Free Republic

By enacting a safety ban -as the EU has- on Air Koryo's  Soviet jalopies, China has effectively left the Norks  with only two planes capable of international routes... Save for a couple newer Russian Tu-204 aircraft, the DPRK's Air Koryo -infamous for the world's worst booking site and the only one-star airline in existence- boasts a fleet comprised of creaking USSR-era aircraft (IL-62, Tu-134, Tu-154), planes that have all been banned in the European Union due to failed Air Koryo ground inspections, ancient design, noise- and the North Korean's contempt for international safety standards in general. Until now, the...

If there is one thing better than Marc Faber providing a free, must-watch (and listen) 50 minute lecture on virtually everything that has transpired in the end days of modern capitalism, starting with who caused it, adjustable rate mortgages, leverage, why did the Fed let Lehman fail, why was AIG bailed out, quantitative easing, Operation Twist, where the interest on the debt is going, which bubbles he is most concerned about, a discussion of gold and silver, and culminating with his views on a world reserve currency, is him saying the following: "The views of the Keynesians like Mr. Krugman...

The object that North Korea sent into space early Thursday appears to be “tumbling out of control” as it orbits the earth, U.S. officials told NBC News. The officials said that it is indeed some kind of space vehicle but they still haven’t been able to determine exactly what the satellite is supposed to do. In a statement, the White House said the rocket launch was a highly provocative act that threatens regional security and violates U.N. resolutions. The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned the launch, calling it a "clear violation" of U.N. resolutions. A spokesman for U.N....

The free ride is over for North Carolina. It was good while it lasted -- but why it lasted so long, I can't say. It's astounding, how this academic scandal could go on for so many years and help so many UNC athletes without being stopped. ....How many athletes were given free grades from the Department of African and Afro-American Studies? We don't know.

North Korea's Olympic athletes are thrilling their countrymen with surprising success in winning medals and they are attributing their success to their Dear Leader Kim Jong Un. But others, including former North Korean athletes who have defected, suggest the success of the country's small contingent of athletes at the games may be the result of a policy of training them from a very young age at specialized schools, backed up by rewards like cars and refrigerators for winners and the threat of labor camps for losers. North Korea ranks 14th in the overall medal count, but fifth in terms of...

North Korea has claimed that it needs atomic weaponry to defend itself from a constant threat of US nuclear attack and that Pyongyang would never give up its right to a "peaceful space programme". Pak Ui-Chun, North Korea's foreign minister, told a crowd at the ASEAN forum that it was Washington's aim to "eliminate the political ideology and system our people have opted for". Mr Pak said North Korea would use its "peaceful space programme" to "explore and utilise the outer space to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes". Mr Pak justified his claims by describing a US and South...

North Korean soldiers have been dispatched to water crops that are withering in the worst drought to affect the country in more than a century, with the United Nations warning that yields for staples such as wheat, barley and potatoes will inevitably be affected. The state-run KCNA news agency said temperatures have been as much as eight degrees higher than usual for May and June and, combined with historically low levels of precipitation, have left rice paddies dried and cracked. The maize crop stands a mere 15 inches tall in many places in North and South Hwanghae provinces, instead of...

In March 2012 Alaska produced 17,592,000 barrels of crude oil. In March 2012 North Dakota produced 17,840,000 barrels of crude oil. North Dakota is now the 2nd largest producer of crude oil in the USA behind Texas.

Will North Dakota be the first state to end property taxes?By Josh Goodman Associated Press Posted: Jun 11, 2012, 10:29 am WASHINGTON — North Dakota voters on Tuesday will decide the fate of a ballot initiative that would make the state the first in the country to end property taxes. If any state is going to take such a dramatic step, North Dakota would seem to be a likely candidate. North Dakota is generally a conservative state, and fiscal conservatives generally support lower taxes. The state is also experiencing a surge in tax revenue unrivaled elsewhere. The property tax is...

North Carolina's Democratic dramaBy CHARLES MAHTESIAN | 5/12/12 11:46 PM EDT It's been a rough week for North Carolina Democrats. First there was Tuesday's passage of the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Then, as a result, there were calls from gay rights activists to move the Democratic National Convention out of Charlotte. On Friday, Gov. Bev Perdue said her state looked like Mississippi as a result of the gay marriage vote -- and she didn't mean it as a compliment. All the while, the state's former senator, John Edwards, was on trial in Greensboro. And just when it looked...

The United States is poised to announce a significant donation of food aid to North Korea this week, the first definite accomplishment after months of diplomatic contacts behind the scenes. An agreement by North Korea to suspend its uranium enrichment programme will most likely follow within days. Discussions have been taking place since summer in New York, Geneva and Beijing. They have already yielded agreements by North Korea to suspend nuclear and ballistic missile testing, readmit international nuclear inspectors expelled in 2009, and resume a dialogue between North and South Korea, according to US diplomats.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Kim Jong Il, North Korea's mercurial and enigmatic leader, has died. He was 69. Kim's death was announced Monday by state television from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008 but appeared relatively vigorous in photos and video from recent trips to China and Russia and in numerous trips around the country carefully documented by state media. The leader, reputed to have had a taste for cigars, cognac and gourmet cuisine, was believed to have had diabetes and heart disease.

Two polls conducted by reputable Democratic pollsters show Republican Rep. Rick Berg to be in serious trouble in the North Dakota Senate race, especially now that former state Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp (D) has entered the race. The first survey, conducted in mid-August well before Heitkamp jumped into the contest, was conducted by Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group. It found voters preferring Berg over a Democrat by a mere 4 points — 44 percent to 40 percent — in a generic Senate ballot test. Only 33 percent of respondents rated Berg’s job performance as good or excellent, while 55 percent termed it...

White House reporters have tried all their sneakiest reporter tricks to find out what is really going on behind the green construction wall on the North Lawn. The 44 blog recently witnessed one journalist trying to extract details from a utility worker, to no avail. Trucks come and go from the White House construction site, their company logos covered for security. There is jackhammering, and digging. The cement truck tires get washed off before they leave the site -- no one wants a messy White House driveway.

As much as half of North Korea's army is starving as food shortages that were previously affecting only the civilian population worsen and begin to affect institutions tasked with protecting Kim Jong-Il's regime. Disaffected North Koreans working secretly as journalists within the country for the Japan-based Asiapress International news agency have smuggled out video footage of interviews with soldiers in different parts of the isolated country, with many complaining of malnutrition.

Three days after leaving China—where he pledged to work for peace—Kim Jong Il threatened to wage war against South Korea (Yonhap News Agency, May 30). The highly provocative comments from the North Korean regime at the end of May were interpreted as a sign of Chairman Kim’s defiance of Beijing, after a week-long visit that Korea watchers termed “disastrous.” Indeed, there are moments when Beijing and Pyongyang do not see eye to eye—such as this May during Kim Jong Il’s trip—but in essence the North Koreans know that the Chinese have to support them. That is why Kim felt confident...

'North Dakota is amending its constitution because of a long-standing technical omission that some claim makes its statehood invalid. So does that mean it's really just a US territory and not a state at all? Every American child is taught there are 50 states in the US. But an 82-year-old care home resident in Grand Forks, North Dakota, is throwing the truth of that universally held statement into some doubt. While reading the state constitution, which is 40 years older than he is, John Rolczynski noticed it omitted to mention the executive branch when explaining which new officers need to...

North Dakota earned its star on the American flag on Nov. 2, 1889, becoming the 39th or 40th state as it was admitted to the union along with South Dakota — or maybe not. Grand Forks resident John Rolczynski, 82, said he has discovered a flaw in North Dakota’s Constitution that he believes means the state is technically still a territory more than a century after its statehood was approved by Congress and authorized by the president. He noticed the flaw on Jan. 31, 1995, and soon set out to notify judges, lawmakers and federal authorities, even sending a letter...

A century and a half after the opening shots of the U.S. Civil War, nearly four in 10 Southerners say they still sympathize with the Confederacy.

Obama's social experiment would have devastating effects on the finest military force the world has ever known. At issue is a pending vote in the Senate on repealing Section 654 of Title X of the U.S. Code. This law, on the books since 1993, states: "The presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability." The authors acknowledge that 67 percent of all Marines, more than...