UNITED STATES
Wake up and smell the tea
Jonah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times- August 9, 2011
“Is this a wake-up call to Washington?” NBC’s David Gregory asked Sen. John Kerry on “Meet the Press,” referring to the S&P downgrade.
Cut Defense Spendng
Fareed Zakaria, CNN- August 9, 2011
Everyone in Washington this week is having a nightmare about a guillotine. I’m talking about the proposed cuts to the Defense Department.
NORTH KOREA
North Korea may be funding nuclear weapons with video game gold
Chad Sapieha, Globe and Mail- August 9, 2011
A ring of North Korean hackers working out of Northern China have been caught “farming” virtual gold in MMOs like Lineage and selling it to gamers for real-world cash benefiting the Kim Jong-il regime.
South Kora ambassador nominee stalled in Senate
Josh Rogan, Foreign Policy- August 8, 2011
President Barack Obama’s nominee for ambassador to South Korea is the latest State Department nominee to see his confirmation stalled by secret Senate holds.
IRAN
Saudi Switch against Syria’s Assad is blow to Iran
Reuters- August 9, 2011
Saudi Arabia, self-appointed guardian of Sunni Islam, is deeply wary of popular uprisings that have convulsed the Arab world, but it has lost patience with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s violent attempts to crush a mainly Sunni protest movement.
LIBYA
Libyan rebels dissolve cabinet amid discord
Kareem Fahim, New york Times- August 8, 2011
Rebel leaders dissolved their own cabinet on Monday, in an effort to placate the family of an assassinated rebel military leader and quiet discord in a movement already struggling to remove the country’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, from power.
AFGHANISTAN
Helicopter investigation focuses on Afghan rescue effort
Craig Whitlock, Washington Post- August 8, 2011
The crash of a Chinook helicopter that killed 38 U.S. and Afghan troops was probably caused by an insurgent firing a rocket-propelled grenade, U.S. military officials said Monday, describing the attack as a “lucky shot.”
SYRIA
Syrian defense minister replaced by army chief of staff
Associated Press- August 8, 2011
Syrian President Bashar Assad replaced his defense minister Monday with the army chief of staff in the midst of a brutal military crackdown on a 5-month-old uprising, the state-run news agency said.
