so i heard this reporter on the bbc yesterday who had snuck into n. korea with a group of business types. he was saying that because the government maintains total control of education and media, the people don't realize how bad their situation is. i do not believe it. a situation in which the state controls every aspect of your life is a situation in which you're hag-ridden; you know the people who are causing you problems and you don't believe what they say. indeed, it's easy to imagine that the north korean media, for example, churns out cynics as fast as it can yap its bullshit. anyway, i just have faith that wherever you have the state in its incredibly inefficient continual arbitrary irritation of everyone, you have people rolling their eyes and snickering.