Live chat now: Waiting for iPhone 5

Agonized about the extra-long 16-month wait between iPhone 4 and the next iPhone, whatever it may be called? Trying to determine if there's something you should just buy now? Worried about how the on-again, off-again AT&T-T-Mobile merger might affect your current or future cellular plans? Sounds like we should talk. Bring your questions here at 12 noon PT/3 p.m. ET and msnbc.com's Wilson Rothman will help steer you through the crazy smartphone waters. And he swears every answer won't be, "Just wait and buy an iPhone."?

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Some more reading on the subject:

Source: http://gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/31/7546990-live-chat-waiting-for-iphone-5

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Network Marketing Is Best Possible ... - Business Marketing Services


Network Marketing Is Best Possible With A Smart Use Of Internet

The internet is commonly known as a place for information. Utilizing the internet to provide information can help attract visitors to the site. This is what constitutes the theme for the network marketing through the internet. There are a number of ways by which the marketing can be done using the tools of internet.
When people trust the website and the information therein, they would come by themselves to the site. There would not be any requirement to resort to glamorous advertisements and pulling techniques to lure people into the marketing loop. The basic rule of a successful networking business is to make a product that has the qualities to attract people on its merit.

Giving out loud and big claims to the beauty of a product does not produce a long term goal. Once it is established that a particular product or service, is a leader, then the customers would be automatically queuing up for it. This trick is very much applicable for the multilevel marketing which can be converted into a prosperous home based business.

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With the help of the computer at home, people can resort to such marketing tactics which would not seem flamboyant to the customers. When the customers trust the leader brand, they shall follow the brand. With a site of one?s own, it can be utilized for network marketing in the most productive manner.

Another very important means for the success of internet and network marketing is to build relationships with the visitors. This is done by keeping the trust of the visitors intact and regularly updated. By sending valued mails, by putting up informative articles about products, and producing a brand value around the products, multilevel marketing work becomes quite easier.

The basic aim of every, internet marketing should be to first gain the trust and then let people have a taste of the products. Putting the products on the face of the visitors to the site would be like making a forced sale which is a turn off for people. If they are allowed to explore the site on their own, then only they would be comfortable dealing with the marketing proposal. By adopting this strategy, good marketers can bring in a number of members to the marketing network.

Another of the aims is to gather leads for the products. The more sublime the method to gather leads the better prospects one has to keep them bound for long. The internet and network marketing are good tools for improving the business. When this is done in a calculated manner with the most humble approach, the leads would be generated. Keeping them as members of the network is now dependent on the manner in which they are convinced about the benefits. Since, most of the work that is being done through the internet is based on trust without actually meeting the customers, it is important to tread carefully to build a successful network of marketing associates.

Home Based Business, Network Marketing, Internet and Network Marketing

Source: http://eportalsite.com/network-marketing-is-best-possible-with-a-smart-use-of-internet-2/

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Obama Taps Proven Failure to Lead New Economic Team (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Ahead of the much anticipated new economy/jobs speech the president will read from his teleprompter, the Associated Press announced the commander-in-chief has "tapped labor economist Alan Krueger for a top administration post Monday, thereby "rounding out his White House economic team." What I am curious to know is; what is Barack Obama expecting to accomplish by naming a proven failure as head of anything?

While Obama just introduced Alan Kruger to America as the new kid on the "White House economic team" block, it's really more of a homecoming.

Krueger spent the first two years of the Obama administration as an assistant treasury secretary for economic policy.

More specifically, Kruger is one of the geniuses behind several of Obama's previous failed attempts to boost jobs and the economy. One was the colossal exercise in stupidity known as the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS). The other waste of time known as the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act of 2010.

You remember CARS, that nifty little program of 2009 more widely known as Cash for Clunkers, which encouraged owners of primarily American made "high polluting automobiles" by offering $3,500 and $4,500 vouchers to "offset the purchase or lease price for a qualifying passenger automobile or truck" made mostly in Japan?

As the program states, the purpose of the initiative was to "accelerate motor fuel savings nationwide and provide incentives to registered owners of high polluting automobiles to replace such automobiles with new fuel efficient and less polluting automobiles."

Dealerships who accepted those evil less efficient higher polluting cars as trade-ins had to swear that the vehicles would be "crushed or shredded, or transferred to an entity that will ensure it will be crushed or shredded, within the period of the Program; and (2) has not been, and will not be, sold, leased, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of for use as an automobile in the United States or in any other country."

Furthermore, according to the Star Tribune, "Normally when salvage yards take in a scrapped car, they pull out the engine and any other highly valuable parts, then lay the car out in the yard for sometimes over a year, until its less-valuable parts are all stripped and it's finally crushed and sold for scrap metal."

Not only did the "cash for clunkers" program, junk that system "with tight federal restrictions that complicate the process while speeding up the timeline for salvage yards" it squeezed even the smallest of profits from the pockets of scrap yard owners who expected to cash in on the cash-for-clunkers program.

In other words, cash for clunkers was a green program that took evil, "less efficient/more polluting" cars off the roads and dumped them forever in a landfill or scrap yard.

According to the official CARS website (curiously set to be shut down on Sept. 30 even though the program will run through Dec.), "the CARS program achieved the objectives set out by Congress to increase automotive sales and aid the environment" and "the nation's economy benefited immediately from this stimulus program, which caused a distinct upward movement in GDP and created or saved tens of thousands of jobs at a very critical time in the recovery process."

That's funny. According to Business Insider the only thing the program created was a temporary distortion in the U.S. economic figures "in an unsustainable fashion" and a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics covering that time frame the motor vehicles and parts manufacturers actually shed 15,000 jobs.

In his article, "Cash For Clunkers Postmortem: Epic Fail," Rick Davis, of Consumer Metrics Institute studied the impact of consumer oriented stimulus programs between June 2009 and May 2010. After collecting and crunching numbers Mr. Davis concluded that "if the intent of Congress was to use U.S. taxpayer funds to get clunkers off the road, the stimulus package was a huge success." However, if the intent of the program was "to create sustained growth in the automotive sector of the economy," the results have been far less successful" and "might even have been counterproductive."

Additionally, while Davis conceded that the program "created the glaringly obvious upward demand blip" the blip "withered and died when the spigot of Federal stimulus was turned off" leaving "no signs of organic or structural recovery."

In other words, it didn't work ... at all.

Alan Kruger's next clever effort was the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. That was the Obama administration's 2010 failed effort to promote job growth.

According to the official website the idea behind HIRE was to offer "new tax incentives for businesses to hire unemployed workers." A need to clarify that the program was designed to inspire employers to hire the "unemployed" speaks for itself.

Essentially, the HIRE Act proposed the brilliant strategy of offering a temporary suspension on the employer share of the Social Security Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Fund payroll tax as an incentive to hire a new employee.

Unfortunately, the amount of the "incentive" to hire a new employee equals far less than the expense of actually hiring a new employee.

According to John Ligon, economist and current policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation, "a qualified employer hiring a worker earning $10,000 in annual wages would receive a wage subsidy roughly equal to $52 per month; this amount would equal roughly $264 per month for a worker earning $51,000 in annual wages."

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average direct cost for an employer to hire a new employee is $57,967.88.

"The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act could be considered an excellent piece of legislation," John Ligon concluded. "If, that is, the goal of the legislation was to ensure massive Social Security deficits without creating a single new job."

Kruger was also one of the gifted minds behind two other Obama failures; the Small Business Lending Fund and Build America Bonds.

When it passed in September 2010, the Small Business Jobs Act set aside a $30 billion fund designed for smaller banks, those with less than $10 billion in assets, to lend to small business owners.

Almost one year later, not one single dollar had been dispersed by the Treasury Department, and only about one-third of the total funds available to the banks had been requested.

The success of Build America Bonds is questionable at best.

Build America Bonds (BABs) was smuggled in as part of the They are supposed to help states and cities that are short of cash build roads, schools and bridges," Julie Creswell of the New York Times explained in 2010 but the biggest benefits were made by Wall Street banks who charged larger commissions for BABs than for normal municipal bonds "which actually increased the cost to states and cities."

A report conducted by Jordan Eizenga and Seth Hanlon, for the liberal Center for American Progress asserts that Build America Bonds are better than tax-exempt bonds "based on the inefficient nature of tax-exempt debt for the federal government."

In other words, the only thing that makes Build America Bonds better is that the government can tax them.

Therefore, Eizenga and Hanlon think it would be a good idea to impose "a federal cap on tax-exempt bonds" in an effort to "gradually wean investors and issuers off" of the traditional muni market and "toward a permanent, expanded Build America Bond market."

Hmmm ... sounds a lot like the purpose behind Obamacare , to "gradually wean" Americans off of private insurance policies and onto the government controlled plan.

If confirmed by the Senate, Krueger would replace previous Council of Economic Advisers chair Austan Goolsbee, who left the administration earlier this month. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is now the only one from Obama's original economics team who has yet to jump the sinking ship.

Oh, and one last thought. If the president is just now "rounding out" his economic team does this mean he doesn't even have a real jobs plan to tell us about in September and now we'll have to put our faith in Alan "Cash for Clunkers/HIRE Act/ Small Business Lending Fund and Build America Bonds" Kruger to come up with one?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110830/us_ac/9042271_obama_taps_proven_failure_to_lead_new_economic_team

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Which Is Better For Home Improvement ? Refinancing Or A Second ...

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Which Is Better For Home Improvement ? Refinancing Or A Second Mortgage?

Finding the money you need to make those home improvements can lead to having to make some serious decisions. If you really want to make those home improvements, then you have basically two choices ? either refinance a first mortgage, or get a second mortgage in order to get access to some of that equity. While either choice could give you access to some cash for your project, only one choice will actually be better for you ? depending on your circumstances. Here is what you need to know to make that decision. You can get access to your cash by refinancing your first mortgage. If you find that you can get some better terms than what you already have, then this may be the way to go. Look for a lower interest rate that is about 1% or more lower than what you already have for a good deal. Mortgage Insurance? One thing that could help you decide would be if you are paying Private Mortgage Insurance, and now have more than 20% of the house s value in equity. By refinancing, you could get access to your equity with a cash out mortgage, and drop your PMI at the same time. In order to drop the PMI, though, be sure that you do not refinance for more than 80% of the attained value of your home. This means that you need to leave 20% of your equity intact. Get the security of fixed rates Another possible reason to refinance might be to get away from an adjustable rate mortgage ? if you have one. Many people are now seeing the danger of these mortgages. They are great when the financial times are good, but horrible enough to cost you your home when economic times go a little sour. By refinancing your first mortgage, and using your equity for your home improvement project, you can gain the financial stability you need. Refinancing with either a first or a second mortgage could be not worth your time, though, if you are not planning on staying there very long. The costs of refinancing are significant, and will take the average person at least three to five years to start to see a positive return on their investment. Options of Second Mortgage A second mortgage will give you two options ? either a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit (HELOC). Both of these will give you higher interest rates than on a first mortgage, and a second payment. Besides that, there are the same costs involved for the financing. As a second mortgage, either one gives you the cash you need to beautify your home. Home improvements or repairs are tax deductible which means your actual rates are brought down some by the deduction. A HELOC will give you a greater flexibility since you draw out the money as needed (for a limited time), and only pay interest on the amount you use. So, if you are not sure you need the full amount of your equity, this method will save you some money, but be careful and be sure you understand how it will be amortized ? and when. Get the best mortgage deal Refinancing or getting a second mortgage is a very common method of getting cash to fix up the home place. It also builds up the value in your home even more. Anytime you are thinking about either option, be sure to shop around getting several quotes, and then do a careful comparison of the fees (especially), as well as the interest rates. The bottom line is that it depends on your own goals and financial situation as to which option may be better for you, but comparisons of quotes will let you know which option will best help you meet that goal. Joe Kenny writes for Rebuild.org, offering mortgage refinance, or for UK residents home improvement loans.
Visit today: Refinance with Rebuild.org

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Source: http://www.aresnika.com/which-is-better-for-home-improvement-refinancing-or-a-second-mortgage-9829.html

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Apple stock recovers from shock of Jobs resigning (AP)

NEW YORK ? Investors in Apple on Thursday morning appeared to be getting over the worst of the shock of Steve Jobs resignation from the CEO post.

Apple shares were down $8.67, or 2.3 percent, at $367.51 in pre-market trading. That's half the loss seen in Thursday's extended trading, after Apple said Jobs would be ceding the CEO job to Tim Cook.

Analyst tried to soothe investors with a reminder that Jobs' departure was expected due to his health problems, even if the timing was not certain.

Peter Misek at Jefferies & Co. said it was a "very positive" sign that Jobs will assume the role of chairman. Misek had expected Jobs to depart completely from the company. As chairman, "Jobs will be able to continue to offer his insights and visions for the future of Apple."

Futures on the Nasdaq 100, which gets more than half its value from technology companies like Apple Inc., fell slightly before the opening bell.

Richard Gardner at Citigroup recommended investors buy the stock if it drops. Jobs laid a strong foundation for the company, and Gardner expects it to gain market share for years to come.

"In our view, Tim (Cook) is a tough but well-regarded leader who will continue to hold Apple employees to an extremely high standard of performance," Gardner wrote.

In Taiwan, shares of Apple's suppliers and contractors fell harder than Apple shares.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., also known as Foxconn, saw its shares fall 4.6 percent. The company assembles Apple's iPhones and iPads in an enormous factory town on the Chinese mainland.

Shares of Wintek Corp., which makes touch screens for Apple, fell 6.9 percent in Taiwanese trading. Shares of Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co., which makes headphone jacks and other connecting components, fell 4.3 percent.

Shares of Taiwanese Apple competitor HTC Corp. rose 1.4 percent, going against the market. Overall, the Taiwan market fell 1.2 percent.

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and AT&T Inc., which all sell Apple's iPhone, were little changed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110825/ap_on_bi_ge/us_apple_markets

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Arrest warrants issued for LSU players over fight

(AP) ? Police obtained arrest warrants Friday for LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson and a teammate, Joshua Johns, on charges of second-degree battery for a bar fight that injured four people last week, and the players have been suspended indefinitely by the school.

Baton Rouge police Sgt. Don Stone said investigators have contacted the players' attorney, Nathan Fisher, and LSU coach Les Miles, and asked for the players to turn themselves in.

Jefferson and Johns, a linebacker, face felony charges for their alleged roles in a fight outside Shady's bar in Baton Rouge on Aug. 19.

"We will continue to cooperate with the authorities in an effort to find out exactly what took place during the incident," Miles said. "As sad as this incident is, it's important that we learn from this and that we take away a valuable lesson. This has weighed on all of us. It's time for us to come together as a team and focus on what we are here to do."

A police report says a 19-year-old woman named Victoria Long said she witnessed several LSU players beating one of the alleged victims and saw Jefferson kick that man in the face.

Four people were treated and released at a hospital in the hours after the fight, and police have said one person had three fractured vertebrae, injuries serious enough to warrant felony charges.

Two witnesses who work at the bar told The Associated Press that the players did not throw the first punch, but added that once the melee began, it was difficult to see who hit whom, and could not verify the extent to which Jefferson and Johns were involved.

Shady's door manager Jordan Neldare, who said he witnessed the fight, said he noticed that Jefferson removed himself from the brawl before it was over, and was standing alone near the bar's entrance, looking upset.

Police have identified Jefferson, Johns, offensive lineman Chris Davenport, and receiver Jarvis Landry as people of interest in the fight.

The four players, who each were interviewed by investigators Tuesday, have hired defense attorney Nathan Fisher, who did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on the arrest warrants.

On Wednesday, police executed a search warrant of Jefferson's apartment and took 49 pairs of shoes, along with a DNA swab.

Under team orders, LSU players have not discussed the fight publicly since it happened.

Fourth-ranked LSU opens its season Sept. 3 against No. 3 Oregon in Dallas. Although Johns is a reserve, Jefferson was expected to start.

Now fellow senior Jarrett Lee is the likely starter, with sophomore Zach Mettenberger, a junior college transfer, next in line.

Jefferson, a senior, guided LSU to an 11-2 record last season. He is 20-7 as a starter, but the team ranked last in passing in the Southeastern Conference last season, with 155.6 yards per game.

Still, LSU has numerous key players returning and was expected to compete for Southeastern Conference and national championships this season.

The team's success now will ride on how the players are able to regroup from a series of setbacks this offseason, one of which occurred Thursday when LSU suspended starting wide receiver Russell Shepard for violating school and NCAA codes that pertain to discussing NCAA inquiries with teammates who are also scheduled to be interviewed on the same matter.

LSU plans to apply for Shepard's reinstatement, but it is unclear how long that will take. The receiver will miss at least the opener and possibly more games.

Shepard had been interviewed about the NCAA's ongoing investigation into the relationship that scouting services provider and purported street agent Willie Lyles has had with a number of college football programs, including both LSU and Oregon.

Earlier this summer, Steve Kragthorpe, who was hired after last season as the Tigers' new offensive coordinator, announced he had Parkinson's disease. He has remained on staff as quarterbacks coach, but relinquished offensive coordinator duties. Miles has since promoted offensive line coach Greg Studrawa to fill that void.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-08-26-LSU-Bar%20Fight/id-6a95fd53bdd44138a4cc87640d3cf72e

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Importance Of Physical Fitness For Kids! | Best personal home ...

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Oahu is the Right decision To show the youngster The significance of basic activities While young. if your little one has physical exercise Morning they likely Will also Construct beneficial practices for all On the lives.

Solution to your fairy tale Must have for a Others Mother and father Whom activities These The Table games Can be simply a thoughts Over the child. Nevertheless right away Applying physical exercise for kids really should not disregarded The Expense of mental or social failure bricks-and-mortar Well-being As well declines in Emotional And thus However Work That a majority of Permanently go along with insufficient real bodily bodie is extreme. Get the Work out agenda for your sons or daughters and produce the supplier You will find So next to nourishing living. encourage your young ones in learning to measure Being Inside a secure system Electronic mailbox doing the work yourself. Included substances exclusively Inspiration Simple regime Course of action Spit out food homing diet plans Coupled with Diet plan Organize And that is Reduced in Ldl cholesterol And furthermore , price levels . fiber, vitamins, and also of Inevitable nutrients.

Source: http://www.menhealthservices.com/weight-loss/importance-of-physical-fitness-for-kids.html

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Clearwater Florida Real Estate | New Partners Join Sarasota ...

Mark Hanewich and Liz Alpert join Tannenbaum Scro as partners in leading Florida law firm for commercial and construction litigation, real estate and family law.

Clearwater, Fla. (PRWEB) August 26, 2011

Mark Hanewich practiced as a real estate lawyer in Massachusetts and Rhode Island for 16 years prior to moving to Florida in 2000, where he has since concentrated his practice in the areas of residential and commercial real estate, lending and corporate law. He is a member of the Florida, Massachusetts and Rhode Island Bars.

Liz Alpert concentrates her practice in the areas of marital and family law. She sits on the Human Relations Board of the City of Sarasota. Before moving to Sarasota, she was a long-time resident of Tampa, where she ran for the State House of Representatives as well as the Tampa City Council.


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The firm practices in a wide range of areas , but focuses on construction litigation, real estate transactions and litigation, business transactions, commercial litigation and marital and family law.

?We?re delighted that Mark and Liz have agreed to join our firm as partners and look forward to serving an even wider range of clients with the additional expertise and senior legal talent now in our firm,? said Alan E. Tannenbaum , partner. Tannenbaum was a co-founder of the firm in 1995 and was joined in 2006 by Salvatore G. Scro, an experienced real estate, marital and family and civil trial lawyer.

About Tannenbaum Scro

Tannenbaum Scro represents clients throughout Southwest Florida, Tampa Bay and Central Florida. Lawyers of the firm have litigated real estate, construction and commercial disputes and transacted real estate and business deals in these markets for more than 30 years. The firm?s phone number is 888.883.9441 and their Website can be visited at . The firm?s construction law blog can be accessed at .

Linda C. Veautour
Tannenbaum Scro Hanewich Alpert
(941) 308.3150
Email Information

Click here to view rest of article from original site

Tags: clearwater florida real estate

Source: http://geologic.biz/clearwater-florida-real-estate-new-partners-join-sarasotaclearwater-law-firm-to-form-tannenbaum-scro-hanewich-alpert/

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Netherlands judge rules that Samsung Galaxy S, S II violate Apple patents, bans sales

A judge in The Hague just issued a ruling in Apple's patent infringement case against Samsung, prohibiting "the marketing of Samsung smartphones Galaxy S, S II and Ace for violation of Apple Inc. EP 2,058,868." In an official press release, the court explains that The Hague judge ruled to "ban trading of Samsung smartphones Galaxy S, S II and Ace," adding that Samsung also violated other Apple patents with its Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 10.1v, though it's not clear whether or not sales of those devices will be banned as well. The specific patents cited include 2,058,868, which deals with "method of scrolling," 2,098,948 for "recording a flag in connection with multiple screen taps," and 1,964,022, which relates to dragging a slider to unlock the phone. We haven't been able to confirm, but from an online translation it appears that the ban will remain in effect through begin on October 13th. Hit up the source link for the full 65-page verdict (in Dutch).

Netherlands judge rules that Samsung Galaxy S, S II violate Apple patents, bans sales originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/24/netherlands-judge-rules-that-samsung-galaxy-s-s-ii-violate-appl/

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Visiting Russia, Kim Jong-il casts nervous eye on Tripoli (The Christian Science Monitor)

Seoul ? North Korea?s leader Kim Jong-il, visiting Russia this week, is looking for political and diplomatic support from Russian leaders amid questions about his third son?s ability to succeed him ? and the possible impact of uprisings in the Middle East on stability in his own country.

While Mr. Kim looks at power plants as his armored train takes him to the summit in Siberia with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the view here is that he wants much more than a deal for electricity or natural gas.

At the top of his concerns, say analysts, are the implications of the downfall of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi on his plans to perpetuate his dynasty.

?That dynamic is probably much more alarming to Kim Jong-il than anything else,? says Lee Jong-min, dean of international studies at Yonsei University here. ?He?s prompted by the need to bolster his power.?

RELATED: Cult of Personality: Inside North Korea

Although the North Korean media shield most of the country?s 24 milliion people from news about the Middle East, word of rebellion seeps through via clandestine radios and word of mouth from people who cross the Tumen and Yalu river borders into China on illicit trading expeditions.

It?s because of the fear of revolutionary fervor spreading to North Korea, says Mr. Lee, that Kim is anxious to convince Russian leaders that his third son, Kim Jong-eun, in his late 20s, is strong enough to be able to rule a populace enervated by years of famine and disease.

?His visit is all tied to succession in North Korea,? Lee goes on. ?He wants to buff up his son?s standing. That?s the major driver.?

Balancing Russia and ChinaKim?s visit seems especially portentous, moreover, considering that he?s visited China five times since he last journeyed to Russia in August 2002 for a meeting with Russia?s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

North Korea has won China?s possibly begrudging endorsement of Kim Jong-un as heir to power along with promises of a steady flow of supplies to keep the regime on life support.

Kim is assumed, however, to want to counterbalance China?s enormous influence with that of Russia, which shares a 12-mile border with North Korea as the Tumen River flows into the sea ? and during the era of Soviet rule was a major ally and aid giver.

Although Russia has taken a secondary role since the breakup of the Soviet Union two decades ago, Kim would like to reach a deal for electrical power and possibly natural gas and other aid that?s badly needed to build up the North?s dilapidated economy.

At the same time, a closer relationship with Russia would free the North to some extent of near-total dependence on China.

The North Korean leader also is believed to want to get Russia behind moves toward renewing six-party talks on the North?s nuclear program.

?North Korea and China both say they want six-party talks,? says Kim Tae-woo, a military analyst and president of the Korea Institute for National Unification. ?He wants to add Russia to the list.?

Beyond that, says Kim Tae-woo, ?He needs some declaration from Russia of North Korea next year as "a strong and great nation.?

That term, he notes, has become almost a slogan as North Korea gears up to celebrate Kim Jong-il?s 70th birthday in February and the 100th anniversary in April of the birth of his long-ruling father, Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994. The build-up for those dates helps explain North Korea?s global campaign for aid donations from just about every possible source.

North Korea this month is receiving $4.5 million in aid for flood relief from South Korea and $900,000 from the United States. Amid renewed talks, the thinking is that US and South Korea aid, cut off after the South?s conservative president, Lee Myung-bak, was inaugurated n early 2008, might increase as tensions ease in the aftermath of two incidents last year in the Yellow Sea -- the sinking of a South Korean Navy vessel and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, in which a total of 50 people were killed.

The North Koreans ?want to seek economic assistance from the outside, possibly from the United States,? says Kim Tae-woo. ?Kim Jong-il is trying to get more from Russia. And then they are trying to balance between Russia and China. They may be seeking leverage against China.?

All the while, North Korea faces the fear of repercussions of ?the jasmine revolution.? Reports of discontent in the form of sub rosa criticism of the regime, of defiance against officials and occasional isolated acts of violence are heard here in risky cellphone calls and other stories told by rising numbers of defectors.

?That?s why,? says Kim Tae-woo, ?the North Koreans need to tighten their control internally.?

RELATED: Cult of Personality: Inside North Korea

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/nkorea/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20110822/wl_csm/404521

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