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It’s Friday and time to check news of the weird. Which is never too difficult when it comes to the DPRK.
Looking for a wack Christmas present for your oddball nephew? Well, we’ve got just the thing: a Kim Jong-un sweatshirt. Thanks to my Peterson colleague Jan Zilinsky for passing this one along. He, in turn, got it from a former student in Daegu. According to Jan’s student, the sweatshirt is bulletproof: “North Koreans cannot shoot you wearing this shirt because they cannot make a hole on face of Kim Jong-un. This is absolutely NOT for showing respect.” Marked down to $55. And, no, I am not getting a commission.
The face of the Young General made a brief appearance here in Washington earlier this week, when it was used to vandalize a mural at the venerable Ben’s Chili Bowl in the historic Shaw neighborhood. The Ben Ali family has maintained a long relationship with Bill Cosby, one of two people given the privilege of eating there free (the other is President Barack Obama). Unlike many institutions, after the allegations of serial sexual abuse surfaced, the restaurant has not disowned the comedian. The mural outside of Ben’s was defaced by provocateur going by the name Smear Leader who posted something on his Instagram account to the effect better Kim Jong-un than a sexual predator. Which is saying a lot insofar as SL has compared North Korea to Nazi Germany.
The Ben’s incident is not the first time that Smear Leader, who claims he was politicized by a Vice Media video, has brought Kim to the streets of Washington. Among other stunts, he has plastered Kim’s likeness on the helmets of the local professional football franchise to protest the team’s racist name and mascot. Personally, I sort of prefer his Nikki Kimaj logo. Or rather, I just prefer Nikki Minaj.
