Three-D televisions and paper-thin monitors that have so far been available in sci-fi movies are about to become a reality, as Samsung Electronics’ president predicts that those shown in the movie ``Minority Report’’ will be available within a few years.

``In the not so distant future, displays shown in the `Minority Report’ will appear,’’ Lee Sang-wan, the head of Samsung’s LCD division, told some 500 students during a lecture held at Yonsei University on Tuesday. He also said that Samsung aims to take more than a quarter of the $100-billion LCD market by 2010 by taking advantage of its technology leadership.

The remark came right after Samsung’s announcement that it has developed the thinnest liquid crystal display (LCD) panel ever reported, which is thinner than a credit card at 0.82 millimeters.

It was a counterattack on its rival LG.Philips LCD, which unveiled a 1.3-millimeter panel in September, which was the world’s slimmest at the time. Lee said that the intensifying battle for the ``world’s best’’ will eventually help bring those future gadgets into reality earlier than most people have expected.

``The display market is smaller than the semiconductor or mobile phone markets as of now. But it has unlimited growth potential,’’ Lee said. ``Korean makers like Samsung and LG.Philips have never lost our leadership in the display industry since we bypassed Japanese manufacturers in 1998.’’

In the 2002 movie, which depicted the future world of year 2054, John Anderton, played by Tom Cruise, and his fellow cops use various thin, transparent displays in their daily businesses of pursuing criminals. At home, Anderton uses a 3-D image projector in reminiscing of the days with his family.

In reality, Samsung’s latest LCD model is far smaller than Cruise’s. It is only available in 2.2 inches in the diagonal size, as it is designed for mobile phones. But its executives think the company is quite close to achieving larger models.

``Samsung’s R&D initiatives, including LCD module thickness reduction and reinforced shock resistance, will enable our customers to develop truly differentiated and more reliable, ultra-thin mobile products,’’ said executive Vice President Yun Jin-hyuk, in charge of the mobile display team of Samsung.

As for 3-D displays, LG Electronics has come quite close to the movie. During last month’s Korea Electronics Show, LG displayed a 40-inch TV that shows 3-D images without the need for special glasses.

``It is the first time for us to develop a 3D display for the naked eye,’’ LG’s public relations official manager Kim Kyung-hwan said. `` It may look a bit unusual but it feels alright when people’s eyes get accustomed to the 3D images,’’ he said, adding that the company aims to sell the display to commercial sites such as airports, exhibition centers and shopping malls.

Lee of Samsung also predicted paper-like flexible displays will become the next-generation standard. They were seen in ``Minority Report’’ as an electronic newspaper that updates its front page once in a while, and as a cereal box that has a video advertisement on its reverse side.

LG.Philips in a partnership with E-Ink of the United States is leading the flexible technology field with a 14.1-inch flexible e-book already available as a black-and-white prototype.

The Korean paper industry Thursday denied a claim made in the United States that it is unfairly receiving state subsidies and exporting its products at a low price.

Officials said that their products are sold in the U.S. at higher prices than in Korea, after NewPage Corporation, a leading paper manufacturer in the U.S., filed a complaint last month to the Department of Commerce, which decided to launch an anti-dumping and countervailing investigation into Korean, Chinese and Indonesian ``coated wood-free paper.’’

The value-added printing paper is generally used for the production of brochures, calendars and albums.

Seven Korean paper firms are being targeted by the investigation _ Hansol, EN Paper, Kyesung, Hongwon, Hankuk, Moorim and Namhan.

Contrary to the U.S. claim, the price of Korean papers sold in the U.S. is higher than those marketed in the country, said an official with Moorim Paper, which is monitoring the affair. ``Thus, U.S. anti-dumping measures are not applicable to Korea.’’

Unlike China and Indonesia which export their papers to the U.S. at a low price, Korea has priced its papers in the U.S. at a high level over the years due to weak domestic spending.

Korean papers were also caught in the middle of heavy competition amid low-priced Chinese products coming into the U.S.

The official believes that the U.S. has included Korea along with other Asian rivals in this antidumping matter for several reasons _ Korea is one of Asia’s big exporters to the U.S., and it would seem unfair just to investigate two Asian countries.

Additionally, since NewPage is losing its competitive edge in the U.S. market against the rising forces of Asian paper manufacturers, the company is trying to dump its low market share blame on them.

Last year, Korea shipped some 378,000 tons of writing and printing paper to the U.S., recording about $315 million in sales last year.

Sales of Korean paper reached $181 million in the first six months of this year.

Korean paper makes up the largest Asian share of total U.S. paper imports, accounting for about 26 percent, followed by China with 14 percent and Indonesia with 3 percent, according to the Trade Ministry in Seoul.

The country has been seeing its paper sales in the U.S. steadily rising since 2003.

Regarding the U.S. countervailing drive, industry officials said the Korean paper industry does not either receive special treatment or special subsidies as the U.S. claims.

``Like any other industry, when we do ask for government support, its a loan,’’ said the Moorim official. ``The U.S. countervailing probe on Korean papers is a direct challenge against Korea’s state policy.’’

He said the domestic paper industry will comply with the investigation in coordination with the Trade Ministry, while continuing to express Korea’s stance on the matter to the U.S.

Under the World Trade Organization regulations, the Department of Commerce has 18 months to decide whether to levy duties on Asian companies for alleged damages caused to the U.S. firm.

Robin Sheen
Staff Reporter

After being slammed for a massive battery recall disaster this year, Sony has recalled up to 1 million digital cameras worldwide, even though the malfunction is not likely to appear in non-tropical regions like Korea.

Sony Korea said Monday that eight of its Cyber-shot digital camera models might not work in warm and humid areas. The cameras may have trouble taking photos, and pictures may be distorted on the display screen, it said.

The firm’s Korean branch said on its Web site that it will repair any affected cameras free of charge, even though such a malfunction has never been reported in South Korea.

``The camera malfunction was only reported in hot and humid areas,’’ Sony Korea’s spokesman Park Jung-hoon said. ``But we have become more active in responding to such issues since the battery accident happened,’’ he said, citing the disastrous laptop battery recall case, which is estimated to cost the firm $440 million this year.

The affected cameras were manufactured between September 2003 and January 2005. The models are DSC-T1, DSC-T11, DSC-T3, DSC-T33, DSC-U40, DSC-U50, DSC-F88 and DSC-M1.

The company estimates about 4,000 of the 1 million units sold could need repairs. Sony Korea didn’t say how many of them were sold in South Korea.

Sony’s net profit for the July to September quarter fell by 95 percent to $14 million from $240 million a year ago. The annual profit is expected to constitute a mere 0.6 percent of total revenue, compared to 2.5 percent last year, according to LG Economic Research Institute.

As the woes continue, rumors have again arisen in South Korea that Samsung Electronics, which is Sony’s main rival in the consumer electronics sector, may take over the troubled Japanese firm within a few years.

However, Sony’s bold decision to recall the cameras contrasts with trends among Korean companies, which consider product recalls as a big disgrace.

Samsung last year was blamed for hiding repairs to washing machines after they were reported to catch fire while operating.

The company ordered its service shops to replace an electric condenser built into about 400,000 washing machines, but it never officially announced the replacement policy to consumers. Later the company explained that it was a typical after-purchase service and was not a recall of the products.

Robin Sheen
Staff Reporter

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Greenville, S.C., has permanently barred John Howard Alexander of Greenville from promoting several tax-fraud schemes, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction order, to which Alexander consented, bars him from promoting schemes that promise tax benefits based on statements to customers that U.S. citizens are not subject to tax, that residents of South Carolina are not required to file federal tax returns while working in the United States, and that customers can escape tax by revoking or rescinding their Social Security numbers. District Judge Henry F. Floyd of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina signed the order.

The government complaint in the case alleged that Alexander and his ex-wife, Heather Ferguson, operated a business in Greenville promoting the so-called “861 Argument.” Named after the section of the Internal Revenue Code that it misinterprets, the 861 Argument is a frivolous position that courts across the country repeatedly have rejected. The court permanently barred Ferguson last July. That injunction required Ferguson to notify her and Alexander’s customers of the injunction, and Ferguson provided a list of the customers to the Justice Department. More information can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv06440.htm

According to the government complaint, Alexander also sold sham-trust packages to customers for as much as $2,495 and helped customers hide their income from the IRS using offshore sham trusts. The complaint said that the IRS estimated the loss to the U.S. Treasury from Alexander’s schemes might exceed $48 million. The IRS lists misuse of trusts on its “Dirty Dozen” list of most notorious tax scams. A list of the IRS Dirty Dozen tax schemes can be found at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=154293,00.html. The injunction bars Alexander from making false or fraudulent statements in connection with selling trusts or other arrangements, and bars him from obstructing IRS investigations.

A federal court in Tampa, Fla. has permanently barred David Marvin Swanson of Sarasota from promoting an illegal tax fraud scheme that involves sham trusts and limited liability companies, the Justice Department announced today. The court found that Swanson, who uses the business name Dynamic Monetary Strategies, promotes a system of sham trusts called “unincorporated business trust organizations” and limited liability companies on his Web site and in a manual he sells to customers.

According to the court, Swanson “falsely advises his customers that by placing the customers’ assets and income into these trusts the customers can avoid federal income tax.” The court concluded that “in organizing and selling his abusive tax schemes, Swanson made false or fraudulent statements regarding the excludibility of income.”

The order requires Swanson to notify his customers of the injunction and to give the Justice Department a list with his customers’ names, addresses, e-mail addresses, Social Security numbers and telephone numbers.

More information about this case is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv04111.htm

Jeff Castaldo
Staff Reporter

Gilbert Saldana, Alejandro Martinez and Fernando Cazares—members of the Avenues gang--had been convicted earlier this summer after a jury trial for participating in a to violate the civil rights of African-Americans in the gang’s neighborhood by attacking and sometimes killing the victims. The victims included Christopher Bowser, an African American man who was shot while waiting at a bus stop in Highland Park on December 11, 2000 and Kenneth Kurry Wilson, an African American man who was gunned down while looking for a parking place in Highland Park on April 18, 1999.

Saldana was convicted of being the triggerman in the Wilson murder and is currently serving a life sentence in state prison for another murder. Martinez was convicted of instigating the Wilson murder by using a racial slur and encouraging his fellow gang members to kill Wilson Cazares was convicted of serving as a look-out during the Wilson murder.

A fourth defendant convicted at trial, Porfirio Avila, who is currently serving a life sentence in state court in the murders of Christopher Bowser and another African American man, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Anderson on Dec. 18, 2006. A fifth defendant, Merced Cambero, who is alleged to have been a part of the murders is currently a fugitive.

“Today’s sentences send a clear message that this type of racial violence, which devastates individuals and entire communities, will not be tolerated in this country,” said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is grateful to the victims and witnesses who had the courage to come forward in this case, despite enormous personal sacrifices demanded by the trial, so that the truth about these horrible crimes could come out.”

“Hate crimes are some of the most disturbing offenses prosecuted by this office,” said Acting U.S. Attorney George S. Cardona. “These defendants will now spend the rest of their lives in federal prison for the despicable act of trying to rid their neighborhood of African-Americans.”

Thomas P. O'Brien, Chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney's Office, said, “This case demonstrates that this office and the Department of Justice will use all tools available to ensure that the citizens of this District are protected from hate crimes, particularly violent hate crimes of the type committed by these defendants. The multiple life sentences imposed today guarantee that these violent, racist killers will never again be free to attack African-American residents of the Highland Park neighborhood just because they are African-American.”

J. Stephen Tidwell, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles, said, “Today's sentencing represents the FBI's commitment to the protection of civil rights in the United States, which is listed among the FBI's highest priorities. My office continues to offer a
$20,000 reward for the remaining fugitive charged in the conspiracy, Merced Cambero, so that all of those responsible for these insidious and racist crimes are prosecuted.”

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department, under Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

The Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice is committed to vigorously enforcing federal criminal civil rights. The overall conviction rate in FY 2006 was 98 percent--the highest conviction rate recorded in the past two decades.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Canadian Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the ninth annual United States-Canada Cross-Border Crime Forum. The agreement allows for the electronic exchange of ballistics information between the two countries.

Prior to the agreement, there was a limited manual exchange of ballistics information, which was time-consuming and cumbersome.  Now, through electronic access, both countries will be able to connect firearms and bullets used in one or more crime scenes across North America. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) will be the lead agencies responsible for implementing this important law enforcement agreement.

"This agreement paves the way for greater law enforcement collaboration between the United States and Canada," said Attorney General Gonzales. "It will aid criminal investigations involving firearms on both sides of the border and will help ensure the safety of citizens of both nations."

"Criminals are not afraid of crossing the border and committing more crimes using the same illegal weapons," said Minister Day. "With today's agreement, our law enforcement agencies will be able to solve more crimes by connecting firearms and bullets used in one or more crime scenes across North America."

This agreement is one instance of a long track record of collaboration between the United States and Canada, including the establishment of the ATF Office of Assistant Country Attaché in Toronto, mutual assistance with firearms tracing, and joint training initiatives.

The United States and Canada have consistently engaged in collaborative efforts to effectively share intelligence and information in an effort to stem the illegal flow of U.S.-sourced firearms to Canada. The two nations have instituted the following measures to help fight transnational crime:

*Sharing Forensic Firearms Data – The MOU signed today by Attorney General Gonzales and Minister Day enhances the ability of the ATF and the RCMP to share forensic ballistics information electronically and in real time through the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS). IBIS allows law enforcement officials to collect and search images of bullets and cartridge cases recovered from crime scenes and from the test fires of firearms seized by law enforcement officers. Previously, this information could only be shared by the two countries on a case-by-case basis. This agreement will help connect the two systems and will save law enforcement officers time and effort, allowing them to spend more time solving crimes and less time filling out paperwork.

*Assistant Country Attaché – In an effort to properly address the issue of illegal U.S.-sourced firearms in Canada, ATF has expanded its presence in Canada and in August, 2005, assigned an Assistant Country Attaché to focus on the Greater Toronto area’s rise in firearms related violence. ATF works closely with the Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit (PWEU) to support its mandate of tracing firearms used in crimes. ATF facilitates collateral investigations and coordinates efforts in the U.S. to investigate, arrest, and prosecute individuals who traffic firearms illegally into Canada.

*Comprehensive Gun Analysis and Tracing – In the fall of 2005, in the wake of an increase in gun violence in the Toronto area, ATF and the RCMP signed an agreement that allows RCMP to use ATF’s eTrace system to electronically trace firearms recovered at crime scenes in Canada. Systematic tracing of firearms assists with interdiction efforts of those firearms originating in the U.S. and allows for the identification of sources of such firearms. Canada’s Firearms Tracing and Enforcement Program, which is a PWEU initiative, has been providing analysis on guns sourced to the United States for the past several years. The RCMP’s National Tracing Unit and PWEU are successfully using ATF’s e-Trace to submit requests to ATF’s National Tracing Center Division.

*Joint Collaboration with Initiatives – ATF is currently working with the Crime Gun Analysis Team in Toronto on firearms-related investigations, coordinating any assistance requested by the Ontario PWEU under this new initiative, assisting with firearms tracing, and any collateral investigations requested from ATF in the United States. ATF also coordinates mutual training initiatives with Canadian law enforcement, such as International Firearms Trafficking Schools and the Serial Number Restoration Training.

www.usdoj.com

Robin Sheen