In the movie Memento, the main character suffers from short-term memory loss. He cannot remember anything from day to day, so must write himself notes to explain what happened to him in the recent past. He is desperate to resolve a central mystery in his life. But with his memory a blank, all he can rely on are the cryptic scribbles that he cannot even remember writing. Tragically, the United States is trapped in a similar pattern with North Korea.
He is, in the words of Barbara Walters, a “mild-mannered ophthalmologist.” Indeed, the rather squeamish leader-to-be chose eye surgery because it didn’t involve much blood. He speaks fluent English and can get by in French as well as his native Arabic. His wife is a knock-out, a “rose in the desert” according to a Vogue profile. Reluctant to take over the family business from his father, he interrupted his medical training in London to return home only after his older brother died in a car accident. Then, once at the helm, he released a number of political prisoners and instituted economic reforms that got a thumbs-up from the international business community. He cooperated with the United States in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Even today, he uses all the right words: transparency, dignity, reform.
They’re like a heavy metal band. Dress them up in black, put some Goth makeup on them, give them a name like The Apocalyptics, and they’d fit right in with the head-banger crowd. After all, it’s mostly doom and gloom with the Republican candidates, particularly when they start in on foreign policy.
Islamophobes would like you to believe that they’re not anti-Islam. They’re only anti-Islamic extremism.
So why is it that Islamophobes are always going after mainstream Islam? They lampoon Muhammad. They want to burn not the writings of Osama bin Laden but the Quran itself. They target an Islamic community center in downtown New York City that’s the brainchild of an interfaith dialogue proponent and an overseas emissary of the George W. Bush administration.
When Kim Jong Il died last month, it made headlines. When Kim Geun-Tae died just a few days ago, it merited only a small obituary in U.S. newspapers (if at all).
John F. Kennedy essentially bought his way into politics. His father, the wealthy Joseph Kennedy, picked out a nice congressional seat in Massachusetts and basically paid the occupant of the position to step down and run instead for the Boston mayoralty.
Two Cold War Milestones, FPIF, December 26, 2011 North Korea on the Verge of a New Era, FPIF, December 21, 2011 Architects of Change, World Beat, December 20, 2011 Two Leaders, Two Deaths, FPIF, December 19, 2011 “The New Chicken Littles,” World Beat, December 13, 2011 “Appeasement Complex,” World Beat, December 6, 2011″ “Occupy Foreign Affairs,” World Beat,… Continue reading 2011 Archives
Poland 1989: a man, a woman, a revolution, a revelation. ABOUT In search of adventure in Poland 1989, a young man discovers a female assassin, a Jewish skinhead, a mysterious bird, and the loss of innocence. John Feffer plays seven characters in this one-man show, with an assist from the bird. Directed by Doug… Continue reading The Bird
Europe’s Economic Crisis, NPR’s Morning Edition, November 19, 2011 Global military spending, Coffee Party radio, March 21, 2011 Korean situation, Anti-War radio, November 26, 2010 U.S.-Korean Relations, Anti-War radio, May 27, 2010 Okinawa vs. Obama, Russia Today, Apil 26, 2010 U.S. Military in Okinawa, Asia Pacific Forum (WBAI), April 13, 2010 Yemen, Hemispheres (KGNU), February 23, 2010 Piracy, Antiwar Radio, September… Continue reading Interviews
War is looming on the Korean peninsula. North Korea has declared that it possesses nuclear weapons. The United States is tightening an economic noose around the country in an attempt to force a regime change. The Bush administration is also keeping a military option on the table, a prospect that terrifies all the countries of East Asia, particularly South Korea.