North Korean defector recommends US engage with Pyongyang

Rick Moran  "A high level defector from North Korea says that the west should use "maximum engagement" to solve the crisis with Pyongyang.

"Thae Yong-ho, the former deputy chief of mission for North Korea in the United Kingdom is considered the highest level defector in 20 years. Thae addressed the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, on Tuesday.

VOA:

"I decided that the best gift which I may give to my son is the freedom which is so common to everyone here," Thae told the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, on Tuesday.

"I strongly believe if we educate the North Korean population, we can change North Korea."

He said nothing can stop what he called Kim Jong Un's "reign of terror," saying Kim would use soldiers and tanks against North Korean street protesters.

He said much more can be done to spread information about the outside in the North, including the use of what young North Koreans call "nose cards" — secure digital cards small enough to smuggle inside a nostril to avoid a body search.

Thae said he believes Kim's intense need to launch missiles and build nuclear weapons came out of his own insecurities and a need to prove his legitimacy after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il.

. . .  More at the link.

"These are all fine sentiments but why initiate talks with a regime when it would play directly into their hands? What Kim Jong-un desires most of all is an acknowledgement by the rest of the world of his country's nuclear status. Since the US and the west absolutely and categorically refuse to do that, "engagement" is a hollow recommendation.

"Besides, totalitarian regimes are known for prepping would be defectors so they spread false information. It may have been known by the Kim regime that Thae was disgruntled and liable to defect if given the opportunity. Thae may have unknowingly absorbed exactly what the regime wanted him to and then posted him to a place where it would be fairly easy to defect.

"These are all fine sentiments but why initiate talks with a regime when it would play directly into their hands? What Kim Jong-un desires most of all is an acknowledgement by the rest of the world of his country's nuclear status. Since the US and the west absolutely and categorically refuse to do that, "engagement" is a hollow recommendation.

"Besides, totalitarian regimes are known for prepping would be defectors so they spread false information. It may have been known by the Kim regime that Thae was disgruntled and liable to defect if given the opportunity. Thae may have unknowingly absorbed exactly what the regime wanted him to and then posted him to a place where it would be fairly easy to defect.

"I don't doubt the genuineness of his defection. But Thae's recommended course of action is naive." 

"I don't doubt the genuineness of his defection. But Thae's recommended course of action is naive." 

The Mueller Circus performs

Little evidence, so far, against President Trump  . . . "On the other hand, this shows that people with purported Kremlin ties wanted to establish a relationship with the Trump campaign, and some officials in the Trump campaign were clearly interested in that possibility. No one can know what any of this will amount to. The media and the Left feel a fierce certainty that Mueller’s investigation will result in impeachable offenses — as a matter of faith rather an estimation of the facts as we know them. For their part, Trump’s most fervent supporters want Mueller’s head." . . .   More.

Andrew McCarthy: The Manafort Indictment: Not Much There, and a Boon for Trump  "The Paul Manafort indictment is much ado about nothing . . . except as a vehicle to squeeze Manafort, which is special counsel Robert Mueller’s objective — as we have been arguing for three months. . .

McCarthy again, this time on prosecution strategy: More Thoughts on the Manafort Indictment  "In a Monday column on special prosecutor Bob Mueller’s indictment of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, I opined that the case seems to be “much ado about nothing,” and that some of the allegations that have been brought appear “shaky and overcharged.” Some commentators took this to mean that, being in the tank for Trump, I am pooh-poohing Mueller’s opening gambit.
"Not so. Readers who follow these columns know that I am not knee-jerk pro- or anti-Trump. I’ve opined that “Paul Manafort is a sleazeball.” And, while I concededly have strong political views, I try to be coldly clinical about legal questions and prosecution theories. That is my professional training, and the skill of being a prosecutor involves recognizing weaknesses in the case — you never want the defense lawyers to spot them first." . . .

This bit of analysis comes from an admirer of McCarthy: Rush Limbaugh:

. . . "The media is slowly and reluctantly — not all of them — but slowly and reluctantly realizing that the indictment of Manafort doesn’t even get them close to where they want to be, and certainly it doesn’t get them close to where they thought they would be on Friday when it was leaked that there had been sealed indictments."Over the weekend they all had convinced themselves that whatever this indictment, ’cause prosecutors come out with the big gun first. And stand by, because that’s a salient point here. All prosecutors who know what they’re doing come out with the big guns first, particularly when you’re at trial and you’ve got the jury impaneled. You load up the big guns because you want to create the indelible impression right off the bat that your perp is guilty." . . .

 

"Now, Andy McCarthy, my good friend who is a former federal prosecutor, as most of you know by now, successfully prosecuted the Blind Sheikh, Omar Abdel Rahman, 1993." . . .

Inspector Clouseau pounces!  . . . "The answer is that there is no legal, moral, or sane principle to be seen.  None whatsoever.  This is pure, emotional mob scapegoating under color of law – but not any law that adheres to the U.S. Constitution.  " . . .
. . . "In Stalin's Russia and Hitler's Germany, doing or saying anything that offended the dictator was against the law, ex post facto.  Just like Wellesley, Yale, and Harvard today. 

If you say something offensive to the LGBTX crowd, you're hung out to dry on our college campuses today.  It's universal primitive mob logic, and it belongs in the concentration camps of North Korea, if anywhere.  It certainly doesn't belong in any civilized, law-abiding nation.

"Outside a French bedroom farce, nobody believes this stuff.  Mueller and his team are the most expensive script-writing and amateur acting team in human history, just like Shakespeare in the Park, which recently stabbed the duly elected president of the United States in effigy, in front of a roaring mob of stoned liberals, today's version of the old Klan rallies of the antebellum South.  Why, Kathy Griffin even cut a symbolic mask of Donald Trump "at the neck," as prescribed in the Holy Quran, and paraded the nasty thing in front of even more howling liberals.

"You can't make this stuff up." . . .

Cartoons added by TD

NFL Great Burgess Owens: Anthem Protest Result Of Liberal Ideology That Destroyed The Black Family

RealClearPolitics  "Former NFL safety Burgess Owens appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight to discuss the current NFL kneeling controversy. Owens said this is not a black or white American problem, "it's a Democratic, elitist problem." Owens called on players to stand up against the corporate and liberal elites in the NFL who are "using my race.' "

. . . 
" 'We are dealing with an ideology that first of all bans God, has destroyed the black family in the '70s which we led the country in terms of the strength of our family unit," Owens told host Tucker Carlson. "They have destroyed our history. No one even knows about how strong the black American history was. And now they want to take away our pride in our country. And I think it's a bridge too far.' " . . .

Also this:

Suspect identified. Updated

ISIS to Jihadists: Use Fake Apartment, Job, Craigslist Ads to Lure Hostage, Murder Victims

                              A screen grab from ISIS' Rumiyah magazine

. . . "The objective of taking hostages, would-be jihadists are told, is "not to hold large numbers of the kuffar hostage in order to negotiate one’s demands," but to sow terror with "the language of force, the language of killing, stabbing and slitting throats, chopping off heads, flattening them under trucks, and burning them alive, until they give the jizyah [tax] while they are in a state of humiliation.' " . . .

Suspect Claimed He Committed NYC Truck Attack for ISIS: Sources

"Reaching a new low, the alleged suspect chased toward children after crashing his truck into the school bus.

"Eyewitness to NYC truck attack says alleged suspect “sprinted toward the group of kids” after crashing onto bike path and hitting school bus " . . .

WFTS Tampa Bay

The suspect is in custody. Multiple law enforcement officials tell ABC News that the suspect in custody has been identified as 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov from Tampa, Florida.

ISIS Calls for Attacks on Halloween Celebrations: 'Get Out Before It's Too Late'  "A pro-ISIS media group circulated an image today of a knife dripping blood over the Eiffel Tower, calling on lone jihadists to attack on Halloween.

" 'Enjoy their gathering," reads the text superimposed over the image. "Terrorize October 31."

"Added was the hashtag #Paslechoix: "no choice." Below that was the message, "Get out before it's too late."'

. . . "The image was shared by a Twitter account that distributes caliphate news, images and videos in French."

 Suspect in Tribeca Truck Attack Identified as Uzbek National: Sources

Remedial ISIS Tutorial Steers Jihadists Toward Heavier, Deadlier Truck Attacks

Letter to an Aging Communist

Mike Adams

"This is priceless. In your view, the thugs who are inciting violence and vandalizing our campuses are the ones under “onslaught.” And the onslaught is coming from both the left and right. And they are acting irrationally by embracing the First Amendment and criticizing those who would riot. This is classically Orwellian. I am surprised that you stopped short of calling the rioters the Ministers of Peace."

Dear Gary:
It was a pleasure to read your recent "Letter to the Editor" in our local newspaper. I had nearly forgotten about you as I have only seen you once since you retired as Professor Emeritus of Sociology here at UNC by the Sea. You will recall that our last encounter was the day your wife was successfully sued in federal court for violating the First Amendment. Thus, it is no coincidence that you have drawn my attention by writing an article urging young people to violate the First Amendment rights of campus speakers by using techniques of violence and vandalism. I guess it is asking too much to expect an old communist to learn a new trick. Nonetheless, I am going to try by offering a rebuttal to your grossly irresponsible manifesto. Please find my un-italicized responses to your words, which are in italics.

"Congratulations to the university students who are aggressively confronting ultra-right wing speakers on their campuses. Why these people are asked to speak in the first place is beyond me."

"Before I proceed, let me call you out for your cowardice. You are careful not to make specific references to the kind of “aggression” you are applauding. But you and I both know you are applauding both the interpersonal violence employed by protestors at Middlebury College and the vandalism displayed by protestors at UC-Berkeley.

"Through the ages the university has been a citadel for differing ideas, critical thinking, and debating varying points of view. Today the vast majority of lectures at universities span the gamut of political and social ideologies. The very idea that speech is being stifled by these students is absurd. While I support the current student protests, they are not the norm, contrary to what we hear."

"Before I proceed further, let me also comment on your gross intellectual dishonesty. There is simply no one with an IQ above room temperature who believes that there is ideological diversity in terms of who is invited and allowed to speak on our university campuses. The sole controversy is over whether the current lack of ideological diversity is good or bad for higher education. I take the position that it is bad. You take the position that it is good. In that sense, I am both more liberal and tolerant than you are." . . . 

6 Killed After Truck Plows Into NYC Crowd; Suspect ["may have"]Yelled Allahu Akbar Before Shooting

Zero Hedge   "In an attack that bears some of the hallmarks of terror attacks that have unfolded in the UK, Spain and France, a truck veered into the West Side Highway bike lane Tuesday afternoon and mowed down cyclists and pedestrians, leaving as many as six dead and up to 15 injured near Chambers Street and West Street. The as-yet-unidentified suspect has reportedly been taken into custody after being shot by police, according to the New York Times.

"Police said the suspect may have shouted Allahu Akbar before the attack, according to several witnesses.

"The scene is still active: NBC New York has a live feed below:

"NBC is reporting that shots were fired at the scene, but it's unclear if those shots were fired by police responding to the incident or the attacker. The vehicle also collided with a school bus carrying students from Stuyvesant High School. There were reports that the suspect fired shots from his truck, but these reports could not be immediately confirmed. Police say they are not looking for additional suspects. Several nearby buildings, including Stuyvesant High, were placed under lockdown. The FBI's New York field office is also responding. The attack occurrred at 3:15 pm Eastern Time.

"NBC is reporting that the driver fired a paintball gun or a bb gun before driving the truck into pedestrians. NBC has confirmed that the incident was a deliberate attack."

"One witness told the New York Post the suspect got out of his vehicle and was armed with two guns.

"CBS is reporting that police are treating the incident as a terrorist attack:" . . .

The aftermath:

"One report said the attacker was yelling “allahu akbar,” Arabic for Allah is greater, during the attack, but there were no immediate outside claims it was terror."  . . . "The scene was not far from the original site of the Twin Towers, demolished in a Muslim terror attack on Sept. 11, 2001, in which nearly 3,000 people died. 

"Witnesses said in the New York Post that the driver was halted when he ran into a school bus.

"The suspect then got out of his vehicle wielding two guns, the report said." . . .

Circa gives a timeline of the incident.

Circa: Developing... Article To Be Continually Updated...

. . . “ 'Police and witnesses say a motorist drove onto a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center memorial and struck several people, then emerged from the vehicle screaming and firing something that appeared to be a gun,” the Associated Press reported." . . .

The UK Daily Mail reports.  Video 

. . . "How terrorists have turned to vans and lorries to murder hundreds of people in a matter of months
"Today’s terror attack in New York is chillingly similar to a spate of killings in Europe in recent months where vehicles were used.
"It is believed six people were killed by a truck driver who mowed them down on a bike path in lower Manhattan.
"The driver made his way from Houston Street down towards Tribeca where he mounted the bike path on the West Side Highway shortly after 3pm.
"After striking several cyclists and runners, he came to a stop when his truck crashed into a school bus beneath the Tribeca bridge.
"But it is not the first time a vehicle has been used to carry out mass murder in Western Europe with similar atrocities taking place in Britain, France , Germany, Spain and Stockholm and claiming well over 100 lives." . . .

DNC Email: Straight White Men Need Not Apply

" 'Cisgender" is a term meaning someone who identifies as the gender assigned to them at birth, i.e. someone who is not transgender."

Townhall

"The Democratic National Committee is hiring for some new positions in their Technology Team, including Chief Security Officer, IT Systems Administrator, and Product Manager. In the email soliciting job applications, it says that the DNC is looking for a "staff of diverse voices and life experiences." 

"Unfortunately, according to the DNC's Data Service Manager Madeleine Leader, this desire for "diverse voices and life experiences" apparently doesn't extend to "cisgender straight white males." In the closing paragraph of the email, Leader said "I personally would prefer that you not forward to cisgender straight white males, as they are already in the majority." 

"Yup.

"Elliott Hamilton from the Daily Wire posted a screenshot of the email on Twitter, saying that this is another symptom of the "patently absurd oppression Olympics."

"This was an actual email sent to insiders within the @TheDemocrats. The DNC hasn't given up the patently absurd #OppressionOlympics. 

. . . 

"("Cisgender" is a term meaning someone who identifies as the gender assigned to them at birth, i.e. someone who is not transgender.) 

"First off, kudos to the DNC for recognizing that their technology department probably needed an upgrade, so that's at least a positive step. But second--was it really necessary to straight-up single out a group of people who shouldn't apply? If the best candidate for the job is a straight white male, they should hire the straight white male. His hypothetical "life experiences" aren't any less valuable due to his sexuality or skin tone and could certainly contribute to a diverse workplace." . . .

Branco Cartoon – Horror Show

Legal Insurrection

From the comments to this cartoon:

"Notice the mother is wearing a blue dress. Nice touch."

Hillary On Mueller Indictments: ‘I Have A Great Chapter On Russia’ In My Book

Weasel Zippers  "Stuff a cloth in her mouth and hit the reset button.

"Via Breitbart:

Monday in Chicago at a signing for her book “What Happened,” former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was asked about the charges special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe brought against Paul Manafort, Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos.

Clinton said she wrote “a great chapter about Russia.”

Keep reading…

Judicial hubris has escalated into a judicial coup

Joe Herring  "A federal judge has ventured far beyond mere judicial activism in declaring that the president cannot alter the policy of his predecessor regarding men who consider themselves women, and vice versa, serving in the military.

"In effect, this judge has deemed President Trump to no longer be commander-in-chief.

Jantoo

"President Trump nullified the order that granted transgendered personnel full access to military service while pretending to be members of the opposite sex.  Today, a federal judge has ruled that the president has no such authority.  Let that sink in.  The president has no authority to set policy for military service.

"This is a gross usurpation of power that, if permitted, establishes a precedent for any federal judge to stay the hand of the president in the conduct of war.  This egregious overreach must be resisted and punished.

"The hubris of the federal judiciary has only grown since getting away with ignoring the stated presidential prerogative codified in law granting him the power to determine the status of immigrants and refugees seeking to enter the U.S.

"I have written previously about Congress stripping these court's jurisdiction over these decisions, and now there can no longer be any hesitation in doing so.  This latest ruling constitutes a quiet but altogether pernicious judicial coup and must be addressed forcefully and without delay.

"It is time for Congress to act.

"Do as President Clinton once did, and strip jurisdiction from these out-of-control courts before they launch our nation into a full-blown constitutional crisis."

At least 200 people killed after tunnel collapses at North Korean nuclear test site, claims Japanese media

UK Daily Mail  "At least 200 people have been killed at a nuclear test site in North Korea after a tunnel collapsed, according to an unverified Japanese media report.

"The collapse is said to have taken place during the construction of a new underground facility at the Punggye-ri site in northeastern North Korea on October 10, the report says.

"But there has been no official confirmation of the claims, apparently made by an unnamed North Korean 'source'.

"According to Japan's TV Asahi, up to 100 people had been trapped in the tunnels and a further collapse happened during attempts to rescue them, raising the death toll to at least 200." . . .

The last five of Pyongyang's six nuclear tests have all been carried out at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site (pictured) under Mount Mantap, in the north-west of the country

"It comes a day after Seoul warned that one more North Korean nuclear detonation could destroy its mountain test site and trigger a radiation leak.

"South Korea says any future nuclear test by Kim Jong-un risks collapsing the location set aside for launching missiles." . . . Full article here.

From Fox News:  Reports of 'unusual' wartime preparations in North Korea
. . . "The test triggered a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that day and multiple tremors have been detected from the area since then. Satellite images obtained by 38 North, which specializes in North Korea issues, showed several landslides occurred after the Sept. 3 test. Also a possible “collapse chimney crater” was seen on Mount Mantap, possibly caused by the underground tests." . . .

“Suburbicon” Is Just More Evidence That Hollywood Is Imploding

The Hayride

"The box-office catastrophe that is the George Clooney-directed and Matt Damon-starred ‘Suburbicon’ is making waves across the entertainment business.

“ 'Suburbicon” had a $25 million production cost for Black Bear Pictures and cost $10 million for Paramount to distribute to over 2,000 screens. Over the weekend it did a miserable $2.8 million at the box office." . . .

And why, you might ask?

. . . "And the race-riot piece simply looks like an attack on Donald Trump, which even Democrats are sick of hearing from Hollywood. Furthermore, audiences made up of suburbanites, most of whom are white, are probably sick of being demonized by the likes of George Clooney – who spent most of his career palling around with, and apologizing for, a notorious rapist.

"This summer was more or less the worst the film industry has ever had, and it’s not getting better. Rotten scripts, actors and directors who have poisoned themselves with the public – yesterday, amid Kevin Spacey’s admission that he sexually assaulted a 14-year old actor, the sixth season of House of Cards was cancelled, and a total lack of connection to the majority of American audiences means the film industry, as currently constituted, is dying." . . .

I personally am sick of these self-righteous, virtue-signalling scolds here, on late-night talk shows, and pretty much everywhere else on the entertainment menu. TD

Update:

Update: Never, never forget this:
"Law & Order": another TV show that sucker-punches half the American population   Why, you ask? Because this same episode of Law & Order ran on TNT again this week
"We began watching a 2009 episode of "Law and Order" entitled "Fed" last night and I had to shut it off at the start. We saw people like ourselves - TEA par-tiers, portrayed as rifle-toting, hateful bigots. Only Hollywood is capable of inspiring dislike and outrage by the simple means of the skillful acting of those who portray people like you and me as despicable and violent. They give us the same treatment they give to pharmaceutical  and insurance companies.

"May God bless all courageous conservatives in our country trying to stem the socialist tide sweeping America because the left has such massive force to bring against them. And the propaganda is being spoon-fed to the American public. How do we stand a chance?"   The Tunnel Dweller
On Law & Order Tea Party Protesters are Like Terrorists Murdering Capitalists