Covering The Multicultural Asian American Community in Georgia
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Americans would give up TV before Internet
March 1-15, 2014
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March 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
Georgia Asian Times March 1-15, 2014
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GAT Calendar of Events Publisher: Li Wong Account Manager: Adrian West Contributors: Andrian Putra, May Lee, Mark Ho Photography: Ben Hioe, Rendy Tendean
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GAT welcome submission of announcement pertaining to community related events. Please email event, date, venue, and time to gat@gasiantimes.com. GAT does not guarantee insertion of event announcement and has the right to deny any posting.
Affordable Care Act Town Hall with Sen Curt Thompson and Rep. Pedro Marin Sponsored by Peach State Health Plan, NACA, and CPACS Date: Saturday, March 1, 2014 Time: 11:00 am - 1:00 pm Venue: Gwinnett Place Mall, 2100 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth Seminar on RFID Presentation by Dr. Giselle Bennett, GA Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering & Louis Tseng, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Organized by Monte Jade Science and Technology Association Date: Sunday, March 2, 2014 Time: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Venue: Chinese Culture Center - 5379 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee, GA 30341 Free & open to public. Unresolved History: “Comfort Women� and Confronting Painful Legacies of the Past in Asia A talk and open discussion by Therese Park Organized by GSU Center for Collaborative and International Arts Date: Thursday, March 6, 2014 Time: 11:00 am Venue: Troy Moore Library, 9th Floor, Langdale Hall, Georgia State University For more info: 404-413-5013 The Northern Wind: Forced Journey to North Korea Reading and Lecture by Therese Park Organized by GSU Center for Collaborative and International Arts Date: Friday, March 7, 2014 Time: 11:00 am Venue: Centennial Hall Auditorium, 100 Auburn Avenue For more info: 404-413-5013 Conyers Cherry Blossom Festival Date: March 22-23, 2014 Time: 10:00 am -5:00 pm Venue: Georgia International Horse Park
Conyers, Georgia Free admission with $5 parking For more info: www.conyerscherryblossomfest.com 9th Annual Laotian American Society Fundraiser Date: Saturday, March 29, 2014 Time: 6:00 pm - 12:00 midnight Venue: Grand Ballroom, 6127 Oakbrook Parkway, Norcross GA 30093 For more info: www.lasga.org GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia ~ Awards Presentation Date: Thursday, July 10, 2014 Time: 6:30 pm Venue: TBA Sponsorship opportunities available For more info: gat25@gasiantimes. com Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival Atlanta Date: Saturday, September 13, 2014 Time: 7:00 am - 5:00 pm Venue: Clarks Bridge - Kayaking Facility, Lake Lanier, Gainesville For more info: www.dragonboatatlanta.com 10th Atlanta Asian Film Festival Date: October 10-24, 2014 Venues: TBA For more info: www.atlaff.org
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March 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
METRO ASIAN NEWS “There are no evidence that English-only policies promotes public safety. There are no evidence a disproportionately higher number of accidents or that non-English speaking drivers cause accidents because that they cannot read overhead road signs. Simply claiming there is a public safety issue is not true,” argued Ho. Almost every state in the U.S. provides some form of language assistance to non-English speaking persons seeking a driver license.
2 Controversial Senate Bills Riled Asian American Community Atlanta, February 26, 2014 — Two controversial resolutions have been proposed at the Georgia Senate that could negatively impact immigrants including Asian residents in Georgia. Senator Dan Balfour sponsored Senate Resolution (SR) 1031, which requires the state’s driver’s license exams be given only in English and to amend Georgia’s Constitution to declare English the state’s official language. SR 1031 was approved Monday through a Senate panel and will soon proceed to the Senate floor for a full vote. Senate Bill (SB) 404 is an amendment to Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia, when it is passed will deferred action status from the list of available documents for use in the issuance of a temporary driver’s license or permit.
“Both the English-only legislation and Driver License Bill are unlawful, costly, and potentially harmful to citizens,” said Helen Kim Ho, Executive Director of Asian American Legal Advocacy Center (AALAC).
“For new immigrants to integrate and become vibrant members of our society, we must provide an equal way to get there. Equality and freedom from government oppression was what our country was founded on, and these policies would not provide,” said Ho. Georgia has been in the forefront in economic development and attracting foreign direct investments from overseas especially Asia. Georgia has one of the fastest growing Asian American population in the country.
“Georgia can’t afford to have a unfriendly reputation to immigrants,” said Ho, who asks the general public to rally against the proposed Senate bills. General public especially Asian Americans are encourage to call their Senators immediately to vote against SR 1031 and SB 404. The bills are being read in the Senate and may be brought for votes by next week.
Telephone petition: Call Senator Jeff Mullis (404) 656-0057 or Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle (404) 656-5030.
Visit online petition: http://www.change.org/ petitions/georgia-senate-ruleschair-jeff-mullis-lieutenant-governor-casey-cagle-vote-no-to-senate-resolution-1031-and-senatebill-404-stop-hurting-immigrantsin-georgia#share
The existing state’s driver license written test is provided in approximately 14 different languages, with Korean, Japanese, and Spanish being the top three languages. Over 60,000 Georgians sits for the written test in a non-English language annually, according to AALAC. “If this resolution becomes law, tens of thousands of Georgia citizens will be impacted. It will impact thousands from driving and rob many citizens from state identifications cards that people use to open bank accounts, utility services, and other basic services.”
SB 404 will prevent individual who has deferred action status from obtaining temporary driver’s license.
“English-only driver license violate existing Federal law and could rob Georgia’s much of needed federal funds,” added Ho.
The Asian American Legal Advocacy Center (AALAC) organized an emergency meeting among Pan Asian community leaders and activists to strategize advocacy steps to defeat SR 1031 and SB 404.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and a related Executive Order requires any agencies that receive federal funding to provide language assistance for segment of populations that are limited English proficient.
Rep. Pedro Marin shares his insights on the proposed Senate resolutions that may negatively impact Georgia’s immigrants ability to get driver license.
Georgia Asian Times March 1-15, 2014
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METRO ASIAN NEWS Georgia health officials warn of potential phone scam Atlanta, February 25, 2014 – The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) encourages Georgia residents to be extremely cautious when participating in health-related telephone surveys. Several residents have complained to DPH about suspicious phone calls.
Georgia cautiously optimistic about 2014 economy, says GSU’s Economic Forecasting Center Atlanta, February 26, 2013 - After an excellent 2013 in which Georgia’s unemployment rate dropped by a percentage point and added 89,200 jobs, a 40% increase over 2012, the state should expect a slight moderation in 2014 largely due to international headwinds and unease over stock market gains, according to Rajeev Dhawan of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business. “All this news is pretty good when considered in terms of averages for the year,” Dhawan writes in his Forecast of Georgia and Atlanta, released today. “However, the halo loses some of its aura when parsed in terms of a timeline of events and the factors behind that performance.” The timeline includes job growth and income numbers for 2013 that are masked by averages. “Georgia’s job creation pace was accelerating steadily in the first half of 2013,” Dhawan says, “But after peaking in early fall, it started to decelerate.” Dhawan attributes this slowdown to global headwinds, most notably manufacturing in China, and government drama regarding the debt ceiling. The effects of these issues will play out through the beginning of 2014.
Despite these statewide concerns, certain sectors are thriving. “If it wasn’t for the good growth performance of the retail and hospitality sectors, job growth in the second half of 2013 would have been abysmal,” Dhawan writes. Jobs were also added in the manufacturing sector in the second half of 2013, which will continue to add jobs in this year. Dhawan also believes that multi-family housing permits will continue to be issued at an impressive clip causing construction employment gains for 2014. An event to watch out for will be the growth of Atlanta as the gateway for transportation of goods in the Southeast. Dhawan believes that the increase of goods travelling through the Port of Savannah will lead to growth in Atlanta’s transportation sector. “We still get the majority of basic goods from abroad, which must be transported from ports via the trucking industry.” Ultimately, 2014 will be a waitand-see year for the state, according to Dhawan. “Stock market volatility, which is going to be a regular feature this year, will keep consumers more cautious then they have been.” As a
phone-scamMany of the calls come from area codes outside of Georgia. In some instances, the caller asks questions about medical and surgical information after telling the recipient that they are with the “department of health.” One resident reported the caller asked to speak to her teenage daughter. In other calls, the caller asks questions about ethnicity and religion, among others, and may be trying to sell goods or services. DPH’s Office of the Inspector General is investigating the phone calls.
DPH’s inspector general, who is exploring whether the calls are connected to fraud. “We do know the calls are not coming from the Georgia Department of Public Health.” DPH does occasionally use telephone surveys to gain information on health trends and it is important to understand the difference. DPH: · Will never ask for religious information · Will never ask for credit card information · Will never try to sell goods or services · Will always provide call back or contact information for verification Residents with questions or those wishing to report a suspicious call should contact DPH’s Office of Inspector General at (404) 656-4409 or reportdphfraud@dhr.state.ga.us
“Right now, we do not know the real reason for the calls or what the caller is truly looking for,” said Rick Keheley,
result, growth and investment from the corporate sector will moderate. “That demand will be justified only when the global economy, including China, is firing on full cylinders to benefit Fortune 500 companies located in Atlanta. That normalcy is still quite a while away.” Highlights from the Economic Forecasting Center’s Report for Georgia and Atlanta: · Georgia employment grew by 89,200 jobs in calendar year 2013, and will slow slightly in calendar 2014 with 85,100 new jobs, including 16,900 premium jobs. It will improve in 2015 with 96,600 jobs (20,200 premium jobs), and further in 2016 with 103,900 jobs (21,900 premium jobs). · State unemployment will average 7.3% in 2014, drop further to 6.7% in
2015 and to 6.2% in 2016. Nominal personal income will rise 4.7% in 2014, 5.1% in 2015 and 5.7% in 2016. · In calendar year 2014, Atlanta will add 57,500 jobs, including 12,000 premium jobs. In 2015, it will add 64,600 jobs (15,300 premium jobs), and in 2016, another 69,800 jobs (16,400 premium jobs). · Atlanta housing permits will increase by only 0.4% to 24,168 in 2014. Permitting activity will grow by a better 6.7% in 2015 as single-family permits grow by 9.3%, and will pick up in 2016 to 15.4% for a total of 29,750 permits – higher than 2008 levels.
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March 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
EXECUTIVE PROFILE
Koji Akaboshi Food & Beverage Director Four Seasons Hotel, Atlanta
Seasoned Hotelier Enjoying Southern Hospitality Koji Akaboshi is not your average Food and Beverage Director. For the past seventeen years with the Four Seasons Hotel group, he has traveled the world honing his skills and an eye for professional details at various hotel properties. Koji started his career upon earning his degree in hotel management from the University of Denver in 1997. “My first assignment was practical training work at the Four Seasons Hotel in Maui, Hawaii,” said Akaboshi with a smile.gree in hotel management from the University of Denver in 1997. Born in Sao Paolo, Brazil to Japanese parents, Koji has a natural flair for languages as he speaks fluent Japanese, Spanish, and English.
Koji’s father worked as a senior consultant with Japan International Cooperation Agency, an independent governmental agency that coordinates development assistance for the government of Japan. “My father’s job is quite interesting. He advised Latin American countries such as Chile and Ecuador to harvest and to develop seafood industry particularly scallops and oysters for economic development,” said Akaboshi. Upon completion of his practical training, Koji was posted to the Four Seasons Hotel property in Maldives, an island nation located in the Indian Ocean, for 18 months assignment. “It was truly a test for me as a manager — my first official property and I
learned a great deal from the experience,” adds Koji.
Both of them enjoys discovering the diverse food scene in metro Atlanta.
Koji has been with the Four Seasons Hotel in midtown since July 2012. It was his eighth hotel properties that he managed since joining the hotel group.
“On the weekends, you will find both of us venturing into various ethnic restaurants to try out new cuisine,” said Akaboshi with a grin.
Prior to Atlanta, Akaboshi has been posted to Jackson Hole-Wyoming, Miami-Florida, Carmelo-Uruguay, Bahamas, and Sydney-Australia.
Having being posted around the world, the Akaboshi has developed a certain appreciation for food, drinks, and cultures.
“It has been a pleasure for me to learn about the Southern hospitality and culture in Atlanta. Also, I enjoy the diversity of customers that we served at this property,” said Koji.
“When we have a craving for a certain type of food that is not available here — I will try to make it in my home kitchen based on recipes sourced from the internet.”
“I like to innovate and to have fun implementing new ideas in my work. I always like to be ahead of the game.” Koji empowers and inspire his colleagues at the hotel to think alike.
The Akaboshi recently tried their hands on making “Malaysian Laksa” using ingredients bought from local Asian supermarkets.
“A lot of ‘tweaking’ and training are involved with the hotel staffs in making sure everyone is on the same page on delivering exceptional service.” He also like to ensure that his staff are well equipped with the right tools and support to execute their jobs. Koji is married to Kaoru, his lovely wife whom he met working together at the Four Seasons in the Maldives.
“It turns out pretty good. It may not taste exactly 100 percent as in Malaysian restaurant — but it brings me joy eating it.” Koji is enjoying his new surrounding and work life in Atlanta. “Most importantly, I enjoy meeting new friends and learn from the my experiences here,” he said with pleasure.
Georgia Asian Times March 1-15, 2014
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BUSINESS
Loss-saddled Sony to sell its Tokyo ‘birthplace’ TOKYO, February 28, 2014 (AFP) - Sony will sell properties at a prestigious Tokyo site where it had its headquarters for six decades, as the once-world beating firm struggles to improve its bottom line, reports said Friday. The company is looking for a buyer for buildings that once served as the control tower for its sprawling operations, the Nikkei daily said, in a move that stands as neat signifier for the diminished fortunes of the consumer electronic giant. The properties are in the Gotenyama area near Shinagawa railway station, where land prices have been on the rise recently. The properties are expected to fetch around 15 billion yen ($147 million), the economic paper said. Jiji Press news agency the sale was intended to help make up for losses from Sony’s slumping electronics business, which includes television and personal computer operations. Sony declined to comment on the
reports. Several hundred people from the group’s various operations currently work there. In 2007 Sony sold a portion of the site, moving its headquarters to the opposite side of Shinagawa station. Sony started as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo in 1946, the year after Japan’s defeat in World War II. The following year it moved from a different site in the capital to the Gotenyama area, where it grew into a global player built on its groundbreaking Walkman and popular televisions. The Nikkei and Jiji said a museum archiving Sony’s epoch-making products would be one of its few remaining properties there. Sony this month warned it would book a $1.08 billion loss in the fiscal year to March as well as cut 5,000 jobs and exit the stagnant PC market. The embattled company said in January last year it was selling its US headquarters in Manhattan for $1.1 billion.
MtGox seeks court protection after $500m Bitcoin loss TOKYO, February 28, 2014 (AFP) The troubled MtGox Bitcoin exchange filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan Friday, with its chief executive saying it had lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the digital currency in a possible theft. Mark Karpeles, who has not been seen in public for several days, reemerged to tell a press conference that his firm’s digital vaults had been almost completely emptied. “We have lost Bitcoins due to weaknesses in the system,” French-born Karpeles said in Japanese.
“We are really sorry for causing trouble to all the people concerned,” he said, before bowing deeply. The company’s lawyer said 750,000 Bitcoins belonging to customers had gone, along with MtGox’s own store of the currency, which she said was around 100,000 units. That number of Bitcoins would be worth around $477 million dollars, calculated against the price on the Coindesk exchange at 1030 GMT. Karpeles said MtGox had liabilities
of 6.5 billion yen ($64 million) and that around a million users had been affected when hackers broke into the exchange in early February.
culties for the crypto-currency, which is generated by complex chains of interaction among a huge network of computers around the planet.
The global virtual currency community was shaken this week by the shuttering of MtGox, which had frozen withdrawals earlier this month because of what the firm said was a bug in the software underpinning Bitcoin that allowed hackers to pilfer them.
“I was thinking that this sort of thing won’t last long,” said Aso, 73. “I was thinking it would collapse sometime.”
Supporters rallied round, insisting that the Bitcoin itself is sound and the problems lay with MtGox, which they said was badly-managed and unable to cope with the burgeoning popularity of the young currency. Kolin Burges, an investor who has kept vigil outside the Tokyo offices of MtGox for several weeks, said on Twitter on Friday that he would be packing up. “Karpeles in Tokyo says MtGox is bankrupt. 750,000 customer bitcoins stolen & 120,000 company bitcoins stolen. None left #mtgox#mtgoxprotest” he tweeted. He later added: “Packed up #mtgoxprotest for the last time and did leaving interview with Asahi TV. It’s been a wild ride!” The admission that such a huge amount of the crypto-currency has disappeared could add to calls for regulation of an industry that has taken regulators and bankers by surprise.
No authority Japan’s finance minister said earlier Friday he had always thought Bitcoin was suspect and said the country might take action following the MtGox debacle. Taro Aso’s comments came as Vietnam said it was banning banks from using the unit and after chief US central banker Janet Yellen said the Federal Reserve had no powers to control it. Aso, who also serves as deputy prime minister, said he had foreseen diffi-
“Japan is overwhelmingly advanced in this field. In this sense, I was thinking since before that we might face a situation where Japan has to act, but I’d say it came earlier than I thought.” His comments come after Yellen told a Senate hearing that banks under the Fed’s regulatory purview were not involved with Bitcoin, and so it had no powers in the matter. “This is a payment innovation that is taking place entirely outside of the banking industry,” she said. “The Fed doesn’t have authority with respect to Bitcoin.” Yellen pointed to other US regulators, including the Treasury, watching the Bitcoin sector for potential money laundering and other criminal uses of the digital currency. However, she stressed, “it’s not so easy to regulate Bitcoin” because it is used outside the banking system, and has no centralised authority behind, as do regular fiat currencies. Vietnam banned its banks from handling Bitcoin, with the State Bank of Vietnam cautioning: “The ownership, trading and use of Bitcoin and other virtual money as an asset carries potential risks for users.”
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March 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
BUSINESS Taiwan ‘aerotropolis’ plan buoyed by Chinese tourists TAIPEI, February 23, 2014 (AFP) - Taiwan’s ambitions to become a regional air hub finally look set to take off with approval for a mega “aerotropolis” to cash in on improving ties with China and the rise of budget airlines in the region. The ambitious plan to transform the main Taoyuan International Airport into a regional aviation centre is tipped to attract more than $16 billion in investment for the island’s biggest infrastructure project in more than three decades. Covering nearly 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres), the “aerotropolis” will include a free trade zone, a third terminal at the airport and an industrial park to house goods-distribution and aviation-related industries. First mooted in the booming 1990s by the then Kuomintang government, the project stalled after elections in 2000 when the Democratic Progressive Party ended the KMT’s 51-year grip on power. With the KMT now back in power and the economy faltering, President Ma Ying-jeou revived the project during his 2008 re-election campaign. Since then, government agencies have been working out the details of the mammoth undertaking which could generate more than 200,000 jobs. The project is now set to take off from the drawing board after the interior ministry recently gave the nod to its urban development plans. “The approval of the urban development plans marks a major step forward in the development of the Taoyuan aerotropolis project,” Wu Chih-yang, the head of the Taoyuan county government told a recent news conference in Taipei.
“From now on, the project will get off from the paperwork stage,” he said. Wu estimated that within the next 15 years the government and private sector could pour up to Tw$500 billion ($16.5 billion) into the project, the island’s biggest national infrastructure plan since the late 1970s. Up to 260,000 jobs would be created by the project which he said “if properly carried out, could help the economy get up and running again”. Critics and the opposition say the project is intended to help sway voters for mayoral elections in November and the faltering economy has been the biggest source of mounting complaints against Ma’s administration. Once one of Asia’s most dynamic economies, Taiwan grew just 1.48 percent in 2011, 2.11 percent in 2012 and is predicted to rise 2.82 percent this year.
Third terminal Despite the economic gloom, Taiwan has enjoyed a dramatic rise in tourist arrivals, thanks largely to improving ties with former bitter rival China over the past few years.
passenger capacity double to 60 million visits from now. “The airport’s passenger load has seen double-digit growth in the past two years. This definitely had something to do with the improvement of cross-strait ties and direct flight links,” said Wen Yung-sung, spokesman for the Taoyuan Airport Corp, the firm in charge of the airport’s management and development. The rise of budget airlines in the region has also contributed to the massive influx of tourists, helping to bring in lots of young travelers from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Japan, he said.
more than 3,000 hectares of land for infrastructure and other urban design purposes. “We doubt the local government has the ability to execute the biggest ever zone expropriation plan in Taiwan,” said Hsu Po-ren of the Taiwan Rural Front told as many of the residents to be affected have pledged to stop the plans. Around 8,000 households or 30,000 people would be displaced, he said. But officials say they are handling the problem and that Taiwan’s bold aviation plan will go ahead.
Foreign tourists made more than eight million visits to Taiwan last year, up from 3.84 million visits in 2008, according to figures from the tourism bureau.
“We’ve increased staff to handle the thorny zone expropriation issues and stepped up communication with the opponents,” said Huang Sui-peng from the county government. “We believe the (opposition) noise can be reduced and we’re optimistic about the progress of the project.”
A third runway is scheduled for completion by 2020, 10 years earlier than originally scheduled.
A record 2.85 million Chinese nationals visited the island in 2013, up 10 percent from 2012, four years after a decades-old ban on Chinese tourists was lifted. Taiwan also started allowing Chinese solo tourists in mid-2011.
The airport is predicted to see its annual cargo handling capacity nearly triple to 4.5 million tons by 2030, up from 1.7 million tons last year, and
Despite the rosy picture painted by the authorities, opponents have cast a shadow over the project, which requires the compulsory purchase of
Taoyuan International Airport, west of Taipei, had its original terminal renovated last year after three decades in operation as it could not cope with the increased passenger traffic, much of it from China.
Georgia Asian Times March 1-15, 2014
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FEATURE
Americans would give up TV before Internet
WASHINGTON, February 27, 2014 – Americans have become so enamored of the Internet, they would more readily forgo television than online access, a survey showed Thursday. The Pew Research Center survey released ahead of the 25th anniversary of the World Wide Web found 53 percent of US Internet users would find it “very hard” to give up Web access, up from 38 percent in 2006. Even when counting those who don’t go online, Pew said 46 percent of all adults would find it hard to give up the Internet.
By contrast, Pew’s survey showed 35 percent of all US adults television would be very hard to give up, compared with 44 percent in 2006. Women were more likely than men to be attached to the Internet, as were people with higher levels of income and education, Pew said in the report issued ahead of the March 12 anniversary. The cell phone comes in a close second to the Internet: 49 percent of mobile phone owners said it would be difficult to give up their handset, up from 43 percent in 2006. That amounts to 44 percent of all adults who say now that their cell phone would be very hard to live without. Meanwhile landline telephones are losing favor. Just 28 percent of landline telephone owners said it would be a hardship to live without this, a big drop from 48 percent in 2006. Because many people have already dropped their
landlines, the finding means that just 17 percent of all adults would find their landline very hard to give up. Pew noted the spectacular growth in use of the Web, especially since 1995. Some 87 percent of American adults use the Internet, either from a PC or mobile device, up from 14 percent in 1995. Pew also found that Americans are using the Web more often: 71 percent go online on a typical day, compared with 29 percent in 2000. In 1995, 42 percent of US adults had never heard of the Internet and another 21 percent had only a vague notion of what it was. The rise of mobile device use represents the biggest shift in access in recent years: 68 percent of US adults now access the Internet on a cell phone, tablet, or other mobile device, at least occasionally, Pew found. Pew found that 90 percent of US adults have a cell phone and two-thirds of those use their device to go online. A third of cell phone owners say that their primary online access point is their phone.
Mobile access took a huge leap forward with the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, and some 58 percent of adults have a smartphone now.
Web is ‘a good thing’ The report found 90 percent of Internet users say the World Wide Web has been a good thing for them personally and only six percent say it has been a bad thing. Three out of four said it been a good thing for society, while 15 percent say it has been negative. “Using the Web — browsing it, searching it, sharing on it — has become the main activity for hundreds of millions of people around the globe,” Pew said. “Its birthday offers an occasion to revisit the ways it has made the internet a part of Americans’ social lives.”
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March 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
FOCUS
Doctors Without Borders expelled from Burma Paris, February 28, 2014 — Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Friday said Burma’s government has ordered it to “to cease all activities” in the southeast Asian country, leaving tens of thousands of people without proper medical care.
MSF, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999, is the largest provider of treatment for HIV and AIDS in Burma, with over 30,000 patients.
The aid group, which provides primary healthcare in strife-torn western Rakhine state as well as HIV and tuberculosis treatments across Burma, said the move would have a “devastating effect” on its patients.
The group provides primary healthcare services in several remote areas near the border with Bangladesh where impoverished stateless Rohingya Muslim communities live under severe restriction of movement.
“MSF is deeply shocked by this unilateral decision and extremely concerned about the fate of tens of thousands of patients currently under our care across the country,” the group said in a statement, adding it was in discussions with the government to resume services.
MSF has faced increasing pressure in recent weeks after it said it treated injured people in its clinic near the site of a reported mass killing of Rohingya that was strongly denied by the government.
It said clinics across the country, which is also known as Myanmar, were closed Friday for the first time in the aid group’s 22-year history.
Treating stateless Rohingya minority
The organization, which has faced accusations of giving preferential treatment to the stateless Rohingya, said it “guided by medical ethics and the principles of neutrality and impartiality”.
“There is no other medical non-government organization that operates at the scale of MSF with the experience and infrastructure to deliver necessary life-saving medical services,” it said.
MSF also has programs for the treatment of tuberculosis and malaria as well as reproductive health services.
Burma’s health service has been left in tatters after decades of underfunding during a military dictatorship that was replaced by a quasi-civilian regime in 2011.
Earlier Friday, the United States Embassy in Yangon called for free humanitarian access in the former junta-ruled nation.
The US calls for free humanitarian access
“The United States encourages [Burma] to continue to work with the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to communities in need and to ensure unfettered access for humanitarian agencies, in accordance with international standards,” it said. MSF had halted work in Rakhine state since Wednesday because its operating licence has expired, said regional government spokesman Win Myaing earlier, adding the group “might resume their work again”. He denied the move was connected to recent protests against the aid group. Rakhine remains tense after several outbreaks of inter-communal violence
between Buddhist and Muslim communities since 2012 that have killed scores and displaced 140,000 people, mainly from the Rohingya minority. Burma’s government considers the estimated 800,000 Rohingya in the country to be foreigners, while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and view them with hostility.
Georgia Asian Times March 1-15, 2014
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FOCUS
Outgoing US envoy to China urges greater human rights
BEIJING, February 27, 2014 (AFP) - Outgoing US ambassador to China Gary Locke on Thursday urged Beijing to improve its human rights record, in parting remarks just days before he leaves the country. Rights are “universal” values that represent more than economic benefits, he told reporters at the US embassy. gary_locke”We call on China to continue to improve -- well, we call on China to improve its record in this area,” Locke said. “There’s been great prosperity and an increase in the quality of life and the standard of living here in China,” he said. “But human rights is more than economic prosperity and the economic conditions of people, but also fundamental universal rights -- freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, the ability to practice one’s own religion. “We’re very concerned about a
recent increase in arrests of activists and journalists... and we very much are concerned about the arrests and detentions of people who are engaged in peaceful advocacy.” His comments drew an angry response, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying saying that the government “pays high attention to the human rights situation in China”.
The diplomat also earned a reputation as a humble dignitary -- in contrast to many Chinese officials -- after being seen carrying his own luggage and using a regular car. He oversaw two diplomatic dramas in 2012 that required intense negotiation with Chinese authorities.
“Great achievement has been made in all the social undertakings in China,” Hua said, adding: “Those who have no biased political view will see that clearly.”
In February that year Wang Lijun, the right-hand man of Bo Xilai who was then the head of the metropolis of Chongqing, fled to the US consulate in Chengdu, blowing open the scandal surrounding his boss.
“I also want to say that we are firmly opposed to anyone, no matter where they are from, making irresponsible remarks on China’s domestic affairs.”
Wang soon left the premises to be dealt with by Chinese authorities, and was ultimately sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Locke, who arrived in Beijing in August 2011, drew attention during his tenure for traveling far from Beijing to visit ethnic Uighur and Tibetan areas, where rights groups say China imposes tight security along with cultural and religious repression.
A few months later, blind rights activist Chen Guangcheng escaped house arrest in the eastern province of Shandong and sought refuge at the US embassy in Beijing. After days of tense talks involving
then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Chen and his family were allowed to go to the US. Locke, whose grandfather emigrated to the United States from Guangdong province in southern China, was Washington’s first ethnic Chinese ambassador to the country. “I’m proud of my Chinese heritage. I’m proud of the great contributions that China has made to world civilization over thousands of years,” he said Thursday. “But I’m thoroughly American. I’m proud of the great values that America has brought to the entire world and all that America stands for.”
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March 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
TRAVEL
Hedonistic fury awaits as Rio gears for carnival RIO DE JANEIRO, February 28, 2014 — Amid a cacophony of samba drums and sequinned dancers, Rio residents prepared to launch themselves into five days of hedonistic entertainment with the start of the city’s legendary carnival. The metropolis of six-million has been gearing up for weeks for tiday’s official start of the world’s biggest street party, as carnival ‘sovereign’ King Momo receives the keys of the city from the mayor in a symbolic handover of ‘power’ for the duration. Momo this year will be portrayed by Wilson Dias da Costa Neto, a smiling, moonfaced 27-year-old. This year’s festivities are set to be even more frenzied than usual as Brazil prepares to host the World Cup for a month from June 12. A dozen samba schools will go up against each other Sunday and Monday in the Special Parade which will draw around 70,000 spectators to the city’s fabled Sambadrome. The schools, each comprising thousands of performers, will parade along the 700-meter (yard) Marqués de Sapucai avenue leading to the Sambodrome designed by celebrated Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. But countless street groups or ‘blocos’ are also getting in on the act, led by the Cordão da Bola Preta, Rio’s oldest group founded in 1918 which will gather an estimated 1.8 million people. Cordao da Bola Preta means black dot string—according to local lore,
pretty women in polka dot dresses would in days gone by draw the locals out into the streets as if on a string. Dozens of other blocos will also parade in different parts of town—including Sargento Pimenta (Sergeant Pepper), who will Monday pound out Beatles music to a samba beat. Adding to the millions of local revelers, the city hall expects 918,000 tourists to throng the jam-packed streets—some two percent more than last year—with revenues forecast at around $400 million. They will more than make up for those residents who pack their bags at this time of year to escape the din. Police have stepped up security and erected protective scaffold around some buildings in the centre of Rio, which will host seven World Cup matches, including the July 13 final and then welcome the 2016 Olympics. The city has been the scene of sporadic public protests in recent months against political corruption and the multibillion cost of staging two sports extravaganzas. Thursday evening saw the Ocupa Carnaval pressure group hold a spoof mini-carnival, donning Indian headdresses in solidarity with Brazil’s indigenous poor, some of whom have been expelled in recent months from around Rio’s fabled Maracana stadium. Some in the group held aloft giant puppets representing city rulers, their pockets stuffed with money; others linked arms with the tentacles of a
huge black model octopus representing the long reach of corrupt politicians. “But tomorrow’s carnival and that is sacred. There won’t be protests—it’s a valve to let out the frustration with politics,” said one local, Reinaldo Alves dos Santos, yesterday. Cariocas, as Rio residents are known, are renowned for being body conscious to the point of obsession and many of their lurid carnival costumes, depicting anything from devils to nuns, policemen and pirates to nurses, are not for the prudish. With Brazil reaching the end of a sultry Southern Hemisphere summer, sweat will pour down toned bodies, only adding a note of sensuality. Football, Ronaldo, Zico Throughout, the non-stop samba beat will propel the huge gyrating crowd along, each bloco’s line of revelers extending for several hundred meters (yards) down the street, almost merging with neighboring groups.
By Sunday night, some four million people will have let their hair down and many will carry on through Tuesday’s official close and beyond. Rio is, however, by no means alone in its carnival cravings. Northeastern city Salvador de Bahia, the cradle of Brazil’s African heritage, also hosts huge blocos who have since Wednesday been parading in the paved streets of the city’s historic old town Pelourinho. Further north, Recife and neighboring Olinda host thousands of dancers performing the “frevo”, a rhythm inspired by martial arts-cum dance capoeira, led by the “Galo de Madrugada” (morning cockerel) troupe. Business hub Sao Paulo, while more staid than Rio, also has a sambodrome and Saturday will host its own parades, one honoring retired soccer world champion and all-time World Cup top scorer Ronaldo. In Rio, football gets a further nod with the Imperatriz Leopoldinense samba school paying tribute to 1980s star Zico.
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SPORTS
Criminal activity ruled out in Schumacher ski accident Paris, February 17, 2014 (AFP) — Patrick Quincy, a French prosecutor leading the investigation into former Formula One driver Michael Schumacher’s devastating ski accident, announced on Monday that investigators have ruled out the possibility of any criminal wrongdoing in the case. The prosecutor’s office in the eastern French town of Albertville released a statement on Monday in which Quincy said that “no infraction by anyone has been turned up.”
Vincent Tan flays ‘racist’ media, says Cardiff in safe hands LONDON, February 28, 2014 — Controversial Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan has criticised “a little bit racist” British media for projecting him as a villain and ruled out the possibility of the Premier League club changing its team colors back to blue.
gone bust. Because of my investment, we got promoted,” Tan said in an interview with BBC Sport today.
The 62-year-old Malaysian businessman helped finance the team into the top tier of English football for the first time in half a century this season before his leadership style came under increasingly scrutiny.
“Some of my family members really want me to leave. They think it’s not worth it. They think no one is grateful. But you have to be patient, accept the criticism and sometimes the insults.”
“I am now more involved and under my leadership the club will be in good shape.
No villain
Tan, who once operated Malaysia’s most profitable lottery and gambling business, changed the club colours from its traditional blue to red at the start of the 2012-13 season and sacked popular manager Malky Mackay last December to further irk the fans.
Often seen wearing dark glasses and gloves at Cardiff games, Tan said he was not the villain he was made out to be.
Criticism of his leadership approach has only grown but the Malaysian made it clear that he was not stepping down despite the side struggling down in 19th place and three points adrift of safety with a significantly inferior goal difference.
“I wear gloves because it is very cold in the UK. Frankly, sometimes I think they are nuts making all these comments.
“Without me, Cardiff would have
“I wear sunglasses because of the glare of the spotlights,” he said.
“The British press is unfair... maybe because we didn’t tell our side of the story that well. When the time is
Schumacher, 45, suffered serious head injuries December 29 after he fell and hit the right side of his head on a rock off the side of a demarcated slope in the French ski resort of Meribel. The German has been treated in Grenoble University Hospital since then. “The accident took place in an off-piste area,” the prosecutor’s statement said. “The signage, marking, staking and information provided about the edges of this slope adhere to French norms in place.”
right, I will tell my story. Sometimes the British press is maybe a little bit racist.” Tan said Mackay had been lucky to land the job at Cardiff in July 2011 and felt he should have been more hands-on earlier. “Earlier on I was generous enough to give our football management too much authority and they went berserk. They went and did bad business. That was a mistake. “But now I’m involved, I know the value and I study. Every business I
Meanwhile, Schumacher’s doctors have started waking him from an induced coma. A statement from his spokeswoman declined to provide further details about his health, citing privacy concerns. Experts have said, however, that it will likely be months before Schumacher’s prognosis becomes clear, noting that long-term brain damage is a possibility. Schumacher is the most successful Formula One driver of all time with a record 91 victories among his achievements. He won his titles with Benetton and Ferrari. He left the sport in 2012 after a three-year comeback with Mercedes following an earlier retirement from Ferrari at the end of 2006. The German lives in Switzerland with his wife and two children.
don’t know, if I spend enough time — a couple of months — I will know a lot. I know quite a lot about football now. I know the value of players and we won’t do stupid things.” Tan said he had abandoned plans to list Cardiff on the Singapore stock exchange and hoped new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would guide the team out of relegation zone despite winning just one of their last 11 league games.
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March 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
SPORTS
Adidas halts sale of sexually charged t-shirts promoting World Cup in Brazil SAO PAULO, February 25, 2014 — Adidas will stop selling World Cup products that used sex appeal to promote host Brazil, a move that came after a formal complaint from the local government on Tuesday.
Spain among six booking World Cup tuneups in US NEW YORK, February 28, 2014 (AFP) - Reigning champion Spain and five other nations playing in the World Cup have booked training matches at US venues in a “Road to Brazil” series announced Friday. Promoters Soccer United Marketing have scheduled seven matches across American venues, capping the series with Spain’s June 7 match against El Salvador at FedEx Field -- the 90,000seat home of the NFL Washington Redskins. Other Brazil-bound teams that will make US stopovers for tuneup friendlies include African Cup of Nations winner Nigeria, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ivory Coast and Honduras. The schedule opens May 29 when Honduras and Turkey meet at RFK Stadium in Washington while Ivory Coast meets Bosnia and Herzegovina the next day at a venue to be determined.
Honduras will meet Israel on June 1 at Houston, Texas, while Nigeria and Greece play June 3 at the suburban Philadelphia home pitch of Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union. Ivory Coast and El Salvador meet on June 4 at the home park of MLS side FC Dallas and Greece will face Bolivia on June 6 at the home of the MLS New York Red Bulls in Harrison, New Jersey. While not part of the series, England’s pre-World Cup schedule also features a US stopover for matches at Miami against Ecuador on June 4 and against Honduras three days later. Portugal, featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, will also play US friendlies ahead of going to Brazil, facing fellow World Cup qualifier Mexico on June 6 at Foxboro, Massachusetts, and the Irish four days later at East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Adidas made the announcement just hours after Brazil’s tourism board released a statement condemning some T-shirts that were being sold on the company’s web site, including one which said “Lookin’ to Score,” with a woman in bikini in front of the word “Brazil” and an image of the Sugar Loaf mountain in the background. Another said “I (heart) Brazil,” with what appeared to be the image of a thong bikini inside the heart. Adidas, a World Cup sponsor and supplier of the official ball for the tournament, said in a statement the products were limited edition T-shirts available only in the United States. “Adidas always pays close attention to the opinion of its consumers and partners,” the company said. “Therefore, it is announcing that these products will not be sold anymore.” The T-shirts were not available on the site on Tuesday shortly after Brazilian media published images of them. The tourism board said the Brazilian government is “vehemently” against anything that “links Brazil’s image to sex appeal,” and said officials are working hard to repress “sexual tourism” during the World Cup. “We want to make it very clear to our main commercial partners in tourism
that Brazil does not tolerate this type of crime in its territory,” said Flavio Dino, president of the tourism board Embratur. Shortly after the board released its statement, President Dilma Rousseff tweeted Brazil is taking seriously the fight against sexual tourism. “Brazil is happy to welcome the tourists that will arrive for the World Cup, but it is also ready to fight against sexual tourism,” she said. The World Cup, soccer’s showcase event, is being held across 12 cities in Brazil from June 12-July 13. It is the first time since 1950 the South American nation is hosting the tournament. “This campaign goes against what Brazil defends,” Dino said of the Adidas T-shirts. “Our effort is to promote Brazil for its natural and cultural attributes. An initiative like this one ignores and disrespects the message the government is trying to get across.” Embratur said it wants to take advantage of the World Cup to showcase Brazil’s “diverse culture, hospitality, modernity and natural beauties.” “None of our campaigns will ever use any image or message that uses sexual connotation or promotes this criminal action,” the board said in its statement. As part of a charities-led campaign announced earlier this month in London, videos warning soccer fans against paying for sex with children at the World Cup will be played on Brazil-bound flights from England.
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HEALTH Vitamin E, beta-carotene no help for heart disease, cancer WASHINGTON, February 25, 2014 - In yet another blow to the $28 billion vitamin industry, a US task force on Monday urged against taking Vitamin E and beta-carotene to ward off heart disease or cancer. The latest guidelines from the US Preventive Services Task Force update the 2003 edition by adding Vitamin E to beta-carotene, a supplement that was already known to be ineffective at preventing the two most fatal diseases in America. The findings are based on a systematic review of scientific studies which found that Vitamin E does not help -- and that beta-carotene supplements could actually do more harm than good. “Beta-carotene can be harmful because it increases the risk of lung cancer in people who are already at increased risk for the disease,” said Task Force co-chair Michael LeFevre. With regard to other multivitamins, including single or paired supplements, there was not enough evidence to say whether they help or harm one’s chances of getting heart disease or cancer, the task force said. Despite numerous warnings about the unproven effects of vitamins, consumers continue to believe in them, with about half of US adults saying they take at least one dietary supplement and one-third reporting they take a multivitamin regularly. The task force’s recommendations apply to healthy adults who have no special medical concerns. Some populations, however, are urged to take certain vitamins. Pregnant women are advised to take prenatal vitamins with folic acid according to their doctors’ advice, and seniors at risk of falling are urged to take vitamin D for bone health.
Acetaminophen use in pregnancy linked to risk of ADHD WASHINGTON, February 24, 2014 (AFP) - Acetaminophen, a common pain reliever considered safe for pregnant women, has been linked for the first time to an increased risk of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder in children, said a study Monday. acemethophineMore studies are needed to confirm the findings, but experts said the research points to a new potential cause for the worldwide rise in cases of ADHD, a neuro-behavioral condition which has no known cause and affects as many as five percent of US children. Women who took acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol, while pregnant had a 37 percent higher risk of having a child who would be later given a hospital diagnosis of hyperkinetic disorder, a particularly severe form of ADHD, said the study in February 24 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics.
Compared to women who did not take acetaminophen while pregnant, women who did also had a 29 percent higher chance of having children who were later prescribed medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a 13 percent higher chance of exhibiting ADHD-like behaviors by age seven. Previous research has suggested that acetaminophen can interfere with normal hormone function and may affect the developing fetal brain. The painkiller has also been linked to a slightly increased risk in boys of cryptorchidism, a condition in which the testicles do not descend. The latest research was based on survey data on more than 64,000 Danish women from 1996 to 2002. More than half said they took acetaminophen at least once during pregnancy. Outside experts cautioned that the
observational findings do not prove that taking Tylenol-like pain relievers causes ADHD, only that a preliminary link between the two has appeared and would need to be confirmed by further research. “Findings from this study should be interpreted cautiously and should not change practice,” said an accompanying editorial in JAMA Pediatrics by Miriam Cooper and colleagues at the Cardiff University School of Medicine. “However, they underline the importance of not taking a drug’s safety during pregnancy for granted.” The reasons the women took the painkillers could have also had a confounding effect on the outcome, they added. The study was led by Zeyan Liew, of the University of California, Los Angeles, and was co-authored by Jorn Olsen of the University of Aarhus in Denmark.
Rare, polio-like disease found in California children WASHINGTON, February 24, 2014 (AFP) - A rare, polio-like syndrome that has no known cure has emerged in a small number of children in California, US researchers said Sunday. polio.cureFive cases of sudden onset paralysis were described by Stanford University experts at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Philadelphia. “Although poliovirus has been eradicated from most of the globe, other viruses can also injure the spine, leading to a polio-like syndrome,” said Stanford neurologist and lead author of the case reports, Keith Van Haren. “In the past decade, newly identified strains of enterovirus have been linked to polio-like outbreaks among children in Asia and Australia,” he said in a statement.
“These five new cases highlight the possibility of an emerging infectious polio-like syndrome in California.”
Three of the five youths had respiratory illness before their symptoms began.
Polio has been largely wiped out across the globe, thanks to the introduction of an effective vaccine in the mid 1950s.
Two have tested positive for enterovirus-68, a rare virus that has been previously associated with polio-like symptoms.
However, outbreaks of the highly contagious disease continue in parts of the world, including Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan.
The other three did not test positive, and doctors are still searching for the cause of their paralysis.
The California children tested negative for polio, and all had been vaccinated. The patients showed similar symptoms, such as sudden loss of movement in one or more of their limbs, resulting in paralysis usually within two days.
“We would like to stress that this syndrome appears to be very, very rare,” said Van Haren. However, doctors believe there are likely more cases out there and are urging parents to contact a doctor right away if their child shows signs of paralysis.
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March 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
Misc Asia
Protesters burn Japanese naval flags with the Chinese words for “shame” printed on them near the Japanese consulate to mark the 76th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre in Hong Kong on December 13, 2013
China declares national days for Nanjing Massacre, Japan defeat BEIJING, February 27, 2014 – Chinese lawmakers approved national remembrance days Thursday to commemorate the Nanjing Massacre and Japan’s defeat in World War II, state media said, amid bitter disputes over territory and history. “September 3 was ratified as the victory day and December 13 the national memorial day for massacre victims”, the official Xinhua news agency said, reporting decisions by members of the National People’s Congress, China’s rubber stamp parliament. Japan invaded China in the 1930s and the two countries fought a fullscale war from 1937 to 1945. China says more than 300,000 people were slaughtered by Japanese troops in a six-week killing spree in the then capital Nanjing, which began on December 13 1937. Some foreign academics put the figure lower. It was unclear what significance the formal “national days” will have, although they are not expected to be public holidays.
The Chinese government previously designated as victory day September 3, the day after Japan formally surrendered to the Allies on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay in 1945. “The approval of the national days has great historical significance and is a necessity in current circumstances,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said following the decision. Tokyo and Beijing are embroiled in a series of rows, including a long-running diplomatic spat over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Tensions rose further last month when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the Yasukuni shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead, including convicted war criminals. Chinese officials often call on Japan to “reflect” on its past, while Tokyo says its neighbors use history as a diplomatic stick to beat it with.
Exclusive Japan bar sues website for unwanted publicity TOKYO, February 20, 2014 (AFP) – An exclusive Japanese bar is suing a foodie website, arguing that unwanted publicity from a review is damaging its operational strategy of being little-known and hard to find, reports said Thursday. The bar in the western city of Osaka, which was not named in reports, has asked the wildly popular “Tabelog” web site to take down a client review and photos of the establishment. But the operators of the site, which claims to have around 53 million users a month, refused the request, arguing that the review is covered by the right to freedom of expression, the Asahi Shimbun and the Nikkei business daily said. The bar, which threw open its nondescript doors in 2010, has no sign outside saying what it is or what it does. It requires known customers and their guests to ring a doorbell and ask staff to unlock an iron door from inside. “It was a way to differentiate the establishment. Our stagecraft as a secret hideaway was designed to appeal to
visitors’ imaginations,” the bar operators told the Osaka District Court in a hearing Wednesday, according to the Asahi. The Tabelog information “took away the elements of surprise and fun and undermined our operational strategy”, they said, demanding the website take down the post and asking for 3.3 million yen ($32,400) in damages, the Asahi reported. The review, alongside pictures of the bar, was posted in 2012. Its operators noticed it last summer and asked Tabelog to take it down, according to local press. Tabelog claims to be the premier restaurant review website in Japan. A New York version launched in March last year. Users write reviews of places they have eaten which others can use as a guide for finding the right spot.
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Misc Asia Bittersweet tears as divided Koreans meet after 60 years SOKCHO, February 20, 2014 (AFP) – Several hundred elderly South and North Korean relatives clung to each-other, rocking and weeping, and trading photos and faded memories as they met after 60 years Thursday at a reunion for families divided by the Korean War. The emotional gathering at North Korea’s Mount Kumgang resort was the result of tortuous, high-level negotiations between Pyongyang and Seoul, which had nearly broken down over the North’s objections to overlapping South Korea-US military drills. Television footage showed snow falling hard as 82 South Koreans — some so frail they had to be stretchered indoors — arrived at the resort in a convoy of buses to meet 180 North Korean relatives they have not seen for decades. Inside the main hall, where numbered tables had been laid out, there were moving scenes as divided brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, step-siblings and in-laws sought each other out and then collapsed into each others’ arms. One of the oldest South Koreans, a 93-year-old man who was separated from his pregnant wife during the 1950-53 conflict, met the now 64-yearold son he had never seen. “So old,” were his first words as they came face-to-face — the resemblance strikingly clear to people watching. “Let me hug you,” the father said and then, sobbing, they both embraced. Nearly all the participants had brought photographs, either tattered, black and white images of the family before it was split up, or brand new colour snaps of their current families. These were then passed around, stroked and cried over.
‘Big sister. It’s me!’ Some of the reunions proved particularly traumatic, with one North Korean woman, Lee Jung-Sil desperately searching for recognition from her South Korean older sister, Lee YoungSil, 87, an Alzheimers sufferer. “Big sister. It’s me! Why can’t you hear me?” Jung-Sil entreated, tears streaming down her face. The North Korean women wore traditional hanbok dresses, while the men were mostly dressed in dark suits. All seemed to be sporting badges of former leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il — obligatory accessories in North Korea. A grand dinner was planned for the evening and on Friday the reunited relatives were to be given the chance for more private gatherings in their guest rooms. The South Koreans, with an average age of 84, had left the eastern port city of Sokcho at 8:30am on board 10 buses. The departure was delayed as two woman needed medical attention, and ended up being taken in ambulances for the entire journey. More than a dozen were in wheelchairs and needed help getting on and off the buses, which they shared with 58 family members, brought along for physical as well as emotional support.
Bags of gifts All carried bags stuffed with gifts, ranging from basic medicines to framed family photos and packets of instant noodles. “The gifts I’m bringing to my sister should be good. Something you can’t see much in North Korea so I hope she will be happy,” said Kim Se-Rin, 85.
Lee Yong-Sil (R) of South Korea embraces her sister Lee Jong-Sil (L) of North Korea during a reunion event for families divided by the two countries, at the North Korean resort area of Mount Kumgang on February 20, 2014. The first North-South family reunion for more than three years began with a mass gathering in the main hall of a resort on North Korea’s Mount Kumgang, a Unification Ministry official said in Seoul. The event was the result of tortuous, high-level negotiations between Pyongyang and Seoul, which nearly broke down over the North’s objections to overlapping joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States. AFP PHOTO / YONHAP
“I’ve also included some US dollars for her and my younger brother,” Kim said.
“This will be our first and last reunion,” Kim Dong-Bin, 81, said of the elder sister he left decades ago in Pyongyang.
The reunion came just days after the publication of major UN report that amounted to a searing indictment of Pyongyang’s rights record, detailing murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape and forced abortions.
All the South Koreans had spent Wednesday night in a Sokcho hotel, where they received a lecture by South Korean officials advising them to avoid political issues.
Millions of Koreans were separated by the 1950-53 war, and the vast majority have since died without having any communication at all with surviving relatives.
Before boarding the buses to cross the heavily-militarized border, they spoke of their hopes and anxieties ahead of the meetings they had dreamed of for so long.
The reunion program began in earnest after a historic North-South summit in 2000, but the waiting list has always been far larger than the numbers that could be accommodated.
“I think when I see her face, I won’t believe it’s real,” Kim said of his sister.
For many people, time simply ran out. Last year alone 3,800 South Korean applicants for reunions died. For all the joy the meetings bring, it is tempered by the realization that — given the participants’ advanced ages — it also marks a final farewell.
“I wonder if I will be able to recognize her immediately? It’s been so long,” he added. It was the first meeting of divided families since the reunion program was suspended following the North’s shelling of a South Korean border island in 2010.
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March 1-15, 2014 Georgia Asian Times
TECH Honey, can you pick up a tablet at the grocery store? BARCELONA, February 28, 2014 — Originally derided as a pricey niche product for geeks, tablet computers have become so common that supermarkets are now selling their own brands, pushing out low-cost rivals. The shifting nature of the market underscores how millions of people are choosing simpler devices to surf the web, send emails and shop, putting pressure on traditional PC companies. And since Apple pioneered the tablet in early 2010, the gadgets now available at the lower end of the market are becoming commodity items that non-technology companies can order from Asian contractors using common components. “Reference designs for tablets and smartphones from companies like Qualcomm have drastically reduced barriers to entry and increased commoditization pressure in the hardware industry,” said Sameer Singh, Hyderabad-based tech analyst. “This opens the door for not only players that can survive on low margins, but also for companies that use hardware as a channel for something else.” Tesco in Britain and Walmart in the United States, are selling their own branded tablets pitched at customers unwilling to pay US$400 (RM1,311) or more for an Apple or Samsung product. Grocers like Tesco and France’s Carrefour are not only trying to cash in on booming tablet sales, but also to nudge people to buy everything from films to groceries from their online stores, pushed through their devices, a lesson learned from Amazon and Google. Traditional computer makers including Asus, Acer , HP, Lenovo, Dell,
Sony, LG will continue to be squeezed, said Gartner analyst Tracy Tsai. They account for only 10 per cent of the market today, far behind Apple and Samsung with 60 per cent and also smaller than the 20 per cent share held by white label tablet makers who manufacture for others, such as Archos. Amazon and Google hold the other 10 per cent. “Some of them will pull out from the market of tablets altogether,” Tsai predicted. The price for tablets running Google’s Android software ranged from US$99 to US$299 in 2013, providing an estimated 15 per cent to 25 per cent gross margin to hardware vendors, but when prices need to be cut to meet the competition the margin could drop.
Lessons learned Amazon, which sells its Kindle Fire tablet at cost or even at a loss, ties people to its site to buy music, books or films rather than them buying Apple’s iTunes or going to Carrefour and Tesco. “If you get a tablet into someone’s hand, it is almost a digital shop window,” said Ben Wood, analyst at CCS Insight. “The retailers are realizing: ‘Crikey, we need this to be part of a much bigger strategy to make sure that Amazon does not eat us alive.’” Carrefour is also selling smartphones and a smart watch starting at €149, in addition to four tablets, while a Pakistani bakery chain called Gourmet poached a former Samsung executive to help it sell smartphones starting at US$15. Tesco shifted more than 400,000 of
its Hudl tablets, priced at £119 pounds in little over three months after a September launch. “We saw an opportunity in the market for a lower priced but highly spec-ed tablet,” said Michael Comish, who heads Tesco’s digital strategy and operations. “We were certainly pleasantly surprised by consumer demand,” he said, adding that Tesco was selling as many Hudls as it could produce in the autumn. Carrefour’s mobile phone, dubbed the Smart, launched at Christmas and was among the store’s top-five selling products in recent months, said Jose Zdziech, sales director for technology products. Big retailers have been here before. In the past many worked with manufacturers in Asia and elsewhere who produced everything from clothing to refrigerators that the retailers then sold under their own brands. Carrefour and Tesco, the world’s second and third-biggest retailers, then turned to
that network of manufacturers to make gadgets. Tesco’s Comish said they designed the Hudl to drive people to purchase films, music, and now books from blinkbox, a video-on-demand provider Tesco bought in 2011. The company spent a lot of time on the user interface, he said, to make it easy to get to Tesco services, without forcing customers to use them. Carrefour’s Zdziech said the retailer would continue to sell Apple and Samsung products since its own products were not aimed at the high-end. But Carrefour has dropped some competing tablets and phones from lower-end manufacturers he declined to name. “We had to make some choices so as to better showcase our own branded products,” he said.