I just read a post, “Google is FUBAR,” (for non-geeks, fubar means “f‘ed up beyond all recognition) suggesting the company is on a slippery slope leading not to its demise but to move its practices from what people like to what will lock them in and to risk more forays into anti-trust and privacy territories. Why is Google FUBAR, then? … It must irreparably alter its fleet of successful web[…] Keep reading →

In my series on North Korean strategy I wrote that I saw small-scale trade as one source of effective change. If trade comes from people in the country, as opposed to institutions or government, North Korean decision-makers will have a hard time stopping it. If it comes with information about the outside world, it can change ordinary North Koreans; perspective of it. The Wall Street Journal today reported on large[…] Keep reading →

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists published a story today on North Korea’s development of nuclear power. The story, North Korea from 30,000 Feet, begins with aerial photographs of a new nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon complex first publicly available on November 4, 2010. Unlike a site merely showing images, the writers of the Bulletin article, researchers at Stanford, analyze the contents of the images, model the buildings, and speculate on[…] Keep reading →

Amazon featured Understanding North Korea: Demystifying the World’s Most Misunderstood Country in the sidebar over the weekend. It was a “Hot New Release” in Korean History It was also a “Hot New Release” in Military Strategy History (although I wrote it on general strategy, not specifically military strategy). Here are the full pages those screenshots came from. I know it’s coincidence, by I’m honored for Amazon to show my book[…] Keep reading →

North Korea fascinates us. Its leaders, their posturing and militarism, their economics, and more all fascinate us. Their belligerence puts them in the news often. Yet we know little about them. More than fascinating, they are globally important. They are a nuclear power with the world’s fourth largest military and most militarized border. Yet the media, mainstream and otherwise, mystifies them more. No one explains how or why anyone could[…] Keep reading →

The media continue with their “great man” model of leadership with regard to Kim Jong Un’s succession. They imply if things are happening, the person in the leadership position must be making them happen. I think a systems perspective more accurately describes the situation. For example, today’s New York Times describes him becoming “supreme commander” of the military, signaling that his succession is moving forward unimpeded. They imply some chance[…] Keep reading →

If sunshine is the best disinfectant, then giving the North Korean people the same access that the rest of the world has to information about their country, its history, and the world would probably be the best strategy for change. Their compliance with their government effectively supports it more than anything else. That compliance makes sense, despite it appearing from our perspective against their long-term interests. Not complying can cost[…] Keep reading →