■ 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.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
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