North Korea Fires Artillery Shells Into South Korea

Scroll to the end of this post for further updates...


**4.26am** I've embedded a live video stream from a South Korean TV Station for the duration of this event, or until the stream gets pulled by Ustream.






**5.46am** The stream has been pulled. Check out this webpage that lists several Korean Stations that are streaming live programming.







Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea on Tuesday fired artillery into the sea near its tense western sea border with South Korea, injuring at least 14 South Korean military personnel and two civilians, the Yonhap news agency reported.


Four of the military personnel were seriously injured, Yonhap said.


At least 200 rounds of artillery hit an inhabited South Korean island after the North started firing about 2:30 p.m. local time, Yonhap said.


Source: CNN


I think this may be more simple military posturing by the leaders of North Korea in order to force the West into more concessions. I'll keep you updated as events unfold. 


**3.33am** Here is a report from The Wall Street Journal.


Here are some good news sources that you can use to keep up with the news from the Koreas:


United States Forces South Korea


Korea Times
Yonhap News Agency
The Chosunilbo
The Seoul Times


And here is the official state-run news website from North Korea. (Reports to be taken with a HUGE grain of salt and not to be believed unless verified elsewhere. Anything reported on this website is to be considered as pure propaganda.)















A brief video report from CNN.

















Video of a report from South Korean television.













Video blog from an American living in South Korea.

















A report that details the Chinese point of view on North Korea, why they prop up the North Korean government.


And here is a 45 minute video from National Geographic that goes into some detail about North Korea:















Inside North Korea by The National Geographic Channel




Hat Tip: ReconChesty via Twitter. (tweet reproduced below)

ReconChesty Gunny Highway 

Wait a minute...Wasn't OBAMA just in South Korea? WTH? North Korea just attacked South Korea http://fxn.ws/18bKG #tcot #sk

**3.56am** Hat Tip to @RodrigoBNO  for this story that gives a little more background for the difficulties in dealing with North Korea:

Seoul's Vulnerability Is Key to War Scenarios

A U.S. strike on the North may provoke a catastrophic retaliation against South's capital.

By Barbara Demick, Times Staff Writer

SEOUL -- When the U.S. military tries to explain the difficulty of using force to stop North Korea's development of nuclear weapons, the oddly poetic phrase it turns to is the "tyranny of proximity."

The phrase, which has been in the lexicon of the U.S. forces in South Korea for years, stems from the imposing array of conventional artillery that the North Koreans have dug into the hills just north of the demilitarized zone, a mere 30 miles from this capital city of 12 million. The nightmare scenario is that if the United States opts for a more forceful approach to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions, the communist regime would retaliate not only against the 38,000 American troops stationed in South Korea, but also against South Korea itself.

North Korea last Tuesday bluntly reminded Seoul of its vulnerability when an envoy threatened the South with "unspeakable disaster" if it sides with Washington in the crisis.

The comment — which ironically was made at the opening of talks about South Korean economic assistance to the impoverished North — underscores the degree to which Seoul is being held hostage. 

Source: UCLA Dept of Epidemiology

**5.40am** Here is a Google Satellite Map of the area attacked by the North Koreans:










**6.57am** A recap from the UK Guardian Live Blog: 

11.50am: Time for a bit of a recap after a tumultuous morning.

• Two South Korean marines have died after North Korea fired shells at on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff said 16 others were injured during the bombardment of the island, which is located near the countries' disputed western border.

• South Korea returned fire and scrambled fighter jets in response to the attack. North Korea has not confirmed whether it suffered any losses. South Korea has accused its neighbour of an "intentional and planned attack", and said North Korea's action violated the 1953 armistice between the two countries.

• North Korea has issued a robust response, accusing South Korea of firing first and saying it was provoked into taking action.South Korea was undertaking an annual military drill before North Korea fired. "Despite our repeated warnings, South Korea fired dozens of shells from 1pm ... and we've taken strong military action immediately," the North's official KCNA news agency said.

• The international community has criticised North Korea, with the White House describing the attack as "belligerent". In the UK, foreign secretary William Hague said the attack was "unprovoked" and said the country "strongly condemns" it. A senior Russian Foreign Ministry official said North Korea's action was "absolutely unacceptable".

• China, North Korea's only major ally, expressed "concern" over the initial reports, but called on both Koreas to "do more to contribute to peace". A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was now "imperative to resume six-party talks". North Korea quit talks with South Korea, the US, China, Russia and Japan in April last year.

**8.04am**  S. Korea may strike N. Korea's missile base: President Lee


SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak ordered his military Tuesday to strike North Korea's missile base around its coastline artillery positions if it shows signs of additional provocation, his spokeswoman said.

   In a video conference with Gen. Han Min-koo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president ordered "multiple-fold retaliation" against the North for its artillery attack on a South Korean island, according to presidential spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung.

   "President Lee instructed (the military) to strike North Korea's missile base near coastline artillery position if necessary... if there in an indication of further provocation," the spokeswoman said.

**2.36pm** A recap from the UK Guardian Live Blog: 

4.30pm: That's it for today, thanks for reading and for the comments. Tania has just filed a story on today's events:

South Korea warned today that it will unleash "enormous retaliation" if North Korea launches fresh attacks against its territory.

North Korean troops bombarded Yeonpyeong, an island in disputed waters, with dozens of rounds of artillery earlier today, reportedly killing two South Korean soldiers and injuring around 20 people.

Seoul placed its military on its highest non-wartime alert level, scrambling F-16 fighter jets to the western sea and returning fire, officials said. It warned that the attack was a violation of the armistice that ended the Korean war in 1953.

The South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, who convened an emergency security meeting shortly after the initial bombardment, said an "indiscriminate attack on civilians" could never be tolerated.

"Enormous retaliation should be made, to the extent that [North Korea] cannot make provocations again," he said.

The assault is one of the most serious in the decades since the war, given the involvement of civilians, although previous firefights around the disputed maritime border have resulted in a higher number of casualties.

In a short statement carried by the official KCNA news agency, the North said the South had fired first – presumably in reference to a live-fire drill being carried out as part of annual military exercises. It said it had repeatedly warned the South not to go ahead with the drill.

... Read more here.

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A Reason for President Obama's Trip to India: Countering the Chinese Military Buildup

Peter Brookes of the Heritage Foundation discusses the buildup of the Chinese Military and its implications for the US and the rest of the world. I think that is part of the reason that President Obama has gone to India and is offering military aid to them, it is a counter-weight to the Chinese. It is very gratifying to me to see Obama follow the Neoconservative line on this foreign policy issue.

Read More

A Chistmas Eve Blogburst

I enjoy putting together blogbursts, it's a shame I don't do it more often.

This time around, I'll divide things by geographic region...

EUROPE

From The Gates of Vienna comes an excellent article on The Islamization of the Netherlands.

In Sweden, violent Muslim riots have spread to Stockholm as that nation continues to be under seige from gangs of marauding Muslimgangs,

At the EU Referendum, Richard bemoans the sad state of what passes for journalism. Richard, we have the same problem over here.

Christofer Booker reports on the appeasement of Iran by the naming of an Iranian opposition group a terrorist entity by the cowards in Brussels.

France is looking at becoming Sharia-compliant in it's financial affairs to ease the way for their newest overlords.

In EuropeNews comes the report of two Somali Muslims beating another Somali Muslim to death with baseball bats in a Liverpool park over a disagreement concerning whether Muslims can drink alcohol. Apparrently their religious ferfor allows them to beat to death someone who disagrees with them. It is a good thing that Islam has been hailed by all the Politically correct as "The religion of Peace" or we might think this sort of thing was common.

The Russian Foreign Ministry is urging the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) to accept the "New Reality" in Russian-occupied Georgia and the Russian energy giant Gazprom tightens it's screws on the Ukraine. Meet the New Russia, like the Old Soviet Union, only without the Communism...and with even more nuclear missiles.



LATIN AMERICA

One of the writers at Babalu Blog spends Christmas with Che.

Venezeula News & Views notes that a lot of support for the Chavez government comes from those who do not even live in Venezuela, and further notes that a majority of Voters have expressed their desire to see him gone from power.

ASIA

In Indonesia, the central bank will continue to promote a Sharia-based economic system, and farmers are protesting the scarcity of fertilizer.

The NWFP PA Assembly is suing for peace with the Taliban, and has asked the national Pakistani government to negotiate with the Taliban and demand Sharia Enforcement. In other parts of Pakistan, the Taliban are enforcing Sharia Law.

China is cracking down on low-brow Jerry Springer type of entertainment shows and in Harbin, a 525 foot-long Santa has been built out of ice.

And, in Australia, an emu has been stabbed to death in a zoo by overnight intruders. No motive is known.

MIDDLE EAST

The Gulf Daily News is reporting that a former US Marine is suing the US government for its involvement in a Sharia-compliant subsidiary in Bahrain, which he claims is an "unconstitutional government infringement on religion".

An eight year-old girl must wait until puberty to get divorced from her 50 year-old husband according to a Saudi Judge. Why are we friends with this nation of pedophiles? Oh yes, it is because we have been held hostage to them by lefty environuts who refuse to let us develop our own fuel resources.

AFRICA

Archbishop Desmond Tutu is upset with South Africa because it has failed to stand up to the darling of the Left, Robert Mugabe. Oh Tutu, where were you a decade ago as Mugabe began his murderous rampage? You were telling people to leave him alone.

And AfriGadget celebrates an enterpreneur of dumpster-diving in Cape Town.

In an African cliche, the military has taken over the government of Guinea after the death of President Conte. They have dissolved the government and suspended the constitution, just like unhinged lefties and Ron Paul Supporters claim President Bush wants to do.

That is all I have time for right now. I think that in the new year, I should do this more often.

Read More

Mumbai Terrorists Used Internet Resources During Attack

The Mumbai terrorists used an array of commercial technologies -- from Blackberries to GPS navigators to anonymous e-mail accounts -- to pull off their heinous attacks.

For years, terrorists and insurgents around the world have used off-the-shelf hardware and software to stay ahead of bigger, better-funded authorities. In 2007, former U.S. Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid complained that, with their Radio Shack stockpile of communications gear, "this enemy is better networked than we are." The strikes that killed at least 174 appears to be another example of how wired today's "global guerrillas" can be.

As they approached Mumbai by boat, the terrorists "steered the vessel using GPS equipment," according to the Daily Mail. A satellite phone was later found aboard.

Once the coordinated attacks began, the terrorists were on their cell phones constantly. They used BlackBerries "to monitor international reaction to the atrocities, and to check on the police response via the internet," the Courier Mail reports.

Source: Danger Room (be sure to read the whole thing)

Commentary

The police cut local cable, satellite and Television broadcasts during the attacks, but were still unable to stop the terrorists from accessing the resources of the Internet...and they were foolish to think that they could.

I wonder how many free or freely available Wi-Fi networks were available to the terrorists to use (aside from their satphones) that the police could not even shut down even if they wanted to?

There is one thing that could have lessened the carnage. A citizenry self-armed and willing to defend themselves.

Read More

The John Batchelor Show for Nov 30th

It's Sunday night, and that means it's time for John Batchelor!





Here is his website.





The show starts at 7pm Eastern, and continues for six hours of the best radio you will find anywhere, as only John Batchelor can deliver it with his stable of experts...




And here is where you can listen to the show live online:



New York, WABC-AM 770 7-10PM ET;



Washington DC, WMAL-AM 630 7-9PM ET;



San Francisco, KSFO-AM 560;



Los Angeles,KFI-AM 640;






Schedule for Tonight: (all six hours are on the same link now)






The first two hours are below to whet your appetite:





War on Mumbai Special.

705P ET: Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover Institution, re the guerilla attack on Mumbai beginning Wednesday 26 at approximately 2100 hours Mumbai time; the evidence so far pointing to multiple sources for the attackers, who may have been trained at ISI run camps near Peshawar and Lahore: attackers may include Britons, Pakistanis, Kashmiris, Heyderabad Indians, possibly East Africans from Mauritius: evidence also points to long planing for the operation that was launched from sea to land-based safe houses. Multiple dry runs beforehand. The attack resembles the spectacular planned by Chechen guerillas against the G8 meeting at Petersburg in July 2008. Re the evidence of fastitdious planning and accurate intelligence by attackers. Re the US posture toward Al Qaeda's capabilities and aims. Re TV coverage from global financial center on CNN network is the WMD, the force multiplier. Re the pogrom at Nariman House.



720P: Joe Barrett, Wall Street Journal, re the cotton crop and the financial crisis, re the worldwide commodities sell-off and the blow to farmers, re the strategy to survive the credit drought for farm supplies.

735P: Professional Roundtable with Mona Charen, NRO, Vaughn Verver and John Fund, Wall Street Journal; re the attack on Mumbai, reported to the panel by Bill Roggio, Long War Journal, re what does Mumbai mean for the Obama transition, re the Wsj editorial board cheering the decision to continue Robert Gates, DoD, and to name Jim Jones, retired Marine general, to NSA.

750P: Continued re the Franken/ Coleman recount.

805P: Larry Kudlow, CNBC "Kudlow & Company," re the strong dollar/low tax strategy recommended by Nobelist Robert Mundell, re the need for a corporate tax holiday for one year to geerate business, re the need to link the dollar to the yuan at 6.8, to put a floor under the Euro at $1.25, the the unknown President-Elect Obama tax plans, re the conservative Keynesian Paul Volcker.

820P: Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents Major Jewish Organizations, re the attack on the Lubavitcher settlement at Nariman House, Coloba in South Mumbai, re the murder of the rabbi, his wife, Gabriel and Rivka Hertzberg, and others after the hostage stand-off, re the pogrom.

835P: Financial Professionals, with John Tamny, RealClearMarkets.com, Simon Constable, Dow Jones, Aaron Task, Yahoo Finance, re the Citi bailout and market confidence, re the auto bailout and the Obama administration, re this is Obama's stock market, re the dollar-a-year men return.

850P: Continued, re the attack on Mumbai as a financial center, re the global downturn in India and China.

Read More

The Media In India Still Loves Their Soldiers

I just witnessed the arrival of Commandos at the Trident House where terrorists are still holding hostages...and the crowd of onlookers cheered the soldiers, along with the Indian Reporters.

I wish our media were capable of the same thing.

My prayers are with the people of India during this time.

I have a live-stream at West Carolina Report of the ongoing operations against the terrorists as commandos are clearing the buildings of terrorists...which the India Times carried live. You can also read my Google Reader Shared Items Page for links to articles I am reading and sharing, many of them regarding the Mumbai Terror Strikes.

It has also been reported that officials in India are requesting people in the area to be not too specific in their twitter coverage because the terrorists may be monitoring twitter. You can search twitter your self manually, or view hot tags clouds on TwitScoop. You can see the latest twits by rolling your mouse pointer over the tag, and see a trend chart by double clicking on the tag. 

And for those of you not on twitter, here is a list of twitter tools to entice you by showing the utility of the service.

Read More

Terror Strikes in Mumbai, Again

I have been watching live video streaming coverage of the coordinated attacks by Muslim terrorists "seeking to cause mayhem", according to police officials who have been briskly interrogating captured terrorists.

There is an ongoing hostage situations in the Trident Hotel and the Taj Motel. Just now, at 3.16 am Eastern Time, it is being reporting that a Greek millionaire has been shot dead by the terrorists at the Taj Motel.

Here is a synopsis from the BBC:

At least seven high-profile locations were hit in India's financial
capital, including two luxury hotels where dozens of hostages are being held.
The buildings are now ringed by troops. Gunmen are also said to be holding people captive in an office block.
Police say four suspected terrorists have been killed and nine arrested.

As day broke in Mumbai, the situation on the ground was still confused
with reports of gunfire and explosions at between seven and 16 locations.
The city's main commuter train station, a hospital, a restaurant and two hotels - locations used by foreigners as well as local businessmen and leaders - were among those places caught up in the violence.

Source: BBC

As I write this, the Maha DGP is reporting the hostage crisis at the Taj Hotel is over, and all hostages held there have been rescued by commandos. Reporters are still seeing people in the windows of the hotel. Shivraj Patil, Home Minister, is giving a Press Conference as I write [3.26 am Eastern]. He is expressing his sorrow and condolencses for the victims and the policemen who laid down their lives in service of the nation.

200 Cmmandos have been provided to the state police, and they have been working together to kill the terrorists and free the hostages.

According to UTVi, these places have been attacked:

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station - shootings, grenades
South Mumbai Police Headquarters - shootings
Leopold Cafe, Colaba - shootings
Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel - shootings, six explosions, fire on top floor, hostages
Oberoi Trident Hotel - shooting, explosions, hostages, fire
Mazagaon Docks - explosion, boat with armaments seized
Cama Hospital - shootings, hostagesNariman House - siege, hostages
Vile Parle Suburb, North Mumbai - explosions

On the live coverage I am watching, the terrorists came by sea and had at least two boatloads of weapons and explosives, and that they were directed by Sat Phone from Pakistan. I could not understand what the name of the group was.

[4.30 am Eastern The terrorists are being called Mujahideen. I had trouble understanding the accent. --TP]

There are intermittent explosions taking place in the Mariman House as Commandos work to clear the building of terrorists.

I have moved my live streaming coverage to the Live Page on West Carolina Report.

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Live Coverage From India of Terror Attack Aftermath

The volume is started at zero...so you will have to slide the volume bar to the right to get sound:
I have moved the live streaming player
to my live page on West Carolina Report for the duration
of the coverage from the Times of India.

Read More

At least 80 people are killed and 250 wounded in India terror attacks as gunmen 'hunt for Brits and Americans'

The Indian city of Mumbai was torn apart by a string of terror attacks tonight leaving at least 80 people dead and 250 wounded.

Gunmen wielding assault rifles and hurling grenades targeted two luxury five star hotels, the city's railway station and a hospital.

Witnesses claimed the terrorists were demanding 'anyone with a British or American passport' and gunmen were tonight reported to be holding Western hostages at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

'These are terrorist strikes in at least seven places. unknown terrorists have gone with automatic weapons and opened fire indiscriminately,' a state police chief told local television.

Source: Daily Mail

And here is live video of a portion of the attack from you tube:

A chronology of terrorist attacks upon India by practitioners of The Religion of Peace.

Read More