August 18, 2009
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former south korean president Kim Dae Jung died yesterday of pneumonia at the age of 85.
mixed thoughts on him. some people say he’s a national hero. other people say he was a communist puppet. i’m sure both are right in this case, to varying degrees. he fought against the military dictatorships that dominated south korea’s early history, but he was also a super pink lefty populist.
sure he tried a different and novel approach to unification but i am of the opinion that the Sunshine Policy failed with tragic results. don’t let it be lost in the love-fest that’s bound to ensue now that he died that he got caught secretly funneling over $1B to north korea to secure the meeting with Kim Jong Il that won him the Nobel Peace Prize. that’s right. he almost literally bought himself that Nobel prize with korean tax payer money. and with that money he almost definitely purchased at least part of the nuclear arsenal for Kim Jong Il that has the world shitting itself. are the koreas any closer to uniting? nope. but NK does have a nice set of new and functional nukes now.
this is the real world, so let him be judged by real results, not just good intentions. he helped develop a nation, the nation of my parents, one of America’s strongest allies, while at the same time helping to develop the world’s enemy. it’s a mixed bag.
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anyway. on to brighter things.
The Horrors – Sea Within a Sea
The Gossip – Heavy Cross
Metric – Gold Guns Girls
Bat For Lashes – Daniel
