On Monday, Dennis Rodman and his basketball entourage traveled to the DPRK. Why? To celebrate the “Supreme Leader’s” birthday on Wednesday. And of course, as an added bonus, they will play a friendly game of pick-up to mark the occasion:
From USA Today:
He's been mocked in the USA as the propaganda plaything of North Korea's young dictator. His corporate sponsor pulled its name last month. And he's admitted to difficulty persuading other ex-NBA stars to visit one of the world's most repressive regimes.
But Dennis Rodman, self-appointed "basketball diplomat," led 12 U.S. players to Pyongyang Monday for an exhibition game there Wednesday to mark the birthday of his friend Kim Jung Un, the third generation of the Kim dynasty that dominates North Korea, and regularly threatens peace in northeast Asia.
The flamboyant, former Chicago Bulls forward has struck up an unlikely friendship with the reportedly basketball-loving leader, who had his powerful uncle Jang Song Thaek executed last month. Highly isolated North Korea controls information on its ruling family to such an extent that even Kim's actual age remains unconfirmed.
Again, Rodman had nothing but kind things to say about his dear “friend”:
Rodman has so far declined to criticize his host, whose government has jailed American-Korean missionary Kenneth Bae in one of its many labor camps, but he hinted at raising broader issues with Kim at a future date.
"(It's) not my job" to talk human rights, he said Monday. "This game is for his birthday, and hopefully this open the doors and we can actually talk about certain things and we can do certain things. But I'm not going to sit there and go 'hey, guy, you're doing the wrong thing.' It's not the right thing to do, he's my friend first. .. I love him," said Rodman
How anyone could “love” someone who reportedly unleashed* a pack of wild, starving animals on his own uncle in order to consolidate power, not to mention everything else he's allowed to happen, is beyond me. Nevertheless, despite Rodman’s weird and affectionate obsession with the North Korean dictator, some do concede Rodman’s intentions are not necessarily bad:
More of the article at link:
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/danieldoherty/2014/01/06/here-we-go-again-rodman-travels-to-north-korea-in-preparation-for-exhibition-basketball-game-n1772507?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
