In 2010,
Obama will have a miserable year,
NATO may lose in Afghanistan,
the UK gets a regime change,
China needs to chill,
India's factories will overtake its farms,
Europe risks becoming an irrelevant museum,
the stimulus will need an exit strategy,
the G20 will see a challenge from the "G2",
African football will
unite Korea,
conflict over natural resources will grow,
Sarkozy will be unloved and unrivalled,
the kids will come together to solve the world's problems (because their elders are unable),
technology will grow ever more ubiquitous,
we'll all charge our phones via USB,
MBAs will be uncool,
the Space Shuttle will be put to rest, and
Somalia will be the worst country in the world. And so
the Tens begin.
The Economist: The World in 2010.
[more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane
on Nov 14, 2009 -
60 comments
Kōfuku-no-Kagaku (幸福の科学), also called Happy Science, is a relatively new religious and spiritual movement, founded in Japan in October 1986. The organization is gaining ground world-wide, with the international headquarter office in central Tokyo, 6 local temples located in London, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seoul and Taiwan, and an additional 37 local offices around the world. The group's leader, Master Ryuho Okawa, has is not limiting the scope of the movement to politics, and in May 2009 the
Happiness Realization Party was formed, with
over 300 HRP candidates running for the coming general election. To provide background on the religion and political movement, here is
a little investigation of Happy Science by MeFi's own
shii [via
mefi projects]
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Jul 28, 2009 -
32 comments
From 1977 to 1983, between 16-70 Japanese citizens were
abducted in their home country by agents of the North Korean government. 13-year-old Megumi Yokota was the youngest
. This is her story.
posted by JPowers
on Jan 22, 2007 -
48 comments
Air samples over North Korea show no radiation "It is possible there was no radiological data. That could be the case if: the North Koreans successfully sealed the site; it was such a small detonation and so deep underground there was no escape of nuclear debris; or the test was actually conventional explosives."
posted by Artw
on Oct 13, 2006 -
57 comments
Fascinating photo set of North Korean life, as taken by a Russian tourist. The degree of "Big Brother" style oversight present via the photo narration is daunting.
posted by jonson
on Jun 14, 2006 -
90 comments
The Axis of Evil has some competition — in Ohio. The Bush Administration continues to apply pressure to North Korea about its alleged counterfeiting of $100 notes: This
Korean story quotes Amb. Alexander Vershbow demanding physical proof that Pyongyang has destroyed its forging equipment. On the other hand, according to the BBC, South Korea's intelligence service
doubts the North is counterfeiting, although it may have done so in the past. Meanwhile, on the homefront, a 16-year-old has been fingered as the mastermind of a bogus bill ring operating out of the boy's home in North College Hill, OH. Oddly, the
Cincinnati Enquirer article announcing the bust is chock-full of juicy tips for would-be home engravers: rip off old bills rather than new, don't overlook those colored fibers, and set the wash cycle for delicates. Oh, and don't even think about using scissors: it's a sure giveaway!
posted by rob511
on Feb 19, 2006 -
17 comments
Two new pieces from the
San Diego Union-Tribune chronicle the dire conditions in North Korea,
the last worst place on Earth: "The suffering of the North Korean people does not benefit from the drama that attends well-publicized human rights crises such as Iraq and Darfur. Even when hunger and starvation killed as many as 2 million North Koreans in the mid-1990s, the world took little notice. And the greater toll is the continuing long-term day-to-day grinding down of the hearts, minds and souls of all North Korean people."
posted by jenleigh
on May 18, 2005 -
21 comments
North Korea has the ability to arm a missile with a nuclear device. "The Pentagon's top military intelligence officer said yesterday that North Korea has the ability to arm a missile with a nuclear device, stunning senators he was addressing and prompting attempts by other defense and intelligence officials later to play down the remarks." Was Bill Clinton
right or just an
an appeaser?
But don't worry! Our
CIA and our
military have never
failed us yet, and we have
wise leaders: "No terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq." -- Donald Rumsfeld, testimony to Congress, Sept. 19, 2002. So, will we be
protecting America from WMDs, that is, giving the "Gift of Democracy" in Pyongyang, or just buying off Mr. Kim again?
posted by orthogonality
on Apr 29, 2005 -
33 comments
We've Got 'Em The North Korean goverment has threatened to "bolster its nuclear weapons arsenal." It is a well known secret that as a charter member of the
axis-of-evil, North Korea has an active program to enrich nuclear fuel.
And this is not the first time North Korea has made such an annoucement. But why are they are trying to take pressure off Iran?
posted by three blind mice
on Feb 10, 2005 -
22 comments
South Korean government bans Kim Sun-Il execution video. Activates government emergency internet monitoring system. Orders web sites and ISPs to comply.
"Web sites that fail to follow through the instructions will be subject to shut-down or police investigation".
Several South Korean web sites have already been shut down, while other sites, such as Yahoo! Korea, are assisting the government by blocking and censoring their user's email. Meanwhile,
a general strike, massive antiwar protests, and a refusal by airline unions may prevent the deployment and supply of 3,000 South Korean soldiers to Iraq, as well as the rule of the current South Korean government.
Numerous U.S. websites are being blocked, and one of the sites,
Ogrish.com, is
under attack from hackers for carrying
the execution video. (
warning: tragic and traumatic. Windows Media.)
posted by insomnia_lj
on Jun 25, 2004 -
47 comments
North Korean Nuclear Devices. "Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani scientist who sold nuclear technology around the world, has told his interrogators that during a trip to North Korea five years ago he was taken to a secret underground nuclear plant and shown what he described as three nuclear devices."
posted by homunculus
on Apr 13, 2004 -
5 comments
