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Out of the 'Axis' of Evil
What does this mean for North Korea's diplomatic relations with the UN and other countries individually?
It will be able to qualify for different forms of development assistance from international financial institutions in a way that it couldn't before. The U.S. was formerly opposed to the application of that, but there's really no issue, now that the North Korea has been removed from the Axis [of Evil] characterization. But the question of Japan is still out there because Japan is obviously very important in these international financial institutions, particularly the Asia-based ones. Whether Japan will still oppose development assistance for North Korea is not clear. North Korea will still qualify for a lot of international aid now, more than it did before. But remember, North Korea is a member of the UN. It already has diplomatic relations with the European Union and most countries with maybe the exception of Japan and the U.S., so not all that much changes here, really.
Analysts speculate North Korea finally compromised out of desperation for food and fuel for its citizens. Will their lives begin to change because of better diplomatic relations?
For the average North Korean, no. Not at all. They'll still live under the pretty sparse conditions they do. Citizens there are not going to wake up tomorrow and feel like North Korea is a different place because their country has been taken off the terrorism list. That will take much, much longer.
Is there any question that the declaration might not be accurate?
It's difficult to say whether it's accurate. We shouldn't discount that this is the first declaration North Korea has ever given, and that they've given it to the six parties through China. That's important regardless of what's actually in the declaration. The whole question of how accurate it is will depend on the verification process and what the intelligence estimates are.
Does the process of North Korea stopping nuclear development actually make the world safer?
Definitely. The thing we have to remember is that there's a disabling process still taking place. That will continue. The part about the cooling tower, which they've shut down, means that even if they tried to roll back some of the stuff they're doing at the actual reactor facility, they couldn't operate the nuclear reactor again because they cannot cool it. Unless they want a meltdown, they cannot operate that reactor again. If they wanted to rebuild the cooling tower, it would take more than a year to do that. This effectively puts a cap on their ability to produce any more plutonium-based nuclear weapons.
© 2008
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Member Comments
Posted By: The_epoch_point @ 07/05/2008 10:24:15 PM
Comment: Wisconsin's unique landmarks once again find themselves in the pages of the latest novel to be presented to readers of history, thrillers and religion in a work that combines all three genres into an adventurous global conspiracy.
The Epoch Point, just released on May 1 and written by Wisconsin native Spencer Zimmerman, is a fictional novel that includes historical facts, certain to intrigue history buffs who are interested in history from the local to the international level, especially as that history thrillingly plays out into what Zimmerman describes as a worldwide "conflict between God and the devil, good and evil."
According to the book's synopsis, the lead character, Robert Davis, is "a young Airman fresh out of Air Force basic training," reflective of Zimmerman's own recent service in the Air Force. "After being held captive in China, (Davis) suddenly finds himself unraveling the most immense conspiracy in history...soon uncovering hidden facts suggesting Russian and Iraqi involvement...discovering the diary of Lee Harvey Oswald...As the clues surface, an evil emerges powerful enough to rewrite the entire history of humanity...before long the conspiracy takes on a supernatural form, marked by [natural disasters] and the wrath of God...Nothing [prepares] (Davis) for the final suspenseful twist the story takes, a da Vinci style revelation that reaffirms his belief in Christ."
Posted By: The_epoch_point @ 07/05/2008 10:24:04 PM
Comment: Zimmerman, having lived in several locations around Wisconsin, including near Lake Mills and Watertown, incorporated Wisconsin locations and history into his novel, among them a Viking cathedral on Washington Island and the events surrounding Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy. Also mentioned is a small village outside of Burlington, Wisconsin, founded by a Mormon religious leader who proclaimed himself king, the only monarchy to ever occur in the forty-eight continental states in American history. Among the other Wisconsin landmarks in The Epoch Point, and most notably, the famous national landmark Aztalan is discussed at length.
Zimmerman's discussion of Aztalan in his book in part follows what Zimmerman calls the "darker" side of Aztalan, including its cannibalism and religious practices, and the instantaneous disappearance of its thriving population. Zimmerman's writing also seeks to make connections between Aztalan's existence with that of the Minoan civilization from Ancient Greece and Zoroastrian culture of the Middle East. All three peoples had similar beliefs, worshipped fire (one of Aztalan's mounds is believed to have been the abode of an "eternal" flame) and practiced human sacrifice and cannibalism.
Zimmerman noted all of these "obscure (historical) connections," which ultimately inspired him to take the connections and formulate them into an adventurous plot. Writing his book took roughly two years.
The book's chapters are titled after the sixty-six books of the Bible, and the plot progresses as Davis reads through each chapter of the Bible, opening the Bible for the first time in chapter one of The Epoch Point. Each chapter follows a "flashback" style in structure, in which the book's characters experience revelations of historical events and experiences from 4000 B.C. to the present, which allow them to observe how those events contributed to the global conspiracy they are presently confronting. Zimmerman states that the book's events begin on New Year's Eve of 2000, and end on Christmas of 2006.
While writing novels remains at present a hobby for Zimmerman, he already has ideas for a second novel that he anticipates will follow a more scientific fiction path. The Epoch Point is currently available through Amazon.com, and Zimmerman is hoping to get copies of the book into some of Lake Mills's downtown novelty shops.
-Emily Ann Paape "The Lake Mills Leader"
Posted By: Wired @ 07/02/2008 3:09:54 PM
Comment: I despise Bush. But I gotta give it to him (administration). This is probably the most positive/moral thing they have done in the last 8 years. Diplomacy and tough sanctions are THE BEST solutions to problem nations. No one like to be told what to do especially with the threat of military action. But choke them with sanctions and they have no choice but to gasp.