Bright and shiny toy, shady and troublesome question

The more perspicacious and faithful of my readers may have already noticed the poll button to the right-hand side of the page. While this does, first and foremost, give you another way to focus your attention on me, it also gives me a way of getting feedback on my ponderables.

Currently, as the initial poll would suggest, the topic of North Korea is on my mind. It's a country I'm curious about for a number of reasons, from the apparent physical beauty of the landscape to the complete and utter power held by Kim Jong-Il. From everything I've heard and read, his is a dictatorship which wields power so thoroughly there's no chance to even contemplate any sort of dissent, let alone act on it. Death camps, repression, economic devastation and famine...

If I visit North Korea, my tourist dollars are, either implicitly or explicitly, going to finance and therefore support the regime. This is not a good thing. On the other hand, if tourism can encourage more dialogue with the rest of the world, it may in some tiny, minuscule way lead to a slight loosening of the fist, which can't be a bad thing.

Of course, by posting this entry I may find myself banned from entering it even if I do choose to do so.

Anyway, all you poli-sci, international studies, or generally opinionated people, let me know what you think.