Quote of the Month 13 NOV 2013

Background

April 2013
"It only takes being wrong once and I don't want to be the secretary of defense that was wrong once,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on April 4, explaining why the military deployed missile batteries in Guam as a defensive measure against North Korea.

Nov 4, 2013
(Reuters) - North Korea sailors killed when ship sinks during 'combat duties'
At least 19 North Korean sailors were killed when a naval vessel sank during "combat duties" off the east coast last month, state media said, a rare admission by the impoverished and reclusive country.  

Nov 4, 2013
(NYT)  North Korean Sailors Reported Killed in October Sinking; South Says There Was No Clash
SEOUL, South Korea — A North Korean naval vessel sank last month, killing an unspecified number of sailors, according to North and South Korean news media.

Nov 5, 2013  - Type 037-class submarine chaser (Losses) Wikipedia
On October 13, 2013, North Korean submarine chaser No. 233 was lost off Wonsan with the loss of at least nineteen of her crew. She may have been in collision with another Korean People's Navy ship.[2][3][4]

Nov 12, 2013
(Baltic Review) North Korea: Our submarine has sunk [color emphasis added]
According to the photos that the media presented, it is seen how the leader goes among more than 12 tombstones of the submarine team ‘chasing submarine number 233’. It can be seen that the date when the submarine sunk is October 13th and the pictures of the sailors with their names. According to the Korean Central News Agency of DPRK, the submarine sunk during a military operation.

According to ynet.co.il, the submarine has been built at the early 60th of the previous decade, and the age of the submarine probably was the main factor for the accident.

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Do we trust dictator Kim Jong-un's North Korean news outlets?  South Korea's, Reuters, New York Times, Baltic News, or none of the above?  Chuck Hagel must know the truth by now, but that must be classified.  Could it really have been a lost submarine?  Which brings up, today's sarcastic quotation...

Quote of the Month

“Never trust a politician. If you want to trust a politician go to live in North Korea, and line up and applaud them and say ‘What a marvellous job, Kim Jong Un!’ - or whatever Kim is currently occupying.” - Eric Jack Pickles,  Move to North Korea if you want to trust politicians, Pickles says, The UK Telegraph, 13 NOV 2013.  (Mr. Pickles is United Kingdom Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, a Cabinet position.)

Submarines are always silent and strange.