U.S. bans sale of iPods to North Korea

[TomInTib]

Wow!!! We must be really serial!!

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration wants North Korea's attention, so like a scolding parent it's trying to make it tougher for that country's eccentric leader to buy iPods, plasma televisions and Segway electric scooters.

The U.S. government's first-ever effort to use trade sanctions to personally aggravate a foreign president expressly targets items believed to be favored by Kim Jong Il or presented by him as gifts to the roughly 600 loyalist families who run the communist government.

Kim, who engineered a secret nuclear weapons program, has other options for obtaining the high-end consumer electronics and other items he wants.

But the list of proposed luxury sanctions, obtained by The Associated Press, aims to make Kim's swanky life harder: No more cognac, Rolex watches, cigarettes, artwork, expensive cars, Harley Davidson motorcycles or even personal watercraft, such as Jet Skis.

The new ban would extend even to music and sports equipment. The 5-foot-3 Kim is an enthusiastic basketball fan; then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright presented him with a ball signed by Michael Jordan during a rare diplomatic trip in 2000.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061129/ap_on_go_pr_wh/nkorea_ipod_diplomacy

[shain from kane]

1. That'll work. n/t

[mitchleary]

2. So when

do Halliburton subsidiaries stop selling to Iran?

[NastyRiffraff]

3. This isn't from The Onion?

My god.

I mean, I love my iPod, but I never thought of using it as part of "tough negotiations" with a dictator.

Then again, I hear Junior loves his iPod too. Hey, here's a thought! Threaten to take away HIS iPod unless he resigns.

[YOY]

7. No, that's his 'IPood'

He always shows mommy and Pickles with a big smile on his face.

[MUAD_DIB]

4. All Kim is going to get are krappy Zunes.

That'll learn him one guud!

[Puglover]

6. LOL!

:rofl:

[NYC Liberal]

19. A BROWN Zune too!

[acmavm]

5. They won't be able to get this shit somewhere else? Or has his

Chimpiness become the 'Decider' of who gets what all over this planet??????????? And is every black marketeer gonna obey his will?

This is just damn embarrassing.

[Tempest]

20. iPods are made in China

North Korea will have no problem getting as many as they want.

[Zodiak]

25. Thank you

I was waiting for someone to say that. All or most of those items aren't even American-made.

Not that much is American-made nowadays.

[crispini]

26. It's not just our embargo, it's supposed to be enforced by everyone.

Including China.

[Zodiak]

28. I didn't see that in the article

It only mentions US shipments specifically.

"The population in North Korea, one of the world's most isolated economies, is impoverished and routinely suffers widescale food shortages. The new trade ban would forbid U.S. shipments there of Rolexes, French cognac, plasma TVs, yachts and more — all items favored by Kim but unattainable by most of the country."

Admittedly I'm reading the article and not the sanctions themselves.

The article also mentions that most of what we expert to NK is food.

[Tempest]

29. You're exactly right

In order to get other countries to stop shipments of the products in the list to N.K., the U.S. would have to get the U.N. Security Council to expand the current list of sanctions. The current list only includes nuclear related materials and components.

Considering how much trouble it took to get the current sanctions in place (with South Korea and China refusing to stop NK ships to search them), it's doubtful China will agree to another round of sanctions.

[crispini]

31. UN resolution 1718, passed unanimously, Oct. 14

bans export of "luxury goods" to North Korea.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6051704.stm

This latest, specific list of iPods and the like is merely the specific implementation of that resolution.

[Tempest]

37. The U.S. would have no success claiming iPods are a luxury item

Again, good luck with that.

[crispini]

39. That's why we're doing it, though.

Did you read the article in the OP? Each country is determining what a luxury good is:

"Responding to North Korea's nuclear test Oct. 9, the U.N. Security Council voted to ban military supplies and weapons shipments — sanctions already imposed by the United States. It also banned sales of luxury goods but so far has left each country to define such items. Japan included beef, caviar and fatty tuna, along with expensive cars, motorcycles, cameras and more. Many European nations are still working on their lists."

[Tempest]

40. Once again, what good is it going to do?

All it takes is one country to say iPods are not a luxury item and North Korea is swimming in iPods.

And Bush looks even more like an idiot than he already does.

[crispini]

32. Per the article,

"Experts said the sanctions effort — being coordinated under the United Nations — would be the first ever to curtail a specific category of goods not associated with military buildups or weapons designs, especially one so tailored to annoy a foreign leader. U.S. officials acknowledge that enforcing the ban on black-market trading would be difficult."

Here's the text of the sanctions if you're interested; it mentions just "luxury goods"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/14_10_06_dprkun.pdf

[Zodiak]

33. I see

the article got it wrong, then. No surprise there.

Still, this makes the resolution even more silly. China will not get on board this plan. they barely got on-board the last one when it was only weapons involved.

More sabre-rattling.

I'm not against the idea, of course, but I would like to see activity that A) has a chance to pass and b) actually has a chance of getting something done (rather than just annoy)

[crispini]

38. It's already passed.

Now, whether or not China will help enforce it is another matter. ;)

[Omphaloskepsis]

8. My mom used to do the same shit...

Dirty bedroom, no Nintendo for a week..

[Occulus]

22. I bet it'll work just as well, too n/t

[tabasco]

9. Hey Kim ! Gimme a call ! Might be able to help ya' out.

I might be able to discreetly package one and get it in the mail if you promise not to set off more nukes.

Let's chat!

[Ex Lion Tamer]

10. Typical. If the Bush administration were truly serious,

it would impose trade sanctions on elevator shoes and hair gel.

Yet another missed opportunity.

[Cass]

11. And if you don't take out the garbage you can forget about going to the movies, young man.

:crazy:

[BushOut06]

12. That will learn him

If Bush really wanted to hurt Kim Jong Il, he'd ban the sale of Britney Spears CDs to North Korea.

[OneBlueSky]

13. brilliant! . . . diplomacy at its finest . . .

the Founding Fathers would be SO-O-O-O-O-O proud! . . .

[Tight_rope]

21. Fucking Hilarious!

[Pab Sungenis]

14. Wow.

[shain from kane]

15. Didn't Coolidge say the business of America is business? Bush

wants to intervene in free enterprise.



"The chief business of the American people is business."
Calvin Coolidge, Speech in Washington, Jan. 17, 1925


Edited to add quote.

[TroubleMan]

16. If they really want to hurt him, they should ban big, obnoxious sunglasses.

[B3Nut]

17. It's sad when

A tinpot dictator looks just like the caricature of himself in a South Park movie. :D If he doesn't get his iPod he might end up being ronery and sadry arone!

(good grief that was a funny movie!)

Todd in Beerbratistan

[hedgehog]

18. The really sad thing - I doubt most of the banned items are

American made!

[NOLADEM]

23. Bush came up with this one, I bet.

The Chimp, feeling introspective, asked himself what HE would most loathe to give up, and he came up with his three favorite things - TV, Ipods and Segways.

Our country is run by petulant, retarded children.

[truthisfreedom]

24. That's the perfect approach. Reduce sales of US goods to hurt N. Korea...

bushco's thinking at its finest. After all, keeping Kim Jong Il from wasting money on useless consumer items is the perfect way to reduce his available cash.

It's this amazing forward-thinking that reminds me just how spectacular our administration is.

[crispini]

27. I think it's a great idea myself.

Hurt the leaders of the regime, not its people. Brillant.

[Kelly Rupert]

30. You know, I'm pretty sure a guy who engaged in trade of nuclear materials

just might be able to buy an iPod or two.

[nolabels]

36. An even more obvious idea would to flood their shores with them

and other items that promote freedom of expression or new ideas. It is far easier to win friends than dredge up ole wounds with wanta-be pseudo tin pots.

[mondo joe]

34. Damn - now Kim is stuck with the crappy Zune player.

Well, at least someone will buy one.

[sakabatou]

35. That'll really help

NOT!

[daleo]

41. This isn't really directed at Kim

But at the other supposed 600 elite families. The theory is that making life difficult for the elite will cause them to withdraw support from the leadership, thus weakening it. Personally, I think this is a misreading of how societies work.