Category: Uncategorized

Please join me in remembering a quiet man named Dr. Jae-Joong Nam.

Please join me in remembering a quiet man named Dr. Jae-Joong Nam.

And how are ordinary North Koreans reacting? Brendan Brown comes through again with the views of his refugee students in Seoul. As before, not scientific. As before, Brendan is no fan of W., which only adds credibility to this: My students couldn’t hide their glee and admiration for Bush after meeting Kang Chol-hwan. I was tempted to bring them down to earth by reminding them of a few of the less honourable aspects of his presidency, but decided not to...

And how are ordinary North Koreans reacting? Brendan Brown comes through again with the views of his refugee students in Seoul. As before, not scientific. As before, Brendan is no fan of W., which only adds credibility to this: My students couldn’t hide their glee and admiration for Bush after meeting Kang Chol-hwan. I was tempted to bring them down to earth by reminding them of a few of the less honourable aspects of his presidency, but decided not to...

And how are ordinary North Koreans reacting? Brendan Brown comes through again with the views of his refugee students in Seoul. As before, not scientific. As before, Brendan is no fan of W., which only adds credibility to this: My students couldn’t hide their glee and admiration for Bush after meeting Kang Chol-hwan. I was tempted to bring them down to earth by reminding them of a few of the less honourable aspects of his presidency, but decided not to...

Bad news in Uzbekistan. The U.S. appears to very interested in keeping its bases there. Karimov will demand a price for that.

I have some bad news for Selig Harrison: John Lennon was wrong, and Machiavelli was right. In Pyongyang, love is not all you need. Fear is. The Washington Post: At the end of a private Oval Office meeting this week, President Bush asked a North Korean defector to autograph his book recounting a decade in a North Korean prison camp. “If Kim Jong Il knew I met you,” Bush then asked, referring to the North Korean leader, “don’t you think...

To some on the hard left, the American soldier comes in two flavors: Grandpa, who died so France could someday take the month of August off to hit the beach, and the Lt. Calley variety who lights a thatch roof with his Zippo, lights his Marlboro with the same, and shoots the fleeing villagers with his Napalm Super Soaker. Those who do not fit the latter model are poor people who joined the military because they had no other options,...

(If you’re a new reader and don’t know what all this Tokdo fuss is about, here’s some background.) When the motives for the adults’ cynical manipulations have passed, the poison still metastasizes in the minds of their kids. The teachers who orchestrated this state-sanctioned display of hate should be ashamed. Ditto the parents. Much more here (and don’t miss the rest of Gord’s superb photoblog). The art for this show comes courtesy of South Korean schoolchildren. The venue is the...

Bad news in Uzbekistan. The U.S. appears to very interested in keeping its bases there. Karimov will demand a price for that.

I have some bad news for Selig Harrison: John Lennon was wrong, and Machiavelli was right. In Pyongyang, love is not all you need. Fear is. The Washington Post: At the end of a private Oval Office meeting this week, President Bush asked a North Korean defector to autograph his book recounting a decade in a North Korean prison camp. “If Kim Jong Il knew I met you,” Bush then asked, referring to the North Korean leader, “don’t you think...

I have some bad news for Selig Harrison: John Lennon was wrong, and Machiavelli was right. In Pyongyang, love is not all you need. Fear is. The Washington Post: At the end of a private Oval Office meeting this week, President Bush asked a North Korean defector to autograph his book recounting a decade in a North Korean prison camp. “If Kim Jong Il knew I met you,” Bush then asked, referring to the North Korean leader, “don’t you think...

To some on the hard left, the American soldier comes in two flavors: Grandpa, who died so France could someday take the month of August off to hit the beach, and the Lt. Calley variety who lights a thatch roof with his Zippo, lights his Marlboro with the same, and shoots the fleeing villagers with his Napalm Super Soaker. Those who do not fit the latter model are poor people who joined the military because they had no other options,...

Congratulations to the RSF Freedom Blog winners. No, NKZone did not win, but the winners certainly appear to been worthy, and there’s always next year.

Tomorrow is the day Iran holds its sham of an election. To my readers in Iran–and I know you’re there–my heart is with you in a common wish that Rafsanjani’s effort to steal this election will fail. We know that when you are free, there will be peace between our nations. More here.

You say John Bolton is no diplomat? Please write your Senator. I’m increasingly convinced that if there’s any non-violent means of disarming North Korea, it will take John Bolton to get it done.

Congratulations to the RSF Freedom Blog winners. No, NKZone did not win, but the winners certainly appear to been worthy, and there’s always next year.

We have Panmunjom, the inter-Korean talks, the (abandoned) six-nation talks, the New York channel, Curt Weldon, and Selig Harrison. We have Kaesong and Kumgang and several more planned industrial parks that never got off the ground. You wouldn’t think that the missing piece in our diplomacy with self-isolated North Korea is yet another attempt to “engage” them, if “engage” means “pay,” as it usually does, and “North Korea” still just means the North Koreans on the reviewing stand. The Boston...