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Kim Jong-Un, either insane or urged by China to be so (or even both), has made some rather bold claims in the past forty-eight hours:

North Korea’s leader is “begging for war,” the U.S. ambassador said Monday at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, as members called for punishing the country with even stronger sanctions for its powerful nuclear test. ...

The emergency U.N. session was scheduled after North Korea said it detonated the hydrogen bomb and came six days after the council strongly condemned what it called Pyongyang’s “outrageous” launch of a ballistic missile over Japan. Less than a month ago, the council imposed its stiffest sanctions yet on the reclusive nation.

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The news Sunday morning that North Korea had launched what appeared to be its sixth nuclear test and most powerful one to date is troubling enough.

But a statement from the rogue regime took things to a whole new level. The North said it had tested an H-bomb that was “a multi-functional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack according to strategic goals.”

(Sidebar: yeah, I doubt Kim set off an EMP. China isn't that helpful to it. And the Clintons and Obama haven't been that helpful, either.)

 

While many are calling for more sanctions that don't work, the US has decided a less predictable approach that has made China predictably furious:

China has responded to President Donald Trump’s threat to cut off trade with countries that deal with North Korea as “unfair,” while claiming they are making “arduous efforts” to de-escalate tensions in the region.

 
Many people don't want a trade war but one must point out that if people didn't use China for cheap labour (and North Korea, for that matter), some of this mess may have been avoided.

Also, never split a country between one's self and Russia, but that goes without saying.



At any rate, China is North Korea's master and, as such, it must be dealt with in order to defuse the situation Kim is gleefully creating:

How can the administration get China to take seriously its responsibilities with respect to North Korea? Columnist Gordon Chang says that the U.S. needs to propose sanctions that would threaten China’s already shaky banks.

This China:

Chinese security officers assaulted a number of priests and laypersons last week in China’s northern Shanxi province as the Christians tried to defend church property from demolition.

Government officials beat Fathers Chen Jun, Gao Binglong, Ma Ning, and Shen Xuezhong as well as several laypersons including Cui Hewen, who was assaulted by workers and suffered injuries to the head. The officials had come to demolish a building belonging to the church, but the priests along with hundreds of laypeople sat in front of backhoes and other heavy machinery to block the demolition work.

Witnessed posted a video of the clash between government representatives and the Christians and the faithful can be heard shouting “Jesus save me!” and “Mother Mary, have pity on us.”

Despite the beatings, news of which went viral on the internet, many more Christians went to the site to give their support to the Church, and reportedly some 2,000 Church members gathered at the property to block the demolition, forcing the workers and security officials to leave the venue.

 
Did everyone forget Tienanmen Square?

This guy didn't.

Not to be outdone in the leader department, Trudeau's aides remembered to tell him to condemn North Korea' s belligerence:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has condemned North Korea's latest nuclear weapon testing and is urging the United Nations to take further steps to contain the country's nuclear proliferation efforts.

But not to not support China.




Moving on ...




Some people want another bite at the publicly-funded apple:

The commissioners in charge of the problem-plagued national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls are asking the federal government for a two-year extension to carry out their work.

"This is a vast and complex topic," commissioner Michèle Audette told Radio-Canada on Saturday.

She said that more time is necessary following the high-profile resignations of seven key staffers since the beginning of 2017. Audette also cited logistical issues and a lack of resources as hampering the commission's work and slowing down progress.

"Time is precious, time is crucial and we're asking for at least two years," she said.

Because all the time and money spent on this debacle clearly haven't been enough. 

Oh, isn't that cute?

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna launched an angry missive at Conservative Foreign Affairs critic Erin O'Toole on Sunday, for suggesting the environment was a mere "trinket" better left to the sidelines in order to protect Canada's economic well-being.

She was responding to comments O'Toole made to The Canadian Press in which he accused the government's push for environmental protections, Indigenous rights and gender equality as "virtue signalling" as part of the image-building machinery around Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"And so done with ridiculous language from #CPC like 'virtue signalling,'" McKenna tweeted. "We will continue to stand up for Canadian values at home & abroad."

Is that so, Catherine? 

Catherine McKenna was trying to mark World Penguin Day with a simple tweet accompanied by a cute video of penguins frolicking in the wild.

Problem is, those weren’t penguins in the video, but puffins — the squat, distinctive-looking seabirds that make their homes on islands and coastlines in the north Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

At least the Tories can distinguish between two different birds, Catherine.




Speaking of whom:

Attack mode, says the Conservative Party's new foreign affairs critic, will not be the opposition's first instinct when dealing with the Liberal government's renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Conservative MP Erin O'Toole says his party is willing to offer non-partisan support to the Liberal government during the continuing NAFTA renegotiation, which entered its second round this weekend in Mexico City.

But only as long as the Liberals keep the focus on job creation, securing market access and levelling a playing field that he says has given Mexican labour an unfair advantage.

O'Toole said the Tories have no time for the "virtue signalling" on gender, Indigenous and environmental issues that the government has also raised as bargaining priorities.

Some people need to be strapped to a rocket and shot off into the sun:

Adrian Jones’ short, tortured life was spent isolated from outsiders, confined in filthy, mice-infested houses where he was “home-schooled” by the parents who ultimately killed him, according to court documents.

But the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father and stepmother were meticulously documented, through dozens of surveillance cameras. As his family moved from place to place across Kansas and Missouri, his stepmother captured photos of the horrors, images stored online and later recovered by authorities.

Syria looks like it might qualify for the World Cup. Good for it:

In the midst of a long-running and ruinous war, millions of Syrians may finally have something to be joyful about.

Syria’s national soccer team has a chance to qualify for next year’s World Cup — what would be the Arab nation’s first-ever appearance in the sport’s most prestigious event. The team, referred to by many Syrians as the “Qasioun Eagles” after a mountain overlooking the capital Damascus, has been on an impressive run despite being forced to play all its games in other countries.

(Kamsahamnida)