91–100 of 110 posts
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isn't Stockholm Syndrome caused by circumstances vs. having it ? I.e. in certain circumstances - like being dictator's direct employee - we all suffer from stockholm syndrome?
The sushi chef in question was beaten and terrorized by his drunken war-hero father as a child. He was conditioned from birth to deal with terrible men who had great power over him.
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I suspect there where many minor changes that could have prevented any of the recent presidents from entering politics or at least running for president. Or more strangely Bush could have easily lost the an election with a minor change to the ballot design in a tiny area in a vary important state. Overall I suspect that's for more impact than who's making sushi in NK as I don't think most presidents would have gone b…
Yes, I'm not denying causality of real world, just saying random factors tend to exert less influence here. Taking America going to Iraq war, it might be a disturbing fact, but America wanted to go at war back then. The bloodlust of a common, red-blooded, mall-shopping American in the wake of 9/11 is the foremost reason the U.S. ended in two prolonged conflicts. Yes the reasons for Iraq were pulled from the hat, but…
I don't think that's fair. We American citizens were told directly that Iraq had WMDs and an attack on us was imminent.
If we were 'eager' for anything it was to stand together as a country. Most of us believed that the president had done due diligence (after all, he had access to intel that we didn't) and trusted him to do a competent job of analyzing the threat.
We were wrong in that trust.
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The sushi chef in question was beaten and terrorized by his drunken war-hero father as a child. He was conditioned from birth to deal with terrible men who had great power over him.
So was I. It didn't work. Try again.
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I'm reading this right now, and I'll second the vote. One of the more Orwellian/absurd fun-facts I've come across: The two biggest department stores in the DPRK are called Department Store No. 1 and Department Store No. 2. (I'm sure there's some clever joke about marketing/branding in there) Like the OP said - it's mysterious and completely fascinating. It's been a great book thus far.
Is No. 2 bigger than No. 1?
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I suspect there where many minor changes that could have prevented any of the recent presidents from entering politics or at least running for president. Or more strangely Bush could have easily lost the an election with a minor change to the ballot design in a tiny area in a vary important state. Overall I suspect that's for more impact than who's making sushi in NK as I don't think most presidents would have gone b…
Yes, I'm not denying causality of real world, just saying random factors tend to exert less influence here. Taking America going to Iraq war, it might be a disturbing fact, but America wanted to go at war back then. The bloodlust of a common, red-blooded, mall-shopping American in the wake of 9/11 is the foremost reason the U.S. ended in two prolonged conflicts. Yes the reasons for Iraq were pulled from the hat, but…
But we did: we invaded Afganistan very quickly. Honor was basically satisfied, and that was why the Bush team had to whip up all the stories about the secular Baathists partnering with the religious fanatics of AQ and also were working on WMDs to attack the USA etc.
As noted by many of the other comments, this is a fascinating article in so many different respects, but the most interesting take-away for me personally is a little detail that shows just how far the ripples cast from a seemingly small action can reach. If one day, decades ago, a teenaged boy's co-worker and friend hadn't wanted to live like "normal" folks instead of scroungers, and shared a sushi dinner with his fr…
Ha! I never realized that was actually a word.
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Yes, I'm not denying causality of real world, just saying random factors tend to exert less influence here. Taking America going to Iraq war, it might be a disturbing fact, but America wanted to go at war back then. The bloodlust of a common, red-blooded, mall-shopping American in the wake of 9/11 is the foremost reason the U.S. ended in two prolonged conflicts. Yes the reasons for Iraq were pulled from the hat, but…
> Yes the reasons for Iraq were pulled from the hat, but the nation was eager to be deluded. Not a conspiracy of two men in DC: can anyone really imagine the USA not invading anyone after the 9/11 attacks? But we did : we invaded Afganistan very quickly. Honor was basically satisfied, and that was why the Bush team had to whip up all the stories about the secular Baathists partnering with the religious fanatics of AQ…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, I'm not denying causality of real world, just saying random factors tend to exert less influence here. Taking America going to Iraq war, it might be a disturbing fact, but America wanted to go at war back then. The bloodlust of a common, red-blooded, mall-shopping American in the wake of 9/11 is the foremost reason the U.S. ended in two prolonged conflicts. Yes the reasons for Iraq were pulled from the hat, but…
but the nation was eager to be deluded I don't think that's fair. We American citizens were told directly that Iraq had WMDs and an attack on us was imminent. If we were 'eager' for anything it was to stand together as a country. Most of us believed that the president had done due diligence (after all, he had access to intel that we didn't) and trusted him to do a competent job of analyzing the threat. We were wrong…
The sushi chef was leaving his apartment when he noticed the stranger outside. He could tell by the man's suit—black and badly made—that he was North Korean. Right away, the chef was nervous. Even in his midsixties, the chef is a formidable man: He has thick shoulders, a broad chest; the rings on his strong hands would one day have to be cut off. But he'd long since quit wearing his bulletproof vest, and the last tim…
I don't normally upvote non-tech things on HN, but that was one of the most fascinating articles I have read in awhile. I started to idly read it, but immediately become engrossed.
You might like the book "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea." There's quite a few jaw dropping stories from people who defected from NK. It's such a mysterious country, I am completely fascinated by it. edit: a word