วันศุกร์ที่ 4 มิถุนายน พ.ศ. 2553
Disappointing Jobs Report Sends Stocks Sliding.
Stocks fell to their lowest level in four months Friday after the government said hiring remains weak and another European country warned its economy was in trouble. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 323 points to close below 10,000. It was the lowest finish since February and the third-worst slide of the year. Major indexes all lost more than 3 percent. The drop pushed the market back into what's called a "correction," or a decline of at least 10 percent from its April high. Interest rates slid after traders shoveled money into the safety of Treasurys and the dollar. Retailers were among the hardest-hit stocks after investors bet that a weak job market would discourage consumers from spending. Macy's fell 6.5 percent. Financial stocks also fell sharply on concerns that borrowers would continue having problems paying their bills. Banks were hurt by more worries about their exposure to Europe's debt crisis. American Express lost 5.3 percent. The government's May jobs report came as an unpleasant surprise for investors who had grown a little more upbeat about the domestic economy the past few days. The Labor Department said private employers hired just 41,000 workers in May, down dramatically from 218,000 in April and the lowest number since January. The news made it clear that the economic recovery isn't yet picking up the momentum that investors have been looking for. The government said 431,000 jobs overall were created last month, but most of those them, 411,000, came from government hiring of temporary census workers. The overall number also fell short of expectations. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast employers would add 513,000 jobs. "People are looking for one turning point," Daniel Penrod, senior industry analyst for the California Credit Union League, said of the monthly jobs report. "That's not realistic. This growth will be much slower and more gradual than in the past." I have copy this news from ABC News On Line.
Millionaire's Test Rocket Reaches Orbit on 1st Try.
A multimillionaire's test rocket blasted off on its maiden voyage Friday and successfully reached orbit in a dry run for NASA's push to go commercial. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket achieved Earth orbit nine minutes into the flight as planned, drawing praise from NASA, the White House and others eager for the company to start resupplying the International Space Station. "This has really been a fantastic day," said an exuberant Elon Musk, SpaceX's founder. He said Friday's launch helps vindicate President Barack Obama's plan to give private companies the job of ferrying cargo and ultimately people to the space station, freeing up NASA to aim for true outer space. "This bodes very well for the Obama plan," said Musk, the co-founder of PayPal. "It shows that even a sort of small new company like SpaceX can make a real difference." In a telephone news conference, Musk said celebratory margaritas were on his immediate radar. But he's already looking ahead to the next Falcon 9 launch this summer and, hopefully, the first cargo run to the space station next year. Astronauts could follow within three years of the company getting a contract from NASA, he said, and quite possibly average citizens in five to six years. "This is the dawn of a new era in space exploration, I think a very exciting era and one which I think will lead to the democratization of space, making space accessible to everyone eventually," Musk said. "Yeah, I think this is really a historic moment." SpaceX's brand new rocket soared off its launch pad into thin clouds at mid-afternoon, carrying a test version of the company's spacecraft, named Dragon. The goal was to put the capsule into a 155-mile-high orbit, which it did. The capsule will remain in orbit for a year before descending and burning up in the atmosphere. "A near bull's-eye," Musk said. The first attempt to launch the 158-foot rocket was aborted in the final few seconds earlier in the afternoon because of questionable readings with the engine-ignition system. I have copy this news from ABC News Online.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches.
Friday's test launch of the Falcon 9 rocket was "essentially a bullseye," SpaceX officials said after the rocket successfully pushed past the earth's atmosphere and deposited a mock-up of its Dragon space capsule in orbit. The successful launch is the latest step toward commercial space ventures that could eventually ferry astronauts and cargo to the international space station. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal, sent out the technical details of the successful launch, which he said performed its mission to deposit the Dragon mock-up into a 155-mile (250-km) orbit to near perfection. "Nominal shutdown and orbit was almost exactly 250 km," Musk said in a written statement. "Telemetry showed essentially a bullseye: 126;0.2% on perigee and 126;1% on apogee." The capsule is expected to orbit for about a year and eventually burn up in the atmosphere. NASA administrator Charles Bolden congratulated the SpaceX team. "Space X's accomplishment is an important milestone in the commercial transportation effort and puts the company a step closer to providing cargo services to the International Space Station," he said. Former Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart was high on the launch's possibilities. "As a former Apollo astronaut, I think it's safe to say that SpaceX and the other commercial developers embody the 21st century version of the Apollo frontier spirit. It's enormously gratifying to see them succeed today," he said. NASA hopes companies such as SpaceX can take over transportation to the international space station. "It's time for NASA to hand that over to commercial industry who can then optimize the technology and make it more reliable, make it much lower cost and make it much more routine," said Musk in an interview with CNN last month. Musk says he believes the United States is at the beginning of a profound, fundamental renaissance in space exploration, perhaps greater than when President Kennedy declared the United States was going to the moon during the infancy of the space program. "If the country executes and the administration and Congress execute in that direction, the impact of these changes will be on par, perhaps even greater, than ... the task that Kennedy put us on to," he said. This push toward the privatization of space is part of President Obama's blueprint to allow NASA to do bigger and better things with its budget, such as a mission to Mars. NASA has been flying shuttles in low Earth orbit and going to and from the space station for 30 years. The administration would like to see whether private companies can do it cheaper and more efficiently, as the shuttle program is about to fly into retirement.
NASA selected SpaceX and another company, Orbital Sciences, to each develop an orbital vehicle because the United States will not have its own way to get to the space station. The United States will be renting space from the Russians aboard their Soyuz spacecraft. "They're standing on NASA's shoulders, so they're designing rockets based on the experience we've had for 50 years or more, going into space," said George Musser, editor of the Scientific American.
"And any enterprise that learns from past experience will hopefully do better," he said.
But the competition is rabid. SpaceX is the first company to reach the launchpad. So far, its spent almost $400 million to get there. "They probably hate each other's guts, but the competition is really good for space and for all of us," said Musser. "Ultimately, what do we want from this? We want to get into space cheaply, so our kids and grandkids someday can go into space and explore the planets," he said. But SpaceX acknowledges there will be failures, as there have been since the the beginning of aviation. "This is an all-new rocket. There's a lot that can go wrong, and during the test phase -- that's why you have a test phase, because things may go wrong," he said. Ken Bowersox is a vice president for SpaceX. In his previous life, he flew five space shuttle missions as a commander and pilot. He also lived on the space station for more than five months as its commander. "Either way, we're going to learn something," he said. "If we have a problem, we can move forward accepting a higher level of risk. That's how we can be more cost-effective. If all goes as planned after a series of test flights, Musk says SpaceX will be ready to begin flying cargo to the space station next year. If NASA awards SpaceX a contract, Musk says they can begin ferrying astronauts to the space station within three years. He says his company is profitable, but his motivations go beyond dollars. "We want to see a future where we are exploring the stars, where we're going to other planets, where we're doing the great things that we read about in science fiction and in the movies," Musk said. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
NASA selected SpaceX and another company, Orbital Sciences, to each develop an orbital vehicle because the United States will not have its own way to get to the space station. The United States will be renting space from the Russians aboard their Soyuz spacecraft. "They're standing on NASA's shoulders, so they're designing rockets based on the experience we've had for 50 years or more, going into space," said George Musser, editor of the Scientific American.
"And any enterprise that learns from past experience will hopefully do better," he said.
But the competition is rabid. SpaceX is the first company to reach the launchpad. So far, its spent almost $400 million to get there. "They probably hate each other's guts, but the competition is really good for space and for all of us," said Musser. "Ultimately, what do we want from this? We want to get into space cheaply, so our kids and grandkids someday can go into space and explore the planets," he said. But SpaceX acknowledges there will be failures, as there have been since the the beginning of aviation. "This is an all-new rocket. There's a lot that can go wrong, and during the test phase -- that's why you have a test phase, because things may go wrong," he said. Ken Bowersox is a vice president for SpaceX. In his previous life, he flew five space shuttle missions as a commander and pilot. He also lived on the space station for more than five months as its commander. "Either way, we're going to learn something," he said. "If we have a problem, we can move forward accepting a higher level of risk. That's how we can be more cost-effective. If all goes as planned after a series of test flights, Musk says SpaceX will be ready to begin flying cargo to the space station next year. If NASA awards SpaceX a contract, Musk says they can begin ferrying astronauts to the space station within three years. He says his company is profitable, but his motivations go beyond dollars. "We want to see a future where we are exploring the stars, where we're going to other planets, where we're doing the great things that we read about in science fiction and in the movies," Musk said. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Source: Retired general is pick for new intelligence chief.
President Obama plans to nominate retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper to be the new director of national intelligence, a senior U.S. defense official confirmed to CNN Friday.
Clapper, now a top Pentagon intelligence official, would replace Dennis Blair, who resigned at the end of last month. The announcement will be made Saturday at the White House, the official said. If confirmed, Clapper will become the nation's fourth DNI in the last five years. The position was created after the September 2001 terrorist attacks to oversee the 16 agencies of the U.S. intelligence community. Clapper, who retired from the Air Force in 1995 after a 32-year career, served as head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency from September 2001 to June 2006. He has served as the under secretary of defense for intelligence since April 2007. Some political observers have indicated that Clapper's prospects for confirmation on Capitol Hill, however, are questionable. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic head of the Senate Intelligence Committe, recently said the "best thing for the U.S. intelligence community is to have someone with a civilian background in charge." The ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committe, Missouri Sen. Kit Bond, said he has reservations about Clapper. "I believe he is too focused on the Defense Department issues and he has tried to block out efforts to give more authority to the DNI," Bond said. Bond's counterpart on the House side, Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Michigan, also said he believes Clapper is the wrong person, because he is "not forthcoming, open or transparent" with Congress. Blair, a retired admiral, was pressured to resign as DNI because of differences with the White House over the scope of his role and turf wars with CIA Director Leon Panetta and other members of the intelligence community. One source familiar with Blair's situation said that from the very beginning, "the White House did not have the same view (as Blair) of what the DNI should be." That might be the crux of the problem. The law that created the position of DNI after the 9/11 terrorist attacks is too "ambiguous," said Lee Hamiliton, a former congressman who pushed Congress for intelligence reform. Hamilton, the co-chairman of the 9/11 Commission, recently told a congressional hearing that "the role of the DNI is not clear ... and as long as you have the ambiguity, you're going to have these agencies fighting for jurisdiction and power." The DNI needs to be empowered with the budget and personnel authorities to lead the community, otherwise, the director is merely a coordinator, Hamilton said. Some question whether it is possible to change the law, considering the difficulty Congress had in getting the original agreement. Bond said Congress must act to give the DNI clear budget authority and chain of command within the intelligence community. Feinstein has called on the president to define the DNI role and then work with Congress to make it law. Hamilton said a fix is needed now, that it can't wait for the longer-term legislative correction. Hoekstra says changing the law is not the answer. "If you have great people working together, even in a mediocre structure, they can make things happen. More strengths and authorities in the law doesn't guarantee success," he said. here does seem to be widespread agreement on one needed component: presidential action in support of the DNI. Hamilton said the "burden is on the president now to clarify who is in charge of the intelligence community -- where the final authority lies on the budget, personnel and other matters." Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, recently wrote a letter to Obama urging him "to remove obstacles which may have formed a stumbling block for others who held the DNI position." John Brennan, the president's chief counterterrorism adviser in the White House, recently said the administration is trying to ensure the intelligence community is "integrated well and orchestrated well" by the DNI.
"We want to make sure the DNI's role is clear and is able to optimize the contributions that the intelligence community makes on a daily basis," Brennan said. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Clapper, now a top Pentagon intelligence official, would replace Dennis Blair, who resigned at the end of last month. The announcement will be made Saturday at the White House, the official said. If confirmed, Clapper will become the nation's fourth DNI in the last five years. The position was created after the September 2001 terrorist attacks to oversee the 16 agencies of the U.S. intelligence community. Clapper, who retired from the Air Force in 1995 after a 32-year career, served as head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency from September 2001 to June 2006. He has served as the under secretary of defense for intelligence since April 2007. Some political observers have indicated that Clapper's prospects for confirmation on Capitol Hill, however, are questionable. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic head of the Senate Intelligence Committe, recently said the "best thing for the U.S. intelligence community is to have someone with a civilian background in charge." The ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committe, Missouri Sen. Kit Bond, said he has reservations about Clapper. "I believe he is too focused on the Defense Department issues and he has tried to block out efforts to give more authority to the DNI," Bond said. Bond's counterpart on the House side, Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Michigan, also said he believes Clapper is the wrong person, because he is "not forthcoming, open or transparent" with Congress. Blair, a retired admiral, was pressured to resign as DNI because of differences with the White House over the scope of his role and turf wars with CIA Director Leon Panetta and other members of the intelligence community. One source familiar with Blair's situation said that from the very beginning, "the White House did not have the same view (as Blair) of what the DNI should be." That might be the crux of the problem. The law that created the position of DNI after the 9/11 terrorist attacks is too "ambiguous," said Lee Hamiliton, a former congressman who pushed Congress for intelligence reform. Hamilton, the co-chairman of the 9/11 Commission, recently told a congressional hearing that "the role of the DNI is not clear ... and as long as you have the ambiguity, you're going to have these agencies fighting for jurisdiction and power." The DNI needs to be empowered with the budget and personnel authorities to lead the community, otherwise, the director is merely a coordinator, Hamilton said. Some question whether it is possible to change the law, considering the difficulty Congress had in getting the original agreement. Bond said Congress must act to give the DNI clear budget authority and chain of command within the intelligence community. Feinstein has called on the president to define the DNI role and then work with Congress to make it law. Hamilton said a fix is needed now, that it can't wait for the longer-term legislative correction. Hoekstra says changing the law is not the answer. "If you have great people working together, even in a mediocre structure, they can make things happen. More strengths and authorities in the law doesn't guarantee success," he said. here does seem to be widespread agreement on one needed component: presidential action in support of the DNI. Hamilton said the "burden is on the president now to clarify who is in charge of the intelligence community -- where the final authority lies on the budget, personnel and other matters." Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, recently wrote a letter to Obama urging him "to remove obstacles which may have formed a stumbling block for others who held the DNI position." John Brennan, the president's chief counterterrorism adviser in the White House, recently said the administration is trying to ensure the intelligence community is "integrated well and orchestrated well" by the DNI.
"We want to make sure the DNI's role is clear and is able to optimize the contributions that the intelligence community makes on a daily basis," Brennan said. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
BP lowers cap on to leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well.
Oil firm BP has lowered a cap on to a leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, in the hope of piping some of the oil to ships on the surface. Video footage showed the cap lowered into place against pressure from escaping oil and gas. BP said some oil had started flowing up the pipe attached to the cap, but it could take the rest of the day to determine how much. The US Coast Guard said the cap would only be a temporary, partial fix. Live underwater video footage from the site on Friday showed quantities of oil still escaping into the sea. BP's latest attempt to cap the well followed mounting criticism from US President Barack Obama. He told CNN that he had not seen "the kind of rapid response" to the disaster that he would have liked and that BP had already "felt his anger" over the spill. BP lowers cap on to leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well.
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The BBC's David Shukman: "There's no guarantee this thing will work" Oil firm BP has lowered a cap on to a leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, in the hope of piping some of the oil to ships on the surface.
Video footage showed the cap lowered into place against pressure from escaping oil and gas.
BP said some oil had started flowing up the pipe attached to the cap, but it could take the rest of the day to determine how much.
The US Coast Guard said the cap would only be a temporary, partial fix.
Live underwater video footage from the site on Friday showed quantities of oil still escaping into the sea. BP's latest attempt to cap the well followed mounting criticism from US President Barack Obama. He told CNN that he had not seen "the kind of rapid response" to the disaster that he would have liked and that BP had already "felt his anger" over the spill. Oil from the top of the blowout preventer (BOP), the set of failed valves on the seabed. The operation involves lowering a cap onto the top section of the BOP known as the lower marine riser package (LMRP). The damaged riser - the pipe which takes oil from the well - was cut where it nears the seabed using a remotely-operated shear. This was completed at 1930 CDT on 1 June (0030 GMT 2 June). The next stage was for a diamond wire cutter to saw through the riser close to the LMRP. The blade got stuck and had to be removed but BP eventually cut through the pipe using giant shears manipulated by undersea robots (ROV). After removing the pipe, a cap was lowered onto the LMRP. The aim is for oil to be funneled through the cap to the surface. A previous attempt with a larger funnel was blocked by frozen hydrates so this time methanol is being used as "anti-freeze". BACK {current} of {total} NEXT He said was "furious at this entire situation". Mr Obama has for the second time postponed a trip to Australia, Indonesia and Guam, in order to deal with the crisis. He is due to visit the gulf later on Friday - his third trip to the area since the leak began six weeks ago. BP's share price rose 4% in early European trading. Chief executive Tony Hayward is to hold a conference call with investors, which will be available to the public on the company's website, from 1400 BST (1300 GMT). Mr Hayward is expected to try to reassure investors. I have copy this news from BBC News Online.
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The BBC's David Shukman: "There's no guarantee this thing will work" Oil firm BP has lowered a cap on to a leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, in the hope of piping some of the oil to ships on the surface.
Video footage showed the cap lowered into place against pressure from escaping oil and gas.
BP said some oil had started flowing up the pipe attached to the cap, but it could take the rest of the day to determine how much.
The US Coast Guard said the cap would only be a temporary, partial fix.
Live underwater video footage from the site on Friday showed quantities of oil still escaping into the sea. BP's latest attempt to cap the well followed mounting criticism from US President Barack Obama. He told CNN that he had not seen "the kind of rapid response" to the disaster that he would have liked and that BP had already "felt his anger" over the spill. Oil from the top of the blowout preventer (BOP), the set of failed valves on the seabed. The operation involves lowering a cap onto the top section of the BOP known as the lower marine riser package (LMRP). The damaged riser - the pipe which takes oil from the well - was cut where it nears the seabed using a remotely-operated shear. This was completed at 1930 CDT on 1 June (0030 GMT 2 June). The next stage was for a diamond wire cutter to saw through the riser close to the LMRP. The blade got stuck and had to be removed but BP eventually cut through the pipe using giant shears manipulated by undersea robots (ROV). After removing the pipe, a cap was lowered onto the LMRP. The aim is for oil to be funneled through the cap to the surface. A previous attempt with a larger funnel was blocked by frozen hydrates so this time methanol is being used as "anti-freeze". BACK {current} of {total} NEXT He said was "furious at this entire situation". Mr Obama has for the second time postponed a trip to Australia, Indonesia and Guam, in order to deal with the crisis. He is due to visit the gulf later on Friday - his third trip to the area since the leak began six weeks ago. BP's share price rose 4% in early European trading. Chief executive Tony Hayward is to hold a conference call with investors, which will be available to the public on the company's website, from 1400 BST (1300 GMT). Mr Hayward is expected to try to reassure investors. I have copy this news from BBC News Online.
Microsoft chief defends Windows' future.
Steve Ballmer, chief executive of Microsoft, on Thursday gave a spirited defence of the software company's strategy and the future of its Windows operating system, following an assertion from Steve Jobs earlier in the week that personal computers that run it are in permanent decline.
Responding to the declaration made on Tuesday by the Apple founder, that the PC era was drawing to a close, Mr Ballmer admitted that the world of computers was changing rapidly, but said there would continue to be general purpose computers for many years: "They will continue to be the mass populariser of things people want to do with their information. "The PC as we know it will continue to morph," Mr Ballmer said during an on-stage interview. "Some will have a keyboard, some won't have a keyboard." Mr Ballmer's comments at the D: All Things Digital conference outside Los Angeles were delivered on the same stage where Mr Jobs struck a responsive chord among those attending when he contended that the iPad tablet computer, powerful smartphones and other devices would far surpass desktop and laptop PCs. Mr Ballmer, who also conceded that Microsoft had "missed a cycle" on mobile phones, sought to broaden the definition of a PC to include tablets. He added that Windows would be increasingly modified and optimised for various functions and different types of hardware. "To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail," he said. "We have our hammer [with Windows]," while Apple had its own hammer with the iPhone operating system that it was expanding to support the iPad. In fact, he argued that Apple's push for that operating system meant that its own Mac computer would fade away. "It's not about Mac and PC any more, it will be about the thing that replaces the Mac," he said. "The race is on." Mr Ballmer said he was disappointed that his company's software was only the fifth most popular for smartphones, but said the rapid changes in leadership in that industry meant that Microsoft had a good opportunity to come back. The next mobile version of Windows is to be released for the holiday season, and Mr Ballmer said last month he would assume direct supervision of the company's phone and entertainment divisions. Mr Ballmer also took a swing at Google's dual efforts to expand in phones with its Android operating system, and to more powerful devices with the nascent Chrome operating system. "Having two things is not an aid" to developers, he said. "Make a bet, tell people what you believe in and go do it." I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Responding to the declaration made on Tuesday by the Apple founder, that the PC era was drawing to a close, Mr Ballmer admitted that the world of computers was changing rapidly, but said there would continue to be general purpose computers for many years: "They will continue to be the mass populariser of things people want to do with their information. "The PC as we know it will continue to morph," Mr Ballmer said during an on-stage interview. "Some will have a keyboard, some won't have a keyboard." Mr Ballmer's comments at the D: All Things Digital conference outside Los Angeles were delivered on the same stage where Mr Jobs struck a responsive chord among those attending when he contended that the iPad tablet computer, powerful smartphones and other devices would far surpass desktop and laptop PCs. Mr Ballmer, who also conceded that Microsoft had "missed a cycle" on mobile phones, sought to broaden the definition of a PC to include tablets. He added that Windows would be increasingly modified and optimised for various functions and different types of hardware. "To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail," he said. "We have our hammer [with Windows]," while Apple had its own hammer with the iPhone operating system that it was expanding to support the iPad. In fact, he argued that Apple's push for that operating system meant that its own Mac computer would fade away. "It's not about Mac and PC any more, it will be about the thing that replaces the Mac," he said. "The race is on." Mr Ballmer said he was disappointed that his company's software was only the fifth most popular for smartphones, but said the rapid changes in leadership in that industry meant that Microsoft had a good opportunity to come back. The next mobile version of Windows is to be released for the holiday season, and Mr Ballmer said last month he would assume direct supervision of the company's phone and entertainment divisions. Mr Ballmer also took a swing at Google's dual efforts to expand in phones with its Android operating system, and to more powerful devices with the nascent Chrome operating system. "Having two things is not an aid" to developers, he said. "Make a bet, tell people what you believe in and go do it." I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
Japan's parliament elects new prime minister.
Both the upper and lower houses of Japan's parliament elected Finance Minister Naoto Kan to be the nation's new prime minister Friday, following the resignation of Yukio Hatoyama from the post earlier this week. Kan is the country's fifth prime minister since 2006. The Diet, Japan's parliament, voted after the Democratic Party of Japan tapped Kan to lead the party earlier Friday. "The very first thing we must do is to regain the trust of the people," Kan said in a speech to party members before their vote Friday. Kan promised transparent government and pledged improved policies to boost jobs and reinvigorate society. "I have confidence that economic growth and social welfare can be realized together," he said. In the lower house of the Diet, Kan garnered 313 out of 480 votes Friday. In the upper house, he won by a narrower margin, getting 123 of 242 votes. In addition to serving as finance minister in the Hatoyama administration, Kan served as deputy prime minister. But Kan will be a rare political breed for a Japanese premier: His family has not produced another prime minister or state minister, which could play well with a Japanese public that has seen several sons and grandsons of former ministers in the past year ascending to the premiership only to step down again a few months later. As a former health minister, Kan gained popularity with voters after exposing a government cover-up of HIV-tainted blood products that caused thousands of hemophilia patients to contract the virus that causes AIDS. As a state minister for economy, he was not shy to talk about the foreign currency exchange rate. In January, he was supportive of a weaker yen to help the export-driven Japanese economy. Eight months ago, Hatoyama 's Democratic Party of Japan won a sweeping victory, an outcome hailed by many as a revolution in Japanese politics. With promises of a cleaner government, Hatoyama worked to shift the political dynamics in Japan by taking away power from the bureaucrats and granting more power to politicians and local governments. But allegations of illegal campaign financing soon tarnished his administration's image. Some of his cabinet members were investigated for corruption.
His approval rating took further hits over his failed promise to move a major U.S. Marine base off Okinawa to ease the burden of the island, which hosts the majority of the United States military presence in Japan. Earlier this month, calling his decision "heartbreaking," he announced that the base would remain on Okinawa, although relocated to a different part of the island. Hatoyama's critics claimed he gave in to U.S. pressure, and his government coalition broke up. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
His approval rating took further hits over his failed promise to move a major U.S. Marine base off Okinawa to ease the burden of the island, which hosts the majority of the United States military presence in Japan. Earlier this month, calling his decision "heartbreaking," he announced that the base would remain on Okinawa, although relocated to a different part of the island. Hatoyama's critics claimed he gave in to U.S. pressure, and his government coalition broke up. I have copy this news from CNN News Online.
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