Marikina is famed for its cobblers, whose handmade shoes are a source of local pride. Its Shoe Museum is home to a pair of shoes from each president of the Philippines, including 800 of the more than 3,000 pairs in the collection of Imelda R. Marcos. A barge in the Marikina River sports statues of two giant shoes, and what the city fathers claim is the world’s largest functional shoe — more than 15 feet long — is on display in a local mall.
During the dry season, visitors can stroll a river promenade. But at times like these, when it rains and rains until it seems it will never stop, Marikina becomes famous for its floods.
For days now, parts of Manila and surrounding provincial areas have been submerged after a series of storms intensified the usual strong monsoon rains. An estimated two million people have been affected by the flooding in the capital and 15 surrounding provincial areas. At least 72 people have been killed since the deluge began in late July.
Lying on the eastern edge of Manila, Marikina sits in a valley that is crisscrossed by a major river and several creeks, all of which makes it one of the most flood-prone areas in the region. Traveling on the commuter train that runs above the Marikina River, the scale of the inundation is clear.
The banks of the river have disappeared, and in many places any semblance of a river is gone. Where a clearly defined riverbed once zigzagged under the elevated train, now all that can be seen is a vast waterscape of churning, fast-flowing brown currents dotted with debris. In some areas, landmarks like the top of a basketball hoop give indications of what was previously dry land. In other areas, the waters have engulfed entire neighborhoods, which appear to have been built in the middle of a river.
A row of cobbler shops could be seen unattended, with about two feet of brown water covering their floors. The shoe barge sat in the middle of the river and, much like the city itself, was badly damaged and covered with mud. The river promenade was underwater and surrounded by evacuees receiving shelter in schools, churches and government buildings.
Not far from the swollen Marikina River, a police officer, Fernando Frayre, looked haggard on Thursday as he stood outside the Shoe Museum, where Mrs. Marcos’s shoes are displayed along one entire wall. Mr. Frayre said he and a few volunteers spent a nerve-racking evening watching the floodwater approach the museum. The water crested about 70 feet from the museum, but the officer said he had been prepared for the worst.
“We were ready to rescue the shoes,” Mr. Frayre said.
One of the roads leading to the Marikina River is now a waist-deep canal where an eerie line of slow-moving evacuees could be seen on Thursday afternoon making their way from a submerged neighborhood to higher ground. In one large, colorful inflatable beach raft sat a 12-year-old boy playing a PlayStation Portable as his 10-year-old sister carried an infant dressed in immaculate white footie pajamas.
Having been stranded for days on the second floor of their home near the river, their parents decided that it was time to move in with relatives until the water subsided. Surrounded by inundated shacks and grinding poverty, the clean, well-dressed children were completely dry in the large toy raft, which was pulled by six shirtless men with grim expressions. Beside them were neatly packed designer suitcases and backpacks.
Waiting at the edge of the water was their father, in a late-model Toyota Land Cruiser, to take them to their relatives’ home on higher ground. The father, who did not want to give his name, said he and a teenage son would continue to sleep on the second floor of the flooded house to guard it.
On Thursday, the sun was shining in Manila for the first time in nearly two weeks, and the water was subsiding in some parts of the city, though an estimated 300,000 people remained in hundreds of evacuation centers.
A senior government official on Wednesday echoed what many of the beleaguered evacuees — most of them victims as well of the floods of 2009 — have been saying: that cataclysmic flooding is becoming routine for Manila. In 2009, the typhoons Ketsana (called Ondoy locally) and Parma struck within a week, causing flooding that affected more than 9 million people and killed 929, according to the government disaster relief agency.
“The only way we can be prepared for the impact of climate change is to accept that these recent developments in our country like intense weather disturbances, heavy rainfall, as well as long dry season, are the ‘new normal’ ” said Ramon Paje, the environment and natural resources secretary.
For Eleanor Ropero and her family, whose home near the overflowing banks of the Marikina River is still under three feet of water, fleeing the floodwater has become an uncomfortable routine, she said. As she languished on Thursday in a sweltering evacuation center with her three children and two grandchildren, she said that they had all been evacuated before, in 2009, but that this time was worse — it was their second evacuation this week.
2012年8月9日星期四
2012年8月8日星期三
Tattoos are OK but hear these words of wisdom
OK, kids, sit down and let’s talk. I’ve changed my mind about tattoos. What? No, I’m not kidding. I accept that they’re an important fashion statement for your generation, no less than bell-bottom jeans and platform shoes were for mine. Of course, you can change clothes a lot easier than change — you’re right, I digress.
Let me offer some advice. If you survive your rebel-without-a-clue years, you’ll have decades of get-togethers with extended family who’ll remind you of all the stupid things you did when you were younger. Don’t make it worse by indelibly stamping stupid on your skin. This won’t happen if you follow some simple guidelines about what kind of tattoo you get and where on your body you put it.
First of all, forget tattoos that involve a boyfriend or girlfriend. He or she may seem like “the one and only,” but odds are he or she will become “the one of many.” Just ask Angelina and Billy Bob. Have I mentioned that tattoos don’t come off as easily as platform shoes? Oh, that many times, eh?
The only safe tattoo with a named individual is immediate family. You can count on your mom and me, but that’s about it.
Beware of tattoos involving popular culture. Robert Pattinson and Katy Perry will get wrinkled and unpopular, but your tastes will change long before that. I once thought “Billy Jack” was the greatest movie ever made, and Robert Palmer and Eddie Money were cooler than Elvis. Now one is dead and the other has a dead career. The movie? Cliche wasn’t a word before “Billy Jack.”
Eventually, a Grateful Dead skull starts looking like a regular skull, and you don’t want to spend a lifetime explaining you don’t have a thing for pirates. As my tastes evolved, shelving my vinyl discs was easier than having a tattoo removed, which is not so easy. What’s that you say? Oh, sorry, I’ll stop mentioning that.
Steer clear of the latest rage in tattoos. Trust me on this: In twenty years, there will be millions of middle-aged, balding, potbellied American men, their biceps tattooed with barbed wire that looks as fashionable as a mullet.
Let me offer some advice. If you survive your rebel-without-a-clue years, you’ll have decades of get-togethers with extended family who’ll remind you of all the stupid things you did when you were younger. Don’t make it worse by indelibly stamping stupid on your skin. This won’t happen if you follow some simple guidelines about what kind of tattoo you get and where on your body you put it.
First of all, forget tattoos that involve a boyfriend or girlfriend. He or she may seem like “the one and only,” but odds are he or she will become “the one of many.” Just ask Angelina and Billy Bob. Have I mentioned that tattoos don’t come off as easily as platform shoes? Oh, that many times, eh?
The only safe tattoo with a named individual is immediate family. You can count on your mom and me, but that’s about it.
Beware of tattoos involving popular culture. Robert Pattinson and Katy Perry will get wrinkled and unpopular, but your tastes will change long before that. I once thought “Billy Jack” was the greatest movie ever made, and Robert Palmer and Eddie Money were cooler than Elvis. Now one is dead and the other has a dead career. The movie? Cliche wasn’t a word before “Billy Jack.”
Eventually, a Grateful Dead skull starts looking like a regular skull, and you don’t want to spend a lifetime explaining you don’t have a thing for pirates. As my tastes evolved, shelving my vinyl discs was easier than having a tattoo removed, which is not so easy. What’s that you say? Oh, sorry, I’ll stop mentioning that.
Steer clear of the latest rage in tattoos. Trust me on this: In twenty years, there will be millions of middle-aged, balding, potbellied American men, their biceps tattooed with barbed wire that looks as fashionable as a mullet.
2012年8月7日星期二
It is taking this approach as retailers gear up for the important
The popular purveyor of clothing classics, is rolling out a broad new advertising campaign aimed at galvanizing its customers — some of whom call themselves “jcrewaholics” — and also making them smile.
The campaign ads use the line, “We know you are out there,” to appeal to its aficionados along with close-ups of fashion-forward artists, editors and others who, J. Crew says, wear its clothing not only in the ads but also in their daily lives.
“We are speaking to people who appreciate our style, quality and design, and the ads do so in a quirky and clever way,” said Diego Scotti, the company’s chief marketing officer.
One ad, for example, says, “You speak softly and carry a loud bag,” with a crouching young woman carrying a bright persimmon-colored purse and wearing a vividly patterned J. Crew silk blouse and capri pants. Another ad says, “You notice the lapel before the label,” and shows a young man lounging against a wall. He is clad in J. Crew’s ready-made Ludlow suit and wearing its navy suede Alden shoes (no socks).
The campaign will span major print outlets as well as digital and social media, and will be the first time the company, officially known as the J. Crew Group Inc., has embarked on such a wide multimedia marketing initiative.
It is taking this approach as retailers gear up for the important back-to-school season, which brings in the year’s second-largest revenue after the end-of-year and post-holiday sales. But some retailers are struggling as shoppers try to balance the need for new items for the fall and for school with what is in their pocketbooks.
With healthy sales, J. Crew is benefiting from its positioning as a brand that combines “style, fabrics and flattering imagery, and the need for appropriate office clothes,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for the NPD Group, the market research firm.
At J. Crew, which has five Madison Avenue stores, store sales rose 26 percent, to $354 million, for the three months ending April 28. Last year, store sales dropped 3 percent in the same period. Direct sales rose 19 percent in the period this year, up from a 5 percent rise in the first quarter of 2011.
“Young adults between ages 25 and 34 are in the career-building stage,” said Mr. Cohen. “They can’t go to work too casually dressed any more. So it’s become more about ‘dress for success,’ which we haven’t seen since the 1980s.”
Yet, like all retailers, J. Crew knows it only takes an economic dip, or a style slip, for sales to decline.
“We are in a moment when we need to tell our story louder,” explained Mr. Scotti. “We are on a mission to elevate our product and customer demand. We have not done much advertising in the past, other than niche magazines.”
The company’s stepped-up effort will expand its presence in publications including Vanity Fair, Vogue, Fast Company and the Sunday New York Times Magazine as well as in social media and online. There are no television commercials.
The company, which has 300 stores in North America, worked with the New York City creative firm, Partners & Spade, on the campaign concept. J. Crew’s in-house marketing team handled execution. The company does not use celebrities in its marketing, but it has basked in the fashion spotlight when its cardigans and other clothing have been worn by the first lady, Michelle Obama. There are also a number of blogs,where loyalists closely follow the company’s apparel and accessories.
The specialty retailer said its advertising budget doubled this year over 2011, but declined to provide a specific figure. Kantar Media, a unit of WPP, said that J. Crew’s outlay was $4.2 million for the three months ending April 28, a major uptick from $524,000 spent in the same period last year. Over all in 2011, according to Kantar figures, the company spent $6.7 million on advertising.
J. Crew still relies on the traditional staple, the paper catalog — now called the Style Guide — to reach customers. Last year, it sent out some 40 million copies.
Its catalogs, which began in 1983, showcased its popular classic clothing styles like the rollneck sweater, created by Emily Cinader Woods, a daughter of the company’s founder and the person most responsible for what became the J. Crew look. Six years later, the company opened its first retail store, at New York’s South Street Seaport. In 1996, it started its Web site and a year later the company was sold to the Texas Pacific Group.
J. Crew’s chief, Millard Drexler, took the company public again in 2006, introducing new lines like Crewcuts for children and the limited edition J. Crew Collection. Last year, the company was again acquired by TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners.
As its new campaign unfurls, J. Crew is continuing to expand its selection of handbags and shoes, emphasizing the quality and origin of the materials it uses. The Ludlow ad, for example, explains that the men’s suit is made from “worsted wool, woven in hand-selected yarn spun in Italy at the Lanificio di Tollegno Mill (est. 1862)” — details, Mr. Scotti said, that underscore the “authenticity and integrity” of J. Crew’s offerings.
The campaign ads use the line, “We know you are out there,” to appeal to its aficionados along with close-ups of fashion-forward artists, editors and others who, J. Crew says, wear its clothing not only in the ads but also in their daily lives.
“We are speaking to people who appreciate our style, quality and design, and the ads do so in a quirky and clever way,” said Diego Scotti, the company’s chief marketing officer.
One ad, for example, says, “You speak softly and carry a loud bag,” with a crouching young woman carrying a bright persimmon-colored purse and wearing a vividly patterned J. Crew silk blouse and capri pants. Another ad says, “You notice the lapel before the label,” and shows a young man lounging against a wall. He is clad in J. Crew’s ready-made Ludlow suit and wearing its navy suede Alden shoes (no socks).
The campaign will span major print outlets as well as digital and social media, and will be the first time the company, officially known as the J. Crew Group Inc., has embarked on such a wide multimedia marketing initiative.
It is taking this approach as retailers gear up for the important back-to-school season, which brings in the year’s second-largest revenue after the end-of-year and post-holiday sales. But some retailers are struggling as shoppers try to balance the need for new items for the fall and for school with what is in their pocketbooks.
With healthy sales, J. Crew is benefiting from its positioning as a brand that combines “style, fabrics and flattering imagery, and the need for appropriate office clothes,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for the NPD Group, the market research firm.
At J. Crew, which has five Madison Avenue stores, store sales rose 26 percent, to $354 million, for the three months ending April 28. Last year, store sales dropped 3 percent in the same period. Direct sales rose 19 percent in the period this year, up from a 5 percent rise in the first quarter of 2011.
“Young adults between ages 25 and 34 are in the career-building stage,” said Mr. Cohen. “They can’t go to work too casually dressed any more. So it’s become more about ‘dress for success,’ which we haven’t seen since the 1980s.”
Yet, like all retailers, J. Crew knows it only takes an economic dip, or a style slip, for sales to decline.
“We are in a moment when we need to tell our story louder,” explained Mr. Scotti. “We are on a mission to elevate our product and customer demand. We have not done much advertising in the past, other than niche magazines.”
The company’s stepped-up effort will expand its presence in publications including Vanity Fair, Vogue, Fast Company and the Sunday New York Times Magazine as well as in social media and online. There are no television commercials.
The company, which has 300 stores in North America, worked with the New York City creative firm, Partners & Spade, on the campaign concept. J. Crew’s in-house marketing team handled execution. The company does not use celebrities in its marketing, but it has basked in the fashion spotlight when its cardigans and other clothing have been worn by the first lady, Michelle Obama. There are also a number of blogs,where loyalists closely follow the company’s apparel and accessories.
The specialty retailer said its advertising budget doubled this year over 2011, but declined to provide a specific figure. Kantar Media, a unit of WPP, said that J. Crew’s outlay was $4.2 million for the three months ending April 28, a major uptick from $524,000 spent in the same period last year. Over all in 2011, according to Kantar figures, the company spent $6.7 million on advertising.
J. Crew still relies on the traditional staple, the paper catalog — now called the Style Guide — to reach customers. Last year, it sent out some 40 million copies.
Its catalogs, which began in 1983, showcased its popular classic clothing styles like the rollneck sweater, created by Emily Cinader Woods, a daughter of the company’s founder and the person most responsible for what became the J. Crew look. Six years later, the company opened its first retail store, at New York’s South Street Seaport. In 1996, it started its Web site and a year later the company was sold to the Texas Pacific Group.
J. Crew’s chief, Millard Drexler, took the company public again in 2006, introducing new lines like Crewcuts for children and the limited edition J. Crew Collection. Last year, the company was again acquired by TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners.
As its new campaign unfurls, J. Crew is continuing to expand its selection of handbags and shoes, emphasizing the quality and origin of the materials it uses. The Ludlow ad, for example, explains that the men’s suit is made from “worsted wool, woven in hand-selected yarn spun in Italy at the Lanificio di Tollegno Mill (est. 1862)” — details, Mr. Scotti said, that underscore the “authenticity and integrity” of J. Crew’s offerings.
2012年8月6日星期一
Is Cosmetic Surgery for Your Feet the Solution for Shoe Lovers?
Charmaine Gumbs is a self-proclaimed high heel shoe fanatic with everything in her shoe collection from Jimmy Choos to the same ’40s-style pair of heels once worn by Madonna.
“A beautiful pair of shoes can suck me in,” Gumbs, from Brooklyn, N.Y., told “Good Morning America.”
But for Gumbs, her love of high heels came with a price: living with pain in the ball of her foot when she wore her favored shoes.
“It burns and it’s like fire,” she said. “I have my New Year’s Eve Jimmy Choos that I have not put on my foot yet because I am afraid of them…that heel.”
Gumbs chose to take action to fix her pain, becoming one of a number of women across the country choosing to fix their toes instead of giving up their favorite pumps, or even their sandals.
When Jennifer Pyron, a 27-year-old from New York City had to stop wearing her favorite summer shoes because they were being ruined by sweat from her toes, she decided to have a cosmetic procedure.
“A lot of people have the problem, especially women that want to wear great shoes,” said Dr. Suzanne Levine, a podiatrist at the Institute Beaute in New York City who treated both Pyron and Gumbs. “They [women] don’t want their shoes ruined. It really is quite a problem.”
Dr. Levine injected Pyron’s feet with Botox to lessen the sweating. She treated high heel shoe-lover Gumbs’s pain by injecting a biodegradable cushioning into her foot, a filler similar to what people have injected into their smile lines.
The cushioning, which replaces the natural cushioning in the foot, will last about nine months, according to Dr. Levine.
The patient, Gumbs, said she realizes that the procedure may seem crazy to others, but it is worth it to her.
“Not when you love shoes,” she said of the other option, to not wear high heels.
One week after the treatment, Gumbs found herself pain-free.
“I feel not so frightened by my shoes anymore because I love them,” she said. “I look forward to wearing them in comfort, not in agony.”
Pyron also found relief in her feet after her Botox injection.
“Once it kicked in I totally noticed a difference,” she said.
Not all doctors agree, however, that operating on one’s feet to be able to wear a certain type or pair of shoes is a good idea.
“I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with plastic surgery,” said Dr. David Levine, Assistant Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City (and no relation to Dr. Suzanne Levine). “I have no problem if someone wants to change their nose, or change their boobs. But you don’t walk on your boobs.”
“A beautiful pair of shoes can suck me in,” Gumbs, from Brooklyn, N.Y., told “Good Morning America.”
But for Gumbs, her love of high heels came with a price: living with pain in the ball of her foot when she wore her favored shoes.
“It burns and it’s like fire,” she said. “I have my New Year’s Eve Jimmy Choos that I have not put on my foot yet because I am afraid of them…that heel.”
Gumbs chose to take action to fix her pain, becoming one of a number of women across the country choosing to fix their toes instead of giving up their favorite pumps, or even their sandals.
When Jennifer Pyron, a 27-year-old from New York City had to stop wearing her favorite summer shoes because they were being ruined by sweat from her toes, she decided to have a cosmetic procedure.
“A lot of people have the problem, especially women that want to wear great shoes,” said Dr. Suzanne Levine, a podiatrist at the Institute Beaute in New York City who treated both Pyron and Gumbs. “They [women] don’t want their shoes ruined. It really is quite a problem.”
Dr. Levine injected Pyron’s feet with Botox to lessen the sweating. She treated high heel shoe-lover Gumbs’s pain by injecting a biodegradable cushioning into her foot, a filler similar to what people have injected into their smile lines.
The cushioning, which replaces the natural cushioning in the foot, will last about nine months, according to Dr. Levine.
The patient, Gumbs, said she realizes that the procedure may seem crazy to others, but it is worth it to her.
“Not when you love shoes,” she said of the other option, to not wear high heels.
One week after the treatment, Gumbs found herself pain-free.
“I feel not so frightened by my shoes anymore because I love them,” she said. “I look forward to wearing them in comfort, not in agony.”
Pyron also found relief in her feet after her Botox injection.
“Once it kicked in I totally noticed a difference,” she said.
Not all doctors agree, however, that operating on one’s feet to be able to wear a certain type or pair of shoes is a good idea.
“I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with plastic surgery,” said Dr. David Levine, Assistant Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City (and no relation to Dr. Suzanne Levine). “I have no problem if someone wants to change their nose, or change their boobs. But you don’t walk on your boobs.”
2012年8月5日星期日
Experts task NBC on community radio digital migration
They also canvassed the need to avail stakeholders with the copies of the White Paper on Digital Migration, which the government claimed it had released since last April.
Akinfeleye decried inability of the airwaves’ regulatory agency translating the presidential announcement of granting the NBC permission to commence licensing of community radio stations into reality almost two years after.
The communication scholar was referring to the submission made by President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at the 8th International Conference of African Broadcasters (AFRICAST) held at Ladi Kwali Hall, Abuja Sheraton Hotel and Towers.
“We are aware of the need to expand the broadcast space and give more voice to the people. Consequently, the Federal Executive Council has considered and approved the guidelines proposed by the National Broadcasting Commission for the licensing of Community Radio in Nigeria. Further, we have devolved to the Commission, the power to consider and issue the licences without further recourse to the Presidency, provided such applicants have met all the conditions stipulated by law,” the president had said at the occasion.
Prof. Akinfeleye recalled an interface he had recently with the Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku at a conference in South Africa, where he enquired why Nigeria is yet to licence the establishment of the community radio in spite of this public announcement made by the president even with presence of participants from all over Africa as well as in Europe and America.
According to Akinfeleye, the Minister blamed the NBC for the delay, saying, what was needed to do was for the commission to forward a memo through the ministry to the presidency in order for the public pronouncement to be backed with a written memo, which NBC claimed, had stalled the execution of the order.
“Those foreign guests will never take us serious. Can you imagine that almost two years after the statement, no community radio has been licensed,” stated the university don, who wonders what excuse would be tendered at the forthcoming 9th AFRICAST in October this year.
The same delay tactics, he insisted, is affecting Nigeria’s march to digitisation. He could not fathom why the White Paper on Digitisation remains a secret document almost four months when the Federal Executive Council announced that it had been released. “Nobody has seen that document. I have asked the commission severally, I am not sure they even have a copy. It is embarrassing!”
On whether president’s advisers could be held responsible for these delays, Akinfeleye diasagrees, although, he said, “ they have never advised him well.”
He explained, “Take the issue of UNILAG’s attempted change of name, can somebody sit down and on a Democracy Day say you want to change the name of a university when you have all kinds of problems facing Nigeria, including Boko Haram. And this is a president who told us, he had no shoes when he was young during his campaigns. Now, he has shoes and the shoe is not oversize, the shoe is new, well polished by the votes we cast for him, so he should use that shoe to kick out Boko Haram, use it to kick out poverty and corruption. In the same vein, use the shoe to bring about peace and tranquility including security of life and properties.”
To Akinfeleye, it is glaring that “the so-called advisers are misadvising him and if care is not taken, they will push him into confusion. I think if I were him, I will sack all the advisers and bring another set of people or do like the former president Obasanjo, ‘you are my advisers but I may not take your advice.’
Certainly, “his advisers are misleading him and it is time for him to take full control. If he fails, it is going to be very sad for Nigeria, because this is the first time in the history that we would have an educated person, who has a doctorate degree from a recognised university as President. It has never happened. Before then, we had been having generals, who never fought and won any wars. But this is the time we metamorphose from general to university people, that is Yar ‘Adua with a Masters Degree; now a Ph.D holder as president and his deputy with MSc certificate. This is an opportunity to explore and be seen to have passed through the university and the university passed through them. The leadership has a lot to do and the advisers should better shape up or shape out.”
The grouse of another Journalism teacher at the Lagos State University, Mr. Tunde Akanni with the NBC is that it has never distinguished itself. “Ironically, it has been led by distinguished persons like erudite Tom Adaba, and even the incumbent, Yomi Bolarinwa, a most versatile professional.”
Statutorily, Akanni insisted that the agency is handcuffed. “It can set standard but cannot conclude the same process it is mandated to oversee. I mean the licensing of broadcast stations. Why won’t NBC be given same measure of power as Nigerian Communication Commission NCC?.
“Good news however is that technology is smarter than the mischievous law and policy makers we are unlucky to have here. They only need to find out how powerless they are now with the inception of new media technology. In Brazil today, several radio stations simply choose to broadcast from Net without bothering to seek any licence from government. Can you imagine any government toying with the idea of proscribing any newspaper like Abacha did years back? One certain thing is that Orosanye or no Orosanye, NBC has limited time to leave given the weakening effect technology keeps impacting on it” Akanni declared.
Media critic and Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of Media Review, Mr. Lanre Idowu, scored the agency high in area of serving as a credible monitor, promoting the quest for sanity on the airwaves. Idowu however canvassed more autonomy for the agency for it to bark and bite appropriately in the effort to raise the bar for swifter response to ethical and regulatory infractions.
“The good work that the NBC has done in the area of providing guidelines for community broadcasting has remained mere intentions because it lacks the policy muscle to execute without awaiting the approval of government, Idowu reasoned. He said further that, “at a time that the country is talking of amending the Constitution, the time has come for an amendment that allows a levy on radio and television receivers to be collected by the NBC as part of the move to build a fairly independent regulatory body that is not beholden to the government of the day.”
Akinfeleye decried inability of the airwaves’ regulatory agency translating the presidential announcement of granting the NBC permission to commence licensing of community radio stations into reality almost two years after.
The communication scholar was referring to the submission made by President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at the 8th International Conference of African Broadcasters (AFRICAST) held at Ladi Kwali Hall, Abuja Sheraton Hotel and Towers.
“We are aware of the need to expand the broadcast space and give more voice to the people. Consequently, the Federal Executive Council has considered and approved the guidelines proposed by the National Broadcasting Commission for the licensing of Community Radio in Nigeria. Further, we have devolved to the Commission, the power to consider and issue the licences without further recourse to the Presidency, provided such applicants have met all the conditions stipulated by law,” the president had said at the occasion.
Prof. Akinfeleye recalled an interface he had recently with the Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku at a conference in South Africa, where he enquired why Nigeria is yet to licence the establishment of the community radio in spite of this public announcement made by the president even with presence of participants from all over Africa as well as in Europe and America.
According to Akinfeleye, the Minister blamed the NBC for the delay, saying, what was needed to do was for the commission to forward a memo through the ministry to the presidency in order for the public pronouncement to be backed with a written memo, which NBC claimed, had stalled the execution of the order.
“Those foreign guests will never take us serious. Can you imagine that almost two years after the statement, no community radio has been licensed,” stated the university don, who wonders what excuse would be tendered at the forthcoming 9th AFRICAST in October this year.
The same delay tactics, he insisted, is affecting Nigeria’s march to digitisation. He could not fathom why the White Paper on Digitisation remains a secret document almost four months when the Federal Executive Council announced that it had been released. “Nobody has seen that document. I have asked the commission severally, I am not sure they even have a copy. It is embarrassing!”
On whether president’s advisers could be held responsible for these delays, Akinfeleye diasagrees, although, he said, “ they have never advised him well.”
He explained, “Take the issue of UNILAG’s attempted change of name, can somebody sit down and on a Democracy Day say you want to change the name of a university when you have all kinds of problems facing Nigeria, including Boko Haram. And this is a president who told us, he had no shoes when he was young during his campaigns. Now, he has shoes and the shoe is not oversize, the shoe is new, well polished by the votes we cast for him, so he should use that shoe to kick out Boko Haram, use it to kick out poverty and corruption. In the same vein, use the shoe to bring about peace and tranquility including security of life and properties.”
To Akinfeleye, it is glaring that “the so-called advisers are misadvising him and if care is not taken, they will push him into confusion. I think if I were him, I will sack all the advisers and bring another set of people or do like the former president Obasanjo, ‘you are my advisers but I may not take your advice.’
Certainly, “his advisers are misleading him and it is time for him to take full control. If he fails, it is going to be very sad for Nigeria, because this is the first time in the history that we would have an educated person, who has a doctorate degree from a recognised university as President. It has never happened. Before then, we had been having generals, who never fought and won any wars. But this is the time we metamorphose from general to university people, that is Yar ‘Adua with a Masters Degree; now a Ph.D holder as president and his deputy with MSc certificate. This is an opportunity to explore and be seen to have passed through the university and the university passed through them. The leadership has a lot to do and the advisers should better shape up or shape out.”
The grouse of another Journalism teacher at the Lagos State University, Mr. Tunde Akanni with the NBC is that it has never distinguished itself. “Ironically, it has been led by distinguished persons like erudite Tom Adaba, and even the incumbent, Yomi Bolarinwa, a most versatile professional.”
Statutorily, Akanni insisted that the agency is handcuffed. “It can set standard but cannot conclude the same process it is mandated to oversee. I mean the licensing of broadcast stations. Why won’t NBC be given same measure of power as Nigerian Communication Commission NCC?.
“Good news however is that technology is smarter than the mischievous law and policy makers we are unlucky to have here. They only need to find out how powerless they are now with the inception of new media technology. In Brazil today, several radio stations simply choose to broadcast from Net without bothering to seek any licence from government. Can you imagine any government toying with the idea of proscribing any newspaper like Abacha did years back? One certain thing is that Orosanye or no Orosanye, NBC has limited time to leave given the weakening effect technology keeps impacting on it” Akanni declared.
Media critic and Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of Media Review, Mr. Lanre Idowu, scored the agency high in area of serving as a credible monitor, promoting the quest for sanity on the airwaves. Idowu however canvassed more autonomy for the agency for it to bark and bite appropriately in the effort to raise the bar for swifter response to ethical and regulatory infractions.
“The good work that the NBC has done in the area of providing guidelines for community broadcasting has remained mere intentions because it lacks the policy muscle to execute without awaiting the approval of government, Idowu reasoned. He said further that, “at a time that the country is talking of amending the Constitution, the time has come for an amendment that allows a levy on radio and television receivers to be collected by the NBC as part of the move to build a fairly independent regulatory body that is not beholden to the government of the day.”
2012年8月2日星期四
Her family always waits until the long shopping
George and Tasha Willson have a family tradition on the first weekend of August — they go shopping.
The Broken Arrow family is among thousands of Oklahomans who are expected to crowd retail stores and shopping malls during the state's three-day back-to-school sales tax holiday that kicks off Friday.
Tasha Willson said Thursday her family always waits until the long shopping weekend to buy new clothes and shoes for their three children, ages 13, 10 and 5. The reason, she said, is simple.
"Saves money. Three children. You've got to save money somewhere," she said.
The sales tax holiday has been in effect since 2007 and is similar to events in 17 other states, including Texas, Arkansas and Missouri, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators in Washington, D.C.
Paula Ross, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Tax Commission, said Oklahomans saved almost $7 million in sales taxes during last year's holiday weekend.
In Oklahoma, any article of clothing or footwear priced less than $100 is exempt from state and local sales taxes, a tax break the Willsons said could save them as much as $40 on back-to-school purchases.
Tasha Willson estimated her family will spend up to $500 on school apparel over the weekend. Her husband said they'll likely save in other ways as well, as retailers mark down prices on summer apparel and introduce their fall lines with deep discounts.
"They always have sales," he said.
The sales tax holiday begins at one minute after midnight Friday and ends at midnight Sunday.
Oklahoma excludes school supplies, computers and other products from the tax exemption. Matt Robison, director of Oklahoma Retail Council, said he'd like to see it go further.
"The state chamber and the retail council supports expanding this," Robison said. State lawmakers have been reluctant because of the loss of revenue expanding the tax break would cause in a sluggish economy, he said.
Oklahoma retailers say the event traditionally has been a boon to their bottom line.
"We definitely see a boost in sales," said Mis Gaston, director of marketing and business development for Penn Square Mall in northwest Oklahoma City.
Gaston said business is so brisk during the sales tax holiday that the mall's dozens of retailers equate it to the unofficial kickoff of the holiday season — almost five months before Christmas.
"Lots of shoppers. Lots of bags. Definitely a full parking lot," Gaston said. "There is an increase for the month just from those three days."
Last year's holiday coincided with the opening of The Outlet Shoppes at Oklahoma City, a collection of brand-name outlet stores on the far western edge of the city.
"It was one of the top openings of outlet centers in the United States," said Gina Slechta, vice president of marketing. She said officials are expecting another big turnout this weekend and have partnered with a nearby hotel to offer a package for out-of-town shoppers.
Retailers have expressed concern that triple-digit temperatures forecast for the weekend might discourage shoppers from leaving their homes. But George Willson said the heat won't affect his family's plans.
"Not as long as the air conditioning keeps working," he said.
The Broken Arrow family is among thousands of Oklahomans who are expected to crowd retail stores and shopping malls during the state's three-day back-to-school sales tax holiday that kicks off Friday.
Tasha Willson said Thursday her family always waits until the long shopping weekend to buy new clothes and shoes for their three children, ages 13, 10 and 5. The reason, she said, is simple.
"Saves money. Three children. You've got to save money somewhere," she said.
The sales tax holiday has been in effect since 2007 and is similar to events in 17 other states, including Texas, Arkansas and Missouri, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators in Washington, D.C.
Paula Ross, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Tax Commission, said Oklahomans saved almost $7 million in sales taxes during last year's holiday weekend.
In Oklahoma, any article of clothing or footwear priced less than $100 is exempt from state and local sales taxes, a tax break the Willsons said could save them as much as $40 on back-to-school purchases.
Tasha Willson estimated her family will spend up to $500 on school apparel over the weekend. Her husband said they'll likely save in other ways as well, as retailers mark down prices on summer apparel and introduce their fall lines with deep discounts.
"They always have sales," he said.
The sales tax holiday begins at one minute after midnight Friday and ends at midnight Sunday.
Oklahoma excludes school supplies, computers and other products from the tax exemption. Matt Robison, director of Oklahoma Retail Council, said he'd like to see it go further.
"The state chamber and the retail council supports expanding this," Robison said. State lawmakers have been reluctant because of the loss of revenue expanding the tax break would cause in a sluggish economy, he said.
Oklahoma retailers say the event traditionally has been a boon to their bottom line.
"We definitely see a boost in sales," said Mis Gaston, director of marketing and business development for Penn Square Mall in northwest Oklahoma City.
Gaston said business is so brisk during the sales tax holiday that the mall's dozens of retailers equate it to the unofficial kickoff of the holiday season — almost five months before Christmas.
"Lots of shoppers. Lots of bags. Definitely a full parking lot," Gaston said. "There is an increase for the month just from those three days."
Last year's holiday coincided with the opening of The Outlet Shoppes at Oklahoma City, a collection of brand-name outlet stores on the far western edge of the city.
"It was one of the top openings of outlet centers in the United States," said Gina Slechta, vice president of marketing. She said officials are expecting another big turnout this weekend and have partnered with a nearby hotel to offer a package for out-of-town shoppers.
Retailers have expressed concern that triple-digit temperatures forecast for the weekend might discourage shoppers from leaving their homes. But George Willson said the heat won't affect his family's plans.
"Not as long as the air conditioning keeps working," he said.
2012年8月1日星期三
The Funky Zebras has some merchandise
Parents of schoolchildren aren’t the only ones taking advantage of the tax-free holiday Friday and Saturday in Iowa. Shoppers looking to save a few dollars on clothes and other eligible items will be heading to malls and stores in search of bargains.
Iowa drops its 6 percent sales tax (and local-option taxes, where they apply) for two days each year on clothing, shoes and other select items costing less than $100. That means consumers will save $6 on every $100 they spend. The Legislature approved the tax break in 2000 to help boost the economy and give consumers a break on school shopping.
Since then, a growing number of people are buying during the busy weekend. “Shoes and clothing that are less than $100 will be tax free. And it doesn’t matter if it’s back-to-school items or not,” said Victoria Daniels, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Revenue.
The tax-free holiday is held in August, as it is in most of the 16 other states that allow them, to target shoppers loading up on new clothing, shoes and accessories for children returning to classes. But those in households without students get the tax break, too.
“Who doesn’t like to save money?” Daniels said. Last year, retailers reported sales of $14.6 million during the two-day event. Shoppers saved an estimated $877,462 in sales tax during that time, according to revenue department reports.
Mahlon White’s extended family travels from a small farming community in central Nebraska to Des Moines to shop during the tax-free holiday for just that reason. The sales tax savings aren’t huge, but when combined with store sales, it’s enough of an incentive to bring White’s family to the local malls.
“It adds up,” said White, of Altoona. They shop for some back-to-school items but also look for other deals. “They don’t have an opportunity to shop like this” in Nebraska, he said.
Cheryl Hayes has advertised her women’s boutique, the Funky Zebras, as a destination during the tax-free weekend even though her Ankeny and Urbandale shops don’t sell what most parents would consider back-to-school items.
“You don’t have to have kids to get the tax break,” Hayes said. “I am just hoping that people will come in and see what we do have.”
The Funky Zebras has some merchandise that could be considered school wear for teenage girls, including jeans, tops and shoes that would be exempt from state sales tax Friday and Saturday. But mostly, Hayes is hoping other shoppers visit the store to stock up on clothes, jewelry and purses.
Daryl Dell’Anno, manager of the J.C. Penney store at Valley West Mall in West Des Moines, said back-to-school shopping started a couple of weeks ago. He expects the store to be busy Friday and Saturday in part because of the tax break and also because Penney’s is offering free haircuts for students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
“We’ll see people shopping for other things, but it will be mostly for kids like the jeans, casual tops and athletic shoes,” he said.
Iowa drops its 6 percent sales tax (and local-option taxes, where they apply) for two days each year on clothing, shoes and other select items costing less than $100. That means consumers will save $6 on every $100 they spend. The Legislature approved the tax break in 2000 to help boost the economy and give consumers a break on school shopping.
Since then, a growing number of people are buying during the busy weekend. “Shoes and clothing that are less than $100 will be tax free. And it doesn’t matter if it’s back-to-school items or not,” said Victoria Daniels, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Revenue.
The tax-free holiday is held in August, as it is in most of the 16 other states that allow them, to target shoppers loading up on new clothing, shoes and accessories for children returning to classes. But those in households without students get the tax break, too.
“Who doesn’t like to save money?” Daniels said. Last year, retailers reported sales of $14.6 million during the two-day event. Shoppers saved an estimated $877,462 in sales tax during that time, according to revenue department reports.
Mahlon White’s extended family travels from a small farming community in central Nebraska to Des Moines to shop during the tax-free holiday for just that reason. The sales tax savings aren’t huge, but when combined with store sales, it’s enough of an incentive to bring White’s family to the local malls.
“It adds up,” said White, of Altoona. They shop for some back-to-school items but also look for other deals. “They don’t have an opportunity to shop like this” in Nebraska, he said.
Cheryl Hayes has advertised her women’s boutique, the Funky Zebras, as a destination during the tax-free weekend even though her Ankeny and Urbandale shops don’t sell what most parents would consider back-to-school items.
“You don’t have to have kids to get the tax break,” Hayes said. “I am just hoping that people will come in and see what we do have.”
The Funky Zebras has some merchandise that could be considered school wear for teenage girls, including jeans, tops and shoes that would be exempt from state sales tax Friday and Saturday. But mostly, Hayes is hoping other shoppers visit the store to stock up on clothes, jewelry and purses.
Daryl Dell’Anno, manager of the J.C. Penney store at Valley West Mall in West Des Moines, said back-to-school shopping started a couple of weeks ago. He expects the store to be busy Friday and Saturday in part because of the tax break and also because Penney’s is offering free haircuts for students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
“We’ll see people shopping for other things, but it will be mostly for kids like the jeans, casual tops and athletic shoes,” he said.
订阅：
博文 (Atom)