U.S. Decrees: Unhipness For Li'l Kim

We won't be seeing Li'l Kim Jong -Il tooling around Pyongyang on his Sedgeway, iPod loaded and loud with the latest Christina Aguilara hits.

In a long-awaited piece of evidence of diplomatic brilliance by the Bush administration, Washington has decreed that Li'l Kim's favorite capitalist excesses will be be subject to export bans.

No Rolexes, French cognac, plasma TVs, yachts or Harley Davidsons. The sanctions, which the US is actually coordinating through the UN, sure won't harm the NoKo people much -- their abject poverty and harsh repression will continue -- but it's gonna tick off Li'l Kim.

The very personal trade embargo shows the US is well aware of the nature of its enemy and is willing to think of creative ways, short of cruise missiles, to get his attention. Realists may say the bottles of good stuff and tiny electronics will get through anyway, but that won't stop the symbolism from smacking the twerp upside the head.

Quite a contrast from the Clinton administration! Madeline Albrecht presented Li'l Kim with a basketball autographed by Michael Jordan when she visited Pyongyang -- a warm, personal gesture that showed the Clintonistas were well aware of the 5'3" Kim's fondness for roundball.

Related Tags: Kim Jong -Il, North Korea, Foreign affairs, iPod