i do. if you don't believe in god, you are less than human imo. i consider atheists to be their own distinct "man" -- a sub-race of scheming, troll-like imposters. not part of the soul's family.
if you remember the name, please let me know. as an aside, i've only seen one documentary in which someone (a south korean journalist iirc) managed to sneak a hidden camera into the dprk and interview some of the locals.
shit i'm dumb i started reading the thread over again while waiting for you to reply and found the "1950s war" quote in teapots op. must've skimmed over it the first time my bad
no. you're not allowed to do / see anything on your own. you're escorted at all times by a handler, and only permitted to visit government-approved tourist sites. no interaction with the locals is possible. the rest of the time you're confined to your hotel (they set the itinerary, not you). and then it's time to go home. big whoop. every two-bit discovery channel hack has their own north korea travel documentary these days.
easy solution: move to the other side of the puget sound, and commute to seattle by ferry. the most expensive monthly pass is still way cheaper than the bridge, plus would you rather be chilling on a boat or stuck in traffic?
what are you talking about? america is a corrupt wasteland. i've said it a thousand times.
reminder: i also said illusion of political choice, which americans have in spades. you are terrible at this. this discussion started because you (or another dot) tried to paint kim il-sung as some kind of decent old man whose reputation has been destroyed by his degenerate successors. that's what i've been talking about this whole time. if you're incapable of following along, go start a thread about american politics and i'll be happy to join in.
there is no such thing as even the illusion of political choice when you cannot elect your head of state -- a head of state who wields absolute power and authority. north korea is not a "constitutional monarchy" like britain; it is a monarchy. a communist monarchy, for christ's sake. that's like a black guy leading the ku klux klan. it boggles my mind that you're even defending this sort of nonsense.
totally irrelevant, because kim il-sung ruled north korea during both the "swinging '50s" and the "stagnant early '90s" (his son took power in '94). so which is it?
and, again, there is no mention of his character or concern for his people in your pasted excerpt, which is what i took exception to in the first place. this is a man who created the world's only communist monarchy. he denied his own people even the illusion of political choice. instead, he built himself up as a god -- a literal, down-from-the-mountain-top god -- and formed a state religion around these ridiculous myths to further demoralize and control his own people.
the generals already have modern goods. you realize that they ride around in mercedes benz sedans, right? and that kim jong-il was notorious for spending tens of thousands of dollars at a time on cases of hennessy.
are you kidding? you think kim jong-il was a figure of strength? a porn-obsessed drunkard like him? he spent his entire life under the thumb of the military. his son is no different. that's why nothing will change in north korea. kim jong-un isn't his father's son; he's his reincarnation.
china is preparing to move against most of its neighbors to secure its territorial claims:
when it comes to north korea, the chinese aren't "working on" anything. to them, the entire korean peninsula is a throwaway; an altar sacrifice and nothing more. china treats the dprk like a rotten tree branch, useful only for poking uncle sam in the eye. but now that american power and influence are on the decline, china smells blood and is ready to assert its dominance in the region by force. they will never bend their little korean stick into an olive wreath. they'll tie a brick to the end of it and wield it like a war club. and if the stick snaps in half, oh well.
the most expensive monthly pass is still way cheaper than the bridge, plus would you rather be chilling on a boat or stuck in traffic?
why am i not surprised.