KIM'S WANING PERSONALITY CULT

There's some new evidence that the Dear Leader's cult of personality is waning.

Canadian blogger Damian Penny stumbles across a Der Spiegelreport that notes that Kim is facing protests from the citizenry.

Slogans against the dictator ("Down with Kim Jong Il") appeared on railroad cars, overpasses and factory walls. Flyers condemning the dynasty's unbelievable ostentation were even posted outside the Kumsusan Mausoleum in Pyongyang, where the elder Kim's embalmed body lies in state. In a new, soon-to-be-published book about North Korea, Jasper Becker, 48, a British author and journalist living in Beijing, writes that factories, military units, and even entire towns revolted against the leadership in Pyongyang.

Fellow Canuck Kate McMillan finds a report that portraits of Kim have been vanishing. As can be expected, there are more detailed reports and comments by Robert Koehler at the Marmot's Hole

Diplomats and analysts differ on what the vanishing portraits mean, with some suggesting the military wants to limit his power and others saying that the removals were ordered by the Dear Leader himself.

Reuters has tracked down an authorative source:

But a Canadian tourist who landed in Beijing from Pyongyang on Tuesday said he saw Kim's portrait beside his father's frequently, including in office buildings and on subway cars as usual.

"Just yesterday, actually, I was in an office and saw the pictures on the wall," he said, adding they were also up in the subway.

Indeed, Canadian tourists always know what is happening in a country. As I am taking a brief vacation/job-search trip for the next two-weeks, I'm willing to offer my trusted opinion to any news agencies that want a view on the situations in Malaysia and Thailand.