BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Intel dials up Skype support

Skype – the whole world can talk for free. Download Skype for free and take a look at some of our neat premium services.www.skype.com

SAN FRANCISCO--Intel is investing in VoIP giant Skype to make sure the company's software products are streamlined for Intel's next generation of dual-core processors.

Intel senior vice president Pat Gelsinger said Wednesday that the two companies were working together at the research and development level to build what he called "good business-class audio," for voice-over Internet protocol networks.

"I'm happy to announce a partnership between Intel and Skype to make their clients better on our platforms using our software technology, codec technology (encoding and decoding software), and our dual-core platforms," Gelsinger said during his keynote at the Intel Developer Forum here. The collaboration will lead to "improvements in the number of participants in calls and the quality of calls as well."

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. An Intel representative said Skype does not receive funds from Intel Capital, the chipmaker's investment arm.

Skype, out of Luxembourg, produces software that lets people make phone calls using a PC connected to the Internet. Gelsinger said Skype's software has been downloaded more than 150 million times since its introduction nearly two years ago. Skype advertises that it has as many as 3 million simultaneous users at any time of day. While Skype's annual revenue has not been disclosed, analysts suggest that its valuation could be in the $6 billion to $10 billion range.

The service currently works fine on Intel computers, but an Intel representative said the chipmaking giant wanted to make sure the service ran even better on the upcoming Centrino mobile platform, code-named Napa. Due out in the first half of next year, Napa's technology combines the dual-core Yonah processor and the multimedia-enhanced Calistoga chipset.

CeMines(TM) Expands Depth of the BioSystems Division Executive Management Team

*Dr. Pauline Gee, Ph.D. Appointed Vice President and General Manager; Anosheh Amery Appointed Vice President of Sales and Marketing

GOLDEN, Colo., CeMines, Inc. today announced that Pauline Gee, Ph.D., (52), has been appointed Vice President and General Manager of the Company's BioSystems Division. Dr. Gee is responsible for the BioSystems Division operations, P&L and building the recently announced product management organization. In addition, CeMines also announced the appointment of Anosheh Amery, (43), as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for its BioSystems Division, reporting to Dr. Gee. The appointments are effective immediately.

Dr. Gee joins CeMines from MDS Pharma Services, a contract drug discovery company, where she was Vice-President of Predictive Biology, responsible for directing the company's chemogenomics and toxicogenomics efforts. Prior to joining MDS Pharma Services, Dr. Gee was President and CEO of Xenometrix, Inc., a biotech company pioneering gene expression profiling necessary to describe cellular regulatory responses to compounds. She earned her doctorate in free radical chemistry from Simon Fraser University, in British Columbia, Canada. Her post-doctorate studies focused on analytical chemistry and constructed Ames strains, which were patented in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Division at the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Gee also did post-doctoral work in DNA repair of neurons in the Biological Sciences Department at Stanford University. Pauline will report to Roger Attick, CEO of CeMines, Inc.

Brieves from the Baltic Capital

TALLINN

More than 40 companies that are obligated to discard their excess sugar stocks as part of the European Commission’s penalization of Estonia have failed to do so, reports released last week said.

The Port of Stockholm has announced it was going to invest 2.1 million euros into extending the Frihamnen passenger terminal due to the increasing number of passengers using Tallink ships.

Education Minister Mailis Reps made the painful admittance that she was duped by Kremlin propaganda after stating that the situation in the Russian Republic of Mari El was better than what the Estonian press has been describing.

Automotive special in Latvia

*In the fourteen years since the Baltic states regained independence, the Ladas and Zigulis that once lined the streets of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn have been replaced by almost every international model out there – BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Honda, Mitsubishi. Today, some of the world’s savviest vehicles can be found in the Baltics. To find out which autos are the trendiest, The Baltic Times has compiled a list of some of the finest models - and more importantly, who drives them.

Bernhard L. Loew, regional director and manager of the Schlossle Hotel Group : Kia Sorrento 2004

Since he spends much of the year driving through the wild Latvian countryside on hunting trips, Mr. Loew chose the sporty Kia Sorrento. “I was looking for a combination family car – something with comfort but rugged enough for the countryside,” the avid hunter explains. “I’m very happy with the Kia Sorrento – it has everything that I need. It’s been used and used. I’ve taken it through deep water, deep snow, pushed its four-wheel drive, and sometimes I even carry game in the back after a trip. The car is easy to maintain, good on fuel and drives fantastic.”

Mr. Loew says that he and his wife have always had two cars – one a multi-purpose family vehicle, and the second a fancy car. “I usually never keep a car longer than three years, first of all because I get tired of it, and secondly because the resale value is still good after three years,” Loew explains. “I have had so many different types and models of car – all dependent on my lifestyle.” Yet, above vehicle name, comes service. “I’ve had different cars for different needs. More important than the car’s reliability is the company service. I’ve sold a car just because I received poor service at the garage. I’ve been very happy with Mercedes and Kia so far.”

Despite also owning a BMW 645, Loew keeps a modest view. “Society should never make the mistake of judging a person by their car,” he says. “It’s the person who is important, not the car. We don’t yet have a middle class in Riga, it’s just starting to emerge. We have people with a significant income who buy certain brands according to prestige. But this is true for any country undergoing big political change.”

Patrizio Bertoni, president of SB Logistics : Lexus RX300

Mr. Bertoni admits right away that he knows more about trucks than he does cars, but that didn’t stop him from choosing his own private car very carefully. He says he prefers sports cars most (could we expect otherwise from an Italian ?), but as a Riga resident he needs something that can handle the local conditions, from the harsh winters to the infinite number of potholes. “I chose the Lexus RX300 as a compromise between engine power, quality and price,” he says, “and I am really satisfied.” In his pithy summation, the SUV “is exactly the car for this kind of town.”

Ilmars Bricis, professional athlete, biathlon : Lexus IS200

Mr. Bricis says he bought his IS200 Lexus two-and-a-half years ago. It was only natural that, as a sportsman, he wanted a sporty set of wheels, but he still says the main criteria were prestige and reliability. The latter was particularly important, he adds, and the auto dealer Wess helped convince him that the Lexus IS200 was the way to go. “In the two-and-a-half years that I’ve owned the car it hasn’t let me down.” One could hardly think of a better recommendation.

Pro Patria lashes out at Centrists’ agreement with Russia’s pro-Kremlin party

TALLINN - Leaders of the right-wing Pro Patria Union have demanded the immediate cancellation of a political accord signed at the end of 2004 by Estonia’s Center Party and Russia’s pro-Kremlin United Russia.

Dubbed the Savisaar-Putin pact by conservatives, the agreement has placed an indelible stamp on government politics.

Since coming to power as economy minister, Center Party Chief Edgar Savisaar has not been shy about regulating industry, particularly the Port of Tallinn and Estonian Railways.

The board of Pro Patria adopted its statement one night before the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. It said that the Putin-friendly United Russia was not an ideological union, but more resembled an administrative power center based on former KGB structures and loyalists to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Pro Patria ended its statement by declaring that Estonian parties should neither cooperate nor maintain close relations with such an organization.

Tonis Lukas, chairman of Pro Patria, was quoted by the Baltic News Service as saying that part of Estonia’s political elite - particularly top Center Party politicians - were nostalgic .......

MPs turn to Supreme Court over border treaty

TALLINN - The Estonian Independence Party, which currently has no seats in Parliament, has turned to the Supreme Court to declare the Estonian-Russian border treaties as unconstitutional.

EIP chairman Vello Leito said the party was assuming that Article 122 of the Constitution, which says the Tartu Peace Treaty of Feb. 2, 1920 determines Estonia’s land border, cannot be altered.
Party members insist that if this border is to be changed, Article 122 of the Constitution has to be amended in a referendum first.

Henn Polluaas, who in not affiliated with any party, filed a similar motion with the Supreme Court. Polluaas’ case is scheduled for this fall.

Under Estonian law, only the president, the legal chancellor or local government councils can apply directly to the Supreme Court for constitutional review proceedings.

Web of Crime

The World's Weak Spots

While some members of the group are recruited for their technical skills, others are recruited for different roles. One organization that Prolexic's Lyon came across hired prostitutes to pick up payments from Western Union. "Some of these groups have really sophisticated money laundering techniques," Lyon says. "They get their money sent in multiple broken Western Union payments, and then hire hookers to go pick it up. They get the money back together again, and then deposit into an account where it can be wired around the world. It bounces around and eventually becomes impossible to trace."

And the members of a Web gang may be based almost anywhere in the world, though security experts have identified certain areas as hotspots for this type of activity. Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Estonia, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, North Korea, Romania, Russia, and the United States are major centers for organized hacking, says Kellerman, cofounder and chief knowledge officer for Cybrinth, a new cybersecurity consulting company.

Skype Opens Its Platform to the Web

Pickup calls on your computer, wherever you go around the world, with a SkypeIn number.www.skype.com

LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE) Skype, the pioneering Global Internet Communications Company, which offers free high-quality phone calls to anyone with an Internet connection, is preparing to mark its second anniversary next week by opening up its platform to anyone who wants to integrate Skype's presence and instant messaging services into their website or application. By opening up Skype's platform to the web, it will now be simple for anyone to connect to Skype's fast growing member base, which has already passed more than 51 million people in just 2 years.

Now anyone will be able to benefit from Skype's platform and will be able to integrate both presence and instant messaging features into websites and applications such as online gaming, e-commerce, communications and productivity tools, instantly building community and connections between people who can chat and alert others to their online availability. By opening up its platform to the web, Skype will instantly be creating the largest open instant messaging platform in the world.

"In two short years, Skype has pioneered a revolution in global Internet communications by making it simple for anyone with an Internet connection to make and receive superior quality phone calls for free," said Niklas Zennstrom, Skype CEO and co-founder. "People love to talk, and voice is fast becoming the key category for global Internet communications. Skype's mission is to make communicating through the Internet natural and easy to do, so in addition to voice communications we offer the power of both instant messaging and presence, which have become as ubiquitous as email over the last five years. As we enter our third year in business and as the only company totally focused on global Internet communications, we think now is a perfect time to make these popular features available to anyone who wants to build community and communications into ...........

Estonia BUSINESS : Week 33, 2005

Monday, 15th of August, 2005

Turnover of ELKE Group over EEK 500 million in first half-year
The consolidated sales revenue of the car sales companies of ELKE Group reached EEK 503 million in the first half-year. Six month profit formed EEK 19 million. In total, ELKE Group sold 1456 vehicles in the first half-year.
Äripäev

OG Elektra has grown profit
The six-month net turnover of AS OG Elektra went up to EEK 347 million, profit from economic activities formed EEK 10.3 million. Respective figures a year ago were EEK 266.9 million and EEK 7.8 million.
Äripäev

Tuesday, 16th of August, 2005

Turnover of ETK Leib up
The six-month turnover of ETK Leib that operates under the trademark of Eesti Pagar reached EEK 87.3 million. A year ago, the bakery’s turnover reached EEK 74.9 million in first six months of the year.
Äripäev

Successful half-year for car dealers
The first half-year turned out successful for Estonian car dealers. Ten vendors that have published the economic results managed to grow turnover by 13.5 percent in average and profit by 56 percent in average.
Turnover of United Motors increased 10 percent to EEK 174 million. Last year’s result was EEK 158 million. Profit grew from last year’s EEK 4.6 million to EEK 5.2 million, which makes a growth of 13 percent.
Äripäev

Wednesday, 17th of August, 2005

Valio to invest in cheese-making
This year, Valio will develop its cheese-making segment in Võru with EUR 3 million. With investments, Valio will make the processes of cheese factory more effective and increase producing capacity. Võru is Estonia’s biggest cheese industry.
Äripäev

Tartu Airport to become international
In 2005-2006, EEK 20 million will be invested into Tartu Ülenurme Airport that will obtain meteorological and navigation appliances and restore taxiways and platforms. Tartu mayor Laine Jänes claimed that these are first steps in developing Tartu Airport into an international airport for serving regular flights.
Äripäev

Tourism season
In June, nearly 230,000 tourists stayed overnight in local accommodation establishments. This was 4 percent more than in respective period last year. 29 percent of visitors came from Estonia, 36 percent from Finland and 35 percent from other foreign countries.
Eesti Päevaleht

Thursday, 18th of August, 2005

Sales of Estonian consumers’ association up
The consolidated retail turnover of Estonian consumer’s association in first seven months of the year reached a little over EEK 2.9 billion. Compared to last year, retail sales increased 12 percent. Turnover increased 19.1 percent compared to last year. Järva and Saaremaa consumer’s associations sold most products. In total, about 500 stores all over Estonia belong to the Estonian consumer’s association.
Äripäev

Tourism farms enjoyed flow of visitors in summer
Rainy summer did not have any effect upon the number of visitors in Estonian tourism farms and holiday houses. The number of visitations was even bigger than last summer.
Owners of tourism farms admit that thanks to the association of rural tourism, local farms have entered also foreign markets. Farms are mainly visited by bigger tourism groups, who also plan field events. Besides groups, also car tourists from places like France, Spain and Italy have visited local tourism farms.
Postimees

Friday, 19th of August, 2005

Turnover of Prisma up 30 percent
The I half-year net turnover of Prisma Peremarket that operates with four hyper markets in Estonia reached EEK 563 million which is 29.9 percent more than in respective period last year. The six-month commercial profit of the store chain was EEK 7.8 million, whereby a year earlier, the company was in a loss of EEK 1.6 million.
Äripäev

Estonia’s most powerful money machine brought almost a billion in a quarter
2Q profit of Hansapank, Estonia’s biggest money machine grew 38 percent to EEK 920 million. This is almost as much as the bank earned for the entire year five years ago. Lion’s share of the net profit (EEK 555 million) came from Estonia and the rest came from other markets: Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. In half a year, Hansapank Group has earned EEK 1.7 billion of net profit, which is 33 percent more than in respective period last year.
Äripäev

Estonian Air earned EEK 17.7 million in profit
In the first half-year, national carrier Estonian Air earned a profit of EEK 17.7 million. In respective period last year, the aviation company was in a loss of EEK 1.1 million. In first six months of the year, Estonian Air served 293,700 passengers, which is 20 percent more than in 2004. The average occupancy of Estonian Air’s flights was 61.9 percent, which is 3.4 percentage points more than last year.
Eesti Päevaleht

Two WWII ships found in Baltic Sea

ST. PETERSBURG  (RIA Novosti, Maxim Nichiporenko) -- Two ships lost in the Baltic Sea during World War II have been found in the Gulf of Finland, a Russian researcher told a news conference Tuesday.

Andrei Lukoshkov, head of the Mysteries of Lost Ships research project, said the aim of the project was to find ships that had been lost during the so-called Tallinn Convoy, an operation to evacuate Soviet troops and civilians from the Estonian capital surrounded by the Germans in August 1941.

One of the vessels was the Siberia hospital ship that was sunk by Nazi planes on August 20, 1941 near the Gogland Island in the Gulf of Finland. According to data obtained by the project participants from wartime archives, the Siberia had 890 wounded soldiers and 410 civilians on board. Five hundred people drowned when the ship sank.

Another find was the N12 tanker that sank on August 29,1941 during the same convoy. Three hundred personnel .......

Goes confirms squad for Latvia test

*Estonia coach Jelle Goes has named a 21-man squad for their upcoming FIFA World Cup™ qualifier against Latvia.

Sunderland goalkeeper Mart Poom, who has won over 100 caps for his country, has been included in the group even though he has been sidelined since last year with a knee problem.

However, full-backs Teet Allas and Urmas Rooba are both missing because of injury while a shoulder problem could rule out captain Martin Reim.

Also unavailable for Goes are midfielders Taavi Rahn and Kert Haavistu, plus forwards Vjatsheslav Zahovaiko, Aleksander Saharov and Ats Purje.

To cover those absences, Goes has called up ...........

Estonia Q2 unemployment falls to 10 year low of 8.1 pct

Tallinn (AFX) - Second quarter unemployment stood at 8.1%, the lowest over the past 10 years, the Estonian Statistical Office said, BNS newswire reported.

KASAKOV wins DRAGON Charity event.

Charity Race of the Dragon                                  

1. My Best, Jevgeni Kasakov (Estonia)
2. Valery, Konstantin Emelianov (Russia)
3. HLL-Calliston, Claus Hoj Jensen (Denmark)

A royal visit was the highlight of the Rolex Baltic Week yesterday (21 August). Her Royal Highness Queen Silvia of Sweden honoured the event with her attendance to start a charity race in favour of the World Childhood Foundation, which the queen herself has founded in 1999.

Meanwhile the IMS 600 yachts embarked onto their 134.5-nautical miles offshore race of their world championships after the start had to be postponed due to no wind. The Swan Race is half-way through with the Hamburg-based yacht Chrila by Claus Bressler in the lead.

The charity race preceded the Hanseatic Lloyd Dragon World Championship which begins today. Race fees, donations and the bids of an auction summed to more than 110,000 Euros. It will be used for misused and exploited children worldwide.

Peter Harry Carstensen the recently elected prime minister of the German land Schleswig-Holstein Carstensen, about whom it is said that as a student, he had often spent more time sailing than studying, gave proof of .........

OMX Harmonizes Index Names

STOCKHOLM  (PRIMEZONE) -- Effective October 3, 2005, OMX will harmonize the index name structure for OMX exchanges in Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. The change is part of OMX's strive to create an integrated and efficient Nordic Baltic marketplace.

The new OMX index name structure covers the most important indexes -- all-share, tradable, benchmark and sector indexes. The name structure is constructed around the OMX name, the specific stock exchange and the index of choice, among others:

 INDEX    Copenhagen    Stockholm    Helsinki  Riga    Tallinn  Vilnius 

 All-
  share   OMX           OMX         OMX        OMX     OMX      OMX
          Copenhagen    Stockholm   Helsinki   Riga    Tallinn  Vilnius
          (OMXC)        (OMXS)      (OMXH)     (OMXR)  (OMXT)   (OMXV)

 Tradable OMX           OMX          OMX  
          Copenhagen 20 Stockholm 30 Helsinki 25
          (OMXC20)      (OMXS30)     (OMXH25)

EU releases storm aid package

*Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are set to receive millions of euros in EU aid following storms that battered large parts of northern Europe in January this year.

Four grants totalling nearly €93 million from the EU's Solidarity Fund will be used to reimburse the cost of emergency measures activated in the aftermath of the storm.

After months of assessments and verification, Brussels announced on Monday that Sweden will receive €81.73 million, Latvia, €9.49 million, Estonia €1.29 million and Lithuania €0.37 million.

The EU's so-called .......

Eesti keele ülalpidamine on kallis

*Jüri Valge kirjutab sellest, millist «kasu» tooks meile eesti keelest loobumine ning ingliskeelse maailma tingimusteta omaksvõtt.

Sügissuvise Hiiumaa käärulisi kruusateid pidi pedaalides ning Kaido Kama, Rein Veidemanni ja Enn Soosaart kokku pannes tuleb mitmesuguseid mõtteid. Isiklike puhkusemõlgutuste juurest on võimalik jõuda järeldusteni, mille üle laiemaltki võiks aru pidada.

Tõsiasi, et praegusest 5000–7000 keelest 100 aasta pärast vaid umbes 400 alles on, ei selgunud koos Kalevi Wiigi raamatu eestikeelse tõlke esitlusega, vaid oli keeleinimestele teada juba ammu. Alles jäävad suured – need kaitsevad ennast ise – ning väga väikesed keeled – nende igakülgseks arenguks loob tingimused Euroopa regionaal- või vähemuskeelte harta. Eesti kirjakeel ei kuulu ei suurte ega väikeste hulka ning seetõttu tuleb tõsiselt kaaluda selle arendamise otstarbekust.

Ühtegi majanduslikku argumenti (lisaks selgesti mõõdetavate eduindikaatorite puudumisele) ei näi selleks igatahes olevat ning lisaks tõotavad asjatust raharaiskamisest loobumisega kaasnevad poliitilised ja lausa maailmakultuurilised boonused tulu, mille kõrval jonnakas eestikeelsuse nõudmine tundub vähemalt naljakas.

Calendar : 23-24th September, Tartu

Estonian Genome Foundation - The 6th International Gene Forum 2005 : "Genetic Medicine : an array of opportunities".

A treasure trove in Surry Hills

URMAS RATTUR

For almost thirty years I had no reason to go to the Estonian House in Campbell Street, Sydney. But that was to change with the arrival of the Estonian Consul in Sydney. Like hundreds of other applicants for an Estonian passport, I went through the experience of trying to prove my Estonian ancestry.

My family left Estonia in the days before Estonia’s final subjugation by the Soviet Union in October 1944. We managed to escape to Sweden in a leaky lifeboat with scant interest in the documents which one needs to prove one’s identity. Like most refugees, one is issued with documents, which are based on hearsay and personal testimonies.

So if you think it is hard to prove who you are, it is probably “Mission Impossible” to prove who your children are, - especially if they are born in a non-English speaking country, where even their script is difficult to be read by Australians.

But there is a treasure trove of knowledge about Estonians in Australia and even of Estonia too. It is called the Estonian Archive in Eesti Maja at 141 Campbell Street in Sydney. You do not have to be an Estonian to access it, you even do not have to speak Estonian to ask where something is, all you need to have is willingness to go there on a Wednesday between the hours of 10:00 am and 3:00 pm and speak to the archivists, who are really nice, friendly, helpful people and speak perfect Australian.

So what’s there, you may ask ? The archives are the best organised ethnic archives in Australia - because one of the archivists is a professional from ...........

Mao Tse Tung (Mao Zedong) the sociopath - not the great hero says new book

*A book about to be released in October, in Canada, re-paints chairman Mao in a less favourable light, as a downright bloodthirsty sociopath. An article written by Geoffrey York, of the Globe and Mail's Beijing bureau, analyzed "Mao : The Unknown Story", a book written by Jan Chung (best selling author of the non-fiction book "Wild Swans") and her husband Jon Halliday. Considering that Mao is literally deified in communist China - and outside as well - this is a serious reality check.

The book debunks all of the theories floated about Mao from the point where he was installed by the USSR and then overtakes his mentor Josef Stalin (as well as Adolph Hitler) in murder putting the death toll at 70 million.

The high number of people killed had something to do with the fact that Mao enjoyed his "work" with public executions, which even his European counterparts would not attempt. He was quite willing to sacrifice half of China's population for the ultimate goal of ............

Prime Minister Andrus Ansip’s Address to the Twentieth August Club

Tallinn, Stenbock House   

August 20, 2005

Every independent state has its own national holidays and its own customs. Usually, these holidays and customs are connected to pivotal and turbulent episodes in the history of these states and their peoples. We have to consider ourselves lucky that no blood was spilled during the events of August 20, the date of our rebirth.

Regardless of our luck on that day, we must not forget the enormous sacrifices forced upon our people during the occupation – that long half century which preceded August 20, 1991. It was due to our endurance of those losses that it became possible to effectively restore the Republic of Estonia established in 1918, based on the decision made by the Estonian representatives today, 14 years ago.

I would like to thank all those who made the decision to restore our independence on that day !

To our current representatives, delegates sent to our parliament, the Riigikogu, by our citizens, I wish strength and wisdom.

I would also like to thank our partner states all around the world who were quick to recognize the restoration of our independence in the epochal year of 1991.


Andrus Ansip
Prime Minister [email protected]