2010.01.1115:27

Another major wholesale market near the capital

His government has ordered the closure by the end of March of a large wholesale market in the northeastern port city of Chongjin, according to Good Friends, a Seoul-based aid group with a network of informants inside the country. Another major wholesale market near the capital, Pyongyang, was shut down in June.

After a decade of explosive growth, markets have substantially supplanted the central government as a means of employing and distributing food to North Korea's 23.5 million people.

The spread of grass-roots capitalism — and the government's inability to control it — has angered Kim and his top lieutenants.

To hobble traders who acquire goods from neighboring China, the government has imposed controls on travel and lodging in border areas, ordered the public not to use the large suitcases that are popular with traders and increased punishment for illegal border crossing.

North Korea is "not moving toward a free-market economy, but will further strengthen the principle and order of social economic management," an official of
At the end of 2009, North Korea moved suddenly to wipe out the wealth of all those who had profited from market trading. It revalued the local currency, the won, while sharply restricting the amount of old won that could be traded for new. The rules, as first announced, made it illegal for citizens to possess more than $40 worth of local currency.
2010.01.0415:00

China's premier didn't show up for a second meeting with Obama and other leaders this afternoon

Obama's first closed-door meeting with world leaders in Copenhagen to forge an agreement to slow climate change had a notable absentee: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

While the U.S. leader and Wen later met privately for almost an hour, china wholesale premier didn't show up for a second meeting with Obama and other leaders this afternoon, adding to speculation the world's two biggest producers of greenhouse gases are far apart on an agreement to fight climate change. . . .

Wen's absence from the morning meeting with Obama and almost 20 other world leaders stemmed from displeasure with the U.S.'s demand that all major emitters verify their actions to cut greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, said a delegate who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the talks.
As fuel protests spread to Asia, hundreds of Indian government employees trying to march on the office of Kashmir's chief minister were beaten by security forces, police officer Pervez Ahmed said.

About 20 people were hurt as police in Kashmir resorted to batons and water cannon to ward off the protesters.

India imports 70 percent of the oil needed for its fast-growing economy. The government announced a price hike in petrol and diesel last week which has irked all including the Kashmiris.

China has been forced to defend price caps for fear of crippling agriculture and other industries. Japan is salting away money for subsidies and loans to help small businesses, while Malaysia's government is to slash ministerial perks in a bid to persuade workers it is doing all it can to offset their difficulties.
2009.12.2816:03

The change in the nature and tone of our relationships

"The change in the nature and tone of our relationships ... is yielding concrete and tangible benefits here at the United Nations -- benefits that advance U.S. interests," Rice said.china wholesale

She pointed to the Security Council's approval in June of tough new sanctions against North Korea following its second nuclear test. Veto-wielding council members Russia and China, and sanctions-wary Libya joined in the unanimous vote for the sanctions.

"They have been actively and forcibly implemented by member states all over the world," Rice said. "So North Korea is feeling far greater pressure to halt its nuclear weapons program than it has in the past, and it is indeed giving various indications that it is feeling that pressure and perhaps responding to it." She did not elaborate on how they were responding.

Rice also singled out Obama chairing the Security Council in September -- a first for a U.S. president at a summit of the U.N.'s most powerful body -- when it unanimously adopted a U.S.-sponsored resolution aimed at halting the spread of nuclear weapons and ultimately eliminating them.
She called it "a very significant commitment" by leaders of the 15 council nations which "accelerated and embraced the president's goal of attaining a world without nuclear weapons."
Rice cited two other U.S. accomplishments this year -- a resolution condemning sexual violence in war zones and strengthening the legal foundation to protect women and girls from attacks, and a resolution adopted last week revamping al-Qaida and Taliban sanctions to ensure that sanctions only target those individuals, companies and organizations linked to the terror groups.
She said the United State has made progress on these important issues in partnership not only with countries that are traditionally friendly to the U.S. but with some countries that Washington has had "more difficult dealings" in the past.
In addition to her U.N. job, Rice is a member of Obama's Cabinet and sits on the National Security Council. She said she spends 4-5 days in New York and does a lot of work by videoconference, but she tries to work Fridays in Washington, where her husband and two children live. She also has traveled on behalf of the administration, representing Obama at a conference in Israel in October and joining the president in China in November.
As a former assistant secretary of state for African affairs in the Clinton administration, Rice came to the Security Council -- which spends about 60 percent of its time on African problems -- with deep knowledge of the continent's problems and promise. She has strongly advocated the protection of civilians, especially in Darfur and Congo, against attacks and rapes.
Looking ahead to 2010, the question of what to do about Iran's nuclear program looms large.
On Tuesday, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed a year-end deadline set by the Obama administration and the West for Tehran to accept a U.N.-drafted deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel.
Rice said Iran has a choice between engagement or increased pressure which could include new sanctions.

"In the new year, absent some significant changes in the posture of Iran, I think we believe that the time will be ripe for serious consideration of additional pressures," she said.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/25/ambassador-says-making-progress-cooperation/
2009.12.2117:36

the poor remain likelier than higher earners to live in households that only have cell phones

The finding, from data compiled by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggests that when it comes to telephone habits, peoples' decisions are affected more by age and where they live than by their economic situations.

The latest CDC study, released Wednesday, is consistent with its past reports: Overall, the poor remain likelier than higher earners to live in households that only have cell phones, and the proportion of wireless-only homes at all income levels continues to grow.

The study considered people to be poor if they earned below the federal poverty threshold, which is about $11,000 for a person living alone and $22,000 for a family of four. They were labeled near poor if their income was between that and twice those levels, and not poor if their household earned more than twice the poverty levels.
The number of households effectively reachable only by cell has also continued to rise, hitting 37 percent this year. That includes those who only have cells and those who also have a landline but seldom take calls on it, often because it is plugged into a computer.

As past studies have shown, age matters. More than a third of adults age 18 to 34 live in cell-only homes, including 46 percent for those age 25 to 29. But the number falls off sharply: Of those age 35 to 44, just 22 percent are from wireless-only households.

As in the past, people from the South and Midwest are likelier than others to live in cell-only homes. Adults who live alone or with unrelated adults are also likelier to have only wireless phones than are those who live with children or related adults.
2009.12.1616:00

who also is known as Mark, used a government cell phone to send and receive sexual and amorous text messages,

Military charging documents state that Hamilton, who also is known as Mark, used a government cell phone to send and receive sexual and amorous text messages, committed sodomy with some of the women, downloaded and stored sexually explicit material on his government-issued laptop, and photographed sexual acts.

Hamilton also is accused of fraud, adultery, indecent language and soliciting another to commit an offense. The alleged offenses cover a period between November 2004 and shortly before Hamilton was relieved of his duties in May.

At the time, the Coast Guard cited alleged misconduct and a loss of confidence in Hamilton's ability to command.
Receivers coach Billy Gonzales surprisingly resigned to become passing game coordinator at LSU. Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong left to take the head-coaching job at Louisville. And nearly a dozen juniors submitted paperwork to the NFL's advisory committee to find out where they might get selected if they choose to leave school early.

"There have been a couple of distractions the past week or two just because of all the coaching situations and all the NFL talk," receiver David Nelson said. "It's time to get refocused on the game. ... There have been a couple of distractions, but for the most part, we're ready to play.

"We're hungry. We're hungry to get back out there. I have a sour taste in my mouth and the only way to fix that is to win the next game. So we have to be ready to go and we're excited about it."

During the Coast Guard's preliminary investigation, Hamilton was temporarily assigned to the staff of the Seventeenth Coast Guard District, which covers Alaska.

Coast Guard Capt. Steven Andersen, the investigating officer presiding over the hearing, will look into the allegations and recommend how the case should proceed. Possibilities include trying those or other charges at a general court-martial or dropping the charges altogether.

The final determination, which could take months, will be made by Rear Admiral Christopher Colvin, district commander.