{I was going to copy an image here, but I can't seem to get it to appear}
What a totally cool photo for a short little pudgy guy that measured 5'3" in platform shoes!
We should remember him like this: an obvious distortion of reality, obviously distorted to everyone. Dear Leader, who replaced his father, Great Leader, has died at 69, only two years older than the Newtster. It was the only father-to-son transfer of power in a Communist state.
Kim Jong Il, who Senator Jesse Helms once referred to as "Kim Jong the Second" has died, apparently passing the throne on to his son Kim Jong Un, who seems to be spelling his name Kim Jong Eun lately.
We should remember him as the best propagandist, ever. Now that title will pass on to Fox News, and Kim Jong Eun will have to fight to get it back.
Kim Jong Eun will need a title: "Fearless Leader", perhaps? Boris and Natasha have departed and the title is available on E-Bay, I hear.
Donald Trump still holds the title for weirdest male hairdo, but whoever was in third place is now in second.
They say he died of cancer. Hugo Chávez also has cancer. Could it be that the CIA has a new secret weapon?
For those actually interested in North Korea, I recommend the graphic novel Pyongyang, by Canadian cartoonist Guy Delisle as a start, and Bruce Cumings, North Korea: Another Country.
Some of what we hear is propaganda, some isn't: the best description of what we know of North Korea is "incomplete".
I don't know whether North Korea is likely to become unstable or not. The military seems to have been in control there since Kim fell ill in 2008. South Korea is a prosperous nation, but a bit reluctant to want to unify itself with the North, because of what they observed when the two Germanys reunited in 1990, which caused a variety of disruptions, which resulted in the end of a whole generation of politicians. Angela Merkel is the daughter of an East German minister.
The North Korean generals probably realize that the people would be vastly better off if Korea were unified, but it would NOT be better for them to go from being an important person to being a taxi driver. There are no likely openings in management for a Communist Army officer or bureaucrat in the government of a unified Korea.
Together, the two Koreas would be the 84th country in area and the 18th in population. The South has 49 million, the North has 24 million, together that makes 73 million. In area it measures 84,000 mi²., which is 2,000 mi² larger than Kansas.
The Chinese are the most concerned, since the border is longer and easier to cross into China than the border with S. Korea.Japan is also influential in this area, as is Russia, that shares a short border with North Korea.
It could be good news or bad news for Obama's re election, as there are factors that are entirely outside Obama's or any US president's control that could be positive or negative.
