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(Updated: June 15, 2012)
Keynote Speaker Biographies
(alphabetical order)
- Victoria ESSER, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Digital Strategy, US Department of State, Washington, DC, USA
Ms. Victoria Esser is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs for Digital Strategy at the Department of State. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made 21st Century Statecraft—the leveraging of networks and technologies in service of America's foreign policy goals—a priority, and Ms. Esser is charged with creating and managing the digital strategy for the Department. In that capacity, she oversees the Department's official social media platforms, broadcast operations, and the State Department website.
Prior to joining the Department of State, Ms. Esser was a Managing Director of the Glover Park Group, a leading public affairs consultancy headquartered in Washington, DC, and was the co-chair of the firm's International Affairs practice.
Ms. Esser previously served as a Vice President of Robinson, Lerer & Montgomery, a strategic communications consultancy, where she developed international corporate communications strategies covering legal issues, corporate social responsibility, and crisis communications for AOL International and AOL, Inc. She began her career with the Centre International des Enterprises à Succursale, an association located in Paris, France.
Ms. Esser has a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and graduated cum laude from Colby College with a BA in French and Government. She has been published in Politico and the Huffington Post, is an Atlantic Bridges Young Leader alumnus, and is highly proficient in French.
- Yoichi FUNABASHI, Chairman of the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation, Former Editor-in-Chief, Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo, Japan
Dr. Yoichi Funabashi is Chairman of the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation and a former Editor-in-Chief and Columnist for The Asahi Shimbun. He is a contributing editor of Foreign Policy (Washington, DC).
Dr. Funabashi served as correspondent for The Asahi Shimbun in Beijing (1980–81) and Washington (1984–87), and as American General Bureau Chief (1993–97). In 1985 he received the Vaughn-Ueda Prize for his reporting on international affairs. He won the Japan Press Award, known as Japan's "Pulitzer Prize," in 1994 for his columns on foreign policy, and his articles in Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy won the Ishibashi Tanzan Prize in 1992.
His books in English include The Peninsula Question (Brookings Institute, 2007); Reconciliation in the Asia- Pacific, ed. (USIP, 2003,); Alliance Tomorrow, ed. (Tokyo Foundation, 2001); Alliance Adrift (Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1998, winner of the Shincho Arts and Sciences Award); Asia-Pacific Fusion: Japan's Role in APEC (Institute for International Economics, 1995, winner of the Mainichi Shimbun Asia Pacific Grand Prix Award); and Managing the Dollar: From the Plaza to the Louvre (1988 winner of the Yoshino Sakuzo Prize).
His recent articles and papers in English include: "Fukushima in review: a complex disaster, a disastrous response" (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, March/April 2012); "Lessons from Japan's nuclear accident" (East Asia Forum,March 26, 2012); "The end of Japanese illusions" (The New York Times, March 11, 2012); and "My findings in Japan's existential fallout" (Financial Times, March 9, 2012).
Dr. Funabashi received his BA from the University of Tokyo in 1968 and his PhD from Keio University in 1992. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University (1975–76), a visiting fellow at the Institute for International Economics (1987), a Donald Keene Fellow at Columbia University (2003), and a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo Public Policy Institute (2005–2006).
- Jeff JARVIS, Director, Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, City University of New York; Author, "Public Parts: How Sharing in the Digital Age Improves the Way We Work and Live," and "What Would Google Do?"; New York City, New York, USA
Mr. Jeff Jarvis directs the Tow- Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism.
He is the author of Public Parts: How Sharing in the Digital Age Improves the Way We Work and Live and What Would Google Do? He also is author of the ebook Gutenberg the Geek.
Mr. Jarvis blogs at Buzzmachine.com and tweets at @jeffjarvis.
- Riyaad MINTY, Head of Social Media, Al Jazeera, Doha, Qatar
Mr. Riyaad Minty leads the Al Jazeera Media Network's Social Media initiatives. As part of the Network's New Media team, he ensures that all the channels within the Al Jazeera Network have a presence and are part of the conversation across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other Social Media platforms. Mr. Minty was part of the team that produced Al Jazeera's English Emmy nominated coverage of the 2008 US Presidential Election (International Digital Emmy 2009).
Most recently his work has focused on the use of citizen media for crisis reporting, with a particular focus on the Arab Spring (2011/12), the Iranian Elections (2009) and the War on Gaza (2008/9). He has been a proponent of open source and empowering communities through projects like Al Jazeera Creative Commons Repository.
At 28, Mr. Minty has been recognized as a global leader in the field of social media. He has presented his social media strategy at leading media conferences around the world and is regularly interviewed by global media on the role of citizen media in times of crisis.
Prior to joining Al Jazeera, Mr. Minty co-founded Future Technologies, a South African company that focused on mobile content production, aggregation and distribution.
- Evgeny MOROZOV, Visiting Scholar, Stanford University; Author, "The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom"; Washington, DC, USA
Mr. Evgeny Morozov is author of The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom and is currently a visiting scholar in the Liberation Technology program at Stanford University and a Schwartz fellow at the New America Foundation. He was formerly a Yahoo! fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University and a fellow at George Soros's Open Society Foundations, where he also served on the board of the Information Program.
Before moving to the US, Morozov was Director of New Media at Transitions Online, a Prague-based media development NGO active in 29 countries of the former Soviet Bloc. He's written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Slate, The New Republic and other publications.
- Nicole Rebecca SEAH Xue Ling, Member, Central Executive Committee, National Solidarity Party, Singapore
In a city state that has been historically dominated by one-party rule, Ms. Nicole Rebecca Seah Xue Ling is part of the new guard of opposition politicians who contested against the ruling People's Action Party in the watershed Singapore General Elections in May 2011. The General Elections was significant as it was the first time social media was introduced, leading to the democratization of the electorate. This resulted in the ruling party's lowest performance since independence.
Ms. Seah has been regarded widely as a social movement creator in Singapore who used social media strategies in circumventing rigid political participation laws to communicate her campaign progress and engage with the electorate. Her campaign went viral and to date, she has 106,000 followers on her public Facebook page. She has spoken on the topic of social media in influencing and changing Singapore's political landscape at education and cultural institutions across Asia.
These days, Ms. Seah chairs her party's youth committee, NSP Catalyst, which seeks to breed a political youth culture of thinkers and doers. By day, Ms. Seah works as a planner on a suite of regional accounts in a creative agency. Her career has spanned advertising and public relations work on regional accounts in the corporate and banking sector such as Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Abbott Nutrition and Marina Bay Sands, as well as local government clients National Environment Agency and the Singapore Navy.
- Joe TRIPPI, US Political Strategist and Author of "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet and the Overthrow of Everything," Washington, DC, USA
Heralded on the cover of The New Republic as the man who "reinvented campaigning,"Mr. Joe Trippi has been at the forefront of movement politics for nearly 30 years. Mr. Trippi began his political career working on Edward M. Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1980 and has worked on numerous presidential, gubernatorial, senate, and congressional campaigns ever since.
Most recently, Mr. Trippi was a senior strategist and media consultant in Jerry Brown's successful run for California governor. The campaign's ads were described as "clever" and "amazing," and they were widely considered some of the best of 2010. TIME magazine named one ad, "Echo," the best ad of 2010, and the Brown ads received four "Pollie" awards for excellence in political media. Earlier in the decade, as Campaign Manager for Howard Dean's presidential campaign, Trippi and his team pioneered the empowerment message and the online community tools that have become the basis of movement politics around the world.
In addition to his political work, Trippi has consulted with a number of leading non-profits and corporations including the Humane Society of the United States, the American Cancer Society, Best Friends Animal Society, the National Wildlife Federation,Monster.com, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler, SES Americom, Corning, LabCorp, IBM, Lionsgate Films, Best Buy, Wave Systems, and Research InMotion.
Trippi is the author of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet and the Overthrow of Everything, the story of how his revolutionary use of the Internet combined with an impassioned, contagious desire to overturn politics-as-usual grew into a national grassroots movement—and changed the face of American politics forever.
Keynote and Plenary Panelist and Moderator Biographies
(alphabetical order)
- Zaffar ABBAS, Editor, Dawn Newspaper, Karachi, Pakistan
Mr. Zaffar Abbas has a 31-year career in journalism. He started his career in February 1981 as a junior reporter for a Karachi-based newspaper, The Star. In 1988 he moved to the Herald, a prestigious Pakistani monthly magazine, as its main investigative reporter.
Four years later he shifted to Islamabad to join the BBC world service as one of its Pakistan correspondents.
In October 2006 he left the BBC to join Dawn, one of Pakistan's most credible English language newspapers. Two years ago he moved back to Karachi to take over as Dawn's Editor-in-Chief.
During the course of his work, Mr. Abbas has extensively covered all kinds of events, mainly in Pakistan but also in other countries including India, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Mr. Abbas is a keen follower of both Pakistani and regional politics. He has been reporting on the insurgency and civil war in Afghanistan from the days of the Soviet occupation. The last few years have been mostly dedicated to reporting and analyzing the post-9/11 policies and developments in the region, particularly the resultant rise in Islamic militancy in Pakistan. He has also been closely following the separatist movement in Kashmir, the tricky peace process between India and Pakistan, as well as Pakistan's complex civil-military relations.
- Donny B.U. (BUDHI UTOYO), Executive Director, ICT Watch, Jakarta, Indonesia
Mr. Donny B.U. is founder of ICT Watch, the leading Indonesian ICT civil society organization that laid the foundation for the responsible use of Internet through the "Internet Sehat" nationwide campaign. This campaign forged a nation of informed citizens, subtly pre-empting the possibility of new government limits on free expression. He was awarded an Ashoka fellowship in 2012 for his social entrepreneur activities that focus on online freedom of expression, cyber activism and citizen journalism. As a New Media lecturer at reputable private universities in Jakarta, he teaches cyber journalism, digital media, e-business and communication technology development. He started his career as an ICT journalist in 2009 at Detikcom, the biggest online media organization in Indonesia, and then was promoted to Managing Editor and finally served the company as a Vice President until his resignation in 2011. He travels widely in Indonesia in order to share his ideas and experiences with various campus activists, civil societies and communities. Find him on Twitter @donnybu and his blog: http://donnybu.com.
- Peter BECK, Country Representative for Korea, The Asia Foundation, Seoul, South Korea
Mr. Peter Beck became the Korea Representative for the San Francisco-based Asia Foundation in January 2012. He also writes a column for Joongang Daily and serves on the Korea Foundation's Publications Board and the Korean American Educational Commission. Previously, he held fellowships at the Council on Foreign Relations, Stanford University and the East-West Center in Honolulu. He served as the Executive Director of the US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (2007–08) and opened the International Crisis Group's Northeast Asia office in Seoul (2004–07). He was also the Director of Research and Academic Affairs at the Korea Economic Institute in Washington, DC (1997–2004).
Mr. Beck has taught at American University, Georgetown University, the Naval Post Graduate School, Ewha Womans University, and Yonsei University. He has also served as a member of the Ministry of Unification's Policy Advisory Committee and as a columnist for Donga Ilbo, Weekly Chosun, and The Korea Herald. He has published more than 100 articles, including pieces in Asian Survey, Encyclopedia Britannica, Foreign Policy, Oxford Analytica, The Wall Street Journal, and Yale Global. He has also testified before Congress. He received his BA from the University of California at Berkeley, completed the Korean language program at Seoul National University, and conducted his graduate studies at U.C. San Diego's Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies.
- Ambassador Ray BURGHARDT, Director, East-West Seminars, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Ambassador Raymond Burghardt joined the East-West Center in January 2005 as the Director of East-West Seminars, the Center's division that organizes dialogue and exchange programs. Before joining the Center, he served as US Ambassador to Vietnam.
In 2006, the Board of Trustees of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) named Ambassador Burghardt Chairman of the AIT Board, a position he continues to serve. His earlier diplomatic career included director of AIT, Consul General in Shanghai, and Foreign Service Officer in Beijing, Manila, Seoul and Hong Kong. He served as Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan on the National Security Council staff and Senior Director of Latin American Affairs. He also served at the US Embassies in Honduras and Guatemala. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia before joining the Foreign Service. Ambassador Burghardt received a BA from Columbia College in 1967 and did graduate study at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. He was a fellow at Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.
He speaks Vietnamese, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.
- Yuen Ying CHAN, Professor and Director, Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR
Ms. Yuen Ying Chan is a writer, educator and award winning journalist. She is professor of journalism and Founding Director of the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at The University of Hong Kong and the Founding Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication at Shantou University, China (2003–2011). In both capacities, she created graduate, undergraduate and professional programs in journalism and led curriculum and reforms that addressed the impact of globalization and technological changes.
Previously, Professor Chan spent 23 years working as a journalist in New York City and has reported for New York Daily News, CBS 60 Minutes and NBC Dateline. Her honors include a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University, a Polk Award for her reporting on the human-smuggling trade from China, and an International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists for her battle against a criminal libel suit in Taiwan.
She consults often for Chinese and international media organizations and serves on the board of directors of the Media Development Loan Fund, an investment fund for independent media worldwide; and the steering committee of the Global Forum for Media Development. She is the chair (2011–12) of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Informed Societies. Her research interests include media and development, China's media, social media, media and journalism education, and professional practices of journalism.
In 2006,Ms. Chen Juhong became Editor-in-Chief of qq.com, the tenth most trafficked website in the world and the product of China's leading new media company, Tencent.
Prior to this position, Ms. Chen was the news and features editor of Southern Weekend, an influential weekly newspaper located in Southern China's largest city, Guangzhou. After seven years, Chen moved to Window on the South, a major government publication, serving as the magazine's Editor-in-Chief.
Ms. Chen attended Harvard University on a Nieman Fellowship from 2002 to 2003 and also was awarded a Jefferson Fellowship at the East-West Center in Honolulu. She frequently lectures about globalization's impact on the media and the changing landscape of China's Internet sector.
- Mike CHINOY, Senior Fellow, U.S.-China Institute, Former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief, Arcadia, California, USA
Mr. Mike Chinoy is a Senior Fellow at the U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, and the creator of the Assignment China documentary series on the history of American correspondents in China. Previously, he spent three years at Pacific Council on International Policy writing Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis.
Before joining the Pacific Council, Mr. Chinoy spent 24 years as a foreign correspondent for CNN, including stints in London, eight years as the network's first Bureau Chief in Beijing, and nearly a decade as Hong Kong Bureau Chief and Senior Asia Correspondent. He began his career with CBS and NBC in Hong Kong in the 1970s.
He has reported on the most important events in Asia since that time, including the death of Mao Zedong, the "People Power" revolt in the Philippines, the Tiananmen Square crisis, the rise of China, the Hong Kong handover, the Soviet and US wars in Afghanistan, the Southeast Asian tsunami, and developments in North Korea, where he has made 15 visits.
He is also the author of China Live: People Power and the Television Revolution, and has received numerous awards for his journalism, including the Emmy, Peabody, and Dupont awards for his coverage of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crisis; and a Dupont Award for his coverage of the tsunami. He holds a BA from Yale University and an MS from Columbia University. He lives in Arcadia, California.
- Masashi CRETE-NISHIHATA, Research Manager, Citizen Lab, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Mr. Masashi Crete-Nishihata is the research manager of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. His recent publications include work on information controls during the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict, cyber security research ethics, cyber attacks against Burmese media groups, and the psychosocial impacts of lifelogging technologies. His research interests focus on the intersection of human rights, security and technology.
- Steven GAN, Founder and Editor, Malaysiakini.com, Kual Lumpur, Malaysia
Mr. Steven Gan launched the country's first and only independent media, Malaysiakini (Malaysia Now), in 1999. Malaysiakini received the Free Media Pioneer 2001 award from the Vienna-based International Press Institute, and Mr. Gan is a recipient of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists' International Press Freedom Award 2000.
The online website was ranked #18 on Asiaweek's Power 50 in 2001, and Mr. Gan was also selected as one of the 50 most influential individuals in Business Week's "Stars of Asia."
Malaysiakini was raided by the police and 19 of its computers confiscated in 2003. Nevertheless, the harassment from the government failed to stop the subscription-based website from continuing to provide its readers with "news and views that matter."
Mr.Gan is co-editor of the 2004 book, Asian Cyberactivism: Freedom of Expression and Media Censorship. Malaysiakini received the bronze prize as one of the country's top media brands at the inaugural Putra Brand Awards in March 2010.
- Dan GILLMOR, Director, Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship, Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Mr. Dan Gillmor is Founding Director of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship and Kauffman Professor of Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University's Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication. The project aims to help students understand the startup culture, and ultimately to help them invent their own jobs.
Professor Gillmor's latest book, Mediactive, aims to encourage a better media supply in part by creating better demand—to spur people to become active media users, as consumers and participants. His earlier book, We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People, was the first to explain the rise of citizen media and why it matters. Professor Gillmor has been a co-founder, investor and advisor in a number of media ventures in the for-profit and non-profit worlds. From 1994 until early 2005 he was a columnist at the San Jose Mercury News, Silicon Valley's daily newspaper, and wrote a weblog for SiliconValley.com. Before that he was worked at the Detroit Free Press, Kansas City Times and several newspapers in Vermont.
- Christopher GREEN, Manager for International Affairs, DailyNK, Seoul, South Korea
Mr. Chris Green has worked for five years with Daily NK, a South Korean news organization that deals with all matters related to North Korea, promoting awareness and advocacy of North Korean human rights by providing the most up-to-date, inside information on the country. One of the first foreigners to work with a non-governmental organization of this kind, Mr. Green is currently the head of the English language department of the online newspaper.
While simultaneously seeing to his responsibilities as Editor, Mr. Green holds a battery of other titles at DailyNK. He acts as journalist, analyst and translator, contributing to the organization across a variety of fields. Due to expert knowledge of subjects surrounding North Korea derived from 15 years spent studying the country, he is frequently interviewed on issues surrounding North Korea and has appeared as a speaker at a number of conferences related to it.
- Steven HERMAN, Northeast Asia Bureau Chief, Voice of America (VOA); President, Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club, Seoul, South Korea
Veteran broadcast journalist Mr. Steven L Herman is the Voice of America's Northeast Asia bureau chief and correspondent. Prior to taking his post in Seoul in mid- 2010, Mr. Herman was VOA's South Asia bureau chief in New Delhi, India for 3 1/2 years.
Mr. Herman was based in Japan for many years, reporting for VOA and other broadcasters. He is a former AP staff newsman in West Virginia (where he also served as State Broadcast Editor) and in Washington, DC at the wire service's Broadcast News Center. He began his journalism career in local radio and television in Las Vegas, Nevada, winning several AP and UPI broadcasting awards.
In the mid-1990'sMr. Herman, as the senior executive in Japan for the parent company of the Discovery Channel, spearheaded the team in country that successfully launched Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. He also produced Asian interstitial programming for Discovery Channel and independently co-produced a documentary, The History of America's Secret Casinos.
Mr. Herman has also contributed articles to numerous publications including the Far Eastern Economic Review, Harvard Summer Review, Japan Quarterly, Japan Times, Outlook India, Popular Communications, Proceedings (US Naval Institute), South China Morning Post and The Wall Street Journal.
He is currently President of the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club and is a former President of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.
- Dr. Kap-Young JEONG, President, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
Dr. Jeong Kap-Young became President of Yonsei University earlier this year after holding many other positions at the University including Senior Vice President at the Wonju Campus, Vice President of Faculty and Academic Affairs, and Dean of the Graduate School of Information.
He received his MA and PhD at Cornell University in the Department of Economics; and an MA from the University of Pennsylvania and BA from Yonsei University also in Economics. He was also a visiting professor at Cornell University in 1992, 1993 and 1998. His research interests include industrial organization and public policy, applied microeconomic theory and East Asian economies.
His most recent awards include the Dasan Economics Award from Hankyung Economic Daily in 2011; The 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals in the 21st Century, International Biographical Centre, in 2011; and the Market Economy Awards Excellence in Publication from the Federation of Korean Industries in 2007. In 2008-2009, Dr. Jeong was the Distinguished Research Fellow at the Samsung Economics Research Institute.
His other professional experience includes Editor of the Global Economic Review (SSCI Journal, Routledge, UK) since 1996; Advisory Member for the National Assembly Budget Office, Republic of Korea (2004–2008); and Commissioner, Korea Communications Commission (2001–2007).
- JOO Seong-ha, North Korea and International Affairs Reporter, Donga Ilbo; Blogger, North Korea Real Talk; (Defected from North Korea in 2002), Seoul, South Korea
Mr. Joo Seong-Ha reports on North Korea and International Affairs for the Donga Ilbo in Seoul. He is also the Managing Editor of North Korea Real Talk, the world's most widely visited North Korea-related website with an average monthly page visit count at 1.5 million and total page visits at 38 million.
Mr. Joo was born in North Korea and graduated with a BA from Kim Il-sung University; then joined the teaching staff at the university and served as a reserve military officer. In 2000 he defected from North Korea and a year later was apprehended in China after he was implicated in the largest-scale Christian incident in North Korea. He was deported to North Korea and incarcerated in six prisons. He defected for the second time and entered South Korea in 2002. In February 2012 he ignited protests against China's repatriation of North Korean refugees and catapulted the issue into global attention.
Mr. Joo is the author of several books: Kim Jung-un's North Korea, wither goest thou, 2012; A Straight Look at North, 2010; Stories of Pyongyang Written from Seoul, 2010; and World Renowned Vocational Training Schools co-authored in 2006. He co-translated The Two Koreas in the Eyes of Foreign Correspondents in 2010.
Mr. Joo is an MA degree candidate in International Relations and Security at Yonsei University's Graduate School of Government.
- KANG Bing, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, China Daily, Beijing
Mr. Kang Bing is Deputy Editor-in-Chief of China Daily, a national English newspaper with a circulation of 300,000 in China and 500,000 outside China.
Mr. Kang Bing joined China Daily in 1982 and has since been working as a sports writer, sports editor, feature editor and opinion editor. He became a board member of the newspaper group in 1995 and became its Deputy Editor-in- Chief in 2004.
He studied in Honolulu, Hawai'i as a Parvin Fellow between 1983-1984 and returned to Hawai'i as a Jefferson Fellow at the East-West Center in 2007. He has attended a number of media forums in the United States, Germany, China and South Korea.
- Karen KNUDSEN, Director, External Affairs, and Head of Burma Initiative, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
Ms. Karen Knudsen directs the East-West Center's News and Information operations, Arts Program, Associates (alumni) Office, program representatives in the region, EWC briefings for government officials (local, national and international), and community and public relations. She coordinates the Center's Burma initiative and has traveled to Burma many times.
Concurrent with her position at the EWC, she served as an elected member of the Hawai'i State Board of Education from 1990 to 2010, serving in a leadership capacity for most of her term. Prior to joining the EWC, she worked in public affairs at the Hawai'i State Judiciary and in public relations atMilici Valenti Ng Pak DDB Needham Advertising. She is a former Pacific area specialist with the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council and outreach coordinator for the University of Hawai'i's Center for Pacific Islands Studies. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Chuuk, Federated States ofMicronesia. She holds an MA in Pacific Islands Studies from the University of Hawai'i.
- Dr. Anja KOVACS, Project Director, The Internet Democracy Project, India
Dr. Anja Kovacs is the Founder and Director of the Internet Democracy Project, Delhi, which engages in research and advocacy on the promises and challenges that the Internet poses for democracy and social justice in the developing world. She is also a Fellow at the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, where she was earlier employed, as well as an international consultant on Internet issues, including for the United Nations Development Programme Asia Pacific and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression,Mr. Frank La Rue. Areas of specialization include human rights and the Internet, online activism, and global Internet governance.
Prior to focusing her work on the information society, Dr. Kovacs researched and consulted on a wide range of development-related issues. She has lectured at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, and Ambedkar University, Delhi, India, and has conducted extensive fieldwork throughout South Asia. She obtained her PhD in Development Studies from the University of East Anglia in the UK, and has been based in India since 2001.
- Susan KREIFELS, Media Program Manager, East-West Seminars, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
Ms. Susan Kreifels heads the East-West Center's media exchange and fellowship programs. Before joining the Center, she covered the Asia Pacific region while based in Manila, Tokyo,Washington, DC, Honolulu and Guam, reporting for various media organizations including USA Today, Dallas Morning News, Pacific Stars and Stripes and Honolulu Star-Bulletin. She co-hosted a radio talk show on US media for Japan's NHK public radio.
Her awards include the Clarion Award,Women in Communications Inc. (first time national award presented overseas); Pacific and Asian Affairs Council Media Excellence Award; Mary Morgan Hewett Advancement Award; Jefferson Fellowships; and Freedom Forum Asia Fellowship. She has spoken on international media issues at professional conferences in the US and Asia, and at the China School of Journalism; is a founding member of the Asia Journalist Association; founding President of International Women in Communications, Tokyo; and journalism lecturer at the University of Hawai'i. She holds a Master's in Education from the University of Nebraska and did graduate study at The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
- Myint KYAW, Chief Editor, Yangon Press International, Myanmar
Mr. Myint Kyaw was born in Mawlamyine, a southern coastal town of Myanmar, in 1964. He studied history at Mawlamyine College. He was arrested by emergency act for publishing a political poems book while he was studying in the college. Then he spent one and one-half years in Mawlamyine prison.
Mr.Myint Kyaw participated as a supporter of the 1988 uprising, then left his town during the military coup in September 1988. He spent a couple of months in a Thai-Myanmar border camp, then returned to Mawlamyine, starting a book club there.
He joined the Myanma Dana business magazine as a reporter in 2003. He covered business reporting and other social issues as Myanmah Dana's reporter. In 2010, a small group of free-lance journalists founded an online news media called Yangon Press International. YPI is the first uncensored online media based inside Myanmar. After the civilian government took power in April 2011, YPI took advantage of the new government media relaxation policy and posted daily news stories that couldn't be read in local weekly papers. He currently serves as YPI's Chief Editor.
- Jean LEE, Pyongyang and Korea Bureau Chief, The Associated Press
Ms. Jean Lee oversees two offices on the Korean Peninsula: The AP's longtime bureau in Seoul, staffed primarily by South Korean journalists; and the news agency's newest bureau in Pyongyang, staffed by North Korean journalists. Over the past year, Ms. Lee has made more than a dozen trips to North Korea, including reporting trips to Mount Paektu in the north and to areas in the east, west and south of the country.
The AP, which has had a TV operation in North Korea since 2006 and expanded its presence with a photo and print bureau in January 2012, is the only Western news organization with an all-format, full-time presence in Pyongyang. Ms. Lee and her colleagues, Chief Asia Photographer David Guttenfelder and Senior Video-journalist Rafael Wober, are the only Western journalists with regular access to a country that is one of the world's most closed, particularly to foreign journalists.
A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Ms. Lee started her professional journalism career at the Korea Herald in Seoul. She worked for AP as a reporter and editor in Baltimore, Fresno, San Francisco, New York and London before returning to Asia in 2008 as Seoul Bureau Chief.
- Ambassador LIM Sungnam, Special Representative for the Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs of the Republic of Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (ROK's Head of Delegation to the Six-Party Talks), Republic of Korea, Seoul, South Korea
Ambassador Lim Sungnam was appointed as the Special Representative for the Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs of the Republic of Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in October 2011. The position is better known as the ROK's Head of Delegation to the Six-Party Talks.
Prior to this current position, Ambassador Lim served in various key positions within the Ministry, such as Director-General for North Korean Nuclear Affairs and Senior Coordinator for ROK-US Security Cooperation. His overseas assignments include Washington, UN (New York) and Taipei, and most recently, he served in Beijing as Deputy Chief of Mission and Political Minister.
Ambassador Lim holds MAs in political science from Seoul National University and Harvard University, and a BA in international relations from Seoul National University. Recently, he spent a year in Japan as a visiting research scholar at the University of Tokyo. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1981.
- Paul LINNARZ, Director of Media Programme Asia, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Singapore
Mr. Paul Linnarz was appointed director of the "Media Program Asia" of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) inMarch 2009. His office is located in Singapore and responsible for media-related trainings, publications and partners all over the Asia Pacific region, among the partners the "Asia News Network" (ANN) with 21 newspapers from 18 countries and the "Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism" (ACFJ) at the Ateneo University in Manila. Linnarz joined the German foundation in 2002 as director of the KAS media program for Central and South America, then based in Lima/Perú. Between the two foreign assignments with KAS, Linnarz was managing director of DW Media Services Ltd. from 2006 to 2008. Part of his job for the commercial subsidiary of Deutsche Welle (DW) was the preparation for the annual "DW Global Media Forum," hosted since 2008. Linnarz had been working for the German international broadcasting service during most of the Nineties as radio and TV editor, most recently as head of the political desk of DW-TV in Bonn, overseeing coverage of the German parliament and government. He started his professional career in 1990 as editor for the German language desk of KBS Radio Korea International in Seoul. Linnarz studied history and economics at the University of Cologne, Germany. His articles in German and foreign publications mostly focus on legal and economic challenges for quality journalism and press freedom.
- Isaac Xianghui MAO, Director, Social Brain Foundation; Vice President, United Capital Investment Group, Beijing, China
Mr. Isaac Mao is a venture capitalist, blogger, software architect, entrepreneur and researcher in learning and social technology. He divides his time among research, social work, business and technology. He is now Vice President of United Capital Investment Group, Director of the Social Brain Foundation, and advisor to Global Voices Online and several web 2.0 businesses.
As one of the earliest bloggers in the Chinese community, Mr. Mao is not only Co-founder of CNBlog.org, which is the earliest evangelizing site in China on grassroots publishing, but also the Co-organizer of the Chinese Blogger Conference (2005 in Shanghai, 2006 in Hangzhou). The CNBlog team then transformed into the Social Brain Foundation (SBF), which later promoted social media and free culture in China, covering free access, free speech and free thinking areas. SBF's current projects support Ideas Factory, Memedia, Digital Nomads, Open Education, Creative Commons China, and other projects.
Mr. Mao earned a BS in Computer Science and an MBA in the training program at Shanghai Jiaotong University. He was listed as one of the people in "2006-2016, Map of the Decade" by Institute for the Future. He is also director of Shanghai Youth Development Foundation.
Mr. Mao recently made waves in the technology and business world with his open letter to Google, challenging the search engine giant to support anti-censorship efforts and change its China strategy.
- Fon MATHUROS, Director, Media, Communications Department, World Economic Forum
Ms. Fon Mathuros received her diploma in Business Administration from Pitman Central College in London and a BA in Information Science and Communications from Sukhothai University in Thailand. She worked with Inter-Continental Hotel and then as Assistant to Senior Partner at the Tilleke & Gibbins law firm. In 1998 she joined Public Affairs at the World Economic Forum, then moved in 2002 to the World Health Organization in Geneva as Media Advisor. She advised WHO on its public hearings for the Anti-Tobacco Project and World Health Day on Mental Health. In 2001Ms.Mathuros returned to the World Economic Forum to join its Media Team.
- Amy McCOMBS, Professor, Lee Hills Chair in Free-Press Studies at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, Missouri, USA
Ms. Amy McCombs is a chief executive and business leader with broad-based experience in the media, financial service, higher education and nonprofit sectors. She has been at the forefront of the development of digital and social media and is widely acknowledged for transforming traditional, legacy-based organizations into proactive businesses ready to respond to changing competitive, regulatory and technology environments.
She spent her career in media with executive management responsibilities at both the Chronicle Publishing Company in San Francisco and the Broadcast Division of the Washington Post Company. In September 2010 Ms. McCombs was named the Lee Hills Chair in Free-Press Studies at the Missouri School of Journalism. In this role she is an advocate for the understanding of the value of free expression to democratic societies. As Executive Editor of The Global Journalist media properties, she explores global issues and the state of press freedom around the world. She is also charged with the exploration of media innovation and entrepreneurship in the digital age.
Ms. McCombs serves on the Advisory Board of Media Convergence Group, a digital media innovator combining news content with emerging technologies.
She has been included in the San Francisco Business Times 50 Most Influential Business Women in the Bay Area and is the recipient of the University of Missouri School of Journalism's Medal of Honor for Distinguished Service in Journalism.
- MOON Chung In, Professor, Political Science, Yonsei University; Editor-in-Chief, Global Asia, East Asia Foundation; Former Ambassador for International Security Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, South Korea
Professor Chung-in Moon is a professor of political science at Yonsei University and Editor-in-Chief of Global Asia, a quarterly magazine in English. He served as Dean of Yonsei's Graduate School of International Studies. He earlier served as Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiative, a cabinet-level post; and Ambassador for International Security Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Republic of Korea. He taught at Williams College, University of Kentucky, Duke University, and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). He also held a visiting professorship at Keio University and Beijing University.
Professor Moon has published more than 40 books and 230 articles in edited volumes and such scholarly journals as World Politics, International Studies Quarterly, and the World Development. His publications include The Sunshine Policy—Path to Peace in Korea (2012), Exploring the Future of China (in Korean, 2010 and Chinese, 2011), The United States and Northeast Asia: Debates, Issues, and New Order (2008), and Arms Control on the Korean Peninsula (1996). He attended the 1st and 2nd Pyongyang Korean summit as a special delegate. He is the recipient of the Public Policy Scholar Award (the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, DC), the Lixian Scholar Award (Beijing University), and the Pacific Leadership Fellowship (UCSD). He served as Vice President of the International Studies Association (ISA) of North America and president of the Korea Peace Research Association.
- MYUNG Seung-eun, CEO, VentureSquare; Former Chair, Korea Business Blog Association, Seoul, South Korea
Mr. Myung Seung-eun is the CEO of VentureSquare, South Korea's leading media outlet for startups and entrepreneurs. He is also the Co-CEO of the blog media firm TNM Media. After graduating with a degree in journalism and broadcasting, Mr. Myung went on to explore various areas of computing and started his life as a magazine journalist in 1997 during Korea's financial crisis. He became an IT reporter for MK Internet Digital Media and began to explore the possibilities of blogging, attracted to the concept of being able to deliver one's own text to thousands of readers at no cost.
Mr. Myung was chairman of the Korea Blog Business Association from April 2010 to April 2012 and has written and edited several books covering media, technology and curation. Founding VentureSquare in August 2010, Mr. Myung is now helping IT startups in Korea grow by creating a community that brings together experts, investors and entrepreneurs to share information and form connections. He has been featured as a regular guest on numerous media channels, including mainstream Korean networks such as SBS, KBS and MBC.
- Nyein Nyein NAING, Executive Editor, 7 Day News Journal, Yangon, Myanmar
Ms. Nyein Nyein Naing received her Bachelor of Law from University of Pyay in 2010. She was formerly a reporter for the Yangon-based weekly paper Kumudra from 2001 to 2002. She then moved to 7 Day News, a Yangon-based weekly paper publishing more than 15,000,000 copies since 2002. She works as Executive Editor responsible for determining the direction and content of the paper, assigning stories, managing the newsroom and negotiating with the government censor board.
Ms. Nyein Nyein Naing was an East-West Center Jefferson fellow in 2007 and a fellow of the South East Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) in 2009. For years she has been an alumnus of the Thailand-based media development organization called "The Indochina Media Memorial Foundation."
Her special reports and special features have run in 7 Day News and also regional media like The Bangkok Post. She won two pioneer journalism awards in Myanmar: The Best Feature Award for 2010 given by Myanmar Press Award Committee; and The Best Feature Award for 2011 given by National Press Award Committee.
- Eric OWLES, Chief Producer – Online, New York Times, New York City, New York, USA
Mr. Eric Owles is a Chief Producer for The New York Times business desk and covers mergers and acquisitions for Deal Book. Previously, he worked for the newspaper's investigative unit and developed Web packages on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the London tabloid phone hacking case and a reporter's kidnapping by the Taliban. Prior to that Mr. Owles worked as a videographer based in Iraq. He launched the Baghdad Bureau blog in 2008 (later renamed At War) and covered the Israel-Gaza war in 2009.
From 2002 to 2007,Mr. Owles was the senior producer for nytimes.com's Foreign Desk, which included overseeing the online coverage of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Earlier, he was the senior producer for the National, Washington and Metro desks and led the website's reporting of the 9/11 attacks, the 2000 elections and the Clinton-Lewinsky inquiry. In 2000, he helped create Political Points, the first daily live video show on nytimes.com. Before joining the Times, Mr. Owles was an associate editor in Washington, DC, for a political website created by ABC News, the National Journal and The Washington Post. He also worked as a reporter and editor for a number of daily newspapers in Connecticut and Rhode Island.
- Ana Marie PAMINTUAN, Editor-in-Chief, The Philippine Star, Manila, Philippines
Ms. Ana Marie Pamintuan is the Editor-in-Chief of The Philippine Star, a Manila-based English daily broadsheet circulated nationwide. Ms. Pamintuan also writes a column three times a week in the main opinion section of the newspaper. Her columns tackle a wide range of issues.
Ms. Pamintuan has been with The Star since it was launched in 1986. She started as a reporter, briefly covering the judiciary before covering the presidency of Corazon Aquino. In 1992 she joined the desk as news editor. She was promoted to associate editor, and then to managing editor before being named executive editor in 2002. On Jan. 16 this year, she was appointed Editor-in-Chief.
She is this year's recipient of the "Print Journalist of the Year" award from the Rotary Club of Manila. The club, the oldest of its kind in Asia, has been handing out the award since 1966.
Ms. Pamintuan finished her AB Journalism at the University of the Philippines, where the College of Mass Communications picked her as Outstanding Alumna for Journalism during the university's centennial celebration in 2008.
She has covered various beats from crime to security and politics, and has participated in several fellowships in the United States and other countries.
- PARK Kyungsin, Law Professor, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
Professor K.S. Park, Korea University School of Law, has written, edited and vigorously translated law review articles and books on free speech and internet, philosophy of law, copyright, portrait rights, trademark rights, cultural diversity, international business contracting, ship owner's liability limitation, and other issues. (See his blog, http://blog.naver.com/kyungsinpark) He is also the Founding Editor (2007) and the Editor-in-Chief of Korea University Law Review.
In relation to his scholarship, he has given expert testimonies in several high-profile free speech cases including the Minerva case, the Internet real-name verification case, the military book blacklisting case, and the newspaper consumers' boycott case (2008-2010, Korea). As a result, the "false news" crime was struck down as unconstitutional, Minerva was freed, and the soldiers challenging book blacklisting were reinstated (2010-2011).
Since 2006, he has served as the Executive Director of the PSPD Public Interest Law Center, a non-profit entity that has organized several impact litigations in the areas of privacy, free speech, and oil-spill liability.
Currently, he is a Commissioner of the Korean Communication Standards Commission, a governmental entity censoring broadcasting and Internet contents. Since 2002, he has served as a legal advisor to the Korea Film Council and the Ministry of Culture; and in 2009, he served as a member of the National Media Council, where he spearheaded an effort to oppose a new bill creating a new crime of "cyber-insult."
- Michelle QUINN, Silicon Valley Reporter, Politico.com, Oakland, California, USA
Ms. Michelle Quinn is the Silicon Valley reporter for Politico, an online news organization launched five years ago to cover US politics and policy that has quickly gained prominence and readership in Washington and nationwide. She writes about the intersection of technology and policy for the organization's subscription news service, Pro, as well as for its main website.
Prior to joining Politico in February 2011,Ms. Quinn worked as a media advisor to California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who is now governor of the Golden State. Before joining the Attorney General's office, she wrote and edited a general news blog focused on the San Francisco Bay Area for The New York Times.
Over the past 20 years, Ms. Quinn has covered Silicon Valley's technology industry as a staff writer for The Los Angeles Times, The San Jose Mercury News and The San Francisco Chronicle.
- Stephen QUINN, Digital Media Consultant, Hong Kong, SAR
Dr. Stephen Quinn is the Digital Development Editor for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. He develops digital strategy and people, in the sense that he trains journalists to use multi-media tools and also helps his company look into the digital future.
Dr. Quinn returned to journalism in 2011 after 15 years as an academic. He has written 17 books. The most recent is the third edition of MOJO :Mobile Journalism in the Asian Region.
- Maria RESSA, CEO and Executive Editor, Rappler.com, Manila, Philippines
Ms. Maria Ressa is the CEO and Executive Editor of Rappler, a social news network that uses a hearts-and-minds approach to news through a unique mood navigator. Rappler combines the best of professional journalism with citizen journalism and crowdsourcing.
Ms. Ressa has been a journalist in Asia for more than 25 years, most of them as CNN's Bureau Chief in Manila (1987-1995), then Jakarta (1995-2005). She was CNN's lead investigative reporter focusing on terrorism in Southeast Asia and wrote Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of al-Qaeda's Newest Center of Operations in Southeast Asia (Free Press, 2003).
In 2005, she took the helm of ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs for six years, determining strategic direction and managing more than 1,000 journalists for the largest multi-platform news operation in the Philippines. Her work aimed to redefine journalism by combining traditional broadcast, new media and mobile phone technology for social change.
She has taught for her alma mater, Princeton University, and for the University of the Philippines. She worked on her upcoming book, From Bin Laden to Facebook, as Author-in- Residence and Senior Fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence & Terrorism Research in Singapore.
- Randall D. SMITH, Co-Director, Center for the Digital Globe, School of Journalism, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA: Moderator
Mr. Randall Smith is the first Donald W. Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism. He joined the Missouri School of Journalism in August 2009. His 30-year career at The Kansas City Star began in 1979, and he has worked on both the news and business sides. Mr. Smith started as a copy editor, rising to the positions of Business Editor, Deputy Managing Editor, and Director of Strategic Development.
Mr. Smith is a former President of the Society of American Business Writers and Editors and a recipient of the organization's Distinguished Achievement Award. He played a major role in conceiving the idea and raising the money for the School's SABEW endowed chair.
He is the Vice Chair and first non-family member of the board of the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships. The author of the book, A Kenyan Journey, Smith has lectured to classes in China, Africa and the US.
As an editor, Mr. Smith has worked with award-winning newsroom teams that have earned the profession's top awards and honors. One team won a Pulitzer Prize in 1982 for coverage of the Kansas City Hyatt skywalks disaster in July 1981. Other staff recognitions include a Sigma Delta Chi award, an Eppy award, a Philip Meyer Award, 12 Missouri Press Association Gold Cups and a Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Award. Smith received the Mizzou Alumni Association's highest recognition, the Faculty- Alumni Award, in 2005.
- Felix SOH, Digital Media Editor, English and Malay Newspapers Division, Singapore Press Holdings Ltd., Singapore
Mr. Felix Soh, the Digital Media Editor of the English & Malay Newspapers Division of Singapore Press Holdings, is in charge of SPH websites that include Razor TV, Straits Times Online, Stomp, the AsiaOne portal, Soshiok.com, Relax, Plush and Diva. These websites command a combined monthly reach of 215 million pageviews and over 7.6 million unique visitors.
He is also Consulting Editor of the free-sheet newspaper, My Paper, which has a daily circulation of 250,000. He has been Deputy Editor of The Straits Times as well as News Editor and Foreign Editor of the paper and has written a book on the security history of Singapore, titled Phoenix: The Story of the Home Team.
Mr. Soh sits on several committees that advise the government on policies and issues. He is Founding Member and Board Member of the Asia News Network, an organization of 21 Asia newspapers. He is also Regional Director (Asia Pacific) of the Society of New Design, an international design organization.
- Alan SOON, Managing Editor, Yahoo Southeast Asia, Singapore
Mr. Alan Soon is a seasoned senior newsroom manager and journalist with almost 20 years of experience in the news industry in Asia.
He built his career in journalism at influential news agencies such as Bloomberg and CNBC. He's also worked across different media—radio, TV, newswires and online —and that gives him a solid background in newsroom operations with a proven leadership ability to transform news organizations in an evolving digital age.
Mr. Soon is passionate in helping to shape the future of the news industry, while managing internal change at newsrooms. He has a deep understanding of online content strategy and acquisition of content, as well as the use of social media and other tools in modern journalism.
- Dr. Lokman TSUI, Policy Advisor, Google Asia-Pacific, Hong Kong SAR
Dr. Lokman Tsui is Policy Adviser for Google in Asia. He leads the company on free expression, academic relations and open government in the Asia Pacific.
Before joining Google, he was an assistant professor in Media and Communication at the City University of Hong Kong. From 2008 to 2009, he was also a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. As an academic, he has published extensively and co-edited a book, The Hyperlinked Society: Questioning Connections in the Digital Age, published with the University of Michigan Press.
Dr. Tsui received his PhD from the Annenberg School of Communication, the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote an award-winning dissertation, a critical interrogation of how new technologies challenge us to rethink journalism. He graduated from Leiden University with an MA degree in China Studies with a cum laude thesis on Internet control and regulation in China. He was born and raised in the Netherlands and formerly ran the unofficial website for Filmmaker Wong Kar Wai for many years.
- Aung ZAW, Editor/Publisher, Irrawaddy Magazine, Chiang Mail, Thailand
In 1988, Mr. Aung Zaw was a student activist who joined the democracy uprising in Rangoon, Burma. He was arrested during one of the student uprisings and was detained for a week in Rangoon's notorious Insein prison. Because of his continued activism, Mr. Aung Zaw eventually had to hide in remote villages in the countryside. After the military staged a coup in September of that year, he left Burma for Thailand.
While in Thailand, Mr. Aung Zaw founded the Burma Information Group (BIG) in 1990 and in 1993, launched The Irrawaddy newsmagazine, one of the most respected and comprehensive sources of information about Burma and regional affairs. In 2000 he expanded and launched an online news service, providing daily current news on Burma. From 1997 to 2005, Mr. Aung Zaw worked as a super stringer for the Washington-based Radio Free Asia.
Mr. Aung Zaw regularly contributes and writes for the Bangkok Post, The Nation, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Time Magazine, Jakarta Globe, and Global Asia and several newspapers and magazines in Europe and North America. He was a laureate of the Prince Claus Fund Award in 2010. Mr. Aung Zaw is a recognized and respected source of information about current issues in Burma and the region.
Mr. Aung Zaw has been living in exile since 1988 and was recently allowed to visit Burma in January of this year and has returned several times since.
Breakout Panelists and Workshop Leaders
(alphabetical order)
- Inam AHMED, Deputy Editor and In-Charge of Online Edition, The Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- BAE Jae han, The Kookje Daily News, Seoul, South Korea
- Joshua BENTON, Director, Nieman Journalism Lab, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Ben BIRNBAUM, Foreign Affairs Reporter, Washington Times, Washington, DC, USA
- Tania BRANIGAN, China Correspondent, The Guardian, Beijing, China
- Richard BUANGAN, Press Spokesman, US Embassy Beijing, China
- CHO HyunJin, Research Professor, Yonsei University Institute for Legal Studies, Seoul, South Korea
- CHOI Jung, Senior Communications Officer, Greenpeace East Asia, Seoul, South Korea
- CHOI Myung yong, The Money Today, Seoul, South Korea
- CHOI Young Jae, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Communications, Hallym University, Seoul, South Korea
- CHOI Yun Jung, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Media Studies, Ewha Womans University, South Korea
- Britton CUNNINGHAM, Graduate Student, University of Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, Missouri, USA
- Polash DATTA, Assistant News Editor, Bangladesh News 24 Hours; Founder, newsually.com, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Kunda DIXIT, Publisher and Editor, Himalmedia, Kathmandu, Nepal
- DO Hoang Diem, Chairman, Viet Tan, Anaheim, California, USA
- FAN Qing, TV News Producer, Wuhan TV, Wuhan, China
- Jocelyn FORD, Free-lance Journalist/Filmmaker, Member of Media Freedoms Committee for the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China, Beijing, China
- Craig GIMA, Assistant City Editor, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
- David GURIEN, Senior Writer, CNN International, Atlanta, Georgia USA
- Chico HARLAN, East Asia Bureau Chief, The Washington Post, Tokyo, Japan
- Ina HISAYOSHI, Columnist, The Nikkei Shimbun, Tokyo, Japan
- Rana JAWAD, Bureau Chief, Geo TV, Islamabad, Pakistan
- Ranga JAYASURIYA, International Editor/News Editor/Defense Correspondent, Lakbimanews, Lakbima Newspapers Pvt Ltd, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Josy JOSEPH, Editor, Special Projects, Times of India, New Delhi, India
- Maya KANEKO, Reporter, Kyodo News, Tokyo, Japan
- Richard KATZ, Editor, The Oriental Economist Report, New York City, New York, USA
- Praj KIATPONGSAN, Anchor, Nation Broadcasting Corporation Public Company, Bangkok, Thailand
- KIM Dong ho, The JoongAng Ilbo, Seoul, South Korea
- KIM Eun Young, President, CEO International, Author of "Global Intelligence," "Image-making," and "The Yin and Yang of American Culture: A Paradox," Austin, Texas, USA
- KIM Hyeh-won, Free-lance Journalist, former Executive Vice President, Korea Foundation; former Editorial Writer, Korea Herald, Seoul, South Korea
- KIM Jang Hyun, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Communicology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
- KIM Jihee, Doctoral Student, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
- Gabriel KINDER, President, KGBco; Writer for Fox News and CNN's AC360, New York City, New York, USA
- Don KIRK, Journalist and Author, Seoul, South Korea
- KONG Jinping, Attorney at Law (China); PhD Candidate, Yonsei University Law School, Seoul, South Korea
- Peter KROUSE, Reporter, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio USA
- LEE Hye-ryeon, Ph.D., Associate Dean, College of Arts and Humanities, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
- LEE Jong Hyuk, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism and Communication, Kyung Hee University, South Korea
- June J.H. LEE, Chief of Mission, International Organization for Migration, Seoul, South Korea
- Jiajia LI, Reporter, Southern TV, Guangzhou, China
- Ivan LIM, President, Asia Journalist Association, Singapore
- LIN Hui, Vice President-Marketing & Sales Support, China Entertainment Television Broadcast Ltd., Guanzhou, China
- Mahim MAHER, City Editor, The Express Tribune, Karachi, Pakistan
- Julie McCARTHY, South Asia Correspondent, National Public Radio, New Delhi, India
- Taj MEADOWS, Manager of Policy Communications in Asia-Pacific, Google, Tokyo, Japan
- Aditi Phadnis MEHTA, Political Editor, Business Standard, New Delhi, India
- Ambassador James MORIARTY, Adjunct Fellow, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA and former US Ambassador in Nepal and Bangladesh
- Peter MORRIS, JD/Tax LLM Candidate, University of Washington Law School, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Marilee MORROW, Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Media Studies, Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio, USA
- Michael MOYER, Senior Editor, Scientific American, New York City, New York USA
- NAM Jeongho, Director, Global Affairs Team / International Correspondent, JoongAng Media Network, Seoul, South Korea
- NGUYEN, Trinh, Social Media Director, Viet Tan, Washington, DC, USA
- Stephanie PADGETT, Assistant Professor, University of Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, Missouri, USA
- Han Woo PARK, Yeungnam University, Seoul, South Korea
- Se Jung PARK, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- PARK Sung Hee, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Division of Media Studies, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea
- Erica PEARSON, Immigration Reporter, New York Daily News, New York City, New York, USA
- Neal PEIRCE, Columnist, Washington Post and founder of Citiscope, a new global news service on innovations in world cities, Washington, DC, USA
- Ann QUON, Principal Director, Department of External Relations, Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines
- Jean R. RENSHAW, Author, "Korean Women Managers and Corporate Culture: Challenging Tradition, Choosing Empowerment, Creating Change"; and "Kimono in the Boardroom: The Invisible Evolution of Japanese Women Managers," Los Angeles, California, USA
- Maya RODRIGUEZ, Reporter, WWL TV, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
- Idrus SHAHAB, Managing Editor, Tempo Weekly Magazine, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Dr. Edward SHULTZ, Dean and Professor, School of Pacific and Asian Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i USA
- Alan SILVERLEIB, Congressional Producer, CNN, Washington, DC, USA
- Patricia SMITH, Adjunct Faculty, Convergence Journalism, University of Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, Missouri, USA
- SOHN Ji-ae, President/CEO, Arirang TV and Radio, Seoul, South Korea
- SON Won je, The Hankyoreh, Seoul, South Korea
- SON Young Jun, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Communication, Kookmin University, Seoul, South Korea
- Kaitlin STEINBERG, Graduate Student, University of Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, Missouri, USA
- Dominic SWIRE, Video Journalist, China Radio International, Beijing, China
- Shyam TEKWANI, Associate Professor, Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, Honolulu, Hawai'i USA
- Glenn VAN ZUTPHEN, Owner, VanMedia Group, Singapore
- Anshuman VARMA, Programme Officer, UN Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development, Incheon, South Korea
- Michael Josh VILLANUEVA, Special Projects Director, Rappler.com, Manila, Philippines
- WANG Suen, Reporter, AsiaN, Seoul, South Korea
- Bill WELCH, Reporter/Los Angeles Correspondent, USA Today, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Vasana WICKREMASENA, Executive Director, Centre for Integrated Communication Research & Advocacy, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Dr. YANG Hengjun, Blogger; Senior Researcher, Tianda Institute in Hong Kong; Editor-in-Chief, World Chinese Weekly; Guangzhou, China: "How New Media Make the Economic Divide Look Worse and Present New Challenges for China's Next Leaders"
- YOON So-Hyang, Research Fellow, Center for the Digital Globe, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri USA
- Shahzada ZULFIQAR, Bureau Chief, Pakistan Today, Quetta, Pakistan


text:
Nayuka Mine is a Porn Star from Japan. She was born in Toyama Prefecture on September 29, 1984. She is listed on FreeOnes since 2011 and is currently ranked 29027th place. She currently has 2 gallery links in her own FreeOnes section.
Our records show that Nayuka Mine is currently active which means she is still making movies, doing live shows and/or doing photo shoots.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Counterclaims filed in "Lies of a Real Housewife" defamation suit
I am proud to be representing Angela Stanton in defending against spurious claims of defamation surrounding her 2012 book, Lies of a Real Housewife. Lies is a detailed account of Ms. Stanton's relationship with Phaedra Parks, a notable Atlanta attorney and star of the Bravo series "Real Housewives of Atlanta." In September 2012, Ms. Parks filed a suit alleging that the contents of Ms. Stanton's book were untrue and defamatory. Ms. Stanton, through attorney Eddie Beal, filed an Answer, asserting, among other things, the defense of truth. As the trial date approaches (currently on the calendar for July 18), Ms. Stanton sought additional legal assistance, leading to my involvement. We look forward to proving the defense of truth in court.
We have also filed our own claims for defamation, tortious interference with business relationships, punitive damages, and attorneys' fees. Parks' lawsuit and the tactics employed against Ms. Stanton and her publisher have undermined Stanton's ability to market the intellectual property that is her compelling personal narrative.
I followed Ms. Stanton's story since it broke last year. I watched videos on her website, in which she detailed her story. It struck me as being detailed and credible. When I learned about the defamation case, I was left with the impression that Ms. Stanton was being railroaded by an opponent with far superior resources. That is why I am proud to help. All people deserve access to our justice system, regardless of their economic circumstances. I have no personal disrespect for Ms. Parks. She is a well-regarded member of the same legal community as I am. That being said, people's backgrounds are complex. And in a country and culture governed by the First Amendment, we are all subject to the free speech rights of others, particularly with respect to information that is factually true.
A copy of the Amended Answer and Counterclaims can be found here: 2013.07.15 Amended Answers and Counterclaims
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text:
For the average user an electric knife sharpener will produce a great result
Sharpening knives isn't easy, and for many people an electric knife sharpener may well be a good option. For the average user an electric knife sharpener will produce a great result. Lets look at how electric knife sharpeners work and what options you have if you would like to consider this type of sharpener.[easyazon-image align="right" asin="B00004S1B9″ locale="us" height="234″ src="http://knifesharpenersguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/chefs-choice-110-electric-knife-sharpener2.jpg" width="325″]
Whilst a simple stone may well be a good solution that is very effective at sharpening your knife and is also, in many cases, cost-effective, an electric knife sharpener will produce a consistent result for you unlike the result you are likely to get learning to use a stone, at least at the beginning.
The beauty of an electric sharpener is that it is easy to use and is consistent. Most electric sharpeners work in stages, commonly either 2 or 3 stages. When switched on the device will circulate a diamond grinder which is used to bevel the knife where the knife is significantly dull. This will produce a basic bevel which can be worked on in the later stages.
When producing this bevel it's very important to keep the knife at the right angle, commonly around 20 degrees. This is one of the difficulties found by people learning to hand sharpen knives on a stone, for example. Keeping the knife at the right angle, by hand, is not easy and takes significant practice.
An electric sharpener on the other hand has guides, and often magnets, which will allow an inexperienced user to maintain the right angle throughout the sharpening process. This produces an effective result even for people not experienced in sharpening knives. This is one of the major advantages of electric knife sharpeners (and some other non-electric sharpeners as well).
And many have 2 sides to each stage, left and right. Commonly you will alternate between drawing the knife through the left, then the right side to grind evenly. Some will only feature a single slot where the grinder grinds both sides of the knife at the same time.
The first stage produces the basic bevel and the second stage fine tunes the bevel with a finer grit. In some cases the first stage, being a coarse grit, can produce some scratches on the surface of the knife and the second stage, being finer will help remove these scratches.
The third stage, or what can be a second stage in some sharpeners, is effectively a honing stage, putting the final edge on the knife, and this is usually done mechanically rather than electrically.
If you have a particularly dull knife you begin at the first stage to reproduce a bevel angle. However where your knife has been recently dulled and is not seriously turned over then a quick go with the third stage will hone your knife to a good edge. This is what you're doing when you are using a honing steel on a knife. And just like using honing steels, if you do it regularly and don't allow your knife to become too dull then this is all that is required most of the time.
So if you've bought an electric knife sharpener remember you don't need to use the first stage all the time if you regularly hone the knife using later stages. You only need to use the first stage where your knife has become significantly dull and needs grinding.
We should mention here that most electric knife sharpeners are made to sharpen European knives, which are the most common types of knives that you are most likely to have in your kitchen. European knives are different to what are sometimes called Asian knives or Japanese knives, and not all electric sharpeners work on Asian or Japanese knives. That's because on European knives the bevel angle is commonly around 20 degrees, whilst for Asian knives to bevel angle is narrower at around 15 degrees.
There are however specific electric sharpeners made that will work on Asian knives, particularly some of the Chef's Choice sharpeners such as the Chef's Choice 1520 Angle Select Diamond Hone Sharpener. This model, however, is considerably more expensive and not necessary unless you use both types of knives.
The Positives of Electric Sharpeners
1. The best models used diamond abrasives. Diamond is the hardest substance and is the best abrasive to sharpen a knife.
2. The best models also guide the knife using a slot which makes it very difficult for even a beginner to get the angle wrong, whereas other knife sharpening systems, particularly hand sharpening systems, can produce an inferior result because the user cannot hold the correct angle.
3. Most, particularly the Chef's Choice Electric Knife Sharpeners, come with small suction cups on the base. Provided you are sharpening on a slick surface which allows the suction cups to grip this is a significant advantage as it stops the sharpener moving around and avoids the necessity to hold it still.
4. Once you've bought your sharpener it's unlikely you'll need to replace the diamond abrasives for a long time, they have an extremely long life.
5. A good electric sharpener can be used to sharpen any type of knife which fits in the slots, including pocket knives and others, (though not serrated knives in some cases, see below, or in some cases Asian or Japanese knives).
6. Quality models should provide a solid warranty of at least 2 if not 3 years.
7. The best models have magnetic filters or pads to collect the microscopic pieces of metal shaved off knife during sharpening. You don't want these on your bench.
The Negatives of Electric Knife Sharpeners
1. They aren't cheap. It is possible to get much cheaper knife sharpeners than most of the common electric knife sharpeners on the market. For instance the Chef's Choice 110 electric knife sharpener, whilst being a great sharpener, retails for slightly over $100. (Note that it is generally much cheaper on Amazon, who routinely offer good discounts).
2. Whilst these sharpeners are effective they are also bulky, and either take up bench space or will need to be put in the cupboard, where space needs to be found. If our kitchen is anything to go by finding space for more appliances isn't easy.
And if you hone your knife regularly, or polish it using the final stage of a sharpener, then it's annoying to have to pull it out of a cupboard and put it away regularly, so leaving it on the bench is quite an advantage, but it takes up quite a bit of space.
3. Some models, though not necessarily all models of electric sharpeners will not work on serrated knives. Some, for instance the Chef's Choice 110 will, but will not sharpen the whole knife, generally only the tip. If you're looking to sharpen serrated knives you will need to choose a more expensive model like the Chef's Choice 120.
4. Whilst some knife sharpeners will sharpen scissors electric knife sharpeners are not suitable, and if you want to sharpen scissors then you will need to purchase scissor sharpeners. Some hand sharpeners can also sharpen scissors.
5. Some models can be annoyingly noisy to use.
6. Not necessarily a negative feature but certainly something worth mentioning is that if you're left-handed check the sharpener you're planning to buy to see if it can be used with the left hand instead of the right, not all can.
There is no doubt that an electric knife sharpener is an expensive piece of equipment, and it's possible to buy quality knife sharpening equipment cheaper. However the reality is that for many people learning how to sharpen a knife to a very fine edge using hand sharpening equipment takes a long time, and often produces an inferior result.
An electric knife sharpener is a significant investment but will produce a superior result for most people and will do so for a long time. It's easy to learn to use and will produce a great result right from the start for anyone who is just beginning on an electric sharpener.
Experts at hand sharpening will probably produce a better result, but most cooking enthusiasts are not experts. Even some chefs will send their knives to a professional knife sharpener, and it's unlikely that your average enthusiast will learn to hand sharpen a knife any better than the result they will get with an electric sharpener.
But if you buy one you will also need to put up with finding space for it and finding it annoyingly noisy during use. Everything has its downside as well as its upside.
(And to visit our knife sharpeners comparison chart to see some more knife sharpeners).
And here's a video of the Chef's Choice 120 in use
Just to give you the idea


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If you DO use those new features [...]. Having to
edit/compile/edit/compile/edit/compile because your editor has no ability to
check syntax is fabulously inefficient and frustrating. It serves as a
barrier to effectively utilizing new functions and capabilities.
Note that I'm not picking on persons here, I'm picking on the attitude.
Rear Admiral Grace Hopper told me that if I continued to do do the same
thing the same way "because I always do it that way" she would appear next
to me and beat me about the head and shoulders with her cane. Justifiably
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text: Two weeks ago we scoured GameSpot AU looking for Victoria's best virtual football player--and found it in winner, D4W1L4H. His job was to play alongside us in a media vs. media EUFA Euro 2012 tournament that would crown a pair of winners, and shower them with Alienware M14x gaming laptops as prizes (in the figurative sense, that would be dangerous otherwise). Unfortunately, despite drawing England in the team selection, putting in a stellar effort, and powering through to the semi-finals, we were knocked out taking on Greece. Check out the highlights from the event below. A big thanks to our friends at Alienware for hosting the event.


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Worker insects which are incapable of reproducing are found only in colonies of bees, wasps, ants and termites. Or so biologists thought. Now two researchers in Australia have discovered beetle colonies that contain a caste of workers.
The beetle, Austroplatypus incompertus, lives in horizontal networks of tunnels, or galleries, in the heartwood of eucalyptus trees. It is one of more than 300 species of wood-boring ambrosia beetles which distribute the spores of ambrosia fungi. The fungi grow in the beetles' tunnels, providing food for the beetles and their larvae.
D. Kent and J. Simpson of the Forestry Commission of New South Wales pieced together the life cycle of A. incompertus by sawing up trees which were infested with the beetles. They discovered that fertilised females began tunnelling into trees each autumn, taking about seven months to reach the heartwood, where they lay their eggs. The beetle's larvae mature after two ...
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Harlow, Essex
Mullard suggests that taking current from the cable would cause drag and the consequent re-entry of the satellite, I have an even more fundamental problem. How is it possible to take direct current from a single wire? Surely a loop is necessary? Is the "cable" actually a narrow loopor what?
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.


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Despite not carrying a weapon—or maybe because they don't—chaplains are rarely a casualty of combat. Still, 14 rabbis have died while serving in the U.S. military. Now there is a long-deserved monument to their service at Arlington National Cemetery.
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Transformational Bible Study
Up to 22 men meet weekly to study and apply the Bible to their lives. Based on a book called Divine Mentor by Wayne Cordeiro, Guy Lister called men to meet every week at a McDonald's restaurant at 6:30 a.m. to apply what they read to their daily lives.
To say the least, this has transformed their lives. Watch the Video to capture from some of the men themselves what they say has happened to their lives!


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No More SAD Hearts
"Progress," says futurist-physician Richard A. Swenson, MD, "is a one-way street. It thrives on differentiation, giving us more and more of everything, faster and faster."
In many ways, progress has been good to us. As much as we might be nostalgic for that '69 Camaro, the new Chevys are much more reliable, safer, quieter, more efficient, and so on. We now have iPads and Kindles and vast online music libraries that allow us to listen to anything in seconds. The progress just in the field of computing is stunning.
But progress has a dirty underbelly: it gives us what we want in greater and greater quantities and a cursory glance through the last century of American culinary history shows we don't always act in our own best interest. (Cheese in a can? How great is that! Jamba Juice Chocolate "Smoothie" with 900 calories and 166 grams of sugar? Check.)
This trend toward manufacturing food instead of simply growing it has resulted in a diet with the intentionally pejorative acronym, SAD. William Sears, MD, (aka Dr. Sears) characterizes the Standard American Diet as being "High in animal fats, high in unhealthy fats (saturated, hydrogenated), low in fiber, high in processed foods, low in complex carbohydrates, and low in plant-based foods."
Any cardiologist worth their salt (pun intended) would tell you that if you set out to create a diet worse for cancer, for our hearts, for our blood sugar, and for our waistlines, you'd be hard pressed to do it. (We've also been more sedentary than any other people group in recorded history, which hasn't helped.) And indeed, our waistlines and arteries have reaped what our bent toward gluttony and convenience has sown.
Food author Michael Pollan writes about what he calls the American Paradox: The more we worry about nutrition, the less healthy we seem to become. "What an extraordinary achievement for a civilization: to have developed the one diet that reliably makes its people sick!"
Consequences of the Standard American Diet
The University of Minnesota penned a paper titled, "Why Is the Obesity Rate So Low in Japan and High in the US? Some Possible Economic Explanations." In it they noted that 32 percent of Americans are obese (BMI over 30), whereas only 3.6 percent of Japanese are. And an even two-thirds of us are overweight (BMI over 25), but only 25 percent of Japanese are—and that number was far lower before McDonalds migrated east.
(The short answer: Japanese people eat 200 fewer calories per day than Americans, eat far more "whole foods," and walk more because it is expensive to drive.)
Being fat is one thing: the health implications are another thing entirely. The Journal of Applied Physiology notes that "Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control document that cardiovascular diseases, various forms of cancer, and diabetes combine to make up roughly 70 percent of all deaths in the United States." They also noted that obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome are now common in children.
(A quick side note about fixing the healthcare system: 75 percent of health care spending is on managing chronic—i.e., preventable—diseases. If we could chip away at that, we'd be chipping away at $1.5 trillion in our $2 trillion in annual health care spending.)
Enough's enough. Heart disease claimed 600,000 lives in 2009. If these are the unintended consequences of "progress" on our food supply, we need to get seriously regressive with our food choices. "We all want progress," wrote British thinker CS Lewis, "but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive."
Eating for heart health
The Pritikin Longevity Center in Florida exists to help people fight heart disease through exercise and nutrition, and they've had excellent results over the years. Gayl J. Canfield, PhD, RD, LD, is the nutrition director there.
I asked her what food group she would unilaterally cut out of the American diet if she could, and the answer was unambiguous. "Processed foods! Virtually all processed foods are lower in fiber and have added sugars, sodium, and fats." (It's worth noting that there are many healthy fats, but the fats found in processed foods are overwhelmingly not.)
If she could boost consumption of any food group, her answer was "Produce! Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is one of the most important changes a person can make toward becoming healthier … High water/high fiber foods provide more nutrition and satiety per calorie dollar."
Many of our younger-to-middle-aged readers may have fairly healthy cardiovascular systems, and thus are starting from a good baseline. If someone in that demographic was looking to have a pristine cardiovascular system sans medical intervention well into their twilight years, I asked what her dietary guidelines would be. "Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables (eight to nine-plus servings per day); eat whole, unrefined, unprocessed foods; significantly decrease animal protein consumption (less beef, chicken, lamb, pork, veal), and eat modest amounts of cold-water fish high in omega-3 fatty acids; and be mindful of added sodium, sugar, and/or fats/oils in your food."
There are certainly nutritionists who would vary on the point of animal protein, but the evidence leaves no doubt as to the merit of the overall Pritikin approach. Research shows that within one month of adopting the Pritikin program/diet, 83 percent of hypertensive patients got off their medications and had blood pressures lower than before they had started, when they were still taking medication. Clearly, there's something to be said for addressing heart health through diet and exercise and turning to medication only as a last resort.
What Canfield is essentially saying is to eat as though progress left food alone. And the Pritikin approach certainly works, but you don't have to make it complicated. Michael Pollan put it another way: shop around the edges of the supermarket and skip the center section where you'll find food in boxes and cans. Real food tends to be at the back of the store near the loading docks where it can be changed out for fresh food should it go bad. If food is incapable of spoiling, it isn't food in the truest sense.
The "why" behind the whole foods argument
We've looked at what to eat, and the concepts there are quite simple. Now here's why you should eat that way. In his paper, "The Role of Nutrition, Nutraceuticals, Vitamins, Antioxidants, and Minerals in the Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension," Mark
Houston, MD, MS, wrote that "Oxidative stress, inflammation, and autoimmune dysfunction of the vascular system are the primary patho-physiological and functional mechanisms that induce vascular disease." The vascular disease he is referring to is high blood pressure and atherosclerosis, hardening of the arteries caused by the buildup of plaques and fats on the arterial wall.
Let's examine the heart for a moment: a fist-sized lump of muscle, it pumps continually from one month after conception until death, circulating blood around an extraordinarily long and complex network of arteries and veins. In one day the blood in your body travels 12,000 miles through a venous structure that would circle the earth two and a half times if laid end to end. Grab a tennis ball and squeeze it as hard as you can—that's how hard the heart works with each contraction. It will do this three billion times consecutively over the course of a normal lifespan. The heart never gets a break. If it does get a break … well, that's the end of the line. You can see, then, how it's in your best interest to take excellent care of this amazing muscle.
The cardiovascular system is finely-tuned and incredibly complex. Like any system of this nature, when the user abuses it, things go wrong. Atherosclerosis and high blood pressure are the two main culprits here and are intimately related, as we'll explore in a moment.
Blood pressure is simple to understand. When any liquid (blood) flows through a tube (arteries and veins) it will encounter resistance due to gravity and due to friction from the walls of the tube. Blood pressure comes with two numbers: systolic and diastolic. Systolic pressure is the highest and occurs just after the beat: 120 mmHg or less is considered in the healthy range. Diastolic pressure is the resting pressure: 80 mmHg or less is considered healthy here.
Hypertension is simply medicalese for high blood pressure. Prehypertension is 120-139/80-89, stage 1 is 140-159/90-99, stage 2 is over 160/over 100. (Readings over 140/90 are seen in 69 percent of people who have their first heart attack, 77 percent with first stroke, and 74 percent with congestive heart failure.)
Hypertension causes constriction of the arterioles, making the heart work harder; damages and weakens the heart muscle itself; causes the blood vessel walls to thicken (to withstand the pressure), thereby constricting blood flow; contributes to coronary artery disease (the coronary arteries are the ones that feed the heart); can cause kidney damage; and can cause blood vessels in the brain to weaken and rupture, resulting in a stroke. There's more, but you get the idea.
And here are the risk factors for hypertension: family history, excess weight, smoking, stress, overconsumption of alcohol, and last but certainly not least, the SAD.
Atherosclerosis and hypertension seem to have something of a symbiotic relationship. Atherosclerosis occurs when deposits (plaque and fats) build up on the arterial walls. Mostly this occurs due to oxidation and inflammation when LDL-B particles invade a damaged, delicate single-cell membrane on the inside of the arterial wall called the endothelium. The body launches an attack to neutralize this new threat, resulting in an inflammatory cascade.
Buildup on the walls of the artery creates high blood pressure. Think of it this way: imagine you are in your backyard, watering the garden with a hose. When the end is left open, the water just burbles out in a rather tranquil manner. But when you need to really spray it, you put your thumb over the end, and make the opening smaller. The pressure builds in order to force that same water through, and you better believe that the water pump's job just got a lot harder. Presto, high pressure.
But, unlike that garden hose, your arterial walls expand and contract to help keep the blood moving along. Higher pressures mean the walls will expand and contract with a larger, more violent motion, damaging the delicate endothelium and making it more susceptible to invasion by LDL-B particles, creating another inflammatory cascade and further deposits. Atherosclerosis and hypertension are two sides of one very sinister coin.
So, if "oxidative stress, inflammation, and autoimmune dysfunction of the vascular system" are the main contributors to heart disease, a heart-healthy diet means eating food that fights—or at the very least, doesn't contribute to—oxidative stress, inflammation, and autoimmune dysfunction. Inflammation and oxidation are caused in large part by out-of-control blood sugar levels and the insulin resistance that comes with eating sugar and processed foods.
Want to keep your heart healthy into your 80s and beyond? It has everything to do with turning back the clock on your eating habits.
How do I know if I have high blood pressure?
It's not as simple as you might think. Informed readers should resist jumping to the conclusion of high blood pressure based on a single reading in a doctor's office. Blood pressure rises and falls throughout the day in response to stress, dehydration, caffeine consumption, exercise, and other factors.
"White Coat Syndrome" is a spike in blood pressure caused by the stress of simply being in a doctor's office. Health writer Mark Sisson related an incident in which he got a checkup and his blood pressure reading was 140/101. He didn't believe it, so he bought a home tester and tested himself in 10 different sessions, five times each session, over the next week. He never got back to 140/100 (the highest reading was 133/92) and his after-dinner blood pressures were 108/66.
He summed up the experience well: "One solitary reading is about as useful for diagnosing hypertension as one piano note is for identifying a song."
Moral of the story: get a home reader, test yourself repeatedly. If you see a pattern of high blood pressure, change your diet and lifestyle first.
Supplement Options
Nutritionists have mixed feelings on the role of supplementation. There are those (like Gayl Canfield) who believe that a properly balanced diet will give you everything you need, with the possible exception of vitamin D. That said, a diet missing key nutrients can spell trouble. If you want to cover your bases, here are a few of the essentials for heart health.
• Fiber
• Tea (green and black)
• Vitamins B6, C, and D
• Flavonoids (resveratrol, found in red wine)
• Lycopene (tomatoes, guava, pink grapefruit, watermelon, apricots, papaya)
• Co-Q10 (found mostly in red meats – best to supplement)
• Alpha-lipoic acid
• L-arginine
• Taurine and cysteine (choose NAC or use a non-denatured [cold-processed] whey protein)


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|Official Press Release
Contact: Debbie Crane
Date: February 22, 2008
Moseley Retires as State MH/DD/SAS Director
RALEIGH –North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services (MH/DD/SAS) Director Mike Moseley today announced that he is retiring.
"I've accomplished a great deal in my three decades of public service to the State of North Carolina," Moseley said. "There have been a lot of changes in the state system during my tenure, and I'm proud of what I've done to move things forward for the people who depend on this system for their care."
Moseley has served in a number of roles with the MH/DD/SAS Division including: Director of the Caswell Center in Kinston, Director of the NC Special Care Center (now called Longleaf Neuro-Medical Center) in Wilson, Assistant Director of Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro, Chief of the Residential Services Branch and founding head of both the Thomas S. and Crisis Services sections at the state division. In addition, he is the first North Carolina MH/DD/SAS Director to be elected to the Board of the National Association of State Program Directors.
Among his many accomplishments, Moseley:
Moseley is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was recognized in 2000 as its "Outstanding Black Alumnus", and he received his graduate degree from East Carolina University. He is a previous recipient of the Arc of North Carolina's and the NC Community Living Association's Distinguished Services Award. Moseley has also been honored in "Who's Who in Business," "Personalities of the South," "Who's Who in the South and Southwest" and "Outstanding Young Men of America." Among the most prestigious of his many awards and honors was his selection as Kinston-Lenoir County's 2004 "Citizen of the Year."
Moseley will leave the Division effective Feb. 29, but he plans to work another 90 days at the department level as part of the transition starting March 3.
|Public Affairs Office
101 Blair Drive, Raleigh, NC 27603
|All Press Releases
Debbie Crane


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This is the same thing Linux and Mac fans pilloried MS for in the early days of DirectX instead of using and enhancing OpenGL -- but as a platform provider, it makes perfect sense for Apple to do this.
Metal helps game developers get the most out of iOS hardware
Apple has announced Metal, a way to help game developers get the most power out of iPhone hardware in iOS 8. Metal reduces OpenGL overhead and is described by Apple as "near bare-to-the-metal" of the Apple A7 chip.
Metal allows 10x faster draw cell rates, and allows developers to draw computing power from a device's GPU. There is also support for efficient multithreading, up to 1.3 million polygons, depth of field effects, and more. EA promises console-quality effects in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare.
Metal was demonstrated by Tim Sweeny from Epic Games, with a demo called Zen Garden, which will be available for free when iOS 8 launches in the fall.
Keep it locked to iMore for the latest from WWDC 2014 and our event liveblog.
Have something to say about this story? Leave a comment! Need help with something else? Ask in our forums!
News Writer for Mobile Nations. Fascinated by the ways that technology connects us.
Reader comments
Metal helps game developers get the most out of iOS hardware
I wonder if this will come to the Mac as well.
And Apple TV...please come to Apple TV.


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Great Audio Accessories for the iPod Shuffle and Nano
What could be a better gift than an iPod accessory? We take a look at a wallet that'll hold your Nano, and two adapters that make using the buttonless Shuffle just a bit easier.
For comprehensive coverage of the Android ecosystem, visit Greenbot.com.