Now that [North Korea] has demonstrated its technical and scientific achievements, we remind her of her duties to the countries which have been her great friends, and it would be unjust to forget that such a war would particularly affect more than 70% of the population of the planet. If a conflict of that nature should break out there, the government of Barack Obama in his second mandate would be buried in a deluge of images which would present him as the most sinister character in the history of the United States. The duty of avoiding war is also his and that of the people of the United States.Fidel Castro, writing in Cuban state media to advise its ally North Korea against starting a war. source
Guess what? In three months, Cubans will be allowed to travel abroad without a permit. Currently, residents of the island nation have to obtain a costly permission slip from the state in order to travel overseas, and are allowed to spend less than a year total off Cuban soil. However, the foreign ministry announced today that the permit requirement will be eliminated within 90 days, and Cubans will now be permitted to spend two years abroad. (Photo: AP). source
No free rides: North Korean president Kim Jong-un issued a rare public condemnation today of—wait for it—a North Korean amusement park. According to a South Korean report, Lil’ Kim visited the Mangyongdae Funfair recently, and was none too pleased with its upkeep. He called a path in front of a Viking ride “pathetic” and, upon spotting errant weeds growing in between pavement blocks, bent down and plucked them out himself (with “an irritated look” on his face, no less). He also showed his philosophical side, citing a proverb (“The darkest place is under the candlestick”) to illustrate the park’s poor condition. Analysts suspect it’s an attempt to portray Kim as a strong leader who cares for the good of his people, and we are 100% positive that this will work. (Photo: AP) source
First Mexico, then Cuba: Pope Benedict was well-received in Mexico, where almost 350,000 people attended his Sunday Mass. But Cuba’s a bit of a challenge: Focusing less on his mass appeal there, the Pope hopes to use his trip to unite the world’s Catholic countries with those considered to be less Catholic. And Cuba, which until recently was an officially atheist nation, is certainly “less Catholic.” Smaller crowds were expected to attend his services in Cuba — despite the government providing transportation and a paid day off of work. Pope Benedict said last week that he hopes the people of Cuba can move away from Marxism to “find new models, with patience, and in a constructive way.” Hopefully he helps them along while wearing funny hats. source
First of all, you thank heavens that Fidel Castro has returned to his maker.Mitt Romney • On what he would do with Cuba if Fidel Castro were to die. Newt Gingrich, conversely, suggests he wouldn’t be meeting his maker. DUDES, HE’S STILL ALIVE! Ron Paul, meanwhile, doesn’t understand why the U.S. isn’t willing to open up its doors to Cubans: “I think we’re living in the dark ages when we can’t talk to the Cuban people.” Santorum thinks the sanctions should continue for now: “We need to have a very solid offer to come help the Cuban people.”
The multimillion-dollar cinema has been showing only one film, “Turkmenistan the Heavenly Land,” since it opened in central Ashgabat about six months ago.
“Perhaps people got tired of the film,” said a cinema employee who didn’t want to give his name. “Most of our customers are not interested in the film, they just come to see the movie house itself.”
He said the theater needed at least five customers to show the movie, but most of the time the number of visitors didn’t reach five and the showing was canceled.
Looks like they don’t like the gimmick of 3D any more in former Soviet states than they do in the US.
And for the “unlucky” North Koreans: This is an interview with Dong Hyuk Shin, a 26-year-old North Korean who was born in—and escaped—one of the country’s concentration camps. In North Korea, if you’re accused of political dissent (which includes, for example, sitting on a picture of Kim Jong-Il), you and three generations of your family are thrown into a gulag. So if, like Shin, your mother is accused of opposing the regime, and she gets pregnant in the camp, you’ll be born there, and that’s where you’ll stay for your entire existence. Unless, like Shin, you manage to escape. This is a long video (Shin himself starts at about 21:00), but we guarantee your eyes will not be dry by the end. Oh, and here’s a New York Times article with more information on the DPRK’s prison camps, if you care to read more.
If a funeral takes place during the day and the burial is performed that evening, the grave may be dug open and the body stolen before morning. Such incidents happen often. The stolen body is cut into pieces and sold on the black market…the dead bodies lose freshness overnight, which makes it difficult to market them.A North Korean refugee, regarding the sale of human flesh in his country. North Korea is a hellhole for most of its (non-enlisted) citizens, thanks to Kim Jon-Il and his late father, Kim Il-Sung. Practices such as the one described above take place in amongst North Korea’s “lucky” citizens—that is, those who have managed to avoid being locked up in forced labor camps, a topic we’ll have more on later. More on North Korean cannibalism here.
The Associated Press got unprecedented access to North Korea. The photos from The Atlantic website are absolutely stunning and show a different side to North Korea. Easily the most interesting thing you’ll see today. (Thanks to ProducerMatthew for these!)source
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» This means there were 41% fewer websites accessible to China’s residents at the end of last year, compared to a year earlier. And the statistic comes directly from the Chinese government itself (well, a government-run think tank, at least), so it’s probably not an overstatement.
Even though we’re not Chinese, we’re doing our part by throwing up a link to it. The app, which features information about China, news, video and other things which are probably full of propaganda, is available from the App Store. Hopefully they’ll notice we did their bidding and consider a diplomatic treaty with the site. (via The Next Web)
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