New EU President

From the Trumpet.com

The first president of the European Council may be in for a brief term in office.

Consistent with the way of the Franco-German agenda for the European Union, Germany and its lackey, France, got their leader of choice appointed to the new position of EU president.

As has been the case with this most undemocratic of institutions from its inception, the whole process leading to the appointment of the Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy to be the first permanent European Council president lacked transparency. Read more

The Truth Behind Iran’s Election Protests

Don’t take what you see on the evening news at face value.

The media are full of breathless reports of an Iranian uprising. They love this story.… After election results from June 12 showed a landslide victory for hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, angry anti-establishment university students took to the streets. For the moment, their protests are surviving a brutal security crackdown.… Read more

How will the world tackle North Korea threat?

As North Korea threatens military strikes on Allied troops in growing tensions over its nuclear test, David Williamson assesses the rogue state’s intentions and how the world could react

HOLLYWOOD villains can only terrify if they convince audiences they are mad or evil enough to commit an act of outright mayhem and malevolence.

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How Kim Affords His Nukes

North Korea, with its malnourished populace, frequent famines and obsolete conventional weapons, is as famous for its poverty as it is for its provocations. That has many observers now wondering how a country that can barely afford to keep the lights on can foot the bill for a missile and nuclear-weapons program.

Part of the explanation lies in the Stalinist nation’s “military-first” policy, under which the Army gets to pocket a huge chunk of the national income—up to 40 percent, according to Marcus Noland, a North Korea expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. [read more...]

by Takashi Yokota | from NEWSWEEK | Published:  08 Jun 2009

China and North Korea

It’s true, as Anne Applebaum says, that China is the only country in the world with any real influence over North Korea.  So why do they put up with Kim Jong-il’s antics?  The usual answer is that they’re afraid of pushing too hard lest his regime collapse and send millions of refugees streaming across the border into Manchuria.  Applebaum, however, speculates that that isn’t it at all.  China actually wants North Korea to continue its hotheaded ways: [read more...]

By Kevin Drum | from Mother Jones | Published: 01 June 2009

GOP quandary: how hard to swing at Sotomayor

Republicans on Capitol Hill are acutely aware that the tone and content of the nominee’s hearing could redefine the party after two punishing national elections.

Washington — Republicans preparing for confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor see little prospect, barring surprises, of blocking her nomination to the US Supreme Court.

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Missing plane baffles aviation experts

New York — As media speculation centers on lightning and air turbulence as possible causes of the disappearance of an Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, many aviation analysts are puzzled by the circumstances of the missing plane.

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G.M. Seeks Bankruptcy and a New Start

General Motors filed for bankruptcy on Monday morning, submitting its reorganization papers to a federal clerk in Lower Manhattan.

G.M. said it had $82.3 billion in assets and $172.8 billion in debts. Its largest creditors were the Wilmington Trust Company, representing a group of bondholders holding $22.8 billion in debts, and affiliates of the United Auto Workers union, representing nearly $20.6 billion in employee obligations. Read more

North Korea ‘will pay’ over tests

North Korea will “pay a price” for the nuclear and missile tests it has carried out in recent days, the US ambassador to the UN has said.

Susan Rice said international pressure on North Korea would increase, until it realized the tests had left it “further isolated and further debilitated”. Read more

What can the US do about North Korea?

Washington’s response to the rogue nation’s nuclear test Monday is complicated by Pyongyang’s custody of two American journalists.

Washington – North Korea’s underground nuclear test Monday may be seen as a major provocation that pushes Pyongyang near the top of the Obama administration’s foreign-policy agenda. Read more

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