Kim Jong Un, the spoiled, young, megalomaniacal “diary-of-a-mad-buffoon” dictator of North Korea is known for a number of things, including starving his people, even his soldiers. The only members of the North Korean armed forces who are given enough to eat are those in the Special Forces. In order to survive, some soldiers sneak into China to get food and then sneak back into North Korea before they are shot for desertion. It is alleged that Kim feeds his troops as little as two potatoes a day, while Un, (shall we attempt to say kindly) struggles with his weight. The Sun, out of the UK, recently reported the following based on the accounts of those who have made it to the South:
“Half of those [of all ground troops] were returned home suffering from the effects of malnutrition.”
“Soldiers are given home leave to recover. Most are too weak to even walk by themselves, so their parents pick them up and feed them back to health.”
“When they improve they go back to the army.”
“The lucky ones serve in the special unit, or serve under good officers who take care of them.”
“The unlucky ones die of hunger before their parents have a chance to help them. The only thing these parents pray for is the safe return of their sons.”
Meanwhile, back at the “Pyongyang Ponderosa,” Un feeds his addiction to ultra-expensive Emmenthal Swiss cheese, which results in the incremental increase in the size of his waistline. He does so to the tune of nearly one million dollars a year, and with regard to his troops, they are Korean equivalent of “red-headed stepchildren.” He has also required that every other man in North Korea who was given the same name at birth as Kim change their name to something else so he can be the one and only Kim Jong Un.
Recently two North Korean soldiers defected to the South, which brings the number of North Koreans (both civilians and soldiers) who have risked life and limb for freedom to a number upwards of 30,000. This is no small feat, as the Demilitarized Zone has been filled with mines, “to keep South Korea out,” but everyone knows Un lined the DMZ with mines in order to keep everybody in place. One walked across the DMZ; the other swam across a river on a makeshift foam raft. Both surrendered to the South Koreans, and it is because of these two as well as the others that anyone has any understanding of just how bad it is. They are issued one set of summer clothes every two years, and allegedly their boots are so poorly made that it causes the wearer great pain. Nonetheless, the North Korean ground troops form one of the largest armies in the world, and the question is, how could they survive any ground-based offensives? The answer is that they could not, and apparently Mr. Un does not care, due to the fact that his sights are set on a nuclear offensive that will obliterate anyone who stands in his way.
Another very sad thing about the North Koreans is that they have been so brain-washed that those who have defected and have been “de-briefed” by South Koreans amply demonstrate a startling inability to follow any train of logic or produce logical assertions of their own. This was one of the ways Germans were controlled: literally your cognitive thinking skills devolve when you don’t have the proper type of nutrition to support the parts of the brain that were made to figure things out. Rape of female soldiers is routine and not prosecuted. I must admit I almost feel sorry for them. And if the French Revolution is any indicator of what could happen, Mr. Un just might say, “Let them eat kimchi” one too many times and wished he hadn’t.
Until then, may we pray he is nixed from getting handy with the nukes.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
Athens Now spends a fair amount of time in this column discussing the prospects and possibilities for true wholeness after traumatic events, as a service to our troops and first responders. Doing so is another way of our saying “Thank you” for all the risks you take to keep us safe both here and abroad. It is so important for everyone to know, especially soldiers, that there is documented proof of complete, drug-free recovery from the fallout of war, and I am always glad when I learn about new resources that can be of lasting help.
Ten years ago, Sonja St. John lost her brother Jon to an IED in Taji, Iraq. Sonja is both a violinist and an artisan violin maker, and Jon was one of her biggest fans. She can still describe in detail how she slid down the wall to the floor as she fielded the call from her folks that informed her that Jon had been killed. She married in 2008, and was divorced seven years later. Her world began to unravel, and she was simply lost. For a good while, Sonja was so overcome with grief from losing her brother that she subsequently became overcome by alcohol. She stopped playing her violin completely. It took more than one self-admitting stint in rehab for her to get clean. One significant part of her recovery after she got out functioned as a powerful, creative, meditative process: making violins for the families of other fallen vets.
It is difficult to believe that it has been six years since a SEAL team took out Osama bin Laden, and I would guess that the recent jihadist “inspirational and instructional” video released by his son, Hamza, was done so to commemorate the death of his father. One thing is clear: Hamza is most definitely his father’s child. He unequivocally calls for the type of jihad that we have been told constitutes the hi-jacking of “the religion of peace,” and Hamza looks to be the new “hijacker-in-chief.” Once upon a time Hamza was considered the “poster-child” of the movement, and was nowhere near the compound in Pakistan where his father and others were killed. He has sworn, however, to follow in his father’s footsteps, and below we’ll discuss some of Hamza’s call to action, which is also known as “Advice For Martyrdom Seekers In The West.” It is about ten minutes long, and is surprisingly transparent. In any case, it is a reminder that we need to be vigilant, especially when we are in crowded places.
The month of May has been designated as National Military Appreciation Month, and it is something that stretches through all 50 states. Many retail chains and vacation destinations give discounts to current or former military members all year long, and others wait to offer deep discounts during May only. With the expenditure of a little legwork and fact finding energy coupled with some planning, current and/or ex-military men and women as well as their spouses can reap some serious benefits in this last month of spring.
It was 75 years ago this week that Colonel “Jimmy” Doolittle and his Raiders carried out a successful operation against the Japanese just 4 months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. To commemorate the bravery of Doolittle’s Raiders, there was an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., with several WWII vets present and ready to lay commemorative wreaths this week at the ceremony.
When I saw the trailer for Hacksaw Ridge, I knew it was one of those things that I needed to see, and also that doing so would be rough. I was right; and while watching it was difficult, just like other films such as Saving Private Ryan, Lone Survivor, and American Sniper, I came away from it thankful once again for the prices that have been paid to keep me safe and free.
There is an understandable flap over the recent disclosure that myriads of explicit photos of female Marines have been posted on a closed, secret Facebook account that apparently has a membership of over 30,000. There have been hearings on the Hill, the NCIS is investigating, and yes, it appears we have another scandal to handle.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a true hero during WWII, and his story of shipwreck and rescue is the stuff of legends. He skippered a PT boat in the Solomon Islands designated by the number 109, and it was cut in half by the Japanese destroyer Amangiri. Eleven men survived, including Kennedy, and they swam three miles to the shore of a deserted island, unsure what they were going to encounter next. Natives in a dugout canoe paddled out to the island to help the sailors. 
Eighteen years later, Liebenhow (from Bud) was invited to the inauguration of President Kennedy, and the President had the famous coconut shell turned into a large paperweight which he kept in the oval office. It is well known that the injuries JFK suffered as a result of the shipwreck set him up for a lifelong addiction to painkillers; he had a rocking chair that became iconic during his presidency in which he rocked to help deal with the pain. Liebenhow and JFK remained friends until the president was assassinated in 1963.
Mikey Weinstein is at it again. For those of you who are not familiar with this fellow, he is the president and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Please understand, for my purposes, Mikey is not interested in protecting anyone’s religious freedom. He is interested in making sure there is no trace of faith of any kind to be seen anywhere when it comes to our military bases. Mikey is the one who has been unhappy with Air Force Cadets putting scriptures on their white boards outside of their dorm rooms. Good Heavens! Someone might see a scripture! Quick, someone provide a safe place for our troops! Mikey was also unhappy that MWR hotel facilities had Bibles in the drawers of the nightstands, and successfully had them removed in order to “avoid offense.”
