Originally posted by GogoVicMorrow
How does he justify schmoozin' with an "imperialist pig" like that?

When you're a Kim who has the lives of his emaciated people hinges on his whims (/ aid of his Chinese neighbours), you don't have to justify anything.

I find the title of the thread extremely misleading. Korea is no closer to reunification because of Rodman, and I doubt that the PRK's nuclear program will be stopped due to him, either.

It amazes me that anyone trying to diffuse the NK situation be cast as a traitor or in a negative light. Were Hillary or Biden or maybe some other White House talking head to go, certainly provocations would have been made. Yet Dennis goes, and all people can say are derogatory or misleadingly negative things of Him. Asians have a value system, and it's much about 'Face' or saving face. Dennis very likely complicated none of these public postures for Kim, but was also likely in diffusing some tensions that diplomats would not be capable of.

Ha, I agree that people have no clue what is going on. They likely are not used to this kind of thing in NK, and I guarantee they don't have personalities like Mr. Rodman. I heard some people complaining about this, or wondering why it was happening. Obviously there are many reports which state that NK's new leader was educated in a democratic country, and that he really loved basketball. This is pretty obvious here too, with his big grin. It does not seem like he is going to change things for the better at the moment, likely due to pressure from the senior officials on his staff, but we will see what happens in the future.

I have been questioning the whole NK vs the US comments that have supposedly come out of NK recently, and although they probably are true, I think we should be careful before buying into anything from the US government. It has come out that the nuclear tests may not be NK after all, but rather Iranian. This seems logical, given the intelligence that supposedly showed an Iranian military delegation present at all the launches. But again, you have to look at who is giving this information.

From a recent CIA transcript:

Deacon: You need help in North Korea? I can't shoot hoops, but I jump through them all the time.
Renegade: The situation is under control and the worm is back in the nest.
Deacon: Did he really have sushi at the palace? His father fed me dog.
Renegade: Well you are used to eating peanuts.

I have one of those kid's basketball goals (one of those colorful plastic ones that are adjustable from 3 to 5 ft) that I would donate in the name of world peace to the dear leader of the DPRK (Kim Jong-Un)....he just needs to pay for the shipping.

What's really scary is that there is a 2nd black guy in the picture

Why does this thread only have 12 flags? Everyone is over at the stupid Beyonce is a demon thread discussing nonsense while we've got real issues right here.

I give my head a shake...

I think it shows the awkward leadership position Kim Jong-un has.

It's definitely awkward, because he has too many perks at stake and that axe hanging overhead that will ensure his leadership and country's relation to the rest of the world is tenuous at best.

Looking at some of the old guard in the background, you can see what is going on. Some aren't exactly happy with this celebrity indulgence of sorts. They would think there's risk for too much potential for outside influence. The only reason they're accepting it is because it's being presented as a show of power/wealth.

Rumor has it that Kim Jong-un been a world traveler in his youth under a pseudonym or two. Likely done so he's not blind to how the rest of the world works. Yet he became familiar with and fond of many things in the West. In some ways, because of that, he just might have potential to be the most progressive leader in that country. But this makes his relationship with the top military leaders in that country difficult. Although not without authority, he's more of a figurehead than anything else. The tough-guy image has to be kept up. Displease too many top officials, and it wouldn't be surprising if "Dear Leader" had an "accident" followed by the sucession of somebody more compliant. Thus he has to make boasts and threats to keep the military officials happy. It's a show as much as the military parades presented before him. (The downside to this act is the risk of pushing too far, causing somebody to do something stupid and having diplomacy and the truce fail... It would come down like a ton of bricks and there wouldn't be much of a country left. Takes some tact to keep that balancing act going.)

Of course that's a hypothesis based on outside public info, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was some truth to it.

if i am not mistaken , danny glover met with both castro and chavez before their health deteriorated . not that i think rodman is smart enough to be involved in any kind of plot , but the government might be desperate enough , especially after the secret flights to N.K came to light. i wanted to do a reference to that movie he did with vandam, it was just so unbearable , my brain flushed most of my memory of it.

Originally posted by FlySolo
Why does this thread only have 12 flags? Everyone is over at the stupid Beyonce is a demon thread discussing nonsense while we've got real issues right here.

>ATS

Will Obama call him? Who knows? Maybe Michael Jordan should go over there (with Scottie Pippen) and charm the leader some more.