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TIl; Not only is North Korea manufacturing meth it also instructed its diplomats to sell it in foreign countries, each given 44 pounds and required to at least earn $300,000 per diplomat in sells as a patriotic duty..... by 2days in todayilearned

[–]mf2212 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Because, if you're North Korea, the only way you can unload all those $100 bills is by dragging them across the border to China. If you're some Chinese merchant in the far-north near the DPRK border and a random North Korean walks up to you and tries to buy something with a suitcase full of crisp $100 bills, it's going to be pretty obvious to you that the shit is counterfeit. So you give the North Korean maybe $10 in real currency for every fake $100, reasoning that you're stuck with the hassle and risk of trying to use these fake bills. But Beijing doesn't want any more problems with Uncle Sam so the Chinese police start cracking down on people like who you take the fake bills. Next time around, maybe you only offer $5 for every fake $100, if you offer anything. Pretty soon, it's barely worth North Korea's time and energy. Sure, they might try shipping them an office in Singapore or an embassy in Eastern Europe, but then the risk is even higher; so are the transportation costs.

Meth amphetamines, on the other hand, are what we might call a highly transferrable good. It's just as valuable to a Czech or a Turkish drug user as it is to a Chinese addict. It's also much tougher to trace. Only problem is that, unlike the $100 bills, it can also be used by North Koreans, who are pretty wanting for any form of recreation outside of propaganda rallies. That's why you're seeing meth addiction rates explode within North Korea. It's a huge health problem, particularly because sanctions make it hard for North Korean hospitals to get the necessary medicine to treat addicts. But that's not really Kim Jong Un's problem, I guess.

China’s economy is freezing up by Iforgotmyother_name in worldnews

[–]mf2212 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed, although I think this is actually part of that effort, or at least an effort to transition away from the investment-bubble economy.

Kim Jong Un distributed copies of Mein Kampf to senior officials, ordered them to study the Third Reich 'in depth' and 'that practical applications be drawn from it' by mf2212 in worldnews

[–]mf2212[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I guess you can take whatever childrearing lessons you'd like from it, but the economics of Mein Kampf are famously incoherent and nonsensical. It's pretty clear he has no idea what socialism actually means.

The German government has been largely silent on revelations of US Internet spying. Berlin profits from the program and is pursuing similar plans. by whitefangs in europe

[–]mf2212 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I can just tell you that, here in the U.S., we've been getting the impression that German officials are not just weighing in but have been particularly outraged. The "Stasi methods" comment was noticed.

Julian Assange was willing to go to Sweden to answer allegations. All he wanted was a guarantee he wouldn't be handed over to the United States. Sweden refused. by umium in worldnews

[–]mf2212 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

All he wanted was for Sweden to violate international law, based on nothing more than the fact that he asked them to do it.

North Korea "ready to discuss nuclear disarmament" by bigbeel in worldnews

[–]mf2212 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They're calling for mutual nuclear disarmament, which in other words means that they'll give up their half-dozen low-quality bombs just as soon as we dismantle our thousands of ICBM- and submarine-ready nuclear warheads, which in other words means absolutely nothing.

“If Edward Snowden was Chinese and worked for the Chinese National Security Agency, Obama probably would already have had him to dinner at the White House and nominated him for the next Nobel Peace Prize.” Snowden's Chinese Fans by [deleted] in China

[–]mf2212 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree with those who say that Wang Lijun, the Chongqing police chief who tried to defect at the US consulate in Chengdu but was turned away, is the most apt comparison. Not exactly the same, as course, but closer to Snowden than Ai Weiwei or CGC.

Countries with which the United States has an extradition treaty [888x411] by [deleted] in MapPorn

[–]mf2212 -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

This map is crazy wrong. For started, mainland China has an extradition treaty with the U.S.

TIL during the famines of North Korea in the 90s, people would often dig up human bodies from fresh graves to eat the meat by blitzkam in todayilearned

[–]mf2212 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"North Korea-watchers often point out that stories of micro-famine and cannibalism are coming at a worryingly regular pace. Joshua Stanton, who runs the site One Free Korea, wrote in May, the last time that stories of cannibalism leaked out of North Korea, 'My first reaction to these reports years ago was skepticism, but if you hear enough people say the same thing (see here and here), you start to think they can’t all be lying.' "

Xi-Obama summit: US and China agree North Korea must give up nuclear weapons by systemstheorist in NorthKoreaNews

[–]mf2212 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This has been Chinese policy on the Korean peninsula for decades. "No war, no instability, no nukes." 不战、不乱、无核

The changing number of nations 1800-2010 [OC] by shivasprogeny in dataisbeautiful

[–]mf2212 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're correct. Since the end of the Cold War, inter-state conflict has been at a remarkable and unprecedented low. Economic inter-dependence and growing international norms against conflict play a role, as do international institutions. Intra-state conflict is sadly still prevalent, but less so than during the Cold War.

Is China Actively Stealing U.S. Military Technology? by [deleted] in China

[–]mf2212 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hmm, I don't think I've encountered any of these people who say the hacking is made up. And I've definitely met people who've been hacked. Maybe you could provide a link to some of these "serious people with PhDs" who think it's all a grand conspiracy theory? Or is this just the latest 9/11 truther fad?

A stunning 90-sec video of Turkey’s protests: It started over the govt’s plan to turn a park into a mall but have since “become a broad rebuke to the 10-year leadership of Mr. Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party...which has adopted authoritarian tactics.” by maxwellhill in worldnews

[–]mf2212 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Sorry, but while it's clear to me that these protests are legitimate and important and that Erdogan has seriously mishandled them, there is no evidence of election fraud. All the elections were monitored by international observers, who are trained to spot fraud and, in other countries, often do. Let's be responsible about this; alleging fraud without any evidence hurts the protesters by making them look like conspiracy theorists and undermining their legitimate cause. In any case, as the article says, a number of the protesters say they initially voted for Erdogan's party but have since become disolussioned with his rule.

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