Death Wish 2009, Go On Sarah, Take the Money and Run...

Paul Krugman
Joe Conason
Michael Sherer

"Kim has to expect the regime to be more vulnerable both to internal dissent and to American attack immediately after his death" - Brian Myers


Do you ever wish for a head of state to die? It's an interesting moral dilemma, but South Korea has announced that Kim Jong Il has advanced pancreatic cancer, an extremely painful way to die, as reported by al Jazeera: "North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, is suffering from pancreatic cancer, a South Korean television network has reported. Broadcaster YTN, citing information gathered from South Korean, Chinese and US intelligence, said on Monday that the cancer was diagnosed last August, about the time that the North Korean leader suffered a suspected stroke.
The network, quoting medical sources in Beijing, said Kim may not live more than five years, given the high mortality rate for such a cancer and his advanced age" This explains all of the sabre-rattling and missile launching, attempts that have been interpreted as wanting some attention and TLC... They would never announce it publicaly unless it was in its final stages where he could pass away any minute, hour, or day now: "Brian Myers, director of the International Studies department at South Korea's Dongseo University in Busan, said if true the report would explain the apparent marked decline in Kim's health and his recent hair loss.

He told Al Jazeera the report would confirm the impression that North Korea's recent provocations are to "maximise its military strength in the expectation of a very imminent period of instability". "Kim has to expect the regime to be more vulnerable both to internal dissent and to American attack immediately after his death." He said it was possible the North Korean leader was "looking some kind of military triumph that could put the regime's security on a firmer footing for whoever should happen to take over". Which makes North Korea's neighbors rather uneasy...

I keep thinking that Sarah Palin would fade from the news, but no, she is on the front page of the printed version of the NY Times: "In late March, a senior official from the Republican Governors Association headed for Alaska on a secret mission. Sarah Palin was beset by such political and personal turmoil that some powerful supporters determined an intervention was needed to pull her governorship, and her national future, back from the brink.

The official, the association’s executive director, Nick Ayers, arrived with a memorandum containing firm counsel, according to several people who know its details: Make a long-term schedule and stick to it, have staff members set aside ample and inviolable family time to replenish your spirits, and build a coherent home-state agenda that creates jobs and ensures re-election.

Like so much of the advice sent Ms. Palin’s way by influential supporters, it appeared to be happily received and then largely discarded, barely slowing what was, in retrospect, an inexorable march toward the resignation she announced 10 days ago."

Pundits everywhere were trying to figure out the reasons for Palin's dropping-out. I found myself agreeing with Levi Johnson, as reported in the Washington Post: "Just when you thought the plot couldn't possibly thicken more in the Days of Our Lives in Alaska, it has. Outgoing Gov. Sarah Palin is now fighting back against claims made by her daughter's ex-boyfriend that she bailed out on Alaska in order to cash in on her fame.

Asked if Levi Johnston's accusation bore any truth, Palin spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton said in an e-mail to The Sleuth, "Absolutely not. She is taking a leap of faith that all will be well personally. This is about what is best for Alaska and not what is best for her personally."

It would be best for Alaska only if she was screwing things up. We know that she will exceed Dick Cheney's advance by $5 million, and if she does a few lectures at the current going rate of $60 thousand per gig, Todd can relax and concentrate on his sled racing...

"Johnston, the 19-year-old father of Palin's grandson and ex-fiance of the governor's daughter Bristol, said at a news conference Thursday that he personally had heard Palin discuss the possibility of leaving her state behind to go capitalize off her quick rise to fame.

"She had talked about how nice it would be to take some of this money people had been offering us and you know just run with it, say 'forget everything else,'" Johnston said of the one-time GOP vice presidential nominee." Levi is not the smartest animal cracker in the box, so I tend to think he did overhear this and not make it up...

Finally, an article on product sponsoring on blogs, as reported by the NY Times: "The proliferation of paid sponsorships online has not been without controversy. Some in the online world deride the actions as kickbacks. Others also question the legitimacy of bloggers’ opinions, even when the commercial relationships are clearly outlined to readers.

And the Federal Trade Commission is taking a hard look at such practices and may soon require online media to comply with disclosure rules under its truth-in-advertising guidelines. A draft of the new rules was posted for public comments this year and the staff is to make a formal recommendation to be presented to the commissioners for a vote, perhaps by early fall. “Consumers have a right to know when they’re being pitched a product,” said Richard Cleland, an assistant director at the Federal Trade Commission." I have several ads and sponsors, but to date, I haven't made more than  couple of dollars, which will be sent if the amount ever makes it past ten... Political blogs are not consumer oriented, and with a smaller one like mine, most often I don't even get the courtesy of a return email. If you do see lots of ads for policy institutes on the blog, it can mean that blogger has accepted money to state a certain position on things like clean--coal technology, climate change, and especially the upcoming health care reform debate. I guess I'm too small fry and grumpy to bribe...

Well, back to watching the Sotomayor confirmation hearings. Tomorrow should be where the fun begins, asking lots and lots of questions. It's thought that f she can keep her cool throughout, the nomination is hers...