If you were interested in mounting consistent, cogent arguments — and not the sort of twisted Yankee-baiting that has been your MO for some three years (witness: “That’s like me saying that I gave some frozen dinners to the homeless guy down at the shelter”) — you could look up these things. Three hours even with wikipedia would EXPONENTIALLY raise your game in discussions of these matters.

But (I guess you must be thinking) what fun would being informed and factual be?

Giving *monitored* food aid to North Korea would mean that average citizens feel less of the brunt of the other financial and trade sanctions.

The other sanctions target the elite and the military. The idea is that if those two elements begin to face the same hardships as the common citizens, they will not be as loyal to Kim Jong-il and the regime will collapse (e.g., they won’t enforce the rules/regs, etc.).

For example, cutting off remittances, trade, and oil will not affect the common North Korean as they would not be allowed to receive anything from Japan, can’t buy anything, and don’t use vehicles/oil heat anyway – but the elite/military do.

So, that’s part of the rationale for giving monitored food aid, why it doesn’t generally help the elite/military (although some does), and why North Korea rejected UN aid for strings free aid from South Korea (i.e., SK helping prop up KJI).

As for your downplaying of the U.S. giving vast amounts of food to North Korea; doesn’t the cognitive dissonance hurt? Even a little bit? Blurred vision? Nose bleed? Anything?

The US is the biggest food aid donor to North Korea. OK. Allow me this cogitate this piece of information. I’ll admit that I dont know if that is strictly true or not and possibly wouldn’t be so inclined to doubt it either. But frankly, I dont find myself too interested in what the USGOV does with federally subsidized excess grain.

OK, so the US is the biggest food aid donor to North Korea. Big whoop. That’s like me saying that I gave some frozen dinners to the homeless guy down at the shelter. So hand me a cookie and a medal.

Then there’s the matter of consistency. Supposing that it were true. I thought the point was to make NK collapse. I thought we already knew by now that once food aid is given to the NORKs, we dont know how it is really distributed. How is giving the NORKs food aid supposed to make them collapse? So do we want to make NK collapse or no? Which is it?

What, as in Battlestar? What the heck are you talking about?

You’ve convinced me. I’m ready to pull US forces out of Korea right now and send them to Africa, how about we both write our Congressmen with that proposal?

BTW, if I were you I’d avoid using the word “chutzpah” in connection with argument excusing the North Korean government of responsibility for the death of millions of its own citizens.

For some of us, such usage evokes the memory of the similar death of millions of European Jews. It’s definitely a good word to use for your attitude though.

Main Entry: chutz·pah
Function: noun
Variants: also chutz·pa/’hut-sp&, ‘[k]ut-, -(”)spä/
Etymology: Yiddish khutspe, from Late Hebrew huspAh
: supreme self-confidence : NERVE , GALL
synonym see TEMERITY

Let me present a dissenting opinion to your bullshit, since I can do that on Marmot’s freely. If we weigh the policy of the ROK gov versus that of the US on the morality scale, the ROK loses out big time. Why? Because it is the ROK that claims it pursues the policy it does because the North Koreans are their “brothers”, being of the same ethnicity at all. Yet, the South Koreans’s policies of appeasement only prolong the misery of the North Korean population, their imprisonment, and their murder. On the other hand, there are not a few people in the U.S. who for some reason would actually like to see fewer North Koreans suffering in concentration camps and for that reason want Kim’s regime to fall. Yet, in South Korea, hardly a word in outrage against the murder of thousands of Koreans in North Korea is heard, despite their supposedly glorious blood ties. And no pressure is put on the North’s government to stop it.

Even in its ethnocentrism, the SK government screws up royally.

But if I had to weigh the policy of the ROK govt versus that of the US on the morality scale, the US loses out big time.

Good thinking. No way the ROKG is responsible for helping prolong the suffering of millions or supplying the regime/military with goods the help the oppress the rest.

Do you by chance write for Galactica?

Meanwhile, Stateside:

Social Security Tax (for “social security” that I’ve never ever see, thanks to the feddle gummint’s fiscal mismanagement and the baby boomer crisis)

Medicare Tax, swelling ranks of the AARP; ie. see above reference to “baby boomer”.

Medicaid Tax, Mexicans (illegal)

Federal Tax, Iraq War, Bush, Terr-ism
State Tax, budget deficit, NJ thinking about selling Turnpike
“Local tax, traffic mess
Property Tax, the Great Real Estate Bubble of 2003-2005,
State-mandated liability insurance, registration fees, license fees, inspection fees, FAA communication fees, inter-state fees, miscellaneous fees, more miscellaneous fees.
Holy Shit! Where did like 40% of my salary go????

Dude, are you posting drunk? Did it myself, no question there, but…huh?