North Korea
The Rise of Lil' Kim
The best way to understand North Korea is to think of it not as a traditional nation-state, but as a nuclear-armed organized crime family, albeit one that will soon find itself in need of a new boss. Like any successful gang, the Kim Jong-Il crew is involved in several different lines of business: READ MORE >>
The Coming North Korean Coup?
The Coming North Korean Coup?
Does China Have Any Friends Left in the Obama Administration?
Over the last few months, China has had several fairly nasty public rows with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of State Robert M. Gates, the two highest-ranking members of Barack Obama’s foreign policy team. And that raises an interesting question: Does China have any friends left at the top levels of the Obama administration? READ MORE >>
'Top Secret America'—A Bust
The Ghoulish Regime In Pyongyang
You can’t have missed the fiendish photograph of a North Korean soldier hovering through a window over Hillary Clinton as she stands in a hut at the “truce village” at Panmunjom in no-man’s land just below what her husband had called after a trip “the scariest place on earth.” READ MORE >>
Rest Assured, Ladies. Protecting Rights in Afghanistan, Mrs. Clinton Assures, "Is A Personal Commitment of Mine."
The Kabul conference has come and gone, a half day fest which put the finishing touches on the plans for Afghani security and how it can be helped by fully 70 governments, all in attendance, and, of course, with the United Nations represented by its secretary general Ban Ki-Moon. On Monday, Mrs. Clinton was in Pakistan; on Tuesday, Kabul; on Wednesday, South Korea, right onto the edge of its demilitarized zone with North Korea. Today, she is in Hanoi and, of course, she has reproached the government of Vietnam for its well-documented contempt for human rights. READ MORE >>
Why Don't We Take the Russian Spies Seriously?
Which team should the large majority of us who are neither Dutch nor Spanish support? At the final there are sometimes strong pulls of sentiment even for neutrals, though such sentimental longings can be disappointed, with Germany the likely culprit. I mean the 1954, “Aus! Aus! Aus!” final, when so many people wanted to see the World Cup got to Ferenc Puskas and his wonderful Hungarians, and 1974, when so many of us rooted for Johan Cruyff’s Dutchmen, only for both to be defeated by what we no longer call Teutonic efficiency. READ MORE >>
Howard Wolfson's Best and Worst
Best Player(s): Prior to the semi-final matches I would have said Schweinsteiger--but he will be watching the final on tv after disappointing against Spain. I will go then with Xavi and Iniesta--yes Villa has scored the critical goals, but it’s the Spanish midfielders who made those goals possible with the metronome- (metronome analogy thanks to the Fiver) like precision of their endless passing. I hear, “Xavi to Iniesta... back to Xavi” in my sleep. READ MORE >>
