The death of Otto Warmbier and other headlines
Otto Warmbier has died. 22 years of age and we will almost certainly never know the details of his passing. No parent should have to bury a child., at any age. What we do know is that it appears that he was not subjected to torture, nor was his severe brain damage due to the head injury that the North Koreans (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, or DPRK) claim he suffered.
The DPRK claims he violated their laws by stealing a propaganda sign that mentioned the name of Kim Jong-il, father of the nation's current despot, Kim Jong-in. That is a serious crime in that nation. There is speculation that he was sentenced to 15 years at hard labor as pushback for U.S. sanctions against the DPRK.
I am saddened by his death. It should have never happened. I wonder if he had read the U.S. State Department's Travel Advisory regarding travel to the DPRK. Here is an excerpt:
"The Department of State strongly warns U.S. citizens not to travel to North Korea/the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). U.S. citizens in the DPRK are at serious risk of arrest and long-term detention under North Korea’s system of law enforcement. This system imposes unduly harsh sentences for actions that would not be considered crimes in the United States and threatens U.S. citizen detainees with being treated in accordance with “wartime law of the DPRK.” Since the United States does not maintain diplomatic or consular relations with North Korea, the U.S. government has no means to provide normal consular services to U.S. citizens in North Korea."
It is a bad idea to go to North Korea. I wouldn't get on a plane to Pyongyang unless I was a credentialed diplomat, which can't happen. We don't have diplomatic relations with the DPRK..
Did you know there are three other U.S. citizens being held by the DPRK? Kim Dong-chul, born in South Korea (Republic of Korea or ROK) and a naturalized citizen owned a business in a special economic zone on the border of the DPRK and China. He began serving a ten year sentence for espionage in April of 2016. Kim Sang-duk and Kim Hak-song were both working at Pyongyang University when they were separately detained in 2017.
They had reasons for being in the DPRK. Otto Warmbier did not. He was in China in 2015 when he heard about a company there (run by a British ex-patriate) that organized tours to the DPRK. They market them as being tours that your parents would not want you to go on.
The DPRK is extraordinarily strict about travel in their nation by foreigners. You can't go anywhere outside of your hotel without being accompanied by a guide. Going for a short walk could result in you being detained and imprisoned, accused of espionage.
I hope that other people considering traveling to North Korea learn from this and just don't go. If the death of Otto Warmbier isn't enough to convince them of that, consider this. The money you provide to the DPRK in such a visit would go right into the government's coffers.
* * *
We might know as early as this week if the Liar-in-Chief has tapes of his conversations with former FBI Director James Comey.
Why is this being drawn out so much? To distract from the secrecy in the Senate and the White House? How can senators be re-writing this nation's healthcare laws without public hearings? Without participation from the minority party?
The thing is, as long as the Republicans hold the Oval Office and the Congress, they can do whatever they want, within certain limits. They can't go too far because the courts will prevent some things.
Hopefully we will get good news tomorrow from Georgia in the election to replace Tom Price in the U.S. House of Representatives. If I could fly with my oxygen tanks, I'd be there tomorrow, volunteering to drive voters to the polling places.
* * *
As the speculation about the upcoming NBA draft swirls, there is an excellent profile of Jeannie Buss in today's L.A. Times that is a must-read for anyone who is interested in professional sports.
Also in the professional sports world, infamous baseball-hawk Zack Hample whined on Twitter about how the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw refused his request for a ball at a game in Cincinnati. He mentioned that Kershaw had said "no it wouldn't, you've got 7,000 of them" when Hample mentioned that the blue Father's Day ball would have meant a lot to him. Hample then tweeted:
"...with that logic, Kershaw's next paycheck shouldn't mean all that much to him, right?"
Only an idiot would compare the meaning of someone's paycheck (which is earned by one's work) with baseballs that one begs for.
* * *
I'm pleased that the Megyn Kelly show that included a 19 minute interview with Infowars founder Alex Jones was a rating bust. Anyone who claims the Sandy Hook shootings was a hoax does not deserve any exposure.
I'll have more on that in a separate blog.
* * *
The DPRK claims he violated their laws by stealing a propaganda sign that mentioned the name of Kim Jong-il, father of the nation's current despot, Kim Jong-in. That is a serious crime in that nation. There is speculation that he was sentenced to 15 years at hard labor as pushback for U.S. sanctions against the DPRK.
I am saddened by his death. It should have never happened. I wonder if he had read the U.S. State Department's Travel Advisory regarding travel to the DPRK. Here is an excerpt:
"The Department of State strongly warns U.S. citizens not to travel to North Korea/the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). U.S. citizens in the DPRK are at serious risk of arrest and long-term detention under North Korea’s system of law enforcement. This system imposes unduly harsh sentences for actions that would not be considered crimes in the United States and threatens U.S. citizen detainees with being treated in accordance with “wartime law of the DPRK.” Since the United States does not maintain diplomatic or consular relations with North Korea, the U.S. government has no means to provide normal consular services to U.S. citizens in North Korea."
It is a bad idea to go to North Korea. I wouldn't get on a plane to Pyongyang unless I was a credentialed diplomat, which can't happen. We don't have diplomatic relations with the DPRK..
Did you know there are three other U.S. citizens being held by the DPRK? Kim Dong-chul, born in South Korea (Republic of Korea or ROK) and a naturalized citizen owned a business in a special economic zone on the border of the DPRK and China. He began serving a ten year sentence for espionage in April of 2016. Kim Sang-duk and Kim Hak-song were both working at Pyongyang University when they were separately detained in 2017.
They had reasons for being in the DPRK. Otto Warmbier did not. He was in China in 2015 when he heard about a company there (run by a British ex-patriate) that organized tours to the DPRK. They market them as being tours that your parents would not want you to go on.
The DPRK is extraordinarily strict about travel in their nation by foreigners. You can't go anywhere outside of your hotel without being accompanied by a guide. Going for a short walk could result in you being detained and imprisoned, accused of espionage.
I hope that other people considering traveling to North Korea learn from this and just don't go. If the death of Otto Warmbier isn't enough to convince them of that, consider this. The money you provide to the DPRK in such a visit would go right into the government's coffers.
* * *
We might know as early as this week if the Liar-in-Chief has tapes of his conversations with former FBI Director James Comey.
Why is this being drawn out so much? To distract from the secrecy in the Senate and the White House? How can senators be re-writing this nation's healthcare laws without public hearings? Without participation from the minority party?
The thing is, as long as the Republicans hold the Oval Office and the Congress, they can do whatever they want, within certain limits. They can't go too far because the courts will prevent some things.
Hopefully we will get good news tomorrow from Georgia in the election to replace Tom Price in the U.S. House of Representatives. If I could fly with my oxygen tanks, I'd be there tomorrow, volunteering to drive voters to the polling places.
* * *
As the speculation about the upcoming NBA draft swirls, there is an excellent profile of Jeannie Buss in today's L.A. Times that is a must-read for anyone who is interested in professional sports.
Also in the professional sports world, infamous baseball-hawk Zack Hample whined on Twitter about how the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw refused his request for a ball at a game in Cincinnati. He mentioned that Kershaw had said "no it wouldn't, you've got 7,000 of them" when Hample mentioned that the blue Father's Day ball would have meant a lot to him. Hample then tweeted:
"...with that logic, Kershaw's next paycheck shouldn't mean all that much to him, right?"
Only an idiot would compare the meaning of someone's paycheck (which is earned by one's work) with baseballs that one begs for.
* * *
I'm pleased that the Megyn Kelly show that included a 19 minute interview with Infowars founder Alex Jones was a rating bust. Anyone who claims the Sandy Hook shootings was a hoax does not deserve any exposure.
I'll have more on that in a separate blog.
* * *
posted by me at 3:50 PM
<< Home