Airline offers 100,000 free tickets to Thailand

Southeast Asia's leading budget airline said Tuesday it will give away 100,000 plane tickets as part of a regional marketing campaign to woo tourists to Thailand after that nation's political turmoil.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia —

Southeast Asia's leading budget airline said Tuesday it will give away 100,000 plane tickets as part of a regional marketing campaign to woo tourists to Thailand after that nation's political turmoil.

AirAsia said it was working with Thailand's Tourism Authority to send the message "it is now safe to travel back to the Land of Smiles." The Thai tourist business has slumped because of months of anti-government protests that ended last month with the removal of the prime minister.

The airline said the free tickets would be good for travel to the Thai capital of Bangkok from Vietnam, Cambodia, Myammar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and China as well as for flights within Thailand.

Tickets can be obtained only through AirAsia's Web site from Wednesday through Friday and will be good for travel between Jan. 6 and March 31. Passengers will have to pay airport taxes and an administration fee.

"We hope that this campaign will instill the confidence among travelers and also help to boost tourism, which is vital at this juncture," Group Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said in a statement.

AirAsia operates more than 400 international weekly flights that connect Thailand to the rest of Southeast Asia and China. Within Thailand, its affiliate, Thai AirAsia, operates 378 flights weekly

Bridging the digital divide

By YAM PHUI YEE

Youngsters from Asean countries bond and discover fun ways to communicate with their peers at the Asean Cyberkids Camp.

SHY and soft spoken, Soulisak Sisombounh’s demeanour changed once he was seated front of the laptop and started the photo editing programme.

The 12-year-old from Vientiene, Laos, showed his Malaysian friend Yohan Philip, 12, a photo he had added wacky effects to, and the two boys broke into laughter.

Laotian Soulisak Sisimbounh (left) showing his Malaysian friend Yohan Philip a wacky photo he edited using a software taught at the Asean Cyberkids Camp.

The five-day inaugural Asean Cyberkids Camp (ACC) held recently in Subang Jaya, Selangor, opened up opportunities for children like Soulisak to communicate with the world using ICT tools.

In one of the sessions, the 120 participating students and teachers from Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia were asked to collect information and photos from the Internet for a presentation about their country.

“I have never used the Internet before because we don’t have it in our school. While looking for information on Laos, I was so happy to see so much about my country on the Internet,” said Soulisak through a translator.

The ACC was jointly organised by the Energy, Water and Communications Ministry (KTAK), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM), and Maxis Communications Bhd, to bridge the digital divide.

The camp’s structure is an extension of Maxis Cyberkids Camp that has trained more than 7,000 Malaysian school children from over 1,300 schools in basic ICT and Internet skills since 2002.

Other than learning about gadgets and technologies, Ye Yint from Myanmar (second from right) also learned about the culture of her friends from other Asean countries.

In August this year, the Malaysian initiative was endorsed by ministers at the 8th Asean Telecommunications and IT Ministers Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, as a key activity to promote regional integration and co-operation.

“By opening their eyes to new possibilities, we hope they will be ambassadors who will generate awareness among their peers when they return to their respective countries,” said Energy, Water and Communications Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Halim Man.

Although some of the participants had prior knowledge of the Internet, it was used mostly for e-mailing, chatting, downloading music, gaming and searching for information.

At ACC, the children were exposed to more ways of communicating and sharing information. Using ICT tools became a fun thing to do.

“I learned new things like MMS, blog, Mgreet and Morphing. “We can have our face matched to a celebrity’s face with Morphing,” said an excited Nur Ainina Basyirah Mahadi, 14, from Negri Sembilan.

With the Internet, the world becomes smaller and connected for these children living in different countries.

The camp became a starting point for participants to share stories about themselves and their countries.

“I’m blogging for the first time. I wrote about the famous places in Myanmar, our traditional food, culture and songs. I’ve learned a lot of other cultures as well and I want to tell my friends back home,” said 12-year-old Ye Yint from Yangon, Myanmar.

Participants of the Asean Cyberkids Camp having a splashing time feeding the fish at KLCC Aquaria during their week-long stay in Malaysia.

Other than fiddling with their gadgets, the children also played games, took part in a Treasure Hunt that made use of their newly acquired skills, and visited Petrosains and Aquaria in Kuala Lumpur.

Friendships were forged and the students shared meals with their new friends, learned each other’s languages and dances, and promised to stay in touch.

“We’ll keep each other updated about our lives when we go home. The camp has made the relationship among the Asean countries closer,” says Nurkhadijah Adib, 12, from Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

The students also learned to work in teams for their presentation. The skills they gained from ACC will hopefully benefit them and their communities in the future.

“I’ll be helping out in my school’s project to teach parents how to use the computer while they wait to pick up their children. Now, I can also do presentations in my church and edit photos to make them funny and catch people’s attention,” said Yohan Philip from Perak.

As the campers said their goodbyes towards the end of the camp, Soulisak couldn’t wait to show his Laotian friends how to edit photographs. “If I have the chance to use the Internet, I will make use of the knowledge that I gained at this camp,” he said.

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April Sinclair's Blog

Proposition 8!

by April Sinclair

November 22, 2008, 9:52 pm

I can't think of another issue that has pulled me in different directions like Proposition 8. Let me be clear. I voted against Proposition 8 without hesitation. Some of my friends seem to live in a rock solid, No on 8, pro same sex marriage world. These friends also have the tendency to be white. I have other friends who say things like, "The kids(gays and lesbians) just won't let this one go, will they?" These friends, although gay also tend to be black. I don't even broach the subject with straight, black friends. I want to be spared from hearing their outrage over gay and lesbian rights being called a civil rights issue. However, these friends are not nearly as anti same sex marriage as some of my relatives. I've had a couple of preliminary discussions before the out and out heated debate possibly awaiting me when I visit during the holidays.

"I've never announced my sexuality,"my mother stated in a phone conversation today. "Duh, maybe that's because you're heterosexual." I answered.

I can't believe that I can be loved and love people who are so apart on this issue. I have a lesbian friend who doesn't condemn a man for snatching a cross from an elderly woman's hand and stomping on it. And a close relative who reminds me that homosexuality is an abomination. Is there no common ground?

I celebrated the marriage of two women friends, standing with them in San Francisco's City Hall this summer with their two beautiful, adopted children. They are a loving, committed couple and fantastic parents. I was proud to witness their love and family being validated in a legally recognized ceremony.

So, why do I struggle to find common ground with family members who find it easier to accept a system that allows a person to marry an axe murderer than a loving partner of the same sex? And, conversely, why do I find myself asking why the No on 8 crowd has to insist on using the word, "marriage?" There are no easy answers. I know that the religious people in my life will not budge. They live in a world of right and wrong and God's laws. Happiness and pleasure are considered trivial by comparison. I will never agree with their views and yet we can still love each other and celebrate Christmas.

Girl Kissing

by April Sinclair

August 18, 2008, 1:31 am

My friend, Paula and I giggled like school girls as we huddled over little plates of dim sum goodies. We were celebrating another of my forty plus birthdays in a large, sunny, crowded restaurant in Oakland's Chinatown. Women in white uniforms pushed metal carts topped with steaming morsels through the narrow aisles.

During our conversation thus far, Paula had casually thrown in an unfamiliar expression, "girl kissing." I'd always prided myself on being the hipper of the two of us. Now, I felt a little awkward, because after nearly three decades, our friendship had suddenly taken a surprising turn. Paula appeared to be the one on the cutting edge; despite her grey, suburban hair cut, while I seemed out of the loop, contrary to my burgundy tinted hair. I cringed at the thought that I was no longer "way past cool," now that I was intimately acquainted with hot flashes and night sweats. Couldn't I be both menopausal and "up on the down stroke?"

"So, tell me about this girl kissing." I asked casually.

"OK. I heard about it from my daughter." Paula confided as a waitress parked her cart alongside our table and I searched for something green.

"They're 'girl kissin' at Berkeley High?" I whispered.

"I don't know how widespread it is. And, I don't know if they're actually doing it in the school." Paula smiled politely at the waitress served us little bowls of spinach.

"So, is it just girls kissing each other?" I asked, as the cart rolled away.
"Yeah and they call it girl kissing."

"Has Hannah done it?"
Paula shook her head.

"Of course, she probably wouldn't tell you."

"I really don't think Hannah's into it."

I sipped my tea. "Does Hannah, have a boyfriend...yet?"

"She was just telling me that some girls are doing it, not her."

"So, she doesn't have a boyfriend. Well, at least you don't have to worry about her getting pregnant or catching something like some mothers of sixteen year-olds have to.."

"Hannah's just focused on her studies and theater. And, that's just fine with me." Paula insisted between tight lips. "She got a part in The Vagina Monologues ."

"The Vagina Monologues. Berkeley High is really progressive. Feminism is alive and well there."

"I don't think that girl kissing is connected to feminism." Paula continued. "I suspect that some of them are just doing it to impress their boyfriends or because they think it's cool or tight or rad or whatever the hell they say these days."

Paula sipped her tea. "Regardless, it's not like Hannah couldn't confide in me." She continued. "I girl kissed and more before I got married."

"Yeah, but Hannah doesn't really know about your checkered past."

"No, but she knows that I was a feminist and that I accept Auntie Liz and Auntie Kate's relationship." Paula pointed out. "My kids have always had friends or classmates with two moms or gay dads. Come on, they've lived their whole lives in Berkeley."

"I hear you." I nodded. "There's really nothing new under the sun." I sipped my tea. "I kissed a blonde, hippie chick a few times back when I was in college. But we didn't call it girl kissing." I sighed. "I didn't call it anything, ‘cept nobody's business and a really nice weed connection."

Paula and I exchanged smiles. The hippie chick's name was Mariah. She came to my door, drawn to the sounds of Marvin Gaye coming from inside my dorm room. Mariah introduced herself and offered me a joint. And, we became buds.

One time after we smoked a joint, Mariah leaned over and started kissing me. I didn't fight off her soft lips or her pot flavored tongue. I just went with the flow. Mariah and I weren't in love. We were just two cute, 70's chicks who got down, but not all the way down.

I remembered sitting at the "black table" in my dorm's dining room with the sistas and brothas and "talking black," even though I'd just "kissed white." Not to mention that it was a girl! But, that was a whole ‘nother topic.

Black folks used to criticize militants for "talking black" and "sleeping white". I hadn't slept white. I had only kissed white. And, I wasn't exactly a militant, but I wore an afro and was an active member of the Black Student Union. So, I felt conflicted.

I sighed and looked at Paula now. "Your daughter would have to become a Republican in order to rebel." I chuckled. I bit into a sesame-seed-covered ball filled with sweet paste.

"Or a fashion model." Paula frowned. "Hannah fusses about her appearance all the time."

Paula shook her head. "I used to dress like a hippie and I end up with a girly girl," Paula lamented. "How did that happen?"

I shrugged. "It just be's that way sometime."

"Huh?"

"You never heard that expression before?"

Paula shook her head.

"Don't you remember Nina Simone singing it?" I asked incredulously.

"Not really."

Even though I got hot flashes, I was still kewel.

EXTREME WEIGT LOSS

The Complete Lifestyle Change Program is for ultra beginners. It is for people who need to lose 45-200 pounds and who also may have physical limitations or minor injuries. It is an all-encompassing program that not only functions as a weight loss getaway, but also as a step towards wellness for those individuals stuck in unhealthy lifestyle and eating patterns. This program strives to help people break free of their fear of or dependance on food and gets them to feel confident and in control when it comes to food choices and exercise.

The difference between this program and the Extreme Weight Loss Program is that it focuses on behavior and lifestyle changes. We recommend longer stays for this program because the longer you stay with us, the more ingrained your new behaviors and attitudes will become in your new body! Packages for this program start at eight weeks.

COMPLETE LIFE STYLE CHANGE

Welcome, and thank you for inquiring about our program! You must be ready to take that first step toward getting healthy, and staying healthy. We are excited to become a part of your lives!

We can help you achieve amazing results, and because we are a lifestyle changing program, we'll help you keep the momentum going once you leave us... you're going to lose the weight, keep it off, and change your life forever! It will take hard work but you can do it. Our fitness family will show you how.
Results| We take you out of your destructive environment and into a healthy one!
Here's a general overview of what you can expect once you sign up for our weight loss camp and join our family:

This is a fitness retreat with the emphasis on fitness! This is not a spa! They have their place, but we must insist that we are not that. We get results and we, as the experts, will push you at your own level, whether it is boot camp or one of our weight loss programs. As the experts, we guide you in what is best for you and your success.
We have different levels and a wide variety of ages at our fitness retreat

We personalize the Live in program to you and your individual needs so you can achieve your maximum results. No matter if you are between our weight loss camps or boot camp at Camp Technique, we train you at your level.

Our Fat farm or fit farm is tailored to each individual client so we won't be able to determine your exact diet and caloric intake until we meet with you. Sometimes we also lower the level or weight loss program or, with your acceptance, increase your level into the boot camp program.

You'll be staying in a wonderful and spacious one-bedroom luxury apartment complete with pool, Jacuzzi, saunas, high speed internet and the premium television packages (not that you will be watching that much television since you'll be putting the couch potato lifestyle behind you). All of this in beautiful Marina Del Rey, walking distance from our facilities, the beach, movie theaters, and shopping. Two bedrooms are available, at an additional fee, for families and people who like more room.When we have our first meeting upon your arrival, we'll do a body fat test, take your weight and measurements, and determine your goal weight and your goal body fat. We'll also ask you a series of questions designed to ascertain your current athletic abilities.

What athletic level you strive to attain in the future (a walker looking to walk a 10 k will train differently than someone hoping to run a marathon one day; a person hoping to become a casual jogger would train differently from a person hoping to become only a casual weight-lifter). We'll then use this information to calculate how many calories your body needs and, taking into consideration your physical output, determine a personalized workout regimen that will get you to your goal. It is exactly for this reason, since our Fat farm or fit farm is tailored to each individual client, that we won't be able to determine your exact diet and caloric intake until we meet with you. Sometimes we also lower the level or weight loss program or with your acceptance put you into the boot camp program.

After this initial diagnostic interview, you'll get started on our boot camp or live-in program right away!! You'll be working out 5-7 hours per day at your level . The exercise will consist of one-on-one personal training sessions, outdoor fitness classes (boot camp), hikes, bike rides, swimming, kayaking, and other outdoor activities like the Manhattan Beach dunes and the world famous Santa Monica stairs. Don't like to swim? Not a fan of hiking? Got bad knees and can't climb stairs? Don't worry! Remember, your fitness program will be designed to suit your individual goals and needs. Plus, all of these activities are led by our highly qualified team of personal trainers, all of whom are excited to assist and motivate you in whatever way necessary to get you going, and more importantly, keep you going.