Oh the irony…
(Credit: Dan Ackerman/CNET)

Although we have to wait until next week’s show to hear of Dan’s possible escapades with McLovin’ and company, along with his (enviable) hands-on experiences, at this year’s E3 event in Los Angeles, that doesn’t stop us from giving our take on what went down. (more…)

what a bad news .
TOKYO — A FedEx cargo plane crashed early Monday morning amid heavy winds at Tokyo’s international airport and burst into flames. The pilot and copilot were taken to a hospital, and a local TV station reported they were both confirmed dead.

The flight from Guangzhou, China crashed onto a runway at Narita Airport and was immediately swarmed by firefighters and rescuers. The pilot and copilot — the only people onboard the flight — were extracted from the cockpit and brought to a local hospital, according to airport spokeswoman Misuho Fukuda.

TV Asahi reported that both had been confirmed dead.
Television footage showed the plane bounce and then burst into flames as it skidded to a halt on the runway. The twisted remains of the plane were still smoking hours after the crash.
The plane smashed into the longer of Narita’s two runways, which remained closed Monday morning with all incoming flights diverted, Fukuda said.
Local news reports said the plane was an MD-11.

Strong winds and turbulence have caused other recent incidents at the airport. Last month a flight from the Philippines was jolted by severe turbulence as it circled prior to landing, injuring 50 passengers and crew members.

Narita Airport is a major international hub located about 35 miles (60 kilometers) east of central Tokyo. It is Japan’s second-busiest airport, after Haneda Airport, which is also in Tokyo.

By Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo
Published: March 9 2009 02:07 | Last updated: March 9 2009 19:06
Japan’s stock market tumbled to a 26-year low on Monday as official figures showing a record current account deficit stoked fears of a deepening recession in the world’s second-biggest economy.

The sharp deterioration in Japan’s current account in January reflected the dire impact of plunging global demand and a stronger yen on its export-dependent economy. Lower interest payments hit the country’s overseas income too.

The country’s first deficit since 1996, at Y172.8bn ($1.75bn), was much larger than the Y15.3bn forecast by economists and the biggest since the government started compiling comparable data in 1985.

Shrinking demand in all of Japan’s leading export markets pushed its trade deficit to a record Y952.6bn in January. As recently as 2007, Japan posted a record annual current account surplus of Y24,800bn.

Net overseas investment income declined 31 per cent, highlighting the damage from lower interest rates, the strong yen and slower markets overseas.
A country’s current account position reflects the gap between exports and imports, the difference between income earned on foreign assets and that paid to the foreign owners of domestic assets and the balance of cross-border transfers of money such as remittances. The trade position usually dominates current account movements for most advanced economies.
The mounting economic gloom sent Japanese share prices tumbling on Monday and the benchmark Nikkei average closed at a 26-year low of 7,086.03.

“Japan is over-dependent on exports and as a result, even though it was not at the epicentre of the subprime problem, it has been reeling from the impact [of the global crisis], and its growth is the weakest among developed nations,” said Hiroshi Watanabe, economist at Daiwa Research Institute in Tokyo.

Japan is not alone in seeing its exports suffer as a result of the global economic downturn. Beijing announced on Monday that it would reduce all export taxes to zero and provide more financial support for ailing exporters in an effort to increase its share of global trade during the crisis.

Chinese exports suffered a 17.5 per cent drop in January.
The deep downturn in US demand in particular has led to a rash of job cuts and factory closures in Japan as many of the country’s largest employers have seen their revenues cut. Toyota expects its first loss in 59 years while Panasonic, Japan’s largest consumer electronics group, is closing domestic factories.

Corporate bankruptcies in February rose 10.4 per cent year-on-year, in the ninth straight month of increases, Tokyo Shoko Research, an independent group, said on Monday.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009

Chicago Illinois, known as the windy city, or home of the White Sox is important to me for another reason. It was the first piece of American soil I’ve probably touched. Today I’ve visited the city again to renew my passport and the weather was amazing. It is in the middle of march and snow was falling on the city. Cars were still coated with the results of a hasty cleaning job and the lake was absolutely beautiful. The fact that the lake was frozen at least on thee surface gives tribute to the purity of the water, because the water has to be pretty pure to freeze at 3 degrees below zero. Also, the tiny hills of snow gives the surface a heavenly look, like seeing the top of a extremely dense cloud from a plane except the cloud stretches for as far as the eye can see. And an old building somewhere across the lake appeared like a heavenly gate. Now Chicago itself is a weird medium between agricultural towns like West Lafayette and urban metropolises like New York.

It doesn’t have the limitless clear skies or the forest of steel and concrete, which makes me feel kind of strange. I look out from the fifth floor of the embassy building and I can see the tops of other buildings, something never possible in the streets of New York, and the traffic was kind enough to let us through the city within a couple minutes, something not possible in many major cities. So maybethat’s why Chicago appeals to so many people, fresh lakes and good overall traffic.

So excited to see the same face for two different people. It would the most attractive thing to me, and I like twins for my double love. He is a man from North America and attends to be a teacher in many countries. I saw the trace of Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. He has traveled to Macau and Hongkong. That’s what I saw from pics, maybe not all. He can survive just depends on his teaching work. I’m so confused. Why not us? Many of us are rushing in and out for food, house and some living things. It seems to be a dream to be abroad to see what we want. Most people said they wanted to travel around the world, but only few can make it come ture. We see we have too many responsibilites. We should take care of parents and can not leave in our own life, a house to live when we are old, enough money to protect sudden illness and so many undones. I want to go to release, but can not. Where to get the money? Where to find a work to live on? It’s even hard to hunt for an ideal job. I’m not for complaint, but just thinking about how to plan me a wonderful life. I feel embarrassed sitting alone in the house, and take everything as boring, while it appears to be different as soon as I go out to have a look.. So many interesting things and people make me feel prosperous. Every time, when I go to see the various people on the street, I will promise myself a colourful choice. Hoho, now, I will stive to move on to my Japan trip and the MBA years in my dreaming school. Maybe they will come ture in many many years, maybe not. Who knows but just wait!