Chatter: What we're hearing

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Need to know: Twenty years later, the Velvet Revolution's roots still remain obscure. The uprising against communism in Czechoslovakia was sparked by a false rumor that to this day remains a mystery. And a journalist tells how she reported in Czechoslovakia between Prague Spring and 1989.

Want to know: One of the Arab world's biggest pop stars has provoked a torrent of outrage after releasing a song which refers to black Egyptians as monkeys. Haifa Wehbe, an award-winning Lebanese diva who has been voted one of the world's most beautiful people, is now facing a lawsuit from Egyptian Nubians claiming the song has fueled discrimination.

Dull but important: Al Qaeda's North African wing is less likely now to carry out attacks in Europe, mainly because of pressure on the group from Algerian security forces, a U.S. counter-terrorism official said.

Just because: The old custom of giving cash-filled envelopes at weddings in South Korea is being criticized as wasteful and, in some cases, even corrupting.

Wacky: A London-based translation firm is offering parents-to-be the chance to check the meaning of prospective baby names in other languages to avoid inadvertently causing their offspring future embarrassment.

http://www.globalpost.com/notebook/general/091117/chatter-what-were-hearing-0