Refugees: A sad but familiar story of a North Korean woman hiding in China in today’s Washington Post.

Bush will name John Bolton as our new U.N. Ambassador! Not exactly a chastened administration in ideological retreat. From the perspective of the North Korean regime, which famously called Bolton “human scum,” you couldn’t do any worse than this guy: Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton, a controversial Bush administration figure whose strong statements on North Korea’s nuclear program irked the leaders in Pyongyang, is President Bush’s choice to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a government...

Announcements like this might be portents of a new push to expand enforcement of the Proliferation Security Initiative to suspected dope smuggling: Assistant Secretary of State Robert Charles said in a briefing North Korean exports totaled between US$600 million and US$650 million a year but its imports exceeded US$1 billion. He said it was believed that North Korea paid for the difference through illegal activities like gold smuggling, counterfeiting and drug trafficking.

Roh Won’t Send a Special Envoy to North Korea: That’ll show ’em.

Shocking. China is poo-poohing U.S. evidence of North Korean uranium transfers to Libya. As if we expect China to give a damn about any risk to the U.S. population. We have to make them give a damn, and the new security alliance between Japan and Taiwan (with U.S. backing) is a good start. China needs to understand that its support for North Korea will isolate China.

When you read a line like this one in a newspaper (in this case, the Joongang Ilbo), you can be sure you’ve encountered another case of journalistic malpractice: In the first agreement of its kind, non-governmental groups from both Koreas said yesterday they would hold an anniversary event to mark the inter-Korean summit of 2000 in the North, and an Aug. 15 Liberation Day event in the South. Um, “non-governmental groups” in North Korea?

KFA Update: Now this is simply hilarious. Cao de Benos might just get purged for this propaganda fiasco. Hat tip: boingboing.

Freedom is Beautiful! The third installment. I simply had no idea of the depravity of imposing veils, burkas, chadors, and hijabs (granted, most of these women are probably Maronite Christians, but I’m unaware of any genetic differences among Lebanese religious groups). It’s ironic how similar the sex police in the Middle East can seem to in the “free” world. I suppose the analogy could be carried too far, but the congenitally joyless authoritarians of every culture often seem to share...

More Interlopers in the Press Room! A blogger has been granted an official White House press pass. UPDATE: Not everyone agrees that this story is as advertised. So along with a courageous gay pornographer (I laugh, but I still don’t know why that was relevant to the story) my creds as a pioneer remain undisturbed.

Announcements like this might be portents of a new push to expand enforcement of the Proliferation Security Initiative to suspected dope smuggling: Assistant Secretary of State Robert Charles said in a briefing North Korean exports totaled between US$600 million and US$650 million a year but its imports exceeded US$1 billion. He said it was believed that North Korea paid for the difference through illegal activities like gold smuggling, counterfeiting and drug trafficking.

Roh Won’t Send a Special Envoy to North Korea: That’ll show ’em.

Shocking. China is poo-poohing U.S. evidence of North Korean uranium transfers to Libya. As if we expect China to give a damn about any risk to the U.S. population. We have to make them give a damn, and the new security alliance between Japan and Taiwan (with U.S. backing) is a good start. China needs to understand that its support for North Korea will isolate China.

When you read a line like this one in a newspaper (in this case, the Joongang Ilbo), you can be sure you’ve encountered another case of journalistic malpractice: In the first agreement of its kind, non-governmental groups from both Koreas said yesterday they would hold an anniversary event to mark the inter-Korean summit of 2000 in the North, and an Aug. 15 Liberation Day event in the South. Um, “non-governmental groups” in North Korea?

Democracy: More beautiful every day. Ya habibi!

Dr. Zin’s weekly Iran roundup speculates that Bush’s “shift” toward giving Europe’s diplomacy a try is shrewd, since Iran wants the bomb and won’t make a deal. If Bush is ready to stick to his principles and we’re not in for another European double-cross, then he’s right. The key is to get the Europeans to commit to certain basics in advance, and to the trim the fuze short enough so that when the talks fail, we still have time to...

Democracy: More beautiful every day. Ya habibi!

Dr. Zin’s weekly Iran roundup speculates that Bush’s “shift” toward giving Europe’s diplomacy a try is shrewd, since Iran wants the bomb and won’t make a deal. If Bush is ready to stick to his principles and we’re not in for another European double-cross, then he’s right. The key is to get the Europeans to commit to certain basics in advance, and to the trim the fuze short enough so that when the talks fail, we still have time to...

Plans are already underway for this year’s North Korea Freedom Day, April 28th. Last year’s event marched from the Holocaust Museum to the Capitol to lobby for the North Korean Human Rights Act. This time, we’re taking our message directly to the Chinese embassies and consulates, and not just in Washington, either. According to organizer Suzanne Scholte of the Defense Forum Foundation, The protest will be worldwide. With the passage of the North Korean Human Rights Act, the focus now...