icon caret-left icon caret-right instagram pinterest linkedin facebook twitter goodreads question-circle facebook circle twitter circle linkedin circle instagram circle goodreads circle pinterest circle

Hither and Yon

War and peace, then and now

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com
In sunny Florida, while storms and blizzards rage in the American Northeast, old war correspondents from our days in Vietnam and Cambodia talk about those days of fighting in the jungles, of going down remote roads, of running into the bad guys and coming back  Read More 
Be the first to comment

Journalism nightmare: How to confirm a defector’s story about surviving the kingdom of lies

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com
Defectors from North Korea all have harrowing tales of suffering that are difficult to imagine in real life.
Their stories differ widely depending on the circumstances — some have spent time in prisons, most have not. Many have been hungry, or have seen relatives and friends  Read More 
Be the first to comment

Obama, the Great Conciliator, makes solidarity a one-man show

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com
WASHINGTON — Incredibly, President Obama was the missing man among world leaders massed in tight formation in the front rank of the peace march mourning the slaughter of a dozen people at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and four more killed in a kosher supermarket  Read More 
Be the first to comment

U.S. continues to tolerate N. Korean WMD, but can Pyongyang handle satire?

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com
The rapid-fire sequence of events surrounding the film “The Interview” raises a familiar question: When will the world lose patience with the North Korean regime and toss out the “supreme leader” along with the flunkies and toadies and cronies surrounding him? Or do we need  Read More 
Be the first to comment

And what is AP’s Pyongyang bureau reporting about ‘The Interview’? Absolutely nothing

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com
By now so many people have seen “The Interview” that it almost seems ridiculous to think that Sony briefly banned its release. The film is so accessible that Sony’s main problem may be how to get people to pay to see it when anyone  Read More 
Be the first to comment

Many motives for the cyber-attack on ‘The Interview’

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com
Maybe we should all be thankful. No harm done in this Sony/North Korea flap; just a war of words. A torrent of them, in fact, but so far no fatalities, no injuries, merely hurt feelings, stunned outrage, routine mass media sturm and drang.
Ok,  Read More 
Be the first to comment

Going nuts up there in first class

By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com
I know how she feels. You ask for nuts, you get pretzels, and that’s upsetting. That’s just the view from economy class.
Up there in first class, you ask for nuts, and you’ve got to have them strewn on  Read More 
Be the first to comment

This film’s no joke to North Korea

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com
The North Koreans could not have come up with a better way to publicize a movie.
Can anyone imagine a Hollywood comedy causing a diplomatic storm involving United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and threats of “resolute and merciless” retaliation against the country that spawned this  Read More 
Be the first to comment

Asian corruption: Despite investigative reporting exposés, it’s still going gangbusters

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com
MANILA — The title was alluring: “The First Asian Investigative Journalism Conference.”
For two days, experts regaled journalists from all over Asia on how to track down the secret stories, the purloined funds, the hidden wealth of the high and mighty in countries and economies ranging  Read More 
Be the first to comment

‘Blessed are the meek’? Documentary slams Korean megachurch pastors

Special to WorldTribune.com
By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com
The growth of megachurches worldwide is a phenomenon in which thousands of individual churches or parishes each claim more than 2,000 members.
The Full Gospel Church in Yeoeuido is the world’s largest, with hundreds of thousands attending 10 or more services every Sunday. Nearly half the  Read More 
Be the first to comment