I’m reflecting today on the qualities of John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, and remembering 1962: I lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis. This, however, is more like the “Stupid Missile Crisis.”
Below the fold, you can do a quick “compare and contrast” of Kim Jong-Un and Donny In-Kimbo. Ready? Place your bets on the fate of mankind!
As an avid North Korea follower for several decades, and an unwilling Trump watcher since last year, I’m also reflecting the qualities of the “leaders” involved in our current state of nuclear brinkmanship.
Things jumped off just a few days ago after the U.N. Security Council voted 15-0 in favor of new sanctions against North Korea in response to its continued tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles. The sanctions could reduce Kim's $3 billion annual export revenue by one-third.
North Korea has been in a continuous state of war with the US since we agreed to draw a line at the 39th parallel and sign the Korean War armistice in November of 1954. They blare out anti-US propaganda 24/7 on state media, and teach kindergartners to sing songs of the glory of war against the United States. The state-sponsored religion, alongside Juche, could be called “War with America.”
Now that NK has joined the “Nuclear Club” it’s automatic stalemate due to that little principle known as MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction. A concept I don’t think Donny has the slightest idea of in his “few-putz-short-of-a-birdie” head.
Our State Department is virtually gutted. We currently don’t even have an Ambassador to South Korea. The position is vacant, but Marc Knapper, formerly Deputy Chief of Mission under the previous Ambassador Mark Lippert, is serving as Chargé d'Affaires until a new ambassador is confirmed.
Does any of this sound like a sound ship to you?
I also keep a wary eye on the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, watching the tick-down of the Doomsday Clock and the current setting of “2 1/2 minutes to midnight.” Dr. Lawrence Krauss of the Bulletin, when queried about the clock this a.m. by CBS said, “...the clock will not be set closer to midnight, at least until next year.
"We don't make changes to the Doomsday Clock in response to individual events," Krauss said. Instead, any notable events are reviewed together as a whole and are evaluated collectively before changes are made.”
Leave it to a physicist to keep a chill string theory of the situation. After all, with so many possible universes, maybe in only a few do we actually go to launch.
Meanwhile, Gizmodo being the futuristic sort they are, they aren’t waiting, they’re going with the headline “President Trump Moves Doomsday Clock to Half Past 'Oh My God'.”
According to the YonHap News Agency: “North Korea's military announced Wednesday it is considering missile strikes near Guam, home to several U.S. strategic bombers.”
“The North's Strategic Force said it's "now carefully examining the operational plan for making an enveloping fire at the areas around Guam with medium-to-long-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12," according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in an English dispatch.
“It cited the need to contain the U.S. major military bases on Guam, including the Anderson Air Force Base, where U.S. strategic bombers are based.
“The plan will soon be reported to the Supreme Command after "full examination and completion," and will be put into practice "in a multi-concurrent and consecutive way" at Kim Jong-un's order, added the command.”
US military force projection in the face of this NK threat is rising. The newsletter of the Pacific Air Command is fronting with this article this morning: “South Dakota Airmen arrive ready to 'Fight Tonight' from Guam."
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii --
Two U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, under the command of U.S. Pacific Air Forces, joined their counterparts from the Republic of Korea and Japanese air forces in sequenced bilateral missions, August 7.
This serves as the first mission for the crews and aircraft recently deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota in support of U.S. Pacific Command’s Continuous Bomber Presence missions.
After taking off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, the B-1s assigned to the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, flew to Japanese airspace, where they were joined by Koku Jieitai (Japan Air Self Defense Force) F-2 fighter jets. The B-1s then flew over the Korean Peninsula where they were joined by Republic of Korea Air Force KF-16 fighter jets. The B-1s then performed a pass over the Pilsung Range before leaving South Korean airspace and returning to Guam.
Just for reassurance, according to a Washington Post article yesterday, “‘God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong Un,’ evangelical adviser says.” ...and no, this is a different “evangelical adviser” than Mike Pence.
So, just for background, let’s look at the match-up between Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong-Un and the Kim Regime. Prepare for “Crazy Time….”
North Korean and American “Dear Leader” Myths
Kim’s Jong-Il on Body Functions and Birth Myths: Kim Jong Il’s official biography stated he never needed to use a toilet because his body was so well calibrated he didn’t urinate or defecate.
The North Korean government has not yet issued a statement on the status of Kim Jong-un’s supernatural colon. Stay tuned.
Kim Jong-il’s birth atop a sacred mountain saw a new star created and winter turn to spring. However records of their Soviet allies show he was born in a Siberian village in 1941.
Trump on Body Functions and Birth Myths: Trump believes that, other than golf, he considers exercise misguided, arguing that a person, like a battery, is born with a finite amount of energy.
On Trumpian birth myths, one word: Birtherism.
The Kims as Masters of Time:
For decades North Koreans believed the Japanese stole time from them back during their 1919 occupation.
The North Koreans didn’t accuse Japan of interrupting Korean history...nope, the accusation is that they stole actual minutes out of the Korean universe.
Kim Jong-un finally righted this injustice and set North Korea’s clocks back by half an hour on August 15, 2015.
Trump as a Master of Time:
What Trump Tweets While America Sleeps
The Atlantic analyzed the frequency and content of Trump’s late-night tweets, and found that the Republican presidential nominee indulges in late-night tweeting after moments of stress or triumph.
The Kims on Being Beloved: Despite having one of the worst international reputations, North Koreans are told their leaders are beloved around the world and that each and every country in the world celebrates their birthdays. Reminder: Tell your boss you want February 16th off next year!
Trump on Being Beloved: See: the Mexicans (“rapists”) love me, the Blacks (who all live in “Murder City” Chicago) love me, etc.
According to Trump, “He [Putin] called me a genius.” Yeah, Donald...but...is there ever true love in an oxymoron?
Also see: Cabinet Meeting and “Come to Jesus Trump Worship Service”
Watch it HERE. I think you’ll find it a “blessing” and a “privilege.”
Everyone in North Korea Votes, and They Love to Vote for Someone Named “Kim”
Not one person voted against Kim Jong-un in his first electoral test - and EVERYBODY voted.
It means Un is slightly more popular than his father, Kim Jung Il, who only got a meager voter turnout of 99.9%.
According to Vice News, it is legal to choose another candidate, but votes must be cast in a specially designated booth (...off to the side...in the corner of the room...right next to the armed North Korean soldiers...and the trap door...j/k...sorta)
In NoKo, where you can be arrested if your Kim portraits gather dust — best vote for the Kim.
Trump Says A Recount Will Show That His Voters Gave Him a Majority in the Election* and He Had the Largest Audience Ever to Attend a Presidential Inauguration:
Trump has taken note of the report that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by about 3,000,000 ballots, and he’s addressing this “fake news” by conjuring up over three million “zombie fake votes” that should be investigated as voter fraud.
Literally, a fear of zombie voters. He contends that dead people, who just haven’t had time since their funerals to update the voting rolls, are a huge percentage of those who voted in the 2016 election.
And most of the rest of the voters he wants disqualified came from California where “they” bused in undocumented Mexicans from over the border. (Funny, to make this calculation match his contention, he’d also have to say not one zombie voted for him. Zombies With Her!)
Here is the aerial photo comparing Barack Obama’s inauguration crowd (on the left) from 2009 and Trump’s 2017 crowd (on the right.)
Trump claimed that more than 1.5 million supporters crowded onto the Mall to watch him take the oath of office. Trump even leaned on the Park Service to validate this number...but they said they are no longer in the crowd estimate business.
Rumor is that Trump’s BFF Putin told him to not sweat small stuff. In 2020 Russia will bus in voters....from over the Bearing Strait.
There may be some bears in that 2020 Russian crowd, but in Russia “bears are people too!”
The Kims on the Internet: The only people with access to the internet in North Korea are government officials and the state tells its citizens it’s a notion invented by the west.
The list (seen HERE) of the few actual Internet sites available to us on the World Wide Web number less than 30. One is the North Korean state news site Rodong Sinmun. As this government-controlled paper daily updates the doings of the current “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-un, it’s the closest thing Un has to a Twitter feed.
Trump on the Internet: President Donald Trump signed legislation killing privacy rules that would have required internet service providers to get your explicit consent before they share or sell your web browsing history and other sensitive information.
Say “Hello” to your new Internet overlords, the Trump administration, AT&T and Comcast.
The Kims on Diet: Kim Jong-un’s father Kim Jong-il claimed he invented the hamburger, calling it “double bread with meat.” The older Kim was also fond of claiming sawdust was full of nutrients, encouraging his citizens to chow down on the building byproduct in their regular times of famine.
Trump on Diet: On the campaign trail, the "three staples" of Trump's diet were Domino's, KFC, and McDonald's (Big Macs on silver platters), an aide told Axios, the new news website. That love for fast food is largely because of its consistency and the idea that fast-food companies maintain a standard of hygiene, according to an interview with Trump.
The Kims and Golf: In 1994, Pyongyang media reported that Kim Jong-il shot an amazing 11 holes-in-one to achieve an unprecedented 38-under-par game on a regulation 18-hole golf course - on his first try at golf.
Reports say each of his 17 bodyguards verified the record-breaking feat.
Trump and Golf:
In their first 100 days in office / Days golfing:
Obama: 1
Trump: 19
Trump’s golf count site: As of today over $45,000,000.
The Kims on Fashion: Shortly before his death in 2011, Kim Jong-il’s signature grey military styling was being celebrated by the world’s top fashion designers, according to state media.
NoKo media quoted an unnamed French designer saying “Kim Jong-il mode, which is now spreading expeditiously worldwide, is something unprecedented in the world’s history”.
Trumps on Fashion:
Revealed: reality of life working in an Ivanka Trump clothing factory. Workers complain of verbal abuse, impossible targets and ‘poverty pay’ so bad they have to live away from their children.
“Alia” works for PT Buma, a Korean-owned garment maker, and supplier of G-III Apparel Group, wholesale manufacturer for Trump’s clothing.
When Alia was told the gist of Ivanka Trump’s new book on women in the workplace, she burst out laughing. Her idea of work-life balance, she said, would be if she could see her children more than once a month.
Every occupied space in North Korea is required to keep a set of photos of deceased “Dear Leaders” Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il hanging on the wall.
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I can’t wait until we are all required by law to hang a picture of Donald “Dear Leader” Trump in our homes or workplaces as they do with the Kims in North Korea.
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...If so, I think I’ll hang this one: