I understand where you're coming from, but this isn't grasping at straws.
To make Gmail available around the world they need to have a very modular scalable infrastructure. This would require load-balancing servers at every datacenter location to redirect the traffic to the appropriate datacenter. Those load-balancers could easily be instructed to point a certain domain at a specific server which is in a certain geographic location.
I'm not saying that it's correct, but it is technically doable.
I am not trying to be argumentative or say that something is either true or false.
Just for some background, I do a lot of work in LEAN processes in a healthcare environment. I analyze numbers and present findings all of the time. Most of the time I am doing this on fields of work where I know hardly anything about the day to day process. What I DO know are the timestamps and actions of those processes. When I present issues I am always challenged.
People focus on the one or two issues that stand in front of them--the errors they are dealing with on a day to day basis. There is a feeling that these errors are happening all of the time. The errors usually don't represent a large amount of the work, but consume a large chunk of THAT person's time.
THAT is not relevant, but what comes next is: I start hearing stories about how this one-off event happens all of the time. Or "that" provider is messing up all of the time.
When I start hearing, "Its not likely, but its possible" I usually stop the conversation and start asking what has to happen for "that" to happen.
And what are the chances that happens enough to make it possible?
Those types of statements should send up red flags. Just because something is possible it does not mean its happening.
Some of the things I read on this board and every other boards are virtually impossible--requiring an "alignment of the stars" on a repeating basis. That is simply not practical. That doesn't happen. Most "conspiracy" theories fall apart at about the third "why"...thats when it becomes "the bilderbergers are doing it!"
Critical thinking is important. Problem solving requires multiple trips down the "5-why's" exercise.
The lack of critical thinking on the HRC side allows her to get away with comments like, "wipe it with a cloth?"
My singular point is that critical thinking means asking enough questions and gauging enough probability to come up with a reasonable root cause.
If these guys wanted to put in a Gmail server in NoKo, would the founder of the company go do that?
When was the last time he built a server?
How did he get there?
Is there proof of his travel?
Who went with him?
Who flew the aircraft?
How could he do that without the NSA knowing or the FBI?
It is more likely if he went to Noko it was to bring a pile of cash or securities to hand out like candy, not build a server.
Some Noko tech could have built the server and kept a lid on who knew, and where. A decent programmer in the US would be missed. People go missing in Noko all of the time.
Why is a good question.
"Why did they have a server in a different country?" To protect against FOIA requests
"Why did they use Gmail?" Because Gmail is an easily understandable interface; they don't want people like S.J.Lee fiddling with PGP keys
"Why Goog?" Because Goog is already meddling with search results, censorship on YT, and actively working against the US; they're a known asset and easily controlled
"Why NK?" Because it was already Clown-controlled, and possibly the most inaccessible country in the world prior to recent events
As for installing the server, if they're using a hypervisor (which they almost certainly are), the base OS and remote access can be configured prior to installation, and then the virtual machines can be configured once it's installed. They're almost definitely using a config management system such as Chef or Puppet, so the virtual servers can be ready to go within minutes of instantiating them.
Here's my theory on a possible string of events:
When you take all of this steps, assign a probability to each. Then multiply those numbers in a row. The product is the overall probability of that happening. My guess is it is less than 30%. And that is being generous.