Showing posts with label pyongyang. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pyongyang. Show all posts
Friday, February 20, 2026
Thursday, March 19, 2020
A look inside: Fun in North Korea (video)
DW (German PBS, March 1, 2020); CC Liu, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
A look at life inside North Korea
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| American propaganda makes us fear tiny country |
Perhaps no other country in the world is as mysterious as North Korea (except perhaps Buddhist Bhutan). In the West it’s known as the last Stalinist dictatorship, the land of Dictator Kim Jong Un, bombastic military parades, and nuclear missile tests.
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| Kim Jong Il is a dictator and a nut. |
The filmmakers behind Have Fun in Pyongyang (p'yong-yang), the capital of the country, visited people who have lived in the isolated mountainous nation for three generations. Over eight years, they visited North Korea 40 times to attend festivals and harvest ceremonies, visit factories, and listen to singing contests, in the process catching surprising, fascinating, and bizarre glimpses of everyday life.
The documentary gives an insight into North Korean life and helps us understand how the impoverished, isolated country has survived the end of the Cold War, the famine of the 1990s that cost hundreds of thousands their lives, and the never-ending diplomatic and military conflicts.
DW Documentary brings knowledge beyond the headlines from German broadcasters and international production companies. Meet intriguing people, travel to distant lands, get a look behind the complexities of daily life, and build a deeper understanding of current affairs and global events.
The documentary gives an insight into North Korean life and helps us understand how the impoverished, isolated country has survived the end of the Cold War, the famine of the 1990s that cost hundreds of thousands their lives, and the never-ending diplomatic and military conflicts.
DW Documentary brings knowledge beyond the headlines from German broadcasters and international production companies. Meet intriguing people, travel to distant lands, get a look behind the complexities of daily life, and build a deeper understanding of current affairs and global events.
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- Facebook.com/dw.stories
- DW netiquette policy: p.dw.com/p/MF1G
Monday, December 19, 2011
3 Deaths: Atheist, Dictator, Rebel
Wisdom Quarterly
A Good, Godless Man
Sadly the world this week lost famed atheist, alcoholic, and author Christopher Hitchens. He challenged the Judeo-Christian West to reevaluate our deeply ingrained belief systems and assumptions. His book God is Not Great made a splash among monotheists and joyful nonbelievers. Even more sadly, in his foolishness and fanatic devotion to Science, Hitchens could not overcome mainstream medicine's mocking of "alternative" cancer cure claims. And so he lost his life, and we lost a great voice of reason and inquiry, however misguided he may have been in his search for truth from time to time.
Are profitable cancer (oncology) centers, mainstream drug companies, and wealthy research labs mourning the loss? No, they are busy counting the profits and pleading for more funding to explore the same three treatment options: chemo, surgery, and radioactive bombardment. Hitchens ignored the healing methodologies not based on corporate profit, which people celebrate every single day choosing instead to "fight" cancer. Forced to stick to his pride and misplaced devotion to proprietary science in the name of real "Science," Christopher followed the deadly route of allopathic medicine, whose official articles of faith only allow discussion of chemical poisoning, excision, and ionizing radiation. His acidifying habit of alcohol toxicity would have made the alternatives seem very unappealing when one can carry on as one loses one's hair (due to chemo, not to cancer) and health and eventually this precious human life. Hitchens died without knowing. And depending on where he was reborn, he may still not know where he went wrong. But there is a chance it all became clear...just a little too late.
Tyrant's baby son to rule North Korea -- with an iron fist or velvet glove remains to be seen (heraldsun.com.au).
A Good, Godless Man
Sadly the world this week lost famed atheist, alcoholic, and author Christopher Hitchens. He challenged the Judeo-Christian West to reevaluate our deeply ingrained belief systems and assumptions. His book God is Not Great made a splash among monotheists and joyful nonbelievers. Even more sadly, in his foolishness and fanatic devotion to Science, Hitchens could not overcome mainstream medicine's mocking of "alternative" cancer cure claims. And so he lost his life, and we lost a great voice of reason and inquiry, however misguided he may have been in his search for truth from time to time.
Are profitable cancer (oncology) centers, mainstream drug companies, and wealthy research labs mourning the loss? No, they are busy counting the profits and pleading for more funding to explore the same three treatment options: chemo, surgery, and radioactive bombardment. Hitchens ignored the healing methodologies not based on corporate profit, which people celebrate every single day choosing instead to "fight" cancer. Forced to stick to his pride and misplaced devotion to proprietary science in the name of real "Science," Christopher followed the deadly route of allopathic medicine, whose official articles of faith only allow discussion of chemical poisoning, excision, and ionizing radiation. His acidifying habit of alcohol toxicity would have made the alternatives seem very unappealing when one can carry on as one loses one's hair (due to chemo, not to cancer) and health and eventually this precious human life. Hitchens died without knowing. And depending on where he was reborn, he may still not know where he went wrong. But there is a chance it all became clear...just a little too late.
Tyrant's baby son to rule North Korea -- with an iron fist or velvet glove remains to be seen (heraldsun.com.au).Hillary must be wringing her hands
"We came, we saw, he died," Clinton squealed about Libya. [She came, she didn't meet with him, we killed him?] She then went to Burma to make sure it stayed away from North Korea and its weapons sales. Then their troublesome leader died mysteriously on a train.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, 69, succumbed to heart difficulties this week. A "god" among men, at least among North Koreans kept in the dark about the outside world, Il proved to be more vulnerable to his hardening than was thought possible. Surely he is an immortal. He nevertheless is survived by his wives and children, the youngest of which (Kim Jong Un)
will rise to the throne of absolute power. Will he be a playboy, a tyrant, a revolutionary youngster inspired by the worldwide Arab Spring and Occupy Movement? Whatever he does, we are likely to hear the worst of it in an ongoing campaign of disinformation about North Korea, having sided with the South and manned a no man's land (the DMZ or demilitarized zone) that sees frequent unrest while creating an island of biodiversity in the midst of a long running war.
Finally, a more inspiring leader was also lost in Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel, 75. He was the much-lauded Czech writer and dissident turned president after the 1989 Velvet Revolution in which “people power” led to a peaceful transition of power after 40 years of communist rule. He passed away on Dec. 18. He died in his sleep at his country house in northern Bohemia next to his second wife, actress Dagmar Veškrnová.
His experience as a dissident who spent years in Communist prisons and his powerful writings -- not only his plays with their critique of the regime but even more his open letter to the Communist leader Gustav Husák, his essay “The Power of the Powerless,” and his Letters to Olga, written while imprisoned from 1979 to 1983 -- seem all the more important to recall at the end of a year in which popular Occupy and Arab Spring uprisings have ended the rule of dictators in the Arab world and in which the protester, occupying on Wall Street and cities throughout the US, Canada, and Europe, has become an emblematic figure. More
"We came, we saw, he died," Clinton squealed about Libya. [She came, she didn't meet with him, we killed him?] She then went to Burma to make sure it stayed away from North Korea and its weapons sales. Then their troublesome leader died mysteriously on a train.North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, 69, succumbed to heart difficulties this week. A "god" among men, at least among North Koreans kept in the dark about the outside world, Il proved to be more vulnerable to his hardening than was thought possible. Surely he is an immortal. He nevertheless is survived by his wives and children, the youngest of which (Kim Jong Un)
will rise to the throne of absolute power. Will he be a playboy, a tyrant, a revolutionary youngster inspired by the worldwide Arab Spring and Occupy Movement? Whatever he does, we are likely to hear the worst of it in an ongoing campaign of disinformation about North Korea, having sided with the South and manned a no man's land (the DMZ or demilitarized zone) that sees frequent unrest while creating an island of biodiversity in the midst of a long running war.- Kim Jong Il's legacy of defiance
- Kim Jong-il: South Korea on high alert after North Korea confirms passing of enigmatic leader
Finally, a more inspiring leader was also lost in Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel, 75. He was the much-lauded Czech writer and dissident turned president after the 1989 Velvet Revolution in which “people power” led to a peaceful transition of power after 40 years of communist rule. He passed away on Dec. 18. He died in his sleep at his country house in northern Bohemia next to his second wife, actress Dagmar Veškrnová.
His experience as a dissident who spent years in Communist prisons and his powerful writings -- not only his plays with their critique of the regime but even more his open letter to the Communist leader Gustav Husák, his essay “The Power of the Powerless,” and his Letters to Olga, written while imprisoned from 1979 to 1983 -- seem all the more important to recall at the end of a year in which popular Occupy and Arab Spring uprisings have ended the rule of dictators in the Arab world and in which the protester, occupying on Wall Street and cities throughout the US, Canada, and Europe, has become an emblematic figure. MoreThursday, October 23, 2008
UN warns millions could starve in N. Korea
Kwang-Tae Kim (AP)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is shown in Pyongyang on 10/28/05, North Korea. South Korea said 10/20/08 it was business as usual in North Korea, despite media reports that Pyongyang was poised to make an announcement possibly concerning the health of its leader (AP Photo/Xinhua, Yao Dawei, File).
SEOUL, South Korea – The U.N. food agency has warned that millions of North Koreans could face starvation, but a South Korean official said Thursday that Seoul has not decided whether to respond to a request for food aid to the communist country.
Around 2.7 million people on North Korea's west coast will run out of food in October, the World Food Program said in a report released on Tuesday.
North Korea has relied on aid to help feed its 23 million people since natural disasters and mismanagement devastated its centrally controlled economy in the mid-1990s. Famine is believed to have killed 2 million people. The country's food shortage has worsened this year following devastating floods in 2007.
Around 2.7 million people on North Korea's west coast will run out of food in October, the World Food Program said in a report released on Tuesday.
North Korea has relied on aid to help feed its 23 million people since natural disasters and mismanagement devastated its centrally controlled economy in the mid-1990s. Famine is believed to have killed 2 million people. The country's food shortage has worsened this year following devastating floods in 2007.
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South Koreans watch a TV news program at a railway station in Seoul in June that shows a graphic video of the destruction of a cooling tower at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex. The top US nuclear envoy said he remained confident of learning how much plutonium North Korea had produced but added the next round of disarmament talks was unlikely to be held this month (AFP/File/Jung Yeon-Je). Previous 20 of 103 Next
The WFP also said the food shortages have especially affected urban households in areas with low industrial activity due to higher food prices, reductions in public food rations and lower employment.
The food shortage warning comes as the North has ratcheted up its hostile rhetoric against South Korea and its president amid fraying ties.
In August, the WFP asked South Korea to provide emergency aid to North Korea to help it avert a food crisis, but Seoul has not yet responded.
The South Korean government said it would not tie food aid to North Korea's nuclear disarmament, but it also said public opinion was a consideration in deciding whether to send aid.
On Thursday, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon said no decision had yet been made.
South Korea has been a main aid donor to its impoverished northern neighbor, but public sentiment has worsened following the July shooting death of a South Korean tourist at a North Korean mountain resort.
North Korea had previously rejected South Korean offers of direct food aid in apparent anger over the new South Korean government's harder-line policy toward the North.
The North warned Seoul last week that it might cut any remaining ties between the neighbors if South Korea continues its policy of "reckless confrontation."
On Wednesday, South Korea denied it had taken a hard-line stance toward the North, calling that view "preconceived or biased."
The WFP also said the food shortages have especially affected urban households in areas with low industrial activity due to higher food prices, reductions in public food rations and lower employment.
The food shortage warning comes as the North has ratcheted up its hostile rhetoric against South Korea and its president amid fraying ties.
In August, the WFP asked South Korea to provide emergency aid to North Korea to help it avert a food crisis, but Seoul has not yet responded.
The South Korean government said it would not tie food aid to North Korea's nuclear disarmament, but it also said public opinion was a consideration in deciding whether to send aid.
On Thursday, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon said no decision had yet been made.
South Korea has been a main aid donor to its impoverished northern neighbor, but public sentiment has worsened following the July shooting death of a South Korean tourist at a North Korean mountain resort.
North Korea had previously rejected South Korean offers of direct food aid in apparent anger over the new South Korean government's harder-line policy toward the North.
The North warned Seoul last week that it might cut any remaining ties between the neighbors if South Korea continues its policy of "reckless confrontation."
On Wednesday, South Korea denied it had taken a hard-line stance toward the North, calling that view "preconceived or biased."
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