As North Korea Prepares for War, Parents Turn to Eating Their Children for Survival

As Pyongyang prepares for nuclear war with the United States, dire reports are sneaking out of North Korea that desperate parents are turning to cannibalism of their own children to survive the current famine sweeping across the infamously oppressive nation.

The Sunday Times is reporting that at least one North Korean father was recently executed by firing squad after it was revealed he had murdered and eaten two of his children during the current food shortage, which started last year and has left as many as 10,000 people dead from starvation and disease.

“While [the man's] wife was away on business he killed his eldest daughter and because his son saw what he had done, he killed his son as well," an anonymous informant told Asia Press. When his wife returned home, he offered her "fresh meat", which immediately made her suspicious, as meat is extremely difficult to obtain in the famine-ravaged rogue nation. The anguished mother also saw the remnants of her children's corpses decomposing outside of their home.

The Telegraph reported that at least three people have been put to death for resorting to cannibalism in the past year. Informants also are reporting horrific stories of a man arrested for digging up and eating his dead grandchild, and "a man who went mad with hunger" and boiled his child for dinner.

Rumors persist that during the height of the North Korean famine in the late-1990s, citizens bought, sold and traded human flesh in open air markets, as no other food was available for consumption. 

News of the current food crisis comes as the North Korean government and its unsteady leader Kim Jong Un continue to saber rattle, threatening to continue with their long-range nuclear missile program capable of striking South Korea, Japan and even the United States.

Mushroom Clouds: Kashmir Warns Residents to Prepare for Nuclear War

 Officials in the Indian-controlled nation of Kashmir are warning citizens to build bomb-proof basements, collect two weeks' worth of food and water and be prepared for a possible nuclear war.

The officials did not answer calls from international press inquiring why they were suddenly concerned about a nuclear attack in the region, repeatedly fought over by nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan. However, a series of deadly skirmishes along the cease-fire line in recent weeks has heightened tensions between the two countries, which both have a substantial nuclear weapons arsenal.

 

Kashmir authorities published the shocking advisory Monday in the Greater Kashmir newspaper. Concerned residents immediately began to inundate the newspaper office and local government offices with calls after the report went public. 

 

The report advised residents to build toilet-equipped basements large enough to house the entire family for at least two weeks. If there is no basement, residents should construct bunkers in their front yards, the notice advised. The bunkers should be well-stocked with candles, battery-operated lights and radios along with non-perishable food items and water that is regularly replaced to ensure it is fresh, the advisory stated.

During an attack, it advises drivers to get out of their cars toward the blast to save themselves from being crushed by their soon-to-be tumbling vehicles. It also warns residents to keep contaminated people out of their shelters, as they will expose any survivors to potentially lethal amounts of radioactive particles.

The advisory didn't just focus on a nuclear attack, as it also provided information on what to do during a chemical or biological warfare attack as well.

The Would-Be Assassin: Bulgarian Politician Survives Shooting Attempt on Live TV

A campaigning Bulgarian politician is lucky to be alive after a harrowing assassination attempt on his life that was broadcast on live television!

Ahmed Dogan, 58, who has been the leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms for almost twenty-five years, was delivering a speech in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, when a man jumped up from the audience and ambushed him. The man—identified as twenty-five-year old from the Black Sea town of Burgas and a member of opposition political party to the MRF—quickly pulled out a gun as he jumped on stage and aimed directly at Dogan's head.

The would-be assassin immediately pulled the trigger, but miraculously the gun misfired, giving the politician an opportunity to escape. Dogan managed to knock the firearm out of the man's hand as it fell to the stage floor. Security officers promptly rushed the stage, pushing the assassin to the ground as body guards and fellow politicians formed a protective shield around Dogan, who was unharmed in the heart-stopping incident.

Cameras panned to the failed assassin, who was left bloodied and battered as security guards and staff members delivered blows and hard kicks to the young man as he lay helpless on the stage floor. He is then taken from the conference hall.

"Ahmed Dogan is in good health. Everything is under control,"  Movement for Rights and Freedoms official Ceyhan Ibryamov told journalists after the disturbing melee.

Scrap Paper: First Library without Books to Open in Texas

The world's very first library without books is scheduled to open in San Antonio, Texas, later on this year.

Apparently, physical, hardbound books are sooo last century, as the new BiblioTech Library will only "house" digital copies of your favorite titles that library-goers will be able to view in the library's sparkling new facility. The library will have 100 e-readers available for circulation and to "borrow", 50 e-readers designed for young children, 50 computer stations, 25 laptops and 25 tablets for customers. Customers can also bring along their own tablets, Nooks or Kindles and can download books directly to their own devices. 

The library will be partnering with e-book publishers to give clients access to more than 10,000 titles by the end of 2013, with expectations to add at least as many new titles each year. Nelson Wolff, who designed the new facility after reading a biography on Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, says "If you want to get an idea of what [the new library] looks like, go into an Apple store." 

 "You will be able to check out a book, read it on-site. It will be a learning environment -- you'll be able to learn about technology itself as well as access a tremendous amount of information," Wolff stated in an interview with local San Antonio media. 

For bibliophiles who complain there is nothing compared to opening the pages of a new book and diving in, Wolff assures "We all know the world is changing. I am an avid book reader. I read hardcover books, I have a collection of 1,000 first editions. Books are important to me," Wolff told ABC News. "But the world is changing and this is the best, most effective way to bring services to our community."

Land Ho! New Island Size of 25 Football Fields Emerges in North Sea

A new land mass has suddenly "emerged" from the North Sea, off the coast of Germany and Denmark. The new island has been christened Bird Island and has grown to the length of over twenty-five football fields over the course of the past several years, ecologists are saying.

The island is now home to almost fifty species of plants and wildlife is also flocking to the burgeoning ecosystem. The landmass, which is comprised mostly of sandbanks and grasses native to the region, gradually emerged from the stormy waters of the North Sea over the past few years. Biologists say that seeds blown on the often hurricane-force winds on the sea carried various seeds to the new island from across Europe, and the new flora is now flourishing on the island.

The German government want to protect the new land mass and will limit public access to the area. Scientists warn that the island is subject to the often brutal forces of the North Sea, and the grasses growing on the island do not yet have the root system necessary to bind the sand dunes that make up the island together, which leaves the island very vulnerable to tidal erosion and heavy flooding.

[Addendum: This does meet the fulfillment language in the Webbot Project's (Web Bot Project) "New Land Rising" linguistic meme and temporal marker for the onset of major global events.]

Related links to this story:

Webbot Project Sees Scary Future 

Webbot Hit as Mass of Volcanic Rocks Larger Than Belgium Emerge Off New Zealand Coast 

Forget Tiger's Blood...Panda Blood Could Be New Superdrug

 

Charlie Sheen may be convinced that Tiger Blood is the secret to "winning" in life, but a group of scientists in China believe that Panda blood may be far better!

It seems the blood of the way-too-cute to be real giant stuffed animals native to China have a powerful antibiotic component in their blood that can shoot down infection-causing bacteria in far less time than traditional antibiotic medications currently in use. In fact, in laboratory tests, the special ingredient in the Panda blood killed the often-deadly bacteria in only one hour, as opposed to six hours with current medications being used as a treatment.

The major problem is that the Giant Panda is one of the most endangered species on the planet: There are less than 1600 of the cuddly beasts in the wild. The animals are also not exactly known for their love of romance and are notoriously lousy at breeding to produce more offspring. Breeding programs in China have been successful at keeping the species alive and reproducing, but the scientists in charge of the research program have been able to decode the genetic sequence in the blood responsible for the bacteria-killing and are working on reproducing the agent in the lab. That way, we won't have to endure countless videos of the cutie-pie symbols of China being poked and prodded for their blood and making us feel guilty because our immune systems suck.

The scientists are hopeful they can isolate and reproduce the agent soon, providing the world with an alternative antiobiotic that will hopefully be a new-weapon against drug-resistant super-bug infections.