By Why does this crap even make it into the pages of the LA Times?:
Seamen who bravely go down with their ship can attain glory in any nation, but in North Korea, hero status also comes to seafarers who die while trying to preserve images of the Dear Leader.
On Friday, the autocratic state offered posthumous awards to crew members who drowned while reportedly attempting to save portraits of leader Kim Jong Il and his late father, Kim Il Sung, as a cargo ship sank in frigid water off the Chinese coast in November.
North Korean state news media announced that the captain and chief engineer of the Jisong 5 were proclaimed labor heroes for their valor. Their families were conferred gold medals and the Order of the National Flag First Class.
Five crewmen died and 15 were rescued by Chinese sailors when the vessel sank 90 miles out to sea in strong winds while heading toward the city of Dalian in northeastern China, according to reports. [LA Times]
The LA Times took this report from the KCNA which is the principle propaganda arm of the North Korean government. Is it any wonder why the LA Times had to file for bankruptcy?
It is the sad reality. No mistake...
5:59 am on January 24th, 2010 1
I think you may be assuming that the LAT readership can't recognize for themselves that it's propaganda.
Though I didn't state so here, I think such stepped-up efforts to bolster the importance of revering KJI and his father may be a response to the deteriorating situation resulting from the Great Currency Obliteration of 2009.
8:59 am on January 24th, 2010 2
It's not worthy of space in a newspaper.
10:23 am on January 24th, 2010 3
"Seamen who bravely go down with their ship can attain glory in any nation, but in North Korea, hero status also comes to seafarers who die while trying to preserve images of the Dear Leader."
It's a bit of a surprise because one of his sons is rumored to like seamen who go down.
11:37 am on January 24th, 2010 4
How about this gem from USA Today in 2004…
"Pat Tillman died while leading a team of Army Rangers up a remote southeastern Afghan hill to knock out enemy fire that had pinned down other American soldiers, the Army said Friday.
The Army released details of the former Arizona Cardinals football player's death as it announced that he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, its third-highest award for combat valor.
Tillman, 27, and his team were initially not in danger from the hostile small-arms and mortar fire when the April 22 ambush began. But when the rear section of their convoy became pinned down in rough terrain, Tillman ordered his team out of its vehicles "to take the fight to the enemy forces" on the higher ground.
As Tillman and other soldiers neared the hill's crest, he directed his team into firing positions, the Army said. As he sprayed the enemy positions with fire from his automatic rifle, he was shot and killed. The Army said his actions helped the trapped soldiers maneuver to safety "without taking a single casualty.""
…I recall once reading a translation about a North Vietnamese soldier's death that almost matched this word-for-word.
Fortunately, we have a few people who are not afraid to speak out against government propaganda… and a variety of competing media organizations who are sometimes willing to follow a story if it supports their agenda.
Unfortunately, we have (much like North Korea) a large percentage of the population who have been dumbed-down and programed to believe in a certain paradigm… and get angry and emotional if given any facts that contradict it…
…and we see that here every day in the angry posts of nationalistic Koreans, outraged liberals, global warming zombies and USFK puppet lackey stooges.
It's funny how easy it is to recognize the lies of blatant foreign propaganda… but how truthful even the most outrageous claims seem to be when written with American cultural sensitivities in mind.
1:22 pm on January 24th, 2010 5
The Tillman tragedy has been recapped by every major outlet and the Army took a huge black eye due to the initial false reporting.
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Where exactly are the retractions from North Korea or Murtha? There are none and there never will be.