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Posts Tagged ' Sony '
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
New Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Trailer – Official VGA 2010
Uncharted was one of the first PS3 games released and was considered to be one of the highlights of the PS3.
We went through the jungle in search of Drake's Fortune. Then almost fell out of a train car hanging over a cliff in Uncharted 2: Honor Among Thieves. Now it looks like we are going to survive a plane crash.
The Uncharted series is the action movie on the PS3. It uses the formula for action movies. The gruffy, charming and witty lead character of Nathan Drake, the side kick Sully, and all the guns, explosion and action you can fit into a blue-ray disc.
Uncharted 2 brought us to the Himalayas in search of the Fountain of Life.
But now we are brought to the Sarah Desert.
No shortage of action here
Uncover the truth on November 1, 2011.
Photos courtesy of Naughty Dog's flickr page. Official Site.
I'll believe it when I see it
It's Official: Gran Turismo 5 Is Coming November 2, 2010! – PlayStation Blog
I'll believe it when I see it. Back in January, Polyphony announced the delay of Gran Turismo to a later date. This was shortly after a 3D version hit the demo booths at CES. I blogged about the delay stating that 3D gaming must be the cause of the change of releas date. Apparently that is partially true.
I can't believe they actually pushed the release date of a major franchise by nine months just to put 3D into it even though 98% of the people buying the game will not have necessary hardware to play it in 3D. Aside from 3D, they also added the famous BBC Top Gear test track among other things.
Sony will also be releasing a Collector's Edition of the game which comes with a 300 page car guide, die-cast model of the 2009 Nissan GT-R, Gran Turismo key chain, voucher of in-game upgrades, certificate of authenticity and special collector's packaging.
Will the delay be worth it? I think so. Will they earn the $60 Million they spent on developing the game? Over time probably. Have I preordered? Yes. Do I believe it will come out in November? I'll believe it when I see it.
So it's not a perfect game
After almost a lifetime of waiting (five years in gaming is practically a console cycle) Final Fantasy 13 will finally be released in Japan TODAY. The famed Famitsu gaming magazine has given the game an imperfect score of 39/40.
The only Final Fantasy game to receive the honor is FF12. Fan favorite Final Fantasy 7 earned 38, while the PS2 FF 10 earned a similar 39/40.
Only four games have been awarded this year the coveted "perfect score". Those include Bayonetta, Super Mario Brothers, Dragon Quest 9 and Monster Rancher 3.
Many gamers are fickle folk who will read heavily into reviews before making a purchase, while others will buy the game regardless if it was good or not based on reviews just as long as it had the franchise name on it (Final Fantasy, Guitar Hero and so on…). So does one point matter?
I think the game will still be hit. Despite many advances in RPGs by Bioware with Mass Effect and Dragon Age as well as Fallout and Oblivion with Bethesda, there are still a lot gamers who still like the linear gameplay and beautiful cutscenes. I for one will still buy the game. Square-Enix has shipped 2 million copies of the game for the launch.
So the game did not get the perfect score from Famitsu. It will still sell millions, just one point shy of the perfect score merely tells gamers that, it's good ,but not perfect for us, but still good.
But for gamers such as myself, April is still too far away for me. I'll try not care until then. But here's a thought, was the international release date pushed to spring just so they can release the Xbox version at the same time? I hope not. Because if they did, I would rather be playing it anyway on the PS3 than to wait for the Xbox version to catch up.
Waiting and waiting for a trailer
Players are now waiting in the lobby of the movie theater in Playstation Home eagerly awaiting for the Final Fantasy 13 trailer which is due in less than an hour. Will it finally announce a release date for the rest of the world? Why would Square-Enix go through all the trouble in creating a countdown to November 13 (which is Friday the 13th FYI) just for a trailer.
Whatever it is, we'll know soon enough.
FFXIII
psn home
November 13 is important for Final Fantasy XIII
And no, the game will not be released tomorrow. But instead, Sony will fill the ten screens of Playstation Home with a new trailer! Yes, a trailer. But we are all hoping for something bigger than that. It could be the North American (English) release date which would be sweet. Then only for my happiness to be deflated by the sight of a Spring 2010 release date. Like sometime in May ; ;.
We only have a few hours to find out.
FINAL FANTASY XIII E3 2009 Trailer
playstation home
The "Nook" is impressive
Barnes and Noble today launched their ebook competitor to Sony and Amazon called the "Nook". And I'm impressed. The photo from Gizmodo in my rumor blog about it last week was the real thing.
Priced at $259, the same as the international edition of the Kindle 2 and the big things about it is the WiFi, color touchscreen and mini SD card support is great. They even provided a good comparison chart on how it stands against the Kindle.
It's important to note that the Nook first creates an environment to enhance the book buying, bookstore and reading experience rather than trying to replace the dead tree books that we usually buy. You read through entire books while inside the actual Barnes and Noble bookstore which is something that you might do in real life. You can share your books with friends digitally which is something that you would do in real life.
The touch screen is a good addition but colored? I know we like to look at our book covers in color but is it really necessary? I would have preferred that the screen is colored. Particularly with books that have colored pictures to be digitally viewable in colored as well in the Nook.
For overseas users who want an ebook reader when we travel or when we live in other places outside the United States are out of luck. The Nook is just for the U.S. (for now I hope). You cannot purchase books via WiFi outside the US. The Nook uses AT&T's 3G network so there may be hope for the rest of us living outside the US much like the Kindle.
The Nook only has 10 days of battery life compared to the Kindle's 14. If Apple is indeed at work on a similar device it should either provide a strong argument why the battery doesn't last for days or the technology behind it allows it to last for days.
The Nook supports various formats that you can put in a 16GB mini SD card including mp3s. It does not support text to audio like the Kindle which got Amazon into some trouble when it was released.
The Nook supports pdf, jpg, gif, png bmp, mpdf, ePub and PDB file formats. You do not have to email these documents for the provider to send it back to you for a nominal fee to be able to read it on the Nook. These can all be done by the user. Yay!
This might not be the perfect eReader out there. But it is a good first step in the right direction. Now I wish all the ebooks are published in a common format that will allow me to buy books from any digital storefront and get the book I want at the lowest price available. That would be something. Especially when we are given the opportunity to write our own books and publish it ourselves. Now that would be totally amazing.
The logo just looks a bit off for me. It looks more like a horseshoe at first glance. Very tempting to buy, but I'll hold off until I see that device from Cupertino.
barnesandnoble
Let the eBook wars begin
Some details and pictures have leaked in Gizmodo.
Amazon has a reader. Sony has a reader and soon Barnes and Noble will have their own. The B&N device seems to overcome the shortcomings of the other two such as the inability to read under bright light and the difficulties of extended reading on a screen even though it's been designed to look like paper.
This device seems like it will put up a good fight with the other two. Add to the fact that B&N has retail stores out there far more than Sony Style stores to sell these readers to the masses.
Now if only everyone could agree on a common format so we can buy books from anywhere we want or even support any files we put into it, then that would be an eBook dream. It's still quite far away for me to think of giving up my dead tree books. But with all the competition heating up someone is bound to listen to the masses and finally bring out the reader that we all could live with.
What did we get right on TGS 2009?
– GT5 Demo – yes Release date -No
– FF13 No exact release date for North America, New demo yes
– No LBP or Assassin's Creed demo for the PSP
– Demo and playable MGS: Peace Walker
– No dev kit announcement.
– No God of War 3 other than the demo will be part of the GOW PS3 bundle pack to be released in the coming weeks.
– No release date but more playable demo of White Knight Chronicles
– Yes – Wii price cut
– No – DS price cut
– No Wii Zelda Game
– No HD Wii
– No new controller
– Motion Plus technology not exactly a big thing for Nintendo
– Still no handheld.
Pleasant surprises of the show:
– Playable MGS: Peace Walker PSP
– Playable Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep PSP
– Tekken 6 on the PSP
– Yakuza 4 PS3
– Lunar: Silver Star Harmony PSP
– Final Fantasy Agito XIII PSP
– Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday PSP
– Final Fantasy Versus XIII PS3
– Persona 3 Portable PSP
– Sony Wand device to be released in Spring 2010
– 4th! (Yes I did say 4th) Professor Layton game DS
– Final Fantasy Gaiden: Warriors of Light DS
– Phantasy Star Zero DS
– Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
– Okamiden DS
– Nier Gestalt (Square-Enix action game)
– Alan Wake
– MGS 4 using Natal controllers
– Resonance of Fate
From the list above I was surprised at the number of Square-Enix games that were shown. No sign of anything they acquired from Eidos yet. Maybe next year in the GDC. Sony showed a lot of games especially on the PSP. Nintendo was also focused on it's own handheld as well. I only mentioned those that caught my eye. So the Bayonetta, Dead Rising 2, Lost Planet 2, Crackdown 2, Assassin's Creed, I have a tendency to ignore since those games are covered to death by other gaming sites/ blogs and I don't play them.
There was also Sony's display of hardware including a 250 GB limited edition FF XIII PS3 bundle and a peek of all the accessories to be released for the PSP Go.
All in all this year was a pretty good show with nice surprises even if overall attendance was down by 10k.
Rumor: Dreamcast games coming to a console near you
PS2, Dreamcast Games May Come to PSN, Says Allegedly Leaked Doc – Sega – Kotaku
Looks like the future of downloadable games is good. According to Kotaku, PS2 games and Dreamcast games may be coming to the Playstation Network in the form of downloadable content.
Ten years after the release of the Dreamcast it still has it's gaming legs, coming to the PSN is big. Of course the return of PS2 games is also big. Will this finally allow gamers to install their PS2 games into their PS3s and play them? Since the removal of the backwards compatibility, it has been a tough choice for gamers who still want to play their old games. Let's face it, the PS2 is the best selling console of all time. Though it may be eclipsed by the Wii in a few years, there's still a lot of PS2 games out there.
The Dreamcast may be ten years old but the games still hold up today. If my Dreamcast was still working I'd like to play Shenmue and Chuchu Rocket on it again. If Sony is serious about this, I'll be one of those who will be buying all those games all over again.
It's wasn't the hard drive
Xbox 360: Why The 360 Didn't Ship With A HDD (And Why The PS3 Did)
This is some crazy marketing being done by Microsoft here and lame reasoning in my opinion. The original Xbox didn't get clobbered in the market because it had a hard drive. There wasn't just any reason to buy one then. Much in the same case as the PS3 is in now.
There were no real games (other than Halo) on the original Xbox that would make me buy one back then. The PS2 was such a juggernaut that all the games anyone wanted was on it. Developers were able to fit their games into the dual layer DVD discs that were norm back then.
Fast forward to today. Almost everyone ships with some form of internal memory. The Wii comes with something. The PS3 has it standard on all their consoles. But the Xbox ships it optional, and for what? To claim that they are cheaper than the Wii. Thinking that making it cheaper than the Wii will help them overtake Nintendo.
This is a dangerous claim by Microsoft since most of their current games require an internal drive of some sort to save their games. Before the consumer knows it, he would have racked up an additional $50 or even more just so he can play the games he wants. Shipping without a hard drive is a complete u-turn from the "center of the living room" campaign they are doing right now with the digital rentals, media center connection and the Netflix connectivity. You're going to need that bigger proprietary hard drive that they are shipping. Developers are stating that they are reaching the limits of the Xbox. This is a console that is not really a next gen console. But the best of the last gen.
Apparently only a small percentage of gamers are really into the high definition gaming with all the bells and whistles that some games come in. But what is the Wii showing us, that people don't need the HD support, or the DTS surround sound. What matters to gamers is the gameplay. It just so happens that it's the casual gamers that are driving up the sales.
Did the previous gaming generation end too soon? It was such a runaway win for Sony with the PS2. Even now it still sells. Nintendo and Microsoft were so far behind that they had to come up with the Wii and the 360 in order to survive in the marketplace. And us gamers were just so happy to buy the next console that hit the stands.
Given the choice today I still would have purcahsed the elite instead of the cheapest version. Why? It's like buying a PC. Buy the better version because before you know it, the geniuses behind the machine would have thought of doing something more with the machine. Such as those Netflix rentals.


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Very soon you will receive a mailing from the Diocese regarding the 2019 Annual Pastoral Appeal (APA). It contains a letter from our Bishop, some materials describing the ways in which your annual contribution is needed to support diocesan programs, and of course, the contribution card with a return envelope. It is one means by which the diocese and parish raises funds to support the parish's payment of general administrative costs and programs operated by the diocese in our name and on our behalf. It is a needed and worthwhile endeavor.
Now this might have surprised some among you because of our "True North" campaign this past October. In that campaign we offered the vision for the parish and asked for your commitment/planning in three areas: increased offertory (for us to continue to live our mission), True North (for us to build our future) and APA (to pay the mandatory assessment from the diocese). While we still have – and will always have – the commitment to support the diocese financially, my commitment was that in 2019 we would forego the 4 weeks of campaigning during Mass to raise the funds. That we would not do a series of talks that led up to a "bring your APA envelopes" weekend. Instead we would focus on being a parish committed to be a place of hospitality, healing, holiness, and hope. So we won't "campaign" … but we'll offer gentle reminders.
In the end, the assessment for diocesan support must be paid. This year our fair share comes to $327,615. That is a lot, but we are one of the larger parishes in the diocese and are financially solid. How will this be paid? As before, the commitment is met through your generosity. The means and avenues by which it is paid is in transition.
As part of the True North response, among the 360 parish households who responded with commitment cards, we received "APA pledges" of approximately $140,000. That is fantastic, but still leaves us with a gap of a little under $200,000 to close. And about 2,240 parish households whose plans are unknown to us. We need to reach out to them!
Last year the primary means for parishioners to contribute to APA was either (a) via the envelope that came in the mail or (b) through the Diocese's online giving portal. In 2019 if you want to give through those means, please do. But this year there are also additional ways to give by designating your gift to the parish to be used for APA.
For those families receiving weekly giving envelopes from the parish, beginning in February, there will be a monthly envelope for "On-going diocesan support (APA)" – a reminder and a means to help with your donation. For those folks who choose to give online with Sacred Heart's online portal (see http://www.sacredheartfla.org/giving), there is an option to specifically give to 2019 APA. You can set up your contribution and know that it will automatically be paid. And there are always offertory envelopes in the back of the church – just write "APA" on the envelope and drop in the collection basket. Please know that, no matter how you give, all funds designated for APA will always go to that fund and no other.
And one more thing. We know that among those who responded to the True North campaign, some households increased offertory without making specific commitments to APA or True North – leaving it to the parish to use the increased offertory where necessary and needed. Thank you for your trust in our good judgment!
As I mentioned, all funds designated for APA go to APA. What happens if we receive more than the assessment? That happened in 2018! Through your generosity we received approximately $20,000 above the $293,391 goal. Those funds are in a Sacred Heart APA savings account with the diocese and are available to meet our 2019 APA assessment – we have a head start on our January 2019 payment! And of course, we will make adjustments overtime. For example, if the donations in the name of the parish being given to the diocese are robust, then we may not need to make a payment from the parish in a particular month. We will keep you posted.
Any way you look at it, Sacred Heart will support the diocese's programs and efforts. It is ours to do in the Name of Christ. How we do it – that's up to you. Give through the diocese or via the parish. In any case, we will not have APA promotion during Mass as we have had in years past. We'll see how it goes!
Thank you in advance for your on-going and generous support.
This entry was posted in Musings and tagged 2019 APA by Friar Musings. Bookmark the permalink.


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Iconic guitar-maker Gibson could be facing bankruptcy
The well-known American company is in the middle of financial difficulties.
There are fears the iconic guitar-maker Gibson could be facing bankruptcy in the near future.
The American company which has supplied some of the world's biggest stars with their instruments is in the middle of financial difficulties.
Guitarists such as Santana, Slash and Bob Marley are among the long list of clients Gibson has provided their Les Paul and SG guitars in their 116-year history.
Bill Lawrence, the chief financial officer, left the company after less than a year in his role, and only six months prior to $375m (£267m) of senior secured notes being set to mature.
The Nashville Post claims if these notes are not refinanced by July 23, then $145m (£103m) will be immediately due in bank loans.
Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson's chief executive, is now in the process of deciding what to do, whether to exchange the date, pay it off with his own equity or declare bankruptcy.
Juszkiewicz told the Nashville Business Journal: "We have been monetizing assets like stock holdings, real property and business segments that could not achieve the level of success we expected.
"By monetizing these assets, we can reduce debt and generate funds to contribute to business segments that are thriving. It is important to our business to get back to the financial success we had to achieve the best financial terms in the refinancing of our company."
Annual sales at Gibson total more than $1bn (£713m), and the company has three factories.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


For a person who has a poor credit score, it is quite difficult to get a loan from banks. However, there are several options to get loans like payday title loans or pawn shop loans but at high interest rates. Among various options, a car title loan can be of great assistance in times of financial needs for any person. There are several points that you need to be aware of before you opt for car title loans in Calgary, Alberta.
Any person who has a vehicle with a clear title can apply. You should always verify with us before applying for the loan. Once you contact us either by visiting our website or by calling us, we calculate the amount of loan you could avail and offer you with the best deal.
You can get the loan on the same day that you apply. Once it is approved, you can take the loan money as well as your car back home. You just need to have a vehicle that is registered and insured in your name. Also you must have a valid driver's license to qualify for the loan. There is no need of any employment checks nor do you need to give any details about your credit score.
If you wish to go for early repayment of loans, you will not have to pay any penalties. But in case you are late in payment or can make only partial payment, then on the outstanding amount, you will be charged interest on a daily basis. But with affordable interest rates and quick customer service, this is the best option for people in need of quick cash.
We provide loans up to $35,000 depending upon the value of your car and with a monthly interest that can be as less as just $99.
We at Fast Canada Cash, also provide various types of car title loans like emergency title loan, bad credit cash loan, car pawn loan and vehicle equity loan. Get in touch with us and take control of your life.


The existence having both mind and matter.
The existence having only matter.
The existence having mind only.
The existences having only matter or only mind can be known only through meditation (bhāvanā), they cannot be known by scientific experiments. However, if the manner of the mind-process in the existence having only mind is reflected on you can appreciate and understand the ability of mind. So the way to reflect is shown here in brief.
In the existence having mind only, mind (citta) arises and passes away without interruption from the moment of conception to the moment of death. The first citta arises and perishes and, without any interval, the second citta arises and perishes. Cittas continue arising and perishing in this manner so, after the disappearance of the former mind there is no base at all for the latter mind. However, the latter arises because of the impetus of the former. This is how the process of mind continues.
It is generally the case when thinking deeply that thoughts go on occurring without any interruption by ear-consciousness (sota viññāna), even though there are probably sounds at the time. So we can understand that it is the same in the case of existences having mind only. If we realise how the impetus of the preceding minds cause the arising of the following minds even before death, we can also understand that after death the rebirth-consciousness (patisandhi-viññāna) appears due to the mental impetus of the past existence, whether there is a physical base in the next existence or not. In other words, the decease-consciousness of the past existence causes the rebirth-consciousness of the next. This is a brief explanation to enable one to gauge the power of the mind.
Although both the mentality and materiality of a being perish at the moment of death, a new mind appears in the new body of the next existence through the impetus of the decease-consciousness. This citta clings to a certain object in the dying moment. This is known as death-proximate kamma (āsanna kamma ). The death-proximate kamma is the bridge between death and rebirth, which is how rebirth-consciousness occurs.
When death is very near, the wholesome or unwholesome deeds one has done may appear before one's mind's eye. Objects associated with those deeds may also appear. Alternatively, there may be a vision of one's destiny. Although such objects may not be wanted, they cannot be eliminated at the moment of death. Among those who are seriously ill and in a coma, some behave strangely. Some show signs of pleasure and joy, others behave as if they are frightened or facing danger. Those who are close to the dying person usually report such events. Some people who were close to death, recover and then reveal who took them, where they went to and what they saw. At the very moment of the decease-consciousness (cuticitta), the person dies with his or her mind on one of the three signs. Death means the expiry of the last life-continuum. As soon as the decease-consciousness ceases, the rebirth-consciousness arises from the impetus of the decease-consciousness. The rebirth-consciousness arises in a new body in the next existence conditioned by the sign seen just before death. Because of this relationship with the previous existence this rebirth-consciousness is called relinking-consciousness (patisandhi citta).
To give an example: A man dreams of strange events and goes on thinking about them when he wakes up. The strange dream is like the object that one clung to in the past. Remembering his dream is like the object of rebirth consciousness. The above case is also like remembering an intention to do something when one wakes up.
If the rebirth consciousness arises in the fine-material plane (rūpabhūmi), its associated matter arises simultaneously due to kamma. If the rebirth-consciousness arises like this, eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness and mind-consciousness also arise accordingly. This, in brief, is how a being is reborn.


This easy to follow DVD takes you through the basic TTouch bodywork techniques for your horse. The TTouch can help correct undesirable habits, improve focus, promote healing, release tension and create a closer relationship between you and your animal. DVD, 47 minutes. Originally VHS by Thane, 1994. DVD produced by Linda Tellington-Jones, 2001.


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Q: Showing that Paley Graphs are Edge-Transitive I would like to show that Paley graph are rank $3$ graphs (i.e. Vertex-Transitive, Edge-Transitive and Non-Edge-Transitive).
Showing that they are vertex transitive is easy - every $x \mapsto x+k$ is an automorphism in $GF(q)$ and so, for example, the automorphism $x \mapsto x+1$ shows that they are vertex transitive.
I also know how to show that they are self-complimentary and thus if I can show one of edge-transitivity/non-edge transitivity I get the other.
Can anyone help with how to show that they are indeed edge-transitive (or non-edge-transitive).
Thanks!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Visa Requirements for Rugby League
It's FREE, fast & no obligation!
Sportsperson Visas
Rugby Football League Endorsement Requirements
(as amended 1.4.11)
Below are the governing body endorsement (GBE) requirements for those to be employed in Rugby League in the UK.
In applying these requirements the RFL will work within the UK Border Agency's Code of Practice for Sport Governing Bodies.
Extent of Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) Requirements
The GBE requirements apply to Tier 2 and Tier 5 applications.
The GBE requirements apply to the Rugby Football League (RFL), Scotland Rugby League, Wales Rugby League and to clubs playing under the jurisdiction of these bodies.
Rugby League International Federation Tiers as at 2009 (based on RLIF rankings)
Tier 1 - Australia, New Zealand, England, Fiji
Tier 2 - France, PNG, Ireland, Tonga, Scotland, Samoa,
Tier 3 - Lebanon, Wales, Russia, Cook Islands, USA, Serbia, Japan
1. Players
Endorsements will only be issued for players to play for clubs in the Super League or Championship and Rugby League Conference National.
Players - Initial Applications – Non discretionary Requirements
These requirements apply to all non EU nationals. In normal circumstances the RFL will consider the last two complete seasons prior to the application date. However where applications are made in mid season or where there are other relevant reasons the RFL will decide which seasons are to be considered relevant. (see below for discretionary procedures).
The player must have achieved at least one of the following standards:
NRL - The player has played in 50% of NRL 1st Grade appearances in NRL games including play off games but not pre season games in the qualifying period.
State of Origin - The player has played in one State of Origin match in the qualifying period.
International – Tier 1 Countries - The player has played in one match in the 2008 World Cup or a Tri/Four Nations Match or a Test Match in the qualifying period.
International - Tier 2 Countries - The player has played one match in the 2008 World Cup or has played 50% of RLIF officially recognised International matches in the qualifying period.
International - Tier 3 Countries - The player has played in 75% of RLIF/RLEF officially recognised International matches in the qualifying period.
Rugby Union Players - The player meets the current GBE requirements as published on the relevant home Union website from time to time.
It is the responsibility of the club making the application to provide documentary evidence which proves the player's record to the reasonable satisfaction of the RFL.
Players - Initial Applications - Discretionary Requirements
RFL will consider applications for players who do not meet the above requirements on an individual discretionary basis. Decisions will be made by a Panel of RFL Senior Executives who will consider written applications from the club concerned. The Panel will give written reasons for their decision. There will be a right of appeal against decisions of the Panel to an independent Panel drawn from the RLPA & Operational Rules Tribunal.
For the avoidance of doubt discretionary requirements are intended to identify players that are of the same standard as those that would qualify under Non-Discretionary Requirements but that for some reason satisfactory to the Panel have failed to achieve the Non-Discretionary Requirements in full.
In order to be considered under the Discretionary Requirements a player must have partially achieved at least one of the Non-Discretionary Requirements (listed at 1-6 above) unless the player comes from another sport. For players from Rugby League the factors to be taken into account when making a discretionary decision will be:
The player's record in Rugby League including but not limited to:
The player's achievement against the Initial Applications Non Discretionary Requirements
the player's junior international representative career
the player's senior representative career
the player's record in Super League
the player's record in the NRL; and
The financial package offered to the player which should show that he is being paid enough to place him in the relevant Super League club's Top 20 highest paid players (as defined by the Salary Cap Regulations) or for Championship clubs a guaranteed financial package of £10,000 p.a.
Where a player comes from another sport the following will be taken into consideration:
The player's athletic ability;
The relevant transferable skills from the other sport;
The player's record in the other sport which should be of the highest level
The financial package on offer to the player which should be no less than set out above.
Factors which will not be taken into account for a player from rugby league or other sports are the player's character or work in the community or any other perceived off field benefit.
Opinions or analysis of a player's technical skills or attributes will not be considered other than to support applications for players from outside the sport. However formal season/match statistics may be submitted in support of a Discretionary application and may be taken into consideration if submitted in a format which means that they can be put into context.
Players - Extensions and Change of Employer Applications
Extension applications will only be considered for players who currently hold a UK work permit (or a Certificate of Sponsorship) or have previously held a UK work permit, during the last playing season. Where a player has moved clubs (including on loan), the player must have new, leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom before he can play for his new club.
The player must have played in at least 75% of competitive games (first team games not including friendly games) for his club for the period of the previous permission. Games that were played when the player was on international duty and when they were unavailable for selection through injury (supported by medical evidence) will be excluded from the assessment. For the avoidance of doubt the calculation will be that the number of matches missed by injury shall be deducted from the number of matches the player was available to play in; it will not be assumed that the player would have played in those games if he had been fit eg if there are 20 games in a season and the player plays in 10 and misses 5 through injury he will have played in 10 of the 15 available games a percentage of 66%.
Where a player has played in less than 75% of competitive games a club may apply for a Panel to consider the application on a discretionary basis. In such cases the Panel can take into consideration the player's record prior to playing in this country as set out above and will consider the reasons for the player's failure to achieve 75% of competitive games.
Players - Injuries
Exclusions from selection due to injury will be a factor that is taken into account when applying the requirements both in initial applications and in extensions or changes of employer. Clubs should submit supporting medical evidence in such cases, stipulating the period of injury and the total number of games the player has missed. This evidence should be from the team doctor, or other official medical practitioner, on headed paper.
If the player has missed less than 50% of available games through injury over the last two complete seasons they will be considered for a GBE using the medical evidence provided and the appearance record achieved. Where a player has missed 50% or more games through injury over the last two complete seasons the Panel of RFL Senior Executives will review the player's previous playing history to ascertain if the player would make a significant contribution to the game.
Players - Trials
GBEs cannot be issued to clubs for the purposes of having players on trial.
2. Coaches
Governing Body Endorsements will only be considered for clubs in Super League or Championships and RLC National, and for coaches employed directly by the RFL, Scotland Rugby League, and Wales Rugby League.
Coaches - Initial Applications – Non discretionary Requirements
Head coaches must have worked for at least two seasons (one of the last two seasons and one other complete season) at one of the levels set out below. In normal circumstances the RFL will consider the last two complete seasons prior to the application date. However where applications are made in mid season or where there are other relevant reasons the RFL will decide which seasons are to be considered relevant. (See below for discretionary procedures).
Head Coach - National Team (Tier 1)
Head Coach - Australian State of Origin (From the states of New South Wales and Queensland only)
Head Coach - Australian National Rugby League (First grade only)
Note: Endorsements will only be issued for non-EEA coaches to take the Head Coach role. As a club can only have one head coach any applications for other head coaches will not be endorsed. Endorsements will not be issued for assistant coaches or for Player/Coaches.
Note: All overseas coaches will have to register for and undertake the relevant UKCC qualifications on arrival until such time as overseas qualifications satisfy the appropriate UKCC standards as required for that role by the RFL Operational Rules as published from time to time.
Coaches - Initial Applications – Discretionary Requirements
RFL will consider applications for coaches who do not meet the above requirements on an individual discretionary basis. Decisions will be made by a Panel of RFL Senior Executives who will consider written applications from the club concerned. The Panel will give written reasons for their decision. There will be a right of appeal against decisions of the Panel to an independent Panel drawn from the RLPA & Operational Rules Tribunal.
Discretionary approval may be granted to Assistant coaches in the NRL provided that:
The candidate maps against the UKCC Level 4 qualification to the satisfaction of the RFL Coaching Department in a way that suggests they would achieve the qualification within 2 years
The candidate maps fully against the Level 3 qualification to the satisfaction of the RFL Coaching Department
Has been in post or in an equivalent post for at least three years and is working towards UKCC Level 3 (where a coach has been out of post for more than 12 months it is exceeding likely that an application would fail)
Can demonstrate that they have been second in command in the coaching structure at their NRL club
In all cases it is the responsibility of the club to provide any evidence required by the RFL. The club must also be able to evidence that it has considered the British candidates available for the post and that as part of the job description the Head Coach will be required to mentor British assistants as part of a succession planning process.
Coaches - Extension and Change of Employer Applications
Extension applications will only be considered for coaches who currently hold a UK work permit (or a Certificate of Sponsorship) or have previously held a UK work permit, during the last playing season. Where a coach has been dismissed prior to the expiry of his previous permission a new club must apply under the Discretionary Requirements which will be judged on the coach's achievements both during and before the terminated permission.
Coaches who complete the term of their previous permission will automatically be granted a GBE as will coaches who negotiate a termination of an existing contract prior to its expiry in order to take up a contract at another club.
3. Other Non-Playing Roles
The RFL will first ask the UK Border Agency to confirm that the role is one which should be considered by the RFL rather than through the Tier 2 (General) category of the Points-Based System. If the UK Border Agency confirms that the role falls under RFL jurisdiction under these rules then the RFL will consider an application for other non playing roles on an individual discretionary basis. The RFL will not endorse applications for individuals where it is considered the application is an attempt to circumvent the requirements in 2 above.
Decisions will be made by a Panel of RFL Senior Executives who will consider written applications from the club concerned which must include full and complete job descriptions. Should permission be granted the RFL will monitor the individual's activities against the job description which has been submitted.
The Panel will give written reasons for their decision. There will be a right of appeal against decisions of the Panel to an independent Panel drawn from the RLPA & Operational Rules Tribunal.
Factors to be taken into account when making a discretionary decision will be:
The individual's record in Rugby League
Relevant qualifications held as required by the RFL Operational Rules.
Relevant experience in a similar job role which should usually be of at least three years
Where the individual comes from outside the sport whether they bring new knowledge and experience to the game which has the potential to improve the domestic game and have transferable skills.
The potential impact the individual would have on the competition or the club concerned
The financial package offered to the individual in particular whether it is compatible with market rates in the UK.
Advertising (for coaching posts only)
There is no requirement for a resident labour market test for players.
Vacancies for Head Coaches at Super League or Championship clubs must be made public by way of official club press releases or by other means that will ensure that suitably qualified resident workers will be aware of the vacancy.
Vacancies for Head Coaches for RLC National Clubs should be advertised in appropriate media that provides the best way of reaching suitably qualified resident workers allowing four weeks from the date the advertisement appears to the closing date for applications.
Evidence to show that a press release and/or resident labour search as appropriate has been undertaken should be provided. This should include a copy of the press release/advertisement and details of responses. If a club has used alternative recruitment methods they should provide details of why the method was chosen, what they did and the result.
Length of Issue for Players and Coaches
Certificates of Sponsorship can be issued for an initial maximum period of 3 years under Tier 2 (Sport), with a further extension of a maximum period of 2 years possible. If the contract is for less than 3 years, it should be issued for the length of the contract.
Certificates of Sponsorship can be issued for a maximum period of one year under Tier 5 (Sporting). If the contract is for less than one year, it should be issued for the length of the contract.
The salary is usually agreed as part of the contract between the individual player/coach and employer. This and the other conditions of employment should be at least equal to those normally given to a 'resident worker' for this work. RFL will not endorse an application with a financial package of less than £10,000 pa.
Receipt of a Certificate of Sponsorship does not guarantee that a player will be granted with a Visa or Leave to Remain. Players and coaches are responsible for obtaining appropriate immigration clearance.
For an Endorsement
Clubs can apply to become a UK Border Agency licensed sponsor by applying on the appropriate form for an endorsement from the RFL and if that is granted by following the processes set out on the UK Border Agency website.
Clubs must be a UK Border Agency licensed sponsor before applying for an endorsement for a player or coach, all applications must be made on the appropriate form as amended from time to time which is available on application from the RFL. It is the responsibility of the Club to provide sufficient documentary evidence to support the information on the form which should be submitted to the Operations Department. Non-discretionary applications will usually be processed within 48 hours of receipt. Discretionary applications will be processed as soon as possible and within 14 days of receipt.
The Club will receive a written decision which in the case of applications which have been approved will take the form of a GBE letter including reference numbers to use when applying on line for a Certificate of Sponsorship.
For an Appeal
Applications for appeals must be made in writing to the RFL and will usually be heard within 14 days of receipt subject to availability of a Panel. The RFL will submit detailed written reasons for its decision to the Panel and the Club. There is no charge for an appeal however the Panel can award costs if they believe that the appeal had no reasonable prospects of success.
Visa Requirements for Rugby Union
Visa Requirements for English Football
Visa Requirements for County Cricket
Visa Requirements for Polo
Visa Requirements for Equestrian


After a two hour walk across several hills and through valleys in a mountainous part of Timor-Leste, have Paula and her four-year-old daughter Maria arrived at a simulation exercise of the integrated community health service. Driven by guilt she embarked on her tiresome journey with febrile Maria.
As I watch Paula line up amongst the many others jostling to register for health care in this remote sub-district of Marobo, I could not help but wonder where all these Timorese had come from. This is a western part of the country with very little in the way of facilities or even infrastructure. Today's activities are being carried out on the grounds of a recently completed school, where a makeshift thatched roof of dried palm leaves is providing limited shelter from the scotching sun. In this covered area are several booths for the community to visit and receive basic medical care.
It begins with a registration booth. Many here proudly tell the assistants their names and where they have come from but the old swiftly fumble when asked their age. They are simple cannot remember. Shortly after they are given a slip of paper with their names written in bold, they are whisked away to the next booth. A couple of weighing scales are placed on the dusty ground and each individual is asked to stand on the weighing scales so that the health volunteers can take note of their weight and proceed to fill the next box on this slip of paper. Children too have come with their parents but many refuse to stand on these weighing scales, terrified of this strange object. This slows the pace as the health officials struggle to find a solution and fi nally a solution is in sight. Both parent and child step confidently on the scales, a record is taken. Then the child is swiftly removed from the parent for a split second. This is hardly sufficient time to take note of the parent's weight but it is done just before the terrified child is aware he is in the hands of a stranger. The result shows that many of the adults and children are underweight, some grossly.
Booth number three dishes out information on reproductive health and family planning, evidently thin on patronage but nonetheless those manning the booth are gradually soliciting interest. A husband and wife, with their three children ranging from eight months to four years, are being coerced into better family planning. The young mother is shy and giggles occasionally but the father seemed noticeably perturbed, not by what the ladies at this booth are saying but the restlessness of the infant in his arms. After a sojourn of less than ten minutes they make their way to the next booth.
It is here where a little more enthusiasm ignites the children. They are each given a bar of soap to wash their hands and dirty little fingers. It's the sanitation booth where parents and children are sensitized to the importance of basic hygiene. "You've got such a pretty little face but look at that black dirt beneath your finger nails," exclaims the health worker who then embarks on cutting the child's fingernails. Embarrassed by the comments, the child nestles her face into her mother's armpits. She quickly perks up again when she's given a tiny bag containing a small face towel and a bar of soap to take home.
There seems to be a longer wait at booth five, several rows of young and old men and women, already seated in line, waiting their turn to consult with the several doctors available. Waiting patiently is Paula and Maria. "I just hope the doctors can tell me what is causing Maria to be this sick. I want some answers. Maria has been unwell now with a high fever for the last four days and when it gets too much, she screams and I feel so helpless. I cradle her in my arms and kneel in front of our altar at home," says the mother of three.
The simulation exercise is gaining momentum. "I'm pleased to see so many people here today. This is a good sign that SISCa is working," comments the Minister of Health for Timor- Leste, Dr Nelson Martin. But could this be because the minister himself has come from the capital, Dili and the district chief and village heads have mobilized the community to welcome the guest and his entourage? "I'm convinced at least some of these people have come for their benefit and not because I'm here. That is my hope after all the aim of SISCa is about community participation for equitable distribution of health care. But I also believe only through greater advocacy will this service work better ensuring health care for all is possible" stressed Dr Martins who is observing the last of the simulation exercises to take place today in this sub-district located in the west of the country bordering Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Maria is pricked on her finger gently by the attending nurse so that a rapid test on her blood can be done to check against Malaria. It clearly does not hurt her but instead she is intrigued by the process. The prognosis is negative for Malaria. It's a viral infection and because she has not had it treated till now, the infection led to the high fever. Paula listens intently to the doctor relieved so hear some answers. She takes note of what she should do with the medication she will receive from the pharmacists at the next booth and also how she can take simple steps at home to ensure this does not happen again to Maria or other members of her family.
"It will be awhile before we reach home now but I'm glad we came. Look even Maria is feeling better already it seems," quips Paula as she places a bottle of water and some bananas in her a woven basket and begins her journey home.
Servisu Integradu da Saúde Communitária (SISCa) which translates from Portuguese to Integrated Community Health Services stands on the principle of "From, With and To the Community", which signifies that it is the community who would help conduct the activity, mobilize people; men and women, children, youth, the elderly; together with all health workers to work side by side to give assistance, protect and improve the state of community health in the country.
Communities need to be part of this strong commitment to the importance of health. Hence, community leaders such as sub-district council members and chiefs, hamlet chiefs, youth organizations, women's' networks and other community leaders take the lead.
SISCa provides assistance in the areas of health promotion, prevention of diseases, treatment for sickness and rehabilitation as well as health interventions such as combating against infectious diseases, family planning, nutrition, maternal and child health and environmental health. It covers all sub-districts in all 13 districts in the country. Its activities are carried out once a month to ensure sustainability. The activities at SISCa last for a minimum of four hours, to ensure that communities will have time and the opportunity to participate. Community members play a role in deciding the schedule of SISCa activities.
Dr Eisuke Fukuma, Director of Breast Cancer, Kameda Medical Centre at Chiba, Japan, has done pioneering work in the field of endoscopic breast surgery and cryosurgery as a nonsurgical ablation.
He was recently in India to attend a conference on Minimal Invasive Surgery, hosted during the 35th Annual Conference of the Association of Surgeons of India, UP Chapter, at Lucknow, India, where he wowed everyone with his simplicity of manners and surgical expertise in the field of Endoscopic Breast Surgery.
In an exclusive interview to Citizen News Service (CNS), he spoke at length on the recent advances made in the area of breast surgery.
Breast cancer is on the rise in India, with 80,000 new cases being added every year and an annual death toll of more than 14,000. Yet there is very little awareness about the disease, especially in its earlier stages. Also, India has very few female breast surgeons, which very often acts as a deterrent to the female patients in seeking medical/surgical interventions.
According to Dr Fukuma, this issue merits a lot of attention, as women need to seek medical intervention during the first stage of the disease. Surgery is ruled out completely in the third stage. He stressed upon the dire need of good quality and sustained breast screening programmes in India, in the same manner as polio eradication programmes.
In Japan, with 40,000 new cases added every year, one, out of every 20, Japanese women suffers from breast cancer. But government sponsored breast screening /awareness programmes done, with the help of MRI, under strict quality control are helping in early detection. Hence timely treatment of the disease is saving many lives.
At Kameda Medical Centre, 50% of the breast surgeons are women. At present, out of the 5 resident doctors in the hospital's department of breast surgery, 4 are women. This has gone a long way in encouraging women to seek medical advice.
Endoscopic breast conserving surgery was developed originally in Japan, with a view to improve the cosmetic shape of the breast by reducing the scar-size and by changing the position of the surgical wounds. The purpose of endoscopic breast surgery (EBS) is to minimise skin incision and excision, as a skin sparing mastectomy.
This technique uses a long, narrow tube, called endoscope, which allows tiny surgical instruments to be inserted at a point far from the actual site of surgery. It is non invasive surgery, allowing for very small and precise incisions, without damaging nearby healthy tissues.
The surgeon is able to reach the entire breast through a one cm. hole made in the anterior auxilla (lower armpit), through which the tumour is removed. This is called the 'trans auxiliary retro maminary route'. The cut is so small that it leaves no scar, and the front/upper part of the breast is untouched, obliterating the necessity of contour surgery in most cases. Post surgery, sometimes a depression may appear in the breast which can be simultaneously corrected with breast implants, working through the same holes. Thus, this scar less breast surgery, avoids the second corrective/cosmetic surgery to reshape the breast contour, as both can be done at the same time.
Dr Fukuma started the technique of OSEA - 'Oncoplastic Surgery With Endoscopic Approach' in 1995, at the 900 bedded Kameda Medical Centre in Chiba, Japan. Till to date, he has operated upon 2000 patients, with this new technique, and has performed more than 400 total mastectomies with simultaneous reconstruction. According to him, the survival rate in endoscopic breast surgery is an encouraging 95%. Currently about 80% of the patients in Japan are opting for this type of breast surgery, as its cost is the same as that of conventional surgery, and the benefits are immense.
The cosmetic goal of OSEA is to maintain the four S – size, shape, softness and symmetry of the breast. Add to this two more S of Scar Minimize and Spare the Normal Tissue.
This hybrid technique, perfected by Dr Fukuma, to suit the Asian women (who have smaller breasts as compared to their western sisters), entails simultaneous/staged reconstruction after endoscopic total mastectomy; augmentation of breast and mobilization of tissue from the breast or other than the breast.
Dr Fukuma is also very optimistic about the future of Cryosurgery, which is the latest in the field of surgery, and can be used for removing small tumours of the size of 1cm or less. In cryosurgery, an image guided needle is inserted through a 3mm incision (the size of a mosquito bite). The tip of this needle, which is kept at a temperature of -68oC, forms an ice ball around the tumour. The cancerous tissue is killed at this low temperature.
More than 30 such non surgical cryo ablations have been performed successfully by Dr Fukuma under local anaesthesia, with the patient going back home after a few hours of hospital stay. The field of cryosurgery offers exciting possibilities. But it is still in its infancy, just being three years old, and more research is needed in this area before it replaces other conventional methods.
He expressed his gratitude for being given a platform to showcase his technique through video presentations, and to share his ideas with the medical fraternity at the UPASICON 2009. He hoped that his visit to India would mark the beginning of a new chapter of collaboration between surgeons of the two countries. Dr Anand Misra of CSM Medical University, Lucknow has already trained under Dr Fukuma in Japan, and is using these techniques in treating patients, albeit partly, due to lack of proper instruments.
Surely, more such training programmes can be organized, to disseminate the benefits of this latest technology to all and sundry.
Dr Fukuma hopes to extirpate breast cancer completely by developing endoscopic and cryo surgery. His aim is to give a new hope to the patients and to save lives. He has assisted in endoscopic surgeries in the USA and UK, and stresses upon the need of international collaboration in this exciting field of surgery.
His message is loud and clear - Fight the Menace of Breast Cancer Rather Than Surrender.
We hope that he succeeds in his mission to provide high quality relief to breast cancer patients, at affordable prices, without compromising upon the beauty of the end result.
Farmers all over the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) are suffering from the crisis of diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer shortage. It is wheat sowing time and most of the poor farmers have not received even a sack (50 kg) of DAP from the government fertilizer distribution centres. These farmers have been staging a demonstration since 17 November 2009 demanding DAP fertilizer, said Dr Sandeep Pandey, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee (2002) and member, National Presidium, Lok Rajniti Manch.
Last week sugarcane price issue was highlighted by political parties at the national level and they even forced the central government to backtrack.
"The issue of sugarcane price, no doubt quite important, concerns mostly big farmers. However, wheat is sown by all, including large number of poor and marginalized farmers. If the farmers will not get DAP we can expect a poor wheat crop and impending food shortage" said SR Darapuri, Vice President of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) UP.
In addition the farmers are also facing a seed shortage. They are also harassed by the revenue department officials who charge money for using water from the canals without actually supplying them any water.
"On 25th November, 2009, the farmers who have not received any DAP so far will be organizing a protest at the Bharawan (Block) fertilizer distribution centre in Hardoi District in UP state. A dharna has been going on here since 17th November, 2009" informed Rambabu, social activist with National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and Asha Parivar.
In September 2009, CIVIC organized the above public meeting in Bangalore with Dr. Supriya Roy Chowdhuri, Professor ISEC, Bangalore and Mr. Narayanswamy, Joint Director, Karnataka Slum Clearance Board (KSCB).
The former shared findings from ISEC's National Foundation of India supported 2007 project on the Impact of Globalization on Slums and Urban Poor in Karnataka. It highlights globalization's impact and NGO's/CSO's role in reducing disparity especially in Bangalore which expanded rapidly since the 1990's through the Information Technology and Biotechnology industries.
The voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and similar policies increased unemployed and semi-skilled numbers. In 21 class I cities, population decreased but poor increased ISEC's 1973 poverty and employment ratios survey in 11 Bangalore slums and 1990 repetition in 8 found child and coolie labour increasing from 30% to 36% and 26% to 30% respectively and clerical jobs decreasing from 13% to 11%. Studying housing, livelihood, education, health, etc. in 380 households across 6 settlements (including 5 'legalized' ones) in J.C. Nagar, Bangalore through direct questions and focus group discussions in 2007 revealed: · Education, development levels vary widely with no specific job or economic clusters in a ward · Some residents are partly integrated into Bangalore's economy · Occupations: garbage pickers, 26.1 % coolies, 26.5% self-employed (plumbers, mobile/stationary vendors, etc.).
Women - housemaids, cooks, nannies, etc. · 52.6 % of the poorest/unskilled earned between Rs. 1386-3372 · Poverty Ratio: Ramanna Garden - 80%, Papanna Garden - 58%, Average: Bangalore - 56% Karnataka - 26%. Some facts about 2 of the settlements surveyed K.S. Garden · Least Below Poverty Line (BPL) cases · Employment: some in NGO/government/private sector getting Rs. 6000-12000/month and benefits (receptionists, drivers, etc.); other and skilled labour - 33.6%, low income - 52.3% · 'Push factor' - a male relative was a government employee or individuals acquired technical/English skills privately · Fringe population - unskilled, aged, alcohol/drug addicts, infirm Cement Huts · High poverty ratio · Jobs: rag pickers for 70-80 years earning Rs. 3000-4000 monthly through wholesalers or individuals getting Rs. 1500. · Women - 80% aged 40-70 married within the slum and rag pickers nearby or in Chikpete earning Rs. 1800/month. (Ironically, this is the heart of the city beside the Labour Commissioners's erstwhile office).
Around 20 households revealed that their lives remained unchanged for 2 decades. · NGO's Mythri and Waste-Wise's education and vocational training to about 100 families increased their monthly income from Rs.1000 to Rs. 1600. 28% of Bangalore's slum dwellers especially young unmarried women toil long hours in the garment and electronics/electrical factories in hazardous conditions earning below Rs. 2300/month (minimum wage). Such unregulated, capital intensive and mainly export oriented industries exploit the urban poor. Urban Karnataka has less access to credit through Self Help Groups than rural areas or other Indian states although this does not deter them from self-employment as they cannot afford joblessness. Further, government schemes focus on education, sanitation rather than employment generation while most poor people prefer jobs over handouts. Housing campaigns have only provided a "roof over poverty."
- Before 2006, National Slum Development Programme (NSDP) and Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) were the only slum development schemes unlike the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) which has Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP) and Swarna Jayanti Sahari Rozgar Yojna (SJSRY) for training and employment.
- Among Bangalore's 540 settlements with 2 lakh households, 200 are notified. Ragigudda in southern Bangalore, the largest, is still under dispute.
KSCB's staff shortage (only 5 AE's city wide) is slowing attempts to legalize the rest - it requests NGO's to assist its efforts. Many slum dwellers use private healthcare as Primary Health Centres (PHC's), anganwaadis, etc. are ineffective or unavailable.
Also, government hospitals often demand money for 'free/discounted' services. Most government schools' poor standard denies them basic education. Only settlements like K.S. Garden where NGO's like Mythri run an anganwaadi or others, having free tutoring centres benefit. Minimal access to education, livelihood, healthcare and critical developmental schemes precipitates problems in slums. Despite lessening starvation, small jobs don't improve the socio-economic condition. Residents are disillusioned as politicians have rarely helped - some boycotted the 2004 parliamentary elections. While most slum residents know the various government schemes/benefits available to them like Bhagyalakshmi, BPL card, etc. they can rarely access them without NGO/CBO intervention.
Bayer has now filed an appeal against the decision before the division bench of the Delhi High Court. The appeal is going to be heard on 18 November 2009.
The case was first filed in 2008 by Bayer before the Delhi High Court on the grounds that the DCGI has entertained the application for granting marketing approval to a generic version of the anti-cancer drug sorafenib tosylate - for which Bayer has obtained a patent (IN215758) in India.
By filing this case against the Indian government, Bayer wanted to set a legal precedent which would require the Drug Controller of India to link regulatory approval of generic medicines with their patent status regardless of whether the patent granted is valid or not, says treatment rights activist Leena Menghaney.
She adds further that linking a drug's registration to its patent status (also known as 'patent linkage') seeks to create a new role for national drug regulatory authorities as 'enforcers' of drug patents. Normally, it is up to patent holders to ensure their patents are enforced. Patent linkage requires drug regulators to block the registration (also known as 'marketing approval') of generic versions of a drug that is under patent unless the patent holder gives consent - even if the generic has been proved to be of quality, safe and effective. Without registration a drug cannot be marketed and sold therefore, if the patent holder does not gives consent, the effect of this linkage would be to delay or even block generic competition and access to affordable drugs until the patent expires.
MSF is concerned about this court case which is yet another attempt by multinational pharmaceutical companies to use litigation to prevent competition and undermine the use of provisions in Indian law to safeguard public health.
Patent linkage will undermine the 'Bolar/Early Working' exception that allows a generic producer to manufacture the patented drug and obtain marketing authorisation in advance, so that a generic can be put on the market as soon as the patent expires.
It will have had an especially harmful effect in relation to compulsory licenses. Compulsory licenses can be issued to generic producers if patented essential drugs are not available or affordable in India, or if countries that lack production capacity order essential drugs from India. Even if India were to issue a compulsory license to overcome a patent barrier for a life-saving medicine, this provision could block or considerably delay the marketing approval of the drug rendering the compulsory license useless.
Use of such public health safeguards will become increasingly important, as the effect of the introduction of stricter patent rules for medicines required under the TRIPS Agreement is felt in India.
In a similar attempt to force the Philippines to adopt patent linkage, U.S. multinational pharmaceutical company, Pfizer Ltd. In March 2006 sued the government-owned company Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC), the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) and two BFAD officials in their personal capacity.? PITC had begun the process of registering the affordable versions of amlodipine besylate with the BFAD by submitting imported samples from India so it could obtain marketing approval (registration) and then promptly enter the market when Pfizer's Philippines patent on amlodipine besylate expired in June 2007.? The drug used to treat high blood pressure was considerably cheaper in India.
Today is World Diabetes Day – a day to reflect upon why India has become the diabetes capital of the world with 50.8 million (7.1%) of its people suffering from diabetes. It is high time we prepared to combat this menace and curb its spread. As the new President of IDF has rightly remarked that either we turn off the diabetes tap or else spend our lives mopping the floor.
We Indians are genetically more prone to diabetes. On top of this, a rapid shift in our dietary habits and life styles is resulting in a rapid rise in obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and heart disease. Hence a proper and healthy diet remains the cornerstone of prevention and management of these diseases.
Perhaps the most important reason for increasing prevalence of diabetes, obesity and hypertension is the rapidly changing imbalanced dietary habits, both in rural and urban areas, due to several factors – easy availability of convenience foods, frequent snacking on energy dense fast foods, high consumption of packaged food in place of traditional home made food, etc. This transition has resulted in excess consumption of calories, saturated fats, trans fatty acids, simple sugars, salt and a low fibre intake.
This has necessitated a revision in the existing dietary guidelines prepared 10 years a go by the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, which was predominantly rural centric. So, more than 100 renowned experts, belonging to varied disciplines of health and nutrition, have got together under the aegis of Science For Equity and Empowerment Division (SEED), Ministry Of Science and Technology, Govt Of India and Diabetes Foundation (India), to formulate a "National Consensus on Dietary Guidelines for Adult Asian Indians for Healthy Living and Prevention of Obesity & Diabetes". They have incorporated worldwide research and opinions in nutrition modulated to India specific data. They are simple, easy to understand by doctors and common public alike, and provision of standard diet charts catering to different regions of India will help people from all parts of India.
Dr Anoop Misra, director, Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Diabetes Federation Of India, strongly feels that the application of these guidelines will significantly help in preventing and halting diabetes and obesity epidemic in India.
Countrywide adaptation of these guidelines is likely to have a significant impact on prevalence and management of more than 25 diseases, including diabetes and diabetes related diseases.
What are these dietary guidelines for healthy living and prevention of diabetes and obesity?
The energy requirement must be calculated on the basis of height, weight and activity level – a medium frame Indian male of 165cm height should weigh 62 kg, and if sedentary, would require 1850 K cal to maintain healthy weight.
The daily carbohydrate intake, derived from whole wheat, unpolished rice, barley, buckwheat, oats, millet, whole pulses, legumes, and whole fruits like guava/apple etc, should be around 50-60% of total calorie intake, that is 250-300 gm/day.
The total daily dietary fibre should be 25-40 gm. Hence high fibre food items like cereal, pulses, vegetables, salads, guava, amla, apple, pears, peaches etc should be eaten. In fact, 4 to 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day are recommended.
Visible fat (oil, butter, ghee) and invisible fat (from cereals and pulses), together should be less than 30% of total energy. This can be got by consuming 4 to 5 teaspoonfuls of a combination of two or more vegetable oils. Correct cooking methods like boiling, steaming, roasting, grilling etc, instead of frying can minimize the visible fat intake.
Trans fatty acids should be less than 1% of the total energy. These are found abundantly in bakery products, ready to use soups and gravies and foods prepared in margarine and vanaspati ghee. Hence it is best to avoid these products.
Ideal protein intake is 1gm/day for every one kilo of body weight. Thus for the average Indian male, this could be obtained from two bowls of cooked pulses, or 2 pieces of lean chicken/fish meat, or 500ml of double toned milk, or 9 servings of wheat flour. This much of protein will provide 10-15% of the total calories.
Salt intake should be less than 5gm per day. So, we Indians need to drastically curtail the ever so popular consumption of salted potato chips (a big favourite of children), pickles, and salty fried snacks.
Sugar in very small amounts and water in excess (about 8-10 glasses) every day, should cap it all.
Apart from this, it is important to take small frequent meals at intervals of 3-4 hours. While eating out (which has become increasingly popular, even in small towns in India), one should choose small portion sizes of healthy snacks. Beverages like buttermilk, coconut water, and fresh lime with water are excellent substitutes for aerated and high calorie drinks.
If adopted, these guidelines can, perhaps, have a significant impact on prevalence and management of obesity, diabetes and heart diseases, and save the native Asian Indian race from the ravages of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
A persistent and prolonged intensive lifestyle intervention could be the most effective tool to combat diabetes. At the same time, more effective drugs (and not glamorous pharmaceutical manipulations) are needed for those who cannot follow intensive life style therapy due to infirmity.
basically due to rural-urban migration, mechanization, open market economy, increasing affluence, improved food supply, dietary liberalization and westernization, and physical inactivity due to rapid pace of urban life, resulting in more sedentary work.
Leisure time activities have also shifted from outdoor activities to indoor entertainment, like television viewing and computer usage, both in children and adults. Also, women are generally reported to be physically more inactive than men, perhaps due to cultural influences on outdoor activities.
But what is of major concern is that children and adolescents are showing decreased physical activity which is fuelling obesity and type 2 diabetes at a very young age. There is a general misconception in Indian parents that an obese child is a healthy child and that feeding oils and clarified butter to children is beneficial to their growth and imparts strength. Another important factor is the parental pressure on children to perform well in academics at the cost of sports and other physical activities. Lack of play fields in schools and open spaces around homes, has further aggravated the problem.
Thus health interventions in both children and adults should be aimed at increasing the physical activity, along with healthier eating habits and health education. A carefully followed diet-exercise combination seems to work wonderfully in preventing or delaying the development of diabetes. This has been proved by a 10 year long Diabetes-Prevention-Programme (DPP) study, which has demonstrated the effectiveness of intervention programmes and changes in lifestyle in reducing the cost burden due to diabetes. This cost burden is imposed not only on the patient and her family, but also on society. There is loss in income and productivity. There are intangible costs in terms of pain, anxiety and suffering.
Programmes directed specifically towards children have shown encouraging results. These should be aided with individual and community health initiatives, backed up by government efforts. The government would do well to sell coarse grains like millets through its public distribution systems. Effective strategies for making and marketing healthy food snacks are needed to counteract the increasing sale of junk food. In fact, some kiosks on the Ahmedabad highway sell tribal health foods in attractive packaging. As eating out is becoming fashionable even in small towns, it is necessary for the food and hotel industry to churn out more healthy recipes and popularise them.
India, aimed at primary prevention of obesity and inculcation of healthy diet and lifestyle practices in children and adolescents who are at an increased risk for early onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and coronary heart disease (CHD).
Simple measures like regular physical activity, cutting off extra calories, eating more green vegetables and fruits, are likely to be beneficial in preventing diabetes. Eating less and walking more, does not cost anything and the gains are far too many.
exercise a little more, and encourage our children to play outdoors rather than on a computer screen.
November 14 marks World Diabetes Day - a global awareness campaign led by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) that highlights the diabetes epidemic and aims to bring hope to the 285 million people living with diabetes worldwide.
World Diabetes Day has been celebrated since 1991, when it was first created by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization. It is celebrated each year on 14 November, a date chosen to mark the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who is credited with the discovery of insulin. An official United Nation's Day, World Diabetes Day is represented by the blue circle logo that is the global symbol of diabetes. This year sees the first of a five-year campaign that addresses the growing need for diabetes education and prevention programmes to tackle diabetes and its life-threatening complications.
In addition to the lightings, hundreds of events will take place worldwide to mark the day, from individual acts of celebration to community-based activities. Examples include Desert Dingo Racing taking on Mexico's gruelling cross-desert Baja 1000 race in the official World Diabetes Day car, and World Diabetes Day champions in the United States calling on people with diabetes worldwide to test their blood sugar at 14:00 hours (local time – irrespective of the time zone) and share the results online.
IDF's World Diabetes Day campaign aims to establish access to diabetes education as a right for all people with diabetes, to promote greater awareness of the risk factors and warning signs of diabetes, and encourage best-practice sharing in diabetes prevention. The campaign's 2009 goal is to "Understand Diabetes and Take Control" and its key messages are: know the diabetes risks and know the warning signs, know how to respond to diabetes and who to turn to, know how to manage diabetes and take control.
The need to increase diabetes awareness grows ever year with the increasing impact of the disease worldwide. The latest data, recently published by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) in the 4th Edition of the Diabetes Atlas, show that 4 in 5 people with diabetes now live in low and middle-income countries and that the men and women most affected are of working age – the breadwinners of their families. IDF predicts that the total number will exceed 435 million in 2030 if the current rate of growth continues unchecked.
Diabetes now affects seven percent of the world's adult population and claims four million lives every year. The disease is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke and amputation. Diabetes will cost the world economy at least US$376 billion in 2010, or 11.6% of total world healthcare expenditure. By 2030, this number is projected to exceed US$490 billion. More than 80% of diabetes spending is in the world's richest countries and not in the poorer countries, where over 70 percent of people with diabetes now live.
The regions with the highest comparative prevalence rates are North America, where 10.2% of the adult population have diabetes, followed by the Middle East and North Africa Region with 9.3%. The regions with the highest number of people living with diabetes are Western Pacific, where some 77 million people have diabetes and South East Asia with 59 million.
India is the country with the most people with diabetes, with a current figure of 50.8 million, followed by China with 43.2 million. Behind them come the United States (26.8 million); the Russian Federation (9.6 million); Brazil (7.6 million); Germany (7.5 million); Pakistan (7.1 million); Japan (7.1 million); Indonesia (7 million) and Mexico (6.8 million).
When it comes to the percentage of adult population living with diabetes, the new data reveal the devastating impact of diabetes across the Gulf Region, where five of the Gulf States are among the top ten countries affected. The Pacific island nation of Nauru has the world's highest rate of diabetes, with almost a third of its adult population (30.9%) living with the disease. It is followed by the United Arab Emirates (18.7%); Saudi Arabia (16.8%); Mauritius (16.2%); Bahrain (15.4%); Reunion (15.3%); Kuwait (14.6%); Oman (13.4%); Tonga (13.4%) and Malaysia (11.6%).
The World Diabetes Day campaign can be followed online at www.worlddiabetesday.org; www.twitter.com/wdd; Facebook-http://tinyurl.com/o7o6kf and www.youtube.com/worlddiabetesday.
Senior national and state journalists, including former BBC broadcaster Mr Satish Jacob, will be participating in the first anniversary celebration of Media for Children (M4C) on November 13. UNICEF chief of field staff, Uttar Pradesh, Ms Adele Khudr has also confirmed to attend.
Mr Augustine Veliath UNICEF communication specialist and Mr Pushpendra Kulshreta, secretary Press Club of India, New Delhi are the other panelists. On 13th November 2009, M4C celebrate the anniversary of what can be termed as 'media movement for children'.
Media Nest, a Lucknow based pan –India forum of media professionals, has been organizing this bi-monthly event at the Uttar Pradesh Press Club with the support of UNICEF since November 2008.
The forum which works for the welfare of journalists and their family has veteran journalist Kuldip Nayyar as its chief patron. Naveen Joshi, resident editor, Dainik Hindustan, Lucknow, broadcaster KK Nayar, BBC state correspondent Ramdutt Tripathi and IANS contributor Sharad Pradhan are patrons of this media forum.
Media Nest has on this very special occasion invited all its members, as well as those NGOs and individuals who are working for children, to come together and jointly herald in India's Children's Day in the true spirit of celebration.
"We have through this media event attempted to ensure that the children of Uttar Pradesh, especially those from the under-privileged section of society get a voice, their demands are heard and their pain shared," said Ms Kulsum Talha, secretary general of Media Nest.
The programme will begin with a presentation by Sahyog, a NGO working for women health and gender equality. The NGO will release a youth policy on the eve of India's Children's Day. The panelists will be former Vice Chancellor of Lucknow University - Professor Roop Rekha Verma - and Dr Neelam Singh.
The second part of the programme will focus on how media can be partners in promoting women and children issues. Media as voice of children and partners in development issues. The two hour programme will begin at 2 pm.
In the earlier 23 sessions M4C has focused media attention on AIDS-affected children, held an interaction with Dr Subodh Singh, the doctor who made Pinki Smile (girl with cleft lips), talked on how the state of sanitation is affecting the life of children in Uttar Pradesh, focused media attentions on the state of Minority children and their battle to get equal rights and full citizenships, UP's missing children, the state of justice in women's courts, and other key issues.
The Judgement has directed the Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Narmada Valley Development Authority and Narmada Control Authority not to proceed with any land acquisition and excavation for the canals until all the requisite measures under the Command Area Development (CAD) Plans and the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Plans are prepared and submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forests and other authorities concerned and are approved and implemented pari passu with the engineering works.
The decision on the CAD will first lie with the Committee of Experts to assess all studies/ plans/safeguard measures of Indira Sagar, Sardar Sarovar and Omkareshwar Projects which was appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, in 2008. The Committee would scrutinize the plans, approve and guide the Government.
The Narmada Control Authority established and empowered through the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal Award, 1979 and the Narmada Water Scheme (1980 and 1987) would be responsible for the overall monitoring and will have to ensure that the environmental impact mitigatory measures and resettlement and rehabilitation measures are properly planned, resources for the same are made available and implemented as per the judgement.
major sons and all other provisions on par with the submergence (reservoir) affected families, as also the benefits granted in the policy to the landless.
The Judgement also refers to the canals planned to be constructed in the already irrigated areas wherein there is no need for further irrigation through canals, such as villages already falling in the Sardar Sarovar and Maheshwar dam affected areas and directs the authorities to review the canal network and CAD Plan to minimize displacement, in the context of increasing people's struggle and agitation against land acquisition for development projects across the country and considering that the affected people are losing faith in the State and its promises as well as capacity to rehabilitate them.
While the major interim order has emphatically entrusted the responsibility to the Narmada Control Authority to ensure monitoring of all the environmental safeguard measures and the implementation of R&R, it has also directed the State of Madhya Pradesh to establish a Grievance Redressal Authority for the purpose.
1999 and 2001 and since the state government has not amended its Panchayati Raj Act to include Section 4(i) of the Central PESA Act, the Act can't be applicable unless the State legislature enacts an amendment to that effect.
Citing an earlier judgment by the same Bench, the High Court further ruled that when the land acquisition is under a Central Act (in this case the Act of 1894), consultation of Gram Sabhas prior to land acquisition is not to be mandatory for projects in Madhya Pradesh. The Order, however, notes that the State of Madhya Pradesh should have incorporated the provisions of the PESA Act including Section 4(i) in the State level Panchayat Act.
leaves it open to the canal-affected to approach the Hon'ble Court with further details.
On the whole, the High Court's order, is indicative of further progress of the Narmada project affected families, by extending the rights and privileges of R&R to all categories, beyond reservoir-affected and upholding the great value and importance of environmental measures, including command area development as pre-conditional to any work such as land acquisition and excavation of the canals, along with the principle of minimizing displacement, while planning of a development project. The case has been disposed with a direction to the Narmada Control Authority to submit three-monthly reports on implementation of all the social and environmental measures related to the Project by GoMP and NVDA.
Narmada Bachao Andolan respects and welcomes the judgement as highly progressive, Since it holds the environmental mitigatory measures as mandatory and pre-conditional , it expands the definition of the project affected, guaranteeing them the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution and admitting and the pressing need to review the Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar projects, towards minimizing displacement and saving prime agricultural irrigated land. The Andolan shall continue struggle at the legal level and on the ground to centralize the right of the adivasis and other nature-based communities for their right to informed consultation and consent with respect to all development planning projects.
The PIL was filed on July 18th and continued till the 28th of October, 2009. Medha Patkar pleaded at length for the petitioner-farmers and adivasis. Senior advocates Ravish Agarwal, Additional Solicitor General Naman Nagrath and Adv Arpan Pawar pleaded for the Government of Madhya Pradesh and NVDA while Advocates Radheshsyam Gupta for MoEF and Dharmendra Sharma appeared for NCA.
The Republic of Mauritius in collaboration with the World Health Organization Afro Region and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) today opened an International Conference on Diabetes & Associated Diseases in Port Louis, Mauritius to highlight their concern about the rapid growth of the diabetes epidemic throughout Africa. The conference will run from November 12 and end on November 14 - World Diabetes Day.
t developments and practical management and prevention of diabetes and its complications. Participants will also take stock of the latest scientific evidence-based best practices to address the epidemic of diabetes and related complications - http://www.gov.mu/portal/sites/diabetesconf2009/index.htm. The goal is to build a strategic alliance among health professionals that will provide the momentum to implement both the National Diabetes Services Framework and procedures, and the UN Resolution on Diabetes (Res.61/225).
Africa will have the highest percentage increase in the number of people with diabetes in the next 20 years because of rapid industrialization and general improvements in living standards over the past five decades according to the latest data from the IDF Diabetes Atlas 4th edition. At least 80% of people in Africa with diabetes remain undiagnosed. The picture is bleak for those already affected by diabetes as the IDF data shows that in Africa, most of those who die from diabetes are in the economically productive age group (30 to 60 years).
"No country is immune to diabetes and no country has all the answers to this common enemy that we confront. No country has yet managed to reverse the trend of rising prevalence. Defeating diabetes will take every ounce of commitment and ingenuity that we can summon. It is time to think creatively and to break down old paradigms. Studies show increasingly strong linkages between diabetes and many other diseases, such as heart disease, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS," said Professor Jean Claude Mbanya, President of the International Diabetes Federation and co-chair of the Scientific Committee of the conference.
Mbanya added, "IDF's aim is to achieve sustainable health systems as called for in United Nations Resolution 61/225, and to catalyse funding that is committed to helping health systems develop sustainable, cost-effective measures for prevention and care of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases"
Africa is not alone in fighting the diabetes epidemic. IDF data shows that 285 million people worldwide now live with diabetes (4-in-5 are in developing countries). That number is expected to exceed 435 million in 2030 if the current rate of growth continues unchecked. Diabetes will kill four million people in the coming year, more than HIV/AIDS and Malaria combined.
Diabetes has become a development issue which threatens health and economic prosperity in low- and middle-income countries. IDF predicts that diabetes will cost the world economy at least US$376 billion in 2010, or 11.6% of total world healthcare expenditure. By 2030, this number is projected to exceed US$490 billion. More than 80% of diabetes spending is in the world's richest countries and not in the poorer countries, where over 70 percent of people with diabetes now live.
Globally, only one other country has a larger proportion of its population with diabetes than Mauritius, the Pacific island of Nauru.
"If one needed a barometer for assessing or predicting the direction of the global diabetes epidemic, we do not need to go past the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius with its population of about 1.3 million," said Professor Paul Zimmet, Co-Chair of the IDF Task Force on Epidemiology and Prevention from Australia's Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute.
Zimmet, who is co-chair of the scientific committee and a keynote speaker at the conference, said the multi-racial population of Mauritius (Asian Indian Hindus, Asian Indian Muslims, Chinese and Creoles) has undergone rapid industrialization and economic growth over the past several decades. This brought in its wake a dramatic shift in the disease pattern. He noted that these ethnic groups constitute two-thirds of the world's population. Mauritius acts as a microcosm of the global epidemic and data from successive studies here have been critical for IDF in its global predictions of diabetes.
Along with the Mauritius Ministry of Health and Quality of Life, Zimmet and Sir George Alberti have been conducting surveys in Mauritius since 1987 (1992, 1998, and 2004) which have shown that prevalence rates for diabetes and its complications are very high. Between 1987 and 1998, there was a 38% increase in diabetes numbers. In the most recent 2009 survey, (led by Sudhir Kowlessur and Professor Zimmet), there has been a further dramatic increase in numbers.
"This bodes poorly for India (50.8 million) and China (43.2 million), the two nations that already have the most people with diabetes globally as well as the many nations around the world with immigration of these ethnic groups," said Zimmet.
Zimmet also voiced his great concern about the dramatic increase in diabetes in Indigenous populations citing the example of Australia's Aboriginal population. "In our rich nation," he said, "we have close to the highest world rates of diabetes, diabetic kidney disease and amputations in the world. Diabetes is the fastest growing disease worldwide and one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st Century"
Professor Mbanya said, "Faced with these alarming numbers in Mauritius, it is especially important that we focus on the country this World Diabetes Day. This international conference marks the start of the political action necessary to reverse the diabetes epidemic worldwide."
For the next five years IDF is focused on Diabetes Education and Prevention through its World Diabetes Day campaign.


text:
Xanthosoma dealbatum är en kallaväxtart som beskrevs av Michael Howard Grayum. Xanthosoma dealbatum ingår i släktet Xanthosoma och familjen kallaväxter.

Artens utbredningsområde är Costa Rica. Inga underarter finns listade.

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Here's The Most Minimalist Hotel Room You'll Ever See
Zach Johnston
Life Writer
Art isn't always obvious. Sometimes it's a metaphor splashed in white on a white canvas. Sometimes it's a totem slowly discovered inside a cedar log as each layer of wood is chiseled away. Sometimes it's a bed on the side of a mountain in Switzerland.
For the better part of a decade, twin concept artists Frank and Patrik Riklin have been devoting their artistic acumen to the Null Stern (zero star) Hotel project. They started by putting beds in a nuclear fall out shelter near St. Gallen, Switzerland in 2008. They've moved on to phase two of their art — a hotel that comprises of a queen bed on the side of a mountain. It has zero stars, in case you're wondering.
The original idea of housing guests in a fall out shelter sprung from one part political posturing, one part wanting to annoy luxury hotels, and one part pure artistic endeavor. Patrik Riklin exclaims that they were "making a statement of the antithesis of the megalomania of this time. The zero means freedom from the absurdity of the star system and questions the idea of luxury." The star rating system for hotels worldwide evidently threatened to sue the brothers. But nothing came of it besides the novelty of some tourists staying in a Swiss fall out shelter with no amenities.
TOPICS#Hotels#Travel#Art
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