It's been almost three weeks since my last serial on Chapter 1 of SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity, so let me continue. To bring you up to date, we are now into former President Bush's Axis of Evil, with Iran presented on January 23 and Iraq on January 20.
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What about North Korea
By legend, Korea was founded in 2333 BC by Dangun, and is referred to as CHOSoN, loosely interpreted to be “Land of the Morning Calm.” Through invasions and religions, Three Kingdoms formed, and were unified by Silla in 676 AD. The Mongols invaded in the 13th century, King Sejong ruled and the Korean alphabet han-geul was created in the 15th century. Japan first invaded in the 16th century.
The modern history of Korea begins in 1910 with the annexation by Japan. After WW II, the peninsula was split, with the northern half coming under communist sponsorship and the south going democratic. Almost 7 million Americans served in the Korean War of 1950-53, with 54,000 deaths, but the total killed approached 3.5 million, all that to maintain the 38th parallel as the line separating North and South. Founder Kim Il-song passed away in 1994, and the leadership passed on to his son, Kim Jong Il.
North Korea serves a useful purpose for American policy. Their hilarious leader is more an embarrassment than foe. Their toothless pronouncements, now and then reinforced by a pointless lob in the Pacific, cause sufficient panic in Japan and allow our military-industrial complex to justify ridiculous expenditures for billion dollar radar stations, like the one floating in Pearl Harbor on regular R&R from Alaska. (In fact, the USS Port Royal, a Navy guided missile cruiser, recently stranded just off Honolulu Airport, also cost a cool billion. REMEMBER that the average annual U.S. Department of Energy budget for renewable energy during the past few years has been LESS than a billion dollars. ) Even U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) has expressed concern about Hawaii someday becoming a target of a nuclear missile from North Korea. But the fact of the matter is that North Korea is more bizarre than dangerous, and there is no evidence whatever of their forming an evil axis with any country. Maybe not surprisingly, the Bush White House policy of ignoring them finally worked when Great Leader Kim caved in by dropping his nuclear program in 2007. However, this relationship in the past has been a flim-flam game where Kim has been the consummate confidence man. Where is he today on this subject or on Earth? Who knows.
There, too, remains a dark side to this untrustworthy country, as reported in various publications, but well summarized in the July 23, 2007 issue of TIME. Legitimate exports totaled $1.7 billion. Illegitimate ones approached $1 billion:
o 41 billion contraband cigarettes...$160 million
o Counterfeit currency....................$ 48 million
o Illegal drugs.................................??
o Weapons......................................??
Diplomatic immunity has helped their own consulate people bring in and distribute these items. Finally, $25 million was seized in a Macau bank, representing revenues from Mafia-like operations, but were released as part of the package for Kim to give up their nuclear weapons program.
Although there are overtures from the South Korean media for a quick transition into normal relations with the North, the fact of the matter is that the South is not falling all over itself to accelerate anything. They saw what happened between East and West Germany, and have decided that prudent discretion is the smart economic plan. To summarize:
By legend, Korea was founded in 2333 BC by Dangun, and is referred to as CHOSoN, loosely interpreted to be “Land of the Morning Calm.” Through invasions and religions, Three Kingdoms formed, and were unified by Silla in 676 AD. The Mongols invaded in the 13th century, King Sejong ruled and the Korean alphabet han-geul was created in the 15th century. Japan first invaded in the 16th century.
The modern history of Korea begins in 1910 with the annexation by Japan. After WW II, the peninsula was split, with the northern half coming under communist sponsorship and the south going democratic. Almost 7 million Americans served in the Korean War of 1950-53, with 54,000 deaths, but the total killed approached 3.5 million, all that to maintain the 38th parallel as the line separating North and South. Founder Kim Il-song passed away in 1994, and the leadership passed on to his son, Kim Jong Il.
North Korea serves a useful purpose for American policy. Their hilarious leader is more an embarrassment than foe. Their toothless pronouncements, now and then reinforced by a pointless lob in the Pacific, cause sufficient panic in Japan and allow our military-industrial complex to justify ridiculous expenditures for billion dollar radar stations, like the one floating in Pearl Harbor on regular R&R from Alaska. (In fact, the USS Port Royal, a Navy guided missile cruiser, recently stranded just off Honolulu Airport, also cost a cool billion. REMEMBER that the average annual U.S. Department of Energy budget for renewable energy during the past few years has been LESS than a billion dollars. ) Even U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) has expressed concern about Hawaii someday becoming a target of a nuclear missile from North Korea. But the fact of the matter is that North Korea is more bizarre than dangerous, and there is no evidence whatever of their forming an evil axis with any country. Maybe not surprisingly, the Bush White House policy of ignoring them finally worked when Great Leader Kim caved in by dropping his nuclear program in 2007. However, this relationship in the past has been a flim-flam game where Kim has been the consummate confidence man. Where is he today on this subject or on Earth? Who knows.
There, too, remains a dark side to this untrustworthy country, as reported in various publications, but well summarized in the July 23, 2007 issue of TIME. Legitimate exports totaled $1.7 billion. Illegitimate ones approached $1 billion:
o 41 billion contraband cigarettes...$160 million
o Counterfeit currency....................$ 48 million
o Illegal drugs.................................??
o Weapons......................................??
Diplomatic immunity has helped their own consulate people bring in and distribute these items. Finally, $25 million was seized in a Macau bank, representing revenues from Mafia-like operations, but were released as part of the package for Kim to give up their nuclear weapons program.
Although there are overtures from the South Korean media for a quick transition into normal relations with the North, the fact of the matter is that the South is not falling all over itself to accelerate anything. They saw what happened between East and West Germany, and have decided that prudent discretion is the smart economic plan. To summarize:
...................North Korea....South Korea.....U.S.
Age.............4000 years......4000 years.....223 yrs
Size
Age.............4000 years......4000 years.....223 yrs
Size
in sq. km.....120,540..........98,480.......9,826,000
Population..23 million........49 million...302 million
GDP...........$40 billion....$1,196 billion..$13 trillion
GDP
Population..23 million........49 million...302 million
GDP...........$40 billion....$1,196 billion..$13 trillion
GDP
/capita.......$1,800..........$24,500...........$44,000
Military
Military
Expend....Not Available...$32 billion......$528 billion
%GDP.....Not Available........2.7%................4.1%
Clearly, South Korea, since the Korean War, has flourished, but the North has putrefied.
%GDP.....Not Available........2.7%................4.1%
Clearly, South Korea, since the Korean War, has flourished, but the North has putrefied.
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The Dow Jones trickled up 51 to 7939 on word that the U.S. Senate and House agreed to President Obama's stimulus package, maybe. They were still working out some trivial language at this writing. This was not quite a bipartisan effort, as only 3 of 219 Republicans are in favor of this legislation. Actually, 11 Democrats voted against this measure too, so there were more defections from this party than conversions from the other side of the aisle. Full passage should be this week, so President Obama will be able to sign it that day or wait until Presidents' Day on Monday, a national holiday. World markets were mixed, and oil prices declined another two bucks or so to $35.94/barrel. The Dated Brent Spot price, though, is now at $43.88/bbl. It is reported that OPEC will take additional measures at their March gathering. Gold rose $24/toz to $940.
The Dow Jones trickled up 51 to 7939 on word that the U.S. Senate and House agreed to President Obama's stimulus package, maybe. They were still working out some trivial language at this writing. This was not quite a bipartisan effort, as only 3 of 219 Republicans are in favor of this legislation. Actually, 11 Democrats voted against this measure too, so there were more defections from this party than conversions from the other side of the aisle. Full passage should be this week, so President Obama will be able to sign it that day or wait until Presidents' Day on Monday, a national holiday. World markets were mixed, and oil prices declined another two bucks or so to $35.94/barrel. The Dated Brent Spot price, though, is now at $43.88/bbl. It is reported that OPEC will take additional measures at their March gathering. Gold rose $24/toz to $940.
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