Did media really think President Trump would confirm or deny if the military launched an electronic warfare attack against North Korea?:

President Trump is refusing to say whether the U.S. sabotaged North Korea’s launch of ballistic missile that blew up shortly after liftoff Sunday morning.

“I don’t want to comment on it,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” co-host Ainsley Earhardt at Monday’s White House Easter Egg Roll.

Last month, the New York Times reported that during President Barack Obama’s last three years in office, he quietly ordered a surge in strikes against the missile launches — including the use of “electronic warfare” techniques to combat them. It’s unclear whether such a counterattack was used to sabotage Sunday’s launch.

“The approach taken in targeting the North Korean missiles has distinct echoes of the American- and Israeli-led sabotage of Iran’s nuclear program, the most sophisticated known use of a cyberweapon meant to cripple a nuclear threat,” the Times’ David Sanger and William Broad wrote in early March.

During his “Fox & Friends” interview, Trump would also not comment on what the U.S. response would be if North Korea attempted to launch another missile.

“We’ll find out,” the president said.  [Yahoo News]

This is true. https://t.co/kl8Y2X4aHM

— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) April 17, 2017

Seen here are mini gold bars for sale at the Gold Exchange in downtown Seoul on April 17, 2017. Gold demand has sharply increased this month as it is deemed a “safe asset” amid widely circulated rumors on “an April Korean Peninsula crisis” accruing from North Korea’s military provocations. According to the exchange, about 400 bars are sold a day currently, compared to some 100 a day in previous months. (Yonhap)

Here is the latest scandal that the ROK military is responding to:

The South Korean military is currently accused of systematically tracking down homosexual soldiers.

According to the Military Human Rights Center for Korea (MHRCK), Jang Jun-kyu, Chief of Staff for the South Korean army, had ordered a probe to track down gay men in the military (not just the army). The MHRCK claims that Jang and the army’s central cyber investigation team conducted a secret nationwide investigation in February and March, monitoring soldiers through phone-tapping, monitoring gay-dating apps, and conducting one-on-one investigations.

According to the MHRCK, the army’s alleged attempt to establish a “gay blacklist,” as the scandal is being dubbed by some local media, began after a video surfaced online sometime earlier this year. In the video, which is no longer available to the public, a male soldier is having sexual intercourse with another male officer.  [Korea Expose]

You can read the rest at the link, but the MHRCK are now calling for the head of the ROK Army to resign for launching the probe:

South Korea’s army chief is facing calls to resign amid claims he ordered a nationwide probe to root out and prosecute gay personnel.

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article.  According to campaign group the Military Human Rights Center for Korea, General Jang Jun-kyu, army chief of staff, launched a “track-down process” that pinpointed about 50 soldiers, 20 of whom now face charges under military anti-homosexuality laws.  [Financial Times]

You can read the rest at the link, but if General Jang was enforcing ROK Army policy I don’t see any way he resigns.  If someone does not like the policy then campaign to get it changed instead of trying to get someone to resign who is enforcing it.

I would not want to be the commander for the unit these idiots serve in that kept an underage prostitute in the on-post dormitories and fed her dining facility food:

Two enlisted airmen assigned to Dover Air Force Base are being held on federal charges they sexually abused a runaway teen girl.

The men, identified as Airman 1st Class Dalian Washington, 25, of Philadelphia, and Airman 1st Class Akeem Beazer, 21, of Pompano Beach, Fla., were arrested March 31, said Kimberlynn Reeves, spokeswoman for acting US Attorney David Weiss.

Both men are charged with sexual abuse of a minor, while Washington also faces a single count of sex trafficking of a child.

According to the criminal complaint against both men, the case came to light in March when the girl told a social worker that beginning when she was 15 years old and continuing after her 16th birthday, she had stayed at Dover AFB and had sexual relations with Air Force personnel while there.

This admission prompted an investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Delaware State Police.

The DSP detective was familiar with the girl, who allegedly had a troubled home life and often ran away from home.  [Dover Post]

You can read the rest at the link, but this girl was being pimped out of the DMV of all places.

Considering all the media hype of using the Carl Vinson to bomb North Korea the carrier strike group does not even arrive in the East Sea until next week:

A U.S. Navy strike group led by third Nimitz-class supercarrier USS Carl Vinson will arrive in South Korea’s East Sea next Tuesday and likely participate in a joint military drill between Seoul and Washington to prepare for a possible missile threat from North Korea, officials from the South’s Ministry of National Defense said Monday. Discussions for the exercise are still ongoing, according to a senior official.

The arrival date, April 25, coincides with the 85th anniversary of the North’s Korean People’s Army, which Pyongyang might celebrate with a show of its military power. The local official said Washington was sending the Vinson strike group to South Korean waters because it deemed there was a high possibility the North will raise tension by a nuclear or missile provocation.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read the rest at the link, but the Carl Vinson was just at South Korea as part of March’s Foal Eagle exercise without the media hype it is getting now.

Military images at an orphanage in #Pyongyang #DPRK pic.twitter.com/olUa7jfVRW

— Jeremy Koh (@JeremyKohCNA) April 13, 2017

Considering how open this guy was with his side job I would be very surprised if no one in his chain command knew what he was doing:

A decorated Navy SEAL is under investigation for taking orders on porn sets.

The military is investigating Navy Chief Special Warfare Officer Joseph John Schmidt III for appearing in more than 29 adult films in the last seven years, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Friday.

Schmidt, 42, has served for more than 23 years in the military, but has allegedly found time to moonlight as a porn star under the name Jay Voom.

Schmidt has shared the most screen time with his wife, porn star Jewels Jade, but he has also appeared with X-rated actresses Mena Li and Ashden Wells. His portfolio includes titles such as “Apple Smashing Lap Dance” and “Strippers Come Home Horny From the Club.”

The military is looking into whether Schmidt violated a rule that prohibits Navy SEALs from doing other work without their commanders’ approval.  [NY Post]

You can read the rest at the link, but Schmidt’s wife claims she got back into porn after giving it up to be a mother because of financial difficulties.  She recruited her husband to help her out in order to not have to pay a male to participate in the films with her.  Schmidt was was actually only a few months from retiring before this thing blew up in his face.  It will be interesting to see if the Navy tries to take any rank away from him before retiring.

According to the article Park is accused of taking and soliciting bribes.  Have the prosecutors finally found hard evidence that she actually took money because we have not seen it yet?:

South Korean prosecutors indicted jailed former President Park Geun-hye Monday as they wrapped up a six-month probe into the corruption and influence-peddling scandal that brought her down last month.

Park has been charged with bribery, abuse of power, coercion and leaking government secrets in 18 suspected crimes, mostly involving her long-time friend Choi Soon-sil and former key aides.

Park became the country’s third former president to stand trial over corruption allegations, after Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo.

In the indictment, the prosecutors accused Park of taking and soliciting bribes worth 59.2 billion won ($52 million) from three conglomerates — Samsung, Lotte and SK — for herself or her friend.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but Park is facing 10 years in jail if convicted.