Pop, that's the sound of a bubble when it bursts. Not your usual, big fat speculative bubble, no : rather the cute, ephemeral, soap edifice of a kid.
But K-pop is not much of a child's play : here, no room for innocence, chance, or unexpected wind twists. In this overformatted industry, creativity only exists in the way products are marketed, with a focus on viral and addictive gimmicks.
In a certain way, K-pop mirrors Korean society in this early IIIrd millenium, but not in its most sustainable aspects : visual and auditive over-stimulations including immediate reward systems, a dystopia founded on extreme competition and superhuman training leading to the negation of nature and systematic plastic surgery, mushrooming virtual communities offering the security of belonging without any ideology-related stress...
Yet, nothing new under the sun. As far as music is concerned, of course, but also regarding the business model : you simply have to adapt classic boy / girl bands recipes, and to progressively inject some of Hollywood majors' tricks to lead a young and docile audience along the slowest and most controled maturation process. SM Entertainment & co plan to alter their product mixes step by step, so that consumers don't churn as they grow older. Longer lasting K-pop groups have already developped embryos of proto-intellectual alibis, illusions of brainwaves because you don't want to believe your favorite singer is "a mental midget with the IQ of a fencepost"*.
Does it sell ? You betcha : as soon as the first contagion signs showed in Europe, K-pop marketers rushed to Paris with their whole Barnum.
Not exactly the kind of cultural bridge I dreamt between Asia's and Europe's heralds of cultural diversity... But I'm getting used to it : a couple of years ago, I was crucified by Uzbek or Japanese Bae Yong-joon fans because I deplored the way 'dramas' were promoted overseas, or the vacuity of Yonsamania (sorry but Korea shouldn't be summed up in that Hallyuwoodian caricature of Michael Jackson).
Hopefully, theses fads won't last. And something positive can even grow from them : the most daring fans will reach deeper into Korean culture, its language, and its fantastic cuisine**.
blogules 2011 - see also "La bulle K-pop" on blogules in French, "K-popping bubbles" on SeoulVillage.com (join Seoul Vilage on Facebook, on Twitter).
* in the musical universe, Tom Waits is probably the ultimate anti-K-pop element : an ugly fella with a rough voice and crafting incredible songs by himself (this line belongs to "The piano has been drinking (not me)", best served in the album "Bounced Checks").
** another cultural domain where the Korean government has been promoting exports a not always subtle way...
20110622
20110528
Show me the money, Mr Strauss Kahn
If DSK's outrageous, $35,000-a-month new home in NYC was hard to swallow for fellow French socialists, the former IMF boss doesn't care much about politics these days. And the message is first intended to the alleged victim's lawyers.
Here it goes :
blogules 2011
* see former episode : "DSK's appallingchian trail"
Here it goes :
We cannot contact you, but know that money is not an issue for us.
It may be for Nafissatou Diallo, that client of yours, a brave single mom maid coming from a poor African country and living in a not so nice neighborhood. She can't offer you much beyond the satisfaction of doing something good for her and furthermore for Cyrus Vance Jr, that ambitious DA who will never make it into the Big League.
You already know that this trial won't be a walk in the park for you nor for Nafissatou : our own teams have been digging everywhere, and you know how nasty things can become. Our client's honor has already been tarnished*, but he's ready to put that aside. A nice, fat settlement would be a win win win situation, don't you think ?
Name your price.
Yours falsely.
blogules 2011
* see former episode : "DSK's appallingchian trail"
20110520
DSK's appallingchian trail
Yes, I'm a French citizen but no, I have no more sympathy for Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn than I had for Roman Polanski.
Unlike the latter, the former has not been convicted yet, but his troubled personality is at last being publicly exposed and that's a good start. Excellent news for the alledged victim, but also for France, for the French Socialist Party, and for DSK himself.
Good news for France ? All my country needed was a non deforming mirror to expose its own troubled personality : a Republic claiming liberty, equality, and fraternity, but actually a corrupt system promoting impunity, unfairness, and collusion between politics, justice, and the media.
Good news for the PS ? DSK was expected to be the target of a well deserved character assassination much closer to the Presidential elections, so the party has more time to look for a decent plan B, and if possible to look for a consistent program, one that aims at the political center and not at the impossible synthesis between progressive and obsolete currents. In the mirror, what they see is a leadership that failed to address the issues that really matter, that forgot what politics should be all about.
Good news for DSK ? This man is obviously sick and in denial of the danger he represents. Even before the alledged assault, Strauss Kahn was perfectly aware of the attacks to come on this very dark side of his personality... He too needed to have a good look at himself in the mirror.
So thank you, Dear America, for this embarrassingly precious mirror.
But please, this time, spare us your usual fake happy endings (OJ, Wacko Jacko...), and go all the way.
blogules 2011
Unlike the latter, the former has not been convicted yet, but his troubled personality is at last being publicly exposed and that's a good start. Excellent news for the alledged victim, but also for France, for the French Socialist Party, and for DSK himself.
Good news for France ? All my country needed was a non deforming mirror to expose its own troubled personality : a Republic claiming liberty, equality, and fraternity, but actually a corrupt system promoting impunity, unfairness, and collusion between politics, justice, and the media.
Good news for the PS ? DSK was expected to be the target of a well deserved character assassination much closer to the Presidential elections, so the party has more time to look for a decent plan B, and if possible to look for a consistent program, one that aims at the political center and not at the impossible synthesis between progressive and obsolete currents. In the mirror, what they see is a leadership that failed to address the issues that really matter, that forgot what politics should be all about.
Good news for DSK ? This man is obviously sick and in denial of the danger he represents. Even before the alledged assault, Strauss Kahn was perfectly aware of the attacks to come on this very dark side of his personality... He too needed to have a good look at himself in the mirror.
So thank you, Dear America, for this embarrassingly precious mirror.
But please, this time, spare us your usual fake happy endings (OJ, Wacko Jacko...), and go all the way.
blogules 2011
20110512
Truthers Part MMXI - Saving Private Bin Laden
Osama Bin Laden is not dead. Of course, the US confirmed his death*, and so did al Qaeda, not to mention Osama's daughter, an eye witness of the operation. But for Truthers**, Bin Laden is not dead.
To their credit, his elimination brought all the ingredients needed for a good conspiration theory with a stealth chopper parading next to a Pakistanese army base, a body discarded into the sea, and a final victory speech by Agent O from the Men In Black... But no. Osama is not dead. Truthers ask for pieces of evidence they will anyway never consider as true, as usual.
Because for a Truther, the truth lies somewhere else an preferably in some remote, hidden place. Those guys love the X-Files because you only catch a few subliminal glimpses of The Unbelievable. Not the classic B-movie where Godzilla shows his ugly plastic face on every frame, no. Here, everything is suggested, with here and there a 25th image stolen from an impossible angle, just to maintain the suspense and to help those nerds moving one nanoinch closer to their elusive orgasm. And above all, no final conclusion. Because a solved and close case means death. Their death.
So no, Bin Laden is not dead. Or maybe he'll resuscitate the third day. Anyway, bet on more sightings on video : as a Yeti up in the Himalayas, as a Dahu in the Swiss Alps, as Rick Astley in the Apple Store... it doesn't matter if, for the same lunatics, Bin Laden didn't exist in the first place. Just like September 11, 2001, that mythic, concealed, classified day when all cameras where simultaneously hacked by a clone of Kim Jong-il.
Navy Seals didn't assassinate Bin Laden : Americans got rid of the worst enemy of Islam***. Using methods (un)worthy of Mossad (when they don't imitate Borat, that is - see "Israel's Funniest Away Videos"), but also using a clear mandate against the criminal at the top of the world's most wanted list. Moderate Muslims applaud, but Truthers see a Zionist plot, a grotesque Photoshop forgery. The impostor who announced the death of their hero ? Michael Jackson. The old man watching the terrorist on his TV ? Elvis himself, barely recognizable after his opium diet in Afghanistan. Amateur work.
Now Truthers, they're true professionals : field journalists who investigate beyond what official media say, but never far away from the Truthersphere... except when they dump tons of Trutherisms over the web, clogging up fora and even this excuse for a website.
Actually, the true Truther doesn't want to know for fear of facing his own reality.
blogules 2011 (see also on blogules VF : "Les Truthers veulent la peau de Geronimo")
* BTW loved that cartoon (I forgot by whom) where Obama proudly brandishes his birth certificate in one hand and Osama's death certificate in the other, in front of a 2012 campaign board.
** on this weird cult, see previous episodes :
- "ReOpenReOpenReOpen911 - the Pentagony continues" ("Truthers : la Pentagonnade continue")
- "9/11 Truthers Knockin' At Your Door" ("Baggy truthers")
- "11 Septembre français : l'incroyable vérité"
*** see "Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims"
To their credit, his elimination brought all the ingredients needed for a good conspiration theory with a stealth chopper parading next to a Pakistanese army base, a body discarded into the sea, and a final victory speech by Agent O from the Men In Black... But no. Osama is not dead. Truthers ask for pieces of evidence they will anyway never consider as true, as usual.
Because for a Truther, the truth lies somewhere else an preferably in some remote, hidden place. Those guys love the X-Files because you only catch a few subliminal glimpses of The Unbelievable. Not the classic B-movie where Godzilla shows his ugly plastic face on every frame, no. Here, everything is suggested, with here and there a 25th image stolen from an impossible angle, just to maintain the suspense and to help those nerds moving one nanoinch closer to their elusive orgasm. And above all, no final conclusion. Because a solved and close case means death. Their death.
So no, Bin Laden is not dead. Or maybe he'll resuscitate the third day. Anyway, bet on more sightings on video : as a Yeti up in the Himalayas, as a Dahu in the Swiss Alps, as Rick Astley in the Apple Store... it doesn't matter if, for the same lunatics, Bin Laden didn't exist in the first place. Just like September 11, 2001, that mythic, concealed, classified day when all cameras where simultaneously hacked by a clone of Kim Jong-il.
Navy Seals didn't assassinate Bin Laden : Americans got rid of the worst enemy of Islam***. Using methods (un)worthy of Mossad (when they don't imitate Borat, that is - see "Israel's Funniest Away Videos"), but also using a clear mandate against the criminal at the top of the world's most wanted list. Moderate Muslims applaud, but Truthers see a Zionist plot, a grotesque Photoshop forgery. The impostor who announced the death of their hero ? Michael Jackson. The old man watching the terrorist on his TV ? Elvis himself, barely recognizable after his opium diet in Afghanistan. Amateur work.
Now Truthers, they're true professionals : field journalists who investigate beyond what official media say, but never far away from the Truthersphere... except when they dump tons of Trutherisms over the web, clogging up fora and even this excuse for a website.
Actually, the true Truther doesn't want to know for fear of facing his own reality.
blogules 2011 (see also on blogules VF : "Les Truthers veulent la peau de Geronimo")
* BTW loved that cartoon (I forgot by whom) where Obama proudly brandishes his birth certificate in one hand and Osama's death certificate in the other, in front of a 2012 campaign board.
** on this weird cult, see previous episodes :
- "ReOpenReOpenReOpen911 - the Pentagony continues" ("Truthers : la Pentagonnade continue")
- "9/11 Truthers Knockin' At Your Door" ("Baggy truthers")
- "11 Septembre français : l'incroyable vérité"
*** see "Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims"
20110502
Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims
Another radical political leader falls : Bin Laden was a warlord and by no means a religious leader.
So thank you Mr President for reminding your national and international audience this evidence : Bin Laden was an imposter and the worst enemy of Islam, even before he was an enemy of the USA*.
Yes, "Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims". But no, Justice has not fully be done : the man has been killed, not technically brought to justice.
Still, his death is the best case scenario : the terrorist has already been found guilty, and a public trial would have offered him one last moment to spread hatred in the spotlight.
The President's Speech (not the one broadcasted at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner) also timely stressed the need for national unity, to the point of mentioning Fundamentalist in Chief GWB in positive terms.
That imposter has yet to be brought to justice.
blogules 2011
* see "Universal Declaration of Independence from Fundamentalism"
So thank you Mr President for reminding your national and international audience this evidence : Bin Laden was an imposter and the worst enemy of Islam, even before he was an enemy of the USA*.
Yes, "Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims". But no, Justice has not fully be done : the man has been killed, not technically brought to justice.
Still, his death is the best case scenario : the terrorist has already been found guilty, and a public trial would have offered him one last moment to spread hatred in the spotlight.
The President's Speech (not the one broadcasted at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner) also timely stressed the need for national unity, to the point of mentioning Fundamentalist in Chief GWB in positive terms.
That imposter has yet to be brought to justice.
blogules 2011
* see "Universal Declaration of Independence from Fundamentalism"
20110414
China-North Korea : the Great Hanschluss still the base case scenario
Very interesting conference yesterday at The Plaza Hotel Seoul : "Responding to the Consolidation of Economic Cooperation between North Korea and China" was sponsored by the Korea Finance Corporation (KoFC, the State-run investment arm), and Maeil Business Maeil Business Newspaper (mbn).
For its 18th edition, this North Korea Policy Forum conference became an international seminar, with China, Japan, and the USA providing keynote speakers (bonus: an opening remark - in Korean - by US Ambassador Kathleen STEPHENS, ahead of Hillary CLINTON's visit later this week). Unfortunately, neither Russia (definitely below the radar regarding the issue), nor DPRK (for obvious reasons) were represented.
This Four Party Talk was observed by a captive audience (see exhibit A*), in spite of a very dense agenda (see exhibit B, the full program below**) which didn't leave much time for Q&A nor discussions.
What made this conference really exciting were the differences in appreciation of a definitely complex and tricky situation. And at this game, US players spoke their minds out quite freely, even if some Koreans expressed very clearly their concerns to "Mr China" a.k.a. Professor Zhu Feng, absolutely brilliant in his good cop routine : what engagement ? we're not engaged to North Korea, just good neighbors tired of your family affairs - yes, KIM Jong-il is a bad guy and a headache for us as well, but he's your brother, and brothers don't kill each other - yes, these days, our Chinese government is rather conservative, and is pervasively locking key entry points across North Korea, but the colonization of NK by China is a ludicrous conspiration theory - yes, we're doing every day more business here, but as Pr KIM Chul noticed, our entrepreneurs are so much struggling with their local partners that most are curbing their enthusiasm...
Of course, no one mentioned the Northeast Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences : this was about business, with politics clearly off-limits. As if PRC-DPRK relations were apolitical. As if policies had nothing to do with politics...
Anyway, I had fun and would very much like to attend the next edition - maybe in a different order (first the historical background, then the trends, and finally the various scenarii / recos), and in a different format (ie three panelists max for each topic, a lunch between two power sessions instead of a dinner after a marathon).
By then, chances are many more fundamental changes will have happened. If not the end of North Korea, at least a re-engagement by the South, and potentially a summit (consider the past year : Cheonan sinking and Yeonpyeong-do shelling, KIM Jong-un's promotions, Middle East uprisings, NK reviving its nuke program, Japan spicing North East Asia nuclear nightmares with a new flavor, or the day before the conference a mini-crisis over Mt Gumgang tours...).
If you're familiar with this excuse for a blog, you already know my opinion on North Korea*** :
1) Technically, the North Korean regime is already dead. It only relied on ideology and propaganda, the first lost its substance and the second its efficiency in the eyes of a growing proportion of the population. A little bit like in Iran, ailing and corrupt leaders progressively outsource the power to brutal military forces. At this stage, masses remain overwhelmed and change remains driven by State leaders, but popular rebellions are getting bolder every year, and 450,000 North Koreans have now a mobile phone (reaching far beyond the first nomenklatura circles).
2) The statu quo, or what I called the "Juche line" is not an option - change is coming. For the official end, my base case scenario evolved over time : until the late nineties I believed in an "Albania scenario" (brutal collapse, masses fleeing the country, cult of personality victims abused by con people and more or less religious cults...), but spectacular initiatives from China followed by the highly controversial Northeast Project led me to believe in the more subtle, progressive, and pervasive "Hanschluss scenario". A scenario confirmed by the ambitious developments announced over the following 2-3 years for North East China (on schedule, as we saw yesterday during the conference) : once again, whatever the motives and whatever North Korean leaders do, they also result in artificially relocating the epicenter of Koreanity on Chinese soil, and more physically than intense revisionism about Korean history (ie Goguryo). A scenario sealed by LEE Myung-bak in 2007 : South Korea's disengagement precipitated further the North towards China, leaving no dovish alternative.
3) Of course, China doesn't need to politically integrate North Korea as another province : an unofficial vassal status easy does it, and the process seems very well engaged. Reminder : the Cheonan aggression was about internal affairs, but not between both Koreas. KIM Jong-il had first to reassess his friendship with the army, and second to get some leverage ahead of the "negociations" with the PRC. Chaperoned by CHANG Sung-taek, KIM Jong-un got the nod from Beijing : KJI's brother in law later developped a paralel FDI tool, more China-friendly than the official one. He also lost a rival in a convenient car accident. No need to read fortune cookies to understand that more high ranking officials will join the collaborators to push their luck. With the Yeonpyeong island shelling, Junior assessed his own friendship with the army (nevermind those darn binoculars). Father and son completed the pledge of allegiance with a familial pilgrimage in China, where Grand Dad KIM Il-sung himself got his education, an other way of accepting the only filiation that counts : NK's Motherland is China.
4) The Great Hanschluss is not completed yet. Both China and South Korea are also experiencing ideology crisis at home between conservatism, progressivism, and agnostic pragmatism / reform. South Korea and North Korea share more common ground than survivors of a lost era. They still share an identity and a destiny. And this is not about rejecting China, but about embracing themselves.
blogules 2011 - see also the original post on Seoul Village ("Re-engaging North Korea - A Four Party Talk")
* including yours truly (exhibit A: Stephane and Steven, alias Paris, Texas - photo by KIM Jae-hun, Maeil Business Newspaper - "北·中 교류, 일방적 원조서 시장원리로 전환") :
** The full program:
- Opening remarks : RYU Jae-han (President, KoFC), CHANG Dae-hwan (CEO, Maeil Business Newspaper), Kathleen STEPHENS (US Ambassador to South Korea)
- Panel One ("East Asian Regional Cooperation and North Korea-China Relations" and "China's Approach to North Korea: National Interests and Strategy") :
. moderator : HONG Yang-ho (former Vice-Minister of Unification)
. presenters : Matsuno SHUJI (Ritsumeikan University), John Delury (Yonsei University), Zhu Feng (Beijing University)
. panelists : LEE Chan-woo (Tokyo International University - NB: the first to entertain the audience with maps), Edward REED (from The Asia Foundation - NB : only had time to phrase the key questions, but it was worth the trip), LEE Hui-ok (Sungkyunkwan University), KIM Heung-kyu (Sungshin Women's University), KIM Yong-hyun (Dongguk University)
- Panel Two ("The Present and Future of Economic Cooperation Between North Korea and China" and "China's Growing Influence on North Korea and How South Korea Should Respond") :
. moderator : LEE Sang-man (Chairman, the Steering Committee for the North Korea Policy Forum)
. presenters : YOON Seung-hyun (Yanbian University, NEA Research Institute), Scott SNYDER (Center for US-Korea Policy), PARK Gun-il (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
. panelists : OH Seung-ryul (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies - NB: the first to mention the obvious limits of official statistics, which capture only part of exchanges between DPRK and PRC), KIM Chul (Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences), CHEONG Seong-chang (Sejong Institute), CHU Suk-yong (KoFC - Ministry of Unification), KIM Se-hyung (Chief Editor, Maeil Business Newspaper)
*** see previous posts on NK, and in particular the focus on the "Great Hanschluss" ("Great Wall of China - Anschlussing Korea (continued)" - also on blogules in English "a greater wall of china - bonus, korea inside (the great hanschluss)" and in French "La Grande Muraille de Chine à l'assaut de la Corée (l'ultime Hanschluss)")
For its 18th edition, this North Korea Policy Forum conference became an international seminar, with China, Japan, and the USA providing keynote speakers (bonus: an opening remark - in Korean - by US Ambassador Kathleen STEPHENS, ahead of Hillary CLINTON's visit later this week). Unfortunately, neither Russia (definitely below the radar regarding the issue), nor DPRK (for obvious reasons) were represented.
This Four Party Talk was observed by a captive audience (see exhibit A*), in spite of a very dense agenda (see exhibit B, the full program below**) which didn't leave much time for Q&A nor discussions.
What made this conference really exciting were the differences in appreciation of a definitely complex and tricky situation. And at this game, US players spoke their minds out quite freely, even if some Koreans expressed very clearly their concerns to "Mr China" a.k.a. Professor Zhu Feng, absolutely brilliant in his good cop routine : what engagement ? we're not engaged to North Korea, just good neighbors tired of your family affairs - yes, KIM Jong-il is a bad guy and a headache for us as well, but he's your brother, and brothers don't kill each other - yes, these days, our Chinese government is rather conservative, and is pervasively locking key entry points across North Korea, but the colonization of NK by China is a ludicrous conspiration theory - yes, we're doing every day more business here, but as Pr KIM Chul noticed, our entrepreneurs are so much struggling with their local partners that most are curbing their enthusiasm...
Of course, no one mentioned the Northeast Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences : this was about business, with politics clearly off-limits. As if PRC-DPRK relations were apolitical. As if policies had nothing to do with politics...
Anyway, I had fun and would very much like to attend the next edition - maybe in a different order (first the historical background, then the trends, and finally the various scenarii / recos), and in a different format (ie three panelists max for each topic, a lunch between two power sessions instead of a dinner after a marathon).
By then, chances are many more fundamental changes will have happened. If not the end of North Korea, at least a re-engagement by the South, and potentially a summit (consider the past year : Cheonan sinking and Yeonpyeong-do shelling, KIM Jong-un's promotions, Middle East uprisings, NK reviving its nuke program, Japan spicing North East Asia nuclear nightmares with a new flavor, or the day before the conference a mini-crisis over Mt Gumgang tours...).
If you're familiar with this excuse for a blog, you already know my opinion on North Korea*** :
1) Technically, the North Korean regime is already dead. It only relied on ideology and propaganda, the first lost its substance and the second its efficiency in the eyes of a growing proportion of the population. A little bit like in Iran, ailing and corrupt leaders progressively outsource the power to brutal military forces. At this stage, masses remain overwhelmed and change remains driven by State leaders, but popular rebellions are getting bolder every year, and 450,000 North Koreans have now a mobile phone (reaching far beyond the first nomenklatura circles).
2) The statu quo, or what I called the "Juche line" is not an option - change is coming. For the official end, my base case scenario evolved over time : until the late nineties I believed in an "Albania scenario" (brutal collapse, masses fleeing the country, cult of personality victims abused by con people and more or less religious cults...), but spectacular initiatives from China followed by the highly controversial Northeast Project led me to believe in the more subtle, progressive, and pervasive "Hanschluss scenario". A scenario confirmed by the ambitious developments announced over the following 2-3 years for North East China (on schedule, as we saw yesterday during the conference) : once again, whatever the motives and whatever North Korean leaders do, they also result in artificially relocating the epicenter of Koreanity on Chinese soil, and more physically than intense revisionism about Korean history (ie Goguryo). A scenario sealed by LEE Myung-bak in 2007 : South Korea's disengagement precipitated further the North towards China, leaving no dovish alternative.
3) Of course, China doesn't need to politically integrate North Korea as another province : an unofficial vassal status easy does it, and the process seems very well engaged. Reminder : the Cheonan aggression was about internal affairs, but not between both Koreas. KIM Jong-il had first to reassess his friendship with the army, and second to get some leverage ahead of the "negociations" with the PRC. Chaperoned by CHANG Sung-taek, KIM Jong-un got the nod from Beijing : KJI's brother in law later developped a paralel FDI tool, more China-friendly than the official one. He also lost a rival in a convenient car accident. No need to read fortune cookies to understand that more high ranking officials will join the collaborators to push their luck. With the Yeonpyeong island shelling, Junior assessed his own friendship with the army (nevermind those darn binoculars). Father and son completed the pledge of allegiance with a familial pilgrimage in China, where Grand Dad KIM Il-sung himself got his education, an other way of accepting the only filiation that counts : NK's Motherland is China.
4) The Great Hanschluss is not completed yet. Both China and South Korea are also experiencing ideology crisis at home between conservatism, progressivism, and agnostic pragmatism / reform. South Korea and North Korea share more common ground than survivors of a lost era. They still share an identity and a destiny. And this is not about rejecting China, but about embracing themselves.
blogules 2011 - see also the original post on Seoul Village ("Re-engaging North Korea - A Four Party Talk")
* including yours truly (exhibit A: Stephane and Steven, alias Paris, Texas - photo by KIM Jae-hun, Maeil Business Newspaper - "北·中 교류, 일방적 원조서 시장원리로 전환") :
** The full program:
- Opening remarks : RYU Jae-han (President, KoFC), CHANG Dae-hwan (CEO, Maeil Business Newspaper), Kathleen STEPHENS (US Ambassador to South Korea)
- Panel One ("East Asian Regional Cooperation and North Korea-China Relations" and "China's Approach to North Korea: National Interests and Strategy") :
. moderator : HONG Yang-ho (former Vice-Minister of Unification)
. presenters : Matsuno SHUJI (Ritsumeikan University), John Delury (Yonsei University), Zhu Feng (Beijing University)
. panelists : LEE Chan-woo (Tokyo International University - NB: the first to entertain the audience with maps), Edward REED (from The Asia Foundation - NB : only had time to phrase the key questions, but it was worth the trip), LEE Hui-ok (Sungkyunkwan University), KIM Heung-kyu (Sungshin Women's University), KIM Yong-hyun (Dongguk University)
- Panel Two ("The Present and Future of Economic Cooperation Between North Korea and China" and "China's Growing Influence on North Korea and How South Korea Should Respond") :
. moderator : LEE Sang-man (Chairman, the Steering Committee for the North Korea Policy Forum)
. presenters : YOON Seung-hyun (Yanbian University, NEA Research Institute), Scott SNYDER (Center for US-Korea Policy), PARK Gun-il (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
. panelists : OH Seung-ryul (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies - NB: the first to mention the obvious limits of official statistics, which capture only part of exchanges between DPRK and PRC), KIM Chul (Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences), CHEONG Seong-chang (Sejong Institute), CHU Suk-yong (KoFC - Ministry of Unification), KIM Se-hyung (Chief Editor, Maeil Business Newspaper)
*** see previous posts on NK, and in particular the focus on the "Great Hanschluss" ("Great Wall of China - Anschlussing Korea (continued)" - also on blogules in English "a greater wall of china - bonus, korea inside (the great hanschluss)" and in French "La Grande Muraille de Chine à l'assaut de la Corée (l'ultime Hanschluss)")
20110408
GOP better than TEPCO ?
A complete risk management failure, highly radioactive outputs, but ways quicker for shutdown : the Republican Party eventually outscored Fukushima Daiichi operators. To secure their victory, John Boehner's team already reached 9.1 on Getricher's scale.
Nevertheless, TEPCO execs proved beyond the shadow of a doubt their ability to do business the way the GOP sees it :
- privileging short term profits over security ? check.
- perverting notation systems and forging documents if needed ? check.
- dodging regulations and spreading corruption around ? check.
- undermining the country's economy, ruining the company, and in the end getting a public bailout ? almost done.
Maybe I should update my old rant about the ineluctable implosion of the Grand Old ParTea : instead of "GOP : Time to Split", a final "GOP, Time to Meltdown".
blogules 2011
Nevertheless, TEPCO execs proved beyond the shadow of a doubt their ability to do business the way the GOP sees it :
- privileging short term profits over security ? check.
- perverting notation systems and forging documents if needed ? check.
- dodging regulations and spreading corruption around ? check.
- undermining the country's economy, ruining the company, and in the end getting a public bailout ? almost done.
Maybe I should update my old rant about the ineluctable implosion of the Grand Old ParTea : instead of "GOP : Time to Split", a final "GOP, Time to Meltdown".
blogules 2011
20110404
Obama 2012
Out of the blue, an e-mail from Barack, simply titled "2012"*, with a link to a YouTube video (is it "it starts with us" or "it starts with US" ?).Obama does remain the favorite for the next elections. In spite of the Mid-Term Elections disaster. In spite of the disappointment of his liberal democrat base (not very happy with the reforms' compromises and the Bush heritage (Gitmo and Iraq mess). In spite of the Republican revival (the party has split anyway, remember "GOP, time to split" ?). In spite of an army of potential opponents : Jon Huntsman, Tim Pawlenty, Donald Trump, Bobby Jindal, Mitt Romney...
Among key achievements : a Nobel Peace Prize, ambitious reforms, two moderates at the Supreme Court, diplomatic success in Tunisia, and a spectacularly improved image for the country overseas (even WikiLeaks failed to destroy it). All this while facing a major depression, the country's worst environmental disaster ever, and series of uprisings across the Muslim world...
Among key disappointments : a very poor communication for internal affairs (disconnected, maybe overprotected by Rahm Emanuel ?), and Israel for foreign affairs. The POTUS obviously spared AIPAC and finance lobbies to secure his reforms, and then to limit the damage at the mid-term elections.
Overall, Barack Hussein Obama governed from the center and rather well, even if he exposed some limits. In a perfect world, he would be easily reelected, then get rid of the Geithners and Summerses, and finally would focus on history and in particular the Israel-Palstine case. Once again thrashed, the GOP would at last start its own reforms, get rid of the Palins and Pauls, and push a moderate and pragmatic candidate for 2016.
In the worst case scenario, Americans would elect a pseudo-Republican populist impostor and irreversibly cut the country in two.
blogules 2011
* Stephane --
Today, we are filing papers to launch our 2012 campaign.
We're doing this now because the politics we believe in does not start with expensive TV ads or extravaganzas, but with you -- with people organizing block-by-block, talking to neighbors, co-workers, and friends. And that kind of campaign takes time to build.
So even though I'm focused on the job you elected me to do, and the race may not reach full speed for a year or more, the work of laying the foundation for our campaign must start today.
We've always known that lasting change wouldn't come quickly or easily. It never does. But as my administration and folks across the country fight to protect the progress we've made -- and make more -- we also need to begin mobilizing for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest.
As we take this step, I'd like to share a video that features some folks like you who are helping to lead the way on this journey. Please take a moment to watch:
In the coming days, supporters like you will begin forging a new organization that we'll build together in cities and towns across the country. And I'll need you to help shape our plan as we create a campaign that's farther reaching, more focused, and more innovative than anything we've built before.
We'll start by doing something unprecedented: coordinating millions of one-on-one conversations between supporters across every single state, reconnecting old friends, inspiring new ones to join the cause, and readying ourselves for next year's fight.
This will be my final campaign, at least as a candidate. But the cause of making a lasting difference for our families, our communities, and our country has never been about one person. And it will succeed only if we work together.
There will be much more to come as the race unfolds. Today, simply let us know you're in to help us begin, and then spread the word:
http://my.barackobama.com/2012
Thank you,
Barack
20110315
Qaddafi: thank you Amanpour
The madman was cornered, still a dangerous Nero ready to set his country alight, but an isolated tyrant losing the PR battle (remember those sightings of a weirdo under an umbrella or waving from the top of a wall under an armored suit ?).
The dictator recovered. At the military level by crushing rebels, but furthermore in the media, with the blessing of international franchises looking for a scoop.
Ever the attention junkie, Christiane Amanpour waltzed the waltz for ABC. The Beeb, LCI, they all got their photo op with the ailing Adolf.
Guess what ? The message passed very well. Not that Muammar is telling crazy things, but that the same old Qaddafi is more than ever at ease in front of cameras in his own country. What, me worry ?
Meanwhile, the international community is as expected doing nothing to stop the carnage. At one stage, the League of Arab States seemed eager to pose a threat, but the only intervention so far has been a Saudi Arabian invasion of Bahrain to save the local Sunni king.
Is Qaddafi's fall the best case scenario ? Can Benghazi resist ? Will Libya split ? Will Daiichi melt in Fukushima ? Which one got your attention ?
blogules 2011
The dictator recovered. At the military level by crushing rebels, but furthermore in the media, with the blessing of international franchises looking for a scoop.
Ever the attention junkie, Christiane Amanpour waltzed the waltz for ABC. The Beeb, LCI, they all got their photo op with the ailing Adolf.
Guess what ? The message passed very well. Not that Muammar is telling crazy things, but that the same old Qaddafi is more than ever at ease in front of cameras in his own country. What, me worry ?
Meanwhile, the international community is as expected doing nothing to stop the carnage. At one stage, the League of Arab States seemed eager to pose a threat, but the only intervention so far has been a Saudi Arabian invasion of Bahrain to save the local Sunni king.
Is Qaddafi's fall the best case scenario ? Can Benghazi resist ? Will Libya split ? Will Daiichi melt in Fukushima ? Which one got your attention ?
blogules 2011
20110221
Did the Egyptian Revolution start in Iceland ?
Could we find some fingerprints from Eyjafjallajökull over nowadays unrests across the Arab and Muslim world ?
The unpronounceable Icelandic volcano may have longer lasting consequences than last year's air traffic disruptions. It probably contributed to extreme meteorological events and unexpected agricultural outputs. For instance, Russia's disastrous crops and the following embargo on exports had a massive impact on food prices worldwide.
After all, the 1783 eruption of a volcano in Iceland (Laki) disrupted European climate so dramatically that it is now recognized as one of the triggers to the French Revolution.
And even before 1789, as early as in 1783, a certain country would lose about one sixth of its population because of starvation caused by the same event.
The name of that country ? Egypt.
Of course, it takes more than a volcano eruption to start a revolution, but volcanoes have a knack for contributing to the extinction of cumbersome dinosaurs.
blogules 2011
The unpronounceable Icelandic volcano may have longer lasting consequences than last year's air traffic disruptions. It probably contributed to extreme meteorological events and unexpected agricultural outputs. For instance, Russia's disastrous crops and the following embargo on exports had a massive impact on food prices worldwide.
After all, the 1783 eruption of a volcano in Iceland (Laki) disrupted European climate so dramatically that it is now recognized as one of the triggers to the French Revolution.
And even before 1789, as early as in 1783, a certain country would lose about one sixth of its population because of starvation caused by the same event.
The name of that country ? Egypt.
Of course, it takes more than a volcano eruption to start a revolution, but volcanoes have a knack for contributing to the extinction of cumbersome dinosaurs.
blogules 2011
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