Kim is dying. How soon is the question, and what happens while he is dying and afterward is the question. Spoke to Evan Ramstad, Wall Street Journal at Seoul, Gordon Chang, author, "Showdown," as well as Leslie Hook, Asia Wall Street Journal at Hong Kong, and Eugene Tang, Bloomberg at Beijing, and most importantly, B. Raman, Indian intelligence. The pancreatic cancer story has credibility, said Ramstad, because it originated with Seoul all new cable report in Beijing. The Beijing cadre gave it to Seoul. Why? B. Raman allowed the the Beijing regime is unstable, and that the missteps in Urumqi, the panic of Hu rushing to Beijing from Italy, the sudden release of news on Kim, all point to fractiousness and indecision in the ruling Politburo. Gordon Chang often comments that we don't have a North Korean problem, we have a China problem. Eugene Tang reported that the sitrep in Urumqi is "quiet but tense" that there are varying reports of casualties, that thousand remain detained, that the part boss Wang has announced there will be extreme measures taken to solve the crisis and enforce the law. Raman mentioned the solutions could follow those forced on Tibet and Lhasa last year, 2008. Including internal deportation, re-education camps, executions, communication blackout, journalism blackout, domestic spying and more. Leslie Hook agreed that the Beijing cadre is conflicted, acting unusually panicky, leaning on strong measures like a crutch. How this connects to the Kim dying story is that the Beijing cadre is overwhelmed by internal conflicts in the Politburo and cannot focus on Kim.
Kim Appeasement
The story is that the race is between Kim dying and the Obama administration appeasing a dying Kim. Which side wins? I am told the Obama administration will not move without Beijing moving first. But what is there to wait for if the Beijing cadre is unstable, indecisive, distracted? And how does Kim's death make for stability in North Asia? Logic suggests just the opposite.
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Kim looks terrible. Let's hope he's not like Hyman Roth - dying of the same heart condition for 20 years.
When I was a kid, we used to sneak out at night and break into neighbors’ garages and steal the six-packs they often kept there. Then, we’d head over to the cemetery and got drunk. Pretty straight forward logic, wouldn’t you say? If one or another of the neighbors got wise to what was happening, they’d start locking their garage doors, or they’d simply go out and buy more beer.
Suppose you had a big, shiny Cadillac in your garage. It was your pride and joy and you’d put the top down and take her out only on weekends. You used to keep it parked out front, but some of the kids in the neighborhood would key it; and you kept having to get it repainted.
You eventually found out who did it and pressed charges. Apparently, the kids thought you shouldn’t have the big car. They’d been taught in school that big cars leave an excessive carbon footprint, threatening Samoans and Polar Bears. They promised the judge they’d never do it again. Still, you decided from then on to keep the car locked-up in the garage.
Then, you began to notice little things starting to go wrong with it: the wipers, the radio, the back-up lights. One morning you couldn’t start it at all. (It turns out somebody had poured sugar in the tank.) You kept bringing it back to the dealer to get things fixed. It was costing you a bundle. The dealer just kept fixing stuff and collecting the money. He never let on what he knew to be true: that the car was being deliberately being vandalized.
Finally, you were all set to take her out one fine Sunday afternoon and you got as far as the 7/11 when the engine seized. (Somebody had drained the oil and dumped it in your tomato patch.) This was going to be a big job and cost a lot of money. You started having doubts about the car. You realized that you were actually starting to hate it.
So you decided to get rid of the Cadillac. You didn’t even bother to get her fixed. You just called the junk yard and told them to send a hook. All you got out of it was a couple hundred bucks for scrap. The kids who were sabotaging your car had primed the pump; you yourself would do the rest.
It’s the same thing that’s happened to our economy. It was undermined and deliberately sabotaged so we would end up saying, “Capitalism failed. Bring on the next best thing!” “Besides,” you rationalize further, “the only reason Communism did not work for the Russians is that Russia never had Capitalism to begin with. The only way Communism can work properly is if the people themselves get so disgusted with Capitalism that they curse it and turn against it.”
It’s the way they did Bush/Cheney; and they’re now doing Palin. These good people have been smeared, trashed and demonized to the point where we all said in unison, “Bring on Obama!”
So, whenever you hear someone say (as has been heard often of late) that Capitalism failed; America failed; religion failed; healthcare failed; school system failed; the planet failed; GM failed; banks failed; Bush failed; etc., know it’s not true.
All these are the Cadillacs you’ve been keeping in your garage. They’ve been deliberately sabotaged by the same people, with the same agenda (from your own neighborhood), who erstwhile broke into your garage and stole your beer. While you weren’t looking, they’ve graduated to stealing bigger and better things – your liberties, your comfort; your traditions; your confidence; your future; your success – all, for the eternal glory of Communism – which, incidentally, actually does have an extensive history of failure.
Just look at North Korea, and China bursting at the seams. Though what’s true is true: None of these places ever enjoyed the fruits of Capitalism. Category Error?
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JB -
Congrats on new Saturday program. I can only imagine the politics going on at ABC for the last few years.
I heard this afternoon on the radio news headlines that the PRC has signalled it's intention to vote for sanctions (travel restrictions and freezing of funds) against leaders of the DRPK, the first time China would have voted against the North.
Oh no! There go my Saturday nights too! LOLOL
Re: China (Taipei Smart Beijing Weak) - Paradoxically, the weak are the most dangerous. They are known to do the unexpected. A 'hail Mary' pass at this point could bring the curtains down for good. Lucky for us, our own president is not yet aware of his weakness.
from WABC website
"The John Batchelor Show (Saturdays and Sundays from 9 PM-1 AM) is an essential tool for understanding the new order in the 21st Century"
So, starting this weekend, 8 hours from WABC