--Zimbabwean dollar--

The Zimbabwean dollar ($, or Z$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies) was the official currency of Zimbabwe between 1980 and 12 April 2009. ~ Although the dollar was considered to be among the highest valued currency units when it was first introduced in 1980 to replace the Rhodesian dollar at a ratio of 1:1, political turmoil and hyperinflation rapidly eroded the value of the Zimbabwe dollar to eventually become one of the least valued currency units in the world, undergoing three redenominations, and banknote denominations being issued for as high as $100 trillion.
^~
Despite attempts to control inflation by legislation and three separate redenominations in 2006, 2008 and 2009, the use of the dollar as an official currency was effectively abandoned on 12 April 2009 as a result of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe legalising the use of foreign currencies for transactions in January 2009.
^~
Foreign currencies such as the South African Rand, Botswana Pula, Pound Sterling and the United States Dollar are now used instead for all transactions in Zimbabwe, and the current policy of the government of Zimbabwe has insisted that any attempts to reintroduce Zimbabwean currency should only be considered if the industrial output improves.
^~
~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwean_dollar
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~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwe
~
~http://www.cato.org/zimbabwe
~
~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Zimbabwe.svg
~
~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Zimbabwe.svg

--kjeldsens butter cookies 1933~2011--

The Kelsen Group began life in 1933 as a small family bakery in the heart of Jutland, Denmark.

Over the last couples of years the Kelsen Group has experienced a strong growth. Today the group consists of two modern bakeries in Denmark with a total of 12 production lines plus subsidiaries in the USA and Hong Kong.

We are 400 employees and we manage to bake some 25.000 tons of cookies every year.

We export our cookies to more than 110 countries around the world. We are market leaders within the premium butter cookie category in Russia, the Middle- & the Far East, South America and on the European continent. In the USA, China and Hong Kong we are the largest exporter of premium butter cookies.

Founded on the principle that good quality and great taste bring pleasure to consumers, we ensure that every cookie we bake meets our high quality standards.


~http://www.kjeldsens.com/
~
~http://www.cookies.dk/
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~http://www.cookies.dk/en-US/Kelsen_story/The_Kelsen_Story.aspx

--新年 2011--

新年指中国及其他汉字文化圈地区的农历一月一日，传统上称为元旦（与中国现行的公历元旦不同）、岁首、正旦，现在一般称为新年、大年，口头上亦称为过年、 度岁、庆新岁；是东亚许多国家和地区庆祝新年的主要节日。越南语称为“Tết Nguyên Đán”（節元旦）、日语称为“正月”（明治维新后改称旧正月）、韩语称为“설날”（此乃固有词，即新年之意）。
~
春节和年的概念，最初的含意来自农业，古时人们把谷的生长周期称 为“年”。《说文·禾部》：“年，谷熟也。”在夏商时代产生了夏历，以月亮圆缺的周期为月，一年划分为十二个月，每月以不见月亮的那天为朔，正月朔日的子 时称为岁首，即一年的开始，也叫年，年的名称是从周朝开始的，至了西汉才正式固定下来，一直延续到今天。但古时的正月初一被称为“元旦”，直到中国近代辛 亥革命胜利后，南京临时政府为了顺应农时和便于统计，规定在民间使用夏历，在政府机关、厂矿、学校和团体中实行公历。

1949年9月27日，在中国人民政治协商会议第一届全体会议上，通过了使用世界上通用的公历纪元，把公历的元月一日定为元旦，俗称阳历年；农历正月初一通常都在立春前后，因而把农历正月初一定为“春节”，俗称阴历年。

　　传统意义上的春节是指从腊月初八的腊祭或腊月二十三的祭灶，一直直到正月十五，其中以除夕和正月初一为高潮。在春节这一传统节日期间，我国的汉族和大多数少数民族都有要举行各种庆祝活动，这些活动大多以祭祀神佛、祭奠祖先、除旧布新、迎禧接福、祈求丰年为主要内容。活动形式丰富多彩，带有浓郁的民族特色。

~
~
~http://www.hudong.com/wiki/新年
~
~http://baike.baidu.com/view/67771.htm
~
~http://www.qicaispace.com/count/newyear/
~
~http://baike.soso.com/v173264.htm

--Gong Xi Fa Cai

Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. Despite its winter occurrence, in China it is known as "Spring Festival," the literal translation of the Chinese name 春节 (Pinyin: Chūn Jié), owing to the difference between Western and traditional Chinese methods for computing the seasons. The festival begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: Zhēng Yuè) in the traditional Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year's Eve, a day where Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner, is known as Chú Xī (除夕) or "Eve of the Passing Year."
~
~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gong_Xi_Fa_Cai#Greetings
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~http://goodcharacters.com/newsletters/gong-xi-fa-cai.html
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~http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gong+Xi+Fa+Chai&defid=441970
~
~http://mangaweekend.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/%E6%81%AD%E7%A6%A7%E5%8F%91%E8%B4%A2-gong-xi-fa-cai/

--Hungry Ghost Festival 2010--

The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh lunar month (14th in southern China).
~
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in Spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in Autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
~
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths. Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mache form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors. Elaborate meals (often vegetarian meals) would be served with empty seats for each of the deceased in the family treating the deceased as if they are still living. Ancestor worship is what distinguishes Qingming Festival from Ghost Festival because the latter includes paying respects to all deceased, including the same and younger generations, while the former only includes older generations. Other festivities may include, buying and releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns on water, which signifies giving directions to the lost ghosts and spirits of the ancestors and other deities.
~
~
~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Festival
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~http://www.essortment.com/all/hungryghostfes_rjkb.htm
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~http://www.chinavoc.com/festivals/ghost.htm
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~http://www.chinese-culture.net/html/hungry_ghost_festival.html

--端午節 2010--

Duanwu Festival (Chinese: 端午節), also known as Dragon Boat Festival, is a traditional and statutory holiday associated with Chinese and other East Asian and Southeast Asian societies as well. It is a public holiday in Taiwan and mainland China (the latter since 2008), where it is known by the Mandarin name Duānwǔ Jié, as well as in Hong Kong and Macau, where it is known by the Cantonese name Tuen Ng Jit. The festival is also celebrated in countries with significant Chinese populations, such as in Singapore and Malaysia. Equivalent and related festivals outside Chinese-speaking societies include the Kodomo no hi in Japan, Dano in Korea, and Tết Đoan Ngọ in Vietnam.
~

The festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar on which the Chinese calendar is based. This is the source of the alternative name of Double Fifth. In 2009 this falls on May 28 and in 2010 on June 16. The focus of the celebrations includes eating the rice dumpling zongzi, drinking realgar wine xionghuangjiu, and racing dragon boats.

In May 2009, the Chinese government nominated the festival for inclusion in UNESCO's global "Intangible Cultural Heritage" list, partly in response to South Korea's successful nomination of the Dano festival in 2005 which China criticised as "cultural robbery".

~

~

~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duanwu_Festival
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~http://www.knowingfood.com/rice/ricezongfest.html
~
~

--給你..............--

給你.....給你.....給你................................

--What’s Really in Your Food?--

Ever wonder what’s actually in a McDonald’s Chicken McNugget? Turns out, the “chicken” alone contains seven ingredients. And that’s before you even get to the breading. Sadly, many of our favorite foods (especially fast foods) weren’t merely crafted in kitchens, they were also designed and perfected in labs. We uncovered the ugly truth when doing research for Eat This, Not That! Restaurant Survival Guide. What we found wasn’t pretty—or appetizing. Before you mindlessly chew your way through another value meal, take these mini-mysteries (conveniently solved below) into account. Sometimes the truth is tough to swallow.
~~
What’s in a Chicken McNugget?
You’d think that a breaded lump of chicken would be pretty simple. Mostly, it would contain bread and chicken. But the McNugget and its peers at other fast-food restaurants are much more complicated creatures than that. The “meat” in the McNugget alone contains seven ingredients, some of which are made up of yet more ingredients. (Nope, it’s not just chicken. It’s also such nonchicken-related stuff as water, wheat starch, dextrose, safflower oil, and sodium phosphates.) The “meat” also contains something called “autolyzed yeast extract.” Then add another 20 ingredients that make up the breading, and you have the industrial chemical—we mean, fast-food meal—called the McNugget. Still, McDonald’s is practically all-natural compared to Wendy’s Chicken Nuggets, with 30 ingredients, and Burger King Chicken Fries, with a whopping 35 ingredients.
~
For more fast foods to watch out for, memorize this list of the 20 Worst Drive-Thru Foods.

~
~
~http://health.msn.com/nutrition/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100254643&gt1=31036

--I Who Have Nothing~ Tom Jones (1974)--

"I (Who Have Nothing)" (sometimes billed as "I Who Have Nothing") is a song originally released by Ben E. King in 1963.

"I (Who Have Nothing)" is based on the Italian song "Uno dei tanti," (English: "One of Many") with music by Carlo Donida and lyrics by Giulio "Mogol" Rapetti. "Uno dei tanti" was released by Joe Sentieri in 1961. The lyrics for "I (Who Have Nothing)" were translated into English by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Some critics believe that part of this song's melody was later copied for "Nights in White Satin," released by the Moody Blues in 1967.

~

~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_%28Who_Have_Nothing%29

--小 城 故 事 1980--

--Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia--

--The BAYON. Cambodia--

The Bayon (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន, Prasat bayon) is a well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th century or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom. Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences.
~
The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. The temple is known also for two impressive sets of bas-reliefs, which present an unusual combination of mythological, historical, and mundane scenes. The main current conservatory body, the JSA, has described the temple as "the most striking expression of the baroque style" of Khmer architecture, as contrasted with the classical style of Angkor Wat.
~
~
~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayon
~

--Last Day in Phnom Penh. Cambodia...--

--The Pizza Company-Cambodia--

The Pizza Company is a restaurant chain and international franchise based in Bangkok, Thailand. With focus on pizza and Italian-American cuisine, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Minor International (also known as The Minor Food Group). The company had operated Tricon Global Restaurants' franchised Pizza Hut brand since its introduction in Thailand in 1981, and when their agreement was terminated, The Pizza Company was established as the company's own brand in 2001. The restaurant has franchises in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China, the Philippines and Cambodia.

~

~

~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pizza_Company

~

--DOPE.....--

--Wrodl Crisis and Epidemic...2009--

Swine flu pandemic imminent
The WHO has raised its pandemic alert level as Mexico is shut down for five days and new suspected cases of swine flu have been announced in Peru and Switzerland. Follow the latest updates and reactions to the spread of the virus

~

4.06am: Egyptian health ministers said today that the cull of 250,000 pigs was not in fact an anti-flu measure, but a more general santitation effort.
An Egyptian health ministry official tells AFP:
The authorities took advantage of the situation to resolve the question of disorderly pig rearing in Egypt.

~
3.41am: The Guardian's Simon Tisdall writes that the media's fixation on the swine flu has detracted from attention to the widespread misery and violence in other parts of the world:
The sudden surge in first world swine fever has also overshadowed the plight of millions in the Horn of Africa, principally in Somalia where a reconfigured government is struggling to survive. Random violence, suicide attacks, kidnapping and armed robbery are daily problems facing the 3 million people currently dependent on food aid. Over 1 million Somalis are displaced, many living in insanitary tent cities. For them, flu is not a big issue.

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3.33am: The talk here in Washington is of 6 probable swine flu cases in Maryland, just next door. The six people represent the first possible cases of swine flu to reach the Washington region.

~
3.32am: Three more people in the UK have been diagnosed with swine flu, the Department of Health has announced.
A total of eight people in Britain have now been confirmed with the disease.
A departmental spokesman said: "There have been three more confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK - two in London and one in the North East.
"There are now eight confirmed cases in the UK - six in England, and two in Scotland.
"The preparations we have in place and are continuing to make will help to ensure we respond well in the event of a pandemic."

~
3.28am: Daniel Nasaw here in Washington, taking over. Thanks again Matthew and Haroon.

~
2.56pm: A diplomatic row is brewing between Germany and Spain after the German health minister, Ulla Schmidt, suggested that people should not go to the Spanish Grand Prix.
"Everyone understands that there cannot be a major gathering of 70,000 people, if thousands of them could become infected," Schmidt told the Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell, according to Crashnet.
The Guardian's Madrid correspondent, Giles Tremlett, says the Spanish government is fuming.

~
2.39pm: Conspiracy theories about swine flu are spreading faster than the virus. "It's bioterrorism attack" according to a posting on Prison Planet, home of shock-jock and conspiracy theory magnet Alex Jones. Wizbang Blue rounds up some of the other theories including the Mexican drug cartel angle and the al-Qaida connection.

~
2.25pm: Someone in a student house in Newcastle is suspected of catching swine flu, according to Chronicle Live, citing the Newcastle University. The World Bank said one of its Washington employees has been preliminarily diagnosed with the virus.

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2.05pm: Simon Jenkins has written a new piece condemning swine flu media hysteria.
The only disease that needs stamping out is mad journalism. At a time like this the media should shut up, report facts and tell people what they can do, not create statistically inflated hypotheticals and fantastical scenarios.

~
1.20pm: US vice president, Joe Biden, has cautioned against air travel and underground trains, because swine flu can spread in "confined spaces", according to Politico.com.

~

1.01pm: Iain and Dawn Askham, the first Britons confirmed with swine flu have been released from hospital. They doing "very well", Scotland First Minister Alex Salmond said.

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12.50pm: "It would be hilarious, were it not so deadly serious," a doctor writes. GP Ann Robinson shares some of the questions she has been asked in the last week, on Comment is Free. They include: "Shall I cancel my cruise to Florida?" and "I'm fine but can I have a prescription for Tamiflu – just in case?"
Dr Robinson will be live on line at 4pm today to answer more questions.

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12.45pm: Swine flu has gone viral in the internet sense. Here are two of the latest images doing the rounds.

~

12.22pm: The use of antiviral drugs could result in the development of a resistant strain, a flu researcher has claimed.
"We can't continue to use single antiviral drugs . . . The virus will win the game," Robert Webster of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis told a conference according to Med Page Today. Is this more yet scaremongering or should we be worried?

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11.49am: The Guardian's political commentator Michael White reflects on the Daily Mail relegating swine flu to page 10.
"Everyone should stop freaking out" says mpanighetti from San Mateo, in California.

~

11.38am: CNN's medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta, recommends the elbow bump as a new form of greeting. "It's not as cool as the fist bump, but safer. I think it will catch on," he says.

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11.07am:Mark Honigsbaum, author of a history of 1918 Flu, reckons we should stay calm and carry on and follow simple hygiene advise that was issued in 1918.
Writing on Comment is Free, he complains of a "media-induced collective dread" about swine flu.
Talking of which, Holland has just confirmed its first case of the virus.

~
10.41am: Jose Antonio Herrera, who works as a clown in Mexico City wants to know if he qualifies for a swine flu victim support fund as the park he works in has been closed, according to the latest from blogger Daniel Hernandez.
I'd like to know if, as a clown of the Bosque de Chapultepec, I will be helped by the support program for those affected by the influenza. Since I was unjustly fired from my job as a mailman, I work [at the park] and that's how I support my family. Now that it's closed, how will I feed them? Or is the fund only for business owners who do have money and were affected by the closure of their bars or restaurants? Or will I have to look to get sick to be able to support my family? Where do I have to go to get help?

~
10.35am: The chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, said he was "concerned but not alarmed" after the World Health Organisation raised its swine flu global epidemic threat level.
Swine flu has now affected over 30 countries, according to the Guardian's country by country guide to swine flu.

~
10.13am: Dr Sarah Harrison, consultant in public health for Torbay Care Trust, has provided an update on the health of the 12-year-old girl who contracted the virus on a trip to Mexico. "She is suffering from flu, so she's not feeling very well, but she is recovering."
The mayor of Torbay, Nick Bye, said the resort is still open for business. "I don't want to be the mayor in Jaws," he said after discussing the attractions of "the bay".
Harrison said she could not say how many people were being tested in Devon - it is more like a dozen than hundreds, she said. She revealed that 340 courses of the antiviral Tamiflu had been given out.
Jane English, principal of Paignton College which the affected girl attends, said she had not been given the drug because she was not deemed to be at risk. She said she was "confident" that all the people the pupil had been in contact with have been traced.

~
9.54am: Cobra, the government's emergency committee, is to meet at 11am today to discuss swine flu. EU health ministers will also hold emergency talks today in Luxembourg to coordinate national efforts in preventing the spread of the virus.

~
9.17am: Every UK household has been sent an 11-page leaflet about swine flu. It says:
If swine flu spreads, you need to keep informed so that you know what else you can do to protect yourself and your family. As the situation changes, you should keep up to date by watching TV, listening to the radio, checking the internet and looking out for announcements in the press.
The Department of Health TV advert has also been released. "Catch it. Bin it. Kill it." features a man sneezing in a lift.

~

8.59am: The government has set up a swine flu information line. You can call it on 0800 151 3513 or listen here.
It says: "Because it [swine flu] is a new virus no one will have immunity to it and everyone could be at risk of catching it. This includes healthy adults."

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8.21am: Dr Ben Goldacre, of Bad Science fame, says we are right to worry about swine flu, but there is a crisis in confidence in how the media is covering the story.
Not only have the public lost all faith in the media; not only do so many people assume, now, that they are being misled; but more than that, the media themselves have lost all confidence in their own ability to give us the facts.

~

~http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2009/apr/30/swine-flu

--Central Market Phnom Penh--Phsar Thom Thmei--

Phsar Thom Thmei market was built in the shape of a dome in 1937 and is the capital's main shopping centre.

~
Double-digit economic growth rates in recent years have triggered an economic boom, with new hotels, restaurants, bars, and residential buildings springing up around the city. Phnom Penh's wealth of historical and cultural sites makes it a very popular tourist destination.

~

Nowadays, the market is a tourist hot spot. The four wings of the yellow coloured Phsar Thom Thmei are teeming with numerous stalls selling gold and silver jewellery, antique coins, clothing, clocks, flowers, food, fabrics and shoes.

~

With the economic growth seen since the 1990s, new shops have opened as well as western-style malls such as Sorya Shopping Center and the new Sovanna Shopping Center.

~

Two international franchises have also opened up in Phnom Penh. Dairy Queen has already opened up inside Phnom Penh International Airport and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has opened up a restaurant on Monivong Boulevard and plans to open more soon. The same company that opened up KFC in Cambodia has now obtained franchise rights to open Pizza Hut in the country.

~

~

~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_Penh

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~http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Cambodia/Phnom_Penh-1194372/Things_To_Do-Phnom_Penh-Central_Market_Psah_Thmay-R-1.html

~

~http://www.asiaexplorers.com/cambodia/phnom_penh_central_market.htm

--Chicken a la Carte by Ferdinand Dimadura--

Hunger Facts: International

World Hunger and Poverty: How They Fit Together

• 963 million people across the world are hungry.
• Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes--one child every five seconds.
• In essence, hunger is the most extreme form of poverty, where individuals or families cannot afford to meet their most basic need for food.
• Hunger manifests itself in many ways other than starvation and famine. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness.
• Countries in which a large portion of the population battles hunger daily are usually poor and often lack the social safety nets we enjoy, such as soup kitchens, food stamps, and job training programs. When a family that lives in a poor country cannot grow enough food or earn enough money to buy food, there is nowhere to turn for help.

~

~http://www.bread.org/learn/hunger-basics/hunger-facts-international.html

--MAMAK'S CORNER--Cambodia--

Mamak's Corner
N? 17, Kramuon Sar (St. 114), Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Cuisine: Malay
Halal authenticity: Owners are known Muslims
Price: $ out of $$$$
Payment accepted: $$$
Hours: Unknown to 9 pm
Phone: 012 895 026
Website: No website available
Email: No email available
~
~http://www.zabihah.com/ds.php?id=8720
~
~http://www.phnomenon.com/index.php/cambodian-food/restaurants/midday-mee-mamak-mission/