Manajemen PT.(Persero) Pelabuhan Indonesia II mempunyai tujuan jangka panjang agar pelabuhan yang dikelolanya dapat memberikan pelayanan kelas dunia (World Class Port Operator).
Program jangka pendek PT.(Persero) Pelabuhan Indonesia II salah satunya adalah melaksanakan kegiatan untuk meningkatkan kinerja pelayanan jasa kepelabuhanan, yaitu jasa pelayanan kapal dan pelayanan barang. Upaya meningkatkan kualitas pelayanan tersebut ditempuh dengan program mengimplementasikan EDI dalam komunitas Pelabuhan secara bertahap.
Hampir semua pelabuhan besar didunia telah mengimplementasikan EDI, termasuk pelabuhan-pelabuhan negara tetangga dikawasan ASEAN. Mereka telah lama bersiap-siap menyongsong globalisasi perdagangan dengan akan diberlakukannya kawasan pasar bebas AFTA tahun 2003 dan APEC, dimana implementasi EDI/E-commerce merupakan keharusan.
Teknologi untuk komunikasi data maupun dokumen perdagangan sudah sedemikian maju dan memberikan peluang bagi pelaku bisnis meningkatkan kinerja serta daya saing usahanya memasuki dunia bisnis global, akan tetapi tentunya dituntut menggunakan sistem dokumentasi berstandar internasional.
Proyek Pengembangan EDI Kepelabuhanan
PT.(Persero) Pelabuhan Indonesia II bekerja sama dengan PT. EDI Indonesia telah menyelesaikan pengembangan sistem EDI terutama dilingkungan Unit Terminal Peti Kemas dan telah dioperasionalkan selama periode 1998 hingga 2000 untuk mendukung kelancaran aktivitas :
- bongkar-muat,
- import-delivery
- export-receiving
di Unit Terminal Peti Kemas (JICT) Tanjung Priok dan TPK Koja.
Sebagai kelanjutan dari implementasi sistem EDI di kedua terminal inconventional tersebut, pada tahun 2001 akhir PT.(Persero) Pelabuhan Indonesia II bekerja sama dengan PT. EDI Indonesia menetapkan rancangan pengembangan sistem EDI terutama dilingkungan pelabuhan konvensional Tanjung Priok.
Implementasi EDI di pelabuhan konvensional Tanjung Priok meliputi pelayanan Jasa Kapal dan Barang. Sistem EDI untuk palayanan Jasa Kapal merupakan tahap pertama yang didasarkan atas Nota Kesepahaman (MOU) antara General Manager Pelabuhan Tanjung Priok dengan Ketua INSA Jaya yang ditandatangani pada 22 November 2000. Dalam pelayanan jasa kapal direncanakan akan mempertukarkan 20 (dua puluh) dokumen, dimana pengembangannya akan dilakukan dalam 2 (dua) skala prioritas.
- Prioritas pertama akan mencakup pengembangan 12 (dua belas) jenis dokumen EDI
- Prioritas kedua akan mencakup pengembangan 8 (delapan) dokumen EDI.
Pengembangan sistem dilakukan dengan memanfaatkan kemajuan dan konvergensi teknologi EDI :
- VAN (Value Added Network) based EDI
- IP (Internet Protocol) /WEB atau close user Internet based EDI .
Mandatory Port EDI
Pada tahap pertama release I, 4 (empat) dokumen pelayanan kapal dipelabuhan Tanjung Priok terhitung 20 Agustus 2002 hanya dapat dilayani sepenuhnya melalui sistem EDI, yaitu dokumen Rencana Kedatangan Sarana Pengangkutan (CUSREP), Rencana Tambat Kapal & Operation Planning (MOVINS), Nota Tagihan Jasa Kapal (INVOIC) dan Kredit Nota 4A (CREADV).
Pengguna jasa pelabuhan selama 1 (satu) tahun pertama akan dibebaskan dari kewajiban membayar biaya pengiriman ke empat dokumen tersebut.
Bagi pengguna jasa (khususnya perusahaan pelayaran) yang belum memiliki sendiri fasilitas sistem EDI, dapat memanfaatkan pusat pelayanan yang disebut EDI Service Center (ESC) di alamat :
Gedung ITI Lantai Dasar
Jl. Panaitan No. 7 Pelabuhan Tanjung Priok
Tilp. 43906440
Fax. 43906439
e-mail : edicenter@indosat.net.id
Pihak-pihak yang terlibat
Modul-modul pendukung akan dibangun untuk kebutuhan banyak pihak didalam komuniti pelabuhan diantaranya:
- Perusahaan Pelayaran,
- Administrator Pelabuhan,
- Syahbandar
- Bank.
Aplikasi informasi pelayanan kapal berbasis Web akan dikembangkan untuk memudahkan penyebaran dan akses terhadap informasi.
Program interface akan disediakan untuk kebutuhan:
- Kantor Pelayanan Bea & Cukai,
- Terminal Petikemas,
- Terminal Operator/Perusahaan Bongkar Muat,
- Imigrasi
- Karantina (Tumbuhan, Hewan, Kesehatan) .
Integrasi dengan aplikasi in-house telah dilakukan untuk Cabang Pelabuhan Tanjung Priok
Alur dokumen
Legenda :
sumber dokumen melalui EDI VAN
penerimaan dokumen melalui EDI VAN
penerimaan dokumen melalui WEB-TCP/IP
Keterangan :
1. Rencana kedatangan sarana pengangkut (RKSP/JKSP/BC 1.0)
2. Manifest bongkar
3. Bay Plan/stowage plan bongkar
4. Rencana kapal tambat + operation planning
5. Permintaan pelayanan kapal dan barang (PPKB)
6. Penetapan PPKB
7. Nota tagihan jasa kapal (4A)
8. Kredit Nota 4A
9. Nota PUP
10. Nota uang rambu
11. Kredit nota PUP
12. Kredit nota uang rambu
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Success Story > Port EDI
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Jihad Kids -- Islamic Seeds of Hate and Martyrdom
Almost from birth, Muslim children are taught to hate Christians and Jews - to glorify "jihad" (holy war) and to embrace violence, death and child martyrdom.
In their schools and mosques, young Muslim's are taught songs about wanting to become "suicide warriors" and taking up guns and bombs to kill non-believers. Such indoctrination is an essential part of Islamic prescribed destiny which is to destroy all non-Muslims (infidels) and thereby achieve their Quranic vision of one world under Islam.
Muslims have been in this unceasing struggle since the time of Muhammad.
During the last decade, Islamic expansionist have further perfected the exploitation of children and teenagers indoctrinated with messages of hatred and incitement against Christians and Jews to perpetrate terrorist attacks and engage in terrorist-supportive activities such as demonstrations and clashes with authority.
Let there be no doubt about it, World War III is underway and Islamic expansionist have no problem sacrificing their young for the cause.
It was started 15 centuries ago when a man named Muhammad, claiming to be a messenger from God, managed to form a savagely oppressive and dehumanizing religion known as Islam.
Throughout the centuries, by military conquests and terrorism, the religion of Islam has slowly metastasized into a deadly threat to all other religions. Now, one out of every five people in the world are Muslims.
Islamic expansionist are bombing, murdering, mutilating, raping and wreaking havoc all over the Judeo/Christian world. Nearly all the world's violence and tension can be traced to Muslim attempts at establishing a one world Islamic state.
Islamic violence and Islam's premeditated use of children for deadly violence highlights the treacherous extremes Islamic expansionists are willing to employ to destroy free world values and to muzzle freedom of thought and expression.
Freedom of expression (spoken or penned) is not allowed to exist in any Moslem country because Islamic de facto Sharia law prohibits all criticism of Islam and its prophet Muhammad.
By default, Muslims have been allowed to impose this tyrannical law on the entire world. The point is underscored by the unholy fact that a majority of politicians and journalists in the free world, "whether out of sympathy, or out of fear of having their throats cut - are afraid to criticize Islam publicly."
Our free world is beginning to collapse under the Islamic onslaught and has no idea how to react.
The percentage of Muslims in America is much lower than in Europe, but the growth of Islam is gaining a powerful foothold in American society and government.
Recently, Ruben Shumpert, a black American who converted to Islam was caught using his Seattle, Washington, barber shop to teach children "how to shoot and fight the Americans."
In court documents, federal agents claimed Shumpert's barber shop was a gathering place for radical Muslims where he showed children videotapes of "fighting, shooting and killing with images on his computer screen of al-Qaida and the Taliban,"
The agents called his shop a kind of "anti-American training ground for Muslims.
Shumpert fled to Somalia to avoid prison after he was convicted on federal counterfeiting and weapons charges.
Even America is being transformed by Islam, where this year the first Muslim, ever, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman elect Keith Ellison (D-Min) has already made a very public issue out of wanting to use the Muslim, instead of Christian bible, to swear the United States oath of allegiance.
Islamic immigration to America is well advanced. Analysts conclude it's simply a matter of time before Muslim minorities will have even more control of our government, our communities and what might be taught in our schools.
Then will come Islamic Sharia law and transformation to a repressive Islamic state.
Barak Hussein Obama - Who is he?
After only being a U.S. Senator for a couple of years, Barak Hussein Obama, Democrat Senator from Chicago, has managed to catapult himself to the status of a messiah in the Democrat Party. The result is that ever since, he's been walking on water toward the White House.
Obama says after his visit with friends and family in Hawaii during the 2006 year-end holidays, he'll announce if he's going to run for president in 2008.
Bets are that he will.
Who is Obama and what has he done?
Independent columnist, Andy Martin (Out2.com) says he believes Obama is a political fraud who "lied to the American people."
Martin says Obama may be a threat to the Jewish community because he is a closet Muslim.
"I feel sad having to expose Barack Obama," says Martin, "but the man is a complete fraud. The truth is going to surprise, and disappoint, and outrage many people who were drawn to him. He has lied to the American people, and he has sought to misrepresent his own heritage.
"Obama's life story is vastly different from the one he portrays. My point: if he will lie about his mother and father, what else is he lying about? Can we expect 'bimbo eruptions?'
"Fiction: Obama stated in his Convention speech: 'My father … grew up herding goats.' The 'goat herder' claim has been repeated endlessly. It is a lie.
"Fact: Obama's grandfather, Hussein Onyango Obama was a prominent and wealthy farmer. His son, Obama's father, was a child of privilege, not privation. He was an outstanding student, not a herdsman.
"Fiction: Obama was given an 'African' name.
"Fact: Obama is a Muslim who has concealed his religion..
"He has treated his Muslim heritage as a dark secret. His grandfather was named 'Hussein.' That is an Arabic-Muslim, not African, name. Hussein was a devout Muslim and named his son, Barack Senior, 'Baraka.' Baraka is an Arabic word meaning 'blessed.' Baraka comes out of the Koran and Arabic, not Africa.
"Barack Senior was also a devoted Muslim, and also chose a Muslim name for his son, our own Barack Obama, Junior. Again, his name was an Arabic and Koranic.
"Fiction: Obama Senior was a harmless student 'immigrant' who came to the United States only to study.
"Fact: Obama was part of one of the most corrupt and violent organizations in Africa: the Kenyatta regime. Obama's father ran back to Kenya soon after the British left. It is likely Obama's father had Mau Mau sympathies or connections, or he would not have been welcomed into the murderous inner circle of rapists, murderers, and arsonists. I believe Obama's secret shame at his family history of rape, murder and arson is what actualizes him. Our research is not yet complete. We are seeking to examine British colonial records. Our investigation to date has drawn on information on three continents.
"And what about Obama's beloved Kenyan brothers and sisters? None of his family was invited to Boston to share his prominence. Are his relatives being kept in the closet? Where are they? More secrecy, more prevarication.
"It is time for Barack Obama to stop presenting a fantasy to the American people. We are forgiving and many would still support him. It may well be that his concealment is meant to endanger Israel. His Muslim religion would obviously raise serious questions in many Jewish circles where Obama now enjoys support," Martin said.
Debbie Schlussel, a conservative political commentator, columnist, was more pointedly critical about Obama's Islamic connections, she wrote on her blog, debbieschlussel.com/, "while Obama may not identify as a Muslim, that's not how the Arab and Muslim Streets see it.
"In Arab culture and under Islamic law, if your father is a Muslim, so are you. And once a Muslim, always a Muslim. You cannot go back. In Islamic eyes, Obama is certainly a Muslim. He may think he's a Christian, but they do not."
Is a man Muslims think is a Muslim, Schlussel asked on her blog, " a man we want as President when we are fighting the war of our lives against Islam? Where will his loyalties be?
"Is that even the man we'd want to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, if Hillary Clinton offers him the Vice Presidential candidacy on her ticket (which he certainly wouldn't turn down)?"
Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of Barack Hussein Obama Sr. of Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, and Ann Dunham, of Wichita, Kan.
Obama senior met his wife, a white woman, when he was a student attending the University of Hawaii. Obama junior was born in Hawaii.
When he was two-years old, Obama's parents divorced and his father returned to Kenya, where he eventually served as a senior economist in the country's Ministry of Finance.
When Obama was six, his mother, an atheist, married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian Muslim and moved to Jakarta, Indonesia. Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro was born after the family moved to Indonesia.
Soetoro enrolled his stepson in one of Jakarta's Muslim Wahabbi schools. Wahabbism is the radical teaching that created the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad on the rest of the world. Obama later attended a Catholic school in Indonesia.
At age 10 Obama was sent back to Hawaii to be raised by his white maternal grandparents and to attend the prestigious Punahou Academy.
He attended Occidental College, followed by Columbia College and Columbia University.
After Obama's parents divorced when he was two, he spent only one month with his father before his father's death in a vehicle wreck when Obama was 20.
After college, Obama entered Harvard Law where he was elected president of the Harvard Law Review. He received his law degree in 1991 and moved to Chicago where he took a job with a civil rights law firm.
Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996. He lost in a bid for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000 and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004.
Obama says he is a Christian with "deep faith rooted in the Christian tradition." He is a member of Trinity United Church of Christ of Chicago, which on its web site declares to be a "congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian" and "an African people" who "remain 'true to our native land,' the mother continent, the cradle of civilization."
Trinity United Church of Christ adopted a "Black Value System" which pledges allegiance "to all Black leadership who espouse and embrace the Black Value System" and a "personal commitment to embracement of the Black Value System."
According to ontheissues.org, Obama has proven himself to be a nearly perfect leftist democrat. He is pro-abortion, anti-gun, against ban of same-sex marriage, against teaching family values in public schools, against ban of flag burning, against privatizing Social Security, against the death penalty and three strikes laws, for hiring more women and minorities, for increased funding for health care and for campaign finance reform.
He believes in the separation of church and state - except when he campaigns in black churches.
Who is Barak Hussein Obama?
Many Democrats are promoting him in the media as the Democrat's best hope for winning the White House in 2008.
Referring to Obama's 2006 year-end visit with friends and family in Hawaii, Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro, recently stated: "He's going to make his decision here and announce it to us. Then he's probably going to officially announce his decision once he returns."
The Associated Press reported that Obama is expected back in Washington, DC the first week of January 2007.
UNDERTERMINED SEX
When Arabs promise to destroy Israel or turn American and European cities into infernos with rivers of blood running along the streets, I don’t question their sincerity: as soon as they think they can do it, they will try. In most other matters, I tend to distrust them. I certainly get suspicious whenever it comes to numbers. It’s not just because the so-called “Arabic numerals” were in fact invented by Hindus. It’s mainly because the Islamic concepts of good and evil can be exhaustively described in a single sentence: Whatever is good for jihad is good, period. It just so happens that truth is usually bad for jihad. Remember the arithmetic of Jenin, Jenin?
Nevertheless, when I read an article posted on an English-language Al-Jazeera website about the Brits converting to Islam by the thousand, I felt compelled to believe it, because I know from other sources, including private letters, that this is happening not only in (formerly) Great Britain, but all across Western Europe. As bizarre as it may seem, this is not unprecedented. The British Union of Fascists, organized by Sir Oswald Mosley in 1932, survived World War II and became, in 1949, one of the very first proponents of the European Union. Interesting, isn’t it? If some Brits could join a Nazi party during the Battle of Britain, I don’t see why they shouldn’t convert to Islam during jihad. Still, the mentality of betrayal — and conversion to Islam even in the time of peace constitutes the ultimate betrayal of all our values — remains a fascinating topic, which is why the Al-Jazeera article is worth reading.
One of the new converts honored by a personal reference in the article is Yahya (nee Jonathan) Birt, son of Sir John Birt, the former director general of the BBC. Even taking into account the proverbial eccentricity of the British elite, I still find it hard to fathom. It will forever remain a mystery to us whether the Master Yahya was influenced by the consistent pro-terrorist bias of the establishment headed until 2000 by Sir John, or both father and son fell victim to the same dreadful genetic disorder. The article quotes Yahya Birt’s own explanation (the original punctuation preserved — YS):
I find the absence of a coherent reason easier to believe than the rest of his statement. After all, a truly pristine oasis of Muslim life unmarred by the corrupting influence of the West is hard to come by. Afghanistan under the Taliban rule was probably the closest to the ideal. The profundity was there all right, if you can use the term to denote the bottomless desperation of its suffering people. But balance? Coherence? Spirituality? I’d like examples, please. In lieu of those, I am prepared to presume some deeply personal reasons for Yahya Birt’s decision to join people who look and act like villains in a high school production of Sinbad the Sailor. Maybe his wife, assuming he is married, is so ugly that nothing can alleviate his eternal embarrassment but a good chador? Or maybe he is afflicted with that common manifestation of British eccentricity, homosexuality, and wrapping his life partner head to toe in a hijab is but a desperate attempt to gain social acceptance?
I have received letters from people who are put off by the wishy-washy standards of contemporary Christianity and they are looking for a religion which does not compromise too much with the modern world.
Let me start with the rejection of the modernity. A vital religion evolves with time. Its progress is similar to the progress of science: our understanding of the subject either develops ever further or stagnates as it has happened with Islam. Therefore, modernity does not present a problem for a true religion. Look, for example, at Orthodox Jews who, in the modern world, manage to live in the strictest compliance with the laws of Talmud that were written down centuries before the emergence of Islam and, unlike the “holy” texts of the Muslims, have never been edited since. And yet, Europeans convert to Islam rather than Judaism. Let me ask a funny question: Why?
Probably, because Judaism presumes the freedom of will, that implies the level of personal responsibility that some people are unwilling or unable to accept.
Probably, because the level of both faith and understanding required by true Judaism is too much for most of those who did not absorb them with mother’s milk.
Probably, because being a Jew of any persuasion requires a commitment that most people who weren’t born with that burden find excessive. It’s easier for Christians: Jews, by killing Jesus, saved every single one of them, from 2,000 years ago till Judgment Day. For Jews it’s a bit trickier. With 2,000 years of ruthless persecution behind them, with one Holocaust in recent history and the next one looming ahead, they know that every one of them is the sole savior of him or herself and, hopefully, their loved ones, and, with God’s help, their people. Who in his sane mind would chose a religion whose road to salvation leads through the ovens and gas chambers?
In comparison, conversion to Islam is easy. All it takes is a single statement acknowledging an Arabic deity as your god and one of the most abysmal characters in human history as its ultimate prophet. Say it, and you are in. Of course, it is a deceptive ease. Remember countless bad movies where the enemies make sure the turncoat is sincere by forcing him to kill his former comrades? In one form or another, there is no escaping that test for newly converted Muslims, but never fear: as the American war on terror has demonstrated, most of them pass it with flying colors.
Please do not overlook this interesting fact: Islam, even in its most rigid form, lives in a state of permanent conflict with itself caused by inevitable compromise with modernity. Every piece of technology Muslims are using, from AK-47’s to gold-plated Cadillacs, to cell phones, to running water, to suitcase nuclear bombs — all of it comes from the infidels, simply because all the past, present, and, I assure you, future technology on this planet comes from the infidels. The fact that use of this modern technology causes no intellectual discomfort among the followers of the vile non-prophet suggests that the ability to experience cognitive dissonance, as well as the urge to invent and discover, emerges only at later stages of societal evolution than those attained so far by Muslim countries.
No, if I were looking for the cause of mass conversion to Islam among the Europeans, I would leave modernity alone and take a hard look at those “wishy-washy standards of contemporary Christianity”, because they derive straight from the very glue that holds our civilization together: our tolerance. Our tolerance takes many forms, and for each of those forms there exists a wide variety of misinterpretations, both intentional and purely naïve.
Take, for example, the First Amendment, which is, essentially, a codification of our tolerance of expressions of dissenting views and opinions. Imagine, for instance that your interior decorator ignores your detailed instructions. When you come to inspect his work, you find out that the walls of your living room, instead of light peach, are now the color of fresh blood, interrupted only by portraits of Marx, Stalin, Mao and Fidel. Your bedroom is grass green and decorated with inscriptions of Allah akbar in both Arabic and Roman letters, lest you miss their meaning, while your pre-teen son’s room is adorned with blown-up reproductions from the Hustler.
Does the First Amendment mean that the creativity of your interior decorator shall remain unrewarded? No, the First Amendment means only that the Congress shall pass no laws that might impede freedom to express one’s views. The government won’t lock him up for being a Communist, a Muslim, or a pornographer. However, in a reasonable society, he will be forced to return everything you paid him, and recover the costs of undoing his exercises, and compensate you for whatever legal fees you may incur in the process. Believe it or not, in addition to granting your interior decorator the freedom to use and abuse all his freedoms, the First Amendment also implies that Congress shall pass no laws forcing you to view, listen to, or otherwise consume expressions of views you find offensive.
Another vitally important manifestation of tolerance is our freedom of religion. No matter what I believe, no matter what you believe, none of us has a right to impose his or her beliefs on the other. This simple rule has managed to keep a terrible can of worms closed for so long, that we tend to forget that some of our beliefs are mutually exclusive and cannot be true at the same time, because there is only one truth. Just one. Any other version of events is false, regardless of how strong your belief in it is. The only reason we need freedom of religion is that there is no legal or scientific way to determine whose version is the closest to the truth.
There is either one god, or several, or none. God either spoke to Moses from a burning bush or Moses made it up. The parting of the Red Sea is either a metaphor or an historic event. Jesus either lived or was invented. If he did, he either was a Messiah or wasn’t. Jews either killed him or they didn’t. Mohammad was either God’s prophet or one of the worst criminals in human history. He either ascended to heaven on a winged horse or it is a stupid fairy tale of illiterate savages.
Freedom of religion entitles each one of us to make his or her own choice among these almost endless possibilities. However, it does not guarantee that any theoretically possible choice is true. You have no right to tell me that your faith is truer than mine. But if you forget that, even for a second, then your faith is as good as dead.
It gets more complicated. Our tolerance extends so unbelievably far that some creationists acknowledge the right of others to believe in evolution. They don’t understand that the theory of evolution is not a religious dogma but a scientific theory, that it is a matter not of faith but of scientific facts, that, unlike any religion, it is inherently incomplete and limited, and always subject to revision whenever new relevant facts come up. I, for one, believe that God is the Creator of the universe. I don’t believe however that He created everything the way it exists today. I can’t imagine God drawing pictures and writing phone numbers on the walls of public toilets; I believe those art forms are a manifestation of evolution, one of many. I don’t see why God would create a puppet theater rather than a living universe capable of evolving. According to my belief, there is no incompatibility between creation and evolution. God made Adam out of clay. An assumption that God has hands seems a bit of a stretch to me. Is there a reason that would prevent God from using evolution He Himself started as an instrument of His creation?
Tolerance allows us to avoid a great many unnecessary conflicts. One day, we discovered that it was awfully convenient to tolerate more than just the other guy’s religion. Whenever there is a possibility of a disagreement, polite people avoid the potentially dangerous topic. This way, we can all party together and have fun instead of clashing over each other’s concepts of right and wrong. This way, there is no right and wrong outside our minds. Everything is relative. Everyone is entitled to one’s own opinion. Any two opinions on any subject are equally valid. Insisting that 2×2=4 is not politically correct.
Take, for instance, the abortion issue. When performed early, it does not hurt anyone, because the embryo is not really a human being yet, and the mother-not-to-be gets adequately anesthetized. Why then would we allow the government to dictate to us what to do in such intimately personal matters? This, by the way, has long been my own point of view.
But abortion has an aspect that is rarely considered by either pro-choicers or even pro-lifers. Before the children of today’s baby boomers are ready to retire, there will be a shortage of workers in the United States . There will not be enough of them to support the retirees. The country will have to import workers from abroad by the million. Since Canada will be facing a similar problem, our workers will have to come from the south if we are lucky or from Greater Arabia if we are not. How long will it take for the United States of America to become a mere extension of Mexico or Iraq ? This, by the way, includes Mexican or, respectively, Iraqi standards of living, public and personal hygiene, integrity of elected officials, and all other imaginable and unimaginable fringe benefits. Try to figure out who will be defending this country when that time comes. Try to imagine why they would want to risk their lives to defend it. Oops!
We classify things as good or bad depending upon their consequences. Sometimes however those consequences are too distant and too difficult to predict, and when you are finally able to see them, it’s way too late to change anything. So, the next time you feel like saying that something should be legal because it doesn’t hurt anyone, consider the possibility that what you are drinking is a very slow acting poison.
Complicated? You bet it is. It is so complicated, in fact, that most people become disoriented. They are neither capable nor willing to decide for themselves what’s right and what’s wrong. Eroded by tolerance, Christianity is no longer capable of guidance. This creates gaping vacuum. What’s going to fill it?
Awal Mula Cat
Zaman dahulu kala, anusia gua menggunakan bahan-bahan berwarna yang ditemukan di alam untuk menggambar keadaan saat itu di seputar dinding batu.Saat itu tujuan cat sebagai alat untuk menggambarkan dan mendifinisikan obyek dan keadaan.
Campuran pada saat itu terdiri dari arang,kapur dan warna tanah dan warna-warna yang dihasilkan alam.Mereka mencampurnkannya dengan air, perekat dari pohon dan hewan dan adukan dariBaru yang dapat dilunakan sebagai semen, untuk merekatkan warna.Tentu saja hal tersebut tidak terlalu rumit,tetapi dapat tahan lama,sehingga kita masih dapat mengamati coretan yang pernah dibuatsejak 600 tahu lalu.Penggunaan pertama dari pengecatan sebelumnya seperti yang kita tahu,yang dikatakan untuk menghias dan memperindah, adalah oleh orang mesir dan orang timur tengah.Seniman mendekorasi sisi dalam dari pyramid,ornamen dan patung-patung.Pada umumnya pigment yang dipakai adalah natural,sepeerti garam tembbaga,oker dan vermilion(merah terang),untuk menghasilkan biru, orang Mesir membakar pasir,soda dan tembaga.Warna hitam dibuat dari tulang dan sisa pembakaran sampah.Raja mesir fir’aun juga menyukai suka sekali dengan sepuhan emas,yang pada masa itu lebih banya digunakan dan melambangkan kekayaan.
Lalu orang cina,Jepang dan Amerika mengembangkan pigmen dan bahan perekat, Minyak rami mentah diantaranya.Selanjutnya muncul natural pigment,minyak sayuran,resin dari pohon dsb.Masa itu orang yang pandai mengecat mendapat julukan seniman>Mereka menyiapkan cat sendiri dari pigmen-pigmen dan bahan perekat.Satu hal yang wajar masa itu bila artis cat mengecat dengan tangan dan memperindah seluruh permukaan tembok dalam rumah.
Cat minyak muncul pada abad 15,pada awalnya Leo Battista Alberta menggunakan cat minyak yang kental dan dapat diencerkan dengan turpentine.Dan tidak terlalu lama digunakan juga diseluruh Eropa.Mereka telah menemukan tipe cat yang revolusioner>Pada saat itu di jajahan Amerika Serikat cat menjadi simbul kemewahan.Hanya warga kaya yang berhak mencat rumah mereka.Dan para artis cat terlebut menjadi titik awal evolusi cat dimana dari pengalaman mereka ragam warna dikembangkan.
Warna pertama yang digiling muncul di Eropa selama abad ke 17. Pada abad 19, industri cat dan pernis bukan lagi bersifat seni.Industri cat sudah menjadi bagian dari industri kimia.Dengan kemajuan tersebut pabrik cat sudah dapat membuat cat yang siap pakai.
Pada abad 20 kita sudah dapat menyaksikan perkembangan yang luar biasa.Pengetahuan kimia telah menunjukan pada kita bahan-bahan lain dan proses lain seperti pemasakan minyak dengan resin alam,penemuat resin sintetis/resin buatan yang mana acrylic termasuk didalamnya.
Saat ini,dipasar yang berorientasi pada pelanggan dan lingkungan,BETONEL secara terus menerus meneliti dan mencari untuk pengembangan.Dalam melindingi lingkungan,BETONEL telah memodifikasi formula tanpa menggunakan Timbal (Lead) dan Mekuri (air raksa) dan telah memperbaiki cat syntetis.Kita sekarang sudah dapat menawarkan cat latex(waterbase) yang memenuhi kriteria lingkungan.Masa depan menjanjikan kepada kita penemuan lain yang berhubungan dengan cat.Penelitian dan kerja yang berkelanjutan dengan tujuan mengembangkan produk yang ada dan mencari produk baru dengan tingkat polusi rendah untuk memenuhi kebutuhan pelanggan.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Traditional customs pit young versus old in Indonesia's Torajaland
The Torajanese people of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, have long been renowned for their extravagant celebrations of the dead in funerals, graves, and effigies. Just outside of Rantepao, the regional capital of Torajaland, ostentatious and costly funerals take place often. But increasingly, such rites are dividing generations. As in other indigenous cultures around the world, a growing rift between the young and old is calling the foundations of tradition into question.
The Torajanese, or highland people, have maintained a cultural legacy that predates the introduction of Christianity through missionaries in the 1600s. For centuries, the people of Toraja have treated death with great ceremony, through dramatic rituals and elaborate funerals. The Torajanese entomb their dead in a variety of impressive if unlikely ways: in boulders, limestone cliff faces, hanging graves, caves and trees. Chambers are hand-chiseled out of the rock, a process that takes up to a year to complete and is particularly costly.
While maintaining cultural traditions is important to the Torajanese, the costs of their customary funerals are enormous. At the heart of the clash between the young and old of Toraja lies a grave economic problem. The funeral practices are so lavish and expensive that many families go deeply into debt to pay for the post-mortem celebration of a loved one. These debts are carried through generations, so that children are often born owing money for the funeral of a person they never knew and must spend their whole lives trying to pay back. Funerals breed impoverishment, but their social importance is so high that families will give up anything from a better house or farming equipment to higher education for their children—all to pay the cost of an appropriately profligate funeral.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Your Number One Source for Buying and Selling Iraqi Dinar
About Iraqi Dinar
- On October 15th 2003, the new Iraqi Dinar created a single unified currency that is used throughout all of Iraq. Since the production of the new Iraq Dinar, the international demand for the new Iraqi Dinar has steadily increased.
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- Strong Asset Base - Iraq is the Second Largest Oil reserve holder in the World with reserves worth over $10 trillion at the current market value.
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Iraqis relieved over 'stable dinar'
July 25, 2005
A market-driven monetary policy has reduced the Iraqi dinar's vulnerability to political upheaval and is keeping the exchange rate stable, Central Bank Governor Sinan al-Shabibi said.
A $5 billion build-up of central bank foreign reserves, after its assets were mostly looted following the 2003- invasion, has helped maintain the rate at 1,465-1,475 dinars to the dollar, Shabibi said.
'We are very comfortable with the present exchange rate,' said Shabibi, who was on a visit to Jordan.
'It is a boost to the donors because it introduces predictability, stability and maintains the external purchasing power of the currency,' Shabibi said, referring to billions of dollars of international aid flows for reconstruction.
Despite the postwar violence that has badly delayed economic recovery, the dinar remained stable for more than a year compared with violent fluctuations during Saddam's rule, when it was battered by wars and crushing UN sanctions.
In its heyday in the 1980s, one dinar fetched almost three dollars compared to 2,000 dinars to the dollar in the final years of Saddam's rule.
The build-up in foreign exchange reserves -- under arrangements dictated by the International Monetary Fund -- was from oil sales, support from the government and returns on investments, he added.
'The reserves have been very important to decide the exchange rate and its stability because they make intervention possible,' Shabibi added.
Shabibi said currency stability also helped bring inflation down to 20 per cent-25 per cent compared with 40 per cent -50 per cent last year with the bank improving management of money supply by introducing more varied monetary instruments.
Shabibi said interest rate liberalisation, various deposit facilities and a secondary treasury bill market were all in place as part of postwar monetary reforms.
'We enjoy more flexibility now. The Central Bank leaves foreign currency dealings to market forces but intervenes to prevent fluctuations,' he said.
Shabibi said a foreign exchange auction in operation for a year and a six-month old treasury auction were effective.
'In the auction buyers ask for dollars and the central bank satisfies this demand generally with the goal of ensuring the stability of the exchange rate,' Shabibi added.
'The treasury auction has been meeting the government's financing needs plus determining interest rate levels in the market,' Shabibi said.
The central bank's enhanced autonomy had helped it deal with the political upheavals of postwar Iraq, he said.
'Now the independence of the central bank is not violated and is strengthening day by day. We decide for example the exchange rate not the government.'
The structural monetary reforms have extended to cover the banking system as a whole, he said.
Foreign banks, allowed to enter Iraq in 2003 for the first time in decades, are opting to buy stakes or enter partnerships rather than set up subsidiaries in the present unstable security climate, Shabibi said.
Among the banks with licences are HSBC, Standard Chartered and National Bank of Kuwait .
'They are opting for a different arrangement which is partnership. We don't mind especially if the banks that enter into joint ventures are solid,' Shabibi said.
Regional bankers say Jordan-based Arab Bank and Lebanon's leading Audi Bank are also actively seeking a foothold in Iraqi market.
'We gave a licence to Arab Bank and it's not clear whether it is waiting or wants to do a partnership with others. There could be developments very soon,' Shabibi said.
Joint ventures helped raise the capital base of the country's local banks and bring much needed technology, management upgrades and exposure, he added.
Iraq's 30 private banks, mainly small deposit banks, had to develop their lending if they were to progress, Shabibi said.
'The balance sheets of banks need much development as far as lending but not on the deposit side. They have a lot of liquidity but their problem is their lending policies,' he added.
Investors in new Iraqi dinar spur thriving Web trade
The new Iraqi dinar, introduced in October, is now virtually worthless: It takes 1,460 dinars to equal $1, according to Bloomberg financial news service. (Related: Check the latest exchange rates at USATODAY.com).
But dinar trade is thriving on the Internet.
Internet auctioneer eBay, for example, lists 622 auctions of new Iraqi dinars, in lots from 1,000 to 5 million. Dozens of Web sites, such as www.BuyDinarsHere.com, www.DinarTrade.com and www.InvestInDinar.com, sell dinars to U.S. investors.
The lure: Investors remember that the Kuwaiti dinar plunged to 10 cents after Iraq invaded Kuwait. It's worth $3.39 now.
The Iraqi dinar sold for as much as $3 before the first Gulf War. And Iraq sits on the world's second-largest oil reserves, an enormous asset. "Even if it goes up to one penny per dinar, that's a lot of money," says Mahmoud Shalabi, president of SilverDinar.com.
Currently, a 250,000 dinar note is worth about $171. At a penny per dinar, the same note would be worth $2,500.
Interest has cooled since the U.S. handed power to the Iraqis. "Before the handover of Iraq, business was phenomenal," says Marshall Donnerbauer, president of InvestInDinar.com. "All the soldiers and contractors wanted to be investors before that."
The insurgency hasn't helped business. "It depends on the news," says Katja Morgenstern, president of Dinar Trading Company, which runs www.buydinar.com. "If it's a bad week, business is slow."
Risks for investors are enormous. If Iraq inflates its currency or otherwise devalues it, dinars could get demolished. Further civil strife also could clobber the currency. Speculators who bought dinars early are sitting on big losses. Other problems:
•Pricing. Dinar exchange rates vary widely, and only large institutions can get 1,460 dinars to the dollar. Dinar Trading Company offered 1 million dinars for $1,345 Monday. Dinar Trade offered 1 million dinars for $1,050. "There are lots of different prices around," says Shalabi. "Everyone has his own price."
•Liquidity. Most dealers who sell dinars won't buy them, and U.S. banks won't buy them either. You can, however, sell dinars on eBay. Monday, 1 million dinars were being offered for $840 to $940.
•Fraud. Unlike the worthless Saddam-era dinars, new dinars are difficult to counterfeit. But some investors have ordered dinars from unscrupulous dealers and never received them, Morgenstern says.
Donnerbauer says there's a side benefit to holding millions of dinars. "I'm not a rich guy," he says. "But it's a good way to simulate being rich."
Investors in new Iraqi dinar spur thriving Web trade
The new Iraqi dinar, introduced in October, is now virtually worthless: It takes 1,460 dinars to equal $1, according to Bloomberg financial news service. (Related: Check the latest exchange rates at USATODAY.com).
But dinar trade is thriving on the Internet.
Internet auctioneer eBay, for example, lists 622 auctions of new Iraqi dinars, in lots from 1,000 to 5 million. Dozens of Web sites, such as www.BuyDinarsHere.com, www.DinarTrade.com and www.InvestInDinar.com, sell dinars to U.S. investors.
The lure: Investors remember that the Kuwaiti dinar plunged to 10 cents after Iraq invaded Kuwait. It's worth $3.39 now.
The Iraqi dinar sold for as much as $3 before the first Gulf War. And Iraq sits on the world's second-largest oil reserves, an enormous asset. "Even if it goes up to one penny per dinar, that's a lot of money," says Mahmoud Shalabi, president of SilverDinar.com.
Currently, a 250,000 dinar note is worth about $171. At a penny per dinar, the same note would be worth $2,500.
Interest has cooled since the U.S. handed power to the Iraqis. "Before the handover of Iraq, business was phenomenal," says Marshall Donnerbauer, president of InvestInDinar.com. "All the soldiers and contractors wanted to be investors before that."
The insurgency hasn't helped business. "It depends on the news," says Katja Morgenstern, president of Dinar Trading Company, which runs www.buydinar.com. "If it's a bad week, business is slow."
Risks for investors are enormous. If Iraq inflates its currency or otherwise devalues it, dinars could get demolished. Further civil strife also could clobber the currency. Speculators who bought dinars early are sitting on big losses. Other problems:
•Pricing. Dinar exchange rates vary widely, and only large institutions can get 1,460 dinars to the dollar. Dinar Trading Company offered 1 million dinars for $1,345 Monday. Dinar Trade offered 1 million dinars for $1,050. "There are lots of different prices around," says Shalabi. "Everyone has his own price."
•Liquidity. Most dealers who sell dinars won't buy them, and U.S. banks won't buy them either. You can, however, sell dinars on eBay. Monday, 1 million dinars were being offered for $840 to $940.
•Fraud. Unlike the worthless Saddam-era dinars, new dinars are difficult to counterfeit. But some investors have ordered dinars from unscrupulous dealers and never received them, Morgenstern says.
Donnerbauer says there's a side benefit to holding millions of dinars. "I'm not a rich guy," he says. "But it's a good way to simulate being rich."
Dinar Brokers Boom in Iraq Chaos
From the safety of a computer terminal halfway around the world from battle-weary Baghdad, Bill Burbank is betting that political and economic stability will reign in Iraq some day in the not-too-distant future.
He has a lot riding on that hypothesis. Since October, when Iraq began circulating a new currency to replace its old bills, most of which contained images of Saddam Hussein, Burbank has spent close to $200,000 buying up new Iraqi dinar bills. Through a website based in Alpharetta, Georgia, the day trader and former Navy Seal runs a side business selling the new currency to the public.
"It's just so cheap at a tenth of a penny (per dinar)," he said. "If it just goes to a penny you make a thousand percent. I think there's not too much downside in owning the currency and just holding."
While most are betting far more modest sums on the hopes of economic recovery in Iraq, droves of investors are following a similar logic in buying up dinars. In response, a host of websites have cropped up to cash in on demand, most selling the currency at a steep markup.
Enter the phrase "buy dinar" into a search engine, and the results contain more than a dozen online outlets, most based in the United States, that are willing to sell freshly minted bills. Rates range from about $1,000 to $1,300 for 1 million dinar.
Brokers' prices don't reflect Iraq Central Bank's published exchange rate, because street prices for dinar are usually substantially lower, according to Burbank. Demand for dinars surged in the run up to the June 30 handover of power from the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority to the Iraqi interim government, said Marshall Donnerbauer, owner of the website Investindinar.com. During that period, he was selling around $20,000 worth of dinar a day. In the weeks following the handover, sales slowed to about $5,000 a day.
Donnerbauer says his biggest customers are U.S. soldiers and employees of Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of the contracting firm Halliburton that has a large workforce in Iraq.
"They are over there seeing the growth and believe that Iraq will be much better in the future," he said.
Still, no one's calling the dinar a risk-free investment. Given that the Iraqi dinar is not yet traded on major global currency exchanges, there's no guarantee that buyers of the bills will be able to easily sell them.
"This is an extremely speculative investment -- there's no question about that," said Richard Lyons, a finance professor at the University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
History does provide examples of economies and currencies rebounding in the wake of turmoil, such as Kuwait and the Kuwaiti dinar following the 1991 Gulf War and Germany and the Deutschmark following World War II.
However, Lyons noted, history is also replete with examples of currencies whose value deteriorated sharply in the wake of conflict. One case close to dinar investors' hearts is Iraq itself, which saw its currency's value fall apart following the 1991 Gulf War as international sanctions took effect and Saddam maintained his hold on power.
According to several online dinar sellers, the typical investors spend $1,000 or $2,000 to acquire Iraqi currency. In most cases, investors say they want a large enough holding to make a tidy profit if the currency soars, but not enough to bankrupt them if the dinar declines.
"I always advise people: 'Don't invest more than you can afford to lose,'" said Christine Anderson, operations manager for New-Iraqi- Dinar.com, which sells a million Dinars for $1,240.
In weighing whether buying dinars is a sensible move, Lyons believes investors need to consider political factors more than economic ones. Simply stated, if one believes the current chaos engulfing Iraq will eventually be replaced by a stable, effective government, then the dinar ought to be a good buy. If turmoil continues, even the vast reserves of oil under Iraq's sands probably won't be enough to prop up the dinar.
Another factor prospective buyers should consider, Lyons said, is whether the Iraqi government is likely to increase the money supply to pay for things it can't otherwise afford. If a vast quantity of new dinars enters the economy, it would devalue the existing stock.
Burbank, for his part, is exploring the possibility of adding the Iraqi dinar to one of several established, private networks for forex, or foreign currency trading. If people had a single place to both buy and sell dinars, he believes they'd be more comfortable investing in the currency.
Of course, such an idea has its drawbacks as well, at least for websites that sell dinars. If investors could buy the currency from an established bank or trading exchange, most of the upstart online dinar brokers would likely be out of business.
An Economic Expert: The Iraq Central Bank policy had weakened the local investment and the Ministry of Finance procedure was right
September 01, 2008
While the Expert welcomed the latest proposal by the Ministry of Finance that obliging to distribute the increases in the staff salaries into two shifts in order to reduce financial cash and reducing the constant demand by consumers on the local market.
Dr. Jamil Mohammed Jamil Al Dabagh clarified that indicators demonstrate that most Iraqi commercial banks deposite their funds in the Central Bank for the benefit of up to 18%, and this has limited the volume of investments in the country, and despite the low number of commercial banks but they should lend money to investors and traders with appropriate interest rates and allow the investors to renew the process of investing money in the same interest rates.
Al Dabagh pointed to the main criterion by which to measure the profitability of investing in any country in accordance to the term (marginal efficiency of capital invested).
Where according to this criterion; it is being compared with the prevailing interest rate in the market if the investment returns of industrial or agricultural or business were low (marginal efficiency) of invested capital to these areas (for example) around 10 - 15% and the rate of prevailing interest in the local market will hit 18% This investment can be considered uneconomical that any investor would prefer to put money in Fixed Deposit banks without the need for efforts and problems of investment.
Al Dabagh called to the importance of the central bank's policy accompany another package of measures to be consistent and coherent with other total economic policies to enable the International Bank to eliminate the inflation without complications such as investment policy, foreign trade and domestic tax policies and upon completion of all these policies determined by synchronizing with the policy of Central Bank will then bear its fruit at the level of general economy and eliminate the problem of inflation.
Al Dabagh also said that the Central Bank policy led to reduce the size of inflation in the country, during this year compared with previous years, however, Al Dabagh said the state directed towards raising the living standard of staff, and increased the rates of salaries and the promoting of job hierarchy have led to the growing consumer demand for various goods especially food, as a result of cash money of the staff and their economic recovery and then a slight rise in rates prevailing prices in the domestic market.
Al Dabagh clarified that proposal of the Finance Ministry to postpone the disbursement of salary increases for the next four months of this year to early next year was on target to reduce the cash money and reducing constant demand by consumers on the local market.(Source)AlSaba
Central Bank Consultant : The inflation and the amount of reserve are determining the policy of supp
September 16, 2008
The Central Bank Consultant Dr. Mudhir Mohammad Saleh, stated on Friday, that the bank depends on determinants of policy in supporting the Iraqi dinar exchange rate against the dollar, and that represented by the amount of reserve, and the inflation rate in the Iraqi market, indicating that raising the price of dinar is one of the methods to absorb the inflation.
Saleh explained that "the Bank used to support the dinar's exchange rate against the dollar as a means to absorb inflation in the Iraqi market, by increasing the purchasing power of local currency against the dollar, which reduces the relative impact of inflation." He pointed out that there were "two specific factors to rule this process, the first is the amount of cash reserves from dollars in the Central Bank, and the second is the ratio of monthly inflation."
Saleh continued of saying that upon the amount of reserve and the monthly inflation rate ,we can determine the amount of support the Iraqi dinar exchange rate." Stating that "the fall in demand for the dollar due to the drop in rate prices more than in the past, is a temporary situation and will subside over time, and that the benefit resulting from raising the dinar exchange rate, much higher than the temporary effects and the weak impact on the movement of the Iraqi market."
The volume of aggregate demand to buy the dollar had declined in five sessions of the Central Bank of Iraq auction this week, recording a total demand of 421 million and 555 thousand dollars against 583 million and 15 thousand dollars in the sessions of last week. While the rate of demand retreated from the general rates of demand this year, where the rate request to buy the dollar this week recorded 84 million and 311 thousand dollars, the lowest rate in the current year which reached the limits of the 120 million dollars, according to the sources of the Central Bank of Iraq.
The former Planning Minister and member of the Parliament ,Dr. Mahdi Hafedh, stated on Friday, that the Iraqi monetary policy does not match the current economy needs and there is a conflict between claiming about the radical reduction in inflation rate and the reality of the situation in the local market, expressing his belief that real inflation is still dramatically high and certainly what is being mentioned about the reform in monetary policy is questionable.
The Central Bureau of Statistics and Information Technology announced last Tuesday that the annual inflation rate in 2007 rose by 30.8% compared to 2006, and the reason is due to the higher index of most major groups, particularly fuel and lighting group, which rose (71.6%), and totals other rates ranging between 29.3% and 6%.
Azinger backs beaten rival Faldo
US Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger has defended European rival Nick Faldo following the Americans' victory at Valhalla, their first since 1999.
"The press will pound him over there but the captains get way too much blame when it doesn't happen," said Azinger.
"You know, somebody's got to win and lose. (But) Faldo will get it."
Faldo remains among contenders to captain the European team in 2010, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "Do I want to do it again? We shall see. Who knows?"
If the 51-year-old does look to retain the captaincy for the 2010 event, at Celtic Manor in Wales, he may face competition from Jose Maria Olazabal, his assistant at Valhalla.
Other contenders include Ian Woosnam, who has said he would be keen to regain the captaincy on home soil, Scots Colin Montgomerie and Sandy Lyle, plus Dane Thomas Bjorn.
Olazabal, 42, recently announced his intention to return to playing following a struggle with rheumatism and fatigue.
"I am still hoping that I will be recovered completely from what I am going through," he said.
"If that's the case I want to be playing. That's where I'm at at the moment.
"Only time will tell how quickly I recover and how well I can play again, but if I'm asked for a decision later this year that might be a little early."BBC Sport understands the captaincy will first be formally discussed by European officials at a meeting in the United Arab Emirates in January, which may give Olazabal time to decide.
Woosnam has expressed an interest in taking the 2010 job at the Welsh venue if the players want him back, but may once again run into trouble with Bjorn.
The pair famously fell out when Woosnam, 2006 Ryder Cup skipper, refused to hand Bjorn a wildcard pick.
Bjorn is now chairman of the players' committee, which makes a recommendation to the Europe Ryder Cup Board - and could be in a position to scupper Woosnam's chances of captaining the team.
If Woosnam is given the 2010 nod, Olazabal may reasonably expect to lead the team at Medinah, near Chicago, in 2012.
That would leave the way clear for Colin Montgomerie to potentially captain Europe at the 2014 event, to be held at Gleneagles in Scotland.
"This particular week in Valhalla the American guys beat us fair and square," he said.
"Of course it (losing) hurts. It takes away the final icing on the cake but it's still been a great experience for me and the team."
The victorious Azinger insisted Faldo did not deserve criticism after Europe fell to a 16½-11½ defeat.
"They blamed Tom Kite because Michael Jordan rode in the cart," said Azinger, citing the fate of the losing 1997 US skipper.
"He rode in the cart for one or two holes. Suddenly it was Tom Kite's fault? That was crazy.
"So, Faldo will get it. Mark James got it, (Bernard) Gallacher got it. Everybody gets it."
"He only had one guy that went five matches and I only had two guys that went five matches," said Azinger.
"I did the maths - if a guy plays five matches he loses about 75-80% of the time in singles.
"So I tried to avoid that and I give Nick credit for trying to avoid that rather than rip him for taking a chance.
"I may be wrong, I have no idea. I'm not going to justify, as I said all week, anything that he did or didn't do."
With several top players, including Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, also stepping to Faldo's defence, his chances of reprising the captain's role at Celtic Manor may not be remote.
Wildcard pick Poulter, Europe's leading scorer with four points, said: "Personally I thought Nick was a good captain. Team spirit was great to be honest.
"I thought he did a good job - it's down to the 12 players to go out there and perform."
"I think Nick did nothing wrong," Jacklin told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"I looked at the draw for the singles and honestly, looking at that before they went out, I could see Europe winning.
"He will know he did it his way and it wasn't quite enough. America just came together and on the week, they were the best team."
However, Jacklin admitted both Olazabal and Woosnam had strong claims to the captaincy.
"Olazabal is ripe for it and being at Nick's side this week, he may be the one," he said.
"Woosnam would be more than capable. As soon as the Ryder Cup was announced in Wales, he was the one that rushed to mind."
Whoever takes the captaincy will more than likely have to face Azinger once again.
Leading US players Phil Mickelson and Justin Leonard have backed their skipper to hold on to the role for 2010, but Azinger himself was coy about his future.
"I'm not going to think about it," he said following Sunday's victory.
Ben Hogan was the last US captain to serve consecutive terms, in 1947-49.McCain defends deregulation, endorses bailout
WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain defended deregulation on Wall Street even as he endorsed a $700 billion bailout of financial firms in an interview broadcast Sunday.
His opponent in the presidential race, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, said an inadequate regulatory system was partly responsible for the crisis. Both candidates were interviewed on CBS' "60 Minutes."
McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, has long supported fewer regulations for businesses. But as the financial crisis on Wall Street worsens, McCain is calling for more government oversight. Obama said McCain is late in calling for better oversight after years of supporting fewer regulations.
McCain was asked if he regretted supporting a 1999 law that removed barriers between investment banks and commercial banks that were erected in 1933, in response to the 1929 stock market crash.
"No," McCain said. "I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy."
Defending Bush's proposalIn the same interview, McCain defended the Bush administration's proposed bailout of financial firms as necessary, though he acknowledged it could get expensive.
"We're going to take over these bad loans," McCain said. "And we're going to have the taxpayer help you out. But when the time comes and the economy recovers, then anything that's gained back is going to go to the taxpayers first.
"I'm not saying this isn't going to be messy. And I'm not saying it isn't going to be expensive. But we have to stop the bleeding," McCain said.
Last week, McCain called for the firing of Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox. In the CBS interview, which was taped Thursday, McCain said he would consider New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, as a replacement for Cox.
"I think he is somebody who could restore some credibility, lend some bipartisanship, to this effort," McCain said.
The administration proposal would be the biggest government intervention since the Great Depression. It would dole out huge sums of money to financial firms to purchase their holdings of bad mortgage-backed securities so that these firms can resume normal lending operations.
In a separate interview on "60 Minutes," Obama said, "There were a lot of factors involved" in the crisis. "But I think there is no doubt that if we had had a regulatory system that had kept pace with the changes in the financial system, that would have had an enormous impact in containing some of the problems that are out there."
McCain's credentials challengedObama also challenged McCain's credentials on increasing government oversight.
Update (9/10/07) - The unprecedented coalition calling for a cap and trade system to combat climate change, the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), has added two more companies to its ranks. Exelon, one of the nation's largest electric utilities, and Rio Tinto, one of the largest mining and exploration companies, have joined the partnership calling for federal climate action. With 20 new companies added this year, USCAP now represents $2 trillion in revenue, 2.7 million workers, operations in every state and nearly every country in the world. A landmark alliance of leading corporations and environmental leaders are working together to urge the federal government to: cut greenhouse gas emissions 60-80 percent, create business incentives and, act swiftly and thoughtfully. Working toward mandatory cuts in heat-trapping pollution across all sectors.
The new members bolster USCAP’s collective call for mandatory reductions of heat-trapping gases, and complement the group’s broad cross-section of industries critical to slowing climate change. These include manufacturing, utilities, chemical production and car manufacturing.
"We are pleased to join USCAP at a critical stage in the conversation on climate change, energy consumption and environmental protection. We all recognize it is time for action," said Alan Mulally, President and CEO of Ford Motor Company. Tom LaSorda, President and CEO, Chrysler Group, concurred, "Now is the time for advancing a national approach to climate change where all of us — individuals, industry and government — take action toward reducing emissions of greenhouse gases." Unprecedented corporate action to find green solution
Never before have industry leaders lined up so solidly with environmental advocates to solve an environmental problem. The 23 USCAP companies join six nonprofit partners — Environmental Defense, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Natural Resources Defense Council and the World Resources Institute — to call for effective climate policy. As Congress starts to seriously look at the issue of climate change, the group's expansion is a powerful catalyst for action. "With this lineup of companies and environmental groups endorsing it, a carbon cap is clearly the consensus solution to climate change,” said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense. "With cap and trade, we’ve found the center — environmental groups and businesses can embrace because it guarantees results for the climate while freeing companies to hunt for innovative, least-cost ways to lower emissions," Krupp said. Already this year, Congress has held a number of hearings on the problem of climate change, and some eight bills are being considered. In February, Senator John Warner (R-VA), who sits on the Environment and Public Works Committee, noted USCAP's role in helping bring the issue of climate change into the "big leagues." "When I see such an extraordinary cross-section of America's free-enterprise system, together with the environmental groups, come and form a group like this, you've got my attention," said Warner.
Echoing these sentiments was Representative Rick Boucher (D-VA), chairman of the House subcommittee that will develop climate change legislation, who said in a recent meeting with Environmental Defense: "Continue to expand USCAP. Each new economic sector added to USCAP melts away pockets of opposition in Congress." GM's support of USCAP climate action is strong signal Cars and light trucks are a significant contributor to global warming pollution. The addition of GM, Chrysler and Ford to the USCAP effort shows the automobile sector has the potential to be a big contributor to solutions. "The addition of these new companies adds horsepower to the push for Congress to act quickly on a real solution to climate change," said Krupp. USCAP corporations represent $1.9 trillion in revenue and more than 2.3 million employees in all 50 states. The non-governmental organizations involved have a combined membership of more than two million people worldwide, and a long history of global leadership on environmental and conservation issues. Krupp stresses the importance of involving business not only to increase pressure on Congress, but ensure that any plan for fixing climate change was also a boost for the U.S. economy. "We chose a cap-and-trade approach because it guarantees the emissions cuts we need, while it unleashes cash and creativity from the private sector. This plan is a jobs winner as well as an environmental winner." USCAP partners support six recommendations for national action: Account for the global dimensions of climate change – U.S. leadership is essential for establishing an equitable and effective international policy framework for robust action on climate; Recognize the importance of technology – The cost-effective deployment of existing energy efficient technologies should be a priority; Be environmentally effective – mandatory requirements and incentives must be stringent enough to achieve necessary emissions reductions; Create economic opportunity and advantage – a climate protection program must use the power of the market to establish clear targets and timeframes;
Be fair – Solutions must account for the disproportionate impact of both global warming and emissions reductions on some economic sectors, geographic regions and income groups; and
Encourage early action – Prior to the effective date of mandatory pollution limits, every reasonable effort should be made to reduce emissions.
Global Warming by the Numbers
As the 110th Congress begins to debate global warming policy, our list of ten startling global warming facts underscores what's at stake and why 2007 must be a year for effective national action.
Rank of 2006 as hottest year on record in the continental United States.
Rank of America as top global warming polluter in the world.
Percent increase of America's carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels since 1990.
Percent increase of America's carbon dioxide emissions forecasted by 2020 if we do not cap pollution.
Percent decrease in U.S. global warming pollution required by 2050 to prevent the worst consequences of global warming.
Number of days by which the US fire season has increased over the past 20 years - tied closely to increased temperatures and earlier snowmelt.
Number of people around the world who could be displaced by more intense droughts, sea level rise and flooding by 2080.
Number of U.S. mayors (representing 55 million Americans) who have signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement pledging to meet or beat Kyoto goals in their communities.
Number of federal bills passed to cap America's global warming pollution.
Number of times President Bush has mentioned "climate change" or "global warming" in his previous six State of the Union speeches.
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