Category: Uncategorized

This has to be absolutely horrible for those who depend on the subway to get to work:

A second day of rail strikes on Thursday saw only some 44 percent of train and subway services running, with many schoolchildren already missing class or coming late at the start of the new school year. The situation was especially bad on Seoul subway lines 1,3 and 4, where double or even triple the normal number of commuters were packed like sardines on the rare trains. Freight operations fell to just 15 percent of normal levels, leaving containers and cement piled up at the teminals.

This may explain Nomad’s drive home from hell.

Some Hynix semiconductor executives are going to learn the hard way that business practices that may be acceptable in Korea are not acceptable in the US:

The U.S. Justice Department has decided that four executives of Hynix Semiconductor will serve five to eight months in a U.S. jail for their part in the international price fixing of DRAM chips, a conspiracy it says caused losses to U.S. computer manufacturers and therefore consumers. The decision is no different from a court ruling, a deal reached because the executives pleaded guilty and agreed to jail terms offered by the Justice Department.

It is a regrettable tale. The executives may well feel they are taking the fall for corporate misconduct since they hardly acted in their own interest. There is also a feeling that it makes little sense for the Hynix executives to do hard time since the company already paid US$185 million in fines last year.

I’m not sure what to make of this passage:

It seems the U.S. is being rather presumptuous in punishing non-American executives. But multinationals cannot afford to stand up to the U.S. and give up the world’s largest market. That is the harsh reality of global business.

Is the columnist saying that the US is being the big bad bullies to poor little Korea for jailing the executives? Even though other foreign executives have been jailed before as well for breaking US laws:

Samsung Electronics, Germany’s Infineon Technologies and Japan’s Elpida Memory were also involved. They paid $300 million, $160 million and $84 million in fines. Four Infineon executives have already served four to six months in jail, and it is highly likely that seven Samsung executives who are under investigation will be indicted as well. When a vitamin cartel case was unmasked in 1999, Switzerland’s Roche and Germany’s BASF paid $500 million and $225 million in fines respectively and their executives served three to five months.

It is just like the copyright infringment that runs rampant in Korea, people here do not see price fixing as being as much of a serious issue as the US views it and expect a slap on the hand.

Maybe if the hate groups didn’t do this, the city of Incheon wouldn’t need to do this:

The statue of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur has again become the subject of controversy with civic groups criticizing the Incheon district office in charge of Freedom Park, in which it stands, for violating human rights by placing security cameras around the statue.
Last month, the office spent 30 million won ($31,055) to place two cameras in front and behind the statue in order to prevent it from being defaced.

An official said yesterday that the measures were taken after a request by police, but also to protect the facilities of Freedom Park.
Civic organizations argue that citizens visiting the park are being considered potential criminals and that too much money has been spent on the precautions.

Left-wing activists here have called General MacArthur a war criminal and tried to remove the statue, clashing with authorities and conservative groups who argue that the general played a pivotal role during the Korean War.

This is to bad to see because Damyang is actually the best place in Korea to see bamboo forests and purchase bamboo products:

Damyang is known as Korea’s “home of bamboo” but these days, shriveled yellow leaves fill its once green groves. Research conducted by the county found that 90 percent of the total 14.87 square kilometers (4,447 acres) of land in Damyang County used to cultivate bamboo includes such withered specimens.

One grove in particular, 98,329 square meters near the Yeongsan riverbank, was being considered last month for listing as a natural monument, but it too is dying. Damyang County resident Kim Jong-tae said, “The trees at the outer boundary of the forest started to dry up towards the end of last month, but now it has spread to the rest of this area.”

Experts said that snow and cold weather this winter caused the problem, as snow melted on the plants, then froze during the night.

I know somebody wants to say it, it must be global warming.

Families of sexual abuse victims are now suing the government because of the treatment sexual abuse victims have received by authorities along with the soft sentences to the perpetrators:

“I will file a suit for damage claims on behalf of eight children, who were victimized from the investigation, for 30 million won each against the government within this week,” said Lee Myung-sook, a lawyer for the families yesterday.

According to Lee, one five-year-old child was sexually harassed by a woman who lived in the same town, and the sex offender was charged with sex crimes in September 2003. But the first investigation was carried out after six months had passed. On the first day of the investigation, the child was interrogated over seven hours and even took part in a cross-examination with sex offenders.

Another victim was sexually abused by her teacher for two months when she was a fourth grader in elementary school.

Lee said, “The prosecutor who was in charge of that case argued that if the offender quit his job, he would be unlikely to make a living,” and that a court of justice only fined him five million won.

And I thought Vermont was soft on sexual abusers.

I reported before about how Japanese car makers are targeting Korea for hybrid car sales. Well this may be in response to the Japanese attempt to corner the hybrid market in Korea:

South Korea will spend 144.9 billion won (US$149.5 million) this year to introduce emergency robots and boost demand for fuel-efficient hybrid cars, the government said Tuesday.
In a meeting of government officials and business executives, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said that it will help public companies buy a total 418 hybrid-engined cars by year’s end.

The cars will have fuel economy rates more than 50 per cent greater than the Hyundai Verna sedan that can travel 12.3-kilometers on a liter of gasoline. This translates into vehicles traveling 22-kilometers for the same fuel.

The ministry said it will offer each public company 28.0 million won for each vehicle that it purchases. The cars have a price tag of 33.6 million won at present, but actually cost the manufacturer 100 million won to produce.

Basically what I’m reading from this is that the Korean government is going to subsidize and protect the Korean car market from the Japanese attempt to corner the hybrid market. If it sells more hybrids overall I’m all for it.

More fuel efficient cars will mean in the long run that there will be less money in the hands of idiot dictators such as the rulers in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela not to mention the environmental impacts that hybrids will have, especially in a city with such heavy traffic as Seoul.

So who can name this location?

I reported before about how Japanese car makers are targeting Korea for hybrid car sales. Well this may be in response to the Japanese attempt to corner the hybrid market in Korea:

South Korea will spend 144.9 billion won (US$149.5 million) this year to introduce emergency robots and boost demand for fuel-efficient hybrid cars, the government said Tuesday.
In a meeting of government officials and business executives, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said that it will help public companies buy a total 418 hybrid-engined cars by year’s end.

The cars will have fuel economy rates more than 50 per cent greater than the Hyundai Verna sedan that can travel 12.3-kilometers on a liter of gasoline. This translates into vehicles traveling 22-kilometers for the same fuel.

The ministry said it will offer each public company 28.0 million won for each vehicle that it purchases. The cars have a price tag of 33.6 million won at present, but actually cost the manufacturer 100 million won to produce.

Basically what I’m reading from this is that the Korean government is going to subsidize and protect the Korean car market from the Japanese attempt to corner the hybrid market. If it sells more hybrids overall I’m all for it.

More fuel efficient cars will mean in the long run that there will be less money in the hands of idiot dictators such as the rulers in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela not to mention the environmental impacts that hybrids will have, especially in a city with such heavy traffic as Seoul.

Here is an interesting interview in the Korea Times with a leader in Korea’s Muslim community:

Accordingly, the 69-year-old clergyman asked terrorist groups around the world to turn to nonviolent and nonresistant measures. “They need to be convinced that we cannot control the evil by an evil measure. It should be done by the good measure.’’

Lee also made no bones about his criticism of “Western Powers.’’ “It is apparent that terrorism shall never be justified or encouraged, but on the other side we shall observe the sad history of the Middle East under the influence of Western Powers,’’ he noted. “They shall bear a certain responsibility for the cause of terrorism.’’ “Why do people commit suicide bearing bombs in the Middle East? They are definitely to blame. However, at the same time, we need to understand why they are doing such an act,’’ he said.

“Cannot control the evil by an evil measure, it should be done by good measures?”, Does he saying that the cause of terrorism is just, but they need to use non-violent means instead? I will also have to take that comment as meaning that he believes western powers are evil and later states that they are to blame for suicide bombings.

Here is what he thinks about the cartoon controversy:

Regarding the controversy over the “blasphemous’’ Danish cartoon, the clergy took a cautious, but strict, position. “It is inappropriate behavior for them to describe Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist,’’ he said.

Lee said the cartoon is also based on false stereotypes about the religion and the prophet. “On the contrary to the image of terrorists, the prophet spread messages of peace and equality around 1,400 years ago when every ruler wielded their powers to kill people,’’ Lee said.

Even worse, Islam strictly bans recreations of Muhammad’s image. “The prophet ordered not to paint his image for fear that he might be deified later. However, the Danish newspaper unduly depicts his image,’’ the imam said.

“False stereotype?”, isn’t there an inornate amount of terrorists hijacking the Muslim religion? This is what the cartoons were suggesting. Plus Muhammad may have ordered Muslims not to recreate his image but as far as I know he made no mention about Danish cartoonists recreating his image.

This religious leader is an example of what I see as the problem with the Muslim religion. Many Islamic leaders claim Islam is the religion of peace, yet they are weak in condemning terrorists and instead make excuses about how the evil western powers are to blame for all that ails the Muslim world.

The evil western powers are not the reason women are treated as nothing more than property in many areas of the Muslim world. Western powers are not to blame for the ruthless dictators that encompass much of the Muslim world. Western powers are not to blame for the lack of emphasis on education in the Muslim world. How many inventions and inovations have come from Islamic countries today? The lack of job opportunities in Islamic countries as well cannot be blamed on western powers. Not to mention the lack of basic human rights and freedom of speech.

Until religious leaders start to condemn the dictators and terrorists more strongly the religion of peace will continue to be hijacked by the extremists. Yet Islamic leaders such as this Korean leader condemns Danish cartoons more strongly than terrorism.

Many of you have probably heard about the US port management controversy involving a Dubai based Arab owned company. I find it interesting that the same people like Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer who are complaining about this business deal are the same people that complain about police using racial profiling yet are willing to use racial profiling when it comes to business deals, but that is whole different rant. This fiasco has now wisely been referred to a 45 day security review where I expect it will get approved anyway.

This controversy does lend to some interesting thoughts about if foreign companies should managing US ports at all? Keep in mind that they do not provide security, the US does that they just manage the containers and boats coming in and out.

According to the Asiapundit, the decision on this port deal may have consequences that reach back all the way to Korea:

I haven’t noticed that many West Coast lawmakers taking a stand on the ports controversy. Of course, the ports in question are on the East Coast, but I suspect that most of the westerners are praying that the whole controversy blows over before Congress does something really stupid, such as passing some law to ban foreign operations of port terminals. That would cause chaos on the West Coast.

Take for example, the Port of Seattle. Of the three terminals, one is leased to an American stevedoring firm MSS America, one to Hanshin, the South Korean shipping line, and the other to the American President Lines (now APL) which, despite it venerable patriotic name, is actually owned by Singapore.

Port management is an international business that is dominated by foreign interests. That’s not hard to understand since there are obviously close synergies between ships and terminals.

If the Dubai port deal is denied then using that logic that would that maen that the Korean company managing a Seattle port should also lose their contract as well since South Korea has close relations to North Korea and North Korea is a known terrorist state with weapons of mass destruction?