Thread: North Korea

Originally Posted by donv

I, too, feel for the people of NK. It's not their fault they are where they are. I saw these photos a while back. Pretty much sums up how things are over there.

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Great post donv,Just go's to show how neanderthal N.K is,very sad.
what i would like to see is the next time N.K launchs a rocket of any kind,have a U.S navy sub knock it down with a patriot missle before it can get into orbit,that would send a message,the message being,Do not do this anymore N.K. your a pissant country on the verge of not exsisting anymore,get a clue.

Originally Posted by donv

Rodman is already busy, in North Korea no less. I haven't even bothered to read what's up with that, just saw the pictures the other day. Maybe it's a test. If he works out bringing about change, perhaps we can send Mike Tyson to Iran??
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Anyone see any smiles on any faces?

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Anyone see any smiles on any faces?

I'm sure when the sign by the scoreboard says, "smile", you will see nothing but grins!!! I watched a documentary once on NK. On it they had some footage taken, at great risk, and smuggled out. People actually walking around some dead guy on a sidewalk. Just walking around it, like it was a sack of cement. People selling UNICEF grain by the cupful, kinda thought that stuff wasn't to be sold? Rodman being there was no different, IMO, than Fonda on an anti aircraft gun or Sean Penn cozzied up to that recently departed dicktator in Venezuela. He's just a tool, and attention whore and an idiot.

Originally Posted by BobH

Personally I don't think anybody steps up to bat in the other areas mentioned is because there is nothing to be gained by doing so at the moment. It is simply good enough to stand by and wring our collective hands and sound pious. Simple matter of priorities and human suffering is way down the list.

That's the thing. What is to be gained by attacking NK?
At the human cost we're talking about, it had better be a very good reason.

NK stays within their own borders, at least in the same way india and pakistan stay within theirs, barring the annual free for all in the borderlands. They sit tight so that is not a reason to attack. They don't like the US and have an active propaganda machine going. Not a compelling argument either. The USSR did the same and you didn't (have to) attack them.

Their nuke program? Hardly a reason either. They don't have the resources or the knowledge to build anything more than a handful of gun type sizzlers. They know fully well that they can't use them because it would be their end. Regardless of whether Kim Jong Un believes his own propaganda or even is anything more than a sock puppet, the military leadership if anything is cynical, not stupid. The big reason they seem to want an A bomb is to become a less juicy target.

Sometimes it seems like their major crime (in terms of foreign policy) is not so much that they have an A bomb, but the fact that they unilaterally decided that they will not let themselves be invaded easily

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

North Korea is its own worst enemy, the regime will die in time. Even the elitists are starting to get the business bug, there has been too much western investment already, although much of it has been shut down too many have seen the results, too many are getting tech toys in from the Chinese border and being influenced by their southern cousins, vendors are starting to sell foodstuffs smuggled in from China and making profits. If the govt wishes to remain, it will have to compete, putting a foot down will only serve to incite resentment.

The Chinese understand this as well, which is why a couple of years ago they decided that small scale capitalim and private ownership are not bad things.

Originally Posted by donv

I'm sure when the sign by the scoreboard says, "smile", you will see nothing but grins!!! I watched a documentary once on NK. On it they had some footage taken, at great risk, and smuggled out. People actually walking around some dead guy on a sidewalk. Just walking around it, like it was a sack of cement. People selling UNICEF grain by the cupful, kinda thought that stuff wasn't to be sold? Rodman being there was no different, IMO, than Fonda on an anti aircraft gun or Sean Penn cozzied up to that recently departed dicktator in Venezuela. He's just a tool, and attention whore and an idiot.

Actually, I read yesterday it was anything but.

Kim Jong Un is apparently a huge basketball fan. And people have been trying to learn more about him / get him on film, without success. So apparently someone got the idea to send him a complimentary gift of basketball material, like hoops etc, which he quickly accepted, along with the offer of a friendly game involving a couple of harlem globe trotters. And of course, you need someone like Dennis Rodman to be the figurehead of the delegation: loud, visible, and taking attention away from the film crew.

Because there was a camera crew there on the pretext of making a documentary about rodman. And KJU was so happy with the attention and the basketball events that he didn't mind. And of course the camera crew was filming anything and everything BUT rodman.

As a result, the news channel (and I really suppose the CIA as well) now have a ton of footage of KJU and everyone surrounding him, including probably a bunch of military leaders, which they can analyze for personality, character, relative importance of people and things like that. this was actually a very clever scheme.

OK Bruno!! I'll believe you for now, as I have nothing to dispute what you say. It's just really hard for me to accept any circumstance that has Rodman involved with anything that could be deemed a "clever scheme". If the end result was a gathering of intel on KJU's inner circle, great. Heck, now that I think of it, Rodman would be perfect for that, lord knows nobody would ever equate him to be in/on a intelligence gathering mission. The CIA has been known to do wackier things in the past, why not!?

I just really hope for the people of that country that things change for them.

From earlier...

Yea, capitalism at it's finest. Waging war and rebuilding former enemies creates lots of opportunities for making huge profits at both ends. Ironic isn't it.

This is not capitalism, capitalism is simply the private ownership of capital. Waging war is done by governments, goverments of all economic systems have started wars throughout history. Out of all economic systems, capitalism produces the most wealth for it's citizens, and so through taxation the government of the US is one of the richest.
Basically don't point your finger at capitalism, point it at the US Government.

Everybody works really hard to make bullets and bombs, all the young men die, the people left at home are rationed (but they have a job and just enough to eat), a few people profit from turning their car making factories into bomb making factories, the country concentrates on making things to blow things up and building airfields that will lay waste only several years after the event rather than what society really needs. Great for the economy. I'm not saying it isn't, just saying what it looks like...

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy indeed
Hope you're not lonely without me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouANEo2w0Pg

War is not good for the economy. War is NEVER good for the economy.

Destroying things of value (making bombs, destroying cities) NEVER creates wealth, but merely destroys it.

War is good for the state, war is the health of the state. But not for the people.

Hey guys, let's just steer away from a discussion of capitalism vs communism or whatever, because that would make this thread go all over the place.

Originally Posted by donv

OK Bruno!! I'll believe you for now, as I have nothing to dispute what you say. It's just really hard for me to accept any circumstance that has Rodman involved with anything that could be deemed a "clever scheme". If the end result was a gathering of intel on KJU's inner circle, great. Heck, now that I think of it, Rodman would be perfect for that, lord knows nobody would ever equate him to be in/on a intelligence gathering mission. The CIA has been known to do wackier things in the past, why not!?

I just really hope for the people of that country that things change for them.

You cannot look at Rodman and think 'now there is an intelligence operative'
They probably told him: we'd like you to do this, all expenses paid and you are guaranteed to be pampered by the big chief himself. Don't mind what the rest of the crew are doing. just 'be yourself'

Btw, while the white house is publicly denying they had anything to do with it, it could still be the case. Because they have to be seen to wash their hands of everything if they don't want to risk failure of future such initiatives.

And I found this little snippet also very interesting:

“If anything, such displays of pro-U.S. pop culture will only irk the old guard. Kim Jong Un clearly lacks the gravitas that his counterparts in the neighboring capitals carry, and even that of his late father,” Lee says. “He may believe that he is exuding an affable ‘average guy’ image by being seen with Rodman,” but to some Koreans he may underscore his image as a “lightweight.”

Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2013/03/04...#ixzz2Mqmhgbqy

Could be this is just one instance of doing various subtle things to undermine him and trigger an internal collapse.

It's like a magicians show. The grand gestures, loud noises and flashes serve only to hide what is actually going on. Otherwise, you'de have to accept that Dennis and a couple of globetrotters one day wake up and say to themselves: you know what would be cool? Let's go to North Korea to strengthen our bonds with the evil dictatorship.

I could of course be wrong, but imo, Dennis rodman is the fireworks of a magicians show. Intended not for a practical function but to draw as much attention as possible. And he would ne the perfect man for the job, as well as likely to go along with it just for the sake of it.