Fascinating stuff, Andrew Leonard. I followed almost all of the links, and was particularly struck by the notion in the Lankov article (on George Mason University's History News Network) that this is really all about preparing for the collapse of the Pyongyang regime. That is to say, the (South) Korean dream of a unified (U.S.-allied) nation beyond even the present borders of both North and South Koreas, coming up hard against the PRC's goal of maintaining a Chinese-oriented state in the North after the fall of Kim Jong-Il's regime -- a revolution both sides appear to consider imminent.

On a different note, I was surprised at how little the Manchus were mentioned in any of the links. I take it this means the Manchu homelands were further west of the area in dispute -- perhaps even west of the Shenyang-Changchun-Harbin line. And/or the Manchus arrived in "Manchuria" later than the time period(s) in question. In any event, this is an important part of the world that I for one paid little attention to before reading the stories and novels of Ha Jin. Incidentally, the controversial Korean soap opera Chumong, or Jumong, is now playing on the AZN cable channel.

Did anyone else catch Chris Matthews's reaction to Junior's temper tantrum (excuse me: powerful performance)? It could form a case study of how authoritarians are disciplined and made to fall in line. One minute Matthews was dubious as hell concerning the wisdom of turning the Justice Dept. into the law enforcement arm of the GOP (aka Just Us); and the next minute he wanted to have Junior's baby again, just as he did after 9/11. It was a very scary demonstration of the authoritarian mentality in action -- by Chris and by Junior.

There is a wonderful sentence in Edward Gibbon's 'Decline and Fall' that illustrates WHY this particular scandal is so important, and why reducing the U.S. Dept. of Justice into the law-enforcement arm of the GOP is so dangerous. In describing the corrupt magistrates of late medieval Rome, he writes, "[T]heir justice was perverted by the interest of their family and faction; and AS THEY PUNISHED ONLY THEIR ENEMIES, THEY WERE OBEYED ONLY BY THEIR ADHERENTS." [Ch. 69; emphasis added]

Prior to the so-called Reagan/Republican Revolution, the question of which political party appointed an American judge or prosecutor was of minor interest, and only to academics. In these degenerate times, a citizen and litigant would be foolish NOT to consider (and perhaps weigh heavily) the partisanship of those individuals in whom his or her fate rests.

It's not just Al Gore. Bob Somerby has vigilantly chronicled the media's savaging of all "major Dems" -- particularly John Kerry and the Clintons -- while liberals "stare off into space". Just today I heard some moron on MSNBC assure us that in the showdown over Iraq the Dems will come off as the "heavies" responsible for "hurting the troops" (or some such nonsense). The U.S. corporate media simply will not hold Bush-Cheney to the same standards of honesty and integrity (or competency) to which it so zealously holds Dems; and it is already painfully obvious that 2008 will be no different.

Something must be done; but If Joan Walsh were to read the riot act to Chris Matthews or to Pat Buchanan, she simply would not be invited back, and that would be the end of that. On the other hand, there are multiple smoking guns that prove Faux News' pro-GOP bias; and thus a boycott of Murdoch media by the Dem establishment might be a good place to begin. We all know the noise machine (and Camille Paglia) likes to say "the Dems have ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN", et al.; so let's see them put their money where their mouth is and counter a Dem boycott of Faux with a GOP boycott of ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, et al.

CNN International, or CNN World, devotes regular half-hour segments to what it calls 'World Sport' -- by which it really means 'British Sport'. Meaning, if you're interested in Sumo (the world's greatest sport), too bad. But here's what's weird: CNNI's coverage features the non-team "sports" that serve as time fillers at the end of U.S. sportscasts: tennis, golf, the various forms of racing, and even sailing. In other words, the leisure pursuits of upper-class Englishmen. Team sports (mainly just soccer, but sometimes cricket or rugby) are covered grudgingly as disreputable entertainment for the lower classes. (Think NASCAR in the U.S.)

As a refugee from the hopeless "he said she said and now it's on to celebrities" of U.S. corporate media, I watch a lot of CNNI. I still don't have the first clue about how cricket is played or scored (except that the pitches bounce in the dirt), but I do know why the NFL (and the NBA, NHL, and MLB) has thus far failed to crack the English market. Because team sports are regarded there as low-class. Solve that problem, and a huge market for U.S. sports will open up. (Because let's face it, man cannot live on "football" alone.)

"Neverland" -- I love it! Man, leave it to a Brit or in this case an Aussie to tell it like it is, and to come up with the perfect name for the GOP's fantasy-based Noise Machine. (Seriously, leave it to a Brit or Aussie. America's celebrity "journalists" would never tell inconvenient truths that might embarass their accessible friends in the Bush-Cheney administration.)

So when do McCain and Laura Bush lead the cowardly media on their first walking stroll around Baghdad, to show how safe things have become there, and to highlight the many hitherto unreported successes in the GOP's Crusade for Christ (I mean War on Terror)?