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July 2009

Myanmar deny lawyers access to Aung San Suu Kyi (AP)

Wed, 07/22/2009 - 06:48 — admin

YANGON, Myanmar – The legal team of Myanmar's jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was denied access to the 64-year-old Nobel laureate on Wednesday, two days before her trial is to resume for final arguments, her lawyer said.
Authorities in the military-ruled country denied permission for Suu Kyi's lawyers to meet her to finalize the draft of their 23-page closing argument, said Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi's defense lawyers as well as spokesman for her party.
"This (refusal by authorities) shows that the judicial system in the country is very weak," said Nyan Win. "We need to see our clients to finalize the draft, and it was very bad that the right has been denied."
Suu Kyi is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man who swam secretly to her lakeside home and stayed for two days. She is being detained at Myanmar's notorious Insein Prison.
The opposition leader, who has been under house arrest for about 14 of the last 20 years, faces a possible five-year prison term.
The refusal to allow legal access to Suu Kyi comes as Asian, U.S., and European ministers — including the top diplomat from Myanmar — meet in neighboring Thailand for security talks at which the military regime's human rights record is in the spotlight.
The trial has drawn condemnation from the international community and from Suu Kyi's local supporters, who worry the ruling junta has found an excuse to keep her detained through elections planned for next year.
Also on trial, and facing the same charges as Suu Kyi, are two female members of her party who were her sole companions under house arrest. The American, John Yettaw, 53, of Falcon, Missouri, is charged with trespassing.
Yettaw has pleaded not guilty and explained in court that he had a dream that Suu Kyi would be assassinated and he had gone to warn her.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962.
Suu Kyi's opposition party won national elections in 1990, but Myanmar's generals refused to relinquish power.

Dollar mixed after US Fed chief speaks (AFP)

Wed, 07/22/2009 - 05:12 — admin

LONDON (AFP) –
The dollar was mixed Tuesday as traders weighed Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's remarks that the US economy was improving but not enough to warrant a shift in monetary policy.

In late morning trading here, the European single currency dipped to 1.4191 dollars from 1.4227 dollars in New York late on Tuesday.

The dollar fell to 93.45 yen from 93.73 yen reached late Tuesday.

Investors were closely watching stock markets and any clues on the outlook for major economies, said Marito Ueda, currency dealer at FX Prime.

Global stock markets have enjoyed a rebound recently on signs of an improvement in the US economy and corporate earnings.

Bernanke, delivering his semi-annual economic report to Congress on Tuesday, cited "notable improvements" in financial markets and a somewhat brighter economic outlook.

"In light of the substantial economic slack and limited inflation pressures, monetary policy remains focused on fostering economic recovery," he said.

Standard Chartered analysts wrote in a note that Bernanke had "surprised the markets with a more dovish statement than expected, highlighting that the Fed's focus remained firmly on growth... and that interest rates would remain low."

"As global growth expectations stabilise and risk appetite improves, we expect the US dollar to fall off a cliff, as it did in 2002 after the US economy bottomed out at end-2001," they added.

Meanwhile, the euro was dampened by downbeat economic data in the recession-mired eurozone.

Factories in the 16 nations using the euro single currency saw demand fall in May compared with April, contrary to expectations, according to official EU data released on Wednesday.

New industrial orders fell by 0.2 percent in May, the European Union's Eurostat data agency said, bringing the drop over 12 months to 30.1 percent.

They fell 0.7 percent in April, according to revised figures.

Analysts polled by Dow Jones newswire had forecast a rise of 2.0 percent in May.

In the full 27-nation European Union, new industrial orders rose by 0.9 percent in May compared to April, leaving a decrease of 28.0 percent over the year from May 2008.

Markets were also watching political developments in Japan as campaigning gets under way ahead of an August 30 general election that Prime Minister Taro Aso's long-ruling party looks likely to lose.

In trading here on Wednesday, the euro was changing hands at 1.4191 dollars against 1.4227 dollars late on Tuesday, 132.61 yen (133.35), 0.8662 pounds (0.8635) and 1.5167 Swiss francs (1.5164).

The dollar stood at 93.45 yen (93.73) and 1.0688 Swiss francs (1.0657).

The pound was at 1.6384 dollars (1.6463).

On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold decreased to 946.92 dollars an ounce from 947.75 dollars an ounce late on Tuesday.

High Performance Driving

Wed, 07/22/2009 - 02:33 — admin

High Performance Driving

In North America, the cars used in the National Championship (currently the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, and previously CART) have traditionally been similar though less sophisticated than F1 cars, with more restrictions on technology aimed controlling costs.

Production car racing or known in the US as showroom stock, is an economical and rules restricted version of touring car racing, mainly to restrict costs.

Obama notes lack of humility among bankers (AP)

Wed, 07/22/2009 - 00:29 — admin

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says he sees a lack of humility among leaders of the financial community.
While noting that some of the nation's most powerful banks had repaid federal bailout money, Obama said: "What you haven't seen (in the financial sector) is a change in culture, a certain humility where they kind of step back and say gosh, you know, we really messed things up."
Obama was asked in an NBC's "Today" show interview about bonuses paid to those in the financial sector after the federal government had to step in with taxpayer money to prevent the system from collapsing.
The president said the industry "should be more focused on products we're providing consumers. Let's make sure we're operating in a more secure, safe fashion."

Life Insurance

Tue, 07/21/2009 - 22:50 — admin

Life Insurance

Any risk that can be quantified can potentially be insured. Specific kinds of risk that may give rise to claims are known as "perils". An insurance policy will set out in detail which perils are covered by the policy and which are not.

Neither insurance consultants nor insurance brokers are insurance companies and no risks are transferred to them in insurance transactions.

LG Elec Q2 profit surges on handset, TV sales (Reuters)

Tue, 07/21/2009 - 21:50 — admin

SEOUL (Reuters) –
LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS) on Wednesday reported a surge in second-quarter operating profit as the strength of its mobile phone and TV businesses helped the company recover from the downturn faster than its peers.

LG, the world's No. 3 mobile phone maker, posted a global-basis operating profit of 1.13 trillion won ($903 million) for April-June, soundly beating a 988 billion won average profit forecast from nine analysts polled by Reuters.

That was up 32 percent from an 856 billion won profit a year earlier and compares with a 456 billion won profit in the first quarter.

LG's second-quarter net profit of 1.15 trillion won was much bigger than a 707 billion won profit in the year-ago period and marked a turnaround from a 198 billion net loss in the previous quarter.

New premium products such as the multimedia touch screen phone ARENA, steady sales of mid-range phones and price competitiveness from a weaker won are helping LG expand market share in mobile phones despite the current downturn.

The outlook is also bright due to strong sales of flat-screen TVs and improving earnings at liquid crystal display (LCD) affiliate LG Display Co Ltd (034220.KS), analysts said.

(Reporting by Marie-France Han and Rhee So-eui; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

Obama, Iraq's Maliki set for landmark Washington meet (AFP)

Tue, 07/21/2009 - 20:56 — admin

WASHINGTON (AFP) –
US President Barack Obama welcomes Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to the White House on Wednesday hoping to push for stronger reconciliation efforts in the conflict-wracked country.

It will be the first meeting between Maliki and Obama since US troops withdrew from Iraqi cities at the end of June, a milestone in Iraq's rehabilitation since the 2003 US-led invasion.

Maliki also arrives in Washington having overseen a considerable transformation in his country from when he took office three years ago amid sprawling interfaith violence.

The leaders, who met in Baghdad in April, "will have frank conversations and we will have discussions on the need to keep the political process going (to avoid) any back-sliding or deterioration," said a senior administration official on Tuesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The United States "will not dictate the solutions to the Iraqi government," stressed the official, but will offer to support Baghdad's "efforts to address political issues and build national unity."

Over the course of his visit, Maliki is also set to meet all of the top players in Obama's administration, including Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and the Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"This visit is a sign of a comprehensive and long term partnership between Iraq and the United States; it goes beyond security cooperation, we are not just looking at the short term, this is the beginning of a long-lasting, normal bilateral relationship with the sovereign nation of Iraq," said the official.

Maliki is hoping to drum up investment for a country in dire need of rebuilding after years of sanctions and war, and his visit will include an investment conference at the US Department of Commerce.

The prime minister's visit "is an opportunity to make progress on questions (regarding security), and to discuss economic, industrial and education cooperation," Ali Moussawi, one of Maliki's advisors, told AFP in Baghdad on Monday.

The Iraqi president is keen to stress the early success of his country's security forces since the US pullback just weeks ago, although relations with Washington have hit a bump over Baghdad's failure to improve relations between its Shiite, Sunni and Kurd communities.

On a trip to the Iraqi capital earlier this month, Biden urged Iraqi leaders to make more progress on reconciliation between the Shiite, Sunni and Kurd communities.

But the Iraqi government at the time refused a US offer to intervene, describing the process as an internal matter and warned that outside interference could cause additional problems.

Surgery on Yao's left foot "successful", say Rockets (Reuters)

Tue, 07/21/2009 - 20:23 — admin

HOUSTON (Reuters) –
Chinese center Yao Ming underwent successful surgery to repair the left foot fracture that has ruled him out for the whole of the next NBA season, the Houston Rockets said on Tuesday.

The operation at the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute also included additional procedures to "change the alignment of his foot" and prevent the injury recurring, said a report on the team's website (www.nba.com/rockets).

The seven-times All Star has been blighted by injuries in recent years, the latest of which -- described by team doctor Tom Clanton as "career threatening" -- occurred during the Western Conference semi-finals against the LA Lakers on May 8.

"Everything went according to plan and we were able achieve not only fixation of the broken bone but also realignment of the bones to improve the stress pattern on his foot," Clanton told the website.

"Yao is doing well and resting comfortably after these procedures. We expect him to be immobilized in a cast and using crutches for at least 6-8 weeks."

The Rockets said last week that the 28-year-old Yao, who averaged 19.7 points per game and 9.9 rebounds last season, would sit out the entire 2009/10 season to allow his full recuperation.

The 7ft 6in (2.286m) Shanghainese is China's most popular sportsman and topped the most recent Forbes China list of entertainers with an estimated income of 357 million yuan ($52.27 million).

Yao had been scheduled to take part in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders camp for young Asian players in Beijing next week but was absent from the list of participants issued by NBA China on Tuesday.

(Writing by Nick Mulvenney in Beijing; editing by Peter Rutherford)

Club Management Software

Tue, 07/21/2009 - 19:53 — admin

Computer software is so called to distinguish it from computer hardware, which encompasses the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. At the lowest level, software consists of a machine language specific to an individual processor. A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions that change the state of the computer from its preceding state. Software is an ordered sequence of instructions for changing the state of the computer hardware in a particular sequence. It is usually written in high-level programming languages that are easier and more efficient for humans to use (closer to natural language) than machine language. High-level languages are compiled or interpreted into machine language object code. Software may also be written in an assembly language, essentially, a mnemonic representation of a machine language using a natural language alphabet. Assembly language must be assembled into object code via an assembler.

The term "software" was first used in this sense by John W. Tukey in 1958. In computer science and software engineering, computer software is all computer programs. The theory that is the basis for most modern software was first proposed by Alan Turing in his 1935 essay Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem.

Club Management Software

Rockets center Yao Ming undergoes foot surgery (AP)

Tue, 07/21/2009 - 19:20 — admin

HOUSTON – Rockets center Yao Ming had surgery Tuesday to repair a broken bone in his left foot.
The team announced the surgery was performed at Memorial Hermann Hospital by Dr. Tom Clanton, the Rockets' team physician, along with Dr. Bill McGarvey.
Surgeons grafted bone onto the tarsal navicular bone and realigned his foot to reduce stress on the repair. The seven-time All-Star is slated to remain in the hospital for several days.
"Everything went according to play, and we were able to achieve not only fixation of the broken bone but also realignment of the bones to improve the stress pattern on his foot," Dr. Clanton said in the statement. "We expect him to be immobilized in a cast and using crutches for at least 6-8 weeks."
Yao is expected to miss the 2009-10 season, but be ready to go for training camp in 2010.
Yao suffered the hairline fracture late in a May 8 playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Rockets said late last month that the injury had not healed and he was out indefinitely. Last Friday, the 7-foot-6 center announced that he'd have the surgery.
The injury had raised questions, especially in his native China, about Yao's playing future. But on July 8, he said through his agent that he was "optimistic about the future and I will return to playing basketball when my foot has fully healed."
Yao played in 77 regular-season games in 2008-09, his most injury-free year since 2004-05, when he played in 80. Before last season, Yao missed chunks of the previous three seasons with leg and foot injuries.
In 2006-07, Yao missed 32 games after breaking his right leg. He sustained a stress fracture in his left foot in 2007-08, underwent surgery and sat out 26 games.
Yao is due to make more than $16 million next season, with a player option for 2010-11 that would pay him more than $17 million.
He has averaged 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in his career.



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