This morning's key headlines from
GenerationalDynamics.com
- North Korea threatens 'final destruction' of South Korea
- Russia warns of 'mutual destruction' in Syria
- The Post Office goes into the clothing business
- British women convert to Islam in droves
North Korea threatens 'final destruction' of South Korea
S. Korean activists demonstrate behind an effigy of Kim Jong-un in Seoul on Feb 13
North Korea has frequently threatened war with South Korea in the
past, but now that a young, immature new leader, Kim Jong-un, is in
place, the threats are becoming more intense. Apparently the recent
successful test of nuclear weapons has made Kim even more belligerent.
At a U.N. Conference on Disarmament meeting held in Geneva on Tuesday,
North Korea's diplomat Jon Yong-ryong said:
"As the saying goes, a new-born puppy knows no fear of
a tiger. South Korea's erratic behavior would only herald its
final destruction."
I guess this statement was politically correct at a "disarmament"
conference.
Apparently this threat was so extreme, even by United Nations
standards, that other diplomats expressed shock. Spanish Ambassador
Javier Gil Catalina said the comment left him stupefied and appeared
to be a breach of international law.
"In the 30 years of my career I've never heard
anything like it and it seems to me that we are not speaking about
something that is even admissible, we are speaking about a threat
of the use of force that is prohibited by Article 2.4 of the
United Nations charter."
According to one analyst, "They would not use the term 'final
destruction' if it wasn't for nuclear arms." Reuters and Yonhap (Seoul)
Russia warns of 'mutual destruction' in Syria
Russia has reversed itself, and is now willing to meeting with leaders
of the forces in opposition to the regime of Syria's president Bashar
al-Assad. Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said on Wednesday
that Moscow was working to encourage dialogue between the rebels and
the regime of president Bashar al-Assad:
"Neither side can allow itself to bet on a military
settlement as this is a path to nowhere, a path to mutual
destruction.
There are signs of positive tendencies, signs of tendencies for
dialogue both from the side of the government and the opposition.
It is important that they do not come out with any conditions for
each other, and say that I am going to talk to this person but not
that one. ...
[The diplomacy was aimed at] creating the conditions for the start
of direct dialogue" between the regime and
opposition."
Since the conflict began in March 2011, 70,000 people have been
killed, and close to a million people have been displaced from their
homes. Al-Jazeera
The Post Office goes into the clothing business
The United States Postal Service announced that it's going into the
clothing business, and plans to launch a new product line of apparel
and accessories until the brand name, "Rain Heat & Snow," based on the
USPS creed, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays
these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
According to the USPS,
"This agreement will put the Postal Service on the
cutting edge of functional fashion. The main focus will be to
produce Rain Heat & Snow apparel and accessories using technology
to create ‘smart apparel’ — also known as wearable
electronics."
The goal is to sell this product in premier department and specialty
stores, starting in 2014. U.S. Postal Service
British women convert to Islam in droves
The Muslim population in England and Wales has increased by 80 percent
since 2001 according to a British government census. With 2.7 million
known adherents, Islam has become Britain's second-largest religion,
after Christianity. Immigration accounts for most of the increase, but
there are over 100,00 converts from other religions as well. Reasons
why young British women convert to Islam include the desire to please
Muslim fiancés and husbands, but others see Islam as a safe haven
within a society that denigrates the female form in newspapers and
magazines and celebrates a pub/club culture where regular nights out
with "mates" getting "sloshed." Tony Blair’s sister-in-law Lauren
Booth converted to Islam, and says that she finally felt "what Muslims
feel when they are in true prayer: A bolt of sweet harmony, a shudder
of joy in which I was grateful for everything I have (my children) and
secure in the certainty that I need nothing more (along with prayer)
to be utterly content."
Arab News
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