On The Border - Of North Korea

There are reports that China is massing troops on the North Korean border. The current explanation is plausible:

As concern mounts that North Korea will use a national commemoration on Saturday to conduct its sixth nuclear test, claims the Chinese army has amassed 150,000 troops including medical teams on the border with North Korea have been repeated on the front page of China's state-owned Global Times newspaper.

...

The People's Liberation Army has recently expressed concern that northern Chinese towns were at risk of nuclear pollution from North Korea's tests, and said that contamination would not be tolerated.

"Not tolerated"? Kind of an aggressive tone which is then dialed back:

China's nuclear envoy Wu Dawei met with his South Korean counterpart Kim Hong-kyun in Seoul to discuss the North Korean crisis.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported the two sides had agreed that if North Korea conducts another nuclear test or missile launch, China and South Korea will carry out any future United Nations Security Council resolutions that are passed.

Well, fine - the troops are there for emergency decontamination and the Chinese response will be to work more closely with the UN. 

But in my fantasy, the US fires a few cruise missiles at North Korea and China responds by sending in its troops to defend its ally from imperialist aggression. And while they are there, they depose Kim Jong Un and replace him with a saner and more pliable heir to the throne, to wit, the son of the recently murdered half-brother of Kim Jong Un.

Obviously this is a long-shot. As best I recall the Chinese military has not demonstrated a particular flair for moving troops quickly - they are hostile but not especially agile or mobile, unless times have changed. On the other hand, in a year of surprises why not one more?

ERRATA: OK, the Chinese army looked good in 1950. But against North Vietnam in 1979, not so much. Business Insider summarizes a Congressional Research Service report from 2016:

China's ground forces

While China commands the largest ground force in the world, it is plagued by mobility problems.

China lacks sufficient transport helicopters, and still largely relies on trains for transportation across the mainland.

The ground forces mainly exist to deter and manage conflicts with China's borders, and their goal is to increase mechanization by 2020.

 The Weekly Standard covered the NoKo version of Game of Thrones.

Comments

[Clarice Feldman]

Bet you're right, narciso--just as the dossier falsely said Trump's lawyer had met with someone in Prague when he wasn't there, this one charged page with meeting with someone he hadn't. Maybe the election collusion was with Hillary--Russian ops working with steele to throw the election to HER.

[Threadkiller]

Well most lawyers are dumb as posts...

I'm a non-lawyer

[Captain Hate]

Black Lives Matter figure DeRay McKesson

D-student is quite the multitasker driving Baltimore public skools and the donk party deeper in the toilet. Impressive skill set imo.

[RattlerGator]

TK, yes. United was outrageous in how this played out. But it isn't against the law to act outrageously with your customers -- or to break your contract with your customers.

It *is* against the law to do what that guy did.

Honestly, take the emotion out and who denies this? How can it be otherwise?

The remedy the wronged customer has occurs after de-planing. Period, end of discussion.

[Pagar, a bacon, ham and sausage supporter]

Link at 09:44,

https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/schools/law/lawreviews/journals/bciclr/26_1/01_FMS.htm

IMO, there can hardly be a more serious threat to our nation than nuclear tipped ballistic weapons controlled be a person who says he will use them.

[RattlerGator]

Against the "criminal" law, of course.

[Threadkiller]

The remedy the wronged customer has occurs after de-planing.

What remedy would have availed itself if he succumbed to their outrageous breakage of the contract with them by getting up and walking off the plane?

He would have emboldened them to do worse in the future, IMO.

I can non-emotionally accept his actions as that of a whistleblower.

I hope United has to disclose the "random" lottery app as well as their internal policy for late flight crews.

I can almost guarantee one thing. If the lotto picked me, they would hit the override as soon as they took a look at me. "Little, Asian,Frail," were the keywords dropped into the "random" lotto's search criteria.

[Threadkiller]

Gotta run.

[Threadkiller]

...contract with him....

[Captain Hate]

"Little, Asian,Frail," were the keywords dropped into the "random" lotto's search criteria.

"Irritating, Whiny, Douche"

[jmo]

New thread

[Marlene]

Speaking of airplanes,this is a bit of a mystery...yesterday afternoon around 4pm,a distinctive blue and white jet with the words"United States of America" displayed landed at Bangor International Airport. It was one of the two airplanes known as "Air Force One" when the President is aboard. The plane had landed at Pease ANG Base earlier in the day. The management of BIA could not be reached for comment. Refueling trucks and crew could be seen around the plane. Military jets often use BIA for touch and go landings.
Who could have been on the airplane? A U.S. official on a super secret mission? There isn't any information,except the fact the airplane was on the tarmac at BIA yesterday afternoon. Inquiring minds need to know!

[Jane]

Me too Marlene!

[Threadkiller]

"Irritating, Whiny, Douche"

That was the goal of the "random" app to segue into "the pilot sez 'you're outta here!"

Prior to the fake lottery, he was a quiet nobody.

[Threadkiller]

FWIW, unless something new pops up, I will not hop onto any United discussions on newer threads.

Now I am outta here

[jimmyk]

Why can't both UAL and the doc be wrong? UAL may have violated the contract, but regardless, it's a federal law to comply with instructions of crew members (not just of the captain, I believe). If it turns out those instructions were unlawful, then one has recourse. But proper recourse does not take the form of refusal to comply.

I understand that sentiment is on this guy's side, but that shouldn't be the basis of a legal finding. Seems to me the guy is entitled to something, but should also be in legal jeopardy himself. A fair deal would be to drop the charges against him in exchange for his accepting a modest settlement as compensation for the contract violation (if it was that).

[Clarice Feldman]

from an email from a former fbi agent re today's WaPO and Powerline articles on the FISA surveillance:" Not to belabor the obvious, but being contacted by a Russki and asked for open source material isn't evidence of someone being an agent of a foreign power--it's evidence of the foreign power's interest in recruiting that person. Two very different things. And it simply doesn't approach predication for a FISA order. It's predication for a Preliminary Inquiry (under which you can't even apply for a FISA) to check further on the nature of the relationship, but it won't get you a Full Investigation, which you need for a FISA. Unless they had some much better info--which, as Hinderaker says, probably woulda been leaked by now--there was some serious fudging going on."

[Porchlight]

When I hear of people resisting arrest, "dumb move" is always my first mental response.

It is no different with Mr. United Airlines Passenger.

This is a private business. They own the plane. They make the rules.

[Threadkiller]

They make the rules.

Which rule did they make?