Free Republic

Ted Nugent, Metallica, Pantera, Susan Vega... or just general shreaks and screaching noises

South Korea will remove its propaganda-broadcasting loudspeakers from the border with North Korea amid diplomatic breakthrough between the two countries. Seoul's Defense Ministry said Monday that it will remove its frontline loudspeakers on Tuesday and expects Pyongyang to follow the suit. The loudspeakers blasted anti-communist propaganda and K-pop songs since early 2016 after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test. The move came after a historic meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in last week. It was the first time a member of the Kim dynasty was known to set foot on South...

North Korea has expressed regret over two South Korean border guards injured by a landmine blast and promised to make efforts to prevent a similar incident from happening again, according to South Korea's National Security Office Chief Kim Kwan-jin. The North also decided to withdraw its declaration of "quasi-state of war" against Seoul, he said. In return, South Korea will turn off its frontline loudspeakers blaring anti-North messages from Tuesday noon on the condition that the North will not make any "abnormal" behavior. The two Koreas also agreed to host the reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War...

Several Likud ministers oppose a bill proposed by MK Anastasia Michaeli (Israel is Our Home) for limiting the noise from mosque minarets. As a result, the bill did not come up for a vote in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation Sunday, and its fate is unclear. Lack of support in the ministerial committee usually spells doom for Knesset bills. Ministers Dan Meridor, Michael Eitan, Limor Livnat and Benny Begin are reportedly opposed to the law, which leftists call "the law for muzzling Muezzins," and ministers Gideon Saar and Moshe Cachlon are reportedly also expected to vote against it. Unnamed sources...

(LEAD) N. Korea threatens to destroy S. Korean loudspeakers, turn Seoul into 'sea of flame' SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's military threatened Saturday that it will destroy South Korean propaganda loudspeakers along its border and may even turn Seoul into a "sea of flame," in the strongest warning yet against Seoul's plan to resume anti-Pyongyang broadcasts. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, however, "no unusual activity" has currently been spotted from North Korea along the military demarcation line. South Korea established propaganda loudspeakers in 11 places along the heavily-fortified demilitarized zone earlier this week in retaliation to...

St. Louis police will be able to seize cars blasting loud music under a bill passed today by the Board of Aldermen. The bill mirrors laws in other cities, prohibiting the use and even installation of some enhanced speakers. Alderman Craig Schmid’s proposal easily had enough votes to pass, but not after aldermen turned up the volume on their own concerns. Impounding a car for playing loud music is to severe, opponents said, and ripe for abuse.

The U.S. Army announced this week it wants a new generation of rugged, wireless speakers for its psychological warfare units. An earlier version of the loudspeakers on the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command’s wish list would likely be familiar to former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. In 1989, the U.S. Army blasted hard rock outside the Vatican embassy in Panama City where Mr. Noriega had taken refuge after 24,000 U.S. troops dropped in to arrest him five days before Christmas. In the end, it wasn’t psychological warfare, but old-fashioned street protests from Panamanians that led Mr. Noriega to surrender to U.S....