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Festival of champions
By Martin Orth
In June, one year before the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the top teams of the six FIFA confederations plus world champions Brazil and hosts Germany will compete for the Confederations Cup. An overview of this mini-world championship
Jürgen Klinsmann, Germany’s national coach, says, “The Confederations Cup is the big dress rehearsal for the World Cup.” One year before the 2006 World Cup, the soccer world is directing its eyes towards Germany. From June 15 to 29, 2005, the top teams of the six FIFA confederations plus world champions Brazil and hosts Germany will be competing for the Confederations Cup. For the organizers of the 2006 World Cup, this mini-world championship is a dry run for the great sporting event of the year 2006. With state-of-the-art stadia, hospitable cities and enthusiastic spectators, they aim to present themselves as the perfect hosts. For the teams, too, the Festival of Champions represents a last chance to orient themselves before the 2006 World Cup.
National coach Jürgen Klinsmann already defined the objective when he took office last year: “We want to become world champions!” The World Cup winner of 1990 knows how you become a champion. With new strategies and young talented players, the former world-class striker has brought new self-confidence and fresh enthusiasm to German soccer. He has made midfield strategist Michael Ballack captain in place of world-class goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. He has fostered talents like Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski and demonstrated that he has made his mark on the team in a number of friendlies. After two draws against reigning world champions Brazil and twofold world champions Argentina, he says: “Now we need wins.”
In the opening match on June 15 in Frankfurt, Germany will be facing Oceania Nations Cup title holders Australia. “We want to start with a victory,” says Jürgen Klinsmann, “and grow with each game.” On June 18, Germany will be playing against African champions Tunisia in Cologne and then against Argentina, currently ranked number 3 in the world, in Nuremberg on June 21. The other group consists of world champions Brazil, Euro 2004 title holders Greece, Asian champions Japan, and Mexico representing North and Central America.
Never before has a Confederations Cup had such strong teams. “We are travelling to Germany full of ambition and, as world and South American champions, would like to achieve another title,” says Carlos Parreira, Brazil’s coach. Argentina will come as Olympic gold medallists and Greece is attracting attention as current European champion. And the fact that supposedly minor soccer nations, such as Australia, Japan or Mexico, can cause surprises has been demonstrated on a number of occasions in the past. Australia was a finalist in the 1997 Confederations Cup, Japan in 2001, and Mexico even won the title against Brazil in 1999.
One person in particular is very pleased that things are finally beginning to move: Franz Beckenbauer. “For more than five years we have been preparing for the 2006 World Cup. Now, at last, football is back in the spotlight,” says the President of the 2006 World Cup Organizing Committee. The stadia in Cologne, Frankfurt, Hanover, Leipzig and Nuremberg have acquired new splendour. The cities are expectantly awaiting their visitors. And German fans have engaged in a real run on the tickets. “That’s a great sign that the Festival of Champions has aroused the fans’ interest,” says Franz Beckenbauer. “The Confederations Cup will increase anticipation of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.”
(Courtesy: Embassy of Germany, Kathmandu, Deutschland Magazine)
Work: The French in question
by Mélina Gazsi, journalist on the monthly Le Monde Initiatives
When it comes to work, the French suffer from several preconceptions. A reputation, which is, based more on clichés than reality... Let’s have a closer look!
Yes, France is a country rated highly by foreign investors. Yes, its output is one of the best in the world. Yes, it has incomparable advantages. Yes, but… not enough is said about this. Worse, people are led to believe the opposite. There is a "significant difference between France’s economic and industrial reality and how it is perceived by decision-makers in other countries".
For Clara Gaymard, president of the French international investment agency (Afii), too many preconceptions still hold sway. To show the reality of France today, a budget of 10 million euros has been allocated over three years and a powerful image campaign was initiated in October 2004. Nothing less! For there is nothing harder than overcoming prejudices. The only way is to deal with every aspect of them one by one, point by point, and demonstrate that these misleading prejudices have no basis in fact. We have attempted this exercise on human resources and productivity. Read on and learn!
In terms of appeal 1, the mirror held up to France is said to be the Anglo-Saxon model, with short-term criteria and financial attractions. Yet surely a country’s strengths and performance is measured in its totality? With this method it is possible to overcome a great many prejudices. So here is a table of counter arguments to the clichés. Not complacent, but objective.
The French are all civil servants
The archetype par excellence! At the end of 2001, the French national institute of statistics and economic studies (Insee) calculated that there were 5.047 million civil servants in a working population of 26.934 million, or 21% of the economically active in central and regional government and health services. So almost 19 million French people, excluding job seekers, work in the private sector. In reality, as a proportion of the total population, there are more public servants in the United States than in France, and the health, education and social-security administration sectors of the two countries are different. Public services here, private there! In France, we believe in equality for all in the provision of public services, especially as they are not only for the economically active but also, it goes without saying, for children, the elderly, etc.
"Too much state"?
The eternal complaint. The State represents 55% of gross domestic product (GDP)? Why is this? Because it finances a share of the social, health and pension provision and the collective expenditure of the State and the regions. In other words, the police, army, judicial system, diplomatic service, all urban and rural development, infrastructure and public transport as well as education, from nursery (and we know how much the existence of a public childcare system contributes to the demographic vitality of France compared to other countries) to university; and health establishments, from child-protection centres to retirement homes …
New technologies, the internet, e-mail… do they exist here?
With some of the lowest charges and 5 million ADSL (high speed Internet access) subscribers in July 2004, France stands in second place in Europe broadband (30% of French homes have Internet access) and in terms of equipment (11 million homes with home PCs in the first quarter of 2004), ahead of Germany and the United Kingdom; and (did you know?) France is a model of excellence in the area of e-government, with 90% of forms available on line.
Overprotected?
Labour law protects employees and Social Security looks after their health. Does this cost a lot? Yes, but it is a guarantee that serves both companies and employees (see section on contributions).
The 35-hour week?
Originally this was a union demand to counter unemployment, to share out the work available in a post-industrial society in which more and more is produced by fewer and fewer people. The 35-hour week has led to the creation of some 300,000 jobs and has even benefited labour costs, by bringing down the contributions on low pay. For business there is no going back! With the annualisation of working time and an extremely flexible labour force, the car manufacturer Renault, for example, gains nine working days over the year. Furthermore, the extra free time produces wealth, with a soaring market for sports and leisure (17% of the average French household budget) and travel; not counting the benefits in terms of social cohesion, closer family ties, etc.
Always on strike?
Not true. Strikes have become much rarer since 1985! They occur in France with a similar frequency to the United Kingdom and far less frequently than in the United States, Italy or Spain. They tend to last for a shorter time than in the United States, but they are more visible since in France they mainly affect central services. Indeed, today there is debate about limiting the right to strike by introducing a minimum level of public service (for the postal and public transport sectors in particular).
Social security contributions too high?
Set up immediately after the Second World War in a spirit of national solidarity, Social Security is the direct successor to the employers’ social insurance schemes that developed in the 19th century. The aim is to ensure a stable workforce and keep it in good health. This is a system that works for the common good, for employees and companies, for the health of all and for demographic vigour. It takes responsibility for illness, maternity — with the benefit of paid maternity leave for women — accidents, including industrial accidents, and pensions. For is France not European champion when it comes to longevity and the birth-rate?
And taxes?
According to a report from the Conseil des impôts de la Cour des comptes [the tax advisory council of the French audit commission] the gap in taxation between France and comparable countries is small. While corporation tax is higher than the European average, the calculation base is narrower than in other States (its takes in fewer parameters); and the reform of the "taxe professionnelle" [local business tax] will soon take company earnings into account, which was not previously the case.
What about unemployment?
Nearly 10% in France, less than 5% in the United States. This is not a true comparison. What would the American rate of unemployment be if it were to include the 7 million "discouraged" unemployed people, not in the statistics, those who do little jobs, sometimes a few hours a week, and the prison population estimated at 2 million people? This is the thesis of Jeremy Rifkin, an American economist who has just published in the United States, The European Dream: How Europe’s Vision of the Future is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream 2. To quote: "If Europe thinks that the only way to get rid of unemployment is to follow the American example, it is mistaken. We have done everything being advocated in Europe: flexible working, deregulation, privatisation and we have high unemployment, poverty, an unenviable level of crime, growing inequality, stagnant pay and a second-rate health system."
(Courtesy: French Embassy, Kathmandu Nepal)
Israeli airport technology detects intent of terrorists
Article by David Brinn
Built to replace human selectors or random check ups of visitors, the SDS-VR-1000 is
based on the assumption that sophisticated terrorists might not be included in suspect lists.
Not many terrorists walk into an airport waving a banner announcing who they are. They don't carry handguns or try to conceal explosives as they debark from an international flight into the United States. And just as rarely do they have police records.
So how can airport officials go about identifying potential terrorists? A new solution is Israel's Suspect Detection Systems (SDS) - a company that has developed an advance automated filtering tool for identifying potential suspects with hostile intentions among masses of tens of thousands visitors.
Consider it a personal polygraph machine, that will make air travelers infinitely safer, says SDS CEO Shabtai Shoval, a former division manager at Comverse Technology who founded SDS along with former head of the Israel Police's polygraph division Yeshayahu Horowitz and former deputy Mossad chief Amiram Levin. "Our system makes an initial assessment within three minutes. If the system identifies a suspect, he can be sent to a personal agent to complete the investigation," Shoval said.
Built to replace human selectors or random check ups of visitors, the SDS-VR-1000 is a device based on the assumption that sophisticated terrorists might not be included in suspect lists and will not carry weapon or explosives when they approach a checkpoint. It is based on the belief that the terrorist's fear will be reflected in measurable psycho-physiological parameters.
"We have the technology to use artificial intelligence in software to imitate polygraph capabilities. It took a long time - two years - and lots of trial and error, but we've achieved a success rate of 95%," said Shoval.
The way it works is that the passenger approaches the machine - they put their passport on a scanner and their other hand on a sensor. He is then presented with an array of written questions in the language indicated by the passport (or in an audio mode with earphones if requested). A special detector then measures physiological responses.
"What is does is collect objective data out of the passenger's ID - and it analyzes the data compared to the subjective data it collects while the passenger is asked different questions," said Shoval. "The process takes approximately three minutes, and the passenger either receives a transfer printout authorizing him to advance to the next stage of entry to the country, or an announcement that he is required for further questioning. A monitoring official will then escort the passenger to another area for further questioning. It's like a robot selection process - we don't make the decision to take someone out of line and put him in jail - we only take someone for further investigation. There's no profile selecting and no human rights violations," he said. "We've created a single-track minded machine - it can do just one task - ID a terrorist."
The Israeli security apparatus has approved the system, and an experimental version is going to be tested this year in an American airport.
According to Shoval, the SDS system is a truly unique product, one that could only have been developed in the cultural and political climate of Israel.
Courtesy http://www.israel21c.org/
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