From Today's News . . .

And a correction.  In 4th period, in discussing a possibly photo-shopped picture of the current leader Kim Jong Il, I said some high-ranking person (momentarily forgetting who it was), and I realized with one part of my mind that that picture had been taken IN North Korea.  So it didn't quite square with the notion that "Americans can't visit there," which is certainly the norm that prevents people in North Korea from having any real idea of what Americans are like.  I didn't take time in class to figure out the discrepancy.

Well, the end of this article explains it.  I saw the artlcle in my usual 5th period "news check"--and it speaks right into our discussion of how isolated North Korea is, how impossible it is for Americans to know what's going on there, and the overall fact that Americans are not allowed to travel there at all.  Someone said that people have tried recently, but had been arrested and detained.  Yes, indeed. Here is the latest news on one such individual--and the end of the article notes the exceptional visit of Bill Clinton a couple of years ago when he managed to free two young women who had been previously arrested and sentenced to hard labor camps:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100430/ap_on_re_as/as_nkorea_american_detained

And, yes, Bill Clinton was the individual in the controversial photo of Kim Jung Il.   Here is an interesting take on that picture, especially the backdrop scenery:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204908604574336383324209824.html

And here's another view, suggesting that maybe it wasn't even Kim Jung Il in the picture (or even in the meetings):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/01/kim-jongil-double-fooled-_n_341449.html

TODAY IN CLASS
First--Assessment over the documentary yesterday, done in class.  If you were absent, you need to do the questions and attach them to your video notes from yesterday.  Here they are:

1. Single out ONE aspect of life in North Korea that you find the most applicable to your reading of 1984. Describe the parallel situations in sufficient detail to reflect your understanding of both the book and the documentary (i.e. several sentences for each context).


2. Briefly describe TWO other elements about North Korea—not previously discussed in question 1—that you found shocking or at least very surprising. Give enough information about each to show both what the circumstance is and why it is so surprising.

3. How does the North Korean government shape or control the prevailing opinion of Americans? How or why should that attitude matter to us here in the United States?

We spent 15-20 minutes of class time on this. Then there was a general discussion of the video, impressions, etc. 

FOR MONDAY
A chance to catch up on the reading for today if you had a case of the Fridays and did not prepare, plus the new reading over the week-end.  In sum, by Monday, you should have read through Chapter 8 (VIII) of Part 2.