Kim Jong-un Orders Replacement of Personnel Responsible for Building Hospital in Pyongyang
It looks like the North Korean gulags will have a few more people in them:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un strongly criticized officials for carrying out the construction of a large-scale general hospital “in a careless manner” and ordered the replacement of all of those responsible, state media said Monday.
Kim made the remarks during a “field guidance” trip to the construction site for Pyongyang General Hospital, one of his top-priority projects he has vowed to complete by Oct. 10, the 75th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party. He attended its groundbreaking ceremony in March, calling it a “crucial task” for the country’s public health.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
I’m thinking business as usual won’t cut it any more… But then there’s that old story about reorganizations:
“We trained hard—but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we were reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing, and what a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while actually producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.” ― Petronius Arbiter
That is a very apt description, setnaffa. And, of coure, for North Korea, it’s probably the only way of going about things, with the added bit of gulag/grave for those who were the cause/target of the latest round of reorganization.
There’s now a new dilemma for The Replacements on the construction project. How are they to get this done by Dear Leader’s stated completion date but still manage to do so without being careless?
Ah, good ol’ North Korea. “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Petronius Arbiter never trained hard a day in his life. He was Nero’s style consultant.
That quote comes from a journalist in the 50s talking about American warfare in Burma and the amazing ability of Americans to organize, therefore meeting any new challenge by reorganizing.
…or something like that. To lazy to look it up and be sure.
CH, you surprise me yet again! I would have thought the Satyricon was high up on your Books-I-Enjoyed list…
Yes, there are those who claim it was invented by a British wit in Occupied Germany in the 1950s (published by an American magazine in 1957) to rag on an American General (Frank Merrill) who, though successful, was a right bastard. There is no reason to assume that Gaius Petronius Whatisname never said the same thing. Then again, just because it’s in Wikipedia doesn’t mean it’s true…
From Wikipedia:
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In slightly more than five months of combat, [Merril’s] Marauders had advanced 750 miles (1,210 km) through some of the harshest jungle terrain in the world, fought in five major engagements (Walawbum, Shaduzup, Inkangahtawng, Nhpum Ga, and Myitkyina) and engaged in combat with the Japanese Army on thirty-two separate occasions, including two conventional defensive battles with enemy forces for which the force had not been intended nor equipped. Battling Japanese soldiers, hunger, fevers, and disease, they had traversed more jungle terrain on their long-range missions than any other U.S. Army formation during World War II.
…
On 10 August 1944 the Marauders were consolidated into the 475th Infantry, which continued service in northern Burma as a component of the division-sized MARS Task Force until February 1945. On 21 June 1954 the 475th Infantry was re-designated as the 75th Infantry from which descended the 75th Ranger Regiment.
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Thus, one will need to take this up with the Rangers–who I hear can do things wearing a beret–possibly making them philosophical descendants of Petronius…
I since looked up a bit about it.
Seems there is zero evidence he ever wrote anything or had any interest in writing.
The only suggestion this quote was his came from a highly unreliable source.
But I really have no idea so in no position to argue this out… just remembered the quote and that it applied to American military training rather than Roman high society… which is an explanation that makes the most sense to me.
But he could have said it.
“He was Nero’s style consultant.”
Wonder if Kim plays the fiddle………