Covering The Multicultural Asian American Community in Georgia
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Move over sake, here comes the next big thing from Japan: Shochu!
April 1-15, 2014
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April 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
Georgia Asian Times April 1-15, 2014
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GAT Calendar of Events Publisher: Li Wong Account Manager: Adrian West Contributors: Andrian Putra, May Lee, Mark Ho Photography: Ben Hioe, Rendy Tendean
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GAT welcome submission of announcement pertaining to community related events. Please email event, date, venue, and time to gat@gasiantimes.com. GAT does not guarantee insertion of event announcement and has the right to deny any posting.
“Comfort Women Wanted� Special screening by artist Chang-jin Lee Date: Friday, April 4, 2014 Time: 10:30 am - 12:30 am Venue: Langdale Hall 300, Georgia State University For more info: www.changjinlee/index. html Inman Park SAKE FEST Date: Saturday, April 5, 2014 Time: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm Venue: Savi Urban Market Parking - Inman Park, 287 Elizabeth St.NE Atlanta GA 30307 Admission: $20 advance; $25 day of event Tickets: http://brownpapertickets. com/event/625948 PGA Tour Champions Tour: Greater Gwinnett Championship Date: April 14-20, 2014 Venue: TPC Sugarloaf, Duluth, Georgia For more info: www.GreaterGwinnettChampionship.com Building Strategic Partnership with Asia Organized by SAUPO-Kennesaw State University Featuring keynote speaker: Adil Kabani, OPIC & White House Initiative on AAPI Date: Friday, April 18, 2014 Time: 8:00 am - 11:50 am Venue: Room 400, KSU Center, 3333 Busbee Drive, Kennesaw GA 30144 Free & open to public Register online: www.kennesaw.edu/ saupo GIACC Presents: Lydia Jones, Regional Director SBDC Organized by Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce Date: Friday, April 25, 2014 Time: 7:00 am - 9:30 am Venue: Georgian Club, 100 Galleria Parkway, Ste 1700, Atlanta GA 30339
Registration required: Members $20; Non-members $25 For more info: www.giacc.org 29th Annual Unity Gala- Asian Pacific Heritage Month & Scholarship Award Organized by Asian/Pacific American Council of Georgia (APAC) Date: Saturday, May 3, 2014 Time: 6:00 pm - 10:30 pm Venue: Sonesta Gwinnett Place Atlanta For more info: Le Dam Doan 770-7228486 or www.apacga.org BABC Transatlantic Business Conference 2014 Organized by British American British Group Date: May 20-22, 2014 Venue: Intercontinental Hotel For more info: www.babc2014atlanta. com GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia ~ Awards Presentation Date: Thursday, July 10, 2014 Time: 6:30 pm Venue: TBA Sponsorship opportunities available For more info: gat25@gasiantimes. com Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival Atlanta Date: Saturday, September 13, 2014 Time: 7:00 am - 5:00 pm Venue: Clarks Bridge - Kayaking Facility, Lake Lanier, Gainesville For more info: www.dragonboatatlanta.com 10th Atlanta Asian Film Festival Date: October 10-24, 2014 Venues: TBA For more info: www.atlaff.org
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April 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
METRO ASIAN NEWS Latest Census Bureau population estimates pinpoint fastest-growing counties in Georgia Atlanta, March 27, 2014 — The U.S. Census Bureau reported on where the heaviest population growth in Georgia was concentrated in 2013.
With respect to numerical growth, Gwinnett County added 18,729 people over the period, more than any other county in the state.
The fastest-growing county in Georgia between July 1, 2012, and July 1, 2013, was Forsyth County, whose population rose 4.0 percent over the period.
It was followed by Cobb County which grew by 9,913 people, Forsyth County (7,478), Fulton County (7,164) and DeKalb County (5,939).
Forsyth was followed by Columbia County (2.9), Bryan County and Long County (2.8 percent), Towns County (2.4. percent) and Gwinnett County (2.2 percent).
Fulton County is the most populous county in Georgia, with 984,293 residents, followed by Gwinnett County (859,304) and Cobb County (717,190).
Laotian American Society (LAS) celebrates with 9th Annual Fundraising Banquet Norcross, March 29, 2014 — Over 300 invited guests and members of Laotian American Society (LAS) celebrates its 9th annual fundraising banquet at the Grand Ballroom. The banquet was also to celebrate LAS’ opening of LAS Community Center in November 2013. “With the support of our sponsors and supporters, we are able to provide education, support services, and cultural awareness program to the community,” said Noy Lounnarath-Bozarth, President of Laotian American Society. The new LAS Community Center in Norcross offer after school tutoring, ESL and US Citizenship classes, fruit carving lessons, Lao language teaching, and a cultural dance program for the youths. The center also offers summer youth camp and senior outreach services to those in need in the community.
Guests were treated to a “Lao Night Market” theme where traditional food dishes from each region of Laos are served to the guests. A variety of cultural dance, songs, and dance performances were performed by Laotian youths and children. Carrie Nordman Smith, Vice President of UPS Finance and Accounting, provided the keynote address. Mr. Chanto Sourinho, a former educator from Laos, provided the evening motivational speech to the audience. The banquet program was emceed by Mr. Vince Bailey and Ms. Kim Liemko. For more information on Laotian American Society, visit www.lasga. org
Atlanta’s business and community leaders launches Aerotropolis Alliances Atlanta, March 28, 2014 — Leaders from the Atlanta region’s public and private sectors officially launched the Atlanta Aerotropolis Alliance. The new Alliance will work to enhance metro Atlanta’s position as a global economic leader with a vision of transforming the airport vicinity into a world-class aerotropolis. Having observed the global economic impact of aerotropolises around the world, and recognizing the importance of Hartsfield-Jackson to metro Atlanta, regional leaders began meeting two years ago. Convened by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), discussions focused on the future of the airport area and how it might become a nexus for increased local and global economic activity to attract international corporations, logistics companies and others that benefit from proximity to the world’s busiest airport. The concept of an aerotropolis is not new, but is a growing economic force around the world: An “aerotropolis,” a term coined by Dr. John Kasarda at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, is urban development that emerges around a central airport to connect workers, suppliers, executives and goods. Many major cities, such as Paris, Seoul, Dubai and Dallas are capitalizing on the economic power of their airports, building on the “aerotropolis” concept. More than half of all Fortune 500 corporate headquarters are located within 10 miles of a US hub airport. More than 1,000 firms are located within the aerotropolis at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport. One company that has chosen the Hartsfield-Jackson area for its new home is Porsche Cars North America.
And Joe Folz, Secretary and General Counsel of Porsche Cars North America, will serve as the Aerotropolis Alliance’s first chairman. “We chose the airport area for our new headquarters and our Porsche Experience Center because we believe in the future of the Hartsfield-Jackson area and its importance to the Atlanta region, and because it literally brings the world to our door every day,” said Folz. “We have a tremendous opportunity to build upon the asset of having the world’s busiest airport to pursue development of our own world-class aerotropolis. I am pleased and honored to lead this effort.” The Atlanta Aerotropolis Alliance is a 501(c)6 organization under Georgia law and currently has a board of 20 directors representing area governments, businesses, schools and nonprofits. The Alliance board has elected its first chairman, Joe Folz, general counsel and secretary of Porsche Cars North America. The Alliance also elected a vice chairman, Pedro Cherry, vice president for community and economic development at Georgia Power. “Today’s Aerotropolis meeting is an important step forward in maintaining our position as the dominant economic generator for the region,” said Hartsfield-Jackson Interim General Manager Miguel Southwell. “While this airport has grown our passenger service, air cargo capabilities and global businesses opportunities, we are also a vital part of the communities around us. I look forward to working with the Aerotropolis Alliance to further develop Hartsfield-Jackson’s economic impact for the surrounding areas and the broader region.” For more information, visit www. atlantaaerotropolis.org.
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April 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
BUSINESS Mt Gox finds almost 200,000 missing bitcoins London, March 22, 2014 — Shuttered bitcoin exchange MtGox has found almost 200,000 bitcoins which it believed were lost, according to the company’s CEO Mark Karpeles.
millions of pounds worth of bitcoin. Since then, the firm’s US subsidiary has applied for bankruptcy, and two class action lawsuits have been started by users.
The money was sitting in a wallet which the firm thought no longer held bitcoins. However, following the application for civil rehabilitation (a Japanese legal procedure analogous to bankruptcy), “these wallets were rescanned and their balance researched,” says Mr Karpeles, and one wallet was found to hold a balance of 199,999.99 bitcoins.
As every bitcoin transaction is public, it is possible to double-check MtGox’s claim. The rediscovered wallet appears to be one which was noticed on 7 March, when it sprung into life after a dormant period and transferred exactly 199,999.99 bitcoins in two separate transactions.
Mr Karpeles says that the money, discovered on 7 March, was moved first to online wallets, and then back to an offline wallet between 14-15 March. After the discovery, Gox now holds around 202,000 bitcoins, and still says that approximately 650,000 bitcoins have “disappeared”. MtGox closed doors in late February, after blaming hackers for the loss of
However, there remains a minor conflict between MtGox’s public statement and the evidence in the “block chain”, the record of all transactions. While Karpeles says “an” old-format wallet was discovered, the record shows that the money was spread between five wallets. The difference is minor, but in the highly charged reaction to MtGox’s closure, it is likely to be seized upon as evidence of untrustworthiness on the company’s part.
Taiwan protestors invade Cabinet offices over China trade agreement Taipei, March 24, 2014 — Hundreds of protesters opposed to a far-reaching trade pact with China invaded Taiwan’s Cabinet offices yesterday, marking a sharp escalation in a student-led movement against the island’s rapidly developing ties with the communist mainland. An Associated Press photographer outside the offices estimated the crowd at about 800. Taiwanese television stations showed scenes of protesters pushing and shoving with police officers in the area. Yesterday’s Cabinet action came five days after protesters, most of whom were students, occupied the nearby legislature after a ruling party lawmaker reneged on a promise to submit the
pact for detailed legislative review. Signed in June by representatives from Taipei and Beijing, the pact is still awaiting ratification by Taiwan’s legislature. It would open dozens of service sector industries in each side’s territory to companies from the other. The demonstrators, including many university students, who have taken over Parliament and massed in the surrounding streets for most of the past week fear the deal could further swell Beijing’s economic influence over their proudly democratic island. Since the protests began, they have attracted tens of thousands of supporters to the area around the legislature, in the sternest test so far for President
Ma Ying-jeou’s six-year effort to bring Taiwan’s economy ever closer to China’s.
occupation of Parliament, they were affecting the work of the government and should withdraw.
Earlier yesterday, Mr Ma said that going back on the pact would undermine Taiwan’s economy and damage its international credibility.
“Are we not proud of Taiwan’s democracy and rule of law?” Mr Ma said. “If there is no rule of law, democracy cannot be protected — this is the government’s unswerving basic position.”
Speaking to reporters in Taipei, he said Taiwan would suffer economically if it did not sign the agreement with its biggest export destination, China. “I tell you once again, with a responsible attitude, that this is completely for the sake of Taiwan’s economic future,” said Mr Ma, who has since 2008 signed a series of landmark trade and economic agreements with China under his rule. “Regional economic integration is an unstoppable global trend … If we do not face this and join in the process, it will only be a matter of time before we are eliminated from the competition,” he added. Mr Ma said he understood the passion of the mostly young protesters, as “the country can only have a future if the youth care about the country and are brave enough to participate”. But he added that with their “illegal”
Student leaders have rejected Mr Ma’s contentions, insisting that tying Taiwan too close to China would harm the former’s hard-won democratic freedoms and pave the way for China’s eventual takeover of the island. Taiwan is a former dictatorship that made a peaceful transition to democracy in the late 1980s and now boasts one of Asia’s most freewheeling democracies. Fights in Parliament are common and protests are almost a daily occurrence. The main opposition Democratic Progressive Party has said it fears the pact will hurt small service companies and damage Taiwan’s economy. Its members have indicated they want to amend provisions involving banking and e-commerce companies, among others, but it lacks the numbers to block the pact’s final passage.
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BUSINESS
Chinese developers desperate for fresh money Anthony Bourdain reported to open international food court New York, March 26, 2014 — Fans of Anthony Bourdain will be happy to learn that the celebrity food and travel host plans to parlay his globetrotting food adventures into a global food hall. The international food emporium set for New York, modelled after Singaporean street hawkers, will be home to up to 50 food stalls that will focus on one or two specialties, Bourdain tells Departures magazine. Given that Bourdain is a stickler on authenticity, expect ethnic specialties such as Vietnamese pho, Chinese lamb noodles, Iberico ham and laksa as it’s made in Kuching, Malaysia, all sold in the same spot. Stalls will be helmed by big-name chefs and rising stars who specialize in the dishes sold, says Departures. The market would be divided into three parts, Bourdain said. The Asian food hall will feature Singaporean and
Malay dishes. The international section will sell gourmet street foods such as Mexican tostadas and American barbecue. The third section will serve as a quarterly pop-up hall spotlighting a different city, country or region every three months. In keeping with the street food idea, dishes will be priced at US$5 to US$25. Though Bourdain and his business partner Stephen Werthen remained mum about the exact location and opening date of the food market, rumors are rife that the venture will end up at 3 World Trade Centre. Bourdain would join fellow celebrity food TV host and chef Mario Batali in building a sprawling food emporium. Batali has lent his star power to Italian food hall chain Eataly, which started in Italy and expanded to the US, Japan, Dubai and Turkey.
Beijing, March 31, 2014 -- Property developers in China are exploring alternative investments in order to complete work already in progress. Commercial mortgage-backed securities have become more popular following less interest from creditors who have been shying away from real estate deals.
The bankruptcy of a large developer this month, which led to the first domestic bond default in the country, has also spooked the investors. Higher interest rates have also been predicted for China, which would mean higher borrowing-costs for real estate companies as well as for the home-buying customers.
Amongst fears of a cooling down in the property market, bond buyers have been rejecting some property developers.
Big money deal between Airbus and China
Paris, March 31, 2014 -- European aviation giant Airbus has signed a deal to supply 70 jets to China.
The deal, worth more than $10 billion, came during a state visit to France by the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. The order includes 27 long-haul A330s and 43 smaller A320 planes. China has also renewed an agreement allowing Airbus to continue building planes in a factory in the northern city of Tianjin.
A fifth of global production for Airbus takes place on the Chinese mainland. Airbus’s helicopter division has also been given a contract to supply 1,000 civilian helicopters to China over the next 20 years. China and France also signed 50 trade agreements in a number of other areas, including the nuclear, financial and automotive sectors.
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LIFESTYLE Apps aid fashionistas in tracking down desired clothing, shoes TORONTO, March 17 — Fashionistas envious of clothing, shoes and accessories worn by strangers or seen on websites can turn to new apps for hassle-free shopping to find, and buy or rent, similar items.
Fewer Americans drink a daily cup of coffee, study shows New Orleans, March 23 — The number of American adults who enjoy a daily cup of coffee has dropped to 61 per cent this year, from 63 per cent in 2013, the annual National Coffee Association of USA’s National Coffee Drinking Trends study showed yesterday. The popularity of espresso-based coffee drinks such as cappuccinos and lattes, however, jumped with 18 per cent of the 3,000 adults surveyed saying they drink these daily. This is up from 13 per cent last year. Americans are also drinking more gourmet coffee on a daily basis, with 34 per cent of the adults surveyed saying they drink this every day, up from 31 per cent in 2013. Meanwhile, daily non-gourmet coffee drinking is at 35 per cent, down from last year’s 39 per cent, which the study stated as leading the decline in total daily coffee drinking. Gourmet coffee is defined as espresso-based drinks as well as regular coffee made with beans that the drinker considers gourmet. The way Americans are brewing their own coffee has also changed, with 29 per cent of the survey respondents saying they made their previous day’s java with a single-cup brewer. This is up sharply from 20 per cent in 2013.
The surge comes as Americans buy more single-cup brewing systems, such as Keurig Green Mountain Inc’s brewers, which instantly make one cup of coffee at a time with “K-cups”. Of those surveyed, 15 per cent said they had a single-cup brewer in their homes, up from 12 per cent one year prior and 10 per cent in 2012, and 25 per cent said they were likely to buy one in the next six months. Many major U.S. roasters including U.S. Folgers maker J.M. Smucker Co and Maxwell House maker Kraft Foods Group sell their coffee in K-cups, which are single pods filled with roast and ground beans that are placed in the brewer. Meanwhile, those who used a drip coffee maker fell to 53 per cent in 2014 from 58 per cent a year ago, the study showed. This study has been done annually since 1950, and includes adults 18 years and older. It was conducted online from mid-January to mid-February. The margin of error is plus or minus 1.9 per cent. — Reuters
Like the music app Shazam, which identifies songs based on sound clips, new fashion apps use photos and image recognition technology to find similar clothing. “People see items they like on the street but can’t really go up to the person wearing them and ask where they got them,” said Daniela Cecilio, the chief executive of London-based startup Asap54. “Or they might see items they like on Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook or Twitter, but can’t really click through to buy them,” she added, referring to the social media websites. With the Asap54 app for iPhone, which was launched last month, users take a photo of an item, or upload an existing one, and describe what it is to help the app identify it. The app recommends something similar from more than 150 retail partners across the United State, Europe and other countries. The Style Eyes app for iPhone and Android also uses a photo to find the desired or a similar item, which can be purchased from its catalogue of 600 retailers in Britain and 300 in the United States. Mark Elfenbein, chief digital officer of Toronto-based start-up company Slyce, said its image recognition technology integrates with retail brands so shoppers can find things by taking a photo with their iPhone or scanning an image from their desktop. “The way brands are trying to communicate with customers is changing. Historically, they would lure customers to their stores or websites, but now
we’re seeing that brands want to create transactions in other places too,” Elfenbein said. The technology recognizes information such as how far apart buttons are, and fabric and stitching to help power visual searches. But image recognition is still inexact and depends on the quality of the photo and other factors, such as lighting. To overcome the drawbacks Elfenbein said, Slyce uses a mix of technology and crowdsourcing to improve its search results. Other apps making shopping easier include Pounce for Ios, created by Tel Aviv-based company BuyCode Inc. It allows consumers to buy items directly from retail advertisements from stores such as Lord & Taylor and office supply company Staples, Inc by hovering their smartphone camera over an image. With the eBay Fashion iPhone app users in the United States and Britain can upload an image to find similar items available for sale on eBay. For consumers more interested in renting than buying, Rent the Runway’s iPhone app uses a photo of an item seen in a store to find something similar that customers can rent instead. - Reuters
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FEATURE
Move over sake, here comes the next big thing from Japan: Shochu!
Chamblee, March 24, 2014 — A Japanese shochu tasting and food pairing party was held at a restaurant in Chamblee to introduce the famous Japan’s distilled beverage. Nearly 10 years after the shochu boom in Japan, shochu is hardly known in the U.S and is still most often mistaken for Korea’s distilled beverage, soju. What is shochu? Shocu is a distilled beverage native to Japan. Scotland has its scotch, Russia has its vodka, Mexico has its tequila, and Japan has shochu. Shochu is a distilled spirit, unlike sake, which is brewed. Shochu is served on the rocks or diluted with water, cold or hot. Different types of shochu are made from barley, sweet potato, rice or black sugar, and each tastes strongly of its source ingredients. For honkaku shochu, single distillation preserves the flavor and aroma of the source ingredients, as opposed to double-distilled products like vodka, which usually have flavoring essences added after distillation. With more than 3,000 varieties now available, some producers are marketing novelty items like shochu aged
in barrels made from American white virgin oak, cognac barrels, and sherry barrels. In Japan, most shochu contains 25 percent alcohol, though some are available at 35 or 40 percent. Shochu appeals to the health conscious in Japan. Research at a wellknown medical college has showed that shochu provide more of an enzyme that dissolves blood clots — more than twice as much as wine and 80 percent more than sake.
Kintaro Made from roasted barley - giving it an aromatic finish with notes of chocolate. Pair with grilled or fried chicken. Suggested retail: $25.70 per bottle Satsuma Otome Light and smooth flavor with elegant aroma. Made from sweet potatoes. Suggested serving on the rocks or straight up. Suggested retail: $24.82 per bottle
Satsuma Shiranami Sweet and full bodied with a well balanced flavor. Suggested serving with water, tea, or hot water. Suggested retail: $21.58 per bottle Ark Jakuunbaku Authentic barley shochu perfect for pairing with savory dishes. Suggested retail: $29.94 per bottle
“We are pleased to introduce Japan’s hottest and most popular spirit to the Atlanta market,” said Ami Nakanishi, Assistant Vice President of New York Mutual Trading, Inc., the group that organized the sochu party. Varieties of sochus brewed from rice, barley, and sweet potatoes were introduced at the party. Listed below are some recommended shochus from the tasting: Tsukushi Kuro A full-bodied shochu with a distinct aroma of barley and pronounced flavor. Perfect for pairing with barbecue and meat dishes. Suggested retail: $26.24 per bottle L-R: Kyoko Yoshida of Nishiyoshida-Syuzou Company, Atsuko Hombo of Satsuma Shuzo Company, Hiroe Takahashi of Takahashi Shuzo Company, Ami Nakanishi of New York Mutual Trading Company, and Koji Aoto of Savannah Distribution Company.
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BUSINESS New gadgets hope to hush Mumbai’s incessant honking Mumbai, March 26, 2014 — A handful of fed-up residents in one of the world’s noisiest cities have taken on a daunting challenge: persuading Indian drivers to stop honking their car horns. Non-stop beeping has become the dominant soundtrack to Mumbai as clattering rickshaws, public buses, clapped-out taxis, weaving motorbikes and private cars fight for space on the traffic-clogged roads. Now two separate teams in the city have come up with devices aimed at instilling some peace: one by forcing overzealous horn-users to open their wallets, and another by simply attacking drivers’ consciences. “People blow their horns just for no sake,” said Jayraj Salgaonkar, who with a group of engineers has developed the ‘Oren horn usage meter’ (the name ‘Oren’ derives from local pronunciation of the word ‘horn’). The meter does not prevent the horn from working but instead allows for a limited amount of honking, after which it causes the vehicle’s tail-lights to flash and alert the traffic police, who could then issue a fine. The driver gets green, amber and red-light warnings over his honk allowance and can top up his meter “like a pre-paid phone card”, said Salgaonkar. He is in talks with local authorities to get the device mandated city-wide. “I have invested money and time and emotion,” he told AFP, relating his years of exasperation with the city’s cacophony. “People take pride in honking their horn. There’s an ego trip over having a car. Until you make people pay for their usage of the horn, it’s not going to work,” said the publisher turned honk activist, who is hoping that the
potential revenues brought by the system will help persuade authorities to adopt it. The second invention, also vying for official sanction, less publicly castigates the honkers. ‘Project Bleep’ involves a little red button on the dashboard that beeps and flashes with a frowning face, “to make the driver conscious that he just honked and make him deliberate why he did it,” said Mayur Tekchandaney, one of its creators. “Mostly it’s habitual. The driver doesn’t realize he’s doing it.” After testing the device on 30 drivers over six months, Tekchandaney and his team at Mumbai design firm Briefcase found an average 61 per cent reduction in honking. “The benefit is to other people on the road, society in general. It creates a nuisance for the driver,” said Tekchandaney.
Honking a health worry Their goal may sound ambitious in a country where honking is so pervasive that foreign car makers, such as Audi and Volkswagen, fit their Indian vehicles with stronger, longer-life horns. Nationwide, the messages “Horn OK Please” or “Blow Horn” are colorfully painted on the back of most trucks and lorries, encouraging drivers to make their presence audibly known as they overtake. And the noise is only set to increase as more vehicles pile into densely-packed Mumbai, where the middle-class is growing and whose shoddy infrastructure and crowded trains do little to encourage the use of public transport.
There are now about 900,000 cars, 10,000 buses and two million two-wheelers plying the roads of the financial capital with a population of some 12 million, according to local transport expert Ashok Datar. Their horns are not just an annoyance, say anti-noise crusaders, who warn that honking is taking a worrying toll on the health of Indian city-dwellers — especially when combined with construction projects, roadworks and various religious festivals, which are often celebrated with ear-splitting firecrackers. “In hospitals I know people who have suffered very severely even in intensive care units because of the noise (outside),” said Sumaira Abdulali, founder of the Awaaz Foundation which campaigns against noise pollution. She said sound levels in busy parts of Mumbai continuously exceed 85 decibels, breaking the limits recommended by health experts and contributing to high blood pressure, hearing loss and heart disease. “A lot of people in Mumbai are suffering these things and the medical costs are quite high. Cutting down noise would cost much less,” she said. Mumbai residents are not alone in their quest for a quieter life.
In the capital New Delhi, a group of campaigners takes to the streets several times a month, plastering cars with “Do Not Honk!” stickers.
Licence to honk In southern Bangalore, residents last year launched an “I Won’t Honk Campaign”, backed by Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid, which aimed to get drivers pledging not to use their horns unless completely necessary. But given the ingrained habit of honking, it seems such campaigns or gadgets are unlikely to work unless they are made compulsory. “Most people say there is excess honking but they think it’s the other drivers,” said Ram Prasad at Final Mile, a behavioral research group in Mumbai which has examined the honking phenomenon. Prasad also warned that introducing traffic police fines may only encourage bribing, giving drivers the feeling that “they have only extra licence to blow and honk”. “Any device that gives subtle feedback, people will be more willing to take,” he said. - AFP
Georgia Asian Times April 1-15, 2014
EVENTS
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9th Annual Laotian American Society Fundraising Banquet, March 29, 2014, Grand Ballroom
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April 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
TRAVEL
Tea time - Chengdu
As the saying goes, teahouses of Sichuan rank first in the world, while those of Chengdu rank first in Sichuan. As far back as the Western Han dynasty (206 BC to AD 24), both tea trade and tea culture were prosperous – with Chengdu the starting point of the southern Silk Road. Chengdu’s teahouses were traditional men’s clubs where political and business deals were struck, but in today’s China they are everybody’s club; social networking, face-to-face style. There is a popular phrase in Chengdu which says ‘Winter sun in Chengdu is so valuable, it needs to be bought.’ For my first days in a cloudy Chengdu (summer, by contrast, is just as bright as winter is dull), that phrase rang true, but as soon as the sun popped out from behind the clouds, scores of young and old flooded into the 3,000plus teahouses that are dotted across the city.
So what can you expect to see in a teahouse in an afternoon? Small society, as Chengdu people call it. It is the perfect spot in which to relax, to socialize; to people-watch. Once you are inside, relax and enjoy a moment where time just seems to slow down. There is a distinctive kind of teapot that is unique to Chengdu. It is made of brass and has a spout that is approximately a metre long. The servers of this elaborate piece are called ‘Tea Doctors’ and their use resembles traditional martial arts. Because of the long spouts, tea can be shot from across the room into small teacups without spilling a drop. Waiting staff present the menu in English as well as Chinese, and once you have selected from the list, an elegant tea set is delivered, complete with porcelain teapot, cup, saucer, and lid, plus a steel strainer.
As one of the few remaining bastions of true teahouse culture left in China, Chengdu establishments are ubiquitous, dotted on street corners, in every park, and even in office compounds. Their well-deserved reputation is based on their quantity, quality, and diversity. Go to any major public park, Buddhist monastery, or Taoist temple, and you will find it hard to disagree. It is especially in these big public spaces that the tea culture thrives. Even in Chengdu, a city of more than eight million, which is growing at rocket-like speed, their special atmosphere somehow feels like a rare city oasis, where the bustle slows down and the spirit stays intact.
Once duly filled, hot-water pourers make regular rounds to reinvigorate the brew, theatrically dispensing from their long-spouted brass pots, so no need to worry about reaching the bottom of your cup too soon. The waiting staff are not the only
ones proving attentive to your enjoyment and relaxation; you can also order shoulder massages, and even ear cleaning should you wish! This is a rare, age-old profession, and ear cleaners take their job very seriously. For me, it was certainly both an eye-and-ear-opening experience to have my ears attended to outside the sanctity of my bathroom at home, by someone else, in a complicated procedure. As you can guess by now, there is atmosphere aplenty, but it gets even better at Wenshu (God of Wisdom) Temple, an ancient Buddhist sanctuary founded in the Tang dynasty, whose present buildings are two or three centuries old. Set beside the temple’s mighty timber halls and red-pillared pavilions is a swathe of bamboo chairs and tables shaded by ginkgo trees, a garden teahouse inhabited by a throng of voluble imbibers, and a hubbub of tea-tipplers, many of them well-heeled. Surrounded by so much history and such dazzling relics of China’s past, partaking in a lively contemporary scene, here I had the strongest sense of being inside this nation’s remarkable 3,000-year-old culture. Not every teahouse is this adventurous of course. One of the best things about Chengdu’s teahouses is the community atmosphere. With its traditional teahouse principle of ‘one seat, one cup’, Renmin Park teahouse is the largest and most popular – as is
only right – for Renmin Park means ‘people’s park’. At a lakeside shaded by willows, hundreds of people sit around in bamboo chairs at stone tables, chatting with friends or family; catching up on news; playing cards, draughts, and mahjong; chewing seeds and nuts. Tea is the lubricant to a thoroughly social outing, and it comes in an endless list of varieties, from scented teas such as jasmine and chrysanthemum to the many kinds of slightly caffeinated oolong and green teas. Some people might compare Chengdu teahouses with Paris cafés – but probably not after having been earcleaned in Renmin Park(!); it’s more likely that they have enjoyed a cup of green tea in one of the sedate teahouses along the Funan River. Such is the new China: racing at breakneck speed into the future, but preserving, enhancing, and even recreating features of the past. The garden teahouses of Chengdu fall into that latter category in a big way. When in Chengdu, try to stay as long as possible and visit the teahouses; both the old and the modern, and put anything that troubles you aside. You will find your heart rate slows, your head clears, and you will understand why Chengdu people are so serious about such a simple thing as tea.
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SPORTS
Quiet appreciation for new F1 engines Sepang, March 31, 2014 — Sebastian Vettel bluntly swore when asked about the new sound of Formula One, but a more measured response elsewhere at the Malaysian Grand Prix suggests it is not all bleak for the sport’s quiet, hybrid engines. The engineering marvels that are propelling F1 cars faster than before, but at a fraction of the noise and with less fuel, have not been widely welcomed in a world that revels in the roar of machinery. But even F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, initially a critic, toned it down after hearing the cars trackside for the first time this weekend at Sepang. “It’s a little better than we thought,” said Ecclestone, who watched this year’s first race, in Australia, on TV. While F1’s ear-splitting V8 engines are gone, the turbocharged 1.6-litre V6s bring out different sounds: squealing tyres, the roar of the crowd and the previously inaudible race updates over the tannoy. Spectators and officials can watch without earplugs, and the fear of hearing damage, and parents can bring
young children to the track without wondering if the noise will reduce them to tears. In Malaysia, the response among visiting fans was mixed but rarely as damning as world champion Vettel’s four-letter reaction, indicating quiet engines may not be quite the disaster that some in the sport had feared.
Get used to it Denmark’s Steffen Moller, a former racing driver who now manages new talent, said Formula One simply had to embrace a future of more fuel-efficient motoring.
Ross Hainan, an IT analyst who flew out for the race from Glasgow, had low expectations after watching the Australian race on TV.
“I know there’s a lot of criticism about the sound but we see a lot of electrical cars on the road now and Formula One must be the point where all the manufacturers look to find new ideas,” he said.
“When we came out the initial expectation was that it was going to be really poor. However, actually being here and hearing it live with your own ears, it’s far, far better than we expected,” said Hainan, 35.
“So for me it’s not about the sound, it’s more about the top of the performance for what you can do engineering-wise.”
His wife Julie added: “It’s not quiet when they’re all out running and they’re on full throttle, it’s definitely not. “Plus Formula One should be the pinnacle of technology in motorsport, and they are the most amazing hybrids you’ve ever seen. And five years down the line we’ll all be driving them in our cars back home.”
Australian sales manager Tim Anscombe, from Perth, said he missed the old sound but was resigned to the fact that Formula One had to move on. “You miss that thunder of the old V8s but I suppose the times are changing and that’s the way it’s going to be. Certainly you miss the atmosphere of that roar going through you,” said the 47-year-old.
Others were less philosophical. Pete Visagie of South Africa, who heads an engineering company and races production cars in his spare time, said: “It’s not the spectacle it used to be. The sound was much nicer. “Even the safety car and the medical car sound better than the F1 cars going past, honestly.” By the end of this year, Formula One will sound noisy compared to the futuristic whine of Formula E, a worldwide series for electric cars which debuts in Beijing in December. And Claire Williams, the deputy team principal of Williams who has grown up around Formula One, predicted people would soon get used to a sound that has been disparagingly compared to vacuum cleaners and golf carts. “Personally I like the sound of the engines, but then I love Formula One and I love watching cars go round a racetrack,” she said. “We’ve had so many changes over so many decades of motor racing and you very quickly forget what a previous engine sounds like.”
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April 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
SPORTS team that provides the national side’s backbone. “To win the title that early is an amazing performance,” Loew told reporters. “Pep Guardiola developed the team even further. His mark can be seen in their dominance and their possession.” It did not take long for Bayern to show they meant business in front of a sell-out 76,000 Olympic stadium crowd, with Kroos slotting in a deflected clearance in the sixth minute and Goetze heading home Bastian Schweinsteiger’s cross in the 14th.
Bayern Munich clinched Budesliga title in record time Berlin, March 26, 2014 — Bayern Munich clinched the Bundesliga title in record time by beating Hertha Berlin 3-1 yesterday (March 25) thanks to goals from Toni Kroos, Mario Goetze and Franck Ribery with seven games left in the campaign. Last season’s treble winners claimed their 23rd Bundesliga crown with a 10th straight away victory, stretching their winning streak to a staggering 19 consecutive league games and their unbeaten run to 52 league matches — all Bundesliga records. “I am satisfied that we did it,” Spanish coach Pep Guardiola, in his first season in charge, told reporters. “A game earlier or later does not matter. Congratulations to everyone at the club.” “Now we will go out to dinner and celebrate,” added Guardiola, who managed to avoid the traditional on-pitch beer shower from his players. “We will enjoy the free time we have here.” The Spaniard, who won 14 out of 19 titles in four years at Barcelona, has added the Bundesliga crown to the European Super Cup and Club World Cup
titles Bayern won earlier this season. They have an unassailable 25-point lead over second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who were runners-up last term, with 21 points to play for in Guardiola’s first season in charge. “First of all the praise belongs to the coach and the team,” Bayern sports director Matthias Sammer told reporters as Guardiola celebrated with his players on the pitch. “After the success of last season we continued to be very focused and we managed to win the league even earlier than last year. We have a concentration and a momentum right now which is unusual.” Among those not present in the stadium to celebrate Bayern’s triumph was Uli Hoeness, the club’s former player, long-time manager and president, who was found guilty of tax evasion and sentenced to prison earlier this month.
Amazing performance Germany coach Joachim Loew was in the stands and heaped praise on the
Adrian Ramos pulled one back for the hosts with a well-taken penalty in the 66th minute to inject some life into the second half as Bayern took their foot off the gas. But Frenchman Ribery, who had come on as a substitute, completed a dazzling move, after a silky run and pass from Goetze, when he chipped the ball over goalkeeper Thomas Kraft to wrap up the points and the title.
Bayern’s success was their 24th German league title because they were also champions once - in the 1931/32 season - before the Bundesliga was created in 1963. Dortmund could do nothing to prevent Tuesday’s celebrations in the capital after drawing 0-0 in their Ruhr valley derby at home to Schalke 04. Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp was quick to congratulate arch-rivals Bayern. “It is very impressive how Bayern did it,” he told reporters. “You have to take off your hat to them. They were so consistent in their strong performances and they were hungry.” At the other end of the table, bottom club Eintracht Braunschweig breathed new life into their battle to stay up with a spirited 3-1 win over visiting Mainz 05 to move within two points of the relegation playoff spot.
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HEALTH Researchers identify mechanism that resets body clocks Researchers from the University of Manchester have found a new mechanism that dictates how body clocks react to environmental changes. Findings could lead the way to pharmaceutical solutions to the negative effects of jet lag and chronic shift work. The study showed the enzyme casein kinase 1epsilon (CK1epsilon) regulates how the body’s clockwork is adjusted or reset by environmental factors such as light and temperature. Internal biological timers, or circadian clocks, are found in nearly every species, including humans. These clocks are found in most of the body’s cells and tissues, and oversee daily physiological activity, including metabolism and sleep/ wake patterns. “At the heart of these clocks are a complex set of molecules whose interaction provides robust and precise 24-hour timing, said Dr. David Bechtold, the University of Manchester’s research team leader. “Importantly, our clocks are kept in synchrony with the environment by being responsive to light and dark information.” The research team found a new mechanism that controls how internal clocks respond to light inputs. Experiments with mice lacking clock component CK1epsilon were capable of shifting to a new light-dark environment “much faster than normal.” Drugs that inhibit CK1epsilon quickened shift responses in normal mice, and this sudden change to a new environment “minimized metabolic disturbances caused by the time shift.” “We already know that modern society poses many challenges to our health and wellbeing -- things that are viewed as commonplace, such as shift-work, sleep deprivation, and jet lag disrupt our body’s clocks,” noted Dr. Bechtold. “It is now becoming clear that clock disruption is increasing the incidence and severity of diseases including obesity and diabetes. “We are not genetically pre-disposed to quickly adapt to shift-work or long-haul flights, and as so our bodies’ clocks are built to resist such rapid changes. Unfortunately, we must deal with these issues today, and there is very clear evidence that disruption of our body clocks has real and negative consequences for our health. The study was published in the journal Current Biology. Other recent studies have linked body clocks to the prevention of adverse health effects such as osteoporosis and lung cancer.
Building muscle could help increase longevity in older adults THE more muscle mass you have, the healthier you are, and new evidence indicates said mass could also help you live longer! A new study out of UCLA builds on previous research led by Dr. Preethi Srikanthan, an assistant clinical professor in the endocrinology division at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Her past findings indicated that building muscle mass is important in reducing metabolic risk. “As there is no gold-standard measure of body composition, several studies have addressed this question using different measurement techniques and have obtained different results,” Srikanthan said. “So many studies on the mortality impact of obesity focus on Body Mass Index. Our study indicates that clinicians need to be focusing on ways to improve body composition, rather than on BMI alone, when counselling older adults on preventative health behaviours.” Researchers analysed data from the National Health and Nutrition Exam-
ination Survey (NHANES) III, which occurred between 1988 and 1994. They focused on a group of 3,659 individuals including men 55 or older and women 65 or older at the time of the survey. The team determined how many of these people passed from natural causes based on a 2004 follow-up study. Bioelectrical impedance, a process where an electrical current runs through the body, was used to examine subjects’ body composition. The current passes through muscle much more easily than fat thanks to the former’s water content. This allowed researchers to determine muscle mass index in relation to height, and how said index linked to premature death increase. The result? “The greater your muscle mass, the lower your risk of death,” said study co-author Dr. Arun Karlamangla, an associate professor in the geriatrics division at the Geffen School. “Thus, rather than worrying about weight or body mass index, we should be trying to maximize and maintain muscle mass.”
Study limitations were noted, however. For example, a definitive “causeand-effect” relationship between muscle mass and longevity using cohort study such as NHANES III is a bit challenging. “Despite these limitations, this study establishes the independent survival prediction ability of muscle mass as measured by bioelectrical impedance in older adults, using data from a large, nationally representative cohort,” Srikanthan and Karlamangla write, noting that BMI’s link to premature death in older adults is inconclusive. “We conclude that measurement of muscle mass relative to body height should be added to the toolbox of clinicians caring for older adults. Future research should determine the type and duration of exercise interventions that improve muscle mass and potentially increase survival in (healthy), older adults.” The study was published in the American Journal of Medicine.
Stress may make getting pregnant more difficult A couple trying to conceive can face a lot of stress, particularly if complications arise. Yet can stress affect the ability to conceive? A new study points to yes. Courtney Denning-Johnson Lynch, director of reproductive epidemiology at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and colleagues found women with high levels of alpha-amylase, a biological indicator of stress measured in saliva, were 29% less likely to get pregnant each month and more than twice as likely to meet the clinical definition of infertility compared to women with low levels of this enzyme. Researchers tracked 501 American women ages 18 to 40 years for the study. These women had no known fertility problems and had just began trying to get pregnant. The research team followed them for 12 months or until conception as part of the Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and the Environment (LIFE) Study.
Saliva samples were taken from participants the morning of enrollment and the morning following the first day of their first menstrual cycle as recorded by researchers. Samples of 373 women were analysed for the salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol, two stress biomarkers. “This is now the second study in which we have demonstrated that women with high levels of the stress biomarker salivary alpha-amylase have a lower probability of becoming pregnant, compared to women with low levels of this biomarker,” said Lynch, the principal investigator of the LIFE Study’s psychological stress protocol. “For the first time, we’ve shown that this effect is potentially clinically meaningful, as it’s associated with a greater than twofold increased risk of infertility among these women.” Lynch noted study results should encourage women experiencing problems conceiving to try assorted stress reduction
techniques, such as yoga, meditation and mindfulness. Other stress-reduction tips from WebMD include engaging in relaxing activities such as reading or gardening, getting regular exercise, working on effective time management and eating healthfully. “Eliminating stressors before trying to become pregnant might shorten the time couples need to become pregnant in comparison to ignoring stress,” said Germaine Buck Louis, director of the Division of Intramural Population Health Research of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the LIFE Study’s principal investigator. “The good news is that women most likely will know which stress reduction strategy works best for them, since a onesize-fits-all solution is not likely.”
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Misc Asia US law firm plans to sue Boeing and MAS New York / Kuala Lumpur, March 26, 2014 — A United States-based law firm said it expects to represent families of more than half of the passengers on board the missing Malaysian Airlines flight in a lawsuit against the carriers and Boeing Co, alleging the plane had crashed due to mechanical failure. The Beijing-bound flight MH370 disappeared more than two weeks ago, and was announced to have crashed into the remote southern Indian ocean with all 239 on board presumed to have died.
Time ticking away for searchers to locate crashed MH370’s black box As it has been now confirmed that the Malaysia Airline passenger jet crashed into the southern Indian Ocean, the most important task for investigators is to locate the plane’s black box. Black box, which is an aviation technology, is crucial in the hunt for the wreckage, as it is the only way to solve the mystery of how and why the ill-fated Flight MH370 went down. Although, the black box is capable of sending ‘pings’ or signals for at least 30 days following a crash, it could go on for another 15 days depending upon the strength of the battery at the time of the crash, news.com.au reports. Former member of the US National Transportation Safety Board, John Goglia said that it was a race to get to the area in time to catch the black box pinger while it’s still working. The report said that in order to catch the signal, searchers would be putting to use a high-tech listening device, Towed Pinger Locator, loaned by the
US Navy, which is a 30-inch-long cylindrical microphone that’s slowly towed underwater in a grid pattern behind a commercial ship. Apart from the microphone device, Australian authorities would also be sending a navy support vessel, which is equipped with acoustic detection equipment that would listen for pings. The report said that if no pings are caught with the microphone device and the navy vessel, then the searchers would have to use side-scan sonar via devices that send sounds to the sea’s depths and analyse the echo return to map the ocean floor. When the Air France Flight 447 went down in 2009 in the Atlantic, it took more than 40 million dollars, four lengthy searches and nearly two years before the plane and the black boxes were found, the report added.
Chicago-based Ribbeck Law has filed a petition for discovery against Boeing Co, manufacturer of the aircraft, and Malaysian Airlines, operator of the plane in a Cook County, Illinois Circuit Court. The petition is meant to secure evidence of possible design and manufacturing defects that may have contributed to the disaster, the law firm said. Though both Boeing and Malaysian Airlines were named in the filing, the focus of the case will be on Boeing, Ribbeck’s lawyers told reporters, as they believe that the incident was caused by mechanical failure. “Our theory of the case is that there was a failure of the equipment in the cockpit that may have caused a fire that rendered the crew unconscious, or perhaps because of the defects in the fuselage which had been reported before there was some loss in the cabin pressure that also made the pilot and co-pilot unconscious,” head of Global Aviation Litigation at Ribbeck Law Monica Kelly told reporters. “That plane was actually a ghost plane for several hours until it ran out of fuel.” Ms Kelly said the conclusion was
made based on experience on previous incidents, dismissing the possibilities of hijacking or pilot suicide. The lawsuit, soon to be filed, would seek millions of dollars of compensation for each passenger and ask Boeing to repair its entire 777 fleet. The law firm said it expected to represent families of more than 50 per cent of the passengers on board the flight, but declined to give details on how many families have sought their representation in the case. The court filing was not immediately available. The petition was filed on behalf of Mr Januari Siregar, whose son was on the flight. Mr Siregar, a lawyer, had known Ribbeck’s staff when working on a case involving Garuda Indonesia a few years earlier, Ribbeck said. Additional pleadings will be filed in the next few days against other potential defendants that designed or manufactured component parts of the aircraft that may have failed, Ms Kelly said. Ribbeck is also asking that US scientists be included in the search for wreckage and bodies, the firm said. A spokesman for Boeing declined comment. A spokesman for Malaysian Airlines could not immediately be reached for comment. Ribbeck is also representing 115 passengers in the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 in San Francisco in July. Ribbeck only plans to file the case in the US. — Reuters
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Misc Asia United Nations High Court stops Japan whale hunting in Antartica Paris, France, March 31, 2014 - The United Nations’ highest court Monday asked Japan to stop whale hunting in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica because the annual whaling program was not being done for scientific purposes as was claimed by Tokyo. The International Court of Justice, or ICJ, in a 12-to-4 judgment said that Japan had breached international obligations by catching and killing minke whales. It said that Japan had also issued permits for hunting humpback and fin whales within the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, established by the International Whaling Commission. Presiding Judge Peter Tomka said the present “research programme,” dating to 2005, has involved the killing of 3,600 minke whales and a number of fin whales.
The ruling suggested instead that Japan’s whaling hunt served political and economic reasons. Reacting to the ruling, Japan said it would abide by the decision but added it “regrets and is deeply disappointed by the decision”. The ruling is binding, and Japan cannot appeal against it. Australia, a former whaling country, brought the suit against Japan in 2010. It accused Japan of using a loophole to get around a 1986 worldwide moratorium on whaling. “We are very happy with the backing of the International Court,” Geert Vons, a representative of Sea Shepherd, said after leaving the court. “We had never expected such a strong ruling, telling Japan to cancel all of its Southern Ocean licenses.”
But Japan’s “scientific output to date appears limited”, the judge said. “Japan has not acted in conformity with its obligations under paragraph 7 (b) of the Schedule to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling in relation to the killing, taking and treating of fin whales in the ‘Southern Ocean Sanctuary’ in pursuance of JARPA II.”
Matthews made the comment as the Royal Australian Navy vessel Ocean Shield was being loaded with a “ping-
“I am so happy. I am ready to die now that I have seen his relics,” retired grade school teacher Gene Suarez, 67, said at a small Manila chapel where they went on display. Visitors with smart phones, computer tablets and compact cameras snapped pictures of Karol Wojtyla’s hair strands, a bloodstained piece of fabric, a skullcap, cassock, and a strip of the sheet from his deathbed. After a packed midday mass attended by about 300 people, worshippers lined up to kiss and touch their handkerchiefs on the items, some of which were encased in gilt-edged glass boxes. Also on show were mementoes from a mass that John Paul II celebrated in Manila in 1981, when he beatified a Filipino religious martyr, and a second in 1995 for World Youth Day. The relics will be exhibited at several churches and other venues in the Philippines over the next two months, tapping in to the excitement in Asia’s Catholic outpost at his canonization on April 27. “This pope was a lot like us Filipinos,” said Manila Bible teacher Lolit Legazpi, 42. “His heart was close to children and he was a devoted follower of the Virgin Mary,” she said.
US Navy captain pessimistic over MH 370 black box recovery Perth, March 31, 2014 — US Navy officer Captain Mark Matthews, now incharge of leading the missing Malaysia Airline search team has reportedly said that the chances of finding the jet’s black box flight recorder are simply ‘untenable.
Filipinos hoping for miracles queue to kiss Pope relics
er” locator and an underwater drone, essential tools for kick starting the search for the black box. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, ADV Ocean Shield will not arrive in the 319,000 square kilometer search area for three to four days, while the beacon on the black box could have only four days of battery power left.
a pope after missing out on both papal visits. “He inspired me to devote my full time in the service of the Lord,” said Fernandez, who in 1988 quit his job and set up a Catholic group that organises religious processions and prayer rallies. Some visitors said they prayed to John Paul II to help them solve their problems. “I hope he will be able to perform a miracle for me,” said ex-teacher Suarez, who said she had run up 600,000 pesos ($13,410) in debts to a loan shark, with no hope of repaying them on her meagre pension. Catholic nun Remy Ann Abuna, 61, who teaches sign language to the deaf, said she asked John Paul II to cure her asthma and bring her two siblings back into the fold. “My sister used to be a very religious person, but now that her family is better off, the entire family no longer prays. It’s the same thing with my brother,” she added. There are about 80 million Filipino Catholics in the Asian nation of 100 million, according to church leaders. The religion was introduced nearly 500 years ago when Spain colonized the islands.
Former textile factory worker Ronnie Fernandez was elated he finally “saw”
Captain Matthews said that it all depends on how effective we are at reducing the search area, adding that right now, the search area is basically the size of the Indian Ocean, which is an untenable amount of time to search. While the black box’s beacon is able to operate for not more than 45 days, Matthews said that even if debris of the
plane is found, the Ocean Shield crew would have to wait before deploying the pinger locator until oceanographers located the exact point where the plane actually crashed.
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FOOD Frozen ears: The story of gyozas
Note that I did not specify any quantities – that’s because you can make those decisions. If you want meaty savoury gyozas, then use more meat and/or prawns. Herby gyozas require more of the herb mash and if you like more vegetables or texture, just shred more cabbage – it’s really that simple.
London, March 24, 2014 — One would always have suspected that the ubiquitous Japanese gyoza originated from China – and one would be completely right, unlike most economists. The origins of the gyoza are said to stem from the treatments invented by Zhang Zhongjing (150 – 219 AD), a Han Dynasty physician born in Nanyang. One of his inventions was the jiaozi (though it was originally called “tender ears”) and they were used to treat frostbitten ears during the freezing winters. How it got from being a treatment for cold ears to becoming one of the main dishes eaten at Chinese New Year festivals these days will probably always remain a mystery – but whoever first decided to unwrap a jiaozi from someone’s blue and purple ear and pop it into his mouth may be considered nowadays as a Chinese hero. The jiaozi entered Japan and finally became the popular staple dish called gyoza around the time of the Second World War. It seems that Edo samurai were also chomping on earlier versions of the gyoza in the 17th century but oddly, it needed a world war to get the general Japanese population to really like the stuff. Now they like it so much that they have places like the Naniwa Gyoza Stadium in Osaka, a theme park dedicated to the gyoza. The Japanese have also invented rather icky variations such as the “gyoza dog”, a huge gyoza sized as large as a hot dog and guaranteed to leak all over your shirt. Americans now also love gyozas, and call them “Japanese potstickers” (although I hate to say this but if a gyoza gets glued in the pot while cooking, then generally it isn’t very good news). Gyozas are eaten at any time of the day, usually with a vinegar-based dipping sauce. I sometimes make them at home for fun, simply because they are such interesting and delicious snacks.
top. Leave alone for at least 30 minutes.
The gyoza wrappers, which are always round, can be bought in supermarkets or if unavailable, then you can even use wonton skins, preferably the round ones. Before getting to filling in the gyozas, you have a couple of simple preparation steps, starting with the cabbage, which should have exuded a lot of water after the 30-minute wait. And they are so easy to make that a few snacks often quickly turn into a serious meal for friends and family. Anyway, now that you are slightly more familiar with the gyoza, I would like to reveal that there is actually no set recipe for making gyozas – it’s more the uncomplicated, beguiling cooking technique that make them rather special, at least for me. As I am sort of a cooking simpleton, I usually start by making three basic bowls of ingredients. The first bowl is the meat paste, usually finely chopped chicken (or any other slightly fatty meats you fancy - but not turkey), mixed with coarsely chopped fresh prawns, and then salt and ground pepper (black or white) blended well in. The second bowl is the herb paste, a hand or machine-chopped fine mash of Japanese chives, ginger, garlic and shallots. If you cannot get Japanese chives, then Chinese chives are fine or even spring onions will do. The last bowl needs to be big as you will put in there finely shredded Chinese cabbage (or ordinary cabbage if preferred) – on which you will sprinkle quite a bit of salt, enough to make a light layer on top. Then use your hands to mix the salt into the cabbage and sprinkle another lighter layer of salt on
Grab a bunch of the cabbage and squeeze as hard as you can over a sink to compress out as much of the water in the cabbage as possible. If necessary, roll the cabbage around in the hand and squeeze again until you have only dry cabbage. Repeat until all the cabbage has been pressed – when ready, throw the dried cabbage into the meat mixture, add in the herb mash and blend everything together well to make the gyoza filling. Now comes the fun part of actually assembling the gyozas, which you can (and should) do with your family or friends. It’s odd but people always seem to have pretty good chats when doing this – it doesn’t matter if the gyozas aren’t perfect as the results are always so enjoyable and all mistakes are just funny and giggly. One starts by placing a gyoza skin on the flattened fingers of the left hand. Scoop a teaspoon of gyoza filling into the centre of the skin. Dip the index finger of the right hand into a little bowl of water and run it around the rim of half the gyoza skin. Fold the other side over the wetted rim and pinch a few times to seal the gyoza. It’s optional, but you can also gently fold and pleat the ridged part of the gyoza to make it look more “au-
thentic”. Place on a tray and press the gyoza down gently to make sure it has a flat base – this is a little important as you will see later. To cook the gyozas, it’s best to use a flat non-stick frying pan with a lid that seals well. Heat the pan on medium high and scatter in around two teaspoons of sesame seed oil. Just before the oil starts to smoke, gently place some gyozas in the pan, flattened base downwards, leaving around 1 cm space between them. The number you can squeeze in depends on the size of the pan and can be expressed very simply as N = p / ((a+0.5) (b+0.5)) where p = π x ((pan diameter in cm)/2)2, a = length of gyoza and b = width of gyoza in cm. Or just use your common sense. Just don’t pack them in too tightly as they will stick. Cover the pan and cook on medium to high heat for two minutes. In the meantime, get a small mug (preferably with a handle) and fill in a third with plain water. After two minutes, open the lid of the pan and quickly splash in the water from the mug around the inside of the pan and close the lid again as quickly as possible. If you have a glass lid, then cook until you can see that the water has evaporated, else cook for three minutes and then check every minute until you can see that the water has evaporated and there is left only a thin layer of sesame seed oil in the pan. Pick out the gyozas with chopsticks and serve on plates. For the dipping sauce, use a sharp knife to shred finely some peeled ginger into a sauce made up very simply as follows: two tablespoons each of soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and Japanese sweet mirin. Then pop in one tablespoon of sesame seed oil and stir. You can also add in finely chopped birds’ eye chillies as well. If you don’t have mirin, then sweeten up with some Shao Xing rice wine with sugar and use that instead. The measures mentioned are just to give you the proportions for the sauce so multiply the spoonfuls up or down as you wish for more or less dipping.