One thing I find interesting about the fediverse is that it is so empty that you can occasionally see honest-to-God pro-NK propaganda. NK lost a quarter of a million people to starvation in the 1990's and are on a fast track to repeat the past. So glad you have access to the internet. Good for you.

[+] 133arc585@lemmy.ml -6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Land in North Korea is widely known to be barely arable. So if they can't meet demand domestically, they must import food.

Climate, terrain, and soil conditions are not particularly favorable for farming, with a relatively short cropping season. Only about 17% of the total landmass, or approximately 20,000 km2, is arable, of which 14,000 km2 is well suited for cereal cultivation; the major portion of the country is rugged mountain terrain.^1

The weather varies markedly according to elevation, and lack of precipitation, along with infertile soil, makes land at elevations higher than 400 meters unsuitable for purposes other than grazing. Precipitation is geographically and seasonally irregular, and in most parts of the country as much as half the annual rainfall occurs in the three summer months. This pattern favors the cultivation of paddy rice in warmer regions that are outfitted with irrigation and flood control networks. Rice yields are 5.3 tonnes per hectare, close to international norms.^2

But, they have trouble importing food, because the USA has decided to sanction and blockade them. This affects not only direct trade with the USA, but because of the way sanctions work when issued by the USA, any country that also itself does trade with the USA is at risk themselves to be sanctioned by the USA for trading with North Korea.

So, you have a situation where they can't grow enough domestically, and foreign powers are preventing them from importing the food they need. And you want to say it's their fault that they have food shortages?

Of note, nearing 100% of North Korea's foreign trade is with China. Of that, food imports constitute a sizeable portion.

Now, I do not know why they do not import more food (enough to meet all demand) from China; I do not know if China is not allowing it, or if North Korea is not trying it, or if North Korea can not afford it, or what have you. If you have information on this specifically, please provide me sources (and not speculation) so that I can learn.

[–] blterrible@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I do not know why they do not import more food

Food costs money and they've chosen to spend what money they have elsewhere. It is a matter of priorities. It's ok, they don't have to worry about being voted out of office over failing the public.

[–] 133arc585@lemmy.ml -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Let me quote myself,

If you have information on this specifically, please provide me sources (and not speculation) so that I can learn.

All you did was speculate. That's useless, to me and to you. You can speculate and imagine what the reality may be, but unless you can show that your imagination aligns with reality, it's not of any value.

If you want to just throw quips and gotchas, I won't converse with you, because it's not fruitful. If you'll notice, I made a well thought out comment with sources to back up my claims. I was clear when there was something I didn't know, and expressed the desire to learn. Compare that to your comments.

[–] Atmosphere99@lemmy.world -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

North Korea could decide to stop alienating itself from the rest of the world with pathetic rocket antics.

Maybe that would help with the import problem.

[–] iridaniotter@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You're moving the goalposts. The famine happened far before North Korea had nuclear missiles, and rocket tests were far less common decades ago.

[–] Atmosphere99@lemmy.world -2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I'm thinking about what North Korea can do today. Looking ahead.

The choice today is more rocket antics or less. One means more budget for food and less alienation, the other doesn't. The question is what North Korea does now.

[+] iridaniotter@lemmygrad.ml -7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, yes. And you can even find honest-to-God pro-US propaganda. The USA lost over a million people to COVID in the 2020s and are on a fast track to repeat the past.

[–] blterrible@lemmy.ml -3 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Show me an example of US state authored or propagated propaganda. How many people does the US have that are employed by the state to manipulate public opinion online?

[–] sangle_of_flame@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

dude, like you don't even have to be a communist to be aware that the US does propaganda extremely often

[–] blterrible@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Where? What media outlet? Give a specific example.

[–] 133arc585@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There's a new propaganda department at the Pentagon that's just been re-formed, the "Perception Management" office,

“Perception management” came to prominence during the Reagan administration[^1], which used the term to describe its propaganda efforts. [...] On March 1, 2022, the Pentagon established a new office with similar goals to the one once deemed too controversial to remain open. [...] its responsibilities include overseeing and coordinating the various counter-disinformation efforts being conducted by the military, which can include the U.S.’s own propaganda abroad.

In case you think the name is of no import, the Department of Defense's own official dictionary defines "perception management" as

[a]ctions to convey and/or deny selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, and objective reasoning.

Let's look at a definition of "propaganda",

A concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of large numbers of people.

That looks about 100% on the nose, doesn't it?

They have a history of producing propaganda and misinformation (with the excuse being "to counter enemy disinformation"[^2]), and they weren't shy talking about it,

The question is whether the Pentagon and military should undertake an official program that uses disinformation to shape perceptions abroad. [...] The military has faced these tough issues before. Nearly three years ago, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, under intense criticism, closed the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Influence, a short-lived operation to provide news items, possibly including false ones, to foreign journalists in an effort to influence overseas opinion. [...] Pentagon and military officials directly involved in the debate say that such a secret propaganda program, for example, could include planting news stories in the foreign press or creating false documents and Web sites translated into Arabic as an effort to discredit and undermine the influence of mosques and religious schools that preach anti-American principles. [...] However, a senior military officer said that without clear guidance from the Pentagon, the military's psychological operations, information operations and public affairs programs are "coming together on the battlefield like never before, and as such, the lines are blurred."

Mind you, I've only touched on some of their work in the very recent past. There's an even larger body of evidence of the USA's use of propaganda in the slightly more distant past. I only gave the Wikipedia page on propaganda in the United States a brief skim, but it at least touches on (and links out to) some of the big picture items; of note,

In the United States, propaganda is spread by both government and media entities.

[^1]: "In the battle of perception management, where the enemy is clearly using the media to help manage perceptions of the general public, our job is not perception management but to counter the enemy's perception management," said the chief Pentagon spokesman, Lawrence Di Rita. (Source) [^2]: https://consortiumnews.com/2014/12/28/the-victory-of-perception-management/

[–] blterrible@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Ah, but this is on a different scale than in countries without a free press. The press in the US is free to ignore the government's information or to run a counter message. This happens every hour of every day.

[–] sangle_of_flame@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

you're moving the goalposts

someone criticizing the US government isn't an attack on US citizens; like it's kind of weird how we identify so hard with the country itself such that the country being criticized feels like a fundamental personal attack

[–] 133arc585@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago

You deny that the USA does propaganda. I give you proof (from the USA's government themselves) that they do propaganda. Now you move the goalpost: "yeah they do it, but it's different".

All of your comments are low effort. I see no reason not to block you.

[–] m532@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

How many employees do the CIA, NSA, and NED have?

[–] 133arc585@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)