Adamant: Hardest metal
Sunday, June 29, 2003

Czech lady wins Miss Bikini International 2003

<a href=www.di-ve.com>by di-ve.com

There were 34 contestants from 29 different countries Wednesday, 18 June, 2003

Catwalk Productions International for the forth time have organized the International World Contest Miss Bikini International 2003. The final night was held last Saturday at Baystreet Hotel Complex, St.Julians.

This year’s contest saw the participation of thirty four contestants coming from twenty nine different countries. The whole week was packed with various activities around Malta.

The winner of this prestigious world competition was Zuzana Putnarova from the Czech Republic with a total of 499 points.

First runner up was Roxana Rus from Romania with a total of 477 points, second runner up was Idha Sofringsgard from Sweden with a total of 471 points and the third runner up was Carmin Martinez from Venezuela with a total of 464 points.

Catwalk Productions International would like to thank all the National Directors, Sponsors and International Media which cover this event.

Also a big thanks go to the main official sponsors: Baystreet Hotel Complex, Malta Tourism Authority, di-ve.com, Sinners Bar in Paceville, J&B Rare Whisky, Captain Morgan Cruises, and Clinians Beauty Products.

Catwalk Productions would like to thank all those who supported this event and looking forward to it again next year.

The official website can be found at www.maltanet.net/catwalk

Bush to host Brazilian president this week

Posted on Wed, Jun. 18, 2003 By KEVIN G. HALL AND DUNE LAWRENCE The Miami Herald-Knight Ridder News Service

BRASILIA - Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will visit the White House on Friday for the second time in seven months, a sign of the growing importance of South America's largest economy and the international stature of its leftist leader.

Da Silva, a former machinist, labor leader and union organizer, initially frightened Wall Street and the White House with fiery populist campaign rhetoric. But since taking office Jan. 1, da Silva -- known affectionately to Brazilians as Lula -- has pursued his social agenda without challenging the free-market policies that brought Brazil billions in foreign investment in the 1990s.

By holding the line, Brazil has remained one of the most attractive markets for international investors, and da Silva arrives in Washington with a strong hand, even as much of Latin America is in an economic crisis. He also has a reputation for charm.

''Lula has a record of being quite effective in these personal appearances, and he still has an aura about him,'' said Thomas Skidmore, a longtime Brazil expert at Brown University's Watson Institute of International Affairs in Providence, R.I. ``It's pretty sensational that a former metal worker is flying around the world to negotiate with the strongest country in the universe.''

U.S. and Brazilian diplomats expect the two leaders to disagree sharply on some issues but will seek to highlight areas of agreement. As Celso Amorim, Brazil's foreign minister, said last week in Washington, ``A mature relation means that you explore to the maximum the points of convergence, you try to limit the points of difference and you respect the diversity.''

Bush and da Silva differ on Cuba and on U.S. military involvement in fighting drug-funded Marxist guerrillas in neighboring Colombia. They also differ on the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which Brazil opposed.

More important, da Silva wants Bush to drop tariffs on Brazilian steel, citrus and other agricultural exports as a condition for Brazil's assent to a hemispheric free-trade zone by 2005. Brazil has been reluctant to endorse the so-called Free Trade Area of the Americas, which would reduce tariffs and barriers to trade after the year 2005.

Brazil insisted on several modifications to the official agenda for the Washington visit, a top Brazilian foreign service officer told Knight Ridder.

One stipulation was adding an item called ''fighting protectionism'' to protest what Brazil complains is a U.S. trade policy that unfairly keeps out its exports.

The United States maintains that is not so, citing two-way trade that grew from $15.6 billion in 1994 to almost $26 billion last year.

The Brazilian official said the two countries' representatives expect to address ''hot spots,'' including ways to resolve Venezuela's political crisis, how to best promote democracy in Cuba and how to help Argentina out of its deep economic crisis.

Venezuelan artist's 'disrespectful' work banned by government

The Miami Herald, Posted on Wed, Jun. 18, 2003 BY ELISA TURNER elisaturn@aol.com

When prizes were handed out at this year's sweltering Venice Biennale, the world's famed showcase for modern and contemporary art, art lovers wilting in unseasonable heat were stunned to learn that one winner was an exhibit from Luxembourg: Air-Conditioned.

Not only was it notable for an unusually apt title, but the show also marked the first time a national exhibit had won a prize while located outside the Giardini, a leafy park at the city's eastern edge and the Biennale's main venue.

But the real heat was provided by Venezuela, which has had a coveted pavilion at the park since 1954, yet wasn't even in the running for an award this year. In May, the Venezuelan government censored the art chosen for its own exhibit, an interactive digital work, CityRooms, by Pedro Morales.

Stirring controversy were the work's caricature images of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and scenes showing the country degenerating into a ramshackle mass of shanties.

So during the Biennale's gala invitation-only opening on June 12, the pavilion for Venezuela was locked up tight. (Only two Latin American countries, Venezuela and Brazil, are represented among the 26 nations at the Biennale.)

There was no art inside the low-slung, modernist structure designed by renowned Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa. A cart of construction trash blocked the entrance, next to piles of dead leaves. A few days later limp bunting, colored like the Venezuelan flag, also blocked the entrance in protest.

`SEX, HUMOR'

And standing outside the pavilion on opening day, next to the debris and dead leaves, was Morales, the man who had put up the bunting. He watched forlornly as influential flocks of curators, collectors, and critics rushed in and out of the nearby Danish pavilion.

Brushing away rivulets of sweat, he offered to speak about his work -- displayed on a small video camera -- to anyone who would listen.

Two weeks ago, Morales said he received a statement from the Venezuelan government claiming that his art ''was disrespectful of the images in my country. I think the real thing is that they don't understand my proposal,'' he said. ``They say my work has a political view only, but that's not true. There's sex, humor, and violence. It's an extensive work of interactive art.''

''It's unacceptable that a country censors art,'' said Irma Arestizábal, an Argentine curator of Latin American art at the Biennale. ``It's a sin for Venezuela, because every country in the world wants a pavilion [here].''

The cultural attaché for the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, D.C., Carolina Márquez, could not be reached for comment.

In the Giardini, Morales' situation also drew the sympathy of a Venezuelan curator who was touring the Biennale with fellow trustees from New York's Museum of Modern Art. ''No, I am not surprised by what is going on in my country. They should be ashamed,'' she said, asking that her name not be used in order to protect family members in Venezuela.

OTHER CONTROVERSY

Morales is not the first Venezuelan artist to be sucked into controversy swirling around his country's representation in Venice. On March 3, artist Javier Téllez, also chosen to exhibit in the Venezuelan pavilion, circulated an open letter to his country's ministry of culture announcing his decision to withdraw his participation, condemning the government's ``corruption and struggle for power that are choking the country.''

Last Friday, Biennale president Franco Bernabé said his organization was trying to find a way for Morales to exhibit as an individual; the Biennale ends in November. Information about Morales' CityRooms project for Venice can be seen on his website at www.pedromorales.com.

Internet Interview - Garry Flanagan

<a href=www.businessnews.com.au>Business News, 19-June-03 Written by Staff Reporters Garry Flanagan  Name: Garry Flanagan Title: Commercial Analysis Coordinator Company: ChevronTexaco Location: Houston Texas

A brief explanation of your company and where it sits in the corporate landscape: World's fourth largest publicly traded, integrated energy company (based on oil equivalent reserves and production).

It is the second largest in the US with operations in 180 countries. 

Job last held in Perth and when you left it: Senior Project Engineer (ChevronTexaco Australia) until July 2002.

What is your current role: Coordination of project economic and shipping-logistical analysis as well as strategic planning and contract management for ChevronTexaco’s Liquefied Natural Gas business based in Houston.

What other roles do you play in your industry or local business community: I represent the company at energy conferences and regularly presented aspects of the industry to year 10 classes in Perth high schools as part of the Schools Information Program. 

I have supported functions put on by the Australian American Chamber of Commerce, most notably the 2003 Australia Day Ball held in San Francisco.  I also assist the company with cultural integration.

Explain how you got this particular job:  ChevronTexaco encourages development opportunities for selected employees in international locations. 

I expressed an interest in working overseas and was ‘loaned’ to our head office in San Francisco for three months last year. The International Gas Group wanted an experienced Engineering MBA to assist in some strategic planning work and from this I was fortunate enough to secure a longer-term assignment in Houston.

Outline your office culture: The company has recently been through a merger (Chevron and Texaco) and there is a lot of energy going into creating a new culture.

It is an exciting time for our company and working for a global company gives you the opportunity to work with people from all over the world.

My department has people from the US, Venezuela, Australia, the UK and Canada. We work a nine-day/80-hour fortnight and my hours are typically 7am – 6pm.

How much commuting do you do:

It is a 10-15 minute drive each way from my home in the West University district to our office in downtown Houston. Occasionally I will visit one of the other ChevronTexaco office locations in the Houston area.

Does your job involve travel, if so how much, where to and to what purpose: Mainly to San Francisco where our global headquarters is located and some international trips to places such as Japan and Canada.

How well did your work in Perth equip you for your current job:  The main advantage is the international perspective I bring to the team and my involvement with our Australian gas business, such as the Gorgon gas development. The team is also impressed with my social coordinating skills. I have introduced a proud Aussie tradition to the team – the sundowner.

Can you see yourself returning to Perth, if so how long and under what circumstances: My current assignment may last anything from two to five years with the possibility of another international post such as Asia or Europe.

In the meantime, I am making the most of working in an overseas location with the ultimate aim of returning to Australia because this is where my home and allegiances are.

What is your email address: garrytflanagan@yahoo.com

p Do you want to nominate someone you know for the Internet Interview? If they are working interstate or offshore in an interesting job send us their email address and some details to editorial@wabusinessnews.com.au

DJs catch 'Castro' in hoax--Who's laughing now? Castro was not amused

BBC News Last Updated: Wednesday, 18 June, 2003, 03:34 GMT 04:34 UK

Two Miami radio hosts say they have fooled Cuban leader Fidel Castro by pretending to be President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in a prank call.

The two hosts of the radio programme El Vacilon de la Manana (Morning Joker) spliced together clips from a Chavez speech and played them to trick Mr Castro into thinking he was talking to the Venezuelan leader.

Then they revealed themselves and called Mr Castro a killer, reportedly prompting a tirade of abuse before Mr Castro hung up.

The radio hosts, Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero, played the same joke on Mr Chavez in January, using a recording of Mr Castro.

The two Latin American leaders are allies.

In the latest prank, the DJs pretended to be an aide phoning Mr Castro to ask about a suitcase Mr Chavez allegedly lost when the two men were both in Argentina.

When they got through to a man who listeners say appeared to be the Cuban president, they had a brief conversation then told him he had fallen for their prank.

It has not been possible to confirm that the victim was Mr Castro himself.

The radio hosts regularly include a slot called "Fidel's on the phone for you" in which they try to fool victims with recordings of the Cuban's voice.

Miami is home to a large Cuban expatriate population, much of it fiercely anti-Castro.

The Cuban Government has not commented on the prank.

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