hypochondriac

Possibly in Pyongyang but as I'm sure you know that certainly is not a place which typifies north Korean life. Most defectors outside of Pyongyang (sadly a dwindling number nowadays) have spoken about openly defying officials without too much fear (see that leaked clip of a woman having a go at an official when she was criticised for her hair a few years ago for instance.) Have you read nothing to envy and the impossible state? They are eye opening reads and nothing to envy in particular talks about the burgeoning black market which is now essential to everyday life and as such the regime would never dream of shutting it down. Oh and if we are name dropping, Tom Matlock- the former head of the British embassy in Seoul - is an old friend.

That isn't the picture that many paint of the general public in North Korea. Of course that form of punishment exists but in general there is a growing indifference to the rules, which started after the famine of the 90s. The average north Korean knows that unless they are in serious trouble they can just bribe themselves out of any serious charges.

I do agree with you on many things but I'm sorry, no one who describes themselves as a "thought leader" is going to come across as particularly convincing in an argument on here. It makes you sound like a legend in your own head.

Short of a nuclear war, most experts believe the North Korean problem would most likely be solved by some sort of uprising amongst the people. Since the famine of the 90s there has been much looser controls typified by a growing black market that would have been forbidden beforehand but is now tolerated across the country. Technological advances have made it impossible for the party to have total control and the general North Korean public outside of pyeongyang are no longer the innocents blind to the outside world that they used to be- most have seen South Korean soap operas, listened to broadcasts from the south made by defectors or watched western films like titanic that have been smuggled over on usb sticks or flown over the dmz by balloon. An uprising would be the best outcome possible but it could only really happen from inside pyeongyang since the rest of the country wouldn't have the resources or the ability. That's definitely an initiative I would support though, particularly if it avoided all out war.

It's economic but also as I mentioned strategically it makes a hell of a lot of sense to have a whacky neighbour on their border than a best mate of the United States. It's in their interest to keep the kim dynasty alive for as long as possible because the alternative to Chinese eyes is worse.

He really isn't mental. The people who run north Korea know exactly what they are doing and no doubt privately they know they would not be able to win any war. It's in their interest to stay in a perpetual state of almost war as it acts as a distraction to their citizens and essentially. Gives them something to do. If it came down to it though and they were really desperate then I think they would choose to fight rather than appear weak. It's a terrible state of affairs.

Firstly Kim Jong Un isn't mental at all. The country is actually run by people behind the scenes with him as the figurehead. It's a well oiled machine who likes to push the West as far as they can without actually going over the edge to war. One thing they will definitely not do is be seen to back down. In that respect thru are entirely different from Iran. The sunshine policy and other diplomatic efforts have been tried for years and the situation has only got worse. They pride themselves on their philosophy of "juche" which is about self sufficiency so they won't be influenced by diplomacy in the same way that Iran was. I genuinely think they are a lost cause.

Absolutely nobody wants war but how do you suggest we solve the north Korean problem? Particularly when you consider they are fast developing their nuclear capabilities and will most likely have a fully operational icbm if we wait a few more years. It's abundantly clear to anyone with even a passing knowledge of the DPRK that they only play at diplomacy to try to extract as much as they can with absolutely no intention of denuclearisation. Given that fact and also that China- the only power capable of ending the war tomorrow would never do so because they'd rather have them on their doorstep than the US- what would you do?

It's rumoured they have some secret tunnels and underground bunkers with weapons. They can probably do an extensive amount of damage to the south before they are stopped but I doubt they could reach America at the moment. To be honest it's probably better it comes to a head soon rather than in a few years when they may have perfected their nuclear technology abd the consequences of war are far more dire.

It's definitely not something the south Koreans are much looking forward to. The general public view it as something inevitable but also somethibg to view with trepidation given the cultural differences and how much of a strain a flood of new "citizens" will put on the state. That's if there is much of South Korea left of course.

In the event of war then North Korea would be utterly destroyed but sadly so would Seoul. There is a lot of speculation about what would happen but the most likely scenario is the Chinese rush in from one side and the US and South Korea from the other, lines are drawn and we have a west and east Germany scenario. Not a chance will China just allow a nation who are best mates with America on their border without a fight.

It's a long time since I read the book to be fair but you get the point I was making. It's a vast area.

Just for a change I can actually agree with you there. Good post.

Being civic minded and appreciating culture is undoubtedly a good thing. It's all the negative stuff that goes with it that is interminable. The safe spaces, trigger warnings, entitlement culture, multiple genders, the myths of rape culture, toxic masculinity, reverse racism and patriarchy. It's destroyed lives and so on balance I don't think it's an overly positive thing.

I think it's partly because theyve been badly taught and pandered to at learning institutions.

Of course this attack should be condemned. That doesn't mean it's comparable to the numerous Islamic terrorist attacks we have seen over the last year but it's still an appalling attack that is only going to make things worse.

OK so one incident of someone preparing terrorist acts. If memory serves me correctly there have been similar incidents of Muslims being arrested for preparing terrorist acts that haven't been that widely reported. For obvious reasons there tends to be more reporting of terrorist incidents that actually occur and clearly at the moment there are a higher number of these that are from Muslims.

I agree but you can't pretend that white supremacist violence is in any way similar to Islamic terrorism in terms of numbers. All terrorism needs to be combated but people in general are more worried about Islamic extremism because it's a far higher occurrence and has resulted in many more deaths. I haven't seen many examples of white terrorist atrocities being under reported. Have you?

Do you have stats to back that claim up?

Sounds like a white guy doing a "revenge" style attack. Disgusting if so

Well considering this is a premier league rival transfers thread I would imagine quite a few people do.

So I guess you haven't seen the likes of Owen Jones tweeting the location of the prime minister and encouraging everyone to go and find her to hurl abuse? (yes I know he used the word peacefully buy he knows exactly what he is doing when he says things like that.)

Exactly. This is being driven at least in part by a dislike of the Conservatives. There wouldn't be this type of reaction if another party was in power. If there has been neglect then those who have been victims of this deserve justice to be done but protesting a few days afterwards before anyone has been found culpable is ridiculous. I can understand that reaction from those who have lost loved ones but not from those who are detached from this and just want to shout at Theresa may.

How is rioting and protesting going to help at this early stage? What is it that they want that they haven't been offered at this point? This is a tragedy and I have a hell of a lot of sympathy for anyone affected but you can't tell me that some of the people currently protesting have nothing to do with any of this.

Yes probably. But you can bet that many of the people trying to start a riot just hate the Tories and wanted an excuse.