Wednesday, June 1, 2011

01/06 MUSINGS


June 1, 2011

The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's June 1 issue.
* * *
The following is said to have been advertising copy for a liver drug.
"Running fast through the smog-filled town,
Dazzling his seniors and coworkers,
Leading the bar-hopping at night,
And going to the office neatly this morning, too."
This copy was cited by author Kazutoshi Hando in a chapter of his book "Showa-shi Sengo-hen" (History of the Showa era: Postwar days), published by Heibonsha Ltd. and focusing on the period of rapid economic growth after World War II.
Young people nowadays may be impressed by the copy, or react with a wry grin. I have no idea how it will strike them.
But it probably is true that postwar reconstruction was achieved because groups of young people, described in the copy as if all their bodies' cells were jumping with energy, vigorously interacted with each other in various fields.
The major Yomiuri Shimbun series titled "Showa Jidai" (Showa era), which appears every Saturday, is featuring the Showa 30s (the decade from 1955 to 1964) in its first part.
The theme of the May 28 installment was "Taiyo no Kisetsu" (Season of the sun), a novel written by Shintaro Ishihara in those days. The article describes the vigor of the energetic postwar young generation symbolized by Ishihara, who is now the governor of Tokyo, and his late younger brother Yujiro, an actor.
Yujiro's nickname was "tough guy" and it probably was a time when many young men deserved the name--like the one featured in the liver drug ad.
Even though the structure of society was different then from today, I cannot help but feel that era contained something too good to be kept only in the reminiscences of middle-aged and elderly people.
"You did it, damn.
I'll get revenge by redoubling it..."
These are lines from "Arashi o Yobu Otoko" (Man who causes a storm), a hit song sung by Yujiro.
I hope this becomes our mindset for dealing with the natural disaster that struck Japan.
(Jun. 6, 2011)

28/05 幻の注水中断―いい加減にしてほしい


大いなるフィクションに世間が大騒ぎをさせられた。国会でも、この虚構をもとに野党と政府が激しくやり合った。

福島第一原発の事故発生翌日、1号機への海水注入が55分間中断した事実はなかった、というのである。

東京電力の訂正報告が本当なら、福島第一の所長が東電本社の指示に従わず注入を続けたことを経営陣が2カ月以上も知らなかったことになる。会社の体をなしていない。

所長の判断には理解できる面がある。壊れかけた原発で、注水の中断は、絶対してはいけないことだったのだろう。

ただ、それで強行突破したのなら、事後に本社に伝え、本社は中断指示の経緯も含めてすぐに公表すべきだった。

事故直後、分単位でどんな手を打ったかは、事故の拡大防止を考えるときに欠かせない基本情報だからだ。

結果的に正しい判断だったとしても、政府や東電の発表内容に対する信頼が大きく損なわれた。こうしたことが続けば、事態収拾への道筋に悪影響を与えるばかりでなく、国際的な信用も失ってしまう。

もっと深刻なのは、政府と東電本社と現場とが、現在にいたってもバラバラで連携できていないことが、発表をめぐる混乱を通して露呈した点だ。

互いに責任を転嫁するばかりで、いまだに事実関係すら明確にできない。

東電から海水注入の方針を告げられた政府がすぐに了承しなかったのはなぜなのか。最終的な指示を出すまで、どんなやり取りがあったのか。

政府は「再臨界の可能性を検討した」という。だが、専門家は一様に「真水から海水への切り替えで再臨界の可能性が強まることはない」と指摘する。

ならば、原子力安全委員会や東電幹部らが、一刻も早い注入を首相に助言できたはずだ。それとも、首相に聞く耳がなかったのか。

政府と東電の間で、国民や作業員の安全より政治的な思惑や自身の面目、あるいはトップの顔色をうかがうことばかりが優先されているのだとすれば、言語道断だ。

福島第一での作業は今も続いている。一つ間違えば惨事につながりかねない課題ばかりだ。

首相は、現場の判断を尊重しつつ正確な情報をあげさせ、多角的に検討して適切な決定がくだせる態勢を、ただちに整えるべきだ。

東電が所長を処分して終わりにするような問題ではない。

31/05 Ku Klux Klan protests Westboro Baptist Church (Video)


Posted at 09:39 AM ET, 05/31/2011



Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. (Michael S. Williamson - THE WASHINGTON POST)
As President Obama honored fallen soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, three members of the Westboro Baptist Church protested the ceremony, holding signs that read “Pray for more dead soldiers” and “God hates your prayers,” as the controversial group has become known to do. They were met by about 70 counterprotesters, including members from a group just as contentious as the church: the Ku Klux Klan.
Dennis LaBonte, who told CNN he was a military veteran and the “imperial wizard” of a KKK chapter, said the approximately 10 members of the group came in “support of the troops.” LaBonte, who said he’s not a “hate-monger,” said he “thinks that it’s an absolute shame that [the WBC] show up and disrupt people’s funerals.” The group was cordoned off in a separate area and reportedly “drew little attention.”
WBC member Abigail Phelps said the KKK “have no moral authority on anything.”
“The Bible doesn't say anywhere that it's an abomination to be born of a certain gender or race,” she said. In March, the Supreme Court ruled that the church has the right to picket funerals.
The other counterprotesters in attendance waved American flags and held signs with pro-U.S.A. slogans.
By Sarah Anne Hughes  |  09:39 AM ET, 05/31/2011 

26/08/2010 Marilyn Monroe tops list of greatest blondes



English.news.cn   2010-08-26 10:39:58FeedbackPrintRSS
BEIJING, Aug.26 (Xinhuanet) -- Marilyn Monroe has been named the greatest blonde of all time according to a new poll of 3,000 people.
In second place was actress Grace Kelly, who married Prince Rainier III of Monaco. French beauty Brigitte Bardot was third, while Cameron came fourth.
Following are the top 20 blonde beauties.
(Agencies)
1. Marilyn Monroe.
Marilyn Monroe. (File Photo)
Marilyn Monroe (File Photo)

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Editor: Yang Lina
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01/06 Blonde Parade in Belarus


English.news.cn   2011-06-01 09:24:48FeedbackPrintRSS

Two blondes pose for a photo during the Blonde Parade in Minsk, Belarus, May 31, 2011. Hundreds of blondes participated in the event here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Sun Ping)

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Editor: Chen Zhi

01/06 List of cyber-weapons developed by Pentagon to streamline computer warfare


By Wednesday, June 1, 9:31 AM

The Pentagon has developed a list of cyber-weapons and -tools, including viruses that can sabotage an adversary’s critical networks, to streamline how the United States engages in computer warfare.
The classified list of capabilities has been in use for several months and has been approved by other agencies, including the CIA, said military officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive program. The list forms part of the Pentagon’s set of approved weapons or “fires” that can be employed against an enemy.
“So whether it’s a tank, an M-16 or a computer virus, it’s going to follow the same rules so that we can understand how to employ it, when you can use it, when you can’t, what you can and can’t use,” a senior military official said.
The integration of cyber-technologies into a formal structure of approved capabilities is perhaps the most significant operational development in military cyber-doctrine in years, the senior military official said.
The framework clarifies, for instance, that the military needs presidential authorization to penetrate a foreign computer network and leave a cyber-virus that can be activated later. The military does not need such approval, however, to penetrate foreign networks for a variety of other activities. These include studying the cyber-capabilities of adversaries or examining how power plants or other networks operate. Military cyber-warriors can also, without presidential authorization, leave beacons to mark spots for later targeting by viruses, the official said.
One example of a cyber-weapon is the Stuxnet worm that disrupted operations at an Iranian nuclear facility last year. U.S. officials have not acknowledged creating the computer worm, but many experts say they believe they had a role.
Under the new framework, the use of a weapon such as Stuxnet could occur only if the president granted approval, even if it were used during a state of hostilities, military officials said. The use of any cyber-weapon would have to be proportional to the threat, not inflict undue collateral damage and avoid civilian casualties.
The new framework comes as the Pentagon prepares to release a cyber-strategy that focuses largely on defense, the official said. It does not make a declaratory statement about what constitutes an act of war or use of force in cyberspace. Instead, it seeks to clarify, among other things, that the United States need not respond to a cyber-attack in kind but may use traditional force instead as long as it is proportional.
Nonetheless, another U.S. official acknowledged that “the United States is actively developing and implementing” cyber-capabilities “to deter or deny a potential adversary the ability to use its computer systems” to attack the United States.
In general, under the framework, the use of any cyber-weapon outside an area of hostility or when the United States is not at war is called “direct action” and requires presidential approval, the senior military official said. But in a war zone, where quick capabilities are needed, sometimes presidential approval can be granted in advance so that the commander has permission to select from a set of tools on demand, the officials said.
The framework breaks use of weapons into three tiers: global, regional and area of hostility. The threshold for action is highest in the global arena, where the collateral effects are the least predictable.
It was drafted in part out of concerns that deciding when to fire in cyberspace can be more complicated than it is on traditional battlefields. Conditions constantly shift in cyberspace, and the targets can include computer servers in different countries, including friendly ones.
Last year, for instance, U.S. intelligence officials learned of plans by an al-Qaeda affiliate to publish an online jihadist magazine in English called Inspire, according to numerous current and senior U.S. officials. And to some of those skilled in the emerging new world of cyber-warfare, Inspire seemed a natural target.
The head of the newly formed U.S. Cyber Command, Gen. Keith Alexander, argued that blocking the magazine was a legitimate counterterrorism target and would help protect U.S. troops overseas. But the CIA pushed back, arguing that it would expose sources and methods and disrupt an important source of intelligence. The proposal also rekindled a long-standing interagency struggle over whether disrupting a terrorist Web site overseas was a traditional military activity or a covert activity — and hence the prerogative of the CIA.
The CIA won out, and the proposal was rejected. But as the debate was underway within the U.S. government, British government cyber-warriors were moving forward with a plan.
When Inspire launched on June 30, the magazine’s cover may have promised an “exclusive interview” with Sheik Abu Basir al-Wahishi, a former aide to Osama bin Laden, and instructions on how to “Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom.” But pages 4 through 67 of the otherwise slick magazine, including the bomb-making instructions, were garbled as a result of the British cyber-attack.
It took almost two weeks for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to post a corrected version, said Evan Kohlmann, senior partner at Flashpoint Global Partners, which tracks jihadi Web sites.
The episode reflected how offensive cyber-operations are marked by persistent disagreement over who should take action and under what conditions. The new list of approved cyber-weapons will not settle those disputes but should make the debate easier to conduct, the senior military official said.
Some lawmakers also are proposing statutory language that would affirm that the defense secretary has the authority “to carry out a clandestine operation in cyberspace” under certain conditions. The operation must be in support of a military operation pursuant to Congress’s 2001 authorization to the president to use all necessary and appropriate force against those who committed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
House Armed Services Committee Vice Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Tex.), who drafted the language as part of the House-adopted 2012 defense authorization bill, said he was motivated by hearing from commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan frustrated by an inability to protect their forces against attacks they thought were enabled by adversaries spreading information online.
“I have had colonels come back to me and talk about how they thought they could do a better job of protecting their troops if they could deal with a particular Web site,” he said. “Yet because it was cyber, it was all new unexplored territory that got into lots of lawyers from lots of agencies being involved.”
Thornberry’s provision would establish that computer attacks to deny terrorists the use of the Internet to communicate and plan attacks from throughout the world are a “clandestine” and “traditional military” activity, according to text accompanying the proposed statute.
But the White House issued a policy statement last week that it had concerns with the cyber-provision. It declined to elaborate.
Thornberry said some Pentagon lawyers thought the proposed statutory language could go further. “But my view on cyber is we need to take it a step at a time,” he said.


31/05 U.S. grandma bodybuilder: "Age is nothing but a number"


English.news.cn   2011-05-31 14:58:40FeedbackPrintRSS
BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Ernestine Shepherd, 74, of Baltimore, has been crowned by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest competitive female bodybuilder.
Shepherd has impeccably toned "six-pack" abs that are the marvel of her Baltimore fitness center.
She trains rigorously with Yohnnie Shambourger, 57, a former Mr Universe who won the gold medal in bodybuilding at the Pan American Games in 1995, The Daily Mail reports.
Over the past 18 years, Shepherd has run nine marathons and won two bodybuilding contests.
Shepherd wakes up at 3 a.m. every day to meditate, then hits the trails in a local park to run 10 miles before lunch. She eats only plain brown rice, bland chicken breast and vegetables, washed down with a glass of raw egg whites, three times a day.
She told the Washington Post: "Age is nothing but a number."
She is a Dorothy Dandridge beauty, a knockout. Her makeup is perfect, lips painted candy red to match her workout clothes. She has thick, black eyelashes and wears her hair in a long, gray braid that swings down her superbly sculpted back.
The Shepherds live in Baltimore with their son, 53, and grandson, 14. Her husband of 54 years, Collin Shepherd, says he "has trouble keeping guys away from her."
(Agencies)
Editor: An
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01/06 Hot bikini girls sizzle runway at Fashion Rio Summer 2012


English.news.cn   2011-06-01 11:28:59FeedbackPrintRSS

A model presents a creation from Salinas' collection during Fashion Rio Summer 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, May 31, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

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Editor: Tang Danlu

31/05 Sarah Palin and Donald Trump share pizza in Times Square


Posted at 09:34 PM ET, 05/31/2011

Sarah Palin walks with Donald Trump in New York City as they make their way to a scheduled meeting Tuesday, May 31, 2010. (Craig Ruttle - AP)
On day three of Sarah Palin’s unconventional bus tour came the most surprising moment by far. The former Alaska governor and her daughter Piper dined tonight with media mogul Donald Trump and his wife Melania at a pizza place in Times Square. Palin met Trump at his apartment in Trump Tower, near Rockefeller Center; they rode from there in his limo to the restaurant, part of a New York City chain.
Asked on her way into the restaurant about Trump’s past political donations, Palin responded, “I think I’ll go change his mind and make sure he’s contributing to constitutional conservatives.’’
“She didn’t ask me [to run with her] but I’ll tell you, she’s a terrific woman,” Trump said as they walked in. Trump’s special counsel, Michael Cohen, told reporters that the pair had talked in the past about meeting up whenever Palin found herself in New York.
The group shared pepperoni, sausage, and meatball pizzas.
Palin is staying in Jersey City, where she arrived via bus this afternoon after a short trip to Philadelphia. Tomorrow, she is expected to take an early morning boat from there to Ellis Island, before the crowds of tourists arrive. Then she will greet the first ferry of visitors before taking her boat back and hitting the road.
From there, Palin’s plans are something of a mystery, although she is expected to head for New Hampshire. Details of her week-long tour of historic Northeast sites have remained secret at every step. Reporters have been scrambling to trail her at each stop.
Both Palin and Trump, who made a show of considering a presidential bid in the past few months, have contracts with Fox News. The two could be seen eating through the windows, against which surprised passerby pressed. This being New York City, not the most pro-Republican part of the country, there were loud chants of “Obama!” as the pair exited.
“Every time you go to New York, you’ve got to see Donald Trump,” Palin said on her way out. I approve of his independence.” She did an interview inside the restaurant with television reporters. Trump refused to comment as he left, saying only that he thought Palin was “good” and that they talked about “different things.”
Two members of the U.S. Navy, Daniel Delgado and Daniel Johnston in for Fleet Week and hanging out at a friend’s bar down the street, ended up being enlisted by both parties’ bodyguards to perform impromptu crowd control as the stars walked out. A clump of only about twenty people surrounded them. A pair of young women, trying to push past the former vice presidential candidate, screamed that they just wanted to touch Trump’s hand.
The first person who approached Palin outside the restaurant was Diane Barone, a union activist from Youngstown, Ohio in town for IUE-CWA contract negotiations. She shook Palin’s hand and would not let go, telling the former governor she disagreed with her positions on unions. Palin responded calmly that her father had been a union member and that making things better for working people “is something on which we can agree.” She said afterwards that she doubted she could change Palin’s mind, but you never know: “I thought she would ignore me and she did not, she shook my hand.”
By Rachel Weiner  |  09:34 PM ET, 05/31/2011 

01/06 Endeavour completes final mission


English.news.cn   2011-06-01 19:58:17FeedbackPrintRSS

U.S. space shuttle Endeavour comes in to land at Kennedy Space Center on June 1, 2011. Endeavour landed safely at Kennedy Space Center, wrapping up its final mission to space before becoming the next to last U.S. shuttle to retire. The spacecraft touched down at 2:34 a.m. ET at the end of a nearly 16-day mission to the International Space station. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

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Editor: Mo Hong'e