[liberationtech] North Korea Cracks Down "Knowledge Smugglers"

[Larry Diamond]

Thanks, Nadim. I could not agree more. As the article explains, the North Korean regime is facing an existential crisis because the pillar of their stability through so much misery has been an absolute monopoly of information. That has been decaying for several years and now it is really starting to crumble. If they seek to modernize, liberation technology will accelerate the shocking realization that North Korea is not the richest country on earth, but one of the most oppressed. If the regime clings to isolation, libtech will filter in anyway. I think the regime is probably in its last decade. 


LD 

----- Original Message -----

From: "Nadim Kobeissi" <nadim at nadim.cc> 
To: liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu 
Sent: Friday, January 4, 2013 12:56:14 PM 
Subject: [liberationtech] North Korea Cracks Down "Knowledge Smugglers" 

I would like to share this truly fascinating article: 
http://www.salon.com/2012/12/31/north_korea_cracks_down_on_knowledge_smugglers/ 

>From the article: “We must extend the fight against the enemy’s 
ideological and cultural infiltration,” Kim said in an October speech 
at the headquarters of his immensely powerful internal security 
service. Kim, who became North Korea’s supreme leader after the death 
of his father a year ago, called upon his vast security network to 
“ruthlessly crush those hostile elements.” 

Seeing this idea of "knowledge smugglers" accepted so openly by the 
North Korean government really justifies a private train of thought 
I've been considering for a year. 

I think no matter how hard we try, we keep underestimating just how 
powerful culture can be in determining foreign politics — and just how 
important the television and radio were, and the Internet is now, in 
communicating this culture. This, of course, is likely why so many 
political entities are interested in liberation technology. 

This is amazing stuff and I hope you'll read the article. 

NK 
-- 
Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.stanford.edu/pipermail/liberationtech/attachments/20130104/8283a2aa/attachment.html>