Is Kim Jong Un the Generalissimo Francisco Franco of the 21st Century?

[blogslut]

https://nypost.com/2020/08/23/kim-jong-un-in-a-coma-as-his-sister-takes-control-report/

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has fallen into a coma, a former South Korean official is claiming on the heels of reports that the northern leader has ceded over some of his power to his younger sister.

Chang Song-min, a former aide to late-South Korean president Kim Dae-jung, has alleged that the Hermit Kindom’s honcho has become seriously ill amid speculation about his limited public appearances this year, the Mirror reported.

“I assess him to be in a coma, but his life has not ended,” he told South Korean media.

The former aide added that the leader’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, was poised to help lead the country...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalissimo_Francisco_Franco_is_still_dead

The death of Francisco Franco, Spanish Caudillo, during the first season of NBC's Saturday Night served as the source of the phrase. Franco lingered near death for weeks before dying. On slow news days, United States network television newscasters sometimes noted that Franco was still alive, or not yet dead. The imminent death of Franco was a headline story on NBC News for a number of weeks prior to his death on November 20, 1975.

After Franco's death, Chevy Chase, reader of the news on NBC's Saturday Night's comedic news segment Weekend Update, announced Franco's death and read a quotation from Richard Nixon: "General Franco was a loyal friend and ally of the United States. He earned worldwide respect for Spain through firmness and fairness."[1] As an ironic counterpoint to this, a picture was displayed behind Chase, showing Franco giving the Roman salute alongside Adolf Hitler.

In subsequent weeks Chase developed the joke into a parody of the earlier news coverage of Franco's illness, treating his death as the top story. "This breaking news just in", Chase would announce – "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead!"[2] Occasionally, Chase would change the wording slightly in order to keep the joke fresh, e.g. "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still valiantly holding on in his fight to remain dead."[3] The joke was sometimes combined with another running gag in which, rather than having a sign language interpreter visually presenting the news to aid the deaf, the show would provide assistance from Garrett Morris, "head of the New York School for the Hard of Hearing", whose "aid" involved cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting the news as Chase read it. The gag ran until early 1977, with occasional callbacks in later seasons...

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. He looked pretty fucking fit a few months ago.....what happened?

Vlad get some of his special tea to his sister? I'm really conflicted by this.


+1 for the SNL/Chase homage to Franco, though. It was the best TV of it's time.

[blogslut]

4. Ah, but those rumors of him being at death's door were only 4 months ago

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52364055

When did speculation start?

Kim Jong-un recently missed the celebration of his grandfather's birthday on 15 April. This is one of the biggest events of the year, marking the birth of the nation's founder.

Kim Jong-un has never missed it - and it seemed very unlikely that he would simply choose not to turn up.

Inevitably, his absence prompted speculation and rumour, none of which is easy to substantiate.

Kim Jong-un last appeared in state media on 12 April "inspecting a pursuit assault plane group" in a handout that is undated. As ever, the images portrayed him as relaxed and at ease...

[Drunken Irishman]

5. I call bunk. He's never looked fit.

He's always been obese since entering the public eye.

[OAITW r.2.0]

6. OK, true that...But last I saw he wasn't incapacitated.

But, then, what do I really know about that bizarre country, Not much.

[Sneederbunk]

2. And he is only 36 years old.

[Iggo]

3. I don't remember Franco. But I do remember Idi Amin.

[Buns_of_Fire]

7. Probably chocolate poisoning from all those boxes of candy Rump's been sending. nt