Category Archives: The Front

North Korea Gearing Up for War?

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North Korea fired yet another missile overnight in their continuing provocations to the world. Plenty of coverage has covered Kim Jong-Il’s most recent madness, and America’s ever weakening response:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEAVvo70KUY[/youtube]

The most interesting article I’ve read so far is this Washington Post article which claims North Korea is now denying it is bound by the 1953 Armistice that ended the Korean war. You’d think this would be a bigger story:

TOKYO, May 27 — North Korea announced Wednesday that it is no longer bound by the 1953 armistice that halted the Korean War, the latest and most profound diplomatic aftershock from the country’s latest nuclear test two days earlier.

North Korea also warned that it would respond “with a powerful military strike” should its ships be stopped by international forces trying to stop the export of missiles and weapons of mass destruction.

The twin declarations, delivered by the country’s state news agency, followed South Korea’s announcement Tuesday that it would join the navies that will stop and inspect suspicious ships at sea. North Korea has repeatedly said that such participation would be a “declaration of war.”

Since eventually someone is going to end up stopping a NorK ship if it is heading to Iran or some other middle eastern country with what we believe is nuke technology what we have is a North Korea pretty much saying that war’s a comin’. Just this pronouncement have a severely destablizing effect on the region:

In Tokyo, a former defense minister and ruling party lawmaker said Japan should consider developing the ability to conduct preemptive strikes against North Korea, even though Japan’s constitution prohibits it from taking offensive military action.

South Korea had long resisted U.S. pressure to join the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), which was created in 2003 by President George W. Bush and includes more than 90 countries that have agreed to stop and inspect suspicious cargo on sea and land.

Don’t let those stories of a effeminate japan fool you, China and all the countries in the Pacific are terrified of a re-militarized Japan. Japan’s economy is in shambles and their beloved, bizarre popular culture is largely the result of enforced pacifism and ten years of recession leaving young men and women with no outlet for their ambition or aggression. If the culture perceived a threat to their existence and sees that they can’t rely on America to protect them I believe it could be a matter of a few years to see a return of Japan’s martial society. Not that it would change the outcome of conflict there:

North Korea is thought to possess more than 200 mid-range Nodong missiles that can strike nearly any part of Japan. The Japanese government, which has invested billions of dollars in a U.S.-made antimissile defense system, is concerned that the North is making progress in designing nuclear warheads that could fit atop its missiles.

“We must look at active missile defense such as attacking an enemy’s territory and bases,” the former defense minister, Gen Nakatani, said at a meeting of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

We have basically killed Japan by allowing North Korea and all the other countries of the region build up huge militaries while Japan sat back in a fantasy world where they could field a small defense force and big brother America would always save them. Clearly that isn’t true.

China isn’t happy with North Korea, but frankly China isn’t going to care about the NorKs stirring the pot while they quietly change from long term to short term U.S. Treasuries and start preparing for their ascension as the world’s super power. Nancy Pelosi is in China selling us out by negotiating some sort of agreement for us to cut our energy output and China I more interested in us crippling our economy and thus making us more reliant on them then they are in ensuring North Korea isn’t starting a war with states who can’t rely on America as an ally.

America Close to Civil War?

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I was out and about yesterday with my wife and we stopped at several stores that sell guns and ammo because I’m trying to decide if it would be cheaper to order my ammo off the Internet and pay a big shipping charge or buy here. Because I’m in the market for unusual rounds (.410 Buckshot, 20ga Buckshot, .327 Federal Magnum) I have to check around to find what I need. What I found is a series of big box sporting goods stores like Dick’s and Sports Authority desperately short on inventories and even some of the better gun stores here light on the most common calibers. A few months ago a pawn shop owner told me there were a lot more gun purchases because of the election, but frankly there is more to it than that.

We live in a deeply divided country politically, but more importantly we live in a time when the the left has spent years demonizing the right and with the left’s near monopoly on the media we have generations of young people who literally think I and many of my readers simply don’t deserve to live. We’ve all felt it, I have the death threats to prove it and that palpable sense of menace, the recurring incidents of left on right violence here, is one of the reasons I moved from just owning shotguns to buying a handgun.

In normal times the rule of law constrains the rabid foot soldiers of the left, leaving them to the occasional assault after which they are arrested and dealt with. But as the economy flounders, and the thin veneer of civilization slips from society the left is becoming more lawless, and the right more aware of how close we are to the brink. Now many governors are asserting their state rights in the face of a “stimulus” package that includes modifications to existing state laws and the left is predictably demonizing those governors.

Is it me or does this sound familiar:

In the first five weeks of his presidency, Barack Obama has acted so rashly that at least 11 states have decided that his brand of “hope” equates to an intolerable expansion of the federal government’s authority over the states. These states — “Washington, New Hampshire, Arizona, Montana, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, California…Georgia,” South Carolina, and Texas — “have all introduced bills and resolutions” reminding Obama that the 10th Amendment protects the rights of the states, which are the rights of the people, by limting the power of the federal government. These resolutions call on Obama to “cease and desist” from his reckless government expansion and also indicate that federal laws and regulations implemented in violation of the 10th Amendment can be nullified by the states.

Why are these states (my new home included) rejecting the money? Mostly because the money comes with strings attached that will hurt the states in the future, but it is also justifiable fear of a Federal Government which is printing money to cover its bills, that will give $900,000,000 in aid to the Palestinians Islamists and is taking active steps to make us less safe. This government is trying to enact sweeping national laws which would result in a defacto gun ban as Cartel Violence spills into Texas from a fatally destabilized Mexico. States are fearful that Obama’s quasi-Socialist administration is going to encroach on the rights of it’s citizens:

For example, Family Security Matters reports that Missouri’s “House Concurrent Resolution 0004 (2009) reasserts its sovereignty based on Barack Obama’s stated intention to sign into law a federal ‘Freedom of Choice Act’, [because] the federal Freedom of Choice Act would nullify any federal or state law ‘enacted, adopted, or implemented before, on, or after the date of [its] enactment’ and would effectively prevent the State of Missouri from enacting similar protective measures in the future.”

The resolution in Montana grew out of concerns over coming attacks on the 2nd Amendment, thus its preface describes it as, “An Act Exempting From Federal Regulation Under The Commerce Clause Of The Constitution Of The United States A Firearm, A Firearm Accessory, Or Ammunition Manufactured And Retained In Montana.”

New Hampshire’s resolution actually references certain federal actions that would be nullified within that state were they pushed by Obama’s administration, according to americandaily.com. Among these are “Any act regarding religion; further limitations on freedom of political speech; or further limitations on freedom of the press, [and any] further infringements on the right to keep and bear arms including prohibitions of type or quantity of arms or ammunition.

Understand what is happening here. Eleven States are telling a wildly popular authoritarian philosophically Marxist federal government that has already announced their intention to forever alter our country in their “Hope and Change” campaign that the states will not allow the Federal government to implement its program. With a charismatic leader who has mobilized the radical left around him in a way no other leader has, this is a recipe for Civil War, especially as the economy, and rule of law, continues to flounder.

But in this new civil war I’m with the States. What about you?

I hope the states can assert their authority peacefully, but with a world in chaos I fear what the reaction of the left will be when they do. And judging by the ammo shortage here so do a lot of other people.

Iran Has Enough Enriched Uranium for an Atomic Bomb!

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nuke-omb-explosion.jpg

See? Negotiating works! They only have one bomb instead of the two or three they might have had if the Europeans hadn’t wagged their fingers vigorously at them.

From The Financial Times:

Iran is forging ahead with its nuclear programme, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog reported on Wednesday, deepening the dilemma facing US president-elect Barack Obama over his campaign promise to engage with Tehran.

The latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency reveals that Iran is rapidly increasing its stockpile of enriched uranium, which could be rendered into weapons-grade material should Tehran decide to develop a nuclear device.

The agency says that, as of this month, Tehran had amassed 630kg of low enriched uranium hexafluoride, up from 480kg in late August. Analysts say Iran is enriching uranium at such a pace that, by early next year, it could reach break-out capacity – one step away from producing enough fissile material for a crude nuclear bomb.

“They are moving forward, they are not making diplomatic overtures, they are accumulating low enriched uranium,” said Cliff Kupchan, an analyst at the Eurasia Group, a risk consultancy in Washington. “These guys are committed to their nuclear programme: if we didn’t know that, they just told us again.”

If you want to visit Israel I’d do it now. I don’t think Obama’s going to be helping out Israel when Iran’s ready to strike.

Barney Frank Calls for 25% Defense Cut, Higher Taxes

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Welcome to the New America, where in the face of drastic increases in defense spending from Russia, China and Iran the new power’s that be will defang America and cripple our wealth generating economic model:

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Democrats will push for a stimulus package after the November election, and called for a package reducing defense spending by 25 percent while saying Congress will “eventually” raise taxes.

Frank told the editorial board of the SouthCoast Standard-Times that he wanted to reduce defense spending by a quarter, meaning the United States would have to withdraw from Iraq sooner.

“The people of Iraq want us out, and we want to stay over their objection,” he said. “It’s extraordinary.”

Frank also said the post-election stimulus package will focus on spending for building projects, extending unemployment benefits, and further supporting states’ healthcare costs. “We’ll have to raise taxes ultimately,” Frank said. “Not now, but eventually.” Frank told the Standard-Times that if Democrats cannot secure the votes they need in November, they will try again in January, when they will likely have stronger majorities in the House and Senate.

Frank, the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, was an instrumental figure in engineering the bailout legislation to the U.S. financial industry, and indicated a new package may seek to ameliorate fears about investing. “The psychological problem is even worse than the real problem,” Frank said.

The Hill neglects to inform readers Frank was also instrumental in creating the crisis.

Arm yourselves, because when Russian and Iranian advisers lead Bolivarian troops across our borders, there won’t be much of a military to stop them.

95 Democrats Vote Against Bailout! Dow, International Markets Plunge!

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Even a great number of Democrats couldn’t support the bailout:

The bill aimed to open up clogged credit lines for financial markets that had come to a near collapse. Sellers continued to shed stocks as the market teetered down more than 500 points after the vote ended.

Representatives worked throughout the weekend to make a bill palatable. Republicans had insisted on a mortgage securities insurance paid by firms who had invested in bad housing loans. That was included in the bill voted on Monday.

But many lawmakers continued to oppose the plan for a variety of reasons, including the massive price tag that would expand the national debt, and GOP members said their constituents were calling 10-1 in opposition to the bill, which had been described as too much government intervention. Of 235 Democrats, 140 supported the legislation. Of 199 Republicans, 133 opposed it.

President Bush was to meet with his economic team, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, to determine the next steps, and White House officials said they will meet and then contact congressional leaders.

“The crisis we are facing remains,” said White House Deputy Spokesman Tony Fratto, who added, “We’re obviously disappointed.”

Fratto said that he thinks many Americans were mistaken by believing that the bill was a “bailout of Wall Street.” Instead, he said the bill was to prevent a large economic crisis.

95 Dems against the bailout, and it was a Democrat friendly bill. As of now the Dow is down almost 570 points and European markets are tumbling.

Gateway Pundit and Hot Air are all over this.