North Korea - Missile Tests - Kim Il Sung

Latest UPDATE included on November 15 !

美韩专家：朝鲜进行多次火箭发动机试射

U.S. and South Korean experts are saying North Korea has carried out rocket motor tests on different occasions.

According to BBC, North Korea should have launched another long-range missile on Friday, November 9, after several tests that damaged the launching site. Even though the rocket managed to fly for a certain time, it finally exploded in the air. North Korea says the aim of the launch was to put a satellite into orbit - a move marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of national founder Kim Il-sung.

Ifeng Network 凤凰网, a Chinese news service based in Hongkong, said the North Korean site used for this test has changed its appearance between April and September 2012, probably due to unsuccessful tests of rocket engines.

As can be seen on the above satellite photos, a brandnew cement platform (in April) has been spoilt or destroyed (till September) while a newly built platform is already coloured in orange which might be hinting at spilt rocket fuel. During the same time, lots of fuel barrels were removed from the control center's immediate neighbourhood. Furthermore, the forest area near the launching tower seemingly suffered from some fire.

韩国政府今天呼吁朝鲜尽快展开改革。

Today [November 13], the South Korean government called on North Korea to carry out reforms as soon as possible.

[Source: Ifeng News on November 13, 2012]

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On November 12, 2012, a China based source, known for uploading videos from North Korean TV to the internet, promoted some propaganda video that showed a failing North Korean rocket launch, yet implying a possible involvement by some "U.S.- South Korean military alliance". A grinning U.S. defence minister Panetta is shaking hands with his South Korean partner. That is all what can be guessed from watching the video without any knowledge of the Korean language. If anyone of my blogspot's visitors is coming from Korea, he could sent me a short comment on what is exactly happening in that video.



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In 2012 North Korea is celebrating the 100th anniversary of state founder Kim Il-sung. As the Democratic People's Republic of Korea DPRK and the People's Republic of China are long-standing allies, a special "friendship emission" of postage stamps has been released by both countries:

Kim Il-sung, together with wife and son Kim Jong-il

Kim Il-sung, together with son Kim Jong-il and daughter

"Daddy and his students" (visit of a North Korean college in 1961)

Headline of an article celebrating the 100th anniversary of Kim Il-sung and that was published in the North Korean Labour Party's daily Labour News 劳动新闻 on Sunday April 15, 2012:

伟大的主体太阳的历史永远传下去

" The history of [our] great and only sun shall be handed down forever. "

The text under the image is saying that, both, " military and civilians are harbouring proud feelings for their successful leader whose significance should be far-reaching ".

Mali - West African States Targeting Al-Qaeda

مالي ترحب بنشر قوة دولية لكنس القاعدة شمال البلاد

Mali welcomes the deployment of an international force to "sweep" Al-Qaeda from the north of the country.

باماكو - رحب المسؤولون في مالي الاثنين بقرار قادة دول غرب أفريقيا بإرسال 3300 جندي للإطاحة بالمتمردين الإسلاميين من شمال الدولة ، والذي ينتظر قرارا من الأمم المتحدة

Bamako - On Monday [November 12], responsible [circles] in Mali welcome the decision of West African leaders to send 3.300 troops in order to [repulse] Islamic rebels from the north of the country. [That decision] is now awaiting [an approval] by the United Nations.

وقال وزير دفاع مالي ، الكولونيل ياموسا كامارا ، لوكالة الأنباء الألمانية إن خطط القيام بعملية بقيادة أفريقية للإطاحة بالمتطرفين "واضحة الآن"ـ

The defence minister of Mali, Colonel Yamousa Kamara, told the German Press Agency [i.e. DPA] that plannings [are under way] for the execution of an operation under African leadership in order to [repulse] the extremists "precisely [that time]".

Editor' Note:
The African troops should comprise soldiers from 13-15 ECOWAS countries. The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of 15 countries, founded in 1975 in order to promote economic development in the region. Yesterday, November 11, national leaders decided during their meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, to sent troops to Mali.

[Source: Al-Arab Online العرب اونلاين on November 12 and Al-Jazeera, Arabic service, on November 11, 2012]

Above: Al-Qaeda troopers in Northern Mali

Iran - New Tensions in the Gulf Region

UPDATE of Iranian News on November 11/12 further down !

إيران تعترف باستهداف طائرة أمريكية فوق الخليج

Iran acknowledges having targeted a U.S. plane over the [Persian] Gulf.

وزارة الدفاع الأمريكية قالت إن الطائرة كانت في مهمة مراقبة روتينية

The U.S. defence minister said the plane was occupied with a routine surveillance.

[Source: Al-Arabiya on November 9, 2012]

According to the Iranian defence minister Ahmed Wahidi [below image] this should have happened the week before.
The night before his announcement, a German TV source already reported an "unmanned U.S. plane" [or drone] should have been chasen by two Iranian jet fighters without being damaged [above image]. Both reports are being considered to refer to the same incident.

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Latest News from Iran as published by Al-Bawaba البوابة in Amman, Jordan, on November 11, 2012:

ما هو حال إيران بعد العقوبات الاقتصادية!ـ

تستخدم أميركا سلاح العقوبات الاقتصادية كأداة من أدوات السياسـة الخارجية ، هدفها إخضاع الدولة المستهدفة وكسر إرادتها

Headline: It's not so [with] Iran after economic sanctions !

America is using the weapon of economic sanctions as the instrument [of choice] among all instruments of foreign politics, [such] targeting the subjugation of the exposed nation and breaking its will.

[Source: Al-Bawaba on November 11]

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البرلمان الايراني سيحقق في وفاة مدون في السجن

The Iranian parliament will inquire on a reported death case in prison. [Source: Al-Bawaba on November 11]

واشنطن تطالب إيران بفتح تحقيق حول وفاة مدون في السجن

Washington demanding Iran to open an investigation on the circumstances of a reported death [case] in prison.

طالبت وزارة الخارجية الامريكية الجمعة إيران بفتح تحقيق حول وفاة مدون إيراني في السجن كان اعتقل نهاية تشرين الاول/ اكتوبر وتوفي في السجن حسب ما اعلن منظمات حقوق الانسان

On Friday [i.e. November 9], the U.S. secretary of foreign affairs demanded Iran to open an investigation on the circumstances of a reported Iranian death [case] in a prison. [After being] arrested at the end of October, [that person] died in prison according to [a news release] by "human rights organizations".

[Source: Al-Bawaba on November 10]

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إيران تستأنف جولة محادثات جديدة مع الوكالة الدولية للطاقة الذرية في 13 ديسمبر

Iran resumes a new round of negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency on December 13.

[Source: Al-Bawaba on November 11, 2012]

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Air Defence Exercises beginning on November 12, 2012, become the largest display of Iran's military might up to now. [Source: Al-Jazeera]

U.S.A. - Back to Business

The complete results of U.S. presidential elections being barely known, the world is back to business again. Due to different factors essential stock markets in the U.S.A., in Europe and Asia have gone down.

As usual, U.S. commentators are putting the blame on difficulties in the Eurozone (Germany's economic slowdown, violent protest in Athens following the presentation of a 17 bn $ austerity plan, a high-ranking comment from Brussels).

Yet, there are U.S. related problems as well: On top of it is the so-called "fiscal cliff" of 600 bn $ that has to be dealt with immediately by the old / new president who now needs to reach a bargain with his Republican opposition in the House of Representatives on "Capital Hill". Stagnation in the reduction of U.S. unemployment and the unwillingness of many tax payers to carry more are further items needed to be considered. - However, Obama finally got rid of "Monopoly Man" Mitt Romney which makes it much easier for him to do his job.

U.S. Presidential Elections - Obama Wins !

UPDATE at 04:30 GMT


President Obama Wins Re-Election

Picture distributed by
President Obama on "Twitter"
in the moment of his victory
[Source: Al-Arabiya]

=> Discussion of Final Election Results at the End of Blogspot <=

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At 04:15 GMT:

The following first election results have been taken from CNN as well as Al-Jazeera. Both stations are differently treating the incoming results. While CNN is flooding us with very many single data and county related analysis, Al-Jazeera is behaving much more relaxed which makes it easier to follow the proceedings. By the way, during the 2008 elections they predicted Obama's deciding victory in Ohia much earlier than CNN.

At 03:00 GMT, it became clear that Obama is going to win at least some of the so-called "swing-states" that are regarded to be essential in presidential elections. Even Florida is now drifting from an uncomfortable patt situation (02:30) towards Barack Obama like Ohio already has.

While Mitt Romney won his home-state of Utah as well as Montana, Arizona and North Carolina, it seems he lost Wisconsin, the home-state of his co-runner Paul Ryan, as well as New Hampshire according to latest projections.

Of course, this will remain be a close race nationwide but some commentators are already expecting hardships for Mitt Romney to come as pro-Democratic counties in some disputed states are not yet counted.

However, whoever might be the next president, he will inherit a divided congress and a very much divided country.

Patty Culhane reporting for Al-Jazeera from the Democratic camp in Chicago. We usually see her on CNN. The inserted election results are referring to the 538 electoral votes from which 270 have to be reached. 04:15 GMT it was 250 for Obama.

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Discussion of Election Results at 10:15 GMT

Final results can be taken from the below electoral map, showing Democratic voting states in blue and those voting for the Republicans in red. The numbers of deciding electoral votes have been added. As Florida vote counting is still not finished, there might be insignificant changes that cannot topple the overall result:

The popular votes below are showing the real numbers of pro-Democratic or pro-Republican voters:

While a nation's future can be seen in the proceedings of its youth, the following results for the 18-29 year old are of a special importance:

Like most nations of the Western hemisphere, the U.S.A. have undergone a dramatic demographic change. The increasing percentage of Latin-American voters can be seen as a North-American peculiarity. Such voters obviously trust more in Obama than in the president's competitor Romney. Same goes for the Afro-American community:

Some senatorial elections accompanying the presidential elections resulted in a broader (+2) Democratic majority in the Senate (51 vs. 45) while the House of Representatives remained under control of the Republicans (197 vs. 227). That means nothing has changed on Capitol Hill.

Chinese Cadres: You Name Him - We Find Him ! - (Except Bo XiLai)

On the occasion of the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China CPC taking place in Beijing these days, there is a brandnew search engine making it easy to find Communist Party cadres within seconds. I tested it with the names and positions of some regional officials. What should I say - it really works !

Part of the database information on China's new strongman Xi JinPing 习近平 can be seen below. Xi is expected to take over from Communist Party chief Hu Jin Tao and become China's new president as well:

The only one I did not find on that new search engine was former Communist Party chief of Chongqing, Mr. Bo XiLai 薄熙来:

All you should know about him can be found in an article launched by BBC London today November 6, 2012:

Please note: The above article has been shortened.

Iranian Gunboat Diplomacy - Syrian Violence

إيران تعزز قواتها في جزر الإمارات المتنازع عليها

Iran enforcing their troops on islands contested by the Emirates.

تشمل زوارق بحرية سريعة وسفناً متطورة وأنواعاً مختلفة من الصواريخ

Including high-velocity sea boats and advanced ships as well as different categories of missiles.

That military operation in the Strait of Hormuz is being staged by the Revolutionary Guards of Iran. [Source: Al-Arabiya on November 4, 2012]

إيران تجري تدريبات صاروخية على سواحل الخليج

Iran performing missile exercises at the coasts of the [Persian] Gulf.

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Pictures from Syria

Greetings from Damascus

Syria - Town Shelling

Syria - Saving the Wounded

Syria - The Wild and the Furious

U.S. Elections - Some Facts to Remember

Looking through Google images on Obamacare I found lots and lots of images opposing President Obama's goal to implement a healthcare reform that enables every U.S. citizen to receive medical care. As a citizen of the European Community I know how such state promoted health systems are working - and I can say they are still working rather efficiently. Despite some shortcomings providing the stuff for occasional newspaper headlines, people in Britain, Germany and France are generally served well by state-controlled healthcare. So why all that fuss about Obamacare which is not so much different ?

Britain's entirely state-run healthcare system can serve as an example how things are running in the "old world". Maybe the following link might give you the idea that "different" does not necessarily imply the meaning of "worse" Is Britain's Health-Care System Really That Bad?

The above scheme of words associated with presidential candidate Mitt Romney in public discussions might give you an idea how that candidate is being considered by many U.S. voters and journalists. Maybe that will help you to get to your personal decision on election day.
I would have provided a similar scheme for Obama if I had found one. However, let me guess, it would be totally different not only due to the vocabulary he has to use in the frame of his daily duties as a president.

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Visitor access point to "blueprint news" activated from the U.S. Marine Base in Camp Lejeune / North Carolina:

Here are two links related to the Iranian subject:

Iran - Who is threatening whom ?

Israel - Netanyahu obsessed with bombing Iran

Israel - Netanyahu Obsessed with Bombing Iran

موفاز يقول إن نتنياهو جاد في تهديداته بضرب إيران و يدعو لاستبدال الحكومة التي ستقود إسرائيل إلى مغامرة "كارثية"ـ

Mofaz says Netanyahu is perfect in intimidating Iran with a [military] blow and calls for the replacement of a government that is leading Israel into a "catastrophic" adventure.

On a press conference held on Thursday 1st November 2012 Kadima party leader Shaul Mofaz told reporters the only thing prime minister Netanyahu cares about is 'bombing Iran'.

"Last week the irresponsible man joined forces with an unrestrained man who has a messianic outlook – (Foreign Minister Avigdor) Lieberman, who threatened to bomb the Aswan Dam."

Mofaz warned that the Netanyahu-Lieberman union "is dangerous for Israel. He (Netanyahu) addressed the UN and promised us a nuclear spring. (Former Mossad chief) Meir Dagan fears it (attack on Iran), Yuval Diskin (ex-Shin Bet chief) fears it, (former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi) Ashkenazi fears it; every citizen fears it. In the past Israel dealt with threats in a reasonable manner. But here there is no responsibility and no logic, only one obsession. In war there are no winners; the question is who loses more."

[Source: ynetnews, Israel, and Al-Jazeera, Arabic channel, on 1st November 2012]

Related information: Israeli Air Raid on Khartoum on October 24, 2012

زعيم حزب كاديمة المعارض شاؤول موفاز

Shaul Mofaz, leader of the opposition party Kadima

Shaul Mofaz (* 1948) is one of the most versatile figures in Israeli politics. He served different governments as Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Transportation and Defence Minister and he served in a series of senior military posts. As a Major General he was even appointed Chief of the General Staff in 1998. His term as Chief of Staff was noted for financial and structural reforms of the Israeli Army. He is now chairman of the Kadima Party, which is the largest party by seats in the current Knesset.

New York Oil Price - High Tide Diminishing

纽约油价31日继续微涨

The New York oil price continues to diminish its rise on October 31.

新华网快讯：由于“桑迪”导致部分石油供应中断，纽约油价３１日继续微涨，１２月交货的轻质原油期货价格涨５６美分，收于每桶８６．２４美元，涨幅为０．６５％。

Express report from XinHua [news agency]: [Hurricane] "Sandy" has led to a partial breakdown of mineral oil supply [while] the price for New York oil continued to diminish its rise on October 31. U.S. [share] of the forward price for the light brand of crude oil [i.e. "New York light"] has risen to 56 [%] over a 12 month period of delivery. [The selling price is now] 86.24 U.S.$ for each barrel [including] a 0.65 % rate of increase.

[Source: XinHua Network on 1st November 2012]

UPDATE on November 2, 2012:

Gas shortages can still be felt in certain regions of New Jersey where people and cars are lining up for gasoline. According to a witness report on CNN, car lines are extending up to one mile while gas prices are stable or even slightly declining:

U.S.A. - Hurricane Sandy Makes Devastating Landfall

UPDATE included !

Hurricane Sandy, now classified as a post-tropical storm, is more than 1.600 km wide and could be the largest storm in U.S. history.

As strong winds are pressing sea water into the densely populated region of New York / New Jersey, heavy floodings are expected in that area and all over the East Coast. At the time this blogspot came into being, increasing floodings were still not reaching their highest tide.

According to New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, 375.000 people need to leave their homes.

TV screenshots are showing a partially flooded bridge crossing river Hudson in lower Manhattan N.Y. and a damaged crane that is dangling in front of a newly built residence for the very rich.

Other pictures are showing heavy floodings in the federal state of Connecticut. 360.000 people have been evacuated there.

Even deer was caught in the floods.

West Virginia's governor has declared the state of emergency as his state is expecting a blizzard that might bring heavy snowfall.

About 8.1 million homes and businesses in 13 federal states are without electricity [UPDATE on the same day based on official sources]. U.S. President Obama has declared the state of emergency and sent troopers of the National Guard for assistance.

A car tunnel in New York Manhattan in the evening of October 30 [Source: People's Network, Beijing]:

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Facing the damage that hurricane Sandy has inflicted on North America, it appears rather incredible from the outside that any election propaganda whatsoever could still trouble the night of U.S. citizens. However, here is what Al-Arabiya put into their headlines on October 31 and in the aftermath of a historical catastrophe, the provocative picture of a smiling Osama Bin Laden belonging to the article:

لقطات أوباما في فيلم بن لادن تقض مضجع الجمهوريين

Views of Obama in a Bin Laden film are troubling the night for citizens.

فيلم عن عملية مقتل زعيم تنظيم القاعدة يبث قبل يومين من الانتخابات الأمريكية

A film [showing] the operation that killed the leader of Al-Qaeda organization is being propagated on the eve of U.S. elections.

Maybe some can't imagine such floodings in their dusty countries.