The News Thread

[D_Davis]

People need to stop going to North Korea, especially tourists.

[Grouchy]

Only an American would willingly travel to a bloody dictatorship in a hostile country because he's "interested in the culture". I hope he's all right and all, but clearly he thought his Yankness made him invulnerable.

[Spun Lepton]

Nobody can deny what he did was a dumb move, but let's not assume he was too arrogant to take into account the chances he was taking.

[Hugh_Grant]

I used to want to go to North Korea. Then I read Guy Delisle's Pyongyang and decided my nerves couldn't take it. A friend from college went on one of those Koryo tours and loved it, but she is far more adventurous than I. She also said her visit was just like Delisle's book, which pretty much sealed the deal for me not wanting to go.

[Spun Lepton]

I used to want to go to North Korea. Then I read Guy Delisle's Pyongyang and decided my nerves couldn't take it. A friend from college went on one of those Koryo tours and loved it, but she is far more adventurous than I. She also said her visit was just like Delisle's book, which pretty much sealed the deal for me not wanting to go.

What are some things you remember from the book that made you wary?

[bac0n]

Yeah, reading about this on CNN and all the comments are all '"you play with fire you get burnt". While I agree that he was taking a risk by going to N Korea, all this blaming the victim shit really irks me. It's the same mentality that blames the rape victim for wearing too tight a dress. I'm gonna blame the N Koreans who detained this gentleman for being assholes before I blame him for going there.

[D_Davis]

You play with fire, you can get burned.

Very, very different than blaming a rape victim.

[D_Davis]

I used to want to go to North Korea. Then I read Guy Delisle's Pyongyang and decided my nerves couldn't take it. A friend from college went on one of those Koryo tours and loved it, but she is far more adventurous than I. She also said her visit was just like Delisle's book, which pretty much sealed the deal for me not wanting to go.

The thing is, when tourists go there they just see a very special part of the country that has been fabricated to show tourists. They're basically going to an amusement park. So not only are they seeing a fake culture, they are also giving money to a terrible government.

Just stop. Like Americans wanting to hike in Afghanistan. Jesus fucking Christ. We have some of the most beautiful hiking trails in the world in America, there is no need to go into a hornets to hike nest unless you just live for the thrill of danger.

[bac0n]

You play with fire, you can get burned.

Very, very different than blaming a rape victim.

That's an argument I think I shall not get into, but regardless, I'm gonna reserve judgement. It's very possible that the travel agent booking the flight misrepresented just how "safe" travel to North Korea was.

[Raiders]

If you go to North Korea, then you do assume a risk. It is not the same level of society in most of the rest of the developed world. It is hostile and many parts of it are dangerous. If someone goes backpacking on their own and they are captured and detained, well, they do have to have some level of culpability in going against all logic and common sense. That doesn't excuse anything, the assholes are still the North Koreans. We don't condone the mistreatment of an Iranian visiting the US simply because we don't get along with his country, no?

But even worse in this case is the man has a history with the country and took the precautions of booking with an agent and making sure to go to a location that was, allegedly, safe to go to. So, blaming him is just asinine. It's like blaming someone for being mauled by a tiger at a zoo when they were standing behind the bars/glass.

[number8]

What Raiders said. Thinking the guy did anything wrong is completely fucking stupid.

[Hugh_Grant]

I'm a very independent traveler. I don't like even like traveling with an itinerary.
Based on what my friend told me, Delisle's book, as well as the Vice documentaries I've seen, there is no independence. You are told what you can see, when you can see it, what you can buy, who you can talk to...

Plus, I've heard the elevators at the foreigner hotels are scary. I have an elevator phobia.

D_Davis, Delisle's book covers the "theme park" atmosphere of the foreigner experience.

[D_Davis]

I'm a very independent traveler. I don't like even like traveling with an itinerary.
Based on what my friend told me, Delisle's book, as well as the Vice documentaries I've seen, there is no independence. You are told what you can see, when you can see it, what you can buy, who you can talk to...

Plus, I've heard the elevators at the foreigner hotels are scary. I have an elevator phobia.

D_Davis, Delisle's book covers the "theme park" atmosphere of the foreigner experience.

It sounds interesting.

[MadMan]

You couldn't pay me to go to North Korea.

Oh and the Democrats pushed through the nuclear option and ended the filibuster in the Senate. They're regret doing so next year if the GOP takes back the Senate and keeps the House.

[number8]

Dammit, North Korea.

Two of the men, who officials say were members of a Hong Kong-based criminal organization, allegedly sold more than 66 pounds of meth produced in North Korea in 2012.

That crystal meth was later seized by law enforcement and tested to be more than 99 percent pure, even purer than the meth cooked by Walter White, the fictional teacher-turned-drug lord in the popular TV series, "Breaking Bad."

http://america.aljazeera.com/article...orthkorea.html

[number8]

Heh.

Rob Ford, the crack-smoking mayor of Toronto, has a higher approval rating than Barack Obama, according to a survey.

A Forum Research survey of 1,049 Toronto voters found that 42 per cent approved of the job Mr Ford has been doing as mayor of Canada's largest city.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ack-Obama.html

[Irish]

Really just love how the dek on that piece describes crack-smoking as "antics."

[Gizmo]

Really just love how the dek on that piece describes crack-smoking as "antics."

it's not so much the smoking, but what he does while high.

[Raiders]

I don't even...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...nsion/3963813/

[D_Davis]

Another win for zero tolerance.

Last week a kid was suspended for shooting his friend with a pretend bow and arrow.

Man it must suck to be a kid these days.

[Robby P]

To play devil's advocate it does mention that the kid was suspended once before for kissing the girl in addition to some other prior disciplinary infractions (presumably unrelated). If this girl expressly didn't want to have her hand kissed and this same issue has come up before than I don't know that punishment isn't warranted. To call it sexual harassment is absurd but strictly speaking any form of unwanted touching is commonly known as the tort of battery. I suspect the school wouldn't have to take extreme measures like this if opportunistic and overly sensitive parents weren't so eager to file frivolous civil suits against their children's caretakers for negligence.

[Raiders]

Calling it "sexual harassment" is a joke, and placing it on a permanent record that will follow the kid around is just awful. And it is not confirmed by her or her family, but supposedly the girl has no problem with it and never asked the boy not to.

[Irish]

If this girl expressly didn't want to have her hand kissed and this same issue has come up before than I don't know that punishment isn't warranted.

Calling it "sexual harassment" is a joke, and placing it on a permanent record that will follow the kid around is just awful. And it is not confirmed by her or her family, but supposedly the girl has no problem with it and never asked the boy not to.

Bolded parts reaaaaaally bother me. It's not on the girl to express disinterest by default. Think about this in the context outside a first grade context. It's fucked.

That kid is exhibiting creepy behavior. He's already been suspended twice because of it (which probably means there were a half dozen previous incidents that went unreported or under-reported).

[D_Davis]

We played kissing tag and bra snap tag when I was in school. We all turned out just fine, except for those of us who didn't, and they didn't turn out that way because of the games we played.

People are just really, really stupid now, and so overly litigious and easily offended.

[Irish]

Huge difference between one-off events at puberty and a kid that shows pattern of behavior.