New Times Roman

A friend sent me this disturbing article covering a US government commision on religious persicution in North Korea. I know this stuff happens, but it's always disturbing when you hear new stuff: North Korea crushing churches

A U.S government report says North Korea is raising religious persecution to the same heights as ancient Rome.

While the Romans threw Christians to the lions for sport, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says North Korea's leaders settle for snap trials followed by firing squads or simply crushing the heads of underground church leaders under a steamroller.

In the same week U.S. President George W. Bush is touring Asia to call for increased political freedom, the independent U.S. government commission issued a report claiming North Korea is waging all-out war on religion and free thought.

The reports says there are only three formal churches in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, but they are primarily for show and are visited only by foreigners and the elderly. Everywhere else, the North Korean government is engaged in the forceful suppression of religious and intellectual life.

Relying on eyewitness accounts from 40 recent refugees who fled to South Korea via China, the commission says North Korea has created a reign of terror to crush any religious belief that might challenge the god-like authority of leader Kim Jong Il.

The mere possession of a Bible can bring a death sentence, while attending a secret underground church service can result in gruesome public executions.

The article goes on in more graphic detail. What floors me is that North Korea has admirers in the US. If you don't believe me check at Zombietime. A quick perusal will show the "Reds" to be very active in protests of various sorts. There is another sight I refuse to link to, but they praise their glorious leader on a forum(I caught it on someone elses post about them freaking out about "Team America") I guess this is how they imagine a "workers paradise."

Now, what I find astounding is this little segment:

North Korean newspapers have carried stories claiming North Korean sailors have been saved at sea during terrible storms by simply gathering on storm-tossed decks to sing the praises of Kim Il Sung.

And the country's official histories claim that when Kim Jong Il was born on Mount Paektu, a sacred mountain on the border with China, a double rainbow appeared in the sky, along with a single bright star, to herald his birth.

This guy is a freaking nut.

Via Tynker.