October 21, 2017

"North Koreans are allowed to wear only short hairstyles. There are 28 types of haircuts approved by the country's administration..."

"... 18 for women and 10 for men" — #11 on "Twelve shocking facts about North Korea," according to Pravda.



Also:
9. One does not allow [sic] to turn the government radio off even in one's own house. One can only turn the volume down a bit. There are special units that track down those who listen to forbidden radio programs, and this crime is punishable by death.
And:
12. In the event of a fire, the first thing to rescue from a burning home must be portraits of DPRK leaders.
ADDED: What would you save if you have to rush out of your burning house? That's an old question, but the classic old answer doesn't work anymore, because we keep our photographs — including our photographs of beloved leaders — on some website. Grab your iPhone and your car keys and get out of there. Anything else?

IN THE COMMENTS: George M. Spencer writes:
Generally speaking, human life means little in Asia.

That's the first sentence of the Pravda article.

Isn't most of Russia in Asia!?!
I had to look back at the article, because I didn't believe that line would be on the news site, even at Pravda, but it is indeed the first sentence of the article.

It's true — in terms of land mass — that most of Russia is in Asia, but most of Europe is in Russia. 80% of Europe. In terms of population, only 23% of Russians live in Asia. I'm going to assume that Russians think of themselves as European, not Asian. The ones we see in the news certainly look more like other Europeans than like other Asians.

Interestingly, when I google russians think of themselves as european, the second hit is "The British are the least likely Europeans to consider themselves European."

Hmm. Some kind of pride thing?

57 comments:

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Interesting to see that Pravda is now a mouthpiece for the Russian Orthodox Church.

George M. Spencer said...

Generally speaking, human life means little in Asia.

That's the first sentence of the Pravda article.

Isn't most of Russia in Asia!?!

tim in vermont said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
whitney said...

What is that scifi short story where you have implants in your head that create noise and the smarter you are the worse the noise? it's to make everyone equal. You can't let the smart people think because that would be unfair to the dumb people.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

9> Progressives envy.

Tommy Duncan said...

"You don't necessarily need a choice of 23 underarm spray deodorants or of 18 different pairs of sneakers..."

-Bernie Sanders

Ann Althouse said...

Harrison Bergeron.

tcrosse said...

Old British saying that the Wogs begin at Calais.

Humperdink said...

Number 9: " ..... There are special units that track down those who listen to forbidden radio programs, and this crime is punishable by death."

In the US, there are special units who track down conservatives speaking on college campi. They are called "progressives". The response to this crime is violence against the offending parties.

AllenS said...

Looking at the picture of the women, what's up with #11's top part of her nose?

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

I'm going to assume that Russians think of themselves as European,

It depends. Ethnically they consider themselves European or white (they call people from the Caucasus area and farther east blacks and are prejudiced against them).

But politically think of themselves as more Asian. They accept the open graft, overwhelming bureaucracy and need for a strong leader they associate with their Asian influence.

This dual Europe/Asia identity is at the root of the Russian problems and literature. One of the big reasons the Western Ukrainians overthrew the elected president because they feared he was turning more toward Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union and away from Europe and the EU.

Darrell said...

Looking at the picture of the women, what's up with #11's top part of her nose?

No. 11 had a nose ring at one time. The type that allows one to pull you around by it.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

HEY BERNIE, you really don't need all those homes.

CStanley said...

Looking at the picture of the women, what's up with #11's top part of her nose?

I think she's wearing rimless aviator type glasses, and that is the bridge.

CStanley said...

One of the big reasons the Western Ukrainians overthrew the elected president because they feared he was turning more toward Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union and away from Europe and the EU.

They preferred Western corruption to Eastern corruption.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

My three dogs. I would first make sure the dogs are safe. Away from the burning house and secure from fire engine traffic.

Does anyone else have one of those things on your keychain that says in the event of an accident my pets are home alone?

Fernandinande said...

I have an 8x11 framed picture of Alan Greenspan, but it might be too ironic too save.

Darrell said...

Does anyone else have one of those things on your keychain that says in the event of an accident my pets are home alone?

I have a forehead tattoo.

AllenS said...

Well played, Darrell.

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tcrosse said...

The chart looks like Weinstein's room-service menu.

Fritz said...

Blogger George M. Spencer said...
Generally speaking, human life means little in Asia.

That's the first sentence of the Pravda article.


It's a supply and demand thing.

Bad Lieutenant said...

https://laurencejarvikonline.blogspot.com/2006/06/kipling-on-russia.html?m=1


Kipling on Russia

Alexander at Registan posted this quote from Rudyard Kipling:

Let it be clearly understood that the Russian is a delightful person till he tucks his shirt in. As an Oriental he is charming. It is only when he insists upon being treated as the most easterly of Western peoples, instead of the most westerly of Easterns, that he becomes a racial anomaly extremely difficult to handle. The host never knows which side of his nature is going to turn up next.


I wondered where it came from. Thanks to Google, I found out the quotation comes from his short story titled The Man Who Was.

Fernandinande said...

Annie C said...
Does anyone else have one of those things on your keychain that says in the event of an accident my pets are home alone?


Never thought about it, but it sounds like a good idea*. I sometimes see "In case of fire, Pets inside!" signs in peoples' windows. *I leave a bathroom door open and toilet seat up in case we're killed in the car out somewhere, or we both wake up dead one morning, so the dogs will have water for the day or so it might take for people to figger out we're dead.

Michael K said...

Peter the Great was determined to make them Europeans but he never really succeeded fully.

Humperdink said...

Annie C said: "My three dogs. I would first make sure the dogs are safe."

Norks don't have that worry. There are no dogs in North Korea, nor cats for that matter.

Phil 314 said...

A Pravda story about North Korea.

Is this a "news" story?

Martin said...

Re the Brits--not pride, but hundreds of years of history, being outside Europe and fighting against whatever power dominated or tied to dominate the Continent, in order to maintain English/British independence. Those attitudes became embedded in the culture.

Look at the Brexit arguments from the 2016 referendum--they weren't about pride, they were about fear of losing autonomy.

Darrell said...

What do you call a house fire in North Korea with three dogs inside?
Barbecue.
--Harvey Weinstein

Sebastian said...

"Generally speaking, human life means little in Asia . . . Isn't most of Russia in Asia!?!"

Yes. Generally speaking, human life means little in Russia.

Never has.

The whole "Russia is European" bit is a geographical affectation.

Sally327 said...

I always assumed Russians think of themselves as Russians and nothing else. Something different, special, apart. Mother Russia and all that. I mean, I don't see Putin describing himself as a European or an Asian. Unless it was convenient to do so.

I would probably flail around uselessly at first, trying desperately to think of anything I should grab and then decide, what are you nuts, get the hell out, so me that's what I would save. Plus the dog but someone else has covered that already.



traditionalguy said...

The Isles had protection from land invasion across the European plain all the way from China. All they feared were amphibious assaults from Norwegians. The rest of Europe was invaded serially by boards of tribes seeking loot and a land , many because a worse tribe drove them out. Russians had it the worst, especially the area called the Ukraine. They will fight for that.

mockturtle said...

Interestingly, when I google russians think of themselves as european, the second hit is "The British are the least likely Europeans to consider themselves European."

My husband, who was British, was adamant about Britain not being a part of Europe, which I learned the first time I made the faux pas.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

The radio thing matches 1984 exactly which makes me wonder if it's true. Not that they're likely to be big Orwell fans at Pravda. Given some of the ugly, ignorant, self-defacing shit you see on the heads of Americans these days, I'm actually cool with limitations on hairstyles. At last, something the fascist Left and I can agree on!

Drago said...

AReasonableMan: "Interesting to see that Pravda is now a mouthpiece for the Russian Orthodox Church."

Utterly predictable and a long time coming. We are now seeing a finely tuned "strategy machine" in support of Putin's vision of himself and Russia in the world.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/14/world/europe/russia-orthodox-church.html

That's a NYT link since that is generally considered a source as if from Olympus itself for the lefties and lifelong republicans.

Big Mike said...

“The British are the least likely Europeans to consider themselves European."

Well you don’t blame them, do you?

CWJ said...

"It's true — in terms of land mass — that most of Russia is in Asia, but most of Europe is in Russia. 80% of Europe."

80%? Eighty percent is nonsense. Althouse's own source summed the land area as 4.0 million sq km's. The European Union as a proxy for the remainder is 4.5 million sq km's. A wonderful example of how Wikipedia is a two edged sword.

campy said...

Bernie Sanders wonders if they really need 28 types of haircut.

Earnest Prole said...

Any schoolchild can look at a map of the world and see that Europe and Asia together form a single continent.

mockturtle said...

Any schoolchild can look at a map of the world and see that Europe and Asia together form a single continent.

As did North and South America before the canal.

Clyde said...

tcrosse @ 7:43 a.m.

That was my first thought as well. The Europhiles have not yet succeeded in obliterating that sense of identity.

Howard said...

Russians are Eurasians due to the viking and Mongol invasions. See blonde/red hair, high cheekbones, semi-squint eyes, e.g. Melanoma Trump.

Samey same with southern Europe being Eurabian. See straight black hair, bottle-brush mustaches and macho culture. Vicente Fox looks like Saddam Hussein's cousin.

Howard said...

Part of Asia is actually North America

Jim Grey said...

About 15 years ago I lost nearly everything I owned. It is surprising how little of it I miss. A handful of things. That's it. However, all my photographs (from the analog days) were one of the few things to survive, and I remain eternally happy I have them.

Jose_K said...

Generally speaking, human life means little in Asia...true. 60M killed by the Soviets

Jose_K said...

Russians are Eurasians due to the viking and Mongol invasions.. and Slavs. They were there first

wildswan said...

I guess I would save the pictures and maybe snatch up one napkin embroidered by my mother. I also have an almost irreplaceable library of books by members of the different eugenics societies, a library built up over years but I would let it burn, burn, burn. Rot in hell. Not everyone has a section of stuff in their house that they'd throw in the flames if the house burned but that's what it is to study eugenics.

mockturtle said...

Not all people appreciate, nor even want, freedom. I have observed that Europeans in general have less esteem for individual freedoms than do Americans. We take for granted that everyone is just like us. Not so.

Lydia said...

Tolstoy's War and Peace starts out in French, the language the Russian aristocracy was most comfortable using.

Bay Area Guy said...

Commie bastards

mockturtle said...

Lydia, there are entire chapters in W & P in French, a feature that caused me to give up before finishing the novel. I do know some French but not well enough to comfortably read it. I found myself struggling with idioms and the maze of names inherent in most Russian novels. Unlike Dostoyevsky, whom I adore, Tolstoy did not prove worth my effort.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

"It's true — in terms of land mass — that most of Russia is in Asia, but most of Europe is in Russia. 80% of Europe."

Ann, you don't mean that. You mean that most Russians are "in Europe," not that 80% of Europe is Russian. Those are very different things.

Anyway, I think that the fact that the vast majority of Russian territory is in Asia does matter. Russia is maybe a quarter or more of Asia. Not remotely as populated as India or China, to be sure, but still large.

Remember The Princess Bride, and "Never get involved in a land war in Asia"? That was a reference to Afghanistan, which is in Asia. Anyone here remember who launched that war? (Yes, I know, we launched one too, a much longer one. But the USSR beat us to it. And remember who's on their northern border.

mockturtle said...

M.D.T. recalls: Yes, I know, we launched one too, a much longer one. But the USSR beat us to it. And remember who's on their northern border.

And we didn't learn a damned thing from their experience any more than we learned from the French about fighting in Indochina. Hope springs eternal in the military breast.

dwick said...

But what everyone really wants to know is whether men are allowed to wear shorts...

mockturtle said...

Dwick says: But what everyone really wants to know is whether men are allowed to wear shorts...

Can you just picture Li'l Kim in shorts? Yowza!

SeanF said...

The British are the least likely Europeans to consider themselves European.

Gah. Try "The British are the Europeans least likely to consider themselves Europeans."

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

I approve. East Asian women generally look better with short or shortish hair.