Year in Review 2011 (Part 3): A New Country, A New Social Network & New Womens Rights

Posted by Jeff in Opinion

Year in Review 2011 (part 3): The third quarter of 2011 saw some surprises, more scandal and the continuing success of social networks.

Year in Review 2011: July

Petra Kvitova upset the Wimbledon odds to beat Maria Sharapova who is still trying to get back to her best after injury. Djokovic again signalled his dominance with a victory in the mens Wimbledon final.

The phone hacking scandal exploded in the UK and is still being investigated today. The incident caused the closure of the News of the World, one of the oldest & most successful newspapers.

Facebook teamed up with Skype to offer video chat while Google once again entered the social networking market with Google+.

The world got a new country as South Sudan split form the north in a peaceful separation and David & Victoria Beckham celebrated the birth of their baby girl, Harper Beckham.

Dallas returned to our TV screens and the Spotify streaming music service launched in the US while Harry Potter cast a spell over the box office.

Japan won the Womens World Cup final in Germany after beating the USA on penalties and there was another Royal wedding as Zara Phillips married the Rugby player Mike Tindall. On the other side of that particular coin we saw Jennifer Lopez calling time on her marriage to Marc Anthony.

The USA came close to defaulting on its own debt when politicians decided to play brinkmanship with the economy. Doing slightly better were both Apple and Google who both posted record profits. The US also suffered a oppressive heatwave and saw the last flight of the space shuttle Atlantis.

Norway hit the headlines for the worst reasons when a huge explosion rocked the capital, Oslo and a gunman went on the rampage.

The world lost one of the greatest singers of the last twenty years. Amy Winehouse joined other famous singers who died prematurely, the so called 27 club.

Year in Review 2011: August

The financial markets never seemed to be out of the headlines and this month saw S&P push the US down its credit score scale thanks to its enormous deficit.

Prime Minister David Cameron threatened to take social media sites offline in a somewhat knee jerk reaction to rioting in London. This came from a man who had only a few months earlier been praising social media sites for their influence in the Arab uprisings. That’s politics for you.

The Arab uprising continued with Syria becoming a focal point as the international community called for Assad to leave office. Protesters in Syria are still facing the same challenges at the end of 2011. Meanwhile the pressure was mounting on Col. Gaddafi as the rebel army advanced on the capital Tripoli.

The Kings of Leon sparked rumors about their future by cancelling their tour and taking a break.

Steve Jobs officially announced that he would be stepping down as CEO of Apple as his health deteriorated and Beyonce announced that she was pregnant in a not so subtle dress.

Year in Review 2011: September

As Italian politics leaped from one crisis to another the little town of Filettino decided that it would go its own way and declare independence from Italy.

We saw the 10 year anniversary of the tragic 9/11 events as the redevelopment of the twin towers site nears completion.

There was growing rumor and gossip surrounding the imminent release of a new iPhone, many people were betting on it being an iPhone 5.

The financial markets once again hit the headlines as a UBS trader managed to lose $2 billion on the markets.

REM announced that they were to split after 31 years together and Google became a teenager.

A couple of stories emerged that we never thought that we would see, the speed of light had apparently been broken and women in Saudi Arabia were given the right to vote.

Read more in Year in Review 2011 (Part 4) here.

Matsuda the Japanese Football Star Dies After Training

Posted by James in Football, Sports

Matsuda, one of Japan’s most famous footballers has died after suffering a heart attack in training.

Naoki Matsuda was only 34 and collapsed at the training centre of his football club, Matsumoto Yamaga, with a suspected heart attack.

The incident happened on Tuesday and he was rushed to hospital in an unconscious state and he never regained conciousness. His club confirmed that he had finally passed away on Thursday just after 13:00.

Matsuda was one of the stars of the Japanese 2002 World Cup team when Japan co-hosted the event. He won 40 caps for his country and he won Japanese league titles with Yokohama F-Marinos. He playing in defence for them in nearly 400 games during 15 years there.

Although Matsuda was in the twilight of his career he thoroughly enjoyed playing the game he loved and intended to go on as long as he could. He was unusually tall for a Japanese player, standing 6′ in height, giving him an edge in the penalty box.

Matsuda Tribute

Former teamate Shunsuke Nakamura told AFP that he couldn’t believe it.

“He was dynamic in every aspect and he was a kind of big brother for everyone in a positive sense.”

The death of one of their most famous players comes on the back of the Japanese women’s team winning the Women’s World Cup last month.

Photo: taishi

Japan Win Women’s World Cup Final 2011 Beating USA on Penalties

Posted by Sam in Football, Sports

Japan win the Women’s World Cup Final 2011 and are champions of the world tonight after beating USA in a dramatic penalty shootout.

After what has been a traumatic time for Japan with the horrendous Earthquake and Tsunami, the country has something to celebrate tonight after they claimed their first Women’s World Cup win during a dramatic final game.

The Japanese had to twice come from behind after the USA took the lead. The USA started the game strongly, Japan didn’t have much of a lookin in the first 20 minutes of the game the USA were so dominant.

But…and it is a big BUT… they couldn’t score. They came very close on a number of occasions but it wouldn’t go in the net. So many times in football games do we see a team dominate but not score and it comes back to haunt them.

We had to wait a while for the first goal and we had to wait for a USA substitute, Alex Morgan, for it to happen. She brought some needed energy and pace to the attack when she came on.

It was route one football, a long ball through and Morgan latched onto it and hit a great strike into the corner of the Japanese net where the goalkeeper had no chance.

Japan stuck to their game plan and started to grow in confidence as the game went on. It was late in normal time when Japan grabbed the equaliser with about 10 minutes left on the clock.

A comedy of errors in the USA defence allowed Aya Mitama to poke the ball home from close range after the defenders had failed to clear the ball on two occasions.

This took the game into extra time with the game finely balanced with no one team being dominant enough to be able to pick a winner.

Japan are a good passing team though and it is hard work chasing the ball against a team like that, on the other hand, the USA’s direct play has always been effective and their fitness had seen them overcome other teams late on in matches.

It was the goal machine that is Abby Wambach that broke the deadlock, she lost her marker to get onto the end of a great cross from the left wing. Heading home from short distance, she wasn’t going to miss.

So Japan were behind again. Homare Sawa, the talismanic Japanese captain and one of the players of the tournament, was certainly not going to give up.

She showed enormous desire to get onto the end of a near post corner and facing away from the goal she deftly flicked the ball toward Hope Solo’s goal, it took a slight deflection but it didn’t matter, it was always heading in and was a well deserved equaliser.

Their was a red card shown towards the end of extra time, Alex Morgan was brought down just outside the penalty area by last Japanese defender who received her marching orders. But with so little time left on the clock it didn’t really matter too much.

Neither team could come up with another goal in extra time so it was onto penalties, the USA had dumped Brazil out of the Women’s World Cup 2011 in a penalty shootout, could they do the same again?

Two failed USA penalty kicks straight away suggested that this would be Japan’s day and so it proved. The Japanese defender Saki Kumagai took the final kick, very calmly, that sealed Japan’s victory and destroyed USA’s hopes of winning a record 3rd Women’s World Cup.

Japan are the first Asian nation to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup. In another tribute to how they approach the game, they also won the FIFA fair play award.

They only really started playing football seriously in the late 80′s when they set up a proper structure and official bodies. From those humble beginnings to World Champions is a great achievement, especially when you consider that they were not even sure they would be able to play at this years World Cup after the tragedies they had suffered back home.

Germany’s Women’s World Cup Woe

Posted by Tracy in Football, Sports

Germany suffered a shock defeat to Japan in the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals. To put it in perspective, Germany are the current holders of the World Cup trophy, the host nation and one of the favourites to win this years trophy.

Japan came into this game having just lost to England in the group decider, but there was no doubting that they were a talented side, they just had real problems coping with big European sides.

If they were going to get over this problem, then they couldn’t have picked a better place. A World Cup quarter-final against the tournament hosts, Germany.

The scale of the challenge for Japan was daunting, Germany haven’t lost a world cup match since USA 1999. They also had home advantage with most of the crowds at the tournaments on their side and have won the last two Women’s World Cups. Tough indeed.

The majority of chances during the game did fall to Germany but they failed to get the ball in the back of the net. A couple of chances were cleared off the line by Japan’s defenders and towards the end of 90 minutes Germany were piling on the pressure.

Japan had moments of their own, they had alot of possession with Aya Miyama hitting the side netting and Yuki Nagasato missing with only the goalkeeper to beat.

At the end of the 90 minutes neither side had been able to make the breakthrough and extra time beckoned.

It was the Japanese substitute, Karina Maruyama, that made the difference, becoming an instant hero back home.

Chasing a through ball into the right side of the penalty box, Maruyama managed to squeeze a low shot past the lunging defender and under the German goalkeeper into the far corner.

There was stunned silence in the packed stadium as the Japanese players celebrated.

There was further pressure from Germany but they still couldn’t get the goal that they needed and Japan closed out the game 1-0 winners to move into the semi-finals for the first time since 1995.

Meanwhile the other two major powers in women’s soccer, the USA and Brazil will play later today in their quarter-final clash.

It seems a little disappointing to see these two teams playing each other this early in the tournament but one things for sure, it’s going to be a great game. Kick off is 17:30 local time.

Womens World Cup Football – England, Germany, France and Japan All Book Places In Quarter-Finals

Posted by Sam in Football, Sports

England, Germany, France and Japan are the first teams to book their places in the Women’s World Cup Quarter-Finals in Germany.

England were fighting Japan to secure top spot in their group and the deciding game between the two took place today. The reward? Avoiding favourites Germany in the quarter-finals.

England secured the points with a 2-0 victory, their size, speed and fitness proving a real problem for Japan as they continue to have problems when facing European teams.

There was a bit of flair too as Ellen White, player of the match, scored from just outside the box with a lob over the keeper.

Keepers have come in for a bit of stick in this tournament, perhaps with some justification. The general standard of play has improved greatly since the last Women’s World Cup but goalkeeping mistakes are still very much in evidence.

England will now go on to play France and Japan will have a very tough match against Germany.

The game between France and Germany would decide who would finish top of group A. Favourites Germany came away with a 4-2 win with France having Sapowicz sent off for bringing down Bajramaj in the penalty area. Grings slotting home the resulting penalty.

Not only are Germany one of the best women’s teams in the world at the moment, they also have home advantage and the support they are getting from their home country is amazing. Stadiums are always packed when they play.

It’s no wonder they are overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy, although the USA and Brazil may yet have something to say about that.

Want to Own Chris Martin’s Viva La Vida Tour Jacket & Help Japan at the Same Time?

Posted by Tracy in Celebrity

The record company EMI are giving you the chance to own donated items from their artists, including Chris Martin’s Viva La Vida tour jacket, in an effort to raise money for the people affected by the earthquake and Tsunami in Japan.

The items are being auctioned on Ebay and it runs until the 21st April. More than 60 celebrities have donated items including Coldplay, David Bowie, The Chemical Brothers, The Beastie Boys, Queen, Katy Perry, Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd, Gorillaz, the Beach Boys, Depeche Mode, Good Charlotte, Jeff Bridges and Tinie Tempah.

Have you ever fancied yourself as a singer? Perhaps a singing lesson from the soprano Diana Damrau would suit you.

How about a guitar signed by Slash, or perhaps Tomayasu Hotei is more to your liking, he has signed a Fender Stratocaster.

One of the most original items up for grabs is a cupcake shaped trampoline from Katy Perry’s current tour. You may have seen it at the front of the stage, the winner will have to ship it from California though so make sure you can do that and you will be bouncing around on a cupcake before you know it.

The other standout item is the Ferrari 412 owned by Daft Punk and featured in their film Electroma, a bargain if you have $25,000 to spare.

Japan is still reeling from the earthquake and subsequent Tsunami, follow up quakes have also been happening that would be counted as major at any other time.

If you would like to bid and help the relief effort in Japan you can check out Chris Martin’s Viva La Vida Tour Jacket here.

Photo: wonker

Japan Stuggles to Contain It’s Nuclear ‘Incident’

Posted by Gary in Health

Concern is growing around the world that Japan is losing the battle to get control of it’s nuclear problems in Fukushima.

Engineers at the Fukushima nuclear power plant have been struggling to cool down the fuel after power generators failed during last week’s earthquake and tsunami.

They have, over the last few days, resorted to dropping buckets of water from helicopters flying at a safe height from the radiation (already leaking from the plant in the steam created from the water being pumped in order to cool the nuclear fuel).

Many outside, and tellingly inside Japan, believe that the Japanese government is underplaying the risks involved. Other countries have been telling their citizens to leave an area at least twice the size suggested by the Japanese government.

However, tonight there appears to be some good news coming out from the plant with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) telling us that a power cable has been successfully connected to a reactor.

If this is correct it should enable the engineers to restart the cooling pumps which previously lost power during the crisis. The pumps can then send coolant around the reactors cooling the fuel down.

For resources todo with the Japanese earthquake and Tsunami, including donations and people finder, goto http://www.google.co.jp/intl/en/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

Photo: daveeza

Earthquake Shakes Japan and Sends a Tsunami Through the Pacific Region

Posted by Jeff in Travel

A huge 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit the north-east of Japan and triggered a Tsunami that sends more devastation across the island.

The wall of water, over 20 foot high, swept away anything in it’s path with such ease that no building was safe and ships were thrown miles inland.

The quake struck at 14:46 local time, about 250 miles north east of Tokyo and the area has since suffered from multiple aftershocks with many also more than magnitude 6.

Multiple fires have broken out and as a country running multiple Nuclear power plants, Japan has been put on high nuclear alert. Smoke was seen coming from one plant not long after the quake struck.

Japan’s previous worst disaster was the 8.3 magnitude quake of 1923 that killed approx. 143,000 people. In today’s more quake proof world it’s not thought that the death toll will reach anywhere near that number but it could still reach thousands.

The Tsunami waves are now travelling throughout the pacific and other countries are bracing themselves for it’s impact on their shores.

On one side there are the populous regions of the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand; on the other side there are the shores of Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Chile with Samoa and Hawaii in the centre.

Photo: Central Intelligence Agency
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Robovie-PC Wins First Robot Marathon in Japan

Posted by Jeff in Technology

The worlds first marathon for two legged robots has been won in a time of 54 hours 57 minutes and 50 seconds, just a second before it’s closest rival.

The 26.2 mile race was run in the Japanese city of Osaka on an indoor 100m track starting on Thursday.

There were 5 robots taking part in the event, waving to the crowd before setting off on their marathon attempt.

Competitors were allowed to change batteries and the motors which control the robots movement, but otherwise couldn’t interfere with the race, including picking them up if they fell over.

It seemed like the race would be a mere formality after the robot Robovie-PC Lite ran into an early lead and built up a large gap.

But in the tradition of all the great races, the hare didn’t win. With 2 laps to go the Robovie-PC Lite ran into problems and the Robovie-PC, made by the same company, forged into the lead.

Robovie-PC Lite wasn’t giving up though, the little robot battled on and gave chase to come within a whisker of pulling off a dramatic comeback.

It wasn’t to be though, for most of the 422 laps it had been leading but at the final charge it didn’t quite have enough and Robovie-PC took the flag.

Maybe to an outside observer this all sounds superfluous, but events like this have a serious side.

They help to push the boundaries of the technology, which is evolving fast, and the world of the future is likely to rely on such machines to make daily life run smoothly.

The Japanese government for instance, is looking towards personal robots to be able to look after it’s ageing population in the coming years as the population age shifts dramatically out of balance.

The bi-pedal aspect is an important part of this design as moving around a house will involve that old robot nemesis, stairs.

Photo: Ms. President