Via a reader tip comes this bizarre story of an extremely obese American who flies on a Taiwanese airline in order to get the flight attendants to wipe his butt:

The obese American man who harassed and traumatized EVA Air flight attendants by ordering them to wipe him after defecating has, despite being banned, successfully booked more flights with the same airline.

According to Shanghaiist via Taiwan News, the unnamed man booked a two part flight with EVA Air for May 17, which would take him from Bangkok to Taipei and finally to Los Angeles. The man has reportedly booked over 20 flights with EVA in the past; in fact, this past incident was the second such incident recorded wherein the man bizarrely harassed flight attendants to wipe his butt after using the bathroom.

Next Shark

You can read more about his bizarre behavior at the link, which he seems to do to get some kind of sexual satisfaction from.

China is trying to send a message against US military patrols in the South China Sea region:

Analysts gave the DF-26 its foreboding “Guam Killer” nickname for its ability to strike targets 3,400 miles away, which is within range of Andersen Air Force Base.
China mobilized the missile after the USS McCampbell guided-missile destroyer on Jan. 7 sailed near the Paracel Islands in a freedom-of-navigation exercise. The Paracels are claimed by China; however, that claim is not recognized by international law.
The Thursday CCTV report came the same day the United States sent the McCampbell and fleet replenishment oiler USNS Walter S. Diehl through the Taiwan Strait on a freedom-of-navigation operation.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson has said China should not consider such actions provocative, but Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Friday used an analogy to explain Beijing’s discomfort with the passage.
“Suppose that a family has two courtyards … divided by a passage which could be used by passersby to come through for convenience’s sake,” Hua said in an official translation of her Friday press conference. “If there is someone who frequents this passage just to issue provocative words or make provocative moves … then how would you feel?”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but in regards to the Chinese analogy at the end, the passerby through the courtyard is only making provocative messages because a family forcibly took over a number of courtyards. Additionally the rogue family is looking to take over more courtyards from the friends of the person passing by. The person continuously passing by is a discouragement to that family from trying to take over even more courtyards.

So, a regime which engaged in a multi-generational pursuit of nuclear weapons despite every dangled inducement, threat of attack, & promise of prosperity would now relinquish its treasured sword for cash disbursements from an escrow account? This reflects our conceit & ignorance. https://t.co/TOMmMItJvP

— Edward Oh 🇺🇸 (@EdwardHBOh) January 30, 2019

Here is the latest update on the status of Kakao’s planned carpooling app in South Korea:

 South Korea’s finance minister said Wednesday that local carpooling services will only get off the ground after an understanding is reached between Kakao Mobility Corp. and representatives from the taxi industry.
The comments by Hong Nam-ki came nearly two weeks after a taxi task force decided to join a social dialogue body meant to resolve disputes over carpooling services.

It remains unclear whether the parties concerned can work out their differences and produce a win-win deal.
In December, heads of four taxi associations boycotted a meeting with the government, the ruling party and Kakao Mobility on how to lay the groundwork for the creation of a social dialogue body.
The taxi associations, which speak for taxi companies and drivers in South Korea, have warned that a hard-won dialogue could collapse if a social dialogue body moves forward on the premise of allowing carpooling services.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but basically the taxi services do not want competition that would force them to provide better service in a competitive market place.

I am not sure there is any size of a “pot of gold” that will make Kim Jong-un completely denuclearize:

The Trump administration is quietly preparing a special “economic package” designed to entice North Korean leader Kim Jong-un into taking specific steps toward dismantling his nuclear weapons program when he and President Trump meet for their highly anticipated second summit.
The initiative, spearheaded by Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun, has already been touted in private working-level talks with the North Koreans and involves creating a kind of escrow account to prove to Mr. Kim that the U.S. and its allies are truly committed to rewarding Pyongyang economically if it comes through on denuclearization, The Washington Times has learned.
While the State Department has not commented publicly, sources familiar with the plan say it centers on securing guarantees for billions of dollars worth of cash contributions from Japan, South Korea, the European Union and others that would go toward North Korean infrastructure and development projects.
“These are guarantees that can be waved under Kim’s nose to assure him of the pot of gold waiting for him on the other side of the rainbow,” said one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Washington Times

You can read more at the link, but this “pot of gold” will likely be big enough for Kim Jong-un to “pretend denuclearize” if that is what the Trump administration is interested in.

Here is an interesting tidbit about President Moon, he supposedly help fund the creation of the left wing Hankyoreh newspaper back in the 1980’s to help get favorable coverage for himself and former President Roh Moo-hyun:

South Korean President Moon Jae-In was among a group of investors who made large donations in the 1980s to establish the left-wing Hankyoreh Media Group, a report said.
Moon gave 200 million won ($552,000 in 2019 dollars) to the media group, which established the far-left Hankyoreh newspaper in 1987, according to a Jan. 28 report by East Asia Research Center.

The report also noted that Moon was the only one of the original investment group to not be refunded his donation.
Moon “purposely did not get the money back, the only one to refuse to take back the money,” the report said. (…….)

The report said: “In the late 1980s, when Hankyoreh, centered around dismissed journalists from Donga Ilbo andChosun Ilbo, started to raise funds to start a newspaper, [Moon] gave 200,000,000 won without any hesitation.  But at the time, Moon Jae-In, then a lawyer, was not in a position to readily give the 200,000,000 won.  He didn’t have that much money, living in an apartment with 2,000,000 won ($5,520) ‘Jeonse’ [refundable down payment, no monthly rent]. But Moon was determined to make a good press and obtained a loan to make the generous contribution. Thanks to Moon and 20,000 investors, Hankyoreh newspaper raised 5,000,000,000 won ($13.8 million) and printed 500,000 initial copies.”

Song In-Bae, Moon’s longtime associate and current chief personal secretary, was quoted in the report as saying: “Hankyoreh started to return the money to everyone, but there is one person to whom the money was not returned, and that is Moon Jae-In…Hankyoreh wants to return the money, but he still refused to accept.”
Song also stated that Moon gave the money in order for Hankyoreh to establish a branch in Busan, where Moon and Rho Moo-Hyun had their law office and were active politically. Rho, South Korea’s president from 2003-2008, died in 2009.
On April 9, 2017 when Moon was a presidential candidate, he said to a Hankoyreh journalist: “I think Hankyoreh has love for me and my party. I hope you remember that I’m a founding member of Hankyoreh.”

World Tribune

You can read more at the link as well as over at the East Asia Research Center.

Yesterday Tibet, today Xinjiang, tomorrow the Outer Koguryo Autonomous Zone, I fear. I wish Koreans worried less about Tokdo & more about that Rason lease that should be up for renewal soon. https://t.co/HDe4xa1wxQ

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) January 28, 2019