Ahhh, what an exciting world we live in. Nuclear war is a possibility and the two men mankind has leading the opposing sides are Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. What fun. Both ego-maniacal dimwits. The lives of hundreds of thousands if not millions are at stake. North Korea is a horrible place to live. It might be tempting to want to liberate its people by military force but the consequences would be too grave. Even Steve Bannon is firmly against a military conflict. If the US were to launch a strike, the DPRK would immediately attack Seoul, South Korea, a US ally. There are 10 million people in Seoul.
If only there was someone who knew both men, someone who could talk some sense into the leaders of both sides. There is a very short list of people who have met both Trump and Kim. One of those people is a US citizen who visited Kim just this past June and in fact might be the last person to speak to both leaders in person. So, what person has mankind come up with to take on such an important task? A diplomat? An intellectual? A couples counsellor? A negotiator? Dr. Phil? None of the above. This unique position has ended up in the hands of former basketball great, Dennis Rodman. Yea, you remember him, the guy with all the tattoos, nose rings, dyed blond hair. So, what does Rodman think of Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un? Naturally, he loves ‘em both!
I loved watching Dennis Rodman play basketball back in the day. He was such a unique character and player. He played hard, diving horizontally into the stands for loose balls. The man was very entertaining. But beyond that, I’m sorry but he is just dumb. Real dumb. He has totally bought into the DPRK propaganda and emotionally defends his buddy Kim Jong Un. Now to Rodman’s credit, he does not succumb to the Dunning-Kruger effect. He knows he is not a diplomat, or a politician or someone with brains. Many people have no clue that they are idiots, but Rodman does…I admire that. However, this situation needs someone much more serious and cerebral than a clown like Rodman. It’s too bad Kim was not a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kareem Abdul Jabbar or the San Antonio Spurs and David Robinson. As for Trump, he invited Rodman to join the reality TV show “The Celebrity Apprentice”. Rodman appreciated that very much and became friends with Trump.
Both sides of this dispute have been insulting each other like junior high bullies. What does this accomplish? During his presidential campaign Trump promised to end regime changes. Is it possible he has lied? If the US attacks North Korea, it will be an offensive war. The Kim regime are a scary bunch but they know they are no match for the United States military. Surely they realize that a war with the US would mean their complete destruction. North Korea recently sent out an open letter to many western nations asking them to stop Trump and the US’s aggression. They are scared.
According to Noam Chomsky, the US turned down a deal to make peace with North Korea. Both the Trump administration and the retired Drone King, Sir Barack Obama-Lot turned down peace deals. North Korea and China offered a deal where the DPRK would put a freeze on its nuclear and ballistic systems if the US would stop making threatening military maneuvers. The United States under Trump is flying B-52 bombers with nuclear capabilities close to the North Korean border. Do the Americans want peace? It doesn’t appear so. North Koreans remember the destruction the US caused to its country during the Korean war. It carpet bombed them to the point where there were no more targets left to hit. It makes total sense for the Kim regime to develop nuclear weapons to defend itself.
In Michael Malice’s book, Dear Reader, he tells the story of North Korea from the perspective of Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un’s father. The current regime runs according to the philosophy of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung, Un’s grandfather. He came up with the Juche idea, the greatest idea known to man. It is a combination of Marxism, Korean nationalism and whatever the Kim family likes. For example, Juche Opera, which is Opera with the word Juche in front of it. Kim Jong Il was a great admirer of such wonderful people as Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, and General Mao, tens of millions of people killed among the three of them. Surely something to admire, if one is a murderous dictator. Kim Jong Il had three sons. He chose Kim Jong Un, the youngest, to succeed him. Why? Well, he describes his second oldest son, Kim Jong Chul as a sissy. Too effeminate to take over as leader. The oldest son Kim Jong Nam showed concerns about the environment and wanted to reform the country. This would not do. As a precaution, after he gained power, Un killed this brother so that he would have no competition. Sweet family. The book tells story after story of the super human Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. There is always a moral to every story, illustrating how insightful, intelligent and benevolent the two leaders are and how moronic everyone else is.
Dipping back into reality for a moment, in the 1990’s there was wide spread famine in North Korea. The UN offered food aid for the dying North Koreans. Kim Jong Il turned them down. The reason? The people would be no longer dependant on the government if outside aid provided food. Millions died as a result.
Malice says change is imminent. Black markets have opened up in the DPRK to sell food. The regime cannot feed all its people. North Koreans can look at neighbours China and South Korea and see the lights on at night. The North is mostly dark at night. The citizens know the country is a disaster. Also, the incumbent Psycho-Twerp is not a strong leader. Let’s hope his days are numbered.
There are 20 million people living in North Korea. All prisoners. Every week, the citizens are put in different groups – by living location or work place, etc. Each person must admit to the group something they have done wrong in the last week. They must also point out something wrong others have done. This is mandatory, everyone has to answer.
You see, in North Korea you do not want to run afoul of the regime. There are 200,000 to 300,000 citizens in the Enlightenment Centres. If you say anything against the government, you and three generations of your family will go to these concentration camps. The UN has asked the DPRK about the concentration camps. They replied that they have no concentration camps, they have enlightenment centres, therefore, no problem exists. In reality, prisoners do hard labour every day. They are given a handful of corn to eat. Many die of malnutrition.
Not much to be inspired by here if one is a human and I assume that any reader of this blog is human. I wonder if we have missed a step in our evolution. Perhaps we are meant to metamorphosize like a maggot into a fly. Could we be larva that has yet to take the next step? You know, why speculate….frig it, I’m going to try it. I’m going to wrap myself in silk, lay down under my desk and attempt to pupate.