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North Korea Erases Executed Official From the Internet
itwbennett writes "The North Korean state propaganda machine has edited and deleted hundreds of news articles that mention Jang Song Thaek, the former top government and party official and uncle to leader Kim Jong Un, who was executed Thursday. Earlier this week, Jang was arrested in front of hundreds of senior members of the ruling Worker's Party of Korea and denounced for numerous alleged acts against the state and Kim Jong Un. From arrest to trial to death took only four days and the unprecedented fall from grace is widely being interpreted as an attempt by Kim Jong Un to keep officials loyal and scared."
The term 'Orwellian' tends to be overused a bit these days. But, having read 1984, this is something straight out of that book. The adjective is appropriate in this situation: Go ahead and use it.
They exercised his right to a speedy trial all right.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
"is widely being interpreted as an attempt by Kim Jong Un to keep officials loyal and scared."
Sounds like Stalin all over again....
"The purge was motivated by the desire to remove dissenters from the Communist Party and to consolidate the authority of Joseph Stalin. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Purge
How soon before what's left of your pathetic, useless brain leaks out the one nostril you don't pick?
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Yes, my heart goes out for Kim Jong Un, truly a victim of circumstance...
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
"You have disappointed me. From hereon: You're dead to me."
Laughter is the Spackle of the Soul.
Maybe if he killed himself, everyone would win.
All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
I never heard of him before this article; now he's indelible.
You make a good point. This will be really embarassing for his memoirs: "I learned everything about leadership from my un--... uh, my dad." Of course he could spin this as having gifts from his deity since he can't admit his uncle existed and schooled him.
Also, whatever the North Korean version of Thanksgiving will be pretty awkward from henceforth.
"Auntie, you look good..."
"Eat shit, you little bastard."
Laughter is the Spackle of the Soul.
Senator Obama voted for warrantless NSA spying 4 months before he was elected President. Try paying attention some time.
Look, his uncle was probably as much a despicable character as any in the NK ruling party, likely performing or being complicit in any number of crimes against humanity, so no real loss to the human race here in all likelihood. What I find disturbing though is that Jong-Un has displayed callous disregard for human life in recent months in order to maintain complete control over the population.
I had high hopes for him when I learned that he'd been schooled in Switzerland, spoke English and had made positive comments in the past about the plight of the NK people. I figured he was young, idealistic, and maybe not all that different from myself -- had I been placed into a very difficult situation due to my family lineage. If placed in such a situation, I imagine that for a year or two I might have acted the part (whatever that means) in order to maintain control long enough to come up with a plan to bring some level of reforms to the country and ensure a longer-term transition to democracy.
Then again, you never really hear about a dictator who had a change of heart and became 'sane' after being able to operate with complete impunity for a while. I guess it's true when they say absolute power corrupts absolutely.
It seems that his age and boyish looks belie the fact that Jong-Il chose and groomed his successor very carefully.
This guy was one of the top brass in NK. Lets keep in mind how many millions of tortures and death he's likely responsible for. The worlds better off without him, and we can only hope NK becomes unstable soon. Those poor people that live there, my God. How can we still have such a place on this earth.
How is he supposed to serve as a lesson to others if they're busy purging all records of him?
"Remember what happened to Jang Song Thaek before you think about crossing me!"
"Who? I don't remember him at all."
"Exactly!"
Sounds a bit more like bad comedy than a real threat.
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The term 'Orwellian' tends to be overused a bit these days. But, having read 1984, this is something straight out of that book
Millions of Jews died in the hand of the Nazis. Those who went through holocaust hell but survived fully comprehend the meaning of "LIBERTY".
Many people tried to scale the Berlin wall but was shot to death. Those who were successful fully appreciate the importance of "LIBERTY".
Some brave souls from North Korea risk everything and went through a very dangerous journey crossing the very heavily guarded border into China. To them, "LIBERTY" is worth much more than all the gold in the world.
They do not need "1984" to tell them the horror. They have experience it first hand.
I had befriended several holocaust survivors when I was in the United States (back when many of them were still alive, in the 70's) and I found that, for them, the same thing happen : Mere words could never justify the horrors that they had gone through.
The scars that they had was much worse than the scars that I have. They had their family slaughtered right in front of them, and yet, when I asked them to describe how they feel, they just shook their head.
They couldn't.
It's not the "hurt" that stopped them from telling me what happened. It's that SPOKEN WORDS itself is not sufficient.
Now, when I see people like you justifying your "understanding" the horror with a fiction, I sadly shake my head.
"1984" is but an old fiction.
You guys might find it useful, but to us who had been through the horror, that book does not even come close to the actual experience.
To us, "LIBERTY" means much more than life itself.
To some of you, that word is, a word.
That is why I mourn for the loss of "LIBERTY" of the United States of America but too many born and bred Americans themselves don't even understand what they have lost.
I humbly ask for your forgiveness because English is not my mother tongue. There are times, like now, I am at a total loss of words to describe how I feel.
All I can say is this --- You will never understand the importance of "LIBERTY" until you have lost it.
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FISA_Amendments_Act_of_2008
That Kim Jong Un is no fool. When executing relatives, always do it just *before* xmas, not *after*. That way you save on buying a present.
wait they killed who? I don't know anyone by that name.
Just another second banana
You modern right-wingers collectively can't muster the balls of Timothy McVeigh (who failed to kickstart anything because the rest of you are gutless) so all you do is snivel on the internet, forward Faux News articles, and grumble like a bunch of blue-haired biddies in your little circle jerk of mutual affirmation.
You don't do shit, so quit bitching. You rant about the "Greatest Generation" but you aren't a bump on their collective posterior.
YOUR GOPs relentless incompetence and pathetic candidates are why Obama (who I also dislike) is in office in the first place! YOU got him elected twice.
The refusal of modern so-called "conservatism" to do anything other than preach like the White Trash Christian Taliban you are at heart while gargling the balls of rich people who wouldn't be caught dead with you is a disgrace.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
Dictators rarely die of natural causes
His father and grandfather died in the saddle of natural causes.
And actually, unfortunately, plenty of others do too, e.g. Franco, Salazar, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot... And if you include the ones ousted but not killed (e.g. Duvalier, Amin, Pinochet) the list gets even longer.
(not killing dictators is actually important because if killing them is the only way to get rid of them they will hold on more tightly. The means of bribing them by letting them keep some ill-gotten gains is justified by the ends).
If they are all scared of the fat little shit why doesn't someone just shoot him.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
> And? Check the official vote rolls [senate.gov]. He didn't vote for it. His name isn't even in the list. Want to try again?
Please try to get the facts correct.
The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (also called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008, H.R. 6304
The roll call is here:
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00168 (vote 168 not 236 which you linked to)
His name is on that list from 2008. You linked to the extension vote in 2012...of course his name isn't on it as a voting SENATOR.
Obama's the PRESIDENT at that time.
Often wrong but never in doubt.
I am Jack9.
Everyone knows me.
All internet that they have control over. Don't be obtuse.
"Schooling" is mandatory. "Education" on the other hand often seems to be actively discouraged.
To be clear
"To be clear" seems to be Obama's way of saying, "I am about to be unclear."
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
They also deleted his Facebook profile ... oh wait, they can't.
The reason Obama won each time wasn't because an insufficient number of people didn't trust/like him -- it's the "lesser evil"voting method at work. It's a lot like the old joke about being in a crowd chased by a monster:the folks that survive aren't all the fastest, they're simply not the slowest.
In 2008, the Democratic Party was dangerously split by hostility between Obama's & Clinton's fans, and the Left was further fractured by the voters angry over Democrat politicians not living up to their pledge to change things. The GOPlost that time because of the damage Bush/Cheney had caused and because the GOP's candidates were literally considered laughably awful.
In 2012, Left-leaning voters were extremely angry over the performance both Obama *and*the other Democrats had given over the previous four years. There was a very real chance that the Democrats were going to lose...but because the Right-Wing politicians had managed to make their side look like it would've probably caused even more damage, the GOP once again lost.
That's the reason that the guy you're responding to blamed the GOP for putting Obama in power -- it could've convinced any number of people that the guy wasn't a great candidate, but it *couldn't* convince them that its own candidates weren't worse in one way or another. It's something to keep in mind in the near future, too; 2016 will be here before we know it...
North Korea doesn't have a death row. It's more like a death toboggan chute.