Covering The Multicultural Asian American Community in Georgia
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February 1-15, 2014
‘New’ Obama tinkers rather than transforms
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February 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
Georgia Asian Times February 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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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 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.
2014 Atlanta Chinese Lunar New Year Festival Date: Sat. & Sun., Feb 1 & 2, 2014 Time: 10 am-4 pm Venue: Culture Center of Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Atlanta, 5377 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee, GA 30341 770.451.4456. Admission: $5 per person (children under 3 ft free). For more info: www.facebook.com/AtlantaChineseLunarNewYearFestival For questions: yutodd@bellsouth.net Chinese Business Association of Atlanta (CBAA) - Chinese New Year Annual Meeting Date: Saturday, Feb 1, 2014 Time: 7:00 pm Venue: Golden House Restaurant For more info: www.cbaaweb.org Tet Lunar New Year Celebration Organized by Vietnamese American Community of Georgia (VAC GA) Date: Sunday, February 2, 2014 Time: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm Venue: The Wild Bills Concert Hall 2075 Market Street, Duluth GA 30096 For more info: 678.907.6941 21st Annual CBAA Chinese New Year Gala Concert Date: Sunday, Feb 2, 2014 Time: 3:30 pm Venue: Woodruff Arts Center For more info: charley@frontech.com Georgia Asian American & Pacific Islander Legislative Day Inaugural Fred Korematsu Day Organized by Georgia AAPI Task Force Date: Thursday, February 6, 2014 Time: 9:30 am - 2:00 pm Venue: Capitol Room 230, State Capitol RSVP requested For more info: www.aapilegislativeday-ga.org
Legislative Breakfast & Lobby Day Organized by Asian American Legal Advocacy Center Date: Monday, February 10, 2014 Time: 7:30 am - 1:00 pm Venue: Georgia Railroad Freight Depot, Blue Room Individual Tickets: $20 For more info: 404-585-8446; www. aalegal.org 2014 Spring in Atlanta Organized by Association of Chinese Professionals Date: Thursday, February 13, 2014 Time: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm Venue: Rialto Center, Georgia State University For more info: 678.462.8611, 678.557.0260 or 678.910.3298 / www. acp-atlanta.org Hong Kong Spring Reception for the Year of Horse Date: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 Time: 6:00 pm Venue: Carter Center Private Event - By Invitation Only For more info: 404.788.8818
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February 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
METRO ASIAN NEWS
Governor Deal Apologized & Accept Responsibility for Snow Snafu
Atlanta, January 30, 2014 — Georgia Governor Nathan Deal apologized and accept accountability to parents and thousands who were stranded on highways caused by Tuesday’s snow day.
“I accept responsibility for the fact that we did not make preparation early enough to avoid these consequence,” he said at the press conference. nathandeal.snowGovernor Deal apologized to thousands who were stuck in their vehicles as well as families whose children were forced to stay at school when highway gridlock left some vehicles stranded for 10 hours or more in traffic.
“I am not satisfied with the response that was made,” Nathan said at the afternoon press conference. “We did not respond fast enough. We will be much more cautious and much more aggressive in terms of taking action in advance,” he adds. He also said the state will review each department’s response to the storm and will compile a new plan of action for future events.
Many vehicle owners returned to collect their cars earlier today that were left abandoned during the snow jam. Many cars are being towed by wreckers to storage and are advised to contact the police.
Atlanta’s COO Duriya Farooqui to step down
Atlanta, January 21, 2014 — Duriya Farooqui will officially stepped down as Chief Operating Officer of City of Atlanta on January 31, 2014.
Farooqui, 37, is leaving the City of Atlanta to take a senior level position with Bain & Company, a leading global management consultancy group.
Mayor Kasim Reed has officially appointed Michael J. Gensler as acting Interim Chief Operating Officer upon the departure of Ms. Farooqui.
d.farooqui“Working with Mayor Reed has been the highlight of my career,” said Farooqui.
Amongst her accomplishments included balancing the city’s annual budget, the lease negotiations for financing the Maynard H. Jackson International Terminal, assistance in the 2011 pension reform, managing the city’s new 311 call center.
Farooqui was a honoree of 2013’s GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia. She succeeded former COO Peter Aman in 2011.
One of her last major role is the successful agreement with the Atlanta Falcons and two churches for a new Falcons stadium in downtown.
Coca-Cola Foundation Gives $10K To NACA Mentoring Program Chamblee, January 25, 2014 — The National Association of Chinese Americans (NACA) Atlanta chapter held its annual Chinese New Year banquet at a restaurant on Buford Highway to welcome the Lunar New Year of The Horse. Over 300 community, business, and corporate leaders attended the annual event. Guest of honors included the Honorable Lisa M. Borders, Chair of Coca-Cola Foundation and Vice President of Global Community Affairs at the Coca-Cola Company and Hon. Li Guixi, Deputy Consul General of the Peoples Republic of China in Houston. Hon. Congressman Hank Johnson and Hon. Lee May, Interim Chief Executive Officer of DeKalb County also attended the event. Hon. Lisa M. Borders delivers the keynote address for the evening. She also announced a Coca-Cola Foundation’s donation of $10,000 to NACA’s Mentoring Program. “We would like to support the positive effort by NACA’s Mentoring Program to help develop talent and leadership in the community,” said Borders in her remark. The Coca-Cola Company is commit-
ted to the fast growing Chinese market and plans to invest an additional $5 Billion in the coming years, according to Borders. NACA announced a $8,000 donation to Georgia Perimeter College’s Nursing Program to fund its scholarship program. In addition, NACA also announced a $5,000 donation to Good Shepherd Services Atlanta for its community and social work. NACA also formally announced the 2013 graduates of its Mentoring Program where a corporate executive mentor is paired with a junior mentee for a year. “The Chinese believes a horse year is a energetic year that brings luck and good things,” said Hong Wills, President of NACA in her remark. Since its inception, NACA has dedicated to the promotion of cultural, educational, scientific, and business relationships between China and U.S. It strives to achieve its mission of “bridging cultures, building leaders and benefitting communities.” For more information on NACA, visit www.naca-atlanta.org
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February 1-15, 2014
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February 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
FOCUS ‘New’ Obama tinkers rather than transforms By Stephen Collinson WASHINGTON, January 29, 2014 - Once he galvanized vast crowds with the cry: “let’s go change the world!” Now, if Barack Obama is still remolding the planet, he’s doing it in baby steps. Hemmed in by Republicans, slowed by personal missteps and leaking inspiration after five rough years, the US president has embraced incrementalism. Obama did unfurl a punchy, optimistic State of the Union address on Tuesday, billing the fight against income disparity as the defining project of the age. But there was no multi-billion dollar program or a “moonshot” style challenge for 21st century Americans. Instead, Obama offered modest, targeted plans using the power of his office to bypass Congress, which has let its own reforming muscle wither. Once, Obama vowed to slow the oceans’ rise and to mend Washington’s “broken politics.” Now, he plots a way over the political mire -- with “ladders” to give everyone a leg up on retirement savings, a decent wage, education and health care. “What we are seeing is a different Barack Obama,” said William Rosenberg, a professor of political science at Drexel University, Philadelphia. Obama powered into office on a wave of expectation and had the luck to follow a deeply unpopular predecessor in George W. Bush. He exploited Democratic control of Congress to pile up the kind of legislative record that few recent presidents could boast -- banning torture, saving the auto industry and passing big
health care and Wall Street reforms. But now, with power in Washington divided, the hope and change that defined him is largely in the past. One example: Obama has spent years waxing lyrical on the need for immigration reform. But on Tuesday, he trod carefully on the issue -- his one potential second term domestic legacy win -- lest he spook conservatives agonizing whether to sign up. On the other potential big ticket item -- a nuclear deal with Iran -- Obama was more firm, promising to veto any new sanctions he says could kill diplomacy. But the new Obama is neither a seeker of consensus nor a political pit bull fighting Republican lawmakers to exhaustion. Instead, he bills himself as an independent, activist president, using regulation and fiat to bend the political climate his way. He will raise the minimum wage for federal workers even if Congress won’t do it for everyone. He will regulate power plants to cut harmful emissions if he can’t pass meaningful climate change bills. And he will call on CEOs not to discriminate against the long-term unemployed even as Republicans will block job stimulus plans. But the power a president can wield alone is finite -- more tinkering than transformation. And at times Tuesday there was a sense of a White House assigning work to keep itself busy with three years still to go -- for example Obama’s charge to
Vice President Joe Biden to launch a review of work training programs.
a glimpse into the president’s psyche.
Obama’s evolution from change-animated campaigner into trudging administrator is not unique.
Obama seems to have made a calculation that while he lacks power to pass tax reform or bring peace to Syria, he must concentrate influence where it is most effective.
Presidents are often frustrated by America’s adversarial centers of power, a political system that auto-corrects after sharp changes of direction and power that ebbs with the two-term clock.
One senior aide however argued vehemently hours before the State of the Union speech against claims Obama was now just working at the margins.
But Obama’s eclipse has been more marked, such was his historic promise as the first African American president.
Try telling a poor student that got into college that their chance was not a big deal, the official said, in remarks not for quoting, slamming conventional media wisdom in Washington.
It is tempting to wonder what the Obama of 2008 would think of the program he rolled out Tuesday. Candidate Obama had no time for nudging the ball forward. He saw himself as a transformative president, more Ronald Reagan than Bill Clinton -- who Obama aides privately criticized for an incremental approach. At least Obama appeared fresh on Tuesday -- more lively than the listless leader who limped off to Hawaii after a brutal 2013. He came across as a president determined to make the best of his remaining time. “Presidents, Republican and Democratic are there because they want to accomplish things,” said Rosenberg, in
While they lack sparkle, moves like raising take home pay, and widening access to health care and education can make a difference, said Maureen Conway, of the Aspen Institute. “I think they do have a tangible impact, they get at basic family economic issues. They are fundamental to the way people live their lives every day.” But the president must be careful ahead of mid-term elections in November. Pushing executive power too far will spur Republican charges of a power grab and discomfort vulnerable Democrats in mid-term elections. But if Obama holds back, Washington pundits will be ready to brand him a lame duck. - AFP
Georgia Asian Times February 1-15, 2014
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BUSINESS
China approves 12 new free trade zones: state media BEIJING, January 22, 2014 - China has approved a dozen new free trade zones months after opening its first one in Shanghai, state media said Wednesday, furthering efforts to test economic reforms and bolster growth. Beijing “has given the nod to 12 free trade zones ... amid a spurt of nationwide enthusiasm for such schemes,” the official news agency Xinhua reported. The sites will include the mega cities of Tianjin near the capital and Guangdong in the south close to Hong Kong, the report said, citing an unnamed source -- who declined to name the remaining 10 locations. The new zones will have to conduct a survey and draw up specific plans “in a process that may last more than a year”, Xinhua added.
The free trade zone in Shanghai opened last September with great fanfare. It covers a 11-square-mile area. Authorities touted it as a site to try out reforms, such as allowing free convertibility of the yuan currency to loosening restrictions on foreign investment. Such changes are being closely watched as a test of China’s ability to restructure its economy in the face of slowing growth. But soon after the launch a “negative list” was issued of what is barred in the zone, eliciting criticism that it was too long and restrictive. Officials later promised that a revised list would be released in 2014.
The science ministry said it aims to implement the technology -- about 1,000 times faster than the 4G services currently available -- within six years. “We helped fuel national growth with 2G services in the 1990s, 3G in the 2000s and 4G around 2010. Now it is time to take preemptive action to develop 5G,” the ministry said in a statement. “Countries in Europe, China and the US are making aggressive efforts to de-
It also aims to expand the telecom infrastructure equipment industry, which is relatively weaker than the mighty mobile device sector. Led by Samsung -- the world’s top handset maker -- South Korea has a leading 30-percent stake in the global mobile device market. “But the (telecom) infrastructure equipment industry has only a 4.4 percent share in the global market, with exports very limited,” the ministry said.
South Korea to spend $1.5 Billion on 5G ‘movie-in-a-second’ service SEOUL, January 22, 2014 - South Korea, already one of the most wired countries on earth, Wednesday announced a 1.6 trillion won ($1.5 billion) plan to roll out a next-generation 5G wireless service quick enough to download full-length films in a second.
ment the plan with investment and cooperation from operators such as SK Telecom and Korea Telecom as well as handset makers like Samsung and LG.
velop 5G technology ... and we believe there will be fierce competition in this market in a few years,” it said. Under the roadmap, a trial 5G service will be rolled out in 2017 and a fully commercial service in December 2020. Priority will be given to developing key features for the new network, including Ultra-HD and hologram transmission as well as cutting-edge social networking services. Related industries will be able to rack up sales of 5G-related devices and infrastructure equipment worth 331 trillion won from 2020 to 2026, the ministry estimated. The government hopes to imple-
Chinese equipment makers including Huawei have expanded their presence in the global market from 12 percent in 2007 to 26 percent in 2012.
download a 800-megabyte movie file in one second, compared with 40 seconds using 4G, the science ministry said, adding that such speeds would help South Korean firms win overseas deals. Officials said the new service would also mean people on bullet trains running faster than 500 kilometers (310 miles) an hour would even be able to access the Internet, compared with 300 kph currently. “Bullet trains around the world keep getting faster, with some in China running as fast as 500 and 600 kilometers per hour,” said one ministry official who declined to be named. “If we have the technology to allow fast Internet access in these trains, it can open new opportunities for us globally,” he said.
Huawei announced in November that it was looking at a 5G commercial rollout by 2020, with a minimum investment of $600 million to develop the technology.
Samsung Electronics announced back in May that it had successfully tested 5G technology, managing data transmission of more than one gigabyte per second over a distance of two kilometers.
Seoul intends to take up to a 20 percent stake in the world’s telecom infrastructure equipment market by 2020, according to the ministry.
Samsung said it had found a way to harness millimetre-wave bands which have proved to be a sticking point for the mobile industry to date.
New opportunities South Korea is renowned for being at the forefront of internet technology with broadband speeds that consistently out-pace those in Europe or the United States. 5G technology will allow users to
The test used 64 antenna elements, which the tech titan said overcame the issue of “unfavorable propagation characteristics” that have prevented data traveling across long distances using the bands. However, it made clear that the technology would not be available commercially before the end of the decade.
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BUSINESS Toyota keeps world No. 1 title with record vehicle sales TOKYO, January 23, 2014 - Toyota sold a record 9.98 million vehicles last year, it said Thursday, outpacing rivals General Motors and Volkswagen to maintain its title of world’s biggest automaker. The Japanese auto giant’s highest-ever annual sales volume came thanks to a weaker yen as well as strong US and China sales, signaling it had recovered from a series of damaging safety recalls and Japan’s 2011 quake-tsunami disaster. The figures beat US-based GM, which said it sold 9.71 million cars last year, while Germany’s Volkswagen logged annual sales of 9.5 million. Toyota broke GM’s decades-long reign as world’s top automaker in 2008 but lost the crown three years later as the quake-tsunami hammered production and disrupted the supply chains of Japanese automakers. However, in 2012 it once again overtook its Detroit rival, which sells the Chevrolet and luxury Cadillac brands. GM’s strong results come after it emerged from bankruptcy and a government bailout during the 2008 global economic crisis. Toyota, maker of the Camry sedan and Prius hybrid, also said Thursday it expects this year to become the first automaker to break the 10 million vehicle sales barrier. That growth would be driven by overseas demand -- Toyota expects volume at home to slip 5.0 percent this year as consumer demand takes a hit from an April sales tax hike. Toyota has outmaneuvered other automakers with a “comprehensive edge” in product lineup, sales network and cost structure, said SMBC Nikko Securities auto analyst Shotaro Noguchi.
“They have maintained that balance well, compared to its rivals,” he said. “Toyota should have reached the 10 million mark sooner if they had not faced major negative factors like the impact of the quake disaster and flooding in Thailand.” But he warned that the auto giant should not get complacent, adding: “If they only pay attention to production and sales figures, they could lose their competitive edge and wind up in trouble.” China, emerging markets driving sales The sales figures cap off an impressive comeback for Toyota, which took a heavy blow from a series of mass recalls affecting millions of cars that damaged its once-stellar reputation for quality and safety and led to US congressional hearings in 2010. The firm has said it expects a net profit of 1.67 trillion yen ($16.02 billion) in the fiscal year to March thanks to a sharply weaker yen and improving sales in North America. Toyota has ramped up its drive to tap emerging markets while key US demand has also been on the upswing, helping the firm book ever-increasing profits with its half-year earnings surging 82.5 percent. Japanese industry has benefited from the big-spending and easy-money policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with huge monetary easing measures from the premier’s hand-picked team at the Bank of Japan helping push down the currency. The weaker currency boosts Japanese manufacturers’ bottom line by making them more competitive overseas and inflating repatriated overseas profits.
Taiwan’s first budget airline named ‘V air’ TAIPEI, January 23, 2014 - Taiwan’s TransAsia Airways said Thursday a low-cost carrier it aims to launch later this year will be called “V air” as it seeks to tap the growing budget travel market. TransAsia said it picked “V air” out of nearly 8,000 entries in a public naming contest while the new carrier’s Chinese name will be “Wei Hang”, which means “mighty airline” in English. “V can stand for voyage, vision, vivid, or victory which symbolise the positive energy a new company requires and can help boost the public’s preference and acceptance of the new company,” it said in a statement. Two winners of the naming contest are entitled to unlimited free flights on the budget airline for 10 years, it said. The company, Taiwan’s first private airline, said in November last year it would spend around Tw$3 billion ($100 million) to launch Taiwan’s first
The latest sales also signal improving demand in China after Japanese automakers were hammered in 2012 by a damaging consumer boycott in the world’s biggest vehicle market that was sparked by a territorial spat between Tokyo and Beijing. Toyota has also announced plans to develop components for hybrid vehicles with two Chinese automakers, in an unprecedented technology-sharing deal aimed at increasing green car sales in the fast-growing market. The move marked shift away from Japanese carmakers’ traditional reluctance over such deals for fear of losing their competitive edge. Previously, Toyota would make key
low-cost airline catering to the needs of Taiwanese travelers. TransAsia plans initially to lease two to three brand-new Airbus A320/ A321 planes and hopes to start flying by year’s end. TransAsia -- which flies to Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam -- has been expanding as it benefits from increased revenues from new China routes that have opened up in recent years as relations between Beijing and Taipei have improved. Demand for discount flights has been rising in Asia. Twelve foreign budget airlines, including Malaysia-based AirAsia and Japan’s Peach Aviation, offer services to and from Taiwan. Taiwan’s leading carrier China Airlines announced in December that it would set up a new no-frills airline in a joint venture with Singapore’s budget carrier Tigerair, expected to become operational in 2014 with three A-320s.
components such as batteries and motors in high-cost Japan and then ship them to joint ventures overseas. But that drove up the price of models such as its Prius, which has seen sluggish sales in China. China’s pollution problem has stoked big demand for environmentally friendly cars, such as electric and fuel-cell vehicles, while officials have promised stricter emissions standards to deal with the mushrooming public-health issue. Toyota’s shares fell 1.32 percent to 6,256 yen in Tokyo before the sales figures were published.
Georgia Asian Times February 1-15, 2014
EVENT
L-R: Kim Chi Ngo and Brenda Tran, President of GVACC.
Noy Bozarth (front) and friends
Violinist Ken Ford
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Georgia Vietnamese American Chamber of Comemrce Jan 17, 2014 Happy Valley
Nick Masimo (right) with fellow members of Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.
L-R: Tim Le and Maria Kendricks
L-R: Marcellius, TJ Ward, Esrella Cramer
Evi Puspatri singing a Whiteny Houston tune.
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EVENT
February 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
National Association of Chinese Americans - Chinese New Year Banquet, Jan 25, 2014
Lion dance performance at the NACA Banquet.
L-R: Lani Wong, Chair of NACA, Lisa Borders, Chair of Coca-Cola Foundation, Hon. Li Guixi, Dep Consul General of PRC, Houston.
Members of NACA Mentorship Development Team.
L-R: Dr. John Wong, Lani Wong, Dr. Jennifer Wong
NACA receiving a $10K donation from Coca-Cola Foundation for its Mentorship Program.
Student volunteers from Georgia Tech.
Deputy Consul General of PRC speaking with a guest.
Lani Wong presenting a $5K donation to Good Shepherd Services Atlanta.
NACA presenting a $8K donation to GPC School of Nursing.
Georgia Asian Times February 1-15, 2014
EVENT
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Chinese Community Center-Lunar New Year Banquet, Jan 31, 2014 Westin Atlanta Perimeter North
Jimmy Ho, President of Chinese Community Center welcoming guests to the banquet.
Laura Seydell Turner and Sue Everhart, former Chair of Georgia Republican Party.
William Pu, Cynthia Sulko, Amy Cheng, Mimi Tam and Professor Chin-Cheng Hung.
Mr. & Mrs. Steven Tai, Direcor General of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office Atlanta.
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February 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
MEDICAL SCIENCE
Transplant tissue: Stem cells in ‘revolutionary’ boost
PARIS, January 29, 2014 (AFP) Scientists Wednesday reported a simple way to turn animal cells back to a youthful, neutral state, a feat hailed as a “game-changer” in the quest to grow transplant tissue in the lab. The research, reported in the journal Nature, could be the third great advance in stem cells -- a futuristic field that aims to reverse Alzheimer’s, cancer and other crippling or lethal diseases. The latest breakthrough comes from Japan, as did its predecessor which earned its inventor a Nobel Prize. The new approach -- provided it overcomes safety hurdles -- could smash cost and technical barriers in stem-cell research, said independent commentators. “If it works in man, this could be the game-changer that ultimately makes a wide range of cell therapies available using the patient’s own cells as starting material,” said Chris Mason, a professor of regenerative medicine at University College London. “The age of personalised medicine will have arrived.” Stem cells are primitive cells that, as they grow, differentiate into the
various specialised cells that make up the different organs -- the brain, the heart, kidney and so on. The goal is to create stem cells in the lab and nudge them to grow into these differentiated cells, thus replenishing organs damaged by disease or accident. One of the obstacles, though, is ensuring that these transplanted cells are not attacked as alien by the body’s immune system. To achieve that, the stem cells would have to carry the patient’s own genetic code, to identify them as friendly. In 1998 came the first gain: the use of cloning technology -- pioneered with Dolly the sheep -- to harvest stem cells from early-stage embryos grown from the donor’s own DNA. Hugely versatile, these “pluripotent” stem cells are controversial as the method entails destroying the embryo, something opposed by religious conservatives and others. In 2006, a team led by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University, who was a co-recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize for Medicine, created so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS).
With this, the team took mature cells and coded them with four genes, “rewinding” the cells’ genetic programmes to return them to a juvenile state. The technique had to overcome an early hurdle of causing tumours in cells and still faces problems with efficiency -- less than one percent of adult cells typically are reprogrammed successfully. The latest breakthrough, pioneered by Haruko Obokata at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, takes an entirely different and surprisingly low-tech approach.
Hallmarks of pluripotency White blood cells in newborn mice were returned to a versatile state by incubating them in a solution with high acidity for 25 minutes, followed by a five minute spin in a centrifuge and a seven-day spell of immersion in a growth culture. Called stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency (STAP) cells, the innovation breaks new ground. Until now, only plant cells, and not mammal cells, have been found
to reprogramme back to a youthful state through simple environmental factors. “These STAP cells show all the hallmarks of pluripotency,” Obokata said Tuesday in an Internet briefing with journalists. STAP cells appear to have a limited ability to self-renew, and it has yet to be seen if they can be acquired from humans. Only much later may trials in humans follow. It took 13 years before the first trials with embryonic stem cells, and six years before the first iPS trials. Dusko Ilic, a stem-cell scientist at Kings College London, said the approach “is indeed revolutionary.” But he cautioned: “It does not bring stem cell-based therapy closer.” “We will need to use the same precautions for the cells generated in this way as for the cells isolated from embryos or reprogrammed with a standard method,” he said in comments reported by London’s Science Media Centre.
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SPORTS
Olympics: US in no panic without ‘racehorse’ Vonn
Seatlle Seahawks persevere to win Super Bowl glory EAST RUTHERFORD, February 3, 2014 - Critics told Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson he was too short to play the position, and many thought a hip injury would sideline Seahawks receiver Percy Harvin all season. Now both are Super Bowl champions thanks to their perseverance. Wilson threw two touchdown passes, while Harvin returned the second-half kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown Sunday as Seattle ripped Denver 43-8 in Super Bowl 48. Wilson, 25, is in only his second National Football League season after being a third-round NFL Draft pick, in part because he stands just under 6 feet (1.8m). “So many people told me I couldn’t do it,” Wilson said. “It’s kind of surreal. I wanted to go against the odds and it’s just tremendous. It feels unbelievable.” Wilson became only the second African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl after Doug Williams, who guided Washington to the 1988 Super
Bowl title. “That’s history right there,” Wilson said. “It doesn’t matter what you look like. It doesn’t matter if you are black, white, Latino, Asian. “It doesn’t matter how many people tell you no. It’s the heart you have. That’s what I try to prove every day.” Harvin made his big play after missing most of the season following hip surgery. “It’s unreal. I can’t even explain it,” Harvin said. “It’s incredible. It means everything to me. The way this team stood behind me, backed me up all year, it means a lot. “They had so much belief in me even when I wasn’t practicing.” Wilson completed 18-of-25 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns, and together with a relentless defense that forced four turnovers, they brought Seattle a first Super Bowl title and a downtown victory parade on Wednesday.
SANKT JOHANN IM PONGAU, January 22, 2014 - In a brightly lit gym in the middle of Austria, Leanne Smith, Stacey Cook and Laurenne Ross take turns exercising with massive weights that look about as heavy as they are. That’s just a “light set”, says Wade Bishop, assistant coach and conditioning coach for the US women’s speed team. With ski star Lindsey Vonn out of the Olympics due to a knee injury, the task has fallen to her teammates to bring home the medals. And in the run-up to the Games in Sochi on February 7-23, it’s a delicate balance between training enough to be ready on time and affording the athletes a few breaks so they don’t arrive in the Black Sea resort already exhausted. After a good last season, when six different skiers landed a World Cup podium in the speed disciplines, it’s been a “rough start” this year, said US women’s coach Alex Hoedlmoser. So far, only teenage ski star Mikaela Shiffrin has made podiums on the US women’s side -- in the slalom. She is a favorite now to take gold in Sochi. In the speed disciplines however -- super-G and downhill -- the results
are still missing from the likes of Julia Mancuso, Smith, Cook and Ross despite good training form. “It’s really hard to explain, everyone has been skiing really well it’s just a matter of putting it in the races,” said Mancuso, who hopes to add a fourth Olympic medal to her collection come February. “Right now the stuff in the head is a little bit missing. Everything else is in place so we’ve just got to keep working so that the confidence comes back and then they’re going to be fine,” added Hoedlmoser. Losing Vonn, the US’s most successful female skier ever, was “a huge setback... we lost our best racehorse,” he admitted. But “by the time the Olympics come, I think they’ll be ready to step in for Lindsey. “Those girls just need to go and get that first medal right away and then we’ve got to keep that ball rolling.” For Vonn’s teammates, the Olympic champion’s absence was a blow. “Knowing that someone from the US team will always be good helps the team environment, so we definitely miss having Lindsey in full health and
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SPORTS competing,” said Mancuso. But “as much as you want your teammates to do well... in the end, it’s really an individual sport so we just want to do well for ourselves.”
The aim is “to get yourself ready so you’re ready to peek in February.” Even then, the challenge in Sochi will be to focus on the task ahead.
That means finding the right equipment, keeping in top shape, but also allowing a break once in a while.
“That can be hard with a lot of distractions that come with big events like that,” said the 26-year-old.
At the gym in Sankt Johann, Smith and Ross almost put the local guys to shame as they did sets of squats, pull-ups and deadlifts after a gruelling super-G race.
“But you just have to be able to zone out and know what you need to do.”
The plan for the next day was relaxation and an excursion to nearby Salzburg for a little sightseeing, including the locations where “The Sound of Music” was filmed. “It’s important to taper and be careful with how much you’re doing,” said Smith, who will be participating in her second Olympics in Sochi.
Staff and athletes are in any case confident that all the good pre-season work and current race practice will soon pay off. “There’s some urgency to get things going,” said Hoedlmoser. “But there’s no panic in this team... We are going to get out of this little hole that we’re in right now.”
Short track: Russia’s Ahn looking to upstage Asian rivals PARIS, January 22, 2014 (AFP) Russia’s Victor Ahn will be looking to upstage his native South Korea and put the Olympic hosts on the medals table for the first time in short track speed skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Ahn, formerly known as Ahn HyunSoo, is the only short-tracker to win four medals in one Olympics with his three gold and bronze in 2006 for South Korea before falling out with the team, and after failing to qualify for the 2010 Vancouver Games he switched citizenship to compete for Russia. Russia warmed up for Sochi by dominating the European championships at the weekend with 28-year-old Ahn taking three titles as the Olympic hosts won ten medals in total including five gold in Dresden, Germany. Ahn won the 500m, 1000m and 3000m, with Semen Elistratov winning over 1500m and the 5000m men’s re-
lay, in a competition which saw Dutch speedskater Sjinkie Knegt disqualified for flicking a V sign at Ahn after losing the 5,000m relay. The pair will renew their rivalry in Sochi. Russia have never medalled in Olympic short track although a Unified Team competing following the breakup of the former Soviet Union in the 1992 Games won bronze in the women’s 3000m relay. Big names such as American Apolo Anton Ohno, the only short tracker to win eight Olympic medals, will be missing this time, with the duel between China and South Korea set to heat up the Iceberg Arena as other nations such as Canada bid to get a look in on a sport where dramatic crashes can lead to unexpected results. Short track has been an Olympic
event since the 1992 Albertville Games and includes eight events - 500m, 1,000m, and 1,500m individually for both men and women and the relays men’s 5000m and women’s 3000m. Four years ago in Vancouver, China won four titles, and South Korea went home with eight medals including two gold, as the Asian nations ruled the rink, although hosts Canada got five medals, with the United States and Italy also getting on the medals table. The two Asian nations are always strong, but this time around China have been weakened as four-time Olympic champion Wang Meng, winner of the 500m in both 2006 and 2010, is doubtful to compete with an ankle injury. Wang, also won gold over 1,000m in Vancouver, but her title sweep hit the wall when she crashed in the 1,500m. She helped the team win the 3,000 relay gold. The loss of the 28-year-old would be a bitter blow, as she took three of China’s four gold medals in Vancouver. Chinese women’s hopes are lying with Fan Kexin, two-time world champion over 500m, and their relay teams.
South Korea are counting on their protege Shim Suk-hee, already winner of the last two World Cups at just 17 years, and formidable over 1000m and 1500m. Canada can count on their golden couple Marianne St-Gelais, the Olympic runner-up in 2010 over 500m and in the relay, and her boyfriend Charles Hamelin, Olympic champion in the 500m and relay. For his third Olympics 28-year-old Hamelin insists that he has “never been so strong, quick and efficient in his tactical choices”. His rivals should be South Korean Lee Han-bin, China’s Dajing Wu and American JR Celski, 23, a two-time bronze medallist in Vancouver. South Korea leads the all-time short track medal tally at the Olympics with 19 gold medals and 37 overall. The speed skating takes place at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi from February 10-21.
Georgia Asian Times February 1-15, 2014
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HEALTH Sunlight helps blood pressure risk PARIS, January 20, 2014 – Sunlight may help to reduce high blood pressure, a danger factor for heart attacks and stroke, a study published in a specialist journal said on Monday. British researchers found exposure to sunlight alters the level of nitric oxide in the skin, dilating blood vessels and thus easing hypertension. “Small amounts of NO [nitric oxide] are transferred from the skin to the circulation, lowering blood vessel tone,” said Martin Feelisch, a professor of experimental medicine at the University of Southampton in southern England. “As blood pressure drops, so does the risk of heart attack and stroke.” high-blood-pressureThe team analysed 24 volunteers who were exposed to ultraviolet (UVA) light from tanning lamps for two 20-minute sessions. In one session, the volunteers were exposed to both the UVA rays and the heat of the lamps. In the second, the UV was blocked so that only the heat of the lamps affected the skin. The findings back up data about blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, which are known to vary according to season and latitude. Higher levels are observed in winter and in countries that are farther from the equator, where ultraviolet from the sun is lower. “These results are significant to the ongoing debate about potential health benefits of sunlight and the role of Vitamin D in this process,” Feelisch said in a press release. “Avoiding excess sunlight exposure is critical to prevent skin cancer, but not being exposed to it at all, out of fear or as a result of a certain lifestyle, could increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.” The investigation appears in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
Cigarettes more dangerous than ever: US health report WASHINGTON, January 17, 2014 - Smoking cigarettes can cause even more health problems than previously known, including liver and colon cancer, blindness, diabetes and erectile dysfunction, said a major US government report on Friday. Top health officials gathered at the White House to announce the latest Surgeon General’s findings on smoking, five decades after the first landmark report of its kind alerted the public that cigarettes caused lung cancer. Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of premature death in the United States, killing nearly half a million Americans a year. “Amazingly, 50 years in we are still finding out new ways that tobacco maims and kills people,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Thomas Frieden. “Tobacco is even worse than we knew it was.”
Active smoking is now known to be a cause of 13 different cancers, as well as diabetes and age-related macular degeneration, said the report. Smoking can also cause tuberculosis, erectile dysfunction, facial clefts in babies, ectopic pregnancy, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation, impaired immune function, and worsens the outlook for cancer patients and survivors.
“Smokers today have a greater risk of developing lung cancer than they did when the first Surgeon General’s report was released in 1964, even though they smoke fewer cigarettes,” said Lushniak. “How cigarettes are made and the chemicals they contain have changed over the years, and some of those changes may be a factor in higher lung cancer risks.”
Those who do not smoke but are exposed to second-hand smoke face an increased risk of stroke, said the report.
The smoking rate is way down in the United States. Eighteen percent of people here now smoke, compared to 42 percent five decades ago.
Since the first report in 1964, more than 20 million people in the United States have died from smoking-related diseases and illnesses caused by second-hand smoke.
But if the rate does not drop further, one in 13 children alive today will be felled by a disease linked to smoking, the report added.
“Enough is enough,” said Acting Surgeon General Boris Lushniak, warning that modern cigarettes are more potent and more dangerous than ever.
“We have made a lot of progress,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “But we are still a country very much addicted to tobacco.”
Genetic causes of schizophrenia are multiple: study PARIS, January 22, 2014 - Schizophrenia is caused by a large number of rare genetic mutations rather than a few, easily-identifiable faulty genes, said scientists who compiled the world’s largest database on the debilitating disorder. Two studies published Wednesday in the journal Nature said the genetic triggers for the mental illness that affects about one in 100 people were far more complex than previously thought. Gathering data from nearly 7,000 people in Bulgaria and Sweden, two teams of scientists said genes implicated in schizophrenia worked in clusters to disrupt specific proteins. They tend to be part of gene networks that govern signalling between brain cells, or deal with learning and memory, the researchers said.
The “finding is sobering but also revealing: it suggests that many genes underlie risk for schizophrenia and so any two patients are unlikely to share the same profile of risk genes,” said Shaun Purcell of the Broad Institute in Massachusetts. “These types of studies should provide a firm base from which we can chart a course toward the ultimate goal of subtyping patients and offering a more personalised treatment path than the one-size-fits-all approach currently used.” One of the studies compared the genetic sequences of 2,500 schizophrenia patients in Sweden with the same number of healthy individuals, looking for sites and patterns of mutations. The other compared the gene se-
quences of more than 600 sufferers and their parents in “Both studies yielded further evidence that the disorder arises from the combined effects of many genes -- a condition known as ‘polygenicity’,” said a Broad Institute statement. “The studies also suggest that genetic alterations tended to cluster in a few networks of functionally-related genes.” Schizophrenia is a chronic, often debilitating illness, afflicting about 2.4 million adults in the United States alone. Symptoms include hallucinations, delusions and paranoia.
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February 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
Misc Asia
HK tycoon doubles bounty to marry off gay daughter Singapore FM slams ‘deeply offensive’ remarks by British expat SINGAPORE, January 23, 2014 - A Singapore-based British wealth manager’s Facebook posts deriding public transport commuters as poor are “deeply offensive, wrong, and unacceptable”, the city-state’s foreign minister said Thursday. Furious Internet users lashed out at Porsche-driving Anton Casey, who is married to a former Singapore beauty queen, after he referred to public transport users as “poor people” in a post on the social network. The 39-year-old, a Singapore permanent resident, had also referred to washing “the stench of public transport off me” in another post. “Like many Singaporeans, I am terribly upset and offended by what he (Casey) has posted. Deeply offensive, wrong, and unacceptable,” Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam, who is also the country’s law minister, said in a post on Facebook. “Those who have done well in life should always be looking out for others -- especially the less well-off or needy. It is basic human decency. Instead Mr Casey showed contempt,” he added. Casey on Wednesday apologized for his remarks in a statement issued through a public relations firm, but many Internet users remain unsatis-
fied. “Some feel that the manner of his apology showed a lack of sincerity. And I think there is some basis for thinking that,” Shanmugam said. However the minister appealed to Singaporeans to spare Casey’s family from online abuse. “We, Singaporeans, can be bigger than that,” he wrote. One of Casey’s posts showed a picture of a boy, apparently his five-yearold son, sitting inside a metro train with a caption above the photo saying: “Daddy, where is your car & who are all these poor people?” Another showed a waving boy sitting inside a silver convertible Porsche, with a caption saying: “Ahhhhhhhh reunited with my baby. Normal service can resume, once I have washed the stench of public transport off me.” On Wednesday Casey said that his Facebook page had been “breached” and his family had “suffered extreme emotional and verbal abuse online”. The Briton’s employer, Crossinvest (Asia) Pte Ltd, said it does not condone his comments which “were made in poor taste”.
HONG KONG, January 23, 2014 - A Hong Kong tycoon may double a “marriage bounty” to find a male suitor for his gay daughter to US$130 million, despite his initial offer attracting 20,000 candidates, a report said.
of money to my charity Faith in Love, provided they don’t mind that I already have a wife.
Two years ago, wealthy property developer Cecil Chao made global headlines by offering a reward of HK$500 million ($65 million) to any man who could persuade daughter Gigi to marry.
Gigi is reported to have married Eav in a ceremony in France in 2012, though same-sex marriages are not recognized in Hong Kong.
“Third and lastly, thank you Daddy, I love you too,” she said.
He is now considering increasing his offer, a report in a Malaysian financial publication said.
Chao’s initial dowry offer issued the same year attracted 20,000 responses from around the world but failed to change Gigi’s mind.
The 77-year-old tycoon “hinted this figure could be doubled (to HK $1 billion) if someone could capture her heart”, The Edge said.
She has thus far taken her father’s behavior in her stride, previously telling a newspaper she believed it was an indication of how much he loved her.
“I don’t want to interfere with my daughter’s private life. I only hope for her to have a good marriage and children as well as inherit my business,” Chao told the publication.
But she told the SCMP she had repeatedly asked him to stop mentioning the financial reward to the press.
But this fresh attempt at a financial sweetener for any man who can win Gigi’s heart has left her upset and her female partner of nine years Sean Eav “distraught”, the South China Morning Post said. “I don’t think my dad’s offering of any amount of money would be able to attract a man I would find attractive,” the 33-year-old daughter told the Hong Kong newspaper. “I would be happy to befriend any man willing to donate huge amounts
British movie maker Sacha Baron Cohen is reportedly working on a film based on the story. Neither Gigi nor Chao, who owns publicly listed property developer Cheuk Nang, could be reached for comment on Thursday. Chao is a fixture of Hong Kong high society and regularly appears at public events with his latest young girlfriend. He reportedly once claimed to have slept with 10,000 women.
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Misc Asia
Man-eating Indian tiger shot dead in south India NEW DELHI, January 23, 2014 Forest officials in southern India have shot dead a tiger suspected of killing three people, ending its three-week reign of terror which forced dozens of schools to close, police said Thursday. Forest workers spotted and shot the female tiger in a tea plantation in Tamil Nadu state after trying to trap it with the help of elephants and sniffer dogs, motion detection cameras and cages laced with meat. The tiger had killed a woman working on the tea plantation in Nilgiris district last week -- the third victim since January 4 -- prompting 45 schools and popular holiday maker resorts in the area to shut down. “Last evening, we spotted the animal in a forest area near a village and had to shoot it,” Nilgiris police chief Senthil Kumar told AFP from the area, some 30 miles from the city of Coimbatore. “Now everyone is relieved, everything is back to normal. Schools and resorts have also reopened.”
The beast had also attacked and killed many animals, angering local villagers who joined the hunt to kill the wild cat, reports said. There were searches earlier this month at the other end of the country for a tiger believed to have killed four people in Uttar Pradesh state. The animal is thought to have strayed from a nearby tiger reserve. Conservationists blame towns and villages encroaching on tigers’ natural habitats for the deadly incidents occasionally reported in India. India is home to some 1,700 tigers -- half of the world’s rapidly shrinking wild tiger population -- but has been struggling to halt the big cats’ decline in the face of poachers, international smuggling networks and loss of habitat. The country has seen its tiger population plummet from an estimated 40,000 upon independence in 1947.
South Korean plastic surgeon faces fine for ‘jawbone towers’ SEOUL, January 23, 2014 - A South Korean plastic surgeon faces a fine after building “bone towers” in his Gangnam district clinic filled with jawbone shards from hundreds of patients, a local official said Thursday. The 23.6 inch glass structures were filled with jawbone parts removed during surgery, said the official at the Gangnam district office in Seoul. The clinic specializes in jaw procedures, which are very popular in South Korea, especially among women aspiring to a thinner facial look with a V-shaped chin. A photo of the “bone towers” posted on the clinic’s website was removed after it went viral on the Internet, drawing a storm of online criticism. “This is the most gross, disgusting image I’ve seen in recent memory,” tweeted @dadaibadi. The local official said it also contravened regulations requiring the disposal and incineration of body parts removed in medical procedures.
“We visited the clinic after some people filed complaints and plan to slap a fine of three million won ($2,796),” the official, who declined to be identified, told AFP. “Plus it does look unseemly,” said the official, who added that the clinic had now removed the twin structures. Nobody at the clinic was immediately available for comment. The upscale Gangnam district -made famous by South Korean singer Psy’s global hit “Gangnam Style” -- is home to high-end stores and apartments as well as hundreds of plastic surgery clinics. Looks-obsessed South Korea is famed for its vast plastic surgery industry that incorporates radical procedures including double-jaw surgery for purely cosmetic reasons.