ISSN 1172-4153 |  Volume 2  |  Issue 28  |  |  6 March 2009 

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E D I T I O N

HORSE TROUBLE Trillian’s racing cash 

Page 3

ACTIVE INQUIRY� DEA talks to TGIF� 

Page 3

RIGHT OF REPLY� WSD’s say� 

Page 18

NZTONIGHT

Teens and booze don’t mixpage 2

ANALYSIS

Obama’s Russian overture page 6

WORLD

Gandhi’s glasses fetch goldpage 8

AucklandSat: 24°/16°    Sun: 23°/16°

HamiltonSat: 24°/14°    Sun: 23°/13°

WellingtonSat: 22°/15°    Sun: 20°/13°

QueenstownSat: 19°/11°    Sun: 18°/7°

ChristchurchSat: 23°/15°  Sun: 25°/10°

DunedinSat: 22°/12°    Sun: 18°/9°

MUSIC

U2’s new albumpage 14

on the INSIDE

Continue reading

By Ian Wishart

Leading medical researchers in Britain are openly calling for an end to the slip slop slap sunsmart cam-paign as a new raft of studies prove a lack of sunlight may be causing, rather than reducing, cancer.

At the heart of the debate is Vitamin D, which is synthesized naturally by your skin when exposed to summer sun, and stored in your body to last during the winter months.

Last month the New Zealand Cancer Society was caught on the back foot by publicity from British doctors calling for an end to the anti-suntan health campaigns of the kind New Zealand has been bom-

barded with all summer.That call was made on the back of a Bristol Uni-

versity study that shows babies born to mothers who sunbathe are healthier, taller and stronger than babies born to women who stay out of the sun.

The Cancer Society in New Zealand, which administers the Sunsmart campaign, told journal-ists that scientists are still debating whether vitamin D deficiency is the cause of poor health, or a symp-tom, but according to the latest studies checked by TGIF there’s no debate at all.

“Could one vitamin be the key to stopping can-cer?” reads one US news headline today, reporting on a US study from Creighton University in Nebraska

showing women who took a large dose of Vitamin D (three times the recommended daily amount), enjoyed a 60% reduction in cancers compared to women who didn’t take the vitamin.

Even more ironically, the study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows women taking the Vitamin D doses enjoyed a 77% lower rate of skin cancer than those who didn’t.

“A new study from Harvard has found that lung-cancer patients who got more sun and had high levels of vitamin D had much better survival rates,” reported the Seattle Times this week.

“Fifteen minutes of sun exposure two or three times a week may be all it takes to make adequate amounts

of vitamin D. For those who cannot tolerate even that much sun, a supplement might do the trick.”

Supplements are not as effective as 10 to 20 min-utes of direct sun exposure a day, which doctors say is a more natural way for the body to create and absorb Vitamin D.

And another recently published study from the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey has found Vitamin D actually induces “a tumour suppressing protein that can inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells”.

The study, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, is one of the first to show how vitamin D actually works to fight and prevent cancers.

Slip slop slap slammed!

CHRISTCHURCH, MARCH 6 –� Jury members in the David Bain trial were told today they would have to decide whether he murdered five members of his family or his father killed his wife and three children and then took his own life.

Crown prosecutor Robin Bates detailed the case against David Bain, 36, on the opening day of his Christchurch High Court retrial for the murders of his parents and three siblings in Every Street, in Dunedin’s Andersons Bay in 1994.

He said the evidence was circumstantial but strong.

“Circumstantial evidence can often be very com-pelling,” he said.

But defence counsel Michael Reed QC told the jury members they would hear “quite startling evi-dence” that completely contradicted the Crown’s claims that David Bain was the killer.

Mr Bates said the Crown – about 90 witnesses are expected to be called – would show that David Bain killed all five victims.

It would show that his father, Robin Bain, did not kill four members of the family, then commit suicide.

Bain, then a student aged 22, phoned 111 about 7.10am on June 20, 1994, saying that his father was dead.

Police arrived at 7.30am to find him hysterical and wailing “they are all dead” in his bedroom.

They found the body of Robin Bain, shot through the head, with a .22 rifle nearby.

They also found Margaret Bain, 50, killed by a

Guilty or innocentIt’s down to this

NZPA/The Press

6 March  2009 �NEW ZEALAND

MAn sAys He WAs pulleD over for lAugHing LIVERPOOL, March 6 (UPI) – A British motorist said he missed an important appointment when he was pulled over by� a police officer for laughing behind the wheel. 

Gary� Saunders of Liverpool said he was talking to his brother-in-law on a hands-free phone and laughing at a joke when he saw a traffic officer flash police lights and signal for him to pull over, The Daily Telegraph reported. 

Saunders said he was asked to get out of his car and the police officer said: “Laughing while driving a car can be an offence.” 

He said the officer questioned him for half an hour, making him miss an important meeting, before letting him continue driving. 

“I couldn’t believe it when he told me I’d been pulled over for laughing, he said. I definitely� wasn’t speeding so I asked what the problem was and he told me I was laughing too much.”

Don’t get MAD, get jAileD EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin, March 6 (UPI) – A Wiscon-sin woman faces criminal charges for a post on Craigslist that invited men to call her ex-boy�friend and talk dirty� to him. 

Kari Heath of Strum allegedly� posted pictures of her ex along with the ad after they� had a fight, the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram reported. He called police after getting a call at work from a man who said he was calling about the Craigslist ad and who hung up when the boy�friend said he did not know any�thing about it. 

The boy�friend became suspicious of Heath when he saw the photographs, which he did not believe any�one else had access to, the newspaper reported. He told police that she sent him a text message allegedly� admit-ting placing the ad. 

Heath could face as much as three y�ears in prison if she is convicted of causing harm by� identity� theft. 

seA lion WAnDers to MexiCAn restAurAnt SAN DIEGO, March 6 (UPI) – A California sea lion pup may� have been hungry� when he wandered into the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant about a mile inland. 

The pup, which was released into the wild last week after being rescued, ended up 

at SeaWorld San Diego for a second stay�. Rescuers said they� hope he will eventually� be released again, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. 

Last month, he got stranded in Solana Beach and was treated for dehy�dration and a cough at SeaWorld. 

Experts said they� believe that the pup swam up the San Dieguito River and then travelled overland to get to Chevy�’s F�resh Mex restaurant in Del Mar, Calif. 

“That little rascal,” said Barbara Henkel of Carlsbad, Calif., who saw the pup crossing a busy� four-lane road Tuesday� night as she sat in her car with a friend. “He’s a little devil getting out twice.” 

Henkel, who called police, told the newspaper that seeing the sea lion was a surreal moment. 

“We don’t know exactly� why� he made his way� to Del Mar,” Dave Koontz, a SeaWorld spokesman said to the Union-Tribune. “Chances are he could have been hungry� or hunting. We don’t want to speculate.” 

tWo CHArgeD WitH gorillA HeAD tHeft APPLETON, Wisconsin, March 6 (UPI) – Two Min-neapolis men have been arrested and charged with theft after they� allegedly� stole the head off of a Wisconsin store’s mechanical gorilla. 

Jesse Varga, 24, and John Jenness Jr., 28, are scheduled to appear March 10 for the misdemeanour charge in Wisconsin’s Outagamie County� Court after police said they� took the head off of a mechanical gorilla that had been display�ed for 15 y�ears outside of Balloon Magic in Appleton, Wis., the Appleton Post-Crescent reported. 

They� allegedly� tore the head off the gorilla, causing $1,500 in damage to the item, on Thanksgiving Day� and had the head mounted in a position of prominence in their apartment, police said. Minneapolis police said they� discovered the head in the apartment after an anony�mous tip to Appleton authorities. 

Varga and Jenness could each face up to 9 months imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. 

Back to the front page

off BEAT

single shot in the head, and daughters Laniet and Arawa, also killed by head wounds.

It was clear from the scene that there had been a significant struggle by Bain’s brother Stephen, 14, who received a wound that grazed his scalp and bled profusely. He was then incapacitated by being stran-gled with a T-shirt and killed by a second shot.

Mr Bates told the court that Bain had injuries consistent with the struggle in Stephen’s room, and had Stephen’s blood on his clothing.

Bain told police he had heard Laniet gurgling. This meant he had to be present between the time she was shot through the cheek – causing her inca-pacitation – and shot in the head.

The scene in the laundry was consistent with Bain trying to destroy evidence by washing his clothing – particularly a green jersey which the crown said he was wearing during the killings, Mr Bates said.

The crown also said a lens from spectacles Bain was wearing was found in Stephen’s room. The frame and other lens were found in Bain’s room.

The murders were carried out with Bain’s rifle, for which he had the trigger lock keys, and his bloody gloves were found in Stephen’s bedroom.

It was the crown’s case that he had to remove the gloves to clear a misfeed or jam in the rifle.

It also said that Robin – if he planned to commit suicide – would have had no reason to wear gloves to hide his fingerprints.

Mr Bates said that Bain tried to use his paper

round as an alibi and had made sure he was seen along the route.

He said evidence would be given of Bain having an intense conversation with a friend six days before the killings.

Bain said he sometimes knew what was going to happen next, and he had a feeling “something horrible” was going to happen.

After the killings, he told the same person that the murders were what he had told her about beforehand.

In his opening statement, Mr Reed said the defence case would be that Robin Bain murdered his wife and children before committing suicide.

There was plenty of evidence to show this, he said, describing the crown case as “absurd”.

The crown had skated over the motive for the killings, citing an argument between David and Robin Bain about a chainsaw.

But the defence said Robin’s existence – a depres-sive, who was a school principal, a religious man – was about to be overtaken by allegations of sexual abuse by his daughter Laniet.

“That’s what triggered the event.” Mr Reed was very critical of the police investiga-

tion. He accused them of not following up inquiries that did not fit their theory.

Evidence had been lost or destroyed since the kill-ings in 1994, and about 15 police officers or investiga-tors had tramped through the crime scene when it was discovered, “knocking into, and moving things”.

A scientist had been kept waiting outside for so

long that he was unable to pinpoint the time of death of the victims.

No tests had been done for gunshot residue, to see whether Robin Bain had fired the rifle that was found next to his body.

Scientists would say that it was not unusual for people who had fired guns to leave no fingerprints on the weapons. New forensic evidence would discount some evidence put forward at the first trial, including a piece of skin found in the room where David Bain’s brother Stephen had put up a fight before he was killed. The skin was now known not to be David’s.

Bloody sockprints on the carpet through the house were now said to be a perfect print for Rob-in’s feet rather than David’s.

This showed Robin had been walking around the house rather than being shot from behind a curtain when he entered the lounge, as the crown claimed.

He had been sleeping on a caravan away from the house.

Mr Reed also attacked the crown’s claims of David Bain’s bloody fingerprints being found on the rifle.

The blood was animal blood, from months earlier when Bain had used it to shoot rabbits.

It was not surprising his fingerprints were on it – it was his gun, said Mr Reed.

The trial, which is expected to last for three months will continue on Monday.

– NZPA

WeLLINGTON, MARCH 6 –� The Alcohol Advisory Council (Alac) is considering whether to recommend an age below which young people should not drink.

This follows the release of new Australian drink-ing guidelines today which recommend no alcohol for anyone under 18.

Alac chief executive Gerard Vaughan said its advice to parents was they should try to delay their children starting to drink alcohol for as long as pos-sible. “We now have this Australian research saying teenagers under 18 should not drink.”

This followed the release of a consultation docu-ment earlier in the year from the United Kingdom warning that children under 15-years-old should never be given alcohol – even in small amounts.

“Locally we have research from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study at the University of Otago that found young people using alcohol or other drugs before the age of 15 more than doubles the risk of damaging their health into adulthood,” Mr Vaughan said.

The new Australian guidelines also recommend no alcohol for pregnant or breast feeding women and for men and women to drink no more than two drinks a day.

Mr Vaughan said Alac recommended on a single occasion men drink no more than six drinks and woman four.

In a week men should drink no more than 21 drinks and woman 14, with at least two alcohol-free days.

It advised pregnant women not to drink at all. “Our advice is focused on limiting binge drinking

– that is going out and getting drunk – which is the most hazardous drinking pattern in this country,” Mr Vaughan said.

“This focus differs from the new Australian guidelines which focus on low risk drinking over a life time.”

The upper limits were only general guidelines and people with medical conditions, dependence problems or those on medication should not drink at all, Mr Vaughan said.

– NZPA

WeLLINGTON, MARCH 6 –� A teenager lied about being raped by two men at a Hamilton park in an attempt to get attention, a court has been told.

Stacey Jane Morgan, a 19-year-old student, was convicted and ordered to pay police more than $3000 reparation in Hamilton District Court this week after earlier admitting making a false state-

ment to police, The Waikato Times reported. Morgan told police two men raped her at Ham-

ilton’s Ward Park in the early hours of October 12 last year.

She was medically examined and later gave a detailed account of the alleged attack.

Police appealed for public help to catch the two men.

False rape claim results in $3000 bill

  FROM FRONT PAGE 

But Morgan contacted police two weeks later saying she wanted the investigation stopped.

In a subsequent interview, Morgan admitted the claim was false.

She said she devised the story to get attention from her father and an ex-boyfriend.

– NZPA

ALAC considers  no alcohol for teens

6 March  2009  �NEW ZEALAND

WeLLINGTON, MARCH 6 –� An Auckland-based gaming society is under investigation by the Depart-ment of Internal Affairs over almost $1 million in donations to horse racing.

The Trillian Trust granted more than $900,000 to horse racing in the last financial year.

Internal Affairs deputy secretary Keith Manch

said the funding of racing was not covered by the trust’s gambling license nor by charity rules.

He said staff had been in touch with the trust and would be talking to key members.

The trust distributes money from gaming machines and is required to give the bulk of its earnings to community organisations.

In the last financial year the trust granted just over $900,000 of its $5.3 million earnings to racing clubs.

Other beneficiaries included Surf Life Saving New Zealand, St John Ambulance and a number of schools.

Tonight the $600,000 Trillian Trust Auckland Cup harness race will be held at Alexandra Park.

– NZPA

Trillian Trust under investigation

WeLLINGTON, MARCH 6 –� Hopper Developments is interested in buying the 750-home Kensington Park development in Orewa “if the price is right”.

Patrick Fontein’s Kensington subdivision on a 15.4ha site has been in receivership since September. Expressions of interest in a sale officially closed last week.

Hopper Developments managing director Leigh Hopper said of Kensington: “if the price is right, we will definitely buy it”, The National Business Review reported today.

“We’re always keeping our eye on opportunities,” Mr Hopper said. “Kensington will probably be a steal.”

NBR also reported that the Todd family develop-ment business Landco had been in discussion with Kensington receiver KordaMentha.

Landco chief executive Evan Davies said Landco had been approached by KordaMentha.

– NZPA

Hopper considers Kensington Park

By Ian Wishart

The US Drug Enforcement Agency has told TGIF Edition it has an active investigation underway into the client of a Cook Islands tax haven bank-ing group.

New Zealand’s Serious Fraud Office served a sec-tion 9 Notice on staff at Auckland’s WSD Global Markets Ltd in relation to an investigation into WSBC Bank and a client named Kumar Trading Company.

As TGIF Edition has now established (see this week’s clarification, page 4), the interest from law enforcement agencies centres on transactions the bank unwittingly carried out for a Naresh Jain Kumar in Dubai, who has now admitted being a major money launderer for organized crime bosses in Europe and the Middle East.

Intelligence agencies began scoping Naresh and his operations in 2004, and interest widened when he attended a family wedding for one of the world’s most wanted men, organized crime boss Dawood Ibrahim, in Pakistan.

In documents provided to the Serious Fraud Office, and now TGIF Edition as a result of the litigation we’ve been involved in, WSBC Bank has confirmed that a company named Kumar Trad-ing Co LLC of Dubai has been on its books since 2001, but that the relationship was terminated in 2007 after the discovery of Naresh Jain Kumar’s background.

A DEA affidavit presented to the New York courts and obtained by TGIF Edition reveals Naresh operated a money laundering network for Afghani and Pakistani heroin traffickers in Eastern Europe, Italy and the Middle East:

“Following [Kumar]’s arrest, [Kumar] gave

a statement during which, among other things, [Kumar] admitted (I) that he was a money laun-derer who provided money laundering services to several criminal organizations; (ii) that he laun-dered the money of these organizations through various bank accounts and companies in his control or within the control of nominees who took orders from him; and (iii) he knew that the money that he was transferring on behalf of these organizations constituted the proceeds of criminal activity, and that he believed a majority constituted the proceeds of illegal narcotics sales;

“In conjunction with the arrest of [Kumar], the Dubai police executed numerous search warrants, including a search warrant at the office of Kumar Trading LLC, a company controlled by [Kumar]. Among other things, during the search, authorities found business records and banking documents,” stated DEA special agent William J. Callahan.

“During this search, a number of couriers arrived at the Kumar Trading LLC office to deliver cash that they were carrying. The currency was subsequently seized by Dubai law enforcement authorities. In addition to numerous documents and computers, the Dubai police discovered large quantities of cash in the Kumar Trading LLC offices, including United States dollars, British pounds sterling, euros, and other international currencies which was also sub-sequently seized,” said Special Agent Callahan.

The affidavit states it is only releasing publicly as much information as necessary in order to seize NZ$10 million worth of drug trafficking money belonging to Naresh Jain Kumar found sitting in a series of New York bank accounts.

The DEA has refused to hand over more specific information at this time to TGIF Edition citing an active, ongoing investigation into Kumar’s network

by international law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The network is alleged to have helped fund al Qa’ida terror operations, and TGIF has been told investigators are still piecing together a myriad of financial dealings that may provide more clues about the identities of companies and individuals involved.

WSBC Bank has told TGIF it is cooperating fully with the Serious Fraud Office request for informa-tion held in the offices of its Auckland affiliates relating to the Kumar Trading Company transac-

DEA: Moneylaundering case still active

tions, and as the company makes clear in its Right of Reply this issue, it was unaware of its client’s activities and has not been told whether Kumar’s dealings with WSBC Bank form part of the DEA investigation.

For the sake of clarification, although WSD Glo-bal Markets Ltd shares the same building as other affiliate companies that provided some assistance on the WSBC transactions, WSD Global Markets Ltd had no involvement in any of the work done in Auckland.

US Department of Justice and DEA staff announcing the results of an international sting operation. / SHOWCASE

The then-Prime Minister Helen Clark stands with winning horse Gotta Go Cullen after last year’s 2008 Trillian Trust Auckland Trotting Cup, Alexandra racecourse, Auckland. NZPA / Wayne Drought

6 March  2009 �NEW ZEALAND

WeLLINGTON, MARCH 6 –� The latest crown accounts show that banks have been rushing to take up government bonds, securities and finan-cial guarantees.

The crown accounts for the seven months to January 31 showed the operating financial bal-ance improved slightly, but remained sharply lower than forecast because of losses on investments, an increase in ACC’s liabilities, and lower tax take.

The balance for the seven months to January 31 was a deficit of $5.52 billion, or 312 percent below the forecast of a surplus of $2.61 billion.

There was also a large increase in gross debt to $45.4 billion or 25.3 percent of GDP as compared to the pre-election forecast of $30 billion or 16.7 percent of GDP.

Treasury said banks had been taken up the Reserve Bank’s offer of residential mortgage backed

securities to the tune of $5.1 billion. There had also been a stronger than expected

demand for Treasury bills as financial institutions and investors seek a safe haven for $3.5 billion.

Treasury also said that 65 financial institutions had joined the retail deposit guarantee scheme cov-ering $126 billion.

The report said the likelihood of the guarantees being called in was remote.

On March 2 Mascot Finance had triggered the guarantee owing $70 million to debenture hold-ers.

Treasury said the cost to Government would be less than this as assets were applied to the debt and the guarantee is for eligible deposit holders only.

The crown accounts also show for the first time a bank has taken up the offer of a wholesale guar-antee for money it is seeking to raise.

Banks snapping up Govt securitiesThis was for a $180 million guarantee. In the overall accounts, Treasury said the deficit

was largely because of $4.1 billion in losses from various state investment funds, and $3.1 billion losses arising from revaluations of workplace acci-dent insurance liabilities.

It said tax revenue was still running around $500 million below forecast, reflecting the reces-sion, which has hit company earnings and made investors reduce their spending.

The operating balance excluding gains and losses (OBEGAL), which strips out unrealised investment gains or losses, was a surplus of $600 million against a forecast surplus of $1.44 billion.

Net government debt stood at $2.29 billion, which was $1.74 billion lower than forecast, equating to 1.3 percent of gross domestic product, against a forecast 2.2 percent.

The government’s net cash position, the differ-ence between all income and spending -- operational and capital -- was a deficit of $5.78 billion compared with a forecast deficit of $4.71 billion.

The Treasury said it expected the government fiscal position to track more closely to updated fore-casts it made in December as the world slowdown hits New Zealand.

In December, it forecast an overall operating deficit of $4.33 billion for the fiscal year to June 30, with an OBEGAL deficit of $550 million, and net cash shortfall of $6.63 billion.

The ratings agency Standard and Poor’s warned that New Zealand was at risk of a credit rating downgrade because of the deterioration in the gov-ernment’s fiscal position at a time when the current account deficit was set to blow out further.

– NZPA

AUCkLAND, MARCH 6 –� The success of the Doha Round of trade talks is crucial to New Zealand’s economic recovery, World Trade Organisation boss Pascal Lamy says.

The WTO director-general, speaking to the Auck-land Chamber of Commerce this morning, warned of the dangers of increased protectionism during tough economic times for a country like New Zealand.

The WTO Doha Round aimed to reduce domestic subsidies by 10 percentage points to 70 percent and eliminate export subsidies over time.

“To a small, open, trade-dependent economy with a heavy reliance on agricultural exports, what is on the table is especially significant,” Mr Lamy said.

WTO negotiations offered the only possibility of cutting agricultural subsidies across the board in a permanent and legally binding way, he said.

“I know that New Zealand isn’t just about agri-culture, important as it is. Your trading interests in both goods and services, and your trading partners, are increasingly diversified ... So your stake in the round is also a broad one.”

New Zealand’s service sector had benefited from open policies in areas such as foreign investment.

While New Zealand was active in working for stronger disciplines on fisheries subsidies, it would be threatened by failure to conclude the round.

But it was not clear sailing. Governments worldwide were facing growing

domestic pressures to raise trade barriers, abus-ing trade remedies, providing subsidy packages or imposing “buy domestic” conditions.

“Rejecting these moves is not a question of ide-ology.

“Rejecting isolationist pressures is today a matter of self-interest. History provides us with unambigu-ous evidence that beggar-thy-neighbour policies bear the risk of prompting retaliation by other countries

and driving down the overall level of trade – thus destroying output and jobs around the world.”

A concerted effort was needed to rebuild confi-dence in the financial system.

“This is a matter of utmost urgency and until it happens, and until there is a common belief that the financial system has been cleaned up and is back to work, there is no turning point in sight.

“Such confidence will fuel the fight against pro-tectionism and those who believe turning inwards is the solution to the current crisis,” Mr Lamy said.

Meanwhile, Mr Lamy, has rejected the “food miles” campaign of some European farmers who say con-sumers should buy local produce instead of imported foods, according to a news report on Friday.

Their argument says buying food from countries like New Zealand is environmentally unfriendly because of the carbon emissions involved in trans-porting it to consumers over long distances.

But Lamy, who is visiting New Zealand, called it a protectionist campaign run by European pro-ducers and said cut flowers from Kenya or sheep meat from New Zealand sold in British shops had a lower carbon footprint than many similar items produced locally.

“If you look at the whole chain, in my view, the numbers show that it’s a campaign which is grounded on other intentions,” he told Radio New Zealand.

Lamy, a former European trade commissioner, also criticised the EU’s decision to reinstate export subsidies on dairy products, after scrapping them as it promised in negotiations under the stalled Doha Round of global trade liberalisation.

The EU was entitled to do it because the round has not been completed, but “it is still a negative development – it goes in the wrong direction,” he said.

– DPA, NZPA

WeLLINGTON, MARCH 6 –� The New Zea-land dollar gave up some recent gains as the mood among investors switched back to risk aversion but then trimmed its losses.

Dealers said that once the currency adjusted to the weakness in Wall Street and other global news it spent the day in a fairly narrow range.

The NZ dollar was US50.16.c at 5pm, little changed from 50.20c yesterday.

“The market will focus on non-farm payroll data in the US tonight,” ANZ chief foreign exchange dealer Murray Hindley said.

“It has been pretty much a range-bound session today,” he said.

The US dollar rose against the euro and sterling

as central banks in Britain and the euro zone cut borrowing costs but in Asia gave up some gains ahead of the jobs data.

The NZ dollar was at 0.3990 euro, barely changed from the 0.3980 rate at 5pm yes-terday.

The kiwi slipped against the Japanese currency to 49.30 yen at 5pm from 49.85 yesterday. It edged up against the Australian dollar to A78.15c from A78.05c.

The trade weighted index was 51.85 at 5pm from 51.91 yesterday.

The focus next week will turn to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s interest rate decision on Thursday.

– NZPA

Last month, TGIF Edition carried stories about  the  links between a  tax haven banking group WSBC, and clients accused of money� laundering overseas. We pointed out in our articles at the time that we were not accusing a sister com-pany�, WSD Global Markets Ltd in New Zealand, its directors, staff including chairman Matt Robson, of any� wrongdoing.

WSD Global Markets Ltd and Robson failed to get an ex parte injunction against TGIF, but in the ensuing legal action both parties have been able to clarify� a number of factors that have led all sides to walk away� from further legal action over the stories.

As part of  that process and  further  investigation, TGIF discovered WSD, Matt Robson, WSBC and Riaz Patel had taken offence over aspects of the story� that we believed we’d previously� given clear direction to readers on. Nonetheless, because of  the genuine offence  taken we have made an offer to clarify� for the sake of the rest of our readers what the agreed position is:

WTO boss seeks open borders

• We do not believe, and we are not suggesting, that the plaintiffs ie WSD, WSBC, Riaz Patel and Matt Robson have knowingly� been involved in money�-laundering, and we are satisfied  that  the plaintiffs were not aware of any� money�-laundering involving their clients

• Riaz Patel, whilst being involved in various administrative inquiries by� regulators has never been arrested or spent time in a police cell in India, Dubai or any�where else

• Matt Robson and Richard Worth, as independent director and shareholder, exercised due diligence on the company� and were satisfied with that due diligence before becoming involved with WSD. They� have not used any� political influence whatsoever on behalf of the company�.

The plaintiffs asked to have a formal right of reply� pub-lished, to which TGIF agreed, and which opened discussions on clarify�ing parts of the articles. If any� readers came away� with one of the unintended impressions covered in the above, we hope this clears it up for y�ou and we regret any� confusion.

ClArifiCAtion in regArD to WsD gloBAl MArKets ltD story

NZ dollar back in range  but risk aversion rises

WeLLINGTON, MARCH 6 –� The Supreme Court has dismissed a real estate company’s appeal over the sale of a fancy cliff-top North Shore home and ordered it to pay nearly $1 million to the couple who sold it.

In a decision released today, Premium Real Estate has been ordered to pay Mark and Deborah Stevens dam-ages of $659,813 and to repay $67,000 commission.

Seven percent interest over more than four years has been added to the sums, bringing the total to $994,883.

The high profile legal stoush started when Pre-mium Real Estate sold the Stevens’ house and land in Beach Road, Milford, in April 2004 to a Mr Larsen of the Mahoenui Valley Trust for $2.575m.

Six months later it was re-sold by Premium for $3.55m to Hong Kong buyers.

The Stevens, upset when they learned of the resale deal, sued for damages of $995,000 – the difference between what they paid and a valuation of $3.57m

– and sought the return of the $67,000 commission they had paid to Premium.

The High Court found Premium guilty of mis-leading and deceptive conduct and breach of fiduci-ary duty. It awarded the Stevens a total of $1.08m over the sale of the property.

Premium appealed that decision and last year the Court of Appeal slashed the damages awarded against Premium to $225,000.

In the latest decision Chief Justice Sian Elias dismissed Premium’s appeal against the findings that it was in breach of its fiduciary duty and it had breached the Fair Trade Act.

She cited earlier court decisions that said “mis-leading and incomplete information” gave the impression Mr Larsen was buying the house as a home, and not for reselling it for profit.

The Stevens’ appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision was upheld.

– NZPA

House deal costs  estate agent $1M

6 March  2009  �

By Bob McCoskrie

-Child abuse death rate continuesThe police announcement this week of a homicide inves-tigation into the death of Marton three-y�ear-old 3-y�ear-old Cherish Tahuri-Wright  is  a  tragic  reminder  that  the  rate of child abuse deaths has continued at the same rate as before the flawed anti-smacking law.

While good families are being investigated and thrown under suspicion because of  the extremist anti-smacking law, child abuse has continued at the same rate and the same old  underly�ing  issues  of  drug  and  alcohol  abuse, family� breakdown and dy�sfunction, the presence of non-biological adults in the house, low maternal age, poverty� and single parenthood continue to be downplay�ed.

Before  the anti-smacking  law was passed,  there was an average of 7 child abuse deaths per y�ear. Since the law change this rate has simply�, and tragically�, rolled on.

Opponents  to  the  anti-smacking  law  and  its  supporters, which  included  Plunket,  CYF�  and  Barnardos  frontline  social workers, have been proved right. The  law has done nothing to protect at-risk children or to strengthen at-risk families. It has simply� made criminals out of good parents raising good kids.

New Zealanders are sick of our leaders ‘fluffing’ around the real issues of child abuse.

F�amily� F�irst has a 5 point Action plan  to  tackle child abuse – www.stoptheabuse.org.nz 

-Schools failing to tackle violenceSchools are being  forced  to  turn a ‘blind ey�e’  to unac-ceptable behaviour and violence because of a drive by� the Ministry� of Education to reduce the numbers of suspen-sions and expulsions. 

But  this  policy�  has  resulted  in  an  increasing  level  of violence and threats to teachers and other students, and this week’s stabbing of a teacher comes as no surprise.

Figures  gained  by�  F�amily�  F�irst  under  the  Official Information  Act  show  that  the  police  were  called  out 1658 times to deal with violence, drugs or sex offences in  schools  last  y�ear,  and  the number of  calls  for  violent offences have jumped 27 per cent in the past decade.

It  seems  ironic  that  as we are  say�ing no  to  violence within families and our community�, schools are tolerating an  unacceptable  level  of  violence,  sexual  and  offensive behaviour and intimidation.

A Ministry of Education report in 2008 trumpeted a fall in school suspensions, and at the time the Minister of Education Chris Carter heralded it as a ‘concerted effort by schools supported by the ministry’.

Yet  Education Ministry�  figures  in  2007  revealed  that violence  and  dangerous  behaviour  was  on  the  rise  in schools with more pupils assaulting  teachers and class-mates, and the Post Primary� Teachers Association called for more resources to deal with difficult pupils and for zero tolerance toward violence and abuse.

Ironically�, F�amily� F�irst uncovered figures which the Min-istry� had buried showing a 37% surge in primary� school dis-ciplinary� actions. Primary� schools are reporting increasingly� violent misbehaviour by� children as y�oung as five. 

The Ministry� of Education is bury�ing both its head and the extent of the problem in the sand, and both staff and y�oung people are being put at risk by� the unacceptable behaviour of a minority� who know that the consequences are negligible.

We have forgotten about the rights of law-abiding kids to feel safe, to not have disruption in the classroom, and to be free of violence and bully�ing on the school campus.

But  will  the  new  National  government  reverse  this policy� in order to protect students and teachers?

-Teenage pregnancies soar after sex edu-cation (UK)According  to  a  report  in  the Mail Online,  pregnancies amongst UK girls under the legal age for sex have shot up to the highest level in a decade. 

The UK Labour government had hoped to slash the teen-age pregnancy� rate by� handing out condoms and more sex education, rather than discouraging teens from having sex. Yet despite nearly� 300 million pounds being spent on the cam-paign, the number of teenage girls who became pregnant in 2007 went up, not down, according to the latest count. 

So who’s surprised at this finding? If y�ou show teens how to do it, they� probably� will!

Sign Up Now to receive FREE regular updates about the issues

affecting families in NZ, visit http://www.familyfirst.org.nz/index.cfm/Sign_Up

EDITORIAL

Comment

suBsCriBe to tgif!

editorial family Matters

By Indrajit Basu

kOLkATA, INDIA –� Fears have been looming for years that terrorists one day would attack cricket, South Asia’s most popular international sport. It finally happened Tuesday, when gunmen ambushed a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan. But experts say the motives run deeper than an attack on cricket, and the implica-tions of the attack are far greater.

The attack appears to be a cleverly crafted strat-egy to undermine Pakistan’s democratically elected government, Sri Lanka’s latest offensive against terrorism and, more importantly, create a deep rift in the friendly and close ties between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

“Sri Lankan cricketers are not viewed as Indian cricketers by the terrorist organizations, and I can-not think of any terrorist group that has a grievance with Sri Lankan cricket,” said Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Vio-lence and Terrorism Research at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies of Nanyang Technol-ogy University in Singapore.

“Although the attack was directed against the Sri Lankan cricket team, in many ways it is against the Pakistani government and the state because, unlike India, Pakistan maintains very cordial relations with Sri Lanka and an attack against Sri Lankan targets is a good way to embarrass both govern-ments,” Gunaratna said.

In this cricket-crazy continent, the match between the two countries in Lahore was not just an international sporting event. It was also a good-will gesture by Sri Lanka to help Pakistan regain its pride after India refused to play international cricket in Pakistan, citing security concerns follow-ing the Mumbai attacks last year.

“Sri Lanka went to Pakistan to help them out of a tragic situation where the host country had not played (hosted) a single test match for the past 14 months,” wrote Sa’adi Thawfeeq, sports editor of The Nation newspaper in Sri Lanka. He added that Sri Lanka agreed to play in Pakistan to help out an Asian neighbour and fill in the void created by India’s pullout.

“The attack was aimed at embarrassing the cur-rent democratically elected government, since the responsibility for protecting the Sri Lankan cricket team was solely that of the Pakistan government, as well as to spoil the relationship between the two countries,” said Gunaratna.

Admittedly Pakistan has been an important friend to Sri Lanka ever since India stopped supply-ing weapons to Sri Lanka to help the island nation fight its war against the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Experts say that over the years Sri Lanka was forced to turn to Pakistan and China for weapons, which willingly obliged and consequently forged military links with Sri Lanka.

Reports suggest that military aid received from

Islamabad and Beijing has been a key factor ena-bling Sri Lanka to successfully launch its recent military operations against the LTTE.

And that could be another reason behind the Tuesday attack. According to Shanaka Jayasekara, terrorism researcher at the Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism at Macquarie University in Sydney: While Pakistan has been conceding to a great extent to the demands of the Taliban, such as the Shariah law in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas region, the Sri Lankan government has taken a completely opposite strat-egy to eradicate terrorism by opting for a military operation. Many say that this is an attack on that concept of handling terrorism, where Sri Lanka has demonstrated some success.

The publicity mileage that such attacks derive cannot be ignored. These days terror attacks in Paki-stan hardly attract more than a scrolling news line at the bottom of the TV. “In (the) absence of any worth-while international events or targets in Pakistan, I think attacking the cricket match in Pakistan was the only opportunity the terrorists had to attract headlines globally,” said Jayasekara.

Of course, there’s no shortage of theories as to who could be responsible for the attacks. While some Pakistani police officials see clear similarities between Tuesday’s attack and the Mumbai attack in November in terms of style, many suspect the LTTE played a role as well.

“While it is too early to assess who might have been responsible for the attack and why, one has to recall past instances of contacts (between the) LTTE and the Harkat-ul-Mujahedin, a member of the International Islamic Front of al-Qaida, and the role played by the commercial ships of the LTTE in the 1990s in facilitating heroin smuggling from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region,” wrote noted Indian

security expert B. Raman in his blog. Moreover, Jayasekara’s research over the years

has revealed the LTTE has developed close relation-ships with several Islamist groups, including many in Pakistan, for mutually beneficial objectives.

“It is difficult to establish that link without suf-ficient evidence, but I know that the LTTE link with HUM is very active; they have good relations with members of HUM and have also established a front organization with them in Karachi. So LTTE involve-ment cannot be ruled out either,” said Jayasekara.

But Jayasekara finds it difficult to believe that the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba – which is based in Muridke, near Lahore, and was allegedly responsi-ble for the Mumbai attacks – was behind Tuesday’s attacks as well, although the two operations had similar signatures.

“Most suspect the LeT behind the Mumbai attacks, but being a pro-Pakistani militant outfit with the tacit backing of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence), I feel that it would be detrimental for LeT to attack tar-gets in Pakistan,” said Jayasekara.

Then who is responsible? Gunaratna believes the culprits belong to imported terror groups now based in Pakistan.

According to him, following the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan, about 40 terror groups located in Afghanistan moved into Pakistan, finding a safe haven in which to set up their bases.

“Today Pakistan is fighting a relentless battle against terrorist groups like Tehrik-e-Taliban Paki-stan and al-Qaida that were imported from Afghan-istan. These are different from the likes of Afghani Taliban or LeT that the Pakistan government sup-ports. These groups are totally against Pakistan and are capable of such acts,” said Gunaratna.

– UPI

Lahore terror target just not cricket

Time for Health Minister to actAs summer draws to a close, the Cancer Society may have again caused more cancers than it prevented after its saturation sunsmart advertising campaign encouraged people to stay out of direct sun.

It must be getting harder for the Cancer Society man-agement to lie straight in their beds at night, with the knowledge gnawing at them that Vitamin D – created most efficiently by sunbathing – is possibly the key to eradicating most cancers that humans suffer from.

Study, after study, after study is now showing that Vitamin D can reduce the incidence of cancer, heart attacks, dementia, multiple sclerosis and a whole host of other nasties, by as much as 80%.

Now it’s true that you can take the vitamin as a food supplement, but in truth it is not as effective as sunlight and it is also possible to overdose on an

oral Vitamin D supplement.The key point is this: how much of New Zealand’s

already stretched health budget could be saved if, instead of fretting about slip slop slap, people were encouraged to get more sun. Whilst medical stud-

ies show the sun does cause skin cancer, most of those are benign and non-fatal and easily removed. Melanomas are still the subject of intense scientific debate because they usually pop up in areas of the body that don’t see the sun.

Based on the latest scientific evidence, cancer

patients should be getting sunbed treatments to improve their survival rate markedly, and Health Minister Tony Ryall should be calling for an inde-pendent (read: someone who hasn’t been captured by the cancer bureaucracy) report into Vitamin D usage

in the New Zealand food and health system.If the results are as good as numerous international

studies now suggest, 10 minutes outside in the sun each day, or a high dose oral supplement, could save the embattled health system hundreds of millions, if not more than a billion, dollars a year.

CAnCer pAtients sHoulD Be getting sunBeD treAtMents to iMprove tHeir survivAl rAte

6 March  2009 �ANALYSIS

Walker’s World

By Stefan Nicola

BeRLIN –� President Obama’s outreach to the Krem-lin could successfully reboot relations with Russia, leading to a real reconciliation between the two nations, say Russian politicians and analysts.

Obama recently sent a personal letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. It contained several pol-icy proposals and assessments of the current political situation, a spokeswoman of Medvedev said Tuesday, according to Russian news agency Interfax.

There has been some significant speculation over the letter’s exact wording. Obama on Wednesday corrected a New York Times report that had claimed the letter included an offer to ditch the controversial U.S. missile defence shield in exchange for Russian help to stop Iran’s ambitions for nuclear missiles.

Obama said the letter did not include some sort of quid pro quo deal, but instead was a repetition of what he had previously stated about the missile shield – that it was directed at Iran, and not Russia.

“And what I said in the letter was that, obviously, to the extent that we are lessening Iran’s commit-ment to nuclear weapons, then that reduces the pressure for – or the need for – a missile defence system,” Obama said. The president added he wanted to reset or reboot the relationship with Russia.

No matter what the literal content is, the Kremlin has been pleased by the letter and what Russia’s president has made out to be an increased flexibility regarding the missile shield.

“Our American partners are willing to discuss this problem, and that’s already a good thing,” Medvedev said Wednesday in Madrid after meeting with Span-ish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero. “Just a few months ago we were hearing different signals: The decision has been taken, there is nothing to talk about, we will do what we have decided.”

While Medvedev – in line with Obama – said no trade-offs had been proposed in the letter, it is clear that Washington hopes for greater Russian engagement in persuading Iran to drop its nuclear program. The United States and Russia have shared interests in resolving the conflict, and successful joint diplomacy with Iran could be the start for better ties between the two powers, observers say.

But for that dream to become reality, a few road-

blocks have to be hauled out of the way first. The Kremlin has been extremely irritated by

the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s eastward expansion. Russia believes the alliance has turned from a security coalition into a geopolitical tool used by the United States to increase its political and economic clout in Eastern Europe.

“For Russia, NATO is a geopolitical challenge and a threat,” Sergei Karaganov, chairman of Russia’s Council for Foreign and Defence Policy, said Wednes-day at an event of the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. “The expansion of NATO has become the main threat to European security.”

Obama has promised to shake up U.S. foreign policy by trying to improve ties with the Kremlin. While he isn’t expected to radically alter NATO’s approach, a good start could be to scrap the con-troversial missile system, as Medvedev is just as opposed to the plan to station U.S. rockets in Poland and a radar unit in the Czech Republic as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is.

The system could be a great bargaining chip, not least because experts close to the Obama camp have questioned its financial and practical feasibility. The logic seems to be: Why not give up a costly program we are not convinced about in the first place, and get friendly diplomacy in return?

The next steps to that strategy will likely be discussed at a meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov this weekend in Geneva, Switzerland – the highest-level talks between the two powers since Obama took office.

Medvedev’s spokeswoman said she hoped the meeting would culminate in specific proposals that will subsequently form the basis for discussion when Medvedev and Obama meet at the Group of 20 eco-nomic summit next month in London.

Alexander Rahr, a senior Russia expert with the German Council on Foreign Relations, said Tuesday in Berlin he expected real improvements for U.S.-Russian relations, resulting in greater implications for Russia’s overall ties with the West.

“If Obama binds Russia into a new strategic alliance, then Europe will follow that direction,” he said.

– UPI

Obama reaches out to Russia

By Martin Walker

MOSCOW –� The Russian political system is learning the hard way that economic hardship forces politi-cal disputes. Budget deficits require policy choices over what to cut and what to preserve. Ministries and special interests mobilize to defend their turf and their budgets, and appeal to higher authority for support. Tough decisions have to be made.

Until a year ago, those tough decisions were made, in effect, by one man, President Vladimir Putin. But a year ago Putin stepped down to become prime minister and bequeathed his Kremlin post to the reform-inclined lawyer Dmitry Medvedev, who was merely to reign while Putin continued to rule.

In public profile and in public popularity, Putin continues to dominate Russian political life, but however constrained his political role, Medvedev’s presidential office embodies the prospect of a divided government. At the least, it constitutes an alternative court of appeal for ministers who feel their budgets are being unfairly targeted, or for industrialists and regions who think they deserve more of the available investment funds.

So the harsh impact of the recession on Russia is shifting the balance of power between prime min-ister and president, between Putin and Medvedev, as economic issues become divisions over policy that threaten to spill over into political rivalries. Even when the two principals are determined not to let this happen, aides and policy allies start to

congeal into factions and the media chase stories of a government split. Issues become personalized and, almost before the principals know it, their loyalists are at one another’s throats.

This began to happen in Moscow last autumn as oil prices and the Moscow stock market collapsed and the ruble began to totter. The ambitious public spend-ing plans drawn up during the boom called for more spending on everything – on housing, healthcare, education and the military. Now the boom is over, and the national security establishment and their allies in heavy industry are defending their budgets and proposing currency controls while liberal economists urge social spending and more reform.

A former KGB officer, Putin has always been close to the siloviki, the tight-knit clan of security service veterans he brought to power. It includes First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, National Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, mili-tary procurement chief Viktor Cherkesov, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov and Federal Antin-arcotics Service head Viktor Ivanov.

But Putin has always balanced the power of the siloviki with the technocrats like Medvedev and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and the civilian reformers on their staff. In the boom years, there was enough in the state budget to satisfy everybody. But with the economy now shrinking at an annualized rate of 6 percent and the state budget facing a 42 percent revenue shortfall, the budget has become a political battleground. And the political battle is

emerging into the open.“Today the most honest and independent opinions

on Russia’s problems are coming from the liberal wing, rather than from the so-called statist patriots. The pendulum is definitely swinging our way,” says Igor Yurgens, who runs the Institute of Contemporary Development, of which Medvedev is a trustee.

Yurgens created a stir when his think tank last month published a report critical of the bailouts for obsolete branches of industry. The report blamed Russia’s financial crisis on fundamental, struc-tural flaws in its economy. And while Putin and the siloviki blamed the financial crisis on the greed of American bankers, Yurgens insisted that Russia’s woes had nothing to do with the West.

Finance Minister Kudrin, brought to Moscow by Putin, is the man in the middle as he draws up a new budget for the coming year, based on a far more real-istic assessment of the oil price at $41 a barrel, rather than the $95 that had been assumed. Speaking this week at the Global Investment and Finance Forum in Moscow, he warned that the economic crisis would deepen, property values would fall further, and that investors had pulled US$40 billion out of Russia in January. The core problem was that Russia’s economy was overly dependent on oil and gas.

“I share the responsibility for not managing to diversify the economy as much as we wanted,” Kudrin told reporters. “We were spending more money than we could afford, which is why we had a rapid strength-ening of the national currency and high inflation. I

think the government should have been more con-servative in its financial policy and save more money that it received from the high global oil prices.

“If the U.S. and world economies recover, Russia could grow between 2 percent and 3 percent next year, but the moment when private demand revital-izes itself on the market is the moment we emerge from the crisis,” Kudrin went on. “And to revitalize this private demand, the government should direct efforts at lowering taxes, lowering costs for enter-prises by force of government tariff regulations, providing for salaries and reducing administrative barriers,” Kudrin said.

So far, Kudrin and the government have managed to fund both the siloviki and social reforms, but at the cost of raiding the $600 billion national reserves from the boom years. But with the government spending more than $200 billion to defend the ruble and bail out industrialists, and facing a $120 billion budget shortfall, the reserves are dwindling fast. And the politics of hard economic times are becoming edgy.

“Medvedev does understand the situation in the economy is dire, and he’s trying to distance himself from the prime minister (Putin), who is responsi-ble for the everyday economy. They are afraid, and I think Medvedev understands the risks involved,” commented Yevgeniya Albats, editor of Novaya Vre-mya magazine. “There are plenty of people around Medvedev who would like him to become a real leader as opposed to a puppet of the prime minister.”

– UPI

Fiscal woes roil Kremlin 

WHile MeDveDev sAiD no trADe-offs HAD Been proposeD in tHe letter, it is CleAr tHAt

WAsHington Hopes for greAter russiAn engAgeMent in persuADing irAn to Drop its nuCleAr progrAM

6 March  2009  �ANALYSIS

By Rosalie Westenskow

As poorer polluting nations attempt to cut carbon emissions, they look to more wealthy countries for assistance. But not all U.S. policymakers are convinced the country can spare the cash or that donations will be used wisely.

The international community gears up to negoti-ate the next global treaty on climate change this December in Copenhagen, Denmark, and one of the top issues on the agenda is determining what role developing countries should play.

These countries have contributed the least to cli-mate change but stand to suffer the most from chang-ing weather patterns, according to the U.N. Intergov-ernmental Panel on Climate Change, an international group of scientists. With little money in their coffers to make changes anyway, some of these countries want monetary commitments from rich countries before they agree to reduce emissions.

At the same time, a few emerging economies, like China and India, have increased emissions dramati-cally in the past few years as their economies have boomed. China now leads the world in total carbon emissions.

As the U.S. Congress debates using taxpayer funds for cutting emissions abroad, lawmakers are weighing criticism of other governments’ policies with the need to secure – and possibly fund – a commitment from these countries to cut back on greenhouse-gas emissions.

“China has already resisted World Trade Organi-zation rules,” Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said Thursday at a hearing in the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global

Warming. “Can we expect China’s compliance with a climate-change treaty given its history with the WTO? I think the answer is obvious.”

Not to everyone, including Barbara Finamore, China program director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental organization.

“I think there’s a big difference between the WTO and climate-change agreements,” Finamore said at Thursday’s hearing. “China believes improving their energy efficiency is going to increase their global competitiveness.

Not only that, but China has become increas-ingly aware of the impacts climate change will have on its people and economy, which means it’s in the country’s interest to try to mitigate the problem,” Finamore said.

A recent study conducted by the Chinese govern-ment showed climate change could further strain its already low water supplies by causing floods and droughts. As a result, China is taking action and plans to cut emissions by 4 percent per year and increase renewable-power generation to 10 percent of electricity used in the country by 2010.

“If it succeeds, China will avoid emitting 1.5 billion tons of CO

2, the largest single greenhouse-gas mitiga-

tion program of any country,” Finamore said.“China’s plans characterize those in other devel-

oping countries, many of whom aren’t waiting for rich nations to lead anymore,” said Carter Roberts, chief executive of the World Wildlife Fund, a con-servation organization.

“The risks they are facing are greater than ours,” Rob-erts told representatives. “They have billions of people that live below the poverty line, and they lack the capital to adapt. … Wait-and-see is not an option.”

A recent report from HSBC Bank in London found that while the United States’ economic-stimu-lus plan directed only 12 percent of funds to low-carbon initiatives, the Chinese equivalent devoted 38 percent, Roberts said. “Many developing coun-tries, including Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines, have also passed legal requirements to produce a specific percentage of electricity from renewable sources – a proposal the U.S. Congress has rejected multiple times.”

In December Brazil announced a 10-year plan to cut by 70 percent its emissions from deforestation, a major source of carbon dioxide.

“Meeting these goals will be tough,” Roberts said. “Brazil is committed to it, but they can’t do it alone.”

“That’s exactly the problem with many of the goals developing countries have set,” said Lee Lane, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a non-profit research organization. “Just because a developing country says it’s willing to cut emissions doesn’t mean it will actually lay down the money to do so,” Lane said.

There is a distinct lack of consensus about who should pay to reduce these emissions, Lane said.

And if the United States and other developed nations have to bear the full brunt of the economic burden, it could be extremely costly, according to a recent study. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology projected the effort could cost as much as US$200 billion by 2020 and $1 tril-lion by 2050 for the United States alone.

“We don’t have infinite resources to help the world change from fossil fuels to renewable energy, energy efficiency, etc.,” Lane said.

Who should pay to cut CO2?

By Claude Salhani

WASHINGTON –� The situation in Lebanon these days has become a microcosm of the rest of the region, a mirror of the troubled Middle East: volatile, complex and explosive. Lebanon, much like the rest of the region, is living in a precarious calm, though one that could erupt into a generalized Middle East conflict at any moment.

Volatile, because there are so many different subplots to the Middle East conflict today that the issues have become far more complicated and wor-risome. “A major regional war is not inconceivable,” warned a high-ranking foreign diplomat who is well acquainted with the region and its conflicts, and who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Although war in the Middle East is not imminent, the risk of a generalized regional conflagration nev-ertheless is closer than most people realize. Among

the fuses that could ignite the next fire is the contin-ued lack of progress on the all-but-dead peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis, and what many Arab leaders have been complaining about of late: Iran’s interference in Arab affairs. And next June’s parliamentary elections in Lebanon.

Complex, because the arrival of Iran and Islamist groups in the Middle East conflict in recent years has complicated an already difficult problem. As one Lebanese official, who asked not to be named, pointed out, “Iran is like an octopus with its tenta-cles touching every aspect of the many problems plaguing the Middle East today – not least of them, Lebanon.”

Explosive, because many observers and chroni-clers of Middle East policy fear at the moment that President Barack Obama’s administration will be unable to revive the Middle East peace talks. Some worry that the natural reaction could well

be another large-scale regional war. Such a conflict easily could be precipitated by an

Israeli attack on Iran, or for that matter by Hezbol-lah activity along Israel’s northern border.

At a conference in Washington, D.C., last week, several Middle East specialists, among them current and former U.S. diplomats and observers, agreed that rising extremism – on both sides of the conflict – and lack of progress in the peace talks are chang-ing the face of the Middle East conflict. What used to be purely a real estate problem between Israel and the Palestinians has evolved into a frightening religious war.

It has taken Iran 30 years to begin to export its revolution successfully, but it is now making head-way in the region. While the Iranians might have found natural allies in their Lebanese co-religionists in Hezbollah, they also are forming alliances with Sunni groups, as is the case in Gaza with Hamas

and in Lebanon, particularly in the north, around the port city of Tripoli and in the dozen or so Pal-estinian refugee camps scattered around Lebanon. Once under the control of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the camps turned into mini-fortresses where the Lebanese authority was prevented from entering.

With the departure of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the expansion of al-Qaida and its subsidiaries, the Palestinian camps became a natural haven for anyone seeking to escape from the law.

Close cooperation has been established between Iran and Sunni jihadist groups now settled in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, turning Lebanon into a microcosm of the many problems affecting the region today, and which have become inseparable.

Solving Lebanon’s internal dispute between Hezbollah, which remains the only Lebanese group outside the country’s security forces to be allowed to carry weapons, and the pro-democracy March 14 Movement is now unlikely to be solved independ-ently of a generalized regional solution.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah already has stated that once the ques-tion of the south is resolved, “there is still Jerusalem to liberate”. Of course, this could just be rhetoric, but then again ... ?

In other words, there can be no resolution to the Lebanese internal question of Hezbollah’s weapons until a peace agreement between Israel and Syria is reached AND a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians is also reached.

Rendering the situation in Lebanon all the more volatile is that all these problems have become intri-cately interwoven and in many instances, Lebanon finds itself caught in the middle.

Now all the focus is set on the country’s June 7 parliamentary elections. At stake is the very idea, the very notion of democracy taking hold. Much is riding on the outcome of this election, in which the pro-democracy March 14 Movement, friendly to the United States and Western Europe, is worried that the pro-Syrian, pro-Iranian axis could use the bullet to influence the ballot.

Claude Salhani is editor of the Middle East Times.

– UPI

Is major Middle East war likely?

However, big changes can be made with small investments, said Ned Helme, president of the Center for Clean Air Policy, an organization that works on climate policy.

“We’re not talking about buckets of money,” Helme said. “This is simple loans to get them over the top.”

Such loans could be helpful in places like Mexico, where the government recently proposed cutting emissions in the cement, steel, oil-refinery and elec-tricity sectors, Helme said. However, a recent upsurge in drug-related violence is draining the government’s resources. “Just a little boost from its northern neigh-bour could yield big benefits,” Helme said.

In addition, most of the developing world emits negligible amounts of greenhouse gases and doesn’t need major aid to retool its industrial and transpor-tation sectors, Helme said.

Focus on the six to 10 major emitters in the devel-oping world, he said. They’re responsible for 80 to 90 percent of emissions in the developing world.

A reCent stuDy ConDuCteD By tHe

CHinese governMent sHoWeD CliMAte CHAnge CoulD furtHer strAin its AlreADy loW WAter supplies By CAusing flooDs AnD DrougHts

6 March  2009 �

snoW WreAKs HAvoC on u.K. roADs, rAilsLONDON, MARCH 6 (UPI) – A surprise snowstorm today� turned into a commuter nightmare in southern England as trains were cancelled and cars got stuck.

A combination of snow, rain and low temperatures led to a thick lay�er of ice on the third rail on Southeastern rail lines, The Telegraph reported. All morning rush hour trains from Kent and East Sussex to London were can-celled and train service on other lines was disrupted.

In Devon, at least 60 vehicles were stranded on the A30 trunk road between Exeter and Bodmin, the BBC reported.

More than a dozen schools in Devon County�, where Exeter is located, were either closed or had delay�ed openings, the BBC said.

Most airlines reported only� minimal delay�s.The snow – with accumulation amounts ranging from 

3 inches to 8 inches – combined with ice to make roads across Great Britain hazardous, police said.

Britain’s national weather service had forecast rain, but the storm sy�stem hit colder-than-expected air, bringing snow, the BBC reported. The snow was then followed by� wintry� rain and sleet in some areas.

AustrAliA struggles to iD fire viCtiMsMELBOURNE, MARCH 6 (UPI) – Australian police will relax standards for identification so the bodies of those killed in last month’s bushfires may� be released, a coroner said today�.

Normally�, a DNA match or other forensic evidence like dental records is required. But Jennifer Coate, coroner for the state of Victoria, said police can use circumstan-tial evidence like property� found with bodies, The Age reported.

“We are working in unprecedented circumstances in terms of the depth, scale, magnitude and complex-ity� of this catastrophe that struck our state on F�ebruary� 7,” Coate said at a news conference held after families complained about the slow pace.

The official death toll is 210. Coate said 70 police officers have been assigned to the task of finding and identify�ing bodies, and the names of some victims may� remain unknown.

One fire continued to burn today�, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. F�irefighters said the Wilsons Promontory� fire would be under control within five day�s.

Another four blazes were contained this week after burning for almost a month.

DeMoCrAts tArget liMBAugHWASHINGTON, MARCH 6 (UPI) – Democratic groups are waging an advertising effort against conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, a source say�s.

The Hill reported today� that left-leaning groups are using the Internet and the radio waves to target Limbaugh. 

Jeremy� F�unk, a spokesman for Americans United for Change, which is behind some of the campaigns, said Democrats’ effort amounts to a massive shaming campaign.

The Hill noted that the campaign began last week when Americans United for Change, a labour-backed coalition, began running a television ad in the Wash-ington, D.C., market criticizing Republicans for their near-unanimous opposition to Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package. 

“Who are Republicans listening to?” the ad asks before flashing a shot of Limbaugh say�ing, “I want him to fail” – referring to President Obama, the ad say�s.

F�or its part, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Wednesday� started a Web site entitled I’m Sorry�, Rush. The site targets Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele’s recent apology� to Limbaugh over referring to the radio star as an entertainer.

WORLD

updatein �0 seconds

WASHINGTON –� General Motors Corp’s auditors said there was “substan-tial doubt” that the iconic US carmaker can survive a massive

downturn in the industry, according to an annual report filed with US regulators today.

Despite receiving 13.4 billion dollars in emer-

gency government loans since December, GM said it may have to seek bankruptcy protection if it cannot complete a major restructuring effort, in the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

GM suffered a 52-per-cent drop in US car sales in February and has lost its status as the world’s largest carmaker to Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp.

The company has said it will cut as many as 47,000 jobs worldwide and is in the middle of tough negotia-tions with labour unions to reduce salaries.

Accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, which per-formed the audit, said GM’s “recurring losses from operations, stockholders deficit, and inability to generate sufficient cash flow to meet its obligations and sustain its operations raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.”

GM has until March 31 to prove it can avoid bank-ruptcy or risk losing the government loans, but the White House played down the report.

“I don’t think it comes as a big surprise to many that the auto industry is in crisis,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, but added that a healthy car indus-try “is of great importance to this country.”

GM said its survival depended on many factors out of its control, including “substantially higher” demand for its cars. The carmaker said there was “no assur-ance” that sales will recover in the near future.

– DPA

NeW YORk –� A set of artefacts that once belonged to Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi sold for US$1.8 million (NZ$3.6M), despite attempts to halt the auction in New York this morning.

Gandhi’s iconic round-rimmed spectacles, a 1910 silver Zenith pocket watch, sandals, a bowl, a “thali” (plate) and letters of authenticity were bought by an Indian bidder.

Tony Bedi placed the winning bid for purchaser Vijay Mallya, the flamboyant chairman of India’s biggest liquor business and Kingfisher Airlines, in a packed room at New York’s Antiquorum Auction-eers, following protests in India and an injunction from a New Delhi court seeking to halt the sale.

California-based owner James Otis tried to with-draw the items at the last minute. But the auction house said the sale was legal.

“I never intended for my actions to cause this con-troversy. I pray the outcome is positive and one that Gandhi would approve of,” Otis said before the sale.

Mallya will have to wait a while before he is given the prized artefacts. The United States has asked the auction house to hold the lot for two weeks pending a resolution on whether Antiquorum had the right to sell the lot despite the injunction.

Bidding for the Gandhi lot number 364 began at 20,000 dollars and rose to the final price within seven minutes. The tension in the room was palpable, as was the emotional element of the sale to acquire the rare personal effects of the man revered as the father of the Indian nation.

At one point, an online bidder from the United Kingdom put in a bid for 1.4 million dollars. A man in the room yelled out, “Tony!” to alert Mallya’s repre-sentative, who promptly went on to increase his bid.

“We got it for 1.8 million dollars, but they are

Gandhi’s glasses fetch monster price

worth much than that. We want to bring them home. If he (Mallya) wants to keep them here that’s fine also,” Bedi told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

In the 1930s, Gandhi is believed to have given the spectacles to an Indian colonel seeking inspiration. As he handed them over, Gandhi said they were the “eyes” that had given him the vision to free India.

Also part of the lot were the Indian leader’s well-worn sandals, which he apparently gave to a British military officer in Aden, Yemen, during his 1931 trip from Bombay (now Mumbai) to London. The footwear was in exchange for photographs the

officer had taken of Gandhi prior to the Round Table conference in London to discuss India’s inde-pendence.

Gandhi himself led an austere life and gave up all his material possessions.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued an injunction to stop the auction, based on a petition filed by the Navjivan Trust started by Gandhi in 1929, which said the artefacts could not be sold because they belonged to India and had been ille-gally taken away.

Hours before the auction started, the Indian gov-ernment said it was determined to bring Gandhi’s personal belongings back to India.

“The prime minister (Manmohan Singh) has directed me to do whatever possible,” Indian Cul-ture and Tourism Minister Ambika Soni said in New Delhi.

“If we cannot stop this crass commercialization of these symbolic items - Gandhiji was against materialism - ... we will enter the auction if required as a last resort,” she said.

Otis had on Wednesday offered to stop the auc-tion and donate the items to India if the govern-ment agreed to either of two proposals - spend more on health care for the poor or create an international travelling Gandhi exhibit in 78 countries - one for each year of Gandhi’s life. The Indian government rejected the deal.

Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Por-bandar, Gujarat state.

He was assassinated by a Hindu extremist on January 30, 1948, months after realizing his dream of an India free from British rule. India became independent on August 15, 1947.

– DPA

GM on collision course with bankruptcy

WASHINGTON –� President Barack Obama con-vened a summit of US politicians, economists and industry groups to discuss health care reform today, vowing to tackle a critical issue that has confounded many past administrations.

Spiralling health care costs in the United States have threatened “the very foundation of our economy,” Obama warned as he kicked off the gathering at the White House. He repeated a goal to have a compre-hensive plan in place by the end of the year.

More than 45 million people in the United States do not have health insurance, and the crushing costs have forced many into bankruptcy. Health spending accounted for more than 16 per cent of US economic output in 2008 and counts among the most expen-sive in the world.

Past efforts at dramatic reforms have failed amid sharp ideological differences – particularly over whether to offer a government programme that would compete with private plans.

Hillary Clinton, now Obama’s secretary of state, famously took the lead in crafting a plan during her husband Bill Clinton’s administration that eventu-ally died in Congress.

Noting that even former president Teddy Roo-sevelt had pushed for reforms nearly a century ago, Obama said “skyrocketing” costs had become unsustainable for an economy already in the midst of a deep recession.

“The same soaring costs that are straining our families’ budgets are sinking our businesses and eat-ing up our government’s budget too,” Obama said.

In a rare discussion led by Obama at the end of the forum, the president said there was now a “clear consensus” among all stakeholders that reforms were needed and he promised an inclusive process.

Private insurance lobbies agreed to work towards a deal, though many fear that an increased govern-ment role – which Obama supports – could crowd out private plans.

“We understand that we have to earn a seat at the

table,” said Karen Ignani, head of America’s Health Insurance Plans.

Veteran Senator Edward Kennedy, who was in attendance despite battling cancer and has worked on health care issues for more than four decades in Congress, said Obama had launched a “serious effort” to take on the challenge.

“I’m looking forward to being a footsoldier in this undertaking, and this time we will not fail,” Kennedy said, drawing a rousing applause from the room.

Though Obama has set an ambitious timetable for agreeing upon a deal, his efforts got off to a rocky start. Thomas Daschle, a close friend and former Senate majority leader, was forced to withdraw last month as Obama’s choice for health secretary over a tax scandal.

Obama on Monday nominated Kansas Gover-nor Kathleen Sebelius to lead the Department of Health and Human Services instead.

Sebelius is known as a centrist and pragmatic Democrat. But she is less established in Washington circles – lawmakers and interest groups – that will be central to the process.

– DPA

Obama’s health plan

6 March  2009  �WORLD

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BeIjING –� Human rights activist and self-taught lawyer Yuan Xianchen was sentenced to four years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power” after criticizing socialism and advocating democ-racy in articles and interviews with foreign media, a human rights group said Friday.

Chinese Human Rights Defenders said his arrest was also believed to stem from the help Yuan gave to Yang Chunlin, a farmers representative in the far north-eastern province of Heilongjiang, to collect signatures endorsing an open letter Yang distributed in early 2008 ahead of the Beijing Olympics entitled We Want Human Rights, Not the Olympics.

Yang was sentenced to five years in prison in March 2008, also for inciting subversion of state power.

Yuan, 44, is from the Heilongjiang city of Jixi and become known for providing legal help to farmers, miners and other workers.

Because he is self-taught, Yuan is known as the “barefoot lawyer,” a designation that harkens back

to the barefoot doctors of China’s Cultural Revolu-tion who were given rudimentary medical training and sent to provide basic health care in rural areas that lacked doctors.

Renee Xia, the rights group’s international direc-tor, called the verdict against Yuan “grossly unjust” because evidence was admitted at Yuan’s January 12 trial in Jixi that was obtained by torture.

Yuan told his attorneys that he was tortured in detention and coerced into confessing, the rights group said.

“The court never called for an investigation of torture alleged by the defendant as requested by his lawyers,” Xia said.

The rights group said the trial should be declared invalid and Yuan was only exercising his right to freedom of speech, which is guaranteed by China’s constitution.

Yuan said he would appeal the verdict, handed down Wednesday.

– DPA

China’s iron fist flexes

GeNevA –� Swiss banking secrecy will remain intact, the Finance Minister said today, but there were ongoing talks about how to develop the laws in the light of recent events, most notably the UBS tax fraud investigation in the United States.

“Banking secrecy remains intact and has to remain intact,” said Hans Rudolf Merz, who also fills the largely ceremonial role of President.

“It protects privacy but in no way does it protect tax fraud,” he added.

He said there was consideration in the Federal Council, the executive branch, about the future of the distinction between tax evasion and tax fraud in the Swiss law books. Currently, only the latter is a criminal offense.

“Banking secrecy in Switzerland is not absolute and does not apply in the event of criminal prosecu-tion,” the minister told reporters.

He said there would be a meeting next week with Austria and Lichtenstein, two other countries with bank secrecy laws, to discuss the road ahead.

Swiss banks in the gun

By Lesley Clark

WASHINGTON –� In court documents she’s referred to as the Princess, with a capital “P.” But her story reads more like Mata Hari infiltrates the Colombian drug cartel.

In federal court documents, a Palm Beach County, Fla., woman – the ex-wife of two convicted drug dealers – outlines a life of intrigue, adventure and considerable danger as an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. For more than three years, she travelled the world for the Fort Lauder-dale DEA office, earning a $10,000 a month “salary” and posing as “an affluent money launderer.”

She raked in as much as $1.85 million from the agency, according to documents in a 1997 lawsuit she filed against the agency in U.S Court of Federal Claims. And now, after a decade of legal wrangling and a trial, the Princess may be in line for more.

A federal judge ruled that the DEA failed to pro-tect confidential informant SGS-92-X003 – aka the Princess – when it dispatched her to Colombia in 1995 at the height of the country’s brutal drug war.

“The evidence is uncontroverted that the head of (the) DEA’s Fort Lauderdale Office, who supervised the Princess, sent her on this undercover operation without advising DEA Headquarters or the Colom-bian attache,” Judge Mary Ellen Coster Williams wrote in a Feb. 9 opinion that was unsealed after classified information was redacted. “During this mission,” Coster Williams wrote, “the Princess was captured by a guerrilla organization, transported in the trunk of a car, and held for over three months in a windowless, dirt floor room where she slept on a straw mattress.”

In her suit, the Princess sought more than $33 million. Next step: determining whether the woman was damaged by the agency’s negligence, and if she was, how much the DEA should pay.

The Princess’s chief DEA contact, Joseph Salvemini, who retired from the agency in 1999, disputed the findings. He said his DEA higher-ups were aware of every move.

“It would have been virtually impossible to oper-ate in and out of Colombia without knowledge of the Colombian embassy and DEA headquarters,” Salvemini said this week.

A spokesman for the DEA declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The partial victory has pleased the Princess, who grew disillusioned with the agency when it failed to give her what she considered adequate compensa-tion for risking her life.

“The other agents kept telling me, ‘It’s the DEA. It stands for ‘Don’t Expect Anything,’ “ said the woman, who asked The Miami Herald that her name not be disclosed to protect her identity. “The money we were getting, the millions. They were buy-

ing police vehicles, they were giving away money right and left.”

During her captivity, she ate her address book – fearful her cover would be blown.

“I was sure I was going to be killed,” she said.After her return from Colombia after the three-

month ordeal, she said she was diagnosed with mul-tiple sclerosis and bipolar disorder.

Before the kidnapping soured the relationship between the DEA and the Princess, it was a profit-able one for both. Court records show the woman – a great-granddaughter to a former president of Colombia – helped the agency identify dozens of drug traffickers and seize more than $22 million from Colombia drug cartels, along with “significant seizures” of cocaine and heroin.

The Princess said she got little direction from the DEA, but using contacts and her imagination, she began posing as a wealthy art dealer and money launderer.

“There’s no school for it,” she said of her under-cover endeavours. “It has to be your creation and I’m a bit creative.”

Salvemini, in court records, called the Princess “probably the best informant” he’d worked with his 31-year DEA career. She set up deals; the DEA took the money. He estimated more than $60 mil-lion was seized.

“From the standpoint of value to the agency ... to infiltrate the very highest levels of the criminal element that we were interested in, there are none better,” he said.

Her work took her to Colombia, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, Italy and Canada. But, as she testified in the 2007 trial, it wasn’t easy work-ing with the DEA.

“The Princess testified that operations in Rome and Geneva had resulted in risks to her safety as a result of conduct by DEA agents,” the judge wrote.

According to the court files, the kidnapping occurred in Cali when she was meeting with a police major to learn the identity of a key person working for a drug trafficker. She was not accompanied by any DEA employees.

After the meeting, she was confronted in her taxi by two men with hand grenades and a machine gun. Her captors told her they were part of a Colom-bian guerrilla group but they seemed unaware she was a DEA informant, abducting her because they thought she was wealthy.

That’s when the Princess ate her address book.“They left me with the phonebook and it took me

like one day, one day and a half to eat it, because I had to eat those pages,” she testified.

According to court records, her release was secured after a “highly confidential” DEA source paid a $350,000 ransom. The source – unnamed – was later reimbursed at least $50,000 by the agency.

DEA and the Princess Switzerland is said to house about a third of the

US$7 trillion held offshore. Swiss bankers, who profit from the system, say the collapse of banking secrecy could halve the financial sector, which cur-rently makes up about 12 per cent of GDP.

Switzerland has set up a ministerial body, made up of Merz, Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf and Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, to look into the banking secrecy laws and determine their future development.

UBS, under orders from the Swiss regulatory body, handed over last month some data on clients who allegedly committed tax fraud to US authori-ties.

The bank told a Senate hearing on Wednesday that it would not hand over more data owing to Swiss banking secrecy laws. The US is demanding information on thousands of clients, while the bank is reported to have transferred unspecified data on only a few hundred.

– DPA

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6 March  2009  11SPORT

2009 - Men’s pools

Pool A

Location Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dates March 5-7, 2009

Previous winners England (1993), Fiji (1997), New Zealand (2001), Fiji (2005)

© 2009 MCT

New ZealandTongaArabian GulfItaly

Pool BFijiFranceU.S.Georgia

Pool CSouth AfricaScotlandCanadaJapan

Pool DSamoaAustraliaPortugalIreland

Pool EEnglandKenyaTunisiaHong Kong

Pool FArgentinaWalesZimbabweUruguay

Source: IRBGraphic: Scott Bell

New Zealand’s rugby sevens team have a tough draw overnight in Dubai as they come up against Tonga and Arabian Gulf, but they’ve taken heart from this morning’s opening match.

A try to Paul Grant just before halftime in a 42-0 romp over Italy in Dubai this morning (NZtime) saw New Zealand become the first nation to score 1000 points in World Cup rugby sevens.

New Zealand opened their Group A campaign in style with Viliame Waqaseduadua scoring twice after they led 21-0 at halftime.

Skipper DJ Forbes led from the front against a flatfooted Italy to bag a try and was joined by Lote Raikabula, Grant and Chad Tuoro. Tomasi Cama converted all the tries.

Waqaseduadua, rated one of the top seven players top watch in the tournament, finished the match off with his two tries.

The result put New Zealand on top of the all-time scoring table with 1027 points. Fiji are second with 1019 with a wide gap to South Africa in third on 803.

Grant, from Otago was unaware he had helped New Zealand reach a milestone in sevens World Cup history.

“But that is a good privilege to have - great.” “There were a few balls to ground but we’re pretty

happy and it’s a good way to get our campaign underway,” Grant added.

Coach Gordon Tietjens was satisfied with the out-come given that was his side’s first game together as a team.

With the Arabian Gulf and Tonga to play tomor-row morning (NZtime) Tietjens felt the side had a tough day ahead.

“ We’ve got two games, which we treat as finals. We’ve got the first (Arabian Gulf) and last game (Tonga) so it should be a tough day for us.”

– NZPA

Sevens face tough nightBy Martin Davidson of NZPA

CHRISTCHURCH, MARCH 6 –� Amateur golf star Danny Lee has lived up to his own expectations by making the halfway cut at the New Zealand PGA Championship at Clearwater here today.

The 18-year-old US Amateur champion did it comfortably, too, a second round of five-under-par 67 giving him a tournament card of six-under 138, three strokes inside the cut line.

He heads into the weekend in a share of 13th place, just three shots behind the leading trio of New Zealand left-hander Gareth Paddison, American surprise package Josh Teater and Australian Kurt Barnes – and primed to launch a challenge for his second title in two weeks.

Last month’s Johnnie Walker Classic champion fol-lowed up that success by missing the cut at the Moonah Classic near Melbourne last week, something he did not want to repeat here in his eighth appearance in a professional tournament since last August.

“I had just been hoping not to miss the cut again,” he said after a fine round containing one eagle, four birdies and a lone bogey.

“I had lots of birdie chances today but I missed quite a few of them.”

It was easy to tell where Lee was on the 6513m course on the outskirts of Christchurch. His location

As easy as A, B, C for Leecould be found by the large galleries which followed his every move.

Playing in the company of Australian veteran Peter O’Malley and American Ryan Armour, Lee said he appreciated the support.

“I could hear it and feel it,” he said. “When Peter or Ryan holed a putt they clapped,

but when I did they went crazy. It was great.” Having gone cold with his putter yesterday when

posting a 71, Lee made a fast start today with an eagle three at the 521m second hole.

“I bombed my drive and bombed a three wood to near the front of the green then chipped in with a 60 degree wedge,” he said, making it sound as simple as A, B, C.

Lee, the first amateur allowed to enter the cham-pionship since it was relaunched in 2004, is using this tournament and next week’s New Zealand Open near Queenstown to help prepare him for an imminent switch to the professional ranks.

He intends making the change after next month’s Masters in the United States, where he will be paired with world No 1 Tiger Woods in the opening two rounds.

He earned that right by virtue of his success at the US Amateur last August, and has since underlined his extraordinary pedigree with a series of composed performances among the professionals.

WeLLINGTON, MARCH 6 –� Former rower Sonia Waddell continued her good form at the national track cycling championships in Invercargill today, as her Waikato-Bay of Plenty team qualified fastest in the women’s team pursuit.

Waikato Bay of Plenty clocked three minutes 32.404 seconds, over six seconds faster than sec-ond-placed Southland, who they will meet later in the final.

The women’s team pursuit is a new event on the world scene and teams consist of three riders as opposed to four in men’s team pursuit.

Waddell, who took up cycling just months ago and is coached by Olympic gold medallist Sarah

Ulmer, finished sixth in the individual pursuit on Wednesday in her first ever track nationals.

The New Zealand selectors will be watching the finals closely, with spots up for grabs in the national team pursuit line-up for the UCI world champion-ships in Poland later this month.

The New Zealand team has already had success at World Cup level, with Alison Shanks, Lauren Ellis and Kaytee Boyd winning gold in Beijing earlier this year.

In the other events this morning, Canterbury qualified fastest for the women’s 500m team sprint final, while Auckland qualified fastest in the men’s 750m team sprint final.

– NZPA

Waddell continues good track cycling form

AUCkLAND, MARCH 6 –� Three-time world cham-pion Mahe Drysdale was today confirmed as New Zealand’s men’s single sculler for the upcoming European campaign.

On Monday, Drysdale beat off the challenge of former Olympic champion Rob Waddell in their sole head-to-head race at this week’s national trials at Lake Karapiro in the Waikato.

In the women’s double scull, the experienced Paula Twining and Anna Reymer have been picked to succeed retired double Olympic champions Caro-line and Georgina Evers-Swindell.

In the men’s lightweight single, Duncan Grant will race for a third consecutive world title at Poznan, in Poland, in August.

Meanwhile Matthew Trott is re-united with Nathan Cohen in the men’s double sculls.

The partnership was broken up and Trott dropped last year when Waddell, having missed out on the single sculls berth for the Beijing Olympics, was selected instead to row with Cohen in the double.

The women’s quadruple scull includes former netballer Sarah Barnes, who took up rowing three years ago.

The New Zealand team also have their first adap-tive athlete in Christchurch single sculler Robin Tinga.

Adaptive rowing is a category for competitors with physical disabilities.

NeW ZeALAND TeAMMen: single scull, Mahe Drysdale; lightweight

single scull, Duncan Grant; adaptive single scull, Robin Tinga; double scull, Matthew Trott, Nathan Cohen; lightweight double scull, Storm Uru, Peter Taylor; coxless pair, Eric Murray, Hamish Bond; lightweight four, Todd Petherick, James Lassche, Richard Beaumont, Graham Oberlin-Brown.

Women: single scull, Emma Twigg; coxless pair, Rebecca Scown, Emma Feathery; double scull, Paula Twining, Anna Reymer; quadruple scull, Harriet Austin, Sarah Barnes, Louise Trappitt, Genevieve Armstrong.

Under-23 team to race in the world champion-ships at Racice, Czech Republic, in July:-

Men: coxless four, Simon Watson, Hamish Burson, Tyson Williams, Jade Uru; coxed four, David Eade, Ian Seymour, Tobias Wehr-Chandler, John Storey; double scull, Joseph Sullivan, Rob Manson.

Women: quadruple scull, Lucy Spoors, Odette Sceats, Alyce Pulford, Leah Stanley; coxless four, Kate Reymer, Jess Loe, Ali Burnside, Regan Barkla; light-weight double scull, Julia Trevetter, Louise Ayling.

– NZPA

Drysdale confirms world spot

WeLLINGTON, MARCH 6 –� The second one-day cricket international between New Zealand and India has been abandoned due to persistent rain in Wellington here tonight.

India’s made 188 for four in 28.4 overs – three rain delays ensured New Zealand were unable to chase a revised total in the time remaining.

India lead the five-match series 1-0 after winning the rain-affected opening match in Napier on Tuesday by 53 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method. The third match is scheduled for Christchurch on Sunday.

– NZPA

Second NZ, India odi washed out  

India’s M S Dhoni plays pass the New Zealand wicket keeper Peter McGlashin in the 2nd one day international cricket match at Westpac Stadium, Wellington. NZPA / Ross Setford

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6 March  2009  1�WEEKEND

tv & film

By Mark Caro Chicago Tribune

Few are begrudging Kate Winslet winning her first Oscar in six nominations for The Reader. As the common refrain in Hollywood went last week: “It’s time.”

Yet few argue that her portrayal of former Nazi concentration camp guard Hanna Schmitz is her strongest work. Her performances in last year’s Revolutionary Road and 2006’s Little Children were more complex and searing, and she transfixed even in her 1994 debut, Heavenly Creatures.

So Winslet has joined a long, honourable tradition of accomplished artists who won Academy Awards for the “wrong” movie. Here are 10 more (which are not necessarily intended as commentaries on who actually won in those years):

Martin ScorseseWon: best director for The Departed (2006)Should have won: best director for GoodFellas

(1990), Raging Bull (1980) or Taxi Driver (1976) Scorsese’s work in The Departed was expert but far from the groundbreaking status of those earlier classics.

Reese WitherspoonWon: best actress for Walk the Line (2005)Should have won: best actress for Election

(1999) She was fine in the borderline-supporting role of June Carter, but her primly ambitious high-schooler Tracy Flick from Election is a timelessly hilarious, horrifying creation.

Renee ZellwegerWon: best supporting actress for Cold Mountain

(2003)Should have won: best actress for Nurse Betty

(2000) or best supporting actress for Jerry Maguire (1996) Her indelible work in the two earlier movies wasn’t even nominated, yet she won for a perform-ance that seemed right out of Mama’s Family.

Randy NewmanWon: best song for “If I Didn’t Have You” from

Monsters, Inc. (2001)Should have won: best song for “When She

Loved Me” from Toy Story 2 (1999) or “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story (1995) Newman was on his 16th nomination when he finally got his statuette, but could you hum a few bars of “If I Didn’t Have You”? Those Toy Story songs are essen-tial to the movies.

Russell CroweWon: best actor for Gladiator (2000)Should have won: best actor for The Insider

(1999) or best supporting actor for L.A. Confidential (1997) Crowe was the charismatic hero in Gladiator but had more going on in The Insider and L.A. Con-fidential, as well as A Beautiful Mind in 2001.

Al PacinoWon: best actor for Scent of a Woman (1992)Should have won:  best actor for Dog Day

Afternoon (1975), The Godfather Part II (1974) or The Godfather (1972). HOO-ahh! This is the classic career-achievement award for a hambone perform-

Watchmen0Cast: Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Goode0Director: Zack Snyder0Length: 163 minutes0Rated: R16 (for violence,offensive language and sex scenes)

The long-awaited film of Alan Moore’s classic comic book/graphic novel Watchmen is a work that’s easier to ponder than enjoy�. Director Zack Sny�der has delivered a literal, almost page-by�-page transcription of Moore and Dave Gibbons’ messianic, End of Day�s superhero epic. It gives y�ou a lot to chew on in its 2 hours and 40 minutes. But as striking as it is to absorb and behold, as literal as the adaptation is, Watchmen rarely� hits the thrilling or entertaining stride that Sny�der’s “300” had from start to finish.

Costumed heroes, “vigilantes,” have been illegal for y�ears. Most of those who came to fame in the 1940s and ‘50s have hung up their capes, tights and masks and slipped back into normal life.

But now, in their 60s, somebody� is killing them off. We see the sadistic thug The Comedian (Jeffrey� Dean Morgan) give as good as he gets, but die a violent death any�way�. We hear the masked Rorschach, play�ed by� Jackie Earle Haley� in a Dark Knight growl, narrate his investigation into the crime.

“One of us died tonight. Somebody� knows why�. Some-body� knows.”

In this alternate 1985, Vietnam was a “win” and Richard Nixon never left office. He and Kissinger are into their second decade in power with World War III still just an ey�eblink away�. America’s secret weapon? Dr. Manhattan (Billy� Crudup), a nude, blue nearly� omnipotent hero-god who was once human but who is losing his connection to humanity�. And when his girlfriend, the former Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman), ditches him, he exiles himself to Mars. The World War the world avoided may� happen after all. The Watchmen won’t be around to prevent it.

“It’s too late,” the ethereal Dr. Manhattan prophesies. “Alway�s has been. Alway�s will be.”

Who’s behind all this? The twisted and ruthless Rorschach teams with his old friend, the brainy� and less violent Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson) to bust heads (and arms, and legs) to get to the bottom of the killings, no matter that the world is about to end. Another “mask,” the world’s smartest man Ozy�mandias (Mat-thew Goode), is enlisted. But he’s in deep with Dr. Manhattan’s plan to solve the world’s energy� problems in one fell swoop.

Sny�der fills the screen with ey�e candy�. But the violence of the comic book is here, too; brutal murders, dismemberments, attempted rape. The sex is graphic, the violence more so.

What Sny�der and his team add to the mid-’80s comic is a pop-cultural mashup sensibility�. Bad impersonators abound, from a heavily� made-up Nixon to a feeble Ted Koppel and Lee Iacocca. On the soundtrack, “99 Luftballoons” crashes into “All Along the Watchtower.”

The film’s dizzy�ing array� of flashbacks (also from the graphic novel) gives only� a couple of actors enough time to shine. Haley� is a ferocious presence, Akerman is comic-book sex incarnate and Wilson does a nice Clark Kent turn as the reason-over-violence hero. At every� turn, long pauses in the action force us to chew on what the Brit Moore, who went on to write the more obvious jeremiad V for Vendetta, was getting at. Watch-men  is Biblical and political and psy�chological and not the least bit whimsical. And after absorbing it over those 2 hours and 40 odd minutes, the best y�ou can say� of the filmmakers is that they� did what no team before could manage: They� got the movie made.

“Why�’d we do it?”“No one else would.”Watch the trailer 

– By Roger Moore

How Oscar got it wrongance. He was better in Glengarry Glen Ross the same year.

Paul NewmanWon: best actor for The Color of Money (1986)Should have won: best actor for The Verdict

(1982), Hud (1963) or The Hustler (1961) The Acad-emy finally gave Newman a competitive Oscar the year after awarding him an honorary one, but his second go-round as Fast Eddie Felson wasn’t an improvement over the original Hustler.

Sydney PollackWon: best director for Out of Africa (1985)Should have won: best director for Tootsie

(1982). Out of Africa sure looked nice, but with Toot-sie, Pollack took an infamously troubled project and made an all-time great comedy.

Sidney PoitierWon: best actor for Lilies of the Field (1963)Should have won: best actor for In the Heat of

the Night (1967) or The Defiant Ones (1958) When looking at Poitier’s landmark career, does anyone consider Lilies of the Field to be the high point?

Charles ChaplinWon: best original dramatic score for Limelight (1972)Should have won: best director and/or actor

for Modern Times (1936) or City Lights (1931). Talk about catching up late to a guy: Thanks to a quirk in Academy rules, Limelight was honoured 20 years after it was made. Chaplin’s two most revered films received no nominations.

6 March  2009 1�

Music

REVIEWS

By Greg kot Chicago Tribune

On its latest album, “No Line on the Horizon”, U2 sounds like a band trying to shrug off years of staleness.

The Irish quartet is once again in transition, uncertain of its destination, and producing some fascinating music along the way. Five of the 11 tracks sound as fresh as anything U2 has done in a decade. The rest aren’t nearly that good, putting this in the middle tier of the band’s dozen studio releases. But at least the band is trying to reconnect with the sense of yearning and mystery that once made it special.

It’s hard to be mysterious when you’re the biggest band in the world. But that sense of mystery is key to U2’s sound; the band’s fondness for atmosphere forged a new kind of stadium rock in the ‘80s, epic yet some-how intimate, then embraced even deeper undercur-rents on the ‘90s masterpiece, “Achtung Baby!”

That adventurousness was largely missing from the previous two U2 studio albums, “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” (2000) and “How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” (2004). These were “back to basics”

gambits, as predictable as a late-period Rolling Stones album and drained of surprise. Play these albums now, and they sound like calculated, inferior versions of the band’s callow but ecstatic early-’80s releases.

Nonetheless, the albums served a broader com-mercial purpose. They reassured fans who had strayed from the band through its ‘90s experiments, and helped U2 fill arenas around the world. But the Irish quartet had lost something crucial in trying so desperately to connect with iPod nation. Eve-rything sounded too pat; calculation had trumped inspiration.

“No Line on the Horizon,” officially out Tuesday, tries to restore what’s missing by pulling things apart and letting the songs breathe. The band has reconnected with its two most trusted collabora-tors, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, and given them an even greater role. They not only co-produce the album, but play some of the music and share in the songwriting.

The songs have become more amorphous; five stretch past five minutes.

The melodies reveal themselves more reluctantly, and the layers undergirding them teem with ambiguity.

U2’s latest is a step in the right directionAt times it’s uncertain who or what instrument

is creating the sounds heard on several tracks; Larry Mullen shifts between live drumming and programmed beats, and keyboards mesh with gui-tars in a thick ambient mist. Only Adam Clayton’s bass retains its singular personality; its prominence in the mix makes him the album’s most valuable player, as he pushes the songs forward with a mix-ture of elegance and supple power.

The first three songs point a way forward. On the title track, melancholy synthesizers drift across the horizon like distant jets, playing counterpoint melodies over a thick stew of rhythm. Bono’s voice sounds appealingly frayed, caught up in the whirl of sound around him. “Magnificent” lurks in the shad-ows for a minute, then breaks into a gallop over the Edge’s ringing guitar and Clayton’s bounding bass. It’s a quintessential U2 moment: big and yet somehow vulnerable. “Moment of Surrender” com-pletes the journey, and lays out one of the album’s key themes: “Two souls too smart to be in the realm of certainty.”

Nothing can be taken for granted. Anxiety hovers like the organ chords draped over Bono’s patient

vocal melody. Once again Clayton’s bass serves as an empathetic foil, standing just off the vocalist’s shoulder, answering his every line.

At its best, “No Line” is about sonic drama. “Let me in the sound, meet me in the sound,” Bono demands on at least two tracks. But in the middle of the album, U2 loses its nerve, and rapture gives way to formula. It’s as if the band were hedging its bets, knowing it needed a couple of stadium-ready songs when it visits the world’s sports arenas later this year.

Producer Steve Lillywhite strays from the evoc-ative blueprint laid out by Eno and Lanois, and swaths the band in conventional pop sweetness (“I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Crazy Tonight”) and bluesy bombast (“Breathe”).

“Get on Your Boots” flails around in search of a melody, and “Stand Up Comedy” is a bad marriage of neo-funk and riff-rock. “Unknown Caller” aspires for classic U2 grandeur but trips on robotic vocal har-monies. “Cedars of Lebanon” ends the album with a whimper, Bono murmuring like Frank Sinatra in the wee small hours of the morning over a hushed backing track.

Amid this desultory finish, U2 tucks two exqui-sitely realized pieces of music.

“White as Snow” is as still as a winter landscape painting. It imagines the final words of a soldier dying in Afghanistan, appropriating the stately melody of the 12th Century hymn “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel.”

“Fez – Being Born” evokes an exotic marketplace in an impressionistic, multipart arrangement. It contains only a handful of lyrics but takes the lis-tener on a headphone-worthy journey from the outskirts of a Moroccan city into its bustling heart, before drifting out to a sea of dancing lights. It’s a mesmerizing song, a series of surprises that unfolds like a great mystery, and then recedes before its secrets are fully revealed.

Get On Your Boots 

it’s HArD to Be Mysterious WHen

you’re tHe Biggest BAnD in tHe WorlD. But tHAt sense of Mystery is Key to u2’s sounD; tHe BAnD’s fonDness for AtMospHere forgeD A neW KinD of stADiuM roCK in tHe ‘80s, epiC yet soMeHoW intiMAte

6 March  2009  1�REVIEWS

Books NEW CD RELEASESChris Isaak0Mr. Lucky0Reprise3.5 stars

“Mr. Lucky” begins with a slice of quintessential Chris Isaak: “Cheater’s Town” is steeped in brood-ing heartache and reverb, and signals that Isaak will be deviating little if at all from his retro stylings of

the last two-plus decades.If there’s a sense of formula to it all, Isaak con-

tinues to get considerable mileage out of it. (The freshness factor is no doubt aided by the fact it’s been seven years since his last album of new mate-rial.) There are enough new turns on the anguished, Orbisonesque ballad to make the album title seem ironic. But there are also several variations in mood and music. “We’ve Got Tomorrow” is jaunty enough to include a tuba, “Best I’ve Ever Had” is an upbeat rocker, and the thoroughly unironic “Big Wide Beau-tiful World” closes the show with a blast of bluesy, horn-punctuated swing.

–Nick Cristiano

Neko Case0Middle Cyclone0ANTI3.5 stars)

Once pigeonholed as an “alt-country chanteuse” for her powerful voice, Neko Case became rec-ognized as a songwrit-ing force with 2006’s “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.” She’d writ-

ten excellent songs for her prior albums, but “Fox Confessor’s” mysterious, fablelike tales were as attention-getting as her soaring, reverb-drenched vocals. The songwriting is equally sharp on “Mid-dle Cyclone,” her sixth studio album. It’s rich with images of disaster, both natural and emotional, often in the service of spooky love songs.

Tornadoes, spiders, birds, guns, trains, marriage, and death: The album is a swirl of related details, and while the songs are often brief, at or under the three-minute mark, they feel expansive. Case is often bracingly direct – as on the Byrdsy animal-rights polemic “People Got a Lotta Nerve.” And she can be mysteriously open-ended, as on the twinkling acous-tic ballad “Vengeance Is Sleeping.” Always, there’s that clear, passionate voice that sounds seductive even when she sings, “The next time you say ‘forever,’ I will punch you in the face.”

– Steve Klinge

The Soul Of John Black0Black John0Eclecto Groove3.5 stars

“John Black” is actually John Bigham, a singer and guitarist with an eclectic resume that includes work with Miles Davis, the rock-funk band Fishbone, and many oth-ers. Now Bigham has his

own thing going on, and it’s going on quite nicely.“Black John” picks up where Bigham left off on

2007’s excellent “The Good Girl Blues.” He delves into soul and R&B with a head-turning blend of down-home funkiness and urban polish. “Last For-ever,” for one, is a ballad that starts off with bluesy pungency before morphing seamlessly into silky soul. It’s a sound that comes across as both old and new. That’s no easy feat, but it’s one Bigham pulls off with aplomb through this album.

–Nick Cristiano

The Lost City of Z: Examining mysteries of Percy Fawcett’s final questThe Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon0David Grann0Doubleday ($27.50)

I’ve been waiting for this book since 2005. That’s when David Grann’s arti-cle about explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest to find the mythic city of El Dorado in the Ama-zon appeared in The New Yorker. The story has eve-rything to fire the imagi-

nation: Romance, nostalgia, bravery, monomania, hardship, adventure, science, tragedy, mystery.

No wonder Brad Pitt snapped up the movie rights before The Lost City of Z was even published.

Fawcett was last in the line of heroic explorers that included Henry Stanley, Richard Burton and Ernest Shackleton – men who left Europe in search of adventure and science in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Taking the Amazon as his specialty, Fawcett led a number of gruelling expeditions before disap-pearing into the jungle in 1925, when he was 57.

The mystery of Fawcett’s last expedition, which also claimed the life of his 21-year-old son Jack, has proved to be an irresistible obsession. Dozens of explorers sought to follow his steps and find El Dorado, which Fawcett cryptically called “Z.” Grann calculates 100 or more of them perished.

A New Yorker who prefers elevators to stairs and doesn’t even like camping, Grann came under Fawcett’s spell, too. He examined the explorer’s papers at the Royal Geographical Society in Lon-don. Through a Fawcett descendant, Grann uncov-ered a previously unknown cache of diaries that pointed to the actual path the explorer took on his last expedition.

The Lost City of Z does not disappoint. It is at once a biography of Fawcett, a history of the era of exploration, a science book on the nature and ethnography of the Amazon, and a thrilling arm-chair adventure.

Grann induces awed respect for Fawcett’s drive, energy, physical abilities and intelligence. He also knocks the romance off the proposition of tropical exploration. Fawcett and his underlings coped not only with exhaustion, starvation, disease, wild ani-mals and hostile Indians, but also with an unending scourge of insects, including maggots that bored under the skin, causing a ceaseless discharge of slime and puss. One Fawcett companion counted 50 maggot holes in and around one elbow.

Blessed with athleticism and a near-superhuman resistance to disease and parasites, Fawcett drove his men mercilessly, viewing death as evidence of laziness. A man of his time, he respected Indians for their intelligence, physical strength and mastery of their environment, yet could not believe them capa-ble of civilization without benefit of some ancient Caucasian influence.

Grann’s own Brazilian adventures are mild com-pared with those of Fawcett. He does not find the bones of the great explorer, but using the tools of modern journalism – research, persistence, inter-viewing – he comes up with a highly plausible explanation of what happened to the expedition.

Best of all, Grann finds El Dorado. Actually, he finds University of Florida archae-

ologist Michael Heckenberger, who lives among the Kurikuro Indians and has uncovered evidence that an advanced civilization existed in the Amazon until European contact brought new diseases. This urban culture built roads, bridges and causeways but lived in harmony with nature, and left none of

the monumental architecture Fawcett looked for.Indeed, Fawcett frequently noted the widespread

examples of sophisticated pottery in the jungle. It turns out he stood in the middle of Z. His preconcep-tions prevented him from seeing it.

– By Chauncey Mabe

A joyless school for spoiled, over-privileged kidsEnclave0Kit Reed0Tor ($25.95)

The “cozy catastrophe,” a venerable sci-fi subgenre, has fallen on hard times. Inspired by Cold War Britain’s John Wyndham, whose classic The Day of the Triffids is the first of the breed, it has served as sturdy ground not only for science-fiction writers, but

also the likes of Nevil Shute (On the Beach) and even Walker Percy (Love in the Ruins).

Lately, though, the form has fallen victim to dim-witted movies with a limited number of tropes, usu-ally involving monsters, aliens or biotechnology bat-tled in sterile labs (sometimes doubling as torture chambers), with lots of military types bristling with hardware and jargon.

Kit Reed, a veteran of literary sci-fi who teaches at Wesleyan University, restores some skill and dig-nity to the genre by recombining both strains of DNA – the lofty and the cheesy.

An ex-Marine named Sargent Whitmore, scarred by three tours of combat in places like Iraq, seeks to atone for sins of war by establishing a place where children can be protected from technology, degen-erate culture, their own depravity, and a pending socio-eco-techno apocalypse. Retrofitting a remote mountaintop monastery off the coast of Greece, he collects 100 children from the world’s richest families, willing and able to pay astronomical sums to save and/or get rid of troubled progeny.

He cuts off all contact with the world and begins the open-ended task of turning the spoiled, over-privileged offspring into decent human beings by way of education, military-style routine, and calm-ing drugs slipped into their food. It’s kind of like Hogwarts – if Hogwarts were no fun at all.

To staff the facility, though, Sarge is able to attract mostly criminals, isolated as it is. Benedict, the lone remaining monk, now the gardener, keeps perilous secrets.

When a mysterious Christ-like young man appears, along with a plague and a computer virus, anarchy descends quickly.

While Sarge is the dominant figure, the story is propelled by a small number of characters, chief among them “Killer,” the rebellious computer geek; his best friend, Teddy, the prince; Sylvie, a Paris-Lindsay-Britney-style tabloid queen who discov-ers she’s actually pretty intelligent; Sheela, the fat, smart outcast yearning for acceptance; and Cassie, the physician assistant who is in love with Sarge.

Reed writes with a firm confidence, leading the narrative to surprising places, never allowing the reli-gious or philosophical implications to swamp the drama, yet never ignoring them, either. In the end, the heroes turn out to be the resourceful children (and an alcoholic doctor), suggesting an optimism for the future rare in dystopian sci-fi, satirical or otherwise.

The only flaw in this engaging novel is Reed’s decision to write many of the chapters as internal monologues. Maybe this is less of a flaw than an oddity, because much of the time the strategy lends literary heft to what could be a mere genre tale. But it also results in some unnecessary repetition. Sarge, for example, tells and retells his noble plan through-

out the book. We get it the first few times.Still, that’s a minor consideration in a novel that

does so much, so well. – By Chauncey Mabe

Don’t Look Twice is strong on character development, plotDon’t Look Twice0Andrew Gross0Morrow ($25.95)

Even before he had a word published by himself, Andrew Gross was a best-selling author as one of James Patterson’s co-writ-ers. Six novels, including The Women’s Murder Club series, put Gross’s work on many best-sellers lists.

But Gross isn’t in Patter-son’s shadow anymore. In his third solo novel, Gross continues to show that he is a thriller writer in his own right, though stylistically Don’t Look Twice is akin to Patterson’s work with clipped sentences, short chapters and ramped-up action.

Don’t Look Twice resonates with character development and a solid plot. Although the dia-logue occasionally dips to the level of cliche, Gross’s enthusiasm for his storytelling overrides this flaw.

Greenwich, Conn., police detective Ty Hauck’s quiet outing with his daughter is halted when they are victims of a drive-by shooting at a service station where they are buying groceries. Hauck is wounded, his daughter is all right physically, but David Sanger, a federal prosecutor, is killed. Ty’s investigation first cen-tres on just who was the intended victim: the cop, the prosecutor or the Pakistani who owned the business?

The investigation takes Ty through a maze that leads to a conspiracy, an area casino and a mem-ber of his own family. Corruption and greed ooze throughout the thrilling Don’t Look Twice.

Gross accelerates the action as he moves the story throughout Connecticut, including Hartford, as well as the Dominican Republic.

– By Oline H. Cogdill

Nuclear mysteryBones of Betrayal0Jefferson Bass0William Morrow ($24.99)

The history: In the early ‘40s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers created the town of Oak Ridge, Tenn., in service of the Manhattan Project. The project was so sensitive that most of the people working there didn’t know the purpose of their work until the first atomic

bomb was dropped. Of the physicists who were in the know, some had ethical qualms about the effort; others were communist sympathizers not to be trusted.

The mystery: Forensic anthropologist Bill Brock-ton, called upon to investigate the murder of a 90-year-old Oak Ridge physicist, has a gut feeling that the murder might be linked to the Manhattan Project. When the means of the gruesome death are determined, discovering who did it becomes a matter of extreme urgency.

Best for: Fans of the TV series Bones and CSI The verdict: The lead character is bland, but the

plot offers a couple of nice twists, and the historical element adds a thick layer of interest.

– By Cathy Frisinger

6 March  2009 1�FAMILY FOCUS

By Lini S. kadaba The Philadelphia Inquirer

PHILADeLPHIA –� John and Dawn McCormick have wit-nessed the raised eyebrows and heard the comments.

Are they all yours?God bless you.And even the occasional rude reproach: Are you

done yet?“People do judge us,” said Dawn McCormick, 42,

whose narrow house is brimful with eight children, the youngest 7-week-old Casey.

Now, large families like the McCormicks are under more scrutiny than ever because of attention focused on Nadya Suleman, the California single mother who gave birth to octuplets in January and has six other youngsters at home.

The sight of enough children to field a Little League team or two has captured society’s curios-ity and, in some corners, aroused its scorn. Blogs are ablaze with outrage – directed not just at Suleman (who has had death threats), but at all supersized households.

“I think it’s one of the last acceptable prejudices,” said Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a family counsellor and father of nine who founded the organization This World: The Values Network. “We always seem to gauge the sophistication of a family, and even of a culture, by the degree to which it controls its fertility.”

Big broods – definitions vary, but the fifth child

seems to be the tipping point – have always existed, of course. These days, however, they are uncommon – so rare that the U.S. Census no longer tracks fami-lies with six or more children. In 2007, about 2.1 million American families had four or more children younger than 18 – 2.7 percent of all families, accord-ing to the most recent census data.

At the turn of the century, kids provided extra hands to work farms; large numbers also assured

that at least some would survive to adulthood. Industrialization and advances in health care have contributed to the shrinking of the American family, whose size has dropped 26 percent since 1965. These days families average just fewer than two children. Those with five, six, eight, 12 or more, stand out as unusual, even bizarre.

The Suleman story has not helped that impression.“We have this cultural belief that two or three

kids is the right number,” said Lorin Arnold, interim

dean of the College of Communications at Rowan University, who studies large families. “Anyone who is outside that norm feels the need to justify their family size.”

Society looks most critically on those furthest from what’s typical, said Arnold, herself a mother of six. If a family is Catholic, “that’s a good excuse for why you would have so many children,” she said.

For others, religion is not the driver. Large fami-

lies just feel right – something couples experienced themselves as children or never experienced and therefore always wanted.

In an age when many parents want to provide every advantage to their children and hover end-lessly, large families often talk about a team spirit that gets them through the days.

“You laugh a lot,” said Bernadette Jablonoski, 46, who has eight children, ages 8 to 21, including 10-year-old twins who are the result of fertility treat-

ments. “We always thought, this is what God sent us, and he must think we can handle it.”

Eventually, she learned tricks. Each child has his or her own colour of towel so Mum knows who left theirs on the bathroom floor.

Four Jablonoskis are in college. “Our oldest said, ‘Where’s my college fund?’ I said, ‘You don’t have a college fund.’ In this house, we get you through high school, and college is on you.”

On a recent school holiday, Dawn McCormick, a compact woman with a serene smile but a firm hand who once dreamed of a career in law, turned down a persistent lunch request for grilled cheese and offered turkey or ham sandwiches. The older children made their own meal while Mum helped the younger ones.

“We’re more old school,” she said. “You help out.”For all the joys – no shortage of hugs and laugh-

ter, playmates and bustle – the McCormicks allow they have made trade-offs.

John McCormick, 43, a financial adviser, gave up practicing law at a Philadelphia firm so he could have more flexible and regular hours. His house – three bedrooms and 1.5 baths – is snug, and truth-fully, they can’t afford bigger digs now.

The family rule is that each child can play only one sport a season. Other extracurriculars, such as music lessons, are not pursued. The children don’t always get the latest gadget like their friends. Clothes are handed down; toys, too.

Still, the children have a Wii, and a dad who vol-unteers to coach each of them. “It’s really a choice,” he said. At the same time, “we try to teach them a lot of people have less.”

Griffin, the oldest at 11, said his siblings have pluses and minuses. “It’s good they all look up to me,” he said. “It’s bad sometimes when they’re annoy-ing.”

The McCormicks knew they wanted a big family but never planned on a set number. “They just came. We got a little momentum,” said John McCormick, who thinks “eight is great but eight is enough.”

“I can’t imagine ever being done,” said Dawn McCormick, as she cradled Casey and accepted kisses from Mikey, 2, who settled on her knee. “I love children. I love everything about it. ... Someone is always going to need you.”

Research on how children fare in mega house-holds is divided. Numerous scholars have made the argument that parents have a fixed amount of resources, whether financial or emotional, Rowan’s Arnold explained.

They think that “every time you add a child to the family, there’s a reduction in those resources,” she said. Other academics, however, argue that finances might be limited but emotional connections are not and that time spent as a group or with siblings offers benefits.

Kate and Ray Vandegrift have 11 children, with the 12th due in August. “We had them,” she said. “We didn’t think, ‘Could we afford you or not?’”

Kate Vandegrift, 43, said that “organization is the key.” She makes dinner when her older ones are at school and focuses on homework when they come home.

Arnold takes the middle road. Parents of many children often struggle with resources, but so do those with only one child, she said. For instance, those parents can feel compelled to arrange numer-ous extracurriculars or time with friends so the only child is well-adjusted socially.

Large families, however, often do not voice com-plaints, Arnold said, beyond pragmatic concerns over laundry (too much) and finding a big enough car (Chevy Suburbans are popular).

Partly, her research found, that’s a reaction to societal attitudes. “When you have eight children and say, ‘The kids are driving me nuts,’ people think maybe you shouldn’t have had eight,” she said.

But large families often seem to focus on the benefits not the burdens.

Kate Vandegrift said she cannot “imagine the house empty.”

What will she do when the children are all grown?

Her husband has his sights on travel.Not her. “I tell him we can’t,” Kate said. “We’ll have

grandchildren. My house will still be full.”

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6 March  2009 1�

WSD Global Markets and its Directors have pro-vided proof to show that claims of money launder-ing by what TGIF considered a sister company and police action against one of its directors have proved to be totally unfounded.

The claims and allegations surfaced last month in the TGIF Edition, and are totally refuted by WSD, its directors and WSBC Bank.

Since the articles appeared, there have been a number of discussions between TGIF and the WSD parties, following an application for an ex parte injunction from WSD Global Markets Ltd and Mr Robson against TGIF. In the affidavits filed in support of the court action and ensuing discussions, both parties have been able to clarify a number of matters that have led all sides to agreeably walk away from further legal action over the stories.

The information provided to TGIF has clarified any misconception and the integrity of WSD Global Markets and its directors, and that of WSBC Bank, remain wholly intact.

According to Mr Robson, the rumours that led to the article in the first place appear to have sur-faced as a result of unfounded allegations from a disgruntled former business associate seeking to extort funds from the plaintiffs.

Unfortunately, as a result of the rumours and the TGIF articles, WSD Global Markets found itself slan-dered in numerous blogs and other media, seemingly drawn into a smear campaign. A campaign, it now turns out, with no substantial grounds whatsoever.

“Even though TGIF/Investigate has withdrawn any allegations of wrongdoing on our part, Riaz Patel, WSD, WSBC and myself believe it is important to put our side of the story in response, in case any read-ers should still think there is some substance to the claims made in the articles,” says Mr Robson.

He goes on to say: “The simple fact of the matter is that there is no evidence whatsoever establish-ing that either WSD or WSBC has ever laundered money for any terrorist or criminal organisation.

“Neither company has ever been charged with any money laundering offence.”

Mr Robson explains that WSBC Bank in the Cook Islands is owned by a Trust to which Riaz Patel is not a beneficiary and hence has no owner-ship links. He is aware that WSBC operates with a distinctly separate management and board under CEO Kumud Mohanty and a separate ownership structure. Neither Riaz Patel nor anyone else at WSD is involved with the running of the WSBC businesses, which was wrongly described as a sister company of WSD.

WSBC Bank’s Mr Mohanty says a director of one of WSBC’s clients was implicated in money launder-ing with banks in the US and Europe, but this had absolutely nothing to do with WSBC.

“And with reference to the Indonesian bank scan-dal, far from being involved, WSBC helped uncover it in the first place,” Mr Mohanty adds.

Similarly, the allegations of involvement in money laundering in India by the House of Patels have no validity whatsoever, according to WSD Global Markets CEO Riaz Patel. All of the administra-tive queries and charges referred to in the articles regarding the police raid and onion shipment were resolved in favour of the House of Patels and all monetary penalties quashed.

According to Mr Patel: “The events that tran-spired in the so-called Australian affair also show that neither the company nor the directors were ever prosecuted in relation to the false returns as the offending was entirely that of the subordinate staff running the Australian office. And I want to stress that I have never been arrested or spent time in a police prison cell, either in India or Dubai or anywhere else in the world. That’s totally fictitious and my record is clean and clear of any blemish.”

Mr Patel was particularly shocked and upset by the attempts to besmirch the characters of direc-tors Matt Robson and Richard Worth. He says they were invited to sit on the Board of WSD because

RIGHT OF REPLY

WSD global markets integrity and reputation – intact

of the wealth of business, legal and governmental experience they were able to bring to their posi-tions. They have never sought to use their political connections for WSD’s benefit; the company has never asked them to as it is content to trade and grow on its own merits.

As Mr Patel points out, WSD Global Markets is now in its tenth year of business and holds accredi-tations and authorisations to do business in several countries, including the US, which obviously puts WSD under the very watchful eye of the FBI data-base for background checks and they are quick to act on any hint of wrongdoing. Mr. Patel says that he is regularly monitored and undergoes a back-ground/character check by the FBI database every two years as part of the conditions for holding onto the US authorizations and registrations.

“This leaves little room for speculation,” adds Mr Patel. “It is pretty obvious that close ties to any unlawful people or activities, as alleged by TGIF, would not go unnoticed.”

WSD undergoes a continuous process of scrutiny and has not only passed every single test but proven in times of global financial crisis to be a solid, secure bet for investors equally as for employees, says Mr Patel – WSD has increased its staff levels in New Zealand and at overseas branches, such as Thailand.

Mr Patel goes on to say: “While others may play hide-and-seek with ridiculous allegations, I prefer to make use of my time and energy constructively to lead WSD into growth and do my best to cre-ate employment, and value for shareholders and investment partners and I take an active part in tying the knot between the Orient and the West, as championed in this year’s ASEAN Summit. We are very confident about creating a minimum of 20-25 jobs in our financial services company in Auckland, NZ, between now and early part of next year if we are able to concentrate on our business and focus on our goals.”

Mr Patel has more than 22 years experience in the financial and securities services industry, particu-larly in futures, foreign exchange and commodity trading, gained in a range of positions in the US, UK and NZ. He comes from a wealthy and very influential Indian family that now has business bases in India, Dubai, Hong Kong, UK, and the US. His father Asgar Patel founded India’s larg-

est logistics company before diversifying into the world of finance, operating money transfer, foreign exchange and remittance services throughout the Gulf and becoming the first private sector organisa-tion to receive a full money changer’s licence from the Reserve Bank of India. In the 1980s, he founded Wall Street Finance Limited, a publicly listed company offering full financial services, including broking. The House of Patels’ finance arm has an investment grade credit rating from FITCH and an impeccable regulatory record. This has culmi-nated in the Reliance Group taking a large stake in the finance company through Reliance Capital in a much publicised deal in 2008.

The TGIF article implies that the House of Patels has shadowy origins and is attempting to achieve respectability by obtaining a listing of the New Zealand Stock Exchange. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Riaz Patel briefly worked for his father after graduating from the Florida State University sys-tem in the US with a Bachelor of Science in Business and an Associates of Arts in Business Administra-tion from Lynn University, Boca Raton, in the US, before branching out to gain more experience and has worked independently of his father for some time.

He has, however, inherited his father’s business skill, becoming Managing Director of Wall Street Exchange Centre (WSEC) in Dubai, one of the old-est and largest foreign exchange and money trans-mitter companies and regulated by the United Arab Emirates Central Bank. As a result of its success, the Abu Dhabi Government purchased a majority stake in WSEC in a highly publicised transaction. It is sufficient to say that the UAE Government is a partner with the Patels in that business, which oper-ates via Emirates Post, an equivalent to NZ Post in New Zealand. Riaz Patel was principally responsible for WSEC’s global exposure and recognition as a world-renowned financial services organisation.

Having achieved these accolades and milestones, Mr Patel and his family moved to New Zealand eight years ago after searching for a “neutral” interna-tional base with strong financial governance with the idea of first finding a home for he and his family and then establishing a new financial business in this country.

WSD was incorporated under the New Zealand

Companies Act 1993 on 10 August 1999 under the name Capital and Asset Management Limited (CAMI). It changed its name to Prizm Financial Limited on 27 August 2003 and then changed its name to WSD Financial (NZ) Limited on 6 October 2005. In anticipation of a listing on the NZAX the company changed its name to WSD Global Markets Limited on 16 October 2008 to better reflect the activities of the company globally.

WSD was initially authorised in 1999 by the New Zealand Securities Commission under the Securi-ties Markets Act 1988 and was also an authorised Introducing Broker with the New Zealand Futures & Options Exchange.

In October 2005, interests associated with Mr Patel purchased WSD and subsequently applied to NZX Limited for authorisation to become a full Futures and Options Participant, which was granted on 24 January 2006. WSD began its opera-tions as a full Futures and Options Participant on 1 February 2006 when it filed its first daily liquid-ity report with NZX. The listing of WSD Global Markets in New Zealand has absolutely nothing to do with the House of Patels and, in fact, it is the wealth of knowledge, experience and track record that is being brought to the NZ financial markets that has culminated into the proposed listing of the first financial services company on the NZX.

WSD Global Markets has now established itself as a global broker of investment products and, once listed, WSD Global Markets will be the only com-pany of its kind listed in New Zealand. WSD Global Markets acts as a broker of futures, options and other equity derivatives and as an intermediary in the world’s metals, energy and foreign exchange markets. The goal of WSD Global Markets is to expand its volume in listed derivatives by broad-ening its:

•range of exchange traded products; •clientele that seek these services and markets; and•by expanding WSD’s geographic presence via subsidiaries and relationships with introducing brokers worldwide.WSD is one of the fastest growing financial services

companies in New Zealand, offering clients across the globe exceptional, personalised services with the help of modern trading tools and state-of-the-art,

6 March  2009  1�RIGHT OF REPLY

user-friendly trading software. Clients range from introducing brokers, experienced individual inves-tors, institutional investors, fund managers and/or corporate institutions looking to safely and securely invest in Foreign Exchange, Precious Metals, Futures, Options, and Contracts for differences (CFDs).

It does not trade on its own account but rather provides a platform for its clients to do so. That plat-form, WSD Direct, is uniformly used by clients of both WSD and local and international operations. Although WSD is headquartered, registered and principally regulated in New Zealand, it also has operations in the following countries:

•United States of America•United Arab Emirates•Thailand•KenyaIn addition to consolidating its present opera-

tions, WSD intends in the medium to long term to establish relationships with further introducing brokers or branch operations in India, Singapore, the United Kingdom, South America, Indonesia, Russia and Korea. Expansion of WSD’s USA opera-tions through a further office in Miami is planned for 2010.

Matt Robson says: “We need entrepreneurs with strong commitment to New Zealand or they may end up leaving this country and taking their busi-ness and jobs elsewhere. Riaz was accorded his New Zealand citizenship through the stringent processes adopted here in 2005 and since then he has pledged himself to grow his business and create jobs for peo-ple in New Zealand.

“This is the type of entrepreneurial spirit and commitment we need more of from talented people who are looking at New Zealand as a place to stay and do business. I once asked Riaz how often he travels to India for holidays and he said ‘never, in fact I hardly ever go to India unless I am in transit on one of my business trips’. When queried why, he said ‘I consider NZ home and I don’t believe that I have to go back to India for holidays. I spend my holidays in NZ and love it here. Good or bad I am here to stay for good’.

Mr Patel describes what drew him to New Zea-land, saying: “I first started coming to New Zea-land in 1999 and was impressed by the sense of fairness, strong ethics and corporate governance and decided that it would make an excellent base for a home for me and my family coupled with an inter-national financial services business that I wanted to develop.”

“I am a strong believer in robust business regula-tions, and in corporate governance with transpar-ency, accountability and responsibility, which is something I view as a cornerstone for WSD.

“As we see it at WSD it is our moral obligation to act with the highest integrity and honesty, especially in the harsh times we are experiencing. This is why, here at WSD, we do not leave anything to chance, all our actions must speak a clear language of integrity, sincerity and character.

“Leading a company as successful as WSD comes with a great responsibility – this is not a matter of money and the desire for profit alone. WSD has become a family to its employees who work extremely hard to achieve the best possible result for clients and support each other across interna-tional borders. One of my employees in Bangkok put it nicely when he said recently that we all work towards a common goal to create growth and pros-perity for our loved ones, and for those to come. Carrying such a responsibility, it is unthinkable that any of the alleged accusations that surfaced recently would even be taken seriously, let alone be spread far and wide.

“The simple fact of the matter is that there is no evidence whatsoever establishing that either WSD or WSBC has ever laundered money for any terrorist or criminal organisation. Neither company has ever been charged with any money laundering offence and I have absolutely no idea what the basis is for such allegations – they are a complete fantasy and I am appalled as I personally, strongly condemn any such activity in any business.”

So where did this situation that allowed these rumours to fester have its origins?

Mr Robson says it appears that the allegations

that WSBC has been involved in money laundering is based on nothing more than the issue of the letters of credit in the normal course of business and “if that was sufficient to implicate a bank, all banks that issue letters of credits would be so implicated”.

He goes on to state that WSD is not in the busi-ness of issuing letters of credit through WSBC or any other bank. All of the letters of credit referred to in the articles in TGIF were issued by WSBC. Part of WSBC’s trade finance division has been outsourced to WSD Financial Group Limited, a separate company to WSD. The article implied that WSD itself was involved with the letters of credit (LCs), which, Mr Robson says, is simply wrong. This is backed by WSD Financial Group Ltd’s own internal audit checks, which reveal that LCs have been issued by WSBC Bank with assistance on credit checks and other matters performed by WSD Financial Group.

Turning to the specific allegations of letters of credit in the articles, the articles implied that WSBC knowingly issued and backdated three fraudulent LCs which had face values exceeding the value of the goods in question. In fact, records show that:

•WSBC's issue of those LCs was at all times in accordance with normal commercial and bank-ing practices.•No impropriety on the part of WSBC has ever been identified by any regulatory body.•WSBC was not a party to any wrongdoing that might have resulted by virtue of those ship-ments.•The face value of the LCs and the actual value of the shipments was not a matter for WSBC.•WSBC did not backdate LCs to avoid trade restrictions. If the LCs were caught by such temporary restrictions, WSBC had no reason to be aware of them.•No Cook Islands or other regulator has indi-cated WSBC was involved in any impropriety regarding these transactions.In addition, the articles made much of an alleged

connection between one ‘Naresh Jain Kumar’ and WSBC. Mr Kumar is a co-owner of Kumar Trading Company LLC, a company that had been a customer of WSBC since 2001, exclusively for trade finance involving LCs only. The last two LCs were issued in June 2006. Mr Kumar was never personally a client of WSBC. WSBC has never done any business with Mr Kumar himself and, since being alerted to his undesirable connections on 26 November 2007, had immediately ceased business dealings with Kumar Trading Company – those early LCs being the last connection WSBC has had with him. WSBC has not seen any evidence linking the trade finance serv-ices provided by it to Kumar Trading Company, with the money laundering Mr Kumar was said to have conducted with other companies and banks in Europe and the US.

Mr Robson says, and TGIF agrees, that there is no evidence that WSBC Bank, WSD, its affili-ates or Mr Patel were aware of, knowing parties to, or implicated in, money laundering or any other financial impropriety.

Therefore individuals and businesses who deal with them can have confidence in doing so. Readers of the articles who drew conclusions to that effect should now put their minds at rest. Far from being implicated in dodgy dealings, WSD and Riaz Patel are the New Zealand offshoot of an international conglomerate that has been doing business throughout the globe successfully for over 50 years and has a sound reputa-tion in its home markets and global markets.

With its good name cleared and reputation restored, WSD intends to pursue its listing on the NZX in the near future. And the company has a milestone to celebrate, with the tenth anniversary of WSD coming up.

Mr Patel says: “We will be celebrating this event with our associates worldwide, putting our multi-national ties and website to good use.

“We have recently launched the European ver-sion of our web presentation and our mobile website just in time for our clients as well as our members to be able to take part in all activities and while we look forward to an optimistic outlook. In spite of the difficult financial situation around the globe we have been able to maintain growth and not only

maintain, but increase our workforce so I believe we do have all reason to be proud of ourselves.

“The concept behind WSD has proven to be solid and our outlook is very good.”

WSD’s confidence is based on its ability to pro-vide a range of financial services that it believes are still very much in demand, even in these tough times, including:

•On-line Trading and Account Management: WSD Direct

WSD Direct is a state-of-the-art dealing and order management system which allows WSD clients to access global markets in real time. The system is a comprehensive internet based trading platform that provides real time charting and also allows clients to manage their portfolio from anywhere in the world. The Client Trader Terminal provides its clients with a real time profit and loss position as well as email-ing daily and monthly statements. WSD Direct’s Client Trader Terminal also allows clients to view all of their trading history and open positions on line 24 hours a day. All trades are executed in real time and every single transaction goes straight to WSD’s sophisticated back-office system, which generates daily and monthly account statements.

A demonstration download of the WSD Direct programme is available on the internet from www.

wsddirect.com.

MARkeT ReSeARCH WSD customers have access to free market research reports based solely on public information and sources believed to be reliable. Neither the infor-mation nor any opinion expressed in the reports constitutes investment advice to clients to buy and sell any securities or any options, futures or other derivative products.

INTRODUCING BROkeRSWSD has agreements in place with introducing brokers both in New Zealand and internationally who introduce their clients to WSD and then utilise WSD’s products and services, in particular, WSD Direct. For introducing brokers, commodity pool operators, commodity trade advisors, money man-agers and financial advisors acting on behalf of their clients, a relationship with WSD brings with it the benefits expected from working with a pres-tigious company in the derivatives markets includ-ing aggressive commission structures, marketing and client support. WSD offers a complete trading platform and flexible service and pricing options. For regulated financial institutions or individuals serving clients (trading on their behalf through Power of Attorney), WSD helps simplify and elevate the quality of trading, account management and service.

WHITe LABeL PARTNeRSHIP PROGRAMMeSWhite Label Partners can offer the extensive capabilities of WSD’s trading platform under their own brand to their clients, including a selection of WSD’s on-line product range including FX, CFDs and futures. The platform is linked back into WSD’s sophisticated back-office system and managed by

WSD. Partners can review all client account activ-ity and access other powerful management func-tions in real time. Clients also benefit from real time reporting and account summaries that the trading platform offers. A WSD White Label is a tool that will is intended to be exploited globally as a profit producing element in WSD’s business plan and a driver of future growth.

WSD has recently established a white label part-nership with an ASIC regulated company based in Melbourne, Australia. WSD is currently in discus-sions with brokerage houses and banks based in Indonesia and Kenya for similar strategic partner-ships.

PORTfOLIO MANAGeMeNT SeRvICeSA sizeable amount of capital globally is being directed towards Islamic portfolio management that adhere to the principles of Shariah (Islamic law as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah) and many investment banks globally are advocating that its investors direct their funds into Sharia compliant products. WSD plans to be a broker and a custodian to banks and institutions offering such products. An exponential growth in the futures and option markets is predicted, and WSD is believed to be in a prime position to capitalise on such growth.

WSD’S CURReNT INTeRNATIONAL OPeRATIONSWSD is headquartered, registered and principally regulated in New Zealand but also has operations in the following countries:

United States of America: Through its wholly owned subsidiary WSD Financial (USA) Inc. (for-merly called Wall Street Derivatives Inc.) WSD is a registered non-clearing Futures Commission Merchant that is licensed and regulated by the National Futures Association and the Commodity and Futures Commission. WSD intends to grow this business in the USA commodities market and spot foreign exchange broking. WSD’s office is located in Los Angeles and recently a branch office has been opened in Omaha, Nebraska

United Arab emirates: WSD has a branch operation in the United Arab Emirates and is a full clearing member of the Dubai Gold and Com-modity Exchange. WSD has an office located in Dubai.

Thailand: WSD has a branch operation in Thai-land and is registered there as a derivatives dealer and has an office located in Bangkok.

WSD also has contractual relationships with introducing brokers in the following countries who introduce their clients to WSD’s trading platform:

kenya: With the introducing broker WSD Capi-tal (Kenya) Ltd has offices in Nairobi and Mombasa and has access to a registered investment advisor with the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) in Kenya.

South Africa: With the introducing broker WSD Financial Advisory Services SA (Proprietary) Ltd who has an office in Johannesburg and has obtained interim approval from the South African Finan-cial Services Board to be an investment advisor for derivative products.

6 March  2009 �0

Mollies Invites You to a Distinctive Dining ExperienceNestled in St Mary's Bay, the “Dining Room” at Mollies is now open to the public for a relaxed, gourmet dining experience. With elegant cuisine and a selection of the finest wines, the a la carte and degustation menus feature the best of local produce, prepared by Mollies talented and creative young team of Kiwi chefs.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner are available and reservations are recommended.

6 Tweed St, St Mary’s Bay, Auckland Phone: (09) 376 3489 Email: reservations@mollies.co.nz www.mollies.co.nz

NZ CLASSIC

A discouraging confessionAcclaimed science fiction writer Jules Verne didn’t just write Around the World in 80 Days, he also wrote an epic about New Zealand and Australia called In Search of the Castaways, pub-lished in 1867. If you missed the previous instalment of this serial, you can download it here.As soon as the quartermaster was brought into the presence of Lord Glenarvan, his keepers withdrew.

“You wanted to speak to me, Ayrton?” said Glenarvan.“Yes, my Lord,” replied the quartermaster.“Did you wish for a private interview?”“Yes, but I think if Major McNabbs and Mr. Paganel were present

it would be better.”“For whom?”“For myself.”Ayrton spoke quite calmly and firmly. Glenarvan looked at him

for an instant, and then sent to summon McNabbs and Paganel, who came at once.

“We are all ready to listen to you,” said Glenarvan, when his two friends had taken their place at the saloon table.

Ayrton collected himself, for an instant, and then said:“My Lord, it is usual for witnesses to be present at every contract

or transaction between two parties. That is why I desire the presence of Messrs. Paganel and McNabbs, for it is, properly speaking, a bargain which I propose to make.”

Glenarvan, accustomed to Ayrton’s ways, exhibited no surprise, though any bargaining between this man and himself seemed strange.

“What is the bargain?” he said.“This,” replied Ayrton. “You wish to obtain from me certain facts

which may be useful to you. I wish to obtain from you certain advan-tages which would be valuable to me. It is giving for giving, my Lord. Do you agree to this or not?”

“What are the facts?” asked Paganel eagerly.“No,” said Glenarvan. “What are the advantages?”Ayrton bowed in token that he understood Glenarvan’s distinction.“These,” he said, “are the advantages I ask. It is still your intention,

I suppose, to deliver me up to the English authorities?”“Yes, Ayrton, it is only justice.”“I don’t say it is not,” replied the quartermaster quietly. “Then of

course you would never consent to set me at liberty.”Glenarvan hesitated before replying to a question so plainly put. On

the answer he gave, perhaps the fate of Harry Grant might depend!However, a feeling of duty toward human justice compelled him to say:“No, Ayrton, I cannot set you at liberty.”“I do not ask it,” said the quartermaster proudly.“Then, what is it you want?”“A middle place, my Lord, between the gibbet that awaits me and

the liberty which you cannot grant me.”“And that is –”“To allow me to be left on one of the uninhabited islands of the

Pacific, with such things as are absolute necessaries. I will manage as best I can, and will repent if I have time.”

Glenarvan, quite unprepared for such a proposal, looked at his two friends in silence. But after a brief reflection, he replied:

“Ayrton, if I agree to your request, you will tell me all I have an interest in knowing.”

“Yes, my Lord, that is to say, all I know about Captain Grant and the Britannia.”

“The whole truth?”“The whole.”“But what guarantee have I?”“Oh, I see what you are uneasy about. You need a guarantee for

me, for the truth of a criminal. That’s natural. But what can you have under the circumstances. There is no help for it, you must either take my offer or leave it.”

“I will trust to you, Ayrton,” said Glenarvan, simply.“And you do right, my Lord. Besides, if I deceive you, vengeance is

in your own power.”“How?”“You can come and take me again from where you left me, as I shall

have no means of getting away from the island.”Ayrton had an answer for everything. He anticipated the difficul-

ties and furnished unanswerable arguments against himself. It was evident he intended to affect perfect good faith in the business. It was impossible to show more complete confidence. And yet he was prepared to go still further in disinterestedness.

“My Lord and gentlemen,” he added, “I wish to convince you of the fact that I am playing cards on the table. I have no wish to deceive you, and I am going to give you a fresh proof of my sincerity in this matter. I deal frankly with you, because I reckon on your honour.”

“Speak, Ayrton,” said Glenarvan.“My Lord, I have not your promise yet to accede to my proposal,

and yet I do not scruple to tell you that I know very little about Harry Grant.”

“Very little,” exclaimed Glenarvan.“Yes, my Lord, the details I am in a position to give you relate to

myself. They are entirely personal, and will not do much to help you to recover the lost traces of Captain Grant.”

Keen disappointment was depicted on the faces of Glenarvan and the Major. They thought the quartermaster in the possession of an important secret, and he declared that his communications would be very nearly barren. Paganel’s countenance remained unmoved.

Somehow or other, this avowal of Ayrton, and surrender of himself, so to speak, unconditionally, singularly touched his auditors, especially when the quartermaster added:

“So I tell you beforehand, the bargain will be more to my profit than yours.”

“It does not signify,” replied Glenarvan. “I accept your proposal, Ayrton. I give you my word to land you on one of the islands of the Pacific Ocean.”

“All right, my Lord,” replied the quartermaster.Was this strange man glad of this decision? One might have doubted

it, for his impassive countenance betokened no emotion whatever. It seemed as if he were acting for someone else rather than himself.

“I am ready to answer,” he said.“We have no questions to put to you,” said Glenarvan. “Tell us all

you know, Ayrton, and begin by declaring who you are.”“Gentlemen,” replied Ayrton, “I am really Tom Ayrton, the quar-

termaster of the Britannia. I left Glasgow on Harry Grant’s ship on the 12th of March, 1861. For fourteen months I cruised with him in the Pacific in search of an advantageous spot for founding a Scotch colony. Harry Grant was the man to carry out grand projects, but serious disputes often arose between us. His temper and mine could not agree. I cannot bend, and with Harry Grant, when once his reso-lution is taken, any resistance is impossible, my Lord. He has an iron will both for himself and others.

“But in spite of that, I dared to rebel, and I tried to get the crew to join me, and to take possession of the vessel. Whether I was to blame or not is of no consequence. Be that as it may, Harry Grant had no scruples, and on the 8th of April, 1862, he left me behind on the west coast of Australia.”

“Of Australia!” said the Major, interrupting Ayrton in his nar-rative. “Then of course you had quitted the Britannia before she touched at Callao, which was her last date?”

“Yes,” replied the quartermas-ter, “for the Britannia did not touch there while I was on board. And how I came to speak of Cal-lao at Paddy O’Moore’s farm was that I learned the circumstances from your recital.”

“Go on, Ayrton,” said Glena-rvan.

“I found myself abandoned on a nearly desert coast, but only forty miles from the penal settlement at Perth, the capital of Western Aus-tralia. As I was wandering there along the shore, I met a band of convicts who had just escaped, and I joined myself to them. You will dispense, my Lord, with any account of my life for two years and a half. This much, however, I must tell you, that I became the leader of the gang, under the name of Ben Joyce. In September, 1864, I introduced myself at the Irish farm, where I engaged myself as a servant in my real name, Ayrton. I waited there till I should get some chance of seizing a ship. This was my one idea. Two months after-ward the Duncan arrived.

“During your visit to the farm you related Captain Grant’s his-tory, and I learned then facts of which I was not previously aware

– that the Britannia had touched at Callao, and that her latest news was dated June, 1862, two months after my disembarkation, and also about the document and the loss of the ship somewhere along the 37th parallel; and, lastly, the strong reasons you had for supposing Harry Grant was on the Australian continent. Without the least hesitation I determined to appropriate the Duncan, a matchless vessel, able to outdistance the swiftest ships in the British Navy. But serious injuries had to be repaired. I therefore let it go to Melbourne, and joined myself to you in my true character as quartermaster, offering to guide you to the scene of the shipwreck, fictitiously placed by me on the east coast of Australia.

“It was in this way, followed or sometimes preceded by my gang of convicts, I directed your expedition toward the province of Victoria. My men committed a bootless crime at Camden Bridge; since the Duncan, if brought to the coast, could not escape me, and with the yacht once mine, I was master of the ocean. I led you in this way unsuspectingly as far as the Snowy River. The horses and bullocks dropped dead one by one, poisoned by the gastrolobium. I dragged the wagon into the marshes, where it got half buried. At my instance--but you know the rest, my Lord, and you may be sure that but for the blunder of Mr. Paganel, I should now command the Duncan. Such is my history, gentlemen. My disclosures, unfortunately, cannot put you on the track of Harry Grant, and you perceive that you have made but a poor bargain by coming to my terms.”

The quartermaster said no more, but crossed his arms in his usual fashion and waited. Glenarvan and his friends kept silence. They felt that this strange criminal had spoken the whole truth. He had only missed his coveted prize, the Duncan, through a cause independent of his will. His accomplices had gone to Twofold Bay, as was proved by the convict blouse found by Glenarvan. Faithful to the orders of their chief, they had kept watch on the yacht, and at length, weary of waiting, had returned to the old haunt of robbers and incendiaries in the country parts of New South Wales.

The Major put the first question, his object being to verify the dates of the Britannia.