The Whole Delivery

The top international news today has clearly been the little old dictator getting ready to give his son that same position : North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has apparently named his third son, Kim Jong-un, believed to be 27, as a four-star general in the military ahead of the country's biggest political convention in three decades, making his hereditary succession plan official for the first time, Yonhap news reported. The announcement was made in the dispatch of Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the state news agency of North Korea, on the opening day of the biggest Workers' Party convention since 1980. The announcement is the first mention by name in the state's official media of Kim Jong-il's third son. Picture President Obama firing Mike Bloomberg in NYC, Menino in Boston, or Daley in Chicago. Well, that's what has transpired today in Moscow, as President Medvedev has fired the city's long time mayor Yury Luzhkov . And he appears to do it without P...

Photo from Gallo and Getty Images Fat chance that this will happen in such a short time , but it sure is worth a major headline and attention. It may even lead to US media giving it some.....hahaha, oh who am I kidding: Afghanistan's president is setting a four-month deadline for private security companies to cease operations in the country, a spokesman said Monday. A presidential decree expected to be issued later Monday will detail the process through which the companies should cease operations, spokesman Waheed Omar told reporters in Kabul. President Hamid Karzai has said repeatedly in recent months that these companies undermine government security forces, creating a parallel security structure. Contractors perform duties ranging from guarding supply convoys to personal security details for diplomats and businessmen. With at least 26,000 contractors over there, and how beholden to their reckless behavior in the past and present that the Obama Administration is, I reall...

Photo from AFP(A number of protesters stormed a major Thai airport today. From the BBC: 1. UN calls for rapid Zimbabwe Deal 2. Iraq jails are apparently overcrowded. That reminds me of one other country. I wonder what country that is? Hmmm. 3. The French version of the Republican Party in-fighting over here has been settled, for now. From The CBC: 1. No jail For British citizens in Dubai beach sex case. 2. Protesters storm a major Thai airport 3. Youtube is getting bigger. Literally and figuratively. From Al Jazeera: 1. First Iran, and now Afghanistan is calling for their own timetable. Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, has demanded foreign powers set a "timeline" for the withdrawal of their forces from his country. He told a delegation from the UN Security Council that without the timeline he would have to seek a political solution to the Taliban-led insurgency, his office said on Tuesday. "The international community should give us a timeline of how long or ...

The is the first time ever for this thread as an official thread . Tired of the American media not doing a devout job of covering the stories around the world like they should, here are three of the more prominent international sources of news. From the BBC: Photo from BBC.com 1. UN cuts food rations in Zimbabwe . And all because of a lack of funds. Gut-wrenching to the soul. 2.World Recalls 90th Anniversary of The End of World War I . (Well, specifically, Europe does). 3. Cameroon rebels release hostage From the CBC: 1. LOL at "the Sarah One". 2. The Zimbawee food ration story from the CBC side . And from Al Jazeera: Photo from AFP 1. Rwanda Expels German Ambassador 2. Suicide Blast Hits Pakistan Stadium . 3. And from yesterday, Hamid Karzai condems US Troops for killings of 14 private security guards. Finally, "The Read" label is also placed on this tremendous diary post at the Kos from the user "dhonig." Ronald Reagan lovers, meet realism. Peace!