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Rolla Peace News November 10, 2024 |
Dear Friends:Editor's notes:In this newsletter is: 1. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Korea in Kursk b) Tardigrades May Inherit the Earth c) The Little Pogrom That Wasn't There d) The Rain in Spain Korea in Kursk As unconfirmed reports have it: thousands of North Korean troops are in Kursk and there may have even been clashes between Ukrainian and Korean troops. Let's assume that these reports are mostly true, and take it from there. On August 6, Ukrainian troops poured across the border into Russia's Kursk Oblast in what is eerily reminiscent of the World War II's Battle of the Bulge, in which retreating German troops broke through advancing allied lines, attempting to gain the initiative. As in the Ardennes in 1944, where the German troops were quickly contained, Russia quickly contained the Ukrainian advance and has, to a certain degree, pushed back. Meanwhile Russia continues to advance along the Eastern front. So where do the North Koreans come in? Russia and North Korea have formed an alliance, and Kursk Oblast is within Russia's internationally recognized borders; so no one can legitimately complain about North Korea helping their ally out in repelling the Ukrainian invasion as long as they do not deploy beyond Russia's internationally recognized borders. Of what help are the Korean troops to Russia? At present, probably very little. North Korean troops have not seen action since the Korean armistice of 1953; but rest assured, Russia will train them in 21st Century warfare; and there are well over one million active North Korean troops in uniform. After sufficient training, the Koreans could free up Russian troops to fight on the Eastern front. So, what's in it for North Korea? Besides the on-the-job training their troops receive, they will likely receive much needed hard currency in exchange from Russia. Both countries gain from the relationship. President-elect Donald Trump has claimed he will end this war, maybe even before taking office. He may not find it so easy. Russia holds all the aces and gains ground as the war continues. they have no incentive to end the war except on their own terms. [A note to president-elect Donald Trump and his military / foreign policy team: Don't play chess with Vladimir Putin. He'll checkmate you every time.] Now let's look at what may happen next. There is little incentive for North Korea to invade South Korea, beyond lobbing garbage over the border; and as mentioned last month, little incentive for Russia to invade Europe. Both Europe and South Korea are highly fortified and a victory in either location would be highly unlikely. Far more likely would be North Korean troops, backed by Russia, entering the fracas in the Middle East. Here North Korea would be on solid legal footing after Israel has repeatedly thumbed it's nose at the United Nations, continuing the Palestinian genocide in spite of being ordered by the International Court of Justice to stop and having refused to end the illegal occupation of Palestine. How could any reasonable person complain about North Korea helping to enforce resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly? I suspect in much of the Third World, where people sympathize with Palestinians, North Korean involvement would be very much appreciated. This would make for a much more symmetric war in the Middle East. The world's two smallest nuclear weapon states, Israel and North Korea, facing off, each backed by a nuclear armed superpower. And a final note about North Korea: Korea has been through a lot. In 1905, Korea was essentially given to Japan in the Treaty of Portsmouth, without taking into account the wishes of the Korean people. This occupation continued until the end of World War II. After World War II, the allied powers split Korea in half, again without taking into account the wishes of the Korean people. During the Korean War, 1950-1953, the United States dropped more bombs on Korea than they dropped in the entire Pacific Theatre during World War II. As later to become Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, put it, the US bombed “everything that moved in North Korea, every brick standing on top of another.” Millions died. US Air Force General, Curtis LeMay, opined, “Over a period of three years or so we killed off, what, 20 percent of the population of Korea, as direct casualties of war or from starvation and exposure?” This may qualify as a genocide. Clearly, North Koreans will be able to relate to what Palestinians are going through at the hands of Israel and its backers in the United States and Europe. I would be remiss if I didn't point out that these wars need to end now. Every day they continue, the world risks nuclear holocaust. And the longer they go on, the harder it will be to end them. Tardigrades May Inherit the Earth Now lets suppose these wars escalate to where the nine nuclear weapon states, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, UK and US, start lobbing nukes at each other and probably the rest of the world to boot. Say goodbye to human “civilization.” It's unsustainable. It's on its way out regardless. How about the human species? Quite likely gone, along with many other life forms. So what's left? Tardigrades. Tardigrades likely evolved 1/2 billion years ago. Their tiny bodies are resistant to radiation, desiccation, cold, heat, lack of oxygen and other dangers that would easily kill off humans. Hmmmm. When it's all over, I wonder if they will thank us. The Little Pogrom That Wasn't There If you only follow the mainstream western media, you might think there was a hebrophobic pogrom last week in Amsterdam.In Amsterdam, in a city fair, Far from it. Israeli soccer fans ran amok, rampaging through the streets of Amsterdam, attacking people, damaging property, tearing down flags, shouting racist obscenities and mocking Palestinians whose children have been killed by Israel with Made-in-USA bombs. They chanted: Mocking people whose children have been murdered is about as cruel as it gets. Don't these Israeli soccer fans have even a shred of humanity left?“Ole ole, ole ole ole Apparently, authorities refused to intervene until Amsterdammers decided they had had enough and put an end to the Israeli rampage by driving them off. The mainstream US media still refuses to report the incident accurately and insists it was an hebrophobic pogrom. Oh, and in case you wondered, the Dutch team beat the Israelis 5-0. The Rain in Spain This time it didn't stay “mainly on the plain.” Catastrophic flooding in Valencia killed over 200, in one of the worst storms Europe has experienced. And by the numbers: The 12-month running average for CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere rose by 0.30 parts per million during October. Copernicus Climate Change Service estimated the world's average October temperature at 1.65°C above the 1850-1900 average. And in the lower 48, October tied for the second driest month on record receiving on average 0.95 in. October 2024 was also the second warmest October on record in the lower 48. Maybe climate change will get us before nuclear war. Rolla Peace News is distributed by email once a week on Tuesdays (except on rare occasions) and is posted on the web at http://tomsager.org (click on Rollaites for Peace: near the top of rightmost column).Wage peace, Tom yushasager (at) yahoo.com |