Patterico's Pontifications

3/3/2005

Poor Misunderstood North Korea

Filed under: Civil Liberties,Dog Trainer,General,Media Bias,Morons,Scum — Patterico @ 10:07 pm



The L.A. Times has a truly unbelievable article today on that misunderstood country: North Korea. The article is a puff-piece interview with an “affable” North Korean businessman “with close ties to the government.” It puts a soft focus on his whitewashing of this evil government. You have to read it to believe it.

Hugh Hewitt, Power Line, and Armed Liberal weigh in, so I don’t have to.

I’ll say only this: when radical leftists complain about the torture and human rights abuses that the United States supposedly engages in, they give aid and comfort to countries like North Korea that actually do engage in human rights abuses. Witness:

[The ever-so-affable businessman with ties to the North Korean government] also said that U.S. criticism of North Korea’s record on human rights was unfair and hypocritical. In its annual human rights report on Monday, the State Department characterized North Korea’s behavior as “extremely poor.” It said 150,000 to 200,000 people were being held in detention camps for political reasons and that there continued to be reports of extrajudicial killings.

“Is there any country where there is a 100% guarantee of human rights? Certainly not the United States,” the businessman said.

Thank you, leftists.

17 Responses to “Poor Misunderstood North Korea”

  1. […] m There has been a lot of interesting reaction to that ridiculous article in the L.A. Times about North Korea. In a post called Dr […]

    Patterico's Pontifications » More on the North Korea Puff Piece (0c6a63)

  2. […] 6:40 pm The other day I (and countless other bloggers) faulted Barbara Demick of the Los Angeles Times for her puff-piece interview […]

    Patterico's Pontifications » More on Demick and the North Korean Puff Piece: Demick Responds to Hugh Hewitt but Ducks an Appearance on His Radio Show (0c6a63)

  3. Well, the North Koreans do all turn their lights off at night, even anticipating the most moral of all acts in service of Mankind, The Kyoto Global Warming Treaty. QED. [Or maybe I’m suffering from Patterico-Syndome?]

    J. Peden (ffccb8)

  4. More of the same BS: “Hate the US first when the righties are in power. Love the country when the lefties are in the White House. Hope the hate changes peoples’ minds.”

    US newspapers have gotten way too much mileage out of the few people tortured with head-panties and nude Twister games. Just mention the few pictures used around the world to humiliate the US with, and the lefties just cream in their jeans. Total joy.

    Ladainian (91b3b2)

  5. Have you seen Jason Van Steenwyck’s take on this? I think he does not approve.

    Brian (ccf858)

  6. These LA Times guys are masters at harvesting hate. After 3 paragraphs describing how sleazy credit cards are making money off people before they go bankrupt they report:

    “Most of the credit cards that end up in bankruptcy proceedings have already made a profit for the companies that issued them,” said Robert R. Weed, a Virginia bankruptcy lawyer and onetime aide to former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

    “That’s because people are paying so many fees that they’ve already paid more than was originally borrowed,” he said.

    I guess it’s fair to mention the Weed/Gingrich connection. You’ve got to wonder how they come up with this stuff. Talking Points: Unfair Fees, Republican Bankruptcy Bill, Republican, Gingrich, Weed, People Lose, Greed, Evil.

    Credit Card Firms Won as Users Lost

    Ladainian (91b3b2)

  7. Beyond bias: A front page outrage from the L.A. Times
    The hopelessly la-la-leftist L.A. Times published an interview Thursday with a North Korean "businessman." This was a straight interview piece, except that there really aren't any intelligent questions from the writer, nominally …

    No Illusions (1f81d4)

  8. John Derbyshire said it best: Wherever there is a jackboot stepping on a human face, there will be a well-heeled Western liberal there to assure us that the face enjoys free health care and a high degree of literacy.

    Surly (92c05b)

  9. Shades of Walter Duranty at the L.A. Times
    Although North Korea is the world’s most closed society, we know enough from various sources not to fall for Duranty-type lies again. The editors at the L.A. Times MUST know they’re being asked to print propaganda from a dictatorship hostile to the U…

    DOUBLE TOOTHPICKS (6ed3f8)

  10. I thought for a moment I was reading The Onion. To start the report by not identifying Mr. Anonymous as a N. Korean agent (since anyone with even a minimal understanding of the regime knows no one speaks about the country unless pre-approved) was journalistic negligence at its worst. I cannot fathom how this piece got past an editor.
    On the positive side, though, there was a real attention to detail that helps the Times stand out from all other news sources: we did learn what the “gentleman” was wearing. Always critical to a true understanding of the story…
    Last point- the businessman referred to those who kidnapped Japanese citizens as a few out of control individuals, and blame should not lead to the Dear Leader. The Times took no issue with that position. So, why does the Times continue to call for Rumsfeld’s head after Abu Ghraib? Oops, forgot–there’s no Republican leading N. Korea…

    Kyle (dca2a1)

  11. I thought for a moment I was reading The Onion.

    I think that comment gets it exactly right.

    Patterico (756436)

  12. SOME PAPERS published propaganda for Hitler, some
    for Stalin, some for Castro. The LA Times has always had a sweet spot for the killers in North Korea — and it turns out they still do. Haven’t…

    PRESTOPUNDIT (84db7a)

  13. My take is that they published it because of the gratuitous Bush-bashing.

    Pat Curley (b4deed)

  14. LAT has been a propaganda machine for Communism since Otis took over 45 years ago. Which is why I cancelled in 1988. Otis became a devout Communist 60 years ago when he was in NoCal. He hired Fellow Travelers to run the Times and most of the Sr. folk there are Fellow Travelers hired when he was the boss.

    Rod Stanton (da951e)

  15. This north korean slimeball is a dumbass. The LA Times reporter is a war criminal! Robert Scheer, take that in your cup of tea and think about it for a while, if you have anything left for a brain
    !

    Mescalero (92af82)

  16. Stop insulting my intelligence. I know enough to read this sotyr and figure out that it’s simply a small chance to see what one person is saying — you truly don’t think there are people in North Korea who aren’t evil? Puhleeze. Stop trying to censor this paper from reporting from any angle other than your point of view. You insult my intelligence and anyone who actually can read and harbor a thought of their own.

    Kimo (3130e2)

  17. Question for you, Kimo.

    Do you think that this fellow is really a “businessman with close ties to the government”?

    Or do you think he is a North Korean government official?

    If the former, then stop worrying about my insults to your intelligence. There’s not much there to offend.

    If the latter, then what (in your opinion) is Barbara Demick’s excuse for failing to challenge that characterization?

    Patterico (756436)


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