The familiar refrain

Ok, here comes a series of familiar refrains:

 

I didn’t run this weekend, but I really, really wanted to.

 

Did some gardening and built my first ever gate (with the much appreciated help from a friend).  The gate looks and works great—I’m very happy.  We harvested enough lettuce and peas for salads all week long.  I’m not sure how much longer the lettuce will last.  The stuff should start dying soon, but if this cool weather persists the lettuce may stay with us into June!  That’s just 4 kinds of wrong.  Meanwhile, the stupid chard is just not developing like I hoped it would and the rotten little stumps are just sitting there being small.  Bah!  And I see a picture of a child holding a leaf of Swiss chard and the thing is as big as the boy.  Mine are barely as big as my palm.  BAH!  Stupid effin chard.

But it’ll grow.  I’m sure it will.  I may have put it in too late so it didn’t get to take advantage of our winter (that weekend in January, remember it?).  Even if it doesn’t, it’ll make for good compost.

 

A rouge government defied a UN security council declaration over the weekend.  In defiance of the world, N. Korea launched a missile over Japan in order to “put a communications satellite into space”.  As the world watched and giggled, it fell into the ocean.  Nobody believes they were launching a com satellite.

Nobody, that is, except Russia and China—at least publicly—and the citizens of North Korea.  Calls for condemnation are being met with “yea, but it was just a harmless satellite launch”.  Sort of like “but they already destroyed their stockpiles”.  “Just a harmless satellite” is a lie to cover “tested intercontinental ballistic missile” just like “destroyed the stockpiles was a cover for “maintained their program so that it can be reconstituted when sanctions are lifted”.

Only this time, nothing will happen, except maybe continuing to strangle the corpse.

We’ll shake our fist, and follow Europe’s lead, and say, with conviction, that they better shape up “or else”, and “or else” will mean, as usual, “or we will shake our fists some more”.

Hurrah.  Score a win for the new new world order.

Sorry, North Koreans, we just don’t care enough.

And Seattle, sucks to be you.  You’re going to be the sacrifice this time.  Or maybe it’ll be LA.  Oh, or maybe San Francisco.  That might earn Dear Leader a visit from Mother Nancy so that she can talk to him…  because that’s what rouge leaders need.  A good talking to.  Not a hemp necktie.

 

For what it’s worth, I think N. Korea is a joke.  I don’t believe for a second that they’re capable of doing a tenth of the things they say they’re doing.  They’re not reprocessing nuclear material, they can’t build a nuclear bomb, they can’t successfully launch a missile anywhere (except into the ocean).  Everything they’ve done has been a failure, but their own people don’t know it.  Internationally, KJI is a joke.  Domestically, though, everything they’ve done has been successful.  As far as those fools know they have a little satellite beaming down music to them right fucking now.

But just like running a red light in the middle of the night on an empty street is a harmless little crime that hurts nobody, it’s still a crime that warrants the response of law enforcement officials, if there’s one around to see the infraction—and the absence of one does not make it legal.  Standing in my front yard, blasting round after round into my own grass is a harmless violation of a serious law and the punishment will not seem to fit the crime, but it will still be legitimate and just. 

KJI is harmlessly violating serious international agreements.

Only this time, we’re not going to do anything about it.

Because in today’s world, “words must have meaning” so that you can avoid taking any action.

If we wait long enough, though, maybe we’ll get a provocation that finally warrants action.  But of course, then it would be too late and the second guessing and conspiracy theorists will start weaving interesting tales for all to read.