| Feb. 27th, 2003 @ 07:13 pm (no subject) |
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Current Mood:  thoughtful
The Pyongyang Gang: Alright, Kim Jung-il is rapidly earning my respect as the most canny national leader on Earth. "But Alex!" you decry, "he's a genocidal madman!" I counter that the guise of genocidal madman is a complex ploy, and that his true intentions are far more complicated. Big Thinkers recently aired its interview with Alvin Toffler, noted futurist, and near the end of the program it discussed his visit to Korea near the end of the '90's. Very interestingly, Kim is depicted as a very forward-thinking, very attentive man who, while not a technologist, is very interested in how to best modernize his country. And why not? Korea went from being a very much peasant agricultural economy in the '60's to a powerfully successful industrial nation in only 25 years. Now, throw in this seasoning from Jane's about North Korea's recent maneuverings.
Others have asked why we're not all hot about North Korea in favour of Iraq, and I posit this: Because, despite the amount of posturing, North Korea is pursuing a largely rational political maneuver, a Mouse That Roared coup in the political arena backed by legitimate references to the US failing to follow through on promises (the light-water reactor, to be specific). Iraq is being far more evasive and less cooperative. (I'm deeply amused by the report today which said "Iraq has agreed in theory to the destruction of the Al Shayud missiles." Agreed in theory? What does that mean? I'd like to pay my taxes in theory and not in actuality, but ...)
Asleep at the Yoke: Don't fall asleep while driving a bullet train. Not only is it embarassing, the automatic control system will publically humiliate you by stopping 90m short of the station. |
