It's generations of indoctrination and strict control. By and large, they probably don't know what it is to be disloyal, and if they are, they're too scared to say so. If you do show dissent, they send you and your family members to one of their several remote labor camps, most likely for the rest of your life.

With that said, I can't imagine the humanitarian crisis that would take place if for whatever reason, the government and the walls around it crumbled.

I truly hope they make a 2 hour long video of the "Dear Leader's" funeral with most of it showing people crying for him.

I'll love to watch it and cry along as I get on my knees and hit my forehead on the floor. That's what I call entertainment. I'll probably watch it at least once a week and invite over family and friends. I don't know if they'll go along with it but I'm sure I'll gain their respect once they see what a cool guy I am.

For a country that hated us so bad, they sure like US Continental luxury!

There are some documentary films (KimJongIlia, Inside North Korea) that show footage of Kim Il-Sung's funeral. Same pomp and circumstance with unnaturally emotional people sobbing for their dear leader. A reporter yells into a microphone, "OH, SAY IT ISN'T SOOOOOOOOO! OH OUR DEAR LEADER!!!"

These people know that they HAVE to show 100% loyalty to the state or they will be drug out of their house in the middle of the night and put into a prison camp.

You're talking about Obama, right?

No, people who watch Fox News...

Brain washed slaves. Glad that this man is DEAD

North Korea is the pinnacle of high Stalinism.

knowing Christians won't fight back

Now that's a laugh.

Then that makes you a pathetic useful idiot Fleabagger, right?

Probably not, it doesn't take a useless fleabagger to see a worthless teabagger .

But just think - living like the North Koreans is exactly how the liberal Democrat so-called progressives want Americans to live:

Strawman, and not even a good strawman. Try again.

Lou,

You're talking about Obama, right?

With respect, if you wish to start a conversation with a polemic statement such as this, you either have nothing of value to say and are just as angry as any other American that you perceive to be different from you, or you are lonely and just looking for a response to make your day more exciting.

I would bet on the latter.

@ Lou Leid

Which people are you talking about? It seems like there are an awful lot of American's that are homeless and starving these days. We trust our own government to tell us the truth and believe most everything they tell us. If they aren't telling us what they want us to hear they are telling us what they want us to believe. It's amazing how people can twist words to make things seem as they are or aren't. Just look at how the GOP or most of them flip flop on subjects depending on who they are talking to.

Why do they keep showing pictures of the same guy over and over and over? Ok. So the guy is acting sad. Someone send him a grammy and tell him to go home.

That's right – if Obama had his way completely, anyone who watches Fox News or is anti-liberal in any way, shape or form, would be treated as those dissidents are in NK – put in labor camps or just disappear forever….

Nonsense - which reichwing re-education camp did YOU crawl out of?

Obma isn't anywhere close to fitting that bill, hell - he's a concilliatory pushover half the time.

Talk about brainwashing. Think about it for a minute - what has he done that would spark such a ridiculous notion? Really? Yaknow what, don't even bother responding to me - I just want you to sit quietly and think about it for a minute without the propaganda blaring in the background. Maybe go experience the world a little bit, some worldly experience will do ya good.

That pic of him on the car . . . Why didn't they use the Big One, I wonder?

The Drama of men crying in the street and wailing . . . Could go Oscar!

Oh Dear Leader . . . with you gone, who will Dry Hump me now?

You know, reading this article made me think of all the "over-the-top" wailing and bemoaning that takes place in America when a celebrity dies...like Michael Jackson.

They do it for a political figure, we do it for people who just sang real good...or acted real good.

If you want to talk about how STUPID PEOPLE ARE...start right here in your own country, we've got plenty of our own examples.

No need to talk about a Nation that we know very little about.

Considering all we do know about North Korea comes from our govt, and those "liberal media outlets owned by Ruper Murdoch, not a liberal"...I find the information suspect, and likely...mostly all propaganda. Are North Korean's crazy? Probably no more or less than Americans...just a different kind of crazy.

They (NK) think the US is going to invade them any minute (and have reason to believe that, considering we have tried invading and occupying them in the past).

We, on the other hand, think every any muslim in pursuit of Nuclear Weapons, is going to try to blow us or Isreal up the minute they obtain those Nukes - even though the US is the only nation to have used nuclear weapons, and shouldnt be trusted with them.

But, no Americans arent prone to gross propaganda...nah never! /end sarcasm

The teaparty is the closest thing to the Shock Doctrine.

So, Fat DoucheBag Daddy is dead and Fat DoucheBag Junior who has been kept away from all normal human contact since birth, with thermal Nuclear Warheads to play with...yeah, this won't end well.

I've never seen so many crocodile tears in my life.

"Don't" cry me a red river.

"Better dead than red."

Alwayanother

Thank you for the only intelligent comment other than Jessica's. I was beginning to wonder how most of the posters on here this morning could consider themselves any better than the poor people of North Korea. I am amazed at the way people can be indoctrinated for the bad there and here.

One less wort on the ass of humanity. Rot in hell with your new found friend, Osama, you commie bastard you!

I think the Libs should wail out in sorrow like this when O'bama loses the election. It is very entertaining!

Their culture must not allow tears when they cry? They sound like a bunch of sick ghosts

I'm picturing Will Farrel at a funeral in the Wedding Crashers

I couldn't help but notice that the people sobbing, fainting, and inconsolable were all warmly dressed (some with furs) and all appeared well-fed. Where are the photos of the people in rags in the villages throwing themselves on the ground crying for another generation of starvation?

With the current crop of GOP wanna-be's, Kornfed - you're gonna be the one in tears in November '12. You deserve to be.

Honestly - turn off Fox News and open your eyes. Obama is hardly a dictator. If he was one - he'd over-ride Congress and the Supreme Court all the time. Has he done this? No.

However, some of the GOP wanna-bes have suggested doing JUST THAT. Who's the dictator wanna-bes? Hmm?

With the current crop of GOP wanna-be's, Kornfed - you're gonna be the one in tears in November '12. You deserve to be.

Thankfully for me, I despise both parties. I've already done my crying

So you're saying that all the tea party is about is all the great stuff anyone from any country might want?

You can keep sarah palin. The tea party is a classless group of crybabies

Kornfed - WHENEVER President Obama's term ends, the Democrats are going to be without a leader. Newsvine will be humming while they struggle to find someone new to carry their banner. Republicans today, Democrats tomorrow. Enjoy.

Happy New Year!

Jannie-862333

wow now thats a great idea...what a woderful country we would live in then..:)

I see all kinds of sobbing people, but where are the tears or kleenex? Sobbing usual contains tearsss!! They probably cannot react the way they want without being inprisoned!!!!

@JK-4363698

You are aware that Obama has only had 1 term, correct? If you think any intelligent college student is going to swing republican, I think you are wrong.

Therefore, I will correct your original statement to. . .

Democrats today, republicans. . . have a tea party!

alwaysanother - The liberals on newsvine are in the majority and they are constantly collapsing comments that are not in agreement with their philosophy. It is weakness and cowardice that makes one intolerant of opposing viewpoints. Sometimes it's fun to see how fast they will collapse a comment because it is proof that you have hit their weak spot!

Christopher - What part of WHENEVER didn't you understand? Republicans struggle for a leader today, the Democrats will be struggling for a leader tomorrow. Pay attention to what is being said. By the way, I'm a college graduate who is obviously more intelligent than you - I can read!

"I finally died Which started the whole world living" Bee Gees

hope they figure out the world is full of good people with bad leaders...plain bob 2012...

looks like all of the parasite blood suckers on taxpayer dole are posting their slimy, gutteral dialect and middle finger pointing obama arse kissing today p.s. alwaysanother; they fear the teapartyers because they know if the conservitives ger full power they will lose out on a lot of their freebies

@ geol - yeah, the freebies like public schools and the library, and other social services like the police and fire department. Yeah I would miss out on those. Those are the types of programs the republicans have notoriously been trying to cut funding to. Sorry, but not all of us democrats sponge off the system. Most of us are just as hard working and tax paying as any republican. Take your diatribe somewhere else. i kiss no ones arse.

Christopher,

If you think any intelligent college student is going to swing republican, I think you are wrong.

Thanks for the best laugh I've had all day. Considering how few college students these days could actually be considered "intelligent", your comment is as amusing as it is narrow-minded. As if voting Democrat is any smarter than voting Republican.

Here's a hint for you and all the other ignorant ideologues out there. Neither side is worth voting for anymore. They are the same party at the end of the day. Both sides are corrupt. Both sides don't give a damn about you, me or anyone else. They both care about their own power and little else.

It's too bad they don't bother to teach critical thinking in schools anymore. Maybe there'd be a few less ideologues in the world...though I rather doubt that. People generally think with their emotions, not their brains.

Lou - Well, it’s a little more complicated than just being "programmed" to believe the propaganda. If you really want to know how it works you can see the same mechanism at work, on a smaller scale, in some family’s right here in the States. If the parents are very authoritarian and constantly pushing their children to conform to their way of thinking through constant repetitive psychological and physical abuse then eventually these children will come to think that they deserve this treatment and that the parents are doing it for their own good. Eventually they will become nothing more than submissive well-behaved little robots who no longer have any sense of self. Simply put they no longer know where they end and where the parent begins. They will also become fiercely loyal to the abuser and feel that they can’t exist without him.

And of course you can easily do the same thing to an entire country under the right circumstances. Particularly in a country like North Korea which is more cut off from the outside world than any other country on earth right now. But of course even in a country like North Korea there are some who don’t succumb so easily. And if they are smart they learn to play along and pretend as if they are like everyone else. This means that some of the sobbing at the funeral is just for show. To not cry or act upset would arouse suspicion in others that you might still be thinking for yourself and that could be dangerous to your health.

Sorry about that folks. My last posting was way too on topic. I seem to have forgotten that the sole purpose of these forums is to twist every conceivable story into a commentary on American politics and blame either the Republicans or the Democrats or big business interest for all the worlds problems. Anyway I’ll try not to let it happen again.

If the parents are very authoritarian and constantly pushing their children to conform to their way of thinking through constant repetitive psychological and physical abuse then eventually these children will come to think that they deserve this treatment and that the parents are doing it for their own good. Eventually they will become nothing more than submissive well-behaved little robots who no longer have any sense of self. Simply put they no longer know where they end and where the parent begins. They will also become fiercely loyal to the abuser and feel that they can’t exist without him.

Ken, you must have met my inlaws.

There is another eventual outcome from a situation like this. A person may be loyal as long as they are blind and have no self worth. Then one day they realize that their parent was an abusive, manipulative tyrant, and like the flip of the switch, the fierce loyalty turns into a horrible rage. If and when that will ever happen in North Korea, the backlash will be monumental.

Will - Well, we all hope for that outcome but unfortunately people driven down into this psychological strata rarely ever again rise too far above it. If they do then of course they will pass through the anger level on their way back up. But as far as some of these countries are concerned its more likely to be a slow, gradual, and relatively non-violent change. In fact I had this same debate with a Poly-Sci major back in the 80’s. She was convinced that the people in China, and the Soviet Union, were going to rise up soon and over through their oppressive governments. I on the other hand argued that it wold be a slow gradual change from within and that the whole system of communism would just collapse in on itself. Well of course years later that is exactly what happened in the Soviet Union. And China is well on its way to doing the same. Of course in Russia it was a very rough transition and things got worse before they got better. China on the other hand started transitioning toward a more capitalist economy years ago so the political transition will likely not be as difficult for them when it does finally come about.

The funniest part of all of this is MSN's headline reading "North Korea in Agony Over Kim". Only a liberal, commie outfit like MSN would believe the staged crying and fainting to be real.

@jamesvincent05....rock on brother!

Those are tears of joy, not sorrow. They're just happy he died on a weekday so they don't have to work today, they're thinking 'Woot! Faking grief and getting paid!' Ideally, the boss dies on a Thursday so you all get a 3 day weekend, but a 4 day workweek is still better than 5:)

Yes. So glad that Henry Leland is not here to see this.

Kim Jong Il liked all things Western (except for democracy); what better expression of his exquisite taste than for his final ride to be in (or on) one of the biggest production cars ever built—a pre-downsizing, U.S.-built Lincoln Town Car at that!

Yes two of them ! I see the hood piece so it is a Lincoln about 1973-74. Not a 72 or 75 etc. Great cars in their day. Dad had one. Guess he happened to like the style? Older super large American vehicles are popular in foreign countries. I don't read anything into the vehicles being used after thinking a bit after initial curiosity myself at first.

Invisible Hand,

As usual in "communist" nations, communism is only for the rank and file. High ranking Party members may as well be westerners. The Soviets assigned dachas and gave access to stores that were full to show someone had arrived.There is ALWAYS an elite and they ALWAYS get special treatment.

It's a Russian Cadillac

Merlin - funny, in democracy it's the same reality. nearly all our congress people are millionaires...many of them newly mega millionaires due to their "ability" to make great deals given their influence in office, and the fact that they are immune to insider trading laws.

There is always an elite and they will always get special treatment, regardless of what kind of society we live in...capitalism, socialism or communism...or the many variations thereof. The problems become too much when that gap gets too wide...as is currently happening.

As for the irony that the leaders dont want their people to indulge in the things they enjoy (western culture)...well that irony is alive and well in america too, look at all the leaders trying to insist they are the moral leaders...the ones who live righteous lives, and then end up being caught with prostitutes, or committing adultry on their wives...or worked all their political lives to ensure gays had no rights, and low and behold get caught being gay themselves.

We dont exactly get to thump our chests and pretend we are the moral kings of the hill...if we chose to do so, we are just as pathetic as we are proclaiming them to be.

1975 Lincoln is my guess. The grill is too wide for a '77.

I don't know, probably a ZiL Russian knockoff.

I know, ah ah. Well, lets openly rejoice for them. Yippee!!! They are so hungry and enslaved that they can't see the light of day around them.

I mean if I was there watching a US made Limo drive by with a giant picture frame of an expired communist on the roof I would be rolling on the ground, then thrown in jail and hopefully deported.

This is hilarious, it's out of Austin Powers movies, but for real. I just wish a stray dog could have stopped by and pissed on the tires.

Oddly enough, you may be correct as fear coerces loyalty and tears. Either that or years of rule by a self proclaimed God or both.

Nice car! always liked the big old AMERICAN MADE CRUISERS!. I seem to recall Saddam insane seemed to cruise around in some Cadillac's. Funny how this "dick tatter" liked American culture and toys, But refused to share with his people. I guess I am just stupid, I could never figure out why someone would rise to power of a nation, run it with such an iron fist that he could not take a dump with out body guards making sure his ass isn't blown off.

Just remember to bury him face down so that if he tries to dig himself out he has a long dig. There is nothing worse than a spoiled brat with invincible power.

why is it only the people in front cried?

dave: Because the people in the back knew that the rifles that were pointed at the ones in front couldn't penetrate more than three bodies deep.

Only* asset

HUH? A nation of masochists maybe?

Weird culture. They have no dignity, simply a false sense of entitlement. They did not know this crazy dictator.....he lived in luxury and decadence as they live in poverty. Difficult to respect such people.

Alumette - weird, thought you were talking about America for a minute.

Imagine when Justin Bieber dies...and all the fans line the streets to weep false tears, over someone they didnt know but knew of...as they see him living the life of an elite, and they struggle over their lives just to make ends meet.

it seems it's human nature to be dumb.

Jessica what is your problem with mourning people who are not in some sort of power? Why is it stupid for people to mourn someone who may have touched their lives in a very special way? A great actor who gave a moving performance that touched your life is far more worthy than a vicious dictator. A musician who wrote music that might have helped you through a bad time is more worthy. And people ALL OVER THE WORLD mourned Michael Jackson...not just America. I can't see any other country that mourns NK's leader. You seem to believe that such people (artists) are unworthy of admiration or grief. You appear to be the foolish one.

I was thinking that his brothers had been "disappeared" so that they would not stand in the way of the new dictator's power. Pretty soon, their existence might not even be acknowledged. Kinda like 1984 (Orwell) when someone disappears and all traces that that person ever existed disappear with him and he becomes an unperson.

They are likely locked up not to distract from the new dictator. They are a really sick society. Any hope for them ? i doubt.

The Man in the Iron Mask strikes again!

In case you don't realize the truth of the adage... "Out of Sight, Out of mind"; If they were NOT out of sight they would very definitely be out of their minds (and could possibly be permanently out of the picture).

If you were living in North Korea and brainwashed from birth to revere the Dear Leader, you'd be mourning his death and wailing at his funeral, just like all the other so-called "idiots."

It's hard to wrap your mind around the idea of what it's like to be the average North Korean. They literally revere this man as a god. They do not know any better, because their world has been encapsulated by him.

Hey "save the environment" There are NO stray dogs in North Korea, and probably not very many pet dogs either.  DOG = MEAT in North Korea, and you would probably eat it too if you were starving.  There is no doubt that I would. When I was in South Korea (late 60's) I saw one cat and it was running down an alley with about 10 kids chaising it.  Yep, #1 chop chop.

a disgusting culture. No back bone, no sensitivity and no awareness of what life should be. They are in Hell !

These people live in a vacuum. They only know what is told to them. They have no access to the outside world. There is no Internet access, no Non-State TV, no Hollywood movies. To think for themselves is foreign to them. They are simply unaware of how the rest of the world lives and thinks.

I'd like to hope that the new leader will change all that, but I doubt it will happen.

Janine: Yep, North Korea is kinna like a real life world version of the Truman Show (Jim Carrey movie). I'd say very few of them know what the rest of the real world is like.

I don't expect things to change much at all to be honest... Only thing that the world can hang onto with a glimmer of hope is the fact Kim Jong Un has actually studied ABROAD. Has seen civilization first hand.. maybe he'll actually be good but the fact hes 27 and a 4 star general with little to no military background.. Leads me to believe he'll be a loaded pistol within a year. Time will tell thou if North Korea changes like Cuba has...

I agree. I think they are in deep mourning. I don't think it's staged. You have to look at their mindset -- it's not like ours. They don't have a religion and they believe Jong Il was a supreme being. That'd be like if you told religious people over here God had died. They'd be scared and freaking out in the streets. Even if there was a new God to take over, it would be a time of great uncertainty and terrifying for them.

He had no consideration in life and they're weeping because he didn't even have enough consideration in death to go when the weather was nice. They're all freezing!!!

Are you out of your mind? They wail because they are isolated and brainwashed and fear what will happen if they don't force their tears. Great leader? Starved his people in the name of defense and cant provide them with sufficient electricity either. No myths have been shattered.

Mate, you forgot the sarcasm font. Cheers !

A dictator. A great leader feeds his flock; instead we see brainwashed mentally and emotionally unstable people. Not a pretty scene.

You can't be writing this with a straight face...

A cousin of mine who teaches in South Korea tells me that the North Koreans must mourn for Kim Jong Il by law. Someone not obviously mourning is sent to a detention camp for the day.

kim was an @!$%# and let millions of his own people starve because his priority was on nuclear missiles. The people are weeping because they are tears of joy that he is dead and his gestapo military might kill them if they didnh't show sorrow.

It is a 1976 Eldorado convertible and (heavy sigh) is not mine.

He kicked Chuck Norris's ass... twice. He achieved cold fusion in his bowl of Post Toasties. He once built a mansion out of nothing but shaving cream and popsicle sticks - and lived in it for three years. He is... the most unbelievable man in the world (and he ain't drinkin' Dos Equis).

oh, crap...i just noticed your posts...almost fell outta the chair laughing...good grief...hilarious!!! TY!!!

Par for the golf course was 200.

"You'd cry too, if it happened to you...."

im not the only 1 thats on the car issue

Might be a '72 Lincoln.

Nope! Pretty sure it's a '75 Lincoln...