Gotta leave, it’s Happy Hour at my spread.
Catch’ya later ~
Made one trip to Nampo to deliver PL/480 corn. Had to bow before statue of the great leader when we took the mandatory tour of Pyongyang. Did not go aboard Uss Pueblo but saw it from the dock. They(DPRK) are very proud of their captured prize and keep it in fairly good condition from what I saw. Most interesting trip of my career.
[QUOTE=“salt’n steel;104392”]Made one trip to Nampo to deliver PL/480 corn. Had to bow before statue of the great leader when we took the mandatory tour of Pyongyang. Did not go aboard Uss Pueblo but saw it from the dock. They(DPRK) are very proud of their captured prize and keep it in fairly good condition from what I saw. Most interesting trip of my career.[/QUOTE]
I was in Nampo one time in the 90’s with PL 480 cargo. When the agent came aboard, one of the first things he said was “Captain, tell your crew that we have a f***king problem in this country.” Me: “what problem is that?” Agent: “If your crew tries to do any f***king in our country, they will be arrested.”
[QUOTE=fullbell;104395]I was in Nampo one time in the 90’s with PL 480 cargo. When the agent came aboard, one of the first things he said was “Captain, tell your crew that we have a f***king problem in this country.” Me: “what problem is that?” Agent: “If your crew tries to do any f***king in our country, they will be arrested.”[/QUOTE]
Aboard the SS [I]Prudhoe Bay[/I] most of the NK “guards” (or whatever they were) spent their day in the rec room watching movies and giggling. The cook brought them popcorn, it reminded me of a scene in the movie “Gremlins.” None of us had any trouble, we made four ports of call, the ship was in NK for 6 weeks. We were very happy to leave. It wasn’t a bad experience, I’ve been in a few ports I absolutely hated, yet in the back of our minds we hoped Bush wouldn’t push any buttons or we sure as hell we would become their “guests.” The NK folks actually liked me, it was my long white beard, you see. Before we sailed for home one of the “guards” came up to me, offered his hand in friendship, told me “you nice man.” We shook hands. What a pity this mess from 1950 is still with us with no end in sight.
[QUOTE=catherder;104344]When you said “little man in the boat” I was almost afraid to click at work…[/QUOTE]
Not “THAT” little man in the boat!
Ms Catherder - you crack me up.
IMHO, this whole thing is being played out to perfection. Little Kim is going down but not by means everyone is expecting, The world stage today is much different than 1953. Little kim doesn’t get that. In 1953, China was very willing to support NK militarily. Today, the USA is China’s greatest trading partner and loan custiomer. The USA owes China $1 Trillion of our 16 trillion in national debt. China does NOT want to see the USA defeated either militarily or economically.
So, I see this game of chicken being played out this way. Little Kim is scared witless of his own generals so he plays the bluster card to garner their support. The USA in response is doing exactly the right thing in pushing for more sanctions and moving countermeasure assets around NK. As NK gets further boxed in, Little Kim may make a judgement error earning him international condemination. With the USA’s finger on the button, China jumps in and acts as savior to avert military catastrophy. China will demand significant consessions from NK, (abandon their nuke program, open their borders, removal of little Kim), in return for peace and much needed aid for the people of NK.
My point is I believe this needs to be brought to the brink - similar to Cuba in 1963 - before meaningful change will occur. Once stability is restored, we can all get back to work building our respective economies.
My 2 cents.
Dam good 2 cents, Jetryder ~
No one knows the frame of mind these “old generals” have. One would think none of them want a destructive war but then again we are talking about North Korea and the mind bending awfulness of living in such a condition for decades. Granted, I feel it is unlikely but these old generals just might be tired of it all and say let it happen.
I certainly hope this does not turn out to be the case but, again, we are talking about North Korea.
We best be prepared for the worse and hope for the best.
I just got back from being in South Korea on Monday, Changwon & Goseoung. Everyone asked me how bad things were over there and if the airports and stuff had huge security in place. Honestly, when I left on the 22nd to go there I didn’t know anything was going on. Wasn’t until the last few days of the trip that I heard about the drama from another member of the crew. We asked some of the shipyard workers about it and they weren’t concerned, just said it is normal. It is a way bigger deal over here. Just my 2 cents.
Of course it’s a bigger issue here. WE ARE THE DAMNED TARGET.
Little Kim considers South Korea to just be a puppet state of the USA. There are video’s from NK official website depicting the Destruction of NYC and DC. Little Kim has identified US bases on Guam, Japan, Hawaii, California and Texas and currently targeted by nuke tipped 3 stage rockets.
I personally would not be as restrained as the President is regarding this issue. (Good thing I am not President)
Anyway, you can bet the folks in the situation room and CIA are busy planning reponses to a number of senerio’s. I really don’t beleive there will be any Nukes going off soon but I do believe an aircraft or ship will be lost on our side which will push the senerio I described 3 posts up. Shame someone will probably die before this issue is resolved.
this reaction by the US is so overblown as to be farcical. We should treat the NK regime as a twobit little punk that only wants to have its roar heard and just pretend to not even hear their pathetic sqeaks. Sending the SBX is worse than stoopid and I am incensed that their putting that abominable waste on money back into service. How many hundreds of millions is that going to cost and for what? THIS IS JUST FUCKING RIDICULOUS!
[QUOTE=c.captain;104409]this reaction by the US is so overblown as to be farcical. We should treat the NK regime as a twobit little punk that only wants to have its roar heard and just pretend to not even hear their pathetic sqeaks. Sending the SBX is worse than stoopid and I am incensed that their putting that abominable waste on money back into service. How many hundreds of millions is that going to cost and for what? THIS IS JUST FUCKING RIDICULOUS![/QUOTE]
Does this mean you don’t approve?
I understand the NK’s have said we are the target of their missiles, but I would assume that South Koreans would be scared as well since NK said they are now in “a state of war” with them. I was simply pointing out that the ones I spoke with weren’t.
I don’t know what an SBX is but if it further isolates NK, we might as wll put it to use.
Think your wrong C.Capt (what else is new) Ignoring this little punk without consequence will only make him more bold in the future. And in the future, NK may actually possess the means to deliver a nasty payload to mainland USA. Not sure why he would do that as it would be suicide for his regime but who knows…
[QUOTE=Jetryder223;104416]I don’t know what an SBX is but if it further isolates NK, we might as wll put it to use.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Steamer;104355]I recommend a book that might put another light on that idea: [B]Escape From Camp 14[/B] by Blaine Harden. It is the story of the one single person who ever escaped from one of the NK camps for people the government believes might “evolve” or carry the genes of a grandparent who evolved over the border in 1953.
In the case of NK, devolution may be the reality.
The book is available as an E-Book for the iPad.[/QUOTE]
I read the book a few months ago, very powerfull and disturbing. The Sean penn’s and Danny glover’s of our country should have to read this book. My wife is a social worker at a vetran’s nursing home, she say’s that the Korean war vets have the most PTSD problems.
I guess the Dove use to be it’s stand by boat?
[QUOTE=kfj;104458]I guess the Dove use to be it’s stand by boat?[/QUOTE]
It was used for crew changes, to supply stewards stores and to deliver mail on a two week rotation. She did this on a two day turnaround and sat in port
for 12 days. At 30 million a year, it was a good contract for the owners.
[QUOTE=Jetryder223;104416]I don’t know what an SBX is but if it further isolates NK, we might as wll put it to use.
Think your wrong C.Capt (what else is new) Ignoring this little punk without consequence will only make him more bold in the future. And in the future, NK may actually possess the means to deliver a nasty payload to mainland USA. Not sure why he would do that as it would be suicide for his regime but who knows…[/QUOTE]
No, I am sorry but you are the one who is wrong. How in the HELL is the SBX going to do FUCK ALL here to isolate these people? 60 years later they are just as isolated as they ever were. The SBX concept proved to be a failure before and it is a failure now plus our ICBM interceptor system at Fort Greely, AK remains unproven and I am certain the NK regime knows that however they have NO INTENTION WHATSOEVER to launch SHIT AT US! They are a twobit tinpot regime that is only making this noise to boost the creds of the SNOTNOSE of a puppet dictator for his own people who are eating this SHIT up with a soupspoon. Why do you think that all this is happening just a couple of months after he takes over for his ridiculous dad? HE IS A PUNK KID! If they were going to committ suicide, they’d have done it by now and all this squeaking by “Little Kim” who is a PHUCKING PHAT PHARSE is NOTHING BUT NOISE which to give it credibility just plays into the NK plans. "This is “the Mouse That Roared” all over again.
To do anything to boost that LITTLE SHIT’S status only hurts our interest and position. Iran is where we need to be looking right now, not North Korea!
Ignoring the Phat Phuk may be a valid strategy but a good ass kicking would be so much more satisfying.
I do agree that Iran is in a much better position to really upset the apple cart. President ImaDinnerJacket needs to meet Allah.
[QUOTE=Jetryder223;104464]Ignoring the Phat Phuk may be a valid strategy but a good ass kicking would be so much more satisfying.
I do agree that Iran is in a much better position to really upset the apple cart. President ImaDinnerJacket needs to meet Allah.[/QUOTE]
Satisfying ass kicking desires is expensive in money and lives. We really can’t afford to spend any more of either right now.
The last thing we need is another fight decided upon by a bunch of politicians who have never been in one .
These politicians should be forced to wear suits like the NASCAR guys showing all their sponsors such as, Lockheed Martin, Halliburton, Northup Grumman, JP Morgan, Bank of America, Citigroup etc.