Monthly Archive: January, 2005

DO NOT MISS Rebecca MacKinnon’s article on how cell phones are breaking down North Korea’s information blockade. New readers may not know that Rebecca founded the must-read group blog NKZone, where I’m a regular contributor.

No, they’re not “officially” taxes; they’re merely mandatory payments the state collects from citizens. Whatever nomenclature you choose, North Korea is sharply increasing them, having already raised prices dramatically in the course of what it has euphemistically dubbed “economic reform.” In actuality, North Korea is a society with deep state-imposed class divisions, which means that the poor inevitably do most of the starving and dying when the state changes its systems for the collection and distribution of capital. This Amnesty...

I am Kim Jong Il, and I want you to repeal the North Korean Human Rights Act. Please.

Apocalypse Watch: The United Nations has said poorly-led nations mired in poverty like North Korea should not be given huge aid packages. . . . The report, titled “Investing in Development”, classified North Korea, Myanmar, Zimbabwe and Belarus as badly led, poverty-stricken states widely condemned for human rights abuses, and advised they should not receive large amounts of international aid. Is the United Nations actually growing a pair . . . of standards?

The following are off-limits to foreigners in Korea: “Our” women, “our” companies. And Koreans wonder why they have problems with their image and foreign investment?

Did Kim Jong Il Have a U.S. Visa? In my native South Dakota, it’s not uncommon to pick up a few choice Lakota words, particularly since my dad grew up next to a reservation and speaks the language fairly well. Lakota can be a very expressive language, and one of my favorite words is kaeyapi, a mass noun that translates roughly to a jumble of unsubstantiated rumor. I’m not sure how unsubstantiated this is, but it sounds very suspect, so...

Remember the Korean Multipurpose Helicopter project? This was supposed to Korea’s great leap toward weaning itself from dependence on U.S. arms–a rather dubious proposal given that (1) it would inevitably have used 80% U.S. components; (2) development costs would still have been astronomical while the defense budget shrinks and comes under the strain of USFK reductions; and (3) many have tried to combine a large, fat bulky cargo chopper with a small, fast, nimble attack helicopter, and for obvious reasons...

Japan Sanctions Update: North Korea now flatly states that the abduction issue has already been settled. You may recall that North Korea recently “settled” the issue of some of the Japanese citizens it abducted from their homeland by sending the Japanese several sets of remains that turned out not to be those of the abductees. This can only increase the pressure to impose sanctions. UPDATE: There is some photographic evidence to suggest that two of the hostages P’yang claims are...

Anti-Americanism Mature independence takes aim at MacArthur’s Inchon statue: I’m sure this article didn’t win South Korea any friends among the Republicans in Washington during their morning commutes. It astonishes me how rabid the left in South Korea has become, but not as much as the surprising lack of consequences for Korea in the United States thus far. If they do decide to tear MacArthur down, I’d gladly volunteer my front yard (I guess I should ask the homeowners’ association...

The following are off-limits to foreigners in Korea: “Our” women, “our” companies. And Koreans wonder why they have problems with their image and foreign investment?

Did Kim Jong Il Have a U.S. Visa? In my native South Dakota, it’s not uncommon to pick up a few choice Lakota words, particularly since my dad grew up next to a reservation and speaks the language fairly well. Lakota can be a very expressive language, and one of my favorite words is kaeyapi, a mass noun that translates roughly to a jumble of unsubstantiated rumor. I’m not sure how unsubstantiated this is, but it sounds very suspect, so...

Remember the Korean Multipurpose Helicopter project? This was supposed to Korea’s great leap toward weaning itself from dependence on U.S. arms–a rather dubious proposal given that (1) it would inevitably have used 80% U.S. components; (2) development costs would still have been astronomical while the defense budget shrinks and comes under the strain of USFK reductions; and (3) many have tried to combine a large, fat bulky cargo chopper with a small, fast, nimble attack helicopter, and for obvious reasons...

Zhao Ziyang, a man who might have really reformed China, has died. The septuagenarians who run the country clearly fear that any gatherings for a funeral or memorials could turn into demonstrations, so they have gotten around to convening an emergency meeting. What’s telling about this is that Zhao was clearly on his deathbed for the last several days. So is the leadership incompetent, hopelessly ossified, gridlocked, too afraid of bringing up unpleasantries to face them, or a combination of...

Zhao Ziyang, a man who might have really reformed China, has died. The septuagenarians who run the country clearly fear that any gatherings for a funeral or memorials could turn into demonstrations, so they have gotten around to convening an emergency meeting. What’s telling about this is that Zhao was clearly on his deathbed for the last several days. So is the leadership incompetent, hopelessly ossified, gridlocked, too afraid of bringing up unpleasantries to face them, or a combination of...

Oops. Lost my Internet connection all day yesterday. Hope to have some updates soon. Spent much of the morning on the phone with HP technicians in Bombay Mumbai, India. They never like telling you where they are, for some reason, even if it’s painfully obvious that it’s somewhere between Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. Given that Comcast completely failed to deliver (as usual), it was nice to get some effective help finally, even if it took two tries. What does one...

Oops. Lost my Internet connection all day yesterday. Hope to have some updates soon. Spent much of the morning on the phone with HP technicians in Bombay Mumbai, India. They never like telling you where they are, for some reason, even if it’s painfully obvious that it’s somewhere between Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. Given that Comcast completely failed to deliver (as usual), it was nice to get some effective help finally, even if it took two tries. What does one...

North Korea’s information blockade continues to leak a steady stream of pixels. This week, a video of prison life in North Korea has emerged. It shows male and female prisoners forced to carry large, heavy logs and sing songs praising Kim Il Sung. Click here to see a menu; the link to the new video is called “MBC-MoosanPrisonCamp;” another file, entitled “North Korea,” shows the previously released video of the street children and the roadside prostitution trial. The usual caution...

North Korea’s information blockade continues to leak a steady stream of pixels. This week, a video of prison life in North Korea has emerged. It shows male and female prisoners forced to carry large, heavy logs and sing songs praising Kim Il Sung. Click here to see a menu; the link to the new video is called “MBC-MoosanPrisonCamp;” another file, entitled “North Korea,” shows the previously released video of the street children and the roadside prostitution trial. The usual caution...