Jeopardizing democracy in Hungary

Again an article on Hungary in the Washington Post. These are the last days of freedom here. I am afraid the president (who is a joke) will sign the new media law tomorrow. I don't care,  I will continue to collect these articles expressing my protest against the new government again and again. The main points of the Washington Post's article:

"Hungary has provided Europe with another example of how fragile democracy can be - even in a place where it works."

"Hungary is now cursed with a leader who is too popular - or has too large a majority - and who can change his country's laws and constitution to keep himself in power without any violence."

"..when the authors of the American constitution worried about the "tyranny of the majority," they might have had Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, in mind."

"..victory wasn't enough for Orban, who used his years out of power to plot his revenge against the journalists who didn't support him, against the chattering classes who didn't vote for him, and above all against his corrupt and incompetent opponents."

"Orban grew up in a one-party state. His sense of history should prevent his party from building another one." 

the full version of the Washington Post article is available here

The Washington post on Hungary's new media law

(Hungary's) "...populist and power-hungry government has just adopted a media law more suited to an authoritarian regime than to a Western democracy.

Europe cannot allow a member government to flout fundamental freedoms without consequence. Some ready leverage is available: Hungary is due to host a European Union summit meeting in Budapest in May, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton expected to attend. Mr. Orban should be given a choice between curbing his concentration of power and amending the media laws - or suffering the humiliation of having the European Union and the United States move or boycott his summit." (Washington Post's full article)

Congratulations Mr. Orbán Viktor!

China Once More

If you ask me, I will choose China holidays once again.

Why? Culturally, it is so rich, with so many world heritages. I love unique architectures and China has so much to offer. From the Forbidden City to the Great Wall, from the Terracotta Army at Xi'an to the bund in Shanghai. It might take me to write a long list to tell how much beauty this country has to offer.

These are at least the ten destinations that I want to see in China: Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Guilin, Yangtze River, Lhasa Tibet, Jiuzhaigou Sichuan, Lijiang Yunnan, Zhangjiajie Hunan, Silk Road in China.

In 2006, I was in Beijing and I made it to the Great Wall. It was an amazing trip as I was there alone climbing the Great Wall of China. Standing on those grounds, I imagined the days when their soldiers were on horses fighting in the snowy wintry days for years. I was also at the Forbidden City seeing the glamour of the Emperor where he was crowned. Next, the Tiananmen Square and the Temple of Heaven. It will be great to cover the Ming Tomb, Hutong, Lama Temple, Beihai Park, Yashow Market and the Beijing Captial Museum for the next trip.

I've also been to Harbin which is the capital of Heilongjiang Province in the northeast of China. The main attraction was the Songhua River. During the Winter Festival in February, there were beautiful ice sculptures from ice carved directly from the Songhua River in Heilongjiang, being displayed like a winter wonderland with the art of combining colourful lighting within the ice. 

Choosing Harbin was to experience a real icy cold climate as I was in Singapore my whole life (at that time). And seeing the Russian and European-influenced architecture was very satisfying as there is a so-called 'oriental St. Petersburg' - the Russian Orthodox church known as 'Saint Sophia Cathedral' where funny pop-music is played outside this church. Hard to describe the atmosphere because you got to be there to understand how it feels like.

Christmas

Maybe I am kiddish but I still love Christmas even if I am 38 already. And in a way Christmas is living in me as it was in my childhood. Being an adult it is harder to give yoursel to the feeling of the holiday suddenly the Christmas is just here, the previous day you still work and you have to organize everything being a hurry.

When I was a child the Christmas lasted for weeks actually. Even if there was still school it was not the same. Everyone had a Christmas fever, teachers were milder and nobody could concentrate. We were looking out of the window the the first snow was a big event every year.

We usually spent the holidays at our grandma’s hous, or she came to us. It made the Christmas even more special because my grandma was cooking, my mother was decorating he Christmas tree with us and the TV showed Christmas cartoons or movies in the background.

Nowdays I am seeking for that mood when it comes to Christmas. The good thing is that this is still a real holiday. Everybody stops, even if you want, you can’t work because impossible to organize a meeting, to call anyone, it would be even rude. For the Christmas evening the roads are empty and you can see the colorful lights in almost every window. I really love the mood.

Hungary is moving backward toward a communist surveillance dictatorship

On Tuesday, Hungary's parliament - led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban - approved a contentious new law that will expand the state's power to monitor and penalize private media.

There will be fines of 25 million forints for newspapers and 10 million forints for websites that breach vague new rules on 'balance' and 'human dignity'.

In extreme cases, media outlets could be shut down in a move that will be seen as a serious backwards step for a nation that moved out of Communism two decades ago. (full article)

Domain name

Zebrolas asked me several times what is a Domain Name? And this question seemed so easy but to tell someone who is totally not in the electronic field became very difficult. It is either you will say, it is an unique website address for your website or it is an exclusive name of your own.

For someone like Zebrolas, you need to answer without saying technical terms like 'website'. That leads to the next question, what is a 'website'?

First and foremost, we need to address it by saying it in the most layman way. One ought to know what is a website and how its website hosting is handled. I remembered the first time when my site was hosted, it was Denton from Greenville (USA) who helped me with it. At first, it was just a blog but I was offered to upgrade its status to a .com which means it has its dedicated domain name - a name of its own.

Having a blogspot really makes you sound like an amateur. Things are different when you have become a dot com because the credibility is higher having it named with an extension .com rather than 'blogspot.com'. 

Somehow or rather, it seemed everybody wants to have a 'dot com'. And at the same time, many people do not really understand the importance of hosting it with a reliable hosting company.

Since my first site is a photo blog which I started at first with an initial 30+ photographers volunteers in an online community started by Eric Tenin from Paris. It is still existing but now we have more than 1000+ sites for many cities around the world. I was offered to host it with its own domain name, so now, it has its own .com (www.SingaporeDailyPhoto.com)

The recommendation is that, you ought to compare the various hosting company and find out which provides the best offer first before plunging into the plan. Several packages comes with unlimited disk space and bandwidth these days. Simply do a google search and you might easily find what you really need.

WeUseGadgets Christmas Edition!

Four more days and it's Christmas. Here in Hungary, it is celebrated on the 24th December with family usually. The mood is stronger here in Budapest than in Singapore.

In Singapore, you know it's christmas when everywhere on the Orchard Road is lighted up. Fake christmas trees, lots of green and red ribbons, bows, packaging boxes, gift wrapping counters, long queues in the shopping mall.

Here in Budapest, the smell of homemade honey cakes, sights of log cakes, sale of real fir christmas trees, sale of beigli (a traditional pastry eaten during christmas), candles on advent wreaths, not so much christmas lighting but there are along the Andrassy street, crowded trams, snow everywhere, traffic jams, super long queues in the shopping mall, lack of parking places.

The similarities are, you are watching out for the most ideal gift this year for your geek wife or husband. Your spouse could already own an iPad, the next you can get him or her is a practical yet presentable original ANDINO iPad leather case to help him/her accessorize it. Besides protecting it from the scratches, this denim material has the finest and highest quality of finishing.

Surely you do not want to repeat the same idea for the gifts year after year. Not again a piece of scintillating necklace nor another bottle of perfume. What your geek spouse want this year for Christmas other than YOU is a unique iPad case :)

'Texas Blade' is the latest denim Apple iPad leather case original ANDINO brand of products.
- Perfect fit and slim tailored for the Apple iPad model
- Made from high grade denim material and manufactured with enforced stitching



You can find other products from: iPad Leather Case, iPhone PowerPlus™ II, iPhone 4 Down-flip Case

ANDINO
http://www.myandino.com/

Travel Packing - iPhone Chargers Solution

We will be heading to Austria tomorrow and it will be just a short jump to Vienna for the Christmas Fair. We were just thinking how to minimize the luggage. So I want to share with you this travel packing solution about phone chargers which I just figure out.

There are benefits of having an Andino™ PowerPlusII battery pack for iPhone 4. One of which is that you don't risk running out of power during this festive season when you are staying overnight at your relative's home or weekend travel to the neighbouring cities.  Andino™ PowerPlus II is for Apple iPhone 4 and comes in a preceding design called Andino™ PowerPlus I for 3G and 3GS models of Apple iPhone where you can get it now at a Special Price of S$49.90. That's like USD 37.95 only!!

Micro-USB connector

Re-charging is a breeze by the universal micro-USB connector from the PowerPlus to any computer or laptop these days. You don't rely totally for the Apple power adapter. What happens if your relative is using a Nokia or Samsung mobile? Nothing, as you still can continue to charge with a micro-USB cable connected to the laptop computer.

No worries about Plug type

In case you are traveling between different continent or regions, you don't have to worry about whether internationally is it of the same plug type or a Europe or an Asian plug type since you connect your iPhone to charge its power using any USB port from your laptop or computer.

Snugly and Stylish Design

Both designs wraps snugly around your iPhone giving it the maximum protection yet as a functional and fashionable accessory to carry around. Now with choice of black or white.
-Up to 380 hours
-Wi-Fi Internet access of up to 7 hours

Islandwide Availability

Now available in Singapore islandwide in all retail stores of Singapore Petroleum Company. ANDINO brand of products are also available in Switzerland, Germany, Dubai, Russia, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Andino™ PowerPlus I is for Apple iPhone 3G, 3GS

UP: S$79.90 Special Price: S$49.90   

Andino™ PowerPlus II is for Apple iPhone 4

UP: S$99.90 Special Price: S$69.90

Promotion til 31st December 2010

Quick Overview of Andino™ PowerPlus II

Color: Mystic Black. Pure White. Diesel Black

Standby Time: >240 hour 
Talk Time: 3G > 6.5 hour/ 2G > 12 hour
Internet Use: 3G > 5 hour/ Wi-Fi > 8 hour
Audio Playback: Up to 32 hour 
Video Playback: Up to 10 hours
Cell type: Li-ion polymer battery
Output voltage: 5V
Output current:: 700mA
Input voltage: 5V
Input current: 500mA
Battery capacity: 2000mAh
Product weight: 68g
Product size: 125 x 62 x 18(mm)
Charging Time: 4.5 hours

Compatible for: iPhone 4


---
Ferienwohnungen Costa Brava

Hungarian politics - Hungry for power

"There is growing alarm about the increasing centralisation of power under the right-wing Fidesz government led by Viktor Orban, Hungary’s pugnacious prime minister.

Fidesz won an unprecedented two-thirds majority in April’s general election. Since then, say its critics, it has embarked on a power grab, taking over almost every independent institution." The Economist (full article)

---
Ferienwohnungen Costa Brava

Responsible Gaming - Online Casino

In my childhood, I heard alot about the casino in Genting Highland, Malaysia. That was because casinos are almost unfound in Singapore as it was never believed to be good for its society. Recently, Singapore has officially opened not one but two casinos. In April 2010, the world's second most expensive casino Marina Bay Sands was opened. It has leapfrog and has become second to Las Vegas MGM Mirage's CityCentre which most people in the world are aware of.

The casino gaming market is not limited to just people who can physically enter a casino. There are Online Casinos
where one can try his or her luck as well. If you check the Online Casino Reviews, you can find out which is the Best Online Casinos.

Amazingly, the typical selection of games offered are: Baccarat, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Online slot games, Online poker and Keno.

Baccarat is a card game from Italy and it is similar to Faro and Basset. You saw Ian Fleming's secret agent creation, the James Bond who is fond of playing Baccarat chemin-de-fer notably in 007's 1953 debut, Casino Royale.

Now, it seems Singapore will soon become Asia's second largest casino gaming market after its dramatic entry to the casino gaming market. Macau has been holding the leading position for long.

Do you know, the most popular Chinese games played until the 20th century was Fan-Tan, a game that is similar to Roulette where the croupier spins a wheel in one direction, then spins a ball in the opposite direction around a tilted circular track running around the circumference of the wheel. So when the ball eventually stops and falls into one of the 37 coloured and numbered pockets on the wheel. The one who bets it, is the winner.

If you are curious how it is like, breaking through language barriers, you can find this game under 'Table Games' in your language. German's Beste Online Casinos
, to Spanish's Casino en linea
, or Italian's Casino Online. Nowadays, there is even one for the French, Casino En Ligne.

Solar Panels

We have a great selection of Solar Panels and Sharp Solar Panels.



Plus so much more: Portable Solar Power Chargers, many Solar Lights - Deck Lights, RV/Camping Solar Panels, Back-up Solar-Panel Power, Solar Energy Books, Solar Power Toys, Solar Power Panel Inverters, Charge Controllers, Power Inverters, Wind Turbines, Solar Power Radios, Briefcase Solar-Panels, Solar Flashlights & Lanterns, Science Projects for Solar Panel Energy, & Home Solar Power Panels. We have many Solar Panels in kits (Sharp Panels), meeting a variety of your power needs.

http://solarworks211.com/

---
www.uniqueworldhotels.com