Maybe Kim Jong-il was really just trying to sink the Japanese coast guard boat off of the Dokdo islets:
The North¿s short- and mid-range missile launches continued for nearly four hours starting at 3:32 a.m. According to government officials, all dropped into the sea on the near side of the Japanese archipelago.
In the midst of all this, the South Korean research vessel Haeyang 2000 pushed on into waters surrounding Dokdo, where it was met by a warning radio call from a Japanese patrol boat to stop. The Haeyang responded it was conducting an oceanic survey of Korean territorial waters and warned the Japanese boat not to interfere. The Japanese did not attempt to seize the vessel as it was escorted by a Korean Coast Guard ship.
This is why the US military has to maintain a strong presence in Northeast Asia because you have a brutal dictator shooting missiles all over the place and the two countries that should be putting up a united front against Kim Jong-il are busy fighting with each other over two stupid rocks.
The youths at Hongdae may have “holy water“, but it looks like the more adventurous partyers might want to try out the “cadaver water” up in Ilsan:
A 55-year-old married woman identified by her last name Lee, who was concerned by her deteriorating health, traveled to a temple in the city of Goyang, Gyeonggi province after hearing that there was a “miraculous” Buddhist priestess there. Upon meeting the priestess told Lee, “This is a medicine that I have made, if you drink it your ailments will all be made better,” and passed her a paper cup. The woman forked over W500,000 (US$1=W961) and drank the elixir. Afterwards Lee contracted food poisoning as well as a skin disease which sent her to the hospital. Later she learned that the “special potion” was in fact the water that had stagnated under a dead body.
Many news agencies are reporting that it is likely that North Korea is preparing to fire more missiles: North Korea has another long-range Taepodong-2 missile of the kind that crashed into the ocean after launch on Wednesday, according to a confidential report by South Korea¿s National Intelligence Service. That means another test launch is likely once the North figures out how to fix the defect that scuppered the first attempt. Officials also contradicted reports Wednesday that the missile blew up in midair 42 seconds after launch, saying it actually traveled for seven minutes after veering from its original trajectory. With the failure of the Taepodong2, North Korea is going to feel compelled to launch a successful missile if possible in order to demonstrate that they are still a real threat towards the US. If the North Koreans can demonstrate themselves as a legitimate threat to the US mainland, then their bargaining power during negotiations is greatly enhanced. Not to mention demonstrating to potential buyers that their missile technology works. The fact that the missile possibly flew for 7 minutes is irrelevant if the guidance system doesn’t work. If you are going to shoot something 2000 miles you better be able to hit something of importance in the US or your threats appear very weak. However, if the North Koreans cannot fix the current problems with the Taepodong2 then they will not risk a second failure. Firing off more shorter range missiles seems foolish when they know and the international community knows those missiles do work. In the meantime the South Koreans are looking at bulking up their defensive capabilities against the North Korean missile threat: Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry in a report to the National Assembly’s Defense Committee announced it plans to introduce 48 Patriot missiles between 2008 and 2009 as part of the SAM-X project. After 2009, it will introduce SM-2 Block-IV sea-to-air interceptor missiles to be carried on Aegis ships to counter the North Korean missile threat. Why is the South Korean government purchasing these weapon system for? I thought North Korea was no longer the main enemy? Here is what the North Koreans are saying about their missile tests: The country’s “exercise of its legitimate right as a sovereign state is neither bound to any international law nor to bilateral or multilateral agreements … ,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said, according to the state-run news agency KCNA. “The KPA [Korean People’s Army] will go on with missile launch exercises as part of its efforts to bolster deterrent for self-defense in the future, too.” Pyongyang also warned countries against interference. North Korea “will have no option but to take stronger physical actions of other forms, should any other country dare take issue with the exercises and put pressure upon it,” the spokesman said in Pyongyang’s first official comment since test-firing the missiles on Wednesday. North Korea is correct when they say they have the right to fire missiles, but their are international standards for conducting missile tests, such as not almost shooting down a commercial airliner like they almost did with this test or violating other nation’s airspace like they did over Japan in 1998. Plus, usually countries begging for international aid don’t fire missiles.
In other non-North Korea related news the Chosun felt compelled to let us all know that our anus is free game to Korean police:
The Constitutional Court on Thursday threw out a petition against anal searches of narcotics suspects in detention. The petitioner argued the procedure violates human rights.
“Narcotics can clearly be hidden in the anus, and as a minute physical search protects the life and body of the accused and maintains safety and order within the prison, it is not unconstitutional provided the search is conducted in a way that minimizes indignity for the detainee,” the court said in its ruling.
The petitioner had been arrested on suspicion of a narcotics offense and was turned around and bent over before a jailer, who spread the individual’s buttocks and examined the anus to ascertain that the detainee was concealing no narcotics. The petitioner argued his human rights and the integrity of his person were violated in the search.
I just received an e-mail from the US Embassy in Seoul warning all US citizens about anti-US Free Trade Agreement protests in Seoul next week:
The U.S. Embassy in Seoul is transmitting the following information through the Embassy's warden system as a public service to all U.S. citizens in the Republic of Korea. Please disseminate this message to U.S. citizens in your organizations.
Korean police authorities advised the U.S. Embassy in Seoul that a series of large-scale anti-Free Trade Agreement (FTA) protests will occur in downtown Seoul, Monday through Friday, July 10-14, 2006. Monday ¿ Friday, July 10-14, several hundred people are expected in front of Donghwa Duty Free building two blocks south of the U.S. Embassy. Additionally the police expect a large gathering around Shilla Hotel, where the talks will take place.
On Wednesday, July 12, in front of City Hall at 4:00 p.m., up to 20,000
participants are expected to protest against the FTA. Traffic may be congested in these areas during the times indicated above. The Embassy advises American citizens and their family members to plan their travel accordingly.   Â
Additional gatherings may occur during the week as the FTA talks
continue. Political, labor, and student demonstrations and marches have on occasion become confrontational and/or violent. American citizens should exercise caution and avoid gatherings of large groups in order to minimize risk to their personal safety. Streets may also close without warning on orders of the local police. American citizens are advised to expect heavy traffic delays. Please report any suspicious incidents or surveillance immediately to the Embassy (tel: 02-397-4000 (24 hours).
So in other words keep away from these areas at the designated times because these protesters are notorious for causing violence.
I wish somebody just once would take personal responsibility for being overweight and not rely on lawyers:
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, the group behind a lawsuit against KFC for allegedly increasing the chance of developing heart disease, is now setting its sights on Starbucks, whose products it says cause obesity, cardiac trouble and cancer. In Korea, chains like Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Holly’s Coffee are being fingered as the chief offenders behind obesity. Is overpriced coffee in cardboard cups destined to go the way of fast food and soft drinks?
The long awaited USFK bashing Korean movie, The Host is about to begin screening in Korea:
Now the industry pins its hopes on “The Host,” which opens on July 27. The film has been screened to high praise at the Cannes Film Festival, increasing the expectations of Korean audiences but leaving the film with a lot to live up to.
The first private sneak preview on Tuesday did not disappoint. A mutant creature created by toxins secretly dumped into the Han River by the U.S. Forces Korea now haunts the waterways. The creature makes off with a young woman, whose rather ordinary family then engages in a mortal struggle to rescue her. In “The Host,” the traditional fun of a monster flick coexists with a twisted sense of humor. Sometimes being pursued and sometimes pursuing, the protagonists¿ situation is much the same as in every other creature movie. The film also borrows some tricks from the horror genre, for instance a scene where the monster’s “snack” has escaped into a small space leaving it snarling at the entrance. The special effects used to depict the comings and goings of the monster are an astounding technical accomplishment that proves what Chungmuro can do.
I wouldn’t put to much credence in the fact that this movie received high praise at the Cannes Film Festival when any US military bashing movie would screen well at the Cannes Film Festival. I’m a big fan of Korean movies especially this directors former movie, Memories of Murder, but it definitely reprehensible that USFK gets blamed for polluting the Han River when Koreans do a great job polluting it themselves. The river flowing through Seoul is full of garbage and refuse though I do have to concede that it has gotten better in recent years. It is to bad that the movie had to turn to typical America bashing instead of focusing attention on the real problem which is Koreans polluting Korea.
It appears North Korea may be closer to testing their stupid missile:
Fuel trucks have departed the site where a North Korean missile sits on a launching pad, indicating that a test might be near, two senior U.S. State Department officials said Tuesday.
The removal of the fuel trucks and other auxiliary equipment means the North Koreans may have finished fueling the missile, said the officials, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the information.
Should the North Koreans have completed the fueling “all they would need to do now is press the button,” one of the sources said.
What I find interesting about this whole missile test fire story is the media reaction to the story. The CNN article this posting is linked to, has a picture of a few anti-Kim Jong-il protesters in Seoul suggesting that all of South Korea is up in arms against Kim Jong-il and breathlessly awaiting to see what happens with his missile test. The truth is that next to nobody in South Korea cares about his missile test. South Koreans are more concerned over what America does in response to a missile test because at the end of the day it is their behinds that have hundred of thousands of North Korean artillery rounds landing on them if the US government decides to attack North Korea.
I was watching CNN earlier today and of course they were hyping the North Korean threat to start a nuclear war if they are bombed, complete with a nuclear explosion mushroom cloud to in the background of the story to emphasize the perceived threat to America. Reality is much different however, because it is extremely unlikely North Korea would start a nuclear war over a bombing of a missile test when they can get back at the US by other means I have discussed before which no news organization even explores.
The message from the US media is very clear, the North Koreans want to nukes us and we need to do something about it. It is such an amazing difference compared to the US media message that the Iraq War is bad, to many soldier dying and we need to cut and run now. Do they have any idea of how bloody a second Korean War will be and yet they are actively promoting starting one. Like the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for, but then again the media isn’t the one with artillery and rockets pointed at it.
I have long shown examples of the poor quality of journalism Oh My News is and yet how does poor journalism in Korea get rewarded? With government subsidies of course!:
Beneficiaries of subsidies under controversial new press laws include eight dailies including the government-friendly Hankyoreh and Kyonghyang, the three online newspapers OhMyNews, Pressian and Issuei, and one magazine. The commission said it selected the 12 out of 32 applicants for the subsidy based on 10 screening categories.
The commission will distribute a total of W15.7 billion (US$1=W943) among the news companies this year. Some W200 million will be spent on improving readers¿ rights, W400 million on management consulting, W7.5 billion on corporate restructuring and new business projects and W7.5 billion on updating facilities and promoting computerization.
There is widespread criticism of public subsidies to private news companies since the subsidy payment will be carried out in accordance with the press laws, some provisions of which were last week found to violate the Constitution.
How about they use the money to hire some real journalists?
