Architectural Inspiration: The Clash - The Guest Blogger Series

Another day, another amazing guest blogger and brace yourself my darlings, this one is one of my favs! Couture Carrie runs a great blog full of fashion inspiration and always manages to find the funkiest frocks you just wouldn't believe. Enjoy!

Couture Carrie here, darlings! I am so excited to be guest posting today! Hope you adore this space and the look it inspired!

Architectural inspiration courtesy architecturaldigest.com.

Shopping suggestions via net-a-porter.com except where noted.

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania jersey dress.

Solange Azagury-Partridge lacquered silver ring.

Sonia by Sonia Rykiel long merino-wool gloves.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Little Ukita leather bag.

La Mer Collections oversized square watch, at shopbop.com.

Versace suede ankle boots.

Lugano leather suitcase at jcrew.com.

Don't be afraid to mix traditionally clashing colors, darlings!

xoxox,

CC

Be sure to check out Couture Carrie

for lots of amazing and chic inspiration darlings!

If you would like your Limelight in this Guest Blogger Series

GET ON BOARD DARLINGS!

Read HERE for details and email you inspiration!

World’s Oldest High-Altitude Human Settlements Found in Papua New Guinea

Jakarta Globe, October 01, 2010

Sydney. The world’s oldest known high-altitude human settlements, dating back up to 49,000 years, have been found sealed in volcanic ash in Papua New Guinea mountains, archaeologists said on Friday.

Researchers have unearthed the remains of about six camps, including fragments of stone tools and food, in an area near the town of Kokoda, said an archaeologist on the team, Andrew Fairbairn.

“What we’ve got there are basically a series of campsites, that’s what they look like anyway. The remains of fires, stone tools, that kind of thing, on ridgetops,” the University of Queensland academic said.

“It’s not like a village or anything like that, they are these campsite areas that have been repeatedly used.”

Fairbairn said the settlements are at about 2,000 meters and believed to be the oldest evidence of our human ancestors, homo sapiens, inhabiting a high-altitude environment.

“For homo sapiens, this is the earliest for us, for modern humans,” he said. “The nearest after this is round about 30,000 years ago in Tibet, and there’s some in the Ethiopian highlands at around about the same type of age.”

Fairbairn said he had been shocked to discover the age of the finds, using radio carbon dating, because this suggested humans had been living in the cold, wet and inhospitable highlands at the height of the last Ice Age.

“We didn’t expect to find anything of that early age,” he said.

The findings, published in the journal Science, suggest that the prehistoric highlanders of Papua New Guinea’s Ivane Valley in the Owen Stanley Range Mountain made stone tools, hunted small animals and ate yams and nuts.

But why they chose to dwell in the harsh conditions of the highlands, where temperatures would have dipped below freezing, rather than remain in the warmer coastal areas, remains a mystery.

“Papua New Guinea’s mountains have long held surprises for the scientific community and here is another one — maybe they were the home of homo sapiens’ earliest mountaineers,” Fairbairn said.

Agence France-Presse

Elena Kuletskaya - Paris Fashion Week

She is working for MTV Russia
A look like a mix between Jean Seberg and Brigitte Bardot
with a touch of Michelle Pfeiffer. Beautiful !

Model - Paris Fashion Week

Dutch Players to Suit Up for Merah Putih

Jakarta Globe, Wimbo Satwiko | September 30, 2010

Jakarta. Indonesia will see first hand what could possibly be its future national football team, after officials confirmed on Thursday that three Dutch players would join the squad in next week’s friendly against Uruguay.

The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) said forward Jhon Van Beukering, and midfielders Rafael Guillermo Maitimu and Jeffrey de Visher would join Merah Putih for the match against the South Americans in Jakarta on Oct. 8.

Van Beukering and de Visher play for Dutch second-division clubs Go Ahead Eagles and FC Emmen, respectively.

Maitimu is currently with Chinese second-tier team FC Beijing Institute of Technology.

The three are scheduled to arrive in Indonesia on Oct. 3, and are expected to immediately join the national training camp. The friendly will be played at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.

The PSSI has been working with the National Team Body (BTN) on a program aimed at naturalizing Dutch football players with Indonesian heritage and including them on the Indonesia national team.

PSSI secretary general Nugraha Besoes said the three foreigners would take on the status as “guest players.”

He added that FIFA had already “verbally agreed” to the Dutch players’ participation in the Jakarta friendly.

“[National team coach] Alfred Riedl recently called a FIFA official to ask about the possibility of using ‘guest players’ in a friendly, and coach Riedl has been told that it will be allowed,” Nugraha said on Thusday.

“We will still send an official letter to FIFA for confirmation, as well as to the Dutch national football federation [KNVB].”

The friendly against Uruguay is part of Indonesia’s preparation for the AFF Suzuki Cup in December, which the country will co-host with Vietnam.

BTN head Iman Arif said a team like Uruguay was the “perfect test” for Indonesia.

After Uruguay, Indonesia will play friendlies against Maldives on Oct. 12, China on Nov. 21 and East Timor on Nov. 24.

A fourth Dutch player, Sergio Van Dijk, will join Indonesia for the Maldives match.

Van Dijk is currently playing for Adelaide United in the Australian A-League.

Anticipating a huge crowd at Gelora Bung Karno for the Uruguay friendly, organizers plan to distribute 62,200 tickets, with prices ranging from Rp 75,000 to Rp 2 million ($8 to $224)

Tickets will be sold online at www.rajakarcis.com starting today, while tickets can be purchased at Gelora Bung Karno only on match day.

Joko Driyono, head organizer of Indonesia’s friendlies this year, said the match against Maldives would be played at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung.

Maldives will play a selection of under-21 players from the Super League on Oct. 9, before playing the national team on Oct. 12.

Ticket prices for the Indonesia-Uruguay friendly

• Regular Rp 75,000 (20,000 seats)
• Category II Rp 150,000 (15,000 seats)
• Category I Rp 300,000 (23,000 seats)
• West VIP Rp 500,000 (4,000 seats)
• VVIP Rp 2,000,000 (200 seats)

Related Article:

Naturalized Dutch players to join national soccer team

Paris Fashion Legs

Literary award, tribute to highlight Ubud festival

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Ubud | Thu, 09/30/2010 9:26 AM

The annual Ubud literary festival is just around the corner and the commotion in the festival’s office on Monday was not unlike an army platoon on high alert.

Symbol of attainment: This year, the Citibank-Ubud
Writers and Readers Festival is to bestow the
MasterCard-Saraswati Literary Award for Lifetime
Achievement — created by Wayan Bener of Sebatu
using Cempaka wood, Chinese coins and Prada Gede
gold lacquer — to a senior Indonesian author.
JP/Kadek Purnami

A group of volunteers was busy sorting invitations and placing information sheets in the writers’ goody bags, while in a nearby room the festival’s co-director, Sarah Tooth, stared intensely at the computer monitor as emails flooded in.

“Things get so hectic that everybody is now juggling with priorities and deadlines,” she said as she lit another cigarette.

Despite the frenzied atmosphere, the festival team was clearly upbeat about the upcoming gathering.

After all, things weren’t as bleak as last year’s festival, when the team had to fight an uphill battle to stay afloat following the 60 percent decrease in sponsorship due to the global economic crisis.

“Now, we have Citibank as our main sponsor and its generous contribution has eased a lot of the burden financially,” the festival’s sponsorship manager, Roberto Aria Putra, said.

The sponsorship deal has given the festival its new official name Citibank-Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2010 (www.ubudwritersfestival.com).

Citibank will help promote the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in 12 countries, attracting international audiences to a global-minded festival.

“It is a pleasure to support this unique festival that embraces passion, art and expression on our beautiful island. Bali has always been a place where people from all nationalities come to enjoy life to the full, and we believe it is time that Bali became an international meeting point,” said the card business head for Citibank N.A. Indonesia, Irfan Ahmed.

Citibank’s support wasn’t the only reason behind the festival team’s upbeat spirit. Festival community development manager Kadek Purnami, who oversees the Indonesia Program, offered another reason.

“For the first time in the festival’s history, and we are entering our seventh year now, we have the resources to show our respect to those who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of Indonesian literature. This year, we will present a literary award to Pak Sitor Situmorang,” she said.

Sponsored by MasterCard, the award is named after Saraswati, the Hindu’s goddess of knowledge and the arts.

The Saraswati Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement will be presented to Sitor Situmorang during the festival’s gala opening on Oct. 6 in Ubud Palace.

“We are very proud that Sitor Situmorang is the recipient of the inaugural lifetime achievement award.

Situmorang’s contribution to Indonesian literature has been both prolific and significant and we honor his belief that literature is a movement for liberation and that freedom of expression is a basic human right,” festival’s founder and director Janet de Neefe said.

Born in 1924 in Harianboho, North Sumatra, Sitor Situmorang is one of the most important writers and poets of the “Angkatan 45”, the literary generation who came of age during the struggle for Indonesian independence.

A critical journalist and prolific writer, he passionately believed that literary works must play an active role in the struggle for social justice and human rights.

His Sastra Revolusioner (Revolutionary Literature) essay, his past involvement in a cultural institution affiliated with a fading political party, and his general resentment toward the New Order regime’s strongman Soeharto resulted in his eight-year-long imprisonment without trial in Salemba Prison.

He wasn’t allowed to bring pens and paper into his cell, but that measure failed to kill “the wandering bard” inside Sitor.

During the ensuing two-year house arrest, Sitor published two works he composed in Salemba.

In the following decades, Sitor spent most of his time in Paris and in Holland, where he lectured at Leiden.

He penned numerous poems, short stories and essays during that period. For him, writing is a sport that keeps his body fit.

Now, in his mid-eighties, Sitor is still writing poems. In 2006, a two-volume anthology of his works

was published.

The anthology contains more than 600 poems written between 1948 and 2005.

“Pak Sitor is very grateful for this honor and I am very pleased with this initiative, which comes at a good time. Hopefully, Pak Sitor will be strong enough to attend the whole program of the festival,” Sitor’s wife Barbara Brouwer said.

Sitor will not be the only Indonesian literary “titan” who will appear in the festival.

The eccentric Sutardji Calzoum Bachri, who has single-handedly liberated words from their meaning and transformed modern Indonesia poetry in the process, has confirmed his participation.

Another “titan” will appear posthumously in the festival. Abdurrahman Wahid, affectionately known as Gus Dur, will be remembered in the festival’s Tribute Night.

“He was the country’s former president, former leader of the moderate Nahdlatul Ulama, and an influential thinker, but, above all, he was the staunch defender of the country’s multiculturalism and an outspoken advocate for religious tolerance and minority rights,” Purnami said, adding that Gus Dur was the perfect icon of the festival’s major theme of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity).

Gus Dur’s youngest daughter Inayah Wulandari and his biographer Prof. Greg Barton will speak on his legacy. Bali’s famed poet and dramatist Cok Sawitri has prepared a dance drama to show her respect of the great man.

Titled Conversation between Sunya and Nirwana, the dance drama is inspired by the classical dance drama Gambuh and the ancient Javanese text Sutasoma, from which the nation’s slogan Bhinneka Tungga Ika was derived.

“Now you know why we are so excited and upbeat, there will be so many great events and great writers in the festival,” Purnami said, before rushing to her room to answer another wave of emails.

From Oct. 6 to Oct. 10, the festival team will be responsible for organizing around 150 events in 40 venues across Ubud, Denpasar and Singaraja. They certainly have a valid reason to be in a rush.

Model - Paris Fashion Week

The lady on the Bridge - Paris FW

This pic was taken on Alexandre III Bridge
after Guy Laroche Show

Mickey Lunettes - Paris Fashion Week

Cool !

Electric Blue Lady - Paris FW

Outside Pierre Cardin Fashion Show

Conflict in Tarakan displaces 32,000 people

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 09/29/2010 8:53 PM | Archipelago

About 32,000 have been displaced by days of ethnic conflict in the Eask Kalimantan city of Tarakan.

The refugees are being sheltered at police and military facilities as well as school buildings across the city, a security officer said on Wednesday.

One of the displaced people, Rini, said she and her family sought shelter at the Tarakan police headquarters for safety reasons. “We feel secure here rather than staying at home,” she said as quoted by kompas.com.

Earlier in the day, Mayor Udin Hianggio visited the displaced people in a number of refugee centers to appease them.

“Please be patient. I, the police chief, security authorities and the governor will solve the problem as soon as possible so that peace and order can be restored,” he told the refugees.

At least three people have been killed in the clashes between indigenous Dayak ethnic group and Bugis migrants, which erupted on Sunday night.

Related Articles:

Peace Accord Ends Bloody Ethnic Clashes in Tarakan

5 die with no end in sight in Tarakan ethnic clashes

Surabaya installs first woman mayor

Agnes S. Jayakarna and Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya | Wed, 09/29/2010 9:13 AM

Tri Rismaharini was installed as Surabaya’s Mayor by East Java Governor Soekarwo on Tuesday and became the first woman to lead the country’s second largest city.

New mayor Tri Rismaharini (L) and
vice mayor Bambang Dwi (Photo: Surabaya Post)

Tri Rismaharini and Bambang Dwi won Surabaya’s mayoral race in August, after the Constitutional Court ordered a repeat of June’s election, citing massive and systemic voting offenses.

Risma’s ticket, which was backed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), won 40.8 percent of the vote in the repeat election, ahead of Arif Afandi and Adies Kadir, who secured 36.5 percent. Risma’s campaign also won the June polls.

Outside the installation ceremony at the Surabaya Legislative Council building, students staged a rally demanding Risma uphold her promises, such as increasing the city’s green space.

The ceremony was attended by Arif, city councilors, community leaders and representatives from the Japanese and French consulates.

Speaking at the ceremony, Soekarwo told the new administration to fulfill their campaign promises and said they must maintain harmony with all parties and support each other for a successful five-year leadership.

“Otherwise, programs will be left unfinished and development not implemented as well as it can be,” he said.

The governor told Risma to base her policies on the public interest. Slightly misleading policies could turn families deemed “almost poor” into “poor” families, he added.

City Legislative Council Speaker Wishnu Wardhana said he hoped the new administration would make Surabaya a better city through humane and planned development programs.

“There is much work awaiting the new mayor and deputy mayor, such as in the fields of education, health and infrastructure,” he said.

Wishnu said development of the city’s eastern ring road, which connected Suramadu Bridge and Juanda International Airport, should be finished quickly to accelerate the city’s economy.

During the campaign, Risma promised to develop Surabaya through clean water distribution, controlling flooding through open space management, subsidizing housing for the poor and developing mass transportation.

Risma, who previously led the city’s Cleanliness Agency and its Development Planning Agency, has been praised for making Surabaya a greener city through reforestation programs and building several new parks in the city. She also vowed to involve Surabayans in the creation of a clean and healthy environment.

The most daunting task for the mayor is eradicating poverty for the city’s 110,117 economically poor families, which include 12,558 extremely poor, 47,065 poor and 50,494 almost poor families.

Pourquoi Pas?

Why not XOXO darlings? Have you been catching up on the latest on the Upper East Siders? This season is very good even if my Louboutins and I are struggling to keep up. So sorry for the absence of post yesterday, I'm afraid the Blogger Bouncer was giving me the cold shoulder of his velvet rope and logging in was something that was just not going to happen. But no tears for me mes cheries maybe just some Wayfarers as I've been blinded by the amazing fabulousness of last nights costume. The show featured the girls at the insta-important Fashion's Night Out event that has swept NYC by surprise the last two NYFWs with its glitz and its glam.

{hollywoodlife.com}

Blair's dress was amazing. The perfect frock to turns those heads

as you step out the cab ready to party. Thank you Pre-Fall Valentino!

{gossiprocks.com}

But Serena's dress stole my heart. Flowy, unique, and backless,

its everything I always look for in a gown. Bisous Jenny Packham!

Whose heels would you walk a mile in darlings?

Don't forget to submit your work to be an

Embellished Guest Blogger

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The Rays are in the playoffs!! Is anyone actually watching?

Way way way back in June, I mentioned how the attendance of the Tampa Bay Rays is absolutely ridiculous:

“While watching the latest installment of the Rays-Marlins series, I can only look in shame as to what is taking place. What should be a big series that’s the talk of all Florida sports news is just a blurb in the pages. The attendance in this ballgame was 23,000, which actually is a little bit higher than usual Florida games. By comparison, we have the Pirates nabbing 38,000 fans in their homestand, and they are by no means a decent ballclub. No need to insult the Pirates, but the Marlins and the Rays are thick in the playoff hunt, with the Rays remaining the best team in all of baseball. And plus this is supposed to be a statewide rivalry, similar to the popular Subway Series up north. The last Rays home game reached 25,000 and a week before that against the Blue Jays, the attendance was a meager 16,000. Why such low numbers?”

It seems that the attendance has become an actual topic of discussion, months after I brought it up mind you (not tooting my own horn or anything, but HA! Saw it coming). With two popular Rays players pointing it out, a major backlash has occurred amongst fans of Rays and all of baseball. What started out as a simple plea for more support in the stadium has turned into a hot-topic issue that concerns an excellent young team struggling to find a consistent fanbase in a sport that has reached new levels of competitiveness with the influx of incredible pitchers.

After years of complaints from fans about what had been happening to the team, the owner gives the team a new name, a new look, a new attitude, and a fresh start. The Rays did what the Expos did in the early 90s; rely heavily on a good farm system and a core of hungry young stars. Before you know it, Tampa became a tough scrappy team that was three wins away from actually winning it all. And nowadays, they have among the best records in baseball in the toughest division in ALL of sports (There is no argument here, do not even think about arguing this).



The owners even lobbied for a new stadium, which was promptly put down by the city of St. Petersburg. So now, there is recoil amongst the few Rays fans in the area when David Price and Evan Longoria complained about the terrible attendance in a potential playoff-clinching game. The backlash has been quite heavy amongst ESPN and the Tampa Bay media. Want my take? They are totally correct in every possible manner, and I am about to explain why.


The Tampa Bay Rays are on a much smaller payroll than the Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers, and other teams. Even with the payroll expanding several 20 million dollars in the last couple of years, it was still among the lowest in all of MLB. The fact that they are competing with such a young scrappy group of players (and winning most of the time) is quite unbelievable. They have been described by the Northeastern media as the “Team That Won’t Go Away.” Unlike the Rays teams of the past (leading up to 2008), this team does not give up, will not give up. Every game, they will give you 110%. In spite of all this, they are still among the lowest in attendance. Even the Pirates can average bigger numbers than the Rays, and this is even with Tampa playing fan favorites like the Red Sox and Yankees constantly. Just how much do empty seats affect the psyche of a baseball team? Observe this stat from the article back in June:

“The Rays are 18-15 at home, far from the best home record in baseball. I am sure the sluggish numbers, the amount of empty seats, and lack of support (especially when the Yankees and Red Sox come into town) contributes to their weaker play in Tampa. In comparison, here are the home records of the teams with extremely high attendance: Yankees (24-10), Phillies (17-14), Dodgers (23-13), Cardinals (23-11), Twins (23-13). See the difference (unless you are the Phillies)?”

Now look at the home records of the said teams:
Yankees (52-29)
Phillies (54-30)
Dodgers (43-35)
Cardinals (47-28)
Twins (52-29)

The three best home records amongst those five are all going to the playoffs. Home field advantage does exist, but if there are few witnesses, the advantage ceases to exist. But are the prices high in Tropicana Field? Not in Tampa. You can easily find good seats for prices between $15-$30 for regular games, $20-$40 for more important and high-profile games. Parking? The prices range from a high $20 to a lower-than-usual $10. So why aren’t they going to the games? The games are generally cheap, the parking isn’t ridiculous (and sometimes even free), and the team is clearly winning and clearly bothering the big boys of baseball the Yankees and Red Sox. So why was there a laughable 12,000 watching the Rays attempt to clinch?

Many fans are crying foul because “overpaid ballplayers are telling fans to spend their money and head to the game”. The overpaid part is slightly true, but slightly justifiable. We Americans are obsessed with sports, especially football. At least five NFL franchises are worth over a billion dollars, and the Yankees are the richest baseball team with a billion in revenue. No matter what the economy is, sports can and will forever make good money, no matter what the circumstances are. So, the overpayment comes from the fact that these ballplayers are extremely valuable, and owners can and will pay top dollar to maintain them. Longoria isn’t the one demanding the overpayment, the business demands it.

Now, look at it from the player’s point of view. The Tampa Bay Rays are in a terrible location, in a nasty division, and a terrible stadium that literally stole a win from them earlier this year (against the Twins, when a popup turned into a hit because of catwalks). Quoting me from earlier:


“Tampa Bay represents St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Ybor City, Treasure Island, amongst other little spots next to Tampa. However, they chose a more secluded and uglier part of St. Petersburg for the home team. If you’ve ever driven around there, the location is very tricky and somewhat confusing to reach. The surrounding area isn’t exactly the best area, and it takes 10 minutes of driving to even find the highway.”

They are in one of the most grueling schedules in all of sports, and all they want is to see major support. They want to see the support that the Red Sox, Phillies, and Yankees receive on a yearly basis. After years of totally shifting the franchise from joke to near-champ, the players felt like they deserved it. We all know they deserve the press, fame, and popularity that they were (somewhat) getting. Yet, inexplicably, they just weren’t getting the fans. Not only that, but the fanbase of the Sox and Yanks were more powerful and present during those heavily-contested matchups. Does this sad scenario sound familiar? Well, it shouldn’t, unless you are a baseball buff.

Anyone remember the Brooklyn Dodgers? Well, back in the 40s and 50s, the Brooklyn Dodgers was also a young, scrappy team that was constantly taking on the big boys. In spite of lower attendance numbers, smaller fanbase, and a stadium built in a tough location, the Brooklyn Dodgers would play year after year, constantly trying to thwart the Yankees. What eventually happened was that when the Brookyln area refused to help the dwindling attendance of the team by building a new stadium, the owner went to the west coast in a shockingly fast rate and crafted the Los Angeles Dodgers. To this day, Brooklyn has some ghosts from that fateful day. The Tampa Bay Rays of today are becoming the new millennium’s Brooklyn Dodgers (to an extent, the 1994 Montreal Expos), and if something doesn’t happen soon, they will move as well.

St. Petersburg straight-up is not supporting their team, not supporting their future. The fans haven’t really been there to support either. Why would the owner spend more money if the fans aren’t arriving? While the owner’s decision sounds a bit selfish, from an economic standpoint, it makes sense. I am a huge Rays fan, but I admit that we really don’t deserve the success of our ballclub. The Marlins-Rays game I went to several months ago was embarrassingly empty. Even the insane Yankees-Rays series didn’t hit sellout crowds. St. Petersburg doesn’t want a new stadium for our team, nowhere in Tampa Bay can you find land available for a new stadium, it just wasn’t being allowed. I have constantly screamed that the solution to this dilemma is this: start supporting our hard-working franchise, or move the team to a place that will support them better. Orlando anyone?

The Tampa Bay Rays can potentially create more jobs, and create more revenue, but there just isn’t enough support to allow for this wonderful franchise to flourish. And once again, I am being quite critical on an area, on a state that has been economically hit in recent times. However, as a community, you have a beautiful gem that is not fully being appreciated. I am not saying that there are no loyal Rays fans, but what I am saying is that they deserve more. Why can’t they have the heavy fanbase of winners like the Yankees and losers (well, not loser per say, but a team missing the postseason) like the Cardinals, Rockies, Mets, and Pirates?

Bottom Line: I am a big Rays fan that will follow the team no matter where they go or what happens to them, because I can’t see the Rays remaining happy in St. Petersburg much longer if this continues. They clinched as I typed this article, but still didn’t see a sellout crowd, still didn’t see a full house, and they even had the always-reliable David Price pitching. Now do I ask for sellout crowds every single night? Of course not, but I should see full houses on important games, on heavy matchups, on most September games, and when the playoffs arrive. I totally agree with Longoria and Price and sympathize with their pain. In comparison, they sound like a great writer that has no readers, like a great band that has no audience when performing. They aren’t telling you to spend money on them; they are telling you to help support a young team in a heavily contested league that needs whatever small edge they can get.

Congrats to the Rays, this team is excellent for baseball. However, if Tampa Bay altogether doesn’t see what me and most baseball buffs see, who knows what might happen to the franchise in the future. I’d hate to see them go, but I hate to see them suffer too. Just watching the Orioles-Rays game the night before, and seeing the sadness and subtle despair on their faces was quite heartbreaking.

If you are a Rays fan, I want you to prove it. Support your team.


Stop sitting! Get up, be loud, be proud, and shout it out:



GO RAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obama answers the question: why are you a Christian?

Reuters, ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico | Tue Sep 28, 2010 4:15pm EDT

President Barack Obama walks into the East Room of the White House with Father Vien Nguyen in Washington, May 24, 2010. (Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing)

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama spoke openly about his faith on Tuesday, describing himself as a "Christian by choice" while reiterating his belief in the importance of religious tolerance.

Obama, who polls show many Americans think is a Muslim, was asked by a participant at a campaign-style New Mexico event why he was a Christian.

"It was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead -- being my brother's and sister's keeper, treating others as they would treat me," he said.

"And I think also understanding that, you know, that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings -- that we're sinful and we're flawed and we make mistakes, and that we ... achieve salvation through the grace of God."

Obama rarely speaks about his faith, though many Americans use religious convictions as a criteria when choosing who to support for political office.

Obama said religion took on a stronger meaning for him as an adult.

"My mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew but she didn't raise me in the church. So I came to my Christian faith later in life," he said.

The president, who has voiced strong support for the right of Muslims to build a community center near the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York, said he tried to express his religious beliefs through his job.

"I think my public service is part of that effort to express my Christian faith," he said.

"As president of the United States, I'm also somebody who deeply believes that ... part of the bedrock strength of this country is that it embraces people of many faiths and of no faith."

(Writing by Jeff Mason; Editing by Bill Trott)

Indonesian History Professor Honored by British Queen

Jakarta Globe, Nurfika Osman | September 28, 2010

History professor Azyumardi Azra, pictured here on the right in this file photo, is the first Indonesian to receive the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, one of the highest honors granted by the Queen of the United Kingdom, for services to interfaith understanding.

Jakarta. British Ambassador to Indonesia Martin Hatfull presented Azyumardi Azra with an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to interfaith understanding on Tuesday.

Azyumardi, a professor of history at State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah in Jakarta, is the first Indonesian to receive the CBE, one of the highest honors granted by the Queen of the United Kingdom.

“Every year Her Majesty the Queen graciously grants honorary awards to people from all walks of life around the world who have made significant differences to their community,” Hatfull said.

“Today I have had the honor of presenting Professor Azyumardi Azra with this award and I wish to pass on my sincerest congratulations to him.”

As one of Indonesia’s leading Islamic scholars, and a former co-chair of the United Kingdom-Indonesia Islamic Advisory Group, Azyumardi has demonstrated his dedication to promoting interfaith understanding over many years.

The British government recognizes that such work is essential to promoting stronger links between the major faiths of the world, he said.

Related Article:

Indonesian CBE Recipient Mythbusts Interfaith Strife

British govt awards CBE title to Prof.Azyumardi Azra

Islam forbids robbery for whatever reason: Hasyim

Antara News, Tuesday, September 28, 2010 11:26 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Muslim leader Hasyim Muzadi has denied that in Islam it is alright to commit robberies as long as the victims are kafir or infidels.

Such a a belief is allegedly held by terror suspects who recently committed the crime in West and North Sumatra.

"Whatever the reason or motive, robbing people is haram (forbidden in Islam). What Islam does allow is dividing the spoils of war but a war can only be declared by the state, not by groups of people or individuals," Hasyim Muzadi, former chairman of Mahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia`s largest Muslim organization, said here Monday.

"So, no robbery may be committed in the name of religion," he said.

Hasyim was commenting on National Police Chief Gen Bambang Hendarso Danuri`s recent expose of recent robberies committed by terror suspects, including on the CIMB Niaga Bank in Medan, North Sumatra. Bambang said captured terror suspects had justified their actions by citing an alleged Islamic teaching that allows robberies of people who were kafir (infidels), They also did it because they did not recognize the state that adhered to a concept different from their own.

"If these people (terror suspects) have declared a war on their own, they must be crushed," Hasyim said.

On the other hand, Hasyim criticized the way in which the police were conducting their anti-terror campaign because it tended to emulate the tactics used by the United States during the George W Bush administration , namely attacking those suspected as being terrorists or conducting preemptive strikes.

Those tactics , according Hasyim, had proven ineffective and had even put the US in a difficult position so that since President Barack Obama took over they were abandoned and replaced with West-Islam reconciliation.

"Strangely, in Indonesia where the other day terrorists were put on trial and sentenced to death, this outdated preemptive strike method has won international acclaim," he said.

If these tactics continued to be implemented without coordination with other armed force branches, and without the support of Indonesia`s Muslim community, the Indonesian police will in the end exhaust themselves while the terror groups will increase in militancy, he said.

The more so, Hasyim said, the police`s image was at present such that it was not enjoying the public`s optimal trust and charges of terrorism always still needed to be proven through the transparency of the courts.

"The police chief`s references to Al Qaidah, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan in his expose also needs to be proven because these countries are actually not quite in accord with one another," he said.

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