Author: Serkadis

By Ntandoyenkosi Ncube JOHANNESBURG, Feb 19 (IPS) Support for regional trade is one of the cornerstones of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). But the focus has been on large scale trade in goods and services, ignoring one important group that was trading throughout the region.

Cross-border traders, many of them women, have been contributing to the development of their nations and families, even before the establishment of the regional body.

According to a 2004 United Nations World Food Programme report, informal cross border trade played a significant role in averting widespread food insecurity during the 2002/03 drought that devastated the region.

And a United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) report, 'Women in Informal Cross Border Trade in Southern Africa,' says the average value contribution of informal cross border trade in the SADC region is 17.6 billion U.S. dollars per year, accounting for 30-40 percent of intra-SADC Trade.

The UNIFEM report was released at a workshop for Women Informal Cross Border Traders held from 8th to 11th February.

"By ignoring informal cross border trade, SADC member states could be overlooking a significant proportion of their trade," UNIFEM Southern Africa Regional Director Nomcebo Manzini told IPS.

Traders demand recognition

At the workshop, cross border traders declared 2010 to be the year they are going to fight for regional government to acknowledge their contribution.

"This year we want them to recognise that cross border traders contribute to the GDP (gross domestic product) and put in place legal frameworks which protect us because there is a lot of harassment by government officials during transit," Charity Mombeshora, the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Association's secretary for gender and women's affairs told IPS.

Their declaration is timed to coincide with the FIFA World Cup 2010 football tournament, which is expected to boost business for the host country – South Africa – and regionally.

And like any other entrepreneurs, women cross border traders want to see their businesses flourish and expand.

"We are encouraging our members to diversify… They must bring in something new for them and the industry to grow so that we can come with [shipping] containers also instead of coming with a bag. We don’t want to remain being ICBTs," Thandi Tshukudu from Botswana said.

Obstacles to overcome

But the women traders are limited by unfavourable policies and a working environment that is hostile to women.

Shortages of foreign currency in some countries and stringent banking regulations throughout the region make it very difficult for them to operate bank accounts in the various countries they trade in.

Banks are reluctant to advance financial assistance to women traders because they have little in the way of collateral and the nature of business is deemed risky.

"Our main goal this year is to push our leaders to make sure we have micro-finance institutions specifically for women cross border traders so that we can access loans. These loans should be long term loans, not like the one they have now where they expect you to pay back in thirty days," said Mozambican trader Lucia Cunica.

"Challenges are plenty. One such is transport from home…. when you get to the border its even worse and hectic, (Immigration officials) treat us like criminals… at times we spend hours at the border," Christine Mongo from Zambia told IPS.

"The other challenge is like I am in transit to Namibia, I have my goods. I am charged duty in Botswana, yet I am in transit! And when I get to Namibia, I am charged duty again. At the end of the day the profit margin is very thin," added Jacqueline Shonga.

Accommodation is a major concern for traders. They rent private homes or sleep in buses or bus shelters. Some enter into sexual relationships in order to secure accommodation for their trips. They risk rape and other forms of gender-based violence as well as contracting HIV.

The women traders at the UNIFEM workshop said they would create associations and cooperatives in the region to make strategic decisions for investment of the money generated from their trade. The associations will help train women cross border traders in areas such as product value addition, business management and record-keeping.

The Chicagoland Kids Expo returns to Schaumburg this weekend to offer a family-friendly antidote to cabin fever.

Under one roof, kids can work off their wiggles at a selection of moon walks, experience the thrill of Euro-Bungy or try out their pitching arms at the Schaumburg Flyers Professional Baseball Speed Pitch.

OK, it’s a really big roof.

All the fun takes place Saturday, Feb. 20, and Sunday, Feb., at the 100,000-square-foot Renaissance Convention Center. With a wide-open space, no columns and a 30-foot ceiling, it’s just right for kids who are born to run.

For parents, the 2010 Chicagoland Kids Expo is packed with more than 100 exhibits showcasing children’s products and services. Exhibitors include schools and day-care centers, summer camps, nanny and child-care services, financial planners, clothing and toys.

Kids will get a chance to meet Arthur, the world’s most famous aardvark. The roster of sports team mascots includes the Schaumburg Flyers’ Bearon, Chicago Fire’s Sparky and Chicago Sky’s Sky Guy.

Other attractions include balloon artists, magicians, face painters and clowns.

The FireZone offers an interactive, hands-on look into the world of firefighting. Zoo to You’s petting zoo will bring some of its exotic animals, such as a 12-foot albino Burmese python or blue-tongue skink, to the Main Stage at 11 a.m. both days.

The Main Stage lineup also includes the Chicago Sky Fly Kids at noon Saturday and Radio Disney Party Patrol at 2 p.m. both days. Christian Youth Theater performs at 4 p.m. both days on the Oaklee’s Guide Stage.

All that jumping, bouncing and dancing is bound to create an appetite. A large food court offers a wide selection of lunch and dinner meals, snacks and drinks.

For a complete schedule of entertainment and appearances, visit www.chicagokidsexpo.com.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

A group of 19 Panasonic employee volunteers from the OEM Battery division of Panasonic Industrial Company, based in Rolling Meadows, had the opportunity to give back to the community as well as enhance their team-building skills.

Clearbrook, a nonprofit committed to being a leader in creating innovative opportunities, services and supports to children and adults with developmental disabilities in over 80 communities throughout the Chicago area, invited the team to contribute their time and skills throughout the afternoon on Tuesday, Dec. 14, at their facilities in Arlington Heights.

The teams divided into smaller groups, assembling goody bags for an upcoming fundraiser. The remainder of the Panasonic volunteer group worked in the Resale Shop to organize donations which will be sold to the public.

“This was a great way to utilize our group, talent and team-building skills while managing to give our time to those in need,” says Bob Rauh, director of Battery Operations. “It gave us a great sense of accomplishment.”

Historically, volunteer activities at the Panasonic Industrial Company have been performed on a companywide basis and organized through traditional means. This event, scheduled during the sales meeting, was a new undertaking in Rolling Meadows.

“We are grateful to Panasonic and these wonderful local volunteers for helping Clearbrook fulfill our mission of supporting children and adults with developmental disabilities,” said Nanci Chesek, director of Volunteer Services. “We rely on the support of local companies and other organizations. Panasonic set a great example for others to emulate.”

Each year, more than 2,000 people donate their time to help Clearbrook. Group and individual volunteers are always welcome at Clearbrook. To learn more about volunteering, please contact Nanci Chesek, director of Volunteer Services at (847) 385-5016 or e-mail [email protected].

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

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Remember that patent filed by Sony recently that was rumored to be their response to the GeoHotz exploit for the PS3? Well, it looks like that’s not the end of the story. Linux Product Manager, Owen Stampflee, posted

Lizzy Wetzel, Hope Fenwick, Hannah Kersemeier, Lia Sommer, Clare Philbin, Shannon Kersemeier, Renee Lubbe, Katie Fredian, Kate Lubbe and friends look for Congo and Haiti on the globe.

 

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The Hoffman Estates Park District unveiled a new billiards room for senior citizens on Monday at the Community Center, 1685 W. Higgins Road in Hoffman Estates.

The new tables are in the senior center, part of the park district’s 50+ Seniors Club. For a $5 annual fee, members can use a variety of resources, including computers, the billiards room and library, and have access to yoga classes.

Call the program’s coordinator, Rica Cuff for more information at (847) 885-7500, extension 626.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

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Spend this wintry Saturday strolling around downtown Libertyville for MainStreet Libertyville’s 4th Annual “Let’s Wine About Winter” event. Inside the village’s many shops and restaurants you will discover a variety of local talented artists while sipping wine or tasting delicious refreshments. A $10 etched commemorative wine glass will be your “ticket” to this fun event, which can be purchased at any one of the participating stores on that day. No advance reservations are required.

MainStreet’s Executive Director Pam Hume tells us what you need to know about “Let’s Wine About Winter.”

Q. What happens at this event?

A. This is a wine-tasting event sponsored by MainStreet Libertyville held in participating downtown stores and restaurants. People are able to walk from store to store tasting a variety of wines and refreshments. A printed map is provided. Also indicated on the map will be the local artist who will be featured at the stores.

Q. How long has this event been in existence? How has it changed, and what is new this year?

A. This is the fourth year for this event. Each year more people hear about it and the crowds get bigger and bigger! In fact, this year we have two buses coming with women’s groups and had calls from many of the suburbs from Wisconsin to Chicago. People hire a sitter and it becomes a fun destination for couples, neighbors and friends. This year we will also have our monthlong Snowmen on Parade in downtown Libertyville event going on at the same time. Twelve snowmen that were created by local civic groups and schools will be displayed in front of various stores in the downtown.

Anyone can vote for their favorite “Frosty.” The winning design group will receive $500. Ballot boxes are available in the stores.

Q. What’s the highlight of the event?

A. I think the highlight of this event is how the downtown is buzzing with activity. People are in a festive mood chatting with store owners, artists and friends and enjoying themselves.

This is an adult (21 years and older) event. People can shake off “cabin fever” and spend a wintry afternoon strolling in the downtown where 22 participating retail shops and restaurants will be serving wine and other delicious refreshments. As you are “shopping and sipping” talented local artists will be found in many of the stores displaying their handmade jewelry, paintings and other unique art forms. There will even be an animal rescue group at one of the stores with potential adoptees.

Q. What kinds of food and beverages will be for sale?

A. The only cost is $10 for which you receive an etched commemorative wine glass to be used as your “ticket” throughout the stores for this event. It can be purchased at any one of the participating shops or restaurants.

Q. Tell us about the volunteers and organizers who pull this together.

A. The impetus really comes from the participating downtown business owners, who are genuinely excited about this event. Cathy Kraemer from Cathy’s Garden Gate is an enthusiastic participant. “I LOVE the event because everyone that comes to it on a dreary winter day is here to have a good time,” she said.

Q. Is there anything else we should know?

A. We are hoping that people will come downtown and make a day of it by either having lunch before or dinner after the event at one of our many restaurants. Parking is easy at the covered parking garage (4 hours free) located in the downtown. For your convenience, take the metra train, which has a station in the heart of the downtown.

If you go

What: MainStreet Libertyville’s 4th Annual Let’s Wine About Winter

When: 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20

Where: Various downtown shops. Maps available at participating businesses.

Cost: $10 for the etched wine glass, which can be bought at any participating store or restaurant. The proceeds from the sales of the wine glasses go to MainStreet Libertyville, a downtown economic revitalization organization whose mission is to enhance the community identity and heritage, to foster a center of activity and to ensure economic stability in the downtown.

More info: For more information call the MainStreet Libertyville office (847) 680-0336 or visit our Web site at mainstreetlibertyville.org.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

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Raising rates isn’t necessarily bad news for asset markets, even Asian stock markets.

The Asian Development Bank appears happy about Bernanke’s move.

Bloomberg:

“The effect on the Asian economies in a way is going to be positive because it isn’t going to choke growth but it also recognizes inflationary pressures,” Rajat Nag, managing director of the Asian Development Bank, said in an interview in Tokyo today.

…

Nag, who provides strategic and operational direction to the ADB, said the Fed’s move “is not the end of cheap money but it is probably the beginning of the end.” “We think this balance between not chocking off growth and not stoking inflation is a difficult call,” Nag said. “But we are encouraged that the governments including the U.S. and Asia are striking the right balance, so my reaction to this move by the Fed is positive,” he said.

Read more here >

 

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• It Surely Matters… Euro Getting Murdered By Bernanke’s Hike As Asian Markets Rout
• The Tightening Cycle Is About To Begin Again, And It Will Start In Australia
• Okay, Here Is Our Exit Strategy

Apparently, Google is not just a huge and extremely profitable company, concerned only with sales, revenue and statistics, as it has recently surfaced that it also wants to make its employees happier by building them residential areas closer to the place they work in. The current headquarters of Google are located in Mountain V… (read more)

Not long ago, a man from the United Kingdom was questioned by the police after having posted a tweet about blowing up an airport within a week unless his flight was restored. It appears that the man in question, named Paul Chambers, was in fact charged by the local authorities and is to appear in Doncaster Magistrates Court on February 19th.

Th… (read more)

Money is leaking out of European equities, somewhat unsurprisingly given the magnitude of attention to the European sovereign debt woes these days.

Yet, oddly, investors are actually tip-toeing back into Greece for the weekly period ending February 17th.

EPFR Global: Europe Equity Funds, meanwhile, surrendered a net $303 million. It was their fifth consecutive week of outflows and pulled them back into negative territory year-to-date. Dedicated Greece Equity Funds did, however, eke out modest inflows, suggesting that investors are shifting their focus from sovereign debt issues to the region’s lackluster growth.

Across the pond, fund flows into U.S. stocks hit a nine-week high according to EPFR. Japan registered its eight straight week of inflows.

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• Greek Socialists To Probe Conservatives’ Faulty EU Stats

BRICs manufacturing collapsed less and then recovered early during the recent crisis. Emerging markets stocks in turn were hot in 2009, attracting U.S. investor inflows while U.S. domestic stocks registered outflows.

Yet note where we are now. The U.S. manufacturing rebound has been far sharper than the BRICs, especially base done on the most recent spike. Europe, meanwhile, is recovering but lagging. Just some perspective.

Add my twitter for a hand-picked stream of posts like this: @vincefernando

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• Euro Bludgeoned As Portuguese Government Debt Disaster Sparks Credit Default Swap Panic
• Germans Complain That All The Good Manufacturing Jobs Are Going To America
• The Greek Judgement Day Cometh, Wednesday

For retiring Metamora girls basketball coach Kathy Wainman, she survives to coach another day.

Her Redbirds shut out Dunlap in the first quarter, but were forced to score five of the game’s final seven points to defeat the Eagles, 39-36, to claim the Class 3A Metamora Regional title.

“Started great. Shut them out in the first quarter. Thought we had a nice little lead, but it wasn’t good enough,” Wainman said. “Lot of credit to Dunlap. Some of them were hanging their heads and (Dunlap coach Patrick Garst) got them going.

“They came back and created enough pressure to take us out of what we wanted to do … thank goodness we had a couple of key (baskets) late, couple of big rebounds — finally some big rebounds — and a good team effort on our part not to relinquish the lead.”

Metamora (18-11) moves on to the LaSalle-Peru Sectional where it will meet New Lennox Lincoln-Way West on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Lincoln-Way West defeated Joliet Catholic, 46-33, to win the Ottawa Regional.

The Redbirds led 8-0 after a quarter. Dunlap (9-18) committed nine first-quarter turnovers, missed two free throws and its four field-goal attempts.

“Just to be in the game at the end says a lot about this team,” Garst said. “Metamora could have blown us away in the first quarter.”

Metamora led 11-4 and 17-5 in the second quarter before Dunlap, which lost twice by double-digits to the Redbirds in the regular season, started to chip away at the lead.

A rebound basket by Brooke Anderson an instant before the halftime buzzer cut the leadto 17-11.

Metamora upped its lead to 10 early in the third only to lead 26-21 at the end of three. Dunlap finally tied the game at 29, 32 and for the last time at 34 on a rebound basket by Allyson Kemmann with 2:02 left to play.

Dunlap called timeout after the game-tying basket at 34.

Metamora, however, was the one the to take advantage.

Wainman ran Justine Phillips off a pair of screens to open her up on the wing where she drained a Dunlap-deflating 3-pointer for a 37-34 Metamora lead at 1:31.

“We knew they were going to run something to set up that wing play and we talked about that during the timeout,” Garst said. “We knew what was coming, we just didn’t get through the picks.”

Said Wainman, “That is one of our set plays and it looked like it wasn’t going to happen. I was actually calling it off, and my little guard (Ali Helton) went with it anyway and J was right there. Sometimes the players know better.”

The game wasn’t over yet.

Dunlap’s Lexi Hobbs had a ball go halfway down before popping out with 1:15 left. A Metamora turnover at :49.8 gave the ball back to Dunlap only to see Hobbs called for a charge at :40.9.

“Whitney Rohrbach took over the defensive job on Hobbs in the fourth quarter,” Wainman said. “She has a little more height and that seemed to make a difference.

“Didn’t plan on that. Didn’t practice that. But these girls are the type that will do things we don’t even practice.”

Phillips made two free throws at :34.7 for a 39-34 Metamora lead. Danielle Langan put back her own rebound to pull Dunlap to within 39-36 at :15.4.

Rhorbach had a one-and-one with 12 seconds left and missed. She grabbed her own rebound, looked to be fouled, but after a discussion between the three officials was called for a travel before the foul with :09.6 left.

Dunlap’s season finally came to an end on an over-and-back violation with :02.1 showing.

“This game was lost in the first quarter. It was,” Garst said. “You can prepare young kids for this type of intensity but when I don’t have anyone who played in a regional game last year, you can tell them what it’s like. But they really don’t know until they get out there.”

Phillips led Metamora with 16 points. Langan and Bri Flinn each scored nine for Dunlap.

Bo Ryan can be reached at 686-3214 or [email protected].
 

Read the original article from Journal Star.

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With the news coming out that the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has agreed to investigate both RIM and Apple over patent claims brought by Kodak, it makes you wonder if we’ll soon be able to have any smartphones at all. As you hopefully know the ITC process is a sneaky loophole used by patent holders to get two totally unrelated shots at putting the same company on trial for infringing on the same patents. There’s the regular court process, and then there’s the ITC, who can’t fine companies, but can issue injunctions barring the import of the products. This process is regularly abused for anti-competitive purposes. Of course, there are other, similar charges that the ITC is reviewing as well, and it begins to make you wonder if any smartphone can actually “survive” this process.

Pretty much all smartphones are made outside of the US, so they can all be barred by the ITC, and with the technology in your average smartphone being covered by hundreds of patents, it’s almost certain that every smartphone infringes on a slew of patents. Obviously, it’s unlikely that anything will ever result in a full import ban on any particular phone — the second that happened, the company would just give up and pay a ton of cash to make the complaining company go away — but it does highlight what a wasteful process this is, and how it’s taking good money away from actual innovation in smartphones and having it go towards stunts like this.

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U.S. Q4 real GDP growth was boosted 0.3% by resurgent private nonresidential fixed investment for the first time since Q2 2008. Basically, capex spending came back, finally. Spending on equipment and software drove this change, jumping 13.3% year over year.

Critics of this capex spike argue that the jump was artificial; the result of the expiration of a ‘bonus depreciation’ program.

Yet Goldman Sachs digs into the issue, and finds this criticism unfounded by comparing the current data to a similar situation that happened back in Q4 2004.

Goldman: The 2003/04 Experience. In contrast to our findings for 2009Q4, our results show that the depreciation bonus was unsuccessful in boosting investment when the 2003/04 program expired. (This conclusion is in line with previous studies; see our January 22 2004 Daily Comment and the paper by Cohen and Cummins cited above.) For example, we find no evidence that expenditure on equipment and software grew more strongly than the model would have suggested in 2004Q4 (see column 3 in the first row of the table). (There is some evidence that capital expenditure rose faster throughout the period that the incentive was in place, but this effect is not statistically significant.)

Thus the capex rebound is real, criticism is unfounded, and the rebound is likely to continue through Q1 at the very least.

Recent Orders and Industrial Production data. First, factory orders for capital goods – a lead indicator for future equipment spending – continued to rise in December; nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft grew by 30.5% (mom, annualized). Second, industrial production of capital goods continued to grow strongly in January; for example, industrial production of computer and electronic products grew by 19% (mom, annualized) in January – even faster than during December. Taken together these developments are inconsistent with a pullback in capital expenditure in Q1.

We conclude that the expiration of the depreciation bonus fails to offer a convincing explanation for the strong increase in capital expenditure on equipment and software in Q4, providing little reason to expect substantial pullback in Q1. Instead, the surge in equipment expenditure may simply have been due to “replacement demand” for capital goods, as utilization rates are still too low to suggest outright expansion of capacity as a reasonable motivation. Following a long recession during which firms held on to their existing equipment, improved profits may have been used to replace worn-out capital goods. This mechanism could explain why capital expenditure on short-lived assets such as computers surged so dramatically during the last quarter of 2009.

Add my twitter for a hand-picked stream of posts like this: @vincefernando

(Via Goldman Sachs, The Q4 Surge in Equipment Spending: The ExpiringDepreciation Bonus Not the Key Driver, 19 Feb 2010)

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• Morgan Stanley: Here’s Two Economic Indicators Flashing A Huge SELL Signal
• Rosenberg’s Five Ways To Protect Your Portfolio During A Deflationary Period
• Gartman: Gold Just Got Taken To The Woodshed, But You Should Still Hold It

Taking a jab at Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2, Electronic Arts has once again stated their position in the battle for the best FPS game claiming that DICE’ upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will be in

Article Tags: Editorial

The global warming cult sees its superstitions shattered

Yvo de Boer, the United Nations’ top climate-change official, announced his resignation yesterday. Good riddance. The bureaucrat’s departure is no surprise because his pseudo-scientific global warming religion was proved to be a hoax on his watch.

The list of problems central to the global warming fraud just doesn’t seem to end. As if hiding and losing data, the numerous errors in the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the suppression of academic research that disagrees with global warming weren’t bad enough, now comes word that basic ground-based temperature data may have been biased towards incorrectly showing temperature increases.

Joseph D’Aleo, the first director of meteorology and co-founder of the Weather Channel, and Anthony Watts, a meteorologist and founder of SurfaceStations.org, are well-known and well-respected scientists. On Jan. 29, they released a startling study showing that starting in 1990, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began systematically eliminating climate-measuring stations in cooler locations around the world. Eliminating stations that tended to record cooler temperatures drove up the average measured temperature. The stations eliminated were in higher latitudes and altitudes, inland areas away from the sea and more rural locations. The drop in the number of weather stations was dramatic, declining from more than 6,000 stations to fewer than 1,500.

Source: washingtontimes.com

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The euro has continued to bleed against the U.S. dollar, hitting lows not seen since about May. The Hang Seng is down over 2%, while the Nikkei has shed more than a percent.

Yet mainland Chinese stocks are rising, with the Shanghai Composite up a percent. Europe is also showing some small gains. Perhaps they’re the first to realize that Bernanke’s early steps towards tightening monetary policy are an indication that he thinks the economic recovery has legs. Inflation isn’t threatening him yet, so that can’t be the reason since while yesterday’s PPI was higher than expected, it merely removed deflation as a threat rather than signal ling substantial inflation.

Let’s not forget that the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Indicator index continues to be strong, and we had a larger than expected decline of distillate inventories in the U.S. reported yesterday. This is an early tightening step due to the fact that some degree of a sustainable recovery has taken hold.

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• It Surely Matters… Euro Getting Murdered By Bernanke’s Hike As Asian Markets Rout
• Vietnamese Hoarding U.S. Dollars As Dong Crashes Post-Emergency Devaluation
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Australia’s Torah Bright reacts as her score goes up in the Final, placing her in the Gold Medal position.

TORAH TORAH TORAH

I couldn’t resist adding that heading!

Torah Bright did today what the cream of sports people can only find a way to do. Put it all on the line and then deliver. She achieved the pinnacle for all Olympians, the Gold Medal, in her chosen Sport, the Women’s Half Pipe Snowboarding Event.

The best scoring run of her early two runs put here straight into the 12 girl final, the six girls with the highest scoring runs progressing through, with six other coming from the semi final.

There was some minor concern for Australia’s other athlete in the same event, Holly Crawford. Although not really as favoured as some of the others, Holly put in an excellent run, but just missed out by one place on direct progress to the Final, when she finished in seventh place, and had to go through the semi final. She put in the best scoring run in that semi and progressed to the final.

On her first run, Torah Bright slipped and fell during the run, as did most of the other girls, not out of  lack of ability, but because at this level, the tricks you need to do put you at the very edge of the envelope, and even the slightest error in timing can lead to absolute disaster.

In that Final, the other young Australian girl, Holly Crawford then put in an excellent run, placing her as the 6th highest scorer. On the second runs, two others scored higher than she did so Holly eventually finished in 8th place, an excellent result.

On her second run, the last chance she had, Torah Bright then laid it all on the line, did all her tricks, and nailed them all. Then she just had to wait while the other girls had their chance. None could beat the score Torah put on the board. Two American girls, Hannah Teter, and Kelly Clark won the Silver and Bronze.

This Gold now adds to the Silver already secured by Dale Begg-Smith in the Men’s Moguls.

For a Country that achieves well above its weight in all World Sport, this success at Winter Sports not even seen in Australia in availability to the general public, is quite an achievement indeed.

Filed under: Australia Tagged: 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, Torah Bright, Winter Olympic Games, Women’s Half Pipe Snowboarding