The saddest fact that we have encountered since coming together after Vicky's disappearance is that abuse is happening to domestic helpers at many levels, more so than even the more cynical amongst us might think. Aside from the many people we have referred to Helpers for Domestic Helpers, mainly for contract violations by employers, we have been working with the Bethune House Migrant Women's Shelter and its parent organisation the Mission for Migrant Workers in aiding physically distressed helpers.

We will, of course, offer any news available on Vicky's case, but the next post will feature Beth's story, written by one of the concern group and published in the Mission for Migrant Workers newsletter this month.

The whirlwind world tour is coming to a close. God has been working in the hearts and lives of so many across the globe and around the world.

Continue to keep the team in your thoughts and prayers while they are in HK.

Final stop: Sydney, Australia---21 October---wow!

老千案例重溫: 在線視頻網站失實陳述誤導公眾, 偽裝Web2.0 UGC開發收費視頻網站, 假授權, 侵權, 濫用Creative Commons的許可證欺詐互聯網用戶和全球電影產業

Courtesy to whom armed to terminate this crook illegal cybercrime activities
感謝成功終止騙子老千開發黑網非法犯罪活動

老千声明：

华视网节目平台由宁海华晨网络信息有限公司运营，维护，所有内容均来自用户上传，同时，所有发布到华视网（www.cn-see.com）的内容都遵守Creative Commons的版权。在线支付手机包月.....

The course is very insightful... if you follow VC news on techcrunch and a whole bunch of blogs from the big guns in the Valley (no i am just a follower not a propogator), this course is very very complementary.  Ofcourse it is quite sad that we (students) in the Australian campus of AGSM have to resort to travelling overseas to undertake a course in anything entrepreneurial.  Seems the Australian focus is on management training more than anything else.  Could that explain the pitiable state of entrepreneurship in Australia?

A Slick Media Inc. Video

PHOTOS BY MILA VICTORIA

Pink Revolution: Breast Cancer awareness @ Juicy Couture Hong Kong for Hong Kong Cancer Fund http://www.so-u.tv/

粉紅革命是一個關注乳癌的慈善機構.它們與Juicy Couture合作舉辦慈善義賣活動,為香港癌症基金會籌募經費.http://www.so-u.tv/

16 financial heavy weights put on the gloves to deal a knock out blow to competitors. Hedge Fund Fight Night Charity Hong Kong October 30. http://so-u.tv

16 名重量級的財務從業員帶上拳套,準備來一場生死鬥,把所有對手擊敗,並得到最終的勝利 .對沖基金搏擊之夜慈善拳賽將於十月廿五日舉行

A hilarious new tv program, presented by three hot, hetero, male asian-american hosts, exploring hong kong through sketch comedy and ridiculous stunts.

一個全新的趣劇,由三大英俊,瀟灑的美籍亞裔型男演出,他們以有趣的方法介紹香港.

___

Greece has pledged up to 28 billion euros ($38.5 billion) to help its banking sector weather the financial crisis. Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis stressed that the measures were temporary and that the government aimed to not burden taxpayers. Under the rescue package, up to 8 billion euros ($11 billion) will be issued in bonds to boost liquidity. Banks will also be allowed to ask for up to 5 billion euros in state capital in exchange for shares, the minister said

GERMANY (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel urged German lawmakers to support her government's planned financial rescue package, worth up to 500 billion euros ($671 billion), arguing that dangers to market stability have not yet been banished. The German package foresees up to 400 billion euros ($536.7 billion) in lending guarantees for banks, and both houses of parliament are expected to vote Friday. Germany's DAX ended 337.56 points, or 6.5 percent, lower at 4,861.63.

___

JAPAN (AP) — Japan's Nikkei 225 index bucked the trend, however, ending up 1.1 percent at 9,547.47. The benchmark soared 14 percent in the previous session — its biggest single-day gain ever.

___

HONG KONG (AP) — Chief Executive Donald Tsang said the meltdown was even worse than the 1997 Asian financial crisis and would take a far bigger toll on the global economy. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 834.58 points, or nearly 5 percent, to close at 15,998.30 after rising more than 13 percent the previous two days.

___

BRAZIL (AP) — Brazil's Ibovespa stock index plunged 10 percent and trading was automatically halted for 30 minutes after it hit 37,413. Low commodity prices and weak economic indicators in the U.S. were the reason for the day's plummet, analysts said. Ibovespa heavyweights include state-run oil company Petrobras — down 12 percent on the day — and Vale do Rio Doce, the world's largest mining company — down 14.6 percent. Last week, the index lost 25 percent of its value, but had its biggest one-day gain in a decade on Monday.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/15/business/NA-Meltdown-Countries-Glance.php

Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Vietnam will tighten surveillance of companies' production after suspending operations of Vedan Vietnam Co. a Hong Kong-invested monosodium glutamate maker, on environmental faults, the government's Web site said.

``Given the lessons learned from Vedan's environmental violations, which caused serious consequences, the Prime Minister requested heads of ministries and provinces not to lose control of environmental protection,'' the statement said. ``We must make sure the next generations don't pay for this.''

Foreign-investment commitments to Vietnam increased almost fivefold in the first nine months, leading to increased monitoring of factories' activities in rural areas.

The government earlier this month suspended Vedan's operations and ordered the company to pay 127.3 billion dong ($7.7 million) by Nov. 6 for improperly discharging effluent and chemicals into a river. Vedan's Vietnam unit accounted for half of Hong Kong-based Vedan International Holdings Ltd.'s revenue last year, according to Bloomberg data.

The government will use the money paid by Vedan to clean up the Thi Vai river in southern Vietnam, according to today's statement. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also asked ministries to tighten environmental-protection regulations if necessary, the statement said.

Miwon Vietnam Co., a unit of Seoul-based Daesang Holdings Co., was inspected by environmental-protection authorities this month, Vietnam News Agency reported Oct. 8. The monosodium- glutamate maker is based in the northern province of Phu Tho.

Local authorities have proposed the government suspend the operations of Miwon's drainage system, which was found to be releasing untreated waste water into a river near Hanoi, the report said. The inspection came after complaints from local residents about health problems and signs of air and water pollution in the area around the factory, VNA said.

13 days from $3,799

8 days from $1,899

Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang said Wednesday the city's banks must say this week whether they will buy back the structured products backed by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. that were sold to retail investors.

Banks and regulators were sharply criticized by some lawmakers Monday as thousands of small investors lost millions of dollars buying into the structured products, or "minibonds," backed by the former Wall Street giant that filed for bankruptcy last month.

"There can't be any further delays," Tsang said at a news conference after giving his annual policy address.

"It has been quite some time since the issue surfaced...so we want to resolve it as soon as possible."

A person familiar with the situation said Wednesday the city's government has appointed accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP to assess the residual value of the products.

Ernst & Young declined to comment.

Some of the banks are still undecided on whether they will compensate retail investors over the sale of the products, the person added.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Monday local banks sold HK$20.17 billion (US$2.6 billion) worth of Lehman-related products to retail investors.

The de facto central bank said the structured products included HK$11.2 billion of the minibonds, whose value plunged after Lehman sought bankruptcy protection last month.

Investors of the minibonds have staged protests at various bank offices over the past two weeks, demanding that banks compensate them for their losses.

HKMA Chief Executive Joseph Yam said Monday that 71 investigations were under way involving customers who purchased the Lehman-backed products from nine banks.

Several banks have said they will compensate any customers who can prove they were misled into believing their money was safe.

I never really thought I would be a fan of horse racing.  I've seen it in detective movies (they always seem to meet an informant or damsel at the races) and occasionally it has appeared on television.  Although having some romantic associations, I didn't really know what to expect when I went.   Who knew a horse pounding grass can cause so much adrenaline to course through your own veins?

When we arrived, beer gardens and food stalls greeted us.  Wading through people to get to the betting kiosk, I looked up at a screen filled with numbers resembling the algebraic matrices in the nightmares of  my youth. Attempts to explain betting (to win, to place, split, etc) simply added to the formulas and equations.  So, I decided to just plunge in.  And, I did - $10 HK, Horse #1, Race #1, to win.  A really complicated bet.

Out to the races.  Beautiful and powerful horses thundered by. I had already resigned to losing the money, so I was mostly impressed by the sheer majesty of the animals, quietly soaking in the race. Friends were comparing tickets and one turned and said, 'Bryan, did you win?'  I look up and #1 (Bulb Treasure) had won. A grin crept across my face as I said, 'Um..yeah.'  The odds were 13 to 1, so - I now theoretically had 130 new found HK (the actual pay out was 154 HK).  Pictures were taken and my little heart jumped (who doesn't like winning stuff?).

I did not win another race that evening, but the tiny gambler in me was emboldened and unleashed by the first victory.   I bet on every race.  I mastered 'both ways,' figuring odds, and always picked a horse that was so close.  In race #4, I picked #12 randomly - a horse that was assured to lose.   The odds and payout on the horse were ridiculous, like 30 to 1.  So, I bet both ways - maybe the goofy thing would place at least. The race came, and he was in #4, then #2, then #3, then no where.  I expected it, just good fun and money lost.  Around the bend - what horse has taken off to FIRST PLACE pounding it's beautiful legs?  #12 #12 #12!!!  A yelp of joy slipped out and I cheered!  Had my faith in this beautiful equine paid off?  Would I soon be rolling in the HK dollars, retiring from my ETA position to live in the lap of HK luxury life?  Sipping pina colodas surrounded by people who only loved me for the money?

So, at the races I found I have the heart of a gambler - eager to set itself up for disappointment, hopes ready to be crushed, but ever striving for that one big fix.  I'm not really becoming and addict, but I think I will revisit the track.  Alas, #12 failed me in the last two seconds of the race - falling completely out of ranking.  Not that a win of 300 HK would actually enable me to retire, but, those moments were pure adrenaline bliss. Who knows, maybe #5 or #3 will give me that thrill I need to throw away some more HK$.   The beer was great; the food was delightful. The next time I go, I'll be sure to bring the camera.

am too tired...post more later...

1. Gao Gei, off Jaffe Street, Hong Kong island: 

A local HK establishment, this dingy little miserable looking kopitiam sells the best beef noodles in the whole whole. I swear. Order the curry beef and tripe. I went back 5 times during my entire stay. And I think that's saying ALOT. especially when you have the likes of Joel Robuchon and Alain Ducasse at your door step. 

2. Silvercord Shopping Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon island:

If like me you love shopping and cannot stop until you are giddy from exhaustion and dehydration, then you die die must come here. They have everything you want. Seriously. APC? Check! Tsumori Chisato? Check! Plus they house this pretty awesome I.T shop (stocks international brands from all over the world, CDG, Acne, Margiela etc) which I really love. 

3. Landmark Hotel, Pedder Street, Prince's Building, Chater House, IFC: 

These buildings are all linked together by a sheltered walkway/overhead bridge so it helps to set aside one or two days to get all the shopping done in this area. This is pretty much where all the high-end brands are located, you get LANE BLOODY CRAWFORD (!!!!!), Harvey Nichols, Chanel, Miu Miu, Bottega, Prada, Tod's, Bvlgari, Givenchy, Armani etc. My favourite place? Pedder Street where I can find On Pedder. This is not your pussy Singaporean On Pedder okayy, it's about 2-3 times the size, has less annoying staff and as long as you can speak good English and can put on a slight American/British accent (cue Miss Chaiyee) then you're good to go. Hongkies just love english speaking people. They just assume english=rich=more sales commission so there you go. 

4. Isola, IFC, Hong Kong island:

I'm just throwing this in for good measure since I already mentioned one good local place. This place serves decent Italian food at reasonable prices and has an excellent bar overlooking the Kowloon skyline. There are 2 Isola premises, one of the 3rd floor and another just above. I recommend the bar area on the 4th floor because you get great pizzas (truffles and cheese) with very good finger food (foie gras canapes) and a totally to-die-for mini wagyu burger (I had 3 in one night of mingling with some clients). The burger is dripping with oil but you really shouldn't care because it is frigging gooodd. Wash it all down with a Bloody Mary. Good stuff. 

5. Zuma Bar and Restaurant, Landmark Hotel, Hong Kong island:

Zuma is really good in Hong Kong. Like seriously seriously awesome. The bar is excellent, I had a lovely apple martini and would have had more if I was with philip and not with a potential employer haha. The restaurant itself is filled to the brim with white people but that shouldn't deter you from ordering the scallops, sushi, sea urchin (i love love love sea urchin and this was the best I had by far) and lobster salad. I for one don't really like white people sharing my food premises but they are tolerable expecially when you overhear a pasty white 25 year old trying to impress his date with 'oh.. i work in a hedge fund, what about you?'. it's seriously hilarious and make for good dining entertainment. 

6. Wellington Street, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong island:

Mid-levels is where all the richer locals and expats stay. The one funny thing about HK people is that they love to ask about where you're staying at. Mainly because this immediately helps them form an impression of how rich/poor/educated or not you are. Simply put, the richer you are, the higher up in mountains you stay. Jackie Chan stays at the Peak btw. Driving down from Mid-levels, you'll pass by Soho and Wellington Street. There are a couple of fantastic places in this area that are really worth checking out and Wellington Street is where all the good HK food is located at. There's Tsui Wah which serves local HK food (think thick french toast with honey, pork rib noodles, milk tea etc) 24 hours a day at very reasonable prices. Next to Tsui Wah is this pretty authentic Cantonese porridge and noodle house that does good zhou at 3 Singapore dollars a pop in air-conditioned surroundings. Opposite Tsui Wah is this dim-sum restaurant that is also famous for peking duck. The dim sum is alright and the duck is seriously oily but it's still very crowded on weekends. 

7. Tokyo Joe/Kyoto Joe, Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong island: 

I had lunch here with a client and couldn't order as much as I wanted but from what I had, this place serves really decent Japanese food. The one dish that you absolutely must have is the green tea tiramisu. I would go back to HK just for this (and gao gei beef noodles, see number 1). There are 2 joints, Kyoto Joe and Tokyo Joe with the latter being slightly more expensive. But by all means, try either.. they are both pretty solid and I highly doubt you'll get served with something you didn't like. The lunch sets are quite value for money and you'll emerge a happy little dumpling. 

8. Soho, Hong Kong island: 

Located opposite Landmark Hotel and up the road from Queen's Road Central, you will spy a tiny little Balenciaga shop at the corner of this traffic junction. In a really blink and you'll miss it kind of way, it's located right between this huge ass M&S and a gargantuan Coach store. You'll also spy Jill Sander, Rebecca Taylor and See by Chloe. Walk up the hill, turn left and walk down that stretch of road. You'll find yourself in Mecca, as did I - Christian Louboutain, Ann D, Martin Margiela, Billionaire Boys' Club.  You'll need nothing more in life. 

9. Prive, Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong island: 

Touted as the club for rich HK teens, celebs and investment bankers, this club is supposedly highly exclusive and entry is limited to members only. If you fall into any one of those categories, access shouldn't be a problem. I don't really know what's the big deal about it since it's kinda small, but by all means check it out if you have the chance. My HK friends seem to adore this place. 

10. Pacific Grill, Elgin Street, Hong Kong island:

There are tonnes of good restaurants on Elgin Street. After having dinner at a few, I really like this one the most. It's not too expensive, about 60 per pax and serves really good seafood. Order the scallops, squid, ribs and salmon. The scallops are huge and not the puny shit we get back in London. The staff are really friendly and nice and the only drawback seems to be the tiny toilet. 

There are plenty of fantastic restaurants in HK and the shopping is undoubtedly the best in the world ( i personally like it better than NYC) so not everything is covered in this list. I also really love Fashion Walk, along Paterson Street and Causeway Bay too. If you're looking for bargains, there is always Kowloon island, with the likes of Mong Kok and the Lady's Night Market. As for food, there are plenty of fancy places to go to, but you can easily find them online. A couple more recommendations would be Wako at Causeway Bay for wagyu beef barbecue, Archie B's for excellent NYC style takeaway, Kaya at Causeway Bay for authentic Korean food, The Flying Pan in Wanchai which serves breakfast and bagels 24 hours everyday, Nicholini's at Pacific Plaza and the famous buffets and brunches at Mandarin Hotel, Peninsula Hotel and the Grand Hyatt. 

For more local food places, I found a pretty useful website: http://www.worldfoodieguide.com/index.php/where-to-eat-in-hong-kong/ and I'm sorry for not having any pictures but I haven't reach Chaipees' level of thick skin yet. Heehee.

Joanne over at Frutto della passione posted this interesting link on What the Farmer Knows (about milk) and it triggered a little gem of a memory that I thought would be fun to share with you all.

Some of my Chinese and Banana (I'll explain that term in another post) friends were hanging out in Hong Kong this year and over a typical delish Horlick drink they alluded me to something I wasn't aware of... White People smell like - milk! Apparantly amongst Orientals (who consume little to none dairy products traditionally) it's widely agreed that Caucasians stink like a dairy farm!

Haaa... How hilarious! I'd never thought that "Whites" had any particular smell to speak of. And really what kind of smell do dairy products have? Do you think it's a mild smell? I do - but then again I'm used to them. If you are too let's do a little experiment for the sake of this theory shall we? Just imagine you are a strict vegan (that means no animal or dairy products at all and is pretty much just clever thought out Sanitarium style recipes or basic fruit & veg), now then if you were on such a clean cut diet and opened a standard Western fridge what would that first whiff of cheese do to you? Knock you out right? ;) Certainly that's a little drastic since in other cultures if they don't consume dairy in vast quantities they go nuts over something else particular to them.

Airwick's caring furry mascots (who also double as housewives) convince a global audience to use special air freshners that spritz automatically every couple of seconds as apparantly overtime we become insensitive to familiar smells. This would explain why our own smell and those with a similar genetic makeup are indetectable. As a kid you grow to identify and love (although perhaps not always!) the different smells of your schoolfriends homes. When they come to school you can even smell it on their jumpers! Visiting people who keep cats or dogs inside make nostrils wiggle uncomfortably at first but that soon passes - doesn't it?

Go here to check out this adorable Indian Kangaroo! (Not really understanding the "sweet" present she gets from her husband at the end!)

I wonder if any Indians credit the theory that... ahem... curry can create a stink? It's believed that curry comes out through the pores of those who eat it and having worked in a hair salon part time during my high school years I can attest that washing these fine ladies hair (although beautiful and luxurious) did at times have a similar scent to well, curry, what can I say!

My Asian friends & relatives homes, clothes & skin I've always personally described to have a faint to strong mothball smell! A dusty incensey smell that seems to linger around like the smoke and oranges offered to ancestors. Even if there is none of that in a modern home!

But are we products of what we eat? In the case of curry munchers or dairy consumers, let's face it western food is filled and pumped to the brim with milk, cheese, yoghurt, cream & butter. (The mothball odour however is rather mysterious and unexplainable from a food point of view). In any case if I ate curry for a week would it change my body's chemical makeup? Assuming one's smell is a part of your body's chemical makeup at all. Perhaps someone more scientifically minded would care to enlighten me... ;)

I'm wondering whether it's our environment that coats our skin in it's odours, if the food we eat comes out through our pores OR if it's stronger then us and is actually DNA derived! I once knew a Korean boy who had that faint mothball scent yet was adopted into a White family and rarely ate Kimchi! How can that be explained?

Do you have any thoughts on any other smells particular to certain races? I can't think of an identifying smell for all these are just some that have crossed into my realm.

And please at the end of the day this is all just meant for a bit of a curious fun. No racism at all intended. Political correctness is reaching ridiculous levels in Australia these days in sharp contrast to the White Australia Policy of the 70s. Now while this may be good in terms of acceptance of our multicultural society it can be stifling and silly sometimes. I think we should be able to discuss certain aspects of the beautiful colourful world we live in without being overly political correct.

So you tell me! Is this thought new for you? Are you paranoid you smell like dairy/ mothballs/ curry/ something else now?

Seeing as I'm mix does that mean I smell like well... mothbally milk? LOL

Leave your comments below!