• Moscow is still the most expensive city for expatriates; Asunción in Paraguay is the cheapest
• European and Asian cities dominate the top 10
• Weakening of US dollar causes significant changes in rankings
• London drops one place to rank third

Moscow is the world’s most expensive city for expatriates for the third consecutive year, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer. Tokyo is in second position climbing two places since last year, where as London drops one place to rank third. Oslo climbs six places to 4th place and is followed by Seoul in 5th. Asunción in Paraguay is the least expensive city in the ranking for the sixth year running.

With New York as the base city scoring 100 points, Moscow scores 142.4 and is close to three times costlier than Asunción which has an index of 52.5. Contrary to the trend observed last year the gap between the world’s most and least expensive cities now seems to be widening.

Mercer’s survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. It is the world’s most comprehensive cost of living survey and is used to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees.

Yvonne Traber, a principal and research manager at Mercer, commented: “Current market conditions have led to the further weakening of the US dollar which, coupled with the strengthening of the Euro and many other currencies, has caused significant changes in this year’s rankings.”

She added: “Although the traditionally expensive cities of Western Europe and Asia still feature in the top 20, cities in Eastern Europe, Brazil and India are creeping up the list. Conversely, some locations such as Stockholm and New York now appear less costly by comparison.

"Our research confirms the global trend in price increases for certain foodstuffs and petrol, though the rise is not consistent in all locations. This is partly balanced by decreasing prices for certain commodities such as electronic and electrical goods. We attribute this to cheaper imports from developing countries, especially China, and to advances in technology.

“Keeping on top of the changes in expatriate cost of living is essential so companies can ensure their employees are compensated fairly and at competitive rates when stationed abroad,” Ms Traber observed.

“In some cases, cost of living increases may be correlated to countries with a high rate of economic growth. Companies may assign high priority to expansion in these economies but may have to deal with inflationary pressures due to competition for expatriate-level housing and other services, as observed in our surveys,” she noted.

For example, Latvia had real GDP growth of 10.2% in 2007, well above the global average growth rate of 5.2%, and its capital, Riga, jumped to 46th place in the latest Mercer ranking, up from 72nd a year ago. Cities in India all rose in the cost of living ranking, with New Delhi climbing to 55th place from 68th a year ago, as India posted a real GDP growth rate of 9.2% in 2007. Bogota jumped to 87th place from 112th, reflecting Colombia’s 7% real GDP growth.

Europe, Middle East and Africa

Moscow is ranked the most expensive city both in Europe and globally for the third year running. The city’s score has steadily increased over the last few years and is currently at 142.4 (compared to 134.4 in 2007 and 123.9 in 2006).

“Moscow’s position as the most expensive place for expatriate living has been strengthened by the appreciation of the rouble against the US dollar and the continuous rising accommodation costs,” said Ms Traber.

London is the next European city in the ranking at 3rd place (score 125), down one from last year, while Oslo has jumped six places to rank 4th with a score of 118.3.

“Norwegian property prices were at an all-time high towards the end of last year after a 50% increase in the last five years. Coupled with the continuous strengthening of the Norwegian krone this has created a substantial increase in living costs for expatriates in Oslo,” said Ms Traber, principal at Mercer.

Other European cities in the global Top 10 include Copenhagen at 7th (117.2) and Geneva in 8th (115.8). Both cities have dropped one place from last year. Zurich remains in 9th place (112.7), whereas Milan climbs one to 10th place with a score of 111.3. Sofia in Bulgaria is again the least expensive European city for expatriates in 97th place (76.9), although the city has climbed 11 places in the overall ranking.

Several European cities have experienced a significant rise in the rankings this year, mainly as a result of local currency strengthening against the US dollar. For example, Prague has jumped from 49th to 29th place (score 96) and Warsaw is up to 35th place (score 95) compared to 67th in 2007. Istanbul has climbed 15 places to rank 23 (score 99.4) reflecting the Turkish lira’s significant appreciation against the US dollar as well as general price increases, especially for accommodation.

In addition to London dropping one place, two additional UK cities, Birmingham and Glasgow, have both moved down in the rankings, dropping from 41st to 66th (score 85.4) and 36th to 69th (score 84), respectively. “In contrast to the strengthening euro and other European currencies, the British pound has remained relatively stable against the US dollar. As the cost of living in the Eurozone has risen relative to the US, UK cities have declined in the rankings,” according to Ms Traber.

Tel Aviv is again the most expensive city in the Middle East, positioned 14th (score 105) on the global list, up three places from 2007.

Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi have dropped significantly this year, positioned at 52 (score 89.3) and 65 (score 85.7), respectively. This is mainly due to the UAE dirham being pegged to the US dollar. Most African cities in the survey have moved down the ranking with the exception of Lagos in Nigeria, which has jumped seven places to join the Top 30 at position 30 (score 95.9).

The Americas

The only North American city to feature in this year’s top 50 is New York in 22nd place (score 100), dropping seven places in one year.

All other US cities have also experienced a significant decline in the rankings. For example, Los Angeles has moved from 42nd to 55th place (score 87.5), Miami from 51st to 75th place (score 82) and Washington, DC, from 85th to 107th place (score 74.6).

"The decline in the ranking of all US cities is due to the weakening value of the US dollar against most major world currencies," said Mitch Barnes, principal at Mercer in the US. "The dollar has been declining steadily for the past several years, which has resulted in an overall decrease in the cost of living in 19 US cities, relative to other major global cities studied.

"On the bright side, the US dollar's loss of value may serve to attract globally mobile executives to business centres such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. The difference in cost of living can be significant, particularly for those executives with families."

In 54th place (score 88.1), jumping 28 places from last year, Toronto is the most expensive city for expatriates in Canada. All other Canadian cities in the survey have experienced similar rises, with Vancouver moving from 89th to 64th (score 85.8), Calgary from 92nd to 66th (score 85.4) and Montréal from 98th to 72nd with a score of 83. This reverses last year’s trend which saw Canadian cities decline, and places them back where they have traditionally been rated. The Canadian dollar has appreciated nearly 15% against the US dollar, the main reason for these movements.

The two top-ranking cities in South America are São Paulo in 25th place (score 97) and Rio de Janeiro in 31st place (score 95.2), jumping 37 and 33 places, respectively. The Brazilian real appreciated nearly 18% against the US dollar last year, causing these Brazilian cities to rocket up the list. Another high-riser in this region is Caracas, jumping 40 places from 129th to 89th (score 79.3). High inflation in Venezuela has caused a sharp increase in the price of food and household products.

South America also has some of the lowest ranking cities globally. Asunción is the least expensive city for the sixth consecutive year (score 52.5), followed by Quito in Ecuador in 142nd (score 54.6), Buenos Aires in 138th (score 62.7) and Montevideo in 136th (score 63.2).

Asia

Tokyo is the costliest Asian city, in 2nd place (score 127), two places up since last year. Seoul follows in 5th place (score 117.7) and Hong Kong closely after in 6th with a score of 117.6. Singapore ranks 13th and holds a score of 109.1. Karachi continues to be the least costly city in this region, in 141st place with a score of 54.7.

Whilst the five top-scoring cities in Asia remain relatively stable in the ranking there have been significant changes further down the list. In India, Mumbai moves up four places to reach 48 (score 90.3), whereas New Delhi climbs 13 places to 55 (score 87.5) due to the strengthening of the India rupee against the US dollar. Although India has experienced relatively high inflation, this has increased at similar pace to New York and has therefore had a reduced impact on its cities’ rise in the rankings. Manila rises a total of 27 places, ranking 110th with a score of 73.4, mainly as a result of price increases for international-standard accommodation.

In contrast, certain cities in this region have experienced significant falls in the ranking. Some examples are Jakarta falling from 55th to 82nd place (score 80.5) and Bangkok dropping from 95th to 105th place with a score of 75.1. In Vietnam, Hanoi drops 35 places to rank 91 (score 79) and Ho Chi Minh City drops 40 places to rank 100th (score 76.3), mainly because the Vietnamese dong has remained stable against the US dollar and so has pushed these cities down on the list. The low level of inflation observed on goods in these Vietnamese cities compared to in New York has further widened the gap.

Australia and New Zealand

Sydney continues to be the most expensive city for expatriates in this region, moving up six places in the overall ranking to reach 15th place (score 104.1). Melbourne follows in 36th place (score 94.2), jumping 28 places and Perth climbs 31 places to reach ranking number 53 (score 88.5).

Both Australian and New Zealand cities are moving up in the rankings due to the appreciation of their local currencies against the US dollar. New Zealand’s cities remain the less costly option for expatriates, however, with Auckland in 78th place (score 81) and Wellington in 93 (score 77.6).

>> Il est désormais possible (version beta) de choisir son trajet en mode piéton.

• Jack Lang, le coupable idéal qui masque le vide idéologique du PS
  (tags: politique france jacklang ps socialiste)

>> Un texte clair, net et précis qui me rappelle la tribune signée récemment par Christophe Caresche (PS, Paris), Jean-Marie Le Guen (PS, Paris), Gaëtan Gorce (PS, Nièvre) et Manuel Valls (PS, Essonne) dans Le Monde.

• Le temps de travail des cadres va pouvoir être fixé « à la carte »
  (tags: travail 35h cadres rtt france entreprise accord)

>> En théorie un cadre devrait être amené à pouvoir travailler jusqu'à 282 jours par an.

• Apple's secret product is 'MacBook touch'
  (tags: macbook touch apple secret rumor)

>> C'est Michael Arrington qui va être content!

• Puma sa 330
  (tags: puma hélicoptère france défense)

>> Avec un peu de chance, j'en verrai un de très près dans moins d'un mois.

His new saying for Mega transformation is "Trans-Code! No. 003! Shooting Star Rockman!" here is a comic strip showing that:

Now for some COOL pics:

Very interesting....we see in a few screen shots that Mega Man Noise change Ox fire is element less....possible you can choose elements? And their seems to be a level for how strong the noise change can be, as you see on the pictures above you see how deep in noise your changes are....this is definitely going to be a very big turn around for the series. And his buster is modified into a very cool cannon, just like in other pictures!! Plus you can also see Warrock (or omega-xis) in battle, he is now a wave card and can be used in battle his level one card is worth 100 and swings in a radius of a wide sword. There is also pictures of a new boss called Spade Magnets and he will have 400 hp at his first version. This game is really cool, I hope it just keeps getting better!

Oh and here are some cool pics of the noise changes:

Play-Asia.com - Your One-Stop-Shop for Asian Entertainment

RYUUSEI NO ROCKMAN 3 SITE UPDATE HERE!!

Und springe vor Freude durch die Gegend :)

Die Ergebnisse des Geo Kurses, in dem ich die Alpenhausarbeit schreiben musste, mit meiner Gruppe den Buchpreis bekommen habe und bei dem ich so große Angst vor der Klausur hatte, sind da.

Auch wenn der WT jetzt kein Wort mehr mit mir sprechen wird...

hier sind die facts:

• 1,0 in der Hausarbeit. Die einzige 1,0 des Kurses.
• 1,7 in der Klausur. Dritthöchste Punktzahl des Kurses.
• 1,5 als Gesamtergebnis. Damit Zweitbeste des Kurses.

ja, ich weiß, ich gebe gerade richtig schön an. Aber nach 13 Jahren wirklich eher mäßiger Schullaufbahn mit einem Abi von 3,1 und einem katastrophalen Unistart (3/5 der Klausuren im ersten Semester NICHT bestanden) kann ich gar nicht wirklich glauben, dass das MEINE Ergebnisse sind...

So, und wer geht jetzt mit mir feiern!?

*edit - ich möchte erwähnen, dass der Kurs mit einem Gesamtdurchschnittswert von 2,2 und einem Klausurdurchschnittswert von 2,5 generell nicht so schlecht war... aber ich freu mich trotzdem seehr :)

These images show that Ryuusei 3 will be MUCH different then the predecessors, the Hunter VG screen will be on the bottem instead of the top and will feature Omega-Xis on the screen, including many others from Wizard attatchments. And it looks like the card screen in battle will have the cards floating around instead of in three separate rows, and if you look closely on the battle images you can see the Warrock chip, a rumor that now has been confirmed. Guys this game is looking really good, it might top the others beyond expectations.

Play-Asia.com - Your One-Stop-Shop for Asian Entertainment
Oh and stop by Play-Asia, you can order Japanese games here (and this includes future Ryuusei 3 when pre orders are available)

And here is an Wallpaper of Mega Man Star Force 3:

enjoy it.

Play-Asia.com - Your One-Stop-Shop for Asian Entertainment

It was 2002 when I started watching a show called Views on News. It was presented by an unknown person with a gift of gab and in a couple of shows he proved that he was different from the rest. I had never before heard such an in depth analysis and news that others would rarely discuss. His program on ARY One World went off the air many times. Later on he disappeared for a couple of months and then I saw him on Geo. In one of his earlier shows he claimed that he was sacked by ARY. He even claimed to have declined the Pride of Performance award.

The government never appreciated Geo’s support for judges and once again pressurized Dubai authorities to take Geo off the air. They refused to do so but Dr. Shahid’s show went off air again. Then I heard unbelievable news that Dr. Shahid has been appointed PTV’s chairman. My mind is buzzing with questions. Why would anyone who always believed in voicing his opinion would accept such a job where he knows he won’t achieve anything except big bucks.

Why someone who was so critical of the President and all the ministers/politicians by and large would end up working under them in a capacity when his hands and tongue would be tied. Is this a move for survival since he could have been sacked by Geo as well or something else?

Is Dr. Shahid like every other person, we categorize as corrupt and opportunist? Did he think he would take up this job and make a difference something that is impossible under the government’s setup?

I don’t know who’s wrong and who’s right but lately I have been reading some negative stuff about him. And if he come up with his own show again, I think I would never trust his words they way I used to do.

Es ist geschafft, es ist vorbei und es sollte bestanden sein. Jetzt erst mal eine Woche nichts tun.

Danke ihr Lieben, fürs Daumendrücken! Auch wenn ichs erst jetzt gelesen habe, ich hab mich sehr gefreut :)

Die Nacht war sehr, sehr kurz (da ist mein Mittagsschlaf oft länger) und ich bin fertig mit der Welt.

Um 8 Uhr ist Klausur.

Ich will nicht und ich hab das Gefühl, dass ich das auch nicht kann, auch wenn der Wortteufel jetzt da sitzt und denkt "denkste".

Ich weiß, dass ich da durch muss und ich bin einfach nur froh, dass um 10 Uhr alles vorbei ist.

Um mein Redebedürfnis zu decken und erst mal ne Runde zu heulen wurde vor 10 Minuten Theresa geweckt... das hat schon mal ein bisschen geholfen, immerhin war sie vorgewarnt.

Um 10 werd ich mich für diesen Beitrag vielleicht schämen - oder auch drüber lachen, aber jetzt gehts mir mies.

So, ich werde jetzt den Lap wieder ausmachen und hoffen, dass ich dann bis zur Klausur niemanden mehr sehe und von niemandem was höre. Das macht mich nur noch nervöser...

Are slick Rockman has a new look, advanced and slimmed down a bit, affects of the Hunter VG.

As you see they resemble many of his F-mian counterparts, but these are not all the forms, there are more and it is mentioned there will be an "ultimate" form.

And here are the live images of a change:

It is an interesting concept, a great way of fighting viruses.

and a few other pictures:

Basically this shows some of the characters and F-mians you will use in this game, also pictures of Hunter VG and wizard attachments.

Play-Asia.com - Your One-Stop-Shop for Asian Entertainment

Chaitanyakuber, was live blogging many of the sessions, so go there for some more detailed commentary. Also, all the sessions were recorded, so watch out for video and accompanying presentations.

It certainly seemed more professional this year, with a high standard of talks being presented. No panel discussions though. Thanks to the sponsors for the BBQ and for the hosts and volunteers for making everything go smooth. Also, if you are looking for a good Bed and Breakfast in the Castletroy area of Limerick, I can very much recommend Castle Moor.

Some quick notes:

Many State of my Country presentations got round of applauses. Everyone is amazed at the progress that a few folks can do.

In particular, Japan, with Hiroshi Muira speaking about progress to date, and the particular challenges. he showed the 3D plan of Tokyo station - one multi levelled, underground street complex.

The Italians had a really funny video. They also had a Month of OSM, where each day, they were interviewed on the radio about what they did. In one year, their data increased from 15mb to 216mb!

ITO announced a kind of map inquirer, enabling you to subscribe to areas, and query who is doing what, and how much etc. Very nice.

John must have done his last public thing for Multimap before going freelance. He's written up his review too. Good luck!

Frederick Ramm gave an interesting presentation about the Threats to OSM. And warned about the community developing a FIC, or Feted Inner Core. OSM is a "do-ocracy". OSM doesn't have unlimited labour - it competes with wives and girlfriends!

Cloudmade announced custom styles for map tiles, and another tile server, with 64x64 tiles for mobile devices - this is worth keeping an eye on. I wonder if they are making any profit, or if the business plan is all "disruptive" - it's certainly worth it for an investor to shake up the market, and make it cheaper for their other investments to benefit from shaking up the market, and lowering the price of geodata in general. They also announced that they had the whole of the Isle of Man, and offered it to Google, but under CC-by-SA, so G declined. Since only 3 users made it, I'm wondering if they should licence this as public domain, and re-offer it.

Ed Parsons showed up and talked about Map Maker - no big surprises, except he did repeat that the vast majority of G map users couldn't care less about open data, so there's no user requirement to open the data. For commercial data, i.e. data from Navteq etc, availability is driven by needs of car sat needs. G has more structured taxonomy behind scenes.In India, the "employees" added more POI's and landmarks, as these, they thought were more important for navigation.

Robert Barr suggested that if we import more and more gpx files, then the statisticians may take notice, and start on the automatic feature extraction from them.

Netherlands. Here they have the whole country pretty much complete. Community wise, some early active pioneers have left, now that the main shift is on maintaining, rather than creating.

Hiroshi gave a presentation about sexy GPS. tiny attractive GPS units for ladies, hot off the news from Taiwan ("GPS Island"). Hiroshi also mentioned that it was crunch time in Japan for geodata companies. There are many at the moment, and competition is going to be very high. Only three will survive, he said, and OSM will be one of them.

Oh, and go here -> http://www.pledgebank.com/osmfieldwork and sign up to the pledge. 1 hour and £10 - and you'll have a 1 in 60 chance of going on a (hard working mapping) holiday to Grenada in the West Indies.

Tja und weiter gehts am 7.10.2008 - das ist mir ja eigentlich ein Ticken zu spät, aber ich kanns nicht ändern. Gerne hätte ich nach den Prüfungen noch 2 Wochen frei gehabt und wäre in Urlaub gefahren... aus den 2 Wochen sind jetzt halt 5 Tage geworden....

Naja... so hab ich immerhin viel Zeit dazwischen um zu lernen....

This update blows away all others, apparently you can use wizards to an amazing extent, the use to transform into fellow F-mians! The COROCORO update shows a few of the forms you can collect in 3 and it mentions an ultimate form.... pics:

Not only is this going to move gameplay up a level, but they decided to go back to the original EXE battle screen, side view pic: It also features a new Hunter VG that replaces the star carrier and transer, here is a pic: This new look for Mega Man and different gameplay may increase the popularity of the Star Force games, we will just have to see.
UPDATE: Here are hi res pics:

And here is info of what a few of the noise changes will do:
Ox Noise is described as a fire-based form that will boast high attack power and use of the fire element.
Libra Noise is described to make use of a fusion of fire and water and will also boast high defense properties.
Cygnus Noise will grant high speed as well as wings, which will likely grant Float Shoes.
Ophiuchus Noise uses the power of poison and snakes and is labeled as the strategic form.
Gemini Noise a powerful form that makes use of electricity and probably boasts extra special abilities regarding Battle Cards, such as Side Select.
It is also rumored that the noise changes will act like the styles from Battle Network 2-3, where you can only select one at a time on the Hunter VG screen.

Play-Asia.com - Your One-Stop-Shop for Asian Entertainment

Also check out this forum, it's a great social Mega Man board. Feel free to register.

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Two French magazines that enjoy wide readership - "Le Nouvel Obrservateur" and "GEO" -  have published special issues on Greece. "GEO" special issue (GEO Histoire No9), titled "La Grece Antique" is about the Hellenic world as the inventor of the polis, democracy, theatre and philosophy. The focus is on Greek civilization, culture, mythology and on geographical areas rich in cultural heritage such as Crete, Cyclades and the Peloponnese. In the editorial by Jaen-Luc Marty it is suggested that the definitive "summer journey" is a journey to the history of Greece, a land once inhabited by gods and heroes. The special issue of  "Le nouvel Observateur" ( 18.6.2008 ) is dedicated to the century of Pericles, featuring articles on the status of women in Athens, the building of the Acropolis, the sophists, the invention of democracy and the education system. Clause Weill in the editorial notes that the shortcomings of our contemporary political system and the need to understand what has gone wrong was the inspiration behind this special on the century of Pericles, a century described as a "momentum of democracy". Secretariat General of Information: World Media on Greece - Special Reports