Suzhou embroidery keeps ancient needle art alive

Suzhou embroidery is world renowned for its
exquisite, elegant, clear and beautiful artistic style.

During the Spring and Autumn Period some 2,500 years ago, people from Wu State applied embroidery to clothes, and thus began the origin of Suzhou-style embroidery. Suzhou embroidery is world renowned for its exquisite, elegant, clear and beautiful artistic style.

The Suzhou Embroidery Museum was established in 1986 and was originally in the Fishing Master’s Garden. In 1988, the museum was moved to Wang Ao’s Ancestral Temple at No.262, Jingde Road.

Emperor Qianlong’s imperial robe is one of the most precious items at the museum, boasting 42 dragon stripes, all embroidered with gold threads. The dragon stripes are intermingled with colorful cloud patterns, all in perfect harmony.

A buff thin silk cotton-padded gown and a bed quilt are probably the most historical exhibits. Embroidered with dragons, phoenixes, and flowers, the patterns are typical imperial symbols of the culture of Chu State of the Warring States Period some 2000 years ago. Both of them were unearthed from the No.1 Chu Tomb in Mashan, Jingzhou City of Hubei Province in 1982.

Most of the masterpieces are currently collected and exhibited by the Suzhou Embroidery Research Institute, which is located next to the museum. To keep the ancient needle art alive, research institutes and mills have been built since the 1950s in Suzhou, Nantong, Changzhou and Wuxi. The Suzhou Embroidery Research Institute, or SERI, has done an excellent job of studying, recording and promoting the traditional technique.

- http://english.cntv.cn

France, Germany avoids eurozone recession in third quarter

The eurozone slipped into its second recession since 2009 in the third quarter of this year, with output falling 0.1%, Eurostat data showed on Thursday. France and Germany managed to buck the trend, with both managing 0.2% growth in the same period.

Economic output in the 17-country euro zone fell 0.1 percent in the third quarter, the EU’s statistics office Eurostat said on Thursday, following a 0.2-percent drop in the second quarter.

Those two quarters of contraction put the euro zone’s 9.4 trillion euro ($12 trillion) economy officially in recession, although Italy and Spain have been contracting for a year already and Greece is suffering an outright depression.

Germany and France, the euro zone’s biggest economies, could not save the bloc from a double-dip recession even though both countries managed 0.2 percent growth in the quarter. Large, countries like Italy, Spain and the Netherlands all contracted and Belgium, a big exporter, stagnated.

Millions of people across Europe protested against government spending cuts that EU policymakers say are crucial to ending the debt crisis but which others blame for the economic contraction.

Philippines: “Come home after study abroad”

Philippine education secretary Armin Luistro has called for Filipinos to return home after studying abroad, warning the country is losing its best students.

Speaking at the European Higher Education Fair he did not denounce outbound mobility but said: “We need to transform this vicious cycle of our best and brightest going abroad and never coming back.

”Luistro also commended plans to put Filipino education on par with global standards, discussing the extension of the public education system this year from a 10 to 12-year curriculum (K-12).

Sheldon Shaeffer, director at the Bureau of Education of Unesco, Asia Pacific, has said the programme is necessary “to make the system comparable to and competitive with other countries”. It is also likely to help more Filipinos win places on overseas courses.

Luistro also said he wanted to bring more overseas students to the country, which is already gaining popularity for its affordable university and English language courses. According to the Philippine Immigration Bureau, more than 24,000 people have applied for a study permit this year – compared to fewer than 8,000 just four years ago.

Interest is said to be coming from neighbouring Asian countries and Europe, particularly in English language teaching which the Philippine government has promoted extensively since 2005.

“I think we are more than ready to engage again in a new mode that will allow us to become real partners with the European Union in terms of competitiveness,” Luistro said.

Scientists created a material that can detect the pressure of a handshake and heal cuts

Researchers have developed the first material that is both sensitive to touch and can heal itself. This is a huge step towards creating synthetic skin that could improve prosthetics and electronic devices. By combining a plastic polymer with super-conductive nickel, the scientists created a material that's can detect the pressure of a handshake and heal cuts in 30 minutes.

Indian doc slams post-study work ops, Australia

              

A new documentary has criticised the lack of work opportunities for Indians in Australia after they graduate from Australian universities—raising questions over whether a recent extension to post-study work rights has gone far enough.Sunshine and Shade, whichpremiered last week at the Parramasala film festival (and will screen on Indian television), aims to show the reality of study in Australia – good and bad – following two Indian students throughout their study experience.While the students enjoy aspects of their studies, both struggle with visas and finding work after they graduate – an experience director Ana Tiwary says leaves many students disenchanted with Australia.

The film follows Kanishk Kumar, who after studying an MBA at the University of Newcastle, Sydney, applies for more than 60 jobs without being asked to an interview.

Sharn Chahal meanwhile struggles to survive on the twenty hours of part time work allowed by her student visa, while studying IT and Accountancy at Auburn University. She fears having to pay off a “first world loan” in rupees if she cannot find work in Australia when her course ends.

Tiwary said recent changes to the General Skilled Migration Program were a major barrier for foreigners who are eligible to work in fewer occupations in line with the economy’s needs. Thousands will have to leave Australia when transitional arrangements to the scheme end on December 31, she said.

Students also struggle to find companies to sponsor them to work in Australia – a claim backed up by a Deakin University, Melbourne, survey earlier this year.

“Australia has the most qualified cab drivers and waitresses because people can’t get jobs based on their qualifications,” Tiwary said. “Once they graduate, they should be getting jobs that they’re qualified for.”

Tanzania: Solving the teacher shortage problem

A shortage of teachers in over 250 schools has been the focus of Government and education union action in Zanzibar. The fundamental issue for both is to determine how Zanzibar can train, recruit and retain teachers in their teaching jobs.

Working conditions, including professional teaching conditions, play a substantial role in teachers' decisions to quit teaching in a particular school or district and even contribute to them deciding to leave the profession altogether.

“ZATU, the sole union organising teachers in the isles, has initiated several efforts to tackle the qualified teachers’ problem in the country,” said ZATU General Secretary Mussa Omar Tafurwa. “Among these efforts is the teachers’ professional development programme, through which ZATU assists members in acquiring qualifications to join a teachers’ training college. The assistance is made through financial support to pay for the national O Level and A Level examinations.”

Headline November15,2012

MUSIC: ''THE EXPERIMENTAL ODDITIES!''

Most of our assumptions about the motives of aspiring pop musicians rest on the premise that they all want the same thing :Success.

We also assume that, like any human being, they have a fear of failure. So we map out a trajectory for a new, young band who have taken our fancy, which goes something like this: they release a couple of singles on independent label; their My Space page explodes with friends, A&R men from the big labels come calling, wave large cheques; the band a sign a deal and proceed to sell records in steadily increasing numbers; they break America; they are top of the world.

When such a band, instead of building on this success, blow their chances by then releasing a willfully inaccessible follow-up album, we tend to shake our heads and wonder why they have chosen to throw it all away.

But could our assumptions in fact be based on misapprehension? Might some musicians fear not failure, but success? For every armor-plated pop messiah, swollen with assurance, there nine trainee rock casualties.

Treatment for depression and addiction to both alcohol and drugs will focus in part on the sufferer's track record of self-sabotage. This damaging streak will usually have caused the destruction of relationships, careers and marriages.

Take such a fragile temperament and add to it the innate insularity and detachment of the songwriter, and place that combustible combination in the gladiatorial arena of mass consumption, and you have a recipe for both disaster and brilliant music.

The history of pop is littered with examples of singers reaching the summit and then hurling themselves off it. Not all of the could accurately be described as either addicts or depressives: Neil Young, who followed the huge success of Harvest with the psychologically pitchblack Tonight's The Night, was simply recoiling from the mainstream acceptance and the expectations he felt burdened with; Talk Talk's Mark Hollis, whose band released the defiantly experimental and career killing ''lost classic'' Spirit of Eden in the wake of the Top 10 Colour of Spring, was arguably doing much the same.

This beautiful post continues.

Good Night & God Bless!

Consumer debt loads grow at fastest pace in 2 years

Canadian debt loads grew at their fastest pace in two years during the summer, according to a report released Wednesday — an alarming rate given that officials continue to warn consumers that household spending is out of control.

Credit reporting agency TransUnion's latest quarterly analysis of Canadian credit trends found average consumer non-mortgage debt jumped 4.6 per cent year-over-year in the third quarter to an average of $26,768.

Measured on a quarterly basis, debt grew 2.1 per cent in the summer from the second quarter of this year.

Debt increasing 400% faster
"It's almost been two years and it's the largest year-over-year increase we've had and I think it's the largest quarterly increase we've had during that time period as well," said Thomas Higgins, TransUnion's vice-president of analytics and decision services.

Higgins said the increase stands in stark contrast to encouraging signs from relatively stagnant debt growth in the prior three quarters.

He also points out that in the past five years, debt loads have increased 400 per cent more than the rate of inflation — with inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index up nine per cent and consumer debt jumping more than 37 per cent.

"Debt's outpacing us and continues to outpace us, so at some point in time there's going to be a reconciliation," Higgins said.

"Hopefully it's not drastic and hopefully it doesn't hit everybody, but there's going to be a correction somehow along the way."

- The Canadian Press 

Chile’s top student federation votes to stay the course

Gabriel Boric’s party wins top seat

Gabriel Boric’s party wins top seat again to lead FECH ahead of 2013 presidential election.

Andrés Fielbaum.

Andrés Fielbaum, an engineering graduate student from the incumbent “Creating a Broader Left” party, will steer Chile’s student movement in 2013. After being elected president of the Student Federation of Universidad de Chile (FECH) on Wednesday, he plans to ensure that Chile’s next president supports FECH’s demands for a high-quality, affordable education.

“First, we’ll get the ball rolling on increasing our influence in the important 2013 (national) election year in order to transform our university system,” Fielbaum told The Santiago Times.

As the leader of Chile’s foremost student organization, the president of the FECH is effectively the leading voice of the student movement that has swept the country for more than 18 months. Universidad de Chile students picked their leader out of six student groups on Monday and Tuesday. “Creating a Broader Left” won with 3,136 votes, followed by the liberal “Struggle to Construct a Popular Student Force” party with 2,326 votes. The communist “Students of the Left” party, which won the 2011 election led by Camila Vallejo, came in third with 2,205 votes.

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Jose Mujica: The world's 'poorest' president

It's a common grumble that politicians' lifestyles are far removed from those of their electorate. Not so in Uruguay. Meet the president - who lives on a ramshackle farm and gives away most of his pay.

Laundry is strung outside the house. The water comes from a well in a yard, overgrown with weeds. Only two police officers and Manuela, a three-legged dog, keep watch outside.

This is the residence of the president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, whose lifestyle clearly differs sharply from that of most other world leaders.

President Mujica has shunned the luxurious house that the Uruguayan state provides for its leaders and opted to stay at his wife's farmhouse, off a dirt road outside the capital, Montevideo.


The president and his wife work the land themselves, growing flowers.

This austere lifestyle - and the fact that Mujica donates about 90% of his monthly salary, equivalent to $12,000 (£7,500), to charity - has led him to be labelled the poorest president in the world.


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Call for global crackdown on fake medicines

Counterfeit drugs may contain harmful ingredients
 or no active ingredient at all

A global treaty to crack down on the deadly trade of fake medicines is urgently needed, say experts.

Currently, there are more sanctions around the use of illegal tobacco than counterfeit drugs.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, experts urge the World Health Organization to set up a framework akin to its one tobacco control to safeguard the public.

WHO says more than one in every 10 drug products in poorer nations are fake.

A third of malaria drugs are counterfeit, research suggests.

In richer countries, medicine safety is better, but substandard and falsified drugs still cause thousands of adverse reactions and some deaths.

Recently, in the US, contaminated drug supplies caused an outbreak of meningitis that has so far killed 16 people.

European workers stage austerity protests

Protesters clash with police in Lisbon, Athens and Madrid,
 while workers march in Brussels, Rome and Marseille

Workers across the European Union have staged a series of protests and strikes against rising unemployment and austerity measures.

General strikes in Spain and Portugal halted transport and closed businesses and schools. Police and protesters clashed in several Spanish cities.

Rallies took place in 23 countries including Greece, France and Belgium, union officials told the BBC.

Hundreds of flights to and from striking nations were cancelled.

Airlines recommended that passengers check schedules before setting out to airports.

The European Trade Union Confederation has co-ordinated the Europe-wide action.

The confederation's Judith Kirton-Darling told the BBC that austerity was not working.

- BBC.co.uk

Classy Ibrahimovic sinks England

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored four goals - including an amazing overhead kick - as Sweden marked the opening of their new stadium with victory over England.

The Paris Saint-Germain striker poked home to open the scoring before Danny Welbeck volleyed an equaliser.

Steven Caulker, one of six England debutants, prodded his team in front but Ibrahimovic smashed a leveller.
The 31-year-old drilled in a low free-kick before completing the win with a stunning bicycle kick from 30 yards.

It was a wondrous strike that combined magnificent technique with unerring accuracy, even drawing applause from the away fans.

Ibrahimovic's virtuoso display provided an emphatic response to those who claim he flatters to deceive on the big stage.

The 6ft 5ins forward stole the show on a night that would otherwise have belonged to England's raft of new players and Steven Gerrard on his 100th international appearance.

Caulker, Leon Osman and Raheem Sterling all won their first caps from the start, while Ryan Shawcross, Carl Jenkinson and Wilfried Zaha were introduced as substitutes.

- BBC.co.uk

The Weekend's Best Dressed: Beyonce In Mary Katrantzou, Gemma Arterton In Marios Schwab And Marion Cotillard In Christian Dior

We've already brought you all the hottest MTV Europe Music Awards looks today, from Rita Ora's dramatic Marchesa gown to Heidi Klum's eight Versace costume changes, but there were many other fancy shindigs hosted across the globe this weekend. Rachel Bilson invited the Hollywood glossy posse including Lauren Conrad and Jaime King to join her at a party to celebrate the one year anniversary of her footwear collection ShoeMint along with her collaborator and stylist Nicole Chavez. RB looked super cute in a floor-length shirt dress while LC provided some OC chic in a nude lace baby doll dress and matching heels. Across the country in New York City Cameron Diaz wore a strapless Lanvin number for the launch of TAG Heuer LINK Lady while Elle Fanning attended a 'Ginger and Rosa' screening in a black dress and satin pink shoes. In Europe most A-list stars decamped to Franfurt for the EMAs, but Gemma Arterton and Amber Le Bon brought the glam factor to the UK capital for the PeaceEarth Foundation Fundraising Gala. And let's not forget Beyonce in Mary Katrantzou. Fierce!

Something Wonderful (Sequels #2) by Judith McNaught

By Sehlina Zahra
Entertainment Correspondent, SAM Daily Times

Bestselling author Judith McNaught masterfully portrays a remarkable heroine, and an unforgettable passion, in this powerfully moving love story -- one of her most beloved novels of all time!
The tempestuous marriage of Alexandra Lawrence, an innocent country girl, and Jordan Townsende, the rich and powerful Duke of Hawthorne, is about to face its ultimate test of tender loyalty. Swept into the endlessly fascinating world of London society, free-spirited Alexandra becomes ensnared in a tangled web of jealousy and revenge, stormy pride and overwhelming passion. But behind her husband's cold, arrogant mask, there lives a tender, vital, sensual man...the man Alexandra married. Now, she will fight for his very life...and the rapturous bond they alone can share.

Price Check (2012)

By Paras Pitafi
Entertainment Correspondent, SAM Daily Times

Peter, a family man who works for a failing supermarket chain finds his life shaken up by his new boss, Susan, who starts to groom him for an executive position. Money and opportunities are within his grasp, but at what price?

Director and the writer of the movie is Michael Walker. Parker Posey, Eric Mabius and Annie Parisse are starring with many other actors. Genres are comedy and drama.

SYNOPSIS: Pete Cozy is having trouble resolving a happy marriage and family life with rising debt and a job he hates. When his new boss, Susan, a human dynamo, shows up, Pete is pulled into the maelstrom that is her life and made to work harder than he ever has before. Suddenly, money and opportunities come his way, but at what price?

Movie is mainly shot in USA. Film was released on 25th January 2012.

Prince William Pays Tribute on Remembrance Day

By Paras Pitafi
Entertainment Correspondent, SAM Daily Times

A solemn Duchess of Cambridge watched Sunday as husband William paid his personal tribute to Britain's war dead.

William, in RAF uniform, was one of the senior royals making a somber commemoration of those who have died in the World Wars and other conflicts on Remembrance Day.

He followed his grandmother Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip in laying a wreath of bright red poppies at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London.

Kate, whose coat was decorated with poppy-style jewelry, watched from a balcony along with William's Aunt Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

The royals traditionally lead the commemorations in London, where hundreds of veterans then paraded. At 11 a.m. around the U.K., the country fell silent for two minutes of reflection.

Missing this year was Prince Harry, who is currently on a military tour in Afghanistan. Prince Harry is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales, and fourth grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Therefore, he stands third in the line of succession to the thrones of sixteen independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, and to the governorship of the Church of England, preceded by his father and elder brother, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.

BBC’s Keshini Navaratnam and Seychelles Tourism Minister meet in London

The known Keshini Navaratnam of the BBC often seen interviewing high-level personalities, met with Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture, and together they discussed world affairs impacting the Indian Ocean region.

Mrs. Keshini Navaratnam of the BBC and Minister St.Ange of the Seychelles met at the House of Commons in London when tourism experts rallied alongside Martin J. Craigs, the Chief Executive Officer of PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association), to discuss taxes that were seen as having a negative impact on the industry.

A follow-up meeting was then held at the WTM Tourism Trade Fair at ExCel at London Docklands. Mrs. Keshini Navaratnam of the BBC and Minister Alain St.Ange discussed the point affecting the shipping lanes along the East Coast of Africa which is now referred to in the area as the “armed bandits from Somalia.”