Via the Marmot’s Hole comes this news about a conservative group that decided to show their displeasure about the hunger strikes over the Sewol ferry accident by holding a pizza party:

On Saturday, a group of conservative extremists pulled off an eating binge at Gwanghwamun Plaza in downtown Seoul, right next to the bereaved families of victims of the April 16 ferry sinking who are involved in a hunger strike demanding a thorough investigation of the disaster. The 100 people in attendance are members of the Ilgan Best (Ilbe), an online community of conservatives. They sang and ate pizza and fried chicken to mock the hunger strike the victims’ families have been staging since they lost their children in the ferry sinking. A special Sewol ferry law has not been approved yet due to their opposition to some aspects of it.

One blogger built a dog house and put dog food at the site where the group held their rude ceremony with a banner reading “This is where those who are worse than dogs have their food.” The partisan wrangling over the Sewol ferry law has spilled over into society, sending extremists to carry out insensitive acts.

Sponsors said their performance had the simple message of demanding that Gwanghwamum Plaza, which has turned into a stage for political protest, be returned to citizens. They claimed they were well-behaved and cleaned up the area afterwards.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Kim Jong-un gout is getting to him again:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was recently shown limping on state television, raising questions about the health of the 31-year-old dictator.

Some experts say that the full display of Kim walking with a limp was intended to convey that he was fully in charge and reassure, ironically, the public of his good health.

It is generally believed that an accident or health problem was the cause.

Kim looks obese for his young age. It is widely speculated that he had fattened himself to make him look like his grandfather and founder of the communist state Kim Il-sung to enable the younger Kim to ascend to power at a young age after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in late 2011.

Footage from Korean Central Television (KCTV) Tuesday showed Kim walking with a limp, favoring his left leg, during a visit to a newly built factory in August, called “the Oct. 8 Factory.”  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

It is amazing that someone would try and kill a pregnant woman over $3,000:

Jurors on Wednesday evening sentenced a Fort Bliss soldier to 30 years in prison for brutally attacking a pregnant woman last year, leaving her partially blind and with extensive injuries.

Corey Moss, 20, initially didn’t show any emotion after 210th District Judge Gonzalo Garcia announced the jury’s sentence. Jurors also assessed a $10,000 fine.

Moss will be eligible for parole after serving 15 years of his sentence. He will receive credit for time spent in jail awaiting trial.

El Paso police arrested Moss on Oct. 30 for the brutal stabbing of Rachel Poole at her Northeast home. She was eight and a half months pregnant at the time but her baby girl was born healthy.

On Monday, Moss pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary of a habitation with the intent to commit aggravated assault and opted to have a jury decide his punishment.

At the time of the attack, Poole had been using the FaceTime app on her phone to video chat with her husband, Army Spc. Justin Poole, who had been deployed to Qatar. State prosecutors said Moss attacked Poole over a $3,000 debt Moss owed to the Pooles after damaging one of their vehicles.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but it would be interesting to know what the background of this criminal is that was allowed to join the Army in the first place.  Hopefully the draw down will help prevent people like this from enlisting in the first place.

I wonder if people stationed on Ft. Polk will riot, loot, and burn the post down?

A soldier who fled law enforcement officials investigating a reported break-in at on-base housing at Fort Polk, Louisiana, died after he was apprehended, according to a Tuesday news release from the base.

The soldier, who has not been identified, reportedly matched the description given to military police of an individual “allegedly trying to illegally enter a home that was not his residence,” according to the release. The suspect fled when MPs approached him, then resisted arrest and finally was apprehended after law enforcement officials reportedly used both pepper spray and a stun gun.

After handcuffing the soldier, MPs saw that the individual was “in medical distress,” per the release, and emergency medical personnel who were on scene “began attempting life-saving measures.” The soldier was taken to a medical facility, where he was later pronounced dead.  [Army Times]

You can read more at the link, but on the Army Times Facebook page someone claiming to live near where the incident happened said that the soldier was drunk and went to the wrong house.  The article claims there were multiple MPs at the scene so how come they could not wrestle this guy down and handcuff without using a taser?

The Gays Are Coming…to Seoul & Busan http://t.co/r30NkyNSsk

— JamesTurnbull (@JamesTurnbull) September 9, 2014

Via Flickr user Allen.

The South Korean government plans to support President Obama’s ISIS strategy with humanitarian assistance aid:

South Korea expressed support Thursday for U.S. President Barack Obama’s plan for airstrikes in Syria and expanded strikes in Iraq to defeat the Islamic State militant group.

Obama said Wednesday he won’t hesitate to take action against the Islamic State in Syria, as he pledged to “degrade, and ultimately destroy” the extremists responsible for beheading two American journalists.

“South Korea voices its support to the efforts by the international community to defeat the Islamic State militant group,” Noh Kwang-il, spokesman for Seoul’s foreign ministry, told a regular press briefing. “As part of such support, Seoul has already announced its plan to provide a combined US$1.2 million in aid (to displaced Iraqi people).”

South Korea said in June and August that it plans to offer $200,000 in humanitarian assistance and an additional $1 million to help Iraqi refugees amid escalating violence in the country.  [Yonhap]

Isn’t amazing that just a year ago the US wanted to bomb the Syrian government and now the US is planning to become the Syrian government’s Air Force.  You can read more about the new ISIS strategy at this Yahoo News link, but here is another example of how so many things have flipped in such a short period of time:

Before the speech, senior administration officials cited the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force as the legal basis for taking the fight to Syria. Strikingly, a little over a year ago, in a major counterterrorism address at the National Defense University in Washington, Obama said he wanted to “refine and ultimately repeal” the AUMF, which President George W. Bush had relied on for his Global War on Terror.

I wonder if they also complained about the display of the Chinese flag who is also responsible for the deaths of many Koreans during the Korean War and the key enabler of North Korea?:

Organizers of the upcoming Asian Games in Incheon pulled down all national flags that lined the streets of the port city after rightwing groups complained about the public display of the North Korean flag.

The flags of the 45 participating nations were hoisted along the streets of Incheon and the city of Goyang north of Seoul last week.

Under Olympic Council of Asia regulations, the flags of the council, host nation and participating countries are displayed around sports stadiums, accommodation and airports.

The North Korean flag was also hoisted during the 2002 Asian Games in Busan and Daegu Universiade in 2003.

But this time rightwing groups in Goyang protested, and the organizers took the drastic step of removing all national flags and replacing them with the OCA flag and Asian Games banner.  [Chosun Ilbo]

The Korean government plans to raise the amount of money spent on Welfare in the country:

South Korea plans to raise its budget for welfare programs by more than 10 percent in 2015 from a year earlier in an effort to establish a better social safety net and revitalize the economy, the government and ruling party said Wednesday.

“The burden for the low-income bracket has been soaring due to the slowed economic recovery,” a Saenuri Party official said. “To ease such agony, we plan to raise the welfare budget by over 10 percent to between 118 trillion won (US$115.12 billion) and 120 trillion won.”

The increased rate for the welfare budget will hover far above the 5 percent rise slated for the combined state expenditure estimated for next year. It will also mark the first time since 2009 that the government has increased the welfare budget at a two-digit rate.

“We plan to push up the economy by lowering the burden for education, living and medical services, and setting up a social safety net, and expand expenditures on health, welfare and employment,” a government official said, adding the finalized plan, including detailed numbers, will be rolled out next week.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.