North and South Korea trade blows + LOL @ American Media

[Telionis]

So apparently, the North started firing artillery across the boarder, killing two South Korean Marines and injuring dozens. The South of course retaliated. This time, President Lee Myung-bak promised "enormous retaliation" if the DPRK didn't stop provoking his Armed Forces.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/as...110717125.html

While this was happening, CNN's website lead with TSA gate rape and Natalie Holloway. Their TV channel lead with Bristol Palin dancing and Oprah giving away VW bugs to her audience. Fox News lead with some story about a 16 year old girl that shot three bucks in an hour, while their website lead with drug war fluff and political ground zero mosque rubbish.



Please don't get your news from American cable networks! There are real choices out there. Al Jazeera English and France 24 can be streamed to any PC or Roku Netflix player, and both are fantastic. EuroNews can be had for $3 a month on Dish Network, and several cable systems. BBC World is also carried by several cable systems. Sh-t, PBS rebroadcasts BBC World twice a day. If you stick with Fox, CNN, HNN or MSNBC, you'll get nothing but political spin and fluff and maybe a few seconds of legitimate domestic news, but not even a mention of international news that doesn't directly affect our interests.

[onebadmollafolla]

Bleh. Can't we keep this thread and the other thread about our government poisoning us in the political subforum? And for that matter, all political thread?

[CoreyB]

Thought that Al Jazeera was a Fox owned news channel, maybe not. I read about the whole story on Foxnews.com though and heard about it on the TV station as well.
Its scary news if you ask me.

[Telionis]

Bleh. Can't we keep this thread and the other thread about our government poisoning us in the political subforum? And for that matter, all political thread?

What? In what way is relevant world news, or my disgust with all of our media at their decision to cover fluff instead, politically controversial? Is anyone on this forum on DPRK's side? Oh, perhaps you mean that wanting my media to cover the possible start of a global war, instead of local nonsense, is a decidedly [insert political party] platform and by saying so I am offending everyone of the [insert opposing party] persuasion???

Thought that Al Jazeera was a Fox owned news channel, maybe not. I read about the whole story on Foxnews.com though and heard about it on the TV station as well.
Its scary news if you ask me.

What? I never heard that. The second largest stock holder of News Corp (which owns Fox News) is a Saudi prince (Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud, owns 7%). Perhaps that is what you were thinking of?

Al Jazeera is a private company, mostly funded by advertisements, but still dependent on private loans from the Emir of Qatar. Being located in an extremely authoritarian nation, I'm sure the Emir could decide to pull the plug at a whim, or force them to report lies, but in the year or so of watching it I've found them to be extremely fair, even to us Americans. There is no comparison between the bias of them and Russia Today (RT), which is extremely anti-American. RT is still a good source of perspective in matters involving competing interests with Russia, say for example the 2008 South Ossetia war, but you must be sure to take RT's reporting with a grain of salt.

[Goallie11]

A reason this probably wasn't covered too much, it happened at 11pm Eastern time for the US on monday. Most people would have been asleep.

[Hammer]

It would be nice if you gave the facts instead of a spin on this story.

It started with the sinking of the South Korean Sub. It was sent into disputed waters around an Island that is in dispute as well. The North sank the sub saying it was in North Korea's waters. Now it escalates. The South holds war games on this Island and did notify the North of the war games. The North after a while asked the South to stop the war games in the disputed area (They fear possible mobilization for war) they did threaten the South with artillary fire on the Island if the South did not stopthe war games (escalation on behalf of the North). Which they did after the South did not stop(again escalation to see if the North really would follow thru after all the Island is clearly the Souths?). I am not passing blame here. Both sides are instigating the other. But most news stories are designed to garner simpathy for one side or the other by tainting the story enough to make the other side appear the aggressor. Then the South did respond with there own artillery fire on the North. If you ask me both sides want war and are pushing each other for it. The South is busy with propaganda to garner support from America for war. I have no idea who actually owns the diputed Island except that the South has occupied it for some time (years) some 1,500 South Korea civilians live there. To begin with the South did not have to send the Sub into disputed waters. That action is one that is asking for provocation.

I just want to be clear both sides are doing everything they can to inflate tennsions in the area. And of course they each blame the other for any attrocities. Just giving the facts from the US ambassadors office to South Korea. Does not sound very close to most of what you hear from different news sources now does it. Depends on what political spin they want to put on it.

I am thinking they are both using this Island as an excuse to trigger a war.

Latest developement the US is sending an air craft carrier to the area and expanding war games.
North Korea vows to step up their military readiness and will continue to shell the area.

Soon China is going to weigh in on this. I wonder if they will fan the flames or try to settle things down?

[AgentOblivious]

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/1...ry-attack.html

"The U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington set sail for the region from Tokyo on Wednesday to take part in previously scheduled military training with the South, which will continue from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1.

The skirmish began when North Korea warned the South to halt military drills near its sea border, according to South Korean officials.

When Seoul refused and began firing artillery into disputed waters — but away from the North Korean shore — the North retaliated by shelling Yeonpyeong, which houses South Korean military installations and a small civilian population.'

Sounds pretty much the same. (Gotta love CBC)