

PHd Student Uses Google Maps To Uncover N. Korea Secrets - keltecp11
http://www.gadling.com/2009/06/01/phd-student-curtis-melvin-uses-google-maps-to-uncover-north-kore/

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lincolnq
The first-person narrative linked at the bottom of the article is really worth
a read : [http://www.gadling.com/2007/12/06/infiltrating-north-
korea-p...](http://www.gadling.com/2007/12/06/infiltrating-north-korea-
part-1/)

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Shamiq
Do y'all consider this a ballsy move by the creator (and collaborators), or
are there enough people working on this project that anonymity and risk of
persecution are very low?

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jasonkester
Just because you're paranoid...

This sort of validates their point, doesn't it? They let one guy in to look
around, and next thing you know he's back in the US, annotating satellite maps
in his spare time. Looking at it from their point of view, the rest of the
world really is out to get them.

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ArturSoler
I guess this student is not going to travel to North Korea again, at least
with this name.

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javert
The world is not safe with this brutal, cash-strapped country building nuclear
weapons (and imprisoning its own people in concentration camps).

Too bad the cowardly U.S. government does not do anything but "negotiate".

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TriinT
_Too bad the cowardly U.S. government does not do anything but "negotiate"._

Grab an M-16 and go get 'em!

Easier said than done, right?

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mariana
"Never get involved in a land war in Asia"

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TriinT
_"Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone
who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will
encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the
signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of
unforeseeable and uncontrollable events."_

-Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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javert
Gulf War? Civil War (from the Union side)? Lots of US wars have been
straightforward and successful. And an attack on NK would not even qualify as
a "war".

~~~
TriinT
To show how committed you are, why don't you volunteer for that attack!? If
you talk the talk, you must be willing to walk the walk...

~~~
javert
Actually, my current employment does relate to maintaining U.S. air
superiority, though I'm a civillian computer science guy.

I would enjoy being a military pilot, and if I were, I'd volunteer for this
mission.

~~~
TriinT
USAF pilots have it easy. Until they're shot down over enemy territory, that
is...

I know nothing about NK's nuclear capabilities, but I doubt a few well-place
JDAMS would do the job. Bombing nuclear facilities is not trivial. Israel did
it successfully once, though.

A pre-emptive attack on NK could be a great idea, or it could be a disaster.
There are thousands of U.S. soldiers in South Korea. An attack on NK would
give them the motive they want to attack SK. I don't know if you've read about
NK's elite troops. Those guys are savages... cold-blooded killers... they
would eat U.S. Army babies for lunch if the combat took place on the ground.

