Wednesday, January 31, 2018

North Korea's Days are Numbered


Just In !

On late January 30, U.S. president Donald Trump in his State of the Union speech made it clear that North Korea's days are numbered.




Ji Seong-ho, North Korean defector and survivor of North Korean torture,
holds up his crutches as symbol of defiance to the North Korean regime
after president Trump details his harrowing journey to freedom.


Comment by Fox News:
History proves time and time again that the yearning for freedom will crush the jackboots of the vilest dictators. Kim Jong Un won’t get much sleep after President Trump’s speech, as he knows time is not on his side. And it took the power of just one man with his old crutches to prove it.






路透:制裁之下,朝鲜通过俄罗斯出口煤炭

Reuters: Under Sanctions ... North Korea is Exporting Coal to Russia.


朝鲜经济特区罗先等待装船的煤炭

In North Korea's special economic zone of Rason, coal is waiting for being shipped.


[Source: VOA Voice of America Chinese language service on January 27, 2018]

..............................




Saturday, January 20, 2018

Turkey attacks Kurds in Syria


Today, Turkish forces have started shelling the Kurdish stronghold in Syria in the Afrin region. Latest reports confirm artillery shelling and air raids targeting Afrin. According to BBC, the Syrian regime of Bashir Assad is threatening to shoot down Turkish war planes.



قصف مدفعي تركي مستمر على عفرين

Permanent Turkish Artillery Shelling of Afrin

.....

خبر عاجل :القوات التركية تطلق على عمليتها العسكرية في عفرين اسم "غصن الزيتون"ـ

Breaking News: Turkish forces started their military
operation named "cutting the olive trees" in Afrin.

عملية عفرين ... المهمة و النطاق و الإشكالات السياسية

Operation Afrin ... Mission, Region, and Political Problems.


[Al-Jazeera الجزيرة on January 20, 2018]

Wednesday, January 03, 2018

China's Fears for 2018


At the beginning of each new year we are inclined to look back at the past year, and we try to predict what trends in political and economic development might become decisive for the year to come.

That's just what the Chinese are doing as well. However, Chinese people are said to be more superstitious than we are in the West. That might be the reason why some Chinese article, published today, is relating the possible dangers to a sound development of China's economy to the influence of nine ominous black swans. The dangers, however, might nevertheless be seen as real.


2018年九大黑天鹅:小心,魔鬼在你背后

In 2018 there will be Nine big Black Swans:
Be careful - The devil might be behind your back !



黑天鹅一号:朝鲜半岛剧变

The 1st black swan: Dramatic changes on the Korean peninsula.
[This chapter is referring to the acceleration of political tensions, as observed in 2017.]

黑天鹅二号:石油价格重上100美元

The 2nd black swan: A rise of mineral oil prices above 100 US$ [per barrel].

黑天鹅三号:欧洲复苏失败

The 3rd black swan: Europe's recovering from failure.

黑天鹅四号:美股长牛终结

The 4th black swan: The soaring of US shares might end.

黑天鹅五号:中国通胀再起

The 5th black swan: China undergoing [unstable] expansion.

黑天鹅六号:比特币崩盘

The 6th black swan: A collapse of Bitcoin market quotations.

黑天鹅七号:特朗普风险

The 7th black swan: The Trump Hazard.
[What the Chinese call the "Trump Hazard" can be related to the US president's credo of "America first". The Chinese article casually mentions the 2017 National Security Strategy (NSS), which prioritizes U.S. leadership in military, commercial, and scientific components of space, and which is no exception to the Trump administration’s continued desire to “make America great again in space.” As space evolves into a more globally competitive industry, the economic vitality of the U.S. space sector will support key national security goals to “promote American prosperity” and “advance American influence.” This finally shows how the 2017 NSS can be understood.]

黑天鹅八号:中国房地产崩盘

The 8th black swan: A collapse of real estate quotations.

黑天鹅九号:美联储加息超预期

The 9th black swan: Expectations regarding the US [Federal Reserve's] augmentation of interest.


[Kaixian tv 汉丰网, quoting the Shenzhen journal New Fortune 新财富 on January 3, 2018]

..............................




Visitor from Rome, Italy, and who is interested in Chinese policy.