north korea

However the rebellion in Libya began, it was both inevitable and entirely predictable that it would quickly become an opening for imperialist intervention and counterrevolution in the oil-rich North African country.

The fact that the “rebellion” received sympathetic, screaming headlines, ferociously hostile to the government of Moammar Gadhafi from the very beginning, should have been sufficient to put the entire anti-imperialist movement on guard. The boiler-plate propaganda about “massacres,” without the slightest evidence, was repeated as if it were the gospel truth. That should have been further evidence of the plans for “great power” intervention (“great” in their oppression, as Vladimir Lenin pointed out long ago).

Just five gold medals were presented Saturday at the Asian Games in a rather rather slow-paced denouement for an event the Olympic Council of Asia president referred to as “one of the best ever.”

Zhou Chunxiu won the women’s marathon in the morning, giving China its 198th gold medal of the games, one shy of its eventual record total, and Myanmar took its first two—in the men’s and women’s doubles finals in sepaktakraw.

OCA chief Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah told a closing news conference that even a military conflict on the Korean peninsula during the games could not damage its image.

North and South Korean “athletes stood shoulder-to-shoulder to compete even though there had been some problems in their countries,” Al-Sabah said.

The closing ceremony on Saturday evening began with an impressive display of fireworks from the 600-meter (2,000-foot) Canton Tower and along the Pearl River, the focal point of China’s third-largest city of 10 million.

This post does not imply, excuse or justify the recent North Korean attack on Yeonpyeong but instead we hope to present a clearer understanding of the situation at hand and to put pressure on both Korea to find a peaceful resolution, with or (even better) without U.S intervention.

The primary concern that needs to be addressed here is ensuring the situation does not deteriorate and avoid an unnecessary escalation of war. Thinking back to Professor Chomsky lectures, it would be enough to give us reason to not support irrational "eye for an eye" resolution or even possibly a strategically orchestrated war.

We, as responsible moral human beings should set a better example and do what it takes to inform others well on how to avoid another Vietnam, Iraq,  Afghanistan and again Korean war.

ROTTERDAM - South Korea's Ki-Chun Wang retained his -73kg title at the world judo championships on Thursday while Japan's Misato Nakamura clinched the women's -52kg crown.

Olympic Games silver medallist Wang was the favourite going into the tournament having won the Paris and Moscow Grand Slam titles this season and claimed his victory over North Korea's Kim Choi Su.

"Once you are fighting, the nationality of your rival is of no importance," said Wang of an opponent who has now won North Korea's third world medal after 10 years of failure.

Wang, just 20, had lost to Elnur Mammadli in the Olympic final last year, but the Azerbaijan judoka was missing from the tournament which cleared the way for the Korean star who had also been first in Tokyo and in the World University Games in 2009.

Wang, who two years ago became the second youngest-ever world champion, reached the semi-final by defeating Sezer Huysuz of Turkey.

Endthekoreanwar.org - July 27th is the 56th anniversary of when the United States signed a temporary armistice with North Korea to halt the fighting of the Korean War. Across the United States, five cities—Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York City, Oakland, and Washington, DC—held candlelight vigils to commemorate the signing of the armistice.

The armistice wasn't something to be celebrated because it only provided a stopgap measure to stop the fighting. The Korean War didn't end with a permanent resolution, without a peace treaty.

But it was significant at the time in 1953 because within three years, two million soldiers, including 37,000 U.S. troops, died. Three million Korean civilians were killed (1 in 10), and the entire Korean peninsula was decimated.

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has issued a "special pardon" to two American journalists convicted of sneaking into the country illegally, and he ordered them released during a visit by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, North Korean media reported early Wednesday.
The release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee was a sign of North Korea's "humanitarian and peaceloving policy," the Korean Central News Agency reported.
Clinton, who arrived in North Korea Tuesday on an unannounced visit, met with the reclusive and ailing Kim — his first meeting with a prominent Western figure since his reported stroke nearly a year ago.
North Korea accused Ling, 32, and Lee, 36, of sneaking into the country illegally in March and engaging in "hostile acts," and the nation's top court sentenced them in June to 12 years of hard labor.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BBC - Two US journalists arrested by North Korea near its border with China are to face trial, North Korea's state media has reported.

Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, who work for Current TV, who is the sister of famous Journalist Lisa Ling were detained on 17 March.

The North said it had decided to charge the women after completing an inquiry into their "crimes" - although the precise charges remain unclear. The North says the two women illegally crossed the border from China.

"Our related agency has decided to turn the US reporters over for trial based on findings of their crimes," KCNA reported.

China's new intelligentsia
by Mark Leonard