A book I can thoroughly recommend about North Korea, very thought provoking and a great insight into a truly crackpot and highly dangerous piece of real estate!
Nothing to Envy....Barbara Demick.
Agreed, I've just finished it and it's a real eye opener and quite sad.
A book I can thoroughly recommend about North Korea, very thought provoking and a great insight into a truly crackpot and highly dangerous piece of real estate!
Nothing to Envy....Barbara Demick.
Agreed, I've just finished it and it's a real eye opener and quite sad.
I'd go as far as saying it's a 'must read' for anyone wanting to know more about North Korea.
I think it is only a matter of time before the military overthrow the nutter. Just a question if they will grab power themselves or try to join the south.
In reality I think Kim Jong-Un's rhetoric is very much for his own people's consumption rather than an outright threat to the USA. Of course you can't make those comments without the rest of the world listening in.
I think Andrew Neil's tweet is spot on. If NK were ever mad enough to pull the trigger and commit suicide, it's hardly likely to do so just to attack Guam. Could it's missiles even be guaranteed to strike the small Pacific island ?
Kim Jong-Un might be a certified nut job but I doubt many of his generals are and I can see him being taken out internally at some point in the near future. North Korea is in a no win position other than to massage the ego of a clear lunatic.
He's awful and his only "counter terrorism" credential is he once read the Quran in English (not joking). And he has ties to a neo Nazi group. He is legitimately up there with some of the scariest people in this White House, and the only reason why he doesn't get more attention is he doesn't seem to do anything apart from go on Fox News.
In reality I think Kim Jong-Un's rhetoric is very much for his own people's consumption rather than an outright threat to the USA. Of course you can't make those comments without the rest of the world listening in.
I think Andrew Neil's tweet is spot on. If NK were ever mad enough to pull the trigger and commit suicide, it's hardly likely to do so just to attack Guam. Could it's missiles even be guaranteed to strike the small Pacific island ?
Kim Jong-Un might be a certified nut job but I doubt many of his generals are and I can see him being taken out internally at some point in the near future. North Korea is in a no win position other than to massage the ego of a clear lunatic.
I think you'll find it's the generals who are pulling the strings...... not KJU.
In reality I think Kim Jong-Un's rhetoric is very much for his own people's consumption rather than an outright threat to the USA. Of course you can't make those comments without the rest of the world listening in.
I think Andrew Neil's tweet is spot on. If NK were ever mad enough to pull the trigger and commit suicide, it's hardly likely to do so just to attack Guam. Could it's missiles even be guaranteed to strike the small Pacific island ?
Kim Jong-Un might be a certified nut job but I doubt many of his generals are and I can see him being taken out internally at some point in the near future. North Korea is in a no win position other than to massage the ego of a clear lunatic.
I think you'll find it's the generals who are pulling the strings...... not KJU.
That's an interesting take. I would be facinated to know why you think that.
In reality I think Kim Jong-Un's rhetoric is very much for his own people's consumption rather than an outright threat to the USA. Of course you can't make those comments without the rest of the world listening in.
I think Andrew Neil's tweet is spot on. If NK were ever mad enough to pull the trigger and commit suicide, it's hardly likely to do so just to attack Guam. Could it's missiles even be guaranteed to strike the small Pacific island ?
Kim Jong-Un might be a certified nut job but I doubt many of his generals are and I can see him being taken out internally at some point in the near future. North Korea is in a no win position other than to massage the ego of a clear lunatic.
I think you'll find it's the generals who are pulling the strings...... not KJU.
That's an interesting take. I would be facinated to know why you think that.
Without the backing of the top generals, he probably would have been offed years ago.
It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out, I can't see China allowing any American influence to spread north, they can't afford to have the US box them in from all sides (S. Korea, Taiwan, Japan)
In reality I think Kim Jong-Un's rhetoric is very much for his own people's consumption rather than an outright threat to the USA. Of course you can't make those comments without the rest of the world listening in.
I think Andrew Neil's tweet is spot on. If NK were ever mad enough to pull the trigger and commit suicide, it's hardly likely to do so just to attack Guam. Could it's missiles even be guaranteed to strike the small Pacific island ?
Kim Jong-Un might be a certified nut job but I doubt many of his generals are and I can see him being taken out internally at some point in the near future. North Korea is in a no win position other than to massage the ego of a clear lunatic.
I think you'll find it's the generals who are pulling the strings...... not KJU.
That's an interesting take. I would be facinated to know why you think that.
Without the backing of the top generals, he probably would have been offed years ago.
It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out, I can't see China allowing any American influence to spread north, they can't afford to have the US box them in from all sides (S. Korea, Taiwan, Japan)
In reality I think Kim Jong-Un's rhetoric is very much for his own people's consumption rather than an outright threat to the USA. Of course you can't make those comments without the rest of the world listening in.
I think Andrew Neil's tweet is spot on. If NK were ever mad enough to pull the trigger and commit suicide, it's hardly likely to do so just to attack Guam. Could it's missiles even be guaranteed to strike the small Pacific island ?
Kim Jong-Un might be a certified nut job but I doubt many of his generals are and I can see him being taken out internally at some point in the near future. North Korea is in a no win position other than to massage the ego of a clear lunatic.
I think you'll find it's the generals who are pulling the strings...... not KJU.
That's an interesting take. I would be facinated to know why you think that.
Without the backing of the top generals, he probably would have been offed years ago.
It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out, I can't see China allowing any American influence to spread north, they can't afford to have the US box them in from all sides (S. Korea, Taiwan, Japan)
In reality I think Kim Jong-Un's rhetoric is very much for his own people's consumption rather than an outright threat to the USA. Of course you can't make those comments without the rest of the world listening in.
I think Andrew Neil's tweet is spot on. If NK were ever mad enough to pull the trigger and commit suicide, it's hardly likely to do so just to attack Guam. Could it's missiles even be guaranteed to strike the small Pacific island ?
Kim Jong-Un might be a certified nut job but I doubt many of his generals are and I can see him being taken out internally at some point in the near future. North Korea is in a no win position other than to massage the ego of a clear lunatic.
I think you'll find it's the generals who are pulling the strings...... not KJU.
That's an interesting take. I would be facinated to know why you think that.
Without the backing of the top generals, he probably would have been offed years ago.
It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out, I can't see China allowing any American influence to spread north, they can't afford to have the US box them in from all sides (S. Korea, Taiwan, Japan)
I'm not sure I agree. Kim Jong-Un is the latest in a dynasty where he has the loyalty of his generals through fear and carefully planned culls. At present they are in line but as soon as it looks like their lifestyles and perhaps lives are in danger experience tells us that KJU will be deposed.
Some people wonder why a nutter hasn't been assassinated rather than be able to keep on keeping on like Kim Jong Un, or Hussein or Gadaffi, or Hitler, or whoever. If the population is pretty well brainwashed and into Orwellian doublethink which many in North Korea are, and if the leader is able to juggle competing power factions, the Army, the Police, the Special Units, you can usually play two against one, especially with the use of terror. People will denounce others left right and centre even family members, or like the sheep in Orwell's Animal Farm will confess and be destroyed. You also exercise a good bit of paranoia, and have an unbelievably loyal personal guard looking out for you. In these circumstances you can win even against the Generals in your own army. History shows it usually ends in tears with a lot of collateral damage on the way. Mao and Stalin saw it through because despite their genocidal tendencies they also were able to deliver something for their country. Kim Jong Un does not seem to be doing much for his population, and sanctions will weaken him, people will suffer. Rebellion of the belly is always the worst, much more than rebellion of the ideologies. I don't think Kim Jong Un will be removed by his own people, or the Chinese either. Some kind of suicidal lone attack, the like of which did for Indira Ghandi might get through otherwise he has to be engaged with somehow, because unleashing the whirlwind, the fire and fury will be devastating to us all. Trump might think he can have some kind of limited nuclear war, he can't, and in the case of N Korea a conventional war would lay waste to much of the region including Seoul. I can only hope there is some kind of hidden negotiation going on because otherwise we are all rather fecked. With one quite normal leader dealing with a nutter there may be a chance, the problem is that both Kim Jong Un and Trump are nutters.
We have no border with North Korea and don't trade with them. They aren't even part of the same continental block - they're about as far away from the UK as any country could be.
Should a shooting war break out and the buffoon Trump invoke the NATO requirement that all members of NATO should rally to the side of the US I'd be inclined to ignore him: he was saying a couple of months ago that NATO was redundant and does little but criticize the other member states. And, NATO was never established to deal with incidents involving Korea or China, it was, and always will be, a security organization focusing on protecting Europe.
Should this escalate we should stand well clear. The most I'd do would be to invoke sanctions of our own against North Korea, not that we have much to lose by doing so.
Kim Jong-Un is no doubt a nutter but he knows that his existence is completely dependent on doing nothing. It's fairly obvious he enjoys a lifestyle of some opulence. I doubt he will risk all that for a place in history and oblivion.
Some people wonder why a nutter hasn't been assassinated rather than be able to keep on keeping on like Kim Jong Un, or Hussein or Gadaffi, or Hitler, or whoever. If the population is pretty well brainwashed and into Orwellian doublethink which many in North Korea are, and if the leader is able to juggle competing power factions, the Army, the Police, the Special Units, you can usually play two against one, especially with the use of terror. People will denounce others left right and centre even family members, or like the sheep in Orwell's Animal Farm will confess and be destroyed. You also exercise a good bit of paranoia, and have an unbelievably loyal personal guard looking out for you. In these circumstances you can win even against the Generals in your own army. History shows it usually ends in tears with a lot of collateral damage on the way. Mao and Stalin saw it through because despite their genocidal tendencies they also were able to deliver something for their country. Kim Jong Un does not seem to be doing much for his population, and sanctions will weaken him, people will suffer. Rebellion of the belly is always the worst, much more than rebellion of the ideologies. I don't think Kim Jong Un will be removed by his own people, or the Chinese either. Some kind of suicidal lone attack, the like of which did for Indira Ghandi might get through otherwise he has to be engaged with somehow, because unleashing the whirlwind, the fire and fury will be devastating to us all. Trump might think he can have some kind of limited nuclear war, he can't, and in the case of N Korea a conventional war would lay waste to much of the region including Seoul. I can only hope there is some kind of hidden negotiation going on because otherwise we are all rather fecked. With one quite normal leader dealing with a nutter there may be a chance, the problem is that both Kim Jong Un and Trump are nutters.
Kim Jong-Un is no doubt a nutter but he knows that his existence is completely dependent on doing nothing. It's fairly obvious he enjoys a lifestyle of some opulence. I doubt he will risk all that for a place in history and oblivion.
That's reminded me of a great article about playing golf in North Korea. From what I remember you can't photograph a few holes because his massive luxury yacht is visible.
Not completely relevant but through all this North Korea talk there is little to no mention of the millions of people suffering under the Kim regime. Whether they're starving in the countryside or being worked to death in the labour camps they're being ignored and cast aside in this 'nuclear war' discussion. I feel like if this was going on as publicly in 'closer to home' or more media followed Africa, Middle East and west Asia the uproar would be tenfold.
I know I'm in the minority but I think that conflict is needed. Simply through a lack of any other solution. Much like IS and other ideological groups there's no negotiation and no standing down, it's kill them or let them carry on in their reign of terror. Regardless of the superpower pinball following in an attempt to get control of the area something needs to be done to stop them.
Not completely relevant but through all this North Korea talk there is little to no mention of the millions of people suffering under the Kim regime. Whether they're starving in the countryside or being worked to death in the labour camps they're being ignored and cast aside in this 'nuclear war' discussion. I feel like if this was going on as publicly in 'closer to home' or more media followed Africa, Middle East and west Asia the uproar would be tenfold.
I know I'm in the minority but I think that conflict is needed. Simply through a lack of any other solution. Much like IS and other ideological groups there's no negotiation and no standing down, it's kill them or let them carry on in their reign of terror. Regardless of the superpower pinball following in an attempt to get control of the area something needs to be done to stop them.
With the greatest of respect, I don't think you appreciate what 'conflict' means here. It's likely to involve the deaths of thousands of South Koreans (potentially tens or hundreds of thousands if a nuclear, biological or chemical weapon is used), potentially similar casualties in Japan and possibly the end of the world. But, by all means, let's roll the dice on 'superpower pinball'...
Not completely relevant but through all this North Korea talk there is little to no mention of the millions of people suffering under the Kim regime. Whether they're starving in the countryside or being worked to death in the labour camps they're being ignored and cast aside in this 'nuclear war' discussion. I feel like if this was going on as publicly in 'closer to home' or more media followed Africa, Middle East and west Asia the uproar would be tenfold.
I know I'm in the minority but I think that conflict is needed. Simply through a lack of any other solution. Much like IS and other ideological groups there's no negotiation and no standing down, it's kill them or let them carry on in their reign of terror. Regardless of the superpower pinball following in an attempt to get control of the area something needs to be done to stop them.
With the greatest of respect, I don't think you appreciate what 'conflict' means here. It's likely to involve the deaths of thousands of South Koreans (potentially tens or hundreds of thousands if a nuclear, biological or chemical weapon is used), potentially similar casualties in Japan and possibly the end of the world. But, by all means, let's roll the dice on 'superpower pinball'...
I completely understand what it means, but as I said what is the other solution? Leave them to it? Are the lives of the South Koreans better than those in North Korea? If there was a united force in on it, with China and Russia on our side North Korea's capabilities will be next to none, they'd be crippled in hours. The post is very much an 'ideal world' scenario and I know full well it won't happen but the main point I'm trying to make is that it's not even being mentioned. Syrian refugees etc haven't been out of the news in years but nobody cares about the suffering in North Korea, all the while schools are teaching about the suffering in the concentration camps and gulags in the world war the same if not worse is happening in this day and age and it's unacceptable.
Comments
Neil amended this to 'ever mad enough'
I think Andrew Neil's tweet is spot on. If NK were ever mad enough to pull the trigger and commit suicide, it's hardly likely to do so just to attack Guam. Could it's missiles even be guaranteed to strike the small Pacific island ?
Kim Jong-Un might be a certified nut job but I doubt many of his generals are and I can see him being taken out internally at some point in the near future. North Korea is in a no win position other than to massage the ego of a clear lunatic.
It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out, I can't see China allowing any American influence to spread north, they can't afford to have the US box them in from all sides (S. Korea, Taiwan, Japan)
If the population is pretty well brainwashed and into Orwellian doublethink which many in North Korea are, and if the leader is able to juggle competing power factions, the Army, the Police, the Special Units, you can usually play two against one, especially with the use of terror. People will denounce others left right and centre even family members, or like the sheep in Orwell's Animal Farm will confess and be destroyed. You also exercise a good bit of paranoia, and have an unbelievably loyal personal guard looking out for you.
In these circumstances you can win even against the Generals in your own army.
History shows it usually ends in tears with a lot of collateral damage on the way. Mao and Stalin saw it through because despite their genocidal tendencies they also were able to deliver something for their country.
Kim Jong Un does not seem to be doing much for his population, and sanctions will weaken him, people will suffer. Rebellion of the belly is always the worst, much more than rebellion of the ideologies.
I don't think Kim Jong Un will be removed by his own people, or the Chinese either. Some kind of suicidal lone attack, the like of which did for Indira Ghandi might get through otherwise he has to be engaged with somehow, because unleashing the whirlwind, the fire and fury will be devastating to us all. Trump might think he can have some kind of limited nuclear war, he can't, and in the case of N Korea a conventional war would lay waste to much of the region including Seoul.
I can only hope there is some kind of hidden negotiation going on because otherwise we are all rather fecked. With one quite normal leader dealing with a nutter there may be a chance, the problem is that both Kim Jong Un and Trump are nutters.
Should a shooting war break out and the buffoon Trump invoke the NATO requirement that all members of NATO should rally to the side of the US I'd be inclined to ignore him: he was saying a couple of months ago that NATO was redundant and does little but criticize the other member states. And, NATO was never established to deal with incidents involving Korea or China, it was, and always will be, a security organization focusing on protecting Europe.
Should this escalate we should stand well clear. The most I'd do would be to invoke sanctions of our own against North Korea, not that we have much to lose by doing so.
What damage could North Korea do even without nuclear weapons?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40878370
https://nytimes.com/2017/08/09/us/politics/trump-north-korea.html
Meanwhile Manafort's house was raided in the early hours after judges granted a search warrant.
http://www.earthnutshell.com/out-of-bounds-in-north-korea-pyongyang-golf-course/
Well worth a read to learn a little about the suppression there, "facts", and lengths they'll go to to show off to visitors.
It's also where Kim Jong Un hit his 10 holes in 1 or whatever it was.
I know I'm in the minority but I think that conflict is needed. Simply through a lack of any other solution. Much like IS and other ideological groups there's no negotiation and no standing down, it's kill them or let them carry on in their reign of terror. Regardless of the superpower pinball following in an attempt to get control of the area something needs to be done to stop them.