WHITE HOUSE NOTEBOOK

No dead fish means water OK

[November 12, 2010]  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Dead fish tell no tales -- unless they're the goldfish being used to monitor water quality at the conference center where President Barack Obama and other world leaders met Friday to hash out global economic policy.

Hosts of the Group of 20 economic summit have released six goldfish into the convention center's water supply. The goal is to make sure the recycled water piped into restrooms is safe from any toxic attack by North Korean agents.

Any fish that go belly-up would signal possible water contamination.

The animal rights group PETA denounced the tactic.

Tracy Reiman, the group's executive vice president, said subjecting goldfish to contaminated water serves little purpose besides causing them to suffer horribly.

"After all, the fish cannot tell you specifically what might be wrong with the water," she said.

___

After taking questions from White House reporters at a wrap-up news conference, Obama offered to let a South Korean journalist pose a question since he said the country had been such a good summit host.

But as it turned out, Obama got a bit more than he was expecting from the reporter he called on, who was the only person who stood to take the president up on his offer. Obama assumed the reporter would speak Korean and requested a translation.

"Unfortunately, I hate to disappoint you, President Obama, but I'm actually Chinese," the reporter said in English, adding that he would be representing the whole of Asia.

His answer led to a mini-debate with Obama over whether the gentleman would get to ask his question. Obama tried a second time to get a Korean reporter to rise to the occasion. There were no takers.

"This is getting more complicated than I expected," Obama exclaimed at one point before answering the reporter's question. The reporter asked Obama how he deals with the many interpretations of his words and deeds.

___

Sorting out the world's economic problems can be draining.

British Prime Minister David Cameron found relief from the Group of 20 leaders' summit by taking morning tea Friday in the vastly different surroundings of a 1,200-year-old Buddhist temple.

The Bongeunsa temple, built in 794, is conveniently located just across the street from the COEX convention center where Cameron and other G-20 leaders met Friday.

Before the talks, Cameron ducked into the temple for a tour, British Embassy officials said.

He even sat down, sitting cross-legged on mats, for a spot of tea with resident Buddhist monks who were dressed in light gray robes, before crossing the street to the gargantuan convention center.

[Associated Press; By GREG KELLER]

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.