Another live event starts at around 7:30 Eastern time. In honor of (or to upstage) the start of the Winter Olympics in South Korea, North Korea will parade some of its military might. Wonks love this, because North Korea frequently uses their military parades to show off new missiles. Or, with screen caps and close examination, the wonks can learn details of existing missiles.
We don’t know what tonight’s (Friday’s in North Korea) parade will bring. If there’s a live feed, I’ll update this post with it.
A number of experts on North Korean missiles usually tweet their comments on the parades. Here’s a good list to start:
Don’t forget the hashtag.
For those already getting annoyed by indecipherable hashtags, #JucheFest2018 and #juchefest refer to the Feb 8 Army Foundation Day celebration & military parade in North Korea, which is starting at 7:30PM EST. Analysts are watching it for military hardware and other data.
— Scott LaFoy (@wslafoy) February 7, 2018
I’m not a missile expert, but I occasionally add something to the discussion. I’ll post tweets with trenchant comments or interesting pictures in the comments.
Here’s a photo from an earlier parade. I’m sure the White House and the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be watching to help plan the next big military parade in Washington.
Update: I am told that the parade will be streamed on this channel or on YouTube, although there doesn’t seem to be a way to embed it. Livestream from North Korea breaks up regularly. So don’t blame me.
If Adam shows up and can figure out how to embed the video, please feel free to edit this post.
Wapiti
Looks like a few hundred thousand people wearing pink knitted hats there.
debbie
“Your button may be bigger than mine, but the size of my parade grounds is much yuuuger than yours!”
Baud
As president, I will establish America’s first official national dog parade.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Oh goody, a parade.
ETA: …and doughnuts!
Roger Moore
@Wapiti:
Are you sure they aren’t just holding up doughnut boxes?
Brachiator
I hear that Elon Musk was invited to do a fly by riding Falcon Heavy….
Is it time for the Olympics already? I have not been keeping up with regular tv.
Baud
@Brachiator: Curling has started. You can stream it live right now.
?BillinGlendaleCA
I’m getting in the spirit of the Olympics and Kim Jong Un’s parade by having Korean food tonight.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Same here except I’m doing it by executing my uncle by feeding him to dogs.
lamh36
@Brachiator: Opening ceremony Friday
The Dangerman
If Raven comes around tonight:
Damn, Dude
mike in dc
http://i.pinimg.com/736x/9d/90/12/9d9012837f2e384e638659e5fdc427d9.jpg
Mike in NC
Back in the 50s and 60s, during their May Day parades the Soviets would fly a formation of new aircraft over and over in circles to exaggerate the numbers they had.
Gin & Tonic
@Baud: But then you have to eat the dogs.
Roger Moore
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
That wouldn’t have anything to do with being married to a Korean American woman, would it?
Baud
@Gin & Tonic: I couldn’t eat dog. I guess I don’t have what it takes to be a dictator.
Roger Moore
@The Dangerman:
Fuck LBJ!
Brachiator
@lamh36:
I just have not been paying attention. Also, I have been anticipating the upcoming Black Panther movie and trying to avoid online Games of Throne spoilers. Priorities.
And I have to work late on Friday. I will try to DVR it and watch some highlights.
Davebo
Thanks Cheryl. Following all of them and I’ll be more informed thanks to you!
Cheryl Rofer
No parade yet.
Cheryl Rofer
Baud
@Cheryl Rofer: Needs more dancing sharks.
Just One More Canuck
I thought Kim was just trolling the Mar-a-Lago Fatberg with this parade
Baud
@Just One More Canuck: Pretty head to put this together in a day.
Cheryl Rofer
One comment from a Korean speaker that this is an hour-long documentary. If that’s the case (a lot of joking goes on during these things), then the parade should start in another half-hour. The North Koreans like to troll the folks who look obsessively at the photos they release. They blur the photos and photoshop them. So today they seem to be offering up an hour history lesson, DPRK-style.
Schlemazel
@Baud:
THAT is real Leadership! BAUD FOR EMPEROR 2020
Cheryl Rofer
Schlemazel
@Baud:
The time I had it it had the taste & consistency of pork.
It came with a lecture on how the people who had told them eating dogs was immoral also forced the at gunpoint to resume the opium trade which was killing people in their country.
Jay S
Could we just build some special effects super weapons and a bunch of movie extras to parade for Trump? I would probably be cheaper and more effective than the real thing. Plus the more mysterious the fake weapons the more puzzled the enemy analysts will be.
Baud
@Schlemazel: Interesting. So it’s the same taste as humans.
magurakurin
@Baud: you can see the live stream but you can’t tell it from a still photo
Schlemazel
FYWP is not letting me edit comments tonight
Schlemazel
@Baud:
Not sure, of all the creatures on earth I have never had any primate
dr. bloor
At least they didn’t take down a commercial airliner this time around.
mike in dc
@Jay S: I suggest building a giant Voltron or Gundam robot.
TenguPhule
@Baud:
Human is fattier. And smells worse.
Jeffro
I’m trying to think of the Top Ten, most out-in-the-open, why-isn’t-this-a-national-scandal things about the Trumpov admin, and this request for a DPRK-style parade isn’t even close. (No offense to Cheryl or any of the posters…I was just trying to think of it all, this past Year of Wonder we’ve been going through)
In no particular order…
10) Trumpov personally profiting every time he visits one of his own businesses (like his golf courses – with cart rentals, etc)
9) The fact that he golfs every 4th day or so, and doesn’t bother to hit the office on the other days until 11am after several hours of “executive time”
8) The fact that he jacked up golf club memberships at Mar-a-Lago “the winter white house” and sells Trumpov-endorsed merchandise, sometimes through ‘official’ channels
7) The fact that he a) paid off a b) porn star to c) keep quiet about their affairs d) that he had shortly after the birth of his fifth kid with his third wife e) during the fucking campaign and f) was apparently one of ‘hundreds’ of women who were also paid off, g) possibly with campaign/legal defense funds
6) Firing the FBI Director for not quashing an investigation into his/his campaign’s collusion with a hostile foreign power, and admitting it on national TV
5) Attempting to intimidate Comey, McCabe, others – hell, the entire FBI – via the national media
4) lauding the “very fine people” in Charlottesville
3) allowing people like Jared Kushner and Robert Porter to handle classified materials on a daily basis when they don’t have the clearance
2) giving away classified intelligence…to representatives of a hostile foreign power…IN. THE. OVAL. OFFICE.
1) Letting Puerto Rico suffer without power and water, and berating its citizens in their darkest hours
Several of the above are illegal and could/should/will? lead to charges. Several are part of the power of the presidency, but should come at a huge cost (and most certainly would never be tolerated if parties were reversed). And the last few are just utter dereliction of duty, with no real remedy save not re-electing this clown.
Let’s have that ‘truth and reconciliation’ committee a.s.a.p. and then please FSM let’s try to put what we can in place so that this never happens again. Tumbrels as a last resort but not taking that off the table.
Roger Moore
@mike in dc:
Definitely a Gundam. Some of the Gundam models (e.g. RGM-79 GM) were actually designed for mass production to serve as part of an organized military. That’s a much better choice than a one-off like most mecha in anime.
Timurid
@TenguPhule:
Calm down, Hannibal.
MomSense
@Baud: @Schlemazel: @TenguPhule:
I think I’ll stick with hummus.
Cheryl Rofer
Looks like the documentary is ending.
TenguPhule
@Jeffro: You missed the missiles to nowhere in Syria and his African clusterfuck that killed some of our soldiers.
TenguPhule
@Timurid: I never said I actually ate it.
Cheryl Rofer
Notice that everyone is exactly the same height and shape.
Yutsano
@Roger Moore: Could we just borrow the life sized Gundam from Tokyo and call it good?
Cheryl Rofer
Baud
@MomSense: I like hummus.
Baud
@Cheryl Rofer: Stop trying to get us to feel better about life under Trump.
Cheryl Rofer
@Jeffro: Dan Murphy has been listing stuff all day.
TenguPhule
@Cheryl Rofer:
/headdesk
Roger Moore
@Yutsano:
Honestly, I think Trump deserves a Guntank rather than something cool like a Gundam.
Cheryl Rofer
It’s somehow comforting to know that even North Korea can’t always get a parade started on time.
Yutsano
@Cheryl Rofer: He stopped 6 minutes ago. I’m guessing it’s mental health break/whisky time.
@Roger Moore: Yeah but we would (probably) have to assemble the thing. This stupid parade is worth doing on the cheap.
Jeffro
@TenguPhule: Not to discount those but I was going for the 10 biggest/things-that-should-have-every-American-rioting-in-the-streets.
Jeffro
@Cheryl Rofer: He must have a bit more time than me…the thought is the same. Would love to have the whole country arguing about which of his thousand outrages deserve a ‘top ten’ rating. It’s appalling.
chris
@Jeffro: Good list but short. Here’s a really big one. Week 64 now and it goes all the way back to the beginning of the long national horror show.
(Yes, it’s Amy Siskind. I know, right? But this is a valuable service.)
Jeffro
I’m seeing stories that Netanyahu is about to get charged with bribery, and he’s warning his fanboys in advance?
“Fake News!”
“Rigged!”
Can we just buy these clowns an island, ship them there, and be done with this? The world has much better things to do.
Cheryl Rofer
This is possible.
Cheryl Rofer
Meanwhile, back in Washington…
Peale
@TenguPhule: also cancelling the visas of hundreds of travelers mid flight, including green card holders, no matter where they had traveled
efgoldman
@Jeffro:
Unfortunately, most of these, while dishonest, stupid, self-aggrandizing and generally rotten, aren’t prosecutable.
Same thing happened during Watergate: all kinds of things were discovered (enemies list, potentially using the IRS for political ends) which were stripped from, the final impeachment indictment so as not to muddy the waters.
Cheryl Rofer
@Yutsano: Starting up again. Probably a whisky break.
Jay S
@Yutsano: A squadron of Trumps invisible planes would be sweet.
Peale
@Cheryl Rofer: wait what? Obama university?
Cheryl Rofer
@Peale: He’s framing it in the “What if Obama…” mode.
Baud
@Cheryl Rofer: Were they known for their punctuality?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Peale: looks like a “can you imagine if Obama did this?” thread
Cheryl Rofer
Another sunset. We are at the end of another inspirational video. Whether the parade starts next is up for grabs.
efgoldman
@Jeffro:
From what I understand about Israeli/Likud politics, whoever replaces him, unless there are new elections or the coalition breaks down, will be every bit the asshole
Jeffro
@Cheryl Rofer: It’s good to know in advance what tonight’s nightmares will look like, thanks so much!
Jeffro
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Sometimes it is the only way to puncture the ‘bubble’ when talking to Republicans or both-siders…or just to keep one’s own self suitably outraged…by picturing how of-the-hook the RWNJs would be at any single one of these things.
Cheryl Rofer
@Baud: Like any other dictatorship, the Kim family makes the parades run on time. This is really an extraordinary delay, unless they are trolling their wonky audience. But some of that audience have better connections into North Korea sometimes, so they will tell us if indeed the parade is happening while we are being fed propaganda and joking among ourselves. Haven’t heard anything from them.
Adam L Silverman
It’s acting funky for me too when I try to embed it. I’ve got Alain looking into it. Please stand by.
Cheryl Rofer
dmsilev
@Jeffro: I’d suggest a B Ark. SpaceX has this shiny new rocket…
Cheryl Rofer
Jay S
@Cheryl Rofer: We can not afford to have a phony missile gap! The fake Trump parade must go on! ETA bigger and better fake missiles, fantasy weapons, invisible planes.
Cheryl Rofer
In past parades, analysts have wondered if the missiles are real or are mockups. Close examination of news photos has indicated that some seem to be mockups. News reporters are highly restricted at this parade.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
so this should be in the trump’s hair thread down below but I’m a fucking rebel, so…
Patricia Kayden
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: $60 k and yet it still looks fake and horrible. Sad.
Gin & Tonic
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: That is way more than I ever wanted to know about the subject.
Jager
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Probably stiffed the doc who did the transplant.
Cheryl Rofer
As every half-hour increment approaches, hope builds in the wonk community that North Korean tv will switch from propaganda videos to the parade.
jl
Oh geez. I’m sure another commenter mentioned this but no time to go through all 80 something. It’s too damn close to Trump planning his own big military parade. He’ll want one bigger and better and longer. From what I hear about soldiers’ enthusiasm for humongous and lengthy parade ground exercises like this, might cause some mutinies.
Edit: can we make a plea to NK to call it off or downsize it? And if Trump gets too ticked off, I don’t want WWIII over parade drill envy.
Another Scott
@Mike in NC: Yup. Bomber Gap – Aviation Day Deception.
Cheers,
Scott.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Gin & Tonic: and more than trump ever wanted known, I’m sure. That’s why this makes me chuckle. I can’t imagine he isn’t aware of the word buzzing around the twitterverse
Adam L Silverman
Alain just got back to me and says:
Sorry!
Cheryl Rofer
From someone in Pyongyang. Looks like another hour. I’m gonna do something else, will return later. Maybe I’ll put up another thread to continue the essential discussion of Trump’s botched hair transplant.
Cheryl Rofer
@Adam L Silverman: North Korean video is strange.
ETA: Thanks to you and Alain for trying.
Thor Heyerdahl
Saw this on Twitter about Trump’s dream weaver hair and thought of our blogmaster and Steve
“He looks like a shaved cat’s ass.”
https://twitter.com/FeralNegress/status/961407465333186560
Jay S
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I can’t see anything current in the Gewirtz twitter timeline. Here’s a 2017 article with some divorce testimony. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trumps-hair-mystery-solved-he-had-scalp-reduction_us_58966965e4b061551b3dff8a
jl
Saw a clip via Josh Marshall’s twitter that his central casting generals are not overly enthusiastic about the biggest most terrific classiest best ever military parade just for Trump and his buddies. Trump’s central casting generals went low energy on him.
Not surprising though. The clip said that the military does rather more prosaic versions of these big parades periodically anyway around he country on military facilities. Maybe they can fly Trump around to a few of them, and tell him the thing is so damn big that they can’t fit it into DC?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Jay S: I got that from Josh Marshall’s feed, I may have misattributed something while trying to clean up all the links and whatnots
Jay S
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Ah, it is a reply not a post. From here.ETA Anyway – should move to new topic where it isn’t a diversion.
Cheryl Rofer
Parade now supposed to start at midnight PST.
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: No worries. Sorry we couldn’t make it work.
hueyplong
Imagining the people who sold Trump that hair for $60,000. They’re laughing their asses off, saying, “What’s he gonna do, sue us? Imagine the discovery process, the things Trump would have to admit/allege in his complaint,” etc., etc.
It’s kind of like how he treats his immigrant workers, except that we get a daily, visual reminder.
Bjacques
Looks like the parade has begun. Here’s some leaked footage of the preparations as well:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O1B_rojs0fE