I’m shocked, shocked. DailyNK, which has just published another of my pieces, claims that there is video of Japanese food aid for sale in the markets. It’s not the first time we’ve heard reports of this kind, accompanied by video. Update: No link to the video yet, but here’s a still: It certainly must have taken some cojones to spend a month inside North Korea with a camera, acting as an agent of a dissent or anti-regime group. Photo credit...

How do you tell the extreme left and the extreme right apart in these warped times? Just examine the similarities and the differences, in that order: contempt for the soldiers, an ability to see “good” side of 9/11, and a hatred for government policy / policy-makers that exceeds their love of this country and its guiding principles. The chief difference appears to be spiritual: the choice of gods and the choice of devils (necons or fags–take your pick). When your...

This week, the host is Siberian Lights. I’m up on August 29th.

How do you tell the extreme left and the extreme right apart in these warped times? Just examine the similarities and the differences, in that order: contempt for the soldiers, an ability to see “good” side of 9/11, and a hatred for government policy / policy-makers that exceeds their love of this country and its guiding principles. The chief difference appears to be spiritual: the choice of gods and the choice of devils (necons or fags–take your pick). When your...

This week, the host is Siberian Lights. I’m up on August 29th.

Please join me in remembering a quiet man named Dr. Jae-Joong Nam.

Please join me in remembering a quiet man named Dr. Jae-Joong Nam.

And how are ordinary North Koreans reacting? Brendan Brown comes through again with the views of his refugee students in Seoul. As before, not scientific. As before, Brendan is no fan of W., which only adds credibility to this: My students couldn’t hide their glee and admiration for Bush after meeting Kang Chol-hwan. I was tempted to bring them down to earth by reminding them of a few of the less honourable aspects of his presidency, but decided not to...

And how are ordinary North Koreans reacting? Brendan Brown comes through again with the views of his refugee students in Seoul. As before, not scientific. As before, Brendan is no fan of W., which only adds credibility to this: My students couldn’t hide their glee and admiration for Bush after meeting Kang Chol-hwan. I was tempted to bring them down to earth by reminding them of a few of the less honourable aspects of his presidency, but decided not to...

And how are ordinary North Koreans reacting? Brendan Brown comes through again with the views of his refugee students in Seoul. As before, not scientific. As before, Brendan is no fan of W., which only adds credibility to this: My students couldn’t hide their glee and admiration for Bush after meeting Kang Chol-hwan. I was tempted to bring them down to earth by reminding them of a few of the less honourable aspects of his presidency, but decided not to...

Bad news in Uzbekistan. The U.S. appears to very interested in keeping its bases there. Karimov will demand a price for that.

I have some bad news for Selig Harrison: John Lennon was wrong, and Machiavelli was right. In Pyongyang, love is not all you need. Fear is. The Washington Post: At the end of a private Oval Office meeting this week, President Bush asked a North Korean defector to autograph his book recounting a decade in a North Korean prison camp. “If Kim Jong Il knew I met you,” Bush then asked, referring to the North Korean leader, “don’t you think...

To some on the hard left, the American soldier comes in two flavors: Grandpa, who died so France could someday take the month of August off to hit the beach, and the Lt. Calley variety who lights a thatch roof with his Zippo, lights his Marlboro with the same, and shoots the fleeing villagers with his Napalm Super Soaker. Those who do not fit the latter model are poor people who joined the military because they had no other options,...

(If you’re a new reader and don’t know what all this Tokdo fuss is about, here’s some background.) When the motives for the adults’ cynical manipulations have passed, the poison still metastasizes in the minds of their kids. The teachers who orchestrated this state-sanctioned display of hate should be ashamed. Ditto the parents. Much more here (and don’t miss the rest of Gord’s superb photoblog). The art for this show comes courtesy of South Korean schoolchildren. The venue is the...

Bad news in Uzbekistan. The U.S. appears to very interested in keeping its bases there. Karimov will demand a price for that.