NYT: Christian Groups Press Bush About North Korea

[DeepModem Mom]

Christian Groups Press Bush About North Korea
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: August 9, 2005


MIDLAND, Tex., Aug. 8 - Tens of thousands of fans of all ages gathered over the weekend for the annual three-day Rock the Desert Christian music festival screamed for hit bands like Mercy Me and Pillar and kicked Hacky Sacks by a creek renamed the Jordan River and a small pond called the Dead Sea.

Between the Prayer Tent and an abstinence-promotion booth, however, worshipful revelers also stumbled into a more sobering pavilion, the North Korea Genocide Exhibit.

Inside, Kang Chol Hwan, a North Korean defector recently summoned to meet President Bush, signed copies of his memoir of 10 years in a prison camp. Drawings by defectors depicted the torture of North Korean Christians. A video, available free on DVD, showed shaky, grainy footage of two public executions.

In another exhibition, based on a defector's account of a deadly medical experiment, a bloody mannequin and baby doll leaned against the walls of a mock gas chamber made from a shower stall that at one point was filled with sulfurous yellow gas.

The displays were part of a growing movement by conservative Christian groups to press the White House on human rights in North Korea, much the way they drew attention to the civil war in Sudan and kept pressure on Mr. Bush after his first days in office....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/politics/09policy.html

[FloridaPat]

1. Human rights in N. Korea? What about Iraq? Gitmo? All those other

places we're torturing people? When did the Christian right ever care about anyone's human rights?

[Rainscents]

2. I'd say, these people are selective??? Or is it that, they all have

memories problems.:crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

[davidinalameda]

3. makes you wonder who's pulling these people's strings

never mind--just figured it out

it's the Moonies--the good Reverend Moon wants the Bushies to take care of North Korea for him

with the commies gone, that place will be looking for leadership and he can swoop in with him billions and take over

[getmeouttahere]

4. I guarantee you wouldn't hear a peep about it from these...

people if the man hadn't appeared at their little gathering. It's all about political posturing. And yes, they are very selective.

[msongs]

5. is there an exhibit for genocides by christians against non christians or

the tens or hundreds of millions of people raped, tortured, and murdered in Jesus name in the last 2000 years?

Msongs
www.msongs.com

[Iowa]

6. A fundie quote about Bush...

"God has put a man in office who has a heart for the nations, and for the pain and suffering that is happening all over the world."

Sometimes I find it fascinating to read quotes from these fundie idiots - in a freak show kind of way. I also find it interesting that their teens are into "Christian rock" - and that they actually attend these concerts with their parents and their little brothers and sisters. I mean, I couldn't imagine wanting to do that when I was a teen. I'd have gladly taken a beating before doing that.

It reminds me of a guy I knew years ago (early 70s) - true story. He told me that he was riding his bike home at 2 AM after a late shift - he was around 19 or so. He was in a rough neighborhood and a carload of young toughs pulled up beside him and slowed way down to look him over. He thought he was doomed. He was riding his sister's bike because his was broken, he was wearing heavy horn-rimmed glasses, black dress pants, white shirt, and bow tie (store uniform), he had a little rear view mirror attached to one side of his bike helmet, and he had rubber bands around his pant-legs to keep them clean... complete nerd. He was about to lose his bladder and looked over to see what they would do next. One of the thugs looked him up and down. scoffed, and said, "aaaaaasshole...." and then they sped off. They couldn't even process that level of nerdness; he was too pathetic to waste time on. Fundie teens who like to attend Christian rock concerts with their parents and little brothers and sisters remind me of that guy. It's almost chilling to think that they will become adults and run things.

[Supersedeas]

9. that kind of Divine Intervention makes for a nation of Jobs

[keopeli]

7. Reality Check - These accounts are likely to be true.

No matter the unsavory nature of alying with Mr. Moon, or the distaste that many atheists and World Christians (of a more liberal ilk) have when the notion of supporting a zealotous group is thrust upon them, I default to believing these horror stories. If politics were not an issue, I'd be willing to bet most of DU would agree that action should be taken about the situation in North Korea.

Personally, I feel it's a bigger threat than any other foe on a conventional combat level. The only thing NK doesn't have is money, and it's my guess that this is why Bush spend so much time ignoring them. Other than that, they have proximity to potential targets on their side as well as the hardware for conventional combat. Living in Seattle, I'd like to see a little action taken here.

That being said, you won't find me criticising this event because of it's position that Bush should acknowledge the threat NK poses to its neighbors, its own people, and the US. In fact, this is much more likely to get the attention of Bush than a DU letter writing campaign.

So, I say defend their appeal even if it's about a marginal minority of the deaths imposed by NK on its own people. Kim Jong Il needs to be dealt with. If that means there's a chance the Moonies will move in, we should deal with that, too. (God, not a country of Moonies, please!) But, this appeal is the most likely to get Bush's attention, so I'll support it. I know Bush, should he turn his attention toward NK, would likely use an illogical approach, but I'd much rather he start paying attention to NK if it takes his focus off of his oil thirst and vengeful nature.

I'm trying to learn to compromise, because I'm not going to live forever, and I have become a citizen of an Empire unwillingly. I must be realistic about my options and find ways to make this F*#&ed up system work.

Damn, this is depressing.

[DeepModem Mom]

8. Thank you for this post, keopeli -- I agree with all you said...

including your last line.