Wednesday, 25 February 2015

NK News

Only at NK News 
Mongolia, North Korea sign MoUNorth Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) during an official visit to Mongolia, according to local media.
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Operators of webcam porn site exploiting defector women indictedThe operators of a South Korean web broadcasting service where women, mostly North Korean defectors, perform lewd acts have been indicted for circulating pornography.
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Kim Jong Un declares intent to reform KPA at Central Military CommissionKim Jong Un has ordered the simplification of the Korean People’s Army’s “machinery,” indicating that he wishes to re-organize the military to implement its strategies “anytime”.
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Engagement with North Korea again? Perhaps, By James HoareA year on from the United Nations’ damning report on the human rights’ situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, it is perhaps time to take stock of what has happened.
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Make your tourist photo in N. Korea a 'rare glimpse'Quick: Google the terms “rare glimpse North Korea.” You will quickly find, if you didn’t know already, that articles claiming to show ground-breaking images from inside the country are not so rare.
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Top Stories Today
Lee Myung Bak: 'NK Implored SK Not to Send Leaflets'(The Daily NK)
The Dong-a Ilbo reported that Lee Myung Bak recently said that North Korea used to entreat the South Korean government to cease launching anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.
DPRK Government Economic Delegation Leaves for Russia (KCNA)
A DPRK government economic delegation led by Ri Ryong Nam, minister of External Economic Relations, left here on Monday to visit Russia.
'Seoul not swayed by NK leader's visit to Russia': FM(The Korea Times)
The presence of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Moscow in May will not be a decisive factor on whether President Park Geun-hye will visit the Russian capital.
Cables describe British attempt to recruit N Korean (Al Jazeera)
Leaked intelligence documents obtained by Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit describe an effort by Britain's MI6 agency to recruit a North Korean asset.
Kim Jong-un Reshuffles More Top Brass (The Chosun Ilbo)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has once again reshuffled key military brass, ostensibly to streamline the army but more likely to wrest powers from the unruly state-within-a-state.

Tuesday, 24 February 2015

a periodic table of Australian Federal Politicians based loosely on Tony Benn's Modelling of 'straights, fixers & maddies'


Name
Straight
Fixer
Maddie
(Visionary/Ideologue)
Personality, Loyalty & Resolve
Charisma/10
(electability)
Abbott
‘the mixer’
No/Yes
Yes/No
Under stress, very mad
Strong
2/10
Turnbull
No
Yes
No
Weak
8/10
Shorten
No
Yes
No
Very Weak
2/10
Fitzgibbon
Yes
No
No
Weak
6/10
Bishop
Yes
No
No
Moderate
6/10
Wong
Yes
No
No
Strong
5/10
PAST
Gillard
Rudd
Costello
Hawke
Keating
Fraser
Whitlam
Hayden
 
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
 
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
 
No
A tiny bit
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
 
Weak
Weak
Weak
Strong
Strong
Moderate
Strongest
Weak
 
5/10
7/10
4/10
9/10
7/10
3/10
9/10
5/10

 

 

John’s Periodic Table of Significant Federal Australian Politicians (incomplete)

Saturday, 14 February 2015

Tai'An

Mount Tai, Shandong

China's coolest World Heritage sites
2014-07-24
China’s Grand Canal and Silk Road joined UNESCO’s World Heritage list at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee which convened in Qatar. China now has 47 world heritage sites, second only to Italy.
China’s heritage sites are either natural or historical treasures or both, and one can never grasp the true beauty or magnificence of these places unless you pack your bag, grab your camera and see them with your own eyes. Although all of the 47 sites are well worth visiting, here we recommend 10 places that are best visited during the summer season.

China's coolest World Heritage sites
1. Mount Tai
The sacred Mount Tai is located in Tai'an city of Shandong province. With an an elevation of 1,545 meters, Mount Tai is the highest peak in Shandong. The mountain is reputed as "Chief of the Five Sacred Mountains" and "First Mountain Under Heaven". Mount Tai was the object of an imperial cult for nearly 2,000 years, and the artistic masterpieces found there are in perfect harmony with the natural landscape. It has always been a source of inspiration for Chinese artists and scholars and symbolizes ancient Chinese civilizations and beliefs.

jilin street cleaners wages

Liang Weiling: Raising street cleaners' salaries

( ejilin.gov.cn )
2015-02-09

Liang Weiling, a Jilin province CPPCC member from the city of Jilin, has suggested that the benefits of street cleaner be increased to protect their rights, noting in a paper based on a 1-year study of workers, and where she says that most workers live with serious financial problems, for example, "One case involves a Mr. Wang who is the only bread earner of the family and has only 1,320 yuan for to support them."
Liang has called for the government to give a pay rise for street cleaners and to reimburse them for their social insurance costs and increase public’s awareness of the need for environmental protection.
Liang Weiling: Raising street cleaners' salaries
Liang Weiling fielding questions from reporters. [Photo by Zhou Hong/Chinajilin.com.cn]

Jilin Russia DPRK

NE China opening high-speed railway to Russia

The governor of Jilin province, in China’s northeast has announced that work on a Sino-Russian cross-border high-speed railway will get underway in a foreseeable future, connecting the Chinese border city of Hunchun with Russian’s largest port on the Pacific Ocean, Vladivostok.

China, Russia and DPRK setting up tourism zone

A trilateral tourism zone located in Tumen River downstream area has been approved by three border countries, one government official at the 4th session of the 12th Jilin Provincial People’s Congress said, on Feb 12.

Chinese Leaders visit countryside preparations for New Year

Leaders visit countryside to take part in preparations

By ZHAO YINAN,ZHAO SHENGNAN (China Daily)Updated: 2015-02-14 04:22
Leaders visit countryside to take part in preparations
Premier Li Keqiang buys fried sticky rice with a sweet coating at a market in Liping county in the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture of Guizhou province on Friday. Liu ZhenIU ZHEN / China News Service
President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, who both climbed the leadership ladder from rural areas, joined millions of residents in the countryside on Friday in preparations to mark Spring Festival.
Online photos and video clips showed Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan returning to Liangjiahe, a village in Yan'an, the Communist revolutionary base in Shaanxi province. Xi worked there as a farmer for nearly seven years before studying at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
He retraced the experiences of his youth while witnessing the massive changes that have been seen in the area.
Xi's visit was reported by Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, in a micro blog account named "Xuexifensituan" ("Learning From Xi Fan Club"). The micro blog is known for covering Xi's latest activities.
In January 1969, Xi, who was then a teenager, was among millions of young people sent from cities to work as laborers in the countryside, responding to the call of then chairman Mao Zedong.
Meanwhile on Friday, a special guest did some seasonal shopping at a market in Guizhou province as vendors prepared for a sales push ahead of Spring Festival.
Premier Li Keqiang offered Spring Festival greetings to people at Liping county market and asked for some shopping advice.
"I'm going to visit some less well-off families in the afternoon and I want to take some new year gifts with me. What are the must-haves during Spring Festival here?" Li asked vendors.
The market is the largest in the county, which lies in the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, the traditional home of the Miao and Dong ethnic groups. With about 500 stalls, it is a major grocery supplier for about 100,000 residents.
Li bought local snacks, including smoked spicy fish and pork, fried sticky rice balls and other treats, after strolling through the market. As he was about to leave, he sent a set of digital scales to the market manager as a gift, asking him to ensure fair trading.
"There are so many people shopping here, so you have to guarantee food safety and ensure an orderly market," he said.