India launches missile capable of reaching Europe

India has successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable missile that can reach Eastern Europe and Beijing, placing India amongst other nations that can deploy nuclear weapons at such a great distance.

Countries like Russia, the USA, Britain, Israel, Iran, North Korea and China.

Footage showed the rocket with a range of more than 5,000 km blasting through clouds from an island off India’s east coast. The rocket reached its target in the Indian Ocean.

The defence minister said the test was “immaculate.”

The launch, which was announced and flagged well in advance, has attracted none of the negative criticism from the West faced by hermit state North Korea for a failed bid to send up a similar rocket last week.

Years ago North Korea tested a rocket that splashed down near Hawaii, proving they have the technology to launch nukes at Hawaii or Alaska from mainland North Korea. The North Koreans have been trying to repeat that success on a further target.

North Korea threatens to attack South Korea

POLITICS - The hermit republic of North Korea is threatening to attack South Korea, worried about live fire military drills its South Korean neighbours are doing in a disputed region of the sea near the border between the two enemies.

Earlier today South Korea has begun live-fire military drills from front-line islands, ignoring North Korea's threat to attack. The drills today are in an area near the Koreas' disputed sea border. It is the same region that was the target of a North Korean artillery attack in 2010 that killed four South Koreans.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff say residents on those islands were asked to go to underground shelters before the drills started.

No North Korean action has been reported, but they have raised their alert level.

Yesterday a North Korean officer in Pyongyang warned that North Koreans are always ready to “dedicate their blood to defend their inviolable territory.”

Meanwhile in the USA...

President Obama and the Obama Administration is looking for an excuse to have a war overseas. (Because every president needs a war to ensure their 2nd term.) A war with North Korea would solve that need.

But North Korea isn't the first country in their sights. Iran is also on the list.

Tehran, the capitol of Iran, has put finishing touches on the installation of thousands of new-generation centrifuges in their underground nuclear facility. These are machines that can produce enriched uranium faster and more efficiently than the old centrifuges.

Iran is expanding its uranium enrichment at a fortified underground bunker in the village of Fordo in an effort to see how quickly it can make nuclear warheads, senior American diplomats say on condition of anonymity.

The senior diplomats say that Iran would have little reason to prepare the better centrifuges unless it planned to operate them.

The new centrifuges at Fordo appears to reflect Iran’s determination to forge ahead with nuclear weapons activity despite international sanctions and the latest threats from Israel. Israel is very worried that any nuclear weapons could be used against the Jewish state, and the USA, an ally of Israel, is likewise concerned.

The new centrifuges are already are enriching to 20% — a level that can be boosted quickly to weapons-grade quality.

Iran’s much older enrichment site in the city of Natanz is producing uranium at 3.4%, a level used to power reactors. While that could be turned into weapons-grade uranium it would take longer to turn low grade Uranium into weapons grade, whereas high grade Uranium would take less time.

The CIA believes that Iran already has a small supply of weapons grade material, but has yet to test its nuclear weapon capabilities because such a test would be an announcement to the world that Iran is ready for nuclear war with Israel (which Iran has been denying for years). The CIA believe that Iran has been enriching uranium to 90% or more levels.

International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors are scheduled to visit Tehran next Sunday. Iran has been stonewalling outsiders concerning its nuclear weapons program for 3 years. Iranian officials deny they have nuclear weapons or any intention to use them and claim that the USA and Israel are just creating bogus intelligence in an attempt to start a war and complete an oil pipeline that would traverse through Iraq and Afghanistan to the border of China via the Wakhjir Pass.

North Korea's future uncertain as Kim Jong-Il is mourned

POLITICS - With Kim Jong-Il dead the future of North Korea has become very uncertain.

If you haven't heard already, Kimg Jong-Il, the supreme leader of the isolated "Hermit Kingdom" North Korea has died, leaving his 3rd son as the new leader. He died of a heart attack on December 17th 2011, age 69.

The new young leader, Kim Jong-Un walked alongside the black hearse carrying the dead body of his father during the televised funeral procession, flanked by his uncle and various military advisers. The people around the hearse was veritable who's who of North Korea's military and political elites.

In the wake of Kim Jong-Il's death millions of North Koreans mourned in front of the cameras... some to the point of hysterics. Off camera North Korean soldiers watched, pale faced, tearless and carrying AK-47 assault rifles, sparking rumours internationally of North Korean civilians being interrogated or shot for "not mourning enough". (During WWII Germans who didn't cheer long and hard for Hitler were routinely rounded up and questioned.)

Kim Jong-Un meanwhile is now centre stage... a young inexperienced leader of a mere 27 years old, chosen because his two older brothers were considered too friendly towards the west. The military elites of North Korea wanted a leader who was a zealot who would not be afraid to push towards nuclear war.

In the past North Korea has tested multiple nuclear weapons and long range missiles. Several years ago they became capable of launching from mainland North Korea a long range missile carrying a nuclear payload that can hit Hawaii or Alaska.

From a airplane, submarine or a ship they could hit mainland USA.

North Korea, ever America's enemy since the Korean War, has a standing army of 1.2 million and mandatory military training for every adult male. Many North Korean females also receive military training.

So you have to ask yourself...

When push comes to shove, would you trust nuclear missiles to a 27 year old man who has been raised to hate the USA?

Who will replace Osama Bin Laden?

POLITICS - For decades during the Cold War the Soviet Union was the devil incarnate. Inflated the threat to unbelievable levels and it was only after the fact we learned most of it was just mythology and paranoia.

During the early 1990s Iraq and Saddam Hussein became the new focus.

Following September 11th terrorism and Osama Bin Laden...

But now that both Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden are dead, who will we make the new devil? Who is the new enemy that needs to be vanquished?

Possible Baddies include:

Muammar Gaddafi / Libya

Kim Jong Il / North Korea

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad / Iran

Of course there is also the conspiracy theorists who believe Osama Bin Laden isn't really dead. There was no photos or video of Osama Bin Laden's dead body, he was buried at sea, and no proof he actually died. There were fake photos made by members of the media, but that hardly counts. People aren't going to believe it until they actually see photos and/or video of Osama Bin Laden dead.

The same thing happened with JFK and Che Guevara. Photos of their dead bodies had to be released before people could really believe it was true.

And back to the devil idea... Does the United States really need to find a villain overseas? Certainly they could villainify someone in their own backyard and improve their own country for once instead of stirring up trouble overseas.

South Korea vows revenge

By Charles Moffat - December 2010.

POLITICS - If a war comes between North and South Korea it will be because neither side was willing to stop tit-for-tatting back and forth.

President Lee Myung-bak’s choice for a new defence minister says South Korean jets will bomb the North if the North stages another attack like last week’s deadly artillery barrage. This would mean an incursion into North Korea, and a declaration of open war.

North Korea meanwhile has already promised more artillery barrages if South Korea and the USA conducts military drills near the North Korean border.

As a person who used to live in South Korea the question of whether the two Koreas will go to war is near and dear to me. South Korea is like a 2nd home to me. If a war happened I would be tempted to sign up and help teach Canadian troops how to speak Korean, an useful skill for troops to have when taking prisoners and recognizing which Koreans are the enemy and the ally.

President Lee’s government is under intense criticism that its response to North Korea’s November 23rd attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong was too weak and that they should be doing more to make it clear attacks on South Korea will not go unanswered. Especially since SK' spy chief dismissed information that the North was planning an attack on Yeonpyeong since August.

Thus the announcement that any new attacks will incur air-strikes and provoke a war is sending the message that South Korea is ready for war if the North doesn't back off. Kim Kwan-jin, the defence minister nominee, says South Korea will use all its combat capabilities to retaliate.

As nominee Kim Kwan-jin is guaranteed the post. The hearing before South Korea’s National Assembly is just a formality.

Kim also said North Korea is unable to conduct a full-scale war because of its weak economy, but this is just rhetoric on his part. North Korea's primary military ability isn't in normal weapons, its in sheer numbers of soldiers (military service is mandatory in North Korea), nuclear missiles and trickery, as much as it can muster. A war between the two Koreas will be full of Northern soldiers posing as Southern soldiers... which is why their ability to know English and their knowledge of western pop culture will be tested. (ie. by asking them to sing an Elvis song, name characters from Star Trek, or quote lines from The Good, the Bad & the Ugly.)

According to South Korean intelligence North Korea has boosted its rocket and missile capabilities for hitting Seoul. They now have 5,200 missiles aimed at Seoul. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff will not confirm the report.

The International Criminal Court said today it has opened a preliminary investigation into possible war crimes by North Korea resulting from its recent clashes with South Korea and attacks on civilians.

South Korean and US forces in the region remain on high alert.

MEANWHILE...

Sarah Palin is drawing heavy criticism around the world after declaring that the United States has to stand with “our North Korean allies.” during a radio talk show.



Sarah Palin’s gaffe was made last Wednesday during an interview on Glenn Beck’s syndicated radio show in which she mentioned her desire to run for president in 2012.

The Times of India says Sarah Palin “did it again.”

London’s Daily Mail says Sarah Palin “may want to brush up on her geography.”

Of course, if a war with North Korea happens in the next 2 years and Barack Obama is the sitting president during a nuclear war, Sarah Palin will have very little chance of unseating the president during a time of crisis. War has a tendency to bolster support for the sitting president.

ie. Like how Bill Clinton bombed Iraq in December 1998 and his approval ratings soared; Or how September 11th happened and George W. Bush's approval rating soared, despite being most useless president in U.S. history during the 1st 8 months and completely incompetent during the remainder of his presidency.

North Korea attacks South Korean island of Yeonpyeong

By Charles Moffat - November 2010.

POLITICS - The island of Yeonpyeong is on the South Korean side of the border, but that didn't stop North Korea from attacking it with an artillery barrage that killed two soldiers and wounded 20 people. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called the attack "an invasion" of South Korea.

If that is an invasion, what do we call North Korea's other actions from the past year and a half? They have test-detonated nuclear weapons, launched long range missiles across the Pacific Ocean towards the USA and torpedoed the South Korean warship Cheonan, killing 46 sailors.

The increasingly belligerent North Korea seems to be bent on war and many analysts believe nuclear war with North Korea is now inevitable. The only question remains is who will strike first, and where.

The Yeonpyeong Attack on November 23rd

The tiny island is home to a military base and a local residential population of farmers and fishermen. Both North and South Korea have a string of military bases near the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) that is the border between the two nations.

North Korea claims South Korea fired first, something South Korea denies, but its not impossible they did indeed fire first because tensions on the Peninsula are the highest they've been in the 57 years since the 1st Korean War ended in 1953. What is known is that North Korea fired approx. 200 large artillery shells at the island. At the time South Korea was conducting a military drill in the region, but the firing was not [supposed to be] directed at North Korea.

The first sign of trouble was when on the morning of November 23rd, at 8:20 AM local time, North Korea sent a wire message warning South Korea not to conduct drills close to the border.

At 10 AM South Korea began conducting their military drill.

Hours later, at 2:34 PM local time, North Korea began shelling the town of Yeonpyeong and destroying anything it hit. A few of the artillery shells (like the one in the photo above) did not explode. North Korea stopped firing at 2:55, but resumed firing at 3:12 and doesn't stop until 3:41.

Since then many of the residents of the island have been evacuated, leaving only the military presence on the island and clean up crews sorting through the rubble. South Korea is now trying to determine when residents can return to their homes.



The 2nd Korean War?

For months now the USA and South Korea (and a few others) have been conducting military exercises in preparation for what they believe will be a combined invasion and nuclear attack from North Korea. The North is becoming desperate and the leadership from their frail and ill leader Kim Jong Il (and the handover of power to his 27 year old son Kim Jong-Un) is fraught with danger for the rest of the world.

#1. Kim Jong Il might decide to go out in a blaze of glory (or because of his illness, might allow his generals more control).

#2. His son Kim Jong-Un is a mere 27 years old, far too young to have his own arsenal of nuclear weapons. He was chosen to replace his father because his older brothers were considered to be too friendly towards foreigners and the military leadership wanted someone who absolutely hated the USA.

The more time North Korea has, the more nuclear missiles they will build. They've already determined they have enough missile power to reach Hawaii or Alaska from North Korea. Launching from a submarine or ship off the coast of the USA would drop the distance significantly.

For South Korea, Japan, China and the USA the issue is very complicated and dangerous.

South Korea is the hated rivals/family... there are many in South Korea who want a peaceful solution with North Korea and reunification.

Japan however is the hated enemies from centuries of conflict.

China is an ally, but one which has increasingly lost interest in North Korea in favour of its economic ally the USA, and thus could become a potential target if they are seen to be betraying North Korea to the USA and the South.

The USA is the hated and feared enemy, the one North Korea hates the most for a combination of racial, religious and ideological reasons.

Analysts say there is two ways this war could pan out...

#1. North Korea launches a sudden blitzkrieg invasion of South Korea, its military abandoning North Korea entirely and fighting guerrilla style in South Korea, combined with a volley of nuclear missiles directed at Seoul, Pusan, Tokyo, various military bases and American cities. The USA has missile interceptor ships currently standing by in the region, but the city of Seoul is mere a mere 30 km from the DMZ.

#2. A tit-for-tat war until South Korea/USA decides to launch a pre-emptive strike to try and remove North Korea's nuclear arsenal, a task most analysts see as impossible because they would not be able to remove all of North Korea's missiles at the same time.

Regardless, the end result would be a full scale nuclear war, something which hasn't happened yet and the whole world would be watching to see how the USA / Barack Obama handles such a problem.

According to an American scientist who visited North Korea's facilities on November 12th in a "disarmament for food aid" deal North Korea has thousands of centrifuges for enriching uranium. Their nuclear arsenal could already be in the hundreds. The facility was described as modern and very new, suggesting it is not the first but one of several such facilities.

Stanford University scientist Siegfried Hecker told U.S. officials he was “stunned” by the “sophistication” of the facility which was operated by “an ultra-modern control room.”

This game of brinkmanship however is difficult to estimate how it will unfold. Who will blink first? Who will get an itchy trigger finger?

South Korea’s population is very vulnerable to attacks from the North, over 50% of the South's population lives within 80 km of the DMZ.

We've been warning for years now that North Korea is deliberately escalating the threat they pose. The younger generation in the North is hungry for war and think it is a solution to their problems... worse, they actually think they can win.

Nobody wins in a war.

See Also
North Korea reacting to war games
North Korea's heir apparent
North Korean timeline towards Inevitable War
North Korea launches missile
North and South Korea on verge of open war

Kim Jong Un's first appearance

POLITICS - Kim Jong Un, the young man who is being groomed as the eventual leader of North Korea, made his first public appearance Thursday. The chubby young man looked a bit bewildered but serious was picked as his father's replacement to lead North Korea because of his hardline against the United States and the western world.

His father, Kim Jong Il, suffered a stroke in August 2008 and since appeared in public looking significantly thinner and is now believed to be dying of cancer. His believed-to-be-28-years-old son Kim Jong Un is the only person being groomed as a replacement.

The impoverished country of North Korea has been conducting nuclear and missile tests in recent years and has developed the technology to launch nuclear missiles as far as Hawaii or Alaska when fired from mainland North Korea.

As part of Kim Jong Un's grooming process he is now in charge of domestic affairs within North Korea while his father continues to handle foreign affairs.

Meanwhile South Korea is still fuming about the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel back in the Spring which was sunk by a North Korean torpedoe. The USA and South Korea have been staging war games in recent months to ready for a possible war against North Korea.

Kim Jong Un was recently promoted to a four star general in the North Korean People’s Army, but photos were not released until after the affirmation of North Korea's new political elites in the biggest meeting of NK's Communist Party members in 30 years.

His two older brothers, Kim Jong Nam and Kim Jong Chol, have fallen out of favour and were considered to be incompetent and/or too curious about western culture.

Kim Jong Il took over as North Korea’s leader in 1994 when his father (Kim Il Sung) died of heart failure in what became the first hereditary succession in the communist world. His son will be the third in succession to rule over North Korea with an iron fist (a somewhat chubby one).

North Korea's heir apparent

POLITICS - Kim Jong Il, the Great Leader of North Korea, is dying and only North Korean doctors have any clue when the event might take place. In the meantime however Kim Jong Il is cementing the appointment of his youngest son to a key Workers Party position and making a big fuss about it within North Korean politics.

Like his father before him Kim Jong Il can trust no one else to take over after he dies. The family dynasty will live on, carrying the burden and privileges of leading a country with one of the worst economies (largely due to shortages and isolation) in the world. His youngest son Kim Jong-un has been toted as the likely successor ever since the oldest son was caught trying to sneak into Japan to visit Tokyo Disneyland on a fake passport.

The meeting to annoint his son in the prominent position will be the first major party gathering since the 1980 congress where Kim Jong Il was confirmed as the man who would take over from his father as dictator.

Kim Jong Il is currently 68 and after suffering a stroke in August 2008 and having a series of health problems in recent years isn't expected to live much longer. He is much thinner and has lost significant hair in the last 2 years, appearing to have aged suddenly and lost the chubbiness in his cheeks.

North Korea's 24 million people have been enduring a recent propaganda campaign promoting the succession of his son, everything from songs and poems praising the youngest son of the Kim family and even trying to use North Korea's soccer team at the South African World Cup in an effort to boost support for the young heir apparent.

In the biggest political gathering in 30 years North Korea's delegates from the ruling Workers Party will pledge loyalty to the young Kim Jong-un who is a mere 28 years old and soon to be in command of one of the largest armies in Asia (horribly equipped however) and an arsenal of nuclear missiles.

Meanwhile Kim Jong Il in August made his second trip to China in 2010 in an effort to win the endorsement of his closest ally for the power transfer, beg for more supplies and food and get needed medical treatment.

Iraq War officially over, says Obama

POLITICS - “Operation Iraqi Freedom is over," says United States President Barack Obama.

The declaration was spoken in a live address from the White House's Oval Office, marking the end of American combat operations in Iraq after 7 years of inability to find Weapons of Mass Destruction and the USA presiding over a civil war being Sunnis and Shiites.

Obama praised American soldiers, but admitted they still have work to do in Afghanistan where he now plans to take troops on the offensive. The 50,000 troops currently in Iraq are scheduled to leave by the end of 2011. Some may leave sooner to be restationed in Afghanistan where they are needed for a growing offensive against Taliban strongholds.

The fate of Iraq's feuding Sunni and Shiite factions, to say nothing of the Kurds in the north will have to be dealt with through diplomacy. The toll of the Iraq War includes 4,400 American soldiers killed, almost 32,000 wounded and over 106,000 Iraqi deaths (Stats from Iraqbodycount.com).

Obama didn't assign blame for the Iraq War and its failings. “It’s well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset. Yet no one could doubt President Bush’s support for the troops or his love of country or his commitment to our security,” said Obama.

On the topic of Afghanistan the President renewed his promise to drawback troops there in August 2011, which implies that if the USA still has works to do there it needs to be done more quickly and efficiently. "As was the case in Iraq, we cannot do for Afghans what they must ultimately do for themselves," says Barack Obama.

“The pace of our troop reductions will be determined by conditions on the ground and our support for Afghanistan will endure. But make no mistake – this transition will begin – because open-ended war serves neither our interests nor the Afghan people’s."

America's slow withdrawal of troops from Iraq also means that if war breaks out with Iran or North Korea that the USA will have more experienced troops they are able to draw upon in the event of such a conflict.

North Korea launches artillery barrage

POLITICS - Yesterday North Korea fired an artillery barrage of approx. 120 shells off the coast of South Korea in an escalation of the ongoing feud over the sinking of the Korean ship Cheonan on March 26th by a North Korean torpedo shot from a submarine. Some of the shells landed near an inhabited island in South Korea.

Two days ago North Korea also seized a South Korean fishing boat and is now holding the fishermen hostage, accusing them of being spies sent by the South. 4 South Koreans and 3 Chinese were aboard the fishing boat.

Today there is a war of words going on South Korea is promising a stern response and North Korea is threatening a war of retaliation. The artillery barrage and abduction of fishermen is likely a response to the recent 4-days-long war games the United States and South Korea held 2 weeks ago.

The three Chinese will probably be released because North Korea doesn't want to anger China. There is growing distrust between North Korea and China. China has become tied economically to the United States and is becoming increasingly unhappy with having a rogue state so close to its doorstep.

Any war (especially since North Korea now possesses nuclear missiles) on the Korean Peninsula will effect China and it is a careful balancing act for the Chinese government to keep the North Koreans from thinking they're a threat about to be removed.

Castro accuses USA of seeking nuclear war

POLITICS - Fidel Castro turns 84 next week but he is as feisty as ever. In a speech before the Cuban parliament Saturday, his first official visit in 4 years, Fidel Castro accused the United States of seeking nuclear war with North Korea and Israel of seeking nuclear war with Iran.

Surprisingly healthy-looking despite his recent health problems Fidel Castro appealed to President Barack Obama and other wealthy nations in his 11-minute speech to prevent a global nuclear war. It was a short speech compared to his normal hour long speeches he has given in decades past.

Castro has been writing and talking about the topic of nuclear war in recent months, believes that the United States and Israel will attack Iran and North Korea and suggests such a war will have dire consequences.

After the speech the floor was opened up to questions. One parliamentarian asked if Obama would be capable of starting a nuclear war and Castro replied, “No, not if we persuade him not to.”

“Fidel, Fidel, Fidel! Long live Fidel!” participants later chanted. Fidel Castro has been absent from politics since his emergency intestinal surgery in 2006 and his younger brother Raul has been leading the Cuban government in his absence. After the speech Fidel didn't sit in his normal chair, which had been reserved for him while he was gone, but instead sat beside a minister.

Fidel Castro has been the leader of Cuba for 50 years, ever since his band of revolutionaries toppled Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista on New Year’s Day 1959.

North Korea may kill soccer coach

ENTERTAINMENT/POLITICS - North Korea's soccer coach for the World Cup in South Africa is fearing for his life as the communist country continues to punish him for the three resounding losses the North Korean soccer team faced during the World Cup last month.

Kim Jong-hun, back home in defeat is worried about his safety, his life and the lives of his family.

His team scored only 1 goal during the entire tournament. It was most pathetic games of professional soccer ever witnessed... like watching a bunch of pro footballers play against 10-year-olds.

Their first match against Brazil ended 2-1. To be fair, the Brazilian team are the five time World Cup Champions.

Their second match against Portugal was a humiliating 7-0 defeat. If you watch the video below you will note the North Koreans barely even got to touch the ball.



In the third game the Ivory Coast beat North Korea 3-0. The North Korean team was sent home, minus two Japanese ringers, in utter defeat.

What is more embarrassing is that North Korea's despot leader Kim Jong Il and other members of the North Korean leadership thought the North Korean soccer team would do pretty well, despite not competing in the World Cup for over 2 decades because they either refused to play or couldn't manage to qualify. Kim Jong Il was so confident their team would do better during the 2nd match that it was aired on live television to millions of North Koreans.

Having an embarrassing 7-0 loss broadcasted to millions of North Koreans is what has sealed the fate for the poor soccer coach Kim Jong-hun. Embarrassing the country is practically treason in North Korea and the country is known for taking delight in punishing its loyal servants who fail to win.

The team itself was honoured upon their return, complete with parades and fanfare, but following the honours the players faced 6 hours of formal reprimands designed to scare others into submission. The audience included other North Korean athletes and scholars. Failure must be punished.

Worse they are now accused of betraying North Korea in the “great ideological struggle” against the West.

Its not the team's fault North Koreans can't play soccer. Its the fault of North Korea for rarely competing on the national stage. They have almost zero experience, almost no skills and simply aren't up to snuff compared to professional athletes which play soccer for a living.

After the team was given their dressing down, then came coach Kim Jong-hun. He was accused of “betraying the young General Kim Jong-un,” the son of Kim Jong-il. Just his similar name was enough of an embarrassment apparently. General Kim Jong-un will be taking over when "the Glorious Leader" Kim Jong Il finally dies and embarrassing the son of the great leader is practically a death sentence.

When the North Korean team managed to qualify for the World Cup months ago, the success was promoted in North Korea as “young General Kim Jong-un’s accomplishment.”

North Korea recently executed two top officials with firing squads. One was killed for a recent disastrous currency revaluation. The other failed in diplomatic talks with South Korea.

There is currently a rumour that coach Kim Jong-hun has since been forced into slave labour for North Korea's construction industry. His future is very uncertain.

North Korea reacting to war games

POLITICS - For the last four days the United States and South Korea has been conducting war games and battle simulations off the coast of North Korea, a mighty show of force against the nuclear-missile armed country. North Korea warned months ago that any incursion on their territory would be seen as an act of war.

The war games included anti-submarine exercises and included 20 submarines and naval vessels, the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George Washington, 8,000 troops, 200+ fighter planes and 3 American destroyers + 2 South Korean destroyers.

Code-named "Invincible Spirit," the display was meant as a distraction as American unmanned spy planes flew over North Korea, taking snapshots of the Korean terrain which will be useful to create an invasion plan if and when North Korea and the United States go to war. The USA has no shortage of satellite imagery of North Korea, but the spy planes provide more detailed imagery of the mountains and important structures.

Regardless the display was the largest joint U.S-South Korean military exercise in history. Even bigger than offensives made during the 1950-53 Korean War.

In addition to unmanned drones they also tested out four new F-22 stealth fighters, which are designed to sneak behind enemy lines and bomb targets quickly. The F-22 (aka the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor) is the most advanced stealth fighter currently in service (they will eventually be replaced by the F-35s which are just starting production). According to military sources the F-22 can bomb North Korea's nuclear facilities in Yongbyon within 30 minutes of taking off.

North Korea’s National Defense Commission says that the American-South Korean military exercises are an “undisguised challenge” to the international community’s hopes for peace on the Korean Peninsula. The NDC said they will “legitimately counter with their powerful nuclear deterrence the largest-ever nuclear war exercises to be staged by the U.S. and the South Korean puppet forces.”

Meanwhile China has mobilized scout planes, their submarines and their satellites to gather more information. The United States and China have become tied at the hip economically so if the USA goes to war with North Korea, China will definitely be helping. China's news media has denounced the war games as "risky" and their military is making a show of force in an effort to convince the North Koreans that they're still allies.

China's worry is that North Korea might use nuclear missiles against Chinese cities during an early stages of a war. They have a lot to lose if the North Koreans feel they are being betrayed and try to take out their revenge against the Chinese. Its no small secret however that the USA and China are tied economically, especially the massive debt the USA accumulated during George W. Bush's time in office.

Meanwhile the Japanese Naval Self Defense Force sent 4 officers and observed the exercises, eager to learn how they may play a role in any war with North Korea which is now seen as inevitable according to many military strategists. In recent years Japan has made a number of constitional changes which allows them to go to war again, withdrawing from the previously enshrined belief in a pacifist military which can only respond to threats.

Canada's recent order for 65 new F-35 stealth fighters suggests they want to get in on the action too.

For the last 57 years the United States and North Korea have been officially at war. The Korean War may have ended in 1953, but there was never a peace treaty and skirmishes over the years have resulted in North Korea taking extraordinary efforts to acquire nuclear missile technology and test detonate nuclear devices.

How North Korea responds to spy planes probing inside their borders and the recent war games could be quite devastating.

Is Nuclear War the answer to Global Warming?

By Ai Lung Nguyen - June 2010.

ENVIRONMENT/POLITICS - Trust the Americans to try and find the easy way out of a problem instead of actually trying to fix it.

In 2009 John Holdren, President Obama’s science advisor, offered the opinion that the detonation of multiple nuclear warheads in an effort to create a modest nuclear winter might be a solution to global warming and prevent the worst effects of climate change. His idea calls for launching a "relatively small" salvo of nuclear missiles, probably "a few dozen at most."

For years now the United States has been rattling the sabre against nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea. While Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program, North Korea has gone the opposite way and openly brags about it... threatening nuclear war against South Korea, Japan and the USA and testing long range intercontinental missiles. North Korea has gone out of its way to show off its missiles in it parades and other public functions, making them a major part of its weapons program.

Following the sinking of the South Korean ship the Cheonan a war with North Korea looks increasingly likely, arguably inevitable. That means South Korean and Japanese cities would be likely targets for nuclear strikes.

For their part North Korea only has two cities with populations bigger than 500,000 and only 10 cities bigger than 300,000, some of which aren't likely military targets because of cultural significance.

However the potential targets aside, it should be noted that a nuclear war doesn't have to be very big to have global cooling side effects. The amount of dust blown upwards by a nuclear blast depends on the size (# of megatons) of the bomb being used and individually they can effect a small amount of global cooling.

The problem is the question of how many bombs (and how many megatons) would cause significant global cooling and possibly even a nuclear winter which would cause a shut down in global food production for several years.

During the 1980s, the height of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, computer models were made which showed that an all out nuclear war between the two nations would cause a nuclear winter so devastating it would kill all the plants and leave the world in a state of permanent winter that would last decades. The human race would be decimated back to prehistoric levels, if not extinguished entirely.

Similar computer models were conducted to predict the effects of a nuclear war between Pakistan and India and determined that even a small nuclear war could create a nuclear winter which causes a miniature ice age lasting several years, but still enough to devastate plant life.

Food shortages and squabbling over resources would only create more problems and potentially larger wars.

Even an extremely mild nuclear winter would not be a solution to global warming. It would cause too many problems.

Thus while a small nuclear war between Israel and Iran, North Korea and South Korea, or any other potential warmongers the effects of such a nuclear war would actually be extremely harmful to the planet, plant life and ultimately the human race. It is NOT a solution to global warming. The risks of nuclear winter far outweigh any potential benefits.

China will not protect North Korea

POLITICS - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao says China will not protect those who sank a South Korean warship, even if its North Korea. China is currently doing its own study to determine who sunk the South Korean warship the Cheonan in South Korean waters. Wen Jiabao said that China "rejects any acts that harm peace and stability" on the Korean peninsula and "will review the results of international probes closely."

According to an international study released last week a North Korean torpedo sunk the Cheonan frigate back on March 26th, but China has chosen to withhold judgment until it conducts its own study.

The United States, Japan and South Korea are pushing to China to punish North Korea for the attack. The three leaders of China, South Korea and Japan are meeting today in a three-way summit to discuss the problem of North Korea.

Its expected that North Korea will be a topic of discussion in the upcoming G8 and G20 meetings in Toronto.

North Korean timeline towards Inevitable War

POLITICS - The following is timeline of events that have occurred on the Korean Peninsula.

1945 - Japan surrenders to the United States and its allies. Japan's colonies are divided up, including the Korea Peninsula which it had annexed in the late 19th century. Korea was divided between the Soviet Union and the United States, ignoring the wishes of Koreans to stay unified.

1950 to 1953 - Unable to reach an agreement over who should control Korea the northern half of Korea and the southern half of Korea (roughly divided down the 38th parallel) went to war, but nobody really won and eventually a ceasefire was called and a DMZ constructed between North and South Korea.

January 17th 1968 - 31 North Korean commandos crossed the border disguised as South Korean soldiers in an attempt to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung Hee. 29 of the commandos were killed, one committed suicide, and the last captured. Reports vary but its believed 68 South Koreans and 3 Americans were killed in the assassination attempt.

October 1968 - 130 North Korean commandos entered the Ulchin and Samcheok areas in Gangwon-do. 110 of them were killed, 7 were captured and 13 escaped.

October 1969 - North Korean infiltrators killed four American soldiers near the DMZ.

November 1974 - The first of 17 North Korean infiltration tunnels under the DMZ is discovered.

June 1976 - Three North Korean infiltrators and six South Korean soldiers were killed near the DMZ.

August 18th 1976 - The Axe Murder Incident resulted in the death of two American soldiers in the Joint Security Area.

May 29th/30th 1993 - North Korea tests a series of medium range missiles capable of reaching Japan. North Korea later trades this missile technology with Iran in exchange for oil.

May and June 1996 - Five North Korean naval ships entered South Korean waters on the west coast and withdrew after a four-hour confrontation with Southern forces. In June 1996 three North Korean naval ships did the same thing three-hours in the same area.

September 17th 1996: - 26 North Koreans beach their submarine on the eastern coast near Jeongdongjin. 11 were killed by North Korean commandos. 13 were killed by South Korean soldiers as they tried to escape back across the DMZ over the next 49 days, one was captured and one escaped. 13 South Korean soldiers and 4 civilians were killed. South Korean diplomat, Choi Duk Keun, was found poisoned by a substance similar to that found on the submarine. A South Korean taxi driver who first spotted the intruders and alerted the authorities was given a hefty reward.

April and July 1997 - In two separate incidents North Korean soldiers crossed the DMZ and fired at South Korean positions. The July incident resulted in a 23-minute exchange of heavy gunfire.

June 1997 - Three North Korean naval ships entered South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea and fired at South Korean naval ships.

1998 - North Korea did two long range missile tests disguised as attempts to enter satellites into space. The first missile burnt up over the Pacific Ocean while the 2nd missile failed after only 42 seconds.

June 22nd 1998 - A North Korean midget submarine was caught in South Korean fishing nets in South Korean waters. All nine submarine crew were found dead in an apparent group suicide. North Korea blamed the South for causing the death of the crew.

June 1999 - A nine-day confrontation started when North Korean ships intruded into disputed waters near the Northern Limit Line on the Yellow Sea resulting in a battle that sunk a North Korean torpedo boat and damaging five others.

February, March and April 2001 - On three separate occasions North Korean naval ships boats entered South Korean waters briefly over the Northern Limit Line but retreated when challenged by the South Korean Navy. 12 maritime intrusions were reported in 2001.

June 29th 2002: North Korean naval ships cross into South Korean waters, provoked a gun battle and killed 4 South Korean military personnel. Its unknown how many North Koreans died in the battle.

February 19th 2003 - A North Korean fighter jet entered South Korean airspace over the Yellow Sea, the first since 1983. Six South Korean fighter planes responded, and the North Korean plane retreated after two minutes.

January 17th 2006 - Iran tested a North Korean designed Nodong-B missile.

October 9th 2006 - North Korea successfully test detonates a small nuclear bomb underground. Shortly after North Korea conducted several medium and long range missile tests.

April 2009 - North Korea’s Taepodong-2 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, the first successful long range missile test by the North. Its capable of reaching Alaska or Hawaii. North Korea pretended it was just an attempt to launch a satellite.

May 25th 2009 - North Korea successfully test detonates a second nuclear bomb underground, this time it is much bigger than the last one. The United Nations responds with more economic sanctions.

November 11th 2009 - North Korean naval ship attacks a South Korean ship in the Yellow Sea, but is set on fire during the incident.

March 26th 2010 - A North Korean submarine sank South Korea's Cheonan warship using a torpedo. 46 South Korean sailors were killed in the attack.

Okay so here's why war with North Korea is likely inevitable: The skirmishes and technological upgrades are increasing. Its only a matter of time before North Korea does a test or attack which is so big it can only lead to war.

That and the fact that North Korea has withdrawn from peace talks altogether suggests they're getting ready for something. Combine that with the fact their leader Kim Jong Il is dwindling in power while his 26-year-old son Kimg Jong Un exerts more and more power suggests the younger generation in North Korea may be spoiling for a fight.

It would be nice if North and South Korea could just get along and have a peaceful reunification but it doesn't seem to be heading that way.

The good news is the USA years ago deployed a series of missile destroying Patriot PAC-3 missiles and also the USS Mustin, a guided missile destroyer, in cooperation with the South Korean and Japanese governments which are both increasingly paranoid of a North Korean attack. How accurate their ability to shoot down enemy missiles is not publicly known.

The bad news is that South Korea's capitol Seoul is a mere 25 km from the DMZ and has a population of 24.5 million. A nuclear strike on Seoul would be devastating.

North Korean torpedo sunk South Korean ship

POLITICS - International investigators have finished studying the wreckage of the 1,200-ton frigate named Cheonan that sank on March 26th after an explosion ripped through its hull. Fifty-eight sailors survived, but 46 were killed in the explosion or drowned soon after. The investigators have concluded it was a North Korean torpedo that sunk the ship.

Last night the inquiry announced they had found “clear and definitive material evidence” that North Korea was behind the attack. As evidence they presented a pair of propellers, a propulsion shaft and four rudders of a torpedo. The explosive chemical RDX was found around the blast area. The serial numbers on the torpedo were similar to those found on another North Korean torpedo 7 years ago. Navigational hardware found also matched those used by North Korea.

South Korean president Lee Myung-bak earlier this month threatened “stern action” if allegations of North Korean involvement prove true. Now they have been proven.

North Korea immediately branded the report a “fabrication” and threatened war if retaliatory measures were taken.

China is urging calm as it does its own investigation of the attack. China is North Korea's only remaining ally and trading partner, but is under enormous pressure because it now considers South Korea, Japan and the USA allies as well.

North Korea has nuclear weapon technology, as previously demonstrated, and also has missile technology capable of reaching as far away as Hawaii. A North Korean sub armed with nuclear missiles could hit mainland United States. Japan is also considered a major target and long time enemy.

Torpedoe Explosive found in Sunken Ship

POLITICS - Tensions remain high on the Korean Peninsula as South Korea confirmed today that traces of an explosive chemical substance used to make torpedoes were found in the wreckage of a naval ship that sank near the border with North Korea.

On March 26th the 1,200-ton frigate named Cheonan went down in the Yellow Sea after an explosion tore through the outer hull. Fifty-eight sailors survived, but 46 were killed in the explosion or drowned soon after.

The chemical found is RDX, research department explosive, and is a powerful high explosive often mixed with other explosives such as TNT or TORPEX, and has been widely used since World War II by all countries for military and industrial purposes. Its also used for making land mines.

North Korea has so far denied involvement. It would not be the first time North Korea has made an unprovoked attack on the South Korean military.

The two Koreas remain locked in a state of cold war because their three-year conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953.

In 1967 North Korean artillery sank a South Korean ship, killing 39 sailors and their navies have fought three more bloody skirmishes off the west coast since 1999.

North Korea is suspected in a 1983 bombing in Burma that narrowly missed killing then-South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan but left 21 others dead.

The 1987 bombing of a South Korean airliner that killed 115 people on board is also believed to have been planned by North Korea.

North Korea currently has nuclear weapons reaching as far as Hawaii and is working towards expanding their missile technology

Korean Ship Sinks, possibility of war

POLITICS - The South Korean naval ship below sank today near North Korean territorial waters, setting the South Korean military into a panic over a possible renewed war with North Korea.

The waters between North and South Korea have been TENSE since 1953 when the Korean War ended with an armistice agreement, but the war technically never ended. Since then North Korea has been quietly developing a nuclear arsenal and honing its long range missile technology. Currently North Korea's missiles are able to reach as far as Hawaii.

Since 1953 the two Korean nations have fought three skirmishes in the Yellow Sea waters. In 2002 the North Koreans sunk a 130-ton South Korean naval ship in a surprise attack, but no war came from the skirmish. In January 2010 North Korea fired approx. 30 artillery rounds across the DMZ; South Korea fired 100 warning shots in response.

Today the 1,200-ton "Cheonan" was on a routine patrolling mission near South Korea's Baeknyeong Island with 104 crew members on board when the ship began taking on water. 98 South Korean naval officers went down with the ship and so far only 58 of them have been rescued. Another 46 are still missing and are believed to be trapped inside the hull of the ship.

There is no evidence the ship was struck by an enemy torpedoe, but an investigation is still pending.

Yesterday North Korea threatened "unpredictable strikes" against the United States and South Korea, adding credence to the idea it may have been a North Korean submarine.

In an armed conflict the South Korean military is better equipped and has a sizable populace of former soldiers since military service for men is mandatory for a period of several years. However a nuclear first strike by North Korea could demolish Seoul and other key cities, forcing the USA and South Korea to respond with more nuclear weapons. North Korea also has a long time hatred of Japan and could likewise launch nuclear weapons at Tokyo and other major Japanese cities.

The North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's health isn't good and there is speculation in military circles that he is seeking to go out with a bang.

UPDATE (March 27th): No cause for the explosion at the rear of the ship has been determined yet. No additional officers have been rescued and are now presumed dead.

Japan elects for change for the first time in 50 years

POLITICS - After 50 years of Liberal Democratic Party rule in Japan (Liberal is a misnomer, because the party itself would best be described as conservative) the party has been toppled with the election of the Democratic Party of Japan and new leader Yukio Hatoyama.

The news is bad for the United States however as the new party wants Japan to assert more independence from the USA. This means less American troops on Japanese soil, a lessening of Japan's refueling of U.S. and allied warships in the Indian Ocean.

But it is good news for environmentalists and small business owners. Yukio Hatoyama wants to put a stronger emphasis on environmental programs and protecting small businesses.

Prior to the election Japan saw its unemployment rate rise to its highest level since WWII and a storm of corruption scandals in the LDP. The election of the new party, which is actually "liberal" as opposed to just having the word liberal in the name, hopes to end corruption.

Unfortunately the DPJ also includes several members who want to abolish Japan's pacifist constitution and go to war against North Korea. Hopefully common sense and peace will prevail.

North Korea has developed missiles capable of reaching Japan, has been conducting nuclear tests and seems to be readying for a war.