Monthly Archives: September 2013

Democracy, Human Rights and Religious Freedom in East Asia | 17th Forum 2000 Conference – Video

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Democracy, Human Rights and Religious Freedom in East Asia | 17th Forum 2000 Conference
In which East Asian countries are the most serious human rights violations taking place and which rights are most repressed? ——Which countries are making t...

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Democracy, Human Rights and Religious Freedom in East Asia | 17th Forum 2000 Conference - Video

Barclaycard boosts its Freedom Rewards Credit Card offering

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By Emma Gunn

PUBLISHED: 05:12 EST, 19 September 2013 | UPDATED: 11:10 EST, 19 September 2013

Barclaycard has bumped-up the rewards on its Freedom Rewards credit card - just in time to tempt shoppers reluctant to head out to the High Street now the weather has turned.

The Freedom Rewards card will pay a higher reward rate on online shopping through its Freedom Rewards store.

Both new and existing customers will now be able clock up three points for every 1 spent with favourites such as ASOS, Debenhams and House of Fraser. Here's how the new reward offer stacks up.

Rewards cards: If used correctly you could earn money on your online shopping with Barclaycard's Freedom Rewards Credit Card

Barclaycard's Freedom Reward scheme works by holders earning points when the spend, and then using the points to buy vouchers from a list of retailers via the online Freedom Rewards store.

If you are a new customer signing up to the Barclaycard credit card you get an introductory bonus of 10,500 Freedom points (worth 30 in vouchers) when you spend 500 on the card in the first three months.

Apart from that, different types of spending earn different levels of points. You get one point for every 1 spent on general spending and two points on supermarket, petrol and TFL travel bills.

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Barclaycard boosts its Freedom Rewards Credit Card offering

Economic Freedom: Hong Kong, Singapore On Top, US Falls In Ranking

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The United States has fallen 15 places since 2000 in a global ranking of economic freedom, while Hong Kong and Singapore maintained their top spots.

The "Economic Freedom of the World" report 2013, compiled by Canada's Fraser Institute, ranks Hong Kong first with an overall Economic Freedom Rating of 8.97, followed by Singapore (8.73). In the area of credit market regulations, both the East Asian City States scored 10 out of 10.

The United States is positioned as the world's 17th freest economy behind nations such as New Zealand, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Finland, Bahrain, Canada, and Australia, who are in the top ten.

Throughout most of the period from 1980 to 2000, the United States ranked as the world's third-freest economy, behind Hong Kong and Singapore.

The U.S. ratings and rankings have fallen in all five areas of the EFW index. The worst reduction was in the area of Legal System and Property Rights, where the rating had slid to 6.93, placing the United States 38th worldwide, tied with Venezuela.

The report blames the slippage of the United States, once considered a bastion of economic freedom, on "overspending, weakening rule of law, and regulatory overkill on the part of the U.S. government."

Major countries ranked below the United States include Germany, Japan, South Korea, France, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, and India. China, despite being a major economic power, is ranked as low as 123rd in a list of 152 countries.

Eight of the ten lowest-rated countries are located in Africa, with Myanmar and Venezuela ending up in last place.

The index published in the report, which was compiled using data and surveys from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Economic Forum, measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of privately owned property. The degree of economic freedom to rank countries was measured using five criteria: Size of Government, Legal System and Property Rights, Sound Money, Freedom to Trade Internationally, and Regulation.

The average chain-linked economic freedom rating for the countries has increased from 5.34 in 1980 to 6.87 in 2011.

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Economic Freedom: Hong Kong, Singapore On Top, US Falls In Ranking

'Cyborg' wants Rousey fight for fans, has 'nothing personal against her'

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While some believe there is a long-running blood feud between Invicta FC champion Cristiane Justino and UFC champion Ronda Rousey, "Cyborg" insists the relationship isn't personal: She just wants to give the fans the fight they want to see.

"I don't have anything personal against her," Justino told MMAjunkie.com Radio. "She talks stuff about me, and I think all the time she's talking about me. I don't know if she loves me, but I don't have nothing personal. I think everything is professional."

The rivalry between the two high-level female fighters began years ago when Justino (12-1 MMA) and Rousey (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) were the respective featherweight and bantamweight champions of the now-defunct Strikeforce organization.

There has since been a lot of talk about putting together the potential matchup, but the sticking point has always been what weight class the bout would be contested under.

Rousey has been firm in her stance that since she is the champion of the bigger company, Justino should accommodate her by dropping down to 135 pounds.

Unfortunately, the Brazilian says the additional 10-pound weight cut is not physically plausible.

"I'm very heavy and my bones are heavy and I try to make 135, but I think it's very difficult for me," Justino said. "I think 145 is very hard. Always when I make 145 I say, 'Why?' It's very difficult for me to make 145 and I said, 'If Ronda wants to fight me she can make 140 and go up and I'll go down five pounds."

Even when the idea of a catchweight affair has been brought up in the past, Rousey hasn't appeared interested, as she wants Justino to drop the weight so their fight could be for the UFC championship.

While a title fight would be the ideal situation in terms of promotion, Justino said it shouldn't determine whether or not the bout takes place because ultimately she just wants to put together what would arguably be the biggest women's MMA fight ever belt or no belt.

"I don't care about the belt in the UFC, I care about the fight," Justino said. "I think everybody wants to see the fight. I'm the champion of Invicta now. I don't care. But I think the fans want to watch this fight, and I think it would be very exciting."

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'Cyborg' wants Rousey fight for fans, has 'nothing personal against her'

MMA Stars Cyborg and Cosmo Alexandre Talk Training Muay Thai for Lion Fight 11

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Lion Fight Promotions held its pre-fight press conference outside The D Hotel and Casino on Fremont Street in Las Vegas to promote the Lion Fight 11 card taking place on Friday, Sept. 20. MMA fans will be familiar with two of the headlining names: Invicta's Featherweight Champion Cris "Cyborg" Justino and Blackzillian's Bellator product, Cosmo Alexandre.

Both "Cyborg" and Alexandre were asked about the difference in training Muay Thai, as compared to MMA.

"You know when you're [training] for MMA you train a lot of things," Justino said. "You train boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai. When you train for Muay Thai [fight], you train only one thing. It is not easy, but you can make your focus only one sport."

Alexandre admitted that the grind of daily training in Muay Thai can be tough, but made it clear he prefers the stand-up sport overall.

Courtesy of Bennie Palmore

"I think when you fight for a long time, and you have been doing this for a while, the hardest thing to do is train. When I train MMA it's fun for me now. When I train Muay Thai I know what I [will be doing] every day. You run, bags, clinch. Every day [is] the same thing. For me [training] is the hardest thing to do now. It is hard to keep focused. But for the fight, of course I prefer to fight Muay Thai. On Friday night I want to show a good fight. I do not want to come to the fight out of shape."

When asked about taking a Muay Thai bout while still under contract for MMA, Cyborg responded that her preference was simply to stay active.

"I think I can have more motivation to keep training every day. I like to fight. I like more fights per year. I don't want one fight per year, so I'll fight Muay Thai and MMA. I think it is a good for mea good experience for me. I can stay busy and have work every day."

"Cyborg" had originally been set to take on Martina Jindrova before a neck injury forced the Czech fighter to bow out. Lion Fight was able to sign Jennifer Colomb of France to take the fight on short notice.

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MMA Stars Cyborg and Cosmo Alexandre Talk Training Muay Thai for Lion Fight 11