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Kim Jong Il is not a mature man. Imagine a pampered thirteen year-old having lived his entire life in seclusion and you get the idea. The last thing in the world you would want to do is back this man-child into a corner as there can be no predicting what he'll do. And not being able to predict what a thirteen year-old loony tune with the Bomb will do should dictate caution. "Axis of Evil" talk? Bad idea. Float memos within the Bush administration that a preemptive strike against North Korea is an option? Nutty. Float other memos re: a regime change? Lunacy.

So today's news reads that any effort by the U.S. to seek UN sanctions against North Korea will be regarded as "the green light to a war." Well, fuck me. Fuck ME! Is there anyone in the Bush administration with any sense at all? This is terribly serious. And as I live within spitting distance of this nut case, I'm beginning to get a little frightened. And when I consider that my fate and the fate of my wife and the fate of umpteen millions of people who live within striking distance are in the hands of one George W. Bush . . . . No sarcasm. No irony. God help us all.

I found it interesting that at one point North Korea stated that the lesson they learned from the Iraq invasion was that they needed nukes to deter a US invasion.

Well, duh. How the Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz/Bush Axis Of Ego thought the world would draw any conclusion other than that is beyond me. I'm sure Syria, Libya, Iran, and many others are thinking along the same lines.

Madness.

Ryan

Sure. The ousting of Saddam has, in a single stroke, undone all efforts up 'till now to keep a lid on the nuclear genie. And as you say, the message is terribly clear to one and all: nuke up or be prepared to ship out.

And this being the case, North Korea's stock has risen tremendously in recent months. They've had the missile technology for some time and very shortly will have enough weapon's grade material to pass around freely. North Korea badly needs the cash and there would appear to be no shortage of leaders who wouldn't mind having the bomb as an deterrent to an American invasion. That all makes for a real bad combination.

But you know, while this discussion is cool and all and we can congratulate ourselves for a degree of prescience, the reality is that recent decisions and events have irrevocably set in motion the means by which humanity will more than likely use to destroy itself. And the whole frigging mess can be dropped at the doorstep of a few very egotistical, very foolish men. I personally think that History is being written now. It's both sad and frightening that it's the fools who are writing it.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... 0430081615

North Korea hints publicly it has nuclear weapons
Wed Apr 30, 4:16 AM ET Add World - AFP to My Yahoo!

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea (news - web sites) in a foreign ministry statement hinted publicly Wednesday that it was developing nuclear weapons, saying US hostility had compelled it to opt for "a necessary deterrent force."

The statement, by a foreign ministry spokesman, was seen as a further indication that the Stalinist state possessed a nuclear arsenal.

"The reality requires the DPRK (North Korea) to deter the escalating US moves to stifle the DPRK with a physical force, compels it to opt for possessing a necessary deterrent force and put it into practice," the statement said.

In a different dispatch, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) also hinted at nuclear capability when it said the United States should scrap its nuclear weapons before North Korea followed suit.

"The US which possesses the biggest number of nuclear weapons in the world and poses a constant threat to other sovereign countries with them should scrap its nuclear program before such a small country as the DPRK does," KCNA said.

The spokesman asserted North Korea should possess the "means" to counter a US preemptive nuclear attack on the Stalinist country.

"How can the possession of means by such a small country as the DPRK for just self-defence ... be 'threat' and 'blackmail?'" it said.

He also warned Washington against taking the nuclear issue to the United Nations (news - web sites).

"If the US finally brings up the nuclear issue for discussion at the UN and abuses its name again, the DPRK will be left with no option but to consider taking practical measures to cope with an emergency," he said.

"Whether the Korean peninsula becomes denuclearized or not will entirely depend on the US policy," the spokesman said.

KCNA went further to say that North Korea would regard any US attempt to seek a UN resolution on sanctions as the "green light" for war.

The agency, however, noted that North Korea was ready to resume talks with with the United States.

North Korea "does not think that the talks came to a complete rupture," KCNA said, insisting the resumption of talks "entirely depends on whether the US drops its hostile policy" toward Pyongyang or not.

"Putting an end to the bilateral hostile relations is, therefore, a precondition for the success of the talks," it said.

The agency demanded the United States withdraw its demand for the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program before talks.

The United States has demanded the verifiable scrapping of North Korea's nuclear programs as a prelude to substantive talks while the North has asked for security guarantees first.

The North's statement came as the United States was mulling its next move in the nuclear stand-off after Pyongyang offered to ditch its nuclear and missile programs in exchange for a huge economic and diplomatic payoff.

Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said the offer, made at talks in Beijing last week and termed by Pyongyang as a "bold" move, did not go in the right direction.

President George W. Bush (news - web sites), who accused the Stalinist state of reverting to "the old blackmail game" last week, consulted aides in a so-called principals' meeting, a US official said.

Ron wrote:This is terribly serious. And as I live within spitting distance of this nut case, I'm beginning to get a little frightened. And when I consider that my fate and the fate of my wife and the fate of umpteen millions of people who live within striking distance are in the hands of one George W. Bush . . . . No sarcasm. No irony. God help us all.

If Japan would get its act together and build a nice SDI system, you wouldn't have anything to worry about.

http://www.townhall.com/hall_of_fame/re ... h/sdi.html

Here's a fantastic quote from that speech:

The defense policy of the United States is based on a simple premise: The United States does not start fights. We will never be an aggressor. We maintain our strength in order to deter and defend against aggression–to preserve freedom and peace.

Two recent news items of note in the last couple of days. One, American "intelligence" now feels that should Kim Jong Il feel threatened and lash out at the enemy, it is now believed that he will first attack Japan rather than South Korea. For one, there's a large American military presence here in Japan. And for another, he wouldn't be vaporizing his "own" people.

Coming on the heels of that less-than-comforting information, today's paper quotes more "intelligence" sources as saying that the war in Iraq plus additional pressure applied to North Korea apparently are both responsible for frightening Kim to the extent that he disappeared from public view for the last six weeks. These same sources say that now America will continue to ratchet up the pressure so as to make Kim even more uncomfortable.

So I guess that means that none of you will be visiting me here in Tokyo anytime soon .

Ron wrote:So I guess that means that none of you will be visiting me here in Tokyo anytime soon .

I dunno, is Sky City safe in case of nuclear attack?