Today is the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, so naturally North Korea is stirring things up by imposing a shipping ban in its western waters. The South fears the North could be preparing more missile tests.

Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe was apparently not content with merely sporting a Hitler moustache. He clearly felt his crazy despot credentials were lacking something. Which may be why he sent a boatload of animals to North Korea's Kim Jong Il.

Here's an important lesson to keep in mind: If the corrupt president of an impoverished African nation comes along and tells you he's going to pay you $27 million to buy a piece of land you own in Midtown, do not take him at his word. Stay skeptical, at least until you have the money in hand. Dictators, you see, tend to operate by their own set of rules; just they signed a silly piece of paper called a "contract" doesn't mean they can't change their minds later on. They can do what they want. That's one of the perks to being an autocrat!

The Empire State Building will be awash in red and yellow lights tomorrow night in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Peoples' Republic of China, a shining beacon of hope to totalitarian corporatist regimes everywhere.

Moammar Khadafy may be completely crazy. And he may be one of the world's worst dictators as far as Washington is concerned. But just because you're a vicious dictator and an international pariah doesn't mean you can't be stylish, too. (And, really: If everyone is going to despise you no matter what, you might as well feel good about yourself when you look in the mirror, right?) Fortunately, we're here to help. Since Khadafy is spending the week in New York—the fashion capital of the universe—it seemed like an opportune time to give the Libyan leader a few style pointers. At last night's reception to celebrate the opening of the Spider Silk exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, reporter Douglas Marshall took celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch aside to get a few tips on how Khadafy could reinvent himself. And because Moammar has always been known to love the ladies—he's protected at all times by a contingent of attractive, female bodyguards, for example—we asked one of the most beautiful women around, actress Heather Graham, to weigh in as well. Some honest advice to Moammar is below.

Moammar Khadafy's tent in Donald Trump's backyard was dismantled this afternoon. As for how much Trump really knew about who had rented his Bedford property—or whether he was truly duped by the Libyan leader's reps—that remains an open question. In what may be a historic first for the Trumpster, he's turning down all interview requests for the time being. Savor the moment. [AP, previously]

Moammar Khadafy didn't get to stay in Bedford last night—construction on his Bedouin-style tent was halted last night after his plans to camp out on Donald Trump's estate were revealed publicly—and he instead had to bunk down at the Libyan mission on East 48th Street. The world's most fashionable dictator held his first meeting of the day early this morning when he had a tête-à-tête with one the few people willing to talk to him, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Then it was off to the United Nations where he bypassed protesters and delivered a rambling speech about, well, you name it. Dressed in tan-colored robes, black cap, and with a shiny black pin in the shape of Africa pinned over his heart, Khadafy relied on a handful of handwritten pages to deliver a 90-minute speech, which was about 75 minutes or so over the limit.

Former co-host of The View, Lisa Ling, is hitting the press this week for the first time since her sister, Laura (pictured, right) and fellow Current TV journalist Euna Lee were detained by the North Korean government. Their trial's on June 4th, and things aren't looking good.

Cuban dictator Fidel Castro gave ABC News White House correspondent Jake "The Octogon" Tapper a shout-out in his unreadable column in some state-controlled newspaper.

North Korea does not let in journalists, except for the odd random one with a great cover story. If you're a reporter sneaking in, you better have big time backup. Not, for example, Current TV.

Are politicians unscrupulous, money-hungry backslappers who would treat even the worst dictator like a visiting dignitary if they thought it might land them a nice photo-op and some municipal donations that they could tout in their campaign literature? Yes, according to a mischievous prank. Islom Karimov is the "President" of Uzbekistan, by virtue of vote fraud, repression, "disappearing" of dissidents, and other fun tactics. So Cityfile posed as an Uzbekistani official to see how many New York politicians would be willing to set up a meeting with Karimov. A lot, it turns out!

South America is crazy about "The Simpsons," Fox's funny cartoon for grown-ups. Who knew? And the countries down there are apparently very sensitive to any perceived historical inaccuracies in the satirical show, no matter how obvious the joke. Citizens of Argentina are outraged over an episode in which Lenny and Carl—two fictional cartoon characters—call Argentina's former president Juan Peron a dictator, and joke that he was married to Madonna (who played Eva Peron in a movie) [WP]. Why, it's as if some foreign cartoon insulted Ronald Reagan! Venezuela recently declared "The Simpsons" to be unfit for children to watch, so who knows what official action will come out of this. The offending clip is below.