I once, in person, saw a large painting of white tigers basking in the winter sun on top of Baekdu Mountain, in North Korea. The exquisite painting was by a North Korean artist. I was struck at the talent and beauty that can be found in a country that is otherwise so terribly deprived.
There are two controversial Korean artists who had both defected from North Korea and now live in South Korea. Both were trained as North Korean propaganda artists and when the came to Korea they turned their propagandist style into dramatic satire against their former government.
The first is Seon Mu (Sun Mu), who uses a pseudonym lest North Korean spies should leak his identity to North Korea and his family (parents that are possibly still alive in the North) should be tortured on account of him. Sun Mu is known for his "Happy Children" series in which he depicted North Korean children in obvious displays of "conditioned" happy-acting, that is part of the daily life in Korea. You can visit his blog (in Korean) to see more of his work. An interesting aspect of his work is his use of nudity. All displays of nudity in North Korea are illegal as it is associated with American imperialist decadence. Showing nudity, therefore, not only celebrates his own freedom from the oppressive regime he grew up under, but also mocks the Pharisaic morals of the dictatorial North.
Another originally North Korean artist that defected to South Korea is Seong Byeok who attempted to escape from North Korea but was captured and put into work camps. He attempted again, fortunately succeeded and made his way to South Korea where he now works as an artist. He gained international recognition after his show early last year called "Forever Freedom", of which one painting displayed Kim Jong-Il is a cross-dressing Marilyn Monroe, mocking the late North Korean leader's love of cinema. Seong Byeok is set to exhibit in the USA this year. See his website here.
At noon today the official North Korean news agency announced that the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Il, has died. The North Korean newscaster was dressed in clothes of morning as she revealed that the “Dear Leader” had died on Saturday, 17 December, due to extreme psychological and physiological fatigue while doing on site inspections—something he was known for doing quite frequently—at 8:30 in the morning. The North Korean newscaster announced that he died of “physical and mental exhaustion.” The exact cause of death is myocardial infarction, a heart attack. This was determined during an autopsy that was performed on Sunday. He was 69 years old (70 years in Korean counting). North Korean citizens broke down weeping at the news, according to pictures from the Chinese news agency. China is North Korea's greatest ally. The funeral is set for next week, the December 28th or 29th.
Although the South Korean government has declared a state of emergency, the second highest security level, I have spent much of my day in the streets of Seoul and can attest that the average South Korean citizen does not seem too concerned. This is in high contrast to how American citizens reacted upon the announcement of the death of their bogeyman, Osama Bin Laden, earlier this year. In South Korea there are no obvious cheering in the streets nor cowering in the corners. People are just going on with life as normal Although online video sites do have news videos about the North Korean leader's death, the news is shared with local entertainment videos of participants in the pop idol show Kpop Star.
Asian markets seem more concerned than South Korean citizen as Asian currencies dropped at the announcement, but Asian markets have always been nervous.
So what can we expect? For the time being, I think, not much. It is very unlikely that there will be any uprising in the North. Since Kim Jong-Il suffered a stroke in 2008, the North Korean regime has been preparing for his eventual death. Also, although he died Saturday already, the party only made the announcement two days later, giving them enough time to prepare for any unwanted reaction from the people. The South Korean government's state of emergency is more for political display than anything else, since it is highly unlikely the North will do anything to stir up further animosity until after its mourning period. Apart from the immediate mourning period, which will last until around Thursday next week, Korean's also have a special mourning ceremony 100 days after the day of death. Furthermore, Kim Il Sung's Centennial is coming up next year. Plans to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea, has been put into motion for quite some time now.
North Korea is practically a cult-state devoted to Kim Il-Sung and his son and successor Kim Jong-Il. Kim Jong-Il's third son Kim Jong-Eun has been groomed as the successor so plans to “enthrone” him will also take up focus. The next couple of months we can expect North Korea to be completely internally focussed with the mourning of Kim Jong-Il, the centennial celebrations of Kim-Il Sung and the successor ceremony of Kim Jong-Eun.
That is at least how I see things play out, unless there are any outside interferences and the only powers that could / would cause “interferences” are China who isn't likely to do anything, Japan and Korea who prize stability in the region more than anything else, and the United States. America has its focus divided elsewhere and would rather not thin their attention any more than it has too. In any case, China will not stand idly by if America were to make a move in North Korea. North Korea serves as a strategic buffer between America's heavy presence in South Korea. A move by America on North Korea is too close for comfort for China.
Speaking of the United States and it's divided attentions... Both the USA and Russia have naval air carriers and other military presence in Syrian waters, what can only be described as a under-reported stand-off. China and Russia has blocked United Nations Security Council efforts (i.e. US military) to interfere with Syria. China has announced its allegiance to Iran.
It is well known that America feels the need to invade Iran because of Iran's nuclear ambitions. (That is, at least, the cover story. The truth is more probably America's hunger for oil or using war as a economic stimulus.) However, the American people are waking up to the fraudulent wars their government is waging. Although war is likely, it is unlikely that America will make the first overt move. Instead we are more likely to see them bite at the heels of Iran until Iran gets so irate that it loses its temper and make the first strike. This will, of course, give the Military Industrial Complex that runs the show the excuse to go to war with Iran. For this scenario to play out will require quite a number of months of agitation, so we can probably expect it to happen later, maybe September, October, 2012. That is unless they pull another false flag event like 9/11. With US presidential elections coming up we may first see some “soldiers coming home” rhetoric in action, which was a promise Obama made during his presidential race. Either way, it is plausible for Obama to stay on as president. He has been heeding the commands of his international banker masters quite well. But it doesn't matter. What we can be sure of is that unless Ron Paul or a completely different third party candidate suddenly become exceedingly popular and wins the upcoming election, the banking elite will just replace Obama with one of their cronies—it doesn't matter the party. The Republicans and the Democrats are merely to sides of the same proverbial coin—a two headed party.
Back to the probable war with Iran later next year. Such a war has so many parties involved that it can easily escalate to a global conflict—a Third World War. Unfortunately, with technology as advanced as it is, a Third World War will be a rather messy affair which could easily involve bioweapons and nuclear / hydrogen bombs.
Then, let's not forget the predicted high solar activities predicted for next year. And for those that do not know, sun storms are closely related to natural disasters such as earth quakes and unusual weather here on our planet.
But, in the meantime, enjoy the festive season. It ought not be too volatile. The “fun” is all scheduled for later in 2012.
I'm yet to talk to a Korean that like the current president, Lee Myng Bak. Honestly, I really don't know how he got elected. But that's not the purpose of this post. Instead, I want to share two sets of pictures of President Lee with two female Heads of State.
Yes, Lee Myung Bak is staring at the butt of Yulia Tymoshenko, the previous prime minister of the Ukraine.
Yes, Lee Myung Bak is staring at the boobs of Julia Gillard, the incumbent head of state of Australia.
Sneaking peeks is one thing, but to gawk is quite another. And a completely different kettle of fish is when one head of state blatantly objectifies another head of state. Goodness, these were official inter-governmental meetings, not encounters at a night club!
When was the last time former president Nelson Mandela was seen or heard from? In what condition is he? Is he even still alive? Let me know, I'm really curious and concerned.
A few days ago Brittain's royal couple, Prince Charles and Lady Camilla arrived in South Africa. They are on a five day visit in South Africa. Yesterday they met with Mandela's wife Graca Machel but not with Madiba. I find it curious. Yes, former president Mandela is sickly and weak, but ever the more reason for Prince Charles to at least drop in and give his old peer a nod, for surely he is unlikely to see Mandela again. Unless, of course, the reason he is not visiting with Mandela is not because Mandela "is not receiving visitors," but because he cannot receive anybody since he had passed away. Yeah, all conspiracy theory stuff, but there would be good reason for the powers that be to keep news of his passing hushed for the time being. In politics timing is everything!
Regarding the royal visit: The comments I read under some [1, 2] news reports of Charles and Camilla's visit was most unfavourable. One person said that they are "as exciting as a bar of soap", another wrote "who cares?!", another suggested to get "eggs and naartjies ready" presumably to throw them with, and yet another suggested that they "go back to their island." Gathering from these and other even less flattering comments, it would seem that the average South African is not too keen on the English royals.
The prince is spending much of his time in South Africa talking about climate change (his favourite topic) and economic ties between South Africa and Britain. On Sunday he will depart for Tanzania, which is another African country like South Africa with very strong trading ties to China and lots of local Chinese investment. Maybe his visit to South Africa had more to do with concerns about China's foothold in Africa, than anything else. As I wrote last month, the ties between South Africa and China is much more sinister that we are led to believe.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama Image Source
In the past I supported calls for South Africa supplying the Dalai Lama with a visa to visit South Africa. See here. My main motivation was the importance of freedom of religion and freedom of expression. The recent controversy leaves me slightly less sympathetic. The Dalai Lama was invited by former Archbishop Desmond Tutu to attend his 80th birthday celebrations. Tutu was born on 7 October 1931. My question must be, what was Archbishop Tutu thinking? He must have known that South Africa will again deny the Dalai Lama his visa, because of South Africa's strong ties with China. His invitation only brought humiliation on the Dalai Lama and put South Africa in a negative light. Or was that the purpose? The Dalai Lama gains much international sympathy from such China-related dismissals.
What I've mentioned thus far has probably been said by many other news analysts. So here are my two cents:
First, South Africa ought to give a clearer message as to why they are against the Dalai Lama's visit. At present we only look like a puppet of China, which, as the economic leader in Africa, we definitely do not want to come across as. Of course our camaraderie with China cannot be denied, but the government's media spin doctors can definitely come up with a better story. For instance, Tibetan Buddhism is surprisingly quite patriarchal and even misogynistic. Modern orthodox Tibetan Buddhism preaches that it is practically impossible for a woman to attain enlightenment. In future reincarnations they first need to be born as a male. Then there are the use of female sex “volunteers” by the highest level Lamas as part of their tantric practices. For more on this, read June Campbell's personal account as a Tibetan Buddhist insider. You can read an interview with Campbell here. If South Africa were to motivate its decision to deny a visa for the Dalai Lama on more grounds than just its ties with China, for example Tibet's religious subjugation of women, it would get much less backlash from the many South Africans who are looking favourably on the friendly Dalai Lama.
Second, it is not covered in the mass media, but on more than one account have I heard of military bases (at least two that I know of) manned by Chinese soldiers in South Africa. What is the purpose of two Chinese military camps on South African soil? One estimate that I recently heard of counts the number of Chinese soldiers in the thousands. Now this is something we South Africans ought to find much more disconcerting than South Africa's denial of the Dalai Lama's visa. Is South Africa in some greater Chinese grip, something much worse than mere economic relations, than most of us are aware of? This is the real story that needs to get media attention.
Things like Information Security Bill gets a much more sinister tone if scene with the aforementioned as a backdrop.
I've always been a little on the edge regarding this whole hate-speech thing. I'm speaking specifically about Julius Malema's rally songs in which he sang “kill the boer” / “dubhula ibhunu”. Yes, it makes me uncomfortable, but I am a supporter of freedom of speech and expression. Drawing the line between what is allowed and what is not, is a very delicate matter. I have to agree with Chris Chameleon who recently tweeted (@chrischameleon) that he has always been more offended by the “kill” in the slogan, than by the derogatory term for “boer.” Being called names, even derogatory names, is just an oppinion. But this is not what the slogan “kill the boer” is all about. The slogan, if taken as it is, is a call to action—a call to murder. So as I understand it, that is what Judge Collin Lamont basically said in his recent High Court ruling: Julius Malema's singing “kill the boer” amounts to hate-speech.
A few months ago I posted a song by Miriam Makaba, “Kwawuleza”. It is a song in which a child warns his mother that the police are coming. During the apartheid regime a slang word for a policeman developed: “boer”. The word for white farmer became synonymous with white policeman. So the phrase “kill the boer” could be interpreted to mean “kill the policeman”; the basic suggestion is to overthrow those in power. With Malema's rhetoric that white people are still, even now, yet in power, it continues to be a troubling thing to say.
But back to Makaba's song “Kwawuleza”. The hypersensitive and ridiculously politically correct may claim this song to be inappropriate. What about that beautiful poem by Ingrid Jonker, speaking of a “kafferboom”? When will I be indicted for inappropriate speech—possibly hate-speech—for using a word like “kaffer” in a poem? I haven't yet used this word in a poem, but since it is such an emotionally charged word it is obviously a word any poet would take note of. Is Jonker's poem on some blacklist as something that is potentially inappropriate?
Yes, words and their associations are terrible, and insults like “kaffer” and “nigger” and “white pig” and “coolie” and “chink” and the list goes on, are definitely inappropriate. However, how we respond to these insults are equally important. Take for instance that African-American man that assaulted an elderly Korean man because he thought the Korean called him “nigger”, when in fact he said something completely different. (I posted about it here.) Who is the most serious offender here—the person that possibly said the N-word, or the person that physically assaulted someone.
There's a saying that “words can kill” and the Bible says that in the tongue resides the power of life and death. Yes words matter. But so does freedom of expression. When you force people to keep silent you are not necessarily doing a good thing. What we are allowed to say or not to say is the topic of many a dictatorial regime. Orwell spoke not for naught about the muting of words as a means of control in his famous novel, 1984. As a person that spends a lot of time with words, I want the freedom to use any word I so please. And because I know the power of words, because I know the value of words, I use them carefully. I do not use derogatory words, and cussing comes uncomfortably to my mouth. Not because I'm afraid to say these words, but because I am free to use them and know their power. In any case, if I use the F-word as my main adjective, what will I say when something really F-worthy happens?
In 'n Demokrasie regeer die mense -- hulle word nie regeer nie. Dit is die plig van die goewerment om die wil van die mense uit te voer. Met ander woorde, die mense is baas en die goewerment is klaas. Indien die mense ontevrede is met hoe die goewerment sy plig nakom, dan kan ons hulle via 'n verkiesing vervang met verteenwoordigers wat ons wil meer getrou sal uitvoer. Die mense is dis in beheer en om hulle taak ordentelik te doen moet hulle vrye toegang hê tot staatsinligting. Sonder sulke vrye toegang is dit nie 'n demokrasie nie, maar 'n diktatorskap waar die goewerment baas is en die mense klaas is.
Die "Wet om Beskerming van Inligting" wat deur Suid-Afrika se goewerment voorgestel is, is drakonies van aard. Dit is daarop uit om inligting van die mense te weerhou. Sonder vrye inligting kan die mense nie ordentelike landsbesluite neem nie en is dan nie instaat om in beheer te wees nie. Eenvoudig gestel, hierdie wet verander die land vanaf 'n demokrasie in een-of-ander vorm van diktatorskap. Dit mag dalk nou nie onmiddelik Noord-Korea word nie, maar dit lê die fondasie waarop 'n Noord-Korea of 'n Zimbabwe of 'n Ivoorkus maklik gebou kan word. Intussen raak dit 'n piesangrepubliek.
Daarom is ek teen die voorgestelde "Wet om Beskerming van Inligting." Hoe meer geheime 'n staat het, hoe minder ware vryheid bestaan daar en hoe skraler is die kans om 'n werkende demokratiese stelsel. Soos Thomas Jefferson tereg gesê het: "Information is the currency of democracy." Sonder toegang tot inligting kan 'n demokrasie nie bestaan nie.
Raak betrokke in hierdie stryd. Dit handel oor groter dinge as bloot joernaliste en fluitjieblasers. Dit raak die kern van hoe ons land regeer word -- is die mense baas of is die goewerment baas? 'n Demokrasie of 'n diktatorskap? In watter tipe land wil jy bly?
Een manier om betrokke te raak is deur die "Right to Know Campaign"-petisie te teken. Neem deel aan protesoptogte. (Elke persoon behoort ten minste een keer in sy of haar lewe aan 'n protesoptog deel te neem.) Skryf briewe en vertel mense. 'n Demokrasie is 'n hoogskosbare fragiel affêre. 'n Mens moet dit daarvoor veg en dit pamperlang.
Okay, so I have a Degree in Graphic Design, which make it easy to see the obvious, glaring, issues with this document, which is clearly a fake. But come on! You don't need a bachelor's degree in Graphic Design to see this.
Apart from the obvious issue of the green background grain not matching up, here are some other things to look at.
Notice the State Registrar's Stamp at the bottom of the page. There is a spelling error: "ABSTRACT OF TXE RECORD". You wanna tell me that the State Registrar used a stamp with a spelling error in it? If so, then we need to compare this with other certificates from the same time and see if those too have this error on it, which I hard to believe.
Is that a smiling face in the first A of the Registrar's signature? Zoom into the signature and look at the A in "Alvin". Yes it could be an ink smudge, but we don't see that type of splattering to this extend elsewhere in the signature.
Notice the colour mismatch of the green thatched paper on the outside border and the grey-green mismatched colour where the new layer clearly begins. It looks like they took a photocopy of some sort, selected all the "white" and deleted it leaving the transparent background (except for the grey areas), and then pasted the whole thing onto the green thatched background.
Look at the Department of Health number at the upper right corner: 61 10641. Zoom in so that you can clearly compare that last one with the other numbers. It is strikingly obvious to anybody that has ever worked with computer images that the last number has been added as an image. It is clearly pixelated, when compared to the other numbers and the font is not exactly the same either.
Below the Department of Health number look at the date. What's up with that comma (heavily pixelated) behind the 4 (day).
Now, I'm not saying that this certificate proves President Obama is not an American or anything like that. What I am saying is that this document is HIGHLY suspicious. I have to wonder why the White House would provide such a clearly altered document to the public? Surely there are better graphic designers in Washington! With enough time I would have made a better document and I'm not even an actively practising graphic designer anymore.
I was suddenly in the mood for Miriam Makeba and went to YouTube to listen to some of her songs. The first one I listened to was the song "Khawuleza" in which the child tells his/her mother to hurry up, because the police are coming.
It's seventeen years after the change of government and I wonder what has changed as far as the police is concerned? Police brutality in South Africa is something that's making the news quite often these days. Again, I think, the children are shouting "khawuleza, mama!" South Africans do not trust their police. I know that I do not. When I see a police officer in South Africa I feel nervous instead of safe. They say you only need to fear the police if you are guilty of some crime, but that is not true. There is good reason to feel afraid. Afraid because police corruption is so rampant. Affraid because tsotsissometimes dress-up as police officers. Afraid because we saw what happened to Andries Tatane. "Khawuleza, mama, khawuleza!"
So while South Africans wait to hear the result of the elections yesterday, here's another Miriam Makeba song:
Well, first, I don't believe whatever the White House is saying. Even their own official spoke people contradict each other, how can they expect us to believe them? Read about some the contradictions as well video's of some of the White House briefings at Politico. So let's for a moment put aside the alternative media and conspiracy theorists' belief that Bin Laden has been dead for a number of years now and that this was all a staged event . . .
So an American friend asked me the other day how do I feel about Bin Laden's killing and in particular, how do I feel about American's celebrating his killing. (As a New Yorker my friend admitted to cheering at the announcement of Bin Laden's death.)
Personally I think it is terribly sad. People think that through his killing they have attained justice. The supposed mastermind behind 9/11 has at long last been brought to justice. I beg to differ. Firstly, 9/11 was just as much an inside job as an outside terrorist attack. If you don't believe it, then answer the Building 7 question. Secondly, there is no justice in the assassination of Osama bin Laden. Yes, the United States got even, like when a child pulls the hair of the girl that pulled her hair first. Tit for tat. You performed a terrorist attack on us, so we will perform terrorist attacks on you. (And that is basically what America has done with it's invasions, wars, and continuous drone strikes in Pakistan wherein numerous innocent people are regularly killed.) I'm sorry, no justice has been served. If they really wanted justice, they should have captured Bin Laden (and don't tell me the most elite combat squad in the world aren't capable of it). They should have captured him, and took him before a court of law, preferably an international tribunal. Then we would have had justice. But what makes me really sad about this whole thing is that people are cheering death. They are finding joy in the death of another person. They are not cheering for Justice -- in the virtuous sense of the word, but for getting even; they are cheering revenge. I see a depiction of an elementary, a childish morality; definitely not a matured morality or sense of ethics. America has not shown itself to be morally better or ethically superior to its enemy. They are on equal plains. An egotistical you-hit-me-I-hit-you-back-harder attitude that will only escalate mutual hatred and cause further terrorist (revenge) attacks.
Furthermore, people celebrating at the death of Osama bin Laden, thinking that this means the end of the wars, are naive. Sadam Hussein's death did not signal the end of the Iraqi war. Bin Laden's death will not result in the immediate end of the Afghani war. And the secret war in Pakistan continues. The wars continue.
Good, Osama bin Laden is dead; but so is Justice and any hope for reconciliation. And the vicious circle of revenge and hate continues. It's a cause not for celebration, but for crying.
Below is an example of something worth celebrating.
In a world where governments lie to their citizens on a near constant basis, a group dedicated to exposing the truth is of crucial value. How can we hold our governments accountable if we don't know what atrocities they are committing? Such lies like "weapons of mass destruction" that cost the lives of thousands of innocent lives could have been avoided had the truth been known.
For his resolute purpose to make truth available Julian Assange is under attack. Prominent people in government has called for his assassination. Some even call him a terrorist. Comparing Julian Assange to a terrorist just shows how corrupt these governments have become. It is only in an Orwellian world where one could liken someone dedicated to the truth to a terrorist. Corrupt politicians, torturer-presidents and spying-encouraging ministers get off scot free, but those fighting for truth and justice are called terrorists.
Personally I believe Mr Assange's arrest is linked to a smear campaign, if not a set-up. It is unprecedented -- read, "never hear off!" -- to put out an Interpol warrant on a person suspected of sexual harassment or rape. And since when is it illegal to have consensual sex without a condom? Does it even matter that the first woman involved in the rape charges is "a known radical feminist in Sweden who wrote a blog post on Seven Steps for Legal Revenge." Now would it surprise you to hear that she may be a CIA operative?
Whatever the case may be, most people know in their gut that his arrest has little to do with his promiscuity or being a sexual predator and everything to do with him being an activist for truth.
Wikileaks is supposedly participating in illegal activities. What makes it illegal? The fact that it makes available the truth to the general public? These are truths that are in the public interest. The Wikileaks-documents are embarrassing to many governments, particularly the United States, and that is why they want him muzzled. It is embarrassing because the governments ought to be embarrassed. They want to keep these things quiet because they know that they are in the wrong and ought to be ashamed. The leaks demonstrate their killing of innocent people, their torture tactics, their extortion, their manipulations, their briberies not only in wartime but even at international meetings like the Climate Change Summit. Governments are involved in despicable spectacles, never letting the citizens of those governments in on what they are doing. This is absolutely contrary to everything that democracy stands for. Governments, contrary to the term's original meaning, do not govern its citizens. In a democracy it is the citizens that have authority over the government. Democratic governments are supposed to perform the will of the people, not the other way round. Instead governments are involved in acts that are shockingly contrary to the will of the people it is supposed to represent, and for this very reason they are keeping their dirty deeds secret. And for this very reason, organizations like Wikileaks ought to be praised as they are returning the power to where it belongs, with the people, not with a deceiving oligarchical elite!
Does the information released on Wikileaks put some people at risk? Possibly. Still, we cannot keep silent as to the multiple thousands of people that have already been harassed, tortured, and killed and conveniently kept quiet about. Nor can governments be allowed to think that they can continue to act in this manner. We do not live in ancient times, where we are governed; the foundation of democracy is that we, all citizens of a democratic nation, are the governors. As such, we ought to have access to all information related to the government.
In the meantime the domain name for Wikileaks is taken down and the host for the site is changing frequently. The direct FTP-address is http://213.251.145.96/ . Attempts to shut down Wikileaks is a direct attack on all Internet freedom.
"Whatever you think of WikiLeaks, they have not been charged with a crime, let alone indicted or convicted. Yet look what has happened to them. They have been removed from Internet … their funds have been frozen … media figures and politicians have called for their assassination and to be labelled a terrorist organization. What is really going on here is a war over control of the Internet, and whether or not the Internet can actually serve its ultimate purpose—which is to allow citizens to band together and democratize the checks on the world’s most powerful factions." -- Glen Greenwald.
The (cyber-) attacks on Wikileaks is just the beginning. These governments, the United States of America in particular, will use the Wikileaks incident to pass legislation to tighten control over the Internet. In the name of "Cyber Security" they will take away Net Neutrality and the free access to information and with it freedom of speech. Their excuses for doing so will range from "Cyber Bullying" to "Cyber Terrorism." They will convince, in other words deceive, the public into thinking it is for their own safety. Nonsense! They are just megalomaniacs that will not be satisfied lest they control every facet of your life and turn you into a serf, if not a slave.
You can see a big version of the image above here. A look at Korea on the map would suggest that Korea is part of a hot zone. (You don't know where Korea is? Shame on you. It the peninsula that protrudes from China on the east, with the Japanese islands cupping it on the right. You are not to sure where China and Japan are either?! . . . Now that is sad. Well, they, including Mongolia, are all part of the "Far East." See a map here.)
Korea is actually quite safe as far as natural disasters go. There are no significant earthquakes plaguing Korea; it is Japan that suffer from those. Not only is Japan directly over the Sagami Trough (#25 on the map), an oceanic trench that is known for around 7.9 scale quakes, Japan has also a number of temperamental volcanoes. (South) Korea's only volcano is Halla Mountain, generally considered dormant with its last eruption in 1007. Mount Halla is on Jeju Island, so an eruption there, while serious, will not affect mainland Korea that much. Now, Mount Baekdu which borders North Korea and China is another story. Signs indicate that it is ready to blow and it is suggested that it will be more devastating than when Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted and darkened big parts of Europe for days. I've been hoping to visit Mount Baekdu, but since trees started to die there because of volcanic gasses, I don't think it is safe to visit it any time soon.
The only natural disaster that does seem to hit South Korea on occasion are floods during the monsoon season and the occasional typhoon, but South Korea seems quite capable of handling these.
South Africa seems like one of the best places to live as far as natural disasters go. Southern Africa do not suffer much from serious natural disasters, except an occasional drought, which are usually not as severe as far as droughts can go in other places, like droughts in Eastern Africa (#37 on the map).
But then, who needs natural disasters if an HIV/AIDS pandemic and violent crimes kills people annually at equal staggering rates? Seen in this light, South Korea is still much safer to live. Or is it?
So America and South Korea are planning another joint naval exercise in the West Sea this coming Sunday. Is it just me or does it really look like they are trying to provoke more reactions from North Korea?
I am not pro-North Korea. Far from it. I wish the dictatorial regime to come to an end as soon as possible. Still, the current South Korean government seems to be quite hard-headed and keen for war. I'm still not fully convinced that the torpedo that sunk a South Korean vessel earlier this year was indeed North Korean.
In the meantime, the American Dollar has strengthened since the recent attack. A Korean War, which will definitely involve America may actually strengthen the USA which has been suffering under the global recession and losing respect in the eyes of the world over the last few years. Here's the problem with these corrupt governments, be it North Korea, America or any other oligarchical system, once their power and popularity fail, they try to reclaim power through war. Most people were against George W. Bush, but then came 9/11 and people flocked to him like he was their saver, during which time he led America into two immoral wars. President Obama is losing popularity fast and many analysts predict some kind of war or terror event (whether actual or staged) is to be used to regain his popularity. Advisers have actually suggested that he should go to war with either Iran or Korea in an attempt to stimulate the economy. Might it be with North Korea?
May I remind you that my gut -- fuelled by a consumption of many independent and alternative news sources -- has been telling me that's something was coming and it is something I especially expected to happen in November. I wrote a post on November 11 with the title "We Are Waiting." Will this South Korea-North Korea skirmish-turned-aggressive-retaliation be the event that my and other open minded people's intuition have warned us about? I'm not sure, but it could possibly escalate into something of the sort. I followed that post with another one the next day titled "War in the Air?" Where can this lead? Well, if the ceasefire should officially come to an end, the USA will definitely become very much involved. Keep further in mind that China and Russia will feel highly uncomfortable with aggressive American forces practically on there doorstep. Basically, a Korean War will not only involve the Koreas -- it is inevitable for America, as well as the neighbouring countries (Japan, Russia, and China) to also become involved.
Read an interesting article in which America's involvement in both North Korean and South Korea is highlighted.
In the meantime life is continuing as usual for me. I'm making dinner, might grade some more papers and afterwards, as I usually do on a Wednesday night, I'm going to train Taekkyeon in Insadong under the instruction of this scary man.
Are you joining the Bankrun on December 7th? O, you don't know about it? Well, basically people are saying that they are disgusted with the corrupt banks and fraudulent monetary system and to show their protest they will withdraw all their money from the banks on December 7th, 2010. The problem I see is that banks do not have enough money in their vaults to pay everybody that will come on that day; a better strategy would probably not be a single Bankrun Day, but rather a Bankrun Week or Bunkrun Month. If you do go to the bank on 7 December and they are out of money, just go back the next day, or the next, or the day there after. The idea with the Bankrun, be it a single day or over a longer period is to send a clear signal to the oligarchy that we, the people, are still in control and refuse to be made into serfs. There are many protests groups that you can join in many different countries. See for instance this facebook page or the original Bankrun2010 French website (all thorough revolutions start in France!); the website has an English viewing option.
For an emotional appeal, watch the video below. (That is unless it is censored again.)
So this is how I understand it. There is an area in the West Sea (often called the Yellow Sea) of Korea that is disputed territory between South Korean and North Korea. For this reason the area have been one of high tension, but also one of avoidance by the two Koreas over the last thirteen years. However, earlier this year South Korea and America have been doing naval exercises in this area, something that obviously had North Korea uncomfortable. North Korea warned South Korea than if they were to practise in this area again, they will be forced to see it as a provocation. Yesterday or earlier today (I'm not sure exactly) South Korea had another naval exercise which included shooting missiles into this area of the sea. North Korea, who claims that this area is part of their ocean waters, saw it as an attack and retaliated by firing dozens of shells towards a small South Korean island. Some houses were hit and South Korean civilians two South Korean navy soldiers were killed and injured. "North Korea is threatening to continue launching strikes against South Korea if it violates their disputed sea border . . ."
Analysts say that the reason for North Korea's attack is because of its "growing frustration toward the conservative South Korean government as well as the need to hold one-on-one talks with Washington for aid." I think it is much simpler. The South Korean navy did suspicious military exercises in waters they know to be disputed. Do they really expect North Korea to ignore such a blatantly arrogant move?
And now the the South Korean government announced that it may retaliate by shooting at the North Korean missile launch base. If this kind of tit-for-tat mentality continues it might escalate into something truly unpleasant. Since the current South Korean president has been in office, the tension between the two Koreas have risen uncomfortably. Is this part of some greater strategy he has? I don't think it is working.
As for my worried family and friends, do not stress too much.
I have another blog for my pessimistic rantings about politics and the like, but I felt, for some reason, that this quick post ought to be on Skryfblok instead. Probably because of the G20 Summit that is currently being held in South Korea.
It is not merely a return to the Great Recession as some has claimed, it is the Great Bank Robbery, and the robbing is done by the banks themselves. The trend forecaster Gerald Celente, in a recent tweet, said that as things are going, governments could resort to war. Panic stricken, over protective governments, and power hungry politicians will often resort to an "external threat" to retain their internal power. Is it then surprising that the media is full of talks about "currency wars"? "It's better to dialogue than to fight," said Brazil's president at the G20 Summit in Seoul, Korea recently.
In the meantime Russia has a rushed project to build 5000 more nuclear bomb shelters by 2012. Do the Russians expect a nuclear war? Who's to blame them? Just days before the G20 Summit took place, America tested nuclear missiles. Was this a pre-G20 Summit intimidation strategy? While Iran and North-Korea are being pressured for their supposed nuclear activity, the United States seem to flaunt their nuclear capability. With the Dollar losing its value fast, the only thing the USA still has going for it as a global player is its military strength. And is there any questions still remaining as to the cause of the continuous loss in the Dollar's value? It's simple -- if you keep on printing money without it being backed by some actual valuable resource, like gold, the currency loses value. America is doing pretty much the exact same thing that Zimbabwe did.
The future is not all bleak. Nor all sunny. That's life, I guess.
What will it be? Another 9/11 type terrorist attack? A natural calamity like Katrina? We're not sure, but it's coming and November seems to be highly charged for such an event. Something that will cause the global economic collapse the power-hungry oligarchs are waiting for. We live in interesting times.
