Cracks Appearing

If you haven't read about this yet, you need to.

Give North Koreans A Chance - Forbes.com

BLUF: The Norks (North Koreans) have just instituted a currency exchange to fight inflation. You turn in something like 1000 Won (Korean Equivalent of a dollar) to get one new Won. However, there is a distinct limit as to how much you can turn in, something like 20000 Won personal cash, and then 50000 for a savings/bank account. This totally screwed lots of North Korean civilians, especially those who were dealing with the pseudo-free market places opened several years ago to offset the famine that was hitting NK (again). Well, it turns out that the markets worked really well and lots of folks were starting to make some money and get a leg up. This even pushed into the Communist Party pukes as they were taking bribes hand over fist.

But these limitations on currency trade ins actually sparked something that has NEVER happened in NK before: actual protests. Not the big campus ones the US had in the 60s or the street riots in Iran, but in the marketplaces. Lots of people were actually putting up anti-government graffiti, handing out anti-government leaflets and the big one, buring old money publically rather than turn it in.

FYI: that is a federal offense in North Korea due to the fact that it has the pictures of the Ill Jung family (the original jackass and the current $%^&tard). Defacing pictures of the great leaders is considered treason and you face up to life in prison for doing it. And LOTS of people are doing it, including lots of party officals, police and security forces (who stand to lose lots of money off of bribes and taxes).

Maybe, just maybe, this is finally the beginning of the end for the Norks and the final Stalinist regime will go down and we will get yet another example of how Communism is a flat out failure. But then again, maybe the current jackass will keep in power, shoot the people protesting, and then launch a missile in order to get more food and fuel from the West while promising to stop his nuke program. I hate to hope (Hope is not a method after all), but still it is nice to dream about what could be.