News: Stalemate

In chess, a stalemate is when a player cannot make a legal move when it is his or her turn. While technically a stalemate is a draw, most chess players view it as sort of a win for the player who is unable to move, as that player would have probably lost otherwise.

I feel that's what's happening with these North Korea talks. The U.S., for all its posturing and threats, has not been able to checkmate North Korea - the place is still basically under Kim Jong-il's thumb, and the government seems as (un)stable as ever. The fact that Pyongyang has considerable conventional military forces right across the border (not to mention some marginal nuclear capabilities) means that they always have options - a space to move - even if they're unthinkable ones. People think that stuff will never happen, but it's happened before with lots of tinpot dictators, and it might happen again.

Got a Professional Responsibility exam in 4 hours, so it's off to the races...again.