Wanna send a message ?
Which would be more cost-effective, buying a dozen minutes of airtime during the Superbowl or a few telegrams? (let's not talk about IM's)
It depends on what message you are trying to send, and to whom. And one has to factor in the potential profits of the marketing firm you hire to give advice. And when those same Ad firms are members of the corporation's governing board, responsible for selecting the upper management, well, the logic of the 'closed-circle' dictates that the vastly more expensive methods of 'sending a message' will be the ones used.
And when you are talking GEO-politics, the Ad 'firms' are International and Central Banks, Defense Contractors, OIL / MEDIA conglomerates, and political 'thinktanks'. The 'upper management' is the Executive branch of the U.S. Government. And funding comes from taxpayer dollars, or ones created out of thin air by the Federal Reserve. Debts for your children and grandchildren to pay.
Thus you have the recipe for waste, fraud, abuse, and of course, failure.
But it is not really "incompetence" that results from these combinations, because 'inefficacy' is a built-in component due to greed.
Remember this in the days, weeks, months, (years?) to come, when the subject of discussion turns to North Korea and it's nuclear capabilities. Pray that before North Korea can convert it's technological know-how into a package small enough to put on top of a missile (or covertly transport to others), that the 'upper-management' will resist the temptations of their 'marketing firms'.
And if the decision is made to effect another 'regime change', this time, DO IT RIGHT!
Get the Russians, Chinese, Japanese, and South Koreans on board first. Cut the deals that have to be made. Then channel a few billion dollars into the CIA to hire thousands of human operatives to infiltrate North Korea to simultaneously subvert it's Military and Political leadership and make Kim Jong-IL's every waking (and especially, sleeping) moment a paranoia-filled nightmare.
The pressure should yield the desired results within a year, probably less if the Chinese fully cooperate. And the potential for more positive "fallout" (pardon the pun) when other would-be-nuclear powers see unified competence in action, could be incalculable.
I know, I know, y'all won't make as much money on such a policy, but y'all have already made so much from "Operation: Enduring Freedom" and it's progeny, and just imagine the political and diplomatic benefits of accomplishing a reunification of the Korean peninsula by 'peaceful' means. Not every 'problem' is a nail requiring a 'hammer'. And besides, it may ultimately be more profitable, though it will take a little longer and you'll have to share some of the money.
So leave the Superbowl ads to the dot-commers and the beer companies.
Send Kim a few "You May Already Have LOST" sweepstakes telegrams from his friends and neighbors. Still the surest way to send a message to your "target" audience. (especially when you know the address)
Then you won't have to lie so much and look so inept, spending years searching the Hamgyong Mountains for a very small 'rathole' containing another 'Dear Leader'.
And it could save who knows how many lives? What a bonus!
That is, if such things are a consideration in your bottom line projections.
stephenhsmith
9oct2006
