Is Kim Jong-il Going Gaga?

[FBM]

First of all, like, how would you tell? Anyway, the story:

Is Kim Jong-il Going Gaga?

Rumors that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is suffering from dementia are spreading quickly across the isolated country. Reports say the leader is increasingly incoherent during his so-called on-the-spot guidance trips.

When Kim watched the 1960s propaganda play "Sanwoolim (Echo)" during an inspection of a military base in Kangwon Province recently, he reportedly described it as "a masterpiece that is bound to lead the revolution in the future." Party cadres were dumbfounded to hear him praise the old show as if he had never seen it before.

Kim also reportedly had playwrights and stage actors come to Pyongyang. Having been eclipsed by film and TV for a long time, they are said to be more than grateful for the leader's sudden interest.

Kim then ordered the national theatre, which was built only two years ago, to be renovated because it is "too old and small."

Another indication that his grip is slipping was the establishment and subsequent disbandment of the Unhasu (Galaxy) Orchestra. Set up by Kim in October 2009 in celebration of the 64th anniversary of North Korea's Workers Party and to further the image of his son and heir Jong-un, the troupe turned up all events attended by the two Kims.

Orchestra members appeared to imitate Western pop stars with skimpy clothing and provocative dance moves. Kim then ordered two apartment buildings near Pyongyang Station to be built for them, and instructed officials to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity and hot water -- making it the only apartment complex in Pyongyang to enjoy such unheard-of privileges.

That priority meant some high-ranking party cadres could not get electricity and hot water in their own apartments, leading to whispers among them that the Dear Leader seems to be out of his mind. Since June, at any rate, the troupe has disappeared from public view.
englishnews@chosun.com / Jul. 12, 2011 07:38 KST

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/htm ... 00362.html

[JimC]

It will end in a bloody mess, but sometimes the boil needs to be lanced...

[FBM]

There's always the slim chance that he will be replaced by someone whose head isn't quite so far up his ass.

[klr]

"... and in other news:"

http://www.smh.com.au/world/kim-jongils ... 1gxtq.html

Kim Jong-il's half-brother under house arrest because he looks like father

Kim Jong-il's half-brother has reportedly been placed under house arrest in Pyongyang because his resemblance to his father and founder of the nation, Kim Il-sung, could derail the transfer of power to the Dear Leader's son.

South Korean media claimed that Kim Pyong-il, the North's ambassador to Poland, has been under house arrest since May when he returned to Pyongyang in May to see his ailing mother, Kim Song-AeHe.

Sources quoted by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper said Kim Jong-il and his son, Kim Jong-Un, are manoeuvring to isolate him. They are said to be concerned that he could attract the support of factions within the regime that have not been entirely won over by the youthful and inexperienced Kim Jong-Un.

Kim Jong-il's half-brother has reportedly been placed under house arrest in Pyongyang because his resemblance to his father and founder of the nation, Kim Il-sung, could derail the transfer of power to the Dear Leader's son.

South Korean media claimed that Kim Pyong-il, the North's ambassador to Poland, has been under house arrest since May when he returned to Pyongyang in May to see his ailing mother, Kim Song-AeHe.

Sources quoted by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper said Kim Jong-il and his son, Kim Jong-Un, are manoeuvring to isolate him. They are said to be concerned that he could attract the support of factions within the regime that have not been entirely won over by the youthful and inexperienced Kim Jong-Un.
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Another advantage that Kim Pyong-Il has, they say, is his similarity to his father, a man who died in July 1994 but is still revered in North Korea.

Many in the impoverished state look back at his reign with nostalgia for a time when food supplies were adequate and North Korea had functioning industries and higher standards of living.

There have even been reports that the chubby Kim Jong-Un has undergone plastic surgery in an attempt to more closely resemble his grandfather and enhance his claim to the regime.

"Some of these 'palace-politics' intrigues in this kind of Stalinist system often play out in this way, with anyone near the inner circle who is perceived to be a threat very vulnerable," Daniel Pinkston, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, told London's The Daily Telegraph from Seoul.

The ongoing saga of the succession is also causing concern in Washington, where General James Thurman told the US Senate Armed Service Committee this week that Kim Jong-Un's youth and inexperience could lead to new provocations on the peninsula.

"Kim Jong-Un's youth and inexperience increase the likelihood of miscalculation, as does the imperative for him to establish credibility with the military hardliners he needs to support succession," General Thurman told the hearing, convened to confirm his appointment as the next commander of US forces in South Korea.

Tensions in the region will not have been eased by a statement issued by North Korea's Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, criticising plans announced in Seoul to develop five islands close to the disputed sea border on the west coast of the peninsula as tourist resorts.

Can it get any crazier?

[FBM]

Yeah, probably. But not much.

[Audley Strange]

Damn I hoped it would be him doing a cover of "Bad Lomance"

[FBM]

Damn I hoped it would be him doing a cover of "Bad Lomance"

From the look of things, it's too early to rule that out...

[Svartalf]

There's always the slim chance that he will be replaced by someone whose head isn't quite so far up his ass.

You mean somebody who'll fully understand what kind of desperate situation the country is in, but will still milk it to the last drop of personal benefit?

[FBM]

There's always the slim chance that he will be replaced by someone whose head isn't quite so far up his ass.

You mean somebody who'll fully understand what kind of desperate situation the country is in, but will still milk it to the last drop of personal benefit?

Uhm...no...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Anatomy of a Megalomaniac: Psychological Analysis of Kim Jong-il from Afar

What was up with a world leader who thought he could control the weather while engaging in his passion for Elizabeth Taylor movies? No one knows for sure, but a few years ago, two psychologists took a crack at a long-distance analysis. In the September 2009 edition of Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression (Editor’s note: nice journal name), Frederick L. Coolidge and Daniel L. Segal tried to develop a psychological profile of the “Dear Leader” (in 1992 changed to “Dear Father”).

Coolidge had developed a means of psychological evaluation using “informants,” people who knew or had historical or other expertise about a person. This test had been used previously to assess Hitler and Saddam Hussein and had been found to have a high-level of statistical reliability.

The two psychologists used the test with a South Korean psychiatrist who was an expert on Kim Jong-il. The results showed that Kim Jong-il had an identical overall statistical measure with Hitler and Saddam on 14 personality disorders (r=7.6). (The top six of the 14 are: sadistic, paranoid, antisocial, narcissistic, schizoid and schizotypal.). Additional analysis showed that Dear Father was more like Saddam than Der Fuhrer. All three also showed evidence of psychotic thinking.

Coolidge and Segal make recommendations about how to engage in diplomatic talks with someone with this type of personality. “In negotiations with Kim Jong-il over nuclear weapons, he might trust higher-level government officials more than lower ones,” they write. “Perhaps, more reflective of Kim Jong-il’s narcissistic traits, he initially balked over six-country negotiations, demanding to meet with the United States only. It would be predicted that secondary or lower level emissaries might have immediately been at a disadvantage.”

It would also behoove negotiators, they noted, to recognize that Kim Jong-Il prides himself on the hardships the country has experienced:

“Kim Jong-il’s antisocial features, such as his fearlessness in the face of sanctions and punishment, serve to make negotiations extraordinarily difficult. Even ‘submitting to negotiations’ makes many antisocial individuals unwilling and hostile. Kim Jong-il appears to pride himself on North Korea’s independence, despite the extreme hardships it appears to place on the North Korean people. This behavior appears to emanate, in large part, from his antisocial personality pattern.”

The article itself is a good read. Carl Jung, it turns out, took a crack at analyzing Hitler. (Worth the price of admission for that factoid alone, although maybe it’s best here not to go too far into Jung’s checkered Nazi karma. Also, see this great, much more detailed piece, by Scientific American blogger Jason G. Goldman (“The Thoughtful Animal”), which also takes a look at Coolidge and Segal’s work.)

This kind of thing intrigues psychologists. One other such comparative analysis even looked at George Bush vs. Saddam. The Science of Who’s Bad. Better than watching “American Idol.”

[Atheist-Lite]

If I ever get power the first thing I'll do is to have all the shrinks rounded up and put against the wall.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

If I ever get power the first thing I'll do is to have all the shrinks rounded up and put against the wall.

Tell me about your relationship with your parish priest.

[Atheist-Lite]

If I ever get power the first thing I'll do is to have all the shrinks rounded up and put against the wall.

Tell me about your relationship with your parish priest.

They are not such a threat although their turn will come. A smart leader knows to deal with threats in the right order.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

If I ever get power the first thing I'll do is to have all the shrinks rounded up and put against the wall.

Tell me about your relationship with your parish priest.

They are not such a threat although their turn will come. A smart leader knows to deal with threats in the right order.

Lawyers first, then.

[Atheist-Lite]

If I ever get power the first thing I'll do is to have all the shrinks rounded up and put against the wall.

Tell me about your relationship with your parish priest.

They are not such a threat although their turn will come. A smart leader knows to deal with threats in the right order.

Lawyers first, then.

In 'merica that appears to be wise in the coming years. They are gonna be a dangerous breed to have around, with their lawyering books and a sense of authority but no income.