Fancy Electronics in North Korea Banned!
If you live in North Korea, you won’t be able to purchase iPods, plasma TVs and other such fancy electronics. According to this article, the U.S. government wants to ban the shipment of so-called luxury items to North Korea mainly to piss off Kim Jong Il, the country’s leader. While it’s true that the average North Korean pretty much has no chance in hell of buying the things we take for granted, Kim is known to enjoy things like our iPods and our Hollywood movies. It’s thought to be the first time in history where economic sanctions were drawn up simply to upset a foreign leader.
This article has acquired quite a few interesting comments:
- “Based on seeing how people react to having their new iPod Nano get a bit scratched up, or finding a couple of dead pixels on their nice new plasma/LCD television, this is SURE to get us nuked.“
- “Pretty pointless gesture, only Kim could purchase the items. Everyone else in the country would be trying to recharge their ipods by plugging into the nearest tree.“
- “most of the technological crap we use is made up in Asia as it is and i don’t think it would be too hard to get some underground shipments in.“
The article and comments above are based off this original article written by TED BRIDIS, an Associated Press Writer.
U.S. Bans Sale of IPods to North Korea
The U.S. government’s first-ever effort to use trade sanctions to personally aggravate a foreign president expressly targets items believed to be favored by Kim Jong Il or presented by him as gifts to the roughly 600 loyalist families who run the communist government. The Bush administration wants North Korea’s attention, so like a scolding parent it’s trying to make it tougher for that country’s eccentric leader to buy iPods, plasma televisions and Segway electric scooters. Kim, who engineered a secret nuclear weapons program, has other options for obtaining the high-end consumer electronics and other items he wants. But the list of proposed luxury sanctions, obtained by The Associated Press, aims to make Kim’s swanky life harder: No more cognac, Rolex watches, cigarettes, artwork, expensive cars, Harley Davidson motorcycles or even personal watercraft, such as Jet Skis. The new ban would extend even to music and sports equipment. The 5- foot-3 Kim is an enthusiastic basketball fan; then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright presented him with a ball signed by Michael Jordan during a rare diplomatic trip in 2000. [Full Story]
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