Posts tagged Years
New Details About The ‘Propaganda’ That Reportedly Earned A US Citizen 15 Years Of Hard Labor In North Korea
May 18th
Source: www.businessinsider.com – Thursday, May 09, 2013
Earlier this month, US citizen Kenneth Bae was sentenced to 15 years of "hard labor" by the North Korean regime. Exactly what Bae did to deserve this is unclear . When his trial was announced, North Korea said he had "admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the Democratic People's Republic of Korea with hostility toward it." Finally, more details are coming out. North Korean news agency KNCA said today that Bae had smuggled in "inflammatory literature" into he country and tried to create a base for "anti-Pyongyang activities" in a border city hotel. James Pearson of NKNews.org reports that the KNCA alleges Bae had a 2007 National Geographic documentary called “Don’t tell my mother that I am in North Korea" in his possession. The documentary is one of a few "propaganda materials" Bae was carrying, KNCA alleges. The National Geographic documentary, filmed by French-Canadian reporter Diego Bunuel, is currently available to watch in full on YouTube : To those who have viewed Western documentaries about North Korea before it probably seems like pretty-standard stuff. So far the best interpretation of this news comes from Max Fisher at the Washington Post , who points out that the film features a visit to one of three Catholic churches in Pyongyang around the 18-minute mark. Bae is known to be a Christian, and North Korea has accused him of being a missionary with the evangelical Youth With a Mission (YWAM) group. Right now t
Eight years later, Google reinvents its Maps for a data rich web
May 15th
Source: gigaom.com – Wednesday, May 15, 2013
In February 2005, when Google released the earliest version of its Google Maps product, the company changed the way the world views online maps. Almost overnight, Google made incumbents like Mapquest look antiquated. And with the passage of time, the Mountain View, Calif.-based search and information giant has been quietly making incremental yet important upgrades to its the maps product. But on Wednesday, the company launched the first substantial and major overhaul of Google Maps, and created a product that is finely tuned to today’s modern, data rich web. Jonah Jones, Lead Designer, Google Maps When compared side by side with early versions of Google Maps, the difference between the maps of 2006 and 2013 is the equivalent to the difference between a Rio MP3 player and an iPod. “We originally created the draggable maps and now we sat down and basically wondered how were we going to reinvent the mapping experience,” said Jonah Jones, lead designer for Google Maps, who has spent the past seven years at Google working on maps. “It wasn’t as much dissatisfaction with the current maps, but more about how we can do this better.” The new Google Maps marries data, social and the concept of hyper-personalization, tastefully layering those principles on top of beautiful and detail-rich maps. Google used the popular Google Earth app to enhance the Google Maps experience itself. In doing so, Google is acknowledging that today we live on a
Eight years later, Google reinvents its Maps for a data rich web
North Korea Sentences US Citizen To 15 Years Of Hard Labor
May 3rd
Source: www.inquisitr.com – Wednesday, May 01, 2013
North Korea has sentenced a US citizen to 15 years of hard labor. State news agency KCNA reports that Pae Jun-ho, known in the US as Kenneth Bae, was accused of anti-government crimes and plotting to overthrow North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. He was tried and sentenced on April 30. A KCNA report confirms: “The Supreme Court sentenced him to 15 years of compulsory labour for this crime.” Mr. Bae was detained by authorities in November 2012 after entering North Korea as a tourist. North Korean media reported last week that Kenneth Bae had confessed to various charges of crimes against the communist regime. His crimes carried the death penalty. The 44-year-old was arrested in the northeastern port city of Rason, a special economic zone near North Korea’s border with China. He is reportedly a tour operator of Korean descent, and is the sixth US citizen to be detained in North Korea since 2009. Other US detainees have been journalists and Christians accused of seeking to convert others. Speaking Monday, US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said: “The welfare of US citizens is a critical and top priority for this department. We call on the DPRK [North Korea] to release Kenneth Bae immediately on humanitarian grounds.” Whether Kenneth Bae will serve his 15 years in the notorious North Korean labor camps is not yet certain. US citizens previously arrested in North Korea have been released after intervention from high-profile Am
North Korea Sentences US Citizen To 15 Years ‘Hard Labor’
May 2nd
Source: www.zerohedge.com – Wednesday, May 01, 2013
While details are somewhat sketchy of the reasons, Kenneth Bae (a US Citizen known by the Korean rendering Pae Jun-Ho and likely unrelated to this gentleman ) has been sentenced to 15 years 'hard labor' for committing 'hostile crimes' against the regime . As AP notes , Bae was arrested in November after entering the China/North-Korea special economic zone city of Rason as a tourist. Of course, there could be well-reasoned facts that lead to the need for this man to serve this sentence – though it seems former-President Jimmy Carter may soon be traveling to North Korea (likely without Dennis Rodman) to seek Bae's release . We hope this is not a temper-tantrum from the nation's leader for not causing enough uproar with his rhetoric earlier in the month…mirroring 2009's US-vs-North Korea standoff. Via AP, An American detained for nearly six months in North Korea has been sentenced to 15 years of "compulsory labor" for unspecified crimes against the state , Pyongyang announced Thursday. The sentencing of Kenneth Bae, described by friends as a devout Christian and a tour operator, will further complicate already strained relations between Pyongyang and Washington as the countries pursue tentative diplomacy following weeks of warlike threats from North Korea. Pyongyang's official state media said Bae's trial took place Tuesday, but the dispatch provided few new details. Bae was tried in the country's Supreme Court on charges
‘They were set up, FBI followed them for years’- Tsarnaev brothers’ mother to RT
Apr 20th
Source: rt.com – Saturday, April 20, 2013
Follow the Boston bombing suspects manhunt LIVE UPDATES Zubeidat Tsarnaeva maintains her younger son is innocent and like so many of the brothers’ acquaintances, claims they were good, courteous kids and model students – especially the younger 19-year-old Dzhokhar, who is currently on the run. A US citizen who is presently in the Russian Republic of Dagestan, she revealed to RT some suspicions of
‘They were set up, FBI followed them for years’- Tsarnaev brothers’ mother to RT
