11/13/09

Newsletter ISHYO

 

NEWSLETTER

ISHYO ARTS CENTRE

 

 

18 NOVEMBRE 2009

De 8h à 13h : Casting pour enfants de 6 à 16 ans,

pour création d'une pièce de théâtre

en français "La pierre à barbe", @ Ishyo

Arts Centre (ex-cantine Caisse sociale Kacyiru)

pour vous inscrire, formez le 02 55 10 88 87

 

15 NOVEMBRE 2009

Cinéclub : 

A 15h pour les enfants : "MONSTERS VS ALIENS"

suite de Monsters et Compagnie par les studios Pixar.

A 17h et à 19h30 : "MOOLAADÉ"

de Ousmane SEMBENE (résumé

du

film : http://www.asso-chc.net/article.php3?id_article=497).

Entrée : 500 frw pour enfants et

étudiants, 1000 frw pour les adultes

 

22 NOVEMBRE 2009

Cinéclub : 

A 15h pour les enfants : "BASKET"

A 17h et à 19h30 "KATANGA BUSINESS"

de Thierry MICHEL (résumé

du film : http://ks29982.kimsufi.com/

katanga-lefilm/film-dossier-de-presse_fr.html).

Entrée : 500 frw pour enfants

et étudiants, 1000 frw pour les adultes.

 

23 NOVEMBRE 2009

Concert Hip Hop par "Massive Tone",

en provenance d'Allemagne,

organisé par le Goethe Institut @

Ishyo Arts Centre (ex-cantine Caisse

sociale Kacyiru)

Pour infos : contactez Malik

au 07 83 78 00 37, prix d'entrée 1000 frw,

500 frw pour étudiants.

 

DU 23 NOVEMBRE AU 23 DECEMBRE 2009

Ateliers artistiques pour jeunes de 9 à 18 ans,

tous les lundi, mercredi et vendredi

de 8h à 12h30, Danse Hip Hop, contemporaine,

Théâtre, Arts plastiques, BD etc.

@ Ishyo Arts Centre (ex-cantine Caisse

sociale Kacyiru) pour vous inscrire

contactez le 02 55 10 88 87 ou

07 88 63 52 65 ou envoyez un mail

à ishyoasbl@yahoo.fr

 

LE 30 NOVEMBRE, 1er et 2 DECEMBRE

A 19h30, deux spectacles nous viennent

du Congo, plus précisément de Kinshasa!

Par la Compagnie Tarmac

des auteurs : "Huis-clos" et

"La vie d'Abraham Plotz", entrée

2500 frw,1000 frw étudiants,

infos au 02 55 10 88 87

ou  ishyoasbl@yahoo.fr

 

ACTIVITES HEBDOMADAIRES

Danse Traditionnelle Rwandaise le jeudi 18H à 20H.

Danse Contemporaine le jeudi

14H à 17H et le vendredi après-midi.

Inscription par téléphone ou

mail au 02 55 10 88 87

 

 

______________________________________________________________

Itinerary / Itinéraire

From Laico Umubano (ex-Novotel): On

your way to the US Embassy, take

the third street on your right - Then

the 2nd on your right (follow Ishyo sign) - Then

the 2nd on your left, and

again - The 2nd on your right

 

Du Laico Umubano (ex-Novotel) en direction

de l'Ambassade des États-Unis : Prenez

la 3ème à droite (En face de la Présidence

/ OBK) - Prenez ensuite la 2ème à droite

(suivre signalisation Ishyo) - Puis la

2ème à gauche - Et encore la 2ème à droite

______________________________________________________________

INFO: Monday-Friday 09:00 am -

01:00 pm @ISHYO or 02 55 10 88 87

or ishyoasbl@yahoo.fr

 

N'hésitez par à diffuser

ce message à vos amis !

Feel free to forward this message

to all your friends!





--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda

Un adolescent américain innocenté grâce à Facebook

 ZDNet France.

Tags: , ,

Technologie - Accusé de vol à main armé,
un jeune américain de 19 ans a été
blanchi grâce à un « post » effectué
sur sa page Facebook une minute avant
que le crime ne soit commis.
La justice a admis la preuve
et libéré le jeune homme.

Rodney Bradford peut dire merci
à Facebook ! Ce jeune homme de 19 ans
vivant à New-York a été innocenté
grâce à un message publié sur sa page
du site de réseautage.
Il avait passé 12 jours en détention,
arrêté pour un vol à main armé à Brooklyn,
commis dans son quartier.

Déjà connu des services de police,
Rodney Bradford clamait cette fois-ci
son innocence, affirmant qu'il était ce jour là
chez son père à Harlem. Il avançait pour
preuve la mise à jour de son statut
sur Facebook avec un message envoyé
à sa petite amie une minute avant
que le crime ne soit commis.

Facebook a confirmé que ce message
avait bien été émis depuis l'ordinateur
du père de Rodney Bradford à Harlem.
Le procureur a alors ordonné la libération
immédiate de Bradford, précisant que
cette preuve ne faisait que corroborer
les alibis fournis par d'autres témoins.

Ce n'est pas la première fois que Facebook
est utilisé comme preuve par la justice.
Le mois dernier, une femme a été
incarcérée pour avoir envoyé un « poke »
à une personne que la justice lui avait
interdit de contacter. (Eureka Presse)

Par la rédaction, ZDNet France

Link here

--
J-L K

11/11/09

Central Africa's Tropical Congo Basin Was Arid, Treeless In Late Jurassic

 An ancient soil crack, called a clastic dike, from
alternate wetting and drying cycles
of seasonal rainfall.
(Credit: Image courtesy
of Southern Methodist University)


ScienceDaily   — The Congo Basin -- with its
massive, lush tropical rain forest -- was
far different 150 million to 200 million years ago.
At that time Africa and South America
were part of the single continent Gondwana.
The Congo Basin was arid, with
 a small amount of seasonal rainfall,
and few bushes or trees populated
the landscape, according to
a new geochemical analysis of rare ancient soils.

The geochemical analysis provides
new data for the Jurassic period, when
very little is known about
Central Africa's paleoclimate, says
Timothy S. Myers, a paleontology doctoral
student in the Roy M. Huffington Department
of Earth Sciences at
Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

"There aren't a whole lot of terrestrial deposits
from that time period preserved
in Central Africa," Myers says. "Scientists
have been looking at Africa's paleoclimate
for some time, but data from
this time period is unique."

There are several reasons for the
scarcity of deposits: Ongoing armed conflict
makes it difficult and challenging
to retrieve them; and the thick vegetation,
a humid climate and continual erosion
prevent the preservation of ancient deposits,
which would safeguard clues
to Africa's paleoclimate.

Myers' research is based on
a core sample drilled by a syndicate
interested in the oil and mineral deposits
in the Congo Basin. Myers accessed
the sample -- drilled from a depth
of more than 2 kilometers -- from
the Royal Museum for Central Africa
in Tervuren, Belgium, where it is housed.
With the permission of the museum,
he analyzed pieces of the core
at the SMU Huffington Department
of Earth Sciences Isotope Laboratory.

"I would love to look at an outcrop
in the Congo," Myers says, "but I
was happy to be able to do this."

The Samba borehole, as it's known,
was drilled near the center
of the Congo Basin. The Congo Basin
today is a closed canopy
tropical forest -- the world's second
largest after the Amazon. It's home
to elephants, great apes, many species
of birds and mammals, as well
as the Congo River. Myers' results are
consistent with data from
other low paleolatitude, continental,
Upper Jurassic deposits in Africa
and with regional projections
of paleoclimate generated by
general circulation models, he says.

"It provides a good context for
the vertebrate fossils found in Central Africa,"
 Myers says. "At times, any indications
of the paleoclimate are listed
as an afterthought, because climate
is more abstract. But it's important
because it yields data about
the ecological conditions. Climate determines
the plant communities, and not just
how many, but also the diversity of plants."

While there was no evidence of
terrestrial vertebrates in the deposits
that Myers studied, dinosaurs were present
in Africa at the same time.
Their fossils appear in places that were
once closer to the coast, he says,
and probably wetter and more hospitable.

The Belgium samples yielded
good evidence of the paleoclimate.
Myers found minerals indicative of
an extremely arid climate typical
of a marshy, saline environment.
With the Congo Basin at the center
of Gondwana, humid marine air from
the coasts would have lost much
of its moisture content by the time
it reached the interior of the massive continent.

"There probably wouldn't have been
a whole lot of trees; more
scrubby kinds of plants," Myers says.

The clay minerals that form
in soils have an isotopic composition
related to that of the local rainfall
and shallow groundwater.
The difference in isotopic composition
between these waters and the clay minerals
is a function of surface temperature,
he says. By measuring the oxygen and
hydrogen isotopic values of the clays
in the soils, researchers can estimate
the temperature at which the clays formed.
For more information
see www.smuresearch.com.

Myers presented his research, "Late Jurassic
Paleoclimate of Central Africa,"
at a scientific session of
the 2009 annual meeting of The Geological
Society of America in Portland, Ore., Oct. 18-21.

The research was funded by
the Roy M. Huffington Department
of Earth Sciences at SMU,
and the Institute for the Study
of Earth and Man at SMU.

Link here

--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda

Eight Tips to Ward off Employee Theft

Attorney Sonya Smith Valentine

Loss prevention measures to reduce your liability

By Marcia Wade Talbert s Post

Since the beginning of the recession not only has

fraudulent activity increased, but the amount

of money lost to fraud has increased as well.

U.S. businesses lose 7% of annual revenue,

equaling $994 billion, to fraud, but small businesses

are even more vulnerable, according to

a report from the Association of

Certified Fraud Examiners.

Small businesses suffered both

a greater percentage of frauds (38%)

and a higher median loss ($200,000) compared

with companies that have 100 to 10,000 employees

that only suffered losses between

$116,000 and $176,000, according to the report.

Between the recession and loss due to fraud,

small business owners are under even

more pressure to stay profitable

and stay in business. Lawyer, accountant,

and identity theft expert Sonya Smith-Valentine

lays out eight steps that small business owners

should take to keep their assets

safe from in-house thieves.

Keep important items locked up.
Make employees

who have access to sensitive information

lock office doors and file cabinets

at the end of the workday.

Keep the mailbox locked and limit

the keys to the mailbox.

Make sure all computers have

automatic password protection

and instruct users to log off when

they step away from their computers.

Put passwords on your bank accounts

so that only specific people

can order new checks.

Check employee references.

At a minimum, run a civil and criminal background

check on employees, and as your

business grows, hire bonded bookkeepers.

Even get background information

from building management about

cleaning crews that have access to your offices.

If an employee has anything to do with money,

check their credit report to learn about

their debts. "If their credit is really jacked up

and they are really hard-pressed for money,

they might not be the person you want,"

says Smith-Valentine.

Sign your own checks.
If one person is doing

all the bookkeeping they might make payouts

to companies that you haven't

done business with.

They may set up a dummy billing system

to make it seem like you received

a bill for services and they are

just paying the bill.

If you sign checks yourself, you are more

inclined to pay attention to where

the money is going, and employees are

also less likely to embezzle,

says Smith-Valentine.

If the owner isn't available to sign the checks,

then require the signatures

of two different employees on checks.

Separate the responsibilities

of accounts payable employees.

Make sure the person who is paying

the bills (i.e. signing checks) is different

from the person who is logging

the information into the computer.

When you split the two job responsibilities

it becomes harder to manipulate the data,

says Smith-Valentine. Also, don't allow

the data entry employee access

to the mail. This will reduce

the data entry clerk's ability

to steal a check and cover it up.

Perform random audits of vendors

and clients. Let your staff know that

once every six months you will choose

a business that your company does

business with and randomly audit it.

Randomly choose checks from

your bank statements, find out who

the checks were made out to,

and then audit that company.

Consider hiring an outside accounting firm

to do this; it will put the employees

on notice that there are people

other than you watching them.

Encourage employee watchdogs.
Implement

a process for employees to

anonymously report abuse and fraud.

Also let them know that they could

be rewarded if information

they provide leads to the arrest of an offender.

Purchase employee dishonesty

insurance coverage.

Taking time to detect fraud and

clean up the aftermath is time

you could be using to run your business.

You can purchase inexpensive

insurance plans to help defer some

of the costs that occur as

a result of fraud or embezzlement.

Encourage employees to take

vacation time. A lot of small business owners

are happy when their employees work

as much as possible. But

the embezzling employee will

never take off time. They come in early,

stay late, and they always want

to discourage you from looking up

information on your own, says Smith-Valentine.

"If something strange is going on,

it is probably going to pop up

while they are gone."

Resources:

Fraud Awareness Week

Small Business Fraud Prevention

Manual Anti Fraud Resources

Keep Swinging: An Entrepreneur's Story

of Overcoming Adversity and

Achieving Small Business Success

United States Secret Service Field Office

Link here

--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda

Officer Exposes Police Corruption Using the Web

Vadim Isakov

On November 6, a police officer at
the Department of Internal Affairs in
Novorossiysk used his personal Web site
to address Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin and talk about
numerous problems police officers face in Russia.

In his video address available on
www.dymovskiy.ru and YouTube (part I and part II [RUS]),
Aleksey Dymovskiy is calm and meticulous.
He talks about diminishing police honor,
bribes, corruption and low pay
that poison lives of many police officers in Russia.
I think many people will understand me.
I want to work but I am fed up with
fictional plans when we are forced
to investigate crimes that don't exist.
I am fed up with fictional plans when
we are told that we need
to imprison certain people. I am fed up
with staged crimes designed
to put some people in jail.
Continuing with his revelations,
Dymovskiy admits putting an innocent person
in jail under the pressure from his supervisor:
The director of the Department of
Internal Affairs awarded me rank of the Major,
which I received in May, because
I promised him to put an innocent person in jail.
I'm not afraid to say that. I understand
that it can be punishable.
But it is the truth and I admit that.
Dymovsky also appeals to Russian
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urging him
to investigate those problems and put
an end to the widespread corruption in the police.

The video hit a "viral" stage within hours
after its publication with several hundreds
of thousands of clicks on YouTube.
It was widely covered by the Russian
mainstream media and discussed
on the countless blogs. It is one of the first
examples when Russian citizens
successfully deploy new media platform
to draw attention of the government
toward hot issues in the country.

The novelty of "citizen video addresses"
in Russia is best indicated by
a cautious comment from one
of the most popular bloggers
in the country dolboeb:
A monologue with enormous force.
I won't be surprised if it turns out
to be a viral marketing.
The character is too out-of-this-word.
Another blogger marchenk writes:
None of us is an angel...
I wouldn't admire him [Dymovskiy] as
an honest policeman and the lover
of the truth (he admits himself that
he received the rank of major
for putting an innocent person in jail). [...]
However, sincere respect for bravery.
There are honest police officers after all.
Because of them, it makes sense
to push forward police reforms.

I hope to God his publicity gives him
protection and honest
consideration of his situation.
On Sunday, November 8, Rashid Nurgaliev,
the Russian minister of internal affairs,
announced the audit of police forces
in Novorossiysk. Meanwhile, Dymovskiy
has been fired "for libel and actions
that damage the honor" of the police.

In his interview to Russian radio station
"Ekho Moskvy," Dymovskiy said he
had been followed and was considering
sending his family to Moscow
for security reasons.

You may view the latest post at
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/11/09/
officer-exposes-police-corruption-using-the-web/

 

--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda

Mandela Endures as South Africa’s Ideal

Pool photo by Themba Hadebe

Nelson Mandela at the inauguration of
President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria in May.


Nelson Mandela with his wife, Graça Machel,
and his grandson Ziyanda Manaway during
Mr. Mandela's 91st birthday in July.

 
By CELIA W. DUGGER

JOHANNESBURG — The icon is a very old man now.
His hair is white, his body frail. Visitors say
Nelson Mandela leans heavily on a cane when
he walks into his study. He slips off his shoes,
lowers himself into a stiff-backed chair and lifts
each leg onto a cushioned stool.

His wife, Graça, adjusts his feet "so they're
symmetrical, and gives him a peck,"
says George Bizos, his old friend and lawyer.
 
To Mr. Mandela's left is a small table piled
with newspapers in English and Afrikaans,
the language of the whites who imprisoned
him for 27 years. Family and old comrades
sit to his right, where his hearing is better.

His memory has weakened, but he still loves
to reminisce, bringing out oft-told stories
"like polished stones," as one visitor put it.

"There's a quietness about him," said
Barbara Masekela, his chief of staff after
his release from prison in 1990.

"I find myself trying to amuse him, and
I feel joyous when he breaks out in laughter."

Mr. Mandela, perhaps the world's most
beloved statesman and a natural showman,
has repeatedly announced his retirement
from public life only to appear at a pop concert
in his honor or a political rally.

But recently, as he canceled engagements,
rumors that he was gravely ill swirled
so persistently in South Africa that his foundation
released a statement saying he was
"as well as anyone can expect of
someone who is 91 years old."

Yet even as Mr. Mandela fades from view,
he retains a vital place in the public
consciousness here. To many, he is still
the ideal of a leader — warm, magnanimous,
willing to own up to his failings — against which
his political successors are measured
and often found wanting.

He is the founding father whose values
continue to shape the nation.

"It's the idea of Nelson Mandela that remains
the glue that binds South Africa together,"
said Mondli Makhanya, editor in chief
of The Sunday Times.

"The older he grows,
the more fragile he becomes,
the closer the inevitable becomes,
we all fear that moment.

There's the love of the man, but there's also
the question: Who will bind us?"

There is a yearning for the exhilarating days
when South Africa peacefully ended
white racist rule, and a desire to understand
the imperfect, big-hearted man who
embodied that moment.

Because of this, various historians
and journalists are at work on a
new round of books about Mr. Mandela.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation agreed
last month to sell publishers in some
20 countries the rights to a book,

"Conversations With Myself," based on material
from Mr. Mandela's personal papers — jottings
on envelopes, journals, desk calendars,
drafts of intimate letters to relatives
written in prison and documents from
his years as South Africa's first
democratically chosen black president.

"He was and still is an obsessive
record keeper," said Verne Harris, who has
been Mr. Mandela's archivist since 2004
and will knit together the excerpts with
Tim Couzens, a biographer.

"The oldest records we have in that collection
are his Methodist Church membership cards,
the earliest one dated 1929.
So he was 11 years old then."

There are telling nuggets in unexpected places.
In his prison years, the authorities gave him
a South Africa tourist desk calendar each year.

He typically recorded facts in it — his blood pressure,
or whom he met that day — but occasionally
he noted a dream, like one in which
his daughter Zindzi, whom he was not
allowed to see from when she was 3 years old
until she was 15, "asks me
to kiss her & remarks that I am not warm enough."

The book will also draw on 71 hours
of taped conversations that Mr. Mandela
had with Richard Stengel, who
collaborated with him on
his autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom,"
and Ahmed Kathrada,
Mr. Mandela's prison comrade.

"One of the amazing, uncanny things
was his memory," said Mr. Stengel,who is
writing a memoir of his time
with Mr. Mandela, called "Mandela's Way,"
to be published in March.

"It was like he was watching a movie
of his life and then narrating it,"
Mr. Stengel, Time magazine's managing editor,
continued. "He would do voices
of his father, of his teachers, of his prison guard."

Eventually, after a team at the foundation
has catalogued the entire archive,
the foundation plans to digitize it
and put it on the Internet.
The vast bulk of it is not yet public.

Historians say they are not expecting
major surprises about Mr. Mandela's generally
well-known views, but hope to find
rare glimpses of the man.

Mr. Mandela is looked after by his wife,
Graça Machel, 64, the widow of a former
president of Mozambique and
a humanitarian activist.

"They behave like young lovers,"
Mr. Bizos said. "They hold hands."

Here in Johannesburg, it is not unusual
for residents of his neighborhood,
Houghton, to gossip about how
he is doing. Mr. Harris, seeking to douse rumors
that Mr. Mandela was deteriorating,
said he was still healthy but tired
of small talk with strangers.

"He can reminisce at great length
about things that happened years
and years ago," Mr. Harris said.
"But you know what old age is like.
Short-term memory starts
to malfunction and you have bad days."

His oldest friends, stalwarts of
the anti-apartheid struggle, still visit.
Mr. Bizos, who went to law school
with Mr. Mandela in the 1940s, said
Ms. Machel worried that Mr. Mandela
would be alone when she was out of town,
and eat too little without company.

So from time to time, Mr. Bizos
gets a call from their housekeeper
to come for lunch.
 
Mr. Mandela sits at the head of a large table,
with Mr. Bizos to his right.
They relish their favorite dish — oxtail
in a rich sauce — and talk about old times.
Mr. Mandela tells how he walked into
a law school class and sat next
to a white fellow with big ears,
who promptly changed seats to avoid
sitting next to a black man.

Mr. Mandela had wanted to invite
the man to their 50th reunion at the University
of the Witwatersrand in 1999,
but the man had already died.

"He repeats it from time to time,"
Mr. Bizos said. "He regrets he did not
have the opportunity to meet him.
He would have said to him,

'Do you remember what happened?
But please don't worry.
I forgive you.' "

Like a grown child for whom each goodbye
to an aged parent feels as if it may be
the last, South Africa seems to be
preparing itself for the final farewell
to its epic hero.

And Mr. Mandela seems to have
readied himself, poking fun at his infirmity.
Mr. Harris recounted a joke
he had heard Mr. Mandela tell and retell.

"When I die, I'm going to get up
to the gates of heaven, and they're going
to say to me, 'Who are you?'
" Mr. Mandela says. "And I'll say,
'I'm Madiba,' " he said, referring
to his clan name.

"And they'll say, 'But where do you
come from?' And I'll say, 'South Africa.'
 And they'll say, 'Oh, that Madiba.
You've come to the wrong gates.
You see the ones down there that
are very warm?
That's where you have to go.' "

Mr. Mandela's wish is to be buried
alongside his ancestors in Qunu,
on the eastern Cape, where
he spent the happiest years
of his boyhood.

In his autobiography, he describes it
as a place of small, beehive-shaped huts
with grass roofs.

"It was in the fields," he wrote, "that
I learned how to knock birds out
of the sky with a slingshot, to gather
wild honey and fruits and edible roots,
to drink warm, sweet milk from the udder
of a cow, to swim in the clear, cold streams,
and to catch fish with twine
and sharpened bits of wire."

Link here

--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda

Suspicious Powder Sent To French, Austrian, Uzbekistan Consulates

Anthrax Scare: 
 
NEW YORK — Envelopes containing
suspicious powder were sent to three
foreign consulates in Manhattan on Monday,
but initial tests suggested the mailings
were a hoax, police officials said.

A field test done on the powder sent
the Uzbekistan Consulate came back negative
for Anthrax or any other dangerous substance,
New York Police Department spokesman
Paul Brown said.

Envelopes containing a powder were also sent
to the French and Austrian consulates.

All three envelopes had Dallas, Texas, postmarks,
and at least one contained a note
referencing al-Qaida, Brown said.

The potential threat prompted an emergency
response from federal and local authorities,
including hazardous material units that
decontaminated employees of
the consulates who handled the envelopes.

"The FBI is working with the NYPD to determine
the origin of these letters," said Richard Kolko,
spokesman for the FBI's New York Office.

"Our field office will follow all leads
to locate the sender."

Telephone calls to the consulates went
unanswered or were not immediately returned.

Link here

--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda

Merkel achieves political success beyond her wildest dreams

The Irish Times
  
EUROPEAN DIARY: Angela Merkel's life story
is symbolic of the change that has
transformed Europe, writes ARTHUR BEESLEY

ANGELA MERKEL, who herself was among
the throngs that made their way through
the Berlin Wall 20 years ago, recalled last week
the restrictions of life in the communist bloc.

In a moving speech to the joint houses
of the US Congress in Washington,
the German chancellor told how simple things
easily taken for granted were
beyond the reach of her family.

Her mother, who had studied English
and Latin to become a teacher, was not
allowed to work in her chosen profession
in the German Democratic Republic.

The younger Merkel, for whom it was beyond
the imagination to even think about travelling
to America, created her own picture of the US
from films and books.

Some of those tomes were
smuggled from the west by relatives, just as
an aunt sent her a certain brand of jeans
from the other side of the frontier.

"The Wall, barbed wire and the order to shoot
those who tried to leave, limited my access
to the free world," she said.

Merkel was 35 when the Wall came down,
releasing pent-up political force across
central and eastern Europe that would
swiftly bring the Soviet empire to heel.

Soon she would leave the world of physics
behind to devote herself, with remarkable
success, to politics.

"Not even in my wildest dreams could I have
imagined, 20 years ago before the Wall fell,
that this would happen," she said of her address
in Washington as leader of a reunited Germany.

"A person who has experienced such
a positive surprise in life believes
that much is possible."

The chancellor, who said elsewhere last week
that she did not at first believe the Wall's demise
would quickly lead to reunification, was host
last night of festivities to mark
the 20th anniversary of that seismic event.

A cascade of revolutionary change followed
the Wall's destruction, bringing half a continent
into the democratic arena and resetting
the parameters of the political world.

Among its results was the EU's historic
enlargement in 2004, when eight former
eastern bloc countries joined the union
(another two followed in 2007).

Thus there is no small irony in the fact that
EU politics is at present transfixed with
the appointment of the first president
of the European Council and
a new foreign policy chief.

The two jobs were created under the Lisbon Treaty
in an extensive package of highly detailed
institutional reform that was designed to make
the EU easier to manage following
enlargement and more democratic.

As EU leaders gathered in Berlin for
last night's festivities, they cannot but have
had names and respective merits
of potential nominees on their lips.

With Tony Blair's lustre dimming, the momentum
for the council presidency seems at present
to be with Belgium's haiku-writing prime minister,
Herman Van Rompuy.

That such a low-key figure, virtually unknown
outside his own country, should emerge
as favourite at this late stage says much
about the likely profile of
the eventual appointee, whoever
it turns out to be.

Although one vision for the job is that it
should go to a global figure capable
of projecting the EU and its political stance
on the world stage, leaders at present seem
keen to pursue an appointee with
an altogether more modest mandate.

Only with time will the merits of pursuing
that course be gauged, although it is already
clear that the EU and its members can
be crowded out with ease by the US and China
in debate and negotiation
on big issues such as the environment.

On the flip side, however, a low-key council
president devoted to chairing and
preparing meetings of EU government leaders
is unlikely to outshine major leaders such
as Merkel and her French counterpart,
Nicolas Sarkozy, on the world stage.

Now seeking to back a common candidate
for the post, they appear to have divined
the selection of just such
a nominee would be in their interest.

Whoever gets the job will be charged with
the mammoth task of steering EU leaders
through the Lisbon reforms when the treaty
comes into force next month.

Elegant they are not, as anyone who has tried
to read the document can attest.
Still, turning the lofty aims of democracy
into political and institutional reality
is never straightforward and
is fraught with compromise.

Amid the current celebrations, it seems rather
obvious, but no less important, to point out
that what the accession states now have
is a great deal better than what went before.

Countries suppressed for generations by
the yoke of communism and its
secret policemen are free and
governed by the rule of law.

Those societies are still poorer than the rest
of Europe, but economic ruin and political chaos
did not transpire when the old order passed away.

Merkel's was just one life among many millions
transformed by the change.

Link here

--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda

11/10/09

Pour fabriquer moins cher, la Chine aussi se délocalise

 Atelier chinois à Port-Saïd

Fatma AHMED et Ismaïl el-MOKADEM (AFP)

 
Une main d'œuvre bon marché, des investissements
détaxés et des exportations faciles: un groupe textile chinois
a trouvé en Égypte un havre encore plus
attractif que la Chine pour fabriquer des chemisettes.
 
Le Nile Textile Group, à capitaux chinois, s'est installé
dans la zone franche de Port-Saïd, à l'extrémité nord
du canal de Suez, avec une usine faisant travailler
600 personnes, 80% d'Égyptiens et 20% de Chinois.

Argument de poids pour amener les industriels chinois
à délocaliser: la possibilité d'importer
les matières premières sans taxes ni impôts,
pourvu que le produit fini soit exporté.

Une aubaine pour le Nile Textile Group, qui importe
60% de ses produits de base et expédie
hors d'Égypte, en particulier vers les États-Unis,
la quasi-totalité de sa production de vêtements
bon marché, étiquetés "made in Egypt"
au lieu de "made in China".

"Les zones franches égyptiennes permettent
d'exporter partout dans le monde pratiquement
sans restrictions", souligne Mohamad Abdel Samie,
directeur administratif du site.

Les salaires proposés sont assez faibles pour
concurrencer ceux des travailleurs chinois,
même si un système de primes de productivité
permet aux ouvriers égyptiens
d'arrondir leurs fins de mois.

"Dans les usines où les salaires sont fixes,
on gagne au plus entre 700 et 800 livres
(environ 85 à 100 euros) par mois.
Dans cette entreprise, on s'en sort
mieux qu'ailleurs", assure Mansour el-Saïd, un contremaitre.

Dans les ateliers éclairés au néon, bruissant
du cliquetis des machines à coudre,
les ouvrières égyptiennes portant le foulard
côtoient les techniciennes chinoises en blouse blanche.

Les panneaux d'instruction sont écrits en arabe
et en chinois. Pour la communication
au quotidien, "ils m'ont appris quelques mots
de chinois et ils apprennent l'arabe",
affirme une couturière, Leila Ali.

Quelque 950 entreprises chinoises sont installées
dans les zones franches égyptiennes,
représentant un investissement total
de près de 200 millions d'euros.

La plupart travaillent dans l'industrie (526)
ou les services (306), mais 31 se sont lancées
dans le secteur de l'agriculture et huit dans le tourisme,
selon les chiffres du GAFI, l'organisme
chargé des zones franches égyptiennes.

Le Forum Chine-Afrique, qui se tient dimanche et lundi
en présence d'une cinquantaine de pays
à Charm el-Cheikh, en Égypte, devrait permettre
d'accélérer le rythme, avec la signature
d'un accord sino-égyptien pour encourager
encore davantage les investissements.

Le développement spectaculaire des échanges
économiques entre la Chine et l'Afrique
ces dernières années est au cœur de ce sommet,
auquel participent le Premier ministre chinois
Wen Jiabao et le président égyptien Hosni Moubarak.

Selon les statistiques officielles chinoises,
les investissements directs chinois en Afrique
ont fait un bond de 491 millions de dollars en 2003
à 7,8 milliards fin 2008.

Link here

--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda

Fifa World Cup Trophy Arrives in Kigali

Rwanda:  

Bonnie Mugabe
 

Kigali — THE much-anticipated Fifa Coca-Cola
World Cup trophy arrived in the country
last night as it made the 34th stop on its African tour.

The golden silverware accompanied by
Coca-cola and Fifa officials reached Kigali international
airport from Bujumbura, Burundi on a Coca-cola
branded chartered plane at 19.00 hours.

The trophy was received by the Minister of Sports
and Culture Joseph Habineza, Ferwafa Vice President,
Vedaste Kayiranga, Bralirwa Managing Director
Sven Piederiet among others.

On arrival, the trophy was chauffeured right away
to Serena Hotel in the company of
Fifa and Coca-Cola officials.

The trophy which was hidden in a wrapping
could not be easily seen but will only
be displayed for public viewing
at Amahoro stadium today.

The authentic trophy is set to be officially
presented to President Paul Kagame
this afternoon at the national stadium.

Kagame is set to become the first Rwandan
to have his hands on the world's most
coveted sports icon.

Over 20 Heads of State and 70,000 fans have
so far given the Fifa World Cup trophy
a stirring welcome on its tour
of the African continent.

Only Heads of States and former winners
are allowed to handle the solid gold.

The trophy will leave the country on
Thursday to continue its tour to
neighbouring Kampala, Uganda.
 
The Fifa World Cup Trophy was first
used in 1974. Made of 18 carat gold with
a malachite base, it depicts
two human figures holding up the Earth.

The trophy stands 14.4 inches tall and is
made of 5 kg of 75% solid gold with
a base 5.1 inches in diameter containing
two layers of malachite.

Produced by Bertoni, Milano,
it weighs 6.175 kg in total.

The current holder of the trophy is Italy,
winner of the 2006 World Cup.

Shortly before the 2006 Fifa World Cup,
the trophy was briefly returned to Italy
for restoration before eventually
being awarded to the same country.

Link here

--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda

11/9/09

intox Facebook payant?

Image © Keystone
 
 
Un hoax récurrent et connu qui inquiète
pourtant de plus en plus les internautes

Bertrand Tappy -
 
Le Matin Bleu

Les membres du site communautaire ont tous
reçu au moins une fois un message les avertissant
que la plate-forme créée par Mark Zuckerberg
allait perdre sa gratuité. Le ton est on ne peut
plus clair: «Tel que dit dans les médias, les concepteurs
du site Web ont l'intention de rendre payant
l'accès à leur site le 1er janvier 2009.»

Intrigué, un journaliste de Rue89 a enquêté sur
ces soi-disant sources médiatiques (un reportage
de la chaîne canadienne TVA et un article
du site Slate).

Il en ressort deux constats: soit les articles
ou reportages mentionnés ne font
jamais mention de Facebook, soit le passage
à l'accès payant est réel, mais en tant
que «stratégie que le site devrait
suivre pour survivre».

Il s'agit donc bien d'une rumeur.
Espérons qu'elle n'ait pas donné d'idées...

Link here

--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda

How to Create a Virtual PC on Windows 7

 

Click here to find out more!You're not supposed to be able to get XP Mode
without the right version of Win7, but if
you have a valid XP license, it works just fine.
Here's step-by-step instructions on
how to do it, plus tips for a safe, hassle-free install

CIO

Windows 7 is already a big hit for Microsoft,

according to market-share tracker Net Applications,

which shows it rising past all the extant versions

of Linux and Windows except Vista and XP

and into fourth place hot on the heels

of the Mac OS X 10.5.

One of its most talked-about features is

a version of XP built right in to some editions,

so it can run in native mode on a virtual machine

all those applications that never made

the leap compatibility with Windows Vista.

Except XP Mode doesn't come

automatically; you have to install it.

And it doesn't come with

all editions of Windows 7.

[ For timely virtualization news and

expert advice on strategy, see

CIO.com's Virtualization Drilldown section. ]

Users running Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise

have to download both XP Mode and Virtual PC,

on which it runs. Those with Home Premium or

Starter are stuck; Virtual PC not only doesn't come

with those editions, Microsoft theoretically

doesn't allow Virtual PC to even run

on anything but Vista, XP or the three

more exalted editions of Windows 7.

That's not to say Virtual PC doesn't run there,

anyway, however. And, fortunately,

the installation procedure is the same

for Virtual PC whether you're licensed

for XP Mode or not.

[ For complete coverage on Microsoft's new

Windows 7 operating system -- including

hands-on reviews, video tutorials and

advice on enterprise rollouts-- see

CIO.com's Windows 7 Bible. ]

I loaded and ran it on a laptop running 64-bit

Windows 7 Home Premium on an Intel Core

2 Duo with 4GB of memory.

Here's how to get going:

Step 1: Check your Processor

Intel and AMD have both built hooks into

their processors that allow the host and

guest operating system (the virtual machine)

to trade off tasks more smoothly.

Virtual PC will work on chips that don't have

those hooks, but not well. Microsoft provides

a free utility to check your processor. Intel and AMD

have their own utilities as well, if you want

to double check. Intel Processor Identification

Utility; AMD Virtualization and Hyper-V compatibility Check.

Once you know if the silicon supports it, check to see

if your BIOS is set up to use those hooks.

Chances are, for most desktops and laptops,

it's not. Microsoft offers instructions

and links to specific manufacturers here.

Step 2: Download Virtual PC

Microsoft requirements call for a 400 MHz or

above Pentium-compatible processor, 35 MB of disk space

and Windows XP or Vista. There are 32-bit and

64-bit versions; Virtual PC cares about

the difference. The newest version of

Virtual PC supports USB peripherals and

are supposed to be able to support

64-bit operating systems within

the VM as well. Either way, get the right

edition for your machine.

Step 3: Build your VM

Once you've downloaded the installation package,

launch it and follow instructions. Then click

the Start menu and find Virtual PC. It will launch

a Wizard that offers the choice of opening

an existing virtual PC, creating one with

default settings or will walk you through the process

of configuring one yourself. Pick the latter to do

things like increasing the RAM available to the VM

from the default of 128 MB to a gigabyte, or raise

the default virtual-hard-disk size from 16 GB

to something with enough room for an OS and

any applications you want to run only within the VM.

The whole process takes less time than it

does to install most bits of freeware.

But that's only the configuration, not the VM itself.

Step 4: Launch and Provision

After configuration, the Virtual PC Console

remains onscreen while Virtual PC runs

in the background, taking up about

17 MB of memory just sitting there.

Clicking Start opens a command window

in which Virtual PC uses DHCP to try to

find itself an IP address. If you haven't already

provisioned an operating system image, it will think

about things for a while, then tell you

to go find a proper boot address.

To install the OS from a CD or ISO file, make sure

the window surrounding the VM — the actual VM,

which looks at this point like a DOS window,

not the console you used to set

the configuration — is the active window

on your machine. Then either insert the CD into the drive

or drag your ISO file onto the CD icon in

the Virtual PC command window. If you're loading

the OS from a CD, go to the menu bar

of the VM window, click on CD and tell it

to capture the physical CD drive.

My VM didn't like 64-bit versions of either

Windows 7 or Vista, but was fine with

a 32-bit version of XP Home Edition. The install takes

about as long as it would on a normal hard drive,

but instead of asking what partition of

your hard drive it should live in, it shows

only unpartitioned space on the virtual hard drive

you've already set up.

The install then proceeds normally, within

one window of your PC rather than

taking up the whole thing.

Warning: The VM doesn't know it's not the only

computer on your computer. So when you click

on anything in its window, will capture the cursor and

not let it go again, which would be really

embarrassing if anyone wandered in to see

why you were cursing at your laptop.

To free your cursor, hit the right ALT key.
If the VM is running in full-screen mode,
press right-ALT-ENTER.

After setup, walk through the configuration screen

and type in a valid Windows key

for the version of the OS you installed.

Step 5: Install Additions

Before you can do anything interesting

you have to install a set of add-ons that allow

Virtual PC to do things like share folders, share

the clipboard and drag-and-drop things

between the VM window and the host OS.

You have to install them separately,

using the VM window, not the Virtual PC Console.

Go to the Menu bar of the VM and click Action,

then pull down to Install or Update

Virtual Machine Additions. It will pop up

a window asking you to confirm,

and then disappear as if you were kidding.

To actually run the installer — which the VM

believes is either a CD or an ISO file — go to

the Start button, then choose Run and navigate

to what would normally be the CD drive,

where you'll find the Additions ISO. Open

the folder appropriate to your host OS and

run the application inside. Then reboot the VM.

Step 6: Load Applications

Like most things virtual, loading applications or

accessing data on the host machine is like

walking across a transparent bridge.

Once you know it's there, it's simple; until

you do, you're stuck.

The bridge in this case is the Shared Folder.

Just as with two physically separate machines,

you can exchange data or applications through

a Shared Folder that both have permission to use.

Create one from the VM window. Click on Edit

in the menu bar, pull down to Settings and look

for the Shared Folders icon toward the bottom.

Choose it, navigate to a folder on the host machine

that you can use to move documents or

application setup files between

your real and virtual machines, and click OK.

The shared folder becomes a network drive

for the VM. To launch applications, click

on Start, Run, and browse to the

"network drive" Z:\ , which retains the name

of the folder itself. Then just launch

the setup for the new application.

That's it. You're done. Well, almost.

Step 7: Stay Safe

Don't forget to install all the security updates
for the new OS and install whatever anti-virus
or other security software you have
on the host OS. The VM has to route
all its traffic through your (presumably)
secured host OS, but that doesn't mean
a ZIP file or other potential threat won't get
through and launch on the VM--

A few more warnings and tips from Steve Bass

of the useful and amusing TechBite newsletter,

author of PC Annoyances, and

former columnist for PC World.

  • If you defrag your hard drive, exclude
  • the humungous swap file the virtual PC creates
  • (check Options in your defragger),
  • or it will take forever to complete.
  • Some virtual PC software — including
  • VMWare's — let you save multiple versions
  • on your machine; each can gobble gigabytes,
  • however. Keep an eye on
  • available disk space, especially on a notebook.
  • Running Win7, XP and Linux on the same machine
  • at the same time is cool, but unless
  • your system is a monster, you'll spend
  • more time waiting than computing.
  • Finished with XP Mode or your Virtual PC
  • for now?
  • Shut it down to free up system resources
  • for the rest of your work.

And another couple of warnings, from Bob Arnson,

who works for Microsoft on its App-V team,

but blogs as his own geek.

  • When you launch a VM it still needs
  • an operating system and applications,
  • which take time to set up the first time around.
  • You can clone your main OS with tools
  • such as Acronis True Image, but it still takes time
  • to do the install.
  • Once you have the image, though, taking one
  • VM down and launching another if much faster
  • than reinstalling an OS or application
  • on real hardware.
  • The VM isn't a real machine, but it uses
  • a real OS, for which you need a license.
  • And if you want to connect a
  •  cloned OS to a domain, you have to use
  • a tool like SysReq software distribution utility.

Follow everything from CIO.com

on Twitter @CIOonline.

 Link here


 
--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda

Fish war prompts thousands to flee

Photo: UNHCR
A UNHCR boat on Oubangui River (file photo


KINSHASA, 5 November 2009 (IRIN) – At least 1

6,000 civilians have fled deadly clashes

in western Democratic Republic of Congo and

are now languishing, many without food or shelter,

in neighbouring Republic of Congo,

according to the UN and local officials.

"These villagers fled interethnic fighting [in Dungu,

Equateur Province] which has already claimed

47 lives and caused many injuries,"

said Francesca Fontanini, a spokeswoman

for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Equateur's police chief, Col Joly Limengo, told  IRIN 

that clashes had broken out last week

between members of the Lobala and

Boba communities over access to fishing ponds.

Those who fled are having problems with nutrition,

medical supplies and shelter, according

to Fontanini, citing the findings of an

inter-agency mission made up of officials

from UNHCR, other UN agencies,

the Interior Ministry and local NGOs.

"Villagers are still crossing [the Ubangi river]

to Republic of Congo. By yesterday [4 November],

more than 16,000 had done so.

Most did not take any provisions at all,

or only very few. They are housed in

municipal buildings or in the open.

There is either no health centre,

or insufficient medical supplies where

they are," she said.

Officials in Equateur Province said they

had initiated dialogue between

the warring inhabitants of the villages

of Iyele and Muzala.

Government spokesman Lambert Mende said

there was more to the unrest

than an old dispute about fish.

"It's an insurrection. A certain Edo Bokoto,

who has been suspended from his post

of sector chief, has mobilized about 10 men

from his community to wanted to take control

of these fish ponds which belong to people

from these villages. They started to attack

people from outside their community," he said,

adding that seven policemen who intervened

in the fighting had been killed.

Equateur is the home province of erstwhile rebel

leader and former vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba,

now awaiting trial for alleged

war crimes at the International Criminal Court.

ei/am/cb

Source: IRIN • humanitarian news

and analysis from Africa

Link here

--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda