North Korea says its leader Kim Jong Il has died
December 18, 2011 - 11:19pm
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North Korean television announces in a "special broadcast" that its leader Kim Jong Il has died in Pyongyang. He was 69.
He died from being so ronery
Hey, an "L and R" joke so funny, it just had to be repeated. Anyway, mods notified.
Went to ban him, but someone got there first
So why do North Koreans support their anti-Western governments? There is a reason...
North Korea vs The United States: Who are the demons?
Confessed war criminal and General all around psychopath, Curtis Lemay, on the mass murder of nearly a third of North Koreans in the 1950s.
North Koreans will never forget.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/26/south-korean-mourners-visit-...
I'm watching the funeral procession on CNN, and it's really over the top. There's a huge portrait of Dear Leader on top of one of the cars in the procession - I've never seen that before. Vintage American limos I think - 1970s Mercurys and Lincolns - with about three dozen black Mercedes sedans - they look new. About a hundred soldiers just fired off a 21 gun salute. The heir to power is walking alongside the hearse, with the faithful crying as it passes by. Doesn't look like the actual funeral service will be televised.
ETA: the 21-gun salute - a lot of blue smoke coming from the rifles when fired, suggesting to me they're either using vintage rifles or poorly manufactured ammo - I think modern rifles are virtually smokeless, but I'm sure someone will be along to correct me.
I think North Korea is a desperate nation trying to hang on to its sovereignty. Unable to pursue communism, they have been in survival mode for a number of years. It most certainly does not represent a military threat to any country in the region as our lapdog news media pretends it is for the sake of justifying our own highest in the world military spending in the most heavily nuclear-armed western nations.
Yes, I agree North Korea is having a really rough time of it. I can't help but wonder what the future holds for NK.
I agree with your first two sentences, Fidel. And I recognize the power imbalance and the propaganda.
On the other hand, it is not entirely a one-sided situation. North Korea has fired missiles over other countries, shelled and killed people, and very likely sunk a ship.
Given that these provocations have not been answered militarily I think NK's neighbours are just as leery about upsetting the balance. So while I think everyone wants to keep the status quo, I think it would be pushing it to say that NK poses no military threat. Its neighbours have very good reason to be on a heightened state of alert.
Yesterday someone on CNN (I forget who it was) said that the US has to improve its missile shield to protect the country from North Korean missiles. I guess NK will continue to be the USA's favourite whipping boy (or however the expression goes).
Yeah they were down to Kim Jong Il and Fidel Castro representing the sum total of the evil empire, and Fidel was threatening to retire. Warfiteering hawks had worked themselves into a pretty good panic until they created Al-CIA'da. It's a reprieve for them but still lacking a sufficiently evol enemy with a physical address.
There's always Iran and Syria for targets.
For sure.
Kim Jong-il's Death is a Danger for North Korea, Not Its neighbors Stephen Gowans
Predators never let on that they are hunters.
Interesting link, with interesting articles following that particular story as well.
Gowans is very good, yes. They need military giants not midgets to fear monger against for sure. Desperate times call for desperate measures in the closed economy.