A relative of one of the climbers killed on Mount Everest was overcome during funeral services Monday (Niranjan Shrestha/Associated Press).
I hope I'm not plumbing the depths of decency by posting that.
"Most Sherpas leaving Mt. Everest" by Binaj Gurubacharya | Associated Press April 23, 2014
KATMANDU, Nepal — A walkout certain to disrupt a climbing season....
Earlier Tuesday, Nepal’s government appeared to have agreed to some of the Sherpas’ demands, such as setting up a relief fund for Sherpas, but the funding falls well short of what the Sherpas wanted.
Getting a little greedy when you get to the bottom of it.
Wealthy foreigners not tip well?
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After the avalanche, the government quickly said it would pay the family of each Sherpa who died about $415.
Is that all the life of a Sherpa is worth?
The Sherpas said they deserve far more — including more insurance money, more financial aid for the families of the victims, and new regulations that would ensure climbers’ rights.
The Everest climbing season provides livelihoods for thousands of Nepali guides and porters. Climbers have long relied on Sherpas for everything from carrying gear to cooking food to high-altitude guiding. Without them, reaching the summit would be almost impossible.
Most attempts to reach the summit are made in mid-May, when weather is most favorable. If the Sherpas boycott the season, many of the climbers would have to forfeit most or all of the money they have spent to go up Everest, which in some cases adds up to $90,000.
At least one expedition company has canceled the 2014 attempt for its six-member team.
‘‘Our team members have empathy for the Sherpa community and we wish for everyone to be able to mourn their lost family and friends in peace,’’ the Adventure Consultants Everest Expedition 2014 Team said on its website.
The Ministry of Tourism said in its statement the government had agreed to:
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This next item was the inspiration for the title of this post and brought tears to the eyes:
"Koreans deep in grief over ferry toll; Days of waiting end in anguish as deaths hit 146" by Gillian Wong and Hyung-Jin Kim | Associated Press April 23, 2014
JINDO, South Korea — For a moment there is silence in the tent where bodies from the ferry disaster are brought for identification. Then the anguished cries begin.
The families who line up here to view the decomposing bodies have not known for nearly a week whether they should grieve or not. Now that they know, they sound like they are being torn apart.
‘‘How do I live without you? How will your mother live without you?’’ a woman cried out Tuesday.
That right there kinda.... whew. That kind of grief is universal.
She was with a woman who emerged from the tent crying and fell into a chair where relatives tried to comfort her. One stood above her and cradled her head in her hands, stroking her face.
‘‘Bring back my daughter!’’ the woman cried, calling out her child’s name in agony. A man rushed over, lifted her on his back, and carried her away.
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The victims are overwhelmingly students of a single high school in Ansan, near Seoul. More than three-quarters of the 323 students are dead or missing, while nearly two-thirds of the other 153 people on board the ferry Sewol survived. The number of corpses recovered has risen sharply since the weekend.
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The captain, Lee Joon-seok, and two crew members were arrested Saturday on suspicion of negligence and abandoning people in need. Prosecutor Yang Jung-jin said a court issued arrest warrants Tuesday for four other crew members authorities had detained a day earlier. Two more crew members were detained Tuesday, and could face formal charges.
The four crew members arrested Tuesday talked to reporters after a court hearing, their faces hidden with caps, hooded sweatshirts, and masks....
The captain has said he waited to issue an evacuation order because the current was strong, the water was cold and passengers could have drifted away before help arrived. But maritime experts said he could have ordered passengers to the deck — where they would have had a greater chance of survival — without telling them to abandon ship.
The cause of the disaster is not yet known. Senior prosecutor Ahn Sang-don said investigators are considering factors including wind, ocean currents, freight, modifications made to the ship, and the fact that it turned just before it began listing. He said authorities will conduct a simulation and get the opinions of experts.
A Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries official had said Friday that the vessel had taken a sharp turn. But on Tuesday, a ministry official said the ministry now has more complete details about the ship’s path.
Data transmitted by the Sewol’s automatic identification system, an on-board transponder, show that the ship made a J-shaped turn.
So once again, initial and official accounts were scapegoating lies?
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Related:
Underwater search for plane fruitless
Material on Australian shore examined for links to lost plane
Yes, they are still searching....
No solution in sight for China shoe factory strike
It has become one of the largest strikes in China’s private sector, where low-cost manufacturers are facing increasing labor activism. Tens of thousands of workers remained off the job Tuesday, according to workers and labor groups, after they rejected the company’s latest offer
I offer you this: Chinese Strike a Kick in the...
How odd it is that China and Nepal are discovering labor activism after the U.S. middle class has been destroyed.
More grief headed Asia's way:
"Obama hopes Japan trip unlocks a broader Asia-Pacific trade deal" by Juliet Eilperin and Chico Harlan | Washington Post April 23, 2014
WASHINGTON — President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will tackle a number of issues during Obama’s state visit to Japan, but one issue rises above the rest: whether the two countries can resolve enough of their economic differences to help unlock a broader trade deal across the entire Asia-Pacific region.
The United States and Japan are among a dozen countries that have spent nearly four years negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), an ambitious effort to create a free-trade zone that would stretch from North and South America to New Zealand and Asia. The nations working on the accord account for 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic product.
Government officials and many experts describe the accord as a way to deepen America’s ties with a dynamic economic region, without alienating China. National security adviser Susan Rice told reporters Friday that over the next five years, ‘‘nearly half of all growth outside the United States is expected to come from Asia.’’ The trade deal ‘‘is a focal point of our effort to establish high standards for trade across the Asia-Pacific and to ensure a level playing field for US businesses and workers,’’ she added.
We have been hearing that for 20 years from the architects of globali$m, and it has been a mi$erable failure for the vast majority of the planet.
Mireya Solis, a Japan specialist at the Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Studies, said the talks are a way for the United States to rebalance its relationship with Asia, not just in military terms but in a way ‘‘that taps into Asian economic optimism and that [avoids] highlighting China as a main security competitor.’’ This rebalancing ‘‘is actually an inclusive, expansive project,’’ she said.
An array of details must be worked out among the many countries involved, ranging from what sort of protections intellectual property will enjoy to how to treat state-owned enterprises, which make up a large part of the economy in countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam. But outside analysts and government officials believe an agreement between the United States and Japan will provide significant momentum for the talks.
‘‘Both sides recognize they have to get a deal done, because the US-Japan differences on agriculture [are] the main bottleneck for resolving many of the outstanding issues in the TPP,’’ said Jeffrey Schott, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Two primary areas, agricultural products and automobiles, have been the main sticking points in the two countries’ negotiations. The Japanese government has traditionally been reluctant to take on rice and cattle farmers, two important domestic constituencies, and the Japanese auto market is one of the most closed in the world. Only about 6 percent of the autos sold in Japan are foreign. ‘‘Japan does not embrace the model of free trade,’’ said Steve Biegun, vice president of international government affairs at Ford Motor Co.
No mention or concern for the ongoing disaster that is Fukushima, huh?
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I'm glad he is rolling out of the country because back here barriers persist when it comes to his health law as he is getting ready to pardon crack dealers and empty the immigration jails, even though he might be moving kind of slow while plugging other leaks with what can only be seen as hu$h money.
No wonder he is getting out of the country just now.
