The fact is, none of his alleged “young, impulsive” behavior (ie, stealing a poster) can ever be proven because the DPRK can accuse a foreigner of ANYTHING they choose, true or not, and then extract a videotaped statement under duress that “proves” the person is “guilty”.
Sadly, I honestly believe the USA is starting to resemble that scenario. It’s a soft landing to get there, but give it time. In 20 years, dissenters will be led off to “Happy Camps”. Did I say “Happy Camps”? I meant “Death Camps”.
I’d be on my best behavior in N Korea. I wouldn’t even take a bar of used soap.
Obviously Warmbier’s punishment didn’t fit the crime. I do think the guy took the propaganda sign as a souvenir. It’s a slap on the wrist in most countries. But we all know N Korea is one of the harshest and most totalitarian.
The really sad thing, assuming that the charges were essentially correct (if radically over-blown), is that had he asked for a poster, he might well have recieved one gratis, especially if the request had been properly phrased (“I wish to share an example of the DPRK’s glory with my family and friends.”)
Kinthalis, calling participants in a thread “cold blooded mother fuckers” in MPSIMS crosses the line.
Tone it back or stop posting to this thread.
Everyone tone it down. I don’t want to relocate this to the Pit, since it is a breaking news story and worth discussion. But rants and insults will force a move, and then any chance of real discussion is pretty much over.
Not sure if that is one of the documentaries I’ve watched, but I have read all of Nothing to Envy and Escape from Camp 14 and much or all of The Cleanest Race, The Aquariums of Pyongyang, and Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader (but it has been long enough ago that I can’t remember which of those I finished and which I didn’t.) And having read those, I am of the opinion that any American who chooses to set foot in the country is either woefully ignorant or a fool that thinks that their Americanism is a magical shield.
To be honest, if they were going to trump up charges, I’d expect something less banal. This smells true enough; the obscene thing is the radically non-linear response.
Perhaps because the family already knows the cause of death, since they were there (he died at home), and doesn’t need it publicized? I think they may have done the humane thing and I wouldn’t want to get them in trouble for it.
The hospital did an MRI and anything else doable on a living body. There may be nothing left to learn.
It sounds to me like you’re preferring the politically correct option for the family, where they just don’t really know what killed their son and they’re just being quiet about it.
Fuck that noise! I understand you cannot sue the DPRK but the cause of death isn’t going to be unveiled by ANY autopsy…it was caused by his captors! I understand not starting a war but if I were Trump, I’d take a break from Mar-E-A-Lago and call Un on the phone and at least issue a strongly worded statement. Wait…is Trump capable of that without starting WWIII? Maybe not.So the family weeps quietly with no recourse. What a great option for them.
In most countries, the response to someone who wants to take a propaganda poster would be to give them a free packet of posters and ask them to give them out to all their friends. That’s the whole point of propaganda.
Although that wasn’t revealed, I suspect you are correct. And it’s a fucking shame, too. NOBODY should have to go through that while imprisoned by an unfriendly country.
I agree! Pass them out! Brochures about the wonderful DPRK for everyone!
The parents, obviously Czarcasm. He was delivered “alive” while still in a coma, according to reports. But it may as well have been the DPRK that killed him. Their “botulism” claim proved to be false, like everything else they say.