4-Jun-10 News-North Korea: 'War may break out at any moment'

[John]

4-Jun-10 News -- North Korea: 'War may break out at any moment'

** 4-Jun-10 News -- North Korea: 'War may break out at any moment'
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 04#e100604


Contents:
"Tensions continue to grow between North and South Korea"
"More on the generational divide in South Korea"
"The euro crisis is not over"
"Additional links"
Iran is selling its euro reserves for dollars
Britons may lose their pensions, thanks to American BP-bashing
Department of Defense is falling down on basic research
Ottawa children's soccer: Win by more than 5 points, you lose
Should South Korea change its name?
Pakistan admits to entrenched extremist groups in Punjab
Thailand's prime minister narrowly survive no-confidence vote
Riots shut down Thailand's lucrative sex tourism industry

[thomasglee]

In the North, the government is led by Kim Jong-il, born in 1942, and likely to be much more conciliatory then either of the younger generations that we've discussed. Little is known about the ministers and officials who report to Kim, but it's likely that they're considerably younger, and considerably more confrontational.

Actually, most of the ministers serving under Kim are much older than he. They are left-overs from when his father was leading the country and are the original "founders" of north Korea. The following links are to site I follow to keep up on the latest in north Korea:

north Korea Economy Watch

north Korea Leadership Watch

One Free Korea

[ridgel]

The Defense Department has been ignoring basic research for years....

John, does GD say anything about the general decline in basic research in the U.S. or when/if it might rebound? It seems to me like it's part of a bigger trend over the last 30 years or so away from reality and towards quick fixes and cult of the ignorant. It's a good thing that Asia has taken over a lot of the basic science (from a human, not from a U.S. standpoint of course). But it makes me wonder how bad things need to get before a society starts respecting the tools and techniques that make modern life possible. Losing the shuttle hasn't done it. Will oil encrusted beaches? Intermittent blackouts? A dollar plunge stopping cheap imports? What's the new sputnik moment going to be?

[John]

> The Defense Department has been ignoring basic research for
> years....

> John, does GD say anything about the general decline in basic
> research in the U.S. or when/if it might rebound? It seems to me
> like it's part of a bigger trend over the last 30 years or so away
> from reality and towards quick fixes and cult of the ignorant.
> It's a good thing that Asia has taken over a lot of the basic
> science (from a human, not from a U.S. standpoint of course). But
> it makes me wonder how bad things need to get before a society
> starts respecting the tools and techniques that make modern life
> possible. Losing the shuttle hasn't done it. Will oil encrusted
> beaches? Intermittent blackouts? A dollar plunge stopping cheap
> imports? What's the new sputnik moment going to be?

I think probably the best way to look at it is to compare what's
happening today to what happened at Pearl Harbor. The people there
were almost 100% oblivious to the possibility of attack, even
completely ignoring radar sightings because they believed that an
attack was completely inconceivable.

John