In late March, the South Korean naval destroyer Cheonan sank under mysterious circumstances, claiming 46 lives. And as an international investigation concludes, it appears that not surprisingly, a North Korean torpedo is most likely to blame.
BBC
As I prepare for what may become several more months of life in Seoul, it bears remembering that the war never ended on the Korean peninsula, and only a 57-year-old cease-fire is keeping the hostilities from resuming. Having made the border areas part of my 2008 road trip, I have seen things first-hand.
This despicable development, according to those in the know (including, according to another BBC analytic article, a North Korean lieutenant who defected south and claims to continue contacts with his former colleagues north), is a way for North Korea to respond to South Korea's cutoff of unconditional aids, and to pressures from the US and the international community to return to nuclear disarmament talks. There is also a need for North Korea to "demonstrate" that even in the midst of a power transfer from Kim Jong-il to his third son, things remain "in control." Though methinks a deadly form of provocation like this is very likely to backfire badly.
Any sign of open hostilities would easily put my meditation plans into chaos, for sure. But on the other hand, even sitting in the US will not be a guarantee of safety. The South Korean far-right and the Korean-Americans, having already successfully convinced half of America that President Obama is a Muslim extremist, do need their excuse for more despicable McCarthyist activities after all, and there is no better excuse than northern hostilities. I will be vigilant wherever I am - and I am staying away from far-right propaganda-laden Korean restaurants (that's all Korean restaurants in the US, except for Brothers in San Francisco), until further notice. (I'm also boycotting fellow McCarthyists of Vietnamese restaurants for the same reason.)
Showing posts with label US politics: foreign influence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US politics: foreign influence. Show all posts
19 May 2010
08 January 2009
Hollywood & Griffith Observatory
This post is a test of my Photobucket account. At the rate I take photos, I will run out of Blogger space before I know it!
My folks have returned from their Christmas/New Year's trip, so I have to put up with them for now. They are happy about my car swap - but NOT happy that I had to do it behind their backs. However, I still feel that I had no choice; not only did they force me to keep driving a cursed Ford Contour (and rack up unreasonable traffic tickets and repair bills) until it literally conked out, but they would've certainly done everything to ensure that the BMW would stay with me forever as well.
They did say that I could've sold the BMW to them - or to another acquaintance - for more than the pittance that I got. The BMW could've replaced some other, aging vehicle among my acquaintances. But that was not really my intention; my intention was to ensure that no BMW product would ever stay within my circle of acquaintances, period.
In any case, I won't be living with them much longer anyway. Time to move on to the family business and other more pressing issues. For now, however, here are the final batch of photos from the night before their return. I traveled to Griffith Park and Hollywood for some more photo ops, ensuring that both my car, Gwaneum One, and my camera, a Canon, would give me as much of the spirit of Kwan Yin as possible.
I've arrived at Griffith Observatory, which closed in 2002 for renovations, and re-opened in 2006 (though requiring advance reservations for a visit). The advance reservation requirement went away in late 2007, allowing me to drive Gwaneum One right up to the parking area. The renovations created many new exhibit areas while preserving the best of the old.
One of the older attractions is above. It's the third Foucault Pendulum I come across in just over two months.
Here's a newer area, dealing with the stars and the planets. This photo shows the relative sizes of the solar system's planets. Here, Pluto is still considered a planet (it was demoted shortly after the observatory re-opened). Some faraway bodies that challenge Pluto's planetary status are indeed discussed alongside Pluto itself, however. Under each planet, I may weigh myself and see how much I'd weigh on the corresponding planet.
Nearby is a globe of the moon, along with this actual moon rock. The violet lighting on the moon rock is overexposed in this photo. I haven't figured out how to adjust the ISO rating on my camera manually, however.
My moon weight is about 26.5 pounds.
My Earth weight is now 150 pounds. I did lose weight - and I am certainly out of the plus size territory. Thank all the good food and walking from my three months in Seoul and Hong Kong. I do weigh more than an average woman, but then, I have the extra weight of the male skeleton to deal with.
Here is a very nice periodic table of elements, with samples of each element. Of course, heavy radioactive elements can't be sampled here - some are so unstable, they can only exist for tiny fractions of a second anyway!
The element numbers go up to 111 now, and yes, all have proper names. The captions here say that the universe started out with just hydrogen, fusion power in stars create helium, then dying stars create all other elements up to uranium (92). Anything with higher element numbers must be created artificially.
Here is another old element that is restored: the rotunda above the Foucault Pendulum. Looks mythical but can't really tell what's up there...
The observatory is free, but I paid $7 to take in a planetarium show, detailing the evolution of astronomy from the ancient times through Ptolemy and Galileo to today. The narration was live, and the images lovely, but the planetarium projector didn't see much use...
Los Angeles city night lights. One feature of Los Angeles is that the gridlike street light patterns appear to extend forever. As much as I hate LAX, I love landing there at night, due to all the lights.
The downtown skyscrapers are on the left. On the right are some major buildings of the Mid-Wilshire District, which is now surrounded by the ever-growing Koreatown. I repeat my vow to avoid taking Gwaneum One to Koreatown as much as I can, as I drive her to carry the forward thinking of the South Koreans rather than the backward thinking of the Korean-Americans.
The ISO number goes only up to 400 automatically with my camera, which is why the lights are dimmer than they should be. Again, I need to figure out how to do manual adjustments.
A series of three Saturn photos. The top is from a Voyager mission three decades ago. The bottom is from Hubble Space Telescope above Earth. The middle, with Saturn blocking out the Sun completely, is from the Cassini spacecraft - and is completely new to me. I love the way the rings glow under the sunlight.
This is the public Zeiss telescope that makes this observatory famous. Unfortunately, it's having problems, and is not open tonight.
I did walk around and find two portable telescopes. One, next to the telescope dome, was pointed at the moon, for a good look at some of the craters. The other, on the lawn, was pointed at the Orion Nebula; my own telescope does show the Orion Nebula okay, but this larger telescope showed it in more detail. Of course, the nebula glows in a faint blue; those spectacular pink photos require hours of camera exposure.
On the lawn, north of the observatory itself, this monument stands to honor various astronomers over the past several centuries. Normally, the monument should be lit, but not on the night I visited; the light is from my flash.
And it's the gibbous moon overhead.
I didn't feel like returning home, so I took Gwaneum One over to Hollywood. I parked her on Hollywood Boulevard, across the street from the Egyptian Theatre. Of course, here is another night lighting camera test.
Hollywood and Highland - a very famous intersection, and for the past several years, home to a posh shopping mall and Kodak Theatre as well as a subway station.
I am looking west from the northeast corner. A bit to the west on Hollywood Boulevard is the El Capitan Theatre, which was restored by Disney. There is a Disney Store there. Also around me are a Frederick's of Hollywood lingerie store and an American Apparel store, as well as many tacky souvenir stalls.
This is probably the Los Angeles equivalent of San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf - a place where the crowd is more likely to be tourist than local.
Two Walk of Fame stars. Great to know that they are Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron - two outstanding actresses who will soon portray the world's first post-operative trans lesbian couple!
Sir Elton John. Can't go wrong with him either.
Here's someone whose handprints I had seen in Hong Kong - John Woo. Now, I am in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where all the handprints are, some dating as far back as the 1920s.
The cast of Harry Potter.
Unlike the vast majority of transwomen, I am NOT a Trekkie. But I had to take this photo of the Star Trek cast handprints anyway, if only for George Takei, who got married last year during the short timeframe that gay marriage was legal in California.
Proposition 8 was a mistake, and more importantly, a grossly barbarian attempt by foreign forces (Catholic and Mormon Churches, the Vatican, the South Korean government, and various immigrant communities) to impose their primitive moral values on California. I'll support any and all efforts to overthrow it. I will soon order a bumper sticker to that effect, and put it on Gwaneum One. Putting that sticker on a Hyundai will further clarify that I carry the spirits of the fair-minded everyday South Koreans, rather than the bigotry of the Korean-Americans and the South Korean government that they helped install.
I need to watch this movie. Marley and Me - starring none other than my idol Jennifer Aniston.
The Hollywood United Methodist Church. This church is also committed to restoring marriage equality in California.
My feet hurt, as I was wearing heels (I had not counted on walking around Hollywood). Yes, I was again going for that sleek cardigan-tights "no pants" look. But I am glad to have gotten out and about one last time. Will continue to look for photo ops, however!
My folks have returned from their Christmas/New Year's trip, so I have to put up with them for now. They are happy about my car swap - but NOT happy that I had to do it behind their backs. However, I still feel that I had no choice; not only did they force me to keep driving a cursed Ford Contour (and rack up unreasonable traffic tickets and repair bills) until it literally conked out, but they would've certainly done everything to ensure that the BMW would stay with me forever as well.
They did say that I could've sold the BMW to them - or to another acquaintance - for more than the pittance that I got. The BMW could've replaced some other, aging vehicle among my acquaintances. But that was not really my intention; my intention was to ensure that no BMW product would ever stay within my circle of acquaintances, period.
In any case, I won't be living with them much longer anyway. Time to move on to the family business and other more pressing issues. For now, however, here are the final batch of photos from the night before their return. I traveled to Griffith Park and Hollywood for some more photo ops, ensuring that both my car, Gwaneum One, and my camera, a Canon, would give me as much of the spirit of Kwan Yin as possible.
I've arrived at Griffith Observatory, which closed in 2002 for renovations, and re-opened in 2006 (though requiring advance reservations for a visit). The advance reservation requirement went away in late 2007, allowing me to drive Gwaneum One right up to the parking area. The renovations created many new exhibit areas while preserving the best of the old.One of the older attractions is above. It's the third Foucault Pendulum I come across in just over two months.
Here's a newer area, dealing with the stars and the planets. This photo shows the relative sizes of the solar system's planets. Here, Pluto is still considered a planet (it was demoted shortly after the observatory re-opened). Some faraway bodies that challenge Pluto's planetary status are indeed discussed alongside Pluto itself, however. Under each planet, I may weigh myself and see how much I'd weigh on the corresponding planet.Nearby is a globe of the moon, along with this actual moon rock. The violet lighting on the moon rock is overexposed in this photo. I haven't figured out how to adjust the ISO rating on my camera manually, however.My moon weight is about 26.5 pounds.My Earth weight is now 150 pounds. I did lose weight - and I am certainly out of the plus size territory. Thank all the good food and walking from my three months in Seoul and Hong Kong. I do weigh more than an average woman, but then, I have the extra weight of the male skeleton to deal with.
Here is a very nice periodic table of elements, with samples of each element. Of course, heavy radioactive elements can't be sampled here - some are so unstable, they can only exist for tiny fractions of a second anyway!The element numbers go up to 111 now, and yes, all have proper names. The captions here say that the universe started out with just hydrogen, fusion power in stars create helium, then dying stars create all other elements up to uranium (92). Anything with higher element numbers must be created artificially.
Here is another old element that is restored: the rotunda above the Foucault Pendulum. Looks mythical but can't really tell what's up there...The observatory is free, but I paid $7 to take in a planetarium show, detailing the evolution of astronomy from the ancient times through Ptolemy and Galileo to today. The narration was live, and the images lovely, but the planetarium projector didn't see much use...
Los Angeles city night lights. One feature of Los Angeles is that the gridlike street light patterns appear to extend forever. As much as I hate LAX, I love landing there at night, due to all the lights.The downtown skyscrapers are on the left. On the right are some major buildings of the Mid-Wilshire District, which is now surrounded by the ever-growing Koreatown. I repeat my vow to avoid taking Gwaneum One to Koreatown as much as I can, as I drive her to carry the forward thinking of the South Koreans rather than the backward thinking of the Korean-Americans.
The ISO number goes only up to 400 automatically with my camera, which is why the lights are dimmer than they should be. Again, I need to figure out how to do manual adjustments.
A series of three Saturn photos. The top is from a Voyager mission three decades ago. The bottom is from Hubble Space Telescope above Earth. The middle, with Saturn blocking out the Sun completely, is from the Cassini spacecraft - and is completely new to me. I love the way the rings glow under the sunlight.This is the public Zeiss telescope that makes this observatory famous. Unfortunately, it's having problems, and is not open tonight.I did walk around and find two portable telescopes. One, next to the telescope dome, was pointed at the moon, for a good look at some of the craters. The other, on the lawn, was pointed at the Orion Nebula; my own telescope does show the Orion Nebula okay, but this larger telescope showed it in more detail. Of course, the nebula glows in a faint blue; those spectacular pink photos require hours of camera exposure.
On the lawn, north of the observatory itself, this monument stands to honor various astronomers over the past several centuries. Normally, the monument should be lit, but not on the night I visited; the light is from my flash.And it's the gibbous moon overhead.
I didn't feel like returning home, so I took Gwaneum One over to Hollywood. I parked her on Hollywood Boulevard, across the street from the Egyptian Theatre. Of course, here is another night lighting camera test.Hollywood and Highland - a very famous intersection, and for the past several years, home to a posh shopping mall and Kodak Theatre as well as a subway station.I am looking west from the northeast corner. A bit to the west on Hollywood Boulevard is the El Capitan Theatre, which was restored by Disney. There is a Disney Store there. Also around me are a Frederick's of Hollywood lingerie store and an American Apparel store, as well as many tacky souvenir stalls.
This is probably the Los Angeles equivalent of San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf - a place where the crowd is more likely to be tourist than local.
Two Walk of Fame stars. Great to know that they are Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron - two outstanding actresses who will soon portray the world's first post-operative trans lesbian couple!Sir Elton John. Can't go wrong with him either.Here's someone whose handprints I had seen in Hong Kong - John Woo. Now, I am in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where all the handprints are, some dating as far back as the 1920s.The cast of Harry Potter.Unlike the vast majority of transwomen, I am NOT a Trekkie. But I had to take this photo of the Star Trek cast handprints anyway, if only for George Takei, who got married last year during the short timeframe that gay marriage was legal in California.Proposition 8 was a mistake, and more importantly, a grossly barbarian attempt by foreign forces (Catholic and Mormon Churches, the Vatican, the South Korean government, and various immigrant communities) to impose their primitive moral values on California. I'll support any and all efforts to overthrow it. I will soon order a bumper sticker to that effect, and put it on Gwaneum One. Putting that sticker on a Hyundai will further clarify that I carry the spirits of the fair-minded everyday South Koreans, rather than the bigotry of the Korean-Americans and the South Korean government that they helped install.
I need to watch this movie. Marley and Me - starring none other than my idol Jennifer Aniston.The Hollywood United Methodist Church. This church is also committed to restoring marriage equality in California.My feet hurt, as I was wearing heels (I had not counted on walking around Hollywood). Yes, I was again going for that sleek cardigan-tights "no pants" look. But I am glad to have gotten out and about one last time. Will continue to look for photo ops, however!
19 December 2008
De-briefing and more
Over a family dinner, I was debriefed as to what had happened during my absence:
The biggest statement I can make to the world, and most importantly to myself, over these developments, of course, is to proceed with my car swap. I made sure to clean out my BMW already; documents and other items that I must give up with my car are already loaded in it (except for spare parts, which will be taken care of today), while things I must transfer to my new Hyundai have already been taken out of the car. Today, I'll drive the BMW for the first time since my return; first, it'll allow me to assess its condition, and second, I'll get to drive it to a CarMax for a written appraisal. I'll continue to drive it through tomorrow, when I finally give it up and take delivery of the Hyundai.
I've still given no one any indication of my car swap. And that's the way I intend it. Nevertheless, I can no longer feel good/ethical about driving my BMW, and life is too short to be wasted in cars like that. The only reason I can even stand driving it from now on, is only because I am driving it to get rid of it.
And one more thing. I still can't believe that Hyundai now makes cars good enough to replace my BMW! I did discuss the Genesis with my coworkers and others - and all of them are telling me about how every review raves about the car. I guess it really is time to shut up, and start actually driving the thing. Sure, I was too young and too poor to drive the Lexus LS400 twenty years ago (and I still wouldn't, as I really hate Toyota), but I'm counting myself fortunate that I can afford the Genesis now, and make up for that. If my new Hyundai inspires someone else to buy his/her own, hopefully in place of a BMW, then I'll be happy.
- The wildfires had forced an evacuation of my place, and my BMW and other things had been moved for the duration.
- Los Angeles County, during the general election, voted for a 1% sales tax increase to fund transportation improvements. That makes my sales tax rate 9 1/4 %, and honestly, I don't think Southern California deserves any more of my money than what it already gets from me.
- Gay marriage is again banned, though by a very narrow margin. Duh.
The biggest statement I can make to the world, and most importantly to myself, over these developments, of course, is to proceed with my car swap. I made sure to clean out my BMW already; documents and other items that I must give up with my car are already loaded in it (except for spare parts, which will be taken care of today), while things I must transfer to my new Hyundai have already been taken out of the car. Today, I'll drive the BMW for the first time since my return; first, it'll allow me to assess its condition, and second, I'll get to drive it to a CarMax for a written appraisal. I'll continue to drive it through tomorrow, when I finally give it up and take delivery of the Hyundai.
I've still given no one any indication of my car swap. And that's the way I intend it. Nevertheless, I can no longer feel good/ethical about driving my BMW, and life is too short to be wasted in cars like that. The only reason I can even stand driving it from now on, is only because I am driving it to get rid of it.
And one more thing. I still can't believe that Hyundai now makes cars good enough to replace my BMW! I did discuss the Genesis with my coworkers and others - and all of them are telling me about how every review raves about the car. I guess it really is time to shut up, and start actually driving the thing. Sure, I was too young and too poor to drive the Lexus LS400 twenty years ago (and I still wouldn't, as I really hate Toyota), but I'm counting myself fortunate that I can afford the Genesis now, and make up for that. If my new Hyundai inspires someone else to buy his/her own, hopefully in place of a BMW, then I'll be happy.
04 December 2008
Hong Kong debriefing and more
My Hong Kong trip is now history. But with my first full day back in Seoul, I am barely starting to debrief myself. Most of the day was spent in stupor, as I made a long, drowsy trip to my meditation and back.
To start off, I am looking at this subway ad on Line 8 - my only photo for the day. It is a public announcement from the City of Seoul, asking women to give birth to more children.
It reads as follows. ""My generation doesn't know what a "cousin" is." Birth is the most beautiful choice you can make for our future. South Korea's birthrates are among the lowest in the world, and in a generation, children indeed won't know what an uncle, an aunt, or a cousin is."
Just a generation ago, women were being encouraged to have fewer kids, because of the rampant overpopulation. Abortion was technically illegal, but abortion of female fetuses was nevertheless strongly encouraged, leaving a surplus of men who are now forced to marry a Southeast Asian wife. Many South Korean families were also encouraged to emigrate overseas, particularly to the US, in hopes of relieving overcrowding at home and doing some future electioneering in the US. How the times change.
Nevertheless, this ad is still a reminder that Seoul's Republican colonial government still doesn't get it. It relies on token financial incentives and references to primitive Confucian traditions to make its point. (Korea, much like Catholic Latin American societies, has traditionally had large extended families.) The real reason for not having kids these days is that the cutthroat academic competition and starving public schools, which both require extensive tutoring, make raising a child prohibitively expensive. Unfortunately, the Republicans' plans, both in Seoul and nationwide, will only aggravate these factors.
Other observations throughout the day...
To start off, I am looking at this subway ad on Line 8 - my only photo for the day. It is a public announcement from the City of Seoul, asking women to give birth to more children.It reads as follows. ""My generation doesn't know what a "cousin" is." Birth is the most beautiful choice you can make for our future. South Korea's birthrates are among the lowest in the world, and in a generation, children indeed won't know what an uncle, an aunt, or a cousin is."
Just a generation ago, women were being encouraged to have fewer kids, because of the rampant overpopulation. Abortion was technically illegal, but abortion of female fetuses was nevertheless strongly encouraged, leaving a surplus of men who are now forced to marry a Southeast Asian wife. Many South Korean families were also encouraged to emigrate overseas, particularly to the US, in hopes of relieving overcrowding at home and doing some future electioneering in the US. How the times change.
Nevertheless, this ad is still a reminder that Seoul's Republican colonial government still doesn't get it. It relies on token financial incentives and references to primitive Confucian traditions to make its point. (Korea, much like Catholic Latin American societies, has traditionally had large extended families.) The real reason for not having kids these days is that the cutthroat academic competition and starving public schools, which both require extensive tutoring, make raising a child prohibitively expensive. Unfortunately, the Republicans' plans, both in Seoul and nationwide, will only aggravate these factors.
Other observations throughout the day...
- Seoul's subway system, still excellent, outright pales next to Hong Kong's; often, lengthy walks are required for a transfer, and cross-platform transfers are unheard of. Making analogies to US subway systems, Seoul is like New York, vast but utilitarian and unfriendly, while Hong Kong is like the DC Metro, a limited network but far more modern and user-friendly. Of course, this is only an analogy; Seoul's subway system is still far more modern and tidy than New York will ever be. I can also get away with food and drinks in the Seoul subway, which would cost me a fine of $1,500 back in Hong Kong (USD $200 and KRW 300,000).
- I stopped at a public toilet in the subway, which had some squat toilets. At least here in Seoul, all squat toilets have front flaps. Over in Hong Kong, some squat toilets had only a hole in the middle; there was a good chance of revealing my private parts to someone outside. At least they still flushed.
- Back in Hong Kong, smoking in public places can cost $5,000 in fines. That's USD $650, and KRW 1 million. Here in Seoul, it's only 30,000 won - a pittance and not even all that much enforced. I see people flicking cigarette butts at bus shelters, which clearly are no-smoking areas and subject to the fines.
- I got on a Korail subway train on the Jungang Line that also had a few Sun Moon University ads. Nevertheless, this was far less blatant than Seoul Metro trains. And in any case, a boycott of Korail is out of the question, as that will require me to use buses exclusively (even just to get to the nearest SMRT line), or drive all over again.
- My current routing into Seoul takes Bundang Line, transfers at Bokjeong to Line 8, then transfers again at Cheonho to Line 5. Mercifully, both transfers involve very short walks. I also like Cheonho Station's color scheme, which is quite pretty between Line 8's pink and Line 5's violet. This routing is my only viable option into Seoul without using Seoul Metro, but it's totally worth it, and I don't miss Seoul Metro's propaganda-laden trains and stations. Travel beyond downtown Seoul can be painfully long, however, as Cheonho is in the far east end of Seoul. (But then, transferring to Line 2, a ridiculously long walk, or to Line 3, with its crooked route, don't save me time at all. And both are Seoul Metro.) Continuing travel on Lines 6 or 7, or the Jungang Line, requires a third transfer.
- Bundang Line has a station named Guryong. It's written in Chinese as 九龍 (Nine Dragons) - exactly like Hong Kong's Kowloon. That station will always remind me of my Hong Kong trip, just by virtue of its name. However, I will no longer be taking a train through Guryong Station, as proceeding through that part of the line will require me to transfer to Line 2 or 3. Again, I do not wish to take Seoul Metro again, unless I am out of alternatives.
- For that matter, my current routing on Line 8 takes me through Garak Market Station. Garak is written in Chinese as 可樂, which is how the Chinese speakers spell out "cola." This will certainly be another way to remember Hong Kong - and Beijing, for that matter. Garak Market is for agricultural products, however, not for purchasing Coke or Pepsi.
- I got on a Seoul city bus, made by Hyundai (just like 70% of all South Korean city buses, Daewoo has the other 30%), that was a pleasant surprise. It was a low-floor model with wheelchair provisions, including lifts and even foldaway seats. Its seats had modern, ergonomic designs, and its transmission was automatic; this solved the two most glaring deficiencies of South Korean city buses. I hope to see more buses like this in the future.
- News feeds indicate that the Republicans here are about to dramatically cut taxes for those who own more than one residence - another classic case of rule just for the ultra-rich. The Republicans want to also loosen media outlet ownership rules; in other words, Chosun Ilbo can take its propaganda to the radio and TV if this goes ahead. Needless to say, the opposition parties are unanimously opposed.
- Today was rainy, but not that cold, But the next few days will be so cold that even daytime highs will remain subzero Celsius. I made sure to pick up a pair of 4,000-won leggings from a subway vendor as preparation. I love them - very soft and warm, and excellent elasticity. It is different from American legwear in that the crotch panel doesn't just limit itself to the vagina area, but also covers the anus and extends all the way to the waistband. For now, my new pair of leggings (black again, just like several other pairs I already have back home) will only be cold-weather layers, but pretty soon, they will be fashion statements once I return home.
28 November 2008
Before I leave for Hong Kong
In less than six hours, I'll be gone from this cut-rate Republican colony. I never thought I'd feel more free in Chinese territory than in Korea, but tonight, I probably will. The next several days in Hong Kong will be absolutely great, I am sure.
Here are two photos that pertain to my last few posts, taken from a Korail subway train.
For some reason, this older poster survived the changeover to the new ones. This is from the National Intelligence Service (NIS), formerly the Korean Central Intellgence Agency (KCIA), which is South Korea's state thought police. Up until a few weeks ago, this was what I could expect to find in every subway car, from three (SMRT) to six (Seoul Metro) in each car.
Its message says "National security is national competitiveness." The lower left lists the hotlines: 111 for NIS, 113 for local police, and 1337 for the military. The lower right lists the rewards: 150 million won for spy ships, and 100 million for spies. "Spies" include those from North Korea, as well as industrial espionage from the likes of China.
In a highly publicized case, Chery Motors of China sent industrial spies to GM Daewoo, stole the engineering specs for the Matiz microcar, and ended up manufacturing an unauthorized clone named QQ. The QQ is a death trap in crashes, but is much cheaper than the real Matiz, and as a result, GM Daewoo can't sell the Matiz in China, and is at a competitive disadvantage in other Third World markets where both the Matiz and the QQ are available.
Here is the current poster, which started popping up overnight, and replaced the design above just about everywhere.
Its message says: "Please stay straight - national security awareness in the Republic of Korea." The hotlines and the rewards stay the same; however, there is an additional reward of 30 million won for reporting domestic left-wing activists.
South Korea, using its confrontation with North Korea as an excuse (a valid excuse, technically, as the war never ended with a peace treaty), maintains the National Security Law, which allows severe punishments for any and all seditious activities, including and up to death. The list of seditious activities has varied over the years, depending on the ideology of the government. In recent years, merely being left-of-center was protected under the constitutional guarantee of freedom of conscience, and in any case, nobody in South Korea has been executed since 1997. However, 2MB has vowed to put an end to all of this, use the death penalty extensively for seditious activities, and include leftist political leanings as part of that.
This is exactly the same police state that the US neocons, the colonial masters of 2MB, have always dreamed of, and almost made reality in the US.
I was very tempted to cross out the "Republic of Korea" portion and scribble "Third-rate colony of the discredited US Republican neocons" in instead. And while SMRT trains have lower ceilings, and therefore fewer places to post these thought police posters, the higher-ceiling Korail trains feature a few more of them, though neither match Seoul Metro's enthusiasm.
Travel around Seoul today: I traveled to downtown for meditation. I made sure to stay away from Seoul Metro at all costs; my routing involved Line 8 to Line 5 into downtown. After meditation, I took a bus, then Line 1, to Yongsan for a cheap Thai lunch, before taking the Korail Jungang Line to pick up Line 5 again and retrace my route back to Seongnam. Given that my farecard is scanned only at the origin and destination stations, my fare is always calculated based on the most efficient route possible between them, regardless of my actual route taken; if the "best" routing includes Seoul Metro lines, Seoul Metro will get a cut of my fare. It stinks, as many downtown routings make most sense using Seoul Metro. But I am still avoiding Seoul Metro if only to feel a bit more empowered. For the Line 1 section into Yongsan, the most logical routing would've involved getting off the bus at Seoul Station, whose subway station is Seoul Metro; I refused, and traveled another stop to Namyeong, the first Korail station south of downtown, and entered it using Korail turnstiles. A train pulled in, but it was a Seoul Metro train - actually, the very rare one made up of old extra insert cars; I refused to board it, and waited for the next Korail train, even though I only needed to go one stop, wholly on Korail tracks, and Korail would've gotten all my money anyway.
I felt much better as I returned to Seongnam, but I still don't feel line taking another lengthy ride to the airport, using the subway and staring at the thought police posters. I'll shell out a small fortune and take a deluxe bus instead; thanks to the colonial currency depreciating like there's no tomorrow, I can afford the bus ride anyway.
Other items:
Here are two photos that pertain to my last few posts, taken from a Korail subway train.
For some reason, this older poster survived the changeover to the new ones. This is from the National Intelligence Service (NIS), formerly the Korean Central Intellgence Agency (KCIA), which is South Korea's state thought police. Up until a few weeks ago, this was what I could expect to find in every subway car, from three (SMRT) to six (Seoul Metro) in each car.Its message says "National security is national competitiveness." The lower left lists the hotlines: 111 for NIS, 113 for local police, and 1337 for the military. The lower right lists the rewards: 150 million won for spy ships, and 100 million for spies. "Spies" include those from North Korea, as well as industrial espionage from the likes of China.
In a highly publicized case, Chery Motors of China sent industrial spies to GM Daewoo, stole the engineering specs for the Matiz microcar, and ended up manufacturing an unauthorized clone named QQ. The QQ is a death trap in crashes, but is much cheaper than the real Matiz, and as a result, GM Daewoo can't sell the Matiz in China, and is at a competitive disadvantage in other Third World markets where both the Matiz and the QQ are available.
Here is the current poster, which started popping up overnight, and replaced the design above just about everywhere.Its message says: "Please stay straight - national security awareness in the Republic of Korea." The hotlines and the rewards stay the same; however, there is an additional reward of 30 million won for reporting domestic left-wing activists.
South Korea, using its confrontation with North Korea as an excuse (a valid excuse, technically, as the war never ended with a peace treaty), maintains the National Security Law, which allows severe punishments for any and all seditious activities, including and up to death. The list of seditious activities has varied over the years, depending on the ideology of the government. In recent years, merely being left-of-center was protected under the constitutional guarantee of freedom of conscience, and in any case, nobody in South Korea has been executed since 1997. However, 2MB has vowed to put an end to all of this, use the death penalty extensively for seditious activities, and include leftist political leanings as part of that.
This is exactly the same police state that the US neocons, the colonial masters of 2MB, have always dreamed of, and almost made reality in the US.
I was very tempted to cross out the "Republic of Korea" portion and scribble "Third-rate colony of the discredited US Republican neocons" in instead. And while SMRT trains have lower ceilings, and therefore fewer places to post these thought police posters, the higher-ceiling Korail trains feature a few more of them, though neither match Seoul Metro's enthusiasm.
Travel around Seoul today: I traveled to downtown for meditation. I made sure to stay away from Seoul Metro at all costs; my routing involved Line 8 to Line 5 into downtown. After meditation, I took a bus, then Line 1, to Yongsan for a cheap Thai lunch, before taking the Korail Jungang Line to pick up Line 5 again and retrace my route back to Seongnam. Given that my farecard is scanned only at the origin and destination stations, my fare is always calculated based on the most efficient route possible between them, regardless of my actual route taken; if the "best" routing includes Seoul Metro lines, Seoul Metro will get a cut of my fare. It stinks, as many downtown routings make most sense using Seoul Metro. But I am still avoiding Seoul Metro if only to feel a bit more empowered. For the Line 1 section into Yongsan, the most logical routing would've involved getting off the bus at Seoul Station, whose subway station is Seoul Metro; I refused, and traveled another stop to Namyeong, the first Korail station south of downtown, and entered it using Korail turnstiles. A train pulled in, but it was a Seoul Metro train - actually, the very rare one made up of old extra insert cars; I refused to board it, and waited for the next Korail train, even though I only needed to go one stop, wholly on Korail tracks, and Korail would've gotten all my money anyway.
I felt much better as I returned to Seongnam, but I still don't feel line taking another lengthy ride to the airport, using the subway and staring at the thought police posters. I'll shell out a small fortune and take a deluxe bus instead; thanks to the colonial currency depreciating like there's no tomorrow, I can afford the bus ride anyway.
Other items:
- There is a bill under consideration (probably from the Republicans) which would allow taxicabs to drive on bus-only lanes. Cabbies welcome it, as they consider themselves to be part of Seoul's mass transit network. Bus operators and drivers oppose it, as Seoul has way too many cabs - even more than places like New York or London - and the cabs will jam up the bus lanes. Every Seoul bus now carries a banner expressing strong opposition to this bill.
- Throughout downtown Seoul, there are many television displays, sort of like the ones from Times Square. Most are owned and operated by Chosun Ilbo - which I now consider to be as much of a propaganda organ as North Korea's Rodong Shinmun. The City of Seoul likes to use them as well to spread city news and propaganda. They make me sick to the stomach.
- Seoul certainly saw some poorly-executed but nevertheless beneficial traffic and other improvements. I'll give 2MB, the former mayor, credit. However, he was trying to do this not to serve the citizens of Seoul, but to (1) buy crucial support for the presidential run, (2) build up his resume while at it, and (3) ensure that his hand-picked successor, current mayor Oh Se-hun, would succeed him. Oh is pretty much wrecking the entire city as I speak.
- A decal on a Bundang Line train showed strong opposition to widespread standardized testing in public schools, part of 2MB's plans which echo his master W's "No Child Left Behind"program. No Child Left Behind was a program with a great premise, as it vowed to improve schools and keep them accountable to students and parents, but instead, it ended up creating an examination hell just like the ones here in South Korea. Students are no longer learning; they are just preparing for meaningless tests. South Korea currently devotes its entire public education curriculum to such meaningless test preparations, and 2MB's plans will only worsen it.
- Another aspect of 2MB's education agenda is school choice. Standardized testing will allow parents to pick the most desirable school for their children. Sounds good, but as school choice is really a means for America's Christian extremists to send their children to propaganda schools at public taxpayer expense, it's also a means for South Koreans to kill off the public schools they don't like. In conjunction with this, the numbers and lists of all unionized teachers at each school will be made public. The connotation: schools with lots of unionized teachers will feed your children leftist propaganda - so stay away, and force them to close, and force other schools to fire their unionized teachers.
- Speaking of fears of leftist propaganda, the textbook publishers have agreed to roll over dead and cave in to the demands made by the colonials, for a more right-wing history textbook. News reports I am hearing clearly identify the Republican colonial government and the various New Right organizations as the main driving forces, though the "Ministry of National Defense" (which is more like a subdivision of the US neocon command, as it will defer to the US in wartime, and even though the US would like to relinquish command, it doesn't want it) is also strongly behind this. It looks like "New Right" doesn't just refer to the New Right Foundation, but rather the entire South Korean-style neocon movement, where it's patriotic to sell out to Japan and the US Republicans, and treasonous to be an independence fighter or a nationalist.
- Speaking of the military, South Korea's Marines, whose first major accomplishment is "quelling the Communist uprising of Jeju Island in 1948" (which wasn't all that Communist at all, in real life), is truly a subdivision of the United States Marine Corps. The slogans are merely Korean translations of the USMC ones, including "Once a Marine, always a Marine." The colors and the decals are identical as well. I know the USMC - it is certainly the most reactionary of the military branches - and the "ROK" MC can only be worse.
- The international crises - a terrorist bombing in Mumbai, and a pro-democracy uprising in Bangkok - do make major headlines. This is NOT a time for 2MB to terrorize his subjects, but rather, to respond appropriately and ensure stability and democracy to prevent future events like this. Sure, Thailand has a long tradition of modern democracy, and a streak of sovereignty that remained unbroken through the colonial era (only China and Japan can claim that elsewhere in Asia), but the military and corrupt politicians have been too vocal. Over here in South Korea, the military had two major coups in recent memory, and even though democracy has been safe for the past two decades, it's now destroyed thanks to 2MB, and the reactionary military commanders may get emboldened to again start killing the very people they are sworn to protect.
- Last, but not the least, Seoul's extensive subway system can be too much for some. I had to give directions to some fellow passengers - and Seoul isn't even my primary home anymore. (And I don't want it to ever be one again - and it looks like my next return to Seoul can wait a few months.) But it felt good to interact with the good everyday South Koreans again. I was also reminded of other overwhelmingly complex subway systems around the world - namely the New York Subway and the London Tube, both of which I know well. The major difference is that both New York and London are run by one agency (though New York used to be three separate systems), while Seoul uses two city companies to run the system, thanks to the utter ineptitude of Seoul Metro. If Seoul Metro were actually any good, it would've gone on to oversee Lines 5-8 as opposed to having to create SMRT just for those newer four lines.
- As I progressed back toward Seongnam, another leggings salesperson came on board - but this was a man in a business suit, with a trousers leg rolled up to reveal that he is wearing what he's selling. Same 4,000 won price. As the quality appears very good, and as it's getting bitterly cold in Seoul, I may have to grab a pair at the next opportunity.
Getting utterly fed up
2MB's tactics are really pushing my patience, and I am losing it. Glad that tomorrow, I am going to Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China, rather than staying in South Korea, a cut-rate colony of the discredited US Republicans. Note that I am saying a "US Republican colony," which is a total disgrace, as opposed to a "US colony," which isn't all that bad really.
Here is a comment that I just made over at Democracy Cell Project blog. And seriously, I am boycotting Seoul Metro as much as I can.
Update from South Korea - and very PO'd right now.
Here is a comment that I just made over at Democracy Cell Project blog. And seriously, I am boycotting Seoul Metro as much as I can.
Update from South Korea - and very PO'd right now.
05 November 2008
My final afterthought on Prop 8
Update: It's 2PM on Thursday, November 6th, here in Seoul, and 9PM on Wednesday the 5th in California. No on 8 has not conceded yet. Current margin is 52-48 in favor of the Yes vote, but there are enough uncounted votes that may still prove decisive. The LGBT activists in California are heartened at the support the No campaign got, and shocked at the support shown to the vicious tactics of the Yes campaign.
Here's what I submitted to Facebook's No on 8 group, using my unique vantage point in Seoul:
This trans lesbian was very honored to vote in this week's elections, despite being 6,000 miles away in Seoul, South Korea, where a year-old hard-right government has been doing everything to keep the US Religious Right going, without the approval of the people themselves. I was initially very happy that my presidential candidate, Barack Obama, won, despite all the crap from the South Korean conservatives and the Korean-Americans about Obama being a socialist Antichrist. Then Prop 8 passed, undoubtedly with huge Korean-American support and ample South Korean government funding.
I was extremely steamed over this, that when I was reporting to my qi treatment this morning - the very reason why I am spending so much time in Seoul in the first place - I made sure to yell some choice obscenities at Seoul's main LDS church, from the window of my city bus. I've also been taking it out on drivers of BMW automobiles, as BMW believes in exterminating LGBTs AND in helping Bill O'Reilly leave San Francisco out to the terrorist vultures.
However, my time with the qi master, as well as with the vast majority of the saner South Koreans, has brought everything back into perspective, and I am feeling hopeful again. I introduced my master to Prop 8, why I was so against it, why the Korean-Americans overwhelmingly support it, and how it passed by a slim margin. The initial response of my master was that justice will prevail in the end, however long it may take, and that the process must play itself out. Normally, that would have been an unacceptable answer; however, I found myself completely agreeing with him today. I did strongly believe that the Yes campaign had the momentum on its side this year, between the partisan immigration patterns into California which took away its once-tolerant spirit, between the Yes campaign's great ability to appeal to the core values of these immigrants and nonwhites, and the inability of the No campaign to go beyond the standard white liberal individualist talking points. I bluntly told my master that it was very tempting to vote Yes on 8, just for the superior presentation it had put out. And I mean it.
We moved on to the topic of religion. My master is like the vast majority of South Koreans - taking the good from all major religions, and using religions as a spiritual guide, but not locking oneself into one religion's exclusive set of "truths." He had worked with many Buddhist and Christian clergy members, and one of the reverends he had worked with had pointed out to him that there are over 8,000 versions of the Christian Bible in the world. I told him about all sorts of English-language Bible versions that I have read in the US. I further pointed out that the Korean Bible is a product of three translations - from Hebrew and Greek to Latin, then to English, then to Korean - and as such, its ability to convey concepts is very handicapped; he wholeheartedly agreed. We agreed that it was almost a blasphemy to distill the Divinity into the narrow confines of a human language, corrupt it further through translations, AND claim that we are reading the inerrant words of God. I finally mentioned my own Unitarian Universalist background, which is truly unusual in South Korea but is a very close match of the typical South Korean attitude toward religion.
We further agreed that the Korean-Americans' extremist Christianity is very worrisome. I told him that if I were to have children and send them to a Korean-language preschool, all my options in Southern California - all hundreds of them - are fundamentalist Christian. He finds this very appalling.
We even discussed South Korean politics. My master told me that the current right-wing government is little more than the knee-jerk reaction to the previous leftist government, which had been led by an extremely inept President. That's a very good assessment. I further pointed out that the current right-wing government's policies and ideology (and even treatments of the opponents) are the exact same ones as what Reagan and Bush have used for the past 30 years - with devastating consequences to America and the world. (I didn't go any further, although I must note that the Unification Church and Reverend Moon are the common link between the right-wing extremism of both the US and South Korea.)
I have talked to a good number of other South Koreans on a number of current issues, and all are giving me similar feedback. So there is hope, contrary to the Korean-American community, which is overwhelmingly conservative, extremist Christian, and backward, made even more so because of the language barrier. Unfortunately, the current reality is that it's those extremists who are getting visas to the US, naturalizing as US citizens, and voting in US elections. I will demand to the Obama Administration that this change immediately.
I will spend the rest of this year in South Korea, except for a few nights in Hong Kong. It's very possible that I will not be back in California until after Obama is inaugurated. Now that the election is over for better or worse, I will concentrate on giving myself a better mood, and ensuring that I will have a role to play as the US-South Korean relations improve under Obama. I look forward to the day when the Christian extremists are flushed out from the US-South Korean relations, cooler heads prevail in both nations, and gay marriage is legalized once and for all in both nations. Unlike the Korean-American youth, South Korean youth are quite tolerant, and will not object to the legalization of gay marriage here in Seoul. The current homophobic President of South Korea, who has vowed to protect the South Korean youth from the homosexual corruption at all costs (and has certainly done so - IN CALIFORNIA), will be long history by then.
For now, time to start boycotts. From here in South Korea, Samsung will be boycotted, as it is the biggest supporter of the current homophobic government and its US allies, and is whining about the Obama victory. When I return home, I will immediately throw away my last Samsung product - a broken TV. From elsewhere in the world, I already mentioned BMW. I currently own a 3-series, which will be sold as soon as possible. It is more than possible that a Hyundai will be its replacement, as while most South Koreans are far from overtly gay-friendly, they do know something about equality and justice that the Korean-Americans and the US Religious Right will never understand. Shame on BMW for being the only German company that refuses to learn from the Nazi era horrors. As I will do a week-long road trip here in South Korea later this month, driving a rental Hyundai, I will decide then if Hyundai vehicles are worthy replacements for my Bavarian fascist piece of scrap metal. Sure, my next car will probably be the only Hyundai that spends more time in West Hollywood or San Francisco's Castro than in Koreatown, but that will be something to be proud of.
We have clearly suffered a setback. However, the momentum is still on the side of justice and equality, as evidenced by the victory of Barack Obama. Let's keep the momentum going, ensure that Obama sticks to his message of hope and change, and we shall prevail in the end.
Here's what I submitted to Facebook's No on 8 group, using my unique vantage point in Seoul:
This trans lesbian was very honored to vote in this week's elections, despite being 6,000 miles away in Seoul, South Korea, where a year-old hard-right government has been doing everything to keep the US Religious Right going, without the approval of the people themselves. I was initially very happy that my presidential candidate, Barack Obama, won, despite all the crap from the South Korean conservatives and the Korean-Americans about Obama being a socialist Antichrist. Then Prop 8 passed, undoubtedly with huge Korean-American support and ample South Korean government funding.
I was extremely steamed over this, that when I was reporting to my qi treatment this morning - the very reason why I am spending so much time in Seoul in the first place - I made sure to yell some choice obscenities at Seoul's main LDS church, from the window of my city bus. I've also been taking it out on drivers of BMW automobiles, as BMW believes in exterminating LGBTs AND in helping Bill O'Reilly leave San Francisco out to the terrorist vultures.
However, my time with the qi master, as well as with the vast majority of the saner South Koreans, has brought everything back into perspective, and I am feeling hopeful again. I introduced my master to Prop 8, why I was so against it, why the Korean-Americans overwhelmingly support it, and how it passed by a slim margin. The initial response of my master was that justice will prevail in the end, however long it may take, and that the process must play itself out. Normally, that would have been an unacceptable answer; however, I found myself completely agreeing with him today. I did strongly believe that the Yes campaign had the momentum on its side this year, between the partisan immigration patterns into California which took away its once-tolerant spirit, between the Yes campaign's great ability to appeal to the core values of these immigrants and nonwhites, and the inability of the No campaign to go beyond the standard white liberal individualist talking points. I bluntly told my master that it was very tempting to vote Yes on 8, just for the superior presentation it had put out. And I mean it.
We moved on to the topic of religion. My master is like the vast majority of South Koreans - taking the good from all major religions, and using religions as a spiritual guide, but not locking oneself into one religion's exclusive set of "truths." He had worked with many Buddhist and Christian clergy members, and one of the reverends he had worked with had pointed out to him that there are over 8,000 versions of the Christian Bible in the world. I told him about all sorts of English-language Bible versions that I have read in the US. I further pointed out that the Korean Bible is a product of three translations - from Hebrew and Greek to Latin, then to English, then to Korean - and as such, its ability to convey concepts is very handicapped; he wholeheartedly agreed. We agreed that it was almost a blasphemy to distill the Divinity into the narrow confines of a human language, corrupt it further through translations, AND claim that we are reading the inerrant words of God. I finally mentioned my own Unitarian Universalist background, which is truly unusual in South Korea but is a very close match of the typical South Korean attitude toward religion.
We further agreed that the Korean-Americans' extremist Christianity is very worrisome. I told him that if I were to have children and send them to a Korean-language preschool, all my options in Southern California - all hundreds of them - are fundamentalist Christian. He finds this very appalling.
We even discussed South Korean politics. My master told me that the current right-wing government is little more than the knee-jerk reaction to the previous leftist government, which had been led by an extremely inept President. That's a very good assessment. I further pointed out that the current right-wing government's policies and ideology (and even treatments of the opponents) are the exact same ones as what Reagan and Bush have used for the past 30 years - with devastating consequences to America and the world. (I didn't go any further, although I must note that the Unification Church and Reverend Moon are the common link between the right-wing extremism of both the US and South Korea.)
I have talked to a good number of other South Koreans on a number of current issues, and all are giving me similar feedback. So there is hope, contrary to the Korean-American community, which is overwhelmingly conservative, extremist Christian, and backward, made even more so because of the language barrier. Unfortunately, the current reality is that it's those extremists who are getting visas to the US, naturalizing as US citizens, and voting in US elections. I will demand to the Obama Administration that this change immediately.
I will spend the rest of this year in South Korea, except for a few nights in Hong Kong. It's very possible that I will not be back in California until after Obama is inaugurated. Now that the election is over for better or worse, I will concentrate on giving myself a better mood, and ensuring that I will have a role to play as the US-South Korean relations improve under Obama. I look forward to the day when the Christian extremists are flushed out from the US-South Korean relations, cooler heads prevail in both nations, and gay marriage is legalized once and for all in both nations. Unlike the Korean-American youth, South Korean youth are quite tolerant, and will not object to the legalization of gay marriage here in Seoul. The current homophobic President of South Korea, who has vowed to protect the South Korean youth from the homosexual corruption at all costs (and has certainly done so - IN CALIFORNIA), will be long history by then.
For now, time to start boycotts. From here in South Korea, Samsung will be boycotted, as it is the biggest supporter of the current homophobic government and its US allies, and is whining about the Obama victory. When I return home, I will immediately throw away my last Samsung product - a broken TV. From elsewhere in the world, I already mentioned BMW. I currently own a 3-series, which will be sold as soon as possible. It is more than possible that a Hyundai will be its replacement, as while most South Koreans are far from overtly gay-friendly, they do know something about equality and justice that the Korean-Americans and the US Religious Right will never understand. Shame on BMW for being the only German company that refuses to learn from the Nazi era horrors. As I will do a week-long road trip here in South Korea later this month, driving a rental Hyundai, I will decide then if Hyundai vehicles are worthy replacements for my Bavarian fascist piece of scrap metal. Sure, my next car will probably be the only Hyundai that spends more time in West Hollywood or San Francisco's Castro than in Koreatown, but that will be something to be proud of.
We have clearly suffered a setback. However, the momentum is still on the side of justice and equality, as evidenced by the victory of Barack Obama. Let's keep the momentum going, ensure that Obama sticks to his message of hope and change, and we shall prevail in the end.
California and boycotts
By keeping its Republican embattled incumbents in Congress, and by passing the gay marriage ban, California has really let me down, and showed me its true colors - a land of reactionary immigrants who meddle with other people's private business (and of clueless white liberals who look the other way).
I will not be spending any more money with California-based companies, except those known to be good corporate citizens (fortunately, the list of such companies is very long).
I had indicated last month that I was going to throw my Samsung TV away when I return home. I didn't get to do it when I did go home late last month, as I simply did not have any time to unplug it and look for a recycler. But this time, that will be the first thing on my agenda. When South Korean governmental funds go into divisive, hateful California laws, there will be hell to pay, especially for corporate sponsors of such government initiatives.
I will also make sure to really load up on my Korean food here in Seoul, as I have no intention of ever dining at a Korean restaurant in California - or patronizing any other Korean-American businesses for that matter.
Non-Koreans won't be spared either. My BMW will be sold as soon as possible. Now that I am officially a second-class citizen in California, I cannot afford to keep driving products from a company that's determined to keep me that way. BMW has also supported the fascists' call to destroy San Francisco, one of the few brights spots in the otherwise fucked-up state. And it certainly won't be replaced with a Toyota/Lexus product, either.
The rank-and-file in South Korea have inspired me, however. They do not share my enthusiasm for LGBT rights, but they do share my belief in equality and justice, and would not have supported the gay marriage ban in California. I never thought I'd replace my BMW with a Hyundai, but that may just be what happens. If that goes ahead, the likely replacement Hyundai model will either be the Genesis luxury sedan or the upcoming 2010 Sonata hybrid, both of which will be far better appointed than my BMW, which is a performance car but certainly NOT a luxury car.
I will not be spending any more money with California-based companies, except those known to be good corporate citizens (fortunately, the list of such companies is very long).
I had indicated last month that I was going to throw my Samsung TV away when I return home. I didn't get to do it when I did go home late last month, as I simply did not have any time to unplug it and look for a recycler. But this time, that will be the first thing on my agenda. When South Korean governmental funds go into divisive, hateful California laws, there will be hell to pay, especially for corporate sponsors of such government initiatives.
I will also make sure to really load up on my Korean food here in Seoul, as I have no intention of ever dining at a Korean restaurant in California - or patronizing any other Korean-American businesses for that matter.
Non-Koreans won't be spared either. My BMW will be sold as soon as possible. Now that I am officially a second-class citizen in California, I cannot afford to keep driving products from a company that's determined to keep me that way. BMW has also supported the fascists' call to destroy San Francisco, one of the few brights spots in the otherwise fucked-up state. And it certainly won't be replaced with a Toyota/Lexus product, either.
The rank-and-file in South Korea have inspired me, however. They do not share my enthusiasm for LGBT rights, but they do share my belief in equality and justice, and would not have supported the gay marriage ban in California. I never thought I'd replace my BMW with a Hyundai, but that may just be what happens. If that goes ahead, the likely replacement Hyundai model will either be the Genesis luxury sedan or the upcoming 2010 Sonata hybrid, both of which will be far better appointed than my BMW, which is a performance car but certainly NOT a luxury car.
Election Results
It's the evening of November 5th here in Seoul. Although I spent most of my day making my day trip to Daejeon by bullet train, the US election results have continued to occupy my mind. (The Daejeon photos will be in a separate post later. I am dead tired.)
My first news feed was around 10AM, on the train to Daejeon. It indicated that Obama had picked up Vermont's electoral votes, and that McCain had claimed Kentucky. However, I couldn't get any more updates afterwards, while I did my sightseeing.
When I returned to Daejeon Station around 3PM to start my journey back to Seoul, however, it was a completely different story. People were gathered at television screens at the train station to check the US election results; Obama had well over 320 electoral votes, McCain under 150, and Obama was being touted as the winner. Once on board the train, the news feeds continued; McCain had given his concession speech, Obama got congratulatory messages from W and 2MB, the Democrats had won six of eleven gubernatorial contests, and both houses of Congress were more Democratic than ever. Back at Seoul Station, news feeds were continuing; even the pro-Republican economic establishment in South Korea was making remarks in favor of Obama's win, hoping that he could help revive the US economy and revitalize South Korea's most important export market.
For the first time in years, I was tempted to sing American patriotic tunes out loud in a foreign country. W had done a lot of damage to the US economy, society, and reputation, and it is great to see America finally do something about it. I am also proud to have taken a part in this historical election - even more so, because I was able to do it from overseas with a global perspective. Of course, there is also the historical significance of having the first black President of the United States (after centuries of legalized discrimination against nonwhites, at that), but honestly it's icing on the cake because of all the other big things that the Obama victory connotes.
When I came back to my apartment, I went back online to start checking the other race results. The Democrats will have at least 56 seats in the Senate, though Joe Lieberman will probably be ejected from the Democratic Caucus. The Democrats will also have at least 250 seats in the House. California looks a bit gloomier, however; all the "vulnerable" Republican incumbents have been re-elected to the House. Moreover, Proposition 8 appears to have passed, based on the information that I have, which has really spoiled my otherwise triumphant day.
I am still very upset about South Korea's negative influence on the US democratic process, which continues even now. A Samsung-funded think tank warns of rampant trade protectionism ahead, as the Democrats take over the federal government in the US. The fact also remains that South Korea's conservatives, from 2MB down, have called Obama a "socialist" and an "Antichrist" to be blocked at all costs, and have encouraged white American racists to call for lynching Obama; they certainly will never go down quietly in dealing with the future Obama Administration. Last, but not the least, a number of conservative initiatives were pushed in the US with South Korean funding, and the most important of them, California's constitutional gay marriage ban, has passed, taking away my civil rights. All of this reminds me that the real work of teaching the South Korean reactionaries a lesson, as well as rebuilding American democracy and values (not to mention the global economy), has only just begun.
I will ensure that for the rest of my stay in South Korea, the Koreans will see, and understand, my joy AND my wrath - which are also those of America. I will also ensure that Obama adopts a more common-sense immigration policy, so that the good people of the world will be able to freely visit the US and even fill jobs that Americans can't do, while the reactionaries bent on US electioneering (like the Korean-American and other Third World immigrant Christian extremists who got Proposition 8 passed in California) will be kept out.
The ass-kicking starts now. I am looking forward to it.
My first news feed was around 10AM, on the train to Daejeon. It indicated that Obama had picked up Vermont's electoral votes, and that McCain had claimed Kentucky. However, I couldn't get any more updates afterwards, while I did my sightseeing.
When I returned to Daejeon Station around 3PM to start my journey back to Seoul, however, it was a completely different story. People were gathered at television screens at the train station to check the US election results; Obama had well over 320 electoral votes, McCain under 150, and Obama was being touted as the winner. Once on board the train, the news feeds continued; McCain had given his concession speech, Obama got congratulatory messages from W and 2MB, the Democrats had won six of eleven gubernatorial contests, and both houses of Congress were more Democratic than ever. Back at Seoul Station, news feeds were continuing; even the pro-Republican economic establishment in South Korea was making remarks in favor of Obama's win, hoping that he could help revive the US economy and revitalize South Korea's most important export market.
For the first time in years, I was tempted to sing American patriotic tunes out loud in a foreign country. W had done a lot of damage to the US economy, society, and reputation, and it is great to see America finally do something about it. I am also proud to have taken a part in this historical election - even more so, because I was able to do it from overseas with a global perspective. Of course, there is also the historical significance of having the first black President of the United States (after centuries of legalized discrimination against nonwhites, at that), but honestly it's icing on the cake because of all the other big things that the Obama victory connotes.
When I came back to my apartment, I went back online to start checking the other race results. The Democrats will have at least 56 seats in the Senate, though Joe Lieberman will probably be ejected from the Democratic Caucus. The Democrats will also have at least 250 seats in the House. California looks a bit gloomier, however; all the "vulnerable" Republican incumbents have been re-elected to the House. Moreover, Proposition 8 appears to have passed, based on the information that I have, which has really spoiled my otherwise triumphant day.
I am still very upset about South Korea's negative influence on the US democratic process, which continues even now. A Samsung-funded think tank warns of rampant trade protectionism ahead, as the Democrats take over the federal government in the US. The fact also remains that South Korea's conservatives, from 2MB down, have called Obama a "socialist" and an "Antichrist" to be blocked at all costs, and have encouraged white American racists to call for lynching Obama; they certainly will never go down quietly in dealing with the future Obama Administration. Last, but not the least, a number of conservative initiatives were pushed in the US with South Korean funding, and the most important of them, California's constitutional gay marriage ban, has passed, taking away my civil rights. All of this reminds me that the real work of teaching the South Korean reactionaries a lesson, as well as rebuilding American democracy and values (not to mention the global economy), has only just begun.
I will ensure that for the rest of my stay in South Korea, the Koreans will see, and understand, my joy AND my wrath - which are also those of America. I will also ensure that Obama adopts a more common-sense immigration policy, so that the good people of the world will be able to freely visit the US and even fill jobs that Americans can't do, while the reactionaries bent on US electioneering (like the Korean-American and other Third World immigrant Christian extremists who got Proposition 8 passed in California) will be kept out.
The ass-kicking starts now. I am looking forward to it.
27 October 2008
Halloween costumes
Courtesy of DiAnne Grieser @ Silenced Majority Portal:
Political costumes are hot, though not as hot as traditional superheroes.
Dallas Morning News
Both Obama and McCain are doing well, while Biden is being overlooked. But Palin is the hottest seller of them all.
One seller actually says that most Palin wannabes are men. Sounds pretty good - though I still think the best political "drag" costume a man can do is, still, Ann Coulter, with a huge penis hanging below the trademark miniskirt.
And update on the Boston Korean bigot - he claims to have reported me to the Obama campaign office in Boston, for calling Obama a "nigger." This lunatic can't even read English right; it's 2MB and the South Korean pawns of American white supremacy, supporting calls to label Obama by the N-word and even lynch him, not me. He even says that I've been reported to the Moonies and the 2MB government for immediate deportation from South Korea upon arrival, as well as to the INS (which doesn't even exist anymore) for deportation back to Mexico. Fucking laughable! If 2MB indeed deports me from South Korea, it'll be a true sign of his desperation, and I'll consider that an honor! I'll share everything with the South Koreans I come across, just to show them how pathetic their conservatives and government are; they already agree with me on that count, but would certainly love more proof!
Political costumes are hot, though not as hot as traditional superheroes.
Dallas Morning News
Both Obama and McCain are doing well, while Biden is being overlooked. But Palin is the hottest seller of them all.
One seller actually says that most Palin wannabes are men. Sounds pretty good - though I still think the best political "drag" costume a man can do is, still, Ann Coulter, with a huge penis hanging below the trademark miniskirt.
And update on the Boston Korean bigot - he claims to have reported me to the Obama campaign office in Boston, for calling Obama a "nigger." This lunatic can't even read English right; it's 2MB and the South Korean pawns of American white supremacy, supporting calls to label Obama by the N-word and even lynch him, not me. He even says that I've been reported to the Moonies and the 2MB government for immediate deportation from South Korea upon arrival, as well as to the INS (which doesn't even exist anymore) for deportation back to Mexico. Fucking laughable! If 2MB indeed deports me from South Korea, it'll be a true sign of his desperation, and I'll consider that an honor! I'll share everything with the South Koreans I come across, just to show them how pathetic their conservatives and government are; they already agree with me on that count, but would certainly love more proof!
26 October 2008
Comment moderation is on
The Boston Korean bigot continues to spam this blog with comments.
While it's very amusing to be able to get a good peek into the mindset of the South Korean reactionary bastards (who don't even stand for the vast majority of South Koreans) without even trying, I think I've given enough of a platform for them to demonstrate their hatred and stupidity.
There is a Korean saying for someone who knows absolutely nothing about the outside world. It's 우물안 개구리 (frog in a well). All of Korea was under such mindset in the 1860s, when the royal government adopted an isolationist policy. North Korea continues that mindset today. And while South Korea has opened up, and its people are among the most informed in the world, that cannot be said of the conservative establishment, who continue to face the world - and America in particular - through their colored lenses, as opposed to reality.
I am forced to moderate this blog from now on. I hate to do this, but I now have no choice.
Moreover, I am going to look into reporting the Boston Korean bigot. His intense hatred of the Mexicans and other Latin Americans, gays, liberals, and even Americans (other than Republicans, anyway) cannot be tolerated in a public forum such as the Internet. Blogger's own terms of service, while allowing politically distasteful and controversial information, NEVER allow outright hate speech.
If this is all that the South Korean conservative establishment can muster - making hate-filled comments that are increasingly irrelevant to the posts concerned - then South Korea is indeed in a shitload of a trouble. 2MB will most likely get gay marriage banned in California, but he'll need a Hail Mary to get his buddy John McCain into the White House; otherwise, Barack Obama will make 2MB pay dearly for his insolence. For starters, Obama's Department of Homeland Security can charge the Boston Korean bigot with improper US politicking and threats against several groups of Americans, and that will be enough for a deportation order. 2MB will probably give him a hero's welcome back, but the South Korean people won't.
While it's very amusing to be able to get a good peek into the mindset of the South Korean reactionary bastards (who don't even stand for the vast majority of South Koreans) without even trying, I think I've given enough of a platform for them to demonstrate their hatred and stupidity.
There is a Korean saying for someone who knows absolutely nothing about the outside world. It's 우물안 개구리 (frog in a well). All of Korea was under such mindset in the 1860s, when the royal government adopted an isolationist policy. North Korea continues that mindset today. And while South Korea has opened up, and its people are among the most informed in the world, that cannot be said of the conservative establishment, who continue to face the world - and America in particular - through their colored lenses, as opposed to reality.
I am forced to moderate this blog from now on. I hate to do this, but I now have no choice.
Moreover, I am going to look into reporting the Boston Korean bigot. His intense hatred of the Mexicans and other Latin Americans, gays, liberals, and even Americans (other than Republicans, anyway) cannot be tolerated in a public forum such as the Internet. Blogger's own terms of service, while allowing politically distasteful and controversial information, NEVER allow outright hate speech.
If this is all that the South Korean conservative establishment can muster - making hate-filled comments that are increasingly irrelevant to the posts concerned - then South Korea is indeed in a shitload of a trouble. 2MB will most likely get gay marriage banned in California, but he'll need a Hail Mary to get his buddy John McCain into the White House; otherwise, Barack Obama will make 2MB pay dearly for his insolence. For starters, Obama's Department of Homeland Security can charge the Boston Korean bigot with improper US politicking and threats against several groups of Americans, and that will be enough for a deportation order. 2MB will probably give him a hero's welcome back, but the South Korean people won't.
25 October 2008
Fighting South Korean reactionary forces, Part II
In my last post, the Boston-based reactionary Korean moron and his comments (I do believe that it's a he, based on the tone) were showcased to show the stupidity of the mindset that permeates the South Korean government and elites. Apparently, he couldn't take it, so he left a series of new comments, over several posts, using at least three aliases. My intention is to leave them in place, in order to showcase the South Korean reactionary forces' nonsense stupidity to their own fellow countrymen, to their supposed masters in the US, and to the citizens of the entire global community.
I will give this moron one more shot at the spotlight to help my intention along, but I think it will be in my best interest to stop afterwards. If the comments continue, however, I will report him to Blogger. Here are some of the things mentioned:
I will repeat that this moron speaks for the conservative establishment in South Korea, which in turn does NOT speak for the vast majority of the population.
I will also repeat that W's extension of visa-free US entry to South Koreans is a partisan reward to the 2MB government. However, it's also an opportunity, for the everyday people of both nations to take the initiative in seizing control of the relations between the two, instead of keeping the Republicans, the Grand Nationals, and the Moonies in charge.
I am also announcing the official drop of my boycott of most South Korean corporations, including LG, Hyundai, SK, and Kumho Asiana. They are still far from ideal corporate citizens, but they deliver good products and support many jobs and small businesses around the world. As an active customer of those corporations, I will also be able to influence their corporate policies for the better. Only Samsung and Hanjin, due to their blatant political offenses, remain on my boycott list.
I will give this moron one more shot at the spotlight to help my intention along, but I think it will be in my best interest to stop afterwards. If the comments continue, however, I will report him to Blogger. Here are some of the things mentioned:
- Apparently, I am a Mexican illegally in the US, sucking up tax revenues. Thanks for letting people know - of both my nationality and status, as well as the blatant level of racism among the South Korean elites. No wonder South Korean elites treat white Americans and Europeans like royalty, while treating Southeast Asians and other Third World nationals - the very ones who perform dirty work in South Korea that the Koreans themselves won't - like dirt. The fact remains that 1/6 of the entire ethnic Korean population in the US is illegal as well, almost all of them having overstayed their tourist visas out of their hatred for the leftist Roh Moo-hyun government. Countless other Korean-Americans are former illegals who legalized their status through special partisan immigration amnesties from Reagan and W. Moreover, I thought Korean-Americans and Mexican-Americans are supposed to be friends, due to their shared values of big families, traditional morals (including homophobia), Christian faith, spicy foods, love of soccer, and more. I'll tell the Mexican-Americans to reconsider.
- Lesbians make up less than 1% of South Korea, and as such, a lesbian like me can never accurately present Korean culture. Pure homophobic BS that 2MB and his supporters (and the Moonies) love to use. Anyone of any sexual orientation is capable of learning a new culture - and presenting at least some truths about it to the rest of the world. At least he got my sexual orientation right. Plus, 2MB and his cronies must learn the "majority rule - but MINORITY RIGHTS" concept, and stop oppressing LGBTs and other minorities in South Korea (and stop funding the oppression of their American counterparts).
- I must've been born in Busan, and therefore I must be the child of a GI. Pathetic logic. So what if I am a love child of an American GI and his Korean wife? Heck, my alter ego in my novel-in-progress has that exact background. Again, the South Korean establishment is so proud and defensive of the nation's monoethnic makeup, that mixed-blood offsprings are considered dirt. Never mind that things are changing anyway - with so many foreigners in South Korea today (both of the exalted white kind and of the despised Third World kind), more and more mixed-blood children are growing up in South Korea. Much of it has to do with the former military dictatorship's encouragement of abortion of female fetuses, and the resulting surplus men getting wives from Southeast Asia. And how can I be an illegal Mexican, if I am born from an American GI?
- I must be a Moonie myself, which explains my lengthy Seoul visits. Nice guess. The Moonies do make up much of the exchange between the US and South Korea. But then, I thought I was supposed to be a Mexican illegal sucking up American tax dollars. How can I enter South Korea and re-enter the US, as a Mexican illegal? This moron is incapable of logic, and so are most of the South Korean conservative establishment.
- My Rambo-ish threats against South Korea are laughable. If I truly loved America, I would be serving in Iraq. Good one. America can and will react against all threats, foreign or domestic. Most Americans in the know do consider the Moonies to be among the largest threats to the American democratic system, and the Republicans have failed to react due to their cozy ties to the Moonies. With Obama, it WILL be different. 2MB must prepare to pay the price - or prevent the whole thing by rigging the US democratic process further and installing McCain. And the whole thing about me needing to serve in Iraq says that because I don't walk the US government line, I cannot be an American; it's a classic smear from the Republicans, the Moonies, and the South Korean conservative establishment. I am willing to serve the US in any way possible, if and when Obama decides to punish 2MB's insolence and asks for help. (Of course, since I am not American, and I can't be Korean either due to the "disrespect" I show to the Koreans, I must be a Mexican illegal.)
- I must study Korean history more. Agreed. Learning anybody's history is a never-ending process. However, I've studied Korean history at the college level, and know Korean history better than most South Koreans themselves. And I am a believer in factual history - I will not hesitate to point out both the good and the bad. The bad are extremely important to study, so that they will not be repeated again. Contrast this with 2MB's attempts to teach revisionist history in South Korea, and cover up the negatives of South Korea's recent history.
- America needed South Korea to contain communism in Asia. A unified nuclear Korea will kick America's ass. The latter sounds just like something that Kim Jong-il himself would love to say. I hope this moron realizes that without swift American intervention in the summer of 1950, he would be either praising Kim Jong-il today, or working his ass off in a forced labor camp. Let's go back to 1948 - North Korea got all the industries, so South Korea was piss-poor and unable to defend itself (and certainly unable to anything grandiose like "containing the Red Tide"). South Korea had to build the entire nation from scratch, and the US and other foreign powers are glad that they were able to take a part in it. But neither the US nor the other foreign powers wish to see South Korea repay this debt in the form of nasty US political tricks like the Moonies.
- The Ainu and other ethnic groups are descendants of the almighty Koreans. I know. And by extension, the Koreans are descendants of the Mongolian gene stock. Making empty nationalistic statements like this does not help anyone's cause, Korean or otherwise.
I will repeat that this moron speaks for the conservative establishment in South Korea, which in turn does NOT speak for the vast majority of the population.
I will also repeat that W's extension of visa-free US entry to South Koreans is a partisan reward to the 2MB government. However, it's also an opportunity, for the everyday people of both nations to take the initiative in seizing control of the relations between the two, instead of keeping the Republicans, the Grand Nationals, and the Moonies in charge.
I am also announcing the official drop of my boycott of most South Korean corporations, including LG, Hyundai, SK, and Kumho Asiana. They are still far from ideal corporate citizens, but they deliver good products and support many jobs and small businesses around the world. As an active customer of those corporations, I will also be able to influence their corporate policies for the better. Only Samsung and Hanjin, due to their blatant political offenses, remain on my boycott list.
Fighting South Korean reactionary forces
I guess I don't have to wait for my flight back to Seoul, nor drive over to Koreatown, in order to fight these bastards. The fight has been brought into this very blog.
Recently, I posted about the rise of anti-Korean sentiment in China. Some moron sitting in Boston (who is ethnic Korean and a "researcher," and carries an intense hatred of Barack Obama, but I don't know if s/he is a visiting academic or a Korean-American) got offended immediately and started flaming me, insisting that Korea is NOT China, and repeating lots of tired 2MB McCarthyist talking points, as follows. (I never said that Korea was a part of China, and I certainly said nothing about communism - but s/he asked me to do just that, with this moronic comment.)
1) Korea isn't China.
2) Koreans aren't Chinese.
3) Koreans have every right to express there interest and concerns over Tibet.
4) Tibet isn't China.
5) Tibetans have independent culture and language.
6) China anti Korean movement is China's problem not Koreans.
7) China is " sugar-coated" communist regime. Outside looks nice and sweet but inside China
is still communist regime.
8) Koreans don't trust China communist regime.
9) Koreans will always be capitalisism society. Majority of Koreans live capitalist world.
10) Koreans have every right to express the anger toward Chinese because manchuria belonged to Koreans.
And that's what I decided to just go ahead and do, if only to piss off this bastard and break the stupidity of the South Korean elites' mentality:
Hey you asshole,
Korea isn't China? Give me a fucking break. If Korea isn't China, why did Korean kings continue to pay tributes and respects to the Chinese emperor for over a millennium, considering it a Confucian duty, never letting up until the Japanese knocked the concept of national sovereignty into their dense heads?
Even then, they never got it. Their advisors signed Korea over to Japan, and now South Korea is the 51st state of the USA in all but name.
If you are gonna join the USA, fine. Pick your side carefully, however. You are showing your stupidity again by joining the side that represents the few and has fucked up America for the past three decades - the Republicans.
And thanks so much for setting up the Unification Church, so that you can fulfill your Confucian duty to your Republican masters by giving them material and moral help. Thanks for spreading vicious false rumors about America's next President, Barack Obama; I don't think that's considered Confucian respect.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of America thinks your Confucian deference to us is more pathetic than admirable. You can give us your troops to help our Iraqi occupation, you can give us your free trade agreements, and you can buy all our beef even though your consumers want a second check on its safety. But you know what? We won't thank you; we will laugh at your stupidity.
The response from the moron was classic, playing straight out of the 2MB/Moonie smear machine handbook. I will dignify that nonsense by posting it here, if only to show the stupidity of the South Korean elite and their lack of understanding of America, international politics, communism/capitalism, democracy, and just about everything else.
Hey you asshole,
1) Study history asshole, If Koreans where part of China/Chinese. Koreans would be speaking and eating Chinese food.
2) Asshole, Koreans speak and eat Korean food. Not Chinese.
3) Asshole, if Koreans payed tribute to China for thousand of years in Confuscious thought. Koreans grammar should be similiar to Chinese. Koreans should breath and eat Chinese culture. In fact Korean don't rely Chinese culture to daily Korean life.
4) Asshole, Your so dense Korea is capitalist nation that supports United States fight off communist.
5) Asshole, Korean cultural Identity has always have been not becoming " Communist China".
6) Asshole, without Korea there is no Japan or Capitalist free world North East Asia.
7) Asshole, least majority of 90 percent of Koreans live in free capitalist world.
8) Asshole, Unification Church is christin group. Christin religion did not originate from Korea. It origniated from western world.
9) Asshole, if your pro-communist. Then support China, Cuba, and North Korea. You block headed dense head communist!!!
10) Asshole, Korea is Korea and China is China. Two different people with two different culture. Politically and culturally it has been different from 5 thousand years. Asshole!!!
Here's my final response. The moron does not need any more attention from me, as my real enemies are the 2MB government and its Republican buddies, not the average people of South Korea or the US. I decided to stick to facts to piss him/her off even more. I normally have better things to do than throw insults at the Koreans (due to my own partial Korean background), but when my other partial background - Chinese - gets insulted, and when the South Korean government and elites are hell-bent on US electioneering, a few well-placed insults are the least of what I can do.
You little motherfucker and your pathetic excuse of a "nation,"
You just NEVER get it don't you?
- Unlike your little pathetic monoethnic land, China is multiethnic. There are 56 official ethnic groups in China, including your "friends" - Tibetans. The Tibetans are great people - they will struggle well WITHOUT "help" from scums like you. The vast majority speak their own language and maintain their own culture. They are NOT Han Chinese, and never will be. Ever hear of the large Korean population in China? Do they speak only Mandarin, and eat only Chinese food? Maybe they do, given the Koreans' sellout history.
- What gives you the right to determine my level of support for Communism and my level of love/hatred of my own country? You are NOT American. Get the FUCK out of American politics.
- And while at it, your Ministry of National Defence considers patriotic American books to be "anti-American." You just never get it don't you?
- All the support that South Korea offers to the US are ONLY for the Republicans. The vast majority of Americans are suffering from it, SICK of your meddling in our affairs, and will KICK your ass if you don't stop immediately. I know that your pathetic excuse of a President, 2MB, is feeling very scared because a "nigger Muslim" (who isn't even a Muslim) is about to become the next US President.
- The Unification Church is a uniquely Korean twist on Christianity, involving another ideology you learned from your dear Chinese imperial masters - CONFUCIANISM. Hell, as a matter of fact, all Korean denominations of Christianity also involve lots of Confucian concepts.
- You said China-Tibet and China-Korea tensions are the problems of the Chinese, not the Koreans. You know what? Your undying love for our Republicans and their backward social morality are YOUR problem, not ours. We will keep the Republicans if we want to. But we don't want to.
- The US, Republican or Democratic, does NOT need your help in guarding capitalism around the world. We saved your ass ONLY because we needed a buffer zone to ensure Japan's safety and capitalist democracy. We gave you Christianity ONLY because you were dense and moronic enough to listen to our white supremacists' propaganda, and take it literally. Look at all your Asian neighbors - they have their unique Christian cultures, including Asiatic depictions of Jesus and Mary. You always insist on drawing the two as the superior white race; the white Jesus and Mary are themselves European localized versions, asshole, and they were Middle Easterners if you are truly interested in authenticity.
- Korea did NOT exist for 5,000 years (unless you believe the propaganda of the North Korean Communists you claim to hate so much). Maybe 4,300+ years - but only if your Creation legend, which is similar to those of the Ainu in Japan and a number of other ethnicities, is to be believed. But I know very well that you would rather submit to the "superior white Christian race" and adopt the Biblical Creation story.
- You can go Christian and Republican all you want, but America still will laugh at you instead of thanking you. We will be happy to annex your sorry land and teach you what "enlightenment" and "democracy" are REALLY about. But you will NEVER be our real 51st state, even though you sometimes think you are one already. Given the way you fucked up our democratic system, we just can't give you the right to vote in our elections.
- You are so damn typical of a South Korean ignoramus. No wonder your country remains a pathetic excuse of a nation. And you know what? The Bush era is over. Do hope that your pathetic excuse of a President, and the Unification Church, succeed in spreading enough extra false rumors about Obama, and installing McCain as our next President. Because, America wants Obama, America WILL elect Obama, and he will KICK YOUR ASS.
- Now, are you gonna tell me that Obama is a Communist scum too? I know you will. And that will show your pathetic nation's true colors. You don't love America. You don't love democracy. You only love dictatorships and *think* it's democracy.
I look forward to taking the fight back to Seoul and to 2MB's footsteps. The neocon saying on the Muslim terrorists, "you must fight them over there so that we don't have to fight them over here," applies even more to the South Korean reactionaries' influence on US politics. The Grand Nationals and the Republicans will pose major challenges, but the vast majority of people of both nations are NOT on their side.
Recently, I posted about the rise of anti-Korean sentiment in China. Some moron sitting in Boston (who is ethnic Korean and a "researcher," and carries an intense hatred of Barack Obama, but I don't know if s/he is a visiting academic or a Korean-American) got offended immediately and started flaming me, insisting that Korea is NOT China, and repeating lots of tired 2MB McCarthyist talking points, as follows. (I never said that Korea was a part of China, and I certainly said nothing about communism - but s/he asked me to do just that, with this moronic comment.)
1) Korea isn't China.
2) Koreans aren't Chinese.
3) Koreans have every right to express there interest and concerns over Tibet.
4) Tibet isn't China.
5) Tibetans have independent culture and language.
6) China anti Korean movement is China's problem not Koreans.
7) China is " sugar-coated" communist regime. Outside looks nice and sweet but inside China
is still communist regime.
8) Koreans don't trust China communist regime.
9) Koreans will always be capitalisism society. Majority of Koreans live capitalist world.
10) Koreans have every right to express the anger toward Chinese because manchuria belonged to Koreans.
And that's what I decided to just go ahead and do, if only to piss off this bastard and break the stupidity of the South Korean elites' mentality:
Hey you asshole,
Korea isn't China? Give me a fucking break. If Korea isn't China, why did Korean kings continue to pay tributes and respects to the Chinese emperor for over a millennium, considering it a Confucian duty, never letting up until the Japanese knocked the concept of national sovereignty into their dense heads?
Even then, they never got it. Their advisors signed Korea over to Japan, and now South Korea is the 51st state of the USA in all but name.
If you are gonna join the USA, fine. Pick your side carefully, however. You are showing your stupidity again by joining the side that represents the few and has fucked up America for the past three decades - the Republicans.
And thanks so much for setting up the Unification Church, so that you can fulfill your Confucian duty to your Republican masters by giving them material and moral help. Thanks for spreading vicious false rumors about America's next President, Barack Obama; I don't think that's considered Confucian respect.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of America thinks your Confucian deference to us is more pathetic than admirable. You can give us your troops to help our Iraqi occupation, you can give us your free trade agreements, and you can buy all our beef even though your consumers want a second check on its safety. But you know what? We won't thank you; we will laugh at your stupidity.
The response from the moron was classic, playing straight out of the 2MB/Moonie smear machine handbook. I will dignify that nonsense by posting it here, if only to show the stupidity of the South Korean elite and their lack of understanding of America, international politics, communism/capitalism, democracy, and just about everything else.
Hey you asshole,
1) Study history asshole, If Koreans where part of China/Chinese. Koreans would be speaking and eating Chinese food.
2) Asshole, Koreans speak and eat Korean food. Not Chinese.
3) Asshole, if Koreans payed tribute to China for thousand of years in Confuscious thought. Koreans grammar should be similiar to Chinese. Koreans should breath and eat Chinese culture. In fact Korean don't rely Chinese culture to daily Korean life.
4) Asshole, Your so dense Korea is capitalist nation that supports United States fight off communist.
5) Asshole, Korean cultural Identity has always have been not becoming " Communist China".
6) Asshole, without Korea there is no Japan or Capitalist free world North East Asia.
7) Asshole, least majority of 90 percent of Koreans live in free capitalist world.
8) Asshole, Unification Church is christin group. Christin religion did not originate from Korea. It origniated from western world.
9) Asshole, if your pro-communist. Then support China, Cuba, and North Korea. You block headed dense head communist!!!
10) Asshole, Korea is Korea and China is China. Two different people with two different culture. Politically and culturally it has been different from 5 thousand years. Asshole!!!
Here's my final response. The moron does not need any more attention from me, as my real enemies are the 2MB government and its Republican buddies, not the average people of South Korea or the US. I decided to stick to facts to piss him/her off even more. I normally have better things to do than throw insults at the Koreans (due to my own partial Korean background), but when my other partial background - Chinese - gets insulted, and when the South Korean government and elites are hell-bent on US electioneering, a few well-placed insults are the least of what I can do.
You little motherfucker and your pathetic excuse of a "nation,"
You just NEVER get it don't you?
- Unlike your little pathetic monoethnic land, China is multiethnic. There are 56 official ethnic groups in China, including your "friends" - Tibetans. The Tibetans are great people - they will struggle well WITHOUT "help" from scums like you. The vast majority speak their own language and maintain their own culture. They are NOT Han Chinese, and never will be. Ever hear of the large Korean population in China? Do they speak only Mandarin, and eat only Chinese food? Maybe they do, given the Koreans' sellout history.
- What gives you the right to determine my level of support for Communism and my level of love/hatred of my own country? You are NOT American. Get the FUCK out of American politics.
- And while at it, your Ministry of National Defence considers patriotic American books to be "anti-American." You just never get it don't you?
- All the support that South Korea offers to the US are ONLY for the Republicans. The vast majority of Americans are suffering from it, SICK of your meddling in our affairs, and will KICK your ass if you don't stop immediately. I know that your pathetic excuse of a President, 2MB, is feeling very scared because a "nigger Muslim" (who isn't even a Muslim) is about to become the next US President.
- The Unification Church is a uniquely Korean twist on Christianity, involving another ideology you learned from your dear Chinese imperial masters - CONFUCIANISM. Hell, as a matter of fact, all Korean denominations of Christianity also involve lots of Confucian concepts.
- You said China-Tibet and China-Korea tensions are the problems of the Chinese, not the Koreans. You know what? Your undying love for our Republicans and their backward social morality are YOUR problem, not ours. We will keep the Republicans if we want to. But we don't want to.
- The US, Republican or Democratic, does NOT need your help in guarding capitalism around the world. We saved your ass ONLY because we needed a buffer zone to ensure Japan's safety and capitalist democracy. We gave you Christianity ONLY because you were dense and moronic enough to listen to our white supremacists' propaganda, and take it literally. Look at all your Asian neighbors - they have their unique Christian cultures, including Asiatic depictions of Jesus and Mary. You always insist on drawing the two as the superior white race; the white Jesus and Mary are themselves European localized versions, asshole, and they were Middle Easterners if you are truly interested in authenticity.
- Korea did NOT exist for 5,000 years (unless you believe the propaganda of the North Korean Communists you claim to hate so much). Maybe 4,300+ years - but only if your Creation legend, which is similar to those of the Ainu in Japan and a number of other ethnicities, is to be believed. But I know very well that you would rather submit to the "superior white Christian race" and adopt the Biblical Creation story.
- You can go Christian and Republican all you want, but America still will laugh at you instead of thanking you. We will be happy to annex your sorry land and teach you what "enlightenment" and "democracy" are REALLY about. But you will NEVER be our real 51st state, even though you sometimes think you are one already. Given the way you fucked up our democratic system, we just can't give you the right to vote in our elections.
- You are so damn typical of a South Korean ignoramus. No wonder your country remains a pathetic excuse of a nation. And you know what? The Bush era is over. Do hope that your pathetic excuse of a President, and the Unification Church, succeed in spreading enough extra false rumors about Obama, and installing McCain as our next President. Because, America wants Obama, America WILL elect Obama, and he will KICK YOUR ASS.
- Now, are you gonna tell me that Obama is a Communist scum too? I know you will. And that will show your pathetic nation's true colors. You don't love America. You don't love democracy. You only love dictatorships and *think* it's democracy.
I look forward to taking the fight back to Seoul and to 2MB's footsteps. The neocon saying on the Muslim terrorists, "you must fight them over there so that we don't have to fight them over here," applies even more to the South Korean reactionaries' influence on US politics. The Grand Nationals and the Republicans will pose major challenges, but the vast majority of people of both nations are NOT on their side.
24 October 2008
The Moonie smear machine at work
Two developments:
The smear tactics of both Yes on 8 and the McCain-Palin campaign have all the hallmarks of the Unification Church being involved. The exact same smear tactics have been used by the Moonies to raise doubts about Al Gore's mental health, to shut down national healthcare as "socialism," and to vilify the very concept of liberalism itself. The Moonies have also been using the exact same tactics at home in South Korea, both under the past military dictatorships and under the current Lee Myung-bak government; Lee and his party also strongly question the patriotism of left-leaning independence fighters and modern-day prominent opposition politicians.
Lee's political party, Hannara (한나라, officially translated as Grand National Party, though it can also be translated as One National Party), has a very nationalistic name. But its policies and tactics tell otherwise. Recently, the Grand Nationals mulled a possible change in the name of the party, and many suggestions - both positive and negative - were submitted. The most popular was Tannara (딴나라, Other National Party), as the party is seen to put the interests of rightist foreign powers above those of the South Koreans. But all were off the mark. The rightful name for the Grand Nationals ought to be the Republican Party of the State of South Korea (사우스코리아주 공화당), as it acts more like a US state-level Republican organization than the ruling party of a sovereign republic.
I am finding myself very fortunate that I can work against these trends in person, both in the US and in South Korea. However, I need to ensure that I won't burn myself out over these struggles. I will find vindication when proper democracy and respect are restored to both nations, and the two can together set examples for the rest of the world to follow.
- In California, corporations that have made contributions to oppose next month's gay marriage ban (Proposition 8), such as PG&E and Apple Computers, have gotten a threatening letter from the official Yes on 8 campaign. The letter states that the corporations must donate at least the same amounts to the Yes campaign, or their names will be publicly exposed, so that a Christian boycott will begin. The letter was signed by four individuals, including the Yes on 8 coordinator and attorney as well as Catholic and Mormon PAC representatives.
- Throughout the US, the McCain-Palin smears continue. Both McCain and Palin are vowing to campaign with the "pro-American" parts of America and the "real" parts of certain states, as well as rooting out "anti-Americans" in Congress. Senator John Kerry, whose own patriotism was questioned by the Republican smear machine during his 2004 presidential campaign, just sent me a mass email of outrage, and asked me to stand up against the smears.
The smear tactics of both Yes on 8 and the McCain-Palin campaign have all the hallmarks of the Unification Church being involved. The exact same smear tactics have been used by the Moonies to raise doubts about Al Gore's mental health, to shut down national healthcare as "socialism," and to vilify the very concept of liberalism itself. The Moonies have also been using the exact same tactics at home in South Korea, both under the past military dictatorships and under the current Lee Myung-bak government; Lee and his party also strongly question the patriotism of left-leaning independence fighters and modern-day prominent opposition politicians.
Lee's political party, Hannara (한나라, officially translated as Grand National Party, though it can also be translated as One National Party), has a very nationalistic name. But its policies and tactics tell otherwise. Recently, the Grand Nationals mulled a possible change in the name of the party, and many suggestions - both positive and negative - were submitted. The most popular was Tannara (딴나라, Other National Party), as the party is seen to put the interests of rightist foreign powers above those of the South Koreans. But all were off the mark. The rightful name for the Grand Nationals ought to be the Republican Party of the State of South Korea (사우스코리아주 공화당), as it acts more like a US state-level Republican organization than the ruling party of a sovereign republic.
I am finding myself very fortunate that I can work against these trends in person, both in the US and in South Korea. However, I need to ensure that I won't burn myself out over these struggles. I will find vindication when proper democracy and respect are restored to both nations, and the two can together set examples for the rest of the world to follow.
22 October 2008
Temporarily Home
I have just returned to Los Angeles, though it looks like I'll spend less than a week (maybe WAY less) here before heading for Seoul again, and resuming my regimen for a few more months at least.
I enjoyed my flight, which was on a very new 777 (HL7742) with video-on-demand - this was my first time flying on a plane with such a feature. The combination of two hot meals, amenity kits, and the video-on-demand made even my economy class experience comparable to some US airlines' business classes.
Upon departure from Seoul, the first programming that caught my attention was a documentary on New York Philharmonic's historic visit to Pyongyang, last February. It was so telling of the ability of human emotions and culture to overcome political barriers - and also of the North Korean propaganda machine still rearing its ugly head (as evidenced by music students who (1) have never heard of Juilliard, and (2) don't feel a need to go there, as North Korea has "plenty of good teachers" already). As I said about a week ago, civilians, not government bureaucrats, need to be in charge of North Korea's connections to the world - and the rest of the world's ties to North Korea - in order to ensure true peace and prosperity. Again, Kim Jong-il needs to go, and get replaced by someone who will be forced to listen to the people more. In any case, I loved seeing New York and Pyongyang musicians performing together, as well as the New York Phil's encore performance of "Arirang," a very popular traditional melody in both Koreas, which brought the entire audience to tears. It was also nice to see South Korea do its part in this historical event, by having MBC send its broadcast team north for live broadcast to the rest of the world, and by having Asiana Airlines fly the musicians to/from Pyongyang.
I was later able to tap into a number of pop and K-pop albums, choose any tracks of my liking, and make my own playlist. I ended up making two playlists. The first one consisted of latest English-language hits as well as some classics including U2 and Michael Jackson; I had listened to many of those songs in my previous travels around the world, and I wanted to remember all those events - and carry their spirit forward into even more travels in the future (and doing something good for everyone while at it). Again, I was no longer traveling between South Korea and the US on a South Korean-flagged airplane; I was in a part of a much bigger world, and about to take it all in. I really wish that after I return to Seoul, I will be able to pull off a Hong Kong trip.
The second playlist consisted of 1970s and 1980s K-pop - the very songs that I listened to while riding in my father's Hyundai Pony on the streets of Seoul. I wanted to re-live the memories, so that as I return to Seoul and try to do the Gyeongju road trip, I will be able to carry the same spirit forward as well. I want to drive exactly the same routes that my father once frequently drove. It's a shame that I'll have to drive something modern, as opposed to a 30-year-old Pony; on the other hand, I'll enjoy luxuries that were unheard of in the Pony, such as FM radio, CD player, air conditioning, automatic transmission, and maybe even a navigation system. Yes, the Pony had only an AM radio - best suited for newscasts, but also suitable for variety talk shows and even music. I remember that there was one KBS frequency that was pretty much nationwide, which was a good thing, as the radio's preset buttons were mechanical and it wasn't a good idea to use them often. (Besides, trying to tune an AM radio in rural areas could easily mean picking up a North Korean propaganda frequency by mistake - severely punishable if found out. Urban areas purposely jammed such frequencies, but rural areas couldn't be jammed.)
I passed the rest of time with a movie and some games. The games I played included three variations of Battleship, Blackjack, chess, video poker, and a bowling simulation. The chess program was easily beaten even at the hardest setting, however. Both Battleship and chess allowed playing against another passenger as opposed to the system.
When all was said and done, I finally found myself back home. I am glad to report that unlike four years ago, when every household in my area had a Bush-Cheney '04 sign out, there are no McCain-Palin signs anywhere. McCain appears to be in grave trouble - and that's a good thing. However, it does look like 2MB will succeed in getting California to ban gay marriage, based on "Yes on 8" bumper stickers on the cars. It looks like the No camp decided to stick to its feel-good empty liberal slogans, and never campaign with the conservative immigrants who will prove decisive. I will not forward any more contributions to the No on 8 campaign. It does appear that the vote will be close, however, especially if all the No votes materialize in San Francisco to counter the Catholics and the immigrants in Los Angeles.
I enjoyed my flight, which was on a very new 777 (HL7742) with video-on-demand - this was my first time flying on a plane with such a feature. The combination of two hot meals, amenity kits, and the video-on-demand made even my economy class experience comparable to some US airlines' business classes.
Upon departure from Seoul, the first programming that caught my attention was a documentary on New York Philharmonic's historic visit to Pyongyang, last February. It was so telling of the ability of human emotions and culture to overcome political barriers - and also of the North Korean propaganda machine still rearing its ugly head (as evidenced by music students who (1) have never heard of Juilliard, and (2) don't feel a need to go there, as North Korea has "plenty of good teachers" already). As I said about a week ago, civilians, not government bureaucrats, need to be in charge of North Korea's connections to the world - and the rest of the world's ties to North Korea - in order to ensure true peace and prosperity. Again, Kim Jong-il needs to go, and get replaced by someone who will be forced to listen to the people more. In any case, I loved seeing New York and Pyongyang musicians performing together, as well as the New York Phil's encore performance of "Arirang," a very popular traditional melody in both Koreas, which brought the entire audience to tears. It was also nice to see South Korea do its part in this historical event, by having MBC send its broadcast team north for live broadcast to the rest of the world, and by having Asiana Airlines fly the musicians to/from Pyongyang.
I was later able to tap into a number of pop and K-pop albums, choose any tracks of my liking, and make my own playlist. I ended up making two playlists. The first one consisted of latest English-language hits as well as some classics including U2 and Michael Jackson; I had listened to many of those songs in my previous travels around the world, and I wanted to remember all those events - and carry their spirit forward into even more travels in the future (and doing something good for everyone while at it). Again, I was no longer traveling between South Korea and the US on a South Korean-flagged airplane; I was in a part of a much bigger world, and about to take it all in. I really wish that after I return to Seoul, I will be able to pull off a Hong Kong trip.
The second playlist consisted of 1970s and 1980s K-pop - the very songs that I listened to while riding in my father's Hyundai Pony on the streets of Seoul. I wanted to re-live the memories, so that as I return to Seoul and try to do the Gyeongju road trip, I will be able to carry the same spirit forward as well. I want to drive exactly the same routes that my father once frequently drove. It's a shame that I'll have to drive something modern, as opposed to a 30-year-old Pony; on the other hand, I'll enjoy luxuries that were unheard of in the Pony, such as FM radio, CD player, air conditioning, automatic transmission, and maybe even a navigation system. Yes, the Pony had only an AM radio - best suited for newscasts, but also suitable for variety talk shows and even music. I remember that there was one KBS frequency that was pretty much nationwide, which was a good thing, as the radio's preset buttons were mechanical and it wasn't a good idea to use them often. (Besides, trying to tune an AM radio in rural areas could easily mean picking up a North Korean propaganda frequency by mistake - severely punishable if found out. Urban areas purposely jammed such frequencies, but rural areas couldn't be jammed.)
I passed the rest of time with a movie and some games. The games I played included three variations of Battleship, Blackjack, chess, video poker, and a bowling simulation. The chess program was easily beaten even at the hardest setting, however. Both Battleship and chess allowed playing against another passenger as opposed to the system.
When all was said and done, I finally found myself back home. I am glad to report that unlike four years ago, when every household in my area had a Bush-Cheney '04 sign out, there are no McCain-Palin signs anywhere. McCain appears to be in grave trouble - and that's a good thing. However, it does look like 2MB will succeed in getting California to ban gay marriage, based on "Yes on 8" bumper stickers on the cars. It looks like the No camp decided to stick to its feel-good empty liberal slogans, and never campaign with the conservative immigrants who will prove decisive. I will not forward any more contributions to the No on 8 campaign. It does appear that the vote will be close, however, especially if all the No votes materialize in San Francisco to counter the Catholics and the immigrants in Los Angeles.
21 October 2008
Declaration of War
It's my 800th post, and it will be a DECLARATION OF WAR. Despite watching How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, I am NOT in a good mood.
Please read a recent post over at Silenced Majority Portal. McCain and Palin are determined to win the presidency at ANY COST, and now that even generous contributions and propaganda from the Moonies and the South Korean government are NOT helping, it's time to start threatening Obama-Biden supporters with physical violence and vandalism.
I will not let this go unanswered. It's a shame that the Moonie motherfuckers can destroy American democracy, threaten voters, and install their favorite government all they want, while a legitimate American like myself finds it difficult to even vote at all.
Obama is not the perfect candidate. Nobody is. And he will never solve the grave problems that America and the world face, in the four or eight years he will spend in the White House. But he is the best hope, nevertheless, and will get the process started. Most real Americans realize that - unlike some moronic non-Americans, namely the Moonies and 2MB, with their twisted, incorrect idea of what America ought to be.
If the Moonies keep up their crap, Obama, when inaugurated, must consider using the CIA to carry out the overthrow of 2MB. After all, the CIA has removed far less anti-American heads of state overseas for much lesser reasons. 2MB has clearly funded the ongoing death threats against Obama, and Obama has every right and obligation to respond. The South Korean conservative establishment must be taught that spreading false smear rumors about the next President of the United States does NOT count as "Confucian deference." I sincerely hope that Obama will point a nuke or two in the direction of Seoul, so that these bastards will get a clue and shut up.
From now on, it is WAR against the South Korean government, elites, and right-wingers, as well as the Korean-American community. They asked for a war, and a war they shall get.
Please read a recent post over at Silenced Majority Portal. McCain and Palin are determined to win the presidency at ANY COST, and now that even generous contributions and propaganda from the Moonies and the South Korean government are NOT helping, it's time to start threatening Obama-Biden supporters with physical violence and vandalism.
I will not let this go unanswered. It's a shame that the Moonie motherfuckers can destroy American democracy, threaten voters, and install their favorite government all they want, while a legitimate American like myself finds it difficult to even vote at all.
Obama is not the perfect candidate. Nobody is. And he will never solve the grave problems that America and the world face, in the four or eight years he will spend in the White House. But he is the best hope, nevertheless, and will get the process started. Most real Americans realize that - unlike some moronic non-Americans, namely the Moonies and 2MB, with their twisted, incorrect idea of what America ought to be.
If the Moonies keep up their crap, Obama, when inaugurated, must consider using the CIA to carry out the overthrow of 2MB. After all, the CIA has removed far less anti-American heads of state overseas for much lesser reasons. 2MB has clearly funded the ongoing death threats against Obama, and Obama has every right and obligation to respond. The South Korean conservative establishment must be taught that spreading false smear rumors about the next President of the United States does NOT count as "Confucian deference." I sincerely hope that Obama will point a nuke or two in the direction of Seoul, so that these bastards will get a clue and shut up.
From now on, it is WAR against the South Korean government, elites, and right-wingers, as well as the Korean-American community. They asked for a war, and a war they shall get.
19 October 2008
Absentee Voting
Now, I am set to temporarily return to the US. However, once home, I will need to look at my work situation before determining when I'll be back in Seoul. I do have to come back to Seoul before too long, but I don't know how this is going to work out, especially in regards to the election.
It will be a shame if Lee Myung-bak and Reverend Moon, both non-Americans, can pump billions of precious US dollars into continuing the Republican presidency in the US (and getting gay marriage banned in California while at it), and I, an American, can't even cast my vote to stop that.
I've just checked with my county registrar for options, though they are not too appetizing. But it does look like I will be able to vote after all.
The most likely scenario will be that I will come back to Seoul just a few days short of Election Day; that will also be the worst-case scenario, as I can neither vote in person in the US, nor vote absentee in Seoul and mail my ballot back in time to have it counted. There is a solution, however, though one that could potentially be fraught with fraud. It's possible for me to print out the sample ballot booklet (PDF) for my precinct, mark my choices on it, print out a fax ballot affidavit form and put my information and signature, and fax it back to my county registrar. I'll have to find a nearby Fedex-Kinko's location (there are a number of them here in Seoul) for the actual fax, however, and pay a small fee.
Once my ballot is faxed in, my vote will be transcribed onto an actual ballot card by someone else before counting; that will be where fraud is possible. And even though it may be Los Angeles County, California, as opposed to Florida or Ohio, I still don't trust the system; it'll be too easy and tempting for the Catholic Latino pollworkers to switch my "No" vote on Proposition 8 to "Yes" - "in the name of God." If I were voting in San Francisco or Alameda counties, I wouldn't be so worried, but Los Angeles, thanks to conservative immigrants, is NOT San Francisco.
I can fax pretty late - as long as the fax is in by 8PM local time in Los Angeles (that would be 1PM next day in Seoul, as Daylight Saving Time will be over by then), my vote is supposed to count.
So it looks like a crapshoot and will cost me some, but I must vote anyway. After all, this election is just too important for me to sit out. And again, it'll be a shame for 2MB and Moon to have a say in US politics, and for me to have no say.
It will be a shame if Lee Myung-bak and Reverend Moon, both non-Americans, can pump billions of precious US dollars into continuing the Republican presidency in the US (and getting gay marriage banned in California while at it), and I, an American, can't even cast my vote to stop that.
I've just checked with my county registrar for options, though they are not too appetizing. But it does look like I will be able to vote after all.
The most likely scenario will be that I will come back to Seoul just a few days short of Election Day; that will also be the worst-case scenario, as I can neither vote in person in the US, nor vote absentee in Seoul and mail my ballot back in time to have it counted. There is a solution, however, though one that could potentially be fraught with fraud. It's possible for me to print out the sample ballot booklet (PDF) for my precinct, mark my choices on it, print out a fax ballot affidavit form and put my information and signature, and fax it back to my county registrar. I'll have to find a nearby Fedex-Kinko's location (there are a number of them here in Seoul) for the actual fax, however, and pay a small fee.
Once my ballot is faxed in, my vote will be transcribed onto an actual ballot card by someone else before counting; that will be where fraud is possible. And even though it may be Los Angeles County, California, as opposed to Florida or Ohio, I still don't trust the system; it'll be too easy and tempting for the Catholic Latino pollworkers to switch my "No" vote on Proposition 8 to "Yes" - "in the name of God." If I were voting in San Francisco or Alameda counties, I wouldn't be so worried, but Los Angeles, thanks to conservative immigrants, is NOT San Francisco.
I can fax pretty late - as long as the fax is in by 8PM local time in Los Angeles (that would be 1PM next day in Seoul, as Daylight Saving Time will be over by then), my vote is supposed to count.
So it looks like a crapshoot and will cost me some, but I must vote anyway. After all, this election is just too important for me to sit out. And again, it'll be a shame for 2MB and Moon to have a say in US politics, and for me to have no say.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
I've been alive and well (at least as well as I could be under the Republican colonial government, anyway) - I've been too busy blogging and driving to ever check in here in the past two weeks.
Yes, I am describing the so-called "Republic of Korea" as a cut-rate US Republican colony. Not even a colony of the United States of America (which won't be too bad, really), but a colony of the discredited minority party. I no longer recognize the sovereignty of the government, and will only see it as the puppet partisan colonial government that it truly is. Similarly, I am referring to all South Koreans as colonial subjects, and myself as the almighty citizen of the American motherland.
The reason why I am making this determination are as follows:
From now on, I'll do the following.
If you are ever headed this way, I must ask you to do the following: