Covering The Multicultural Asian American Community in Georgia
Worst to first, Red Sox clinch World Series
www.atlaff.org
November 1-15, 2013 Vol 10 No 21
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November 1-15, 2013 Georgia Asian Times
Georgia Asian Times November 1-15, 2013
Publisher: Li Wong Account Manager: Adrian West Contributors: Andrian Putra, May Lee, Mark Ho Photography: Ben Hioe, Rendy Tendean
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Go to the zoo to see some animals, because you won’t see any on MARTA.
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GAT Calendar of Events (For latest & updated events, visit www.gasiantimes.com)
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.
“Three Generations of North Korean Leadership: Changes in Continuity” Lecture featuring Prof. Han S. Park (University of Georgia) Date: Friday, November 1, 2013 Time: 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm Venue: Troy Moore Library, Georgia State University
State of the Ports Luncheon & Transportation Conference Presented by Georgia Chamber of Commerce Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 Time: 8:30 am - 1:30 pm Venue: Westin Buckhead Atlanta For more info: www.gachamber.com
Affordable Care Act Discussion Presented by Philippines Chamber of Commerce Date: Wednesday November 6, 2013 Time: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Venue: UPS Headquarters, 55 Glenlake Parkway Atlanta GA 30328
Thanksgiving & Fundraising Luncheon Organized by Good Shepherd Services of Atlanta (GSSA) Date: Saturday, November 23, 2013 Time: 11:30 am Venue: 2426 Shallowford Terraces, Atlanta GA 30341 For more info: 770.986.8279
Know Your Rights When Stopped By Police Presented by Asian American Legal Advocacy Center Date: Tuesday, November 5, 2013 Time: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Venue: Norcross Cultural Arts and Community Center 10 College Street, Norcross GA 30072
Korean American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia’s Annual Gala Date: Friday, December 6, 2013 Time: 6:00 pm Venue: KTN Crystal Ballroom, 4675 Rivergreen Parkway, Duluth GA 30096 For more info: laccga@gmail.com or 404-542-5950
You deserve to enjoy the ride. That’s why other than service animals, you will only see humans riding MARTA. Anyone bringing any other kind of animal will be suspended from MARTA, along with their pet.
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November 1-15, 2013 Georgia Asian Times
FEATURE
Health secretary on Obamacare website: ‘You deserve better’ WASHINGTON, October 30, 2013 - President Barack Obama’s health secretary publicly apologized Wednesday for the rocky rollout of the US health care law’s new website, stressing that citizens “deserve better” from the system. But while Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius regretted that navigating HealthCare. gov has been a “miserably frustrating experience” for many, she insisted that so-called “Obamacare” has been working well for millions of Americans. For his part, Obama was to travel to Massachusetts later in the day to defend his signature reforms in the state where his former Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney adopted a similar system in 2006. “Today, 97 percent of Massachusetts residents have health insurance coverage and the primary attacks against this law -- many of which we are hearing again today about the ACA -- never proved true,” a White House official said. The point woman for the new health care law, however, sounded chastened about the trouble-plagued online portal through which millions are expected to register for health insurance. “Let me say directly to these Americans: You deserve better. I apologize. I’m accountable to you for fixing these problems,” Sebelius, the senior most administration official to testify before Congress on the health care law, told a closely-watched House panel.
And when Republican congresswoman Marsha Blackburn grilled her and suggested the secretary was seeking to pawn off responsibility on contractors like Verizon, where a breakdown took the site offline last weekend, Sebelius interrupted to say she herself would take the heat. “Hold me accountable for the debacle. I’m responsible,” she said. HealthCare.gov, which allows access to exchange marketplaces where Americans can purchase private insurance, debuted on October 1. Committee chairman Fred Upton said he has seen little improvement in the website’s performance since then, noting that his staff was “hit with an error message” even as they tried to use the page early Wednesday. “Sadly here we are now five weeks into enrollment and the news seems to get worse by the day,” Upton said. “After more than three years to prepare, malfunctions have become the norm.” Sebelius’s appearance marked the third congressional hearing in a week addressing the faulty start to Obamacare. Critics like Blackburn have focused on how the health care law is booting millions of people off their plans, years after Obama told Americans that if they liked their health plan, they could keep it.
Sebelius countered that insurance companies routinely alter coverage in the individual market, and that people on these plans often hold them for less than a year. And skeleton policies that do not measure up to Obamacare’s rules, including not providing free mammograms or charging women 50 percent more than men, will need to be changed to conform to the law. “If someone is buying a brand new policy... they will have consumer protections for the first time,” Sebelius said. With Republicans seizing on the policy cancellations letters, Sebelius pushed back, saying it was insurance companies altering their inadequate plans in order to conform with Obamacare. “This market has always been the Wild West,” she said of the individual marketplace. Republican Joe Barton, a fervent opponent of the health care law, took a swipe at Sebelius, a former Kansas governor, by suggesting she might be in over her head. “We’re not in Kansas anymore,” Barton told her. “Some might say we are actually in ‘Wizard of Oz’ land given the parallel universes we appear to be habitating.”
But Democrats like Henry Waxman rode to Sebelius’s rescue. “I would urge my colleagues to stop hyperventilating,” he said. “The early glitches in this rollout will soon be forgotten... and then every American will finally have access to affordable health insurance.” Last week the lead contractors, which collectively have been paid hundreds of millions of dollars to create and manage the website, said there was insufficient testing of the online portal. Asked directly if the two weeks of end-to-end testing was enough, Sebelius replied “clearly not.” “We did not adequately do end-toend testing,” she added. “The products were not locked and loaded into the system until the third week of September.” As critics pounced on the website’s shortcomings, Democrat Eliot Engel noted the irony of Republicans who abhor the premise of Obamacare yet were making a “big show” about how many Americans can not get access to the health care options fast enough. “You’re really on the wrong side of history here,” Engel told his Republican colleagues.
Georgia Asian Times November 1-15, 2013
FEATURE
Meet the Man Behind Global Winter Wonderland Atlanta, October 23, 2013 – Atlanta will be home to the spectacular Global Winter Wonderland, a multi-cultural theme park, which will be presented at Turner Field from November 21 through January 5. Illuminated giant lanterns depict people, animals, scenes and monumental architectural achievements from all over the world. Included in the displays are a traditional holiday village, the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, Chichen Itza, the Golden Gate Bridge and more. These fantastic lanterns are almost 100 feet wide and over 50 feet high. They are powered by LEDs, fluorescent lights and solar panels. John Lin, who owns a successful travel business in Georgia, is the entrepreneur behind this creative endeavor. “I would like to bring the world to Atlanta through this mobile theme park,” said John Lin in an exclusive interview with Georgia Asian Times. The similar cultural theme park has been a hit and debuted in Santa Clara, California in 2011 with over 419,000 visitors. This unique event opens daily from 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm, also features
celebrations of world-wide holiday traditions, delicious international cuisine, lively and diverse entertainment, thrilling carnival games and rides, crafts, and a lavish global bazaar. Scheduled to open its door from November 21st, the theme park is located on a 17 acres parking lot space across from Turner Field. “This has been my most exciting venture to date. I strongly believe Atlantan will embrace it as it celebrates different cultures of the world and diversity,” adds Lin. Tickets range from $16.99 for children (children four and under are free) to $24.99 for adult. Senior discounts and season passes are available. Tickets include rides and entertainment. Seasonal tickets range from $28 to $43. Major entertainment acts and circus performers have committed to perform at the park nightly. Visitors are able to sample different cuisines from around the world and shopping at the Global Bazaar. “This is an amazing and magical adventure that allows you to travel the world in just one day,” said Lin with a smile.
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November 1-15, 2013 Georgia Asian Times
SPORTS Worst to first, Red Sox clinch World Series BOSTON, October 31, 2013 - The Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 Wednesday to clinch their eighth World Series title and first at Fenway Park since 1918. Shane Victorino blasted a three-run double in the third inning and Stephen Drew clubbed a solo homer in the fourth for the Red Sox who won the best-of-seven series four games to two. “This is for you Boston,” said David Ortiz who was named most valuable player of the World Series. “When we started rolling we never stopped the train.” Victorino, who missed the previous two games with a back injury, hit a three-run double off Cardinals starter Michael Wacha to open the scoring for the Red Sox in the bottom of the third. Right fielder Victorino doubled off the left field Green Monster wall which scored Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jonny Gomes. Victorino extended Boston’s lead to 6-0 with an RBI single with the bases-loaded in the fourth in front of a crowd of 38,447. Slugger Ortiz tormented the Cardinals all series with a hot bat, finishing 11-for-16 at the plate in the Series and had seven walks to tie Carlton Fisk’s 1975 club record. “I am back baby,” Ortiz said during the post-game celebration where he was presented with the MVP trophy. St. Louis wasn’t going to give Ortiz a
chance to punish them further in game six as they walked the future Hall of Famer in his first three at bats of the contest. Battled-tested Boston starter John Lackey hurled 6 2/3 innings of one run ball, striking out five and walking none. Right-hander Lackey clinched a World Series title for the Angels back in 2002 with a terrific game seven performance as a rookie. “I am really fired up to be part of this. It is really cool,” Lackey said. “It has been a fun group from day one to be around. We busted our butts to get here.” The Red Sox join the 1991 Minnesota Twins as the only teams to win the World Series one year after finishing in last place in their division. Japan’s Koji Uehara recorded the final out of the contest, striking out St. Louis lead-off hitter Matt Carpenter. It was the third consecutive save in the World Series for Uehara. The Red Sox made quick work of Cardinals rookie starter Michael Wacha, who left the game after giving up four runs on six hits in just 3 2/3 innings of work. Drew led off the fourth by hitting a solo homer into right field for his first hit of the post-season and he did it on the first pitch from Wacha. Drew is just the second Red Sox second baseman to hit a homer in the World Series, following Rico Petrocelli in 1967.
Wacha had been the best pitcher in the 2013 playoffs as the 22-yearold righty entered game six 4-0 and a 1.00 ERA but he struggled mightily Wednesday. “They jumped on a couple of pitches,” said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. “They came out jumped on him (Wacha) and got the big hits when they needed them. We couldn’t get that one hit to make them bend a little bit.” The Red Sox clinched their third World Series title in the last 10 years and first at home in 95 years when Babe Ruth was on their roster.
Boston has now won three titles in the last 10 years but their previous two came on the road. In 2007 they beat Colorado and in 2004 they snapped an 86-year title drought with a four-game sweep of the Cardinals. The Cardinals didn’t get their first run until the seventh, when Carlos Beltran singled to left field, plating Daniel Descalso. St. Louis then threatened to cut into the Red Sox lead further by loading the bases in the same inning but Boston first baseman Mike Napoli got Allen Craig out, stranding the three base runners.
Georgia Asian Times November 1-15, 2013
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BUSINESS
Homeland Security to slap fine on outsourcing firm Infosys US firms lukewarm on doing business in China BEIJING, October 24, 2013 – Less than 30 percent of the members of a US business lobby in China say investment conditions are improving in the world’s second-largest economy, a survey showed Thursday. Chinese authorities and state-run media have repeatedly targeted foreign firms in recent months, in sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals and baby formula to smartphones and coffee. The survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China showed that only 28 percent of its members who responded believe the investment environment in the country is improving, well down from 43 percent last year. Conditions were worsening according to 19 percent, while 53 percent said they were unchanged. The group, which lobbies on behalf of more than 1,000 US companies doing business in China, attributed the declining optimism in part to new rules that were adopted in December 2011.
They imposed “troubling new limitations” in some areas, the report said, citing prohibitions against foreign investment in the postal, transport and warehousing industries and additional hurdles related to agriculture and chemical production. The lobbying group also lamented what it called an “opaque” investment and licensing approval process that includes “vaguely worded or unpublished rules” putting foreign companies at a disadvantage to their domestic competitors. Foreign direct investment in China reached an all-time high of $116 billion in 2011, but dipped to $111.72 billion in 2012 amid a domestic growth slowdown and uncertainty in the West.
WASHINGTON, October 29, 2013 – The US government plans to punish Indian outsourcing giant Infosys with the largest immigration fine ever for seeking visas fraudulently for workers at big clients in America, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Infosys is accused of putting workers on visitor visas, which are much easier and cheaper to obtain than the correct work visas. The fine is expected to be about $35 million, the paper said, quoting people close to the matter. A probe by the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department concluded that Infosys used easy-to-get B1 visas, which are meant for short business visits, to bring an unknown number of its workers to the United States for long-term stays, the sources were quoted as saying. The fine will be announced Wednesday, the Journal said. Infosys would not confirm details of the fine, but said in a statement earlier this month that it had reserved $35 million, including legal costs, based on talks with the US government over the probe, which was announced in 2011.
An Infosys spokeswoman said on Tuesday that they were “in the process of completing a civil resolution with the (US) government regarding its investigation of visa issues and I-9 documentation errors”. She said the resolution had not been finalized. With the alleged practice, Infosys could undercut competitors in bids for programming, accounting and other work performed for clients, the Journal said. Infosys is known as an outsourcing company that does India-based computing and other technology services for Western clients, who have included Goldman Sachs Group, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. But it also features thousands of US-based employees who develop and install software for accounting, logistics and supply-chain management in the retailing, finance and manufacturing sectors, the Journal said.
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November 1-15, 2013 Georgia Asian Times
BUSINESS South Korea hails milestone cargo move via Arctic SEOUL, October 22, 2013 – South Korea announced Tuesday it had completed its first commercial freight voyage via the Northern Sea Route, amid growing global interest in the increasingly open Arctic Ocean shipping route.
Apple profit tops forecasts, 33.8 million iPhones sold SAN FRANCISCO, October 28, 2013 – Apple on Monday reported a quarterly profit of $7.5 billion on the back of soaring iPhone sales. The US tech giant closed out its fiscal year with a net annual profit of $37 billion, an impressive figure but the first annual decline in earnings in 11 years. “We’re pleased to report a strong finish to an amazing year with record fourth quarter revenue, including sales of almost 34 million iPhones,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in a release. The quarterly profit was down 8.6 percent from a year earlier, but ahead of most analyst forecasts. It came on revenues of some $37.5 billion in the quarter ending September 28, up four percent year-on-year.
The current quarter was expected to be a more telling one for iPads, since Apple last week beefed up the line with a slim iPad Air model and an improved iPad Mini ahead of the prime holiday shopping season. Apple last week also showed off upgrades to its notebooks and desktop computers along with free software to sweeten the deal. The new iPads will be sold alongside existing versions starting November 1 in more than 40 markets around the world. For the first time, China will be among the countries getting the latest iPad models on launch day. Apple upgrades for its MacBook line of notebooks and Mac Pro desktop computer, and its new operating system called Mavericks will be available as a free upgrade for those with existing Apple computers.
California-based Apple reported selling 33.8 million iPhones in the quarter that ended September 28, setting a new record for sales in that quarter.
Apple reported that it sold 4.6 million Macs, compared to 4.9 million in the year-ago quarter.
Apple said that iPad sales inched up to 14.1 million in a slight rise from the 14 million sold during the same quarter last year.
“We’re excited to go into the holidays with our new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, iOS 7, the new iPad mini with Retina Display and the incredibly thin and light iPad Air, new MacBook Pros, the radical new Mac Pro, OS X
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it had shipped in 44,000 tonnes of naphtha via the Northern Sea Route in a pilot project aimed at slashing energy transport costs and avoiding piracy risks associated with the Suez Canal. The shortcut between Asia and Europe along Russia’s Arctic coast has been eyed with increasing interest by Chinese, Japanese and South Korean energy firms in recent years, as melting ice due to global warming opens up sea routes for longer periods. The ministry said the naphtha-laden freighter, operated by logistics company Hyundai Glovis, had docked Monday in the southern port of Gwangyang, after taking 35 days to make the 15,000 kilometre journey from the Russian port of Ust-Luga.
Mavericks and the next generation iWork and iLife apps for OS X and iOS,” Cook said. Apple’s board of directors also declared a cash dividend of $3.05 per share of common stock. “We generated $9.9 billion in cash flow from operations and returned an additional $7.8 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the September quarter, bringing cumulative payments under our capital return program to $36 billion,” said Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer.
“The available period of operation at the Arctic Sea and the size of cargo volume are increasing,” the South Korean ministry said in a statement. “As such, the Northern Sea Route has the strong potential to grow into a huge cargo transport market,” it added. Until recently, negotiating the Northern Sea Route was largely left to the specialist vessels of Scandinavian countries like Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Taking the Northern Sea Route can shorten the same voyage via the Suez Canal by up to 10 days, although it carries extra costs including the hiring of ice breakers. Environmentalist groups are opposed to developing the passage for commercial shipping — fearing a catastrophic oil spill in one of the world’s last great wildernesses.
Apple shares were down more than two percent to $516.34 in after-market trading that followed release of the earnings figures. Apple said its gross profit margin was 37 percent compared to 40 percent in the year-ago quarter. And it said the outlook for the current quarter was similar, with a margin expected between 36.5 percent and 37.5 percent.
Georgia Asian Times November 1-15, 2013
EVENTS
Atlanta Asian Film Festival - Premiere Night Oct 11, 2013
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November 1-15, 2013 Georgia Asian Times
EDUCATION tant Adam Bell agrees that sounding American can help boost a candidate’s employability -- particularly if the job is with a US firm.
Hong Kong’s boom in American accent schools HONG KONG, October 29, 2013 - Standing at the front of the classroom in Hong Kong, nine-year-old Charlotte Yan recites a 2008 speech by Hillary Clinton -- enunciating the words with a perfect American accent. “Make sure we have a president who puts our country back on the path to peace, prosperity, and progress,” says Yan, her brow furrowed as she concentrates intensely on her pronunciation. She is one of a growing number of children in the ex-British colony learning to speak English like an American, some parents believing it is more relevant than an accent of the southern Chinese city’s former rulers. Language tutors say wealthy mainlanders are helping fuel demand, crossing into Hong Kong for a pick of the myriad educational opportunities on offer in an increasingly competitive market. During weekends at Yan’s school “Nature EQ” -- where a giant Stars and Stripes flag hangs on the wall -- children as young as five pack into classrooms, chanting words in unison and reciting from memory Robert Frost poems, any error in their enunciation quickly corrected. Mickey Ho, 15, said he goes to the school because an American accent is “more international” while 19-year-old Sam Yu attends because Hollywood films and popular television dramas make a US lilt “easier to understand and learn”.
“I think the American accent is getting more and more important and is maybe taking over the dominance of British English, so I’m willing to learn,” Yu said. “Nature EQ” in Hong Kong’s Kowloon area was set up 17 years ago, shortly before Britain handed Hong Kong back to China. Then, only 40 pupils were enrolled but today the school is at maximum capacity with 350 attending. A short distance away in the Tseung Kwan O district is the “American English Workshop”, which has gone from having 20 students a week when it opened 12 months ago to more than 180 today. They are among a number of centers and tutors specifically providing American English, offering something different to government-run schools where pronunciation largely depends on the accent of the English teacher. “I intend to send my sons to America for further study so I chose an American accent for them,” said Victor Chan, whose two boys -- Jackie aged 10 and Samuel, seven -- attend “Nature EQ”.
Better for employment “I think having an American accent is better for their employment (prospects) in Western countries,” the 50-year-old added. Hong Kong recruitment consul-
“There’s a degree of prestige associated with both the UK and the US accents compared to a Hong Kong accent as it suggests they are from a good background and can afford to study at school or university abroad,” he said.
school from one to eight since opening a year ago, to meet rising demand from across the border. “We have noticed a large influx of mainland Chinese students,” he said. “When we first opened last year we had zero students from the mainland but now at least 30 percent are from there. We expect that number to continue to grow.”
“In terms of employability, I think it largely depends on the background of whoever is doing the hiring.
Back at “Nature EQ”, founder and co-owner Frankie Ng is delighted with his school’s progress.
“If he or she has a North American background I strongly believe someone with an American accent has a better chance of getting the job. Likewise with the UK accent.”
“At first I had a very hard time, nobody was coming. But now it seems I am on the right track,” said the 65-year-old, the shelves in his office displaying models of America’s Bald Eagle.
Experts say there are signs of a wider shift in attitudes towards accents in Hong Kong as the financial hub moves further away from its 150-year-long colonial past. Dr Qi Zhang of Dublin City University said there is evidence US accents are “starting to replace” British ones in terms of preference “owing to the popularity of American culture”. Acting Head of English at Hong Kong’s City University, Dr Rodney Jones said: “There’s no doubt that the American accent is becoming more prevalent here. The main reason is because people are more exposed to it. “In the past in Hong Kong there was a sense that speaking in a British accent made you sound more educated. “Now I think that’s changing and perhaps people think speaking in an American accent may have more ‘cultural capital’. That is it may make you sound more contemporary, or modern, or may fit in with the international business world better.” Word seems to be spreading to mainland China. Tim Laubach -- founder of “American English Workshop” -- has increased the number of teachers at his
“The sound of the American accent English is so defined and clear and easy to teach.” But it would be premature to sound the death knell for the British accent just yet. “I prefer the British accent. Sometimes I can’t understand an American one,” Riven Chan, a 28-year-old flight attendant, said. “I think it’s better if Hong Kong people learn to speak English with a British or local accent.” According to Jones at City University, Hong Kongers’ fondness for the United Kingdom means a British accent will remain popular. “Many people here are nostalgic about the British,” he said. “I don’t think they think of things like imperialism or colonialism when they hear a British accent. “It still has a lot of prestige in Hong Kong and the bottom line is whatever accent you speak in, it has no actual reflection on your English proficiency or intelligence.”
Georgia Asian Times November 1-15, 2013
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ART
New York hosts ancient Korea debut in West
NEW YORK CITY, October 30, 2013 - Drawn to bling? A fan of gold jewelry? Keen on Buddha? If so, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art offers the newest ticket to fend off the winter chill. An exhibition of exquisite treasures from ancient Korea opens in New York next week, marking the first display anywhere outside Asia of the little known Silla kingdom. The most famous export from Korea, a territory split in two by war, are the TVs, tablets and phones of South Korea multi-national Samsung, the exhibition’s sponsors. The ancient kingdom of Silla, which rose to prominence in the fifth century, is barely known in the West. “Silla Korea’s Golden Kingdom” sets out to change that by showcasing dazzling art 16 centuries old on loan from the National Museum of Korea in Seoul and Gyeongju. “This show is not to be missed,” said Thomas Campbell, the British-educated director the Met. “These stunning works of art are rich in beauty and history... Their story will be a revelation to the public,” he added. Soyoung Lee, associate curator and co-curator of the exhibition, said its uniqueness was a key selling point.
New Yorkers can boast about living in the cultural capital of the world even if the city has been recently criticised for selling more art than it produces.
“But we hope it will go way over that. We just hope that the word will spread and the gold and all of the wonderful objects here will draw people in,” she said.
The third section showcases Buddhist art. The kingdom officially adopted the faith in 527, transforming Silla society, culture and burial customs.
“New Yorkers are so sophisticated, they’ve seen everything but this is something they haven’t yet seen so we were very eager to present it here,” Lee told AFP.
The exhibition is divided into three parts: glittering golden treasures -- beautifully intricate and in perfect condition -- from fifth and sixth century tombs.
Gold, bronze and granite statues of Buddha are on show, including a nearly one meter-tall Buddha in pensive pose, one of those marked as a National Treasure in Korea.
The more than 130 exhibits, which date back to 400-800, will be on show from next Tuesday until February 23 as part of an exhibition that took five years to organise.
The highlight is a gold crown and belt dating back from the second half of the fifth century. There are also stunning gold earrings and necklaces, from the same era but which look brand new.
“For the lay people, the statues in the last part I mean they’re just exquisite,” said Lee.
The Met is a permanent fixture on the tourist trial and of New York society, and Lee hopes that at least 100,000 visitors will pass through the exhibition.
“You can’t beat gold!” Lee said. “I think gold jewelry will really draw in a diverse crowd.” The second section highlights the links that Silla art had to China, Europe, central Asia and the Middle East. There are Roman-style glass vessels imported from modern day Syria, the Palestinian territories and even Afghanistan -- all today in the news for war not art. There are also nods to the greatness of China, the economy now snapping at the heels of US dominance, with exquisite porcelain and other ceramics.
There are large screen Samsung digital presentations and interactive tablets that explore some of the objects on show and preview the catalog. One screen recreates step by step the building from 751 to 774 of the Seokguram Grotto, one of the most important early Buddhist monuments in East Asia. The Met is the largest art museum in the United States and last year had record attendance of 6.28 million. In principle, entry can be free but the museum is allowed to advertise a “recommended” fee of $25 for adults with concessions for students and the elderly.
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FOCUS Built upon existing waterways in China’s highly-developed seaboard, including the Grand Canal, it risks picking up tainted supplies from start to finish. “A focal point of the first phase of the project is to strengthen pollution control,” the official website says.
China’s water mega project threatens flood of problems GUPANG, October 28, 2013 - China is looking to rework nature itself with a gargantuan project to divert water from its lush south to the parched and populous north which will take half a century and tens of billions of dollars to achieve. But when test runs began this year, villagers along the route said the inflow polluted their lake, leaving it teeming with silvery rotting fish carcasses and killing their livelihood. Officials in the eastern province of Shandong rejected their account, but the incident feeds into concerns that the behemoth South-to-North Water Diversion plan may be creating more problems than it solves. The hugely complex geo-engineering project officially began in 2002, is scheduled to take 50 years and 500 billion yuan ($80 billion) to build, and requires feats including blasting channels through mountains in earthquake zones on the Tibetan plateau. If it works, its three separate routes from different points on the Yangtze river will deliver 1.6 trillion cubic feet of water a year across 2,700 miles of canals and tunnels to the Beijing area and vast swathes of the north. The region needs the water. With just a fifth of the country’s total supply, northern China supports nearly half the population and economy and
two-thirds of the arable land, according to a 2009 World Bank report. China already boasts a long history of water mega projects, with the Grand Canal stretching from near Shanghai to Beijing first dug 2,500 years ago and extended over the centuries. The directive for the expanded South-to-North network came from Mao Zedong himself, the project’s official website says. The leader known for big -- and often counter-productive -- ideas remarked in 1952: “The south has a lot of water. The north has little. If possible, lending some water would be okay.” But troubles abound. Pollution could render the water unusable, long uphill sections will require tremendous energy for pumping, and reservoir construction has displaced communities. Even if the full supply arrives as promised, rising demand in the still growing country could quickly render it insufficient. The greatest pollution threat lies with the eastern route, set to begin carrying water at the end of this year from Jiangsu province to Shandong and a little further north.
But in Gupang, a stretch of ramshackle concrete homes, villagers say the water dumped into Dongping lake during a month of test-runs was deadly. The channel itself is picturesque, flanked by walkways and trees, and a billboard proclaims the project will “benefit the country and the people”. But a retired fish farmer surnamed Pang, 72, says: “The water’s surface was full of fish and they started to stink. Then they rotted and sank.” Now, the family farms -- underwater nets tied to poles that jut out toward the sky -- sit unattended. Creaky wooden boats bob nearby, one using a brick as an anchor. Villagers said they had just poured in their annual 50,000 yuan ($8,000) of fish fry when the wipeout hit in June. Unable to afford replacements, many younger men left to find work in the cities. Residents said local authorities dismissed their version of events but gave them 5,000 yuan as compensation -- then warned people not to talk about what happened and detained three fish farmers considered ringleaders. “They won’t let us see him,” the 25-year-old daughter of one of them says, her eyes welling up. The central section -- set to start sending water from Hubei province to the Beijing area next year -- has forced 350,000 people to relocate. Five rivers feeding that route’s main source, the Danjiangkou reservoir, are “unlikely” to meet cleanliness stan-
dards because anti-pollution projects lack funding, the state news agency Xinhua reported in July. The western element traverses the Tibetan plateau and aims to channel water from the Yangtze’s upper reaches to the Yellow river, but poses the biggest construction challenge and will not be finished for nearly four decades. Experts argue the real solution should be to contain China’s growing thirst, not encourage it. “It’s actually a very prolonged, very tortuous process that probably should have been killed off a long time ago,” says Harvard research fellow Scott Moore. “It would be more effective in the long run to try to tackle the demand side rather than just to try to increase the supply.” But that would require authorities to force industries and the populace to curb both demand and waste. China is inefficient in its use of water, the World Bank says, with twothirds of supply going to agriculture, where irrigation systems have “extensive” losses. The rest largely goes to industry, which recycles only 40 percent, half as much as in developed countries, while urban distribution networks are among the world’s leakiest. The north might have learned to conserve better if it had not anticipated receiving diverted water, says Ma Jun, a prominent Beijing-based environmentalist. He stresses that authorities should view the backup supply as only a stopgap measure to “buy some time”. “I hope this time will be used well,” he says. “Because it won’t last particularly long.”
Georgia Asian Times November 1-15, 2013
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SPORTS
Philippines’ creaky Pacquiao training ‘like a 20-year-old’ GENERAL SANTOS, October 24, 2013 - Philippine boxing hero Manny Pacquiao says he is furiously training like a 20-year-old to break a losing streak and re-establish his reputation as one of the world’s best fighters. Pacquiao also said his match against American Brandon Rios in the Chinese territory of Macau next month would be “a good window” to promote boxing in China, and that he felt honoured to take part in the landmark bout. “This training camp, I believe, is one of the longest preparations in my boxing career. I trained early because I want to prove that I can still fight in the top (tier) of boxing,” he told reporters late Wednesday in his home town of General Santos in the southern Philippines.
Pacquiao said he had come to terms with his shock defeat to Marquez, reasoning that losing was inevitable during a long sporting career. “I don’t think I had a mistake in that fight. If you look back... I had 100 percent conditioning, aggressiveness. That (defeat) is part of boxing. I accept 100 percent what happened in the last fight,” he said. While he had done light training earlier, Pacquiao formally opened his training camp in General Santos last month. His training to meet Rios, for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title, has largely been behind closed doors.
“This time my preparation is more serious, more focused. My mind is like when I was 20 years old.”
This is in contrast to many of his previous training camps, where journalists, celebrities and other guests have dropped by to pose with the boxer.
A former champion in an unprecedented eight weight divisions, Pacquiao, who turns 35 in December, is seeking to come back from two consecutive defeats which have led supporters to question if he should hang up his gloves.
Critics have previously questioned whether Pacquiao’s diminishing prowess in the ring was because he had become distracted by his many other endeavours.
He lost a controversial split decision to American Timothy Bradley in June last year, then suffered a sixth-round knockout to Mexican arch rival Juan Manuel Marquez six months later.
His boxing fame helped him to launch a successful political career in the Philippines, and he is now a second-term congressman with ambitions of eventually becoming president.
First Egyptian grappler soars to top flight TOKYO, October 28, 2013 - The first professional sumo wrestler from Africa or the Arab world continued his meteoric rise with his promotion Monday to the sport’s elite division.
The Egyptian made his debut in March last year and lost no more than two bouts in each of the following eight tournaments, which have seven matches in the lowest division.
The Japan Sumo Association raised 21-year-old Egyptian Abdelrahman Ahmed Shaalan, who goes by the ring name of “Osunaarashi” (Great Sandstorm), to the “makuuchi” division.
He reached the second division of 28 wrestlers in May and went 10-5 in each of the two 15-match tournaments at that level.
This is made up of 42 wrestlers including two grand champions (yokozuna), both of whom are Mongolians. “I am not so happy, as I feel tense,” he told a news conference. “I still have a lot of work to do because wrestlers are strong at the makuuchi level,” said the 189 centimetre (6 feet 2 inches) Muslim, who weighs in at 146 kilograms (322 pounds). “I will work hard to establish my style of sumo, better sumo. I need to gain more power, too.” But the young wrestler also struck a confident tone, saying: “I don’t care who my opponents may be, as Osunaarashi I will be all right against anyone.”
That result came even as he fasted during the first tournament in July. Devout Muslims are forbidden from eating or drinking during daylight in the holy month of Ramadan. Osunaarashi begins in the makuuchi division in the second to last of the 21 ranks. He has taken just 10 tournaments since his debut to join the top flight, the second fastest ascent after Japanese wrestler Jokoryu made the grade last year following just nine tournaments. Thirty-nine foreign-born wrestlers have reached the top division but Osunaarashi was the quickest to do so.
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November 1-15, 2013 Georgia Asian Times
SPORTS Formula One: Dominant Vettel seizes historic world title
GREATER NOIDA, October 27, 2013 - Sebastian Vettel roared into the history books as Formula One’s youngest four-time champion and celebrated in outlandish style after a superlative win at the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday.
the champagne-sprayed podium and called it the “best day of my life”.
Finally, a win as McIlroy roars against Tiger
“I am speechless. I spent ages thinking what to say, there is so much you want to say at a time like that,” he said.
HAIKOU, October 28, 2013 - Rory McIlroy finally tasted success for the first time this year when he beat an ailing Tiger Woods by one shot in a megabucks exhibition in China on Monday.
“It is a pleasure to jump in the car and go out and drive for the guys and give it all I have. The car was phenomenal today and has been phenomenal all season to be honest.
In the ‘Match at Mission Hills’, at a sprawling golf complex on Hainan Island, the Northern Irish world number six shot six-under-par 66 to Woods’ 67 in the one-round face-off.
“I want to say a big thank you to everyone who is behind the team. It has not been an easy season. From the outside, people will think it was easy but it wasn’t.”
McIlroy, who has dropped off the top of the rankings and has not won a tournament all year, also beat Woods by one shot in a similar Chinese event last year.
Vettel said the enthusiastic applause from the Indian crowd was particularly sweet after he was unsportingly jeered after winning in Belgium, Italy and Singapore.
Monday’s victory, at the same venue where he won the World Cup with Graeme McDowell in 2011, will give him a boost ahead of this week’s WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
“Unbelievable day,” said the jubilant Vettel over the team radio. “We did it! Yes! Yes!”
“It has been hard for me in particular, to be booed when I have not done anything wrong was hard, but I think I answered the things on the track which I am very pleased about,” he said.
“I would like to play all my tournaments in China where I can beat Tiger,” said the 24-year-old.
“You’ve done it in style,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said on the radio as Vettel raced past the chequered flag. “Brilliant drive, you join the greats.”
“I am overwhelmed, I don’t know what to say but it is the best day of my life so far.”
Pole-sitter Vettel pitted early to change his soft tyres but then scythed through the field to win 30 seconds ahead of Mercedes’s Nico Rosberg, with Lotus driver Romain Grosjean third. The 26-year-old German becomes the youngest man to win four straight titles, with Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher the only other drivers to achieve the feat. And despite team-mate Mark Webber’s retirement with a mechanical problem, Red Bull also sealed their fourth straight constructors’ title with three races to go.
With his fourth championship, achieved with 10 wins this season, Vettel levels French great Alain Prost on the all-time list with only Fangio (five) and Schumacher (seven) ahead of him. He celebrated jubiliantly by spinning doughnuts for a cacophonous grandstand, and then leapt on top of his car and saluted his fans before kneeling in front of the Red Bull in mock worship. The exuberant scenes earned Vettel a reprimand and Red Bull a 25,000 euros fine for not heading straight off the circuit, as demanded by F1 rules. But that was of little concern to the emotional Vettel, who was hoisted onto Rosberg and Grosjean’s shoulders on
“It’s been great to come back to this wonderful golf course where I still have such great memories from playing here two years ago in the World Cup.”
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who was Vettel’s nearest challenger going into the race but 90 points adrift, managed only 11th place.
Last year’s ‘Duel at Jinsha Lake’ was notable for its unruly fans, and marshalls and officials -- and Woods’s manager -- again struggled to control the crowd at times on Monday.
Vettel’s sixth win in a row, 10th in 16 races this season and 36th of his career left him poised to shatter more records in the remaining three races in Abu Dhabi, America and Brazil.
Woods, who touched down after a 22-hour journey late on Sunday, was also battling a virus caught from his daughter, with his voice reduced to a whisper by the end of the round.
If he wins all three, Vettel will equal Schumacher’s record of 13 wins in 2004 and become the only driver to secure nine consecutive victories in a season.
“I don’t sound all that well now but it was nice that it was warm out there today as that certainly helped, because I think my fever broke and I can start feeling a bit better,” said the world number one.
Italian Alberto Ascari drove a Ferrari for nine straight wins, but his run was spread over two seasons in 1952 and 1953.
“But I tell you what, when you have kids they bring home some strong bugs and this one has definitely been kicking
my butt for the last couple of days.” McIlroy got off to a great start when he birdied the first two holes before Woods, competing in his first event since the Presidents Cup, responded with birdies at three and four. McIlroy shot a double-bogey on the fifth and he trailed Woods by a stroke coming into the par-five 12th, where both players raised a cheer by firing eagles. The Ulsterman drew level with a birdie at 14 and it was Woods who blinked first when he three-putted for bogey on 17. Both players finished with a birdie on the last hole. It was an encouraging outing for McIlroy, who finished tied second at the Kolon Korea Open before fading from a promising position at last week’s BMW Masters in Shanghai. “So I leave here and head back to Shanghai with my game good and there has been a lot of promising signs in practice and in my competitive play,” he said. “I still have four tournaments left to the end of the season and still would love to finish 2013 strongly and get some momentum into next season. “I’m hitting the ball well and from tee-to-green the game is very solid and if I can get the putter working, I maybe can contend and get a win or two.” Woods is remaining in Asia for promotional engagements before heading to Turkey and next week’s inaugural Turkish Airlines Open at Balek. While the appearance fee was not revealed, reports said Woods and McIlroy split $3 million for playing last year’s ‘Duel’.
Georgia Asian Times November 1-15, 2013
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HEALTH FDA seeks tighter controls on certain painkillers WASHINGTON, October 25, 2013 - The US Food and Drug Administration recommended tighter controls Thursday on how doctors prescribe the most commonly used narcotic painkillers, in a bid to stop abuse. The move would allow widely abused opioid analgesic drugs containing the narcotic hydrocodone to be controlled strictly as powerful painkillers such as OxyContin. In announcing its decision, the FDA said it had become “increasingly concerned about the abuse and misuse of opioid products, which have sadly reached epidemic proportions in certain parts of the United States.” Janet Woodcock, who heads the agency’s center for drug evaluation and research, said the FDA plans to submit its formal recommendation by early December to reclassify painkillers containing hydrocodone as “Schedule II” medications, up from their current “Schedule III” classification. “We are announcing the agency’s intent to recommend to HHS (Health and Human Services) that hydrocodone combination products should be reclassified to a different and more restrictive schedule,” she said in a statement. “This determination comes after a thorough and careful analysis of extensive scientific literature, review of hundreds of public comments on the issue and several public meetings, during which we received input from a wide range of stakeholders, including patients, health care providers, outside experts and other government entities.” The Drug Enforcement Administration had been seeking the measure, and formally requested the change in 2009. In 2011, doctors wrote about 131 million prescriptions for hydrocodone-containing medications for around 47 million patients, according to government figures. Overseen by the FDA and the DEA, the scheduling system ranks drugs based on their medical use, potential for abuse and international treaties, among other criteria. Schedule II drugs have the highest potential for abuse and addiction that can be legally prescribed.
HIV has big hiding place, foiling hopes for cure WASHINGTON, October 24, 2013 - Modern medicine can keep HIV at bay but not cure it, and researchers said Thursday the reason may lie in the larger-than-expected size of the virus’s hiding place. Traces of HIV can lie dormant in the body’s immune cells, and this so-called latent reservoir is 60 times bigger than previous estimates, according to new research in the journal Cell. The findings, based on three years of lab experiments, explain why human immunodeficiency virus usually makes a swift comeback and can lead to full-blown AIDS if an infected person stops taking antiretroviral drugs. “Our study results certainly show that finding a cure for HIV disease is going to be much harder than we had thought and hoped for,” said senior investigator Robert Siliciano, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Siliciano in 1995 first showed that reservoirs of dormant HIV were present in immune cells. There are 213 known proviruses, or remnants of HIV that linger in cells and tissues throughout the body even when HIV is undetectable in the blood.
The latest research showed that 25 of these -- a total of 12 percent -could reactivate themselves, replicate their genetic material and infect other cells. This came as a surprise to the science team, because these non-induced proviruses had previously been viewed as defective, therefore playing no role in the infection’s return. The study found that the average frequency of intact non-induced proviruses was “at least 60-fold higher” than the potentially dangerous latent viruses that scientists already knew about. All these intact non-induced proviruses need to be wiped out in order to achieve a cure, experts say. What is needed are specialized drugs that target them. More than 34 million people worldwide are infected with HIV. The threedecade-old pandemic kills about 1.8 million people each year. A handful of people with HIV around the world have been described as being in remission or potentially cured of HIV, but these cases are rare. The most famous of them, Timothy Brown -- an American who was long
referred to as the Berlin patient -- was cleared of the virus after a bone marrow transplant that wiped out both his leukemia and his HIV infection. Another novel case involves a young girl who was infected in the womb, and was given a potent dose of antiretrovirals shortly after birth until she was 18 months old. At that point, the child’s mother stopped bringing her to the doctor and stopped giving her medication. Research out Wednesday showed the now three-year-old child has no trace of HIV in her blood despite going 18 months without treatment. Clinical trials to test the approach on a wider scale in infants in low and middle income countries are set to begin next year. “Although cure of HIV infection may be achievable in special situations, the elimination of the latent reservoir is a major problem, and it is unclear how long it will take to find a way to do this,” said Siliciano.
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November 1-15, 2013 Georgia Asian Times
Misc Asia India diggers find artifacts after holy man’s treasure tip NEW DELHI, October 21, 2013 - Indian archaeologists said Monday they have found artifacts in the ruins of a centuries-old fort where a Hindu holy man has said he dreamt that a hoard of gold was buried. Archaeologists began digging at the fort in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Friday, three months after the seer told a junior government minister about his dream of a 1,000-tons gold treasure.
Five killed in China Tiananmen Square car crash
BEIJING, October 28, 2013 - Five people including a Philippine tourist were killed and 38 were injured after a vehicle ploughed into crowds in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Monday and caught fire, police said.
The blaze sent clouds of smoke billowing into the air near a giant portrait of Mao Zedong that hangs at one end of the square, the site of pro-democracy protests in 1989 which were brutally crushed by the authorities. Witnesses and reports said the SUV vehicle drove along the pavement outside the Forbidden City, the former imperial palace, before crashing -- prompting speculation the incident was intentional. Immediately afterwards a security operation swung into force on the vast plaza, the symbolic centre of the Chinese state. “I saw a car turn a bend and suddenly it was driving on the pavement. It happened fast but looked like it knocked people over,” one eyewitness, who did not want to be named. “I heard an explosion and saw fire. The scene was very frightening,” he added. “There were paramilitary police who told people to get back into their cars and stop taking pictures.” Images posted on Chinese social media sites showed the blazing shell of the SUV and a plume of black smoke rising near a portrait of communist China’s founder that hangs on the Forbidden City’s towering wall, while crowds looked on.
Several pictures posted online were deleted within minutes, streets leading to the square were blocked off and barriers were erected. “The incident led to five deaths and 38 injuries,” Beijing police said on their verified account on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter. The driver of the vehicle and two passengers were killed, along with two tourists, one a woman from the Philippines and the other a man from Guangdong province in southern China, they said. Three Philippine tourists and one Japanese were among the injured, police added, saying the vehicle had crashed into the guardrail on Jinshui Bridge, which crosses the moat around the Forbidden City, and then caught fire. The Southern Metropolis Daily quoted an injured Philippine woman named Francesca as saying: “I heard the car’s horn honking, but I noticed it too late. My mind went completely blank, and when I woke again I was completely on the ground.” One 58-year-old Italian tourist said he was touring the Forbidden City when officers came in around noon and ushered everybody out. Tiananmen Square is generally kept under tight security, with both uniformed and plain-clothes personnel deployed. Many are equipped with fire extinguishers. Social media users speculated that the
The dig in the impoverished village of Daudiakala created a media storm and drew large numbers of local residents, prompting barricades to be thrown up around the site.
that its excavation was aimed at discovering and recording the fort’s “cultural heritage” and was not a gold hunt. “It is a trial excavation and so far we have cleared soil up to a depth of five feet and yesterday we found a medieval wall, earthen jars and pots, a hearth and a floor,” said ASI’s excavation chief Syed Jamal Hasan. “Archeologists anywhere in the world do not dig for gold and treasures and here we are interested only in discovering the site’s cultural heritage,” Hasan said. He said a 12-member team would keep digging as long as there were signs of human habitation.
The fort belonged to Raja Rao Ram Bux Singh, a Hindu king who was executed after taking part in a 1857 revolution against British colonial rulers.
“It might take us a month or so,” said Hasan, whose government agency is charged with researching and protecting India’s cultural heritage.
The Archaeological Survey of India (AIS) has said it began excavating on the basis of findings from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) that suggested gold or silver could be buried there.
The guru told India media that he was worried about the “collapsing economy of India” and so also wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Reserve Bank of India about the “hidden treasure”.
The junior minister told an Indian newspaper that he had earlier alerted the GSI and fellow ministers about the gold, after Swamy Shobhan Sarkar said that the dead king had appeared in his dream and asked him to recover the stash. However the AIS insisted on Monday
A hoard of golden Hindu idols, precious stones and other treasures, which some estimates value at billions of dollars, was unearthed in 2011 in the vaults of a 16th-century temple in the southern state of Kerala.
car was crashed intentionally.
State broadcaster CCTV did not mention the incident on its flagship evening bulletin.
“Is this the 2013 Tiananmen self-immolation incident?” asked the writer of one post. “There’s still a person inside the car!” Around 120 Tibetans have set themselves alight since February 2009 in Tibet itself and adjoining regions of China, in protest against what they see as oppression by Beijing. The writer of another post pointed out that the vehicle had driven through a pedestrian area, adding: “It couldn’t have been a car accident but was a premeditated event.” Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she did not know “the specifics” when asked whether there was any evidence of a terrorist attack.
The first reports of the crash trickled online Monday afternoon from Chinese social media users at the scene. Soon afterwards police erected high curtain-like barricades directly in front of the Mao portrait, blocking passers-by from viewing the scene. Police stopped people from entering the square and said an “event” was happening there, while an officer in a van blared orders to leave through a loudspeaker. Vehicles were later allowed back on to the main road in front of the Forbidden City, a world heritage site that sees 14 million visitors a year.
Georgia Asian Times November 1-15, 2013
Misc Asia
Elephant race scrapped on Sri Lanka’s new trunk road
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Words of Wisdom
COLOMBO, October 24, 2013 Twenty-four elephants lined up for a race Thursday on Sri Lanka’s newest expressway, but thousands of spectators were left disappointed when organizers scrapped the event due to safety concerns.
“We did not expect this kind of crowd today,” provincial minister for transport and tourism, Nimal Lanza.
A girl with a dedicated heart and good behaviour is more precious than your own heart. Bhutanese Proverb
“We have over 100,000 people at the starting point and another 200,000 at two exits of the expressway.”
The voluntary obedience of people depends on who is commanding them. Burmese Proverb
The animals and jockeys were jostling at the start line on the Chinese-built 16 mile four-lane expressway from the airport to the capital when authorities had a sudden change of heart.
The road, costing $292 million, will cut travel time between the airport and the city by half to 20 minutes.
Men in the game are blind to what men looking on see clearly. Chinese Proverb
President Mahinda Rajapakse is set to ceremonially open it on Sunday.
Everyone rakes the fire under his own pot. Chinese Proverb
Police felt that the tuskers could pose a threat to the safety of spectators if one of them went out of control and the race was turned into a parade -- to the disappointment of the crowds and the invited media.
Elephants are treated as sacred animals in Sri Lanka where they are paraded at Buddhist temple festivals and protected by law.
What comes from bubbles will disappear in bubbles. Filipino Proverb A person who has no money is like a bird without wings. Filipino Proverb
‘Stunt’ at Philippine heritage site draws ire
MANILA, October 27, 2013 - Philippine conservationists hit out Sunday at a wakeskating “stunt” that took place at an ancient mountain rice terrace, accusing sponsors of exploiting the UNESCO World Heritage site. Professional wakeskaters Brian Grubb of the United States and Dominik Preisner of Germany are shown on a video on YouTube skimming on the waters of the Banaue rice terraces in the Philippines’ northern mountain region. Wakeskating is similar to the popular water sport wakeboarding but users are not bound to the board. “I noticed that on the back of the bills here, you could see all these rice terraces and tons of water,” Grubb says in the video, which was uploaded Thursday and already viewed over 241,000 times as of Sunday. “It’s just a wakeskate paradise but no one even knew it was here.”
Although they said they obtained permission from local tribal leaders, the video quickly spread on social media, drawing mixed reactions from Filipinos. “Wakeboarding at the terraces? It is a stunt totally inappropriate to the site. And stunt it is,” Augusto Villalon, president of the Heritage Society. “The world heritage property and the local residents should not be exploited.”
Sponsors Red Bull defended the event, saying in a statement attached to the video: “Respect for the environment was a priority from the beginning of this project! “The team has assured that the plants and wildlife have neither been damaged nor disturbed at any time during the project. “All agreements have been made together with the locals and under respect of their traditions and culture.”
There is no flower that remains red for ten days, and no power that lasts for ten years. Japanese Proverb Difficulties make you a jewel. Japanese Proverb
A worm who wants to be a dragon. Malay Proverb The supreme treasure is knowledge, the middle treasure is children, and the lowest treasure is material wealth. Mongolian Proverb If mind is clean, fate is good. Mongolian Proverb Haste make waste. Thai Proverb Like mother like daughter. Thai Proverb If the hand could not catch the flea. Let not the mouth slay the tiger. Tibetan Proverb Brothers may become as enemies. Yet their family ties are golden. Tibetan Proverb Old foxes want no tutor. Vietnamese Proverb You cannot breathe through another man’s nose. Vietnamese Proverb
Even a stone bridge should be tested by banging on it before crossing. Korean Proverb It is better to lift together, even when it is a blank sheet of paper. Korean Proverb Like a bird with eyes so free yet body imprisoned. Malay Proverb
But heritage conservation architect Joycelyn Mananghaya said the terraced paddies were carved out on the slopes of the Ifugao mountain region by ancient people “for the prime purpose of planting rice”. “If the intent is to attract tourists and assist in improving the economic conditions of the people, it remains as an activity that is grossly out of place
and if encouraged and continues will significantly remove from it the values by which the site has been inscribed in the world heritage list,” she said. The video can be viewed at: http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSoWjC2bW2Y
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November 1-15, 2013 Georgia Asian Times
TECH to enjoy sunlight. So I asked myself: why not move the sunrays instead of moving ourselves?” he explained.
“After basking in the sun, people are beaming themselves,” Haugan said after the final tests.
The idea was challenged by other residents who questioned the appropriateness of investing public money in the project instead of in nurseries and schools.
Besides getting more cheerful citizens, local authorities hope to capitalise on the extensive media coverage of the feat to bring in more tourists.
“Some labelled it a Mickey Mouse project and it’s true it’s a little insane, but we have to think out of the box and explore new paths,” the mayor said. Five million kroner (615,000 euro, $849,000) was raised for the project -four million from sponsors -- and now three 183-square-feet mirrors tower over the north side of Rjukan village.
Giant mirrors bring winter sun to Norwegian village OSLO, October 28, 2013 - Residents of a remote village nestled in a steep-sided valley in southern Norway are about to enjoy winter sunlight for the first time ever thanks to giant mirrors. The mountains that surround the village of Rjukan are far from Himalayan, but they are high enough to deprive its 3,500 inhabitants of direct sunlight for six months a year. That was before a century-old idea, as old as Rjukan itself, was brought to life: to install mirrors on a 437-yard high peak to deflect sunrays towards the central square. “The idea was a little crazy, but madness is our middle name,” said Oeystein Haugan, a local project coordinator. “When Rjukan was founded, it was a bit crazy to start a community in the middle of nowhere with this massive hydroelectric plant, huge pipes and a railway line to transport fertilizer to the rest of the world,” he added. It was first mooted by Norwegian in-
dustrialist Sam Eyde, at whose behest Rjukan was established. Eyde founded Norsk Hydro and wanted to take advantage of an enormous waterfall to produce chemical fertilizers. From just 300 inhabitants spread out across scattered farms in 1900, the population grew to 10,000 by 1913 and the ambitious industrialist endorsed a project to deflect sunrays into the village. “It’s one of the few projects that Eyde was unable to complete, due to a lack of appropriate technology,” mayor Steinar Bergsland said. Instead he built a cable car, which is still in use, to allow his employees to recharge their vitamin D levels with sunlight on a mountain top. An artist Martin Andersen, who arrived in the village from Paris, picked up the idea around ten years ago. “The further we got into winter, the further we had to drive out of the valley
A computer will control the mirrors so that they follow the sun to reflect the light on the market square, lighting up a 6,459-square-feet elliptical area. The inauguration is scheduled for sometime next week, depending on weather conditions.
Encouraged by its expected tourist revival, Rjukan even hopes to be included in the Unesco World Heritage List by 2015, as an example of human industrial genius. “We have already recovered our investment dozens of times over. Maybe not in cold, hard cash for the local council but in publicity and marketing value,” administrative head of the municipality Rune Loedoeen said. “Now it’s up to us to manage this asset properly.”
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November 1-15, 2013 Georgia Asian Times
October Horoscope Snake (2013 2001 1989 1977 1965 1953 1941 1929 1917 1905) During period such as this, when life proceeds from one skirmish to the next, the day could seem to be about little but battles won and lost. Ironically, those situations in which you do not get your way could benefit you most. These are forcing you to break away from familiar yet restrictive ways of thinking, living and planning. More importantly explore unfamiliar territories, which are vast and open. Just do not concern yourself when the challenge ahead seems tough or unfair. In this modern society, fairness will not win you much comfort. You should try your best and go for what you believe in most.
Pig (2007 1995 1983 1971 1959 1947 1935 1923 1911) When you are watching others wresting with emotional turmoil, you are grateful you are a rational sign. Although nobody enjoys dwelling on painful feelings, these go so deep you will find they are in equal parts a struggle and illuminating. This is the case you could be facing during this period. Focusing on what there is to gain from what you are facing will give you the courage to delve into these challenging feelings in depth. You may discover a new experience in life and may alter your view toward living rather than surviving.
Horse (2002 1990 1978 1966 1954 1942 1930 1918 1906) Normally you are the one who is proficient at smoothing over difficult situations caused by insensitive words or unwise actions. But during this month you seem to be instigating some of them when provoked. So do not try to cover facts that really should come out. If there is any problem, misunderstandings are likely. Knowing that, ensure that you are conscientiously truthful, say no more than necessary then withdraw. It does not benefit parties affected including you where financial outcome is concerned.
Rat (2008 1996 1984 1972 1960 1948 1936 1924 1912) No doubt you would rather avoid tensions with others or family members, you came to realize certain individuals are incapable of settling differences without drama. Knowing that, hopefully you are not trying to avoid clashes but adopt an opposite approach, encouraging them to see different perspectives. Then stand back and let them express their feelings. Such method may not necessarily have an immediate impact and you should instill some faith and allow time to take its natural course. In your heart you know that at least you have tried your best.
Sheep (2003 1991 1979 1967 1955 1943 1931 1919 1907) Once you understand that the arguments or discussions others make, either for or against certain arrangements/operations/treatments, have nothing to do with logic, then everything else will make sense. The problem is that they are apprehensive about certain sudden un-usual behavior changes in you. But while you may be biding time until you can learn more; out of concern and care, they are taking considerable measure and not always well thought out. Since you have much on your plate momentarily, try not to take things too seriously about their good intent.
Ox (2009 1997 1985 1973 1961 1949 1937 1925 1913) Recent events have made you aware that certain practical health matters will need to be dealt with and without delay. Yet you feel ill-prepared to do anything. The trick is to do something out of character. Start with something simple and small. Each step will provide you with insights and build your confidence. When getting stuck with something alien to you, always asks around and if not the internet websites may be your oyster of knowledge or answers. Just need to avoid being ignorant.
Monkey (2004 1992 1980 1968 1956 1944 1932 1920 1908) You admire those who keep precise track of their time and save money. But doing it yourself would curb your style. Still, lately that freedom’s come at a price. Rethink your priorities instead of facing an on-going shortfall, you should find a better way to organize your life. You are by no means rigid with your thinking. Yet because you think through even simple plans carefully, you dislike making changes. However, not only are certain events forcing you to do exactly that, there is no question the disruption they create will be justified by the outcome.
Tiger (2010 1998 1986 1974 1962 1950 1938 1926 1914) Your reaction to recent offers has made you realize how unwilling you are even to discuss certain ideas. The developments these require would mean making changes you regard as bothersome, if not just plain unrealistic or impractical. Although you rarely show it, you do not just have a stubborn side, when you feel you have been short-changed, you can be impossible to move. Take that firm stance at the moment. However you could feel you are being strong; when you are actually only causing yourself problems.
Rooster (2005 1993 1981 1969 1957 1945 1933 1921 1909) Being corned into altering elements of your life does not thrill you. Circumstances are throwing you together with rigid thinking individuals. You may be left with no choice but to discuss plans that influence you both. However in undertaking these changes, you realize you could end burdensome arrangements. For now, listen and say the minimum. When it is time to settle on a simple plan; you should make your views known and with incontestable authority. Dog (2006 1994 1982 1970 1958 1946 1934 1922 1910) You have been perfectly clear about existing health and treatment. However things have been progressing gradually, that even you have been unable to keep track of every minute detail. You are also contending with friends and family members who would rather not face the fact that certain consequences are inevitable, although ultimately worthwhile. Since their anxieties are being heightened, both facts and those unspoken feelings should come out in the open.
Rabbit (2011 1999 1987 1975 1963 1951 1939 1927 1915 1903) There is a significant difference between agreeing to plan which you are close to doing and that plan being a lasting one perhaps. Much as you would like to get things settled properly and with the world around you changing, it is becoming unrealistic. Worse, it could keep you from benefiting from new exciting but unexpected offers. More importantly do not feel despair when help does not arrive in time, for with a little patience and faith, the situation could turn around to your amazement. Dragon (2012 2000 1988 1976 1964 1952 1940 1928 1916 1904) After a challenging several weeks, life is falling into place magically and magnificently. The only problem is, although things are going well for you, those around you are struggling; thus you feel guilty about your good fortune. However you have worked hard to achieve what you have, so do what you can for others, but no more. Perhaps it is your moment to enjoy life’s bounty free of guilt. You have earned it the hard way and have every right to treasure and enjoy what is meant to be yours.