20101019, quotation, contributed by Juhye Lyu

They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. -Andy Warhol

20101018, News, contributed by Juhye Lyu

Somali Government and Allies Attack Insurgents By MOHAMED IBRAHIM and JEFFREY GETTLEMAN Published: October 18, 2010 RECOMMEND TWITTER SIGN IN TO E-MAIL PRINT REPRINTS SHARE MOGADISHU, Somalia — The struggling transitional government and its allies have undertaken a limited offensive against radical Islamist insurgents, attacking their positions in several places over the past few days, Somali officials and witnesses said on Monday. The fighting started on Saturday near the Kenyan border, and by Sunday night at least one town, Belet Hawo, had switched hands, with government-allied militias pushing out the insurgents. The development appeared to be an unexpected setback for an insurgent movement that has been emboldened in recent months by the dysfunction of the government in this chronically unstable country. Much of Somalia is ruled by the Shabab, a group of radical Islamist rebels who have sworn allegiance to Al Qaeda. Somalia's government barely controls just a few blocks of the capital. But it seems that moderate Islamist militias loosely allied with the government and fiercely against the Shabab are playing a bigger role. The fighting near the Kenyan border was led by Col. Barre Hiiraale, a former Somali army commander and local warlord, who is also a member of parliament. Colonel Barre's troops had been trained in Ethiopia and are based just inside the Somali border. Witnesses said that after Colonel Barre's forces took over Belet Hawo, residents took down the black Shabab flags that had been flying in the town and hoisted the blue and white national Somali flag. "Today's victory is a gain for Somalis, the Somali flag and freedom," said Somalia's information minister, Abdirahman Omar Osman, in a statement. "Government forces will continue their struggle until they liberate the entire country from the brutal rule of al Shabab." The fighting seemed to pick up on Monday, with forces from Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa, a large moderate Islamist militia, attacking Shabab positions outside Beletwein, a strategic town along the Ethiopian border. According to witnesses, at least 10 people were killed. "We were really shocked by the weird sounds of the big guns this morning," said Osman Mose, a Beletwein resident. "We can't know what's next. Most of the residents are fleeing to the villages. But the Shabab are regrouping now inside the town." Shabab officials said they had received "intelligence reports" indicating that Ahlu Sunna was planning more attacks in central Somalia. "But we will confront them," said Sheik Yusuf Sheik Isse, a local Shabab chairman. The Shabab have also vowed to crack down on a popular mobile money transfer service in Somalia, saying it was a threat to the Muslim-owned economy, even though the money transfer service, which many Somalis use to pay bills, is owned by Muslim Somalis. The Somali government called the Shabab threat to the service a barometer of the group's ultimate aim. "The extremists are against innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development of the country," said Somalia's treasury minister, Abdullahi Mohamed Ali, in a statement. "The business community should now see the importance of supporting the government in getting rid of these militias. A strong government would protect their businesses."

Article assigned for the 19th of Oct. Park Jiyoung

North Korea's succession

Spinning the wrong 'Un

It will take more than fireworks and gymnastics to maintain the Kim dynasty's grip

Oct 14th 2010 | PYONGYANG

WHEN North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, and his son and newly anointed heir, Kim Jong Un, stepped onto a balcony to watch a display of dancing and fireworks on October 10th, the audience in the square below applauded politely. But as loudspeakers blared recorded cries of "long life, long life", many did not join in. The Kim dynasty has fixed its succession but its propaganda grip is weakening.

The authorities, normally reluctant to let foreign journalists explore the grimness of what they call "beautiful and modern" Pyongyang, were so excited by Kim Jong Un's coming out as leader-in-waiting that they let down their guard. More than 70 journalists were suddenly given visas to attend a series of events on October 9th and 10th that afforded the outside world a first glimpse of the man now to be known as the "young general". They also had rare access to an austere city many of whose citizens suffered hunger earlier this year after a shock currency revaluation in November. The leadership's attempts to convince them that theirs is a "people's paradise" are likely to fall on many deaf ears.

Kim Jong Un's appearances, after more than a year of speculation abroad about his being groomed to take over from his ailing father, were choreographed for maximum political effect. North Koreans saw his face for the first time in a photograph published by the state media on September 30th. This followed his elevation earlier in the week to the rank of general and vice-chairman of the ruling party's military commission (though not yet to the National Defence Commission, which wields supreme power). Mr Kim, who is in his late 20s, has little, if any, military experience.

A few outings in early October with his father—to an artillery drill, a concert and on an inspection tour of a theatre—were enough to prepare Mr Kim for much bigger audiences and for the world's media. Foreign journalists saw him for the first time on October 9th at a mass gymnastic performance in a Pyongyang stadium. The next day, he and his father took centre stage at a huge military parade through the city that was broadcast live to the nation. The symbolism was striking: father standing next to son, separated by a couple of paces, on a balcony. Below them a huge gold-framed portrait of a grinning Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il's late father and founder of the dynasty, completed the trinity. The portly, podgy-faced Kim Jong Un, wearing a dark Mao suit, looked the spitting image of his grandfather at a similar age.

After the troops, tanks and missiles had thundered past, the audience waved and cheered with seeming enthusiasm when Kim Jong Il waved at them from the balcony. But at the fireworks and dancing display that evening at the same venue—Kim Il Sung Square—the response was less rousing. A few of the thousands of performers wept (as had a couple of female paratroopers as they passed the balcony during the earlier parade). But little fervour was otherwise in evidence.

The grooming of Kim the younger is only just beginning. His voice has yet to be heard in public (Kim Jong Il's only got an airing 12 years after he emerged as his father's successor). But he is likely to get an accelerated initiation. The appearances in Pyongyang seemed partly designed to show that Kim Jong Il, who is 69, remains very much in charge. But the North Korean media did not show what Western hacks clearly saw: the leader holding onto the balcony for support as he walked, left leg clearly limping. After a stroke in 2008, he is believed not to be well.

Another message the authorities apparently hoped to send was that Kim Jong Un will have others to guide him. Military expertise will be provided by Ri Yong Ho, North Korea's chief of staff, who for much of the parade stood between the two Kims. Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law, Chang Sung Taek, and sister Kim Kyong Hui will also be crucial figures. The state media said they had joined Kim Jong Un on his recent excursions. The conspicuous presence of a senior member of China's ruling Politburo, Zhou Yongkang, at the October 10th events was designed to show Chinese support for these arrangements. Kim Jong Il encouraged him to wave from the balcony.

The public will be harder to convince. The parade and dancing were extravagances (staged to coincide with the ruling Korean Workers' Party's 65th birthday) that contrasted sharply with daily life in the city. There are a few more cars on the streets these days, many of them Chinese-made. But these are for the elite (perhaps as gifts bestowed by influence-seeking Chinese). There are also a few bicycles (for men only: Kim Jong Il apparently disapproves of women on bikes). But most take rickety public transport or walk.

There is no sign of the "radical improvement" in North Korean living standards that officials once talked of achieving this year. Neon lights blazed in a few places during the journalists' visit, but foreign residents say that the city is normally dark at night. Power is so intermittent that policewomen (invariably young and pretty) still direct traffic at intersections with traffic lights, which are a very recent innovation in Pyongyang.

An unsupervised visit to a department store (a rare treat for normally chaperoned foreign journalists) revealed Pyongyang's dearth of consumer culture. In half an hour, your correspondent saw only a trickle of customers and just four items being sold: a pencil, a wind-up plastic frog, a quilt and a golden statuette of a soldier. On the fourth floor a member of staff adjusted a red curtain at a marble shrine to Kim Il Sung. Others watched television, amid swathes of unused floor space.

At a nearby shop, several people milled around a counter selling DVDs—a hint that DVD players are becoming household items. Foreign residents say DVDs from South Korea are helping to spread knowledge of the South's far greater affluence. Several people also sported mobile telephones. Pyongyang is said to have gained some 200,000 subscribers since the mobile service was introduced a couple of years ago. Most are permitted only to call other North Koreans, not people abroad or even foreign residents.

The city seems to have largely recovered from last November's revaluation of the won, which permitted only limited amounts of old bills to be exchanged for new ones. From January until mid-February, when the authorities relented and re-allowed transactions in hard currency, commerce almost ground to a halt. It became nearly impossible to buy food except at great expense on the black market. Inflation soared. "When in Rome, do as the Romanians do," one official assigned to mind foreign journalists kept telling them, oddly. The Kims, mindful of the grisly end of Romania's Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, will try to ensure that disgruntled North Koreans do no such thing.

Asia

Words Assigned for the 19th of Oct. Park Jiyoung

Heathen:

As an adjective, Heathen means having no religion, or belonging to a religion that is not Christianity, Judaism, or Islam.

As a noun,  People sometimes refer to other people who have no religion asheathens, especially if they do not like the way they behave as a result of this.

source:Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner's English Dictionary

Presentation to be made on North American Regions - Park Jiyoung

Hi All, 

Everyone seems to have decided where to present, and I choose the Middle West region.

Thank you.

Jiyoung

Quatation, 20101012, contributed by Kyung jin, Lee

"Today's quotation"

 

It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis.

 

-Margaret Bonnano-

Article, "Dollar for sparks stability warnings", 20101019, contributed by Kyung jin, Lee

Dollar fall sparks stability warnings

(The Financial Times)

 

By David Oakley and Peter Garnham in London and Michael Mackenzie in New York

Published: October 14 2010 19:55 | Last updated: October 14 2010 19:55

The dollar tumbled against most major currencies on Thursday, prompting warnings that the weakness of the world's reserve currency could destabilise the global economy and push other countries into retaliatory devaluations to underwrite their exports.

Increasing expectations the Federal Reserve will pump more money into the US economy next month under a policy known as quantitative easing sent the dollar to new lows against the Chinese renminbi, Swiss franc and Australian dollar. It dropped to a 15-year low against the yen and an eight-month low against the euro.

The dollar index, which tracks a basket of currencies, reached its lowest level this year.

A senior European policy-maker, who asked not to be named, said a further aggressive round of monetary easing by the US Federal Reserve would be "irresponsible" as it made US exports more competitive at the expense of its rivals.

Simon Derrick, chief currency strategist for BNY Mellon, said: "In narrow terms, the US is winning the currency wars as a weaker dollar will help its economy, but it could damage the other big economic blocs of China, Japan and Europe."

The dollar's fall was given fresh impetus after the Monetary Authority of Singapore surprised the market when it tightened policy by widening the trading band for its currency, allowing it to appreciate. The move by the Singapore authorities, responding to fears over inflation, helped push up other Asian currencies.

Russia's finance minister Alexei Kudrin, in a meeting with European Union officials, blamed the US – and others – for global currency instability.

He said one reason for exchange rate turmoil "is the stimulating monetary policy of some developed countries, above all the United States, which are trying to solve their structural problems in this way".

Commodities, which are mostly traded in dollars, were boosted by the US currency's slide. Copper hit a two-year high of $8,490 per tonne at one point, while gold surged to a record of $1,387 per troy ounce.

The twice-yearly US Treasury currency report, to be published on Friday, could ramp up the debate, although it is likely to stop short of accusing China of manipulating its currency.

However, turbulence was contained in the currency markets, as equities are benefiting from expectations of more QE. Investors hope that the fresh flood of money will find its way into stocks.

The QE factor and the strong start to the US earnings season propelled the FTSE All World Index to highs last seen around the time of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. This index has risen 20 per cent since the start of July.

Robert Parkes, equity strategist at HSBC, said: "The equity bull run, which started in March last year, will go on."

US inflation expectations for the next 10 years also continued to climb, reaching 2.09 per cent, up from 1.90 per cent in the past week.

The dollar fell to Rmb6.6493 against the Chinese renminbi, dropped to SFr0.9461 against the Swiss franc and fell to $0.9993 against the Australian dollar, just shy of parity. The Canadian dollar reached parity with the US currency, last seen in April. The US dollar fell below Y81 against the Japanese yen and tumbled to $1.4121 against the euro. The dollar index dropped nearly 1 per cent at one point to 76.259, its lowest since December.

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