Remembering Vaclav Havel who inspired freedom fighters from E. Europe to N. Korea, China

Remembering Vaclav Havel who inspired freedom fighters from E. Europe to N. Korea, China

John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — One year ago the renowned author, playwright, and former President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel died at age 75. In tribute to this extraordinary European Renaissance Man, I’m reissuing my column in the spirit of memory and the season. “Havel’s career as literary figure, intellectual and a political […]

Xi Jinping hits the ground running, telegraphs hawkish policy stances

Xi Jinping hits the ground running, telegraphs hawkish policy stances

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com Less than one month after becoming general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the country’s commander-in-chief,Xi Jinping has displayed a flair for catchy slogans — and superior public-relations skills. The new chairman of the policy-setting Central Military Commission has also demonstrated a readiness to project China’s […]

Going to CNN for straight news and getting Soledad O’Brien

Going to CNN for straight news and getting Soledad O’Brien

Special to WorldTribune.com By Cliff Kincaid The Washington Post story, “Media figures on left and right call for new gun-control laws,” hailed Soledad O’Brien of CNN for taking a stand in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings. Pretending to be an intellectual heavyweight on the subject, she declared on the channel that the problem […]

Report: Iran used Russian Su-25s to intercept U.S. Predator drone

Report: Iran used Russian Su-25s to intercept U.S. Predator drone

Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — The Iranian Air Force has surprised the U.S. military with the interception of a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, a report said. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy asserted that the interception of the U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator demonstrated the effectiveness of Iranian combat pilots. In a report, the […]

Europe gets the prize: Sixty years of peace, if not prosperity

Europe gets the prize: Sixty years of peace, if not prosperity

John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The European Union, the concert of 27 countries ranging from the Bay of Biscay to the Baltics and the Balkans has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. Some may smile, others may smirk, and many, when they think about it for a second time, may say […]

Memo to UN Security Council: The human rights emergency in N. Korea can no longer be ignored

Memo to UN Security Council: The human rights emergency in N. Korea can no longer be ignored

Special to WorldTribune.com By Robert Pak The author is a Korean-American minister and human rights activist who entered North Korea on Christmas day of 2009 to protest against genocide and crimes against humanity taking place within the country. He is a founding member of the nonpartisan Worldwide Coalition to Stop Genocide in North Korea. On […]

Where’s Vladimir? Kremlin spokesmen vague on Putin’s health

Where’s Vladimir? Kremlin spokesmen vague on Putin’s health

Special to WorldTribune.com Compiled by Miles Yu, Geostrategy-Direct.com The Kremlin is adamant that rumors about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ill health are only rumors. But Putin has not been meeting his scheduled events over the past couple of months. In early November, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin suffered from some illness. He denied […]

FLASHBACK: Where did Saddam’s WMD go? To Syria …

FLASHBACK: Where did Saddam’s WMD go? To Syria …

Special to WorldTribune.com (Originally posted on Aug. 26, 2003.) U.S. intelligence suspects Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction have finally been located. Unfortunately, getting to them will be nearly impossible for the United States and its allies, because the containers with the strategic materials are not in Iraq. Instead they are located in Lebanon’s heavily-fortified Bekaa […]