Recent North Korean agricultural reforms that allow farmers to keep 30% of the their crop if they meet the production quota (plus any surplus above production targets) has boosted production.
As this article abundantly articulates, there is only one recipe that achieves the end result Washington hawks would like with North Korea – and it is engagement. In short, as the article correctly points out, sanctions cause the regime to behave more badly while exponentially increasing the suffering of the innocents. Engagement on the other hand, has a liberating effect at all levels, drastically improves quality of life, and exposes all to new ideas, thus reducing idealogical barriers.
In terms of officially sanctioned cultural and economic engagement, this might be a difficult question. However, it is the unofficial under-the-table cultural and economic engagement that is more likely to have a positive effect over the long run. South Korean music videos, television programs and movies smuggled in via USB sticks, shortwave broadcasts, etc., are all illegal for North Koreans to see and hear, but they’re doing it anyway. The more exposure they get to the outside world, the more it undermines the social control of the regime. Additionally, the black and gray markets in North Korea are marginalizing the economic importance of the regime in the lives of everyday people. It’s a painfully slow process, but over time it is a positive change.
Mike Bassett is pushing communism as a good thing. That pretty much puts him in the camp of lepers where I’m concerned. Complaining about the American President won’t get me or my family sent to the camps, like complaining about the Kims would do to a nork citizen.
So, as far as I’m concerned, “May the Lord rebuke you, Mike”…
Mike Bassett hates America, and makes no secret about it:
“I vehemently oppose nuclear weapons or human rights abuses, no matter what State they occur in. We should remember that due to human error, in 1961, a nuclear bomb 261 times the strength of the ones we dropped on Japan, almost detonated in North Carolina. We should remember that America has only 5% of the world’s population, while maintaining 25% of the worlds incarcerated population. In the American prison system, rape is considered ‘prison justice’, joining gangs and honing criminal skills becomes a means of survival. Statistically, most people are just there because they grew up in a lower class and had few opportunities to get education when growing up, and resorted to criminal activities to survive. We execute people within these systems, but what’s worse, is that some prisoners get locked in solitary confinement for decades, and have been later found to have severe brain disorders such as dementia at the age of thirty. One prisoner did four decades in solitary confinement and was found to be innocent of the crime in the first place and released! The American justice system is atrocious on so many levels. We cannot condemn any State for these two issues when we, here in America, are the world’s largest offender. Even if we just break it down to a per-capita comparative chart we still have a higher percentage of these cases than other countries. Sorry for getting sidetracked, but these things are all related and attention to these ‘mirrors’ should be reflected on.” (from https://lifeboat.com/blog/2013/10/ruling-the-rhetoric-on-north-korea-a-pedagogical-perspective)
His so-called “facts” are not all correct; but why let that interfere with the narrative?
Recent North Korean agricultural reforms that allow farmers to keep 30% of the their crop if they meet the production quota (plus any surplus above production targets) has boosted production.
@Guitard, I would say though that this is not a result of engagement, but instead necessity in am effort to boost production.
There are over three dozen links in this yet-to-be-debunked hypothesis which challenge Stanton’s idealogically-charged rhetoric with actual fact, (but we won’t talk about that, will we?). http://www.fairobserver.com/region/asia_pacific/kim-jong-un-liberating-north-korea-32305/
As this article abundantly articulates, there is only one recipe that achieves the end result Washington hawks would like with North Korea – and it is engagement. In short, as the article correctly points out, sanctions cause the regime to behave more badly while exponentially increasing the suffering of the innocents. Engagement on the other hand, has a liberating effect at all levels, drastically improves quality of life, and exposes all to new ideas, thus reducing idealogical barriers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-stine/business-as-reform-in-nor_b_9849500.html
If you’re not inclined to listen to Abt or myself, then I’ll post a final podcast between Achin and Lankov, which really hits the nail on the head:
http://podbay.fm/show/876319226/e/1412044907?autostart=1
In terms of officially sanctioned cultural and economic engagement, this might be a difficult question. However, it is the unofficial under-the-table cultural and economic engagement that is more likely to have a positive effect over the long run. South Korean music videos, television programs and movies smuggled in via USB sticks, shortwave broadcasts, etc., are all illegal for North Koreans to see and hear, but they’re doing it anyway. The more exposure they get to the outside world, the more it undermines the social control of the regime. Additionally, the black and gray markets in North Korea are marginalizing the economic importance of the regime in the lives of everyday people. It’s a painfully slow process, but over time it is a positive change.
Mike Bassett is pushing communism as a good thing. That pretty much puts him in the camp of lepers where I’m concerned. Complaining about the American President won’t get me or my family sent to the camps, like complaining about the Kims would do to a nork citizen.
So, as far as I’m concerned, “May the Lord rebuke you, Mike”…
This says Mike’s attitude louder than his words or mine http://lifeboat.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1150856_10200923256820830_1974751060_n.jpg
Mike Bassett hates America, and makes no secret about it:
“I vehemently oppose nuclear weapons or human rights abuses, no matter what State they occur in. We should remember that due to human error, in 1961, a nuclear bomb 261 times the strength of the ones we dropped on Japan, almost detonated in North Carolina. We should remember that America has only 5% of the world’s population, while maintaining 25% of the worlds incarcerated population. In the American prison system, rape is considered ‘prison justice’, joining gangs and honing criminal skills becomes a means of survival. Statistically, most people are just there because they grew up in a lower class and had few opportunities to get education when growing up, and resorted to criminal activities to survive. We execute people within these systems, but what’s worse, is that some prisoners get locked in solitary confinement for decades, and have been later found to have severe brain disorders such as dementia at the age of thirty. One prisoner did four decades in solitary confinement and was found to be innocent of the crime in the first place and released! The American justice system is atrocious on so many levels. We cannot condemn any State for these two issues when we, here in America, are the world’s largest offender. Even if we just break it down to a per-capita comparative chart we still have a higher percentage of these cases than other countries. Sorry for getting sidetracked, but these things are all related and attention to these ‘mirrors’ should be reflected on.” (from https://lifeboat.com/blog/2013/10/ruling-the-rhetoric-on-north-korea-a-pedagogical-perspective)
His so-called “facts” are not all correct; but why let that interfere with the narrative?
@Mike Bassett, I think it may help if you explain what you believe engagement means? Thanks.
He spells it “Michael Bassett,” but remember, it’s pronounced “Maniacal Batshit.”
https://twitter.com/hashtag/ManiacalBatshit?src=hash
Be sure to click “view photo” to see screenshots of his David Duke retweets and his fascinating theories about 9/11.
@Joshua, Yikes! 😯 I just finished reading more about this guy. You are right he could use some help.