Dennis Rodman is a Certifiable American Diplomat

Posted by Mejdy Jabr on Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Via The Associated Press:
Dennis Rodman: American Diplomat
Flamboyant former NBA star Dennis Rodman is heading to North Korea with VICE media company — tattoos, piercings, bad-boy reputation and all.
The American known as "The Worm" is set to arrive Tuesday in Pyongyang, becoming an unlikely ambassador for sports diplomacy at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.
Rodman, three members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, a VICE correspondent and a production crew from the company are visiting North Korea to shoot footage for a new TV show set to air on HBO in early April, VICE told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview before the group's departure from Beijing.
It's the second high-profile American visit this year to North Korea, a country that remains in a state of war with the U.S. It also comes two weeks after North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test in defiance of U.N. bans against atomic and missile activity.
VICE said the Americans hope to engage in a little "basketball diplomacy" in North Korea by running a basketball camp for children and playing pickup games with locals — and by competing alongside North Korea's top athletes in a scrimmage they hope will be attended by leader Kim Jong Un.
"At a time when tensions between the two countries are running high, it's important to keep lines of cultural communication open, no matter how non-traditional those channels may be," said Shane Smith, the VICE founder who is host of the upcoming TV series. "It's important to show North Koreans that America is not their enemy, and playing a game we both love is a step in the right direction."
VICE, a Brooklyn-based media company known for its sometimes irreverent journalism, has made two previous visits to North Korea, coming out with the "VICE Guide to North Korea." The HBO series, which will air weekly, features documentary-style news reports from around the world.
Using Rodman, the quintessence of normal, stable behavior, as the country's international ambassador for diplomacy is unquestionably a high risk, high reward political ploy.

Best case scenario: Rodman uses his charm and crazy clothing to convince the North Koreans to give up their nuclear weaponry and even embrace Democracy.

Worst case scenario: Kim Jong Un happens to be a huge fan of basketball, decides to play Rodman in a one-on-one pickup game, gets ferociously dunked on, and finally goes through with declaring war on America, bringing us into a third World War.

We'll have to wait for the week to play out before actually seeing how well or poorly the visit goes, but while waiting, here are three burning questions worth pondering:

1.) Will Kim Jong Un be in attendance to watch Rodman, age 51, shame his nation's best ballers?
2.) When will Dennis Rodman the diplomat become Dennis Rodman the politician?
3.) Can Dennis Rodman point to North Korea on a world map?

[UPDATE 2/27] The Rodman has landed.


[UPDATE] 


Well, that answers question 3.



[UPDATE]

Holy shit; Dennis Rodman is going to save the planet!

Via Gawker; Kim Jung Un is a Dennis Rodman fan
[UPDATE 2/28]

Via USA Today:
The eccentric basketball Hall of Famer was in Pyongyang to film an episode of HBO's upcoming show, VICE. He sat courtside with Kim during the game and spoke to him in both English and through a Korean translator, according to the AP.
Each team featured two Americans playing with North Koreans. Three of the Americans were Harlem Globetrotters. Another was a VICE producer.

"Um ... so Kim Jong Un just got the #VICEonHBO crew wasted ... no really, that happened,'' VICE producer Jason Mojica wrote on his Twitter feed.
"Dinner was an epic feast. Felt like about 10 courses in total," VICE correspondent Ryan Duffy said in an email to AP. "I'd say the winners were the smoked turkey and sushi, though we had the Pyongyang cold noodles earlier in the trip and that's been the runaway favorite so far."
Dinner, drinks, basketball, Coca-Cola — North Korea is just like us, except for its unsanctioned nuclear tests, systematic indoctrination, censorship, inability to feed its people and military-controlled government.



While the whole of Rodman's speech remains a mystery, the one quote that has leaked is that Rodman told Kim Jong Un that he is "a friend for life."
[UPDATE 3/1]

The brolationship is going strong. The image below was broadcast on North Korean state-controlled media. Reports indicate that it's North Korea's way of sending a message "to another African American..."

Basically, Kim Jung Un very blatantly wants you and Obama to know that he doesn't hate Black people.


[UPDATE 3/2]

Via Huffington Post:
Ending his unexpected round of basketball diplomacy in North Korea on Friday, ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman called leader Kim Jong Un an "awesome guy" and said his father and grandfather were "great leaders" – an assessment that got short shrift from the U.S. government.
Rodman, the highest-profile American to meet Kim since he inherited power from father Kim Jong Il in 2011, watched a basketball game with the authoritarian leader Thursday and later drank and dined on sushi with him.
At Pyongyang's Sunan airport on his way to Beijing, Rodman said it was "amazing" that the North Koreans were "so honest." He added that Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founder, "were great leaders."
"He's proud, his country likes him – not like him, love him, love him," Rodman said of Kim Jong Un. "Guess what, I love him. The guy's really awesome."
At Beijing's airport, Rodman pushed past waiting journalists without saying anything.
Rodman's agent, Darren Prince, sent a text message to The Associated Press saying Rodman will be in New York on Sunday "to do some major press interviews and talk about his trip in North Korea as well as discussing what's accurate and inaccurate from the press the past few days."
 [UPDATE 3/3] Fin.



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