■ Automakers
Ford denies `gay' ads pact
Ford Motor Co came under fire this week after it was reported to have pulled ads from gay publications in a "secret deal" with a conservative Christian group. The automaker denied that any deal had been made and insisted that the decision to cease advertising its Jaguar and Land Rover brands in gay publications was part of a broad restructuring of the advertising budgets of the two struggling luxury brands. The Volvo brand will continue to advertise in gay publications while the Ford, Mercury and Lincoln brands have never advertised in such publications, Ford spokesman Mike Moran said. The American Family Association threatened to boycott Ford in May because the company sponsored Gay Pride parades, supported gay marriage and required managers to attend diversity training. The boycott was suspended last Friday.
■ Liability
`Dangerous' bikes slammed
Parents suing US retail giant Wal-Mart for their children's crashes on Chinese-built bicycles gathered on the steps of a San Francisco courthouse on Tuesday to state their case. The parents of 10 US children filed suit earlier this year, accusing Wal-Mart and California-based bicycle importer Dynacraft of fraud and negligence for supplying children with "dangerous bicycles." Wal-Mart and Dynacraft have vouched for the quality of the bicycles, saying the reason front tires popped off, sending children face-first over handlebars, was "rider error." The children or whoever was watching over them didn't set the quick-release mechanisms for the front wheels correctly, according to the companies. Parents say the releases were faulty and they weren't properly warned of the importance of securing the front wheels.
■ Copy protection
Patch released for Sony CDs
According to Sony BMG Music Entertainment, some 5.7 million of its CDs were shipped with anti-piracy technology that requires a new software patch to plug a potential security breach in computers used to play the CDs. The company said on Tuesday it brought the issue up with the MediaMax software maker, SunnComm Technologies Inc, which has developed a software patch to fix the problem. The flawed software was loaded on 27 Sony BMG titles, including Alicia Keys' Unplugged, and Cassidy's I'm a Hustla.
■ Software
Microsoft to expand in India
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said yesterday the US software giant plans to invest US$1.7 billion in India and nearly double its work force in the country over the next four years. Much of the money would go to improving the software giant's research and development capabilities, Gates said. The Microsoft chairman hinted earlier yesterday at bigger things to come when he said the company would add 3,000 jobs in India over the next three to four years.
■ Plasma displays
Samsung sues Matsushita
South Korea's Samsung SDI said yesterday it has filed a patent violation lawsuit in the US against Japan's Matsushita and its subsidiary Panasonic. The legal action came after a year of negotiations failed to resolve a dispute between Samsung SDI and Matsushita over plasma display panel (PDP) technologies. Samsung SDI is the world's largest maker of PDPs, which are flat screens used for thin televisions and other display monitors.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
The US House of Representatives yesterday unanimously passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, which aims to disincentivize Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by cutting Chinese leaders and their family members off from the US financial system if Beijing acts against Taiwan. The bipartisan bill, which would also publish the assets of top Chinese leaders, was cosponsored by Republican US Representative French Hill, Democratic US Representative Brad Sherman and seven others. If the US president determines that a threat against Taiwan exists, the bill would require the US Department of the Treasury to report to Congress on funds held by certain members of the
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