
The pagodas around town and in the villages are the main focus of fairly solemn events for three days, with different rituals taking place at different times of the day for local communities and families. Visitors are welcome and early mornings are the best time to see the most activity.
More festive activities will take place as part of the Angkor Sangkranta events at Angkor Archaeological Park from April 14-16, starting in the morning around 8:30am and continuing until 9:30pm.
This is the time of year when Cambodians from across the country descend upon the temples, and Angkor Wat is filled with Khmer families and friends.
Activities that traditionally occur in villages will take place throughout the day over all three days, on the grassy areas around the Angkor Wat moat and in Angkor Thom, near the Royal Palace and Bayon as well as in town.
We expect to welcome 500,000 people to join the event, because this year we have a lot of great things to see and do, said Angkor Sangkranta spokesman Som Ratana.
He said Angkor Sangkranta had about 180,000 visitors in 2013, while in 2014, there were more than 380,000 visitors who injected $30 million into the local economy. The visitors will have a chance to see a giant Khmer sticky rice cake that weighs 3.2 tonnes, a giant Khmer hat, a giant palm pipe and a giant chess game.
Angkora Sangkranta is organised by the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia which is headed by Hun Many, son of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Last month, Hun Sen said judges from Guinness World Records would be invited to judge the cake for a world record. Last year, a 2.8 tonne cake was cooked for the festival.
Apart from the giant things, expect to also see traditional ball games and tug of war, and ox cart and buffalo racing. The highlights for many, however, are the bokator and dancing, including traditional round-dancing and the Cambodian Madison. The non-stop bokator demonstrations take place throughout the day, with hundreds of practitioners of the medieval martial art participating in bouts and also encouraging the public to try their hand at the sport.
The dancing also takes place in a number of areas, peaking in the late afternoon, especially on the final day.
A Cambodian event wouldnt be complete without street food, and stalls will be set up right around the park, most in the area across from Angkor Wat, along with more commercial displays, as numerous businesses use Khmer New Year as a hook to attract new customers.
Concerts are planned for the evenings with several stages being set up in Angkor Archaeological Park, the biggest near the Bayon. However, Cambodians, as well as expats and tourists, will fill the streets of the Old Market area, particularly Pub Street, which should see its biggest crowds on the final night, with a massive street party punctuated by fireworks.
Skrivet av:
Siem Reap water festival
8/4-15 (16:53)
Siem Reap aims for half-million tourists for water festival.
Siem Reap hopes to attract 500,000 local and foreign tourists for the Khmer New Year celebration. Chheuy Chhorn, deputy director of Siem Reap's Tourism Department, projected half a million visitors including foreign tourists, to the town, which is home to the famed Angkor Wat. "The festival last year attracted close to 400,000 visitors. Of that number, more than 20,000 were foreign tourists. This year, we expect the number of foreign tourists to reach close to 30,000 people," the Phnom Penh Post on Tuesday quoted him as saying.
The Khmer New Year holidays runs April 14-16. It is called Sangkran in Cambodia, or Songkran in Thai.
Last month, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen promised that the festival in Siem Reap this year would be special as he planned to make the world's largest sticky-rice cake to earn recognition in the GuinnessWorld Records.
Skrivet av:
4 temples you shouldnt miss
3/4-15 (15:23)
Siem Reap is an ancient town and the cultural capital of Cambodia. The city, which is located in the north-west of the country, is considered such a mainstay of their heritage that its Angkor Wat temple is the central theme on the national flag. The city has an international airport that serves tourists who visit Cambodia to explore its traditional legacy rather than see the remnants of the dark past of Pol Pots Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh.
Angkor Wat
is probably the most well-known of the famous temples of Cambodia and holds a special place in the hearts of Hindus around the world as it is also the largest Hindu temple on the planet. Dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the temple is designed like Indra Lok and its five dramatic towers represent Mount Meru.
The temple, which was built by the great king Suryavarman II, has beautiful scenes from Hindu mythology depicted on most of its walls and pillars, but the outer area with excerpts from Ramayana are particularly impressive.
There are eight water tanks within the main temple building which used to serve as bathing ghats for the royal family in earlier years.
Tourists particularly flock to witness the spectacular sunrises and sunsets which can be viewed from the temple in all their glory.
Angkor Thom/ Bayon Temple
The Bayon temple of the Angkor Thom complex was built much after Angkor Wat in the regime of Cambodian king Jayavarman VII. The temple is more closely associated with Buddhism and has a network of corridors and small courtyards that can be reached by climbing up and down the maze of its steep staircase.
The most imposing are the huge faces on some of its 54 towers. While the faces are believed to have spiritual significance, these nevertheless resembled the king Jayavarman VII who got the temple constructed in the first place.
Ta Prohm
One of my favourites, the temple of Ta Prohm exudes peace and ensconces the serenity of deep woods. Built also by King Jayavarman VII, the temple is distinctly Buddhist and was meant for use by the Kings mother.
The impact of age and time passing by is most visible in this temple, as most of its buildings can be seen in the grip of the tentacles of enormous trees that have grown in the area and overtaken it. The roots and branches may have claimed the temple for their own but the effect of the overgrowth is most dramatique and shows the power of nature over human endeavour.
Banteay Srei
Considered a gem of Khmer art, Banteay Srei, which is located on the outskirts of Siem Reap, is a temple devoted to Lord Shiva. Though small, the shrine has intricate carvings on its walls which have been built out of stone of a pinkish hue. The compound contains remnants of several Shiv lingas, which may have been removed later when Hinduism waned in the country.
Banteay Srei is one of the rare temples in the Angkor series which was not commissioned by the king but a tutor priest.
Besides these temples, which have been given UNESCO world heritage status, tourists can visit the night markets, the Cambodian Cultural Village, Angkor National Museum and the War Museum, take a boat ride in Tonle Sap Lake and see the charming Apsara Dances while in Siem Reap.
Skrivet av:
Hotel for Michelle Obama
1/4-15 (09:30)
Hotel for Michelle Obamas Cambodia visit cost $242,500
Hotel accommodations for First Lady Michelle Obamas two-day trip to Cambodia required 85 rooms and cost taxpayers $242,500, according to a government contract released Friday.
Mrs. Obama traveled to Siem Reap, Cambodia on March 21 to promote a girls education initiative. A contract was awarded on March 3, citing the unusual and compelling urgency of the First Ladys trip.
Mrs. Obama and a delegation of senior high-level U.S. government officials stayed at the Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort, according to a justification and approval document for the visit.
The trip required 85 single rooms, five office suites, five sleeping suites, and one conference room for 14 nights. Mrs. Obama herself only stayed in Cambodia for two days, leaving on March 22.
The Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra is listed as a luxury five-star hotel.
The Siem Reap hotel, which elegantly combines Khmer and French architectural design, features landscaped gardens, [five] restaurants and bars, meeting facilities, a luxury spa and the largest free form swimming pool in Cambodia, according to Accor, the French hotel operator that manages the hotel. The leading luxury resort in Siem Reap also boosts a world-class 18-hole golf course at the Phokeethra Country Club, which is only a 25 [minute] drive from the hotel.
Suites at the Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra come with personal butler service.
Skrivet av:
Khmer-Inspired Shopping by Angkor Wat
20/2-15 (09:05)
Siem Reap, the gateway city to Angkor, is renowned for a lot of things more than 100 ancient temple ruins dot the surrounding jungles but shopping isnt one of them. Its often an afterthought, with visitors snagging the prerequisite temple souvenir. But the heart of the city on the west side of the Siem Reap River is brimming with a clutch of stylish, recently opened boutiques carrying contemporary wares that often reference traditional Khmer culture. The shops are found along narrow lanes and well-trodden streets in a roughly 10-block radius, many owned by well-traveled expatriates breathing new energy into this tourist-oriented city. (Note: U.S. dollars are widely accepted.)
Skrivet av:
Sisters in nude photo scandal
9/2-15 (10:41)
TWO American sisters have been deported from Cambodia after they were convicted of taking naked photos inside the countrys famed Angkor temple complex, officials said on Sunday.
Lindsey Adams, 22, and her 20-year-old sister Leslie were discovered taking nude shots of each other inside the Preah Khan temple at the world heritage site on Friday.
The sisters were both given a suspended six-month prison sentence on Saturday evening on public exposure and making pornography charges and will be banned from re-entering Cambodia for four years, Koeut Sovannareth, prosecutor at north-western Siem Reap provincial court told AFP.
The court decided to expel them from Cambodia, he said, adding that the women had confessed to making a mistake and were fined $250.
Sam Reaksmey, a senior tourism police official in Siem Reap, said the sisters were deported late Saturday night.
It is the second time in the last fortnight that tourists visiting the sprawling temple complex have been caught without their clothes.
Three French tourists were deported last weekend after they pleaded guilty to taking nude pictures of each other inside another temple within the complex.
Cambodian officials say the womens actions are offensive because Angkor is considered sacred ground.
They lowered their pants to their knees and took pictures of their buttocks, Keat Bunthan, a senior heritage police official in Siem Reap, told AFP on Saturday.
The three deported French men received the same suspended sentence as the American women.
The trio were caught just days after a series of photos of Asian women posing nude at ancient Cambodian temples went viral online and outraged officials who vowed to step up efforts to prevent similar stunts.
The Angkor Archaeological Park, a world heritage site, contains the remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, dating from the 9th to the 15th centuries, and is Cambodias most popular tourist destination.
Skrivet av:
Top roof bar
Siem Reap
Things to see
Angkor Wat
Getting there
Getting around
General info
Cambodian history
Guest Book
Press here to get in touch with us
Local Cambodian time: 01:24
Family Guesthouse, No19, Mondul 2, Khoum Svay Dangkom, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia
Phone: +855 926 484 62,


text:
Use Angular, TypeScript or JavaScript to build truly native mobile apps
Deliver superior customer experiences with an AI-driven platform for creating and deploying cognitive chatbots
Deliver Awesome UI with the most complete toolboxes for .NET, Web and Mobile development
Automate UI, load and performance testing for web, desktop and mobile
A complete cloud platform for an app or your entire digital business
Detect and predict anomalies by automating machine learning to achieve higher asset uptime and maximized yield
Automate decision processes with a no-code business rules engine
Optimize data integration with high-performance connectivity
Connect to any cloud or on-premises data source using a standard interface
Build engaging multi-channel web and digital experiences with intuitive web content management
Personalize and optimize the customer experience across digital touchpoints
Build, protect and deploy apps across any platform and mobile device
In this JDBC Basics series we'll go through the basic steps needed to get a knowledge of JDBC. Following this series we'll go through more advanced features of JDBC drivers, such as advanced security (Kerberos, etc...), performance tuning, etc.. For completeness, we'll show code examples for SQL Server JDBC Driver, Oracle, DB2, Sybase, Informix, and MySQL as we know everyone in the world doesn't use the same database to store data.
The following posts are currently available in this series. This list will be updated as posts are written and will be contained at the top of each post in the series.
So, you want to write a Java application to get some data - you've come to the right place! Getting connected and fetching your data is easy using the JDBC Standard API that comes in the JDK. Let's jump right in by throwing out some code for connecting to SQL Server:
[cc lang="java"]Class.forName("com.ddtek.jdbc.sqlserver.SQLServerDriver");
String url = "jdbc:datadirect:sqlserver://nc-pgm1:1433;databaseName=master";
Connection con = DriverManager.getConnection(url, "user1", "pass1");[/cc]
There we go, easy enough. The first line which has the Class.forName is not necessary if you are using a driver that supports the JDBC 4.0 autoloading feature and Java SE 6. Therefore, you could remove this line altogether leaving you with 2 lines to connect to your SQL Server database. The URL is easy to deciper as well - he first part is which driver you want to use "jdbc:datadirect:sqlserver", followed by the server machine name (or IP address), port number, and database that you want to connect to. Lastly, you get the actual connection object passing in the url, user, and password. We'll go over Kerberos, Windows Auth and other security specifics in another post.
Ok, so what do you do after connecting? In my demo application, I like to print out some server information from the DatabaseMetaData object (helps to make sure I'm using what I think I am). Here's the code:
[cc lang="java"]DatabaseMetaData dbmd = con.getMetaData();
System.out.println( "nConnected with " + dbmd.getDriverName()
+ " " + dbmd.getDriverVersion()
+ " to " + dbmd.getDatabaseProductName()
+ "n");[/cc]
This gives us a nice line that shows what you got connected to and with what driver version. Helps a ton when you're checking your output or have to send the output to someone else to look at.
Well, that's it for connecting - pretty straightforward. We'll continue next time with a different driver and start creating and working with tables!
As Senior Director of Research & Development, Jesse is responsible for the daily operations, product development initiatives and forward looking research for Progress DataDirect. Jesse has spent nearly 20 years creating enterprise data products and has served as an expert on several industry standards including JDBC, J2EE, DRDA and OData. Jesse holds a bachelor of science degree in Computer Engineering from North Carolina State university.
Copyright © 2018 Progress Software Corporation and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates.
All Rights Reserved.
Progress, Telerik, and certain product names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation and/or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. See Trademarks for appropriate markings.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The US Treasury Department has taken the decision to widen its crackdown on US real estate money laundering activities. The order governs the all cash purchases of premium homes through shell companies.
The Treasury Department, in March, needed disclosure of names of all individuals who run the show being the cloak of limited liability companies. These Limited Liability Companies, or LLCs as they are widely known, are involved in exclusive cash trabsactions in Miami and at Manhattan in New York City. The new step expanded the number of cities to include Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. The suburban counties of these cities were also included. The counties of San Antonio of New York City and near Miami were also included. This new order will be operational from August 28- the day post six month orders expire in Miami and Manhattan. It will henceforth continue for about six months.
According to the Treasury, the aim is to make harder for buyers, specially non-US citizens to launder their money via property purchases in the United States. According to a Treasury official, the expansion of Geographical Targeting Orders or GTOs will enable the administration to learn more about risks concerning money laundering in real estate market.
A few brokers, however, predicted that these orders will have little effect on new markets under the order. This is as the worldwide economic turbulence have already spooked buyers to pull back. When these orders were announced, many were afraid that the real estate market will crumble as a number of buyers did not complete the deals during the final stages.
Miami and New York real estate brokers, however, said that such new orders until now had minimal impact on the real estate transactions until this point of time. They said that people who buy property under LLCs utilize them to preserve privacy, and not to launder money. Payments were also done via wire transfers which bypassed the requirement.
The new order needs individual buyers who puchase via an LLC and also do not apply for a mortgage to offer title insurance companies their drivers' licenses and names, along with passports or any other kind of identification. The companies would then provide data to Treasury Department. The banks are already obligated to review all transactions that includes mortgages for the many risks of money laundering.


text:
Last updated: February 26, 2015
Professional Development
Teacher Workshops
Alongside other teachers, scientists and specialists we experiment with activities for your classroom, and discuss educational methods, tools, and resources. Professional development credit is provided by the University of Maine.All Teacher Workshops
Teacher WorkshopsLearn More
Imagine spending your summer hiking through spruce-fir forests, exploring tidepools, or sailing on clear waters in search of bald eagles, porpoises, and seals! Leave your classroom behind to do all this and more as an Acadia National Park teacher fellow. Bring your stories and lessons of Acadia back to your students.All Teacher-Ranger-Teachers


text:
Need a new cooler for summer camping trips or picnics on the beach?
Today on Amazon you can purchase the 100 Quart Sportsman Cooler for just $48.95(originally $130.99) shipped free with Prime or a qualifying purchase of $35 or more. Product Details:
- Patented Ultratherm® insulation in both body and lid for maximum cold retention
- Refrigerator quality liner won't stain or absorb odors
- Snap-lock, child safety latch
- Special hinge design holds lid open for easy access
- Rust resistant, threaded drain plug for hose hook up
This is a super deal so order today because Amazon prices can change at any time.
Thanks Mylitter!


text:
This is one of our Weekly Brick units that are designed to provide specific building blocks for German students and teachers to work with for a week. These weekly German units feature a different theme each week and offer various types of exercises for different types of learners.
Some of the materials are worksheets (W); others are blog articles (B), flashcards (F), online exercises (O), powerpoints (P), reading texts (R), videos (V), or webquests (WQ).
The text files and activities created by deutschdrang.com are for private or classroom use only and may not be used in any publication or for-profit purpose without the author's prior written consent. By downloading or copying these files, you agree to these terms of use.
Creating the materials on this website has taken hundreds of hours of unpaid work, and while deutschdrang.com is a labor of love, a small Paypal donation would be greatly appreciated if you have found the materials on this website to be of use to you.
Weihnachten: Christmas Activities and Vocabulary
German customs related to Christmas: Advent Calendars; St. Nikolaus Day;
Adventskalender: make your own advent calendar and learn German vocabulary in the process.
Weihnachten: Weihnachtswortschatz (video; worksheet); "Der Weihnachtsbaum" Christmas poem with English subtitles (V / W)
The Great German Christmas Debate
The Mystery of the Christmas Pickle: Americans think it's a German tradition; most Germans have never heard of it. What are the origins of the Christmas pickle tradition? Short video in English. (V)
Weihnachten: Audio file; online exercise. (O)
Two online memory games to practice Christmas vocabulary. Game 1; game 2. (O)
Ein Weihnachtsabend (reading text with vocabulary exercises and an exercise on complex adjective constructions) (R)
Lebkuchen (reading text about the history of gingerbread and a German gingerbread recipe) (R)
Der Heilige Abend (reading text with questions and imperative exercise) (R)
Die Weihnachtsgeschichte: the Biblical Christmas story; online exercise; choose the correct word in each gap. (O)
Die Weihnachtsgeschichte: very easy German video version of the Christmas story. Worksheet available. (V)
Weihnachten: a student powerpoint presentation about Christmas traditions in Germany (thanks to E.M. for allowing us to use this). Can be used even for 1.semester students to explain German Christmas.
How the first Christmas calendar was invented; easy video in German (V)
Weihnachten: great poster about German Christmas vocab from liebesdeutschland.tumblr.dom.
Some unusual animals are used in Reinhard Mey's German version of the "Twelve Days of Christmas". Die 12 Weihnachtstage worksheet with links (Word doc); pdf format.
An easy advent calendar worksheet.
Nussknacker und Mausekönig (R) (Nutcracker story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, abbreviated and simplified version). Kapitel 1; Kapitel 2; Kapitel 3; Kapitel 4; Kapitel 5; Kapitel 6; Kapitel 7; Kapitel 8; Kapitel 9; Kapitel 10; Kapitel 11; Kapitel 12; Kapitel 13; Kapitel 14
German Christmas songs (Weihnachtslieder): a great resource with many German Christmas songs. Includes lyrics and audio or video versions.
Another collection of German Christmas songs: videos with lyrics.
Weihnachten: A video (in German) from Deutsche Welle about German Christmas traditions. Intermediate level and up.
A very easy version of the Christmas story for beginner-level children.
A great teaching resource: Christmas word of the day. A nice short text about a word related to Christmas. Open or download the pdf.


text:
It's great to see more services and features on standard mobile phones; don't get me wrong, I love my Smartphone, but why should I have all the fun? Google just rolled out a version of Google Maps for mobile phones and this app now includes integrated live traffic data in 30 U.S. cities. I've used real-time traffic services in the past and they can be a real time saver. Typically my local radio stations get me the traffic data after it's too late to adjust my route.
If you have a Java-enabled (J2ME) mobile phone, just point your browser to the Google Maps beta page and download the application. Just make sure you pull over first; I don't want you to be the next reported accident on Google Maps with Traffic!
(via Netscape)


text:
I can see my 16 year old self rolling her eyes.
I picture the mother in her denim jumper, the Muslim girl at the pool, and the scantly dressed "nurse" on Halloween.
One has her nose in the air, the other is told the sight of her skin is an excuse for a boy to abuse her, and the other wants to feel beautiful and wanted.
Modesty is misrepresented.
I posted this article this week with this question:"What do you think of the 'Christian modesty rules'? Should we give our daughters rules? Should we teach them the theology behind modesty and let them decide?"
I got a lot of responses to the question and I got a lot of laughs from her post. As Christians I think we need to address both the rules that are becoming hilarious and the way we are responding to the lists. Thank you to all of those who responded and added to this difficult conversation.
When I was in Junior High and High School the question was: "As Christian teen girls how should we dress?" unfortunately that skips over so much of discussion that should come first and it was usually followed by a list of dos and don'ts. Much of our conversation was about drawing lines instead of searching our hearts.
How did God create Adam and Eve?
Naked and unashamed. (Gen 1:26-28; 2:725)
Why can't we still be naked?
When Adam and Eve sinned they became aware of their nakedness and hid. GOD CLOTHED THEM in the skin of an animal that he killed to cover their nakedness as a picture of the blood of His Son that he would send into the world so that we could be forgiven and CLOTHED with Righteousness. Therefore our clothes are a constant reminder of our sin, Christ's blood, and our NEED to be CLOTHED in HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS so that we can stand in the presence of a Holy God. (Gen 3:21; Is 61:10; Zech 3:4)
How should we as Christian women dress?
To the Glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31, Westminster Catechism Question 1)
You are probably thinking, "Wow, that's as clear as mud."
And you are right!!! There aren't lists of what is modest and what is not in the Bible. The Immodest Proposals list is just a comic way of showing how culture informs our views of what is modest and what is not. In fact in Uganda their are some places it is more "acceptable" for a woman to be topless then to show her knees in a short skirt.
What does it look like to dress to the glory of God? Well we know that the Holy Spirit dwells within us as Christians and we are also told we are ambassadors for Christ. We represent Him all the time. Growing up I went to many high school athletic events and as an ambassador for NC, it was inappropriate to wear green (the color of the cross-town rival). Just last week I had a green vest on and my mom told me to change before the game. In the same way we represent Christ in what we wear.
My 3 year old is all about asking "why" and I am trying to teach him that it is great to ask "why" but he needs to obey even if he doesn't understand. The same goes with rules of how to dress. I think we should ask "why" and maybe the rules will change, but until then it is glorifying to God to obey the people God has put in authority. I will admit that I have not always succeeded at this, so if I ever disobeyed your rules, I'm sorry!
1 Timothy 2:9 is one of the few verses that speaks to how we dress. Timothy says that women should dress respectable and with self-control. So when we get dressed we should let our theology inform our dress.
To the woman with her nose in the air:
You were dead in your trespasses and sins, just as dead as that other girl, and you needed to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Your modesty needs to be a result of that not a good thing you do to earn favor with God. (Titus 3-5-7)
Just to be clear a woman with rules is not the same as a legalistic woman.
*and to the daughter of that woman:
standing naked in front of your husband is not a bad thing. God created us naked in Eden and has redeemed nakedness in marriage. Marriage after all is a picture of Christ and the Church and before God we stand with NO SHAME.
To the woman who is told that a man has the right to rape her if she doesn't cover up:
When Eve held the apple out to Adam and he took and ate. HE WAS RESPONSIBLE (Gen 3:12) and his answer that the woman gave it to him did not hold water. I'm not saying that it isn't important to love our brother by dressing modestly. It is important. Love for others is definitely glorifying to God, but men are always responsible for their own sin.
To the girl who is dressing to gain approval:
It doesn't matter if you are wearing a denim jumper for your parents approval or a bikini to gain the approval of your friends and boy friend. You are clothing your self with fig leaves in hiding rather than coming to Jesus who will clothe you with the Righteousness of Christ because of His blood so that you can stand with approval in the presence of God. (Eph2:8-9) It is a heart issue: are we desiring the approval of people or desiring to please God. If we so deeply desire to please people, then we should check our heart because we are thinking, "God is not enough."
There is an immodesty epidemic because we have a sin epidemic. We first need the hearts of women. Women need to know Jesus Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
*parents should have rules/ guidelines for their children because as parents we are to train and guide our children. Especially for young children it is most loving to give specific "rules" to follow instead of being left wandering to figure it out on their own. (Prov 22:6)
I love a quote that my friend Jess shared with me from Stacie Johnson, "Having rules to follow is much easier than having to think about the reasons behind the rules." We need to have rules because we do not think great thoughts about God as often as we should, when we start consistently thinking about God the rules will not matter because everything we do will be to bring Him glory.
I'm sure there is plenty I have missed, this is a huge topic and a long discussion. What would you add about thinking rightly about modesty?


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Hotmail Account. Does Hotmail even still exist? Yes, it does! Although many people aren't aware of it – you see, Microsoft has been cleverly rebranding and re-rebranding Hotmail ever since they bought it in the late 1990s.
These days, their official web email platform Outlook.com is what provides the Hotmail service, so you won't necessarily see the word "Hotmail" blazoned all over the sign up page, but they are the same thing. As of this writing, you still have the option to choose an email address that ends in Hotmail.com instead of Outlook.com, although it's not clear if this option will be phased out in the future.
So if you want to create a Hotmail account and ensure that your email address actually says "Hotmail", it might be wise to get on that as soon as possible. Lucky for you, it's a really easy sign up process that won't take more than 5 minutes on the computer. You can even do it on the Outlook mobile app, if you prefer. Here are some instructions that you can follow to make sure you can sign up for a Hotmail account without running into any speedbumps or confusion.
Hotmail account
If you're going to be signing up for Hotmail account on the computer, start by opening up your preferred web browser, and typing "Hotmail.com" into the address bar. Now, the website that you will be taken to will not say "Hotmail" in the URL, and it probably won't have the word Hotmail anywhere on the page. That's okay – remember what I said about re-rebranding? What you'll most likely see is "Live.com" in the URL, "Outlook" as the name of the page, and "Microsoft" as the type of account. Don't worry, you're in the right place.
Click on the link to create a new account, which should be underneath the log in box. In the sign up form, type in all the necessary information, like your first and last name, birthday, country, etc. It's also strongly recommended that you provide a mobile number or at least a backup/secondary email address. These can be used to add an extra layer of security to your Hotmail account and will also be helpful if you ever forget your password.
You'll have to choose a unique email address for your new Microsoft/Hotmail account, meaning it can't be an email address that anyone else is using. Now, this next step is very important if you want a real Hotmail account and not an Outlook one: find where it says "@outlook.com" after your chosen email handle, and click the little arrow to open up the menu of options. One of your choices should be "@hotmail.com" – find it and click on it to select.
Now all you have to do is pick a password to log in to your new Hotmail account in the future anytime you want to check your email, use OneDrive, Skype, etc.
Finally, prove that you're a real human by entering the code you see into the box, agree to all the legalese, and click on "Create account" to finish setting up your new Hotmail account.


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Lipscomb 77, Jacksonville 71
Jordan Burgason scored 17 points and Lipscomb defeated
Jacksonville 77-71 on Monday night.
With it tied at 38 at halftime, Lipscomb (7-8, 2-1 Atlantic Sun
Conference) opened the second half on a 15-2 run. The Bison
outscored the Dolphins 39-33 in the second half to snap an
eight-game road losing skid and win their first game in five
Deonte Alexander added 14 points, Zavion Williams 12 and Jacob
Arnett 10 for the Bison. Justin Glenn chipped in 10 rebounds as
Lipscomb outrebounded Jacksonville 37-33.
The two teams were just about even from the field – Jacksonville
going 28 of 62, and Lipscomb 24 of 53 – but the Dolphins made just
8 of 16 free throws compared to 20 of 24 for the Bison.
Keith McDougald scored 16 points, Glenn Powell 14, Tevin Galvin
13 and Delwan Graham 10 for the Dolphins (2-11, 0-2), who lost
their ninth straight.


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Need a new generator? We can help you calculate your power needs and save you from being played by for buying extra powered generator. Or get your existing generator repaired or maintained for you. For corporate clients package for monthly maintenance is also available.
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Put cucumber, sugar and lime juice in blender with enough water to reach an inch and a half below the top. Blend well. Strain the pulp out of the mixture and serve over ice. Sounds weird, but trust me, it's totally addictive.
From: Stephanie Jackter back to the Cucumber Recipe File!


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Heidi Halsted joined the BSU field hockey staff in the summer of 2016 season. Coach Halsted is a 2015 graduate of Connecticut College where she majored in psychology with a minor in human development and a certificate in elementary education certificate.
A native of Mill Valley, California, Heidi played center midfield on the Conn. College field hockey team and captained the squad as a senior in 2015. She earned back-to-back National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-West Region Second Team honors in 2014 and 2015 and was selected to play in the NFHCA Division III Senior All-Star Game. Heidi was also named to both the NFHCA and New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) All-Academic Team each year.
In 53 games over four season with the Camels, Heidi notched nine goals and eight assists for 26 points. She also recorded four defensive saves.
Heidi also played four seasons on the Conn. College women's lacrosse team as she tallied 20 goals and nine assists to go along with 40 ground balls, 37 draw controls and 11 caused turnovers in 48 career games.
Prior to coming to Bridgewater State, Heidi previously coached for the HTC (Hear The Cheers) Field Hockey Club. She currently lives in Boston and works as the Assistant Manager of Goldfish Swim School in Braintree.


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Chicken and RiceFrom ravenseyes 10 years ago
- 2 tsp. corn oil shopping list
- 4 Skinless, Boneless chicken breast Halves, cut into chunks shopping list
- 1 large Red or green bell pepper, cut into thin strips shopping list
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced shopping list
- 1 Tbsp. pickled Jalapeño pepper, minced shopping list
- 2 cups long grain white rice shopping list
- 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth shopping list
- 2 cups water shopping list
- 14-oz. can Low-sodium whole tomatoes, undrained shopping list
- 1/4 cup green olives, sliced (optional) shopping list
How to make it
- In a large non-stick skillet, warm corn oil over medium heat. Add chicken breasts and sauté until lightly browned, making sure to turn at least once, browning for about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
- Add bell pepper, onion, and jalapeño pepper to the same skillet. Sauté for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Stir in rice and continue to sauté for 1 minute more. Add the broth, water, and tomatoes with liquid, making sure to break up tomatoes a bit with a spoon.
- Return chicken breasts to the skillet. Increase heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir in the sliced green olives if desired, and cover to cook for about 5 minutes more.
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President's Message
I am very happy to be able to serve as president of the Rotary Club of Winslow Township. I will use my Business Degree and Business experience to the best of my ability, to bring even more success to the Rotary Club of Winslow Township The many projects that the Rotary Club of Winslow Township have done over the years are:
Blood Drive, Designer Bag Bingo, Casino Bus trip in the fall and spring, Food Pantry, Dictionary Project and our 5K Run. Also we have our annual scholarship awards at the Winslow Township High School for graduating seniors. In the month of June, we send students to Stockton State college for a leadership conference, all expenses are paid by The Winslow Twp. Rotary Club. The Rotary Club of Winslow Township donated money to the Santa Domingo orphanage. One of our greatest project is providing dictionaries for all the third graders of Winslow Township. Our vision of the Rotary Club of Winslow Township has included; bringing awareness about Rotary to the Businesses and Community of Winslow Township, providing services for our Youth and Senior Citizens and giving back to the residents of Winslow Township.
Dave Willing
President of the Rotary Club of Winslow Township.
Club Executives & Directors
Our Projects includes:
Blood Drive
Casino Bus Trips
Designer Bag Bingo
5K Run
Dictionary Project
Santa Domingo
Food Pantry
Community Services for Seniors
Website Sponsors


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Flutter Stud Earring
by Lisa Crowder
1.25" wide
Oxidized sterling silver oval with 18k gold oval layed over
I strive to make work that is wearable & pleasing to the eye. I primarily work in sterling silver & incorporate other materials such as gold & enamel. I received a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Austin in 1999 & have been a full-time studio jeweler since 2004.
All work is created in my Central East Austin studio where I enjoy a very supportive community of artists and friends.


text:
Improved Prefab workflow (includes Nested Prefabs!), 2D isometric Tilemap and more! Get the 2018.3 Beta now.Dismiss Notice
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How to Jobfy this ComponentSystem-based code?
Discussion in 'Entity Component System and C# Job system' started by nzhangaudio, Aug 13, 2018.


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|Suborder is a Scrabble word. Scrabble point value for suborder: 11 points.
|Suborder is a Words with Friends word. Words with Friends point value for suborder: 11 points.
Above are the results of unscrambling suborder. Using the word generator and word unscrambler for the letters S U B O R D E R, we unscrambled the letters to create a list of all the words found in Scrabble, Words with Friends, and Text Twist. We found a total of 196 words by unscrambling the letters in suborder. Click these words to find out how many points they are worth, their definitions, and all the other words that can be made by unscrambling the letters from these words. If one or more words can be unscrambled with all the letters entered plus one new letter, then they will also be displayed.
1. (biology) taxonomic group that is a subdivision of an order
|Words that start with suborder
|Words that end with suborder
|Words that contain suborder


text:
Instead, Tricon has awarded a license to Taiwan-owned Talisfood, which already successfully operates a number of fast food chains in Russia, such as DeliFrance and Coffee Club.
Talisfood General Manager Simon See says Tricon will also open two KFC outlets in Moscow in March. KFC opened a fried chicken outlet in Moscow in 1995, which later closed.
Two Pizza Hut restaurants and one KFC outlet already operate in Russia, all three based in St. Petersburg under a franchise run by New Jersey-based Business Development International.
Copyright January 2000, Crain Communications Inc.


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text:
Uncertainty continues into the new decade. Energy companies must control costs and continue to weigh the risks versus benefits of new projects, new products, how much capital to invest and how to generate funds.
Foreign investment, particularly in the oil sands, has been fundamental in generating capital to develop one of the largest oil resources in the world. The fact that Canada has attracted investments, especially recently, is a reflection that the oil sands have achieved a level of acceptance. Companies and governments are allocating significant components of their spend to development and funding is coming in everywhere. By accessing global resource pools, companies have the ability to develop the resource in a way that wasn't possible 5-10 years ago.
Energy companies must also consider how the outcome of the proposed Keystone pipeline, west coast LNG and Northern Gateway projects could impact their operations. With Keystone, the proposed expansion of the gulf coast pipeline has an important impact toward long term stability and is a resource that can supply the largest base of refineries in the world. The expansion would facilitate a steady supply of raw materials for many decades and construction of the pipeline would solidify Canada as a major source for commodities.
The west coast LNG project is considered a game changer in the export of natural gas. Currently, the commodity is landlocked, its destination to one customer, the US. This has led to price differences around the world. Technology advances — the combination of horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracturing – has led to large quantities of gas in North America with no place to go, leading to lowered prices. The LNG project, if successful, will allow Canadian companies to export to Asia and access prices that Asia is willing to pay, gradually opening up the Canadian market on a global scale. The Northern Gateway twin pipeline project, if approved, will also play a significant role in how Canadian energy companies reach international markets. Such opportunities could mean changes in how companies operate and structure their businesses.
At PwC, we are not only watching these developments, but we are analyzing these changes from the perspective of how they will impact our clients, and how we can best help companies prepare and manage the changes. Our professionals understand the issues and have the knowledge and experience to proactively address these challenges and recommend solutions.
As a leading advisor to the energy industry, we are experienced working with every segment of the business — from upstream to midstream to downstream, juniors and service companies. For more than 100 years, we have helped energy companies and we look forward to the opportunity to work with you.
Creating Value Through Industry Experience: Canadian Energy Statement Of Capabilities
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.


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S9 Update Wishlist
There are obviously a few things the S9 needs, and on the chance that Cowon watches this site I thought a list would be nice. In no specific order:
1. Gapless playback.
2. Full Screen photo display with no icon overlay.
3. Autorotate so photos best fit the screen.
4. A choice to go straight into music selection hierarchy instead of straight to the player.
5. An On-Screen volume control is needed.
6. More reliable Bluetooth connectivity (My S9 won't pair with speakers).
7. Better FM autotune accuracy.
8. FM RDS support.
9. Photo output through A/V cable.
10. Music and FM line-out through A/V cable.
As for Hardware, Please bring the 32gb version out, and make Chrome available on all versions too.
Add anything else you'd like to see improved.
Last edited by Olley; 03-17-2009 at 05:20 AM.
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Why Giles Coren loves a bookshop
Bad things cannot happen in a bookshop, but bad things can happen to a bookshop, and have been doing so for years
High Street bookshops are in trouble. Squeezed out by the might of e-books and online retailers, they are closing at the rate of one a week. Earlier this year, the big publishers got together with the advertising guru Maurice Saatchi to hatch Books Are My Bag, a rescue plan to reignite the nation's love of the local bookshop. The campaign was simple: create a canvas bag with a slogan, ask celebrities to carry them, then hand them out at bookshops around the country. Jamie Oliver, Jeremy Irons, Laura Bailey and Andrew Flintoff are among those who have been snapped carrying them, and this Saturday 1,800 bookshops will begin giving away a quarter of a million of them.
Nothing bad can happen to you in a…


text:
It all started at the fair -- the World's Fair of 1962, which not only gave Seattle its Space Neddle, monorail, and fairgrounds, but an opera house, an art museum, a home for a theater company, and a resolve to become the cultural capital of the Northwest.
Nearly 20 years later the city is a virtual arts mecca. some people wonder whether it can continue given cutbacks in public funding. Others insist that the arts have become an essential part of Seattle's elusive but all-important "livability."
Fueled by a love-hate fascination, Seattle's business and arts communities have forged a strange, delicate, mutually beneficial partnership. Today, both communities are juggling books, space, visions, and plans to maintain the quality in an arts-rich, money-poor enveironment.
"After the World's Fair we began to see ourselves as a city in the European sense," says Karen Gates, director of the Seattle Arts Commission. That civic pride has helped spur a $30-million-a-year arts industry, four equity theaters, an opera that mounts one of the world's few complete cycles of Wagner's Ring,m and a range of professional dance companies and orchestras.
Noontime performances (supported by 24 businesses) spice up downtown lunch hours. A number of corporations buy Northwest artists' works to hang in offices. Cement trucks carry the message "get Mixed Up with the Seattle Opera." Colorful posters advertising arts events grace many windows. One percent of public construction budgets is earmarked for artwork; even the city's manhole covers are cast under artists' directions.
Ironically, an economic depression helped improve the climate for the arts. When the Boeing Company laid off tens of thousands in the early 1970s, the economy suffered. The city realized that if it was to grow the way it wanted, it had to attract a diverse group of non-polluting industries -- the sort whose managers are attracted by and support the arts.
At the same time, a typically atypical coalition of neighborhood, business, and arts advocates created Allied Arts, which one of its creators dubbed an "urban Sierra Club." After successfully saving the city's 1907-vintage farmers market from being leveled, the group lobbied for a city arts commission that would support both established and experimental arts agencies. The idea worked. County and statelevel commissions were also established, and Seattle becamce the US city with the largest per capita public support for the arts -- about $3 today.
Because the public funds require matching private dollars, arts organizations were forced to beat the local bushes for support. Some businesses are glad to have arts commissions to consult for advice on which agencies deserve funding. But according to Robert Gustavson, challenge grants are a "turnoff to the corporate sector. They'd rather sit down with hard economic statistics. Businessmen don't like to be nudged into support. They like to lead."
Seattle's business community is leading through the organization Mr. Gustavson directs -- the Corporate Council for the Arts (CCA), a foundation run, managed, and financed by businesses for the purpose of providing operating funds for arts organizations. "We spend a lot of time with economic analysis, to determine which organizations are pulling their own weight," says Mr. Gustavson from behind his corporatefunded minicomputer, which spills out financial information on local arts organizations.
This year the CCA collected $875,000 from 236 companies. About 85 percent of that goes to the six big established arts institutions -- the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Repertory Theater, A contemporary Theater, and the Pacific northwest Ballet. The rest is for other, newer visul and performing arts groups with at least two years' experience.
The CCA has also helped apply businesslike efficiency to arts organizations. The symphony, opera, ballet, and repertory theater now share conference rooms as they work out of adjacent offices. They pool mailing lists. And the opera, symphony, and ballet write joint contracts with musicians. "This guarantees that we get the best orchestra in the pit for the opera and ballet, and it guarantees year-round employment for musicians," explains Llloyd Yunker, director of finance and development for the Seattle Opera Association.
But despite savings inspired by the CCA, Mr. Gustavson and his computer stir controversy in the Seattle arts world. Many feel the CCA should be able to raise three or four times as much money (the 1982 goal: $1 million). Some complain that the very facts-and-figures efficiency that corporate members like about the CCA robs arts partronage of the human touch that has been its historical hallmark.
Seattle Trust & Savings Bank pulled out its $3,000 annual contribution two years ago to start a $50,000-a-year guest artist program. The "big six" arts institutions can tap this fund to bring big-name artists to town to prform -- and to conduct seminars or master classes in the community.
The boeing Company, while staying a major supporter of the corporate council has begun a program to put its money where its employees' tastes are. Last year it offered to match employee gifts to arts groups raning from$25 to $250. Several other local firms also match employee gifts to the arts.
Pacific Northwest Bell, in addition a $35,000 CCA contribution, donates vans, printing, and other services to arts organizations. Cornish Institute, a private art school, rns a program out of donated office space at the Seattle Chamber of Commerce that matches 100 volunteers with Seattle arts organizations to help with everything from legal services to grant writing and bookkeeping. Nancy Meier, who directs the program, estimates that Business Volunteers for the Arts contributed $250,000 worth of "business know-how" to 45 arts groups in the past year.
"It's taken all these years to get where we are today. In a sense all that youthful energy has spent itself. We're taking a hard look at what's next," comments Karen Gates of the Seattle Arts Commission. Improved arts quality and performance space are two main issues she foresees. And money.
While the city arts commission is only affected by a 5 percent across-the-board funding cut this year, the county arts commission is threatened with cuts of 50 percent or more. Local arts organizations stand to lose at least $500,000 if proposed federal cutback occur. Some residents worry the cuts will eliminate some of the most innovative or pioneering work. Others say the arts flourish more in adversity.
Seattle Opera's Lloyd Yunker observes: "What corporations are saying is, "Don't come to us to replace government funding.' But what's going on in the boardrooms is an new look at the needs of the arts, and the responsibility of corporations to help keep them alive. I'm hopeful in the long run."


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Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair has been shot and killed, according to several reports.
Absolutely stunning news.
Probably like many of you, I was taking in the Phillies-Mets game at a friend's barbecue this afternoon. I drove over to another friend's house to watch the end of the game when he broke the news.
Details are still emerging, but here's some of what we've cobbled together:
** McNair suffered a gunshot wound to his head at a condo complex in downtown Nashville.
** When police arrived at the scene this afternoon, they found two people dead. McNair, and a female who has not been identified.
** McNair was 36.
McNair was a three-time Pro Bowler and former league MVP in 2003. He led the Titans to the Super Bowl in 2000.
I worked for baltimoresun.com during McNair's time with the Ravens. He'll be best known for his toughness and ability to play through injuries. A competitor through and through.
And of course, I'll always remember him throwing the pass that ended up just short of the end zone against the Rams in the 2000 Super Bowl.
Thoughts and prayers go out to McNair's family during this difficult time.
Feel free to share your thoughts and memories.


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If you have received your order and either you encounter a problem or you are not satisfied for any reason, you can return the goods within 15 days of receipt.