1/ Both are militarized and aggressive.
2/ Both execute their own citizens.
3/ Both have father-to-son power transfer.
4/ Both have a phenomenal income difference between rich and poor.
5/ Both need a "bogey man" to scare the populace. The North Koreans
have the USA and the USA has terrorism.
6/ Both governments have no problems spying into every detail of the
personal lives of their inhabitants.
7/ Both have huge, well stocked and pervasive prison systems.
8/ Both have drug problems.
9/ Both have a large portion of their populace living below the poverty line.
10/ Both have weapons of mass destruction.

Either lazy trolling or a real half-assed argument. 

Not even bismuth has this many edges.

Number 3 is a joke.

*sigh* I was really hoping it was a joke, but since I have nothing else to do on the train right now:

1/ Both are militarized and aggressive.
2/ Both execute their own citizens.
3/ Both have father-to-son power transfer.
4/ Both have a phenomenal income difference between rich and poor.
5/ Both need a "bogey man" to scare the populace. The North Koreans
have the USA and the USA has terrorism.
6/ Both governments have no problems spying into every detail of the
personal lives of their inhabitants.
7/ Both have huge, well stocked and pervasive prison systems.
8/ Both have drug problems.
9/ Both have a large portion of their populace living below the poverty line.
10/ Both have weapons of mass destruction.

1: What do you mean by "militarised?" Is that just referring to the existence of a military or is it a suggestion that a country is governed by its military? In the first case, the same could be said of almost every nation on the planet. In the second case, you would be plainly wrong in the assertion. Either way, this is a completely absurd place to start your list.

2: While many countries have moved beyond capital punishment, NK and USA are far from the only ones still carrying it out. As unjust as you may find it, the crimes for which people are executed in the US are recognised throughout the world (murder, treason, etc), whereas the offences resulting in death penalties in NK are not considered criminal offences in most places (political dissent) and instances of that sentence being carried out are roundly condemned around the world. You may find the death penalty to be unjust or worthy of criticism, but this comparison is also absurd.

3: This happened twice in American history (Adams and Bush, to the best of my recollection, but maybe I'm missing one) and in each case they were duly elected democratically against a field of competitors and with considerable interval between their presidencies. This comparison is also completely absurd.

4: To use this as a basis for comparison, you would have to include every nation on earth, particularly those in the Middle East and Africa. There isn't currently a place on earth that does not have this disparity, as regrettable as that may be. Once again, this non-point is as absurd as comparing Ghandi and Joseph Goebbles because they were both of slim stature.

5: While certain news outlets tend to exaggerate the danger of terrorism, there have been many instances of it in recent years and many instances of it being thwarted as well. It actually does exist, even if the fear seems a bit manufactured at times. In contrast, the US has not carried out any offenses in NK since the war. Once again, we could just as easily say that Indians are afraid of Pakistanis, therefore India is like NK. We could say that, but it would again be totally absurd.

6: The South Korean government prqctically requires it's citizens to enter government issued ID numbers to buy a loaf of bread. There is almost no aspect of life in South Korea that isn't blatantly monitored and regulated by the government. I guess they deserve credit for being so obvious about it, but the only countries who aren't tracking their citizens are the ones no one has caught on to yet. Most places are much more heavily monitored through CCTV than the US. Outside of an office building or other private facility or the immediate vicinity of a state-owned facility, you would have real trouble finding a CCTV in the US. With the most Internet users of anywhere on the planet and more computers connected to the Internet than almost every other nation combined, the futile attempts of government to track keywords and criminal associations are hardly at the level of spying on every citizen. Also, Americans are still free to openly ridicule their government and mention names.

7: Ok... I'll give you that one.

8: I'm not sure what you consider a drug problem. If you are talking about the price of pharmaceuticals in the US, then yes. It's a huge problem. The prices and manufactured dependencies on drugs are serious concerns. Neither of which, to my knowledge, are on the top of the list in NK. Therefore you must be implying that both places suffer from widespread use of illicit narcotics. Once again, for this comparison to be logically relevant, we would have to ignore all of the other countries that are plagued with drug-related death, violence, crime, and corruption.

9: Again, the only way for this comparison to seem apt would be to ignore the state of most places on earth. A far greater percentage of Africans, South Americans and Asians is below the poverty line. Some countries' average household income is below the poverty line. Again, this comparison is meaningless when we consider the state of the rest of the world.

10: To say that NK has weapons of mass destruction, while not wrong, is like saying that tigers and house cats both have fangs. The existence of these weapons is deeply troubling, but the comparison doesn't even seem logically appropriate.

Using your stringent standard of thoughtful evaluation, allow me to present the following comparisons for your consideration.

Similarities between "fdny" and a toddler:

1/ both human
2/ both possess rudimentary, yet-to-be developed critical thinking skills
3/ both enjoy a charming naïveté that renders their utterances at once cute and intellectually troubling.
4/ both require nutrition in the form of food and drink to remain alive.
5/ neither has any functional knowledge of their surroundings.
6/ both believe that coincidental or purely imaginary traits are reliable bases for comparison. 

Hey, I thought of some more!

11) Both have people!
12) Both have buildings!
13) Both have coastlines!
14) Both have mountains!
15) Both have cars!
16) Both have rivers!
17) Both have food!
18) Both have governments!
19) Both have trains!
20) Both have electricity!


It's uncanny. I'm actually starting to forget which of the two I'm actually from.

Quote from: veganbiker on February 20, 2015, 07:46:33 PM

1: "same could be said of almost every nation on the planet"

2: "far from the only ones still carrying it out"

4: "every nation on earth"

5: "Indians are afraid of Pakistanis"

6: "Most places are much more heavily monitored"

7: "Ok... I'll give you that one"

8: "all of the other countries"

9: "most places on earth"

10: "while not wrong"

You seem to need to refer to all the other countries on Earth in your flimsy rebuttle.
I'm not talking about them.  I am talking about the similarities between NK and the USA.
Maybe you need to work on your reading comprehension.

Thanks for the advice, but the point I am making by mentioning every other nation on earth is that choosing qualities that can be applied almost universally to the description of a country renders the intended comparison utterly meaningless. Because the things you mentioned are not in any way unique to the two countries, pointing them out as similarities is totally useless toward making any kind of point.

I agree that discussing one subject doesn't always merit the mention of tangential subjects, but you are attempting to compare two nations by highlighting specific similarities about them. This intention is undermined by the fact that the areas you chose to focus on are not specific, or even particularly unusual, throughout the world. By pointing out that your items are applicable to many places, you should see that they are powerless and thin in their use as comparative traits.

As I continue to work on my reading comprehension, as per your advice, I invite ou to work on your critical faculties.


Also, it's rather poor form to misquote, alter quotes, and rewrite within a quote and respond to your new creation as though it's a direct quote.

Quote from: veganbiker on February 20, 2015, 07:46:33 PM

1: "same could be said of almost every nation on the planet"

2: "far from the only ones still carrying it out"

4: "every nation on earth"

5: "Indians are afraid of Pakistanis"

6: "Most places are much more heavily monitored"

7: "Ok... I'll give you that one"

8: "all of the other countries"

9: "most places on earth"

10: "while not wrong"

"You need your flimsy rebuttle. you need to work on your reading comprehension."

Wow, way to not explain your opinion of his response, and then all you do is insult him. What a mature, thoroughly educated and well thought out response 

North Korea doesn't have a drug problem. There's a pretty adequate legal supply of nearly anything you can imagine.

What a joke of a thread! made me laugh

You can compare lots of things in a crazy way!

Dogs and people

both have ears
both have eyes
both have hair
both have skin
both drink water ect...........