US apologizes for Chinese Exclusion Act

Rep. Judy Chu, D-California, sponsored a resolution that apologized for the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act



 AFP © Enlarge photo

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution Monday decrying a law -- more than a century old -- that prevented Chinese people from immigrating to the United States.

The resolution, approved by the Democratic-led Senate in October, voices 'regret' for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned Chinese workers from further immigration and barred existing residents from naturalization and voting.

The Act lasted for roughly six decades, and marked the first and only time the United States federal government explicitly rejected an immigrant group on the basis of their origin.

"Today (is) a rare moment in history for the Chinese American community," said Representative Judy Chu, the Democratic head of the US Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).

Chu proposed the legislation and reached an agreement with the rival Republican Party to bring the resolution to a vote today.

"Today, the House made history when both chambers of Congress officially and formally acknowledged the ugly and un-American nature of laws that targeted Chinese immigrants."



Census figures show that over 100,000 ethnic Chinese lived in the United States around the turn of the 19th century. Many were recruited from China "to work as cheap labor to do the most dangerous work laying the tracks" on the transcontinental railroad, said Congressman Mike Honda, immigration task force chair of the CAPAC.

Honda added that the early Chinese-American immigrants "strengthened our nation's infrastructure, only to be persecuted when their labor was seen as competition and the dirtiest work was done."

The US Congress only repealed the Exclusion Act after Japanese wartime propaganda cited the law to question China's alliance with the United States.

"To have moral authority around the world, we must speak out against prejudice at home," said House Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, a major center of the Chinese-American community since some of the earliest immigrants arrived in the 1800s.

"Though this legislation cannot erase the deeds of the past, it reiterates our commitment to equal rights for all Americans, regardless of race, now and in the future," Pelosi added.

When the bill voicing regret for the 1882 Act passed in the Senate, it was made clear that legislation would not open the way for compensation claims from Chinese-American families affected by the act.

Some 14.7 million people, 4.8 percent of the total US population, self-identified as Asian on the 2010 Census.

Related post:
China issues 2011 US human rights record  May 27, 2012

Why bullies bully ?

Taking a look at what drives bullies, and what can be done about it.

FIFTEEN-year-old Lee (not his real name) is familiar with school bullies – he was once a victim.

Lee, who was previously in charge of his school bookshop used to get harassed by several other students who would enter the bookshop and “mess things around”.

After several weeks, Lee reported the bullying to a teacher. The students were given penalty points, and they were not happy about it.

“They got angry, and started picking on me. Once I was with a friend, when we got surrounded by a group of them. They said they wanted me to pay.

“That day, when school was over, a big group of boys wanted to attack me while I was walking to my transport van. I was lucky the other students protected me,” says Lee, a student in Klang.

His parents lodged a police report.

The police went to the school to meet both parties and settled the issue.

While Lee has been fortunate to have his problem dealt with, many other students often suffer bullying in silence.

A bullying victim seen in a screen capture of a video whereby she was humiliated by her classmates, sparking an uproar on Facebook and drawing nationwide criticism.

 

Why do bullies bully?

According to clinical psychologist Dr Ng Wai Sheng, bullying is essentially using one’s power or ability to intimidate and control another by fear.

“The bullying behaviour is not a new phenomenon, whether in human society or in the animal kingdom.

“In fact, it’s a real temptation to not bully when we have the opportunity to do so to a seemingly ‘weaker’ party, without consequence,” says Dr Ng, in an email interview.

She adds that it is interesting to note that while bullying can be a pre-meditated behaviour with malicious intent for some, it is more often an opportunistic behaviour, where one finds an “easy target” and somehow thinks that he can get away with it.

“Once this behaviour is rewarded by him seeing the target’s hurt or fearful reactions, the bully is reinforced to repeat the same behaviour, expecting to see a similar response. Gradually, this can become one’s pattern of functioning, where he learns that he can get what he wants by intimidating and controlling others by fear,” she explains.

The inclination to bully, she says, can be seen among children as young as those in primary schools, and can happen among both boys and girls.

Bullying among boys is usually more physical, and it may often appear as though only boys engage in bullying behaviour, as cuts and bruises are more easily recognisable.

However, bullying among girls is in fact more vicious, but more covert.

“Girls tend to employ relational and emotional bullying, aimed at hurting someone’s feelings, reputation and social relationships. They can do this by spreading rumours, writing offensive remarks or socially embarrassing or isolating someone. With the ease of using social media like Facebook and YouTube, cyber bullying is also becoming more prevalent.

“This type of bullying is subtler but has greater adverse effects to the social-emotional development of a child or adolescent,” says Dr Ng, who has served in various settings including academic, social services, community health, and inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings.

She adds that bullies are not born overnight, and to understand why a child bullies, there are two things to consider.

“We need to consider their two primary contexts - home and school. Who is the ‘bully’ at home? Very often, particularly in cases of severe bullying, we would find someone in the family who acts like a ‘bully’ at home (such as a grandparent, parent, or a sibling).

“As a result, the child learns to model after such behaviour to get his way. Or he channels his hurt and frustration on the weaker children in school,” she says.

As for schools, overemphasis on students who are academically stronger, while neglecting the weaker ones, could unknowingly promote bullying behaviour.

“School authorities who choose to tolerate, or even cover up, bullying and extortion practices in or just outside the school compound can lead to students feeling unsafe and unprotected when going to school.

“Some may resort to using bullying behaviours to fend for themselves against any perceived threats, while those who have been victimised in the past may also use violence to retaliate,” Dr Ng says.

According to Childline project director Michelle Wong, of the total 5,803 contacts (calls and e-mail) Childline received last year, she says, about 70% were made by those under 18 years. A total of 123 contacts were about bullying.

So what can be done about it?

Two things that can help determine whether bullying stops or continues, depends very much on what happens during and after bullying, Dr Ng says.

“Whenever a bystander takes some action to object to the bullying, at least 50% of the time the bullying stops. In other words, every bystander has the power to either promote (or allow) the bullying to continue, or to potentially stop the bullying, and even influence the other bystanders to object as well.

It is also important that children feel safe enough to disclose to their parents, guardians, or teachers, if they have been bullied in school. Those who are unable to do so, for whatever reason, are at a greater risk of being bullied.”

The response towards the bully is also critical.

“Ideally, parents are to remain calm and supportive to the victim, as well as treat the bully fairly.

“The teachers’ response can be potentially healing or hazardous towards the situation. Public shaming or physical punishment of the bully may stop the bullying temporarily, but often, these methods only serve to anger the bully and make him better at covering his track. On the other hand, when teachers are able to intervene appropriately, both to help the victim and the bully, the other students would also feel safer,” says Dr Ng.

Wong adds that in every bullying case, it’s not the just victim who needs help, but the bully as well.
“People forget that in these cases, the bully himself is also a child, and he likely has more issues to deal with the victim. He also needs help,” she says.

Crime Watch is an initiative by The Star in partnership with PDRM, supported by the Government Transformation Programme.

By LISA GOH  lisagoh@thestar.com.my

Do People Really Make a Living Doing What They Love?

 We Found Love (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Life is funny; when you’re in the moment, you have no idea where it’s going to lead. I’ve learned that you just need to trust yourself and stick to what you believe in and — most importantly — what you love.

If someone had told me 10 years ago that by the age of 29, I would have already owned three businesses, I would have laughed. But standing here now, I know that if you work hard and really believe in what you’re doing, the path will present itself. It might not be what you originally pictured, but that won’t make it any less exciting and rewarding.

When I turned 18, I had the option to go straight to college or continue with equestrian jumping, an activity I had been passionate about for practically my entire life and one which I was sure I could turn into a career. Many people told me that it was in my best interest to go to school, but I knew deep down that school wasn’t for me at that moment. So I continued to ride and compete.

Four years later, I had competed in World Cup Qualifiers as well as internationally, exceeding expectations with lots of hard work. I also had my first business — training young riders and buying and selling horses from Europe to the States. Looking back, this was an irreplaceable period of my life — if I hadn’t trusted my gut, I wouldn’t have gained this experience that helped define the person I am today.

After six years with the horses, I decided it was finally time to go back to school. While attending the University of Miami, I had the opportunity to open my own boutique fitness club. Again, I would never have imagined this scenario for myself, but it was the most amazing experience, and I loved every second of it. Managing and owning a health club was a great learning experience and I took so much away from it.

So here I am, 10 years later, and now I’ve started a fashion technology company called LoveThatFit. The idea came as a result of experiences garnered from owning my past two businesses — from the struggles that both my clients and myself have had with online shopping. Until now.

Here are 3 things I did to to make this solution a reality:

1. Believe. When you first see the solution to a problem in a way that has not been done before, be prepared for negativity. Take it all in, but believe in your idea and know that just because it is “different” or “new” does not mean it cannot be done.
2. Talk. When I first approached people with my idea, they told me to keep it to myself or else someone was going to steal it. However, I found that talking it out with people not only helped my idea become real, but also opened up the door to resources that helped accomplish my milestones.
3. Research. Of course, you must do your research on your competition, market, and concept, but you should also do research on the people you start to surround yourself with. I received a lot of pressure to have certain people on board, like a CTO. So I did, but it turned out to be a bad fit because I rushed it. Take the time to find the right people to join your venture, and make sure they add value to your team. Research their background and those they’ve worked with previously. Doing so early on will pay off in the long run.

No matter what happens, take something from each of your successes and failures and find the key aspects to learn from. Keep your drive and discipline alive, because those are priceless qualities in every industry. Be open to new ideas and dive in. Fear solves nothing, but enthusiasm and curiosity manifest thoughts and ideas into something that is larger then life. When you take the leap into entrepreneurship, I can’t promise it will be easy, but it will take you to places you’ve never even dreamed of.

Courtesy of YEC  Women, Forbes Contributor
Gina Mancuso is the founder of LoveThatFit, and a seasoned entrepreneur with genuine, proven skill for growing businesses. A professional equestrian at 18, she parlayed her success in the ring (she made it to the Olympic trials) into success in business. She bought and sold horses internationally, doing over a half million in revenue on profit margins frequently approaching 80%.

via YEC Women, Forbes Contributor

Co-Founded by Natalie MacNeil and Scott Gerber, YEC Women is an initiative of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC recently published #FixYoungAmerica: How to Rebuild Our Economy and Put Young Americans Back to Work (for Good), a book of 30+ proven solutions to help end youth unemployment.

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Thimble, a simple' web site creator from Mozilla

Mozilla debuts 'ridiculously simple' web site creator Thimble

Simple Web site creator allows Internet users to publish sites written in HTML and CSS from the browser window within minutes.

Making it easier than ever to make your own simple Web page to spread the memes of your dreams, Mozilla has introduced Thimble, touted as "ridiculously simple" for making Web sites.

Taking on the likes of Wordpress, Thimble is targeted at basically anyone interested in creating and sharing their own Web pages and other projects in as fast as a few minutes.

The difference here is that Thimble isn't really a blog-type page creator, but rather maybe more like the AOL-owned About.Me splash page maker for those Internet users with a little HTML and CSS knowledge.

Matt Thompson, communications director and chief storyteller for the Mozilla Foundation, described on the official Mozilla blog that Thimble "removes many of the barriers for novice users trying to learn code, and includes a series of starter projects and templates to help anyone get started quickly."

To get started, Thimble is a simple visual editor that allows users write and edit HTML within a browser window, and then preview and publish after that.

 

(Credit: Mozilla)

Along with Thimble, Mozilla is simultaneous introducing Webmaker.org, which will essentially serve as a gallery for promoting how to use Thimble as well as other Mozilla web creation tools. It will also host 3D web pages and projects from partners such as Tumblr, the London Zoo, and the New York Public Library.

By Rachel King CNET  Newscribe : get free news in real time

Penang cendol, perfect ingredients; could it be the same of Malaysian politics?

A long and sweet weekend

The Penang Road cendol, the perfect coming together of delightful – and very different – ingredients. Could the same be said of our politics?

THERE’S nothing like a long weekend: somewhere out of Kuala Lumpur, a relaxed hotel, good food, things to see and do and preferably no politics.

My options were: Chiang Mai, Siem Reap and Penang. George Town won out after I realised that temperatures in northern Thailand and Cambodia at this time of year can reach the mid-40’s.

There was also another compelling reason: cendol – that sublime if wonderfully contradictory combination of five delights: shaved ice, santan, gula melaka, plus finger-length, pandan-scented rice flour noodles and red mung beans.

I’d been dreaming about having cendol for months and, to be frank, one particular variant of the shaved ice dessert: the Penang Road Famous Cendol.

This can be found in two stalls facing one another across a crowded lane in the heart of the city, near Chowrasta Market.

Yes, I know there are many other permutations. Some people insist that Indian Muslims make the best cendol.

Others demand condensed milk – how can they be so sacrilegious? Will they be insisting on rose syrup as well?

Then there are the gula melaka snobs – who believe that the sugar has to be aromatic, buttery and multi-layered with a hint of almonds.

The fact is that the choices for cendol connoisseurs are endless: with or without the mung beans, with durian, with pulut.

The Indonesians have their own versions as well but for me, and after twenty-five years of travelling, there’s only one cendol embedded in memory and it’s in Penang.

Of course, it could well be because of the days when I first started work as a junior lawyer and I was fortunate enough to be sent up to Penang for hearings.

Well, to be honest I should admit that I’d cajole and beg the firm’s Chief Clerk to be sent – anything to be able to travel out of Kuala Lumpur.

So, having completed my work at Penang’s then-musty and un-renovated High Court, I’d jump into a trishaw and head off (jacket, tie, legal files and all) for my cendol, standing alongside everyone else whilst eyeing my stack of files warily.

This time – and since I don’t like Batu Ferringhi – I stayed in town, at one of the boutique hotels, in the Unesco heritage area not too far from my favourite cendol stall.

But since man cannot live on cendol alone, I did also visit one or two other places, but invariably returned – almost religiously – for my ice-cold bowl of perfection, marvelling at the balance of the soft slipperiness of the rice-flour noodles and the firm but sticky texture of the red beans all smothered in gula melaka.

Because of its Unesco World Heritage status, Penang is one of the few places where the landscape of my memory matches what I’m still seeing and experiencing around me.

The same can’t be said of Kuala Lumpur where buildings appear and then disappear with a remarkable suddenness.

Yes, things have changed in Penang, but the fabric and feel of George Town remains, so as I wander past Carnarvon Market, Armenian Street, Beach Street and Little India, I’m reconnected and somehow recharged with a world I once knew.

Moreover, the buildings are undergoing a subtle change as new occupants and businesses arrive, changing the rhythm of life in these historic streets, shops, cafes, restaurants and small hotels.

Having said that, tradition continues unabated wherever you are in Penang. There are special prayers at Chinese temples and clan houses, funerals and activities redolent of history and the past.

Amidst all the heat and the noise it was a relief to retreat to my hotel.

I for one enjoyed the sensitive and artistic eye that had informed and accompanied the restoration of what is now one of the island’s leading boutique hotels – 23 Love Lane, tucked away behind St Xavier’s.

The hotel – more like a rambling private home – is a truly Malaysian experience, from its traditional Chinese gate (replete with ceramic Chien Nien panelling), to its Anglo-Indian bungalow and its Straits Settlements eclectic annexe: the kind of place where the hours fade away as staff bring you endless cups of coffee, roti canai, cukur udang and other local delicacies.

All of which left me in a perfect frame of mind for the opening of the George Town Festival on a balmy evening in Fort Cornwallis, followed by a more lively gathering at Narelle McMurtie’s China House.

And then just when I thought I’d escape the politics, I ended up having a three-hour breakfast with a group of friends – one from Umno and the other from DAP at the same time – proof that opposites, as with the cendol, can be reconciled, at least maybe in Penang …

CERITALAH By KARIM RASLAN
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

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China manned space docking successful! Watch live now

Watch Live click here:
http://english.cntv.cn/special/shenzhou9/index.shtml

 
A Chinese Long March 2F rocket launches on the Shenzhou 9 mission, China's first manned space docking flight and first flight of a female astronaut, on June 16, 2012 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
CREDIT: China Manned Space Engineering Office

China is gearing up to perform its first-ever manned space docking Monday (June 18), a feat that would put it in the company of history's two greatest spacefaring nations, the United States and Russia.

China's Shenzhou 9 space capsule — which launched Saturday (June 16) carrying three astronauts, including the country's first female spaceflyer — is expected to link up with the unmanned Tiangong 1 space lab around 3 p.m. Monday Beijing time (3 a.m. EDT; 0700 GMT), according to Chinese media reports.
 
Shenzhou 9 will dock with Tiangong 1 twice, with the first hookup being automated. At some point, the two spacecraft will separate, and the three taikonauts, as China's astronauts are known, will perform the second docking manually.

Forty-six-year-old Jing Haipeng leads the taikonaut crew, which also includes Liu Wang, 42, and 33-year-old Liu Yang, China's first female astronaut. All are members of the Communist Party of China and former pilots with the People's Liberation Army; Jing flew on China's last manned spaceflight, which took place in 2008.

Two of the taikonauts will live aboard Tiangong 1 during the 13-day mission, while one will stay aboard Shenzhou 9 at all times in case of emergency, Chinese officials have said.

A look inside China's Tiangong 1 space lab, which launched into orbit in
September 2011.CREDIT: Dragon in Space

Shenzhou-9's flight is considered a key step in China's plan to build a permanently staffed space station in Earth orbit. The nation hopes to have a 60-ton station and up and running by 2020. (For comparison, the International Space Station weighs about 430 tons.)

Analysts say China's exclusion from the ISS, largely on objections from the United States, was one of the key spurs for it to pursue an independent program 20 years ago.

While Shenzhou 9's flight is China's first attempt at a crewed space docking, the nation has successfully linked up two robotic spacecraft in orbit. In November, the unmanned Shenzhou 8 craft docked twice with Tiangong 1 before returning safely to Earth.

Shenzhou 9's mission is China's fourth manned spaceflight, following taikonaut launches in 2003, 2005 and 2008. Another manned mission to Tiangong 1 — which launched to orbit in September 2011 — could come later this year, Chinese officials have said.

Follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall
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Drones, computers new weapons of US waging shadow wars!

 AP FILE - This Jan. 31, 2010 file photo shows an unmanned U.S. Predator drone flies over Kandahar Air Field, southern Afghanistan, on a moon-lit night. After a decade of costly conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, the American way of war is evolving toward less brawn, more guile. Drone aircraft spy on and attack terrorists with no pilot in harm's way. Small teams of special operations troops quietly train and advise foreign forces. Viruses sent from computers to foreign networks strike silently, with no American fingerprint. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

Supporters of Pakistani religious party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, burn a representation of a US flag during a rally condemning US drone strikes in tribal areas and the reopening of the NATO supply line to neighboring Afghanistan, in Hyderabad, Pakistan, Friday, June 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Pervez Masih)

FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2011 file photo, John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, speaks in Washington. After a decade of costly conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, the American way of war is evolving toward less brawn, more guile. Drone aircraft spy on and attack terrorists with no pilot in harm's way. Small teams of special operations troops quietly train and advise foreign forces. Viruses sent from computers to foreign networks strike silently, with no American fingerprint. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) — AP

 
WASHINGTON — After a decade of costly conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, the American way of war is evolving toward less brawn, more guile.

Chart shows the number of air attacks in Pakistan — AP

Drone aircraft spy on and attack terrorists with no pilot in harm's way. Small teams of special operations troops quietly train and advise foreign forces. Viruses sent from computers to foreign networks strike silently, with no American fingerprint. 

It's war in the shadows, with the U.S. public largely in the dark. 

In Pakistan, armed drones, not U.S. ground troops or B-52 bombers, are hunting down al-Qaida terrorists, and a CIA-run raid of Osama bin Laden's hide-out was executed by a stealthy team of Navy SEALs. 

In Yemen, drones and several dozen U.S. military advisers are trying to help the government tip the balance against an al-Qaida offshoot that harbors hopes of one day attacking the U.S. homeland. 

In Somalia, the Horn of Africa country that has not had a fully functioning government since 1991, President Barack Obama secretly has authorized two drone strikes and two commando raids against terrorists. 

In Iran, surveillance drones have kept an eye on nuclear activities while a computer attack reportedly has infected its nuclear enrichment facilities with a virus, possibly delaying the day when the U.S. or Israel might feel compelled to drop real bombs on Iran and risk a wider war in the Middle East. 

The high-tech warfare allows Obama to target what the administration sees as the greatest threats to U.S. security, without the cost and liabilities of sending a swarm of ground troops to capture territory; some of them almost certainly would come home maimed or dead. 

But it also raises questions about accountability and the implications for international norms regarding the use of force outside of traditional armed conflict. The White House took an incremental step Friday toward greater openness about the basic dimensions of its shadowy wars by telling Congress for the first time that the U.S. military has been launching lethal attacks on terrorist targets in Somalia and Yemen. It did not mention drones, and its admission did not apply to CIA operations. 

"Congressional oversight of these operations appears to be cursory and insufficient," said Steven Aftergood, an expert on government secrecy issues for the Federation of American Scientists, a private group. 

"It is Congress' responsibility to declare war under the Constitution, but instead it appears to have adopted a largely passive role while the executive takes the initiative in war fighting," Aftergood said in an interview. 

That's partly because lawmakers relinquished their authority by passing a law just after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that essentially granted the White House open-ended authority for armed action against al-Qaida. 

Secret wars are not new. 

For decades, the CIA has carried out covert operations abroad at the president's direction and with congressional notice. It armed the mujahedeen in Afghanistan who fought Soviet occupiers in the 1980s, for example. In recent years the U.S. military's secretive commando units have operated more widely, even in countries where the U.S. is not at war, and that's blurred the lines between the intelligence and military spheres. 

In this shroud of secrecy, leaks to the news media of classified details about certain covert operations have led to charges that the White House orchestrated the revelations to bolster Obama's national security credentials and thereby improve his re-election chances. The White House has denied the accusations. 

The leaks exposed details of U.S. computer virus attacks on Iran's nuclear program, the foiling of an al-Qaida bomb plot targeting U.S. aircraft, and other secret operations. 

Two U.S. attorneys are heading separate FBI investigations into leaks of national security information, and Congress is conducting its own probe. 

It's not just the news media that has pressed the administration for information about its shadowy wars. 

Some in Congress, particularly those lawmakers most skeptical of the need for U.S. foreign interventions, are objecting to the administration's drone wars. They are demanding a fuller explanation of how, for example, drone strikes are authorized and executed in cases in which the identity of the targeted terrorist is not confirmed. 

"Our drone campaigns already have virtually no transparency, accountability or oversight," Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and 25 other mostly anti-war members of Congress wrote Obama on Tuesday. 

A few dozen lawmakers are briefed on the CIA's covert action and clandestine military activity, and some may ask to review drone strike video and be granted access to after-action reports on strikes and other clandestine actions. But until two months ago, the administration had not formally confirmed in public its use of armed drones. 

In an April speech in Washington, Obama's counterterrorism chief, John Brennan, acknowledged that despite presidential assurances of a judicious use of force against terrorists, some still question the legality of drone strikes. 

"So let me say it as simply as I can: Yes, in full accordance with the law - and in order to prevent terrorist attacks on the United States and to save American lives - the United States government conducts targeted strikes against specific al-Qaida terrorists, sometimes using remotely piloted aircraft, often referred to publicly as drones," he said. 

President George W. Bush authorized drone strikes in Pakistan and elsewhere, but Obama has vastly increased the numbers. According to Bill Roggio of The Long War Journal, an online publication that tracks U.S. counterterrorism operations, the U.S. under Obama has carried out an estimated 254 drone strikes in Pakistan alone. That compares with 47 strikes during the Bush administration. 

In at least one case the target was an American. Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaida leader, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in September. 

According to a White House list released late last year, U.S. counterterrorism operations have removed more than 30 terrorist leaders around the globe. They include al-Qaida in East Africa "planner" Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who was killed in a helicopter strike in Somalia. 

The drone campaign is highly unpopular overseas. 

A Pew Research Center survey on the U.S. image abroad found that in 17 of 21 countries surveyed, more than half of the people disapproved of U.S. drone attacks targeting extremist leaders in such places as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. In the U.S., 62 percent approved of the drone campaign, making American public opinion the clear exception. 

The U.S. use of cyberweapons, like viruses that sabotage computer networks or other high-tech tools that can invade computers and steal data, is even more closely shielded by official secrecy and, arguably, less well understood. 

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has been a leading critic of the administration's handling of information about using computers as a tool of war. 

"I think that cyberattacks are one of the greatest threats that we face," McCain said in a recent interview, "and we have a very divided and not very well-informed Congress addressing it." 

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and national security officials often talk publicly about improving U.S. defenses against cyberattack, not only on U.S. government computer systems but also against defense contractors and other private networks linked, for example, to the U.S. financial system or electrical grid. Left largely unexplained is the U.S. capacity to use computer viruses and other cyberweapons against foreign targets. 

In the view of some, the White House has cut Congress out of the loop, even in the realm of overt warfare. 

Sen. James Webb, D-Va., who saw combat in Vietnam as a Marine, introduced legislation last month that would require that the president seek congressional approval before committing U.S. forces in civil conflicts, such as last year's armed intervention in Libya, in which there is no imminent security threat to the U.S. 

"Year by year, skirmish by skirmish, the role of the Congress in determining where the U.S. military would operate, and when the awesome power of our weapon systems would be unleashed has diminished," Webb said.

By ROBERT BURNS, LOLITA C. BALDOR and KIMBERLY DOZIER, Associated Press

Online: Pew Research Center: www.pewresearch.org The Associated Press

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All abuzz over spacewoman

Liu Yang, the first ever female taikonaut, has China on its feet. 

THE Internet sphere in China has been abuzz with one name since the name list of the three astronauts launching to space under its Shenzhou 9 mission was announced last Friday.

Liu Yang is the toast of the country and her hometown in Zexia village in Henan province’s Linzhou city.

“Rocket will launch at 18:37. Among the three, one is the country’s first female to go to space (applause). Wish them a safe return!” iii-e-n-vU tweeted on weibo.

Another netizen Beautiful Olive Tree said: “Wish Shenzhou 9 a great success! Mighty female astronaut!”

Mikki said on weibo: “No. 1 hero Liu!” while Li Yongkang simply put it: “I love you, happy journey to you.”

The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft ferrying Liu Yang and her two fellow crews Liu Wang and Jing Haipeng blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Gansu province at the scheduled time on Saturday to perform China’s first manned space docking mission with the Tiangong 1 space lab module which has been orbiting space since September last year.

The 33-year-old, who was admitted to the Civil Aviation Flight University at 19 that led to her road to space, will be responsible for the experimental research work during the 13-day space mission.

Villagers at Liu Yang’s hometown only knew about her top secret mission a day before the press conference to announce and introduce the three astronauts.

They gathered at her house with her parents and family to watch the press conference live on television. Liu Yang’s mother was in tears while her father was glued to the television.

When Liu Yang waved to the journalists, the proud parents candidly waved back in recognition as if their daughter could see them.

Liu Yang’s uncle Niu Zhenxi said she seldom returned home in the past year due to her strenuous preparations for the mission.

“We found out that she was going to space only from the media. She never told us about it but we fully understood that her job nature was confidential,” Niu said.

Liu Tianchai, 72, had become a famous man in the village because her granddaughter excelled in the family by also being a high-ranked officer.

“Some villagers have been on flights before but none had ever flown a plane. It was definitely out of our imagination that my granddaughter was going to space,” he said.

Tianchai said his granddaughter was now the pride of the family but he added that without good education in a bigger city, it would be hard for her to make the mark.

Other family members simply wished her a safe return from space.

They described Liu Yang as someone who behaved as tough as a man, saying that she did not care too much about what she wore like other teenage girls.

She loves reading history books, novels and cooking. Her signature dishes include Coke chicken wings and stone-pot mixed rice.

She has fair writing and public speaking skills. She is also a part-time event host.

At the press conference, Liu Yang said she had turned from a pilot to an astronaut to “fly to greater heights and longer distances”.

“Besides the heavy workload during this mission, I hope I will be able to see more of the wonderful environment in space and enjoy every moment of this voyage.

“I thank everyone who supports us. We will not let them down and will work as a team to get our job done,” she added.

Made In China by CHOW HOW BAN hbchow@thestar.com.my

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