Free Republic

Joe Biden, or more likely his handlers, levied an ultimatum on Thursday, demanding that Gov. Greg Abbott relinquish control of the "disputed" border areas Texas has been securing. That came after 25 states joined together to pledge their support to Abbott as he battles the federal government and its refusal to enforce immigration laws.

President Biden on Sunday expressed exasperation with Republicans in Congress after lawmakers narrowly averted a government shutdown and said he hoped the drama of the last few weeks has led Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to a “personal revelation.” “Folks, the truth is we shouldn’t have gotten here in the first place. It’s time to end governing by crisis and keep your word when you give it in the Congress,” Biden said at the White House after signing a temporary government funding bill late Saturday.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday accused Republicans of playing “brinkmanship” and holding the U.S. economy “hostage” on the debt ceiling. “Four times Democrats, even when Trump was in power, even two times when Trump and the Republicans had the House and Senate, we could have blocked it,” Schumer said on ABC’s “This Week,” talking about suspending the debt ceiling. “We did not play brinkmanship.”

Putin’s Activation of ‘Iskander-M’ Ballistic Missile Is a Message to Obama http://observer.com/2016/10/putins-activation-of-iskander-m-ballistic-missile-is-a-message-to-obama/ Putin’s Activation of ‘Iskander-M’ Ballistic Missile Is a Message to Obama The KGB officer in the Kremlin seeks one last, grand strategic humiliation for our president before he leaves office By John R. Schindler • 10/07/16 11:00am Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Prince Albert II of Monaco (not pictured) at the Kremlin in Moscow on October 6, 2016. / AFP / POOL AND AFP / YURI KADOBNOV Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images It’s long been obvious that Vladimir Putin and his inner circle view Barack...

As if poking the Russian bear wasn’t enough, the Obama administration has now chosen to rile the Chinese dragon. In a move meant to project U.S. military power to the Chinese government, American officials announced that U.S. Navy warships will sail directly through a Chinese claimed 12-nautical mile zone in the disputed region of the South China Sea. The contested waters around the Spratly Islands, which China claims as its own sovereign territory, have been the cause of intense controversy. The U.S. has refused to recognize China’s territorial claims and believes the disputed area resides in international waters. Last month,...

Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff. By ANDREI LANKOV Published: April 9, 2013 SEOUL, South Korea NORTH KOREA is a tiny dictatorship with a bankrupt economy, but its leaders are remarkably adept at manipulating global public opinion. In recent weeks, we have been exposed to yet another brilliant example of their skill. Scores of foreign journalists have been dispatched to Seoul to report on the growing tensions between the two Koreas and the possibility of war. Upon arrival, though, it is difficult for them to find any South Koreans who are panic-stricken. In fact, most people in Seoul don’t care...

May 30, 2010 Starving and deluded – yet North Korea is ready for war North Korea says it will strike if US reaction to the sinking of the Cheonan is 'excessive' Sue Lloyd-Roberts in Pyongyang SITTING in a leather chair in one of Pyongyang’s smartest hotels, the economic adviser to the North Korean government was enjoying giving me a lecture. “Our country has reached new heights of economic achievement,” said Ri Ki-song, “thanks to the strength and self-reliance of the North Korean people and to our plentiful natural resources.” The room was suddenly plunged into darkness. It was another of...

Why it's sane for Kim Jong-il to be crazy Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:28am EDT By Andrew Marshall, Asia Political Risk Correspondent - Analysis SINGAPORE (Reuters) - For those who see North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as a dangerous lunatic prepared to risk the annihilation of his regime by launching a devastating attack on his neighbors, there is no shortage of supporting evidence. He uses platform shoes and bouffant hair to appear taller. His official media churns out hagiographic tales of his almost superhuman talents -- including the world's greatest round of golf, 38 under par with 5 holes in...

N. Korea warns Seoul of military conflict amid tension SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Sunday further stepped up its rhetoric against the South, suggesting that downplaying Pyongyang's recent warnings could lead to military conflict between the two sides, according to the North's state news agency. The Rodong Sinmun, a newspaper published by the North's Workers' Party, said in a commentary that "an escalation of tension in the midst of a cease-fire can lead to military conflict and war that is unpreventable and inevitable," according to a report by the Korea Central News Agency, monitored in Seoul. The...

N. Korean Navy warns of naval clash in Yellow Sea By Lee Joon-seung SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) -- The North Korean Navy warned Thursday that repeated violations of its water by South Korean warships is raising the possibility of a clash in the Yellow Sea. The announcement by the Navy Command carried by the (North) Korea Central news Agency, said it will deal firmly with any violations of its sovereignty.

Kim’s overconfidence undermined by miscalculation By TAKUJI KAWATA IN AUGUST 2000, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il said he wanted to use the country's missile development programme as a diplomatic bargaining chip. “I made it a (diplomatic) issue. The smaller a country is, the more proud it should be and the more strongly it should stand up against big countries,” he reportedly told an assemblage of South Korean media organisation presidents during a lunch meeting in Pyongyang. At the time, US President Bill Clinton's administration was drawing to a close. North Korea had dragged the United States into bilateral talks by...

/begin my translationN. Korea: Nuclear Test Possible If UN Sanction Is Imposed 2006.07.13 If UN passes sanction against N. Korea, N. Korea may resort to nuclear test, according to some expert. Peter Hayes, a professor at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia argued during an interview with RFA that Kim Jong-il may carry it out to show that he does not succumb to U.S. pressure.Professor Hayes is an expert on energy and security issues. He has been running a project to build small power plants in N. Korea to solve its energy problem. He has visited N. Korea seven...

North Korea: Salami or Hedgehog? North Korea has announced it removed 8,000 spent fuel rods from its reactor in Yongbyon, presumably to reprocess them into weapons-grade plutonium. Ten years ago, that would have caused a major commotion with talk that a red line has been crossed, No longer. All nations involved in six-party nuclear disarmament talks are playing it cool, with South Korea, the U.S., China and even Japan reacting as if it is no big deal. Whatever they do, it's a "negotiation ploy " The Korean government expressed "serious concern " while at the same time saying it believed...

North Korea´s nuclear taunts Don´t be panicked Jan 22nd 2004 From The Economist print edition Unchecked, North Korea will harm anti-proliferation efforts everywhere MOST regimes in the illicit mass-destruction business try to hide their diabolical dabblings. Not North Korea. Its answer to American doubts about its nuclear boasts was to invite a private group of Americans earlier this month to view what it said was a lump of plutonium that will soon be turned into weapons unless America meets its demands. So where does that leave George Bush´s determination, as he put it again this week, to keep “the world´s...