Giant Fishes

Mekong Catfish_caught November 2007 in Cambodia
Giant Stingray_caught in April near Kratie
Mekong catfish no teeth_caught November 2007
(Photos: Zeb Hogan/National Geographic)

Men Vs Women Characteristic

New Google Earth 5.0 (Beta)

International Essay Competition 2009

Topic
WANTED:  The Next Generation of ‘Green’ Entrepreneurs

Climate change has been identified as one of the biggest global threats of our time. Scientists agree that global warming and extreme climate phenomena can be increasingly attributed to human activity – in particular, heavy emission of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, resulting from industrial processes.

Solutions to those pressing problems could lie in the rapidly growing ‘green economy’:  environmentally sustainable enterprises, technological innovations (new sources of clean, renewable energy), energy efficiency measures, economic incentives for low-carbon choices, etc. How can youth contribute?

The Essay Competition 2009 invites youth to share ideas on: 

How does climate change affect you?
How can you tackle climate change through youth-led solutions?

Please answer both questions:

1. How does climate change affect you, your country, town or local community? How do you think it will affect you in the future? Think about the consequences for employment, health, security and other areas of your life.

2. What can you do, working together with your peers, to address the problem of climate change in your country, town or local community? Think specifically about the role of youth-led initiatives in the ‘green economy’.

Announcement follows:

Calendar
January 6, 2009 – Launch of the Essay Competition

February 22 – Deadline for submissions

April 30 - Finalists of the essay category announced;
Winners of the photo and video category announced

June - Final Jury in Seoul, South Korea (only finalists in the essay category and winner of the video category participate)

June – Award Ceremony during the Award Ceremony during the ABCDE Conference in Seoul, South Korea

More information Click Here. 

An Angel-Declan Galbraith

Tell Me Why -Declan Galbraith

In my dream, children sing
a song of love for every boy and girl.
They sky is blue, the fields are green
and laughter is the language of the world.
Then I wake and all I see is a world full of people in need.

Tell me why, does it have to be like this
Tell me why, is there something I have missed
Tell me why, cos I don’t understand,
when so many need somebody,
we don’t give a helping hand.
Tell me why

Everyday, I ask myself, what will I have to do to be a man?
Do I have to stand and fight
to prove to everybody who I am?
Is this what my life is for?
To waste in a world full of war

Tell me why, does it have to be like this
Tell me why, is there something I have missed
Tell me why, cos I don’t understand,
when so many need somebody,
we don’t give a helping hand..
Tell me why
Tell me why
Tell me why
Just tell me why

tell me why
does it have to be like this
Tell me why, cos I don’t understand,
when so many need somebody,
we don’t give a helping hand.
Tell me why
Tell me why
Tell me why

can someone tell us why we let the forest burn
tell me why
can someone tell us why we let the ocean die
tell me why
can someone tell us why we can not just be friends
why why

extended words…
Tell me why (why,why,does the tiger run)
Tell me why(why why do we shoot the gun)
Tell me why (why,why do we never learn)
Can someone tell us why we let the forest burn?
(why,why do we say we care)
Tell me why(why,why do we stand and stare)
Tell me why(why,why do the dolphins cry)
Can someone tell us why we let the ocean die?
(why,why if we’re all the same)
Tell me why(why,why do we pass the blame)
Tell me why (why,why does it never end)
Can someone tell us why we cannot just be friends?
Why,why,(do we close our eyes)
Why,why,(do the greedy life)
Why,why,(do we fight for land)
Can someone tell us why ‘cos we don’t understand?
Why,why?!

Snae ahkombahng/Snaeha Pheak Kdey

Leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)

General Secretaries

Hartono Rekso Dharsono  7 Jun 1976 - 18 Feb 1978 (+1996) Indonesia
Umarjadi Njotowijono   19 Feb 1978 -  1 Jul 1978         Indonesia
Datuk Ali bin Abdullah 10 Jul 1978 -  1 Jul 1980         Malaysia
Narciso G. Reyes        1 Jul 1980 -  1 Jul 1982 (+1996) Philippines
Chan Kai Yau           18 Jul 1982 - 16 Jul 1984         Singapore
Phan Wannamethee       16 Jul 1984 - 16 Jul 1986         Thailand
Roderick Yong          16 Jul 1986 - 16 Jul 1989         Brunei
Rusli Noor             17 Jul 1989 -  1 Jan 1993         Indonesia 
Datuk Ajit Singh        1 Jan 1993 -  5 Jan 1998         Malaysia
Rodolfo C. Severino     5 Jan 1998 -  6 Jan 2003         Philippines 
Ong Keng Yong           6 Jan 2003 -  7 Jan 2008         Singapore
Surin Pitsuwan          7 Jan 2008 -                     Thailand

Source: World Politics Leaders (ASEAN)

Struggling with the Khmer Language

January 19, 2009
by Antonio Graceffo

Antonio Graceffo is the former assistant head of Private Wealth Management for one of the largest private banks in the United States. He is now an adventure and martial arts author, and has lived in Asia for many years, publishing four books and several hundred articles in magazines and websites around the world. He has worked as a consultant and writer for shows on the History and Discovery channels and appears on camera in “Digging for the Truth” and “Human Weapon”. Antonio is host of the web TV show, “Martial Arts Odyssey.” He was embedded with the Shan State rebel army in Burma, documenting human rights abuses, and doing a film and print project to raise awareness of the Shan people. To see all of his videos about martial arts, Burma and other countries, click here. Check out his books here. Visit his website at www.speakingadventure.com. Email him at antonio@speakingadventure.com.

“During a lecture in Germany, I once fell asleep while waiting for the verb.” — Paraphrase, Mark Twain

About the story.

Many Americans don’t know this, but author Mark Twain once spent a year studying at the university in Heidelberg, Germany. While there, he wrote an article entitled “On the Awful German Language.” I found the article humorous, as it explored a lot of the same frustrations I experienced, studying at a German university about fifty miles away. And so, I began writing a series of language articles, entitled, “On Learning the X language.” Chinese and Korean went off without a hitch. But the one I wrote about Khmer came back to haunt me.

Once the article was published, I received a constant slue of emails, primarily from overseas Khmers, complaining that I had insulted their culture. It became so bad that my life was actually threatened on more than one occasion. The pinnacle came when one of the magazine editors received an anonymous email saying, “We know your daughter goes to X school. And we know where your wife is. If you ever publish another story by Antonio Graceffo, we will kill them.”

Sugar Palm (Borassus flabellifer): The National Tree of the Kingdom of Cambodia

The Khmer common name is “Thnoat”. The scientific name is “Borassus flabellifer” and English common name is “sugar palm“. Sugar palm is a type of plant classified as palm tree with a single stem, large stump, and cylindrical trunk with height of 10-25m. Their roots have lateral characteristics and no main root.