Tag Archives: North Korea

May 22, 2013 · 11:18 AM

10 things you need to know today: May 22, 2013

“I don’t have this burning, overriding desire to go out and run for office,” said Anthony Weiner in April.

The Week

A Senate committee approves immigration reform, Anthony Weiner launches his political comeback bid, and more

1. OKLAHOMA BEGINS CLEARING TWISTER DEBRIS

Rescue teams are winding down their search for survivors of the tornado that tore through Moore, Okla., and authorities are expected to start the mammoth task of clearing away debris. The mayor of Moore, Glenn Lewis, said he expected the death toll to remain at 24 people, including nine children. Officials had originally put the number of deaths at 51, but the state medical examiner’s office said that in the chaos after the storm some victims appear to have been counted twice. [NBC News, CNN]
………………………………………………………………………………

2. SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill Tuesday. The legislation would provide a path to citizenship for up to 11 million people who entered the U.S. illegally. It would also include tougher border control. President Obama, who has made immigration reform a second-term priority, said the bill was “largely consistent” with his own proposals. The landmark legislation goes to the full Senate next month. [Washington Post]
………………………………………………………………………………

3. ANTHONY WEINER ANNOUNCES HE’S RUNNING FOR NYC MAYOR
Disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner on Wednesday launched a bid to become mayor of New York City. In a campaign video, he said he would fight to create jobs and reduce regulation on small businesses. He alluded to the sexting scandal that derailed his career two years ago, saying, “Look, I made some big mistakes… but I’ve also learned some tough lessons.” Polls show him ahead of all but one rival in the Democratic primaries, and he has a $5 million war chest. [New York Times]
………………………………………………………………………………

4. NORTH KOREA SENDS SPECIAL ENVOY TO CHINA
North Korea sent a “special envoy” of leader Kim Jong Un to China on Wednesday in an apparent bid to mend frayed relations between the communist allies. Ties between Pyongyang and Beijing were hurt by North Korea’s February nuclear test, then worsened again when China agreed to United Nations sanctions. The visit is considered important for North Korea, as the diplomatic crisis has made Pyongyang more reliant than ever on China for exports of food and fuel. [Reuters]
………………………………………………………………………………

5. GOVERNMENT SEIZED FOX NEWS PHONE RECORDS, TOO
Court documents indicate that the Justice Department seized records on several Fox News phone lines as part of a leak investigation, according to The New Yorker. The document was filed in the case against Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a former State Department contractor accused of illegally leaking classified information to James Rosen, a Fox News reporter. Prosecutors obtained records on two White House phone lines and five others associated with Fox, including what appears to be Rosen’s personal cellphone. [New Yorker]
………………………………………………………………………………

6. TSARNAEV ACQUAINTANCE KILLED DURING QUESTIONING
An FBI agent shot and killed a man believed to have had ties to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Little information was available early Wednesday, but the man, Ibrahim Todashev, reportedly was being questioned in his Orlando apartment when an altercation erupted. Investigators believe Todashev had spoken to Tsarnaev, who was killed in a shoot-out three days after the deadly April bombing, and had recently visited him in Boston. [CBS]
………………………………………………………………………………

7. ANTI-GAY-MARRIAGE FRENCH HISTORIAN KILLS HIMSELF IN NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL
A far-right French historian committed suicide on the altar of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral on Tuesday in an apparent protest of gay marriage. Shortly after writing a blog post calling for radical action to oppose same-sex marriage in France, Dominique Venner, 78, walked into the famed cathedral, placed a letter on the altar, put the barrel of a handgun into his mouth, and pulled the trigger. Hundreds of visitors were immediately evacuated. Police did not immediately disclose what was in the letter. [Guardian]
………………………………………………………………………………

8. JUDGES RULE ARIZONA ABORTION LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL
A panel of Ninth Circuit appeals judges struck down Arizona’s strict abortion law on Tuesday. The law, enacted in April 2012, made abortions illegal 20 weeks after a woman’s last menstrual period, even if the fetus had no chance of surviving. The judges said the Arizona law was unconstitutional because Supreme Court rulings guarantee women the right to end pregnancies until a fetus is deemed viable outside the womb, which typically occurs around 24 weeks. [New York Times]
………………………………………………………………………………

9. U.S. IDENTIFIES BENGHAZI SUSPECTS
The U.S. has identified five suspects in the attack on diplomats in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans last year. The men remain at large, however. Investigators have enough evidence to justify seizing them as suspected terrorists, but not enough to try them in civilian courts, as the Obama administration prefers to do, so the FBI will continue gathering proof. [Associated Press]
………………………………………………………………………………

10. GARCETTI WINS ELECTION TO BECOME L.A. MAYOR
City Councilman Eric Garcetti has won Los Angeles’ mayoral race. Rival candidate Wendy Greuel called Garcetti early Wednesday to concede, ending a two-year, $33 million battle to determine who would succeed Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as the massive city’s political leader. Garcetti will be L.A.’s first Jewish mayor, and, at 42, its youngest in a century. He takes office in July. [Los Angeles Times]

2 Comments

Filed under 10 things you need to know today

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

April 15, 2013 · 7:56 AM

Monday Blog Roundup – 4-15-2013

Can a gun bill pass in House?
As the Senate opened debate on gun control measures for the first time in nearly 20 y..

When cynicism rules the day
Congressional Republicans pushed President Obama as hard as they could to put chaine..

Prime Suspect in Texas DA Murders
This looks like a pretty big break in those Texas DA murders. Eric Williams, a forme..

Here’s What You Need to Bust the NRA
To bust them as blood-gargling psychopaths. In recent years 38% of the 16,000,000 an..

Bernie Sanders on frontline for veterans
As an antiwar activist who never served in the military and the first self-proclaime..

Hispanics, Well … Turn Out to Be Democrats
Everybody is focused on the centrality of immigration reform as a driver of Hispanic..

Video: Kim Jong Un says Japan is first in the crosshairs
Japan says its armed and ready in case North Korea acts on threats, and U.S. Secretar..

John Kerry Visits South Korea Amid Missile Test Fears
SEOUL, South Korea — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in South Korea..

Gun-rights group endorses Manchin-Toomey compromise
A gun-rights group on Sunday endorsed a bipartisan compromise in the Senate to expand..

Girl commits suicide after rape photos circulate…
Audrie Pott Let’s do everything we can to make sure this doesn’t become a trend, oka..

1 Comment

Filed under Blog Roundup

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

April 11, 2013 · 10:59 AM

10 things you need to know today: April 11, 2013

An ultra thin Samsung Notebook Series 9 laptop computer, left, running Microsoft Windows 8, sits next to an Apple Macbook Air.

G-8 leaders discuss how to handle North Korea, PC sales plummet, and more in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion

The Week

1. JAPAN ASKS G-8 TO SHOW SOLIDARITY ON NORTH KOREA
Top diplomats from the G-8 group of nations are meeting in London on Thursday, and Japan is calling for a show of solidarity against North Korea, following reports that the country’s military has moved a mobile missile launcher into a firing position. South Korean officials say the odds are “very high” that the North, which has been threatening nuclear war, is on the verge of launching a missile test. Despite the ongoing threats, however, North Korea has begun welcoming visitors ahead of Monday’s celebration of the birthday of Kim Il Sung, the founding father of the country’s communist dynasty — the first sign of easing tension in weeks. [Independent, BBC News]
………………………………………………………………………………

2. GEORGIA MAN KILLED WHEN POLICE STORM HOUSE TO FREE HOSTAGES
Police killed a gunman and freed four suburban Atlanta firefighters he allegedly took hostage when they responded to a 911 call from a man who claimed to be having a heart attack on Wednesday. After a standoff that lasted several hours — during which the man let a fifth firefighter leave — a SWAT team used “flash-bang” grenades to distract the gunman and stormed his house. The suspect was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire, and one officer was wounded. The firefighters sustained cuts and scrapes from the explosions. Police said the gunman had financial troubles, and was demanding that his power, cable TV, and cellphone be turned back on. [CNN]
………………………………………………………………………………

3. TORNADOES HIT MISSOURI AND ARKANSAS
Missouri officials declared a state of emergency Wednesday night after tornadoes and violent thunderstorms destroyed homes and businesses outside St. Louis and across the state. In Arkansas, at least three people were injured, three houses were flattened, and dozens more buildings were damaged by the same storm system. The storms popped up along the line where a cold front smashed into warm, humid air, leaving a 40-degree temperature difference in Arkansas on opposite sides of the boundary — Pine Bluff, in southeastern Arkansas, was at 80 degrees, and Fayetteville, in the northwestern corner, was at 40 degrees, according to Weather.com. [NBC News]
………………………………………………………………………………

4. CARSON CANCELS COMMENCEMENT SPEECH
Dr. Ben Carson, who’s enjoying sudden popularity as a conservative speaker, said Wednesday that he’s canceling plans to speak at Johns Hopkins University’s graduation ceremony because of a controversy over remarks he made recently against gay marriage. Carson said two weeks ago that traditional marriage is a “well-established, fundamental pillar of society, and no group — be they gays… be they people who believe in bestiality” — should be allowed to change how it’s defined. Students petitioned to have him removed as commencement speaker. Carson said he was stepping aside so the controversy wouldn’t “distract from the true celebratory nature of the day.” [Washington Post]
………………………………………………………………………………

5. PC SALES PLUMMET
Sales of personal computers dropped by 14 percent in the first three months of 2013 compared with the same period last year, according to newly released figures from research firm IDC, and some analysts are blaming Microsoft’s Windows 8 for the slump. With the economy improving somewhat, analysts had expected a decline of just 7.7 percent. The October release of Microsoft’s Windows 8 was also expected to boost PC sales. But the software got a lukewarm reception and appears to have actually hurt sales by confusing PC users, IDC says. [Telegraph]
………………………………………………………………………………

6. JEWELL CONFIRMED AS NEXT INTERIOR SECRETARY
Sally Jewell sailed to confirmation as President Obama’s new interior secretary on Wednesday, with an 87 to 11 vote in the Senate. All of the senators who opposed her were Republicans. Jewell, chief executive of outdoor retailer Recreational Equipment Inc., will replace outgoing Ken Salazar as overseer of the nation’s 500 million acres of national parks and other public lands, as well as more than a billion acres offshore. One of her first challenges will be finalizing a proposed rule requiring companies drilling for oil and gas on federal lands to disclose chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” Energy companies complained that an original draft of the rule placed too many burdens on them. [Boston Globe]
………………………………………………………………………………

7. IN CHINA, SCIENTISTS FIND OLDEST DINOSAUR EMBRYOS EVER
Paleontologists in China have discovered the world’s oldest dinosaur embryos, researchers reported in Nature on Wednesday. The fossilized remains were found in a bone bed dating to the Early Jurassic period, making them about 195 million years old. Most known dinosaur embryos date to the Late Cretaceous period, so the find pushes the record back by 100 million years. The researchers believe the newly discovered remains were those of a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur called Lufengosaurus, which grew to 30 feet. “These things were growing faster than anything we’ve ever seen — faster than any living mammal or bird today or any known dinosaur,” said paleontologist Robert Reisz of the University of Toronto at Mississauga, who led the team that analyzed the specimens. [Nature]
………………………………………………………………………………

8. JAPANESE AUTOMAKERS ANNOUNCE RECALL OVER AIR BAGS
Toyota, Honda, and Nissan are recalling more than 3.4 million vehicles worldwide to fix a problem with their passenger-side air bags. The cars were manufactured between 2000 and 2004, and were fitted with air bags made by Japan’s Takata Corp. that have an inflator that could burst, sending plastic pieces flying. No injuries have been reported, but Toyota — which is recalling several models, including the Corolla, Tundra, and Lexus SC — said it had received five reports of air-bag malfunctions. The problems stemmed from two human errors — a worker forgot to turn on a system for spotting defects, and some parts were exposed to too much humidity because they were improperly stored. [CBS News]
………………………………………………………………………………

9. HERMIT ARRESTED AFTER 27 YEARS IN MAINE WOODS
A hermit who lived in the Maine woods for 27 years has been arrested and charged with the latest in a series of more than 1,000 burglaries he allegedly committed to stay alive since disappearing into the wilderness at age 19. Police say they caught Christopher Knight — known as the North Pond Hermit — last week after he tripped a sophisticated surveillance device while breaking into the Pine Tree Camp in Rome, Maine, to take meat and other provisions. Knight, 47, had a tent in the woods, and allegedly routinely pilfered provisions from other campsites and nearby buildings. Police say he confessed to stealing food, clothing, and propane tanks from the Pine Tree Camp 50 times. “He used us like his local Walmart,” said facilities manager Harvey Chesley. [Columbus Dispatch]
………………………………………………………………………………

10. CHINA YANKS DJANGO UNCHAINED
China pulled Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained from movie theaters on Thursday, its opening day. The move was unexpected, as some violent scenes were edited to suit Chinese censors. Authorities gave no explanation for the decision, although workers at two Beijing theaters told The Associated Press the importer, China Film Group, had pulled the film over technical problems. The film was heavily promoted ahead of the scheduled China debut, and no decision has been announced on when it will be cleared to appear in theaters. [New York Times]

Comments Off

Filed under 10 things you need to know today

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

April 7, 2013 · 12:34 PM

10 things you need to know today: April 7, 2013

The Week

U.S. delays missile test amid North Korea tensions, Michigan and Louisville advance to the NCAA championship, and more in our roundup of the stories that are making the news and driving opinion

1. U.S. DELAYS BALLISTIC MISSILE TEST 
Amid reports that South Korea expects North Korea’s missile launch to be “days away,” a senior U.S. defense official confirmed that the Pentagon delayed an intercontinental ballistic missile test that was scheduled for next week at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The official says Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel decided to postpone the test because of ongoing tensions with North Korea. According to the source, the test was “long planned and was never associated with North Korea to begin with,” but “given recent tensions on the Korean Peninsula, it’s prudent and wise to take steps that avoid any misperception or chance of manipulation, so the test has been postponed.” The U.S. will conduct another test soon, the senior defense official said, adding that the U.S. “remains strongly committed to our nuclear deterrence capabilities.” [NBC News]
………………………………………………………………………………

2. SEVERAL STATES CONSIDER NEW GUN TAXES
Cook County, Ill., this month began collecting a $25 tax on gun purchases, and at least six states are considering new taxes on firearms or ammunition as a way to help pay for the consequences of gun violence. These states are studying whether to tax gun and ammunition purchases as a deterrent to gun ownership, a measure that detractors denounce as a violation of Second Amendment rights. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle says the tax won’t necessarily serve as a deterrent to gun buyers, but “it’s an acknowledgment that we as a society pay a terrible price for the proliferation of guns.” Other states testing similar taxes and regulations include California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Maryland. [Reuters]
………………………………………………………………………………

3. SIX AMERICANS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN ATTACKS
Six Americans and an Afghan doctor were killed in attacks on Saturday in southern and eastern Afghanistan. This marks the deadliest day for U.S. citizens in Afghanistan this year. Included in the death toll is what is believed to be the first U.S. diplomat to be killed in Afghanistan since the war began. The attacks occurred on the same day that U.S. General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Afghanistan for a visit aimed at assessing the level of training that American troops can provide to Afghan security forces after international combat forces complete their withdrawal at the end of 2014. The deaths bring the number of foreign military forces killed this year to 30, including 22 Americans. [Guardian]
………………………………………………………………………………

4. OBAMA WON’T IMPLEMENT ROMNEY-LIKE BUDGET PLAN
President Obama is willing to compromise on the budget, but he won’t yield to Republicans who want to enact a plan that looks like Mitt Romney’s, White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said on ABC’s This Week. It’s Obama’s hope that Democrats and Republicans can “come together and work to try to find a compromise,” whether that happens through talks with House Speaker John Boehner or getting enough Senate Republicans on board to force a deal, Pfeiffer said. Some details of the president’s 2014 budget proposal were released Friday ahead of the full rollout on Wednesday and have drawn opposition from the right and the left. But Pfeiffer suggested that’s a sign of the president’s seriousness. [Politico]
………………………………………………………………………………

5. IRAN NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS REACH INCONCLUSIVE END
Iran and six world powers failed to reach agreement Saturday on how to reduce fears that Tehran might use its nuclear technology to make weapons during a summit in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Expectations that the negotiations were making progress rose as an afternoon session continued into the evening, but comments by the two sides after they ended made clear that they fell far short of making enough headway to qualify the meeting as a success. ”What matters in the end is substance, and we are still a considerable distance apart,” Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s head of foreign policy, told reporters at the end of the two-day talks. Sec. of State John Kerry has since defined the timetable for continued nuclear talks with Iran as “limited.” [Huffington Post]
………………………………………………………………………………

6. PASTOR RICK WARREN’S SON COMMITS SUICIDE
Evangelical Pastor Rick Warren’s son Matthew committed suicide on Friday, according to the Warren family. Warren delivered the news to his congregation in an emotional letter. ”At 27 years of age, Matthew was an incredibly kind, gentle and compassionate young man whose sweet spirit was encouragement and comfort to many,” Warren, the popular author of The Purpose Driven Life, said in the letter. “Unfortunately, he also suffered from mental illness resulting in deep depression and suicidal thoughts.” As a pioneer of the megachurch movement, Rick Warren looked to translate traditional evangelical messages to a wider audience. The pastor gave the invocation at President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration and penned The Purpose-Driven Life, a Christian self-help guide that became a mainstream best-seller. [CNN]
………………………………………………………………………………

7. JINDAL’S POPULARITY DWINDLES IN LOUISIANA
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, one of the nation’s most prominent Republicans and a possible 2016 presidential candidate, has fallen out of favor with local voters, and his bold plan to scrap the state income tax is running into trouble. Jindal was re-elected to a second term with two-thirds of the vote in 2011, but his Louisiana approval rating was down to 38 percent in a recent poll, worse than Democratic President Obama in one of the most conservative states. The poll suggested voters think he is spending more time traveling outside the state and burnishing his credentials for a possible White House run than tending to local matters. [Reuters]
………………………………………………………………………………

8. NASA PLANS TO LASSO ASTEROID CLOSE TO THE MOON
NASA is planning for a robotic spaceship to lasso a small asteroid and park it near the moon for astronauts to explore, according to Florida Sen. Ben Nelson. The robotic ship would capture the 500-ton 25-foot asteroid in 2019. Then using an Orion space capsule, now being developed, a crew of about four astronauts would nuzzle up next to the rock in 2021 for spacewalking exploration. Nelson, who is chairman of the Senate science and space subcommittee, said Friday that President Obama is putting $100 million in planning money for the accelerated asteroid mission in the 2014 budget that comes out next week. The money would be used to find the right small asteroid, which would help NASA develop the capability to nudge away a dangerous asteroid if one headed to Earth in the future. [Politico]
………………………………………………………………………………

9. FORMER GEORGE W. BUSH FAITH LEADER, LATER CRITIC, DIES
J. David Kuo, an evangelical Christian who was a leader in President George W. Bush’s faith initiative but who later became a critic of it, died on Friday at the age of 44. Kuo’s wife, Kimberly, said the cause was brain cancer, which was diagnosed 10 years ago. As deputy director of Bush’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, Kuo helped implement Bush’s promise to link the nation’s religious groups with the delivery of social services. But Kuo left the administration after two years. He later wrote that the faith office did not receive the billions of dollars that Bush had pledged and said the White House had used the office as a political prop. [New York Times]
………………………………………………………………………………

10. MICHIGAN, LOUISVILLE TO PLAY IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
The University of Michigan advanced to the NCAA national championship game with a 61-56 victory over Syracuse in the Final Four on Saturday night. Michigan will be going for its first national title since 1989 when it faces Louisville on Monday at the Georgia Dome. Louisville defeated its unexpectedly fierce competitor, Wichita State, earlier in the evening, to advance to the championship game. [ESPN]

 

1 Comment

Filed under 10 things you need to know today

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

April 5, 2013 · 12:20 PM

Anonymous Turns Kim Jong-Un Into A Pig; North Korea Is Not Impressed (VIDEO)

Anonymous is beginning to get my attention.

Actually they first got my attention when they claimed to have hacked Karl Rove’s “Get Out The Vote” operation.  Those guys are fearless…

Addicting Info

Just as we thought U.S. relations with North Korea couldn’t get any worse, Anonymous comes along and hacks Kim Jong-un’s Twitter and Flickr Accounts. As Alexander Abad Santos succinctly puts it in the headline for his article on AtlanticWire, “Anonymous Can’t Stop North Korea, but They Can Turn Kim Jong-un into a Pig.” And so they did, by hacking into North Korea’s propaganda Web site, http://www.uriminzokkiri.com, and its related social media outlets. (NOTE: At the time of this writing, the http://www.uriminzokkiri.com  site was unavailable)

One can only imagine how The Onion’s “Sexiest Man of the Year” reacted when he logged onto Twitter and saw THIS:

Or, when he logged onto his Flickr account and saw THIS!:

Image hacked on North Korea propaganda outlet’s Flickr account.

In keeping with tradition, the folks from the AnonKorea cell of Anonymous also uploaded a video press release (shown below) to YouTube announcing their exploits. First, they issue a greeting, and make it clear that they loathe the U.S. government as much as they loathe the North Korean government :

Hello, citizens of the world. We are Anonymous North Korean government is increasingly becoming a threat to peace and freedom. Don’t misunderstand us: As well we disagree with the USA government too – these guys are crooks, USA is a threat to world peace too, and direct democracy (or any kind of democracy) doesn’t exist there. The American government is a target and enemy of Anonymous as well! (transcription sic)

Then, AnonKorea and friends make the following demands:

  • N.K. government to stop making nukes and nuke-threats
  • Kim Jong-un to resign
  • It’s time to install a free direct democracy in North Korea
  • Uncensored internet access for all the citizens!

Ummmm …. like that’ll ever happen. I hate sounding so skeptical, because I’m an admirer of the folks from Anonymous. Although their hacking is against the law, a warm flame of hope burns within my cold, shriveled heart every time I hear about them hacking some other evil organization. After all, this is one of the few effective tools for civil disobedience, the few tools ordinary citizens (or at least ordinary computer whiz kids) have left — in the United States, as well as in North Korea.

Yet, I can’t help but wonder what AnonKorea hopes to accomplish with this latest stunt. Get the entire staff of Uriminzokkiri.Com tortured and killed for letting this happen? Does the pint-sized potentate of Pyongyang really care that some of his people may have caught a fleeting glimpse of him as a pig, with Mickey Mouse’s face emblazoned on his paunchy stomach? Adam Taylor fromBusiness Insider shares my skepticism.

Taylor first mentions that these hacks haven’t really accomplished very much towards freeing North Korea:

These attacks do make Kim Jong-un’s regime look silly to the outside world, but  given that he looks pretty ridiculous already, that’s an extremely minor victory. Internally, most North Koreans will never know about these attacks as they cannot access the Internet.

He also writes that the demands are unrealistic and “ridiculous” and that the workers and “lower-ranking officials” who were unfortunate enough to have these “cyber attacks” occur on their watch are probably in deep trouble now:

While the attacks don’t appear to be devastating to North Korea, they are  embarrassing. The North Korean elite will want answers, and will probably want  people punished.

U.S. relations with North Korea seem caught in a downward death spiral as Kim Jong-un grows increasingly bellicose. In early February, North Korea conducted illegal nuclear tests and released a bizarre propaganda video with a sleeping man dreaming of a nuclear attack on the United States, accompanied by the bizarrely inappropriate 1980′s peace ballad, “We Are The World.” Then, not to be outdone, last week the U.S. flew some F-22 stealth bombers from a base in Missouri to Osan, South Korea to participate in military drills with our neighbors. After much urging from the U.S., China gave naughty North Korea a little spanking and stepped up their inspections for Pyongyang-bound cargo. Nonetheless, Kim Jong-un essentially declared war on the United States by “beginning the process of preparing its missiles for an attack,” as reported by my AI colleague, Nathaniel Downes.

Continue reading…

Related articles

2 Comments

Filed under Kim Jong Il, North Korea

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

· 9:41 AM

10 things you need to know today: April 5, 2013

The Week

1. ROGER EBERT DIES
Legendary film critic Roger Ebert died Thursday at age 70, after a long battle with cancer. Ebert was considered the nation’s most influential film critic, after reviewing films in the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years and on TV for 31 years. He passionately celebrated movies he admired, and, with an observant eye and sharp wit, tore down those he found lacking. “No good film is too long,” he once wrote. “No bad movie is short enough.” In 2006, Ebert, fighting cancers of the thyroid and salivary glands, lost part of his lower jaw and the ability to speak, but he continued writing and stayed in the public eye, chronicling his illness and winning new admirers. [The Week (2), Chicago Sun-Times]
………………………………………………………………………………

2. OBAMA PLANS TO OFFER COMPROMISE IN HIS BUDGET
President Obama is preparing to unveil an annual budget proposal next week that includes politically risky cuts to Social Security and Medicare, administration officials say. House Republicans have dismissed Obama’s past budgets as spending wish lists, but this time around he’s including the compromise offer on entitlement program cuts that he made to House Speaker John Boehner before their negotiations broke down late last year. Administration officials say Obama is showing that he’s willing to meet Republicans half way to get a long-term budget reduction deal, although his plan also calls for higher taxes on the wealthy that most Republicans still oppose. [New York Times]
………………………………………………………………………………

3. NORTH KOREA’S LATEST MILITARY MOVES STOKE ANXIETY IN SOUTH KOREA
South Korean media said Friday that North Korea had stepped up its threatening military posturing by hiding two mobile missiles on its east coast, where they could theoretically fire at Japan or U.S. bases in the Pacific. The increasingly ominous war threats from Pyongyang, coming after joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, sent South Korean stocks falling on Friday, as jittery foreign investors sold off holdings. South Korean economic officials held an emergency meeting to come up with a plan in case the conflict destabilizes the country’s markets. [Reuters]
………………………………………………………………………………

4. CHINA SLAUGHTERS BIRDS AS FLU DEATHS RISE
Chinese authorities slaughtered more than 20,000 birds at a Shanghai poultry market on Friday in an increasingly aggressive effort to contain an outbreak of a new strain of bird flu. The market, where the H7N9 virus was detected in pigeons, was shut down, and other Shanghai live poultry markets will be closed starting Saturday. The death toll from the virus rose to six, with 14 cases overall, up from 10 a day earlier. The outbreak is sparking concern abroad, but Chinese officials say patients diagnosed early can be cured with the flu drug Tamiflu. [Reuters]
………………………………………………………………………………

5. OBAMA COMMENT RENEWS BOYS-CLUB TALK
President Obama faced renewed questions about whether his administration is too influenced by men after he praised California Attorney General Kamala Harris at a fundraiser by saying she’s brilliant, tough, dedicated — and, “by far, the best looking attorney general in the country.” The remarks prompted opposing responses on social media, with some commenters appalled and others dismissing the criticism as undeserved. Shortly before the furor, Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama’s most influential advisers, said: “When people say it’s a boys club, it’s a little insulting to the women who are actually playing very critical roles.” [Washington Post]
………………………………………………………………………………

6. DOCTOR WARNED HOLMES WAS DANGEROUS BEFORE AURORA MASSACRE
A psychiatrist who treated James Holmes warned police that he had confessed homicidal thoughts and was a danger to the public — 38 days before the July attack that left 12 people dead and 58 injured in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater. The psychiatrist, Dr. Lynne Fenton, also told an officer that Holmes, now on trial for the shooting rampage, had stopped seeing her and was sending her threatening text messages and e-mails, according to search-warrant affidavits made public this week. The documents indicate that the police officer deactivated Holmes’ key-card access to secure areas of University of Colorado medical campus, where he had studied. [Denver Post]
………………………………………………………………………………

7. MISSING CALIFORNIA HIKERS FOUND
Rescuers found two teenage hikers who had been lost since Sunday in Southern California’s Cleveland National Forest. A search team found Kyndall Jack clinging to a rock outcropping on a nearly vertical slope, severely dehydrated and drifting in an out of consciousness. “She wouldn’t have made it much longer,” said sheriff’s Deputy Jim Moss, a paramedic who was dropped to her by helicopter to airlift her out. “She’s really lucky.” Jack was found hours after her companion, 19-year-old Nicolas Cendoya, was found 500 feet from a gravel road. The pair got separated shortly after calling 911 on Sunday before their cell phone died. [Associated Press]
………………………………………………………………………………

8. DEADLY BUILDING COLLAPSE NEAR MUMBAI
At least 41 people were killed in India when a building under construction near Mumbai collapsed on Thursday night. The dead included construction workers as well as women and children — work crews often live with the families in shacks at construction sites. Rescuers were still pulling survivors from the wreckage early Friday. The collapsed structure was being built on protected forest land, highlighting India’s problem with illegal, shoddy construction in fast-growing areas. “Because these buildings come up so quickly,” a local official said, “the quality is always very bad.” [New York Times]
………………………………………………………………………………

9. COP, SUSPECT KILLED IN POLICE BUILDING
An Alabama detective and a murder suspect he was interviewing were killed on Thursday inside the Jackson, Miss., police headquarters. Officers outside the room heard gunshots and rushed in. Both men — Det. Eric Smith, a tall, fit veteran homicide detective, and the 23-year-old murder suspect, Jeremy Powell — were dead. Both had been shot several times. Police did not immediately say how they believed the tragedy happened. [ABC News]
………………………………………………………………………………

10. FUKUSHIMA NUKE PLANT COOLING SYSTEM FAILS
The cooling system for a storage pool for spent fuel at Japan’s tsunami-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant failed on Friday. It was the second such incident in a month at the shuttered plant, which suffered multiple meltdowns after the March 2011 tsunami knocked out the primary and backup power systems for all cooling systems, including those for the reactors themselves. The outage didn’t pose any immediate danger — the cooling pools can be turned off for two weeks before temperatures reach dangerous levels. But the incidents stoked fears about the safety of nuclear power that have risen in Japan since the disaster. [CBS News]

Comments Off

Filed under U.S. Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

April 2, 2013 · 10:32 AM

10 things you need to know today: April 2, 2013

A boy pays his respects to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings during a December candlelight vigil in Tirana, Albania.

The Week

Connecticut lawmakers agree on strict gun laws, North Korea restarts its nuclear plant, and more in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion

1. CONNECTICUT LEGISLATORS AGREE ON TOUGH GUN LAWS
Connecticut lawmakers agreed on what they called the nation’s toughest gun laws on Monday, just over three months after their state was shaken by the deadly shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. The package, which is expected to be passed on Wednesday, requires eligibility certificates for the purchase of any rifle, shotgun or ammunition, requires people convicted of weapons offenses to register with the state, imposes universal background checks for gun buyers, and expands a state ban on assault weapons. It also bans the sale of high-capacity magazines with more than 10 bullets, although lawmakers declined to completely ban the clips despite pleas from relatives of 11 Sandy Hook victims. [New York Times]
………………………………………………………………………………

2. PROSECUTOR SEEKS DEATH PENALTY FOR JAMES HOLMES
A Colorado prosecutor announced Monday that he would seek the death penalty against James Holmes, who is accused of killing 12 people and wounding 70 others in a shooting rampage inside a movie theater last July. Defense lawyers had offered to have Holmes, a graduate school dropout with a history of psychiatric problems, plead guilty in exchange for a promise that he would not be executed, but District Attorney George Brauchler rejected the deal after speaking with 60 people who lost loved ones in the Aurora, Colo., massacre. “In this case, for James Egan Holmes, justice is death,” Brauchler said. [USA Today]
………………………………………………………………………………

3. NORTH KOREA SAYS IT’S RESTARTING MOTHBALLED NUKE PLANT
North Korea announced Tuesday that it would restart a nuclear reactor and uranium-enrichment facilities shut down under an aid-for-disarmament deal five years ago. The declaration demonstrated the commitment of the isolated regime’s leader, Kim Jong Un, to expanding its nuclear arsenal, and heightened tensions raised by weeks of war threats against the U.S. and South Korea. “It’s yet another escalation in this ongoing crisis,” said Ramesh Thakur, director of the Center for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament at Australian National University in Canberra. [CNN]
………………………………………………………………………………

4. KENNEDY REPORTEDLY HEADED FOR EMBASSY IN JAPAN
Caroline Kennedy is reportedly in line to become President Obama’s next ambassador to Japan. Kennedy, the daughter of slain President John F. Kennedy, is a lawyer and author, and provided Obama with an early endorsement in 2008 that helped him beat out Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. The appointment has been rumored to be in the works for weeks. If it goes through, it will thrust Kennedy into one of the world’s most visible diplomatic posts as China’s rise and North Korea’s belligerence are raising the stakes in the region. [Boston Globe]
………………………………………………………………………………

5. SANFORD FACES GOP RIVAL IN PRIMARY RUNOFF
Former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford takes the next step on the comeback trail on Tuesday, when he faces a lone rival in a GOP congressional primary runoff four years after an extramarital affair derailed his political career. Polls indicate that Sanford, who once held the seat in the Charleston-area district, is favored to beat personal-injury lawyer and former city councilman Curtis Bostic for the Republican nomination. Bostic is trying to catch up by enlisting help from evangelical preachers angered by Sanford’s affair. The winner will face Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, a business development official and an older sister of political satirist Stephen Colbert, in May. [Bloomberg]
………………………………………………………………………………

6. EUROZONE UNEMPLOYMENT AT RECORD HIGH
Unemployment in the eurozone rose to a record 12 percent in the first two months of 2013, the European Union’s statistical agency, Eurostat, reported on Tuesday. That means that 1.8 more people are unemployed in the 17 nations using the common currency than at the same time last year. The loss of jobs has been part of the social cost of three years of government spending cuts and other austerity measures, and the latest data will raise pressure on the European Central Bank to keep interest rates at their current record low, or cut them further, at a Thursday meeting. [New York Times]
………………………………………………………………………………

7. FIRE KILLS 13 AT MYANMAR MUSLIM SCHOOL
A fire killed 13 boys in a dormitory at a Muslim school in Myanmar on Tuesday. Fire officials said the flames erupted and spread quickly after a transformer overheated under a staircase, filling the building with smoke and suffocating some of the 70 boys sleeping on the top floor. Some Muslims, however, were skeptical about the official version, as the tragedy came after a wave of anti-Muslim violence in the predominantly Buddhist nation. [Reuters]
………………………………………………………………………………

8. COURT OKs LIVE-STREAMING OF BROADCAST TV
An appeals court on Monday ruled that start-up Aereo can continue live-streaming local TV online and through its app, marking a potentially significant setback for TV broadcasters. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York backed up a lower court that ruled Aereo isn’t violating broadcasters’ copyrights. Each of Aereo’s subscribers, all in the New York City area for now, leases an antenna in the company’s warehouse, and gets feeds to their computers and other devices. Consumer groups praised the decision, saying it would give viewers flexibility without hefty cable bills, but a dissenting judge called Aereo’s system “a Rube Goldberg-like contrivance” designed to sidestep the law. [USA Today]
………………………………………………………………………………

9. MTV HALTS BUCKWILD AFTER REALITY SHOW STAR DIES
MTV has suspended filming of the second season of Buckwild, a reality TV show about a rowdy group of friends in West Virginia, after the death of cast member Shain Gandee. The popular 21-year-old, his uncle, and another man were found dead in a red-and-white 1984 Ford Bronco that was partially submerged in a deep mud pit. The men were last seen at 3 a.m. Sunday at a bar, where they told people they were going driving off-road. Authorities are still investigating the cause of death. If the muffler was submerged while the engine ran, the vehicle could have filled with deadly carbon monoxide from the exhaust. [Associated Press]
………………………………………………………………………………

10. A SEA LION WITH RHYTHM
For the first time, a non-human mammal has shown it can follow a musical beat. Scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, taught a sea lion named Ronan to “bob her head in time with rhythmic sounds,” starting with a simple beat and moving on to the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s ”Boogie Wonderland,” her favorite song. The success of the experiment challenges the conventional wisdom that only humans and some birds capable of vocal mimicry can keep time with a musical beat. [Mashable]

Related articles

1 Comment

Filed under U.S. Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

April 1, 2013 · 9:21 AM

U.S. Sends [Stealth] Fighter Jets To Korea

Stealth Fighter Jets South Korea

An F-22 Raptor 4001 stealth fighter is silhouetted against the setting sun in this undated file photo. (Photo courtesy of United States Air Force/Kevin Robertson/Getty Images)

The United States government is apparently taking North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s threats quite seriously. The drums of war, indeed…

The Huffington Post via Reuters

The United States sent F-22 stealth fighter jets to South Korea on Sunday to join military drills aimed at underscoring the U.S. commitment to defend Seoul in the face of an intensifying campaign of threats from North Korea.

The advanced, radar-evading F-22 Raptors were deployed to Osan Air Base, the main U.S. Air Force base in South Korea, from Japan to support ongoing bilateral exercises, the U.S. military command in South Korea said in a statement that urged North Korea to restrain itself.

“(North Korea) will achieve nothing by threats or provocations, which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia,” the statement said.

Sabre-rattling on the Korean peninsula drew a plea for peace from Pope Francis, who in his first Easter Sunday address called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Korean peninsula.

“Peace in Asia, above all on the Korean peninsula: may disagreements be overcome and a renewed spirit of reconciliation grow,” he said, speaking in Italian.

Tensions have been high since the North’s young new leader, Kim Jong-un, ordered a nuclear weapons test in February, breaching U.N. sanctions and ignoring warnings from North Korea’s closest ally, China, not to do so.

That test, North Korea’s third since 2006, drew further U.N. and bilateral sanctions designed to pressure the impoverished North to stop its nuclear weapons program. Pyongyang responded to the new steps by ratcheting up warnings and threats of war.

North Korea said on Saturday it was entering a “state of war” with South Korea, but Seoul and its ally the United States played down the statement from the official KCNA news agency as the latest in a stream of tough talk from Pyongyang.

In a rare U.S. show of force aimed at North Korea, the United States on Thursday flew two radar-evading B-2 Spirit bombers on practice runs over South Korea.

On Friday, Kim signed an order putting the North’s missile units on standby to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific, after the stealth bomber flights.

The F-22 jets will take part in the annual U.S.-South Korea Foal Eagle military drills, which are designed to sharpen the allies’ readiness to defend the South from an attack by North Korea, the U.S. military said.

The U.S. military did not say how many of the planes were flown to South Korea from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. The statement described Sunday’s deployment as part of routine shifts of air power among bases in the Western Pacific that U.S. forces have been conducting since 2004.

Japan’s Kyodo news agency quoted the top Japanese government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, as condemning Pyongyang for “aggressive provocation” after Kim’s ruling party newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, identified U.S. military bases in Japan as targets for attack.

The two Koreas have been technically in a state of war since a truce that ended their 1950-53 conflict. Despite its threats, few people see any indication Pyongyang will risk a near-certain defeat by re-starting full-scale war. (Reporting by Paul Eckert; Editing by Eric Beech)

Related articles

2 Comments

Filed under North Korea

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 28, 2013 · 9:02 PM

North Korea leader orders rocket units on standby to hit U.S. bases: KCNA

AFP Photo / Pedro Ugarde

The grand chess game begins…

Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un orders the country’s rocket units to be on standby to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific in an emergency meeting on Friday after the United States flew Stealth bombers in a show of force to Pyongyang.

The North’s official KCNA news agency said Kim signed off on the orders at a midnight meeting of top generals and “judged the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation.”

“He finally signed the plan on technical preparations of strategic rockets of the KPA, ordering them to be standby for fire so that they may strike any time the U.S. mainland, its military bases in the operational theaters in the Pacific, including Hawaii and Guam, and those in South Korea.”

Related articles

 

Comments Off

Filed under North and South Korea Conflicts

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

March 27, 2013 · 7:21 PM

North Korea orders artillery to be combat ready, targeting U.S. bases

Reuters

North Korea said on Tuesday its strategic rocket and long-range artillery units have been ordered to be combat ready, targeting U.S. military bases on Guam, Hawaii and mainland America after U.S. bombers flew sorties threatening the North.

The order, issued in a statement from the North’s military “supreme command”, marks the latest fiery rhetoric from Pyongyang since the start of joint military drills by U.S. and South Korean forces early this month.

South Korea’s defense ministry said it saw no sign of imminent military action by North Korea.

of KPA Large Combined Units 324 and 287 and KPA Navy Combined Unit 597, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (not pictured) watches, in the eastern sector of the front and the east coastal area on March 25, 2013, in this picture released by the North's KCNA news agency in Pyongyang March 26, 2013. REUTERS-KCNA

Soldiers of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) take part in the landing and anti-landing drills

“From this moment, the Supreme Command of the Korean People’s Army will be putting into combat duty posture No. 1 all field artillery units, including long-range artillery units and strategic rocket units, that will target all enemy objects in U.S. invasionary bases on its mainland, Hawaii and Guam,” the North’s KCNA news agency said.

The North previously threatened nuclear attack on the United States andSouth Korea, although it is not believed to have the capability to hit the continental United States with an atomic weapon. But the U.S. military’s bases in the Pacific area are in range of its medium-range missiles.

South Korea’s defense ministry said it had detected no signs of unusual activity by the North’s military but will monitor the situation. The South and the U.S. military are conducting drills until the end of April, which they have stressed are strictly defensive in nature.

The North has previously threatened to strike back at the U.S. military accusing Washington of war preparations by using B-52 bombers which have flown over the Korean peninsula as part of the drills.

North Korea has said it has abrogated an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War and threatened a nuclear attack on the United States.

Related articles

Comments Off

Filed under North and South Korea Conflicts

Tagged as , , , , , , ,