SHAUN Murphy felt the full force of an electrified Graeme Dott as the Scot hauled himself level in their high-stakes Crucible battle.
From 6-2 behind at the start of the session, Dott forced his way level at 8-8, teeing up a tantalising climax to the best-of-25-frames second-round match at the Betfair World Championship last night.
Dott was terrific, which was to his great credit as he could easily have been put out of his stride by the static shocks he was suffering before the players took an early interval.
The man who carried off the title in 2006 was suffering when he cued near the cushions, unlike Murphy who appeared untroubled. When Dott explained the situation to referee Brendan Moore, it was agreed they should leave the arena. Bizarrely, a tournament official was sent out to spray the carpet with water.
Ken Doherty, the 1997 world champion, said on BBC2 as the match was interrupted: “It’s quite strange only Graeme Dott is getting the static from the table. I’ve never seen this at the Crucible. Maybe he has to change his shoes.”
Asked about Dott’s problems, assistant tournament director Martin Clark later said: “Graeme pointed out to referee Brendan Moore at the end of the 11th frame that he had been feeling static shocks.
“There are steel blocks on the cushions and especially if Graeme had any metal in his shoes that may have caused it. We called the players in for the mid-session interval a frame early and sprayed the carpet with water, and that stopped the shocks.”
There still seemed to be faint crackles of static after the interval, but nothing as troubling as earlier.
Dott is bidding to keep Scottish hopes alive, with 1988 the last year his country had no representative in the quarter-finals. The tight tussle remained a nip-and-tuck affair with Murphy leading 11-10 in the final session.
Meanwhile, Dechawat Poomjaeng toned down the comedy but to no avail as the eccentric Thai showman waved farewell to the game’s showpiece event last night.
The 34-year-old promised he would return for next year’s tournament after the thrills and spills of his entertaining debut made him a crowd favourite. He hopes to make enough money from snooker to buy a house but a second-round exit to Welsh wonder Michael White gave him just ￡16,000, so moving out of the Sheffield property he shares with four other Thai cuemen will have to wait. It at least dwarfed the meagre ￡4,000 he had previously banked in winnings since joining the professional tour at the start of last season.
Twenty-one-year-old qualifier White became the first player to secure a quarter-final berth as he crushed world No 70 Poomjaeng. From 7-1 up overnight he prevailed 13-3, winning with a session to spare.
White made breaks of 71, 83, 73 and 102 to set up a last-eight clash with Ricky Walden or Robert Milkins.
Poomjaeng shook hands with fans on the front row before departing behind the dark curtains to bring an end to a campaign that began with a stunning win against world No 5 Stephen Maguire.
Defeat did not appear to rattle him, with Poomjaeng saying: “I’m okay because it’s the first time for me at the Crucible. I loved the crowd’s reaction to me. I’m so proud that everyone likes me. I love them.”
World No 3 Mark Selby sneaked ahead of Barry Hawkins, leading 5-3 after the first session of their second-round exchange, while Judd Trump took a 6-2 lead against Marco Fu.
2013年4月26日星期五
The Telekis moved into a converted stable with no running water
What most of them did not know was that their colleague, the quiet market analyst with the Italian name and the Hungarian accent, had been born a countess and grew up in a castle. They had no idea that Ilona DeVito, as they knew her, had had little formal education before arriving on Wall Street, or that she and her family had fled to New York with no more than few small suitcases to escape the Romanian Communist government.
The death of Ilona DeVito di Porriasa last week, at 73, went largely unnoticed beyond her family and friends. But if nothing else, her story, as recounted by surviving relatives, peels back the hard shell of the city, proving, perhaps, that even the most anonymous apartment dweller can be a countess in exile.
Born in 1939 in a Transylvanian Baroque-style castle given to her parents as a wedding present by her grandmother, Countess Ilona Teleki de Szek spent the first years of her life surrounded by nannies, maids and cooks. Her mother was a baroness, her father a count who served as Transylvania’s representative to Hungary; one of his cousins, Pal Teleki served as prime minister of Hungary on two occasions and was said to have been responsible for the passage of a number of anti-Semitic measures.
Pal Teleki was said to have fatally shot himself when Hitler’s troops crossed the Hungarian border heading to Yugoslavia; the Hungarian Army joined in the invasion. Winston Churchill called Teleki’s suicide “a sacrifice to absolve himself and his people from guilt in the German attack on Yugoslavia.”
Ilona’s daughter, Elisa DeVito, said this week that her mother had not expressed embarrassment about her relative’s place in Hungarian history, believing, as other members of her family had, that he had not been anti-Semitic and might not have committed suicide.
But the family was vulnerable in the waning months of World War II, when the Soviets took control of Hungary and Romania, to which Transylvania then belonged. As recounted by Ilona’s daughter this week, the government imprisoned Ilona’s father, whom she would not see for another 20 years, seized the Telekis’ properties and eventually pushed her, her siblings and her mother out of their castle. (It is now a clinic and botanical garden.)
The Telekis moved into a converted stable with no running water. The baroness took in laundry and sewing; Ilona worked in a shoe factory, her brother Paul on a farm. Ilona wore shoes made out of her grandfather’s old bedroom slippers, and her older sister’s dresses were made of old curtains.
At one point, Ilona lived with her grandparents in a library her family had founded. It was so overrun by rats, she would later recall to her daughter, that they would sling wooden planks over the bookshelves at night to sleep.
As anti-Hungarian sentiment rose in Romania, the government repeatedly pulled the Teleki children out of school and opened the family’s mail. Count Teleki finally escaped and sought asylum in the United States. His family joined him in 1964 after the count had bribed the Romanian authorities to allow them to leave. Ilona spoke no English, but she took a series of jobs — first at a hosiery factory in the Bronx, eventually as a teletypist at a financial firm. And though her father continued to advocate for Hungarian people across Central Europe, she rarely mentioned her past.
“She didn’t really want people to know, because people think of nobility as having something, and my mother really had nothing when she came here,” her daughter said.
Once on Wall Street, she showed enough aptitude that despite having no college degree, she was promoted to market analyst, studying trends and making investment recommendations. She joined Merrill’s securities research department in the early 1970s and stayed until retiring in 2005, developing a reputation for quick calculations and prescient recommendations — as well as a certain reserve.
“She worked very hard at it, and she didn’t suffer fools,” said Robert Farrell, one of her managers. “She had no trouble disagreeing about what was going to happen or voicing her own opinion.”
But she never acknowledged her background to most colleagues until they read her mother’s obituary in the 1990s. Some did not find out until her death.
“In all the time I talked to her every day, we talked about Hungary and everything, but she never said a word about her being royalty,” said Tom Webster, a Merrill Lynch broker.
In 1975, she married Lino DeVito di Porriasa, who came from an Italian noble family.
Mr. DeVito died in 2008, a few months after his wife learned she had breast cancer. Even while ill, she loved to follow the stock market, even making a profit after the 2008 financial crisis, her brother said.
She died on April 15.
Elisa DeVito remembered hearing stories from her grandmother about the family’s past and lavish lifestyle. But her mother usually dismissed such talk, saying, “That’s ancient history. We never need to talk about that anymore.”
As her cancer metastasized, however, the former countess changed her mind. To her daughter’s surprise, she asked to have her title engraved on her gravestone.
“The last few years,” Ms. DeVito said, “she started to remember good things, not just bad things — where she came from, and what she became.”
The death of Ilona DeVito di Porriasa last week, at 73, went largely unnoticed beyond her family and friends. But if nothing else, her story, as recounted by surviving relatives, peels back the hard shell of the city, proving, perhaps, that even the most anonymous apartment dweller can be a countess in exile.
Born in 1939 in a Transylvanian Baroque-style castle given to her parents as a wedding present by her grandmother, Countess Ilona Teleki de Szek spent the first years of her life surrounded by nannies, maids and cooks. Her mother was a baroness, her father a count who served as Transylvania’s representative to Hungary; one of his cousins, Pal Teleki served as prime minister of Hungary on two occasions and was said to have been responsible for the passage of a number of anti-Semitic measures.
Pal Teleki was said to have fatally shot himself when Hitler’s troops crossed the Hungarian border heading to Yugoslavia; the Hungarian Army joined in the invasion. Winston Churchill called Teleki’s suicide “a sacrifice to absolve himself and his people from guilt in the German attack on Yugoslavia.”
Ilona’s daughter, Elisa DeVito, said this week that her mother had not expressed embarrassment about her relative’s place in Hungarian history, believing, as other members of her family had, that he had not been anti-Semitic and might not have committed suicide.
But the family was vulnerable in the waning months of World War II, when the Soviets took control of Hungary and Romania, to which Transylvania then belonged. As recounted by Ilona’s daughter this week, the government imprisoned Ilona’s father, whom she would not see for another 20 years, seized the Telekis’ properties and eventually pushed her, her siblings and her mother out of their castle. (It is now a clinic and botanical garden.)
The Telekis moved into a converted stable with no running water. The baroness took in laundry and sewing; Ilona worked in a shoe factory, her brother Paul on a farm. Ilona wore shoes made out of her grandfather’s old bedroom slippers, and her older sister’s dresses were made of old curtains.
At one point, Ilona lived with her grandparents in a library her family had founded. It was so overrun by rats, she would later recall to her daughter, that they would sling wooden planks over the bookshelves at night to sleep.
As anti-Hungarian sentiment rose in Romania, the government repeatedly pulled the Teleki children out of school and opened the family’s mail. Count Teleki finally escaped and sought asylum in the United States. His family joined him in 1964 after the count had bribed the Romanian authorities to allow them to leave. Ilona spoke no English, but she took a series of jobs — first at a hosiery factory in the Bronx, eventually as a teletypist at a financial firm. And though her father continued to advocate for Hungarian people across Central Europe, she rarely mentioned her past.
“She didn’t really want people to know, because people think of nobility as having something, and my mother really had nothing when she came here,” her daughter said.
Once on Wall Street, she showed enough aptitude that despite having no college degree, she was promoted to market analyst, studying trends and making investment recommendations. She joined Merrill’s securities research department in the early 1970s and stayed until retiring in 2005, developing a reputation for quick calculations and prescient recommendations — as well as a certain reserve.
“She worked very hard at it, and she didn’t suffer fools,” said Robert Farrell, one of her managers. “She had no trouble disagreeing about what was going to happen or voicing her own opinion.”
But she never acknowledged her background to most colleagues until they read her mother’s obituary in the 1990s. Some did not find out until her death.
“In all the time I talked to her every day, we talked about Hungary and everything, but she never said a word about her being royalty,” said Tom Webster, a Merrill Lynch broker.
In 1975, she married Lino DeVito di Porriasa, who came from an Italian noble family.
Mr. DeVito died in 2008, a few months after his wife learned she had breast cancer. Even while ill, she loved to follow the stock market, even making a profit after the 2008 financial crisis, her brother said.
She died on April 15.
Elisa DeVito remembered hearing stories from her grandmother about the family’s past and lavish lifestyle. But her mother usually dismissed such talk, saying, “That’s ancient history. We never need to talk about that anymore.”
As her cancer metastasized, however, the former countess changed her mind. To her daughter’s surprise, she asked to have her title engraved on her gravestone.
“The last few years,” Ms. DeVito said, “she started to remember good things, not just bad things — where she came from, and what she became.”
2013年4月24日星期三
when models stepped out on spring runways
madman, sadist--but don't call him a quitter. As a mountain runner and endurance coach, Orton has finished countless races, from the high-altitude, 100-mile Grand Targhee Ultra Marathon to a 50-miler alongside the legendary Tarahumara runners in Mexico's remote Copper Canyon. Yet as strong as he is, the pain he experienced when running became nearly too much to bear. "I almost gave up running because I couldn't wear shoes," says Orton, who lives in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
The problem--for Orton and a growing legion of runners--was the modern running shoe. After Orton coached journalist Christopher McDougall for the Copper Canyon race in 2006, an experience detailed in the bestselling book Born to Run, the minimalist running-shoe category was born. McDougall's story shed light on the concept of barefoot-style running by documenting a race against the area's native people, who had astounding endurance and ran injury-free in handmade sandals.
By evolving to fit what Orton calls "built-up" shoes, modern runners have developed poor mechanics, causing them to sustain injuries. "All the aches and pains that we feel as runners--that people were brainwashed into thinking were normal for people who run a lot--don't have to be the case," Orton says. "As I ran in more basic shoes, my body started feeling better."
Born to Run's worldwide success sent runners flocking to Orton, all looking for the secret to running pain-free. "I went from needing to help 30 people to needing to help thousands," he says. Then, Ironman triathlete Eric Swartz called with a plan: team up and build a wholly new running shoe that helps athletes transition to running properly. "I told him this needed to be much more than a shoe," Orton says. "It needed to be a training system and a way to help people put it all together."
In 2010 the pair formed B2R, an Atlanta-based shoe company that combines footwear with strength training, running programs and nutrition drinks. But rather than sprint to market, B2R developed its shoe slowly, watching as competitors rushed to cash in on the trend. "I wanted a shoe that I wanted to run in--and a majority of true runners would want to run in--without it feeling or looking weird," Orton says.
Launched last summer via Orton's Facebook page and fan site, B2R's shoes have slowly been trickling onto feet around the world. "I was surprised to see orders coming in [to the website] from everywhere the first week after we went online," Orton says. But ask him whether he now considers himself a shoe guy or an endurance coach, he'll quickly respond: "Coach. I want people to understand how great running correctly feels."
If the men’s department is ruled by revenge of the nerds (horn rims, bow ties), women’s fashion can look surprisingly like (dare we say?) the triumph of frump. Dowager classics like frame handbags, cardies and costume jewelry are the height of chic — and now comes the low block heel.
Yet when models stepped out on spring runways at Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton, their low heels looked unexpectedly right — and miraculously wearable. At Marc Jacobs, the pumps and sling-backs had round block heels and a pointy toe; at Louis Vuitton, they had short slim-line heels and an even pointier toe. Other houses got in on the act, including Miu Miu, with chunky crystal heels, and Dries Van Noten, who showed a gilded ball heel. But the breakout hit of the season is Nicholas Kirkwood’s triangular stepped-heel pump. (Shown here in blush patent leather, it also comes in a bright water snake and a zigzig pattern that made it into all the fashion books.)
In designing his lovely new heel, Mr. Kirkwood said that he tried to do something that would be a real fashion item, not just a lower version of a high heel. “It’s a way to get that height that women want without being so mumsy,” he said.
The problem--for Orton and a growing legion of runners--was the modern running shoe. After Orton coached journalist Christopher McDougall for the Copper Canyon race in 2006, an experience detailed in the bestselling book Born to Run, the minimalist running-shoe category was born. McDougall's story shed light on the concept of barefoot-style running by documenting a race against the area's native people, who had astounding endurance and ran injury-free in handmade sandals.
By evolving to fit what Orton calls "built-up" shoes, modern runners have developed poor mechanics, causing them to sustain injuries. "All the aches and pains that we feel as runners--that people were brainwashed into thinking were normal for people who run a lot--don't have to be the case," Orton says. "As I ran in more basic shoes, my body started feeling better."
Born to Run's worldwide success sent runners flocking to Orton, all looking for the secret to running pain-free. "I went from needing to help 30 people to needing to help thousands," he says. Then, Ironman triathlete Eric Swartz called with a plan: team up and build a wholly new running shoe that helps athletes transition to running properly. "I told him this needed to be much more than a shoe," Orton says. "It needed to be a training system and a way to help people put it all together."
In 2010 the pair formed B2R, an Atlanta-based shoe company that combines footwear with strength training, running programs and nutrition drinks. But rather than sprint to market, B2R developed its shoe slowly, watching as competitors rushed to cash in on the trend. "I wanted a shoe that I wanted to run in--and a majority of true runners would want to run in--without it feeling or looking weird," Orton says.
Launched last summer via Orton's Facebook page and fan site, B2R's shoes have slowly been trickling onto feet around the world. "I was surprised to see orders coming in [to the website] from everywhere the first week after we went online," Orton says. But ask him whether he now considers himself a shoe guy or an endurance coach, he'll quickly respond: "Coach. I want people to understand how great running correctly feels."
If the men’s department is ruled by revenge of the nerds (horn rims, bow ties), women’s fashion can look surprisingly like (dare we say?) the triumph of frump. Dowager classics like frame handbags, cardies and costume jewelry are the height of chic — and now comes the low block heel.
Yet when models stepped out on spring runways at Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton, their low heels looked unexpectedly right — and miraculously wearable. At Marc Jacobs, the pumps and sling-backs had round block heels and a pointy toe; at Louis Vuitton, they had short slim-line heels and an even pointier toe. Other houses got in on the act, including Miu Miu, with chunky crystal heels, and Dries Van Noten, who showed a gilded ball heel. But the breakout hit of the season is Nicholas Kirkwood’s triangular stepped-heel pump. (Shown here in blush patent leather, it also comes in a bright water snake and a zigzig pattern that made it into all the fashion books.)
In designing his lovely new heel, Mr. Kirkwood said that he tried to do something that would be a real fashion item, not just a lower version of a high heel. “It’s a way to get that height that women want without being so mumsy,” he said.
Bette Midler gets to make fun of Hollywood
Appearing on Broadway for the first time in 30 years, Bette Midler doesn't stand up to greet her audience. She chooses to remain reclined.
"I'm not getting up," she says by way of warning. "It's my house, you get up. Only don't. I just had the carpet cleaned."
You mustn't take any offense. Midler is playing the wondrously snooty super talent agent Sue Mengers in a one-woman show that opened Wednesday at the Booth Theatre.
Even if you have no idea who Mengers is, an evening with Midler is always special and her apparent joy in playing this role makes it even more so. In "I'll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers," Midler swears a blue streak, makes vicious fun of Hollywood and never has to stand up.
Set in 1981 and written by John Logan, the work is a straightforward biography of the rise of a chubby Jewish girl with a heavy German accent who grew up in New York and turned herself into a mover and shaker in Hollywood.
Her clients included Candice Bergen, Mike Nichols, Michael Caine, George Segal, Dyan Cannon, Bob Fosse, Sidney Lumet, Burt Reynolds, Cybill Shepherd, Ryan O'Neal, Rod Steiger, Peter Bogdanovich and Gore Vidal, among others.
As she freely admits, Mengers, who died in 2011, landed clients by threats, deception, cajoling, promises, guilt and doggedness – anything, really.
"We're all headhunters in my business. Every star's a potential client and if I don't steal them, someone else will," she says. "I was persuasive, I was funny. Most of all, I was ferocious. To me `no' always meant `maybe.'"
Over 85 minutes, Midler – rarely letting a manicured foot hit her carpet – lies on her elegant couch – speaks to the audience, gossiping furiously as she waits for a call from Barbra Streisand.
Joe Mantello directs with something of a challenge: A seasoned pro in Midler and yet a character who doesn't really move off the couch. So he expertly paces the whole thing like an audience with a blousy, foul-mouthed queen.
Midler wears oversized, tinted glasses and constantly scrapes at her silky straight bob, colored a heavenly hue only the rich can get away with. She's wearing an aqua caftan with sparkly embellishments and alternates smoking a cigarette and a joint, sometimes having both lit at the same time.
This warning appears on the curtain as the audience files in: "This play contains profanity, smoking, alcohol consumption, drug use, and gossip." Here's another warning: Know who Michael Ovitz is.
Logan and Midler have tried to re-create the essence of Mengers and that means a familiarity with distant celebs like James Coco and agents like Ovitz is mandatory. Gossip isn't gossip unless you know the players, darling.
Logan, a Tony winner for "Red," has woven his monologue well and the transitions are seamless. Stories about Ali MacGraw and Gene Hackman take up larger sections, with the obligatory detour into Mengers' childhood tucked in.
The script works best when Midler is lecturing us about how the business of show really works, particularly her "Five Golden Rules," including Never Blow a Deal on Money.
"I'm not getting up," she says by way of warning. "It's my house, you get up. Only don't. I just had the carpet cleaned."
You mustn't take any offense. Midler is playing the wondrously snooty super talent agent Sue Mengers in a one-woman show that opened Wednesday at the Booth Theatre.
Even if you have no idea who Mengers is, an evening with Midler is always special and her apparent joy in playing this role makes it even more so. In "I'll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers," Midler swears a blue streak, makes vicious fun of Hollywood and never has to stand up.
Set in 1981 and written by John Logan, the work is a straightforward biography of the rise of a chubby Jewish girl with a heavy German accent who grew up in New York and turned herself into a mover and shaker in Hollywood.
Her clients included Candice Bergen, Mike Nichols, Michael Caine, George Segal, Dyan Cannon, Bob Fosse, Sidney Lumet, Burt Reynolds, Cybill Shepherd, Ryan O'Neal, Rod Steiger, Peter Bogdanovich and Gore Vidal, among others.
As she freely admits, Mengers, who died in 2011, landed clients by threats, deception, cajoling, promises, guilt and doggedness – anything, really.
"We're all headhunters in my business. Every star's a potential client and if I don't steal them, someone else will," she says. "I was persuasive, I was funny. Most of all, I was ferocious. To me `no' always meant `maybe.'"
Over 85 minutes, Midler – rarely letting a manicured foot hit her carpet – lies on her elegant couch – speaks to the audience, gossiping furiously as she waits for a call from Barbra Streisand.
Joe Mantello directs with something of a challenge: A seasoned pro in Midler and yet a character who doesn't really move off the couch. So he expertly paces the whole thing like an audience with a blousy, foul-mouthed queen.
Midler wears oversized, tinted glasses and constantly scrapes at her silky straight bob, colored a heavenly hue only the rich can get away with. She's wearing an aqua caftan with sparkly embellishments and alternates smoking a cigarette and a joint, sometimes having both lit at the same time.
This warning appears on the curtain as the audience files in: "This play contains profanity, smoking, alcohol consumption, drug use, and gossip." Here's another warning: Know who Michael Ovitz is.
Logan and Midler have tried to re-create the essence of Mengers and that means a familiarity with distant celebs like James Coco and agents like Ovitz is mandatory. Gossip isn't gossip unless you know the players, darling.
Logan, a Tony winner for "Red," has woven his monologue well and the transitions are seamless. Stories about Ali MacGraw and Gene Hackman take up larger sections, with the obligatory detour into Mengers' childhood tucked in.
The script works best when Midler is lecturing us about how the business of show really works, particularly her "Five Golden Rules," including Never Blow a Deal on Money.
2013年4月22日星期一
The president announced several new initiatives
In his dark blue business suit, President Obama climbed onto a bicycle anchored to the ground outside the White House. He pedaled in his polished dress shoes, generating electricity to run a water sanitation system built by a group of Florida teenagers.
He peered into a flask of green liquid containing a new breed of algae that was created by a 17-year-old Colorado girl who wants to solve the country’s energy problems.
And he shook hands with three small boys from Georgia who dreamed up a system to automatically cool down and hydrate sweating athletes.
“Keep in mind, they’re in third, fourth grade, and they’ve already got this idea,” Obama said. “If you’re inventing stuff in the third grade, what are you going to do by the time you get to college?”
It was the third annual White House Science Fair, designed to call attention to the importance of STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — and to honor the innovations dreamed up by young minds.
About 100 students from 40 states, ranging in age from 8 to 19, were invited to the event Monday afternoon.
The fair comes at a time of great concern among educators and policymakers that U.S. students have fallen behind their peers around the world in terms of STEM disciplines. It’s a worry the president shares.
“As a culture, we’re great consumers of technology, but we’re not always properly respecting the people who are in the labs and behind the scenes creating the stuff that we now take for granted,” Obama told the gathering at the White House, which included his top science advisers, among them those who run the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and NASA. “And we’ve got to give the millions of Americans who work in science and technology not only the kind of respect they deserve but also new ways to engage young people.”
The president announced several new initiatives aimed at getting more scientists and engineers to mentor students.
Many students at the science fair said they created their projects outside of school, teaching themselves the science involved or seeking out mentors in the community or at universities.
Easton LaChapelle, 17, of Mancos, Colo., taught himself enough computer coding and electronic skills to build a prosthetic arm controlled by brain waves. He made most of the parts with a 3-D printer — he has two in his bedroom — which significantly dropped the cost of the arm to about $400. Easton got his inspiration when he met a girl with an $80,000 prosthetic arm at a science and engineering festival.
“I’m all self-taught,” he said, explaining that his high school lacks the science courses and equipment to help him work on the level necessary for his project. “School is basically a waste of time. I’d be better off with those seven hours if I could just use them working on my own.”
Sara Volz, 17, of Colorado Springs, created a new kind of algae that produces oil as an alternative to petroleum-based fuel. “When I found out you can make fuel from pond scum, isn’t that the most awesome thing ever?” said Sara, the daughter of a veterinarian and a journalist.
He peered into a flask of green liquid containing a new breed of algae that was created by a 17-year-old Colorado girl who wants to solve the country’s energy problems.
And he shook hands with three small boys from Georgia who dreamed up a system to automatically cool down and hydrate sweating athletes.
“Keep in mind, they’re in third, fourth grade, and they’ve already got this idea,” Obama said. “If you’re inventing stuff in the third grade, what are you going to do by the time you get to college?”
It was the third annual White House Science Fair, designed to call attention to the importance of STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — and to honor the innovations dreamed up by young minds.
About 100 students from 40 states, ranging in age from 8 to 19, were invited to the event Monday afternoon.
The fair comes at a time of great concern among educators and policymakers that U.S. students have fallen behind their peers around the world in terms of STEM disciplines. It’s a worry the president shares.
“As a culture, we’re great consumers of technology, but we’re not always properly respecting the people who are in the labs and behind the scenes creating the stuff that we now take for granted,” Obama told the gathering at the White House, which included his top science advisers, among them those who run the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and NASA. “And we’ve got to give the millions of Americans who work in science and technology not only the kind of respect they deserve but also new ways to engage young people.”
The president announced several new initiatives aimed at getting more scientists and engineers to mentor students.
Many students at the science fair said they created their projects outside of school, teaching themselves the science involved or seeking out mentors in the community or at universities.
Easton LaChapelle, 17, of Mancos, Colo., taught himself enough computer coding and electronic skills to build a prosthetic arm controlled by brain waves. He made most of the parts with a 3-D printer — he has two in his bedroom — which significantly dropped the cost of the arm to about $400. Easton got his inspiration when he met a girl with an $80,000 prosthetic arm at a science and engineering festival.
“I’m all self-taught,” he said, explaining that his high school lacks the science courses and equipment to help him work on the level necessary for his project. “School is basically a waste of time. I’d be better off with those seven hours if I could just use them working on my own.”
Sara Volz, 17, of Colorado Springs, created a new kind of algae that produces oil as an alternative to petroleum-based fuel. “When I found out you can make fuel from pond scum, isn’t that the most awesome thing ever?” said Sara, the daughter of a veterinarian and a journalist.
The proposal immediately drew fierce opposition
Airline passengers will have to leave their knives at home after all. And their bats and golf clubs.
A policy change scheduled to go into effect this week that would have allowed passengers to carry small knives, bats, and other sports equipment onto airliners will be delayed, federal officials said Monday.
The delay is necessary to accommodate feedback from an advisory committee made up of aviation industry, consumer, and law enforcement officials, the Transportation Security Administration said in a brief statement. The statement said the delay is temporary, but gave no indication how long it might be.
TSA Administrator John Pistole proposed the policy change last month, saying it would free up the agency to concentrate on protecting against greater threats. TSA screeners confiscate about 2,000 small folding knives from passengers every day.
The proposal immediately drew fierce opposition from flight attendant unions and federal air marshals, who said the knives can be dangerous in the hands of the wrong passengers. Some airlines and members of Congress also urged TSA to reconsider its position.
The delay announced by TSA doesn’t go far enough, a coalition of unions representing 90,000 flight attendants nationwide said Monday.
“All knives should be banned from planes permanently,” the group said in a statement.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who opposed the policy, said TSA’s decision is an admission “that permitting knives on planes is a bad idea.” He also called for a permanent ban.
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., another opponent, said he will continue to push TSA to drop the proposal entirely.
“People with radical ideas can use everyday objects to cause great harm,” Markey said. “If there is an opportunity to decrease risks to Americans, we have a duty to protect our citizens and disallow knives from being taken onto planes.”
The proposed policy would have permitted folding knives with blades that are 2.36 inches (6 centimeters) or less in length and are less than 1/2-inch (1-centimeter) wide. The policy was aimed at allowing passengers to carry pen knives, corkscrews with small blades and other small knives.
Passengers also would have been be allowed to bring onboard as part of their carry-on luggage novelty-sized baseball bats less than 24 inches long, toy plastic bats, billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks and two golf clubs, the agency said.
Security standards adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency, already call for passengers to be able to carry those items. Those standards are non-binding, but many countries follow them.
The proposal didn’t affect box cutters, razor blades and knives that don’t fold or that have molded grip handles, which are prohibited.
Passengers were prohibited from carrying the small knives onboard planes after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Some of the terrorists in those attacks used box cutters to intimidate passengers and airline crew members.
It’s unlikely in these days of hardened cockpit doors and other preventative measures that the small folding knives could be used by terrorists to take over a plane, Pistole told Congress last month.
There has been a gradual easing of some of the security measures applied to passengers after the 9/11 attacks. In 2005, the TSA changed its policies to allow passengers to carry on airplanes small scissors, knitting needles, tweezers, nail clippers and up to four books of matches. The move came as the agency turned its focus toward keeping explosives off planes, because intelligence officials believed that was the greatest threat to commercial aviation.
And in September 2011, the TSA no longer required children 12 years old and under to remove their shoes at airport checkpoints. The agency recently issued new guidelines for travelers 75 and older so they can avoid removing shoes and light jackets when they go through airport security checkpoints.
A policy change scheduled to go into effect this week that would have allowed passengers to carry small knives, bats, and other sports equipment onto airliners will be delayed, federal officials said Monday.
The delay is necessary to accommodate feedback from an advisory committee made up of aviation industry, consumer, and law enforcement officials, the Transportation Security Administration said in a brief statement. The statement said the delay is temporary, but gave no indication how long it might be.
TSA Administrator John Pistole proposed the policy change last month, saying it would free up the agency to concentrate on protecting against greater threats. TSA screeners confiscate about 2,000 small folding knives from passengers every day.
The proposal immediately drew fierce opposition from flight attendant unions and federal air marshals, who said the knives can be dangerous in the hands of the wrong passengers. Some airlines and members of Congress also urged TSA to reconsider its position.
The delay announced by TSA doesn’t go far enough, a coalition of unions representing 90,000 flight attendants nationwide said Monday.
“All knives should be banned from planes permanently,” the group said in a statement.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who opposed the policy, said TSA’s decision is an admission “that permitting knives on planes is a bad idea.” He also called for a permanent ban.
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., another opponent, said he will continue to push TSA to drop the proposal entirely.
“People with radical ideas can use everyday objects to cause great harm,” Markey said. “If there is an opportunity to decrease risks to Americans, we have a duty to protect our citizens and disallow knives from being taken onto planes.”
The proposed policy would have permitted folding knives with blades that are 2.36 inches (6 centimeters) or less in length and are less than 1/2-inch (1-centimeter) wide. The policy was aimed at allowing passengers to carry pen knives, corkscrews with small blades and other small knives.
Passengers also would have been be allowed to bring onboard as part of their carry-on luggage novelty-sized baseball bats less than 24 inches long, toy plastic bats, billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks and two golf clubs, the agency said.
Security standards adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency, already call for passengers to be able to carry those items. Those standards are non-binding, but many countries follow them.
The proposal didn’t affect box cutters, razor blades and knives that don’t fold or that have molded grip handles, which are prohibited.
Passengers were prohibited from carrying the small knives onboard planes after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Some of the terrorists in those attacks used box cutters to intimidate passengers and airline crew members.
It’s unlikely in these days of hardened cockpit doors and other preventative measures that the small folding knives could be used by terrorists to take over a plane, Pistole told Congress last month.
There has been a gradual easing of some of the security measures applied to passengers after the 9/11 attacks. In 2005, the TSA changed its policies to allow passengers to carry on airplanes small scissors, knitting needles, tweezers, nail clippers and up to four books of matches. The move came as the agency turned its focus toward keeping explosives off planes, because intelligence officials believed that was the greatest threat to commercial aviation.
And in September 2011, the TSA no longer required children 12 years old and under to remove their shoes at airport checkpoints. The agency recently issued new guidelines for travelers 75 and older so they can avoid removing shoes and light jackets when they go through airport security checkpoints.
2013年4月15日星期一
some retailers feel city consumers still have a long way
From Silicon Valley, Bangalore is fast turning into shopping valley
of India. If statistics are to go by, the city will see 16 more malls in
the next three years.
Presently, there are 20 malls in the city, making Bangalore the most preferred retail destination after Mumbai and New Delhi, say estimates from workplace solutions firm Vestian Global.
Growing disposable income levels coupled with the tendency of flocking to malls for entertainment is fuelling the rise in mall culture across the city, including in areas like Mysore Road, Tumkur Road, Hosur Road etc.
Whether shopping for apparels, footwear or gadgets or spending on food and movies, each individual ends up spending an average between Rs 2,500-3,000, apart from 3 hours in a mall during every visit.
While during weekdays an average 40,000-50,000 consumers would visit any given city mall, on weekends that number more than doubles.
“People cannot always go to Lalbag or Cubbon Park to spend an evening. Currently it is more for tourism and entertainment purposes that most people visit malls,” says Indraneel Majumdar, general manager (mall operations), Inorbit, Whitefield.
According to Shrinivas Rao, CEO, Asia-Pacific, Vestian Global, the city today offers an array of large-scale retail formats, including neighbourhood malls, community and regional malls that continue to evolve.
“Another key factor positively impacting malls is the inclusion of traditional food stores and saree shops inside malls,” says Rao.
Experts say malls are realising that to increase consumer spending, alongside international food and fashion brands, a healthy mix of traditional stores are required.
“Malls in areas like Rajajinagar or Malleswaram cannot just run by opening international brands. They need to have outlets selling ethnic ware, sarees, traditional jewellery to garner more footfalls and revenues,” says Rao.
Jonathan Yach, CEO of Mantri Square, says they have a cobbler, lungi-stitching fellow, tailor and key-cutting fellow to provide a complete experience to shoppers. “So that a shopper does not have to look beyond the mall.”
Experts say another criteria that distinguishes Bangalore consumers from those in other metros is the shift from products of necessity to lifestyle products.
“Many Bangaloreans travel abroad and tend to scout for international and high-end products in the malls here. We have seen that people who move up the value curve on shopping by purchasing premium products don’t tend to slide down the value ladder,” says Sumit Saran, director at agribusiness consulting firm SCS Group.
However, some retailers feel city consumers still have a long way to go before they can catch up with their counterparts in Mumbai or New Delhi.
Majumdar says Bangaloreans still have a problem with lavish spending. “Unlike New Delhi, people here weigh their options carefully and make measured purchases.”
Presently, there are 20 malls in the city, making Bangalore the most preferred retail destination after Mumbai and New Delhi, say estimates from workplace solutions firm Vestian Global.
Growing disposable income levels coupled with the tendency of flocking to malls for entertainment is fuelling the rise in mall culture across the city, including in areas like Mysore Road, Tumkur Road, Hosur Road etc.
Whether shopping for apparels, footwear or gadgets or spending on food and movies, each individual ends up spending an average between Rs 2,500-3,000, apart from 3 hours in a mall during every visit.
While during weekdays an average 40,000-50,000 consumers would visit any given city mall, on weekends that number more than doubles.
“People cannot always go to Lalbag or Cubbon Park to spend an evening. Currently it is more for tourism and entertainment purposes that most people visit malls,” says Indraneel Majumdar, general manager (mall operations), Inorbit, Whitefield.
According to Shrinivas Rao, CEO, Asia-Pacific, Vestian Global, the city today offers an array of large-scale retail formats, including neighbourhood malls, community and regional malls that continue to evolve.
“Another key factor positively impacting malls is the inclusion of traditional food stores and saree shops inside malls,” says Rao.
Experts say malls are realising that to increase consumer spending, alongside international food and fashion brands, a healthy mix of traditional stores are required.
“Malls in areas like Rajajinagar or Malleswaram cannot just run by opening international brands. They need to have outlets selling ethnic ware, sarees, traditional jewellery to garner more footfalls and revenues,” says Rao.
Jonathan Yach, CEO of Mantri Square, says they have a cobbler, lungi-stitching fellow, tailor and key-cutting fellow to provide a complete experience to shoppers. “So that a shopper does not have to look beyond the mall.”
Experts say another criteria that distinguishes Bangalore consumers from those in other metros is the shift from products of necessity to lifestyle products.
“Many Bangaloreans travel abroad and tend to scout for international and high-end products in the malls here. We have seen that people who move up the value curve on shopping by purchasing premium products don’t tend to slide down the value ladder,” says Sumit Saran, director at agribusiness consulting firm SCS Group.
However, some retailers feel city consumers still have a long way to go before they can catch up with their counterparts in Mumbai or New Delhi.
Majumdar says Bangaloreans still have a problem with lavish spending. “Unlike New Delhi, people here weigh their options carefully and make measured purchases.”
Crystal's niche in costume jewellery
Following a free fall in gold and silver prices on Monday, on top of
the decline registered last week, a 'gold rush' of sorts seems to be
emerging in the city. According to city's jewellers, gold lovers have
already started flocking the market before the 'lagan' season and
'Akshay Tritiya' which falls on May 12 to take maximum advantage of the
sudden crash.
Within a week, the yellow metal prices have fallen by around Rs 3000 per 10 gram.
Sachin Gupta of a branded jewellery shop in Patna said he has received hordes of customers since Friday and is also getting inquiries about the likelihood of further fall in prices. "Friday brought good news to gold lovers in the city and they started thronging the shops. With a fresh fall in prices on Monday, I am getting phone calls from customers if buying gold now would be beneficial for them or they should wait for further fall," said Gupta and added the present situation indicated the possibility of heavy fall in prices in the days to come. "Within a month's span, gold has seen a sharp fall from Rs 33,000 per 10 gram to Rs 27,000. "
Manish Kumar of a jewellery shop at Boring Road crossing said customers should make hay while the sun shines, because no one knows what will happen in the market some days later. However, he did not fail to add that speculations are that gold may fall up to Rs 25,000 per 10 grams. According to Kumar, gold has seen such a heavy fall in prices only after year 2005.
Sanjay Kumar at one of the jewellery stores at Dak Bungalow Crossing told TOI, "Those who had already placed orders and paid in advance are disappointed with the sudden crash and thus demanding some rebate in prices. Giving them discount will mean loss to us and if we do not give them discount, we will lose our valuable customers." At Kumar's store, the demand for lightweight jewellery has gone up. "I think people will go for heavy jewellery as well, but they are waiting for further fall," he said.
So far as silver is concerned, there is only lukewarm response in the city market even though its price has fallen from Rs 60,000 a kg to about Rs 46,000.
Asked if it was time to buy gold, Bharat Mehta, president of 'Patliputra Sarrafa Sangh', said potential new investors should rather "wait and watch". They should wait for the market to stabilize. Our experience is that the market is unpredictable.
The sharp fall in bullion prices has adversely affected gold loan companies operating in the city. According to an executive of one of these companies, the flow of customers seeking gold loan has seen a sharp decline.
Former beautician from Ipoh has got the knack of making beautiful costume jewellery
Managed by Yue Cheng Trading, the owner is 44-year-old Ivy Yong, a former beautician from Ipoh.
Yong, who came here in 2004, said she decided to learn the art of making costume jewellery as she has a passion for the craft.
"I spent five years working for a crystal jewellery shop. Five years later, I decided to branch out on my own and started a little roadside shop within the compound of Plaza Sentosa," said Yong.
Due to the crystal jewellery's exquisite designs, Yong's business grew and she soon moved into one of the shop units in Plaza Sentosa.
"Does Yong believe in the power of crystals and Tibetan dzi beads?"
Yong can only answer in the affirmative judging by the encouraging sales.
"One must have a positive mindset after wearing the gemstones. People from as far as Singapore and Batam, Indonesia, have come to me seeking good fortune, love and a smooth-sailing career.
"Not to mention the locals especially Malays and Indians.
"I can design a piece of jewellery for them but they have to cultivate a positive mindset so that they can emit good energy, which in turn attract positive things into their lives," she said.
Yong's eldest daughter Kathy Choh, 25, who is a hairstylist by profession, also works in one of the outlets in Plaza Sentosa.
"I love wearing jewellery but I don't share my mother's passion for making jewellery," said Choh, who is the eldest among four siblings.
Yong said her shop offers a wide range of bracelets, pendants and anklets with stones of different qualities and prices.
As for her jewellery creation, Yong said she will browse through fashion magazines for inspiration.
"When I watch Taiwanese TV serials, I would look at the jewellery that the actresses are wearing," said Yong.
Within a week, the yellow metal prices have fallen by around Rs 3000 per 10 gram.
Sachin Gupta of a branded jewellery shop in Patna said he has received hordes of customers since Friday and is also getting inquiries about the likelihood of further fall in prices. "Friday brought good news to gold lovers in the city and they started thronging the shops. With a fresh fall in prices on Monday, I am getting phone calls from customers if buying gold now would be beneficial for them or they should wait for further fall," said Gupta and added the present situation indicated the possibility of heavy fall in prices in the days to come. "Within a month's span, gold has seen a sharp fall from Rs 33,000 per 10 gram to Rs 27,000. "
Manish Kumar of a jewellery shop at Boring Road crossing said customers should make hay while the sun shines, because no one knows what will happen in the market some days later. However, he did not fail to add that speculations are that gold may fall up to Rs 25,000 per 10 grams. According to Kumar, gold has seen such a heavy fall in prices only after year 2005.
Sanjay Kumar at one of the jewellery stores at Dak Bungalow Crossing told TOI, "Those who had already placed orders and paid in advance are disappointed with the sudden crash and thus demanding some rebate in prices. Giving them discount will mean loss to us and if we do not give them discount, we will lose our valuable customers." At Kumar's store, the demand for lightweight jewellery has gone up. "I think people will go for heavy jewellery as well, but they are waiting for further fall," he said.
So far as silver is concerned, there is only lukewarm response in the city market even though its price has fallen from Rs 60,000 a kg to about Rs 46,000.
Asked if it was time to buy gold, Bharat Mehta, president of 'Patliputra Sarrafa Sangh', said potential new investors should rather "wait and watch". They should wait for the market to stabilize. Our experience is that the market is unpredictable.
The sharp fall in bullion prices has adversely affected gold loan companies operating in the city. According to an executive of one of these companies, the flow of customers seeking gold loan has seen a sharp decline.
Former beautician from Ipoh has got the knack of making beautiful costume jewellery
Managed by Yue Cheng Trading, the owner is 44-year-old Ivy Yong, a former beautician from Ipoh.
Yong, who came here in 2004, said she decided to learn the art of making costume jewellery as she has a passion for the craft.
"I spent five years working for a crystal jewellery shop. Five years later, I decided to branch out on my own and started a little roadside shop within the compound of Plaza Sentosa," said Yong.
Due to the crystal jewellery's exquisite designs, Yong's business grew and she soon moved into one of the shop units in Plaza Sentosa.
"Does Yong believe in the power of crystals and Tibetan dzi beads?"
Yong can only answer in the affirmative judging by the encouraging sales.
"One must have a positive mindset after wearing the gemstones. People from as far as Singapore and Batam, Indonesia, have come to me seeking good fortune, love and a smooth-sailing career.
"Not to mention the locals especially Malays and Indians.
"I can design a piece of jewellery for them but they have to cultivate a positive mindset so that they can emit good energy, which in turn attract positive things into their lives," she said.
Yong's eldest daughter Kathy Choh, 25, who is a hairstylist by profession, also works in one of the outlets in Plaza Sentosa.
"I love wearing jewellery but I don't share my mother's passion for making jewellery," said Choh, who is the eldest among four siblings.
Yong said her shop offers a wide range of bracelets, pendants and anklets with stones of different qualities and prices.
As for her jewellery creation, Yong said she will browse through fashion magazines for inspiration.
"When I watch Taiwanese TV serials, I would look at the jewellery that the actresses are wearing," said Yong.
2013年4月11日星期四
who stole Wags’ jewellery was benefit cheat
A TRUSTED cleaner who stole more than ￡20,000 worth of jewellery from
footballers’ wives was committing benefit fraud at the time of the
thefts, a court heard.
Christine French pocketed more than ￡25,000 in benefits that she was not entitled to while working as a cleaner for former Sunderland striker David Healy and Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper.
The 57-year-old visibly trembled in the dock as the court was told that she had fraudulently claimed between ￡100 and ￡120 a week while cleaning the plush family homes in Ponteland’s Darras Hall estate - a favourite among footballers.
Susan Hirst, defending, told the court that French was “really robbing Peter to try and pay Paul” after her husband of 30 years suddenly left her in a state of financial chaos.
French owed a crippling ￡10,000 in loans and a further ￡5,000 in finance.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that when French initially began claiming income support and council tax benefit in September 2003, she was entitled to the payments.
However, after starting work as a cleaner on August 1, 2005, she continued to claim the money, which she was no longer entitled to, until she was sacked after the thefts were noticed in late 2010.
James Adkin, prosecuting, said French had fraudulently claimed a total of ￡25,895.08 while working as a cleaner and offering an ironing service.
Miss Hirst said French currently has ￡10.80 a week deducted from her benefits to re-pay that amount.
She said: “All the offences rose from the financial mess she was in. Her husband of 30 years left her suddenly with a huge amount of debt.
“Life has been a real struggle for her over the last seven to eight years.
“She has been struggling with depression since her husband left her. This really has ruined her life.”
French, of Stephenson Way, Winlaton, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to three counts of benefit fraud.
Sentencing her to 12 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, Judge John Evans said “she would have faced immediate custody if the matters had come to light at the same time” as the thefts.
She was also given a supervision requirement for six months.
In May 2011 Judge Richard Lowden sentenced French to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with supervision for 12 months, after she pleaded guilty to three charges of theft relating to ￡20,000 of rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings.
At the hearing for the first offence, the court was told French had fallen prey to the temptation of the “wealth she was surrounded by” and pocketed precious gems belonging to the wives of Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper and former Sunderland striker David Healy.
The self employed cleaner - who was paid around ￡30 per week for her services - sold or pawned the stolen items to help pay off her colossal debts.
The court heard French was not only trusted to clean the homes of the families, but would also babysit the Harper’s children.
It was Lynsey Harper who first grew suspicious after a gold and diamond bangle of hers went missing and French claimed to have found again when she was asked about it.
Some weeks later Mrs Harper, who had just got back from a break in Las Vegas, noticed a 19ct gold ring and an 18ct gold chain were missing.
When she spoke to Emma Healy and a third woman, Mrs Varley, about it the women told her they had noticed pieces of jewellery missing from their homes too.
French was confronted and admitted what she had done.
Because she owned up so quickly ￡14,000 worth of jewellery was recovered from pawn shops and jewellers where she had taken them.
Judge Richard Lowden told her at the time: “These were valuable items of jewellery you stole.
“You stole from people who trusted you and in circumstances where you were allowed to get on with what you were doing because they trusted you.
“You had access to these people’s homes and their property. You felt temptation and took what was theirs because you were short of money at the time and they appeared not to be.
“You weren’t guilty of using your ill-gotten gains to finance a lavish lifestyle and because when all this came to light you came clean and accepted immediately what you had done fortunately a lot of this jewellery was able to be recovered and returned to these householders.
“The trouble with jewellery is it is often not the value of the jewellery but the sentimental value to its owner, rich people have sentiments just as poor people have sentiments.”
Christine French pocketed more than ￡25,000 in benefits that she was not entitled to while working as a cleaner for former Sunderland striker David Healy and Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper.
The 57-year-old visibly trembled in the dock as the court was told that she had fraudulently claimed between ￡100 and ￡120 a week while cleaning the plush family homes in Ponteland’s Darras Hall estate - a favourite among footballers.
Susan Hirst, defending, told the court that French was “really robbing Peter to try and pay Paul” after her husband of 30 years suddenly left her in a state of financial chaos.
French owed a crippling ￡10,000 in loans and a further ￡5,000 in finance.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that when French initially began claiming income support and council tax benefit in September 2003, she was entitled to the payments.
However, after starting work as a cleaner on August 1, 2005, she continued to claim the money, which she was no longer entitled to, until she was sacked after the thefts were noticed in late 2010.
James Adkin, prosecuting, said French had fraudulently claimed a total of ￡25,895.08 while working as a cleaner and offering an ironing service.
Miss Hirst said French currently has ￡10.80 a week deducted from her benefits to re-pay that amount.
She said: “All the offences rose from the financial mess she was in. Her husband of 30 years left her suddenly with a huge amount of debt.
“Life has been a real struggle for her over the last seven to eight years.
“She has been struggling with depression since her husband left her. This really has ruined her life.”
French, of Stephenson Way, Winlaton, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to three counts of benefit fraud.
Sentencing her to 12 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, Judge John Evans said “she would have faced immediate custody if the matters had come to light at the same time” as the thefts.
She was also given a supervision requirement for six months.
In May 2011 Judge Richard Lowden sentenced French to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with supervision for 12 months, after she pleaded guilty to three charges of theft relating to ￡20,000 of rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings.
At the hearing for the first offence, the court was told French had fallen prey to the temptation of the “wealth she was surrounded by” and pocketed precious gems belonging to the wives of Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper and former Sunderland striker David Healy.
The self employed cleaner - who was paid around ￡30 per week for her services - sold or pawned the stolen items to help pay off her colossal debts.
The court heard French was not only trusted to clean the homes of the families, but would also babysit the Harper’s children.
It was Lynsey Harper who first grew suspicious after a gold and diamond bangle of hers went missing and French claimed to have found again when she was asked about it.
Some weeks later Mrs Harper, who had just got back from a break in Las Vegas, noticed a 19ct gold ring and an 18ct gold chain were missing.
When she spoke to Emma Healy and a third woman, Mrs Varley, about it the women told her they had noticed pieces of jewellery missing from their homes too.
French was confronted and admitted what she had done.
Because she owned up so quickly ￡14,000 worth of jewellery was recovered from pawn shops and jewellers where she had taken them.
Judge Richard Lowden told her at the time: “These were valuable items of jewellery you stole.
“You stole from people who trusted you and in circumstances where you were allowed to get on with what you were doing because they trusted you.
“You had access to these people’s homes and their property. You felt temptation and took what was theirs because you were short of money at the time and they appeared not to be.
“You weren’t guilty of using your ill-gotten gains to finance a lavish lifestyle and because when all this came to light you came clean and accepted immediately what you had done fortunately a lot of this jewellery was able to be recovered and returned to these householders.
“The trouble with jewellery is it is often not the value of the jewellery but the sentimental value to its owner, rich people have sentiments just as poor people have sentiments.”
court for giving tips on stocks in return for cash
As investors Carl Icahn and William Ackman bickered loudly on TV earlier this year about their opposing bets on Herbalife, two other men were discussing the company in a different context: getting non-public information to trade ahead of the stock's next move.
Referring to Icahn's announcement that he had purchased a large stake in the nutritional products company, one of the men said: "I wish you would've known that he was going to release that and we could've made some money."
The other replied: "Yeah, that would've been nice."
The conversation was part of a call California jeweller Bryan Shaw recorded and later shared with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to help in their investigation of his long-time golf partner, Scott London. At the time, London was a senior KPMG auditor who had been leaking inside information about his corporate clients to Shaw.
U.S. authorities filed criminal and civil charges on Thursday against London, who is accused of passing Shaw non-public information about five of KPMG's clients.
According to prosecutors, Shaw made about $1 million (649,688 pounds) trading on the tips and gave London roughly 10 percent of his profits on each of the trades in the form of cash, jewellery, concert tickets and free meals.
One gift for London was a Rolex Daytona Cosmograph watch valued in 2011 at $12,000. Another, $10,000 wrapped into a bundle of $100 bills. Shaw told the FBI he believed he spent between $25,000 and $45,000 in concert tickets for the two of them, including a Bruce Springsteen event.
Prosecutors charged London, a Los Angeles-based auditor, with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud for giving Shaw information about public companies, including, Herbalife Ltd, Skechers USA Inc and Deckers Outdoor Corp.
Deckers did not respond to multiple calls and emails seeking comment. Herbalife and footwear maker Skechers disclosed earlier this week that KPMG had quit as their auditors in response to the matter.
According to the complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles, London also advised Shaw on the best ways to trade on the information.
For instance, he told Shaw about a merger between KPMG client RSC Holdings and United Rentals Inc and reassured his friend about trading on the takeover because "regulators were not looking for 'small fish,'" according to the complaint.
United Rentals spokesman Fred Bratman told Reuters by phone: "We are not a party to this case, but we will obviously cooperate and provide any assistance that we can to the appropriate authorities."
He did not confirm or deny that KPMG was the auditor of RSC Holdings.
London also told Shaw about a takeover of Pacific Capital Bancorp by Union Bank, according to the charges. Tom Taggart, the spokesman for Pacific Capital's current parent, Union Bank, declined to comment.
The case has already cost London his job. It has also prompted some public confessions rarely seen in insider trading cases. Soon after news of the case broke earlier this week, London admitted to the Wall Street Journal that he passed on information to his friend, but did not know his he would trade on it.
London's lawyer, Harland Braun, told Reuters on Wednesday that London's statements to the press were incorrect and ill-advised. Braun said on Thursday that he was eager to have his client appear in court, where he would be arraigned but would not enter a plea.
Legal experts said it was rare for insider trading suspects such as London to make public statements and it could cause more problems for him.
C. Evan Stewart, partner at Zuckerman Spaeder in New York, who routinely represents clients charged with insider trading and who is not involved in the case, said it was hard to see a reason for London's statements.
"I've never seen anything like this in 36 years of practice," he said. "That's certainly not a strategy I would be employing under these circumstances."
Shaw, through his lawyer, also spoke to the press. In a statement that lawyer Nathan Hochman emailed to Reuters on Thursday, Shaw admitted he received non-public information from London during a two-year period ending in 2012.
"I expect that my actions will result in significant civil and criminal consequences, but I realize that this is the painful price I will pay for my transgressions," he added.
Of the two sets of comments, it is London's that have potential to do more damage, according to Stewart.
"Mr. London was a very senior KPMG guy who had been counselled by very experienced lawyers on this subject, I'm sure on numerous occasions, and then to be out there chatting with the Wall Street Journal about this, it's a very significant setback for his now former firm."
Referring to Icahn's announcement that he had purchased a large stake in the nutritional products company, one of the men said: "I wish you would've known that he was going to release that and we could've made some money."
The other replied: "Yeah, that would've been nice."
The conversation was part of a call California jeweller Bryan Shaw recorded and later shared with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to help in their investigation of his long-time golf partner, Scott London. At the time, London was a senior KPMG auditor who had been leaking inside information about his corporate clients to Shaw.
U.S. authorities filed criminal and civil charges on Thursday against London, who is accused of passing Shaw non-public information about five of KPMG's clients.
According to prosecutors, Shaw made about $1 million (649,688 pounds) trading on the tips and gave London roughly 10 percent of his profits on each of the trades in the form of cash, jewellery, concert tickets and free meals.
One gift for London was a Rolex Daytona Cosmograph watch valued in 2011 at $12,000. Another, $10,000 wrapped into a bundle of $100 bills. Shaw told the FBI he believed he spent between $25,000 and $45,000 in concert tickets for the two of them, including a Bruce Springsteen event.
Prosecutors charged London, a Los Angeles-based auditor, with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud for giving Shaw information about public companies, including, Herbalife Ltd, Skechers USA Inc and Deckers Outdoor Corp.
Deckers did not respond to multiple calls and emails seeking comment. Herbalife and footwear maker Skechers disclosed earlier this week that KPMG had quit as their auditors in response to the matter.
According to the complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles, London also advised Shaw on the best ways to trade on the information.
For instance, he told Shaw about a merger between KPMG client RSC Holdings and United Rentals Inc and reassured his friend about trading on the takeover because "regulators were not looking for 'small fish,'" according to the complaint.
United Rentals spokesman Fred Bratman told Reuters by phone: "We are not a party to this case, but we will obviously cooperate and provide any assistance that we can to the appropriate authorities."
He did not confirm or deny that KPMG was the auditor of RSC Holdings.
London also told Shaw about a takeover of Pacific Capital Bancorp by Union Bank, according to the charges. Tom Taggart, the spokesman for Pacific Capital's current parent, Union Bank, declined to comment.
The case has already cost London his job. It has also prompted some public confessions rarely seen in insider trading cases. Soon after news of the case broke earlier this week, London admitted to the Wall Street Journal that he passed on information to his friend, but did not know his he would trade on it.
London's lawyer, Harland Braun, told Reuters on Wednesday that London's statements to the press were incorrect and ill-advised. Braun said on Thursday that he was eager to have his client appear in court, where he would be arraigned but would not enter a plea.
Legal experts said it was rare for insider trading suspects such as London to make public statements and it could cause more problems for him.
C. Evan Stewart, partner at Zuckerman Spaeder in New York, who routinely represents clients charged with insider trading and who is not involved in the case, said it was hard to see a reason for London's statements.
"I've never seen anything like this in 36 years of practice," he said. "That's certainly not a strategy I would be employing under these circumstances."
Shaw, through his lawyer, also spoke to the press. In a statement that lawyer Nathan Hochman emailed to Reuters on Thursday, Shaw admitted he received non-public information from London during a two-year period ending in 2012.
"I expect that my actions will result in significant civil and criminal consequences, but I realize that this is the painful price I will pay for my transgressions," he added.
Of the two sets of comments, it is London's that have potential to do more damage, according to Stewart.
"Mr. London was a very senior KPMG guy who had been counselled by very experienced lawyers on this subject, I'm sure on numerous occasions, and then to be out there chatting with the Wall Street Journal about this, it's a very significant setback for his now former firm."
2013年4月9日星期二
The attacks hit the global travel market
"The story as it unfolded, if considered by film producers, would have been dismissed as totally unbelievable and not suitable for something on a TV or film set," Fergal Foley BL, prosecuting, told Judge Carmel Stewart.
He said the investigation involved "the most amazing piece of police work" in bringing the thief, 48-year-old Martin Ryan, before the court.
Ryan of North William Street, Dublin, pleaded guilty on the morning of his trial at the Circuit Criminal Court to trespass and theft of a quantity of jewellery in Stillorgan, Dublin, on April 21, 2010.
He had 71 previous convictions dating back to 1980, which included burglary and road traffic offences.
Judge Stewart imposed a two-year sentence with the final six months suspended on strict conditions. She also imposed six months of supervision with the probation service.
Garda Michael McCarthy told Mr Foley that a local businesswoman had asked one of her newly appointed staff to return to her Stillorgan home and get her laptop. The young woman was provided with the house keys and codes to the alarm.
She had trouble turning off the alarm and ran out on the street to seek help. She waved down a passing car and asked the driver for assistance.
Mr Foley said the driver of the car, Ryan, "very helpfully" came into the house and deactivated the alarm.
US internet entrepreneur Peter Cobb has some simple advice for anyone thinking of starting their own e-commerce site: do a financial projection then double your expenses and cut your revenue in half. If you still have a profit you probably have a workable business model.
“You can guarantee there’s going to be curve balls,” he says. “There will be obstacles pop up that you can’t even imagine and so you need to build an organisation that is nimble and not afraid of change and can react in a timely manner.”
For Cobb, the founder of online luggage business, the unexpected was the 9/11 terrorist attacks a couple of years after he and his partners started their business. The attacks hit the global travel market hard and hence the demand for luggage. Fortunately, the site had already started moving into everyday items such as brief cases, handbags and backpacks.
“One of the very first things we did, and it wasn’t really done at the time, was customer reviews and testimonials,” says Cobb. Reviews were an innovation when the site launched in 1998 and gave the site a competitive advantage – a factor Cobb says every e-commerce site needs to be successful. The site now has a vast archive of customer reviews – 2.5 million at last count.
Cobb says one of the keys to the site’s success has been its 'drop ship model'.It doesn’t buy, store or even handle any product. Instead, it shows the bag ranges from various manufacturers. When customers order from the site,sends the order to the bag manufacturer, which ships the product direct to the customer.
This means can have 55,000 different styles of bag on its site and better cash flow because it’s not buying stock up front.
The company also changes pricing on its goods as often as every six hours as it responds to prices offered by competitors – something that is not possible for bricks and mortar retailers with physical price tags.
Pinny Gniwisch, another US web entrepreneur who will be appearing at the conference, also cites flexibility as a key to a successful e-commerce site.
“If we weren’t innovative and quick and nimble we wouldn’t have survived,” says Gniwisch, who founded online jewellery retailer. “We changed the tyres as the car was moving and that’s the lesson for a successful online company – that things change so quickly that either you adapt or you die.”
Ice, which turns over around US$40 million per year, has been quick to jump onto the latest communication trends, such as blogging and its own Youtube channel. Most recently it has created an app that lets users take a picture of the finger then see how a ring would look on it.
Gniwisch says entrepreneurs need to understand the language of the web, which is different to the offline world.
“That language is about conversation and the ability to talk to the consumer in a human way – that’s one thing we’ve learned over the years,” he says.
Consumers can talk to the site’s customer services people on Ice’s Facebook page and a shopper can, for instance, send pictures of her daughter’s prom dress and ask for recommendations about jewellery to match. “Our agents are trained in a way so they act more like your best friend who you would go to for advice than a company that is trying to sell you something,” says Gniwisch.
He said the investigation involved "the most amazing piece of police work" in bringing the thief, 48-year-old Martin Ryan, before the court.
Ryan of North William Street, Dublin, pleaded guilty on the morning of his trial at the Circuit Criminal Court to trespass and theft of a quantity of jewellery in Stillorgan, Dublin, on April 21, 2010.
He had 71 previous convictions dating back to 1980, which included burglary and road traffic offences.
Judge Stewart imposed a two-year sentence with the final six months suspended on strict conditions. She also imposed six months of supervision with the probation service.
Garda Michael McCarthy told Mr Foley that a local businesswoman had asked one of her newly appointed staff to return to her Stillorgan home and get her laptop. The young woman was provided with the house keys and codes to the alarm.
She had trouble turning off the alarm and ran out on the street to seek help. She waved down a passing car and asked the driver for assistance.
Mr Foley said the driver of the car, Ryan, "very helpfully" came into the house and deactivated the alarm.
US internet entrepreneur Peter Cobb has some simple advice for anyone thinking of starting their own e-commerce site: do a financial projection then double your expenses and cut your revenue in half. If you still have a profit you probably have a workable business model.
“You can guarantee there’s going to be curve balls,” he says. “There will be obstacles pop up that you can’t even imagine and so you need to build an organisation that is nimble and not afraid of change and can react in a timely manner.”
For Cobb, the founder of online luggage business, the unexpected was the 9/11 terrorist attacks a couple of years after he and his partners started their business. The attacks hit the global travel market hard and hence the demand for luggage. Fortunately, the site had already started moving into everyday items such as brief cases, handbags and backpacks.
“One of the very first things we did, and it wasn’t really done at the time, was customer reviews and testimonials,” says Cobb. Reviews were an innovation when the site launched in 1998 and gave the site a competitive advantage – a factor Cobb says every e-commerce site needs to be successful. The site now has a vast archive of customer reviews – 2.5 million at last count.
Cobb says one of the keys to the site’s success has been its 'drop ship model'.It doesn’t buy, store or even handle any product. Instead, it shows the bag ranges from various manufacturers. When customers order from the site,sends the order to the bag manufacturer, which ships the product direct to the customer.
This means can have 55,000 different styles of bag on its site and better cash flow because it’s not buying stock up front.
The company also changes pricing on its goods as often as every six hours as it responds to prices offered by competitors – something that is not possible for bricks and mortar retailers with physical price tags.
Pinny Gniwisch, another US web entrepreneur who will be appearing at the conference, also cites flexibility as a key to a successful e-commerce site.
“If we weren’t innovative and quick and nimble we wouldn’t have survived,” says Gniwisch, who founded online jewellery retailer. “We changed the tyres as the car was moving and that’s the lesson for a successful online company – that things change so quickly that either you adapt or you die.”
Ice, which turns over around US$40 million per year, has been quick to jump onto the latest communication trends, such as blogging and its own Youtube channel. Most recently it has created an app that lets users take a picture of the finger then see how a ring would look on it.
Gniwisch says entrepreneurs need to understand the language of the web, which is different to the offline world.
“That language is about conversation and the ability to talk to the consumer in a human way – that’s one thing we’ve learned over the years,” he says.
Consumers can talk to the site’s customer services people on Ice’s Facebook page and a shopper can, for instance, send pictures of her daughter’s prom dress and ask for recommendations about jewellery to match. “Our agents are trained in a way so they act more like your best friend who you would go to for advice than a company that is trying to sell you something,” says Gniwisch.
Customers come here looking for pictures of their families
There’s a shop on Al Mirqab Al Jadeed Street that sells numerous unusual and interesting items. Anything from an old camera to an antique radio or an old bottle of Pepsi made in Qatar can be found there. Banknotes, coins and letters are also part of this collection put together by Ali Darwishi.
This Iranian entrepreneur opened Champs Elysee Palace about eight years ago. But he began collecting stamps at the age of 12. Then came coins and banknotes, and then antiques.
He has been in Doha for more than 45 years and buys most of the items he sells in his shop from collectors who don’t want to continue collecting. He has many Qatari clients, and film-makers rent the products for a few days.
His collection includes medals, stamps, books, photos, ornaments, plates, vases, watches and musical instruments, among other curiosities.
The oldest items are from the 1950’s and, in the owner’s words: “They tell the short story of Qatar.”
“I have many local clients that keep coming back to the store until they finish their collection. They specially like to buy books about the country, stamps, banknotes and even soda bottles,” Darwishi said.
The shopkeeper added that it was common for Qatari families to have a corner in their home dedicated to memorabilia and antiques. “I have sold bottles of Coca Cola or Pepsi made here for QR4,000. Also, old banknotes that were used for Qatar and Dubai for QR100,000.”
Darwishi’s books about the country and the Gulf are also very valuable, just like the hundreds of photos that tell the story of the country.
“Customers come here looking for pictures of their families to show their children. They also like buying old toys to let their kids know how they played before, with traditional craft toys and not electronics,” stated the owner of Champs Elysee Palace.
Youth visit the shop to learn about Qatar and find special items like a telephone used by the troops in World War II, a vintage iron or the traditional china used during Ramadan by locals.
Spread over two floors, the store also sells records from Indian artists and singers from the region as well as boxes of matches — which sell for up to QR1,000 — and tobacco.
“Collectors continue coming until they have all the items they want. For instance, they like having a camera or telephone from every year. I also get calls from people who are tired of collecting and want to sell me all their things.”
The shop also sells old fans, some furniture, including cupboards, as well as pots made in the Czech Republic and Slovenia which are very popular among Qatari clients.
Four people work at the store, which will soon feature an area on the second floor dedicated to books.
“They keep everything in order, but they don’t need to clean because the dust makes the items even more special,” joked the owner.
Other curious items can be found at the store, like typewriters. Barwashi also sells apparently invaluable things like imitation watches, catchpenny jewellery or empty and broken soda cans.
The most unexpected item, like a broken bottle, can be exactly what the client is looking for to complete his collection and, just because it is made in Qatar, he will pay thousands of riyals for it.
This Iranian entrepreneur opened Champs Elysee Palace about eight years ago. But he began collecting stamps at the age of 12. Then came coins and banknotes, and then antiques.
He has been in Doha for more than 45 years and buys most of the items he sells in his shop from collectors who don’t want to continue collecting. He has many Qatari clients, and film-makers rent the products for a few days.
His collection includes medals, stamps, books, photos, ornaments, plates, vases, watches and musical instruments, among other curiosities.
The oldest items are from the 1950’s and, in the owner’s words: “They tell the short story of Qatar.”
“I have many local clients that keep coming back to the store until they finish their collection. They specially like to buy books about the country, stamps, banknotes and even soda bottles,” Darwishi said.
The shopkeeper added that it was common for Qatari families to have a corner in their home dedicated to memorabilia and antiques. “I have sold bottles of Coca Cola or Pepsi made here for QR4,000. Also, old banknotes that were used for Qatar and Dubai for QR100,000.”
Darwishi’s books about the country and the Gulf are also very valuable, just like the hundreds of photos that tell the story of the country.
“Customers come here looking for pictures of their families to show their children. They also like buying old toys to let their kids know how they played before, with traditional craft toys and not electronics,” stated the owner of Champs Elysee Palace.
Youth visit the shop to learn about Qatar and find special items like a telephone used by the troops in World War II, a vintage iron or the traditional china used during Ramadan by locals.
Spread over two floors, the store also sells records from Indian artists and singers from the region as well as boxes of matches — which sell for up to QR1,000 — and tobacco.
“Collectors continue coming until they have all the items they want. For instance, they like having a camera or telephone from every year. I also get calls from people who are tired of collecting and want to sell me all their things.”
The shop also sells old fans, some furniture, including cupboards, as well as pots made in the Czech Republic and Slovenia which are very popular among Qatari clients.
Four people work at the store, which will soon feature an area on the second floor dedicated to books.
“They keep everything in order, but they don’t need to clean because the dust makes the items even more special,” joked the owner.
Other curious items can be found at the store, like typewriters. Barwashi also sells apparently invaluable things like imitation watches, catchpenny jewellery or empty and broken soda cans.
The most unexpected item, like a broken bottle, can be exactly what the client is looking for to complete his collection and, just because it is made in Qatar, he will pay thousands of riyals for it.
2013年4月6日星期六
who is secretly taken away at night
THERE are very few historical fictions on the African continent,
especially Nigeria. There is now a gradual or total loss of the
stimulating ambience of folk or oral narratives in which young ones get
firsthand historical re-enactment of the founding of their race. This is
further compounded in Nigeria with government’s anti-intellectual
stance with the non-teaching of history in schools. Indeed, all the
great empires and kingdoms stand to be forgotten with the general
populace none the wise for it.
But U.S.-based Nigerian, Nike Cambell-Fatoki has in part rescued from the ashes of forgetfulness the history of one of Africa’s great kingdoms with her new novel Threads of Gold Beads. Her restoration effort on the kingdom of Danhome, with its famous Abomey capital, is a worthy literary enterprise that traces the Republic of Benin back to its ancient roots before and during the French invasion that routed the kingdom and left it in ruins.
But it is not all about the ancient history of Danhome that she has recounted. Campbell-Fatoki has also told love stories, of a king’s love for Amelia, his precious daughter, which endangers her life; how an entire kingdom also falls in love with its princess and how she becomes the army general’s wife. It’s also the story of a mother’s love for her only daughter, who soon inherits the burden of a falling kingdom and her personal odyssey through thick and thin to survive and how she reincarnates into her own mother’s former existence and then finds what she had lost to war and the vagaries of life.
Campbell-Fatoki’s Threads of Gold Beads, relates the life of the last great king of Danhome, Gbenhazin. Soon to-be-king, but he must remain on the outskirts of the capital and must not live in the same palace as the reigning king. At the death of Glele, an elaborate coronation ceremony is held to install King Gbehanzin, who is secretly taken away at night from his palace on the outskirts of Abomey. With the support of Kamlin, the Kpojito, one of the former wives of the late king, Gbehanzin is able to ascend his father’s throne in spite of opposition against him from other princes.
He proves a great king like his ancestors but the advancing French did not please Gbehanzin; it eventually led to war that was to ruin a great African kingdom just like many others in the hands of European encroachers.
Largely from oral accounts, historical records and creative ingenuity, Campbell-Fatoki is able to fictionally reconstruct the kingdom of Danhome, the only kingdom that had a standing a female army in the world; called ‘mothers’, they functioned as the secret service that protected the king, his household and other high-ranking officials.
Amelia, the king’s favourite princess, is a young woman whose destiny is closely intertwined with that of Danhome kingdom. Her mother, Ajoke, was abducted from Abeokuta in one of Danhome’s wars of conquests. She is adopted by Gbehanzin’s mother, a woman who must suffer pariah from the kingdom she gives an heir out of a custom that forbids the heir-apparent’s mother to live once she has discharged her fateful duty of siring the king-to-be. Having survived her ordeal, she surfaces to claim a place in the king’s heart and ensures Gbehanzin marries Ajoke.
Eventually, the army general Dossou, marries Amelia, the love of his life from childhood. But by then, the forces of disintegration have set in. Danhome is at the verge of collapse. While Dossou is gone to war, Amelia’s mother and grandmother, the king’s mother, summon her and task her to leave the kingdom at once with the king’s recade, his symbol of power, to neighbouring Abeokuta to seek refuge at the court of Alake of Agbaland. Gbehanzin and his entire palace officials, wives, children and army flee into the forest to wage a gorilla war against the French. Not even having to sacrifice his own mother to the gods is able to save Danhome from collapse.
The journey through the unknown jungle proves a test of great proportion for the newly married woman. She arrives with her brother, Dare, the son of the woman with whom Ajoke was carried off into captivity years back. A combination of incidences and Amelia unknowingly finds self in the care of her mother’s sister, Madam Titilayo. From here, life takes a new turn; she gives birth to Dossou’s son but forces around her connive to deny her the joy of motherhood until much later when she reunites with Dossou, again at the verge of marrying another man.
Indeed, Campbell-Fatoki’s Threads of Gold Beads is a great historical account of a kingdom at its twilight, a kingdom with a great culture, a kingdom that celebrated Africa’s quintessential virtues and vices. In telling Danhome’s story, Campbell-Fatoki has told the story of old Africa and its glorious and sometimes inglorious ways. Essentially, it’s also a story of Africa’s collision with the West and how the continent emerged worst off and broken under superior firepower. It’s also the story of the regular intrigues in a typical palace, how a favoured child falls on the wrong side of things. It’s also a story of redemption or reuniting of blood relations previously violently separated – Ajoke’s daughter, Amelia, reunites with her lost aunts, Madam Tilayo and Jumoke, Ajoke’s half-sisters.
But Campbell’s story reads false in a particular respect. Dossou and Amelia’s love seems too modern; their courtship and even after is not exactly reflective of love relationship in old Africa, with its strictness and non-contact of the sexes, even when betrothed. It’s a love that is acknowledged rather than expressed. Theirs is too expressive and not particularly true of the timeline being recounted.
Also, the first person narrative format is suspect for a non-literate person like Amelia. Campbell-Fatoki could have chosen to write the story otherwise. But overall, Threads of Gold Beads is a great creative effort for which the author is to be commended.
But U.S.-based Nigerian, Nike Cambell-Fatoki has in part rescued from the ashes of forgetfulness the history of one of Africa’s great kingdoms with her new novel Threads of Gold Beads. Her restoration effort on the kingdom of Danhome, with its famous Abomey capital, is a worthy literary enterprise that traces the Republic of Benin back to its ancient roots before and during the French invasion that routed the kingdom and left it in ruins.
But it is not all about the ancient history of Danhome that she has recounted. Campbell-Fatoki has also told love stories, of a king’s love for Amelia, his precious daughter, which endangers her life; how an entire kingdom also falls in love with its princess and how she becomes the army general’s wife. It’s also the story of a mother’s love for her only daughter, who soon inherits the burden of a falling kingdom and her personal odyssey through thick and thin to survive and how she reincarnates into her own mother’s former existence and then finds what she had lost to war and the vagaries of life.
Campbell-Fatoki’s Threads of Gold Beads, relates the life of the last great king of Danhome, Gbenhazin. Soon to-be-king, but he must remain on the outskirts of the capital and must not live in the same palace as the reigning king. At the death of Glele, an elaborate coronation ceremony is held to install King Gbehanzin, who is secretly taken away at night from his palace on the outskirts of Abomey. With the support of Kamlin, the Kpojito, one of the former wives of the late king, Gbehanzin is able to ascend his father’s throne in spite of opposition against him from other princes.
He proves a great king like his ancestors but the advancing French did not please Gbehanzin; it eventually led to war that was to ruin a great African kingdom just like many others in the hands of European encroachers.
Largely from oral accounts, historical records and creative ingenuity, Campbell-Fatoki is able to fictionally reconstruct the kingdom of Danhome, the only kingdom that had a standing a female army in the world; called ‘mothers’, they functioned as the secret service that protected the king, his household and other high-ranking officials.
Amelia, the king’s favourite princess, is a young woman whose destiny is closely intertwined with that of Danhome kingdom. Her mother, Ajoke, was abducted from Abeokuta in one of Danhome’s wars of conquests. She is adopted by Gbehanzin’s mother, a woman who must suffer pariah from the kingdom she gives an heir out of a custom that forbids the heir-apparent’s mother to live once she has discharged her fateful duty of siring the king-to-be. Having survived her ordeal, she surfaces to claim a place in the king’s heart and ensures Gbehanzin marries Ajoke.
Eventually, the army general Dossou, marries Amelia, the love of his life from childhood. But by then, the forces of disintegration have set in. Danhome is at the verge of collapse. While Dossou is gone to war, Amelia’s mother and grandmother, the king’s mother, summon her and task her to leave the kingdom at once with the king’s recade, his symbol of power, to neighbouring Abeokuta to seek refuge at the court of Alake of Agbaland. Gbehanzin and his entire palace officials, wives, children and army flee into the forest to wage a gorilla war against the French. Not even having to sacrifice his own mother to the gods is able to save Danhome from collapse.
The journey through the unknown jungle proves a test of great proportion for the newly married woman. She arrives with her brother, Dare, the son of the woman with whom Ajoke was carried off into captivity years back. A combination of incidences and Amelia unknowingly finds self in the care of her mother’s sister, Madam Titilayo. From here, life takes a new turn; she gives birth to Dossou’s son but forces around her connive to deny her the joy of motherhood until much later when she reunites with Dossou, again at the verge of marrying another man.
Indeed, Campbell-Fatoki’s Threads of Gold Beads is a great historical account of a kingdom at its twilight, a kingdom with a great culture, a kingdom that celebrated Africa’s quintessential virtues and vices. In telling Danhome’s story, Campbell-Fatoki has told the story of old Africa and its glorious and sometimes inglorious ways. Essentially, it’s also a story of Africa’s collision with the West and how the continent emerged worst off and broken under superior firepower. It’s also the story of the regular intrigues in a typical palace, how a favoured child falls on the wrong side of things. It’s also a story of redemption or reuniting of blood relations previously violently separated – Ajoke’s daughter, Amelia, reunites with her lost aunts, Madam Tilayo and Jumoke, Ajoke’s half-sisters.
But Campbell’s story reads false in a particular respect. Dossou and Amelia’s love seems too modern; their courtship and even after is not exactly reflective of love relationship in old Africa, with its strictness and non-contact of the sexes, even when betrothed. It’s a love that is acknowledged rather than expressed. Theirs is too expressive and not particularly true of the timeline being recounted.
Also, the first person narrative format is suspect for a non-literate person like Amelia. Campbell-Fatoki could have chosen to write the story otherwise. But overall, Threads of Gold Beads is a great creative effort for which the author is to be commended.
Wherever you are sitting on the plane
Boston lobster thermidor, wagyu sirloin and red Thai curry duck are on a menu created by celebrity chefs including New York's Alfred Portale, Kyoto's Yoshihiro Murata and Sydney's Matt Moran.
But to taste some of these dishes you may have to pay as much as $6000 for a fold-out table for one. That's the price of a sleeper suite on board an A380 superjumbo with Singapore Airlines from Australia to Singapore return, and the menu is part of the luxury offering for premium passengers.
Portale, Murata and Moran are on the airline's nine-strong global culinary panel of celebrity chefs who have a kitchen cabinet full of Michelin stars between them and who are at the forefront of creating the airline's menus, not just for first and business classes, but also more basic dishes in economy.
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Carlo Cracco, a two-star Michelin chef in Milan, is the latest appointee and his classic Italian fare was rolled out on Singapore Airlines' flights in January. Celebrity chefs are a phenomenon at many airlines.
"Airline food used to have a reputation for being bland, but the quality of inflight meals has improved massively as airlines place greater importance on serving good food at altitude," he says.
Wherever you are sitting on the plane, he says, the food is a welcome distraction, especially on long-haul flights. "People get bored and look forward to the food and movies. Any interruption is welcome.
"Although our customers are flying with us to get from A to B, the inflight experience is a significant part of why they choose to fly with us. If you think back to your recent flights, more often than not great food is the most memorable part of the experience.
"Our customers have ample time to reflect on their meals and, as the popularity of cooking shows has demonstrated, expectations have only increased."
Singapore Airlines has an annual food and beverage budget of about $500 million and has a large kitchen facility at Changi Airport, where 50,000 meals are prepared daily. (Emirates has an even bigger kitchen operation in Dubai, where 175,000 meals are made each day.)
Within the Singapore facility, which I was able to tour recently, there are several specialist kitchens for different cuisines, such as Indian, halal, Japanese, vegetarian, and even dim-sum. The airline is at pains to point out that all the meals are made from fresh, seasonal produce, and all the meals are less than 24 hours old when served inflight.
It is also at pains to maintain high hygiene standards. During the inspection of the kitchens I was outfitted with a white coat, hat and face mask. Visitors also need to remove jewellery and scrub down at sinks like surgeons before passing through a wind tunnel designed to blow away any dust remnants.
"The first thing to make the headlines [and create a PR disaster for airlines] is a food-poisoning case," Freidanck says. "The second thing that will make headlines is a foreign object in the food. That's why so much care is taken."
Among all this super cleanliness, there's also an omelet station where 5000 of the egg dishes are made each day and a test kitchen that simulates an aircraft's cabin pressure, which can lead to the deprivation of a person's taste sensation by up to 30 per cent.
Apart from the volume of dishes that airlines need to turn out daily, one of their biggest culinary challenges is to overcome this distortion of the flavours of food and wine, and therefore they are careful to select meals that will reconstitute well and wines that are bold.
Freidanck says the main issue is serving meals that are moist and full of flavour. "This is why we always feature soups and salads for starters, and our ICP [international culinary panel] chefs have certainly developed a good sense of what flavours and textures are robust enough to be served on-board. The same principle applies with our wine experts, and explains why our wine selection aims for a primary fruit character."
In a painstakingly thorough process, the Singapore Airlines chefs put forward their menus to Freidanck and then each dish is analysed for ingredients and whether it will be suitable to the airline's cooking process (initial preparation of the dish at the airport's catering facility, blast chilling, then being reheated on board).
Other factors considered are the weight of the dish, and cabin crew and galley space constraints for plating up.
William Angliss food expert Felicity Fraser says that at altitude our taste buds are not as receptive, therefore it is harder to detect flavours. "The compression effect on our sinuses at altitude deadens the salt and sugar and all those things that bring the flavours out of food," she says.
One solution is to overseason the food once it arrives on your tray table, but Fraser says it also pays to keep an eye on what reconstitutes better in the aircraft kitchen.
"Then it's a matter of bringing it up to temperature quickly in regethermic-type ovens without the food stewing for a long time and drying out. It's like snap freezing, but also snap reheating."
Much fanfare is made of airline food in the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards. At Farnborough, England, last July, Malaysian Airlines won "best airline signature dish" for its first- and business-class appetiser of chargrilled beef, chicken and lamb satay sticks.
The airline serves at least 15,000 of them each day. The sticks are marinated for 18 hours in tumeric, garlic, galangal and lemongrass, and grilled on charcoal at Malaysian Airline's inflight kitchen at Kuala Lumpur before being warmed and smothered in sauce on the plane.
The Skytrax award for best economy catering was won by Singapore Airlines, best business-class catering by Swiss International Air Lines, and best first-class catering by Etihad. Despite the improved standards, indiscretions of the past are never far from the mind.
The food and travel blog Not Quite Nigella recalls a cracked, dried cannelloni on the now-defunct Air Paradise, and Fraser squirms remembering a dead cockroach in her fried rice on a Bali flight.
But to taste some of these dishes you may have to pay as much as $6000 for a fold-out table for one. That's the price of a sleeper suite on board an A380 superjumbo with Singapore Airlines from Australia to Singapore return, and the menu is part of the luxury offering for premium passengers.
Portale, Murata and Moran are on the airline's nine-strong global culinary panel of celebrity chefs who have a kitchen cabinet full of Michelin stars between them and who are at the forefront of creating the airline's menus, not just for first and business classes, but also more basic dishes in economy.
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Carlo Cracco, a two-star Michelin chef in Milan, is the latest appointee and his classic Italian fare was rolled out on Singapore Airlines' flights in January. Celebrity chefs are a phenomenon at many airlines.
"Airline food used to have a reputation for being bland, but the quality of inflight meals has improved massively as airlines place greater importance on serving good food at altitude," he says.
Wherever you are sitting on the plane, he says, the food is a welcome distraction, especially on long-haul flights. "People get bored and look forward to the food and movies. Any interruption is welcome.
"Although our customers are flying with us to get from A to B, the inflight experience is a significant part of why they choose to fly with us. If you think back to your recent flights, more often than not great food is the most memorable part of the experience.
"Our customers have ample time to reflect on their meals and, as the popularity of cooking shows has demonstrated, expectations have only increased."
Singapore Airlines has an annual food and beverage budget of about $500 million and has a large kitchen facility at Changi Airport, where 50,000 meals are prepared daily. (Emirates has an even bigger kitchen operation in Dubai, where 175,000 meals are made each day.)
Within the Singapore facility, which I was able to tour recently, there are several specialist kitchens for different cuisines, such as Indian, halal, Japanese, vegetarian, and even dim-sum. The airline is at pains to point out that all the meals are made from fresh, seasonal produce, and all the meals are less than 24 hours old when served inflight.
It is also at pains to maintain high hygiene standards. During the inspection of the kitchens I was outfitted with a white coat, hat and face mask. Visitors also need to remove jewellery and scrub down at sinks like surgeons before passing through a wind tunnel designed to blow away any dust remnants.
"The first thing to make the headlines [and create a PR disaster for airlines] is a food-poisoning case," Freidanck says. "The second thing that will make headlines is a foreign object in the food. That's why so much care is taken."
Among all this super cleanliness, there's also an omelet station where 5000 of the egg dishes are made each day and a test kitchen that simulates an aircraft's cabin pressure, which can lead to the deprivation of a person's taste sensation by up to 30 per cent.
Apart from the volume of dishes that airlines need to turn out daily, one of their biggest culinary challenges is to overcome this distortion of the flavours of food and wine, and therefore they are careful to select meals that will reconstitute well and wines that are bold.
Freidanck says the main issue is serving meals that are moist and full of flavour. "This is why we always feature soups and salads for starters, and our ICP [international culinary panel] chefs have certainly developed a good sense of what flavours and textures are robust enough to be served on-board. The same principle applies with our wine experts, and explains why our wine selection aims for a primary fruit character."
In a painstakingly thorough process, the Singapore Airlines chefs put forward their menus to Freidanck and then each dish is analysed for ingredients and whether it will be suitable to the airline's cooking process (initial preparation of the dish at the airport's catering facility, blast chilling, then being reheated on board).
Other factors considered are the weight of the dish, and cabin crew and galley space constraints for plating up.
William Angliss food expert Felicity Fraser says that at altitude our taste buds are not as receptive, therefore it is harder to detect flavours. "The compression effect on our sinuses at altitude deadens the salt and sugar and all those things that bring the flavours out of food," she says.
One solution is to overseason the food once it arrives on your tray table, but Fraser says it also pays to keep an eye on what reconstitutes better in the aircraft kitchen.
"Then it's a matter of bringing it up to temperature quickly in regethermic-type ovens without the food stewing for a long time and drying out. It's like snap freezing, but also snap reheating."
Much fanfare is made of airline food in the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards. At Farnborough, England, last July, Malaysian Airlines won "best airline signature dish" for its first- and business-class appetiser of chargrilled beef, chicken and lamb satay sticks.
The airline serves at least 15,000 of them each day. The sticks are marinated for 18 hours in tumeric, garlic, galangal and lemongrass, and grilled on charcoal at Malaysian Airline's inflight kitchen at Kuala Lumpur before being warmed and smothered in sauce on the plane.
The Skytrax award for best economy catering was won by Singapore Airlines, best business-class catering by Swiss International Air Lines, and best first-class catering by Etihad. Despite the improved standards, indiscretions of the past are never far from the mind.
The food and travel blog Not Quite Nigella recalls a cracked, dried cannelloni on the now-defunct Air Paradise, and Fraser squirms remembering a dead cockroach in her fried rice on a Bali flight.
2013年4月1日星期一
while the score for overall infrastructure quality
Well, that needs no explanation. Sometimes, people would borrow just
to show others that they could get a loan. Well, they learnt a hard
lesson. But 16 years on, some people are doing the same thing again;
many borrow money on the basis of good job security, oblivious of hard
times ahead.
The movie "The Company Men" reflects this. Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) buys a big house and a Porsche, pinning his hopes on his job at GTX continuing. During the 2010 recession, he was among the thousands laid off. With compensation of two months' salary, he couldn't decide what to do. He still went to the golf club and drove his Porche. As the truth sank in, he cut out all the luxury and became a construction worker to prevent his mortgaged house being foreclosed.
These are huge amounts, 9.9 times the average in Thailand (at Bt15,471) - based on the total of 16.87 million credit cards at the end of the year against outstanding credit-card debt of Bt261 billion. But taking into account the fact that the United States' per capita income is 11 times higher than Thailand's $4,420, and the fact that the number of merchants accepting credit cards in the US is far higher, Thailand's figure is frightening.
Googling credit-card debt in the Thai language, you will find many websites offering consulting services, and sites where many debtors share their painful experiences. It surprised me a great deal to know that so many people out there owe huge amounts on their credit cards, even though they know the penalty rates. For most salarymen, it will take them years to clear their debt.
Yes, some use their cards for cash advances. In theory, you should not use credit cards unless the money in your bank account is adequate enough to cover the monthly payments. Yet, in the case of emergencies - like accidents or illness - you have to use your card.
About 20 years ago, going to a pawn shop prior to the start of a new school semester was common in Thailand. Now, with many credit-card issuers out there - including foreign and Thai banks and non-bank institutions - parents do not need to pawn TV sets or jewellery to pay for tuition fees and other expenses. With credit cards they can withdraw cash. With a car, they can tap money through the car-for-cash service. All that comes at a cost, but the loans are necessary for the future of their children.
Some students whose parents do not earn a regular income have to borrow to fund their studies. Come graduation day, they are indebted and must be very disciplined with their spending after that, in order to clear the debt.
Yes, sometimes we do need to borrow, if it is to pave the way for a better future. For that reason, the government has every reason to promote its Bt2 trillion borrowing plan for infrasructure developmnt. Out of 144 economies, Thailand's infrastructure is ranked 46th in the World Economic Forum's "Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013". In the sub-categories, road quality is ranked 39th, while railway quality is 65th.
Comparatively, while the score for overall infrastructure quality has improved from the previous year, only the quality of roads showed a higher score. The scores for ports, airports and railways are worse than the previous year.
New investment is necessary for improvement. It is necessary also because Thailand is an open economy. We have to compete with so many countries in the region and world, and some have shown great improvement. Notably, the Philippines' competitiveness ranking jumped 10 notches to 65th in the WEF survey.
Yet, like individual debtors, the government must strictly uphold discipline. While individual debtors can't afford luxury dinners for a while, the government must not include bad projects or cloud the transparency of the spending.
In the car-for-cash loan, individuals need to take the best care of their cars, which are used to guarantee a loan. Similarly, the government has to make sure that public funds are wisely spent.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra should not mind being called "Madame Googoo" (a coy reference to a "borrowing queen"). Fifty years from now, she will get many new nicknames. But if she means well, as she promised, some of them will certainly have a positive connotation.
The movie "The Company Men" reflects this. Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) buys a big house and a Porsche, pinning his hopes on his job at GTX continuing. During the 2010 recession, he was among the thousands laid off. With compensation of two months' salary, he couldn't decide what to do. He still went to the golf club and drove his Porche. As the truth sank in, he cut out all the luxury and became a construction worker to prevent his mortgaged house being foreclosed.
These are huge amounts, 9.9 times the average in Thailand (at Bt15,471) - based on the total of 16.87 million credit cards at the end of the year against outstanding credit-card debt of Bt261 billion. But taking into account the fact that the United States' per capita income is 11 times higher than Thailand's $4,420, and the fact that the number of merchants accepting credit cards in the US is far higher, Thailand's figure is frightening.
Googling credit-card debt in the Thai language, you will find many websites offering consulting services, and sites where many debtors share their painful experiences. It surprised me a great deal to know that so many people out there owe huge amounts on their credit cards, even though they know the penalty rates. For most salarymen, it will take them years to clear their debt.
Yes, some use their cards for cash advances. In theory, you should not use credit cards unless the money in your bank account is adequate enough to cover the monthly payments. Yet, in the case of emergencies - like accidents or illness - you have to use your card.
About 20 years ago, going to a pawn shop prior to the start of a new school semester was common in Thailand. Now, with many credit-card issuers out there - including foreign and Thai banks and non-bank institutions - parents do not need to pawn TV sets or jewellery to pay for tuition fees and other expenses. With credit cards they can withdraw cash. With a car, they can tap money through the car-for-cash service. All that comes at a cost, but the loans are necessary for the future of their children.
Some students whose parents do not earn a regular income have to borrow to fund their studies. Come graduation day, they are indebted and must be very disciplined with their spending after that, in order to clear the debt.
Yes, sometimes we do need to borrow, if it is to pave the way for a better future. For that reason, the government has every reason to promote its Bt2 trillion borrowing plan for infrasructure developmnt. Out of 144 economies, Thailand's infrastructure is ranked 46th in the World Economic Forum's "Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013". In the sub-categories, road quality is ranked 39th, while railway quality is 65th.
Comparatively, while the score for overall infrastructure quality has improved from the previous year, only the quality of roads showed a higher score. The scores for ports, airports and railways are worse than the previous year.
New investment is necessary for improvement. It is necessary also because Thailand is an open economy. We have to compete with so many countries in the region and world, and some have shown great improvement. Notably, the Philippines' competitiveness ranking jumped 10 notches to 65th in the WEF survey.
Yet, like individual debtors, the government must strictly uphold discipline. While individual debtors can't afford luxury dinners for a while, the government must not include bad projects or cloud the transparency of the spending.
In the car-for-cash loan, individuals need to take the best care of their cars, which are used to guarantee a loan. Similarly, the government has to make sure that public funds are wisely spent.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra should not mind being called "Madame Googoo" (a coy reference to a "borrowing queen"). Fifty years from now, she will get many new nicknames. But if she means well, as she promised, some of them will certainly have a positive connotation.
More notices will be sent in the new financial year
If your annual phone bill is higher than your income tax submissions or if your passport has multiple visas in the past couple of years, then the Income Tax (I-T) Department may come knocking at your doors.
After identifying 1.2 million high-spending non-filers linked to more than 47 million information records, the I-T department is looking at a different set of parameters to identify more people who have not been paying their dues properly.
Officials said millions of pieces of information are available with the department and in the first phase only 1.2 million people were identified, based on three main parameters—they have a PAN card, conducted high value transactions and did not file their returns.
In the next round, notices could be sent based on information from various other parameters such as frequent foreign trips, purchase of high-value jewellery or doing large-scale property transactions, if not in sync with the income declared by a taxpayer or the amount of tax paid by him.
“More notices will be sent in the new financial year, using a different set of parameters. The department has a lot of information which can be used to catch tax evaders. If your monthly phone bill runs into several thousands, you cannot fall in the category which is exempted from paying tax,” an official said.
Of 1.2 million identified non-filers, the finance ministry last month issued letters to about 1,05,000 people in three lots of 35,000 each, reminding them to pay their income tax dues or face the consequences. About 10,000 people have filed their returns after receiving the letters.
“These letters have had a salutary effect. I’m inferring that our approach is paying dividend,” Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who is personally monitoring the revenue collections on almost a daily basis to ensure that they reach closer to the Revised Estimates, said recently.
The letters were primarily being sent to non-salaried taxpayers who bought land, property, gold, mutual funds, shares or made huge purchases on credit card but did not file their return. The letters contained the summary of information of financial transactions, along with customised response sheets.
A nodal cell has been set up to capture the response. There will be an online monitoring system to ensure follow-up action and track return filing and tax payment of the target segment.
The tax department gets information about these transactions from sources like the annual information returns, furnished by entities such as banks and financial institutions. Sale of purchase of property over Rs 30 lakh, credit card payment of over Rs 2 lakh, cash deposits aggregating to Rs 10 lakh and payment of Rs 5 lakh or more are some of the transactions currently included under these returns.
After identifying 1.2 million high-spending non-filers linked to more than 47 million information records, the I-T department is looking at a different set of parameters to identify more people who have not been paying their dues properly.
Officials said millions of pieces of information are available with the department and in the first phase only 1.2 million people were identified, based on three main parameters—they have a PAN card, conducted high value transactions and did not file their returns.
In the next round, notices could be sent based on information from various other parameters such as frequent foreign trips, purchase of high-value jewellery or doing large-scale property transactions, if not in sync with the income declared by a taxpayer or the amount of tax paid by him.
“More notices will be sent in the new financial year, using a different set of parameters. The department has a lot of information which can be used to catch tax evaders. If your monthly phone bill runs into several thousands, you cannot fall in the category which is exempted from paying tax,” an official said.
Of 1.2 million identified non-filers, the finance ministry last month issued letters to about 1,05,000 people in three lots of 35,000 each, reminding them to pay their income tax dues or face the consequences. About 10,000 people have filed their returns after receiving the letters.
“These letters have had a salutary effect. I’m inferring that our approach is paying dividend,” Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who is personally monitoring the revenue collections on almost a daily basis to ensure that they reach closer to the Revised Estimates, said recently.
The letters were primarily being sent to non-salaried taxpayers who bought land, property, gold, mutual funds, shares or made huge purchases on credit card but did not file their return. The letters contained the summary of information of financial transactions, along with customised response sheets.
A nodal cell has been set up to capture the response. There will be an online monitoring system to ensure follow-up action and track return filing and tax payment of the target segment.
The tax department gets information about these transactions from sources like the annual information returns, furnished by entities such as banks and financial institutions. Sale of purchase of property over Rs 30 lakh, credit card payment of over Rs 2 lakh, cash deposits aggregating to Rs 10 lakh and payment of Rs 5 lakh or more are some of the transactions currently included under these returns.
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