Pope Francis inspires Argentine shanty builders |
- Pope Francis inspires Argentine shanty builders
- Honda aims to win fuel efficiency race in return to F-1
- ‘Grande Bellezza’ director gets freedom of Rome
- South China Sea? Straits of Malacca? — Sin Chew Daily
- British PM sets out priorities for EU reform
- Hold your heads up… — Tay Tian Yan
| Pope Francis inspires Argentine shanty builders Posted: 15 Mar 2014 05:53 PM PDT
Argentine-born Francis — the first pontiff born in the Americas — has made living simply and fighting for the poor his signatures in his first year since being elected. And the message struck a chord for the people in this poor neighbourhood, who have already named their new community after him. "The pope represents hope," explained Emanuel Rio, 26, a spokesman for the squatters. "We identify with him. He understands our needs." This week — despite a looming threat of eviction from the city authorities — a priest from the neighbouring shantytown, Vila 20, gave his blessing to the new outcrop of makeshift homes. While the World Bank has recently praised Argentina's progress in its fight against poverty and unemployment, the housing deficit remains alarming. More than 163,000 of Buenos Aires's three million residents live in these shantytowns, dubbed "villas," according to a 2010 census. That's a 52 per cent increase over the figure in 2001, just before the country was hit by a massive economic crisis. Juan Martinez, his wife, and four children are among them. The family of six had been crowded into a single room studio in a shantytown — a privilege for which they paid 1,500 pesos (RM627) a month. "We could not stay where we were. Every time it rained, everything flooded and we had water up to our knees," Martinez, 44, a taxi driver, complained. Sitting on a folding chair, he held in his arms his 11-month-old son, whose smiling face is covered with mosquito bites. Born in Paraguay, Martinez has lived in Argentina for 20 years. He has great hopes for the new Barrio Papa Francisco, where square lots four to five meters (13 to 16 feet) on each side have been mapped out with sticks and rope. "I want to stay here to build my house," said Martinez, who took Tuesday off so he could go to the eviction court to help fight the city to recognise their neighbourhood. Dual income, no home Argentina's economic situation has improved in recent years, said sociologist Mercedes Di Virgilio. "The situation has gotten better in the job market, and unemployment has gone down," she said. But the housing situation remains dire, with legal rentals out of reach for many residents. "Wage levels don't allow people to enter into the formal real estate market," she said. Some 60 per cent of migrants from neighbouring countries move to shantytowns when they first arrive, added Di Virgilio, who works at the University of Buenos Aires. Like Martinez, most of the squatters have jobs. His wife works at a nearby lottery agency. Their neighbours include a baker married to a maid, who, along with their four children, were recently evicted by the landlord of the tiny 20 square meter (215 square foot) apartment they rented. But their toehold in Barrio Papa Franscisco might not be any more secure. Earlier this week, police recently tried to clear the residents out. For now they weren't successful — they were held off by women, who, with children in their arms, stood in their way. — AFP  |
| Honda aims to win fuel efficiency race in return to F-1 Posted: 15 Mar 2014 05:45 PM PDT
Honda is particularly aiming to turn exhaust gas that is mostly wasted in F-1 or conventional cars into energy. It is technology that Honda's F-1 chief, Yasuhisa Arai, says could give Honda an edge with its mass-market cars. Cynics aren't buying the argument that Honda wants to use the F-1 as a technology incubator. They say Honda is trying to redeem its name after being a dud on the F-1 circuits from 2000 to 2008, when it quit the world's premier motor sport. Arai doesn't necessarily disagree with that. He says Honda wants to be as successful as it was in the late 1980s when McLaren-Honda cars, driven by the late Brazilian triple champion Ayrton Senna and French four-time champ Alain Prost, dominated the sport. In 1988, Senna and Prost together won 15 of the 16 Grand Prix races. "There's no point in racing unless you win,"Arai said, strolling around a classic Honda F-1 car circa 1964 on display during a recent F-1 fan event at the Suzuka Circuit, 50 kilometres south of Nagoya in central Japan. "That's why we teamed up with a winning team," Arai said referring to McLaren. Honda is set to supply engines starting in 2015 to McLaren, one of the most successful teams in F-1 history. 'Laboratory on wheels' But Honda's return to Formula One is not just about the race, either. Honda believes the new F-1 cars, which are now required to have gasoline-electric hybrid technology, offer an opportunity to make a technology leap. The new regulations from the F-1 governing body require teams and engine suppliers such as Renault, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz, to use a smaller engine, enhanced by turbo-charging technology, while using braking and exhaust to re-generate energy. Teams are also being given around a third less allotment of gasoline to race, compared to the previous race rules. The regulations came into effect with the new F-1 season that kicked off in Melbourne this weekend. Honda is particularly interested in the new requirement to use "exhaust-energy recovery" technology. Among other possibilities, it is looking at a way to use exhaust gas to spin a turbine in the car's exhaust system to generate electricity and store it in an on-board battery. A McLaren-Honda F-1 car, starting next year, could use such regenerated energy to go faster or farther. Honda's move reflects what Arai calls a resolve by CEO Takanobu Ito to use the sport as a "laboratory on wheels," just as originally envisioned by company founder Soichiro Honda in the 1960s. Establishing that exhaust-energy-recovery know-how should help Honda boost the so-called thermal efficiency of an F-1 car by as much as a third, Arai said. Even the best of today's most advanced gasoline engines use only 30 per cent of the thermal energy they create by combustion. The rest is wasted during braking and leaks out through exhaust pipes as heat. Arai wants to improve that thermal efficiency to as much as 40 per cent. "There's no technology like that available today," said the 57-year-old engineer, who is also senior managing director at Honda's R&D arm. "It's highly challenging, but if achieved, it could be applied in conventional cars." Fuel efficiency It's not always easy, however, to use racing as a technology incubator. Current and former Honda executives who spoke on condition of anonymity said two forces often collide as teams prepare for each race. "In the boardroom, managers can say all they want about the importance of using racing as a laboratory, but once the race starts, winning it becomes the No. 1 priority," one former Honda F-1 engine designer said. "New ideas often get in the way." Where those two forces coincide is around fuel efficiency - with Arai hoping to apply the technology developed for Formula One cars to its mass production models. For Honda, it is also an extension of a broader effort by CEO Ito, who has held Honda's top job since 2009, to regain the edge it once had as a daring, risk-taking automaker. Toyota Motor Corp. over the past two decades has been seen as the more futuristic company. That reputation was largely due to the success of the gasoline-electric hybrid, Prius - technology that Honda failed to initially embrace fully, though the company under Ito has since adjusted its strategy. "Inside Honda, we call the 2000s a lost decade, void of progress and impact and momentum," a senior Honda executive said. One of the company's missteps during those years, company insiders say, was remaining in F-1 racing from 2000 through 2008, during which time Honda won just one race. At the time, the sport was paying little or no attention to advanced technology - even as consumers around the world demanded more fuel-efficient cars - and thus contributing little to the advancement of conventional cars. Now Formula One, thanks to the new rule change, has become an "enormously challenging" battle front for new technology, Arai says. By again competing on the F-1 circuit, Honda hopes to hatch ideas that give its engines an "unknown level of fuel-efficiency," he said. ― Reuters |
| ‘Grande Bellezza’ director gets freedom of Rome Posted: 15 Mar 2014 05:42 PM PDT
Part ode to the architectural and artistic glory of the Italian capital, part indictment of the decadence of its elite, Sorrentino's film has won a string of awards culminating in the Oscar for the best foreign film last month. On the back of it, the city has launched tours featuring some of the private palaces, secret gardens and undiscovered churches featured in a work which contains numerous nods to another Rome-set masterpiece, Federico Fellini's 1960 "La Dolce Vita." Sorrentino, who hails from Rome's southern rival Naples, accepted the award by paying tribute to his adopted home as "a place of harmony and beauty". Rome mayor Ignazio Marino acknowledged the double-edged nature of Sorrentino's paean to the city. "He showed the magic of Rome, its magnetism and its sublime nature," the mayor said. "But Rome is also sick and culture is the best medicine." "The Great Beauty" tours kick off today with booking possible at www.culturearoma.it — AFP |
| South China Sea? Straits of Malacca? — Sin Chew Daily Posted: 15 Mar 2014 05:32 PM PDT
In other words, the search area for MH370 has been widened to more than 27,000 square nautical miles – about 14,000 in the South China Sea and 12,000 in the Straits of Malacca. It has even covered the Andaman Sea, hundreds of kilometres to the northwest of the original search area. It is indeed an arduous and heavy task to search in the vast sea, but the search operations must be continued as long as there is a hint of possibility before the aircraft is found.
In addition, although many countries and regions have participated in the search operations, communication, coordination and cooperation must be strengthened to accelerate the operations. The emergency command centre of MAS should also take the initiative to contact and coordinate with the search and rescue teams, as well as divide the search areas. The multi-national search operations have been carried out for several days but the aircraft remains nowhere to be found. Of course, it is because the search area is too wide, but the key still lies on whether the direction of the search is correct. Without determining the direction, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It would be helpless no matter how much the search efforts are strengthen. Currently, the search area has been widened from the South China Sea to Peninsula Malaysia and the Straits of Malacca, and even the Andaman Sea. However, it was reported that a New Zealand oil rig worker claimed that he saw the aircraft on fire right around the time it disappeared in the South China Sea, where a large number of unidentified objects were found but were later confirmed to be garbage. If his words are reliable, the search should then focus on the South China Sea. But why didn't the Vietnam rescue team find anything? The authorities expanded the search area to the Straits of Malacca based on the signs showing possibly that the aircraft had tried to turn back. As for whether they should focus the search operations in South Chinese Sea or the Straits of Malacca, the top priority now is to determine the direction. All efforts would not help much without a clear direction. It has been seven days since the aircraft went missing and to be honest, we have already missed the golden hours for search and rescue. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online. |
| British PM sets out priorities for EU reform Posted: 15 Mar 2014 05:30 PM PDT
The Conservative leader said he would campaign for Britain to stay in the European Union so long as he can secure changes to reduce the bloc's influence in British affairs. In an article in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, Cameron outlined for the first time his seven priorities, ranging from cutting back red tape to limiting the rights of new EU citizens to work in Britain. He warned the changes would require "time and patience," an appeal to eurosceptic members of his party who are demanding an even tougher approach to Europe. "This is an ambitious agenda for a new European Union. Delivering it will take time and patience, as well as strong relationships with our key allies and goodwill ― not shouting from the side-lines," the prime minister wrote. "It will require a negotiation with our European partners. Some changes will best be achieved by alterations to the European treaties. Others can be achieved by different means." He stressed the reforms were achievable, despite the apparent lack of enthusiasm from Britain's EU allies to renegotiating the 28-nation bloc's complex treaties. During recent visits to London, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was cool on Cameron's reform agenda and French President Francois Hollande said outright that treaty change was "not a priority." Outlining his priorities, Cameron said Brussels should not always be seeking to take power from national governments, and said national parliaments should be able to work together to block unwanted EU legislation. He said businesses should be freed from EU red tape, and British police and the courts should be able to operate without "unnecessary interference" from European institutions. Cameron repeated his call for restrictions on the rights of EU migrants to claim welfare outside their home countries, and of citizens of new, poorer EU member states to work in places such as Britain. Finally, he said he wanted to free Britain from any obligation towards an ever closer union of EU nations. "People are worried that Britain is being sucked into a United States of Europe. That may be what some others want, but it is not for us," Cameron wrote. The referendum will only take place if Cameron is re-elected next year, after the leaders of the other two main parties at Westminster refused to back his pledge. Cameron made the promise last year under pressure from Tory eurosceptics and the anti-EU, anti-immigration UK Independence Party (UKIP), which is tipped to come first in Britain in elections for the European Parliament in May. ― AFP |
| Hold your heads up… — Tay Tian Yan Posted: 15 Mar 2014 05:19 PM PDT
During an interview with CNN, US aviation expert Peter Goelz told the world, "Search for MH370 is the worst I've ever seen in disaster management." He said of Malaysia's officials as "poor communicators or, at worst, plain incompetent." Bloomberg reported, quoting Australia's Southeast Asian studies expert Clive Kessler that the Malaysian authorities were "handling a huge global issue as if it was domestic politics," and that the contradiction and lack of competency "expose leadership limit." Ernest Bower, a Southeast Asia specialist at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington told Reuters, "The Malaysians deserve to be criticized; their handling of this has been atrocious." As if that is not enough, media from Greater China as well as local websites have also been hard on the Malaysian authorities. As a Malaysian, I felt anguished reading such comments, but anguish alone is never enough, and will not help put things right. The main thing is that we need to discern, think and reflect on our own misdeeds. To be honest, some of the allegations have not been unfounded. For instance, some of the information has arrived way too late or self-contradictory. The military radar picked up the signals of some unidentified civilian aircraft above the Straits of Melaka but the information was revealed several days late. The confusions and contradictions over fake passports also need to be admitted. In the meantime, some other allegations have been excessively emotional or were products of hearsay.
The appearance of bomoh at the airport had not been permitted by the authorities, but upon distortion, it became an event at the government's invitation in hope of detecting the lost plane. The news travelled across oceans and before long, magical mat, coconut, bamboo basket and crutch took on the forms of Malaysia's symbols in the search mission. So, in the eyes of the outside world, Malaysia is such a dumb, joker state. Some media players seem to take delight in fabricating stories, quoting police sources that suspicious Uighur terrorists found their way into the aircraft. So, another 911 in the making, huh? While such creations did spice up the MH370 incident, and added a few exciting after-meal gossips, the reputation of this country as well as the sacrificial efforts of SAR personnel were nevertheless bashed and downplayed. The "experts" have slammed Malaysia to trashy levels and I'm personally still sceptical of the authority in their conclusions. MH370 is unprecedented. There are simply too many question marks, too many complicated circumstances and technical issues pegged to it. Our modern technology may not be sophisticated enough to come up with an ultimate answer within days. Some say tracing the plane is like rummaging through a pitch dark closet for a needle. It is always much easier said than done. Families of the lost plane's passengers are smothered by their own anxiety while the public are eager to get their unsolved questions answered, and they all have been pressing the government and MAS for more transparent information. Unfortunately, facts are overwhelmed by rumours in this incident, and questions outnumber answers by a mile. There is little that the authorities know, and to be responsible therefore, there isn't much they can divulge.
We have not performed that badly after all. Other Asian governments have also been slammed for their poor handling of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, the Sichuan earthquake in China and the massive storms ravaging the Philippine islands, by these experts. We often see only the bad and would never make the slightest effort to discern the good things our people have done. At least Commander William Marks of the US Navy's 7th Fleet said of his personal view of the SAR operation: "I give a lot of credit to the Malaysian government. They have a very well organized plan... and they are very efficient, very professional." There is no necessity for the commander of the 7th Fleet to please the Malaysian government. For his position, he should be a real expert among a bunch of experts out there. So, hold our heads up instead of feeling dejected, or we will get thrashed hard before others in the face of a disaster. Like a boxing game, we are now only in Round One; there are no good reasons we should get knocked out so soon. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online. |
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