I am not sure why servicemembers are struggling to pay rent or buy food when they have not missed a paycheck yet unlike their government civilian counterparts:
Visits to food pantries on U.S. military bases in Japan climbed in October during the federal government shutdown, according to an informal survey by Stars and Stripes. The Neighborhood Pantry at the Marine Corps’ Camps Foster and Kinser on Okinawa saw a steady rise in visits, said Angie Tomlin, the community support coordinator for both locations.
About 160 people visited the pantries in October, up from 146 in September and 122 in August, she said Tuesday at the Foster pantry. “We just hope this doesn’t last too long, because I feel like our island resources are going to run out at some point,” she said.
You can read more at the link.
It is suprising that it has been eight years since the U.S. Secretary of Defense War has made a visit to the JSA:
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a joint visit to the Joint Security Area (JSA) at the truce village of Panmunjeom on Monday, marking the first such appearance by the defense chiefs of the two allies in eight years.
The visit took place one day before the 57th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Seoul, where both sides are expected to review the alliance’s key security agenda, including South Korea’s nuclear-powered submarine program and the long-awaited transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON).
You can read more at the link.
It looks like Kim Jong-un is making sure that if the Russians need more meat for their conflict against Ukraine his troops are ready:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected the combat readiness of a military special operations unit and gave instructions for its development, the North’s state media reported Sunday.
Kim visited the headquarters of the 11th Corps of the Korean People’s Army the previous day and watched a training session, expressing “great satisfaction” with its perfect war posture, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The 11th Corps is the North Korean military’s most elite special forces unit, which deployed troops to Russia late last year to support its war with Ukraine and gained experience in modern warfare.
You can read more at the link.
The DPK is looking to end the only institution that is a check on their power the Supreme Court by packing it with leftist sympathizers:
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)’s recent legislative proposal to expand the number of justices on Korea’s Supreme Court from the current 14 has ignited a passionate debate. Advocates argue that reform would make the judiciary more representative, correct a long-standing conservative bias and ease the court’s workload. Critics fear the move is less about balance and more about power. Whatever one’s political sympathies, Korea would be wise to look abroad before proceeding. The experiences of Poland and the United States offer sobering warnings.
When Poland’s right-wing populist Law and Justice Party came to power in 2015 by capturing the presidency and a parliamentary majority, a wave of fear swept through Polish civic circles. The opposition worried that the judiciary remained the last check on the populists’ power, while party leaders countered that the courts were elitist, politically biased and hostile to the will of the people. On that basis, the government embarked on an ambitious project of “judicial reform.” They lowered the Supreme Court retirement age to remove senior judges, introduced a new disciplinary system that gave politicians greater power to punish or remove judges deemed disloyal, and expanded certain courts to stack them with loyalists — pejoratively dubbed “neo-judges.”
Defended as technical fixes, in practice these changes enabled the ruling party to increasingly capture the judiciary. Judges who resisted were harassed, sidelined or disciplined. Trust in the impartiality of Poland’s judiciary collapsed. The European Union condemned the reforms as violations of democratic norms and launched infringement proceedings. Nearly a decade later, after the populists’ fall from power, Poland’s Supreme Court now has competing chambers that issue contradictory rulings, deepening uncertainty and further eroding public trust — a clear illustration of how such reforms, even if well-meaning, can breed dysfunction.
You can read more at the link.
A smartphone is kind of a weird gift to give considering the security threat it poses which Lee made fun of:
President Lee Jae Myung has received a set of Xiaomi smartphones and traditional Chinese calligraphy tools from Chinese President Xi Jinping following their first summit talks, as the two leaders shared a lighthearted exchange about communication security.
As the two sides exchanged their gifts on Saturday, Xi presented Lee with two smartphones made by Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, noting that the displays on the phones are Korean-made.
“Is the line secure?” Lee quipped. Xi replied through an interpreter, “You can check if there is a backdoor.”
You can read more at the link.
Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section and I hope everyone has a safe Halloween. 🎃
