(Mental Break) Anti-American in North and South Korea

*This clip below contains foul language.





This clip is from Japanese media. It shows both North and South Korean propaganda against America. The first propaganda by the North repeats "Bushi, ak" which means "Bush, evil."
The South Korean propaganda is the most interesting one for me, since I actually have heard the song when I used to live in Seoul during my childhood. I remember kids at school singing the song with joy.
Having American father and a mother who was educated in America allowed people to see me as an American instead of a Korean; and it have got me into many conflicts at school especially around 2002. I always believed that South Korean and America are brothers
I have not heard about any other popular propaganda after this one so I am relieved. Also the fact that South Koreans are becoming more and more open minded about countries such as Japan and America is making me feel safer about Korea.

I do not mean to offend any one with the harsh language of the clip. I thought this was interesting because despite the great diplomacy between the South Korea and the U.S., the citizens of South Korea carry such hate toward a country that helped us get to where we are today.

Bomb Blasts Shake Swedish Capital

This is another sad news about terrorism. This Saturday, a terrorist suicide bombing has created horror in downtown in Stockholm. The news have reminded the world once again about the danger all the U.S. supporting countries are in. There were two injuries and one death.
 The picture shows the corner of Olof Palmes Gata and Drottninggatan in central Stockholm where the car bomb exploded.

Around 5 p.m. local time on December 11, SÄPO and Swedish news agency TT received violent threats in the form of emails and sound files. Ten minutes later, a white Audi exploded in the very heart of Stockholm's shopping district, where Christmas shopping was in full swing.
Only a few minutes later and a couple of blocks away, a man that SÄPO has since called a "terrorist" set off a bomb strapped to his own body, killing himself, but injuring no one else.
The bomber, Iraqi-born Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, said in his threats to TT and SÄPO that he was targeting Swedish civilians because of Sweden's participation in the war in Afghanistan as well as the country's non-response to the Muhammad cartoons drawn by a Swedish artist that caused widespread protests in the Muslim world.

 The fact that the terrorist was angered by not only Sweden's involvement in the war in Afghanistan, but also a cartoon of Muhammad, shows that it is not only the government and military who should be careful. The terrorists are also triggered by the media, such as cartoons in this case. This is an alert for everyone. The terrorist society can be angered by many things that seems like a joke to many other people.
This concerns me about the media of America, where many things including the Muslim has been used for humor and entertainment.

Wal-Mart Tries Again for New York City Store

Wal-Mart, the invincible retailer is trying to expand and expand through out America. Their next destination is the New York City, or they are trying to get there. With all the opposition, from the local community, it seems like it is going to take a lot for Wal-Mart to root down in New York and go on with their domination plan.

The New York City Council was supposed to hold a hearing this Tuesday about a renewed campaign by Wal-Mart to open its stores in the city.  “We needed a bigger room,” the Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, said. “We heard from unions all across the city, small business leaders from across the city. It’s a growing list of people.”
Wal-Mart, an inescapable part of the retail landscape just about everywhere except in New York City, twice retreated on efforts to open stores in the city after fierce community opposition.
Now it is back, and mounting an aggressive campaign to crack the country’s largest urban market. Wal-Mart is looking at properties in each of the five boroughs and has hired Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s former campaign manager, Bradley Tusk, to help coordinate its lobbying efforts.
Bill de Blasio, the city’s public advocate, predicted, “They’re not going to find it easy to get serious public support.”
“As you reap,” Mr. de Blasio added, “so shall you sow, and they’ve had a really bad history. You can talk to people across the spectrum and they’ve all heard something about the problems of Wal-Mart.”

 The fact the the hearing was pushed for later shows that the issue and the conflict is expanding. This is not an easy thing for Wal-Mart to back down because New York City can be one of the most significant city for their future profit, considering the big population in the city.
Despite the fact that Wal-Mart is the country’s largest private employer, they have been criticized by the labor groups about the wages being too low and its benefits being insufficient.
This is a big war between Wal-Mart and the citizens of New York.

China extends selective RRR hike for 3 months

To explain reserve requirement, to people who are not familiar with it, just like me, it is a regulation by central bank that holds money from commercial banks. The more money the central bank hold, less money flows in the economy. The more money the central bank hold, it usually means there is too much money flowing in the economy. China has recently extend the reserve which was suppose to expire this week. The reserve will continue for another three months.

 

The move affects six of the country's biggest lenders, including Bank of China (3988.HK) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (1398.HK), the sources said.
With the extension of the selective increase, which had been initially ordered in October, the required reserve ratio will stand at a record high of 19 percent for the country's biggest banks.
"There are only about two weeks left before the end of the year, so it's not that likely that the central bank will announce or implement further RRR hikes. That's why it is choosing to extend the selective ratios," said Lu Zhengwei, chief economist at Industrial Bank in Shanghai.
The decision to extend the selective reserve requirement increase will lock up about 180 billion yuan ($27 billion) in deposits that the banks would otherwise have had available to lend.
Consumer prices soared past forecasts to a 28-month high in November and showed signs of spreading beyond food prices, putting pressure on the government to ratchet up its monetary tightening.
China officially raised banks' required reserves for the third time in a month on Friday. It has used selective increases twice this year, targeting banks that have been especially heavy lenders or that are systemically important.

 All the economists' spotlights are on China. China is trying to cool down the inflation and this regulation will decrease the money Chinese can spend. I am curious how this campaign will affect other counties, especially America, knowing that Chinese and American economies are intimately related.

Salmonella-tainted eggs linked to U.S. government's failure to act

Salmonella is a type of bacteria that cause about 1.4 million food illness and about 500 death annually in the U.S. It is one of the most common bacteria that causes infection. Salmonella is usually transmitted by consumption of food, especially contaminated with animal feces. Salmonella is most common on raw meat and eggs which is a very common food. There for, it is really easy for the bacteria to spread. This month, the largest recall of egg of the history of U.S. stressed the Public health officials.

Public health officials closed the books this month on an outbreak of salmonella illness that had sickened more than 1,900 people since May and led to the largest recall of eggs in U.S. history.
Two Iowa egg farms drew most of the blame, triggering a congressional investigation, a federal criminal probe and several lawsuits filed by victims.
What has not drawn much scrutiny is the role of the federal government, which recognized 20 years ago that salmonella in eggs posed a public health threat. Although federal inspectors have closely monitored meat and poultry production for the better part of a century, they have largely ignored eggs, another staple of the American diet. It was not until July, well after the recent outbreak was underway, that the government's first rules on safe egg production took effect.

This article is a good warning to the public. It is warning the people to wash their hands and cook their eggs completely. As an individual who consumes egg daily, this makes me aware of the issue that could not only effect me but my family. This raises a question: If a country like America, where nutritional information is very well organized and foods are strictly examined, has this big Salmonella issue, how many people suffer from salmonella infection around the world?
I hope this is an effective lesson for the federal government and examination of eggs or any egg products become more strict.