One less psycho dictator - King Jong Il is a warm place.
 

Apparently the "Dear Leader" has kicked the bucket. Likely exciting times in Korea now. Will his son actually take over? Time for a coup? Revolution?

We live in interesting times...

warm place? crematorium?

his son has been groomed, and the groundwork laid for this event. I wouldn't expect very much change very soon, if at all. it's a militocracy

A very warm place, actually. Like burning in hell.

BBC News
 

According to BBC news the son is taking over but it's more like our Royal family; revered by some but with little real power.

Although talked about as "Dear Leader" it's the military that pull the strings and unless the majority of the population go into open revolt, I can't see that changing anytime soon.

oh, ok, you meant the afterlife thing. never fell for that whole bit, or the zombie routine, either.

I sure hope things there take a radical turn for the better with this guy gone, though.

Did you guys get a load of all of those weeping people? I mean, WTF, wasn't this guy like, a ruthless dictator? I can't help but wonder how real the tears were. As in, do they really feel that way? Or is it because the cameras are rolling and anyone seen being happy or indifferent about the old bastards death would end up getting tortured, imprisoned or both? My guess is the latter.

Dave

They were conditioned to think of him as a near deity. I've read stories of people going to prison because they set a coffee cup down on his picture. You know way too many people have a low BS awareness (an essential factor in the success of Fox News). There are probably millions who bought into his official fatherly image. I don't doubt that many of the tears were real.

Still, this hasn't been a very good year for dictators, has it?

Regards,

D-Ray

I hear Donald Trump may be scheduling a debate for all the dictator wannabees.

Wouldn't that have been the GOP debate? :)

Not pushing one ideology or another. Just like the idea of him down there.... :)

Can't help but wonder just how far from the tree the little nut is going to fall?

Chas

About 3 feet, my guess.

With NK having nukes there's no way for us to help folks over there.

Pete

And I thought Enver Hoxha had the "cult of personality" thing nailed in Albania. Ol' Enver was a piker compared with the Kim "dynasty". Consider totally-state controlled media, NO internet, and PA speakers blaring martial music & "revolutionary" speeches 24/7 & it's pretty easy to see why NK's population bought into the "Dear Leader" thing. Malnutrition makes mind control a tad easier, too.

The kid'll pick up right where the old man left off.

Easy to control minds when the government tells the press what to do, controls all information and is very willing to lie to people.

Just look at how many Americans believed, or still believe, that Iraq was behind 9-11. And this in a country with 24 hour news stations and Internet access to the rest of the world. What chance do the poor folks in NK have?

Treaty obligation?
 

Is there still a treaty obliging the USA to help South Korea if North Korea invades? North Korea claims that the South belongs to them anyway. With the US economy in the state it's in and troops just pulled home from Iraq I can't see Obama or anyone else wanting to put troops into South Korea. If the new Dear Leader thinks about it, he might come to the conclusion that now would be a good time to invade.

I don't know if US air bases exist in South Korea but if they do, are there enough planes there to mount a defense? Would moving a carrier group in be a practical alternative?

NK's nukes seem to be fairly primitive but primitive or not I wouldn't want to rely on them not being used.

Oh Well. It's time I got back to work...................

I think a lot of it depends on whether China thinks it's time for another proxy war.

Chas

My understanding is that a state of war still exists. All that was ever signed was a cease fire. If I remember correctly, there are 28,500 US troops in Korea.

Apparently, americans are still not viewed particularly favorably in Korean society. Loutish behavior on the part of US troops is a big factor in this.

Mostly true. Though the Koreans are more than happy to ply GI's with beer and soju (a strong, clear distilled spirit) and the nightlife there can be conducive to craziness, particularly in Itaewon. I've been there several times to teach a few courses and enjoyed it immensely. Seoul is a very cool place.

Also, it seems like Korean gals that you see here aren't all that attractive. There are some real stunners there.

I think we have just a 'tripwire' presence there.... but I can't imagine we would let it go.

Pete

They hate us for our "freedoms".

Chas

Our freedom to get shnackered and hire the hottest beer goggle prostitues?

:D

Pete

The South Koreans are technologically advanced society. They have the man power. They should by now be able to defend themselves. The Korea war was in the fifties......enough time to prepare. They should not need one US soldier.

Why do we still have 28,000 troops in Korea?

China?

Pete

28.000 is meaningless against the Chinese. What is needed is missile shield. And we do not need so many troops on land for that. Naval power......subs and carrier groups can complete the circle.

I've often wondered my we have so many troops in this or that place (Germany??). I assume the JCS knows what they're doing, and there's probably political issues we don't know too.

Just talking, what do I know? We sure can't build a missile shield, the left hates it.

Pete

We don't hate it, just all the money they have pissed away for nowt on dumbass things like 'Brilliant Pebbles" and flying 'Laser Guns'. Yugo could have done a better job.

Hey now, smart rocks are the wave of the future. A very very scary future.

I thought the left was worried that we'd have hedgemony again?

Pete

Missle shield? To protect ourselves against China? Is it time to dream up another cold war adversary now?How is it that everybody on the planet doesn't yet know that China has become the strongest, biggest economy in the world, and that they could bring the US to it's knees quick in a hurry with a margin call on our massive debt load, which they now own? Unlike us, they didn't bankrupt themselves by building and maintaining a mega military to go cavorting around the planet interfering with everyone elses business.

In other words, they were smart.

Meet the new boss.

Strongest, biggest economy??????

They are really in a bad position if they hold so much of our debt. :D

I don't think that China is completely free of imperialist ambitions. It has its client-states.

I also gather that China spends a similar proportion of it's economy on building up it's military. It's just that they don't waste that much of the wealth of the country on things like paying wages sufficient to expand the middle class. From what I have seen, China's foray into capitalism has created its own wealth gap. A class of very rich is developing much faster than the middle class.

The low wage scale in China has contributed to the growing wealth gap and shrinking middle class in the United States as well. The multinationals headquartered here love the idea of a suppressed wage scale. The recession couldn't have come at a better time for that aim.

Regards,

D-Ray

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonch...-this-a-crash/


http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov...bears-20111128

BTW, it wasn't the military that busted us, it was government meddling and a crooked banking system.

Looks like the new boss is just as stupid as the old boss.

Chas

I'm becoming to believe that China is intentionally manipulating us, and that we're idiots.

I've believed the second part for many years now :D

Pete

interesting articles and valid points, but, was it the straw that broke the camels back, or the crushing load that had its knees buckled and primed for the collapse? Enough gold to fill the Grand Canyon has been pissed away via America's war chest since WW2, and this says nothing about the lives lost.

We gain so much from global stability. Like highways, they generate more than they cost.

Pete

If that is the case why in hell are we not looking after them?

They're pretty good here in Ohio.

Pete

Looking for cheap entertainment? Here's the spot.
 

I have yet to determine if the writers on the KCNA site A) Absolutely believe without question what they're writing or B) Are doing all they can to keep from breaking out in hysterical laughter.

Either way...I've had the KCNA site bookmarked for a long time: http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm

Right after Jong Un took the controls they were in a frenzy to describe him as "exactly the same" as the old man.

The cult of personality continues.

(EDIT) The KCNA site is decidedly less than state-of-the-art. Click second from left on the blue bar to get to the news archives...go back to a day or two after Jong Il's demise to really load up on the hyperbole.

Bingo!

D I agree. Most Chinese live in a state of 3rd world poverty, and their construction workers are practically slaves.

That plus succession issues could spell big trouble for them, which would be big trouble for us. And the rest of the world!

If only we would've let the monarchy fail back in the 1920s. Meddlesome Americans/Europeans! :)

Pete

They also have internal problems that will continue to fester. They aren't the "biggest and strongest" economy; we still are and will be for at least the near future. The new Chinese wealthy are fleeing rapidly because of the future turmoil that the continued repression of the underclass will surely engender. There are more mouths to be paid off than food available. Also, they need a market for their products; thus, their economic clout would vaporize without the West purchasing their products.

A margin call by the Chinese would be their suicide not ours. We need to get tougher with them and pressure them to quit artificially manipulating their currency. We seem to forget how Japan was once supposedly a big threat, but ultimately floundered. China has far more internal structural problems and will likely flash and then burn out, then ascend to be a more fair player in the international economic scene.