That's bad for your comma

Let's dive right in — I don't think commas are necessary to offset the below-mentioned dictator's name:

[via The New York Times]

I do believe we are in the presence of what I shall henceforth call Press Release Commas. Writers of such releases are quite keen to place commas around all name drops (i.e. Rock icon, Elvis Presley, has left the building). They'd no doubt like you to pause and gawk at all names they mention, hence the commas.

In the above case, I do believe Kim Jong-il acts as an appositive, and commas aren't needed there, because it is essential information in the sentence. Just like here:


If anyone cares to debate this, the floor is yours. I could be (and often am) wrong. Please, you discuss!