12/4/09
Les maths en quête de mathématiciens
Pour la première fois depuis
vingt-deux ans, les mathématiciens
français tenaient à Paris,
les 1er et 2 décembre, les États généraux
de leur discipline.
Avec, au centre des discussions
de ce colloque baptisé "Maths à venir",
un surprenant paradoxe : alors qu'elles
sont plus que jamais nécessaires
au fonctionnement du monde,
les mathématiques sont, dans
les pays riches au moins, de plus
en plus boudées par les étudiants.
Où sont-elles ?
A peu près partout. Dans la microélectronique,
dans les simulations numériques
de systèmes complexes,
à l'image de celles utilisées par
les climatologues ; dans les logiciels
qui traitent les énormes masses
de données qui transitent sur le Net ;
dans les systèmes d'imagerie médicale ;
dans le fonctionnement, toujours plus
complexe, des marchés financiers, etc.
Et ce ne sont pas là des mathématiques
forgées de longue date, mais
"des mathématiques issues
de travaux tout récents", explique
Etienne Ghys, chercheur au CNRS
et professeur à l'Ecole normale
supérieure (ENS) de Lyon.
"Nous avons de plus en plus besoin
de mathématiques et disposons
de moins en moins de mathématiciens",
résume-t-il.
Ces besoins concernent les entreprises
pour une part désormais importante.
"En France, il y a environ
6 000 mathématiciens, dit ainsi
Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, directeur de
l'Institut des hautes études
scientifiques (IHES).
Tous ne travaillent pas
dans le monde académique : environ
un tiers d'entre eux sont en entreprise.
Il y a aujourd'hui une grande variété
de métiers réservés aux matheux."
Dans le monde occidental, à l'instar
de toutes les filières scientifiques,
les mathématiques séduisent pourtant
de moins en moins.
Une tendance d'autant plus
préoccupante que les dix
prochaines années verront
des départs en retraite massifs
dans la communauté
des mathématiciens français.
Des pays émergents, singulièrement
l'Inde et la Chine, connaissent
une tendance inverse : les carrières
scientifiques y jouissent
d'un prestige croissant.
"Aux Pays-Bas par exemple,
note M. Bourguignon, on a assisté
à un véritable effondrement,
avec seulement un peu plus
d'une centaine d'étudiants en maths
dans le pays en 2003, alors qu'ils
étaient plus de 1 000
quelques années auparavant."
Forte d'une école parmi
les plus brillantes, la France a
résisté plus longtemps que
les autres pays développés.
"Nous avons cru pendant
un temps que nous échapperions
à ce déclin, mais il nous touche
désormais de plein fouet",
explique M. Bourguignon.
"Au niveau L3 (bac + 3), nous sommes
passés en six ans de 6 000 étudiants
à 4 000 environ", précise
Marie-Françoise Roy, professeur
à l'université Rennes-I.
Cursus long et difficile, incertitude
sur les futures ouvertures
de postes dans la recherche
publique et l'enseignement supérieur,
salaires médiocres...
les écueils ne manquent pas.
Mais ce n'est pas tout.
"Il y a chez les jeunes une vraie
interrogation sur la manière
dont la science au sens large
façonne la société et sur
la manière dont la société a,
ou n'a pas, le contrôle
sur ces changements,
diagnostique M. Bourguignon.
C'est en somme une question
d'acceptabilité de la science."
Les mathématiques sont-elles
"acceptables" ?
Certains se le demandent
depuis le déclenchement
de la crise financière.
Les mathématiques ont en effet été
rendues responsables de
la déconnexion grandissante
entre l'économie réelle
et les marchés financiers.
Pour Philippe Camus,
président d'Alcatel-Lucent ainsi
que du comité de parrainage
du colloque, "la faute n'en revient pas
aux mathématiciens, mais simplement
à ce que les outils imaginés grâce
aux mathématiques ont été
mal compris et mal utilisés".
Pour autant, ajoute M. Camus,
"il serait bénéfique que
les mathématiciens prennent
l'initiative de se doter d'un organe
qui serait en quelque sorte
leur autorité morale".
"Après tout, plusieurs disciplines
scientifiques disposent
d'un comité d'éthique
à même d'apprécier, voire de corriger,
leur impact sur la société",
plaide M. Camus, lui-même
mathématicien de formation.
La crise des subprimes aura-t-elle
eu un effet sur le désamour
des étudiants à l'égard de la discipline ?
Peut-être, mais rien n'est moins sûr.
Aujourd'hui, les mathématiques
financières fourniraient à elles
seules, au niveau master,
jusqu'au quart des étudiants
en mathématiques français...
Pour ceux des aspirants matheux
qui choisiront la recherche publique,
de nouveaux écueils existent.
Dans les pays développés,
l'organisation de la recherche publique
et surtout ses modes de financement
"tendent à s'uniformiser", explique
en effet M. Bourguignon, vers
"un contrôle toujours plus
tatillon des financements",
de plus en plus souvent alloués
sur un projet de quelques années.
"Si on demande à un mathématicien
ce qu'il aura démontré dans trois ans,
il est obligé de mentir !",
renchérit Etienne Ghys, qui précise
toutefois que l'Agence nationale
de la recherche (ANR) fait évaluer
les projets des mathématiciens
par leurs pairs.
Reste que le virage pris
ces dernières années en
Europe est potentiellement
"assez catastrophique" pour
les mathématiques, selon
M. Bourguignon.
Ces questions sont d'autant plus
cruciales pour les maths qu'elles
seules ont cette magie de
transformer subitement ce qui
peut sembler un pur jeu de l'esprit
en clé indispensable à la résolution
de nouveaux problèmes appliqués.
Philippe Camus en prend
pour exemple les travaux menés
sur les nombres premiers
(seulement divisibles par 1 et
par eux-mêmes), qui fascinent
les mathématiciens depuis des siècles.
"Jusque tout récemment, personne
ne voyait d'utilité à leur étude,
explique M. Camus. Aujourd'hui,
on se rend compte qu'un pays
dans lequel personne ne comprendrait
la théorie des nombres serait
complètement dépendant
de l'extérieur pour élaborer
ses systèmes de cryptographie."
De même, les deux fondateurs de
Google, Sergey Brin et Larry Page,
avaient sans doute en commençant
leur thèse en mathématiques à Stanford,
tout à fait autre chose en tête que
fonder la plus gigantesque
régie publicitaire en ligne.
Le secret de leur réussite
n'aura finalement été rien d'autre
qu'un algorithme,
une simple formule mathématique !
Stéphane Foucart
Link here
--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda
Un des secrets des stradivarius dévoilés
Le mystère, un des
plus épais de l'histoire de
la musique, tenait depuis
trois siècles.
Depuis la mort, en 1737,
à 93 ans, d'Antonio Stradivari,
des générations de luthiers,
de musiciens, d'acousticiens
et de chimistes avaient tenté
de percer le secret du maître.
Le bois, la colle, l'assemblage
des matériaux,
leur traitement : la composition
des fameux violons avait été
passée à la loupe, ou plutôt
à tout ce que la palette
scientifique proposait
d'optiques surpuissantes.
Un élément résistait toutefois
à l'analyse, celui-là même
dont le maître de Crémone
avait toujours refusé
de révéler la formule : le vernis.
C'est aujourd'hui chose faite.
Après quatre années
de recherche, on connaît
désormais la structure exacte
du mystérieux revêtement.
Une équipe d'une quinzaine
d'intervenants issus de
sept laboratoires français
et allemands, coordonnée
par Jean-Philippe Echard,
chimiste au laboratoire de
recherche et de restauration
du Musée de la musique, à Paris,
doit en faire l'annonce,
vendredi 4 décembre.
Une publication a été mise
en ligne sur le site de
la Angewandte Chemie
International Edition,
la plus importante revue
de chimie au monde.
Une version papier devrait
suivre en janvier, accompagnée
d'un article dans la revue Nature.
Autant dire que ces conclusions
devraient dépasser
le cercle des mélomanes.
L'œuvre d'Antonio Stradivari
tient de la légende.
De son vivant déjà,
les cours européennes
s'arrachaient ses réalisations.
Rescapé d'une épidémie
de peste qui décima
les luthiers de la plaine du
Pô (nord de l'Italie),
il régnait sur la profession.
Harpes, cistres, violes,
altos, violoncelles, basses,
et bien sûr
violons : 1 100 instruments
quittèrent son atelier au cours
de ses soixante-dix ans d'activité.
Il en resterait aujourd'hui
environ 650.
Entre-temps, le stradivarius
s'est imposé comme
une référence.
Dans les salles de concert,
où les virtuoses qui
le pouvaient l'ont adopté
presque unanimement.
Chez les collectionneurs,
les prix atteignent plusieurs
millions d'euros. Mais aussi
chez les luthiers et
les scientifiques qui ont
tenté de percer le "secret"
de Stradivari.
L'essence des arbres
(des épicéas pour la table,
des érables pour le fond) ?
La période de coupe
(traditionnellement une nuit d'hiver
par lune descendante) ?
Les plans exacts de
ses instruments étaient connus.
Pour le reste, on se perdait
en conjectures.
En 1830, le physicien
Félix Savart obtient du
grand luthier français
Vuillaume le droit de
désosser deux stradivarius.
Sans résultat. Par la suite,
on évoqua le traitement subi
par le bois: densifié par
une vague de froid, selon les uns,
dopé par un parasite,
selon les autres,
bonifié par un passage
dans la lagune vénitienne
pour les troisièmes; on copia
la perfection et l'équilibre
de son dessin, qui fixa
l'instrument dans
sa forme définitive.
Et l'on se pencha sur
le fameux vernis.
AH, LE VERNIS !
"Pendant deux cent
cinquante ans, on a tout entendu,
sourit Jean-Philippe Echard,
tout imaginé. En termes
de sonorité, comme
de couleur.
On a dit que Stradivari ajoutait
au liant de l'ambre fossile
de la propolis, cette gomme
rougeâtre que les abeilles
recueillent sur certains bourgeons,
ou encore de la coquille
de crustacés…"
Depuis la seconde guerre
mondiale, une quinzaine
d'articles scientifiques ont
été publiés sur le sujet.
Les réponses demeuraient
toutefois partielles.
L'échantillon – un ou
deux instruments – restait
insuffisant.
Réalisés par les seuls
chimistes, les travaux ne
permettaient pas de s'assurer
que la partie analysée
était bien d'origine.
L'équipe du Musée de
la musique a employé
les grands moyens.
Elle a intégré à son étude
un luthier, Balthazar Soulier,
qui avait déjà observé plus
d'une soixantaine de stradivarius.
Surtout, elle a assis
sa recherche sur cinq
instruments conservés
dans la collection
de l'établissement de
la porte de La Villette.
Quatre violons et une tête
de viole d'amour – un instrument
à douze cordes tombé en
désuétude au XIXe siècle– réalisés
entre1692 et 1724,
autrement dit au cours
d'une très large période.
Sur chacun d'entre eux,
ils ont prélevé une parcelle
de vernis de la taille
d'un grain de semoule.
Et ils ont commencé
l'expérience,
ou plutôt les expériences.
D'abord ils ont passé
les particules au
microscope à ultraviolets.
Ils ont ainsi pu déterminer
que les échantillons étaient
composés de deux couches
avec, dans la seconde,
des grains de pigments.
"Mais nous ignorions encore
comment étaient composées
ces couches", raconte
Jean-Philippe Echard.
Les échantillons ont alors
pris le chemin de Saclay,
dans l'Essonne, pour être
analysés en lumière infrarouge
dans le synchrotron Soleil.
Cet immense accélérateur
d'électrons permet de
disposer d'une source
suffisamment intense
pour dresser la cartographie
chimique d'un matériau.
Et c'est là que l'information
essentielle est tombée: le maître
utilisait un simple vernis à l'huile.
Pas de sous-couche dopée
aux extraits de peau, d'os,
ou d'esturgeon, comme
le voulaient certaines légendes.
"Il n'était pas non plus allé
traire les abeilles de
Hongrie orientale une nuit
de pleine lune", s'amuse
Jean-Philippe Echard.
Non: pour sa base, le maître
utilisait une simple
huile siccative, à la façon
des peintres ou des ébénistes.
Cette conclusion a été affinée
au laboratoire du
Museum d'histoire naturelle,
à Paris. En couplant
deux techniques –
la chromatographie en phase
gazeuse et la spectrométrie
Restait à déterminer
le contenu des grains
de pigment. Cette fois,
c'est au Laboratoire de
dynamique, interactions
et réactivité (Ladir),
à Thiais (CNRS, Paris-VI) et
à Dortmund, en Allemagne,
que le dernier élément
du rébus a été déchiffré.
Et là, nouvelle surprise!
Le génial Antonio n'avait pas
inclus dans son vernis
du rouge, mais des rouges,
passant, au cours de sa vie,
d'un coloris nourri d'oxyde
de fer à un vermillon
au sulfate de mercure
pour finir avec un pigment
laqué à base de cochenille.
"Avec le vernis,
l'intentionnalité de Stradivari
n'était pas acoustique,
mais visuelle", conclut
Jean-Philippe Echard.
De quoi détruire le mythe ?
Pas sûr. "Le luthier reste
fasciné par la perfection
du travail, la méthode
extraordinairement aboutie",
assure Balthazar Soulier.
Le public écarquillera
toujours les yeux devant
le prix astronomique
des instruments.
Les meilleurs solistes,
gorgés de confiance,
continueront à le faire
sonner comme aucun autre.
Quant aux fêlés des
quatre cordes, artistes
ou scientifiques, ils
poursuivront leur recherche
éperdue du secret
du vieux maître de Crémone.
Nathaniel Herzberg
Link here
--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda
12/3/09
Kigali's Skyline to Gain From New $60 Million 5-Star Hotel
world class five-star hotel in a
record time of 28 months as
construction works have kicked off
with the Minister of Economic Planning
and Finance, James Musoni gracing
the ground-breaking ceremony
on Monday at the former Jali Club.
Billy Cheung, the New Century Development
Limited Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
said at the ceremony that, "We are
very grateful for having taken
this remarkable step of construction
that will avail a truly 5-star hotel standard
on the Rwandan market.
We are very optimistic that
everything will go successfully
as laid out in the plan."
Cheung said that the preliminary
decision was based on their
unanimous intuition that Rwanda
is committed to creating one of
the world's best destinations
for investment and businesses.
"The subsequent feasibility study
proved us right and we are indeed
proud to be part of the
country's developmental agenda
pegged on rebuilding a country
that was left in tatters as a
result of the 1994 genocide,"
says the CEO.
"We are aware of this
country's reputation of sticking
to project's timelines and quality.
We have, as such, put in place
a strategy that will successfully
guide us to achieving the set target.
We pledged not to cause
a reputation loss" he further said.
The hotel, expected to cost
$60 million in terms of investment,
will have 242 rooms ranging
from deluxe rooms to Presidential Suites.
Marriott Hotels International Ltd Group,
an internationally acclaimed
operator, has already been
engaged on the exercise of
hotel management to ensure
a successfully market entry of the hotel.
"We intend to build the Hotel and
arrange for its management as
we go long. We embarked on
the process to engage
an International hotel Operator,
and here we are to proudly present
to you the Marriott Hotels
International Ltd Group," Cheung said.
"We have spent considerable
professional time and other
resources working with
the Marriott group
on the design of the hotel
and management aspects of
our long-term engagement
with them," he added.
Link here
--
J-L K
12/2/09
Equality through education – it's what Namibia is striving for
researcher and the former director
of the Institute of Education,
University of London.
He is currently a professor at
the University of Southern Denmark
Namibia has a thirst for
education – let's hope it doesn't get
hijacked by the privileged
Peter Mortimore
The Guardian
Article history
Before our forthcoming election dominates
every aspect of public life, I want to report
on education in a developing country
which, last week, experienced its
third-ever election: Namibia.
The British Council, in association with
the Namibian government,
is undertaking a series of projects
addressing inequality in education
and, this summer, I was invited there
to give a series of related lectures.
Namibia is the size of a combined
Great Britain and France, but has
a population a quarter the size
of Greater London. It includes the sand dunes
of the Namib and Kalahari deserts and
is home to spectacular game parks.
Diamonds, uranium and tungsten,
together with growing tourism,
have the potential to make it wealthy.
The country is committed to preserving
its pollution-free atmosphere and cites
the protection of the environment
in its constitution.
Peopled since the 14th century by
tribes people such as the Ovambo,
and more recently by Afrikaaners from
South Africa, Namibia was a
German colony from 1884 until 1915
(a few coastal towns look positively Bavarian).
It became part of the British empire
under a League of Nations mandate,
but was taken over by South Africa
and subjected to apartheid.
The South West Africa People's Organisation
struggled for liberation for three decades
before finally gaining independence in 1990.
There is a fierce pride in the newly
won freedom. Much energy is devoted
to the creation of a better society,
although the election campaign
has re-evoked some racial tensions.
Not surprisingly, given its history,
Namibia is still an unequal community
with massive differences in income.
Health care is limited, and housing
conditions in townships and
rural areas – to western European
eyes – are dire.
The infamous Bantu Education Act,
imposed by South Africa in 1953,
gave black children low-quality,
poorly funded instruction within
a restricted curriculum.
White children attended separate,
well-funded schools.
On achieving independence,
Namibia began creating
a universal system – building schools,
training thousands of teachers and
enhancing existing skills, designing
a new curriculum and shifting
the language of instruction
from Afrikaans to English.
The government currently spends
6.9% of its gross domestic product
on education – higher than
many western countries.
Schooling is still not free – annual fees
for one child amount to the equivalent
of a month's salary for many workers.
Yet there is a great thirst
for education. On a pre-dawn drive north,
I saw countless children in
immaculate school uniforms walking
alongside the dust roads to schools
often five or six miles away.
Some infants are unable to attend
until they can walk that far.
The University of Namibia has two sites.
One newly designed campus is in Windhoek;
the other, in a former army barracks,
lies close to the Angolan border.
Both need more books, extra computers
and funds to keep the libraries open
in the evenings.
One of the students explained to me
how difficult it was to keep up with
her course reading because the house
where she lodges has no electricity
and darkness falls at 6.30pm.
Namibian academics appeared
well qualified: many professors
have doctorates from the UK and
the US or, increasingly, from China.
A number of impressive British teachers
are involved with Namibian schools,
courtesy of Voluntary Service Overseas.
I met one enthusiastic former
senior teacher from south London
who is helping to raise the quality
of teaching and learning
in schools in some of the poorest areas.
Like many African countries,
Namibia has been hit hard
by HIV/Aids. The government provides
anti-retroviral drugs, but numerous pupils
have lost both parents,
and the lives of many teachers
and students will, in due course,
be further blighted.
Observing the strenuous efforts
of Namibians to obtain schooling is,
for a westerner, deeply humbling.
Better educational opportunities should
enable more people to rise
above poverty and help
to reduce the current massive inequalities.
I fervently hope that Namibia will
find a way to avoid the
situation – common in so many
"developed" countries – whereby
those who are already socially
and economically advantaged
ensure that the education system
perpetuates their
own families' privileged status.
• Peter Mortimore is former director
of the Institute of Education
Link here
--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda
12/1/09
RIM BlackBerry How To: Back Up and Restore
Backing up the information on
your BlackBerry regularly can
be the difference between
a minor headache--temporarily
missing contacts--and
a full-blown catastrophe
--permanently
deleted personal data.
Follow these four simple
steps and avoid
the later scenario.
CIO — Anyone who has ever
experienced the pain of losing
all the data on a PC or
handheld intimately knows
the value of backing up
personal information, whether
it's an iTunes music collection,
digital photo album
or address book.
This can be easier said
than done, but BlackBerry users
are in luck: The handheld data backup
and restore process for
Research In Motion (RIM)
smartphones couldn't be simpler
when you use the BlackBerry
Desktop Manager software,
which ships with every
new RIM device.
Our previous BlackBerry tips
of week included list of our
favorite BlackBerry downloads--
free, open source and otherwise--
keyboard shortcuts for both novice
and battery life advice, as well as
tips and tricks to help you
understand and optimize--even
expand--your RIM
smartphone's memory.
This week we'll demonstrate how
you can protect the valuable data
on your BlackBerry by backing it
up on your PC's hard drive--we'll
even show you how to
automatically backup your device
data in preset intervals.
To get started, all you'll need is
your BlackBerry device, the latest
version of RIM's BlackBerry
Desktop Manager, a Microsoft
Windows PC--the desktop
software's not currently available
to Mac users--and a USB cable
to link your mobile phone
and computer.
1) Download the Latest Version
of RIM's BlackBerry Desktop Manager
First, you'll want to download
the latest version of RIM's BlackBerry
Desktop Manager software, which
at the time of this article's time
of publication is v4.5.
To determine which version
of Desktop Manager you're
currently running, launch
the program via Windows
Start Menu by clicking
All Programs, BlackBerry and
Desktop Manager.
When the program's open, hit
the Help tab on the main screen
and then choose About BlackBerry
Desktop Manager.
The software version will be listed
on the General tab.
If you're not running Desktop
Manager v4.5, visit RIM's site
and download and install
the latest version of the software.
2) Launch Desktop Manager,
Connect Your BlackBerry and PC
Next, launch the desktop manager
software if you haven't already
done so. Follow the procedure
detailed above to open the program
if you didn't choose to create
a desktop shortcut upon installation.
When the program is running,
connect your BlackBerry device
to the PC via USB cord.
Close any dialogue boxes that
may appear when your BlackBerry
is connected, including
the desktop manager box that
informs you it's searching
for application updates.
Your BlackBerry should now
be connected to the software
and the word "Connected" should
appear in both the top and
bottom left corners of
the desktop manager screen.
If you're still not connected,
try unplugging the device
and inserting it into
another USB port.
3) Backup All or Some
of the Data on Your BlackBerry
Click on the Backup and Restore
icon in the top right corner of
the desktop manager
home screen. The following screen
should offer three
separate options: Backup, Restore
and Advanced.
To save all the personal data
stored in your BlackBerry's internal
memory, hit the Back up tab,
choose a name and location
for the file and hit Save.
The backup process should
take about a minute, and your
BlackBerry screen will display
a graphic of a connected handheld
and PC while it's in progress.
You can also set your BlackBerry
Desktop Manager to automatically
backup device data in
preset intervals (5 days, 7 days,
14 days, etc.) whenever you launch
the program and connect
your smartphone and PC.
To do so, click the Options tab
beneath the Backup icon,
and on the following screen
fill in the box next to
Back up my device data
automatically every XX days.
Then choose the specific data
you want backed up.
For instance, you can opt
to back up all of
your device data, or all data
except messages and/or
data that's synced with
an organizer app.
When you've selected
the information you want
to copy, hit OK and then click
the Back up tab on
the main screen.
To further customizethe specific information you
wish to back up, click
the Advanced tab on
the main Backup and
Restore screen.
You'll quickly see
a dialogue box that displays
the application's progress
scanning your device database,
and then a screen with
two columns appears: one column
on the left named Computer
Databases and another on
the right titled Device Databases.
In the right column, select
the specific device data you
wish to backup and then
hit the left-facing arrow between
the columns to copy
the information from
the Device Databases side
to the Computer Databases.
Once you've transferred all
the data you wish to copy,
open the File dropdown
menu--located directly above
the Computer Databases
column--choose a name
for your backup file and
save it to your hard drive.
4) Restore Data to Your
BlackBerry Using
Desktop Manager Files
Restoring BlackBerry device data
using the desktop manager
software and backup files
created using the application
isn't difficult at all.
First, you'll want to locate
your backup files so they're
easy to find when you try
to restore data.
Next, launch the BlackBerry
Desktop Manager, click
the Backup and Restore icon
in the top right corner and
on the next screen,
and choose Restore.
Browse to the appropriate
backup file on your hard drive
and click Open.
You'll then be asked
to confirm that you wish
to replace all the existing data
on your device with
the information in
the backup file.
Hit Yes, and the desktop manager
starts restoring your data.
This can take several minutes
depending on the amount
of information in the file.
Restoring only specific device data,
such as address book contacts
or custom AutoText entries,
is similar to the above-mentioned
process, but instead of hitting
Restore on the main Backup
and Restore screen,
click Advanced.
Then open the File dropdown
menu on the left--directly
above the Computer Databases
column--and open an existing
back up file.
Choose the specific data
you'd like to restore from
that file and click
the right-facing arrow
between the Computer
Databases and Device
Databases columns.
When the progress box
disappears, your data has
been restored and
you're good to go.
Link here--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda
India to Set Up Automatic Monitoring of Communications
IDG News Service — India plans
to set up a centralized system
to monitor communications on
mobile phones, landlines and
the Internet in the country,
a minister told the Rajya Sabha,
the upper house
of Parliament, on Thursday.
Indian laws allow the interception
and monitoring of communications
under certain conditions,
including to counter terrorism.
A pilot of the new Centralized
Monitoring System (CMS) is
to be started by June next year,
subject to clearances by
other government agencies,
Gurudas Kamat, Minister of
State for Communications and
Information Technology told
the Rajya Sabha, according to
an announcement by
the government's Press
Information Bureau.
The CMS will have central and
regional databases to help central
and state-level enforcement agencies
intercept and monitor communications,
the government said.
It will also have direct electronic
provisioning of target numbers
by government agencies without
any intervention from
telecom service providers, it added.
It will also feature analysis of
call data records and data mining
of these records to identify
call details, location details,
and other information of
the target numbers.
The current system used by
the government for call monitoring
can be easily compromised
because of the requirement of
manual intervention at many stages,
the minister said.
Interception using the new system
will also be instant, he added.
The statement by Kamat comes
on the anniversary of
a terrorist attack on a number
of sites in Mumbai, including
two premium hotels,
a railway station, and
a Jewish community center.
The terrorists are believed
to have used mobile communications
and the Internet extensively
to plan and execute their attacks.
The government brought into
force earlier this year
the Information Technology
(Amendment) Act 2008,
an amendment to an earlier law,
which broadened the
government's powers
to intercept and
monitor communications.
Some experts have argued that
the government should
set up an organization like
an ombudsman to ensure
that information collected
during surveillance
is not misused.
Link here
--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda
Getting Even With A Cheater
Sweet Revenge
by Bobbi MisickLearning that your man is cheating
is likely to make your blood boil--even
if you've suspected that he's been
playing around for quite some time.
When your partner burns you that
deeply, "it's a natural urge to want
to get revenge," says infidelity expert
Ruth Houston, author of "Is He Cheating
On You...829 Telltale Signs."
While Houston acknowledges that
the best revenge is to leave him and
never look back, she understands
that taking the high road can be hard.
ESSENCE.com asked Houston
to share her insights on what you
can do after you've caught
him red-handed.
ESSENCE.com: What is the most
common revenge tactic?
RUTH HOUSTON: Women are more
inclined to have a retaliatory affair
than men are.
But most women who are really bent
on getting revenge will usually resort
to destroying personal
property of cheaters.
ESSENCE.com: What are the
consequences of revenge affairs?
HOUSTON: Revenge affairs usually
backfire. It generally doesn't work out
the way the woman thinks it will.
Either he doesn't care or he's not
able to get past revenge cheating.
Men are not as forgiving
as women are. Usually it's such
an affront to his manhood that,
if she's desirous of getting
the relationship back on track,
it can totally destroy [any chance of that].
ESSENCE.com: What are
the consequences of
destroying his property?
HOUSTON: It's not a good idea.
It can either land you in jail or
escalate to violence with the partner.
ESSENCE.com: What are some
legal ways to get revenge?
HOUSTON: There are about
seven states remaining--Hawaii, Illinois,
Mississippi, New Mexico,
North Carolina, South Dakota
and Utah--where a married woman
can sue [her husband's] mistress
for "alienation of affection,"
and she can get money
from the mistress.
If the mistress is a woman
of means, the betrayed wife
can make a pretty penny.
Some women will look to
run up [their husband's] charge
account and max out
their charge cards.
If he's a man of means, he'll have
less money to buy the Cadillacs
and the expensive things
that he's used to.
If there are children involved,
many times a woman will deny
her man access to his children
or she may divorce him and
take such a huge chunk of
his income for alimony and
child support that he has nothing
to live on, and, in many cases,
the mistress doesn't want him any more.
ESSENCE.com: What is
third party revenge?
HOUSTON: Some women will go
through a third party to get revenge.
For example, if the person comes
from a very religious background,
the woman may reveal the affair
to [her man's] church family or
a minister.
If it's a workplace affair, [she] may
go to human resources.
If he's cheating with a woman
who is married or in
a committed relationship,
[his wife or girlfriend] may tell
the spouse or significant
other of the mistress.
Also, wives and girlfriends are
privy to their man's deep
dark secrets.
If he owes back taxes, many women
will blow the whistle.
If he's involved in some
shady activities, some women
will drop a dime.
ESSENCE.com: What's your
advice to those who want
to seek revenge?
HOUSTON: Revenge is not healthy
to actually carry out, but
some people really and truly can
not get past the infidelity unless
they feel they have evened the score.
The best revenge is just to ignore
the cheater; put him so completely
out of your life and let him see
that he was so insignificant in
your life that he didn't cause a ripple.
It's easier said than done, but if you
try to let some time pass and
think rationally about it, then
you'll realize it's not worth the trouble.
I don't advocate revenge at all,
but if you have to do something,
do something harmless.
ESSENCE.com: Give us
an example of something
harmless that women have done.
HOUSTON: [Before she left her husband]
one woman cut one arm off of all
of his business suits and that
Monday when he got up
to put his suit on, one arm
was missing from all of his suits.
In her mind she evened the score,
but it was pretty harmless,
except that he needed
to buy some new clothes.
Read more of Houston's tips for dealing
with infidelity
at www.InfidelityAdvice.com.
Link here
--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda
How To Profit From The Chocoholic’s Worst Nightmare
In the volatile world of commodity
investing, they're called "softs."
But we know them as commodities like
coffee, sugar, orange juice and cocoa.
And when it comes to investing,
the latter represents an excellent
opportunity right now.
Cocoa grows predominantly in the
West African nations of the Ivory Coast
and Ghana, which churn out 40%
and 20% of the world's production
respectively.
Because of the particular growing
conditions for soft commodities,
prices tend to fluctuate due
to weather issues, political conflicts,
credit shortages and the
inability to respond to rising prices.
When any of those happen – as
they frequently do, companies have
to cope by charging more.
And that means investors
can do quite well…
A Sour Mix
Right now, things aren't so
sweet for chocolate lovers.
While analysts expect cocoa
demand to recover quickly from
the global economic downturn – growing
anywhere between 1.5% and 3%
between 2009 and 2010 – the market
cannot sustain that kind of pressure.
The increase in cocoa-craving
consumers will create a
growing market deficit for the
fourth year in a row, rising from
62,000 metric tons in 2008 to
73,000 this year according to
the International Cocoa Organization.
And with the industry forecasting
that consumption will outpace
supply yet again next year,
the cocoa market could very well
enter its worst period
of shortage in 40 years.
To make it worse, El Nino weather
patterns could affect production
in Indonesia, the world's third-largest
producer, and Ecuador,
the seventh-largest.
Meanwhile, in Nigeria – the
fourth-largest producer – political
problems lowered exports by
22% earlier this year and could
affect the crop at any point again.
But even with all of that, the real
reason cocoa prices should
soar is down to the Ivory Coast…
The Ivory Coast's Lagging Production
Thanks to too much rain and the
Black Pod Disease – a fungal
infection that can ruin
entire crops – the Ivory Coast
reported a poor cocoa harvest
this year. And even if it gets
perfectly favorable weather
in the months ahead, the country
could deliver a still smaller crop
due to too many aging trees.
And it's not simply a question
of planting new trees. That endeavor
requires time and money,
the latter of which small farmers
in that region – already among
the world's most heavily
taxed growers – simply don't have.
Under that kind of stress, Ivory Coast
output could decline as much as
15% in 2010 – some
100,000 metric tons.
And that's on top of a
200,000 metric ton drop in
the 2008-2009 season.
This has cocoa buyers such
as Cadbury (NYSE: CBY) and
Nestle (OTC: NSRGY) worried.
Both firms have launched programs
aimed at replanting trees,
in a desperate effort to avoid
a long-term decline in output.
The problem is, no one is certain
whether those efforts will succeed,
especially with the region's largest
cocoa workers' union threatening
to strike if its demands for
government subsidies and
farmers' co-operatives aren't met.
And finally, we have the fact that
many chocolate manufacturers
have yet to cover their needs
for next year…
Enrich Your Portfolio
Not good news for chocoholics.
But if you're an investor, it could be
a sweet ride, as prices move
to their highest levels
since February 1980.
With the problems in the Ivory Coast
looking like they could take
a while to resolve, investors still
have plenty of time to get
on board this upward trend
in cocoa prices.
Experienced commodities traders
could take advantage through
the cocoa futures or
futures options market directly.
But a simpler way is to invest
through an exchange-traded
note (ETN).
Trading on the New York Stock
Exchange just like a stock,
the unleveraged Dow Jones-UBS
Cocoa Subindex Total
Return ETN (NYSE: NIB) is
based on cocoa futures and will
mirror the performance
of cocoa, minus the fees.
Good investing,
Tony Daltorio
P.S. For more commodities
recommendations, take a look at
the Xcelerated Profits Report.
The advisory issues picks
on gold, natural gas, sugar
and other everyday commodities
that could prove extremely
lucrative for savvy investors.
For more information,
Related Investment U Articles:
- Three Ways to "Sweeten"
- Your Portfolio
- These Three Commodities
- Are Set to Move…
- Are You Ready to Profit?
- The World of Commodities:
- The Future Of The Gold,
- Silver, Corn & Sugar Markets
--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda
11/30/09
How far can Rwanda go in expanding tax bracket?
and chairman of the
EAC summit. Photo/FILE
By Eugene Kwibuka (email the author)
BUSINESS DAILY
Until last year, Jean Nepomuscene
Ndahimana, a street hawker in
the Nyamirambo area of Kigali
in Rwanda, was able to go about
his business selling socks
without being hassled by the police.
He bought a small house in the
town's poor suburb of Rwampara
for his family and was able
to make a respectable, if simple, living.
But last year the government began
to enforce a trade law
prohibiting street hawkers.
The police began a campaign
to get hawkers off the streets and
Mr Ndahimana found himself
in a dilemma: unable to afford
a trading licence to sell his wares
legally, but not prepared
to give up his livelihood.
So he continued to sell his socks
while trying to dodge the police.
He has evaded them many times.
But the 30-year-old says he has
also been arrested, even temporarily
locked up, and had his goods
confiscated innumerable times.
He ended up in debt, was forced
to sell his house and to send
his wife and two children back
to his home village while he continues
to try to eke out a living while
staying one step ahead of the police.
Create jobs
"President Kagame said that
every Rwandan should create a job
and this is the job I created for myself,
why should I be denied (the right)
to do it?"
he asks while carefully setting out
the various socks that he sells.
A banner banning street
hawking hangs close by.
Mr Ndahimana's predicament is
becoming a common story in Kigali,
where the government is currently
trying to bring the informal sector
into the tax bracket.
President Paul Kagame has said
he wants his government to raise
enough money through taxes so that
Rwanda no longer depends
on foreign aid from countries
such as Britain.
At the country's eighth National
Tax Day recently, where awards
such as "most compliant and
exemplary taxpayer" are handed out,
Mr Kagame called upon all
Rwandans to stop looking at tax
as a burden but rather a means
of facilitating the country's progress
and economic growth.
But there are many hurdles,
not least the high cost of
buying the necessary licences.
Small-time traders like
Mr Ndahimana say they
cannot afford to pay.
Mr Ndahimana spends around
Rwf 85,000 ($150) a month buying socks.
If he sells them all he can make up
to Rwf 10,000 ($18) over two weeks.
Mr Ndahimana insists he is
too poor to formalise his business.
"Starting a shop is too expensive
for me and it doesn't guarantee me
that I will obtain the profit I used
to get by hawking," he says.
"I always tell [the police and
local officials] that I will continue
to do it because despite their threats
this is how I earn a living."
Mr Ndahimana's determination
to stay in the informal sector
presents a challenge for the government.
Difficulties of collecting taxes
Collecting taxes in many
developing countries is hard.
The Rwandan Revenue Authority,
which was set up in 1995,
has been held up as
an example of success
in terms of tax collection.
A three-fold increase in tax revenues
between 1998 and 2006 saw
the national budget also grow
three-fold, from Rwf 175 billion
($308 million) to Rwf 528 billion
($928 million).
And as tax revenues have
increased the proportion of
Rwanda's budget financed
by aid has declined.
In 2001, only 34.62 per cent of
the total budget was financed by
domestic sources, while in 2008
it hit 44 per cent and is
expected to rise again this year.
However, Rwanda's major remaining
hurdle to strengthening its
domestic revenue base is
integrating the country's informal sector.
According to the Private Sector Federation
(PSF), an organisation
dedicated to promoting business
in Rwanda, about 0.3 per cent
of tax payers currently contribute
48 per cent of Rwanda's tax revenue.
There are fewer than 3,000
registered companies paying
national taxes in Rwanda,
according to a case study on
the Rwandan Revenue Authority
by the UK's Department for
International Development (DfID)
and the Foreign Investment
Advisory Service (FIAS).
Of these, the top 13 companies are
estimated to pay some 80 per cent
of all taxes collected in Rwanda.
"Over 40 per cent of Rwanda's dealers
are in the informal economy,"
says Gerald Nkusi Mukubu,
director of the Taxpayer Services
Department at the Rwanda
Revenue Authority.
"Every year we have a target for
tax collection and it depends on
the situation of the country's economy.
If all of those people in the
informal sector pay taxes, there is
no doubt that we can finance
the whole budget of the country."
Explaining the importance of paying taxes
Gustave Tombola, the Director
of Research and Consultancy
at Kigali Independent University,
recently led a three-year
research project into taxing
small and medium businesses.
He says if the government is
to successfully collect tax
from the informal sector
it will have many hurdles to overcome.
"The biggest challenge of taxing
the informal sector is to locate
where its businesses are
working from," he said.
Mr Tombola, who defines
the informal sector in Rwanda as
any business with no clear
accounting records, adds that
the second challenge is
a lack of knowledge about
the tax system by informal sector workers.
Because they do not always
understand the system, and cannot
afford to hire an accountant,
they can end up paying
higher taxes than they need to.
The study calls on the Rwanda
Revenue Authority to train
small and medium enterprises
on fiscal laws and visit them
to explain the importance of paying taxes.
Sells vegetables
In Nyamirambo market, just
a few metres from where
Mr Ndahimana hawks his socks,
Julienne Mukarugambwa,
a 56-year-old mother of
six children has a different story to tell.
Mrs Mukarugambwa sells
vegetables from a small,
one metre square space that
she rents for Rwf 3,600 every month.
This fee covers Rwf 2,000 as
a tax for the district, while
the remainder pays towards
cleaning and guarding the market.
With an outlay of around
Rwf 15,000 ($26) on vegetables
for resale, Mrs Mukarugambwa can
make a profit of
Rwf 4,000 ($7) in two days.
She says that she is happy to pay
tax as it is good for her country.
However, more importantly, she says,
it means she no longer faces
any hassle from the police.
"I am happy today because no one
threatens me," she said.
"I would have died from police beatings
and efforts to escape arrest if
I hadn't come here," she says,
gesturing to her stall.
"I also think that the taxes we pay
help to support the country's many
orphans, widows, and AIDS patients."
The aim of the RRA is now to turn
the country's Mr Ndahimanas into
Mrs Mukarugambwas.
Link here
--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda
11/29/09
Décès de la princesse Ferial
funérailles du prince Rainier
de Monaco (AFP)
NOUVELOBS.COM
La princesse Ferial, fille du roi
Farouk 1er d'Égypte, est morte
d'un cancer de l'estomac à Genève,
où elle s'était définitivement installée.
Elle sera enterrée dans
son pays d'origine.
La princesse Ferial, fille du roi
Farouk 1er d'Égypte, chassé du
pouvoir en 1952, est morte
dimanche 29 novembre à Genève
après sept années de lutte
contre un cancer de l'estomac,
a-t-on appris auprès d'un
proche de la famille, Lotus Abdel Karim.
La princesse Ferial était née en
1938 à Alexandrie (nord), de l'union
du roi Farouk avec Farida,
sa première femme.
Elle avait suivi des études en Suisse,
où elle s'était définitivement installée.
"Elle sera enterrée en Égypte.
Sa dépouille sera rapatriée (...) d'ici
un à deux jours", a précisé
Lotus Abdel Karim.
Le père de la princesse avait abdiqué
dans le cadre de la révolution de 1952.
Son fils, Ahmed Fouad
(Fouad II d'Égypte) lui avait alors succédé,
mais il avait été contraint de rejoindre
sa famille en exil après
la proclamation de
la République en 1953.
(Nouvelobs.com avec AFP)
Link here
--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda
France and Rwanda agree to restore ties
Seattle Pi Europe
PARIS -- The French presidency says
France and Rwanda have agreed
to restore diplomatic ties three years
after they were cut off amid
tensions over a
French judicial investigation.
President Nicolas Sarkozy's office
says his chief of staff, Claude Gueant,
has met with Rwandan President
Paul Kagame in the African
nation's capital. It says the men
agreed Sunday "to re-establish
diplomatic relations between
the two countries."
Rwanda decided in November 2006
to break diplomatic ties with
France after a French investigating
judge accused Kagame of ordering
the 1994 assassination of Rwandan
President Juvenal Habyarimana.
The downing of the plane sparked (?)
the violence that led to the
slaughter of more than 500,000 people,
mainly Tutsis and moderate Hutus,
in less than 100 days.
Link here--
J-L K
Sent from Kigali, Rwanda