Word: basket
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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North Korea would be an economic basket case if only it could afford the basket...
North Korea would be an economic basket case if only it could afford the basket. It was once the industrial engine of the Korean peninsula, but decades of disastrous central planning have left its infrastructure in a state of advanced decrepitude and its citizens in de facto peonage. The U.S. government estimates the North's per capita GDP to be about $1,800, roughly the same as Zimbabwe's. Per capita exports are about $60 a year--less than 1% of South Korea's. Aside from fishing, mining and cement production, the North has only a hodgepodge of functional industries...
...Most importantly, though, Iran is in a far stronger position to press for its terms than North Korea was. North Korea is an economic basket case with nukes; Iran doesn't yet have nukes, but it is one of the world's top five oil exporters, and its regional influence has grown exponentially as a result of the removal of two of its key enemies, Saddam Hussein and the Taliban, and by virtue of its defiance of the U.S. In short, Iran is far from desperate to deal right now, and it would be inclined to make Washington...
...that In Rainbows is priced to generate a windfall. While a deluxe boxed-set version for superfans is available for $80, the downloadable album's 10 songs have no price. Drop them into the online checkout basket, and the register says it's up to you. Click again, and the words it's really up to you appear-and really, it is. In Rainbows is the first major release whose price is set by you. And it's perfectly acceptable to pay zero...
...Rainbows will be released as a digital download available only via the band's web site, Radiohead.com. There's no label or distribution partner to cut into the band's profits - but then there may not be any profits. Drop In Rainbows' 15 songs into the online checkout basket and a question mark pops up where the price would normally be. Click it, and the prompt "It's Up To You" appears. Click again and it refreshes with the words "It's Really Up To You" - and really, it is. It's the first major album whose price is determined...