Friday, July 30, 2010

North Korean soccer players, the Business Software Alliance, and how to treat a boss

H/T Shel Israel for alerting me to this article:

[The players] from North Korea, who lost all three of their group games, have been subjected to a six-hour excoriation for "betraying" the communist nation's ideological struggle, according to reports.

There are even fears for the safety of the team coach, Kim Jung-hun, who was accused of betraying the son and heir of the regime's "dear leader," Kim Jong-il.


Some specifics of the six-hour meeting were also reported.

The "grand debate" was reportedly witnessed by 400 athletes and sports students, and the country's sports minister. Ri Dong-kyu, a sports commentator for the North's state-run Korean Central TV, led the reprimands, pointing out the shortcomings of each player....

In true Stalinist style, the players were then "invited" to mount verbal attacks on their coach, Jung-hun.


However, the concept of ratting out your boss is not limited to the Communist world. In fact, it can be applied in a very capitalistic way:

The Business Software Alliance is upping the ante on payouts to those who rat out their boss for using pirated software. The BSA will now payout up to $1 million - up from the maximum $200,000 reward previously offered.

However, like in the Communist world, there was (at least in 2007) a difference between image and reality.

Since introducing the reward money to tipsters the BSA says the largest sum it has awarded is a whopping $7,500. In all the BSA has awarded $60,000 to all combined software piracy stoolies.

Now if the BSA threatened violators with a one-way trip to North Korea in a soccer uniform - now THAT would be effective.
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