Kim Jong Il was also reported to have selected all winners of horse races around the world for 10 years running

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/...ed_614495.html....is this b1tch for real

oh wow. our taxpayer dollars at work. makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside...or maybe that's nausea.

A little long, but worth reading.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article...ng_il?page=0,0

That was a little long,so I didn't feel it worth reading.

Well worth the read... Thanks.

That was an excellent article. Thanks for posting the link. I've read that every household in North Korea is required to have a state radio on at all times. The people can adjust the radio's volume, but they cannot turn it off or turn the sound completely down. The radios broadcasts state propaganda messages.

unbelievable article. thanks for posting it.

Ditto. Great article. Thanks.

Fathers don't kill their daughters in honor so they are above a good portion of the world.

Evolution speech of course.

:zz: Me thinks you need one of these under the christmas tree
http://www.breathalyzeralcoholtester...-accucell.html

that's directly from the novel 1984 by george orwell and is a patently ridiculous idea when talking about a country that looks like this at night:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...ht-photograph/

I saw that the other day - unbelievable!

The state must get its message out at all costs. I now remember where I read about that tidbit of North Korean life.

"In fact, except for a tiny elite, the DPRK’s 25 million inhabitants are not connected to the Internet. Televisions are set to receive only government stations. International radio signals are routinely jammed, and electricity is unreliable. Freestanding radios are illegal. But every North Korean household and business is outfitted with a government-controlled radio hardwired to a central station. The speaker comes with a volume control, but no off switch."

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...ngle_page=true

Whole country is a cult

Did you hear that a deal was just about to be announced, where we were going to help feed their starving? Put on hold due to Ils death.

Hint: It doesn't go to their starving fool!

winston turned a switch and the voice sank somewhat, though the words were still distinguishable. the instrument (the telescreen it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely...winston kept his back turned to the telescreen...

-george orwell

what are the chances that a society which starves it's citizens and is dark at night hardwired government controlled radio to every household and business?

use your critical reasoning.

I suppose the same chances that such a society would have a sizable and fairly well-equipped military. The welfare of its people is obviously not a top priority for its government.

Not that the CIA is always truthful, but the proliferation of state radios is mentioned in the CIA's World Factbook section on North Korea:
"AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station; North Korea has a "national intercom" cable radio station wired throughout the country that is a significant source of information for the average North Korean citizen; it is wired into most residences and workplaces and carries news and commentary), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2006)"

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-to-north-kore

That was nice of him. :rolleyes:

Ooops I guess it wasnt politicaly correct for the Times to post the story because now the story has been removed.
Former President Carter wrote a letter to the dearly departed's son wishing him luck in his new role as leader.



Former President Jimmy Carter has sent North Korea a message of condolence over the death of Kim Jong-il and wished “every success” to the son expected to take over as dictator, according to the communist country's state-run news agency.

A dispatch from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Mr. Carter sent the message to Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il’s third son and heir apparent.

“In the message, Jimmy Carter extended condolences to Kim Jong-un and the Korean people over the demise of leader Kim Jong-il. He wished Kim Jong-un every success as he assumes his new responsibility of leadership, looking forward to another visit to [North Korea] in the future,” the KCNA dispatch read.

When contacted by The Washington Times for comment and to confirm the accuracy of KCNA’s account, the Carter Center provided an e-mail contact for a spokeswoman who is out of the office until after the New Year.

An e-mail message to her assistant was not immediately returned.

Mr. Carter has visited North Korea twice, including a 1994 visit for talks that led to a deal in which North Korea agreed to dismantle its nuclear-weapons program in exchange for oil and the construction of two nuclear reactors. That deal collapsed in 2002.

The former U.S. president has downplayed a 2010 North Korean attack on a South Korean island and the disclosure of a uranium-enrichment facility, saying the acts were merely “designed to remind the world that they deserve respect in negotiations that will shape their future.”