[jeffkrol]

To add a bit of humor:
Palin backs North Korea... well sort of.

Couldn’t be. But there she is on Glenn Beck’s radio show saying just that: “This speaks to a bigger picture here that certainly scares me in terms of our national security policy. But obviously we’ve gotta stand with our North Korean allies.”

Snicker........
Sarah Palin - North Korean Allies | Glenn Beck | Mediaite

The scrambled tongue moment–as that’s surely what Palin will say it was–does bring up a charge made in John Heilemann and Mark Halperin’s book, Game Change, which portrays Palin as dangerously uninformed–a candidate for the vice presidency who didn’t understand that Korea was divided:

She knew nothing. She had to be taken through World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and Palin was not aware there was a difference between North and South Korea. She continued to insist that Iraq was behind 9/11; and when her son was being sent off to Iraq, she couldn’t describe who we were fighting.

Now, in fairness to Sarah Palin, she’s got a lot on her plate right now–a book tour, a reality show, and a daughter who landed in third place on Dancing with the Stars–so remembering arcane international details like which country has a lunatic dictator with nuclear weapons and which one has American troops can be difficult.

[Parallax]

“This speaks to a bigger picture here that certainly scares me in terms of our national security policy. But obviously we’ve gotta stand with our North Korean allies."Perfectly understandable mistake. She obviously misread her notes. Easy to to do with them being on her palm.

[v5planet]

I suspect the most we can actually expect from this is in the short run is a strategic military strike against (known) N. Korean weapons caches. We really should put pressure on China to steamroll over North Korea (militarily or just politically) but I think within a month or two we'll just be handing Kim Jong-il, etc. some good old conciliatory presents, like we always do.

[v5planet]

The only real bargaining power North Korea has ever had is its batshit insane erraticism, and they use it, again and again. With good results (for them).

[Gooshin]

world war three

world war three

world war three

world war three

i think its time we had another war, kill half the population, destroy all channels of communications, go back to ground zero

kinda like Escape from New York/LA with Kurt Russell

That's right, you just witnessed a Kurt Russel reference in a North Korea thread.

[Digitalis]

That's right, you just witnessed a Kurt Russel reference in a North Korea thread

what about Chuck Norris?

[Gooshin]

what about Chuck Norris?

Too many of those floating around.

[jolepp]

Having had some time to reflect on this I'd assume the purpose of the shelling is to remind those concerned that the North could devastate Seoul with artillery fire alone. The cold-blooded gambit is that a military intervention would result in this outcome and is therefore unlikely.

[Ira]

What's the relation with the thread, besides you venting your prejudice?

If I complain about Brazil's and Lula's politics, how is that considered prejudice? Whereas complaints made against George W.--who I was never a fan of--aren't?

In other words, if I don't agree with the disgusting policies of Lula, I'm prejudiced?

Please explain:

I have major problems with Lula's support for a wanna-be dictator in Honduras who was rightfully tossed into the gutter, and his support for Chavez, Morales, Ortega and Castro--all dictators. And I have a major problem with Brazil's pitiful political stances in hot spots in the world, because not only hasn't a single Brazilian soldier sacrificed anything for the world good, Lula wants to play it both ways and act like he's a world player. The man supports the Holocaust deniers in Iran, the maniac in North Korea, the terrorists in the mideast, and anyone ELSE who is against the U.S.

So, I ask you:

How does my political assessment of this Lula all of a sudden become considered as "prejudice" in your eyes? Brazil is still 3rd world, BIG TIME 3rd world, but people keep forgetting that.

For God's sake, he can't even make sure that RIO is safe, and the only reason they're doing anything now is because of the upcoming Olympics.

Please.

When Brazil steps up to the table and actually matters in the world, we'll talk. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of kids live in the streets and die, and he wants to act as if he actually accomplished something.

And this is what all extreme leftists do. They lie.

[MRRiley]

Ira, face it... we are damned if we do and damned if we don't. Half of the world will be mad at us if we help South Korea because then we are being war mongers, regardless of the fact that we didn't start this nor did we start the crap back in the 50's. And the other half would be mad at us if we sat back and let North Korea make mincemeat out of South Korea because we didn't honor or commitments and treaties.

[hcarvalhoalves]

If I complain about Brazil's and Lula's politics, how is that considered prejudice? Whereas complaints made against George W.--who I was never a fan of--aren't?

It isn't, once you actually complain, instead of the prejudicial <EDIT> like "Brazil is going to the beach" (which is ironic, considering you're the one living by the beach) of your first post.

Anyway, now you gave a reason, so let's see.

Please explain:

I have major problems with Lula's support for a wanna-be dictator in Honduras who was rightfully tossed into the gutter, and his support for Chavez, Morales, Ortega and Castro--all dictators. And I have a major problem with Brazil's pitiful political stances in hot spots in the world, because not only hasn't a single Brazilian soldier sacrificed anything for the world good, Lula wants to play it both ways and act like he's a world player. The man supports the Holocaust deniers in Iran, the maniac in North Korea, the terrorists in the mideast, and anyone ELSE who is against the U.S.

So, I ask you:

How does my political assessment of this Lula all of a sudden become considered as "prejudice" in your eyes? Brazil is still 3rd world, BIG TIME 3rd world, but people keep forgetting that.

For God's sake, he can't even make sure that RIO is safe, and the only reason they're doing anything now is because of the upcoming Olympics.

I'm not a fan of Lula either, like you said, he tries to act as a world player, and as a leftist he supports the ****ed up dictators around (I don't know where you got this information that he supports North Korea and middle east terrorists though. Fox News?).

Now about Brazil being 3rd world... Let me give you a small history class.

- From 1965 to 1985, Brazil underwent a 20-year right-wing military dictatorship, supported politically and financially by the US, to avoid communism influence on the american continent.
- It was a ruthless regime, where anyone pro-democracy was kidnapped, tortured and killed by the military secret police, specially students.
- During the regime, there was no initiative for social politics, because they could simply oppress the poor. The result is that, in this period, whoever was rich got richer, and whoever was poor got poorer.
- The US handed "investments" at zero interest rates to keep the Brazilian military happy and right-wing supportive, making Brazil accumulate an awful external debt. With the end of the Cold War, US raised back the interest rates for those loans. The result is that since 1986, we've been forced to pay back to Washington a debt that was created as a result of their own external politics. Fair?
- The slums in Rio started back in the military period (60's). Much of the mess going on right now is just a reflex of a US-supported dictatorship that didn't give a damn to the people. So slow down before mouthing the country for not being able to correct two decades of social injustice.

Please.

When Brazil steps up to the table and actually matters in the world, we'll talk. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of kids live in the streets and die, and he wants to act as if he actually accomplished something.

And this is what all extreme leftists do. They lie.

Now you, please, spare your comments about Brazil being 3rd world. If I'm right , it's not the country with a broken economy right now. Neither come tell me that the US are the world liberators, when in fact they support dictatorships when it's beneficial for them, like the ones in Brazil or Chile.

PS: I got nothing against US, in fact, my business associate and best friend is american. But saying that someone's country don't matter in the world is the kind of comment that just reinforces the stereotype people have about americans: are clueless about other places, and still think everything american is superior.

[jeffkrol]

Interesting........
WikiLeaks: China weary of North Korea behaving like 'spoiled child' - CNN.com

New documents posted on the websites of the Guardian and The New York Times suggest Chinese officials are losing patience with long-time ally North Korea. Senior figures in Beijing have even described the regime in the North as behaving like a "spoiled child."

According to cables obtained by WikiLeaks, South Korea's then vice foreign minister, Chun Yung-woo, said earlier this year that senior Chinese officials (whose names are redacted in the cables) had told him they believed Korea should be reunified under Seoul's control, and that this view was gaining ground with the leadership in Beijing.

Chun was quoted at length in a cable sent by the U.S. ambassador in Seoul, Kathleen Stephens, earlier this year. He is reported as saying that "the North had already collapsed economically and would collapse politically two to three years after the death of (leader) Kim Jong-il."

[MRRiley]

Here's hoping that Wikileaks is right in this case...

[dadipentak]

When is China going to realize that for all its public obsession with the U.S., N.K.s bellicose posturing is as much intended to keep the Chinese at bay as block a forced reunification on the part of the U.S. & S.K.?

My proposal, btw, is a massive air-drop of food over the N.K. countryside--bags of rice labeled "A Gift from your Brothers and Sisters in South Korea." It would drive the N.K. leadership nuts!

[jolepp]

Here's hoping that Wikileaks is right in this case...

Yep, nobody needs that war. One can only hope for a clean coup d'état leading to reunification.