Rupert Murdoch Publishes North Korean Flash Games 186
eldavojohn writes "You might recall back in June when it was noted that North Korea was developing and exporting flash games. Now, the isolated nation state is apparently home to some game developers that are being published by a subsidiary of News Corp. (The games include Big Lebowski Bowling and Men In Black). Nosotek Joint Venture Company is treading on thin ice in the eyes of a few academics and specialists that claim the Fox News owner is 'working against US policy.' Concerns grow over the potential influx of cash, creating better programmers that are then leveraged into cyberwarfare capabilities. Nosotek said that 'training them to do games can't bring any harm.' The company asserts its innocence, though details on how much of the games were developed in North Korea are sparse. While one of the poorest nations in the world could clearly use the money, it remains to be seen if hardliner opponents like the United States will treat Nosotek (and parent company News Corp.) as if they're fostering the development of computer programmers inside the DPRK. The United Nations only stipulates that cash exchanged with companies in the DPRK cannot go to companies and businesses associated with military weaponry or the arms trade. Would you feel differently about Big Lebowski Bowling if you knew it was created in North Korea?"
Re:Question: Is it illegal? (Score:3, Informative)
Play some North Korean flash games here (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Good for everyone (Score:3, Informative)
sounds like murdoch (Score:5, Informative)
North Korea has a substantial role in animation (Score:4, Informative)
Would you feel differently about Big Lebowski Bowling if you knew it was created in North Korea?"
How would you feel about Pocqhontas and the Lion King? In some fields [speroforum.com], North Korea has surprising expertise.
Re:Good for everyone (Score:5, Informative)
Good luck in North Korea. Remember that you will be allowed to see will be strictly limited, and the North Korean government is well known to go to unusual lengths [wikipedia.org] to present a good image outwards.
Re:No suprise here (Score:3, Informative)
Murdoch became a naturalised US citizen on 4 September 1985, before he bought the Fox predecessor in December of that year. So not by much, but still legal.
(and this is one instance where the no-newspaper-and-tv-network-in-one-market rule here in Aussieland works pretty well)
Re:Question: Is it illegal? (Score:4, Informative)
Is it currently illegal for a US company to trade with North Korea?
Irrelevant. News Corp is not a US company; it is incorporated in Australia.
Is it illegal for a multi-national which does business in the US to do so?
AIUI, such a company only submits to US jurisdiction for business activities that occur within the US, so I would guess not.
Hardly, FCC was 3:2 in favor of Democrats in 95 (Score:3, Informative)
There were three Democrats on the FCC, Reed Hundt (chairman), James Quello, and Susan Ness. The two Republicans were Andrew Barrret and Rachelle Chong. So blaming Republicans for change in ownership rules is pretty silly, typical though. It seems that too many rely on ignorance to allow their views to be supported. After all, we know the Republicans had control of Congress then, but the fact remains, they did not have a majority on the FCC.
So if you want to blame Fox's ascendancy on anyone, put the blame on the party who held control over the governing organization that permitted the change.
Re:Would I buy? (Score:3, Informative)
how do I know if something has been programmed in, made in, assembled in, or had any other part of its production process in North Korea
In this specific case, you do know, so I don't see what your point is.
If it is produced in North Korea, how do I *KNOW* what the funds it generates are used to support?
If it's produced in North Korea, then it's a pretty safe bet that the money is used to support the North Korean government. Otherwise, the government would have never agreed to export it.
Re:Would I buy? (Score:3, Informative)
And I take offence at the tone of the submission. Trying to make me feel guilty by association is almost entirely racism.
Racism? Really?
Probably a quarter of the electronics in my house are Korean. My washing machine is, the optical drives in my computers are, the stereo amp is... the list goes on. I don't think twice about buying Korean goods.
South Korean goods. Never North.
Is that racist? Against whom, exactly? 'North Korean' isn't a race, it's a political demarcation. I'm not aware of any major genetic differences between the two Koreas having developed since the armistice, and last time I checked, a fundamental belief in genetic inferiority was the very definition of racism.
I won't buy this game, period. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Hyundai if it looked like the best car for me.
Precisely whom am I being racist against?
Re:Calling BS (Score:3, Informative)
When the youth has risen in 1956, Hungary still had a ham fisted dictator (Rákosi and co.).
The Tianmen square thing was organized by students, who had lived abroad long enough to just forget where the invisible boundaries are.
Look, Hungary was governed in the last 8 years by the same people who cracked down the 1956 revolution. (And they were elected democraticly.)