Google boss lands in North Korea for humanitarian mission Google chairman Eric Schmidt has landed in North Korea for a private visit to the Hermit Kingdom, and he's bringing an interesting entourage. Schmidt is joining a private humanitarian visit with former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to discuss the future of Korean-American Kenneth Bae, who was arrested last month in the …
They're probably in buy-out negotiations. Apple bought C3 Maps, Facebook bought Instagram. Now Google wants to expand into new markets, namely Nuclear Enrichment and Ballistic Delivery Systems. I personally would've went with Iran because of its more convenient location, but they probably know something we don't. Of course, it could all be hot air and they are simply negotiating a new location for the Google Opt-Out Village (http://www.theonion.com/video/google-opt-out-feature-lets-users-protect-privacy,14358/)
NK is a stalinian country oppressing its own people, with concentration camps similar to Dachau or Buchenwald, cf http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57556456/horrors-revealed-at-north-korean-prison-camp/
Making business with NK is being accomplice of the regime and the crimes it commits.
Talking to them does not make you an "accomplice" and might help them change the regime.
Changing an authoritarian regime isn't a trivial task even if you're the dictator of the regime in question because if you do anything stupid all that will happen is that you'll be replaced in a putsch and the regime will remain as it was.
Yeah, for sure, after talking with them NK rulers will suddenly realize what they do is wrong, and will become good guys.... like Chamberlain changed Hitler's mind... not.
There's a lesson of History: Appeasement doesn't work.
Making business with dictatorships doesn't help human rights either, it just gives more money to the wards so they can continue to oppress their people: see Ford or IBM during WW2, or any company making business with China: the result is the dictatorship becoming stronger and more efficient - and also money in the pocket for the ones who doesn't mind to exchange human rights for gold.
Potemkine is right – extending a friendly hand of discussion with a repressive regime is one thing, but doing business with them while ignoring their abuses is quite another.
See the recent stories about Ikea using forced prison labour in East Germany in the 1980s. Did they really not wonder why their sofas were being made for almost nothing? Did they never visit the factories? Did the manufacture of Ikea products result in more freedoms for the people, or improved conditions? No. It merely helped the regime to survive financially for longer.
Look at China. Why do you think it's so cheap to manufacture there? Might it be because the government suppresses any dissent? Do any of the western companies using the labour of the People's Republic try to improve the regime?
Back in the 1980s, East Germany had plenty of defenders in the west, eager to sing the praises of what was a hardline Stalinist dictatorship. When China opens up, there'll be plenty of East German Stasi-type stories to come out. Have none of you seen The Lives Of Others?
A particular North Korean gesture of respect is to extend the hand outwards, palm facing you, with the middle finger pointed upwards and the rest of the fingers closed. It is especially appreciated if visitors perform this gesture at the big statue of Kim Il Sung; North Korean military guards will be particularly impressed.
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