Category: Uncategorized

“Don’t get me wrong. I want us to do the right thing. I don’t think there should be a policy that permits interrogators to treat the Qur’an like it was, oh, a Bible discovered in the Saudi airport customs line. But when it comes to the revelations of these Gitmo tales, I cannot care as much as they would like me to care. I cannot. Not to say we should treat the Qur’an with casual disrespect. But if an infidel...

“Don’t get me wrong. I want us to do the right thing. I don’t think there should be a policy that permits interrogators to treat the Qur’an like it was, oh, a Bible discovered in the Saudi airport customs line. But when it comes to the revelations of these Gitmo tales, I cannot care as much as they would like me to care. I cannot. Not to say we should treat the Qur’an with casual disrespect. But if an infidel...

Spotted in Azerbaijan.

A Chinese diplomat in Austalia has requested political asylum and offered to expose of list of 1,000 PRC spies in Australian territory. The diplomat claims that China maintains this network for the specific purpose of monitoring dissidents and Falun Gong members, and that its agents have even participated in kidnappings. You would think that Australia would want to interview this man to assure that the freedoms of its citizens and residents are protected. You would be wrong. A fugitive Chinese...

I didn’t read too much into W. referring to Kim Jong-Il as “Mister,” but this simply goes too far.

I didn’t read too much into W. referring to Kim Jong-Il as “Mister,” but this simply goes too far.

Photo Caption Contest Update: Australian reader Art Rush has started a caption contest page that’s already collected some good entries. It all started here.

Photo Caption Contest Update: Australian reader Art Rush has started a caption contest page that’s already collected some good entries. It all started here.

Dr. Norbert Vollertsen, the man who brought the horrors of North Korea to the world’s attention, reports that he has been expelled from South Korea. Vollertsen, who admits allowing his South Korean visa to expire, had been in South Korea on a series of tourist visas, which require holders to leave and reenter South Korea for extensions. On a previous reentry, Vollertsen had been detained and asked to sign a statement agreeing to discontinue his political activities; he was released...

An Alternative to Yasukuni? For once, Ban Ki-Moon has let a sensible idea escape his lips–Japan needs an apolitical, fascism-free place to remember its war dead. For my thoughts on Yasukuni, see this post. And of course, don’t miss Dennis Halpin’s extensive discussion of the subject.

Why James Lileks is my favorite blogger. I mean, just read.

Dr. Norbert Vollertsen, the man who brought the horrors of North Korea to the world’s attention, reports that he has been expelled from South Korea. Vollertsen, who admits allowing his South Korean visa to expire, had been in South Korea on a series of tourist visas, which require holders to leave and reenter South Korea for extensions. On a previous reentry, Vollertsen had been detained and asked to sign a statement agreeing to discontinue his political activities; he was released...

An Alternative to Yasukuni? For once, Ban Ki-Moon has let a sensible idea escape his lips–Japan needs an apolitical, fascism-free place to remember its war dead. For my thoughts on Yasukuni, see this post. And of course, don’t miss Dennis Halpin’s extensive discussion of the subject.

Why James Lileks is my favorite blogger. I mean, just read.

From the Chosun Ilbo: A defense expert warned Thursday that North Korea’s small army of computer hackers has capacity equal that of the U.S. CIA. He said North Korea also operates some 39 bugging and surveillance posts from where it eavesdrops on communication and signals from all across South Korea. . . . . In a lecture on Defense Ministry responses to information warfare, Byeon said, “Simulations on North Korea’s information warfare capabilities reveal that Pyongyang could damage the command...

June 4th is Coming Up this Weekend, and Hong Kong doesn’t want anyone in Beijing to think it has forgotten. Li Peng may die in his bed before he stands trial, but history will eventually absolve and remember those he murdered.