North Korea pledges to test nuclear bomb

[Pogotheostrich]

So before this gets locked, the U.S. is basically powerless to do anything to N. Korea cause they are being propped up by China. Unless we take the hard line against China or China agrees to punish N. Korea we basically have no options.

Sort of, China seems to have the most leverage at least and N. Korea knows it. They want "unilateral" talks with the United States so the pressure will be on us to confront them and make some sort of deal, but we are reasonably refusing such an offer unless N. Korea agrees to sit down with the U.S., S. Korea, Japan, China and perhaps Russia and a few other nations in that area. In any case, the only country whose sanctions can truly affect the N. Koreans is the Chinese, and they don't want to do it because it will completely destabilize their economy (not that it's even stable now).

Most leverage? Try all. As long as China backs them up no one has any leverage. Take the U.S., sanctions won't work cause they get most everything from China anyway. We won't commit to a full out war for fear of China getting involved.

N. Korea asking for "unilateral" talks with the U.S. seems like a power play to me.

[Coppermine]

So before this gets locked, the U.S. is basically powerless to do anything to N. Korea cause they are being propped up by China. Unless we take the hard line against China or China agrees to punish N. Korea we basically have no options.

Sort of, China seems to have the most leverage at least and N. Korea knows it. They want "unilateral" talks with the United States so the pressure will be on us to confront them and make some sort of deal, but we are reasonably refusing such an offer unless N. Korea agrees to sit down with the U.S., S. Korea, Japan, China and perhaps Russia and a few other nations in that area. In any case, the only country whose sanctions can truly affect the N. Koreans is the Chinese, and they don't want to do it because it will completely destabilize their economy (not that it's even stable now).

Most leverage? Try all. As long as China backs them up no one has any leverage. Take the U.S., sanctions won't work cause they get most everything from China anyway. We won't commit to a full out war for fear of China getting involved.

N. Korea asking for "unilateral" talks with the U.S. seems like a power play to me.

And that's exactly what it is; Kim Jong Il knows that if he wants to run with the big dogs, he has to run with the U.S. and pressure on us means pressure on everyone.

[Cleveland Steamers]

I appoligize for my earlier rant. I went to the home opener of the Blues hockey game (great game) with some friends and had a "few" beverages. Ha, definitely appoligize and I definitely didnt/wouldnt mean to insult anybody. Again, my fault. Sorry.

[Pogotheostrich]

I appoligize for my earlier rant. I went to the home opener of the Blues hockey game (great game) with some friends and had a "few" beverages. Ha, definitely appoligize and I definitely didnt/wouldnt mean to insult anybody. Again, my fault. Sorry.

Hockey does that to people.

[Coppermine]

Mark Warner (former democratic governor of Virginia) officially dropped out of the presidential race today. It's too bad, he was a moderate that I appreciated; he said the finger-pointing about Bush misleading America into Iraq wasn't helpful and that the party needed to move on. He said tax cuts were not a universal evil and that when Democrats talk about taxing the rich, they offend those people who want to be rich themselves someday. He was not a fan of what he called the party's "class warfare" populism that many Democrats think is the key to winning back the White House.

I liked him, and I think he was the anti-Hillary. Oh well.

[Mugrila]

Mark Warner (former democratic governor of Virginia) officially dropped out of the presidential race today. It's too bad, he was a moderate that I appreciated; he said the finger-pointing about Bush misleading America into Iraq wasn't helpful and that the party needed to move on. He said tax cuts were not a universal evil and that when Democrats talk about taxing the rich, they offend those people who want to be rich themselves someday. He was not a fan of what he called the party's "class warfare" populism that many Democrats think is the key to winning back the White House.

Ahh, that's bad news. I was a big Warner supporter.

[3 run homer]

Mark Warner (former democratic governor of Virginia) officially dropped out of the presidential race today. It's too bad, he was a moderate that I appreciated; he said the finger-pointing about Bush misleading America into Iraq wasn't helpful and that the party needed to move on. He said tax cuts were not a universal evil and that when Democrats talk about taxing the rich, they offend those people who want to be rich themselves someday. He was not a fan of what he called the party's "class warfare" populism that many Democrats think is the key to winning back the White House.

Ahh, that's bad news. I was a big Warner supporter.

[Mugrila]

[Coppermine]

Mark Warner (former democratic governor of Virginia) officially dropped out of the presidential race today. It's too bad, he was a moderate that I appreciated; he said the finger-pointing about Bush misleading America into Iraq wasn't helpful and that the party needed to move on. He said tax cuts were not a universal evil and that when Democrats talk about taxing the rich, they offend those people who want to be rich themselves someday. He was not a fan of what he called the party's "class warfare" populism that many Democrats think is the key to winning back the White House.

Ahh, that's bad news. I was a big Warner supporter.

LMAO!

[JTWood]

Preliminary tests don't show radiation from the site.

You don't think it was actually a conventional bomb, do you???