I foolishly gave Ted Turner a pass in a recent post for dismissing the brutal conditions within North Korea. I shouldn't let my soft spot for kooks overcome common sense.
CNN re-aired its fascinating, and deeply troubling, documentary last night about life in Kim Jong-Il's hell on Earth, where the citizenry is starved, where old people lie dead in the streets and where those who even dare take a picture of graffiti critical of the country's fascist regime are put to death. (The video was taken by members of the country's political underground).
In one particularly stark scene, two young teen boys are filmed savoring a piece of chewing gum, their first sustenance in weeks. They smile as if they've just digested lobster.
George W. received a lot of flak for his "axis of evil" comments a few years back, and I can't understand why. (Granted, Iran, Iraq and N. Korea don't exactly form an "axis," but the prez has never been much on details).
Critics say we should be engaging North Korea's dictator, but any "leader" who ritually kills his own people can never be counted on to rationally negotiate. Kim Jong-Il is beyond human, cut from the same netherworldly cloth as Hitler and Pol Pot. And that may even be an understatement.
As the always astute Christoper Hitchens pointed out in a recent article, North Korea is a concentration camp. Innocent civilians are killed for sport. Dissenters dare not show their face, lest they face unspeakable torture.
More and more North Koreans have taken the dangerous step of crossing the border, escaping to China (where they're often forcibly repatriated back home, to certain death). When China becomes the land of milk and honey ... well, doesn't that speak volumes?
And where's the UN? From Darfur to Pyongyang, the world community remains largely silent. Criticize Bush all you want (God knows I have), but at least someone is willing to call evil by its name.
Can we at least agree on that? Oh, I forgot. Who are we to enforce our values on other countries?
Open your eyes, Ted, and shut your mouth. Your ignorance is as apalling as the world's inaction.
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