Georgia Asian Times August 1-15, 2015

Covering The Multicultural Asian American Community in Georgia

www.gasiantimes.com

August 1-15, 2015

Solid U.S. job growth leaves Fed Reserve on track for interest rate hike

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August 1-15, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

Georgia Asian Times August 1-15, 2015

Page 3 www.AsianCulturalExperience.org

The 22nd Annual

Publisher: Li Wong Account Manager: Adrian West Contributors: Andrian Putra, May Lee, Mark Ho Photographer: Ben Hioe

Tel: 678-971-9388 Advertising: gat@gasiantimes.com Editorial: info@gasiantimes.com URL: www.gasiantimes.com Mailing Address: P.O. Box 4502 Suwanee GA 30024 Copyright Georgia Asian Times 2004-2015

All Rights Reserved: including those to reproduce this printing or parts thereof in any form without permission in writing from Georgia Asian Times. Established in 2004, the Georgia Asian Times is published by Asiamax Inc. All facts, opinions, and statements appearing within this publication are those of writers and editors themseleves, and are in no way to be construed as statements, positions, endorsements by Georgia Asian Times or its officers.

Georgia Asian Times assumes no responsibility for damages from the use of information contained in this publication or the reply to any advertisement. The Publisher will not be liable for any error in advertising to greater extent than the cost of space occupied by the error and will only be made for a single publication date.

The Publisher reserves the right to reject any ad or articles submitted for publication that may not be in good taste for a free publication.

GAT Calendar of Events 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.

GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia - Awards Banquet Date: Friday, July 17, 2015 Time: 6:30 pm Venue: Sonesta Gwinnett Place For more info: 678.971.9388

20th Annivesary Hong Kong Dragon Boat-Atlanta Date: Saturday, Sept 12, 2015 Time: 7:00 am - 6:00 pm Venue: Clarks Bridge Olympic Kayaking-Lake Lanier, Gainesville, Georgia For info: dragonboatatlanta.com

10th Annual Laotian American Society Gala Date: Saturday, July 18, 2015 Time: 6:00 pm Venue: Premier Event Halls, 3520 Breckinridge Blvd, Duluth For more info: www.lasga.org

Taste of Chamblee Date: Saturday, Sept 12, 2015 Time: 12 noon - 7 pm Venue: Downtown Chamblee For more info: Colin Poe, 678.910.8736

Asian Cultural Experience (ACE) Date: Saturday-Sunday, Aug 8-9, 2015 Time: 11:00 am - 8:00 pm Sat; 11:00 am-6:00 pm Sun Venue: Gwinnett Center For more info: www.asianculturalexperienceinga.com

August 8th & 9th, 2015

RICE Festival Organized by Asian American Resource Center Date: Saturday, Sept 26, 2015 Time: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm Venue: Gwinnett Place Mall For more info: 770—270-0663 2015 Atlanta Asian Film Festival Date: October9-24, 2015 For more info: www.atlaff.org

Beauty Contest Fruits & Vegetable Competition 5

.org

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August 1-15, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

METRO ASIAN NEWS

Gr8 – Largest transportation conversation kicks off in Gwinnett Duluth, August 3, 2015 – Over 100 Gwinnett community leaders gathered to kickoff the largest-ever transportation focused conversation in the County’s history. The effort, called the Gr8 Exchange on Transportation (#thegr8exchange), is a grassroots effort to bring people together to talk about one of the most pressing issues facing Gwinnett County.

The week of August 24-28, these leaders as well as hundreds of other volunteers will be holding conversations around the County about what role transportation plays in shaping Gwinnett’s future and what they want that future to look like.

“This isn’t an effort to prescribe what type of transportation people need to be talking about; it’s a more organic approach to the public input process,” said Chuck Warbington, executive director for the Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District. “We hope to reach portions of the community that have not always been represented at the table.”

The Gr8 Exchange’s leadership team is made up a group as diverse as the community it intends to bring together. Groups from all around Gwinnett

will be mobilizing to take part in the Exchange.

The leadership team is currently in the process of recruiting volunteers to help take the message into the communities in which they live by passing out materials at local restaurants, cafes or sporting events. Volunteers will have the opportunity to host conversations which can be anything from a happy hour or dinner to a neighborhood meeting. They will also be asked to pledge to have more personal, one on one conversations. Every person who participates in a conversation will be asked to take a text survey with eight simple questions that get to the heart of what they want Gwinnett to be 20, 30 or 40 years from now.

“We can’t reach everyone on our own,” said Joe Allen, executive director of the Gwinnett Place CID. “For this effort to be a success we need people from all over Gwinnett to take ownership of this program and use the tools we’ve created to reach their own networks.”

The goal is to have 50,000 conversations the week of August 24th.

First human case of West Nile virus confirmed In Georgia Atlanta, August 7, 2015 – The Georgia Department of Public Health today confirmed the state’s first human case of West Nile virus (WNV) of the season. The patient is an adult from Metro Atlanta and has recovered. Most people get WNV after being bitten by an infected mosquito and mosquitoes are still biting into the fall months in Georgia. The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) urges Georgians to protect themselves against mosquitoes.

· Dusk/Dawn – Mosquitoes carrying WNV usually bite at dusk and dawn, so avoid or limit outdoor activity at these times.

“Standing water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes that may be infected with West Nile virus,” said Rosmarie Kelly, Ph.D., MPH, Georgia Department of Public Health entomologist.

“In the heat of summer, it can take less than 10 days to go from egg to adult mosquito.”

· Drain - Empty any containers holding standing water because they are excellent breeding grounds for virus-carrying mosquitoes.

Residents can reduce the number of mosquitoes around their homes by emptying standing water from containers - flowerpots, gutters, buckets, pool covers, pet water dishes, discarded tires, and birdbaths - anything that holds water and gives mosquitoes a place to thrive. The most effective way to avoid WNV is to prevent mosquito bites and the best way to do that is to observe the “Five D’s of WNV Prevention.”

· Dress – Wear loose-fitting, long sleeved shirts and pants to reduce the amount of exposed skin. · DEET – Cover exposed skin with an insect repellent containing the DEET, which is the most effective repellent against mosquito bites.

· Doors – Make sure doors and windows are in good repair and fit tightly, and fix torn or damaged screens to keep mosquitoes out of the house.

Georgia Asian Times August 1-15, 2015

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Earn a salary and money for your education while you gain the kind of strength that helps you stand out. To learn more, visit your local Army Career Counselor today or visit us online at goarmy.com/h692

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August 1-15, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

DEBATE

Republican debate:

24 million Americans watched the show Washington DC, August 8, 2015 — A staggering 24 million viewers tuned in to Fox News to watch the first major Republican US presidential debate, the highest-rated non-sports telecast in cable television history, Nielsen figures released yesterday showed.

The viewership of the prime-time 9pm to 11pm debate, in which frontrunner billionaire Donald Trump squared off against nine of his top Republican challengers for the nomination, is by far the highest rating of any presidential primary debate.

“Fox had 24 million viewers last night. That is an absolutely monster number,” tweeted Fox media commentator Howard Kurtz.

Ratings monitor Nielsen Media Research said that among the telecast’s viewers, 7.9 million were in the 25-54 age range, the key advertising demographic.

By comparison, the first Republican

debate of the 2012 primary season, on May 5, 2011, averaged 3.3 million viewers.

Numbers were also huge for the second-tier debate which took place at 5:00 pm Thursday and featured the seven low-polling candidates who failed to make the cut for the prime time event.

Some 6.1 million people watched the preliminary debate, Nielsen said.

The debate night appears to have been a multi-platform smash.

Facebook, which co-sponsored the showdowns, said 7.5 million people in the United States made 20 million debate-related interactions on Facebook, including likes, posts, comments and shares, the social media giant said Friday.

Twitter reported that tweets about the two debates were viewed a whopping 1.1 billion times.

Kurtz argued that the sky-high viewership was a combination of “huge public interest, Trump, August lull and riveting television.”

Trump, who afterwards accused Fox moderators of asking “unfair” questions of him during the debate, was clearly a main factor—and in a brutal tweet Friday he let the broadcaster know it. “@FoxNews you should be ashamed of yourself. I got you the highest debate ratings in your history & you say nothing but bad,” Trump tweeted to his 3.5 million followers.

The debate viewing results are not just good news for Fox. The Republicans will host at least eight more debates as the party whittles down its broad field and determines its flagbearer to go up against likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The next Republican debate is scheduled for September 16 in California and will be broadcast on CNN. The debut Democratic Party debate is scheduled for October 13 in Nevada, also on CNN.

Georgia Asian Times August 1-15, 2015

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BUSINESS

Solid U.S. job growth leaves Federal Reserve on track for interest rate hike Washington DC, Aug 8, 2015 - The US economy churned out solid job growth in July that looks likely to leave the Federal Reserve on track for an interest rate increase this year.

The economy added 215,000 jobs last month, the Labour Department said yesterday, marking 65 straight months of gains - the longest streak on record - for a total of 13 million jobs.

“In the last six years the American people have worked really hard to bounce back from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression,” President Barack Obama said.

In another positive sign, job growth in May and June was stronger than first thought, by a combined 14,000 payrolls. The department revised the number in June to 231,000 and in May to 260,000.

That brought the average monthly jobs gains to 235,000 over the past three months, heightening expectations that the Fed could raise its near-zero federal funds rate as early as next month.

The unemployment rate held steady at a seven-year low of 5.3 per cent, as expected. That is close to the 5.0 to 5.2 per cent range the Fed views as normal

for maximum employment over the longer run.

The Fed has held the benchmark federal funds rate near zero since late 2008 in a bid to support the economy’s recovery from the Great Recession, and has said it would move rates higher carefully so as not to derail growth.

In its late-July policy statement, the Federal Open Market Committee said it would consider it appropriate to raise the fed funds rate when it had seen “some further improvement” in the labour market and was “reasonably confident” that inflation, now tepid, will move back towards its 2.0 per cent target.

“There can be no doubt in our view that today’s employment report does indeed represent ‘some further’ improvement in the labour market - if not more,” said Harm Bandholz of UniCredit.

“It, therefore, further strengthens our view for the first rate hike in September.”

The US private sector added 210,000 jobs, while government payrolls increased by 5,000.

Job growth was largely concentrated

in retail trade, health care, professional and technical services, and financial activities.

The labour force participation rate was unchanged at 62.6 per cent, the lowest level since 1977.

The robust US auto market encouraged dealerships to add 13,000 jobs, about a third of the total retail sector gains.

And those employed only part-time who wanted full-time jobs was little changed at 6.3 million.

Construction added 6,000 jobs after none in June, while manufacturing bounced higher, by 15,000 jobs, after months of tepid gains.

Fed policymakers still have the August jobs report to digest, just days before the September 16 to 17 FOMC meeting.

Falling oil and other commodity prices continued to take a toll on employment in mining, which lost 5,000 jobs in July. Since the recent peak last December the sector has shed 78,000 jobs.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said the rate hike was likely in 2015, and the September meeting is one of three before the year ends.

Wage growth weak The length of the average workweek ticked higher, while the hourly wage - watched closely by the Fed for signs of tightening slack in the jobs market - edged up 0.2 per cent to US$24.99 after being flat in June. Year-on-year, wages were up 2.1 per cent.

“Yearly earnings growth has been unable to break above 2.3 per cent in the post-recession economy, a sign labour market slack may be greater than indicated by the unemployment rate,” said Jay Morelock of FTN Financial.

The number of long-term unemployed - those out of a job for at least 27 weeks - barely budged at 2.2 million, and represented nearly 27 per cent of the jobless.

“A labour force participation rate that remains at a 38-year low and wage gains that could be signaling more slack in the labour market don’t make a September rate hike a slam dunk,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS. But David Kotok, chairman and chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors, said the Fed should “take the shot” in September.

“Markets, economists, and analysts expect it.... The biggest risk is if the Fed does not move.”

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August 1-15, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

BUSINESS

Goldman Sachs: China spent US$147 Billion to halt market collapse Major U.S. airlines banned trophy hunter shipments New York, Aug 4, 2015 — Three US airlines have banned the transport of lion, leopard, elephant, rhino or buffalo killed by trophy hunters, in the latest fallout from the killing of Zimbabwe’s Cecil the lion last month.

American Airlines said today it would join Delta Airlines and United Airlines in banning the transport of animals known in Africa as the “big five”, coined by hunters because they are the hardest to kill on foot.

There has been an international outcry against trophy hunting among animal lovers since it emerged that American dentist Walter Palmer killed Cecil, a rare black-maned lion that was a familiar sight at Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park.

Delta Air Lines Inc, the only American airline to fly directly between the United States and Johannesburg, will also review policies on accepting other hunting trophies with government agencies and other organisations that support legal shipments, it said.

Even before the killing of Cecil the lion, campaigners had called for major cargo airlines to halt shipments of endangered species killed by trophy hunters.

Nearly 400,000 people signed a Change.org petition that was started by a Delta customer calling for the airline to stop transporting exotic hunting trophies, the organisation said.

Lufthansa Cargo, for example, decided in early June to no longer accept any trophies such as lions, elephants and rhinos from Africa, while Emirates SkyCargo banned such shipments in May. Although most animals are sent by ship, the bans will make it harder for hunters to get their trophies home to put above the mantelpiece, dealing a blow to Africa’s multi-million-dollar game industry.

South African Airways had also placed an embargo on transporting trophies of rhinos, elephants, tigers and lion in April after incidents of false documentation. But it reversed that decision two weeks ago, saying the Department of Environmental Affairs had agreed to tighten inspections and crack down on false permits.

Zimbabwe has called for the extradition of Palmer, who is accused of killing Cecil in an illegal hunt. The 13-year-old lion was fitted with a GPS collar as part of an Oxford University study. — Reuters

Shanghai, Aug 6, 2015 — US investment bank Goldman Sachs has estimated the Chinese government has spent up to 900 billion yuan (RM573.4 billion) in the last two months to try to prop up stock prices and halt a market rout.

After the Shanghai market peaked in mid-June and then fell 30 percent in three weeks, the government intervened with a rescue package that included funding the state-backed China Securities Finance Corp. (CSF) to buy stock.

Goldman said the government spent 860-900 billion yuan to support the stock market in June and July, according to a research report issued yesterday.

The report put the total war chest of potential funds available for market support at around 2.0 trillion yuan — including funds already spent.

Bloomberg News today reported that the CSF — previously a largely unknown institution that helped provide financing to brokerages — was seeking an additional 2.0 trillion yuan, which would bring its total market support funds to 5.0 trillion yuan.

Worries the government is preparing to exit the market, despite repeated denials, were the trigger for the biggest one-day fall in eight years of 8.48 per cent last month.

But Goldman said fears of an imminent exit by the “national team” — as the media and market regulator have dubbed the players supporting the market on behalf of the government — are overdone.

“The probability of a rash exit is low as the market has not yet stabilised and the government has no pressing need for the funds,” the report said.

It forecast the benchmark Shanghai index would trade in a range from the mid-3,000 point level but would be capped at 4,500 points.

Today, the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.89 per cent at 3,661.54 points. It is now down around 29 percent since its peak closing on June 12 — nearly the level that sparked the initial government intervention.

Other analysts have said they expect the market to test support at 3,500 points and possibly at the 3,200 level in volatile trading.

Goldman said the government has picked up heavyweight blue-chip stocks in sectors such as banking, insurance, food and beverage, and healthcare.

Georgia Asian Times August 1-15, 2015

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BUSINESS

A fresh start: Microsoft’s Window 10 wins plaudits San Francisco, July 30, 2015 - Microsoft Corp’s launch of its first new operating system in almost three years, designed to work across laptops, desktop and smartphones, won mostly positive reviews for its user-friendly and feature-packed interface.

The launch was seen critical for the company, particularly after the poor response to Windows 8, an ambitious redesign that confused many users by ditching the start button menu and introducing a new layout.

The new OS, launched on Wednesday, will be available as a free upgrade for users of Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1.

Wall Street Journal’s Geoffrey Fowler said Windows 10 fixes most of the issues with Windows 8 and improves on Windows 7, Microsoft’s most popular OS in recent years.

around software and a cloud-centric model and ultimately Windows as a service, a subscription model,” Ives told Reuters.

Microsoft, which unveiled Windows 10 in September, skipped Windows 9 altogether, to put some distance between the new system and Windows 8.

At least one prominent reviewer was skeptical, saying the new OS was unlikely to boost PC sales or salvage Microsoft’s Windows phone business.

Re/code’s Walt Mossberg said some features were promising but the new OS was “surprisingly buggy”.

“I doubt it will convert many Mac owners, spur a shopping spree in new PCs, bring in droves of new developers, or save the Windows Phone,” Mossberg wrote.

Almost all critics lauded the return of the Start button.

For one, the start button is back.

“Three months of testing Windows 10 determined that this familiar yet fresh overhaul far outweighs any problems,” Fowler wrote in his review.

By offering free upgrades, Microsoft aims to put the system on as many devices as possible. The company would then make up for any lost revenue by selling services such as Office over the Internet, or cloud.

FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives said the cloud strategy could generate a new revenue stream.

“It’s a step in the right direction.

They went back to their core DNA

“I can’t start a review of Windows 10 without heralding the return of the Start menu,” USA Today’s Edward Baig wrote.

“The newly revamped Start menu in Windows 10 is a useful combination of Windows past and present and a metaphor for the entire direction of Windows 10”.

Windows 10 also comes equipped with ‘Cortana’, a digital assistant similar to Apple Inc’s Siri and Google Inc’s Now. – Reuters

Google adds 20 languages to instant translation app San Francisco, July 30, 2015 - Google announced Wednesday it was adding 20 new languages for its mobile translation application that reads text and instantly converts to another tongue.

The smartphone app now can read 27 languages and instantly convert the text without an Internet connection, the tech giant said.

Google also said it was making voice translation “faster and smoother” in the Translate app, which can interpret street signs, ingredient lists, instruction manuals and other texts.

The real-time text translation began with seven languages — English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

The new ones added are Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Filipino, Finnish, Hungarian, Indonesian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Swedish, Turkish and Ukrainian.

Additionally, one-way translations are available from English to Hindi and Thai.

Google’s picture mode translation, which requires a snapshot of text, can operate in 37 languages.

The California group said the new features come from extensive research to develop so-called “convolutional neural networks,” or using artificial intelligence to recognize letters and words and filter out backgrounds.

“We’ve still got lots of work to do,” said product leader Barak Turovsky.

“More than half of the content on the Internet is in English, but only around 20 percent of the world’s population speaks English.

“Today’s updates knock down a few more language barriers, helping you communicate better and get the information you need.”

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EVENTS

August 1-15, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

Remembering Georgia Korean War Veterans at State Capitol

Georgia Asian Times August 1-15, 2015

Page 11

FOCUS

Japan marks 70th anniversary of Hiroshima atomic bombing Hiroshima, August 6, 2015 - Bells tolled in Hiroshima on Thursday as Japan marked 70 years since the atomic bombing that helped end World War II but still divides opinion today on whether the total destruction it caused was justified.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and foreign delegates were among the tens of thousands gathered in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park to observe a moment of silence at 8:15 am local time, when the detonation turned the western Japanese city into an inferno.

The now-bustling city’s mayor Kazumi Matsui said nuclear weapons were an “absolute evil” as he urged the world to put an end to them forever.

“To coexist we must abolish the absolute evil and ultimate inhumanity that are nuclear weapons. Now is the time to

start taking action,” he said in his annual speech.

Japan surrendered days later — on August 15, 1945 — bringing the war to a close.

An American B-29 bomber named Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb, dubbed “Little Boy”, on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

Abe laid a wreath at the ceremony attended by US ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and other officials.

Nearly everything around it was incinerated, with the ground level hit by a wall of heat up to 4,000 degrees Celsius — hot enough to melt steel.

Under-secretary for arms control Rose Gottemoeller was also scheduled to attend, the most senior US official sent from Washington to the annual memorial.

About 140,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the attack, including those who survived the bombing itself but died in the folllowing days, weeks and months from severe radiation exposure.

Opinion remains divided over whether the twin attacks were justified.

While some historians say that they prevented many more casualties in a planned land invasion, critics have said the attacks were not necessary to end the war, arguing that Japan was already heading for imminent defeat.

On August 9, the port city of Nagasaki was also attacked with an atomic bomb, killing more than 70,000 people.

Dropping the bombs, which were de-

veloped under strict secrecy, was hugely popular with war-weary Americans at the time — and 70 years on, a majority today still think it was the right thing to do.

Fifty-six percent of Americans surveyed by the Pew Research Center in February said using the atomic bomb on Japanese cities was justified, compared to 79 percent of Japanese respondents who said it was not.

Paul Tibbets, who piloted the Enola Gay, said he never had any second thoughts about dropping the bomb, telling a newspaper in an interview in 2002, five years before his death: “I knew we did the right thing”.

Washington, which has been a close ally of Tokyo since the war, has never officially apologized for the bombings.

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August 1-15, 2015

Georgia Asian Times

LIFESTYLE

Try spinach extract to curb hunger and cravings Baton Rouge, Aug 4, 2015 — Found in spinach, thylakoids could promote satiety and curb cravings when consumed in a concentrated formula, according to a new study.

Thylakoids are found in the cells that conduct photosynthesis — the process in which plants convert light energy from the sun into energy for them to live and breathe.

“The reduction in huger and the desire for salty food that we saw in this study might make thylakoids particularly useful for people with high blood pressure and associated weight problems,” says co-author Frank L. Greenway, MD of Pennington Biomedical Research in Louisiana in the US. When consumed, they release satiety hormones, which slows fat digestion, according to the study, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

In the experiment, 60 participants — half of which were men, the other half women — consumed a single dose of concentrated thylakoid extract.

The research team set out to determine the effect on satiety, lipids and glucose in addition to the eating patterns that followed the dosage.

In the double blind, randomied crossover study, each participant experienced both the placebo and a genuine dose of thylakoids never knowing which was which.

The participants, all of whom were either overweight or obese, consumed either the extract or the placebo within at least a week of each other.

The research team measured participants’ lipid and glucose levels in samples of their blood taken before breakfast, then following a dose of the extract and lunch four hours later.

Another four hours passed, and the participants were given pizza, during which more blood was drawn for further testing.

Participants who had consumed the extract saw increased satiety for up to two hours whereas those who had been given the placebo did not, according to the study.

At dinner time, the researchers observed no differences in plasma lipids between the placebo group and those who had received the extract.

Among those who received the extract the men were more likely than the women to eat less.

While the men consumed less food in general, the women saw their cravings for sweets diminish.

Citing a previous study in which thylakoid consumption reduced hankerings for sweets in women, the researchers hypothesize that the extract could have a different effect on men and women.

Too much exercising isn’t good for you, say experts New York, Aug 4, 2015 — With challenging workouts from ultra-marathons to endurance events on obstacle courses all the rage, fitness experts say more and more weekend warriors are leaping into extreme activities before looking into the perils of overdoing it.

The drive to push the body too far too fast can backfire in most unpleasant ways. Recent research studies suggest extreme over-exercising can cause conditions like sleeplessness, blood poisoning, fractures or heart damage.

“Massive jumps in activity level, that’s how you get stress fractures,” said Dr Derek Ochiai, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine.

Overuse injuries, ranging from rotator cuff damage to tendonitis, comprise a significant part of his practice in Arlington, Virginia.

“Pain tells you you’re injuring something,” he said. “Instead of pounding a treadmill for 90 minutes through severe shin pain, (and) bench pressing with intense shoulder pain, stop. Rest it. Then go back at a lighter level.”

Elite athlete and running coach Tom Holland said he has seen an explosion in the number of extreme fitness events over the last decade.

“Many people who might never have competed in an organized event in the past are jumping right into these extreme races,” said Holland, the author of “Swim, Bike, Run — Eat,” who has run more than 60 marathons.

“When it feels like it’s too much, it’s too much,” he said. “There is absolutely a point of diminishing returns.”

Disorientation, severe muscle cramps, cessation of sweating and dizziness are among the warning signs, he added.

A recent Australian study of ultra-marathoners found that extreme exercise may trigger blood poisoning in people who haven’t trained properly.

The research, published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine, showed that pushing the body too far can cause intestinal bacteria to leak into the bloodstream, causing blood poisoning.

A 2012 study also showed long-term endurance running may cause heart muscle scarring.

Anthony Wall of the American Council on Exercise said continual fatigue, decrease in performance, a sense of apathy or distraction are subtle signs of overtraining.

“It isn’t about going hard all the time,” he said. “Professional athletes spend a tremendous amount of time in recovery and low-impact activity.”

Ochiai said the cardiovascular benefits of moderate exercise far outweigh the risk of injury.

“It’s far better to be exercising than not, but you don’t have to see results the day you start,” he said. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” — Reuters

Georgia Asian Times August 1-15, 2015

Page 13

SPORTS Chelsea much the same and still the team to beat this season

Better, smarter Nishikori seeks return to US Open Final Washington DC, Aug 4, 2015 — Japan’s fifth-ranked Kei Nishikori made history by reaching last year’s US Open final and he feels stronger, smarter and more confident as he begins the quest to repeat the feat.

Nishikori opens his hardcourt run to this year’s Flushing Meadows fortnight with a first-round match today against 95th-ranked Australian James Duckworth at the ATP Washington Open.

“My tennis is going a good way. I’m feeling stronger and more confident,” Nishikori said. “Looking forward to playing this week.”

Nishikori beat top-six rivals Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka in five sets and then ousted top-ranked Novak Djokovic to reach last year’s US Open final, becoming the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam singles final.

Croatia’s Marin Cilic beat Nishikori in the championship match, but the 25-year-old has renewed confidence that he has what it takes to return to a Grand Slam final and perhaps make more history by winning it.

“The biggest thing was experience — first time in a Grand Slam final, I played five sets twice — I learned a lot of things,” Nishikori said.

“This year is different. Mentally I got a little stronger. Beating Novak, Stan, top 10 guys, I could believe in myself a little bit more. I was staying tough. I hope I can play good tennis these next few weeks.”

Even though Rafael Nadal’s ranking has slid due to injury, Nishikori sees the top four of Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer and Washington top seed Andy Murray as the top of the tennis world for the moment, even though Wawrinka has two Grand Slam titles and he is knocking on the door.

“I hope I can be the next one,” Nishikori said. “New players are coming to the top 10 but the top four is still there.

Little by little we’re coming through.

It’s good for tennis.”

Nishikori, a quarter-finalist at the French and Auistralian Opens, withdrew from Wimbledon after the second round with a calf injury, but says he is at full strength now.

“I’m feeling pretty well, had a good preparation before coming here, about three weeks,” Nishikori said. “I took one week after after Wimbledon. My leg was fine after that.”

Nishikori was pleased to see Japanese teen Yoshi Nishioka qualify for Washington and says he sees part of his role as Asian number one as inspiring new generations.

“I hope more Asian players are coming up and I hope I can keep the momentum going,” Nishikori said.

“I hope I can inspire new dreams the more kids see me.”

London, Aug 4, 2015 — It is a reflection of Chelsea’s dominance last season that although they are yet to strengthen their squad, they remain strong favourites to retain the Premier League title in 2015-16.

Arsenal, third last season, appear better-equipped for a title tilt, while Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool have spent big in the hope of closing the gap on Chelsea, who finished eight points clear of outgoing champions City in May. But with their title-winning side intact, Jose Mourinho’s men are widely perceived as the team to beat.

“Throughout the Premier League there is strength now because a lot of clubs are buying big players, not just the top clubs,” said Mourinho, who hopes to repeat his feat of leading Chelsea to successive titles in 2005 and 2006.

“At the moment, we are champions of the toughest league in the world, so we know how difficult it is going to be to repeat the achievement, but we are ready for the challenge and we will enjoy the challenge.”

With Asmir Begovic having replaced Petr Cech as reserve goalkeeper and Radamel Falcao taking the place of Didier Drogba, Chelsea’s squad is materially the same as it was last season.

However, Diego Costa’s troublesome hamstrings, which caused him to miss Sunday’s Community Shield loss to Arsenal, and some leggy pre-season performances have given their rivals reason for optimism.

That 1-0 Community Shield win, coupled with the arrival of Cech, has encouraged belief at Arsenal, backto-back FA Cup-winners, that their 12-year wait for a league title may be approaching an end.

With a world-class goalkeeper backing up a settled defence and a midfield that bristles with guile and inventiveness, the only weak spot is up front, where Arsene Wenger must choose between the not particularly prolific trio of Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck.

Another team brimming with midfielders and short on strikers is United, with Louis van Gaal having added Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay to a department of his squad that already included Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini, Juan Mata, Ashley Young and Adnan Januzaj, not to mention the departing Angel di Maria, whose place in the squad could go to Barcelona’s Pedro Rodriguez.

Falcao, Nani and Robin van Persie have also left, but as a Champions League qualifying play-off looms, goalkeeper David de Gea’s future remains up in the air.

Financial behemoth With a new £5.1 billion (RM30.7 billion) domestic television rights deal kicking in next year, Premier League clubs have not been shy in splashing out.

The biggest transfer to date has been Raheem Sterling’s £49 million switch from Liverpool to City, after a protracted transfer saga that opposition fans are unlikely to forget in a hurry.

Despite falling short in defence of their title, City have kept faith with manager Manuel Pellegrini, but with the club hierarchy continuing to flutter their eyelashes at Pep Guardiola and last season’s Golden Boot-winner Sergio Aguero short of fitness after the Copa America, doubts remain.

Shorn of Sterling and the emblem-

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August 1-15, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

SPORTS Continue from Page 13

atic Steven Gerrard, Liverpool have brought in seven new players, among them Christian Benteke, James Milner and Roberto Firmino, but ahead of an opening-weekend trip to Stoke City, where they were humiliated 6-1 on last season’s final day, manager Brendan Rodgers is also under pressure.

As season looms, United’s Van Gaal faces many questions London, Aug 4, 2015 - Manchester United’s fourth place in last season’s Premier League was regarded as a qualified success but more importantly the launch pad to return the club to former glory.

A few weeks later, however, with uncertainty over the future of goalkeeper David de Gea, Angel di Maria’s expected sale to Paris St Germain rumbling on and worries about virtually every area of the pitch, United’s legions of fans still need convincing that things are moving in the right direction.

Manager Louis van Gaal’s first season in charge was greeted with a general thumbs up as the Dutchman returned the team to top four after their stunning fall from grace under David Moyes.

Improving on that will be an even bigger challenge.

Former United defender Rio Ferdinand, who won six Premier League titles under Alex Ferguson, says that Van Gaal faces a “massive season” and will have “no excuses” if United fail to challenge for a 21st league title.

“He’s had last season and a whole pre-season to really drill his ideas and philosophy into these players,” Ferdinand told reporters.

For all the title contenders’ big-money moves, it is the transfers involving England’s mid-ranked clubs that have emphasised the Premier League’s transformation into a financial behemoth and none more so than Yohan Cabaye’s £10 million switch from French champions Paris Saint-Germain to Crystal Palace, who finished 10th in 2014-15.

Stoke and Swansea City will hope to build on impressive campaigns, while Palace, Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland finished last season dreaming of better things after successful managerial changes.

West Ham United, Newcastle United and Leicester City have new managers — respectively, Slaven Bilic, Steve McClaren and Claudio Ranieri — as well as Watford (Quique Sanchez Flores), who were promoted from the Championship alongside Bournemouth and Norwich City.

“It’s not rocket science,” says Bournemouth’s affable 37-year-old manager Eddie Howe.

With even the smaller teams now boasting budgets that put them on a par with all but the very biggest European clubs, a whole host of sides — among them Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton and Everton — will have designs on the European places.

“Bournemouth are not going to be able to compete with those top clubs, but when you put 11 players on the pitch, it’s not really about money.”

Van Gaal showed faith in English defenders Chris Smalling and Phil Jones last season but neither were convincing.

derlin was also signed from Southampton. But there is a feeling of more questions than answers as United go into a crucial opening period which begins at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday and continues with a vital Champions League qualifier the week after.

“He is under pressure to win the league, or at least to improve and finish in second place.”

Chief among Van Gaal’s concerns will be goalkeeper De Gea, who is wanted by Real Madrid. The Spaniard appeared distracted when United lost 2-0 to PSG in a friendly last week and the sooner his situation is cleared up the better.

Then there are concerns about the physical condition of new signing Bastian Schweinsteiger from Bayern Munich.

The German midfielder’s pedigree is beyond question but the £14 million United paid for the 31-year-old will only represent a sound investment if they have signed the powerhouse he was at his peak - not the injury-plagued player whose influence was on the wane at Bayern.

Sergio Ramos has been mooted as a possible signing, but only as part of a deal that would take De Gea to Madrid.

With Robin van Persie gone, Van Gaal will hope Memphis Depay, who lit up the Dutch league with PSV Eindhoven, will form a potent strike partnership with talisman Wayne Rooney.

French midfielder Morgan Schnei-

“Time will tell if (Van Gaal) has bought well,” Ferdinand said. “Schweinsteiger has won all there is to win in the game, but the Premier League is a different beast, Depay hasn’t played here - they still have to prove themselves. -- Reuters

Georgia Asian Times August 1-15, 2015

Page 15

HEALTH Quitting smoking may ease hot flashes Ex-smokers may have fewer and less severe hot flashes during menopause than women who continue to smoke, a small study suggests.

Women who hadn’t smoked for at least five years were 45 percent less likely to have severe or frequent hot flashes than current smokers, researchers found. But they were still more likely to have symptoms than women who had never smoked.

“While the effect was strongest if women quit at least five years before the onset of menopause, even women quitting later did have a better outcome than women who continued to smoke,” lead author Rebecca Smith, a researcher in epidemiology at the University of Illinois, said by email. “I hope that this encourages women to quit smoking, the earlier the better.”

Smoking is the leading cause of avoidable deaths in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking dramatically increases the risk of heart disease, stroke

and lung cancer. It may also contribute to cancers almost anywhere in the body, according to the CDC. Women go through menopause when they stop menstruating, typically between ages 45 and 55. As the ovaries curb production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, women can experience symptoms such as vaginal dryness, mood swings, insomnia, and hot flashes and night sweats.

Because previous research has consistently linked smoking to worse hot flashes, Smith and colleagues wanted to see if this connection also held true for women who had quit.

As reported in the journal Maturitas, they studied 761 women ages 45 to 54, following them for up to seven years.

At the start of the study, 347 women were experiencing hot flashes.

Only 39 percent of never-smokers had hot flashes, compared with 52 percent of ex-smokers and 62 percent

of current smokers.

About 47 percent of current smokers had moderate or severe hot flashes; this group was also most likely to have symptoms daily or weekly.

By contrast, moderate or severe hot flashes afflicted 36 percent of ex-smokers and 22 percent of never-smokers – and only about 10 percent of these women suffered hot flashes on a daily or weekly basis.

Compared with current smokers, women who quit were 37 percent less likely to have hot flashes and 22 percent less likely to have frequent or severe symptoms.

Compared to women who had never smoked, the current smokers were four times more likely to have hot flashes.

The study cannot prove that smoking causes or worsens hot flashes, the authors acknowledge.

line with past studies, and they speculate that smoking may interfere with hormones, neurotransmitters and other mechanisms that are also linked to hot flashes.

Quitting at least five years before menopause was linked to a 14 percent reduction in the severity of hot flashes and a 19 percent reduction in their frequency, compared to quitting more recently.

“It is never too late to quit, and quitting may reduce other health risks that are even more serious than the hot flashes,” Ellen Freeman, a researcher in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, said by email. Quitting can also lower women’s risk for cardiovascular disease and cancers, she said.

“To my knowledge, this is the first study to show that stopping smoking in mid-life can reduce hot flashes,” added Freeman, who wasn’t involved in the study. - Reuters

But, they note, their results are in

Changes to sedentary lifestyle have big impact on health Being healthier may be found in something as simple as standing more and sitting less at work, said a study Friday.

Replacing sitting time with standing time appeared to improve sugar, fat and cholesterol levels in the blood, researchers wrote in the European Heart Journal.

The findings suggest that making small changes to a sedentary lifestyle can have a big impact on health — and that you don’t need to go as far as taking up marathon running.

A study of nearly 800 men and women in Australia revealed a clear association between less sitting and better health markers.

“An extra two hours per day spent

standing rather than sitting was associated with approximately two percent lower average fasting blood sugar levels and 11 percent lower average triglycerides (fats in the blood),” said a press statement.

It was also associated with higher levels of “good” cholesterol, HDL. Replacing two hours of sitting time with actual activity in the form of “stepping” was even better — with lower blood fat and sugar scores as well as an 11 percent lower average Body Mass Index (BMI — a ratio of height to weight) and a 7.5-centimetre (threeinch) smaller average waist circumference.

“These findings provide important preliminary evidence on the potential benefits of standing for cardio-metabolic risk biomarkers,” said the study.

“This has important public health implications given that standing is a common behavior.”

The team point to the potential benefits of more standing at the workplace, including through such measures as “standing desks”.

Adults in today’s world are highly sedentary, with average self-reported sitting time ranging from 3.2 to 6.8 hours per day in Europe, said the study.

About 55 to 69 percent of adult waking hours are sedentary.

But there has been little research into the potential benefits of standing, as opposed to moving, to replace sitting.

The study took blood, height and

weight measurements from the participants, gave them an activity monitor for a week, and then compared the health data to how much each person moved or not.

In an editorial published with the study, Francisco Lopez-Jimenez of the Mayo College of Medicine in Minnesota, said it showed that “the fight against sedentary behavior cannot be won based only on the promotion of regular exercise.”

“A person walking while at work for two hours, standing for another four hours, and performing some daily chores at home for another hour will burn more calories than jogging or running for 60 minutes.”

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August 1-15, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

Misc Asia

Japan’s Suntory to mature whisky in space Tokyo, Aug 1, 2015 — Japanese whisky will be sent into space next month to test how time in a zero-gravity environment affects its flavour, one of the country’s biggest drinks makers said yesterday.

“For the moment, we’re not thinking about applying the study results to commercial products,” said a Suntory spokeswoman.

Samples of whisky produced by Suntory will be stored in the Japanese laboratory facility of the International Space Station for at least a year, with some flasks staying longer.

Whisky demand rocketed in Japan last year after national broadcaster NHK aired a period drama called “Massan,” the true story of a Japanese entrepreneur and his Scottish wife who are credited with establishing Japan’s first whisky distillery.

Researchers for the company believe that storing the beverage in an environment with only slight temperature changes and limited liquid movement could lead to a mellower flavor.

Suntory will send whisky aged for 10, 18 and 21 years as well as a number of other alcoholic substances.

Once they are returned to Earth, blenders will assess their flavors while researchers subject the liquids to scientific analysis, the company said.

Sales also soared when Suntory’s Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 was named the best in the world by the prestigious Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2015.

Malaysia calls for help on Indian Ocean plane debris Kuala Lumour, August 1, 2015 — Malaysia on Sunday urged authorities in the Indian Ocean to be on alert for any further plane debris that may wash ashore, after a wing part was found last week on Reunion island.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai also confirmed in a statement that the part found Wednesday on the French island had been “officially identified” as from a Boeing 777 — making it virtually certain that it was from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

“Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation is reaching out to several aviation authorities in territories within the vicinity of Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean,” Liow said.

“This is to allow the experts to conduct more substantive analysis should there be more debris coming on to land, providing us more clues to the missing aircraft.”

Officials have said the wing part, called a flaperon, looks increasingly

likely to be the first tangible evidence that the Malaysia Airlines flight had crashed.

The plane disappeared in March last year with 239 people aboard and is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, but no confirmed proof has ever been found.

No other Boeing 777 has ever crashed in that part of the world.

Malaysia’s deputy transport minister had previously confirmed the flaperon was from a Boeing 777.

Liow said this had since been backed up by French authorities, aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the US National Transportation Safety Board, the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation, Malaysia Airlines, and an international investigation team set up last year to probe the disappearance.

The flaperon has been shipped to France where experts are to begin examining it on Wednesday.

– AFP

Georgia Asian Times August 1-15, 2015

Page 17

Misc Asia Barnacles on wing part may help in hunt for MH 370 Sydney, August 4, 2015 — Barnacles on a wing part that washed up on a remote Indian Ocean island could yield new clues to the fate of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 if it is from the plane, experts said Tuesday.

The hunt for the Boeing 777, which disappeared on March 8 last year en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard, has focused on the southern Indian Ocean off Australia.

No trace of it has so far been found.

ASEAN, China discuss “hotline” for sea dispute Manila, August 1, 2015 — ASEAN and China are discussing setting up a “hotline” in case of an emergency regarding the territorial dispute over the South China Sea, a Philippine official said on Sunday.

The proposed hotline was discussed during a meeting of senior diplomats from China and ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in Tianjin last week, said foreign department spokesman Charles Jose.

Jose, whose country is one of the most vocal in the simmering dispute over the flashpoint waters, said the matter had been referred back to a joint working group and was still far from fruition.

“Although this was agreed in principle as an early harvest measure, it needs thorough discussion,” he said in a statement.

He stressed the hotline would not be unveiled at an upcoming meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers.

The Philippines and fellow ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have competing claims over the

South China Sea along with China and Taiwan.

The dispute has grown increasingly tense in recent years with the Philippines at the forefront of accusing China of “bullying” in asserting its claim over the waters which are a crucial sea lane and fishing ground also believed to hold vast mineral resources.

In recent months, the Philippines has raised the alarm over China’s land reclamation to turn outcroppings in the sea into artificial islands that can host military outposts.

ASEAN, which also includes Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand, has been pushing for the establishment of a “code of conduct” with China that would bind the rival claimants not to take actions that could spark conflict in the region.

Despite its appeals for unity, ASEAN members have diverging agendas, and the bloc has had difficulty taking a common stand on China which has close relationships with several members.

Last week a two-metre long wing component called a flaperon, with barnacles encrusted on its surface, was found on the French island of La Reunion, igniting hopes that one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries could be solved.

The part has been confirmed as coming from a Boeing 777.

Technical experts, including from US aerospace giant Boeing, are due to begin from Wednesday examining the debris in France to determine conclusively whether it belonged to the flight.

Scientists said the main information the barnacles would provide was how long the piece had been in the water.

“They might be able to age the barnacles and if the barnacles are older than the crash date that would suggest it was not the wreckage,” said Melanie Bishop, associate professor in biological sciences at Sydney’s Macquarie University.

Geology expert Hans-Georg Herbig said that if the barnacles were found to be from the Lepas family, “we can then say with certainty that the accident took place in cold maritime areas to the southwest of Australia”.

“If it has cold-water barnacles on it that might tell them it went down further south than they think. Or if it’s got only tropical barnacles, that might tell them it went down further north,” added Shane Ahyong, a crustacean specialist from the Australian Museum.

Piece together what happened But he said some oceanic barnacles were so widespread that pinpointing their precise origin would likely be impossible given the lack of genetic and population information about them.

“There are barnacles that occur in the east Indian Ocean, there are barnacles that occur in the west Indian Ocean and that can help narrow the range,” Ahyong said. “(But) we are talking about one side of the Indian Ocean opposed to the other side.

“The key thing they should be able to tell using these barnacles is how long the wreckage has been in the water and then they can see if that matches with the other evidence in terms of the date in which it went down, the time they think it has been floating.”

Further analysis of the shells could indicate the temperature of the waters the piece had travelled through, she added.

Mark Hamann, an associate professor at James Cook University in Townsville who has investigated barnacles on turtles as part of his research, agrees the find could be one of several different tools which help piece together what happened to MH370.

Depending on the species of barnacles found on the flaperon, which appears relatively clean, investigators might also be able to estimate where the piece has been, scientists said.

“It’s one bit of information that may help solve the puzzle. And it will be a little bit of information that we didn’t have before. It’s better than zero.

Hopefully it can help,” he said.

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August 1-15, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

LIFESTYLE

Scientists identify the taste of fat as sixth taste A group of US scientists believes that fat deserves to be called the sixth taste and have even invented a new name for it: oleogustus.

After sweet, sour, salty and bitter, as well as the most recently acknowledged flavor profile on the palate, umami, scientists from Purdue University in Indiana have published a paper showing that the tongue can also ‘taste’ fat.

Researchers are quick to point out, however, that the taste of fat should not be confused with mouthfeel, or the feel of fat, often described as creamy or smooth.

“Fatty taste itself is not pleasant.

When concentrations of fatty acids are high in a food it is typically rejected, as would be the case when a food is rancid. In this instance, the fat taste sensation is a warning to not eat the item,” explained lead author Richard D. Mattes in a statement.

“At the same time, low concentrations of fatty acids in food may add to their appeal just like unpleasant bitter chemicals can enhance the pleasantness of foods like chocolate, coffee and wine.”

For the study, scientists asked 102 participants to categorize different solutions aimed at stimulating the six tastes. And even after controlling for odor, texture and appearance, participants were able to group fatty acids together on their own.

To describe the taste sensation, scientists are hoping their newly coined name “oleogustus” — oleo being the Latin root for oily or fatty and “gustus” referring to taste — will stick.

The findings were published recently online in Chemical Senses.

Eating Asian pears before drinking could head off hangovers Anticipate a booze-fueled, night of free-flowing drinking? You might want to hit the grocery store and pack in a few pears to head off a hangover.

Because preliminary findings out of Australia’s national science agency show that eating a pear — but not just any pear — could keep hangovers at bay the next day.

Want to test the theory? According to scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the best varietal is the Korean or Asian pear, which differs from their hourglass cousins by resembling apples in shape.

The fruit is also known as the nashi pear.

Known for their high water content and crisp, grainy texture, Asian pears are generally eaten raw or used as an ingredient to tenderize meats in Asian cooking.

But Australian researchers have uncovered another unexpected use for the fruit, as they found that certain

properties act on key enzymes involved in alcohol metabolism.

The pears were also shown to reduce levels of blood acetaldehyde, the toxin believed to be responsible for wicked morning-after hangovers.

Researchers emphasize, however, that the positive effects were only observed when the pear was consumed prior to drinking.

For the research, subjects drank 220ml of Korean pear juice but scientists said the consumption of whole pears could have similar effects.

In addition to increasing concentration, the fruit was also shown to reduce common hangover symptoms such as memory loss and sensitivity to light.