VivaLife

Oct - Dec 2010

Volume 2 - Issue 4

Living Life to the Fullest

Porsche Cayenne
A Hybrid too Good

Business Bytes
Business news

Jashanmal
90-year Retail History

IRAQ
Business Perceptions

Dates an Ideal Food Random Recipes

Date Recipes too Diet be Damn’d

Buckling Paper Buck

Valuing World’s Foreign Currency Reserves
 CONTENTS
5 Editorial

6 Porsche unveils Cayenne Hybrid 6

10 Toyota introduces Avalon 2011

12 Business Bytes 10

16 Pareto Principle

18 25 years of Dot com

12 20
20 Buckling Paper Buck

24 Jashanmal - 90 year retailing history

28 Iraq - Business Perceptions

31 Dates an Ideal Food 18

34 Random Recipes 34

36 Your Cosmic Calendar

24 28 30

Managing Editor Sunil P’vee Senior Editor Yacoub Omar Editorial Assistant Marcel Assousi
Content Contributors Butros Shadly - Ken Rubin - Leena Ayyad - Martin Tobola - Rita Alshoaibi
Art Director Reyas Ensign Design & Layout TMC Kaur Web Designer Mohammed Abbas
Photography Ashraf Hassan Marketing Analyst Namaya Jayamanae
Sales Co-Ordinator Michelle Paule
For Content ed@vivalife1.com For Advertisement ads@vivalife1.com For more info info@vivalife1.com
Website www.vivalife1.com
© MBS Group Publication - All rights reserved

www.vivalife1.com 3 Oct - Dec 2010

VIVALIFE 4 Oct - Dec 2010
An Editorial Note ...

W
e all laud tolerance, or at least we should. We believe that
a lack of tolerance among our fellow beings is the root
cause behind many of the conflicts in the world around us.
Good for us. Now that we have benevolently patted ourselves on
our back, perhaps it is time to take a really good look; right under
our noses among the community we live and work in. Do we show
tolerance to those around us? For that matter is tolerance the right
attitude we should be displaying? Is tolerance by its very nature
implying a condescending attitude on our part?

Communities differ along religious, nationalistic, ethnic, racial and

linguistic lines; they are divided into indigenous people, disabled
people, migrant workers and people in-between; and then they are
further demarcated by wealth, education, gender. No matter where
we live in this wide world, the diversity of our community and our
inability to identify with a community other than our own might
come as a surprise to us.

Let us take a look ... Except for the omnipresent hamburgers, piz-
zas, sushi or biryanis what is the extent of our interaction with
cuisines of other communities? How about the arts — music, films,
theater, literature — except for the popular varieties what is our
exposure to them. Have we ever created the opportunity to visit a
concert or cultural festival of another community? It has been said
that a culture is the sum total of all the influences that a region has
undergone, and this region no doubt has undergone quite a few;
but despite the variety of these influences, what has its impact been
on us?

How about the rights of people working for us, or with us? Do we
respect their rights to human rights as enshrined by the UN and
other bodies. When was the last time, or even the first time, that
we actively attempted to propagate tolerance towards other com-
munities; or, at least refrained from stereotyping, including gender-
typing others? How about our assumptions and beliefs about other
nationalities and ethnic groups; have we ever made any attempt to
verify the veracity of these impressions?

We seem to easily forget that every community is based on interde-

pendence among its diversity. The very survival of the human race
is based on the intrinsic diversity in a community, not in its homo-
geneity — Darwin proved this long ago on the Galapagos Island and
elsewhere. However, we still seem to have difficulty accepting this.

Meanwhile, let’s pat ourselves on being tolerant ...

P ’ v e e
Sunil
www.vivalife1.com 5 Oct - Dec 2010
Porsche unveils Cayenne Hybrid
P
orsche Centre Kuwait
recently introduced 5
new models of Cayenne
to the market, including its
flagship hybrid model the
Cayenne S Hybrid. Speaking in
front of a crowd of hundreds
of Porsche enthusiasts and
afficionados gathered at a lav-
ish launch ceremony, Graeme
Hunter, General Manager of
Porsche Centre Kuwait, em-
phasized the new features of
the Cayenne which meet cus-
tomers demand in the local
market. “We are extremely
proud to launch the new Cay-
enne. This model represents
the perfect balance between
elegant design, powerful driv-
ing dynamics and high level of
comfort. Despite all of this, the
efficiency on the new models
of Cayenne is a significant
improvement over its prede-
cessors, making this model an
outstanding trendsetter in its
segment.”
VIVALIFE
More dynamic and more efficient, more spacious inside
and yet lighter overall, the new Cayenne models point
to the future of technology. And in its sporting elegant
design, the new Cayenne models are more Porsche
than ever before.The new Cayenne enters the Kuwait
market with several versions, led by the Cayenne S Hy-
brid, the first production car from Porsche with hybrid
drive.
Like every Porsche, the new Cayenne models have
been developed according to the principle of Porsche
Intelligent Performance — more power on less fuel,
greater efficiency and lower CO2 emissions. Together,
the five versions offer customers the exact model of
their choice.
Of the five new models of Cayenne, the base model
comes with 3.6-litre V6 engine delivering 220kW power
through a six-speed manual gearbox or an optional
eight-speed Tiptronic S. Other specifications include
Porsche Traction Management (PTM) with active all-
wheel drive; acceleration 0–100km/h in 7.5seconds
(with Tiptronic S in 7.8seconds); top speed 230km/h;
fuel consumption 11.2ltr/100 km (with Tiptronic S
9.9ltr/100 km) and CO2 rating 263g/km (with Tiptronic
S 236g/km).
Cayenne Diesel is powered by a 3.0-litre V6 engine
that delivers 176kW through eight-speed Tiptronic S.
6 Oct - Dec 2010
PTM with permanent all-
wheel drive ; acceleration
0–100km/h in 7.8sec; top
speed 218km/h; fuel con-
sumption 7.4ltr/100km;
CO2 rating 195g/km.
Cayenne S 4.8-litre V8,
294kW; eight-speed Tip-
tronic S; PTM with ac-
tive all-wheel drive; ac-
celeration 0–100km/h
in 5.9sec; top speed
258km/h; fuel consump-
tion 10.5ltr/100km; CO2
rating 245g/km.
speed Tiptronic S; PTM
with active all-wheel
drive; acceleration 0–100
km/h in 4.7sec; top speed
278km/h; fuel consump-
tion 11.5ltr/100km; CO2
rating 270g/km.
Given these facts and
figures, three out of five
models in the range re-
main below the limit of
ten litres fuel consumption
per 100 kilometres. While,
two models – the Cayenne
Diesel at 195g/km and
the Cayenne S Hybrid at
improvement in product
substance and an even
higher standard of all-
round safety. Clearly, this
is good news not only in
terms of fuel consump-
tion and CO2 emissions,
but also when it comes to
performance, agility and
handling on the road.
As a result, the new Cay-
enne offers even more
driving pleasure than be-
fore both onroad and of-
froad, combined with even

Cayenne S Hybrid is a 193g/km – also remain greater everyday driving

parallel full hybrid 3.0-litre
supercharged V6 and syn-
chronous electric motor,
279kW overall system out-
put; eight-speed Tiptronic
S; PTM with permanent all-
wheel drive; acceleration
0–100km/h in 6.5sec; top
speed 242km/h; fuel con-
sumption 8.2ltr/100km;
CO2 rating 193g/km.
Cayenne Turbo 4.8-litre
biturbo-V8, 368kW; eight-
below the emission limit qualities, enhanced com-
of 200grams of CO2 per fort and supreme el-
kilometre. egance. Brand-new, sport-
ing but elegant design
Benefiting from a weight- makes the new generation
optimised mix of materi- of the Cayenne in 2010 an
als and concept changes even closer member of the
on the overall vehicle such Porsche family, bringing
as the new, extra-light out its particular character
all-wheel drive, weight is as a sporting performer
down, for instance, on the from every angle and
Cayenne Turbo by no less clearly revealing that par-
than 185kilos from previ- ticular shape and design so
ous versions, despite the typical of a Porsche.

www.vivalife1.com 7 Oct - Dec 2010

Toyota introduces Avalon 2011
T
oyota recently in-
troduced the boldly
redesigned 2011
Avalon. Evoking a time
when travel was sophisti-
cated, elegant and com-
fortable, the new Avalon
possesses a distinctive
new exterior style while
offering a restyled interior
rich with premium touch
points and practical new
technologies.
Dynamic New Exterior
Re-styled Avalon proj-
ects an elegant, outgoing
presence; a wider, more
substantial grille ties into
state-of-the-art projector
headlamps, working with
a broad, undisturbed front
hood to suggest a lowered
VIVALIFE 8 Oct - Dec 2010
center of gravity that em-
phasizes the Avalon’s wide
stance.
The new headlamps, which
combine multi-reflector
halogen high beams with
halogen or HID low beams,
utilize light pipes to cre-
ate a signature, night-time
appearance. The front fog
lamps, now integrated into
a trapezoidal front bumper,
provide a wider angle of
illumination.
Viewed from the side, New
Avalon is enhanced by
additional use of chrome
trim, redesigned rocker
panels, and glare-resistant
outer mirrors with inte-
grated turn signals.
At the rear of the car, iden-
tification is clearly defined
by a single Avalon logo
located above the license
plate. Dual-exhaust pipes
are integrated into the
cutaway trapezoid shape
of the lower bumper for a
modern image. Taillights
have been reshaped to
reduce turbulence at the
rear, and integrate stop,
turn and side marker light-
ing functions in one com-
bined lamp.
Spacious Interior Built For
Comfort
A new interior has been
designed with a contempo-
rary style. The new interior
remains generously spa-
cious and elegant, fitted
with comfortable seating
and thoughtfully integrated
amenities. The rear seat-
ing area is configured to
seat three passengers
comfortably, with ample
legroom and reclining rear
seats, unique in the seg-
ment. The rear headrests
have also been reshaped
and enlarged for better
support, and a convenient
flip-down center armrest
provides storage when the
middle seat is not in use.
The steering wheel in-
cludes controls for Blu-
etooth hands-free phones,
the audio system, climate
system, and the informa-
tion center.
A dual-zone climate control
system has nine air-flow
modes for more precise
www.vivalife1.com
Avalon will also have a re- with front-wheel-drive and
designed accelerator ped- optimized steering gear for
a natural handling feel.
al assembly and a brake
override system. Safety is Standard
control of interior cli- The new Avalon’s occu-
mate, and a clean-air filter pant-safety strategy in-
removes dust and pol- cludes use of extensively
len. The front-console box tested energy absorbing
has a sliding armrest that structures, protective side
moves 4.7 inches front to impact beams and over-
rear, able to accommodate head structure, advanced
a wide range of driver po- belt systems and active
sitions. front headrests as stan-
dard equipment. Avalon
Performance and Efficiency will also have a redesigned
Combined accelerator pedal assembly
Avalon’s exceptional com- and a brake override sys-
bination of ample horse- tem.
power and excellent fuel
economy offers one of Seven airbags, including
the best overall dynamic a front knee bag for the
performances in the large driver, and front side cur-
sedan segment. tain airbags for both rows,
are also standard. Toyota’s
New Avalon is powered by standard Star Safety Sys-
a 24-valve, dual-overhead tem includes Vehicle Sta-
cam 3.5-liter V6 engine bility Control (VSC), anti-
that produces 268 horse- lock braking system (ABS)
power at 6,200 rpm. with Electronic Brake force
The engine is equipped Distribution (EBD), Brake
with the latest dual VVT-i Assist, and TRAC traction
electronic valve-control control system.
mechanism that provides Each wheel has its own
a broader power-band, pressure sensor to warn if
while requiring less fuel tire pressure drops, pro-
and generating fewer viding the driver with an
emissions. It is mated to a early warning to change a
multi-mode six-speed au- tire safely.
tomatic transmission.
Avalon 2011
A roadworthy mix of fine Even with numerous re-
ride quality and accurate finements inside and out,
driving control is delivered the Avalon remains true
by the Avalon’s MacPher- to the idea that comfort is
son strut suspension, honest and uncomplicat-
which uses coil springs at ed, and “Traveling Avalon
all four corners. Rack-and- Class” is rich in simple,
pinion steering combines familiar pleasures.
9 Oct - Dec 2010
Business Bytes

Caribou Coffee — Always
Socially Responsible
Caribou Coffee, being part
of the Kuwaiti culture has
a strategic commitment
to lead a strong socially
responsible role in the
Middle-East. As part of
for this campaign is to en-
courage the participation
and involvement of every
individual, company, orga-
nization and institution to
make Abdullah’s and other
children with terminal con-
ditions, dreams come true.
Mr. Boulos Younes, General
Manager of Caribou Coffee
Middle-East added: “Spon-
soring projects like Bayt
Abdullah is an essential
part of our company’s core
values which are founded
on the socially responsible
principle of giving back to
the community”.

Caribou Coffee (CBOU),

founded in 1992, is the
leader in gourmet coffee-
houses
in the world, and second
largest based on number
of coffeehouses. In No-
vember 2005, Al Sayer
Franchising Co. launched
the first Caribou Coffee
shop outside the United
States, in Kuwait.
this role, Caribou contin- Mr. Hamad Musaed Al
ues to play an active role Sayer, Managing Director Today, Caribou’s success
in promoting the activities of Al Sayer Franchising has carried it to 28 lo-
and projects of the Kuwaiti commented: “Caribou Cof- cations in Kuwait, 25 in
youth including being an fee being profoundly inte- U.A.E, 8 in Bahrain, 2 in
active sponsor of Project grated in the Kuwaiti cul- Jordan, 2 in Qatar, 2 in
Nation ‘Proud to be Ku- ture had no better choice KSA, 1 in Oman and 1 in
waiti’ and ‘Negdar’. than sponsoring KACCH Lebanon with a plan to
foundation to give back to open more in the Middle-
Caribou Coffee recently our community.” East in the years to come.
decided on taking another He added: “Bayt Abdullah Living its mission state-
step with the Kuwait As- is dear to our hearts we ment of creating “an expe-
sociation for Care of Chil- are behind it to the end rience that makes the day
dren in Hospitals (KACCH) and can’t wait seeing it better,” for coffee lovers,
foundation in support- completed to give the best it seems Caribou Coffee is
ing the Fund Raising and care needed to our chil- now gearing to make sure
Awareness Campaign for dren in need. This project the days of children at
Bayt Abdullah Children’s is truly a manifestation of Bayt Abdullah will indeed
Hospice. The main purpose humanity”. be better.

VIVALIFE 10 Oct - Dec 2010


flydubai strengthens
presence in Kuwait
flydubai, Dubai’s first low
cost airline, has officially
launched its offices in
Kuwait in an effort to re-
inforce its presence and
strengthen its commitment
to the market. Speaking
at the launch of flydubai’s
office in Kuwait City, which
was attended by dignitar-
ies from Kuwait and the
UAE, Ghaith Al Ghaith,
CEO of flydubai, said: “We
are delighted to be able
to open our first office in
Kuwait. It is important to
us to establish ourselves
in the market with the
right kind of partner and
in Barakat Travel we are
confident we will be able to
enjoy a successful future
in Kuwait.
Tayseer Barakat, President
of Barakat Travel, wel-
comed the official delega-
tion, which comprised HE
Jamal Al Hai, Senior Vice
President of Dubai Airports
and Federal National Coun-
www.vivalife1.com
We are committed to play-
ing our part in the devel-
opment of this route and
wish flydubai every suc-
cess for the future.”
Established in March 2008
with start-up capital of
AED 250 million, flydubai
is Dubai’s first low cost air-
line. Owned by the govern-
ment of Dubai, the airline
supports the city’s com-
mercial and tourism sec-
cil Member, HE Hussain Al tors by serving all travel-
Shafar, Federal National ers, providing them with
Council Member, HE Dr. affordable air links to a
Sultan Al Moadhen, Federal range of destinations.
National Council Member,
HE Hasan Salem Al Khayy- With flydubai, travellers
al, UAE Ambassador to can take 1 piece of hand
Kuwait, and said: baggage (weighing up to
“flydubai is an important 10 kg) no larger than 56
addition on the Kuwait- cm x 45 cm x 25 cm on
Dubai route and one which board without charge. If
will create stability of the bag does not meet the
prices and provide options cabin requirements, it will
and added convenience be checked into the aircraft
for the traveler. We salute hold at a cost of AED 150.
the Government of Dubai For a little extra, passen-
for creating this wonderful gers can check a bag. Each
low cost airline and look bag purchased can hold
forward to working with up to 32 kg and not larger
flydubai and the travel than 90 cm x 75 cm x 43
agents in Kuwait to ensure cm. If customers want to
this route is a success.” take more, an additional
bag can be purchased,
Mr. Monzer Najia, CEO of subject to availability. 
Boodai Aviation, spoke on
behalf of the travel agents. Based on a low cost busi-
He added his welcome to ness model, flydubai offers
the delegation, and com- a value-for-money product
mented: “We are excited at an extremely com-
that flydubai will operate petitive price. Its website
twice daily flights from (www.flydubai.com)
Kuwait to Dubai and hope will be an important in-
that further frequencies terface for customers and
will be added in the future. travel partners.
11 Oct - Dec 2010
Qatar Airways wins three comfort and inflight ser- “These are great achieve-
prestigious industry vice. The airline, which of- ments for the airline and
fers superior space with an show that we clearly de-
awards Economy seat pitch of up liver an ultimate inflight
to 34 inches – above the experience which our cus-
Qatar Airways recently
industry norm – recently tomers appreciate. Our ex-
claimed key international
began introducing seat clusive Premium Terminal
awards by winning three
back entertainment across is the world’s only dedi-
accolades at two glitter-
its cabins on the new Air- cated commercial passen-
ing award ceremonies in
bus A320 family of aircraft.   ger terminal for First and
Dubai. The Doha-based
The British Embassy Con- Business Class passengers
carrier retained its Lead-
sul General in Dubai Guy – and winning again just
ing Business Class Airline
Warrington presented the four years after its opening
in the Middle East title as
evening’s awards and the reflects the importance we
voted by travel industry
latest accolades dem- place on service delivery.
professionals in the presti-
onstrate Qatar Airways’ “Our passengers traveling
gious World Travel Awards,
commitment to offering in Economy also have an
an honor that the airline
the travelling public with unrivaled experience and
has now held for five con-
unrivalled levels of inflight we are extremely delighted
secutive years. 
service.  to have won over the trav-
eling public for our high
The airline’s innovative
Qatar Airways Chief Execu- service standards in the
exclusive Premium Ter-
tive Officer Akbar Al Baker Economy cabins.”
minal for First and Busi-
said: “Most airlines invest
ness Class passengers at
heavily in developing their The World Travel Awards
Doha International Airport
premium cabins and, while were conceived in 1993 to
was named Leading Air-
we continue to do this, acknowledge and celebrate
port Lounge in the Middle
Qatar Airways strives to excellence in the world’s
East. The two awards were
innovate in Economy Class travel and tourism indus-
presented at a ceremony
ensuring our high stan- try. Now in their 17th year,
held at The Address in
dards are maintained and travel professionals and
Dubai Marina where ac-
passenger expectations discerning travelers have
claimed international
are exceeded worldwide.”  come to regard the World
singer Nancy Ajram was
More than 400 leading Travel Awards as the very
the star performer of the
figures from across the best endorsement that a
night. 
regional and international travel product can hope to
travel and tourism industry receive. Dubai-based Busi-
At a separate ceremony
attended both events. ness Traveller Middle East
organized by Business
Al Baker added: “Winning is a prestigious monthly
Traveller Middle East for
the Leading Business Class travel magazine, part of
travel industry profession-
category five years in a a global franchise of simi-
als held at the Jumeirah
row and Leading Airport lar publications worldwide
Emirates Towers Hotel,
Lounge once again proves dedicated to frequent trav-
Qatar Airways took home
that we have an outstand- elers. Qatar Airways cur-
the airline award for Best
ing product, which con- rently operates a modern
Economy Class in the
tinues to convince travel fleet of 82 aircraft to 89 di-
Middle East for the second
industry professionals and verse cities across Europe,
year running.  Readers
our customers year on Middle East, Africa, Asia
of the monthly magazine
year.” Pacific and North America.
based their voting on cabin

VIVALIFE 12 Oct - Dec 2010

Flex Resorts unveils sum-
mer surprises
Flex Resorts in Kuwait
proudly unveiled its new
and exciting summer camp
for children at the Flex An-
gels Academy. With a wide
variety of sports activities
and fun-filled educational
programs the Academy
will provide an engaging
and challenging environ-
ment for the little children.
Situated in Bneid Al Gar,
the summer camp at Flex
Angels Academy offers
kids an all-rounder agenda
designed to provide a rich
learning experience involv-
ing group activities and in-
terpersonal skills that help
in developing self confi-
dence and character in a
professionally monitored
social setting.
Flex Resorts top priority is and state-of-the art facility
to keep children engaged
with its fun-filled activities. activities lined up on the
With summer holidays on
the brink, and consider-
ing Kuwait’s low activity
rate during the season,
www.vivalife1.com
Flex brings a full-fledged
summer camp tailored for
children to indulge in. It is
the organization’s aim to
motivate the younger gen-
eration towards a healthy
lifestyle combined with an
intellectual active mind
and to instill healthy living
habits from a younger age.
With the ability and fa-
cilities to provide a unique
and exclusive experience,
Flex Resorts houses a
multi-level fully equipped
which incorporates all the
agenda for the summer
camp under different clubs
and services.
Specifically tai-
lored for chil-
dren from 18-23
months, the pro-
gram is focused
on nurturing
while developing
self confidence
and encourage-
ment to discover
the world around
them as they will
focus on enhanc-
ing social and
motor skills.
13
Children from 2-4 years
will get to experience a
multilingual Montessori
based curriculum with les-
sons delivered in Arabic,
English and French.
Apart from the club fa-
cilities which include two
swimming pools to build
their swimming skills and
water confidence there is
also a 12 meter tall climb-
ing wall, one of the most
popular sport among kids!
Moreover, a whole floor is
devoted to children ac-
tivities-Kids Athletic Club
games include, basketball,
soccer, gymnastics, hip
hop dance, sand play and
a bowling alley.
In addition to the above,
the Kid’s Athletic club of-
fers complete sports skills
development experience
which caters to the kids fo-
cusing on the development
of their body control, bal-
ance, coordination, speed
and confidence. And not to
forget, our very own little
Dashing Diva; Flex Resort’s
place for young girls to go
and have their nails done.
Oct - Dec 2010
IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN is
boutique opens in Kuwait one of the pioneers of the
Swiss watch industry and
Morad Yousuf Behbehani a highly emotional brand
trading division recently with an exciting and fast-
opened the first IWC changing corporate history.
SCHAFFHAUSEN boutique The founder, the American
in Kuwait at the dynamic Florentine Ariosto Jones,
360 MALL. Redefining had the vision in 1868 of
luxury shopping within using Swiss horological
Kuwait, the opening of the craftsmanship to produce
new outlet at the 360 Mall, high-quality pocket watch
marks Kuwait as one of the movements for the Ameri-
first premier markets that can market. In a location
offer end consumers with not far from the Rhine
the complete IWC SCHAFF- falls, the young manufac-
HAUSEN experience which turer utilized the energy
can only be performed in of the river for its modern
the hands of its sales con- production, bringing about
sultants. a horological revolution to
Switzerland.
The IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN
boutique will provide watch These roots and the de-
velopment of the brand
make a
fascinat-
ing com-
bination.
A passion
for bril-
liant in-
ventions,
technical
refine-
ments
and
horologi-
cal mile-
stones
are, and
always
were, the
driving
enthusiasts not only with force behind the engineers
the finest engineered time- at IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN.
pieces, but also with a Men with a flair for tech-
truly emotional experience nology and a taste for
and first class service. discreet luxury choose our
With its 141-year history, haute horlogerie products,
VIVALIFE 14
to say nothing of our spe-
cialty products.
The ingenieur line and our
watches for divers and pi-
lots with their professional
features and functions, on
the other hand, are the
favorites of sportsmen, ad-
venturers and people who
are looking for a robust
and dependable timepiece
with an attractive design
for everyday use.
IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN is
committed to several social
responsibility projects such
as: The Charles Darwin
Foundation in the Galapa-
gos Islands, for the protec-
tion of endangered spe-
cies; the Laureus Sport for
Good Foundation, to help
children in need to improve
their life through sport;
the Saint Exupery Founda-
tion for children education
and the adventure ecology
and its Plastiki Project for
the Cousteau Society.
Philips revolutionizes LED
lighting
During this year’s Light +
Building, the world’s lead-
ing lighting and architec-
ture fair, Philips underlined
its global leadership in
lighting by substantially
broadening its portfolio of
LED-based lighting solu-
tions that enhance the
lives of people in homes
and cities.
Leveraging the fairs’ plat-
form Philips launched its
market-leading innovative
Oct - Dec 2010
portfolio of LED lighting the world today,” says As increased urbanization
solutions for consumers Rudy Provoost, CEO of presents new challenges
and professionals to make Philips Lighting and a for cities to provide more
homes and cities more en- member of the board of livable urban environ-
ergy efficient, including a management of Royal ments, Philips is to drive
breakthrough 12 watt LED Philips Electronics. the appeal of LED in out-
lamp as a substitute for a “Lifestyles are changing, door lighting to help cit-
60 watt light bulb. urbanization is present- ies improve road and
ing new challenges for city pedestrian safety, reduce
Other innovative products leaders, and society in night-time light distur-
launched at the fair in- general is more environ- bance and make significant
cluded: LivingAmbiance, mentally aware. We are energy savings. During
a revolutionary concept to applying the functional and 2010 Philips will introduce
mood creation that inte- creative potential of LED a new range of outdoor
grates multiple luminaries lighting to address these luminaires all built around
at home through a wireless trends, and to simply en- LEDGINE, a future-proofed
system. Using a simple hance life with light.” and fully upgradable plat-
remote control form for out-
the system en- door luminaries
ables a room’s With legisla-
ambient light- tion to phase
ing to reflect out older, inef-
the mood or ficient lighting
occasion. Liv- technologies,
ingAmbience Philips will
also incorpo- commercially
rates Philips’ launch the first
latest genera- ever high-
tion of Living- quality 60
Colors, the ac- watt-equivalent
claimed range LED replace-
of consumer ment lamp
luminaries towards the
which enable thousands of As LED technology opens end of 2010. The dim-able
colors to be chosen at the up the application of archi- 12-watt bulb will deliver
touch of a button. tecture and design in home an industry benchmark
The new-shape range of lighting, Philips will intro- 806 lumen of comfortable,
LivingColors colored and duce a collection of home warm white light, comply-
white light luminaries build luminaries at the cutting- ing fully with European
on this proposition by add- edge of contemporary performance norms for
ing adjustable and dim- interior design. Three new replacement lamps. For
able white light for daily product families - Lirio by businesses such as hotels,
activities as well as offer- Philips, Arcitone and Ledi- replacing high concentra-
ing more possibilities for no - each enable consum- tions of 60 watt lamps with
ambiance creation. ers to express themselves Philips’ LED replacement
by applying the design solution will potentially
“Philips recognizes and un- flexibility of LED lighting help them save up to 80
derstands the fundamental with bold new forms, ma- percent of the energy used
changes taking place in terials and finishes. earlier.

www.vivalife1.com 15 Oct - Dec 2010

Pareto Principle

8020
The Pareto Principle also called the 80/20 Rule, is named after
Italian economist, sociologist, industrialist and philosopher
Vilfredo Federico Damaso Pareto. In 1906, while a lecturer in
economics at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland,
Vilfredo noted the great inequality in the distribution of wealth
in society.  

VIVALIFE 16 Oct - Dec 2010

V
ilfredo published his your friends or selecting als in the world, top three
findings on the cor- clothes. You can apply the own as much as the next
relation between 80/20 Rule to almost any- seven put together. 
distribution of land and thing: For instance, during
land ownership in Italy in the human gestation pe- The Pareto Principle has
a book which showed that riod, the critical early em- been generalized to state
80 percent of the land in bryonic development takes that, for many events,
Italy was owned by just up 20 percent of the time roughly 80 percent of the
20 percent of the popula- while the remaining 80 effects come from 20 per-
tion. Pareto claimed that percent is devoted to fetal cent of the causes. But
this 80/20 distribution development. the Pareto Principle is also
of wealth was repeated often misquoted. For ex-
“through any human so- In everyday life, we tend ample, it is mistake to
ciety, in any age, or any to spend 80 percent of our assume that a solution to
country.”  time with 20 percent of a problem ‘fits the 80-20
our friends; wear 20 per- Rule’ just because it fits
In 1940, American busi- cent of our wardrobe items 80 percent of the cases; it
ness management pioneer 80 percent of the time. must be implied that this
and quality proponent, In business, you know 20 solution requires only 20
Dr. Joseph M Juran, recog- percent of your stock takes percent of the resources
nized a universal principle up 80 percent of your needed to solve all cases.
from which he derived warehouse space and that It is also a misuse of the
that, which he then de- 80 percent of your stock 80-20 Rule to interpret
rived that 20 percent of comes from 20 percent data with a small number
something was always re- of your suppliers. Also 80 of categories or observa-
sponsible for 80 percent of percent of your sales will tions. 80/20 Rule should
the results. Applying this come from 20 percent of only be regarded as short-
principle as an effective your sales staff. 20 percent hand for the general prin-
tool in business manage- of your staff will cause 80 ciple at work.
ment, Juran summarized percent of your problems.
it as “the vital few and And, it works both ways, The value of the Pareto
trivial many.” In Juran’s another 20 percent of your Principle lies in reminding
initial work he identified staff will provide 80 per- us to focus on the 20 per-
20 percent of the defects cent of your production.  cent that matters. Of the
causing 80 percent of the things you do during your
problems. Today, Project In a further affirmation day, only 20 percent really
Managers know that 20 of the Pareto Principle, a matter. Those 20 percent
percent of the work (the United Nations Develop- produce 80 percent of your
first 10 percent and the ment Program report in results. Identify and focus
last 10 percent) consume 1992 showed that the dis- on those things. When the
80 percent of their time tribution of global income daily grind of work begin
and resources.  is very uneven, with the to sap your time, remind
richest 20 percent of the yourself of the 20 percent
Pareto Principle has been world’s population control- you need to focus on. If
applied to observation in ling 82.7 percent of the something in the schedule
a variety of fields from world’s income. A further has to slip, if something
human developmental dissection of income in- is not going to get done,
biology to more mun- equality reveals that of the make sure it is not part of
dane matters as meeting top ten wealthiest individu- that 20 percent.

www.vivalife1.com 17 Oct - Dec 2010

25 years of dot (.)com
D
ot com may be the
most popular of
those three little
fragments that helped
reshape the world, but the
first registered name oc-
curred without fanfare. A
computer manufacturer
based in Cambridge, Mas-
sachusetts called Symbol-
ics, Inc. was the first to
stake a claim in .com on
March 15, 1985. What fol-
lowed was hardly a gold
rush: that year only five
other companies signed
up for a name.
At the time, the Internet
was largely a project for
computer scientists and
universities who wanted
a way to communicate.
As more and more people
and institutions discovered
the growing network that
was set up by the Defense
Department, it became in-
creasingly shabby place.
The early history of the
Internet is peppered with
stories about the difficulty
of sending an email. One
of the challenging things
in the 1980s was getting
mail from one network to
another. Figuring out how
to manually route through
gateways was something
of a black art — and often
not officially sanctioned.
As mail loads got heavier,
VIVALIFE
sometimes postmasters While we know that the
would ask for people to first .com was assigned to
stop using their connec- symbolics.com on March
tions. 15, 1985, the genesis of
.com is less clear. Accord-
The need for some sort ing to Craig Partridge,
of organizing principles chief scientist at Raytheon
became more and more BBN Technologies, the
apparent as more enti- name for domains evolved
ties connected into the as the system was created.
fledgling Internet. Bringing At first, .cor was proposed
order to the increasingly as the domain for corpora-
chaotic universe fell to the tions, but when the final
legendary Jon Postel and version came out it was
his colleagues at the Uni- switched to .com. Like-
wise, .org was originally
While we know that the .pub and .mil was origi-
first .com was assigned to nally .ddn. Other domains
symbolics.com on March that came into being at
the same time as .com
15, 1985, the genesis of
were .edu, .gov, .net and
.com is less clear. .arpa.
versity of Southern Califor- Jack Haverty, another
nia’s Information Sciences Internet pioneer who was
Institute. at MIT at the time, said
they were not really think-
Postel who was called the ing about business when
“King” of the Internet be- they were developing the
came the request for com- top-level domains. “I think
ment (RFC) editor in 1969. .com originally was derived
As RFC editor, Postel and from “company” rather
his colleagues personally than “commercial.” The.
shaped the Internet as we com’s weren’t thought
know it today. In October of as “businesses” in the
1984, RFC 920 “on the re- sense of places that con-
quirements of establishing sumers go to buy things,”
a new domain in the ARPA- he wrote in an email.
Internet and the DARPA “They were companies do-
research community” was ing government contract
published, setting the work. The Internet was
stage for the birth of .com. not chartered to intercon-
nect businesses — it was
18 Oct - Dec 2010

a military command-and-
control prototype network,
being built by educational,
governmental, and con-
tractors.”
Since most of the In-
ternet’s pioneers were
involved in educational
institutions, the military
and government, it would
explain why the other top-
level domains seem more
intuitive. Since what would
become the Internet was
not set up to do business,
and the profit-motive was
not officially sanctioned,
Internet pioneers did not
naturally think about a .biz
or something else. Still,
they seemed to under-
stand that some kind of
commerce was coming.
But to say that .com took
www.vivalife1.com
Nations implemented laws
to combat cyber-squatting,
and the entertainer Ma-
donna won a notable case
in 2000 to get control of
madonna.com.
The burst of the “.com
bubble” cooled off the rap-
id growth for a short pe-
riod, and since then .com
has grown at a steady
rate, with now more than
80 million domains. Yet,
some of the most popular
websites today were reg-
istered late into the .com
era. Youtube.com, for ex-
ample, was not registered
until 2005. Twitter.com
was also registered af-
ter the .com boom. While
Symbolics the company did
not fare well, symbolics.
some time to take off is an com remains as the oldest
understatement. Two and .com and was purchased
a half years after the first by Aron Meystedt, owner
registration, only 100 total of XF.com in 2009.
.com domains existed.
Among the early adopters Today, .com is an inte-
included IBM, Intel, AT&T gral part of a technology
and Cisco. By 1992, there boom that reshaped the
were still less than 15,000 way people work, live, play
.com domains registered and connect with family
and the million-domain and friends. Much to the
mark wasn’t crossed until amazement of its creators.
1997, well into the Inter- “I don’t recall anybody
net boom. ever thinking we were
creating an organizational
Then came the “.com structure to encompass
boom”, with nearly 20 hundreds of millions of
million names registered entities covering the en-
in the next two years. It tire planet in support of all
also ushered in something human activities,” Haverty
termed “cyber-squatting,” explained in another email.
where domains of famous “And it certainly wasn’t
people or companies were supposed to last for 30+
registered in hopes of get- years; it just happened to
ting a hefty sum to sell it. turn out that way.”
19 Oct - Dec 2010
Buckling Paper Buck

T
he question many Central banks around the reserves. Even in the ab-
people have begun world cooperate in buying sence of a currency crisis,
to ask is how worthy and selling official inter- fluctuations can result in
is the paper buck, stored national reserves in order huge losses. For example,
in the form of trillions to influence its flexible or China holds huge U.S.
of dollars of foreign cur- fixed exchange rate poli- dollar-denominated assets,
rency around the worlde. cies. A central bank with a but if the U.S. dollar weak-
Read on to find out. The fixed exchange rate policy ens on the exchange mar-
foreign currency deposits may face a situation where kets, the decline results in
and bonds held by a coun- an increase in demand for a relative loss of wealth for
try’s Central Bank or other the currency would tend China. In addition to fluc-
monetary authorities are to push its value higher, tuations in exchange rates,
referred to as the its for- and a decrease in demand the purchasing power of
eign exchange reserves. would lower its value. In a fiat money (state-issued
This is different from inter- flexible exchange rate re- money which is neither
national reserves, which gime, these operations oc- legally convertible to any
in addition to the foreign cur automatically, with the other thing, nor fixed in
exchange reserves also central bank clearing any value in terms of any ob-
includes gold reserves, In- excess demand or supply jective standard) decreas-
ternational Monetary Fund by purchasing or selling es constantly due to deval-
reserves and other drawing the foreign currency. uation through inflation.
rights held by a country.
Large foreign currency re- Therefore, a central bank
The foreign currency re- serves allow a government must continually increase
serves of the central bank, to manipulate exchange the amount of its reserves
often held in US dollar, rates - usually to stabilize to maintain the same pow-
and to a lesser extent in the foreign exchange rates er to manipulate exchange
euro, UK pound and the to provide a more favor- rates. Also, reserves of
Japanese yen, support the able economic environ- foreign currency provide
bank’s liabilities, including ment. Also, the greater a a small return in inter-
local currencies issued and country’s foreign reserves, est. However, this may be
the various bank reserves the better position it is less than the reduction in
deposited with the Central in to defend itself from purchasing power of that
Bank, by government or speculative attacks on the currency over the same
financial institutions. For- domestic currency. period of time due to infla-
eign exchange reserves tion, effectively resulting
are important indicators However, there are costs in a negative return known
of ability to repay foreign in maintaining large cur- as the “quasi-fiscal cost”.
debt and for currency rency reserves. Fluctua- In addition, large currency
defense, and are used to tions in exchange markets reserves could have been
determine credit ratings of result in gains and losses invested in higher yielding
nations. in the purchasing power of assets.

VIVALIFE 20 Oct - Dec 2010

The British act of parlia- reducing U.S. economic could convert dollars into
ment that introduced the influence abroad. This, gold from official gold
gold bullion standard in along with the fiscal strain
reserves, and after 1973,
1925 simultaneously re- of federal expenditures no individual or institution
pealed the gold specie for the Vietnam War, led could convert US dollars
standard. The new gold President Nixon to end into gold from official gold
bullion standard did not the direct convertibility of
reserves. And since 1973,
envisage any return to the the dollar to gold in 1971no major currencies have
circulation of gold specie resulting in what is com- been convertible into gold
coins. Instead, the law monly referred to as the from official gold reserves.
compelled the authori- Nixon Shock. Even though US dollars
ties to sell gold bullion on and other currencies are
demand at a fixed price. In theory the manipula- no longer convertible into
This gold bullion standard tion of foreign currency gold from official gold
lasted until 1931. exchange rates can pro- reserves, they still func-
vide the stability that a tion as official international
In 1931, the United King- gold standard provides, reserves and allow central
dom was forced to suspend but in practice this has not banks to stabilize the value
the gold bullion of domestic cur-
standard due to rency.
large outflows of
gold across the At the end of
Atlantic Ocean. 2004, central
After World banks and in-
War II, a sys- vestment funds
tem similar to a held 19 percent
Gold Standard of all above-
was established ground gold as
by the Bretton bank reserve
Woods Agree- assets. It has
ments. Under been estimated
this system, that all the
many countries gold mined by
fixed their exchange rates been the case. Previously, the end of 2009 totaled
relative to the U.S. dol- before the Bretton Woods 165,000 tonnes. At a price
lar. The U.S. promised to system when the US dol- of US$1000 per ounce, ex-
fix the price of gold at $35 lar began to function as a ceeded in 2008 and 2009,
per ounce. Implicitly, then, reserve currency, official one tonne of gold has a
all currencies pegged to international reserves, the value of approximately US
the dollar also had a fixed means of official interna- dollar 32.15 million. The
value in terms of gold. tional payments, consisted total value of all gold ever
only of gold, and occasion- mined would not exceed
However, under the re- ally silver. US$5 trillion at that valua-
gime of the French Presi- tion.
dent Charles de Gaulle, up From 1944-1948 the US
to 1970, France reduced dollar was convertible And yet, according to a re-
its dollar reserves, trad- into gold from the Federal cent Reuters report citing
ing them for gold from the Reserve System, but after U.S Treasury Department
U.S. government, thereby 1968 only central banks sources, global foreign cur-

www.vivalife1.com 21 Oct - Dec 2010

rency reserves swelled to
$8.1 trillion by the end of
2009.
This figure, recently re-
leased as part of the long-
awaited report by the
Treasury to the Congress
on exchange rate policies,
more than covered the
amount that was pulled
out during the recent glob-
al economic throes. And
despite China intervening
heavily in the foreign ex-
change market from Feb-
ruary to December 2009,
to hold its yuan pegged
to the Dollar, the Treasury
Department once again
declined to label Beijing a
currency manipulator.
Not surprising seeing how
in the same period China
boosted its holding of
Dollars by $487.1 billion,
more than six times the
rise of any other country.
Before the worst phase of
the financial crisis in 2008,
global reserves had peaked
at $7.2 trillion. Between
July 2008 and February
2009, they declined by
5.8 percent, largely as a
result of countries’ efforts
to stem currency deprecia-
tion.
Some countries also used
a portion of their reserves
to fund stimulus programs.
Russia’s reserves showed
the biggest decline, drop-
ping $120.1 billion over a
seven-month period. Near-
ly all major reserve-hold-
ing economies resumed
VIVALIFE
building stockpiles starting According to Treasury’s
in February 2009. figures, China’s reserves
as of December 2009 to-
“For a few countries, most taled $2.4 trillion, up 2.3
notably China, the increase percent since February of
in reserves was associ- that year. Japan’s were
ated with a decline in the $997 billion, up 0.2 per-
nominal effective exchange cent since February. Russia
rate, indicating that re- and Saudi Arabia each held
serve accumulation may nearly $400 billion.
have been used to prevent By H1 2010, the following
exchange rate apprecia- countries held more than
tion,” the Treasury said. 60 percent of the total
There are no hard and world foreign currency re-
fast rules for how much serves.
a country should hold in
reserves. Commonly-used China with 2454 billion
benchmarks include a suf- topped the list followed by
ficient amount to cover Japan with 1019bn, Eu-
external debt coming rozone with 716bn, Rus-
due within 12 months, or sia 456bn, ROC (Taiwan)
enough to cover three to 362bn, India 283bn, South
four months of imports. Korea 271bn, Switzerland
262bn, Brazil 257bn, Hong
Treasury said China’s re- Kong 240bn and Singapore
serves alone would cover 203bn. The adequacy of
the short-term debt of the the foreign exchange re-
12 largest reserve-holding serves is more often ex-
emerging markets and still pressed not as an absolute
be above adequacy bench- level, but as a percentage
marks. of short-term foreign debt,
money supply, or average
Countries hold reserves monthly imports.
for a variety of reasons,
including for day-to-day While the gold reserve is
transactions like debt re- the gold held by a central
payment. Countries such bank or nation intended
as China with pegged ex- as a store of value and as
change rates need to hold a guarantee to redeem
reserves to offset down- promises to pay deposi-
ward pressure on their tors, paper money hold-
currencies. ers, or trading peers, or to
secure a currency.
Some governments also
hold reserves as a form Today gold reserves are
of self-insurance against almost exclusively, al-
sudden loss of investment beit rarely, used in the
flows that could cause a settlement of international
financial crisis. transactions.
22 Oct - Dec 2010
www.vivalife1.com 23 Oct - Dec 2010
Jashanmal
a 90-year retail history
was also a time when cam-
els and bandits roamed
freely and oil, which later
brought immense riches to
the land, had not yet been
discovered.
When the Jashanmals first from Saudi Arabia. Vintage
times and opened a gen-
eral store in Kuwait’s Safat
Square in 1934, his first
venture out of the seclud-
ed confines of Basra. The
square was then the des-
tination of camel caravans

C
came on the scene, Indian pictures show the Jashan-
elebrating its 90th traders were spread all mal store surrounded by
anniversary in 2009, over the Gulf region, buy- bored-looking camels and
Jashanmal is syn- ing pearls from Arab mer- their shabbily-dressed,
onymous with quality retail chants in return for just tired drivers.
around the Middle-East. about everything that a
Founded by the late Rao starved land and its people After Kuwait, growth came
Sahib Jashanmal — who required. Ships from In- rapidly. Rao Sahib’s sons
came from India and dia ferried in people and -- Narain, Atma, Hiro and
launched his general store “Made in England” goods, later Mohan -- took over
in Iraq’s port city of Basra making stops at Basra, and began expanding the
in 1919 — the Jashanmal Kuwait, Dubai and Bahrain business into other parts
Group is now run by the before returning to Bom- of the region. The busi-
fourth generation. bay (now called Mumbai). ness moved into Bahrain
-- which then was the only
What started out as a It was apparently a 21-day destination of British Air-
one-store outlet selling trip. Later, planes began ways in the region -- Dubai
household goods, men’s landing on sandy strips and finally Abu Dhabi,
clothing, stationery, books unseen from the skies, where the youngest broth-
and newspapers in Basra bringing in
has grown to become a tinned food,
retail and wholesale behe- shoes,
moth with branches spread clothes
across the region. and other
luxury
The group, which is a big items that
name in retail and whole- the colonial
sale business in consumer rulers and
goods in the region, is the locals
steeped in history begin- needed.
ning when the British con-
trolled most parts of an Rao Sahib
underdeveloped Arabian took advan-
Gulf, and there were more tage of the
sand dunes than people. It changing Vintage photo: Jashanma Kuwait

VIVALIFE 24 Oct - Dec 2010

er Mohan arrived in 1964 founder’s vision is diluted
to open an outpost on the by second- or third-gen-
beach. eration descendents. The
main issue is one of suc-
At the time, Abu Dhabi, cession and how families
says Mohan, had no roads, manage succession,” says
a few buildings and a lot of Wharton management pro-
tents. There was no po- fessor Raffi Amit.
table water or electricity.
When Mohan arrived there The Jashanmals are dif- Tony Jashanmal - Executive
with his Boston-educated ferent. Founder Rao Sahib Director - Jashanmal Group
newly-wed wife, she won- retired in 1973, leaving the
dered whether they were business to his five sons - “The desire of every per-
going to crash when she one of whom later chose to son who starts a business
saw the wide expanse of go his own way. The busi- is to see it grow so that he
sand below. The Jashan- ness has only grown since can leave something for
mals have seen the emir- then, as the Jashanmals his descendents. It works
ate grow and they have have remained involved in well for two generations. It
grown with it. the company from a dis- is the transformation from
tance, letting professionals the second to the third
Rao Sahib made the re- generation when [the firm]
gion his home. The busi- “The desire of every per- either breaks up, or some
ness in Basra was closed professional structure has
in the late 1950s when the
son who starts a business
is to see it grow so that to be formed for it to last,”
Hashemite monarchy was notes Tony Jashanmal, Rao
overthrown in Iraq and he can leave something
Sahib’s grandson and cur-
it became difficult to im- for his descendents.” rently the executive direc-
port goods from the West. Tony Jashanmal tor of the Group.
Since then, the group has
focused on the Gulf region The multifold growth may
-- except Saudi Arabia run the day-to-day opera- not have been possible if
-- and today runs stores tions. the family had not decided
and franchise shops in to step away from day-to-
the United Arab Emirates, Despite research findings day operations, they main-
Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman that family-run compa- tain. The process began in
that sell pens, cameras, nies are a better bet for stages. After Rao Sahib’s
luggage, fashion acces- all stakeholders as long as retirement, the group con-
sories, books, magazines, the founder of the firm is tinued to be run as a tradi-
newspapers, giftware, involved as chief executive tional family business.
household and kitchen ap- officer or chairman, the
pliances, and crystal ware. Jashanmals say the busi- Later, the family decided
The firm has some of the ness has lasted well into to turn the business into
biggest global brands in its the fourth generation be- a shareholding company
stable and employs more cause family elders under- equally divided between
than 1,000 people. stood very early on that to the four brothers. “[Family
grow, they needed to step members] who worked for
Research shows that a into the shadows and hand the company received sal-
company’s performance over management to pro- aries and dividends; those
usually slips once the fessionals. who didn’t got only the

www.vivalife1.com 25 Oct - Dec 2010

 was shepherded by Gangu aged by joint venture
Batra, the group president partners, ensuring that the
who plans to step down group keeps reaping prof-
after 50 years with the its without the daily head-
group. For decades, he aches.
was the public face of the The group does not have
company and shepherded plans to expand aggres-
rapid expansion in the sively outside the region,
firm’s retail and wholesale however, not even in In-
Gangu Batra - President - business, while also seek- dia, where the Jashanmals
Jashanmal Group ing other opportunities originally came from. “We
dividend. This was the first for growth as consumers are the most confident in
act of discipline,” states began spending more and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation
Tony, in a phone interview places like Dubai became Council) because we know
from Kuwait. major tourist and trading this region the best. We
hubs due to low customs have helped our principals
In the early 1980s, when duties. to get into India when they
Copenhagen 7 - 18 December,
new partnership laws were
2009 wanted to,” Tony states.
introduced in the region, Since 1980s, the Jashan-
the Jashanmals decided to mal business has un- At the same time, the
take a step forward and dergone a huge change group has chosen to stay
floated a holding company -- expanding through joint out of the vast Saudi mar-
to accommodate family ventures and affiliations ket -- the biggest in the
and non-family partners that have allowed it to region -- because of the
with different sharehold- become leaner, and remain various market restrictions
ing, a move that Tony profitable even in the cur- there. It, however hopes
calls “a jump into modern rent troubled economic to be back in Iraq where it
times.” A new entity -- times. started once the security
Jashanmal Holding -- was Many businesses that the situation there improves.
created, with a board of Jashanmals once con- “I don’t think you lose out
directors and a chief ex- trolled directly, such as if you are not the first one
ecutive officer to run the perfumes, are today man- to enter,” he says.
business.
To succeed, Tony notes,
Family members should family businesses need to
not be at the top of the Family members should make the staff aware of
company,” Tony notes, the family’s values, and
not be at the top of the the beliefs on which the
adding that while family
members could work for company,” Tony notes, founder based business
the company, they had to adding that while family practices. “Many profes-
come up from the bottom members could work for sionals have a short-term
just like other profession- the company, they had view, but in family busi-
als. “That was one of the to come up from the bot- ness they need to have
reasons why many family a long-term view. People
tom just like other pro- need to have more meet-
members did not stay.”
fessionals. ings, talk more. That’s why
The transition from a you need family members
family-run company to a to be around to emphasize
family-owned company that point of view.”

VIVALIFE 26 Oct - Dec 2010

IRAQ - Business Perceptions
But more than half of those
surveyed said their view of
Iraq has become more posi-
tive over the past two years.
VIVALIFE 28
A
new survey of senior
businesspeople by
the Economist Intelli-
gence Unit (EIU) finds that
despite the country’s many
pro9blems, investor per-
ceptions of Iraq are slowly
improving. Preliminary
results from the EIU sur-
vey of 300 executives – all
of whom have direct input
into their company’s deci-
sions on doing business
in the Middle East – show
that the security situation
remains the major deter-
rent to business.
Indeed, 64% said it is still
too dangerous to do busi-
ness in Iraq at the present
time. But more than half of
those surveyed said their
Oct - Dec 2010

The most attractive aspect of
Iraq as perceived by these ex-
ecutives was – unsurprisingly
– the country’s oil and gas re-
sources (cited by 56% as one
of the top three attractions).
www.vivalife1.com 29
view of Iraq has become
more positive over the
past two years.
Moreover, most respon-
dents expect the security
situation for foreign ex-
ecutives and employees to
improve over the next two
years, with 46% saying it
would improve somewhat
and 9% saying it would
improve significantly, de-
spite the draw-down of
Western troops. Just 10%
expected it to worsen.
Other key findings include:
Iraq’s capital holds great
economic importance:
Northern Iraq, where vio-
lence has been limited, is
the region that investors
view the most favorably,
with 46% of respondents
viewing it either highly
favorably or somewhat
favorably, while 20% view
it unfavorably. Yet Bagh-
dad, which has suffered far
more violence, is viewed
almost as favorably by re-
spondents, 46% of whom
said they viewed it either
highly favorably or some-
what favorably – illustrat-
ing the economic impor-
tance of the country’s
capital.
Sector analysis:
43% saw construction and
real estate as the country’s
most promising non-hy-
drocarbon sector, followed
by consumer goods (23%),
with healthcare and phar-
maceuticals tying with
chemicals for third place
Oct - Dec 2010
(18%) respectively. Media Iraq’s attractive resources: advantage of oil and gas
(4%) and retail (6%) were The most attractive as- resources, while another
seen as the least promis- pect of Iraq as perceived 25% believed their com-
ing sector. by these executives was pany was well-placed to
– unsurprisingly – the take part in reconstruc-
A country with significant country’s oil and gas re- tion efforts. 23% cited the
opportunities: sources (cited by 56% as country’s important strate-
45% of respondents one of the top three at- gic location in the region,
judged that “The ongoing tractions). 18% also cited while 17% emphasized
violence means doing busi- other natural resources a desire to participate in
ness in Iraq will remain too such as phosphates. The Iraq’s renewal.
risky for some time”. But second and third biggest
nearly as many – 38% – draws were the prospects Desire to renew Iraq:
see Iraq as “A country with of the untapped consumer Among executives based in
significant opportunities markets and early-mover the Middle East, 27% cited
for those who are willing to advantage. a desire to participate in
accept risks in the short- Iraq’s renewal – although
term”. the oppor-
tunities for
Increased returns and
business for reach-
dependent ing untapped
on issue of consumers
security: remained
40% of re- the first and
spondents second most
are not important
currently reasons re-
consider- spectively.
ing doing
business The full re-
in Iraq sults of the
but would survey also
do so if circumstances Opportunity to make high included a detailed analy-
change. Those who are not returns: sis of how businesses from
currently doing business in Among the 175 respon- different regions of the
Iraq emphasized that the dents who are doing or word perceive Iraq – and
most important factor in considering doing business what they believe should
their decision is security. in Iraq, the top reason happen politically.
cited was the opportu- The complete findings will
‘Violence’ possesses most nity to make high returns form part of an extensive
risk to businesses: (49%), followed by the op- piece of research into busi-
The top three risks to busi- portunity to reach a largely ness perceptions of Iraq,
ness were judged to be untapped consumer mar- including in-depth inter-
violence (67%), corrup- ket (38%). views with key executives,
tion (44%) and the lack which will be launched at
of infrastructure (35%). Taking advantage of oil Economist Conferences’
The next three were bu- and gas resource: Iraq Business and Invest-
reaucracy, lack of contract 25% were attracted by ment Summit in Manama,
protection and credit risk. the opportunity to take Bahrain.

VIVALIFE 30 Oct - Dec 2010

Dates an ideal food
T
he health benefits of
dates are numerous,
as this fruit is rich in
natural fibers. These natu-
ral products also contain
oil, calcium, sulfur, iron,
potassium, phosphorous,
manganese, copper and
magnesium which are
advantageous for health.
Dates are even rich in sev-
eral vitamins and minerals.
It is said that one date is
minimum requirement of a
balanced and healthy diet.
It helps in fighting consti-
www.vivalife1.com
beneficial for both adults
pation, intestinal disorders,
weight gain, heart prob- and children, especially
lems, sexual weakness, during the time of recov-
diarrhea and abdominal ery. According to mod-
cancer. ern medicine survey, it is
known that dates are use-
Health benefits of dates ful in preventing abdomi-
have made them the best nal cancer. It is also seen
nourishment for muscle that many Muslims break
development. People con- their fast by eating dates
sume dates in several and water according to
ways, like mixing the paste their traditions. Breaking
of the dates with milk, yo- fast with dates helps us to
ghurt or with bread or but- avoid overeating after the
ter to make the food tasty fast. When the body ab-
and healthy. This paste is sorbs the nutritional val-
31 Oct - Dec 2010
 calories alone are sufficient
to meet the daily require-
ments of a human body.

Heart Wealth: Dates are

quite helpful in maintain-
ing your heart in healthy
condition. When soaked for
whole night and crushed
in the morning and con-
sumed, they prove to be
quite advantageous for
weak hearts. They help to
fortify heart, if taken twice
in the week.

ue of the dates, the feeling the laxative effect from Sexual Weakness: Dates
of hunger gets pacified. dates, you need to soak are even beneficial for in-
dates for one full night in creasing sexual stamina in
Dates are termed as the water. You should consume the human body. A hand-
crown of sweets and ideal these soaked dates in the ful of dates, when soaked
food which easily balances morning like syrup to get in fresh goat’s milk for the
and digests food. It gives their actual advantages. night and then grinded in
extra energy to a tired hu- the same milk with the
man body within half an Intestinal Disorders: mixture of cardamom pow-
hour after taking it. Dates The nicotine content that is der and honey, becomes
are considered to be the present in the dates is said a very useful tonic for
best diet for confinement to be beneficial for curing increasing sex endurance
of the women. American any kinds of intestinal dis- and sterility due to func-
Cancer Society recom- orders. Continuous intake tional disorders.
mends intake of 20-35 of dates helps to maintain
grams of dietary fiber in a check on the growth of Diarrhea: Ripe dates con-
a day, supplied through the pathological organisms tain potassium. Potassium
dates. It is said that tak- and thus, helps in the rise is beneficial for controlling
ing one date in a day will of friendly bacteria in the diarrhea. They are easily
help you to maintain your intestines. digestible, which helps to
healthy eyes for your life- cope up with the problems
time. They are quiet effec- Weight Gain: Dates are of diarrhea.
tive in guarding the night said to be a part of healthy
blindness problems. diet. They consist of sugar, Intoxication: Dates are
fats, proteins as well as known as an excellent
Benefits of Dates: many essential vitamins. remedy for alcoholic in-
If the dates are consumed toxication. Dates provide
Constipation: Date is with the paste of cucum- quick relief in the case
termed to be a laxative ber, one can easily come of alcoholic intoxication.
food. This is the reason out from the problem of They should be rubbed and
that dates are beneficial over-slimming. One kilo- soaked overnight for get-
for people suffering from gram of dates contains al- ting more nutritious values
constipation. For getting most 3,000 calories. These from them.

VIVALIFE 32 Oct - Dec 2010

Abdominal Cancer: Dates
are beneficial for curing
abdominal cancer. They
work as useful tonic for all
age groups. They work as
better as the medicines,
and are natural and do not
bear any side effects in the
body. They can be easily
digested and used for sup-
plying extra and needed
energy.
Although dates carry tre-
mendous nutritional val-
ues, great care should be
taken in their selection
because they consist of
sticky surface which at-
tracts various impurities in
them. Hence, you should
consume only those dates
that are packed nicely.
Make sure to wash them
thoroughly before consum-
ing. This will help to re-
move the impurities pres-
ent in them.
Date Recipes:
Date carrot cake:
Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
11/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
11/2 cups olive oil
1 can 450g crushed pine-
apple (well drained)
1 cup walnuts (chopped)
1 cup dates (chopped)
2 cups carrots
Preparation
Sift together flour, baking
www.vivalife1.com
powder, baking soda, cin-
namon, cloves 1 and salt.
Set aside. In large mixing
bowl, beat the eggs and
sugar thoroughly. Add the
olive oil and mix well. Add
the sifted dry ingredients
to the batter and beat just
until combined. Stir in the
pineapple, walnuts, dates
and carrots.
Spread batter in two
greased and waxed paper
lined 25cm cake pans and
bake at 160 degrees C for
about 45 minutes or until
cake pulls away from pan,
and cool completely on
wire rack.
Frosting
1 pkg. 240g cream cheese
(softened)
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
450g. confectioners’ sugar
(sifted)
In large mixing bowl, beat
together cream cheese,
butter, vanilla and pinch
of salt until fluffy. Gradu-
ally add sifted confection-
ers’ sugar and beat until
33
smooth. Frost Cake and
refrigerate.
Chewy Date Bars:
Ingredients
250g stoned dates, rough-
ly chopped
75g demerara sugar
60g plain flour
50g porridge oats
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1tsp baking powder
1tsp mixed spice
1tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
175g pecan nuts, roughly
chopped
Icing sugar, to dust
Heat oven to 180°C Place
all the ingredients in or-
der into a bowl. Stir until
evenly mixed.
Pour into 15 cm tin but-
tered and lined with grease
paper, level the top and
put on the middle shelf for
30-35 minutes or until the
top is firm and browned.
Leave for 10 minutes, then
turn on to a wire rack to
cool.
When cold, cut into 12
bars and dust with icing
sugar.
Oct - Dec 2010
Random Recipes
Beef Samosas
Ingredients
2 large potatoes, peeled
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 bay leaf, crushed
2 large onions, finely
chopped
1 pound ground beef
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon minced fresh
ginger root
1/2 teaspoon ground black
pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground corian-
der
1 teaspoon ground tur-
meric
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cin-
namon
1/2 teaspoon ground car-
damom
2 tablespoons chopped
VIVALIFE
cumin, coriander, turmeric,
chili powder, cinnamon
and cardamom. Stir in the
mashed potato mixture.
Remove from heat and
chill in the refrigerator for
1 hour, or until cool.
Heat oil in a large, heavy
saucepan over high heat.
Mix cilantro and green
chili peppers into the po-
tato and beef mixture.
Place approximately 1
tablespoon of the mixture
fresh cilantro onto each phyllo sheet.
2 tablespoons chopped Fold sheets into triangles,
green chili peppers pressing edges together
1 quart oil for deep frying with moistened fingers.
1 (16 ounce) package
phyllo dough In small batches, fry un-
til golden brown, about 3
Preparation minutes. Drain on paper
Bring a medium saucepan towels and serve warm.
of lightly salted water to a
boil. Stir in potatoes and
Kofta Kabab
peas. Cook until potatoes
Ingredients
are tender but still firm,
4 cloves garlic, minced
about 15 minutes. Drain,
1 tsp salt
mash together and set
500g ground lamb
aside.
3 tbsp grated onion
3 tbsp chopped parsley
In a large saucepan over
1 tbsp ground coriander
medium high heat, heat
1 tsp ground cumin
the oil. Brown cumin seeds
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
and bay leaf. Mix in onions
1/2 tsp ground allspice
and ground beef. Cook
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
until beef is evenly brown
1/4 tsp ground ginger
and onions are soft, about
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
5 minutes. Mix in garlic,
28 bamboo skewers,
fresh ginger root. Season
soaked in water for 30
with black pepper, salt,
minutes
34 Oct - Dec 2010
 tray and bake slightly until
golden brown in color. Do
not burn.

Heat milk in a non stick

pan and dissolve sugar.
Add cinnamon and bring to
boil. Then set aside.
The sweetness of the milk
should be a bit more than
you like.
Break the baked pastry in
a 20x30 cm Pyrex add the
almonds, hazel nut and
then the milk.

Heat oven at 250 degrees

Preparation has cooked to your desired centigrade and bake the
Mash the garlic into a preference; about 6 min- pastry, nuts and milk for
paste with the salt using utes for medium. 15 minutes. If the pastry
a mortar and pestle or the absorbs all the milk, add a
flat side of a chef’s knife Umm Ali bit more.
on your cutting board. Mix Ingredients
the garlic into the lamb 5 packs puff pastry (200 Remove the Pyrex from
along with the onion, pars- grams each) the oven and mix the but-
ley, coriander, cumin, cin- 5 cups of milk ter and heavy cream to-
namon, allspice, cayenne 2 tbsp granulated white gether and add on top of
pepper, ginger, and pepper sugar the desert. Sprinkle with
in a mixing bowl until well 3 tbsp brown sugar dry coconut.
blended. 3 tbsp butter Bake again for an addition-
4 tbsp heavy cream al 15 minutes.
Form the mixture into 1/2 cup golden/yellow rai-
28 balls. Form each ball sons If no golden crust devel-
around the tip of a skewer, 1/4 cup hazelnut crushed ops on top, then grill for 2
flattening into a 2 inch open in half minutes.
oval; repeat with the re- 1/4 cup almonds, Serve hot.
maining skewers. Place blanched,
the kebabs onto a baking peeled and
sheet, cover, and refriger- split open
ate at least 30 minutes, or 1tsp ground
up to 12 hours. cinnamon
2 tbsp
Preheat an outdoor grill for shredded
medium heat, and lightly dry coconut
oil grate.
Preparation
Cook the skewers on the Place puff
preheated grill, turning oc- pastry in
casionally, until the lamb a baking

www.vivalife1.com 35 Oct - Dec 2010

Your Cosmic Calendar
ARIES
One-to-one
linking appeals
to you more
than group ac-
tivities or more
casual associa-
tions. If single,
you are more
eager than usual to enter into a
devoted relationship. In general,
you are flexible when it comes
to your affections - very willing
to negotiate and make harmony.
You may have a greater than
before wish to rule the roost.
Family-related conflicts and dis-
putes may arise; you may have
arguments with them, about
them, or on their behalf. It could
also happen that now you’re so
busy working for others that you
have no time for yourself, in the
process you miss out a lot of
good things of life
TAURUS
You may be
making changes
in your job/pro-
fession, in your
relationships
with colleagues,
health and diet.
There may be
some mental strain, or perhaps
financial difficulties. This phase
presents an opportunity to get
rid of what doesn’t work in your
life, while also discovering what
does. You could seek distinction
and strive towards perfection in
your work. You have a tendency
to act and reflect automati-
cally, and you could come across
as an “open book” now. It’s a
favorable time for solving prob-
lems and to work on improving
your skills.
VIVALIFE
GEMINI
After a pe-
riod of self-
protectiveness,
you are now
more spon-
taneous and
more willing
to take risks. A
rich, fruitful and happy phase
comes to you and you’re enjoy-
ing it. Rashness in an affair of
the heart might leave you hurt
and scattered, if not shattered.
At this time, you intuitively
know how to position yourself in
the best light in order to make
a good impression on others.
Financial conditions and related
areas may see advances, with
a boost in both resources and
possessions. You have more
oomph at your disposal to make
money, but also to support your
ideals in self confidence.
CANCER
You are able
to stand your
ground and
assert yourself
more than usu-
al. You want
working condi-
tions that satisfy
you in every way, physically,
technically and in the prevail-
ing atmosphere and will take
pains to achieve just that. There
is a marvelous closeness built
up with parents, older people,
in-laws, who might not always
approve of your eccentric and
strongly different opinions. You
will do your best to make an im-
pression and these attempts are
either assisted or challenged by
the circumstances in which you
find yourself and by others
36
LEO
All your mental
activity will be
intensely per-
sonal, subjec-
tive and even
egocentric. No
carelessness
of any kind to be made if you
want to achieve your goals. You
are more curious and alert than
usual, and you could be quite
busy with errands, paperwork,
phone calls, and light socializ-
ing. As a result, fresh acquain-
tances and friendships come to
you, giving pleasure, inspiration
and ideas. You are especially
good at mediating conflicts. Try
smoothing over differences us-
ing your diplomacy skills. Be-
ing clear-cut in your ideas and
this is a good time to schedule
interviews, meetings and one to
many discussions..
VIRGO
The truly
intimate and
personal you,
needs to be ex-
amined minute-
ly and where
there is room
for improvement, positive ac-
tion be taken. There is a certain
determination building up within
you to alter not just your life or
circumstances, but practically
cast yourself in a new image.
People could literally approach
you and appreciate you for who
you are. A mood of elation sus-
tains you even as people ques-
tion your values and your abil-
ity. The entire range from new
contacts and acquaintances, to
lifetime ties and bonds like mar-
riage, are all very important,
indeed.
Oct - Dec 2010
 Our in-house astrologer gazes at planetary positions in the skies
to find out what the stars foretell about your health, wealth,
family, work and social life in the upcoming period ...

LIBRA SAGITTARIUS AQUARIUS

You are likely You may feel Financial mat-
to throw cau- that you’re in the ters become
tion to the grip of a force important or at
wind, espe- beyond your least the main
cially where control, since focus, but good
boundaries be- it is a time for moves have to
tween fantasy great, perhaps be thought out.
and reality can be blurred, so even radical or Back your own
tread carefully. You will have a drastic, changes in your material judgment, but do so with cau-
sense of awareness of your own as well as emotional world. This tion and restraint. The ability
limitations this month, lead- is an especially introspective to relate well with others might
ing up to mid-month phase, be month during which you have enhance your own personal
they physical, emotional or even the chance to truly uncover your finances during this period.
financial. You want more than personal strengths and talents. This is a stable position for love
what mundane reality offers, This is a very expansive time matters and close relationships.
but perhaps too much. Avoid when you have lots of liveli- Group activities and joint efforts
secret dealings, especially the ness, but not necessarily self- are the best way to accomplish
ones that are not clearly legiti- discipline to match. Now such your goals right now. In fact,
mate and justifiable. It can be a careless attitude may lead to you have all sorts of ideas about
better to be motionless and still, undesired troubles. You take what you want to do. You would
and feel the wind change, than much more interest in play and want to organize projects and
to row in the wrong direction pleasure! put things in shape

SCORPIO CAPRICORN PISCES Your

You reach out
to people in a
rare show of
warmth, con-
nubial bliss and
friendship. This
is a rather hap-
py, goal-oriented
period. Forming pleasant, affec-
tionate social friendships, pos-
sibly related to activities within
an organization/society, can
figure. You may meet someone
through such group activities;
consequently, your interests will
be shared. This is a time when
your best course of action is to
recognize that you need, or rely
on, others for support. Coopera-
tive efforts revolve around mak-
ing the most of all the resources
belonging to other people, orga-
nizations or groupings
The preceding
time span had
lots of highs
and lows for
you to reckon
with. The up-
coming period
reorients you to your lasting val-
ues, and greater idealism is the
result. You are confused about
what future directions to take.
You want both absence of worry,
and at least some, if not all, the
good things of life. Imagination
and desires may fog your deci-
sion making capabilities and
create confusion. Relationship
ups and downs characterize this
phase. Disputes with co-workers
are possible. If you are feeling
particularly annoyed, it would
be wise to find little projects and
things to do on your own
vision is practi-
cal right now,
and you want
to see tangible
results for your
efforts. More
contact with
authority figures is likely during
this period. Recognition is likely
to come your way whether you
ask for it or not. You are most
charismatic and well-received
on the job. You are socially go-
getting right now, and success
may come though your good
managerial qualities or some
form of artistic talent. Try to
work cooperatively on relation-
ship problems, and when differ-
ences arise show tolerance for
minor issues as that’s the need
of the hour.

www.vivalife1.com 37 Oct - Dec 2010

.