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North Korea wtf


Im going home Donny

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well..I finnally heard from her...this is her take which might be of interest to anyone here in a similar boat as me..'Ann' is our aunt who works with the UKs serious fucking shit/scottland yard- section.

My sister said, "OK, you need to BREATHE!!!

So far the only government that has told us to get out is the North Korean government. Not about to listen to a word that shit show of craziness has to say about my life!!!

Canadian embassy: have your travel documents ready, stock up on non-perishable provisions, check in on their web site and twitter, and reliable news sources. They are monitoring the situation closely, as are all of the embassies. So far no suggestions of evacs except for Australia, but there are historical reasons for them being jumpy (jumpy, ha ha, Australians. Like Kangaroos tee hee).

South Korean government: they are business as usual, but they are prepared, with the UN, to shoot down anything that North Korea may try to send our way.

Other expats: mostly just have our passports et al ready, and otherwise, m'eh. Some are freaking, but mostly those are people who have been here for less than 2 years. This is my 3rd NK crisis. It just gets old more than anything.

I'm debating taking my money out of the bank tomorrow in case NK attacks the SK banks via a cyber attack, which I think is a LOT more likely than them trying to nuke us. I also have enough money to get the cats on a plane so I can head out on an evac convoy, but that would be SUCH a logistical nightmare considering that the international airport is 2 hours in the opposite direction from any evac routes!

I am the deputy warden for Yongsan gu to the Canadian Embassy which means that I will be the first to hear of steps being taken to evacuate. So I get the inside scoop. Also, the Canadian Embassy is one of the best ones here for keeping their nationals posted. The Canadian and Swedish seem to be the best. The UK and US the worst. So all the other expats turn to us for info. Have only received one text message from the embassy and what I told you is what they told us. Not a word since. Don't think the situation has changed in any tangible way since.

But yes, this whole number nine thing.... We are partially holding our breath until after the 15th.

But there is also a fare bit of joking around about it. LIke today, when my friend and I were having lunch in a tiny dubu chip (a place that makes their own tofu). It's mostly older Koreans that eat in such places, and out of the blue, they started playing "Go West" by The Pet Shop Boys. OMG we just about died. Of all days - April 10. The first day of the possible attack days. Go West! We were eating dubu rameon (rameon / noodle soup with tofu) and we almost had rameon nose jets we were laughing so hard. You must watch this for the full effect. So crazy perfect. Especially since just an hour earlier we were talking about loading all of our cats on a plane to ship out. I referred to it as "cats to go" and joked about telling them "go west young cats"!

So yeah, a lot of super stupid jokes, and some tension. But really, what are we going to do? The media is fueling this, giving the sociopath up north the attention he wants. It's encouraging him to go further, and also backing him into a corner. If shit does go down, it'll be the US media's fault.

Anyhoo, don't know if this is reassuring, but it should answer all of your questions. BTW, Ann wants me to get out. We shall see. I am prepared to if absolutely required. But... I have my apartment, ALL my books for my masters program, the cats..... my JOB... And what would I do if I left? Would have no job, no income, no home.... Who would put me up with 3 cats and no income? And so far, all freak outs NK has had have blown over. So, what will be will be."

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A friend who returned for a wedding last week or so says the western media is a real shit show, more misinformation than facts and a few outright lies. Basically, some similar comments as your sister, tension, but not hysteria/fear etc.

She's heading back this weekend.

[edit to add]

FWIW, she's Korean, and grew up there until 12 or 13 (I think) and then returned in her late 30s with her husband.

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NK definitely shouldn't and can't be ignored, I agree.

It's just our media is so skewed it's tough to really know what's fabrication and what isn't. For example, US media portrayed Xi Jinping's speech condemning NK's actions as support for SK and the US. From what my friend Min was saying, China has warned NK, but certainly isn't supporting SK, and definitely not backing the US. Yet, western media has since the get go, claimed otherwise.

China really needs to step up and put some pressure on NK, they would be adversely affected if NK attacked SK or Japan. Wouldn't help the trade agreements they've been building (and built) if they don't, in my opinion.

Meanwhile in the US, Cheney has now come out of the woodwork and is claiming NK is a threat to global and "US freedom". That is a good reason for concern as well. Cheney is condemning Obama since he has dialed back the US military budget. Track record shows when this war monger gets involved, things get tense, fast. Especially since, aside from his oil interests, Cheney has a lot of interests in arms sales. Cuts to the military budget directly affect his bottom line. Going back to the Reagan days (or sooner?) he and people like Rumsfeld have been advocating and profiting from conflicts greatly. In my opinion, the world, especially media should be paying close attention to what's being talked about in Washington as well. I believe if conflict starts, war mongers like Cheney, Rumsfeld and their ilk will have a big part in it.

Wait for the phrase "war on terror" to pop up in relation to NK, there'll be a big shift in concern. At least that's my take on it.

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Placing bets...I think they will launch something out to sea, and that Japan will shoot it down. WHO KNOWS about Seoul. But... I doubt it. Probably hit some poor rural area. Enough to show his people that he has balls, but little enough to show the rest of the world that he seriously does not. Gonna happen soon though. The big guessing game is what will happen after. There is talk of dragging his fat sorry ass before the international courts for crimes against humanity for his threats of unproked nuke attacks, and trying to incite a region-wide war. I HOPE they do. THEY being a joint force of NATO, the UN, and maybe even Interpol! That would actually be kind of funny -and good to see Interpol being used for good for a change

This guy! http://blogs.reuters.com/the-human-impact/2012/04/27/escape-from-camp-14-life-inside-north-koreas-brutal-labour-camps/

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The US has already sent a battery of missiles to Guam (US base), and a couple warships capable of shooting down any NK missiles.

Gaum is defended by terminal high altitude area defense system (THAAD) which can strike down ballistic missiles but only on their decent, although not that effective in protecting large territory, so the US brought the warship(s?) with the AEGIS defense system which can shoot missiles down on their ascent, or before they re-enter atmosphere which allows it to better protect large territory.

The US hasn't been conducting military exercises at sea on the border of NK for nothing.

I have zero faith, nor trust in the UN, after my eyes were opened to 'agenda 21' years ago. But, I'll save that rant for a different time. I will say though, the way the CPC have been dealing with them may be the only thing I've ever agreed with from that party.

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Having lived there for seven years, I can pretty much agree that the hand should stay far away from the panic button. While North Korea definitely shouldn't be ignored, everything its government says garners more attention over here than it does in South Korea.

Furthermore, Koreans tend to use exaggerated language when they are emotional, and communist regimes tend to use extreme terms too. So the result is a Korean communist regime saying, "We will turn Seoul into a raging sea of nuclear fire!" instead of, "Hey, look at me!" And they tend to say it every few months, so it quickly becomes forgettable.

Having said that, of course, they are only bluffing until they aren't, but there's no tactical advantage to them if they take any drastic steps. It would be suicidal for them to actually attack South Korea, Japan or the US.

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Hey, I've been stuck on that NC article since reading it. It's wierd..everytime I have read a little bit of his writings over the years(I haven't read much), well I wind up feeling like I've been led down a rabbit hole..in a not so good way so to speak.

So ya I was just googling critics of Noam Chomsky and came across this interview with Benjamin Kerstein who wrote Diary of an Anti-Chomskyite. Very interesting read. I'm looking forward to buying the book.

http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/michael-j-totten/noam-chomsky-last-totalitarian

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