Oh North Korea, You Silly Bitch…

When I turn on CCTV 4, and it’s reporting on the latest idiocy of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea and it’s Dear Leader Kim Jong Il… it confirms beyond any shadow of a doubt that it truly, irrevocably, has screwed the pooch. Make no mistake, when your one and only ally in the entire world has not only thrown in its towel, but begun broadcasting to its own citizens your latest blatant breach of international law, murderous rampage, warmongering, and shoddy attempts to deny said murder/warmongering (all wrapped into one), you’ve effectively run out of options.

Now don’t get me wrong, China isn’t exactly mobilizing the People’s Liberation Army at this news to, er-hem, “deal with” its protégé-gone-psychopath. Nor is it even being entirely straightforward in transmission of information (I know, big surprise). Rather, it’s presenting both sides of the situation in (relatively) equal light. Now for most of us, – excluding Fox News devotees – such a display of gross journalistic bias in favor of the shoddy, fabricated, utterly transparent lies generated by a discredited regime is an affront to our intelligence. But this is China… where the state doesn’t control the media… the state IS the media. The mere act of even mentioning the situation at all – much less presenting the S Korean/American version of the story as a possible, even likely scenario – is tantamount to bitch-slapping Kim Jong Il in front of the entire Chinese population.

I know my darling wife would disagree with me – rather pointedly – on the assertion that CCTV is anything but a straightforward, honest, responsible organ of the Party media organization. I know otherwise: I’m currently about 7 months into a year-long subscription of a VPN (Virtual Proxy Network) so I can get around the information blockade the PRC has built to keep out unwanted facts… and Facebook, can’t forget Facebook.

Meanwhile, Hilary Clinton has scored huge diplomatic points in the country with her visit. She and her message – the US/West’s and China strong and continuing relationship, and the egregiousness of this attack by the North - are being played up. Try finding much more than smoke and shadows regarding Dear Leader’s recent visit to Beijing – apparently bumped a half a month later than initially scheduled because China was concerned meeting with Kim before meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak would send the wrong messages. On CCTV? I think not. He was there. Maybe. Apparently there may or may not have been a “hello” exchanged. It’s not really certain.

So, as my continued “cannot connect to facebook.com” attests, this has less to do with any sort of marked change in the Chinese news system, so much as it reveals the monumental mountain of feces North Korea has waded chin-deep into. When even your bestest best (and only) friend is distancing itself from you to its own people when it doesn’t have to, and motioning that it will accept and support spanking your tantrum-y, whiny bottom via the UN Security Council tightening sanctions, the charade has definitely unraveled. Emperor Kim is wearing no clothes. He and his entire regime are clad entirely in bullshit; and not even the Chinese media is willing to look the other way and compliment his attire anymore.


(CS) TAW Out.

the present in my pocket