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May 28, 2009 02:50 PM | 4
How should the international community punish North Korea after Monday’s nuclear tests? While the Security Council of the United Nations was busy crafting a resolution to admonish the communist nation, the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization gave them their third biosphere reserve.
Mount Myohyang takes the cake as one of the weirder additions to the 22 world biosphere reserves announced on Tuesday. It’s the only place on earth where can you gaze through a glass case at a stuffed crocodile with a cocktail tray while breathing in the fresh air of the “Mountain of Mysterious Fragrance.”
The basis for the designation? The mountain’s rugged slopes are home to 30 plant species not found anywhere else, a wide variety of medicinal herbs, and 28 plant and animal species that are threatened or endangered. But the economically-stunted state has no shortage of undeveloped land: For instance, there’s that 250,000-acre wilderness known as the demilitarized zone, containing the region’s only remaining bears and leopards.
What makes Mount Myohyang truly special – although the UN announcement fails to acknowledge it -- is its monument to the self-proclaimed “Great Leader.” Although it is officially called the International Freedom Exhibition, journalist Ron Gluckman, visited the site in the 1990s, and described it as the “world’s greatest ego trip.” The triple-tiered pagoda contains nearly 100,000 gifts given to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il from sundry world leaders – primarily those lacking a democratic bent.
At first glance, the gifts – which range from sewing machines to machine guns -- appear to be a testament to the tackiness of tyrants. But then you come to the ivory lion given by the president of Tanzania, the crocodile-skin briefcase from Fidel Castro, the butterfly collection from the National Black United Front in the United States, the bear head from an overthrown Romanian communist, and the tiger claw tearing through an American map. That’s when you realize this new biosphere reserve contains more than its fair share of biodiversity -- albeit dead, decapitated, or otherwise dismembered.
Image of the Hyangsan hotel near the International Friendship Exhibition courtesy of UNESCO
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4 Comments
Add CommentUNESCO and the United Nation orginization proves it's self once again to be the hand maiden of cleptomainiacs and tyrants.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut pgtruspace, the UN is giving the crazy leader of North Korea a good tongue lashing and threatening yet more in an endless line of resolutions, which don't actually do anything, but it makes it clear that the UN is somewhat disturbed by lunatic tyrants that are trying to develop nuclear weapons and long range missiles to carry them!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn fact, once they do fully develop those, and if they use them on South Korea, Japan, the U.S., etc., I'm sure the UN would then issue even harsher resolutions!
:P
"You have shown here, that you are a terrorist sympathizer, an antisemite and a typical, uncivilized, piece of trash! What a freak!"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat is highly uncalled for. He asked his question, and you assault him with a personal attack? Grow up. If you care so much about who is right and who is wrong, enlist or shut up.
hotblack, right. As long as racism is focused on white people, it's fine. As long as hatred is focused on Israelis, it's fine. I'm so sick of you hypocritical, dishonest, ultra liberal, political correctness police. You see the worst dictators in the world as wonderful and the U.S. and israel as so evil.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWell, I wish you people would move to places like North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, etc., where there is no such thing as freedom of speech, where the secret police can come in the middle of the night and take you away for no reason, where you have NO RIGHTS.
But you freaks would never move there, because as much as you bash America, you do know that those places are very bad. You're all just a bunch of nasty trolls who bite the hand that feeds you- and I'm sure you're some fat, lazy, welfare parasite that does feed off the hard work of others!