Konstantin Syomin
Agitation and Propaganda. No dry facts but causes and consequences. There's only one truth.
It appears the best way to easily get to the Olympics non-competitively is not a public apology and not consent to go under a compromise flag. "Faster, higher, stronger" is the motto of the day. And not just in sports.
This team will get anywhere everything depends on the order.
xinhuanet.com: "During the inter-Korean talks that started at the border village of Panmunjom South Korea suggested that the DPRK send any number of athletes and support groups to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics. North Korea agreed. Pyongyang said it would send a delegation of the highest level: members of its National Olympic Committee athletes a support group entertainers taekwondo masters ordinary fans and journalists".
reuters.com: "The IOC has extended the deadline for registration of North Korean athletes for the upcoming Olympics. Specific steps will be discussed with the representatives of both Koreas".
The IOC hasn't yet said anything about doping tests. It might believe that the sanctions are so strict that there would be no doping in North Korea. A sudden New Year pass from Kim Jong Un was played out successfully.
Kim Jong Un suggested taking an Olympic pause at the end of his New Year address after describing the national success. Stubborn Un doesn't focus on sport.
Kim Jong Un: "One of the keys to the victory of the Korean Revolution in the face of ordeals was our focus on the development of technology and science. Thanks to our independent national economy our scientists and their sharp wit we'll have no trouble enduring sanctions even if they get imposed for 10 or 100 years".
A century is too long to make predictions but at least the world won't end in the next couple of months. All parties to the conflict that seemed inevitable surprisingly calmed down. But even a small diplomatic victory always has many fathers.
Donald Trump, Twitter: "With all of the failed "experts" weighing in, does anybody really believe that talks would be possible between North and South Korea if I wasn't firm, strong and willing to commit our total "might" against the North. Fools".
Donald Trump, US President: "I've talked to President Moon. He thanked me for my firm position. The idea with the Olympics is good and I fully support it. Many have written that nothing would have happened without my statements".
- Are you willing to engage in talks with Kim Jong Un right now?
Donald Trump: "Sure. But we have a firm position. Kim knows that I'm not joking. Not for a second, not for 1%."
Just recently, these two were arguing whose button is bigger and whose positions are firmer. Was it a joke as well?
Film frame:
- Bambarbia. Kirgudu.
- What does he say?
- He says that if you refuse they'll stab you.
- Just kidding.
Unfortunately, for now, the talks look like a joke. And here's what's happening in the meantime.
washingtonpost.com: "The U.S. Air Force deployed three stealth B-2 Spirit bombers to Guam. The aircraft and 200 airmen were deployed to Andersen Air Force Base from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. These bombers are almost invulnerable to radars and unlike the B-1B Lancer conventional bombers, that were deployed at Guam until now, are nuclear-capable. Besides, the B-2 is the only bomber capable of carrying the new anti-bunker air bomb GBU57".
This conventional bomb is capable of exploding 60-meter ground layer and penetrating 20 meters of reinforced concrete.
washingtonpost.com: "When asked if the United States is sending a message to China Marine Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the director of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff said: "We send a signal to everyone when the Pentagon moves bombers across the globe." McKenzie declined to comment on the possibility of airstrikes against North Korea during the Olympics".
In this case, every time China conducts a drill deploying 4,000 of its units and the Chinese leader addresses each soldier it's also sending a signal to everyone including Marine Lt. Gen. McKenzie.
theguardian.com: “Xi Jinping has reaffirmed his status of China’s most dominant leader since Chairman Mao with another tub-thumping display of military brawn of the Chinese army. Addressing 7,000 servicemen in the northern province of Hebei, Xi told them they should fear neither hardship nor death as they implemented the Communist party’s orders. The Chinese army should make an elite and powerful force that is always ready to fight and capable of fulfilling the tasks set by the Party and the people in the new era".
But whose era will it be? Here, the views of the firm and charismatic world leaders are polarized. Two skiers can't share a single track. We can dream all we want but there's no friendship in either sports or politics which means neither party has a margin for error.
xinhuanet.com: "One month before the Olympics China is stepping up on the anti-doping campaign. The total number of doping tests in 2017 by the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) exceeded 17,000. "Since September, the national winter sports teams have passed over 400 tests. 200 athletes took the tests in December alone," said Dong Daning from the Winter Sports Administrative Center".
Will the Olympics magically resolve all contradictions and reconcile a wolf and a sheep on a single pedestal? We'll see it from the footage.
But judging by the previous Sochi Olympics it's never too late to alter the scenario turning the Olympic torch into another Molotov cocktail.
Agitation and Propaganda. See you soon. Peace to your home
