Fireworks

Everybody loves exploding things on the Fourth:

North Korea has test-fired a number of missiles, one of which was a long-range weapon capable of reaching the US, state department officials believe.

It is thought the Taepodong-2 missile failed about 40 seconds into flight.

The US said North Korea may have fired as many as six missiles. At least three - two of them said to be shorter range - fell into the Sea of Japan.

My standard line on this is "Keep testing missiles! Do you know how much kimchee it costs to build another one?" Clearly this is Kim Jong Il screaming "look at me, look at me" metaphorically. He wants to extract more largesse from the international community. Additionally, the long-range missile didn't work.

It is worth noting, however, that this comes on a day when it gets revealed that the CIA has closed its bin Laden tracking unit. I mean, it's not like he's responsible for the death of 3,000 Americans or anything. Much like with bin Laden, this government ignores the very real problems around the world while focusing directly on threats that are, to put it charitably, not as urgent. On this President's watch, North Korea has acquired nuclear weapons, and Iran has at least gone down that road. Somalia is in the hands of Islamists, and bin Laden is practically allowed to roam free. Meanwhile, Iraq, with their 500 unexploded and degraded sarin gas shells, is under occupation. The foreign policy priorities of this Administration are completely backward.