April 17, 1975 !

http://youtu.be/rI8JZ4U9gTI

STOP CORRUPTION FROM WITHIN!

ON CORRUPTION AND NEPOTISM, ETC. 

"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." You should not criticize other people for having the same faults, same mistakes and the same sins that you yourself have.

Politicians are trying to point fingers at each other. Many (if not all) claim that they love Cambodia and her people; however, such love-- for Cambodia and Cambodians-- comes very last.

Corruption permeates Cambodian society for many decades. It is is our personal, mental and social heredity. Cambodian social problems are the reflection of what we have thought and done for generations. THEY ARE OUR OWN CREATION.

It is good that many Cambodians are now realizing that it is our own thoughts and deeds or actions that have been destroying Cambodia and our own people. Looking to blame other people or nations for our own faults is a deadly habit.

Cambodians need to solve our own problems. No other countries can help us forever. And it starts with each Cambodian--everyone of us.

CLEAN OUR MIND SO THAT OUR BODY, HOME, FAMILY, SOCIETY AND COUNTRY WILL BE CLEAN.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=572821102814706&set=a.179327075497446.39082.100002604658206&type=1&theater


"Silence is not necessarily golden"

On widespread protests: Prevent violence is a better choice!

On widespread protests: Prevent violence is a better choice!

It is almost certain that if the widespread protests were to happen, violence would follow.

The violence is likely to happen not because the leaders want it to occur, but because the leaders cannot control the situations in which the emotions of hatred, anger, revenge, fears and jealousy, etc.… are high among the participants. Such emotions have been instilled in people’s heart and mind for quite some time. Mostly are from careless using of political rhetoric.

When you put an angry person by himself to yell and scream on the street, the effect of his anger is small and less harmful; however, when you place thousands of people who are hateful, angry, revengeful, fearful and jealous in the same place, you will multiply the harmful effects by thousands times. It is likened to pouring thousands of gallons of deadly fuel onto a small fire. The negative emotions are high and all you need is a little spark of fire to detonate. 

It is the Universal law. Negative attracts more negatives and they just cannot produce positive results.

Cambodia has gone through such situations many times in the past. That is one of the reasons why its populations have been reduced to where they are now. They have killed each other from within with such negative emotions and attitudes that are not well analyzed and understood.

Cambodians have spoken their mind on the 28th of July. They had chosen to go to voting booths to use the ballots because they wanted peaceful solutions to their many challenges in life. There is no reason political leaders cannot do the same—using all peaceful means to help those who voted for them.

Help fulfill their dreams rather than break their heart and trust. Stop the rhetoric and prevent violence while you still can.

It’s a better choice.

Peace!

Timothy Chhim

New York 08-08-13

Competition between the Giants

Competition between the Giants
In Cambodia...

US Seeks Infrastructure Deals in Cambodia

By Simon Lewis - January 20, 2013

Looking to compete with Chi­nese influence in the region, the U.S. government is making plans to help American companies win large-scale infrastructure projects in Cambodia, U.S. officials said on Thursday in Phnom Penh.

The plans, which come as part of a strategic and economic em-bracing of Asia by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, look to challenge China’s near monopoly on big undertakings, such as roads and hydro­power dams in the country.

“The pivot to Asia…is not only a security focus, it’s an economic focus because in order for us to be successful in the long term, we have to be economically in­volved in this region,” said Lor­raine Hariton, U.S. State De­part­ment special representative for commercial and business affairs, who spoke to reporters during a round-table meeting at the U.S Embassy in Phnom Penh. Her visit followed a meeting in Hanoi on Monday to discuss infrastructure in the region as part of the U.S.-led Lower Mekong Initiative.

“We are concerned that Amer­ican companies are not involved in this region—Cambodia as well as the general Lower Mekong region—especially in this area of infrastructure,” Ms. Hariton said. “We are looking to get some good winds here and work on some deals that will allow us to play a larger role in this region.”

Hong-Phong Pho, the desk officer for Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos within the U.S. Department of Commerce, said U.S. government agencies—including the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the U.S. Overseas Private Invest­ment Corporation and the U.S. Trade and Development Agen­cy—were ready to help develop infrastructure in the region.

“That’s the tools that we have, but before we can apply those tools, we need an actual concrete project. Whether it’s an investment project, like an airport where there’s a demand for goods and services, or just great sales [of U.S. products and technologies].”

He said American firms could be involved in projects such as power plants, and that one un­named U.S. company present at the meeting in Hanoi was interested in building a new airport in Cambodia.
“For me, deals are what’s im­portant,” Mr. Pho said. “As a re­sult of our meetings in Vietnam, we found a certain [U.S.] company that has the capability not only to operate and build airports, but also bringing financing. Now that’s really important.”

“It’s that kind of connection that can make things happen. And we will be right there facilitating it,” he added.

While some U.S. companies have made inroads into Cambo­dia’s economy—U.S. brands like Ford and Dairy Queen entered the market in 2012—American firms have not been granted any of the country’s larger projects in the in­frastructure and energy sectors.

Currently, Chinese companies with close links to the Chinese government dominate Cambo­dia’s infrastructure sector, building roads, bridges and hydro­power dams, with Chinese banks also providing funding.

Just last month, two Chinese companies announced that they would spend $9.6 billion building a brand-new seaport in Koh Kong province, and a 400-km railway connecting it to a steel mill in Preah Vihear province.

According to the most recent figures from the Cambodian In­vestment Board (CIB), which cov­er 2012 up to the end of No­vember, new Chinese investment totaled more than $250 million in the 11-month period.

Only one large investment in Cam­bodia during the period came from the U.S.—a 49 percent stake in a $10.9 million tour­ism development on an island off the coast of Koh Kong province.
Although the CIB figures only represent pledged investment agreed with the government, U.S. Embassy deputy political and economic section chief David Myers said no better data for U.S. investment was available.

Also speaking at the embassy, Bretton Sciaroni, chairman of the Cambodia chapter of the Ameri­can Chamber of Commerce, said that multinational corporations from the U.S. had taken an interest in Cambodia of late.

“For major corporates, it’s unrealistic to think that you’re going to have them come one day and the next day decide to invest,” he said. “What I view this as is putting seeds in the ground and it will grow later.”

He also said many companies op­erating in China were interested in setting up part of their operation in Cambodia “to hedge their bets because the Chinese economic en­­­vironment is more un­certain for international companies.”

Daniel Mitchell, a board member at the American Chamber of Com­merce, who has been doing business in Cambodia for 12 years, said the main considerations for such firms coming into Cambodia would be the cost and reliability of electricity and tele­communication services.
He also said that, rather than putting investors off, the human rights situation and difficulties over land in Cambodia could be helped by U.S. investment, which is subject to higher standards. Some of those standards come from the fact U.S. firms must com­ply with regulations on foreign bribery found within the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

“One way of addressing the hu­man rights issues is to promote the investment of responsible capital,” he said.

“I’ll let you draw the conclusions of where responsible capital comes from, and the U.S. is definitely on that list, and where oth­er capital comes from—places where there just aren’t those standards and it isn’t something that’s important.”

The State Department’s Ms. Hariton said Cambodia’s main problem in garnering investment from the U.S. was its image.

“I think we need to do a better job of marketing Cambodia especially to the United States,” she said.
“There [are] percep­tions­…about how the country might have been 20 years ago, not what it is today.”

© 2013, The Cambodia Daily. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced in print, electronically, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without written permission.

Shoppers Delight: Nanuet Mall Getting New Life

Shoppers Delight: Nanuet Mall Getting New Life

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012312100091&nclick_check=1



Risa Hoag, a Nanuet Chamber of Commerce board member, left, and Timothy S. Chhim, president of Greater Nanuet Chamber of Commerce, are photographed as construction continues on the Shops at Nanuet on the site of the former Nanuet Mall on Dec. 10, 2012. ( Matthew Brown/ The Journal News )

NANUET — Rockland’s oldest mall will reopen Oct. 1 in its new incarnation, The Shops at Nanuet, several weeks ahead of its widely anticipated opening.
Thomas Schneider, Simon Property Group’s executive vice president for development, said construction was progressing at the site of the old Nanuet Mall and would continue through the winter.

“We are planning on opening Oct. 1,” said Schneider. “We’re all hoping for decent weather this winter ... We are doing everything we can to move things along.”
In the past the company had given no clear opening date but had indicated the shopping center would open ahead of the 2013 holiday season.

Motorists can now see the skeleton of the new structure coming up at the site of the old mall, most of which was razed to the ground earlier this year. Construction is taking place daily and the new mall is beginning to take shape. Clarkstown building department officials are monitoring construction daily at the site, the town said.

“You can see something is coming up finally,” Sheila Morahan-Gick, a Nanuet mother of three. “We have been waiting a long time for this. Now to finally see a structure, it’s exciting. It will be a good shot in the arm for Nanuet.”

Morahan-Gick said she and others in the hamlet were looking forward to good quality stores coming to the area and giving shoppers an option other than the Palisades Center in West Nyack.
The town and Simon had been in discussions for years about the Nanuet Mall, which opened in 1969 and began to lose customers and tenants when the larger Palisades Center debuted in 1998.
The slow demise of the Nanuet Mall led to a drop in revenue for Simon, and lower property and sales tax revenue for the town and the Nanuet school district.

All parties hope a refurbished mall with high-end stores will bring customers back and improve the economy of the area.

“It’s an exciting process,” said Clarkstown Supervisor Alex Gromack. “Every few weeks you’ll see something more being built.”

In meetings with Clarkstown and the local community, Simon has said it will build a 790,654-square-foot, L-shaped, open-air mall with a boulevard flanked by single-story stores with upscale fashion retailers and restaurants, next to a two-story cinema and fitness center.
"Silence is not necessarily golden"

Pedestrian walkways and landscaping would flank the stores and some parking would be available on the boulevard.

So far Simon has announced a 66,000-square foot Fairway Market will open at the mall — a first for Rockland. Regal Theaters and a large fitness center would also open.
Schneider declined to name any additional stores because, he said, lease negotiations had not been finalized.

But he said announcements would be coming in the new year.
The planned opening has also reinvigorated the business community in Nanuet, which is hoping that shoppers who flock to The Shops at Nanuet will stop by downtown Nanuet on their way to and from the mall.

To that end, businesses have come together to form the Greater Nanuet Chamber of Commerce, a rejuvenated version of a chamber of commerce that had struggled for years and finally became defunct a decade ago.



Timothy S. Chhim, president of Greater Nanuet Chamber of Commerce, left, and Risa Hoag, a Nanuet Chamber of Commerce board member, survey the construction for the Shops at Nanuet on the site of the former Nanuet Mall on Dec. 10, 2012. ( Matthew Brown/ The Journal News )




Risa Hoag, a Nanuet Chamber of Commerce board member, left, and Timothy S. Chhim, president of Greater Nanuet Chamber of Commerce, are photographed as construction continues on the New Nanuet Mall in Nanuet Dec. 10, 2012. ( Matthew Brown/ The Journal News )

“We are excited about the mall being revitalized,” said Risa Hoag, a board member of the chamber who led the effort. “The mall will be a magnet for people to shop ... We are looking at it as an opportunity to improve Nanuet as a whole.”

In a show that all businesses in the area are connected, said Hoag, Simon signed up with the chamber.
“Everybody is excited about it,” said Hoag. “It’s always nice to have a place to shop and feel proud of.”

Good-Bye God King....

Good-Bye God King

Picture: Author's record

For those who dislike the former King, the most joyful day is here. Their wishes are fulfilled and yet their hatred will continue from here to eternity. 

Nothing in this world that anyone can do to heal their injuries and hate—for all they see is what the former King has done wrong. They will consume much energy to talk about “evil” things that they think the King had committed.

For those who look for the King’s positive side, they are mourning the passing away of their revered King. Regardless of what the King had done wrong, they will forgive and willing to forget. Their mind will be at peace and there is no hatred left. Perhaps they will be happier than those who possess hatred...

One chapter of Cambodian history is closed. The talk of the town will continue for a while and then Cambodia will move on without the former King.

The future of Cambodia will depend on whether Cambodians can learn how to build a better Cambodia together. Khmer people need to think right. With accurate thinking Cambodians will be able to see things clearly and in order to think accurately Cambodians must not possess negative emotions for such emotions will lead to more confusion. No one in this world can do things right when they are confused.

Universal law permits no one to become successful when he or she possesses negative emotions such as hatred, revenge, jealousy, anger, fear, greed and superstition, etc…For these reasons the best thing that we all can do is to stop the cycle and the recycling of the above emotions.

For me I would say farewell to the former head of State, the former Prince, and the former King…the history will judge you and the law of cause and effect or Karma which rules the Universe will determine your fate.

Yes, I used to love you when I was once a young high school boy who was diving from the crowd to grab your hand under the hot sun; 

...then I used to hate you when I learned that you allowed the Vietcong and North Vietnamese to use Cambodia to fight the Americans; then I despised you when the Khmer Rouge sent me to be executed.  

Then my heart melted when you decided to turn against the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1979…and the world knows the rest of the story.

Picture: Author's record

…and then the one other thing that we had in common was music. Music has no color and you were a real good musician… And for whatever will happen to Cambodia next, I will always like your music… and I will remember the times when we used to play together…

For yours and my own sake: We are at peace.

R.I.P

Good bye God King!  

Timothy Chhim
October 14, 2012

This month in Khmer history...

"Silence is not necessarily golden"

Cambodian Politics: Same Action, Same Result!

"Silence is not necessarily golden"

Viets Control Cambodia's Economy

VN big investor in Cambodia

HA NOI — Viet Nam led other ASEAN nations in investments in Cambodia last year, contributing US$631 million out of the total $880 million invested by nations in the bloc, the Council for Development of Cambodia (CDC) reported on Thursday.

Malaysia came second with $235 million and Singapore third with $14 million, according to the CDC.

Viet Nam had 17 projects in the neighbouring country last year, focusing on rubber plantations and mining, while Malaysia mainly invested in real estate investment, garment-making and rice milling.

According to the Viet Nam-Laos-Cambodia Economic Co-operation Development Association, Viet Nam has so far invested in more than 90 projects in Cambodia with a combined worth of over $2 billion. However, the association's vice chairman, Bui Tuong Lan, said the figure still fell below the potential for investments in Cambodia.

Cambodian encouraged overseas investment in agriculture, including cash crops like rubber and tea, as well as in banking, urban development, energy, and mining, all sectors in which Viet Nam had ample experience, said Lan, expressing hopes that Viet Nam's investment in the country could reach $6 billion by 2015.

Viet Nam also has an opportunity to boost trade with the neighbouring kingdom. According to the Vietnamese Trade Office in Cambodia, bilateral trade totalled about $2.8 billion last year, up 54.7 per cent over the previous year. Of the total, Viet Nam exported about $2.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 55.6 per cent.

Viet Nam's exports included garments and textiles, cables, home appliances, food products and electrical parts, while its main imports were rubber, wood and wood products, and raw materials for the garment and tobacco industries.

Chan Nora, secretary for foreign affairs of the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce, said Vietnamese goods were popular in Cambodian market due to their good quality and reasonable prices. — VNS

"Silence is not necessarily golden"

Save Khmer Forests, land and environments

"Silence is not necessarily golden"