Unusual flatulence: a dying fart of an authoritative regime

Written by: Magnus Azevedo Stirø

Picture: Allgemeine Morgenpost Rundschau

​A lot has been said about the escalating feud between USA and North Korea and their respective leaders Donald J. Trump and Kim Jong Un.
Two strong men with their big rockets have sent shock waves through the international community from South Korea to South Dakota. Nuke this and nuke that has been a trending option as two cocks have rustled their feathers in a classic macho ego match-up.
Both leaders are somewhat steeped in mystery, although Trump has been more accountable to his misdeeds as seen through countless examples of accusations and allegations. Little is known about Kim Jong Un besides being sent to a boarding school in Switzerland and the power grab he has tightened by allegedly killing his uncle and half-brother. Kim Jong Un and the miniscule information about him is a true example of “magic realism” a phrase attributed to Gabriel Garcia Marquez who authored works such as One Hundred Years Without Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera.
The Kim regime, now in its third generation, is very much a family business just like the image that Trump wants to show off with pure nepotism with appointing Jared Kushner and other big campaign donors to high-level positions in his new cabinet. Although the myths around the Kim family are somewhat more ridiculous, the grandeur Trump relies on heavily could be seen at the Republican convention in Cleveland and the golden interior in his New York Babylon tower.

Both leaders rely heavily on “wheeling and dealing” trying to steer their countries on a course no one really knows where will end. This is of big concern as there is a multilateral push to ban nuclear arms, an initiative that was rewarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Atomic energy has an immense potential, as seen with the Iran deal, although precautions must be taken as seen with Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. So far, the only nuclear barrage Trump has sent away has been his 3 a.m. tweets.
In the end, its Kim Jong Un that’s the one under most pressure. Where Trump cherishes his daily flow of misinformation to distract from politics, Kim tries to limit all information from entering his realm. The Kim regimes have since the end of WWII been molded after the Juche philosophy. Some of the more amusing tales of bullshittery is that Kim Il Sung at birth came walking out of a mountain and that the current Kim does not shit. Yes, as in does not do number two on the potty. I shit you not.

Back to Trump, his tactic is somewhat different. One brainfart after the other from his Twitter feed essentially creates a media frenzy that deflects them from thoroughly covering stories that matter. By matter, I mean for example the immense number of bills that have been proposed or passed, although the covering of The Affordable Care Act has been on par. But then again, I remember the days when “Breaking News” meant something big and not just another development in a never-ending story.