I don't care for North Korea. It's a repressive Stalinist cult, walled off from reality. But sometimes they find a nut:
A government official in North Korea blamed for the nation's currency devaluation has been executed by the state. "Pak Nam-gi, who was reportedly sacked in January as chief of the planning and finance department of the ruling Workers' Party, was executed at a shooting range in Pyongyang."
Maybe if we stood a few of the banksters in front of a firing squad, we wouldn't have to fix their mess again.
More like this
One of the major problems in most societies, subject to "great sorts" of various kinds, is the fact that people observe correlations of attitudes & beliefs, and infer from those necessary relations.
We've not said anything about the North Korean nuclear issue before but we are doing so now, joining with Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) in expressing our concern over the spread of nuclear weapons and the apparent failure of the Bush administration
"North Korea has taught a great lesson to all the countries in the world, especially the rogue countries of dictatorships or whatever: if you don't want to be invaded by America, get some nuclear weapons." -Michael Moore
At a time when we are dealing with a growing threat from North Korea, it's probably a good idea to take another look at the relationship between Reverend Moon and the maniacal dictator Kim Jung Il.
Hmm. I'm pretty sure that Kirshenbaum, Mooney, and the Intersection crew won't approve of your advocating violence like this . . .
"Maybe if we stood a few of the banksters in front of a firing squad, we wouldn't have to fix their mess again."
True - we would have to fix someone else's mess. Which is why we (what most people refer to as the civilized world) don't bother shooting people for screwing up - it doesn't help.
Plus, of course, poor Pak Nam-gi probably wasn't the only guy who screwed up - he is was just the guy with the fewest political connections.
Since everyone in NK knows the real reason Pak specifically was shot, everyone is now (more) focused on making sure they have the proper connections rather than on getting the job done right. Which is another reason why we (what most people refer to as the civilized world) don't bother shooting people for screwing up - it's a distraction.
North Korea is pretty much a racist military state:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/02/22/north_koreas_race_prob…
Military states aren't capitalist per se, nor are they socialist or communist. On the one hand, the army way is kind of war-socialism-looking. On the other hand, militarism (domestic or foreign) is one of the two legitimate functions of government for the libertarian capitalist, and market fundamentalists won't limit tax spending on it, nor do they demonize cops and troops as they demonize everyone else working for gummint."
DRK is like China - it kills people as scapegoats. A banker with close ties to the Kim family and the government would not be shot - you "make an example" of someone and instead of it changing behavior, it says, be better-connected next time, and quit while you're ahead, and don't be unlucky enough to be scapegoatable when we're going to admit to 1% of our economic problems.
The above link is not just one author in Foreign Policy's opinion. It's shared by a lot of f.p. analysts now.
But in fairness, the bankers in the G20 didn't just screw up, many of them, especially in the US, are simply criminals who are too powerful to have the law touch them - either laws are rewritten for their benefit or the enforcement of laws is de-funded and shut down. So it's possible Josh's quip has a tinge of truth to it.
It's not a "mistake" when you're simply ripping people off.
Plus, of course, poor Pak Nam-gi probably wasn't the only guy who screwed up - he is was just the guy with the fewest political connections.