North Korea Archives - Where Is The Outrage?

So Much 2 Say

I wrote this for the Urban News in March 2019.

An outstanding a cappella group, Take 6, once had a tune called “So Much 2 Say.” The tune lasted only one minute. It was fast, it was up-tempo. The harmony and their back-and-forth between each other was almost breathtaking. Now, in 2019, the news is coming at us at a blistering pace almost like the song. There is no time for us to digest what just happened before something else pops up. I will try to distill the important news of the month for you in this column.

Clinton’s emails

I know that this is a bizarre way to start, but bear with me. I just finished a fascinating book by Andrew McCabe, former interim director of the FBI, called The Threat, in which he describes how he became involved in the Hillary Clinton email case. I remember the media frenzy that surrounded Hillary Clinton’s emails at the time. Do you?

Remember that the email “case” came out of the Benghazi investigation. Yes, Benghazi. Republicans asked the FBI to look into Secretary of State Clinton’s emails because the State Department had no cache of emails for Hillary Clinton. This is because Hillary Clinton decided she was going to use a private email server. Although she has admitted that this was a mistake, I am not sure it was. Hillary Clinton knew that every single one of her emails sent from a government account could be retrieved by Republicans. This means that every single word, every period, every phrase could be inspected. Please remember, we are not talking about a rational review of what she did or said: Hillary knew that was not possible. She knew that a jaundiced, partisan eye would overlook everything she did (and she was right!). (Additionally, the State Department’s email server was hacked during her tenure; but her private home-based server never was: it was more secure than the State Department’s!)

At any rate, the House asked the FBI to look at Hillary Clinton’s emails. Through a very laborious process, the FBI retrieved all her emails from all the computers and servers she used. The overall number was approximately 60,000 emails. The FBI then sorted all 60,000 into private emails and work emails.

It appears from my reading that the FBI and Hillary Clinton’s team agreed on which emails were work emails and which were personal. The 30,000 work emails were sent on to the State Department; the other 30,000 were given back to Hillary Clinton, and they were destroyed. These are the 30,000 emails that Trump and others have been screaming about for years now. Guys, this is nuts!! No American citizen should have to undergo this kind of scrutiny. No one. Ever.

North Korea

Donald Trump, at the last minute and in a hurried, unprepared fashion, decided to hold another summit with the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Un. The first question that a thoughtful American should ask is, Why would the American president want to meet with a North Korean dictator? Well, the possible answer would be to denuclearize North Korea. In theory, we, the American people, would give North Korea something—investment, lifting of sanctions, a formal peace treaty—and we would get disarmament of North Korea in return. This would be normal diplomacy.

But “normal” does not apply to Donald Trump. Normally, the State Department would hold preliminary meetings with their counterparts in North Korea. Groundwork would be laid. First, by lower-level specialists in economics, military issues, and human rights; then higher-level deputies; finally, the secretary or minister level. Only after all the parameters of the deal were put in place and agreed to would the president get involved.

In Donald Trump’s administration, normality is a thing of the past. Like a bull in a china shop he decided to trudge forward. In spite of the pomp and circumstance, the smiling for the cameras, and the warm handshake, we, the American people, got nothing. Donald Trump left the summit with nothing. He looked like Charlie Brown who just had Lucy’s football pulled away at the last minute. Again. Rats! This was nothing more than a colossal diversion and waste of taxpayer money. And to top it off, after he came home, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo agreed to give Kim a gift his country—and China—had only dreamed of: the decision not to resume joint military exercises that have kept South Korea safe from North Korean aggression for 60 years. (It appears that North Korea is rebuilding that key missile facility that torn down several months as a gesture of good faith. Will someone let the grown ups back in the room?)

The Main Event

It is really hard to take in all that Michael Cohen said in three days of testimony before Congress. First of all, we know that Michael Cohen is a liar. We also know that his back is against the wall: he is going to jail. So, in order to shorten his prison sentence, it would behoove him to cooperate with authorities and the tell the truth in front of Congress. I will focus on three areas of his testimony—Trump Tower Moscow, WikiLeaks, and Stormy Daniels.

First, Michael Cohen admitted that he lied to Congress about the timing of his talks with Moscow regarding a Trump Tower Moscow. From my standpoint, Donald Trump has always looked like a man who was constantly after money. He was looking at making several hundred million dollars if he was able to pull off Trump Tower Moscow. Therefore, it is no surprise to me that he continued to try to work the deal while he was running for president. He never really thought he was going to win the White House. Therefore, why not try and make an extra hundred million or so. The thing about this line of questioning that is surprising is that Donald Trump blatantly lied to the American people on multiple occasions about his dealings with Moscow. Not that it’s really a surprise. We all know that Trump lies.

(more…)

By ecthompsonmd|2019-07-27T16:12:09-04:00July 27th, 2019|Domestic Issues, Party Politics|Comments Off

News Roundup – Sony hacked, Cuba and Colbert

So, as I understand it, North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because of the new movie called the Interview. This movie looks very, very stupid with Seth Rogen who specializes in movies that suck IQ points out of your head. Sony has decided not to release the picture. Sony is basically buckling to threats from North Korea. George Clooney has it right, “The truth is, it’s all new territory and nobody knows how to handle it. I don’t think anyone was prepared for it. So now we’ll be prepared for it, hopefully. Everybody was doing their jobs, but somehow, we have allowed North Korea to dictate content, and that is just insane.”

Obama announced that we would change our policy toward Cuba. The purpose of sanctions was to force the collapse of the Castro government. After 50 years, the Castro government still stands. Would another 50 years of sanctions do the trick? I doubt it. Yep, I know that many in the GOP are outraged. Is anyone surprised? Unfortunately, to normalize relations with Cuba, both houses of Congress will have to approve this measure. This is highly unlikely to happen. Maybe Cuban Americans can pressure Congress into action?

From WaPo (I should have some video later):

“If all we achieved over the last nine years was to come into your home each night and help you make a difficult day a little better — man, what a waste,” Colbert said, but offered this: “Nation I want you to know, if i had to do it all again, if I could do it with you, I would do it the same.” The Colbert Report reminds me of the David Letterman Show when it first started. The Letterman Show was described as the world’s biggest inside joke. For those who got the joke, Letterman was funny as hell. Those who didn’t were lost. The same with Colbert. There were jokes on so many levels. Basically, you have Stephen Colbert playing an ultra-conservative talk show host. He constantly pointed out the stupid craziness of Fox News and other conservatives thru this character. His interview with Lynn Westmoreland (R-Georgia) was classic. Westmoreland was pushing to have the 10 Commandments placed on/in court houses. Stephen asked if there was anywhere more appropriate for the commandments to be posted. Westmoreland responded nope. Of course, the right answer would be in a church or temple. The combination of Colbert’s seriousness and Westmoreland’s cluelessness was priceless. Making liberal points while playing a conservative news anchor: how novel. I’ll miss the Colbert Report.

I’ll add some links later.

By ecthompsonmd|2014-12-22T13:48:36-04:00December 19th, 2014|Business, Foreign Affairs, Movies|Comments Off

North Korea is so wrong

I would like to think that this blog is about highlighting a few things that I think are important. I hope that this blog is fun and intelligent. Every now and then I see a story that I just have to highlight. So, 85-year-old Merrill Newman is being held in North Korea. Now, this guy isn’t one of those thrill-seekers who went wandering into North Korea because he wanted to test the system. This is a tourist. He went to North Korea with a sponsored tour. Now, he is detained.

I really don’t have a great impression of North Korea. I think of it as a petty dictatorship. For over 60 years, North Korea has held the world hostage to get what it wants on the threat of building a nuclear bomb. So, what would a stupid laughable dictatorship want with an 85-year-old veteran? Oh, this is pettiness at its height. So, Mr. Newman is a Korean War veteran and they are holding him for crimes against North Korea. Now, let’s be honest. I have no idea if Mr. Newman cleaned bedpans or tortured North Korean soldiers. It just seems that holding an 85-year-old man is simply wrong. If you really have some evidence of crimes, then produce it. Instead of real evidence, the North Koreans have this 85-year-old man reading a stupid apology and signing a ridiculous apology in broken English.

I know that there are some veterans who have this need to go back to the country where they fought as young men. North Korea isn’t the fields of France or Vietnam, which are both friendly with the US. North Korea is country that failed states still make fun of. North Korea is a joke of a country. This is the country that allowed somewhere between 250,000 and 3 million of its own citizens to die in the great famine of 1994-1998. As many as 10% of the population died in that disaster. At its most basic a nation needs to provide for its people. It needs to keep them safe from things like famine. North Korea failed.

We can only hope that we can encourage China to pressure North Korea into doing the right thing by Mr. Newman who has been held against his will for over a month now.

By ecthompsonmd|2013-12-01T21:01:50-04:00December 1st, 2013|Domestic Issues|Comments Off