US intelligence thinks Kim Jong Il may be ill

[David]

AP


WASHINGTON - U.S. officials think North Korea's unpredictable dictator may be gravely ill.

A U.S. intelligence official says there is reason to believe Kim Jong Il is sick after he failed to show up at a North Korean national celebration on Tuesday.

A U.S. intelligence official says it is possible that Kim has suffered a stroke. That official and another U.S. source spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive intelligence gathering.

Kim has not been seen in public for a month and U.S. officials were closely watching Tuesday's military parade for signs to the leader's health.

North Koreans call Kim the "Dear Leader" and he holds absolute power in the Stalinist regime.

[Seascamp]

A Japanese Korean expert claims he’s been dead since 2003 and body doubles have been used. Anything is possible in that hermetically sealed environment, I suppose.

Scamp

[Boats]

The engrained conditioning these people have been under will be hard to break. This country will have to be glassed over in order to change the current trends. Unless South Korea can find some way to sway them - I think NK will go out in a flame rather than take the passive road to enlightenment.

[Seascamp]

Maybe so maybe not, Boats. From what I’ve read via escapee stories, that is one corrupt, brutal and vicious regime. So long as the Boss hog (s) get a cut of the action; all required songs and sagas are memorized, and no threat is perceived by the Boss hogs, then it is wide open, free wheeling grab, grab, grab.
Not unlike Cuba, but less structured as to exactly which ministry owns which corruption scam.
Classic; North Korean student groups combine funds to bribe Cops to fend off the ad hoc street gangs, and that is just the tip of the iceberg, I reckon. By appearances, NK may look like automatons, but beneath the thin veneer of supposed “communist unity” there is a different saga to be told, I reckon. No small wonder they keep the place sealed up tighter than a bull’s butt at fly time.
Hey, I’ve seen it, worked it. Once the boot is off the neck, face is out of the dung pile, it is quiet astounding how rapidly people spring back to rational human behavior, or nearly so.

Scamp

[Packo]

Boy....I felt the same way Boats did until being a bit enlightened by Scamp....who's been there done that. Maybe they can recover from over 50 years of hell on earth living. Here's hoping that Kim Il is roasting in the firey furnace...or better still, living life as a North Korean vegetable. I guess there is a price to pay for drinking a fifth of Henessey every day. Wonder if it was 5 star or better yet...XO. Next time I have an XO...I'll giggle hoping that this wonderful nectar led to his demise. Also Scamp...congrats on your retirement. Mine has been going great and wish I could have done it 30 years ago.

Pack

[Seascamp]

A rich source of information is the NK exile community in Kyoto, Japan, and reminiscent of the situation in Miami. Actually, one is a cookie cutter replication of the other. People trying to provide material and monetary assistance to loved ones left behind drive a thriving black market in both Cuba and NK. Packages arrive well enough, but unless the intended recipient is there with gobs of cash in hand, poof, off it goes to the Boss hog’s black market. Almost comical, but sad, is that the big ticket black market item in NK is underwear. Evidently, the ‘People’s underwear factory’ turns out mighty course and shoddy knickers that are alleged to be unbearable except for the most thick- hided behinds, etc.

Scamp

And thanks Pack, beleve it or not, I'm almost starting to feel normal again, he he, assuming I was ever nornal in the first place.

[Seascamp]

Another NK saga just came to mind. One of NK’s cash export items is wild ginseng. Ok, so far so good, but hodit-hodit. In the spring the population is turned out to pick wild ginseng as some sort of 'patriotic' face-time deal. The proceeds of sale do not go to government coffers, nope, but instead become Kim’s hard currency pin money, exclusively. “Dear Leader” lives very high and no doubt has the best of the best for his own personal consumption. Pack named it, what a way to blow out, drowned in his own greed and corruption. I’ll drink to that, but nothing so pricy as Henessey. Maybe a cold Bud light, maybe.

Scamp

[Packo]

I'd love to say I can drink Hennessey often....in fact, it is an every once in a while deal...damit!

I have a deep abiding love for the South Korean People. I am alive today because of their soldiers and medic. I feel sorry for those poor slobs in the north that have to live in that hell with their itchy underwear. I just hope some day they can throw off the yoke but feel that the military will now be in charge making it that much harder for them to revolt. You can see by the amazing turn around the South has done since the war. I have a Samsung phone and flat screen tv and love them. I would even consider buying a Hyundai if I was in the market....but then again, I am biased toward these people. No Korean war vet ever came home thinking he'd be buying Korean goods other than Kim-chi and OB beer. I hope they are as proud of these people as I am. Hmmm, maybe 50 years from now we'll be buying Iraqi cars.

Pack

[Seascamp]

How about this; we chip in and get some Henessey,then salute our kindred bros, Korean, Austrilain, Philippine 'n all. I'm up for that. Beyond the first two hits or so, I must salute those who walked the walk of the VN experence, kept the faith and never pisseid in our back pockets, for any reason.

Scamp