North Korea's computer operating system mirrors its political one

Re:North Korea's computer operating system mirrors its polit... by shitgoose on Sunday December 27, 2015 @09:21PM (#10799526)

actually, it is the other way around. first, you must build the surveillance capabilities and make people accept it as inevitable. you also maintain certain level of paranoia in population to keep that fear simmering. the last piece, "criticism of supreme leader is punishable by death" can be quickly added at any time. in the meanwhile we have to live with second best thing: "telling the truth about government affairs, be it surveillance programs or shooting unarmed iraqis from apache helicopters, is punishable by life in prison or exile".

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Re:North Korea's computer operating system mirrors its polit... by mikeash on Sunday December 27, 2015 @09:24PM (#10799535)

Did Weimar Germany have a surveillance state and concentration camps and secret police? I don't think so. All of that can be built on more or less a moment's notice once you get the "right" leadership, though.

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Re:North Korea's computer operating system mirrors its polit... by Laforet on Sunday December 27, 2015 @10:28PM (#10799710)

Except it was not built overnight - it began with the Enablig act granting extraordinary power to the government, which then extended their power gradually over the late 30s leading to the war.

If you read primary sources it is obvious that many people are aware of what is happening but none felt powerful to act, a situation not that dissimilar to our present.

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Re:North Korea's computer operating system mirrors its polit... by AntiFalacyArg on Monday December 28, 2015 @12:50AM (#10800068)

"I don't think so."

a) It is irrelevant what you "think so", that is not an argument. Weimar Republic indeed did have a secret police, Gestapo was modelled from that.

b) You are probably referring to the subsequent Holocaust and World War 2. If so, argumenting with Weimar Republic and drawing a quick installment of aforementioned practices from it is a straw man argument. You create a notion of how Weimar Republic immediately, "on a moment notice", preceded WW2 etc. (which is incorrect) and then beat that notion (incorrectly) into dust. All of that was built gradually from 1933, which is 6 years before WW2 and 9 years before Wannsee Conference.

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Re:North Korea's computer operating system mirrors its polit... by mikeash on Monday December 28, 2015 @09:38AM (#10801226)

a) Of course it's not an argument. Why do you take a clear admission of ignorance, like "I don't think so," and use that as the basis of an attack? That's just bizarre.

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Re:North Korea's computer operating system mirrors its polit... by superuser2 on Sunday December 27, 2015 @09:42PM (#10799585)

Can you name a successful country with no protected military secrets? How would that even work?

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Re:North Korea's computer operating system mirrors its polit... by velik_m on Monday December 28, 2015 @02:45AM (#10800313)

Costa Rica?

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Re:North Korea's computer operating system mirrors its polit... by sneak on Sunday December 27, 2015 @10:07PM (#10799642)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kiriakou

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