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Mark Steyn: North Korea Provokes With Impunity
Orange County Register ^ | May 29, 2009 | Mark Steyn

Posted on 05/30/2009 6:52:27 AM PDT by kellynla

What does a nuclear madman have to do to get America's attention? On Memorial Day, the North Koreans detonated "an underground atomic device many times more powerful than the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki," as my old colleagues at The Irish Times put it. You'd think that'd rate something higher than "World News In Brief," see foot of page 37. But instead Washington was consumed by the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, who apparently has a "compelling personal story."

Doesn't Kim Jong-il have a compelling personal story? Like Sonia, he grew up in a poor neighborhood (North Korea), yet he's managed to become a nuclear power, shattering the glass ceiling to take his seat at the old nuclear boys' club. Isn't that an inspiring narrative? Once upon a time you had to be a great power, one of the Big Five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, to sit at the nuclear table: America, Britain, France, Russia, China, the old sons of power and privilege. But now the mentally unstable scion of an impoverished no-account backwater with a GDP lower than Zimbabwe has joined their ranks: Celebrate diversity!

Evidently, some compelling personal stories are more compelling than others. In The Washington Post, Stephen Stromberg argued that Kim's decision to drop the Big One on a three-day weekend was evidence of his appalling news judgment. Other blasé observers shrug that it's now an American holiday tradition. It began when Pyongyang staged the first of its holiday provocations on Fourth of July 2006, and, amidst all the other fireworks displays, America barely noticed. No doubt there'll be another Hiroshima on Labor Day or Thanksgiving. Geez, doesn't the hick in the presidential palace get it? There's no point launching nukes when everyone's barbecuing chicken or watching football.

(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: impunity; kimjongil; marksteyn; northkorea; provokes; steyn
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This is all so unnecessary...NK depends on China and China depends on exports to America, Japan and South Korea to name just a few countries and "if" GWB had or Hussein would just inform China that unless "they get their dog back on the porch" not one container of their junk will be offloaded in San Pedro or anywhere else in the world; it will take the Chicoms less than a month to take care of NK. And for the finishing touch, introduce Kim to the business end of a 7.62 .

How do you say "embargo" in Chinese and "blockade" in Korean...

Semper Fi,Kelly

1 posted on 05/30/2009 6:52:27 AM PDT by kellynla
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To: kellynla
... just inform China that unless "they get their dog back on the porch" not one container of their junk will be offloaded in San Pedro or anywhere else in the world; it will take the Chicoms less than a month to take care of NK

And in less than a month, when retail shelves are empty in the U.S., what happens? Unfortunately, The U.S. and China are interdependent. We screw with China and we screw ourselves.

2 posted on 05/30/2009 7:01:05 AM PDT by Right Brother
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To: kellynla
"...unless "they get their dog back on the porch..."

Excellent idea, except we're going to them with hat in hand - asking them to finance another spending spree.

Bottom Line: We are in a heap o' trouble, more so for Japan and South Korea.

3 posted on 05/30/2009 7:06:40 AM PDT by investigateworld ( Abortion stops a beating heart.)
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To: kellynla; Calm_Cool_and_Elected

ping for after the ballet recital


4 posted on 05/30/2009 7:09:13 AM PDT by Calm_Cool_and_Elected (So many books, so little time!)
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To: kellynla

lol — love the Kim Jong Il “compelling personal story” angle.


5 posted on 05/30/2009 7:10:28 AM PDT by Yardstick
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To: kellynla

Obama wants to be loved by the world, Hollywood, Saudi Arabia, everybody... he don’t wanna be a meanie so they don’t love him anymoe.... so forget nukes... the world needs more love, more special love for the O man.


6 posted on 05/30/2009 7:10:36 AM PDT by Blind Eye Jones
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To: kellynla

Get Japan to officially state that it will build/acquire a nuclear weapons arsenal and China will virtually solve the NOKO problem.


7 posted on 05/30/2009 7:14:08 AM PDT by cranked
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To: kellynla

...Steyn ping, anyone???


8 posted on 05/30/2009 7:14:59 AM PDT by gargoyle (...66.7% , A good round number...)
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To: kellynla

9 posted on 05/30/2009 7:16:56 AM PDT by Bon mots
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To: Right Brother

Yes a vice-versa! Both countries, U.S. & China have each other by the balls!


10 posted on 05/30/2009 7:18:25 AM PDT by classified
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To: Right Brother

Not to mention that China is about the only country still buying our debt instruments.


11 posted on 05/30/2009 7:24:12 AM PDT by Sherman Logan (Perception wins all the battles, reality wins all the wars)
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To: kellynla
Barack Obama came to power pledging to talk to America's enemies anywhere, anytime. Alas for America's speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-teleprompter diplomacy, there are no takers for his photo-ops

Oh my!

12 posted on 05/30/2009 7:32:52 AM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: investigateworld
“Excellent idea, except we're going to them with hat in hand - asking them to finance another spending spree.”

Well it's “catch 22” ...they can't loan funds they don't have and we can't buy from them when we don't have the funds...the proverbial dog chasing the tail. LOL

Just another reason why the GOP should be promoting BUY AMERICA!

13 posted on 05/30/2009 7:36:28 AM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: Bon mots
Good point.

Also....

Absolute idiots (here, above).

PS Do you know the two men on the left shaking hands? Do you know who was the boss of the Westerner on the far left? And who she in return reported to?

14 posted on 05/30/2009 7:40:50 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo ("North Korea would NEVER try this stuff were BUSH still prez" is a line of crap. They DID!)
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To: kellynla
How ’bout Gubermint Motors deciding that the disruption of Kia and Hyundai isn't such a bad thing after all? That LG can re-brand itself as LNG?

Or to put it another way, what do South Korea, Taiwan, and Israel have in common with the Maytag repairman?

15 posted on 05/30/2009 7:42:23 AM PDT by NonValueAdded ("Tyranny is always whimsical." Mark Steyn 3/9/2009)
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To: kellynla
Just another reason why the GOP should be promoting BUY AMERICA!

Totally agree,but Lordy do we ever get trashed for even thinking about supporting an American industry.

Didn't you get the memo, we're all going to be research scientists.

16 posted on 05/30/2009 7:46:12 AM PDT by investigateworld ( Abortion stops a beating heart.)
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To: AmericanInTokyo

No, who? Tell us!


17 posted on 05/30/2009 8:20:47 AM PDT by SnarlinCubBear (Sarcasma - Comforting relief from the use of irony, mocking and conveying contempt)
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To: kellynla
"On Memorial Day, the North Koreans detonated "an underground atomic device many times more powerful than the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki," as my old colleagues at The Irish Times put it."

Nonsense. Isn't there ANY journalistic integrity left in this world anymore?

The nuke N Korea exploded underground didn't even approach HALF the power as the primitive Nagasaki "fat boy" bomb. which was 10KT

18 posted on 05/30/2009 8:21:51 AM PDT by Nathan Zachary
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To: kellynla
""if" GWB had or Hussein would just inform China that unless "they get their dog back on the porch" not one container of their junk will be offloaded in San Pedro or anywhere else in the world;'

And not one of those American owned business would be able to pay the AMERICANS who work in all their AMERICAN based offices and factories, all the other AMERICAN factories that depend on components made in China by their factories based there will have to lay off all their workers as well.

Our imports and exports to China isn't as simple as trading apples for oranges.

19 posted on 05/30/2009 8:26:28 AM PDT by Nathan Zachary
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To: investigateworld
"Just another reason why the GOP should be promoting BUY AMERICA! "

And to hell with the millions of jobs of those who work for companies that EXPORT to the countries you want to stop trading with.

We are a country whose ENTIRE existance is based on TRADE.

If you want to live in a closed border society then you want to live in Obama's vision of Soviet USA.

20 posted on 05/30/2009 8:31:33 AM PDT by Nathan Zachary
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