The spiritual and psychological black hole that is life in North Korea has led to widespread drug use, particularly crystal meth. According to North Korean defectors, the regime started making the stuff a few years ago to earn foreign currency.
This is not 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down and democracy sprouted in Central Europe. North Africa and the Middle East are facing convulsions and it is more likely that perpetual conflict and civil war will be the future
There are fears in the west that an increasingly desperate Gaddafi will use chemical weapons on his own people in a bid to stay in power. And why not? This is a man that clearly will do anything to sit
WikiLeaks reported a while back that Col. Gaddafi was attended regularly by a “voluptuous” Ukrainian nurse and that he would not go anywhere without her. Well, now it appears he will have to fight to keep his job without her.
A report in Iran’s Tehran Times claims that “the King is very upset with Mark Zuckerberg for allowing the revolt to get out of control.” Yes, I’m sure it’s Facebook’s fault and has nothing to do with the living conditions
It’s coming this fall, and it’s made of plastic. But don’t let that fool you. It has “stopped zero-degree rifle bullets at point-blank range, and has stopped 7.62mm rounds, as well.” They cost about $625 a piece and the Army
It appears that French President Sarkozy has become the first head of state to call for Gaddafi’s removal from power. “Mr. Gaddafi must go,” he said. Glad to see the French are now leading the Free World.
Rolling Stone is pushing a story, aided by CNN and other outlets, that a “information operations unit” used psychological operations in an effort to influence Senators to support more funding for the war in Afghanistan. “Psy Ops” and “information operations”!
Shooting people isn’t working so Libya’s Gaddafi is now offering pay raises and cash hand-outs to stay in power. He’s offering $500 cash which is a little bit less than was offered by the Obama Administration. It’s being denounced in
Chaos in Libya; what’s going to happen to their chemical weapons? The Washington Times reports: “U.S. military and intelligence officials are closely watching Libya’s stockpiles of mustard gas and their precursor chemicals as the North African country descends further into
President Barack Obama has a new favorite word when it comes to the violence in the Middle East, particularly when it relates to Gaddafi’s crackdown in Libya: “unacceptable.” He has used it numerous times. But with Obama the unacceptable is
As the Middle East is awash in protests and popular uprisings, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (“the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques” as he is described) has quickly announced $35 billion in aid for people. The money is supposed
Kim Jong Il’s son and heir apparent Jong-un watched a military inspection through binoculars when he visited a base in January. That makes sense. After all, he was recently appointed vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, which essentially runs
Sometimes it starts in small waves. There is evidence that anti-government activities are starting to increase in North Korea of all places, as well as China. South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo reports on tremors. When soldiers are complaining about a lack
British Prime Minister David Cameron just gave a speech in Kuwait where he proclaimed that the West has contributed to Middle Eastern instability by backing autocratic regimes. The Left has been arguing this for years. And the media has been
The United Nations (an organization which I distrust and dislike) recently issued a report condemning Israel. What else is new you might ask? They pretty much get it wrong every time. I’m one of those people who says Israel should
Ominous signs for the Libya strongman. The Russians have pulled their people out of the country. Now come reports that two Libya Air Force pilots have defected. The Libyan Air Force is supposed to represent the elite branch of the
With protests breaking out from North Africa to Iran, more than half a dozen regimes are now facing large angry crowds. And who’s willing to do whatever it takes to stay in power? Which regimes are the most brutal? It’s
You’d think they would want to cut this guy some slack! “Marine-hopeful Joshua Perthuis, 18, of Texas City, Texas, said he ran afoul with his local employer last month after his Corps responsibilities got in the way of work. Perthuis
Very interesting reports are coming from the Korean Peninsula. South Korea’s Chosun reports: “The North Korean authorities are apparently on full alert as news trickles in about pro-democracy protests in the Middle East despite an official blackout. According to a
Absentee voting trouble for our troops is the biggest civil rights issue in America today. Politicians in Washington who were so hell-bent on pushing through “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the name of civil rights don’t seem quite as motivated
From the border: “A U.S. immigration official was shot dead and another agent wounded in Mexico Tuesday afternoon. Jaime Zapata was killed while travelling with an as yet unnamed colleague in the central San Luis Potosi area when they stopped
Obviously Democrats are serious about cutting federal spending. Why else would they propose an amendment to forbid the Pentagon from spending money sponsoring NASCAR? Last year the Army spent a whopping $7 million on a NASCAR sponsorship. (No other branch
The United States and Pakistan are becoming increasingly divided over the fight against the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. There are strong elements in Pakistani intelligence (ISI) who openly back the Taliban. And there is deep resentment against the United States
President Barack Obama pushed for the resignation of Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and stood with the protesters in Cairo. Will he do the same for those fighting for freedom in Iran against the Mullahs? Protests have now broken out in
Today the economic stats are official: China has surpassed Japan as the second largest economy in the world. Predictions are that if current trends continue, China will pass the United States in 2030 to become #1. But what does this
We reported earlier on the sad spectacle of rich Westerners golfing in the middle of the North Korean police state. Now comes this update. Could the participants not be aware that they were essentially be tended to by slaves? Note
McAfee, the security company, has been tracking an unfolding story involving cyber attacks against large western energy companies. McAfee Chief Technical Officer George Kurtz has posted an important article about “Night Dragon” on the McAfee blog. As he puts it:
Wall Street used complex computer algorithms that were supposed to finely tune the functioning of financial markets. Remember how all of that leveraging was okay, because the big financial houses had all those mathematical formulas working for them? Well, that
Many in Germany want to honor the man who said “Tear Down This Wall!” and won the Cold War. You might assume that Berlin has named something after Reagan; a street or something? No way. In contrast, John Kennedy, who
It’s hard to be lighthearted about the terrible violence in Egypt. People are being killed, property destroyed, and widespread looting is taking place. But apparently at least some of the looters in Egypt need an IQ check. According to newspaper
Russia is making clear that if you fail to prevent terrorist attacks, you will lose your job. That’s at least what happened to two senior officials who were responsible for security related to transportation and airports. They get the ax
Is the Obama Administration resting the future hopes of democracy in Egypt on the Muslim Brotherhood? If they are, they can expect to fall flat on their face. That at least is the history over the past fifty years. In
It is now becoming apparent that President Obama is heavily involved in regime change in Egypt. Despite earlier claims that the US was neutral, there is growing evidence that Obama has been working since the earliest stages to oust Hosni
The Iranian mullahs are constantly trying to beat back “western influences,” whether its western fashion or western ideas. But Iranian TV has now issued rules which declare that cooking shows, yes, cooking shows, are not to teach Iranians how to
Obama campaign fundraiser and bundler Cynthia Stroum was appointed Ambassador to Luxembourg for her support. She has now resigned and is returning to private life. The Associated Press reports that she was an amazing prima donna and particularly nasty to
Something interesting happened at Auschwitz in recent days. It appears that the former death camp was visited by a group of religious leaders, including the largest Muslim contingent known. According to a media account of the event, ” The delegation,
There has been widespread condemnation of the violence directed against journalists covering events in Egypt–and there should be. But honestly, I don’t have a great deal of sympathy for those who have been attacked. Journalists have a job to do,
A report by the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission claims that China is making a play to control the global telecom industry. The Commission, which was established by congress, says that Chinese state-owned telecom companies are producing much
Captain Owen Honors had his Navy career destroyed over those controversial videos. In newly released statements to investigators, he tells his side of the story. According to Honors, not only did his superiors encourage the videos, they were shown to