One can't help feeling sorry for North Koreans. In addition to what, by all accounts, is a pretty rough life, short on political freedoms and Michelin-starred restaurants, they have a dearth of television channels. Pyongyang keeps trying to launch a satellite – which the US and Japan perversely insist is some kind of long-range missile – but it has not managed to get one into orbit. It tried in 2006 but, far from reaching Alaska as the Americans claim it can, it disintegrated 35-40 seconds after launch, plopping harmlessly into the sea. That mishap has deprived the isolated country's 23m people of the range of viewing options they deserve. For the moment, at least, they must do without Pyongyang, 90210 and North Korean Idol.
人们不由地为朝鲜人民感到难过。除了如大家所说过着相当艰苦的生活、缺乏政治自由和米其林(Michelin)星级餐厅以外，他们的电视频道也很稀少。朝鲜政府一直试图发射一颗卫星——美国和日本执迷不悟地坚持认为这是某种远程导弹——但尚未成功将卫星送入轨道。2006年朝鲜进行了试射，然而，卫星非但没有像美国人声称的那样到达阿拉斯加，反倒在发射升空35至40秒后便爆炸解体，落入大海，没有造成任何破坏。这场事故使得这个被孤立国家的2300万民众无法享用他们本应享用的一系列电视节目选择。至少在目前，他们必须忍受没有《飞越平壤》(Pyongyang, 90210)和《朝鲜偶像》(North Korean Idol)的生活。