N Korea Executes 30 Officials For Failed Talks With S Korea

North Korea has been busy purging its government ranks by killing officials who have somehow failed in some form or other. According to a new report from Amnesty International, 30 people who were tasked with improving relations with South Korea were either executed or killed in apparent "staged traffic accidents." Of course,  the main reason those talks have failed is because the whacked out former "dear Leader" Kim Jong-il, and his equally touched son, Kim Jong-un, keep playing with their nukes and ballistic missiles. The country also happens to maintain one of the largest armies in the world, right on South Korea's doorstep. But no matter, 30 of those officials quickly dispensed with last year.

Then this January, when dear "Father's" fiefdom was passed on to his pudgy, 29-year-old baby-faced son, another 200 were either killed or sent off to North Korean gulags. Just making sure that any potential dissension was stopped before it happened. Amnesty estimates there are some 200,000 North Koreans rotting away in gulags.

But members of the oligarchy have never been safe in communist North Korea. Pak Nam-ki (or sometimes Nam-gi) Director of the Planning and Finance Department- was executed in 2010 for being

"a son of a bourgeois conspiring to infiltrate the ranks of revolutionaries to destroy the national economy"

In other words, he messed up an already incredibly messed up economy by revaluating the local currency, which caused further drastic problems.

Since relations with South Korea will continue to remain soured, and the economy will continue to suffer (unless they make major reforms), I'm sure there will be plenty more shipped off to gulags or executed.

After the failed missile test in April, there is talk that they might try again on May 28, Memorial Day:

"The North Korean regime is hell-bent on being a belligerent actor," said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chair of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, during a visit to Seoul with a congressional delegation. "And I think that on holidays or sad commemorations like Memorial Day weekend is when the leadership tries to provoke the democratic allies into action."

We shall see.

China's Soylent Green- Dead Baby Flesh Found In Pills

There is much to be said for the herbal remedies that are part and parcel of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and I have often written about the efficacy of many on my other blog Mind, Body and Spirit.   Some are almost miraculous, like Yunnan Baiyao which  amazingly stops bleeding. Unfortunately, like Yunnan Baiyao, some have proprietary blends that don't list all the ingredients, and if you don't purchase them from a reputable manufacturer, you never quite know what you might be getting. China has a tremendous quality control problem, and really can't be trusted. Every year or so we hear horror stories about some sub-par product from China- tainted milk, poisonous dog food, toxic drywall- and google 'tainted Chinese herbs' and you'll find a slew of articles. But the latest out of China takes the cake.

Anyone remember the film "Soylent Green"?  What South Korea discovered in the thousands of 'stamina boosting' gel caps it confiscated being smuggled into their country en route from  China is as horrifying as "Soylent Green is people!" 

..... powdered flesh from dead babies, which some people believe can cure disease.

The capsules were made in northeastern China from babies whose bodies were chopped into small pieces and dried on stoves before being turned into powder, the Korea Customs Service said.

Customs officials refused to say where the dead babies came from or who made the capsules, citing possible diplomatic friction with Beijing. Chinese officials ordered an investigation into the production of drugs made from dead fetuses or newborns last year.

Naturally, no-one wants to ruffle the Chinese government's feathers, but apparently the smuggling of these dead baby pills has been going on for a while. At least 35 times, and almost 18,000 capsules full since August. What most seem concerned about is the fact that they were contaminated with bacteria and other nasties, though no-one has gotten sick. And will anyone be prosecuted? Nope, because

Ethnic Koreans from northeastern China who now live in South Korea were intending to use the capsules themselves or share them with other Korean-Chinese, a customs official said.

The capsules were all confiscated but no one has been punished because the amount was deemed small and they weren’t intended for sale, said the customs official, who requested anonymity, citing department rules.

 And what does the Chinese government have to say about the situation?

China’s State Food and Drug Administration and its health ministry did not immediately respond to questions faxed to them Monday.

Chinese media identify northeastern China as the source of such products, especially Jilin province which abuts North Korea.

The Jilin food and drug safety agency is responsible for investigating the trade of such remains there. Calls to the agency and to the information office of Jilin’s Communist Party were not answered Monday.

Their silence, of course, is not surprising-  anyone remember how long it took for them to fess up to being ground zero for SARS?  Besides, they were probably little baby girls, so who cares.

However,  not all Chinese herbs are bad, especially if you get them from a licensed holistic doctor.