New hero opens old racial wounds in South Korea
Monday April 3, 4:54 AM
South Koreans are readying to crown a new hero, American footballer Hines Ward, whose arrival Monday looks set stir national pride as well as open some old racial wounds.
Born of a Korean mother and an African-American father, Ward, 31, became an overnight sensation in South Korea when the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver won the MVP award in the team's Super Bowl win against the Seattle Seahawks last month.
Embarking on a 10-day sentimental tour of the land of his birth, Ward is joined by his mother Kim Young-Hee, who took him to the United States when he was a baby to escape the pervasive discrimination suffered by mixed race kids here.
Koreans pride themselves on being a homogenous race who until recent years turned their backs on the outside world. But now up to 700,000 foreigners live in the country and one in four Koreans in the countryside marry foreigners.
The result is a growing number of mixed-race kids.
One of them, Park Il-Jun, like Ward the son of a black US soldier and a Korean mother, was upset at the hoopla surrounding the visit of the famous Gridiron player.
"At first, I was pissed off at the fuss over Hines Ward," he said.
"Koreans make a big fuss over him, but ignore the plight of biracial Koreans who have to live here.
"The situation is especially bad for those born to an African American father."
Park, 51, became a successful pop singer in the 1970s but was refused airtime by TV stations who thought he looked too dark.
He says it was his passion for music that gave him strength to overcome discrimination and achieve fame with his first hit in 1977.
Many Koreans wonder what would have become of their new hero Ward had he stayed in South Korea, and been subject to the daily round of bullying and ostracism faced by biracial kids.
"Many of them fail to complete school where they are ostracized by their classmates because of their appearance," said Lee Ji-Young at Pearl S. Buck International Korea, a US-based private group that helps mixed-race children.
Ward's own mother has described how she was spat upon and insulted in the street by Koreans before she quit the country.
No mixed race Koreans have reached positions of prominence in business, politics or any sphere outside entertainment and sports, said Lee. They were even banned from the military until June last year. Since the ban was lifted, none have applied to join.
"They know they would be treated like apes in a zoo there," said Song Young-Sun, an opposition lawmaker.
Social workers say no reliable statistics exist on the number of mixed race children in South Korea, although some 5,000, mostly born to American soldiers and Korean women, are registered with Pearl S. Buck International Korea.
"We have no idea of the totals becau*****ey are often raised by a single mother and registered under the mother's Korean name after the father, often American soldiers, leaves here," said the foundation's Lee.
Park says growing up in Korea was torment. He brawled almost every day with neighbourhood kids who called him "yontan", or coal briquette, the black plug of coal used in the past to heat homes.
"Mother always had my hair mowed down to the bear skin to hide my frizzy hair," he said. "Adults in the neighborhood were scared of her as she fought back viciously whenever they talked trash about us.
"I drank a lot of milk, secretly believing this would somehow make the color of my skin lighter."
Then he found unlikely success through music.
"I liked to play the guitar. Strangely, I felt myself at home when I heard African American music," he said. "But I was unable to appear on TV for months. My agent said the TV station turned me down because my face was too dark."
Now happily married with two children, Park tells his kids not to hide their mixed race.
"I say stand up and don't cringe, because you did nothing wrong," he said. "Discriminations against mixed-race people must stop with my generation."
If Hines Ward can help achieve that goal, then he is a welcome visitor to Korea, said Park.
"I hope this craze over Ward leads Koreans to take a harder look at the situation faced by Koreans with mixed blood," he said.
Thaksin says he will step down
RESIGNATION: The Thai prime minister said he didn't want unrest to mar the 60th anniversary of the king's rule, but he didn't give an exact date
AP AND AFP , BANGKOK Wednesday, Apr 05, 2006
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra abruptly announced yesterday he will step down from office, bowing to a mounting opposition campaign seeking his ouster over allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
His announcement came just hours after Thaksin met with King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the monarch's seaside palace in Hua Hin.
"I will not accept the post of prime minister when the parliament convenes," Thaksin said in a 10-minute statement during a nationally televised press conference.
He said he made his decision out of respect for the monarch.
"My reason for not accepting the post of prime minister is becau*****is year in an auspicious year for the king, whose 60th anniversary on the throne is just 60 days away," Thaksin said. "I want all Thais to reunite."
"I beg all Thais to sacrifice for the king. I apologize to my 16 million supporters that I cannot take the post of prime minister, but I will still carry on as a caretaker prime minister until my successor is chosen," he said.
"I will remain a member of parliament and the Thai Rak Thai party leader," he said.
Thaksin said that his replacement would be elected once parliament resumes within the next 30 days.
Immediately after the speech, Thaksin -- who is battling allegations of corruption and abuse of power -- hugged his daughters and wept on their shoulders while his wife put her arms around him.
His announcement came as opposition forces were gearing to resume their anti-government protests and early results from Sunday's elections showed his popularity had plummeted.
Thaksin's party won 57 percent of Sunday's parliamentary poll, according to preliminary results, but scores of voters abstained, including a majority in Bangkok.
Thaksin's critics -- who for two months have been staging rallies drawing as many as 100,000 people -- rejected his idea of a reconciliation committee as insincere and called for new protests this week.
The main opposition parties boycotted Sunday's poll, leaving Thaksin's party uncontested in 278 of 400 constituencies for the lower house of parliament.
The boycott left 38 constituencies undecided, becau*****e sole candidate in each race failed to win a required 20 percent of the vote, according to the unofficial results.
Thaksin's announcement last night was particularly surprising, given that he said on TV on Monday that he saw no reason to resign since results showed that his party had won 16 million votes.
A key leader of the protests to oust Thaksin declared victory just moments after the prime minister finished his speech.
"This is our victory. If we had not helped each other [in the protests], today would not have happened," Chamlong Srimuang said.
From the Time Magazine Interview
10 Questions for Mikhail GorbachevBy SALLY B. DONNELLY
History will remember Mikhail Gorbachev as the leader who brought openness (glasnost) and economic restructuring (perestroika) to the Soviet Union, ushering it toward the end of communism. In Rhode Island last week to speak at the Carnegie Abbey Club, Gorbachev, 75, sat down with TIME's Sally B. Donnelly to talk about his new book, To Understand Perestroika, Russia under Vladimir Putin and life after the 1999 death of his beloved wife Raisa.
WHY DID YOU WRITE YOUR NEW BOOK ABOUT PERESTROIKA? We think the introduction of perestroika in the Soviet Union [in 1985] was one of the three most significant events in Soviet history--the others are the 1917 revolution and the victory in World War II. On the 20th anniversary, we thought it important to note it and explain it. And while there has been sharp debate in Russia about perestroika--many people have considered it a bad thing for the country--I think people are starting to change, and polls are showing people appreciate what it did for the country. Seventy-seven percent of Russians say they want to live in a free and democratic country. That is the legacy of perestroika.
WHO STILL THINKS PERESTROIKA WAS BAD FOR RUSSIA? The old ruling class, the former communists, veterans. I understand--they have very hard lives now. Life is very difficult for some in Russia today. But I want them to think about it again.
WHAT IS THE ROOT OF THE CURRENT DIFFICULTIES IN THE LIVES OF MANY RUSSIANS? [Former President Boris] Yeltsin ruined the country. He allowed the wealth of the country to be taken by a few people. And the West was never critical of Yeltsin. I think President Vladimir Putin is correcting the mess that Yeltsin made.
IS PUTIN ON THE RIGHT TRACK? Putin is trying to move toward more social-democratic policies--to improve health care, education and the like. But just as Russia is beginning to rise again, the West doesn't accept it. America is intoxicated by its position as the world's only superpower. It wants to impose its will. But America needs to get over that. It has responsibilities as well as power. I say this as a good friend of America.
THE U.S. SEEMS WORRIED ABOUT SOME ANTIDEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENTS IN RUSSIA, SUCH AS KREMLIN CONTROL OF THE MEDIA. The U.S. should be concerned about Russian domestic issues if Russians are concerned. Yes, the media are under some assault. There are some authoritarian methods being used. That is not in the interests of the people. Democracy is fragile.
DO YOU THINK WE ARE MOVING BACK TOWARD A COLD WAR? I think some people may be pushing President Bush in the wrong direction. I don't think the U.S. can impose its will on others. This talk of pre-emptive strikes, of ignoring the U.N. Security Council and international legal obligations--all this is leading toward a dark night.
IS CONDOLEEZZA RICE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE? Oh, I don't think so. She is a knowledgeable person, a person who knows Russia, a cultured person. She is one who is committed to political and diplomatic solutions. But she is having a difficult time. So did Colin Powell.
HOW HAS LIFE BEEN FOR YOU SINCE THE DEATH OF YOUR WIFE RAISA IN 1999? That is something I can speak about more calmly now, but for a while after she died, I thought there was nothing positive about life. I have learned how important family is. I spend a lot of time with my daughter Irina and my two granddaughters. They have busy lives, but we do things together like go out to restaurants.
ARE YOU ENJOYING LIFE? Yes, but there are some difficulties. Traveling is physically hard. And my [government] pension is only 40,000 rubles a month [about $1,400].
HAVE YOU PICKED UP ANY NEW HOBBIES? I have become really interested in fitness--my daughter encouraged me. I have a gym at home with a treadmill, a bike and weights. And I really love those elastic resistance ropes. They're great. We also like to cook. I love Russian food the most, but also Italian and Mediterranean. I am more involved as the theoretical director of meals, but when they are ready, I get involved at the consumption stage too. [Laughs] Then I have to explain to people why I can't lose weight.
Rollins Angry About Terror Accusation, Stoked About Talk Show
02.21.2006 2:49 PM EST
Passenger on flight to Australia reported singer for reading book on militant Islam.
Henry Rollins has been getting a lot of attention these days from the Australian media — after all, it's not every day that some American punk icon calls Australia's prime minister a "sissy."While it hasn't been the kind of attentiontion most celebrities would welcome, Rollins — who tread the boards with seminal hardcore tsunami Black Flag before launching his own hard-rock conglomeration, Rollins Band — is relishing it. "Well, it isn't the worst thing I could have said," he explained. "I have called the president of the United States a whole lot worse."Prime Minister John Howard caught Hank's wrath during the rocker's most recent trip to Australia. On the flight from New Zealand, Rollins said he was reading a copy of Wall Street Journal correspondent Ahmed Rashid's book "Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia." The man sitting next to him took objection to the book and reported Rollins to the Australian government."The guy phoned me in to their, like, anti-terrorist board, and they found me — they looked me up," he said. "They looked up the flight and found out who was sitting in seat 10A and they got to me. And they said, 'OK, you're now a person of interest. The man next to you does not agree with your politics and he didn't like the book you were reading.' This kind of provocation, I don't respond very well to. I was furious. And so I wrote back, 'You can tell everyone at your office, including your boss, to go f--- themselves. This book has been read by a ton of people — I am not a threat to your state or any state or any republic.' "In the actual text of his online response, Rollins added: "Baghdad's safer than my hometown, and your PM is a sissy."Rollins said he isn't sure he'll ever be able to return to Australia. That doesn't up*****im all that much. What does irk him, though, is that he can't take out his frustrations on the man who reported him as a potential national security risk."He didn't even leave his name and address [when he called], and that, to me, is pretty cowardly," Rollins said. "The next time I get out to Australia — that is, if they let me in — I am going to talk about that guy in every interview I do. And it will get to him. It's a small country, in that there aren't a lot of people there and most of the country's just sand and flies. So it will get to him."Rollins will be doing plenty of interviews Stateside, but on the other side of the mic, when his weekly talk show "The Henry Rollins Show" debuts April 1 on the Independent Film Channel. (Rollins also has a radio program, "Harmony in My Head," which airs Tuesday nights on Los Angeles' Indie 103.1.) The program, an offshoot of Rollins' old IFC gig, "Henry's Film Corner," will feature musical guests and performances as well as interviews with actors, writers, politicians, thinkers and "people I think have something to say," he explained.Rollins said the idea for the program was inspired by the tons of mail the channel received concerning his monthly rants during "Henry's Film Corner.""I had moments where I could just go off on topics, and that was the stuff that got the most mail," he said. "People loved our interviews, and then the mail we would get was 'We like when Henry goes off and tears the president a new one.' So this time around, the show went from monthly to weekly and the show's name was changed. And they just said, 'Do what you want. We trust you, we like you — go.' "Musical guests lined up include Frank Black, Death Cab for Cutie, Dashboard Confessional, Sleater-Kinney and Ben Folds. Rollins said he's in control of the bulk of the show's content, which is the only way he'd have it."If they didn't let me do what I want, they'd find some handsome guy with frosted hair who goes, 'Great — give me the copy,' " he said. "I don't want to be that guy." — Chris Harris, with reporting by Sasha Hamrogue
Playing The Clash made man a terror suspect.
by ANNE CAMPBELL, Metro
08:06am 5th April 2006
A mobile phone salesman was hauled off a plane and questioned for three hours as a terror suspect - because he listened to songs by The Clash and Led Zeppelin.
Harraj Mann, 24, played the punk anthem London Calling and classic rock track Immigrant Song in a taxi before a flight to London.
The lyrics to both tracks made the driver fear his passenger was a terrorist.
The words of the Clash track begin: "London calling to the faraway towns, now war is declared and battle come down." And Led Zep's Immigrant Song goes: "The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands, to fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!"
Mr Mann, of Hartlepool, Teesside, had boarded the plane at Durham Tees Valley Airport when the flight to Heathrow was stopped and he was arrested by police.
He said he was told he was being questioned under the Terrorism Act and his choice of music had aroused suspicions.
Mr Mann said yesterday: 'The taxi had one of those tape deck things that plugs into your digital music player.
"I played Procol Harum's Whiter Shade Of Pale first, which the taxi man liked. I figured he liked the classics so put on a bit of Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song - which he didn't like. Then, since I was going to London, I played the song by The Clash and finished up with Nowhere Man by The Beatles."
Mr Mann said he was 'frog-marched off the plane in front of everyone, had my bags searched and was asked 'every question you can think of'.
He added: "It turned out the taxi driver alerted someone when I arrived at the airport and had spoken about my music. He didn't like Led Zep or The Clash but there was no need to tell the police."
Durham Police said the action was taken 'as a result of information received' and the flight was stopped before take-off.
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