http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/WOWchinese - Forum ../guest_index.asphttp://www.sitemaze.com/forum/lookout.jpg8021http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=-1&TOPIC_ID=1817&REPLY_ID=12845
I guess the developers for this site have stopped their work.

Another main reason is the original niche of this site, ie Indian Chinese, is not interested in this concept anymore.

I still surf a lot, and surt sites that are my interest. Arsenal.com, webhostingtalk.com, etc.

One way to entertain your request would be to great something similar to Yahoo Groups!, people are free to create their own forums.]]>http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1818
Naturally with the increase will come people who want to work illegally. It's part and parcel of the deal that Singapore deal with it every day.

But yet, news headlines like this 'Statistics show 26,000 Chinese visitors broke law' make it to Taiwanese newspapers.

The benefits of increased tourism far outweights the negativity. There is really not point of such dramatic line catchers.]]>http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=-1&TOPIC_ID=1815&REPLY_ID=12844
]]>http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=-1&TOPIC_ID=1816&REPLY_ID=12842http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1814
Foreclosure leaves tenants on the street

A group of Northeast Side renters were shocked this week when they were given eight days to move out of their homes after a mortgage company foreclosed on their building.

Housing advocates say the case, a growing problem, demonstrates what little protection renters have in another side to the national mortgage crisis.

Renters in 17 duplex-style apartments stretching from 903 to 911 Diamond Avenue and on either side of Diamond Avenue at Carrier and Maybell Streets received notice Monday to vacate their homes by July 16, the tenants said.

The Diamond Avenue apartments were owned by Thomas Mann Jacobs Jr., of Grand Rapids, and went into foreclosure in January, according to city records.

Residents on Monday were offered $1,000 reimbursement if they signed before Wednesday a paper agreeing to move by July 16. But some residents said money after the fact would not help those who had no money or ability to move in eight days.

Jackie Hughes says she will have a tough time finding a new place to live so quickly.On Tuesday, some of the affected residents struggled to understand what was happening and how they would cope.

"This is impossible. I don't know what I'm going to do," 21-year-old Jamia Bledsoe said as her toddler scrambled around on a neighbor's floor. Bledsoe was weighing her options just hours before the deadline for signing the relocation agreement to get the $1,000 reimbursement, offered by a real estate agent representing the mortgage company.

But while advocates say they July 16 deadline is not binding, residents do face eviction hearings July 15.

"This can't be fair. They're going to evict us. I didn't do anything wrong," Bledsoe said.

The management company gave out addresses for other rental units near their 44th Street offices.

"I don't have any transportation; I can't do that," Bledsoe said.

Some of the residents are young mothers with children and no transportation, others are working single women, some are families and all could be homeless, advocates say, through no fault of their own.

"The clients I work with are living paycheck to paycheck. It really puts the tenants in a tough position and makes the working poor struggle that much harder," said Legal Aid of Western Michigan attorney Cavan Berry. The organization is investigating.

"They're faced with an eviction that requires them to get out. They can't afford a mortgage so, in a matter of two weeks, they are scraping together another first month's rent, security deposit, some will have to rent a truck or movers.

"In some respects, this is unconscionable," Berry said.

And in a sidelight to the tough housing market, it is happening more frequently. Housing advocates say renters have few options, and the state should step in to make things right.

"In Michigan, the mortgage company has to put a notice (of foreclosure) on the property, and that's all the notice anyone may get until they're evicted. There is no requirement the landlord has to tell the tenant, and a lot of times the tenants don't know," said Legal Aid attorney Karen Tjapkes.

According to city records, Jacobs' property was foreclosed on in January. The property reverted to the mortgage company.

A woman answering Jacob's home phone said he was in Florida. Calls to his cell phone went unanswered.

Advocates say mortgage companies typically do not want to become landlords, so they routinely remove any occupants through court action.

Nancy Haynes, executive director of the Fair Housing Center, called the situation a "tragedy."

"We've been talking about this since 1999, and no one listened .... We're bailing out Bear Sterns and not those who are being evicted," Haynes said.

Jackie Hughes moved into the apartments in November; her neighbor Bledsoe moved in in December. Both signed year leases that mean nothing now.

Hughes, 44, is outraged the owners and apartment manager knew for months and did nothing to prepare the tenants.

Hughes, a medical secretary at Spectrum Health's Meijer Heart Center, said she took her $635 monthly rent payment to Citywide Property Management in Wyoming on Thursday. The manager took her check, Hughes said, then told her of the foreclosure.

Hughes took her check back, and, on Monday, she was home when Realtor Shawn Boonstra was posting the notices telling residents they had to leave by July 16 and offering the $1,000 reimbursement for those who would sign by Wednesday.

Many say they can not be expected to find new housing and move their belongings within a week.

"Would the owner be able to move their family in a week? I don't think so," Hughes said.

Boonstra's notice to relocated by July 16 is not legally binding, legal aid attorneys said. But the mortgage holder has filed for multiple eviction hearings for July 15.

Boonstra said the new owner is Fidelity National Asset Management Solutions and declined further comment. The company, based in Colorado, did not return calls seeking comment.

In typical evictions, tenants are given 30 days to vacate, but, in foreclosures, the time has been as short as three days, Berry said. He noted local judges frequently have ruled in favor of the mortgage companies, which say they are not required to give notice.

Barry said he occasionally has worked out arrangements for 30 more days, "but I've sat in court and the mortgage company says they have no authority to grant more time, so be out in 10 days."

This results in rushed moves, where tenants end up in substandard housing, he pointed out.






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]]>http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1813Learning Chinese to gain employment edge


Learning a foreign language has always been a means of expanding one’s vistas. But unlike yesteryears when French and German ruled the roost, more and more youths are now lining up to learn Chinese to gain an edge in job opportunities.

Sreemati Chakrabarti, head of the Department of East Asian Studies of Delhi University, said the number of applications the department has been receiving for Chinese language study, besides Japanese and Korean, has increased manifold.

“Japanese has been a popular choice for some time now. We receive 500-600 applications every year for the Japanese course. But lately Chinese is becoming very sought after and Korean is catching up,” Chakrabarti told IANS.

In 1995, the department received only 28 applications for the Chinese course. This doubled to 56 by 2000. The next year, it swelled to 105.”And since 2002 we have been receiving more than 300 applications in Chinese language alone,” Chakrabarti told IANS.

So what is it about the language that makes it increasingly sought after?

“India-China bilateral trade was worth $200 million in 1995 but now it has zoomed to nearly $23.5 billion. There are scores of Chinese small and medium industries that are coming to India. They need Indians who are familiar with their language in their business,” explained Chakrabarti.

More and more jobs are being created for teachers and translators in IT, pharmaceutical and chemical industries and scientific research projects in China.

The tourism industry, electrical companies and those who deal with infrastructure development are also among those that require Indians familiar with Chinese language.

For instance, Huawei Technologies, a networking equipment manufacturer based in China’s Shenzhen city, outsources a lot of its work to Bangalore and employs several hundred Indian engineers at its Shenzhen campus.

Hemant Batra, director of the Chinese Language Bureau here, said learning Chinese also helps one connect to the international community.

“Lots of students these days are going overseas for higher education. Learning a foreign language, especially Chinese, helps one settle in and connect to the international community at large,” Batra told IANS.

Having done his masters in Chinese from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here and then a post graduation in China, Batra has explored a range of jobs, in a multinational company to teaching in both China and India.

Chiranjeeta Gogoi of Assam is one of the many who have learnt the language.

“I learnt Chinese because I felt that with more and more multinational companies coming India, there will be more job opportunities.

“My decision has not let me down. Today, I am working with a public relations company that deals with tourism offices of Macao. Since I know Chinese, it gives me an edge while dealing with my clients,” Gogoi said.

“Learning Chinese has paved the path for a fulfilling career for me,” said Rachna Srivastava of Delhi. Working in a multinational in India and en route to China following a transfer, she did her advanced diploma in Chinese from Delhi University.

Rinni Misra of Bihar echoes similar thoughts. “Chinese is not an easy language,” said the professional in a multinational in China. She has done her masters in Chinese from JNU.

“But I enjoyed it thoroughly. It opened up new vistas for me, which I couldn’t have explored otherwise. It’s a good idea to learn Chinese or even Japanese because of the growing number of companies coming from these countries. They need people from India who know their language to work for them,” Misra said.

Despite this rosy picture, the fact that the drop out rate from Chinese courses is high can’t be overlooked. “From the scores of applicants, probably 50 percent pass,” said Chakrabarti.

However, the demand for those specialized in the language is very high. “The number of students in the Chinese language course is climbing but the number of faculty members in DU has remained constant.

“We have exchange teachers from universities in China and research associates who teach as well. But the demand for Chinese language teachers remains, not only in DU but at large,” Chakrabarti said.















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]]>http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=-1&TOPIC_ID=1810&REPLY_ID=12839A good fight tho....a good final...

I saw the final in a bar wit a even split of german n spanish supporters... thoroughly enjoyed it...Going ooohh ahhh when spain hit the goal post or hearing curses in diff languages when germ gives the ball away or slapping hands wit strangers was funnn!!]]>http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=-1&TOPIC_ID=1809&REPLY_ID=12837
These kind of business shouldn't be in the city center.]]>http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=-1&TOPIC_ID=1806&REPLY_ID=12834# Four massive all ages outdoor dance areas
# Three days and two nights of music & entertainment
# Visual art displays and performances throughout the weekend
# Clean beach, parks and shops just moments from event site
# On-site parking for thousands beside the camping area
# BYOB at your campsite for those of legal age (19+)
# Breakfast, lunch and dinner menus served by a wide range of food vendors including vegetarian meals
# Café with coffee and tea available 24hrs. a day
# Fresh fruit and veggie stand
# 24hr security patrols and WEMF Rangers for your safety
# On-site medical staff and first aid centers
# In-out privileges for people and cars through our wristband policy
# Shuttle bus service from Toronto that can be pre-booked by date and time
# Vendors from across North America
# On-site RV & Camper Parking
# Free give-aways and prizing all weekend long
# H2O Solutions Water, Juice & Energy bars throughout the site]]>http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1812
$2 per call for unlimited minutes. Just dial 10-10-620 before your long distance number.

for more info:

www.1010620.com

Happy talking....]]>http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1811
Calcutta in the 70's

Tees Saal Baad, thirty years later, is as good a time to reminisce as any, I guess. Nostalgia strikes especially in the company of old buddies or when the drinking gets heavy. There is to it a bitter-sweetness, much like a hospitalization where the attending nurse resembles Ivana Trump. The spirit and the step become lighter and the eye mistier in the full knowledge that the good old days will never return.


It was in Calcutta, now rechristened as Kolkata, in the early 70s that , much like the rest of India, British influence was waning. The India Tobaccos and the ICIs, the Dunlops and the Metal Boxes still had expatriate chieftains. The government of the time suffered from severe paranoia. There was a deep fear that the country’s independence would be jeopardized if foreign companies were allowed to grow. Production capacities of such organizations were pegged and penalties imposed if these were exceeded.


As all hard-core Calcuttans will swear, it was possible then and probably is now, to rise above the squalor and the filth, the teeming hordes, the traffic jams and the unbelievably poor civic amenities, to a finer sensibility. There was a spirit and bonhomie that kept the city from dying. There was also an ethos, which ensured that a good time could be had regardless of the size of one’s wallet.



For sure Calcutta had its problems but it also had its compensations - its rich club life being one. Very few cities can offer a greater variety. For sports lovers there was a Rackets Club for Squash, a Cricket and Football Club for those as well as the more exotic games of Rugby and Cycle Polo; there was a Tennis Club which boasted of members who had played in the Davis Cup; a Golf Club with over seventy water hazards and a Swimming Club.



Indians were barred from membership of the swimming club till, in a well-publicized incident, a Minister of the State Government dived into the pool, dhoti and supporters and all, to signal the end of an era.



There was the Tolly Club where one could, in theory at least, ride a horse between golf shots.


Then there were social clubs like the Punjab Club, which catered to a primarily Punjabi clientele whose major activities were eating, drinking, playing cards and flashing diamonds.



The Saturday Club was more cosmopolitan while the Ordnance Club and the Officers Institute at Fort William played host to Army officers who danced nearly as stiffly as they marched. The Dalhousie Institute and the Rangers Club were enlivened by the carefree, happy-go-lucky spirit of Calcutta’s rapidly declining Anglo-Indian population.


The staid Bengal Club and the Calcutta Club epitomized the true culture of the Brown Sahib. The list of clubs was quite endless and an enterprising young Boxwallah could ensure year-round free membership by participating in the various Merchants Cup tournaments. These tournaments were open to mercantile firms and drew many a pot-bellied senior executive onto the court or playground.


Each club had its own particular charm. The atmosphere at the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club Bar was akin to an English pub. The smoke and alcohol-filled evenings usually ended up with some lusty singing of bawdy songs. ‘Diana, Diana, show us your legs, a yard above the knee’ would be belted out by a dozen raucous voices. The bartender’s name was BI – short form for British India.



The Royal Calcutta Golf Club served the juiciest steaks in town., which washed down with a bottle of beer after a golf game was great value for money. You couldn’t have a better meal. The Rackets Club answered the prayers of perspiring squash players in the form of a bartender called Abdul, who specialized in mixing Nimbu Panis, fresh lime juice, which were arguably the best in the city.


Clubs apart, there were other small touches, which gave life in Calcutta a flavor different from any other city. Christmas Week for instance meant a huge Santa Claus at the head of Park Street. The street itself would be lit up from end to end by one of the lighting companies. Small bands equipped with trumpets and drums would stand outside the festooned restaurants. For a small tip they would play any of the old favourites – Elvis or the Beatles, Pat Boone or Paul Anka while their benefactors swayed (or was it tottered) and hummed along.


Saturday nights meant Louis Banks, Braz Gonsalves, Pam Crain or Usha Iyer live at Trincas or the Blue Fox on Park Street. If one was feeling adventurous, there was Isaiah’s Bar on Free School Street for a different kind of action.


Sunday mornings were reserved for jam sessions at Firpos where cocktail sausages would be served gratis with the beer. It is a sign of the times, literally and figuratively, that restaurants today serve peanuts.


Among the other options was that of watching a late-night movie at the Globe, Elite, or one of the other English movie theatres in Central Calcutta. These had been converted from drama theatres and still bore vestiges of their former roles with their quaint balconies and bars. One could grab a quick beer before proceeding to Nizam’s Restaurant for their mouth-watering Kathi Rolls.


The chicken, mutton, egg or aloo rolls or combinations thereof, were a great food attraction. Calcutta’s essentially egalitarian character revealed itself in the fact that the well-heeled in their cars as well as the not-so-well-off in hand-pulled rickshaws would all descend on this institution. Sometimes, you could come across a slim, fiftyish man who would serenade your sweetheart with old love songs while drumming with his fingers on the bonnet of your car.


I wonder how much things have changed in these thirty years? Do young men still step onto soggy fields to play five-a-side football by floodlight and emerge bruised and mud-caked? Or are they content doing eyeball exercises in front of the TV? I wonder if Diana  ( Hayden , an AI girl , a former Miss World ) is still showing her legs . We won’t know, will we, till some Japanese corporation invents the Time Machine. Considering that Man has already reached the Moon, can this be far behind? H G Wells would certainly be pleased.]]>http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=-1&TOPIC_ID=1794&REPLY_ID=12787/
Poll Question:
What is your preference in marrying someone outside your caste/race?

arranged vs love is simple argument. i am sure for ppl in multicultural society such as Toronto, would you marry outside your race or caste ? and interestingly wot would your pref be?
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Yes, i understand you must be living in CA NA DA,   which is just too colorful.  
My own opinion is we are CHINESE, we have our own culture etc. I oppose to marrying someone outside your caste/race.
LOVE IS BLIND, but think about it your contact with a White or Asian etc. I hope not black, would be exciting at first.  That is only in the Canadian or US Society, b/c when u come over to the East, Like HK Taiwan Singapore India etc. with your wife people will stare at you !!!  When you go to Birthday Parties, Wedding Parties, etc. it is really horrible seeing Indians sitting in one corner, Whites sitting in one corner,  French sitting in one corner and the majority of Chinese all enjoying and talking away in the mass. BUT remember when you really get married and settle down and have kids, what will your kids feel, when they look at you a Chinese and your Wife a White (or whatever other than Chinese).  When they grow up, they have no place in  society, not in Chinese circles, not in Whites circles.  In the end when they grow up 18 to 22 years and when they bring back boyfriends girlfriends they are blacks, italians, Philippines etc. that is the time you will regret what you did, but it is too late.
My friends living in Canada who married whites English, French, Indians, now they are crying to see their kids in the above positions which I mentioned !!!!   You destroy the next generation.
I have lived in CA NA DA for ten years and seen enough even with Whites and Blacks, Asians with chinese, Italians with Chinese, etc. etc.  and really some of the marriages dont last long.  They spend every penny they have and dont think of tomorrow or the future, so when the real need comes for money, this is the time trouble starts.
So People, hold your horses, marry a Chinese if you are Chinese, whether he/she is WuPei, Hakka, Cantonese etc. that is still Chinese with Chinese.
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]]>http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=-1&TOPIC_ID=1807&REPLY_ID=12828http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=-1&TOPIC_ID=1808&REPLY_ID=12825
Question is why are people even discussing about this?

The reason: Chinese Nationalist Press feeding on hunger for sensationalism, and it is very dangerous.]]>http://www.sitemaze.com/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=-1&TOPIC_ID=1802&REPLY_ID=12814/
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TODAYS BBC NEWS !!!!
WHERE IS HUMAN RIGHTS  ????   I THINK PEOPLE TALKING HERE ARE TOO YOUNG, AND HAVENT FACED REAL LIFE OR BANGED THEIR HEADS ON THE "HEAD OF A NAIL". AS THE CHINESE SAYING GOES.  I THINK THE $670 IS NOT EVEN ENOUGH TO PAY HER LAWYERS.
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Human Rights Watch has called on Saudi judges to overturn a decision to drop charges against a Saudi couple accused of severely abusing an Indonesian maid.

A judge in Riyadh awarded $670 damages to the maid, Nour Miyati, but dropped all charges against her employers.

The female employer, who admitted the abuse and was originally sentenced to 35 lashes, had her sentence overturned.

Human Rights Watch said the ruling on Monday was "outrageous", and sent "a dangerous message" to Saudi employers.

Ms Miyati, 25, contracted gangrene after allegedly being tied up for a month and left without food in 2005. She had to have several fingers and toes amputated.

New York-based Human Rights Watch called for an appeals court to "impose stiff penalties on the employers, including imprisonment, and payment of significant financial compensation".

Saudi officials have not commented on the report.

'Impunity'

Human Rights Watch says Ms Miyati was treated in a Riyadh hospital in March 2005 for gangrene, malnourishment and other injuries.

All charges against Ms Miyati's male employer were dropped early in the investigation, Human Rights Watch says.

On Monday a Riyadh judge found the female employer not guilty, despite her earlier admission and "compelling physical evidence", the group says.

A prior Saudi judgement, subsequently overturned, had seen Ms Miyati convicted of falsely accusing her employers and sentenced to 79 lashes.

Human Rights Watch said the latest ruling "sends a dangerous message to Saudi employers that they can beat domestic workers with impunity and that victims have little hope of justice".

Rights organisations say many foreign domestic maids in Saudi Arabia work in harsh circumstances and often suffer abuse by their employers.

The Saudi Labour Ministry has acknowledged some problems, but the government also says foreign workers' rights are protected under Islamic law.
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