Japan anti-nuclear marches before tsunami anniversary

Google – AFP, 10 March 2013 

A woman holds an umbrella with anti-nuclear slogans during a demonstration

in Tokyo on March 10, 2013 (AFP, Yoshikazu Tsuno)

TOKYO — Anti-nuclear rallies took place across Japan on Sunday, on the eve of the second anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster, urging Japan's new government to abandon nuclear power.

Tens of thousands gathered in Hibiya park in central Tokyo, where activists and unionists packed a concert hall to voice their opposition.

Scholars, business people and volunteers gave anti-nuclear talks as musicians performed, before the crowds marched through the government district of Kasumigaseki to parliament.

They planned to hand petitions to anti-nuclear lawmakers, urging the government to stop its nuclear programmes.

A girl prays beside her mother during a
memorial  ceremony in Rikuzentakata,
on March 10, 2013 (AFP, Toshifumi
Kitamura)

"I think it is adults' responsibility to achieve zero nuclear power, before we die" said one of many banners held by the marchers.

"Sayonara, nuclear power," another sign said.

Similar rallies were held elsewhere in Tokyo and across the rest of the nation, with local media reporting as many as 150 anti-nuclear events planned for the weekend and on Monday.

Protesters are calling for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office late December following his party's election win, to dismantle all nuclear plants.

Public opposition to nuclear power peaked after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck Pacific waters in northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, and unleashed a massive killer tsunami which battered Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The plant was hit by a meltdown and explosions that severely contaminated the vast farming region and became the worst nuclear accident in a generation.

Japan turned off its stable 50 reactors in the wake of the disaster, but restarted two of them citing possible summertime power shortages.

Abe, whose conservative Liberal Democratic Party has close ties with the nation's powerful business circle, has repeatedly said he would allow reactor restarts if their safety could be ensured.

In many tsunami-hit cities residents dressed in black Sunday for ceremonies to mourn the victims of the disasters, which killed 15,881 people while 2,668 remain unaccounted for.

In the hard-hit city of Rikuzentakata, where almost 1,600 people died and 217 people are still missing, mayor Futoshi Toba reiterated his pledge to rebuild the city.

"We will move forward to build a beautiful city that is the pride of the nation where its citizens live happily and comfortably," he said.

More than 30 ministerial-level officials investigated for corruption in China

Want China Times, Xinhua 2013-03-10

Cao Jianming delivers a work report in Beijing. (Photo/CNS)

More than 30 Chinese officials at the ministerial level or higher have been placed under investigation for corruption or other job-related crimes over the past five years, China's top procurator said Sunday.

Prosecutors have investigated about 13,000 officials at the county level or above for job-related crimes since 2008, said Cao Jianming, procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, when delivering a work report at the first session of the 12th National People's Congress.

Great efforts have been made to punish and prevent corruption, Cao said.

Prosecutors took about 19,000 bribers to court over the past five years. They investigated about 36,900 administrative law enforcement officials and 12,894 judicial staff in a bid to fight judiciary corruption, according to the report.

The procuratorate has set up a national anti-corruption hotline and website, and improved its work in collecting clues and protecting whistleblowers and witnesses, Cao said.

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China's new priority: social wellbeing over growth

Ruthless crime gangs driving global wildlife trade

Channel Asia News, AFP, 09 March 2013

Poaching and illegal trade in protected species like elephants, rhinos and tigers
 has boomed into a billion-dolloar industry that threatens security and stability
 in many countries, the World Wildlife Fund warned Wednesday. (AFP/File
Rodger Bosch)

              

BANGKOK: Ruthless and heavily armed "criminal syndicates" linked to drug smugglers and militias are running the global wildlife trade and turning their guns on the park rangers tasked with protecting endangered species.

Hundreds of rangers have been killed over recent years as poachers stop at nothing in their quest for lucrative animal parts such as ivory and rhino horn, according to experts at a global convention on protecting wildlife in Bangkok.

The illegal trade "poses an immediate risk to wildlife and to people, including those serving on the frontlines to protect wildlife" says John Scanlon, secretary general of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

"It increasingly involves organised crime syndicates and in some cases rebel militia."

The death toll among the rangers has risen as the slaughter of elephants and rhinos reaches record levels -- with photographs of carcasses stripped of horns or tusks stirring public outcry.

At least 1,000 rangers have been killed in 35 different countries over the last decade, said Sean Willmore, president of the International Ranger Federation (IRF), adding that the real global figure may be between 3-5,000.

"There is an undeclared war going on on the frontline of conservation," he told AFP citing the example of a group of 50 rangers in the Democratic Republic of Congo who stumbled across a 5,000-strong militia group out poaching armed with AK47s.

And while attacks by lions or elephants make their work "dangerous enough", he said 75 per cent of the dead were killed by traffickers, with their lack of equipment, training and low wages weighing against them.

Every weakness is exploited by criminals determined to cash in on large animal reserves in some of the world's poorest, most unstable countries.

"Wildlife crime has historically been known as a low-risk, high-profit crime," according to Ben Janse Van Rensburg a senior CITES official.

Alarmingly, the groups are part of a web of global criminals involved in other illicit trades such as drug and human trafficking, he said.

Although the countries worst hit by the scourge of wildlife trafficking have shown willing to tackle the issue, they do so with limited means.

But some countries have not even made the issue a serious crime "making conviction difficult", says Jorge Rios of the UN Office against Drugs and Crime (UNODC), urging political commitment to be "accompanied by resources at national and international level".

For poaching to be curbed those resources must be targeted at a the whole trafficking chain.

"We cannot just focus on poachers... we also have to deal with middle men working in transit countries, and people distributing and selling the merchandise in market countries," Dan Ashe, director of the US Fish and Wildlife service told AFP.

"We have to deal with people who are financing these operations."

But it is not an easy task, with corruption lubricating the movement of illicit wildlife -- often destined for Asia as delicacies or use in traditional medicines.

"They (traffickers) have a lot of money... they are paying for the right to do whatever they want," says Steve Galster, executive director, of conservation group the Freeland Foundation.

After several years of investigation his group accused Vixay Keosavang, an influential Laos national, of orchestrating a major trafficking network.

Tigers, turtles, pangolins, snakes and monkeys from Africa arrived on the banks of the Mekong river in legitimate breeding farms used as a front to sell protected or poached species, he said, highlighting the "loopholes" of CITES that have failed to stop people like him flouting the law.

- AFP/fa

 Related Articles:

International conference aims to protect endangered species

"Do Animals Reincarnate?" - NOV 22, 2010 (Kuthumi channelled by Lynette Leckie-Clark)

“... Perhaps this is a timely reminder for mankind to respect all life forms. All play a part in the consciousness evolution of man and the planet. As you prepare to enter a year of Unity, of stepping forward in respect of one another, I ask you remember the many kingdoms who also share the planet- the elemental, plant, mineral and animal. I ask you develop a new awareness for these. It is not all about you - the human. No it is not. You must now begin to awaken your consciousness to sharing - with all. For all is part of God's great creation.

Update from Ashtar via Mike Quinsey: Obama’s State of the Union Address – (Ashtar channeled by Susan Leland, February 12, 2013)

“… It is Freedom in every aspect of the lives of all humans on Planet Earth; it is Freedom for the animal and the plant kingdoms, and for the mineral kingdoms who are deemed to serve the humans. You know, it’s the humans who think all of the other kingdoms are here to serve. If you ask members of the other kingdoms what they have to say about that, they would take a different perspective and voice a different point of view which is true and appropriate, and as you like to say, it is high time because we are in High Times and we are continuing on this Path! ..."

51% of managers in mainland Chinese firms are women: report

Want China Times, Xinhua 2013-03-09

Female deputies at the National People's Congress in Beijing. (Photo/Xinhua)

A new survey from an independent accounting agency indicates that women now account for 51% of top management positions in Chinese mainland companies, the highest such ratio worldwide.

The global average is 24%, according to results released on Thursday by the Beijing-based Grant Thornton, based on research conducted earlier this year.

In the same period last year, women filled just 25% of senior management jobs in the mainland, the results showed.

Of the over 200 mainland companies surveyed, 94% of them have female management. Women continue to dominate roles like HR director and chief financial officer, holding 81% and 61% of the two positions, respectively.

However, more women are also occupying traditionally male-leaning positions, according to Grant Thornton. For instance, a quarter of the chief operating officer positions are taken by women this year, compared to 9% in 2012.

The survey also found that women account for 21% of the board members of mainland public companies, higher than the 19% globally.

Politically, more Chinese women are also participating in state affairs management. At the ongoing annual legislative session, 23.4% of deputies to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, are women, rising 2.07 percentage points year on year.

UN resolution on North Korea nuclear test 'balanced': China

Want China Times, Xinhua, 2013-03-08

North Koreans gather during a celebration of its third nuclear test. (Photo/Xinhua)

China on Thursday voiced support for the United Nations' latest resolution on Pyongyang's nuclear test, saying it is "balanced."

In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said, "China supports the UN Security Council's necessary and moderate response to the nuclear test of the North Korea."

The UN Security Council on Thursday passed unanimously Resolution 2094 on condemning the North Korea's third nuclear test, which took place on Feb. 12. The North Korea also conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

The resolution demanded that North Korea not proceed with any further nuclear tests, give up any nuclear arms program and return to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The resolution also urged peaceful, diplomatic and political resolution to the current situation and a resumption of the six-party talks.

Qin said the resolution reflects the international community's opposition to North Korea's nuclear test and promises to resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue by peaceful means, while reaffirming the resumption of the six-party talks. "Overall, it is balanced."

He said it is in the fundamental interests of the international community to safeguard peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and northeast Asia.

China urged relevant parties to remain calm and restrained and refrain from taking any action that could escalate tensions, the spokesman said.

Qin called for all parties to stick to negotiations and seek denuclearization of the peninsula under the framework of the six-party talks and explore effective ways to attain lasting peace and stability in the region.

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Old moves from N. Korea's new leader

A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“….. Here is the prediction: China will turn North Korea loose soon. The alliance will dissolve, or become stale. There will be political upheaval in China. Not a coup and not a revolution. Within the inner circles of that which you call Chinese politics, there will be a re-evaluation of goals and monetary policy. Eventually, you will see a break with North Korea, allowing still another dictator to fall and unification to occur with the south. ….”

Matthew message (Channelled by Suzanne Ward, Feb 18, 2013)

"... Media around the world also have been abuzz about North Korea’s nuclear test. Launching a missile is one thing, exploding a warhead is quite another, and that test was not nearly as effective as that country would like the world to think. However, like Iran, North Korea is considered “rogue” and a threat that could lead to a nuclear war.

You know that there will be no such war and no attempt to detonate a nuclear warhead in space will be successful, but few others know that. So how to reduce the perceived dire threat those two countries pose is on the world stage, and in the United States it is sharing the spotlight with gun violence. ..."

Asia’s ‘Humble’ Candidate for Pope, Cardinal Tagle

Jakarta Globe, Cecil Morella, March 07, 2013

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, right, is greeted by Father Thomas Rosica

 prior to the start of a vespers celebration in St. Peter's Basilica at the

Vatican, Wednesday, March 6, 2013. Photo: Gregorio Borgia

Related articles

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• Pope Bids Farewell to Huge Crowds in Final Audience
• Pope Readies for Final Audience on Resignation Eve
• Pope Begins Last Days in Power as Vatican Lashes Out at Media

Manila. Asia’s best hope for the papacy, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines, is a young, electric orator who has been outspoken about the need for Catholic Church leaders to be more open and humble.

Born to a working-class couple in a then-rural town two hours’ drive south of the Philippine capital, Tagle rose to become Archbishop of Manila in 2011 at the age of just 54.

He was named a cardinal in November last year, becoming the official chief spiritual leader to the Philippines’ more than 80 million Catholics.

This came shortly after Tagle was summoned to Rome for a synod to map out the way forward for the Church, which has been rocked by scandals over sexual abuse by paedophile priests going back decades.

FILE - This Nov. 24, 2012 file photo shows the
 then newly-elected Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle,
Archbishop of Manila, Philippines, 

“The Church must learn humility from Jesus,” Tagle said in a speech to the synod, arguing that spreading the faith in a secularising world would be more effective if the Church learned to listen to the people.

“[You] may be saying the right things but people will not listen if the manner by which you communicate reminds them of a triumphalistic, know-it-all institution,” he said according to an account of the speech by Vatican Radio.

At another Vatican conference last year, Tagle urged the Church in Asia to tackle the sex abuse issue before it became a full-blown crisis there, and put in place safeguard measures that take into account the region’s cultural norms.

Tagle, 55, is widely regarded as enthralling speaker, eloquent and with a soothing voice.

He has refused to discuss his chances for the papacy but, at a public seminar in Manila last month, said Church leaders needed to do a better job of reaching out to people within their communities, particularly the youth.

“The young want to be connected,” Tagle said at the forum.

“That is the basic of the faith — [to be] connected to God, connected to others, to the Church. We need to go back to that fundamental.”

Tagle showed remarkable empathy, discipline and intellect as a boy, according to one of his mentors, Father Romeo Ner, 72.

“He was always number one in school. He was very interested in helping the poor even at a young age, and he was very close to the Church,” Ner told AFP.

“I was amazed because he knew how to recite the rosary and all of its mysteries when he was just three.”

Tagle is well known in the Philippines for not riding in his official car when he was a bishop, chatting with all comers after mass, and even regularly inviting beggars to dine with him at his residence.

Ner said that as a young priest, Tagle was involved in raising money for parishes that served poor areas, where he developed a taste for braised chicken feet — a staple in the slums.

“Giving the poor their true dignity is his passion. He loves them,” said Ner, who as then vicar general of Tagle’s hometown was instrumental in making him one of the country’s youngest bishops in 2001.

Agence France-Presse

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Pope Benedict pledges 'obedience' to successor

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“ … Spirituality (Religions)

Number one: Spirituality. The systems of spiritual design on your planet are starting to change. This is not telling you that certain ones are going to go away. They're simply going to change. Some of the largest spiritual systems, which you would call organized religion on the planet, are shifting. They're going to shift away from that which is authority on the outside to authority on the inside. It will eventually be a different way of worship, slowly changing the rules while keeping the basic doctrine the same.

The doctrine of the Christ has always been to find the God inside. The teachings were clear. The examples of the miracles were given as an example of what humans could do, not to set a man up for worship as a God. So when that has been absorbed, the teaching of the Christ can remain the teaching of the Christ. It simply changes the interpretation. 

The teachings of the great prophets of the Middle East (all related to each other) are about unity and love. So once the holy words are redefined with new wisdom, the Human changes, not the words of the prophets. In fact, the prophets become even more divinely inspired and their wisdom becomes even more profound.

You're going to lose a pope soon. I have no clock. Soon to us can mean anything to you. The one who replaces him may surprise you, for his particular organization will be in survival mode at that point in time. That is to say that fewer and fewer are interested in starting the priesthood. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in the organization, and the new pope must make changes to keep his church alive. That means that his organization will remain, but with a more modern look at what truly is before all of you in a new energy. It is not the fall of the church. It is instead the recalibration of the divinity inside that would match the worship that goes on. It's a win-win situation. The new pope will have a difficult time, since the old guard will still be there. There could even be an assassination attempt, such is the way the old energy dies hard. That is number one. Watch for it. It's a change in the way spiritual systems work. It's a realignment of spiritual systems that resound to a stronger truth that is Human driven, rather than prophet driven.…”

China's new priority: social wellbeing over growth

The Daily Star, AP, Gillian Wong, March 05, 2013

Chinese leaders walk to the venue for the opening meeting of the first session
 of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing,
Tuesday, March 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Lan Hongguang)

                              

BEIJING: China's government pledged Tuesday to repair the country's ravaged environment and boost public services under its new leadership, an acknowledgment that quality of life was sidelined during the outgoing administration's decade of breakneck economic growth.

In a policy speech opening the national legislature's yearly session, soon-to-retire Premier Wen Jiabao went through a list of problems that had built up in recent years and was being left to his successors: a sputtering growth model; poisoned air, waterways and soil; a vast and growing rich-poor gap; and rampant official corruption that has alienated many Chinese.

"Is this a time bomb?" Yao Jianfu, a retirement government researcher, asked. Yao's specialty is China's army of migrant workers who are often deprived of access to housing, education and other government services. "If there's an economic downturn and massive unemployment, will the 200 million migrant workers become the main force of the next Cultural Revolution?" he said, referring to the excesses of the chaotic 1966-76 period.

The unfinished agenda of China's past decade are now central concerns of the new leadership as it seeks to assuage a public that is looking beyond pocket-book issues, empowered by the Internet and increasingly vocal about the need for change.

Wen acknowledged the responsibility he and other retiring leaders have for leaving such a tangle of problems, even as they have guided China to prosperity and power on the world stage.

"Some of these problems have built up over time, while others have emerged in the course of economic and social development, and still others have been caused by inadequacies and weaknesses in our government work," Wen said in a 100-minute speech to the nearly 3,000 legislative deputies in the Great Hall of the People, his last address before stepping down.

Though Wen delivered the address, it represents the priorities of the new leadership headed by Communist Party chief Xi Jinping and it underscores the inflection point many Chinese feel the country has reached: The policies that delivered stunning growth are foundering in the ill-effects of corruption and environmental degradation, and many Chinese believe benefits unfairly accrue to a party-connected elite.

The legislative session completes the once-a-decade leadership transition that began four months ago when Xi and other younger leaders were installed as party leaders. The largely ceremonial legislature, known as the National People's Congress, will approve appointments to top government posts to manage the economic and foreign policies, rounding out the team Xi will need to govern.

In his first months in office, Xi has raised expectations for change, talking about the urgent need to stanch graft and adhere to laws rather than rule by untrammeled power.

The policy address and an accompanying budget presented Tuesday give a mixed picture of how different a course Xi intends to steer. Defense spending will increase 10.7 percent to 720 billion yuan ($114 billion) - a higher rate than the overall growth of the budget that comes as China engages in tense territorial disputes with neighbors and seeks to reduce U.S. influence in the region.

Spending on public security is getting an 8 percent boost to 769 billion yuan ($124 billion), making this the third year in a row that outlays for the police, courts and other law enforcement exceeds defense spending. This, despite public unhappiness over the enormous state security system that is used to repress threats to the party and runs roughshod over the legal system.

Wen called several times for a change in the country's growth model to reduce waste, build out the service sector as a source of much-needed employment and direct spending to subsidized housing and other social programs that would boost household consumption. On restoring the environment, Wen called for curbing pollution and reducing energy consumption.

In all cases, however, the address was short on specifics, especially on the sore-points of the environment and corruption, and that drew critical reviews.

"A report like this did not move me one bit," said Beijing-based historian Zhang Lifan. He called Wen's farewell address "comprehensive but mediocre."

The speech failed to address public calls for greater political freedom, which have swelled in the months since Xi took over as party chief. Academics and activists have signed various open letters and petitions on issues ranging from constitutional governance or an easing of censorship.

Raising the standard of living is "important to everyone ... but people want more freedom, they want less control, and I don't see a glimpse of political reform in" the report, said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a China politics expert at the Hong Kong Baptist University.

Meanwhile, even a delegate to the top government advisory body, members of whom are usually coached to give only positive remarks about the annual work report, said what mattered was whether the objectives laid out in it were met in reality.

"The report itself of course is good, but the implementation needs to be solid and real, so it will not turn out to be a gust of wind," said Yu Wenliang, a Christian priest from Yunnan province.

Hundreds of soldiers, police and plainclothes security officer - equipped with fire extinguishers and anti-explosive blankets - ringed the Great Hall and the adjacent Tiananmen Square for the opening session. The public was kept well away behind cordons as the deputies gathered for the 13-day session.

The legislature, most of whose members belong to the party and are bound to vote as the leadership dictates, will approve a proposed streamlining of government ministries, as well as appointments. In reality, the decisions have already been made by Xi and party power-brokers behind closed doors.

Among the changes: Xi will be formally given the title of president, taking the last of the titles from his predecessor, Hu Jintao. The party's No. 2, Li Keqiang, will replace Wen as premier.

Leaders targeted a 7.5 percent economic growth rate for the coming year, which is the same as last year and lower than the 8 percent rate that dominated planning for decades. However, the figure is largely symbolic because in reality growth has typically been higher. Last year's growth was 7.8 percent and this year's is expected to be even higher.

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International conference aims to protect endangered species

Deutsche Welle, 3 March 2013

A UN environment expert has warned that trafficking has put several species of plants and animals in danger of extinction. A conference under way in Bangkok aims to protect polar bears, rays and sharks.

Making that warning to open the 178-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), UN Environment Program Executive Director Achim Steiner cited an upsurge in poaching of Africa's endangered elephants and rhinos. He said the increase was driven by rising demand in Asia for their tusks and horns, saying that in some countries poaching has driven the pachyderm population down by about 11 percent.

"The backdrop against which this meeting takes place should be a very serious wakeup call for all of us," Steiner told delegates at a convention center in the Thai capital. Wildlife trafficking "in a terrible way has become a trade and a business of enormous proportions - a billion-dollar trade in wildlife species that is analogous to that of the trade in drugs and arms," Steiner added. "This is not a small matter. It is driven by a conglomerate of crime syndicates across borders."

"Blood ivory" will be at the top of the agenda during the global biodiversity conference, which lasts until March 14. The conference will look at about 70 proposals, most of which will decide whether member nations increase or lower the level of protection on various species. CITES has put 35,000 species of plants and animals under its protection since it formed in 1973.

‘Survival of the species'

"The UNEP year book, supported by data from CITES and its Monitoring of the Illegal Killing of Elephants which is hosted by UNEP in Nairboi, indicates that the number of elephants that were killed in 2012 ran, as in 2011, into the tens of thousands," Steiner said in his keynote speech. "Meanwhile a record 668 rhinos were poached in South Africa alone last year."

At the time CITES formed, the African rhino numbered just 2,000. That number now stands at 25,000, but poaching has become more frequent again.

The culprit is largely demand from Asia, where their horns are highly desired because they are believed to have medicinal properties.

CITES Director-General John Scanlon said the slaughter of African elephants and rhinos "could threaten the survival of the species themselves," blaming poachers, rebel militias and syndicates for trafficking animal parts internationally.

"This criminal activity poses a serious threat to the stability and economies of these countries," Scanlon said. "It also robs these countries of their natural heritage, their culture heritage, and it undermines good governance and the rule of law. These criminals must be stopped, and we need to prepare to deploy the sorts of techniques that are used to combat the trade in narcotics to do so."

Help from the hosts

Thailand's prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, said she would amend Thai law "with the goal of putting an end to the ivory trade," delighting conservationists who have long urged the kingdom to tackle the rampant smuggling of tusks through its territory. Activists say criminals exploit Thailand's legal trade in tusks from domesticated Asian elephants to sell African ivory. According to the World Wildlife Fund, Thailand is the world's second-largest illegal ivory market, behind China.

Yingluck said that the animals are very important for the national culture: "No one cares more about the elephant than the Thai people., she said. " Unfortunately, many have used Thailand as a transit country for the illegal international ivory trade."

Without giving a timeframe, Yingluck said Thailand would establish tighter controls to curb illegal flows of ivory and ensure existing ivory supply is from domestic elephants before legislating for an outright end to the trade.

mkg/msh (AFP, dpa, AP)

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Shark Fin-Hungry China Drives ‘Chaotic’ Fishing in Indonesia

A worker dries shark fins in a fishing port in Banyuwangi, East Java, in this
June 27, 2008 file photo. (Reuters Photo/Sigit Pamungkas) 

"Do Animals Reincarnate?" - NOV 22, 2010 (Kuthumi channelled by Lynette Leckie-Clark)

“... Perhaps this is a timely reminder for mankind to respect all life forms. All play a part in the consciousness evolution of man and the planet. As you prepare to enter a year of Unity, of stepping forward in respect of one another, I ask you remember the many kingdoms who also share the planet- the elemental, plant, mineral and animal. I ask you develop a new awareness for these. It is not all about you - the human. No it is not. You must now begin to awaken your consciousness to sharing - with all. For all is part of God's great creation. 

Update from Ashtar via Mike Quinsey: Obama’s State of the Union Address – (Ashtar channeled by Susan Leland, February 12, 2013)

“… It is Freedom in every aspect of the lives of all humans on Planet Earth; it is Freedom for the animal and the plant kingdoms, and for the mineral kingdoms who are deemed to serve the humans. You know, it’s the humans who think all of the other kingdoms are here to serve. If you ask members of the other kingdoms what they have to say about that, they would take a different perspective and voice a different point of view which is true and appropriate, and as you like to say, it is high time because we are in High Times and we are continuing on this Path! ..."

BBC story on China's 'leftover women' sparks global debate

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2013-03-02

A woman checks out a match-making activity list
in China. (Photo/Xinhua)

A recent BBC report on China's "leftover women" — unmarried female professionals in their late 20s and early 30s — has sparked a heated international debate about female stereotypes.

Nearly 700 comments were posted online after the article was published on the BBC's website on Feb. 20, with many Western readers finding it difficult to understand why Chinese people tend to stigmatize educated, professional women who have not yet settled down with a husband by the age of 27 or older — including the women themselves.

The BBC article cited an online Chinese report, which said that Chinese women who are less attractive often hope to increase their "competitiveness" through higher education.

"The tragedy is, they don't realize that as women age, they are worth less and less. So by the time they get their MA or PhD, they are already old — like yellowed pearls," the Chinese report stated, adding the fact that Chinese men tend to choose women who are younger and less educated than them as wives poses more challenges for these well-educated single women.

One female American reader said in the comments section of the BBC article that the idea of women aged 27 years or over 30 years being less competitive than their younger peers is a concept inconceivable in her culture, while a man said he believes it is chauvinistic to discuss "leftover women" but not men who are in a similar situation.

Asian readers, meanwhile, especially female ones, related to the issue better than their Western counterparts. A Japanese reader said a similar situation occurred in Japan during the 1980s, with women over the age of 25 years becoming less desirable as candidates for marriage.

A reader from South Korea said it is sad that women are labeled as such, noting that her fellow countrywomen aged over 30 are experiencing the same social pressures, which make them eager to find a husband before that age. The reader believed, however, that the rush to get married before 30 has also led to a higher divorce rate.

The label of leftover women, one reader said, once again reflects the conflicting and awkward role of modern women, who divide their time between careers and family.

Reporting on the BBC article, Shanghai-based Wen Hui Bao newspaper concluded that most Chinese women are likely to agree with the assessment of one so-called leftover woman, who was quoted by the BBC as saying: "A-quality guys will find B-quality women, B-quality guys will find C-quality women, and C-quality men will find D-quality women."

Some readers, however, took China's leftover women phenomenon in stride. As one male netizen commented: "This article gives me hope that I may soon fulfill my adulthood dream of marrying an intelligent, financially independent, emotionally secure, non-overweight woman who will not look down on my aspiration to become a house-husband. All I need to do now is learn to speak Mandarin and move to China."

Rodman Worms His Way Into Kim Jong Un Meeting

ABC News, Joohee Cho, Feb 28, 2013

Former NBA basketball player Dennis Rodman sits next to North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un during a the taping of the new HBO series, "VICE." (VICE)

SEOUL, South Korea – Flamboyant former NBA star Dennis Rodman, known as “the Worm” during his pro career, sat with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang watching an exhibition basketball game today becoming the first American to meet the leader of the nuclear state.

“You have a friend for life,” Rodman told Kim while chatting without any translators as three visiting Harlem Globetrotters  competed together with 12 North Korean players. Rodman, wearing dark glasses and a black baseball cap with USA on it, sat to the left of Kim. Both were in large red chairs that were topped with white covers, not a typical courtside seat.

The North Korean leader later dined and drank with the Americans.

Kim, 30, is known to have been a Rodman fan since his teenage years at a Swiss boarding school before assuming power after his father Kim Jong-Il’s death in December 2011.

North Korean cheerleaders wearing traditional costumes and miniskirts performed during halftime. Foreign diplomats were invited to watch the game. Foreign journalists were not invited to cover it.

The game, which mixed the Harlem Globetrotters and the 12 North Korean players into two teams, ended diplomatically in a 110-110 draw.

After the game, Rodman thanked the North Korean leader for the invitation.

“Although relations between the two countries are regrettable, personally I am a friend of Marshal Kim Jong Un and the DPRK people,” he said, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua.

The 51 year-old winner of five NBA championships arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday with Harlem Globetrotters and a VICE television crew to shoot a documentary about North Korea for HBO. Their agenda includes a children’s basketball camp hoping the visit will engage in a bit of “basketball diplomacy.”

VICE released a statement saying that correspondent Ryan Duffy invited Kim to visit the U.S.,  an invite that was met with laughter from Kim.

Relations  between the two countries are tense as the U.S. is imposing tough sanctions on North Korea which has pressed ahead with a nuclear weapons program and a missile program, and saying bluntly it is aimed at the U.S.

VICE also said that Kim dined and drank with the Americans after the game. It was put less diplomatically by VICE producer Jason Mojica who tweeted,  “Um… so Kim Jong Un just got the #VICEonHBO crew wasted… no really, that happened.”

Rodman, who has been known for his wild outfits that have included a wedding dress, was conservatively attired in a dark jacket along with his trademark lower lip and nose piercings which North Koreans would not have ever seen due to restrictions and customs in terms of dress code. On his arrival in North Korea, Rodman tweeted: “I’m not a politician. Kim Jung Un & North Korean people are basketball fans. I love everyone. Period. End of story. #WORMinNorth Korea.”

Rodman is to visit Panmunjom bordering South Korea before leaving on March 5.

Rodman’s visit came a month after Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson visited North Korea. But despite Kim’s eagerness to project a more modern and technologically advanced country, neither Schmidt nor Richardson met with Kim.

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