Tuesday 17 March 2015
Proposed Talk between North & South Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on Thursday proposed the “highest-level” talks with South Korea, opening the way to a historic summit as his communist country battles to fend off UN prosecution over its human rights record.
The sudden move, made during Kim’s traditional New Year message, would clear the path for the first inter-Korean leaders’ meeting since a 2007 summit in Pyongyang.
“Depending on the mood and circumstances to be created, we have no reason not to hold the highest-level talks,” Kim said in the televised speech, calling for a thaw in icy relations between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war.
Seoul welcomed the overture as “meaningful”, coming after the North’s state media had previously used sexist and personal language in attacks on South Korea’s first female president, Park Geun-Hye.
Park has repeatedly said the door to dialogue with Pyongyang is open, but insists the North must first take tangible steps towards abandoning its nuclear weapons programme.
“Our government hopes South and North Korea will hold dialogue without further ado in the near future,” Ryoo Kihl-Jae, the South’s unification minister in charge of inter-Korean affairs, told a briefing.
Any talks should feature “practical and frank discussions on all issues of mutual concern”, he said.
Kim also urged Washington to take a “bold shift” in its policy towards Pyongyang and denounced the United States for leading an international campaign over the North’s dismal human rights record.
“The US and its followers are holding on to a nasty ‘human rights’ racket, as their schemes to destroy our self-defensive nuclear deterrent and stifle our republic by force become unrealisable,” he said.
He described nuclear weapons as the guardian of his country and vowed to sternly retaliate against “any provocations” threatening its dignity.
Pyongyang faces growing pressure over its rights record, with the UN stepping up a campaign to refer the North’s leaders to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
The isolated nation, meanwhile, experienced an internet outage last month after Washington vowed retaliation over a crippling cyber attack blamed on North Korea against Sony, the studio behind a controversial film about a fictional plot to assassinate Kim.
A US State Department official said after Kim’s speech: “We support improved inter-Korean relations.”
Kim said in his message that Pyongyang “will make every effort to advance dialogue and negotiations”, adding that the “tragic” division of the Korean peninsula should not be tolerated.
The leader’s tone was generally conciliatory, but he made it clear that South Korea should end its periodic joint military exercises with the United States.
“Needless to say, faithful dialogue is not possible in such a brutal atmosphere that war exercises targeting the other side are going on,” Kim said.
The last round of high-level negotiations was held in February and resulted in the North hosting a rare union of relatives separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
The two Koreas agreed to restart dialogue when a top-ranking North Korean delegation made a surprise visit to the Asian Games held in the South in October.
The trip raised hopes of a thaw in relations, but was followed by minor military clashes along the border that renewed tensions and talks never materialised.
Analysts said Kim was extending an olive branch after realising that Pyongyang could not end its isolation without first improving ties with Seoul.
“North Korea opted for a practical line after facing up to reality, because it is now difficult to improve ties with the United States and other countries,” Yoo Ho-Yeol, a Korea University professor, said.
Kim’s New Year message, which sets the direction of policy for the coming year, also focused on improving living standards in North Korea, which suffers chronic food shortages.
His father and late leader Kim Jong-Il, who died in December 2011, left a country in dire economic straits, the result of a “military first” policy that fed ambitious missile and nuclear programmes at the expense of a malnourished population.
Kim also used his message to urge North Koreans to work harder in strengthening the country’s military capabilities through the development of “powerful advanced” weapons.
Under the younger Kim’s leadership, North Korea has placed a satellite in orbit and conducted its third - and most powerful - nuclear test.
Monday 16 March 2015
John Fitzpatrick's one philosophical quote for 2015
"In each and every certain decision, whether of economic, emotional, intellectual or spiritual milieu, allow the gravity of a modicum of doubt. The gravity of doubt, as it develops, over all, across the full human life span, will serve you much better than the stark certainty of clear decisions ever will. The doubt regarding certainty, along the way, will also make you a much better and more fulfilled human being."
the previous statement of Mishima reflects the brilliance of Anarcharsis who wrote so well about the necessity for Human Anarchy. Anarcharsis, of course, is the same man who created the design of the modern ship's anchor two thousand years ago.
"human law is a spider's web that will only trap the weak and stupid whilst the strong and powerful will break through every time."
a terrorist is someone who loses the first childish battle against the state. history teaches us that they will have a good chance of winning the next battle.
My favourite quote from Yukio Mishima, the so very Japan-Shinto-centric literature genius.
He'd make a damn good terrorist now. He was the greatest writer in Japan and was honoured as such. How things change to suit the flexible appropriate morality of our foolish times.
I like Mishima. His mind and his literary contribution were of a magnificent standard to go well beyond winning the Nobel Prize, but they wouldn't ever give it to him, & even now, posthumously, they wont ever give it to him and simply because he loved his Emperor, his Nation, Japan, and he loved and rejoiced in its intrinsically pure meaning far, far too much. he's the best writer Japan has ever produced and yet his contribution to world literature is seen as basically bad even now because we don't like what he said and felt as a person, as one of us.
"Border Control for the Human Consciousness". Some of us call it 'Mindfulness'.
Now, back to the cleaning of the apartment.
rant of the day about Australia
"we will decide who comes here and by what method they come." John Howard.
What an idiot! Human displacement is an ongoing human problem, everywhere. It's called migration...there are costs and benefits and the benefits outweigh the costs, except in Australia; and there is no solution except treating people as humans. When we get to the stage of human evolution as a sophisticated self respecting species, where borders are unnecessary, it won't matter. Until then, it can't matter. Nauru is far more expensive to us than is incorporation of fellow humans. That's not rocket science, it's common sense.
"the people coming here are not criminals. The criminals are the people smugglers...they should rot in hell or burn in prison". Kevin Rudd.
The same people smugglers, for the same reasons, enabled the escape and survival of Jewish society in WW2, you backsliding cowardly idiot.
Julia Gillard handing over Australian owned Darwin land to the US Military to own forever and for no payment at all.
Where, on earth, has anyone handed over sovereign land for a military base to the US and ever had the choice of ever getting it back, ever, in modern history, no matter what the people or government ever choose to do? When on earth has a nation decided to insult and degrade the importance of its trade with its major trading partner, China, our future, thus having to settle for a Free Trade deal that is worse than what NZ got by being honest?
it's never happened.
As for Australia committing its valiant troops to fighting Iraqis fighting Iraqis at over $2000 million a year in direct costs to Australians......rather than investing in Australia and Australians, well, that's just insane.
Can these really bad ideas be grown out of? No. We are stuck with them, with each of them, for many decades each...and we choose diminish ourselves because of them. We are an endangered species by our own atrocious decisions that always demonise our peers to elevate our own delusions, as a people...a little people, a scared people, growing smaller every day
well, that's my rants for today
Thanks
John.
Understanding China
I guess the challenge for us, in Australia, is to try to comprehend a massive civilization beyond our understanding that has had 19 bordering nations with very fluid borders, for 5000 years and remains very intact and rocketing forward with workable peaceful deals with every border nation to the benefit of all. Brand new high speed trade-rail links between, Beijing and every border nation's capital city. All paid for by China. For trade, for peace.
We don't have any border nations so our understanding of the complexity required for dealing with countries like Indonesia or New Guinea etc is very very primitive in comparison with Chinese cultural survival methodology. Thus Tony Abbott, thus Bill Shorten. Elected by popular choice and yet Primitive, in a way we understand.
The other massive difference is that most of us here in Australia are not indigenous whereas all Chinese in all the Provinces of China are indigenous to China. We can never get our head around that. It is beyond our experience of life on earth here...but it's so fascinating to watch the future happening.
I've liked China since I was 16 and read Chinese poets. When a first year nursing student at Cessnock District Hospital in 1983, it was me who received delivery of 100 copies of Mao's Little Red Book straight from the Chinese Embassy to my room at the Nurses Home. In the beginning was the Little Red Book, and verily, it was well distributed.
As my talk on the high speed rail between Beijing and Shen Yang, with a retired Colonel of the PLA, when I told him I was trying to learn Thai language, he advised, in earnest..."Don't worry about the language of Thailand. Learn the language of the Chinese people. Thailand is a border town of China, and a factory. China is Asia. Later on, that night, in the Karaoke Bar, he sang "For all the problems of myself, and my country, I would still beg from the Gods another hundred years of life in China."
Three days later in Liaoning, I recall being punched quite ineffectively in the street by a very Old Red Guard retiree who remembered what Australia did to hurt China and Korea in the Korean War. I doubt they'll be any need to build any Anzac Memorials there. They are a bright bunch and they remember quite clearly.
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