Golfer Michelle Wie looks at a ball

KOCHI, Japan - Michelle Wie at the Casio World Open on Friday.

Korean-American golfer Michelle Wie (16) looks at a ball after she teed off in the second round of the Casio World Open golf tournament organized by the Japan Golf Tour Organization at Kochi’s Kuroshio Golf Club, Japan on Friday. Wie scored three birdies at the second round of the tournament, which carries total prize money of 140 million yen (US$1.35 million) but made six bogeys and shot 3-over par 75. Totaling 4-over par 148, she failed to make the cut

CNN explains 'X' glitch over Dick Cheney's face

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - CNN apologized on Tuesday and offered a rare explanation from its control booth for a technical glitch many viewers failed to notice -- a large "X" the network flashed over Vice President Dick Cheney's face.

The wayward graphic, which CNN said lasted for about one-seventh of a second, appeared during the network's live coverage of Cheney's speech on Monday addressing critics of the Bush administration's conduct of the war in Iraq.

Word of the snafu quickly surfaced on the Internet, including still photos of the image posted by online columnist Matt Drudge, along with a story suggesting that some who saw the momentary "X" thought it might have been deliberate.

The Interview with GOD

Interview with GOD...

OIL Gates

WASHINGTON - The chief executives of five major oil companies were asked Wednesday to clarify their recent Senate testimony about the companies' involvement in Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force four years ago.

Sens. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., made the request in letters to the executives after a published report said officials from four of the companies visited the White House complex in early 2001 to discuss energy issues with task force staff members.

The White House has refused to disclose contacts with industry representatives concerning the task force deliberations.

When asked during a Senate hearing on oil industry profits last week by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (news, bio, voting record), D-N.J., whether any of the companies' representatives had participated in the task force, four of the executives said they did not and the fifth said he did not know.

The Washington Post, citing White House documents, reported Wednesday that representatives from four of the companies had visited the White House complex and met with Cheney task force officials in early 2001.

Domenici, chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said he sent a letter to the oil company executives seeking clarifications that would resolve any "apparent inconsistencies" in their testimony. He was joined in the letter by Bingaman, the energy panel's ranking Democrat.

Earlier, Lautenberg asked the Justice Department to investigate whether the executives might be guilty of giving false statements to Congress.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (news, bio, voting record), D-Wash., and five other Democrats asked Domenici to recall the executives and require them this time to testify under oath.

The executives who testified last week at a hearing on oil industry profits were Lee Raymond, chairman of ExxonMobil Corp.; David O'Reilly, chairman of Chevron Corp.; James Mulva, chairman of ConocoPhillips; John Hofmeister, chairman of Shell Oil Co.; and Ross Pillari, chairman of BP America Inc.

Chevron was not included in the documents cited by the Post.

Pillari responded that he did not know whether any BP America officials participated because he wasn't at the company at the time. While not commenting specifically about the Cheney task force, BP America spokesman Ronnie Chappell said Wednesday that BP America representatives "routinely meet with government officials."

ExxonMobil said in a statement that Raymond "correctly confirmed in the recent Senate Hearings that ExxonMobil has not been a participant on the Task Force and did not meet with the Task Force to discuss the provisions of the energy policy."

Telephone calls to the other companies was not immediately returned.

'Thinking' Robot Breaks Barriers but not Eggs

The Korean Ministry of Science and Technology’s Intelligent Robot taskforce has created the "T-Rot," which is scheduled to wait on world leaders in a Robot Café at the APEC summit venue. "T-Rot was developed as a service robot for the elderly and disabled,” says taskforce director Kim Mun-sang. "It has the ability to hold conversations with people and fetch items that they want, so we call it a 'thinking robot' or T-Rot.”

T-Rot’s fingers have a human-like sense of touch, so they can grab objects with adjusted strength depending on the materials.

The T-Rot is equipped with two cameras that recognize people and objects -- the face and stature of the people it lives with as well as refrigerators, glasses and other items in the area -- and interpret them in three dimensions. It also recognizes its own location, and sports features that allow it to understand human speech and carry on appropriate “conversations.”
The most important function is the robot’s capacity to recognize things by its sense of touch. Since helper robots live with humans all the time, security is crucial. For that reason, synthetic skin which detects the texture of things like human skin is essential. The skin developed by a team led by Gang Dae-im and Kim Jong-ho from the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science has polyamide film and three-axis sensors that can detect vertical pressure and horizontal sliding. It is capable of recognizing the weight of objects with a less than 10 g margin of error when it holds a 100 g object.

Thanks to this attribute, T-Rot can use different amounts of strength when holding a can or a soft drink bottle. When it shakes hands with humans, it senses the person’s strength and adjusts its own accordingly. Previously introduced robots' movements were unnatural because they shook hands according to pre-installed programs.

“The T-Rot is able to pick up eggs without breaking them,” Kim said. “We have also developed sensate skin which can detect stimuli 1 mm away like human fingers, and the tests are underway." With the T-Rot as a foundation, the ministry’s taskforce plans to make helper robots that can assist the elderly in walking and accompany them on shopping expeditions within two or three years.

(englishnews@chosun.com )

Las Vegas Air Show

Two U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform a mirror formation during Aviation Nation Air Show at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2005. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Albert Hubo

At an IT exhibition on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan, a participant shakes hands with a humanoid robot named “Albert Hubo” which has the face of Albert Einstein on Monday. The robot can walk and speak and expresses emotions by moving facial muscles.

Bush ‘Concerned’ About N.Korean Human Rights

On the eve of a fresh round of multilateral talks about North Korea’s nuclear program, U.S. President George W. Bush expressed strong concerns about the way the Stalinist country treats its people. "I have expressed my concerns about treatment of men, women and children in North Korea. I worry about a society that is going hungry. I worry about forced labor camps," Bush told the Chosun Ilbo in a special interview at the White House on Tuesday.
Bush said the role of the U.S. Forces Korea was to ensure peace and stability throughout the region. “The arrangement we have on the Korean Peninsula has worked for a long period of time. And that ought to be the operative model as we go forward,” he added.

The interview was limited to three Asian media -- the other two were Japan's Asahi Shimbun and China's Xinhua News Agency - ahead of an eight-day trip starting Monday that takes Bush to Mongolia, China and Japan as well as this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan. The president went on to meet separately with Korean broadcaster KBS as well as the press from the other three countries.

Striking a conciliatory note, Bush said one goal at the APEC summit was to strengthen the Korea-U.S. alliance. “One thing I hope people do agree with in South Korea is that they got a good friend in the U.S. We've been a friend for a long period of time, and we will remain a friend,” he said. Korea has been moving toward a more independent defense.

Asked what kind of leadership his administration expects from the North Korean regime, Bush said, “The mark of a good leader is one that cares first and foremost about the human conditions of the people that live in the country, and where there is starvation and hunger, the leader's responsibility is to address that.” But his rhetoric was noticeably more restrained two days after he once again called North Korea leader Kim Jong-il a “tyrant” during a visit to Brazil.

He also stressed the importance of achieving a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through diplomatic efforts, saying dialogue to reach that “noble goal” will continue. He said he hoped the North Korean nuclear issue brings about not just dialog but actions and results.

Bush urged South Korea and China on one side and Japan on the other to mend fences after their relations deteriorated over Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi continued visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors war criminals among his country’s fallen. The visits have reopened the wounds of Japan’s brutal colonization in both countries. “It's possible to forget the past... it's difficult, but it is possible," Bush said.

He also pledged that the long-deferred issue of a free trade agreement with South Korea would be discussed at the APEC summit.

(englishnews@chosun.com )

Replica of Historic Warship to Voyage Into DMZ

A replica of one of the iron-clad turtle warships or Geobukseon with which Korea’s national hero Yi Sun-shin repulsed Japanese invaders will become the first vessel since the Korean War to travel the Han River-West Sea route that passes through the demilitarized zone (DMZ).

The full-sized replica currently anchored at the Han River Citizens Park will be towed along the lower river that passes through the DMZ to Tongyong in South Gyeongsang Province to take part in an exhibition there.

The middle portion of the lower Han River runs along the military demarcation line, and civilian boats are barred from the area unless they have permission from UN Military Command. But this has never happened, leaving even the waterway's exact measurements and safety unknown.

Using the occasion of the Geobukseon's travel through the DMZ, the Seoul Metropolitan Government hopes to start full-fledged discussions of the use of the waterway for peaceful purposes. Peaceful use of the Imjin and Han rivers by both North and South, it is hoped, could help on the long road toward unification.

The idea was born last year, when Seoul and Tongyong agreed to show the turtle boat on Hansan Island, where General Yi defeated the Japanese in a famous 1592 battle.

The Geobukseon will leave at 11 a.m. next Wednesday and pass through 15 km of the DMZ for around two hours. After sailing through the waters between Ganghwa Island and Gimpo, the vessel will arrive in Incheon harbor. It leaves on Nov.11 and will take around three days getting to Tongyong depending on the weather.

The replica is 34 m long, 10 m wide and 6.30 m high and was recreated by the Navy with W2.2 billion (US$2.2 million) from the government in 1990. Since then it has made regular appearances along the Han River as part of special national events.

(englishnews@chosun.com )

Laptop With Detachable Screen Breaks Down Boundaries

Samsung Electronics’ M70, the world's first laptop PC that with a detachable 19 inch LCD screen.

The release of a laptop computer with detachable liquid crystal display screen is breaking down the boundaries between desktop PCs, notebooks and digital TVs. Samsung Electronics said it launched the new M70 model, whose 19-inch LCD monitor can be used separately, on Tuesday.

In that way, the product can be used as a desktop PC with a freestanding monitor, and the parts can be replaced and upgraded separately. According to the maker, it has all international television standards and is equipped with high-quality speakers, making it useful as a portable television or DVD player. The M70 weighs about 4.4 kg and costs about W5 million (US$5,000).

(englishnews@chosun.com )