No more being nice
In response to recent threats from North Korea, the South Koreans uncharacteristically shot back that any such actions would be met with even more violence from South Korean forces. Apparently the Northerners have chosen to back down and not escalate the situation.

Gift or bribe?
To reward the North Korean government for agreeing to put a stop to its nuclear weapons production, China announced a $95 million gift of food and other items to North Korea.

Corruption abounds
Newly elected Russian president Vladimir Putin faces some serious economic problems beyond Russia’s inability to produce competitive weapons. Skilled people, along with cash, continue to leave Russia, which is regarded by businessmen as a lawless state that views commercial enterprises as prey, not equal partners in economic development. Disputes are usually decided not by law, but by bribes and the whims of bureaucrats and Putin cronies.

No fly zone
Under pressure from the U.S., the Iraqi government told Iran that weapons could no longer be flown from Iran to Syria via Iraq.

Profit over poison
Something that is getting the attention of many Chinese citizens is bad food and medicines. Increasing profits by producing substandard food products that could make you sick, or worse, kill you, along with medicine that is ineffective and could be harmful is a major problem in China. The government has been making a well-publicized effort to deal with the problem. While progress is being made, it’s the bad publicity that is hurting the government. In the last year, investigators discovered over 5,200 unsafe food situations and more than 6,500 involving medicines and medical supplies. Although the people are somewhat relieved, they are still terrified.

China’s ‘Patriot Act’
Popular opposition through the Internet and public opinion polls caused the Chinese government to back down on plans to legalize their secret detention of people. This sort of thing happens anyway in China and the people aren’t happy about it; they are even more hostile to legalizing the practice.

Government brainwashing schools
“Education is a weapon, whose effort depends on who holds in his hands and at whom it is aimed.” — Josef Stalin

China’s arms race
China’s new defense budget passed $100 billion a year for the first time; however, there is a lot of spending that is not classified as such. For example, the industrial espionage and development work put into creating a modern jet engine manufacturing capability has cost billions, and the same with space-related activities that are classified as “civilian” but are, in fact, military. Even with all that, China’s defense budget is but a quarter of what the U.S. spends, and less than 3% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Chinese government has been accused of spurring an Asian arms race, but attempting to do it on the cheap. The Soviet arms race that began in the ’60s and eventually led to the demise of the USSR is not happening in China.

Sums up the Obamas
“Clinton all over again… Hates the military and looks down on the Secret Service. He is egotistical and cunning; looks you in the eye and appears to agree with you, but turns around and does the opposite, untrustworthy. He has temper tantrums. She is a complete bitch, who hates anybody who is not black; hates the military, and looks at the Secret Service as servants.” — Robert Kessler, author “In the President’s Secret Service, Behind the Scenes with Agents”

Oh, really now?
The UN accused the Iranian government of not being open about its nuclear energy program and UN nuclear inspectors suspect Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

Nostalgic for the past
A major museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, opened a huge display of childhood artifacts from the Soviet period. This, like so much else the state-controlled cultural and media institutions do, is meant to appeal to nostalgia for the Soviet police state. While it may work for older Russians, it doesn’t for those who grew up in a non-Soviet Russia.

Marines face cuts
Due to budget cuts, the USMC will be losing four infantry battalions and 12 aircraft squadrons over the next five years. These cuts will result in the elimination of jobs for 20,000 Marines, thereby shrinking the Marines to 182,000 personnel. Most of the unit losses will be from the Marine Corps bases on the East coast, as the Pacific region and China, mainly, are seen as the major focus of the Marines in the future.

Allies or foes?
According to a U.S. Army study titled “A Crisis of Trust and Cultural Incompatibility,” our soldiers think their Afghan allies are unstable, incompetent, drug abusers and thieves. They’re cowardly, lazy, lack discipline, are dangerous in firefights, and have poor hygiene. They don’t like us either. Many ANSF (Afghanistan National Security Forces) members demonstrate a general loathing of U.S. soldiers.

Mine hunters to Gulf
The U.S. Navy is sending four more Avenger-class mine hunters to the Persian Gulf, along with four more minesweeping helicopters. This is a precautionary measure in the event Iran makes good on its threat to interfere with transit shipping in the Persian Gulf.

Truth and liberal lies
“Truth stands, even if there be not public support. It is self-sustained.” — Ghandi

Return to Soviet-era tactics
Since Vladimir Putin won the Russian presidential election in March, crowds at anti-Putin demonstrations have shrunk a considerable amount. The government has become more aggressive in attacking the remaining demonstrators, arresting more of them and actively investigating and prosecuting the anti-Putin protestors. Despite this, the protestors seem prepared to keep at it and it remains to be seen how old school Putin will rid himself of these troublesome critics.

West more of a threat
The Pakistani government is trying to extort more money from the U.S., along with freedom from responsibility for terrorism by demanding that American UAV strikes on terrorists only be carried out with Pakistani permission after sharing intelligence with Pakistani leaders. This is never going to happen, now or later, as there are too many Islamic radicals in both the Pakistani military and government who would obviously pass along this information to terrorists. Several Pakistani counter-terrorism officials realize that with these American UAV strikes the Islamic terrorists would be much more powerful and could carry out more attacks on the Pakistani government and people. While many Pakistanis choose to ignore this fact, most see the West as more of a threat than Islamic terrorism.

Not falling for it
The U.S. aid deal for North Korea is still stalled because the North refuses to provide guarantees about the verification that it has indeed put a stop to its development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Then there was the announcement that North Korea would launch a satellite, which is the typical way that the North cheats. This time the U.S. isn’t falling for it, at least not yet. The North Koreans are aware of domestic American politics and know full well how easy it is to spin the American media into believing anything.

Fantasy over reality
A fundamental problem in Pakistan is that so many Pakistanis believe that they are under attack by the West and are victims of a vast conspiracy against Islam in general, and Pakistan in particular. All this is taken for granted by many Pakistanis and everything that happens is interpreted through this viewpoint. Most Westerners, including journalists, are unaware of this fantasy outlook. Inside Pakistan, all this leads to the harassment of U.S. diplomats, businessmen and aid workers. Even some of the Pakistanis who migrate to the West continue to hang on to this fantasy; apparently it’s a hard habit to break.

Freedom or slavery?
“A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.” — George Washington

Ever-shrinking navy
U.S. Navy ships are aging and not being replaced at the same rate the older ships are being retired. Next year six Perry-class frigates, along with four Ticonderoga-class cruisers and the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will be decommissioned. The Perrys will have some equipment removed and transferred to allied countries, while the rest will likely be scrapped.

Playing down its help
The Iranian leadership is trying to play down its aid to longtime ally Syria, but the Iranian assistance in monitoring the Internet and cell phones in Syria has become a crucial weapon in tracking down and arresting or killing key resistance members. Iran has quietly increased its own monitoring abilities, in part with software smuggled in from the West and assistance from China.

Hard times for pirates
The Somalia pirates continue to have a hard time as the fleet of warships patrolling the region has become quite adept at spotting which seagoing fishing boats are legitimate and which ones are pirates’ mother ships. This has made it much more difficult for the pirates to find and attack merchant ships; when they do attack, they often encounter an armed guard who shoots back.

A totalitarian
“With each passing day it is being further revealed that every single person Barack Obama has ever associated with has been not merely a Marxist, not merely a socialist, not merely a communist, but a totalitarian hell bent on the destruction of the United States of America.” — Ann Barnhardt, commodities broker

Let them eat cake
It’s hard times for most Iranians as the latest round of sanctions has caused many prices for consumer items to increase by 20%; for people who get consumer goods across the Gulf, it’s much worse. Buying dollars with the Iranian currency has doubled in the last year, meaning the cost of imported goods has doubled as well. The only Iranians who are immune to all this inflation are the super rich, including the corrupt clerics who rule Iran and whose policies have caused the inflation. This economic distress is expected to get worse before the end of the year as harsher sanctions go into effect.

Cold War games
The Russian government repeated assurances that it would continue cooperation with Syrian government leaders. Several hundred Russian personnel are building facilities for the Russian Navy at the Syrian port of Tartus as it continues to deliver military equipment to Syria. Russian state-controlled media blames outsiders for the entire violence taking place in Syria. This is reminiscent of the kinds of propaganda the old Soviet Union constantly used during the Cold War in blaming the West, and especially the U.S., for all the world’s problems. With Syria, most of the world lays the blame on the decades-old Assad dictatorship for the problems it has caused and condemns Russia for blocking UN action to support the rebellion there. The Arab League is very critical of Russia and this will cost Russia future arms sales and business opportunities.

Social justice?
“ ‘Social Justice’ seeks to create economic egalitarianism through taxation, income, or even property redistribution. It is merely just another term for socialism and communism.” — Tom Purcell, columnist

For the world to see
The Syrian government still faces its most implacable foe in the form of cell phone videos that constantly contradict assertions that troops and police are not attacking civilians. The videos show that artillery and ground assaults continue despite government claims, but there are far too many towns and villages in rebellion and too few loyal troops to go after all of them and shut down the opposition completely. The government strategy remains one of continuing to attack hostile civilians in hope that the civilians will eventually give up before the government runs out of cash and armed loyalists.

A dubious distinction
In Afghanistan the embrace of xenophobia, ignorance and violence has left the country the poorest in the region and the most lawless as well.

Afghan culture
Producing drugs and stealing foreign aid are major activities in Afghanistan. Getting rich by stealing is honored in Afghan culture, although the traditional method is loot taken through raiding and warfare. Loot is loot, and if you can take without a lot of bloodshed, that’s even better.

Plummeting morale
“Even our most disciplined troops have lost all idealism. They fight because they are ordered to fight, but they have eyes wide open. The half-hearted surge and sudden drawdown leave little room for success.” — Michael Yon, war correspondent and former Special Forces soldier

Deaths by the Taliban
The Taliban and other Islamic terror organizations cause about 80% of the terrorism- and war-related deaths in Afghanistan.

Keeping at it
The U.S. Department of Defense believes that China’s military strategy relies heavily on over a decade of penetrating American government, military and commercial computer networks. These penetrations, many of them never discovered, were mainly to steal technical data for commercial products but a lot of military, diplomatic and weapons data was stolen as well. The DoD has been pleading with members of Congress for help in this area, but cyberwar defense is too geeky, so U.S. defenses remain weak and the Chinese just keep at it.

The useless nuisance
The UN passed a peace plan for Syria that calls for a halt to government and rebel violence in Syria, but not for dictator Bashar Assad to leave office. The Syrian government leaders only agreed to the UN plan because of pressure from Russia and Iran; however, the Syrian government is not following the peace plan as it continues to attack demonstrators and armed rebels.

Chinese Killsat
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) believes that the Chinese space program involves more than the peaceful use of space. The DIA has discovered that the Chinese are working hard on jamming satellite signals and using lasers to damage the satellites, along with the additional work on tracking satellites as a prerequisite for damaging or destroying them. All this is the result of greater scrutiny of the Chinese space program since 2007 when China unexpectedly tested a satellite killer (Killstat).

Be a free thinker!
“Americans need to be aware of their freedoms and stop ignoring the Constitution. Bad decisions by Congress are leading to lower expectations by voters. Don’t be a puppet, be a free thinker.” — Heide Egert-Budik, author who grew up in Nazi Germany

The jig is up
Just about everyone in North Korea fully understands the dire situation they are in, as most North Koreans are no longer ignorant of the outside world. For most of the population, this means fear, resignation and resentment for their government’s leadership. The North Koreans know how economic reform has brought prosperity to neighboring China and, like North Korea, China is a police state so why don’t the Northern leaders just do like the Chinese? The reason is fear. Too many NK leaders fear they will lose control and their privileged positions if they allow a market economy. Then there is South Korea, where they live even better than the Chinese because they have democracy. To most North Koreans the South seems to be some sort of make-believe world, but after years of looking at videos and South Korean television shows, Northerners are convinced that the South is real, although difficult to understand. China is more familiar and easier to comprehend; everything would be great if North Korea would emulate the Chinese.

Bin Laden compound destroyed
The Pakistani government completed the destruction of the compound where Osama bin Laden was living when the U.S. Navy SEALs found and killed him last May. The architect who designed the compound often worked for the Pakistani intelligence agency.

Governed by a dictator
“We must be governed by responsible representatives whom we elect, or we shall assuredly be ruled by authoritarians who incrementally increase control over every facet of our lives.” — Arlie Thomason, subscriber

Reversal of fear
North Koreans were hoping that their new leader Kim Jong Un would bring some good news; that has not happened, however, and now the government demands even more sacrifices and has more public spectacles. These parades and ceremonies are supposed to improve morale and distract people from their harsh, miserable lives. These public spectacles are being paid for by special taxes, collected by local government officials going house to house, something the people are more openly hostile to. This has unnerved government workers who have long taken it for granted that the people were afraid of them. Not any longer, as the fear is shifting from the oppressed to the oppressor. Now the secret police are more corrupt and less scary and the growing legal and illegal market economy has put more money in the hands of the people. With cash you can buy protection from the secret police and feel less fear; but the fear doesn’t disappear, it has found a new home in those running the North Korean police state.

PC thought
“A cultural war is raging across our land, in which, with Orwellian fervor, certain acceptable thoughts and speech are mandated.” — Charlton Heston, in his speech to the Harvard Law School Forum, 16 Feb 99

National socialism
“It is thus necessary that the individual should finally come to realize that his own ego is of no importance in comparison with the existence of the nation; the position of the individual is conditioned solely by the interests of the nation as a whole.” — Adolf Hitler

More sanctions
The U.S. government has imposed sanctions on Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security that will make it harder for Iranian spies and intelligence specialists to operate openly in the West.

A world upside-down
“Our culture peculiarly honors the act of blaming, which it takes as a sign of virtue and intellect.” — Lionel Trilling, author

Deplored and ignored
The United States and other Western countries now favor treating Syria like Iran by using lots of sanctions against its government. The Syrian government’s attacks on its own people and the deaths of thousands will continue to be deplored by many nations, but doing anything to stop it will be ignored. The government can, with financial aid from Iran, survive the sanctions, but it will be the civilian population that will suffer most from these sanctions, which is fine with the Syrian Assad dictatorship.

Liberal entitlements
“It was self-serving politicians who convinced recent generations of Americans that we could all stand in a circle with our hands in each other’s pockets and somehow get rich.” — Paul Harvey

Description of Obama
Hubris, means extreme haughtiness, pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one’s own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power.

Many news items courtesy of strategypage.com & James Dunnigan. All material ©2012, StrategyWorld, Inc.