As many of you may recall I posted a video[1] a few days ago where I laid out the actions and mentality of Joshua Stanton, a significant personality in the anti-DPRK community. He has been involved in the writing of U.S. backed sanctions against the DPRK. He has also served as a military lawyer in South Korea. Clearly he is not some anonymous nobody carrying out antics on the internet. This is a legal professional, a grown adult. I think I laid out my case against him very well. I showed examples of his erratic and irrational behaviour. I provided links to statements that he has made that are dishonest, petty, and even of a communist conspiratorial nature worthy of Joseph McCarthy. Stanton has replied to my video with a baffling and childish blog post.[2] The post contains mostly name calling, straw man arguments, character assassination, blatant lying, and an association fallacy. Here I will respond to his highly questionable behaviour and dubious argumentation.

Allow me to get the name calling out of the way first. In his post he uses the following insults:

“Jason Unruhe, who looks like an overripe ripe kiwi fruit decorated with a Mister Potato Head set…”

“…calls himself the “No. 1 Marxist on YouTube,” and yes, that is like being the “No. 1” sommelier under the 395 overpass.”

“…puts him in Holocaust denier territory.”

“…he turned on his satan-worshipper under-lighting, put on his limo driver uniform.”[3]

Obviously this is childish and should not be taken seriously. By using such tactics he avoids having to deal with the substance of the arguments I made. Instead of providing an argument against what I said, or the points that I made, he chose instead to ignore what he couldn’t justify, and misrepresent what he couldn’t ignore. This type of name calling is tantamount to a YouTube comment stretched into a blog post. YouTube is known for having the worst comments on the internet. I think this adequately describes the style of engagement Stanton has chosen.

Once my video was released to the public he proceeded to take to Twitter and engage in what a friend of mine described as “thirteen year old Twitter bully tactics”. On the micro-blogging site he proceeded to engage in all sorts of name calling as a response.[4] When he couldn’t get his way he resorted to threats of litigation against me.[5] He threatened to sue me under Godwin’s Law, which isn’t actually a law. Once he realized that Godwin’s Law isn’t an actual law he back peddled and attempted to claim that he was just messing with me trying to make me look stupid. I find this claim of just trolling to be utterly false as he has threatened other people with it previously. It is also false because he went to great lengths to fabricate the precedent for doing so.[6] He even goes so far as to claim he will use R.I.C.O. laws to have me extradited to the U.S. to face civil litigation.[7] There is no incident of organized crime here. Stanton has demonstrated that he has no knowledge of civil law. As a semi-experienced pro se litigant in equity I can tell you his legal claims are preposterous. I would question the wisdom of the educational institution that issued him with a legal degree. We’re familiar with such incidents in online communication. When someone is caught saying something nonsensical they backpedal by trying to claim they were “just trolling”.

His career has been in statutory law, or law intended for those of low moral character. I suggest he remain there. My involvement has been in equity, the conscience of the law.[8] Conscience is something I don’t think he has. In my response I will act in honour by dealing with the substance not the form as equity would have me do. After all, “Equity regards substance rather than form.”[9] Now allow me to address the what little substance there is.

Stanton claims I misrepresented him with regards to keeping the DPRK on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. He says, “Unruhe calls me a proponent of “keeping” North Korea on the list of state sponsors of terrorism (it was taken off the list by George W. Bush on October 11, 2008).”[10] In actually this is a misrepresentation of what I said. I said he wants to keep the DPRK on the list. Meaning to place it back on there. Instead he claims that I didn’t know it had been removed. I certainly do. This is a very underhanded and dishonorable maneuver. He’s a liar.

As for the subject of the sinking of the Cheonan he resorts to the same mischaracterisation. His strongest statement (not argument) is that I mispronounced Cheonan. Aside from this literally not being an argument, I apologize to Stanton for not having a Korean wife to explain pronunciation for me like he does. Secondly he most certainly used it as an example of state sponsored terrorism and his backpedaling here is palpable. If it didn’t meet the requirement as he claims then why was it mentioned at all? Of course he’s not claiming it is, he’s just bringing it up in the context of it being one. Conjecture should not be given as evidence, J.A.G.

As it pertains to the actual sinking of the Cheonan, despite his assertion I never claimed it to be a conspiracy nor did I claim a U.S. ship sank it. I presented the spectra of seismic signals evidence that a U.S. ship had accidentally collided with it causing it to sink. The seismic evidence which I presented that he doesn’t even address shows that it was not even likely possible that a DPRK submarine could have committed such an act.[11] The evidence shows that no known DPRK submarine matches what was detected.[12] [13] However several U.S. ships which were in the area and the exercise do. Stanton doesn’t even try to refute the evidence presented and instead claims I presented none via an accusation of conspiracy theory. A source was provided for this which he ignored. The evidence of an accident blamed on the DPRK comes from Hwang Su Kim of Department of Physics, Kyungsung University, Pusan 608-736, Republic of Korea, and Mauro Caresta of Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK. These people are experts in their fields not conspiracy theorists. Stanton refuses to even address the evidence and instead blindly follows anti-DPRK prejudice.

With regards to the Sony hack I certainly do deny that the DPRK was behind it. Again he refuses to deal with the argument and evidence that I think shows that the DPRK was not involved. In fact there is little to no evidence that the DPRK was involved.[14] An employee of Sony came forward anonymously and claimed responsibility for it.[15] The hack was done to retaliate against the company for alleged unfair work place practises. In addition one of the co-directors believes it was an inside job as well.[16] All of this evidence is not even acknowledged by Stanton. He deliberately refuses to deal with the argument and instead reasserts his faulty claim. The phony claim of a DPRK hack was used as a tool in jingoism to justify sanctions and further hostilities towards the country.[17] There is no honesty in him here his actions are entirely those of a hollow propaganda outlet.

On the subject of prison camps he is an outright liar. He says, “Unruhe also refers to North Korea’s “so-called” prison camps, whose existence he doubts, and which puts him in Holocaust denier territory.” I have never claimed there are no prison camps. I have said there are rehabilitative labour camps, yes. Stanton is outright lying here. What I have denied is the ridiculous outrageous stories behind them that are supported by little to no evidence. I’d remind Stanton that extraordinary claims require extra ordinary evidence. If he thinks crayon drawings of events prove they happened, then may I provide him with a Spiderman comic that proves the existence of super heroes. I have maintained that the highly questionable “proof” of this characterization of DPRK prisons can be best summed up in the following two quotes which demonstrate that the anti-DPRK zealots like him cannot even get their story straight. Now which is it?

“North Korea can no longer deny the undeniable,” said Sam Zarifi, the Asia Pacific director of Amnesty International. “For decades, the authorities have refused to admit to the existence of mass political prison camps. These are places out of sight of the rest of the world.” [18]

“Notwithstanding North Korean claims that there are no human rights violations in the DPRK, both Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-il have defended and justified the forced labor prison camp system.” [19]

The anti-DPRK community should get together once a year to decide what stores they’re going to invent for the public.

To bolster his lie about my statement he uses a logical fallacy, an appeal to authority. He says, “…you can either take Unruhe’s word, or that of a U.N. Commission of Inquiry, the President of the United States, the heads of the FBI and the NSA, and an international investigation team.” Just because authorities claim something is true does not mean it is. I expect no one to take “my word” on anything of the sort. I have looked at the evidence, seen how flimsy, incomplete , and sometimes outright self-contradicting it is. I assert with sufficient cause and argument that their positions are false. I base this additionally on the now known false statements by high profile defectors Shin Dong-hyuk[20] and Yeonmi Park[21]. Just so Stanton knows the U.S. government is known to lie, particularly when it benefits them politically. Just like he did here.

He also accuses me of not knowing anything about the DPRK with the following statement.

“What always puzzles me about Marxists who support North Korea is how unequal and un-Marxist North Korean society really is. I suppose we should add this to the long list of things Jason Unruhe doesn’t know about North Korea.”

This statement shows only that he knows nothing of myself, Marxism, or even how to properly analyze something. First he accuses the DPRK society of being unequal. The country proclaims to be socialist, and in the phase of socialism. If Stanton actually knew Marxist theory than he would know that socialism doesn’t claim to be the paragon of equality that communism is. Socialism is a transitory phase between capitalism and communism in which inequality to actively combated against, not eliminated. True equality is the end goal of socialism becoming communism not socialism itself. A quick read of Marx can show us this clearly.

“Between capitalist and communist society there lies the period of the revolutionary transformation of the one into the other. Corresponding to this is also a political transition period in which the state can be nothing but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat.”[22]

On top of this I would not even describe the DPRK as being a socialist or communist country. There is far too much private ownership and foreign investment by bourgeois capital to be so. Stanton doesn’t know Marxist theory, he is speaking purely out of his own ignorance on the subject. Secondly I’d also like to point out that there is no evidence that the water parks or any other luxuries are available to only an “elite group”. An assertion is made yet nothing concrete is given. I would suggest that Stanton learn Marxist theory and how to form arguments before he makes such statements.

Stanton proceeds to claim that I’ve merely repeated “talking points” that he claims are provided by Mike Basset, and some others by Felix Abt. What evidence does he have that I’m simply repeating them or even using them? If so what is the relevance? Stanton is trying to character assassinate me by association which is pretty low. But as we’ve already seen he is not interested in arguing the substance of anything. The personal attacks he makes in his post of Mike Basset are entirely irrelevant as they don’t pertain to me. Thus I will not argue against the six paragraphs of association fallacy.

What Stanton has provided here is nothing but intellectual laziness. He makes many assertions with nothing to back them up. He refuses to address the evidence of the phony claims he perpetuates. He name calls me repeatedly. He outright lies about positions I hold while misrepresenting others. He misrepresents statements I made towards him. He threatens to sue myself and others with laws that don’t exist. He ignores his own organization’s criminal involvement in violating piracy laws.[23] He tries to character assassinate me. He refused to acknowledge his own work with a known racist publication.[24] Stanton has behaved like a traditional anti-communist zealot. He has failed to address the substance of any argument, resorts to appeals to emotion, hyperbole, and angry denunciations. These are all the characteristics of what made Hitler such a popular and effective public speaker. No, that is not Godwin’s Law, it is an accurate description of his response.

Stanton is an unprofessional right wing zealot. He knows nothing of the ideology he attacks as he can’t even identify it. He demonstrated that he doesn’t know the difference between socialism and communism, let alone which one the DPRK supposedly is. Do you need more proof of his childish antics and dishonesty which these “human rights” organizations are passing off as academic and intellectual work?

He underhandedly accuses people of being communists with no evidence whatsoever. Instead he suggests they are while admitting he has no idea what he is talking about. “I don’t know if Ahn calls herself a Communist or not, but she is on sisterly terms with Judith LeBlanc, a former Vice-Chair of the Communist Party, USA, a legacy Stalinist rump faction led for years by Gus Hall.”[25] All of this because he opposes a peace march. This is completely McCarthyist. It would be a good idea for Stanton to know what he’s talking about before he makes accusations.

With a picture of Kim Jong Un he places the caption: “I’m bigger than you! I’m higher in the food chain! Get. In. My. Belly!”[26]

“What explains this disparity? Was it racism that made Apartheid uniquely evil? North Korea is almost certainly more racist than South Africa ever was.”[27] So a country he accuses of being racially homogenous has carried out more racist actions than South Africa, which has committed genocide against Africans. Including the invasions of several of its neighbours. This is comparable to the DPRK which has invaded no one, save the reunification of itself? To even defend South Africa on this level is despicable.

Stanton accuses DPRK soldiers of being rapists without citing a single piece of actual evidence.[28] His “sources” don’t actually contain anything of substance. True, there are rapes in the DPRK just as there are in every country and society that has ever existed. He gives nothing to indicate that there is anything particular about rapes in the DPRK. Meanwhile he utterly ignores the actual rape problem in South Korea where women are made victims of U.S. troops.[29] There is a very long history of the rape and murder of women by U.S. soldiers, not just in Korea, but in every country to U.S. has occupied or been to war with.[30] What is most disgusting is that he was an army JAG officer in South Korea. Wasn’t it his job to investigate this ongoing problem? The U.S. military has had a long history of refusing to prosecute rapes and murders of women. I would assume no different on his part. In fact, I’d go so far as to suspect that he’s covered up rapes himself. So on what moral ground does he have to stand on producing outrage over unverified claims of mass rapes in the DPRK?

Let all of this speak to his character. Let his own words and actions speak for themselves.

Stanton is proud to be attacked by the KCNA for his shoddy, dangerously incompetent, dishonest , and often childish work. I am proud to be attacked by him, particularly with such childish name calling. It aptly demonstrates that he is incapable of defending the nonsense and hate propaganda he puts forward. By all means call me names. Attack my appearance like a thirteen year old girl being a cyber bully. I can respond to honest intellectual work, he can’t. He only degrades himself and the anti-DPRK community degrades themselves by their choice of associating with him. I think it speaks to the very nature of the imperialist mentality and their goals as a community.

Stanton’s behaviour towards me speaks volumes about the kind of person he is and the level of credibility he should have. The fact he acts this way aptly demonstrates that he is not capable of forming rational arguments to support his position. The fact a person like this ever had any kind of legal authority should be worrisome for the U.S. justice system. It leaves me with a question of how many people he has railroaded, how many lives he’s ruined, knowing what he considers argumentation to be.

This is a person who practices law and writes policy… Now you dear American reader sleep at night knowing that this is what your justice system takes seriously and this is what they think should be writing the policy for your country.

This is the kind of behaviour and mentality that drove the U.S. war machine to the dishonourable invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan which resulted in the genocide of 3 million people. This kind of psychotic devotion to American exceptionalism is what have driven the genocides that America is responsible for. Have no illusions, Stanton is the face of the United States of America and it unrelenting war against anyone who doesn’t want to be in service of them.

* * *

Sources:

[1] Josh Stanton: McCarthyist Threat to Peace with the DPRK, Jason Unruhe, YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAblDlO-mMU

[2] Here comes the crazy train!, One Free Korea
http://freekorea.us/2015/06/08/here-comes-the-crazy-train/

[3] Ibid.

[4] https://twitter.com/freekorea_us/status/608436670816485379
https://twitter.com/freekorea_us/status/607574203034963968
https://twitter.com/freekorea_us/status/607545278888034304
https://twitter.com/freekorea_us/status/607542284805128194
https://twitter.com/freekorea_us/status/608433573692104706

[5] https://twitter.com/freekorea_us/status/608077227192811520

[6] https://twitter.com/freekorea_us/status/608430886955155457
https://twitter.com/freekorea_us/status/608314855955812354

[7] https://twitter.com/freekorea_us/status/608230707555659776

[8] Gibson, Henry Richard, A treatise on suits in chancery: setting forth the principles, pleadings, practice, proofs and processes of the jurisprudence of equity, Gaut-Ogden, 1907
https://archive.org/details/cu31924084259872

[9] Maxim, legal-dictionary
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/%22Equity+regards+substance+rather+than+form.%22

[10] Here comes the crazy train!, One Free Korea

[11] What Really Caused the ROKS Cheonan Warship Sinking?
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aav/2014/514346/

[12] Ibid.

[13] The 2010 US-SK Gov’t Cover Up in Korea, The 4th Media
http://www.4thmedia.org/2014/12/rogue-sub-killed-46-us-and-sk-government-cover-up/

[14] The Evidence that North Korea Hacked Sony is Flimsy, Wired
http://www.wired.com/2014/12/evidence-of-north-korea-hack-is-thin/

[15] Sony Pictures hackers say they want ‘equality,’ worked with staff to break in, The Verge
http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/25/7281097/sony-pictures-hackers-say-they-want-equality-worked-with-staff-to-break-in

[16] “The Interview” Co-Director Says The Sony Hack Was Probably An Inside Job, The Anti-media
http://theantimedia.org/co-director-says-the-sony-hack-was-probably-an-inside-job/

[17] US ponders placing North Korea back on terror blacklist, Russia Today
http://rt.com/news/216195-us-north-korea-terror-list/

[18] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/world/asia/05korea.html

[19] Page 26, www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/HRNK_HiddenGulag2_Web_5-18.pdf

[20] The Casual Horrors of Life in a North Korean Hell, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/books/escape-from-camp-14-by-blaine-harden.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1

[21] North Korea: Defectors and Their Skeptics, The Diplomat
http://thediplomat.com/2014/10/north-korea-defectors-and-their-skeptics/

The Strange Tale of Yeonmi Park, The Diplomat
http://thediplomat.com/2014/12/the-strange-tale-of-yeonmi-park/

Yeonmi Park: The Defector Who Fooled the World, JooPark3782 Blog
http://jooparkblog.blogspot.ca/2014/12/yeonmi-park-defector-who-fooled-world.html?showComment=1419417660898#c5446300866327305360

[22] Karl Marx, Critique of the Gotha Programme, Part 4
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1875/gotha/ch04.htm

[23] Former Congressional Nominee Dr. Suzanne Scholte is Chairwoman on the Executive Committee of North Korea Freedom Coalition (and President of Korea Defense Forum), an NKHR NGO that in violation of FBI Piracy Law, illegally burnt at least 500 DVD’s to send into North Korea:
http://www.nkfreedom.org/News/Archived-News-Information.aspx

[24] Joshua Stanton as Frontpage pundit
http://archive.frontpagemag.com/listAuthors.aspx?Alpha=G

[25] http://freekorea.us/2015/04/07/why-people-call-christine-ahn-pro-north-korean/

[26] http://freekorea.us/2015/06/03/caption-this-picture-3/

[27] http://freekorea.us/2015/05/27/gloria-steinem-was-right-about-isolation-of-south-africa/

[28] http://freekorea.us/2015/05/01/the-north-korean-armys-rape-problem-gloria-steinem-and-kangan-province/

[29] http://www.iacenter.org/Koreafiles/ktc-civilnetwork.htm

[30] http://theantimedia.org/us-soldiers-raped-boys-in-front-of-their-mothers/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3010496/US-troops-contractors-sexually-abused-54-age-Colombian-girls-assaults-pornography-never-face-charges-report-claims.html