The News Round The Corner

Money may not pry nuclear secrets from North Korea

Seeded on Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:01 PM EDT (Reuters)

North Korea shut its nuclear reactor and plant that makes weapons-grade plutonium as part of a disarmament-for-aid deal, just as six-country talks got underway this week in Beijing aimed at advancing the process.

america, usa, politics, north-korea, south-korea, nuclear-energy, axis-of-evil

Going nuclear

Seeded on Tue Aug 14, 2007 4:58 PM EDT (CNN)

A lot of the push is coming from the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which is stuffed with generous subsidies for nuclear power and other alternatives to fossil fuels. Among them: billions of dollars in tax credits, loan guarantees, and insurance to cover licensing delays.

business, economy, nuclear, america, usa, finance

Nuclear weapons in the age of al-Qaeda

Seeded on Tue Aug 14, 2007 4:55 PM EDT (FT.com)

Should the US ever rule out the use of nuclear weapons in particular circumstances? This question is at the heart of the latest exchange between senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as they compete for the presidential nomination of the Democratic party.

politics, nuclear-weapons, al-qaeda, america-usa-politics

Noam Chomsky: How Propaganda Works in the West

Seeded on Tue Aug 14, 2007 7:47 AM EDT ()

Seeded by beevine (Clipped by starctzn)

The American approach to social control - In the West the calculated manipulation of public opinion to serve political and ideological interests is much more covert and therefore much more effective than a propaganda system imposed in a totalitarian regime.

media, politics, west, control, chomsky, propoganda, manipulation, persuasion, how-propaganda-works

Beijing baozi and public trust

Seeded on Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:23 AM EDT (OpenDemocracy)

A rare piece of news broke in Beijing on 8 July 2007: a stall selling baozi (steamed buns) in the city's Chaoyang district was creating its product by mincing up cardboard boxes, adding a little fat and flavourings, and using the mixture as the filling.

media, china, politics, news, democracy, freedom, press

The root of slave labour in China

Seeded on Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:20 AM EDT (OpenDemocracy)

Another shocking news story broke in China in June 2007. It was discovered that in Hongtong county, Shanxi province, people kidnapped from rural areas were being forced to work as slaves in a brick kiln.

china, slavery, politics, labour, slave-labour, democracy-power

Washington in Lebanon and Palestine: fatal manipulation

Seeded on Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:17 AM EDT (Open Democracy)

The United States's efforts to undermine Hamas and Hizbollah are part of a divisive, unprincipled and dangerous middle-east strategy, says Amal Saad-Ghorayeb.

lebanon, middle-east, america, usa, politics, conflict, foreign-policy

China goes global

Seeded on Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:14 AM EDT (OpenDemocracy)

The epic process of China "going global" has been underway for over a decade, but the events of late July 2007 may well be its defining moment.

business, china, economy, hong-kong, economics, finance, globalization

Handy mobile Hong Kong tour guide

Seeded on Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:10 AM EDT (International Herald Tribune)

There are more than 40 audio tours, and I was surprised by their range. Naturally, they cover the major museums and key tourist draws like The Peak, Avenue of Stars and Disney. There are also weather updates, which are particularly helpful now, during typhoon season.

travel, china, hong-kong, tourism

In Debt We Trust: The Beat Goes On

Seeded on Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:05 AM EDT (News Dissector)

Maybe the lesson is perseverance or possibly stupidity. For more than a year, I have been grabbing every megaphone I could find to shout like some Chicken Little that the "Sky is falling," and that the debt bomb would go off.

business, bank, america, money, usa, finance, debt

Two Koreas, One Economy?

Seeded on Tue Aug 14, 2007 4:42 AM EDT (CFR.org - Daily Analysis)

When officials from North and South Korea convene in Pyongyang for an August 28-30 summit, their discussions will mark a historic meeting of minds—only the second summit between the countries since1953, when the Korean War's frontline froze into a bitter cold border.

economy, politics, economics, north-korea, south-korea, east-asia, six-party-talks

Global warming "vanishes" from US temperature record after NASA corrects data

Seeded on Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:45 PM EDT (GroundReport)

NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies has revised its Surface Air Temperature Anomaly record for the continental United States after Stephen McIntyre,mining businessman now blogger at climateaudit.com, discovered an error which made post-2000 data significantly warmer.

environment, science, climate-change, united-states, goddard-institute

Is America sincere with Musharraf?

Seeded on Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:44 PM EDT (GroundReport)

Parliamentarians continue to kill their time in the halls of National Assembly and Senate, as their fate was being discussed by the President Gen.

pakistan, politics, condoleezza-rice, dick-cheney, pervez-musharraf, benazir-bhutto, usa-america

Huge Dust Plumes From China Cause Changes in Climate

Seeded on Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:40 PM EDT (Yale Global Online)

One tainted export from China can't be avoided in North America -- air.

china, america, usa, environment, science, climate-change

Chicken Soup For Bush's Soul: Sarkozy Praises 'Land of Friendship'

Seeded on Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:38 PM EDT (SPIEGEL ONLINE)

Hot dogs instead of lobster and hamburgers rather than swordfish: French President Nicolas Sarkozy's blitz visit to the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport was anything but a culinary summit. Politically, it was all show.

bush, france, america, usa, politics, united-states, laura-bush, sarkozy

Sparring Partners

Seeded on Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:26 PM EDT (New Yorker)

The political arena is ideally a marketplace of ideas, but in our country, more often than not, it's all marketplace and no ideas. Caveat emptor, Democrats.

democrats, politics, presidential-election, republicans, barack-obama, hillary-clinton, usa-america

Creating Radio for the People

Seeded on Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:36 AM EDT (AlterNet.org)

People are finding innovative ways to fight back against Rupert Murdoch, to demand independent, community-based media. You can join the movement to create new, full-power, noncommercial FM radio stations in the U.S.

america, usa, politics, radio, press-freedom, amy-goodman

Married, with AIDS

Seeded on Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:28 AM EDT (Asia Sentinel)

Radhika, 26, and her boyfriend Mohan, 32, are excited about their October marriage in the Mumbai suburb of Thane. They have booked a banquet hall, invited 500 guests, lined up the best florist in town and a couturier to do their wedding ensembles.

india, asia, marriage, romance, aids, hiv, world-news

Hu Ain't Going Nowhere

Seeded on Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:26 AM EDT (Asia Sentinel)

Politics is the art of the possible – much more so for the honcho of the Chinese Communist Party, the largest and most powerful political party in the world.

china, politics, communist-party, hu-jintao

Guns Versus Butter -- Our Real Economic Challenge

Seeded on Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:22 AM EDT (The Huffington Post)

Guns versus butter. It's the classic debate that really tells us a lot about our priorities that we set for the kind of society we can expect to live in -- how much money a country spends on the military versus how much money is expended on non-military, domestic needs.

economy, politics, united-states

Beijing's threats fuel U.S. protectionist rhetoric

Seeded on Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:19 AM EDT (International Herald Tribune)

The last thing China needs is to give American politicians new excuses to erect protectionist defenses against Chinese imports. So it is stupefying that some Chinese officials - with the blessing of the government press - have been talking of using China's enormous cache of U.S.

business, china, economy, america, usa, economics, protectionism

The dogs of war can keep the peace

Seeded on Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:18 AM EDT (International Herald Tribune)

The United Nations Security Council has authorized a peacekeeping operation involving up to 26,000 personnel for Darfur, Sudan's war-torn western region. About 7,000 are likely to be drawn from the embattled African Union force currently on the ground.

politics, security-council, united-nations, united-nations-security-council, african-union

A model health care system

Seeded on Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:16 AM EDT (International Herald Tribune)

Although the French system faces many challenges, the World Health Organization rated it the best in the world in 2001 because of its universal coverage, responsive health care providers, patient and provider freedoms, and the health and longevity of the country's population.

france, health, health-care, usa-america