“Do Ryom and Kim really deserve to be vaporized because of a war that ended nearly 70 years ago?”
Read more: http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2018/01/10/korea-peace-breaks/
“South Korea’s interest is to a) avoid war with the North, and b) restart peace negotiations with Pyongyang and move toward fulfilling the promise of reunification. Both countries have ministries devoted to reunification and there is much political capital to be gained if progress can be made along this path. The fact is that Washington is the third man out on this date.”
Read more: http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2018/01/08/korean-crisis-completely-phony/
“Thailand’s prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha found a novel way to dodge tricky questions from journalists by referring them to his cardboard cutout. Mr Prayuth took power in a military coup in 2014 and was named PM later that year.”
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-42621180/thai-pm-uses-cardboard-cutout-to-avoid-questions
“It just might be that the two Koreas are figuring out a way to avoid war, much to the anger and chagrin of President Trump and the U.S. national-security establishment, who are obviously increasingly viewing war as inevitable and even in the best interests of the United States.”
Read more: https://www.fff.org/2018/01/03/sabotaging-peace-korea/
“The process for launching a nuclear strike is secret and complex and involves the use of a nuclear ‘football,’ which is carried by a rotating group of military officers everywhere the president goes and is equipped with communication tools and a book with prepared war plans. If the president were to order a strike, he would identify himself to military officials at the Pentagon with codes unique to him. Those codes are recorded on a card known as the ‘biscuit’ that is carried by the president at all times. He would then transmit the launch order to the Pentagon and Strategic Command.”
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/03/trump-boasts-of-nuclear-button-but-doesnt-really-have-one.html
“Not only would a US blockade be an act of war, but it is one that would be responded to with retaliation from Pyongyang. Assuming even a single North Korea missile is able to penetrate America’s missile defence shield which according to recently consulted experts, only has a success rate of about 50%, millions of Americans would die as a result. If more people in the United States were exposed to this vital information about the provocative antics of their own government, it is highly likely that millions more Americans would join Russia and China in calling for an immediate de-escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula.”
Read more: http://theduran.com/threatened-us-naval-blockade-north-korea-represents-illegal-starvation-nation/
“The protectionist move against LG and Samsung comes, perversely, just as those companies are set to employ thousands of Americans in Tennessee and South Carolina. It may also inadvertently put the final nail in the coffin of one of the longest-standing bastions of the American service industry, Sears Holdings Corp. Trump should reject the remedy proposal put forth by the International Trade Commission. Making it more expensive for LG to import the washers it produces for Kenmore, one of Sears’ most popular product lines, will jeopardize the retailer’s efforts to revitalize its brand.”
Read more: https://fee.org/articles/washing-machine-tariffs-will-hurt-americans/
“Chilling surveillance footage of a drug-war operation in Manila raises fresh doubts about police actions in President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal anti-narcotics campaign. Reuters obtained the footage, which shows the deadly operation from start to finish.”
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/philippines-drugs-surveillance/
“There was zero discussion at the hearing of the illegality of the U.S. attacking North Korea under the U.N. Charter. Yet as we learned from the Iraq War, there is great wisdom in the charter requirement that peaceful solutions, however difficult to achieve, take precedence over resorting to force.”
Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/we-cant-attack-north-korea-its-against-law-727009
“The risk of war is greater than the public appreciates. There’s a complacency surrounding this crisis, which has been kicked down the road by several American presidents. Now, with war more likely than ever, talks are even more urgent, and we hope this video can serve as a call for politicians on both sides to seek exit ramps for peace.”
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/28/opinion/columnists/missile-test-north-korea.html