Sorry, but that picture cracks me up

I mean, no disrespect for the deceased intended and I know Kim Jong Il had that whole "cult of personality" going for him his entire reign but geez, come on. Get over it. He died. He was a monumental, murdering, selfish jerk, to boot. Let him die. Let him be gone. He's dead. Could you stop worshipping him now? Please? Are you not embarrassed? (Of course you're not). Don't you feel foolish? (Answer: no). Don't you even feel stupid? (Answer: Again, no, even though they should). Link: http://news.yahoo.com/funeral-north-korean-leader-amid-worry-future-000414786.html

Senator John McCain on Kim Jong Il

Perhaps you heard Senator John McCain's quote on Kim Jong Il, after his (Jong Il's) death: "The world is a better place now that Kim Jong-Il is no longer in it. I can only express satisfaction that the Dear Leader is joining the likes of Kadhafi, bin Laden, Hitler and Stalin in a warm corner of hell." My take? Seriously, for the sake of the country, if you can't say anything nice, Senator, don't say anything. These are people with nuclear weapons. There is an outside chance now is a time when maybe we could reach across the globe and no longer be enemies. With all due respect, shut the hell up, Senator McCain. Link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=143968279

The Kim Jong Il I'll always remember

From the creators of "South Park"--Matt Stone and Trey Parker, from their 2004 movie "Team America, World Police."

Ding, dong!! Kim Jong Il is dead!!!

I don't wish ill on anyone (unless they're patently, provably horribly) but, so you know, breaking news. Karma? At long last? "What goes around comes around"? "The good die young"? Whatever. May we now live in an even slightly more peaceful world, because of today's events. Link: http://news.yahoo.com/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-il-69-died-030848603.html

A case of not wanting to be correct

What'd I say?

A couple of days ago I wrote how it maybe didn't make sense to be doing "war games" right next to those literally poor, delusional psychos over in North Korea.

So what happens?

Today's news:

War rhetoric rises between North and South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea – One month after a deadly exchange of artillery fire, the two Koreas ramped up their rhetoric Thursday, with South Korea's president pledging unsparing retaliation if attacked again and a top North Korean official threatening a "sacred" nuclear war if provoked.

South Korean troops, tanks and fighter jets put on a thundering display of force as President Lee Myung-bak visited with soldiers at a base near the border, while North Korea's elite marked a key military anniversary by lashing out at the South for encouraging war.

For both countries, the rallying cries and military maneuvers mainly seemed designed to build support at home. But they raised fears anew of all-out war on a peninsula that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson called a "tinderbox" after returning from a visit to the North Koreancapital this week.

I hope we can scale back from this lunacy.

Enough saber-rattling, guys.

Men.  Men and their testosterone.

Let's hope it's a "merry little Christmas" and a very happy new year.

Link:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101223/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_clash

Pretty cool, Bill

Okay, so the big news is that Bill "Bubba" Clinton went over to North Korea, had a sit-down with Kim Jong Il, took some pictures, had a conversation and got back the two journalists who had been held in that country for months, got tried and then convicted by the "Leader's" courts.

Outstanding.

All around, this seemed like the perfect thing to happen and the perfect person for the job.

An ex-President who knew the "Leader" so well, basically just sitting around not doing much and he goes over and pulls off a bit of a coup for the journalists and, really, the United States.

I have one question and three observations.

The question: According to reports, "North Korean media said Clinton had carried a message of apology from Obama and that the former president and Kim held wide-ranging talks, but White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said those claims were 'not true.'" Is this, indeed, correct? Did this administration not send any message of apology? I hope and assume this is not true and that no message of apology was sent or given.

The first observation: These events, along with President Kim's shooting of missiles toward Japan, among other things, however unsuccessfully, seem to point out that Kim really craves attention--international attention from other foreign leaders. It seems, if he gets that, then he's happy and docile. This may not be true but there seems to be something to it.

The second observation: I will be extremely surprised if now-former-President George W. Bush ("W") is ever called on--or even volunteers, on his part, for that matter--to do such a negotiation for the US during what will likely be his long retirement.

Finally, hopefully, this will lead to further disarmament talks between North Korea and the West. That would add more terrific results to what already turned out fairly well, thank goodness.

Links:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_nkorea_journalists_held
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_us_nkorea_analysis

Trying to make sense of insanity

The last few days, Kim Jong Il--the wacko President of otherwise-starving North Korea--keeps lobbing 300 mile range missiles out of his country, inexpicably.

Really, that guy is such a wack-job. Who can explain this nutcase?

And unless you're watching the news closely--I don't think most Americans are, at least not this weekend--most don't know it's happening.

So far he's just an errant, harmless psycopath.

Let's hope he stays that way--harmless, I mean.

Then there's that other nutjob of the north--Sarah Palin.

Holy cow.

What was that all about, yesterday?

All of a sudden, Ms. "I'm really not stupid white trash" says she doesn't want to be a quitter but--love this--quits, as Governor of her state of Alaska.

Talk about inexplicable.

Now the guessing starts. Maybe you've heard some of it:

--Is she running away from some internal problem she has either with the state or somehow with her family or something? (Always a possibility, clearly).

--Is she setting herself up for a run for President in 2012? And to this I say--God, I hope so. I can't stand hearing her rambling, incoherent speeches and/or her delivery but, hey, the Republican Party will go further down in flames if she's their candidate. Fortunately, some Republicans of the far-right don't know this.

One entry on Associated Press I saw earlier today declared that yesterday's move hurt her and took her out of any possible run for the Presidency. Others certainly think the opposite, that that's just what she's gunning for.

Get this--did you see where contributions for her for that same candidacy have shot up big time in the last 24 hours, since her announcement?

I was stunned.

There really must be some wealthy, very small minority that thinks she's a good candidate for the highest office in the land (world?).

God bless those people and their money. We can all watch her go down in more flames.

I will say, if you haven't watched the 12 minute and 46 second video of that announcement on YouTube or some news channel, you should. It's vintage Palin. She hasn't changed. (Read: hasn't learned anything).

As a side, closing note, I flipped on Faux News yesterday, after Mrs. Palin's announcement, to see what BillO the Clown would say about it. I thought it would give him terrific fodder for his show.

My mistake.

BillO phoned in a pre-recorded show on the biggest Hollywood stars last evening.

Big mistake on Bill's part, I think. Instead of having a big, important show, with breaking material, Billy went on an early Independence Day weekend vacation.

Oops. He missed out and so did his true viewers.

Ah, too bad, huh?

Have a great Independence Day holiday, y'all!

Links to stories:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/07/04/nkorea.missiles/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/03/palin/index.html?iref=mpstoryview