Monthly Archive: March, 2005

I guess this story nudges the evidence of Kim Jong-Il’s behind-the-scenes removal from power just over the 50-50 mark in my book: North Korea has abruptly postponed a regular session of its parliament slated for March 9. The official (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Friday the presidium of the Stalinist country’s Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) was postponing the third session of the 11th assembly “at the request of deputies to the SPA in all domains of the socialist...

I guess this story nudges the evidence of Kim Jong-Il’s behind-the-scenes removal from power just over the 50-50 mark in my book: North Korea has abruptly postponed a regular session of its parliament slated for March 9. The official (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Friday the presidium of the Stalinist country’s Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) was postponing the third session of the 11th assembly “at the request of deputies to the SPA in all domains of the socialist...

The Ukrainian old guard is disposing of the evidence that it murdered a journalist.

The Ukrainian old guard is disposing of the evidence that it murdered a journalist.

UPDATE: I’m getting some unverified information (but from a good source, and shared with some fairly important people) that the Yonhap report may not be true, Chun Ki-Won’s confirmation notwithstanding. This has to be absolute hell for Rev. Park’s family. Obviously, I want to give readers the most accurate and up-to-date information I can, so keep checking back. You will know when I know. This is one time when I pray that I was wrong. * * * * *...

About that press conference: Just got back, but there is much to do at the office. Will give you a full report later. Much pointed discussion of North Korea, and a little entertainment, too. UPDATE: OK, here are three posts for your reading pleasure– First, what’s in the bill itself; a nice, readable summary. Second, my observations on how the press has turned the U.S. Capitol into a closed shop, and how they managed to blow the story anyway. Third,...

Heh. Absolutely the last thing I’ll pilfer from Winds of Change today. North Korea sees that it has an image problem. Apparently this guy’s not meeting his quota. This apologia probably isn’t holding much water, either–not even on the left.

How to wreck the Syrian economy virtually overnight: Interesting piece on NRO. Those who want to appease Syria, Iran, North Korea, etc., often portray the process as a false choice between appeasement and war. But the combination of bold public statements and economic leverage are precisely the kind of “soft power” that works so well on regimes that depend on exports–like Syria, Iran, and North Korea (and which Europe undermined in Iraq). Syria has just lost one valuable source of...

Freedom is a beautiful thing, no?

Speaking of guerrilla logistics . . . . For all of you who titter at , take heed of the recent “UFO sightings” in Iran. Airspace is neither sacred nor hermetically sealed. You just have to do it more carefully with North Korea. Nor must a UAV carry a Pentagon price tag. More . Hat tip: Winds of Change, which is on fire this week. Funny how people are using UAVs for all sorts of imaginative gee-whiz apps–remote sensing, thermal...

UPDATE: I’m getting some unverified information (but from a good source, and shared with some fairly important people) that the Yonhap report may not be true, Chun Ki-Won’s confirmation notwithstanding. This has to be absolute hell for Rev. Park’s family. Obviously, I want to give readers the most accurate and up-to-date information I can, so keep checking back. You will know when I know. This is one time when I pray that I was wrong. * * * * *...

About that press conference: Just got back, but there is much to do at the office. Will give you a full report later. Much pointed discussion of North Korea, and a little entertainment, too. UPDATE: OK, here are three posts for your reading pleasure– First, what’s in the bill itself; a nice, readable summary. Second, my observations on how the press has turned the U.S. Capitol into a closed shop, and how they managed to blow the story anyway. Third,...

Heh. Absolutely the last thing I’ll pilfer from Winds of Change today. North Korea sees that it has an image problem. Apparently this guy’s not meeting his quota. This apologia probably isn’t holding much water, either–not even on the left.

How to wreck the Syrian economy virtually overnight: Interesting piece on NRO. Those who want to appease Syria, Iran, North Korea, etc., often portray the process as a false choice between appeasement and war. But the combination of bold public statements and economic leverage are precisely the kind of “soft power” that works so well on regimes that depend on exports–like Syria, Iran, and North Korea (and which Europe undermined in Iraq). Syria has just lost one valuable source of...

Freedom is a beautiful thing, no?

Speaking of guerrilla logistics . . . . For all of you who titter at , take heed of the recent “UFO sightings” in Iran. Airspace is neither sacred nor hermetically sealed. You just have to do it more carefully with North Korea. Nor must a UAV carry a Pentagon price tag. More . Hat tip: Winds of Change, which is on fire this week. Funny how people are using UAVs for all sorts of imaginative gee-whiz apps–remote sensing, thermal...

North Korea is threatening to test long-range missiles again. Maybe this time, they’ll lob one over South Korea and send Roh’s poll numbers into the mid-teens. This BBC report has a great run-down on the various North Korean missiles and what they can hit.

In the absence of a nationhood based on principle, it is jingoistic nationalism that becomes the most politically and economically expedient binding agent. Two reports from South Korea today tell us of the woeful depths to which some would stoop to exploit it. How does the contagion spread, you ask? One carrier is television: Reigncom, an MP3 player maker, raised the specter of an American invader in its ads: “Will cheering for independence make you independent? Korean researchers have spent...