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Uh oh...

We have always been at war with Oceania as the Eurasians have always been our allies.
You must do your part to ensure the Eastasian way of life.
The barbarians are at the gate.

“WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”

-Ministry of Truth
... " wake up , it's 1984 !! " .
- D. Elfman
:ninja:
 
We have always been at war with Oceania as the Eurasians have always been our allies. You must do your part to ensure the Eastasian way of life. The barbarians are at the gate.

“WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”

-Ministry of Truth

...exactly.

Orwell was right, you CAN convince a population of ANYTHING, if you maintain control of all information they receive.

This is why we should always protect the freedom of speech as it applies to media, even when it really P!$$es us off.

As a friend of mine here used to have in his sig file:

"Dissent is NOT un-American!"
 
Make a "You have to be this tall to play with nukes" sign. Case closed. Napoleon, Hitler, Kim Jong il, all short, all nuts.

Napoleon - 5' 6.5", almost 1" taller than the average Frenchman of his day.

Hitler - 5' 9", about 1" taller than the average German WW2 soldier, and about 2" taller than the average US WW2 soldier.

Mao - 5' 11"

Stalin - 5'8"

Kim Jong Il - 5' 3", which is just below average for a North Korean male.
 
...exactly.

Orwell was right, you CAN convince a population of ANYTHING, if you maintain control of all information they receive.

This is why we should always protect the freedom of speech as it applies to media, even when it really P!$$es us off.

As a friend of mine here used to have in his sig file:

"Dissent is NOT un-American!"

Not to take this too far off the North Korea topic, but I think this is an interesting tangent, especially considering some of the posters & posts here.

Beyond that, do you guys think (as has been suggested in a couple of posts throughout the pages) that the North Korean quality of life would be drastically different if they dispensed with their totalitarian leadership & embraced Western democracy?

And has anyone here actually been to North Korea recently? I've always gotten the impression that outside access is severely limited. I'd love to get some light shone on this.
 
Not to take this too far off the North Korea topic, but I think this is an interesting tangent, especially considering some of the posters & posts here.

Beyond that, do you guys think (as has been suggested in a couple of posts throughout the pages) that the North Korean quality of life would be drastically different if they dispensed with their totalitarian leadership & embraced Western democracy?

And has anyone here actually been to North Korea recently? I've always gotten the impression that outside access is severely limited. I'd love to get some light shone on this.

My understanding is that the NK popoulation is on the brink of starvation. It seems they could stand to spend a little less on weapons and a little more on feeding their people. New political leadership could help foster better relations with the rest of the world who might then be more willing to help NK with its domestic issues.

But that's just my take on things. I'm no diplomat.
 
My understanding is that the NK popoulation is on the brink of starvation. It seems they could stand to spend a little less on weapons and a little more on feeding their people. New political leadership could help foster better relations with the rest of the world who might then be more willing to help NK with its domestic issues.

But that's just my take on things. I'm no diplomat.
(I'm sad to say that I think you could apply the bolded to most nations.)

Its always been my understanding that NK has always been isolationist in nature, and aside from their longstanding war with SK, I don't see any expansionism in their future.

As far as Nuclear was is concerned, I'm fairly certain that won't be an option. Too many countries have nuclear capabilities, and too many of those countries have obligations to help out one side or the other.
 
Not to take this too far off the North Korea topic, but I think this is an interesting tangent, especially considering some of the posters & posts here.

Beyond that, do you guys think (as has been suggested in a couple of posts throughout the pages) that the North Korean quality of life would be drastically different if they dispensed with their totalitarian leadership & embraced Western democracy?

And has anyone here actually been to North Korea recently? I've always gotten the impression that outside access is severely limited. I'd love to get some light shone on this.


Well, it's not only dispensing with the current regime, it's also a reunification of the two Koreas. SK is a fairly prosperous nation. Think of East and West Germany. I was in the East shortly after the Wall came down and there was a very drastic difference between the two halves even though they were united at that point. It took a few years but eventually what was the former East Germany is now rockin'.
It's an imperfect comparison, I know but there are many similarities.
 
I might be wrong, but wouldn't the more apt comparison be between North Vietnam & South Vietnam?

Of course, the two situations are incredibly different (i.e. the North Koreans are the ones with the government imposed on an unwilling & unhappy people), but it seems about as valid.

Korea's far from my area of expertise, though.
 
I might be wrong, but wouldn't the more apt comparison be between North Vietnam & South Vietnam?

Of course, the two situations are incredibly different (i.e. the North Koreans are the ones with the government imposed on an unwilling & unhappy people), but it seems about as valid.

Korea's far from my area of expertise, though.

No, not really. The Germany comparison is far more apt.

You have a relatively stable, free, and prosperous country bordering on a very unstable, oppressed, and poor country, with a "border" imposed between two populations of the same "people" by a communist regime only interested in its own survival.

Removing that artificial barrier between the peoples would eventually end up with a similar situation to what happened when East Germany ceased to exist as an independent entity.

Now, HOW to cause this to happen in the NK/SK situation...who knows?

The biggest impediment is China continuing to prop up the regime in Pyongyang. If they withdraw their support, I don't see the NK regime continuing to function long. But, how do you get that to happen? There are many issues that would make such a situation from occurring, not the least of which China has no interest in a failed state, with millions of "refugees" on it's eastern border.

It is a sad situation, and there is no easy solution.

:atoz:
 
...exactly.

Orwell was right, you CAN convince a population of ANYTHING, if you maintain control of all information they receive.

This is why we should always protect the freedom of speech as it applies to media, even when it really P!$$es us off.

As a friend of mine here used to have in his sig file:

"Dissent is NOT un-American!"

Sadly, NK is not the only nation guilty of this. It happens right here at home as well. Quite often.
 
No, not really. The Germany comparison is far more apt.

You have a relatively stable, free, and prosperous country bordering on a very unstable, oppressed, and poor country, with a "border" imposed between two populations of the same "people" by a communist regime only interested in its own survival.

Removing that artificial barrier between the peoples would eventually end up with a similar situation to what happened when East Germany ceased to exist as an independent entity.

Now, HOW to cause this to happen in the NK/SK situation...who knows?

The biggest impediment is China continuing to prop up the regime in Pyongyang. If they withdraw their support, I don't see the NK regime continuing to function long. But, how do you get that to happen? There are many issues that would make such a situation from occurring, not the least of which China has no interest in a failed state, with millions of "refugees" on it's eastern border.

It is a sad situation, and there is no easy solution.

:atoz:

I'll take your word for it, as I'm not all that informed in the NK/SK split.

As far as China's involvement (i.e. the withdrawal of support), I don't expect much to happen--they have a nation squarely under their sphere of influence, and they're not (as far as I can see) suffering any negative consequences from that relationship.
 
Do the south Koreans have decent bomb shelters in their basements and neighborhoods? Do they have drills to practice running to the shelters whenthe sirens go off?

Actually, no. I just returned from Korea a few months ago, and believe it or not, South Korea has heard this kind of nonsense from NK for so long that they are immune to it. I'm not sure how this incident will play out, but it has gotten very, very little airplay on the South Korean news. I can tell you this though, the DMZ between North and South is one of the tensest, most surreal and bazaar places I have ever been! If war is going to break out anywhere in the world, that would be the place! As for Chinas influence with NK, well, it ain't much anymore. It is more military than economic, meaning China has to keep huge amounts of troops on their border to keep North Koreans from flooding into China. NK has very little money to buy food supplies from China (even if China was inclined to sell them alot, which their not!). NK is desperate with a capital D, and their leadership is completely irrational (to say the least). Even their army is starving! They know that they are isolated and have nothing to loose, and have absolutely no regard for their people. Could this incident trigger a war?.........Yup!
 

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