From Seoul to Sydney, Beijing to Bangkok, preparations are underway for Friday’s kick-off thousands of miles away in South Africa, heralding a month of late nights and bleary-eyed mornings for many Asian fans.
“We’re expecting the hotel lounge to be full every night,” said Matthew Rashid, manager of the Equatorial in Kuala Lumpur, where many bars and pubs are already decked out with colorful bunting and posters.
“Everyone’s excited and I’ll wear a jersey to work throughout the World Cup,” said the Brazil supporter.
In South Korea, which takes on Greece on Saturday, giant screens are being set up in public squares, sports stadiums and other locations around the country for people to cheer on the national team.
On the other side of the world’s most heavily militarized border, North Koreans will be following a rare appearance by their side, who have qualified for the event for the first time in 44 years.
But they risk being left without any television coverage after Seoul refused to provide a free feed to its impoverished neighbor owing to tensions over the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
In Tokyo, where interest in the sport has taken off since Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup, suited white-collar workers were among those taking a break from their hectic schedules for a screaming contest to warm up for kick-off.
The winner was a man whose cry of “goal” lasted for 32 seconds. For those who prefer just to watch, Sony will provide 3D images of the action at about 500 sites around Japan.
Pubs and bars in Bangkok — still reeling from the deadly “Red Shirt” protests — are hoping the event will tempt back the punters, despite a state of emergency, which in theory bans public gatherings of more than five people.
The authorities have reassured football fans they will not be arrested for watching the matches — even if they wear a red jersey.
“It’s no problem to wear a red shirt and cheer at the football as long as there are no guns involved,” said a Thai army spokesman.
Security will be particularly tight for kickoff at a Bangkok prison where inmates from around the globe are holding their own version of the World Cup.
Vietnam is also football obsessed and the hugely anticipated event is expected to all but bring daily life to a halt, while in Afghanistan foreign troops will be crowding around every available television.
Christoph Schmidt, a 31-year-old German-born US corporal in the 97th Military Police Battalion in Kandahar, had no doubts who he will supporting.
“I am definitely for Germany. There is no debate. The US might as well send their women’s football team,” he said.
At Casey Station in Antarctica, Australian scientists will tune in over the radio when their team play Germany on Sunday.
“They’ll listen to it but they can’t see it,” a spokeswoman told AFP.
Stung by the national side’s failure to qualify, Chinese fans can at least drown their sorrows while watching the matches at bars and parks across the nation, as well as at the South African pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai.
While stock markets may see a dip in trading as investors turn their eyes to South Africa, bookies are expected to see a surge in turnover, even in countries such as Thailand and Cambodia where betting is illegal.
Yet while many businesses are happy to be infected with World Cup fever, others are bracing for a month of lost productivity.
Some workers may take “sickies” after the matches or come to work intent on watching replays, said Deb Loveridge, chief executive of New Zealand human resources company Randstad.
In Indonesia, civil servants have been warned of pay cuts if they fail to turn up on time over the next month.
“Imagine if football lovers come late every day to the office, how much money will we lose?” a Jakarta government spokesman said.
Agence France-Presse
Rabu, 09 Juni 2010
World Cup Fever Infects Millions in Indonesia and Rest of Asia-Pacifi
German government rejects GM request for aid for Ope
General Motors will have to rehabilitate its struggling German subsidiary Opel on its own. The German government has turned down the American automaker's application for 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in state loan guarantees, according to Rainer Bruederle, Germany's economics minister.
"I am confident that Opel has a good future without credit guarantees," Bruederle told reporters after a government committee deadlocked over the issue and asked Bruederle to make the decision.
GM rejected an offer from Berlin last November to lend Opel 4.5 billion euros if it sold the subsidiary to a new owner. It then demanded the loan guarantees from a fund set up to help companies hit hard by the recession.
As GM returned to profitability, however, and the German government announced new austerity measures, the rejection of the loan application had come to be expected.
Berlin says GM has enough cash reserves
GM posted profits for the first three months of 2010, its first gains in three years, after declaring bankruptcy last year. Bruederle said GM has cash reserves of at least 10 billion euros and was fully capable of restructuring the loss-making Opel on its own.
The Opel unit makes mid-priced cars mainly for the European market and has plants in four German states. The company employs roughly 24,000 people in Germany.
Other car companies had contended the loans would have been unfair. But Opel works council head Klaus Franz slammed Bruederle's decision.
"The economics minister is leaving Opel staff standing in the rain, counter to the facts and counter to the interest of the plants in Germany," Franz said.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has supported aid for Opel, said Wednesday that "the last word on the future of Opel has not been spoken," adding that she would speak to state leaders Thursday about how to help the automaker.
Author: Holly Fox (AFP/dpa/Reuters)
Editor: Andreas Illmer
Poster campaign aims to improve image of Islam in the UK
A host of new posters are going up around London in underground stations, at bus stops and on black cabs intended to promote Islam as a faith that contributes positively to British society.
The posters, each with the tagline "Inspired by Muhammad," are part of a campaign by the Exploring Islam Foundation, a London-based Muslim organization that aims to create positive dialogue on Islam and improve the religion's image in Britain.
A recent poll by the research organization Yougov found that 58 percent of Britons surveyed associate Islam with extremism, 50 percent with terrorism and 68 percent feel the religion encourages the repression of women.
Remona Aly, campaigns director for the Exploring Islam Foundation, told Deutsche Welle her organization felt it needed to respond.
"Our goal now is to put forth the universal values that Muslims hold, which are ones of justice, of compassion, of mutual understanding and tolerance," she said.
Many Britons associate Islam with extremism
Muhammad the environmentalist?
One of the posters features a woman wearing a headscarf with the caption "I believe in rights for women - so did Muhammad." Another features German-born former MTV presenter Kristiane Backer and reads "I believe in protecting the environment - so did Muhammad."
While the posters present a pretty face for Muhammad, Douglas Murray of the Center for Social Cohesion, criticized the campaign as misleading.
"One of the things that they wish to try to prove in this campaign is that Muhammad himself was a great believer in women's rights," Murray said. "That is highly contestable, and I think, wrong."
But Aly defended the posters' claims and said green living was one of the teachings of the prophet.
"He said don't be wasteful with water, even if you are next to a stream of running water," she said. "He told us to observe nature, to look at the elements of nature and learn from them, meditate upon them."
Backer, a former MTV presenter, converted to Islam
In curiosity, opportunity
Speaking of the Yougov survey, Murray said it came as no shock to him to hear that some Britons associate Islam with extremism and terrorism.
"The British people have seen such acts on their own soil," he said. "It was only in 2005 that self-proclaimed Islamists blew up the London tube." He added that while it is not an appropriate interpretation of Islam, the idea may have taken root with the British public.
But the poll also suggested a third of people would like to know more about the religion.
Backer, the former MTV presenter and a convert to Islam, said therein lays the opportunity for the Inspired by Muhammad campaign to change some minds.
"Islam is a very beautiful religion that contains highly ethical principles, spiritual principles," she said. "But nobody knows about that."
Author: Olly Barrat (acb/sh)
Editor: Nancy Isenson
Indonesia Corruption Watch Alleges Senior Police Officer Has $10 Million Bank Account
The country’s most prominent antigraft watchdog officially lodged a complaint with the Corruption Eradication Commission on Wednesday linking a bank account containing Rp 95 billion ($10.3 million) to a senior officer from National Police headquarters.
Danang Widoyoko, chairman of Indonesia Corruption Watch, said there were indications of bribery and illegal gratuities linked to the account, allegedly belonging to a two-star police general identified as “BG.”
Danang brought along several documents to support the group’s claim. It is still not known whether the documents submitted include classified dossiers from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), which is able to monitor suspicious transactions at virtually all financial institutions in the country.
“We are disappointed that the National Police have refused to investigate how the officer was able to obtain such a vast wealth,” ICW deputy chairman Emerson Yuntho said in a text message to the Jakarta Globe.
“It shows that the police are not ready to reform.”
Earlier, National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi said the PPATK had forwarded documents linked to the suspicious account but claimed that no indications of any criminal activities had been discovered.
Retrieved from:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/indonesia-corruption-watch-alleges-senior-police-officer-has-10-million-bank-account/379590
Personality Types
Personality Types
Author: Tim Bryce
The following is an excerpt from my new book, "MORPHING INTO THE REAL WORLD - A Handbook for Entering the Work Force" which is a survival guide for young people as they transition into adult life. The book offers considerable advice regarding how to manage our personal and professional lives. As a part of this, I found it necessary to describe the four types of personalities commonly found in the work place.
Personality Types
You will undoubtedly encounter many different types of personalities in the work place, each with their own unique blend of nuances. But there are four basic types of personalities from which they are based, which is commonly referred to as A, B, C, and D. Although volumes have been written on such personality traits, here is a synopsis:
Type "A" Personality - Is a highly independent and driven personality, typically representing the leaders in business. They are blunt, competitive, no-nonsense types who like to get to the point. They are also strong entrepreneurial spirits (risk takers). As such, they embrace change and are always looking for practical solutions for solving problems.
Type "B" Personality - Represents highly extroverted people who love the spotlight. Because of this, they are very entertaining and possess strong charisma (everyone likes to be around them). Small wonder these people are sales and marketing types. They thrive on entertaining people and are easily hurt if they cannot sway someone (such as "bombing" on stage).
Type "C" Personality - The antithesis of Type "B"; they are introverted detailists as represented by such people as accountants, programmers, and engineers. They may have trouble communicating to other people, but are a whirlwind when it comes to crunching numbers or writing program code. They tend to be very cautious and reserved, and will not venture into something until after all the facts have been checked out.
Type "D" Personality - Is best characterized as those people who resist any form of change and prefer the tedium of routine, such as in clerical assignments. They are not adventurous, resist responsibility and prefer to be told what to do.
It is not uncommon to find people with a blend of personalities, particularly A-B and C-D. But these basic personality types explain why some people work well together and others do not. For example Type-A clashes with Type-D simply because one is more adventurous than the other, and Type-B clashes with Type-C as one exhibits an extroverted personality and the other is introverted. Conversely Type-A works well with Type-B, and Type-C works well with Type-D.
The leveling factor between these different personality types is Common Courtesy which will be the subject of another article.
If you would like to discuss this with me in more depth, please do not hesitate to send me an e-mail.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/human-resources-articles/personality-types-210700.html
About the Author
Tim Bryce is the Managing Director of M. Bryce & Associates (MBA) of Palm Harbor, Florida, a management consulting firm specializing in Information Resource Management (IRM). Mr. Bryce has over 30 years of experience in the field. He is available for lecturing, training and consulting on an international basis. His corporate web page is at:
http://www.phmainstreet.com/mba/
He can be contacted at: timb001@phmainstreet.com
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