In poker it's called being 'Pot committed'. I guess it's pretty hard for a drastic policy change without being defeated in open conflict.

I should add that kid to my death pool.

It's like watching a Dachshund promise that it will never, ever give up on its goal to steal the chew toy from the next door neighbor's Rottweiler.

vernonFL: I for one thing its awesome that a 27 year old fatty has control over nuclear weapons.

The only country that actually has anything to fear from North Korean nukes is South Korea, and North Korea would be hurt almost as badly by setting one off that close by.

The biggest threat this guy could issue that I'd actually worry about is that he'd eat us all. He looks ready and willing to eat every last one of his enemies, and if he ever got his hand on one of those power pellets, God help us all.

I think I know where all their food is going

Can the news people around the world call him "Great Tubby". I would love to see the fatty rage from NK using the national TV channel.

calendar>>December 27. 2011 Juch 100

Memorial Service Held in Kyrgyzstan

Pyongyang, December 27 (KCNA) -- The United Confederation of Koreans in Kyrgyzstan held a memorial service on Dec. 23 on the demise of leader Kim Jong Il.

Present there were Chairman of the Confederation Pak Kyong Ho and its officials and compatriots.

They laid a wreath before the portrait of Kim Jong Il and paid silent tribute to him.

Upon hearing the sad news of the untimely demise of Kim Jong Il, officials of the Confederation and compatriots are paying tribute to him in the bitterest grief, Pak Kyong Ho said, and went on:

The demise of Kim Jong Il is an irretrievable great loss to the DPRK and the whole world.

We mourn with the people in the homeland.

The undying feats of Kim Jong Il who devoted all his energies to building a thriving nation true to the behests of President Kim Il Sung will shine forever.

The behests of Kim Jong Il will be successfully realized thanks to the dear respected Kim Jong Un.

blazemongr: vernonFL: I for one thing its awesome that a 27 year old fatty has control over nuclear weapons.

The only country that actually has anything to fear from North Korean nukes is South Korea, and North Korea would be hurt almost as badly by setting one off that close by.

In the words of Gabe Jong-Un: I will personally burn everything I've made to the farking ground if I think I can catch them in the flames.

The stern message also said North Korea was uniting around Kim Jong Un, referring to him for the first time with the title Great Leader - previously used for his father - in a clear message of continuity.

Great Leader 2.0, now with more Juche goodness!

thirdful: Can the news people around the world call him "Great Tubby". I would love to see the fatty rage from NK using the national TV channel.

don't think the news station want their business get nuked if they try it

Mouser: The stern message also said North Korea was uniting around Kim Jong Un, referring to him for the first time with the title Great Leader - previously used for his father - in a clear message of continuity.

Great Leader 2.0, now with more Juche goodness!

It's all bloatware though.

white people - not capable of minding their own farking business

Minus 1 Charisma: [l.yimg.com image 420x300]
I think I know where all their food is going

I look at his picture and just hear him thinking "Why can't I go abroad and party like my brothers? Why did I get stuck with this shiat?"

"North Korea vows no softening under its new leader"

He looks pretty soft to me. Tell me you don't want to just pinch those widdle cheeks.

Gozer the Gozerian, Gozer the Destructor, Volguus Zildrohar, Gozer the Traveler, Lord of the Sebouillia still refuses to comment about the actions of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

She/he was quoted as asking random people if they were gods.

I am almost always against war unless it absolutely cannot be prevented. I feel the same way about N Korea - those people suffer enough as it is without American bombs blowing up their 300 dollar houses. Still, for the first time I think I'd completely support a CIA operation to completely obliterate every key member of the ruling party in N Korea. There's almost 0 hope of it getting any better without outside intervention seeing as anyone who criticizes the government knows they and likely their families will end up in a labor camp - or worse.

When you watch the Korean reaction during the funeral processions of Il sung and Jong Il, you wonder how many of their hysterical reactions are genuine. That is, how many are just completely brainwashed into feeling like they're losing someone vital to their existence and how many simply know that those not mourning loud enough will be punished severely.

If N. Korea wasn't retarded economically, spending all their money on mass games and facades for foreigners, they'd probably be a legitimate threat to the USA. Lucky for us I guess.

wombatoftruth: "North Korea vows no softening under its new leader"

He looks pretty soft to me. Tell me you don't want to just pinch those widdle cheeks.

No, I don't want to do that. Every picture that I see makes him look like a lonely, glowering, isolated, sociopath who would bite you if you tried.

I guess that's a good thing in the long run.

North Korea is a horrific place and it is making the world a worse place.

But at least they're fairly contained. Any change in direction now would likely be disasterous. Unless it was a carefully coordinated and gradual move towards free markets, demilitarization, an open society, and democratic rule, taking say 50 years or so to complete the transition to avoid too much craziness.

But that would never happen so any change is probably going to be for the worse.

Meet the new boss; same as the old boss...

They're cracking down right now, but things should eventually relax as the police and guards need the bribes from traders and money they extort from defector's families to survive, since the state doesn't pay enough or give out enough food. They won't have anything to sustain them after the stuff they stockpiled for the 2012 celebrations are over.

I'm betting on a medieval style power struggle eventually going on behind the scenes.

dj1s


No, I don't want to do that. Every picture that I see makes him look like a lonely, glowering, isolated, sociopath who would bite you if you tried.

Wait until his guards leave, then distract him with Hostess Twinkie snacks.

blazemongr: vernonFL: I for one thing its awesome that a 27 year old fatty has control over nuclear weapons.

The only country that actually has anything to fear from North Korean nukes is South Korea, and North Korea would be hurt almost as badly by setting one off that close by.

Not sure why they need nuclear weapons to accomplish this, since they have firing tables for the entire country and enough artillery to kill about a Canada's worth of people in about ten minutes.

nekom: blazemongr: The only country that actually has anything to fear from North Korean nukes is South Korea, and North Korea would be hurt almost as badly by setting one off that close by.

Depends on the weather patterns there, but they'd REALLY be hurt by the ensuing asswhooping ROK and the U.S. would give them. To use hyperbole, Worst Korea would become an island by the time it was all over.

The problem, though, is that North Korea's conventional arsenal could annihilate Seoul in a couple days and there's very little we can do about it. Sure, we'd retaliate, but you'd likely have a million South Korean civilians dead first.

dj1s: wombatoftruth: "North Korea vows no softening under its new leader"

He looks pretty soft to me. Tell me you don't want to just pinch those widdle cheeks.

No, I don't want to do that. Every picture that I see makes him look like a lonely, glowering, isolated, sociopath who would bite you if you tried.

THIS

/guy looks very unhinged... no pun intended

AbiSnail: Meet the new boss; same as the old boss...

YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

AbiSnail: Meet the new boss; same as the old boss...

Just like Rick Perry vs George W., if you thought the last one was bad/dumb/crazy, this one is worse.

/Also, since one derives his legitimacy from the other, changing any policy would be mean that Kim Jong-Il is not right all the time and thus not the god-like figure that his propaganda made him out to be.

meanmutton: nekom: blazemongr: The only country that actually has anything to fear from North Korean nukes is South Korea, and North Korea would be hurt almost as badly by setting one off that close by.

Depends on the weather patterns there, but they'd REALLY be hurt by the ensuing asswhooping ROK and the U.S. would give them. To use hyperbole, Worst Korea would become an island by the time it was all over.

The problem, though, is that North Korea's conventional arsenal could annihilate Seoul in a couple days and there's very little we can do about it. Sure, we'd retaliate, but you'd likely have a million South Korean civilians dead first.

Except they probably wouldn't be able to maintain the barrage for more then a few hours.

The RoK military is actually better funded and equipped then the North Korean military (it's a wonder what a functional economy and not burning your bridges with absolutely everyone will do), and they've been preparing for a new War with the north for decades.

I would be astounded if the RoK wasn't capable of air-striking the crap out of the North Korean artillery within hours of the first shell landing in Seoul.

Non-evil Monkey: meanmutton: nekom: blazemongr: The only country that actually has anything to fear from North Korean nukes is South Korea, and North Korea would be hurt almost as badly by setting one off that close by.

Depends on the weather patterns there, but they'd REALLY be hurt by the ensuing asswhooping ROK and the U.S. would give them. To use hyperbole, Worst Korea would become an island by the time it was all over.

The problem, though, is that North Korea's conventional arsenal could annihilate Seoul in a couple days and there's very little we can do about it. Sure, we'd retaliate, but you'd likely have a million South Korean civilians dead first.

Except they probably wouldn't be able to maintain the barrage for more then a few hours.

The RoK military is actually better funded and equipped then the North Korean military (it's a wonder what a functional economy and not burning your bridges with absolutely everyone will do), and they've been preparing for a new War with the north for decades.

I would be astounded if the RoK wasn't capable of air-striking the crap out of the North Korean artillery within hours of the first shell landing in Seoul.

A few hours of shelling would kill hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Oh good. I was kinda worried I'd never get to see the remake of Red Dawn. Now that the new boss is the same as the old boss, they don't have to worry about demonizing a country that now wants to go peaceful.

wilybeamish: white people - not capable of minding their own farking business

What are you doing here? That cotton won't pick itself!!!

Although its probably too early to say, I'd bet against a China style opening up for years to come. Un is too young and is probably a figurehead at this point. And there is nothing to indicate that the generals, Kim's brother-in-law and his sister want to rock the boat. Why would they? They are benefitting from how the system is structured now and they know if they lessen any political control, chances are fairly strong they will lose control and end up exiled or dead.

People sometimes compare the situation to China and the death of Mao... but when Mao died its not like China changed overnight. There was a fair amount of backroom politics and backstabbing for several years. Also, China benefited from some politicians who were personally affected by the excesses of the Culutral Revolution and Maoism like Deng Xiaoping and other "moderates" who definetly didnt want to continue the status quo and were waiting for Mao to pass away. Mao's wife and the so-called gang of four could have succeeded Mao's leadership and they were just as crazy as the people currently in charge of the DPRK, but it didnt happen that way. Unfortunately for North Korea and its people, no North Korean observors I've read seem to identify any moderates who would be keen on changing the system at this point.

Worse is that China may not be an apt comparison but another Asian state with somewhat close relations to the DPRK, Burma (or Myranmar). That country has been runned by a group of generals and has been closed to the west for decades. And generally they dont seem to have much interest until recently to giving in to any interests or demands by the West.

I wonder if this wasn't a decision on behalf of Kim Jong-un and instead was imposed by North Korea's National Defense Commission. I picture the first meeting looking something like:

Minion: hail best korea's greatest leader in all eternity
Kim Jong-un: yey.
Minion: greatest and bestest leader ever, you will lead Best Korea to greatness
Kim Jong-un: I guess...
Minion: Now, the whole world doesn't yet know any of your superb super-human abilities, not like we do, greatest most awesome leader...
Kim Jong-un: what?...
Minion: ....they somehow think that you are less than great...
Kim Jong-un: hmm...
Minion: ...less than good, even...
Kim Jong-un: oh...
Minion: ...a pussy, as they say...
Kim Jong-un: what?
Minion: But we know best, oh most excellent and superb Korean Adonis. We all know you are the mostest most awesome in all awesomeness of our awesome Korea.
Kim Jong-un: I guess...
Minion: They only need to be shown a bit of your awesome awesomeness?
Kim Jong-un: What? How?
Minion: You know, tell them how it is, and make them know who is in charge.
Kim Jong-un: Hmm...
Minion: You don't want them to see you as soft, do you?
Kim Jong-un: But my poetry....
Minion: Not that type of soft, god damn it. I mean, looking soft in the exterior.
Kim Jong-un: I am kind of chubby...
Minion: For god's sake, I mean looking like a pathetic little dictator.
Kim Jong-un: Oh.
Minion: ...not that you are one! No, you are awesome. The awesomest awesome.
Kim Jong-un: Ok.
Minion: So, how will it be, superb leader of best korea?
Kim Jong-un: uh?
Minion: What will you do to force the world to stop seeing you as soft?
Kim Jong-un: Oh...
Minion: Come on, what do you want to do?
Kim Jong-un: Oh... You can tell them I'm not.
Minion: Excuse me?
Kim Jong-un: Tell them I'm not soft.
Minion: Really?
Kim Jong-un: I guess so... Is my decision bad?
Minion: OH! No no no no no.... You are most awesome leader of Best Korea. Everything you is excellent and smells like rose petals.
Kim Jong-un: Ok then.
Minion: As you wish, my leader. The world will tremble with your announcement. And Best Korea will prevail.
Kim Jong-un: Do we have more cheetos?

TO THE WAR MACHINE!!!!

nekom: vernonFL: I for one thing its awesome that a 27 year old fatty has control over nuclear weapons.

They don't really `have' nuclear weapons at this point. They test fired one which was thought to be only a partial success, they may or may not have enough material to make a few more and they have no means of delivering any.

Your mighty nation was taken out by a pack of saudis with box cutters
I would not be so utterly confident that US methods are needed to attack the US

P.S. I have a minecraft server too (technically it is my 10 year old son's, but hehehe that worldedit plug is all mine)

Slartibartfaster: Your mighty nation was taken out by a pack of saudis with box cutters
I would not be so utterly confident that US methods are needed to attack the US

Not to mention losing their billion-dollar super secret plane to a bunch of Iranians with a radio antenna.

They should implicitly trust the West and our long history of bringing peace, prosperity and democracy to the rest of world. BWHAHAHAHA, couldn't do that with a straight face.

What? People try to maintain status quo and are resistant to change? Why didn't we know about this before?



And while you young'uns see that "Up" kid, I see this guy



/It's the hairdo