The Kansas City Star

With many South Koreans already hostile to Washington over trade policies and the unease over the fact that Korean forces would fall under U.S. command in a war with North Korea, analysts say the country was especially receptive to fears about American beef.

 “There’s a sense there that Korea is subordinate. They don’t like the U.S. military presence,” said Rajan Menon of the New America Foundation think tank. “That changes how they see things...” LINK

Civilian Corps Plays Big Role in Iraq War. It's the other army. The private one, perhaps 160,000 strong in Iraq alone, armed, sometimes dangerous, often sloppy with tax dollars, and without which U.S. troops would represent a far less formidable force.

The coalition of willing contractors has swallowed more than $100 billion of U.S. spending on the Iraq war. More than 1,000 of its ranks have been killed since the 2003 invasion. Today, there is a U.S.-paid contractor doing… more

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Gov. Matt Blunt calls it an innovative way to finance the buildings where the college students of the future will be taught. Skeptics fear it could make it more difficult for those future students to find affordable loans.But there seems to be agreement on this: Blunt's plan to siphon $350 million from Missouri's student loan agency for campus projects hasn't been done before. And the nation's student loan industry is watching closely as Missouri… more