North Korea makes using a cellphone a war crime during 100 day mourning period - Polidicks

Source: [url]http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/27/north-korea-makes-using-a-cellphone-a-war-crime-during-100-day-m/[/url] [quote] Dear Leader may have blessed his subjects with the gift of 3G in 2008, but in his death he is taking it back... at least temporarily. As part of the country's 100 days of mourning, cellphones have been banned within its borders. If you're caught pulling out a portable to make a call, send a text or get directions to the nearest statue of the departed dictator you'll be charged as a war criminal -- that means serious time in a labor camp or death. Fun! Then again, in a nation where the average income is about $1 a month and cellphone ownership is a highly restricted privilege, we can't imagine too many people have anything to worry about. Sadly, this also means there's one less way to get information out of the already hard to crack territory. [/quote]This is one of the dumbest things I have heard coming from that cult of a country.

[QUOTE=faze;34414822] This is one of the dumbest things I have heard coming from that cult of a country.[/QUOTE] Agree'd, theres usually always at least SOME kind of logic behind what governments like this one spew out, irregardless of how stupid it is. But this? wat..

[QUOTE=The fox;34414838]Agree'd, theres usually always at least SOME kind of logic behind what governments like this one spew out, irregardless of how stupid it is. But this? wat..[/QUOTE] Yeah it's pretty stupid.

Somehow I feel like this never would've happened if Japan didn't annex their country way back when.

Wow, 100 days? Assuming that they don't work during this mourning period that's really gonna fuck up the country even more.

[QUOTE=Megafanx13;34414848]Somehow I feel like this never would've happened if Japan didn't annex their country way back when.[/QUOTE] Actually it's pretty much Russia's fault. They wanted to install someone as the leader of the Korean people after they won control of the territory from the Japanese, so chose a fairly high ranking officer from their own military, Kim Il-sung. They also helped him out a bit by laying the foundation for his personality cult and killing/exiling any possible attempts on his rule.

[QUOTE=Megafanx13;34414848]Somehow I feel like this never would've happened if Japan didn't annex their country way back when.[/QUOTE] What the fuck Japan has to do with this? I don't see South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines or even China being so fucked up like North Korea despite all being annexed by Japan during WW2.

What surprised me more is that they have cellphones.

Christ, it's depressing that literally nobody in this thread has considered this is obviously a way to make it harder for people to communicate and the mourning reason is just cooked up.

[QUOTE=CheeseMan;34418154]Christ, it's depressing that literally nobody in this thread has considered this is obviously a way to make it harder for people to communicate and the mourning reason is just cooked up.[/QUOTE] you were post number nine, it's not like it went to three pages or something.

God damn, no cellphones? Not even if you get shot?

Well, guess North Korea is never gonna make progress.

"Can you hear me now?" death penalty

[QUOTE=JETFIGHTER5;34418041]What surprised me more is that they have cellphones.[/QUOTE] Only high up in the government apparently, same for cars from what I've heard

I feel terribly sorry for NK citizens, they do not deserve this kind of stupidity. [editline]27th January 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=CakeMaster7;34419042]Only high up in the government apparently, same for cars from what I've heard[/QUOTE] Oh never mind then. Still I fell bad for NK citizens to be treated so bad.

They have 3G? That's really surprising.

as if anyone in north korea has a cell phone edit: nevermind found pics [img]http://www.armyradio.com/arsc/skin1/images/BC-659-(%20)_Demo.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=Tunak Mk. II;34419765]as if anyone in north korea has a cell phone[/QUOTE] [editline]27th January 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=CakeMaster7;34419042]Only high up in the government apparently, same for cars from what I've heard[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=CheeseMan;34418154]Christ, it's depressing that literally nobody in this thread has considered this is obviously a way to make it harder for people to communicate and the mourning reason is just cooked up.[/QUOTE] Can't they just shoot the network down? [editline]27th January 2012[/editline] As well as trace all the calls, and instantly reveal any offenders?

That's rather...random. Also: [IMG]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3634/3565759415_f5b0beed7e_z.jpg?zz=1[/IMG]

[QUOTE=znk666;34420216]That's rather...random. Also: [IMG]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3634/3565759415_f5b0beed7e_z.jpg?zz=1[/IMG][/QUOTE] That joke isn't funny anymore.

Seems they're trying hard to get people to mourn for the cunt. From what I heard he was a lot less liked than his father; his son even less liked than him.

Sometimes I wonder what the universe looks like from North Korea.

[QUOTE=Megafanx13;34414848]Somehow I feel like this never would've happened if Japan didn't annex their country way back when.[/QUOTE] I guess you could say that, to some extent. Although the Japanese annexation of Korea was a long time coming by 1905. They actually tried several times in the past, and only on the last did they succeeded by using a pen instead. This would not have changed unless you had changed the United States' handling of the Russo-Japanese War, and for that matter, how the West treated the Japanese after its rapid modernization. The US decided not to interfere with Japanese matters in the Treaty of Portsmouth, and in fact before that, during the negotiations, Howard Taft actually said that it wouldn't be a bad idea for Japan to control Korea in international concerns, while letting Korea govern its own domestic issues. He wasn't the President, but he was representing Roosevelt when he made that statement. Since no one but the Japanese (and, well the Koreans) cared what the Japanese did, they went ahead and increased their presence, eventually resorting to blackmail, house arrest, and disrupting diplomatic communication between the Joseon Dynasty, The United States, and other powers. Not that it would have mattered, honestly, because most of these countries viewed Korea as they'd originally viewed Japan 50 years prior, and even then, they agreed to not get involved with the issue. The prime minister was actually locked in a room by the Japanese diplomat so they could vote to approve the Eulsa Treaty, which essentially told Chosun to kiss its diplomatic sovereignty goodbye. In 1910, the Japanese just decided they might as well officially take over the entire country, and that's what they did. It's a bit odd to say, but in this case, it's actually partially the United States who's to blame in the first place for turning the other way for a friend. No one ever raised any issues with Japan, about anything, actually, until after World War I, when the Western Powers tried to get Japan to sign the Treaty of Versailles, which would have forced them to size down their navy. Obviously, they didn't sign, and it really soured relations between them all, and here we are today.

[QUOTE=Megafanx13;34414848]Somehow I feel like this never would've happened if Japan didn't annex their country way back when.[/QUOTE] "If history hadn't gone the way it went, things would be different" daaaaaaaaaamn

It doesn't really matter, if Japan wanted to expand, it would, anyone else who told them be damned. I seriously doubt that even if the US got involved, it would abandon it. Instead, it would probably launch a military invasion to annex it without the US turning a blind eye, which would cause very bad relations between everyone involved. Japan would also probably end up much more strapped for resources, and would try to expand much faster and more desperately than they would in the 1930's. At least then, it turned out that Korea itself wouldn't support the industrial capacity for a war with China, although it did bolster Japanese industry and food production before they began the campaign of expansion. You would likely see some form of conflict between this and the outbreak of World War I, or immediately after, assuming that the Treaty of Versailles acted as the final straw. It would be a largely naval conflict, but the Japanese would probably try to strike at colonial possessions, *And* try and formally take over Korea by force if it hadn't already.